The Prank War

Disclaimer: I don’t own Sailor Moon.

A/N: Chapter 9 is up! I hope you like it, and please review!

Chapter 9: The Boys And The Girls

Usagi scowled. Stupid Mamo-baka. Because of him she was stuck with the girls for the entire day. Normally, that would be great, given the fact that they were shopping, but since they were shopping for her second marriage, well…it was downright horrible.

She was going to kill him.

“I think that this dress would be perfect. It matches my eyes, and it definitely flatters my figure,” said Minako, holding up a gauzy light blue dress. Admittedly, it was beautiful, especially with the way it flowed, but no one else was going to tell Minako that.

They all had their eyes on their own dresses.

“I don’t know, Minako. I think that this one would be absolutely gorgeous,” said Makoto, holding up an off-the-shoulder gown that was made of heavy velvet.

Minako looked over and wrinkled her nose. “No. It’s too heavy,” she said, going back to admiring her dress.

“I agree with Minako,” said Ami, holding a dark blue dress in her arms. “It’s much too heavy, but I think that this would be much better.”

“I don’t like the color. It’s too dark,” said Makoto, shaking her head.

“She’s right,” said Minako. “It’s too dark.”

“Well then,” said Rei, joining them with her own dress in her arms. “Since you guys can’t decide which dress, then I guess I’ll have to decide for you,” she said, holding up a flame-colored dress that was light and gauzy.

“We’ll use this one. It’s not too dark AND it feels very comfortable,” she said triumphantly.

The other scouts looked at each other nervously. They each wanted to use their own dress, but they were hesitant about telling Rei that. Finally, Minako decided to tell her.

“Rei?” she asked while hiding behind Makoto. “Um, I don’t think we should use yours.”

Rei glared. “And why not?”

Minako gulped. “Well…well…”

“Because it fits your personality, not ours,” said Makoto, jumping in.

“So? It’s the perfect dress and we’re using it!” said Rei, practically breathing fire as she did.

“But we don’t like it,” said Ami timidly.

“Well, I think it’s perfect, so we’re using it. What do you think, Usagi?” she asked, turning around to look at her friend.

Usagi blinked. This was…shocking. It had been made very clear that she had absolutely no opinion in this wedding. So, naturally, it took a minute to figure out what the most diplomatic answer would be. She definitely did not want to have someone yelling at her again. She didn’t think she could handle it.

“Well,” she said carefully. “I think that they are all beautiful, so instead of choosing one, why don’t we choose all of them?”

The others blinked. That actually sounded like a good idea.

“I like it,” said Rei. “We can each wear our own dresses to the wedding.”

The other girls thought it over, and soon they were chattering excitedly about how good they would look, and how it would represent their positions as Sailor Senshi. They chattered for several minutes before, finally, Rei put an end to the talking.

“Alright. Now that we have the dress issue decided, let’s pay for our things and head towards the shoe store.”

Several minutes later they were doing just that as they talked excitedly about the upcoming wedding. All except Usagi, of course, who was carrying the bags and thinking of revenge the whole way.

Meanwhile…

“I can’t believe you did that, Mamoru. That was really cruel,” Taiki said, lounging on the couch in Mamoru’s apartment.

“Well, she deserved it. What was I supposed to do? Say ‘I forgive you’ and let her go on her way? I don’t think so,” he said from his position on the floor. Since it was a day of wedding shopping for Usagi he’d decided to relax. Which was why he was eating cereal at four o’clock in the afternoon, and wearing pajamas that had pictures of little Tuxedo Kamens on them.

“Even so. You could have done something else to her. I mean, throwing her into a pack of senshi was just plain wrong,” said Yaten from his spot in front of the TV where he was doing his best to defeat the monsters in the latest Sailor V game.

“I could have,” Mamoru admitted, watching Seiya watch Yaten. “But anything else I would have done wouldn’t have been as effective.”

“True,” Seiya said, joining in on the conversation. He’d forgiven his brothers earlier that day for the fight at the Crown Arcade, but had promptly called an end to the truce, with Yaten anyway, when they’d arrived.

“How many senshi were there?” asked Yaten, bashing another monster to death. The minute he’d stepped into the door and seen the video games, he had shoved bSeiySeiya and Taiki out of the way and told them that he was going first.

“Not all of them,” said Mamoru. “Haruka wasn’t there, thank goodness. She would have torn me to shreds.”

Taiki snickered. “Still afraid of her?” he asked, shooting a small glare at Yaten afterwards. When Yaten had gotten first dibs on the game he had told his brother that was going to pay for it later. And he was, most definitely. Taiki already had the time and place picked out.

“Who wouldn’t be?” asked Mamoru, shuddering a little as he remembered his last encounter with the angry senshi. He hated getting on her bad side. Every time he did he ended up in pain.

“So, what about the other senshi?” Seiya pressed. He didn’t like to admit it, but he did have a crush on a certain senshi.

“All the Inners were there, but the Outers were MIA. It was…odd. I would expect them to be involved with anything that concerns Usagi, but this time they weren’t,” Mamoru said in a slightly puzzled voice.

“Hmm…That is odd,” agreed Yaten, for once in his life. “I’d be careful if I were you. Setsuna probably told them everything already.”

“Yeah,” said Taiki. “They could be waiting to take you out.”

Mamoru shuddered. That was a very unpleasant thought. He kneom eom experience how cruel the Outers could be when they were after somebody, and he definitely did NOT want to be on their hit list. “I hope not. I really don’t feel like running for my life right now.”

Seiya snorted. “Like you’d need to. You have more power than everyone else thinks you do. You just need to use it.”

“Yeah,” said Taiki. “I’ll bet that if you actually got off your lazy butt and used your true powers, then you wouldn’t have to worry about the senshi beating you up every time you step out of line.”

“Which is about every five minutes,” said Seiya, grinning. He really did enjoy Mamoru torture.

“Well, you guys aren’t entirely correct,” Yaten said arrogantly. “No matter how much power he had, Haruka could still pound him into a pulp.”

Taiki sniffed. “Like you know everything. You’re only saying that because you’re afraid of her.”

Yaten shot him a glare. “Am not!”

“Are too!” said Taiki.

Yaten stuck his nose in the air, while somehow managing to kill several more monsters in the game. “Whatever.”

Seiya rolled his eyes. “You guys are so childishe she said, absently looking at his watch. His eyes widened when he saw the time. “Oh crud!” he shouted.

The others looked at him curiously as he leaped up and began gathering his things together.

“What’s up with you?” asked Taiki, idly watching his brother race around the room.

“I forgot that I was supposed to meet Haruka,” he said in a panicked voice. “She is going to kill me.”

Mamoru sat up, wondering exactly where his sanity was at the moment. A male friend of Usagi’s spending time with Haruka. That was like signing your own death warrant. He almost felt sorry for the guy.

Almost.

“Why are you meeting with her?” asked Taiki. “Have you lost what little sanity you have left?”

“No,” said Seiya, standing by the door, ready to leave. “In fact, meeting with her is probably the smartest thing I’ve ever done.”

The other guys stopped at that statement, collectively raising their eyebrows. Meeting with Haruka? Smart? Ah…no.

“And why would that be smart?” asked Mamoru, wondering if that fight at the Crown Arcade the other day had pushed him over the edge.

“Oh, because she’s going to teach me how to get revenge. She was really nice about it when I asked her, especially when I told her that you were my target,” he said flippantly, opening the door as he did so.

Mamoru’s jaw dropped, as did the others, at his statement. Seiya? Getting even? Now that was a once in a lifetime event.

“You can’t be serious,” said Mamoru. “What’d I ever do to you?”

Seiya raised an eyebrow in surprise. “You mean you don’t remember what did did to me the last time I was here?”

Mamoru started to shake his head and then paused. Wait…He’d played a prank on Seiya once, a long time ago, but it hadn’t gone as well as he’d hoped, so he’d…forgotten about it. Weird. He didn’t usually forget the pranks he played on other people.

“I remember,” he said slowly. “The prank was one of the best I’ve ever thought of, but before I could slam you with the last part of it Usagi interfered.”

“Yes,” said Seiya. “That’s the one. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go meet Haruka.”

“Wait. Does this mean you’re going to help Usagi? I know she’s planning something, but I don’t know who’s involved yet,” he said, a flash of inspiration hitting him. If Seiya was helping Usagi then he would at least know who was helping her.

Seiya tilted his head as he thought about it. “ I think I will. I mean, Usagi’s pranks are practically legendary, and to be a part of her prank while getting even is just an opportunity I can’t miss,” he said, slowly edging out the door.

“Like you couldn’t miss it last time,” said Mamoru dryly, remembering Seiya’s part in the wedding.

“Yep!” said Seiya brightly. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m late.” And with that he was out the door and off to meet Haruka.

“Bad luck, pal,” said Taiki, patting him on the back as he took a large drink from a soda.

He blinked. Since when had he gotten up? And was that his soda? Oh, well. Wasn’t like he was going to drink it anyway. Not after Usagi licked the tops of all the cans.

He sighed wearily. “Yeah, I suppose, but it’s not a big loss. He wouldn’t have been that big of a help anyway.”

Yaten, still bashing monsters to death, blinked. “Help with what?”

“Oh, nothing much,” he said, absently shrugging.

“Come one. Help with what? What have you got up your sleeve?” asked Taiki, eyeing Mamoru curiously as he leaned against the nearby couch.

“Well,” Mamoru said carefully. “I have another idea for a prank, but I’ll need help to do it.”

Taiki blinked. “You’re going to prank Usagi again, aren’t you?” he asked, wondering if Mamoru had forgotten what went on a little over a day ago.

“Yeah.”

“Are you insane? Do you know what will happen if you prank her again this soon?” Taiki asked, easily imagining the torture his friend would go through.

“Yeah. I have a pretty good idea. She’s already planning her next prank on me, so if I go ahead and do another one before she does hers I’ll only have to suffer through one prank instead of two,” he said, wondering if there was any way he could pry Yaten away from the game. he had the high score on the game, and Yaten looked like he was getting pretty close to it. And there was no way Yaten was going to have the high score on HIS game. That would be just…disgraceful.

“Well, it makes sense, I suppose,” Taiki said, watching Mamoru watch Yaten. It would be pretty interesting to see Mamoru and Yaten get into a fight, but he really didn’t feel like saving his brother. Despite what everyone else thought, Mamoru was pretty powerful, and it definitely wouldn’t be good to see a bloodied Yaten just before dinner. He’d lose his appetite. Taiki sighed. Guess he would have to save his arrogant, snot-nosed brother if it came down to it.

“What are you going to do?” he asked, watching Mamoru and Yaten carefully.

“Not exactly sure yet,” Mamoru said, his eyes still on Yaten. “I mean, I have a pretty good idea, but a lot of the details are still iffy.”

“Oh,” he said, thinking hard as he did so. He hadn’t pulled a prank on anybody in, well…ever, and it sounded like it would be fun. A whole lot of fun. Maybe if he asked he would be allowed to help…Or if not, maybe Mamoru would tell him what he was planning to do. It couldn’t hurt. After all, he’d come back to Eart hav have fun, and if he didn’t then this would be a wasted trip. And he really didn’t like wasting time, especially his own.

It was just…wrong.

Taiki cleared his throat, drawing Mamoru’s gaze away from Yaten. “Could I help?” he asked, watching as Mamoru’s face changed from one of masked anger to one of mild surprise.

“Well, sure you can. I mean, if you really want to.”

Taiki nodded eagerly, hoping he didn’t look that pathetic. “Yes, I think it would be fun. I mean, I’ve never pulled a prank before, and…”

Mamoru looked at Taiki, somewhat in shock. “You mean to say that you’ve never played a prank on anybody?” he asked.

Taiki shook his head.

Mamoru grinned. “Then you definitely won’t want to miss this,” he said, frightening Taiki with the slightly demonic gleam that had appeared in his eyes. Was that normal? He knew it wasn’t for humans, but Mamoru wasn’t any ordinary human. He decided not to ask. Maybe if he just ignored it, the demonic gleam would go away.

Mamoru grinned to himself as he quickly went over his plan. He had been worried about how he would pull it off with just himself, but now that he had Taiki on his side…well, things were going to be a whole lot easier.

“You guys are such idiots.”

Mamoru, as well as Taiki, looked over at Yaten with some surprise. The more arrogant version of Mamoru was turned towards them, away from the TV, which was a shock in itself, and was looking at them with no small amount of disdain.

“Like you could pull off something great on your own,” he sniffed, standing up and moving over to them.

“Hey!” said Mamoru. “I’ve pulled off plenty of pranks on my own!”

Yaten rolled his eyes. “Having Luna or Artemis help you doesn’t count as doing it on your own, and don’t deny it because both of those catnip sniffers confessed.”

Mamoru looked at the floor, handing in his pajama pockets, as he blushed. He couldn’t believe those flea magnets had squealed. He’d given them a year’s worth of catnip as part of the deal. It looked like he’d have to pay a visit to remind them exactly who was their catnip supplier.

He looked up at Yaten. “I’ve pulled off some without their help,” he said.

“So what? If you didn’t have their help you had someone else’s,” Yaten said, crossing his arms and looking at Mamoru with mild disgust. “And that’s why I’m going to help.”

Mamoru blinked. Ah…What? Did he just hear correctly?

“Excuse me?” he almost shrieked, the surprise making his voice crack as it reached a pitch that it definitely was NOT supposed to reach.

“You heard me. I’m going to help. Otherwise, you two boneheads are going to screw it up,” he said, pinning Mamoru with a haughty gaze.

Mamoru couldn’t believe his ears. Yaten wanted to help? Why? It wasn’t for the greater good of all men, that was for sure. So, why? Did he have an ulterior motive? Hmm…Well, ulterior motive or not, maybe he should just let him do it. It couldn’t hurt, right?

Well, he could only hope.

“Alright,” he said, doing his best to grin. “Glad to have you on the team. Now, since we have nothing else to do today, why don’t we get started?” he asked, patting Yaten on the back.

“Don’t touch me,” Yaten snarled. “I may be helping you, but I am not your buddy.”

“Oh,” said Mamoru, his grin fading completely. “Sorry.”

Then again, maybe it could hurt a little. But hey, no pain, no gain, right?

Meanwhile…

The pink-haired child growled to herself as she stood in front of her mother’s house. Well, her past mother’s house. It had taken her forever, but ChibiUsa had finally convinced her father to let her come back to the past for a visit.

Her mother had taken a vacation, and had left her all alone with her father and the scouts, which was a huge mistake. Being the person she was, the minute her mother had left, she had started pranking everyone right and left. ChibiUsag knew that she’d pranked everyone at least three times.

Or was it four?

Of course, when she’d asked to go back to the past to get rid of her boredom, she’d been told no. But, being Usagi’s future daughter, she’d ignored the no and had eventually gotten a yes.

But only after promising to never put a snake in her father’s bed again.

So now, she was here. Ready to get even. Stupid Usagi. ChibiUsa couldn’t believe that Usagi had tricked her into going back to the future AND had sent a note with her that said how many pranks she’d pulled, as well as how many times she’d done something she wasn’t supposed to.

Stupid Usagi. Getting her grounded. She’d only been relieved of her punishment when her mother had decided to take a vacation.

ChibiUsa glared at the house. What Usagi did to her was so mean. It was wrong in every sense of the word.

So, she was going to get even.

She just had to find Mamo-chan. She hoped that he was still at home, and hadn’t gone out anywhere.

She guessed she’d find out soon enough.

ChibiUsa took a deep breath, adjusted her backpack, and began marching towards Mamoru’s house.

Just think, a few blocks from now, she’d start the beginning of what would surely be the end of Usagi’s reign as the Ultimate Prank Queen.

She couldn’t wait.

End of Chapter 9! Hoped you liked it! Please review!!