SUBSTITUTE FOR LOVE A Sailor Moon Sekkushiaru Roman by Sailor Mac "Hey! Guess what we did last night?" Serena and her friends all gave each other "not *again*" looks. There was no mistaking the brassy bray coming from the next table in the lunchroom. Leanne again. "I *refuse* to listen to another one of her depraved stories," Lita said. "Honestly, does she think that *anyone* is really interested in her and that kinky boyfriend of hers?" "I don't think we have any choice," Amy sighed. "She yells loud enough to be heard in Hawaii." ". . .a really *huge* one! And get this. . .it had *two* heads! It was like two big dicks glued together. . ." Amy turned crimson. Mina giggled nervously. Lita gritted her teeth, barely holding in her fury. Serena just swallowed hard and stared at her plate. Why does Leanne do this? she thought. No *normal* person would tell stories like that - at least, not in a public place at high volume! Does she *really* have a boyfriend who's this wild? Or is she just making this all up to get attention? "Yep! One end of it inside me, and the other end of it up his. . ." "That's IT!" Lita slammed the table and stood up. "Lita!" said Amy. "Calm down! You were thrown out of your old school for fighting, you don't want it to happen again!" "I don't care! I'm sick of her upsetting everybody in the school except her own snooty clique!" She stalked over to the other table. "Okay, Leanne, you and me outside - now!" The other girl laughed. "Lita, are you getting into fights over nothing now?" "This isn't nothing! Your stories are sick, sick, sick, and they're upsetting my friends!" "Butt out, Kino!" said one of Leanne's cronies. "Just because *your* friends are *prudes* doesn't mean that we have to sink to your level." "Prudes? I'll show you who's a prude!" She grabbed Leanne's shirt with one hand, the other girl's with the other, and yanked them both out of their seats. . . And that's when the teacher came by and said, "Miss Kino. . .perhaps you'd like to take a walk to the principal's office?" "But this one is the one who needs to be busted!" Lita said, pointing to Leanne. "She was talking at the top of her lungs about. . ." "I don't know what she's getting so upset about," said Leanne in a demure voice. "I was just discussing my date last night." "The principal's office, Miss Kino," the teacher said. "NOW." Serena watched Lita being led out, feelings churning inside her. She was furious, to be sure, and appalled. . . But why, on some level, did she feel *sorry* for Leanne? * * * "You look listless, Meatball Head," Darien said, watching his girlfriend play with her straw paper. She'd barely said five words since they'd arrived at Crown Cafe. Which meant that something was wrong. She heaved a big sigh. "Lita got detention today." There's got to be more to it than just that, Darien thought. It's not the first time Lita's had detention. "What happened?" he said. "Oh, Darien. . .it's Leanne again." He exhaled a long breath. "I thought it was something like that." "She was telling her stories in the cafeteria again, and it was sicker than ever, and Lita confronted her. . ." She shook her head. "I just don't see what in the world would make somebody do something like that. . .talk about kinky sex stuff at the top of their lungs in front of everyone. Normal people just don't *do* that." "Some people just want attention, and they'll get it any way they can," he said. "Yes, but. . .*why* does she need so much attention? Something's really, really wrong in her life, Darien. I can just feel it. And part of me wants to turn into Sailor Moon and zap her with my Heart Moon Rod. . .and part of me just wants to help her." He leaned over and squeezed her hand. "I understand, honey. She's annoying, but she's also in pain." "If only I knew what that pain was. . ." Poor Serena, he thought. She never could see a person in pain, any kind of pain, without wanting to heal them. It was just the nature of her beautiful soul. And when she sees someone else in pain. . .she feels their pain as well. She needs a distraction, he thought. "Hey. . .feel like going for a motorcycle ride?" "Where to?" "Well, I thought we'd stop at Kinokuniya first. I think I saw a bunch of new manga magazines being unloaded off a truck there this morning. . .then, we just *might* stop for ice cream, and then. . .perhaps up in the hills to look at the stars." Her mood instantly shifted. Her eyes lit up. "Muffin. . .that sounds *great!*" She jumped up, rushed to his side of the table and hugged him. "You always know what I need most. . ." He kissed her. "My pleasure, my love. My pleasure." * * * "What a beautiful evening," she sighed, leaning her head on his shoulder. They were far away from civilization, high on a hill, sitting on a blanket that had been in his saddlebag, looking at the sparkling lights of Tokyo below them. "It's just about perfect, isn't it?" he said, putting an arm around her. She was so relaxed, he could tell. For the moment, there was no Deathbusters, no thefts of pure hearts, no threats to the world. . .and no mouthy girls spreading kinky stories. "Thank you so much for everything, Darien," she said. "You're so good to me. . ." "I love you," he replied. "That's why I'm good to you. And you. . .you've always been wonderful to me. There were times when I thought I didn't deserve you. . ." "Darien, don't say that. You've always been such a help to me. From the moment I first saw you, standing on that ledge when I was fighting my first-ever youma. . .you gave me the hope to carry on." "Serena. . ." He pulled her toward him, and their lips met in a long, sweet kiss. She lowered her head to his chest, their arms wrapping around each other as they tumbled down to the blanket. "Mmm," she said. "I feel so warm now. . .so comfortable. . .so complete. . ." "It's like time is standing still," he replied, stroking her hair. "I could lie here with you forever." "I wish we could," she sighed. She leaned over so her lips could claim his again, and she let her hands wander down to his chest, one slipping inside his shirt as her tongue slid into his mouth. Her fingers sought out and caressed a nipple, and she felt him stir beneath her touch. Slowly, she eased away. "Maybe we shouldn't. . .not here. . ." He smiled. "Baby, we're all alone, in the middle of the wild, with the stars above us. . .there's never been a better setting." He brought his mouth to hers again. Her tongue tangled and danced with his, and she began to unbutton his shirt, pushing it aside, grasping both nipples between her thumbs and forefingers and gently squeezing. He let out a long, low groan, which sent hot shivers through her. She'd read that not every man had sensitive nipples. Oh, how lucky she was that Darien was one of them! He rolled her onto her back and tossed his shirt aside, then frantically began pulling at her blouse. Together, they rid her of it, as well as her bra, pants, socks. . . His lips came to hers again, and started to kiss downward slowly, slowly. . . When she felt his tongue flick across her nipple, she moaned his name, arching upwards, encouraging him to suck, suck. . . "Baby, baby," she sighed as he drew the hardened bud in. Her fingers tangled in his thick, black hair, her legs wrapping around him as she moved her hips, rubbing her womanhood against his manhood. He lifted his head, and he began to caress her nipples with both fingers. She cried out. "Yes, baby," he said in a low, sexy voice. "Moan like that. . .you can make all the noise you want, honey, there's nobody around to hear us." He reached down and stripped off her panties, bringing another passionate cry from her. She sat up, grabbed the zipper of his jeans and yanked it down, plunging her hand inside so she could grasp his hardened manhood. She began to stroke it with a rapid up-and-down movement, bringing her mouth up to his chest so she could suck on a nipple. Now it was his turn to moan. "Serena. . .oh baby. . .keep doing that, oh yes, just like that. . ." She pushed his pants downward, and he pulled away from her just to rid himself of his remaining garments. "Gods, you drive me crazy," he growled before bringing his mouth to hers again, his fingers probing between her legs, finding the sweet, wet softness there. . .He slid two fingers inside her, thrusting slowly, tantalizingly slowly. . .She felt liquid heat surging through her body, which intensified when he began to stroke her pearl with his thumb. "Darien. . .oh, Gods. . .I want it, I need it. . ." "What do you need, Serena?" "You. . .oh, I need you. . ." She wants me inside her, he thought. Well, I won't give her that. . .quite yet. He eased away from her, and turned himself around so they were in "counting lesson" position, with his head by her womanhood and hers by his manhood. He began to lick at her eagerly, sweeping his tongue up and down her petals, laying light kisses everywhere, flicking his tongue in and out, in and out of her entrance. . .Her mouth was drawing him in, surrounding him, and he felt her start a gentle, but firm sucking. Heat was running all over his body. . .oh, Gods, he thought, I don't know how long I'm going to be able to hold out. . . He slid his tongue up to her jewel and began to lap at it with rapid strokes. He felt her tense, then shudder. . . She felt hot shocks of passion consume her, her whole body shaking with blissful release. It was heaven, pure heaven. . . Then, he was easing away from her, and he was kneeling on the ground, pulling her onto his lap, murmuring to her softly as his fingers caressed her nipples. The fires within her were slowly starting to build again. . . "Darien. . .Darien," she moaned, leaning forward, then back, then forward again. . .she felt him easing her into a position where she was on all fours, heard the noise behind her as he fished in the pocket of his discarded pants for a rubber. . . The first thrust into her womanhood made her gasp. . .and she gasped again as he connected with her G-spot. "There!" she said. "Oh, yes, THERE!" And he began to thrust quickly, and the friction against that sweet spot deep within her made her passion level rise higher and higher and. . . Pleasure from her G-spot felt different from pleasure from her pearl, sharper and hotter. . .but both types were equally delicious. She thrust backward against him, moaning and moaning as his hands came under her body to caress her breasts, rubbing the nipples, gently squeezing them. . . "AAAAAHHHH!!" she screamed as the waves of pleasure broke over her, as she felt the fluid of her ejaculation shoot from her. And he answered her scream with a shout of his own, as he came with her. She collapsed onto the blanket, panting, dazed. He quickly removed the rubber, wrapping it in tissues to be dealt with later, and lay beside her, taking her into his arms and softly kissing her. "That was so wonderful," she whispered. "I love you so, so much. . ." "I love you too, darling." Wrapped tightly in his arms, her head on his chest, she began to drift off. * * * Her blissful sleep was interrupted by a beeping. Oh, no, she thought. Not that. . .please not that. . . But she heard Raye's voice. . . "Serena! Can you hear me? The enemy's at the Women's Shelter on B Street!" She sat up, holding Darien's shirt to her bare breasts, and pushed the button on the communicator. "We're on our way!" she said. She fumbled around through her clothes, looking for her locket. . . "What happened?" he said. She found what she was seeking. "Our perfect evening just came to an end. . .MOON COSMIC POWER!" * * * The battle was surprisingly easy. By the time Serena and Darien got there, Eudial had already fled in a huff when the heart crystal turned out to be a dud, and the other girls had softened up the daimon. Just about all that remained was for Serena to deliver the killing blow. "What took you two so long, anyway?" Raye said. "Where were you?" "We were. . .out riding!" said Serena quickly - a bit too quickly. "Hmph," said Raye, with an "I-definitely-don't-believe-you" look on her face. Feeling a blush stain her cheeks, Serena tried to recover. "So. . .how'd you know the enemy was here, anyway?" "One of the women who's staying at the shelter had come to the temple to pray. Chad and I dropped her off in the van, and when we arrived, Eudial was here." Chad was still waiting around the corner, in fact, and he loaded up the other girls to take them home. Serena and Darien set off on foot to collect the motorcycle. "Don't detransform yet," Darien said. "This is *not* the part of town where someone wants to be walking around unarmed." Serena clutched her Spiral Heart Moon Rod tightly. "I wasn't planning on it," she said. "Gods, I wonder what kind of person would *choose* to live here. . ." And then, they heard the scream. "What was that?" Serena said. The window of a ramshackle building flew open, and a small figure started to climb out the window. She was definitely not dressed for the outdoors. . .she wore a leather bustier, black panties, fishnet stockings and spike-heel boots. Serena caught sight of her face - and gasped. "Leanne," she told Darien. "That's Leanne!" And then, a man's voice roared, "LEANNE! GET BACK IN HERE!" The girl screamed again and struggled as the man pulled her back into the building, then slammed the window. . . "Oh, Gods!" said Serena. "That boyfriend of hers. . .he's going to hurt her!" "We're going in there," Darien said, pulling his weapon out of its sheath. "Darien. . .our weapons. . .we've never used them against humans who weren't possessed with any kind of dark energy before! What if they don't work?" "Well, my dear. . .if they work, you have a Spiral Heart Moon Rod and I have an Earth Blade. If they don't. . .you have a blunt object and I have a knife." Another scream came from inside the building, and they knew they had no time to waste. They ran up the steps and opened the door, finding themselves looking at a grimy hallway. Sobs were coming from the door to their right, and a man's voice was saying, "Whatsa matter, baby? I thought you liked that kinda stuff!" "No! Not that! Not that!" "You're gonna do it, or I'm gonna. . ." Serena tried the door and found it locked. "Get away," said Darien, starting to charge up his weapon. "EARTH BLADE EXECUTION!" The beam of golden light blew the lock away. "What the hell was that?" shouted a man's voice - and to Serena's horror, she realized it was a different man's voice than before. . . The door swung open a crack. "Now!" said Darien. He shot a rose through the opening, and both of them charged in. Serena was so shocked by what she saw that for a moment, speech failed her. Leanne was trussed to a rumpled bed. There were *four* naked adults in the room, three men and a woman. Every available surface was covered with sex toys, handcuffs, a whip. . . And the man closest to Leanne was holding a knife to her throat. "SAILOR MOON!" Leanne screamed. "HELP ME!" "SHUT UP, BITCH!" the man said, pushing the knife into the girl so hard that it started to draw blood. . . "STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!" Serena shouted. "I'm Sailor Moon! Champion of. . ." "We *know* who you are, girlie," one of the other men said. "Beat it, or. . ." "Or what?" said Darien. The man grabbed a gun out of a drawer and aimed it at Serena. "Or. . .this." Oh, Gods, thought Serena, what do we do now. . .oh Gods, oh Gods, oh Gods. . . Then, she felt Darien push his mind towards hers. -You're in magical form, love. Conventional bullets can't harm you.- -How do we *know* that? Nobody's ever shot at us before!- "Now, then," the man with the knife said, "where were we?" And he lowered his weapon just long enough to cut off Leanne's panties. She screamed as he brought the knife to her throat again, and one of the other men approached her, his intent clear. . . Suddenly, Serena didn't give a damn about the gun. She decided to go with an old standby. . . "MOON TIARA. . .MAGIC!" The glowing disc screamed through the air and knocked the knife out of the man's hand. . .and seconds later, she heard the explosion and felt the bullet slamming into her ribcage. She fell to the floor, convinced she was dead. . . Until she heard one of the adults shout, "What the FUCK?" She put her hand to where it hit and felt nothing. No blood. The bullet had bounced right off her fuku and ended up embedded in a wall. She looked up, and saw Darien wrestling with the gunman, who was trying to get the Earth Blade away from him. . .and the guy who had been holding Leanne hostage was approaching from behind with a chair, ready to hit Darien over the head with it. . . "TUXEDO MASK!" Serena screamed, springing to her feet, grabbing her weapon. There was no time to charge it up. . .and in a flash, she remembered what Darien had said. . . "I've got a knife, you've got a blunt object. . ." She swung the Spiral Heart Moon Rod like a baseball bat. It connected with the man's head and sent him sprawling. The woman was coming at her now, swinging one of the whips. . .Serena yelled "SAILOR KICK!" and launched a high kick at the woman's jaw, sending her to the floor as well. The third man just gawked at Serena's double assault. . .which gave Darien the advantage he needed. He pinned the man to the floor and held the Earth Blade to his throat. Serena sprung to Leanne and undid her bonds. The girl was sobbing uncontrollably. "Thank you, Sailor Moon," she whispered. "Thank you so much. . ." Darien now had the Earth Blade in one hand and the gun in the other. "Go call the police," he said. "I'll hold them." She managed to find a telephone buried underneath a pile of hardcore hentai manga. As she dialed, the man Darien was holding said, "Go ahead and call. We didn't do anything." "Holding a young girl against her will for immoral purposes is definitely *something,*" Darien said. "She *wanted* it! Rich over there said she did plenty of. . ." "She was screaming *no* when we arrived. That didn't sound like she *wanted* it." The police arrived shortly after, a bit startled to see that they had been summoned by Sailor Moon. "We've been after this guy for awhile," one of the officers told her. "This isn't the first young girl he's debauched." She watched them all being led off, and Leanne was taken into custody as well, to give testimony. Why, Leanne? thought Serena. What on Earth would make you do something like this? What would make a young girl with her whole life ahead of her put herself in such an ugly, degrading situation. . . Darien hugged her. "You did *real* well, honey." She buried her face in the front of his tuxedo and started to cry. * * * He brought her home a little while later. When he kissed her goodnight, she clung to him. Oh, baby, she thought, I wish you could sleep with me tonight. . .I need to hold you so badly. . . In bed, sleep eluded her. While Reenie and Luna peacefully dozed, she tossed and turned. I can't rest, she thought, until I find out *why* Leanne did it. She sprang for her bed and got out her yearbook, turning to the student directory in the back, searching until she found Leanne's address. She climbed out her window onto the garage roof, brooch in hand. . . "MOON COSMIC POWER!" Fully transformed, she did a super-leap to the ground and headed for Leanne's house. * * * She had to peek in a few windows before she found Leanne's. The girl was in bed, but it looked like sleep was coming no more easily to her than it had to Serena. She sat bolt upright when she heard the noise outside. "Who's there?" "Open up, Leanne. It's me, Sailor Moon. . .I need to talk to you." The other girl opened her window. "Sailor Moon. . .I can't thank you enough for what you did." Serena hopped into the room. It looked like a typical teenage girl's room. . .some pictures of friends, a couple of posters, makeup and hair products, stuffed animals. . . "What were they going to do to you?" "Oh, Sailor Moon!" Leanne burst into tears. "I did things. . .lots of things. . .with Rich before. . .at the time, I thought it was cool and daring. . .but it wasn't! It was sick, sick, sick. . .and what he asked me to do tonight. . .oh, Gods. . ." She buried her head in her hands and shook with sobs. Serena sat next to the girl and put her arm around her. "He. . .he was the first person to love me. . .really love me. . .at least I thought he loved me. I'm the middle child, my parents never paid attention to me. . .all I ever heard about was what a great student my older brother was and what a talented athlete my younger sister was. Me, I was the one with no talent. And at school, everyone thought I was a nobody. I was alone, always alone. . .And then, I met Rich at the mall. . .and he told me I was beautiful, and special. . ." "Leanne. . .how old is Rich?" "Older." "How much older?" "He's 35." Serena almost fell on the floor. Everyone in that room had looked older than her and Darien. . .but she had no idea they were *that* old! "He took me to the amusement park, and to the movies our first couple of dates. . .and then, we started sleeping together. . .first, it was normal stuff, and then it got more and more wild. . .and I thought it was great. I thought we were the only two people in the world who did that kind of stuff, and I found out other people were interested in what we did. I would talk about our dates at school. . .and when I did, *everyone* would pay attention to me! I wasn't Miss Nobody anymore!" So that's why, Serena thought. That's why she made such a spectacle of herself. She wanted attention, because for her, it was a substitute for love. "But then, tonight, he went too far. . .he invited all his friends over, and he was going to have all of them do it to me at once. At once! One man in front, one in back, one in my mouth. . .and the woman would join in somehow. . .I said no, and he came after me with the knife." She burst into sobs again. "It's over now," Serena said. "The police have him." "And they said he'd done this kind of thing with other girls before. I thought it was just me. . .that I was. . .special." Serena put her hand on the other girl's. "You are special, Leanne. You just don't realize it yet. And now. . .I have to go." "Thank you so much again, Sailor Moon." As Serena sprang out the window, she had tears in her eyes. I sometimes take all the wonderful people in my life for granted, she thought. Talking to Leanne right now made me realize how lucky I am to have them. . .that even before I was Sailor Moon, I *never* felt like Miss Nobody, never felt I had to do anything drastic. . . She thought about the heavenly evening she'd spent with Darien, and contrasted it with the hell Leanne went through. She shuddered. She sent up a silent prayer that Leanne would find herself, learn to love herself, find *real* friends and *real* love. She had started to walk toward her house, but now she started to walk in another direction. When she reached Darien's apartment building, she super-leaped her way up the balconies until she reached his. He felt her presence in his sleep. He got out of bed and went into the living room, and there she was, silhouetted in moonlight, her golden hair blowing on the wind. "I just need to be held right now," she whispered. He came to her and took her in his arms, and she remained there for a long time, tears slowly leaking from her eyes. AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here's an update on the "Secrets of the Sexy Slippers" series. . .I'm pleased to announce that Steven Savage and Commander Galos will be collaborating on a Pluto story, so we now have an author for every Senshi! Thanks to everyone who has helped make this series such a success! Standard Sailor Moon disclaimers apply. These characters ain't mine, I'm just borrowing them for a little while.