Chapter Nineteen: A Bump on the Head
AN: This chapter is going to be short..but after that..be ready for some looong chapters. I am ready to get this down..and I know you all are too! So here it is!
It had been a week so far and Kumori still hadn't woken up. Serena's family had to go back, as did Andrew. They promised to be back in a few months for summer break. Greg had to leave as well, although he hated to leave Ami here. She promised to call him every day to inform him what was going on. The Scouts called in and said that they needed a sudden vacation. Mina suggested to the director and producer that they could shoot all the scenes that she wasn't in first, then get her when she got back. Lita allowed her partner to run the shop while she was out. Ami was already given enough time, so she didn't have to call in. Darien didn't even mind to call anyone. Miki called in to the hotel and told his crew that they were to meet at the shrine. He tried to get better acquainted with the Scouts, although he stayed away from his "father".
One day, Darien headed for Serena's room for her daily wash. When he opened the door, he noticed that she wasn't in bed. He walked further in and looked around to find her. The last thing he head was a "HEEYA!" and met face to face with the floor.
Kumori rushed out of the room with nothing but a sheet used as a toga. She ran around trying to find a way out of this maze, but couldn't She found a door that was jarred and slid in there, slamming the door shut. She took a moment to catch her breath, when she heard someone clear their throat. Kumori turned around slowly and saw that Miki, the crew, four other women, and two cats sat at a table. Miki had been the one to clear his throat. Kumori sighed and shook her head.
"Nice dress, care to tell us your designer." he said with a smug expression.
Kumori treated his response with "the finger" and walked towards the group. "Can I get my clothes back?" Miki shook his head and threw her some other clothes. "They got destroyed." Kumori swore and tugged off the toga. The group yelled out and turned suddenly to not see a nude boss. She scuffed and changed there within the main chamber of the shrine. Once she was done, she threw the sheet at Miki. Kumori stood there with her hands on her hips.
"What all do you remember?" asked Ami.
Kumori shrugged. "Big fight. Big blob."
Suddenly the door slid open and Darien walked through, rubbing his head. "I would've been the big blob." Darien noticed that Kumori had changed. Miki smirked, knowing that the King would be caught doing that after a private fight with Serenity. She clobbered him. Kumori watched as the tall man walk into the room, then shut the door.
"Don't worry." He said turning around. "You didn't hurt me." being sarcastic.
Kumori narrowed her eyes, missing his joking expression. "No problem, didn't know I cared. Thanks, though. Next time I know to hit you harder."
The crew members snickered under their breaths. Miki took a drink out of his coffee as Darien sat down beside him. He leaned in to his father and whispered. "Believe me, by the end of the day, you won't know what is worse: Bark or Bite." The two shared a chuckle and Kumori sat on the other side of Miki.
"How long have I been out?"
Over breakfast Kumori was informed of all that was going on. She found out what happened, who the newbies were, and that they knew their mission. She commented that Miki couldn't ever hold his own when it came to bad ass women.
"Sumi contacted the ship today, there has been no readings on Red Beard. Apparently after what we did to him, he ran away. We're staying her until he appears again."
"It's fine with me. Earth is growing on me. I was thinking about dropping in on my last host. She's in Japan for a while."
"Who is she? Maybe we know her." interrupted Mina.
"Her name is Aya Bennett. She recently came from Greece. I was with her after her mother, my other host, died. If she is still in the country, I need to contact her."
"You talk about 'host'. How does that all work out?" Ami asked interested.
"I am a guardian spirit that was made from the goddess Psyche to protect Kali's slayers. It's a whole other story that I will explain later. Anyways, I pass down to each generation. My last real host was Vanessa Bennett, but I had to pass on to her daughter, Aya, when she was possessed by Arisa. Arisa, if you don't know is an infamous spirit that has sided with Hades in the 'War'. Later, I was sealed back up because Aya turned out to be a slayer herself. Until she had children, I could not enter into her bloodline. Of course, I presume Miki has told you about our situation now?"
"Yes, I told them we needed you to fight off Red Beard." Miki added.
"Good. Then we are all clear that I am not exactly the person you call, Serena. At least not yet. I believe my time is running short. I could be sealed away any time now."
"We understand. We thank you, too. You are helping us with this enemy." Rei said firmly. The rest nodded in agreement. "But please don't be offended if we grow restless. It is hard to have our beloved princess here and not at the same time." Ami added.
For the rest of the day the two groups introduced themselves, their life styles, where they came from, how did they get involved in all this, and started to plan how they could work together to stop this enemy. Kumori and Miki taugh the Scouts their battle techiques and how to rely on their instincts and not their powers alone. All in all, Darien was mesmorized of this new Serena and couldn't keep his eyes off of her. In some way, he knew she could sense it too, and kept a distance. Too much attention made her a bit squirm.
"I have to go now. While it's still dark." she finally said later on that night.
"How long will you be gone?" asked Lita, not wanting her to go already.
"I will be back some time around dawn."
Kumori gathered some stuff and placed it in her duffle bag that Raid came back with. She had another pair of clothing she changed into earlier. Her t-shirt and jeans were now replaced by a silver leather vest that had a low v-neck. She had red leather bell bottoms and black knee high boots. Her arms held to metallic bands and a matching choker. Her hair was down and only had her orginal two stranded braids on each side. Sumi handed Kumori all her weapons, two daggers, two shot guns, and her bow and arrows. Kumori swung the duffle bag over her shoulders and moved her hair out of her face. She looked around at everyone's faces and smiled.
"I'm going to come back. Jeeze you act as if I'm going to leave forever."
She lightly punched Miki in the shoulder and it took him a moment before he realized it hurt. Kumori smiled and walked out of the shine waving back at them. They waved back and a small breeze flew by. It seemed everyone had a strange feeling that she wasn't going to return after all.
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At the sight of dawn, Darien sat up. He felt a jerk in his chest and the pain spread. He felt like he wasn't able to breathe. He threw his bed sheets off of his sweaty body and stepped out of bed. He clutched at his chest and stumbled out of his room. Darien began to walk, his feet guiding him were the pain would lessen. The jerk in his chest would cease as he moved along to the front of the shrine. He held onto one of the pillars for support as he looked outwards. Then a figure caught his eye.
At the top of the steps, stood Kumori, her back facing him. The wind blew and her hair went flying upwards. It seemed to grow a little longer and as the sun rose, Kumori lifted her head to the sky. Her once silver hair was now as golden as the rays of light. She lifted up her hands and grunted in pain. The sun rose higher with each moment, and Darien could do nothing but stare. A glowing smoke, it appeared like, flew out of the woman's mouth and eyes. The smoky image rose with the sun and made the shape of a huge butterfly. Within minutes a light bursted and the butterfly was gone. Darien lowered his eyes to the frozen figure standing only feet away from him.
Darien made his way down the shrine steps to the land before him. He walked farther to the other set of steps that held the still woman. She must've heard his footsteps, and turned only her head to the side. Darien stopped dead in his tracks. The sun's light shadowed her figure and the only thing he could make out was her long hair of gold and crystal blue eyes. She turned full this time and he saw her completely. Afraid to speak, he whispered, "...Kumori...?"
The blonde stepped towards him. She picked up her duffle bag that was dropped before dawn. Her face was cold and held no expressions, nor her eyes. She wore the same clothes as earlier, a bit dirty now. She had smudges of dirt across her face and a slash across her temple. The woman kept walking to Darien until she was shoulder to shoulder to him. She facing the shrine, and he facing the sun. The blonde didn't look at him, only forward.
"Kumori is gone." she said indifferent then walked off towards the shrine. Darien turned on his heals and watched as she climbed the steps of the temple. He rubbed his chest and realized his pain was gone. He narrowed his eyes.
"...Serena?..."
Half way up the steps, the blonde stopped at the sound of her name. She inhaled a large breath. Without any other word, she continued walking. Serena had finally returned home...and this time things were going to be different. She decided she wasn't taking any more crap from them.
AN: For those of you who wanted to see a SerenaRei cat fight..and a SerenaDarien fight...your about to witness one...hehehe...
