Disclaimer: This is a quick reminder that I do not own Sailor Moon or any of its characters and have no intention of using them to make a profit. This is purely for entertainment. As a reminder:
Jadeite – Matsuki Daiskue Nephrite – Hoshi Kenji Zoicite – Rittou Yasanori Kunzite – Yagami Riku
-
Sometimes living through the day-to-day is the worst part. You have superpowers to deal with the fantastical and the unusual, but you have nothing special to deal with the mundane problems that everyone must face, and that makes them the hardest ones to solve. – Kunzite, Yagami Riku -x-
Makoto inhales slowly as she descends a large staircase. Looking down, she is wearing a plain green dress that tied around her neck and dropped to her ankles. A trumpet sounds, and from somewhere she hears a man shout, “Announcing her royal highness, the crown princess, the Lady Jovia.” She reaches the bottom of the stairs and takes the arm of the man at the bottom, dressed in military garb.
She has no control of her body or what is happening, she just watches as the events unfold around her. She is lead to the dance floor where she turns to curtsey to her partner. Her eyes finally settled on the face of the man whose arm she had been attached to.
Nephrite.
He bows to her and they start into a basic waltz. Her head is turned as she examines the other women dancing, all of whom seem to have much more intricate dresses than hers. She notices a few familiar faces dancing. Serenity waltzes by in the arms of Endymion, the two totally lost in their lover’s eyes. Then Mina, in a two piece dress – one strip across her breasts and a skirt that stopped right after covering her privates, in the arms of a faceless man in a military suit. Nephrite turns her and she catches a glimpse of Ami, arguing with a man.
Nephrite clears his throat softly and her gaze spins back to him.
“Listen, I know your highness is upset that Terrans will be present on Jovia for the hunt,” he begins, “but we are extremely honoured and have every intention of being respectful of your traditions.” He looks down and catches her eye. “I promise that we have studied your customs and plan to be perfect participants who will in no way interfere with the ceremonies.”
Her jaw drops and she can hear herself speaking, but she hadn’t been thinking the words. “You intend to participate in the sacred annual Jovian hunt?” She pulls back from his arms, stopping the dance. “How dare you!”
People whisper around them, but she barely notices. He smirks in her general direction. “Actually your highness, I intend to be the first Terran winner of the Jovian hunt.”
She feels rage boil up inside of her. A snap of thunder roars outside, and the sound of rain pouring down over the building echoes softly under the music. “No Terran pig will ever win my hunt!” She screams. Suddenly, Rei is at her side, putting a hand on her arm. “Jovia, control yourself.” She mutters under her breath. Her eyes close for a minute and the thunder quiets and the rain slows to a stop. She feels the thunder inside her, the rain as through it is what flows through her veins. “Everything is under control, Martina,” she says, nodding to Rei who nods and turns, walking away. She takes a minute to observe the Martian battle runes drawn on her friend’s arms and legs before her attention turns back to the Terran general grinning in front of her. Curtseying politely, she smiles and leans forward so only Nephrite. “I look forward to embarrassing you at the hunt, my good general. For your sake, I hope you hunt much better than you dance.”
With that, she turns and stalks off.
-x-
Kenji spun around and picked up his phone as it buzzed at him. He put down the book he had been reading (essays on the re-classification of Pluto as a dwarf planet) and checked the caller id.
“Hey Mamoru-kun,” he answered.
“Ken-kun...are you sitting down?”
Kenji’s eyebrows furrowed. “Should I be?”
“I have bad news, I’m afraid.”
“What is it?” He may not be Kunzite, but Kenji considered himself to be rather good in a crisis.
“Nephrite, its Makoto-chan. She’s in the hospital.” Immediately his calm evaporated. He ran out of the apartment without a coat, barely remembering to put shoes on and lock his door as he ran for the subway station.
It didn’t occur to him until later to ask which hospital he should be running to.
-x-
Mamoru slapped a hand to his forehead when he realized that Nephrite would probably tear around Tokyo trying to find Makoto like a madman. He hit the third button on his speed-dial and waited through the ringing noise until Kunzite picked up.
“Moshi-moshi.”
“Riku-kun, it’s Mamoru.”
“Yes, Mamoru-sama?” The reply was automatic, Mamoru knew.
“First, Makoto-chan is in the hospital.” He was trying to keep the panic out of his voice, but he was worried.
“Is Kino-san alright?” The gruff general’s voice asked.
“We don’t know yet. But I called Kenji-kun and told him…”
A soft sigh came over the line. “And he immediately tore off in a panic attack.”
Mamoru half-laughed. “Pretty much.”
“I’ll try to hunt him down and calm him down. Which hospital are you at?”
“Azabu General.” He swallowed. Thank Kami-sama for Kunzite. He could solve any problem.
“And what was second?”
Mamoru’s eyebrows scrunched up. “Hmm?” “You said firstly.”
Mamoru grinned. “Stop calling me Mamoru-sama.”
-x-
Rei woke to the sound of the phone ringing and yawned as she got up, grabbing the receiver. “Moshi-moshi, Hikawa Temple and Shrine,” she yawned into the phone.
“Rei-chan?” The voice came through soft and tentative.
“Usagi-chan? Why are you calling at this hour?”
“Rei-chan, it’s almost noon.” Usagi answered, sounding concerned. Rei’s eyes snapped open, and darted to the clock. 11:23. How could she have slept so late? She didn’t even hear her alarm. She had chores to start and what if there were customers and Phobos and Deimos needed to be fed...
“Rei-chan, I’m at the hospital.”
All of Rei’s thoughts immediately halted. “What happened? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, it’s Mako-chan. She was struck by lightning. We’re at the Azabu General, I’ll meet you inside.” “In forty-five minutes.” Rei hung up the phone and ran to her drawers, ripping clothes out and hastily throwing them on, pausing for a second to wonder why on earth she had fallen asleep naked. It hadn’t been that hot the night before, and she always wore clothes to sleep.
Hearing a loud yawn that certainly did not come from her, Rei spun on her heel, panicking and ready to transform. Her eyes bulged at the sight in front of her. Sitting up on the other side of her bed, with the sheets bunched up at his waist and no shirt on was Jadeite. His hair was tousled and a mess and he had a couple of (and upon seeing these she blushed) bite marks on his chest.
“You were supposed to leave when the rain stopped!” she screamed across the room.
“We were a little distracted if you don’t remember,” he answered, smirking. He stretched and stood up, not caring that he was stark naked.
Rei gasped and looked away, flushing. He chuckled. “Funny, last night you seemed rather enthralled by the sight and now you’re embarrassed.”
“Last night,” she spat the words out, “was a mistake. A colossal mistake. Now I have to go out, so kindly leave, Matsuki-san.” When she turned back to him, he was buttoning his jeans.
He raised an eyebrow when his eyes met her glare. She picked his shirt up off the floor and threw it at him in a huff. He tugged it over his head, slipped his shoes on and marched over to her.
“Say whatever you like, Hino-san,” he hissed the formal name, “but you and I both know that last night was right and neither of us will be surprised when it happens again.”
“It will never happen again!” She snapped back. He ignored her and walked out of the room, leaving the shrine.
She felt tears start to drip down her face as she finished getting dressed. She wiped them away as she ran for the subway.
-x-
Four girls and one man sat in the waiting room. Usagi clenched Mamoru’s hand, Rei glared at the nurses who walked by, Ami was reading and Minako tapped her foot.
All five jumped and looked every time they heard footsteps in the hallway, waiting for a doctor to come tell them they could see Makoto. She hadn’t required surgery, but she was still unconscious.
When two men walked up and stood before them, Ami and Minako’s faces changed to glares that matched Rei’s. “Yagami-san, Hoshi-san, what are you doing here?” Minako asked, standing up to block the path of the two men. “How is she? Can I see her?” Kenji blurted out, looking panicked. Rei’s glare got sharper. “No you can’t see her! How did you even know she’s here?”
“Mamoru-kun called me,” he said. The three girls standing whipped their heads around to glare at Mamoru. Usagi squeezed his hand.
“That was nice of you,” she whispered to her fiancé.
“I’d want someone to call me if it were you,” he answered her. Meeting the glares of the Senshi, he shrugged and answered, “I thought he should know.” Minako turned. “First, she’s unconscious. Second, I don’t think she would want to see you. Third,” she paused and looked at Riku, “what are you doing here then, Yagami-san?”
“I came with Ken-kun and wanted to extend my best wishes for a full and steady recovery to Kino-san.” He answered every bit the diplomat.
Minako swallowed. Exactly like how he had been in the last life.
Rei blinked. It seemed even she could acknowledge the act as noble and acceptable.
“I agree with Minako. No way in hell is seeing Makoto-chan.” Rei folded her arms over her chest.
“I’m not leaving until I see her,” Kenji answered, looking particularly determined. “I’ll get myself admitted as a patient if I have to. I’ll make Riku knock me out.” “Perhaps a compromise, then,” Ami said.
The others turned to face her. “Ami-chan, you can’t be serious...”
“One look at his face, Minako-chan, and anyone can tell he is deadly serious about seeing her. And so I think our only option is to compromise. As Makoto-chan is currently unconscious, we can lobby for her to be allowed one visitor for a very short period of time. She won’t know he was there and he will have the peace of mind of having seen her.” She turned to face the two Shitennou. “Agreed?” “I’ll take whatever I can get,” Kenji nodded. “Agreed,” Riku answered for him.
“I’ll speak to a nurse.” Ami left to find one of Makoto’s nurses. Rei and Minako returned to their seats, clearly not pleased with the results. Riku and Kenji took seats, Riku next to Usagi and Kenji next to Mamoru. Usagi turned to Riku. “How are you, Kunzite-san?” “I’m well, thank you, Usagi-sama, but please call me Riku. And how are you?” He smiled at her. “I’m okay! Worried about Mako-chan but she’ll be fine. And I promise to call you Riku-chan if you’ll call me Usagi-chan.” She answered brightly.
From across the room, Minako huffed, watching their conversation from out of the corner of her eye. So he talks to her does he now...Her foot tapping grew more insistent.
Ami returned and nodded to the group. “The nurse says he can go in for five minutes.”
Kenji sprang up from his seat and then took a moment to compose himself. He ran a hand through his hair and walked stiffly to the door. He opened it quickly and shut it behind him.
His breath caught in his throat as he saw her lying in the hospital bed. She had an IV sticking out of her arm, and a heart monitor beeping softly in the background. His mouth went dry as he followed the beeps for a minute and then exhaled when he realized they were strong, steady beats.
He grabbed a chair and tugged it up next to her bed, sitting down to look at her.
“God, Makoto,” he said.
On the way over, he’d thought of a million things that he had to say to her. He wanted to tell her about how she had to get better because they hadn’t even had a chance to make it right yet and that their souls belong together. Death had separated them once and he’d found his way back to her because there was no other woman that could ever compare to her or complete him the way she did. He didn’t even want to look for another possibility, he knew in every part of his being that there just wasn’t another woman for him. He’d liked her before they got their memories back and now he just felt like there was a hole where she belonged.
But seeing her laying there, the machines beeping along, the words seemed pointless. They were just words. He sighed and squeezed her hand. “I’ll wait as long as I have to, Mako-chan. You come find me whenever you’re ready,” he whispered. As he tugged his hand away, Kenji was surprised to find that he felt a small electric shock. Shrugging it off, he exited her hospital room quietly, noticing he had just surpassed his limit.
“Thank you, Mizuno-san, Hino-san, Aino-san.” He nodded to the three girls before turning to the other side. “Mamoru-sama, Usagi-sama,” he bowed to the two of them.
“Riku-kun?” He asked and the other man nodded, standing as well. He gave a very similar farewell to the group and followed Kenji down the hall.
The three Senshi met each other’s eyes. Rei pursed her lip and Minako finally stopped tapping her foot. Ami stood and walked into Makoto’s room, closing the door behind her.
When Ami opened the door and gestured for the rest to enter, they did so quickly and quietly. The formed a semi-circle around Makoto’s bed, sheltering her. Usagi squeezed Mamoru’s hand for support as Ami clicked a few buttons on her minicomputer.
“She’s going to be fine, right Ami-chan?” Minako asked.
“Should I heal her?” Mamoru asked. Usagi shot him a grateful look.
Ami shook her head. “That’s the weird part. Makoto’s fine.”
“Your definition of fine is scary, Ami-chan.” Rei snarked.
“Rei-chan,” Usagi shushed. Rei glared back. “Mako-chan’s in a damn coma, Usa-chan! That is not fine! That is so very far from fine it’ll need a map and binoculars to get to okay!” She shouted.
Ami cleared her throat. “From what I can tell, she isn’t hurt. On the contrary, actually.”
“What do you mean?” Mina asked.
“Well, oddly she seems to be giving off a small current. In fact,” Ami lifted one hand to touch Makoto’s and jerked it back as she felt a shock. “Just as I thought. She’s actually storing and passing on electricity.”
Usagi, Rei and Minako blinked. “Any theories, Ami-chan?”
“I suspect she’s going through some kind of power surge. Her powers may be advancing or preparing to advance in some way.”
“But why just Mako-chan? We usually all go through a power up around the same time,” Rei commented.
“And it’s usually related to a new threat – oh god, there’s a new threat,” Mina concluded and her face went pale.
“Possibly. I can’t confirm anything. I would recommend we meet with Setsuna-san, though. She likely knows something about this, especially if it has to do with our powers.”
“Alright. I’ll take first shift with Mako-chan.” Mina offered. “Text me when we know when Setsuna-san can meet us.”
“I’ll swing by after my class with magazines and snacks, okay?” Ami offered. Mina nodded and waved them out of the room.
She sat down in the chair next to Makoto and propped her feet up on the rails of her friend’s hospital bed. “So Mako-chan, what do you want to talk about?”
-x-
Hours later and with a wide yawn, large green eyes blinked open slowly to see a tall, sandy haired man looking down at her. He was clutching a bouquet of colourful flowers. She blinked a few times but still had no idea who he was.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” he said, realizing she was awake. “I just...I wanted to bring you these. I’m the one who found you and I wanted to check on you,” he rushed through his explanation. “My name is Chase Abrams,” he introduced himself. She was impressed. For an American, his Japanese was perfect.
“That’s very kind of you, Abrams-san...” she tripped a little over the American last name but he didn’t comment on it.
“Please, call me Chase. How are you feeling? The nurses said you didn’t have a concussion or burns or anything, which is good news.”
“Oh. Uh, that does sound good.” She blushed. “Chase-san, do you know what happened to me? The last thing I remember was walking home from a grocery store.” “Oh! Of course. I guess I should get a nurse. You were hit by lightning, by the way.” Her mouth dropped open to protest – she certainly didn’t feel like she’d been hit by lightning – “And the nurses say you’re making a full recovery and doing really good but you’ve sort of been asleep for the last eighteen hours, give or take.” He scratched the back of his head and sat down in the chair next to her bed.
“I realize this is incredibly forward, Kino-san, but the thing is that you’re so gorgeous and I can’t stop thinking about you and obviously this isn’t a good time because you just got hit by lightning but I’d really like to take you out for coffee,” he rambled, barely stopping to catch his breath. Makoto’s eyebrows shot up when she processed what he had asked her. He was kind of nervous and bumbling but he was good looking and he’d brought nice flowers and he was kind of like her white knight.
Nephrite’s face, unbidden, popped up into her mind. She forced it back down along with any feelings that may have not agreed with this. She squared her chin resolutely and made up her mind.
“I’d love to.”
-x-
When you’ve really be in love with someone, you don’t get over them. You just move on. You’re going to love that person for the rest of your life and there’s nothing you can do except move on and live your life the best you can without them.
–Aino Minako
/|x|
