Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Sailor Moon, but I wish I had a part in it somehow.
CHAPTER TEN
An Understanding of the Past
Serena didn't understand why Rei continued to sit there so quietly. Whatever had happened must've been bad for both her and her brother to be taking it so hard. Perhaps it had happened recently and they were still feeling the effects. Whatever it was, she vowed that she'd be there for her friend whenever she needed her.
Rei stared blankly into space, silently reliving it all. It was still painful, but with Darien's support and also from the help that she needed to give him, they carried on.
"Rena," she started quietly, "have you ever wondered why Darien has an American name but a Japanese last name?"
Truthfully, Serena never considered his last name until Rei broached the question. He was always the baka to her. Huh. Darien Chiba. Rei Chiba's brother.
"I never really about it, to tell you the truth," she answered. "He was just the guy from work that I couldn't stand."
Rei smiled. She still couldn't believe that her brother had been the idiot that Serena complained about. "He hasn't heard the last from me for giving you all that trouble. We'll have to come up with something to punish him without getting you fired," she grinned.
"I bet I could come up with a few ideas," Serena said bitterly. "It's hard to believe that he's your brother. Frankly, it's a little disturbing." She gasped suddenly, "Oh God! I haven't offended you with all my ramblings about him, have I? You know I wouldn't kill him, right? I haven't even taken a swing at him. I've wanted to. Oh god, have I wanted to. But I haven't acted out any of my impulses. Well, that's not true. I haven't carried through most of them. And for your sake, I won't hit him. It'll be hard, but I'm sure I can do it."
She said it so solemnly that Rei collapsed with laughter. "Go ahead. Hit him! I certainly have when he annoys me! Do whatever you want to him."
"I'm sure whatever I want to do to him is illegal, and then I'd have to seek the aid of the American embassy. That's just too much paperwork." Serena had succeeded in taking the sad dim away from Rei's eyes. But now how to get back to the original subject? Turned out she didn't have to.
"Well, I'm glad you won't hurt him too bad. He's practically all the family I've got left." She smiled sadly at Serena's frown. "I'll tell you a little about our family so you'll understand a little more. My dad met Darien's mother in America."
"Darien's mom?" She was confused. "You mean he isn't really your brother?"
"Oh yeah, he's my brother. I'll explain. Like I said, Daddy met Darien's mom in America. California to be exact. Her name was Roselyn Andrews. She was very beautiful and smart, and was a secretary for the president of a very prominent company. Daddy went to the company over some business deal of some kind, and as soon as he met Roselyn, it was love at first sight. Actually, it was one-sided love at first sight. My dad told me that she constantly turned him down, but she was kind in doing so. That only impressed him more. He finally wore her down one day and soon they both tumbled into love. Well, the time of the business trip eventually ended and he had to return to Tokyo. They kept in touch, but it wasn't enough. He flew back and immediately went to her, which happened to be at work, and proposed to her right in front of her co-workers and boss. They got married the next week in Vegas.
"She gave up her job and moved here to Tokyo. They were happily married for three years before Darien came along. My dad and Roselyn always wanted children, and they were so excited. They wanted the sex of the baby to be a surprise, so when it came time to pick names they decided that if they had a boy, his name would be Darien after Roselyn's little brother who once saved her life. If it was a girl, then Marilyn because their first date was seeing a Marilyn Monroe movie. Unfortunately, something went wrong during the childbirth, and Roselyn died.
"Well, daddy was devastated after her death and to make matters worse, he didn't know the first thing to do with a baby, especially alone. But he managed somehow until Darien was almost four. That's when he met my mom, Ayami. Darien had wandered off somewhere in the park, and my mom found him and brought him back. Daddy was so relieved. He didn't know if Darien was kidnapped or hurt somewhere. He was so grateful that he insisted on doing something for mom. She agreed to have dinner. He found out that she was a kindergarten teacher because she loved kids. She really got along with Darien, and daddy was impressed by that. Darien didn't get along with just anyone. He hasn't changed in that. When mom found out about Roselyn, she did everything she could to keep her memory alive for Darien. I think my dad really appreciated that about her and that's when things really got serious. Soon after, they fell in love and got married. Although she loved him as her own, she didn't insist that he call her 'mom' or anything because his true mother was gone. And a year later they had me.
"Darien was a great older brother. He always looked out for me, made sure nobody bothered me. Not that I couldn't handle myself, but he was always there to make sure. He's still that way and I love him for it." Rei got a little teary and reached for a napkin that was on the table to dab her eyes. "I knew that he would move out to attend university, but the teachers at his high school saw how smart he was and got him a scholarship to attend college in America. I was heartbroken, but happy for him at the same time. He wasn't gone three months before..." she broke of a moment and took a deep breath, "before he got the phone call about the accident. I remember it so clearly. I was thirteen and at a friend's sleepover. Our house caught on fire late that night. It was a freak accident, and my parents were inside. They never knew what hit them, and for that I'm grateful. The police eventually tracked me down and told me and my friend's family the news. I couldn't believe it," she said, staring into space again. "My parents were gone in a single night."
"Oh Rei!" Serena grabbed her hand and gently squeezed, "I'm so sorry."
Rei smiled, "Thanks. Anyway, Darien still had to be told, so a close family friend called him and Darien flew back here and came straight to find me. He dropped out the college in America and got an apartment and attended university here to be near me. He was eighteen years old and considered an adult, so it wasn't too hard to get custody of me. We both grieved our loss and tried to settle in with our new situation. It was so hard at first. He had to struggle with school, a job, and put up with me. Not to mention keeping food on the table, since cheap college food like ramen noodles, popcorn and bologna wouldn't cut it. I tried not to be a burden to him, and helped out a little but I realize the hardships he faced. How much could a little thirteen-year-old do? We both grew up really fast that year. And we survived. We both found that our interests lie with art, and so that brought us even closer. I moved out at eighteen so he could have a little break from taking care of me and moved to an apartment. I had another roommate, but she was engaged when I met her and finally got married. I had to move out since the apartment was hers and they'd be living there. So here I am. With you."
"You both were so strong. I really admire you for that."
"I'm sure anyone would've done the same."
"I'm not too sure of that, Rei. Darien didn't have to come back at all. He could've sent for you to come to America if he wanted. But he kept you in familiar surroundings. Near all your friends. I'm sure he didn't want you to lose everything. A new country would've been too hard on a grieving girl."
"I never thought about that. You're right. Yet another reason to be grateful to him. He's so good to me." They sat a while contemplating the story.
"Aw man! Why'd you have to tell me that story?" Serena whined, hoping to lighten the mood.
"What?"
"Now you've changed my perception of him. I was perfectly content with hating him and having fun plotting his death, and now you've ruined that! How can I look him in the eye now and not picture him falling down an elevator shaft or something? It got me through the day! What am I gonna do now?"
"You could dream up a new fantasy."
"But that one was extremely satisfying. Now I'll probably see him as..." she shuddered, "a not so bad guy," she moaned.
"I'm shocked that he treated you so badly. It doesn't sound like him at all. He really isn't that bad of a guy. He's great!"
Serena groaned.
Rei laughed again. "Want me to tell you some of the evil pranks he pulled on me and my friends so you'll hate him again?"
She turned to Rei eagerly. "Please!"
********
The next day, Darien did all he could to avoid Serena. He stayed up practically the entire night thinking over what happened at Rei's place. Especially what had happened in the kitchen. True, he purposely provoked her, but her defiance had stirred something in him. He had never acted so callously, openly flirting and murmuring sexual innuendos into her shell-like ear. What had come over him?
He blamed her of course. With her innocent blue eyes, and that strawberry colored pouting mouth. He leaned in closer to study her more, from an artist's perspective of course, but when she openly challenged him, how could he resist? And so the game was on. Only it wasn't a game to him. It stopped being a game when he wanted to test her mouth, seeing if it tasted like strawberries as well. Realizing what her response would be, and she'd carry out her threat if she had to, he fought the impulse and went against everything his heart was telling him to do. It was a struggle. A struggle that was no longer necessary when she questioned his upbringing. Her questions quickly doused the fire that burned within him and he was finally able to back off. But with her questions came the memories that happened almost ten years ago.
And so here he was, locked up in his office. He only came out when necessary. Too bad that he didn't have another meeting to attend or even to travel out of the country again. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Come in," he called. A blonde head peeked in. 'Speak of the devil. What does she want? Nevermind, I know. She probably wants to get me back for what happened last night. She'd pound me into the middle of next week and beat me up the following Thursday. Well, not today, honey.' "Can I help you?" She just stood there with a weird expression on her face.
Serena just stared at him. All she could think of now was how strong he was during his hard life. To lose your parents not once, but twice, even three if you counted his stepmother who raised him practically from infancy. And he had to take care of his little sister too. She realized that he didn't know she knew about his past and decided not to mention anything. He still had his pride after all. What would happen if he knew the bane of his existence knew about one of his weaknesses?
"Carroll-san, is there a point to your visit, or are you still so stunned by my good looks that you needed another look?"
Serena's mouth dropped a little, and came fully inside the office. The nerve of this guy! 'He's such a first-class jerk! I can't believe I'm about to do this,' she thought. "I wanted to talk to you," she said quietly.
"I could tell that, Carroll-san. What do you need?"
"Uh...um..." This was harder than she thought.
Darien pointedly looked at his watch and back at her again. "I don't have time for this, Carroll-san. Your stuttering is wasting precious daylight."
Serena glared at him. "I came to apologize."
"Apologize? That's a first. For what?" Just as she opened her mouth he interrupted, "Nevermind that. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity." He leaned back in his chair for further comfort. "Let's have it."
"You are a jackass!"
"That's the strangest apology I've ever heard. I have to tell you, Carroll-san, you need work on your admissions of guilt. They usually have the words 'I'm' followed by a 'sorry'. Now string them together. Try it again."
By this time, Serena's face so red that her hair roots were practically standing on end. Her breath was coming out in deep gasps, almost to the point of hyperventilation. Her fists were balled at her sides digging into her hands, her feet spread, and her eyes were closed. Clearly she was fighting for control.
"I don't understand you," she grumbled. "You're really going to sit there and pretend that nothing happened last night, aren't you? Go on being insulting and an offensive baka? Fine by me, buddy! I was going to apologize to you for all the horrible things I said to you--in fact, I still will, because I refuse to sink to wherever your level is. I'm sorry! You hear me? I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you feel bad, though how I thought you'd be hurt by anything that I say is beyond me, let alone have feelings. But just in case I did hurt your feelings, then I truly do feel bad. I also feel bad that I didn't go through with my first impulse and shove you through the wall, but there are a lot of things in my past I regret not doing. But at least I won't have a guilty conscience of having the memory of the pain your face had shown last night. If you had only seen your face as I had last night. Well, I apologize for whatever painful thoughts I gave to you. So let's do us both a favor and forget everything that happened. Okay? Just forget it! There, I said it." She took a deep breath from her speech. Yes, she had got through with it.
Her sigh of relief was interrupted by a shock of a single-handed applause. Still reclining in his plush chair, looking as relaxed as you please, and he was actually clapping!
"Bravo. Wonderful performance," he said standing up, "you're in the wrong entertainment business. Surely you were meant for the stage. Just how long have you rehearsed that speech? No, it doesn't matter. I'm glad you decided to have me as your audience, though. It almost impressed me."
"OH! You need professional help!" she yelled.
"I believe I suggested that for you last night."
"Why would you even bring that up? I told you it would be best if it were just forgotten. I personally am striving to put up a mental block!"
"How could I possibly forget it?" he said woundedly. "You confessed your love for me!"
"I did no such thing!" she said fiercely. Thoughts of how attractive she found him resurfaced. A vision of her wrapped in his strong, warm arms appeared. They would make such a great couple, and their children... Appalled at where her daydreams were taking her, she stumbled back a bit.
"You did. You even have pet names for me. I have witnesses too, who can vouch for my hearing you call me 'bossman' and last night was the latest addition of 'Dare'." He smirked at her. "Should I dare, Serena? Sweetheart?
Serena saw red. His eyes widened in astonishment as she quickly stalked up to him and her hand instinctively flew up. Darien caught it in its descending arc towards his cheek. "Careful, Carroll-san," he quietly warned her. "Don't start anything you might regret." Their hands, hers still captured in his, were still paused in the air. No sound was made except for her heavy breathing. He tugged her closer to him. Their eyes were locked. One in unholy fury, the other in barely restrained wariness and something else. Darien's eyes lowered to her lips, which automatically trembled from his gaze. How could he resist such a sweet temptation? He shifted Serena closer and his eyes returned to her gaze. As their gaze locked once again, his head unconsciously lowered toward hers. A knock sounded at the door.
"Hey Darien, can you--" Motoki stopped at seeing them, "uh...is there a problem here? Need help, Serena?" he asked awkwardly.
Motoki coming in was just the distraction that she needed for breaking away from the baka's hypnotic gaze. Somehow she had forgotten her rage as she was trapped by his blue orbs. What was with her? What was with him? Was he about to kiss her? Was she about to let him?! Was she going to kiss him back? She wrenched her hand from Darien's and walked towards Motoki.
"No, Motoki," she answered, "but thanks." She leaned up and pecked him on his cheek. "If I need anything, I know where to come." Giving Darien one last glare, she stormed out of the office, slamming the door in the process.
"What was that all about?" Motoki asked. Darien looked fiercely at his friend. "What? What did I do?" Poor Motoki was confused, but he suddenly realized, "Oh. You're angry because she kissed me, aren't you?"
"Shut up, Motoki."
"I'm right, as usual. Relax, it was just a friendly gesture. Part of being her champion and all."
"And why did you assume that she was the one that needed help anyway?"
"From my standpoint, it looked like you were the one holding her against her will. Besides, the victim is usually the girl."
"Her? The victim? Serena? I was only defending myself!"
Motoki laughed. "Sure."
"It's true! If you had walked in here a second earlier you would've seen what really happened."
"And if I would've walked a second later I would've seen you two thrown across the desk or something." From Darien's reddened face he could tell that he wasn't too off the mark. "So why don't I hear your side before I get the true story from her." Darien glared at him again. "Ok, ok. Before I go out to hear her side."
"I never knew she was so violent."
"I warned you man."
"Yeah, but she doesn't look like the type who would actually carry out something."
"Unless she was provoked," said Motoki.
Darien looked away at that and sat back down.
"You did, didn't you?"
"Did what?"
"Darien! Give me some credit. You might as well tell me."
"I might have slightly egged her on."
"I figured that. To tell you the truth, after you took off last night, I thought you two avoid each other at all costs."
"I tried to, but she came in here."
"Why?"
"To apologize," Darien answered wonderingly.
"For..." Motoki prompted.
"We had words last night. And something she said just hit a little to close to home. Apparently it affected her too, and she felt bad. So she wanted to apologize."
"What a wonderful girl. Why ever could she be resorting to violence?" he asked dryly.
"Cause I called her sweetheart," Darien mumbled.
"Say what?"
"I called her sweetheart!"
Motoki shook his head in confusion. "There's gotta be more to this story." He took a seat. "Ok. Now that I'm comfortable, spill."
So Darien told him all that happened in the kitchen, omitting a few details, and led the story up to what transpired a few minutes ago. Motoki hooted with laughter after Darien finished.
"Why must you persist in laughing at me?"
"Only you, man. Only you." He wiped a tear from his eye. "Why didn't you just quit while you were ahead?"
"I don't know. Everytime I'm around her, something comes over me." He sighed deeply. "I didn't mean to say all that. I've never done anything like that before in my life. Certainly never provoked a lady to actually try to harm me."
"Excluding Rei, of course."
"Of course." He grinned but sobered suddenly. He buried his head in his arms on the desk. "What am I gonna do, Motoki?" his muffled voice asked.
"You reject every option I come up with."
"I should've listened to you the first time you know."
"Yeah, I know."
Darien slanted a look at his friend again. He picked up a gum eraser and hurled it at his friend. "I'm still not finished with you, you know? Why didn't you tell me she was Rei's roommate?"
********
"Hey, Serena, so what happened in Darien-san's office?" Yoshimi asked.
Serena slanted a look at her friend. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Went that well, huh? Fine. A change of subject is needed. How was the party? I'm sorry I couldn't make it, but like I said, I had plans. Was it fun?"
Serena narrowed her eyes at Yoshimi. Could she have possibly known? "Everything was great! Until a surprise guest showed up."
"Surprise guest? Someone crashed?"
"Not exactly." She got up and walked over to her friend's workstation. "Yoshimi? Do you know my roommate Rei?"
"Never heard of her until you mentioned the party. Why?"
Serena leaned on the desk. "Well since the party was in her honor and all, she invited most of her friends and family. Her brother, to be exact. Guess who turned out to be her brother?"
A puzzled look appeared on Yoshimi's face for a moment as she thought about it, then it changed to shock. "No. No way!"
"Yes," Serena confirmed.
"Are you serious? Aw, Serena! What are the chances? But what happened?"
"What usually happens when we're around each other?"
"You got into it. Man! Now I really wish I could've been there. Oh, sorry Serena. I didn't mean it like that, but you two really are entertaining."
"Which is why Motoki never said anything," she said wryly.
"He was there too?"
"Well he's the baka's best friend so he knew Rei."
"I'll be sure I say something to him!"
"Sure, Yoshimi," she walked back to her desk. "You just want to hear the full story."
"He has been closeted in there with Darien since you've come out. Have any idea what they're talking about?" Yoshimi called.
"I have a pretty good idea."
********
The day passed without further incident between Serena and the baka. Basically because the two avoided each other like the plague, but nobody decided to say anything about that. Not in their hearing distance anyway. And this arrangement was working out fine until Akira asked her for help on an assignment.
"So the character hasn't shown up until now?"
"Yeah, Ito-san decided to bring him back up again for some reason. I guess she's going somewhere with it. Anyway, I don't have any references on him and that old edition is in the backlogs somewhere. Problem is, I was assigned to do the Myst Project. That has to be handed in right away. So can you do me a favor and give me a headstart on this? Please? You know I wouldn't normally ask if it weren't necessary."
"Yeah, I know Akira. Don't worry, I'll help. Where are the backlogs? I'll do a little research."
He thanked her profusely, and showed her where she could find the files. "Thank you again, Serena. I owe you big time! I'll make it up to you somehow."
Serena laughed. "Don't worry about it. What are friends for? I'll be back."
When she got to the designated area, she saw that the files weren't in a file cabinet, but on literal shelves. Shelves that reached the ceiling, and the files were actually heavy books. Unfortunately, the book she needed was all the way at the top. How was she supposed to reach that? She looked around to see if there was a ladder or something to stand on. And found nothing but an old rickety chair on wheels. Guess that would have to do. She rolled the chair over and climbed to reach the book. The chair rocked and rolled as she shifted and wobbled to stand on her toes, stretching for what she needed. 'Just a little further,' she thought. The book was just brushing against her fingertips.
"Serena!"
She shrieked, the chair rolled and she slipped from it and went plunging towards the ground. But the cold, hard surface wasn't what she met with. Instead, this hard surface was warm and was cradling her gently, protecting her from potential harm. Serena breathed a sigh of relief after that slight scare and looked up to thank her savior. When she saw the blue eyes frowning down at her, she shrieked again and violently pushed him away from her. Ignoring the delicious tingles she felt where his body brushed hers, she noticed that Motoki had accompanied him.
"Motoki! Was that you that screamed? You almost got me killed!"
"Are you alright?" he asked
"What did you think you were doing on that chair, Carroll-san?" Darien asked.
"I'm fine, Motoki," she answered, completely ignoring Darien, "but since you assigned an urgent assignment to Akira, he needed a jumpstart on another project so he wouldn't be late, so he asked for help." She pointed to the top of the shelf. "I needed to get that file way up there, but there's nothing to stand on except this chair."
"I'll get it for you, Serena," Motoki said, reaching for the old chair.
"No, Motoki! I couldn't ask you to do that! You saw how I almost broke my neck just now," she looked up at the shelf again. "Although, I really do need that file. A character is needed for that latest project, and it doesn't appear anywhere but in that particular edition. I can't leave without it, but I suppose I can always find something sturdy...somewhere." She turned to Darien, and looked him up and down in what he considered a disdainful expression, before turning back to Motoki. "I don't expect that anyone else here would be willing to get it for me either, much less consider it, so thanks for the nice offer, Motoki but I'll--" she stopped as Motoki looked like he was about to climb the rickety chair. "No Motoki! You're heavier than I am, and this chair is old! It barely held me up. Why is it even here? You'd fall. It's my responsibility, I'll get it."
"Of all the--" Darien strolled away and directly came back with a solid chair without wheels and rolled the old chair away, placing the new chair in the desired spot. "Move you two. I'll get the book myself. The rate you two keep talking, we'd be here all day." With a scowl at Serena, he climbed the chair to reach what Serena required, plucked the book from the shelf and handed it to Motoki before getting down. The book was really dusty from misuse, and Motoki sneezed from it. He quickly swiped the dirt and dust off and handed it to Serena with a smile.
"It's probably still dusty, but that's not to much of a problem," he said.
"Thank you so much, Motoki! I don't know what I'd do without you. You're the perfect champion. I swear. Oh, and you too Darien." She turned away and walked back to the department.
"She's really nice," commented Motoki, staring after her.
"Nice? What do you mean? After I caught her after that disastrous fall and then getting her stupid book? She didn't even thank me!"
"She did too."
"Yeah, as an afterthought! That's the last time I go out of my way to help her out."
"Right. And I wonder how you would've reacted if you'd seen her sprawled on the floor, bleeding or something?"
Darien shuddered at the thought.
"Can't even picture it, can you?" Motoki continued. "I think Serena's giving you a little serving of what you deserve."
"What?"
"Yeah. She's not gonna take the way you treat her anymore."
"She never did."
"Well then she's just gotten a new approach then. Either way, good for her."
"You would be on her side."
"I have to be. I'm her champion," Motoki grinned. "Really. You could just apologize and strive to be nice to her. Trust me, it'll work. You two could be the best of friends."
"I don't know, Motoki. I really think I'm past that."
"Never hurts to try something."
"You're right. I'll think of something."
"Yeah? And when will you put it into action?"
"As soon as I think of something."
"You could always ask your sister. I'm sure she knows the entire story by now. In fact I know she does. I saw her railing you last night."
"Yeah. Maybe I'll call her tonight."
"Or maybe you could go and see her tonight."
"But Serena would be there!" Darien cried.
"Exactly."
Darien just can't get it together, can he? Seems like he needs all the help he can get. And now he may possibly see her at his sister's apartment! Stay tuned for what may be another battle, or the turning point. And please, please, please leave a review. It's so simple!! And fun too!! How can you not? Just hit the "Go" button. Thank you!!!