Hey! Get ready for a few chapters getting updated at once (yes, I completely forgot to update this fic on this website, sorry). I highly suggest you check out this fic on AO3 too since it comes with fanarts I do for each chapter. You can also find the drawings I do for this fic on my socials such as Instagram (rickyriddle20), tumblr (rickyriddle), twitter (autistic_rick) or Deviantart (rickyotaku).
"She did what!? Okay, we're on our way. Stay safe!" Usagi said before she hung up the phone.
"What's going on, Usagi-chan?" Ami asked.
Usagi was back at her house, with all the senshi reunited there.
"It was Nyanko-san," Usagi replied. "She had been attacked."
"What!? By whom?" Haruka asked.
"Is she alright?" Rei asked too.
"Yeah, she's fine. She only got knocked out, nothing too serious…"
"You still haven't answered my question," Haruka insisted.
"... she was attacked… by Sailor Lead Crow," Usagi finally revealed. "She's the one who had Seiren's notebook."
"Lead Crow!?" Minako exclaimed.
"So it was her all along," Makoto said.
"And Lead Crow… who is she exactly? Her civilian identity," Haruka demanded. "Nyanko told you, didn't she? It's time you tell us who she is- as well as Aluminum Seiren!"
"She's… she is…"
"Karasuma Akane, isn't she?" Michiru suddenly said.
"How… how did you guess!?" Usagi exclaimed.
"Usagi-chan!" Rei scolded.
"Ah… oops…"
"Because you just told me," Michiru smirked. "Honestly, I had a guess on two people, but given what Setsuna-san said she heard Nyanko-san say, Karasuma-san had to be Lead Crow. While Aluminum Seiren must be Aya Reiko. Am I right?"
"... Yes… but, how…?"
"I heard Nyanko-san say Seiren was drunk during the party. I wasn't there so it didn't seem like important information to me, but Michiru-san remembered Aya-san leaving earlier with Karasuma-san because she was drunk," Setsuna explained.
"It wasn't so hard to connect the dots," Michiru continued. "If Aya-san was Seiren, then it seems obvious Karasuma-san would be Crow. Those two are always together."
"So, Karasuma-san… Lead Crow, is the one behind all of this," Haruka concluded. "She had us fool since the beginning!"
"Of course, that makes sense," Minako said. "I knew she was suspicious! She was way too defensive when we questioned her. And given Aya-san was drunk, she had no way to confirm Karasuma-san's alibi. For all we know, she left her unconscious somewhere, attacked us, and then drove back with Aya-san to their place and pretended they were all night!"
Could it really be the truth? Was Karasuma- Crow- the culprit they were looking for all along? Usagi was forced to admit it did add up, especially now that she attacked Nyanko. But she still wanted to believe Crow had a reason for her behaviour and that she could reason with her if only she could talk with her.
"Let's go to the studio," Haruka said. "Crow might still be around. We have to stop her!"
The others seemed to agree as they nodded, following Haruka. Usagi hesitated for a moment before walking away from the house too.
"Nyanko-san! Are you alright?" Usagi exclaimed.
Nyanko was walking down the corridor, staggering, taking support up the wall.
"I'm fine… but… I have to find… Crow…" Nyanko mumbled.
Nyanko nearly fell to the floor, only to be caught by Makoto.
"Hey! Be careful! You shouldn't be moving like that if you just got knocked out," Makoto said.
"I can't… I need… to talk to Crow…"
"But she attacked you!" Minako said.
"Even so…! I need to know… why… why it was her… I don't care if I face her wrath. I deserve it."
Ami came closer, taking a look at Nyanko.
"I don't see any blood, but you might have a concussion," Ami said. "You need to rest."
"But Crow-"
"We will handle her," Uranus said.
"... That's exactly why I worry," Nyanko replied. "Ugh… my head…!"
Ami started examining more Nyanko's scalp, looking for an open wound. She was relieved to only find a small bump. But then, she noticed something white in Nyanko's black hair. When she tried to remove it, she realized she couldn't- those were hairs. White hairs.
"What… what are you doing?" Nyanko asked.
"Do you… dye your hair?" Ami suddenly asked.
"What? No! Why are you asking that?"
"Well… you're starting to have white hair."
"Huh!?"
"Anyway, you need to take it easy. Concussions can get nasty."
"But…"
"Don't worry. We also only want to talk to Crow-san," Usagi tried to reassure her.
Nyanko seemed hesitant for a moment before she nodded.
"Okay, I trust you."
"I'll stay with her, to make sure she's alright," Ami said.
"Let's split out to cover more ground, preferably in teams of two," Uranus said. "I'll go with-"
"I'll go with you!" Usagi immediately said.
Uranus seemed surprised but didn't protest. Neptune paired up with Rei, Hotaru with Setsuna and Minako with Makoto.
"Whoever finds Crow-san first call the others immediately. Do not engage in fighting if not necessary," Usagi said.
The others nodded and split up, leaving Ami to tend to Nyanko.
"Why did you want to team up with me?" Uranus asked.
Usagi, who had now turned into Sailor Moon, felt her heart racing.
"Ah, you know… it's been a while since we haven't worked together," Sailor Moon nervously explained.
"Huh-uh. And I suppose it has nothing to do with you not trusting me to handle Lead Crow, right?"
"W-what!? Of course not! I just really wanted to team up with you!"
Uranus delicately put a hand on Sailor Moon's shoulder.
"You don't need to worry. I don't intend to kill her if it's what you're concerned about."
She then took a more austere expression.
"But, I won't hesitate to use force if she doesn't cooperate. Let's not forget she's the enemy who's this attacking us so far!"
"We don't know that yet!" Moon argued.
"She attacked Nyanko and she was the one who had Seiren's notebook. If she's the one who has it, then she has her memory. She remembered where to find it. If she had her memory all along and fooled us all, then she had to be up to no good! Who else could be our enemy?"
"I don't know! But… Nyanko-san… really didn't seem to think it could be Crow-san…"
"Yeah, well, look where it got her. Crow attacked her, and she herself saw she had the notebook. Not even Nyanko could deny Crow is the culprit we were looking for all along!"
Sailor Moon didn't know what to answer. She wanted to keep arguing but she was forced to admit that what Uranus said made sense. Who else but Crow could be behind all this?
Uranus then gently seized both Sailor Moon's shoulders.
"Don't fret, princess. I understand you want to believe in other senshi. And I don't intend to hurt her any more than necessary. The days where senshi were at war with one another are over."
Sailor Moon nodded.
"I hope so."
"So, what do you think of this?"
Sailor Mars turned back when Neptune randomly asked that.
"Huh? Think about what?"
"About Lead Crow. Her being the culprit," Neptune specified. "You were the one who interrogate Karasuma-san with Minako-san, right? And she said she found her suspicious."
"Hm… yeah. Minako-chan was very accusatory when she talked to Karasuma-san, so she came off as defensive, so I'm not sure if it's suspicious or just a normal reaction… But now that Nyanko-san got attacked and confirmed it was Crow, I guess Minako-chan was right to be suspicious…"
"But you still have doubts?"
"I… I know it's not rational, but I can't help… but feel off. Deep down in my guts, I feel like there's more to all of this…"
Neptune nodded.
"I get you. I also feel this way."
"Really, you do? But then… who? And how? Nyanko-san herself said Crow attacked her… and I can't believe she would have been deceiving us the entire time. But if Crow is indeed not the actual culprit, and neither is Nyanko-san and possibly Mouse, then who…?"
"Who, indeed…" Neptune replied, enigmatic.
"Oh? What are you two doing here?"
Mars wasn't expecting to stumble on Aya Reiko. But then, she remembered she worked at that studio with Karasuma.
"Whoa, you two are sailor senshi, right? Don't tell me, there's another monster attack!?"
Mars and Neptune exchanged a glance like they were telepathically trying to come up with an excuse.
"Not… a monster exactly… but there was an attack here," Mars began. "And the assailant might still be in the building. We are trying to locate them."
"Oh my goodness! That's terrible! I hope the victim is alright," Reiko replied.
"Yes, no serious injuries," Neptune assured.
"You should leave, this place is dangerous!" Mars added.
"No way! Karasuma-san is this here, I can't leave without her! Especially if this dangerous person is still out there!"
Mars wished she could tell her the dangerous individual was actually Karasuma, but there was no way she could. No excuse would be able to make sense to Reiko as to why her agent was suddenly a threat.
"Fine, you can stay with us. We will help you look for Karasuma-san," Neptune proposed.
"Neptune!?"
"Two birds, one stone," Neptune whispered. "If we can't get rid of her, we can use her desire to find Karasuma-san."
Mars understood. Reiko didn't need to know for now that Karasuma-san was the assailant they were looking for, but they could still look for her under the pretend of helping Reiko. Two birds one stone, indeed- if said birds were actually just one; a certain crow.
"And my instincts tell me to keep an eye on her," Neptune added.
"Huh?"
"Great! Let's go find Karasuma-san then!" Reiko exclaimed.
Neptune quickly glanced at Reiko before nodding, and they all continued their search together.
"Why do you think… Crow-san is doing this?" Sailor Moon suddenly asked.
"Hm? Revenge, I suppose," Uranus replied nonchalantly.
"But why? Is it because she blames us for Seiren-san's death? Even though they were both brought back to life? It doesn't make any sense! Crow-san did use to blame us, but revenge was never her motivation. She still kept looking for my starseed- not as revenge, but I believe… as a way to honour Seiren-san. To prove she was right. So I don't get why now that they were both given a second chance, she would throw this away and attack us. Especially if Seiren-san is back too!"
Uranus seemed to ponder on that a little.
"We can never know what dwells in someone's heart," Uranus finally answered. "Hatred doesn't just go away so easily, even when the damage done is fixed. It's a vicious cycle, and the pain never truly goes away… if I had to guess, the pain she felt when Seiren died didn't vanish. It might still weigh in her mind."
"Maybe… she's afraid it might happen again? That we will harm Seiren-san in some way? When you lost someone once, being afraid to lose them again is understandable. I would know…"
"Regardless, we have to stop her."
"Still! If this is really her motivation, then we might have a better chance of talking to her! Making her understand we want them no harm…"
"That'll depend on them."
"U-Uranus…!?"
"Sailor Moon! I finally found you!"
The two senshi turned back, surprised by whom had just called Sailor Moon.
"You!?" Moon exclaimed. shocked.
It was the masked woman in a red suit.
"You again!?" Uranus let out.
Sailor Moon remained surprised. It was the first time the red guardian actually spoke to them. Her voice sounded so dark and deep, yep devoided of actually depth behind it.
"You… you were looking for me?" Sailor Moon asked.
The masked woman cracked her whip.
"Because of you, I lost what was the most important to me. I won't let that happen ever again. And for that, I shall eliminate you!"
"What!?"
"As if I'll let you do that!" Uranus exclaimed, protective.
The senshi of wind conjured her sword, ready to fight for her princess. The red guardian suddenly removed her top hat and threw it at them like a frisbee. But the impact it had was not the one of a mere hat. It was like it drew wind all around it in a destructive matter. It hit Uranus directly, throwing her to the ground.
"Uranus!?" Moon exclaimed.
"Ugh… what was that? This power… this is no ordinary person!"
The masked woman swung her whip towards Sailor Moon. The latter had barely time to dodge the attack.
"Please, stop! I don't know why you're attacking me!" Moon begged.
"I won't lose her again. YOU WON'T TAKE SEIREN AWAY FROM ME THIS TIME!"
"What!? Seiren…?"
The woman's eyes shone red under her mask.
"I'm going to protect Seiren!"
"You… who are you…?"
The masked woman answered by swinging her whip at her once again. Uranus managed to grab the whip before it could hit Sailor Moon and pulled the red guardian towards her, before punching her right in the face.
"Ugh!"
The woman collapsed to her knees, her mask falling to the ground.
"That's payback for last time!" Uranus exclaimed.
The woman in a suit started grunting, still remaining on the floor.
"... Are you alright?" Sailor Moon asked.
The woman rubbed her cheek and finally looked up, showing her full unmasked face.
"So it was you!" Uranus exclaimed.
"What… what's going on?" Karasuma asked. "Why do I feel like I just got punched in the face…?"
"What… what are you talking about…?" Uranus asked, confused.
Karasuma stood up and then looked down.
"What am I wearing…? That red suit? Don't tell me… it happened again?"
"Huh? What are you trying to imply?" Uranus said, starting to lose patience.
Karasuma seemed quite embarrassed.
"I… don't remember how I got here, and why I'm dressed that way," she confessed.
"Eh!?" Sailor Moon exclaimed.
"Likely story! You're just trying to get away with what you've done!" Uranus accused.
"What….? What have I done…?"
"Don't act like you don't know! You attacked Nyanko and targeted Sailor Moon!"
"I… did I…?"
Uranus suddenly grabbed her by the collar.
"Don't try to play innocent with me, Crow!"
"Uranus!"
Karasuma slapped Uranus' hand away.
"Again with that name! What is it with you people calling me that!? And keep your hands off me!"
"You…!"
"This is about Seiren-san, right? You're trying to protect her?" Sailor Moon asked.
Karasuma looked taken aback for a moment before she cocked her head.
"Seiren…? Who's that?"
"Don't mess with us! You know who that is!" Uranus exclaimed.
"... Oh! You mean, the owner of that notebook I found?"
"Eh?"
"Seiren… that's what was written on it…"
"Karasuma-san!"
Reiko rushed towards Karasuma, followed by Mars and Neptune.
"Reiko!?"
Reiko lightly brushed the bruise on Karasuma's cheek.
"Were you attacked? Those two said there was a dangerous individual roaming in the studio…"
She then turned towards Sailor Moon and Uranus.
"Was it you? Did you hurt Karasuma-san!?"
"She's the one who attacked us first!" Uranus replied.
"What? Karasuma-san would never attack anyone unprovoked!" Reiko retorted.
"Whoa, what's going…? Those clothes… Karasuma-san was the red guardian all along?" Mars reacted.
"Yes, it all makes sense now," Neptune added. "That masked woman always appeared when Aya-san was in danger."
"... I did?" Karasuma reacted.
"She's still playing dumb!" Uranus accused.
"I'm not! I really have no idea what you are talking about!"
"I don't think she's lying either," Neptune admitted.
"Neptune…?"
"But she's not telling us everything," Neptune added.
Karasuma looked down, hesitating, before exchanging a glance with Reiko. The latter nodded.
"The truth is… I believe we were both caught in some sort of accident," Karasuma began. "At Ginga TV."
"Ginga TV…?" Sailor Moon asked.
"That place had been destroyed," Mars said.
"It appears both me and Reiko used to work there… I can't recall what happened there, but I believe we may have been… affected, in some way, by that accident."
"How so?" Neptune asked.
"Well, for starters," Karasuma continued, pointing at Reiko. "She has total amnesia."
That was something they were already all aware but they still pretended to be surprised.
"What about you? You don't have amnesia?" Mars asked.
"Not fully," Karasuma replied. "I forgot a few things, like what happened at Ginga TV. And I tend to have some weird… memory loss, and when I came back to myself, I'm dressed in this red suit-"
"Crow, there you are!"
Mercury was helping Nyanko walk to the group.
"Again with that name! I get it, Karasuma has karasu in it. But it doesn't make it okay to nickname me as such!"
"What…?" Nyanko reacted.
"But… you said you remembered!" Uranus exclaimed.
"Remembered what? I just said I didn't have full amnesia like Reiko. I don't know what this crow thing is all about."
"...Eh?" Sailor Moon reacted.
"Wait… you claim to not have forgotten everything, yet you are confused about being called Crow?" Mars added.
"What do you remember exactly?" Neptune suddenly asked. "Your name?"
"Obviously. My name is Karasuma Akane."
"Huh…? Wait, could this just be a woman who happened to have the same name Crow-san used as a civilian?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Nope. That's definitely Crow," Nyanko replied.
"Again with that!?'
"Karasuma-san, please tell us about your past," Neptune inquired.
"Eh, sure. I was born in Okinawa, moved out to Tokyo for my work, and met Reiko while we were both working at Ginga TV."
"How is that even possible…?" Mercury commented. "Nyanko-san, did this happen to you, before you regained your memory? Did you have fake memories?"
"No, just total amnesia. That's… rather unusual. Even abnormal," Nyanko replied.
"Fake memories!? What are you people implying!?" Karasuma got offended.
"Do you remember your parents, Karasuma-san?" Neptune suddenly asked.
"Of course! They were… huh… they were… I can't remember them. I guess I was an orphan then…?"
"What about the schools you studied at? Surely you would remember those."
"Who do you think I am!? I graduated from university and became a talent agent, obviously! I studied at… huh… Tokyo University?"
"Which one specifically?"
"Huh… I… can't seem to remember… How strange…"
"And how did you meet Aya-san exactly?"
"Ginga TV! We both worked there!"
"But how did you end up working there? How was your very first meeting with her?"
"I… I don't know! I don't remember… WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER!?"
Karasuma fell to her knees, clenching her head with her hands.
"Ugh…! It's like there's another person inside me… I keep having those weird dreams that feel like memories… but they don't make any sense! Who's Galaxia!? Why would she harm Reiko!?"
"Karasuma-san!"
Reiko crouched down to reach for Karasuma, looking concerned. She wrapped her arms around her shoulders, trying to comfort her.
"I'm alright, Karasuma-san. No one is going to harm me."
"Reiko…"
Neptune turned to her fellow senshi.
"I don't think Karasuma-san is the culprit," she said.
"I think so too," Nyanko said.
"But she had the notebook!" Uranus replied.
"Well, she said she found it. So maybe she wasn't actually looking for it?" Sailor Moon said.
"How is that even possible…?"
"Her alter-ego, the red guardian, could have been the one who look for it, and she simply forgot about it," Mercury proposed. "She doesn't seem to remember what she did when she turned into her masked form."
"Hm, that's a possibility… but I have another explanation, that makes a lot more sense," Neptune said.
"Is that so? What?" Mars asked.
"Karasuma-san is clearly being controlled. I don't think she turned into this red guardian form on her own," Neptune explained. "And those fake memories… someone implanted them in her mind. She's being manipulated by someone, the true culprit!"
"The true culprit!? Who!?" Uranus asked
"If Karasuma-san said she found the notebook, then perhaps she stumbled on it at her place," Neptune continued. "And she isn't living alone. Someone else brought the notebook there, and she happened to find it."
Neptune then turned towards Karasuma and Reiko.
"Isn't that right, Sailor Aluminum Seiren?"
Reiko remained awfully silent.
"What… what are you saying…? That Aya-san… remembers?" Sailor Moon said, dumbfounded.
"I was having my suspicion for a while, but this only confirms it. She's been deceiving us this entire time," Neptune declared.
"What!?" Uranus exclaimed.
Reiko finally stood up, looking abnormally stoic. Then, she suddenly smirked.
"Deceived? What a dirty word. I did no such a thing. You simply never asked me directly if I remembered. I merely omitted to tell you."
"So you're just going to admit it, huh," Neptune said.
"What's the point in hiding it anymore if you figured it out? Lying would just be rude, and I'm no liar."
"Hiding the truth is the same as lying!" Uranus let out.
"If you say so," Reiko scoffed.
"Reiko…?" Karasuma called.
Reiko looked down at Karasuma. She seemed to hesitate for a moment before resigning herself. She pulled out what appeared to be a shell with a star on it and raised it.
"Mermaid Star Power, Make Up!"
In an instant, the one pretending to be Aya Reiko switched to a blue and lilac frizzly senshi outfit, with a cross orned with a star on her face.
"So I was right," Neptune said as the woman grinned at her. "The one behind all of this was none other than you, Aluminum Seiren!"
Wait, so Seiren was the culprit all along!? How is that possible? Please let me know your thought in a review down bellow!