Part 3 : Discoveries

Much later that night Makoto stumbled into her apartment and went straight for the bathroom. Her mind raced over the events of the night as she turned on the shower, stripped her cloths, and stepped into the warm spray. As she stood scrubbing her wounds clean and washing the dirt and grime from her body she went over what she could assume to be true.

Experience taught that all vultures came in groups and she had no doubt that she'd meet more of the "Master's" cronies in the future. The five young men in armor were evidently allies of a sort and knew this enemy. However, she felt a tug of caution against them. Could it have been the fact that both Anubis and the five others wore similar armors? Makoto sighed and turned the water to cold.

~@~@~@~@~@~

Later that night before going to bed, Makoto made her way into her front room and sat down on her couch.

"I wonder how I'm going to tell Haruka that the bike she gave me was stolen," she murmured in dread, eyes moving to where she'd hung the painting she'd received from her friends. "Maybe I can hunt the guy down before she gets back."

She chuckled darkly, "Why am I kidding myself. With this new enemy I'm not going to have time."

She ran her undamaged hand over her bandaged arm gently, and thought about how she could return the favor to Anubis the next time they met. All she needed to figure out was how to fight him while he was in the armor. She knew she wouldn't be able to physically hurt him, but if she could get him with her Oak or Dragon attack, she might have a chance.

"I guess all my training is paying off," she mused, thinking of what might have happened if she hadn't continued training.

All the other girls had stopped, even Haruka, but she'd continued training even though she wasn't sure why she did. She figured it was to give her something. After Galaxia, the scouts had all sort of gone apart to their own things. They still kept in touch and occasionally got together, but not like things had been.

The trip to America was one of the rare times the scouts were almost all together since Galaxia's defeat. Makoto moaned silently as she felt her arm begin to throb again.

"I'm definitely going to pay him back." she hissed, holding the arm till the throbbing subsided again.

She glanced around the apartment and then noticed her answering machine's light blinking, indicating that she'd had calls while she was out. She got up after a moment and walked over to the machine before pressing the playback.

"Makoto? This is Ami. We got to Mamoru's safely. Nothing's happened yet and Usagi has been accident free. What's even more impressive is that she Rei and didn't fight once. I think my theory is right about what happened after the incident with Galaxia last year. And guess what else she's done! She made a cake for Darien and it wasn't burnt and tasted perfect. She wouldn't tell us how she learned to make it but I have a theory that involves you. --- I need to go now. Mamoru needs to call someone. --- OH, and Haruka said she's going to be calling you later tonight. Talk to you later, Mako-san!"

Makoto paused the machine with a smile as she wrote down the message.

"Thank you Ami-chan. I needed to hear good things tonight."

With a more pleasant attitude she released the pause button on the machine and waited to hear the next message.

"Mako-chan, this is Haruka. Michiru is having bad premonitions and I've got a bad feeling that something is going to happen. We're keeping an open eye here but please keep an eye on things there too till we can get back. Michiru and I both think you can handle it till we can. We'll call you back in a few days to exchange reports. Goodnight, pretty girl."

Makoto listened to the darker message gravely, "It's going to be some report we exchange..."

She felt her jaw drop at Haruka's last comment and felt a small burning in her cheeks as she paused the machine.

"She knows I don't like it when she does that." she grumbled around a smirk that threatened to appear.

She quickly wrote out the message and released the paused on the machine to hear the next message.

"Makoto. This is Setsuna. I have to warn you that your time is drawing closer. I am glad that you have continued your training, because you'll need it. I should have told you this sooner, but it's no use brooding on the past. The ball I gave you..."

Suddenly the power died in the room and Makoto found herself plunged into darkness.

"Aw man, I though this place had a dependable power box," Makoto groaned moving towards the large window that looked out at the walkway of the apartment.

She found the blinds and pulled them open for some light only to give a surprised yell and stumble away as familiar gray soldiers flew crashed the window. She ducked as a chain swung over her head and she backed up against the wall.

"Oh, the landlady's going to love this," she quipped sarcastically, and flicked her wrist, summoning the green henshin wand.

"Jupiter Cry..." her words generated to a pained cry as a chain wrapped tightly around her right hand and yanked her forward, causing her to loose her wand into the darkness of the room.

She yanked herself free from of the chain, but her wand was no where in sight. She knew she had no time to look for it and her thoughts turned to escaping as she raised the coffee table into the air and slammed it down onto some of the soldiers. They fell down under the unexpected weight and she ran from the room only to see her front door burst open and more soldiers enter. Changing her course, she turned ram down the hall towards her bedroom with her pursuers close behind.

She spared a moment grab her purse off the dresser and then swung open the large door to her balcony. The soldiers began to enter the room and she looked down from the balcony at the pool the lay four stories down.

"I hope this works," she shouted and swung herself over and out into the air.

She sailed through the air a moment and then began to fall downwards, and a small scream flew from her throat, only to be cut off abruptly as she hit the water. She touched the pool bottom with a jar and shot to the surface for a gulp of air. Her thoughts still intent on escaping sent her swimming to the side of the pool where she pulled herself out. Once out she looked up towards her balcony in time to see the soldiers vanishing and a lone armored figure now standing there watching her.

"Anubis," she hissed through clenched teeth.

They stood facing each other a moment and then Anubis disappeared an evil smirk on his face.

~@~@~@~@~@~

"What happened here!?" exclaimed the land lady shouted angrily, looking at the destroyed room that Makoto sat in looking sad.

"Some creeps broke in," answered Makoto, not once looking up from her feet. "In ski masks and everything. I had to jump out the balcony to the pool or they would have killed me."

She put on her best frightened look and glanced up at the older woman. A skill she'd attained after constantly having to lie to avoid being caught after a battle as a Sailor Senshi.

The land lady's hard face almost immediately softened and she embraced Makoto.

"I'm sorry I yelled, Makoto. Don't worry about the damage. It's insured and it's happened before at a place I used to work."

Makoto nodded thankfully and she silently wished she didn't have to deceive the nice woman.

"I can't do much for you right now, Makoto, but I there's a hotel not too far away from here that you can stay the night," said the woman, kindly. "At least what's left of it. It should alright for you to leave since you answered the police's questions."

"Thank you Mrs. Tanigawa," thanked Makoto as she stood to her feet.

The old woman smiled and then left through the broken door where the police were searching for fingerprints. Makoto told them where she'd be and she was even given a ride to the hotel by an officer. She checked in without any problems and as was headed for the elevator when she was met by a young man with blonde hair.

"Allow me," he said courteously, pressing the elevator button.

Makoto's eyes got dreamy a moment but when she thought about the recent events at her apartment and she snapped out of it.

"Business first Baka, then you can ogle guys," she inwardly chastised.

The doors opened and she and the guy got on.

"What floor?" he asked her as the doors slid shut.

"Top floor please," answered Makoto, absently toying with strip of cloth that had come undone from her bandage.

"First thing tomorrow I need to scout around the city. I need to find out more about this new evil so I can give a good report," she thought to herself, "But I'll have to be careful with that Anubis after me."

"What happened?" asked the guy seeing her hand and gently lifting her hand up for a better look.

Makoto looked at him in surprise and stood frozen as he examined her hand and bandages. Then she snapped out of it and tried to pull away her hand.

"An accident at home. I took care of it," she lied and frowned inwardly when he refused to let go.

The guy made a small noise and gently pressed the hand, right where her cut was. She breathed in sharply and closed her eyes as pain shot through her arm.

"You should have had it looked at," said the guy finally releasing her hand. "It's deep enough to need stitches."

Makoto opened her eyes and found herself locked with intense violet eyes. She looked away and gently massaged her left hand. There was a small ping and Makoto was relieved when the doors opened. She immediately stepped out and was annoyed when he followed her. She walked quickly down the hall towards her room until she reached it and then turned to see the young man standing close behind her, gazing at her with curious eyes.

"Could I have breakfast with you in the morning?" he asked softly.

Makoto blushed slightly, but shook her head.

"I'm afraid I can't. I have to get back to my apartment. My land lady will need me to come move my stuff to a new place till the damage is replaced."

She turned and inserted her key into the door.

"Damage?" asked the guy in what sounded like alarm. "What kind of damage."

"Don't worry about it," said Makoto sharply and slipped into her room. "I'm sorry if I sound rude but I need to get some rest. Have a good evening."

She didn't wait for a reply and shut the door, annoyed by the guy's persistence and sat down on the bed in the room.

'Things can't get any worse,' she thought as she laid back on the bed and closed her eyes.

Her hand was hurting again and her arm wasn't doing much better either. She laid quietly over the bed for a while till the pain subsided before sitting up again and grabbing her purse. Inside was the locket from Hotaru and the gift from Setsuna. She withdrew and opened the locket before she turned on the light.

"Thank you Hotaru." she whispered, looking at the two pictures within sadly.

On one side was Hotaru with the outer core and Usagi, each smiling in their own way while on the other side was a picture of the inner core, and Chibi Usa. Makoto wiped away a solitary tear and closed the locket. She missed her friends, but she was glad that they didn't have to worry about fighting a new enemy just yet. She had to protect their happiness for now.

"I'm going to try to delay telling them about this as long as possible. I don't want them to have to go back to fighting when they've all found a normal lifestyle again." she murmured putting on the locket and tucking it into her shirt where she could feel it.

She was about to turn off the light when she knocked over her purse and the round ball from Setsuna rolled out onto the bed and toward the edge. Reacting quickly, Makoto caught it in her hand. For a moment she gazed at, wondering why Setsuna had given her the gift. The small ball was mystery to her, but was apparently of some importance the way Setsuna had been going about it. Abruptly there was a small flash of light and Makoto almost swore it had come from the ball.

"I must be more tired than I thought," she murmured with tired sigh.

She cast a look towards the small clock on the bed stand and found herself chuckling when she saw how late/early it was.

"Get some sleep Baka. It's going to be sunrise before you're asleep at this rate!" she laughed, lightly rapping a knuckle on her head.

Carefully, Makoto removed her shoes and socks and placed the orb on her purse on the bedside table. Next she pulled out the scrunchy in her hair and shook her hair out and placed the band by the purse on the table. This done she slipped under the bed's covers and flicked off the lamp.

~@~@~@~@~@~

Meanwhile down the hall in the room where the young blonde haired man, Seiji Date had gone after Makoto's brush off, a small meeting was now occurring.

"Are you sure it's her?" asked Shin, holding his chin in his hands in contemplation.

"I'm almost positive," answered Seiji with a firm nod of his head. "She had that gash in her hand and her arm was bandaged up too."

"Guess this means I have ta get up early," grumbled Touma. "An' I was lookin' forward to sleepin' in."

Shin chuckled, "Could be worse. You could be fighting Arago's goons right now."

Touma let out a small groan and fell back against the pillows of the bed he sat on, "Don't remind me. I still feel the bruises from fightin' Anubis."

Seiji allowed himself a small smirk as Shin continued to lightly tease Touma a few moments and the cleared his throat to redraw their attention.

"One of us needs to call Ryo and tell him we think we found Jupiter and that we'll try to bring her to Natsuti's tomorrow."

"I'll take care of it," volunteered Shin, while at the same time thwaping Touma with a pillow when his eyes had fluttered shut.

"Shin!" came a muffled exclamation from beneath the pillow, prompting Shin to break into an grin.

Seiji rolled his eyes and looked out the window. When he'd touched that brunette's hand he'd felt how much power she held thanks to his armor of Halo. However, he had also picked up on her pain when he'd pressed her wounds. It had been a cruel tactic, but it had only strengthened his theory that she'd been Sailor Jupiter.

"....Seiji!"

Seiji blinked and looked over to where Shin and Touma sat smirking at him.

"Welcome back," laughed Shin with a knowing smile.

"Were you dreamin' of that girl?" teased Touma.

Both young men chuckled and Seiji found her cheeks burning slightly, "We should really get to sleep. She might choose to leave early so we need to be able to be up and read to intercept her before she can get out of sight."

"You changed the subject," pointed out Shin, not letting the subject drop.

Touma snickered, "Come on, Seiji. Do ya like her?"

Seiji sighed. It was going to be a long night.

~@~@~@~@~@~

Just after six Makoto quietly slipped out of her room and closed the door. True she hadn't slept long, but she still felt some what refreshed. She stretched her arms over her head a moment and then made her way towards the elevator.

"No cute blonde in sight," she thought in relief as she pressed the elevator button and then leaned against the opposite wall.

However, fate wasn't with her and Makoto was dismayed to see a door down the hall open and the said blonde emerge along with two other guys. She groaned inwardly as he faintly smiled and came towards her with his friends.

"Good morning," he greeted, surprising her when he bowed his head politely. "It's good to see you again."

"Yeah. Same here," said Makoto with a weak smile.

She cast a glance towards the elevator, wishing it would hurry up.

"Are you going back to your apartment now?" asked the brunette.

Makoto looked at him with wide eyes, "How..."

"Seiji told us that you said your apartment was damaged," the brunette informed her quickly with a reassuring smile.

"Oh," said Makoto thinking to think of something to say.

She didn't notice the shared look between the three young men.

"Hey!" exclaimed the blue haired youth looking as if he'd just had a sudden inspiration. "Why don't we come help ya move your stuff?"

Makoto felt like her jaw dropped to the ground and had to fight to close her mouth again.

"What?" she asked, feeling like her throat had gone dry.

'Shoot. What am I going to do? Something about them is making me way nervous. Should I let them help and risk some kind of danger, or should I tell them I'm alright?' she thought frantically.

The elevator door chimed open and she quickly got on followed by the young men who were watching her expectantly. She pressed the button for the lobby and turned to the youth's.

"I don't think so," she said at last, shaking her head. "I should be alright on my own."

The brunette frowned in concern, "That wouldn't be a good idea with your arm and hand hurt."

Makoto saw the wisdom in his words, but didn't want to listen to them. Instead she shook her head.

"It'll be alright. No offense."

"Shin's right," said the blonde in disapproval. "Your wounds aren't anywhere healed enough to do moving of any kind."

The doors chimed again and slid open and Makoto started to leave but was blocked by the blonde.

The blue haired boy pressed the button to close the door and Makoto frowned.

"I can take care of it myself. I need to go."

"Look, miss," said the brunette. "We don't want to hurt you or anything. We just want to help you out. Just trust us."

"You can't do things on your own all the time,' said the blonde suddenly.

Makoto looked around at the three young men and the sighed. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to trust them. They were only trying to be nice.

"Alright. You can help out, but I'm not going to be able to give you anything."

"You don't have to," said the blonde.

"All we ask for is that you trust us," agreed the blue haired boy.

The three young men smiled, and Makoto felt herself blush. They looked so cute, but just because she was going to trust them this much didn't mean she couldn't still be cautious. The blue haired boy opened the doors again and the four stepped out into the lobby.

"I am Date, Seiji," said the blonde quite suddenly, giving a small nod with his head.

"I'm Hashiba, Touma," said the blue haired young man, grinning at her.

"My name is Mouri, Shin," said the brunette giving her a surprisingly bashful smile.

Something clicked in Makoto's mind and she felt her cheeks burn.

"Those are three of those guys who helped me a while ago!"

She covered up her surprise with another forced smile, "My name is Kino, Makoto. I hope you don't mind if we stop by a store. I'm going to need to buy some boxes for packing. We can head over to my apartment once I get them."

The three young men nodded and followed Makoto to the counter to return their keys.

~@~@~@~@~@~

"Ya weren't kidding when ya said it was damaged," observed Touma with a small whistle as they entered to trashed apartment.

Makoto sighed and nodded her head, "The creeps. Leave the boxes in the hallway there and make yourselves at home. I'll see if I can get some tea together before I put you guys to work."

Shin watched her vanish into a kitchen and then walked into the room that held the most damage.

"Judging by the looks off the damage I would say that she was lying about this being the work of some thugs in ski masks." said Shin, looking at the cleanly severed lamp on the floor.

"No duh," intoned Touma without malice as he ran a hand over a deep slice in the wall. "This was definitely done by-a blade."

Seiji gently lifted a painting off the floor and found himself gazing at it curiously.

"I'm surprised it wasn't hurt by the fighting," said Touma looking over Seiji's shoulder.

Seiji nodded marveling at the intricate detailed of the painted faces. He recognized the face of Makoto, but he didn't recognize the other young women.

"You know," said Shin, between grunts as he moved a broken coffee table up against a wall. "If she hadn't been attacked again we never would have found her."

"It's amazing she got out of this flee trap," added Touma, abandoning Seiji and the painting to pick up a the remains of a couch cushion.

Feeling that Makoto wouldn't want him to be fooling around with her painting, Seiji found an abandoned nail in the wall and hung it up. He admired it a moment longer before moving to help Shin and Touma clean up some of the glass on the floor.

They had just finished placing the larger pieces of glass in a neat pile on the floor when Makoto entered. She looked around in a surprise a moment and then grinned.

"Not bad for only being in her a fifteen minutes," she praised with a grin and then turned solemn again. "Normally I would have served you tea in here, but considering the current state - Would you mind if we had it in the kitchen? It's much more pleasant in there."

The three young men nodded and Makoto led them back to a small, but neat kitchen. Shin's eyes grew large and round and he smiled broadly.

"This kitchen is spotless!"

Makoto gave him a slightly weird look but smiled, "Thanks... I guess they didn't want anything from my kitchen."

Seiji inwardly quirked an eye brow, "More likely you didn't run back here."

At the same moment Touma absently wondered where she'd learned to fib so well while Shin continued to look at the lovely kitchen in appreciation. Makoto showed them to the table and she quickly poured each of them a glass of tea before sitting down herself. After a moment of silence she took a sip from her glass and watched as the young men slowly raise their cups. Seiji sipped his tea gently and his gaze instantly went to Makoto.

"What type of tea is this?" inquired Shin, beating Seiji to the punch line. "It's wonderful."

Makoto smiled around her cup as she took a second sip and then set it down carefully.

"It's a tea my mother taught me a long time ago. It's a special blend of rose and mint."

Touma shrugged with grin, "I don't know how ta make tea myself - but this rival's Shin's stuff!"

"Your mom must be a wonderful cook." said Shin enthusiastically. "Do you think she could give me the recipe?"

Makoto looked startled and her face paled slightly as she shook her head.

"I'm afraid she can't..." she stopped a moment, trying to word it. ".. both my parents, are, well..."

She coughed and dropped her cup into her lap, spilling the tea all over her pants.

"Damn. Please excuse me a moment," apologized Makoto, blushing deep red.

They watched as Makoto quickly left the room and then Shin found himself pinned by his friend's accusing glares.

"What?" asked Shin in confusion.

Seiji gracefully pointed to the left wall and Shin redirected his eyes to the indicated direction. A certificate from the court hung on the wall next to a picture of a young girl standing between a young woman and man. Makoto Kino was an orphan, and certified by the court to live on her own.

"I wonder how long she's been alone," murmured Shin guiltily.

Touma grew intensely interested in his cup of tea and Seiji looked at his hands which now lay as fists on his lap. No one should be alone.

~@~@~@~@~@~

Makoto leaned against her bedroom wall, ignoring the splintered remains of the door and brushed away a tear.

"Get control of yourself Makoto. Shin was just curious, not trying to be cruel. It's not like he, Touma, or Seiji knew," she whispered.

She stood still a few moments more as her breathing returned to normal and she laughed.

"I really need to relax. I have three cute guys in my kitchen! I can't blow it now!"

She moved slightly from her position against the wall and grew aware of a lump in her left pocket brushing against her leg. Curious, she reached her hand into the pocket and withdrew the marble like ball from her pocket.

"I really need to be more careful!" she chided herself. "I might have broken this if I'd hit it too hard."

Good mood returning she raised the ball up to her face so she could read it's kanji. Abruptly she let out a startled gasp it began to glow a bright white light in her hand.

"What is this?" she exclaimed.

A cold breeze blew into the room, raising dust from the earlier fight of the floor.

"Now I see why Master Arago wanted me to get you so badly."

Makoto closed her hand around the orb protectively as Anubis stepped out of the shadows of the balcony's entrance.

"Get lost Anubis or I'm going to make you pay for all the trouble you've caused me!" she threatened and flicked her wrist, only to remember she'd lost her henshin wand the previous night.

"Lose something, girl?" jeered the warlord. "Could it be this?"

Makoto gasped and took a step forward as he revealed her henshin wand in his armored hand.

"Give that back!" she demanded with a near snarl.

"I don't think I can... unless we do an exchange," said Anubis with a dark chuckle. "How about I give you your precious stick in exchange for the orb."

Makoto's eyes widened and she shook her head, feeling that it was the last thing she should want to do.

"I don't think so!"

Anubis began to laugh and raised the stick towards her. Then with a sickening crack, he snapped the wand in half.

"No!" Makoto screamed, stumbling a step back with large horrified eyes.

Anubis dropped the remains of the wand to the ground and drew his long No Dachi with an evil smile at the stunned senshi.

"Enough of this playing girl. Surrender yourself and the orb!" he demanded, causing Makoto to snap out of her shock..

"No." she hissed, glaring at him with hate filled eyes. "I'll never give up to you."

She felt a warm presence on her forehead a moment before Anubis raised his sword.

"So be it. I will drag you to Master Arago half dead." Anubis swore.

"Black Lightning Slash!"

Makoto managed to stumble out the bedroom door right before the dark blast ripped out of the room behind her, showering her retreat with shards of wood and plaster.

~@~@~@~@~@~

~"NO!"~

Seiji, Shin, and Touma all jumped to their feet as one at the sound of Makoto's heart wrenched cry.

"She sounds like she's in trouble," exclaimed Shin.

Seiji nodded and paled slightly when he heard Anubis's voice shouting his sure kill. Instantly all three young men ran out of the kitchen as Makoto came flying out of her bedroom door, clutching a glowing object in her hands.

"RUN!" she screamed at them as a blast ripped out of the bedroom behind her.

For a moment all three stood watching in horrified awe as Makoto was thrown into the air with a shout and then Seiji ran forward and caught her in his arms. Sub armor instantly appeared on the three young men and Seiji set Makoto down behind them. However, before he turned towards the door he found himself staring at the glowing white symbol of a kanji glowing on Makoto's forehead.

"A Kanji?" he thought in surprise. "Can it be possible..."

Shin and Touma also looked at her in surprise until heavy armored footsteps came into the hallway.

"It is Anubis," exclaimed Touma.

"I though I smelled your ugly stench coming from in there," jibed Shin with a frowning.

"So the whelps have shown up," hissed Anubis, sounding slightly surprised.

They all stood facing each other silently a moment and then Anubis chuckled.

"I guess I'll let you be for now Ronins. However, I'll be back and you and your armors will become Master Arago's!" he promised.

Seiji watched as Anubis seemed to melt into the shadows and vanished. They were quiet a moment and then turned towards the girl who was strangely quiet.

"Makoto are you alri..." started Shin mid turn but stopped abruptly when he came full around.

Seiji looked back to where he'd left her and his eyes widened, "Makoto."

"She's gone!" exclaimed Touma.

Seiji's eyes narrowed at the dark stains on the carpet and he kneeled down to feel the stain. It was damp.

"Wherever she is, we need to find her." said Seiji coolly. "She's wounded."

~@~@~@~@~@~

"What's wrong with me?" she moaned, stumbling down the stairs of the apartment.

Makoto felt as if her head was on fire and her back ached. Darkness threatened to overwhelm her vision and normally stationary objects seemed to spin around her in a wild dance. She reached the last step with a jolt and descended to her knees with a groan, clutching the white orb in her hand as if it was her last link to life.

Her mind was in too much pain to take in the fact that the orb in her hands was now pulsing. ... Pulsing in time to the beating of her heart. Instead, all she could feel was the welcoming embrace of sleep as unconsciousness claimed her battered body.

Name translations of the Ronins, Warlords, Other Characters, and Senshi

Ryo - Ryo Sage - Seiji Rowen - Touma Cye - Shin
Kento - Shu Lita - Makoto Mia - Natsuti Yuli - Jun
White Blaze - Byakuen Kayura - Kayura Cale - Anubis Sekhmet - Naaza
Dais - Rajura Anbus - Shuten Talpa - Arago
Serena - Usagi Amy - Ami Mina - Minako Raye - Rei
Hotaru - Hotaru Michelle - Michiru Trista - Setsuna Amara - Haruka
Darien - Mamoru