Authors Note: Hey…how are all of you doing? Fine I hope. I really wanted to thank all of you for reading my story. With all the reviews I get, it helps me out a lot. Especially what ever constructed critique I get. Those help me to see problems that I have never noticed before and encourage me to make the need changes to improve my story. Honestly, the problem I've been faced with lately is that when I receive a critique, but it's not specifically talking about what is wrong. Or I have received comments like…'how stupid' I must befor something that I published. Please do me a favor and be respectful here. Now I'm only talking to a few of you and you know who I'm talking to. I don't mean to be rude, but this is my story…whatever happens, happens. If you've got a great idea to improve my story, let me know and I make the changes and give you credit. If you've got a problem or a critique, spill it out…but tell me specifically what it is that I have done wrong and what I could do to correct it. The last time that I checked, I couldn't read people's mind, especially over the internet. Please be kind…if I were to review your stories, I would treat you and your story with the same respect that I ask from you. I honestly don't mean to sound rude, but I had to say something. Anyway those of you who are fans of DxS will really love this chapter. Hope you enjoy! Don't forget to R&R!
Chapter 8
"Are you ok?" He asked her. They both had the same shocked expression on their faces. As Serena started to get her self up but she suddenly felt so weak in the knees that she couldn't get herself up.
"No here, let me help you up." He said as he first got up and then extended his hand towards her. As she held out her hand and grabbed his, she felt it. There was a connection, like sparks flying….fireworks singing in the midnight sky. She felt a tingling sensation running through her body He likewise felt it too. It's her! All this time and I've finally found her! He thought to him self. It took him only a few minutes to recognize her. She looked different from the picture he had of her. Now instead of the unique pigtails with the buns atop of each, her hair was pulled back into a pony tail. She still had the bangs; however her hair was noticeably shorter. Had she had her hair out long, it probably would reach 6 inches below her waist. Why did she change her hair style? He thought to himself. Suddenly he began to feel weak in the knees. He waited for this moment for such a long time. He rehearsed how he would react when he saw her many times in his head. Now, being before her and looking into those blue eyes, he felt like taking her into his arms and kissing her long and passionately. NO! He quickly banished his thoughts No, I have to keep my cool. It's been 4 years since I last saw her, she thinks I'm dead. She would think I'm crazy if I suddenly told her who I was. Look… He quickly observed her She hasn't recognized you by now, but you have recognized her. Your best bet is to gain her trust and then when the time is right, tell her the truth. You still have the bracelet she gave you and only you too know what you talked about before you left. Only you know her deepest secrete, that she is Sailormoon. He was suddenly taken away from his thoughts when her heard her talking.
"Hey, are you ok?" Her blue eyes were filled with concern for him.
"Yea, I'm fine. Are you ok?"
She smiled at him warmly, "Sure, I'll be ok. I'm sorry I ran into you like that. I was having lunch with my cat, and she suddenly ran off. She must be long gone by now." A sad look came across her face. I truly hope that she's ok She thought.
"Well, why don't I help you look for her? It shouldn't be too hard to spot a little black cat." He said Oh no! she didn't say anything about a little black cat!
"I didn't say anything about a little black cat," Serena echoed his thoughts. She raised one eye brow as she looked up at him in puzzlement. "How would you know what she looks like?"
Think quickly Darien…Think quickly! "Oh," He began, "I saw a little black cat running down that way," He pointed to the right, "That was shortly before I ran into you."
He sighed with relief when he saw that her expression grew warm. She brought it "Oh, ok." She said smiling. "Let's go and look for her."
"Ok." Darien said as he and Serena began to walk down the path way. As they were walking Serena began to speak. "I'm sure happy that you are helping me. That's very kind of you, to help out a complete stranger." She looked up at him and smiled. Her blue eyes sparkled. "By the way, I almost forgot to introduce myself," She stopped and turned to him. She extended out her hand to shake his. "My name is Serena Kou, what's yours?"
At hearing her last name, Darien felt like the ground beneath him just crumbled and he was about to fall. How could they get married? Why him? How could he do that to him? How could she do that to him? Hold it there buddy, they thought you were dead. She free to be with who she wants if she thinks your dead. A sudden sadness over came him. All this time and now it was too late. Either way you look at it, it's over…she's taken. Seyia is a great guy, he would take care of her as well as I would. in his defeated state, he asked, "So how long have you been married for?"
She looked at him with confusion written across her face. "How did you know I was married? I know I didn't mention that to you."
Did she say was? Meaning that she may not be married? Oh my gosh, I still might have a chance! But she's right, she didn't tell me she was married…only I would know what her maiden name is. Think…think…what do I say? What excuse could I come up with? "Uh…it was just a guess." He quickly said. "Are you married?" He added.
I can't shake off the feeling…Serena thought to herself. Why is it that you remind me so much of him? I've got to stop tormenting my self. It really must be that he's a good guesser. It's possible that Luna ran pass him, and I still do have my wedding ring on. Darien has been gone for 4 years now. This guy just looks like him. By the way, his hair is longer. Darien would never wear his hair like that. Serena sighed. "Yeah, it's a very good guess. But…" Sadness came across her face as she looked up at him. Trying to hold back the tears she continued, "But I've been a widow for the past month. We would have been together for two years now."
Darien's eyes widen in shock and disbelief. No! It can't be. He's dead. Yea I want Serena back, but I would never ever… Darien swallowed hard, "I'm very sorry to hear about that."
"Thank you." Serena whispered. After a moment of silence from the both of them, she continued. "So, you never told me your name."
Think quick! "Hum…uh…my…name?" Darien scrambled to think of a name. He finally thought of one. "My name is Ryan." He began, "Ryan Yennata." Yennata? What kind of name is that?
A thoughtful look came across her face. "Humm…Yennata…Interesting, I like it." She smiled as she looked up at him. Just then she looked at her watch as she saw it was getting darker. "Oh! We've got to go now and look for her. I'm so worried!"
"Ok, let's go." Darien said as him and Serena continued to look for Luna.
After about 10 minutes, they found Luna. She was curled up in a little ball on the bench. "Luna!" Serena called out to her cat as she ran towards her. Luna woke up as she heard Serena calling out her name and running towards her. Darien was following closely behind. The little black cat uncurled herself and stretched out. She yawned as she sat up. She started to talk but stopped when she saw 'Ryan'.
"Luna! What happened! I was so worried. Why did you run off like that?" Serena started rambling as she sat down next to the cat. She then turned to Darien who was still a few feet behind. With Luna in her arms, she walked over towards him. "Ryan, I'd like you to meet Luna, Luna this is Ryan."
Luna looked up to see this 'Ryan'. She tilted her little black head to the side, "Meow?" Was Luna's response. She suddenly with out any reason started to hiss. "Luna what's wrong?" Serena asked concern, "Oh, I get it" She looked up at Darien, "She doesn't know you. She gets nervous around new people."
"Oh." Was all that Darien could say. He looked around, it was dark out. He couldn't just let her walk home by herself. "You know, it's pretty dark out, may I walk you home?"
As if to respond to his question, Luna hissed again. "Stop that Luna! This young man has been very helpful in helping me find you! You could at least be nice!" Serena Scold the little cat. In response, Luna purred. "That's much better." She turned her attention to Darien and then smiled. "Sure, I'd be glad."
"Great." Darien said. They stared to walk towards the exit of the park. "You know, I'm happy to have met you today."
"Really?" Serena asked. She didn't look at him, but continued to look striate ahead. She felt the same way too. For some unknown reason, she felt….safe around him….she knew the feeling came so suddenly, but she couldn't shake the feeling off. Ryan…where do I know you from? We must have met before. Why can't I remember? "I'm happy that we met too Ryan." She said smiling.
"So…" Darien started. "When you're not chasing after your cat and running into people, what do you do?"
"I go to a junior college. Right now I'm in my second year. "
"Really…so what's your major?"
"At present, I'm undecided. I know that I want to do something in which I could help people, but I'm so lost."
"Well, why not be a nurse? You help people a lot that way."
Serena smiled shaking her head. She giggled as she looked up at him. "One day, a couple of years ago, one of my friends had a small accident. She was bleeding a lot. It wasn't that serious but I remember that I started to feel nauseated when I saw all of that blood. I vowed right then and there not to go into the health care field."
Darien took in all that she said and thought for a second before he spoke again. "Well," He started, "There are many things you could do in the health care field that doesn't involve blood."
Serena looked up at him and raised an eye brow. "Name one thing."
"Huh…" Darien thought for a second then he answered her. "Physical Therapy."
Serena pouted thoughtfully. "Humm….that sounds interesting."
"I could picture you doing that. You have such a kind heart and you really like to help others." Darien's eyes lit up as he thought of something else. "Or you could be a junior high school teacher who would have to deal with that one student who's always running late to class!" He started to laugh hysterically. However he noticed that Serena wasn't laughing, as a matter of fact, she kind of had a serious expression on her face. "Did I say something wrong?"
Serena shook her head. "No, it's not anything really." The both continued to walk but in silence. Serena broke the silence. "Ryan, I don't know why…but since I met you it's almost like…It feels like I met you before, but I know that I haven't…I'm almost sure. But I feel at ease around you, like I'm around an old friend."
Darien looked at her. She's so beautiful He thought I wish I could take her in my arms right now! I feel so bad that I can't tell her the truth right now, But if I could hang on a little longer… "Maybe we have met before. A long time ago. May be we were close and one of us left and never returned." His voice held a hint of sadness.
They were now in front of Serena's apartment building. "Well, we're here." Serena said happily. "Thank you so much for walking me home. You are such a gentleman."
"Thank you. It was my pleasure."
Serena smiled. "Hum…" She started to look through her bag for her keys. Luna at this point was sleeping in her arms, so it was not really easy to dig for her keys. "Hey, you wouldn't mind holding her while I look for my keys?"
Remembering Luna's earlier reaction Darien said "You don't think she'll scratch me?"
"Oh no. She's not like that. Besides, she's sleeping right now."
"In that case, sure I'll hold on to her."
Serena handed him Luna and searched through her bag for her keys. "Got it!" She said as she pulled the keys out of the bag. She took Luna back from Darien. As she took Luna from him, they touched again. That same spark overwhelmed both of them. They both smiled, knowing what they felt. Darien started to back away. "So..." He said in a low voice. "I guess I should go right now."
"I guess…" Serena whispered. "Wait!" She suddenly called out. He turned around and looked at her. She walked over towards him. A huge smile on her face. "I'm going to be at the park tomorrow. Maybe we could run into each other again and maybe after that we could go to a café…we could talk. The next day we could run into each other again and have lunch…."
Darien smiled. "That sounds like a lot of running."
"So then…we don't have to…" Serena stopped. She couldn't control what she was about to do. Call it bold, call it crazy. But with the two of them standing under the moon light and his eyes and everything…she kissed him. To say that Darien was surprised is an understatement. This is what he wanted. He relaxed and put his arms around her. Fire works were flying. It felt like time had stood still and they were in their own world. When they finished, they just looked at deeply into on another's eyes. That felt so…familiar. Serena thought to herself. It felt so…much like kissing… "Darien…" She whispered.
Darien's eyes widened She recognizes me now? But looking into her eyes He knew he was wrong.
"Humm…I…" She started.
"He was your true love right?" Darien asked.
She looked up at him with eyes starting to fill with tears. "That's an understatement. He was my second half. He was my soul mate. He was my everything. I was so much in love with him and I don't think no matter how hard I try, I can't stop thinking of him."
"What happened to him?" Darien asked
"Four years ago, he had to go on a business trip to London. It was only going to be for a couple of months. But later that day, I heard on the news that the plain crashed and only 40 survived. I assumed that he didn't…especially when the days turned to weeks and months and years. I figured that if he was alive, he would have called me, tried to contact me some how." Serena started to cry. "Then I got married, thinking that if I moved on I wouldn't be tormented by his lost. But with my baby and my husband gone, leaving me with these feelings…I don't know how much longer I could survive. It's like someone has taken my oxygen away and I can't breath and every minute that passes by, I'm dying inside. Everyday I wished I was on that plain with him, everyday I wished that I died with him so that I wouldn't feel the pain of living with out him!"
Darien started to cry himself. He couldn't hold back anymore…he wanted to ease her pain. He wanted to hold her in his arms, just how he was now. He wanted to kiss her and be with her forever and never ever leave her side. "I didn't mean to cause you this pain….I know I promised you that nothing at all can keep us apart. I promised that always and forever we would be together. The last thing that you told me was that you would wait for me and that you loved me. I told you that I loved you. And before I left, you gave me an envelope with that perfume you always wear. The one with the strawberry sent. You always sprayed that on you hair. And you gave me your bracelet, the one with crescent moons, bunnies and stars around it." Serena looked up at him with complete shock, confusion, and denial.
"No…"She whispered to herself as she drew away. He's right…about the bracelet and what Darien said…the perfume…everything. But, no…he couldn't be Darien…why did he keep me waiting so long thinking that he was dead? "No…you couldn't be him…." She looked up and stared deeply into his eyes, searching for an answer. Suddenly he pulled out something shiny from his pocket. It was a bracelet with crescent moons, bunnies and stars around it. "My bracelet!" Serena gasped. Serena fell to the ground. Everything was starting to make sense now. It really was him. After all of this time… and he never died… "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?" She yelled in anger. "WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL ME?" She gasped for breath as she cried uncontrollably. "Why did you…how could you do this to me?" She whispered not looking up at him.
He should have expected that when she finally did figured out who he was, she would be very upset. He knelled down next to her and held her face in his hand. "I would never ever dream of doing this to you on purpose. I came back here to find you. I love you so much." He stood up again and continued to talk to her. "After the accident, I was in and out of consciousness. By the time I reached the hospital, I fell into coma. I didn't wake up again until 7months later and for 4 months, I couldn't remember who I was or where I was. Gradually my memory came back. Then one night I had a dream about you, it all came back to me...the accident and you and how much I loved you. I lost everything in the accident, all my papers. Thankfully there was this nurse, her name is Sabrina. Since I've been in the hospital, she's been encouraging me…she was the best friend that I ever could have. She knew how much I loved you and how much you loved me. She helped me to get back to you. She got me a job and a place to stay. I worked hard for almost a year trying to get my paper works. But I only had a limited memory of you, even when I came back here. I couldn't remember your last name…or where you lived…I couldn't even remember you friends' name! All I knew was that you lived around here. So everyday after work, I came to the park to look for you…hopping that you would be here and today I finally found you. But you didn't recognize me, so I had to make up a name because I feared that if I told you the truth, you wouldn't believe me." Darien took in a deep breath after he spoke. Serena was left looking up at him with tears still in her eyes.
Serena sighed. Surprisingly, Luna was still a sleep in her arms. She rocked the cat in her arms. Cradling her like a baby. "All of this is just too much for me." She said as she stood up. She walked towards her door leaving Darien behind. When she got to the door, she stopped and turned back to him. "You came all this way back for me…you pretended to be someone else…you worked hard to get to this point…all for me?" She leaded against the door and took in a deep breath. Her head was hurting her from crying and for all the information that was now trying to enter it.
Darien walked over towards Serena. He could see the confusion in her eyes, the puffiness of her checks after crying so much. How much has she cried over the years? He wondered none of this would have happened to her had I not left, It's all my fault that she's hurt like this "I wish that I could turn back time. I wish that I could take away all of the pain that I caused you. I wish…" Darien's voice trailed off as he saw the stern look in her eyes. However, it was only there for a second. Finally the joy and sparkle came back to her eyes. The smile that he loved so much came back across her face.
"Wishing won't change a thing that has happened to me. " She said firmly "So much has happened and yet the one thing that I've ever wanted is back in my life. You save me. If you never came back, I don't know how long…" Her voice trailed off as she started to cry again. "I love you so much!" She cried out with joy as she jumped into his arms. "Don't ever leave me again! Never!"
Darien started to cry himself. Finally, his life was complete. He found what he was looking for. "I will never ever leave you like that again, my princess. Always and forever we will be together."
Serena looked up at him and at that moment they kissed. "Do you promise?" She whispered as the held their embraces after kissing.
"Yes I do…with all my heart I mean it." Darien whispered back into her ears. Never He thought I'll never do this to us again