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The senshi was there. Well, sort of.

Sailor Taranis was camped out on a roof of a store at the edge of the park. He was at least twenty feet from Azzo, maybe a little less. He cursed under his breath to see the civilian wander farther from the alleys and roofs of the street to cut through the park. There wasn't much cover there, and he could sense the youma that loomed in the shadows. It hadn't made its appearance yet.

When it did, Taranis would be forced to leave the roof and face it on even ground. His ranged attack worked much better from a place of elevation, but lately, it seemed like all of his fights ended up becoming wrestling matches.

He couldn't hear what the civilian was saying, but Taranis hopped down into the alleyway. When the youma attacked, Taranis would intercept it. That was the plan.

Sailor Taranis took the ram youma's moment of confusion to launch his attack. "Taranis Sand Blast!" he shouted, hands curling around his tiara until an energy equivalent floated into the air. This crumbled into sand and swelled between his hands until it was a large spinning ball that gained speed the longer he held it. Too bad he didn't intend on holding it very long.

The youma was just over Azzo's shoulder, and as Taranis launched his sand blast, he shouted, "Civilian. DUCK." The globe of sand was heaved out of his hand, sailing toward the youma like a tennis stroke.

Taranis half-expected it to run away, but instead, the youma planted its feet and then lowered its head so that the flat of its horns faced the coming impact.

So long as the youma was fixated on him, Sailor Taranis didn't particularly care what the civilian was doing. Hopefully not dying. Maybe just watching with awe at the masterful skill with which the Senshi of Sand dispensed evil on a regular basis.

An ego. He had it.

The sand blast struck the youma, and an explosion of sand rocketed out in all the directions, coating its face and fur. The ram staggered backwards, but then raised its head, red eyes narrowed. It had taken a head shot, but appeared relatively unphased by it. If anything, it was more annoyed by the sand in its eyes.

s**t.

The youma took off at a run, lowering its head as it approached Taranis. He jumped away at the last second, and its head made contact with the cement side of the building, splintering off pieces of gray rock in chunks. That... couldn't be good.

Getting to his feet, Sailor Taranis took off at a run. He grabbed the civilian's wrist mid-stride. "You need to get out of here," he said. The ram was moving slowly, getting its bearings after the head butt. It noticed them running and then took off after the pair. Taranis pulled Azzo by his wrist. Maybe he could stash him up a tree? Goddamn parks and their wide open spaces.

Don't head east? Excuse him. Was he the one giving orders? Was he the one saving lives? No. The senshi was. The senshi should be the one giving orders.

Sailor Taranis shot the boy a glare. "What do you mean 'don't head east'? East takes us toward the subway." Apparently Taranis was planning to chuck Azzo in a subway car and send him on his merry way.

The ram was gaining speed, and Taranis was finding dragging the civilian more trouble than it was worth. He needed more time to recharge his sand blast before it would work again. He might have tried to throw a bench, but they were bolted to the ground. Taranis had senshi strength, but he was not the Incredible Hulk. As far he knew.

Sliding to an abrupt stop, Taranis reached out to grab a hold of Azzo before the boy could sail out of his grasp. "I'm not asking for battle strategy tips." He snatched the soda from his hand. "Give me that." He'd already taken the can so demanding to have it was hardly necessary.

Winding up, Sailor Taranis chucked the can at the youma. It jumped up and speared it with its horn like a dog catching a frisbee. The can exploded with carbonation, coating the ram's eyes and turning the sand into jellied clumps.

The ram youma snorted and then shook its head, bouncing around in a circle like it was trying to buck off an invisible rider.

How did this kid know there was another youma east? Even if there was, there might also be another youma north, south, and west too. It was Destiny City. Weird s**t bred like rats in the sewers.

Azzo gave another tip for the battle, and Sailor Taranis snorted. Good idea or not, he wasn't having a civilian telling him how to save his life. This was his job! "I said let me handle it." Derision slipped into Taranis's words.

He jumped forward. The ram youma was too busy trying to get sand and soda out of its eyes to see what he was up to. Taranis swirled his arms around and called, "Taranis Sand Blast!" The globe formed, spun, and was lofted right for the youma.

It never saw it coming.

Both youma and sand ball exploded in a flurry of grainy bits. The youma dust disappeared. The sand didn't. A cocky smirk crossed Taranis's lips. In his fuku, Taranis wielded his ego much more openly. His confidence soared. He was nearly a different person. It was empowering, the mask he wore.

With the youma dusted, Sailor Taranis spun to look at the civilian. "How do you know there is a youma east?" He frowned.

Sailor Taranis stared at Azzo. Hard. Like he was looking at one of those tessellation images that would suddenly align itself as a recognizable shape if you stared at it long enough. Taranis was never good at seeing the hidden shape then, and he was no better at understanding Azzo now.

Barren Pines? Organ ring? What. Taranis had no idea what any of that had to do with this kid's claims that he could sense youma. Maybe he was insane?

Taranis took a tentative step backwards. "Yes, well, that sounds like a really special skill," he said, eyes roving over the park. "I'm sure these youma will go away once you calm down, okay?" Hallucinations, delusions of grandeur, whatever it was, Taranis was not buying. Plenty of crazies had come out of the woodwork when the sightings of senshi and Negaverse agents first broke.

Middle-aged women in old Halloween costumes showed up at the police station claiming to be sailor senshi in need of asylum. Common criminals shot people with guns and then sprinkled glitter over the bodies to claim that a "glittery scout" did it. As far as Taranis was concerned, Azzo was just another crazy attention-seeking civilian.

That meant approach with caution.

"Can you get home from here? You should take the subway. I promise there are no youma... tracking you." Yes, yes... best to ease his paranoia. No need to spook Azzo into doing something reckless. The kid probably just wanted to feel special so he was out here looking for trouble. In a world where so many felt powerless, it was pretty common.

Sailor Taranis watched Azzo carefully. Weirder things existed in Destiny City than a boy who could sense youma, but that didn't make him any keener to believe the story. At least the boy was a little self-deprecating. That gave Taranis hope.

Without being asked, Taranis started to walk in the direction of the subway. "I always escort civilians. But I don't carry them. Follow me." Magellan had enforced his rule upon him, but Taranis largely thought it was a good one. Why save a life only to put it at risk of getting attacked again on the way home.

He stopped walking and looked over his shoulder. "There is a stop up at the corner. I'll see you to the subway car. You coming or what?" Sailor Taranis waited for Azzo to follow, trailing ahead of him the entire way. Even if Azzo was telling the truth, which Taranis did not believe he was, it wasn't like the senshi of sand to make friends anyway.

So they walked in silence.