A Look Into Garath. (Co-Staring Nikkou!)

[Garath the Shadowshifter]

Howdy folks. As many of you may know, since I popped up on IRC asking for help. I wrote a short story about Garath. AKA ME! Yay! (It's past 2AM, deal with my weirdness)

Well the story is done and I'm posting it here for all to see! Isn't that Great!? If you have time to read this, please leave a comment when you're done.

Happy reading!

Almost forgot to warn you. Mild language in this. Nothing extreme, but just a heads up.

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A look at Garath


The loss of his mother had been hard. Then again, not many people could lose someone so important to them and have it NOT be hard on them. Garath had dealt with it fairly well, but it still hurt. He couldn't even bring himself to find comfort at the Magical Sailor Fuku Kingdom where he spent many his days. Not even WITH the detestable Akemi gone.

"Yeah for the moment," Garath snorted as he made his way through the forest he was currently traveling through. As much as her lack of being around pleased him, he didn't have much hope it'd stay that way forever.

Pushing the thought of that women out of his mind he continued to trek through the forest. He was here to relax after all. One of the things Garath loved to do was dimension travel. Unlike for most creatures, traveling between worlds for him was as easy as breathing. So deciding to take his leave of MSF for a while, he opened a random Chaos Gate, (of which was the means of his travel between worlds), and left.

It didn't take him long to realize he was in the world of the anime known as 'Grenadier' which happened to be a particular favorite of his. He supposed he could have gone to his Sailor Moon dimension, but didn't feel like being there at the moment. He was sure Serena wouldn't have persuaded him to become Miyuko under such circumstances, but he still didn't feel like being there at the moment.

He did wish he had invited someone to travel along with him though. It was rather lonely just by himself. But he didn't think Amy or Yumiko would be interested. Sighing he continued his trek in the random direction he had chosen upon arriving here. He hadn't gotten very far though before he felt his stomach rumble a bit. Glancing at his watch he saw it was after seven at night. No wonder he was hungry, he hadn't eaten since that morning. The problem was where would he find food? The only rest stop he knew about was the Peach Blossom Tower run by Kurenai Touka, but that wasn't a place he felt like visiting. Along with his watch he wore only the simplest of clothing. A plain black t-shirt along with a pair of black jeans. He also wore a pair of sunglasses upon his head. True it probably wasn't a good idea to be dressed that way in this world, but he had taken the precaution and was using his power to make it appear to others as if nothing was amiss on him.

Unknown to Garath, or so she thought, perched upon one of the many tree branches hidden in the shadows sat a small girl. Silently she leaped from shadow to shadow, branch to branch trying to find a good opportunity to leap out and surprise him. Every now and then a part of her clothing would catch or drag on a random branch or bushel of leaves, but each time she'd quickly free herself and steatlhfully continue her pursuit of the man below her. When Garath looked down to check his watch, she saw her opportunity. Figuring his the rumbling of his stomach meant his senses would be slightly dulled from hunger she prepared to pounce. Unfortunately due to her over eagerness, she stepped upon a rather brittle branch, causing it to snap and fall under her weight. Taking her with it.

She fell hard into a pile of bushes not five feet from Garath, getting tangled up in branches in the process. Struggling she tried in vain to free herself from her nature made prison. Garath meanwhile had known something was jumping around in the trees, but had to admit due to his distracted mind, wrote it off as nothing more then a raccoon or possum. He certainly didn't expect a young girl to come dropping out of the trees!

Glancing in her direction he stopped. If this girl was who he thought she was. Then she had some explaining to do. Sighing he walked over to where the girl was lying, still desperately fighting the bush for her freedom. Managing to free her from the entanglement he slowly helped her up.

"I must admit I thought you were a raccoon or something, "He said holding her up by her shoulder. Then he sighed again.

"Nikkou, what are you doing here?" He asked in a tired tone. Knowing her, she followed him due to seeing him enter his Chaos Gate. This girl was too curious for her own good.

"Ow Ow Ow..." Nikkou said as she brushed various leaves, dirt and other debris from herself. Her eyes and hair were rather strange even by anime standards. Her eyes were exactly like pearls, seeming to reflect many different colors. Her hair, while more whitish then her eyes, also seemed to show with the many different colors that her eyes did, yet they remained at a solid look, while her eyes were ever changing. She wore a simple Chiton from Greek times. (Though Garath just thought it was a toga) Along with it, she wore a Himation, also from greek times. The himation was draped over her shoulder, both were snowy white. Once she finished cleaning herself off and standing up straight she gave Garath a salute.

"I followed you! Honestly; being so aloof as you are, I hardly see you! So, since I finally have after so long, I figured I'd take my opportunity." She said with perhaps a little of a giggle. Her expression quickly changed to that of a piercing yet non-aggressive glare as she attempted to get Garath to talk.

"And just why are YOU here, Hmmmm?" She said leaning the top part of her body forward, while leaning her legs back. She balanced on the balls of her feet while awaiting Garath's answer. Garath meanwhile sighed inwardly. As he thought the little troublemaker followed him. It wasn't that he disliked Nikkou, oh no, he rather enjoyed talking to her at MSF every now and then. The problem was Nikkou was too erratic of a person. There was no telling what she would do, or what reason she'd do it. He wanted a traveling companion sure, but was afraid what type of companion she may turn out to be...

"I'M here because I wanted to relax," He said sadly if not a bit irritable, "I tend to travel to random dimensions when I feel the need or desire too." Then as an after thought he added, "How did you even GET here anyway? Did you use my Chaos Gate?" He took a moment to rub his brown eyes as he waited for her answer.

She giggled as if he had just told a joke before answering in a cheerful manner,

"Yep! I used and abused your chaos gate thingy!" Closing her eyes cutely after relaying that information. She then switched gears and placed her hands upon his shoulders, which were a good foot or so higher then hers, probably less though. He was almost six feet tall after all, while she was barely five something herself. Giving him the best googily eye treatment she could she looked him right in the eyes.

"How could you avoid me for so long?" She accused sounding rather hurt, "Oh my heart aches!" The mood was ruined however as a trestle of her hair fell right in front of her face. She brushed it aside irritated that such a thing would happen at such a dramatic moment. She opted to pout as her finale, placing her hands at her sides.

Garath however merely raised an eyebrow at the display, he knew her well enough to know this was all an act.

"You're heart aches? What am I you're boyfriend? And if you value your health you won't answer yes to that," He said rolling his eyes. She was cute sure, but he wasn't into her in -that- way. Besides, the way she was, having her for a girlfriend would probably be hazardous to his health. Instead he merely waited for her next move.

"Nope!" She replied simply, her face all smiles once again. 'I knew it,' Garath thought dryly. Nikkou then proceeded to poke Garath square in the nose with her index finger.

"Just be thankful all my clothing is accounted for, and that I follow the path of the virgins. That if I were full of myself, would be a pity for you!" She said giving him a raspberry. It took Garath a few moments for what she said to actually sink in, his mind a bit slow due to his increasing hunger. When he did realize what it meant his blushed.

"Hey!" He shouted irritably, "Like I'd want to do something like that with you anyway! Tsk, Please!" He said in defiance, as he turned his back to her while crossing his arms.

"Fine, fine... If you want to revel in your virginity, that's alright with me. Too bad it's a different sort of virginity, right, Garath? Eh? Huh?", she said gently poking him with her elbow, "At least mine has benefits." Grabbing onto his neck from behind she put her face by his ear, being rather playful with her breath.

"Too bad for you!" She exclaimed suddenly before zipping off. Meanwhile Garath was getting rather annoyed.

"Get off!" He shouted taking a swing at her with his arm. He was too late to catch her though. She playfully bounded away, only to trip on a tree root and fall flat on her face.

"Uhhh, maybe I should settle down?" Nikkou said to herself from her face down position. Garath had been summoning small amounts of lighting around his fists in an attempt to pursue Nikkou before he saw her fall. Unfortunately being the person he was, just couldn't stay mad at her after that. Cursing himself for being a nice guy he walked over to her and helped her up for the second time that day.

"Look Nikkou, I'm sorry I haven't stopped by to talk with you in so long. I'll make it up to you later, but right now I’m trying to relax, so can you do me a favor and GO HOME?" He said in desperation. If he could get the little troublemaker to go back to MSF he may just be able to actually relax like he had intended to.

"Trying to relax? Why didn't ya say so!" She beamed, smiling a smile of doom his way. She knew very well he didn't want her around, but was in no way going to leave that easily. After all, being here was fun, why go back to MSF where she didn't have anyone to play with? Oh no, she was going to ENJOY this.

Garath shuffled uneasily. He knew that look of hers. It usually ended with him doing what she wanted regardless of his own desires. He could only guess what she had planned THIS time. Quickly he began to devise a way out of this.

"And what would that be?" He asked regrettably. He began to summon the energy for a Chaos Gate. Perhaps he could push her through and arrive back in MSF. There at least he may have the opportunity to escape her without her doing TOO much damage.

"Why by tender love and care of course!" She said cheerily as she began to push him in some general direction. Normally Garath wouldn't have been moved by such a motion, but she had caught him off guard. Quickly rolling to the side, he evaded her attempt to 'drive' him, causing her to stumble forward. Luckily he had been expecting that, and with a quick three hundred sixty degree turn, he had reached out his hand and caught her.

"Wait a second now, what do you mean tender love and care? Just where are you trying to take me?" He asked still holding her by the back of her clothing. He was especially weary of this when he knew for a fact she hadn't ever even BEEN here before.

"Exactly what I said!" She said managing to not only escape from his grasp, but grabbing his hand with both of her own, all the while once again leading him in the direction she had originally been pushing him toward, "There is this cool tower that I KNOW has just what you need!" She giggled more as her speed increased. Garath meanwhile had figured out at once where she was going and immediately became like an anchor, stopping Nikkou in her tracks. She continued to try in vain to move him for sever minutes, even attempting it by placing both her feet on his leg and pulling that way, before finally giving up. She gave Garath the biggest pair of bambi eyes she could while asking,

"Aw come on Garath, why do you have to be so mean? Just follow me!" She then proceeded to cross her arms and (pretend) pout once more.

"I'm not being mean!" He said defensively, "It's just I know that place, and I really REALLY don't want to go there!" Unfortunately it didn't appear that Nikkou was satisfied with that answer.

"Oh you're just a stick in the mud!" She said before taking a rather snide expression, a sister might take when teasing a brother, "Or are you just afraid of girls? Is that it? Is that why you're single all the time?" She poked him in the side with her index finger for effect during her speech. Garath was quick to respond.

"I'm not afraid of girls!" He shouted arms at his side, his hands in fists. Nikkou grinned playfully.

"So then why don't you have a girlfriend, HMMMMM?" She said bringing her face only a foot away from his, her expression still teasing.

"That's just because.. I haven't... found the right girl yet..." Garath said rather slowly. This had always been a rather touchy subject for him. It was ironic. He could decimate an entire army of demons with nothing but his sword and twin guns, but he couldn't ask a girl out to save his life.

"Well running from them screaming in fear would be a turn off," She said looking over her shoulder in a disinterested way.

"I DON'T RUN AWAY SCREAMING FROM WOMEN!" Garath screamed while throwing his hands up in the air in frustration. Nikkou's expression however didn't change.

"Ok Garath, whatEVER you say! I guess I'll just go play with the scary women all by myself!" She said, before leaning forward and tapping Garath on his chest.

"Tag! You're it! See ya later!" She said zipping off into the forest once more. This time however her feet remained clear of tree roots. Garath desperately tried to stop her.

"Wait! Nikkou! You can't!," He said as he watched her disappear into the foliage.

"ARGG! I'm gonna shoot her one of these days!" He swore out loud before giving chase. Normally he may just have let her go, but this wasn't MSF. This was a world that wasn't even use to magic. He could only guess at what kind of havoc Nikkou could cause in just a few short minutes. Quickly using his senses to see if anyone was around, he was pleased to find that besides Nikkou and himself, the only humanoid beings around were at the quickly approaching tower.

His body practically exploded with bolts of dancing lighting as his speed increased incredibly. He weaved through the branches and other obstacles with ease as he neared the fleeing Nikkou. Unfortunately she was using her powers to increase her speed as well, so he wasn't able to catch her as soon as he would have liked. He was also afraid of going any faster, least he be unable to stop before someone saw him.

The tower would be coming into view any second now, and he was still behind Nikkou. 'No choice', he thought pushing his speed just a bit faster, causing himself to collide with Nikkou's back. He tackled her the best he could, knocking them both back into normal speed. They both rolled out of the edge of the forest to stop perfectly on the bridge leading to the main entrance of the tower itself.

"Aw, I guess you win Garath!" Nikkou said rolling to her knees as she got up she added, "What should we play next!?" Garath mentally stopped himself from smacking her as he got up himself.

"Listen you litt-" He began before another voice that didn't belong to either of them interrupted.

"Oh dear, are you both ok? Do you need to come in for medical aid?" A feminine voice said from farther up the bridge. With a quick turn of the head, Garath found it belonged to a rather attractive young girl. She couldn't have been any older then sixteen. She wore a red dress that looked very similar to a kimono. She moved her hand absently through her short wavy black hair as she looked them both over with concerned brown eyes. Though she was rather lovely Garath felt his heart harden. As he had told Nikkou. He did NOT want to be here.

"Oh I'm fine!" Nikkou called out happily raising her right hand into the sky, then as she pointed at Garath, "But Garath here is SOOO desperate for-" But before she could finish however, Garath's eyes widened right before he grabbed her and pulled her down into a 'huddle' with their backs both turned toward the girl.

"Listen!" He hissed in a whisper to her, "I said I didn't want to be here! What do you think you're doing!?"

"I'm just trying to help you!" She whispered back, "Come on! It's a tower full of cute girls! Maybe you'll find that special someone...." She added by tapping him once more with her elbow.

"Stop that!" Garath hissed again, "Look try not to use any magic around them, as it isn't suppose to exist in this world! Now don't do anything stupid and let's just go!"

"No magic? Poor people," Nikkou whispered, "Ok, I'll keep magic on a down low, but ONLY if you go in and buy me dinner!" She gave him a rather evil look.

"Why you-" He began, only to see Nikkou immediately leap up and face the girl again, who by now was looking rather confused.

"Hey you! Want to see something REALLY cool?" She asked as Garath felt her begin to summon up a bit of magic power. He quickly grabbed her into the huddle once more.

"Ok fine! But only if you promise not to use magic and to behave!" He hissed through clenched teeth. How did she always manage to get him to do exactly what she wanted?

"Deal!" She said happily as they both got up to face the girl again.

"Something....cool?" The girl replied baffled as she stared at them both.

"Oh sorry, looks like I forgot how to do it!" Nikkou replied as she placed her hand behind her head. This just caused the girl to look at them even stranger.

"Oh never mind her," Garath said exasperated, "Sorry to drop in so suddenly, but I was wondering if we could stay here tonight, as well as get some food for me and the brat." He pointed to Nikkou as he said the last word.

"I'm not a brat!" Nikkou exclaimed puffing out her cheeks. Garath just ignored her though.

"Oh a room! Why of course!" She said smiling happily, "Right this way please!" She lead them over the bridge and into the Peach Blossom Tower it self. As they entered the tower they could see many more cute girls running around the tower tending to various already present guests, or just doing daily choirs. Glancing around Garath saw that they had all ages of girls here. There were girls anywhere from age fifteen to possibly thirty. Of course in true anime fashion, being this was an anime girl, all of them looked absolutely stunning. Not that it made him like this place any more then he did. He was just glad that Nikkou had taken to preoccupying herself with admiring the many different gowns the girls wore as she followed silently behind.

As they came up to the receptionists desk, Garath saw the one women he had been expecting from the beginning. She had short black hair that came down over her right eye. The remainder in the back tied up so it looked like a rather spiky ponytail. Her purple robe hanging on her body just below her breasts which were thankfully covered by a black bra like piece of clothing that hung from her neck. A small bit of rope was wrapped around her body for either decoration, or to help keep the robe on. Last of all, she carried the weapon Kensousen.

"Welcome to the Peach Blossom Tower," The women said in a cheery yet business like manner. Garath having been a fan of the show based upon this world knew this women. Her name was Kurenai Touka, the creator of the tower itself. She had created it to spread peace by getting men to lose their desire to fight through the charm of women. He knew she wasn't a bad person, but this place really pissed him off.

"These two look for board and food," The young girl who had lead them in said. Touka nodded, and turned to Garath.

"Are you aware of the price?" She asked.

"I do," Garath said reaching into his pocket. In reality he was reaching into a lunar space pocket he had opened within his pants pocket. From that space pocket he pulled the exact amount of this worlds currency he needed and handed it to Touka before closing the pocket. He was glad he always had several amounts of different kinds of cash stashed in his many lunar space pockets. You never knew when you'd need some.

"Thank you very much sir, I'm sure you and your companion will find your stay very relaxing," Touka said before turning to the girl who lead them in once more.

"Misuki, please take them their room," She said as she handed the girl Misuki a key. Misuki smiled and nodded.

"Yes Mistress! Please come this way," She said directing the last part to the guests. Garath simply nodded and did as he was told. Nikkou seemed to have wanted to say something, but Garath grabbed her and dragged her along before she got the chance.

"Oh one last thing," Touka said not looking their way as they past. The group stopped.

"While I admit I can't tell if you carry any weapons, I must ask that if you do have any, while I won't take them from you, I must insist that you do not fire or use them with in this establishment."

"Don't worry," Garath simply said as they continued on their way. They were lead up a small flight of stairs and down a hallway before the girl Misuki stopped at a particular door. The girl unlocked it with the key and held it open for them.

"Here you go!" She said as she handed Garath the key. Nikkou had already run into the room and was enjoying herself by jumping on the bed, "You're food will be brought up shortly."

"Thank you," Garath said giving her a small bow. The girl bowed in return before heading back the way she came. Garath closed the door and took stock. Two beds, a dresser, a full lenght mirror, a small table, and a couple of lamps. Garath re-checked that last one. Lamps? Did this world have that technology? He thought about it for a moment before deciding that the inventor Zoushi Banmaru, probably had something to do with it.

"So Garath, see any potential brides yet?" Nikkou asked who had stopped jumping on the bed and now had her upper body hanging upside down off the edge as her feet dangled off the other side.

"Very cute, I'm only here because you practically FORCED me to come," Garath said taking a seat upon the spare bed. Nikkou spun around to sit upright herself.

"Now now Garath, I know it's hard for you to be surrounded by such cute girls, when you're afraid of them," She said.

"I SAID-" Garath began.

"Relax! That's what you're here for! Just pretend you're in MSF!" Nikkou said happily throwing both arms into the air.

"Yeah except here, they aren't trying to girlify me," He said irritated as he reached into another of his space pockets. Taking out a bottle of light blue liquid he took a swig before offering it to Nikkou.

"Thirsty?" He asked. Nikkou beamed taking the flask.

"What's this? The ever cold Garath sharing an indirect kiss with the young Nikkou? Oh my hear flutters so! To think you have been harboring such feelings towards me! But alas our love cannot be! For as I said I follow the path of the virgins! Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find someone who will appreciate you!" She sang as she held her hand to her cheek in a form of shyness.

"Give me that flask!" Garath yelled as he attempted to grab the thing back, before he could though Nikkou back flipped off the bed to land behind it, somehow managing to keep the liquid in the flask as she did so.

"Now now, the least I can do is accept such a generous gift from a knight in shining armor such as you!" She said before downing the entire bottle. As soon as she did so, her body fell forward onto the bed in a deep sleep. Garath poked her twice with a stick he materialized before pulling out a tape recorder from yet another pocket. Hitting the record button he spoke.

"Light blue 'sleeping' potion worked perfectly. With any luck the little terror will be asleep till morning. As a side note, opening a lunar space pocket in own mouth to swallow the liquid to give the illusion of actually drinking it worked wonders. Remember trick for future reference." He said before putting the recorder back.

"I should have thought of creating this potion years ago." As if on cue, a knock sounded upon the door not three minutes after he said that. Getting up he walked over to the door and opened it. Misuki along with two new girls walked in carrying several plates of food. The girls both wore the same type of outfit that Misuki wore. (Also both blue, Garath noted) One had shoulder length blond hair and blue eyes, while the other had brown hair that came down to her rear. Her eyes were green.

"Your companion had turned in already?" The blond inquired looking toward the sleeping Nikkou.

"Yeah the trip must have tired her out," He said taking a seat at the table where they were placing the food. Once all the food was on the table the girls stood side by side to his right.

"Well since your companion has turned in for the night, would you like us to keep you company during your meal? We wouldn't want you to be lonely." Misuki said giving Garath a warm smile.

"No thanks," Garath said simply. This was why he didn't want to stay here.

"Are you sure?" The final girl spoke who had the brown hair, "We promise not to eat anything unless offered."

"I'll be fine," Garath replied. He knew what they were trying to do. The point of this place was to get men to lose their desire to fight in wars by the girls using their sex appeal. Garath had always HATED that even when he was just watching the anime. It was like saying that guys would jump through hoops for women as long as they flashed him a smile. He wasn't some sex craved animal looking to get a view of a girl in her birthday suit. He would be damned if he let them control him like that.

"Oh please don't be so shy, we're all friendly here. Besides we love hearing stories, and I'm sure a traveler like you has many to tell," Misuki said leaning her face towards his own. Garath calmly raised his sunglasses (something he had meant to do anyway as wearing them inside did little good. Though they wouldn't leave his head.) and looked her straight in the eyes with a fierce, piercing stare.

"Get-Out," He said, his voice cold and dangerous. The girl looked like she wanted to try again, but he could sense the fear that had risen in her.

"V-very well sir," She said as her and her two companions shuffled out. Good riddance, Garath thought. The very thought of this made him want to tear this place to the ground. To think that he could be controlled like some dog. Why did Touka make such a place? Did she truly believe men were so easy to manipulate? Bah, as long as they left him the hell alone he'd be fine. He'd finish his meal, stay the night, then drop Nikkou off in MSF land in the morning. Meanwhile he took stock of his dinner.

On the main plates were ham, some sausage, bread, and many types of cheese. Pretty standard considering where he was. This world didn't have things like hamburgers or pizza. Taking a bite of one of the bread rolls. (He loved bread rolls) He noticed the bottle they had left for him containing his drink. As he chewed he took a whiff of it's contents and reeled. By the sent of it, it had to be some kind of alcohol. Most likely sake giving he WAS in an anime so to speak. Grasping the bottle he held it open yet another space pocket he opened right below it and drained it's contents into the thing. Reaching into a different pocket he pulled out a two liter bottle of Mountain Dew and a funnel. He then filled the bottle up with the soda before placing both the two liter and funnel back into the lunar space pocket they had emerged from. Garath did NOT drink alcoholic beverages. With the last obstacle out of the way, he began to chow down.

* * *

Unfortunately for him, he had been wrong about the girls having left. They had in fact only gone a short way from his door in order to speak without fear of him hearing.

"Figures he'd be difficult," The brown haired one spoke leaning against the wall.

"Tell me about it Laika. It's so much more fun when they are nicer," The blond one agreed glancing back toward the room of the problem they were conversing.

"Come on Laika, Hiromi! I'm sure he's not all that bad if that girl is traveling with him. So the armor around his heart is a little thicker then most men’s. I'm sure if we work together we can peel it off!" Misuki said throwing her fist into the air.

"Yeah!" The other two girls said in union throwing their own fists into the air next to Misuki's. They went over the next plan of attack and walked over to Garath's room door. Giving it a sturdy knock they executed their plan of attack.

"Sorry to bother you mister, but we were thinking that with all your traveling you might be interested in taking a bath? We have many hot springs to choose from at Peach Blossom Tower. We'd love to show you them." Misuki called in. The other two chimed in.

"You don't mind if we join you for a bath do you mister? We'd like to learn more about you if possible!" Hiromi said.

"If you'd like I can wash your back for you!" Laika added. The three girls giggled, hoping the response they got was favorable. The heard a chair move, and footsteps approach the door. The three stood side by side awaiting the response. A few moments later, Garath pulled open the door while munching on a half loaf of bread. He leaned against the door frame waiting for himself to swallow before speaking.

"How's this," He began, "You leave me the hell alone for the rest of the night, and I don't throw you off the railing behind you. To which I'd follow up by jumping off myself, only to make sure I land on your already battered bodies. I have no interest in having my 'armor peeled from my heart' by three girls who think I want to bath with them because they think I want to plow them. Now I'm trying to eat dinner here, which I paid for, so could you kindly GO AWAY!" They watched him then back up and slam the door. They meanwhile upon hearing his speech had been slowly edging farther and farther away from him. Especially when he mentioned his threat. Shaking, Misuki looked at her two companions.

"I think this is a job for Touka..." She said quietly.

"Agreed!" The two said at once.

* * *

"I see, so not only is he refusing to be social, but he threatened you," Touka said while she sipped her tea. Three of her girls had run in looking like they had seen a ghost. After she calmed them down she asked them to tell her what happened, to which they told her about their new guest, and his 'behavior'. It wasn't everyday they dealt with such a case as him. She also couldn't allow him to get away with threatening the lives of her girls.

"Don't worry about him anymore. I'll see to this matter personally, please go tend to one of the other guests," Touka said as she finished her tea. The three girls looked relieved to be free of having to deal with the guy.

"Yes mistress!" They said before hurrying out of the room. Touka gathered up her Kensousen, and began to make her way to the new arrivals room. As she flung weapon on to her shoulder, she sighed.

"Why do men always have to be so difficult?"

* * *

Garath took a swig of his soda as he washed down the bit of cheddar cheese he had just consumed. He felt sorry for scaring those girls, but didn't feel like dealing with them all night. Of course he'd never REALLY throw them off the railing, but he figured it'd send the message clearly enough. He also didn't doubt for a second that he wouldn't have anymore interruptions. He was certain they had run straight to Kurenai Touka. Especially since he threatened them. He was sure Touka wouldn't let him get away with that.

Sure enough after several minutes he felt the presence of Touka begin to move from where she had been. As he mentally followed her life signal he confirmed that she was indeed heading straight for his room. Preparing himself he readied for the knock on the door.

Once he heard it he made his way over to the door and opened it. Sure enough, there stood Touka with her weapon upon her shoulder. She gave him a rather sly smile, showing him that while she knew he knew why she was there, she was still going to be polite about it.

"My girls tell me you don't want company," She said.

"I don't," Garath said back.

"Yes, you made that quiet clear to them, and while I respect your right to privacy, I'm afraid I can't have you threatening my girls. The meant no harm, they just want to visit with you." Touka said in a clam controlling manner.

"I can assure you I'd never harm them unless they attacked me," Garath said coolly, "They were simply bothering me, and I knew that would get them out of my hair. I appreciate the offer for female companionship while I stay here, but I'm just here for food and shelter. I have no interest in anything else."

"The bossiness man I see," Touka said walking past Garath into his room. Garath made no attempt to stop her, "Would it really be so bad to live a little? If you want, I myself can keep you company for a while. Perhaps you prefer the more mature women?"

"I prefer to be left alone," Garath shot angrily, "I know what this place is for. The peeling away of the armor around men's hearts right? You and your girls use your charms to lead us men along like little puppies. Do you think me a fool?" Touka sighed at this.

"So you know the true purpose of this place. I'd ask how, but I suppose you won't tell me?"

"Correct"

"I'm only trying to bring peace to the world. Can't you see how much better it is to enjoy yourself instead of going to war? Why fight when you can bath with cute girls? Even you must be tempted," She said turning to face him. Only to find the barrel of a rather strange pistol pointed right at her head. She gasped inwardly as her eyes widened. How did she not sense him drawing a weapon? Where could he have drawn it from? She had looked him over when he came in and concluded that the only weapon he could have possible had would have been a small knife or so. Certainly not a gun like this!

"Bang, you're dead," Garath said darkly, "I don't want to shoot you, but it doesn't mean I won't. Answer me Kurenai Touka! Do you think all men will just roll over for you if you command it? Do you think those breasts of yours mean a thing to me? I refuse to be controlled by my damn dick you hear me? I don’t' give a damn how you look! I WILL NOT BE CONTROLLED BY THE LIKES OF YOU!"

Touka remained silent. The gun tip was far too close for he to have time to dodge it. She wasn't sure if she should trust his word on not wanting to fire. If he was lying it'd be all over before she could move a muscle. If only she hadn't been so sloppy! There had to be something she missed for him to have that!

Garath of course knew Touka wouldn't have noticed him pull out his gun, and he hadn't pulled it out of anywhere. Rather he had summoned it much like Kuga Natsuki would in the anime Mai Hime. Which is who and where he had gotten the ability from. A Hime could summon their weapon out of thin air, and he just knew it would come in handy. He had no intension of shooting her. Anything she did would have no effect against someone like him. After all, he could go head to head with sayians. Still he wanted her to know. He wanted to FORCE her to see that men weren't women's playthings. It wasn't that he wanted women to be inferior to men either. He simply wanted the sexes to be equal.

"Mistress! Mistress!" He heard Misuki yell from out side. Luckily the door had closed so Misuki couldn't see what Garath was doing at the moment. He didn't want to cause any more trouble then he was. Pulling back his gun Garath motioned for the door with his head.

"That sounds urgent, better go tend to it," He said his voice now filled with support. Touka gave him a glare, but decided he was being honest about not wanting to fire, and quickly walked out the room.

"What is it Misuki?" She asked noticing the frightened look on the girls face. Not another problem guest, she wondered.

"It's......it's a monster!" The girl cried frantically, "A huge monster is coming out of the forest towards the tower! Mr. Professor is trying to scare it away with the roof cannon, but it's not going away! It's so big, it'll... It'll....."

"Calm down Misuki," Touka said placing her hand upon her shoulder for comfort, all the while trying to figure out what was going on. A monster? Could it be something like the thing Zoushi Banmaru had used to attack the tower oh so long ago? But who could have made it?

Meanwhile Garath had heard the entire thing. Monster? He thought, this world didn't have monsters.... Spreading his sensory as far as he could, he tried to see if he could detect anything strange, when he came upon a rather familiar energy reading. One that should NOT have been here.

"No...." He said silently to himself before running into the hall. He took only a moment to notice both Misuki and Touka were gone. She had to have already gone to check it out. If this was what he thought it was though, there was no way she could deal with it. Also, while he had forgotten it's name, he knew Touka also suffered from a disease, which would cripple her in such a fight even more. Wasting no time he did a forward flip off the railing in front of him, to fall the four floors to the ground, coming out of his flip just in time to land feet first upon the ground. He kneeled down to soften the impact before he began to run toward the entrance.

Touka had just managed to get to the bottom of the stairs when she saw Garath drop down in front of her. It wasn't often someone surprised her, and he had just done it a second time. Once with the gun, now with this. 'He jumped from that height and didn't get hurt? Who is this guy?' she thought as she began her own run toward the door. She wanted to avoid violence if she could and increased her speed so she'd go flying by him.

As Garath saw her fly past him he grinned. 'Not bad, didn't think you could run that fast,' He thought falling in line right behind her. As they both exited the tower they stopped., though Touka did it out of surprise, while Garath did it because his fear had been confirmed. Just now reaching the edge of the trees was what appeared to be a giant floating green blob. It looked much like what a green slime might look except it had many tendrils reaching out of it. Also, much different then the rest of it's tentacle appendages, was a neck and head that resembled that of a dragons.

"A Phantasm Dragon," Garath said silently to himself. These things were common in the Chaos Realm which is what he used to travel between worlds. The chaos realm was like a 'realm between all realms' In every dimension there was Chaos. This realm was simply where it all came from. For people without magical properties the realm of Chaos itself would tear them apart. Garath of course was no mere person. Neither was Nikkou apparently if she had used the door he had created. Of course! Garath thought, he himself had run into these things before, so had learned to shield his presence from them. Nikkou obviously had done no such thing having no prior knowledge of them! The blasted thing must have followed her here!

"Tsk, even when you're asleep you can cause me problems," Garath groaned summoning his other white pistol to his hand, "I swear you're like the little sister I never wanted Nikkou..." If it wasn't for the situation, he could almost just picture Nikkou running up to him shouting Oniichan! Actually maybe that wouldn't be so bad...

"What in the world IS that!?" Touka yelled, shaking Garath from his thoughts. She was visibly shaking now. She could hold her own in a fight, but this was something she had never dealt with before. Even the bravest souls would feel a little shaken at having the rules of their world suddenly seem to change like this.

"Misuki!" She yelled getting a hold of the situation, "Get everyone inside NOW I'll handle this!"

"But mistress..." Misuki began, obviously concerned for Touka's well being.

"GO!" Touka screamed. This got the girl to move. Garath briefly wondered if the girl would have still gone if she knew about Touka's disease. He remembered clearly that she hadn't let anyone in the tower know about it.

"You, you better go as well," Touka told Garath readying her weapon. She still didn't know if she could trust him, and with the way he was acting earlier, didn't want him getting blood thirsty.

"I think not," Garath merely said as he aimed both his pistols Midnight and Twilight at the creature. (Midnight is the black one, Twilight the white) "Unlike you I know what we are dealing with, and I'll tell you now, that little stick of yours won't have much effect"

"We'll see, as long as this thing is heading for the tower, I'll do whatever I need to ensure the girl's safety," She yelled running head. Garath was right beside her.

"So will I," He said as he began to unload multiple shots from his guns. Unlike normal guns, his feed off of his energy for ammunition. Much like one of his Hero's Dante's guns Ivory and Ebony did. This of course was where Garath got the idea for his own guns. Garath had a lot of respect for Dante after having played Devil May Cry 3. What better way to show his love for the game but to adapt something from it for himself? At times like this he was happy to be a shadow shifter.

The Phantasm dragon did indeed scream out at being attack and lashed out with it's many arms. Both Garath and Touka leaped over the first few with ease, and ducked under the next few. Garath pointed both guns right at the things head. His plan was to cause it enough irritation that it'd go back to the chaos realm on it's own. He hoped to keep as much of his 'power' secret as possible. He wasn't sure just how they'd react to such a thing. Touka meanwhile shot out the orb on the tip of her staff to have it impact upon it's head as well. Upon touching the head the orb exploded in energy, that being it's special ability. As she reeled the orb back to herself, she cursed at the small effect it seemed to have. Garath knew why of course. This was a creature of magic, only magic could hurt it. What she was doing was the same as what would happen if you sprayed warm water from a hose onto a person. It would annoy them, but not really do much else.

"That's not going to work like that," Garath said back flipping to avoid one of it's arms. He had hoped the thing would have fled by now as he hadn't let up on the barrage of energy bullets. That's when he saw it's gaze was fixed not on them, but on the tower. The thing had sense the many girls, and apparently wasn't stopping till it got them. Looks like he had no choice. He was going to have to use more power then this.

In an instant, he increased his speed to the same degree he had done earlier to chase after Nikkou. Grabbing Touka by the waste while he was at it. (Who had been about to fire her orb again) He ran several feet back. Touka at this point was trying to wrap her mind around all this. While she was managing to remain calm, she could understand what was going on. She hadn't even seen him move before she found herself held by her. The speed he was going at was impossible for any human! What was he? What was this thing they were attacking?

"Look," Garath began setting her down, "You've figured out by now I'm not normal. While I prefer to keep just what and where I am to myself, I will tell you that I'm on your side despite my disagreement with how you run your tower. This thing can't be hurt by your weapon as it. So please just let me try this." Touka could only nod in response. She could tell he meant what he said. It was something in his eyes that told her he didn't want to see anyone die here. She also realized that whatever this was, he knew far more about it then she did.

Garath knew by now that all the girls had seen him pull off that speed stunt of his. He didn't know how he'd explain it, and considered briefly erasing their memories. Hoping it didn't come to that, he faced the approaching dragon. Time for fun, he thought grinning wickedly. This was what he LIVED FOR!

Spinning both guns much like a cowboy might, he stopped them so they both lay on their sides pointed straight at the thing as he readied to pull the triggers, he could already feel his power spike as they channeled into the things.

"Jackpot," He said with a smirk as two beams of light fired out of his guns. One black, one white the caused the very air around him to vibrate as he forced himself to hold the guns steady. The beams spun around each other in a corkscrew spin before impacting upon the dragons chest. The result was instant, as the energy collided with each other, they exploded with ten times the force they had apart, blowing the creature into pieces. Luckily the blast was a forward impact causing most of the left over slim to scatter upon the trees behind it, and not on them.

"Too easy," Garath said spinning his guns once more, until they disappeared, him having unsummoned them. Touka meanwhile was looking at Garath with an expression of anger.

"Did you have to kill it? Why is it you think that everything has to be solved with death? And you asked me why this place existed? To show people like you there ARE other ways!" She yelled rather coldly. Garath however just grunted.

"First of all it's not dead," He said walking over to her, "Second of all, I do plan to do this without death, but I'll need you're help." Her face changed from anger to confusion. What did he mean it wasn't dead? He had just blown it to...

That's when she saw the globs of green slowing converging onto one spot. The thing was going back together!

"What? How can ANYTHING do this!?" She cried preparing her weapon once more. Garath quickly grabbed it in his right hand.

"I told you that won't work," He said looking her straight in the eyes, "If you let me see it for a moment, I can infuse it with the power you'll need to distract it long enough for me to send it back from where it came from. Do you trust me?" She looked back into those pools of brown. Was he telling the truth about not ending this with violence?

"Look, if you'll trust me here, I promise to socialize back at the tower. Just as long as you admit that perhaps you are misjudging men by labeling them ALL the way you do." He said hoping she'd accept his proposal. The dragon was almost whole again, they didn't have much time. Though he could easily fight it, it would be difficult to send it back when it didn’t' want to go. With luck it'd be to distracted by fighting Touka to realize what he was up to. Touka hesitated only a moment more.

"Deal, you prove enough that this tower won't work on all men," She said tossing him her weapon. Garath smiled and concentrated, focusing as much energy he could into the thing. She'd have only a few shots at most.

"Here, you have perhaps three shots, use them wisely and distract it!" He said running off to the right side of the now whole Phantasm Dragon. Touka nodded once and ran to it's left. She didn't know what he had done to it but her Kensousen, but she could definitely tell something was different about it. Not wasting time to worry about that, she took aim at the things head while simultaneously leaping over a couple of tendrils, she fired.

The orb shot out at a much faster speed then she was use to, and the resulting explosion was white in color, and much more forceful then she had ever had before. The thing screamed in agony as it turned it's attention toward her. She leaped back in a zig-zag pattern to land several dozen feet away before taking aim again and firing, once more causing the thing to scream out. All at once it's many appendages shot out from it's body to try and crash into her. In a blur of motion she began leaping from spot to spot just barley avoiding all of it's attacks. After she dodged the eighth attack, she felt her body wrack with pain, stopping her on the spot.

The disease! She mentally cursed kneeling down. She had kept it secret from everyone, especially her girls, for fear that they would worry too much over her. She hadn't wanted to admit it, but she always feared it would be the end of her. As she looked up she saw the creature was charging something in it's mouth. Pleading for the safety of her girls, she brought her weapon in front of her as a beam of energy fired. Silently she bid her friends goodbye waiting for the end. But it did not come. Startled, realized the blast was being stopped by something. She opened her eyes to see the Kensousen glowing white as an invisible shield had sprung up in front of her, deflecting the blast. Apparently the guy hadn’t just infused it with offensive energy. She was glad for it!

Garath in the meantime was readying for his sneak attack. So far the plan was working. The creature was focusing all it's attention towards Touka.. When he saw it try to blast her, he only hoped the weapon was able to protect her like he planned, while he took that opportunity to reach to the sky.

"Exile sword!" He shouted. What appeared above him was no mere lunar space pocket. Space and time itself seemed to rip apart as the hilt emerged from the sky. The sword of which had once been broken into many pieces in order to seal it's erratic power. A sword capable of exiling literally anything from anything. Grasping the hilt of the sword Garath marveled at how it resonated with his own soul. In a time long ago he had been merged with a fragment of the blade. He had not known at the time that small fragment would draw the rest of the blade to it. He was the only living thing to ever be able to control the weapon, and that was only because they had merged on a spiritual level.

Flexing his arm, he felt the sword move swiftly, feeling like it was an extension of his hand, and no more the heavier. With this weapon he could demolish the entire tower with but a swing. But that's not what he had summoned it for. As he waited he noticed the dragon was charging a blast again, but it wasn't moving it's head to aim in another location. With horror, he realized Touka's disease must have hit. If that was true, she was a sitting duck! He hoped he had calculated right when charging her weapon. It should mean it could deflect one more blast before losing it's power.

The Dragon fired, and Garath made his move. Leaping into the air, he grasped the sword with both hands, having turned the sword blade tip down so he may stab it directly into the creatures back. He noticed with relief just before falling that the weapon was indeed protecting Touka for a final time, but he could already see the shield beginning to falter. He only hoped he wasn't too late.

"Exile sword! Stage Two! UNLEASH!" He screamed right before plunging the blade into the things back. The blade exploded with life, as the very fabric of reality itself began to pull into the blade as if it was eating the very universe around it. This was why the blade had been sealed. As it's power grew, so did it's hunger. It had once endangered the fabrics of every world in the multiverse. For every world, for every dimension, for every realm there was some sort of 'fabric' keeping it together. The exile sword had once tried to exile everything into the blackest and deepest void. As it was now, even at such a low power Garath ran the risk of being drawn into the blade himself. Only his shared soul energy, and strong will prevented this even now.

However Garath was not trying to suck the Phantasm Dragon into the void, but instead he was using the gateway of the sword to draw his surroundings into the chaos dimension itself. The Dragon had no chance at retaliation as it was sucked screaming into the blade. Soon it was over, the dragon back where it had come. He had exiled it from this dimension. It would not be able to return.

Forcing the sword back to stage one. He surveyed the area. He was glad to see Touka still lived. She was trying to hide her disease from her girls even now. Calmly he walked over to her.

"Thank you for your help. Do you trust me now?" He asked with a kind warm smile. Touka couldn't help but smile back.

"I do, and I apologize for my actions. Perhaps not all men can have their armor peeled off so easily. But I can't say that will stop me from trying." She said getting to her feet. Garath sighed.

"I don't believe I have armor to peel, nor do I believe you truly understand my words, but at least my words will stay with you. I shall keep my promise, but I have another surprise for you." He said. Touka was still fighting off the effects of the disease. So she couldn't even flinch due to it and her shock as Garath raised his blade above his head, and swung it at her full force. Her eyes didn't even blink as the blade tore right through her.

And yet, it did no harm. In fact she didn't even feel it cut her, though she did feel something as it passed. As she looked around she saw a strange black smoke in the air around her. Before she could inquire to what it was, Garath was raising his hand.

"Wind Tunnel!" He said as a small black hole appeared on his outstretched hand. The smoke was sucked into it, and the vortex disappeared. It was one of Garath's newer abilities as he began to learn just what he really was. As a Shadow shifter, though he was still unclear as to what that was, allowed him to not only change his shape at will, but he was able to copy any magical/psychic/energy attack simply by either experiencing it, or by analyzing the sprit energy of the one who used it. Thus he was able to assimilate many different powers.

"You feel fine now do you not?" Garath asked as Touka stared at him in shock. She was even more surprised to find that all traces of her pain from her disease had vanished. It was almost like-

"The disease is gone," Garath said with a smile. She could only stair in confusion once more.

"This is called the Exile Blade," Garath said holding up the blade for her to see, "With it I can exile anything from anything else. I just now used it to exile the disease from your body. As you probably just guessed, that was what the black smoke I just sucked up was."

Could it be? Touka thought. She hadn't dared to hope her disease might just be gone someday. She tenderly tested her body. With every movement she made she felt no resistance. In the past a small pain would begin to grow if she moved to much, but now she didn't even feel that. It was true! The disease really was gone!

"I...I don't know what to say..." She began, but had to stop. Everything had just happened so fast.

"You don't have to say anything, just promise me you'll re-think your opinions on men," Garath said smiling. Touka said she would.

"Let's go back," She said as she saw the mass of girls racing toward her. No doubt happy she was ok, "And don't forget, you promised to socialize." She teased.

"I did," Garath said dryly, "But I refuse to take a bath with them."

"Fair enough," She said in response.

* * *
It was morning in the Magical Sailor Fuku kingdom. Odin was currently relaxing at one of it's many benches in a random flower field. Happy to have a peaceful morning for once with no crazy members insight looking for a transformation target. He had just gotten to a rather good part in the book he had been reading when a strange vortex opened right next to him.

Now in MSF these kinda things aren't really all that unexpected, so rather then be startled, Odin merely looked over at the doorway with mild curiosity. From it, emerged his Friend Garath carrying what appeared to be a sleeping Nikkou in his arms. He sat her gently down on the table he was sitting at before turning to address him.

"Do me a favor Odin and do something about her ok?" He said before turning to walk back into the portal he had come from.

"Wait!" Odin cried out desperate to stop him, "What the heck am I suppose to do with her?!" Garath merely shrugged.

"Beats me, she's MSFs problem now," He said before the doorway vanished behind him, leaving Odin alone with the resting Nikkou. As Odin looked over he could see Nikkou beginning to stir awake. He sighed again.

So much for his peaceful morning...


Author's Notes:
Ok, this didn't turn out quite as I expected. I wanted more arguing between myself and Touka on her Tower. Ever since watching the anime, even though I -LOVE- the anime, I hate the idea of that tower. It literally made me feel as if they thought I'd beg for them if they commanded it. Not all guys are going to go ga-ga over a freaking girl. I'm living proof.

Both Nikkou and Odin cameoed! Yay! I only hope I got Nikkou close to how she would actually act. (and really do hope so, as I LOVE the interaction between the two in this story) As for Odin I had originally approached him to see if he'd be my companion in this, but he was less likely to want to go to the tower then I was. :P

So I snuck him in at the end. I hope Odin doesn't mind.

I hope this gives you some insight as to my character. If you have any questions about myself or the story, feel free to PM me.

For those unfamiliar with 'Lunar Space Pockets' it's a term coined but some Sailor Moon fanfic that was eventually adopted for other sailor moon fanfics. It's also known as 'hammer space' and is where most anime characters seem to pull stuff out of thin air. (like Akane always seeming to get a hammer from no where) Garath as you saw, has many such things in which he can pull many stored items from. He can even open one up and then open another up in an entirely different place, using the space warp of the pocket to reach something he may have left on his desk at home or something. He can't make the hole to big however as it can cause instable tares.

Garath is in fact MUCH more powerful then you see here. I hope to one day have a story showcasing just how much.

Lastly Grenadier is a Twelve Episode anime I rather enjoy. I suggest you check it out if you haven't already. Not only is it a great series, but this will probably make a bit more sense if you've seen it.

Oh yes: One more thing. You forgot to sweep the floor! I mean, If you feel like being in one of Garath's adventures, please feel free to AIM me. We can do what Nikkou and I did, which was RP a bit before I started this so I could get a feel for her character. In fact we are thinking of RPing another such story, just actually RPing the entire thing this time and turning it into a story.

If you are interested drop me a line. Well Until next time!

[Mitera Nikkou]

I am your sleeping beauty... Take me into your arms and do as Serenity should have done in Sailor moon in accordance to Greek mythology. XD (Hint: Selene and Endymion.)

Just teasing you. ;p

Well, at least now I know more about ye. It's a good thing that I'm not that powerful. @_@ But the story was good overall, with a typo and grammar things popping up here and there. But, otherwise, I'm guessing that this was the hors d'oeuvres of Garath? I wanna see more potion action, and power action, and an important-purpose-or-goal-that-he-has-his-mind-set-toward action! But it's a good start.

Oh, and I was so awake and watching you in secret with googly eyes. But I was courteous and left you the spotlight as you envisioned. *_* Yeah, that's it... Though I did play a game of solitaire there for a second... And went on a panty raid while everyone was in disarray toward the end there. No, really. <.<;

Ack! Oh, yeah; what kind of disease did she have? Or does it never say? Also, like how other things are inspired by something, is the Exile sword as well?

[Garath the Shadowshifter]

Sure you were Nikkou. SURE you were....

I created the Exile sword so long ago I couldn't tell you where the inspiration came from.

As for the Diesease, I'm pretty sure it says, but I literally can't remember it's name.

[SweetSophia]

Not too shabby. Interesting conflict and nice dialouge. The way you and Nikkou play off each other like that is just lovely. I was a bit confused about the specifics of things, though. Rather than say he did this attack from this anime, I think it'd be nice if you just described it. People who've seen what it's from will recognize it and people who haven't will understand better than if you drop names.

You seem very omnipowerful. I'd like to see a situation where you're the scrapper, the underdog.

Overall, I liked it. So....That's my opinion.
I wouldn't mind being in an adventure down the line, though I can't see what help I'd be.

[Garath the Shadowshifter]

Yeah in real life I've dealt with an agressive father, and a slave driver controlling step-dad.

You can say Garath was created to insure I never become a slave to ANYONE ever again. As such I'm very powerful as Garath. Not to say you can't kill me. Heck I know a loop hole right now that would kill me easily.

I do have an idea for a story where Garath gets the the 'bleep' kicked out of him. When it is comming though I can't say. (as RL won't let me give a set answer)

As for the anime attacks, that's a good idea! Sorry about that in the story. I really wasn't thinking about that, but I SHOULD have. I'll try to make sure I dont do that again. ^_^

As for being in an adventure with me, just give me a way to chat with you and I say let's go for it! ^_^

Thank you VERY MUCH for reading my story!