When Nic bumps into an old 'friend' he opens up about the woman of his dreams. Anime Canon. Post-Stars. Written for Makoto's 30th Anniversary.
Rated: T - Spiritual/Humor - Words: 1,734 - Makoto K./Lita/Sailor Jupiter, Usagi T./Serena/Bunny/Sailor Moon, Motoki F./Andrew, Ittou A.
A/N: I'd like to thank Heavenly Pearl for beta reading this story for me!
I'd also like to thank I'd also like to thank Seren_Kat32 for helping out with the description of our 'hero' of this story.
A young, strongly built man of about six foot cocked his eyebrow at the flower shop he was approaching. Lazily his gaze drifted up to the name of the shop. It read 'Buri' or 'Bari' something or rather. With an equally lazy shrug he swaggered inside. Almost instantly he was hit with an unpleasant humidity, his thoughts jumping to his carefully kept mop of dark hair. It'd be a tragedy for it to be messed up by anything, least of all today.
That placed him quite the conundrum. How to spend as little time in here as possible but also make the right choice? He decided, mind boggling as it may have been, that making the right choice was in fact the bigger priority. Squaring his wide, commanding shoulders, he marshalled himself to do the unthinkable; adjust his fringe.
Though the act helped him see more clearly, it had also made his task more difficult, the items on display having seemingly doubled! For reasons quite separate from the humidity, the young man felt himself momentarily overwhelmed as he fully took in the veritable rainbow of colours, green naturally dominating the surroundings.
"Nic?"
The young man whirled around at the utterance of his name. A somewhat short, blond boy with kind blue eyes was standing near the store doorway.
"Asanuma?" Nic shot a cocky grin at the younger blond and swaggered over, firing off a salute to him. "It's been ages. What happened to you, bro?"
"Nothing. I think you were the one who stopped coming to our folks' get togethers."
Nic nonchalantly shrugged. "Sorry. There comes a point where a guy can do better things with his Sundays, you know." Like anything less boring than hearing Asanuma talk.
"Right." the blond boy replied simply. "So, you here to pick up something for your mother?"
Nic internally cursed. Her birthday was tomorrow, wasn't it? Oh, well. It wouldn't be the first time she'd have to deal with disappointment. But he wasn't about to clue a dweeb like Asanuma into that. "Nah, I already sewed that up."
"Ah, I see," Asanuma said knowingly. "So that means you have a hot date right?"
Nic suppressed a frown. Asanuma always had an annoying tendency of putting things together, and he had never liked it. In response he simply shrugged again.
Asanuma huffed out a tiny laugh whilst rolling his eyes. "You always were a Casanova."
Nic had no idea who this 'Casanova' guy was, but he didn't much care for the blond shrimp's attitude.
"Actually, I'm thinking this time it's kinda serious. I'm travelling all the way to Juban to surprise her later."
To Nic's satisfaction, Asanuma seemed ever so slightly taken aback. "Wow, all the way back to your old stomping grounds? This lady must be like your ideal woman."
Nic primed a smirk, but then, from the corner of his eye, spotted a small mass of green shift in the breeze. "Well…I do like her. I think she's like, the one for me you know. But I wouldn't say she's my ideal girl."
"Oh?" Asanuma cocked an eyebrow, making Nic desperately want to slap him. "You have your eye on someone else?"
"Not exactly. I've seen her a few times but she's kind of hard to talk to."
"Why? You think she's out of your league?"
Nic could hardly fail to notice the disbelief behind the words, but his train of thought had calmed him down. That often happened whenever he thought of her. "Nah. I'm in her league alright, I mean I just never know when I'm gonna see her. And whenever I do, I don't get the chance to bust my moves out. You know what I mean?" He placed the slightest emphasis upon 'You', confident a dweeb like Asanuma wouldn't know anything about that at all.
"See, it all started back when I was living in Juban..."
Nic sipped the dregs of his milkshake, eyeing up the middle schooler playing the Sailor V game. She seemed pretty cute, with glasses and fiery red hair that belied her obviously shy nature. Why else would she have waited until near closing time to come to the arcade? She obviously didn't want to be pressured by anyone waiting in line behind her.
Oh yeah, he had her number alright, and before the night was done he'd have another one of her numbers too.
Though there was still a fair amount of noise from the other games in the arcade, Nic took no chances and approached her slowly from behind, not wanting to alert her. He knew from experience observing other players that she was navigating a particularly hard level and with any luck would be hit by any of the level's various traps. Sure enough, a moment later, Sailor V was yelping on the game screen, followed by a timer for the player to insert more coins.
"Damn it," hissed the redhead girl.
"Allow me," Nic said huskily, leaning over and preparing to insert the coin into the slot.
"Oh. Thanks but I got money of my own." said the girl.
"I insist," said Nic flashing her smile. "It's been a pleasure watching you beat the game. The way you mash those buttons. And handle the joystick."
The girl blinked once and seemed to shrink into herself slightly. Nic smiled again. Half to encourage her and half in satisfaction for himself. He loved a bit of a challenge.
"Most folks call me Nic."
"That's an, um…unusual first name."
He shrugged and gave a little laugh. "Actually, it's just my nickname. Shortened it from my family name. Only the people I really like use my first name. So you can call me Shin." he shifted half an inch closer to her.
"You okay, Hina?"
Nic narrowed his eyes. Great, it was the Crown Killjoy himself.
"Um, yeah I…I think so."
"I was just offering to pay for the lady's next game. Is that alright?"
The elder blond raised himself to his full height and crossed his arms. "It's against policy."
"Since when?" Nic shot back.
"Since the fifth day I've seen you come in here near closing time to ogle girls."
Hina's own eyes narrowed now. She looked like she had just stepped in something foul. Pointedly, she reached into her bag and placed her own coin into the machine.
Nic half clenched his fist before straightening up and approaching Motoki, though he was at least a head shorter than him. "Thanks, buddy. You just ruined the only interesting game in this lousy place. Not even Crane Game Joe would bother with you guys!"
"Actually, he visited us earlier today," Motoki said, cocking his eyebrow.
"Oh no, did he clear out all your stuffed turtle toys?"
"And if it's so lousy," Motoki continued, as if Nic hadn't interrupted him, "you won't feel upset about not coming here anymore." Motoki jutted a thumb behind him, indicating towards the front door."Fine," Nic said, snatching up his bag and storming out of the arcade.
Grumbling as he traversed the shopping district, Nic found his feet carrying him towards the park. He needed the fresh air, and even if it was late enough to risk a little danger, he was in the mood for a good fight. Though, when he finally ventured into the park, it seemed fate had misunderstood his desire.
It was as he'd rounded a corner that he beheld a sight that for once made his square jaw drop!
It was a monster! Like the ones he'd heard about at school. It was almost totally scarlet but with a white helmet of some kind. And, gripped within the crane claw that extended from its arm was...
"Sailor Moon!?" Nic breathed out in astonishment.
She seemed to be in real trouble. Maybe he could tackle the monster from behind to help her. Imagine what half the girls in town would say if he saved an actual superhero! It was when the monster seemed to growl, however, that all thoughts of fame and glory vanished from Nic's head, and he instead crouched behind a bush, though still unwilling to tear his gaze from the battle.
Nevertheless, he found his gaze impeded when, out of nowhere, the area was lit up in a blinding light and two words boomed across the park.
"SUPREME THUNDER!"
When Nic's vision finally cleared the creature was on the ground, Sailor Moon was free and at her side, tensed for battle, was another warrior. No. Not just a warrior.
The single most stunning woman Nic had ever seen in his life!
That curly brown hair.
Those fierce, piercing forest green eyes.
And legs for days!
"Okay, one more time!"
'One more time?'
Nic's brain clicked into gear and he realised she must have attacked the monster. With one attack she had freed the famous Sailor Moon and knocked that monster flat on its ass!
And she was going to do it again.
Nic's brain clicked for a second time. Someone was about to summon lightning a not particularly great distance from where he was crouching.
Nic began to beat a hasty retreat. And yet, he spared one last look over his shoulder.
One last look at 'Badass Green Thunder Babe'!
With a flick of his thumb, Nic tossed another grape into the air and caught it in his mouth. He reached for another but realised the brown bag was more than half empty. It would probably be a good idea to save the rest of them; after all they weren't meant for him.
They were intended for that lower classman Shinohara? Or was it Yamazaki? Sasaki?
Nic had only hung out with him two or three times in the past few months, and even then, they hadn't exactly been alone together. Nevertheless, it had been enough to give people the impression that they were friends. So it'd been inevitable that other students at his school had run up to him and asked about the kid's mysterious monster encounter.
This had actually been news to Nic but he'd feigned knowledge anyway, keeping the details broad and general and reassured everyone that the lower classman was making a steady recovery. It'd only been towards the end of school that Nic had decided he better put in some appearances at the hospital, just in case when whatshisname got out, he let slip that Nic hadn't come to see him.
As he passed the bag of grapes from one hand to the other, Nic silently prayed the kid had a speedy recovery. After all, he did have better things to do with his after school hours. Like, for example, talking to that cute brunette who'd just passed by in the opposite direction.
Nic took three more paces then made a U-turn, following the middle-schooler into a nearby park. He could always see his classmate tomorrow. He popped another grape into his mouth (he might need the energy) and adjusted his fringe, trying to decide on what the best angle would be. Opportunity presented itself when the girl suddenly stopped dead, pointed up at the sky, then screamed.
What luck! He could comfort her about whatever she'd been frightened by.
Unfortunately, her scream rapidly diminished, and she suddenly collapsed. Nic's eyes widened, and he ran over to where the girl lay, looking up in the direction she'd been pointing. He dropped the bag of grapes.
Confusion gripped him as he beheld a big, green, glowing…wheel?
His confusion rapidly faded however as he suddenly felt very tired, very weak, and the world, much like the wheel, had begun to spin. Then it all faded to black.
As dim consciousness began to return to him, the first thing he noticed was the cold sticky sensation on one side of his face. The second was that he had fallen on top of the grapes. And the third was…
"Big Green Thunder Babe?" he mumbled.
It was indeed her. It could only have been her. She was standing maybe fifteen feet directly ahead of him, and striking a familiar pose.
He knew what would happen next.
A flash of lightning.
A crash of thunder.
And then a massive pink lion gave an inhuman scream. "FALION!"
The scent of ozone filled the air and began to overwhelm Nic, sending him drifting back into unconsciousness. But, as his vision began to darken again, he fixated upon the girl of his dreams. The girl who had protected her friend Sailor Moon. Who had protected the total strangers in the park. And who now was protecting him.
"Bro! Did you catch the highlights of yesterday's race!?" Daisuke exclaimed, his spiky gelled hair practically quivering as he ran up to his best friend.
"Sure did!" replied Nic. "Bro, Haruka Tenoh is the man!"
They smashed their fists together.
"Bet all the chicks love him."
"Especially those race queens," Nic smirked. "Can you imagine the 'party' he must've had with them after winning?"
"I dunno dude, I heard a rumour that he is seeing someone."
Nic shook his head at his friend's naivete. "Daisuke. You can be seeing a lot of people. You just need to have the stamina for it. A guy who lives fast like Haruka would never get hung up on just one chick. Not when there's always tomorrow to look forward to."
They guffawed as they continued their walk along the waterfront, the city illuminated by the setting sun, awakening street lights and…
"Bro…was that…lightning over there?"
Nic froze at Daisuke's words, his heart having frozen. Could it be?
"C'mon, let's go and check it out."
"Wait! It might be dangerous!"
Daisuke shot Nic a look of utter disbelief. "What're you, a girl? You think Haruka Tenoh would wuss out?"
Nic scowled and made a point of outpacing his friend as they ran towards the source of the lightning. As they drew closer, they heard screams and yells that grew in volume even as the tiny figures in the distance grew in size.
Nic immediately deduced what was going on and, some twenty feet away from the colourful crowd, veered off to the right, trusting Daisuke to follow him.
"What're you doing!?" Daisuke admonished, though his voice had dropped. Despite having never laid eyes on a pink lion monster, Daisuke could apparently deduce that they were skirting the edges of danger.
"There's some trees and street art over there, we can sneak around where they are fighting. That is if you still wanna check it out. Or are you a girl?"
It was Daisuke's turn to scowl, an expression he maintained as Nic led them closer to the battle. By the time they got close enough to see what was going on, the fighting seemed to have stopped. There were now just seven Sailor Senshi standing near the waterfront, though two of them seemed to be leaving.
"Wait!" barked Badass Green Thunder Babe.
One of the two departing Senshi, a tall blonde with short hair and navy skirt stopped.
Even from this distance Nic could tell these two didn't like each other. Or at least that's what he deduced from the daggers they were glaring at each other.
"I don't know what you mean by this, but you always appear like thieves to steal people's pure hearts! You guys are like the Daimon!"
Nic's eyes widened. Were those two Sailor Senshi evil demons? Evil demons who stole people's hearts? What the Hell was going on?
"And what if that's the case?" replied the navy Senshi condescendingly.
"I can't forgive you, especially not today!" yelled Thunder Babe. "I'll straighten out that demented mentality of yours!"
Nic's eyes widened as Thunder Babe lunged at the navy Senshi and threw a punch at her.
Then his jaw actually dropped as the other warrior blocked the punch and delivered a devastating stomach punch.
Thunder Babe went down. Her friends rushed to her side. And the other two Senshi vanished.
Watching her groaning on the ground, Nic seriously considered running to her side. He might not get a better chance to talk to her after all. However, within moments she was back on her feet and staring at the spot where her opponent had disappeared.
"Whoa…what a woman," Daisuke muttered.
Nic considered slapping him as jealousy flushed through him. But then the feeling passed.
Daisuke was right. Thunder Babe really was something.
Up until now he'd figured she just killed mindless monsters and freaks like the lion and scarlet dude from the park. But here she was standing up to one of her own, someone who was no monster but some jerkoff bully.
Thunder Babe wasn't just sexy or even a badass warrior doing her job. She was like a bona fide hero of justice!
"Bro…We have to come to this college when we graduate. Look at all the hotties." Nic said as his eyes hungrily scanned across the campus grounds "And apparently they all go gaga at this college dance that's happening tonight."
"Tch. I wish," Daisuke said with disgust. "I was there last night and some ginger dude showed up and practically swept the place clean. He even left with like six babes."
"Yeah, but," Nic gave a nonchalant shrug, "if he tries that tonight he'll have to compete with me." He smirked at his friend. "Don't worry buddy, I'll for sure score you a chick or two."
"Well, in that case…" Daisuke raised his drink. "Here's to clubbing it up tonight!"
It was then that an "eight of clubs" playing card flew through the air and sliced open Daisuke's cup before the rim had even met his lips.
"What the f-"
CRASH!
Something very heavy seemed to have fallen not too far from them.
This time, Nic didn't need to be coaxed. He sped towards where he thought the crash had come from, leaving Daisuke still confused as to how his shirt was suddenly soaked.
This was it! He knew Badass Green Thunder Babe had to be here. And whether it was during or after the battle, he was going to ask her out. Maybe he'd even invite her to the dance tonight. After all, he'd heard that people who dance at the Touzai fair often began dating afterwards.
Unfortunately, after fighting his way through everyone running away from the commotion, Nic found his path blocked by a long and large hunk of metal. Dimly, Nic deduced the debris had once been the roof of the walkway he was currently standing in, the cleanly sliced supporting beams being his major clue. A scream from the otherside of the debris refocused him, and he dashed up the path, into the building, around the corner, through the first door he could find and…
"SUPER SUPREME THUNDER!"
Nic watched in delight as lightning flashed by the classroom window. Running over to the window he was hit by an inhuman yelp of pain and the now fondly familiar scent of ozone. However, he noticed neither the sound or the smell.
All he noticed was Badass Green Thunder Babe standing heroically about five feet from the window. Her arms were thrown wide, clearly protecting Sailor Moon and some pink haired kid Senshi, both of whom were pinned to the wall behind Thunder Babe by some playing cards.
Having never been this close to her before, Nic's gaze naturally zeroed in on her face. On the narrowed forest green eyes. On the furrowed brow crested with rich brown hair. And on the utterly fierce and determined expression upon her face.
"I thought I had finally found my prince."
Even from this distance, Nic couldn't help but detect the seething rage, the sheer contempt, that laced the words. And above all, the obvious pain they conveyed.
There was no doubt in his mind that some damn fool had broken poor Badass Green Thunder Babe's heart, and broken it badly at that.
Somehow, Nic found himself even more impressed by the Amazonian beauty; not to mention delighted to learn she was single. Here was a girl who'd just struck out in love. But, unlike most of the chick's Nic'd had to give the elbow to, she was far from a blubbering baby. Instead, she was out here fighting, protecting her comrades.
Within the next minute, Sailor Moon and the pink haired kid freed themselves and summoned a unicorn to kill whoever they were fighting. Nic, however, wasn't paying much attention; he was too transfixed by the striking figure Badass Green Thunder Babe cut amidst the kaleidoscope of light that followed.
"STAGE OUT!"
The monster's deathcry shook Nic out of his reverie, and he began to consider his 'approach'. He'd stride up to Thunder Babe and compliment her on saving the day. He'd mention how he'd seen her around before, how she'd saved his life and he wanted to do something to repay her. And he'd start by buying her dinner. Before she'd know it, they'd be on a date and then Nic could really bust out his best moves.
First thing first though, he needed to get this window open. It was only then that he realised there was neither a lock nor a handle. Frantically, he dashed to the other windows in the room, but it was no good.
With despair, he watched Badass Green Thunder Babe wrap her arms around the waists of some blunette nerd and an (admittedly hot looking) blonde with a red hair bow. Sailor Moon did the same with some other chick with long black hair and, along with the kid Senshi, they leapt over the fallen roof and out of sight.
"And that was the last time I saw her," Nic finished with a slight sigh.
"Your ideal woman is… Sailor Jupiter…?" Asanuma said in a voice of quiet disbelief.
"Hell, yeah, though I prefer my name for her."
Asanuma wore an expression of utter unsurprise.
"So… You'd like… marry her if you could?"
Nic was slightly taken aback by the question. He supposed he shouldn't be, given how this conversation had begun, but somehow he'd never quite envisioned Badass Green Thunder Babe in a white dress or in his home when he came back from whatever job he might have.
"Err…"
To buy himself some time, he grabbed the first bunch of flowers he could see, a bouquet of pink roses, and paid for them. The action took merely a few seconds, and in that time he pieced together everything he knew about Badass Green Thunder Babe, trying to imagine living with someone like that for even just one year.
At last, as he turned back to face Asanuma, a single word bubbled to the surface of his mind.
"Yes."
For once, he and Asanuma were on the same page; both clearly surprised by the response.
"I've seen how protective she is with Sailor Moon and total strangers, so she's probably a caring person. And she obviously has real convictions too. I think, now that I'm older and more mature, I'd want my wife to be like that, you know. Someone to take care of me. Someone who is strong and tough enough to not fall to pieces when life gets hard and stand up for what's right. Although…"
" 'Although'…what?" Asanuma asked, cocking an eyebrow.
Nic's lips formed a thin line. "Although…I dunno if she can cook."
Asanuma chuckled. "I remember your mom's food being out of this world. I even asked her for some of her recipes myself."
"Yeah, it's true being able to cook is kinda a deal-breaker for me as far as getting married is concerned," Nic continued as if Asanuma hadn't spoken at all. "And I suppose a gal like her is too busy training and fighting freaks to learn how to cook. Instant ramen would probably be the best she could do."
"You'd really not marry her over that?"
Nic's nostrils flared at the barely disguised accusation in Asanuma's voice. "I didn't say that. I said it was 'kinda' a deal-breaker. Not definitely one."
Asanuma rolled his eyes. "Oh, right silly, me."
It took a lot of restraint on Nic's part not to toss the blond shrimp across the store. Instead, he went with a different tactic.
"What about you, though?"
He was pleased to see confusion cross Asanuma's face. "Er, what about me?"
"Who's your ideal woman?"
Asanuma's cheeks turned the same colour as the scarlet blazer Nic remembered him wearing.
"Well, actually… the owner of this place." He gestured around the store. "I always used to see her setting up shop in the morning on my way to college. Or in her other store on my way home."
"What other store?"
"She owns a cake shop too."
Nic suppressed his genuine surprise. "I didn't think you'd be into older chicks, Asanuma."
Asanuma looked confused again. "She isn't old? She's around our age."
Nic cocked an eyebrow. "Isn't it a bit unusual for someone that young to own two businesses? Unless…" Realisation dawned upon Nic, along with a pleasing sense of superiority over the blond dweeb. "...she must be loaded, right?"
Asanuma shook his head. "She just works really, really hard. Although I think one of her friends gave her a loan to help her get started. I forget their name but they love to race cars or something."
"Wow. You know so much about this woman. You been stalking her or something?"
Asanuma's eyes narrowed and Nic smirked, happy at the 'point' he had obviously scored. "She explained it in a cooking program she was on with Tetsurou Yoshinogawa. Actually she's appeared on the show a few times since she was 16."
Though he maintained his composure, Nic was impressed. Although he was by no means a 'foodie', but even he had heard about Tetsurou Yoshinogawa and his famous cooking show.
Asanuma shrugged. "If I'd known she was kinda famous I might not have had the nerve to ask her out. Good thing med school keeps me too busy to watch much TV."
Nic's eyes widened. "You've dated a celebrity?"
Nic found the idea incredulous. Even if this girl wasn't a celebrity, surely she'd sooner marry a dweeb like Crown Killjoy than go on a date with this shrimp.
Asanuma laughed. "Nah. I asked her one day in her cake shop. She was really nice about it but told me she was already involved with someone."
For the briefest of moments Asanuma's eyes wavered, and his shoulders seemed to drop almost imperceptibly. The motions did not go unnoticed by Nic and he striked.
"Count yourself lucky, dude. I mean, wouldn't you have felt embarrassed dating someone more famous and successful than you? Not to mention probably taller." He chuckled as he said the last sentence. He had no idea if this Asanuma's dream girl actually was taller than him, but he felt fairly confident in the assumption, given what a shrimp the dweeb was. His laughter was calibrated carefully, giving just enough of an illusion he was simply teasing Asanuma, rather than actually insulting him.
To Nic's pleasure, the ghost of a scowl crossed the blond's face. "I wouldn't have been embarrassed at all, Nic," Asanuma replied coldly.
"Really? You wouldn't have felt awkward going out with a lady like a foot higher than you?" Nic's veneer of joviality had begun to dissipate, more obvious derision starting to creep into his laughter.
"Didn't expect you to say that, Nic. After all, Sailor Jupiter is hardly petite. And I seem to recall you saying you were dating a girl taller than you back in middle school."
Nic rolled his eyes. "Being too tall, not to mention kinda a tomboy, is why I dumped her in the first place. "
Nic readjusted his fringe as he turned his back to Asanuma and headed out the door. He spared half a moment to shoot a smirk over his shoulder at the now openly scowling Asanuma. "And there is a world of difference between dating some ordinary tall tomboy and a bona fide superhero. One is embarrassing, the other is totally alpha."
As he neared the exit, Nic was already mentally priming himself to push the shrimp, the conversation and even Badass Green Thunder Babe out of his mind during the hour plus journey back to Juban. He didn't want to be distracted for his inevitable hot date tonight. To that end he decided to sum it up for himself, and the shrimp, simply.
"At the end of the day…" Still smirking, he faced front again and stepped over the threshold of the florist, raising his voice so Asanuma could hear him from behind, "... Makoto Kino is no Sailor Jupiter."
A/N: Ironically, despite Makoto being my favourite Inner Senshi, her fic too the longest for me to figure out. I knew I wanted to do something with her love life, specifically her habit of falling for guys who remind her of her old sempai.
Originally my idea was to actually resent each vignette from the POV of each guy she fell for, e.g Crane Game Joe, Ail, etc. The problem with doing that post canon is that some of them were dead or probably just not thinking about Makoto at wherever they'd be in life.
I then thought to maybe do the same idea but as flashbacks, but it felt a bit too disjointed.
For the longest time I planned on presenting it from Asanuma's POV, revealing he'd been in love with Sailor Jupiter since season 1 (even though his presence in the anime amounts to a blink and you'll miss it cameo).
Then it hit me. Makoto's sempai! He fit so much better as all these inner Senshi anniversary fics have been from the POV of a minor character associated with each Senshi who's been there since season 1. Ami had Ryo, Rei had Phobos and Deimos, Minako had Alan and Katarina. Makoto would have her old sempai.
And what better way to celebrate her than to reveal this dude was a jerk she was better off without anyway, lol.
Just to let you know I am involved in a discord called 'Moonlight Legends' which is dedicated to sharing all sorts of Sailor Moon fanworks, including other fanfics. If you would like to join so you can share your own work, get help with your current projects or just connect to other fan creators shoot me a PM and I'll send you an invite. All are welcome!