• A bright flash of light lit an abandoned alley, occupied only by a few garbage cans, a stray cat or two, and now the body of a young boy. He appeared only to be in his mid-teens, with raven black hair, and what one would suppose to be nearly black eyes that would melt most girls' knees. Or rather, they had been. Now they stared up at the sky, completely blank and devoid of life. There was no injury on him that anyone could see, and he was breathing, but that was the only sign of life to him.

    Forest green eyes stared at the boy for a moment, and if one looked closely, one might think that regret had flashed in them. An errant breeze blew a few strands of ebony hair into a pale face that contained those forest green eyes, and was quickly pushed behind an ear with a white gloved hand. Green eyes closed in a quick prayer for the boy's soul, before black boots laced in gold turned and walked away, leaving the boy to be found by whoever happened to wander by. She couldn't risk detection, not yet.



    "In other news," came the warm voice of the handsome news anchorman on the television, who's gray eyes and graying hair gave him an air of maturity, with a touch of mischief, "police are concerned about the recent increase in violent crimes. Crimes such as arson, assault, and murder have been on the rise since last month, and the authorities have no clues as to why. Citizens are urged to stay indoors during the night, and to avoid parking lots, alleys, or any other unpopulated area during the day or night for their protection. Anyone who sees a crime in action is urged to notify police immediately, and to stay out of the way."

    The television suddenly blinked out, the picture suddenly nothing more than a black screen. Dark, nearly black eyes stared at the screen in concern, even though it was shut off, and black hair fell into her face as she rested her chin on her hand. Was this another enemy? She certainly hoped it wasn't. She, and the other scouts, had spent most of junior high and high school fighting enemies that threatened the Earth, and now that things were peaceful, she wanted them to stay that way. It was about time they got a shot at a peaceful, normal life.

    "Hey, Rei," the woman heard her name called from across her little table. She had almost forgotten that her friends were in the room with her - Ami, Usagi, and Minako were all sitting around her little table on the floor, in front of her bed, and Makoto was sitting on her bed. All of them had books and notebooks in front of them. The one who had spoken was Usagi, the blond haired girl with her hair done up in buns on her head and kind blue eyes. "Do you think it's another enemy?"

    "I don't know." she said honestly, "I really hope not."

    "The last thing we need before college entrance exams is another enemy to distract us from our studies." Ami said. She had always been the one to push studying, and not without good cause.

    "At the very least, it's worth investigating." A little white cat said, a gold crescent mark on it's forehead. That one was Artemis, Minako's cat.

    "Good idea, Artemis." Luna said. Luna was Usagi's little black cat, who had the same crescent mark on her forehead. "We'll go check it out. You girls have enough on your plate right now with studying, so you stay here."

    The two little cats ran out of the room before any argument could be made. Well, it DID make sense, in a way. A cat was less likely to be found out or attacked than a human, and they really had a lot of studying to do. Especially Usagi. Irritation flared in Rei's head, but she squashed it ruthlessly. Now was not the time to get irritated over something so petty as two cats running off to investigate something.

    "Usagi, have you gotten any problems done yet?" she said, and very nearly winced at the irritation in her voice.

    "Ah, well...." the blond said, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "There is the problem of this character being in love with this one, but I don't know how they're going to work it out."

    Rei looked over at Usagi's books. To her horror, Usagi had slipped some of her own mangas in with her school books, and had been reading that instead of studying. She picked up the manga, shutting it in the process, and tossed it on her bed.

    "Usagi! This is not the time to be goofing off! Entrance exams are coming up soon, and if you're not prepared you're going to fail!"

    "Rei is being mean to me!" Usagi whined as she half hid behind Minako, who sat to Rei's right.

    Before Rei or anyone could do anything else - be it arguing or convincing Usagi she needed to study - a bell tolled nearby. That was the shrine bell, often rung for prayers. It also signaled that someone might buy a charm, or need assistance with something. Being a miko, Rei stood and made her way outside to see what the person might need.

    Outside was the scene of a nightmare. Someone had been thrown into the shrine itself, explaining why the bells rang. The wood of the shrine was splintered around a young man with dark brown hair and eyes, who for all intents and purposes seemed merely average. However, his eyes were full of hate and malice, and Rei sensed a dark aura around the boy.

    In front of him was, what Rei assumed, the person that threw him into the shrine. This boy was a year older, and a little taller, than the other. His fiery red hair almost glowed in the sunlight, and emerald green eyes glared with the same hate and malice as the other boy. By their uniforms, Rei could tell they were from the same school. Both had that dark aura about them.

    "Hey, what are you guys doing?" she shouted at them angrily. "This is a shrine! If you have an argument, take it somewhere else!"

    Neither said anything. Instead, the taller boy lunged at her, taking her by surprise. Before she knew what was going on, Rei was pinned against a tree by the taller boy, her head reeling from the impact. A fist struck her face before her head could clear, sending it reeling once more. For a moment, Rei could swear some of that tainted aura had seeped into her. It felt like a slick of rancid oil on water, washing over her own soul. All she was aware of was her friends in the background, trying to pull him off of her. Usagi seemed to be fighting the hardest to pull him away, but he was too strong for her.

    Finally, Makoto had managed to step in and grab the boy's arm that was about to strike her again. She was big enough and strong enough to stop the blow, but she seemed to be straining. A moment before it seemed she would lose her grip, she flung the boy over her shoulder and onto the cement pathway behind her.

    "Rei!" Usagi wailed, holding her up by an arm wrapped around her shoulder, "Rei, are you okay? What's going on?"

    Before Rei could answer, the shorter boy was suddenly there. In short order he had Makoto on the ground unconscious with a blow to the back of her head, as well as Minako and Ami, and was coming fast at Usagi. Rei just barely managed to cover her friend with her own body before the boy could send a powerful roundhouse kick into her ribs. She thought she heard one shatter.

    "Asteroid belt!"

    An unfamiliar voice broke through her thoughts on her own pain, and a sudden wall of light seemed to dart between them and the boy. For some reason, the boy didn't stop attacking - he seemed to think he could kick or punch his way through the wall of light, though each impact was like a feather impacting a brick wall. Rei and Usagi looked in the direction where the voice had come from.

    Behind them, the red-headed boy was unconscious on the ground, and a woman stood over him, her raven black hair pulled back into a complex braid, and sad, forest green eyes glared at the other boy who was still fighting. What surprised them most was that this woman was a sailor senshi - her skirt, and shoulder flap were both golden, but her bow, underskirt, the stripes on her shoulder flap and laced boots were dead black. Her tiara was golden, with a golden crescent moon and star on it, with the same mark on her black choker and the gem that rested on the knot of her bow. The bow in back was black, as were the filmy black shoulder pads and the bands at the top of her elbow-length gloves. In one hand she held a long staff - a few inches taller than the new scout - with a crescent moon lantern dangling from the top. The strangest part was this scout seemed to have the same dark aura as the two boys, but it was warring with, and being suppressed by, a bright, pure aura.

    The new scout said nothing. She did not announce herself or explain herself as Usagi or any of the other scouts did. Instead, she stuck her staff out in front of her, low to the ground, and began to spin. The lantern on the end of the staff glowed, leaving a streak of light as it dangled from the end in her twirling motion. Three times she spun around in a circle, and each pass brought the staff higher, until it was above the scout's head, glowing bright, pure white.

    "Gates of Heaven!"

    Suddenly, nearly the entire shrine was shining bright white in decorated circles from the ground beneath them. It felt...pure. Clean. Peaceful. It felt like nothing in the world could ever go wrong, and with it Rei could feel the tainted aura of the two boys dissolving into nothing, as well as the taint that had seeped into her. The one left standing dropped to the ground in a heap when the glowing finally stopped. As the woman turned to leave, Usagi spoke.

    "Wait! Who are you?"

    Green eyes seemed to pierce their souls for a moment as she stared at them, and Rei noticed something else in those grim, green eyes. Sadness. It was such an intense sadness that Rei wanted to cry herself.

    "I am who I am." was all she said before she turned and finally left.

    The groans of her friends finally seemed to bring Usagi out of her daze. She was the only one who had been unharmed. Rei was glad for that.




    "Who was that?" Usagi said, for perhaps the hundredth time since the strange new scout appeared. She and Rei were the only two conscious to see her, and what she had done.

    "I'd like to know as well." Ami said. Aside from a bump on her head, she, Minako, and Makoto were all okay. It was Rei who took the real beating. "Whatever she did, she left those boys in a vegetable state. The hospital said they would never come out of it."

    "But she's a scout like us. Why would she do something like that?" Usagi said, concern full in her voice. She just could not understand why a sailor senshi, sworn to protect the people of Earth, would harm them.

    "I don't know." Rei said. Or rather, mumbled. Her face was a mass of bruises from the beating she took, and each breath brought a pained look in her miko friend's eyes. Three of her ribs had been broken from that kick. "Whoever she is, I don't think we can trust her. She had an aura similar to the two that attacked us."

    "Does anyone have a clue as to why they attacked anyway?" Makoto said, still holding an ice pack to the back of her head. "I don't think any of us know who they were, let alone did anything that deserved THAT."

    "Maybe it's connected to the recent crime spree." Minako said.

    "Rei," Usagi said, "what kind of aura did you see in them? You mentioned that new scout had an aura like theirs."

    "I said it was 'similar to'. It wasn't exactly like theirs. Their auras were black, full of hate and malice. Her's had that aura, too, but it seemed to be held back by a pure, white aura. Guys, don't go near anyone like those guys. It's dangerous."

    Usagi thought Rei was holding something back, but she couldn't say what, and given her friend's condition, it wasn't wise to ask. She would tell them later, if she was up to it.