"Overcomed Fears and United Hearts"
I DO NOT OWN SAILOR MOON!
This is my first fic so please bear with me.
Comment: Good or bad I want to know.
Something, or someone, was trying to wake her. She had finally escaped into the realm of darkness and she didn't want to leave. Why should she? Here, she could feel nothing, see nothing, be nothing. However, whatever was trying to wake her up was insistent. Abruptly, she remembered why she wanted the darkness so bad. Thomas would be angry if she didn't wake up soon. Forcibly, she tried to open her eyes, but they were so heavy! She kept trying until she was looking into Thomas' dark brown eyes; his face was level with hers.
"So the sleeping beauty awakens, hmm? Took long enough," he said.
She immediately began to sit up, even though a wave dizziness and nausea hit her. She thought he was angry that she had taken so long to wake up, but he simply pushed her gently back into the cushions, tucking the sheets in tighter. She turned puzzled eyes towards him.
"Now, remember what I said last night?" When he received only a fearful shake of the head in denial, he sighed. "I'll let it go because you were exhausted, this time. But you really need to pay more attention to what I say. You're supposed to listen to the one you love. I said that if you were a good girl today, just like you were last night, and the house is spotless when I come home, then I'll treat you just like I did last night. You want that don't you?"
She shook her head yes as she finally remembered last night's events. Remembering all the questions she had asked herself last night, she decided to take a chance. Maybe he was willing to answer another one? She averted her eyes to look at the patterns of the comforter.
"Um, m-may I…may I ask a question?"She asked like a child who was in trouble. She had learned long ago instead of just doing or saying what she wanted, she had to ask like a child.
"Of course you may," he replied, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Is this…is this…what true love…is? Have I been wrong this whole time?" She closed her eyes tightly waiting for an angry outburst or for his fist to connect with some part of her body. Her eyes locked with his in shock when all he did was sigh and place a gentle hand on her cheek.
"I'm sorry, but yes. I love you, but you were just so…stubborn…that this was the only way I could teach you. Our love is true. Finally, you realized that love isn't what you always thought in those silly and childish dreams. I love you, and you love me too, don't you?"
She only nodded her in agreement, shifting her eyes to look at the comforter again. She missed the look of rage in his eyes when she didn't say it back. But, he'd rather her continue thinking about what true love was. She was already beginning to see things his way, and if she continued to ponder it a little more, she'd finally become his. After three years, she would finally become his. He had been frustrated for awhile because he had to break her in, like a dog in a new home, but he had enjoyed it.
He was being nice now, but he didn't like being nice for long. However, for now, he enjoyed watching her submit to his every will. She didn't even realize that she was asking him permission to do anything at all. Oh, she knew to ask him permission out loud for certain things, but that was just to test the waters. She didn't realize that she was asking permission every single time she did something. Last night for instance, she waited for his approval to eat the food he brought her; she fought to stay awake until he told her to sleep.
"I love you, too."
Finally! He had finally broke her! Looking into her eyes he saw that she finally believed it. She believed that this was true love! When they first met she had held joy and love in her eyes, then it had changed to confusion and worry, then to scared and fearful, to acceptance of her fate, and now it was love, a different love. The type that he had taught her, that his mother had taught him. He had broken her body long ago, but now he had broken her spirit and remolded it to his own creation.
"You know, when I first saw you crying at the lake in the park, I thought you to be an angel who had fallen. Did you know that?" he asked.
"No, I thought the first time we met was when I ran into you on my way home from the arcade."
"That's because I had been going to the park every single day just to see you again. When I finally did, I made to sure to be in your path. That was the first time I had seen you with a smile on your face. I offered to walk you home since it was late, but mainly so I could talk to you," he said as he played with a piece of her hair.
"I remember, you asked if we could meet again at the same spot the next day," she whispered.
"That's right, and slowly I made you forget about your heartache. You never did talk about the guy who caused it. You never spoke his name, or described him, or told me what happened. I'm curious, who was he?"
"It was only a crush, I know that now. Our love is true love. Back then my love for him was childish, but now I know what love is, because of you."
"I'm still curious, but it doesn't matter anymore. You're mine now, and you finally see what I've been trying to teach you all along. Now you know that our love is real. Now, I have to go to work, you're making me late."
"I'm sorry!" she immediately apologized. Her eyes were wide, they still held fear that he would punish her, but they calmed when he simply brushed her hair out of her face. He also noticed that her eyes were a bit glazed over, as if she couldn't quite focus them. Looking closer, he also noticed her face was flushed and she was sweating. Brushing her hair from her face, he realized she had a fever, but he would let her deal with, no sense in him wasting any time to try and help her feel better.
"It's alright," he said, coming back to the conversation at hand. For once, he didn't mind her making him late, because he was too happy that she had finally succumbed to his will. "Tell you what, since your being such a good girl and you finally understand what I've been trying to teach you; don't worry about cleaning the house. Sleep in, and I'll wake you when I come home from work if you're still sleeping. I'll even make you dinner, sort of as a celebration for finally understanding. Does that sound good?"
She nodded her head and began to snuggle under the covers once more. She opened her eyes again, though, looking at him.
'Once again, asking me if she can go to sleep, even though she can barely keep her eyes open,' he thought happily.
"I'll leave your door unlocked, in case you want to get up for awhile. But don't go outside. I'll have to punish you if you do, understand?"
Again, she nodded her head, and whispered, "Not without your permission. If you love someone, you do everything you can to make them happy? Right?" she questioned; she was still unsure about true love. She didn't want to be confused again.
"Right and I won't be happy if you do. Alright then, go to sleep. I love you," he said as he stood up and once again tucked the covers around her.
"I love you, too," she whispered and closed her eyes. This time he had given her permission to sleep.
Thomas smiled to himself the whole way to work. He had finally won. He was off in his own world thinking of the days to come.
He never saw Sammy sitting in a chair in the waiting area, pretending to read the newspaper. Walking out the sliding doors, Sammy hid behind a pillar, and watched Thomas' car leave the garage. Once he lost sight of the car, he pulled his cell phone out and dialed a number.
"He's gone. He just left for work," he paused, listening to the other speaker. "Yeah, he left a little later than usual. According to the receptionist he always leaves at the same time. So I waited, but he was about fifteen minutes late. He didn't act like he had anywhere to be though. That asshole had a smile on his face like he doesn't have a care in the world," he growled.
Again he paused to listen to the other speaker. "Yeah I was able to get a spare key from her. I told her it was his birthday and Serena was trying to throw a surprise birthday party for him, just like you said. I'll wait for you and Amora out front. Just in case he comes back early, that way I can give you a heads up. I'll see you in twenty." He hung up the phone and leaned against the pillar.
Every once in awhile, he would look up and down the road, looking for Thomas' silver Ford Explorer to come back. When he saw Amora's black Escalade pull up to the curb, his heart picked up a little.
'This is going to work, this is going to work, this is going to work," he kept repeating to himself.
"Good job, kiddo," Amora said, as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Relax, the tenser you are, the more suspicious you look."
Sammy took a few deep breaths and let them out slowly, visibly relaxing with each one. He looked back up at Amora, who nodded her head, her way of saying 'much better'.
"Okay, here's the key. I'll keep looking out for him just in case he decides to come back," he said while handing Darien the key. He looked at Amora in confusion when she handed him the keys to the Escalade.
"In case he does come back, we're going to need a quick escape. Even if he doesn't, we're going to need to get out of here pretty quick. The quicker the better, just in case anyone notices anything suspicious. That way we'll be long gone."
"Right…and don't worry, I'm not that bad of a driver," Sammy joked when he noticed Amora's reluctance to give him the keys, even though it was her idea.
"Not funny, kid. You hurt my car; I hurt you," Amora frowned.
"No, um, seriously, I am a good driver," Sammy gulped.
"Alright, enough, we don't have time for this. What happened to getting in and out as fast as we can? Sammy; tease her later. Amora; threaten him later. Let's go," Darien interrupted as he started pushing Amora towards the doors.
"I'm serious, Darien, that's my car-"
"Yeah, yeah, it's your baby. If you could, and you weren't with Michelle, you'd make love to it. Can we please get back on track?"
"Alright, I get it, lead the way."
Darien lead the way towards the stairs, with both of them taking them two at a time to the fourth floor. They walked all the way to the end of the hallway until they reached a door marked 425. Unlocking the door, they walked into the dark living room, closing the door softly behind them before turning on the lights.
They started opening any doors that they came across, trying to find Serena. The first door they came to in the hallway was a pantry door; the second one was a half-bathroom; and the third one they found her asleep in her bed. She was facing the doorway but she didn't stir.
Amora turned the lights back on as Darien started to cross the room to get to her. Calling her name and gently shaking her, so as not to scare her, he tried waking her up. When he received no response he tried calling her name a little more loudly. She stirred a little, but didn't wake. Finally, Amora came to stand next to him and cupped Serena's face with her hands. Almost as soon as she touched her Amora sucked in a quick breath.
"She's burning up, Darien. I don't think we'll be able to wake her, and even if we did, I have a feeling she's going to be too delirious to fully understand what's going on," she said.
Darien placed the back of his hand on Serena's forehead and reluctantly agreed with Amora. Serena was sick, really sick. Making a quick decision, he threw the cover off of her and picked her up bridal style, noting that she was as limp as ragdoll. One of her arms lay on her stomach, the other dangled off her side and he had to have Amora position her head on his shoulder so it wasn't hanging back at an awkward angle.
Together they headed out of the apartment and towards the stairs that would lead them to the alley. Amora called Sammy on the way; there was no way they could carry her through the lobby without anyone noticing or asking questions. Shortly after they came out into the alley, Sammy rounded the corner and carefully navigated the Escalade through the alley as fast as he could.
"He scratches that car and I'll kill him," Amora muttered under her breath.
"If he scratches it, I'll pay for the damages," Darien said a little too sharp. He handed Serena to Amora as Sammy pulled up in front of them. There wasn't much room for them to maneuver. Amora waited as Darien climbed into the backseat before handing Serena to him. She was surprised when she opened the passenger door to find Sammy seating there instead of behind the wheel.
"Thomas just turned onto the street when I pulled into the alley. He came back for some reason," he explained with a panicked look on his face.
"Amora, get us out of here!" Darien yelled from the back.
Without a second thought, Amora ran around the car and slid behind the wheel. There was no way Sammy would be able to handle the car if it came down to a chase. Putting the car in reverse, she slowly backed out of the alley so people would think she merely made a wrong turn. Right before pulling out onto the road, she pushed Sammy's head down so no one would see him. Once she was in traffic she looked in her side mirror and noticed Thomas looking at the car with either curiosity or suspicion, she couldn't tell because of the distance. Shifting her attention back to the road she decided to take the longest way possible to Michelle's apartment.
"He's going inside. He's in no rush though, I don't think he's on to us but he'll notice that she's gone," Darien remarked from the back. He was looking out the back window while hunched down.
Sammy finally managed to shove Amora's hand away from him and sat up. "What was that for?"
"If Thomas saw, then he only saw me. He would have recognized you immediately, maybe even Darien."
"The windows are tinted though!"
"Not tinted enough."
Sammy gave up and turned towards the back seat to get a good look at his sister. She looked horrible. Bruises covered her body in everyplace that showed, her face was flushed, and she was breathing faster than normal.
"We need to take her to a hospital!" he exclaimed.
"No way. No hospitals," Darien said.
"Darien look at her! She needs a doctor!"
Amora pushed Sammy's shoulder so that he was facing the front again as she took a left turn a little too sharp.
"Darien is right. That's going to be one of the first places he'll look when he realizes she's missing. He's going to assume that we're going to want to take her to get her checked out, and when he shows up then all the trouble we're going through will be for nothing," she explained as she merged in and out of traffic.
"She needs a doctor! What happens if she gets worse?" he continued to argue.
"Darien just finished med school; he's more than qualified to take care of her."
"Besides, Amy's mother is meeting us at the apartment. She can help me take care of her, Sammy. You have to trust me that I have Serena's best interests at heart. I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure she's alright."
"Why should I trust you? You're the one who abandoned her in the first place! If you had just opened you're damned eyes and seen how much she loved you she wouldn't be in this position in the first place! It's your fault!" Sammy's voice became louder and louder, until he was screaming. "It's your damn -"
"Enough! It's no one's fault except for that damn asshole who calls himself a man! Now shut up, because there's someone tailing us and I can't concentrate with all the damn yelling!" Amora interrupted.
Both Sammy and Darien looked out the back window and saw a black SUV matching Amora's moves precisely. They weren't even trying to hide the fact that they were following them. Amora cut off a mini-van as she made a sharp right, punching the accelerator to the floor. The engine revved in accordance, like it was happy to be put to the test. She made a left as the SUV drifted around the corner trying to keep up with her sudden turn. Amora made another left at the end of the street and then an immediate right into a parking garage; taking the ramp up to the second level she made the car do a complete 180 shoving the gear into reverse and began backing up before putting the care in neutral, turning it off, and using the momentum to come to a stop in-between two cars. Unbuckling her seat belt and sinking in her seat, she motioned for them to do the same. About thirty minutes later, the SUV drove slowly past them.
The SUV passed them another two times before Amora took her cell out and called Michelle.
"We've been had. I don't know how knew it was us, but he did. We were only a few blocks away before he had someone tailing us." She paused as she listened to Michelle on the other side of the phone. "Yeah, it's a black Ford Expedition, and we're in a garage across from the internet café you always go to for coffee." Another pause, before, "Yeah, he just made his third pass and he's getting suspicious. See you soon."
"Well?" Darien asked when she shoved the cell back in her pocket.
"Michelle's calling the police and putting in a report about a possible stalker."
"Won't she get in trouble for lying?"
"Not when she's calling my uncle. I've got connections, kid," Amora replied as she ruffled Sammy's hair.
"What is he, some kind of head honcho?" Sammy asked, pushing her hand away. "And I'm not a kid."
"Hey, anyone younger than me is a kid. Plus, if you think I'm scary, you don't want to see him. Who do you think I learned everything from?"
"And you wanted me to meet him? Are you crazy! I should never have gone to that damn car show," Darien exclaimed.
"I don't know you, so how am I suppose to know who taught you what?"
Amora's cell phone rang before she could reply, so she simply laughed as she dug it back out of her pocket. They knew, or at least Darien knew for sure, that she wasn't talking to Michelle, because her replies were short and curt. She kept her responses to a minimum. A minute later she shut the phone and slid back up in the seat and started the car.
"That was my uncle, they got the car detained. He's pulled them over for suspicious activity. He's got a squad car ready to follow us just in case another one decides to pop up," she explained as Sammy and Darien sat back up as well.
"Suspicious activity?" Sammy questioned.
"Yeah well, circling the garage so many times and passing a bunch of open spots, you can't very well use the excuse of looking for a space. Therefore, you must be up to something."
"How did your uncle get here so fast? And get another car here to follow us?" he continued.
"Well, he always meets up with his old partner and his son for coffee at the café across the street. Every morning without fail, so technically, they were just across the street. So they can even say they saw them circling and got suspicious. His old partner is retired now, but his son is in the force and he's the one who's going to trail us back, his dad will be coming along for the joy ride, although I have a feeling he's coming to keep an extra, expert eye out for another car."
"Did you know that he went to the café every day? Is that why you picked this time?" Darien added his own questions to Sammy's as Amora pulled out of the garage.
"Exactly. Am I smart or what?"
"Or what," Sammy muttered.
"I heard that. You've just been demoted to a pup instead of a kid," Amora retorted.
"What are you, British?"
"I would stop while I was ahead, Sammy. She can go all day and still be ready for more," Darien interjected.
"So, how come you talk about your uncle like he's some great guy, but when you were talking to him, it was like you hated him," Sammy asked after a moment of silence, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"I don't hate him; he just scares the shit out of me too. Besides, when he's in business mode, you're in business mode. All he knew is what I told Michelle, but, if you want to simplify it, basically someone was tailing his beloved niece and he don't like that one bit. You don't mess with our family and get away unscathed. That's why I don't have to worry about warning my family, like you had to yours. Especially now that my uncle is involved. He's going to want the whole story once we get back, and he'll put the word out."
"What happens if Thomas knows people in high places? Won't your uncle get in trouble?" he pressed.
"Not a chance. Not only is he the chief of police, but my family is either in high places or they have friends in high places. He's not going to have any leverage over any of my family members. And if he tries…?" Here she just shrugged and left the question open.
"'You don't mess with our family and get away unscathed.'" Darien quoted back.
They rode in silence for the rest of the ride to the apartment. Amora, paying attention to their surroundings and the car trailing them; Sammy, who was trying to study her out of the corner of his eye; and Darien, who was checking Serena's pulse and trying to get her comfortable. She didn't so much as stir the entire time, not even during the chase.
When they arrived, they got out of the car and waited for the elevator. When the doors opened they climbed in, but when Sammy hit the button for the penthouse floor, Amora stuck her foot out to allow an elderly man and a young police officer on. Sammy looked at her questioningly, but Darien nudged his shoulder so he could hit the button again. On the ride up, Amora introduced them.
"This is my uncle's former partner, Shuichiro Kou, and his son, Seiya Kou. Chiro, Seiya, this is my friend Darien, the pup is Sammy, and the damsel in distress is Serena." She pointed to each person that was introduced.
"I appreciate your help very much Mr. Kou, Officer Kou," Darien said with a bow of his head.
"I joined the force to help those in need, young man. Just because I am retired does not mean my ideals have as well. Although, I must admit, that I'm not entirely pleased that you dragged our little Mora into the equation," Shuichiro said.
"Actually, all he did was ask for some advice. I kind of just showed up on his door step and jumped into the fray. No questions asked," Amora said nonchalantly.
"Just like Hiroki, you are. Jump first and then ask questions later," he replied shaking his head.
"Hiroki?" Sammy asked as they walked out of the elevator and turned to the penthouse on the left of the building.
"My uncle," was all Amora said.
"Hiroki Suzuki was a-"
"Say one more word, Seiya, and I'll forget your father is standing in front of me," Amora growled as she turned around abruptly and came within inches of Seiya.
Seiya held his hands up in surrender, his eyes widening just a fraction. Sammy looked back and forth between the two of them in puzzlement. He looked to Darien, but he seemed equally puzzled and a little bit worried. It was Seiya's father who interfered by yanking on a tip of Amora's hair and Seiya's ponytail.
"Enough, you two. Seiya, you know better than to bring that topic up. Amora, you need to move on. Now, this conversation never happened, so forget it," he said. Even though he seemed harmless, his voice was hard and brooked no arguments.
It was only a second of hesitation before Amora turned on her heel and continued walking towards the door as if they hadn't even stopped. Everyone followed, although Shuichiro gave one last hard look at his son.
Michelle opened the door before they got to it, and ushered everyone inside. Dr. Mizuno was by Darien's side immediately. Michelle led them to an extra room so that they could lay Serena down and examine her more thoroughly. Amora led everyone else into the living room where a woman and a child sat on the couch watching TV.
They would wait for Serena's condition and for Amora's uncle to get there before anything was explained. It wasn't long before her uncle arrived, but he refused to listen to anything until everyone who had a part to play was there, and he too wanted to wait on the condition of Serena. They had a while to wait for everyone to show up and for Serena's diagnosis.
"Damn it! How the hell did you lose them? How hard could it be to follow one damn car?" Thomas yelled into the phone. He was pacing the living room with barely contained frustration and rage. He ignored the broken glass that was slowly becoming powder under his feet. The whole apartment was trashed from when he had lost his temper earlier.
He had forgotten his briefcase when he had left, and he didn't need Serena getting curious about it. But when he had been walking up to the door of the building he had seen the Escalade backing out of the alley. Normally he would just ignore someone coming out of the alley, but the car was brand new and expensive; it didn't belong. The back windows were tinted so dark that he couldn't even make out shapes, but the front windows he could tell that the driver, a young blonde male, was holding someone down in the passenger seat.
He walked nonchalantly into the building just in case the driver was watching him as he drove slowly down the street. Once he was inside the building he raced up to the apartment and went straight to Serena's room, only to find her gone. Always one to be prepared, he dialed a number that connected him with two guys he had hired to always be ready in case something like this happened. They were in their car and driving by the time he had described the vehicle and the direction he had seen it heading.
They called again just a minute later when they spotted it and told him that they were running. He flew into a rage after that; throwing pictures and furniture, punching holes in the sheetrock, and shoving things off of shelves.
Now they were calling to say that they had been detained by the police and the car was long gone. He had been planning to get the police officer fired but when he heard that it was Hiroki Suzuki, he knew better. He wasn't someone you could go after so easily. It was all he could do to keep the chief of police oblivious to everything.
"Listen to me, you idiots, you find that car," he growled. "Find the damn car and find Serena! I want her back, do you hear me? If she's not in front of within the week, you will damn well regret losing that fucking car!" He shut the phone and almost threw it at the wall as well.
Looking at the time on the phone, he realized that his employers were not going to be happy that he was late. He visibly tried to calm himself down before walking out of the apartment with his briefcase. He would finish dealing with the mess when he finished his task.
He was heading to a meeting that, if all went well, would begin paying him with a lot of cold hard cash. He was about to get a promotion. One that would put him in charge of large chunks of land with a large amount of cash in-flow. He was meeting with the leaders, the head honchos, of the Yakuza. He was about to be given a seat, a second-in-command, if you will, to one of those head honchos, along with the money and power that came with it.
Whoever was with Serena would pay. 'They will pay dearly, for their mistake," he thought. 'Serena is mine, she is my property! And no one takes what is mine. No one.'
Author's Note:
Okay, so it took me longer than I thought it would to get this chapter finished. Hopefully, I will get the next one up much faster. I was also reading through the last chapter and noticed a bunch of typos, so as I reading through it I was correcting them, so Chapter 3 should be fixed. Anyways, as always let me know what you think. Also, if there is anything you want me to elaborate more on, just let me know, and I will. Until next time.