Chapter 2: Recovery and Settling in
Disclaimer: I don't own SoulTaker or Sailor MoonMinako ran up to the gang screaming, "Guys, it finally happened!"
"What did?" asked Usagi.
"It's nothing, really!" said Ami.
"It doesn't sound like nothing," said Makoto.
"Ami's got a boyfriend!" Minako shouted.
"I do not!" Ami protested with a deep crimson blush.
Usagi, Rei, and Makoto gasped and gave Ami a round of applause, "Way to go, Ami!"
"Come on guys, I do not have a boyfriend," said Ami, still embarrassed.
"If you don't have a boyfriend," Minako slyly smiled, "then who was that I saw?"
Rei and Makoto jerked their heads up.
"Laying in your bed," Minako continued.
Rei and Makoto's eyes became as wide as dishes while Ami's face now resembled a red traffic light with blue hair.
"Without any clothes on?" Minako finished with the biggest shit-eating grin she could ever muster.
"No way! You got laid, too!" shouted Usagi.
"No! It's not like that at all!" replied Ami.
"Um, is everything alright in here?" a voice came from behind. The girls turned toward the source and their faces turned bright red, some were wide-eyed and slack jawed, at the sight in front of them: Kyousuke Date in nothing but his pants.
Elsewhere
Two young women sat outside a local diner. One is about sixteen or seventeen years old though she appears younger due to her childish face and lack of "assets". Her hot pink hair is tied in a braid that trails down her back. Dressed in white shorts and a pink halter top with little white angel wing prints on the back, she silently munches on a vanilla and strawberry parfait. Her companion was reading the newspaper and appeared to be a little bit older and much more endowed. Her dark indigo hair waves gently in the wind. She is clad in a black skirt and a purple tank top.
"So many humans. How the hell are we supposed to find the black angel in a place like this?!"
"Calm down, Komugi. The best way to find him is to investigate anything that seems out of the ordinary, like this," said her busty comrade, tossing the newspaper in front of Komugi. She then reaches over and points at an article on the front page.
"'Sister Mio Date and her 17-year-old son Kyousuke Date murdered. Mio Date was found lying dead on the steps inside the West Tokyo Chapel while her son, Kyousuke Date, was found at the bottom with a dagger in his heart. Forensics discovered fingerprints belonging to Mio Date on the dagger thus leading to the belief that she attempted to murder her own son. However, the large wound on Mio Date was proven to have been inflicted earlier than the dagger wound on her son. Authorities are baffled as to the motive and cause to this case and are still investigating.' So, Koyori, you think this is our man?"
"Only one way to find out," Koyori said as she got up, "I'll check it out, see you later, flat-chest!"
'I didn't mind Heaven giving me this assignment but did Hell have to send her as my partner?' Komugi growled in her head. She then glances down at a small piece of paper on the table. Flipping it over, she sees that it's the bill for one vanilla and strawberry parfait and three deluxe sundaes?
"YOU CAN'T STICK ME WITH THE BILL, BOOB-ENSTEIN, GET BACK HERE!!"
Ami casually walked back into the living room, still a little flushed in the face from her friends' jokes as well as Kyousuke's sudden appearance. She persuaded Kyousuke to go back into his room and rest some more.
"Couldn't wait for round two, huh?" quipped Minako, "Not that I blame you."
"Will you guys knock it off? I told you it's not like that!"
"What's with all the yelling?" said Luna, groggily. All the teasing had awoken her from her catnap.
"Hey Luna, so this is where you've been all night," said Usagi.
Luna turned to Ami with half open eyes "(Yawn) Ami, how is that young man's wound?"
'Wound?' ran through the minds of the other girls.
"He's fine, but there's something strange about that boy. He had a knife wound that should have killed him but a minute ago, he was walking around like it never happened. There's no way a human can recover from fatal wound over night."
Usagi, Rei, Minako, and Makoto looked at each other. Rei stepped forward, "Ami, maybe you should tell us exactly what happened last night."
In a shadowy place, a man garbed in a long cloak sits atop a dark throne. A woman's voice emerges from the darkness.
"My lord, we have succeeded in slaying the black angel. She will no longer be a problem."
From within the cloak, a white-gloved hand emanated and gently waved for the woman to come closer. A black-haired woman stepped forward into the light. Her clothes resemble that of a prostitute. She approached and kneeled before her master. He held out his hand and she reached to kiss it. To her surprise, he lashed out and grabbed her by the neck.
"Your incompetence is staggering, Lillith. You've slain only a mere mortal woman, not the black angel," he answered as he started to choke her, "The black angel is still alive. And to make matters even more annoying; he is in the company of the sailor senshi."
A man stepped forward into the light, "I will take care of those minor pests, my lord," he smugly said. "With your permission, I will fix Lillith's embarrassing failure."
"Permission granted, Baal. Take care of the boy first. I want him eliminated before his powers awaken. The senshi should be no threat. Now go my soul hunter, destroy the black angel," answered Baal's dark master.
"At once, Lord Gabriel," said Baal.
"Okay, let's see if I got this right," said Rei. Ami had just finished explaining last night's escapade or as much as she could remember. Fortunately, Luna was able to fill in the gaps in her memory.
"On your way home you blacked out." Ami and Luna nodded.
"And you went all the way to the cemetery and dug up the guy we saw earlier." Ami and Luna nodded again.
"Then you brought him back here to tend to his wound." Ami and Luna nodded again.
"Which healed too fast to be considered human." Ami and Luna nodded yet again.
"That's about it," said Ami. Rei pondered a bit. "Well, if we were living normal lives I'd say you were crazy. However, this is way different from what we're used to."
"I think for the time being, we'll keep an eye on him," said Luna, "Ami, since you helped him out he'll most likely trust you more. We'll have you keep close tabs on him and let us know if he does anything suspicious."
"Alright. Speaking of which, I better go check on him."
Minako sighed "Well, I could tell she was being serious about him not being her boyfriend, but still it was fun to tease her though." Her face then takes a more serious air. "There is one thing I do want to know about that guy."
The room became deathly quiet. "Do you think he's single?" At that moment everyone face-vaulted. "What? What did I say?"
Back in the bedroom, Ami was gently wiping the sweat that had been gathering on Kyousuke's forehead while he slept. She could tell by his expression that he was having some sort of nightmare. His eyes snapped open as he shot up.
"You're okay, you were just having a bad dream," Ami said in a consoling voice.
"I know but, I can't help but feel that something bad is going to happen."
Ami placed her hand on his shoulder, "Why don't you lay back down and you can tell me all about it."
Kyousuke did as he was told and began his story. "I had once before when I was a kid. It starts out with me in a white building. The floors, the walls, the furniture, even my clothes are white. Anyway, I walk out of the room and come across some party that's being held and across the room I see a little girl. She tells me to follow her and I chase throughout the entire place. When I turned the last corner, I find I'm in the same room I started in but there's something there that wasn't there the first time."
"What was it?"
"It was a door. A black door with chains and a lock on it. When I first had this dream I thought the lock and chains were meant to keep me from getting in. But now I think it's meant to keep something from getting out."
"Why do you think it means that?"
"Because this time, when I had the dream again, the door looked like it was falling part, the chains were rusted and the lock looked like it was going to break. But what led me to believe that something wanted out was some kind of creature was howling and banging on the door from the other side."
"That's uh… kinda creepy," Ami said.
After one or two minutes of silence, Kyousuke tried to start up a conversation. "So, Ms. Mizuno… um"
"Just 'Ami' is fine."
"Right, Ami, How did you know I was there?"
Ami looked confused. "How did I know you were where? Oh, you mean at the cemetery?" Ami placed her finger below her lip. "Well, to tell you the truth, I don't really know either. I mean I remember I was walking home and I remember helping you out of the grave but, I don't remember what happened in between."
"So you zoned out?"
"You could say that. Is that a weird?"
"Well, kind of."
Ami thought it was time for a change of subject. "Anyway, let's not worry about that. You should call your family and let them know you're alright."
"No, mom was the only family I had left."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
A few weeks later, Kyousuke fully recovered and got an apartment to live in. Luna and Artemis kept an eye on him at his new home.
The following day, Usagi is seen running as fast as she could to make it to class. She flew by several schoolmates, kicking up wind. She caught sight of her classroom door and flung it open. She stopped in front of the teacher's desk to catch her breath.
"Sorry (pant) I'm (pant) late (pant)." Usagi said, feeling like she ran two miles, which she most likely did.
"Actually, Ms. Tsukino, you're on time, for once." Usagi shot up and looked at her teacher. "I am?"
"Yes, it's a real miracle, now take your seat."
Usagi did as she was told and sat down next to her friend Naru. The teacher then began to address the class.
"Listen up everybody; we have a new student joining us today."
The students broke out into a collective chatter. Many of the male half of the class was hoping it was a hot girl while the female hoped it was a cute boy. The teacher then turned to the door.
"You can come in now!" the door slid open and a young man with messy brown hair walked in. The boys slumped in their seats, their hopes of getting lucky were dashed against the rocks. As for the girls, many of them had huge hearts in their eyes.
"Hello, My name is Kyousuke Date. It's nice to meet you all."
Most of the girls continued to swoon over the new guy. The only one who wasn't was Usagi. She was just stunned. The same guy that Ami dug out of the ground had joined her class.
"Why don't you sit next to Usagi, over there." The teacher said, pointing at a girl with blond hair tied up into a strange hairstyle.
Kyousuke made his way to the seat next to the blond girl and sat down.
"You're a friend of Ami's, right?"
"Yeah, I didn't think I'd see you here. Since it's your first day, how about I show you around?"
"Yes, thank you."
Outside the school, a man was standing in front of the building.
'The master said he would be here, but the question is which one of these little human vermin is the black angel? Better yet, why does the master want him dead before his power awakens? Surely this being can't that powerful.'
"What's the matter, Baal? Can't figure out which one is your target?" said a woman's voice behind him.
"Is that you, Lillith?"
"Who else would it be?" said the woman, Lillith.
Baal had gone to the city to find the black angel. He ran a scan for any recent school transfers in the area. His search led him to Juuban High School where he was sure the black angel would be.
"What do you want, Lillith? You already failed in your mission, This one is mine." said Baal with venom in his voice.
"I've only come to tell you how to find the black angel," she said "The only way to identify the black angel is through touch. If you, let's say, shake hands with him, he will shed red tears from his eyes."
"I'll keep that in mind," said Baal.