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Foramen didn't patrol: he hunted. Yet to see another senshi since Barren Pines, he knew nothing of the other groups out there and their purpose. He wouldn't have cared if he did. No, he hunted the city at night, searching out more of the strangers that pulled starseeds from humans. It wasn't as though Foramen knew how to get them himself - he needed someone else to do the leg work for him. If they couldn't protect what they stole, they deserved to lose it.

He was growing adept at listening for the sound of fighting. So far tonight, he'd found two street brawls and one domestic in the making. It was shaping up to be another fruitless night. The urge to ignore the latest sounds of flesh pounding flesh was tempting - no doubt another false alarm, but so close by that Foramen knew if he went home he'd torment himself with 'what ifs' until dawn. It was only a street over, so Foramen leapt across a gap in the rooftops to investigate.

Adrenaline spiked as he took in the fight below. It was incredibly one-sided, but more than that, the dark-skinned girl was wearing a highly unusual outfit. Foramen frankly considered it weird, like someone thought it was still Halloween. Well, the freaks were out and about, that much was for sure - the girl moved faster, hit harder, than Foramen would have thought possible. He crouched by the rooftop, just watching, as she continued. She was the strongest contender of the night, but he could still be wrong. It was all up to her, and whether she made a grab for his heart. Whether she withdrew a sparkling crystal at the end of her furious, frenzied attack.

Eventually the girl paused. Foramen cursed under his breath, straining to see if something crystalline glittered in the night. The girl's back was in his way covering the victim's chest and head from sight. Suddenly she drew back, the mask she held clattering to the floor. Her shock was ignored, Foramen too preoccupied with his own.

On the ground lay a boy. A short boy, with dark blue hair, and an all-too-familiar face. A boy Foramen knew. A boy that Kirin...

Knees giving way, Foramen collapsed onto the roof. Each heartbeat was slow and heavy, pounding through his ears like a giant drum counting out the slowing pulse of Zac's life. Foramen wanted to rip something, to shred and tear, to scream blame. But Foramen had just sat there and watched this take place. He'd stood by without even checking - without caring - who might be the human having their starseed stolen tonight. The blood drawn from his nails digging into his palms was not penance enough. It was nothing compared to the blood Zac had lost, was still losing.

All of which, sense eventually spoke up, was nothing compared to the loss of his starseed. Hospitals could replenish lost blood. They had no artificial starseeds, no replacement souls. Head whipping up, Foramen took in the quickly retreating girl. He thought he saw a sparkle catch the dim light, quickly hidden as the girl fled, Foramen's heart following after.

Figures were rushing onto the scene - they could ensure Zac got the medical attention need to keep his body alive. Foramen would go after this b***h and her stolen starseeds. He thought one of the figures wore a fuku, but they were of such little import that he didn't waste time double-checking.

Leaping into motion, Foramen gave chase. The brown fringe-cut leather coat firm in his sights, he drew steadily closer. This was all her fault. Foramen hadn't done anything wrong - had done nothing. She was the one who'd beat Zac to a bloody pulp, she was the one stealing the souls and lives of humans, she was the reason Zac was bleeding out onto the street, Kirin's heart bleeding out with it.

Foramen would make her pay.

As Foramen closed the distance between them, he took in more details of the fleeing female. It seemed that the pre-requisite for joining this people-killing club was a wacky outfit. This one and the blonde gambler would fit right in together. (Foramen blatantly ignored his own very weird outfit.) He could tell when the girl realised she was being persued - actually, a very easy task since she stopped. Foramen wondered who had taught her to escape, because clearly there had been some miscommunication going on. Like the lack of actual escaping taking place. Still, whatever made this easier for himself.

The tear tracks on her face were completely at odds with the anamlistic expression she now wore. It didn't occur to Foramen that any part of her regretted her actions, he simply wrote them off as perhaps Zac getting a hit in somewhere sensitive.

Not bothering to waste time on words, he didn't stop to address her or demand answers. He kept charging. Heedless of the sudden drop behind her where the roof ended, he kept his (tiny) height and weight down, aiming to tackle her midsection.

Hands gripped him tight as his shoulder slammed into Moonstone's stomach. The force sent them tumbling over the edge. As they plummeted to the concrete below, Foramen realised the girl's plan as she flipped him beneath her. The curse he spat was torn away by the wind rushing past. He struggled, to no avail, to spin Moonstone back beneath him but the girl had height and muscle on him and the ground was rushing up fast.

In desperation, he kicked at her. If he could just disentangle himself, he could ease his own fall with a rift, leaving Moonstone to hit the ground alone. If only he could break her grip.

Foramen didn't know whether to praise the trash for breaking his fall (and preventing the breaking of his spine), or wail about his fuku being covered in garbage. Not that he was in any position to do either for a short while. Wind knocked from him, Foramen wheezed like an asthmatic as he tried to get his breath back.

Just his luck, Moonstone had a faster recovery time, landing on top of Foramen landing on top of garbage. Before he could launch an attack of his own, or even roll away to put some distance between them, the crazy woman was pummeling him in some kind of fit.

He raised his arms over his head and kicked out once more. He was extremely thankful to have boots with a thick heel, not flimsy sandals, capable of causing sharp, striking pain as he lashed out. While kicking, he wriggled backwards until he finally caught his breath and could roll out of the way and back onto his feet.

"Crazy b***h," he huffed. Maybe she'd like to experience that drop again. Trying to get his attack off before she began punching him again, Foramen forced out, "Vanishing Rift, Slice!" The tear appeared behind Moonstone, so if she wasn't too fast in moving towards him, she'd find herself four or five meters above her current location, falling all over again.

'Crazy b***h' was turning out to be an understatement. This woman was feral, off-the-wall, a homicidal adrenaline-junkie psychopath. No wonder Zac had fared so badly, without any superhuman reflexes or attacks to counter with.

It seemed barely moments since he'd teleported her away, and now here she was back in his face again. The carrying the mask swung forward. Foramen dodged to one side. Stars burst behind his eyes as the mask clipped his cheekbone. He had to check for blood - nothing on his glove, as he spun away from his attacker, but the mother of headaches as the impact ricocheted through his skull.

He need space. And time. (Though time was what Zac didn't have much of, his brain reminded him.)

"Vanishing Rift, Slice!" This rift formed behind him, Foramen quickly stepping through. From a rooftop, he paused to taunt, "I could do this all night. Return the boy's starseed and save yourself the trouble." He quickly teleported once more, before she could leap up to him and begin her relentless assault anew.

He reappeared in shadows, high in a tree that lined the nearby street. Crouching on a thick branch, he rested his back against the trunk and waited.

Foramen's stomach dropped to the pavement at the crazy girl's admission that she couldn't remember who she'd stolen her starseeds from. The ill feeling overtaking him swamped out any feelings of triumph or greed he'd normally feel at seeing so many starseeds in one place. However, this was not his usual kind of hunt. This was a mission to save someone, the only action Foramen was taking for selfish reasons was to try and hurt Moonstone as much as possible.

Oh god, it was clearly a trap. All the raving and lunacy was true enough, but not wanting the starseeds... that had to be a trap. While his brain screamed warnings and tried to convince him to take the time to plan, the rest of Foramen was zoomed in on the small crystals, which at any moment were going to fall into a drain or disappear under the giant garbage pile.

For once, Kirin made the stupid choice. A streak of dark violet and blue darted from the tree down to the street, a dark bolt of lightning striking the earth.

"Do you think I enjoy killing?

Foramen didn't know and didn't care. All his attention was taken up by diving for the rolling starseeds, spreading outwards in all directions. Gloved hands scrabbled for the gems, the last one about to disappear into the drain. Almost flat on the ground, Foramen lunged for it. Too late he discovered that it was a bad idea to ignore Moonstone and her screams.

"BECAUSE I DO!"

Something hard and heavy slammed down just below his elbow. White-hot pain enveloped his arm. Foramen screamed. Hopefully Moonstone would be distracted by this music to her ears, because it was a few moments before Foramen could convince his body to move. Rolling away, he grabbed at the last starseed with his uninjured hand, tucking his treasures away somewhere under his sash. He rose slowly to his feet: wet, garbage-stained, unsteady and with one arm dangling uselessly. But he had what he'd came for. Now if only he could escape this madwoman and make it back to Zac in time.

It was too good to be true. Foramen was sure it was just another trap, the girl just pretending to flee in horror at her own actions. Nothing was happening, though. He slowly straightened, hissing in pain as his left arm moved and jostled the broken bone. Bracing himself, he used his other arm to lift the broken one, cradling it to his chest. Blood trickled from his lower lip, biting down to stop from screaming again.

Protecting the arm as best he could, he melted back into the shadows in case the girl was still around. Forgoing the roofs, he began running back in the direction of the 'accident'. He needed to get these starseeds to Zac before an ambulance arrived, or before Zac's body gave up the fight without a soul inhabiting it.

Biting back sounds of pain, Foramen ran.