PG To Be In The Spotlight Part Five Districts by: Shell Presto Disclaimer: I wish I owned Sailor Moon, but that honor goes to Takeuchi Naoko and a whole slew of companies. On the other hand, I worked hard to write this story, and it is mine, so don't take it. Thank you. Note: You won't recognize the song because I was working with the translation of it. Go to my web page ( http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Bridge/3542/index.htm ) for the original lyrics, my translations, and a link to get an mp3. By the way, I don't own the song, You Are Just My Love, some company does. She skipped towards his apartment, feeling more and more jubilant with every step. "I'm gonna be famous," she mumbled happily to herself through a broud grin. Serena hadn't seen Darien for over a week, but now it was imperitive that they practice, for it was the Saturday of the district competition. However, her week had not been filled with any searching, much to the distress of the girl's feline companion. "Serena," Luna began, "You have to start looking for the other soldiers. We're never going to find the princess if you don't start acting like a responsible warrior!" "Aw, Luna, you worry too much. The princess can wait. As a matter of fact, if I win this contest, she'll probably come to us! I can just see it now, the princess begging for my autograph!" she suggested in a supressed squeal. "Serena! People have been dropping like flies recently, haven't you seen the papers or watched the news!? The Dark Kingdom is sucking the energy out of people and you aren't stopping them!!" "It said they had strokes, for your information! And besides, it's not like we know when they're attacking even if it was..." "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" They heard the scream of a man in a nearby alley. "Well, speak of the devil," Serena muttered. "Will you transform!?" Luna yelled. "Oh yeah." With a quick glance up and down the street she confirmed it was too early in the morning for anyone to be around. "MOON PRISM POWER!" she yelled, and bright pink ribbons of light enveloped her in a flash to reveal Sailor Moon. With all due speed, she dashed into the alley where a monster was standing over a passed out man. Taking a stunning pose and pointing a finger at the monster accusingly, she interjected, "I'll not allow you're evil deeds to continue! For love and justice, I am Sailor Moon, and you're punished!!" She took off like a flash of lightning at the female powerhouse, trying to get in a good kick. Instead, the monster grabber her leg and tossed her into the wall. Serena wailed as she picked herself up. Darien was picking up his books to prepare for Serena's visit when a flash of pain cut through his head like an axe. He didn't have time to secure himself when he fell to his knees, hitting his head off a table, while his mind was shrouded in darkness. She hadn't fought a monster in long while, she wasn't quite sure of what to do. Her tiara had missed twice, and the monster was much faster than her. "Luna, what do I do!?!" the superheroine screeched. "Attack her on the first opening you get!" With that, Luna took a leap at the monster herself, trying to distract it. Luna was tossed towards the sidewalk, out of view. "LUNA!!!!" Sailor Moon went to assist the cat when she felt something behind her. A large hand clutched her neck and threw her into some garbage cans. Sailor Moon didn't have time to recover when the monster smacked her in the back of the head. Only then did she get a chance to begin dodging. The monster was relentless, punching holes through walls while trying to catch the tiring young girl. Just as Serena tripped, a rose flew through the air, landing in front of the monster. "Do it now, Sailor Moon!!" Tuxedo Mask yelled. Quickly, instinctively, Sailor Moon removed her tiara, letting it fly with great cry, "MOON TIARA MAGIC!!!" The monster screamed as it turned to dust, and the girl turned her eyes skyward, to no avail. Her savior was nowhere to be found. "Sailor MOON!!" she heard a female voice call. "Luna! Where are you? Are you hurt!?" the blonde asked, looking around. "I'm fine!" "Then WHY didn't you HELP me!?" Serena fumed as she detransformed. "Because I've got a bit of a problem here!" the cat snapped back. Serena burst out laughing as she saw the feline stuck on the fifth story ledge of a nearby building, with not an unscreened open window to be found. Fifteen minutes later, she was walking to Darien's once again after asking a tenant of the building to open the window for her cat. She was surprised to see Darien coming out of the elevator mere minutes after she had arrived at his door. He didn't look very happy. "Where were you?" she inquired. "Out," he answered brusquely, while sliding his hands over his pockets. "For crying out..." he whispered in aggrivation. "My keys are...." He looked towards his door. Serena stared at him a moment. "Are you okay?" "No, I'm not okay. We're locked out and...." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Always in control, he wouldn't let the stress get to him, although he desperately wanted to know why he would pass out and wake up in the middle of nowhere. He swallowed hard, bringing a hand up to his chin, eyes narrowing in thought. "You have any pins in those meatballs of yours?" Nodding, she handed one over and watched him begin to pick the lock on the door. She watched him intently, his face filled with determination, but looking so cool despite his stress. "Hey," she suddenly gasped. "What's that mark on your head!?" "Nothing," he tersely replied, focusing on the lock. "That's a bruise!" she retorted. "You're hurt. Again." Darien turned the doorknob and they entered. "Sorry I ruined your pin, and it's nothing, I just tripped. I'm fine. Let's practice." They practiced for about an hour when they finally took a break. Darien had calmed down quite a bit, internally, he wasn't simply hiding it anymore. He tossed an apple to Serena and the both sat down in his living room, him on a chair and her on the couch. She leaned foward a bit, trying to think of something to say. "Pretty big apartment," she finally came up with. "Yeah, I'm lucky in that respect," he commented. "So where are your parents?" she asked. Darien grew quiet, unsure of what to say. "Well, they... don't live here." "Oh," She paused. "Well, where do they live?" "Uhm..." He couldn't think of anything to tell her except the truth, something he didn't want many people to know. "Actually, they died," he told her in a low tone. The girl's eyes widened, her mouth fell agape. "Oh, oh Darien, I'm sorry, I didn't..." He smiled weakly. "Ya see, Meatball Head, this's why I don't tell people. It's alright, you don't have to feel sorry for me or anything." "But.." she added sadly. "You don't have parents. When did they..." "I was six." "That's... Do you have any brothers or.." "No." She placed her small hand over his as it rested on the chair. Slightly shocked, he looked at her in confusion. "I'm glad you told me," was all she said. He smiled. After coordinating their outfits, a navy suit and a simple pale pink dress, Darien drove them to the building where they were to perform. This time, it was open to the public. They ended up parking three blocks away; the streets were packed with cars and buses. It seemed as though the entire town wanted to see the show. The house was packed, a huge room with a huge stage, and there were people wall to wall. They took their seats in the special section for contestants and watched the show as it started. It was a bit discouraging. "Everyone's better this time," Darien whispered to Serena. She could feel his hot breath on her neck, a rather diconcerting sensation. It only added to her nervousness. "Yeah," she quietly agreed. "Do you think we stand a chance?" "I don't know." He honestly had no clue, and, for a while, they watched the performers. The blonde girl kept tugging at his mind, however. She distracted him. For once she was absolutely silent, and it bothered him. He'd never felt induced to talk through any show before, but the knowledge that she was near him, only inches away, started to play with his mind. More than anything, he wanted to put his arm around her, get her attention somehow. He frowned. He turned his head slightly to gaze at her from the corner of his eye. She, too, was sneaking glances at him. She couldn't hold back from studying his face. Stern features locked towards the stage, he seemed so above the whole audience. Just then, the last few words of a sentence caught her attention. "Hm?" "I said," he whispered. "What are you going to do if we win this contest anyway? The prize is a three year contract, are you really ready for that? You don't know what we'll have to do." She thought about it a moment, then smiled pensively. "I honestly don't know. I never really thought about it. I'll have lots of money though, and a very glamorous life, and I've always wanted that. I guess I'll just see what happens as I go along." "In it for the money, huh?" he questioned with a bit of sadness. "Fame and fortune, glamour and glitz, that's the life for you?" "So I suppose you've no interest in, say, a fami...." "We're next, let's go," she interposed. Taking the man's hand, she led him into the back room next to the stage. With those thoughts in mind, they sang their hearts out. This time, their performance was nothing short of amazing, both poured every ounce of emotion possible into each lyric. The crowd gave them a standing ovation, one of few that night. That was why, four days later, both were stumped at the lack of a phone call. They met to discuss it at the arcade. "So," Serena asked for the fifth time. "You're sure there wasn't any call, you didn't accidently delete anything on you're machine, did you." "I'm sure. We didn't make it." He wished it wasn't so. The following minutes were awkward, neither knew what to say to the other. Silence sheathed the booth, cutting them off from all other noise. Darien ignored his milkshake, Serena polished off her sundae. Both were massively depressed. She opened her mouth to say something, she didn't know what. His navy eyes perked up, all his attention turned to her in hopes that she could salvage some piece of the partnership. His reaction shocked her, and she closed her mouth, staring at the table. They hadn't even had the chance to become friends over the short period of time. He frowned. What was there left to say? He couldn't ask her out, he simply wasn't in a position to. She turned to him, eyes begging him to say something to give them a chance at a future. He tried to build the nerve. "Do you want to........" his voice trailed off. They both made heart-wrenching faces at one another. One moment they were giddy, thinking they had an idea, the next they wore the most painful expressions known to man. In the end, neither could justify revealing their uncertain feelings. ".... Do you want me to give you a ride home?" Buying them time was the best he could do. In the car, he turned the radio on, but music only made them both uncomfortable. It was turned off, and a dull silence followed them to their destination. She gripped the handle of the door reluctantly, not wanting to leave his car, his presense. "Thanks," she mumbled as she stepped out. "for being in the contest with me." He nodded slowly. "Yeah. I'll... see you around, Serena." she repeated it in her mind, liking the sound of her name coming from his mouth. She walked onto the sidewalk, exchanging one final, heart-breaking glance with him, and then he was gone. In her depression, she refused to do anything for the next week. This included fighting off monsters. Mina Sterling had wowed the audience with her performance. There was no doubting that she could win the contest with her excellent singing. Her lifelong dream of being an idol was finally within her grasp. At least, it was for the short period of time when Sailor Moon had shown up, relieving her of her duties as the Champion of Justice, Sailor V. Now Sailor Moon wasn't fighting, and it was up to Mina to go back to the old ways of sacrificing her life for the good of the general populas. It wasn't fair at all, yet she had no choice. Sadly, she picked up the phone and dialed... "Hi. This is Mina Sterling. I have to drop out of the contest." To be continued... I dunno who came up with the last name Sterling for Mina, but I saw it on a website and liked it, so I used it. Thank you to whoever originally conceived it, it's a wonderful name. Okay, we're just about at the finish. Only one or two more parts to go. Email me! ( mangetsu@email.com ) It's especially important if you want me to make an informed decision on what story to write next. Every comment helps, whether good or bad. Thanks for reading, -Shell Presto ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com