SHADES OF BLUE: ROYAL

Part Three

With the quick passing of time, Mysterious 2098 Face turned out to become a modern-cult character wanted by the police. The reports about confrontations he also had with Sailor V created a roar of vigilantes fascinated with the idea of a mysterious thief smooth and skilled in stealth was out there to find and catch.

The dashing masked thief made the headlines from time to time with a new break-in; what shocked everyone was how he would break in, steal, and return the loot intact just days later. Everything but the pocket-watch, and medal. The police couldn't find a real motive, taking everyone's intrigue even further; what was he searching for?

Something very valuable. And with a highly awaited Embassy party just around the corner, the authorities were going insane. Mysterious Face 2098 is the most wanted by the Tokyo Police.

Mamoru continued living his life in complete silence. Deep down, he had memorized every alley, every exit, every shortcut to flee from the police and Sailor V like the palm of his hand in case there was ever a slip-up.

He had to admit even criminals needed a break. With new strange activity going around different districts around Tokyo, Sailor V was keeping busy enough for him to take a step back and plan his next raid without pressure.

Mamoru sat by the window, watching the almost black clouds covering the sky. "Again." He went back to his book when he heard a knock on his door. Quick to respond, Mamoru found a more casual Shimuta Ikio standing in the hall.

"Good afternoon, Ikio,"

Ikio smiled at the young man and walked into the genkan to take off his shoes properly. "Good afternoon, Mamoru," he looked around, "You alone?"

Mamoru walked past him to the kitchen to get a glass of water, clearly annoyed. Ikio immediately caught the reason for his silence and made him crack the ice with a chuckle. "Oi! With you, one knows anymore. You're a mystery, that's why I am asking,"

Mamoru froze in place. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you are not very social."

"I am social enough," He frowned and turned to look at him, "Anyway, can I offer you something to drink?"

An incredulous Ikio arched his brow, "Do you have anything?"

"Sure," Mamoru pointed at his empty white wall, "Help yourself."

"Water is fine," Ikio sighed, "Seriously, Mamoru. You need to start furnishing this place, it's been a year. At least give that plant in the corner a friend."

"That is a good spot for the plant to grow, let it be," Mamoru walked back into the living room. He handed Ikio the glass of water and reclaimed his seat at one end of his sofa, "Plus, what's wrong with it? I don't need much to live comfortably."

"You don't even have a television," Ikio sat at the opposite end of the sofa and took a sip of water, "What do you do all day?"

"Read; I do my homework. Take a nap every now and then. I like my peace and quiet." Mamoru put his book on the coffee table, "I'm comfortable,"

"Well, as long as you are comfortable… I suppose that's alright."

"So, liquor. At this time of day?" Mamoru arched a brow, "That's strange… Even for you."

"Hmm," Ikio took another sip of water and put the tall glass on the coffee table, "It has been a little more hectic than usual. That is all I will say,"

Mamoru was quick to know what he was talking about. He put his hands in his pockets with a heavy sigh, "Is she giving you a hard time?"

Ikio tilted his glass; the ice clicked. "I'll just say it has been very complicated."

"I don't mind, Ikio," Mamoru gave his full attention to the man. "It's been a year and a half since we spoke. I think it goes without saying that I'm already someplace else in my life. Whatever she decides to do with her life is not my problem anymore, as awful as it sounds."

"True, it's not your problem," Ikio leaned to grab his glass of water to take another sip, "But it's still mine." He sighed, "She is having a hard time accepting and facing the difficulties that come with age,"

"You started cutting her allowance,"

"Let's just say she is in a stage where you get more no's than yes's."

"Ah..." Mamoru stood there genuinely surprised. "Got it."

Ikio turned to the young man, his face more relaxed. "I am not here to talk about my daughter. I thought it would be nice to make our monthly meeting a bit more casual and go out to have dinner. There are some things we need to talk about before the Gala."

Mamoru's narrowed in suspicion, "Ikio, are you doing this because of today?"

"Today? What day is today?" Ikio blinked a couple of times, trying his best to act cool.

Mamoru sighed, "Please. Like you don't know today is August 3rd."

"Is it?"

"..."

"Really?"

Mamoru sighed, "You don't need to feel like you have to do something for my birthday, Ikio"

"I am not," Ikio took a more defensive posture, "Look, Mamoru, I wear suits all week. This is the only time I get to be and feel normal. Let's go out and have some dinner, we still need to discuss business. This isn't a celebration, it's work."

"What about Akane-san and… Your daughter?" Mamoru frowned, "Shouldn't you go out and have dinner with them instead of me?"

"A new spa opened in Osaka; they went together."

Mamoru sighed, "Alright, alright..." He turned to walk to his bedroom, "I'll go get my wallet and a jacket."

"You were born on a very sunny day," Ikio put on his shoes; catching Mamoru in the corner of his eye wearing his green ugly jacket over his black t-shirt; washed jeans, and his classic black and white chucks in hand. "Well, it's been ten years since then; that changed too."

"Someday, the sun will come out again, Kid. Maybe not literally, but, you will feel like it's a hundred degrees outside." Ikio patted the young man's shoulder as he walked out the door, followed by Mamoru. "I grew fond of the weather being the same every year. It's the most certain thing I have in my life."

"You're too depressive, Mamoru," Ikio muttered as they walked out of the building and got inside Ikio's car. Mamoru leaned back in his seat and sighed, "I am what I am Ikio. Don't you think it's kind of late to change my belief system?"

"Don't speak like an old soul. You're only seventeen." Ikio took a quick glance at his rear-view mirror and changed lanes, "What would she think of you if she could hear you talk that way?"

Mamoru gave a sad smile, knowing exactly who Ikio was talking about. "She would be glad to know that I have thickened my skin,"

"Have you gone back there?"

"No,"

"How come?"

"The same reason I haven't visited the place where my parent's ashes were put to rest,"

"Why?"

"Didn't you just say I'm too depressive?" Mamoru sighed and looked out his window, "It's sad. It hurts to know I have lost too many people in my life. I miss her. She did much for me, and I will always be grateful."

"She knew this side of you, right?" Ikio arched his brow, "Did you ever tell her?"

"Of me having all this uncommon wealth?" Mamoru turned to the man behind the wheel with a wry glance, "She knew there was something else going on with me from day one. She knew about the accident from what she read in the papers when it happened; the rest kind of unfolded on its own but she kept it a secret to respect my privacy. We both knew half of this truth."

"And her family? Have you visited them lately?"

"I went to visit Benjiro-san and her girls. He is still grieving her passing... it's heartbreaking. The girls are doing the best they can to cheer him up, as they are also going through hard times. I want to do something,"

"Let's talk it over dinner, then." Ikio parked outside the valet of the Shinjuku Park Tower. Mamoru turned to the older man with a little annoyance, "Really? Here?"

"The Kozue is my favorite place to eat—I am not doing this for you Mamoru, I really am hungry."

Mamoru sighed, "Well, you proved me right..." He turned to open his door and stepped out of the car and walked inside the fancy building. They took the elevator to the very top of the building where the very exclusive restaurant was located in a big Terrance, giving one of the best views in all of Tokyo.

As soon as the elevator doors opened both men were greeted by a beautiful hostess, "Good afternoon, Shimuta-san, same table?" Ikio gave the young woman a polite nod, "Same table, Uda-san."

The hostess nodded and allowed them to walk inside, "Follow me, please,"

As they walked to their table, Mamoru couldn't help to notice the surprised glances from many of the diners gathered, all part of the high social class of Japan. Ikio couldn't avoid greeting a few people here and there and finally took his usual chair at his regular table.

"Can I offer you and your guest something to drink, Shimuta-san?"

Ikio smiled, "Warm sake would be nice,"

"Just water for me, thanks."

"Right away—your server will be here any minute now. If there is something else I can assist you with, Shimuta-san, please let me know."

"Thank you, Uda-san,"

The beautiful hostess walked away, giving both men some privacy. Ikio put his phone on the table and arched his brow, "Water?"

"I am not a heavy drinker like you are, Ikio. Plus, sake triggers my migraine," Mamoru opened his menu.

Over the last year and a half, Ikio noticed noticeable growth of character in Mamoru.

Mao's words made sense to him. The boy with a broken spirit was becoming a man in his own right, one that was learning how to navigate life and stand up for himself. He was often sarcastic, hermetic, and cold; but he knew that it was just a mechanism to protect himself and be selective.

Chiba Mamoru had learned to be practical and he knew what he wanted. He knew what to aim for and how to speak his mind with impeccable manners. At seventeen years of age, he was much more mature and charming than most men his age, and Ikio was impressed to witness how he was handling it all with prudence and grace.

Mamoru has proven to be very bright and has been very open to learning some important trades of the financial world despite not being interested in pursuing it as a professional career. He took his legacy very seriously and worked hard to honor his late parent's memory. Mamoru was truly proving to be Natsuo's son by having become very responsible for his life too.

As he watched the view below, Ikio noticed Mamoru was becoming very attractive with the passing of time. There was no doubt he was nurturing an elegant poise that made him stand out from the rest. His presence was magnetic to others; he attracted the attention of both men and women because no one would expect such maturity coming from a young adult.

Mamoru took the menu offered by their server who quietly put their beverages in front of them over a fancy white marble coaster, "What business do you want to talk about with me?"

"Straight to the point, eh?" Ikio closed his menu and put it aside, "Well. Since you are officially my client, I am obliged to talk to you about your fluid assets on a regular basis and give advice on what would be a good decision for you to make in terms of making use of said capital."

Mamoru narrowed his deep blue eyes, "You are telling me this despite knowing I cannot make any decisions on it because of my age?"

"Precisely that is what I want to talk to you about," Ikio crossed his hands, "You are seventeen years old now, Mamoru. You have accomplished very interesting goals in your short adult life. I can say with certainty that you have surpassed many expectations, including my own. I knew you were your own force to reckon with, which brings us to today with this important matter: you have proven you have what it takes to be granted full access to all that is under your name. I can make it happen as soon as possible, that, if you agree, of course."

"I see..." Mamoru leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. Ikio arched his brow with expectancy, "Are you ready to take full control and responsibility?"

"I have little to no margin of error on this, Ikio."

"Obviously, but I wanted to bring it up with you first,"

"I'll sign the papers. I hope this is said in good judgment."

"You have my word." Ikio nodded.

Mamoru pressed his lips together with a nod, "Well then… If it is not going to be a problem, let's start with the necessary protocol and move on." He sighed, "It's time."

-O.O.O.O.O-

Mamoru stood by his bedroom window wearing his tuxedo as he looked outside the city. Gladly for him, his thieving attire came in handy for more occasions than just disguising his identity while breaking into buildings.

"The Legendary Silver Crystal..." Mamoru mumbled as he stared at Tokyo Tower. He sighed while thinking this would be a good day to make a quick search; maybe earlier than usual. Nothing too complicated. He narrowed his deep blue eyes, "If I ever want to find out who I am, I need to find that crystal."

Mamoru looked down at the paper ad from the Osa-P high-end jewelry store that had just opened in Juban just a little over a month ago and turned to grab his dark sunglasses before heading out the door thinking he might have to give that store a visit after his meeting with Ikio.

It took a couple of hours for Mamoru to meet the key people Ikio was training him to make an introduction to; attending a gala was exhausting he thought. He took a moment to regain composure, sick of the strong smell of cigars and whiskey, Mamoru needed fresh air to cool his head and sort his ideas; this was the perfect time to end the afternoon with a good impression.

After many attempts to convince Ikio to drop him close to Juban, he was finally on his own and on his way home. At first, he had second thoughts about walking around wearing a tuxedo in the middle of the day, but it wasn't out of the ordinary to find men wearing formal wear due to the large number of embassies established all over AzabuJuban.

Mamoru wore his dark sunglasses without paying attention to the many glances and breaths he stole from many girls passing by or eating at the small terraces of the line of cafes down the sidewalk. Many people guessed if he was a celebrity or even Mysterious Face himself, but he had built up a strong reputation for never being careless.

Fall was finally making its way back, bringing that familiar nostalgic feel to his life. He couldn't help it, whenever the weather started to change to a more breezy and cool condition in the afternoon, he would always think of his days as a simple clerk boy at a local market. He remembered with endearment the nights Mao invited him over to have dinner with her and her family, or when he stayed over to babysit little Tao and Mei because he wanted to give their parents a well-deserved night out. He smiled whenever he remembered Mei's sweet singsong voice calling him her favorite oniisan.

Those were the things he kept close to his heart. Creating memories held higher value than money for Mamoru.

While still on his way, a small smile graced his lips when he spotted his next target when he caught a sweet singsong-like voice close to where he was standing.

"I should go home!"

A crumbled piece of paper hit him right in his face. Greatly annoyed, Mamoru frowned at the rather rude and messy gesture. His eyes spotted the peculiar hairstyle of his assailant, "Oi, you hit me, Miss Bun Head! Are you gonna make bumps on my head too?"

The culprit turned, fuming at his remark, "Excuse me!? These are not bumps! It's a hairstyle!"

Mamoru didn't pay much attention to the person arguing behind the crumbled piece of paper he had in his hand and looked down at its contents. His stomach sank at the score marked in red; it was beyond him., "Thirty percent..." He took a deep breath and laid the failed test over the girl's face, "You need to study harder, Miss Odango Atama,"

The girl, now more furious by his blunt and informal approach took the test off her face and scowled at him, "Mind your own business!"

Mamoru's deep blue eyes widened behind his dark glasses; he was sure something got caught in his chest. The girl in front of him had a beauty impossible to ignore. She had the most beautiful crystal blue eyes he's ever seen, porcelain skin and delicate pouty lips. The way her long hair fell from the two buns at the crown of her head made him think of the warm rays of the sun during summer; so shiny and silky.

On closer inspection, he noticed the uniform that clearly stated she was still in junior high, judging by the test, she may have been around her second year.

The girl, however, stood still with her cheeks flushed staring at him completely frozen. They stayed in silence, both dealing with this strange volt of energy crossing between them and Mamoru couldn't help to part his lips in awe. He couldn't say anything else, his breath was literally taken away, just as Mao predicted.

"I promise you with all my heart, that you will find that person you are looking for. You won't even need to wait to find out if she is the one; you'll know it as she will take your breath away."

After a couple of minutes, the girl turned on her heel only to walk back to him seconds after. Mamoru watched her fumble as she snatched her bag from him and arched his brow when he heard her angry rambles. "Who the hell wears a tuxedo in the afternoon?! What a show-off!"

Mamoru waited until she was out of sight and then turned to the fancy building in front of him with a smirk of confidence as he slid down his dark shades, "This is a big jewelry shop. They might have it—the Legendary Silver Crystal."

-O.O.O.O.O-

Finally at home, Mamoru walked past the kitchen without even thinking about dinner. His head felt like exploding; all that talking, all that smiling, the pretending game. He pushed his bedroom door open and let himself fall on his bed and kept his eyes glued to the ceiling, thinking about his rather odd encounter with the girl with two buns at the top of her head. "Miss Odango Atama..." He muttered, "What a remarkable hairstyle... What a remarkable girl."

For a moment he considered it a good idea to postpone his raid for another day but there was an uneasy feeling creeping into the pit of his stomach. Something urged him to go back to that jewelry store.

He took a deep breath to try to get rid of the heavy feeling in his chest and turned to look out the window at the night sky, calculating the time he could go out again.

An hour later, Mamoru finally got up from his bed and added the missing items to make Mysterious Face complete and went to take his usual way out by the fire escape, immediately getting lost in the darkness of the sleeping city. His steps echoed in the empty streets and stopped across the street to think for a minute about how to break in. Walking into a back alley, he jumped high to get a grip on the fire escape and with the most delicate and very well-practiced technique, he forced a window open to sneak inside what he realized was a third floor. His gaze narrowed with suspicion when he noticed something strange moving around the glass showcases below and spotted a woman holding some sort of a recipient with a beaming light floating inside.

"Stupid humans... They have no idea that their jewelry is absorbing their energy. But it seems the one I seek is not here either..."

Mamoru frowned at the woman's strange movements, she seemed inhuman. He studied the situation and thought if it was better to send an alert to the police since Sailor V didn't have him in good graces.

He was about to go back to get help when he caught the woman mocking a girl in a very cold voice, and confirming her mother was unconscious in the basement and soon after morphing into a demon-looking creature making the girl scream terrified.

His blood froze. "What the hell is that?" Mamoru felt urged to help the girl when someone ran into the building in the same desperate tone and stayed behind the pillar he was hiding from, "Stay away from Naru-chan! You monstrous old hag!"

He jerked his head to look down and widened his eyes when he saw a girl wearing a sailor suit similar to Sailor V's. He heard the demon ask her identity, taking her completely off guard. People and their need for a name.

"Uh, me? Well..." She said and turned to her black cat companion, meowing at her. With a smile, she danced a pattern with her arms and smiled with confidence. "I am the Pretty Soldier in a sailor suit. The Guardian of Love and Justice—Sailor Moon! And in the name of the Moon—I'll punish you!"

"Sailor Moon? Another Sailor Soldier?" Mamoru frowned, intrigued by this new heroine. He kneeled to keep his intrusion as quiet as possible, his body not yielding to the fight or flight mode state he was in.

The demon woman summoned the power she held in her hands to the people possessed by the curse she had put on the jewelry, and in a matter of seconds went straight to attack the now-proclaimed soldier of justice.

Confused, he watched her run around the first floor trying her best to evade their attacks; her sudden confidence was quickly smashed by panic and fear once surrounded by a large crowd of hostile people. In a rush of desperation, she burst into tears stunning her enemies due to the ultrasonic waves coming out of the jewels in her buns shattering the windows and glass cases all over.

Mamoru gritted his teeth and brought his gloved hands to cover his ears. If this continued this route she could end up bursting everyone's heads, including his. Taking the opportunity of being disguised by the loud noise, he rolled close to the rail on the third floor and looked down. "Stop crying! Do it now, Sailor Moon!"

Shocked by his intervention, Sailor Moon turned to look around to find him and then to the black cat that was giving her the right instructions to beat the enemy. After reclaiming her previous confidence, she brought a hand up to her forehead and activated the jewel that turned into a boomerang and threw it full force at the monster, "Moon Tiara Boomerang!"

Mamoru was genuinely impressed by the amount of power coming from the petite soldier and watched her with a triumphant smile when the demon-woman was turned into dust and the hostages were waking up from their trance.

After all of this, it was best for him to take a step back. He looked down at the girl helping the victims, finally coming into view from above.

"I couldn't find the Legendary Silver Crystal, but I won't deny I saw something very interesting instead."

Sailor Moon finally found the owner of that voice standing by the stained glass window and widened her eyes, "W-Wait!"

He bowed his head before he jumped out of the building. As he landed on a light pole, he spotted Sailor Moon running after him and turned with a charming smile; cementing his presence and giving his mysterious alter ego identity, a name much easier to remember. He didn't want to have a number attached to his name like in the old days in the orphanage.

"I am Tuxedo Kamen. Sailor Moon, I will remember your name."

And just like that, Mamoru was again lost in the darkness of the night while having a strong feeling that this was not going to be the last time they met.

He couldn't wait to see what she was going to do next.

A/N: The plot and some characters are mine, not SM.

The whole concept of a dashing man wearing a tuxedo did come from the inspiration behind the famous series of the French handsome thief, Arséne Lupin. The initial name for Tuxedo Kamen was intended to be Mysterious 2098 Face in the series, but Naoko Takeuchi eventually turned the idea down.

I took the liberty to make use of that idea as an inspiration for his early crimes as a way to honor her initial idea.