Thorny Remembrances

Chapter 8

	It wasn't long before Lita had dressed to go out.  It had been 
weeks since she'd slipped out after midnight.  She thought that 
morphing into Sailor Jupiter would have quenched her desire to fight,
but somehow it had only intensified it.
	"Damn," she thought to herself, "what is it I'm looking for?"
	She picked up the leather jacket and poked one of her delicate
fingers through the hole that the knife had left just a few weeks 
prior.  For a moment she thought about undressing and going to bed, 
but she couldn't.  She put on the jacket.
	The air was cold making her walk briskly towards the darker 
side of town.  She turned down the street towards a liquor store. 
It wasn't long before she heard footsteps behind her.  She quickened 
her step.  Whoever was following her, matched her pace.
	She could feel the familiar sting of adrenaline as she ducked 
around a corner.  Lita ran several yards and turned, ready to face 
whoever turned the corner after her.
	A little disappointed and a little relieved Lita dropped her 
guard when Darien rounded the corner.
	"What are you doing out this late?" he asked, still walking 
towards her.
	"Man, you had me going.  It was hard to stay in tonight, after
fighting this afternoon."
	"I told you if you felt like fighting to call me," he replied 
evenly.
	Lita noticed there was something different in Darien's voice.
She'd expected him to admonish her, but his voice held an icy in-
difference.
	"I know, but I thought I'd just go out for a few minutes."
	She began to back up as he was still advancing towards her.
	"Well, here I am Lita.  Fight me."
	Darien began to take longer strides towards her.
	"Oh.  Okay," stammered Lita, trying to get herself ready to 
spar with Darien.  She'd fought him before, as Prince Darien under 
the influence of the evil Queen Beryl.  Somehow, this reminded her
of that fight.
	Lita threw the first several punches.  Darien avoided them 
easily, and then threw one or two of his own.  An undercut picked 
Lita up off the ground.
	She'd thought he would have gone easy on her, but was wrong.
	"C'mon Lita, don't hold back.  I'm not," he said in that same
even voice, a faint smile stealing across his face.
	She caught her breath and came back at him with a kick.  He was
knocked a few feet, but caught his balance.
	Darien ran at Lita.  She dodged his first attack, but was 
thrown against a wall with his second.
	"Stop," she called out.  "Give me a chance to catch my breath."
	"You've felt the rush of winning too often.  What you need is
a good dose of fear.  Losing a fight will help you with that," said 
Darien before coming at her again.
	Lita was afraid.  She didn't understand what was happening.  
She turned and began to run down the alley.  She didn't hear his
footsteps behind her.  Quickly she ducked around another corner and 
transformed into Sailor Jupiter. 
	"Jupiter thunder crash!" she cried as Darien appeared around 
the corner.
	He was thrown across the alley and against a brick wall.
	She didn't wait for him to get up.  Sailor Jupiter leapt onto
a fire escape and began to climb towards the top of a nearby
building.  From the roof she could see the lights of her apartment
high-rise several blocks away.  If she could keep her bearings, then
she could make it back there before he...
	Her thoughts were cut short as a dark cape clad figure appeared
on the ledge of the roof.  The wind blew the cape back. Jupiter 
caught her breath.  She'd expected to see Tuxedo Mask.  But instead 
the wind revealed Prince Darien.  
	"What's going on here?" she asked.
	"Nothing, just trying to help you out," smiled the Prince mis-
chievously.
	She noticed something different about the way Darien moved, the
way he looked.  He began to advance again.
	Sailor Jupiter and Prince Darien exchanged blows, one after 
another on the Tokyo rooftops for what seemed like an hour to Lita.
She was tired and sore.  She wanted to stop, but he just kept fight-
ing.  Her shoulder and chest ached.  She used the last bit of her 
energy to send a final thunderbolt crashing around him, he dodged it 
as easily as he had her first few punches.
	The rooftop began to spin as Jupiter's vision blurred.
She was dangerously close to the edge of the building.  As she fell,
she felt the soft material of Darien's cape wrap around her.

	The phone woke Lita the next morning.  Darien was on the other 
end.
	?I?m meeting Rose tomorrow night at eleven, after work.  That 
shouldn?t affect your plans with Serena,? he informed her.
	?Darien, explain to me what happened last night.?
	?I?I?m not sure. I mean, I remember it.  After you passed out 
from exhaustion I took you home.  You?re not hurt or anything, are 
you??
	?No.  I?m a little sore, but otherwise fine.?
	?Good.  I was worried.?
	Lita thanked him for calling and hung up the phone.  She got 
up and dressed, but kept thinking about the night before.  
	Soon in preparation for her afternoon following 
Rose Mason, her mind turned to the conversation at the coffee shop.  
Rose had said she was a courier for an anonymous electronics 
corporation.  
	?Why anonymous?  Was she carrying confidential documents?  Or 
was it a cover for something else?? she wondered.
	Lita decided to do a little surveillance of her own before 
meeting Serena at four.  She didn?t expect either trip to be 
successful as Rose had a motorcycle and she and Serena were forced 
to rely on public transportation.
	She dressed quickly and took the elevator down to the lobby.
	The bus dropped Lita off in front of the library across from 
Rose?s address.  The old three-story library was directly across the 
street from the newer high-rise apartment.  Lita wondered if they 
might watch Rose?s place from the smaller building.  She dug the 
scrap of paper, on which Ami had written the adress, out of her 
pocket.
	?547?if it faces the street, then maybe we could sit in the 
warm library and watch,? she mused to herself.
	Since Rose would probably be at work or in school, Lita thought
this would be a good time to check out the apartment.  
	It was neither old nor new, and while it wasn?t very fancy, it 
did hold a certain amount of charm.  She took the elevator to the 
fifth floor.  When she exited she immediately recognized the sound of
Rose Mason?s voice in the hallway.  Lita quickly ducked around the 
corner, hoping she hadn?t been seen.
	?You know I don?t like this Rose.  You shouldn?t be doing this 
kind of work,? said a male voice.
	?Well what kind of work should I be doing?  C?mon Kite, you 
know this is the only kind of work I?m suited for,? answered Rose.
	The two stopped in front of the elevators.  Rose pressed the 
button.  Lita peeked around the corner carefully.  Rose was examining
her reflection in the shiny elevator doors.  The young man with her 
moved around behind her.
	?The gun holster is showing from under your coat,? he said 
pulling her jacket down in back.
	?Damn.?  She reached under her coat and adjusted something at 
the small of her back.  ?How?s that now?  What about the knives??
	The young man looked again.
	?You look perfect.?
	?Thanks, Kite,? said Rose as the elevator arrived and the two 
boarded.