The Soul of Fire
Chapter 7B: Into the Past……Jupiter's Past
Makato had noticed the 4 men following her and when she took the opportunity to loose them she did. She ran into a dark alley and jumped 3 fences before getting to her new school leaving her trail in the dust. She saw the girl she had saved looking at her with hungry eyes as she took her lunch out. As Mako took a bite of her food and Usagi sat next to her she noticed a baseball coming straight toward the blonde's face. Quickly she moved her hand out.
"Watch it!" Makato said as the baseball smacked her wrist hard.
"Oh my god!" Usagi cried before immediately apologizing.
"It's alright. I wanted to do it. So you heard the rumors haven't you?" Mako asked.
"I don't care what happened in your other school. You're new and all so I'd say a new school is a fresh start." Usagi said.
"You want some? I'm not really that hungry." Makato said showing the blonde teen her lunch that was all home made.
"You mean it? I mean I don't really eat that much." Usagi sweat dropped at her lie.
"Hai. Go ahead." Makato said before realizing the bento was out of her hand.
"I'm Usagi Tsukino." The blonde said in-between bites.
"Makato Kino." Mako replied.
Schwarz looked at the tall teen closely before hearing a friend of Usagi's named Umino whisper to a few girls about the rumors.
"I heard she was kicked out of her last school because she was fighting." Umino said.
"Honto!" Some girls asked.
"She's scary." A guy said.
"She's a giant. She's so tall. But she's pretty." A few guys commented.
"Usagi!" Naru surprised the blonde.
"N-Naru-chan!" Usagi yipped in surprise.
"You didn't meet me in the classroom so I brought the pictures out here." Naru said while showing the blonde the pictures of her trying a wedding dress on.
Mako looked at the pics with a small smile.
"Wow Naru you look so pretty in the gown." Usagi said.
"My cousin's getting married and the clerk was nice enough to let me try some of the gowns on." Naru said.
"I want to be a bride one day." Usagi whined before Makato laughed slightly.
Makato's laughter was full of life but also was well refined. All was well. When school ended Makato met Rei and Ami. They were passing by a bridal shop when Mako stopped and looked at the main piece gown on display.
"Wow, that gown is so beautiful." She sighed with awe.
"That shop? Yeah, a ghost of a woman who died on her wedding day haunts it. How scary." Some women said.
"Never mind about buying a dress here. All people seem to be interested in are spirits and the sins of adultery and seduction." Rei retorted curtly before turning.
'Wow. Rei-san is completely different from the present.' Nagi thought.
'Course she is. She hadn't experienced those events in life that she told you and Crawford the other night.' Schuldig snickered.
As Usagi, Ami, Rei and Makoto made their way to the temple they were discussing about the haunted bridal shop and what not until Makoto said that she was leaving to go home. The Schwarz noticed a tense atmosphere settle down in the meeting room that the girls would use for their sailor meetings.
"I think we've found our next scout." Rei said while watching Makoto walking down the steps.
"Well then we'll investigate that shop later tonight." Ami said before leaving the temple along with Usagi.
"Such innocent dreams of being with the one person you love for eternity. Is the enemy that cold as to crush that dream and use it to draw out energy for whatever they're planning to use it for?" Rei thought aloud to herself before turning around and seeing Crawford and Schuldig there looking at her.
"So what's wrong? You look quite bothered." Crawford inquired to the fire miko who was looking out at the setting sun.
"I feel an evil aura at work here. It's far away but it makes me very uneasy because I can sense it from here." Rei pondered.
MMMMMMMMMM
As the brunette left, her forest green eyes focused on the sun setting in the distance. Uneasiness befell her shoulders as she looked at the city that was slowly falling to the shadows of night. With knowing of what she was to do for the evening the teen continued to walk down the numerous stairs to return to the streets. Little did she know that she was being followed by cat-like eyes. When Makoto was about half way home the streets were now a stark black and dimly lit by the street lights. The nightlife close to the usually abandoned alleys were, oddly enough, very active tonight. As she embarked on trying to get home quicker she felt someone grab her wrist and turned to glare at the one who dared to touch her. The thug was about an inch taller than her, unruly black hair and odd crimson eyes stared down at her.
"What is a lil' missy like you doing out so late?" The thug asked whilst Mako heard the footsteps of this loser's friends surrounding her.
"I'm walking home like any good kid would. So if you don't mind I'd rather not get in a fight before tomorrow morning." Mako hissed before she felt the grip on her wrist tighten.
"Oh, pity that dear. Let me take you home. I'm sure you'd like my home better anyway." The thug said while trying to pull at Mako's arm.
"Unhand me you filthy excuse of a man." Mako growled in a low tone before she felt the slight burn of the male's hand come into contact with her left cheek.
"I think you don't have a choice." The male said while pulling out a knife with the hand he just slapped the teen with.
"Oh? Is this when I'm supposed to cry for my mommy and scream 'don't hurt me I'll do anything'? I'll tell ya now it ain't gonna happen." Mako smirked before hearing the footsteps of the thug's friends drawing closer.
"Alright then we'll play it your way. Guys get her." The thug smirked before the large group of bigger males made a rush towards her.
Makoto sunk into a fighting stance, silently accepting the challenge these arrogant street rats were so obviously issuing. She felt her adrenalin pulse through her blood when she kicked the first male and threw the second over her shoulder. The cat-like eyes that had followed her movements for the past half hour glinted in mischief as they noted that more of the thugs entourage came out from the alley and towards the fighting teen. Noticing the slight exhaustion from the teen, the owner of the golden orbs pulled out an object that glinted slightly under the light of the quarter moon. Now it was time for some real fun.
Mako felt worn down. It seemed that there was no end of these thugs. Her lips was bleeding and her skirt was nearly torn to where it was half it's original length which was pissing her off since the leader was making snide remarks about how her legs were and many perverse remarks following. While paying attention to two of the thugs she didn't see the four that were diving for her feet, but she wouldn't need to worry about falling for what happened next. A shriek filled the night air as the grunts of many thugs filled her ears and stopped the ones that were attacking her in their steps. After a few seconds they fell to the ground unconscious. Her green eyes turned to the direction she heard another yelp and spotted that the leader and the rest of the guys were taken out and a male about her height standing next to the leader holding what seemed to be a tranquilizer needle in their fingers.
"Lassies like ye shouldn't be out this late without someone to accompany them." Farfarello said while looking at the younger senshi of Jupiter.
"Hehe, I was worried that I would get my ass kicked." Mako oddly confessed before feeling calloused fingers cross over her lower lip.
"Ye might need that checked." The rich Irish accent passed the teen's ear before a blush unconsciously spread across her cheeks.
"T-Thank you for the help though. I appreciate it." Mako bowed slightly to also hide the bright red her face was.
"No problem lassie but I would say I'd prefer you to be walked home. There are more streetwalkers in the alleys waiting to prey on a wondering female at this time of night." Farfarello said before noticing the stubborn glint in those forest green orbs.
"I think I can handle myself now. Thank you though." Mako glared slightly at the icy-blue haired Irishman that showed up out of nowhere to help her.
"Let a man be at ease. Allow me to at least escort you to your home." Farfarello gave the teen a glare that matched the same intensity.
Mako wanted to punch this guy in front of her. Didn't he know what the word 'no' meant? But then noticing that this guy wouldn't relent from how he glared back at her she had no choice but to allow this guy who was pretty good at knocking people out to walk her home. With a sigh she scratched the back of her head before looking at the eyes which this guy possessed. They were as gold as that of a cat's, but the difference was that his pupils weren't slits.
"Fine, but you're to only walk me to my complex but that's it." She couldn't believe that she agreed to a stranger's demand.
Farfarello could only smirk at who Mako tried to sound so nice in accepting him to walk her home but he knew she didn't like it. He followed the stubborn teen down the slowly emptying streets and while doing such the boy that the girls met at the arcade…..Motoki, Farfarello recalled as he watched the male come from around a corner.
"Man I'm so thirsty." Makoto muttered while stopping to get a soda out of the nearest vending machine for herself as well as for her companion when she spotted Motoki looking at her.
"Hey Makoto….I've been waiting for you." Motoki smirked seductively as her forest green eyes unfocused and her feet took her towards him….the cans of soft drinks clattering to the ground.
Farfarello noticed the out-of-world glaze over the 14-year-old's eyes and was about to throw a needle at the punk when he heard the clattering of high heels from behind him.
"I won't let you dress up like a virgin bride and tempt men! On behalf of the moon you're punished!" Farfarello spotted the younger Sailor Moon doing her pose as Mercury and Mars also came in on the scene.
"You can't use people---your brains should be used to help people! You're punished! I'll cool your head with Mercury Power!" Ami, Sailor Mercury, yelled.
"I won't let you take advantage of women! Here's the Mars Power flame of anger! I'll punish you in high heels!" Rei yelled while extending her hand readying an attack.
Farfarello found all this quite amusing. Although he only met the women a few weeks prior to being placed into the past he never could have imagined them to be so….childish in their fights. But then again he and the group have met the 24-year-old versions of the senshi. While thinking about the differences that the girls from here were to their future selves he heard the rumble of thunder in the distance and heard Makoto muttering under her breath.
"Used? Taken advantage of? This wasn't for real?" He heard Makoto's voice quiver for a moment before a feral growl rumbled from her throat and her arms quickly went into the lifting the ghost bride which was trapping men to be her slave.
"You think you can mess with a girls' heart!" Came out in a bellow from the tall girl's lips as a deep green insignia of Jupiter glittered on her forehead.
Farfarello kept out of the way as Luna rushed past him with a green pen. He figured what was to happen next as the pen glowed and Makoto's clothes were replaced with a sailor uniform similar to Rei, Ami, and Usagi's.
"FLOWER HURICANE! I call upon my protector Jupiter to summon forth a storm! Thunder and lightening…SHOWER DOWN!" Makoto yelled as the night sky lit up and Nephrite was zapped to oblivion.
With the initial battle over and Makoto over her shock she went to search for the male who was escorting her home. When she found Farfarello she laughed, she didn't know why but she did.
"Well are you going to let a female walk herself home or are you not the man you make yourself to be?" She asked with a grin.
"Lets go lassie." Farfarello said while looking at the night sky again to see that a storm was coming, the feeling of raindrops on his face was proof enough.
"Hurry this way!" Makoto said while grabbing his hand and starting to run as a downpour began.
When they finally reached her apartment complex they were doused to the bone and beyond. As Makoto started for the stairs Farfarello turned to go back to the temple when he felt a small hand grip onto his arm and drag him.
"You're wet. You could get sick. At least wait until the rain lets up before going back to wherever you are from." Makoto chided while taking out her apartment key and opening the door.
"You would trust a stranger you just met not even an hour ago to enter your home? You are a strange one." He uttered while a towel was thrown at his face.
Makoto didn't know why she let him in herself, there was just something nagging in the back of her head that said to trust him and bring him to her home. Maybe it was the mother-hen part of her personality that wouldn't allow him to go home like a wet rat or maybe it was because the cat-like eyes were strangely alluring to her. At the second one she mentally smacked herself. Her boy craziness was a titan to be up against but as she went to the kitchen she looked at the picture which decorated the dinning room table.
"I'm home mom, dad." She whispered before taking the liberty of making tea for herself and for her guest.
Farfarello took the time to look over the teenager's house as she went to the kitchen. It was neat, clean….no utterly spotless. Peering at every picture on the wall he noticed that most of them were old. No recent pictures hung from them. He saw many of the same couple with a little brunette girl tucked in-between the couple with a smile on her little pink lips. He assumed that the little girl was Makoto and the man and woman in the picture were her parents, but the question was….where were they now?
"There you are. If you're looking for the bathroom it's right behind this door. I have tea and cookies if you'd like some and also the shower, you can use that too but if you do use the shower let me dry your clothes." Makoto said while opening the door right next to Farfarello.
"I'd like that, thank you. By the way…." Farfarello started but was held up.
"Introductions are in order. Kino Makoto, and you are….." Makoto extended a hand.
"Farfarello Jei." Farfarello said before shaking hands with the teen.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Farfarello-san. And thank you for helping me." Makoto bowed politely.
Farfarello looked over the teenager slowly. She almost acted like a mother or housewife. The environment of a clean living space was one thing but to also extend the use of the facilities and of refreshments was near that of a hostess and wife that it was ridiculous.
"Where are your parents Kino-san?" Farfarello went for it with the question as the teen sat down in a plush couch.
"They died when I was 7. A person from the orphanage allowed me to live in my own place due to the overcrowding." Makoto answered while pensively looking at one of the pictures of her parents.
"Sorry for asking. It must be difficult." Farfarello said before Makoto got up.
"It's okay. It's almost like they've never left. This is the house I lived short yet wonderful years with them. But anyways, the cookies will be done in a few minutes so if you'd like to use the shower you can go ahead and do so now and when you're done your clothes will be dried and the cookies will be done." She smiled before walking back toward the kitchen.
Taking Makoto's offer to wash and use her bathroom he locked the door and slowly undressed….almost forgetting to give Makoto his wet clothes. Hearing a knock at the door he took a towel and wrapped it around his waist as he opened the door and handed the teen his wet clothes with a thank you tagged to the end of their conversation. The night went without flaw. After Farfarello finished his shower he saw that his clothes were indeed dry and the tea and cookies were a great snack.
"Thank you very much Kino-san. Maybe we'll meet again one day." He said while heading to the door.
"Maybe….you never know the world is quite small." Makoto giggled slightly.
Through the duration of their snack they talked a lot about martial arts and different combat styles. Farfarello telling Makoto the pretense of his knowledge from the military, knowing that if he told her that he was an assassin that it would get them nowhere.
"It's still raining so please take this. I have another one so please take it so you don't get wet again." Makoto said while handing him an umbrella.
"Thank you very much Makoto-san. Your dream of being a good house wife may very much come true, keep up the good work you will make a man very happy one day." Farfarello smirked before walking out of the apartment and a very red teenager in his wake.
From what he saw of the senshi two of the five that he had met for far had pasts resulting in the problems they have in the future. Little did the Irishman know that just the evening of idle chatter and good company would result in a teenager modeling every good-looking male after him.
Author's Notes: Whew! I've had this chapter done for almost a year and it took me forever to find a way of which to close it. That's it for Makato's story for now…..next one is Ami's which I have had planned for a VERY long time but haven't typed up yet, she's going to have the worst past…..just for a hint . Leave me nice reviews please on how you liked or disliked this chapter and sorry for not updating any sooner.
TBC: Chapter 7C: Mercury's Rain