Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Seeing Stars ❯ Chapter 30 ( Chapter 30 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Seeing Stars
By Jason Ulloa
Original story by Moonsong
Continued with her permission.
Chapter 30

The odds seemed stacked in their favor with three uncertainties: they were at least three
to his one; he did not know whether two of them were armed; and he had no knowledge of
their self-defensive capabilities. However, those last two could also apply to him.

On the other hand, he had two advantages on his side: they were still groggy from having
just woken up; and he had the element of surprise. That last advantage he had experience in
exploiting.

He only had seconds to act. He had to take out Tenou before the others. Hopefully, the
sleeping gas would slow the others down and keep them out of his way long enough for him to
finish the job.

Tenou came to an abrupt stop as she noticed a figure rushing her in the darkness. She
quickly reached back to flip on the light switch to her room, which she had forgotten to
turn on in her haste. That was all the opening he needed.

The first strike was a sweep of the legs, since she was so off-balanced. She fell backward,
which was exactly what he wanted. As she toppled backward, he quickly spun completely
around and kicked her in the back of the head, snapping her head forward with enough force
to almost simulate whiplash. As her body hit the floor, her head snapped backward again,
striking the hardwood floor as her body bounced slighty from the force of the impact. She
would more than likely be out from all those hard blows to her head, but just to make
absolutely certain....

He bent down and punched her across the face as hard as he could. He watched for a second
to make sure she wasn't moving, then stood up. It was nothing personal; he just couldn't
afford any mistakes at this point.

The mental clock he kept in his head told him that he had wasted almost twenty seconds on
Tenou. The others in the gas-filled room were still possible obstacles from his getting the
Nijizuishou crystal. There was nothing for it but to go and check.

He kicked the door open and paused in case the occupants were prepared to rush at him upon
his entrance. However, no such attack came. Perhaps the gas had overwhelmed them quicker
than he had hoped for? Or, was this a possible ambush? If it was an ambush, then maybe the
Nijizuishou was in this room after all.

Two possible choices of action were clear: wait until he was sure the gas had overwhelmed
the occupants and take the crystal and leave at his leisure; or go in now and face possible
ambush. The first choice was preferable, however, there was the possibility that there was
a phone in that room where they could call the police from. Besides, he was fully alert and
they were slowly falling victim to the sleeping gas.

He didn't want to waste any more time. It would have to be now. Besides, the gas already
had two minutes to work its effects onto them.

As soon as he stepped through the door, one figure tried to rush at him. It was a clumsy
attack, which was easily avoided. Still, the fact that this person could still attack while
being affected by sleeping gas was very impressive.

"You...," he heard a female voice murmur in a weak, tired voice. He turned toward the
direction of the voice to see another figure reaching up toward the light switch and
turning it on. The bright light was blinding, but he managed to keep his eyes on his two
opponents. He could see that there were only two, and that one was the detective that he
hadn't yet managed to kill. A perfect opportunity. Maybe he should consider using his gun,
after all....

"Who are you?" the woman demanded as she slowly turned toward him. "Are you the one who
kidnapped Hotaru and Ryoku? Answer me, damn you!"

Within the mask, his expression grew cold. So, that woman knows the Tomoe girl and her
boyfriend, does she? But, how could she possibly suspect that he was the kidnapper,
especially since his main objective was only the Nijizuishou crystals? Was it because of
the detective? But, he only suspected him of the double homicide, not the kidnapping. So,
how...?

Without warning, he was suddenly tackled from behind. Damn that woman! How could he have
allowed himself to be distracted like that?

As the two tumbled across the floor, he easily twisted himself out of the other man's grasp
and flung him across the room toward the woman. They both were slammed against the wall and
finally knocked out cold.

"About damn time...," he muttered to himself as he stood up again and scowled at the two.
He started to bend down toward his right ankle, but stopped. "Count yourselves lucky that I
have more pressing matters to tend to." With one last glare of contempt at the two, he
turned his attention toward scanning the room for the Green Nijizuishou crystal. The
crystal in question was sitting in a display case on one side of the room.

"There you are," he said as he strode over to the case and brought out his lockpicking
device. A couple of seconds later, the lock was picked and the contents of the display case
were his for the taking.

Four of the seven Nijizuishou crystals were now in his possession. It was time to go.

As he left the room, he paused by the doorway where the two unconscious occupants lay
sprawled out on the floor. He glared at both the detective and the woman. They were still
out. He had the crystal now, so it would probably be best to take care of both of them now.

A moaning followed by the sounds of someone stirring caught his attention. It was Tenou.
Her chest was still rising and falling and she was slowly starting to come to. He frowned
with slight vexation. On the one hand, it was good that she was still alive, since he hated
unnecessary killing. On the other hand, it was going to be much more difficult to kill the
woman and the detective, since Tenou would likely wake up soon.

For now, he had a job to complete. Max wouldn't like him to skate off on his assignment
just for such a small thing as killing a couple of nuisances. He'd always have another
opportunity. He would let them live... for the time being.

He turned the light off as he left the room.

**********************************************

"Oka y, that'll do it for today!" Amy declared. "Great job! I'll see you all again tomorrow."

"Hey, Lita, I guess we don't get to use the bucket of ice water, after all," Jason said
with mock disappointment.

"Yeah," she replied with a wistful sigh. "And I bet Darien was looking forward to seeing
Serena with a wet T-shirt, too. Right, Darien?" she added with a teasing wink.

Darien coughed slightly, but refrained from saying anything lest he get himself in troble.
However, he did raise an eyebrow at her as if to ask her what in the hell she was talking
about. She merely shrugged casually in reply.

"Better watch it, Lita," Jason warned. "You might just give her ideas." At that, Lita
started to laugh while Serena began to blush slightly. "Oh, I think she just got an idea!"
he added, nudging his sister and pointing discreetly toward Serena. "Now the poor guy won't
get any rest tonight." Serena's blush grew redder as Lita began to laugh even harder.

"Hey, what's going on, Darien?" Tanya asked as she walked up to the small group. "Serena
looks like she's about to die of embarrasment and Lita looks like she's about to die
laughing. Did I miss something good?"

"Well.... Remember Amy's threat with the bucket of ice water?"

"What? Lita suggest a wet T-shirt contest or something?" she asked, tilting her head
inquisitively.

"...."

"Don't tell me that I'm right!?!" she exclaimed in amused surprise. "I only said that as a
joke."

"Exactly," he pointed out. "That's the thing; Jason and Lita were teasing me about wanting
to see Serena in a wet T-shirt and... well...."

Now Tanya was starting to laugh. "Oh, this's good! Hey, I think I want in on this, too!
Hey, Serena!" she called out as she walked over to the blonde actress and gave her a sly
look.

"Look at you," she said in a low, insinuating tone. "First, whipped cream; now, wet
T-shirts? Aren't we starting to get a little kinky? Shall I see about getting you two some
handcuffs as well?"

"Tanya!!!" Serena exclaimed as her face turned an even brighter shade of red. "All right!
That's enough out of the three of you! No more wet T-shirt jokes!"

"So, shall we move on to bondage?" Tanya asked sweetly. Serena's glare screamed bloody
murder. "All right, all right, I can take a hint. So, that's a no on the leather bodysuit,
then?"

As Amy looked up from unlocking her car door, she spotted two familiar figures running at
a very high speed through the parking lot. Actually, it looked like the first figure was
chasing the second.

And she could've sworn she heard the phrase 'kick your ass' repeated more than once.

With her infinite wisdom and patience, she knew that there was only one thing to do at a
time like this.

She climbed into her car, closed the door, started her car, and drove off, not giving the
two a second look or a second thought.

**********************************************

" You could've said something, you know," Serena said as she rode in the passenger seat of
Darien's car. "It wasn't all that funny."

"Of course not," he agreed as he masterfully suppressed his urge to laugh at the memory.

"So, did you get to read very much of the new script revision yet?" she asked as she pulled
out the folded and bound stack of blue papers that made up their latest version of their
memorized script. "I only got to see a few glances here and there."

"Same here," he told her.

There was silence for a few moments as he drove.

"So... why did you want to come to my apartment?" he asked. "I mean, your place is so much
nicer than mine... and bigger... and more expensive... and in a better neighborhood...
and...."

"Okay, I get the picture," she said, cutting him off with a laugh. "But still, it IS your
home. Can I help it if I'm curious as to where you live? Well... at least, it's the way you
live right now."

"Right now?"

"Well, yeah," she said a nod. "After all, you're playing in a big role with me, Serena
Moon. How can this movie NOT be successful?" she added with a haughty laugh.

"Of course," he said dryly.

"Seriously, though," she continued, her laughter cutting off abruptly, "I'm sure this movie
will do well. With your acting complementing my own so well, I'm positive that 'Total
Ecplise' will be a smash. You'll be making more than enough money to live somewhere better
than a small apartment."

"You think so?" he asked as he started to pull over to the curb and park.

"I've been in a few movies, Darien. I have a good feeling about this one."

They both exited the car and closed the doors after locking them. Serena looked over the
apartment complex with a slightly interested expression. "Hmm... not a bad place, Darien. I
bet the rent's a little expensive, isn't it?"

"Not really," he replied as he led her toward the complex. "The utilities can get costly,
though."

"So, which floor?"

"Third."

"This place got an elevator?"

"Nope."

Serena frowned slightly as she glanced toward the stairwell. It looked only wide enough for
three people to walk abreast on both sides. "The move-in must've been hell."

"It was," he agreed, nodding his head slightly. "I had to move most of my stuff by myself,
too."

"Poor baby," she said, hugging him and kissing him on the cheek. "Well, when you do move
out, you can pay professionals to do it. Now, come on. Show me your apartment."

"Sure," he agreed as he led her up the stairs and toward his apartment.

"The apartments sure are close together," she observed as she followed Darien down the hall
toward his apartment.

"The walls are only about this thick," he said, spacing his thumb and index finger about
three inches apart. "Sometimes I can hear what's going on in other apartments if it's
really quiet." He stopped at a door with 308 on it and smiled. "Here we are. Home sweet
home." He brought out his keys, unlocked the door, and opened it.

"Wow!" Serena breathed as she glanced around the apartment. "It's... so clean. Are you some
sorta clean freak, or something?"

"Um...," Darien murmured, uncertain of how to answer that question. Well, maybe he was a
little bit more concerned with cleanliness than the average male his age, but that was no
reason to call him a clean freak. Even Andrew occasionally called him a clean freak. He
resisted the urge to grimace.

"I had a feeling your apartment was going to be small, but I never expected it to be THIS
small," she commented as she sat on his couch-bed. "I mean, there's not even enough room
to have a bed in here! I feel sorry for you having to sleep on a couch every night."

"I have a bed," he corrected her.

She pointedly glanced around the apartment. "Where?"

"You're sitting on it."

"It's a couch."

"That turns into a bed."

She nodded understandingly. "Oh. It's one of those."

He walked over to his kitchen and opened his minifridge. "Care for something to drink,
Serena?"

"What do you have?" she asked as she stood up and wandered over to his bathroom.

"Soda, milk, water, beer...."

"I'll have that."

Darien blinked. He hadn't meant to mention that he had beer - that was a small slip of the
tongue - but.... "Beer?"

"Yeah. What? Think I've never had an alcoholic beverage in my life?" she asked in a
half-amused/half-irked tone. "I'm not a fifteen-year-old junior high school girl, Darien.
Remember?"

"Right," he agreed, then paused. "Um, I was also going to say that I had some good malt
liquor as well...."

"Really?" she said as she exited the bathroom. "Damn, Darien, you don't even have a
bathtub in there?"

"I don't mind showering all the time...."

"Sure, but a tub is great for relaxing," she said, then smiled lasciviously. "Remind me to
show you the next time you come to my place."

"I'll be sure to make a mental note of it."

"Let me see what you've got in there, Darien," Serena said as she walked over to where he
was bent down in front of the minifridge. "Move over," she ordered as she gave him a quick
spank in the rear, making him move over more from surprise than obedience. "Hmm... this
one's pretty good. You've got good taste in liquor, Darien. Were you ever a bartender or
are you just an alcoholic?"

"Eh?" he asked as he stood up straight and stared at her with a confused look, then
grinned. "I see how it is. So, is this your way of taking your work home, Serena? Acting
like Diane?"

"We're going to go over the new revision, aren't we?" she asked as she grabbed her bottle
and opened it. "What better way to go through the new revision?"

"I suppose," he acquiesed. "So, I guess you're gonna want me to start acting like Jack,
right?"

"If you want," she said as she took her first drink and smiled. "Now that's good stuff."

He laughed silently to himself as he grabbed a bottle of the same drink and opened it. "To
us," he said, raising his bottle in toast. "May our new relationship be long and wonderful."

Serena clinked her bottle against his, then they both drank. "And may the sex always be
spectacular," she added and laughed as he almost choked. "Oh, I think some of it's starting
to come out your nose," she said while pointing and laughing.

He grabbed a paper towel and wiped at his nose, then threw it away. "Anyway, I'll certainly
drink to that last toast," he added and clinked his bottle against hers again.

"Ah, but business before pleasure," she said as she waved her index finger in admonishment.
"Come on, let's get to that script revision. G.Q. told me where most of the big changes
were. Let's go over those first."

"All right," he agreed as he grabbed his copy of the script from his pocket and tossed it
onto the small table just outside the kitchen. "Pull up a chair and let's get to it."

"Aw, I don't get to sit on your lap?" Serena pouted.

"Whatever happened to business before pleasure?" Darien asked, raising an eyebrow as he
folded his arms.

"Have you never heard of compromising?" she asked.

"Serena...."

"Oh, all right. I'll be serious." She pulled up a chair and opened up her script next to
Darien's. "So, which page are we starting on?"

"How about the scene on page 256?" he suggested. "The hotel scene in Sydney?"

"All right," she agreed as she flipped through the script. 'That scene.... Funny how I used
to dread that scene because of how I felt about him before. But now....' A smile began to
cross her lips. 'Now, I'm really looking forward to it.'

When Darien suddenly blinked and read the page over again, her interest was quickly piqued.
"What is it, Darien?"

"Page 258, near to the bottom...," was all he said. But, he said it with the hint of an
eager smile on his face.

"Page 258?" she repeated as she turned to the indicated page. 'Must be something pretty
good to get that reaction,' she thought as she scanned the page near the bottom... and
halted after the first five lines.

'This....' She read through the lines again. 'I've done scenes like this, but.... I've
never done them... like this. But, at least it's with Darien, so it'll be okay. Hell, it
might even be fun. No, it WILL be fun.' Now, she was smiling broadly.

"Serena... um... can I ask you something?" Darien asked hesitantly.

"I take it that it's about this scene," she said, the smile vanishing from her face. "I
suppose you want to know how many scenes like this that I've done before, or something."
She took a drink from her almost forgotten bottle, emptying it with that last pull.

"Well, something along those lines, but not what you're thinking," he told her. "I already
know you've done scenes like that. I've seen all your movies, you know."

"You have, have you?" she said, giving him a wry look.

"Well, I rented the ones I haven't seen when I started working with you," he admitted. "But
that's beside the point. What I wanted to ask was whether you enjoyed those scenes that you
did, or was it merely just professional?"

"Jealous, are we?" she asked with an amused grin. "Fear not, my dear Darien. Each and every
one of those times were purely professional. It is only with you that it'll be enjoyable as
well."

"That's good to hear," he said as he leaned over toward her for a kiss. The kiss lasted for
a long time as the two momentarily forgot about the script and only concentrated on
themselves.

"Want to rehearse that particular scene?" he asked breathlessly after they broke the kiss.

"Finish your drink first," she told him. "I won't have you wasting perfectly good liquor.
If you don't want it, then I'll have it."

"You want another one?" he offered.

"Only if you're gonna have another," she replied. "I don't want to be the only one
drinking here. It'll look like you were trying to get me drunk, even if it's this stuff.
Not that you can't get drunk off this stuff, but it IS only 20% proof."

"All right, I'll finish it."

"Hey, let's see you down it in one go," she suggested.

Darien smirked. "Watch me," he said as he raised the bottle up and drank the entire
bottle's contents, then slammed it down onto the table, empty.

"Bravo!" she said while applauding his feat. "Couldn't've done better myself."

"You've chugged liquor before?"

"Don't act so surprised. Nothing says that I have to act perfect all the time. I like a
good party and a good drink, just like any other woman. I like to have a good time, just
like any other woman. When it's all said and done, Serena Moon is just like any other
woman. The only thing is that Serena Moon, the actress, has to be perfect, since there are
people who might look up to her as a role model. I only act this way in private, with my
friends. Just ask Tanya; she'll tell you that I can have just as much fun as anyone else at
parties."

Darien nodded. Of course, she didn't have to be perfect all the time. It was just that he
had never known that this side of Serena existed. No wonder her role as Diane came so
easily to her. At least it was great knowing that she trusted him enough to show him that
side of her. After seeing her in this light, she began to become less and less of an
actress in his eyes, and more and more like an ordinary woman who happened to be a highly
successful actress. And it made him love her all the more.

Just as he was about to suggest 'rehearsing' that scene again, someone began to knock at
his apartment door. "Damn.... Just when we were getting to the good part...," he muttered
irritably.

"Don't answer it," she suggested as she kissed him on the cheek and slowly drew her hand
seductively down his other cheek. "They'll go away soon enough. It's not like it's anyone
important, right?"

"Probably not, but I'd rather just answer it now and get it over with," he replied. "I
don't wanna be rude to whoever's out there. After all, for all we know, it could be Andrew
paying me a visit."

Serena sighed and made a show of pouting. "Oh, fine then. Just don't be too long. I'll be
waiting," she purred as she stood up, then glided over to the couch-bed, walking in the
most alluring way she could, gracefully swaying her curvaceous hips back and forth while
giving him a steamy, sensual look as she slowly settled onto the couch to wait.

The knocking continued twice before Darien could snap out of his enchantment.

"I thought you were going to answer the door," Serena pointed out, grinning widely as she
noticed the slight flush in Darien's cheeks.

"I was getting to it," he retorted as he composed himself and turned to answer the door.
"It's just that your beauty is very... distracting."

"Really...?" she drawled slowly, thoroughly enjoying herself.

Darien turned the doorknob in the middle of the visitor's fourth knock. "Yes? Who is it?"

"Hello, Darien. I just thought I'd stop by to say hi and see how you were doing."

"Raye?" he said, blinking in surprise.

"Yes, it's me," Raye said as she raised an eyebrow. "Were you expecting someone else?"

"Not really...."

"Mind if I come in for a little bit?" she asked. "I promise I won't be too long."

Darien grimaced slightly. "Actually...," he began hesitantly.

"What's taking so long, Darien?" Serena asked with a smile as she came to the door and slid
up beside him. Her expression didn't change when she noticed Raye, but Darien could've
almost sworn that he could feel her body stiffen subtly. "Darien... who's this?"

The fact that Serena's smile didn't disappear when she met Raye was disconcerting enough,
but now that Raye had seen Serena... she started to smile. And he knew that smile. That was
the smile she usually wore whenever an unexpected opportunity suddenly popped up
unexpectedly.

Suddenly, he had an urge to go drink not only that second bottle, but a third.

And a fourth.

And then, a fifth.

Then a sixth, just to be absolutely sure.

"Darien told me that he was working with you, but I never thought that I'd actually get to
meet you," Raye said, extending a hand to Serena congenially. "I'm Raye. Raye Hino."

"It's a pleasure," Serena said in a measured, yet polite tone. "So, how do you and Darien
know each other?"

"We used to date," she replied bluntly.

"Really...?" To say that Serena's slow, deliberate drawl was noticeably different was to
say that, when compared to a light drizzle, a monsoon was noticeably different.

And to say that he was thoroughly screwed at this moment would be one hell of an
understatement. 'Somewhere, Fate must be laughing its ass off at me right now,' he mentally
groaned.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Raye said apologetically. "Was I interrupting anything?"

"Well...," Darien began.

"Not really," Serena told her.

'Ouch.' He mentally winced.

"Then, would you two mind if I came in?" she asked. "I was in the neighborhood and I
thought I'd pay Darien a short visit."

"Not at all," Serena replied, smiling. "Come on in."

"Sure," Darien added faintly. "Come on in."

Both women glanced at him almost as if they were surprised that he was still there.
"Thanks," Raye said as she came in. "I promise that I won't be too long."

'It'll still feel like forever, though,' Darien despaired as Raye closed the door behind
her.

**********************************************

To Chapter 31

**********************************************

Author' s Note: And now we're back to Serena and Darien again! And Raye, too! Current
girlfriend has met ex-girlfriend and all Darien wants to do is drink himself under the
table. Can you blame him? Damn, I almost feel sorry for putting him through this, but I
never said that I'd go easy on him, did I? ^_^ One more thing, thanks to Aglaia of FF.net
for pointing out a continuity error in my previous version of this chapter. I hate it when
I make errors like that, but I guess that's what happens when you rush. Next chapter:
Serena and Raye get to know each other a little bit; more fun with Lita, Jason and Amy; and
Darien decides to find out a little bit more of Serena's past.

Disclaimer: All original materials belong to their respective
owners. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and a bunch
of big companies. No copyright infringement is intended. This
story belongs to Moonsong and myself, and I would appreciate
you emailing her or myself for permission before posting it
anywhere else. Thank you.

Prologue Copyright © January 24, 2000 Moonsong.
Other Chapters Copyright © August 12, 2000 Jason Ulloa.
All Rights Reserved.