Hi people!

I have decided to start a second project, even though it will probably impede progress on 'The Wise One's Legacy'. Hopefully some of you know KKJ, too!

I know both the anime and the manga and I will probably adapt elements from both, although the story will be mostly based on the first season of the anime. It will differ from the original in several interesting ways however. With this story, I intend to even out things between Maron and Chiaki. In the original storyline, Maron had a much harder time than Chiaki, the two main reasons being Fin's betrayal and the fact that Chiaki starts off knowing of Maron's double identity as Jeanne. Because of this, I opt to change the following:

- Fin is NOT evil/will NOT turn evil
- Chiaki knows neither Maron nor Jeanne nor Access when he appears first in the story
- The storyline starts before any of the main characters meet 'their' angel for the first time

I hope you'll enjoy this different approach to the relationship between Maron and Chiaki and their adventures. I might have some more surprises in store, but I don't want to spoil them yet...
Well, there's only three more things to say:

1. All Standard Disclaimers Apply: I do not own Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne. Arina Tanemura does.
2. The above disclaimer, until otherwise stated, applies to this and all following chapters of this story.
3. Happy reading!

Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne
Theft of Heart

Chapter 1: Old Nightmares and New Neighbors

(Maron)

"…huff… …huff… …must hurry… …must not be late again… …pant… …gasp…"

Trying to ignore the stitch in my side, I stopped running at a street junction. This part of Momokuri looked unfamiliar and I looked around desperately for some kind of clue as to where I was. "Great…" I muttered to myself. "I'm not only going to be late for class again, no, I also have to get myself lost in the city I've been living in for more years than I care to count!!! ARRRGH!!!"

Fuming, I looked around for my best friend Miyako, but as usually when I needed her, she was nowhere to be found. "Oh, I forgot, she only ever shows up when there's a possibility to annoy me…" I continued to rant at no one in particular, ignoring the weird looks I received from passers by. That building across the road looks vaguely familiar… I thought to myself. I'll check it out.

I ran to the edge of the road and skidded to a halt again, cursing under my breath at the red traffic light. Damn!!! I can't afford to be late again, sensei will have my head this time for sure!! I quickly looked around, but there wasn't a single car to be seen. "Oh well… I normally don't do this… But I have no choice…" I checked the road once more, but it was still deserted; however, on the other side was a bunch of people patiently waiting for the light to turn green. Miyako would have my head, too, if she saw this…

Steeling myself for the task at hand I leaned forward and lifted my foot, but before I even managed a first step, an obnoxiously familiar shrill whistling noise pierced my eardrums. I winced as I was hurled backwards, covering my ears in a futile attempt to shut out the infernal sound.

"Pakkyamlamao-sensei!" I gasped at the woman who was walking across the road, the typical stern look on her face that spelled 'you're in deep trouble', her infamous wooden flute tightly clutched in her hand; the traffic light had consequently turned green the instant she had blown the instrument with all her might. The woman with the long sleek, dark purple hair was the schoolteacher for several of my subjects. She really was okay most of the time, I guess, but she was not very patient and tended to show a great eagerness to severely punish any student unfortunate enough to pay less than full attention to her instructions. Unfortunately I didn't have the time to indulge in some fond memories of the times I had spent standing by myself in the hall outside the classroom, because in doing so I would most likely have earned myself another of her penetrating whistles for which she was known and feared throughout the school.

"Kusakabe Maron!" I winced again; her disdainful voice was perfectly able to compete with the hideous shriek emitted by her abused instrument. "This is the third time you're late for school this week!" She towered over me, pointing her flute at me in a threatening gesture. "I told you hundreds of times that your mind must be like a beautiful flower! Where do you think would we be if the plants didn't obey the rule of the seasons, only blooming when they feel like it?!"

"What are you doing here?!" I blurted out before I could stop myself. "Why aren't you in school?"

"I'm here because of the snow." She said in a no nonsense kind of way. "The flowers cannot survive this cold on their own."

Snow? Bewildered, I looked around; there were indeed piles of snow at the sides of the walkways and the unpaved surfaces were covered by a layer of frost. As I watched, one of the flowers that was poking its petals out of the sheet of snow suddenly wilted and shriveled up. But it's supposed to be almost summer!! And why didn't I notice the cold until now?!

The teacher shook her head in exasperation, as if the reason for her presence was most obvious. "I wonder what kind of weeds you have been growing inside your head lately… But don't you worry, I will sort them out right now, let me have a look…"

I recoiled in terror as she produced gardening tools out of nowhere and tried to whack me across the head with them. I took a few steps backwards, staring in shock at my gymnastics teacher who had just shown a streak of violence I wasn't familiar with yet. Unfortunately she wasn't done yet; uttering an incomprehensible shout of rage, she swung her hoe at me again, stressfully with an alarmingly accurate aim, too. Doing the only sensible thing in this kind of situation, I nimbly jumped backwards, spun my body around and ran for dear life, Pakkyamlamao-sensei hot on my heels. Took a while back then until I could say her name, let alone spell it… But it was one of those things people learned quickly – she made sure of that!

A swishing noise next to my left ear told me that this probably wasn't the most ideal time to ponder things like this, but as I tried to pick up some more speed, I slipped on the frozen sidewalk and lost balance, crashing down onto the ground. Wriggling around on the icy surface I tried desperately to avoid what I knew would happen next, but Pakkyamlamao-sensei was already standing over me. With a cruel grin she raised the the hoe high above her head before bringing it down with all her might. I closed my eyes and resigned myself to my fate, hoping that she would somehow manage to kill me in one hit with the blunt thing, or at least knock me out.

But instead of pain, I felt a sudden warmth surrounding my body and a bright soothing light shone through my closed eyelids. Whew… It didn't even hurt… I stayed put and did nothing, marvelling at the strange sense of calm that encompassed me until it slowly faded away.

I sat up and opened my eyes, only to find that I was lying in my bed in my lonely apartment. A quick glance towards the window told me that a new day was just about to start dawning. Did I only dream the whole thing? I asked myself silently. But I woke up so peacefully… Nah, I must be dead. Normally I'd wake up screaming after such a nightmare…

Looking at the sky outside again, I tried to guess the time. Somehow I still feel tired… I guess I can sleep for another couple of minutes before Miyako will be busting down my door… Ignoring the fact that Miyako probably wouldn't be around if I really was dead, I shifted around in my bed, trying to go back to sleep.

"Um… Hello?"

I shot straight up into a sitting position, frantically looking around for the source of the tiny, high pitched voice until I noticed the small figure hovering directly in front of my face. It looked like a human with wings, about six inches tall. Backing away slightly, I reached for the curtains next to my bed and pulled. Moonlight flooded into the room and I was finally able to make out details. My visitor was apparently female and she looked indeed like a miniature angel. Long lime green hair framed her cute little face and embedded on her forehead and on the tip of each of her wings was a small, rose colored crystal. She was looking at me with an expression of curiosity in her emerald green eyes.

"Hi?" I eventually managed to say. "Is this the reception committee?"

The look on the her face changed to an utterly confused one. "What? You were expecting me?!"

"Well, I just died and went to Heaven, so I figured they'd send somebody to welcome me and tell me how things work up here… Although I didn't expect everything would look just the same…" I got out of bed and stood in front of the large window, looking outside. The sight that greeted me was the same as always since I had moved into this apartment several years ago: Silhouettes of large buildings separated into small areas by roads, the occasional tree scattered in between. I turned around to face the small angelic creature again whose confusion seemed to have increased even more.

"But you can't be dead!!!" she pleaded, her green orbs shining. "I was sent to you by Kami sama! If you are dead, then I will have failed my mission!!!"

"God sent you to me with a mission?!" I repeated, dumbstruck.

The angel nodded, regaining her composure. "I am Fin Fish, Jun Tenshi, at your service!!!" she said solemnly. "But you can call me Fin-chan." she added as an afterthought, giving me a cute smile.

"Er… if I'm not dead, then why am I able to see you?"

"Oh, that." She smiled. "I bestowed the gift of True Sight on you, so that you can see the spiritual world. You're going to need that gift soon…"

"You were talking about some kind of mission… Fin, right?"

She nodded. "You are the reincarnation of Jeanne d'Arc, born to seal demons hiding in wonderful pieces of art and possessing the people who enjoy their beauty the most!!!"

"Jeanne who?"

"Jeanne d'Arc, the French national hero!" she exclaimed. "More than five hundred years ago, a shepherd girl by the name of Jeanne united the armies of the French nobles who were warring amongst themselves and lead them to victory against the English invasion!!!"

"Wait a second." I interrupted her, blinking. "Let me try to get this straight. You're saying that this person was reborn in ME?!" She nodded solemnly. "And I'm going to seal demons?!" The angel nodded again.

I went back to my bed and let myself fall back down. "I must be dreaming after all."

"What?!" The voice of the angel was filled with panic and disbelief.

"My death at the hands of my teacher must've been a dream, too, then. And you are just the continuation of that weird dream. Yes, that's it. Soon Miyako-chan will come and wake me up."

"B b but I'm no dream!!!" the apprentice angel squeaked. "I'm really here!"

"Stop distracting me…" I said, facing the wall in concentration. "I'm trying to wake up! If I'm late for school again, Pakkyamlamao-sensei will kill me for real…"

"You can't do that!!" Fin sobbed. "Ignoring me like that… You're making Fin angry!!!"

"OW!!! What are you doing?!" I cringed as a sharp pain shot through my rear all of a sudden. Glaring at the tiny angel, I rubbed my back where she had hit me. "Arrgh… fine, so maybe you ARE real!! …but I still don't believe you!"

Fin was scowling back at me, trying hard to look intimidating, but even with that angry face she looked kind of cute. She sighed, letting her shoulders hang. "I knew this assignment would not be an easy one, but I thought the reincarnation of Jeanne d'Arc would be more cooperative…" She floated down and landed on my chest, her hand clasped together in a pleading gesture. "If you don't help me, I'll never earn the right to be a True Angel and I'll have to stay tiny like this forever!!" She sniffled. "Please, at least give it a try!"

I sat up, gathering the teary eyed wreck of nerves in my hands, sympathy for the little angel welling up in my heart. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that… I wouldn't want you to suffer because of me… I will try, okay?"

Fin's sadness instantly vanished and she smiled. "Thanks!" she said, suddenly shooting upwards and hugging my cheek. "I'm Kusakabe Maron." I told her. "But you can call me Maron-chan!" I winked and she grinned broadly.

But before either of us could say another word, there was a loud banging noise on the apartment door. "Maron, are you okay?!" came the worried voice of Miyako. "Are you hurt?! I heard you scream!!! If you don't open this damn door, I'm going to…"

"I'm coming!!!" I yelled, scrambling from my bed and running for the door. I knew my friend was serious, probably thinking I was being attacked by a burglar or something. "Hide, quickly!!" I whispered hurriedly at Fin, who was idly floating alongside me. Not wanting to give Miyako another chance to destroy my door, I opened it quickly.

"Maron!" Miyako's worried look was quickly replaced by one of anger. My best friend was already fully dressed, her trademark ribbon securely tied into her dark violet hair. "What the heck do you think, screaming like that?! Do you want to wake up the whole neighborhood?! You know that I could get you framed for public disturbance!!!"

I grinned sheepishly. "Fell out of bed…" I said and rubbed my back again, inwardly congratulating myself for that clever cover up.

Miyako hit her forehead, shaking her head. "That is so like you, Maron… Well, at least I don't have to wake you today… I can't afford to be late again because you're so slow!!"

"ME!?! I'm always late because you don't wake me early enough!!!" I shouted, trying to properly display my outrage at the very notion of being called lazy. "Because of that, I even dreamt I was murdered by Ms. P!!! With a hoe!!!"

Miyako blinked. "A hoe?!"

"Yes, a hoe!!!" I raged at her. "She said she wanted to weed my head out!!!"

In the meantime, Fin had merrily ignored my warning and was hovering in plain view of Miyako, watching the conversation with interest. I used the moment when Miyako was laughing her head off to firmly push the angel out of her view again, giving her an warning glare. Fin shrugged and floated upwards, seating herself on the edge of the opened door.
"Well, you better get a move on then!" she said mirthfully, wiping away tears of laughter. "Who knows, maybe you'll actually be on time today and get to keep your blossoming imagination to yourself! It may not be the beauteous flower our beloved sensei always speaks of, but it sure is very colorful…"

Still giggling madly, she went back to her own flat across the stairs where she was living with her parents. Mr. Toudaiji was the Chief Detective of the local police force and Miyako was very eager follow into her father's footsteps. It seemed to be in her blood; I had long since stopped counting the times she had annoyed me with one stupid rule or another useless regulation of law. She regularly accompanied her dad on late night jobs and sometimes it was her inventiveness, her cunning wit and not least her dedication to the cause of justice that got the criminal caught in the end. She was well respected at the Momokuri Police Headquarters and had direct access to all kinds of inside information. I felt truly sorry for anybody who ended up facing her because they were stupid enough to get on the wrong side of the law.

I closed the door and used my other hand to catch Fin who gave a startled squeak as she fell backwards off her lofty seat. "Why didn't you stay hidden like I told you?!" I questioned her before she could protest. "What if she had seen you?!" I plopped down on the nearest chair, carefully dropping the angel on the table where I usually consumed my meals.

"Don't worry, no ordinary human can see me. People who are unusually perceptive of their surroundings can probably feel something when I'm near, like a sense of peace or something like that. A pure hearted person might even hear my voice, thinking their own conscience is speaking to them… But no mortal eyes can see me, unless they possess the Sight." She stood on her feet, looking down. "I know you were right in telling me to hide… I messed up my last assignment because I got careless…"

"Hey." I lowered my face closer to her, looking into her big green orbs. "I'm not trying to shut you out or keep you from having a bit of fun. I know I do lots of things I probably shouldn't, always getting into trouble… Miyako always gets mad at me, she's such a play by the rules woman!!!"

Fin giggled. "It's true, I swear!!!" I exclaimed, gesturing wildly to emphasize my point. "She could find a law that forbids cute little angels to socialize with a breaking the rules improper person like me!!!"

Fin giggled even harder, doubling over slightly with laughter. "I'm glad…" she said. "Glad that you're not some prissy, stuck up brat who'd probably let being Jeanne's reincarnation go to her head! I think working with you should be fun!" She sat down on the table, hugging her knees in a relaxed fashion.

"What am I going to have to do?" I asked with a mix between curiosity and anxiety. "Why don't I get ready for school while you tell me what being Jeanne d'Arc is all about!"

"I better start with the reason for all of this. You see, the Devil has recently started spreading his influence by sending demons into the world. These demons hide in precious things and works of art, anything that is considered beautiful and cherished by people. They will possess anybody who recognizes the true beauty of the object, tainting their souls. But beautiful souls are the source of life for Kami sama. Without them, he will die, and everything, heaven and earth will be consumed by darkness."

"Everything… will be gone?" I asked, feeling a sudden emptiness within me.

Fin nodded, a sorrowful look on her face.

"We cannot let that happen!" I said with determination, quickly finishing my dressing maneuvers. "What will we do?"

"I'll be searching for the demons everywhere!" the little angel said, shooting up into the air and shaking her fists energetically. "And as soon as I find one, you will seal it with the power of Jeanne d'Arc!!! Sounds really simple, eh?"

"You make it sound that way…" I said with uncertainty. "But if it actually was that easy, anyone could do it, right?"

"Well, not really…" Fin said, watching me as I hurriedly put together something that roughly resembled a breakfast. "Only God's chosen and their reincarnations are able to seal the demons." Her look was sad as she continued. "But in modern times, humans don't care much about Kami sama anymore and reincarnations are really rare… We're in a bit of a fix up there…" She looked at me again desperately. "That's why we need people like you!"

"There are others like me?" I asked in surprise. "Do you know how many?"

Fin shook her head. "I don't know, I'm just a small angel… The exact number is probably known only to Kami sama and his four Archangels. But the mood is pretty grim up there, I guess things don't look too well… They made it clear to me that having you on our side might very well tip the balance in our favor!"

"I'm that important?" I asked, feeling slightly overwhelmed. "You know, this is all a bit… sudden."

"I know…" Fin said sympathetically. "I didn't want to burden you with such a big responsibility, but you have a right to know the truth; I don't want you to be just a chess piece that is pushed about in Fate's big game. It's also important that you understand the situation, so you can give your best. Because that's all that Kami sama expects." She looked at me with sincerity. "You know, I'm not doing this just because it's my job, or because the world could come to an end. We all want to prevent that, of course, but I have a special reason…" She closed her eyes, suddenly looking very vulnerable.

"Kami sama trusted me with this important assignment. Even though I failed before, I was forgiven and received a second chance. I want this to be a success for Kami sama, to thank him and to show that his trust in me is not wasted…" Her large green eyes shimmered. "It is very important to me."

"I'll try extra hard for you, too." I promised while hugging the little angel, feeling genuinely moved by her story. "I hadn't expected angels to be so alike to us humans…" I confessed, looking at her. "You have feelings, too and you make mistakes like we do…"

"You better hurry up, or you friend will get mad at you again…" she said, suddenly seeming slightly embarrassed. "Oh wait, I forgot to give you your equipment!" She flew back to the table and closed her eyes, concentrating. The crystal on her forehead glowed and shot out a beam of light of the same color that quickly reshaped into a small object. It was some kind of rod with wings and a big crystal of the same kind as Fin's embedded on the top part. It was beautiful with its golden handle and some small gems of a darker rose color were set around the large one. Altogether, it was about four inches long. Fin repeated the procedure and created another item. This one was an even larger crystal, set into some kind of grey material. It fitted nicely into the grip of my hand, being about three inches long. Like the other one it was intricately adorned with carvings and gems.

"This is the Petit Claire." Fin explained. "You can use it to talk to me when I'm not with you. Touching the bottom small gem with the cross design will make my face appear in the big crystal. You can then hear my voice…"

"Petit Claire?" I repeated the strange name.

Fin shrugged. "Jeanne named it that long ago. It's French and means 'small clear'…"

"I never really excelled in French…" I muttered.

"It's really useful!" she said. "It will blink and emit short beeps when you're close to a demon! It reacts to both a possessed person and the object in which the demon is hiding, so if that happens, let me know immediately!"

She pointed at the other item. "I'll explain about the Rosary later, you won't need it until we have a target… Please don't lose either of them! The Petit Claire is irreplaceable, and while I received some extra power to create the rosary for you, I don't have enough to make another one! Keep them with you at all times!"

The angel sat down on the table surface, seeming slightly exhausted. "Whew, I'm tired. Can I have some milk, please?"

"Of course!" I said, standing up. "Let me just look for a cup that fits your size…" I went into the kitchen, rummaging around in the different drawers. Too bad I don't have any of these toy things the little kids use for their dolls… I'm going to have to improvise… I finally returned with a tiny jug that had once been included in some medicament package, less than an inch in height. I poured some milk into it and placed it in front of Fin. The angel quickly placed the cup at her lips, draining the contents in one huge gulp. "Mmh, that's good! Can I have another?"

With disbelief I watched as she emptied the small cup five more times, each one taking her no more than three seconds. "Ah, that was good!" she exclaimed with a burp, sinking back on the table. "A quick nap would be nice now… Hey, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Where did all of that milk go?" I asked incredulously, poking her stomach. Fin yelped and grinned. "Little angel's secret… Our metabolism is somewhat different from that of a human…"

Suddenly there was another knock on the door. "Maron, are you coming?!" came Miyako's annoyed voice. "I don't want to be late again, I can do without those nightmares!!"

"Just a moment, I'm packing my stuff…" I shouted back, scrambling away from the table.

"Hurry up or I'll go on without you this time!" Miyako shouted in reply.

"Is it always like this?" Fin asked as I quickly put the assorted goodies back into the fridge. "You have no idea…" I muttered, rolling my eyes. I grabbed the objects created by Fin from the table and placed them in my pocket before proceeding to grab some random books, hoping they matched some of today's subjects. "Hey Fin." I turned to her, having stuffed most of the things I might need in my schoolbag.

The little angel yawned. "Yeah?"

"This Jeanne d'Arc business… What's in it for me?"

Fin grinned. "Oh, you mean besides lack of sleep, low pay, and the top space on the police's 'Most Wanted' list?" She shrugged. "I've no idea, but now that you mention it, you deserve some kind of reward, too, of course. I'll ask around about it when I go back to report. Maybe, if we succeed, Kami sama will grant you a wish!"

"A wish, huh?" I asked, intrigued. "Hey, but what's with the other things you mentioned? The first two I understand, kind of, but why should the police be interested in me? Surely I won't do anything that can be considered to be against the law!"

"Oh right, I didn't tell you yet… You're going to be… a Kaitou."

"A phantom thief? Me?!" I asked incredulously.

"Exactly!" Fin flashed me a suave grin. "Throughout the world you shall be known as Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, the Divine Wind Princess!!!"

Seeing the perplexed look on my face, the angel sighed, resigning herself to another long explanation. "You see, you're going to have to seal the demons within the objects they hide in. It's like mold growing on a piece of bread. It may be visible only on a small part of the surface, but have to throw the whole bread away or it may start to spread again. When you seal a demon within an object, it will disappear along with the demon. And since the targets are usually things that can be seen and admired by lots of people, these 'thefts' will hardly go unnoticed…"

"How can I, a simple schoolgirl, stand against a whole police force?" I asked her, a feeling of doubt growing in my stomach. "I guess it's not really a crime then, but I can't likely tell them 'It's okay with God, so leave me alone!', can I?"

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Fin assured me. "Jeanne isn't an ordinary human. She has powers a normal thief can only dream of. You won't get caught. Trust me."

Looking into the angel's emerald eyes, I nodded. Following a sudden inspiration, I asked: "Why don't you come to school with me today?"

"What? But I must start searching for demons!"

"Nonsense…" I said. "You're exhausted, and you wouldn't even know where to look for me when you've found one. You'll stay in my schoolbag, hidden from view. Look, you can peek out at the sides…" I placed her inside and closed it so she could see what I was talking about. "And when we're there I'll let you out so you can go looking for demons while I get bored out of my mind…"

Fin poked her head out at he side. "Eeek, it's cramped! But I'll be okay as long as you don't shake me around too much…"

Picturing Fin struggling and flailing between two books, I made a mental note to walk somewhat more carefully today. I quickly hoisted the bag onto my back and left the flat. "Looks like Miyako already went ahead… Maybe we'll catch up with her. She was unusually chipper today, I bet she has caught another criminal yesterday…"

"That was chipper?!" Fin asked incredulously as the elevator door opened and I stepped inside. "Uh huh." I confirmed. "You really don't want to see her when she's being moody."

With a soft 'ping' the elevator door opened again, revealing the entrance hall – somebody had stacked a huge lot of boxes near the left hand wall – and Miyako. "I thought you went ahead already!!" I yelled at her as I stepped out of the elevator. "Now you're standing here! You're always playing these stupid games!"

"Calm down!" Miyako grinned. "I wanted to go on ahead, but then I remembered I haven't told you about last night's capture yet…"

I groaned. "What kind of poor criminal did you harass this time?"

"I didn't even get to harass the bloke …" Miyako pouted. "I invented a special trap just for that evening, but today's housebreakers don't seem to have what it takes anymore… The inept bastard got himself caught at the first opportunity! It's a shame, really…" Frustrated, she punched the wall of boxes which promptly collapsed, crashing down on our heads.

Luckily all of them seemed to be empty, so it was more a shock than anything else, but we were still buried under under a large heap of carton. To make matters worse, Miyako shifted the boxes in my general direction as she struggled to extract herself from under the pile, spitting out a barrage of colorful curses that distracted me from my efforts to free myself, also prompting a series of gasps from my schoolbag. "Who put these boxes here anyway?!" Miyako seethed, finally managing to stand.

"It was me." Abruptly, I was hauled onto my feet, a strong arm supporting me around my shoulders, and I was staring in the face of an extremely handsome young man. He had short sky blue hair and his amber eyes looked at me with an unreadable expression. A pleasant scent wafted into my nose and I found I couldn't tear my gaze away. My heart was suddenly beating erratically and heat rose to to my cheeks as he continued to look at me like that for what seemed like several endless seconds. "I left the boxes in this hallway." he said. "Sorry about that." He gave me a subtle nudge with the arm that was supporting me and I hesitantly shifted so that I was standing on my own feet, all the while wondering why I suddenly felt all these new, strange feelings in me, what they could possibly mean and most importantly, what I was going to say to get out of this situation that was both awkward and pleasant at once.

Luckily Miyako decided to take it upon herself to help me out with the last issue. Putting on her favorite fake smile, she addressed him. "Oh, what a pleasant surprise!" she said said sweetly and now I knew what was coming.

"I'm Nagoya Chiaki." the stranger said with a warm, dazzling smile that put Miyako's false one to shame as he shook the hand she offered. "Delighted to make your acquaintance."

"Indeed…" Miyako said, entering stage two of her infamous 'charm the wits out of them then bust them' routine. "Because the apartment regulations forbid leaving trash around the hallways and stairs, and I, Toudaiji Miyako, will have the pleasure to punish you for this insolent infraction of the law!"

He looked her up and down shamelessly as she glowered at him for several moments. "I don't think I'll mind your punishment too much…" he said finally, his gaze raking over her body pointedly.

Miyako flushed and went into a defensive stance. "Hey, I didn't mean it that way!!"

The Chiaki guy smiled knowingly and went on. "Although I doubt it will be necessary… You know, the apartment regulations only prohibit leaving large objects around for an extended amount of time…" He winked at both of us. "Just go to school like the virtuous little girls you undoubtedly are… When you return, there will be no boxes or anything else of me left in this hallway."

"Well, that's a good thing!!" Miyako growled. "I don't need delinquent strangers belittling me!"

He looked at me roguishly. "You really should go, you don't want your teacher to rip your beautiful heads off for being late. That would be such a waste…"

Thinking back to my dream this morning, I gulped. "Damn, he's right! Let's go, Miyako!" Glancing one more time at Chiaki who was wearing an amused grin, I grabbed the arm of my best friend and started running. "Come on! If we take the shortcut, we'll still make it in time!"

For once Miyako didn't protest as we jumped over the wrought iron gate. Beyond it was a private property that had occasionally provided a useful shortcut on our way to school; taking the usual route meant circling around the long lane of houses which extended well into both directions. Most of the time this trespassing went unnoticed; the other times… Well, that's something I'd rather not think of right now… Although I had better get used to it; if Fin's right, I'll be doing this a lot in the near future, and more…

Today however, everything went well and we soon arrived at the grounds of Momokuri High School. Already from far away we could hear the shrill whistle of a wooden recorder. "Are we that late already?!" I asked Miyako, who shook her head. "Nah, we're actually going to be on time today… I wonder what upset her so early in the morning already, though."

"Probably some poor chap stepping on the flowers again…" I mused.

Miyako winced in sympathy. "Can't believe somebody would still be stupid enough… Not after what happened last year…" She shuddered, then her face brightened. "But that means it won't be our turn for gardening duties until well into next term!"

At the door of the classroom I stopped, kneeling down and placing my bag in front of me. "Go on in already…" I said to my best friend. "I'll just check if I have today's homework…" Miyako huffed and opened the door, joining the chattering mass of students already inside.

I opened the bag and Fin came floating out. "Don't make me do that again!" the little angel breathed, looking a bit disheveled. "Hehe… Sorry." I said sheepishly, thinking back to the incident with the boxes and the frenzied run afterwards. "I'll arrange something more comfortable to transport you next time…" I promised. "Well, this is our classroom." I indicated the door Miyako had just passed through. "After lunchtime, I'll be practicing gymnastics in the building over there…" I went on, pointing through the window front which provided a good view of the whole school area.

"You're doing gymnastics?!" Fin asked, seeming very excited all of a sudden. "Are you good?"

"Well, Miyako and I often compete for the first prize in school tournaments and such…" I said, recalling some of the fierce battles where each of us tried to display more grace, refinement and skill than the other, our performances occasionally leaving even our severe instructor teary eyed with pride. "So far, I've won more often than her…" I said, trying to sound modest, likely failing as well.

"Really? This is great!!" Fin was exhilarated. "It should make your jobs a lot easier! Looks like you are the right person for this after all!"

She rose a little higher. "I'll start looking now. Check back with me sometimes, if possible! And if you find a demon yourself, call me immediately!" With a last wave, she turned around and flew out through one of the opened windows, leaving me to resign myself to another mind numbing day of lessons…

That's the first chapter for now. Did you like it?

After each chapter I plan to have short sections in which I explain how I feel about certain issues and why I wrote or changed things like I did. Feel free to comment on them and tell me your views in your reviews. Here is the first batch:

The first appearance of the angels / Origin of the Kaitous: One of the things the original story lacks is the description of how the angels came to earth and turned their charges into Kaitous. Sure, we see how Access met Chiaki in the anime, but naming Sinbad after a movie? That's just lame, and it brings me to a different point. I think there should be more to Chiaki's secret identity, just like there's more to Jeanne than her name. I decided to invent my own idea how the spirits of well-known or special personae throughout the human history are reincarnated; hints of this appear in this and the next chapter.

Fin's betrayal: I never liked that whole betrayal ploy where Fin went evil. Fin's motivations aside, I just didn't like that part of the story, so in my story the agents of hell simply failed in capturing/corrupting her. I also want Fin to be a real partner to Maron. Throughout the first story arc, she doesn't really do a lot to help Maron, other than charging up her rosary so she can transform. In a few cases she helps in other ways, but it is the exception to the rule. Fin is meant to be Maron's most steadfast friend and ally, at least until Maron and Chiaki get close... In my story she will be helping out more; you will see that as the story progresses.

Chiaki's foreknowledge: In the anime, Chiaki knew from the start that Fin was controlled by the Devil and was bound to turn on Maron eventually. But instead of trying to help her out for real, he plays the mysterious stranger and concocts some inanely idiotic ploy to stop Maron from being a Kaitou! Finally, when his cover is blown and he has no other choice, he totally botches his chance to explain to Maron what is going on and why. He screws it up so terribly that he totally breaks her heart until she won't even listen to his explanation. In the time until that happened, lover-boy ought to have gotten a handle on her personality and be able to shock her out of her stupor with a question or a comment that she doesn't know how to respond to, so at least she'd have listened to what he was going to say. I realize it was done for dramatic tension and the story wouldn't be what it is otherwise, but I value character integrity much higher. The author should have found a way to make it work and still have the characters act logically. I personally think Chiaki is far better off without knowing anything about Maron at the start.

I don't really know what to expect review-wise. At the time I write this, the story count in this category is abysmally low and none of them are larger than 40,000 words, but still there are several stories with more than 100 reviews. Maybe this will be the first one to exceed 40,000 words; I'd feel honored if I got a lot of reviews, too!

05/2007: With my recent update, I've actually cracked the 40,000 word count. I may proudly announce that this fic is now officially the largest KKJ story on ffnet! The only thing that's sad about that is how easy it actually was.

Next chapter will feature everyone's favorite Kuro-Tenshi Access Time!

until then

Quizer