Minako wasn't really surprised to find out where the strange Sailor Senshi was hiding out. An abandoned factory in a forgotten part of town. The perfect place to keep oneself hidden especially if they were trying to hide a very large animal. The perfect place to hide but it wasn't the safest. She was honestly worried for Sailor Paladin.
Yes it was remote, but that made it harder to call for help. The Sailor Senshi were not invincible. In their powered up forms, a monster could still hurt and even kill them. Being so far away from the major city meant that Sailor Paladin couldn't contact someone for help. Neither could she talk to her teammates since Minako had gathered Sailor Paladin was alone. That was depressing. It was never fun to be alone. She knew that from experience.
On top of that, the Sailor Senshi were not always powered up. They would have to call off their powers eventually which would leave them vulnerable to mundane weapons. Any thug could come in here and kill her in her sleep. She could get hurt or worse on her own while living in a decrepit and falling apart building. It certainly wasn't a place for a cute girl. She needed to do something about it. Perhaps she could convince Sailor Paladin to come live with her. That could work although it might be tricky. Perhaps one of the other girls could help with this.
Minako idly wondered if Sailor Paladin always had her powers activated. The strange girl seemed to wear her Sailor Senshi outfit all the time. Perhaps it wasn't active and she just chose to wear the same sort of clothes? That would be weird. Then again, this whole situation was weird. Her whole life was weird. That wouldn't be anywhere close to the strangest thing to ever have happened to her after all.
"Don't worry," Sailor Paladin said. She seemed to pick up on Minako's worries, "This place is pretty safe. I drove out the bad guys a while back."
"Ah," Minako said. Perhaps Sailor Paladin had scared them so badly they steered clear of her? Hard to think of that given how small and cute she was. Not to mention how peppy the strange Senshi appeared to be, "You weren't were you?"
Paladin chuckled, "'Course not. These guys are chumps compared to the people I fought back home. No armor and they don't carry any swords or other stuff. It's kinda weird being here but who am I to complain."
No swords? Well Yakuza did sometimes bring swords with them. That was more for intimidation than anything. If that was all Paladin had to complain about then the guys she fought were really small time. No guns and all that. She was glad. She just hoped they didn't try and shoot this place up later. She really needed to talk to Paladin about this.
They walked into another room and MInako's breath left her. Yes, she had seen the griffon before. However she had never truly had the time to process it. It was during combat and the griffon left right after it had stopped. Less than five minutes. Not really the timeframe one would need to get a good view of something.
The majesty of it was something else. This was a creature of magic rather than flesh and blood. She could tell that rather easily. Not just because of its energy but by the sheer magnitude of everything. It was the center of attention.
Said center of attention groaned slightly in pain. Its side had a few burn markings from the electricity. Minako was sure there were other burns given she wasn't seeing the full extent of the injuries given how it was laying down. Her heart went out to it. To see such a majestic animal hurt like this was so disheartening.
"Oh the poor thing," Minako felt tears come into her eyes. She quickly rubbed them and gave a serious expression, "Get the medicine ready."
"On it," Paladin said. "Don't worry, buddy. We'll have you up and attem in no time."
The griffon groaned. Minako quickly went to work. Being right next to it really emphasized its size. If it really wanted to, it could quickly kill her. It's beak could stab her to death or it could crush her under its weight. Yet it calmly let her get to work. The more she did, the more she hated that Vauquelin fellow. How dare he hurt such a creature. She'd give him a piece of her mind when she saw him next. After she punched him in the face of course. He was far too smug and she hated smug villains.
Finally it was done. She smiled and patted the griffon, "There. You should start feeling better now." She was surprised when it moved forward and nuzzled her. She giggled and stroked its beak, "You don't have to thank me. I'm happy to help."
"He's a gentleman," Paladin said as she rubbed the griffon's side, "A big ol' softie. So expect a lot of thank yous from him."
"So," Minako said, trying to pry into the strange girl while they were on the topic. "Where did you get him?"
"A friend gave him to me," Paladin explained, "We were close and stuff happened."
Minako raised an eyebrow, "What sort of stuff?"
Paladin's grin turned mischievous, "Secret stuff."
Minako huffed. It would seem that she'd have to try harder to weasel information out of her. She was fine with that. She was good at improvising after all, "Come on. You can tell me."
Paladin shook her head, "Oh no, you aren't getting a peep out of me. Although, perhaps you could persuade me~" She looked at her. Her eyes got half lidded as they fluttered slightly.
Minako felt hot under the collar. She shouldn't really. She didn't swing that way. Yet there was something about the way she said and looked. She shook her head, gasping slightly and pulling away with a slight blush. "Wh-What?"
"Well we're alone and-gah!" Paladin was knocked back by the griffon. She sat up and shook a fist at him, "Oooh, why do you always do that when I'm just trying to have some fun?"
The griffon growled.
"I know she's just been helping us but it is a good way to unwind," Paladin protested.
The griffon growled louder.
Paladin sighed, "Fine… for now."
Minako just looked in between them nervously. She was not sure what that was all about. She decided to put it as her just joking around, "Well that aside, he's all good. He should be healed up soon."
"Fantastic," she jumped forward and took her hands in hers and shook them ecstatically, "I don't know what I'd do without you, Minako."
Minako still had a slight blush on her face from the previous conversation but she smiled anyways. It was nice to hear Paladin being so nice, "Thanks… so if you can't tell me about the griffon, can you tell me about yourself?"
"Nope," Paladin jumped backwards playfully and put her hands behind her back.
Minako frowned, "Not even a little bit?"
Paladin put a finger to her lips, "A secret. I'm not supposed to be here so I don't want to mess with stuff."
"Hmmm," Minako rubbed her chin. If that was the case, this was stranger than she thought. Hopefully this wasn't dealing with time travel. She was thankful she had never dealt with that before and she didn't want to do so ever. "So there's nothing you can tell me then?"
"Yep," was the quick response.
Minako sighed, "Well, if you can't tell me that then I'll stop." For now was the unspoken thought on her mind, "But I do have to tell you one thing."
"What's that?"
"You can't go around killing people," Minako crossed her arms, "You're a protector of good people. You aren't supposed to kill people. Only monsters."
She wasn't going to reveal her powers just yet. She needed to see a few things in this encounter before she divulged that bit of information. Besides, Sailor Paladin wasn't telling her anything. Why should she tell her anything back because of that?
Paladin frowned and scratched her head, "Why'd you say that? He was trying to hurt you and me. I took him out as quickly as I could."
"Well you have magical abilities and guns aren't that much of a threat to people like you," Minako pointed out. Which was true. Guns weren't a threat to Senshi. At least mortal guns. Magical ones were a different story.
"Everything can be a threat," Paladin pointed out, "And even if that was true, he could have hurt you before I stopped him. Besides, that guy was acting like a monster anyways. The world's better without him."
Minako frowned. She didn't like thinking that. Oh sure, it was the right thing to do to kill monsters. They weren't human and the world was better off without them trying to destroy everything. Yet what about humans? What about non-humans like the two aliens they fought recently? Did they deserve to die? They still had good in them. It wasn't right to deny them the chance to improve.
Sailor Moon would have started with that immediately. She was the biggest optimist of the lot. She could see the good in almost anyone and could take a stand when evil came into the world. She wouldn't allow a vigilante roaming around killing people, even if they were bad. They could still be good. Minako looked up to her because of that. She was someone with strong morals and a backbone to stick to them. A good role model and fitting for a princess.
Minako was a good girl as well but having been a Senshi longer, she had seen a few things. A few things that weren't so pretty. She had never and would never act upon them, but it was going to take a lot to change things. Minako had hope that it would happen. Why didn't she say these things to Paladin? Well… he was yakuza. The guy had it coming and Sailor Paladin was a good girl. She didn't want to distance her from the rest so early on.
"Just… try not to kill, okay?" MInako said. "At least not humans. Monsters are alright."
Paladin looked confused, "But people can be monsters too."
"Well people can change and become better," Minako said, "Most people are good at heart."
Paladin, instead of arguing, nodded. "Of course. Most people are. It's just some people give up and start acting nasty because they're jerks or think the world is bad. It's not. It just looks wonky from certain angles."
"Exactly," Minako nodded in turn, "So let's keep the killing on the down low, you feel me?"
"Oh I'd like to feel you~" Paladin got closer, causing Minako to blush before the griffon smacked her on the head, "Ow. Okay, I get it. From both of you. I'll try not to kill around here anymore. If push comes to shove though, I won't hesitate to do it to save someone."
Minako sighed, "Well… then I can't argue against you there." MInako could but she really didn't want to, partially because she found her way of thinking alright. She may not agree with killing humans but at least Paladin had the right mindset of a hero. "I do thank you for listening to me about it."
Paladin smiled, "What are friends for? Hey, are you going to stay the night? It's getting dark out."
Minako frowned. It was getting pretty late. The little bit of sunshine coming into the place was dimming. She hadn't realized she was in here that long. Then again, it was a large animal they were treating. It was bound to take a lot of time. She sighed. Then she patted herself and grumbled. She hadn't brought her phone with her. Darn it.
Well her parents would understand if she told them it was an impromptu sleepover. Rei would be a good person to ask to help her with the story. She was dependable like that. Plus this gave her an opportunity to keep close to Paladin. Surely she could figure more out about this strange girl. "Very well. I'll stay."
Paladin put her hands on her hips, "Don't you worry about a thing. I'll protect you if anything happens."
Minako chuckled, "I'm sure you will." She meant that too. Tonight was going to be smooth sailing.
"Ow," Paladin fell to the ground, glaring at the griffon. She shook her fist, "I wasn't even trying anything that time!"
The griffon chortled. Minako guessed it was a laugh and that brought a little bit of giggles to herself. Yes, tonight was going to go really well.
Side note: People tend to forget Astolfo was a lady's man and quite a successful one at that. He's probably had more sex then almost every servant (both male and female). So don't let his cute appearance fool you. He's quite the lady killer. XD Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I can't wait to read your comments.
