Author: Fate's Child (Terra Brooks)
Date: December 10, 2001
E-mail: Prncss_Earth@hotmail.com

"You know, I think fate's trying to tell you something, D-boy." He turned around.

"Lita?" He stood. What are you doing here?" She held up a paper.

"Someone took out an ad for a part time chef. I cook as a hobby so I thought I'd check it out. Never thought it would lead me to you. Or you, Mr. Yui."

"Then Duo is your brother." Lita nodded.

"I'm Quatre Raberba Winner and I took out that ad." Quatre stepped forward.

"This is Trowa Barton and Wufei Chang, you seem to know everyone else."

"My name is Lita Trio. Or Makoto Kino, depending on who you ask." Lita looked pointedly at Heero. "Duo, if you want me to leave, I will." Her voice softened.

"Leave?! No way! I've been trying to find you for the past three days." He threw himself at her and picked her up, swinging her around the room. She laughed as he put her down.

"I'm glad!" She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight before pulling on his braid. "What is this?" Duo looked sheepish.

"It was my way of remembering you." She raised an eyebrow.

"By growing a braid?" When he nodded, she pulled her own over her shoulder. "Mine looks better." When he nodded again, she laughed and turned to the rest of the boys. Quatre was looking at her and then Duo, her and Duo again.

"You mean there was a time when Duo didn't have a braid?" Lita laughed.

"Yup. Wanna see a picture?" She pulled the worn photograph out of her bag. Her mistake was that another fell with it. This was one of her and the rest of the senshi in civilian forms, even the outers. Usagi had snapped the photo when they weren't looking and then given each of them a copy. On the back was written the words:

In a world that's so uncertain, I will promise this to you. I'll be the one to hear your prayers, don't have to ask me, I'll be there, I'll be the friend you'll never have to do without. If you've got nothing at all, you still have nothing to worry about.

Lita picked up the photo quickly and shoved it back in her purse before anyone could pick it up. She thrust the other photo out. It was the one of her and Duo standing together, her giving him bunny ears. And he had short hair.

"Maxwell, you look like a boy in this picture." Wufei sounded surprised. Duo stuck out his tongue at the other boy who began to chase him around the room with his katana. Lita just raised an eyebrow before turning to Quatre.

"You still need a chef?"

"Are you still interested?" She nodded.

"I didn't add one thing. You'd be coming to earth with us. I have a place by the Sank kingdom and that's where we're heading. To go to school at the Peacecraft Academy." Lita smiled.

"Wherever Duo goes, I go." She had to work to keep her balance as he ran and hid behind her, grabbing onto her arms.

"Save me Trio!" She looked to find Wufei two feet in front of her with his katana still drawn.

"Maxwell, this is an injustice! Stop hiding behind that weak onna!" Lita's eyes turned icy and Duo felt the way her body tightened at his words. Heero raised an eyebrow as he saw her fists clench.

"Weak onna?" Her voice was cold and hard. "I have a name, Mr. Chang. Use it. You may call me Lita or Trio but you will never call me onna. And you will never again call me weak." She paused. "Is that understood?" When he said nothing, she continued. "If you call me weak again, I will have to prove how strong I really am. So don't push me." Wufei nodded stiffly before bowing and sheathing his katana.

"It was a force of habit. It will not happen again." The pilots all looked at the Chinese boy incredulously. Lita just nodded before relaxing again. Duo looked at her in concern.

"You okay?"

"Fine, D-boy. I don't want to talk about it." She added when he opened his mouth.

"I'm hungry." His complaint drew groans from the rest of the boys. Lita just smiled.

"I'll cook as a trial run if anyone is interested?" When the rest of the boys nodded, Quatre led Lita to the kitchen. Everyone else looked at Duo.

"What did your sister do while she was missing?" Heero asked.

"I don't know. I haven't asked her. But if she won't tell me, I won't push her." Duo looked serious. "I'm already taking a big risk involving her in a fight she doesn't know she's getting into. I won't make her tell me her past when I can't tell her mine." The rest of the pilots nodded and headed towards the kitchen. Duo walked over to where his computer was, shutting it down and slipping the ring on his finger. It fit like it had been made for him. He stared at it for a minute before sighing and heading off to the kitchen to find his sister.

* * *

"When was the last time any of you did any laundry?" Lita's exasperated voice drifted down the hall, making the pilots smile although some hid it.

Lita had been there exactly three days and was already acting like the mother none of them had ever known. She had cooked them lunch and then cleaned the house from top to bottom. Because Duo wouldn't let her leave, Quatre offered her the guest room and then told her that she was welcome to stay with them until the moved to earth. She just smiled and agreed, thanking him quietly. She had gotten into their rooms today and picked up all the dirty laundry on the floor. Apparently, there was a lot.

"Quatre is the ONLY one with clean clothes and only ONE pair on the floor." She paced the floor and glared at each one of them, except Quatre. They were seated on the couch in the living room listening to her rant.

"Li-"

"Don't even talk, Kenneth! I taught you better then that." All the pilots looked at the red faced Duo. She saw this and broke out laughing. "You actually thought his real name was Duo?"

"Kenneth?" Wufei looked like he was ready to burst with laughter. Even Heero had a small smile on his face. Not that anyone could see it.

"As I was saying." Lita held up three pairs of clothes, ripped and bloodied from bullet holes and scrapes. "These are unacceptable. Are you ever going to wear these again? No. Because they're ruined. So don't leave them on the floor! Throw them away. Got that? Throw. Them. Away." All the boys looked surprised that she held them up and asked no questions about them. "And I am making a new rule. You will leave your dirty clothes in the basket in your bathroom and I will clean them every Tuesday."

"Ms. Lita, you won't have to once we're on earth. There will be others to take care of that." She glared at Quatre.

"Lita. Just Lita. And until we get to earth, you will all put your clothes in the baskets? Is that clear?"

"Crystal." Duo chirped. Then he looked at her seriously. "Lita, about the clothes-" she waved a hand to get him to stop talking.

"When I met Heero, he told me that he was a soldier. So I assume that all of you are too. As long as you are not working for OZ or trying to take over the world or universe, I don't have a problem with it. I fought too for a little, so I know that you can't talk about what you do or have see, or don't want to. My place is to be for you here, now and to cook for the rest of you. I don't care what you've done in the past." She picked up the bloodied clothes and threw them at her brother. "Now for Kami's sake, throw those away!" The rest of the boys watched as she walked out of the room, mumbling under her breath about them being worse then someone called Usagi. Herro raised an eyebrow at that. Why would she be comparing them to a bunny?

* * *

Lita lay in bed that night, a smile on her face as she thought of her brother and his friends. They reminded her so much of the senshi. There was Duo, who reminded her of a cross between herself and Minako, Wufei who screamed Rei, Trowa had that quiet intelligence that of Ami and Quatre reminded her of Usagi and her empathic abilities. Heero Yui was a puzzle all in himself, though. He held part of himself from the rest of the group a little like she did when with the senshi. He had a quiet strength that reminded her of the outer senshi, though. It was like he'd always be there when you needed him but it would take a long time to get him to trust you. She sighed and got out of bed, wincing as her feet hit the cold floor. She wasn't going to get any sleep right then, not when her mind was filled with thinking of the friends she left behind.

She made her way quietly down to the music room, picking up the guitar in the corner. No one but the outer senshi knew she could play. Her fingers found the cords she sought quick enough and she started to play whatever came to mind. Slowly, words bubbled in her throat and she began to sing.

When I walked through the portal,
And left this life behind.
I thought that all the love in the world
Couldn't fill this gap of mine
And then I was walking
Going on my way to school
And I saw a bunch of bullies
Who thought you were a fool.
So I saved you from them
And you saved me from me.
I walked each day with you by my side.

You were a friend I never thought I'd have,
You lead me to the rest.
When everything felt like it was dead,
You showed me it was in rest.
When my world collapsed
You were there for me
Although you never asked me why.
You were the light,
In all of our lives.
Now that you're gone;
How can we survive.

In a world that's so uncertain,
You had promised this to us,
That you'd be the one to hear our prayers
We wouldn't have to ask you, you'd be there,
You were the friend we'd never have to do without,
No,
Now we've got nothing at all,
And you're not here to worry about.

You are a friend I never thought I'd have,
You lead me to the rest.
When everything felt like it was dead,
You showed me it was in rest.
When my world collapsed
You were there for me
Although you never asked me why.
You were the light,
In all of our lives.
Now that you're gone;
How can we survive.

Oblivious to the tears that were making their way down her cheeks, Lita played with every piece of her soul. The room seemed to melt away from her as she replayed in her mind her meeting with the Usagi, the one girl who wasn't afraid to face the 'karate maniac'. The one girl who became her first real friend. As her mind came to the last battle, she dropped the guitar, falling from her seat on a stool to the floor, sobs racking her body.

Flashback

Makoto had gotten the call through the communicator at exactly 8:30 in the evening. She had been mixing the batter for a cake when Usagi called.

"Mako-chan, there's a youma right in front of the O.S.A.P. Naru and her mother are inside on the third floor so I want to take care of this quick. No one else is answering their communicators, they're on dates or something and Ami is working. It's up to us." Makoto was already running out the door while Usagi talked, her transformation wand in her hand and the words said as she dashed down the street.

"The outers are still in Europe and there hasn't been an attack in a few months, but we've been training, Moon. We can do this." Jupiter shut her communicator and in a minute was standing next to Sailor Moon.

"It looks like a human with tentacles. It has the power of electricity and so it shouldn't affect you." Moon told her. Usagi had grown up a lot since Galexia and Chaos, since her Mamo-chan had never been found.

"It looks like a youma. The kind we fought while battling Beryl."

"Which I why I'm calling a senshi meeting for later today. If you try and distract it, and watch out for the knives it's shooting, I can scepter it." Jupiter nodded and jumped out in front of the youma.

"Yo! Squid man! Looking for a fight?" When the youma shot electricity at her, she dodged more out of habit then anything. She shot off her own thunder dragon and watched as the youma screamed in pain. It wasn't immune to electricity like she was. Good. She continued to shoot off her attacks and somewhere between hers Moon launched her spiral moon heartache. The big pink heart hit the youma dead on. Jupiter let down her guard for a minute and was surprised when the knife caught her dead in the stomach. Another hit her shoulder as she tried to move out of the way. It was still alive. Gritting her teeth and ignoring Moon's distressed cries, she pulled both knifes out of her body and gathered energy in her hand.

"SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!" The attack hit the youma followed by another of moon's attacks. It finally dissolved into a thin powder before blowing away in the wind. Jupiter nodded in satisfaction before falling to her knees.

"Jupiter, hold on. We'll get you to the hospital." Moon laid her friend on the ground and fought back tears as she looked at the extent of her friend's wounds. "Hold on, I'll heal you." Moon pulled out the crystal.

"No. You put in multiple attacks and it might not work anyway. I gladly give my life for you, Usagi, Serenity. Because you were my first friend. And the best." Jupiter lost her transformation and winced at the multiplied feeling of pain in her civilian form. "Just tell Pluto to give the ring to Duo. She'll know what it means." Jupiter smiled and closed her eyes, fighting back the blackness that was clouding her vision. A minute later it cleared, leaving a white, warm light surrounding her. She tried to open her mouth, to tell Usagi to stop before she killed herself, but the Princess kept pouring out the energy. A few minutes later, it disappeared and Makoto felt a weight fall on her. She sat up, putting the now detransformed senshi's head in her lap.

"Couldn't let you die." The soft words caused tears to come to Makoto's eyes.

"Usagi, damn it! You have to make it."

"Going to be with Mamo-chan. Maybe I can love him more now, like I always wanted to." Usagi closed her eyes and smiled serenely. "You were always the most loyal. Never doubted me. Ever. And that ring, you have to give it to Double or whatever their name is. Live, Mako-chan. Live and love. Don't let destiny hold you in like I did. Never loved Mamoru." Her voice was soft now. "Never love him. Loved you though. Loved all the senshi. You were the bestest friend. Love you tons. So sleepy." Makoto bit on her lip to keep the sob from escaping as she felt her Princess's body go limp. A minute later, silver stars of light covered the body, causing it to disappear. Her last words seem to hang in the air. 'Love you tons.' Kino Makoto, senshi of Jupiter clutched the material above her heart and cried.

End Flashback

"Oh kami. Oh kami, not again, not again." In her distress, Lita had reverted to speaking in Japanese again. "Don't let me see her die again, not again." She never noticed the arms that went around her, the soothing motion of a hand moving over her head. "Not again, please not again." This time it was a whisper, a plea. "Why did she die, why did I let her die? I should have been stronger, should have done something. Not again, kami-sama, don't let me see her die again." Her words died off and only broken sobs remained as she curled against a warm body and kept seeing her world collapse.

TBC

You know, this was supposed to be a happy fic. But I think I made myself cry. Oh well, the ending will be happy when I finally get there. Talk to you all later. Oh. FYI I made up the song only using the lyrics from a sailor moon song in the third verse. I changed them slightly.