A/N: . How is Makoto going to take this? FINALLY some actual forward-moving, instead of the nit-picky flashbacks I've been having you guys read. ^^ Hope ya enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: Wield your Thunder and Lightning as you wish, while all the other Senshi and coffee prince makers do their things, 'cause you're not my invention! TT^TT sad

Revealing What SHE Is

Makoto squirmed in the chair.

Now, she wasn't one who was easily nervous or a type of person to squirm, but then again, she'd never been faced with an almost-blank room of light blue that belonged to a millionaire's daughter, and especially a room which was supposed to be lived in.

Unless Ami had just moved in here recently. She sure didn't think so, but the only things that looked to be of 'home' was the fishtank and bed.

'Comfortable', she'd said. Yeah, she was as comfortable as a penguin in a sauna turned on high. Squirming a bit more in the chair, Makoto gave up and threw herself on the floor, sighing as the plush carpet soaked into her bottom and palms.

From what her future-employer was saying, the smaller girl wanted her to 'change'. But all the descriptions were something she could do, easily. It was almost perfect, actually. If Makoto just went and unconsciously kicked a flower pot over, it would have fit under Ami's description.

Ami unconsciously wanted Makoto to be herself.

As a girl.

"So, Mako-chan, I want you to become the most feminine you can be. I'm sure, given your 'manhood' and everything your ancestors raised you to be, you'll still have a lot of guy in you, so that'll take care of the 'butch' and dominating side of you for me."

Makoto nodded, bristling a bit when she recalled how 'manly' she could be.

She had basically grown up without adult supervision by the time she was seven, and when she'd been taken in, Miki's parents had left the artificial blonde to her when they'd both turned ten and eleven.

She adored the pesky girl and had considered herself the most fortunate she'd ever been in her life that she now had a sister. Only the problem of major spending on Miki's part, curbed early by Makoto when they'd first started living alone, was what brought her here.

Money.

But also, as an afterthought hot on its heels, Ami Mizuno herself.

She sat in the pose of casual relaxation, but there was something so fluid about it that it made Makoto look twice. Something inside of the smaller blue-haired girl seemed to shiver, and the Lightning Wielder found herself reminded of the roaring waterfalls she had taken training under.

Strong, pliant, giving, but dangerous.

A mighty river of power that had the mercilessness of a million warlords without a heart.

But something else spoke to her, and Makoto put aside all her fears that Ami Mizuno was a feral Senshi who had turned too early. It was in the way the girl held herself, intense and liable to sacrifice something she held dear to her to protect the things she truly needed to.

Makoto found herself drawn to those dark pools of blue, and she wondered if those same eyes had been the one to study her and the others through the small bubble that had followed her around.

If she had taken the foreshadowing to think bubbles popped on contact with the surface of something, then it would have been very harmless. Such as it was, it was amusing to watch the bubble float on invisible air currents and land in the tub with her without so much as a shiver to the shiny surface.

"Okay, Blue. I'm pretty sure I can do that. I've never really been called 'girly', but as a. . man, I'm sure I can put my past behind me and try something new for size."

Makoto smiled reassuringly and watched as Ami took out a pad and pen. Twirling it in her fingers, she raised it to pat herself in the arm and then pointed it at her, looking down to scrutinize the words she had on paper.

"Good for you, Mako-chan. Now, let's settle for payment. How's about. ."

And the millionaire proceeded to give her the amount each part of her body was worth when she touched them in public. Makoto noted the odd structure in wording, and she raised a hand, cutting off the money figures.

"In private, too. Sorry, Blue. I don't mean to be condescending or whatever about where you want to touch me, but let's include the pay for private lessons. Not that I'm some kind of body god here, but I want to keep some distance and that 'professional' atmosphere. S'okay with you?"

A small smile made its way onto Ami's lips.

Makoto grinned back, then paled slightly as the pen landed on her pursed lips.

"Oh, and as for kisses, well. . . Let's just fake those, shall we?"

The planning of money transfers was coming to a close.

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"Luna! Where is Diana?"

"Artemis, she's with Setsuna, who's guarding Chibi-Usa and Hotaru in the Time Gates. Now, tell me, what are you doing here, and with someone who had already transformed without Usagi's knowledge, eh?"

Anyone looking up into the tree at the local park would blanch immediately at the feral snarls emanating from two cats, their eyes shooting daggers at each other.

After sprinting out of Ami's house, Artemis and Luna zeroed in on the park's tree, making sure no one saw them before they scuttled up the dense bark.

"Ami saw Usagi-chan passing by the donut shop one night, and her Henshin stick popped out. Luckily, I spotted the transformation before she could go berserk about herself and went to help. That was the night I left Minako. She didn't need my help anymore and could control her powers."

The purple head nodded grudgingly, then rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Why didn't you tell her about the other Senshi?"

Artemis whimpered and ducked low, looking out over the branches and clawing a bit of the bark off under his paws. A soft breeze ruffled their fur, and Luna's eyes widened when she caught the scent of burnt wheels.

"Hey, guys, haven't seen you two since Artemis left Minako-chan. You getting back together again?"

"Ara, Haruka, don't be so. . blunt. If you do, one of them might push us out of this tree and we'd look rather silly if two grown women fell after climbing up here like monkeys, right?"

"Fine, Michiru. So, you two, tell me."

Luna shook her head at the tall blond's curious nudgings, and she mrrowed plaintively to her partner, an aqua-haired beauty. They were both in civilian clothes, their slim frames appreciated by mortal and youma eye alike.

No wonder they had felt an earlier breeze. Haruka Teno'h was a renowed racer of nineteen, senshi of wind, and her partner, Michiru Kaioh, a talented violinist and painter, the senshi of the ocean. You couldn't find one without the other, and when the fights came, a golden ball was usually making a deep rut in the earth for a flood of submerging water.

"I've just told Artemis that Diana is with Setsuna, Hotaru, and ChibiUsa. They're probably getting restless-"

"*snort* Yeah. Setsuna transported Hotaru over to us, and now she's brought ChibiUsa back to Usagi. Diana and her are probably going to drop by any minute now, since she said there was nothing unusual going on with the youma and Queen Beryl."

The branches creaked alarmingly when a new figure appeared beside the four in the tree, and all gasped when the small cat yowled in joy and launched herself into the unsuspecting paws of Luna and Artemis.

"Setsuna! I thought you'd go over to our place when you'd drop back in!"

"Now, with Diana-chan over here wanting to see her mom and dad? Not a chance. How's Hota-chan been, Michiru?"

"Hello, Sets. Hotaru-chan's over at Usagi-chan's, probably pulling ChibiUsa's pigtails by now like our Princess does Mamoru-kun's. Or Rei-chan's. Funny, how they interact that way."

A trio of rumbled purrs interrupted them.

Diana had burrowed into the warmth of her parent's overjoyed hugs, and the three cats had their eyes closed, meowing happily. Smiling, the three senshi backed away, and with a soft wink, they disappeared, Setsuna drawing them into the Time Stream.

When they reappeared, it was under the privacy of their own home.

Looking at each other, they recalled the fuzzy interactions and sighed, until Setsuna turned her red eyes over to her housemates and cleared her throat, drawing their attention.

"There's a new senshi out there, guys, and Makoto-chan is the closest to her. I'm afraid she might lose it over the next couple of weeks, so we can't let her fully into the Inner Senshi's circle, like she was destined to. The only way to cure her is. . . Invite her in but keep Makoto-chan a secret, so she'll naturally relax."

Haruka and Michiru blinked.

The wind and ocean had been whispering, yet almost in a hushed voice.

Now they knew.

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A/N: Now to sort all this stuff out in my head. . ^^