Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Read Or Die Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction / Noir Fan Fiction ❯ Life After Conclusion ❯ Chapter the Second: Verity of a Sapling ( Chapter 2 )

Life After Conclusion

Chapter Two:

Verity of a Sapling

a R.O.D./Sailor Moon/Noir Fanfic

by SoftRogue

Disclaimer:

R.O.D. is the property of Taraku Uon

Noir is the property of Ryoe Tsukimura

Sailor Moon is the property of Naoko Takeuchi

and…my soul is now the property of the Devil.

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With a sigh of vexation, Makoto Kino laid the book she was reading down in her lap, careful not to lose her place. Rubbing her irritated eyes, she reached into a pocket on the inside of the bomber jacket she wore and pulled out a slim case. Staring at the case in annoyance, she opened it and removed a thin pair of reading glasses. Closing the case with a snap, she returned it to the pocket and opened the arms of the glasses before slipping them onto her face.

Taking a moment to tuck a strand of hair that had escaped her ever-present ponytail behind her ear, Makoto frowned in mild annoyance. As long as she could remember, she had always needed to wear reading glasses; but she had adamantly refused to wear them. Being taller, stronger, and more devloped than the other kids her age was hard enough; but having to deal with being called 'four-eyes' on top of everything else…lets just say children could be cruel enough as it was without any more prompting than absolutely necessary. However, her new job required doing a lot of reading, so the glasses had become a necessary evil in her opinion.

Picking the book up and quickly finding her place Makoto smiled slightly, if her friends only knew the truth. Well…the complete truth, that is. Everything she had told them about her job was, in the strictest sense of the word, the absolute truth. However, the tall brunette had found it necessary to…omit a few details. Not that she enjoyed the thought of lying to them, it was just better for all that they didn't know all of the facts…that and if they knew the truth they would ask questions that she would inevitably be forced to answer.

And there were things about Makoto Kino that she didn't want anybody to know.

Trying to focus on her book, the brunette soon found her thoughts wandering as they always did whenever she thought about her friends. Lowering her book slightly, Makoto looked around the room she was currently sitting in. Some would call it Late Victorian with it's plush chairs, large couches and low tables along with the sconce lamps and bookshelves filled with the many books that were the staple of her job. However, the presence of several high-tech devices, such as a monitor that took up a large section of one of the walls, stood out against the ambiance of the room.

Sighing again, Makoto found her bookmark and marked her place before closing the book and setting it off to the side. Reaching into another pocket of her jacket, she pulled out a pocket-watch and looked at the depiction on the lid before depressing the button on top and checking the time. Seeing she had plenty of time before she had to do anything, she listened to the haunting melody that flitted across her memories before she closed the watch with an angry snap. Makoto rose from the chair and moved over to one of the couches, stuffing the pocket-watch back into her jacket. Flopping down on the couch haphazardly, she laid back and sprawled across the comfortable leather; one leg on the floor, the other bent slightly on the cushions.

It had been nearly three years since she had seen all of her friends together, nearly three years since she had last seen Ami. It had been near the end of their junior year of high school and, as they had done many times in the past, the five close friends had gathered at the Hikawa Shrine in order to study for the upcoming finals. For several months leading up to that fateful day, Makoto and the others had seen their blue haired friend become more…withdrawn than she normally was and even become slightly snappish. While they had all become concerned, the four girls had decided that the blue-haired girls' change in attitude was a result of their impending tests. The temperament of their resident genius did have a positive effect of the others, making all of them study for their finals with a dedication that many of them (i.e. Minako) had never shown before in an effort to avoid bothering Ami…all of them except Usagi.

Makoto remembered how, on that fateful day, she was immersed in her Geometry textbook as she tuned out the bickering Rei as she admonished Usagi (something they all had learned to do years ago). It was the priestesses startled yell that had finally pulled the brunette from her studies, only to look up and see a glass of juice spill across the table. Grabbing her textbook and notes and quickly moving them off the table, Makoto began trying to clean up the mess along with Minako and a frantic Usagi; who was apologizing a mile a minute; while Ami sat there with a stunned look as she regarded her ruined papers.

A loud snarl accompanied by a startled yelp were the only warnings Makoto had before the table was jerked out from underneath her. Looking up, the brunette was flabbergasted to see Ami; the shy, quite bookworm who always tried to avoid a physical confrontation; hefting the table above her head and, with a snarl, swing it downwards. Makoto saw a tangle of blonde and raven hair roll to one-side moments before the table slammed into the floor and shatter into pieces. Moving quickly, Makoto came up behind Ami and put a hand on her shoulder in order to try to calm her down; however, she never had the chance.

The instant the tall brunettes' hand touched the smaller girls' shoulder, Ami spun around and the last thing Makoto saw before her world went black was a small fist rocketing towards her. To this day, Makoto could still feel the pain of the blow to her face and she didn't know which surprised her more; that someone had hit her hard enough to knock her out...or that Ami had hit her.

Makoto wasn't sure how long she was out, it couldn't have been more that a few moments; but when she came to, she saw Rei struggling to hold Ami back. Leaping to her feet, the brunette joined the priestess and the two of them wrestled the smaller girl to the ground. Eventually, Rei and Makoto were able to pin Ami to the floor and the two girls spent the next minute or so trying to reach the blue hair girl; Makoto could vividly remember the look in Ami's eyes, one moment an animalistic fury, the next utter confusion. That look quickly changed into dread as Ami once again displayed an uncanny strength for her small size and she shoved both Rei and Makoto off of her before she ran for the door.

The next few days were by far the most difficult that Makoto had experienced since she first met Usagi and the others. The brunette couldn't reconcile the fact that Ami; their quiet, shy, withdrawn friend; had attacked them with such viciousness. When the blue-haired girl refused to answer any calls that night and failed to show up for school the next, Makoto's confusion rapidly became concern. Usagi by far took the events that happened the worst; walking around zombie-like as she felt she was the reason Ami had attacked her. Minako, meanwhile, was constantly wearing a pensive look; a far cry from her normal cheerful disposition; and no matter how hard she tried, Makoto couldn't hate the Senshi of Love for what she surly must have been thinking.

It was Rei, surprisingly enough, who kept a level head during those days. After the second day of not seeing or hearing from Ami, the priestess contacted the hospital her mother worked at and, finding that she was out of town at a conference Rei then called the hotel she was staying at. Mizuno-Sensei told Rei that she would be back in town the next day and would talk to her daughter the instant she got home. After waiting patiently for as long as she could, Rei went to the Mizuno's condo early in the morning the day after Mizuno-Sensei returned. However, when she arrived back at the shrine where the other three were waiting, they soon received a series of shocks that would soon change their lives forever.

The first, and by far the mildest, surprise was in the form of the four Outer Scouts; who had apparently met Rei at the steps leading up to the shrine. The second surprise was when, as soon as the door was closed, the priestess turned to face Setsuna and began yelling and screaming at her; accusing her of knowing what had happened and blaming her of not doing anything to stop it, all the while clenching a envelope in her hand. While the emerald haired woman stood their stoically, a confused Haruka asked what Rei was going on about and Minako told the Outers, in excruciating detail, what Ami had done the other day. When she was finished; Haruka, Michiru, and even young Hotaru began to express their feelings on what had happened and what they would do to the blue-haired girl when they saw her next.

They all were surprised again when Usagi, upon hearing what the two older girls and young girl wanted to do, snapped out of her funk for the first time in days and commanded them to not do anything to Ami. In the following stunned silence, their future Queen asked Rei what had happened at the Mizuno's.

When Rei opened the contents of the envelope and poured them onto the table, Makoto felt her heart skip a beat. Lying on top of a single piece of paper was the Mercury Computer; and the brunette knew without having to read the letter to know that Ami was gone.

As Usagi gently picked up the letter and read it out loud, Makoto had felt as if a part of her had died. For the past few years, the five of them had been together through thick and thin; no matter what kind of squabbles they might have had, they always knew that the others would be there if they were needed. But now…but now, Ami was gone. The only thing that the brunette was grateful for was that the Mercury Henshin wand wasn't there on the table; for it meant that there was still hope that the blue haired girl would return.

So caught up in her thoughts, Makoto almost missed their Princess asking Setsuna why Ami had left and why she hadn't done anything to prevent it. The Senshi of Pluto was quiet for a moment as she looked around the room, her crimson eyes looking at each and every one of them gravely before she responded.

'Each and every one of you in this room is special. Not just because you've been reincarnated from the past, but because all of you carry two Destines. One of them is the duty of being Senshi and everything that entails; the other being the one each of you were born with. Sailor Mercury has, for the time being, discharged her burden and now Ami Mizuno must go and face her own fate.'

That night back in her apartment, Makoto sat alone in silence. Deep in thought, she pondered the words that Setsuna had spoken. What path did was she, Makoto Kino, to walk along; what did the future hold in store for her…and what about her past? Finally, she unlocked a drawer in her desk and looked at the objects she had hidden there, wondering if they might hold the answers. Everyone knew the story the brunette had told about how her parents had died in a plane crash when she was twelve. However, what they didn't know was the story that she told them was the only thing she knew since she had no memory of her life before then.

The fact was, the very first memory Makoto had was when she awoke at a hospital. The doctors explained to her the best they could that, when she had been told that her parents had died in a plane crash, she fainted. She was eventually diagnosed Acute Traumatic Amnesia; a condition that, supposedly, effected a person who, when faced with a traumatic experience, subconsciously blocked any memory dealing with that experience. In other words, according to the doctors, a part of Makoto wanted to forget about her parents so she didn't have to deal with the pain of losing them.

Not wanting to deal with the constant prodding and poking by doctors; Makoto left the hospital and, after finding her ID that listed her current address; she made her way 'home'. Once there, she found an apartment that, while was filled pictures of a happy family, seemed…off somehow; as if everything had been placed there in order to make the place look lived in. She searched the apartment from top to bottom, finding many questions but few answers. Things such as a bank account that had her name on it, pictures of the happy family that seemed too perfect, and…the desk drawer.

The objects in the drawer stirred something deep within Makoto, something…dark. They were more familiar to her than her own name; it was as if they were a part of her. Like a sailor to the song of the siren, she was drawn to them, but at the same time, part of her felt a sickening loathing towards them.

Eventually, after handling the objects, she forced herself to move on and try to make sense the life that was Makoto Kino. From what she was able to glean, which surprisingly wasn't much, she was to start a new school in a few weeks so she did what she could do to prepare herself. Those weeks were spent trying to find out what she could about herself and she made several interesting discoveries. The first was she had a love of plants, and soon the apartment was filled with greenery of all kinds; for some reason she found that they soothed her. Another pleasant discovery was that she loved to cook; and found she had a skill in the kitchen that, even at such a young age, rivaled many adults…she was especially good at slicing and dicing. Eventually she started her new school, still without her memories, and it was there that she found she had another skill; one that brought that same feeling she had whenever she opened that drawer.

It was during lunch on that first day that, children being children, several of the playground bullies decided to have some 'fun' with the new girl. Surrounding her on the far corner of playground, a group of six boys taunted and teased her while she stood her ground for nearly five minutes before the biggest of them got bored and tried to knock her to the ground. Before he could touch her, however, she reached out, grabbed his wrist and twisted. The bully, surprised by the pain of the wristlock Makoto applied, fell to his knees and that was when she lashed out with a kick and knocked him out cold.

Before the bully hit the ground, Makoto was among the other five boys in what looked like a vicious brawl. In reality, the brunette was struggling within herself, a part of her wanting noting more to end the lives of the boys in front of her. Eventually, Makoto stood above the six boys breathing heavy from exertion; not physical…no, the fight had been almost effortless for her; but from the mental struggle to hold herself back. It was that day that she earned her reputation as a fighter and a trouble maker that followed her through two years and three schools until that fateful day when she started at Juuban Junior High school and met Usagi for the first time.

Makoto still had many unanswered questions about her family and the first twelve years of her life, and several puzzling riddles that were never solved until fairly recently. Never once in those years after she had woken up at the hospital had anyone ever come forward to ask about her parents or why someone at such a young age was living by herself. At first, she had assumed that she had simply fell through the cracks and no one discovered the error; however, after meeting Setsuna, Makoto decided that the Senshi of Time had influenced events so she would eventually end up in Juuban. Also, there were the periodic deposits to the bank account that, while weren't exorbitant by any means, were enough for her to live off of. According to the bank statements, they were from her parents' life insurance; yet there was no paperwork anywhere she could find that had information about such policies.

It wasn't until later in life that Makoto finally found those answers…and part of her wished she never had. Of course, ironically enough, it was all Ami's fault because it all started in a library.

Makoto was startled out of her musings when the door opened. Looking up; she saw a tall, stocky American with blonde hair wearing faded military fatigues enter the room and look around as he assessed everything there as if it might have been a threat.

"Makoto." he said with a polite nod.

"Mr. Anderson." Makoto replied.

Making his way to an unoccupied chair, Mr. Anderson sat down and began looking over several maps on the table before him. "We have fifteen minutes until the briefing and another twenty until we reach our target."

"Yes, sir."

Spending a few moments to study the man who, not only had saved her life on several occasions, but was also her trainer and superior, Makoto still found it hard to understand how so much could happen to her in such a short amount of time. Seeing she still had some time, the brunette relaxed back on the couch and recalled the day her life was turned on its ear.

It had all started about a year ago in Sapporo while she was taking a small vacation. Nearly eleven months had passed since she had graduated from High School and life had moved on for the remaining Senshi. Rei had taken over the duties of Priestess of the Hikawa Shrine, mainly due to the failing health of her grandfather. Minako had moved back to England in pursuit of her singing carrier while Haruka had gotten a corporate sponsor for motorcycle racing and was touring Japan with Michiru, who was periodically performing at various concert halls. Hotaru was in her last year at Juuban Middle School and was being cared for by Setsuna, who had opened a small clothing business. The biggest surprise, however, was Usagi; who had applied for, and was accepted, into a local collage and was currently Majoring in Political Science.

Makoto, however, was the only one who wasn't moving on with her life. Since graduating, she had taken on several small, low wage jobs like short-order cook and night watchmen in order to supplement her income. Unlike the others, Makoto had never truly planned for the future; to her, between everything she had gone through as Sailor Jupiter and the strange gaps in her memory, she couldn't really see a mundane life for herself. Which was why she had decided to take a small vacation out of Tokyo in hopes, perhaps, of finding herself.

After spending a few days touring the city, Makoto had stumbled upon a library and decided to take a look inside; a habit she had devloped since Ami had disappeared. She had started the tradition in hopes of perhaps stumbling across the small, blue-haired girl; figuring that were she to find Ami anywhere it would be in the presence of so many books. However, during the past two years, she had actually come to enjoy the comfortable silence that libraries held; a stillness that was far removed for the constant hustle and bustle of life in a large city. The brunette was enjoying that quiet as she walked through the stacks…until the sharp retort of gunfire shattered the quiet.

A strange detachment settled over Makoto, the same detachment that filled her that day long ago on the playground against the bullies…the same detachment that she felt whenever she was fighting as Sailor Jupiter. Without a second thought, she grabbed her daypack and ran towards the gunfire. Moving down several stacks quickly, she turned a corner and came across several men wearing suits and white masks. Without pausing, Makoto shoulder rammed one of men; one who was caring a book; and the two went sprawling down an aisle while, behind her, one of the bookshelf's seemed to explode as paper when flying everywhere.

As the two of them struggled, Makoto felt as if she was on auto-pilot, as if she was watching her body from far away. It wasn't until days later that she fully comprehended what she did while in that library. Makoto and the unnamed man ended up kneeling on the ground facing each other a few feet apart when he reached into his jacket and pulled out a handgun and aimed at her. Reacting on instinct, the brunette lashed out with her left arm and knocked the gun out of his hand while she snapped out with her right arm and slammed the heel of her hand into his nose; sending cartilage deep into his brain.

Still moving as if in a strange trance, she retrieved the fallen gun and hefted it in her hand as half-forgotten memories flickered through her mind. The detached sensation she felt persisted as the strangely familiar weight of the gun seemed to resonate within her before she picked up the book the man carried and stuffed it into her pack and bolted down the stacks; the gun in her hand. Turning around several corners she came across an emergency exit when two more men wearing white masks stepped out in front of her, guns at the ready. Without pausing, Makoto dropped to her knees, skidded across the paper-strewed floor, and snapped off two shots and saw both of the men's heads snap back.

Leaping back to her feet, Makoto paused for only a moment to gather another handgun that was on the floor ahead of her that a moment ago belonged to one of the men who tried to stop her before she hit the exit door. Without a second thought, she took the stairs up and a moment later found herself on the roof of the library. Running to the edge of the roof, Makoto began looking around for a way down when a sudden sound from behind her attracted her attention.

Spinning around, both guns at the ready, Makoto saw about a half-dozen of the white masked men burst through the stairwell and fan out across the roof. Aiming both of the guns at the men, she heard another sound to her left. Turning, she was quite surprised to see two women appear through the floor of the roof. Keeping one gun trained on the masked men, Makoto pointed the other on the two women. One of the women had shoulder length purplish-black hair and was wearing a tight leather outfit and was armed with two Uzi's; one of which was pointed at her while the other was aimed at the masked men. The other, however, looked quite different, what with her long brown hair, glasses, and clothing more suited for a librarian than anything else…although Makoto did note that it was odd that instead of a weapon, she had several pieces of paper clutched in her hands.

"Now, now…this is quite interesting, isn't it?" the woman with the Uzi's said with an almost casual air.

"The book belongs to the Soldats! Return it now!" one of the masked men demanded while the others hefted their weapons.

As soon as the man said the word 'Soldats' the detachment that Makoto had been feeling grew worse as a tide of shadowy, half formed memories crashed around her.

"And what's your deal, kid?" the same woman asked, although Makoto barely heard her. "Who are you?"

With that last question, everything seemed to spin for the brunette as she struggled to answer.

'I am Makoto Kino. I am Princess Jupiter. I am the Senshi of Thunder, Sailor Jupiter. I am…I am…I am…'

"I am…Noir…"

And the world exploded…

When she awoke, Makoto found herself in a strange room. The furnishings were Western in design, with a large, plush four-post bed and large bookcases covering every wall. Discovering that she was nearly naked, she quickly located her clothing and crept out of the room, that same detached feeling coming over her along with something else; something her mind seemed to shy away from. Making her way out of the room and down a series of halls, the brunette soon found herself in what seemed to be a quiet sitting room and face to face with two…interesting individuals.

The first was a stocky American man with blonde hair that appraised her with hard eyes; however, it was the other person that captivated her full attention. He was old, very old; he was sitting in a wheelchair and there was a strange, metal worked patch over one eye. Yet, for the air of frailty his body gave, there was an intensity that about him that was undeniable. Focusing his one good eye on Makoto, he thanked her for her assistance and introduced himself as 'Gentleman'.

Makoto soon found herself drawn into a conversation with Gentleman, who was able to answer many of those questions about her past that had plagued her for so long; and raised many new questions for her. First of all, she learned that she had been unconscious for four days after the display she had given on top of the library; and what a display it was, what with the lightning that had coursed off her body destroying the roof that she was on. She was also told that Gentleman, who was the head of something called the British Library Special Engineer Force; had sent two of his agents to recover a book from that library. When they arrived, they were met with force by a group calling themselves the Soldats, a group that Gentleman felt that Makoto was intimately familiar with.

Gentleman went on to spin a fantastic tale about a group of people who, over a thousand years ago, banded together in order to shape the world into their image. This group, the Soldats, were guided by a pair of females who would act as judge, jury, and executioner and would exercise the will of the Soldats. They were both guardians and assassins; the name of that the two women were know as was Noir.

As much as Makoto wanted to discount Gentleman's tale as nothing more than an old man's delusion, she could not; for there was something deep within her that resonated with each word. He spoke of someone called 'Altena' who tried to bring about something called 'Le Grand Retour'; which, had it succeeded, would have brought the Soldats one step closer to their goal. Gentleman told her about how, in order for Le Grand Retour to be brought about, two woman must be called forth and named the True Noir after a variety of trials.

Gentleman suspected that Makoto was one of those young women who were trained to be Noir, but she was discarded in favor of others. There were also other things that the brunette suspected that the old man knew, such as her being Sailor Jupiter; yet he never came out and said so. Hearing that she had manifested her powers without being transformed surprised her, however that information took a back seat to the knowledge that her entire life was apparently a lie and that she was molded from an early age to be a killer without mercy.

Eventually, Makoto was told that she was free to go and was escorted by the American; who's name she learned was Drake Anderson; back to her small apartment in Juuban. That night, sitting in her darken home, the brunette thought about the events of the past few days. She wanted to forget everything Gentleman had said, but there were things about herself that she couldn't deny; things that couldn't be explained by anything else. She could remember vividly the three men that she killed in that library and she didn't know what disturbed her more; the fact she had taken their lives so easly and effortlessly or that she didn't feel any remorse about it. Sure, she had killed creatures as Sailor Jupiter, but they were unnatural things; not living, breathing humans.

Eventually, Makoto moved over to the locked drawer and, unlocking it, removed its contents. The first item was a pocket-watch that had a depiction of two kneeling women holding swords engraved on its lid. Opening the lid of the watch, she listened to the haunting melody it played. As the soft music filled the air, Makoto reached into the drawer and removed the remaining items; a box of bullets and a .9mm Beretta.

Her hands seeming to move of their own accord, the brunette watched as she disassembled the Beretta with a familiar ease. With a practiced eye, she inspected each part before she reassembled the gun and, after loading the clip, she held it in her hand. As much as she wished to refuse the apparent truth, the fact remained that the gun felt natural to her…as if it she were holding a part of her very soul in her hands. Finally, after a deep breath, she picked up the watch and pocketed both it and the Beretta and decided to go and talk to Setsuna; if anyone knew what was going on, she would. It was then that she noticed the late hour and deciding to wait until morning. Makoto was about to head to bed when she heard a loud noise coming from her front door.

And that was when all hell broke loose.

Truth be told; Makoto couldn't remember a fraction of the events of that evening. She could recall the three armed men wearing white masks who forced their way into her apartment, guns at the ready; and a moment later Mr. Anderson bursting in through the living room window. The rest of the evening was a blur as she and the American engaged in a running gunfight that ranged through the streets and back alleys of the Tokyo area. Eventually, the night cumulated in a deserted park where she not only came face to face with a high ranking member of the Soldats; a man by the name of Mr. Breffort; but also meeting the two women who were known as the True Noir.

In the end, it became apparent that there was a faction of the Soldats that wished to bring about another Le Grand Retour. However, the highest-ranking members of the organization wished to have nothing to with it and would not sanction any actions against Makoto. However, things were tense for a few moments when the youngest of the True Noir; a small, Japanese woman with hooded eyes; compared Makoto to her and her companion; along with someone named 'Chloe'; and how Makoto shouldn't be a loud to live because she was just like them. The other woman; a tall blonde with a French accent, grimaced at the mention of Chloe before saying that that was exactly why Makoto should be left alone.

While some of the things they were talking about Makoto didn't know or understand, the underlining threat was still quite obvious to her. That treat was made even more apparent when the blonde woman bid Makoto goodbye and said that she hoped that they never met again. It was then that Mr. Breffort left as well; again saying that the Council Members of the Soldats would not take any action against Makoto. The night was not over, however, for that was when Mr. Anderson had an…interesting offer for the brunette.

A sudden noise startled Makoto out of her musings of the past as her hand slipped into her jacket and she grasped the handle of her Beretta holstered there as she sat up. Looking around, she saw another one of her current companions stepping through the door backwards. A moment later, Miss Deep; or Nancy, as she preferred; finished phasing through the wood holding an open book extended in front of her. As soon as she was inside, a muffled thump was heard before the door opened to admit the last of her teammates.

"Nancy-san…" Yomiko Readman, also known as The Paper, said, rubbing her nose. "That was mean."

Smirking, Nancy sauntered over to the empty couch and sat down before waving the book in Yomiko's direction. Like a moth to a flame, Yomiko moved after the offered book; nearly stumbling over the table Mr. Anderson was working on. Arriving at the couch, she snatched the book from Nancy's hands and collapsed onto the couch, holding the book possessively.

Pausing to make sure that Yomiko wasn't about open the book and become lost in it's pages, Mr. Anderson began to speak. "As you know, we'll be arriving in Ankara in approximately thirty minutes. Are objective it to recover a copy of the Dead Sea Scrolls that is believed to be kept in a small mosque there. We are expecting no resistance in recovering the Scrolls; however, there has been some movement by an origination known as Seele who is attempting to recover the Scrolls for their own use."

As Mr. Anderson continued with the briefing, Makoto couldn't help but wonder about the path her life had taken after that night in the park. Since then, she had begun training as a field agent for the British Library Special Engineer Force under direct supervision of Mr. Anderson. As far as Rei and the others knew, Makoto was working as a library assistant who specialized in the procurement of rare books…which wasn't far from the truth. They had teased her relentlessly about her job, which she took in stride; after all, what they didn't know couldn't hurt them.

The time she had spent with Mr. Anderson and the others had helped her tremendously. While she still hadn't fully adjusted to the truth about her past, she had come to accept it. The training also had an interesting benefit of Makoto learning to use her abilities as the Senshi of Thunder without having to transforming into Sailor Jupiter. While she was nowhere near as powerful without her transformation, she was able to create electrical charges that were strong enough to knock out a person or disable an electronic security system.

Even though the job was difficult, it did come with perks; such as the month long vacation she was scheduled to begin once this mission was over; unless something when completely wrong. Which was perfect timing, as Minako was suppose to be back in Japan for a visit and Usagi would be on break from college. With everything she had been through the past year, it would be good to do something mindless and non-life-threatening like watching the King of Fighters Tournament.

It's just too bad that she wouldn't be able to see Ami...unless she miraculously showed up.

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Author's Notes:

Honestly, this is still a little rough, but I wanted to get it out sooner than later (or I would end up sitting on it for a long time).

If you're thinking to yourself "He left a lot out!" that's because I did. In order for me to stay in the form that I wanted, I had to skip over a lot of stuff. But don't worry, I have another Interlude that will cover much of the 'missing' sections.

How far will I take this? Well, you'll just have to wait and see…