Little Moments: 100 Themes
#54: Nightmare
Lillie Bell

Disclaimer: By now, I'm sure someone understands that none of us fanfiction writers have claim over Sailor Moon, nor do we have anything worth taking.

Usagi screamed as the youma closed in faster behind her. Her hair flapped in the wind she created running at such a high velocity. She was in her simple nightgown, holding the long skirt up so that the hem of the fabric fell above her knees. That, coupled with her frenzied pace and the lift she was creating pumping her legs back and forth, cause the skirt to billow around her, rising above knees and occasionally her waist. To say the future queen of earth was in one of her finest moments would be more sarcastic than anything that could leave Haruka or Rei's mouths combined.

Still screaming, she pumped through the darkness around her, her lungs burning with the effort to breath and her legs with the effort to push her farther. The youma was gaining, she knew by the nearing sound of its growls. She whimpered and clutched at the skirt in her hand as she ran hopelessly in the darkness.

The fact that she hadn't caught sight of the youma scared her more than ever. It lingered in the darkness, growling, just out of her line of sight. She knew it was an evil one, though, due to the stench that it let out with every breath. She initially had scrunched up her face in disgust before attempting to blast it away. Unfortunately, this seemed to only irritate it more and thus the cat and mouse game she was now involved in.

She fought back a scream as suddenly its arms reached around and caught her. She was hauled into a strong chest and could suddenly feel the damn breath of the youma puffing against her face. She held her breath, swearing the thing was trying to kill her with its intensely bad breath. It growled lowly and loudly from its position in front of her. This was it, she thought, gasping and choking for breath in the stench around her. She felt her eyes rolling into the back of her head as the arms around her tightened.

Usagi jolted awake in bed. Her vision was black and she suddenly fumbled away in fear, realizing the youma's arms and bad breath were still present and that it wasn't a dream. That is, until she jerked away from the darkness and realized she had been held against Mamoru's chest. With a blush at thinking her husband a youma, she continued to look into his face as the sound of the growling youma came to her ears.

Usagi's blue eyes grew ten times in size as she realized the growling of the youma coincided with each breath issuing from Mamoru's lips. And, unfortunately enough, the sudden stench also followed his breathing. Blushing, and slightly indignant that her husband had cause such a strange nightmare (and that her face was coated in his yucky morning breath,) Usagi did the only sensible thing. She smacked him on the head for it, startling the snoring Mamoru out of sleep.

Groggily he stared at a fuming wife in front of him, not at all certain as to what had so suddenly woke him or having a clue as to the reason his companion was so upset. The blonde huffed, crossing her arms, and flopped away from him and to the farthest side of the bed. Mamoru, completely dazed but tired nonetheless, simply turned the other way and went back to sleep. Women.