2372/A hairy situation

A hairy situation
Date of Scene:	02 March 2025
Location:	Plot Room 1
Synopsis:	Mistress 9 launches an attack to steal energy and after Tuxedo Mask RECKLESSLY endangers himself to save the civilians (which he, admittedly, does), he receives a Sailor Moon approved lecture from a new face, Hiddenite. The fifth Shittenou?! It also seems Hotaru is still in Mistress 9, struggling to contain the monster she's become.
Cast of Characters:	Hotaru Tomoe, Mamoru Chiba, Usagi Tsukino, Takashi Agera, Sugata Shindo

---

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
It was a normal day, the sun was shining, the people were SCREAMING as they were entrapped in hair and had their energy drained. One minute everything had been so calm and relaxing. It had been a date night for many, sharing ice cream with their SOs, or maybe the kids were going out on a nice, sunny day...

And then, some tendrils had burst through the ground, starting by grabbing a small family... then a few more... as they struggled i nthe strange hair...

Mistress 9 walked through the park, an amused grin on her face as she walked to the ice cream stand, took a cone and... After licking it?

Threw it on the ground. "Disgusting..." she growled. Before looking to one of the children held in her hair. Locking eyes... and grinning as the hair tightened and the child screamed louder...

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
They were on a date, yes. And they did have ice cream-- well. Mamoru had a white chocolate mocha, which is like hot caffeinated ice cream. They were having a grand old time, enthusing about some things, being really judgmental about other things...

...and then screaming, because of course.

When there's screaming, there's usually running, and the two of them have to push through fleeing crowds before they can see the source of the screaming, and Mamoru's eyes open wide. "COME on!" he protests, aggrieved. "Okay I'll draw the aggro, you do the asskicking!"

He starts running and transforms as he goes, cape unfurling behind him, and then he runs faster to build up to ramming speed, and then he transforms again, and Prince Endymion and his armor and the sword he just drew are a cutty canonball, sword spinning to cut the hair as he uses the rest of his momentum to bodily slam into Mistress 9.

"TuXeDo--" he starts, a bright light appearing in the melee.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
They're on a date, which means they've both acceped that something is going to end up going horribly wrong and they're going to have to save the day - but Usagi had been hoping they could at least finish their ice cream first!

Is that really so much to ask?!

Apparently it is.

The screaming starts, and they go darting into the crowd, trying to figure out what's going on, where the monster is, what they're after, and Mamoru sees it first.

"Come on what, what is - OH COME ON, DOES SHE JUST HAVE SOMETHING AGAINST ICE CREAM?"

Of course it's Mistress 9. Of course it's Mistress 9, entrapping people in her hair, and it's just the two of them alone, and -

"Wait, Mamochan -" and he's gone, plan uttered and off to attack and she doesn't quite scream but it's a near thing, as she ducks behind an overturned table to transform, grabbing her communicator -

USAGI to ALL CHANNELS: Mistress 9 is attacking date night, I'm sending our location!

And then? Shortly after?

Sailor Moon is bursting out from behind the table, rod in hand, getting ready to stealth drop Moon Healing Escalation.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Riventon's smart, but his absolute apex of intellect is in understanding the forms of energy - reading it, translating it, pulling one signature out of the magical mess that is Tokyo's flow. And Mistress 9 is an incredibly powerful source of energy, one that a device feeding data directly to him got an up-close look at, sensors-wise, when she ripped her way into this world. There's a good chance if the monster shows up, one of Riventon's towers will sort out the signature. And that's what happened today.

    The downside is, as an employee of Obsidian, Riventon can't really show up and fight her - but she's also in the body of someone very dear to him, and on top of that she's made of Dark Energy much like Bad Fashion Sense Guy was.

    But when you're a genius, and one not opposed to making up stuff wholesale, there's always another option. Riventon has been working for days on that Other Option - a henshin divorced from Riventon and the politics of Obsidian, and one designed to not lean on Dark Energy. Unfortunantly, Dark Energy makes up so much of Takashi's power, his magic, that it would be hard to come anywhere close to the power of Riventon - but much like he evolved Riventon from field trials, perhaps as time went on, this could be worked around. Axion, of course, was unhappy about having a secondary system installed that was dramatically weaker and converted so much of the available combat power to things like masking a devicer signature and faking something, but in the end, Takashi was the Meister.

    At least it wasn't Kirakira Fantastica magic.

    Now Takashi was nearby, and there was Mistress Nine - and she had a child, oh Hotaru was going to be so devastated about that - but he couldn't fight them alone, no, he had to wait. She'd absolutely demolish his much weaker false henshin, alone. Of course soon Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon are both there fighting, meaning Takashi's choice of fake name was about to become a lot more amusing, and he couldn't help but laugh to himself even in the dire situation.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Draw aggro? Oh... dear, sweet naive Tuxedo Mask... You can't tank Mistress 9. Her eyes fell on him and, to his benefit?

The hair was cut and people were freed, dropped to the ground, collapsed from exhaustion... Even those he hadn't cut. As he came at her and slammed into her!

Only for her hand to reach out, gripping his wrist and pushing it up, causing his bomber to go over her shoulder...

And her hair had retracted completely, leaving the innocent... before lancing out and coiling around him. "And we have a volunteer... Hematite... was it?" she asked. Before a hand gripped his cheek. "Can you feel her suffering?" she whispered.

And Mamoru could feel it. Hotaru, inside that body. Bound in thorns, trapped. While not every moment was suffering, times like now, when Mistress 9 was focused on her? Oh, it heard. He could hear and feel her screaming... her struggled to resist...

Before her gaze fell on Sailor Moon. "Ahhh... Moon... I wonder... How much force does it take to snap a henshined man's throat? How long?"

"... Do you think your rod is faster?" Mistress 9 asked, the grin on her lips growing cruelly wide, almost splitting her face as Mamoru's power and energy was sucked from him, one coil of hair wrapping tightly around his throat as a warning.

Her focus entirely on Sailor Moon, on the cruelty she was inflicting upon them both.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"--laSmokingBomber?!" spills out of Endymion's mouth and she just-- shoves his arm out of the way, and he takes out like half a leafless winter tree on accident, making matchsticks and splinters of it.

The second the hair grabs him, he lets go of his sword and it falls to the grass-- but it's wrapped around him, binding his arms, before she even touches his face.

When she touches his face he turns the pain on her of the worst things that have ever happened to him physically, Thetis and Beryl and Sunbreaker and the dark energy that had coated his insides with corruption and wasps under the skin. He's got that blast down to a science now.

He can feel Hotaru, but there's literally zero he can do for her--

--no, there's one thing. He can show her that he's not scared, he's angry, and that there are so many people working on--

There's a coil around his neck, tightening, and he can't even lift his arms to pull at it. He stills.

There's a rose in his hand, and his power is being drained away, and boy does he look mad! He stabs at literally whatever he can reach with that rose, be it the hair binding him or the body his own is shielding.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    This escalated quickly, thinks Takashi. He was expecting... well, that there'd be more here. There's always more when he shows up - he can't remember the last time he only had to stare down like *two* mahou. Being one of half-a-dozen made him feel better about his reduced odds than one of three - but there's also the fact that right now, the monster that's stealing one of his kohai's bodies is trying to choke the life out of his adopted brother, and at least he can try to do something about it.

    From this distance, at least, he can probably relax some of the limitations on this henshin and blast a little harder - nobody's looking at him to see the Midchildan circle open up beneath him or the focusing ribbons on his hand. By the time they turn thosee should be gone.

    But they probably will turn, as several mint-green blasts streak out through the air and slam into the hair-coil that is trying to hold Mamoru, to sever them.

    Then someone lands beside Mamoru and either passes him the sword or tries to use it to finish the job of cutting him free. That someone is... long white hair, a cape, wearing a Shitennou uniform - but far too slim to be Kunzite. Also, his uniform flap is properly closed, so it CAN'T be Kunzite... instead familiar yet unfamiliar green eyes shimmer, almost aglow, and the uniform has silver accents where the colors of the other Shitennou's uniforms are.

    Well, he wasn't going to show up in a senshi or a cure uniform, or as a mermaid singer, and Device Mages and Puella aren't immediately recognizable! There were only so many options!

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There's a golden circle of light being carved, Sailor Moon twisting and arching up and folding down to ensure the perfect, even circle for the light to flood through -

And then Mistress 9 shoves Endymion's arm and sends his Bomber flying away, to destroy something off in the distance, and the civilians are free at the cost of Endymion, hair binding his throat, choking, and she remembers the feeling of that hair entangling limbs and smashing flesh -

"Escalation!"

She screams, and the beam of light blazes forth - forget the rest of the words, there's no time, there's just blasting the absolute hell out of Mistress 9.

It's a good thing Sailor Moon was situated sort of behind Mistress 9, or at least, with Endymion not right in front of her - it means Hiddenite has two human shields to fully block him from getting hit by the beam of purifying light that slams into Mistress 9 and spills over onto Endymion.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
"So be it," Mistress 9 said... and they'd see it, the hair tightening...

And Mamoru could feel it, in that moment when he'd thrust the pain into her. It was as if she didn't care. Or as if she was just some... inhuman... monster. That didn't care. Or didn't understand pain. Or maybe there was some method of... transferring it to Hotaru. Or maybe this thing was such a different creature from him, something vile and evil and twisted that to even make himself able to share an experience with it, of any kind, was impossible, or at least incredibly difficult.

And in that moment, had things been different? She would have snapped Tuxedo Mask's neck.

Instead, her hair was cut by a third, unseen fighter. Her eyes go wide, and then the *rose* stabs her in the side. She screams and-- The escalation hits...

And then she flings her arms up and darkness erupts from her, her hair fanning out in all directions while also sending ALL of them flying back, rubble left in her wake. "You vile, insignificant... pathetic... filthy monkeys... I should... should..."

Spikes flowed out from her back, like terrible, cruel shoulder pads.

And she took a step forward, only to stop, one hand outreaching towards them, her eyes wobbling in all directions. "You... filthy... pathetic..." And now they'd have the distinct impression that she wasn't talking to them. As she growled. "I'll tear this body apart if I have to!" she yelled, furious.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"If we're vile and insignificant, why are you having such a hard time with us?!"

This, as Sailor Moon darts in, not to Mistress 9, but to Tuxedo Kamen and the mysterious -

"A-are you? Kunzite's mysterious long-lost brother that Endytan never told me about?!"

Yeah, it's a long sentence for a tense moment, but what is she supposed to say, seeing a second white-haired pretty boy in a Shitennou uniform?

She looks at Mistress 9, spikes erupted from her back, eyes dancing about, growling at herself, and calls to the mysterious boy -

"We've got to get further away from here, just three of us aren't going to stand a chance, especially not this close!"

Takashi Agera has posed:
    It's a good thing indeed - he might be hiding his Dark Energy with a lot of effort but it still courses through his body and that escalation is still a huge threat... if only he could have duplicated that for Bad Pants... but now isn't the time to think about that, not in comabt, anyways.

    "Not the time for playing Guess Who." the mysterious extra -ite responds. "But don't blame him, he didn't know - he couldn't know. Aaaaanyways... Crazy hair lady trying to kill Endymion." he adds. And Sailor Moon suggests they back off and he nods. "Yeah, let's put some distance between hair and us." Yes, he did that on purpose.

    He tries to move back with the rest of them, generating that mint green energy in his hand - painstakingly before firing it off, and it's so much less damaging than the ones he was able to properly cast, for so much more effort, but he's mostly just trying to pressure back Mistress Nine so everyone can get some ground.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
When Mamoru falls to the ground, before he even hits it he's sucking in big deep breaths of air, and he makes himself roll away. His sight is still swimming and his head spinning from the anoxia and the rush of blood when the pressure came off, but he drags himself up to sitting. He drops down a henshin to make the sword disappear so it's not in the newcomer's way.

"Hey what the fuck--" he whispers, finally staring for a half second.

But Mistress 9 isn't stopping just because of him. He wonders where everyone is. At least the civilians have fled.

Gripping the dry winter grass and digging his hand into it, there's a glow as Tuxedo Kamen goes to pull power directly from his planet, eyes shut-- and the glow fades and there's still a vivid red circle around his neck, and Mamoru looks even angrier.

"She's giving us time! Hotaru-chan is giving us time--" he hiss-whispers to the two of them, staggering to his feet.

Between her and us okay Mamoru likes this guy.

He wavers on his feet, though, and he's really not moving quickly enough. Okay, a little faster. Okay maybe he can just. Prop his arm on this tree for a second. Maybe.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
WHY?! WHY WAS SHE HAVING SO MUCH TROUBLE WITH THEM?! Why was Hotaru able to FIGHT HER at all?! Mistress 9 growled as more blades burst from her body, rippling down her like waves...

And then... then the pun. And Mistress 9? She giggled. Just for a second, there was that odd, familiar giggle at 'Hair and us'. Only for a second, before Mistress 9's eyes went still, focusing on them entirely.

It was four on one, but... Sailor Moon wasn't wrong. She took a step towards them, her hair moving around her, as the beams of light just bounced off her body as if they weren't even touching her.

And then the smile on her face became big and wide and she LEAPED at them, blocking out the sun for a moment as she WAS ON THEM HOW COULD SHE BE SO FAST?!

"PERI--"

And then she *crashed* to the ground, skidding along it, the spines in her back twitching as her claws dug into the ground. The spines began to retract and she growled, her eyes turning back towards Sailor Moon...

And then, in a flurry of dark energy...

She was gone. Escaped to the dusk zone.

And now? Now she could feel all that Mamoru had tried to make her feel. As her claws dug into the ground, as that light, as that pun, as all of it gave Hotaru... just that little bit of strength. Just for the moment...

And so many people were hurt, were collapsed, were exhausted. But...

Victory?

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
The tree goes from helping prop Mamoru up to, when Mistress 9 vanishes, keeping him from faceplanting entirely. He breathes, rubbing at his neck, then drops his henshin because you know what, he's not about to die and he's too tired. The mask is too heavy!

The prince drops himself down to sit on the ground and lean back against the tree. "I'm up," he says hoarsely, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. "I know," he whispers, defeated. "It was the dumbest thing I could have done. I went for tough instead of fast and that's ALWAYS my mistake. I'm still getting over getting fried, sorr--"

One eye opens and he looks at Hiddenite. His voice is still a whisper, because ow ow ow. "Who are you, anyway? I'm really grateful, but there are only four Shitennou... unless you're the Fifth Beatle."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi looks at Mamoru, then his eyes roam to where Mistress Hotaru 9 was standing, then Usagi for a moment, then back to Mamoru.

    "Yeah, you'd think that, given the name, right?" He replies as a sort of non-answer. "My name is Hiddenite, and that probably tells you why you don't know me. It's kinda self-explanitory. I'm the... guardian of hidden knowledge and secrets, and as such, not terribly prone to announcing my presence - but you needed help." he says, bluntly.

    "Right now it looks like I'm the Only Beatle, given you know. The lack of anybody else here but us." he says, hands out.

    "But do consider, Endymion, there were people in the Earth's past who had titles other than King and also important roles. Sages, philosophers, learned men." His words are a bit more 'rambly and made up on the spot' than he'd like, but he never quite gets to plan these things the way he'd want. Reveals, field tests, fights. All always disruptive, arriving too soon and too strange.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Mistress 9 vanishes. The civilians are collapsed around them, unconscious instead of dead, thank goodness, and Mamoru - drops down to the ground, taking energy from the Earth, letting go of his henshin, and Usagi draws in a shaky breath.

They can't even take most of the credit for scaring her off - they'd really just managed to get Hotaru fighting again, and she'd run off because of that -

"You are so lucky I don't want to deal with us being stalked on dates all over again, so even though we are absolutely having to to deal with this... I won't rat you out." On deciding to solo tank Mistress 9 to get her a better position.

Though they do have other problems. "Hiddenite, huh?" Her lips quirk in a smile. "It's great to meet you. Thanks for showing up when we needed help."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
There's this dubious look. "Listen--" the pedantic prince starts, a little incredulous, and he's about to continue on objecting because he remembers dammit, but then there's a tone in Usagi's voice and she says things that let him know he is on Thin Fucking Ice, and--

All at once Mamoru relaxes because holy shit he can control the narrative as it hits the ears of his... his original Shitennou.

"Thank you," he whispers, "I'll tell them though. Can't be keeping secrets."

It's not meant to be a dig, honestly, it's just true for him and his four. But Usagi's right. And besides...

"I don't know why you're familiar or why I trust you, but... I don't know, maybe someoone else will recognise you. But yeah -- thanks. Thank you so much, Hiddenite. And welcome."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Hiddenite gives Mamoru a look, a familiar look, when he starts, that softens when he pauses.

    "I'm sorry - there's a lot I should be saying and this wasn't the way I planned to make my introduction - watching Prince Endymion nearly get strangled to death by a hair demon woman kind of threw off my groove, you know?" he says, his hand coming up to rub his neck. "Now I'm all out of sorts and it's a lot. Plus I haven't been doing this for very long myself, and there's a lot going on in my head. A lot of chaos, a lot of mess." he says, sighing. "So there are things I'm also figuring out myself."

    "But there's one thing that's very true and that's - I'm here to help. I'm here to stop bad things from happening to people. I'm here to keep this world together. I'm here to secure knowledge." he says.

    "At some point... I should try to do this when my head isn't so busy." And when he's gotten a better chance to nail down the henshin. To manage the energy fluctuations. And when he can be sure he's not on the opposite side of the enemy from Sailor Moon because damn. Close one.

    "You have a lot of people who are looking out for you, Mamoru, but don't use that as an excuse to dive headfirst into every risk." he says. He spent enough time around the Shitennou in Obsidian to know the most Shitennou possible thing he could do right now is scold Mamoru for being injured.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"No secrets is a rule, but there's a difference between keeping secrets and deciding how you're telling a story," Sailor Moon says tartly, and then sighs a little and kisses Mamoru's cheek, never mind the audience. "I'm only a little mad because you just got electrocuted. Not that I'm victim blaming, but..."

She is a little bit victim blaming, if only because it was a bad plan that almost got his neck broken!

"...well, I used to think there were only so many Senshi," she reminds Mamoru, "And then we found like, ten, so."

It might be different with the Shitennou but also what if it isn't?

And then? Joy of joys? Hiddenite is giving a lecture. Sailor Moon shoots him a look that's both encouraging and pleased, that says, yes! lecture him! lecture him!!!

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
So familiar. Mamoru's eyes half lid for a second in a lazy squint at Hiddenite, trying to tease anything out -- but it's an honest to goodness henshin. "I feel like you've yelled at me so many times before..." he whispers musingly, then winces as he tries clearing his throat. A breath. He leans closer to Usagi when she kisses his cheek, and gives her a look of something like rueful adoration.

He looks at Hiddenite again, and says, "Since you know so much about me, you should drop by my place to meet my Shitennou..."

And his eyes are fixed on Hiddenite's, to see what his reaction is to the 'my'.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Hiddenite smiles at Mamoru. "Well, I feel as though I've yelled at you a lot myself." He says, casually. Riventon - Takashi - now Hiddenite; the boy has juggled three identities, and is good at masking. So his reaction to 'my' is neither hostile nor surprised not... much of anything. Instead?

    "Oh, your shitennou - as opposed to someone else's? Who else's shitennou would they be? Ah, or perhaps there are others I'm unaware of? Does Sailor Moon also have her own Shitennou, and you don't want me to meet those?" He asks, his tone more playful now. "I believe those are just Senshi and there's more of those. Like, ten, in fact." he says, with an eye to Sailor Moon. "At least."

    "Where is your place?" He asks after a momentarily realization that if he knew -that- he'd come off as creepier than intended.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
"At least," Sailor Moon confirms, and by now she's more amused than anything, because it's clear that Mamoru is - not okay, but going to be okay, without needing extra help or a run to the nurse.

Setsuna would probably want them to go to the nurse's office anyway, but literally as soon as he has enough energy, he'll heal himself, and they all know it.

Why waste the supplies?

Not that anything used on Mamoru is a waste, but well...

"You never know. There could be another Endytan around, like one from the future."

This too, is a test, but like, barely. Just seeing what all this Hiddenite has heard about.

At least he doesn't know where Mamoru lives.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Pokemon has Shitennou too," Mamoru actually literally pouts as he finally sits forward and starts climbing upright again, hand finally glowing a little bit as he rubs at his throat. His voice is less hoarse now, and Mamoru's on his feet. "But the Shitennou are mine because I'm in charge of them. My guard. My knights..."

He laughs and shakes his head, and he sounds affectionate. "You knew my name was Mamoru, you've probably been stalking me for a while. I'm sure you know where I live."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "Oh please no future timeline Endymions." he says, wincing and pinching his nose. This, truly, is not a Hiddenite Story reaction, but a Takashi one. "I have much more clarity about the past than about the future. One is fixed and one is ever in flux." he kind-of-explains.

    "Wait, how -did- I know your name was Mamoru." Hiddenite asks, then looks at Mamoru a bit more intensely. "Oh, you go to the Academy, don't you." he says, after a moment. "Maybe that's where... but I haven't been stalking you. Is that a common... problem, that you have? Being stalked?" he asks.

    "I know - Hiddenite knows, Endymion, at least. Once Queen Beryl was defeated I was allowed to return." he tries as an explanation. "Something about keeping me hidden while a mad sorceress pet-of-a-demon was on the lose, I have presumed. Perhaps I was resting in the past, too, when she destroyed everything - or guarding secrets from her."

    "That woman has a secret too, the one we just fought, something she is putting at risk that needs to be protected, something special... I couldn't stand idly by." he says.

    "But... No, I don't know where youu live. I'm afraid that secret you'll have to share with me now, if you want me to know it. I won't follow you home like a lost dog if you don't, we'll just have to meet again when the fates will it instead."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru's expression is disappointed but kind. "It would have made it a lot easier if you were stalking me-- but we have a lot of enemies right now, and we have a tiny daughter to protect who's sometimes there, you know? Maybe soon."

A beat. "Or you could shake my hand."

He offers it while putting his other arm around Sailor Moon.

I trust him is how he feels to Usagi, skin to skin, he's my something anyway is how he feels, rueful and attached, and he isn't my enemy--

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "Wait, a daughter?" He looks at Mamoru intently, because he feels this is how someone SHOULD react in the situation he's building. "That's not... very appopriate, is it?" he says, sharply. Maybe a little too sharply. But he didn't say daughter from the future.

    "Maybe it's you who aren't what I thought you were." Because he needed the excuse to exit. "Perhaps the Fates will connect us again if I'm wrong." And he ALMOST duskports away out of habit, but instead when he turns on his heel he pauses for a moment, doing an about face and leaping away - because that's how the heroes generally travel, right? Less flying, certainly, in the sparklesquad sets."

Sugata Shindo has posed:
A clusterfuck is building, the train to Misunderstandingville is coming sharply around the corner, and as soon as Mamoru mentions their daughter and crucially doesn't add the word future, she starts to see it, and Hiddenite confirms it with a sharp, judging comment that she can't entirely say is uncalled for, but still, she cannot let him just think -

"WAIT, SHE WASN'T BORN - aaaand he's gone."

-.-

"Well, that could have gone better," Sailor Moon sighs, and since they're alone now, drops her henshin. "You owe me new ice cream for letting your new Shitennou think we're teen parents."

A beat.

"Teen parents the natural way."