Standing in front of a small shop in a friendly if slightly run down part of the Azabu district, a brown-haired girl in a forest-green coat and a pink scarf pondered her future.
A decision had been made and kept a secret, and she wasn’t sure when she would tell those that mattered about the change that was to come. Everything would be different from this day onwards. There wouldn’t be any time for a coffee with Usagi on campus, no more study-dates with Ami, and no more notes-passing with Minako in boring lectures. Things with Rei might remain the same, but then the two of them had never been as close as she and the other three had been.
The colour was peeling off at different corners of the shop front, and the windows of the store were so dirty that it was impossible to look in.
Breathing in, she fumbled for her mobile phone and dialled the first number. “Hello Minako, this is Makoto. How are you?... Good, good. Yes, I’m fine. Listen, there is this thing I want to talk to you about and I know that you asked me not to pressure you into leaving you flat,… Yes, I know. But it is important. … It is. Can you meet me near the…Okay. Yes. Okay. Bye.” Not sure whether she was supposed to be worried or angry, she frowned and called the second person on the angst filled list she had made in her mind, but only an answering machine picked up her call. Looking up at the sky, she silently implored the Gods to help her with this, but apparently, no one was listening, because Usagi also didn’t answer her phone. Sighing, she thought that her forgetful friend might have just left it somewhere without remembering that she actually owned a mobile phone. Checking her watch, she concluded that Rei would be occupied with customers at the shrine, mornings were always particularly busy and she wanted the raven-haired girl to be in a good mood when she told her the news and this wasn’t likely to happen if she would rather do something else.
The awning used to be white ground with pink stripes, but sunlight and rain had altered the colours, making it look grey and a colour that might have been called pink. Or it might be called filthy and bleached, but it was a matter of perspective, wasn’t it?
So her secret would have to remain her very own for a little while longer. Pushing her hand in the pocket of her coat, her fingers closed around a cold object, which she then proceeded to pull out. Harsh metal glinted in the cold January sun. It was a small brass key, but its size didn’t give anything away. Its importance was monumental. She had only ever had two dreams in her live: To get married to the man she loved and to run a bakery. After spending countless hours searching for her long lost companion, she decided that she owed herself to make her second dream come true, even if it mattered so much less than the first one did and always would.
Two lonely flower buckets adorned each side of the door, but whatever was growing in it had died a long time ago.
Dropping out of university had been easy. Finding this place even more so. Using her inheritance to buy it was a piece of cake. Strangely enough, she was absolutely certain that running her own business would come naturally to her. The only thing that unsettled her was telling her friends, the ones for whom she went to university in the first place.
Minako would understand. Observant as she was, Makoto had quickly caught on to her friend’s source of distress, even though the name had never been spoken. So if anyone would understand her desire, her need to move away from memories of trees and stars and love and hope, it would be the blonde girl hiding from the world until she regained control of herself. Makoto didn’t need to regain control, for she hadn’t lost it. Missing Nephrite was a part of herself that she had accepted as soon as the memories from the Silver Millennium were restored to her.
But she needed to fill her life with more than the words and theories her second education provided her with, with more than the memories she cherished so much. She needed to give herself another chance at being more than strong Sailor Jupiter, she needed to be Makoto Kino, owner of a little shop that sold cakes and flowers in a slightly run down part of the Azabu district.
Smiling, she pushed the key in the lock and turned it, entering her future.
