I would do anything for love…but I won't do that. No I won't do that.

"Cute shorts. But aren't they a little breezy."

The slap came from behind, cracking sharply across his backside. Masato let out an ignominious yelp and whirled, only to find himself face to fanged, furry face with a leering nightmarish visage. A punch cup dropped from nerveless fingers, spilling neon tangerine colored witches brew on the floor where it formed a sticky-sweet puddle. He stumbled back, nearly wiping out a display of grinning jack-o-lanterns, groping instinctively for a dagger he wasn't wearing.

From deep within the snarling visage came laugher, hearty and deep.

"Jinsei," growled the dark-haired man, his lapis lazuli eyes snapping with ill-temper and sudden recognition beneath his plain black eye mask. "I know it's you in there. I recognize that braying laugh, you ass." He rubbed his stinging rear as he glared at the man in the fur jumpsuit. "What the hell was that for, you perv?"

"The question is," still hidden behind his wolf mask, Jinsei pointed, "what the hell are those for?" He shoved the black and dusty grey furred face mask up out of his way revealing tangled curls of white and dark gold and azure eyes that were twinkling mischievously. "Why in Gaia's name are you wearing lederhosen, Masato? I mean really. Leather short shorts? Who on Earth are you supposed to be?"

A dull red flush heated the taller man's cheeks and he fought back the urge to throttle one of his oldest and occasionally closest friends. "I could ask you the same question, mutt-face, but I don't have to. You're the Big Bad Wolf."

"At your service," Jinsei bobbed a quick, mocking bow and tipped his hair-covered mask as if it were a chapeau. A fine sifting of grey-white talcum powder puffed from it into the air and wafted down onto his friend's costume.

"A beast. Rei-san's going for truth in advertising, is she?" sniped Masato.

Jinsei clapped a hand over his heart and contrived to look wounded. "Ow. That hurts, man. I'm wounded."

"Not yet," sneered Masato, dusting off his costume leather breeches, "but the night's still young."

"Promises, promises," smirked the blond. "Actually, it's because of Usagi-san's idea for the party where everyone was supposed to come in a couple's costume. Like the masques of old. If you recall, she specifically told us to come as fairy-tale characters because she and Endymion were coming in their princess and prince forms, with her as Rapunzel because for Serenity's sake her hair would do for it. And then Mina said we all couldn't come as Kings and princesses because it would be redundant and boring."

Actually, what the scatterbrained Venusian had said was that too many princes would spoil the broth, which had made no sense at all, but everyone had gotten the proper gist anyway.

"I remember," grumbled Masato, vastly bored with the recap of the conversation he all too well remembered. "So?"

"Well, Rei's favorite fairy tale was Little Red Riding Hood."

"Of course." Masato gave a knowing nod and rolled his eyes heavenward. "Who else would she come as?"

"Right. Though she did say that my costume DID suit me," admitted his friend with a devious twinkle in his eyes. "But honestly, I wasn't about to argue with her after seeing HER costume. She's wearing those sexy red spike heels with it. The ones that make her legs go on forever. They just kill me." The man licked his lips, as if savoring a particularly tasty treat. "And you should see that hot little cape. Rrrow."

"You know, she'd slap you completely senseless if she saw that silly, lecherous grin you're wearing," announced Masato.

"I know." His friend seemed not at all concerned about it. "But it's not my fault. It's the whole 'what big teeth you've got,' thing. Or at least that's what I told her when she caught me with my tongue out earlier. He rubbed his cheek appreciatively, as if recalling a stinging smack with fondness.

Masato couldn't help it. He burst out laughing. "You're hopeless, Jinsei."

Jinsei nodded in agreement, then waved back at Masato. "Now seriously," he prodded, staring at his friend with a critical eye from the top of his feather tipped Alpine hat to his flower-embroidered suspenders and lederhosen, to his low, hiking-type boots. "Just what or who are you supposed to be other than an escapee accordion player in an oom-pa-pa band?"

Masato sighed. "Hansel," he admitted, shifting uncomfortably as if the Bavarian short pants were a bit tight.

"What? I mean…who?"

"Hansel. As in Hansel and Gretel. It was Makoto's favorite fairy tale as a girl. Most of the story takes place in a gingerbread house, you know. And the girl saves the day by taking out the witch and then gets happily reunited with her lost parents."

"Riiiight. Well I guess that makes sense. Where IS Makoto, anyway? I haven't seen her tonight."

"She's over there." Masato's Makoto radar was always set on high and it didn't take him but a few seconds to find her despite the milling crowd. "By the refreshment table setting out more cookies and chatting with the fellow in the green lizard costume, Gurio-san, and Tsukino-san, Usagi's mother."

Jinsei glanced across the milling crowd, then stared. He let out a long low whistle and risked nearly getting his block knocked off. "Wow. Okay. No wonder you let her dress you in short pants."

Makoto, who had just snagged a handful of imported candy corn for herself and was laughing at something the lizard (actually Umino-the-Reluctant-Dragon) had said, looked like a Teutonic dream in a bright turquoise dirndl that made her auburn hair glow autumn red in the light.

Her peasant blouse was cinched in at the waist by a tightly laced, embroidered bodice. She wore a short, full skirt capped by a crisp, sugar-white apron that bore a pocket shaped like a gingerbread man. Tucked into her pocket was a swirling, rainbow of a lollipop. Her long curls and been pulled back into a pair of tight Swiss miss braids and tied with ribbon bows and multi-colored flowers. A tiny teal eye mask trimmed with more ribbons and lace finished her costume.

"Stop gawking before I have you neutered, you dog," growled Masato jealously, his voice low. Swatting Jinsei on the back of the head, he reminded him, "You've got your own woman."

Ruefully, Jinsei rubbed his scalp, dragging his gaze away. "I know, but damn, Masato. She usually is more Earth-mother, so to speak, but tonight she looks…just…hot. Like Rei hot. You're a lucky man."

Masato smirked, then glanced backward fondly. "Why do you think I didn't complain more about these stupid britches? You didn't think I wanted to wear them, did you? Seriously, leather pants are more Zenjirou's thing than mine. Of course I hope he doesn't see me in them or he'll probably never let me live it down."

"You're assuming I will?" Jinsei eyebrows arched wickedly. "Aren't you the eternal optimist?"

"I know where you live," was all Masato said, looking momentarily fierce. "Now point out which one is Zenjirou, so I'll know who to avoid tonight. And where's Koichi, anyway? I haven't seen hide nor hair of him and god knows with that platinum hair of his, he can't hide."

"Well, Zen's over there with Ami-chan," said Jinsei gesturing toward a couple across the room who were chatting animatedly with some other party-goers, including Kaiou Michiru, who managed to look perfectly natural in her mermaid costume. "You're probably right about him not letting you live it down if he sees you in those shorts. At least not for the next few centuries."

Masato followed his glance until his gaze settled on the unlikely couple, who usually looked like the tall and short of it, though tonight they seemed well paired. The tall, lanky Zenjirou was resplendent in a crisp, almost militaristic tunic decked out with a satin sash slashing across his chest from shoulder to waist and hung about with large jeweled broaches, while Ami looked both delicate and fair swathed in voluminous silver and gauzy blue skirts, which were just short enough to reveal a pair of clear Lucite dancing slippers which shone like spun glass. A glittering silver tiara perched atop her cropped blue locks had added a few precious inches to her height. She clutched a glittering, rhinestone trimmed mask-on-a-stick in her hand. Zenjirou held a similar one in dark blue, probably having chosen that style of mask himself so he wouldn't muss his flowing mane of red-gold curls, of which he was notoriously vain. Said curls gleamed against his shoulders in a well-coifed, ribbon-trimmed queue.

"Cinderella and Prince Charming," added Jinsei unnecessarily. "He looks rather smug, doesn't he? Rather covered up too."

"That sneaky sonofa…" sputtered Masato, plucking at his lederhosen. "I thought we were agreed that we weren't going to come as royalty tonight. So how…?"

Jinsei laughed. "Old Zen always has his ways, hasn't he? Maybe he paid off Endy…I mean, Mamoru. But buck up man. At least you get to see Makoto looking good enough to eat tonight." He waggled his brows suggestively. "And that's an idea to keep you warm the rest of this chilly October night, ne? Cause Gaia knows those shorts won't."

"A pervert to the last, aren't you Jade? I should have known." The lilting tones of a female voice brought the men back down to earth. Rei, a crimson cloak draped lightly over her ebony locks, which had been curled into long coils of silk, stood beside them. She was actually dressed in a rather similar getup to Makoto's only it was nearly all red and white with just a touch of inky black here and there.

A quick glace downward had Masato firmly dragging his gaze back up to her face and keeping it there with rigid control. Jinsei hadn't been wrong about those heels.

"Guilty," her boyfriend admitted, patting her lightly on her petticoated bottom and giving her a cheerful leer. "Why, Rei. What long legs you have, little girl…"

"Don't!" Rei clapped a hand over Jinsei's mouth to stifle him before he could make a more lewd comment she'd have to slap him for. She decided to ignore for the present the arm which wrapped around her slim waist and pressed her to him. She could dump a cup of icy punch down his trousers later and thereby dampen his ardor.

"Good to see you, Masato. It's quite the party. I think Usagi and Mamoru invited half of Tokyo to this shindig. Are you having fun? It's an interesting idea for an engagement party, isn't it?"

Masato nodded consideringly. "It's different at least. I'd have to say that it's very Usagi to have a Halloween Party. I didn't think that was celebrated in Japan, though."

"It isn't. Not really," Rei mused. "Obon, the festival celebrating the ancestors, is the closest we come. But truly, how could Usagi-chan pass up a holiday that centers on dressing up, having fun, playing pranks, and the pursuit and consumption of candy. Doubtless it will become a national holiday when Usa becomes Neo-Queen Serenity."

"Youproblyright," mumbled Jinsei behind Rei's fingers, as though he'd heard that line of reasoning before, which he probably had. He kissed her palm and she pulled her hand back as if it had been burned, making him chuckle.

"Hey, Rei honey, have you seen Koichi? It's not like him to be late. He's usually obscenely prompt."

"Sorry, no," admitted Rei, shaking her head and making her curls dance. She grumbled, clutching at the mass which bobbed by rosy cheeks, which, combined with her unusual volubility that night, made Masato wonder if someone had, perchance, spiked the pumpkin juice. "Stupid fat sausage curls. I should've just worn it tied with a red ribbon, but no, I had to listen to Usagi. She said I'd look like I was copying Minako if I wore that.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Minako either," commented Jinsei.

"She always likes to be late to parties to make a suitable entrance," they were informed. "It's a trademark. Mostly because she can never decide what to wear. But never fear. She'll be here soon." Rei tossed her head and the curls bounced again.

With a snort, Rei stepped away, batting at the wayward locks. "Excuse me, gentlemen, but I've got to do something about these before they drive me round the bend. Maybe I'll chop the whole lot off."

"Nooooo," wailed her boyfriend plaintively. "I love your long hair, Firebird!"

Rei sniggered and gave her hair a knowing pat. "I know. See you later, guys." She ran a long appreciative gaze over Masato's snug fitting leather shorts. "Mmm…now I know why Makoto didn't argue more about wearing that ridiculous Heidi-ho-esque getup. Like she said, when a man looks that good in tight leather shorts…"

The stunned look on Masato's face and the hectic color burning across his cheeks made her giggle, which turned into full peals of laughter as Jinsei roared, "Woman…what did I say about ogling anybody but me?!" and leapt at her with a theatrical fierceness. She dodged sideways, neatly avoiding the gummy spot on the floor where Masato's punch had fallen, and disappeared into the crowd of masked party guests, laughing as she went.

Jinsei began to chuckle and thumped Masato on the shoulder. "I've told ya before that her heat's not just in her temper."

"I don't want to know." Masato shook his dark head wearily. "We are entirely under their thumbs, and so far out of our depths with them that it's not even funny."

"Ah well," his blond friend grinned. "Grin and bear it and take it like a man. No one said you couldn't enjoy going under. And take heart. Koichi hasn't completely succumbed yet to Minako."

"Don't you mean that the other way around? She's…"

"HAIL, HAIL, THE GANGSTER'S ALL HERESAY! THE PARTY CAN START NOW!"

The booming yet high-pitched squeal, carrying well over the room in spite of the sound of both music and conversation, stopped dead in its tracks any further reply by Jinsei. The fact that the words spoken were misquoted, and badly so, could only mean that Aino Minako had made her fashionably late entrance, just as Rei had prophesied. And in grand style too.

"We'd better go say hi."

Jinsei and Masato pushed through the crowd until they spotted the stunning blue-eyed blond who, so far as they knew was blowing alternately hot and cold and leading their beleaguered leader a not so merry dance.

Their jaws sagged. Theirs weren't the only ones. The whole crowd was gawking.

Minako had gone for the full Sweet Lolita look with a girlish dress and pinafore the color of buttercups and printed with darker yellow rosebuds, beneath which peeped ruffled pantaloons. Her sun-kissed locks had been curled almost identically to Rei's but atop them she wore a frilled bonnet which tied in a fat bow under her chin, giving her the look of a porcelain doll. Glossy patent leather Mary Janes added polish and a hint of flash to the girlish appearance. Tucked in the deep pockets on each side of her apron was the final capper, two teddy bears, going along for the ride with their outrageous Goldilocks.

Finally Jinsei found his tongue, though he still hadn't managed to drag his eyes from the sight. "Eh…isn't she…uh…missing… That is, where's the Third Bear?"

Minako giggled behind her hand.

A strange growling reached Masato's ears and he turned around and groaned as he spotted their definitely unhappy leader wrapped in sandy brown plush with a familiar scarlet bow around his neck. His face was very nearly as red.

"No…" breathed Jinsei in disbelief, staring pink satin-lined, fuzzy ears. After all, a man would do anything for love, but there were limits. "It can't be."

Sadly, it was. Koichi…their leader, was dressed as a teddy bear. A cute one.

How the mighty had fallen.

"Isn't he adorable," Minako announced, beaming as if she'd won a prize.

"I believe that growl was the sound of him going down for the third time," choked out Masato.

Koichi growled again, his fist bunching spasmodically at his side. "I believe I need a drink."

Jinsei took another glance and shook his head, pushing his friends toward the bar, though he feared there wasn't enough booze in the world to numb the image of Teddy Kunzite. "Koichi, I believe you can say that again."