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Humming to himself, Kirin walked with a bounce in his step. It was late and it was cold, but none of that put a damper on his spirits. His first karaoke visit since that whole Barren Pines debacle, followed by a hospital stay, so it wasn't surprising that Kirin had stayed until closing. Once he might have caught public transport rather than walking home. Once, he hadn't had a secret magical form. Maybe it was phantom courage, but Kirin felt pretty untouchable. It wasn't that long of a walk home anyway, so why not save his money? (Likely for more karaoke.)

A scream sliced through the night air, a razor-sharp interruption of Kirin's good mood. Suddenly alert (possibly for zombies), Kirin darted in the direction of the voice, slinking along in the shadows. Checking no one was nearby, Kirin ducked into an abandoned alleyway and quietly said the words that had changed his life: "Foramen Power, Make Up."

One quick lightshow later and Foramen was jumping from the alley up onto the roof. Next alley over, three bodies slumped on the ground, mysterious holes in their chests. Something about that seemed familiar... fairy tale? newscast? Internet rumour? Kirin knew he'd heard it somewhere.

He didn't care for the dead bodies - useless and uninformative. He leapt over the alley to peer out onto the street (one or two over from where he'd originally been walking). The blonde girl wouldn't normally have caught his attention, but there was a sudden sparkle. Something, no, several somethings, glittered in her hand. Eyes narrowing, Foramen crept along the rooftops, keeping silent pace slightly behind the girl.

Foramen crept slowly closer across the rooftop. Close enough to hear the girl complain about ruining her clothes. He bit back a snort, settling for a scowl. Weird outfit anyway - like a Las Vegas croupier on crack topped with a Mad Hatter's hat. Something about this seemed... off. More off than a teenage girl killing people in any alley, he corrected himself. There was something else at work here. Foramen was willing to bet those shiny objects she had were part of it.

Concentrating on them, he waited until the girl tossed one into the air, like a play toy. "Vanishing Rift, Slice," he muttered. The rift appeared just under the item, swallowing it as gravity pulled it back towards the girl's waiting hand. The other end of the rift appeared above Foramen's hand, echoing the flat, waiting position of the girl's.

He studied his newly 'found' object. It was diamond shaped and diamond hard. Almost clear, with a faint tinge of colour to it. It was... it was... Foramen frowned. He had the suspicion that it should be... brighter or sparklier than it was.

Echoes of fairy tale -like stories ran through his mind. 'Everyone has a star in their hearts...' Those guys in the alley had been sporting gaping holes in their chests. Foramen felt like he was almost onto something, the knowledge dancing at the edge of his vision but gone as soon as he turned to look more closely.

Hmph. No help for it, then.

"Hey!" he called out to the girl. If she looked up, she'd see a senshi sitting on the edge of the rooftop, legs dangling. He held up the stolen starseed. "Interesting hobby you have. Wanna tell me what this is, though?"

The girl's neat leap up onto the building had Foramen narrowing his eyes. He would have preferred it if he had the advantage in height or agility, but this girl seemed to have all the same boosts in ability that Foramen did once transformed. And yet she clearly wasn't a senshi. So what was this girl that she was a match for a senshi?

"Clearly not," he answered coolly. "Or you would have answered my question already." His voice was in his feminine range, a low alto, and as Astraea had pointed out, the choker and chest bow cleverly hid the main indicators of his true gender.

Rising to his feet, Foramen splayed the crystal between his fingers, raising it up next to his face. "So. This?" he repeated.

Starseed.

Foramen's eyes narrowed at the word. If Valeriite was still watching closely, she would see recognition in the gaze. Foramen's hand tightened on the crystal. So, this was a soul in physical form. That was what that Zodiac Princess had sacrificed in order to resurrect her dead team. A deal with the... Star Cauldron, was it?

Interesting. Very interesting.

"How many of these do you suppose a senshi starseed is worth?" he murmured, thinking aloud. After a moment he looked up, a puzzled expression crossing his face as he noticed the blonde woman was still present. "Thank you, you've been very helpful," Foramen said. After a brief he pause, he prompted, "That will be all. You may go now."

Silly girl. Didn't she know you shouldn't throw anything away if you didn't want others to claim it for their own?

Foramen was cackling internally as his icy barbs hit home on the blonde girl. His face was still clear, kinda bored, but inside he was waiting to see what happened next. People spilled all kinds of useful information when they were in a rage...

Unfortunately for him, Valeriite skipped from 'talking' to 'attacking', instead. Foramen had a brief second to think 'oh crap' as a large metal cross appeared in Valeriite's hands, then it was swinging at his neck.

Cursing aloud, Foramen dove away. Air whooshed by his ear, sending his hair flying. Even with his enhanced speed and reflexes, the cross still caught his neck. Rising to his feet after a commando roll out of the way, Foramen lifted a hand to the sting on his neck. He couldn't see it, but there was an angry red scratch. Foramen could only tell that he wasn't bleeding.

"Ohhhh?" he taunted, covering up how close that had been. "Is that the best you can do?"

Despite the attitude, his eyes remained narrowed on Valeriite, waiting for her next move. Now that he knew she was retaliating with violence, he was ready to let rip with his own attack.

The blonde had balls, Foramen had to give her that. And Valeriite's vindictiveness was catching. An answering manic grin split his face as Val spoke of it only being the beginning. She had no idea how true that was. Foramen had yet to bring his powers into play, and from the look of things, this girl had no powers, just a giant cross to swing as a blunt instrument.

Waiting out his opponent, Foramen raised his hands in front of him. It might seem like a defensive position to Valeriite, but Foramen was getting ready to drop a surprise on the feisty blonde.

Valeriite rushed him. One gloved hand immediately made a slashing motion, accompanying a quiet, "Vanishing Rift, Slice."

The rift crackled open between Foramen and Val - he waited to see if she could avoid it, or if her momentum would carry her through. He hoped for the latter, considering the other 'end' of the brief trip was five metres behind Valeriite - that is, roof level in the middle of the street, a nice drop to the asphalt road.

Foramen let out a satisfied cackle as Valeriite hit the rift and was dropped to the street below. He was more surprised than he let on, unsure if that would work or not. It was gratifying for the trap to succeed.

He casually strolled to the edge of the roof. The wind caught his hair as he peered down, checking on the condition of his opponent. Weak as a kitten. It appeared even a few metres drop could be dangerous if someone landed the wrong way. It was good to know.

Holding up the starseed, hoping the blonde could still see him from where she was, Foramen called out, "Thanks again. I'll figure the rest out of my own."

The starseed was slipped somewhere under the star-studded sash. Foramen turned his back on Valeriite and began walking across the roof in the opposite direction. Without any sort of Intro to Negaverse 101 from the cats, Foramen had no orders to follow, such as killing downed Negaversers, and not knowing how Val had gotten the starseeds, had no idea how to get one out of her. Hell, the idea of it didn't even occur to him - he just wanted to go home and play with his shiny new toy and all the interesting implications that came with it.

Still, it might not have been a wise idea to turn his back on a conscious Negaverse Lieutenant. Especially one who might feel slighted by such a brush-off.