~~ The new Generation ~~
~~ Joo no Seishi ~~
~~ By Tsuki ~~
Author's Notes: Sorry I've been kind of scarce lately, but RL kicked me in the tush, and I've been struggling to catch up. Finally, though, I can return to my fics, and I must say that this hiatus is doing wonders for my creative juices. I've got ideas now for at least four more chapters, so they'll probably be rolling out pretty quickly. As usual, please review and let me know what you think. Arigato, and hope you like.
~~ x ~~
"You're not concentrating, Mokemi. You're not thinking about using your powers, are you?"
Mokemi stood silent, staring at the ground as Ten'ou Haruka continued to scold him. He was only thankful that this was a private lesson, and the others weren't here to witness his shame.
Uranus stopped abruptly, however, and Mokemi chanced a glance at her to see what had made the sandy-haired senshi stop her tirade. He saw that Pluto, Neptune, and Saturn had just entered, and Neptune was shaking her head at Uranus.
He would have felt relieved at the sight of anyone other than his trainer, who seemed to have lost what little patience she had only minutes into the session, but the arrival of the rest of the Outer Senshi did not bode well. It meant one of two things: that there was an emergency and Uranus was needed, or that everyone else had finished their training already and Mokemi was just that hopeless.
"It's useless, Haruka-san." He burst out suddenly, not allowing the tears that wanted to fall to form. "I'll never be able to do this! Momma probably wishes she had a daughter!"
The four Senshi stared at him, surprise registering on their faces. Saturn stepped forward, wide dark eyes curious, glave tapping the floor as she moved.
"Mokemi-chan, what do you mean by that?"
Mokemi wanted to glare at her, but found it useless when confronted with her luminous gaze. "Because.I've heard everyone talking.about me and Shizu. I hear the disappointment in your voices. As if that wasn't enough, your words are far worse. I hear the way you speak about our few improvements. Lately, you've all pretty much decided that Shizu is hopeless, that all the talent went into his sister. That's all fine, I'm sure, but what about me? I have no sister to take my place. Who's going to harness the fire power of Mars in times of emergency?"
Mokemi hung his head, ashamed of himself. At that moment he felt more alone, and more like the disappointment he was sure he was to his mother.
He was surprised to feel a hand on his shoulder, and even more surprised when he looked up and locked eyes with the crimson depths belonging to Meiou Setsuna. Comforting he partly expected, but mostly from Kaiou Michiru or even Tomoe Hotaru. Setsuna had always reserved her kindness and affection for Usagi, the little princess, who still to this day called her 'Puu' despite being fully capable of saying her actual name.
"You speak well for a child of eight, young Hino. And I admire that you spoke so freely in front of people you have been taught to respect. But that does not change the fact that you listened in on conversations that were meant for adult ears. What we say to one another in private is our business only. You have to know that what we said was never meant to be heard by any of you children."
"That doesn't change the fact that you said it." Mokemi challenged, shocked at his audacity even as he said it.
Setsuna smiled slightly, but continued to hold his gaze. "That is true. And to be honest with you, I must say that what we said was true. Though you took what we said out of context. What we meant is simply this; you two boys are not progressing as quickly as your female counterparts. Kiozu, for example, has almost mastered an entire attack, which is highly unusually for a child, I would suspect. Her brother, however, has shown no ability whatsoever when it comes to harnessing the same power. As a child of Venus, I would imagine that he would direct the same type of energy she had. He's not progressed well, and as a backup we've begun to train him for hand-to- hand combat. If he continues, however, to lack in his ability to even transform, we're going to have to assume that he is incapable of being a Joo no Seishi." She paused, looking sad at having to admit such a thing to his best friend, but continued nonetheless. "You, however, have shown us that you possess a potential power, the likes of which I'm sure your mother only dreamed of. You have proven that you can transform, and that you can wield your power. However, you lack the control that seems to come naturally for the girls, as well as requiring a great deal more concentration before executing your attacks. Now I'm certain that will change as you progress and get older. That's why we began training you children so early; so that your natural talents will only get stronger with age, and your control will already be developed." She stood, straightening her back regally, smiling softly at him. "So you see, you we do not worry about, at least not as much as we worry about some other things."
"What other things?" This was the most he'd heard Setsuna say, and was going to take advantage of every talkative moment.
She arched an eyebrow and looked as if she wasn't going to speak, and then seemed to change her mind.
"Well, you must keep this to yourself, but quite frankly, we're worried about everyone for one reason or another. Shizu I've already explained, but we also worry about his lack of.communication. He says little or nothing, at least not to us. As if that wasn't bad enough, Kiozu seems to think she's holding conversations with him, constantly arguing or discussing with him as if he were answering."
Mokemi had noticed that particular trait but had assumed that the two shared a bond as a result of being twins. Even as Setsuna spoke, he still believed that Kiozu and Shizu did have those one-sided conversations, simply because Kiozu had proven more times than not that she knew what her brother was thinking.
"Then there's Pakara, whose gentle nature is a surprise, considering her mother. I worry sometimes, because she's very delicate, almost as if the slightest pressure would break her."
Mokemi strongly disagreed now, because while he knew Pakara to be as delicate as Setsuna said, he knew her well enough to know that within her was a steel core.
"And Namiko, well.I'm sure you've noticed her temper. In the past year it's only gotten worse, and while her power is only heightened by her strong emotions, such a temper in someone so young, especially the daughter of Mizuno Ami, is something of a shock to all of us. I worry that her temper will one day get in the way, become a hindrance rather than an asset."
Mokemi found himself silently agreeing with the Guardian of Time. After all, Haruka had at first trained Namiko, but the two tempers clashed too violently for safety, so she took Mokemi's place as Michiru's trainee, and he was stuck with Haruka. So far Michiru's calm nature had lasted, but privately Mokemi believed she'd one day snap.
Haruka sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Be all that as it may, I'm still disappointed in his progress. There's no reason for him to be so far behind the girls."
"Except for the fact that he is a boy." Hotaru turned her gaze onto the taller girl that had cared for her as a child. "We've never encountered a male with this power, so there's no way for us to know what triggers his ability. For all we know, we may be training him wrong."
"Unlikely, but possible." Haruka consented, fixing Mokemi with a hard stare. "Ok, Mokemi, you can go. I expect to see you bright and early tomorrow."
"Hai, Haruka-san." He bowed to the four ladies and sprinted from the room, glad to be away from them. He had begun to feel uncomfortable, as they'd talked as if he weren't there. He found that he usually felt uncomfortable in front of all four of them, but in one-on-one situations he had no problem.
"Mokemi!"
He turned as a pink blur smacked into him, arms thrown around his middle. The small lady was dressed in her normal fashion; a pink t-shirt with a white rabbit on the front, and a pair of pink pants. Even her cheeks were pink, as if she'd been outside playing for a while. Behind her hovered the Luna P ball, little antenna winking at him.
"Kon'nichi wa, Usa-chan." He patted her back before moving away. "Whacha been up to?"
"Pakara and I have been outside playing tag with some of the other kids." Usagi grabbed Luna P and hugged it to her chest, smiling. After staring at him a moment, however, she tilted her head to the side and drew her eyebrows together. "What's wrong, Mokemi? You look upset."
"Who, me?" He tried to grin in his usual cock-sure manner, but instead only managed a half-smile that probably looked as strained as it felt.
He should have known the younger girl to be tuned in to his feelings. She had always been the most perceptive of all of them, able to guess what they were thinking before they could say a word.
"You're lying to me, Mokemi." She said flatly, the hurt in her voice. "What are you keeping from me?"
"I can't tell you."
"You can tell me anything."
"Not this."
"Why not?"
"Because it's none of your business."
Usagi stopped, her mouth open as if to speak. Instead she stepped back, dropping her gaze to the top of Luna P's head.
"I see." She heaved a sigh and turned to leave. "Sorry for being so nosy, Mokemi."
"Wait, Usa-chan!" He ran to catch up with her as the tiny girl sprinted off. "Wait!" She stopped abruptly, her back facing him and Luna P floating out of her hands to turn and stare at him. "I'm sorry, Usa-chan, but.well, the thing is, I talked to the Outer Senshi today, and they said some stuff that.well, I don't think you'd wanna hear it. It's kind of depressing."
Usagi turned around, smiling sweetly at him. She was a kind-hearted girl, the true essence of childhood. Mokemi often wondered how she could stay so happy even as she saw her friends training themselves to defend her against an eventual enemy. "Mokemi, you worry too much. What could they have possibly said that is so depressing?"
"Well, for one thing, they said that Shizu has no apparent ability to be a Joo no Seishi."
Usagi smiled on, shaking her head slightly. "You and I know they're wrong; Shizu has power. I can feel it, and I know you can. The problem is being able to tap into it, and that is something only he can figure out how to do. No amount of training can do it for him."
Mokemi stared at her, wondering at the words that came from her. How could a child of six and a half think in such a way? It was truly a wonder.
"Well, they said other things.like being concerned about Namiko's temper."
"Namiko's anger is yet another thing they have no control over, and you know how that upsets them. They're bound to worry about something they have no power to change. But you and I, we know better. All of us do." She looked away, toward one of the pristine walls, and sighed. "I have a feeling, Mokemi, that everything will be all right. There's something in my gut that tells me that all this will work out."
"I hope you're right, Usa-chan." His eyes were sad as he spoke. "Because you're the one that's bound to be hurt if you're wrong."
"You won't let that happen. None of you will. I'm not worried." Her voice was firm, and with that she skipped away, Luna P following behind.
~~ To Be Continued. ~~
Author's Notes: Sorry I've been kind of scarce lately, but RL kicked me in the tush, and I've been struggling to catch up. Finally, though, I can return to my fics, and I must say that this hiatus is doing wonders for my creative juices. I've got ideas now for at least four more chapters, so they'll probably be rolling out pretty quickly. As usual, please review and let me know what you think. Arigato, and hope you like.
~~ x ~~
"You're not concentrating, Mokemi. You're not thinking about using your powers, are you?"
Mokemi stood silent, staring at the ground as Ten'ou Haruka continued to scold him. He was only thankful that this was a private lesson, and the others weren't here to witness his shame.
Uranus stopped abruptly, however, and Mokemi chanced a glance at her to see what had made the sandy-haired senshi stop her tirade. He saw that Pluto, Neptune, and Saturn had just entered, and Neptune was shaking her head at Uranus.
He would have felt relieved at the sight of anyone other than his trainer, who seemed to have lost what little patience she had only minutes into the session, but the arrival of the rest of the Outer Senshi did not bode well. It meant one of two things: that there was an emergency and Uranus was needed, or that everyone else had finished their training already and Mokemi was just that hopeless.
"It's useless, Haruka-san." He burst out suddenly, not allowing the tears that wanted to fall to form. "I'll never be able to do this! Momma probably wishes she had a daughter!"
The four Senshi stared at him, surprise registering on their faces. Saturn stepped forward, wide dark eyes curious, glave tapping the floor as she moved.
"Mokemi-chan, what do you mean by that?"
Mokemi wanted to glare at her, but found it useless when confronted with her luminous gaze. "Because.I've heard everyone talking.about me and Shizu. I hear the disappointment in your voices. As if that wasn't enough, your words are far worse. I hear the way you speak about our few improvements. Lately, you've all pretty much decided that Shizu is hopeless, that all the talent went into his sister. That's all fine, I'm sure, but what about me? I have no sister to take my place. Who's going to harness the fire power of Mars in times of emergency?"
Mokemi hung his head, ashamed of himself. At that moment he felt more alone, and more like the disappointment he was sure he was to his mother.
He was surprised to feel a hand on his shoulder, and even more surprised when he looked up and locked eyes with the crimson depths belonging to Meiou Setsuna. Comforting he partly expected, but mostly from Kaiou Michiru or even Tomoe Hotaru. Setsuna had always reserved her kindness and affection for Usagi, the little princess, who still to this day called her 'Puu' despite being fully capable of saying her actual name.
"You speak well for a child of eight, young Hino. And I admire that you spoke so freely in front of people you have been taught to respect. But that does not change the fact that you listened in on conversations that were meant for adult ears. What we say to one another in private is our business only. You have to know that what we said was never meant to be heard by any of you children."
"That doesn't change the fact that you said it." Mokemi challenged, shocked at his audacity even as he said it.
Setsuna smiled slightly, but continued to hold his gaze. "That is true. And to be honest with you, I must say that what we said was true. Though you took what we said out of context. What we meant is simply this; you two boys are not progressing as quickly as your female counterparts. Kiozu, for example, has almost mastered an entire attack, which is highly unusually for a child, I would suspect. Her brother, however, has shown no ability whatsoever when it comes to harnessing the same power. As a child of Venus, I would imagine that he would direct the same type of energy she had. He's not progressed well, and as a backup we've begun to train him for hand-to- hand combat. If he continues, however, to lack in his ability to even transform, we're going to have to assume that he is incapable of being a Joo no Seishi." She paused, looking sad at having to admit such a thing to his best friend, but continued nonetheless. "You, however, have shown us that you possess a potential power, the likes of which I'm sure your mother only dreamed of. You have proven that you can transform, and that you can wield your power. However, you lack the control that seems to come naturally for the girls, as well as requiring a great deal more concentration before executing your attacks. Now I'm certain that will change as you progress and get older. That's why we began training you children so early; so that your natural talents will only get stronger with age, and your control will already be developed." She stood, straightening her back regally, smiling softly at him. "So you see, you we do not worry about, at least not as much as we worry about some other things."
"What other things?" This was the most he'd heard Setsuna say, and was going to take advantage of every talkative moment.
She arched an eyebrow and looked as if she wasn't going to speak, and then seemed to change her mind.
"Well, you must keep this to yourself, but quite frankly, we're worried about everyone for one reason or another. Shizu I've already explained, but we also worry about his lack of.communication. He says little or nothing, at least not to us. As if that wasn't bad enough, Kiozu seems to think she's holding conversations with him, constantly arguing or discussing with him as if he were answering."
Mokemi had noticed that particular trait but had assumed that the two shared a bond as a result of being twins. Even as Setsuna spoke, he still believed that Kiozu and Shizu did have those one-sided conversations, simply because Kiozu had proven more times than not that she knew what her brother was thinking.
"Then there's Pakara, whose gentle nature is a surprise, considering her mother. I worry sometimes, because she's very delicate, almost as if the slightest pressure would break her."
Mokemi strongly disagreed now, because while he knew Pakara to be as delicate as Setsuna said, he knew her well enough to know that within her was a steel core.
"And Namiko, well.I'm sure you've noticed her temper. In the past year it's only gotten worse, and while her power is only heightened by her strong emotions, such a temper in someone so young, especially the daughter of Mizuno Ami, is something of a shock to all of us. I worry that her temper will one day get in the way, become a hindrance rather than an asset."
Mokemi found himself silently agreeing with the Guardian of Time. After all, Haruka had at first trained Namiko, but the two tempers clashed too violently for safety, so she took Mokemi's place as Michiru's trainee, and he was stuck with Haruka. So far Michiru's calm nature had lasted, but privately Mokemi believed she'd one day snap.
Haruka sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Be all that as it may, I'm still disappointed in his progress. There's no reason for him to be so far behind the girls."
"Except for the fact that he is a boy." Hotaru turned her gaze onto the taller girl that had cared for her as a child. "We've never encountered a male with this power, so there's no way for us to know what triggers his ability. For all we know, we may be training him wrong."
"Unlikely, but possible." Haruka consented, fixing Mokemi with a hard stare. "Ok, Mokemi, you can go. I expect to see you bright and early tomorrow."
"Hai, Haruka-san." He bowed to the four ladies and sprinted from the room, glad to be away from them. He had begun to feel uncomfortable, as they'd talked as if he weren't there. He found that he usually felt uncomfortable in front of all four of them, but in one-on-one situations he had no problem.
"Mokemi!"
He turned as a pink blur smacked into him, arms thrown around his middle. The small lady was dressed in her normal fashion; a pink t-shirt with a white rabbit on the front, and a pair of pink pants. Even her cheeks were pink, as if she'd been outside playing for a while. Behind her hovered the Luna P ball, little antenna winking at him.
"Kon'nichi wa, Usa-chan." He patted her back before moving away. "Whacha been up to?"
"Pakara and I have been outside playing tag with some of the other kids." Usagi grabbed Luna P and hugged it to her chest, smiling. After staring at him a moment, however, she tilted her head to the side and drew her eyebrows together. "What's wrong, Mokemi? You look upset."
"Who, me?" He tried to grin in his usual cock-sure manner, but instead only managed a half-smile that probably looked as strained as it felt.
He should have known the younger girl to be tuned in to his feelings. She had always been the most perceptive of all of them, able to guess what they were thinking before they could say a word.
"You're lying to me, Mokemi." She said flatly, the hurt in her voice. "What are you keeping from me?"
"I can't tell you."
"You can tell me anything."
"Not this."
"Why not?"
"Because it's none of your business."
Usagi stopped, her mouth open as if to speak. Instead she stepped back, dropping her gaze to the top of Luna P's head.
"I see." She heaved a sigh and turned to leave. "Sorry for being so nosy, Mokemi."
"Wait, Usa-chan!" He ran to catch up with her as the tiny girl sprinted off. "Wait!" She stopped abruptly, her back facing him and Luna P floating out of her hands to turn and stare at him. "I'm sorry, Usa-chan, but.well, the thing is, I talked to the Outer Senshi today, and they said some stuff that.well, I don't think you'd wanna hear it. It's kind of depressing."
Usagi turned around, smiling sweetly at him. She was a kind-hearted girl, the true essence of childhood. Mokemi often wondered how she could stay so happy even as she saw her friends training themselves to defend her against an eventual enemy. "Mokemi, you worry too much. What could they have possibly said that is so depressing?"
"Well, for one thing, they said that Shizu has no apparent ability to be a Joo no Seishi."
Usagi smiled on, shaking her head slightly. "You and I know they're wrong; Shizu has power. I can feel it, and I know you can. The problem is being able to tap into it, and that is something only he can figure out how to do. No amount of training can do it for him."
Mokemi stared at her, wondering at the words that came from her. How could a child of six and a half think in such a way? It was truly a wonder.
"Well, they said other things.like being concerned about Namiko's temper."
"Namiko's anger is yet another thing they have no control over, and you know how that upsets them. They're bound to worry about something they have no power to change. But you and I, we know better. All of us do." She looked away, toward one of the pristine walls, and sighed. "I have a feeling, Mokemi, that everything will be all right. There's something in my gut that tells me that all this will work out."
"I hope you're right, Usa-chan." His eyes were sad as he spoke. "Because you're the one that's bound to be hurt if you're wrong."
"You won't let that happen. None of you will. I'm not worried." Her voice was firm, and with that she skipped away, Luna P following behind.
~~ To Be Continued. ~~