Gaijin

Part 3: A Long Day...

by Sean D'Anna

=====

Carrot sat on the rooftop of some nameless
apartment building in the center of Tokyo. It was
growing late and the city bustled about below him
as the sun slowly descended on the horizon. Things
had been quiet for the past week for him, he spent
most of that time laying low and trying to heal
his wounds as best he could.

"Nice view," he muttered to himself as he
watched the sunset in the distance. In his hand
was a small length of metal pipe, and his body
glistened in the light from a slight sweat he'd
acquired during a workout he'd just performed. He
spun the pole around his hand skillfully and
smirked to himself. It had taken several days just
for him to learn to do that.

"Maybe, I can relax a little now, things have
been quiet," he muttered to himself as he looked
down into the streets and watched the people pass
by below him.

"What are you doing here?" said a familiar
voice from behind him.

Carrot cursed and slowly turned to see someone
he had hoped to never lay eyes on again. "Well, if
it isn't Tux-boy. What do you want?"

Mamoru walked out of the shadows and frowned
at him. "For starters, I'd like my watch back."

"Humph, here, take it," said Carrot as he
tossed the object to him.

"That doesn't excuse you for stealing it in
the first place," said the man as he frowned and
looked at the object in his hand.

"I was just testing you," snorted Carrot as he
turned his back to him and continued to watch the
city.

"Did I pass?" asked Mamoru calmly.

"No," was the simple reply.

"Who are you?" asked the man as he frowned at
the arrogance the boy displayed.

"Someone you'd best forget about and leave
alone if you know what's good for you," replied
Carrot coldly. "I don't care about you, or those
little girls you've been hanging around. Leave me
alone, I've got enough problems to deal with."

"I can see that," snorted Mamoru. "Why are you
here?"

"I didn't ask you, you could extend the same
courtesy," replied Carrot as he snorted and
started to move away.

"So that's how it is?" said Mamoru with a
slight growl in his tone.

"Why are you bothering me?" said Carrot as he
stared at the man for a moment. "Please don't tell
me it was over that worthless trinket."

Mamoru snorted and turned his head away. "You
wouldn't understand."

Carrot was getting annoyed; the man couldn't
take a hint and hadn't left yet. Finally, he
snapped. "What's the matter? Can't remember? Or is
it just that you don't know why you're standing up
here either?"

"What?" gasped the man as he stepped back.

"You ask a lot of questions," snorted Carrot
as he continued to walk away.

"Wait! How..." stammered the man as he jogged
after him.

Carrot spun around and frowned at him. "What
is it? If you don't have any business here,
leave!"

"You know something! About me!" said Mamoru as
he stepped back slightly.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," said the boy with
a snort. "In any case, I can't help you with
whatever your problem is. Go back to fondling
little girls and don't bother me again."

"Just answer me one thing. What is the Silver
Millenium?" said Mamoru.

Carrot narrowed his eyes. He started to open
his mouth but paused suddenly. If he let on he
knew anything, the man would never stop bothering
him. That increased his chances of running into
the senshi, and their enemies. "I don't know what
you're talking about." He turned away and started
walking again.

"Liar! You do know something! You've been
having dreams too haven't you?" snapped Mamoru. "I
know you know something!"

"Dreams?" snorted Carrot as he paused again.
"I think you need someone to check your head
mister. I don't know anything about any Millenium,
or your freaky pedophile dreams."

Mamoru stepped back as the words sunk in.
"Pedophile? What? How dare you!"

"I've been watching you idiots for a while
now. I've been trying to avoid you, but you keep
showing up. I know about you sticking your tongue
halfway down that little blonde girl's throat. She
can't be more than fourteen. I don't want anything
to do with you, or those little brats you've been
following around."

The man became enraged. "Shut up!"

"Why should I? If you don't like me, you
shouldn't hang around me. Go away and leave me
alone," replied the boy as he finally melted into
the shadows.

Mamoru snorted and spun around on his heels,
leaving the roof silent and empty once again.

After a few moments, Carrot appeared again and
sat down with a scowl on his face. "Great. Now
that asshole will never leave me alone." He knew
that his pause before speaking had cost him
dearly.

He slumped down on the rooftop and groaned
painfully. "I've got a headache now, I need some
aspirin. Not having any money really sucks."

++++++++++

On the other side of Tokyo...

"You failed me, you failed the clan, and you
shamed yourself in front of the Oyabun," the woman
walked in slow circles around the young girl who
was sitting in a wooden chair in the middle of an
empty room. There was a single light shining down
on her from above, leaving the rest of the room
little more than shadows.

"I will kill him!" insisted Kei as she looked
up at the shadowy figure that moved around her.
She growled in anger and stared up at it
hatefully.

Her head rocked back as a strike came out and
slammed into her jaw. She managed to stay upright,
but a large red mark formed on the side of her
face and a trickle of blood ran down her chin. She
hung her head in shame.

"Watch your tone child. I know you will kill
him, you have no choice in the matter any longer,"
replied the icy tone in reply. She leaned in to
stare the girl in the face, the delicate folds of
her Kimono rustled and sent the fragrance of her
perfume into the young girl's face forcefully. "Do
not fail me again."

"Yes mother," replied the young girl as she
hung her head.

"Now go, find him," said the woman sternly as
she stood upright and pointed towards the door.

Kei slowly stood up and walked by the woman,
noticing that she faced her at all times and
watched her movements with expert care. Her gaze
seemed easy, almost soft, but she knew better than
to believe that.

Once the door closed behind her she smirked to
herself, looking down the darkened hallways that
stretched out seemingly endlessly in either
direction. "Boy, I shall make you suffer dearly
for this humiliation."

++++++++++++

"So, what now?" asked Usagi as she sat on the
bed staring at Luna's face.

"You've got school tomorrow, you need sleep,"
said the cat calmly as she curled up at the foot
of the bed.

"Man," grumbled the girl as she rolled over
onto her sheets and sighed. "There sure has been a
lot going on."

"The enemy is building strength," said the cat
with a small sigh as it stood up again and sat
down facing her.

"Yeah, but what about those other two?"
muttered the girl as she pulled her head up to
look at the animal for a moment.

"That one is quite rude, but the one called
Tuxedo Mask is unknown as well. That makes them
dangerous. Either one, or even both, could be the
enemy," said the cat calmly.

"That doesn't sound right to me," said Usagi
with a frown. "That one guy was a real jerk, but I
don't think he's the enemy either. I kind of feel
sorry for him."

"Well, I hope you're right, the enemy is
strong enough as it is, without us having to worry
about those two. Still, we can't trust them."

Usagi sighed and frowned at the pessimistic
attitude of the cat. "I know someone else who acts
like a jerk sometimes."

"Really? Who?" said the cat in confusion.
"They could be the enemy too!"

Usagi furrowed her brow and rolled over.
"Never mind, Luna, it's not important."

++++++++++++

Hino Shrine...

Rei frowned as she sat in front of the sacred
fire and meditated. The flame roared as she
concentrated her power into it and scowled in
effort. Sweat began to form on her forehead as she
worked to control the raging fire and managed to
latch onto the energy.

"A vision," she said to herself as something
started to form.

It was a set of eyes, the eyes of a man. They
were angry for a moment, and then softened,
seeming to stare at something. The image moved
back and she saw a handsome man, a foreigner. He
seemed strong and kind at the same time. He had
chestnut brown hair and a sort of world-weary look
about him. His surroundings were serene, the back
porch of a traditional Japanese home.

He turned and seemed to look right at her with
a smile on his face. There was something very
familiar about him, but it wasn't her he was
looking at. It was the woman who had walked up to
him, she was still not visible, but there was
something familiar about her aura. She couldn't
quite place what it was.

The image changed suddenly, the man's eyes
grew cold and hard, he stood upright and was
dressed in a tight fitting black bodysuit with
some sort of armor on his chest. He frowned and
his hair blew against some invisible wind. There
was something strapped across his back that she
couldn't make out and lightning flashed across the
now black sky behind him. A deep sense of dread
filled her and she gasped, almost losing control
of the flame again. "Who?"

The image shifted again, this time the figure
seemed to morph. He was dressed in a red Chinese
shirt and now sported a pigtail, he was also
Japanese now. A figure in a school uniform hefted
a mallet over her head and proceeded to brain the
boy. The feeling of amusement seemed to seep into
her being as well...

"GRANDPA!" snarled Rei as she jumped up
suddenly and released the flame's power.

"Huh? Oh. Uh-oh," said the old man as he
looked up at her.

"What have I told you about reading your manga
in here while I'm trying to meditate!?" screamed
the girl angrily.

The old man chucked nervously and quickly hid
the book behind his back. "Oh, sorry. I must have
gotten turned around, I was going to the kitchen
and I..."

Rei held out her hand and scowled at him
angrily.

The old man relented and handed her his comic.
She snorted and put it into her robes. "You can
have this back if you behave yourself."

"Darn, I was almost done too," grumbled the
old man as he shuffled away.

Rei's thoughts were more serious though. She
looked at the fire again and turned out of the
room. "I should tell the others about this. It
could be important."

+++++++++++++

"So, you got a vision about some guy?" said
Makoto dumbly as she looked at Rei.

"Yes, the first part wasn't that bad, he
seemed like a very happy person. I got the
impression he had a family."

Usagi blinked and looked at the girl as she
explained her story. "Was he cute?"

Minako frowned at the girl for asking first,
but quickly forgot and looked to Rei for the
answer.

"That's not important," said the girl hotly as
she frowned at the two blondes.

"Well, I think it's important, was he?"
insisted Minako.

"The image wasn't very clear," said Rei as she
snorted. "As I was saying..."

"Come on, you could at least tell us if he
looked like he might be okay," said Minako as she
leaned forward a little more.

"Yes, are you happy now?" said Rei as she
ground her teeth.

"What was the second part you were talking
about?" interrupted Makoto before things could get
worse.

"That's the odd thing, he changed. He looked
angry, and the way he was dressed was different.
He was wearing black, and he looked very
intimidating."

"Evil?" asked Usagi with a frightened looking
expression on her face.

"I'm not sure," said the girl as she shook her
head. "He was definitely threatening."

"That doesn't sound good," pointed out Ami.

Rei nodded. "There's something else. There was
a woman as well, but I couldn't see her. She was
very familiar though."

"How do you know that if you can't see her?"
asked Minako.

"I just do, it was a feeling," said the dark
haired girl as she turned her head away and looked
thoughtful. "I can't say what it was though. She
vanished when he became angry though. I'm not sure
why it changed suddenly that way."

"This reading, it sounds...unusually clear.
You usually can't give us quite this much
information from a single reading," said Ami.

Rei looked at her and nodded. "That's bothered
me too. Maybe I'm just getting better at it, but I
don't think that's what this was."

"So, what should we do?" asked Usagi.

"We don't know enough to do anything right
now," pointed out Ami. "We'll just have to wait,
and see what happens."

++++++++++++++++

Evening came again as it always did. Carrot
lay sprawled out across a rooftop in silent
slumber. He was lying across a low cement wall
with one of his arms hanging down at his side. It
was a relatively warm night and there wasn't much
noise up as high as he was.

He muttered contentedly as he opened his eyes.

A woman was standing over him with a gentle
smile on her face. He gasped in shock and almost
jumped to his feet. She placed her hand against
his chest gently and he relaxed.

She was a slender looking woman with long
locks of green hair that flowed down to the
ground. In her hand was a long staff shaped like a
key, and she was dressed as one of the senshi.

"Pluto!" he thought fearfully as he simply
stared at her helplessly.

She knelt down at his side and her smile grew
warmer somehow. "Wha? Smiling?" he said out loud.

"Yes," she whispered softly. She kissed him on
the forehead and he blinked in surprise.

"Wha?"

"Be strong my friend, it is not as bad as it
seems. Your destiny is more important than even
you realize."

"My destiny? But..." he trailed off and
suddenly felt very drowsy. "No way! I don't want
my destiny to be..."

She put her finger on his lips and stepped
back. "We'll meet again, in time."

"We'd better not," he muttered as he fell
asleep.

Suddenly, he jumped upright and glanced around
the rooftop where he was sleeping. "Weird dream."
He muttered after a moment. "Well, I thought that
guy's produce looked a little funny. I should be
more careful."

Be blinked and realized that there was a wet
spot on his forehead. "Wait. That was a
dream...right?" he asked hopefully.

A low rumble sounded above him and a tiny wet
spot appeared on his hand, and then his neck. "Oh
man," he muttered as he stood up as the sky opened
up and poured down on him. "Shit. This is gonna be
a long night."

"I could make it shorter, if you wish," said a
voice from behind him.

Carrot froze and slowly turned, fear etched
onto his face as he saw another familiar figure
standing in the rain just behind him. He seemed
dry, and his long hair flowed down his back.

"Shit, twice in one night," he muttered as he
backed away.

"You fear me?" asked the man calmly.

"Maybe," muttered Carrot under his breath.

"Good, that will make this easier," said the
man calmly. "I am Kunzite."

"Yeah, charmed," grumbled the boy as he found
himself backed against the wall.

"You should be. You seem to be a little down
on your luck," said the man coldly.

"What's it to you?" snorted Carrot angrily as
he tried to think of an escape plan.

"No particular interest. I could help you with
that," said Kunzite with a smirk on his face.
"Wouldn't it be nice, to have the world on a
platter before you, rather than living as refuse
in it?"

Carrot paused. "What?"

"You've impressed me," said the man calmly as
he chuckled. "Me and my friends would like you to
join us."

"What? Me?" muttered Carrot dumbly.

"That's right," said the man as he stepped
forward. "We would find someone with your skills
useful."

"I'm good at stealing," said Carrot flatly.
"I'm nothing more than a pickpocket. You don't
need me."

"You single-handedly killed two of my youma,"
said Kunzite flatly. "That is no small feat for a
mere human."

Carrot turned his head. "I got lucky."

"Maybe, but we could use luck like that," said
the man as he narrowed his eyes at the boy.

"You want me to join you?" repeated Carrot as
he stared at the man for a moment.

"That's right, I could make your life so much
easier."

"Why would I join you? So I can die at the
hands of the Senshi? Like your friends?" said
Carrot coldly as he edged away a little more.

"Those brats, are of no importance, they will
die soon enough," said Kunzite flatly.

"Well, come see me after you kill them, and
I'll consider it," said Carrot as he suddenly
vanished from Kunzite's view in a spray of water.

The man was unmoved by this. "Such arrogance,
still, that was an impressive trick." He turned
and left.

+++++++++++++++

Carrot sighed and relaxed as the rooftop
remained empty after several minutes. "Man, that
was close." He had kicked up one of the puddles
into the air with the edge of his foot, and dashed
behind the nearest convenient cover, a large air
vent. He had actually been surprised that it had
worked.

"Well, I'm cold, wet, and miserable again. So
now what?" he muttered irritably.

"Now, you'll be punished," said a feminine
voice from a little off to the side.

Carrot's head snapped around. "Oh shit. I was
right, it is going to be a long night."

The five Sailor Senshi stood glaring at him
angrily a short distance away. Sailor Moon was
posing proudly in front of them and pointing her
finger at him.

"So, he is working for the enemy!" snapped
Mars.

"It would seem that way," agreed Makoto.

"I never liked him," agreed Minako.

"Hey! I turned down a great job so I wouldn't
have to fight you!" snapped Carrot.

"You should have thought of that before
bargaining our lives away!" said Rei as a ball of
flames appeared in her hand.

"I was being sarcastic!" screamed Carrot as he
jumped up and away from the bolt of electricity
that slammed into the ground where he had been
standing.

"You won't get away!" cried Sailor Moon. The
five girls stood around her, each with an angry
scowl on her face.

"Oh man," muttered Carrot as he hung his head.


Makoto started cracking her knuckles, and Rei
was still charging a nasty looking ball of flames.


"Can't we talk about this?" said Carrot as he
stumbled back and landed in a puddle on his rear.

The girls started to close in on him.

Without even thinking about it, his hand
closed around another metal pipe that was
mysteriously lying on the rooftop.

"Look out!" cried Mercury.

The girl's ducked away, but it was too late.
Each of them found themselves staggering back as a
length of metal slammed into their faces as it
spun into them.

"Ouch!" cried Sailor Moon.

"That...that..." growled Rei.

"I'll kill him!" cried Minako.

"Jerk!" snarled Makoto.

"Look out!" cried Mercury suddenly.

They all turned to face the next attack, and
saw nothing but an empty puddle.

"Where...?" muttered Usagi in confusion.

"That coward!" snarled Rei.

+++++++++++

"Oh man, oh man, oh man," muttered Carrot as
he jumped down to the street from the bottom of
the fire escape and dashed into the shadows.
"Great, just fuckin great! Every time I get scared
I throw a pipe at someone. Smooth move Carrot."

He paused and thought about it for a moment.
"Ya know, that's awful convenient, those things
just seem to always be around." He shrugged it off
and relaxed a bit.

Suddenly, he went rigid as yet another
familiar figure moved into his line of sight. He
gasped and stuck himself up against the wall.
"Shit. Long night my ass! This is gonna be the
longest night of my life!"

Kei was walking through the alley not ten feet
in front of him. Her eyes darted back and fourth
in the shadows as she stalked through at a slow
pace.

He blinked and turned his head as she moved
by, not seeming to notice him. "Thank you," he
whispered under his breath as she rounded the
corner.

After a moment, he slumped down against the
wall and paused. "Hey, ya know...I still don't
know why that crazy chick is after me in the first
place." He turned his head slightly and frowned.
"Don't do it, I'm not that stupid. I don't need
this, I've had enough for tonight. Don't do it..."
He sighed and stood up. "I am that stupid," he
muttered pathetically as he started off in the
direction he'd seen Kei vanish.

TBC...