Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Gaijin ❯ Chapter 10

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Gaijin

Part 10

I will survive!

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

Carrot sat down on the floor at the
small table that now resided in the
middle of his floor. He had a small cup
of tea in his hands and looked quite
irritable. The fact that he looked that
way more and more seemed to go unnoticed
by his new roommate. She bustled about
the room cheerfully; cleaning things
that didn't really need cleaning. His
attitude wasn't unusual, especially
since he'd figured out that the Youma
were trying to assassinate him along
with the Yakuza. Life sucked in general
these days. Then there was Mei Lin.

"Oh! I should start dinner!"
exclaimed the girl as she stopped
dusting and moved over to the tiny
refrigerator and microwave that rested
in the corner. Most men wouldn't mind
having a woman around to cook and clean
for them. Some even insisted on it,
Carrot found it somewhat annoying.

"I hate my life."

"That's nice! So, are we going to go
and find the evil tonight?" asked the
girl cheerfully as she pushed her
glasses up onto her face as she turned
to look at him.

"No," he replied sourly.

"We really should, I mean..."

"The evil will find us on its own,
believe me," he muttered as he put his
forehead on the table and sighed.

"Oh," said the girl as she blinked
at his reply. "Are you sure?"

"Unfortunately, yes," he responded
as he picked his head up to glare at
her.

"Well, at least you don't have to
face the darkness alone! Now you have my
help!"

"You couldn't beat a pile of shit,"
he replied as he put his head back down
on the table. He sat upright again and
frowned as he glanced around. "I'm
bored."

The girl looked at him again. "Are
you sure you don't want to go searching
for evil tonight?"

"Yes, I'd go outside, but I know it
will find me if I do," he responded with
a small sigh. "Maybe I'll play a game?"
He looked over at his television and the
game system that had a small pile of
disks stacked next to it neatly.

There was a knock at the door and
Carrot blinked. "Huh?" He stood up and
walked over to open it. Gia was standing
there looking at him with a grin on her
face. "What's up?"

"Well, aren't you cheerful today?"
said the woman as she smirked at him.

"Not really," he replied with a
small shrug. "Did you want something?"

"I'd like to talk with your
girlfriend," said the woman with a
slight smirk.

"Oh. Hello Dr. Mizura," said the
girl cheerfully as she walked up behind
him and smiled.

"Hello dear, why don't you come with
me. The grouch will probably appreciate
a little time alone."

"The grouch would appreciate a lot
of time alone actually," replied the boy
as he snorted and turned away in
disinterest.

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

"So, how are things with him
lately?" asked Gia as she smirked at the
girl sitting with her.

Mei Lin sipped on the tea she had
been given and sighed. "Fine I guess, he
doesn't do much."

Gia sighed and rolled her eyes. "I
figured as much, that lazy bum. All he
did before was sit around his apartment
as much as he could. I had to twist his
arm to get him to even get a job."

"Really? He seems so...active."

"Really? And he complains about me
and Spike, that dog," said Gia with a
small frown on her face.

"He's always training, I've been
here for a week and it seems that's all
he does besides sitting around in front
of the TV."

Gia blinked at this. "You mean you
haven't...?"

"Haven't what?" said the girl
obliviously.

"Never mind," said Gia as she shook
her head for a moment.

"Okay," said the girl cheerfully.
"He doesn't spend much time working
though."

"Yeah, it's sort of an easy job, he
works with my boyfriend," said Gia with
a small shrug.

"What does he do anyway? He's never
told me about it," said Mei Lin with a
small frown of her own.

"Really? He's sort of a delivery boy
for a guy in the neighborhood. It pays
pretty well," replied the woman with a
small shrug. "I'm not sure of the
details myself."

The Chinese girl sighed and pushed
her glasses onto her face a little more.
Gia noted it as a nervous habit the girl
had developed. She seemed somewhat
anxious about him. "I wish I knew more
about him."

"He's certainly not the friendly
type, I'm surprised to see a girl like
you with him," said Gia.

"He's really a very kind person,"
said the girl immediately.

Gia almost choked on her tea, but
managed to calm herself a bit. "Um,
okay. I guess he's not all that bad."

"Despite his gruff nature, he's a
very gentle person. I've never seen him
do more than raise his voice at me a
little. Even then it's not bad."

"Well, I certainly hope not!" said
Gia with a slightly irritated frown.

"He's supposed to be helping me
though. I'm not sure what kind of powers
he has, we need to destroy this evil
that plagues Japan together." Mei Lin
looked slightly irritated as she glanced
at the wall that separated the two
rooms.

"Right," grumbled Gia with her frown
growing a little wider. "Fight evil. I
can't believe that pervert is taking
advantage of..."

"Huh? Why is fighting evil
perverted?" asked Mei Lin in genuine
confusion.

Gia blinked at this, apparently this
girl had no clue about what the boy was
obviously doing to her! She was
delusional! "Look, he's a boy right?"

"Uh huh," said Mei Lin.

"Don't you think he might be taking
advantage of you? I mean, fighting evil?
Come on! That little pervert! I can't
believe he'd stoop to this!"

"Do you really think he might take
advantage of me?!" said the girl in what
looked like worry.

"You never thought about that?" said
Gia as her jaw dropped.

"My sister will be so jealous!" said
the girl cheerfully.

Gia's head hit the table in
frustration.

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

Carrot was blissfully alone, he had
a huge grin on his face as he stretched
out across the floor and deliberately
toppled the neat stack of game disks
that sat beside the game console. A bag
of chips was strewn at his side, with a
number of the chips spread out on the
floor. He also had a soda without a
coaster on the table. He was feeling
quite rebellious at the moment.

Suddenly he sat up and blinked.
"Man, I'm so pathetic!" He hung his head
and sighed. Without another word he
cleaned up his mess and put a coaster
under the can. "I wish, I wish, I wish,
I had a spine."

He glanced around the room and stood
up, walking over to the closet. He
opened it and sighed as the girl's
clothes now took up more than half of
the space in there. Gia had been rather
generous in dumping a lot of old clothes
off on her. The pair wore the same size
almost, Gia was a little larger, but Mei
Lin liked clothes that hung a little
loosely. She was cute, but in a sort of
dorky way. Carrot hadn't really thought
about it much, it didn't matter how cute
she was, and he just wanted to figure
out a way to get rid of her. He could
probably rationalize it and toss her
out. He'd offered to pay for her flight
home after all, and he didn't really
need to do more. He couldn't bring
himself to toss the girl back onto the
street again though. Morals were
annoying, he needed to see what he could
do about that.

He snorted as he shoved her clothes
aside and pulled his dogi off its
hanger. Getting a bit of exercise would
do him some good. He changed clothes,
not caring if she came in and saw him.
With a quick jerk, he pulled the black
belt tight and nodded to himself as he
walked towards the door. He reached for
it and paused just before he opened it.
"What the hell am I thinking?" he
muttered irritably as he grabbed the
knob and jerked it open. He strolled
outside and slammed it shut forcefully,
full of determination. The rebellious
feeling coursed through him again as he
started down the hall. "I don't believe
this!" he grumbled as he stopped
suddenly and hung his head. "I really am
this pathetic!"

He turned on his heels and went back
into the room, scrawling out a quick
note. "Gone for some training to clear
my head, be back later." He sighed and
left it on the table before he walked
out the door again feeling like a
complete ass. "I really do hate my
life."

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

The park was quiet, there were
couples off in quiet corners, and
children playing happily nearby. It was
blissful, serene, and had a lot of open
space. Carrot ignored most of this of
course as he found himself a nice patch
of grass in the open to practice in. The
place was about a block from his home,
and it was away from the damn woman. She
had an irritating habit of following him
up to the roof and trying to converse
with him while he was practicing.

He was performing a Bo kata with an
iron poll that he had found. He now knew
that finding them was anything but a
coincidence, and was growing more and
more suspicious of their origins. The
thought had even occurred to him that he
might be creating them somehow, but he
couldn't figure out how he was doing it
if that was the case. It was a
frustrating enigma for him, but one he
had grown to accept.

As he finished the exercise he
smirked to himself as he realized that a
small crowd had gathered to watch in
the distance. No one got very close
though, and he was mostly ignored. His
practice was little more than atmosphere
for the park than anything else. He
wiped his brow with the sleeve of his
dogi and relaxed his stance, it was
rather nice out that day. The sun was
shining, and there was a tiny breeze
that rustled the treetops. He frowned
suddenly as he realized that things had
been going a little smoothly for him
lately. "Well, let's see how long it
takes. A thousand one, a thousand two, a
thousand three..."

"You!"

Carrot cringed and hung his head
with a heavy sigh. "Hello." His tone was
deadpan as he turned around to face the
girl that was staring him down angrily.

It was Makoto, Sailor Jupiter,
whatever she wanted to be called. He
frowned as she simply glared at him
hatefully. "What are you doing here?"

"Practicing martial arts, are you
blind, or just stupid?" he replied
curtly as he returned her glare evenly.
"Go away."

"So, you think you're a martial
artist do you?" she snorted as she
glanced around.

"Too many people around to
transform?" he chuckled as he spun the
pole in his hand and planted it into the
ground firmly. It was a rather
impressive pose really, he was quite
proud of himself.

"What would you know about the art?"
she snorted in disgust.

"Don't you go calling me a Gaijin
half-breed," snorted Carrot irritably as
he turned his head away.

Makoto gaped at this. "How dare
you?!"

"I thought I told you to leave! If
you don't want to be insulted, don't
hang around," he replied calmly. "I'm
having a good day, I don't need you or
your half dressed friends to ruin it."

"Well tough!" snapped the girl
angrily as she stepped back away from
him slightly.

Carrot snorted. "I've never attacked
you before. Why would I start now? Just
get lost brat. Leave me alone."

Makoto frowned at this and seemed to
consider her options. "I should..."

"What?" snorted Carrot. "Fine. I'll
leave then." He turned away from her and
started walking.

"Where do you think you're going?!"
cried the girl as she started after him.

Carrot turned quickly, and the girl
jumped back slightly in response to
that.

"You sure are jumpy," he commented
idly as he looked her up and down for a
moment.

"I can't let you escape!" she
snarled as she tensed her body.

Carrot blinked at this and simply
stared at her. "Escape?"

"You threatened my friends!"

"Only if they don't leave me alone,
you're getting dangerously close to
that, Kino," he replied as he narrowed
his eyes at her. "Stop bothering me, and
we'll get along fine."

"I can't do that! You're dangerous!"
she replied.

"A snake only strikes if you provoke
it," replied Carrot carefully. He was
starting to get nervous, Makoto was a
little too on edge for his liking. She
seemed ready to attack him, not that he
couldn't handle her as she was at the
moment. It would attract a lot of
unwanted attention, something that was
already happening.

Makoto paused to consider his words.
"You're in league with the enemy aren't
you? Admit it!"

"What enemy? Who are they? What do
they want?" he responded coolly. "Your
paranoia is starting to grow
bothersome."

Makoto was at a loss at how to
respond to that. "I...damn..."

"See? Don't start accusing me of
things you don't even know about
yourself," he said as he turned to start
walking again, only to find himself
staring at another familiar figure.
"Shit."

"It's about time you got here!"
growled Makoto.

Carrot cursed under his breath.
Makoto had been trying to stall him, and
she'd succeeded admirably. "I can't
believe I fell for this."

"So. We've found you," said Sailor
Mars with a vicious looking smirk on her
face as she glared at him hatefully.

"There goes my day," grumbled Carrot
with a small sigh. "Don't you have a
youma to fight or something, Hino?"

Usagi appeared nearby to Rei with a
small, frightened looking frown on her
face.

Ami walked up on the red clad
senshi's other side. "He wasn't
bluffing!" She looked almost as
surprised as Usagi.

"Great, the whole gang," grumbled
Carrot as he noticed Minako move up
beside Makoto. The brunette glanced
around and started to back off. She
wasn't transformed like her friends
were.

"What are you going to do? Attack me
in the open?" he snorted as he glanced
around. They were the center of
attention in the park now. The crowd was
steadily growing and the Senshi looked
around. "That will do wonders for your
image I'm sure."

"Damn," growled Minako.

"What's he talking about?" asked
Usagi dumbly.

"If we attack him now..." said Ami
as she looked around at the crowd. "It
will make us look very bad."

"So what?" snorted Rei.

"You don't get it do you? I haven't
done anything," said Carrot as he
smirked at her. "Attack me here, and
you'll be the criminals."

"He attacked Makoto!" said Rei
irritably.

"He never touched her," said Ami
calmly. She looked angry and frustrated.

"I'm leaving now," said Carrot as he
started walking towards Usagi. She moved
out of his way and blinked as he winked
at her as he passed.

"Wait!" snarled Rei.

"There's nothing we can do right
now," said Ami with a sort of calm
coming over her.

"Maybe we should just leave him
alone?" ventured Usagi. "He really
hasn't done anything."

"What? Are you insane? He's
dangerous! He knows who we really are!"
said Rei as she whirled around and
stared her down. "Meatball head!"

"She might be right," said Ami.

This caught the other girls by
surprise.

"He hasn't done anything yet,"
continued the girl. "I'm starting to
believe he won't. He's a jerk, but he's
never attacked us without provocation."

"What? He attacked me!" snarled Rei.
"You all saw that!"

"You struck first," pointed out Ami.
"We almost killed him for it."

"What's with you all of a sudden?"
asked Makoto. "Luna says..."

"Luna said we shouldn't trust
Usagi's boyfriend either," replied Ami.

Usagi was somewhat perplexed by
this. "Well..."

"He's dangerous!" snarled Rei
hatefully. "He has to be..."

"What? Killed?" snapped Ami. "I'm
not a murderer!"

This silenced all the arguments.

"I don't like him either, but the
fact is he hasn't done anything."

"That youma we saw him talking
too..." ventured Rei.

"He says he was turning him down,"
said Ami calmly. "I haven't seen
anything that tells me it was a lie."

"We decided he had to be destroyed,"
said Rei coolly.

"We should discuss this elsewhere,"
said Ami as she noticed the crowd was
starting to edge closer to them. They
were still confused by the scene, and
were muttering amongst themselves. "I'm
sorry Rei, but as things are right now,
I can't kill him."

The girls dispersed and the crowd
ambled around for a moment. Hidden in
the branches of a nearby tree, Carrot
frowned to himself as he took all of
this in. "Well, things might be starting
to go my way." He smirked to himself and
watched the crowd below him for a time.
"It's about fuckin time!" he muttered
distastefully.

After a few minutes, interest in the
area dropped to zero, and he jumped down
from his hiding place. "Not that this
helps with my other problem much." He
frowned and leaned against the trunk in
thought. "Those Youma want me
dead...why? What's the connection I'm
missing here, first they want me, then
they want me dead? Is it because I
refused them?" It was a very real
possibility, but it didn't sit well with
him. He had a bad feeling it was more
than that.

He cocked his head and blinked for a
moment after mulling over it. "Hey, you
don't suppose that...nah! Couldn't be."
He shook his head for a moment and
laughed to himself. "I wonder who the
hell else I'll run into today?"

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

"He's still alive," growled the
Oyabun as he stared into the shadows of
the corner of his office angrily.

"He is not an easy target," replied
the shadow that stood out of sight
somewhere in the darkness. The blinds
were closed on the window allowing more
darkness to fill the room than normal. A
small dim desk lamp was the only light
in the room.

"You said he'd be dead by now,"
growled the old man irritably.

"We underestimated him," replied the
shadow calmly. "It's a matter of time,
that is all."

"My organization won't stand for
failure," said the old man icily.

"You're a convenience, nothing
more," replied the shadow calmly. "Don't
go thinking we need you old man."

"Enough of this pointless
bickering," said another voice. It was
old, and forceful. A smaller figure
melted out of the shadows, he was a
short and frail looking old man, but his
fluid motions hinted at a hidden power.
"Arguing about it won't solve the
problem. We are working to correct it,
but this man is more than he seems."

"Obviously," replied the Oyabun.

"I suspect Mitsuki is hiding
something from me," said the old man as
he turned to look at the other shadow.
"I'm wondering if you know anything
about that?"

"What would we care?" snarled the
Shadow in disgust.

"Hmmm, I see," said the old man with
a short nod. "Still, this boy bothers
me. His skill is nothing to be scoffed
at. Kasumi was almost inhuman in his
ability. If he was able to defeat
her..."

"Heh, you suspect that he is with
us?" said the other shadow calmly.

"It had crossed my mind, but I feel
it is unlikely," replied the old man
with an equally even voice. "I don't
trust you."

The shadow said nothing in reply to
this.

"It doesn't matter, I will serve my
duty to my clan, and my master," said
the old man with a heavy sigh.

"Tread carefully old man," said the
other shadow icily.

"The Youma, they are becoming
bothersome as well," said the Oyabun
suddenly. "My operations are suffering
losses because of these things."

"How so?" asked the shadow.

"A few of our front operations
were...taken over so to speak. Usually
to set a trap for those girls that have
been running around killing them. A few
of our jewelry and money laundering have
been targeted," said the old man with a
rough snort.

"I'll see what I can do about that,"
said the shadow.

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

Carrot was walking home, it was a
five minute trek, so what could go
wrong?

He paused in the middle of the
street, a strange tingling sensation
started on the back of his neck and he
frowned. "What the?" he muttered as he
scratched at it. It almost felt like the
area had gone to sleep. "That's weird,"
he muttered to himself idly as he rubbed
at it for a moment. He was standing on
the sidewalk in the middle of town, a
few pedestrians walked by and he stepped
forward again. The tingling stopped for
a moment, and then started again. Once
again, he sidestepped and it faltered
for a moment before starting all over
again. "What the heck?" he muttered as
he stepped from side to side for a
moment. After a few seconds it remained
constant. He blinked and ducked, and it
stopped again, only to start again in
the exact same place, he frowned as he
realized that it moved slightly. It
seemed to be shifting a tiny bit along
the back of his neck, focused on a
single point. "This is weird." He
continued to move around, oblivious to
the odd stares he was getting. After a
moment something popped into his mind
and he turned around.

The sensation moved onto his face,
and he shifted around a little more.
"Okay, Carrot, your life is weird
enough, this isn't what you're thinking,
I'm sure of it." He tensed his body and
moved around a bit more, jumping back
and fourth now. The sensation was never
more than a half second away though, and
it always returned. This time it moved
onto his chest, and upper torso as it
seemed to try to keep up with his
movements. He narrowed his eyes and
searched around as he moved. "There!"
His eyes moved up to a window nearby,
and he saw a small glint of light. "Oh
shit."

He dove away and rolled behind a
mailbox on the corner. His heart racing
as he gripped the iron pole that he knew
would be there. He turned his head and
stared at the hole that now resided in
the metal box just beside his neck. It
was about two inches wide. "Sniper," he
muttered to himself fearfully. "Man,
this really sucks."

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

Akira growled as he adjusted his
aim. He was in his late twenties and had
slicked back black hair. He was wearing
a three-piece suit, rather like that of
a common salary man. "This is insane!"
he said to himself as he glared through
the sight of his rifle and tried to keep
a bead on the target. He was leaning
against the windowsill of an abandoned
apartment. "Does he see me?" he muttered
to himself as his target started to jump
around. "Son of a..." The boy looked up
at him and frowned, his eyes growing
wide as he rolled away. He took the
shot, and missed. "Shit! How the fuck
did he notice me?" growled the man
angrily. He stood up and shifted behind
the window where no one could see him.
The rifle was silenced, and no one
seemed to notice the shot.

"Son of a bitch, this kid is good,"
he growled as he peered down into the
street and noticed that his target was
gone. "Damn." He dismantled the rifle
and put it back into the hidden
compartment of the briefcase he had
brought with him. It looked plain, and
unimportant, yet another part of his
disguise. He growled and grit his teeth
as he backed away into the apartment and
away from the window. He glanced down at
the photo in his palm and snorted. It
was a picture of Carrot, he had a staff
in his hand and looked like he was in
the middle of a fight, probably taken in
the heat of a battle with someone from
the organization. The fact that he was
still alive at all told him that the job
probably wouldn't be easy. He'd had a
hell of a time finding an area where the
boy passed regularly, and had spent the
better part of a week waiting on him.

He looked at the small cell phone
that he had just taken out of his pocket
and growled. He dialed the number he had
been given and didn't wait for a
response from the other end. "The target
is still alive." He hung up and cursed
under his breath. "Damn it."

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

Carrot was pressed against a wall in
an alley, waiting for the strange
sensation to return in the shadows. It
didn't and he simply waited in the
darkness. "Well, ain't this peachy.
Seems I've developed a Spider sense." He
wasn't sure if this should annoy him or
not. He gave a heavy sigh and sat down
on the pavement for a moment, mulling
over this new development. "It's kinda
cool I suppose, but the fact that I seem
to need it sucks. That was too close."
He turned his head and looked down the
alley. It looked like he'd have to start
taking the long way home. It added
another ten minutes to his walk, which
wasn't good. It would probably be best
to avoid the area for a while. He
growled under his breath, assassins were
annoying, and he had no clue how to deal
with this kind of threat. "Shit. Damn
them for being so inconvenient!"

A year ago he'd probably think
himself insane for thinking of people
trying to kill him as annoying for
merely making him go out of his way
again.

The boy sighed and hung his head.
"Why the hell not?" He chuckled and
started walking through the alley. "I'm
turning into Spider Man, next thing you
know, I'll be sticking to walls." He
wouldn't be surprised if he managed it.

If course, the sensation started
again and he sighed as he jumped
straight up into the air. This time it
had been a straight line across his
belly.

Out of the darkness, a familiar arm
with a familiar knife slashed at where
he had been. Kei stumbled out of the
shadows, having over committed herself
to the strike. "Damn it!" she cried as
he came down behind her and jabbed the
pole in his hand into her back.

Carrot stared at it for a moment
after watching her fall over his
shoulder. She was sprawled out flat and
the pole held his interest more than she
did. "I'm making these somehow." It was
a sort of uninspired statement. It had
appeared in his hand in midair. He
pushed it aside as the girl stood up and
glared at him. "Akira missed?"

"If you mean the sniper, yeah,"
replied Carrot calmly. He looked more
annoyed than anything else.

"Akira never misses," she replied
dumbly.

"Well he did this time? Did you want
something, or are you just trying to
kill me again?" he said sourly as he
glared at her for a moment.

"Well, we could put it off for an
hour or two if you'd like," said the
girl as she gave him a sultry smile and
pulled on the front of her gi, giving
him a small peak at her cleavage.

"We already discussed that, you're
not my type," he responded as he pulled
his pole into a defensive position in
front of him.

"Too bad," she said as she flicked
her wrist at him and tossed the throwing
star she had grabbed while teasing him.

Carrot shifted his weight before she
even moved, the new tingling sensation
alerting him to the danger. The tip of
his pole intercepted the weapon and it
clattered to the ground at his feet.

Kei noticed this and jumped back
with her knife held ready. "You didn't
used to be that fast."

"You're getting predictable," he
responded calmly.

The girl narrowed her eyes at him.
"So are you, how do you think we found
you this time? We've been watching you
in this area for a week."

"Well, it's a learning experience,"
he replied calmly as he narrowed his
eyes at her.

Kei snorted and charged forward.

Carrot felt the places on his body
where the strikes were aimed and dodged
around them with seemingly no effort.
This was starting to be pretty cool in
his opinion. Occasionally, he'd react
too soon and the tingling would shift on
his body as she corrected herself, he
always had a half-second warning though
and managed to avoid it.

"You're reading my moves?" gasped
the girl in shock as he jumped back away
from her and landed on the ground near
the wall. He was looking rather
impressed with himself at the moment.

"Maybe I am, you're just getting
easier to deal with," he replied calmly.
"Maybe I should thank you for all this
training."

"Smug bastard," she snorted
irritably. "I'm really starting to like
you. Too bad you have to die."

"I'm starting to think that's a bit
beyond you," he replied coolly.

Kei turned red with anger, and
Carrot's whole body started to tingle.
"Uh oh," he said as his eyes grew wide.

What followed was a rather nasty
experience, Kei had pulled dozens of
throwing weapons out of her clothes, and
was flinging them at him relentlessly.
He took quite a few light hits as he
dodged desperately around them and
jumped into he air, twisting his body to
avoid the onslaught as he managed to use
one of the wires hidden in his sleeves
to swing along one of the walls.

Unfortunately, Kei had been
expecting this reaction this time, and
she jumped onto the opposite wall,
springing off of it with her knife held
ready as he moved by.

Carrot grunted in pain as the weapon
caught his face. He fell to the ground
clutching the wound painfully. Blood
seeped through his fingers as he held
the right side of his face and cried out
in pain. "Augh! Damn it!"

"I have you!" screamed the girl as
she twisted after the strike and fell
into him with the knife held forward. He
screamed again as it sank into his left
forearm for about an inch.

Without thinking he pushed at her
with his legs, shoving her off before
the knife sank in any deeper. The girl
stumbled back and quickly righted
herself in a ready position. "At last!"

Carrot jumped upright with a roar of
anger and pain. He landed on his feet
and glared at her, blood covering the
right half of his face from the very
nasty looking gash that now ran from his
eyebrow to near the bottom of his cheek.
"That hurt!"

"It gets better," replied the girl
with an evil looking smirk on her face.
She started to edge forward and lunged
again with the knife.

Carrot grunted as he shifted to the
side and swung his pole up at an angle,
forcing her to stop and duck. He kicked
off a nearby dumpster and flipped in mid
air with his legs extended in what
appeared to be a hooking kick aimed for
her head.

Kei moved under him, trying to stab
upwards, but instead of a kick, Carrot
twisted and punched her in the face with
his free hand halfway through the flip.
Kei was thrown into the wall from the
force of the blow and he landed in a
kneeling position with his staff held
ready.

Kei shook her head and managed to
regain her senses rather quickly, while
Carrot's mind moved into a familiar mode
of thought. "Gotta get away! Gotta get
away!" He was berating himself mentally
as well, he'd gotten cocky, and it had
gotten him nearly killed. He hated to
think of what might have happened of the
Senshi had called his bluff in the park.
He'd probably be a half-frozen pile of
ash right now.

Kei jumped forward on the attack
again, his new sense almost forgotten
through the pain he was feeling at the
moment. He managed to realize the
feeling and jumped back away from the
slash. She twisted and stabbed back
after the arcing slice, forcing him into
the wall. With a final thrust, she
stabbed the wall as he ducked down under
the strike and lashed out with his fist.

The girl lurched forward with the
wind knocked out of her for a moment.
She growled angrily as he found yet
another of those damn poles and held it
offensively. He poked at her, and
missed.

"Your aim's off," she commented with
a small chuckle.

"I realize that," he responded
icily. He edged back towards the center
of the alley and started to move away.

"Trying to run away? Why don't we
just finish this?" she said calmly. "Or
are you not so far beyond me as you had
thought?"

Carrot only growled in response to
this.

Kei jumped forward, closing the
distance between them, or rather she
tried too.

Carrot snorted and threw the pole in
his hands at her as she jumped forward.
It slammed into her chest and she
grunted in pain as she was thrown
against the asphalt roughly. She coughed
painfully as she struggled to breathe as
her vision blurred. "Damn!" she managed
to groan as he slashed at the air above
her with her knife, hoping desperately
to catch him as he tried to take
advantage of the situation. After a
moment she could breathe again, and she
jumped up and searched around. Carrot
was gone. "Son of a..." She pushed her
hair up in frustration and paced around
for a moment. "That bastard!"

"Who's a bastard?" said a voice from
behind her. She tried to turn to see who
it was, but pain exploded across the
back of her head as Carrot slammed his
pole into her head like it was a
baseball bat. She was knocked out cold.

He spit onto the ground to the side
as he kicked her over onto her back and
smirked. "Heh, you ain't bad looking,
but no way am I going to settle for that
old guy's sloppy seconds." He kneeled
down beside her and picked up the knife.
"This has caused me a lot of problems
from you." He flipped it over in his
hands for a moment and smirked as he
walked away and left her lying there.

Once he was out on the street again,
his smirk fell away as the throbbing
pain in his face reminded him that he
was injured. His adrenaline rush stopped
with the force of a mach truck and he
almost fell to his knees as he clutched
at his face in agony. "Damn!"

He staggered forward towards his
home and frowned at the group he
suddenly found himself facing on the
sidewalk. The street was empty except
for them, and it was starting to get
late. "Twice in one day?"

The senshi were no longer in their
fuku, but they were all looking at him
in a sort of numb horror.

"Are you all right?" said Usagi.

"Do I look all right to you?" he
growled as he stared at her with his one
good eye. His hand was pressed against
his face in an attempt to slow the
bleeding.

"You're hurt! We should..." said the
blond as she moved towards him. The
others weren't sure what to do.

"Get away from me!" he cried as he
swiped at her and jumped back. Anger
contorted his face and he suddenly
realized something was wrong.

The girls all froze in place. Usagi
blinked at him and stood upright.

"Oh shit..." muttered Carrot as he
simply stared, unable to move.

A long line of red started to form
on the girl's neck. He simply stared in
horror as Usagi Tsukino, Sailor Moon,
made a gurgling noise and spit blood out
of her mouth. She looked like she hadn't
quite realized what had happened yet.

"Oh god no," muttered Carrot as he
continued to watch. The girl fell to her
knees, looking at him in confusion. Her
eyes asking him why he had done it.
Slowly, he turned his head down towards
the knife in his hand. He had almost
forgotten it was there, blood dripped
from the blade and he could only hear
the pounding of his heart . "What have
I..." Slowly, he turned his gaze towards
the girl who was now lying face first on
the pavement, and the growing pool of
blood on the ground beneath her.

"Usagi!" It was the first sound he
heard, he wasn't even sure who had said
it.

Without another word, he jumped
forward, rolling the girl onto her back.
He planted the knife into the ground and
punched Makoto dead in her face. He
fumbled at the wound, wiping the blood
away desperately. Pulling the girl back
as her friends tried desperately to get
to her. He felt hands pulling at him and
jumped up suddenly. He performed a
spinning kick that hit at least two of
them. Pulling the injured girl a little
further away from them he peered at the
wound again. She was starting to turn
blue.

"She's choking on her own blood!" he
realized at once, the artery wasn't
severed. He looked up at the girls
desperately as the managed to pry him
away again. "She's suffocating you
idiots!" he screamed as he broke free of
them. "We have to get her to breathe!
She's going to drown!"

Muscling his way through them he
rolled the girl onto her back again, and
blood poured out of her mouth. :"What
the fuck? What do I do?" he whispered
harshly.

Ami Mizuno was the one who finally
came through. Carrot had knocked her
away for a third time, and she had a
nasty looking bruise on her face as she
knelt beside her friend and made no
attempt to subdue him this time. He was
roughly pulled away by the others and
Makoto and Rei shoved him against the
wall roughly, finally bringing him under
control. He simply looked on in a sort
of fascinated horror as Ami took a dirty
straw off the sidewalk and plunged it
into the wound. Blood squirted out of it
for a moment and then there was a sort
of hissing sound.

Carrot looked at the girl's face as
she lay there. She was staring straight
up into the sky, and worked her mouth
open and closed as she tried to breathe.


Finally pain exploded across his
face again, Makoto punched him; he
wasn't sure how many times he'd been hit
in the end. Rei helped hold him against
the wall with Minako taking his other
side as the brunette laid into him with
tears in her eyes.

"Bastard! You killed her!" she
screamed at him repeatedly.

He simply stood there and took it,
his head hung low as she beat on him. He
didn't even try to stop her.

Ami's firm proclamation stopped this
though. "That's enough! We have to get
her to a hospital!" she screamed. "I
need help! I can't stop the blood! I
need someone else to help me hold the
wound! My hands aren't big enough!"

Carrot felt hands leave his body and
he almost fell to the ground. Someone
managed to hold him upright and he
raised his eyes enough to see Rei
glaring at him. "I'm going to kill you."
Statement, promise, he wasn't sure what
it was.

Makoto and Minako were both at
Usagi's side with Ami giving
instructions. The whole thing was
little more than a blur to him. "You'll
try." He wasn't sure if it was what he'd
intended to say, or just a reflex. He
realized at that moment that he really
was an asshole.

Rei jumped back, Carrot noticed
Minako was rushing off, probably in
search of a phone.

"Mars Power Makeup!"

Carrot was slumped against the wall,
looking at Sailor Mars's legs for a
moment. "How dare you?!" screamed the
angry senshi.

Carrot staggered to his feet and
looked up at her. "I guess I'm going
down, in a blaze of glory."

This caught the raven-haired senshi
by surprise and she stepped back.

"Maybe I don't deserve to live
anymore, but I'll die fighting," he said
calmly as he rose his head upright and
stared her down. His wound bleeding
freely and giving him an air of
intimidation he'd never intended.

"Fine by me," said Rei as she moved
her hands up to attack. "Mars Fire..."

"Your attacks take too long for
close combat!" he responded as he jumped
forward and punched her in the chest.
She staggered back, hurt by the blow.
She didn't care though and kicked at
him. He shifted and avoided the strike.

Ami and Makoto watched the battle
silently, neither one took their
attention off the girl lying between
them for more than a moment. "Hold on
Usagi! Help is coming!" said Ami
desperately.

The girl simply continued to stare
into the sky.

Carrot growled as he jumped back
into another alley. Mars was right
behind him as he turned to face her. He
had no intention of running away this
time.

"Bastard! Die!" screamed Mars as she
extended her hand. "Fire Soul!"

Carrot jumped up and caught the
bottom of a fire escape ladder, he
heaved himself up and grunted from the
heat of the flames below him.

"No you don't!" snapped Mars as she
jumped up onto the first rung of stairs
just behind him as he started to ascend.


"Come on! Let's see if you've got
what it takes!?" he snarled as he
punched her again and pushed her back a
little. She responded by kicking him in
his legs. He stumbled a bit and fell
against the metal staircase. He growled
and flipped back as she tried to punch
him. Her fist slammed into the metal and
she grunted in pain.

Carrot lashed out with a kick that
managed to catch her face. They traded
blows, all the way up to the top of the
fire escape, and he jumped onto the
roof.

"We'll hunt you down and destroy you
monster!" cried the girl angrily as she
charged another ball of flames and shot
it at him, not even bothering to shout
its name.

Carrot rolled away from the shot as
a chimney exploded in a spectacular ball
of fire. He pushed himself back onto his
feet. Distance fighting wasn't very
smart against Mars, and he knew it. He
rushed forward, hoping to close the gap
between them before she could retaliate
with another fire attack. Halfway there,
a familiar tingle came to him on his
back. "What the?"

Mars snarled as he charged her,
suddenly he jumped sideways and she
jumped back in shock. A mess of sharp
looking throwing knives could be seen
embedded where he had once been.

"You're having one hell of a day,"
said Kei as she looked down on the pair
from the edge of the roof, it was
slightly elevated and she smirked at
Carrot. "You shouldn't have left me
alive."

The boy frowned at her as he
crouched low against the ground, a feral
looking flame burned in the back of his
good eye. He was growing weaker from the
loss of blood, it still dripped down his
face. "I've already killed once today.
What's one more?"

Kei chuckled. "Seems you're having
some trouble with this one? What does it
matter to me? As long as you're dead,
I'm happy." She jumped down and eyed
Mars for a moment.

Rei frowned at the girl and looked
back at Carrot again. "Who are you?"

"Someone who has a problem with him, he
stole my knife, and I want it back,"
said the girl as she gave the senshi an
appraising frown.

"Don't get in my way," said Mars
calmly as she raised her palm again.

"Wouldn't dream of it," agreed Kei
as she produced a large number of
throwing stars between her fingers.

Carrot was backed against a wall as
he glared at the pair. He was screwed,
and he knew it. "Shit."

Mars and Kei let loose at once, both
throwing their respective attacks. The
area covered was far too large for
Carrot to jump over or move to either
side to avoid. What he did, neither of
the girls was expecting. He simply stood
and leaned back, tumbling over the edge
of the roof just before the attack hit.
A huge pillar of flame blasted over the
side, shattering the edge of the rooftop
and sending a shower of debris into the
street below.

Carrot heard the pair cursing as he
fell away, he flicked his wrist and sent
a line into one of the nearby buildings,
aiming for the street below. It was
rather busy, but he thought he could
manage a landing there. Of course, the
double-decker bus that rounded the
corner in the area he was planning on
landing in didn't help matters either.
It was loaded with tourists, and a
little too high. He was going to hit it
if he didn't react soon enough. He
pulled himself a little higher on the
line and grit his teeth as he passed
over the top barely.. The line hit the
low point of his swing, and he slammed
into the back wall of the seating area
on the roof. He lurched over it
painfully and managed to hold on and
pull himself back into the passenger
area. He slumped to the ground and
groaned in pain. The bus was stopped
now, and tourists were all looking at
him in shock. His face was covered in
blood, his belly was on fire, and he was
basically in a world of hurt, not to
mention that he was probably now wanted
for the murder of the girl who was
supposed to save the world soon.

He wasn't quite sure why he was
laughing really.

He turned his gaze upward as he
staggered to his feet and looked up to
the rooftop he had just swung from. A
tour guide was standing on the other end
of the bus, and he walked up to the
woman and took the small microphone from
her grip. She made no move to stop him.
With a wide grin on his face he said
something into it.

"First I was afraid, I was
petrified...." He then started to sing.
"Kept thinkin I could never live without
you by my side, but then I spend so many
nights thinkin how ya did me wrong., and
I feel strong, and I learned how to get
along! And so you're back, from outer
space. I just walked in to find you here
with that bad look upon your face!" He
started dancing, openly taunting the
girls on the rooftop. "I should have
changed that stupid lock! I should have
made you lose your key! If I had known
for just one second you'd be back to
bother me! Oh, now go! Walk out the
door, just turn around now, cause you're
not welcome anymore! Weren't you the one
who tried to hurt me with desire? Think
I'd crumble? Think I'd lay down and die?
Oh no not I! I will survive! As long as
I know how to love I know I'll stay
alive! I've got all my life to live,
I've got all my love to give, and I'll
survive! I will survive!"

The bus started moving again and
Carrot continued his song until Rei and
Kei were out of sight. He chuckled and
waited for the next stop and jumped off
the top of the bus onto the street. "So,
I guess I can go home now."

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

"Ami..." Minako's voice was laced
with worry. All of the girls were
together, sitting in a waiting room.
Tears flowed freely among them as they
sat there in silence for the most part.

Ami had just come back and looked at
her friends. "She has a chance." The
group was hoping for more, but it was
better than nothing. "We can't do
anything more here. We should go home."

"I'm staying," said Mars calmly.

"You can if you want, but we won't
be able to see her for a few days at
least. Her condition is not very
stable," replied Ami quietly. "The
doctor sound's hopeful."

"That bastard dies," said Rei
firmly. She glanced around at the
others.

Minako nodded slowly, Makoto with
her.

"Who was that girl with you?" asked
Ami. She had a scowl on her face as she
said it. The girl had stolen important
evidence to the crime. They had spent a
good part of the evening talking to the
police. They had very little information
to give them, and it frustrated her.

Usagi's family was huddled together
on the other side of the room. The group
looked over to them and a silent
exchange of glances sent out sympathy to
them. It was obvious they didn't want to
be bothered. The doctor had given them
the news a few moments ago, and then
passed it on to Ami.

"I don't know who she was," said Rei
coolly. "She said he stole her knife."

Ami nodded and pushed it aside. "We
all need rest, we've got a long day
ahead of us if we're going to find him."

The girls stood up and walked out of
the hospital together.

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

Carrot was sitting in Gia's office.
The woman was absolutely mortified when
he had walked in. Stitches now lined the
right side of his face. Fortunately his
eye hadn't been damaged, but the wound
would probably leave a nasty looking
scar.

"This is serious!" she snapped as
she glared at him. "You need help! You
can't keep this up!"

Carrot frowned at her and sighed. "I
can't go to the police."

"Whatever this problem of yours is,
its got to be better than dying!" she
snapped angrily.

Mei Lin was sitting in the corner
silently. She looked slightly miffed,
apparently Carrot had run off to fight
evil without her. She did look worried
though, it was a nasty wound. He didn't'
seem too bad off, and the bleeding had
mostly stopped by the time he had
arrived. "You should have taken me
along."

"You'd have gotten me killed. You
can't even beat a pile of shit, much
less that crazy bitch Kei!" he snapped.
He'd only told them what he thought they
needed to know, and left out the senshi,
and the sniper he'd run into while he
was out. "Are you done yet?" he grumbled
as Gia put in the last of the stitches
and sat back.

"Yes, I'm finished. She put a
bandage over his eye and taped it down.
The stitches weren't completely covered
though and it was still pretty repulsive
to look at.

"Eew," commented Mei Lin.

"Well, it feels worse than it looks.
Come on, I'm hungry," he stood up and
walked towards the door.

Gia frowned as she watched the pair
walk outside. She was getting more and
more worried about the boy. Whatever he
was involved in, it was serious. "That
girl could get dragged into this. What
can I do though?" She sighed and turned
her eyes to the phone on her desk.

She walked over and picked it up,
dialing the number quickly. After a
moment of silence she spoke up. "Hello?
Spike? I want you to do me a favor..."

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

TBC...

Next Time: Hunted!