Don't look now, but there's a pair of bunny slippers right behind you! ACK!
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon wa not mine desu.
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Night of the Killer Bunny Slippers
by Jessyca Thornbrook
Chapter 6
"Where are we going?" asked Tuxedo Kamen, catching up to Sailor Moon as she pounded down the pavement.
"Hikawa. . . Shrine," she gasped out, not slowing her pace.
Of course. Hino Rei-chan. Sailor Mars. And the others, Usagi's friends. It all makes sense now.
When she reached the steps leading up to the shrine, Sailor Moon was forced to pause for a moment to catch her breath. Before she could get going again, a strong arm wrapped around her waist and lifted her off the ground. She clutched his jacket as he leapt up the stairs, only touching the ground once.
Instead of taking the main entrance, Tuxedo Kamen hopped over the wall to one side, landing in a place where the trees and bushes screened them from the rest of the shrine courtyard. He set Sailor Moon on her feet and lifted Luna carefully down from his shoulder.
"Luna, you should stay here," said Sailor Moon.
"But—" Luna began to protest.
"But nothing! You're hurt, and I don't want anything else to happen to you! When Venus gets here, we'll send Artemis to help you. So stay here!"
Luna stayed, though she wasn't quite sure why she was taking orders from Usagi, of all people. Still, there had been something in the girl's voice that compelled her to obey. Something Luna had never heard there before. And yet, it seemed. . . familiar, somehow.
Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen made their way through the trees toward the main building of the shrine. At last they were able to peer out of the undergrowth into the stone-paved courtyard. Everything was silent and still, but for some reason Mamoru felt cold fingers of fear closing around his heart.
"I've got a very bad feeling about this," he murmured. His companion nodded, her face showing the same strange dread he felt. Something was wrong here. Some sense beyond sight or logic told them that their lives were in danger, far more than usual.
Mamoru made a decision.
Usagi struggled to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach, forcing herself to think of Rei. She started to move, but before she had taken one step, the way was barred—by Tuxedo Kamen's arm. He grasped her shoulders gently and turned her around to face him. She looked up, questioning, and her jaw dropped slightly. He had taken off his hat and mask and was gazing down on her with dark eyes.
"Mamoru?"
"Just in case," he whispered. Then quickly, before anyone or anything could interrupt, he leaned down and kissed her.
As kisses went, it wasn't a long one, but what it lacked in duration it made up in intensity. Usagi melted into his embrace, instinct prompting her how to kiss him back. At her response, Mamoru's arms tightened around her and he deepened the kiss.
Far too soon, they broke apart. Neither wanted to, but both felt compelled by a sudden sense of urgency. Something was happening—something terrible—and it wouldn't wait for them. Mamoru took one more look into her eyes, before replacing his mask and hat. He pulled her into his arms again, briefly. Then he released her and started off across the courtyard.
Usagi followed in a daze. Something inside her was resonating, like the high, clear note of a bell. She couldn't explain it, even to herself, but something was happening. Something buried was surfacing. Something she'd lost was finding her.
And something large was coming around the corner of the shrine. As it lumbered into the moonlight, they recognized it as the same sort of patchwork creature they had defeated earlier—though it was a different shape, walking on its hind legs and sniffing the air with a doglike muzzle. It was considerably bigger, too, but the size wasn't what made Sailor Moon gasp in horror.
It was dragging something along on the ground behind it. As it moved forward out of the shadows, they suddenly recognized the limp bundle for what it was.
"Rei-chan!" choked Sailor Moon.