Jae turned and looked at her. A large pair of black sunglasses covered her beautiful eyes. Her hair fell over her shoulders and her leather jacket hung loosely over her. A deep blue over shirt covered her black tank top and she laughed lightly at his near spill. "Look at it this way surfer boy, at least you didn't damage your pretty face."

        "Leave me alone why don't you?"

        "If you can't handle it bleach head, don't ask for it." She turned and walked around the corner. Jae shrugged it off and ran down the street again. He got to the corner and saw, from the corner of his eye, that she had jumped into a blue convertible. He stopped and waited.

        She pulled up to the corner, the engine purring, and stopped. "Where you headed bleach head, the bakery?"

        "Leave me alone." He said, shivers going up his neck as he looked at her.

        She took the sunglasses off and tossed them in the seat next to her and brushed her hair over her ear. "What’s the rush bleach head? Cookie sale at the mall?"

        "No." He said. "Are you going somewhere, or do you have nothing better to do than harass a high school kid?"

        "Touché bleach boy, I am actually taking time out of my schedule, so see you later, and if I’m lucky, much later." The car slid away from the corner and turned down the way he was running.

        ‘Ooh, I am so angry at her.’ He thought as he ran down the sidewalk, seemingly after her. He passed her car at a crosswalk and jetted along until he reached the studio.

        He looked up at the building and a police officer shoved him aside. "No one is allowed inside boy. You have to leave the premises." He grabbed Jae by the neck of his uniform shirt and lifted him to the air. He threw Jae to the ground and was about to kick him.

        Akane’s car rolled up and pulled up to the curb. "Detective is there a problem here?" She hopped out across the empty passenger seat.

        "What have you got to say about it girl?"

        "Quite a bit. You have no right or need to abuse this boy. Leave him be."

        "Oh yeah?"

        "Yeah." Her eyes are dark and cold and she stares down the officer, who eventually turns away and walks over to his station at the corner. With no more words, she walks around her car and climbs in, starting the engine.

        Jae looks up at the car from the ground. He hears it start and cruise away. ‘Wow.’ He thinks. ‘What did she do to that guy?’ He climbs up off the warm afternoon pavement and stands looking up at the sun. He turns and starts to walk away when a dog runs past him. Ahead he hears a cat hiss and meow loudly. He runs after the dog, barely keeping up to it. Then in an alley, it stops and the cat is cornered. Jae pulls the dog back and sends it yipping through the streets.

        He turns to the cat, and he can make out a faint gold crescent on its forehead, but it fades and he sees what looks like the outline of a sword, although it is curved to look like the crescent moon. The cat hissed at Jae, then it looked into his eyes and stopped, launching itself into the air. Before Jae could do anything, the cat had knocked him to the ground. "Jae?"

        "Who said that?"

        "I did."

        "The cat?"

        "Not just any cat Jae. I am your guardian."

        Jae blinked. "A talking cat. I hit my head, no, I never woke up this morning. This can’t be real."

        "It’s very real Jae, and your friends and the future of the city all depend on you. I’ve been looking for you and I found you just in time. You are Tuxedo Moon Jae."

        "Tuxedo Moon? Like Masked R? Have you lost your mind? Have I lost my mind? I’m talking to a cat!"