Disclaimer: How far can I go before I run out of shock material? Let's find out!
Beautiful Destroyer Sailor Moon
Miss Murder
It's not an AFI reference.
[8.]
Rei Hino was, by the description of others, a dark, weird girl who had kept to herself since the death of her mother when she was little. Her mother's death, her Father's minimal presence in her life, and the fact that she was a Miko at the Hikawa Shrine where she also lived played a huge role in her social isolation. She was a girl with next to no friends, save of course the countless crows that called the Shrine their home.
The Hikawa Shrine atop Sendai Hill hadn't always been known for its crow population until around the time of Rei's birth, when two of them had taken up residence in a tree by the main Shrine. By the time Rei turned three, that number had swelled to the hundreds, and they were irremovable by the time she was five, resisting all efforts to drive them off. Rei of course, didn't mind their presence at all, and as she grew older they became her sounding board, something to talk to and confide in when there was no one else.
"I don't hate my Grandpa; it's just that I'm worried about him! He's getting on in years and he might be going senile. Then there's the cape he wears, and the fact that he pervs all over the girls that visit the shrine and he doesn't do anything about the guys who try to perv all over me." Rei lamented, depressed, to her crows as she swept up along the steps of the Shrine.
A group of nearly two dozen crows was gathered around her, with a little one even sitting atop her head as she continued venting. "It's not that I don't like you guys, I really do, but sometimes I want to be able to confide in things with Grandpa but he's not all there, you know?"
She stopped to wipe some sweat from her brow. It was really warm today. Noticing this, some of the crows began cawing among each other, Rei paid it no mind. "Of course you wouldn't know… you're just birds, you don't even understand what I'm saying."
She wiped the sweat off her forehead again. "It's not like I could, I don't know, ask you to get me a juice and you'd do it."
Their caws grew enthusiastic and loud, before several of them took to the air, rising above the treetops and racing off. Staring up after them, the crow atop her head following her gaze, Rei stared in confusion before she resumed her sweeping. Only moments later there was a rustling of feathers as they returned, with one holding a packet of juice in its beak.
Rei's eyes were wide as she stared at the bird and its unopened bounty. When it hopped up and tried to shove the juice packet into her hands, she jumped back. Seeing this approach fail, it stopped and set it down in front of her. She looked from the juice box to the crow, and then back again, before reaching down for it and picking it up.
"Is… is this for me?" She asked.
The crows all stared at her. She looked at the juice again. Where did they get it from? Did they steal it from someone? Wait, did they actually listen to her? She then looked back to them. "Open your wings, if you got this for me."
The crows all opened their wings and cawed assent, even the little one atop her head. Rei looked down at the birds, and then at her juice packet–it was even her favorite flavor. Tearing off the top, she took a sip of it, before addressing the birds.
"Can you bring me a bag of chips, too? A big one, so I can share," she requested.
They obeyed without question.
One year later, and Usagi, Ami, and Naru were on the case. A rash of mass disappearances was gripping Minato in fear. Entire busloads of young women were vanishing into the night, with no trace, no motive, and no word from the kidnappers. While the discussion in Japan was accusing everything from Otaku to North Koreans, Team Sailor Moon was focused on the only culprit that could pull it off.
"A week and two days ago at 18:12, the bus leaving the Five Slopes at Sendai Hill vanished shortly after taking on passengers leaving the shrine." Ami was reviewing the incidents as they disembarked from a bus. "Six days ago, at 18:43, a bus vanished, again with a full load of passengers."
The two rounded a corner, and continued walking towards their destination, the location of the first disappearance, the vicinity of the Hikawa Shrine. "Three days ago, a bus leaving the five slopes, again with a full load, vanishes after rounding the corner at 18:05."
"Every three days, a full bus load of people mysteriously vanishes, all in the vicinity of the Five Slopes, and with no explanation," Usagi grumbled.
"All of them loaded with young women between the ages of thirteen and forty-five," Naru added to the review.
"The police don't want to cause a panic, so they've only allowed the news to report one missing bus with no information about the passengers or where it was going." Had it not been for any of the girls keeping an ear to the ground for weird activity, they probably would not have found out about the unmentioned disappearances or their pattern.
"It can only be the Dark Kingdom, but there may be more to it than this. It doesn't feel like their modus operandi," Luna said
"It could be a new enemy…" Naru trailed off, as they came upon a most puzzling scene. A car with foreign plates was being vandalized severely by a murder of crows, a fairly organized murder. "Huh."
They were scratching their claws all over the body of the car, struggling to bend and twist its antenna, and some where even trying to peck through the sunroof of the luxury sedan. The three girls and their animal companion just stared, as several crows came along and dropped rocks onto the sunroof from a considerable height, shattering the glass and allowing several birds to get in and do unspeakable things to the car's interior.
"Well, that's definitely new to me," Usagi said.
"I hope that upholstery's been treated," Ami added.
Luna looked between both girls. "You are going to stop them, right?"
"My car!" a foreign diplomat yelled in his native tongue. "What the Hell?!"
"Now I'm not," Usagi said when she saw the birds seemed to be more interested in demolishing the car than harming its owner. "Act of God, obviously, and he doesn't seem to be in danger."
"How strange, your car is being vandalized by a group of crows in broad daylight for no reason," said Rei Hino as she walked onto the scene, fully decked out in the traditional attire of a Shrine Maiden.
When the man turned to her, she bowed. "I am a wandering Miko, you needn't worry sir. I will get to the bottom of this."
"I don't believe in that crap, just help me get these birds away from my-!" He was silenced when Rei held her hand to his face and glared at the birds. Usagi, surprised by the appearance of the Miko and impressed by her good looks, watched as Rei produced an ofuda tag and held it to her forehead. After a moment of concentration, she lowered the talisman.
"Sir, did you commit a crime recently?" She asked the man.
"O-of course not, what are you implying?" The diplomat asked.
Rei looked towards the crows. "Evil forces are not at work, but a god is furious. Did you steal a donation left at a shrine?"
The diplomat paled at Rei's accusation, and then he looked at the car and the crows. The birds were now staring pointedly at him. He looked back to Rei, who folded her arms. "Whatever you did you had better correct it, this is only the beginning of the god's wrath."
Together, the crows began cawing angrily, and sure enough the man reached into his pocket, pulled out a handful of cash, and shoved it into Rei's hand before running for his life. Almost immediately, the crows took flight and circled around. Rei smiled in satisfaction. "That'll teach you to steal from the donation box."
She held out her arm for one to land upon it. "You guys performed excellently. Now get home before someone sees… you…"
She saw Usagi, Ami, and Naru staring at her with Luna perched on Naru's shoulder. An awkward silence immediately fell, with Rei's face turning a bright red throughout its duration, before Usagi finally opened her mouth. "Ah-"
"I was not talking to the crows just now," Rei immediately denied.
Ami spoke, "We didn't think…"
"I'm not crazy, just so you know!" Rei quickly overrode her.
Naru attempted to get a word in edgewise. "No we just thought that-"
"I have to go, bye!" Rei turned and fled, the crows scattered with her, flying off in different directions as the strange girl ran for the Hikawa Shrine. In minutes the street was empty save the girls, their cat, the wrecked car, and some feathers.
"What an odd bird," Usagi noted, and she was immediately smacked on the ass by Naru. "Ow!"
"That was terrible." Naru gave her a squeeze next, causing her to squeak.
Ami checked her computer. "Rei Hino, resident Miko of the Sendai Hill Hikawa Shrine. She's our age and goes to the St. Bacchus School for Girls."
"Wow, big money." Usagi looked to Ami after slapping Naru's hand off her bottom. "Why didn't you go there, bourgeois?"
"Because I didn't want to go to a Catholic School, you know what those places do to girls. I've heard the song." Ami replied.
"The Chili Peppers, right?" Usagi asked.
Luna was impressed. "I think she meant Zappa, but I am impressed you even know of that one."
Usagi turned her attention to the Shrine. "Well, the Hikawa Shrine is now a little more interesting. Let's get going, ladies."
Reaching the top of the Shrine's steps, Rei rested her hands on her knees and doubled over to catch her breath. How embarrassing, to be caught talking to the crows by total strangers. It was bad enough that the girls at school talked about her behind her back, and people who saw her amongst the crows at the shrine found her creepy, but to out and out make an idiot of herself in public?! She was going to die from embarrassment!
A crow landed on her shoulder, Deimos, one of the two earliest crows of the murder to appear at the Hikawa Shrine along with her sister Phobos. Reaching up and patting the bird on the head, Rei sighed. "You still did great."
She reached into her haori and pulled out a piece of cooked bacon to offer the crow, who accepted it graciously. "Now don't go showing off to the others, or I'll get mobbed again."
"Man, I'm not going to get used to that."
Rei jumped again when Yuuichirou Kumada, an apprentice of her Grandfather spoke from where he had been sweeping near the Shrine's steps.
"Ah! What is it with everyone sneaking up on me today?!" Rei exasperatedly cried out as Deimos took her prize and flew off. Yuuichirou let out a laugh as the flushed girl stormed off towards the shrine's main building. When Rei reached the shrine, she found her Grandfather once again flirting with a trio of girls from another school.
"How lovely you girls are! Are any of you interested in being part-time shrine maidens?" He asked rather bluntly as he slid up to them.
One of the girls stared down at the little old man and immediately recoiled in fear. "Oh my God, it's that disgusting old lecher I heard about!"
Another girl gasped, as Rei's Grandpa was struck by the accusation. "You mean the legendary underwear thief?! We gotta get out of here!"
"We have our charms, run!" the third shrieked before they all fled.
Rei's Grandpa was horrified. "What? No! I'm not that old guy! He's been dead for years, girls! Wait!" The girls were already running for the stairs. Clenching his fist, the old man cursed to the heavens. "Damn you Happosai, because of you, we old timers can't have nice things!"
Rei's fist came down on the old man's noggin. "What do you mean by nice things?! Grandpa, you can't go around trying to get up girls' skirts!"
"I can and I will, damn it Aho-chan! I'm an old man, let me have my fun!" Her Grandpa roared back.
"Of course you can, but can you be a little more dignified about it?" Rei stopped and looked down towards the stairs the girls had fled. She could sense it again, the evil presence that had been hanging over the temple for the last few days. Only this time there was something mixed in, a lecherous, lustful intent that seemed to assault her senses.
The old man saw Rei's apprehension. "Aho-chan, what is it?"
"There it is again, the evil presence that's been weighing on me, and it's brought friends!" Quickly, Rei produced an ofuda tag. "You're not getting away this time! Evil spirits begone!"
She hurled the ofuda tag, which sailed like a dart despite being a slip of paper, narrowly missing Yuuichirou as he jumped back in surprise from its path. At that very moment, Usagi, Naru, and Ami had reached the top of the steps, and the tag struck Usagi square between the eyes. Rei stared.
"The girl from earlier…?" She asked.
Usagi blinked and stared at the tag as it began to make a sizzling sound. "Uh, what the Hell is this?"
The sizzling grew, before it became a very loud pop as the tag ignited like a bolt of lightning.
"Motherfucker…" Usagi's slurred voice trailed off into a gurgle as she fell backward. Ami and Naru quickly leaped to catch their leader before she fell down the stairs.
Rei stared; she could no longer sense the evil presence. "Wow I… guess I got it."
Yuuichirou whistled. "You got her all right."
Rei's Grandfather peered down at the three girls from the top of the steps. "Well, better get her inside and rested."
"Yes, thank you," Ami replied as she and Naru helped the dazed Usagi along. As they brought her inside, Rei, watched and grew concerned. The evil presence had vanished after she hit her, this was highly suspicious.
Usagi regained consciousness under a thick blanket on a comfortable futon in Rei's room. At either side of her, Naru and Ami sat, while Rei was off to the side with her arms folded and a small frown on her face. As her vision focused on the ceiling she heard the door open, and a man's voice call out.
"Hey, I brought some water and towels," Yuuichirou called to Rei.
Rei nodded. "Thank you, leave them here." She looked back to Usagi, and saw that she was waking up. "Are you all right?"
"What happened to me?" She was still feeling discombobulated.
"I struck you with an Evil-Dispelling Charm. Normally it doesn't affect people like that, so what exactly are you?" Rei asked.
Usagi hummed. "So I was hit by a purification charm, dispelling all evil intent and spirits from me?"
"Yes," Rei responded.
Usagi immediately reached from under the blankets and up both Ami and Naru's skirts to and panties to grope their backsides. Naru moaned appreciatively, while Ami squeaked and reflexively hit Usagi with a book. "Usagi!"
"Worth it," Usagi mumbled from under the book.
Rei flushed. "Could you not do that in my room, you pervert!"
"I'm sorry; I just wanted to make sure my lust for cute girls wasn't just the influence of an evil spirit."
"L-lust for cute girls…?" Rei asked as Usagi removed her hand from under Ami's skirt. Naru seemed content to keep Usagi's hand under hers. "Please stop fondling your g-girlfriend in my bedroom!"
It was bad enough she had to put up with the melodramatic girls-love atmosphere at school. Not that she thought it was a bad thing, Rei thought it was very pretty and even romantic at times, it was just very distracting. Usagi relented at Rei's request and sat up.
"Sorry, lately Naru-chan can't help herself." Usagi mock lamented, frankly she liked Naru having hands like an octopus. Naru giggled, as Usagi looked to Rei. "So, why did you hurl a tag at me like that?"
Rei closed her eyes and sighed. "Lately, there has been suspicious activity around the Shrine. Just as you were coming up the hill, I felt an evil presence and I tried to tag it, but I hit you." She opened them and gazed pointedly at Usagi. "But after I hit you, the presence was gone."
Usagi was struck by the insinuation. "Time out, I'm not evil!"
Naru nodded. "Usagi may be wild and flippant, but she's definitely not a bad person."
"A pervert yes, but we all have our quirks, and Usagi's harmless," Ami likewise testified.
Rei relaxed somewhat, and then let her arms to her sides. "I'm sorry; it's just that with all the strange things going on, I've been on edge."
Usagi puffed her cheeks out. "No harm, no foul, don't you worry about it. But what do you mean by strange occurrences?"
Rei quickly turned her head aside. "Lately, an evil presence has been hanging over the Hikawa Shrine. It comes and goes, but it's been growing stronger with every appearance. I know it must sound strange to you…"
Usagi, Ami, Naru, and Luna all traded affirming looks. The source of the evil was coming from the Shrine, or at least they hoped. Ami returned to Rei and then asked. "Do you think the evil presence might have something to do with the crows?"
"No! The crows have nothing to do with the evil presence!" Rei vehemently said, surprising all three of the girls and their cat. "How dare you implicate innocent crows like that?! No matter how smart they are, they'd never steal buses or kidnap people! They wouldn't know what to do with them!"
Silence fell on the room, as Rei realized what she had said and turned bright red in embarrassment. She then raised her hands, waving them nervously. "I mean, there's no way the crows had anything to do with it, they're just dumb birds right?"
She coughed. "I just know they're not the cause of the trouble here."
But something was, and with a little luck, zeroing in on it would uncover the face of what was behind it. Usagi smiled to Rei. "Ne Miko-chan, what makes you so sure of it?"
Rei pouted. "Because I'm the priestess of this shrine and my spiritual power is off the charts! As you witnessed for yourself, if I may note."
Folding her arms, she laughed boisterously and once again, Usagi and her cabal traded affirming looks. The moment was interrupted by the door opening and a woman storming in. "Who is the head priest here?!"
Rei looked over. "What is it?"
"My daughter has been missing for days!" the woman yelled at her. "They say that the Head Priest may have something to do with it, and he has a reputation for preying on young women! Out with it, where is the old man!"
Rei immediately got up. "How dare you?! My Grandfather has run this Shrine for decades and has not caused a single problem! Sure he flirts with girls, but he's harmless!"
"I'm sure he is, in the eyes of his Granddaughter!" the woman retorted.
"What is that supposed to mean?!" Rei demanded. Usagi, Ami, Naru, and Luna looked from her to the woman.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he has you in on it, whatever you're doing to these women! You've probably been feeding them to your filthy crows!"
Rei promptly punched the woman in the face, sending her back against the door frame. Usagi and Naru were immediately on their feet, as Rei pointed at the shocked woman. "You don't come into my home and say those kinds of things about my Grandfather and my crows! I am sorry your daughter is missing, but coming here and yelling baseless accusations at me or my Grandfather isn't going to bring her back!" The woman stared at Rei, who clenched her hand back into a fist. "Now unless you have more nonsense to spew, get out of my house you crazy woman!"
Getting up, wide-eyed, the woman quickly retreated, swearing that she would call the police. Rei lowered her fist and sighed. "That wasn't even the first."
"So, Miko-chan, they're your crows?" Usagi asked as Ami stood up, holding Luna in her arms.
Rei flushed and turned to face them. "Did I say they were my crows? No! I meant, you know, the Shrine's crows… I don't own them that'd be silly! Owning wild birds, what will people think of next?"
The girls looked again amongst each other, and smiled. Naru then spoke up. "But earlier, you were…"
"Oh! You're on you're feet that's great you should be going now!" Rei got behind all three girls and quickly ushered them out of her room. "The door is down the hall, thank you for visiting and please come again! Oh, and I'm not crazy!"
She slammed her bedroom door shut, leaving the three in the hallway. Acquiescing, Usagi and the others left. Ami looked to Luna, who nodded, and then to Usagi. "Is she-?"
"Oh man, she totally is," Usagi said before letting out an amused laugh.
Naru giggled. "I'm glad, she's just so cute! I wanted to give her a hug."
"Just a hug…?" Usagi asked. When Ami looked to Naru, she blushed when their non-Senshi ally smiled lustfully and licked her lips.
Back in her room, Rei sighed and sat down on her bed. What an exasperating day, first the police showing up, then those weird girls, and now people actually coming around pointing fingers. This was the worst.
As she lay back onto the bed, she noticed a hint of gold peeking from under her pillow, and she reached over to pull it out. "What's this?"
It was a red pen with a gold cap, at its very end it had the symbol of the planet Mars. "Did they leave this here?"
Leaving the Shrine's steps, Ami let Luna hop to Naru's shoulder and looked over to Usagi. "If she really is Mars, then why didn't we just confront her ourselves? I think we'd save a lot of time if we invited her to join us."
"The odds are just as good that she isn't Sailor Mars. Leaving the pen with her is the safest bet," Usagi responded.
Luna agreed. "If she isn't, and I have my doubts that she is, then it won't work for her and I can easily summon it back to me."
Usagi let out a laugh. "Come on, she's too weird to not be a Senshi!"
There was the sound of something shattering, and everyone looked to the source–a flower pot that had fallen off the balcony of a building across the street. Luna glared at Usagi. "What did I tell you?"
"… That you'd hurt me?" Usagi replied.
Luna prepared to pounce straight for Usagi's face, when Ami gasped. "You guys, what time is it?"
Phones were out, and all three checked the time, it was 18:00 on the dot. Usagi's eyes went wide. "Oh, shit! We have to get to the bus stop!"
Usagi broke into a run, charging up the hill towards the bus stop, where she saw an ominous sight: A single bus and a line of passengers, all women, orderly boarding it. Quickly, Usagi scanned her surroundings, and finding it clear, raised her hand mid-sprint.
"Moon Prism Power, Make Up!"
In a flash, she was Sailor Moon, but the bus was already moving. "Damn!"
Sailor Moon leaped for the bus as it rounded the corner, but fell short. As she landed in a skid, she stopped in time to see it flying through the air and into a void in the sky. As soon as the bus passed through it, Sailor Mercury landed with her and stopped.
"What the…?" Sailor Mercury asked as the black hole vanished. "A portal, straight into another dimension, that's why the buses have disappeared into thin air!"
Sailor Moon clenched a fist. "We're not letting this go on any longer."
Sailor Moon screwed up once, but she would not do it again.
Within the warped space, Kigaan tilted up her hat and looked back towards the busload of helpless, unconscious young women, and then out at the several others that occupied the pocket dimension. Sitting back in her seat, she let out a smug huff.
"Good thing Zoisite doesn't know about this," she joked.
Murid appeared. "Don't go jinxing it now, Kigaan, there'd be little we could do to stop him if he did find out. Did you see Sailor Moon?"
"No, and I doubt she or Mercury are a part of this batch. One more run should bring them in, though.".
Murid nodded. "Then everything is going according to plan."
Producing her apple, Murid set it down on a seat, and then looked to Kigaan. "Go get ready."
Kigaan nodded, and both youma vanished. The left behind apple began to glow, and draw in the energy of the bus's victims.
Police cars were gathered in front of the Bus Depot, with dozens officers searching every bus as they came in. Hiding in the shadows on a nearby rooftop, Tuxedo Kamen watched the scene with great interest. The media was being blacked out over the disappearance but it had not escaped Motoki's ears.
"Electronic Surveillance of the stop in question shut off precisely between 17:45 and 19:15," Motoki said over a radio in Tuxedo Kamen's ear as he obtained this information, "There weren't even any buses scheduled to stop there just in case. There were even notices posted on TV and online."
"After this, they're going to keep anyone from going near that bus stop by force." Tuxedo Kamen said.
"Indeed, they've already ordered all of their current drivers on paid leave while they investigate. What I don't get, is how do the victims all seem to randomly show up at that stop like clockwork? What could be drawing them there?" Motoki was at his computer in the office of the Game Center Crown. Behind him, Reika was balancing various throwing knives at another desk.
Tuxedo Kamen turned away from the bus station, there was nothing for him there. Jumping, he opened his cape and began to soar above the rooftops. It didn't take him very long to land atop the arch of the Hikawa Shrine, the shadows of the trees concealing his presence.
"You think the Dark Kingdom's operating out of the Hikawa Shrine?" Motoki asked. Tuxedo Kamen scanned his surroundings. The trees were full of crows, all were asleep. "Yo TK, are you there?"
Tuxedo Kamen jumped from the arch to land atop the Shrine itself. "Yes. There are just a lot of crows around here. It just creeps me out, that's all."
He fell quiet when he heard the doors to the Shrine open, and out emerged Rei and Yuuichirou, the former looking extremely pensive. "I'm worried they'll start suspecting something really is going on down here. Punching that woman earlier didn't really help."
"No but that crazy woman had no right just barging in, you know?"
Rei sighed. "She talked about the crows, I just lost it."
Yuuichirou nodded. "Still it's not a good idea to get so up about the crows, or attract attention don't you think? The police have been here like twice, and soon it could start attracting worse."
"I guess." Last thing Rei wanted was someone trying to take revenge by damaging the Shrine, or worse, hurting the crows. "I'll do my best to keep quiet."
Yuuichirou patted Rei on the back, making her blush. "Good. You should go to bed; you got school tomorrow, don't you?"
"Yes, of course." Bowing to Yuuichirou, Rei turned and walked for her house, while Yuuichirou went down the steps of the shrine towards his lodging. Soon as they were gone, Tuxedo Kamen emerged from hiding and looked towards the house Rei went into.
"So, it brought you here, too." Tuxedo Kamen quickly drew a rose and threw it behind him with flourish. It was quickly caught between the gloved fingers of a young woman dressed in a black cape and hood, with what appeared to be ninja attire underneath. Tuxedo Kamen quickly drew another, but she held up her hands.
Getting a good look at her, Tuxedo Kamen grimaced. "A Spoiler costume, really?"
"Better than a tuxedo, top hat, and domino, you look more like a thief than a vigilante," the woman replied in a deep voice.
"And you're straight out of DC." Still, being able to just catch his rose like that, she wasn't just some amateur. Tuxedo Kamen narrowed his eyes, he recognized her now. "A new costume, but you're Mifune."
"Call me whatever's convenient," Mifune said as she looked down at the shrine.
Tuxedo Kamen nodded and returned his attention to the shrine below. "It's here. Whatever is the source of the disappearances is."
"What makes you say that?" Mifune asked.
Tuxedo Kamen smirked. "A hunch."
"No detective work? If you're trying to be Batman, you're not very good." Tuxedo Kamen then turned his attention to the shack where the Shrine's shop was located and jumped over to it. "Hey, wait up!"
Mifune leaped after him, but could not keep up with his glide to the roof of the shop and landed on the ground. Looking back, Tuxedo Kamen watched with and impressed hum as Mifune jumped again, joining him on the roof. She was strong, to be able to do that without injury.
"A good detective always has an idea of what he's looking for, and a hunch is a start." Tuxedo Kamen explained as he scanned the area. Finding it clear he jumped down. "The Shrine's popularity has seen an upsurge recently, just before the disappearances."
Mifune nodded and followed. "Yes, so is there a connection then?"
"Yes. The shrine's recent popularity is because of a specific thing." Tuxedo Kamen reached into his pocket and pulled out an odd key which he inserted into the shop door's lock. A turn of the key unlocked the door.
"It's been selling special charms to young women, supposedly able to grant them good luck in life and love." Tuxedo Kamen walked in and peered around the darkness. His domino mask immediately intensified the light for him, allowing him to see perfectly. Mifune was a step behind him and alert to any danger.
Spying the charms, Mamoru held one up, and immediately frowned. He could feel it through the glove, dark energy imbued these charms. Nodding, he slipped it inside his suit jacket. Behind him, Mifune folded her arms and asked. "So what does that have to do with the disappearances?"
"The police have not released this information to the media. But all of the victims who've disappeared are women."
Mifune stared at Tuxedo Kamen, her face and its shocked expression hidden by her hood and the black mask. "All of them, on both buses?"
Tuxedo Kamen nodded. "Yes. The buses that have disappeared are only the two that have been reported. Two other buses have vanished."
Mifune gasped. "What the Hell is going on? There's just no way that two hundred people just…"
Stopping, Mifune surprised Tuxedo Kamen with her realization. "This is the work of a youma, a monster… like in Harajuku and the Cinderella Caravan!"
Tuxedo Kamen walked past her for the door. "So you've been following her, too?"
"Sailor Moon, yes." Mifune grabbed one of the charms, and hid it on her as she followed him out. "Have you seen the trail of destruction she's left fighting these things? It's some kind of miracle that no one's been hurt yet! She threw a fucking train through a building!"
"I know. I was there." Tuxedo Kamen couldn't help a small smile. Mifune regained her composure, and let out a huff.
"She's good at fighting those things, I'll give her that. But she's way too reckless." Mifune said to him.
Tuxedo Kamen kept smiling. "She'd never let anyone get hurt though, no matter how destructive she gets."
Mifune let out another huff. "You know the tuxedo is bad enough, but you're really making it hard for me to take you seriously, with your fan-girl attitude."
Tuxedo Kamen suddenly grabbed Mifune and leaped straight up and into the trees around the shrine. Some forty feet off the ground, a startled Mifune stared at Tuxedo Kamen in disbelief, before she saw what had caused him to move so swiftly.
"I thought I heard something." Rei said, before she looked up towards the trees where Tuxedo Kamen and Mifune had vanished. Seeing nothing, she turned and walked over to the shop; its doors had been closed and locked again.
"The Miko…? Mifune stopped when Tuxedo Kamen raised his hand. The Miko checked the shop, and then walked around to its front. Another person appeared, walking around the corner from the far side of the shack.
"Jadeite…" Tuxedo Kamen whispered.
Rei smiled, "Was there any trouble?"
"No," Jadeite said. "You've been doing well for yourself with the charms. Soon we should have enough energy for the next phase."
Rei laughed. "That idiot Yuuichirou doesn't even know the difference."
"It wasn't just mine; Nephrite was the one who helped me formulate it. Pretty soon, the Sailor Senshi will figure out what's up. So one more run ought to be enough, how many charms did you sell today?"
"Business is down because of the disappearances and the buses being rerouted. I was only able to get eighty or so out," Rei replied.
Jadeite nodded. "Sell what you can; Kigaan, Murid, and Ramua will have extra buses ready. We're going to close up shop after this and move on to the next plan."
"Yes Jadeite," Rei bowed to Jadeite, and in an instant he was gone. She let out a small laugh and began walking towards her house. As she stepped inside, Tuxedo Kamen nodded to Mifune.
"Jadeite, he's the guy who's summoning the youma, the man from the radio station, and at Cinderella Caravan." Mifune asked.
"Yes." This greatly troubled Tuxedo Kamen. "The youma's been working here all along, handing out charms and the evil energy that runs through them compels their victims to report to the bus stop to be abducted."
He brought his hand up to his earpiece. "Did you get all of that?"
"Yes." Motoki radioed back. "So in three days, a lot more people are going to vanish."
"I have an idea." Tuxedo Kamen turned to Mifune. "I'm going to need your help."
Mifune pulled out the charm she had swiped. "You need to know when to move, I presume?"
Tuxedo Kamen nodded.
Usagi was sleeping over at Naru's house tonight. Partly because she was in the mood to get past her failure to catch the bus earlier, and partly because her parents and Shingo were wary of having Naru sleep over. No one got any sleep when Naru Osaka visited nowadays. Naru was more than eager to please, and Usagi was feeling much better when her communicator flickered to life, and a hologram image of Ami in pajamas appeared over the night stand.
"Usagi! I think I've made a breakthrough and-" Ami saw what her friends were doing and her eyes bugged out.
Usagi smiled to Ami as Naru–transformed to a cute boy by the disguise pen–waved. Blushing brightly, Ami buried her face in her palm. "You two…"
"Focus, Ami-chan. You're the one who called us. What is it?"
"I was looking for information on the victims of the disappearances, and it led me to one of them. Here, both of you look at this!" Ami pressed a button off-camera, and the hologram switched to CCTV footage a woman shopping for groceries. "This is one of the victims, at exactly 17:45 on the day she vanished, this happened."
Usagi and Naru watched as the woman suddenly dropped her groceries, turned and walked straight out of the store. Usagi spoke. "She just walked out…"
Ami appeared again, nodding. "After I found this, I've been looking all over for more possible sightings of the victims, and I found a lot. All of them dropped whatever they were doing, and headed for the Five Slopes at exactly 17:45."
"It gets better. On the day of the disappearances, nearly all video surveillance equipment in a two hundred meter radius of the bus stop began to malfunction at exactly 17:45, which is why there is no video of the disappearances, just eye-witness accounts!"
Naru snapped his fingers. "Oh! That must be why the disappearances occurred at different times! Wherever the victims were, it took different times for them to get to the stop for the bus to pick them up!"
"Exactly, this means that next time we can intercept the buses!" Ami crossed her arms and smiled. "I really like this detective stuff, Usagi-chan! It's really challenging."
Usagi nodded. "Well, we have a problem this time, don't we? The police have likely figured out the pattern too, and they're going to try to intervene on their own."
"That is what they're going to do." Ami said. "The Tokyo Metro police are going to enact a sting operation on the suspected Mass Kidnappers. All the buses in Minato are going to be driven by undercover officers, and at exactly 17:45, they will stop and track down any bus that is still moving with drones borrowed from the Self-Defense Force."
Usagi nodded. "We'll definitely have to succeed this time."
Naru pumped his fist. "I'm ready to do all that I can!"
"We should work on a plan right away, Usagi-chan." Ami suggested.
Usagi looked to Naru, and then Ami. "I've already got one. But we'll discuss it tomorrow, okay?"
Ami went to cut the connection, when Usagi called over. "Ne Ami-chan don't be too hasty."
"Huh?" Ami blushed when Naru embraced Usagi. "What are you two…?"
"You draw sexy comics, don't you? Would you like some inspiration?" Usagi asked suggestively.
Ami stared at the two, incredulous, but then softened as her blush grew. Bringing up her hand to cough, she spoke in a very small voice. "I'll go get my sketchpad."
Usagi giggled, and Naru whispered in her ear as Ami left the shot. "Ami-chan's a closet pervert, huh?"
"No, she's just a regular pervert like us," Usagi whispered back.
Naru developed a sinister, naughty smile. "… Like us, eh?"
The buzz of a motorcycle interrupted the peace of the neighborhood of Azabu-Juuban, as a high powered sports bike tore up the street after leaving a red light. Weaving through traffic as it went; the bike hit an intersection and smartly swept around the corner, its rider leaning with the turn. Passing narrowly through a yellow light down a busy thoroughfare the motorcycle slowed down and came to a stop light, right next to a bus picking up passengers.
Pulling her sleeve back, the female rider checked her watch, it was 17:35. "The suspense is killing me, you guys."
Atop Tokyo Tower, Sailor Moon looked through a pair of binoculars at one of the Self Defense Force Drones already in the air surveying the bus route. "Biker-chan, take it easy, just ten more minutes and we move."
The light turned green and Naru, disguised as a Pro Motorcycle Racer, took off.
Sailor Mercury was roof-hopping, keeping a close eye on large concentrations of people moving about Roppongi. Luna was with her. "The Police are everywhere. This could go really bad. Dial it back a bit, Biker-chan."
"I know the motorcycle laws, I'll be fine." Naru said as she brought the bike to a stop waited at another light.
They weren't the only ones on the road. It was not unusual to spot expensive cars on the streets of Minato, but the Lamborghini Murciélago that was out on the prowl was turning heads at every stoplight. Sitting in the passenger seat of the expensive car, Motoki was staring at a GPS tracker, while Reika was at the wheel, having misgivings about the plan.
"If I had my say, we'd be using something less conspicuous." She said to Motoki.
"We're driving it because it is conspicuous." Motoki said. "If the police pull us over for anything, we'd just be on a joyride in one of Mamoru's cars."
Motoki checked the time. "17:40, show time starts soon."
He quickly called Tuxedo Kamen, who was waiting with Mifune in a hiding spot near the Hikawa Shrine. "You guys ready?"
"Yes, we're all ready here." Tuxedo Kamen replied. "Don't call back until 17:45, out."
"Roger." Motoki hung up the phone.
Tuxedo Kamen looked at his own watch, and then over to Mifune, who watched the police as they patrolled the Five Slopes stop. "So, what happened?"
"What do you mean?" Mifune asked.
"Why did you suddenly stop?" Tuxedo Kamen clarified. "You were doing an amazing job cracking down on the Yakuza; you turned the entire underworld upside down but then you vanished. Why?"
Mifune shook her head. "It couldn't be helped. Things happened, and I had to stop. I only put together this new outfit because of the mass kidnappings, but I'm retiring again soon as it's over."
Tuxedo Kamen nodded. "So… what happened?"
"A bitch with half her face burnt off played me for a sucker, and found out my identity. She forced me to retire, on pain of being exposed."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Tuxedo Kamen smiled. "You know, I wanted to make you part of my team but you vanished before I could track you down. I'm honored to be working alongside you for this."
If Tuxedo Kamen could see her face, he'd see Mifune smiling. She looked to her watch. "Strange, it's 17:45."
Tuxedo Kamen froze. "What?"
Mifune quickly pulled out the charm, and to their surprise they found it was glowing. "This is too weird."
Tuxedo Kamen looked towards the Shrine, and then checked his phone. It wasn't working all of a sudden, that's why Motoki hadn't called! "Something's going on, let's go!"
Mifune nodded, and both leaped into action.
At the Hikawa Shrine, Rei was sweeping the steps of the now desolate Shrine. There were hardly any visitors today, with the rumor mill driving nearly everyone away over the last three days. Yuuichirou came up the stairs, looking a little forlorn, and she noticed him.
"Sup Rei, are you doing all right?" He asked her.
Rei shook her head, and kept sweeping. A single crow, the small bird from before, swooped down and landed on her head. "I'm used to the Shrine being full of people, and my Grandfather being out and causing trouble this time a day. Not that I condone it, or anything."
She looked up at the crow on her head. "You're the only guys who're sticking around."
"Hey, don't forget about me!" Yuuichirou said indignantly. He reached up and ran scratched his scalp through his wild hair. "I mean, I may not be much, but I believe in you and your Grandpa. There's no way all this mess is your fault."
Rei blushed at his encouragement and then looked up at the Shrine. "Thank you, Yuu-kun. Actually, I've wanted to do a fire reading, just to be sure that the evil isn't here. Would you like to help me with it?"
Yuuichirou blinked. "Wow, you want my help?"
Rei nodded. "If you want to, I'm only asking because you know, Grandpa's usually too tired around this time of day and I trust you and stuff." She then quickly waved, her face growing redder. "Don't get the wrong idea, now! I mean… yeah…"
Laughing, Yuuichirou patted Rei on the shoulder, making her jump and her blush brighten. "I'll help you, just tell me what I have to do, okay?"
At that Rei sagged in relief, and smiled. "Thank you. Now what we have to do first is…"
The evil presence suddenly appeared, and it was headed straight for them at a high rate of speed. Surprised, Rei quickly shoved Yuuichirou back and drew several ofuda. "Get back! It's here, the evil presence!"
She hurled them towards the trees. "Evil spirits begone!"
The charms were neatly sliced apart in mid-flight, and Rei barely avoided the projectile that did it, a single red rose. "What the…?"
She looked up into the trees, and her eyes widened when she found Tuxedo Kamen and Mifune staring down at her.
Through her binoculars, Sailor Moon scanned the crowds below Tokyo Tower, looking for anything unusual. Putting her foot down after pulling over, Naru raised her visor and scanned a crowd of people. Meanwhile, Sailor Mercury was multi-tasking between observing the crowds of Roppongi and spying on Police channels as they began the bus stoppage. At exactly 17:45, a woman carrying shopping bags suddenly dropped them, and Sailor Mercury quickly zeroed in.
"Guys, we have one," she said as the woman walked away from her bags, her eyes glazed. She was walking for a nearby bus stop.
Luna could sense it. "Yes! There is the presence of evil coming from her!"
Jumping onto her shoulder, Luna held on tight as Sailor Mercury took off in pursuit.
"I'm on my way," Naru said before she a bus suddenly passed her. "Scratch that, I just spotted a bus in motion!"
Revving up her bike, Naru pulled a burnout as she turned around and shot after the bus.
At Tokyo Tower, Usagi spotted several women converge from different directions, and begin walking towards a fairly isolated bus stop several blocks away. "Guys, I've done you one better."
She looked ahead, and saw more women gathering at the stop. "I found its stop!"
Setting the binoculars down, she crouched and jumped into a ballistic arc for the bus stop.
"Tuxedo Kamen, but why is he here?" There was no doubt about it to Rei's senses; the evil presence was coming off him. She looked to Mifune, who was cracking her knuckles. The evil presence was coming from them both. "Who is that…?"
Yuuichirou got up. "Tuxedo Kamen in broad daylight, I don't know who the chick is, though."
She let out a cry and jumped back as Mifune leaped from the branches and dove for her to deliver a punch. It missed, but the blow shattered the step that she had been standing on. Behind her, Tuxedo Kamen called out. "Wait! Don't be too hasty!"
"What are you doing?" Rei cried out as she scrambled back from Mifune. Quickly, Yuuichirou got in her way.
"Run for it!" he called to her as Mifune quickly advanced. "You're going to have to go through me to get to her, buddy!"
Mifune shoved him aside with little effort and ran up after her. Further up the stairs, Rei saw this and ran faster, the little crow clinging to her head. "Help me! Help me! Weird people in costumes are chasing me! Help! Everybody! Help me!"
Tuxedo Kamen joined Mifune and as they reached the top of the stairs, mere paces behind Rei, they began to hear it, the caws of hundreds, upon hundreds of very angry crows. Their black bodies and spread wings blocked out the sun overhead.
"Reika, the Police Scanner!" Motoki said quickly as Reika rounded the same corner for the fourth time in their patrol. "They said an unknown bus is rolling!"
"About time, where is it?" Reika asked. She was worried that Tuxedo Kamen hadn't called them or answered his phone.
"It's heading up the street at the next light up ahead. Make a left." Soon as Motoki said that, a bus barreled past, pursued by Naru on her Motorcycle, and then a police cruiser in pursuit. "…Follow them."
"All right, time to cut loose." Triggering the super car's launch control system, Reika revved the Lamborghini up and then shot from the light, rounding the corner and catching up with the high speed chase very fast.
Naru spied the Lamborghini behind her and looked ahead to the speeding bus in front. "Sailor Moon, I got the bus, and a car pursuing it!"
Still in mid-fall, Sailor Moon spied the bus in question. "I see it! Fall back to a safe spot!"
Naru nodded and then turned right, diving into a narrow alley and losing the cop. Seeing the motorcyclist ditch, the police car sped up and pursued the rogue bus. Behind them, Motoki caught a glimpse of the motorcyclist.
"Hey! Who was the chick on the bike?" Motoki said in the instant they passed.
"Focus, Motoki!" Reika said as she saw the bus making a turn. Beyond it, they saw flashing lights coming up the road, police zeroing in on the rogue transport. "It's too hot. We have to break."
Slowing down, Reika also turned, down a street parallel to the bus.
Followed by Phobos and Deimos, Rei closed and locked the doors leading to the fiercely burning Sacred Fire. Dark forces were running rampant, and they were targeting her! She had no time, she needed to find the source of the evil and sever it before it was too late! Falling to her knees in front of the fire as Rei began praying.
"What is the source of this darkness? Show me what has brought evil to this place!" Rei heard the barricaded doors shake from a heavy impact. "Show me!"
The doors shattered as the fire obeyed her, and Tuxedo Kamen and Mifune quickly entered after having successfully struggled their way through the murder. Tuxedo Kamen spotted her first as she turned to face them in fright, with Mifune quickly lunging for her on sight.
"There's no escaping now!" Mifune declared, before Tuxedo Kamen stopped her. "What?"
Rei quickly rose and turned to face the two, a look of disbelief on her face. "It can't be."
Mifune looked to Tuxedo Kamen, who then produced a rose. "What, what's going on?"
Tuxedo Kamen was staring at Rei's white haori, where he could see a transformation pen sticking from it with the symbol of Mars at the end. She's not a youma…
In their moment of hesitation, Rei struck, quickly drawing several ofuda. "Don't take a step closer! Evil Spirits begone!"
Mifune quickly jumped clear to avoid them, only to see all three tags sail narrowly between them and reach their intended target. Tuxedo Kamen and Mifune both looked back, and saw Yuuichirou standing in the smashed doorway, holding one of the rigid ofuda between his fingers as the others burned away at his feet.
Rei gasped, as Phobos and Deimos began cawing angrily at him. "Yuu-kun… you… you're the source of the evil here!"
"He is?" Mifune asked, before Yuuichirou burned away the last ofuda and rested his hand against his face. Letting out a laugh, he pushed his messy bangs up above his eyes, revealing not the brown Rei was used to seeing, but an icy blue.
"I'm afraid the secret's out… and after all the trouble I'd gone through to throw you off." He said, before he ripped away the disguise, revealing none other than Jadeite. "No matter, I've already got what I wanted out of it."
"What are you talking about?" Mifune demanded.
Tuxedo Kamen realized it immediately. "They knew we were spying on them, so they put on an act to set up the Miko as the youma."
Tuxedo Kamen quickly went for his cane as Mifune assumed a fighting stance. He looked to her. "Protect the girl! This guy is out of your league!"
Mifune looked from Jadeite to Rei, and then stood back. As she did, Tuxedo Kamen attacked Jadeite head on with the cane, thrusting it for his chest and striking his raised palm.
Staring back at the well-dressed crusader, Jadeite spoke. "I was hoping that in your zeal you'd kill the Miko, believing she was the youma. But killing you all myself is fine too!"
"We'll see about that." Tuxedo Kamen replied and he attacked much faster, this time forcing Jadeite to defend with a barrier. The force of the blow pushed Jadeite into the wall opposite of the doorway leading to the Sacred Fire.
"Huh… you're strong…" A surprised Jadeite growled.
As they struggled, Mifune looked back at the terrified Rei. "Wait, who was the girl from the other night?"
Rei looked to her, before she noticed water seeping up between the wooden planks on the floor. Tuxedo Kamen noticed the water too, but it was too late before a massive geyser of Thetis's water completely demolished the room, and part of the Shrine itself.
Sailor Mercury, with Luna on her shoulder, landed atop a tower overlooking the bus stop where the group of women was waiting. "There!"
"Get there, quickly!" Luna said before Sailor Moon crashed down onto the street below, right in front of the oncoming bus. Behind her, Naru narrowly avoided several police cars and skidded to a halt as she watched the drama unfold. Reika and Motoki pulled up a little further up the street, and immediately stopped when they saw Sailor Moon.
"Oh God, this isn't good." Motoki said when he saw Sailor Moon.
Reika looked at the spiraling situation, the police, the bystanders, the street lined with buildings. "This is no place for her to throw down here."
Facing the bus as Sailor Mercury and Luna joined her, Sailor Moon narrowed her eyes at the driver of the bus. "Ready, Mercury?"
"Yes!" Sailor Mercury replied as the bus sped up. "Let's catch us a bus!"
Behind the wheel, Kigaan grinned and slammed the pedal to the floor, ignoring the police cars attempting to block her off and barreling straight for the Sailor Senshi. "All aboard, bitches!"
The bus crashed into Sailor Moon, who carved two trenches into the street with her boots as she stopped it with both hands. Its tires squealing in vain, the bus struggled against the titanic strength of the Sailor Senshi, who looked up and grinned at the driver.
"Yo, youma, the best you can think is to run me over with a bus?" She asked Kigaan as Ami prepared to attack.
Kigaan was still smiling herself. "I think I can do much better."
At that moment, the ground disappeared from beneath her and Sailor Mercury. To their shock, and those of the onlookers, the same black hole that the buses had disappeared into before swallowed the Senshi, their cat, and the entire bus itself. Climbing off her motorcycle, Naru stared in disbelief.
"Impossible!" she cried out as the black hole then vanished, leaving only the gouges made by Sailor Moon's boots.
"W-where'd they go?" Motoki asked Reika, who shook her head.
Lying outside of the Shrine after having been washed out by the deluge, Mifune slowly got up and shook her head. She quickly spotted Rei lying on the ground next to Tuxedo Kamen, and then turned to find Jadeite floating just above the ground, joined by Thetis, whose Rei disguise melted away as she laughed. Shaking her head, Mifune rose to her feet and faced the two. The water had ripped her hood off and tore away part of her mask, revealing her eyes and forehead.
"Who on Earth is that?" Thetis asked of Mifune.
"She's ineffectual, just a human in a costume. Ship her off to Kigaan and the others." Jadeite ordered.
Mifune snorted. "I'll show you ineffectual!"
She charged both and then suddenly felt weightless as Thetis obeyed Jadeite's command and opened a black hole that began to suck her in. "Wait, what the Hell?!"
Mifune's scream as she was drawn into the black hole awoke Rei. She looked over to Jadeite and Thetis, and her eyes widened in fear. "They're y-youma…"
Thetis looked at Rei. "Shall I ship her off too?"
"No, I'll deal with them. Go assist Kigaan," Jadeite said.
Thetis nodded, and vanished into thin air. Turning his attention to Rei and Tuxedo Kamen, he approached them "Your ability to sense evil and your meddling in general is too dangerous."
He raised his hand, and a ball of energy formed in it, before Deimos and Phobos suddenly attacked him. "Damn it!"
Then suddenly, crows were everywhere, cawing, pecking, and clawing at Jadeite in an effort to protect Rei. Seeing this, Rei quickly pushed herself up.
"No! Don't attack, he's dangerous!" she cried out.
The murder didn't listen, and continued their attack, surrounding Jadeite as more birds joined in. Rei was on her feet. This could only end badly. "You have to stop! Get away from him!"
"Get off me you filthy vermin!" Jadeite roared, and suddenly the crows were sent flying in every direction, blasted away by a burst of energy. Horrified, Rei could only watch as the birds fell to the ground around her.
As the birds fell away or fled in fear, Jadeite lowered his arms and grimaced. "Filthy rat-birds…"
He then turned to face Rei. "You should be thankful I was so merciful to them. These vermin got off easy compared to what I'm going to do to you. You're far too dangerous to live."
Jadeite paused, and his eyes widened when he saw something glowing brightly on Rei's forehead. He stared at it. "What… is that…?"
The glow faded just enough for Jadeite to make out the symbol of Mars, and he froze in terror. "No."
The pocket dimension that Sailor Moon and Mercury fell into was a strange one, a dark blue void lit by strange green crystals that floated throughout it. The other buses were also present plus two more, all floating peacefully through the darkness like suspended balloons. Both Senshi landed safely on one of the crystals, and looked around the pocket dimension.
"Oh look, the worst place they could've possibly taken us." Sailor Moon said to Sailor Mercury and Luna.
"To us or them?" Ami asked before she looked up. "Bus!"
Kigaan's bus smashed into the crystal they had been perched upon, smashing it to pieces and blowing the bus apart. Falling through the void, Sailor Moon and Mercury landed on what felt like solid ground, as Kigaan landed in front of them. Quickly abandoning her disguise, the youma laughed before pointing to the two.
"I've been waiting to see you two! After hearing all the shit you've pulled, my blood's been boiling for a fight!" Kigaan declared.
Sailor Moon let out a brief laugh. "Funny, the last time we met a youma eager for a fight, she pissed herself and ran away!"
"Fuck you, Sailor Moon! You're not getting out of this one alive!" Ramua suddenly called out from atop one of the full buses.
"Indeed," Thetis said as she and Murid appeared on the other buses.
Sailor Moon folded her arms. "This is your plan? Fight us no holds barred and try to overwhelm us with numbers?"
"Not so!" Thetis replied smugly. "You see, your only opponent is Kigaan here. We're just here to watch the beat down, because frankly you're too strong for us!"
Sailor Moon raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I'm flattered, thank you. Since I'm going to be killing you all soon, how about telling me what your big grand scheme was?"
It was Thetis's turn to laugh. "Cute. If you must know, the plan was never about collecting energy at all. This was all an elaborate trap to lure you in for this fight."
"You went through all of that to lure me to a fight? Why not just issue me a challenge? I would've accepted."
"There's no doubt that you would. But you see, we had to achieve a few objectives to make this all come together, and the abductions were one of them, just not the key one. You see our other objective was to separate you from Tuxedo Kamen, who was having trouble with Jadeite last I saw."
Sailor Moon's smirk disappeared and she immediately got serious. There was no guarantee she was telling the truth, but there was no proof she was lying, either. Sailor Mercury and Luna also tensed.
Thetis nodded. "I struck a chord, didn't I? The key objective was to bring you here, for Kigaan to fight to her heart's content. She's actually fairly weak for a youma on her own, even weaker than Morga, but she is a magnificently skilled hand to hand combatant."
"That doesn't help you," Sailor Moon pointed out.
"Ah, that doesn't but this does. Meet Murid." Thetis gestured to Murid, who held up her apple. "She's best at illusions, but she's skilled transferring and absorbing very large amounts of energy into the apple you see there. Like the combined energies of three hundred people that she's giving to Kigaan right now."
Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury stared as a ray of energy shot from Murid and into Kigaan. The emaciated, jaundiced youma suddenly began to change: her almost skeletal arms began to swell with muscles, her skin grew livelier, turning from a greenish brown to a gleaming bronze, and her ghoulish face became youthful and vibrant, beautiful even.
Her long red hair waving behind her, Kigaan let out a laugh and flicked a few strands from her face. Her voice, once scratchy, was now smooth and sinister. "Ha… Sailor Senshi, are you ready for a real fight?"
Sailor Moon's kick was already homing in on the side of her head, while one from Sailor Mercury was closing in on her side.
A large explosion soon followed, and the other three youma cheered as Sailor Moon went into one of the crystals while Sailor Mercury tumbled along the ground before coming to a stop next to Luna.
"Mercury, are you all right?" Luna asked as Sailor Mercury got up.
Sailor Mercury looked back at Kigaan, who gestured for her to come and then nodded. "Yes."
Disappearing, Sailor Mercury came to a sudden stop in front of where Kigaan had just stood; the blow she slammed into the youma had sent her flying. A mile away, a crystal split in half, and another behind it exploded from the force of Kigaan hitting it. Sailor Mercury disappeared again, her rapid approach barely visible before she delivered another hit that completely destroyed the crystal.
"Oh!" Thetis held a hand up to where her mouth would be, and then laughed as the smoke cleared to reveal Kigaan blocking the axe kick that Mercury had slammed down on her.
Sailor Mercury kicked off Kigaan's arm, but was caught in midair with a punch to the gut. Sailor Mercury barely had a chance to cough from the hit before Kigaan struck her with a one-two combo before following it up with an uppercut that launched her high into the air.
As Sailor Mercury went flying, Sailor Moon came down on Kigaan, swinging a swift kick down on the youma that was quickly evaded. Undeterred, she pressed her attack, springing after the super-charged youma and striking with kicks that were quickly dodged or parried, and punches that were blocked or evaded with simple movements of the head.
Luna grew tense as she watched Sailor Moon barely keep up with Kigaan. "This isn't good… Sailor Moon's not skilled enough for this opponent."
Sailor Mercury landed on another crystal. Shaking the cobwebs out of her head, she stared in shock when Kigaan blocked one of Usagi's strikes and then elbowed her in the face. When Sailor Moon's head snapped back from the strike, Kigaan grabbed her by her twin tails, and began to swing her around like a throwing hammer.
"You're fast and strong, but you completely lack finesse!" Kigaan yelled as she threw Sailor Moon, sending her hurtling towards Thetis. Laughing, Thetis summoned a blast of water that smashed Sailor Moon into the ground far below.
As Kigaan dusted off her hands, she saw Sailor Moon's tiara lying on the ground, and stepped back in surprise. Laid out on her back where she fell, Sailor Moon grinned.
"… Action!"
The Tiara suddenly shot off the ground, homing in on Kigaan's neck like a flying guillotine. Kigaan leaned back, the tiara barely clearing her face before it whipped around to come for the return pass. Narrowly, Kigaan evaded the weapon, and it came around once again, homing in on her at Sailor Moon's will.
"Mercury Sabão Spray!" Sailor Mercury's bubbles quickly descended on the battlefield, obscuring Kigaan's view. The tiara cut into the mist, and by the time Kigaan turned to face it, it was much too late. The blade sliced her head clean off.
Sailor Moon stood up as the mist cleared, and shook her head as the youma turned to dust. "How's that for finesse, bitch?"
"Sailor Moon, look behind you!" Luna yelled.
Sailor Moon just started to look back, when Kigaan's fist plowed into her jaw, sending her tumbling across the barren ground of the pocket dimension until she struck another crystal with explosive force.
Sailor Mercury stared in disbelief. "But the tiara it…!"
She then looked up at the buses, and then immediately towards Murid. Thetis had said that she was an expert at illusions! "She created the illusion of the tiara hitting Kigaan to buy her an opening…"
These youma were a lot more dangerous now that they were organized. "Luna! We're at a disadvantage here!"
"You think?!" Luna snapped back before Kigaan came down on Sailor Mercury, punching her through the floating crystal she had been standing upon and sending her crashing into the ground.
"Hey!" Kigaan yelled to Murid and Thetis. "Knock it off with the assisting!"
"We're sorry Kigaan~!" All three of her comrades sang back.
Sailor Mercury sprang back up to her feet, and gritted her teeth. She was getting banged up, but so far she'd yet to be badly injured. She looked over to Sailor Moon, who was sitting up and expressing her frustration at her inability to hit this particular youma.
She looked over to Mercury. "If we could hit this bitch, we'd win!"
"We need to attack two on one, then. Together we should be able to do it," Sailor Mercury replied as Kigaan attacked again.
Sailor Moon immediately performed a spin-kick that Kigaan blocked. Before the youma could retaliate however, Mercury hooked her arms under her shoulders and held her in place. "Free hits!"
"What the-!" A crippling blow to the stomach cut Kigaan off, followed by another and another as Sailor Moon began delivering full power hooks into Kigaan's body. Mercury could feel each blow through Kigaan's back and travel through her own body.
Jumping back for room, Sailor Moon leaped, and drove a flying kick square into Kigaan's chest and sending her through Mercury, who exploded into a shower of light. Landing, Sailor Moon kicked off with all her might, dashing underneath the airborne youma and coming to a stop under one of the crystals as Mercury reappeared under it ready to spring off.
Their gazes meeting in an instant, both Senshi threw themselves at each other with a flying kick.
"DOUBLE!" Sailor Mercury yelled.
"RAIDER!" Sailor Moon shouted after.
"KICK!" They both screamed as their kicks met Kigaan at the exact same moment, twisting and warping the powerful youma and sending her spinning as they passed.
Sailor Mercury landed, with Sailor Moon landing next to her a moment later. Kigaan hit the ground in a twisted heap, as both prepared to attack again. Kigaan laughed. "Well, you hit me. But it's not quite hard enough."
Bones cracking and popping as they reset themselves, Kigaan got up and thrust her chest out in defiance. "We can do this all day if you like! I've got energy to burn!"
Sailor Mercury looked to Sailor Moon, and then back to their opponent. "We need a plan; we're not doing enough damage. I'm not sure how long we can fight a battle of attrition."
Sailor Moon nodded. "Okay, time to finish this before… huh?"
Kigaan pointed her right hand at the two Senshi. Sailor Moon's eyes went wide. "Oh fuck."
Luna watched, in fright, as Kigaan fired a massive energy blast at both Senshi that raced across the pocket dimension and off into infinity.
Back outside, Jadeite took a frightened step back from Rei, as the furious miko began walking towards him. Tears were pouring down her face, and her hair was rising upward just slightly, as the symbol of Mars burned on her forehead. Just seeing the injured crows and hearing their cries of pain only made her angrier.
"You… you played with my heart… you pretended to be my friend…" Rei said angrily. "But worse, you hurt my crows, my best friends! I won't forgive you for this!"
Jadeite quickly summoned a blade to his hand and lunged for Rei. "I can't let you live!"
Rei's eyes widened as she watched the blade plunge for her heart. Tuxedo Kamen, however, struck at the last instant and blocked the sword with his cane.
Thetis, watching Kigaan's beam fade, let out a laugh when she saw there was nothing left of the Senshi after the powerful blast. Ramua let out a whistle, while Murid called out a "Bravo" to their champion. Kigaan herself, however, was not in a victorious mood. Someone had intervened at the last moment, tackling both Senshi out of the way.
"You made a big mistake interfering, stranger," she said to Mifune, as she lay atop both Moon and Mercury.
"Wow, nice save." Sailor Moon said to the costumed vigilante.
Mifune stood. "I can't watch this anymore, you two are attacking all wrong. Stop with that flashy shit and just get in close!"
Luna's tail rose when she looked at Mifune. "Hold on…"
Kigaan was suddenly behind Mifune, her arm already a blur as she prepared to strike her down. Mifune then strong-armed the blow, the force of the strike blowing her cape back. Unaffected by the strike, Mifune let out a yell and drove a palm thrust into Kigaan's stomach, launching her like a rocket away from her and the Senshi.
Ramua couldn't believe it. "Who the Hell is that chick?"
Thetis had a bad feeling about this. "I don't know…"
"Holy shit…" Sailor Moon said as she got up. When Mifune turned to face her, her amazement turned into a big grin. "Holy shit!"
Sailor Mercury stared as well. "N-No way…"
Luna ran up to the girls, and then stopped. "I don't believe it!"
Mifune stared at all three. Wait, did that cat just talk? "What? What is it? Is there something on my face?"
All three nodded, as the Symbol of Jupiter shone brightly on Mifune's forehead.
"Listen to me, Miko!" Tuxedo Kamen ordered as he held Jadeite back with his cane, blocking another wild and powerful sword strike. "That gold pen you have!"
In the Pocket Dimension, Luna jumped and flipped, a sparkling light appearing in her trail and transforming to a green transformation pen that quickly went to Mifune's hand. Catching it, Mifune stared at it in surprise. "What is it?"
"Hurry, hold it into the air…" Luna and Tuxedo Kamen instructed.
"… And call out Mars Power, Make Up!" Tuxedo Kamen said as he blocked another strike from Jadeite.
"… And call out Jupiter Power, Make Up!" Luna instructed as Kigaan rose to her feet again, coughing from the hit.
Mifune and Rei both looked at their pens, and their respective opponents, and did not hesitate for an instant. Their pens went into the air.
"Mars Power, Make Up!"
"Jupiter Power, Make Up!"
Jadeite froze in fear, as an intense heat washed over him. In the Dimensional Pocket, Thetis, Ramua, and Murid recoiled in horror as lightning struck from the sky and wrapped around Mifune, vaporizing her costume. Rings of Electricity surrounded her entire body, like the rings of the atom symbol, before they flashed away, revealing in all her glory, the tall, busty, and bushy pony-tailed Sailor Jupiter.
An immense blaze erupted from Rei's pen, burning away her hakama and haori in an instant and leaving numerous rings of fire that surrounded her from her head to her toes. In a burst of light they were gone, leaving the positively gorgeous Sailor Mars, looking like the wrath of the God of War himself as she stared at a petrified Jadeite.
"A-another one…?" Ramua squeaked. "No… not another one! Where do they keep coming from?! It's not fucking fair!"
Staring down Sailor Jupiter, Kigaan looked up at Thetis for guidance. Thetis quickly nodded. "Get her before she can come into her powers! Go!"
Sailor Jupiter stared down at her gloved hands, and then at Sailor Moon and Mercury, before she closed her hands into fists. She smiled as electricity crackled across her body. "As I was saying…"
Kigaan had gotten in close, and was swinging a kick for Jupiter's back. Sailor Jupiter ducked, and raised her leg, catching Kigaan's leg and knocking it away, As Kigaan gave a start at the move, Sailor Jupiter's other leg came up and smashed her across the face with a crescent kick. It hurt, harder than any hit Sailor Moon had delivered.
"What… the… fuck…?" Kigaan looked to see Sailor Jupiter coming and quickly leaned back, expecting her punch to miss her face by inches. It plowed into her mouth head on. Sailor Jupiter was then upon her, catching her with precision punches and kicks that caught her before she could evade or outright smashed through her attempts at defending.
Punches, chops, palm-thrusts, and finger jabs struck across Kigaan's body, each blow unleashing a burst of electricity through the youma's body, stunning her while just adding to the damage. Finally, Sailor Jupiter grabbed Kigaan's head and kneed her hard in the face. An antenna rose from the Senshi of Jupiter's tiara.
"Don't waste your time with flashy moves! Just hit vitals as hard as you can, and as fast as you can and never stop!" Sailor Jupiter instructed as she threw Kigaan high into the air. "Only when they're weak do you finish them off with something flashy!"
Lightning erupted from the antenna, shooting into the void above Kigaan and causing the other youma to shield their eyes. Raising a finger to the sky, Sailor Jupiter let out a booming yell.
"BREAK!"
Ramua, Murid, and Thetis could only watch helplessly, as a massive beam of electrical energy came down from the heavens, completely incinerating Kigaan instantly. Arms akimbo, Sailor Jupiter nodded. "And that's the lesson for today."
"Let's… let's get out of here." Thetis said in shock as bolts of electricity crackled in the air around them.
Jadeite was quickly knocked back by Tuxedo Kamen once more. That man was stronger than his ridiculous look let on. But worse, Sailor Mars was now awake. He needed to get out of here, quickly, but before he could try, several ofuda stuck to his body, freezing him in place.
"I can't… move…!" His energy had been neutralized.
"Youma, I will not forgive you for what you've done!" a tearful Rei yelled out as she put her hands together, pinky, ring, and middle fingers interlaced while the index and thumb were pointed out.
"Mars… Fire… SOUL!"
Jadeite's eyes widened as the wall of fire Rei unleashed raced to and consumed him. The ofuda tags across his body also ignited, unleashing a purifying flame that became hotter than anything he could imagine. His clothes were incinerated in seconds, and then his skin began to follow. Consumed by the fire, Jadeite let out a piercing, horrified scream.
Tuxedo Kamen, hearing Jadeite's scream, froze. "… J-Jadeite…"
Then, in an instant the fire burned away, leaving nothing but the remains of the white-hot burning ofuda. Panting, Sailor Mars stared at the scorched, glassy concrete where he once stood, and then quickly turned to look around for the crows. "Oh no, you guys…!"
She then stopped, when she saw all of her crows gathered around her, seemingly unhurt and staring up at her curiously. "Huh? You're all… okay?"
The crows began to caw, flapping their wings and hopping up and down. Tuxedo Kamen looked from the birds to Sailor Mars, and folded his arms. "Maybe they knew you were Sailor Mars, and faked it to make you angry enough to awaken your power?"
Sailor Mars quickly held her arms out for Phobos and Deimos, who landed on her left hand and right shoulder respectively. "Wait, how did you know I was… wait, I'm Sailor Mars? As in, Sailor Moon Sailor Mars, I'm a Sailor Senshi?!"
"What else would you be in that cute fuku?" Tuxedo Kamen asked.
Sailor Mars looked down, especially at the really short skirt she was now wearing, and let out a squeak of embarrassment as she tried to tug it down lower. Tuxedo Kamen tried not to smile at her cute reaction. "I saw your transformation pen. Whoever gave it to you must've figured it out too."
Sailor Mars immediately remembered that feral delinquent girl, Usagi. "No way…"
A ray of light appeared in the sky over the Five Slopes stop, and Tuxedo Kamen did smile. He had a feeling he knew what it was. "Well, come on, let's go meet them."
The police and press on the scene at the Five Slopes could only stare in wonder. Emerging from a black hole, one bus after another emerged, their passengers all in good health despite their ordeal. Sailor Jupiter was behind the wheel of the lead bus, towing the others behind it. On the roof of the lead bus, Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, and Luna greeted the crowd.
"Look, there are three of them now, a green one!" a spectator called out as Naru, sans disguise, emerged from the crowd to see the victorious arrival.
"A green one?" Naru asked before she caught sight of Jupiter as she stepped off the parked bus. "Oh wow."
Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury hopped off the roof of the bus, and joined Sailor Jupiter, who smiled nervously to them. Sailor Moon patted Jupiter on the shoulder. "You did great out there, stranger! We're definitely going to need someone like you in the future."
"Uh… thanks…" Sailor Jupiter replied as she caught sight of cameras. "…No one can recognize us, can they? I feel exposed."
She tugged at her ridiculously short skirt in a vain attempt to make it go lower. "… Really exposed."
Sailor Mercury reassured her. "It's fine. Unless you reveal your identity or get caught transforming, no one will be able to make the connection between you and your civilian appearance."
Sailor Jupiter looked down at the skirt. "Is it because no one would think my civilian form would be caught dead fighting crime in a miniskirt that doesn't completely cover my ass?"
"Yeah, it's pretty much that," Sailor Moon said.
Sailor Mercury shook her head. "It's actually very powerful magic. Your identity is safe, so enjoy your moment in the spotlight."
At Mercury's assuring smile, Jupiter smiled herself and waved to the crowd of people. "We're not going to stick around for autographs are we?" She turned back and found that both Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury were gone, having leaped up to a nearby roof. "Hey, wait for me!"
On the sidelines, Naru wiped the line of drool from her mouth as she watched Jupiter go. "Just. Wow."
On the roof, Usagi stopped and then smiled when she found Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Mars waiting for them. "So, you guys made it out okay too. That's good to know."
Sailor Mars looked at the group and flushed adorably, in Sailor Moon's opinion. "Um, hello… I'm Sailor Mars, but you probably knew that before I even did."
"Certainly did, you were a dead give away," Sailor Moon said. Something probably broke, but no one could hear over the cacophony on the street below. "Now that we're all together, we can form a stronger front against the enemy."
"I agree, but I think I killed that Jadeite guy," Mars revealed.
Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury stared at her in surprise. "Wait, you did what?"
"She burned him alive where he stood." Tuxedo Kamen said. "I was there, it was pretty bitchin'."
"Wait… you incinerated one of the Generals?" Luna asked.
"Well, he attacked my crows! I mean, sure they were faking it and stuff to make me unload on him, but he was asking for it so I torched his ass!"
Sailor Moon stared at Mars, who flushed deeper under her scrutiny. "Oh my God… you are just adorable."
"Huh?" And then Mars was grabbed in a hug, Sailor Moon nuzzling the side of her head affectionately as she squeezed her. "Eek! Personal space! Personal space!"
"Ah, you're so warm and cuddly!" Sailor Moon cooed as Mercury and Jupiter watched with exasperation. Tuxedo Kamen quietly noted that it was quite… hot.
"Focus, Sailor Moon! If Jadeite is dead, that means another General is going to take his place!" Luna advised.
Sailor Jupiter hummed. "Let's just hope they don't decide to just wipe out the entire city to get us."
"I agree," Sailor Mercury said.
"Nah, that'd waste far too much of their energy. I think I've got these guys pegged, at least for the moment." Sailor Moon assured them as Mars kept struggling to get free. "After all, the only energy they were willing to expend on us so far was energy taken from the people they kidnapped for this fiasco."
Sailor Mars finally just sighed and just let Sailor Moon continue to cuddle her. It was kind of nice, she admitted to herself.
"Well I guess we can discuss this more later. But we really should vacate the area," Luna suggested.
"Right." Sailor Moon turned to Tuxedo Kamen. "Care to hook up with us later, sexy?"
He was gone, to no one's surprise. Usagi let out a laugh then said. "Holy shit, he really is Batman."
Jupiter, looking among the other Senshi, frowned, and then turned away from the group. The other three noticed this, and Sailor Mercury called after her. "Sailor Jupiter, what's wrong?"
"Uh… it's nothing. I just have to get going."
"Right, meet us at the Hikawa Shrine tomorrow afternoon, but in your civilian attire next time, we'll all be there. Knock on the door of the house and we'll let you in"
"Wait, why my house?" Mars asked.
"Because your place is the most accessible, is the least conspicuous, and your bed was really comfy." Sailor Moon replied, and Mars' face bloomed into blush again. This once again got her affectionately nuzzled. "Ah! You're so cute when you're blushing like that!"
Jupiter grew visibly uneasy, but smiled and nodded. "Uh, sure… I'll meet you all there."
Walking to the edge of the roof, Jupiter gave a final look back to her fellow Senshi, before she leaped off into the growing shadows of the city.
As she left, Luna looked over to Sailor Moon with her own uneasiness about her. "She's not going to be there tomorrow, is she?"
Mars and Mercury looked over to Sailor Moon, who shook her head.
"No. She isn't."
Rei: Ah… hello I'm Rei, the new Sailor Senshi…
Makoto: And I'm Makoto, but you already know me.
Rei: Um… I'm so nervous…
Makoto: Sheesh, Look, despite the dangers involved with youma and the occasional hijacking, Public Transportation is actually one of the safest, efficient, and environmentally friendliest forms of transportation out there. More people riding buses, trains, and other forms of mass transit means fewer cars on the road, and fewer accidents and harmful emissions.
Rei: Oh, absolutely. It's not just us who need clean air, think of all the crows!
Usagi: Yes, so give your car a rest and ride the bus. Who knows, it could become an adventure! Travel with care wherever you may go, that is what Kamen Raider has taught me!
Everyone: Sailor Moon Says!
Usagi: Tee Hee!
