I'm not dead! Just battling MXTX brain worms. Also, life. Things have been rough for awhile now. Work just pretty much eats all of my energy for anything and then of course the rest is consumed by *waves hands around*...everything. However, Saturday I took my son to see the Sailor Moon Super Live and was able to push out some work. Sorry if this is subpar, my writing game is...rusty. If you're reading this at all, I appreciate that so much, but I suspect this might debut in a void populated by tumbleweeds. I'm almost to the end of this contract (January) and then I am really, really hoping i get some space and a break from the constant stress. In the meantime, have some daydreaming Shin. I even started chapter 10 but it was 2 am so I need to go back and like...look at it and make sure it actually has words and not just nonsense.

Chapter 9

"If you're going to stand around staring all day like a creeper, at least make yourself useful."

Shin bit the inside of his cheek in an attempt not to laugh as he accepted the very traditional broom his dark-haired hostess launched at his head.

Rei Hino was not what he expected by any stretch of the imagination, but that was somehow more refreshing than anything else. He could also appreciate her position. She didn't know him, she was under pressure, and if she ended up targeted, her family shrine could be at risk.

Upon arrival, she'd let him know in no uncertain terms that he could loaf about all he liked, but the moment he got in her way she'd turf his ass, and he'd better steer clear of both the staff and visitors.

Despite her prickly attitude, it was clear that she worked hard and cared deeply about her shrine and the people they served.

Which was probably why she'd thrown a broom at him to begin with. He'd tried to come off as innocent and harmless, but he was pretty sure instead he was managing to give off stalker vibes.

Hoping to blend into the background, Shin cheerfully submitted himself to the task of sweeping.

Which he admitted was sort of soothing? The rhythmic swish swish of the bristles as they chased leaves and debris off the neatly groomed paths almost sounded like ocean waves crashing on the shoreline.

Despite himself, after a short while, his breaths were meditative and kept time with the steady rhythm of his arms.

He was feeling very zen when the screaming started, so it took him a moment to understand the piercing noise shattering his calm little bubble wasn't just in his head.

He blinked owlishly, coming out of his daze so rapidly it felt a little like the starting descent of a roller coaster. His stomach dropped and swooped with panic as his heart squeezed tightly in his chest and his adrenaline rocketed the rest of him into the fully on position.

There was a Bird? Lizard? Bird lizard? It was stomping through the zen garden, narrowly missing the koi pond. Thankfully, the shrine's patrons seemed to understand that they needed to make themselves scarce immediately.

Almost as if they were familiar with this sort of thing.

Shin called his armor and leapt forward, landing in front of the monster and menacing it with his trident.

His plan worked too well. It charged him – not unlike an aggravated rooster – and he found himself scrambling to get out of the way in time. A Chou ryu ha would probably wipe this thing out no problem, but it would also probably wipe the entire shrine out with it.

So instead he scrambled, flailed, cursed, and landed hard on his backside, then very shortly had what felt like two tons of angry birdlizard in his lap.

It roared in his face at point blank range and Shin said goodbye to his ear drums. He blinked, dazed, and tried not to pass out from the stench. Bad breath? Terrifyingly potent body odor? Who was he to decide?

With a grunt, he bucked, feeling his back and core muscles strain, and flipped the thing up and off of him. It pivoted in midair, claws digging in when they hit the ground, and pushed itself back toward him at warp speed.

Shin cursed again and leapt, this time avoiding becoming a crater in the path as it struck out at him with a set of claws that looked more like short swords than actual claws.

"Hey now! Let's talk about it!" he yelped, backpedaling as it took a swipe with its other hand.

"No talking. Give me the armor," it hissed. Shin felt his blood ice over and his legs lock up.

"Give you the what now?" he asked with deceptive calm.

"The armor. Give me the armor of Suiko," it growled at him.

Well. That was. Not good?

All this time, they'd assumed it was the Senshi under fire, but this thing wanted hid armor? And it knew enough to know exactly which armor it was asking for.

His heartbeat of hesitation cost him dearly. He was flying in the next moment, scenery blurring by at nauseating speed while an awful, burning pain exploded in his gut.

Good thing he wasn't out to impress Rei Hino or anything.

There was a sudden series of explosions big enough to shake the ground that went off near him, and Shin wanted to know what else this monster could do. Maybe it would wait for him to find a payphone and call for back up? Maybe Hino had already done that?

Hard to say, he was a little dizzy at the moment.

"Do you have any sense of self-preservation, or do you always charge in head-first like a moron?" a caustic female voice snapped from somewhere near his ear, and then he was moving again, but this was slower, more deliberate, and somehow, more excruciating.

"I'm the cautious one," he slurred indignantly.

There was a huff from his side that implied an intense eyeroll.

"How are any of your friends still alive with all their limbs if that's the case?" Hino gripped. Her steady, careful maneuvering of his person belied her irritated tone. The smell of sweet cinnamon and orange teased his nose, and he sighed, inhaling deeply.

A tiny voice in the back of his brain advised him to maybe not do that, but it was drowned out by all the screaming and the roaring.

"You smell nice," he slurred without conscious thought. The tiny voice in the back of his brain screamed and then disintegrated.

"Men are stupid," came the snide reply.

Shin nodded clumsily. "Yes, we are," he agreed in a sage tone of voice. "But we're still useful creatures sometimes you know," he continued.

The huff that came beside him sounded more amused than irritated now.

"I don't know about that," she answered him, tugging lightly on his arm meaningfully. Shin gestured at himself clumsily

"This is just…." He trailed off, mind blanking. "Just…." He tried again.

"GET DOWN!" his companion suddenly yelled, and then he was eating a mouthful of dirt. He did seem to have all his teeth though, so that was a win.

His brains on the other hand appeared to be pretty scrambled. He spent the next few minutes just trying to figure out which end was up. When he did, it took him even longer to realize that the roaring had intensified into a kind of high-pitched shrieking, and there was suddenly so much fire, everywhere.

By the time he managed to sort out that he probably needed to do something about all the noise and all the heat, the shrieking had stopped and the air had cooled significantly.

His ears rang loudly in the silence that came after, and everything felt muffled. Something awful was building up in his stomach, but he wasn't sure what.

Someone pushed him gently onto his side, and curled him into a more comfortable position. There was a soft female voice near him, and he knew that was important – that he should pay attention to that voice, but it was just that there seemed to be a fire building in his gut now.

It was quickly fanning out of control, tearing through his body like an angry tiger. He gasped, limbs locking in agony. A small, cool hand with gentle fingers carded gently through his hair, and a strange tingling sensation pulsed through him softly, easing the fire just a bit.

He wasn't sure how long he spent laying there, every second an eternity, but something jarred his entire body without warning, and the fire came back with a vengeance.

Shin blacked out before he could scream.