The Prankster Youma

By Kimra

Part Two

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Serena stared at her friends wondering if she could really be all that shocked because she was beginning to suspect all her shock had already been used up for the night. But then again, the words 'it got away' where not something that had ever been said about a Youma in her experience so there had to be a little shock.

There was of course the question as to how the hell a Youma simply 'gets away' but Serena honestly didn't think she had it in her to ask.

The others where shifting nervously, their eyes fixed on the handcuffs as if any kind of plan could be thought off in this situation.

"Well it beats me." Lita stated bluntly looking darkly at the offending objects.

"What?" Serena cried. "No!" She managed only a moment later because none of her friends had offered in those two seconds the escape she needed. "I can't be handcuffed to him!" She cried it out not caring what he thought. Sure he was hot, sure she had a thing for him, but eternity handcuffed to someone just didn't fit into her 'to do' list for this lifetime.

"Well if I was going to be handcuffed to someone forever, I wouldn't mind him." Lita offered with a cheeky smile then a look of embarrassment when she realised she'd spoken it out loud.

Serena managed a stare at her friend for all of two seconds before a grin took it's place. She really did love her friends.

"Your not helping." Raye scolded Lita her arms crossed over her chest. "Have you tried breaking them?" She flexed her fingers thoughtfully a frown directed not at anyone but at the handcuffs themselves. Serena was honestly impressed the metal contraptions didn't wither and die under that stare, she herself had been on the receiving end of that frown enough times to know it's true power.

"Of course." Serena scoffed and jangled her wrist a little. "Their super strong!" She almost sounded proud and Raye rolled her eyes at that.

"Have you tried fire?" Was the next question and before anyone else had registered the question Serena was behind Tuxedo Mask cowering from her friend.

"Your not burning my hand off you Pyro!" She shouted and felt the man before her cringe away from her volume. Lightly she hit him in the back, he was really starting to annoy her and she wasn't that loud.

"Oh come on." Raye teased. "A few burns never hurt anyone!"

Serena squeaked and ducked further behind her cover, wishing her arm didn't have to be twisted in such an odd angle to achieve her safety.

"We're going to draw a crowd." Amy pointed out in a calm voice and everyone stopped to see what she meant.

Already there was a group of people watching the spectacle and from experience they all knew more where on the way. Serena felt flustered, it was fine for her best friends to see her in awkward situations but strangers who otherwise thought her 'Sailor Moon' persona was flawless was embarrassing. She did the only thing she could, she buried her head into the back of the man before her, trying to hide the blush.

"Can we go?" She cried through the black folds of material.

"Ahh…" Lita began sounding dubious. "Where?" The Amazon tested, sounding amused still but quite serious none the less. "Not that I don't like Tux Boy and all, but well… his not coming over to my place."

There was that moment of pause often necessary to register the bluntness of Lita and then debate broke out between the three standing girls. Serena tried to follow, honestly she did, but she was as flabbergasted by the idea as the other girls. They didn't have anywhere that wouldn't identify them because they had never needed somewhere.

"The temple." Raye declared after several minutes.

"Mars." Amy warned and Serena poked her head over her hero's shoulder to see the blue haired girl shaking her head in a negative.

"We have to go somewhere!" Raye motioned to the gathering crowd but Serena decided not to look at them, she couldn't stand another bout of embarrassment. "The temples the safest place. It's quite, concealed and non-distinct."

Amy hesitated and in that time Serena tested her strength by looking at the crowd. Another wave of humiliated embarrassment overcame her, after all it would never happen to anyone but her, and she made up her mind.

"Lets go." She declared and the three girls looked at her for a moment uncertainty clear. "I vote the temple grounds, I'm the leader so let's go!" She pushed harder for the point and surprisingly the others surrendered to it immediately, only Raye looking like she had won some sort of prize seemed happy.

"What temple?" The man Serena suddenly realised she was leaning against asked in a soft voice. All four girls looked to each other a streak of worry in their features.

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In the end they had decided on a spot in the temple grounds, not wanting to alert any of it's residence or visitors of their current predicament. Raye was keeping a constant watch, her eyes jumping at every move but she wasn't willing to admit the worry she felt for discovery.

Amy was staring thoughtfully at the handcuffs with a level of concentration that Serena found alien and all together scary. Lita had lent up against one of the ancient trees arms folded across her chest and was watching the entire thing with an indecipherable expression on her calm features.

Serena found herself forced to stand because the man bound to her was unwilling to relax in the foreign environment.

They where waiting of course, Amy had put the call in straight away and Luna was coming. Personally Serena was anxious for the presence of her guardian, that is once she overcame the fear of a scolding that would insure. But Luna was smart, she could figure out anything and this whole thing would surely blow over once the cat was there. A small part of her mind, the part Serena steadfastly ignored, kept trying to point out that Amy should have been able to fix anything as well.

"Your friends slow." Tuxedo Mask grumbled through the silence and Serena nearly jumped at the intrusion of sound.

"She's got to cross roads you moron!" She snapped in Luna's defence her agitation rising, honestly she had never guessed that so much time in this man's company would annoy her so much. Bitterly she waved goodbye to her crush and settled herself for Andrew, at least he didn't jump from nice to stupid in seconds like all the other men in her life. "She doesn't like roads." Serena mumbled bitterly wishing she could fold her arms over her chest but not going to try that one again.

"I'm here!" Was cried in a breathless voice as Luna bounded into the scene every appearance of having run her fastest to the scene.

A strange noise escaped the man at her side and Serena remembered fleetingly that he hadn't know about her talking cat. A mild realisation that therefore her explanation of roads would have made no sense was pushed aside, because Luna was here and therefore, hopefully, so where the answers.

"Luna!" Serena cried and lunged forwards scooping her cat into her arms- at least that was the plan. She didn't even make it a step, the man attached to her better prepared for her randomness wasn't moving and she found herself flat on the ground and well out of reach of her cat. "Quit that you jerk!" Serena shouted at him, angry that he had ruined her attempt for comfort and she retaliated as any junior high school girl would, she yanked on the arm attached to her own. The logistics of things often escaped Serena, but as the tuxedo clad body followed the forced momentum she came to realise that she was stupid and she was going to be crushed beneath a very heavy, very male body. Realisation was fun and all bit it didn't stop the whole thing from happening much as the laws of physics demanded it did.

So with a heavy 'omf' she found herself squashed against the ground. The air flooded from her lungs and a traitorous part of her demanded that her mind explain why when her mystery man fell against her it didn't lead to some sexually charged romantic scene. Instead she couldn't breath and she was suffering from an acute moment of embarrassment.

"Sorry." She mumbled into the ground over the noise of her friends gapping and laughing. He grunted, pushed himself off her body as carefully as he could and tugged her back so she could sit on the grass besides him.

"Quit doing that." He grumbled, looking suddenly tired. Guilt overcame her, then annoyance that he was making her feel guilty, then guilt because she realised she was being an idiot. Even if he was the rudest man to live he had still saved her life enough times that she should be at least a little tolerant of him.

"Sorry." She mumbled again.

"No you are not Sailor Moon!" Luna's imperial voice snapped and all eyes turned to the little black ball of fur watching the scene with hard yellow eyes. "Never apologise for being yourself." Fierce protectiveness that Luna rarely showed was glinting and a death stare was aimed at the only man in the clearing.

Rebellion would have come out in any other circumstance considering how often Luna lamented her actions but right now, tied to this man and exhaustion slowing taking over she found herself appreciative of her cats forgetfulness.

"What has happened? I assume it has something to do with those handcuffs attached to my charge's wrist?" Luna turned her head to Amy for her answer and the genius still looked puzzled.

"It seems the Youma handcuffed Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask and then ran away. We arrived late and tried to follow it, but by the time we got there it had vanished."

"Vanished?" Luna repeated her eyes dark with puzzlement.

Amy nodded her eyes fixed on her computer as she tried to figure it out.

"What kind of Youma was it Sailor Moon?"

Eye's turned to her at the question and Serena wished to heaven they hadn't put her under the spot light once more. She was really starting to fall asleep.

"Uhh…" She stumbled. "It was big!" She searched for words, after all she'd never tired to explain one of the Youma's before, except when mocking them. "It had streamers and fake guns and stuff. You know- cork guns." She was trying really hard but her brain was trying to shut down with as much effort.

"If I had to describe whatever it was it was based on I would have to guess a joke shop." The man at her side offered thoughtfully and that seemed to be what Luna had been after because the girls began talking.

"A joke shop? What not just one joke but the whole shop?" Lita seemed impressed though no one was really sure why.

"Yes the whole shop. This wasn't the first attack it threw at us, it's just the one that hit." He shook his right wrist at that, the chain joining them rattling and Serena felt like a fool, after all it was her fault, it always was.

"I'm sorry." She whispered to him, hoping Luna wouldn't hear but for all intents and purposes the cat was deep in discussion with the other girls, their attention on anything but the world around them.

He started, his eyes turned to her, his annoyance fading away and a sort of half smile came to life on his features, it was bitter but she liked it anyway. "Don't be, your cat's right. Don't apologise for being yourself."

She was touched, but she wasn't going down without a fight. "But I tripped, and you have to save me and that's why we where so close."

"You where doing your job Sailor Moon, just because your not perfect at it, you still shouldn't be apologising."

"I really-"

"Shouldn't be apologising for trying to protect peoples lives." He shook his head and the tension that had been in his shoulders evaporated. "I'm not making this any easier am I?" He tested, not looking at her.

"You are being a grump." She teased with honesty.

"I'm sorry. I just don't like this situation." He replied honestly.

She let out a yawn trying to follow the conversation between her friends. "Your telling me? I still have school tomorrow and I just know this is going to take forever!" She was trying not to whine, but it was pretty hard considering the predicament.

He didn't reply and she assumed their conversation was over so her attention went straight back to her friends and guardian as they threw ideas back and forth. Conversation rarely included her, or the man by her side so without anything to distract her her head began to lull.

She felt sleep calling her home and as the minutes ticked by she started answer it. Her head fell left and landed on a shoulder but she didn't mind it was comfortable and it wasn't moving so she settled in for the sleep her brain deserved. Admittedly waking up somewhere completely different was the last thing she expected but exactly what she got.