Among humans, each person has a guardian angel who guides and protects him. But a story of angels, or a story of humans, this is not. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- PQ Angels - Chapter 1 As appeared in Nakayoshi, September 1997. Written by Takeuchi Naoko. Translated by Alex Glover. Version 1.02, 8.97. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- A light appears in the sky overhead. Two girls stand behind a portal, looking down below. "Where is this?" says the blond girl. Her long hair is tied back in two braided ponytails, and two tails of hair fall at either side of her face. "An 'airport,'" says the other girl. Her long green hair falls freely over her shoulders. "The immigration gate of this world." The blond one looks up at the sun. "It's hot," she says. "It's very 'hot.'" "It is 'summer' now," says the other, "so this place is warm. Let's go down and take a look." Two lights fly out from the portal, and it disappears in a flash. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- August 1999. A boy with dark hair, wearing a checkered shirt, listens to his headphones. He looks up at the sky as he stands in the Narita terminal of New Tokyo International Airport. "Looked like some round thing in the sky," he thinks. "Maybe a UFO..." "Oh, it's cool in here!" "Huh?" says the boy. He looks around, but doesn't see anyone. "Thought I heard a high-pitched girl's voice..." he thinks. A fist strikes him on the head. "Ouji! You're late!" says the older boy, wearing a suit and glasses. "Dad and she are leaving already. Take off those headphones!" "Don't hit me," the boy says. "That hurt!" "Listen to your brother, Ouji-chan," says the woman. "Be sure to eat." "I'm depending on you, Ouga," says the man. "Everything's fine," the older boy says. "I'll look after him. Dad, you and Umeko-san be careful." "We'll call," says the woman. "Goodbye!" says Ouga. As Umeko and their dad leave, Ouga walks away with Ouji. "Well, I'm going back to the hospital," says Ouga, "so I'm going to make a quick phone call." A little girl sits on a bench in the terminal, reading a manga book. "'Pluto,'" she reads. "'Yes, Queen Seleniny.'" [sic - she's still learning her katakana.] "'The third thing you must not do: You mustn't stop time.'" A tiny insect with a heart shape on its back sits on the bench behind the girl's shoulder. "'If you ever violate that law...'" "Miki-chaaan!" a woman calls. "Let's go!" "Okay!" the girl says. She jumps up from the bench, dropping her manga book, and runs to the woman. "Ohhh!" the insect cries. "What happens next!? It was just getting to the good part..." The little girl looks back. "Huh?" The insect jumps away. "A voice came from the bench, but there's nobody there," thinks Ouji. He looks down, and sees two insects at his feet. One with a heart shape on its back, the other with a star shape. "Cockroaches?" he thinks. He crouches over them. "Curious... They have heart and star marks on their backs. Their heads are shaped strangely, too. I've never seen these before. Are they American roaches? No, these could be the Kyoto kind." The one with the heart shape leaps into the air, and lands on Ouji's lips. A light flashes. Ouji finds himself lying on the ground. A blond girl is lying on top of him, staring into his eyes. She smiles and giggles. "Ehehe!" "Ouji?" says Ouga. "What happened?" The roach with the star shape jumps onto Ouga's lips. In a flash of light, he is knocked onto the ground. The green-haired girl grabs the blond girl and pulls her up. A mark in the shape of the roach adorns her left shoulder. "Sorry for bumping into you," she says to the two boys. She runs away, dragging the other girl with her. Ouji sits up. "Bumping into?" he says. "Doesn't she mean 'pushing over'? There was some kind of explosion. What's with those two. Oh no! Terrorists!?" He grabs his older brother, who is still sprawled on the ground. "Ouga! Let's hurry and get home!" He thinks of the roach on his lips and shudders. "If we live to make it home, let's pretend this never happened." He notices a necklace with a heart-shaped pendant on the ground. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "That was dangerous. Looking at us so intently... These humans really are an inquisitive bunch." The green-haired girl looks at the blond girl. "What were you doing on top of the bench, Peanut?" "I was reading a really interesting manga," the blond girl says. "But I was quite shocked." "Shocked?" "Shocked by seeing a live human boy so close! Did you see him, Kyuuri-chan? It shined so brightly around him. He was so cool!" ['Kyuuri' means 'cucumber.'] "What about him was?" "What about him? Umm..." "Peanut... Recite the Three Fuiren Principles!" The blond girl stands up straight. "Right!" she says. "Article 1! 'Do not injure a human'! Article 2! 'Protect yourself and your allies'! Article 3--'Do not fall in love with a human.'" "Correct. I know you're excited by everything, having come to see this land you've longed for, but we must always defend the three principles with our lives, and perform our duty... Are you listening to me!?" The blond girl runs to a food stand. "Miss, one chou of octopus dumplings!" "Peanut," says the green-haired girl. "Chou is the word for counting the pages in a book or cakes of tofu... But then, you can use it for bowls of fried fish and rice, so maybe..." Peanut carries over a stack of boxes of octopus dumplings. "Kyuuri-chan, 300 yen," she says. "Times ten." "What can I do," says Kyuuri. She gets out her purse. "If I don't bring Peanut with me, it won't work..." "This is delicious!" Peanut says. "I want some ice cream too!" She looks at Kyuuri. "Hey, what happens if you break the three sacred principles? If you violate Article 3, what would happen?" "You would be punished according to the penal code, right?" says Kyuuri. "Penal code?" "The law for punishments." "Punishments??" "Penalties for those who commit crimes." "Penalties??" Peanut runs to the window. "Kyuuri-chan!" she says. Spots of water appear on the window of the terminal. Peanut points to them. "Wh- What's this?? What is it!?" "Oh, that's 'rain,'" says Kyuuri. "It's a phenomenon where drops of water fall down from the clouds." The rain pours heavily on the airport. "A tropical storm is above us," she says. "In this season, this phenomenon is called a 'typhoon.'" "This is water?" says Peanut. "Rain??" She runs outside into the pouring rain. "This feels so strange to the touch," she says. "It's cold! This is fun!" Kyuuri smiles. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ouji sits on a bus driving out from the airport. He looks out the window. "Those terrorists from before!" he thinks. "What, they're playing around in the rain? Could it be, they've finished setting the bomb, so they're happy?" He holds the heart-shaped pendant in his hand. "Something the criminals dropped... Oh no, does this make me an accomplice??" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three flight attendants walk through the terminal. "I can't believe we young Succis were stuck in economy, while the boss was in first class." "Dispatch flight attendants are so unuseful..." "Going to the party of the F-1 driver we had today?" The three look at one another. They each hold up a Japanese passport. "I am Cyanophos!" "I am Bromophos!" "I am Prothiophos!" "We are the Succi Sisters of the Grand Pyrethrum Airlines!" [Cyanophos, bromophos, and prothiophos are chemicals used for insecticides. Pyrethrum is an insecticide derived from chrysanthemums.] "Our mission is to follow them undetected." [They end each sentence with 'desu' here, which is roughly the copula 'to be,' but the way they use it seems to indicate a pun with the Japanese pronunciation of the word 'death.'] "By following them, we will surely acquire the object Pyrethrum-sama desires. Now we will proceed." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kyuuri's eyes widen. She looks back at the terminal. "Oh no!" cries Peanut. "It's gone! My ID badge!" Kyuuri turns back around. "I know I put it on!" Peanut says. "What happened, Kyuuri-chan!?" She remembers landing on top of Ouji. "Did I drop it? Back then!" Kyuuri snaps a bracelet onto her wrist, and speaks into it. "Bucky Mouse!" she says. "Search!" A ball with two small eyes and ears shoots out from the bracelet. It flies through the terminal, projecting its view back to the two girls. "They're gone! And the ID badge is too! Did they take it!? We have to follow them. Without that, we can't return!" She kisses the bracelet, and transforms into a cockroach. "What!?" says Peanut. She kisses her bracelet and transforms as well. The two roaches fly into the air behind the floating ball. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Two young girls walk down the street. "Bye-bye!" "See you tomorrow!" Two roaches appear, and land on their mouths. The roaches change into Peanut and Kyuuri, and they quickly run away. They stand outside a house. Peanut sees a sign at the gate. "What's that say, Kyuuri-chan?" "'Umoumashi,' maybe," says Kyuuri. The ball flies into the house, letting them see inside. "There is is," says Kyuuri. "Your ID badge, Peanut." "Really!? Great!" "We'll get it back," she says. "But before that..." She turns to the street. "Maybe we should take care of the noisy insects." The three flight attendants jump up from their hiding places, into the air. "Who are you!?" Kyuuri says. Three passports shoot at Peanut. She ducks, and they embed themselves into the lamppost behind her. "Peanut!!" "Kyuuri-chan!" They clasp their hands together. "P!!" "Q!!" "Warning Color Mode!!" They pull together and kiss. "Fuiren Aura!! Metamorphose!!!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ouji looks out his window and sees a bright flash of light in the sky. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Draw land into river!" says one of the enemies. The ground rises around the two girls. Peanut takes out a bubble gun. "Ice Cream Mix Powder!" The air becomes fog around them. "Fruit Sherbet!" she says. Oranges, strawberries, and kiwis shoot at the three enemies, who become frozen in ice. "Q!!" says Peanut. Kyuuri holds her arms out and calls an attack with another language. The three blocks of ice shatter, destroying the enemies inside. "Enemies?" says Kyuuri. "The pursuers have come so quickly. Who can they be!?" Peanut floats in the air, eating a bowl of sherbet. "Peanut, are you listening to me?" "Since I went to the trouble of making the ice... This is delicious!" "Come back to the ground." They join hands. "Protective Color Mode!!" They return to their previous clothes as they float back down. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ouji stares up at them through his window. He blushes as he glimpses Peanut's panties under her short skirt. He turns around, shutting the blinds. "Those two! The terrorists from the airport!! They came from inside that ball of light!? Flying in the sky!?? They're not human!!! But why was she wearing panties with strawberries on them..." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kyuuri is silent. "Oh, hey, Kyuuri-chan!" says Peanut. She points to an empty plot of land, and reads the sign posted in front of it. "A 'vacant lot'! A vacant lot is a space we can use, right? Let's live here! Next to the 'Umoumashi' house!" "That says 'For sale,'" says Kyuuri. "It'll be a chance to get back my ID badge! We'll become friends! Since we have to know all kinds of things about this world, he'll teach us!" "So that means you don't have faith in my data?" says Kyuuri. "Come on, Kyuuri-chan!" Peanut says. "I just have a little interest in what a live human boy is like." "So honest... Okay, let's build a house." She turns to the flying ball and speaks into her bracelet. "Memory build!" A large house appears on the lot. "Wow!" says Peanut. "Now this will be our castle together, Kyuuri-chan! We'll make it! How about it!" "H-" A sports car drives up and parks on the street. Ouga steps out from it, and his eyes widen as he sees the two girls. "Here we go," says Kyuuri. Ouji runs out of the house next door. "Ouga!?" he says. "That was a vacant lot before, then there was a burst of light, and those two weird girls..." He stops as he sees Peanut. "'Those two weird girls'..." thinks Kyuuri. "Good evening," she says coolly. "Good evening!" says Peanut. Kyuuri bows. "We have moved to the house next door. My name is Kyuuri." Peanut jumps in the air. "My name is Peanut!!" "Oh," says Ouga. "We're your neighbors, the Hagemashi. Nice to meet you." "'Hagemashi'..." the two girls think. ['Hagemashi' is the correct reading of the sign they read 'Umoumashi.'] "I wonder why they don't like bugs," thinks Kyuuri. "I get the feeling... the shorter ones especially disgust them." "Hagemashi," thinks Peanut, hearts in her eyes. "Their name is Hagemashi..." "We must be careful of these humans..." thinks Kyuuri. "Well, we will do introductions again some other time," she says. She goes into the house, dragging Peanut with her. "Good night." "Good night," says Ouga. He and Ouji walk away. "That was great!" he says. "They're beautiful, and they're sisters! Now every day will be enjoyable." "Ouga," says Ouji. "Since when has there been a house next door??" "Well... You know, in Japan, buildings and houses are built suddenly all the time." "They are not!" "Those two!" Ouji thinks. "They're not terrorists! They must be aliens! It's an alien invasion!!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I just felt a sudden chill..." thinks Kyuuri. "Hagemashi," thinks Peanut. "That's his name." "We have to get back the ID badge. I have a bad feeling about this..." "Hagemashi! Ehehe!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Original manga copyright © 1997 Takeuchi Naoko. English translation copyright © 1997 Alex Glover. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Manga of Takeuchi Naoko | PQ Angels