DARK SECRETS
CHAPTER TWO - LOST AND FOUND
A loud smacking sound came from the basketball's impact with the gravelly pavement. What had once been a parking lot had been transformed into a basketball court, long with two baskets on either end. Two groups of teenagers were playing, one on each side of the court, while another group of teens was singing and laughing by a radio on a bench on the far side, pressed up against an apartment building. Chain link fence walled the court off from the street.
White Blaze, a large Siberian tiger that the teenagers had slowly come to accept as part of the Saturday tradition, lounged lazily by the bench, eyes watching over a teenaged girl that had just come up to the fence, her face downfallen, as if she was lost. Springing gracefully up to his padded feet, he shouldered his way through the group of teens on the left half of the court, nudging his nose into the back of one boy's knee, right after the boy managed to score a three-pointer.
Ryo Sanada glanced down at his feline companion, motioning with his hand that the others should just continue with the game. "What is it?" he asked, resting one hand on the tiger's broad back, walking alongside White Blaze to a bench propped up against the fence.
White Blaze snuffled and tilted his head to th fence, towards the back of the teen girl, who had rested her back against the fence, sliding down it, fingers woven into the diamonds of the thick-wire fence. The large cat rolled his tongue out, licking the palm of one of her hands, scratchy surface brushing her hand.
The girl giggled and turned around, only to freeze, eyes wide, as she stared at White Blaze.
"Don't worry," Ryo was quick to say, not wanting to have another person get scared witless. "He doesn't bite."
She looked up at him, large, waifish blue eyes relaxing a bit when she realized the tiger was with a person. Her skin was quite a few shades paler than his own and she had long blonde hair in two buns, on either side of her head, hair trailing out in long tails that swirled on the cement. "You sure?" she questioned, switching her gaze quickly back to the tiger, holding her hand through the links. White Blaze immediately began licking her hand with great interest.
Ryo knelt on one knee beside White Blaze, scratching his tiger's head, behind the ears. The tiger was immensely pleased by this and began purring loudly. "Are you lost?" he asked her, eyes focused on his duty of scratching his friend.
"Yes," she sighed.
"Well, hello, Lost," he grinned.
"Very funny," she retorted. "I'm Serena Tsukino."
"Ryo Sanada." He offered her his calloused hand through the fence and she shook it with her dryer hand. The tiger turned and bumped him in the side and he laughed. "I'm not going to forget you!" he told the tiger, looking back at her. "And this is White Blaze."
"Hello, White Blaze," she said seriously, stretching her hand out to the tiger playfully. To her surprise, the tiger lifted a paw and shook it.
Ryo laughed and glanced at her again.
She was gazing wistfully at the kids playing basketball and an idea popped into existence in his mind. "Wanna play?" he invited.
"Oh, yes!" Serena looked eager, but she added in a downcast voice, "I haven't played in a while, though…"
"I'll show you!" Ryo smiled. "Come in through the gate."
White Blaze, in all his feline intelligence, snickered in a very tiger-like way as Serena all but danced to the gate.
"Shut-up," Ryo stuck his tongue out, cuffing White Blaze's ears.
*()*
Serena felt like crying. She was lost, with no clue as to how to get home; there weren't any bus schedules by the bus stops she had passed, so she didn't even know where she was. But then, she considered briefly, she wouldn't be really lost.
The noise of a radio blaring almost deafeningly reached her and she turned a corner, peering through a fence at a basketball court. A few girls were playing, though most of the players on the court were boys. A circle of kids was laughing and singing around the radio she had heard, goofing around and play-fighting.
The itchy feeling in her eyes grew and she rubbed at them frantically, not wanting to cry before the group. Longingly, she watched the basketball players tossing around the sphere, throwing it up into the backboard, through the net with a soft swishing sound. She hadn't played basketball in ages; of course, when one considered her clumsiness, it was almost understandable. But still, she missed the unique feel of the game.
Sighing, she rested her back against the fence, feeling a light wind rustle her pink drawstring hooded sweatshirt. Red jeans fitting loosely about her legs, she slid down the fence, her knees pulling up to her chest, where she wrapped her arms around them, leaning her head forward. After a moment, she sighed again and stretched her legs out flat on the sidewalk, staring out at the empty street, fingers reaching back to weave into the links of the fence.
A rather unique masculine voice, a little raspy and a bit husky, asked somebody, "What is it?"
A cat's tongue brushed against her hand and, giggling, she turned her upper body around a little to see the cat. The cat, it turned out, was a tiger. Oh, dear, her mind thought in a strangled voice.
"Don't worry," the voice from earlier interjected, humor in it. She looked up, into the tanned face of a teenaged boy. "He doesn't bite."
In the span of seconds, she noted every detail. He was probably the first boy she'd ever seen or met that had long eyelashes, which framed dark blue eyes. Wild black hair reaching almost to his shoulders, set somewhat closely to his head, he was tall in a lean, lanky way. He wore black jeans and a red shirt, the sleeves torn off to form a ragged, makeshift tanktop.
Before a blush could light up her cheeks, she switched her attention back to the tiger, holding her hand out for it to lick. "You sure?" The tiger was friendly, if out of place in suburban Tokyo, and happily licked her hand. From the corner of her eye, she could see the boy kneel beside the tiger, scratching the great feline's head, which caused him to purr.
"Are you lost?" the boy asked instead.
"Yes," she answered unhappily.
"Well, hello, Lost," he teased, eyes twinkling.
"Very funny," she made a face. "I'm Serena Tsukino."
"Ryo Sanada," and Ryo Sanada offered her his hand, palm rough with calluses. As she gripped it in a handshake, she thought distantly that Darien didn't have any calluses…
The tiger butted Ryo in the side and, laughing, he scolded, "I'm not going to forget you! This," he looked her straight in the eyes, "is White Blaze."
"Hello, White Blaze." And she stretched out her hand. Surprisingly, White Blaze lifted a paw and shook her hand the best he could.
Lifting her gaze, her eyes focused on the laughing teens on the basketball court.
"Wanna play?" Ryo's voice broke into her wishes.
"Oh, yes!" she responded, excitement clearly showing in her eyes. That, however, died, as she remembered a little fact. "I haven't played in a while, though…"
"I'll show you!" he said hastily. "Come in through the gate."
Beaming, she shot to her feet, golden hair streaming after her.
*()*
The sun was setting, golden orange hues painting themselves onto the pavement and the walls of the apartment buildings surrounding the court. Despite the growths of civilization and technology everywhere, the dwindling sunlight transformed the court into a glimpse of heaven for a second or two.
All the other teens had left and only Serena and Ryo remained along with White Blaze.
"No fair!" Ryo hollered at White Blaze as the tiger stole the basketball from him, taking it into his gaping mouth and bolting for the opposite basket. "Traveling! You're TRAVELING!!"
Serena found this hilarious and doubled over, laughing uncontrollably, even more so when White Blaze crouched down and sprang up, stretching his body to its fullest length, spitting the ball into the net.
"My tiger's cheating!" complained Ryo and he threw himself to the ground, on his back, laughing, too, as Serena fell into a sitting position, both their faces red from exertion and laughter. White Blaze trotted over to them, licking Ryo's face. "You have failed me, my son," the boy said in a serious voice, grasping the sides of White Blaze's face. "I thought I had trained you to not give in to the dark side."
Serena let her breath out in one big whoosh, slowly easing herself onto her back, staring up at the clouds, hued pink by the setting sun. "It's so beautiful," she murmured, reaching out with her hand unconsciously to grip his.
Ryo glanced down at their interlocked fingers, feeling an unfamiliar sense of peace and knotted excitement at the same time. "Hey, Serena," he began in a quiet voice, sensing White Blaze as the tiger collapsed in a resting position. "What would you do if I kissed you?"
Serena blinked, startled, and looked over at Ryo, not sure if he was joking. He was smiling softly, but his eyes were serious. "Honestly?" She took a deep breath, already knowing the answer. "I'd probably kiss you back."
He leaned up and toward her, hesitantly brushing his lips against hers. She replied in the like, softly, and felt something she didn't when she was kissing Darien. Darien was secure, predictable. This felt…she didn't know how to describe it.
And she smiled.
*()*
Dropping her face into her hands, Serena moaned in her room, confused beyond belief. She'd never thought of herself as a cheater before, and she'd always thought there'd be guilt in it. And, indeed, there was, but none about her kissing a boy other than Darien. She felt guilty for not telling Ryo about Darien before he kissed her. She felt guilty for even dating Darien when all she could think about now was Ryo.
For God's sake, she'd just MET Ryo! She'd known Darien for almost a year!
Does that make any difference?, her mind snipped snidely. After all, you don't want your relationship with Darien to get serious.
"Shut-up!" she muttered under her breath.
It was true, though. Ever since she and Darien had learned that Rini was their daughter in the future, he'd wanted them to go steady, to become a serious item. Thank goodness, though, that he didn't want to sleep with her. She was afraid, however, that he'd want them to get married as soon as she was old enough, which would be in only her first year of high school! As much as she did want to be a bride one day, she was hoping to get a successful education before.
Slamming her hands down on her bedside dresser, she felt sinfully grateful that Luna was spending the night at Amy's. If Luna saw her pacing around like this, she'd get Lecture #3490.
Throwing herself onto her bed, she rolled over onto her stomach, grabbing a magazine Sammy had left in her room, flipping absently through the pages. It was sports, she realized soon enough, and she would have put it down if it hadn't been for one thing.
There was a photograph of the last high school soccer champions, from Han'a High School.
The right forward was Ryo.
Serena grabbed the scissors out of her school supplies jar, snipping out that page of Sammy's magazine. What the hell. It wasn't like Sammy would even care. He liked rugby, not soccer.
Yawning, she sat up, plucking a framed small photo of Darien off her table. Working for a few minutes, she managed to work the picture from the magazine in over Darien's. Opening the dresser drawer, she put the pictures into the drawer, sliding it shut.
*()*
"You didn't even get her phone number?"
"If you want to live, Rowan, you'll shut-up."
"Shutting up."
*()*
Author's Notes: The original chapter two for Dark Secrets [v2.0] was deleted. It was mostly Sage-meets-Amy, but I didn't like the way it turned out. (It was cute, but it sucked. Really.) I know, I've taken forever to get these chapters done, but I was gone for about six weeks on vacation, which meant I had no ability to work on Dark Secrets [v2.0]. When I got back, www.fanfiction.net was messed up again. Joy. (However, to make up for this, I have a special treat for you: an RW/SM one-shot fic! Yay! In other news, I've uploaded my Cye/Mina songfic into the Dark Secrets [v2.0] file. That way, you can reread the goopy senselessness over and over while I bash my head into the keyboard, searching for ideas for the next chapters.)
Next Chapter…Ryo sees Serena with Darien and assumes the worst. Kento meets and has a chat with Lita. And…drumroll please…we get a glimpse of Neo-Queen Serenity and Rini gets another Time Key! Oh, yeah, and the first Monster of the Day [MotD] appears. (Cheer, darn you! Cheer!)
CHAPTER TWO - LOST AND FOUND
A loud smacking sound came from the basketball's impact with the gravelly pavement. What had once been a parking lot had been transformed into a basketball court, long with two baskets on either end. Two groups of teenagers were playing, one on each side of the court, while another group of teens was singing and laughing by a radio on a bench on the far side, pressed up against an apartment building. Chain link fence walled the court off from the street.
White Blaze, a large Siberian tiger that the teenagers had slowly come to accept as part of the Saturday tradition, lounged lazily by the bench, eyes watching over a teenaged girl that had just come up to the fence, her face downfallen, as if she was lost. Springing gracefully up to his padded feet, he shouldered his way through the group of teens on the left half of the court, nudging his nose into the back of one boy's knee, right after the boy managed to score a three-pointer.
Ryo Sanada glanced down at his feline companion, motioning with his hand that the others should just continue with the game. "What is it?" he asked, resting one hand on the tiger's broad back, walking alongside White Blaze to a bench propped up against the fence.
White Blaze snuffled and tilted his head to th fence, towards the back of the teen girl, who had rested her back against the fence, sliding down it, fingers woven into the diamonds of the thick-wire fence. The large cat rolled his tongue out, licking the palm of one of her hands, scratchy surface brushing her hand.
The girl giggled and turned around, only to freeze, eyes wide, as she stared at White Blaze.
"Don't worry," Ryo was quick to say, not wanting to have another person get scared witless. "He doesn't bite."
She looked up at him, large, waifish blue eyes relaxing a bit when she realized the tiger was with a person. Her skin was quite a few shades paler than his own and she had long blonde hair in two buns, on either side of her head, hair trailing out in long tails that swirled on the cement. "You sure?" she questioned, switching her gaze quickly back to the tiger, holding her hand through the links. White Blaze immediately began licking her hand with great interest.
Ryo knelt on one knee beside White Blaze, scratching his tiger's head, behind the ears. The tiger was immensely pleased by this and began purring loudly. "Are you lost?" he asked her, eyes focused on his duty of scratching his friend.
"Yes," she sighed.
"Well, hello, Lost," he grinned.
"Very funny," she retorted. "I'm Serena Tsukino."
"Ryo Sanada." He offered her his calloused hand through the fence and she shook it with her dryer hand. The tiger turned and bumped him in the side and he laughed. "I'm not going to forget you!" he told the tiger, looking back at her. "And this is White Blaze."
"Hello, White Blaze," she said seriously, stretching her hand out to the tiger playfully. To her surprise, the tiger lifted a paw and shook it.
Ryo laughed and glanced at her again.
She was gazing wistfully at the kids playing basketball and an idea popped into existence in his mind. "Wanna play?" he invited.
"Oh, yes!" Serena looked eager, but she added in a downcast voice, "I haven't played in a while, though…"
"I'll show you!" Ryo smiled. "Come in through the gate."
White Blaze, in all his feline intelligence, snickered in a very tiger-like way as Serena all but danced to the gate.
"Shut-up," Ryo stuck his tongue out, cuffing White Blaze's ears.
*()*
Serena felt like crying. She was lost, with no clue as to how to get home; there weren't any bus schedules by the bus stops she had passed, so she didn't even know where she was. But then, she considered briefly, she wouldn't be really lost.
The noise of a radio blaring almost deafeningly reached her and she turned a corner, peering through a fence at a basketball court. A few girls were playing, though most of the players on the court were boys. A circle of kids was laughing and singing around the radio she had heard, goofing around and play-fighting.
The itchy feeling in her eyes grew and she rubbed at them frantically, not wanting to cry before the group. Longingly, she watched the basketball players tossing around the sphere, throwing it up into the backboard, through the net with a soft swishing sound. She hadn't played basketball in ages; of course, when one considered her clumsiness, it was almost understandable. But still, she missed the unique feel of the game.
Sighing, she rested her back against the fence, feeling a light wind rustle her pink drawstring hooded sweatshirt. Red jeans fitting loosely about her legs, she slid down the fence, her knees pulling up to her chest, where she wrapped her arms around them, leaning her head forward. After a moment, she sighed again and stretched her legs out flat on the sidewalk, staring out at the empty street, fingers reaching back to weave into the links of the fence.
A rather unique masculine voice, a little raspy and a bit husky, asked somebody, "What is it?"
A cat's tongue brushed against her hand and, giggling, she turned her upper body around a little to see the cat. The cat, it turned out, was a tiger. Oh, dear, her mind thought in a strangled voice.
"Don't worry," the voice from earlier interjected, humor in it. She looked up, into the tanned face of a teenaged boy. "He doesn't bite."
In the span of seconds, she noted every detail. He was probably the first boy she'd ever seen or met that had long eyelashes, which framed dark blue eyes. Wild black hair reaching almost to his shoulders, set somewhat closely to his head, he was tall in a lean, lanky way. He wore black jeans and a red shirt, the sleeves torn off to form a ragged, makeshift tanktop.
Before a blush could light up her cheeks, she switched her attention back to the tiger, holding her hand out for it to lick. "You sure?" The tiger was friendly, if out of place in suburban Tokyo, and happily licked her hand. From the corner of her eye, she could see the boy kneel beside the tiger, scratching the great feline's head, which caused him to purr.
"Are you lost?" the boy asked instead.
"Yes," she answered unhappily.
"Well, hello, Lost," he teased, eyes twinkling.
"Very funny," she made a face. "I'm Serena Tsukino."
"Ryo Sanada," and Ryo Sanada offered her his hand, palm rough with calluses. As she gripped it in a handshake, she thought distantly that Darien didn't have any calluses…
The tiger butted Ryo in the side and, laughing, he scolded, "I'm not going to forget you! This," he looked her straight in the eyes, "is White Blaze."
"Hello, White Blaze." And she stretched out her hand. Surprisingly, White Blaze lifted a paw and shook her hand the best he could.
Lifting her gaze, her eyes focused on the laughing teens on the basketball court.
"Wanna play?" Ryo's voice broke into her wishes.
"Oh, yes!" she responded, excitement clearly showing in her eyes. That, however, died, as she remembered a little fact. "I haven't played in a while, though…"
"I'll show you!" he said hastily. "Come in through the gate."
Beaming, she shot to her feet, golden hair streaming after her.
*()*
The sun was setting, golden orange hues painting themselves onto the pavement and the walls of the apartment buildings surrounding the court. Despite the growths of civilization and technology everywhere, the dwindling sunlight transformed the court into a glimpse of heaven for a second or two.
All the other teens had left and only Serena and Ryo remained along with White Blaze.
"No fair!" Ryo hollered at White Blaze as the tiger stole the basketball from him, taking it into his gaping mouth and bolting for the opposite basket. "Traveling! You're TRAVELING!!"
Serena found this hilarious and doubled over, laughing uncontrollably, even more so when White Blaze crouched down and sprang up, stretching his body to its fullest length, spitting the ball into the net.
"My tiger's cheating!" complained Ryo and he threw himself to the ground, on his back, laughing, too, as Serena fell into a sitting position, both their faces red from exertion and laughter. White Blaze trotted over to them, licking Ryo's face. "You have failed me, my son," the boy said in a serious voice, grasping the sides of White Blaze's face. "I thought I had trained you to not give in to the dark side."
Serena let her breath out in one big whoosh, slowly easing herself onto her back, staring up at the clouds, hued pink by the setting sun. "It's so beautiful," she murmured, reaching out with her hand unconsciously to grip his.
Ryo glanced down at their interlocked fingers, feeling an unfamiliar sense of peace and knotted excitement at the same time. "Hey, Serena," he began in a quiet voice, sensing White Blaze as the tiger collapsed in a resting position. "What would you do if I kissed you?"
Serena blinked, startled, and looked over at Ryo, not sure if he was joking. He was smiling softly, but his eyes were serious. "Honestly?" She took a deep breath, already knowing the answer. "I'd probably kiss you back."
He leaned up and toward her, hesitantly brushing his lips against hers. She replied in the like, softly, and felt something she didn't when she was kissing Darien. Darien was secure, predictable. This felt…she didn't know how to describe it.
And she smiled.
*()*
Dropping her face into her hands, Serena moaned in her room, confused beyond belief. She'd never thought of herself as a cheater before, and she'd always thought there'd be guilt in it. And, indeed, there was, but none about her kissing a boy other than Darien. She felt guilty for not telling Ryo about Darien before he kissed her. She felt guilty for even dating Darien when all she could think about now was Ryo.
For God's sake, she'd just MET Ryo! She'd known Darien for almost a year!
Does that make any difference?, her mind snipped snidely. After all, you don't want your relationship with Darien to get serious.
"Shut-up!" she muttered under her breath.
It was true, though. Ever since she and Darien had learned that Rini was their daughter in the future, he'd wanted them to go steady, to become a serious item. Thank goodness, though, that he didn't want to sleep with her. She was afraid, however, that he'd want them to get married as soon as she was old enough, which would be in only her first year of high school! As much as she did want to be a bride one day, she was hoping to get a successful education before.
Slamming her hands down on her bedside dresser, she felt sinfully grateful that Luna was spending the night at Amy's. If Luna saw her pacing around like this, she'd get Lecture #3490.
Throwing herself onto her bed, she rolled over onto her stomach, grabbing a magazine Sammy had left in her room, flipping absently through the pages. It was sports, she realized soon enough, and she would have put it down if it hadn't been for one thing.
There was a photograph of the last high school soccer champions, from Han'a High School.
The right forward was Ryo.
Serena grabbed the scissors out of her school supplies jar, snipping out that page of Sammy's magazine. What the hell. It wasn't like Sammy would even care. He liked rugby, not soccer.
Yawning, she sat up, plucking a framed small photo of Darien off her table. Working for a few minutes, she managed to work the picture from the magazine in over Darien's. Opening the dresser drawer, she put the pictures into the drawer, sliding it shut.
*()*
"You didn't even get her phone number?"
"If you want to live, Rowan, you'll shut-up."
"Shutting up."
*()*
Author's Notes: The original chapter two for Dark Secrets [v2.0] was deleted. It was mostly Sage-meets-Amy, but I didn't like the way it turned out. (It was cute, but it sucked. Really.) I know, I've taken forever to get these chapters done, but I was gone for about six weeks on vacation, which meant I had no ability to work on Dark Secrets [v2.0]. When I got back, www.fanfiction.net was messed up again. Joy. (However, to make up for this, I have a special treat for you: an RW/SM one-shot fic! Yay! In other news, I've uploaded my Cye/Mina songfic into the Dark Secrets [v2.0] file. That way, you can reread the goopy senselessness over and over while I bash my head into the keyboard, searching for ideas for the next chapters.)
Next Chapter…Ryo sees Serena with Darien and assumes the worst. Kento meets and has a chat with Lita. And…drumroll please…we get a glimpse of Neo-Queen Serenity and Rini gets another Time Key! Oh, yeah, and the first Monster of the Day [MotD] appears. (Cheer, darn you! Cheer!)