Natsu:

Second Moon

AUTHOR'S NOTES: So far, so good. I have no frigging idea why the heck my uploaded chappie was one VERY long read, and I would really appreciate it if somebody should tell me how to edit my pre-upload-chappie in the "Quick Edit" mode so that it wouldn't turn out looking like a kilometric revenge of some harried fanfic author. ;; Thanks in advance! Well then, up in this chappie: Team Hoshi's -Sigil- reprise, Sephardim blues, and Nimrod VS Team Axis. The mysterious Adam gets more than what he bargained for, and Althaea learns how it is to be normal. R/R PLEASE!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Bey Blade, Sakura Taisen, Gensomaden Saiyuki and Asato Tsuzuki + his 12 original Shikigami as they're all owned by their respective authors. I do own some of the OC's and terminologies involved here, though...so no SUING!

(until somebody tells me how to edit chappies in "Quick Edit" mode, all paragraphs shall be denoted with to signify the end of a paragraph and the start of another for easy reading. Thanks:))

"Well, well, well, those attacks have stopped...HOPEFULLY...the play rehearsals are in full swing...and the entire hangar is all OURS!" Dr. Soushi Terada was grinning as he stretched his arms way above his head. "Well, I guess I better get started, those Team Axis brats certainly wouldn't be hanging around to wait for these -Sigils- to come out of the hangar before deciding to destroy the entire Kagekidan around my ears..."

"Well Dr. Terada, how are the -Sigils- coming around?" Dr. Mizuhara was saying as she made her way to where Dr. Terada was standing, on the catwalk above the hangar where each and every Team Hoshi -Sigil- was put in place. Several uniformed engineers were going about their daily business taking down notes and measuring the steam pressure, temperature, and reaction synch rate with the -Nirvana Crystals- on their thick logbooks as they went through each -Sigil- below them.

"I'm just about to start my daily check-up before the big operation so to speak, Dr. Mizuhara." Dr. Terada nodded then gestured to the -Sigils-. "I had a very hairy time during that rogue -Sigil- or -Relic- siege last night...I thought I had to build all of these -Sigils- from scratch...it was pretty much the end of the world down here."

"It's a good thing you didn't have to, Dr. Terada, or else it's back to the drawing boards for all of us again." Dr. Mizuhara looked over the -Sigils-. "They're perfectly fine now, yes?"

"Little tweaks here and there, I've FINALLY had those new engines installed in each and every one of them, new armaments...geez, where's my apprentice when I need him...?"

"Kenichiro's pretty busy with his thespian engagement right now, but he did tell me he'd be hurrying down here to the hangar as soon as he's finished bounding across the stage in that frilly tutu." Dr. Mizuhara looked over at Dr. Terada. "Um...new engines, you say...?"

"Yes, yes, I've finally completed all their synch rate charts with their respective -Keys-, and it's only a matter of time before I kick them all into their respective Sephirothic -Sigil-. So, if they manage to blow their -Sigils- up again, they'll have to use those -Keys-..." Dr. Terada blinked. "Sorry. Am I making sense?"

"Yes, you are, Dr. Terada." Dr. Mizuhara nodded over at Rheingeld. "And...what's the current status of that -Antitype- over there...?"

"Pretty exciting, to say the least. I've never seen anything quite like it before...well, being the 'Left Hand of God' sure has its perks. Infinite levels of both aether and physical strength, no traces of those -Nirvana Crystals- whatsoever, after Driger merged with its pilot's Kyrieans Stream...no known armaments, except for those floating things over there...in principle they are similar to Edelweiss' SEALERS...I wouldn't be surprised if that thing could blow a hole through the earth with its astounding powers. A thorough transformation, to say the least."

"A true -Judge of Worlds-." Dr. Mizuhara blinked. "Wait a minute, is it the other way around...?"

"-Destroyer of Worlds-, more likely, as it's a known fact that Oblivion's the 'harbinger of the void'." Dr. Terada waved a hand in front of his face. "What's with those monikers, anyway, it's about time I get started before my apprentice gets here. I want everything to be perfect before he comes."

"The -Creator-, the -Judge-, the -Destroyer-. Wow. I guess we're REALLY going to make those Team Axis operatives run for cover with this trio breathing down their necks. But there will come a time when those 3 would have to fight each other, and we're all stuck in the middle." Dr. Mizuhara nodded. "As for now, it's safe for us to assume that we could relax and take it easy for now. We have the rare opportunity to see those 3 in action, fighting for the same cause...if only for a little while. I can't wait for that day."

"Yes...like those good old days back at the ICDC. We had the power of the -Creator- by our side, and we almost had them then. Too bad...Tsuzuki-kun wasn't able to handle that aether surge that well..." Dr. Terada sighed. "Well, no use reminiscing about such things that could've been, should've been. I really have to get to work right now, lest those rogue -Sigils-, -Relics- or whatever decide to drop for afternoon tea. Give my regards to Daitenji-kacho, would you...?"

"Absolutely."

"..." Yusaku was staring out into the cold gloom of that particular Tokyo morning. The entire building was quiet, save for the shrill whistles that punctuated the silence, coming straight from the railroad station some ways off. A cigarette was clamped in his mouth, and as he watched, indifferent to everything about him, the smoke curled up from his cigarette and framed the maple tree leaves outside the window, heavy with rain droplets.

He hated rain.

"Ne, Yusaku...there you are! I've been looking all over for you," Daichi was saying as he walked towards the still quiet young man. He nodded. "Adam wanted to talk to you."

"It rained last night, didn't it...?"

SD Daichi blinked, then nodded. "Yeah, some time during the wee hours of the morning...! Oh." He understood. "So what should I tell Adam..."

"I'll talk to him." Yusaku dropped and crushed his still unfinished cigarette with his boot. "You go run along and tell Setsuna I'll be late for violin practice."

"H...hai." Daichi blinked, then watched him walk away.

Yusaku was quiet as he walked down the hallway leading to the pair of elegantly carved oak doors down the other end. Maids bowed down respectfully to him as he passed them by, punctuated with soft whispers from those who stood in a huddle. Yusaku was, from their very own standards, a handsome young man, who was as gifted with the violin as gifted as he was with marksmanship. He was cold and aloof and had a rather volatile temper, and he didn't like women all that much, a far cry from Tatsuhiko, who enjoyed chasing after women and considered it as his truest calling in life. Still, he was a prize catch in those high society circles: the only son of Daisaku Saionji, an extremely wealthy industrialist and philantrophist who was also the son of (as some say) a "friendly" rival of Souichiro Hiwatari; educated in Oxford with his law school scholarship on hold and a linguist who knew 22 languages with quite an impeccable mastery of Latin; a violin virtuoso and was adept in lengthy debates and considered by his Oxford professors as Plato reincarnate. He also was the one who whapped his 2 other teammates in the Sephardim into shape by means of his gigantic harisen, much to the chagrin of both Daichi and Tatsuhiko, and were given death threats any minute or any hour of the day, 24/7. It was what the Sephardim needed: a cold, inflexible, volatile tempered young man who always was trigger happy and very happy to blow their heads off their shoulders if they just stepped a hairline away from his predetermined limit of a non-existent "emotional" threshold. It was for these traits that the Nimrod were very ecstatic to have him as the ringleader of their elite "raiding" team; that, and because he was the son of their very generous benefactor, but Yusaku couldn't care less. He knew for a fact that he was also there to keep those balding old bastards in the Nimrod in check, and he wouldn't hesitate blowing all of them into 8th hell if they strayed from their original intent. And he knew that the Nimrod also knew it.

2 guards who were flanking the pair of oak doors bowed respectfully as Yusaku came near. "Adam to see you, Saionji-sama."

"So I've heard from the stupid monkey." Yusaku stopped in front of the doors, staring straight ahead. "And please do drop the 'sama' bit. It's getting on my nerves."

The doors were opened before him by the guards, and Yusaku walked in. A silhouette was seen against the French window at the other end of the room, staring straight out into the gloominess beyond him.

The doors closed, and Yusaku bowed slightly. "You have called for me, Adam...?"

"Rather lovely day for sightseeing, eh, Saionji-kun? The heavens are so bleak and dreary today."

Yusaku stiffened, but he didn't say a word. The only sound that was punctuating the silence was the now incessant pattering of the raindrops against the window pane which was slowly rising into a deafening roar, as the heavens seemed to think it was a little too quiet and upped the drizzle into a downpour.

The silhouette turned to face him, his face still thrown into shadow. "Must be very wonderful for you Saionji-kun, to wake up to such brilliant weather. It seems to agree with your current mood this morning..."

"Stop being such an asshole, Adam, and please do get straight to the point. I am not here to discuss the weather, nor my current ecstatic temperament, wearing thin as it is already." Yusaku straightened up, his slanted clear violet eyes narrowing. "Cut me till it bleeds."

The downpour increased its ferocity. The silhouette didn't move. "Still as acid-tongued as always. No wonder even the Nimrod is VERY frightened of you."

"They're spineless and very much stupid. Really, they're just a bunch of overgrown children who need a kind whap by a 2 by 2 or 2." Yusaku turned his now frightening gaze at the silhouette in front of him. "And as you know, I am not a very patient person when it comes to making roundabout conversations concerning matters of life and death. Given this is not a debate hall, and you are not my 'sparring' partner, it is safe to plod on to safer ground before I decide to shoot you."

The speaker's voice has now become a venomous hiss. "You DO know who's holding the cards right at this instant, Saionji-kun?"

"Heh. I do not care, and I do not give a damn. You must also KNOW where you are right now, and besides, you're free to lob insults at me as you see fit, protected as you are by your own little 'badge'. If it weren't for the Imperial Guards' groveling, you wouldn't be as high and as mighty as you are right now. And given the circumstances, if I decided to play my own cards right back then, you wouldn't be here, barking orders at us as if there's no tomorrow. You wouldn't BE Adam."

"You little son of a"

"No, I didn't get the -Limiter- as planned, as you've seen the spectacular spectacle yourself," Yusaku cut in. "Frankly, I don't see the importance of why I have to report to YOU when you already know what has happened. How many times do I have to repeat myself for you to get those facts hammered into your little BRAIN?"

There was a cold, frightening silence. Yusaku knew he went too far, but he really didn't care. He hated this idiot as much as he hated the rain. Hell, he hated all of them. Ordering them about like mongrels on a leash. This idiot wanted to contest the idiocy of the Magi, and that was all there is to it. A battle royal of the world's biggest idiots. And he was so pained to be affiliated under one of them.

The silhouette gave one short, mocking laugh. "A little bit of incompetence on your part, eh, Saionji-kun? It was as easy as taking candy from small children, and you STILL managed to bungle it."

Yusaku raised an eyebrow. "If that IS the level at which you base your competence, Adam, then I wouldn't be able to do anything about it...your pathetic sense of your so-called 'competency', that is. It's what you chose to think for yourself."

"..."

"But anyway, before I go, I would like to give a report for the umpteenth time...concerning matters about the -Limiter-. Hurdled as I was with a bunch of my own idiots to think of, we almost had the -Limiter- if it weren't for that interference. Concerning 'his' awakening, I wasn't expecting that to happen for another million years or so. Dr. Kyrieans' notes sadly didn't calculate...or rather...wasn't able to accurately predict when 'his' next awakening should be. It really threw our plans and theirs out of whack, and if there's anything good that came out of this horrible hindsight, it's completing the -Keys-...and they are all finally falling into place." Yusaku looked over at the silhouette, his face devoid of any expression. "Shouldn't you be prancing around right now...?"

There was a sudden clap of thunder, the fleeting flash of light illuminating the room for a half-second. The silhouette's ice blue eyes (;; you get the idea) narrowed. "It is no reason for us to rejoice. Although it is everything I had hoped to happen, I didn't expect 'him' to be awakened, not until we have 'Lilith' here with us. 'His' awakening only made things even more muddled up for the Nimrod. I wouldn't have the Emperor know of our little plans until all is perfectly in place."

"Isn't it a little too late for that now...? I still can't see why we all have to wait before that thing happened. Thanks to Team Axis' bungled efforts, they can't do anything, we can't do anything, and the Kagekidan can't do anything. We're all in this pathetic little stalemate, and it's only a matter of time before someone decides to make the first move, and when THAT happens, from THAT point on, everything would be helter-skelter." Yusaku opened the door, his back turned towards silhouette. "The Nimrod's just plain terrified it won't be long before everything they've worked so hard to accomplish would be gone in a matter of seconds, once Daitenji decides to push through with the original plan. And I would most certainly kick you all if you come crawling back to me to set things the way they were before. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Yusaku left without another word. There was a crash as a picture frame on the table was smashed by the silhouette's closed right fist. His ice blue eyes narrowed even further.

Daitenji... He then gritted his teeth. What do you think you're doing...! You're a fool. A stupid fool! You're not going to get away from us that easily...if you thought that was the end, you have got another thing coming. I wouldn't let you destroy everything you created...!

The picture frame tilted over and fell to the floor, to which he stepped on it deliberately.

Gogoro Daitenji was seen smiling from it benevolently.

Althaea watched the raindrops patter incessantly against the windowpane, hinting at another coming downpour that was sure to last the whole day. It had always been calming, yet overwhelmingly sad at the same time. There was always something about the rain.

Always.

Bitter memories. Happy memories.

All pattering down with the rain...

"Hey! You're up!"

Althaea blinked, then looked over her shoulder. Mao was standing right behind her, with her amber gold eyes wide with surprise upon seeing the Kagekidan's guest walking along the corridors as if she wasn't nearly dead quite some time ago.

Her eyes were almost a crystalline kind of silver, the kind that reminded one of clear, moonlit nights, when everything was touched by that same ethereal glow. It looked as if those eyes should belong to someone who was very cold and cruel, enough to make her glare cut straight to someone's bones. But frostily cold as it seemed like the first stars out right after twilight, they were surprisingly warm as to catch one's attention enough to talk.

"Gee...and Max was going on how we'd be seeing you a zillion years from now..." Mao then held out her hand, her eyes closed happily as she did so. "My name's Mao Kon! How do you do?"

"..." Althaea looked at Mao's outstretched hand, then looked up at her again, blinking uncertainly as to what she was to do. Mao cocked her head to one side. "Um...sorry? Did I offend you or something...?"

"It's the first time she's ACTUALLY spoken normally to, Kon," Kai said as he appeared from behind Mao, a small frown on his face. "She wasn't exactly billeted in the Seventh Heaven Orphanage with a bunch of saintly nuns to look after her."

"I WASN'T asking for your stupid opinion, Hiwatari," Mao growled.

"And she wasn't asking for YOUR name, so there." Kai looked over at Althaea, who was watching their exchange with an uncertain look on her face. "Are you sure you're fine now, to walk alone down the hallways...?" he then asked her in English.

"Why YOU egotistical"

"Yes..." Althaea said in a soft, timid voice. "I...where am I...?"

"Enemy territory," Kai said unflappably. "Suffice it to say, I suggest that you don't venture out 500 meters away from this building, or any other building in this compound, for that matter. Westerners aren't quite popular nowadays with a bunch of psychotic fanatics out there."

"Oh..."

"At LEAST try breaking it to her a little GENTLY, Kai." Max then appeared from behind Kai and Mao, a huge sweatdrop on his head. "I don't want her to think loads of evil things about the Japanese."

"I'm just telling it as it is."

"Boy, you aren't called the Human Sledgehammer, for nothing." Max gave Althaea a goofy grin. "Oh, don't mind Kai, he's NOT usually this nice. My name's Max Mizuhara, this little package of overwhelming love and peace is named Kai Hiwatari, and that affable pink-haired young lady over there is named Mao Kon. How do you do?"

"I'm fine...Mr. Mizuhara." Althaea looked confused. "Sorry...are you Japanese...?"

"Half and half, actually," Max said with a little nod. "My mother's American."

"And..."

"Kai's purebred Japanese. Although his social skills match quite favorably with those of the Huns."

"..." Althaea looked over at Mao. "Are you that raven-haired young man's relative...?"

"She means Lei," Max told Mao.

"Oh! Yeah! He's my older twin brother! Wow! And Lei talked about you the whole time I was talking to him!" SD Mao gave a cute little grin (Mokona grin).

"They're fraternal twins," Kai said. "I just don't KNOW where she got her otherwise abominable personality, though."

"Fraternal twins...?"

"Lei's older of the 2, but sometimes Mao acts as if she's the older twin." Max blinked. "How do you find your accommodations, by far?"

"It's fine. Really..." Althaea looked around. "I'm really...in enemy territory...?"

"Don't worry, we're not about to push you headlong into a dungeon or something. You're our guest here."

"I..."

"Oh, there you are. I was beginning to worry you'd all run off to the enemy base and blew their entire compound to smithereens." Daitenji-kacho went over to where they were, smiling amiably like a very indulgent grandfather. "I see you're making her feel very welcome to the Kagekidan."

"That's what Mao and I are doing," Max said. He gestured to Kai with his thumb. "Don't know with Kai here."

"I'm pretty sure he'll be able to welcome her any day soon, but not right now. Isn't that right, Hiwatari?"

Kai just frowned slightly.

"Well then..." Daitenji-kacho looked over at Althaea, who was blinking at him. "Lady Whitaker? You're feeling fine now? Dr. Maeda has told me you've recovered remarkably well. I guess those medications did the trick."

"Y-yes, sir. And the medical staff were most...kind and gracious." Althaea gave a little bow. "You've all been too kind to me..."

Daitenji-kacho gave a hearty laugh. "It just comes with all the perks involved in being Japan's 'premiere' military institution...as I would like to think. Our Ministry of Defense likes to think otherwise, though."

"A-as you say, sir."

"Of course, of course." Daitenji-kacho looked at Max, Mao, and Kai. "Would you be willing enough to take her on a grand tour, children?"

Kai looked up sharply at the Kagekidan head. Max blinked. "Well...I don't see any reason why NOT. We'll be glad to, Daitenji-kacho..."

"Good, good." Daitenji-kacho smiled warmly at Althaea. "Well, I'll be leaving you in the capable hands of the Kagekidan's elite cadets. I'll be seeing you around, then. I'm needed at the office...I'm expecting some guests today."

He gave a small bow, then went on his way. Kai watched him leave, then turned to glare at Althaea through narrowed eyes. "I don't know why you're here, and why we have to put up with you for the time being. But as the Captain of the Kagekidan, I'm bound by my duties to protect the Japanese people's interests, at whatever cost. I still don't trust you."

Max's eyes widened. "Kai...!"

Kai left without another word. Mao shook her fist at him, gargantuan twitches sprouting all over her head. "Oooohhh, that egotistical little fathead"

"Heh. THAT'S Kai for you." Max looked over at Althaea, a worried look on his face. "Sorry about that, Lady Whitaker...just don't let him get to you. He just has a lot of things in his mind lately..."

"Why...am I here...?"

"?" Max blinked. "Lady Whitaker...?"

"..." Althaea then looked over at both Mao and Max. "I guess I'll just head back to my room...Dr. Maeda told me not to overdo it."

"Uh...sure, OK." Max nodded. "We certainly wouldn't want you down with a relapse..."

"Y-yes. Thank you, Mr. Mizuhara, Miss Kon."

She left. Mao was blinking. "She's...a little TOO polite for an Axis operative, isn't she..."

"In any case, we should be thankful she didn't condemn us all to 8th hell." Max gave a little grin. "Why don't we head on to the hangar and check on our -Sigils-?"

Takao came into view, obviously miffed. "WHAT'S with Hiwatari?" he growled.

"I think he's down with 'andropause'. It's not easy being the world's greatest prick, you know. His hormones have been acting always overtime again, and he simply does NOT have enough tranquilizers to deal with it." Max slung his arms about Takao neck. "And THAT'S the secret of Kai Hiwatari's Captaincy 401. Never fails him, all the time!"

"Does he REALLY have to rub it in that he's OBNOXIOUS?" Mao asked. "He's just about the most abominable guy I've EVER met."

"Frankly, if it weren't for Takao here, he wouldn't be half as human as he is right now. Goes to show that he has enough microscopic emotions to even bother snapping at Takao every chance he gets!" Max patted the Japanese youth's cheeks. "We're really thankful for that, you know. You're a life saver."

"..." SD Takao's eyes became little beads. "I have no idea if I should be glad you complimented me or consider jumping off the cliff because you just insulted me."

"Consider doing something in between." Max then started dragging him towards the direction of the hangar, a goofy grin on his face. "Let's hit on our -Sigils- before Kai decides to obliterate them."

"..." Lei looked over at the window by his bedside, the rain pouring down in sheets, blurring everything that was beyond it. He still felt really weak, and it really looked as if he wouldn't be able to go on with a normal life again. It was just ...

...again!

Please...don't make me...it hurts...

I am REALLY sorry about this, Lei, but you KNOW we have to do this. Dr. Kinogu nodded, then looked over at the chart he held in his hands again. Again!

There was a deafening sound of glass breaking, and 11 year-old Lei crumpled to the ground with his hands stuffed to his ears, crying hysterically. Make them stop...Dr. Kinogu...it HURTS... he sobbed, thin rivulets of blood coursing down from his now soaked bandage wrapped about his head.

Just a little bit more...

The aether gauge started humming very loudly in an ear splitting pitch, and there was another series of glass breaking sounds. Lei shook his head violently, tears pouring out in a spray. Blood now poured more thickly.

That's it Lei...

Lei scrunched himself into a tight little ball, his tears mixing with the blood, the aether gauge reaching a soul splitting pitch. There was a collective cacophony of glass breaking and his own screams.

WhackawhackawhackawhackawhackawhackawhackawhackawhackawhackaWHACKA

§-Blink.-§-

Lei's eyes widened suddenly, his eyes brimming with tears, the horrid painful memories almost sweeping him off to another panic attack. He stared blindly at the window, the rain somehow making his current emotional state even worse.

§-BLINK!-§-

Lei then turned to look at the thick blanket about him which was protecting him from the coldness of that particular rainy morning. He then blinked. Sitting in a semicircle on the blanket facing him was a group of tiny -Sigils-. They were all blinking tiny flashes of light at him when he finally noticed them.

"What..." Lei sat up on his bed, wondering what in the world was going on. The tiny -Sigils- were still blinking at him quite merrily when Dr. Mizuhara came in, holding a tray laden with food. She blinked upon seeing the tiny -Sigils-. "So this is where you're AT. The nurses had been looking all over for you, did you know that...?"

"Nurses...?" Lei was confused. "Are they...something new for my physical therapy...?"

"Not quite, Lei. The nurses were all agog when they found out these little -Sigils- have gone missing. They belong to the Lady Whitaker...or more appropriately, belong to Edelweiss. But since the Lady Whitaker pilots Edelweiss..." Dr. Mizuhara put the tray down on the bedside table beside him. "I have no idea where they came from, but they appeared after that 'awakening' incident of yours. Apparently, they're 'keys' of some sort."

"..." Lei reached out and held out his hand. The tiny -Sigils- blinked more merrily still.

"Dr. Terada's making progress with Rheingeld...you know, Driger transformed. You'll be able to pilot it in no time flat. That is, until we manage to get through those 'floating things' guarding it. It wasn't easy getting through Edelweiss' SEALERS...but don't worry, we're almost through with it."

"..." Lei then looked down at his hands, his eyes sadly expressive. "Seems like there's no other way out of it, then."

"Indeed. But it doesn't mean that we have to give up hope." Dr. Mizuhara nodded, then smiled at him gently. "Everything's going to be fine, trust us on this."

"I guess." Lei nodded, smiling gratefully up at her. "Thank you."

"..." Daitenji-kacho appeared standing right outside the door, his back facing the wall. He nodded slowly.

"Now that wasn't so hard, wasn't it...? You'll get along just fine. No need to rush things."

Asato Tsuzuki just turned to look at him with expressionless amethyst eyes. Then he looked straight ahead in front of him, watching the rain fall down and patter against the glass.

"No need indeed."

AUTHOR'S NOTES: The return of Asato TSUZUKI! Uh-oh, things will get hairier from this point on! What does Daitenji-kacho have anything to do with Nimrod and Adam? Stay tuned for the next chappies!