Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon
Crown Arcade 9:00 a.m.
The arcade was empty but for two young men. Andrew was the blonde one, 21 years of age, tall, owner of the arcade and source of 14+ females object of affection. Darien was the dark haired one, also 21, taller than Andrew by 2 inches and a med-student. He too held the same status as the blonde.
For the last 10 minutes Darien kept on checking his watch every 30 seconds, annoying the hell out of his best (and only) friend Andrew. When Darien checked it for literally the 300th time, Andrew snapped.
"WHY DON'T YOU JUST CALL HER!?" He yelled from the other side of the counter.
Darien sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Because, I, uh, didn't think of that." Andrew scowled as he towered over Darien and the counter, who shrank back into his chair even further when he'd seen the maniacal gleam in the blonde's eyes.
"So what are you going to do now?" Andrew asked in a sugary sweet tone, which scared the hell out of Darien even though the man who was deciding his fate currently wore an apron decorated in multi-coloured flowers, pink being the dominant colour.
"I'm going to call her." He said weakly.
"And what if she doesn't answer?"
"Then I go to her place and look for her there."
"That's my boy."
Darien pulled out his mobile phone and dialed a number. When he got no answer he said bye to Andrew and left to find his tardy girlfriend.
Recess: Crossroads Junior High School
Three 15-year-old girls sat at their desks in the classroom, wishing with everyone else in the school that the rain would let up soon. Lita the tall brunette, Ami the small bluenette and Mina the average sized blonde.
"Lita, you're sure you haven't seen Serena at all this morning?" The tall brunette shook her head as a black- haired girl ran into the classroom, her entire form soaked to the bone. The students in the room sensed something off about the girl.
"Go back to your school right now!" Miss Haruna yelled but the student ignored her as she saw three young women stand up and run towards the troubled teen.
"Girls I know where Sere is but we have to hurry, she's in huge trouble!" Raye's eyes were wild with worry for her friend and murder for Serena's attackers as she half-dragged Ami and Mina to the alley she had seen in her vision. Lita followed her running friends. The class stared at the door, to their supervising teacher, then back to the door thinking one thing. 'Ami's gonna get her first detention.'
Normal
As Darien ran down the streets in the rain, cursing himself for not carrying a umbrella, he only then remembered that he hadn't seen Serena that morning. Knowing that the day she would get up early would be the day hell froze over; he deduced that she was sick that day.
As he passed an alley, he saw blood mixed with water on the ground in front of the opening into the alley. He had a bad feeling as he cautiously walked in. When he saw the body on the ground, his heart leaped up into his throat. "Serena!" He gasped, horrified. He was about to pick her up when he was violently pushed out of the way.
"How dare you do this to our friend! You will pay for your crimes!" Ami screamed out of nowhere before punching him in the face and Lita kneed him in the most sensitive part of the male anatomy.
"Good aim Lita." Darien gritted out in pain. Mina was the only one who had any sense and flicked on a torch, which had seemingly come out of nowhere. What they all saw would stay in their memories for the rest of their lives.
Both Ami and Lita were frozen ready in attacking mode in front of Darien who was doubled over in pain, Raye was standing over Serena looking like she was going to faint and Mina's face was turning purple from holding back laughter. They were all soaked and the girls thanked God through prayer that their white school blouses weren't see-through.
"Oh. My. God. I am so sorry Darien! What have I done!?" Amy moaned.
"What have you done?! At least you didn't almost permanently damage him!" Lita was flushing a deep red. Luckily for them, Darien understood why they had assumed he had hurt Serena, after all, they always argue and it was a well-known fact that sometimes one would really want to kill the other out of annoyance. The difference being that they wouldn't go that far. Well, that's what their friends told themselves when they saw the pair arguing in the Arcade, and there was that time with the butcher's knife and the spider on Darien's neck…
Raye whistled loudly to gain their attention. "Can we discuss this later? Right now we need to get Serena to a hospital quickly, who knows how long she's been lying here for!"
"Raye's right." Amy ignored Raye's exclamation of 'I always am!' and instead took out a her camera and took photo's of the scene from all sorts of angles. Lita called an ambulance from her cell phone.
"Hi. My friends and myself found one of our best friend's unconscious in an alley. Her entire body is covered in bruises and we suspect that she has internal injuries." Lita proceeded on telling their location. "Thanks. Bye."
"Now I'm in charge." Mina said as four paramedics came in carrying a stretcher. Darien helped load Serena onto it.
"Only two people can come, who will it be?" One of them asked.
"Ami and I will."" Darien replied.
"You know our names?" Raye exclaimed.
"Yeeaah. Why wouldn't I?"
"Because- oh never mind. " Lita muttered.
"No, seriously. Tell me."
"No. Just forget what Raye/I said. OK, bye!" Raye, Lita and Mina rushed out of the alley blushing red.
"Uh let's get Sere to the hospital." Ami said quickly as Darien's attention focused on her. The pair quickly got into the ambulance and left the scene.
With Lita
She ran down the sidewalk to Serena's house absently dodging passers-by.
This rain better clear up soon. Poor Ami, I don't think we should've left her with Darien. But we really need to find those responsible for Serena's injuries. I don't think they did anything besides bash her up but still. I knew I should've started giving her lessons in defending herself. If she dies or there's permanent damage when she wakes up I' ll never forgive myself for this. When we find those responsible I'm going to murder them with my bare hands. NOBODY hurts my friends. Ever. Especially those who were my first girl friends. And Andrew of course. Sigh, he's so hot! Luckily Mina and I know the other has a crush on him and that we don't mind too much and aren't planning to annihilate all competition. I wonder if the Tsukino's are home. She ran up to the front door and rang the door bell. She was too afraid to knock just in case her anger would get the better of her and she punched a hole through the door.
"Yes?" A woman with long blue hair asked as she opened the door.
"Mrs Tsukino my name is Lita and I am a friend of Serena's. A –err- friend found Serena unconscious in an alley 700 metres away from school. She was beaten up but we don't know who would do such a thing. We called a ambulance and she's now in Juuban General hospital." What if an old enemy gang of mine did this to her as revenge for murdering their gang leader? The youth gang of Yakuza would certainly do something like this. Lita started chewing her fingernails in worry. Who might be next? Amy? Raye? Mina? A random schoolmate like MollY?
"Oh my God! My poor baby!" Irene shouted, Mr. Tsukino appeared behind her.
"What's wrong?" Ken asked.
"Mr. Tsukino my name is Lita and I am a friend of Serena's. A friend found Serena unconscious in an alley 700 metres away from school. She was beaten up but we don't know who would do such a thing. We called a ambulance and she's now in Juuban General hospital."
"Then lets go. You can come with us in the car." He said. As they were driving through traffic, Ken disrupted the tense silence. "One question, why are you girls out of school?"
With Raye
Raye reached the top of the stairs of the Hikawa Shrine, her home for the last 14 years. Jerks! Why did they have to hurt Sere for? When I found out who did this they're gonna regret ever being born. If I go to jail for it, then so be it. What if it's some bitch from TA Private Girls High School out to hurt her because of me?
"Is something bothering you my daughter?" Raye looked down towards the voice and saw her grandfather. I've never noticed before at how much taller I am. Lightening struck the stormy sky.
"I was at school when I had a brief vision of Serena lying in a dark alley, not moving. When the vision had passed I was already standing up out of my seat. My maths teacher yelled at me for interrupting the class. Point is, we just found Serena bashed up in that same alley and now the girls and Darien-"
"Your ex-boyfriend?" Her Grandfather interrupted.
"For the last time he was just a friend. He and Ami are at the hospital with Serena. I came here to read the fire to find those responsible."
"Raye, you won't get the answers you seek unless those who truly love her all link hands as you search the fire as one."
Raye's face faulted. "No way." Then she did something she swore she'd never do. "That girl is a loveable ball of blonde energy. There are tonnes of people who love her." She winced. No way, did I just whine?
Grandpa Hino chuckled, turned and walked back to the Temple itself. She'll learn soon enough. He heard two bodies crash to the ground behind him and yells of 'You twit!' I hope.
As Mina was on top of her twitching friend she quickly got off her before pulling her to her feet.
"Uh Mina, if we left at the same time, then how come you got here a bit later?"
The blonde giggled nervously. "I ran into Darien's girlfriend whie at the Crown Arcade-"
"And how, pray tell, did you end up going there when that's in the opposite direction?"
"For your information I was telling Andrew about Serena and when I turned around Katherine strolled in, as happy as you please in the most scantiest clothes I've ever seen, took one sweeping glance of the arcade and for reasons unknown she picked me up by my school collar and hissed something about I was going to pay before storming out of the arcade. Poor Andrew nearly fainted from the death glare she gave me. "
I wonder what's her problem. Raye thought as she related to Mina what her Grandfather had said.
"As the self-proclaimed Goddess of Love-" Raye rolled her eyes- "I understand your 1 minute dilemma perfectly. The people who we need to hunt down are Molly, Irene, Ken, Lita, Ami, Sammy, Darien, Andrew, myself, your grandpa, yourself and the Link." Raye stared blankly at Mina as she offhandedly thought the blonde had finally cracked. "Serena you dolt!" Mina yelled as she correctly found the reason why Raye was pulling out a card for a psychiatrist as well as her mobile phone out of nowhere.
"Oh. So how do we get Serena here?" Raye asked putting back the card and mobile phone.
"I don't know. Maybe one of the others might." The pair stood up.
"Lets go to the hospital and see." Raye announced as she started running down the stairs, almost sliding down the stairs. "Last person there has to pay for the winner's game tickets at the arcade for the next week!" She yelled from the bottom of the stairs.
"NO FAIR RAYE! YOU ARE SUCH ARE CHEATER!" Mina hollered as she ran after the black haired girl, narrowly missing slipping on the stairs herself.
Amy
How dare they leave me alone with Darien! Speaking of which, why is he holding her hand so tightly, like she'll disappear any moment?
"She's losing blood. Do any of you two know her blood type?" One of the paramedics asked.
"It's O." The pair chorused.
"Andrew told me the time Serena fainted from not eating a few months back." Darien explained at Ami's curious look.
"Are any of you O?"
Ami's facial expression turned strickened. "No, I'm A."
"So am I." Darien's facial expression matched Ami's.
The paramedics looked grim as the ambulance stopped in the car park of the hospital. Within moments Serena was wheeled into the emergency room while the pair waited outside.
"What are the odds of having the same blood type eh?" Darien asked as he sat down on a couch. Ami nodded as she sat next to him.
"I know. Out of the five of us, Lita has the same type. I wish she come instead."
"Ami, don't blame yourself, ok? I'm sure they have a supply of her blood type here." A tense silence reigned in the room for 5 minutes.
"The last of her blood type ran out early this morning." They then heard a doctor announce from inside the operating room where Serena lay.
"She'll die then, she's lost too much blood as it is." Another doctor inside replied.
"Oh my God! No!" Amy cried out, clinging to Darien like a lifeline. And that was how Ami's mother found them. One swift glance at the pair left to get dressed into her full doctor's uniform, came back and walked into the room.
"Two of her friends are outside, I'll tell them now." The first doctor said as Mrs Mizuno came in.
"What's going on?" She asked, her heart clenching at the sight of her daughter's first true friend.
"This girl's losing blood and we ran out of supplies of her blood type this morning. She's a millimetre off death so we're just going to take her off life support and tell her friends that they found her too late." The second doctor told her.
"You will do no such thing! We share the same blood type, I can save her." Everyone in the operating room turned around to see a tall brunette who was a it wet still walking through the doorway towards them.
"Sit down in the chair Lita, we'll do a direct transfer." Doctor Mizuno said in a motherly tone. As she started the transfer, she spoke to the embarrassed doctors. "After the blood transfer is complete, start operating on Miss Tsukino immediately. If she dies, I will have you lot in jail for the rest of your pathetic lives and your medical credits stripped away. Do I make myself clear?" The 4 doctors and two nurses nodded.
The Waiting Room Just after Mrs Mizuno went in
"Hey Ami! I didn't know you two were dating!" Lita said as she saw Ami still clinging to Darien. Blushing furiously she pushed herself away from Darien and ended up on the other side of the couch. She blinked, checked her surroundings again, then said
"Serena's not kidding when she says who feel like you're made of stone."
"Oh, and what else does she say?" He smirked as Mr and Mrs Tsukino came into the room.
"That you have the feelings of one." The two girls chorused.
"Do you three know each other?" Ken asked, worried about the obvious year difference and the fact that he was an older male.
"Ami and I are classmates while we only know Darien as 'That Jerk!' and Andrew's best friend." Lita answered.
"So what's happening in there?" Irene asked fearfully.
"They ran out of Serena's blood type." Darien replied. Without a word Lita ran into the next room.
"She's the same blood type." Ami and Darien answered the Tsukino's unspoken question. Mina and Raye ran into the room at the exact same time, muddy and soaking wet.
"I WON!" They both cried put at the same time before scowling at each other.
"NO I DID!" They yelled together once more.
"SHUT UP THE PAIR OF YOU! IT'S A HOSPITAL NOT A FIELD TRACK! YOU BOTH WON!" Little Ami bellowed out. Instant silence overcame the entire hospital for 3 minutes until sound slowly resumed. Darien muttered "she's been hanging around meatball head too much thus earning a rare killing glare from Ami.
"Wow, did everyone hear that girl scream?" Andrew asked as he entered the room. Ami blushed for the second-or was it her third- time that day? And it's only 11:00 a.m. Andrew was astonished. "Wow. That was you?"
"Yes."
"Darien my man, Katherine is worried about you. She asked me about where you were."
"What did you tell her?"
"The truth. I said you were looking for her and she said that she would see you at tonight's date. Oh and that not to call her until then. She said that she had business to handle." Everyone noticed how she didn't leave a message saying that she loved him etc. like she usually did.
"Who are you?" Irene asked the blonde man.
"And what are your connections with these girls and my daughter?" Ken added
"My name is Andrew Hansford and I know Serena and the others ever since Serena first came to the Crown Arcade, which is where I work, and when she first met each of these girls she introduced them to me. And Darien I think."
Mina shook her head. "No, she never formally introduced us to Darien and vice versa. We suspect it was because she didn 't want us mixing with the Devil Spawn."
"I'm right here you know. And I'm not stupid in case you lot forgot." The 'Devil Spawn' said.
"That may be, but since you have never called Serena her proper name in front of us, forgive us for thinking as much." Raye drawled causing the group to laugh.
Two Hours Later
Doctor Mizuno came back out. "Here's the good news. She's going to live. Lita's quick thinking saved Serena's life." And six careers, she thought to herself. "Her situation is a bit severe. She has one rib damaged and two broken ribs, her left arm was pulled out of it's socket, her neck is broken, she has a twisted right ankle, her skull was crushed but no damage to the brain, both wrists are broken and various internal damage. There are no permanent injuries to what we can see though she has to stay in the hospital for 6 weeks. Which means no school whatsoever sadly."
"Mum, somehow I don't think she'll mind. Besides, she's already behind in school work anyway." Ami said.
"Maybe I can tutor her." Darien offered. Ken opened his mouth to decline the offer, then recalled how he seemed like a decent and smart guy.
"Alright, but on one condition, one of the others have to be with you pair at each and everytime." He said, earning a slap upside the head from his embarrassed wife. "Fine. You two can be alone." He growled.
"OK. Your place or mine?" Darien asked.
"Your place might be best, with Ken breathing down your necks there's no way you can teach her." Andrew suggested.
"And if Serena improves on her next test and in her general schoolwork, you guys can join if you want. Even you need to improve Drew." The three girls agreed while Andrew scowled.
"Right, so now can we visit Serena and Lita?" Mina asked.
"Yes, they're in room 304, it's on the left down the right hallway." Doctor Mizuno instructed, leading them to the room. When they entered they saw Serena was asleep while Lita was sitting on the edge of her bed keeping a constant vigil on Serena while holding her hand tightly.
"When will she wake up?" Irene asked, indicating the blonde.
"Anytime soon." Was Lita's answer as Serena's eyes started fluttering open.
"Urrgh. I feel like I've been hit by a semi-trailer. What are you guys doing here? " She asked after seeing her family and friends.
"Hi meatball head, did you have a klutz attack after seeing your failed scores?" Darien asked.
"No you Jerk! I didn't have a klutz attack nor did I fail a test recently. AND STOP CALLING ME MEATBALL HEAD! MY NAME IS SERENA, SPELL IT OUT SLOWLY, S-E-R-E-N-A.! SEEREENAA! OR CAN'T YOUR THICKHEADED SKULL COMPREHEND SOMETHING THAT SIMPLE?" Darien covered his wide grin with a smirk as the once temporarily- serene girl came to life and yelled at Darien.
"Just checking if you still had all the few brain cells you have. See ya around, Meatball Head. " He said before turning and walking out of the room.
"YOU COWARDLY JERK, GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" Serena screamed at his retreating back. Andrew, Lita, Raye, Ami and Mina shook their heads in disbelief.
He was nice earlier, why did he set her off like that for??? Lita questioned herself. We may never know the answer.
When will those two realise they're meant for each other? Mina sighed in jealousy.
Please grow up soon. Please grow up soon. Please grow up soon .Ami chanted inside her head.
Those two are soooo obvious. Raye cooed.
Why is he with Katherine if there's such a connection between the two? Andrew thought to himself.
"What on earth's name was that all about?" The adults asked, astonished.
"Lets just say that they're sworn enemies and leave it at that." Ami explained while checking her friend's blood pressure. "Serena calm down, your blood pressure's too high for my liking."
"It's been a year and he still hasn't called me by my proper name." Serena complained.
"Actually, that's not true. When we found you and when we were waiting in the waiting room, he used your name quite efficiently." Mina said. Everyone turned to Raye as she cleared her throat loudly.
"Sere, I know this may be hard for you, but do you happen to know who it was that attacked you?" The miko asked.
"Tact, Raye. Really tact." The others said under their breaths.
"No, I don't remember. The last thing I remember is walking to school. Sorry." Serena said honestly.
"No worries because Raye and I know the solution to our little…problem. But we need to get you to the Temple." Mina said.
"I can easily get approved permission. By tomorrow her internal bleeding will be completely healed. How long do you need her for tomorrow?" Mrs Mizuno asked.
"From 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. That should be enough. We'll drive her there and we'll be sitting for most of the time. What we've got in mind will still work if she sits on a proper chair. We do what we've got to do, then we plan our next moves and go on from there." Raye said.
"OK, I'll start on doing that now." The woman said before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.
"Andrew, Mr and Mrs Tsukino, are you available from those times?" Lita asked, sensing where this was going. After all, she hadn't been hanging around the Temple for over a year without picking up on important information where the Temple was involved.
"Yes, it's my day off on Thursdays and Fridays." Ken said.
"And I just stay home." Irene added in.
"Lizzy can run the arcade for the day, her school's having the day off." Andrew said.
"Good. You two pick up Serena from here tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. and drive her to the Temple. You'll also have to give Sammy a day off school. Serena will tell you how to get to the Temple." Mina told them. "Ami, Lita and Andrew meet outside here tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. because you three are going to our school to pick up Molly and Melvin. What else? Oh yeah, where does Darien live?"
"Room number 600 In the Azabu apartments, why do ask?" Andrew asked.
"He needs to come as well, but I have a feeling that he won't come unless the right words are mentioned." The Serena look-alike explained.
"OK, as Serena is currently asleep, we have to leave for now. We'll meet back here tomorrow." Lita said as she finally stood up from Serena's side. "What time is it?"
"2:00 p.m. Why?" Ken responded as they all walked out the door. Lita closed the door quietly behind her.
"Damn! I was supposed to meet my friend Ken at 1:30 at the park. See you guys later!" She called as she ran down the hallway towards the entrance to the hospital.
"So what are you guys going to do now?" Irene asked.
"I may as well tell Lizzy, see you guys tomorrow." Andrew said as he departed the group.
"I'm going to start preparing myself for tomorrow, since I'm the only one trained in this sort of expertise." Raye said.
"And working off your stress and anger on Chad. We all know you have a crush on him." Mina said cheekily.
"I do not! Take that back!" The miko blushed furiously.
"Whatever you say Raye. Whatever you say." Mina whispered as the other teen stalked away down the street muttering something about interfering blondes.
"How about you Mina and Ami?" Ken asked.
"I don't know. Sleep?"
"After visiting Darien tonight, I don't know. Study?" The pair suggested simultaneously before laughing.
"Ami, sleep instead of study? The world's going to end! Run for cover!" Mina cried out dramatically.
"Oh come on! At least that's believable, Mina, you never study!" Ami scoffed.
"How about we go after Raye and ransack her comic books. I'm sure she'll be too busy chasing Chad to notice." Mina suggested.
"Deal. Bye Mr and Mrs Tsukino!" They said walking in the same direction Raye had taken.
"Bye kids!" They farewelled before walking to the car park to get their car so they could drive home.
That Night At Raye's Place
Ami looked up from Raye's bed where she was reading a comic book belonging to Raye to look at Raye's bedroom clock. "Mina, it's 11:00 p.m. Weren't you supposed to talk to Darien about something or another?" She asked.
Mina's head shot up from the floor where she was reading another of Raye's comics to double-check the clock. "OH NO! And it's really important too! See you girls tomorrow morning!" She shouted as she ran out of the door in the blink of an eye.
Raye swapped an amused grin with Ami from her chair. "Sometime's I think Mina's worse than Serena, you know that?"
"Raye, they're like twins, remember? Not to mention, Mina's parents are going to be angry at her for staying out late. At least mine knows what I'm doing." Raye's violet eyes turned sad.
"Yeah. Parents. I wish I had some." She said quietly yet bitterly. Ami walked over to her friend and gave her a hug. Poor Raye. She doesn't deserve her father. Why did her mother have to pass away at such an early stage of Raye's life?
I hope he comes. Whether we admit it or not, we're going to need him to help track down and avenge Serena's attackers. I know he loves her, why can't he just wake up and realis that and make the world an easier pace to live in? Or at least make the Crown Arcade a quieter place to visit. There's the apartment, number 600. OK Aino, just knock on the door on the count of three. One…Two…Three!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Argh. Who could possibly want to talk to me at 11:15 at night?
"GO AWAY I'M SLEEPING!"
"SHIELDS IF YOU DON'T OPEN THIS DOOR IN 15 SECONDS I'LL KNOCK IT DOWN AND MAKE SURE ANDREW BANS YOU FROM THE ARCADE FOR THE REST OF YOUR MISERABLE LIFE!" Came the reply.
Damn that Mina girl. She may be a ditz, but that girl's smart nonetheless.
"ALRIGHT I'M UP! JUST GIVE ME A SEC.!" I wonder what's so important that she needed to talk to me about? Serena must've dared her to-wait a minute, SERENA! What if- Darien ran the rest of the way to his front door and almost ripped the door of it's hinges.
"Whyareyouheresolate?MinaisSerenaalright?Iseverythingalright?Pleasetellmnothing'swrong-"
Mina held up one of her hands to silence the boxer-clad Darien. "Relax lover-boy, Serena is fine, everything's fine. I meant to come here earlier but I got distracted at Raye's." At the older man's raised eyebrows she explained. "Fine! I was reading comic books with Ami, happy now?" She asked sarcastically, storming into the apartment past Darien.
"Mina, it's bad manners to walk into someone's home without permission." She scowled.
"Whatever. This can't wait. Tomorrow morning, you are to meet us at the front of Juuban General Hospital by 9:00 a.m. sharp."
"Who's 'we'?"
"Andrew, Ami, Lita, Raye, Sammy, Sere's younger brother, Mr and Mrs Tsukino and myself."
"And this is because…?"
Mina sighed. "This is for Serena's sake. We need to catch her attackers before they strike again. And then we avenge them."
"Serena can't remember what they look like. The trail's cold; there's no clues, no way to find out who did it."
"That's where you're wrong Shields. Raye's a miko, her grandfather's a priest, or did you forget? She's psychic and she has visions. Most important of all she can find anyone and anything in the fire."
"And….?"
Mina's mouth dropped open in astonishment. "God you're so dense! Those of her closest family and friends who truly love her have to take part in helping Raye access the past."
"Since I'm most certainly not a family member and last I checked Meatball Head and I weren't friends, where do I fit in?"
"You'll find out soon enough." Mina shrugged. "See you tomorrow Darien." She turned to leave.
"You better stay here overnight. I have a few old nigh gowns of Drew's younger sister that you can borrow from a while back. I've been meaning to throw them out for a while."
"Where will I sleep?"
"In my bed while I sleep on the couch."
"Darien I'll-"
"It's alright, really."
"Thanks Darien. Good night."
"'Night."
The Next Morning, 6:00 a.m.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Darien sleepily got off the couch and walked to his front door. "Who is it?"
"It's your girlfriend Katherine." Darien opened the door.
" Come in, morning Kathy, what brings you here?" Once she had came in Darien shut the door.
"Last night you didn't show up at the restaurant. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. And why did you sleep on the couch last night?" She asked eyeing the messed up blankets on the couch.
"Because-"
"I came here really late last night to tell him something important and since he refused to let me walk home alone I had no choice but to stay here overnight." Mina said walking into the living room dressed in an ankle-length, pink, frilly nightgown. "Not a word Shields, not a word." She warned darkly when the med-student snickered behind his hand. Even Kathy had to suppress a grin and choke back a laugh.
"Darien, you don't happen to have any complete outfits complete with shoes that I can wear do you?" Please look fashionable. Please look fashionable. Please look fashionable. She chanted over and over in her head like a mantra.
"Are white sandals, knee-length white skirt and a pale pink shirt ok?" He asked.
"Yes." Mina said. Once she had collected the clothes, Katherine followed her into Darien's room and shut the door behind them.
"Stay away from him, he's mine you blondie!" The woman threatened.
Mina walked into the shower. "For your information, Darien and I just friends."
"So you say. Go near my Darien again and you'll wish you had never been born." And with that she left the room. "Darien I'm going home, bye!" Katherine said as she stormed out of the apartment.
"Mina, what was that all about?" Darien asked.
"Don't blame," She called from the bathroom, "She got all jealous for some reason and walked out." Mina didn't mention her first encounter with the woman the day before.
"Be ready to go in 15 minutes. I made breakfast for you already so don't worry."
That Day; 9:15 a.m.
"Mum, dad. What time were we supposed to be here?" Sammy asked his parents. The Tsukino family minus Serena were standing outside the front of the hospital waiting for the 4 teenage girls and 21-year-old Andrew to arrive.
"9:00, but we came a bit late. And here comes Ami and Lita now." Irene said seeing the bluenette and brunette jogging up to them. After the greetings were exchanged, the others came up to them, including Darien to everyone's except Mina's surprise.
"Where do you fit into all this?" Raye asked in surprise.
"Mina refuses to tell me. She says that I've had hints but I can't decipher them out." Darien answered.
Mina smiled secretly, but chose to remain silent. You'll see Raye all of you will soon see. Aloud she said- "Come on people, we need to get a move on."
Nodding their agreements, Lita, Andrew and Ami headed off to pick up Molly and Melvin from Crossroads Junior High School, Mina, Raye and Darien started walking in the opposite direction to the Hikawa Shrine while the Tsukino's went inside the hospital to collect Serena.
Crossroads Junior High
"Miss Haruna, sorry to interrupt but we need to borrow Molly and Melvin for the day." Ami said while Lita and Andrew stood in the classroom doorway behind her.
"May I ask why?" The teacher inquired as the class stared at the trio.
"We'll tell you tomorrow. It will take too much time to explain." Miss Haruna sighed.
"Alright. But just this once. Take your books you pair." Confused both the red-headed Molly and the nerd Melvin followed the trio out into the hallway.
"Where are we going?" Melvin asked eagerly.
"Does it have something to do with Serena?" Molly added.
"We're going to the Hikawa Shrine, Raye's home. And yes, this has got something to do with Serena. We'll clarify what exactly once we're all gathered there." Andrew explained.
Hikawa Shrine: 9:45 a.m.
Once everyone was sitting in a circle in the room with the Sacred Fire burning fiercely in the middle, Raye started the ritual. Kind of. "Everyone, listen and do exactly what I say when I say it. The quicker we do this, the better." The Priestess instructed softly yet firmly. The room went dead quiet. "First, I want you all to hold your neighbour's hand so we are all linked together. Close your eyes and breathe in while slowly counting to ten inside your heads. Now do the same thing again but exhale. Keep doing it until I say so and try to keep your breath even."
Within three minute's everyone's breathing patterns were synchronised. Oh Sacred Fire of my ancestor's. Please show us all today what happened to our dear friend, sister and daughter yesterday morning. Help us bring those to justice the ones who have harmed her. Raye thought to the fire.
Suddenly everyone in the room all saw the day before from a bird's eye view in their minds, but they continued following Raye's orders and didn't disrupt the pattern they had set.
Serena was walking to school, early for once, when she heard a familiar female's voice from the alley in front of her. Something inside her told her to stop and she started eavesdropping on the conversation following her instincts.
"...Just dump the guy. I'm the only one you need." A man said.
"We need me to get all his money first. Any day now he is going to propose to me. Once we're married for 6 months, we then hire a Yakuza assassin. Once he's dead, I'll get the money and we marry and live millionaires for the rest of our lives."
"You're so conniving, my dear, but I wouldn't have you any other way." Diamond said huskily as he kissed her shamelessly.
"I've got to meet boyfriend at the Crown Arcade in half an hour. Bye sweetie." The woman said before they both left the alley, catching the blonde off guard. Diamond pulled Serena into the dark alley and Katherine followed.
"How much did you hear, bitch?" The tall brown haired and eyed woman hissed viciously.
"I didn't hear anything, honest." SLAP. The white haired 35 year old man ruthlessly striked the teen's left cheek. The force was so hard that her head snapped to the side.
"You little, deceitful brat. You heard everything." Katherine held the helpless and defenseless teen as Diamond punched her everywhere he could for 10 minutes. Then he held Serena so Katherine would do the same for the same amount of time. By the time they through her laid unconscious on her side and her entire body was literally back and blue. Rain started pouring down, soaking Serena's body within seconds and washing away the blood. Out on the streets of Juuban, people were running for shelter from the merciless rain.
Once the scene had faded, they all opened their eyes and broke the pattern. The group were all quivering with pure anger and hatred except for Serena who was being held in Darien's strong and comforting arms. "I can't believe she –was- my girlfriend! Katherine is such a-"
"Money-digging tramp?" Andrew suggested darkly.
"Pretty much." The others agreed.
"Diamond Elric is my work colleague. At least we can easily find then arrest them." Ken Tsukino pointed out.
"But on what proof?" Molly asked.
"This morning at 8 o'clock he 'confessed' all of it to Katherine on the phone in his office." Raye's grandfather said coming into the room. "Good thing I had bugged the entire office including his phone last night after I'd had a vision." He explained.
"Thanks Mr Hino!" The group chorused.
"Elric's already been arrested and charged with 2x attempted murder and physical assault. Luckily I have a friend in the police force who has the authority to jail anyone he likes for however long he chooses without a trial or bail. And now he is in jail for the rest of his life. All you guys need to worry about now is finding a way to arrest Katherine Breen." He said before leaving the room.
"You guys sure have powerful connections." Melvin remarked as Darien's mobile phone rang.
"Hello?" Darien asked.
"Hello darling. You promised me that you'd spend the whole day with me today and now I'm outside your apartment and you're not even here!" Katherine's fake, sad tone drifted through the phone. Darien was about to say he had never said that when he got an idea.
"I'm so sorry Kathy, I forgot. I'll be there as soon as I can." Fool! Katherine thought to herself. He'll be so easy to get rid of when we're finished with him! "But can we pay a quick visit onto Andrew's cousin Rena first at the hospital. She got hit by a car yesterday and now she's in a critical condition."
"That's fine with me. See you soon. I love you, bye!" Katherine said before hanging up.
Gather around everybody, I have a plan." Darien said.
Darien ran up the hallway and saw his girlfriend waiting impatiently for him. "Sorry for being an hour late I was studying at a friend's place for the upcoming Physics Exams and went overtime, then I got stuck in traffic due to an car accident. Shall we go?" He asked holding out his arm, which Katherine took hook, line and sinker.
Katherine wore a look-at-me-I-have-a-rich-boyfriend-and-you-don't expression as they walked to Darien's car. As they drove to the hospital, each ran their own plans for the other through their heads. "We're here." Darien said 20 minutes later when they pulled up at the hospital.
"Oh that's good." Katherine said.
When they were about to enter Serena's private room Darien stopped. "Katherine, I don't remember locking the car up, so I'm just going to go back down and check. Go in, her name's Rena. Explain who you are and that you're my girlfriend and make some small talk. I'll be back in 10 minutes." And with that he was gone.
Katherine opened the door, walked in and closed it behind her. As she got closer to Serena she gasped. "You! We thought you were dead!" She exclaimed. "You should be! We bashed you up hard enough and Diamond even crushed your skull. If you had told any of your friends, Diamond and I will come back after you and permanently kill you!" By now her brown eyes were wild with confusion, anger and mental instability. She pulled a knife out of nowhere and lunged it at the blonde's neck.
But to her astonishment only stuffing of the kind in stuffed toys spilled out. "Wha-" She cried out as she pull back the covers to reveal….
"Good one Kathy, you killed a dummy." The Tsukino's, Doctor Mizuno, the five girls including Serena, Darien, Andrew, Molly and Melvin mocked the woman as they walked out of an adjoining room as well as two policemen.
"Ms Katherine Breen you are under arrest for physical abuse and 3x attempted murder." The two police officers said as they handcuffed the woman and led her out of the room. They also placed the knife in a snap-lock plastic bag for evidence. AS they left the hospital, Ms. Breen kept on screaming- "But I'm innocent! It was a set-up I tell you!"
"Come on guys, let's go celebrate!" Mina yelled out. Soon only Serena and Darien were left in and awkward silence.
"Sooo. That was exciting." Serena said after 5 minutes.
"Oh yeah. Real exciting. Look, I'm sorry about Katherine and all-"
"Shields, it wasn't your fault. Anyways, aren't you sad about not being able to boast about having a girlfriend?"
He chuckled. "Not really. Do you wanna be my girlfriend now?"
Serena gasped in shock and smacked him on his shoulder. "Not while you're on the rebound pal. Give it 24 hours."
"So you won't mind if I do this." The college student swept her into a warm embrace, bent his head down and gave her the first kiss of the rest of their new lives together.
Written by Sarah Turner
Please note that this is the short version of the proper version I'm soon going to undertake.