Sincerity to the Cherry Blossom 12
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.
AN: Oops I just realized I forgot to write something at the end of the last chapter. What I wanted to say was this – Makoto didn't know Yue, Cerberus, Sakura or Syaoran had powers until Touya sort of forced her to confess who she really was and when Yue came to see them.
****
Seeing Cerberus as a little creature rather than in its huger furrier form was a brief difficulty for Makoto to get rid of while she sat with Sakura, Syaoran, Touya, Yukito and Meilin in the living room. Tomoyo came five minutes ago after Sakura called her up to tell her Meilin was here to visit in Tomoeda. Like the cherry blossom, she was also thrilled to see another old face again. How fitting it was to see the old gang reuniting together in one house. Sakura thought it was like a dream come true that everyone close to her were holding each others hands in a circle. It was picture perfect.
"Kero-chan, this is the last cake you're going to eat!" Sakura bossily yelled at her guardian beast. Kero-chan ignored the crumbs spreading over his face as he scoffed the food in his mouth. Touya, Yukito and Makoto were the only ones frowning among the group. Why did Kero-chan have a big appetite? It was really out of character for a guardian beast that was supposed to possess magical powers in its true form.
"You do realize you're spilling crumbs on my clothes, don't you?" Meilin angrily pointed out, showing the mess on her black pleated skirt. Kero-chan gave a snide 'humph' to the Chinese girl. So what if Syaoran's 'girlfriend' was back. She was just as easy to annoy than her cousin.
"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't know," Kero-chan replied. "What brings you back to Tomoeda? I hope it isn't to wind Sakura up or be better than her."
"Keep your stupid comments to yourself, you stuffed toy!" Meilin shrieked and shook her fists warningly. Kero-chan growled and stuck his tongue out to her. Syaoran groaned at him, defending Meilin.
"Come on, Kero-chan, Meilin isn't like she used to be. She's become a lot nicer. Ask Makoto-chan. She thought she was nice when she first met her. Right?" Sakura gave a hopeful stare at the tall brunette sitting next to Touya. What the heck was she supposed to say? She only spoke to Meilin for about half an hour. Well she was nice Makoto guessed. Maybe she could just show her generous manners and make Sakura happy. Jade eyes turned to the two boys sitting on the same couch as her. Couldn't Touya and Yukito help out?
"Uh…yeah Meilin was friendly. We spoke for a long time in the playground," Makoto said. "Honest!" That was the truth, wasn't it? What would Kero-chan know? He wasn't there when Meilin and Syaoran came by to see Makoto and Sakura talking. Kero-chan raised one eyebrow as he looked back at Meilin and Syaoran, who were both angrier with him than before.
"Hmm…I'll let you off because I believe what Sailor Jupiter says," He replied sneakily. This argument reminded Makoto of Rei and Usagi's squabbling back in the earlier school years. Yeah they still argued but it wasn't on anything stupid or unimportant. Makoto didn't want to get involved in another disagreement.
"Guys, take it easy, ok? Just be friends," Makoto innocently smiled. "Because if you don't...." The smile left her and a deeply serious façade replaced her expressions. A warning finger rose to the air. "You've seen what I can do. Don't tempt me." The last three words were enough to give them a warning. Meilin didn't have to see the worrying look on Syaoran's face to promptly agree with him. Makoto saw Yukito and Touya smile enjoyably at her acting and she joined along with the happy faces club.
Kero-chan nodded acceptably and said, "I respect your words, Lady Jupiter."
"Uh again! Sailor Jupiter, Mako-chan or Makoto is fine by me, ok?" Makoto insisted embarrassingly at the royalty she was being given. Along with Yue, Kero-chan told her he did remember seeing Makoto and the other Inner Senshi in the Silver Millennium. He thought each one of them was full of bravery and individual strength as well as skilled talents. He, Yue and Clow Reed could see the Sailor Senshi were protective of their princess and were exceptional bodyguards to her. In secret Yue and Cerberus both thought Sailor Jupiter was the one who had the utmost willingness to protect Princess Serenity, along with her physically powerful fighting ability. She was one of the rare Senshi to actually give up an ongoing fight even when battered. She could take a lot more pain than most people could.
Although Princess Serenity had the vision of a goddess, Jupiter was someone who had the appearance of an Amazonian warrior in Greek mythology. Yue had never seen a female with this physique before. He thought it was a rare sight of beauty. Sailor Jupiter or Makoto didn't have the looks of an arrogant warrior who constantly went past people to show off the different abilities that normal humans wouldn't have. She was too kind and protective to even do that sort of rubbish. Was that what fascinated Yue?
"Yukito-kun, are you okay?" Touya asked his quiet best friend. Yukito rubbed his eyes behind his glasses and smiled as his way of saying yes. Inside the exterior form Yue was still watching Makoto as she happily laughed with Sakura and her friends. He loved seeing how her green orbs blended in with her charming laugh. They didn't squint idiotically or lose its huge shape; they kept on staying as they were. Makoto's eyes reminded him of Sakura's innocent emerald irises. And her laugh was almost identical to the Clow Mistress'.
"I better get going," Yukito said, standing up. Touya and Makoto followed him to the door.
"Yukito, you won't tell anyone that I'm you know who, won't you?" Makoto laughed shyly. The boy with glasses couldn't quite understand what she meant. Who was she? He didn't know yet – unless the other being inside him had some ideas. "Oh sorry! I just thought you already um…"
"Oh it's okay, Makoto. I'm sure what Yue will tell me is clear enough. Whatever your secret is, I'm certain to keep it from everyone else in school," Yukito understood secrecy as if he were a mathematical genius. Makoto thankfully nodded to him before he left to walk down the street.
"Well guess it's my turn to go," She decided and grabbed her shoes from outside the doorway. Her head turned to Touya. "See you at school tomorrow." Touya nodded, leaving the door ajar for her to exit. Suddenly Meilin quickly approached her, grabbing onto her hand. What was this?
"Makoto, please come to Syaoran's house with us. Please? You should have dinner with us and then we can do some real sparring!" Meilin glanced back at Syaoran. "What do you think, Syaoran?" The Chinese boy blushed furiously, which humoured Sakura and Tomoyo. He didn't expect his cousin to be told every word he had said to his mother on the phone and then say them out loud to Makoto herself. Sure he did mean all the compliments he said about Makoto's fighting as a Sailor Senshi but Meilin was embarrassing him way too much and he couldn't take it.
Understanding the boy's nervousness, Makoto stated, "Syaoran if you don't want me to come that's okay."
"Come!" Syaoran burst out in a fierce stammer, much to the surprise of everyone. "Sakura and Tomoyo can come too. Um Wei is making fresh Won Ton tonight. You might like it." Makoto exchanged amazed glances to Tomoyo and Sakura. So the decision was finally made then. Everyone got themselves ready, putting on their shoes and coats and stepping outside into the evening air. It had to be dinnertime now. The smell of various foods spread across the houses in the same street as the Kinomoto residence and it affected everyone's stomach.
Makoto wasn't sure what got her into this. She didn't think she had personal fans. Meilin was definitely showing she wanted to know so much about her martial arts whilst Syaoran was too shy to admit what he said on admiring her strength (and beauty too). Boys were like that, weren't they? Touya called Makoto's name by the doorway as he watched the other kids walk on together. She turned around, her face glowing in the night sky like a white statue in middle of the town.
"Watch her for me, ok?" Touya pleaded. The Thunder Senshi smiled affirmatively to him. It had been less than a week and already she felt close to Sakura and her older brother. What were the chances of making fast friends? It wasn't easy to make friends in a matter of seconds. You had to get to know the person for months to realize he or she was a true friend of yours. Makoto could tell there was a separate bond developing between Sakura, herself and Touya. She ascended up the stairs again towards Touya, her face raised to level his eyes.
"You can count on me, Touya-kun," She insisted, reaching for his left palm and holding it firmly between both her hands as though pressing a slice of ham in a sandwich. Touya held back a shocked gasp when she did this. The longhaired brunette let her hands go and jumped down the steps rapidly.
"Well, she is something, isn't she?" Kero-chan flew by Touya's shoulder. Having his hand held like that made Touya feel something towards Makoto. Yeah it did feel like love…but it wasn't exactly romantic. It was something else he couldn't work out yet.
"Yeah…she is an amazing girl," Touya replied distantly.
****
Syaoran, Sakura, Meilin, Tomoyo and Makoto giggled as they ate the hot Won Ton pieces on the balcony. They could easily see the steam from their bowls travel past the moonlight and clouds as well as the lovely smell the Won Ton diffused. Meilin's Won Ton pieces kept dropping from her chopsticks carelessly, giving her a hard time. Syaoran told her to poke right into the meat to get a better hold on the food and then chew it slowly. Tomoyo and Sakura thought it was nice to have Chinese food for a change rather than the usual Japanese dishes they had in Tomoeda.
Sakura loved eating Chinese and Japanese cuisine. She knew Kero-chan would like Won Ton undoubtedly. He'd probably eat the entire bowl in the kitchen.
"How's the food? Do you like it?" Syaoran asked the three guests.
"We love it, Syaoran-kun," Tomoyo replied gladly. Sakura gave out a loud 'Mmm' remark.
"Well you have to thank me because I brought the food all the way from Hong Kong," Meilin explained, grinning in a slightly showing off attitude. "Wei is being a nice man by boiling the food for us to eat and serving it to us."
"We have to thank you and Wei for the food AND thank Syaoran for inviting us," Makoto added. Syaoran bowed his head down to hide his timidity from the other four girls.
"I'll take the bowls back in." Sakura took everyone's bowl and placed them on the tray that came with the food. Syaoran moved forward to take the tray of used bowls but the cherry blossom refused his help, telling him to sit down while she returned everything to Wei. "It's okay, Syaoran-kun. You stay here and relax." With the assistance of Tomoyo opening the door, she disappeared into the apartment. Meilin followed the two friends inside to get drinks for everyone. It was tempting to go inside as well as the supper was over but Makoto couldn't help noticing Syaoran sitting red-faced on his chair by the left corner of the balcony. Meilin was his cousin yet thought the boy meant more than just a relation to him. She could tell the girl was a previous rival to Sakura. Her sneaky grin did show earlier signs of rivalry and it must have given Syaoran a hard time when his cousin was around. Perhaps she didn't want Sakura to be as close to Syaoran as she was.
Makoto liked watching the four friends have fun together. She hadn't had this much fun in a long time. All her friends were in Juuban and aside from these four, Yukito and Touya were considered her friends as well. She was glad to have known them on the first day here. Not only were they friendly but also they were all connected to the person she was supposed to protect. It made her life more warming and comfortable because she was able to get to know Sakura's close friends and relatives. Syaoran interrupted her joyful daydream by starting a conversation.
"Makoto, sorry about Meilin. I normally don't stick with her when she tries to embarrass me," He apologetically began.
"She's a sweet girl," Makoto responded cheerfully. "It just shows that someone um…admires me. Haven't felt that for a while."
"I had no idea she'd come to Japan," Syaoran admitted honestly. "It wouldn't be easy for her to fight this strange thing going on. She doesn't have powers like Sakura-chan and I do. She's…"
"…Normal," Makoto finished for him. "Well I'm normal in this form too you know. Unless I transform, only then would I possess electrical magic. I can tell you're worried about your cousin - just like you worry about Sakura." The Chinese boy flinched at the mention of Sakura's name. Was Makoto telling the truth? Meilin may have embarrassed him over the past but did he really care about her anyway? "You don't have to be shy on how you feel towards them both, Syaoran-kun. It proves you're a smart boy." She patted his shoulder in a friendly gesture then walked over to the other side of the balcony, looking at the other tall buildings standing above the ground in the night. Seeing the town in this view made Makoto feel protective and powerful among the people because she knew trouble would come any time soon and she would have to be ready to fight.
"I wonder why fate chose you to be a new guardian for Sakura," Syaoran commented. Makoto's head glanced in his direction at this statement. He REALLY was smart. "You seem close to her whether you're in your fuku or not."
"Yeah I know," She agreed. "What makes me curious is who is starting all this. Is this a new destiny for me? Who would make me do this protecting job? Surely it's not God. Geez I'm in confusion. I'm not the best thinker." Her ponytail covered her face as she looked over the balcony. Her confusion zoomed off into the air when she saw something crawling its way on the streets, scaring people passing by.
Makoto stood back behind the door and wondered what the hell was going on. Was this the latest Youma for tonight? Someone was messing with nature here and doing a damn good job of it. Sakura, Tomoyo and Meilin came back to the balcony and looked down to see where the noise was coming from.
"What is it?" Sakura asked. Makoto wasn't able to explain as she speeded her way down the stairs to the bottom floor. Syaoran, Tomoyo, Sakura and Meilin followed her lead, knowing this was definitely trouble. It was possible that they were facing another live tree or something that was originally part of forest nature. When they reached the bottom, Makoto ran outside to the middle of the road and couldn't believe there were various flying branches all over the place.
It was hard to see where the source of this gigantic plant was. At least five branches were spreading across the town and it was scaring the hell out of the publicans. Makoto looked at the moving branches carefully from a distance with her friends. The plant parts looked familiar to her but she couldn't tell where she remembered seeing them from. Who was it that was controlling these so-called trees?
The four observers gasped at the bright electricity forming around Makoto as she transformed into Sailor Jupiter. The power had begun to surge into her and she ready to battle the enemy.
"Wow, so this is what Sailor Jupiter really looks like," Meilin was in awe. "Awesome."
"I agree," Sakura added. "Let's get ready." Her star wand came into its true form and Syaoran's sword drew into action. Sailor Jupiter took her eyes off the moving plants and looked down at the four eager kids raring to aid her.
"Stay back for now. Only help when I'm down, ok? I have to see who this is first," Jupiter suggested. Meilin was about to protest but Jupiter shook her head. "This may too dangerous. Stay together and remember what I said." Her feet took off to the other side of the street, approaching the moving branches that wouldn't stop terrorizing. She waved her arms to grab their attention. All the moving branches stopped moving then turned to her. Good, she could drive them away from the public.
Something appeared in a flash in front of Jupiter's eyes and someone seemed to be restrained by the thick leaves around his waist. Could it be…? But it was though. Whoever this opponent was he, she or it had taken Touya by force and he was unconscious in the bonds. Oh god, Touya! Jupiter thought shockingly. Why did enemies do this? Taking personal things from you was just so unfair.
Jupiter didn't have to look back when she heard the others screaming in fear as they too saw Touya in the chains of branches. Sakura ran past her to get to her older brother. Dammit what was the girl thinking? She should have listened to what Jupiter told her.
"SAKURA, DON'T!" Jupiter screamed. Sakura wasn't able to escape the incoming branch moving towards her. It grabbed her by the waist and lifted her high into the air. The other branches suddenly vanished from Jupiter's eyes and went deep into the ground. Where the hell were they travelling to next? Oh no! There were other vulnerable people. She called Sakura's friends to get away. Her voice only reached them a second late as the other branches caught Syaoran, Meilin and Tomoyo as well.
Everyone's necks were in tight wraps and they weren't able to breathe or move underneath their wrapped states. What the hell do I do now? Who's doing this? Jupiter thought anxiously. Out of nowhere other objects moved from beneath the road. It somehow was linked to the branches holding the victims and Jupiter worked out that the branches were part of the arms of some classic enemies in her Sailor Senshi past.
"Damn them Doom & Gloom girls!" Jupiter cursed. Those weird females were able to spread their plant-like tentacles in this way. Jupiter knew she recognised these parts from somewhere. It was coming back to her now. Why did those ugly bitches have to return? Who was stupid enough to revive them from their deaths? All five Doom & Gloom girls showed themselves onto the surface and the leader had a smug face as she held Touya and Sakura in her arms, entwining them between the thick branches.
"We meet again," The leader said. Jupiter knew she could really use some help here. What about the other Inner Senshi? They could help her. All she needed was her communicator. She tried to find it in her back pocket of her fuku but the Doom and Gloom leader knew exactly what she intended to do. "Don't even think about calling your friends. Revenge will be taken out on you!"
Lucky me Jupiter swore silently then let her arms by her side. She wasn't sure what to do next. It seemed her job was going to be a failure. She let the enemy have Sakura and her friends. Even Touya. Five girls against one wouldn't be equal.
"You may as well give yourself up," The second girl said then threw one of her tentacles to Jupiter who dodged it in time by a somersault. "Stand still!" More flying branches came at the Thunder Senshi and it was getting more harder to lift her body up each time to evade the attacks. The next strike caught Jupiter's arm and in the next minute her body was pulled up towards the second Doom and Gloom girl, who said, "Big mistake to let yourself be caught."
"Actually, it was a good mistake." Jupiter was glad the grip around her arm was loose enough to escape from and she was able to fight back against the Doom and Gloom girl with a smash to the face and then an elbow to the chin. She forced her opponent to the ground, using her as a safe landing object and jumped off as soon as the second Doom & Gloom girl hit the concrete headfirst then went into unconsciousness.
The fourth Doom and gloom girl let out a sudden gasp when a blaze of fire zoomed past her face and she released Tomoyo and Meilin. Miraculously Cerberus came to the rescue and caught them as he flew up and landed on all feet. Jupiter couldn't have been more relieved by his good timing. Syaoran managed to lift his sword and cut the third Doom and Gloom girl's branches to free himself, his body dropping at fast speed. He used Wind magic to bring him down to the ground slowly.
"Who are these monsters?" Syaoran questioned as he ran over to Jupiter.
"Old enemies," She replied immediately. "They're the reason I died."
"What do you mean? Did they kill you?" The Chinese boy exclaimed.
"I killed two of them and it cost me my life." She clasped her fists together. "It was the first time I touched death. Throughout my life I've been to the other world and back. It's quite weird you know."
Cerberus flew by to disrupt their conversation. Meilin was next to him, her face in shock. The guardian beast told Jupiter that Tomoyo had been taken to a safe hiding place away from the battle scene.
"We have to get Sakura and Touya back!" He insisted worriedly. "The other two are getting away with them." Everyone could hear Sakura calling them at a far distance. The branches were wrapped so tightly around her she couldn't move her muscles to escape. The Doom and Gloom girls should be taking out their anger on Jupiter not Sakura. They wanted to threaten the Thunder Senshi in every way, didn't they?
"Where's Yue?" Jupiter curiously looked everywhere around her, hoping to see a long white haired angel flying to them.
"I tried to call at Yukito's house but he wouldn't answer the phone," Cerberus stated with concern. " What could be wrong with him?" Nobody knew what the possibility could be. Yue was at his full strength. He shouldn't be tired NOW, should he?
****
The same shadowy figure that watched Makoto in the playground rested by Yue's sleeping body and watched him breathe slowly in his bed with a steady rhythm. "I'll see how long Sailor Jupiter will take to rescue Sakura and Touya and eliminate the Doom and Gloom girls all at once while you are absent. Fight this tiredness if you can, Yue." He turned to leave through the door, an enjoyable smile formed on his lips. This was turning out to be an excellent game for the Thunder Senshi. Was she proving to be worthy all along?
Yue was too tired to hear all the words the visitor had given him. But the voice sounded indeed familiar. And the magical aura he sensed had a similar feel too. How could it be Clow Reed? Eriol was in England. Why would he want to come back to Tomoeda when the final test to help Sakura change the Clow cards was over? What was the point? Sakura had passed. End of story.
Then again, things weren't all they seemed in this world now. Makoto had told him that because she experienced it all the time in Juuban. I have to help her and Sakura! They need me Yue thought, forcing himself to open his eyes. Just how hard would it take him to fight off his unusual tiredness?
TBC.