Hajimemashite

Elizabeth Weir sucked in a breath and watched as the wormhole rippled. John Sheppard, down on the floor of the gateroom, watched her with not a little sympathy. She ran her hands through her hair, which she only did when she was very very nervous. It was blue again, her natural colour for the first time in nearly twenty years.

"Incoming travelers," the Canadian guy at the control console said.

He needn't have said anything. Elizabeth already knew. She could feel them coming. The others.

The event-horizon pulsed, and no one in the control or gaterooms made a sound.

The soft click of boots in the vast foyer was sharp and nostalgic. One, two, three, four, five figures appeared. Behind them, the glow of the wormhole dissipated, and there they were. Her friends.

Her friends.

Elizabeth couldn't hold it in one second longer.

"Minna-san!" she yelped, startling everyone in the control room by jumping over the balcony and landing with perfect, inhuman grace. She threw herself at the group, and they squealed, practically in unison, "Ami-chan!"

And then it was high-speed Japanese babble and frantic hugs and tears in eyes.

Five women in their late thirties jumping up and down and screaming like school children. And one man in a dapper suit with a rose on his lapel, smiling gently at the display.

John Sheppard zoomed in on the man and, deciding he was in need of some non-estrogen form of greeting, walked up to him and stuck out a hand.

"Hello," he said, "I'm Lt. Colonel Sheppard, head of security on Atlantis. Welcome to the City of the Ancients."

Beside him, Doctor Miko squeaked out an awed Japanese translation.

The man in the suit bowed low and said, in grave Japanese, "Hajimemashite." Then, in unaccented English, he added, "I'm Chiba Mamoru. They call me codename Tuxedo Kamen. Please do not be shocked – I studied university in England." He turned to Dr. Miko and offered her a warm grin. "But please translate for my wife. Her English is horrid."

John scratched the side of his nose and asked, "Which one is your wife?"

"Blonde hair," he said, "In the middle. With the... odango."

"Odango?" John repeated.

Chiba-san made a gesture to mimic the two buns on the top of one woman's head. "Meatballs. Just a moment, Usagi-chan? Hai, sumimasen. Chotto matte, kudai. Kono hito wa Jo-hn Shi-par-do-san desu."

"Hajimemashite," the woman with the long blonde pigtails said formally and bowed to John. The rest of the 'team' followed suit, with Elizabeth standing in the back and looking smug.

"Hamu-gee-mashy," John said in reply, bowing lower, secretly proud of his Japanese accent.

"Miko-san," Elizabeth said, pinching the bridge of her nose between two fingers. "Would you please show our guests their quarters, and then bring them to the mess hall?"

Miko nodded, and, her eyes even wider than before, began to lead the five Japanese people out of the gate room. John didn't see why she was so cowed by them. They looked perfectly normal to him, though he didn't suppose blonde hair and purple eyes were common in Japan.

Feeling sorry for Miko, John waved bye-bye to Elizabeth and ran to catch up with the doctor.

"What's wrong?" he asked as they lead the guests up the stairs.

"It's the Sailor Senshi," Miko squeaked. "I grew up on stories of them. I watched them on television. Read about them in the newspapers. I even used to collect all the Codename V manga."

Chiba's wife, Usagi, perked up. "See-ra V ga suki desu ka? Watashi mo!" she cackled, and Miko was suddenly less cowed, having found a common topic of conversation with Usagi. What the conversation was about, John had no idea.

Then he wondered if all Japanese ladies talked this fast in such high falsetto.

He couldn't imagine Elizabeth babbling like that. Even when she was younger.

Just to his left, the other blonde smiled, a little pained, and said, "They're talking about the Sailor V comics. They were based on ...well, me. They were Usagi-chan's favourite when we were still fighting."

"About you?" John asked. "She read comics about her friends? About herself?"

"Usa-chan is weird that way," the woman offered with a shrug. "I'm Aino Minako."

"Your English is excellent, too," John said, shaking her hand.

"I was born in England," Minako said.

John felt like an idiot. "Oh," he said. Then he said, "So you guys used to kick some serious alien ass?"

Minako laughed, and it was a twinkly, flirty kind of laugh. "Yes. Between pop quizzes."

"I can't imagine Elizabeth doing it," John admitted. "It seems too... physical."

Minako nodded. "Ami-chan was always more subdued than us. She was a better defensive fighter. Good at protecting people who may get hurt."

"Huh," John said. "Not much has changed, then."

"I'm eager to have a go at these so-called Wraith," Minako admitted. "It's been a long time since we've had a good fight. They sound like glorified Cardians to me. No problem."

John smiled. Minako seemed to be his sort of girl.

"What planet is your patron?" He asked.

"Venus," she said. "I'm the Soldier of Love."

John raised an eyebrow. "Love, you say?"

She did the twinkly thing again. He looked at her legs in her SGC-issue BDUs and imagined them long and bare with those lovely come-fuck-me boots that Elizabeth'd had when she transformed.

"Did you used to wear a miniskirt too?" John asked.

She nodded.

John thought that this was possibly the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

"Hajimemashite" is a greeting given upon meeting someone for the first time. It is a formal way of saying, Im pleased to meet you this first time, please be kind towards me.