A/N: Yup. Time for another update! I am really having a lot of fun with this fic. No lie. There will be larger time skips after this chapter, but nothing more than a few years at MOST here or there. I will be super busy in August with Otakon. Also, at the end of this chapter will be the Jovian names for the months and Celestial (Anglo-Saxon) equivalents.
Shout outs:
Lady-Dragonguardian: Thank you for taking an interest in this! Seriously, thank you. I'm not used to doing AU type things, but this just had to get out there.
Neanda: *squeals in joy* You have no idea how much I love reviews from you! I seriously had been hoping you would drop one. You really do help spurn me on with my writing. I am eternally glad that I can still make you feel all of the feels with my works. And don't worry, next chapter should be super feely. You shall feel many things. You feel me? Please, please, PLEASE feel free to leave reviews. To be honest, I kinda hunt for ones from you.
To all of my readers: Thank you so much for looking at this. It fills me with joy that it's not just collecting dust in the corner of the fanfic universe.
WARNING: This chapter contains... Foul language? A bit of blood? Relatively tame. Trust me. Just ask Neanda; that one can tell you just how un-tame I can get.
With love,
Korrupted.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SAILOR MOON. But I will be totally watching the third episode of Crystal Saturday!
"Tell me again why you are using me as a step-stool?!" Makoto grit her teeth, hoisting Minako higher as the blonde clambered up the crystal courtyard wall, trying to spy on a group from the Court.
"Because you're the only one I could trust with this!" Was the hissed reply, the future commander of the Inner branch leaning a bit closer, trying to hear.
As much as that fact touched the Jovian, her arms were starting to cramp up heavily, struggling to keep the blonde balanced on her shoulders. When Minako's wayward foot pushed one of the cuffs on her arms, the strong Jovian felt it bite into her skin painfully, yelping softly before biting back a stream of profanity she had learned from her aunt. In the many months she had lived here, it seemed that her aunt had one of the most colorful vocabularies among the adult Order. "M-minako... Watch your feet! You just stepped on my... THUNDER TAKE IT!" Makoto cried out as another misplaced step caught her cuff, tearing into her skin deep enough to cause blood to run down her arm.
As much as the almost six year old wanted to simply drop the eight year old flat on her rear and storm off, she wasn't about to simply abandon her. She had promised to help, and a Jovian NEVER went back on their word. Instead, the young lightning warrior chewed on her lower lip until she tasted the copper flavor of blood on her tongue, emerald eyes glaring out ahead of her in focus; she would help her leader achieve her goal. Whatever that was. "Makoto, just a bit- Oh, dear Aphrodite... Mako, your arm! I wasn't even paying attention!" Ocean blue eyes stared at the blood that was trickling down the younger girl's shoulder to stain the satin of her gown, instantly trying to abandon her perch in an effort to keep from creating more injuries.
But her younger friend widened her stance and tightened her grip. "Dammit, just finish the mission! A little bit of blood won't kill me." Was the hiss from under her, Minako gulping before listening harder to the Court group.
They were discussing the situation on Saturn; something only the adult members of the Order were allowed to know about. There seemed to be some sort of uprising on that planet, and it seemed that the would-be new warrior of rebirth had been assassinated when her mother had tried to escape with her. Princess Sailor Saturn Hotaru had been targeted due to the fact that if she died, then there would be no new warrior from their planet this generation, and therefor no reason to be caught up in the matters of the Moon Kingdom. Or so the civilians of Saturn thought. 'Don't they know she will be reincarnated in a few more years? Ugh, some planets have the stupidest inhabitants, I swear...' The blonde girl mentally groaned, her eyes shifting back to her companion. "Mission is complete. Now, please! Put me down so I don't hurt you anymore!" She pleaded, finding herself deposited gently on the grassy ground.
Makoto held her injured arm firmly, her fingers gripping the cuff as if by applying pressure to the item, she could reach the wound below it. "So, what did they say?" The younger girl prodded, her expression serious.
The blonde child felt horrible to have caused the other girl pain through thoughtlessness, but instead informed her of what she had overheard. The warrior in green seemed perplexed that one guardian could simply be reborn after several years, but otherwise said nothing. "Mako, c'mon. We need to get your arm looked at." The future commander ordered, leading the younger girl back towards the crystal palace.
She wasn't sure when or why, but some of the groundskeepers had started planting various trees in the many gardens. Though to the eight year old it meant nothing, she could see that Makoto's mood had dramatically improved the moment that the first one had been planted, the wooden objects almost seemed to sway towards her at times even when there was not a single breeze to cause them to move. Their journey was a bit on the long side, wandering until they finally reached the infirmary, a kind woman turning to face them with red hair and green eyes, her robes a gentle lavender that brought out her delicate features more. "Unazuki? Makoto's been hurt, and it's under one of her cuffs. Is there any way to tend to it?" The warrior to be from Venus inquired.
The head nurse gave the two children a warm smile, beckoning the injured one over to her before locating the tiny key she had to the cuffs; only she and Lysander had a copy aside from the Queen. Carefully, Unazuki unlocked the left bangle and removed it, looking at the scrape carefully before reaching over towards one of her carts of salves and potions. After selecting a pretty blue-pink crystal bottle, the woman unstopped it and wet a clean cloth with the liquid within, gently wiping away the blood. "It's not too bad, but you should be more careful. Selene is not going to be happy that you bled on that dress." Unazuki cautioned, wrapping the now clean surface with a fresh strip of cloth before replacing the cuff. "There. You're doing far better than Talia, though. When she was your age, she had already gotten cut into several times by those cuffs. Ah, but I digress."
Minako and Makoto stared at the woman who had to be well into her seven hundreds, though she only looked to be in her four hundreds, slack-jawed at her well-maintained beauty. "Well, uh... Thanks Unazuki. I'll try to be more careful." The green eyed child muttered, leaving with her friend.
"Yo, Mako!" A voice that made the auburn haired girl smile brightly called, turning to see Haruka and Lysander strolling closer. "Time for combat lessons."
Haruka was starting to have growth spurts at an irrational pace, slowly growing to tower over them all aside from Setsuna. Makoto had grown several inches herself in the past eleven months, standing now just about an inch shorter than their princess and a half inch shorter than Minako, but she was quickly dwarfed by the girl who preferred trousers and tunics to dresses. "Oh! I had forgotten. Bye, Minako. I gotta change and spar." The auburn haired princess apologized, dashing across the crystal halls barefooted.
She had developed the habit going barefoot within the palace from Serenity, hurrying back to her room to locate her new favorite outfit that Selene had made. An emerald green fabric made up the tunic, hints of mint and sea green for hems and boarders, her planetary symbol stitched into the back in gold thread. The short sleeves and sides were made of the softest lunar doe hides available, the woman knowing that Makoto preferred short or no sleeves to avoid her cuffs being caught on the fabrics. Her trousers echoed the materials of the tunic, a thin stripe of hide down the outer seams of the article of clothing, the boots hardened leather of Razor Boars from Jupiter. She tied back her long hair and brushed down her clothing, satisfied that she would look similar to her friend and mentor. She took off once more down the halls, pursing her lips as she thought about the letter she had gotten from Sakura the week before.
Her twin missed her dearly and hoped that she was treated well. Of course, there was also the mention that she and her mother were coming to see her on the fifth of Hunt Moon. She kept forgetting the Celestial names for the months, resorting to the Jovian versions in a pinch. Haruka's birthday had come about just a little over a month since she arrived, Bright Moon being what she had referred to it as, gaining odd looks and then questions about what she called the other months. Michiru had hers in Rain Moon, only two months after the blonde. Next was Serenity in Wolf Moon, though to be honest she barely avoided being born in Storm Moon. Minako had her birthday mere days before Setsuna in Harvest Moon, and she had revealed her own month to be Hunt Moon. Now, it was Flood Moon, and she couldn't wait until next month. 'Wait, isn't Flood Moon called November or something?' She mused as she turned into the training hall.
Makoto panted loudly, her hands on her knees as the older girl grinned at her warmly. "Damn, Tiger. You didn't need to run that hard. I wasn't gonna up and leave you."
Lysander laughed as he sat on a crystal bench, his green eyes gentle as the two girls began to square off once the younger girl had regained her breath. Haruka lunged first, Makoto backing away to dodge her as a fist swept where she had been standing. The Jovian dropped to avoid a kick, leaping up to grab the offending leg and throw the blonde off balance, Haruka yelping as she fell flat on her ass in the dirt, grinning widely. "Nice one! Wanna attacking this time?" The guardian of the sky offered, the green eyed youth accepting happily.
Again, they stood, taking their fighting stances as they circled each other, Makoto dashing forwards. Midnight blue hues watched as the smaller brawler rushed at her directly, scoffing inwardly at the obvious frontal rush assault tactic; hadn't she taught her anything? The short haired pre-teen threw a solid punch right where Makoto's momentum would take her, hoping she didn't put too much power into it. However, the girl slid along the dirt to avoid the blow, kicking out Haruka's legs from under her and starting a grapple. The Outer Senshi found herself locked in a fierce grappling match with the small but strong girl, using her size as leverage to pin the Jovian below her. She straddled Makoto's waist and soon began tickling her.
Makoto yelped as her mentor tickled her. She fidgeted, squirmed, tried to gain back the upper hand, but ultimately was out-matched via age and current body size differences. She laughed loudly, kicking the dirt floor hard enough to stir up clouds of dust as the elder warrior continued her assault. "Surrender?!" The blonde shouted, her hands still wickedly tormenting Makoto's sides and armpits.
"N-never!" Was the gasped reply, the breathless combatant still trying to reclaim a victory.
"That's my Tiger! But I shall beat you yet!" Haruka retracted one hand and wet her pinkie with saliva, shoving it into the flailing girl's ear to hear her squeal in horror.
"HARUKA! What in the name of THUNDER is wrong with you?!" Makoto protested, slapping at the blonde wildly.
"Give up?"
"I yield, I YIELD!" Makoto finally conceded, glaring up at her best friend angrily when the tickling ceased and the finger was removed, panting heavily. "You have issues, Haru..."
The brash girl grinned down at her student, folding her arms over her chest. "But I still beat you in grappling again."
At the sight of her young charge pouting, Haruka stood, helping her dust off her clothing. "C'mon. Let's try again."
Makoto waited in her room with Michiru as her sister and mother were being guided towards her, Serenity bounding in happily with a black feline with a crescent moon on her forehead in her arms. Luna looked unhappy about being carried, but this time didn't try to talk her way out of it; the kitten was a bit shy with strangers. The blonde princess giggled as she flopped next to the other two, Michiru idly playing with the long blonde tails, much to her joy, Makoto grinning at her two friends. It was her sixth birthday, and she was excited to see her family again. There was a knock on the door, then it opened, a green clad blur of brown dashing in to tackle the reddish brown haired warrior onto the bed, both twins laughing and crying in joy at holding the other again. For the first time in a year, Makoto felt whole.
Akira thanked the Guardsman who had lead them and walked into the room regally, her tiara resting gracefully on her forehead as her brown locks framed her face carefully, the tall Jovian looking the very image of the queen she was. "Hello, my dear Mako." She spoke in a voice that was as gentle as the summer rains on their planet, her elder daughter instantly sitting up and then standing before rushing over to her.
Akira knelt down to hug her daughter firmly to her body, a part of her so desperately wanting to snatch up both of her children and flee, but knowing it was useless. "Mom... I missed you and Saku so much..." The child admitted softly, fighting back the same tears that threatened to spill over her own hazel hues.
"And I, you. Oh my dearest Makoto..." She breathed, relishing in the simple pleasure of holding her own daughter once again.
Sakura tugged her twin away, Makoto noting that she was a good half inch taller than the green-hazel eyed girl, the necklace that held her power still firmly in place about her neck. Suddenly, the warrior in training recalled the other two in her room, facing her bed. "Mother, Sakura, this is Princess Sailor Neptune Michiru, and Princess Serenity." She stated politely, both women promptly kneeling in the presence of the young future queen.
"Please, please don't kneel. I really don't like it." Serenity insisted, sitting up quickly enough to unsettle Luna.
A knock on the open door showed Setsuna and Haruka in the doorway, the blonde grinning at them kindly in her infamous blue tunic and trousers, a gift clutched in both of their hands. "Hey, Mako! Happy birth- whoa! Aww, jeez. I forgot your family was coming over." She waved at the other two brunettes sheepishly. "Hello. I'm Haruka, the Princess Sailor Uranus to Serenity. This is Setsuna, the Princess Sailor Pluto."
Akira smiled at the youths her features warm and welcoming. "I am Queen Jupiter Akira, and this is Princess Sakura. Makoto wrote up about you all. She says that you have been treating her very well. I am in your debt."
Setsuna giggled softly, shaking her head. "It's nothing, really. Minako is out doing some drills with her aunt, so she won't be here until later." She strode forwards, presenting her gift to the twin with the red tinting in her brown hair. "Happy birthday Makoto. And you too, Sakura."
The younger twin blushed and bowed her head in thanks, watching as her twin took the offered item and unwrapped it to show several tomes of cooking recipes, the olive skinned teen earning a hug of thanks. The boyish girl (Sakura was still trying to figure out if Haruka was a boy or not) strode over and simply handed her the gift, ruffling her pulled back hair playfully as she beamed at Makoto. "Happy birthday, Tiger." Was the short but affection filled statement, the warmth that those midnight blue eyes held for the younger warrior clear to all.
Once again, the girl pulled away dyed leather to expose the gift; a small golden bookmark that Haruka had smithed herself with the Jovian symbol in the center. Speechless, the elder twin simply threw her arms around her taller friend and hugged her close, the blonde hugging her back with equal ferocity. "Thank you so much, Haruka." She whispered.
"Hey, it's nothing. I'm just glad I could make you smile." The warrior of the winds confessed, pulling back once she felt like the embrace had been held for a bit longer than was proper, turning to the other two Jovians. "I'm sorry that I don't have something for you too, Sakura, so may I offer to take the both of you with me to the gardens? There are many, and Makoto really loves the rose gardens." The commander of the Outer branch offered in a warm voice, both of the twins eagerly taking hold of Haruka's hands to be lead to the grounds.
Setsuna, Michiru, and Serenity stayed with Akira, the woman grinning at the girl who was taking time to watch over the girls before turning back to face the trio still there. "I am so very happy that she is well cared for. But, do you think it's safe for just Princess Sailor Uranus Haruka to simply take them onto the grounds? I have been hearing of unrest beyond the walls..." The woman inquired.
Setsuna smiled in reply. "Queen Jupiter, I can assure you that Haruka is a great guard for them. But I am certain that Moonlight Knight Lysander is also going to be watching them. Princess Sailor Jupiter Lacira would have his head if he didn't."
The blonde princess slid to her feet, Akira taking note of the pleasant smile on her lips, feeling welcomed just by being in her presence. Makoto had been right; the air of happiness that this child emitted was contagious. "Please, do you want something to eat? I can get you something. Oh, I know! We have lots of really good ice cream!"
Haruka leaned against the tree in the rose garden, keeping a very careful eye on her two charges. Makoto seemed to be showing her something with her lightning, the fact that the younger twin could emulate it was somewhat amazing; while it wasn't uncommon for second, or even third born girls to be able to use their planet's abilities, Sakura seemed to have almost every bit as much power as the future warrior. "Oak Parade!" She heard the soft chime of the younger Jovian's voice call, nearly flopping over in shock as she watched the girl bring to life tiny wooden animals from a tree branch.
Neither of them should be able to conjure such advanced summonings, but Makoto and apparently her twin seemed to have a knack for it. Was it that they were born as twins and not as single children? She wasn't sure. "Ohhh! Sakura, that is amazing! Did you show Mom yet?" The elder one questioned excitedly as a wooden version of a knight strode about before them, poking at a miniature Wind Fox with it's sword.
"Yes. She says that it's amazing too. Apparently I'm not supposed to be this good at summonings or anything."
The green eyed girl grinned and playfully shoved her sister's shoulder, earning a giggle. "See, and you think I'm always the stronger one."
Haruka continued to watch the duo, at one point, carefully pinking a rose for each of them and carrying them around one at a time on her back. The future Senshi of Jupiter was so very dear to her, just the girl laughing and carrying on like this made her feel like she had accomplished something great. She had pleaded with the Queen to have trees added to the gardens for Makoto's sake, asking for a wide variety, and incredibly glad that the woman had been more than happy to plant them for the Jovian. And to see the sister also in the same emotion of joy added to the feeling. For her, life would change next month, when she would gain her transformation wand. She would then be a full fledged Senshi like Setsuna, able to transform into Sailor Uranus and protect the Moon Princess even better. But she also could be called away to aid in fighting against uprisings, tearing her away from the other Outer warriors, and her Makoto.
And Haruka had to admit, she really did not like the idea of leaving her younger charge behind for any reason. It made her heart ache at the though of possibly never seeing her friends again, and that would make the green eyed fighter cry. She never wanted to be the reason for Makoto to shed a tear of grief.
A/N: Month names.
Bright Moon - January
Cold Moon - February
Rain Moon - March
Blood Moon - April
Thunder Moon - May
Wolf Moon - June
Storm Moon - July
River Moon - August
Oak Moon - September
Harvest Moon - October
Flood Moon - November
Hunt Moon - December
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