Chapter 2: Knights on the Town

A taxi stopped in front of an apartment complex before the doors swung open, two in the back and another in the passenger side. The trunk also swung open. Ichijyo, who was in the passenger seat, paid the taxi driver before exiting the vehicle. Both Ryuki and Takada were already taking out their luggage from the trunk of the car. The taxi then drove off as Ryuki waved at it.

"So, this is where we'll be staying?" Takada asked.

"Yes," Ichijyo said as he peered at the entire building, "The apartment may not even be that much, but it will still be adequate for our stay here. The movers will arrive with the rest of our things later in the day, so, let's get the move on, shall we."

"Okay!" Ryuki beamed as he carried his luggage and headed for the elevator, running past his two friends excitedly. Ichijyo just groaned and shook his head at his friend's hyperactivity while Takada chuckled.

"How he survived this long is a miracle," Ichijyo sighed.

"Well, you gotta give the kid points for enthusiasm," Takada replied.

The two older boys then followed Ryuki towards the elevator, walking like normal people of course, before the elevator came down. The three of them then went in and pressed the floor number. It then took them to the right floor before the doors opened and they walked out, carrying their luggage. Ryuki was ahead of them.

"You better be careful, Ryuki," Ichijyo warned. "This is a narrow path so you might accidentally bump into someone."

"Relax, Ichijyo," Ryuki smiled back, "I'm not that clumsy." Of course, as luck would have it, he accidentally bumped into a few girls and they all fell. His luggage fell out of his hands.

"That contradicts your previous statement, my friend," Ichijyo joked.

"Ah, gomen nasai!" Ryuki apologized as he began helping the girls up.

"Hey, watch where…you're…going?" the girl began to say before her eyes stared at him wide. The girl had long blonde hair and a red bow in her hair.

Ryuki bowed again, "Ah, gomen nasai!" He apologized while bowing repeatedly to the girl. There were three others. One was blonde with her hairs in buns and long blonde pigtails, a girl with chin length blue hair and a tall girl with brown hair in a ponytail.

"It's no problem," the girl said with a bright smile. 'Wow, he's cute!'

Takada, seeing the girls, smirked and walked over, placing a hand affectionately on Ryuki's and ruffling his hair, "What my friend here is trying to say that he's sorry for bumping into you lovely ladies. My name is Yoshiyuki Takada. Some people call me Takada but you can call me 'Yoshi-kun'." He grinned at the girls.

Ichijyo rolled his eyes as Takada attempted to flirt with the girls and then walked over, annoyed. He then hit Takada over the head with his suit case.

"Hey!" Takada yelled, "That hurt!" Ichijyo ignored the outburst.

"Greetings," Ichijyo bowed politely. "We've just moved here today and were wondering if you could help us find our apartment. I think we're a little lost."

"We'd be happy to!" the brunette smiled happily before turning to her friends. "Wouldn't we, girls?"

"Oh yeah!" the blonde with the ribbon smiled.

"Absolutely!" the blonde with the ponytails agreed.

"Yes," the bluenette nodded. "We'd be happy to."

"Arigatou," Ryuki smiled as he bowed. "I suppose it would only be polite to introduce ourselves. My name is Ryuki Leonard Hasuma."

"Hmmm," Ichijyo sighed. He really did like his privacy but that was no excuse for being rude. "My name is Ichijyo Desmond Amakusa. It's a pleasure."

The girls all giggled at the introductions save for the short-haired girl. She seemed to gasp in surprise when she heard the two boys' names. Ryuki hadn't noticed it but Inchijyo did. One didn't get to where he was by ignoring details. The girl obviously recognized their names. Most likely it was from their parents, but he still didn't like it when someone did recognize him.

"Well hi, boys!" the blonde with the ribbon smiled. "My names Minako Aino. I'm a senior at school and my measurements are-"

"My name is Makoto Kino!" the brunette quickly introduced, much to Takada's dismay. He had wanted to hear that last bit of information from Minako. "I hope we get along since we're going to live in the same building."

"My name is Usagi Tsukino!" the second blonde introduced with a bright smile. "You can call me Usagi-chan!"

"My name is Ami Mizuno," the last girl introduced politely. "Welcome to the Juuban district."

"Welcome indeed," Ichijyo nodded before taking a slip of paper from his pocket. "Kino-san, you mentioned you live in this building? Perhaps you can tell us where our apartment is."

"I'll do my best," Makaoto giggled as she took the paper and took a look at it. It was a moment before a large grin came across her face before she looked up at the three boys who had taken a moment to recover their luggage. "I know exactly where this is! It's right next to my apartment. I'll show you the way, c'mon!"

Minako and Makoto quickly took the lead while Ami and Usagi had stuck behind their friends. Ichijyo, Ryuki, and Takada each took their luggage and let the girls lead the way. They did keep a moderate amount of distance. For Ryuki, it was because he didn't want to crash into the girls again if they stopped suddenly. Ichijyo liked to keep his personal space while Takada was checking out the girls and pondering which one he'd try to take out on a date first.

Meanwhile, the girls were speaking amongst themselves as Makoto led the way to the apartment that the boys were looking for.

"Mako-chan!" Minako whined as she walked beside her tall friend. "Is their apartment really beside yours?"

"Yep!" Makoto giggled. "Can you believe it? I'm so lucky! Three handsome guys right next to me! Maybe sooner or later one of them would like to move in with me!"

"Oooh! Mako-chan!" Usagi whined loudly. "It's not fair! Why do you get to live next to three hunks when I have to walk so far to visit my Mamo-chan?"

"That's fate," Makoto giggled. "Hey Ami, which one do you like?"

"Hmm?" Ami blinked. She hadn't been paying attention to what her friends were saying. "Oh, I don't think I'll try dating them. I have too much on my plate as it is."

"Huh?" Minako gaped. "Ami-chan! Why not? Guys that hot don't come around very often! You have to bite this in the hind end!"

"You mean nip it in the bud?" asked Makoto, knowing Minako's horrible memory for sayings.

"Same thing," Minako shrugged. "Besides, it's not like there are fangirls to stop you or something."

"Actually," Ami replied. "I think there might be."

"Huh?" the three girls blinked.

Knowing that she'd better explain or get pestered for it, Ami began, "Well, I'm not entirely sure but I do know Ryuki and Ichijyo's last names. I'm not sure where but I know I've heard them before. I'll have to search but I just know I've heard them."

"What about Yoshi-kun?" asked Makoto.

"Well, I'm sure I've heard his name before," Ami replied. "He's someone who gets published into several scientific journals because of some of his inventions. I've read some mentions of him in some of the more serious cases of mutation thanks to radiation."

"You mean he messes with nuclear weapons?!" Usagi gaped.

"Oh no!" Ami denied. "Never with weapons. Well, unless he thinks there's a good reason. The works I've read about usually deal with using an alternate fuel source. Despite the numerous failures he's had with it, he still gets back up and keeps going. I can't help but be inspired."

Despite the girls trying to keep the conversation silent, Takada could still hear them thanks to his heightened sense of hearing. When he heard Ami explaining a little about their names, he couldn't help but grin. Ryuki had managed to notice the smile.

"Takada-san?" Ryuki blinked. "What are you smiling about?"

"Oh, just the fact that Ami-chan knows a little about our names," Takada replied.

"What?" Ichijyo asked sternly. "What exactly does she know?"

"Nothing important," Takada shrugged. "She's just heard you and Leo's last names before but she's not sure where. Now me, on the other hand, have been found in medical texts and other scientific journals on inventions and such."

"I'm not surprised," Ichijyo sighed. "With the amount of destruction and mutations you've caused, we should have a whole book on new ways of treating radiation poisoning. I'm surprised that you aren't sterile by now."

"Ha!" Takada smirked. "You only think I don't prepare for that!"

"...I'm not even going to answer that," Ichijyo grimaced. "In fact, I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear you say that and I'll be happier for it."

"Sure, Scaleface," Takada sighed, before brightening up. "Anyhow, Ami-chan says that I inspire her. Maybe I should try to 'inspire' her a little more."

A whack to the back of the head from Ichijyo was his answer, "You just met the girl five minutes ago! Don't you have any shame?"

Takada, rubbing the back of his head, merely grinned, "Hey, when looking for love, there's no time like the present. Besides, with us living next door to that Makoto girl, I bet we'll be seeing those girls a lot."

"No thank you, Mutt," Ichijyo muttered. He wasn't the romantic type, at least not an open one. The last relationship he had ended quite sadly. He just didn't want to endure that kind of pain anymore. He rubbed the spot on his chest where his heart was. 'Misha…'

Ryuki, of course, was only happy to make new friends. He just hoped that Takada and Ichijyo's constant arguing wouldn't drive the girls away.

"Here we are," Makoto said to the three boys. "Your apartment, boys."

Ichijyo walked over and said to Makoto, "Thank you," before turning to the door, unlocking it and then opening it up to quickly enter it. The girls looked on curiously.

"What's his problem?" Minako asked.

"Oh, he's the anti-social Goth type," Takada replied, "You get used to it. He's a jerk most of the time."

"But," Ryuki added, "He's a very good friend once you get to know him. I believe, deep down, he cares about others."

"Takada, Hasuma, get in NOW!" Ichijyo called them from inside the apartment.

"Well, we'll be seeing you ladies!" Takada saluted.

"Ja ne," Ryuki bowed before both teenage boys carried their luggage into their apartment and then locking the door.

"Hey, what's the deal, Shadow?" Takada asked Ichijyo, using his nickname.

"I don't think it's a good idea for us to associate ourselves with those girls," Ichijyo warned his two companions.

Ryuki, curiously, asked, "Why?"

"Yeah, why?" Takada demanded.

Ichijyo cursed himself. He'd kept his secret of being the Vampangel from them for nearly a year and had not gotten the chance to tell them. Well, there was that incident when Takada was obsessed in proving he was a vampire (he was half right anyway) but he'd given that up soon after. Right now, Ichijyo was trying to justify his distrust towards the 4 girls they'd just met.

"The blonde one with pig-tails," Ichijyo began, "Her aura was strange, as were her friends'."

"Their auras?" Takada questioned, quirking an eyebrow skeptically.

Ichijyo sighed and explained, "I'm an empath, remember? I can sense emotions, auras too, and I can sense that those three have abnormal auras."

"Good or bad?" Ryuki asked.

"Well, they are certainly not malevolent," Ichijyo answered.

"So, what's the problem?" Takada asked.

"Their auras just felt different to me. Not human but certainly not in-human."

Takada just rolled his eyes, "Okay, listen, you're an empath and I believe you, but I think it's better if we get to know these girls before jumping into any conclusions."

"I agree," Ryuki nodded, "I mean I know that you're concerned about us, Ichijyo-san, but I do believe you are being a little paranoid."

Ichijyo just hissed and turned away from them, "Fine, do what you want. I'm going to unpack."

"I think I'm going to take a look around town," Takada suggested before turning towards Ryuki, "What about you, kid?"

"Maybe a jog around town would be nice," Ryuki replied.

Ichijyo had left them, scowling, as he went to the room he'd chosen for himself. The rest of his things would be arriving shortly, as were Takada and Ryuki's things. He'd wait for them. He wasn't an outdoor person, really.

The 4 girls, meanwhile, were discussing about the 3 boys when Ami finally realized where she'd heard Ryuki and Ichijyo's surnames. She had to be sure, so she retrieved the Mercury Computer and began searching for their names.

"It's all here," Ami said as she pulled up the files on her computer. There were three sets of pictures depicting Ryuki, Ichijyo and Takada. Ami clicked on Ichijyo's file, "It says here that Ichijyo Desmond Amakusa is the CEO of Smart Brain Tokyo and heir to Smart Brain Corporation."

"A CEO!?" Minako cried in shock.

"The youngest too," Ami added.

"Um…what's Smart Brain?" Usagi asked in confusion, scratching her head.

Ami sighed, "Smart Brain is an international and well known technologies company. In fact, it's one of the most world leading companies that design and distribute new technology for the masses. I know because I often buy some of their products."

"What about Takada?" Makoto asked and Ami clicked on the file as well.

"Yoshiyuki Takada is old enough to be in high school but he also has a pretty high IQ and has been experimenting with plutonium as an alternative fuel source. However…" Ami continued hesitantly, "nearly all of his plutonium based inventions end up causing some sort of incident or malfunctions and explodes immediately after activation. One such incident actually caused him to be banned from his school Science Fair. He's still doing his research and is being funded by Smart Brain…"

"You mean he IS in High School?" asked Usagi. It wasn't like Ami to mispronounce something.

"Um...no," Ami read. "It says here that he was suspended for a year after one of his experiments exploded. It was quite the disaster,"

The other three girls sweatdropped at the announcement.

"And what about that cutie Ryuki?" Minako asked with a grin.

"Well, as for Ryuki, he's the heir to a martial arts school known as 'The Hasuma School of Fighting Arts'." This information made Makoto smile a bit. So he was a martial artist. That meant they had something in common. Relationships always needed to have common ground to get started on. "He's also the son of fashion mogul Emiko Narukawa Hasuma."

"HE'S WHAT!?" Minako and Usagi shouted.

"Are you telling me his mom is one of the most famous fashion designers on the planet?" Minako was able to say while recovering from her shock. "I've seen some of her designs in fashion magazines. Heck, I even bought some."

"Mamo-chan once took me to one of those fashion shows too. We even saw her," Usagi said, still a bit in shock.

"And this is her son?" both girls cried out while looking at the picture.

"Correct," Ami nodded. She wasn't into fashion, but such information was surprising. "All three of them attend the Red Horse Private Institution, one of the biggest schools in the country. The tuition is also very expensive and only the lucky ones get a full scholarship. Ryuki and Ichijyo's families obviously paid for it while Takada was funded. I've always wanted to go there, but my family couldn't afford it."

"They're all so dreamy…and two of them are rich!" Minako giggled. "We should go talk to them more often."

"It's a good thing they're my neighbors," Makoto said happily.

"Yeah!" Minako laughed in agreement.

"But, what are they doing in Juuban?" Usagi asked. "Ami, do you know?"

"Well…" Ami was looking at a news report, "Well, it says here that there was an explosion that blew up half of a building at the school, an explosion caused by a faulty experiment that involved…plutonium." Ami blinked. Takada's handiwork, no doubt, "So, while they are repairing the building, students are temporarily being transferred to other schools."

"You think we might see them in school?" Makoto asked.

"Possibly," Ami nodded.

"I wish I went to your school," Minako groaned.

"We could make them feel welcomed," Usagi said to her friends.

Ryuki had gotten his jogging clothes together and was going through the streets at a moderate pace. As he was, he was looking at the buildings and such, exploring in his own way. He had to admit, the town seemed to be very nice and peaceful. It was times like this that made it a little hard to believe that the town was constantly attacked by various monsters and as rescued just as often by the Sailor Senshi. Ryuki remembered that he still had to get a picture of them for his mother.

Ryuki's jog continued on until he was running through the park. His mind was on what he would do now that he was living in the town and if he could help the Sailor Senshi against the youma. He had been too distracted to notice at first, but he finally noticed someone sitting at a table that was placed at the side of the path. He was just sitting there with his eyes staring into nowhere. He had short black hair and was wearing a blue coat with a white shirt underneath. He was also wearing a pair of blue slacks. He seemed a little older than Ryuki as well.

"Watch your step," the boy spoke as Ryuki came closer. "You just might find a surprise."

Ryuki slowed his pace a little when he heard what the boy had to say. It was something rather odd for anyone to say. What surprise? Watch his step? The path was clear ahead as far as he could see. Ryuki had taken a couple of steps forward before a wet squish was heard coming from underneath his foot. Ryuki stopped in his tracks and slowly looked to his shoe. He found himself looking at a wad of dirty gum stuck to the bottom of it.

"Told you so," the boy calmly commented from his seat.

"Uh...thanks...I guess," Ryuki spoke as he looked at the wad of gum. It almost made him want to gag. "Uh...is there anywhere where I can wash my shoe off?"

The boy calmly pointed behind him and Ryuki saw a public restroom.

"Thanks," Ryuki nodded before he headed towards the restroom.

The boy just watched Ryuki go. After a moment he took out a coin and flipped it into the air. He watched it come down before he grabbed it and held it in his palm. It was heads up.

"Things will become quite interesting," he spoke before pulling out a blue deck case which had the symbol of Pisces on the front. "Quite interesting."

A short while later, Ryuki came out of the restroom while slipping his shoe back on. When he finally got it back on and stood up straight, he saw that the boy was gone, along with his table. The Knight of the Dragon was now slightly confused.

"How long was I in there?" he asked himself.

Ichijyo sighed as he read one of his novels in the apartment he shared with Takada and Ryuki. His two roommates were out on the town and he had been waiting for the movers to get their things to the apartment. That had been over a half-hour ago. The movers had come practically after Takada and Ryuki left the room. The movers definitely knew what they were doing since the furniture and other belongings had been placed and it soon looked like Ichijyo, Takada, and Ryuki had been living there for some time already. All that was missing was the two boys themselves.

"Those two had better be keeping out of trouble," Ichijyo sighed as he turned the page to his book.

A sharp knocking caught his attention while he was reading. Heaving an annoyed sigh, Ichijyo stood up and walked to the door. After brief moment of considering whether or not he really wanted to answer, he succumbed to his British upbringing and opened the door to his guest.

"Hello!" came a unified cry.

Ichijyo found himself looking at the smiling faces of Usagi, Minako, Makoto, and Ami. The Snake Knight felt a slight twitch in his eyebrow, but he knew that he had no real excuse to be rude. Their auras still bothered him, especially his vampire side, but it was survivable. Perhaps their ancestors were demon hunters or something. It would explain a lot for their auras. Many demon hunters reached something beyond human when they fought against demons and other monsters which hid in the dark.

"Tsukino-san, Kino-san, Mizuno-san, Aino-san," Ichijyo greeted politely. "How may I help you?"

"We just thought that we'd give you a proper welcome to Juuban," Usagi smiled brightly.

"Did you now?" asked Ichijyo. He had to give these girls points for enthusiasm.

"Yep!" Minako nodded. "Can we come in?"

Ichijyo heaved a tired sigh, "Sure."

The girls all entered the apartment and began making their own observations on how everything was placed. Makoto was the last one in and she had a plate filled with brownies. She had a bright smile on her face as she held them out to Ichijyo.

"I made them myself," she smiled. "I really hope you like them."

"Uh...sure," Ichijyo nodded as he took the plate. 'Ryuki must NEVER get his hands on these!'

Makoto gave a cute smile before she went to the living room with the others. Resigning himself to his fate for now, Ichijyo went to make some tea. As much as he wanted to get them the hell out of the apartment, he knew that he couldn't be rude. Sure, their aura creeped him out like nothing else, but it wasn't evil so he had no real reason to act on it. Add in the fact that they were all ladies and he pretty much had his arms tied. It was times like this that he wished he hadn't adapted to being a gentleman so well.

Takada was exploring the town in his own way. He had been checking out the good places to go. To him, good places were mostly places where he could meet lots of cute girls. One of the places where he thought he had the best chances was at a place called the Crown Arcade. Inside was more or less like any arcade, but he had to admit that the place was really good. There was an area set for people to eat while there were other spots for playing games.

Takada's mind instantly went into his 'girl hunting' mode. There were plenty of cute girls around. A lot of them seemed a little younger than him. He noticed this one girl with short purple hair which definitely had the potential to become a real hottie. Sadly, that wasn't now. Takada was girl crazy, but he definitely wasn't a cradle-snatcher. However, the hot blonde tomboy and her equally hot friend with the aquamarine hair were well within his preference for age of women.

He quickly began his move as he walked towards the bar where the three girls were sitting. He took a seat one stool away from the aquamarine girl. He didn't want to be too close to stifle her and he didn't want to be too far away to be off her radar. He just wanted to be in her sights, but not seen as dangerous. It was hard earned knowledge that if you tried too hard to get a girl then she could bring hell down on your head. Like angry boyfriends or legal action. Being too far would cause her to ignore you and brush you off. But the magic number was right in the middle where she would consider you and possibly take interest but still feel safe with the distance between them.

Step two was trying to find a way into their conversation. Sure, he could try a pickup line but there was a time and place for everything. The aquamarine girl and her friend seemed to be in high school and probably had been dealt a number of sleazy pickup lines already. Takada had to take this slow and maturely. Otherwise he wouldn't get a date with either of the two. He wouldn't try both at the same time though. As much fun as that had been last time, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty about it and when they had found out; he felt a lot of pain. Thankfully he had the power of immortality on his side.

After speaking with the girls as tolerably as he could, the door of the apartment opened. Ichijyo let out a breath of relief to see Ryuki coming back into the apartment while taking off his jogging shoes and slipping on the house slippers. As he came in, he noticed the girls in the living room.

"Oh, I didn't know we had guests," Ryuki spoke up as the girls turned to smile at him.

'More like pests!' Ichijyo hissed in his mind. He was trying to remain polite but these girls' auras were driving his insides crazy! Also, they were too bubbly for his taste. He'd had enough of that from his own mother and sister! He remembered how affectionate his mother could be and was reminded of his sore ribs from her hugs. Yes, he loved the woman, but she still had to learn there was such a thing as personal space.

"Welcome to our home, Kino-san, Aino-san, Tsukino-san and Mizuno-san," Ryuki bowed. "Forgive me if I'm a little sweaty. I was just out taking a jog. Let me get cleaned up first, alright?"

"OK!" Minako said cheerfully, "And please call me Minako."

"Just call me Makoto."

"Ami would be fine."

"All my friends call me Usagi!"

Ryuki, nodded, and went to get a change of clothing before going to the bathroom to take a shower. Ichijyo, alarmed, however was thinking, 'Don't leave me alone!' He then remembered the plate of brownies Makoto had brought along. Somehow, he would have to hide them before Ryuki got to them, or else…Ichijyo shuddered at the thought. Luckily they had tranquilizers for such an occasion, but he hoped that they wouldn't have to come to that if they could avoid it. Throwing the brownies away was an option, but that would be rude. So, he concluded that he could just give them to Takada. The mutt couldn't resist tasty treats from cute girls.

The girls had been asking Ichijyo numerous questions about himself in an effort to get to know him. Yes, he could be cold if he wanted to, but one of the lessons his father had taught him was to put on a polite front in public. It made for good PR when managing a company like Smart Brain and as CEO of Smart Brain Tokyo, Ichijyo had put on a 'mask' several times…just like now.

Where was a Mirror Monster attack when you needed one?

Takada massaged his reddening cheek where a red bruise was forming. He had attempted to flirt with the aquamarine haired girl but the blonde-tomboy decked him in the face. He then got the message that the two girls were lesbians and a couple. To be honest though, how was he supposed to know that before it was too late? It wasn't like they were terribly obvious about it. He walked out of the place with as much of his dignity still intact before he began to walk around town some more for someplace else with cute girls but cooler tempers.

He then looked up to see someone blocking his path. He had black hair, a white shirt, blue coat and matching blue slacks. It wasn't the appearance of the person that had shocked him, but what he was holding in his hand…a rectangular blue case with a gold symbol of Pisces…Takada knew immediately who was in front of him. It was another Zodiac Knight! What was surprising was that this guy just took out his deck, telling Takada, who was also a Zodiac Knight, who he was.

This was a challenge!

Walking slowly towards the boy, Takada withdrew his own Zodiac Deck, ready to do battle at the slightest provocation. As he stepped closer, he noticed that his opponent's eyes were glowing. It unnerved Takada slightly. If movies and his mutations were anything to go by, glowing eyes were always a bad thing.

"Right on time," the boy spoke up. "I had foreseen your arrival. I am glad of it."

"Huh?" Takada blinked. "What do you mean?"

"In one minute, two lovers will exit the arcade with their adopted daughter," the boy continued to explain. "I believe it was the blonde who gave you that punch to the face and the aquamarine girl. The purple-haired girl will accompany them."

Takada flinched at the memory. It wasn't like he knew what was going on between them. He would have apologized if the blonde wasn't too busy trying to pound him into hamburger for hitting on her girlfriend.

"They will walk across the road when they exit so to get to their car," the boy spoke. "When they get to the sidewalk a Mirror Monster will attack them. I would appreciate the help in defeating it."

"Yeah right," Takada grumbled. "I can recognize a challenge when I see it. Why else would you have your deck out in the open?"

"My Zodiac Power is foresight," the boy explained. "It allows me to see into the future."

Takada bit his lip. He couldn't really argue with that. If the guy was telling the truth then he was actually here to prevent three innocent people from becoming Mirror Monster chow. Takada knew that this may be a trick just to earn his trust and lure him into the Mirror World, but he wasn't about to risk lives on that. Resigning himself, he waited for the events that were foretold.

He internally cursed as he recognized the trio of girls exiting the arcade. So far, the boy was proving to be right. They didn't even try to walk down the street but instead went across the road. Takada felt his gut clench when he saw this. The boy was proving to be correct so far.

"How long until this Mirror Monster attacks?" Takada asked worriedly.

"It will appear when they get to the other side," the boy replied, getting tense. "I don't recognize it either so that is why I wanted your help. Hopefully you will."

Takada felt his adrenaline beginning to pump as the trio came closer to the opposite side of the road. His grip tightened around his deck as he waited for the undeniable sound of a Mirror Monster crossing the divide between the two worlds. His eyes followed the three females walking across the road and he held his breath as they managed to get to the sidewalk.

Takada instantly flinched as the ringing sound invaded his ears. He turned to the other boy and saw that he was rubbing his ears as well. Acting quickly, they both held their deck cases to the glass window behind them. Their belts faded into existence around their waists. As they did this, a window on the opposite side of the street started to quiver like water. The three young women had no idea what was happening as they continued to walk. Takada and the boy started dashing towards them in hopes of keeping the creature away from the trio.

"Zodiac Force! Dog!"

"Zodiac Force! Pisces!"

Both Knights snapped their decks onto the sides of their belts. The crystals in the buckles lit up before the two boys were enveloped in light. When it dimmed, the two boys were donned in their Zodiac Knight armor. Pluto's was the same as ever, but the other boy's was different.

His armor was blue and white with fins sticking out of the shoulder guards and boots. His Zodiac symbol was inside a golden circle planted in the middle of his chestplate. There were gold extensions sticking out of the four corners of it. His helmet had fins flanking it and a fin at the top. There was also a Y-shaped visor which he could see through. He was also wearing an armguard that was shaped like a hammerhead shark. The armor was worn over a black bodysuit. This was Zodiac Knight Jawz.

While the transformation was happening, the Mirror Monster had decided to make its appearance. It was mostly black with gray bits of armor on its chest, arms, and legs. It had long black cords coming out of its back that looked a lot like hair. Its face was covered by a metal mask with three holes on it that was similar to a hockey mask. It also had two insect-like wings attached to its back.

Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru found themselves caught by surprise by the sudden appearance of the Mirror Monster. Haruka made a silent growl as she positioned herself in front of her lover and daughter. It wasn't enough that some punk tried to make a move on Michiru, but now another Mirror Monster had to try and make a meal out of one or all three of them.

"Damn," she hissed. "We can't transform out here!"

"Then we'll have to lure it to someplace that we can." Michiru reasoned. There was a dark look in her eyes that Haruka recalled she only had when someone she cared about was in danger or they were facing a real evil piece of work. No doubt she was just itching to bring justice down on the Mirror Monsters for the lives they'd taken.

Suddenly, the trio heard a loud screech that came from above. Looking up, Haruka, Michiru and Hotaru's eyes all widened as they saw a large bat coming down with its wings spread. It then glided down and barely missed them before it smashed into the black Mirror Monster, sending it reeling.

"Another one!?" Haruka shouted as she watched the bat circle the air before gliding down again. It flapped its wings before coming down and then two armored figures stepped into view.

The three Senshi recognized Pluto from their first encounter, except he was without his cape. The blue and white was new to them, however.

"Need help, ladies?" Pluto said as he drew his sword. The bat flapped its wings and perched itself onto the Knights' shoulders before morphing into a cape. The girls gasped. They had no idea that Pluto had a Mirror Monster on him the whole time.

The Mirror Monster got back to its feet and chirped angrily like a cricket before reaching to its back. It pulled its wings off, revealing them to be swords. It then charged at the duo of Knight. It swung down its blades but Pluto blocked them with his own sword before giving it a hard kick in the midsection. Pluto turned his attention to the blue and white Knight.

"Aren't you going to help?" Pluto asked as the Mirror Monster got back to its feet to charge again. The two fought with their swords like equals as sparks began to fly. Pluto ducked under a swipe for his head and then gave the Mirror Monster a vicious uppercut.

The blue and white Knight just flipped a coin before catching it in his palm. His visor glowed for a second and he nodded. "I foresee," he began, "that you will achieve victory on your own."

Pluto groaned before he sheathed his sword and took a card out of his deck. He then slipped it into the hilt of his weapon.

"Sword Vent: Wing Lancer!"

As if by some unknown force, a long black lance fell from the sky and landed in Pluto's hands.

"Copy Vent!"

Pluto whirled around to his fellow Knight and his eyes widened at what he saw. Grasped in the other Knight's hand was an exact copy of the Wing Lancer that Pluto often used himself. He gazed at the Knight with something akin to curiosity.

"I may have foreseen a victory for you yourself," he spoke. "However, that does not mean I will sit here and do nothing while you risk your life fighting this beast."

Pluto shrugged before he returned his attention to the Mirror Monster. He then started swinging and stabbing his newly acquired weapon at the Mirror Monster. He then stabbed the tip of his lance to the ground before jumping up and then swinging his leg to catch it in the face. His cape then spread out into a pair of black bat wings before he took flight. The Mirror Monster was then pierced by the lance and brought high up into the air. It struggled but then Pluto then swung down his weapon, causing the creature to fall hard onto the ground, creating a crater on impact. Jawz only watched calmly as he crossed his arms.

"Brutal," Jawz commented. "But I suppose it befits the situation."

Jawz twirled the Wing Lancer before lunging forward at the Mirror Monster. The Mirror Monster buzzed angrily as it tried to get its bearings back. Jawz wouldn't give it the opportunity as he began slashing away at it. The Mirror Monster couldn't even get its blades up before getting slashed repeatedly. The repetitive attacks forced the creature to drop its blades. Jawz stopped his attack as he saw the blades fall to the ground. Jawz acted quickly and kicked them away. He looked up to see Pluto still hovering in the sky by means of Darkwing.

"All yours," Jawz remarked as he took several steps back.

"Right, now to finish this!" Pluto announced before sliding a new card into his sword. "Final Vent!"

Michiru, Haruka and Hotaru could only watch as Pluto flew high into the air before stopping and then pointing the tip of his lance down. As he descended, his cape wrapped around him and began spinning like a drill.

"DEADLY IMMORTAL'S DRILL!"

The Mirror Monster looked up and then tried to make its escape, but Pluto was too quick for it. He came down in an instant, striking the Mirror Monster like divine heavenly justice before and explosion erupted. The girls shielded their eyes from the flash. They then opened their eyes to see Pluto with his cape blowing in the air and standing in a circle of flames. A bright energy orb rose up from the circle and as soon as that happened, the cape dislodged itself from Pluto and changed back into the bat, Darkwing. Darkwing then flew at the orb and swallowed it. Pluto looked to see the girls safe but Jawz had vanished. He shook his head and began to walk away.

"Wait!" came a cry. Pluto stopped in his tracks and turned. He found himself looking at the purple-haired girl and the two older girls. The two oldest were looking at him with either curious glances or cold observation, just daring him to try a funny move.

Darkwing screeched loudly before it connected back onto Pluto and became a cape again. Pluto then began to speak, "Can I help you?"

"Um," Hotaru gulped. She exhaled a breath for a moment before bowing deeply to him. "Thank you for saving us."

Pluto found himself caught off guard for a moment. It wasn't often that someone thanked a Zodiac Knight for saving them. Usually the people they saved ran off screaming because of the giant monsters that hung around them.

"Uh...you're welcome," Pluto nodded.

"But who was that other guy?" asked Michiru, wanting to know about the new Zodiac Knight.

"Dunno," Pluto shrugged. "Never met him before. Now, if you'll excuse me."

Pluto's cape morphed back into a pair of wings before he took off into the sky. None of the three Senshi in civilian form tried to follow him. They had enough information for now.

Takada grumbled to himself as he made it back to the apartment. His day had been getting steadily worse when he took the time to think about it. He met a bunch of cuties to begin but then when he tried to get to another one, her girlfriend tried to punch his lights out. Worse than that, there was another Zodiac Knight in town and he knew next to nothing about him. He just silently asked himself just what else was going to happen before he went to bed tonight.

"Tadaima," he sighed as he walked into the door.

He peered into the living room of the apartment and he saw four familiar cute girls that had shown him and his friends to the apartment in the first place. A small grin came to his face. His day was beginning to look up. The girls were seated around the table while Ichijyo was in his own seat. Ryuki was sitting on the arm of a couch where Ami, Minako, Makoto, and Usagi were sitting.

"Hello, Mutt," Ichijyo commented, feeling some amusement at seeing a bruise on his friends face. He could only hope that it came from what he thought it was. "What happened? Did a girl not like what she heard?"

"More like her girlfriend," Takada muttered under his breath. His good mood was beginning to take a nosedive. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Her girlfriend?" asked Ryuki. "Did I hear that right?"

"I SAID I don't want to talk about it," Takada huffed as he stalked his way to the kitchen.

"Oh, I get it," Ichijyo snickered. "You hit on a lesbian right in front of her girlfriend, didn't you?"

"Well, that was a nice secret I was hoping to keep," Takada groaned.

The girls were looking to each other in slight confusion. Ryuki was just as confused as the girls were at was happening. Minako was hoping for some juicy details and maybe try to weasel her way into tending Takada's wound.

"Oh, please tell me you got their names," Ichijyo snickered. "I'll send them a congratulations card for being so faithful and protective of each other."

"I think their names were Haruka and Michiru," Takada shrugged. He figured he might as well humor the snake.

"WHAT?!" the girls gaped. Some were louder than others.

"Oh, you know them?" asked Ryuki in genuine curiosity.

"Maybe," replied Ami. "Was one more feminine looking with shoulder length aquamarine hair while the other had short blonde hair and tomboyish looking?"

"Wow," Takada blinked. "That was them exactly. Anyway, I would have apologized if the blonde wasn't too busy trying to knock my block off."

"That's Haruka alright," Usagi giggled. "She's very protective of Michiru. I doubt you were the first guy who got that treatment from her."

"So I wasn't the first," Takada sighed. "I'm not sure if that's supposed to make me feel better or not."

Meanwhile, Haruka, Michiru and Hotaru were talking to Setsuna about their latest encounter with the Zodiac Knights.

"You mean another Zodiac Knight appeared with Pluto?" Setsuna asked.

"Yeah," Haruka nodded. "We didn't get a name, but it was obvious that Pluto didn't know him."

"Really?" asked Setsuna. "How?"

"Well, Pluto was just as surprised when this other Knight managed to copy his weapon," Michiru explained. "Pluto also admitted that he had never met this Knight before."

"I see," Setsuna nodded. "That might mean that several Zodiac Knights might be making an appearance soon."

"Great," Haruka sighed. She looked Setsuna squarely in the eye. "You mentioned that thirteen of the Zodiac Knights are good and thirteen of them are evil. What I want to know is which of the ones we know are evil?"

"I told you that the three from before were good, didn't I?" Setsuna asked, keeping her patience.

"Yeah, but you mentioned that they aren't part of your jurisdiction either, right?" Haruka pressed.

Setsuna leaned back into her chair as she tried to remain calm. The first three Zodiac Knights were enough of a shock, but the problem was increasing. Another Zodiac Knight had appeared along with another Mirror Monster. She was trying to figure out just what was going on. Zodiac magic was ancient and the closest to godlike that was around in this modern age and even it had extreme limits put on it to make sure the rules of the competition weren't broken. The magic the Sailor Senshi wielded was mighty, but the powers of the Zodiac was much stronger if used by someone like Libra, therefore the Knights wouldn't be able to sense the magic unless they were close. There was always the possibility of the Mirror Monsters searching for the magic, but that was a loose theory at best.

"Setsuna-mama?" asked Hotaru, catching the older woman's attention.

"Hm?" Setsuna blinked, coming back to the present. "Oh, sorry. I was just thinking for a moment."

"Okay," Haruka huffed impatiently. "And do you have an answer to my question?"

"Yes," Setsuna replied. She then heaved a breath, knowing that her extended family was not going to like the news. "I can see a few answers for your question Haruka. One is that Draco, Pluto, and Shadowcobra are on the good side as is this new Knight. Of course that is in a best case scenario."

"I sense there are darker ones," Michiru spoke up. Her words weren't a question.

"Yes," Setsuna nodded. "Those three could be evil and the fourth good or even the opposite. However, the worst case would be that all four are evil but working in different ways which makes them enemies to each other as well as us. I am convinced though that the first three are on our side."

"There is a bright side after all," Haruka snickered sourly. "Well, despite all that, that Knight Shadowcobra just rubs me the wrong way, you know?"

"Understandable, I suppose," Setsuna shrugged. "He didn't seem to quite fit the heroic stereotype, did he?"

"Setsuna-mama," Hotaru spoke up again. "Isn't there any way for us to find out if the new Knight is good or evil?"

"No," Setsuna replied. "I cannot follow any of the Knights with the Gates if Time because, like I said, they are beyond my jurisdiction. I was lucky to get the general information that I have and was even more fortunate to be allowed to tell it to you."

"So you can't tell us if we should beware of more Knights or not?" Michiru asked with a tone of disappointment.

"No," Setsuna replied simply. 'But I know who I can ask.'

Later that night, a dark figure appeared to leap out of the nearby window. Its silhouette was cast upon a wall by a lamppost and its most defining features were a pair of small points on the head that resembled cat ears. The dark figure purred as its red eyes scanned the area.

"He's here…" the figure snarled, in a feminine voice, "And there are others…powers to collect and to make mine."

To Be Continued...