Hello everyone! It's a new year and a new decade, depending on who you ask… Anyway, I'm here with my first update of the year. I apologize because I really should have updated last week, but life got in the way. I hope everyone's new year is starting off well. I'm going to try to keep my two-week posting schedule this year, and if things go smoothly, I'm hoping to bump it up to once a week in March. (Fingers crossed.)
I want to do a big super special thank you to emkyrialynch for beat-reading this chapter for me! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I also want to thank everyone for sticking this out with me and reading, and espeically to everyone to comments. Ameriar, moon romance, Lmarie01, Flpirate305, AliceNotInWL, Krys7, Ghost Man, Sailor Saiyan007, beacoup riant, 1, and Malevolent Dark Relfection, y'all are love. I appreciate your comments so much. I love how much everyone is looking forward to a certain reveal, but there's two reveals to be had. Minako is tied up with both…
Sailor Moon X by Starling Sinclair
Chapter 22: Paintings
January 7, 2020
XXX
Saturday morning came around sooner than Mamoru desired. He had hoped that he would have found some reason to avoid this "modeling" day, but Usagi had her heart set on it. From his own experience as a foolish sixteen-year-old, he knew that actual modeling wasn't as exciting as movies made it out to be. He'd only modeled for a figure drawing class in college because he'd lost a bet. and it had been humiliating, so to speak.
In the end, he found himself standing beside his bubbly girlfriend as she pressed the doorbell on a rather scenic home in Minato. The yard was well landscaped, and a small jetty crept out over the entrance, providing just the right amount of shade from the sun. Usagi swayed on the balls of her feet in eager anticipation.
A few moments later, the mousy woman opened the door.
"Oh! I hadn't realized the time!" she greeted, holding the door open with a welcoming gesture.
The artist moved about the space like a Roomba, trying clean everywhere all at once but in an ambling fashion. The genkan was so cluttered with canvas and houseplants that Mamoru was unsure if he should even take his shoes off. As where to put them, he had even less clue. Usagi, however, barrelled forward with no such reservations. A wall of windows let in an extraordinary amount of sunlight, which was probably good for the plants, but less so for the paintings. Perhaps that's why they were also facedown.
His girlfriend, being the nosy woman she was, pulled on of the tilting canvases back with a gasp.
"Oh my goodness, she's Yumemi Yumeno," she exclaimed to him.
"You know her?" Mamoru asked.
"Not personally, but I'm a big fan of her work."
Mamoru peered over her shoulder. The painting showcased a dark-haired woman who leaned her back against a Grecian column, while a blond man wearing an eerily familiar uniform leaned on his arm on the other side of the column, watching the woman. The man reminded Mamoru a touch of Jadeite. How very strange. Then Yumeno interrupted his musings.
"Thank you so much for coming," the mousy woman said walking up to them, her arms full of painting supplies. With her pulled back in a sensible braid, she wore a paint-stained smock. She smiled, but couldn't bring herself to look at the couple in their eyes.
"I had no idea who you were!" Usagi started enthusiastically. "Why didn't you tell us who you were? Why do you look so different from your self-portrait?"
The artist shrugged. "Yumeni Yumeno is a brand, like Lisa Frank. I'm not what people expect when they hear the name," she explained. "If you could just take a seat on the sofa, I promise this won't take long."
Usagi was quick to sit on the sofa, while Mamoru awkwardly hovered. Yumeno kicked the easel with her foot, knocking it into position in a mundanely practiced way. She dropped other supplies onto a rolling cart nearby before grabbing a blank canvas from a pile.
"What do you mean about not what people expect?" Usagi continued, not missing a beat in the conversation.
Yumeno continued her prep work. "People think that someone really beautiful should paint paintings like these. That's what I made my self-portraits so beautiful. I don't think they'd believe I was her. So please, keep this secret."
"That's a big secret to keep," Mamoru commented at last. He found the whole situation a little odd. It wasn't like Yumeno was hideous. Sure, she was a little on the plain side, but nothing to be ashamed of.
"Doesn't matter. As long as I can keep working on my paintings, that's good enough for me."
"Well, those people don't know what they're missing," Usagi said. "I think you're as beautiful as your work."
Yumeno blushed, her face turning as red as a poppy. She faked coughed and tried to change the subject. "You two are a couple, yes?"
Usagi nodded, taking Mamoru's hand and yanking him into a sitting position on the sofa. He rolled his eyes, before situating himself into the corner. He did his best to disguise how uncomfortable with all of this he was.
"Would you mind if I posed you a little, um, intimately?" Yumeno asked.
Mamoru's eyes widened ever so slightly and he thought if he were a younger man the request would have mortified him. While large displays of public affection weren't something he enjoyed, he certainly knew that they meant something to Usagi. At least this wasn't really public, even if it felt like it.
"No," Usagi said with a smile. Mamoru shrugged, feigning nonchalance.
As embarrassed as she'd been at Usagi's compliment, Yumeno certainly had no qualms about risque poses. She walked over and grabbing Mamoru's knees and angling him so his back was against the arm of the sofa. Pushing on his shoulder, she took a step back to admire her work. It was a bit of a weird and uncomfortable arrangement. With a nod of satisfaction, she turned her attention towards the blonde.
"Usagi could you climb on top of him?"
A Cheshire-Cat grin spread across the blonde's face as she eagerly moved over him like it was the most natural thing in the world. Mamoru felt a little like a mouse beneath a tiger. They're legs entwined and she arched her neck down towards him, eyes locking with his. He hoped his pants wouldn't give away how much he was enjoying this.
"Yes!" Yumeno cried, reminding Mamoru that they were indeed not alone. "Just hold that for a few minutes!"
With a shake of his head, he reached up to caress her cheek. "What am I going to do with you?" he whispered.
"Love me forever?"
"Well, that's already a given."
She tilted her head just a fraction, thinking through her next answer. "Then dream of me."
A chill traveled down Mamoru's spine as if he were reliving a moment with her. Deja Vu wasn't unusual for people with amnesia, but he had been a boy when he'd lost his memories. This wasn't the position of a boy. Did that mean this was something else? Could it be possible that his enchantress in from of him, this real-life princess of his life, could be the girl in his dreams? Was Usagi who his soul was searching for?
Something felt so right about that.
"Usako…"
Then the world shattered around them. The glass of the many windows blew out. Usagi was nearly knocked from Mamoru. With his supernatural reflexes, he pulled her to his chest before rolling them off the sofa. He covered her with his body, using himself as a shield, not caring about anything else happening around them.
"Usako?" She blinked her eyes, trying to figure out what just happened. She was okay, thank god.
Glass crunched under boots. Though he was keeping his girlfriend covered, he looked up to see Zoisite walking slowly towards Yumeno. The artist had fallen into her cart, paints and brushes were strewn about the floor. She cradled her head, trying to blink away the shock.
Zoisite twirled a black crystal around his fingers, one Mamoru had only seen on a handful of occasions. One that sucked crystals from people's souls. That could only mean one thing: Yumeno was a crystal carrier. Shit.
"We have to save her," Usagi said. "We can't let him get to her."
"Okay," Mamoru agreed. He grabbed the nearest thing to him and launched a coffee table at the Dark Kingdom General. The impact knocked the villain off his feet while Usagi scurred out from beneath him. His girlfriend didn't hesitate, gently grabbing Yumeno's hands.
"We have to go now," Usagi instructed.
"What's going on?" Yumeno asked.
"That man is after you, and he's going to hurt you if he gets his hands on you," she explained.
Mamoru got to his feet and started searching for something he could use as a weapon. The thought of transforming flickered through his mind. He wouldn't mind Usagi knowing his identity, but Zoisite? That was a dangerous thing. He would just have to fake it until Usagi and the painter were safely away.
"Okay. So where do we hide?" Yumeno asked.
"Um…"
"Just get out of here. I'll hold him off while you run," Mamoru instructed.
"But," Usagi started.
"I'll be fine," he assured. "It's not me he's after."
She nodded and helped the painter to her feet. Mamoru knew that the girls had left, but he didn't watch them go. He was now focused on Zoisite, who was standing back up and looking quite pissed at having a coffee table chucked at him.
"Pathetic human," Zoisite seethed. "Do you really think you can stop me." The General raised his hand and sent a stream of razor-sharp petals towards Mamoru.
Mamoru dodged expertly with a smirk.
"Well, well, well, maybe you aren't so pathetic after all."
Grabbing the leg of the splintered easel, Mamoru braced himself. Well, here goes nothing.
XXX
Usagi tripped as she rounded the corner of Yumeno's pathway. With surprising agility, she managed to correct herself without pulling Yumeno down and while fumbling for her cell phone. Guess those Senshi training sessions were paying off then. Tapping the star, she dialed the third contact in her cell.
Before Minako could produce a greeting, Usagi grunted, "Crystal in residential Minato. I'll text you a pin of our location, but we're on the move. Help." And then hung up.
"Were you calling the police?" Yumeno asked.
"Something like that," Usagi answered.
Pushing the painter forward, she tried to think of the best place to hide the girl. Then what? How would they get the crystal? What about Mamoru? How could she have abandoned him to Zoisite? She glanced over her shoulder. As soon as she could, she would get back to him.
It didn't take long for Sailor Venus to find them. Yumeno gave a startled gasp as the blonde Senshi dropped in front of them. Usagi gave a sigh of relief.
"Oh thank god you're here."
Yumeno glanced over to Usagi before saying, "You know a Senshi?"
"I can take over," Venus interjected before Usagi could say something dumb. "Can you go find Sailor Moon for me?"
Usagi nodded and started to turn away when Yumeno grabbed her wrist. "Please don't leave me," she said. "I have such a bad feeling about all this."
Usagi paused, her breathing heavy as her body struggled to catch up. Her feet were bare, though she hadn't noticed until this moment. Must have left her shoes in the genkan. She wanted to just say fuck it all and blow her double identity. Though, she knew that Minako would have thrown a fit about that. So, instead, she placed her hand over Yumeno's.
"I promise, I will be back, and that you will be safe with Sailor Venus. I'm going to get Sailor Moon, who will be able to save you no matter what."
"And Mamoru?" Yumeno said. "Someone needs to go help him."
Usagi looked at Venus, and she knew at that moment, none of the Senshi were going to go help Mamoru at her order. Her icy stare said everything. Their mission was to get the Silver Crystal, and that meant staying with the crystal bearer, protecting it at all costs. Usagi felt such profound despair, that she couldn't quite express it. So she did what a good warrior did, locked it away and lied.
"I'll get another Senshi to help him," she promised. "But you have to go with Venus."
"Okay. I trust you, Usagi," Yumeno said, like a knife through the heart. Usagi nodded and headed back the way they came so she could find a nook to transform in.
Ducking into the first alcove with a Vending Machine, she used the large machine as cover to summon her transformation. As she felt her power wash over her, Usagi wrestled with the path before her. She could go back to help Mamoru, ignoring Venus's order, or she could retrieve the crystal from Yumeno. Her heart begged her to chase down Mamoru, save him, and defeat Zoisite. Yet, her passion was tempered with reason. If she did that, she'd be putting Yumeno in danger. Zoisite would kill her given the chance, an unlikely scenario for her boyfriend. Besides, Mamoru was far better at taking care of himself and Yumeno was. Then factor in the Dark Kingdom getting yet another crystal, and her choice was clear.
Her transformation finished, and she gripped her Moon Wand. She could do both if she were fast.
"I'm coming for you, Mamoru," she whispered. "Please wait for me."
Her heels clicked against the pavement as she let instinct guide her. It only took moments for the Senshi of the Moon to reunited with Venus and Yumeno. Thankfully, there was no sign of Zoisite, however, Mars had appeared. Yumeno was pleading with the red Senshi.
"Please, you have to go help him! I put him in danger," Yumeno begged. "If anything were to happen to him…"
Mars looked clearly distressed by the situation. She looked to Venus for guidance, but their leader just shook her head.
"Your safety comes first," Venus said.
"But why?!"
"I'm here!" Sailor Moon called.
"Thank god," Mars said.
Perhaps it was Yumeno's pleas or her own selfish desires, but Moon did something impulsive. She turned to Mars and said, "Go back and help Mamoru. Keep Zoisite occupied."
"Okay," Mars said. The fiery Senshi didn't look at Venus but took Moon's command with a nod.
As the stilettos clicked down the pavement and away from the battle, Moon turned towards her charge. The Moon Stick glowing like a nightlight in her hand with a warm and comforting power. It whispered to her, and Moon nodded.
"Okay, I'm going to exorcise this crystal from you," Moon said looking at Yumeno.
"You're going to what?" the woman asked.
"You're part of something huge. An ancient kingdom that's been locked in a struggle for over a thousand years," Moon explained. She wasn't one hundred percent sure this was true, but it felt right enough. And given Yumeno's subject matter, it would probably resonate with her. "And something of great power was hidden in you. In your soul. I'm going to take it out."
"Is it going to hurt?"
"I don't think so," Sailor Moon said. "To be honest, I haven't really gotten a chance to do it before. I do know that it would hurt if that man that was after you did it, and he was going to."
Yumeno nodded. "Okay. Usagi said to trust you, so I will. Go ahead."
"You know what you're doing, Sailor Moon?" Venus whispered, making sure Yumeno didn't hear.
Sailor Moon shrugged but held her wand out.
"Does it matter?"
She closed her eyes. The wand was pulsing in a rhythm, which Moon realized was Yumeno's heartbeat. It calmed as she concentrated, and Yumeno relaxed. Focusing on her healing energy, she reached out with her spirit. She felt it— the crystal. It was verdant and vine-like and pulsed with creation. She twisted the wand, reaching out and taking it — so to speak. From the outside, it just looked like she was praying over her wand before she and Yumeno became engulfed with light.
The Green Rainbow Crystal floated in the crescent of the Moon Stick when the light cleared. The ghost of a strange angel woman (in pink robes with giant white wings) flashed over Yumeno. The afterimage faded with the glow until only Yumeno remained.
"Oh my," Yumeno said. "I feel so… refreshed."
Sailor Moon plucked the crystal from her wand with a grin. "Got it," she said. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Venus with a genuine smile.
"Excellent," she said. "Finally, we have a win." Venus held her hand out, waiting for the crystal.
Moon couldn't quite explain it, but she didn't want to hand it over. It felt right with her, but... Venus was her leader, the rightful keeper of the crystals, and Venus would never let her be in charge. As wrong as it felt, it wasn't a hill she would die on.
So Sailor Moon dropped it in Venus's palm.
"Mamoru," she whispered. Venus nodded, and she ran.
XXX
Yumeno's home was a wreck, but Mamoru had done an excellent job at thwarting Zoisite without his powers. His agility and ability to throw sharp objects (who new artist had so many potential weapons) had stalled the Dark Kingdom General far longer than he'd expected. Still, without his magic kevlar tuxedo, he wasn't quite unscathed. Zoisite's razor petals had done quite a number on him, however, he knew he'd live. It was handy having healing powers.
Zoisite, however, was losing patience. Losing to a mere human was putting him in a precarious position, one that Mamoru wasn't sure he'd survive if help didn't arrive soon. He found a place to catch his breath in the garden and hoped that Usagi and Yumeno had made it out all right.
"Mars Fire Soul!"
Flames came spirling into the wrecked space seemingly out of nowhere. From his hiding spot, he saw Sailor Mars stepping through the broken window frame. Thank the gods. While he didn't put much faith in his own protection, he knew that if Sailor Moon were around, she would keep Usagi safe. Yumeno, on the other hand, well, she was a crystal carrier, and he was worried about what Venus would do to her.
"Fuck," Zoisite yelled. "You singed my eyebrows!"
Mars kept her eyes on Zoisite, her hands forming a gun in front of her with a tiny flame on the tips of her fingers. Still, she scanned the area in her peripheral. Was she looking for him? Had she actually come to protect him?
"Seems like you aren't much of a threat, Zoi, if you can be bested by a model," Mars jeered. Her posture shifted suddenly, and he realized she saw him. She moved in a way to keep Zoisite's attention on her while providing him cover.
"I don't have time for this. Where is my crystal carrier?" Zoisite asked.
"Gone," Mars answered. "You snooze you lose. The crystal is ours."
Zoisite sneered. He floated up into the air in a swirl of petals. "Don't think I'm going to give it up that easily," he said. "You will hear from me again." Then he opened a portal into an abyss and vanished.
Mamoru slumped in relief. At least another crystal wasn't in the hands of the Dark Kingdom. The Senshi were a far better alternative. A showdown between Tux and the women would come one day, but it would be after he retrieved the lost crystals from their mutual enemy.
Mars kneeled beside him, her hand hovering as though she wanted to touch him, help him, but was unsure how. "Are you alright?" she asked.
All right was relative. His shoulder hurt like hell, and he was full of bruises, though ultimately he was fine. Especially if he could get some alone time and really focus on his healing.
"Nothing that time won't heal," he answered cheekily.
Mars actually smiled, her shoulders relaxing with relief. "I"m glad to hear that. I have a friend who would be very distressed if you weren't," she said.
Mamoru blinked. Was she talking about Usagi? Was Usagi somehow friends with the Senshi? After a moment's thought, he realized that wouldn't be surprising. Usagi could make friends with a rock in ten minutes, and it would move heaven and hell to see her smile. Though, perhaps, she could be the link he needed to get the crystal from them. Negotiate on his behalf, or...
What was he doing? Was he really entertaining the thought of using Usagi? Even if it was for the greater good, it made his stomach turn. No, he couldn't do that. Still, he would have to pay more attention to her to see if she dropped any clues.
Seconds later, Sailor Moon came rushing in, tripping over the window frame and nearly skidding into broken glass. She scanned the room frantically. She wasn't looking for Zoisite, she was looking for him. At seeing him, she rushed over.
"Are you okay?" she asked. And something about this seemed all too familiar. "Do you need an ambulance?"
"I'm fine," he answered slowly. "My girlfriend, is she okay?"
Sailor Moon blinked confused for a moment, then went, "Oh! She's totally safe. Back with Sailor V and Yumeno!"
He smiled. "Good, can you take me to her?"
Moon and Mars shared a glance that did not go unnoticed. What was he missing?
"Um, yeah, Mars, will you take him? I've got to…" Moon fumbled for the words.
"Yes," Mars answered. "You go look for Zoisite. Make sure he won't be appearing anytime soon."
"Right!" Moon said. She helped Mamoru to his feet, being extra cautious, inspecting him, noticing blood and the way he cringed. "Are you sure you don't need one of us to take you to the hospital?"
"I'll be fine," he said. "I just want to make sure my girlfriend is okay."
XXX
Thankfully, being Sailor Moon gave Usagi superhuman speed. She stayed transformed (a tip she'd learned from her errors earlier that week), rushing down the sidewalk until she saw Yumeno in the distance, sitting on a bench outside a cafe. As the women came into view, she bolted into a backyard and shifted back to plain ol' Usagi. Not even out of breath, Usagi walked toward the cafe, noticing that Venus was nowhere in sight. Why did that not surprise her?
"Usagi!" Yumeno cried, nearly jumping out of her seat and waving her hand. "Thank god you're alright."
"I'm fine. Where's Sailor Venus?"
"She went to go check on Mamoru. I hope he's all right," Yumeno explained. Usagi was proud of herself for not rolling her eyes. Venus had not gone to check on Mamoru.
As if summoned by her thoughts, Mamoru came bounding around the corner, Sailor Mars trailing him. When Mars saw her, the Senshi nodded and left, clearly feeling that everyone was in good hands. Mamoru didn't notice as rushed over to her.
"I was so worried," he said, swooping her up into his arms. His nose brushed against her hairline behind her ear as he breathed her in like a drowning man. Her spine popped in a relaxing way as he squeezed her.
"I was too," she whispered back to him. "My hero."
"So, since this was a bust, I don't suppose you'd ever model for me again?"
