Surprise early update! I've decided to update this chapter earlier than usual because I have mid-semester exams coming up next week and the week after, so I won't be able to post up my usual mid-week chapter next week. Soooo Here we go!

Thanks to: Usako, Tam-chan, UniversalBunny, life705, sailorfan, Jenbunny, TaliMoonAngel668, deedee, Elia Shieldsmoon, ScarletL, YingYing, angeleyesis, Miss Katrina Malfoy, Stacey, SerentiyMoonGodness, Moon Princess Serene, merangelgal, SulliMike23 and CharmedSerenity3 for reviewing the previous chapter

This week's special shout out goes to Love of the Twilight for being a long-time reviewer since 2005. Thanks!


Title: Akai Ito
Author: Crystal Saturn
Rated: T
Chapter: 9- The Fatal Wound

"Son of sorrow staring down forever
with an aching view
disenchanted, let's go down together
with the fatal wound."

"Darien?" Serena whispered quietly toward the ghostly apparition beside her. She sat rigid in her chair, eyes focused on the images projected in the dark theatre. From her seat at the back of the theatre, she could make out the silhouetted forms of four other couples seated within the cinema. She was the only one without somebody beside her to cling on to.

"Mmm?" Darien murmured, engrossed in the film.

"Why did you pick a thriller? Couldn't you have stolen tickets to a comedy? Or maybe even an animation film?" Serena could feel her heart pounding in her chest as the pitch and rhythm of the movie soundtrack picked up.

"I've been meaning to see this movie for a while now…" Darien confessed. "Shh Sere, it's getting good." The symphonic strings repeatedly struck accented dissonant notes. The tempo of the music accelerated at an alarming pace, signifying an impending thrilling moment and striking fear within Serena. In the blink of an eye, she had one hand covering her face while the other endeavored to grab hold of Darien's arm. His focus was severed from the film as he felt her warm hand reaching over in a desperate attempt to grasp onto him.

Slam!

Serena yelped in fear, jumping within her seat. As the decrepit spirit on the screen grabbed hold of the main character, Serena decided that she couldn't handle any more. Jumping to her feet, she ran down the theatre aisle and out of the door. Darien anticipated her anxiety and followed her out, two steps behind her.

"Dumpling Head, what are you doing?" Darien chuckled as he watched Serena curl up on one of the theatre lobby chairs. "It's just a movie."

"It's not funny! I was scared! This isn't exactly my idea of a wonderful date so far, you know." Serena hollered, brushing tears out of her eyes. A few of the cinema patrons walked past the blonde teenager, giving her strange looks of concern. To them, she seemed to be talking to herself.

"I… I'm sorry." Darien resisted the urge to laugh again as he knelt by the moody teen. "You're right, it wasn't a good movie to take you to, but to be honest, you face a lot more scarier stuff as Sailor Moon." Serena continued to pout sulkily, feeling a little embarrassed that she had reacted like such a child. "How about we sneak into another movie? Something a little more romantic perhaps?" Darien suggested, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He watched as Serena blushed and looked away as she contemplated the idea. Eventually, she shook her head.

"I want ice cream." She pouted once again. "I want ice cream and I want to go home. No more movies, Darien." He chuckled at her innocence and nodded in agreement.

"Alright, we'll get you an ice cream and walk home." He reached his hand out for Serena to pretend to take and walked over to the candy bar.


"I'm sorry about earlier." Darien broke the deafening silence as he leant back on Serena's desk chair and gazed at the sunset from the window. Since they had left the cinema, neither one of them had said a word, each still wondering what to do or say next. Were they still on their date? Was there something else that needed to happen? Did they miss their chance?

"What do you mean?" Serena towel dried her hair and plopped herself onto her bed.

"Well, about the movie-"

"It's fine, really. I was being a little too sensitive, I guess." Serena interrupted, casually leaning back on her bed.

"And about the date thing." Darien added, brushing his fingers through his hair out of habit. He did it every time he was nervous. "It's just… I don't really know what to do on a date. I haven't been on very many." He watched as her expression changed from one of casual understanding, to that of surprise. She motioned for him to come closer and he obeyed. At first he sat on the bed, but then decided to lie down next to Serena, staring at the ceiling as he spoke. "I guess, with study and work, and saving Sailor Moon while searching for my Princess, I just haven't had any time." Serena closed her eyes periodically as she listened to the soothing sound of his voice. He chuckled awkwardly. "Andrew once told me that taking a girl to see a scary movie was a great way to get close to her." He laughed once again. "I guess it's a bit different if you're not physically there to hold her when she's scared, huh?"

Serena smiled and nodded warmly, letting the conversation die down once again. Many different thoughts ran through her mind, it was difficult for her to keep up with them all. Most of all, she wondered why Darien was doing all this. Was he doing this for her? Was he humoring her simply because she was so persistent with her beliefs about fate and soul mates? It seemed so sudden. Something had changed within Darien, and she couldn't quite figure out what, or why.

"I'm sorry I tried to make you believe in Akai Ito." Serena turned on her side, propping her head up with one of her hands, the other continued to weave in and out of Darien's. He glanced down at her right foot to see the little red string still tied around her ankle, glowing happily.

"You really didn't need to try so hard to convince me. I believed you" Darien smirked inwardly as he too turned to mirror her pose on her bed. He raised his hand and watched as Serena absentmindedly drifted hers in and out of his translucent flesh. It tickled him, but he didn't mind. He could feel her warm touch, and that was enough to keep him happy.

"I understand what you meant now, about choosing your own destiny. I can see why it's so important to have the freedom to be able to fall in love with whoever you want." Serena occasionally looked up from their hands to check his reaction. "If there's someone else you're in love with, please don't let me stop you from being happy. I hereby release you from your bond with me in this, and any subsequent lifetimes." She nibbled on her bottom lip nervously.

"There's no one else." Darien stated simply and watched as a quick wave of relief washed across Serena's features. He smiled gently. She was such an open book, she had always been that way.

"Are you sure? I've seen some of those girls you go to college with and some of them look super attractive and super smart and-"

"There is no one else, Meatball Head." Darien stressed once again. Just at that moment a shot of energy coursed through Darien's body and he withdrew his hand, jolting upright in bed.

"What is it?" Serena slowly sat up beside him. A distant, vacant look spread across Darien's features. As she shuffled herself forward, towards the end of the bed, Darien noticed the glowing red string around her ankle had become dull and faded. Another surge of energy caused Darien to grasp his head and groan softly. "Darien, what's wrong?" Concern gave way to anxiety in Serena's voice.

"It's nothing." Darien turned back to Serena. He felt the last of the strange energy pass through him, and he began to relax once more. "I'm fine." He reassured her as best as he could, but could not hide his apprehension at the sight of the faded red string. He was running out of time. "What were we talking about?" Darien attempted to feign calmness as he returned to his former place on the bed.

"Having the chance to choose who we love." Serena, following Darien's cue, also leant back down onto the bed, facing him.

"I choose you." Darien stated abruptly, with all seriousness.

"I-I… you… what?" His concise statement had caught her off guard. "I don't understand."

"If there's anything these past few days with you have taught me, it's that you can't run from destiny. It follows you everywhere, like an invisible thin red string tied to your right ankle. You can't see it, but it's there." His urgent tone concerned Serena and she hoped that she hadn't pressured him into making any decisions he didn't want to.

"But I've given you an escape clause. You don't have to be with me if you don't want to." She added softly.

"You don't understand, Sere. It's never been about remembering our past. For me, it has only ever been about finding out who we are today. I don't want an escape clause. I've never wanted to be with anybody else. There is no one else, but you." Darien glanced down at Serena, hoping that she was following the meaning of his words. She seemed to be unsure, if not slightly taken aback at what he was trying to tell her. "I only ever wanted the chance to fall in love, and not with some princess who lived many millennia ago, but with you. Not some Sailor whatever or princess something. Just you. Serena Tsukino. I just wanted the chance for you to fall in love with me, and not some hero or dream prince you remember loving in a past life." Darien moved closer as he felt her hand brush against his.

"I-I understand." Serena nodded eagerly through tear filled eyes.

"Do you, Serena? Because I don't know how to make it any clearer." The desperation in his voice reflected that of his heart. The thread had almost disappeared and he was beginning to feel weak and tired. "I choose you to spend the rest of my life with, however long that may be. I've fallen in love with you, Sere." Tears trickled from Serena's deep blue eyes. Darien lifted his hand to brush them away unsuccessfully.

"I wish I could feel you" Serena leaned closer. "I wish I could feel your touch, your hand, anything! I can't do this with you anymore, Darien. We need to find a way to get you back into your body. It's not enough just to see you. I need to feel your warmth, to hold your hand, to feel your arms around me, holding me. I want to…" Serena's thoughts drifted away as Darien's cool fingertips traced along her jaw line. Ever so slowly he leaned closer towards her, enjoying the thrill and restless pounding of his heart.

"I… I think I love you, Darien Chiba." Serena whispered as she involuntarily lowered her eyelids. That was all the encouragement he needed. He leant in, closing the gap between them, and in that brief moment, his lips met hers. Serena moaned gleefully as she slid a hand across Darien's broad shoulders and her fingertips caressed the back of his neck. Darien wrapped one of his arms around Serena's waist, pulling her closer to his body, while the other hand managed to find hers and was enjoying the feeling of having her small hand fit perfectly within his.

"Darien," Serena pulled away slightly, a broad grin had spread across her lips. The tip of her nose playfully nudged against his. She enjoyed being so close to him. A mixture of giddiness and relief spread within her and her lips tingled in the most sinfully gratifying way. Akai Ito had pulled through for her. After countless lifetimes of searching and waiting, fate had finally worked its magic and brought them back together. The memories they had from a previous lifetime only served to fuel the sparks of a newly kindled relationship in the present day. Her mind continuously fed her images of the same embrace, held by a princess and prince once upon a time, but this didn't feel the same. They did not simply pick up where they had left off many centuries ago. Instead, it seemed that a new love had blossomed from an old seed. "Darien, you're back."

"No," Darien broke his gaze away from her intimate stare. "I don't think I am."

"But I can feel you. You're right here. How-?" Serena tilted her head curiously, not understanding why Darien was blatantly denying his own presence.

"I don't know." Darien raised her hand to his lips and kissed it affectionately. "Let's not think about it right now. Let's just enjoy the moment." He gently ran his fingers through her hair as she nodded obediently and leaned her head against his chest. Darien kissed the top of her head as Serena's breathing slowed in pace and she happily drifted off to sleep in the arms of her beloved. A few brief moments passed and as he continued to stroke her hair, Darien felt his hand becoming cooler and watched as it returned to its previous translucent state. What he failed to see, however, was the freshly forged thin red knot tied around his right ankle.


The new day brought about a fresh sense of hope and joy for Serena. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked about her bedroom in excitement.

"Darien?" She called out to her empty room. "Darien, where are you?" Serena wondered out loud as she slowly stood up from the edge of her bed. The bedroom window remained closed and there was no note left for her. Her finger tips traced along the petal of a paper rose and a smile crept upon her lips.

Ring Ring Ring. Ring Ring Ring

"Hello? Tsukino residence." Serena leapt for the phone, the memory of the previous night still fresh in her mind.

"Serena?" A controlled sob came from the other end of the line.

"Mina? Is that you? What's wrong?" Happiness gave way for concern for her friend as Serena listened contently.

"Serena we're at the hospital. You have to come down here." Mina struggled to fight back her tears. "It's Darien. H-He… He didn't make it through the night." Another sniffle sounded and Mina's voice cracked and uttered the words that Serena wished she would never hear. "Serena, Darien's gone, he died."

The telephone dropped from Serena's grasp, and at that moment, Serena's whole world and everything that she ever believed in, became a lie.


. . .

I know, I know! I just got them together and then this…

A longer chapter this time. Please don't hate me for adding this little twist in the plot, but I'm glad that's finally out there. Sorry for leaving you guys with this little cliff hanger for two weeks. Review and tell me what you think ^_^

Crystal Saturn