Chapter 4: Making New Friends

Shadowcobra had re-entered the Mirror World to see that the Des-Spider had not left. It was too worked up from the fight to leave. Good. Smirking under his helmet, the Knight of Invisibility decided it was time to finish the monster off. Pulling a card out from his deck case, he drew out his staff and slid the card inside.

"Final Vent!"

The Des-Spider immediately took notice of the purple-clad Knight and with a hiss charged right at him. Shadowcobra predicted that this would happen. Behind him, Genosnaker had appeared. The Knight of Invisibility dashed towards the giant spider as his contract monster slithered behind.

"GENOCIDE CRUSH!!"

Taking a leap into the air, Shadowcobra flipped his body backwards before Genosnaker leaned backwards and then opened its mouth, spewing a torrent of acidic venom out of its mouth. The stream of poison propelled Shadowcobra forward who then began to swings his legs in a bicycle kick, slamming them into the Des-Spider repeatedly. Combined with the paralyzing and corrosive effects of Genosnaker's venom, the Des-Spider could not defend itself as one last kick propelled it backwards before it exploded in a flaming cloud.

Shadowcorbra landed with both feet on the ground and watched as the glowing orb of energy rose up. Genosnaker was quick to swallow it and licked its reptilian lips in satisfaction. The snake monster bowed its head down and Shadowcobra petted it, listening to it hiss in approval. As Shadowcobra turned to leave, he saw something.

Actually, it was someone.

It was a Knight clad in blue and white armor, bearing the symbol of Pisces on his chest. The helmet and visor hid his face but that was of no concern to Shadowcobra. Shadowcobra remembered him from Takada's description.

Another Knight meant another adversary and another step closer towards the prize. Ryuki and Takada didn't even need to know.

Shadowcobra got ready to fight but felt perplexed when the other Knight didn't even make a move. Instead, the other Knight began to speak.

"Your heart and fate will soon be intertwined with one of the princesses," the other Knight spoke.

Shadowcobra was confused. "Pardon?" The other Knight didn't elaborate and began walking away. "Wait!" Shadowcobra was about to give chase but then felt a tingling sensation. Looking at his armored hand, he hissed in agitation. "Out of time already? Damn!" He decided to just leave this matter for now and exit the Mirror World.

Back in her room, Hotaru was lying on her bed, on her stomach, gazing at the card she had in her hand. It belonged to that purple cobra Knight. She remembered that he called himself Shadowcobra. It was strange though. Why would he have a card with a rhino on it?

Hotaru sighed. She was unable to thank him properly and now had one of his cards in her hand. She had to find a way to return it. Maybe she could wait and a monster would attack. From what Setsuna had told her, these Zodiac Knights showed up when these Mirror Monsters appeared. Maybe she'd get her chance then.

She began to envision him being grateful and blushed. Was she developing a crush on the Snake Knight? If she did, should she tell anyone? Her papa and mama didn't seem to like the Snake Knight. Well, her papa most of all, but Setsuna told them he was one of the good ones.

Yawning, she placed the card onto her desk and then closed her eyes. She'd think about it tomorrow. Maybe she would talk about it with Rini too. She could always keep a secret if she thought it was important. She would definitely want to hear about what had happened to her.

As Hotaru slowly drifted off to sleep, she thought she could hear a very faint ringing in her ears. It was so soft she could ignore it and she did so. Of course, if she had opened her eyes she would have seem the real version of the monster depicted in the card in her vanity mirror. It didn't look like it wished to harm her and thus silently took vigil over the sleeping girl.

Takada awoke to the sweet smell of pancakes being cooked and he smiled. "Looks like the kid made pancakes. Great." The young genius was out of bed in a flash and throwing his clothes on so he could get to breakfast first. As he began walking towards the kitchen, he bumped into his red haired friend.

"Oh, sorry, Takada-san," Ryuki apologized. He still had trouble dropping the '-san' from his speech when referring to close friends. Though he did refer to them at times without it, most of the time he'd slip back into the habit to be polite.

"Say, aren't you cooking pancakes?" Takada asked. Ryuki shook his head. Takada just blinked as he started to reach a new conclusion. If Ryuki wasn't cooking, then that could only mean…

Takada darted into the kitchen to see the most unusual sight! There was Ichijyo, already in dressed, standing at the stove and cooking! He never cooked! Pancakes of all things!

Ichijyo took notice of Takada and said, "Breakfast will be ready shortly. Take a shower and get dressed."

Takada was struck speechless but still heard the sound of Ryuki running towards the bathroom to get cleaned up for the day. Ichijyo glanced and saw that the Dog Knight was still gaping in utter shock. As amusing as throwing the mutt off guard was, it was annoying to be stared at.

"What is the matter with you, mutt?" he sighed, hiding his amusement.

"You're cooking!" Takada cried, snapping out of his daze.

"Very observant," Ichijyo nodded. "That is what the action is generally called when someone prepares warm meals."

"But you never cook!" Takada cried a second time. "Not once since I've met you!"

"Doesn't mean I can't," Ichijyo shrugged. "Usually I have people do it for me. I'm feeling generous today so I decided to do something nice."

"You being nice," Takada sighed. He contained a small snicker in his voice. "I never thought I'd see the day. What's the occasion though? Meet a girl?"

Well, technically Takada was right. Hotaru was indeed a girl that he had met. A little young for him though. Still, he identified with the little girl. She was lonely because of something that she couldn't control and people were against her because of it, not unlike his darker heritage. Still, seeing her smile had brightened his day and knowing he might have helped alleviate some of her pain made him unusually happy.

"I just wanted to do something nice for people I consider friends," Ichijyo said. "Now, go take a shower and get dressed before these pancakes become cold."

"OK," Takada said. He suspected that maybe Ichijyo had been replaced by a nicer clone, but it didn't seem like it. It was like Ichijyo was genuinely being nice for once. This side of him was a rare treat altogether. With a shrug, Takada turned back to head to the bathroom. Ryuki would've been done by now and was already getting dressed for the day.

Of course, Ichijyo was hiding something. After he'd dealt with the Mirror Monster and exited the Mirror World, he felt something missing. He then proceeded to search through his deck to find that Metalceros contract card had gone missing. He was surprised but then remembered the girl, Hotaru, who he'd saved. He suspected that she may have the card so he decided to eventually confront her to get it back, but then remembered what she had to go through. Maybe Metalceros could help her. He had been fed well recently so he could handle himself for a while.

At Rei's temple, the 5 Inner Senshi were going over their plan. They had all come over early to do deal with an issue. They sat in a circle and in the centre were three A4 size pictures of the three boys that Ami managed to get off the internet.

"Alright, this is Operation: Make sure boys are not really evil villains trying to destroy us!" Usagi announced. Everyone looked at her in bemusement. "What?"

"That's not very imaginative, bun-head," Rei pointed out.

"Hey!"

"Should we be following them around?" Ami asked. She didn't want to, but Rei's suspicions scared her. What if Takada happened to be an enemy in disguise? As much as she disliked the idea of invading someone's privacy, this was something that had to be dealt with.

"Well, it'll give us a chance to get to know them better," Minako grinned. If the boys didn't turn out to be enemies, then this would be the perfect way to get some intel on them.

"So, who's gonna tail who?" Makoto asked.

"Alright," Usagi grinned. "Ami and Makoto will tail Takada, Rei will tail Leo, and me and Minako will tail Ichijyo."

"Why do I have to go on my own?" Rei asked.

"We drew straws, remember?" Usagi reminded. "So, is anyone in agreement? Good! Today is a day off so we will be able to follow them all day!"

"Yay!" Minako cheered.

Ryuki was stretching at the door. The breakfast, which main consisted of blackberry pancakes and cold milk, had been filling and now he was going to take a little jog around town. It was his usual morning ritual. Plus, maybe he'd be able to meet that fortuneteller guy again.

Takada and Ichijyo had similar plans. Takada was going to scope out the town for possible dating opportunities while Ichijyo was going to check out the local stores for anything goth related.

They all had a copy of the house keys so even if nobody was home, they could still get inside. Nothing to worry about.

As Ichijyo was walking through town, two people were following him. They were wearing trench coats, fedoras and sunglasses. Of course, the disguises did little to hide their long blonde hair.

"Come on," Usagi said. "We better stay on his tail."

"Hope he doesn't notice us," Minako said, concerned over their disguises.

"Relax, we're practically invisible," Usagi stated. "Now, let's go!"

Ami and Makoto watched as Takada entered the Crown Arcade. Maybe they could observe him much closely without arousing suspicion. Rei hadn't detected anything off putting about Takada, but his friends were still a concern so maybe he knew more than he was letting on.

Ryuki was jogging around town, working up a sweat as he exercised. He was too busy to even notice a raven-haired young lady was tailing him.

Rei had always possessed the ability to detect auras. Whether it was because she was a Senshi or something more inherent, she wasn't really sure. It did come in handy at times. Sure, the enemy could get around it but some of the time Rei could detect some inconsistencies within a person's aura.

The boys' auras, Ichijyo and Ryuki mostly, had felt weird to her. One had dark and light auras, while the other had a demonic aura inside of him. She needed to know if they were really enemies in disguise or not. If they were, then they had to take action.

A man with short black hair and black eyes watched the events in interest, a glow underneath his bangs. "How interesting…"

Meanwhile, Ichijyo had just entered a bookstore. He had seen something interesting in the store window and wanted to see if it was any good than the cover showed. Usagi and Minako were quick to enter after him…and had lost him due to all the bookcases, the rows and rows of bookcases.

"Great, we lost him," Minako groaned.

"He should be here somewhere," Usagi said, not quitting. "I mean, he couldn't have gotten far. Let's go."

Of course, the trench coat wearing girls were garnering a lot of attention, especially from the store owner. He was going to keep his eye on them. They could be shop-lifters.

Ami and Makoto entered the Crown Arcade. So far, from what they could see, Takada was just…playing.

He was at one of the machines, toggling the joystick and meshing the buttons while his eyes were locked on the screen. He had been there for half an hour and the amount of skill was probably great since he was gathering a crowd who was watching him as he attempted to rank up a high score at the game. From what they could see, it was a fighting game and Takada had not lost a single fight against the computer controller avatar. He had won every level with relative ease.

Of course, back at Smart Brain, the training simulators were a lot harder.

Rei had followed Ryuki to the park. He nearly spot her. Luckily, there was fortuneteller there so she quickly darted over to the fortuneteller, a rather handsome young man about Mamoru's age.

"What is it you seek?" the man asked, his haunting eyes staring at hers.

"The truth…I guess," Rei said uncertainly, blushing a little. This guy was sure handsome.

"Give me your hand," he requested and Rei did as told without question. He examined her palm with scrutinizing eyes. Of course, said eyes were glowing slightly but went unnoticed by Rei.

"You should look behind you for untold danger," he said to Rei in a warning tone. Rei blinked. What did that mean? Regardless, she paid him and was on her way. She needed to keep her eye on Ryuki without him catching on

Her target, Ryuki, stopped and jogged in place in front of the fortuneteller. The fortuneteller looked up at him, "Care to have your fortune told?" he asked.

"Okay…" Ryuki sat down, "By the way, thanks for the warning yesterday…even if it was a little late."

"It was my pleasure," the fortuneteller nodded.

"My name is Ryuki Hasuma, but my friends call me Leo," Ryuki introduced himself, holding out his hand.

"Tazuka Mizuki," Tazuka took Ryuki hand and they shook.

Rei sighed as she watched the exchange. Obviously, Ryuki hadn't shown any signs of demonic abilities. Of course, she would need to stay vigilant. There was something strange about him.

Of course, if she'd bothered to look, she would've noticed a monster staring at her hungrily. She was going to be its meal and she didn't even know it!

Ryuki cringed as the sound of ringing invaded his ear. He followed it and ran towards the direction. Tazuka was hot on his heels and in the fortuneteller's grasp was…a Zodiac Deck! "Can't be…"

Ryuki had no time to ask questions so he looked up ahead to see Rei, the same woman Tazuka had told her fortune to, being pulled by the neck into a window by a tentacle that was coming out of it. It was a Mirror World monster! She struggled against it but the tentacle was cutting off her air supply. Acting quickly, Ryuki shot a fireball at the tentacle and it then retreated back into the window, letting go of the woman in the process as she fell into a heap, unconscious due to lack of oxygen. Tazuka rushed over and checked her vital signs.

"She's alive," Tazuka said. Ryuki sighed in relief. Tazuka then stood up and held his deck out at the window. The Zodiac Deck was blue with a golden symbol of Pisces on the surface. Ryuki held out his Dragon Zodiac Deck too and their belts appeared on their waists.

"Henshin!" they both shouted.

"Zodiac Force!" Tazuka called, "Pisces!" and then he snapped it to his belt.

"Zodiac Force!" Ryuki called, "Dragon!" and then he snapped it to his belt.

Their belts burst with light as the armors appeared on their bodies in glass shards and their respective elements, encasing them, before they stood fully armored.

Ryuki admired Tazuka's fish-themed armor. He then remembered what Takada had told them about a new Knight. Based on his description, Tazuka was the Knight!

"Let's go!" Jawz shouted before both of them phased into the window and into the Mirror World.

Ichijyo leaned on a bookcase as he looked through the titles. He knew that he was being followed since he had left the apartment. They weren't that good at following him either. The voices he heard from them were definitely Minako and Usagi. He could feel their weird aura as soon as they got close enough.

"Pathetic," he sighed as he watched them walk into the store. They weren't even blending in with the stupid coats and hats. What was wrong with these girls? Everyone was training their sight on them and they weren't even noticing. If they were warriors then they weren't going to last five minutes.

"Where do you think he went?" asked Usagi.

"We'll find him," Usagi insisted. "Don't worry Mina-chan!"

Ichijyo sighed. Now they gave away their identities to whoever was listening. Spy material these girls were not. Even Ryuki was better at stealth then they were. Hell, even Takada was better at stealth. Their line of work demanded it.

Of course, Ichijyo was only interested in knowing why they were following him. Maybe he could have some fun with the two.

Like Ryuki, Ichijyo too had telekinetic abilities. Of course, Ichijyo's abilities were actually stronger than his friends. It made sense. While Ryuki had only awakened his psychic abilities several months ago, Ichijyo himself had been harnessing them and honing them for years, in addition to his shadow powers.

He glanced at the two girls who were doing a poor job at blending in. Snapping his fingers, he caused the bookcase that was closest to the two girls to shake. Suddenly, the books all came tumbling out of the bookcase and onto the girls.

"What's going on!?" Usagi shouted out as she was buried in books.

"That was a bookalanche!" Minako shouted but then gulped as she was the store owner looking at them. "Um…oops?"

Ichijyo quietly exited the store with a smirk. That had been unusually fun for him.

After clearing the final level, Takada stepped out of the Crown Arcade. Ami and Makoto had been watching him the whole time and were a little bored. He had blown away all the high scores and left a cheering section behind. Makoto seethed with jealousy when she saw several girls give him their cell phone numbers. While she wouldn't admit it, Ami was a little jealous as well.

"Where do you think he's going to go now?" Makoto wondered to herself.

"Well, perhaps he's exploring today," Ami suggested.

"We'd better stay sharp then," the tall brunette nodded. "We can't afford to lose him."

Meanwhile, Takada suddenly sneezed. He idly wondered if someone was talking about him. He just hoped it was an attractive girl that he had met. That way he could score a date that much easier. It never crossed his mind that someone might be wishing him harm.

Draco and Jawz arrived in the Mirror World, prepared to do battle. Their opponent stood before them, growling/hissing angrily. It looked like a red armored humanoid with an octopus for a head. The tentacles waved around as it glared at them. The monster's designation was Octozooka

It was angered at being denied its meal so it was going to take its anger out on the two Zodiac Knights. It made its move and shot out cannon ball sized ink balls at them. The two Knights leapt out of the way and watched as the 'ink bombs' blew up the ground behind them.

"We better make this quick," Jawz said. "You got any long ranged weaponry?"

Draco smiled under his helmet and said, "Don't really need it," as he produced a fireball before lobbing it at the monster. The monster got hit as the fireball combusted.

"Nice," Jawz complimented.

The monster howled and let loose with its tentacles, lashing at the two Knights. Draco was having trouble with dodging but Jawz was doing it easily, stepping away from the spot where each tentacle would eventually hit. It was like he'd planned it.

"Sword Vent: Red Shark Sword!" Jawz called out after drawing his card and sliding it into his shield. In an instant, a sword with a shark shaped hilt and a long and sharp blade appeared. He began swinging his weapon, slicing the tentacles as they tried to grab him.

"Sugoi…" Draco breathed out. He then watched as Jawz expertly dodged the incoming ink-bombs. The grace and gymnastic skill was excellent.

"Time we end this," Jawz said, drawing a card and sliding it into his shield. "Final Vent!"

All of a sudden, a red shark flew out from the ground under the Octozooka's feet and sent it falling backwards. Draco watched in amazement as Jawz leapt up and joined with the shark. He lay on the shark's back and gripped the fin as he pointed the sword forwards.

"DRILLING SHARK STRIKE!!"

The shark and Knight dove down towards the monster and began spinning like a drill. The monster couldn't flee in time before it got struck down and exploded from the attack. Jawz landed on the ground, watching as an energy orb rose up from the monster's remains. The red shark went after the orb and swallowed it before returning to its Knight's side.

"Good job, Overbite," Jawz said.

"Sugoi!" Draco exclaimed as he dashed over to the other Knight. "That was incredible! I've never seen a Final Vent like that!"

"Well, each Final Vent is unique to the Mirror Monster," Jawz shrugged. "I'm sure yours is impressive too."

Draco chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck. He wasn't even considering the fact that this Knight could be an enemy. He did go out of his way to rescue Rei before the Mirror Monster managed to pull her in and eat her.

"Ack! Rei-san!" Draco cried, remembering who the intended victim for the Mirror Monster was. "Gomen, but I have to go. My friend was the one being attacked."

"I understand," Jawz nodded. His visor flashed a bright blue before standing still. Draco didn't seem to notice as he turned to leave the Mirror World.

Jawz could only stand still as he watched Draco leave. He had tried to divine the future to see what would happen between Draco, his comrades, and Jawz himself, but there was a problem with his power concerning the Dragon Knight.

There were too many pathways. Draco's future was too chaotic to look at. There was no absolute concerning him and the future was unclear.

"What an interesting fellow," Jawz pondered. "He reminds me of…otouto."

Minako and Usagi were yelled at by the owner of the store before he threw them out and banned them from ever coming back. Both blondes groaned and looked to the ground. Their mission had proven to be a bust.

"I hope that teaches you two a lesson," a male voice spoke up.

Minako and Usagi gasped and looked up to see who was talking to them. Who they found was none other than Ichijyo. He had a satisfied smirk on his face and a bag of books in his lone hand.

"Ichijyo!" Minako smiled. "What a coincidence to see you here!"

"Coincidence my foot," Ichijyo frowned. "You two were following me since I left the apartment."

"How did you know it was us?" Usagi asked, genuinely surprised that they had been busted.

"Besides the fact that you just told me?" asked Ichijyo. "Well, I think anyone can notice two blondes in large coats and hats in the middle of a crowd."

"I told you the coats were too much!" Minako huffed at Usagi.

"You two weren't exactly subtle when you had that shelf of books fall down," the Snake Knight sighed, trying not to laugh about his little joke.

"Oops," both girls frowned.

"Now," Ichijyo frowned as he brought both girls to their feet. "Would either of you be willing to explain just why you were following me around? I find that sort of thing terribly annoying and I have no time for fangirls."

Both blondes gulped nervously.

"Rei-san! Rei-san!"

This was what the shrine maiden could hear as she slowly came back to the world of the living. Last thing she remembered before passing out was something wrapped around her throat and choking the life out of her. After that she felt some heat before she lost consciousness. She opened her eyes and found herself looking at Ryuki's concerned face.

"L…Leo?" she gasped out as she regained her voice.

"Hai," Ryuki nodded. "Are you okay? I found you on the ground out cold."

"Mnnn," the raven-haired young woman groaned as she slowly sat up. "Something got me from behind. I'm not sure what it was though."

"I see," Ryuki nodded. He gently took Rei's hand and brought her to her feet. She was a little wobbly for a moment before she got her balance back. "Are you sure I shouldn't take you to a doctor?"

"I'm fine, honest," Rei insisted. "I just need a little bit of rest."

"Are you sure?" Ryuki pressed. She was taking her attack amazingly well. Perhaps she hadn't seen anything after all. Others who saw what had attacked them became nervous wrecks usually.

"Yes," Rei nodded. She smiled reassuringly. "I'm just going to head home and get some rest."

"All right then," Ryuki nodded. "Do you want me to walk with you?"

Rei fought the urge to blush slightly. A cute guy walking her home was definitely something she wanted to happen to her. Her enthusiasm was tempered by the fact that she was supposed to watch him for suspicious activity. This would give her the chance to examine his aura for the demonic energy.

"Yes, please," she nodded. Ryuki smiled before he took up his stride next to Rei and they began to walk back to her home.

A few things were bothering Rei though. One was the fact that the fortuneteller she had talked to before had been right. Danger had come from behind. What was worse, the thing that had attacked her had come through a pane of glass. She knew where she was standing and no glass was broken.

She had been singled out by a Mirror Monster.

Both Ami and Makoto had been keeping an eagle eye on Takada all day. Nothing completely out of the ordinary had appeared. Takada just seemed content on walking through the district and seeing what was popular there and what wasn't. He had talked to several pretty girls and got cell phone numbers out of it for his trouble. It made Makoto jealous that those other girls thought they could just sidle up with him like they were friends. Girls like that didn't last long. It was girls like her who were real friends that got boyfriends who were keepers.

After he talked to a fair amount of girls, they followed Takada into a computer store and watch him buy new software and a bunch of computer games.

"Oh my," Ami breathed. "Those things are really expensive. They're all new releases."

"Well, I guess being a genius lets you get money opportunities," Makoto shrugged.

Takada seemed none the wiser that he was being followed. His mind was focused on the cute girls he had met on the way through the district and the new computer stuff he got. Smart Brain may have the top of the line, but backups were always handy and they never got the really good games for their computers.

Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had missed something important. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out what it could be.

Ryuki watched patiently as Rei walked to her home on the temple grounds. He felt queasy just by walking across the grounds with her. No doubt he was looking a little pale because of his little excursion.

'Aibou. I don't like this place,' Yaminekoryu groaned in sickness and pain. 'There's something here. It doesn't like me and wants me gone NOW! It isn't above asking some of the other spirits for help doing that!'

Ryuki looked up and saw a pair of crows sitting on the roof of the small house. They were staring directly at him. He could tell that they were not normal crows and had some kind of spiritual power. Rei was safely inside so she wouldn't be able to see what was happening.

"I am not a demon," Ryuki spoke slowly, trying to keep his queasiness down. "It is sealed inside me and cannot get out unless I let him."

The two crows continued to stare at him before glancing at each other. They returned their gaze to Ryuki before the queasiness in Ryuki's stomach seemed to lift a little.

'The spiritual beings here seem a little confused, but they still want me gone,' Yaminekoryu groaned. 'Best to leave before they decide to use force.'

Ryuki nodded as he walked to the exit of the Temple. The closer he got to the stairs, the lighter his sickness got. By the time he reached the stars and was heading for the street, he was feeling as if he was never sick to begin with.

"That was a very kind thing to do," a voice spoke.

Ryuki turned to see who he was speaking and found the fortuneteller who had helped him defeat the Octozooka. He was leaning on the wall and looking at Ryuki with a kind smile on his face.

"Oh, it's you again, Mizuki-san," Ryuki smiled. "I didn't know you were following me."

"Your mind was elsewhere," the boy shrugged. "Where are you heading?"

"Home I suppose," Ryuki shrugged. "Do you wish to come? Ichijyo-san and Takada-san should be home soon anyway."

"The Knight of the Dog and the Knight of the Snake," the boy smiled. "I met them both in battle but never saw their faces. I suppose visiting would be good."

"Okay," Ryuki smiled. "It will be good to have another Zodiac Knight to hang out with."

The boy smiled warmly at Ryuki's enthusiasm. He stood up properly and decided to introduce himself, "Before I forget to mention, I am also known as Zodiac Knight Jawz; Knight of Pisces and Clairvoyance." He added, "And please, call me Tazuka."

As Hotaru whistled on her way towards her friend's home, the bullies from the other day had showed up to cause more trouble for her. They were grinning maliciously at her, which sent shivers of fear down her spine.

"Now nobody is gonna help you, freak," one of the bullies said. Hotaru ran. "Get her!"

Hotaru ran as fast as she could, panting. She wasn't exactly a healthy person and didn't have much stamina. She sometimes wasn't well coordinated either, which was why she tripped and fell on the ground after some obstacles got in her way. Getting scared, she turned to see them gaining on her. She stood up and tried to run, but then began coughing. She then felt herself pinned against a building by her pursuers. One of the bullies even had a switch blade out.

"Let's cut up her face!" one of the bullies suggested. They all began grinning in anticipation. The violet-haired girl guessed that they had finally gotten tired of just beating her up and wanted to do something a little more fun in their eyes.

Hotaru began to hear a ringing sound. It sounded familiar, but she really couldn't put her finger on where she had heard it before. Suddenly, a white shape flew out of a nearby window and tackled into the bullies, sending them to the ground.

Hotaru fell onto the ground and got on her knees. Looking up, she saw a vaguely humanoid figure standing with its back facing her. All of the bullies were out cold from the sudden impact, if not suffering some broken bones from the obvious weight of their attacker.

She then saw the thing looking at her and she instantly recognized it.

"Metalceros…" she managed to say. The humanoid rhino, Metalceros, let out a grunt. The beast then turned around and approached her. The girl sat stunned and was unable to move as the monster came closer. She just hoped it didn't come to hurt her.

It didn't. Instead, it bowed its head and began nuzzling her shoulder. Despite the large horn in the way, it was able to gently nuzzle against her. The cold white armored hide of its body tickled a little and she giggled. Metalceros backed away from her and gave off a grunt. Reaching over, Hotaru began to touch its horn. The monster let out what apparently was a happy sound.

Up above on a rooftop was a single Knight in purple armor. After having dealt with the two annoying blondes, he'd heard a signal from the Mirror World quite close by. Intending to investigate the matter, he'd arrived only to see the girl he'd rescue actually petting his secondary Zodiac Beast.

"It seems that Metalceros is in good hands," Shadowcobra said as he watched the girl stand up to gently pet the rhino monster's head. His gaze went over to the unconscious heap of bullies and he sighed, "And it seems that some people just never learn. Maybe I should deal with them personally." He went back to look at the girl and his monster. He knew she couldn't keep the Contract card on her. Metalceros would get hungry eventually and Hotaru had no way of feeding it. Also, it could draw some very nasty attention, particularly from any rival Zodiac Knights in the area, if there were any.

Hotaru questioned the beast, "Did you come to rescue me?" The humanoid and armored rhino let out a grunt and nodded, as if it could understand its words. "Why?"

Using one of its claws, the rhino, Metalceros, pointed to the card that lay on the ground. It must've fallen out of her pocket when she'd tripped. She went over to pick it up and peered curiously at the item before looking at the monster. "This is the reason? This card?" she asked. Again, she received a nod. 'Maybe that Knight sent it here to take his card back,' Hotaru thought. "Here, take it back," she said, attempting to hand the card over but the beast shook its head and then nudged at her hand. Hotaru blinked. "You want me to keep it?" Again, she received a grunted nod.

Hotaru was unsure what to think. This card, this beast and the Knight that'd saved her seem connected and right now the card was the only reason this monster, Metalceros, had come to her aid.

Hotaru had always wanted a pet, but her mama and papa wouldn't let her. Now, her dream had become a reality, even if it was in the form of a large humanoid rhino decked out in solid looking armor for skin.

Of course, how was she going to hide it? Metalceros was just too big not to notice and knowing her adoptive parents, they would attack without hesitation.

Ryuki returned to the trio's apartment, smiling happily. He couldn't wait to tell his friends about what he'd just discovered. They would be so surprised.

He opened the door to see his two friends in the living room. Ichijyo was sitting on the couch reading one of the books he'd just purchased and Takada was playing videogames with headphones on in order not to bother Ichijyo with the noise of the game, which was a shooter. Of course, since he was always moving around on the other side of the couch, Ichijyo was growing a little agitated.

"Tadaima!" Ryuki greeted cheerfully. Ichijyo looked up and gave a nod.

"Okaeri," Ichijyo greeted back. His gaze went back to Takada who hadn't even acknowledged Ryuki's presence. Rolling his eyes, he returned to his book.

"So, how did you two spend the day?" Ryuki asked, removing his shoes as he slipped on the house slippers.

"I just went to get a few new books, though I did have a pest problem," Ichijyo spoke. He gestured towards Takada, "The mutt, on the other hand, was probably out playing games and collecting phone numbers."

Takada removed his headphones and said, "Hey, that takes a lot of effort." It was surprising how he could still hear them while wearing those headphones.

"Well, anyway, I have a surprise for you," Ryuki said. He turned towards the door, "You can come in now, Tazuka-san."

"Tazuka?" Takada said, puzzled. He looked towards Ichijyo who shrugged.

Coming into the apartment was none other than the fortuneteller Takada had met. The Dog Knight's eyes widened as he stood up and pointed, "YOU!"

Tazuka smiled, "Hello to you too."

"Do you know him, Takada?" Ichijyo said as he stood up next to his housemate.

"Damn right, I do," Takada said, pointing still at Tazuka. "He's that other Knight I told you about!"

"The other one?" Ichijyo questioned and then he realized what Takada was talking about. "The fish Knight?"

"Actually, I'm the Zodiac Knight of Pisces, Jawz," Tazuka reintroduced himself, holding out his Zodiac deck as identification. He admired the living space, "Nice place you got here."

Ichijyo hissed, "If it's a fight you want…"

"Ichijyo-san, please!" Ryuki begged. "He's a good guy. He helped me!"

Ichijyo gave Ryuki a pointed glare, "It could be a trick. Remember, this is WAR! In the end only one of us can remain. We can't trust any other!"

"Coming from you, that sounds a little hypocritical," Tazuka stated. "I mean, you're living with two other Knights who you should be fighting instead of making small talk."

"That's different," Ichijyo retorted. He reached into his coat and pulled out his deck. "Now, we shall see who's the better one."

Ryuki decided to plant himself between his two friends and his new friend. "Please, everyone, there's no need to fight."

"Still naïve as ever," Takada said, sighing. "Leo, how do you know you can even trust him?"

"Call it gut instinct," Ryuki said. "Please, just trust me on this."

Ichijyo's glare was still aimed at Tazuka but then softened at his younger friend. He sighed, rubbing his temples. "Why me…" He placed his deck back into his coat. "So, who are you?"

"Tazuka Mizuki," Tazuki introduced himself, using his given name this time. "And I know who you are, Ichijyo Amakusa, Yoshiyuki Takada," he looked at Ryuki, "And Ryuki Leonard Hasuma."

Ryuki beamed. Takada was dumbfounded. Ichijyo was scowling.

To Be Continued…