Deep In My Soul A Sailor Moon Lemon by Mark Berger Serena Tsukino simply couldn't BELIEVE it! "I'm beginning to think that maybe those Outer Senshi are our enemies, Luna." "Nonsense - the Kingdoms of Uranus and Neptune were always allies of the Moon Kingdom." The cat was attempting to reassure her charge, but not doing a very good job of it. "And Princesses Haruka and Michiru were very dear friends of yours." "Were, not are, Luna. Sailors Uranus and Neptune are willing to do things I'd never do in order to win, but win what? The only thing I've ever seen them 'win,' if you want to call it that, is a good sharp tail-kicking. I don't know," she continued as her beloved Darien sat down next to her and pulled his arms around her, "maybe 'enemy' is too strong a word, but they sure don't feel like friends!" "Serena," said Darien, "I think you're right. I have no idea why those two have to use tactics that we'd normally see the NegaVerse using, but I don't honestly think that we can count them friends." She leaned her head against Darien's shoulder and sighed, "Mmm-hmm." "Get a room," grumped Rei. "And what did I see you and Chad doing the other day, Hmmm?" needled Serena, her mood brightening. "You were spying on us!? Why, you. . . Meatball-Head!!!" fumed Rei. Much to her disgust, the nickname that would have two years ago provoked a tongue duel instead provoked Serena to turn her head and kiss Darien on the cheek. "Yep, and don't you ever forget it," responded the now-cheerful girl. Rei deflated, knowing that Serena had her beat - the younger and less disciplined girl was, relative to Rei, a grand-master in the ways of the heart, and often knew what Rei was feeling better than Rei herself did. How Serena could love so much was truly beyond Rei. It was no mystery why Rei had felt such a great liking for this wonderful, kind girl: Serena radiated love like stars radiate light and heat. If SHE didn't think the Outers were to be entirely trusted, Rei wasn't going to trust them any further than she could throw them. What Serena wasn't about to tell anybody was that she knew who Sailor Uranus was. She had figured it out a week ago when one of the new enemies had handcuffed her to Alexandra Ten'ou and the two had struggled against one another to get away. Serena's newly-improved sensitivity to details had allowed her to see that Alex was in fact Uranus, and she was hypothesizing that Michelle Kaiou, Alex's girlfriend, was actually Neptune. Alex was dangerous, both to herself and to others, no doubt about that. If she didn't start learning from her mistakes, and SOON, she would eventually get herself into a fight that she couldn't win and that Serena couldn't possibly help her with. But Serena's frustration wasn't just about that; because of her hectic schedule of school, studying, fun and monsters, and because of her dad's increasing vigilance, she and Darien hadn't had much chance to be together for weeks. She had prayed for a day with no monsters today, and her prayer had been answered, mostly: Today's monster had been some relic of Beryl's reign, almost no threat against her increased powers. "Let's go, Serena," said Darien. Serena gladly took his arm and they went to his motorcycle. She took out her meatballs and put on the metallic- pink helmet they'd found the other week - after he had wiped out on it and landed in bed for a week a couple of months ago, Darien had refused flat-out to allow her to ride his motorcycle again until they got her a helmet, which they found a week after he was up and about again; her life was far too precious to him to risk. She had painted a picture of Bugs Bunny on one side in bright enamels, in his classic carrot-munching pose. The other side featured the classic phrase, "What's Up Doc?". Even through the helmet and from almost half a block, Rei could easily hear Serena's shriek of joy as Darien took off, her hair billowing in a golden sheet behind them. When Serena and Darien reached his apartment, she took off her helmet and gave him a hungry look that thrilled him to the bone. "Mom and dad are out of town for the weekend, Sammy's staying at a friend's house, and Lita has offered to take care of Reenie. Why don't we take over my house tomorrow," she asked. "That sounds wonderful, honey," said Darien as he led Serena upstairs, "When should I come over?" "Mom and dad are leaving as soon as we go to school, so could you pick me up from there?" "Are you sure, after what happened last time?" "Darien, that wasn't because of you, you saved me from a fate far worse than death. You were so wonderful, coming to my rescue like that." "No, you were so wonderful, standing up to her like that. You were brave and strong and beautiful and loving and, God, there aren't enough words in every language in the world for me to express how much you mean to me." As he spoke, he caressed the side of Serena's face, and she leaned into his touch with a sigh. "Then just say it using those three little words," she purred as she held him close. "I love you." "How about if I tell you. . . like this?" Serena slowly pulled Darien's head close, her intention written plainly in her eyes and upon her parted lips. Her lips touched Darien's, and. . . The phone rang, snapping the two of them out of their little world- for-two. Reluctantly, Darien broke away from Serena and answered it. "Yes? All right, Ikuko, I'll bring her. All right. 'Bye." He turned to his girlfriend with a long-suffering gaze. "Your mom wants you home, Serena, before your dad gets there." Ikuko had been the major trump card that the lovers had in their relationship. Understanding and accepting how immensely *right* Serena's relationship with Darien was, Ikuko made certain to cover for her daughter's time with her boyfriend, though Serena was certain that her mom wouldn't be anywhere near as accepting if she knew that Serena was sleeping with Darien. Taking a quick look at the apartment that had become a second home for her and would one day become her first home, she picked up her helmet and he did his, and they walked out the door. They pulled up to the Tsukino house and the two lovers pulled off their helmets. Serena ran a hand through Darien's hair and pulled his head close for a tender kiss. Their eager tongues flicked into one another's mouths, foretelling to each other the events of the following night. . . "Hey, Mom?" asked Serena as she came in, hair still sweaty from being trapped in her helmet, "Can I have somebody over this weekend?" "Sure, Serena, just as long as you clean up the house after you." Ikuko had NO doubt who Serena wanted to have over. "You know where the food is, dear. As long as you don't clean us out this time like you did last time." "I promise, mom. So, what's for dinner. . ." At the Tomoe Mansion, the Death Busters were planning their next attack. "Well," said Professor Tomoe, "Are you all completely incompetent, or is there some reason that five girls in modified school fuku keep beating you up." He was quite enjoying this - it wasn't often he got to needle the Death Busters over a particularly galling failure. Mistress Nine stalked in, and all pretense of humor vanished from Professor Tomoe. Mistress Nine had once been his daughter, before that tragic night and his desperate deal with a particularly vile devil. *Heather, forgive me,* he thought. "Well, 'father,' do you have an idea where to find the Talisman?" "As a matter of fact, I do. Humans give their politicians very little credit for integrity. However, as we've seen more than once, the outward appearances of one's life give little indication as to the purity of their heart. It is just as possible that a politician could have a pure heart as anyone else. Just less likely," he added. "So here is our next target." The target that he showed to the Death Busters was Representative Hino. The next afternoon, Serena dashed down the steps of the school building. She'd made a point to get there early to avoid any possibility of detention. Darien was waiting for her, just as he had been the day, almost a month ago now, that the possessed Miss Haruna had tried to sexually assault her, and every day thereafter. Her skin still crawled at the thought. If Darien hadn't arrived when he did. . . She ran over to him and hugged him tightly, actually spinning him around with her momentum. "Darien, I'm so glad you're here! Let's get going, I can't wait till you see the movie I picked out for us to watch, it's SOOOOOO cool. . .," she bubbled, wearing a smile that shouldn't have been physically possible. Her energy was contagious, and welcomed - Darien had managed to grin and bear a hellish day at school only by keeping his mind focused on what lay ahead of him tonight. He held her and just absorbed the emotional warmth that she radiated. Soon she noticed his quiet and sobered slightly. "Darien, what's wrong?" "I've just had a bad day at school, Serena. But you want to know what really kept me going today?" "What?" "The thought that I'd eventually be able to come over here and you would come out of that school with that huge smile on your face, come over here and wrap me up in your love, and make all of those petty litte troubles blow away on the wind." Serena's heart soared, and she unconsciously turned up the wattage on her smile by half. The pure happiness on her face warmed Darien's heart. It was then that he noticed they'd picked up an audience, as she began to talk to him of her day again. He decided to give their watchers something to really talk about, and stopped her chattering with a kiss. He had no doubt that Serena's friend Melvin, the school rumor-monger, would snap a picture of them. He didn't care, just as long as he got a copy - he had already collected a large scrapbook full of candid and posed pictures of Serena, but only a very few of them together and he was dying to add another. After he came up for air, he pulled Serena over to his car and helped her in (she being a bit too deep in her astonished, blissful haze to do much on her own at the moment). Starting the vehicle's engine, he moved out of the parking lot and on the road to Serena's house. She leaned on his shoulder, gazing happily at him. At Serena's house, Darien brought a medium-sized duffel bag with his clothes in it out of the backseat (the trunk in a sportscar is positively puny), and produced a rose for his girlfriend from thin air. "A flower, beautiful and delicate, but not half as beautiful as you, my Serena." Serena hugged him and brought him in the house, saying, "Oh you. . ." While he was putting his clothes in Serena's room, she went into the kitchen to begin putting dinner together. Let's see, she thought as she crunched on an uncooked noodle, where did that jar of spaghetti sauce go? Serena heard a soft footfall, and half-turned. "Serena, dearest?" She finished her turn to see Darien wearing a towel around his waist. . . and nothing else. "Would you like to join me in the shower?" "Would I? Muffin, do you *even* have to *ask?*" Halfway to the bathroom, Serena pulled on the back of Darien's towel, pulling it off of him. Most of her attention was riveted on the fact that he was standing stiffly at attention, so to speak. "Hey, no fair!" he said, and she teasingly danced away from him, waving the towel like a matador's cape, then twirling it about her body. He charged, but instead of taking the towel back, he picked *her* up, lifting her high in the air, to her shrieking, laughing amazement, and pulled her close to him. As they made the rest of the way to the bathroom, she slowly shed her blouse, skirt and underwear. Darien ran an appreciative eye over Serena, "God, you're beautiful, Serena. Beautiful and strong and brave. I love you so much it hurts sometimes." "So I've noticed, Muffin. Wanna do something about that?" her eyes gleamed. She took down her hair, letting it cascade almost to the floor, and quickly gave him a light kiss that quickly grew much heavier and deeper. Darien drew Serena into the shower with him, pulled the curtain shut and turned on the water. He soaped his hands and moved behind her, gently rubbing her shoulders and down her arms. She leaned against him and sighed heavily. That sigh turned into a deep moan as he slid his hands back up and began massaging her breasts, paying special attention to the nipples as they stiffened under his touch. Noticing that the shower head was mobile, he began to form a Cunning Plan. . . With mischief in his grin and mayhem on his mind, Darien pulled the shower head from the wall, set it to pulse and, continuing to play with her nipples with his left hand, pulled the shower head suddenly down to run its spray directly against Serena's most sensitive place. She shrieked and moaned as Darien kissed his way slowly and sensuously down her body to just above where the pulsating flow of water was sending waves of delirium though her. Darien quickly turned to put the showerhead back in its holder and then back to kneel before Serena. "Darien. . . Please, Darien. . . I need you to. . . to. . ." Serena's voice was raw with need, having been drawn to the brink of orgasm by the water pulsing against her center. He moved his hands to brace her and kissed her directly over the hot, swollen pearl. She screamed as her senses overloaded and white-hot energy spread from her most private place to envelop her whole body. All too soon, she sank to the floor of the bathtub, energy spent, and lay there as the water rained down on her and her lover. She wanted so much to return him the favor, but she wasn't feeling like doing much at all at the moment except basking in the afterglow. She knew it was selfish, but at the moment her muscles just didn't want to respond to her brain's commands to get moving again, except for slowly and lazily. Darien was used to this. Whenever they had made love before, it had almost always been right before bed, and Serena tended to drop off fairly quickly. It was difficult for her to get going again, but if it was necessary, she would. He gently stroked Serena's wet hair and skin as she slowly came down from her moment in heaven, her muscles trembling slightly. As soon as Serena had control back over her body, she began to rub her hands against Darien's erection, and then, before he could say or do anything, moved down to take it in her mouth. Not that he would have resisted. . . "Ohhh, GOD!" said Darien, groaning out loud as Serena did wicked things to his libido with her lips and tongue. Who would have thought that such an innocent girl could be so good at something like this? He tangled his hands in her hair, fighting the urge to mash his hips into her face. For her part, Serena was enjoying every little part of her ministrations to Darien, drawing him up to the very edge of ecstasy and then quickly backing down just a little to keep him in suspense. It gave her a rush to be able to give the man she loved so much pleasure, especially when he had just made her feel so wonderful that she still felt half-consumed by the pleasure. Finally, as she swirled her tongue around his head, he gave a deep, familiar groan, the one he made when his control was gone and he was about to come. She backed away quickly as he came, but since his hands were still in her hair, she could only go so far, and her breasts were quickly whitened with the fluid. Once Darien was aware of his surroundings, he noticed that Serena was running a soapy washcloth over both of their bodies, and that he was on one knee. Standing back up, he pulled her very close and gave her a warm kiss. "You were wonderful, you sexy little Meatball-head. Was it as good for you?" "Always, Muffin. You know that as much as we love each other, that you could no more disappoint me than I could you." She ran the washcloth quickly over the rest of him. "Oh, no more?" "Not for now - I want us both awake and you know perfectly well that if we have sex again, one or both of us is going to fall asleep." The two dried each other off. Darien put on a fresh pair of boxers and a loose t- shirt, and Serena put on a sports bra, a pair of panties and a pair of loose shorts over that. "You look great in that, Serena." Of course, thought Darien, she'd look stunning wearing a 50-lb. potato sack, but that's besides the point. Serena caught the look in his eye. "I don't feel like cooking tonight, Darien." She laid down on the couch with a languid grace and affected a seductive expression. Darien kissed her on the tip of her nose. "That's okay, Serena. I wouldn't feel like cooking right now either." He found some money and a phone number for a pizza parlor advertising free delivery next to the telephone, so he called and ordered a large pepperoni pizza, two liters of Coke and a side order of mild buffalo wings and breadsticks. Hanging up, he went back into the living room and laid down with his girlfriend. The two lay there kissing and cuddling until the pizza delivery man arrived. Darien gave the guy the money by the phone and noticed his flustered state. Not too difficult to understand, thought Darien as he half-turned to look down the hall, and saw lovely Serena, her hair unbound and flowing wild and free behind her, walking toward him, an angelic vision in white. She wrapped her arms around Darien's midriff and hugged him tightly. As soon as Darien got his change back, he wished the pizza guy a good night and received the same in return, then closed the door. "Ooh, something sure smells good, Muffin!" "Well it ought to, Meatball-head! The last time food didn't smell good to you. . ." "Was the last time Dad tried to grill liver. Yuk, now there's an experiment I wish he'd have left on the *shelf.*" She inhaled the pizza smell again to wipe the memory from her mind and nasal passages. One of the problems with being as right-brained as I am, she thought, is that your memory works best in images and not in words. After they fed one another pizza and wings, Serena had a wonderfully ridiculous thought. She held her breadstick like a fencing foil. "En garde, thou tuxedoed varlet!" Darien picked up on the idea. "Touche, thou Sailor-suited minx!" They traded laughing compliments-as-insults for a few moments, jabbing their breadsticks at one another and trying to parry the food with their mouths. That came to a quick end when Serena nipped one of Darien's fingertips. He hissed in pain from the small bite and stuck the injured finger in his mouth. "Oh, Darien, I'm so sorry. . ." "That's okay, Serena - we were both having fun up until the moment that happened - it was just one of those little things that we kind of didn't anticipate." "Well, you wanna get your mind off your troubles by watching a video? I was in the mood for something romantic earlier, but hey - we've got that movie for three nights, no need to watch it right now." "Sure." Serena pulled out the drawer with her collection of videotapes. "Macross 7, Meatball head?" "What can I say, Darien? I just kind of stopped liking magical girls shows, except for 'Codename Sailor V,' when I started becoming Sailor Moon. I *am* a magical girl, I don't need to watch them for escapism. I started watching mecha shows instead. They're really cool, and the mecha and character designers just rock." "So who is your favorite character?" "Mylene. She's so cool!" After spending several hours watching the tapes of Serena's new favorite TV show, the two padded to the bedroom and laid down, ready to go to sleep. Darien felt a profound peace fall over him, lying in bed with his arms around Serena. She twisted around to face him and said, "Muffin - you want to show me how much you love me?" "Certainly, Serena." He thought back to the first time he had tasted her sweet lips in this lifetime. It had been just half an hour after finding that Serena and Sailor Moon were one and the same, at the Dia Embassy ball. He'd thought that he had died and gone to heaven, tasting her delicious pink lips and her sweet breath, but had rationalized it to be a dream when he woke up in bed the next morning. That klutzy Meatball Head, the beautiful warrior Sailor Moon, who occupied the waking hours of his nights as surely as the Moon Princess occupied his dreams? No way, he had thought, even as he had found himself falling as deeply and crazily in love with Serena as with Sailor Moon and Serenity. But now he and his true love knew a heaven beyond compare, in their true and deep love for one another. Darien's lips touched hers and they fought to establish contact for a few moments until they stopped thinking about it. He unhooked Serena's bra and cupped her breasts, feeling her hardening nipples thrust against his palms. "Serena, how far do you want to go tonight?" Serena thought about it for a long moment. "I just want to savor the feeling of being in your arms, Darien. We've got another two days to be as intimate as we want to be, so why push it now?" As much as Serena tried to embrace pleasure of all kinds, she was just too tired for sex - it was well past midnight and she'd had a long day. "All right, honey. I understand." How could he not understand - she held half of his soul, and he half of hers. Darien dreaded the time, someday in the far future, when Serena, then Neo-Queen Serenity, would be temporarily trapped within a crystal and cut off from him. It wasn't a time he was looking forward to, but fortunately it was far off. In the morning, Darien woke up with Serena gone. At first, he wondered what had woken him up, but then he realized: it was the sudden absence of a sound - that of the shower running. Suddenly, Darien's eyes snapped open and his head turned. Standing in the doorway was Serena, body still dripping from the shower. "Darien, what're you thinking right now?" she teased. Their stomachs gurgled at the same time, spoiling the moment. "Breakfast sounds good, Serena." "Breakfast it is, then." After breakfast, Serena and Darien chatted as they made their slow way up to the bathroom. As the two walked into the room, Darien grinned and said, "Serena, I suspect that you're going to get a second shower today. . ." Serena looked confused for a moment as Darien stepped in the tub. . . then shrieked, "Darien Chiba, don't you dare. . . AAAIIIIIII!!!!" Darien had sprayed the showerhead at her, drenching her sheer white blouse. . . now see- through blouse. "I see London," he snickered. She stood there, not sure whether to laugh or kill her boyfriend. . . and not sure whether she should take advantage of the fact that he was staring at her hardened nipples, which now stood out clearly through the blouse. There was also her hair, which had been nearly dry but was now wet again. . . she was mad about that, but also suddenly ached to feel Darien's hands run through its wealth. And lastly, there was a rather large wet spot in a somewhat embarrassing area. . . both above and beneath. She raced out of the bathroom to her bedroom, stripped off the wet clothes and grabbed a throw pillow. *That man of mine,* she thought, *can be SO dense at times. But he's also the sweetest guy in the world, and he was so lonely while he was growing up, I'll just have to give him a bit of slack.* She grinned madly, *but not *that* much slack. . .* Darien poked his head in Serena's door. "Serena, I'm sor. . . oof!" he finished with the startled exclamation as the pillow hit his forehead and burst a weakened seam. Feathers sprayed the room, and Darien moved to grab Serena so she wouldn't hit him with another pillow. Serena responded by tickling her boyfriend, and Darien convulsed in a fit of laughter, grabbing Serena and hugging her tightly. Serena kissed him just under the point of his chin, and he instantly responded, bringing his mouth around so that he could join her. Oh God, she's sexy, thought Darien. The look of love in her eyes was unmistakable. It was there no matter what, too. Even when they had first met and been fighting all the time, as Darien looked back on it he realized that no matter what Serena had said to him or about him, whenever she had looked at him, he had seen it, the longing and the pain of ten thousand years' separation. No wonder they had clashed at first, their souls had been so long torn asunder from one another that it was like meeting an estranged relative for the first time in years, the clumsy period of getting to know once again somebody you should know but don't, not really. As Darien's lips caressed Serena's and his tongue and hers twisted about each other in their joined mouths, he felt how lucky they were that true love had overcome the obstacles placed in its path, and how lucky he was to be privy to this girl's beautiful transformation into a mature and confident woman. With one quick motion of her fingers, Serena unfastened the towel about Darien's waist and it fell to the floor. That's so much better, thought Darien, your skin is so much softer than any fabric. Two years of training had made Serena's body tough, without sacrificing her essential softness and femininity. Darien traced his fingers down one slender, firm arm and felt her shiver with delight under his touch. For her part, Serena was tracing the fingers of her right hand down Darien's back, taking time to outline every muscle. His body was very strong, and every bit as well-formed as hers. When Darien's fingers met her left hand, she took his hand in hers and clasped them tightly. She felt like she could go on like this, just holding Darien and having him in her loving arms, safe from all physical harm, for hours, but a growing fire in her belly told her that just wouldn't be possible. Darien would often lick Serena into sweet release at least once before entering her, but this day she didn't want that. She wanted to watch his face, see every beautiful expression that came across it, because that in its own way gave her just as much pleasure as feeling him inside of her. And speaking of. . . Her eyes issued a soundless plea to Darien, one he instantly heeded. Darien's free hand scrabbled for the overnight bag that had been left over the side of her bed - their bed for the weekend. On the third try, he plunged his hand into the side pocket of the bag, pulled out the rubber. Serena took it from his hand and with trembling fingers opened it and put it on him. "Complete me - *us,* Darien, please," she whispered, such an intense look of love and need in her eyes that Darien's heart sang to see it. Proof that the two were made by Heaven explicitly for each other came in the way they felt just after completion. Buried to the hilt in her, he filled her perfectly, and moreso, her clitoris was in just the right place that he could devote both of his hands to pleasuring her in other ways. He had read that with some women, one of the man's hands had to be busy down there for her to be truly satisfied, but that had never been an issue with Serena. He had never (after the first time) worried about her faking it, pretending to have an orgasm so that he wouldn't feel guilty about not giving to her as much as he was receiving, because it wasn't possible for her to fake it, not with their minds, hearts and souls linked as they were. The one and only time that she'd faked an orgasm had been when they had tried a rear- entry position, a position that they had sworn never to do again. It just didn't suit either of them - not only was the positioning all wrong, but they couldn't hold each other in their arms, savoring the strong arms and fingers holding and caressing their bodies, and more importantly couldn't look at the love and desire written on each other's faces or taste each other's lips. Darien's train of thought was immediately derailed when Serena went into her first orgasm, one which he knew from long experience didn't release her sexual tension entirely but only dropped it back below overload level. The look of sheer pleasure and satisfaction on her face alone was almost enough to send Darien over the edge, but instead he began to redouble his efforts, trying to build her up to a second orgasm before she could fully recover from the first. The only other time he had tried this, the second one had taken him utterly by surprise with its scope and power. As soon as Serena was capable of some form of thought again, she noticed what Darien was doing. Oh God, she thought for a moment, considering ways to ask him to back off, but then she gave in to it. She dug her fingernails into Darien's back and screamed her pleasure to the world. Her world at the moment consisted of the section of bed being wettened by their sweat and her honey, her body, wracked by the wave upon wave of fierce sexual heat flowing through it, and Darien's body, especially the heat and motion of his manhood within her, the strength and tenderness of his hands as they caressed her breasts, back, hair, and his lips as they caressed her brightly flushed and hot face. Some distant part of her mind thought that with all the heat her body was pumping off, she probably at the moment would have attracted a decent heatseeking missile. Serena's world froze, utterly. She was poised at the topmost peak of the world's tallest roller-coaster, felt Darien begin to twitch within her. Darien felt Serena freeze up around him and said good-bye to the control that had kept him going. The world began moving again, and Serena began screaming Darien's name over and over. Every time his body pulsed in response to hers, he whispered her name. Finally, they fell to the bed, lying on top of a huge wet spot in the sheets. She fell asleep quickly with him inside of her, then he gently pulled out and threw away the condom. As she slept, a peaceful feeling fell over Darien. He stroked the sweat-matted hair away from Serena's forehead and whispered, "I told you you'd be getting another shower today, my precious little Meatball-head." Sometime about two in the afternoon, Serena still floating somewhat above the rest of the world, the two made their way over to the temple. Rei, typically, snorted, "About time you got out of bed, you lazybones." Serena simply responded with a half-hearted "Go away, Rei," and hugged Darien's arm tighter. She just didn't feel like letting Rei spoil her mood. An hour later, the girls and Darien were headed toward the mall. Rei wanted a new pair of shoes and Serena and Darien were going for food (of course!). The lovers got Pizza-By-The-Slice, and Rei picked up a beef bowl.* While Rei was standing in line, an overly "friendly" boy decided that she would be an easy date. Serena and Darien spun around in their line just in time to see said boy get booted into the stratosphere.* When the three sat down, they were joined by Lita. "I saw that kick, Rei. Good loft without warming up, go figure." Nearby, a daemon egg hatched and its daemon took possession of a stand of video games. Representative Hino was on his lunch break. He saw his daughter and his heart skipped a beat. "My God," he thought, "She looks exactly like her mother did at her age." A pang for his wife, dead these last twelve years, was quickly suppressed by the Negaversian spirit that had possessed him in his time of grief. The spirit ignored Rei as unimportant. Just as it had these last twelve years, trying to win a position of power to influence Terran politics to make them easier for the Negaverse to take over. Rei saw Representative Hino, and her eyes grew hard and cold. That jerk, how dare he abandon me like that, she thought. She barely anymore thought of her father as "Dad," thinking of him as "My father" when she thought of him at all. Her eccentric, friendly, lecherous, but ultimately loving grandfather was far more of a true father figure to her. Three things happened at once. The Daemon saw Representative Hino and raced over to steal his heart crystal. The youma possessing Rei's father pulled out for self-preservation and Representative Hino fell over, gasping and clutching at his chest. The Daemon extracted his heart crystal. It glowed the white color of a pure heart. Then the mass panic hit and suddenly the three Scouts found themselves alone. Representative Hino managed to gasp, "Rei. . . please save me," before he fell over, dying. Rei saw what was happening and then she saw red. The youma and the daemon looked at each other and then the daemon bit off the youma's head. A rush of new power hit Rei, and she held up her transformation wand. It looked more like the hilt of a rapier than like a pen now. Instinctively she shouted her new transformation words, "Mars. . . CRYSTAL. . . POWER!" Serena shouted, "Moon Cosmic Power!" and became Sailor Moon as Super Sailor Mars's transformation ended. "So that's what Mina meant in the future when she said we'd be that powerful someday!" said Lita. Rei yelled, "BURNING MANDALA!!!" and the rings of flame shot from her hands, scorching the daemon and forcing it to drop the heart crystal. She immediately swooped in on it like an angel and snatched it up from the floor, only to feel the boot of Sailor Uranus step on her hand. She refused to let go. "What are you doing, if that crystal contains the talisman. . ." "FUCK YOUR GODDAMN TALISMAN, YOU BITCH!" roared Rei, fury fueling her rage as she knocked Uranus off of her hand, "I JUST GOT MY FATHER BACK AFTER TWELVE YEARS AND I WILL BE DAMNED IF I LET YOU KILL HIM! You can either fight me for it, or you can let me give it back to him, but be warned that if you take this crystal, neither I nor any of my friends will ever forgive you!" Silver blood splattered Sailor Uranus, and behind her stood Sailor Moon, holding the Heart Moon Wand aimed at the remains of the Daemon. The claws, seeming to be made from shards of a CD, had been about to rip Alex's head from her shoulders. Serena called, "Sailor Uranus, you know in your heart of hearts that to steal the lives of the innocent is wrong. Don't force us to choose between allowing you your mission of finding the talismans and our mission of defending the innocent, because you'll lose." "Lose? Against you children? Don't make me laugh. You're too idealistic, Inner Senshi. But we'll allow you this small victory, seeing as how it's unlikely that this particular heart crystal actually contains a Talisman. Good-bye, Inner Senshi, we'll meet again." The Outers quit the field, leaving the Inners victorious. Rei put her father's heart crystal on his chest, and it sank back into his body. Crying, she transformed back and her arms went around him. "D-d-dad?" she choked, voice halting over the word, so unfamiliar it was for her to be saying it. Liking the sound of it, she said again, "Dad!" He shuddered back to life and hugged his daughter back. "Rei, you saved me," responded the elder Hino, "You're everything I had ever hoped for you to be: strong, brave and as beautiful as your mother was. Please forgive me, I don't know what happened to me, but it will never happen again, I promise. I'm retiring from the public life, honey, and I promise to be a better father for the next sixteen years of your life than I was for the first sixteen." "Dad, nothing would make me happier than to be somebody's daughter again, not just somebody's granddaughter." Father and daughter held each other, crying, on the floor. Serena's arm was around Darien as they watched Rei with her father. "You know what, Muffin?" she asked, her smile blinding in its intense joy, "I think we're going to start to see a whole new side to Rei." "You know what, Meatball-head? I think you're right." Sunday morning dawned gray and rainy, yet Serena wasn't scared. She rolled away from the damp spot underneath her on her bed and wrapped her arms around her Eternal Love. "Good morning, Serena," Darien said, returning her hug. "I wish you didn't have to go home today, Darien. My bed is going to feel so cold and lonely without you here with me in it." She looked out the window, and then at the clock, then out the window again. It was nine A.M. And it was as dark as if it were nine in the evening. She turned on the radio. ". . . And all roads in the Tokyo area are closed as a major tropical storm is headed this way. It is estimated that this storm will linger in the area for up to three days. Anyone without extremely urgent business is urged to stay off the roads. We say once again that the Tokyo area is under extreme weather alert. . ." A huge bolt of lightning split the sky, and Serena braced herself for the rush of fright that was about to flow through her as soon as the thunderclap hit. It hit, all right, and she was scared, but also. . . excited? "Ohmigod, Darien," said Serena, "It's gonna be a huge storm!" "But Serena, I'll be here with you." "Then I have nothing to fear," she replied. "Hold me close, Darien." "How close do you want to get, my love?" "Close enough to need. . . protection." She settled her elegant nude form down on top of his, imagining that she could meld into one being with her beloved. -- Author's Notes: Well, this is my sixth lemon now, and if I may be so bold, I just keep getting better with practice. As always, this one is dedicated to my dear friend, onee-chan and MSTing partner, Sailor Mac, who fights for love, justice and romantic Sailor Moon hentai with her Macintosh. This is also dedicated to my partners for MSTing "Sailor Moon: American Kitsune #10," Michael "Susano" Surbrook and Jamie Jeans. This chapter is also dedicated to Jen Wand and Pandora Waldron, and to the GREAT people of Guardians of Order, the game company responsible for (brace yourself!) THE SAILOR MOON ROLE-PLAYING GAME! Due in gaming stores in August - reserve your copy *NOW.* I mean *NOW.* *: The generic "beef bowl" and the Stratospheric Lech Ejection are staples of Rumiko Takahashi-sama's classic comedy anime "Ranma 1/2" and "Urusei Yatsura." Conventions used without permission, all rights reversed. The characters used within this story are ™ and © 1992-98 inclusive by Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha, Toei and DiC, all rights reserved.