Gaijin

Part 12: The Abduction

By Sean D'Anna

=====  
 
"I'm all right, no body worry bout 
me! Why ya gotta give me a fight? Can't 
ya just let it be?" Carrot sang to 
himself as he strolled down the street 
with a package under his arm. It was a 
rather pleasant day, and he was doing 
his job with an unusually cheerful gait 
about him. He "I'm all right! Don't 
nobody worry bout me! You got ta give me 
a fight! Why don't ya just let me be!" 
 
People were giving him odd looks as 
he strolled down the street and entered 
an office building. He dodged around and 
passed around office workers in his 
search for his drop off. 
 
"Do what ya like! Doin it naturally! 
If it's to busy, we're gonna disagree! 
It's your life! Isn't it a mystery! It's 
nobody's business, it's everybody's 
game! I'm all right! Nobody worry bout 
me! Why ya gotta give me a fight? Can't 
ya just let it be? I'm all right, don't 
nobody worry bout me! You got ta give me 
a fight! Why don't ya just let me be?" 
He strolled into the room and found a 
small salaryman staring at him oddly. He 
dropped off the package and smirked at 
him as he turned and left. 
 
It was his last delivery and he 
walked into the street with a familiar 
air of freedom about him. He stretched 
his arms wide and grinned. He glanced 
down the street and walked off, going 
nowhere in particular at the moment. It 
actually felt good to be alive, mostly 
because Usagi Tsukino was finally going 
home from the hospital. He was finally 
in the last stretch of his superhero 
days. 
 
He'd been 'Spiderman' for about a 
week now. With only one run in with the 
senshi, and a robbery under his belt, it 
looked as if he was going to go out with 
a whimper rather than a bang. Of course, 
his mind never even ventured onto the 
fact that this was when things usually 
took a turn for the worst. 
 
+++++++++++++++++ 
 
In a dark and empty room, somewhere 
in Tokyo, another meeting between mother 
and daughter was taking place. 
 
"You failed again," said Mitsuki as 
she glared down at her daughter. 
 
"I've come so close. He's almost 
mine!" growled Kei in retort. 
 
"Close isn't good enough," responded 
the woman coldly. "You must defeat him 
to regain your lost honor." 
 
"I know that," said the girl as she 
bowed her head slightly. "I will kill 
him." 
 
"Not if one of my brothers finds him 
first," said Mitsuki with a calm tone. 
 
"They can't even find him," snorted 
Kei. 
 
"Your luck will not last. Sooner or 
later, one of them will stumble across 
him. Then your chance will be gone." 
 
Kei had nothing to say to that and 
hung her head a bit more. 
 
"You must defeat him. The Oyabun is 
losing faith in you daughter. I've 
worked hard to place us where we are in 
the clan. Do not make my efforts 
wasted." 
 
Kei growled under her breath at 
this. The only thing her mother had done 
to ensure her place in the clan was 
whore herself and her daughter out to 
the perverted old man. She said nothing 
and turned away to leave. "I will kill 
him." 
 
"I know you will," replied her 
mother without a hint of emotion in her 
voice. 
 
++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Usagi sat at home in front of the 
television. She had a glass of lemonade 
sitting next to her, and a big bowl of 
ice-cream in her lap. She was in heaven, 
well, she would have been if the 
lemonade didn't make the ice-cream taste 
bad. Still, she endured and continued to 
eat and drink to her heart's content. 
 
At the moment she was alone. The 
refrigerator was full, and her parents 
had little fear of her emptying it out 
in their absence. She still couldn't 
handle solid food very well. Cold foods 
helped the pain a lot, so they kept her 
well supplied with ice-cream. 
Unfortunately, she had to avoid the kind 
with little bits of nuts or other small 
solid bits. 
 
One thing was starting to get on her 
nerves though. Luna was sitting nearby, 
staring at her as she had been from the 
moment she'd come home. The cat hadn't 
spoken to her yet, but simply watched 
her. She wanted to ask what was wrong, 
she even tried to a few times. 
Unfortunately, she couldn't speak at 
all. She could make a few sounds, but 
nothing that really resembled speech. 
Giving the animal an annoyed and 
questioning glare she picked up the 
remote control and started to flip 
through the channels. 
 
Luna sighed and shook her head 
before hopping away. "There has to be a 
way...I know there is! I can't remember 
though..." she muttered to herself. 
 
Usagi blinked in confusion at this 
and shrugged as she found a show that 
looked interesting. After a few moments 
of watching a really romantic looking 
man gaze lovingly into his beloved's 
eyes and slowly lean into her, moving 
his lips closer and closer to her as she 
closed her eyes and waited... 
 
The doorbell rang. 
 
Usagi jumped and made a surprised 
gasp. It had been an attempt at a 
frightened squeak, but it came out 
rather pitiful. She glanced at the 
television and furrowed her brow in 
annoyance as the credits rolled down the 
screen after a moment of trying to 
figure out what the sound she had made 
was. The bell rang again and she stood 
up and put her bowl on the coffee table 
as she went to see who it was. 
 
"Hey," said the familiar looking boy 
standing in front of her. He smirked at 
her and stared her down with one eye. 
There was a scar running over his other 
eye and it was closed. He grinned at her 
and shoved the door open. "I see you 
survived. That's too bad." 
 
Usagi stumbled back falling on the 
ground with her eyes wide with shock. 
 
The boy laughed coldly as he 
strolled into the home and glanced 
around. "Nice place you got here." 
 
She struggled to scream, but her 
breath was short as she simply stared at 
him in horror. 
 
"I sure hate to mess up the place, 
but..." He turned his eyes on her again, 
his cold smile never wavering. Slowly he 
pulled a knife from behind is back and 
played with it for a moment, letting 
some of the light reflect off the blade 
for a moment. 
 
Usagi tried to stand, she tried to 
struggle, but terror had frozen her in 
place. 
 
The boy merely strolled forward and 
lifted her up by her hair. He reared 
back the blade and swung it full force. 
 
+++++++++++++++++ 
 
Usagi was gasping for breath. Her 
entire body covered in sweat as she 
awoke from her nightmare. She was in 
bed, alone. She slowly sat up and put 
her hand against her forehead as she 
stared at the wall with wide eyes. 
Shifting her feet over the side of the 
bed she sat there for a moment. 
 
The dream was new. She'd never had 
anything even remotely like it before. 
Not even in the hospital. It was her 
first real nightmare. She slowly 
regained her normal breathing and 
squeezed her eyes shut. 
 
When the darkness in the dream had 
come, she hadn't woken up immediately. 
Something seemed to hold her for a split 
second, and she remembered two red eyes 
and nothing more. A voice spoke to her 
quietly, almost in a whisper. 
 
"This is a lie." 
 
She wasn't sure what it meant, but 
it was quickly lost as the memory of the 
terrible dream surfaced again. She 
shuddered and looked out her window. She 
had returned from the hospital earlier 
that day, and now she was home. She 
hadn't been home an hour when she'd 
decided to take a nap. 
 
The sky was dark, stars could be 
seen through the billowing curtains as 
she gazed at the rooftops of the 
neighborhood for a moment. She sighed 
and clutched her chest for a moment. 
 
She hadn't seen Luna for some time. 
She had been there briefly when she had 
arrived home, but she had seemed 
distressed about something. The animal 
had quickly vanished after she had 
settled in a bit. It worried her 
slightly, but she pushed it aside in 
favor of brushing her hair. She had 
fallen asleep with it still put up, and 
it was a rather nasty mess of tangles. 
She started to brush it out, making it 
look much better in a short time. 
 
"You had a bad dream?" said a gentle 
voice. 
 
Usagi gasped again, but relief 
quickly replaced her features. 
 
Tuxedo Mask was standing there, 
looking at her gently from the 
windowsill. She nodded slowly and gave 
him a questioning frown. 
 
"I couldn't just leave you alone. 
He's still out there, and he knows who 
you are," said the boy as he blushed 
slightly. 
 
The girl smiled and nodded. There 
was so much she wanted to say to him. 
That had been taken away from her 
though. Her face fell slightly and she 
rubbed at her throat gently. 
 
"Don't worry. I'll protect you," 
said Mamoru as he smiled at her. 
 
Usagi smiled again, blushing deeply 
as she nodded her head. 
 
He walked up to her, taking her into 
his arms. "I promise, he will not hurt 
you again! Not while I live!" 
 
+++++++++++++++++ 
 
"Gross," grumbled Carrot as he squat 
down on top of the roof of the home and 
watched the scene play out from a short 
distance away. "Perverted bastard. I've 
got half a mind to wake up Mrs. Tsukino 
and set her loose on that jerk." 
 
He smirked to himself at the 
thought. It would be a sight to see, but 
he needed Usagi to keep her secret. If 
he did it, it would no doubt lead to 
some interesting questions. He stood 
upright, having seen what he'd wanted. 
"She's home then. Good, that means I can 
stop making an ass out of myself in 
tights." 
 
He turned to walk off, but fate had 
other plans. The stupid bitch. 
 
"You!" said an alarmingly loud voice 
from nearby. 
 
"Huh?" muttered Carrot as he turned 
to face the voice. "Crap." 
 
Luna was staring at him from the 
other side of the roof. "What are you 
doing here? Oh no! Usagi! You've come to 
kill her!" She backed away slightly, but 
found herself cornered on the edge of 
the roof. The cat glanced back nervously 
over her shoulder. 
 
"I just came to make sure she was 
recovering," said Carrot calmly as he 
glared at her. That was when he realized 
that he was wearing his 'Spiderman' 
costume. 
 
"How does she..." He narrowed his 
eyes as he stared at her for a moment. 
She was a cat, she could probably tell 
it was him just by his scent. "Shit." He 
slowly stalked forward, carefully 
approaching her and cutting off her 
escape. "You and I need to have a long 
talk kitty." 
 
"No! I have to warn Usagi!" cried 
the animal as she tensed herself to 
jump. "Look out!" she cried in vain 
towards the window. 
 
Carrot dove and managed to tackle 
her. He quickly grabbed her around her 
muzzle, and was promptly clawed 
viciously by the struggling cat. "Quit 
squirming!" he growled angrily as he 
wrestled the animal for a moment. In the 
end he managed to hold her down. 
Glancing around he growled in 
frustration and tucked her under his 
arm. 
 
Luna spit and hissed as she 
continued to claw him. His costume 
protected him pretty well, and the armor 
on his chest prevented any real injury. 
His arms would be sore as hell though. 
Without another word he jumped off the 
roof and shot out one of his wires onto 
the side of a nearby building. Within 
moments he was several blocks away. 
 
Landing lightly on the top of a five 
story apartment building, he squat down 
and grabbed the cat by the scruff of its 
neck. It was shaking in terror and 
staring at him pitifully. 
 
"No! Please!" muttered Luna in 
horror as he stared at her for a moment. 
He pulled his mask off and frowned at 
her. "Shut up. I'm not going to hurt you 
this time. I need to have a discussion 
with you though." 
 
This did nothing to help the cat's 
nerves. She continued to shake in his 
grip and he frowned. "You're going to 
keep quiet about who I really am." 
 
"Monster! The senshi will hunt you 
down and..." 
 
"Do you think you'll land on your 
feet from this height?" he asked her 
calmly. 
 
That shut her up rather quickly. 
 
"All right," said Carrot as he 
smirked at her. "I'm not going to try 
and squirm my way out of what I did. I 
cut the damn brat's throat wide open. 
However, I wasn't trying to kill her." 
 
Luna stared at him for a long time. 
 
"Okay, that sounded stupid," said 
Carrot with a small sigh. "Look. I don't 
like you, or your friends. I've never 
been shy about that. That doesn't mean I 
want them dead." 
 
"What do you mean? You almost killed 
Usagi! If I hadn't found you tonight..." 
 
"Please, If I'd have wanted her dead 
I'd have killed her in the hospital. 
That isn't what this is about. All I 
wanted was to be left alone!" he 
snorted. "You kept bothering me though." 
 
"That's no excuse!" snapped Luna. 
 
"Damn it. I was delirious! My face 
had just gotten sliced open, and those 
damn brats tried to attack me earlier 
that day! She should have known better 
to try and approach someone in my 
condition!" 
 
"How dare you!" snapped Luna in 
shock. "This was not her fault!" 
 
"She was careless," said Carrot with 
a snort. "I'm not trying to blame her 
for this. All I want to know, is if 
she's ready to become Sailor Moon 
again?" 
 
"What?" said the cat dumbly as it 
stared at him again. 
 
"I can't fight Beryl and her loons 
off! I don't have that kind of power. 
Sailor Moon is the only one who can beat 
him!" snapped Carrot irritably. "I hate 
playing the hero, but until Usagi is 
back in the battle. I've got to help 
pick up the slack!" 
 
"Beryl?" asked Luna. The name 
definitely sounded familiar. 
 
"The one you call 'The Enemy'," he 
replied calmly. "She's the one leading 
the dark forces here. She's trying to 
bring Metallia back." 
 
This got Luna's hackles bristling. 
"What?" 
 
"I can't stop her. I'm not strong 
enough, and neither are any of those 
other girls. We need Usagi." 
 
"Why are you telling me this?" asked 
Luna. 
 
"Because I need you to understand 
that we can fight later. After Beryl is 
gone I'll kick your brats around all you 
want. Until then, you need to realize 
that you're just going to have to settle 
for the lesser evil." 
 
Luna blinked and looked somewhat 
angry with him. "How do you know all 
this?" 
 
"Now that...is a secret," he replied 
with a rather smug grin. "I'm willing to 
help you. Maybe we can get to those 
stupid rainbow crystals first or 
something. She's going to be looking for 
them soon." 
 
"Rainbow Crystals?" asked the cat 
dumbly. 
 
"They'll help Beryl find the Silver 
Imperium Crystal," said Carrot with a 
rough sounding snort. 
 
"What?" said Luna as her eyes went 
wide. 
 
"Are you really this stupid?" he 
grumbled. "How can you know..." 
 
"I've been paying attention," 
replied Carrot irritably. "Having the 
both of you after my ass has its 
advantages, like being around you both 
enough to overhear a few things. I don't 
always leave when you think I do." 
 
"If you're not with them..." said 
Luna as she turned her head away. 
 
"Those crazy gay bastards are trying 
to kill me too ya know!" he snapped. 
"Plus all those little under dressed 
brats of yours!" 
 
"Why would they want you dead?" said 
Luna as she narrowed her eyes at him. 
 
"I haven't figured that out yet," he 
said honestly. "In any case, the fact is 
I need you around. Especially Usagi." 
 
"I see..." said the cat as she hung 
her head. "You seem to know a lot, 
maybe that can..." 
 
"Oh no you don't! I'm not about to 
announce my identity to those brats! The 
first thing they'll do is try to burn my 
head off!" 
 
"I will tell them," said Luna 
firmly. 
 
"I only need Usagi. The others are 
expendable," said Carrot coldly. "So are 
you for that matter." 
 
Luna looked at him for a moment and 
seemed to remember her position. 
 
Carrot smirked. "She might be upset 
when I kill all her friends, but I have 
to wonder if she'll try to avenge them, 
or move on for the greater good? Beryl 
is a threat to the entire world. 
Whereas, I am not." 
 
Luna was shaking in terror again. 
"You'll never succeed!" 
 
"I know where they all live, and I'm 
not above surprising them one at a time 
cat," said Carrot as he hardened his 
face and frowned at her. "I'll wait 
until they let their guard down, and get 
them when they aren't transformed. I'm 
quite skilled at striking from the 
shadows, unnoticed." 
 
"No!" muttered Luna in horror. 
 
"We're going to play a game cat. 
It's called keep your mouth shut, or all 
your 'pretty soldiers' die." 
 
"We will not lose!" snapped Luna 
defiantly. 
 
"Do you really think they can find 
me before I can find them?" 
 
Luna growled animalistically at this, 
but finally relented and hung her head. 
 
"If Sailor Moon is back, I won't 
have to worry about it. She can handle 
Beryl," said Carrot with a small sigh. 
 
Luna looked slightly surprised at 
this, but didn't say anything. 
 
"Usagi should be able to go back 
after a week or so right?" 
 
"Um...there's a slight problem with 
that," said the animal nervously. She 
looked like she wasn't quite sure if she 
should be telling him about it or not. 
 
Carrot narrowed his eyes. "Problem?" 
 
"Usagi can't become Sailor Moon 
right now," said the cat. 
 
"What the hell do you mean 'Usagi 
can't become Sailor Moon right now'?" 
said Carrot as his eye twitched. 
 
"The transformation is voice 
triggered...it's rather complicated..." 
said the animal as it looked at him. 
 
Carrot's jaw dropped. 
"You're...you're shitting me!?" 
 
"This is your fault!" snapped the 
cat angrily. 
 
"There's gotta be a way around it!" 
cried Carrot in horror. "Usagi just has 
to be Sailor Moon! We'll all die if she 
isn't!" 
 
Once again, Luna looked surprised at 
his reaction. "There may be another 
way...but..." 
 
"But what? I don't care what we have 
to do! Without Sailor Moon, the Senshi 
will fail!" 
 
Luna coughed nervously. "There is a 
secondary measure for emergencies like 
this...but..." 
 
"Stop with the damn buts! What the 
hell is it?" 
 
"I can't remember," said Luna rather 
lamely. 
 
Carrot almost let her go just out of 
spite. "You had better be joking." 
 
"I don't have all of my memories!" 
said the cat indignantly. "It will come 
to me in time!" 
 
"Well, exactly how long will this 
'time' take?" growled Carrot. 
 
"It's not something I can predict! 
I'll just have to try my best to 
remember!" snapped Luna angrily. 
 
"Now..." 
 
"Now you'll die." 
 
Carrot's head whipped around and his 
eyes went wide. His entire body started 
to tingle and he cursed. "Oh shit." 
 
A small round ball rolled across 
the rooftop and stopped as it impacted 
on his heel gently. Around ten more 
quickly followed it from the shadows. 
 
The boy jumped off the edge of the 
roof, but it was too late. The rooftop 
he had been standing on rocked with 
explosion after explosion, sending 
debris flying through the air. He was 
thrown forward and higher into the air 
by the force of the blasts. 
 
He jerked violently as he struggled 
to regain his senses in the space of a 
half second. His wrist shot out and a 
wire line shot forward and into a nearby 
wall. He swung down and twisted 
violently as he struggled with his 
balance until he slammed into the wall 
of the opposite building. Pain exploded 
across his entire body. 
 
He hung there for a long moment, his 
eyes were squeezed shut and he groaned 
painfully. Slowly he shook his head and 
looked down at his hand. There was 
nothing there but a few strands of black 
hair. "Shit. Luna!" He glanced around in 
frustration and anger, searching for the 
animal. 
 
His search was quickly halted when 
his body started to tingle again. A 
volley of the small explosive devices 
could be seen hurtling towards him and 
he released his wire, plummeting to the 
street. It was only a one story drop 
from where he was hanging, but it still 
hurt. Debris rained down on him from 
above as the small grenades exploded 
over his head. The wall above him was 
shattered and bricks rained down onto 
the street around him. One glanced 
across his shoulder and sent him to his 
knees. 
 
"Damn it!" he growled as he stood up 
and searched the shadows around him. 
"Who the hell?" 
 
The street was silent at the moment. 
Slowly it started to come to life, the 
screams of the frightened homeowner 
above him floated down to him. 
 
"Well, I can see that your 
reputation exceeds your skills 
somewhat," said a male voice from the 
darkness behind him. 
 
Carrot spun around and stepped back. 
 
"I am Hikyu, brother of Kasumi the 
White Spider. I have come to avenge his 
death at your hands," said the voice. 
Carrot still couldn't see him. 
 
The boy growled in frustration. 
"That guy was sick, he needed killing! 
The damn pervert!" 
 
"That may be true, but he was my 
brother," said Hikyu from the darkness. 
 
"Stow it! You were after me long 
before I killed that gay bastard!" 
growled Carrot. 
 
"True enough, but now it is 
personal," said Hikyu calmly. 
 
The boy still couldn't place the 
voice. It was as if it was coming from 
everywhere at once. "Damn." He looked 
down at the street and noticed several 
more of the tiny explosives were moving 
towards him. That was when he saw his 
escape. He rushed towards the deadly 
balls and dove forward into them. 
 
+++++++++++++++ 
 
Hikyu remained in the shadows. He 
was standing directly in front of the 
boy. "This is too easy," he thought to 
himself cheerfully. He rolled several 
more of his grenades across the ground 
and chuckled. His laugh was short lived 
though, rather than drive the boy into 
the alley as he had intended, the boy 
actually ran straight at them. "What 
the?" 
 
The explosion lit up the street, 
flames littered the ground after it had 
passed. Chunks of asphalt clattered to 
the ground all over, but the boy was 
nowhere to be seen. "What? How?!" said 
the ninja as he stepped out into the 
light. He was a tall skinny man with a 
lithe figure. His mask covered his face 
and he wore a black cowl over his head. 
His eyes searched for the answer and he 
found no trace of the boy. 
 
Sirens started to sound in the 
distance and he cursed under his breath 
as he stepped back into the shadows. 
"Another time boy. I knew this wouldn't 
be an easy fight, you do not 
disappoint." 
 
+++++++++++++++++ 
 
Carrot was wet, cold , and shaking 
with terror in the darkness. He was 
sitting in complete darkness and staring 
up at the manhole cover above him. He 
had somehow managed to beat the grenades 
and lift the heavy metal disk before 
diving underground during the explosion. 
"How the hell did I do that?" he 
muttered shakily. He tried to push 
himself up to his feet and climb back 
up, but his arm gave out and sent him 
flat on his back in the water. It almost 
went into his mouth, but he managed to 
avoid that even in his surprise. 
 
"Shit!" he grumbled as he realized 
that his arm was broken. He hadn't had 
time to climb down the ladder into the 
hole, he'd just dived straight in 
headfirst. It was not a pleasant 
experience. He struggled to his feet 
rather quickly and gripped one of the 
ladder rungs. He had considered moving 
underground to escape, but the sounds of 
sirens in the distance had probably 
scared his attacker away. He had no 
intention of getting lost underground 
overnight. 
 
After a little trial and error, he 
managed to climb back up with one arm 
and move the lid enough for him to climb 
onto the street. There were still a few 
small flames burning on the ground from 
whatever had been inside the grenades. 
The ones that his attacker had used on 
the street appeared to be a little 
different than the ones that had blown 
him off the roof. Rather than just an 
explosion, they sprayed something 
similar to napalm over a wide area. 
 
He didn't have much time to think 
about at, as the sirens were becoming 
ever closer. He growled and staggered 
into the shadows of the building he'd 
originally fallen from. 
 
He sat in silence for a moment in a 
heap of garbage and growled in 
frustration as he clutched his arm. He 
grit his teeth in pain and suppressed a 
scream as he reset his arm. Scavenging a 
broken piece of plywood, he tore up a 
few plastic bags and managed to create a 
makeshift splint. 
 
After sitting for a moment and 
watching the fire truck and ambulance 
arrive, he staggered to his feet and 
moved further into the darkness. 
 
He didn't get very far when he 
noticed a small wet blob of black fuzz 
sitting on the ground in front of him. 
His eyes went wide and he gasped as he 
knelt down beside it. "Luna?" 
 
He touched her gently, rolling her 
over slightly to reveal that it was 
indeed the Moon Cat. He looked her over 
for a moment and closed his eyes. "Damn 
it. What the hell else can go wrong?" He 
gently picked up the animal and cradled 
it in his good arm. She was still alive, 
but in terrible shape. He growled in 
frustration and started walking. 
 
+++++++++++++++ 
 
The trek home was slow and painful. 
The animal in his arms was limp and 
silent thus far and he struggled up the 
stairs to the door. He didn't care about 
the fact that he was wearing his costume 
and walking through the hallway. He was 
in too much pain, and he'd just learned 
that he'd probably be wearing it for a 
while longer. 
 
He staggered into his room and 
gently set Luna on the ground. She was 
breathing relatively normally and hadn't 
woken up yet. She didn't appear to be in 
any immediate danger. 
 
Mei Lin stared at him in silence for 
a long time as he sat down and glared at 
the cat. He smelled bad, he was 
obviously beaten pretty badly, and he 
didn't appear to be in anywhere near the 
mood to speak. 
 
"Um..." she said as she started to 
rise to her feet. 
 
"Not right now," he replied as he 
stood up calmly. He walked over too the 
closet and started to peel off his 
clothes, taking extra care when he 
reached his broken arm. It was busted 
pretty good, and he knew he was going to 
have to lay low again, more so than 
normal. 
 
The girl watched in a sort of 
mortified shock as he dressed himself in 
front of her. She had been planning on 
being angry with him for going out to 
fight evil without her again. After all, 
he had waited until he thought she was 
asleep to leave. She'd been watching him 
closely lately though, and had almost 
followed him. She was feeling oddly 
relieved that she hadn't. 
 
"What happened to you?" she finally 
managed as he sat down to look at the 
cat again. 
 
"I got bitten, scratched, blown up, 
and I fell down a manhole," he replied 
as if he was giving her the time. 
 
"Oh." 
 
"I'm tired, don't know if I'll get 
any sleep with this damned arm though," 
he muttered irritably. He grit his teeth 
as he almost leaned on it and caused 
another surge of pain. He reapplied his 
makeshift splint and moved over to the 
corner to rest his back against the 
wall. 
 
"Um. Is there anything I can do?" 
she muttered nervously. 
 
"No. Just go to sleep. Gia will 
torture me enough in the morning," he 
said as he gave her a sidelong glance. 
 
The girl finally seemed to notice 
the animal that was sleeping on the 
floor. "Is that a cat?" 
 
"No, it's a pigeon," he snorted. 
"Yes, it's a cat." 
 
"What's wrong with it?" she asked 
him as she moved over to the animal's 
side. 
 
"Fell off a building," he said as he 
glanced at the wet fur ball. "Her name 
is Luna. I don't like her much, but I 
guess I couldn't just leave her there." 
 
Mei Lin frowned at this in confusion 
and knelt down beside the animal. She 
stroked it's fur gently and it simply 
lay there. "She's hurt!" 
 
"Falling off a building will do that 
to you," said Carrot as he closed his 
eyes and rolled his head back against 
the wall. Despite everything, he fell 
asleep rather quickly. 
 
+++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Morning came and he opened his eyes 
slowly. He wasn't sure what caused him 
to wake up, but quickly figured it out. 
The dull throbbing pain in his arm. He 
looked down and cursed at the swollen 
mass of flesh that his right arm had 
become. "Son of a..." He sighed and sat 
there for a moment. "This sucks." 
 
Mei Lin wasn't in the room and he 
glanced around for a moment. The place 
was empty, so he could at least suffer 
in peace for a time. He felt a little 
better at the thought. 
 
Naturally, someone had to ruin his 
tiny bit of joy. 
 
Luna was sitting in the middle of 
the room, looking at him. 
 
"What the hell do you want?" he 
snorted. 
 
She cocked her head slightly and 
simply stared at him. 
 
"Sorry about throwing you of f the 
building," he muttered as she continued 
to stare. "Quit lookin at me that way! 
It really wasn't my fault this time!" 
 
The cat blinked and licked her paw 
for a moment before settling down again 
to stare at him. 
 
"Look, you seem fine now. You can go 
back to Usagi. So scram!" he was 
starting to become angry. 
 
Luna didn't move. 
 
"Cut that out!" he snarled angrily. 
 
Luna stood up and stepped towards 
him. 
 
He frowned at her in confusion. 
"What?" 
 
"All right! Where the hell is he?" 
said Gia as she burst into the room and 
looked around. The woman took no more 
than a second to zero in on him in the 
corner with a cold glare. 
 
Luna's head jerked around and her 
ears flattened against the back of her 
head. She bolted over to another corner 
and searched frantically for an escape. 
Not finding one, she squat down and 
pressed her ears against the back of her 
head as she stared at the strange woman. 
 
"Oh shit!" said Carrot as he stared 
at Gia fearfully. 
 
The woman smirked as she looked down 
at him and noticed his arm. "Thought 
you'd just sit here and wait for it to 
get better?" 
 
"Um... Yeah. Kinda," he said 
nervously. 
 
"You should have told me about 
this!" she snapped as she moved up to 
him and lifted him up by his ear. "Look 
at that swelling! You idiot!" 
 
"Ouch! You were sleeping!" cried the 
boy as he was pulled towards the door. 
 
"You should have woken me up then!" 
she snapped. "That's broken you idiot!" 
 
"I was tired!" he cried indignantly. 
 
Gia opened her door and pointed 
inside. "Get in there!" 
 
"Gah!" cried Carrot as she forcibly 
pushed him into her room "Be careful! My 
arm is broken!" he snapped at her. 
 
Gia shook her head in disgust. Mei 
Lin was sitting at the table in the room 
and she smiled at her. "Well, I'm 
certainly glad you're around." 
 
"You did this!? Traitor!" cried 
Carrot angrily. 
 
Gia pulled out her black medical bag 
and set it on the table with firm 
finality. 
 
"Oh god! The bag of a thousand 
hells!" said Carrot as he eyed it 
fearfully. 
 
Luna walked into the room and sat 
down, having gone through the open door. 
 
"Don't just sit there you ungrateful 
fur ball! Help me!" he snapped. 
 
Mei Lin giggled at this, but quickly 
straightened her face up when he glared 
at her. 
 
"You got a cat?" said Gia in 
confusion as she stared at it. 
 
"What of it?" snorted Carrot as he 
calmed a bit. 
 
Gia looked at it and then back at 
the boy. "Your cat is bald." 
 
"Yeah. I'd noticed that," said 
Carrot as he smirked at Luna. He was 
somewhat surprised when this got no 
reaction from her. She simply sat down 
to watch him again. 
 
+++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Carrot was feeling rather stupid. He 
had his arm in a cast and a scowl on his 
face as he glared at Luna. He was once 
again sitting in his own room with the 
cat staring at him. 
 
"I bet you think this is real funny 
don't you?" he snorted as he watched 
her. It was sort of an unofficial 
staring contest. 
 
Luna said nothing and lay down, 
never taking her eyes off him. 
 
"Okay. I guess I can take you back 
later. I mean, I did drag you off I 
suppose," he was feeling worse and worse 
as she stared at him. It was 
irritating,. 
 
Luna stood up again and walked over 
to him. She meowed at him and poked his 
leg with her paw. Carrot blinked and 
lowered his leg a little. 
 
The cat purred cheerfully as she 
hopped into his lap and settled down. 
 
"What the hell?" he muttered as she 
simply lay there and purred in 
contentment. His guilt was starting to 
fade and was quickly replaced by 
confusion. Luna looked up at him and 
meowed again, rubbing her face in his 
hand. Unsure of what else to do he 
started petting her. It seemed to be 
what she wanted and she settled down 
again. "What's with you? Say something 
will ya?" 
 
The cat remained silent, and simply 
enjoyed the petting. 
 
Now he was starting to get nervous. 
Carrot swallowed and looked at the 
animal fearfully. "Luna?" 
 
She rolled over in his lap and 
practically forced him to rub her neck 
and chin. 
 
"Oh shit! I did it again!" he 
muttered in horror as he continued to 
pet the cat. "Oh man! How the hell am I 
gonna get Sailor Moon back now?!" 
 
++++++++++++++++++ 
 
TBC...