Chapter 8: Guns and Roses.

"I wonder what Ami-chan has to say," Usagi said excitedly as she walked into the Crown with Makoto.

"I don't know, maybe she has a plan for us to stop the disappearances," Makoto offered.

"Hey are you still upset about your earrings?" Usagi asked, "I know they were important to you."

"I am a little, but I'll be fine," Makoto partially lied. She knew that she would in fact be fine eventually, but she was more than a little upset.

"Hey, why don't you find a seat and wait for the others, I wanna go say hi to Toki-kun really quick." Makoto said.

"Okay!"

Makoto walked over to the counter but Motoki wasn't around. A moment later someone walked out of the back room and Makoto turned expecting to see Motoki but instead found a smaller, orange haired teen instead.

"Unazuki-chan?" Makoto asked cautiously. She recognized her as Motoki's little sister but wasn't sure if she had remembered her name right.

"Oh hi, Makoto-san right? Nii-san's friend," the teen replied with a friendly smile.

"Is Toki-kun not working today?" Makoto asked, looking around again to see if she had missed him somehow.

"He asked me to trade shifts, he'll be around later this evening."

"Oh."

"Yeah. He said something about needing to take care of a problem this morning."

I wonder what happened? Makoto thought to herself.

Makoto noticed that Ami, Rei, and Minako had arrived and so she relocated to the booth Usagi had picked out and sat down with the girls.

"So what's up Ami-chan?" Minako asked.

"I've come up with another idea on how we should go about stopping the Dark Moon Kingdom and the disappearances," she said.

"Alright! We need to start rescuing these people," Makoto said leaning in slightly in anticipation for what Ami was about to say.

"I think we should stop searching for the missing people and start searching for the Dark Moon Kingdoms hideout. If we can find that then we can go in and stop them completely," Ami explained.

"Yea and if we find their hideout then maybe we will find the people they've already kidnapped!" Minako agreed excitedly.

"So we should start as soon as possible. Let's meet at the park at midnight," Rei suggested. The girls all nodded their agreement.

"Once we meet up tonight we can split up into groups and search for any suspicious areas!" Usagi said with a determined grin.

"Oh hey, Mako-chan!" Motoki called as he walked into the Crown.

"Toki-kun? I thought your sister said you wouldn't be here till later," Makoto said as she stood up out of the booth.

"Well I'm not working until later. I thought you would be here so I came to get you."

"Came to get me? Where are we going?" Makoto asked suspiciously.

"Actually it's a secret but come on," Motoki insisted holding out a hand to her.

"I guess I'll see you guys later," Makoto said to the girls who were all staring intently at the scene before them.

"Have fun Mako-chan!" Minako said with a devious smile.

After rolling her eyes she left with Motoki.

"Close your eyes," Motoki instructed as he offered her his hand again.

"Why?"

"Because I told you to, where we're going is a secret remember," Motoki chuckled.

"Okay," Makoto said cautiously as she closed her eyes and took Motoki's hand.

She let him lead her down the street for a few minutes before they came to a stop.

"Can I open my eyes now?" Makoto asked.

"Nope, not until we get inside."

Motoki opened the door and led Makoto inside and up to one of the counters.

"Alright you can look now," he told her letting go of her hand.

When Makoto opened her eyes she saw a class counter displaying earrings of all shapes and sizes, her eyes landing on a particular pair of rose shaped ones right in front of her.

"I tried to find your earrings this morning but I couldn't. I know that losing them really upset you since they were your mothers. I know they don't replace your old ones but I thought if I couldn't find them I could at least get you new ones," Motoki offered.

"Toki-kun you didn't have to do all this," Makoto said as she looked at he goofy grinning face.

"I wanted to. After being here for a while you've smiled a lot more than you did when we first met. I want you to keep smiling because I-" Motoki was cut off by the front door of the store being thrown open.

At the doors stood a large man wearing black clothes with a scarf around the bottom half of his face and a black hat leaving only his eyes visible. After the initial shock of his aggressive entry Makoto noticed he was holding a bag in one hand and a small handgun in the other.

"Nobody move," the man ordered as he calmly walked up to the counter where Makoto and Motoki were standing. Makoto cast a nervous side glance at Motoki who had taken his cellphone out and called the police. He kept the phone behind him instead of up at his ear in hopes that the thief wouldn't notice.

The black clad man looked around the store and stopped when his eyes landed on Makoto. He walked up to her and as she tried to move away he grabbed her ponytail and yanked her towards him.

Makoto cried out and tried to punch him as she fell forward. He grabbed her wrist and tossed his bag to Motoki who caught it nervously.

"You go start putting money and jewelry in that bag. You don't stop till I say so. The girl won't get hurt as long as you do as I say got it?" He instructed as he dropped Makoto's wrist and grabbed his gun, placing it on the side of her head.

This is really really bad! I can't transform, and I can't fight back! Makoto thought frantically as her mind raced to come up with a way to get out of her current position. The cool feel of the gun against the side of her head made her heart race and her breathing became uncontrollable.

Motoki moved slowly to the cash register behind the thief, hoping he didn't screw up his quickly thought up plan.

As he started to pass Makoto and the black clad man he took a deep breath. Moving as quickly and with as much force as he could he slammed into the man knocking all of them to the ground. Makoto was able to pull herself away from the man and stand up while Motoki tried to keep the man down by wrestling with him. Motoki kicked the gun away from the man and struggled to keep him down. After the thief had regained his bearing he easily overpowered Motoki and rolled them over.

"You made a really big mistake," the man said and he grabbed the front of Motoki's shirt and brought them both back to their feet.

"Let him go!" Makoto shouted as she whacked the man in the head with a broom she found behind the cashier's counter. The man released Motoki and turned around to face Makoto. She swung the broom again, hitting the man's knees, the force enough to make him lose his footing. Motoki noticed something fall out of the man's jacket pocket when he hit the ground and dove down to grab it.

"Everyone stand still this is the police!" and officer shouted as he came running into the building with a few other policemen.

Motoki got up and walked over to Makoto as the police apprehended the thief. He took the broom out of her hands and let it drop to the floor.

"Mako-chan, are you alright, did he hurt you?" Motoki asked. Makoto stood watching the man as he was being taken out to the police car, eyes wide, breathing hard.

"Mako-chan?" Motoki asked again. Makoto then hugged Motoki tightly and he could hear her sniffle a little.

"Hey, it's okay, it's over," Motoki said as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders to return the hug.

"I have never felt so helpless," Makoto whispered into his shoulder, "No matter what i've always been able to fight back."

"Hey, it's alright. He didn't hurt you, I didn't let him," Motoki soothed.

Makoto pulled away and wiped her eyes. She took one big breath and tried to regain her composure.

"I'm sorry I freaked out like that. You're right, I'm okay." she said calmly.

"Are you sure?" Motoki asked.

She nodded. One of the officers came back into the shop and approached the two of them.

"Could we ask the two of you some questions?" The officer asked.

Author's Note: And we stop here because I'm evil. I'm sure none of you expected that, and to be quite honest I hadn't either. I was looking for a dramatic situation to try and push at least some of the feeling between Makoto and Motoki which you will see in the next chapter and this little scene was born! Yay finally some start towards a relationship! And seriously guys where did the reviews go? I was feeling so special for once I miss you guys!