Gaijin  
 
Part 13: Carrot's Personal Hell

By Sean D'Anna
 
=====  
 
Carrot was miserable, as usual. 
 
"How long are you going to sit there petting that cat?" asked Mei 
Lin as she stared at him with a small pout on her lips. She took off 
her glasses and set them on the table as she rested her head in her 
arms. 
 
"Sorry if you're bored, but I can't do much for a few more days at 
least," replied the boy calmly as he lifted up his cast. 
 
"Days?" asked the girl in confusion. 
 
"I can probably take off the cast now if I'm careful, it's been a 
week," replied the boy calmly. "Gia won't let me though." 
 
The girl blinked at this, but said nothing. She nodded her head a 
little and sighed. "I can feel the evil growing stronger..." 
 
"All I can feel is a headache," grumbled Carrot as Luna rubbed her 
head in his hand forcibly, making him continue to pet her. He hated to 
admit it, but it was rather relaxing. He'd feel better if she would go 
back to normal and get Sailor Moon back on track. His brow furrowed at 
that, he wasn't sure what kind of condition the Senshi would be in 
when he found them again. He hoped that the down time was relatively 
quiet, and he hadn't dared leave the home as of late. His boss had 
taken his excuse rather well. Something along the lines of "People 
are trying to kill me boss, can't come in for a while." 
 
The man had replied with an offer of assistance, but Carrot had 
declined politely. Stating that it was a bit complicated. 
 
The man hadn't sounded surprised at this at all. In fact, it 
seemed as if he was expecting it. "If you live, and want to keep 
working, give me a call." 
 
That was the end of that. Carrot suspected that the man was 
suspicious of him, thinking he was some sort of rouge shiniobi or 
something. It was one less problem to deal with, and he was fine with 
it. Even Gia hadn't been bothering him about going out lately. 
 
Mei Lin voiced her boredom on occasion, but hadn't really pressed 
the matter, and Luna was acting like a normal cat. That probably 
bugged him most of all. She was eating cat food, not that he wasn't 
sure if she was or not before. He caught her drinking out of the 
toilet in the communal bathroom at one point. It was quite disturbing. 
 
The bald spot on her forehead was still in the shape of a crescent 
moon. It had lost a bit of fur from the incident, but it had grown 
back quickly with no change in the animal. He was growing more and 
more frustrated and did his best to try and think of an answer. 
Unfortunately, he was coming up completely blank; dropping her off 
another building would probably do no good. 
 
++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
"Ha ha ha ha ha haaa!" cried the thing as it stood over the fallen 
scouts with a malicious grin on its face. It was created from a 
motorcycle that had been sitting on the side of the road nearby, and 
the engine on it's back puttered loudly. There was a wheel sticking 
out from between its breasts and one between its ankles that it 
balanced on as it stood still for a moment and pointed at the girls. 
"Pathetic! You're no match for me!" 
 
"Damn," growled Rei angrily as she struggled to her feet with her 
friends. She had various bruises and a small case of road rash, the 
same as her companions. "Usagi! Do something!" 
 
The girl was standing silently; the brooch in her hands was 
lifeless. She had a horrified look on her face at the sight of the 
battle and tears in her eyes. "I can't help them!" cried her mind in 
shock. 
 
"What is she doing?" muttered Ami in confusion. "Transform Usagi!" 
 
"Something wrong?" asked the motorcycle monster as it looked at 
the blonde with a smirk on her face. "Why are you still here little 
girl? Don't you know it's dangerous?" Her grin was cruel and cold as 
she glared at the girl. 
 
"I can't...transform..." whispered Usagi. The very act made her 
throat burn slightly, but she ignored the pain completely. She simply 
stared at the brooch with her mouth hanging open. Slowly she pulled it 
up over her head again and closed her eyes. "Moon Prism Power 
Makeup..." another whisper, the only form of speech she could create, 
and even then it was painful. Again, nothing happened. "No!" Her voice 
cracked and actually lowered in volume. 
 
None of her friends noticed her speak; they couldn't hear her. 
 
"No!" gasped Makoto as she noticed what the girl was doing. "Usagi 
can't transform!" 
 
"What?" said Minako as she averted her attention from the monster 
for a moment. 
 
The tire under the thing's feet squealed to life as she charged 
the undefended blonde and rammed into her, throwing her across the 
pavement roughly. "Bah, this is pathetic! Where is your leader? Won't 
she come to save you now?" Venus didn't get up from the blow and 
simply lay still. 
 
"Mars!" cried Ami firmly. 
 
"Uhn?" said the dark haired senshi as she jerked her head towards 
the girl. 
 
"The gas tank!" 
 
The Senshi of Mars got a hard look on her face as she nodded 
slowly. The monster had its back to her from its assault on Minako. 
It tried to turn in response to the attack that was sent at its back, 
but it was too late. An arrow of flame slammed into her side, piercing 
the thin metal on the tank of its body. With a scream, it exploded 
into a ball of fire and went silent. 
 
Mars fell to her knees and gasped from her injuries. "Damn..." 
 
Tuxedo mask appeared next to Usagi and said nothing; he merely 
frowned at the scene and looked at the girl for a moment. "Something 
is wrong." 
 
"Duh!" snapped Mars irritably. 
 
"You're not as strong without her," replied the boy calmly as he 
ignored her. 
 
"He's right, Usagi almost always destroyed our enemies in the 
end," said Ami quietly. She had her head down and no one could read 
her face. 
 
Usagi was looking at the ground as well, and hadn't even tried to 
look at the others since the end of the fight. 
 
"Where the hell were you rose boy?" snapped Rei. 
 
"Speaking of that, where's Luna?" said Minako as she looked 
thoughtful. 
 
"That's right. She's not here either," agreed Makoto. 
 
Usagi looked up at her with fear clear in her eyes. She shook her 
head slowly as tears streamed down her face. 
 
"Is something wrong Usagi?" said Ami as she approached the girl. 
 
The blonde nodded vigorously. 
 
"Something's wrong with Luna?" said Makoto as she approached her 
friend slowly. 
 
"She's..." Usagi struggled to whisper more and painfully cleared 
her throat again. "She's missing." 
 
"How long?" asked Ami quietly. "Don't try to tell us, how many 
days?" 
 
The girl looked at Mercury and held up eight fingers. 
 
"A week?" said Minako dumbly. "You didn't tell us?" 
 
Usagi glowered at the girl for a moment at this. 
 
"Oh, sorry," replied the girl sheepishly. 
 
"It isn't safe to talk here, we should go," said Mamoru as he 
turned away. "I'll speak with you later, Usagi." 
 
"This isn't getting any better," said Makoto as she glared at the 
ground. 
 
The senshi quickly dispersed, and Usagi looked over at Ami. She 
was the only one who remained behind. 
 
"I'll help you get home," said the shorthaired girl in her 
civilian identity. 
 
Usagi nodded as a new wave of tears formed in her eyes. 
 
"You should have said something about Luna sooner," said the girl 
as she put her arm across the blonde's shoulder. "We have to find 
her." 
 
+++++++++++++++++ 
 
Luna was staring out the window into the city. Carrot was ignoring 
her and watching television lazily. 
 
It was another quiet evening and he snorted as Mei Lin sat down 
next to him to watch for lack of anything else to do. 
 
This went on for a few minutes; the girl kept giving him nervous 
glances. Carrot ignored this in favor of the program. She always acted 
weird around him anyway. He couldn't figure her out. 
 
Mei Lin scrunched her face up as she steeled herself. They were 
sitting together alone, she was wearing a nightshirt, and he was in a 
relaxed mood. About as good a mood as he got really. Well, when he 
wasn't up to something anyway. She glanced at him and held her breath, 
his hand was resting on the floor in front of him, slowly leaning in, 
she edged her hand closer to his. Almost gasping out loud she 
stretched her fingers forward to touch his and...someone knocked on 
the door. 
 
"Eh?" said Carrot as he moved his hand away suddenly and looked at 
it for a moment. "What time is it? Who the hell would be here this 
late?" 
 
Without a thought he stood up to get the door, missing Mei Lin 
curse under her breath in frustration. He opened the door and wished 
he'd asked who it was before opening it. "Shit." 
 
A familiar man in a long trench coat was standing there grinning 
at him. His hair was still slicked back and he had a cigarette in his 
mouth. "Hey kid." 
 
"Hello Inspector," replied the boy with a sour frown on his face. 
 
"Came by to talk with ya again," said the man calmly as he 
strolled inside. 
 
"Go ahead then," said Carrot, as he looked the man up and down for 
a moment while he had his back to him. 
 
The man paused at the sight of the young girl sitting in the 
middle of the room. She was Chinese and gave him a nasty frown. "I 
hope I'm not interrupting anything..." 
 
"Right," grumbled Carrot as he noticed Luna watching the scene 
calmly. "Did you want something?" 
 
The man snorted and glanced around the room "Nice place." 
 
"Point please, I'd like to go back to letting myself waste away in 
front of the television soon." 
 
"My leads are drying up," said the man calmly as he turned to look 
at the boy. "I still want your boss." 
 
"I quit that job actually," replied the boy calmly as he sat down 
at the table. The man did the same without being instructed further. 
"I still can't help you, and I've got problems of my own to deal 
with." 
 
"Maybe not," said the man calmly. "I've got reliable sources that 
say otherwise though." 
 
Carrot narrowed his eyes at this. "Sources?" 
 
"That's right, a lot of strange things have been going on around 
the area. I've heard reports of a Shinobi attacking a faction of the 
Yakuza around here. Unofficial of course, no one seems to claim 
responsibility for the attacks. Not unusual of course, that is kind of 
the point of a shinobi. However, that's not all." 
 
Carrot glowered at him, but didn't speak. 
 
"There are reports of moving shadows in this area, a lot of messed 
up property, a few sightings of a mysterious figure that seems to fly 
around the rooftops, you get the idea." 
 
"I don't have a clue what you're talking about," said the boy 
calmly. 
 
"Yeah, well it gets better, seems you don't have a name kid," 
replied the man as he puffed on his cigarette. "Or a guardian for that 
matter." 
 
The boy tensed at this but remained silent. "I bet you don't have 
a passport either." 
 
"What do you want?" asked Carrot with a dangerous edge to his 
voice. 
 
"A little more cooperation for one," replied the man calmly. "I'm 
not particularly interested in you, but I think you can help me." 
 
Carrot's frown deepened. "You're going to blackmail me?" 
 
"That's such a harsh word," replied the man with a cool tone. 
"Think of it as your civic duty. I think someone like you would be 
useful, especially since you appear to be a rurouni." 
 
"What makes you think that? I'm a gaijin," said the boy calmly. 
 
"Yeah, the perfect disguise," replied the man calmly. "I want the 
man you worked for. I don't care who I have to step on to get him." 
 
Carrot turned his head away from the man. "I don't work for him 
anymore, I've got problems of my own to deal with. I couldn't stay 
there. I really can't help you anymore." 
 
The man chuckled at this and leaned in to look the boy in the 
eyes. "I believe you, but if you ignore me, I guarantee I'll make your 
life a lot harder." 
 
Mei Lin said nothing, but listened into the conversation very 
carefully. She looked pensive and uncomfortable. Carrot glanced at her 
and she nodded in understanding. "I'll go see Mia." She stood up and 
left the pair alone for the time being. 
 
Carrot gave a small chuckle after she left the room and the man 
simply continued to stare at the boy calmly. "You want my help do you? 
I've got no love for the Yakuza, they're part of my problem." 
 
The man smiled at this slightly. 
 
"I don't think you can handle this though," said the boy calmly. 
"You think I'm a ninja or something? Fine, what if I am? I've got 
enough people trying to kill me as it is. I don't need this on me 
now." 
 
"I'm not asking, help me and I'll make your life here easier," he 
replied. 
 
"How?" asked Carrot as he narrowed his eyes again. 
 
"I can keep people's attention away from you as long as you 
behave. You haven't had any problems yet, so I doubt if it'll come 
into play. I can make sure the government ignores you." 
 
"If I left, you'd never find me," he replied calmly. 
 
The man snorted. "You're hanging around here for a reason." 
 
Carrot didn't react to this, but he cursed mentally. The man was 
right, he couldn't go anywhere until the mess with the Senshi was 
resolved. Without Usagi, he'd be dead along with the rest of the world 
in a few years time at most. "What do you want me to do?" 
 
"That's more like it," said the man. 
 
"I didn't say I'd help you, I want to know exactly what you want 
from me, then I'll decide if it's worth my time." 
 
This caught the man off guard. He arched his eyebrow in unhidden 
surprise. 
 
"Don't think you can intimidate me Inspector, I can make you 
vanish without much trouble," replied the boy calmly. 
 
"What?! You little..." his anger was cut off as the tip of his 
cigarette vanished. A thin wire protruded from the boy's sleeve and 
was embedded in the wall just in front of his face. 
 
Carrot was smiling at him, and it wasn't a friendly look. "It 
would be more trouble than it's worth at the moment, I'll humor you 
for now. Tell me what you want." 
 
The man growled angrily and took the broken cigarette from his 
lips and replaced it with another. He patiently lit it and calmed 
himself down before continuing. "I want the man who's been making a 
mess of things lately. The Yakuza are usually pretty quiet, but lately 
they've been getting rowdy. It's starting to make us look bad." 
 
Carrot nodded at this and said nothing. His face was stony and 
calm, it unnerved the Inspector quite a bit to see a look like that 
from a kid. "What kind of problems have you been having. I've been 
kind of busy lately, not much time to pay attention to things." 
 
The man snorted at this. "Mysterious disappearances, explosions in 
the middle of town, reports of monsters tearing around, that sort of 
thing. This is a big problem for us. A while ago, there was a rash of 
gaijin killings. Boys about your age actually. Most of them were cut 
to pieces. There was also an attack on one of the suspected leaders of 
one of the families in the area. His office was wrecked. We suspect it 
was an attempted assassination." 
 
Carrot smiled. "You're about to get in over your head Inspector. 
There's more to this than the Yakuza." 
 
"Oh?" asked the man as he arched his eyebrow again. 
 
"I'll tell you when you're ready, for now I'll say that there are 
a lot more dangerous shinobi running around besides me." 
 
"Really?" said the man as he narrowed his eyes at the boy. 
"Reports of young girls in fuku, fighting monsters as well?" 
 
"This isn't tabloid crap kid, I saw that office myself," growled 
the Inspector irritably. 
 
"Tabloids?" snorted Carrot as he gave the man a somewhat satisfied 
looking smirk. "Hmmm. Maybe I could use a little help," he frowned 
deeply and seemed to think about it. "What are you going to do to make 
this worth my time?" 
 
The man was taken back by this. "What?" 
 
"You heard me," replied the boy calmly. 
 
"We can arrange something," said the man with a deep frown forming 
on his face. 
 
"Yeah, yeah," said the boy as he waved this off. "I've got a few 
contacts that I might be able to work with. I could pull a few strings 
and maybe get some leads, but I'd have to do a lot of this myself. 
Plus, I don't want to lose the trust of some of these people." 
 
The man nodded at this. "I can look away, I'm after the big fish." 
 
Carrot looked down at his arm for a moment and slammed it onto the 
edge of the table, cracking the plaster on his cast. He began to peel 
it away calmly and smirked as the man jumped in reaction to this. "I 
guess I'll just have to settle with being under your thumb for a 
moment. Don't push me too hard, I can turn the tables more easily than 
you think." 
 
The man didn't look pleased with this and nodded his head slowly. 
"So, I take it you'll accept my offer." 
 
"The agreement still needs some ironing out, but I think we can 
work something out. I expect you to scratch my back if I'm scratching 
yours though. I don't like you, if I ask for something, it's for a 
reason." 
 
The man blinked at this. "All right kid." 
 
"Don't call me kid. I'm called Carrot." 
 
"Carrot?" said the man with a small frown. 
 
"Yeah, got a problem with that?" snorted the boy irritably. 
 
"No, just wasn't expecting it." 
 
"You got a name Inspector?" said the boy calmly. 
 
"Kajura." 
 
"Well, I hope you know what you're getting into, this is much 
weirder than you could imagine." 
 
"Enlighten me," said the man calmly. 
 
"When I think you'll believe me, I will," said the boy as he 
snorted and glanced at the cat in the window for a moment. She hadn't 
moved yet and simply stared at them. 
 
"I'm going to need something," said the man irritably. "I'm not 
just going to take your word on this." 
 
Carrot snapped his head towards the window and stood up suddenly. 
"You!" 
 
"Huh?" said the man in surprise. 
 
"You brought them here?!" cried the boy angrily. 
 
"What the?" said Kajura as he turned his eyes towards the window 
and blinked. He saw only darkness outside. "Look kid..." 
 
"Get the hell out of here you idiot! We'll die!" cried Carrot as 
he bolted towards the door. Luna had already jumped away and was 
skittering towards the door after the boy. 
 
The man started to stand from the table as the boy rushed towards 
the door. "Hey! Where are you..." 
 
The wall exploded inward, showering them with debris and a thick 
cloud of plaster. 
 
Kajura coughed violently as he waved his arms in front of his face 
in an attempt to see and breathe. He had been slammed into the wall 
next to the door from the blast and felt a small trickle of blood 
moving down his forehead. "Shit!" 
 
"Inspector Kajura, you have outlived your usefulness," said a cold 
voice from within the room. He barely heard the sound because of the 
ringing in his ears. He saw something moving across the floor at his 
feet and felt a tap against his shoe. "Wha?" 
 
Another ripping boom tore through the air and he felt his body 
jerk violently, his limbs flailed about weakly and he found himself 
lying flat on his back. His vision had blacked out and he coughed a 
bit more, but found himself able to breathe more easily for some 
reason. "Wha? Wha happened?" he muttered dumbly. 
 
"You were followed," replied Carrot's voice. 
 
He opened his eyes after realizing that was why he couldn't see 
and saw the boy standing over him in what appeared to be a combat 
stance. He wasn't in the room anymore, but could still see the ceiling 
of the apartment. It was quickly being covered by a black smoke 
though. He sat up and saw the gaping hole where the boy's room had 
been. No one had yet emerged from any of the other rooms yet. 
 
"Damn, you idiot," grumbled Carrot as he kicked the man in his 
chest. "Get going moron! We'll die if we stay here!" 
 
Kajura stumbled too his feet and started staggering towards the 
door. 
 
Carrot didn't follow him, and he staggered out of the building. He 
fumbled for his radio in his pocket lamely and emptied his pockets out 
frantically in search of it. 
 
Finally he found it and put it up to his mouth. "We have a 
problem." 
 
++++++++++++++++ 
 
Carrot stood defensively in the middle of the hall, he was 
watching his surroundings carefully and moving back slowly. Luckily, 
the other residents seemed to be smart enough to not come out, he did 
catch a few people glancing out of their doors for a moment. Luna was 
gone as well, he hadn't seen her since the first explosion, but she 
exited the room just before him. "Damn." 
 
A familiar figure calmly stepped from the smoke of his room and 
stood in the middle of the hall, not bothering to disguise himself in 
the shadows. The male ninja, Hikyu. "I knew keeping an eye on him 
might be useful." 
 
Carrot growled and stepped back slightly. "Been following that guy 
around lately? Hoping he might get lucky?" 
 
"Bah, luck had nothing to do with it. An Inspector wandering the 
streets on his own, while investigating my master was bound to lead to 
something. Especially since he was directly involved with the 
investigation of several battles where you were present. They didn't 
realize it of course, but your choice of weapons is somewhat limited. 
It was easy for someone with enough knowledge to figure out." 
 
 
"I doubt if you're that smart," said the boy as calmly as he could. It 
was all he could do not to wet himself. He was trapped, and they both 
knew it. 
 
"You're already dead," said Hikyu as he narrowed his eyes at the 
boy. 
 
Carrot's body started to tingle all over. "Wha?" He jumped back as 
the walls next to him started to explode outward, filling the hall 
with shrapnel and plaster. He continued to move back, turning quickly 
into a full-blown spring. The explosions continued behind him, 
shooting the walls into the hallway just behind him. He slammed his 
shoulder into the door, and fell flat on his back as it didn't give 
way. "Shit!" Without thinking he rolled back as the explosion ripped 
through the air for the last time, just barely managing to avoid the 
blast. Splinters of wood and sharp protrusions from the mess dug into 
his body as he moved across the floor. He stopped and jumped upright, 
gritting his teeth in pain. 
 
Hikyu was standing in an unmolested part of the hallway on the 
end, Carrot could see a few of the residents and families sitting in 
their rooms, staring at the huge hole that used to be the walls on 
either side of the halls. Tiny fires were starting to form all over, 
and most of them were smart enough to start escaping out the windows 
in their rooms. 
 
"Hmmmm..." growled Hikyu in frustration. "This grows irritating. 
Prepare to die!" He raised his hands and revealed a handful of the 
tiny round grenades. 
 
Carrot tensed as his body tingled once again, this time it was 
most focused at the small of his back. 
 
"Get down!" 
 
Carrot reacted without thinking. He fell face first on the ground 
and heard another bang, much shorter and more distinctive than the 
bombs Hikyu employed. 
 
He looked up and saw the man staggering back with his hand on his 
gut. His mask still covered his face, but his eyes were wide with 
shock. "No!" he muttered in what sounded like terror. 
 
Carrot blinked at this. "What happened?" His eyes focused a bit 
more, this time at the tiny round objects at Hikyu's feet. "Oh shit." 
 
The world flashed and sound ripped through the air. Flames covered 
the end of the hall and the back wall was blown away, along with most 
of the rest of the building. 
 
Carrot felt his body jerk back, unable to get to his feet in time 
as the flames rushed forward. "This is gonna suck!" he cried as he 
squeezed his eyes shut. 
 
+++++++++++++++++ 
 
The first explosion had rocked the entire building. Mei Lin jerked 
her head towards the wall as she sat with Gia in the woman's room. 
 
"What the hell was that?!" cried the doctor in shock. 
 
"An explosion?" muttered Mei Lin dumbly. 
 
"Where?" said Gia as she stood up. 
 
"Carrot!" cried Mei Lin in horror. She started to move towards the 
door, when another explosion sounded in the hallway, she jumped back 
in shock and the wall next to Carrot's room cracked badly. There was a 
groaning sound as the supports struggled to hold. 
 
"Oh shit," said Gia as she grabbed the girl around her neck 
without thinking. "What the hell is going on?" She forcibly dragged 
the girl towards the window, watching the wall carefully. "Carrot?!" 
she called out for the boy through the wall. 
 
"No!" muttered Mei Lin in horror. She hadn't struggled much as of 
yet, and had a ward gripped in her hand tightly. She had pulled it out 
of her shirt after being surprised by the second blast. 
 
There were several moments of silence. That was when the next 
blast came, this time it was a succession of explosions that tore the 
wall in front of them down. The pair was blasted back through the 
window. The explosion went into the hall instead of every direction, 
but it still hit them with a surprising force. 
 
The pair screamed as they hit the ground in a shower of glass, 
both of them were cut, but not badly by the trip. The ground slammed 
into Gia's back, but the woman behind her cushioned Mei Lin's fall. 
 
"Oooh," said Gia painfully. 
 
"What happened?!" gasped Mei Lin as she staggered to her feet 
first. The ward in her hand now glowed slightly, and a few of the 
other residents started to climb out their windows as well. There were 
eight apartments on the bottom floor on each side of the building. 
Smoke billowed out of the open windows, but none more so than the 
boy's room. It was now nothing but a burnt out hole in the side of the 
building. 
 
"No! Carrot!" cried Mei Lin in horror. 
 
Gia grabbed the girl forcibly. "If he was in there, we can't do 
anything for him!" 
 
"No!" cried the girl in horror. She fell to her knees and sobbed. 
 
Gia frowned at the scene, not able to quite comprehend what was 
going on for a long moment. 
 
"What a mess," said an unfamiliar voice. 
 
The pair gasped and turned to see a man standing there behind them 
with his arms folded over his chest. He was unfamiliar too the pair 
and had a cold smirk on his face. He was dressed in a gray uniform of 
some kind and had a confident glare as he stared at the blackened 
hole. 
 
The back end of the building exploded outward, amazingly, the 
structure remained upright despite this. The girls gasped in horror 
while the man remained disturbingly calm. 
 
"Hmmm..." said the man as he narrowed his eyes at the scene. 
"Still alive? Interesting. I've seen enough, for now." He turned away 
leaving the confused pair alone. A few of the other residents were 
mulling about in the area in a sort of daze still. 
 
Mei Lin started crying again, and Gia joined her. The pair held 
each other for a long moment and cried together. More out of shock 
than sadness. 
 
After several moments, there was a soft mewling sound. Mei Lin 
pulled her head off of Gia's shoulder and looked down at the small 
black cat with a crescent shaped bald spot on her forehead. "Luna!" 
She scooped the cat up and stood up. 
 
"What happened?" asked Gia quietly. 
 
"I don't know! Carrot was talking to that Inspector when I left." 
The girl looked at the hole again. "If Luna made it out, I know he did 
too." 
 
Gia had doubts about that. The boy always seemed to be afraid of 
something, maybe it had finally caught up with him. "Is this...what 
you were running from, Carrot?" She spoke softly as she said this, and 
the girl didn't appear to notice. 
 
"Come on! We've got to find him!" said Mei Lin as she started 
moving towards the front of the building. 
 
Gia blinked as she realized the girl hadn't even considered 
looking in the room for the boy. "I hope she's right." 
 
++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Kajura watched the boy fall to the ground in front of him. His 
pistol was held at the ready as his target came into his sights. 
Almost before the boy's head was out of the way, he had struck his 
target. The ninja staggered back, dropping what was in his hands to 
the ground as he clutched at his belly in shock. "Got you." He kept 
his weapon trained, the man wasn't quite dead yet. His aim was a 
little off. 
 
The man did nothing, and didn't even try to move. He seemed to be 
confused about what had happened too him. He started to relax when he 
caught the boy's movement out of the corner of his eye. He glanced 
down after a half second and noticed the boy was looking at something 
on the ground with a horrified expression. 
 
That was when Kajura remembered exactly how the ninja had made his 
entrance. "Oh fuck." 
 
The hallway exploded in flames. The boy closed his eyes and he 
grabbed him on the back of his shirt, pulling him out the door as he 
fell backwards onto the stairs. The trip down was painful at best, but 
somehow they avoided serious injury as the flames burst out of the 
door over their heads and sprayed debris out into the street over 
their heads. 
 
They lay on the pavement for a moment, unmoving. Finally, Carrot 
stirred. 
 
The boy sat up and clutched the side of his head in pain. His hand 
was over the scar that ran down his face over his eye and he grunted 
as he staggered to his feet. "Kajura, you all right?" 
 
"Yeah, guess we're even now," said the man painfully. 
 
"Still want my help? This started after I stumbled across them a 
few months ago." 
 
"So they're after you?" growled the man irritably. 
 
"Yeah, what of it?" The boy glared at the man angrily and spit out 
a mouthful of blood on the pavement. 
 
"So, this is all your fault?" growled the man as he pointed at the 
building. 
 
"The hell it is! These crazy jerks have been after me for months! 
This is your fault! I was doing fine until you lead them here! Now 
I've got to find another place to lay low for a while you asshole!" 
 
"What? I'm gonna lock you up for the rest of your life for causing 
this mess punk!" 
 
"Causing this mess? I ain't got nothin ta do with this crap! It 
ain't my fault these crazy jerks think I'm some sort of..." Carrot 
paused. "Hey. Why are they trying to kill me?" 
 
"You don't know?" said Kajura in shocked anger. 
 
"Well, I've learned a little bit. I met them a few months ago, 
when I was living on the streets. They were trying to kill me from the 
start, I still don't know what the hell started all this..." He looked 
thoughtful for a long moment. "They never explained it, it was always 
'Prepare to die!' right from the start. I hadn't thought about it in a 
while on account of those stupid gay bastards and underdressed 
teenagers." 
 
"You mean there's more people trying to kill you?" said the man as 
his jaw went slack. 
 
"Carrot!" cried Mei Lin as she rounded the corner and spotted him. 
Luna was in her arms and she rushed up and tossed the animal aside. 
She landed on her feet lightly and gave the girl an annoyed glare for 
a moment. 
 
The boy blinked as he found himself dodging a kiss. She managed to 
plant them all over his face though despite his best efforts. "Hey! 
Quit it!" 
 
"I'm so happy! I was afraid you'd been..." 
 
"You're still alive?!" came a shocked cry. Gia stood staring at 
him dumbly. 
 
"Hey! Thanks for bein so happy to see me!" he snapped irritably as 
he glared at her. 
 
"You jerk! You blew up my house!" she screamed in rage. 
 
"ME!?" he protested. 
 
The sound of sirens started in the distance. 
 
"Well kid, time to face the music," said Kajura as he grabbed his 
shoulder. 
 
"I'll give you what you want, even or not, you helped me out back 
there," said Carrot without looking back at him. Mei Lin remained 
attached to his neck and blinked at this. 
 
The man frowned as he glanced down the street. He seemed undecided 
about what to do. Covering for the boy after this mess would be a 
little more risky than he had wanted. The boy didn't look at him, but 
remained still in his grip. The man let out a heavy sigh and turned 
away. "Where can I find you?" 
 
Carrot's body relaxed, the needle in his hand that no one had 
noticed yet slipped back into his sleeve. He wasn't sure if he had the 
nerve to use it on the man or not. "Contact Dr. Mizura here at her 
clinic. She'll be able to contact me." 
 
"This is going to take a few days to clear up," said Kajura. 
 
"We've got time if nothing else," said the boy as he started 
walking. He shrugged off Mei Lin's grip without a word as he moved. 
 
Gia jogged after him with a frustrated frown on her face. "Where 
the hell are you going?" 
 
Carrot said nothing and continued on his way. Gia and Mei Lin 
quickly followed after him. Luna straggled along behind them, and 
paused long enough to give Kajura a passing glance as she vanished 
into the growing crowd after them. 
 
++++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
"Hikyu has failed," said an aged voice in a darkened room. 
 
"Most unfortunate," replied a cultured feminine voice. 
 
"Humph," said the young female voice within the group. "So, 
another one of my Uncles has failed." 
 
"This grows bothersome," replied a deep masculine tone. It 
belonged to the largest of the shadows hidden in the blackness. 
 
"Think you can take him?" said Kei calmly. 
 
"We'll see." 
 
"Not if I get him first," replied Kei. None of the others could 
see the smirk on her face. 
 
The old voice sighed. "This is not to be taken lightly any longer, 
the boy is powerful, more so than we had ever anticipated. This is 
more than random luck if he managed to defeat both Hikyu and Kasumi." 
 
"He had help," said the large shadow. 
 
"That makes him even more dangerous than before then," said the 
old man. 
 
Kei felt a sight tremor of some unidentifiable feeling at those 
words. "More dangerous? I will kill him, he's mine." 
 
"He's fair game little one," said the male as his voice faded into 
nothing. 
 
Kei growled in anger at this, but faded away at this. 
 
"I think you know something," said the old voice. 
 
"I know he's killed two of us, and has to be destroyed. There is 
nothing more that I need to share." The woman's voice faded as well. 
 
"Interesting," said Zocite as he appeared in front of the last 
shadow, his form easily visible despite the shadows. 
 
"What do you want?" snapped the old man. 
 
"Nothing, just checking up on my interests. The boy is a problem 
indeed." 
 
"I'd noticed that," said the old man with a disgusted snort. 
 
"Well, he'll be dealt with soon enough," replied Zocite as he 
vanished. "We have something that belongs too you. Do you want it 
back?" 
 
"What good would it do us now?" said the old man. 
 
"It is in no condition to aid you at the moment. I'll keep it 
then, I may be able to make some use of it." 
 
"Do as you will," said the old man calmly. 
 
"Yes, I think I will. Tell the Oyabun I said hello." 
 
The old man shook his head. "Master, your involvement with this 
force grows more dangerous. You were foolish to even think of what you 
have done." He gave a tired sounding sigh and said nothing more. His 
master was now a slave himself, even though he doubted if the man 
realized it. There was nothing he could do about it. He could only 
serve, until death. It was the way of his chosen path, and the path of 
his clan until it was destroyed. 
 
++++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
TBC... 
 
Well, I decided that I could shed a little more light on things 
with this chapter. ^_^ Not too much though, but I think you'll get a 
little bit better picture about what's happening if you're smart.