Part 7: Identities II
Ardiana grumbled as she cleaned up her room. No way could she have it look the least bit messy when who knows how many people would be descending on her home this afternoon. 'I wish Aiko had some sense of time' she thought to her self. 'Oh well, at least it's important.' She finished cleaning, then went to wait outside for her friends. Luckily her Grandfather was gone, and with the head priest gone, fewer amounts of people stopped by.
She didn't have long to wait. Aiko and Misu were the first to arrive. Aiko grinned at her as she bounded up the steps, Misu barley keeping up with her.
"Yo Ardi!" she said to her friend after clearing the last step in a rather athletic leap. "We figured we would try to get here a bit early since Misu and I will recognize the others."
"What about Annamika?" Misu asked the two. "Does anyone know how to contact her?"
"She goes to my school, and I'm sure I can get her number. Why don't you two wait for the others here while I go call her? Oh hi Nokomis" Ardiana looked at the cat who had just finished climbing the steps.
"You two went to fast." She panted.
"Cats are supposed to be fast Noko." Aiko grinned at her.
"Well I'm not quite full grown yet. And no, I'm not a kitten." She glared at the girls.
"So would that make you a teenager like us then?" Misu winked at Aiko and Ardiana as she spoke. The two of them, especially Aiko, had taken a habit to teasing the cat.
Ardiana laughed and walked into the temple. She only had to make two phone calls to get Annamika's number. She dialed it with shaky fingers. 'Please be there' she thought.
"Hello" Said the voice on the other end of the line.
"Hi, is Annamika there?"
"Yes she is, may I ask who's calling?"
"It's Ardiana from school."
"Just a moment" Ardiana could still hear the person, only their voice was softer since they had pulled the phone away from their face. "Ann, phone call"
"Hi, Annamika" Ardiana said when the other girl picked up the phone.
"Um hi Ardiana. What's up?"
"I was wondering if you could make it to the meeting at the Shinto temple. It's about the other night" Ardiana hoped she caught on to what she was saying. She felt a bit nervous saying 'guardian business' over the phone.
"I'll be right over. Don't worry; I know how to get there." Ardiana heard the dial tone and hung the phone up. She walked outside to see Misu and Aiko talking with four other people. She didn't recognize the tall dark-green haired woman or the black haired girl, but the other two looked a bit familiar. 'Oh my god' shocked by recognition, 'its Noelani Kana and Lirit Marina. What is going on? I thought this was guardian business.' The thoughts raced through her mind as she numbly walked up the group.
Misu was the first to notice Ardiana, and saw the confusion on her face. She walked up to her friend and whispered, "They are the other guardians, Pluto, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune."
"Hello everyone" Ardiana said to the group. I'm Ardiana Nuri, welcome to the Shrine. Do come in." she led them into her room, where they all somehow managed to get comfortable.
"So are we all here?" Tacy asked.
"We are just missing Jupiter and Moon," Toki replied. "I have a feeling they will be here soon. I'm Toki Michiko, also know as Pluto."
"I think they are here now" Lirit added.
"I'll show them in," Ardiana volunteered. "Be right back" 'Can they both be here?' she wondered as she went outside. She stepped out into the sunlight and saw the blonde girl walking towards her, and a tall brunette standing uncertainly closer to the top of the steps.
"Hi Annamika" Ardiana called walking up to the girl. "I'll be right back" she continued walking until she was in front of the brunette. "Can I help you with something?"
"I just felt like I should be here, all thought I don't know why. The name is Nariko Saskia." She looked at the raven haired girl nervously as she spoke. It was her first time at a Shinto shrine, and she had a feeling something important was about to happen.
'I feel something from this one' Ardiana thought. 'She feels like one of us. If she isn't we can take care of her.' She smiled at Nariko, "Come in. Some of my friends are over. I'm sure they would like to meet you. This is Annamika Hina" Annamika waved as Ardiana said her name. Both girls followed her into the shrine and then into her room. Nariko paled slightly as she felt everyone looking at her. There were more people in that room then she was used to being around. When Ardiana gave her and Annamika each a pillow, she gladly settled herself on the floor. She noticed a small black cat sit next to Annamika and a white-grey one next to Aiko.
"Well, I believe introductions are in order." Aiko was the first to speak. "I'm Aiko Kitoko, and I am Guardian Venus" 'I hope Nariko is one of us. Toki sounded confidant, so I hope its ok'
"I'm Misu Minerva. I'm Mercury" "Ardiana Nuri, Mars" "Annamika Hina, Moon" "Toki Michiko, Pluto" "Tacy Mitsu, Saturn." "Lirit Marina, Neptune." "Noelani Kana, Uranus." "I'm Nokomis, advisor and friend to Venus" "Neonis, advisor to Moon"
Nariko looked stunned when she heard the cat's speaking. She looked around at the group and noticed they were waiting for her to introduce herself. "Nariko Saskia, friend of Aiko and Misu" she barely managed to form the words. Somehow she felt like she should be saying more, but what she needed to say was just beyond her conciseness. She felt like she could almost grasp what it was, but it was just beyond her reach. Unknown to her, but noticed by everyone else in the room, felines included, she started glowing green. A green '4' shined brightly on her forehead.
'She is Jupiter' Aiko, Misu, and Ardiana all thought at the same time.
'Who am I?' Nariko thought as images started coming into her mind. They were very blurry at first, but rapidly gained clarity. She saw herself glad in green helping someone in orange. Suddenly it came to her. "Jupiter" she croaked, her mouth having gone dry. "I'm Guardian Jupiter, soldier of protection" She managed to speak louder that time.
"How come she transformed into Jupiter but she didn't remember any of it?" Adrianna asked the group.
"Well, we outer guardians were the first to awaken, and some people do consider Jupiter to be one of the planets of the outer Solar system." Toki explained. "But during the Silver Millennium, Crystal Tokyo, and Tokyo of the 20th century, Sailor Jupiter was considered on of the inner senshi. She was one of the guardians of the Princess. She probably awakened as a soldier due to the planetary position of Jupiter, but yet her civilian form didn't remember because she is still and inner."
"Now that we are all gathered, we should get down to business." Aiko addressed the group.
"I thought we were here to meet the other guardians." Ardiana said.
"We need to work out a plan" Misu continued from where Aiko left off. "We were talking last night about what the enemy is planning. Remember when we destroyed Morrisa she said something about going after earth."
"I'm planning on going back to Earth to see what I can find out" Toki told them. "I was on earth a few weeks ago gathering information. The Earth has suffered from the enemy far worse then Virgo."
"The black aura" Aiko stated. "I remember it from the space shuttle. Compared to Earth, Virgo is nice and green, alive almost. I lived in Tokyo Japan for many years, and it is one of the few places left on earth that is heavily populated. Most of Earth is barren and almost blackened. I have been to different places on earth and have seen the aftermath of the enemy."
"I can take you to Earth with me Aiko. You can help gather information." Toki said.
"I would like to go to Earth also. I found out that my birth mother lives in Tokyo." Misu spoke up.
"We should have enough of us incase of enemy attacks on earth." Ardiana added. "Remember what Morrisa said about Earth?"
"We should make sure some of us stay here, she could be throwing us off" Misu said.
"My parents would never let me go to Earth. They never let me go anywhere, even on school trips" Annamika spoke up. "I can stay here and protect Virgo."
"I'll protect the Princess." Nariko volunteered.
"I will also." Noelani added.
"I'll stay with Lani. Besides, we can communicate with Toki and the earth group." Lirit said.
"I think I shall stay as well." Ardiana said. "With only my grandfather here I can leave easily, but I do go to the same school as Annamika. Besides, if we are needed on Earth, I can get on a shuttle really easily. My father's family is in the shuttle business."
"I'll go to earth with Toki, Aiko, and Misu." Tacy stated. "That way we are closer to being split up evenly. The Princess is in good hands"
"I'm not sure if my Grandparents will let me go." Aiko said.
"Same with my Mother." Misu added.
"I can take care of that." Toki told them. "You are allowed to go some places right?" Both girls nodded. "Then we won't have to worry."
"Did you want me to see about free shuttle tickets?" Ardiana asked Toki.
"Thank you, but the shuttle takes to long. I have other ways of traveling." Toki smiled mysteriously. "Having Tacy with will help with that. It will take more power with four of us. I have a feeling we should hurry, the enemy is still following out on their plan. I might take you up on those tickets some other time. I try to avoid my method of travel if it is not necessary."
"When do we leave and what should we bring?" Aiko asked Toki.
"We leave early in the morning. We travel light; anything needed can be gotten on Earth." Toki replied.
"I'll back up anything vital from my laptop onto Mercury computer." Misu said.
"Good luck" Noelani said. Ardiana, Lirit, Nariko, and Annamika echoed the sentiment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading, hope you liked that chapter. Let me know if you think things are moving to slow. Now here are the names like I promised in the last chapter.
Aiko Kitoko (beautiful beloved one): Venus, Love
Misu (Ripples in the Water) Naida (water nymph) Minerva (Goddess of wisdom): Mercury, Wisdom
Ardiana Nuri (Fiery Flaming Lights): Mars, War
Nariko Saskia (thundery protector of mankind): Jupiter, Protection
Annamika Hina (Grace Goddess of the moon): Moon, Sanctity
Toki Michiko (Timely beauty/wisdom): Pluto, Revolution
Tacy Mitsu (Silent Light): Saturn, Rebirth
Lirit Marina (musical grace from the sea): Neptune, Affinity
Noelani Kana (Powerful heavenly sky): Uranus, Flight