A/N: This is a story I have been planning for quite a while. I keep running into walls on the next chapter of TLTE and Acting Out. This is much easier for me to do currently since I'm working on applying to medical school and can spin out one-shots fairly easily. This story is meant to feature each one of the senshi (maybe Tuxie and Sailor Moon, not sure yet). It's like a snapshot of them at some point in time, an in-depth look at their character. I really hope you enjoy this, and I will be back to my regular stories soon. Thank you for your patience, thank you for reading my work, and please respond if you enjoy it or have any criticisms or even complaints.
Serenity-hime
The Color of a Warrior – Emerald
Makoto sat down on an old oak bench, stretching lazily. She sat her bag full of groceries down carefully on the ground beside her feet. The day was beautiful, despite the fact that it was overcast and threatening to rain. The weatherman had been calling for it all week – maybe today he would actually be right for once. Makoto chuckled to herself as she looked out over the roses in the park, hoping there would be a little rain after all for her thirsty plants. She reached forward and plucked a small yellow rose, smelling its sweet scent.
A sudden breeze picked up and she smiled, feeling the wind sighing through her as she listened to the trees creaking, leaves rustling in their own language. Oh yes, the rain is coming, and the storm will be hard. That made her think of Usagi, who had always been scared of the thunder. Another chuckle escaped as she thought about it – Usagi had been scared of her too at first, yet she had braved her fears and stepped forward just the same. What a miracle it was to have found such good friends in this place.
She leaned forward to rustle through her bag, thinking about making chicken dumplings from scratch for dinner tonight and maybe inviting the girls over, when the scent of roses drifted towards her on a breeze. She looked up to see a rose bush with brilliant pink roses flowering on it a few feet off, almost seeming to glow in the gloominess of the cloudy day. Above the roses she saw him, walking arm-in-arm with some girl she didn't know. Her heart clenched, and the first drops of rain pattered down.
It barely occurred to her to grab her bag as she stood, her legs urging her to bolt as her chest tightened and the rain began to fall. Instead she felt rooted to the spot, watching as the girl squealed and giggled, and the two of them ran off to stay dry as his laughter rung out across the park. It wasn't until they were gone and she felt the stinging in her eyes that she even realized the tears were there.
He had broken her heart. She had done everything to keep him in her life – she had worn the dainty clothes, even learned how to do her own makeup, she had done every bit that he wanted to try to become the demure, delicate woman he wanted. No matter how she had tried she hadn't been able to be that woman – the stubbornness and independence had shown through, the awkward elbows and knees that came with being so tall in a world of shorter girls sticking out, the frizzy hair constantly popping out of the little buns and delicate twists. He turned her away, telling her she would never change, that they wouldn't work. She wasn't good enough for him, and he could easily find someone who was. Evidently he had.
The sadness drained out of her, slowly being replaced by anger. Lightning crackled off in the distance. He looked happy, so content with his new girlfriend. How dare he treat her like that? He had no right! She had agonized over him for weeks, crying when no one could see. She was so much better than that, and he had made her feel so weak. Her hand clenched into a fist as the rain fell down around her, fire burning deep inside her at the thought of being weak, especially because of him. In her world, weakness was never an option. She looked up to where he had disappeared, hair plastered to her face now, and suddenly a voice echoed in her head. Do you really think that? Do you really want him to be unhappy just because he hurt you? It's just time to move on, time to pick up the pieces. She looked down in her hand to see the crushed remnants of the rose, and her face softened. Usagi flashed through her mind again. If there were no weakness in this world, there would be nothing to protect, nothing to save. Nothing to fight for.
Her eyes fell closed as she tilted her head back to let the rain stream down her face. It was cleansing, like taking a long shower after a hard fight. The anger and aggression faded out of her, and a sense of peace was creeping in. Her eyes opened in time to see lightning crackle above her, thunder rolling out across the park. She was so much stronger now, had so much to live and fight for. Gone was the sad, lonely girl who didn't know how to fight for herself, how to stand up and carry on when the world had stopped. She had been replaced with a strong, confident woman, a woman who was better off without jerks like him in her life.
It was really him who taught you to be strong; it was really him who showed you how to fight against the storm. Makoto laughed to herself, picked up her soggy bag of groceries and started walking towards her apartment with a cheery smile on her face, already unconsciously toting up what she would need for those dumplings. No, he tried to fight the storm, but you can't fight it. You cannot contain the lightning; you cannot hold back the thunder. He taught me to ride the lightning, and I'm a better person for it.