A/N: A fanfic of Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor V's unknown first meeting. This is set in manga canon, where Mamoru actually went around robbing jewelry stores in a tuxedo in search of the Silver Crystal, which would obviously come to Sailor V's attention. This is set after the end of the Sailor V manga and the beginning of Sailor Moon. It contains references to the V manga as well, see if you can spot them! Though the last epilogue bit is actually set during Chapter One of Sailor Moon.

Doone to distract me from DC Comics breaking my heart. I still have other superheroes and they are super fun so there. Partly inspired by V and Mamoru's rivalry in the Sailor Moon Live Action series, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, particularly the opening to episode one where she foils him- I wanted to do that sort of thing only with our perky plucky manga!V who doesn't have a particular grudge against Mamoru except for….well… Anyway, it was fun to write, and I hope you enjoy!

Something Interesting.

After he broke the glass case, he would have maybe two minutes to be miles away from the shop. But two minutes was all he needed. The only inconvenience was he would have preferred to stay at the shop and determine which one was the Silver Crystal here, so he wouldn't have to go through the trouble of returning them. But modern technology made that impossible. So sometimes he didn't return them at all, just dropped them off at a charity somewhere. And all right, he had sold one to buy the motorcycle. But the motorcycle has been needed.

Insurance paid for all of this anyway. It was a victimless crime. Not really a crime, even, a prophesied mission he had been ordered to carry out by a girl in his head. It was also for the sake of having nothing but blank pages in his past, some him to hold onto, and the girl had even hinted it could save the world. He sometimes suspected she was lying, and this was all really so she could have so pretty baubles, but he didn't mind that. He liked the girl, even if she was just a hallucination or psychotic break. She filled the emptiness and gave him a purpose even if this purpose was vague and illegal. She gave him someone besides himself to talk to and care about- and, it was weird, it was clear she needed him for something, but at the same time she gave him strength. Even as she begged him to help her, she was just so…she smiled at him and he felt like she was watching his back wherever he went, that she was there for him.

He puffed out a long sigh. He was clearly just really lonely. The bored honors student with no real family and nothing to do, so he hallucinates somebody who gives a damn. And who even knew what this Tuxedo thing was about? It was like he was dressing for a date with her, instead of a heist.

He realized he'd been staring at the case for far too long. So what if this was just to give his hallucination some diamonds? It's not like he had anything better to do. Even the slightest chance that this would lead to a real past, real memories, a world where he was not a nameless, blank nothing with no one- it was worth it.

He smashed the case open with his cane and grabbed everything that glittered within, shoveling it into his hat. Now to climb out the window, jump two rooftops, take the motorcycle and evaluate all this in the alley behind the arcade. MAYBE this time-

"Hold it right there!"

He blinked. The alarm hadn't been on for more than ten seconds. Had there been guards posted? There couldn't have, he has thoroughly cased-

There was no one in this room. Where was the voice coming from? He thought to look up. And there she was, standing on the ledge of a massive window, her hands on her hips, the full moon illuminating her outline.

"You wear tuxedos to dance with pretty girls, not to rob them of their jewels! A mask is for an elegant masquerade, not for a thief to hide his face in shame! Diamonds are a girl's best friend, and a girl must protect her best friend from strange men!"

Mamoru stared at her. She was wearing some sort of school uniform; only the skirt and sleeves were light and short. She wore a mask like him, only it was a vibrant red. "Vibrant" was probably the best word for her. Her grin was maybe two miles wide, she wore a huge bow, and her voice managed to be both stern and cheerful. She couldn't be older than fourteen, and nothing about her was the least bit threatening or formidable, but his nerves were suddenly on edge as they had never been in his life. He reflexively jumped back as she landed gracefully in front of him, sticking the fifty foot drop with no problem.

"The security system may allow it, but I will not allow it! Codename Sailor V, Pretty Sailor Suited Senshi of Justice! At your service!"

She winked at him and posed. He took another step back. Was something wrong with her? Sailor V…that rung a bell…but the police were going to be here soon if she distracted him for too long…

"Hmmm," she leaned forward as if she was appraising him, her hand on her chin. "Not bad at all. Very nice build. Not many people could pull off that look without embarrassing themselves, but you're clearly the dashing type."

"Stop looking at me like that!" He found himself blurting out. He had to get past her, but he didn't want to hit her and she kept blocking his way…

"Oh, don't get the wrong idea. You may be good looking, but I would never go for you," she wagged her finger at him. "You're a bit of a cliché honestly. Guys like you, being the dashing bad boy gentleman thief type, trying to be all smooth and slick…" her smile faded a little. "V-chan had a pretty harsh experience with a guy like you once. It ended badly."

Then her smile was back, but it was cold, more like a shark's toothy grin. It was a bit disturbing on a girl like her. "Of course, it really ended badly for him." She tapped Mamoru on the tip of the nose, so fast he didn't have time to react, her grin now cheeky. "Just a warning if you try anything!"

Enough of this. Time to get out of here. He backed up a little, and then flipped over her head, clutching his hat full of jewels close to his chest.

"Venus Love-Me Chain!"

A chain came fast as a whip and grazed his hand with scalding hot metal, knocking his hat right out of his grip. He landed on his feet as jewels scattered on the floor. His white glove was torn and the skin underneath was inflamed. He swore.

"That's the whip of love, of course it hurts," V sang, coiling it around her waist again. "It's a new trick, you're very lucky to be the first I've used it on!"

He remembered her now. She'd been on the news, a schoolgirl vigilante with strange powers helping out the police. She'd stopped dozens of crimes, beaten men and monsters alike. She might be small and bubbly, but she was someone he could not underestimate if he wanted to escape jail.

"It's rude to leave a lady without introducing yourself," she was wagging her finger again.

He really didn't want to hit her, but she was annoying. On the other hand, he WAS in the wrong here, and brawling with a girl younger than him who clearly really was trying to administer justice was not going to make his night. And that's if he could even beat her. She'd been doing this a while, and she had superpowers at her aid, and while he had discovered he could jump unusually high on these nighttime trawls, he didn't have scalding chains or crescent beams or any of that. His best chance was to distract her and then escape.

"My...name is….Tuxedo Kamen," he offered tentatively.

She considered this. "Did you just think that up?"

He figured no response was the best response here.

"Well, it's very descriptive," She told him kindly.

"As is Sailor V," he responded, perhaps letting some snappish annoyance creep into his voice.

'Why are you taking sparkly things, Tuxedo Kamen?" she bantered lightly, blocking him again when he tried to sidestep her. "If it's for a lady, you should know any decent girl would not be impressed by stolen goods."

That actually stung a little. "Shouldn't the police be here by now?" Maybe if they charged in he could use the confusion to escape without having to hurt anyone.

"Ah, no, they sent me instead," V shrugged. "I was nearby at the time, honestly, doing the nightly patrol for justice, and they contacted me, saying the neighbors saw some weirdo break in a store and you really look like my type of thing, with the cape and outfit and all." She nodded as the alarm finally switched itself off. "See? I'll take you to the station personally; you should be honored, considering you just turned out to be some guy!"

"I am not just some guy," He responded through gritted teeth.

"Oh, are you going to turn into a monster? Could you do it now, then? I'll have to kill you of course."

What was WITH this girl? "No!"

"Oh, I get it, you're offended!" She knocked herself on the head. "I'm told I can be harsh sometimes! Ah, you shouldn't feel bad, Superintendent Sakurada will be very interested in you, she loves those flashy handsome young gentlemen types!" Her expression darkened. "Hmmph. Guys like you. I guess it's time to wrap this up, then."

He had expected her to pull the chain trick again, but instead she yelled "Sailor V Kick!" and whipped into a roundhouse. He ducked, and let it whoosh over his head, but while he was occupied she grabbed his arm with her chain and pulled him close. She didn't bother to yell anything this time. She unraveled the chain before it could burn him too badly and twisted his arm behind his back. She was strong.-possibly preternaturally so. He really didn't want to have to fight this righteous, if annoying girl who had been protecting the city. Maybe he should just let her take him in. He had been acting wrongly, going on this little hedonistic thrill ride for reasons that might not even exist. What was he doing, thinking he could ever recover his past? It was a pipe dream. He should pay for it. It wasn't like there was anybody to be disappointed in him for ruining his perfect record.

Except…except for her.

Her face flashed in his mind again, hopeful, waiting for him. She would be disappointed if he let himself be locked away. How could he not believe in her that this was all real, that this was all leading to the truth, when she believed in him so much? So he had never "really" met her, she was still the realest thing he had ever felt. He couldn't fail her. He had to fight for her.

"OW!"

V let go of him suddenly, jumping back and rubbing her hand. His whole body felt heated, and his flesh was crawling and buzzing.

"What the hell was that?" She sputtered at him, her face red. "I thought you were a normal guy!"

"I suppose I am not," he said, trying to hide the fact it surprised him as much as her. He gripped his cane tighter, tense for battle. "I'm sorry, I am afraid cannot come quietly."

V pushed out a sigh thought pursed lips. "Artemis!" She called suddenly. "Come down from wherever you are and help me figure out what the hell I should do to this guy."

He noticed the use of "to" instead of "with".

A white cat bounded down from a high dark ledge where he had apparently previously lurked unseen. It had huge eyes and…was that a crescent moon bald spot? It landed next to V, who was still looking at Mamoru with narrowed eyes. "Is he an enemy? I can't put my finger on it, but he seems familiar. And when I look at him I get this feeling of…" she snapped her fingers. "Annoyance! You know, I just feel like I've always been really annoyed with him. And not because he looks like Ace or the stealing even, he just naturally annoys me. Oh, and he has some sort of power too."

He was getting pretty annoyed at how endlessly blunt this girl was.

"He's got power, all right," a male voice wafted up from the floor. Mamoru jumped back, looking around wildly for the source. But there was no one there but him, the girl and the cat. "And he's familiar to me too…I…I think he's a Guardian."

The cat's mouth was moving. That was where the voice was coming from. Mamoru stared at it. "The cat is…? It can't…"

"A Guardian?" V ignored her opponents confusion

"Earth's, I think," The cat responded, shrugging at Mamoru apologetically. Mamoru had definitely never seen a cat shrug, much less while looking sheepish. He felt a little dizzy at this new experience

"You're kidding," V stared back and forth between the cat and her nemesis.

"Definitely him."

"What is going-?" But before Mamoru could continue expressing his discontent about the talking cat, V slapped him.

"NO WONDER I FEEL ANNOYED AT YOU! You made my job a hell of a lot harder with your little Prince Charming seduction! Taking advantage of a vulnerable young girl, making her sneak out at all hours of the night! And I'd always have to go and collect her, and then your stupid little smarmy bodyguard would laugh at me, oh yes, I remember! But you never did a thing to stop it, and look where it got us, you, you wolf! And you haven't changed one bit! Still doing you're little "oh look at me, I'm so cool and handsome and dashing!" Getting into all kinds of trouble! Stealing things, it'll break her heart to see you like this when she awakens! You'd better straighten up, Iowlife, or I'm not letting her near!"

She was pointing dramatically at him as she said all of this, her head thrown back in dire malediction., His hand had jumped automatically to his throbbing cheek and he had his cane up to shield from another assault, but all he could do otherwise was boggle at her. "What was that for? What…what the hell are you talking about?"

"Venus," Artemis hissed at her (not literally). "I don't think he's awakened yet."

V blinked at her cat. "What, so he doesn't remember?"

"He has no idea."

The girl hero stamped her foot. "AGGH! Why do I have to be the only one that remembers!" She crossed her arms like a sulking child. "Now I can't even scold him!"

These two were clearly from another planet. Quite possibly literally. All Mamoru knew was that the girl was clearly loopy, they made no sense at all and it made his head hurt to listen to them. He backed up again and did another running jump over her head, this time braced to dodge any attack from her. But none came. Knowing he had only seconds, he went for the jewels on the floor, scooping them and his hat up again. As he figured, in the seconds it took him to do this, she was right beside him. He stood up, gripping his hat in one hand and extending his cane almost threateningly in the other. "You said something about me remembering!"

"Hmm?"

"Do you know me from somewhere? Do you know something about the past I've been searching for?" He asked it almost desperately, though he wasn't sure he could trust any answer from this loopy girl.

`V looked down at her cat questioningly. The cat shook his head.

"It's not really my place to say. But it will all come back to you. Whether you want to or not," she said slightly wistfully. But she gave herself a little shake and put her hands on her hips. "But listen, why are you stealing jewels? You'd better give me a good answer."

He hesitated. "I'm…looking for something."

"The Silver Crystal?" the cat butted in suddenly. Mamoru nearly jumped again.

"How did you know?" he cried out. He couldn't believe he was now talking to a cat.

V leaned over to look into the hat. Mamoru jerked it back a little and she laughed. "Well, it's not in there."

"Tell me-"

"We don't know where it is either, if that's what you're going to ask," V said. "But you think holding up random jewel shops is the answer to finding it?"

"It's the only thing I can do," Mamoru growled.

"What if you get arrested? What will that do to the people who care about you?"

"There's no one," he said before he could stop himself. He flushed a little at revealing such personal information.

But she just rolled her eyes. "That you know of."

"If we're going to fight, let's do it," Mamoru finally said, his patience stretched and snapped.

V sighed, looked down at her cat and then looked up again. "Give the jewels back and I'll let you off with a warning. But if I catch you at this again, yeah, we'll fight."

Mamoru stared at her.

"The Silver Crystal isn't in there, I promise. Artemis would know."

"No…I mean, why?"

"Because," she rolled her eyes again. "She'd throw a huge fit if I ever hurt you."

Again, with the mysterious "she". But Mamoru returned the jewels and put on his hat.

"It was nice meeting you," He told her, bowing a little. Politeness was hardwired, apparently. "But, about the Silver Crystal-"

But she just gave him a little smile and jumped to the window. "You'll see." And then she was gone, and he was left alone once more.

"I thought I told you I wouldn't let you near her unless you straightened up."

Mamoru whipped around on the empty street to find Sailor V standing there, framed against the moonlight and frowning at him. She looked a little different from last time, the most prominent thing being that her skirt and collar were now orange..

"Oh, you were watching," he said, nodding back at the small jewelry shop. He was determined to not act startled by any of her antics. He'd had enough of that last time, and he'd been expecting her to show up again ever since. "So Sailor Moon is the mysterious "her" you're so protective of, then?"

V nodded shortly.

"Why didn't you go in and help her fight, then?"

"Why didn't you?" she challenged right back.

"I did!"

"That wasn't helping, you gave her a motivational speech."

He shrugged. "Well, that was all the help she needed. I knew she could handle it on her own."

"And there's my answer to you."

He gave her a little smile at this. "Good answer."

"Don't try that with me, buster!" She stomped up to him, shaking her finger. She did that a lot. "I saw you trying to smoothtalk her! That girl in there is naïve the ways of the likes of you and your slick little act, but I am NOT! Don't you try anything with her, got it?"

"Try anything? Smooth talk? Where are you getting this from? " He snapped at her. "I'm not that type of guy!"

"I didn't find the Silver Crystal, but I did find something interesting," V threw her voice ridiculously deep and seductive in an imitation of him, even puffing out her cheeks and tipping an imaginary hat. "My name is…" she did a dramatic flourish with an imaginary cape, "Tuxedo Kamen! I'll remember you, Sailor Mooooooon."

"Stop that." He growled.

Seeing that it annoyed him, she kept at it, making her voice even more ridiculously swoon worthy. "I want your body, Sailor Moon. Please come fill my lonely little thief heart. I wish to touch the dumplings of your hair…"

"She did have that sort of hair, didn't she…" Mamoru was momentarily distracted.

Sailor V let out a puff of breath, finally stopping the imitation. "You're not fooling anyone. So, I'm warning you to be careful with that girl, or I'll squash you with my divine love punishment."

Mamoru looked V in the eye. "I would never hurt her. But if she needs my help, I'll be there. She's like you, she's fighting for justice. And I'm still looking for the Silver Crystal, so I'll be around."

"It sounds so honest when you say it like that," V sighed. "All right. I'll be watching."

"You're like her mother," Mamoru couldn't help saying.

"Her guardian," the warrior said simply. She was looking off into the distance now, down the street to where the city met the skyline. "And I- hey!"

She looked around to find the street around her was now empty. Mamoru had actually clambered up the wall of little shop next to them while she'd been looking off wistfully, and now he was using the rooftops to hop away. He couldn't resist, after what she had pulled on him last time.

A strange girl, he thought as he made his way back to his apartment, but if she was looking out for Sailor Moon, he supposed her could like her for that. He was glad that girl had a warrior like V protecting her. Why did he feel so strongly about that?

Was it because…because Sailor Moon was a lot like the girl in his dream…the one who filled up the emptiness?

He stopped on the ledge above his apartment and smiled a little to himself.

Well. He really had found something interesting.