Chapter Seventeen: The Verdict’s In!

 

*“Order, order! This court case of Chiba vs. Tsukino will now resume. The jury, I assume, has reached a verdict?” The judge called the trial to order shortly after they had all settled back into their seats. Serena looked around nervously. It was not so much that she was worried about the verdict, no, she had faith in Quatre for that one. She was more concerned because Duo and Ben had yet to return from lunch. However, she knew Duo would never let anything happen to Ben, so she tried to put aside her fears and concentrate on the proceedings.

“Your Honor, we as the jury have made our decision.” A woman stood from the side of the jury box to inform the judge. Hiiro just sat in a nerve-racking state. Of course, on the outside he was cool as a cucumber. He couldn’t drop his Perfect Soldier façade just for this trial. And it wasn’t so much the trial that made him nervous. It was something else. He just felt uneasy, end of story. He couldn’t explain it any better than that. He snuck a quick peak at Serena. He could tell she was anxiously awaiting the return of Ben and Duo, not nervous about the trial.

“We the jury…” ‘Here we go.” Thought Serena and Hiiro in unison. As they thought this, they managed to somehow link hands and draw strength from each other in the tense moment before the verdict.

“We the jury find the defendant, Serena Tsukino, guilty of assaulting Mr. Chiba.” Both Serena  and Hiiro’s jaws dropped in disbelief. The jury was siding against them? “However,” continued the woman. “We believe the assault was committed in an act of pure self defense and nothing more. Therefore we find the defendant, Serena Tsukino, innocent of all charges.”

Serena’s hand flew to her mouth. So she was innocent? Stars! For a minute there she had thought the jury was against her! She would get to keep Ben!

“Also,” the woman juror continued. “We find Mr. Chiba guilty of sexual assault, evasion of child support, and  statutory rape.” This time it was Darien’s jaw that dropped in disbelief. He hadn’t even been counter sued and he was getting the guilty verdict? He looked over towards Serena. He could see her perfect red lips tipped in a gentle and happy smile. Even in the dingy light of the courtroom he could see what a mistake he had made when he had let her go. What a fool he had been to let her get away. And now, here he was, stuck in this God-awful mess because of his own foolishness. 

“Well, then, seeing as how you, Ms. Tsukino, are innocent, all charges Mr. Chiba had charged you with are now dropped. As for yourself Mr. Chiba, if Ms. Tsukino does not wish to press charges, you are free to go. If, however, she does, I will set another court date for your trial. Ms. Tsukino?” Serena leaned over to consult with Quatre for a moment.

“Your Honor, my client would not care to press charges against Mr. Chiba.” Quatre stated.

“Very well. Mr. Chiba, though Ms. Tsukino is not pressing charges against you, for the discomfort you have caused her,  I am hereby awarding her an extra five hundred dollars. Case dismissed.” With that, the judge banged his mallet  down onto his stand and stood to leave the room. Serena stayed sitting while Quatre, Trowa, Wufei and Hiiro all stood.

“Congrats Serena, you won!” Quatre told her enthusiastically.

“Yes woman. I express my happiness at your victory.” Wufei said, slightly put out.

“I’m happy you won Serena.” Trowa said. “Serena?”

“I’m fine. Just in a daze. I won. For the first time ever, I’m free of Darien.” The bliss that shone in the abyss of her sapphire eyes made Hiiro’s heart pump faster than ever. She was so beautiful when she was happy like that.

“Here’s your damn check.” Darien said tartly as he practically threw the little slip of paper at Serena, breaking the silent reverie she had been in.

“Thank you Darien.”

“Yeah right. Just remember. You could have had me.” With that, he leaned over, put his hand behind Serena’s head, and pulled her in for a passionate and bruising kiss. Though she tried to fight it, even after all these years, Darien still made her body react in ways that would make a saint flush bright red. She couldn’t help but kiss back just a little. When Darien broke the kiss, she wiped her mouth and glared at him.

“Deny it all you want Sere, but you want me. Even after all these years, you still want me.”

“Don’t lie to yourself Chiba, denial isn’t just a river.” She told him briskly, picking up her purse and standing.

“Keep telling yourself that Sere. One day you’ll come crawling back to me with that little brat of a child with you. Then what will I say? Well, I might take you in out of pity but I highly doubt that.”

“Momma?” Ben came running in from the doorway, Duo still standing in it.

“Let’s go Ben.” She said sharply as she picked him up and strolled from Darien’s laughing form, head held high. Darien looked from Quatre to Trowa to Wufei and Duo and let his eyes finally rest on Hiiro.

“She’s  not that great in bed, so unless she’s already giving you some, I suggest you dump her.” Hiiro had a wonderful amount of patience. Usually he managed to stay perfectly cool, even with Duo in the room. But that was under normal circumstances. This time Darien had gone too far. Insulting Serena’s claim to innocence was high treason in his book. Hiiro moved up closer to him. Much closer.

“You only describe yourself Darien.” With that, Hiiro let a giant punch wind up and release smack dab in the middle of Darien’s face. His scream was a wonderful sound, almost musical to Hiiro’s ears. He decided he wanted more of that sound. Taking hold of Darien’s shoulders, he pulled Darien in closer to him and whispered in his ear.

“I’m going to hurt you so bad you’ll never be able to have fun with a woman again.” With that, Hiiro kneed Darien in the groin good and hard, this time hearing a solid crunch. He liked that sound even better. Dropping Darien to the floor, Hiiro grabbed his coat off the back of his chair and simply strolled out of the door, followed by four other smirking guys. Darien still lay on the floor, gasping in unimaginable pain.

>>>)(<<<

            “Come on Hiiro. You have to eat something.” Quatre chided him. It had been four days since the trial had ended. It had been four days since Hiiro had beaten the crap out of Darien. It had been four days since he had seen Serena and Ben, and it had been four days since Hiiro had touched one crumb of food. His friends were sure it was just him being stubborn, but he knew what it was. It was his own stomach rejecting the food. It did not want to eat, it felt too queasy at the prospect of never seeing Serena again. The day after the trial had ended he had decided to not go back and visit Serena or Ben ever again.

            Sure, when he had needed help after being in that blown up building it had been ok to think he could possibly have a relationship with her, but now that he was out of her apartment and away from her influence, his mind was functioning properly. It was once again telling him to steer clear of the angel that had helped him, otherwise he would fall in love, and that was something he could not risk. However, deep within his heart and soul, he recognized that he had already betrayed his mind and fallen for her. Very hard.

Yes.  He was going through Serena withdrawal, and nothing anyone could say or do would help him get through it any faster or easier. It physically hurt him knowing he had to stay away from her forever. And it hurt his heart to think about her, which he did constantly and could not stop. So now here he was, stuck with a dying soul and a living body. And still he continued to deny to himself and to all others that he, Hiiro Yui, the Perfect Soldier, had fallen in love.

“Please Hiiro man, you have to eat sometime.” Duo pleaded with him through the door. Still nothing worked. All the guys were getting more and more worried about their friend by the minute. He would eat. He wouldn’t sleep. He wouldn’t leave his room. He hadn’t bathed in four days. This was getting more serious every waking hour. Their buzzer rang and they hoped against all odds that this ring would help to somehow cure a miserable and heartbroken Hiiro. Trowa opened the door to reveal Hilde.

“Hey Trowa!” She exclaimed brightly.

“Hey Hilde. Duo’s in the hall outside Hiiro’s door.”  He told her pointedly.

“That’s nice. So Hiiro’s still in his bedroom, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Perfect. I’ll be right back. Why don’t you get the rest of the guys and go out to dinner or to a movie or something?” She called over her shoulder as she walked back towards the elevator.

“Wait, you’re not going out with Duo?”

“Not tonight!” Was her vague term. All Trowa could do was shrug and go to gather the rest of the guys for whatever movie was playing at the theatre around the block. He had learned over the two years Duo had been dating Hilde that it was better just to comply to her requests instead of questioning. As they were all gathering their coats, Hilde came strolling back in their open apartment door, followed by none other than Serena herself. Each was carrying a medium sized canvas bag.

“Serena?” Quatre said quietly so as not to disturb Hiiro with the name. “What are you doing here?”

“Hilde called me. I heard she needed help cheering one of you up. So which one of you is the depressee?” She grinned whole-heartedly at her comment.

“Hiiro is.” Trowa answered her.

“Yeah. Hilde babe, you’re so smart. We should have called you to tell you to call Serena in the first place.” Duo said, embracing her and kissing her cheek.

“Of course! I always know what to do!” Hilde said jokingly while leaning into Duo even more. “On second thought Trowa, I think maybe Duo’s going to take me out to dinner tonight. I’m sure Serena can handle the Perfect Soldier on her own.”

“What? But I…” Serena stuttered. This was not what she had been expecting.

“Serena, you’ll be fine. And anyway, Hiiro’s going through Serry-withdrawal. It’ll help to see you.” Duo told her.

“Serry-withdrawal?” Serena asked confused. All of them laughed.

“See you later Serena!” They each called as they left her alone in their living room, pondering what they had meant.

“And Tsukino, Yui hasn’t eaten or bathed in four days. Fix him, his room is beginning to smell.” Wufei called as the elevator doors closed on them. Serena could hear the laughter in his voice. Closing her eyes, she breathed in deeply a few times. Well, she had said she would help, and help she would.

Quietly humming, she placed her bags on the large mahogany table in their eating corner and opened them up. Out came bubble bath, soap, and the biggest, warmest, and fluffiest towel she could find. Hilde had suggested bringing them even though it was a guy she would be helping to cheer up. By Wufei’s comment, she now knew why. If Hiiro hadn’t bathed or eaten in four days, he would first off take a bath or shower- no matter what. She also pulled out of the other bag some food, which she intended to prepare for Hiiro. First she ran a bath in the bathroom. She put the bubbles in (though she doubted Hiiro would like them very much). Then she brought the food into their kitchen and began heating the soup in a pot. Into the oven went a tray, and finally she had nothing else to do but confront him.

Wasting no time, Serena moved to the hallway Hilde had indicated the bedrooms would be in, and found the only room with the door shut tightly. Knocking on it gently, she refrained from saying anything as of yet.

“Go. away.” Was the wonderfully sour response she received through the door. That was it. If Hiiro had acted like this the last four days, she could understand why his friends were so worried and tired looking. Well, he wouldn’t get away with it on her watch. Bending over, she checked the lock. Ha! It was just like her old bedroom’s lock. Taking one of the hairpins from her hair, she picked the lock gently. The door swung open easily and she gained her first glimpse into the life of Hiiro Yui. The plain room was a sterile black. The furniture was dark colored wood, and the bed was all in black. The curtains were drawn over the windows and the lights were off. Only the bluish glow of a laptop on the desk lit the room. And Wufei had been right about the smell. What a depressing place to sleep! No wonder Hiiro felt so sad. She found Hiiro was stretched  across bed, fully clothed save for shoes, and that he was holding a gun pointing directly at her head.

“Get out.” He said. Time for her to be bold.

“No.” She replied as darkly as possible. “Hiiro, it’s me, Serena.” He kept his gun pointed at her.

“Leave.”

“No.” She marched up to him and pulled the gun from his grip. Engaging the safety, she tossed it off to some hidden corner of the room. “Hiiro, look at yourself. You’re a mess! You haven’t  showered or shaved in days! Or eaten for that matter! Your friends are worried sick over you and here you are moping about like your feelings are the only ones that matter remotely in this God-forsaken world! Well, frankly, we’ve had it! I’ve had it! You aren’t the only one with feelings you know!”

“Get. Out.” Was all his reply was. He had to stay distant. He couldn’t let her get to him. He couldn’t…

“No. Stop being such a baby and grow up. Now I don’t know what’s made you so depressed all of a sudden, but whatever it is, put it out of your mind! You need to get over it!”

“You don’t know… you don’t know what is killing me? What’s eating my insides? How can you not know? You’re here, you’re there, you’re everywhere! How can you not know?” This time he was trying to stand, but he was swaying too much to look very scary.

“That’s it. Are you drunk on top of it? I thought you were better than that! I thought I could count on you! But you’re no better than Darien or that man in the restaurant!”

“Damnit! I’m not drunk! I don’t drink! And while we’re on the subject, I don’t smoke, I don’t do any drugs, and I put the lid to the toilet seat down! Is that enough? Are you happy now?”

“No! And I won’t be until you mellow out and tell me what’s wrong? And how could I possibly know what’s wrong with you? I’m not everywhere!”

“Leave.” He sat back down and buried his head in his hands. “Just go.”

“That’s it. You pushed my limit Mr. Now you’re going to get it!”  Taking the closest thing to her (which happened to be Hiiro’s alarm clock) she whacked him on the head. He fell with a groan to the floor. Dropping the clock, she picked up his arms and began dragging him to the bathroom. Though it was a chore for her small body and tiny muscles, she somehow managed to get him all the way into the bathroom and up the one step so that he lay next to the bubble filled tub. One push was all it would take. She pushed. He landed with a splash and opened his eyes, fluttering them and gasping for air.

“Serena?” He asked in confusion. How had she possibly done it? She, a little girl, had downed the Perfect Soldier, the man who had trained for a lifetime to be as good as he was. And worse than that, he knew she had downed him in more ways than just this one.

“That’s right. I’m not so nice when I want to be. Now, are you going to tell me what  the deal is, or do I have to grab the scrub brush and wash you the way I washed Ben when he was younger?” She was half smirking and half serious and gentle. He loved it when she was like that. Such an adult form of teasing; laughter hidden within her deep eyes. No. He couldn’t do this again!

“Look. I know you want to help. But you’re only making it worse, so just go.” He told her coldly.

“How? What am I making worse?” She knew she was getting somewhere. She just didn’t have a clue as to where.

“Leave.” He commanded again. He had to be strong.

“Leave? Hmm so he wants me to leave? Fine then. I’ll just get closer.” She said aloud, much like she was talking to herself.

“Huh?” He said.

“You heard me big boy. I’ll just get closer.” Slipping out of her shoes, she placed on leg into the tub. Another soon followed that one leg, and then she was sitting directly across from him in the hot bubble bath.

“What are you…?” He asked her, his voice hoarse. She was winning, he could tell.

“I’m getting closer to you. You see Hiiro, if you won’t tell me what’s wrong, I’ll just have to get closer to you until you do. And if I’m your problem, then you don’t want that to happen, so you’d better talk, because you obviously don’t want me any nearer to you.” She rationalized for him.

“I, I, I, Gods, why are you doing this to me? What did I do to deserve this?” He moaned to himself.

“Deserve what? Hiiro, if I’ve done something so awful, so completely wretched that you don’t want me near you, why can’t you tell me what it is? Am I that bad?”

“No.” Oh yes, she was definitely getting somewhere. He was back to his one word grunt language. It was beginning to become her favorite really, it was.

“Don’t start with the one word answers with me Hiiro. It may work with your friends, but not with me.” He looked up and happened to scan over her body at the same time. Once again dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a tiny pale pink tank top, she looked hilarious. Suddenly he couldn’t remember why he had been so depressed. He must have been upset over something, because here she was, the prettiest woman he had ever met, next to him in a bubble bath, both fully clothed, and she had bubbles on her nose. He couldn’t help it. He couldn’t contain it. He laughed. He laughed good, he laughed long, and he laughed hard. And it felt great.

“What? What? All of a sudden you go from Mr. dark and depressed to Mr. happy-go-lucky? I don’t think so buddy, it doesn’t work like that. What’s going on with you?” She asked, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes. She found he just laughed harder than before.

“You… You’ve got bubbles on your nose!” She reached up to her face, and felt the white fluff. She flushed bright pink.

“So I have. Now will you please tell me what’s bothering you?” She pleaded with him, giving him her best puppy dog look. He stalled for a moment, thinking of what to say.

“You. You were bothering me. You see, I missed you.” He told her quite seriously. Then he broke out laughing again.

“Huh?” She replied. He reached over and pulled her into a sloppy and wet hug. She returned it gently, still stunned at his sudden change in attitude. He pulled back slightly, and looked into her blue eyes. They were filled with worry and concern, all for him. He felt special, blessed, that such a wonderful and caring woman would hold so many emotions for him. Overcome with raging emotions and loneliness, he drew her in closer to him, bringing his lips dangerously close to hers. Just as they brushed against hers, he felt her draw back and pull him into a gentle hug instead. For now he would have to settle for a hug. No more, but certainly no less.

“Do me a favor?” He asked her.

“What?” She asked back skeptically.

“Leave so I can take a proper bath. Without clothes.” She blushed even deeper than before and he winked. She giggled and then laughed heartily.

“Very well then Mr. Yui, I leave you to your bath. And when you come out, you will eat?”

“Sounds great, I’m starving.”

“I’ll bet.” She told him sarcastically.

“I am!” He insisted.

“Well that’s because you were idiotic enough to starve yourself for four days! You’re a growing boy! You need your food!” She exclaimed, standing and reaching for a towel.

“Hey, let’s not forget, I’m a man, not a boy.” He told her sternly.

“Yeah, you’re a man alright. Who could forget?” She replied quietly and more reserved as she walked out the bathroom door, shutting it behind her.*