I apologize for these first few chapters for being short. They are about four to five pages on Word, but hopefully future chapters will be longer.
Getting right into it because my mind's fried (I have a strong dislike for my roommate at the moment for waking me up at 2am EST today...:evil glare:...oh well...).
I do not own rights to Sailor Moon or the Crow. Wish I did but I don't.
Also, I'm gonna go ahead and change the rating to M because this is a bit of a violent chapter and I'd rather be safe than sorry...and some of the future chapters are a bit graphic too, but not too graphic...I just confuzzled myself...moving on...
People once believed that when someone dies, a crow carries their soul to the land of the dead. But sometimes, something so bad happens that a terrible sadness is carried with it and the soul can't rest. Then sometimes, just sometimes, the crow can bring that soul back to put the wrong things right.
Kaze climbed down from his bunk bed, a stuffed Dalmatian toy in his hand. He walked out of the room he had shared with his twin. He made his way down the hall and pushed open the door to his parents' room.
Michiru heard the door creak and looked over. "What's wrong baby?" she asked her small son.
He held the dog tightly. "I couldn't sleep. I had bad dreams."
Michiru gave a soft smile, not wanting to tell him that she had had nightmares as well. "It's all right baby," she said. She patted the bed and he crawled up. Michiru held him tightly.
"I miss Mika and Poppa," he whispered, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. Tears welled up in his green eyes.
"So do I sweetie. But they'll always be with us. Here and here," she said, indicating his head and his heart.
He looked up at her. "It's not the same though."
Michiru sighed. "I know Kaze. I know. But they are gone." She ran a hand through his pure blonde hair. "You need to get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow." Kaze nodded and snuggled into his mother's lap. He closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep.
- - - - - - - - - -
Rain fell from the sky as the Senshi stood in the graveyard. Usagi walked over to Michiru and rested a hand on her arm. "I'm here if you need to talk Michiru. I know what it's like to lose someone you love," Usagi said, referring to the fact that Mamoru had been gunned down several years prior in a bank robbery gone bad.
"Thanks Usagi," Michiru said.
"We're still here if you ever need help with anything," Seiya said, his hand intertwined with Usagi's. In his other arm was a young Chibiusa.
The other Senshi, including Yaten and Taiki, echoed their agreement. The group stayed a few moments longer before walking out of the graveyard, heading to a nearby café in the city.
- - - - - - - - - -
A figure in all black watched as the Senshi left. "I'm here Michi…" Haruka whispered. "I love you."
She leapt down off of the tree and walked away, the crow flying overhead. She walked over to a black motorcycle and climbed on. She started the engine and headed towards where she had been gunned down.
Once arriving there, she got off the bike and leapt up to the roof. She peered through the dirty glass and her eyes narrowed as she saw members of the gang who had killed her and Mika. The memories flashed before her eyes and she grinned as one gang member walked outside and headed down the street. Haruka followed him along the rooftops, the crow flying overhead.
The gang member suddenly grabbed a young woman and pulled her into an alley. He slammed her into the wall of a building and grinned lustfully at her. "Ready for a good time?" he smirked. A crow sounded and the pair looked over. "Get out of here!" he snapped at the bird. Something heavy landed in the darkness of the alley and he turned. "Who's there?"
A figure dressed in black stepped out of the shadows. "You're going to pay for your crime," the figure whispered in a dangerous voice.
"I haven't done anything wrong," he returned, shoving his hand over the woman's face. He reached into his coat for a gun.
"That's not true," the figure returned, slowly walking towards him, boots thudding on the pavement. "You've killed at least two innocent people. And one was but a child." The figure stopped, their face still in shadow.
"Who are you?" the man demanded.
"Vengeance." The figure suddenly rushed in and tackled the man to the ground. The figure hauled the man to his feet and slammed him into the wall. White paint gleamed in the light.
The man's eyes widened in fear as he recognized the face. "You…you're dead! I saw you die!" he whimpered.
"Death is only the beginning," Haruka whispered. She slammed her fist into his throat and let him fall to the ground, watching as he struggled for air through his crushed windpipe. After several minutes the man's eyes rolled into the back of his head.
"Who…who are you?" the woman whispered fearfully.
The crow flew onto the blonde's shoulder. "No one worth remembering." She turned and walked down the alley, the black duster swirling behind her.
- - - - - - - - - -
Usagi frowned as she hung up the cell phone. "What's wrong?" Makoto asked.
"That was Naru-chan. She was nearly raped when some stranger dressed in black appeared and saved her."
"That's good though, right?" Ami asked.
"Whoever this person was killed the gang member," Usagi replied. "Without any kind of provocation apparently."
"At least the guy was stopped before he hurt your friend," Setsuna said.
"Demo…the man was a suspect in the death of Mika and the disappearance of Haruka-san," Usagi added.
Michiru looked at the blonde. "He was?" Usagi nodded. "Then he got justice," Michiru muttered bitterly.
- - - - - - - - - -
Haruka walked towards a man with slick black hair. He suddenly whirled around, a dagger flying from his hand and striking Haruka in the heart. She grunted in pain but remained standing. She looked down at the knife, then back up to the man. "Did you drop this?" she smirked, pulling it out.
"What…what are you?" the gang member demanded.
Haruka stepped into the light, her painted face glaring in the light. "A corpse thanks to you and your little friends," she whispered.
He spun around and tried to run. Haruka smiled and slammed into him, sending him crashing to the ground. She rolled him over and pressed the blade to his throat. "You and everyone else who had a hand in killing my daughter will pay," she snarled. She grabbed him and hurled him into a brick wall. She slammed the dagger into his shoulder so hard that it went through to the stone.
"You…you can't leave me here…like this!" he exclaimed as Haruka started to walk away.
She stopped and turned to him. "You're right. Someone could come along and have the crazy notion of saving your pathetic life." She picked up a metal pole and walked towards the man. The crow sat perched on a pile of crates, its dark eyes watching Haruka. The man screamed.
- - - - - - - - - -
Makoto and the others stopped by the warehouses. A man with dark red hair, the top, sides, and most of the back short while the rest reached down to the middle of his lower back, walked up to the Senshi. He wore a pair of black slacks, black boots, an untucked white shirt, and an open black jacket. A pair of mirrored sunglasses rested atop his head. One hand was in his pocket.
"Reno, what is it?" Makoto asked.
"We've had five killings just last night," he said, motioning the eleven Senshi to follow him.
"Gang related?" Rei asked.
"In a manner," he replied. "All five were members of a particular gang suspected in the killing of Ten'ou Mika and the disappearance and likely death of Ten'ou Haruka."
"So why show us?" Hotaru asked.
"Have you ever seen something like that before?" he asked, pointing to a man stuck to the side of a wall. Several metal rods were poking out of his back in the shape of a crow. Next to him was a similar designed painted onto the stone in a red substance.
"Is…is that blood?" Seiya asked.
"Yeah," Reno confirmed. "The other bodies had the same design drawn nearby."
"Who could do such a thing? I know these men deserved it demo…" Usagi whispered, shaking her head.
"So you guys have never seen anything like this in your…jobs?" Reno asked, referring to them being Senshi.
"Never," Setsuna confirmed.
Reno sighed. "So it's a vigilante or a group of them…great."
"It could always be someone we need to deal with though," Michiru pointed out.
"She's right," Ami agreed.
Reno nodded. "I'll see what I can find out and get back to you guys."
"Be safe Reno," Makoto whispered.
He smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll be fine Mako-chan. I promise."
Michiru wandered as closely as she could to the body. She stared at it as the police and coroner pulled the body off of the wall. A look of pure terror was on the man's face. That's what you deserve for taking away part of my family, she vehemently thought. The wind suddenly blew and Michiru looked around.
- - - - - - - - - -
Haruka watched as the Senshi looked at the body she had impaled onto the warehouse wall. She rose to her feet from the crouch she was in and turned, hopping down off of the ledge onto the roof. She went from roof to roof, making her way to a bar she knew many of the gang members hung out in. She stopped at the roof across the street and smiled when she noticed a back entrance. She made her way over to it and jumped down to the ground. The crow landed on the skylight.
Haruka went into the bar and hid in the shadows as she entered the main bar. She recognized most of the men belonging to the gang. She knocked loudly on the wall and the conversation began dying down. She continued knocking until silence descended upon the bar. All eyes shifted to her.
"Suddenly there came a tapping, as of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. Everyone heard me rapping, right?" she asked.
"Who the hell do you think you are pal?" one of the men demanded, his voice slightly slurred.
"I've was asked that quite a lot last night as I killed your five friends," she returned. She walked further into the bar, keeping her face in shadows. "The thing is, it doesn't matter who I am, because I'm going to kill you all."
The gang began laughing. "Twenty on one? You gotta be kidding!" another scoffed, others voicing their agreement.
"I never kid. Not anymore. Not since you all took my life away." She stepped into the light, her teal eyes blazing with death.
"No way…" several whispered. Guns were suddenly pulled out and shots rang throughout the bar. As the smoke cleared the gang could see that Haruka had moved out of the way so that they actually fired upon themselves. Over half were lying on the ground dead or dying. Haruka moved through the shadows, killing the remaining gang members. She came to a halt at the last one, recognizing him as the one who had shot Mika. He lifted the gun and emptied the clip into her chest.
She looked down at the healing wounds then back up to him. "You took my daughter from this world. Took her when she had just barely begun to live."
"I was just following orders!" the man whimpered as Haruka grabbed him. "We were told to kill you and the kid!"
"By who?" she demanded. He shook his head and she pulled a knife out from his waistband and slammed it into his hand. "Who sent you to kill me and my daughter?"
"He'll kill me if I tell…" the man whispered.
"I'll kill you if you don't tell," she hissed.
"Da…Damien…"
Haruka's eyes narrowed. "Damien who?"
"I don't know! I swear!"
"I can tell by the fear in your eyes that you're telling me the truth."
"So…so I can go?" he asked hopefully.
"You can go," Haruka whispered. "Straight to Hell…" She pulled the dagger out from his hand and rammed it into his abdomen, pulling it across his middle.
- - - - - - - - - -
The Senshi watched as bodies were carted out of the bar. Every single one they saw wheeled away was in a black body back. "Kami-sama…" Minako whispered.
"Who could have done that?" Yaten asked.
"Whoever killed the other five last night," Reno answered softly, walking over to them. "Only one survivor but he won't make it."
He turned and they watched as a man was hurried out of the bar, blood flowing from a vicious knife wound to his stomach. "It couldn't have been her…we killed her…this is the real world…there's no coming back from that…there's no coming back from that…" he whimpered. His head lolled to the side as death claimed him.
"Who did this?" Michiru asked.
"We have no idea. All we know is that guy confessed to killing Mika-chan and Haruka-san last year," Reno said. "Don't tell my boss I told you."
"So…Haruka and Mika's killers have been dealt with?" Michiru asked.
"Yeah. The entire gang was wiped out."
"Kage Reno! Get your butt over here and start working!" a cop yelled.
"Duty calls," he muttered and returned to the scene.
"Whoever did this isn't human," Rei whispered. "They couldn't be human…"
A cawing made them turn and look up at a streetlight. A crow stared at them before taking to the sky. Michiru frowned and looked up at the roof of a nearby building. A figure in a long black coat was turning away from the edge. She ran into the alley and quickly scaled the fire escape. She emerged on the roof but it was empty. She looked around and something caught her eye. She walked over to the ledge and knelt down. She picked up the white rose and stood. "Haruka…" she whispered.
Hmm...seems like the story should end since Haruka has taken care of the gang...but that might not be the case. Bwuahahahaha...behold the cliffhanger...or something...I need caffiene...
Please be kind and leave a review (signed or unsigned), but only if it is a non-flame review. Arigatou!