A/N: So, another update of something. Because SAILOR FREAKING MOON. Let the complications begin!
Warning: Contains bits of lesbianism. And that's about it this time. Also shows a bit of the tension between Mars and Jupiter from the war.
With love,
Korrupted.
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Sailor Moon. But I am loving what they did with Rei on Crystal.
Makoto was standing a bit behind Minako, both wearing their Court of The Crescent attire as they flanked Serenity on her throne. It was April and the eleven year old had to be a part of the ceremony for Princess Sailor Mars Rei, but they had to wait for one more of the group to hurry up and get onto the dais before the girl could be allowed to enter. "I'm so sorry! I forgot my way!" A soft voice called as it hurried closer, the six year old bluenette dashing to close the distance.
Makoto flashed her a gentle smile, helping to guide her to her place on the dais, feeling her cuffs a bit too snug on her biceps. She had been gaining more muscle as her training began to incorporate strengthening exercises and more various fighting styles. That added to the growth spurts and she had to get new bangles cast again soon. The doors opened as they all set their faces to be neutral, a part of Makoto still aching over the absence of Lacira around the queen. Sometimes she and Selene still expected to see her stomping around her room, venting about how some Guardsman or otherwise had been a complete idiot, or watch her gracefully practice with her spear in the training hall. In the year and a half since her death, it still sometimes didn't seem real.
A small girl with long, deep purple hair strode confidently into the room, her violet eyes looking straight ahead. She knelt before the group of youths, speaking clearly and solemnly.
"I kneel before you as Mars; planet of fire, passion, and battle. I swear on this day before the Court of the Crescent to aid, serve, and protect you until my final breath leaves me. I will faithfully serve the Moon Kingdom and heed the call of battle against any foe of the Moon Princess Serenity. I, Princess Rei, pledge this as your loyal senshi of Mars."
Makoto glanced at Serenity, the thirteen year old speaking in a voice full of regal grace that she knew didn't typically get used. "I gratefully accept your pledge of service. I welcome you to the Order of the Senshi, Princess Sailor Mars Rei. Come, and join your fellow Senshi." She stated as the child rose, beckoning to her to join them.
Princess Sailor Mars Rei climbed the steps carefully, taking her place beside Minako and looking out at the Court for the first time. Makoto could see bits of the awe she must had had on her own features there, the Queen standing to address the people with a smile. "It is my great pleasure to end the ceremony. Please, proceed to the great hall for the feast." She offered in that soft, beautiful voice of hers, Makoto letting out a huff of air as the crowd departed.
All at once, the serious air on the dais melted away, Haruka once again complaining about the dress she had to wear, Michiru hushing her with a gentle kiss. The two sixteen year olds blushed slightly and smiled at each other, Setsuna ruffling Minako's hair playfully, the twelve year old protesting as she jumped up to swat at the bun atop the young woman's head. For some reason unknown, the two of them soon devolved into a poking war, the eldest one dashing around as the blonde cackled wickedly in pursuit, Ami giggling at the sight of the elder warriors. "Are... Are they always this childish?" A soft voice questioned.
Makoto blinked and turned to face the speaker, spying Rei watching the playful girls with a mildly disapproving expression. The Jovian had forgotten that on Mars, life was structured around shrines, serious thought, and mature acts. "Well, not typically, but we aren't all that formal really. I'm Princess Sailor Jupiter Makoto. But feel free to just call me Makoto." She offered, extending her hand.
The girl looked at it, then back up to verdant eyes. "For a Jovian, you seem nice. I hope that opinion doesn't change." Her gaze shifted to Ami abruptly, Makoto's expression a bit perplexed until she recalled that Jupiter and Mars had a war for many years, her father being killed in a skirmish against the High Guard. It made sense that there might be some animosity from the younger girl, but she hoped it would fade before Haruka ever noticed.
"Hey! That was pretty damn rude of you." The blonde in question stated, moving closer to the child. "You really should apologize for that."
'Damn. There goes that hope...'
Makoto stepped between then, her expression pleading towards Haruka; she didn't want the taller girl to get in trouble for her sake. "Please, don't make a scene. Look, there was a really big war between our planets that just ended a few months ago. It's been going on for years, so I get it. It's okay for her to question me. Please, just let it go." Her emerald eyes locked with slowly easing blue as she mouthed, 'For me' as a final request.
The wind warrior finally sighed in defeat, holding up her hands in surrender as she linked hands with Michiru and walked away to change, Setsuna lingering. Her pink hues were a bit hazy, her mouth in a slight frown as Makoto assumed a few new futures began to make themselves known to her. She turned back to face the youngest member of the Order, her expression apologetic. "Sorry about that, really."
That was when she had noticed Rei's expression had changed, the girl looking shocked before smiling at her. "N-no... I should be sorry. I'm not used to... Jovians acting kindly to us. Call me Rei, please." The tiny hand extended between them.
Makoto grinned widely, shaking it firmly as she knelt down closer to Rei's level. "Good to meet you. We actually don't like being super formal, so just call us by our names, okay?"
A nod from a slightly blushing face was her reply, Minako taking over introductions from there as she ruffled Serenity's hair and walked away with the guardian of time. Ami walked up to the only other Senshi her age and smiled kindly at her. "Makoto is very nice, isn't she?" The young princess of wisdom inquired, turning to watch the elder girl walk away in her green dress.
"Yes... Very nice." Rei breathed softly, watching her with admiration. Despite the war that had just ended between their planets, the shrine dweller couldn't help but notice just how kind the Jovian was, how she had defended her from that blonde teen. "I'm Rei." The girl added a bit belatedly.
"Ami. Would you like me to show you to the rooms? We can eat after that if you want." The Mercucian prompted. "They do have good ice cream here."
The sound of the confections' name being uttered caused the Moon Princess to whirl around, her face alight with joy. "Let's go get ice cream!"
Haruka was wrapping her breasts down with a large strip of cloth, Michiru sitting on her bed with her legs crossed gracefully. "This year Makoto will become a full Senshi." The aqua haired teen stated, the boyish girl freezing a bit.
"Yeah, she will. Wonder what her weapon will look like." The wind guardian mused aloud, returning to flatting her chest.
"She's gotten very pretty in these last six years, don't you think?"
Haruka stiffened, a bit of red creeping up the back of her neck. This was not a conversation she should be having with her girlfriend, even if the brunette was close friends with them both. "I guess." She croaked out.
Michiru was watching her butch companion carefully, trying to read her body language and gauge her reactions. Did the commander of the Outer Senshi have a budding crush on the Jovian as she did? She knew it wasn't appropriate, what with the Vow and all, but the Neptunian girl just couldn't help it any more than she could have helped falling for the shirtless girl standing before the mirror. However, Michiru had to be very cautious; to taint the purity of a Senshi who has taken the Vow was an offense that was treason. The only punishment was the death of whoever had caused her to be impure. "Have you been thinking about her?" Was the rather abrupt question.
Haruka spun around quickly, her face pale, her midnight blue eyes wide. How had Michiru known? How had her girlfriend seen through her to see that the love she had for the younger warrior was slowly becoming less of that of a comrade and more of that of a lover? She had been careful to mask it, to keep a distance between them as to not draw any attention to herself. Haruka still gave Makoto all the affection she always had, but striven to ensure that it could never be seen as anything more. "H... How...?" Was all she could squeak out, trembling from head to toe. This was where Michiru would leave her, scold her, demand she keep her distance from the green eyed pre-teen or she could be put to death.
Instead, the girl simply smiled and leaned forward, her chin resting on her hand lazily. "I have too. Don't worry, I won't tell if you won't, Haru." The gentle artist confessed.
The trembling guardian of Uranus nearly crumpled in relief, letting out a huff of air she hadn't known she had been holding. Leave it to the both of them to also share an attraction to the girl who would never be allowed to know intimacy. She quickly secured the end of the cloth down, running her fingers through her short hair nervously. If just her starting to get a crush on her much younger friend wasn't supposed to happen, then the both of them going through it was doubly bad; this could easily spell disaster should it get out. "By the SKY, Michi... We shouldn't... We just... Serenity damn it, we're her friends and she looks up to us! Forget the damn Vow, she's my pupil! Aunt Talia and I train her!" It was clear that she was venting out her confused feelings aloud to someone else for the first time, groaning in frustration. "I mean, she's one of us, but she's also part of the Inner branch."
Michiru watched as the teen paced the floor restlessly, her laced hands behind her neck as she scowled at nothing in general with her sharp midnight orbs. "Haruka, it happens. This could be simply an infatuation on our parts. All three of us are incredibly fond of her, and protective of her. We may just be misunderstanding our own emotions." The soft-spoken girl offered, seeing her more brash partner calm a bit at her words, continuing. "We are all still fairly young. It may just be something we get over soon. She never will know, and we won't have to worry."
Haruka gave her girlfriend a curious glance, glad one of them had a level head at this moment. She gave a soft sigh and located a yellow and blue tunic to tug over her head, granting Michiru a soft kiss on her lips. "I don't know what I would do without you." She confessed into the soft, kissable surface, feeling a set of lips grin into her own.
"Worry yourself to death." Was the simple retort.
Makoto and Setsuna were laying on their backs on the green sheets of the lightning warrior's bed, staring up at the ceiling in comfortable silence. The long, olive green hair of the Plutonian lay under the tall guardian, her legs draped over the edge as they simply enjoyed each other's company. The door to Serenity's room was shut as usual, but they knew that the blonde would knock if she needed anything. The walls were decorated with paintings from Sakura, the woman often in awe at the skill of the eleven year old heir; she would never say it aloud to anyone, but little Sakura had considerably more skill than the highly talented Michiru. "So, how has training been?" The dark skinned warrior questioned softly.
Makoto turned her head to look at the woman next to her, then back up to the ceiling. "It's been okay. Talia and Haruka have been teaching me a lot. My summonings are a bit... difficult though. Aunt Lacira had been a really good teacher, and she knew so much about them. I'll do better with them soon, but for now it's just hard still." She admitted, lifting her right arm to gaze at her newly sized cuff.
"Mako? Can you show me one of your wood summonings? I heard you practicing the other day, but I didn't want to intrude." The elder woman requested, her friend grinning widely as she sat up on the bed.
She usually only shared these with Sakura, but this was one of her best friends; of course she would show her. The auburn haired girl took a deep breath and focused on the power inside of her, calling out, "Oak Armor Rebellion!"
Wood slowly began to sprout along her right arm, green crystals embedded in it as the thin material moved around the golden cuff to not obscure it from view. Finally, from fingertips to shoulder, Makoto's right arm was encased in oaken plates, the green eyed child flexing her fingers. "Sakura is way better at it than me. I'm really good at lightning, though." She confessed.
Setsuna was grinning widely, blown away at the skill of her young friend and fellow warrior. Not many in their late five hundreds could create and properly use their own summoning, but here was a girl only eleven who could use her secondary skill with a personal summoning. It was truly impressive. However, there was a knock at the main door, the wooden item opening at Makoto's invitation to show Haruka leaning against the crystal of the doorway lazily, Michiru only a step or so behind her. "Hey Tiger. Wanna get some food?" The butch girl offered with a smile.
The squeal of joy at her words caused the smile to grow, the smaller girl rushing over to leap up and hug Haruka firmly, the warrior of the winds embracing her in return and lightly kissing her hair. Setsuna stood regally, walking over to join them as her commander draped an arm around the lightning warrior's shoulders, shutting the door as Michiru clasped Makoto's wood armored right hand in her own, the guardian of time bringing up the rear as usual, walking behind them as if a sentry. They were an odd group, most certainly, but a very tight-knit one. They adored each other dearly, relying on one another for support, company, and advice.
Makoto was more than happy to be in the center of the group Outer Senshi, standing amid her most precious friends and allies. As close as she and Minako were, the Jovian always felt most at ease when she walked with the eldest guardians. Serenity was another pillar in her life; each a confidant to the other. They had spent many a night raiding the kitchen together, talking and laughing as the green eyed girl taught herself to cook more elaborate dishes from the thick tomes the cooks used. The princess would always be all too happy to gorge herself on the miniature feasts until she fell asleep, leaving Makoto to clean up and carry the snoring blonde back to her room. "Oh, hang on." The girl realized the arm that was clasping Michiru's hand was still encased in wood and crystals.
She willed the summoning away, her hand now touching the artists' gently as they continued on their way. Upon entering the great hall, verdant eyes searched for blonde pigtails, locating her princess at the dessert table. Had she really expected anything different? The Jovian still wore her green dress, noting that Haruka had been the only one to change clothing as they moved towards the Inner branch of the Order. Minako beamed and sipped at some juice, Usagi busy shoveling giant spoonfuls of ice cream into her mouth. Ami stood next to Rei, the young guardians deep in conversation about something, Makoto grinning happily.
She truly did enjoy this make-shift family she had acquired, even thought it had come at a heavy price. At least she knew Haruka, Serenity, and the others were there for her through anything.