Vegas Chapter 9
"Battles, Holiday's, Gift's, Damn Meddling Parents."
"Serena, I don't care if you are on another planet. I want you home now!" Rei shouted though the communicator.
"Rei, I know how you feel. I just can't leave. I promise I will be home before New Years, even earlier if I have to but I doubt the enemy will strike before then." Serena tried to use her calm princess tone as she whispered so her new roommate would not hear, but nothing seemed to be working on the senshi of fire.
"Rei is right, Serena, I feel it too. This is defiantly an enemy and we cannot protect you half way across the world." Lita chimed in.
"I understand your worry ladies, but the protection is not for me. It is for the people of earth. So, everyone will take shifts patrolling until I arrive back. Ami, as soon as anything happens get an energy reading on the enemy so we can track it down, got it?" She commanded.
"See, I told you that's what she would say. Why does everyone forget that I am the leader?" Mina grunted.
"Yes, listen to Mina. She is your leader and she knows what she is doing." Serena sighed. They needed to start following Mina's orders. She would be in charge of them when Crystal Tokyo came about, plus this would take Mina's mind off other things.
"Oh no princess, don't think for one moment that the threat of a new enemy will stop me from finding your soul mate Endymion. I can multi-task." Mina said determined.
'Damn Venusians'
"People of Japan first, Mina." Ami scolded.
"Just keep watch!" Serena hung up the communicator scowling in the dark. Darien's couch was comfortable just not as wonderful as her own bed at home. Darien did, against her wishes, order furniture for the office space but it would not come utill tomorrow. For someone who had been out of Tokyo for so long he still had major connections. Of course, she could always sleep in his room, after all he was her husband. Ugg she shook the thoughts out of her head. Maybe she wound her odangos too tightly this morning, plus what if she had given in to temptation and her communicator would have gone off. She rolled over.
With the lies she was going to have to keep up on over the next few months and the threat of a new enemy she would most certainly have her hands full. The less questions asked by Darien the better. At least he would be busy with his new job and that would give her the free time after school work, princess lessons, senshi meetings, and the once a week speech class that Ami had enrolled her in for her future role as queen. She did not have time for wife in training also.
The most ironic part of the whole situation was that before she had ever become Sailor Moon she had always wanted just this. To be married to a wonderful, handsome, rich doctor where she would be the ever so loving and doting wife. Low and behold life was full of tricks and stupid mistakes. Serena vowed then and there at when she did find Endymion and they were married she would take time out of her busy schedule for her husband and future children. She would just have to divorce Darien first. A thought that make her heart ache unbearably so that she clenched her chest.
Darien was up and out of the house with not so much of a stir of Serena as she lay passed out on the couch. He wished she would have taken the bed to sleep but she was stubborn with sleeping on the couch so that he got a good rest for his first day of work. Darien laughed at her angelic features, which were very seldom found during the day. Making his way in to the parking garage he found his car and started up his baby. He was glad that his Mercedes Benz still ran like new after sitting for almost six months.
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He was not as nervous as he should have been on his first day as Attending. It was true he was way younger than most of the residents at Azabu Hospital, but he had a few "extra" skills from being the Prince of Earth that aided him in his superior skills as a surgeon.
The sun was just coming up as he took his first steps inside the doors and headed to the elevator.
"Ah, good morning, Dr. Chiba!" A man with grey hair and glasses approached him. "I am Dr. Yoshiman, Chief of Azabu Hospital. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine, Dr. Yoshiman. I studied some of your techniques in collage." He bowed.
"Wonderful, Dr. Chiba. So far it's a slow day. I will show you around." He smiled.
Dr. Yoshiman took the morning to show Darien the hospital and his new office. It was a little bit of a relief that he didn't have to take patients today. Dr. Yoshiman and Darien sat down to lunch in the hospital cafeteria. His mind was here but at the same time it was on Serena too. He had no clue what she planned on doing all day.
Doctor Yoshiman out of nowhere laughed out loud causing Darien to lift his head from the meal to the laughing aging doctor.
"Dr…?" he said confused. Was something on his face.
"Sorry, Chiba, it's just that you are so oblivious to all of the women who keep trying to get your attention. Those poor nurses." He gave another hearty chuckle when a petite nurse winked at him from across the cafeteria.
"I failed to notice, sir. I became quite well at ignoring girls in high school." He didn't find this funny in the least.
Dr. Yoshiman sat up a little straighter and fixed his glasses, it was then that Darien realized his mistake. The man thinks I'm gay…
"Oh, sir, it's not like that. I just have only been attracted to one girl for a while now. We just got married last weekend." The words stumbled out.
This caused the older man's eyes to shine. Darien just made his way in to a new prestigious club that only married men were part of. He knew at that moment that being married would really help him out at the hospital and that the sigh that had escaped Dr. Yoshiman lips only moments ago was a sigh of relief of the lack of scandal that would occur since the handsome Dr. Chiba was a married man
"Ah, Dr. Yoshiman!" A woman's voice said from behind him.
"Dr. Minzu. What are you doing here? I told you that you could have the whole day off to spend with your daughter." He stood greeting the woman.
"I know Dr. Yoshiman but after we exchanged gifts and had lunch, Ami wanted to spend time with her friends. Plus, Christmas is more for husband and wife than anyone." She giggled.
Dr. Yoshiman gave a hearty laugh. "I know what you mean Dr. Minzu; my wife cannot wait for me to get off. I bet either can yours, Chiba."
Darien took a large gulp of air. First of all, this was Serena's close friend, Ami's, mother and today was Christmas. A day in which most countries celebrate gift giving and Santa Claus, the Japanese celebrate with one gift if any and it is a day where husband and wife engage in multiple intimate acts, usually in a hotel room. They were rented by the hour…
"Ah, Dr. Minzu, meet our new surgical attending, the one and only protégé Dr. Darien Chiba." Darien stood and bowed.
"Chiba? Darien Chiba?" Dr. Minzu said bowing slightly.
"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you." He bowed again.
"Yes, it is a pleasure, you know my daughter, Ami, correct?" She smiled at the young man.
"Yes, I do." Darien wanted to go on to say, yes, she is a good friend of my wife, but he knew no such words could be uttered.
"It is a pleasure to see you back in Tokyo, Dr. Chiba. I cannot wait to hear about the conferences you have been attending the last six months. You are quite the popular one these days. I hope Ami aspires to the same level." She beamed at him.
"Oh yes, Chiba, you must have met this young girl while traveling." Dr. Yoshiman said wondering how Darien could have been married while he was away.
"Girl?" Dr. Minzu looked surprised.
"Wife, Dr. Chiba was recently married." Dr. Yoshiman chimed in.
"Congratulations." She said also relived that there would be no scandal with the women in the hospital.
"Thank you, very much." Darien let out quietly knowing that Dr. Minzu would tell Ami, and Ami would tell Serena's friends. He decided to duck the questions about who, what, when, where and why. Suddenly he excused himself to the restroom and not too soon.
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Serena law awake on the couch, the TV in the background, played some silly drama she was uninterested in. She was glad she was not interrupted from her sleep by a youma attack. It was the first time in awhile that she felt truly alone. Getting up slowly she made her way to the kitchen to make some breakfast. She felt like she had forgotten something very important.
The doorbell rang and she went to answer it not caring that she was still in her pajamas. It was her new furniture and she directed the men in to the 'old' office to arrange the items. She frowned as she undid the boxes that were brought over yesterday from her old house. Her bunny motif clashed with the upscale apartment of Darien Chiba. She pulled out pictures, manga, and study books, the rest she left in the boxes. Stuffed animals unfortunately were not becoming for a queen in training; however, she knew that her daughter would love them so she taped back up the boxes with care. It was after the deliverymen had left that Serena realized that she had no sheets or blankets that fit her new bed. Also, if she was going to make this room hers she needed to buy new stuff.
To buy "stuff" she needed money. Money she didn't have, and since, technically, she was married now, she was positive that daddy Tsukino would not be happy with her purchasing items on her credit card. She was going to have to get a job on top of all her other duties. Serena picked up a pillow and screamed in it. Why was life so confusing? She wanted to be with him, share a bed and a life with him. She wanted to hate him, run away from him, and teach him that she could do this on her own.
Out of frustration she began to take her clothes out of the suitcase and out of boxes and put them away. She was almost done when something clinked on the floor. It was her wedding ring that she shoved in her pocket yesterday. She picked it up slowly and put it back on her hand. Some how it just belonged. The doorbell rang again and Serena slowly trotted to the door, wondering who it could be.
It was the postman delivering a large box with Serena's name on it. She smiled at the postmark. It was from America. Tearing in to the box she found several wrapped packages. It was then it hit her. Today was Christmas. Serena loved Christmas! It was not that popular in Japan but her parents loved it too. It was the sickening feeling that over whelmed Serena when she realized why her parents loved Christmas so much. Ewe.
They must have paid a crap load in shipping to get it here so quickly…
Never had she received so many gifts before. Her smile grew as she opened a letter from her parents who seemed to be having a wonderful time skiing in Colorado. Her mother gushed about how proud she was of Serena and how much pride she brought on their family when she married Darien. They were so proud to have their only girl be married to a doctor. Serena gagged a little when the second page went on and on about the great Darien Chiba. Serena wanted to scream by the third page and yell out, "You should be proud of me! I saved the Universe! I died three times! I will rule a planet, no wait the world!" But noooooo, the letter oozed out praise for the dark haired husband of the now Mrs. Chiba. Serena stuffed the letter back in to the envelope and threw it in a box.
"Whatever. At least they sent presents." She said aloud taking out each gift one by one and reading the tags. "NANI!" she said aloud and she realized some of the gifts were for Darien. One was attached with a note that said to Darien from Serena.
Serena decided not to open the gifts or look at them anymore. She would wait till her captor came home and since her already ruined her life he could ruin Christmas too by opening the gifts with her.
Serena dressed and did her hair. She needed to get out of the house and get a paper so she could start looking for a job but she could not get caught doing it. So she did what any other super hero would do. She pulled out the Luna pen.
"Luna pen, make me in to an unrecognizable girl." She yelled.
Sure enough the magic was done, her hair now brown, her eyes brown too. Nothing about her stood out and that was good, and so not like her at all. Grabbing the keys and card that Darien had left, she made it out of the building. The air was cold and small snow flurries buzzed around her head as she walked to the nearest convenience store.
She didn't quite make it when a sickening feeling hit the pit of her stomach. A pain she knew far too well. Intuition kicked in and her legs moved toward a building three blocks up. She pushed people out of the way. A small explosion took place. Mars and Venus were already on the scene fighting a male youma; red eyes glowed behind chestnut colored fur. He was almost 15 feet high and drool hung from his snarled snout. Many people lay unconscious in the street from being tossed across the street by the beasts over grown tail.
Mercury stood on the sidelines scanning for a direct energy signal. It wasn't long before Jupiter came in with an attack that knocked the beast on its back causing the earth to rumble.
"WE NEED TO LEAD IT OUT OF THE CITY!" Venus yelled using her love me chain to wrap it around the beast's leg and pulling its feet out from under it for a second time.
"IT'S DESTORYING EVERYTHING! MERCRY! WE NEED A WEAK SPOT." She yelled fiercely.
Serena wanted to jump in and fight. This is one of the strongest youma she had seen in awhile, and yet, this beastly vulgarity was more like those that she had seen as a child on the moon. This youma was not silly or awkward, it was damn mean and to the point. Attack, gain energy and kill those who oppose. Kill…
Hiding behind a small car, Serena debated with herself if she would fight or not. Her scouts believed her to be in Vegas.
How and why was this all happening? Mercury shouted something to Mars, but it was too late. The beast had grabbed on to Mars throwing her three stories high where her body hit the drain pipe on a near by building. In a flash Serena transformed, wings pumping fast and furious toward Mars falling body.
Mars body fell right in to Sailor Moons arms moments before her skull would have collided with the pavement below. Pumping her wings once again she held Mars body close to hers. Avoiding the punch of the beast that was beyond mad of the arrival of the newest senshi. Sailor Moon placed Mars on the roof, making sure she was alright.
"How…?" Mars breathed out.
"Oh, you know the call of duty. I have to go take the trash out now." She flashed Mars a signature smile and flew down to where the monster was moments before. The rest of the team was leading him to the near by park where less destruction would be caused.
Mercury had managed to freeze the beast's feet to the already frozen ground. Jupiter used thunder to weaken the creature that was still causing a mess by picking up trees and throwing them. Her team being the main target.
"Hurry! Sailor Moon!" Mercury cried, she and the rest of the team were obviously more weak than they wanted to admit, but the begging in Mercury's voice, pulled at Sailor Moon's heart.
"SILVER MOON CRYSTAL POWER KISS!" She cried letting the power flow out of her, directly letting the attack connect with the Silver Imperial Crystal. The beast raged and cried out, she gave more power. An eerie green glow began to surround the creature and then as Sailor Moon almost gave up, the beast exploded blowing up throwing all of the senshi backwards.
Using the crystal from her spot on the ground she sent energy towards all of the fallen people in the city and to her scouts. Then the last of her energy was used to transport her back to Darien's apartment.
That's how Darien found her. Passed out on the kitchen floor, a large bruise on the left side on her face where she passed out mid teleportation and kissed the ground… hard.
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"Serena? I'm home." Darien hid a small gift under his arm as he carefully walked around the mess of empty boxes and paper that Serena had left scattered about the apartment. He didn't understand this worry he had felt ever since he saw Sailor Moon disappear from the attack earlier. His head fell in shame. He was too late to the battle arriving only at the end where Sailor Moon defeated the beast and then she disappeared. This was the worst time in history for another enemy.
"Serena?" He called again. Where was that girl? He chuckled at the mess. Darien had wondered how long it would be until his apartment went from spick and span, to a toxic waste dump. At least the cleaning girl would be here tomorrow.
Darien put his coat and gloves in to the closet, something just felt wrong, but he shook it off again as it being him still upset about not aiding the senshi with the battle earlier.
"Serena?" He yelled again, worry filling him.
He made his way to the kitchen, there she was passed out on the floor.
"SERENA!" He ran to her, her breathing was shallow, and a nasty bruise began to show on her pretty face. She was cold.
"Come, on Serena, wake up." He pulled her close, checking her pulse at the same time.
"No, sleepy." She breathed out coming to.
Picking her up he carried her to his bed tucking her under the covers. She seemed like she was sleeping and he brushed the hair out of her face. Beeping and Serena's cell phone began to go of at the same time in the other room.
Blue eyes opened and a gasp caught in her throat as midnight blues stared down at her. Pulling her body up quickly a wave of pain came over her and she winced letting out a cry of pain.
"Serena, stop!" Darien tried to push her back down in to the bed but she threw the covers off her legs sliding out of the bed. She fell once but was quick, like always to get up.
"STOP! I found you passed out of the floor. You have a nasty bruise, maybe even a concussion." Darien trailed after, her hot in pursuit as she nearly fell over again looking for the electronic items that continuously beeped over and over again, though all the packing material.
"SERENA! What is going on? Are you alright?" Darien was worried. His wife was passed on the floor, barley breathing and in a flash she was up looking for her cell phone of all items.
There it was again, the pink thing with the screen and flashing buttons. Serena turned it off quickly. The cell phone on the other hand continued to ring. Serena opened it putting it to her ear.
"WHAT THE HELL SERENA! ARE YOU OKAY!" Serena pulled the phone from her ear. Darien stared on using his super hearing to eavesdrop on the call.
"Listen, I am fine. I can't talk now." She said pain in her voice.
"How did you do that? Where are you?" Mina's voice was full of worry.
"I'm with my parents. I'm sorry I scared you. I just didn't feel well and passed out on the phone. I am fine, promise. Talk to you later." Serena hung up the phone and fell back on to the couch. Hoping that her lies to Mina would satisfy Darien's bewilderment as to why she was passed out on the floor.
Darien went to Serena putting his hand to her head. She closed her eyes and took in deep shallow breaths. Her head hurt.
"Darien stop. I do not have a fever. I just didn't eat today and passed out. I'm a klutz." She pouted enjoying the moment of warmth his hand created as it made contact with her skin.
"I am the doctor, you are now my patient." She opened her eyes slightly, peering at him.
"Look you can play doctor at work, not here." She mumbled out, annoyed.
"Fine." He stood up and picked her up like a baby. "Let's go back to my work."
"PUT ME DOWN! PLEASE! IT'S CHRISTMAS!" He put her back on the couch. She smiled at him.
"Alright. Just stop screeching." He smiled at her smug face. "Speaking of Christmas, I got you a present."
"What! Really! Let me have it!" The child in Serena came barreling out and she began bouncing on the couch like nothing had happened. Darien laughed and pulled the package out from the bedroom. "Maybe I should give this to you when you tell me the truth?"
"I just did. See I am fine. Present… now… must have present or I'll pass out again." She pretended to feel faint. She was getting better by the second.
Serena opened it quickly and pulled out a key. She gulped. Was this a hotel room key… did he expect her to… her heart began to beat quickly.
Darien watched her excitement fade to worry.
"Oh! No, it's not that. I promise. It's a key to a small studio apartment on the 6th floor." He shook his hands and looked embarrassed.
The worry eased and confusion set it.
"It's so if you want your friends to come over you an pretend it's your place. So they don't know we are together." He said and for some reason a blush tinted his masculine face.
"THANK YOU!" She darted across the couch and hugged him.
"Your welcome. Of course there are some conditions." He said pulling her away from him.
Her face scrunched up in distaste. Of course there were strings attached.
"Don't look at me like that. I just want you home at night. That's all." He stated.
She gave him a wicked glare, but gave in. It really was a nice gesture. Serena got up and crossed the room to the stack of presents her parents sent and picked up the one that her parents sent. The one was supposedly from her and walked back to Darien.
"Here. It's from me." She put the small package in his hand.
He opened it with care. A small box was inside and Serena was just as nervous to see what it was as he was. Flipping open the box Darien's breath caught at what was inside.
"Thank you." He breathed out.
"Umm, yeah, your welcome. I hope you like it." She said nervously as she began to bite her nails still not knowing what was in the box.
"I do like it." Flipping the box around and showing the wedding ring that was inside, he pulled it out and slid it on to his finger. It fit perfectly.
Serena's jaw hit the floor.
"Why do you look so surprised?" He asked.
"Uhhh, well, uhh, I just didn't expect it to fit so perfectly." She mumbled out. A few choice curse words at her parents in her head. She was going to kill them.
"Well, it means a lot to me. Thank you." He hugged her and was surprised when she hugged him back taking in his scent.
She thought of Endymion and pulled away slowly. "Well, I just figured we should match." She wiggled her finger where his ring was. Darien smiled.
"Come on old man, my parents sent us tons of loot. Let's get to opening gifts. And I am hungry, can we order some food? Oh, and by the way, you may think your so smart ordering me furniture but you must have missed the brain cells that involve sheets and stuff, so I am going to need some money. By the way? How was work? Good I hope? Do you save any lives today? I bet you didn't. You can really be a baka." Serena went on and on from her spot on the couch. Darien just smiled. He was going to like coming home from work. He was going to like coming home… period.