"Aiya...."  Amefuri groaned in despair as she stared up her temple at the top of a small mountain.  The bus had taken her three quarters of the way up the mountain before it turned back to civilization. She didn't know why the city kept a bus route going to far out of the city core when there wasn't anybody that lived out here aside from herself.  She wasn't one to question the city's motives, at least she could get this far by conventional transportation.  The last quarter of her journey had to be on foot. The worst part of this  was the fact that the bus had takes so long to get to the mountain that now the sun is setting by the time she gets home.

"This is the exact reason I don't go into town." Amefuri complained to no one in particular.  "I have to go up and down these steps in the dark every time I come home."

"Maybe I should build a ski lift," Amefuri grumbled as she gathered up her bag and started up the stone steps up the side of the mountain. "or perhaps an elevator..."

    Amefuri silently continued up the steps to her temple as a shadow detached itself from the bushes below.  Amefuri continued on unaware of the shadow creeping up towards the steps to the temple.  Suddenly, Amefuri spun around and glared down at the shadow as it stepped onto the staircase.  The shadow froze still for a moment before rushing up the steps towards her.  Amefuri narrowed her eyes and reached for her necklace.  Before she even touched her crystal, the shadow dissipated a few meters before her without a sound.  Amefuri backed up a few steps and looked around for any sign of the shadow but it was gone.  Even though the incident had only been a few seconds long, she wasn't about to write it off as another hallucination.

    Slowly, Amefuri turned and continued walking up the steps to the temple.  Something just didn't feel right about that encounter with the shadow.  She had seen shadows wandering in the area surrounding the temple grounds before but this was the first time that one had ever tried enter the temple.  She wondered if she was willing to risk transforming without a solid lead.  A sudden flash of danger stifled Amefuri's indecision about the risk of transforming.

"Epsilon Light, MAKE UP!"  Amefuri shouted and raised her crystal above her head.  From the swirling cloud of shining crystal and dark mist, Sailor Epsilon emerged with her silver staff.  Sailor Epsilon turned and ran up the steps.  She absently wished she knew how to teleport and save herself the time and effort of running up stairs.

    After a few minutes, Epsilon could finally see the gate of the temple before her.  Immediately, she knew something was wrong.  She skidded to a halt and leapt into the bushes to the side of the stairs.    A few seconds after she crashed into the bushes, a  large stone block fell down the steps where she once stood.  Epsilon raised herself up onto her elbows and winced as she felt a sharp pain from the back of her head.

"Itai!" She slowly turned and began to tangle her long hair from the bushes.  She grimaced and swore quietly as she tugged at her tangled hair in the branches.

"Need some help miss?" A voice inquired softly from behind her.  Amefuri whipped her head around in surprise and tried to jump to her feet only to pull her hair again.  She grimaced in pain and fell back.  She scowled up at person had spoken to her.

    A strange young man stood upon the stairs just before the bush Epsilon was stuck in.  His dark red trench coat was open in the front to reveal a greyish blue dress shirt.  His shirt was loosely tucked into black pants and ankle length black boots.  His soft dark metallic blue hair was held a dark red ribbon tied across his forehead. His hair spilled over the ribbon to fall lightly into large crystal blue eyes.  Epsilon leaned back and gave him the coldest look she could muster.

"Do you need some help miss?" The strange boy repeated softly and offered a hand out to her. Epsilon gave him a look akin to one that would be given to someone that had just turned orange and sprouted horns.  He took Epsilon's silence as an agreement and kneeled down in front of her.  He carefully reached out and untangled her hair from the bushes.

    When Epsilon met his eyes, the pain and sadness hidden within their depths shocked her.  It was the look of someone that had seen and experienced the worst things that fate could throw their way and lived to tell the tale.  This was a look that Epsilon was far too familiar with for her comfort.  His haunted, sorrow filled eyes had the same helplessness she saw staring back at her in the mirror everyday.  ~his eyes are so old.  They are far older than the eyes of a boy should be~

"W...who," Epsilon whispered and looked up at him uncertainly. "Who are you?"

"Just a traveler," He said absently as he pulled her hair out of the branches.  "I was passing through and it looked like you needed some help."

"I don't need your...help" Epsilon began to struggle in protest but stopped when she realized that it was getting her nowhere, fast.

"There you go," He said pulling Epsilon's hair free and leaned back. "Are you okay?"

"hnn..." Epsilon scowled at him silently and climbed out of the bushes.  "I don't see why my condition should be of any of your concern."

"......" He silently gave her an intense, calculating look that seemed to look straight into her soul. Epsilon shuddered slightly under the intensity of his stare and had to look away before he backed down and smiled softly at her.

"Come now, I just want to help you.  There is no need to get hostile about it." He said in a gentle, jesting tone at her.  Epsilon would have killed anyone else right on the spot for saying that to her but something about him made her want to listen him despite her distrust.

"Very well," Epsilon growled out, unwillingly accepting his offer. "But I want to know who you are."

"Oh that again." He sighed and absently raked his fingers through his hair.

"Yes," Epsilon said insisting with a dark glare. "That again."

"Yare yare*" He shook his head slightly as if he was disappointed at Epsilon's refusal to accept his initial explanation. "If you insist on knowing, I suppose that I have no other option but to tell you."

*an expression in used to express relief or disappointment

"I am called Shinigami." Epsilon gave him a guarded look as he flicked back his coat and bowed before her with a flourish. This only made her doubt his credibility more when he shot her a wide reassuring smile.  "I'm pleased to make your acquaintance miss...?"

    Epsilon darkly gazed over this strange person, quickly assessing his possible strengths and weaknesses.  He was a strange one, there was no doubt of that.  His gentle, quiet nature hinted at a love of peace while his smooth, unassuming replies told her of a love of good company.  ~He's probably a person that could talk someone to death~  However, no matter how gentle and kind he portrayed himself as, his stance gave him away as someone that could leap into battle at the blink of an eye and escape completely unscathed.  ~Even though he looks scrawny, I have no doubt that he would have to be a formidable fighter to even consider taking on the name of Shinigami (god of death)~

    In a flash, Epsilon spun her staff around and had the 4 long, razor sharp spikes of her staff pressed against the stranger's throat.  A single trickle of bright red blood slowly slid down the boy's neck as he gazed back at her with a trusting look.  A long, tense silence followed she searched his eyes for any hint of veiled hostility.  <You can trust me, I mean you no harm> He met her cold searching eyes with a gentle smile, one far too kind and warm to contain any malice or ill intent.  Epsilon slowly pulled her staff away from him, deciding he wasn't a threat to her, yet.

"Epsilon." She finally replied with an icy, distrustful glare.  "Sailor Epsilon."

"Well Miss Epsilon," He said wiping the blood off of his neck and smiled. "I suppose that we should go and take a look at the disturbance up at that temple of yours ne?"

"........" Epsilon gave him a long, silent look as she grudgingly nodded her assent. "Let's go."

"Shhh...." Epsilon grabbed the shoulder of her unwanted guest and jerked him back.

"Wha..?" He started to speak in surprise but fell silent when he glanced at Epsilon's tense face.

"Be quiet, " She said in a tight, hushed voice. Epsilon absently noticed Shinigami following her gaze and saw what had made her stop dead in her tracks.  What seemed like an average courtyard filled with night-time shadows at first glance gave him a mild shock when he re-examined at the shadows more closely.  The courtyard seemed to be filled with a small army of writhing black creatures.  The waning sunlight seemed to be sucked into the black voids of the creatures bodies.  The only thing that distinguished the creatures from the normal shadows were the dully glowing red eyes and an unmistakable air of sinister darkness.  What had taken a few minutes for Epsilon's companion to become aware of, she had noticed when she first stepped off of her bus.

"The seal has been broken." Epsilon whispered in a cold, emotionless voice.  Epsilon readied her staff before her as she prepared herself for what would undoubtedly be a fierce battle. "Follow me and don't get in my way."

    Shinigami turned and looked at his companion with a strange look.  He could tell she was going to attack the creatures, but how she was going to do so was a mystery to him.  He turned away to gaze back at the strange demons as a strange gleam seemed to burn in Epsilon's eyes.

"Crystal..." At first the whispered words failed to catch his attention but when he turned, he saw a dark aura had formed around Sailor Epsilon.  She gripped her staff tightly in her hands as pale beams of light began to swirl around the crystal on the end of her staff casting eerie shadows across her face.

"Soul." At that soft command, the spiraling beams of light solidified into long ropes of dark amethyst crystal.  Epsilon was distantly aware of the surprised look Shinigami was giving her as she uncoiled from her crouching position to leap high into the air above the creatures.  The sudden movement had attracted the attention of the demons mere moments before Epsilon flung her crystal ropes at the creatures in a flurry of motion.  Before they had a chance to react to the action, Epsilon screamed out the final word of her attack.

"STORM!!"  The crystal ropes suddenly burst into millions of long razor sharp shards raining down on the creatures.  The creatures screamed and writhed in pain as the crystal storm rained down upon them.  Unfortunately, it would take more than a crystal shower to defeat them.  Epsilon landed lightly on her feet with a maniacal grin stretching across her face as she whipped her staff up for another attack.

    As soon as the effects of Epsilon's attack faded, the creatures howled and screeched in raw fury as they clawed their way towards Epsilon.  However, they didn't seem to notice a crimson blur dart out of the bushes with a long, vicious looking scythe behind them in their haste to get to Epsilon.  The only warning the demons recieved before the attack struck them was a rumbling peal of thunder and a sudden chill as the temperature abruptly dropped.

"Lightning STORM!" Lightning flashed through the unnaturally darkened sky and cast blazing forks of lightning down upon the unwitting demons.  An electric blue bolt of lightning seemed to coil around the long blade as Shinigami readied his scythe and charged into the thick of the creatures.

"Report."

"Sir! Target has been acquired. Phase one has been initiated and is proceeding smoothly."

"Good, you may continue."

"Acknowledged."

    Epsilon easily vaulted over the first wave of creatures with her staff and pelted them with glowing crystal daggers.  When they dissipated into smoke, Epsilon flashed them a dark grin as she gripped her staff and landed with a soft thud.  She now knew what they were and how to defeat them.  She whipped her staff around in a blur and cracked several creature's heads in the motion.  Epsilon lept backwards a few steps to a safe distance as the creatures burst into whisps of smoke.  Somehow during the course of the heated battle, Epsilon had totally forgotten about her companion and his efforts until she backed right into him. Both of them  spun around with their silver weapons poised to kill each other mere moments before they recognized each other.  Reassured that their backs were protected, they returned their attention to the task at hand.

"Hey Epsilon!" Shinigami called out with a cheery tone. "How are you doing?"

"I'm...just...FINE!" Epsilon said with a grimice as she swung her staff around and batted a small demon off of the mountain.  "How are you holding out?"

"Oh, I'm just peachy!" Shinigami flashed her a quick grin as he turned another demon to smoke. "You know what Miss Epsilon?"

"What IS it?" Epsilon growled out in irritation as she desperatly fended off a demon from clawing her face off. "Can't you see I've got more important things to do than talk with you?"

"Oh I'm hurt!" Shinigami pulled the demon away from Epsilon and smiled at her as he threw it off the mountain after the last one. "But in all seriousness, we shouldn't we just kill these things off?"

"What do you think I've been DOING for the 2 hours? Dancing the ballet with these...these...THINGS!" Epsilon finished with a growl and neatly speared a demon over Shinigami's shoulder.

"Ahh...my dear Miss Epsilon, " Shinigami smiled sweetly at her while he calmly sliced a shadow in half  (if a near decapitation and legions of shadow demons don't faze him, will an furious Epsilon scare him? not a chance!). "What do you say we combine our efforts and send these creatures back where they came from?"

"To tell you the truth, I still don't trust you or like you." Epsilon said and rewared his efforts with an exausted scowl. "but I'm willing to hear you out after you've proved your worth."

"Aww...c'mon now!" He protested and gave Epsilon a playful jab in the ribs. "I saved your life over 10 times in the last 5 minutes!! I think that should at least prove some of my worth!"

"hnn..." Epsilon scowled at him for a moment before sighing in defeat.  "Very well. What's your brilliant idea?"

"I say we combine our storm attacks from earlier on. After all, they seem to be very similar in nature.  I can charge your crystals with my lightning to increase the damage and range." Shinigami stated plainly in a matter-of-fact tone as he stepped on another demon, turning it to smoke. "What do you say Miss Epsilon?"

"I must be delerious with exausition because that actually sounds like a good idea." Epsilon admitted sourly and retreated onto the roof. "Why not? Let's do it."

"Great!" Shinigami gave Epsilon a huge, enthusiastic smile as he joined her on the roof. "I knew you were an agreeable person!"

"Che'..." Epsilon snorted in disgust "Let's just get it over with."

    The two of them looked at each other and nodded in silent agreement as they prepared to unleash their attacks. Sailor Epsilon weakly raised her staff above her head and called out the first stage of their attack.

"Crystal!" As before, crystal ropes formed from the spirlling purple ribbons of light around Sailor Epsilon.  Epsilon's vision suddenly began to go dark around the edges, She knew that she had pushed herself too far.  She glanced at Shinigami out of the corner of her eyes and hoped he had enough strength to support the spell as he began the second phase.

"Lighting!" Shinigami placed his hands upon Epsilon's staff as pale blue lightning shot through the length of the staff and into the crystal ropes, changing their colour to incorperate a swirl of electric blue into the dark purple crystals.  They met each other's eyes as a silent agreement passed through them.  If they failed this, they'd both be too weak to continue after attempting this attack.  This was a last ditch effort to win...and it'd better work.

"STORM!" the two fighters shouted at the top of their lungs as the lightning enfused crystal ropes burst apart to shower the demon army in a vicious blizzard of crystal and lightning.  The demons screeched and writhed in pain as the fury of the combined storms rained down upon them mercilessly in a spectacular display of crystal lightning.  Epsilon was dimly aware of the tide of the battle turning in their favor as her vision was cloaked in black shadows and the strength drained out of her limbs.  Fortunately, Shinigami had enough power remaining to hold out their attack until the last of the demons had evaporated.

    Epsilon raised her head and glanced out over the empty courtyard, they had won the battle.   As the adreneline rush from the intensity of the battle wore off, she gave in to her exaustion.  Satistfied that her temple was now safe, she let her staff clatter to the ground below as she passed out from sheer exaustion.
 

~to be continued~