PRETTY SOLDIER SAILOR MOON: FUTURE

Chapter 43: Bittersweet Resolution

As the others joked amongst each other, Juno folded her arms and nodded proudly. Hyena didn't express such pride, remaining quiet and vapid while watching the jovial scene. She announced to them, "I should get going then, but I would like to say one thing."

"What is it?" Nephrite asked.

"If you care for each other immensely, then you should protect those feelings from going astray, and to not use your relationship to further your own ends."

"Of course we will!" Jupiter exclaimed. "But… How can you give such advice without having loved a man?"

"Isn't it obvious?" the stern archer's stoic gaze turned slightly forlorn. "I did love someone, back on my planet. I thought he felt the same way about me."

She turned toward Naru and murmured, "I can strongly relate to your position of being the betrayed one."

"What do you mean?" she asked worriedly.

"The man who called me his soul mate turned out to be a spy selling top-secret information he stole from me to our enemies. His actions put one of my allies in grave danger, and we had to rescue her from being executed. When I confronted him about it-"

Hyena closed her eyes. "-I had to kill him."

Jupiter tensed up with shock. "Why!?"

"Alkima Galaxy is in a state of war. Personal relationships are petty in comparison to the constant battling and betraying befalling the galaxy. You must do what is necessary in order to survive. Thanks to that terrible event, I have vowed to dispose my frivolous desires in order to focus on my duty as a Soldier – to save Alkima, and to survive to help rebuild our tarnished society. I understand that this planet's Sailor Soldiers cannot fathom such a thing, but that's the world I hail from; cruelty is the norm."

"That's too horrible!"

Nephrite hugged Jupiter from behind and whispered, "Don't worry. It will never come to that between us."

"Y-You promise? Because I couldn't…"

He held her tighter, and she quieted down. Satisfied that she had said her piece, Hyena turned around on her heel and walked away from the pair without another word. She passed by Juno, who followed behind and said, "Did that really happen to you?"

"I do not lie. I feared that what happened to me would repeat itself here. Eris and her subordinates are terrifying creatures who will usurp any and every possible source of discord, whether it is stunted love, a friendship gone bad, or even escalating the smallest hint of jealousy. You'd do well to pass this warning along to your allies."

"Definitely," Juno nodded. After an awkward pause, she then uttered, "If you don't mind, I have a question to ask you, but you might consider it rude. You don't have to answer if you don't want to. I mean, I could not ask it either-"

"Just say it already."

"Okay, okay! So, uh… how old are you anyway?"

"Nineteen."

"Wh-WHAT!?" Juno yelped, nearly jumping out of her skin. She inspected the shorter Sailor Soldier over and over again, growing more flabbergasted. "You're older than me!?"

"You sound like you have a problem with that," Hyena grumbled.

"No, I don't! You just don't look anywhere near that!"

"That would be due to a strain of achondroplasia resulting from the poisons emitted on my planet."

"Acon… Acroplagia… Aphrodisi… Gah, you and your big words again!"

"In layman's terms, dwarfism. Basically, the poison altered any genes related to cell maturation and bone growth in my ancestors, which got passed down to me and my fellow descendants. Everyone on my world has the same height and physical structure as me. We do not grow much taller than this, and our facial features make us appear younger than we're supposed to be."

"Ohh, that makes sense!" Juno hummed. "So that's why you're much more mature than the rest of us despite looking our age!"

"That's correct."

"Man, your world sounds rough to live on. I don't think I could last five seconds with the fear of having to watch your back all the time."

"It is difficult, to be sure," Hyena agreed sullenly. "But it's still my home. Once I finish my duty here, I intend to return to Alkima."

"What is that duty?"

"What else? To stop the Animus Syndicate from terrorizing Earth."

With that, Hyena leapt high upon a building and disappeared out of Juno's sight before she could react. Yet for some reason, Juno didn't have the heart to chase after her. It was probably the emotions stirring within her, caused by the sad story of the alien Soldier's love life, that stopped her.

Man… This is just too deep for me, the immature girl thought. I wonder if I'll have to worry about any of this when I find a guy I like… Or even if I find someone. The king and queen must be super lucky to have fallen in love at first sight. The same goes for the Four Generals and the Inner Soldiers. I wonder if it's possible for that kind of love to happen in Hyena's world. Even if it can, I don't think she'd be open to trying again. She sounded really bitter about it, even though she made no hint about it before.

While Juno was lost in melancholic thought, she heard light footsteps approach from behind. She found Midori standing there as the girl murmured, "JunJun? Is everything all right?"

"Ah, yeah!" the Soldier exclaimed and morphed back to her civilian form. "Everything's all peachy now!"

"Good. It looks like everything's been resolved with them as well," Midori added as they stared at Nephrite consoling Jupiter, and Naru helping the wounded Umino stand up.

"Our work here is done. Let's leave them to their together time," JunJun grinned. The two girls left the scene without any of the others noticing.

Two days later, Makoto, Masato, Naru and Umino met at the Fruits Crown Parlor for an afternoon get-together. Just as Naru and Masato promised all those years ago, they finally got to sit down and eat a chocolate parfait and some sweets. Umino and Makoto likewise ordered the same thing to fit with the atmosphere.

"Wow, this is so delicious! I've had many parfaits in my time, but this is the best I've ever had!" Naru crooned after having a bite of her desset.

"Really? It ain't really different from any other time I've eaten them," Umino scratched his head.

"Geez, don't you get it? It's not just the taste I enjoy; it's being able to sit down and relax on such a nice day, surrounded by people who truly care for you."

"Exactly! Love always is the secret spice to a good recipe!" Makoto added as she ate her ice cream.

Masato blushed, embarrassed that he was listening to such trite talk. Yet he was also overjoyed to finally be able to fulfill the promise he made to Naru. He felt a great sense of closure too; that he could put his feelings for her behind him and focus on his relationship with Makoto. Although he didn't want to talk about Jouji, Umino interjected, "So what happened with that guy? Did you dump him, Naru?"

"Hey! Let's not talk about that right now!" Makoto snapped.

"No, it's okay," Naru smiled. "I told my family what happened, and they accepted my decision. Of course Jouji's been trying to make up with me, but I've been putting my foot down with him. I'm sure he won't have much trouble finding someone else to replace me once he realizes how serious I am."

As Masato drank some coffee, he opened one eye as he noticed Jouji standing across the street talking to another girl. The others didn't notice the scene, but he watched as the girlfriend grew angry, then suddenly slapped his face and stormed off. Masato sighed calmly and thought, I wonder about that…

Meanwhile, none of them noticed JunJun and Midori sitting several tables away. JunJun gobbled down some ice cream while her eyes were transfixed on the happy quartet, and Midori sipped some tea while reading the paper.

"I'm so glad our detective work has paid off," JunJun smiled. "I'd bet my life savings that Chibi-Usa would've wanted to be a part of our team too, huh? She's a real sucker for romance."

"If she came with us, who knows what kind of trouble her impetuousness would have caused," Midori muttered. "Just like how you almost made some terribly rash decisions due to your bull-headed, competitive nature."

"Excuse me? Do you have proof that I 'almost' made some bad decisions?"

"I can compile an extensive list if you want. Do note that my work will be very thorough, since I don't like leaving any detail unexplained."

"Er… Okay, maybe you don't have to…"

They returned their attention to the two couples enjoying their treat. Makoto asked Masato, "Are you okay? You look a little distant."

"I'm fine," he assured her. In an attempt to change the conversation, he said, "Hey, Naru. I was wondering if you could lend a hand for the wedding preparations. Makoto has most of it planned out, but her imagination tends to go out of control if she's left to her own devices, and then we'd have a huge mess we'd never be able to clean up."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean!?" his fiancée pouted.

"Settle down, you two," Naru chided. "I'd be happy to help in any way I can. Maybe seeing you get married might reinvigorate me to try finding a better man for myself. I'm not good with cooking like you are, Makoto, but perhaps I should find a recipe for chocolate parfaits and make lots of them for the guests. Think of it as my personal touch."

"That'd be great!"

Umino grinned, "Hey, instead of a chocolate parfait, how about making them a 'Chou Cream Sundae'!?"

The others looked at him, completely clueless as to what he was talking about. Even JunJun couldn't understand why Umino was so smug, but Midori muttered flatly, "'Chou Cream Sundae' sounds like 'Supreme Thunder' if pronounced in Japanese."

All JunJun could do was smack her forehead.