Here's to the Future
A mere seven years ago, Aino Minako became someone other than herself; that is to say that 'someone' also became part of her identity, despite its secret nature. At the age of thirteen she found herself running about Tokyo, crushing on every cute boy near her – then be told that love was never in the cards for her. It became her mission to protect her beloved princess, pure as can be – the sovereign of righteousness, of everything good and of pure intentions. It was Minako's duty to protect this sovereign and it was in Minako's heart to love her for she brightened the path for Minako. A hint of a smile graced her sweet pink lips as she remembered the first time she met Usagi, six years ago…she was a bumbling clumsy sweetheart who'd join her in her wonky escapades.
And now, she was a beautiful woman – soon to be wed to a wonderful man and no other man would be as perfect as he was for Usagi. They were very much in love; star crossed lovers of the past but destiny would never be that cruel to them.
"Ne, Minako – what do you think of this dress?" Twin tails swished to and fro in delight as Usagi called out from the other side of the ivory screen, her silhouette showed her changing into a dress – although the hem itself gave Minako a headache and it worsened as the other blonde walked out of the changing screens. The dress was all kinds of wrong – from the print to the hem, neon flowers splattered all over with a skirt that fanned out to her knees. She wondered whether Mamoru was rubbing off on Usagi, with his exquisite fashion sense and all.
"It's a bit overbearing, don't you think? It's too…floral." Minako answered, pursing her lips as her eyes averted the bright colors of Usagi's dress.
"You think? It's a gift from Mamo-chan.." Usagi asked innocently as she looked down at her dress, trying to figure out what was wrong with the dress. 'Figures' Minako thought.
"Well instead of this dress, how about something simpler. It's a get together with the gang after all." Minako advised, eyeing the powdery pink dress that was lounging on Usagi's chair – that seemed like a better choice than the incandescent explosion that was Usagi's dress and it seemed like Usagi understood too, since she was soon donning the dress Minako eyed, getting her makeup done by the other blonde.
Minako first dabbed the sugary pink lip gloss onto the back of her hand, then onto the lips of Usagi diligently focusing on the moon princess's makeup.
"But you said we're gonna meet some important people today…care to fill me in?"
A ghost of a grin remained on Usagi's lips, her eyes knowing far more than she let on. "Oh you'd recognize them once you see them. Just promise me one thing…"
Kunzite…he was once Kunzite, a protector, a soldier, a general, a king, a lover…and a traitor. Was this a punishment or a blessing to be given a human body once more – not be a spirit sealed within a stone. A body…was it a scarlet letter that would forever remind him of his wrongdoings? Or was this his chance to mend those mistakes, to heal those scars between him and love. It wasn't just him, his comrades were alive too. Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoicite…
Yet he was now Kaneda, Kaneda Miura, living inside the Chiba residence. It was all too difficult to understand – upon the presence of Princess Serenity, he was no longer a dormant spirit within a flimsy pink stone but a living human with the ability to touch, feel, taste, hear, and see. It all had happened within a span of forty-eight hours and Kaneda still didn't understand. He looked to his comrades:
Jun lounged lazily on Mamoru's neat sofa with a bowl of salted Edamame resting atop his stomach as he stared at the screen blankly, occasionally picking up a pod and eating out of it. While his short blonde hair was as neat as the sofa a mere forty eight hours ago – it became a nest of unruly curls and it seemed the man had no intention of fixing it. Kaneda assumed that he didn't think much of all this either, or he was awfully great at hiding his confusion. Remembering the past; Jadeite's carefree nature was rather deceptive – he was a man of passion hidden inside the likeness of a child.
Kaneda's eyes shifted to Noah, yet it'd be strange to watch a sleeping figure. His long brown locks were a thing of envy – though Kaneda did admit his own hair was far better than Noah's by few lightyears or so, but he digressed. He remembered how Noah was the one with the most questions when they were all awakened, a man of curiosity, much like Nephrite. He dared ask the questions that the generals never considered, and the majority were not unnecessary.
Lastly his yes drifted to Satoru, who was hunching over a newspaper – carefully taking in everything inside the paper. Kaneda sat beside him, nudging his already cold coffee towards him.
"Nice pants." He remarked, gesturing to the scruffy jeans that were a bit too big for Satoru; being that he was of a slightly smaller build than the other generals who all fit into Mamoru's clothing.
"Nice sense of style." Satoru deadpanned, not looking up from the newspaper.
"Not me, I swear. Endymion's got killer suits but horrible taste in casual clothing-"
"Looking at how uptight you look, I'm surprised you actually know what casual means."
Kaneda cleared his throat, and took Satoru's cup of cold coffee – moving to the kitchen to pour out the brown liquid. "We'll be meeting them tonight...I don't know how this is going to turn out.."
Satoru was silent, but Kaneda fed on the silence of his comrades for they too anticipated this meeting. And at the same time, feared it.