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The night was cool and refreshing for spring and it had made soccer practice a lot more bearable for Tom at least. Not too hot or too cold. Though he was not one for cold weather at all and he couldn't wait for the time when the temperatures would at least be up in the 60s. It was somewhere around 7:30PM right now as he was walking down the street from the field back towards his apartment. The street lights were on even though there was still a bit of sunlight peeking over the horizon, but that would seen be gone replaced by the dark blue that night would have to offer.

Tom had been warned not to walk home from practice without a buddy by his coach. Since the "terrorists" were still around Destiny City their coach had cautioned the players about walking by themselves because they could become the next target for the "terrorists" or attacked by one of those monsters that seemed to be roaming the city. Quite a few of his teammates had decided to take their coach's advice and created a few carpool groups but Tom had declined their offers to take him home. He was confident that he was safe walking just back to his apartment. He had a car here himself but didn't want to use it just to get somewhere that was only a mile away from where he lived.

He mentally rolled his eyes at the idea that the "terrorists" were really what the media claimed they were. He had quite a few debates not only with friends, but with others in various places like cafes, the university book club, the university cafeteria, and while some supported him, there were many others who believed the media hype that surrounded the "terrorists". Tom believed they were called "senshi" and he was quite confident that they were not attacking or trying to destroy the people in or buildings within the city. I mean does anyone notice the way they're dressed?! Would terrorists really wear such eye-catching outfits and make sure that they were seen? Ridiculous. Tom thought to himself as he continued on his path towards his apartment.

Tom adjusted his soccer bag over his shoulder once again. He really needed to get a better one, or perhaps a longer strap so that he could carry it better. His other shoulder was holding the soccer ball that he also carried to practice. So they were both getting a bit of a workout at least, even if they wanted to slip off his shoulders occasionally.

He sighed, moving his hat up a bit more so his eyes were less obscured. He probably shouldn't have been wearing his cowboy hat at night, considering that it could block parts of his vision, but he always wore it when he could and a few monsters roaming around wasn't going to change that.

He heard someone walking near him and looked around until he found the source. Well, it didn't look like someone who was out there to mug him. Tom was more paranoid about possibly being robbed than being attacked by any monster.

He turned back around, continuing to head in the direction of the apartments. His mind wandered to possible jokes for his comic, not having thought of any so far. While he was distracted he didn't notice the shadow of the youma or the slight hiss it let out as he walked past one of the alleyways...

Unfortunately, Tom's first instinct when hearing shouting was to look to where the source of the shouting was coming from. He was turning his head to look behind him, however he turned it to the side that the youma was coming at him. Tom's fight or flight response decided to take the third option, which was standing their not knowing what to do for the few precious seconds it took for the youma to leap out and finally make contact with him.

Tom was pushed to the ground, the air knocked out of him as he hit it. Though luckily he didn't hit his head first so there was a smaller possibility of getting a concussion. However his body slammed into the ground quite hard and he was unable to register anything but pain for the moment. "****" He thought as he tried to gather his thoughts. The youma was hovering over him at this point, almost like it was expecting it's food before it was going to eat it, making sure it was worth the effort it had put in to catch the meal.

Tom at this point managed to realize what was going on and tried kicking up at the monster through the pain or trying to hit it with his soccer bag. It didn't seem to be working but Tom wasn't going to go down without doing something!

Tom kicked the youma once again, realizing that the person who had been walking behind him was now close to both him and the beast. He heard the advice of the stranger too and wanted to roll his eyes. He was acting like this wasn't a big deal! Here Tom was, probably going to die and this stranger was acting like playing dead would work on it! What, was this a pet or something that was currently trying to eat his face?

Tom hmphed a bit and stopped kicking, though that was also because the creature had pinned down his legs at this point. He was still breathing rapidly, adrenaline rushing through him, his brain racing at a mile a minute analyzing all of the possibilities that could either lead to escape or death. The creature seemed to turn its... head towards the stranger and Tom wondered if it would get off of him for a second.

"Great, so you're an expert or something? A monster whisperer? Well if you are would you mind getting it off of me or if you want it to kill me could you just let it get it over with? The suspension is killing me at this point." The pun wasn't intentional but it came out anyway. And it was true. Tom didn't want to wait around to see if he was going to get killed tonight. A quick death would be preferred over a slow and painful one. But the way his heart was beating he might just die of a heart attack instead.

Tom coughed a bit, the pain finally registering again as the youma lifted itself off of him and at the stranger. He was a little weirded out by the entire situation. This guy must be crazy! Tom thought to himself as he got up a bit. Really he should be off and running at this point, but the other guy was acting like he could control the beast. Hello? It was a monster and even if it was just some sort of mutant animal, why did this guy think, for even one second, that he had any power to control the creature?

So it wasn't surprising when the creature turned its attention toward the stranger. Of course it didn't seem that the guy was scared at all, just pissed off. What, so now he thought that he could defeat the youma then? "Some people." He mumbled to himself. Probably a bad idea, he didn't know how well that creature's hearing was, but hopefully it wouldn't catch the attention of the beast.

Tom still couldn't move from where he was. Was he in shock? He didn't know but it was like watching a train wreck, knowing you should be getting away from it but your brain tells you to stay and watch. But could he make a run for it and get back to his apartment in time? No, he probably wouldn't even be safe there considering the size of the creature. It could probably break through a few layers of brick wall..

Tom coughed a bit in surprise at the word "terrorists" that the stranger uttered. What? So terrorists were fighting against monsters now? Or did he mean those senshi people? So what, this guy believed that they were terrorists too? Tom wanted to roll his eyes, but abstained himself from doing so.

Okay, I definitely know I'm dreaming now. I was probably knocked out when I hit that sidewalk. Or maybe I was mugged at practice and I'm in the hospital with a concussion. This can't be real. These thoughts went through Tom's head as he saw the stranger transform and command the best off of him. He seemed familiar to Tom, though he wasn't sure why he seemed recognizable or where he had seen him before. Either way, he seemed dangerous, especially being able to get the beast to go away.

He slowly got up, noticing that the other person was limping he thought that maybe he could get away. Probably not, though because he had seen the youma scratch him but now the scratch was gone he figured that the guy might have some sort of healing powers or something so the limp probably wouldn't slow the guy down.

The stranger's words snapped him out of his thoughts and although he wasn't pleased at being called weak, of course Tom wasn't going to be able to go up against a thing like that. He didn't have super transforming powers or whatever he could have used against the creature so he acted like a normal human. And he wasn't much of a fighter anyway, not having had any training, so it wasn't surprising.

"Right. Well... I'm just going to... go." Tom replied, picking himself up and trying to gather his soccer supplies with him. At least they hadn't gone far and his ball was in a mesh ball bag so it didn't go rolling down the street. Tom wasn't going to thank the guy, he had insulted him after all, but he had a suspicious feeling that he wasn't going to get back to his apartment that easily.

Tom took a couple of steps back in fear. Yes, he was intimidated quite a bit by this guy. He hadn't ever really been in fights, except for those fake fights he would have with his friends back home and even those barely got physical. And soccer was fighting over a ball though mainly with your feet. You didn't stare down your opponent hoping they would back down so you could score a goal. But during the game you knew that it tended to be more for fun than for beating your opponent down.

And "good boy"? Yeah... this guy was weird. Tom had never been told to exactly run from the monster, just that fighting back wouldn't help that much. Also, that phrase was kind of creepy, like in a serial killer way before you suddenly got beaten up or violated somehow. And what, this guy had heard him speaking? And where had he heard Tom speak? Also what was he talking about, what did he mean when he referred to the "drivel" that had come out of Tom's mouth? Sure, he could talk a bit too much sometimes but to call it drivel? Sheesh.

He didn't want any of... whatever this guy was offering, this "strength". Tom would have confused this with some sort of drug deal if he hadn't just witnessed everything with his own eyes. "Yeah buddy... I'm not sure if I want any of this... 'strength' of yours. I think I'll stick with my 'mostly ignorant' existence." He replied, backing up a bit more. He needed to get away, but where could he run to?

The guy was a ******** liar Tom was thinking as the pain surged through every fiber of his body. He had watched in surprised and wanted to cry out when the guy put a hand, a HAND through his chest and grabbed onto something. Something that felt primal, like the very core of his being was being changed. He would have cried out in pain, but he couldn't get past the pain he felt. It was terrible, the worst that he had ever felt in his entire life. He wasn't sure, but he felt like something was seeping into it, almost like an infection spreading through his very soul.

He couldn't tell when it had happened, but eventually he registered the pain going away and other... changes that had happened to him. He was wearing different clothes, heavier ones at least. And there was something over his mouth too.

This freaked him out quite a bit. He slumped back down in exhaustion, using his hands to hold himself up as he tried no to collapse on the sidewalk. "What... what the hell did you do to me?" He asked, a bit muffled by the cloth that was now covering his mouth. Though little by little, he was gaining his energy back and was feeling something... different. He wasn't sure if it was the "power" that this guy had been talking about but he knew this wasn't normal, at least for a human. "Who are you?"