Hello Minna, Here is Chapter 6 of Mind Games. Please R & R and let me know what you think...
Author's Notes - 'Denotes People's Thoughts' To my lone reviewer I want to say a GIANT thank you...
Jamesstutz - Thank You, you don't know what this round meant to me...you kept my tears at bay because I truly thought Chapter 5 was a lost cause when no one reviewed, and personally that is one of my favorite chapters...
Mind Games
Chapter 6 - Danger And Secrets
Mamoru looked at the number he had scrawled and dialed, sucking in a breath when a female voice answered the phone.
"Moshi-moshi," The voice waited and he could hear breathing and gentle voices in the background.
"May I please speak with Hino Rei? He spoke hesitantly unsure of what to say.
"Yes this is her, but if you are selling anything I am not interested otherwise how may I help you?"
"My name...," He cleared his throat nervously and continued, "is Chiba Mamoru. I don't know if you know me, but Motoki gave me your number, I need to speak with you about Usagi."
"Mamo-chan is Usagi-chan all right?" Rei sensed his confusion at the use of his pet name.
Mamoru could hear the worry in her voice. "Well I am not sure, I need to talk to someone familiar with her. Could you come to my place so we could talk in private?"
"Yeah give us fifteen minutes and your address and we'll be there." He gave her directions from the arcade to his place and she hung up.
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Usagi shut Mamo-chan's door and started home. That was her first stop before ending all of this. She recalled Mamo-chan's desperate plea.
"I care about you Odango I don't want to see you hurt anymore. What can I do to stop you from leaving, just say the words?" It had hurt that much more to leave knowing that he cared even if he did not remember. She did not want to put him in danger. Without his memory, he was more at risk. She would die if anything happened to him because of her.
She was just nearing the Arcade when shouts caught her attention, making her way to whatever was going on she pushed through the crowd to see. A Card was attacking innocent people right out on the street. It had several people wrapped in tentacles, their energy being drained.
Knowing her duty to protect innocents, she dived into an alley. Grabbing her brooch, from its chain around her neck, she knew what had to be done.
"Moon Prism Power Make-Up" A soft pink light bathed her as she transformed. Running out into the street, she pushed through the crowd.
"How dare you attack our innocent citizens trying to get home after a hard day's work, pretty sailorsoldier in a suit, senshi of love and justice, in the name of the moon, I will punish you!"
The Card turned to look at her. It was the ugliest combination of things she had yet to see. It looked like some kind of vinyl pocket protector with an eraser head. Tentacles were popping out everywhere grabbing people. It darted out a tentacle and sent it in her direction. She jumped up and to the side narrowly avoiding it.
An in her alien from watched from above, she could feel the wonderful energy flowing and knew she needed it badly. She had been weak lately except when she was around Mamoru. She waited for Ail wondering what was keeping him. 'Probably that stupid bitch Usagi,' He needed to get over her and help An collect energy for the tree.
Their tree was dying slowly and they hoped this energy would help. If they could catch Sailor Moon, An knew that her energy would be a giant plus for the tree.
"So are we doing well?" A voice spoke in her ear as Ail appeared next to her in his alien form.
"Yes actually we might be, Sailor Moon just arrived and no one else yet has showed up to help her. If we can grab her, the tree will have plenty of energy. She smiled with glee and leaned over placing a kiss on Ail's cheek. "Won't that be nice?"
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Mamoru sat at the table waiting for the girls to arrive; only moments before Rei had hung upand thenhis head began pounding. He was worried about Usagi and forced himself to stay awake, he could not black out now.
Standing up, he went and prepared himself a cup of coffee. The routine of the familiar motions soothing him; keeping the headache from taking over or so he thought. When he had the cup filled and ready he took it back to the table.
Holding the cup under his face he focused on the steamy bitter scent, lifting it to his mouth he sipped the hot brew. Shaking his head, he tried to lessen the pain in his temples. He could feel the pain intensifying as the blackness encroached on his vision. The cup slipped from his hands bouncing to the table as he gave into the pain.
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At the same time across town, Rei and the girls were just nearing the arcade when all hell broke loose. They could hear yelling and screaming, quickly running forward they were shocked to see a Card with tentacles draining the energy from many people at once.
Ami screamed in fear and could only point because pinned to the wall of a building Usagi was nearly unconscious from being drained by the tentacles pinning her there. They jumped in to a nearby alley and quickly transformed.
Running out into the street, Rei made the first attack.
"Burning Mandala", Fire shot out from her and singed a few of the tentacles.
"You silly girls you are too late to help." Breaking the Senshis' concentration, the girls stopped, looking up. There floated the two aliens they had been trying to catch the last couple of weeks.
The female alien cackled in glee. She threw an energy burst at them and they all scattered trying to avoid it. The distraction worked. Grabbing Sailor Moon, Ail smiled in triumph, as he easily threw her over his shoulder. Hanging limply there was no sign of life in Sailor Moon.
"Card Work, finish these senshi off for us." Ail yelled laughing as he and An, disappeared through a portal with Sailor Moon.
The Senshi stood frozen in shock, not knowing how to defeat the Card without Sailor Moon. Suddenly from behind them a voice spoke.
"I am the Moonlight Knight here to protect earth from all evil." Wrapped in his white shroud, he pulled outa white rose and aimed it at the Card. Sailing through the air in a perfect arc, it landed precisely where he wanted. Upon striking the evil monster, the rose caused it to shatter into pieces. A small vinyl pocket protector slowly fell to earth where the monster stood.
"Thank you Moonlight Knight." The four senshi worried about Usagi quickly hurried on to their destination.
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Mamoru was just waking up as a knock at his door surprised him.
"Just a moment please, I am coming." He called quickly grabbing a washrag and swiping at the spilled coffee. Setting the cup and rag in the sink, he walked over and unlocked his door, opening it slowly, he recognized the girls that usually were with Usagi at the arcade.
"Mamo-chan, hello we would have been here sooner but we were delayed by um a car accident. You know how they create a crowd." Rei chuckled nervously hoping he would not question her.
"Come on in." Waving them in, he turned around heading for the table. Makoto being the last person through shut the door. Looking back over his shoulder, he questioned, "Would you like tea or something?" The four girls all shook their heads in unison as they walked to the table and took a seat.
"No, this is important we don't have time for tea. I will cut straight to the important aspect. Do you remember us?" Rei watched his face for signs of recognition.
He looked odd at hearing that question. He felt a sense of familiarity as though he should know these girls. Taking a few deep breaths, he calmed his heartbeat and gathered his thoughts. He tried to understand the feeling, even remember something but it just was not there.
"I am sorry but I don't." He shook his head before continuing, "Why, should I recognize you?" The girls all went silent at his question not knowing how to explain.
"That is not important right now, we need to focus on Usagi." Ami spoke up she glanced at the three others to see relief written on their faces.
"What exactly did Usagi tell you about what is going on?" Rei asked doing her best to hide her worry.
"Well that's the thing, she didn't tell me anything. You see I begged her not to go, you have to believe me, I tried to get her to talk to me, but she just would not." Mamoru glanced at them seeking understanding.
"I offered to help her anyway I could but she said I couldn't until I could remember. The only other thing she would say was that she had gotten everyone into some mess and she was the one to get everyone out of it." Mamoru paused a moment gathering his thoughts before continuing.
"She kept mentioning someone she called Tuxedo Kamen", His brain buzzed at the name on his lips. He closed his eyes shortly to try to stop the buzzing. If he had not, he would have seen four jaws drop open. Reopening his eyes, all of their faces showed calm disinterest.
"Does that name mean anything to you?" He looked expectantly around waiting for what he did not know. They all shook their heads trying to look innocent. He sighed in frustration, sensing they were keeping things from him.
Since they had come in, he had sensed a familiarity with these girls that he could not understand.
"How did Usagi end up here?" Minako asked curiosity eating her alive.
"Well this is where the story gets interesting; I was sitting in the park on a bench when she just showed up. She wasn't feeling well so I escorted her here for the time being." He held off on telling them the details of her wounds.
That would be her job to explain, as he did not really understand everything yet. "Well you know the rest." He sighed wondering where she might be.
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Across town, Ail studied his handiwork. He had done a good job of hanging the handcuffs for their victim. The handcuffs for Usagi would do for Sailor Moon just as well.
The handcuffs hung at just the right height for their victim, hanging by her wrists, her feet barely resting on the floor. The tree across the room was already perking up.
When the portal had closed behind them he had immediately ordered An to take care of some errands. He had carried the limp girl into this semi-empty room and handcuffed her to the wall.
The walls and floor were bare, the tree being the only other thing in the room. The windows covered with aluminum foil to keep sunlight out, a lone candle hung in a bracket by the door provided the only light.
Pulling a lighter out of his pocket, he lit the candle. A soft glow threw shadows all over and gave the room an eerie feeling. He turned around taking note of the tree.
Drained of too much energy, Usagi's body could no longer hold up the transformation. Ail turned back around just in time to watch Sailor Moon slip away and Usagi take her place.
He stood for several minutes just taking in her appearance. Her shirt of this morning was long gone and she wore a man's dress shirt. The top of the shirt was gaping open, the top button completely missing.
He walked towards her drinking in her beauty he could just see the tops of her perfectly rounded breasts.
When he finally realized how she had come to be here, he shook with rage. Things would have been much easier if she had just confided him from the start; about who she was. She would have saved him so much trouble. Without thinking about it he boiled over and punched her several times. Bouncing repeatedly off the wall, she just swung helplessly.
With no reaction, hebecame even angrier and thought about how to bring her around. Cold water would probably do the trick. He left the semi-dark room in search of a container. Walking into the kitchen, he rummaged through the cupboards seeking it.
Finally finding what he wanted he grabbed the plastic pitcher and walked to the sink. He stood grinning as he watched the water run in rivulets to the sink. Sticking his wrist under to test the temperature, he found it cold enough for what he wanted.
He quickly filled it and shut off the faucet. Walking back into the room he marched over and emptied the contents over her head. The water splashed down over her and soaked the shirt causing it to cling to her body.
Usagi sputtered a bit but did not come around and he realized his mistake right away. Seeing her soft flesh staining the shirt to a pale pink, brought his passion to the surface. He approached her slowly and ripped the shirt the rest of the way open.
Buttons made soft pings as they scattered over the floor. Seeing bare flesh all the way, to where her skirt clung to the flare of her hips, he smiled in anticipation. He looked at her softly rounded breasts with her white lace bra clinging to them and in that moment, he was jealous of a piece of material.
He reached out, grabbed the fabric with both hands, and tore it in half. The two halves floated down to hang with the shirt. Her nipples had hardened in reaction to the cold water and this turned him on even more. He was just deciding what to do when he heard a door slam in the outer recesses.
Striding out of the room, he made sure to blow out the candle and lock the door on his way out. He thought about how to best use this information. 'I cannot tell An just yet, who is in there, I need to get that loser Mamoru here first. Then I can teach them both a lesson before I give both their energies to the tree and watch as the tree kills them.'
He smiled just thinking of raping Usagi in front of Mamoru, listening to him begging, and hearing her cries for help. Things were suddenly looking up. He found An in the front room hanging up her coat.
"Did you deliver the note?" An had written out the note to his specifications alerting the Senshi of Sailor Moon's whereabouts. He rubbed his hands in glee thinking of giving their energy to the tree as well.
"Of course, I left it nailed to the door of the temple, just as you said." She smiled at him happy that things were going well.
"That is great then, I have something else for you to take care of." He walked over the phone on the wall and scribbled a note
I have Usagi, Come alone or else she dies. 1266 A street #24
Before slipping it into an envelope and sealing it.
"This is a dinner invitation for your Mamoru, I'd like to meet him." He smiled sarcastically before continuing. "Could you please slip it under his door?"
An's eyes shone happily, "I'd love to deliver it, is it for tonight?"
"Yes darling it is." He smiled at her, laughing at how naive she could be. She slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly before speaking.
"You really want to meet him...Oh I guess I should probably figure out a special menu then." She was so excited that she did not notice his sarcasm.
"Yeah a special menu, all right." He chuckled laughing at his private joke; he watched An walk out the door already planning a spectacular feast to impress her dinner date.
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Mamoru stood pacing his apartment; there had been no word from anyone. He had agreed to call the Rei's temple if he heard anything. They in return promised to call the moment they heard something. He was seriously worried with a bad feeling haunting him. He could not shake the sense that Usagi was in terrible danger. He had even gone so far as to call her house, her mother had reported that she was at a friend's for the night.
Walking in to the kitchen, he poured himself his third cup of coffee, that wasn't helping his pacing. He decided to see if Rei had heard anything. Calling the Temple, an old man answered and explained that Rei was out with friends.
Waiting was driving him crazy, he kept catching himself checking his watch. He sat down at the table with his latest cup and sipped from it before setting the cup down. Dropping his head into hands he worried, "I need to help but I don't know how."
A voice from somewhere in his soul whispered, "But you do know, you are just blocking it." He had never felt so mixed up and now here he was hearing voices.
"Just lock me up and throw away the key." He chuckled mirthlessly and stood stretching.
He walked back into the bedroom and stared at his bed, very second she had been there indelibly burned into his memory. The feel of her snuggled into his arms would haunt him for life and if anything happened to her, he knew, without a doubt, he would spend his life alone, remembering one special day.
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Her arms screamed in pain, breaking into her conscience. Slowly Usagi tried moving her arms but extended above her head, they would not budge. She was standing with her feet barely on the floor. Opening her eyes she could not make anything out, the room cloaked in darkness.
Feeling the cold air on her bare flesh she realized her shirt was unbuttoned and gaping wide open. She was shivering and damp her flesh covered in goose bumps.
She could hear rustling coming from somewhere off in the darkness. Climbing through the layers of exhaustion, she tried to make sense of the situation. The metal of the handcuffs was biting into her wrists and she could barely feel it with her fingertips although her hands and arms were starting to go numb.
Trying not to panic she listened for any sounds. She could hear voices murmuring in the distance. The only other sound was the rustling, which she noticed was slowly getting louder. Out of the darkness, something grabbed at her ankle and encircled it.
She tried kicking it off but the motion only caused her to swing helplessly. Whatever was around her ankle was not letting go. Her ankle burned with the contact of whatever wrapped around it.
As it bit into her flesh, she could feel it feeding off her. She heard a key scraping in the lock and tried to control her fear. As the door opened, she found herself blinded by the light coming in through it.
"You are finally awake I see." 'That voice made no sense at all, how could Sei be the one holding me. The last thing I remember is fighting off the card near the Arcade.'
He reached into his pocket and went to light the candle, the room was filled with eerie shadows. He turned and closed the door for the tree.
Usagi's eyes finally adjusted to the flame. Seeing Sei standing there brought her fear to new levels. He just stood there entranced and she waited in terror not knowing what was coming. He slowly strolled towards her and she swallowed nervously.
"So you thought your little friend could save you." he chuckled before continuing, "Not much of a hero is he, not much of one at all compared to some."
He knew, her heart beat exploded in her chest. 'This is not a good thing.'
Looking at her with vicious rage his hand snaked out and backhanded her across the face.
"It would have been much easier if you had just told me from the start who you really are." She swung helplessly unable to avoid his blow.
"I see I caused some bruising earlier." His gaze wandered down the front of her, taking in the ugly colors of her midriff. Without thinking about it his fingers gently brushed over the bruised flesh. He shrugged as if it was of no concern.
"Ah well, you'll live, it'll be fun seeing the look on your little friend's face when he sees your broken body." Sei laughed chillingly
"I can just hear him begging me to stop while I take your innocence." Rubbing his hands together, he smiled at her look of horror. "Oh yes you see he is currently being invited to the show." Looking down the length of her he finally noticed the new shoot coming from the tree.
"I see you have met my friend." He gazed fondly beyond her. "Not too much now, save some for later...there will be plenty more soon...real soon." Her ankle suddenly released from the painful grip it had been in and the stinging stopped.
She craned her neck around and could only stare in horror. It was the strangest looking tree she had ever seen it was black with thorns on all of the branches. The leaves looked oily and ragged, she saw the newest shoot slowly sliding away from her and being pulled back to the tree.
She finally lost control and could only scream. This seemed to amuse Sei, he walked over to her and cupped her chin. "Not too much longer and you can scream for me." He laughed chillingly before turning and walking over to the door. Looking back he smiled, "Not long now sweetheart." He blew out the candle and closed the door, leaving her alone in the darkness screaming where no one could hear.
Well here is Chapter 6. I hope you all enjoyed it, sorry for leaving at a cliffhanger but I don't want to spoil the end.