A/N: Well here we are. Almost 8 years later. Why the update? Well I have gotten back into writing recently as you may be able to tell if you are on my alert list. Mainly though I have noticed one sad soul that seems to be coming to this story every month. I just feel bad that someone continues to look for an update that just isn't coming. So I have decided to continue or at least see if there is any kind of interest in the story to continue. Sure the story needs some cleaning up and I will probably have to do a complete rewrite of the first six chapters if enough people want me to complete this to warrant the rewrite to mess with what I'm doing but hey what the hell. Anyway based on interest I will add this story to my rotation. Hope the writing style change isn't too jarring. Best read in ¾ text view.
Mamoru residence –
Life had continued on a fairly normal schedule for the Mamoru residence. Rei would appear like a bat out of hell now and again to torment him. Minako would visit almost every day and graciously leave him with a food bill. Ami would also visit now and again to check up on him to make sure he wasn't dead. The shift work though was starting to kill him. He would go to work from evening to morning then return to bed and crash. Then he would wake up around noon and have to deal with Minako and Usagi…or whoever she happened to be. This normally consisted of the two chatting up a storm, watching a movie, or abusing his recently purchased game system.
He had just stepped out of the shower and changed when he heard the door ring. "Minako…" Mamoru called out pointlessly. He knew she couldn't hear him over the movie that the two were playing in the living room.
Sighing in defeat, Mamoru headed towards the door and just prayed that it wasn't Rei. The moment he opened the door he suddenly wished that it was. "Zoisite…Jed…what have I done to offend the gods to deserve this visit?"
Jed laughed aloud before patting Mamo on the shoulder rather violently. "Hey there handsome…you look like you just got hit by a bus!"
"Thanks." Mamoru replied wryly.
"You should probably get some sleep." Zoisite stated without preamble.
"Personal recommendation Doc?" Mamoru replied jokingly.
Zoisite simply raised an eyebrow before responding with a slight smirk. "No need you look like you haven't slept for a week."
"Mamoru! Close the door you're letting all the cold air in!" Minako called from the living room. Her voice had astounding volume and easily could be heard over his sound system. The yell caused Mamoru to sigh in defeat before beckoning the two inside. Clearly he wouldn't be getting rid of these two tonight.
"Hey you got girls over Mamoru no wonder you're so tired." Jed laughed before ribbing Mamoru lightly in the side. "I can see why you were so tired." Jed popped his head into the living room before turning back to Mamoru with a lecherous grin on his face. "You dog you…two and they look like twins!"
"Jed…" Mamoru attempted to put a warning into his tone but it just came out as exasperated.
"I'm going in!" Jed declared before disappearing into the living room.
"Do you expect anything less?" Zoisite queried in his normal matter of fact tone. A raised eyebrow accompanied his observation.
"Sometimes I wish I did." Mamoru muttered to his more mature friend. They had all met in undergraduate classes. While Mamoru and Zoisite pursued their doctorates and had both obtained the status of being a Doctor, Jed had gone right to work. The man became a car salesman and was unsurprisingly good at it. For all his playing around his normally outgoing demeanor had him clearing more money in a month than the two doctors made combined in three months.
The two were about to go in and provide damage control when the ring of the doorbell interrupted Mamoru. He waved Zoisite off to go into the living room. Someone needed to control Jed before he caused Usagi to turn into Shiva. Honestly though…perhaps Jed being killed wasn't such a bad thing.
"Good Evening." Mamoru said as he opened the door. The four people on the other side simply caused him to raise an eyebrow. Rei stood there with Ami and behind them stood Makoto and a large beast of a man with silver hair. Wondering what fresh new hell this was Mamoru just waved them all in. At this point he just didn't want to know. Sometimes it was just easier.
"Good Evening Doctor Chiba." Ami ventured a little taken aback by his rather unfriendly demeanor. Perhaps the stress was getting to him she hadn't ever seen him this despondent and worn out.
"Evening Ami, Rei, Makoto….and random stranger." Mamoru responded giving Kunzite a slight wink at the comment.
"Usagi and Minako here!?" Rei half asked and half demanded. She honestly wasn't too concerned with Mamoru's state of mind or physical state. Over the past few weeks she had started to hang out with Usagi and Minako more often despite the trek across the city. Even worse Rei was thinking about transferring to a temple on this side of town.
Mamoru just waved her into the living room. He half wondered if he should just turn his apartment into a hotel but he doubted anyone would actually pay though it would be nice if someone chipped in for all the take out that he was forced to order.
"Are you alright Doctor Chiba?" Ami asked a concerned tone entering her voice.
"Yeah…I'm fine Ami. Just a little tired from the girls running me ragged." Mamoru responded before waving towards the living room with one hand at the sudden crash that came out of the living room followed by Rei's shrill screech to empathize his point.
Ami smiled a little in understanding before patting his shoulder. "Well I will see if I can run damage control for you."
"Thanks Ami." Mamoru responded. Finally he turned his attention to Makoto and her friend. He simply raised an eyebrow before gesturing to the giant man. He had no idea what the hell Kunzite was doing here but he had a part to play. "Hey aren't you that cabby?"
"Cabby?" Makoto queried with a slightly confused look. "No way he is."
"Yes I am indeed a cabby." Kunzite cut in with a slight glare leveled at his younger sister before turning it to Mamoru.
"Right…of course. What brings you out this way then?" Mamoru ventured with a curious look being shot to Makoto.
"Just here to visit Usagi and my brother insisted on escorting me." Makoto smiled while gently elbowing the hulking man in the chest a little. "Be polite Kun these people are my friends I don't want you being an icicle in the corner like you normally are."
"I shall aspire to make a passable guest." The tall man muttered. Clearly he really did not wish to be here something that Mamoru could commiserate with.
The trio made their way into the living room before any further guests could show up. What greeted them was caused Mamoru's expression to sour. Minako had clearly snuck booze in if the fact that Rei was currently fighting with the blonde over the remaining vodka was any indication. Usagi was just sitting there somewhat apprehensively due to all the activity. It appeared luck was with him since Minako had not decided to share with Usagi. The last thing he needed was a sauced up Usagi.
Ami and Zoisite were quietly talking in the corner. Mamoru could only thank the heavens the two appeared to have hit it off and wouldn't be causing him any further trouble. This just left Jed who was currently annoying the shit out of Rei. At least the giant black eye he was sporting indicated that he annoyed the girl once more.
With a sigh Mamoru waved to the living room before turning to the two and managed a slight smile. "Welcome to my own hell."
"Clearly…" Kunzite ventured tentatively his eyes scanning the room. He was thankful his sister was friends with the group as it gave him an excuse to enter the premises for a wellness check. Sure they had people watching the place but no one to watch Mamoru and make sure he was still capable. His eyes widened a little when he spotted his normal passenger fighting with another girl for a half-finished bottle of vodka. 'Please Please Please Please…shit.' He mentally cursed.
"Teddy bear!" Minako screamed the bottle of vodka forgotten and left to Rei. A moment later she half scrambled over the furniture and half bulldozed right through it to get to her target.
"Ms. Aino." Kunzite ventured while giving Makoto a pleading look which of course was ignored. Makoto had made her way over to Rei and Usagi. The former making her way to the kitchen with the offending bottle of vodka while the latter kept her eyes going between the curly haired man, the one by Doctor Mizuno and himself in distrust. It of course was to be expected.
"You're so fluffy!" Minako declared before wrapping her arms around his frame.
Kunzite once again looked for an escape but found none. A long suffering sigh was released as he attempted to detach the clearly intoxicated girl. He had some work to complete and this was not helping. "Please remove yourself."
"Please remove yourself." Minako repeated back to Kunzite in a passable imitation of his voice. "Your ass must be soooooooo biiiig cause you got the biggest stick in it EVER!"
Makoto happened to be half listening and barely managed to keep from spitting the water she was drinking. Instead she ended up sputtering and half choking. Usagi helpfully patted her back with a slight frown directed towards Minako.
"Yeah Kun you should get that checked out." Makoto smirked at her brother who was clearly uncomfortable As far as she was concerned it would do the stuck up ass some good.
"Kun." Minako tittered at the nickname. "That is like a raccoon. Are you a raccoon Mr. Teddy Bear?"
Sighing in defeat Kunzite just nodded in hopes that it would stop the girl's incessant prattling. It didn't.
Mamoru shook his head a little at Minako's antics. The normally chipper girl was currently in overdrive due to the alcohol. He almost felt bad for Kunzite…almost. He made his way over to Makoto and Usagi before taking a seat next to the silent blonde before Rei got back.
"How are you doing Usagi?" Mamoru queried cautiously. "Are you feeling alright?"
Usagi for her part couldn't believe the number of people here. Luckily she had been getting use to larger numbers of people visiting with Makoto and Minako coming over on a regular basis. Rei had managed to gain the confidence of both Usagi and Hotaru with her rather direct words. She never had to worry about where the temperamental raven haired girl stood. She managed to acknowledge Mamoru with a hesitant nod.
"Let me know if you want to go to bed alright?" Mamoru informed her.
With a small smile Usagi nodded before she turned her attention back to Makoto who grabbed her attention with her raucous laughter. The woman was currently laughing at her brother who still was unable to get away from her clingy cousin. Shaking her head in amusement she continued to observe the newest strangers. What would have previously sent her into a panic attack instead only caused her a few moments of concern. Once she realized that they knew Mamoru or one of her friends in some form or another she settled down.
Juuban Psychiatric Hospital -Office of Setsuna -
The green haired administrator absently restarted the DVD that she had been given by Taiki. A frown crossed her face when she heard a knock on the door. Discreetly turning off the monitor, Setsuna called out to the guest. "Come in."
A moment later Nephrite opened the door with a disarming smile already on his face. "Good evening Setsuna."
"Isn't it a little late to be here Nephrite?" Setsuna queried with a slightly raised eyebrow. It was somewhat unexpected to see one of her long time workers here this late at night. Normally the man would have left…or should have left hours ago she confirmed by checking the clock on her computer.
Nodding a little in acknowledgement, Nephrite helped himself to a seat in front of his boss. "I suppose but my day job is over so it is on to my night job."
"Night job? I wasn't aware you were employed elsewhere." Setsuna responded diplomatically. She was unsure where her employee was going with this but usually the calm man rarely was one to make waves.
Waving his hand a little at Setsuna's question, Nephrite leaned in a little closer to her. "I heard you met with Taiki a few weeks ago."
"What business is it of yours?" She responded in a cool manner. She felt her hackles rising as she did not particularly like where this was going.
"I'm just wanted to know what the brother of the prime suspect of the attack on our hospital was doing in your office." Nephrite responded calmly.
"As you know Seiya was cleared by the police department of the crime and that have started to pursue other avenues." Setsuna replied.
Nephrite snorted a little at the comment. "Cleared by the locals sure but not by the FBI."
"What would you know about that?" Setsuna queried. Once more it appeared that she would be jumping down the rabbit hole and who knows where she would come out. She was already more involved in this whole mess than she wanted to be ever since the attack on the hospital. Moving a patient to a Doctor's house was definitely not protocol but her hands were tied when the FBI stepped in.
Grinning a little, Nephrite flipped out his ID. "Special agent Nephrite Jade at your service."
Taking a cursory glance at the ID, Setsuna leveled a glare at the man after she confirmed that he was indeed telling the truth about his actual status. "Would you mind telling me what an undercover agent is doing on my hospital staff for the past three years?"
"Sorry classified." Nephrite rumbled with a smile.
Shortly thereafter Setsuna found herself rubbing her temples due to the oncoming stress headache she could already feel building. "Nephrite I want you to think very long and very hard. This next question I am asking as an administrator of this hospital and for the safety and health of my patients. Why did the FBI force Usagi into a safe house with Doctor Chiba against my wishes?"
"Easy, Mamoru is an agent as well. It was deemed that he would be in the best position to handle Usagi." Nephrite let a small smile play across his lips. After working for the head Doctor for the past three years he knew she appreciated direct and to the point answers.
"And why pray tell is an FBI agent providing care for an emotionally disturbed individual with no actual training." She could already feel the twitch starting. Her normally calm facade was starting to crumble and was resisting the urge to strangle the big lug.
Laughing a little, Nephrite simply made a calming motion with his free hand. "Don't worry Setsuna. We may be a bit heavy handed but Mamoru is a fully fledged Doctor and happens to be one of the top experts in our department in criminal psychology and behavior. To make sure she is still getting the correct quality of care though Ami has been convinced to visit on a regular basis from what I understand."
A long suffering sigh left Setsuna's lips. "Any other bomb shells you should like to drop on me tonight Nephrite or are we quite done?"
"I think that about covers it minus what I originally came for." Nephrite eyed the administrator to see if she would budge.
"Nothing to concern yourself with at the moment I am still reviewing the information that Taiki provided me with. If I discover anything of import you will be the first to know." Setsuna muttered unhappily.
"You're a peach Setsuna. I'll see you in the morning." Nephrite smiled before leaving the administrator to curse his existence.
A quick jog to the outside and he hopped into the waiting red sports car. A chuckle escaped his lips as he dropped himself into the bucket seat beside the blonde haired woman. "As usual not one for subtle transportation Tenou."
"What fun is that?" Haruka responded in a clipped tone before throwing the car into gear. A moment later the pair peeled out of the area at a high rate of speed.
"Could I make it back to write up my report before you kill me?" Nephrite muttered unhappily in the passenger seat as he worked to get himself buckled in.
"Hnn…quit whining. Michiru hasn't died yet." Haruka replied with a grunt before taking a hard right into the break down lane to pass two slower moving cars as she entered the highway.
"Your girlfriend doesn't count she has blinders on half the time to the shit you pull and not helping Tenou!" Nephrite practically screamed as he grabbed the door's handle and held on tight during the less than legal pass. He hated when Kunzite was unavailable but they were only a small five man team. With the normal field team being Kunzite, Tenou, and of course himself while Mamoru and Michiru worked the office side.
"Please let my death be swift and merciful." Nephrite muttered to himself as Tenou once again pulled a pass this time in the left breakdown lane.
A/N: So it is kinda up to you guys where this goes from here. Based on reviews I will either let this story lie or continue.