Minako yawned as she gently woke up. Her body was feeling rather warm right now. What she was laying against was so soft and said warmth just made it feel better. She smiled as she opened her eyes. They widened as she remembered where she was. Minako was laying against a griffon. A real life griffon. It was so surreal but so exciting to wake up to. She never knew they were so fluffy. From all the stories she had heard, they were vicious animals that had a taste for humans.
She chuckled at the thought and patted the griffon, "You're a big softie, aren't you?"
The griffon cooed and looked over. It nuzzled her which made her smile even wider than before. Truly this was one of the better mornings in her life. Minako idly wondered where Paladin was. So she looked around the area and saw her sleeping in a few blankets a few feet away. Her face was pretty cute as always but even cuter when she was asleep. It was certainly nice to look at.
However Minako knew she couldn't stay here long. She had to get back home. She gave the kind griffon a loving pat on the side and stood up. She stretched her arms and her back a bit and yawned. It was a pretty good night's rest now that she was up and about. No pain or aching like just sleeping on the ground usually does to someone. Having a griffon to sleep on is definitely a great bonus to her mission.
"Oh you're finally awake," a chipper voice rang out.
Minako gave out a small shriek of surprise as she saw Sailor Paladin by her side. She blinked a few times as she processed this and sighed, "Don't do that. I thought you were asleep."
"I'm a light sleeper," Paladin beamed, "You have to be in my line of work."
Minako frowned. A light sleeper in her line of work? "That makes it sound like you're in danger a lot."
"I have to be if I want to protect people," Paladin said, "Evil doers don't exactly make the job easy."
Wasn't that the truth. She could remember all the times she had nearly, or actually, bit the dust as it were. She shivered inwardly at those memories. "Well if that's the case, would you mind sharing any of those stories?"
"Hmmm," Paladin tapped her chin before shaking her head, "Not right now. I'm still on a super secret mission, I think. Better not tell anyone or they could get hurt."
Minako sighed. She'd have to work harder on this but it'd be rude to push her luck right now, "Then I'll be off. Could you guide me out of this part of town? I can find the rest of the way home from the store we met at."
"Sure," Paladin nodded, "Helping pretty ladies is what heroes are supposed to do after all."
"Thank you," Minako couldn't believe how nice she was. She was truly a Senshi to applaud. She couldn't wait to get Usagi here to meet her. Surely Paladin would answer to Usagi. She was good at making friends and getting answers.
"Although," Paladin leaned closer with a slightly lecherous smile, "We don't have to leave now. We could have a bit of fun before we depart~"
Minako blushed slightly and pulled away, "Well-"
Thankfully the griffon swiped Paladin off her feet. Paladin yipped in surprise before glaring at the griffon. She shook her fists in pure anger which only just made her seem cuter.
Minako couldn't help but laugh at the sight. Oh yes, she was still in the dark about her true identity. Yet she knew that Paladin was someone she could trust to watch her back. A true hero. That's all that truly mattered to her.
"Well let's get going then," Paladin hefted her lance and started to walk.
"You aren't supposed to bring weapons out into public," Minako quickly said, her eyes widening at the act.
"What?" Paladin looked seriously confused, "But I have to defend myself with something. Lances are better for me then just a bunch of knives."
"Yeah… well it's against the law." Minako pointed out.
Paladin shrugged and continued to walk, "I'd gladly break the law if it meant protecting a beautiful maiden. So let's go. Tally-ho!"
Minako sighed. She liked Paladin but she knew she was going to be a headache from here on out.
Vauquelin hummed slightly to himself as he wrote down another page worth of items and schematics he remembered from his machine. It paid to have a good memory in his line of work. One forgetful moment and you could easily end up dead. He had learned that in a number of ways, one such being the death of his own teacher. Terrible business that was. He would not make the same mistake. So he made sure to ask for the precise ingredients for his master plan. Thankfully, he noted to himself, these yakuza had a number of things he needed. So his plan could start being built now rather than later.
He did lament about the lack of some certain supplies however. He'd have to send out search parties for the right things. As well, they were low on jewels and other valuables. He would not leave this realm without a hefty bounty. It would be disgraceful to leave empty handed after all. He'd go get some of that himself. Vauquelin smiled. It would also throw off that blasted paladin and possibly those Senshi from his path. They would be focused on him and not on the rest of his goons. Truly he was a mastermind.
"Err…" He looked up to see a couple of his new goons fidgeting as they stood there in front of him, "Err… boss?"
"What is it?" He furrowed his brow, "I'm busy."
"Well we just wanted to give you this," one of the yakuza goons put a folder on his desk, "It's the locations for all the jewelry stores in the city."
Vauquelin smiled, "Excellent. You aren't as useless as I thought." He stood up and handed over the papers he was writing on, "Take these and scout out areas with everything listed there. I need to prepare."
"Prepare for what?" one of them asked.
Vauquelin snickered as his grin turned sinister, "I've got some shopping to do."
A part of him knew that the other mages wouldn't like it if he revealed magic to the world. In his old world, he was careful not to do it in certain areas. Here though? He was sure he could do it with impunity. The Sailor Senshi were running around throwing spells and they were fine. As well as a ton of monsters about. Surely if the other mages were this lax, he could be more open. Yes, he liked being able to cut loose. If any opponent came his way, he'd show them the might of his magic.
"Whelp," Paladin put her hands on her hips, smiling up at Minako. "We're here."
Minako couldn't help but look at the pet store with a slight forlorn expression. She had been able to get close to Paladin. She was a charming girl with a good heart. She'd make an excellent ally and she knew Sailor Paladin would come to their aid if she just asked. However, she hadn't come close to knowing anything new about her. She was still an enigma to Minako and that slightly rubbed her the wrong way. An unknown could be dangerous. She'd been tricked before as had the other girls. While she knew Paladin meant no harm, she was still a bit cautious.
"Are you okay, Minako?" Sailor Paladin asked.
Minako shook her head and chuckled, rubbing the back of her head as she did so. "I'm fine. Just a bit out of it right now." She bowed, "I thank you for taking me this far."
"Anything for a pretty face," Paladin chuckled, "Whelp, I best be going." She then hefted her lance onto her shoulder.
Minako couldn't help but sweat drop looking at it, "You know, maybe you shouldn't have brought that."
"Why?" Paladin cutely tilted her head, "It's to keep us safe if any of those guys attack us again."
"Well no one did so maybe you were being too cautious," Minako said before starting to walk away, "I'll see you soon, Paladin."
"See ya!" Astolfo waved her off. Inwardly, Astolfo lamented he never got to tap that ass. She was so pretty and nice. Oh well. There was always another time for that. Besides, it was more important to him that she was safe and sound. He was a hero. It was his job to keep the citizens safe. So he turned around, content with a job well done.
Unfortunately he bumped into someone. He pulled back and looked up. Given the uniform and badge, he guessed it may be the 'police'. The guardians of the people, he imagined. The town guard, a better explanation in his mind. The older man looked pensive down at him and then at his large lance.
"A cosplayer?" He muttered to himself, "Kid, you should be more careful where you're walking."
"I am, sir." Asolfo said, "I'm just a bit airheaded." He knocked on his head and stuck out his tongue playfully. "I can't tell where I am some of the time."
The cop sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Kids these days. Just run along and take that toy with you. Just be careful where you swing it, okay little girl?"
"I'm not a little… toy?" Astolfo blinked in confusion. He pointed to his lance, "Are you talking about this?"
"Yeah," the cop nodded.
"It's not a toy," Astolfo frowned. It was one thing to insult a man's pride. It was another thing to insult a man's weapon. The only thing worse is to insult their dress. He flipped his lance and struck the ground with the tip. It easily pierced the ground and caused cracks to form around it. "It's the real thing."
The cop's jaw dropped. He just stared at Astolfo's weapon for a moment. Astolfo beamed. Surely he was impressed with his mighty tool of destruction. The weapon to pierce hundreds of bad guys over the years. Yes, it was something to marvel at.
"You're carrying a real weapon around in public?" The cop firmly said once he got his bearings.
Astolfo blinked a few times at the steel in the cop's voice all of a sudden, "Umm….. yes?"
"That's against the rules," the cop crossed his arms, "I'm going to have to ask you to come with me to the station."
Astolfo didn't understand some of those words but he knew the intent. He paled. He didn't want to go to jail. He was too young. He hadn't slept with as many girls as he wanted or gone on enough adventures. He wasn't going to die in some dirty hole. What should he do? He can't fight the town guard. That was what villains did. He needed to think of a clever strategy to get this guy off his back.
"Well, are you-"
"You'll never take me alive," Astolfo booked it. His small frame was remarkably adept at outpacing most people. A lifetime of running from monsters and such will do that to you.
"Hey," the cop shook his fist and tried to keep up, "Get back here, you little twerp."
