Sincerity to the Cherry Blossom 11
Disclaimer: You know the routine.
****
Sakura ran to the door when the bell rang three times in a violent rhythm. Her mouth still had a chunk of the cheesecake Tomoyo had bought for her and it was very difficult for the young cherry blossom to chew in a fast motion. The guest would think she had no manners if she spoke with food in her mouth and answered the door altogether. Sakura mumbled an impatient okay as her hand wrapped round the door handle and opened the door to the house.
Touya stood by the doorway, looking down on his sister in a moody stare.
"You took a while. What were you up to?" He peeked inside the kitchen and saw the fridge door widely ajar. Hungry gobbling could be heard behind the door and sounds of 'Yum' or 'this food is great' chanted in a quiet volume. Only one person ate food noisily like that. Kero-chan. Sakura could be seen sweat-dropping as she stood by the door and finishing off her own dessert. Yue startled her when he appeared next to her older brother, his wings letting off glittering sounds in the air.
"Hi Yue. Uh how are you?" Sakura said. Yue revealed his impassive look and didn't smile or say or anything else to his Clow Card Mistress. It was so rare to see him smile like she did. When he was in Yukito's form nine times out of ten he was always smirking to Sakura whenever he saw her around the school grounds and it made her day better than usual. He smiled more than Touya did when they greeted the young girl.
Touya just thought she was being like the usual younger sibling with a bratty personality and that got on Sakura's nerves. It was normal for siblings to argue like that.
"Kaijuu, you've got a visitor," Touya stated, his head nudged to his left, motioning the visitor to step forward and show herself. Sakura peered round the doorway and immediately pulled back in at the sight of the tall height standing in front of her. Her tiny figure ascended till it met the girl's face. It was Kino Makoto, the girl who made cherry cream cakes and cookies for her and Touya after school.
"Cerberus will speak with you later. He's…busy," Yue added to Makoto as she stood outside on the steps. Where was that beast anyway? How would he hide from the public when he was such a big size? Makoto couldn't see him anywhere in the kitchen but guessed he must be the one eating loudly behind the fridge door. Sakura glanced back quickly to her guardian. Did he just mention Kero-chan? If Makoto knew who Yue was then that would also mean…she knew that Sakura was the Clow Cards Mistress.
And she would know about Syaoran's magical powers as well. Did Touya tell her everything? Did Yukito accidentally spill who Sakura was through gossip? Sakura was in a confused trance and didn't know how to utter back to anyone around her. She had to start with the obvious queries.
"Touya, did you explain who I was to Makoto-chan?" She looked at her older brother suspiciously. A long silence meant no as his response. She turned to the other visitor. "Did you, Yue?"
He was standing by the sink, ignoring Kero-chan's loud eating adjacent to the fridge. He too was silent and wouldn't reply to his Mistress' question. Sakura frowned in bewilderment then moved her emerald eyes to the new girl. She could sense this girl had powers. Syaoran would feel her strength too if he was here. But the power felt magical and indeed familiar. It reminded her of the vision she had at school of the female warrior who was later discovered as Sailor Jupiter.
Was this what Sakura was feeling? Was she feeling Sailor Jupiter's power right now, adjoining her sweet, innocent face? Nothing else could feel as powerful as this. Surely it had to be her. Makoto nodded lightly then outstretched her left hand in an offering sign.
"I'll explain everything to you," She assured. Sakura looked at Yue and Touya. The both of them agreeably nodded their heads to her, which was a good enough sign to say she could trust Makoto. She took Makoto's hand and closed the door behind her.
"The park is a good place to talk alone," The cherry blossom suggested.
"Lead the way," Makoto replied, permitting the small brunette haired child to guide her down the Tomoeda street.
****
They sat on the swings quietly, their legs gently moving up and down on the playground ride. Sunset began to appear in the sky and the shadow forming around the penguin slide started to fade out on the ground as the sun turned into a red shade. Makoto and Sakura weren't blinded by what was left of the sunlight because they were far too indulged with looking at their toes rather than the sky.
Makoto thought she would sound ridiculous to a twelve-year old girl when she explained about seeing her in a dream and mentioning how it brought her to Tomoeda out of utter coincidence. It wasn't supposed to be a joke anyway and Sakura in fact didn't find this funny at all. Her face was full of serious expression as she listened to Makoto talk non-stop on how she knew Sakura was the Clow Card Mistress. Mentioning that she was Sailor Jupiter did make the cherry blossom gasp in awe, which was the intended reaction Makoto wanted to hear.
"Syaoran and I thought we were both crazy whenever we saw you in school and sensed something strong," Sakura said and smiled. "I've actually noticed how you and Sailor Jupiter do look the same. I didn't want to jump straight to the conclusion and kept things quiet between my friends."
"Ha, Touya said the exact thing," Makoto replied. "He said I was suspicious – and not for my reputation as the Karate Maniac." Sakura looked at her strangely. Guess she didn't know about *that* role, did she? Makoto thought her second reputation at school wasn't important and advanced further on the limited knowledge she had about the Clow cards. "Just wanna let you know that I'm still Kino Makoto, ok? I'm only Sailor Jupiter when you see me in my green fuku and everything else. Feel free to keep calling me Makoto."
"Did you know Yue was Yukito?" Sakura asked, expecting a sudden jump or a reaction of shock from her friend. Makoto nodded firmly and smiled slightly. She told the cherry blossom she could have fainted in front of Touya and Yue if she wasn't in control of herself but the normal reaction to seeing Yue transform in front of one's eyes was brief gasping and speechless expressions.
She spoke honestly to the Clow Card Mistress and mentioned how it was somewhat of a relief to finally find out why she kept feeling such magical energy from Yukito and noticing how it felt exactly the same as the magic Yue emitted when he was near her. Not only did it feel the same, it WAS Yue all along. Yukito was the disguised form for Yue so that he would be close to Sakura if she needed protection.
"Do you ever wonder why you had this dream, Makoto-chan?" Sakura questioned, slowing down on her swing.
"Yeah a lot," Makoto replied bluntly. "Do you ask yourself the same question about your vision of Sailor Jupiter?" Sakura stated a very clear 'uh-huh'. "My friends, the other Inner Senshi, they still can't find out the reason why I had this dream or find out who's been sending Youmas to Tomoeda. What I do know is that I'm here to do a job."
"And that's to help me, isn't it?" Sakura guessed. Makoto confirmed her answer was spot on. She was beyond impressed with this little girl. So what she was twelve years old and still considered as very young in Makoto's eyes, her brain knew exactly what it thought and what was happening in this world. Not many kids at this age range would give a damn about paranormal things.
They'd be too busy spending their money on computer games or ice cream and having fun at school. Makoto couldn't remember the last time she acted like this at Sakura's age.
Her life changed from turning fourteen after her memories as a Sailor Senshi came back after Luna explained everything to her. She was no longer caring about her reputation as being the karate maniac. The Senshi role proved to be a much better option and she was fighting for good, which was a cooler reason to be using physical force against the enemies.
Sakura took out her Star cards from her shirt pocket and showed them to Makoto embarrassingly. The pink colour on the back of the cards gave out a young yet nostalgic sensation. Pink was a babyish colour.
Sakura had grown used to keeping the cards with her all the time because they would obey her commands and listen to her voice anytime. She held them as if they were extremely precious and were like close friends to her. Makoto never knew if she had magical powers at the age of twelve. It was quite a painstaking task to try and think into the past when she had her present life to live up to, which then would lead to her future where she would grow older.
"Makoto-chan, before um during the the time when I was still changing the Clow cards into Star cards, I found out that Touya had hidden powers too," Sakura stammered, her tone drifted off till it became wordlessly silent. Makoto could suddenly hear what sounded like guilt as well as sadness in the girl's speech. Sakura's chin descended till it bent inside against her throat and her loose chestnut strands covered her cheeks.
"What powers did your brother have?" Makoto helpfully asked for her so she could explain more.
"Touya could see into the spiritual world," She replied. "You know, he used to always suspect Kero-chan was weird when he came into my room. Kero-chan would act as a quiet toy…"
"Wait a minute, who's Kero-chan? You're confusing me here. Do you mean Cerberus?"
"Cerberus is Kero-chan's true form. As Kero-chan he is much smaller and loves to eat food," Sakura tried to laugh from her statement but all that came out was a stiff choke. She returned to the serious topic regarding her brother. She wasn't exactly sure why she decided to bring this up to Makoto. Aside from Cerberus/Kero-chan, Yue, Touya and Syaoran, Sakura had brought this subject up to a fifth party member.
"Sakura, what's the problem with Touya having powers? You should both be happy to have a gift," Makoto wondered then spotted something in her talking. A gift! Wait she remembered telling Touya he must have a gift in suspecting her when she first came to Tomoeda. This explained everything now. "Oh so that's how he thought I was suspicious. Duh why didn't I think of that earlier?"
"Well he uh doesn't have his powers anymore," Sakura edited the last sentence.
Makoto's green irises squinted, "What do you mean? So he didn't use his powers to sense me! Now I'm utterly confused." Sakura seemed to have grown quieter by the next minute and talking to her would most likely become harder for Makoto now. This wasn't a very cheery topic to discuss. That was what Sakura was thinking and so was Makoto. Sakura placed her cards back in her inside pocket and tapped her fingers in a false rhythm on her lap. Something definitely didn't sound right.
"Sakura-chan, is there something else you want to tell me about Touya?" Makoto curiously asked. A teardrop left Sakura's left cheek, which was a good enough indication to Makoto that she was upset and it had something to do with her older brother. She jumped off her swing to bend down in front of Sakura's hunched figure. The sobbing became louder and more tears leaked from her eyes. The last time she spoke about this was with Syaoran and she didn't cry one bit. Now it seemed that she couldn't hold back the ongoing guiltiness.
"It feels like it's my fault Touya was weak for a few days after giving his powers to Yue. He did it save him and to help me. You should have seen him, Makoto-chan he looked so tired and ill whilst Yukito was wide-awake. It was…" Sakura couldn't describe how it was for her to see Touya in bad shape. Makoto used her imagination all right. Touya looking tired and weak…that wasn't too hard to picture.
She could see why it was saddening for his younger sister. If Usagi was in the same condition as Touya it was certain that Makoto and the other Inner Senshi would start getting guilty syndromes possessing their bodies for long time periods even when it wasn't their fault to begin with. Makoto couldn't stand seeing this girl cry and decided to do what any friend would do and that was to hug. So she did. She let Sakura's head bury into her stomach, listening to her sobs continue.
"Sakura, I'm sure Syaoran, Yue, Tomoyo-chan and Cerberus told you it wasn't your fault more than once back then," Makoto encouraged kindly as she stroked Sakura's hair. "You shouldn't have to go through that sad phase again. Touya is back to normal. That's what's important, ok?" The cherry blossom's sobbing died down and she looked up at Makoto, her face filled with red cheeks and red eyes that made her look like a vampire. "You're very lucky to have a caring brother and caring friends. What Touya did was really brave."
"I guess you're right," Sakura sniffed.
"Hmm…you and Syaoran seem very close," Makoto suddenly brought up, watching Sakura blush.
"I care about Sakura with all my heart," Syaoran's voice came in surprisingly. They both looked up to see the Chinese boy observing them behind the penguin slide.
Makoto broke the gentle hug then smiled cheekily at him, saying, "Do you really?"
Syaoran's cheeks became redder than Sakura's. He was speechless. It was obvious that they both loved each other deeply. Makoto thought she had read too many of Minako's romance novels all summer and could memorise the many emotions the two main characters in the story pulled off during their rocky relationship or the development of their love towards each other.
"Syaoran-kun, she really is Sailor Jupiter," Sakura said.
"Well that ends our curiosity game, doesn't it?" He added in relief. "You did remind me of her and it seems everything is clear to us all now. Where did you learn to fight like that?"
"Oh wouldn't you like to know," Makoto commented humorously.
"I want to know," The Chinese boy jumped up impatiently. Makoto was a little surprised in his challenging approach towards her. This wasn't a joke, was it? Was he actually asking to spar with her? The truth is, she didn't want to fight him. Not because he was younger than her. It just wouldn't be worth her time. She had had to be a sympathetic person to a little girl who was depressed about an aspect she had held back to herself.
"You sound like Meilin," Sakura giggled. Syaoran gasped at her insult, which developed an uncontrollable grin from Makoto. He covered his mouth and looked straight past Sakura's head. "Syaoran-kun?" The cherry blossom and Makoto looked behind them to see what he was so shocked about. Was the insult about Meilin very offensive? Sakura didn't mean to make it sound stupid. Then they saw what made Syaoran react out of utter amazement. Sakura's eyes grew larger happily when she saw the other figure coming to see them.
"Meilin-chan!" She exclaimed. The Chinese girl stretched her hands out as Sakura danced around with her joyfully. So this was Meilin, was it? Makoto could tell this girl was a fighter like Syaoran was. Chinese people did have an admiration by other people for their pride in martial arts. That was one reason why she did start learning karate - to experience the same pride and discipline as Chinese martial arts achieved.
"Syaoran, your mother told me everything you said to her on the phone," Meilin cheerily said to her cousin, winking. "I heard my name mentioned just now. What are you guys talking about? Is it about Sailor Jupiter?" Everyone looked at her uncertainly, wondering how to explain their conversation. The three kids turned to Makoto for advice on what to do next.
Meilin saw the tallest girl among the four of them and bowed slowly before introducing herself. "I guess *you* must be Sailor Jupiter from the way everyone's looking at you. According to Syaoran, you sound like an amazing warrior." Syaoran wasn't sure what to respond to her but only gave a courteous smile. Makoto frowned at this Chinese girl. Was she really to be trusted?
"It's okay Makoto-chan, I forgot to tell you that Meilin is our friend. She was a great team player back in the old days," Sakura stated, smiling with Meilin. "She helped me catch some of the Clow cards."
Meilin reminded Makoto of herself actually. Her fists were small for the moment but when she would reach Makoto's age she was going to have a tough pair of hands to use as weapons.
"Do you want me to explain everything from where I learnt fighting to my life as a Sailor Senshi?" Makoto asked the three kids.
"Ha-ha maybe you could go one-on-one with me or Syaoran," Meilin jokingly said. OK Makoto could see why Sakura said Syaoran acted like Meilin a few minutes ago. It was the enthusiasm of learning more from another fighter. Maybe they wanted to rival the Sailor Senshi of Thunder in hand-to-hand combat. Kids these days. They were full of curiosity and nosiness. Makoto started to give them a long story about her life as a Karate Maniac in her first school and her life as a Sailor Senshi over the last five years.
****
"It seems they both have created quite an immediate bond, haven't they?" Yue noticed as he watched the intrigued audience listen to Makoto speak in the playground.
Touya stood next to him, observing the amazing development this new female warrior had made since her arrival in Tomoeda and her first meeting with Sakura. They were both hiding near trees that covered most of the view of the main playground.
"I'm glad my sister is smiling again," Touya said. His eyes mainly focused on Makoto She looks like someone who is wiling to sacrifice anything to help my sister.
Indeed she reminded him of himself. The only difference was that Makoto was Sailor Jupiter, a fighter and protector. Touya was an ordinary boy who didn't have special abilities any longer. Yue was capable of seeing emotions lie on the Kinomoto siblings' faces. He had seen them everyday in Yukito's form. He practically knew when they were happy and what they liked to eat.
"I'm certain Lady Jupiter or Makoto will do her best to keep Sakura safe," Yue mentioned.
"I know she will. Makoto has made my sister happier happier than that brat, Syaoran by making her food and for helping her in the last few days," Touya responded. "It makes me trust her more."
"I feel the same way," Yue agreed She is extraordinary. How I wished I could have known her more back in the Silver Millennium. His feelings were becoming very mysterious since this girl came into this town. How he wished he could understand himself more.
****
A shadow watched upon the four figures speaking to each other in the playground, his eyes observed in true impressiveness and satisfactory. The Thunder Senshi had been doing very well in protecting the Clow Card Mistress from the last Youmas recently. She would have to work harder than ever before if she was going to face the real opponents coming her way very soon.
"Our time is very near, isn't it?" A female voice approached his back.
"In another day, yes," He replied. "You and the rest of the girls will take your revenge out on this Sailor Senshi. She's on her own so it should be easy for you to fight her."
"Master, I cannot thank you enough for bringing us back to life, allowing revenge to be our mission," The female complimented then left her master to stand by himself once again. Let's see how you take on these opponents, Sailor Jupiter He thought playfully.
TBC.
See there was plenty of interaction between Makoto and Sakura. Did it surprise you that I brought Meilin back? I dunno why but when writing that paragraph I just couldn't resist bringing her into this story.
Kimmy- Hmm…there wouldn't be much of a story if Makoto told Sakura on the first page of the story, "Hi I'm Sailor Jupiter and I'm here to protect you," would it? Then it would be the end in less than one chapter, right? I suppose I wanted to spread the plot out by creating some obstacles. Make the characters suspicious for as long as possible XD. From the beginning of the story Sakura has no idea who Makoto really is and assumes she's a friend of Touya's who's good at cooking. She doesn't know she is Sailor Jupiter. When Makoto first saw Sakura in person she couldn't be sure if this was the girl she saw in her dream and she wasn't sure what her personal duty in Tomoeda was - apart from the training course in catering.
Makoto had to be sure from the beginning that she was in the right place with the right person and decided to play safe for now in case she was protecting the wrong person.
The only time Makoto would become Sailor Jupiter would be when trouble comes looking for Sakura. Makoto's role here in this story shows that when there's trouble she's around at the right time because she either knows trouble is around or because fate had given her luck and showed her where trouble was.
I know I've not mentioned this anywhere in the story so I may as well mention it here. Syaoran and Sakura could tell something was up in school and it just happened to be from Makoto. They didn't want to say anything and kept this secret to themselves. Touya has been intrigued by Makoto's mysteriousness all along. He has the look. Come on take a peek at his face when he was keeping his eye on Hiiragizawa Eriol whenever he was with Sakura. He was being suspicious there.
Yue knows Jupiter from the past and more will be explained later when possible in the next chapters on what he knows or feels about her. Yue, Syaoran, Cerberus, Sakura and Syaoran all have powers anyway but Makoto didn't know that yet until Touya. If Sakura told her entire class she had powers, they would certainly freak out, wouldn't they? Only Tomoyo and Syaoran know throughout the whole of the class because Sakura trusts them deeply and they are her real friends. Hope this all makes sense ^_^;;