Sailor Moon versus the Hershey People
It wasn't warm enough yet to consider the outfit the man in the gray blazer was staring at in the window, but he simply could not help it. The Blossom Festivals were only a few short days away, and he wanted to buy something lovely for his girlfriend (and enticing for himself--the compromise was that she had great legs for a mini that caught his eye). But would it be appropriate enough for her? Perhaps if he purchased something to warm her up to this main gift, she would overlook the chill that would be upon her creamy, endless legs.
Yes. Some chocolate and a sweater. Or peeps--they were coming in season, after all.
Mind made up, the young gentlemen travelled further into the Tenth Street Shopping District, eager to make his purchases before all the good bakery shops closed for the evening. It was strange--he knew it was late, but the plaza seemed even more deserted than it should be. And trashed, somewhat, as if a powerful gust of wind had run through the shopping quarter and dropped the contents of its travels on the way through. Dropped purses, wrappers and bits of eaten food, cracked vials of sports drinks. Surely, the local janitorial staff knew to clean this up? Golden Week was not too far off--the public would not stand for simple filth.
Stranger than that was the girl. She was a small, waifish thing, with a skirt far too short for her age, and see seemed to be carrying a polearm. It was hard to make out in the dimming light of the sun, but it could almost be a nagnata if you ignored the completely unorthodox design of the blade.
"Turn back," the girl whispered. "They have come. They will not be bought. They carry the traits of Russia."
The man quickly dismissed her as a whacko cosplayer far too deep into her own story. And stepped away, fearing another copycat Nevada killer. Of course, this put him around the corner and into the restaraunt court...where there was even more garbage. Only, it was becoming eerily obvious that it was less garbage and more scattered goods. Belongings that were dropped or left in haste. There was also seven dozen small, yellow peeps marching out of the okonomiyaki shop.
Marching. In time. Going "peep" and looking...somehow very evil. Yet, as if hypnotized, the man could not turn away. Would they make great gifts for his darling? Surely, she'd wear the skirt if presented with something so adorable. It was simple math--she always wore less when presented with cute.
Sadly, he gentleman would never learn. He learned final horror and one resounding truth as he reached to pick up a seemingly robotic candy treat, only to be set upon by the entire platoon of peeps.
Sometimes, the whacky cosplayer girls are indeed right.
And then he was eaten alive.
*****
"Saturn, did eveyone escape?"
"...No."
"But we thought your illusion cleared this area?"
"I tried, Neptune, Uranus. But there was one...." The small girl put a gloved hand to her mouth.
Uranus swore, while Neptune and Pluto surveyed the area. Then an odd sound forced Pluto to consider the Soldier of Ruin with a calculating gaze. "Hotaru, what's wrong?"
"I...it was...." She was at was with herself, her eyes reflecting the storm of her emotions. She also had direct line of sight to the man's moment in the mortal world.
Uranus saw where she was looking, and, minding the position of her Silence Glaive, pulled the girl into an embrace. "It's okay. You did what you could. We'll stop them from taking anyone else."
"B-but--it...it was...socute."
A stiff wind blew through the Tenth Street shopping plaza.
"I'm...sorry?" Pluto asked.
"Ara?" Neptune, trying desperately to hide her befuddlement.
"What," said the Soldier of the Sky, looking at her charge.
"It was! They pecked at him and it was horrible but so adorable!" She looked at Uranus, and it was now obvious that she was fighting a giggle and the blush rising to her cheeks. "Can't we keep just one?"
"No," came the resounding chorus of the three older Senshi.
"But the princess would let us--"
"No!"
"Phooey."
"Speaking of which," Neptune said, trying not to pinch the bridge of her nose because ladies didn't do that. "Where are the others?"
"Planning," Pluto replied. "Since we said we would clear this district, Mercury said she wanted to take the time to make a plan to properly neutralize the threat."
"So she's vetoing everything Minako and Kitten come up with?"
"Yes."
"Figures."
"Usagi will want one! It's my duty to ensure she gets one to keep!"
Uranus thumped Saturn on the head. "Now why would we let her do that?"
"A contest of carnivores, perhaps?"
"You're not helping, Neptune."
TBC no da.