I don't know if anyone is still looking at this fic, but you faithful fans
have been rewarded for your seemingly endless wait! Callisto, this chapter
is for you! ^_^
Disclaimer: * points Heero's gun at Naoko Takeuchi while demanding the rights to Sailor Moon as ransom * Does that answer your question?
Warnings: Um, spoilers. MAJOR spoilers. But you guys should know all this stuff by now, so go ahead and read! Oh, and plot meddling. Lots of plot meddling!
Title: The Man Behind the Mask Rating: G Author: Sailor Celeste E-mail: LL1940@aol.com Chapter 3: Serena Tsukino, Private Eye
"Yeah right Serena!" Raye scoffed," Sometimes you really make me think that there are moon rocks rolling around in that head of yours!"
Serena made a face at her raven-haired friend, and slurped up the remaining chocolate milkshake. "Fine, don't believe me." She pouted. Raye rolled her eyes, Amy kept on reading her book, and Mina and Lita just stared at her.
"You do have to admit that what you said sounds silly." Amy stated from behind the cover of Hamlet. "I mean, the odds of Darien Shields being Tuxedo Mask are almost zero."
The scouts nodded. Serena just glared at them. The one time she was being serious they thought she was joking. 'Maybe I am joking,' she thought to herself 'it does sound kind of far fetched.'
"But I know what I saw!" She spoke her last thought aloud, "I think I'm right, and I'm going to find out. I thought that I could count on you guys to believe me and help me, but I guess I was wrong." She stood up abruptly. Grabbing the light coat that hung on the back of the chair, she flung a few dollars onto the table. (AN: I guess that should be Yen, but I don't care!) "See you later." She flounced away from her dumbfounded friends, trying to keep her anger in check.
"Wait! Sere-" Mina's call was cut short by the clicking of the arcade door. If they didn't want to help, then Serena was just going to have to take matters into her own hands.
* * *
"Serena! What are you planning to do? I've seen that look on your face before! It always leads to trouble!" Luna yowled up at Serena, who was furiously burrowing through the mess in her closet. Luna dodged a flying sweater. "Serena! Are you listening to me?"
"Aha!" The blonde emerged from her clothes cavern with a battered looking case clutched in her delicate hand. "Were you saying something Luna?"
Luna sweat-dropped. "No." She cast a suspicious glance in the direction of the case. "What's that, and what are you planning to do with it?"
An evil grin spread across Serena's features as she tossed the case up in the air. "These are binoculars. Surely you can guess the rest."
Actually, Luna didn't even have to know what was in the case. She knew exactly what the meatball head before her was planning on doing today. It was so obvious that she was going to snoop all day, and the black cat decided that it wasn't a good idea to leave this girl by herself for very long. "Ok. I get it." Sigh "Let's go and get this over with."
Luna stood impatiently as her charge bustled about the room, gathering up the necessary spying supplies. Serena was about to dash out the door when she tripped on the leather case, which had landed on the floor after she had forgotten to catch it.
"Come on Serena!" The cat called from the hallway.
"Yeah, yeah." Serena mumbled as she pulled herself up off the floor.
In a blur of fur and blond hair the two ran out of the house, one intent on her mission and one hoping that the other would get tired of her mission soon and give it up.
Of course, this wasn't about to happen.
Serena stopped, resting her hands on her knees, taking deep breaths. "Luna," she managed to get out between gasps, "where do you think he is?"
Her cat, who was breathing regularly, shrugged. "Maybe we should go ask Andy. He usually knows what's up with Darien."
Serena looked up. Why hadn't she thought of that? A hopeful gleam appeared in her eye as she prepared to run some more. "You're right. We should go ask him." And at that she was off and running, her heart beating furiously. Luna was very surprised to see how graceful Serena appeared when she was running. Maybe it was the fluid, almost liquid movement of her legs, or maybe it was the way her hair trailed behind her like rivers of gold. But Luna was sure that it was the look of total dedication that had transformed the girl's face into a mask of determination.
"Ah, finally!" Serena stopped right as she reached the glass doors of the Crown. She peered cautiously inside, making sure that her scouts weren't there. She didn't want another encounter like this morning's. After checking out all of the candy-apple red booths, she stepped in.
"Hey Serena!" Andrew hailed her from behind the counter. "What are you up to today? If you're looking for Raye and the others they already left."
"No, actually, I wasn't looking for them." She smiled disarmingly at him. "I was really looking for you!"
"Oh, is that so?" Andrew glanced warily at the blonde now giving him a sly look. Whenever she looked like that, it meant that something was up. Something he didn't want any part in. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"To need of info my good man! To my need of info."
"And I have this info?"
"Exactly."
"That's what I was afraid of."
Back out on the street Serena walked along at a pace that was tame in comparison to her wild run. Luna still stole questioning glances at her but she was too intent upon what Andrew had told her to notice. "Has major headaches? Almost disabling?" She still couldn't imagine Dariens' haughty countenance twisted in pain. Oh wait, she could! Remembering that boat incident with Raye convinced her that Andrew could not be mistaken, and also that there was definitely something fishy going on. And she was going to get to the bottom of it.
She met with a hard barrier and was flung to the ground. Finding herself in an almost daily position she got up with remarkable speed and was halfway through a profuse apology when the site of what she had stumbled into arrested her speech. The very subject of her reverie stood before her.
Of all the people to run into! He still sat on the cold pavement, shaking his head a little. With the sudden stop of her voice he raised his eyes in recognition and smiled with what the girl could have sworn was pleased surprise. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised, I mean, we seem to run into each other all over the place!" Rubbing his head he added, "literally." She stammered a little and then just decided that helping him up would be the best answer to his wry remarks. He was back on his feet in a matter of moments and Serena struggled desperately to come up with an excuse to get away. "What's the matter?"
Her distress must have been evident upon her face because he obviously saw that there was a problem. She murmured something about being in a hurry, hoping that her forced demeanor would fool him. He nodded in understanding and she started to walk away.
"Wait, Serena!"
Serena! He called her by her real name! "Um, yes Darien?"
"I just wanted to say that it was great yesterday, seeing that you could go for hours without clutzing out!" His last words were accompanied by that grin of his and he was walking down the street before she could even yell at him.
She stood behind the most convenient corner in case Darien should try to look back and get a last glimpse at her. He didn't, and as soon as she felt it was safe she started to follow him. He wove through a virtual labyrinth of streets and before she knew it they were in the park. He stopped suddenly and the blonde haired girl had to scramble behind a tree trunk. She saw him glance wistfully at the sky, and then he collapsed onto the very bench that she had sat on after saving Molly and Melvin, the bench on which she had sat entranced by Tuxedo Masks locket. Starting out of her silent contemplation she watched him searching in his pockets for something. It took him a few minutes, several pockets were emptied and Serena had to clamp a hand over her mouth to stop from giggling when he started to yell at his jacket. Finally, though, a look of triumph replaced his angry frown and he produced something from the inside pocket of the very same jacket that he had previously been cursing.
Serena's eyes widened in recognition, shock and satisfaction showing on her face. A rainbow crystal..
"Serena!" Luna whispered angrily into the blonde's ear. Her 'owner' had run off after her collision with Darien, quickly outdistancing the petite feline. Good thing Luna could sense the girl's presence, she might have gotten into quite a bit of trouble without some common sense along. "What are you gawking at? And why are we, hmph! Ummm, mhm..."
"Sh!" Serena hissed, dodging behind the tree before Darien could spot her. "Luna! Can't you see that I'm trying to be quiet here?!"
Luna just snorted. Serena frowned and let go of her muzzle, cautiously peeking out at the bench. Empty. "Luna! Now I lost him!"
"Good. Maybe now we can forget this nonsense and go home."
"We can't go home! I just saw him with a.." She stopped suddenly, and hand flying to her mouth at the sudden recollection. Darien had a rainbow crystal, and that could only mean one thing.
He was Tuxedo Mask, and now nobody could doubt her.
"He had a what?"
"Huh?" Still marveling over the confirmation of her suspicions, Serena had not considered what this information meant. Luna was wary of Tuxedo Mask, especially after that little fiasco with the rainbow crystals, and would surely advise her to stay away from him (and Darien) from now on. The Sailor Scouts would probably be shocked and would want to confront him. Neither course seemed right to her. "Oh, um, I saw him with a picture of Raye! She'll be dying to know."
* * *
Serena had finally convinced Luna to go on home without her. She had come up with the excuse that she was going to dish the dirt on Darien with Raye, knowing that the cat would never believe that she needed some time alone to think.
So finally she was alone. She had gone back to the park, choosing to sit under one of the Sakura trees that blossomed near to the bench where Darien had been sitting. Even alone her shocked thoughts were hard to sort into something that she could comprehend. The revelation, even suspected, was still an almost frightening one. Darien was the man behind the mask, the one and only Tuxedo Mask, and the one man that constantly confused her. He was also the one man that always teased and annoyed her. The boy who she could always count on to rile her up, to get her angry enough to stomp away from even Sailor V. Well, he was all of that a couple of days ago, at least.
Serena sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time in a short period. It was true that he had acted almost gentlemanly in the last encounters they had shared, even going so far as to offer her a ride home once. And all of those hours that they had posed together! He had hardly said anything that was remotely defensive, and within the comfortable confines of his arms she had found herself becoming his confidant, sharing his secrets and seeing into a previously sheltered soul. But was this enough? Could she really trust a man who had so easily deceived her in not one but two separate disguises? She could just as easily run to her team and tell them the whole-unadulterated truth. It would take a little doing to get them to believe, but she was confident that they would eventually see how earnest she was. They could get the rainbow crystal back and everything would be uncomplicated once again. Well, for the scouts it would be. Serena knew that no matter how hard she tried, her problem went deeper than that. Darien was more than an annoyance to her now, and Tuxedo Mask was more than a dream. They were both flesh and blood, imperfect and fragile, one and the same, and she had to admit that she definitely had feelings for them, for him. Whether they were feelings of uneasiness, trust, or even love (she blushed at that thought) she could not easily decipher. Whatever they were they held her back from confessing her discoveries to her friends and her guardian. She saw now that the only choice her heart would allow her was to trust him, and trust him she would, until he either proved her heart correct or revealed something that she could do naught but destroy.
'Let's hope my heart is right.' She thought.
Disclaimer: * points Heero's gun at Naoko Takeuchi while demanding the rights to Sailor Moon as ransom * Does that answer your question?
Warnings: Um, spoilers. MAJOR spoilers. But you guys should know all this stuff by now, so go ahead and read! Oh, and plot meddling. Lots of plot meddling!
Title: The Man Behind the Mask Rating: G Author: Sailor Celeste E-mail: LL1940@aol.com Chapter 3: Serena Tsukino, Private Eye
"Yeah right Serena!" Raye scoffed," Sometimes you really make me think that there are moon rocks rolling around in that head of yours!"
Serena made a face at her raven-haired friend, and slurped up the remaining chocolate milkshake. "Fine, don't believe me." She pouted. Raye rolled her eyes, Amy kept on reading her book, and Mina and Lita just stared at her.
"You do have to admit that what you said sounds silly." Amy stated from behind the cover of Hamlet. "I mean, the odds of Darien Shields being Tuxedo Mask are almost zero."
The scouts nodded. Serena just glared at them. The one time she was being serious they thought she was joking. 'Maybe I am joking,' she thought to herself 'it does sound kind of far fetched.'
"But I know what I saw!" She spoke her last thought aloud, "I think I'm right, and I'm going to find out. I thought that I could count on you guys to believe me and help me, but I guess I was wrong." She stood up abruptly. Grabbing the light coat that hung on the back of the chair, she flung a few dollars onto the table. (AN: I guess that should be Yen, but I don't care!) "See you later." She flounced away from her dumbfounded friends, trying to keep her anger in check.
"Wait! Sere-" Mina's call was cut short by the clicking of the arcade door. If they didn't want to help, then Serena was just going to have to take matters into her own hands.
* * *
"Serena! What are you planning to do? I've seen that look on your face before! It always leads to trouble!" Luna yowled up at Serena, who was furiously burrowing through the mess in her closet. Luna dodged a flying sweater. "Serena! Are you listening to me?"
"Aha!" The blonde emerged from her clothes cavern with a battered looking case clutched in her delicate hand. "Were you saying something Luna?"
Luna sweat-dropped. "No." She cast a suspicious glance in the direction of the case. "What's that, and what are you planning to do with it?"
An evil grin spread across Serena's features as she tossed the case up in the air. "These are binoculars. Surely you can guess the rest."
Actually, Luna didn't even have to know what was in the case. She knew exactly what the meatball head before her was planning on doing today. It was so obvious that she was going to snoop all day, and the black cat decided that it wasn't a good idea to leave this girl by herself for very long. "Ok. I get it." Sigh "Let's go and get this over with."
Luna stood impatiently as her charge bustled about the room, gathering up the necessary spying supplies. Serena was about to dash out the door when she tripped on the leather case, which had landed on the floor after she had forgotten to catch it.
"Come on Serena!" The cat called from the hallway.
"Yeah, yeah." Serena mumbled as she pulled herself up off the floor.
In a blur of fur and blond hair the two ran out of the house, one intent on her mission and one hoping that the other would get tired of her mission soon and give it up.
Of course, this wasn't about to happen.
Serena stopped, resting her hands on her knees, taking deep breaths. "Luna," she managed to get out between gasps, "where do you think he is?"
Her cat, who was breathing regularly, shrugged. "Maybe we should go ask Andy. He usually knows what's up with Darien."
Serena looked up. Why hadn't she thought of that? A hopeful gleam appeared in her eye as she prepared to run some more. "You're right. We should go ask him." And at that she was off and running, her heart beating furiously. Luna was very surprised to see how graceful Serena appeared when she was running. Maybe it was the fluid, almost liquid movement of her legs, or maybe it was the way her hair trailed behind her like rivers of gold. But Luna was sure that it was the look of total dedication that had transformed the girl's face into a mask of determination.
"Ah, finally!" Serena stopped right as she reached the glass doors of the Crown. She peered cautiously inside, making sure that her scouts weren't there. She didn't want another encounter like this morning's. After checking out all of the candy-apple red booths, she stepped in.
"Hey Serena!" Andrew hailed her from behind the counter. "What are you up to today? If you're looking for Raye and the others they already left."
"No, actually, I wasn't looking for them." She smiled disarmingly at him. "I was really looking for you!"
"Oh, is that so?" Andrew glanced warily at the blonde now giving him a sly look. Whenever she looked like that, it meant that something was up. Something he didn't want any part in. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"To need of info my good man! To my need of info."
"And I have this info?"
"Exactly."
"That's what I was afraid of."
Back out on the street Serena walked along at a pace that was tame in comparison to her wild run. Luna still stole questioning glances at her but she was too intent upon what Andrew had told her to notice. "Has major headaches? Almost disabling?" She still couldn't imagine Dariens' haughty countenance twisted in pain. Oh wait, she could! Remembering that boat incident with Raye convinced her that Andrew could not be mistaken, and also that there was definitely something fishy going on. And she was going to get to the bottom of it.
She met with a hard barrier and was flung to the ground. Finding herself in an almost daily position she got up with remarkable speed and was halfway through a profuse apology when the site of what she had stumbled into arrested her speech. The very subject of her reverie stood before her.
Of all the people to run into! He still sat on the cold pavement, shaking his head a little. With the sudden stop of her voice he raised his eyes in recognition and smiled with what the girl could have sworn was pleased surprise. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised, I mean, we seem to run into each other all over the place!" Rubbing his head he added, "literally." She stammered a little and then just decided that helping him up would be the best answer to his wry remarks. He was back on his feet in a matter of moments and Serena struggled desperately to come up with an excuse to get away. "What's the matter?"
Her distress must have been evident upon her face because he obviously saw that there was a problem. She murmured something about being in a hurry, hoping that her forced demeanor would fool him. He nodded in understanding and she started to walk away.
"Wait, Serena!"
Serena! He called her by her real name! "Um, yes Darien?"
"I just wanted to say that it was great yesterday, seeing that you could go for hours without clutzing out!" His last words were accompanied by that grin of his and he was walking down the street before she could even yell at him.
She stood behind the most convenient corner in case Darien should try to look back and get a last glimpse at her. He didn't, and as soon as she felt it was safe she started to follow him. He wove through a virtual labyrinth of streets and before she knew it they were in the park. He stopped suddenly and the blonde haired girl had to scramble behind a tree trunk. She saw him glance wistfully at the sky, and then he collapsed onto the very bench that she had sat on after saving Molly and Melvin, the bench on which she had sat entranced by Tuxedo Masks locket. Starting out of her silent contemplation she watched him searching in his pockets for something. It took him a few minutes, several pockets were emptied and Serena had to clamp a hand over her mouth to stop from giggling when he started to yell at his jacket. Finally, though, a look of triumph replaced his angry frown and he produced something from the inside pocket of the very same jacket that he had previously been cursing.
Serena's eyes widened in recognition, shock and satisfaction showing on her face. A rainbow crystal..
"Serena!" Luna whispered angrily into the blonde's ear. Her 'owner' had run off after her collision with Darien, quickly outdistancing the petite feline. Good thing Luna could sense the girl's presence, she might have gotten into quite a bit of trouble without some common sense along. "What are you gawking at? And why are we, hmph! Ummm, mhm..."
"Sh!" Serena hissed, dodging behind the tree before Darien could spot her. "Luna! Can't you see that I'm trying to be quiet here?!"
Luna just snorted. Serena frowned and let go of her muzzle, cautiously peeking out at the bench. Empty. "Luna! Now I lost him!"
"Good. Maybe now we can forget this nonsense and go home."
"We can't go home! I just saw him with a.." She stopped suddenly, and hand flying to her mouth at the sudden recollection. Darien had a rainbow crystal, and that could only mean one thing.
He was Tuxedo Mask, and now nobody could doubt her.
"He had a what?"
"Huh?" Still marveling over the confirmation of her suspicions, Serena had not considered what this information meant. Luna was wary of Tuxedo Mask, especially after that little fiasco with the rainbow crystals, and would surely advise her to stay away from him (and Darien) from now on. The Sailor Scouts would probably be shocked and would want to confront him. Neither course seemed right to her. "Oh, um, I saw him with a picture of Raye! She'll be dying to know."
* * *
Serena had finally convinced Luna to go on home without her. She had come up with the excuse that she was going to dish the dirt on Darien with Raye, knowing that the cat would never believe that she needed some time alone to think.
So finally she was alone. She had gone back to the park, choosing to sit under one of the Sakura trees that blossomed near to the bench where Darien had been sitting. Even alone her shocked thoughts were hard to sort into something that she could comprehend. The revelation, even suspected, was still an almost frightening one. Darien was the man behind the mask, the one and only Tuxedo Mask, and the one man that constantly confused her. He was also the one man that always teased and annoyed her. The boy who she could always count on to rile her up, to get her angry enough to stomp away from even Sailor V. Well, he was all of that a couple of days ago, at least.
Serena sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time in a short period. It was true that he had acted almost gentlemanly in the last encounters they had shared, even going so far as to offer her a ride home once. And all of those hours that they had posed together! He had hardly said anything that was remotely defensive, and within the comfortable confines of his arms she had found herself becoming his confidant, sharing his secrets and seeing into a previously sheltered soul. But was this enough? Could she really trust a man who had so easily deceived her in not one but two separate disguises? She could just as easily run to her team and tell them the whole-unadulterated truth. It would take a little doing to get them to believe, but she was confident that they would eventually see how earnest she was. They could get the rainbow crystal back and everything would be uncomplicated once again. Well, for the scouts it would be. Serena knew that no matter how hard she tried, her problem went deeper than that. Darien was more than an annoyance to her now, and Tuxedo Mask was more than a dream. They were both flesh and blood, imperfect and fragile, one and the same, and she had to admit that she definitely had feelings for them, for him. Whether they were feelings of uneasiness, trust, or even love (she blushed at that thought) she could not easily decipher. Whatever they were they held her back from confessing her discoveries to her friends and her guardian. She saw now that the only choice her heart would allow her was to trust him, and trust him she would, until he either proved her heart correct or revealed something that she could do naught but destroy.
'Let's hope my heart is right.' She thought.