Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ What Worth a Leaf in a Storm? ❯ Chapter 10 ( Chapter 10 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

"Mako-chan? Mako-chan!" Sailor Mercury bit back curses and tears and rose unsteadily, hobbling to her fallen backpack. Jupiter stared blankly after her, limbs and mind feeling leaden. She shivered, though she somehow felt oddly warm, one side of her even hot. Her eyelids began to feel heavy, and she couldn't think of any reason to keep them open, why not take a little well-earned rest? She could barely recall what she had done to earn it, but it felt connected to the rank scent of burned flesh in her nose. Burning a meal hardly seemed to earn her anything, though, how odd.... As she tried to slip into that rest she so desired, however, she felt herself being shaken by her shoulders.

"Mako-chan, stay with me. You have to try and help me a little bit," a voice urged her. "Change back, I can't work with this in the way."

Sailor Jupiter felt a sharp pain. She looked down irritably, and saw Sailor Mercury--oh, Sailor Mercury was here? How nice, just the person she liked to be with, but why was she crawling around? In fact, why were either of them on the ground?--pressing a wad of cloth against her chest, and it was turning a deep red where she pressed. Jupiter wondered why that might be.

Despairing of reaching her friend easily, Mercury reached into her bag again and brought out a little bottle. Sailor Jupiter didn't feel thirsty, but thought it was nice that her friend was being so generous--until she popped the top off of the bottle and held it under her nose. The sharpest, most invasive odor she'd ever had the misfortune of breathing shot up her nose like twin javelins and she backed away, coughing and sputtering and tears jumping unbidden to the corners of her eyes. The smelling salts, for that's what they were, did clear her mind as they were meant to, however. Shaking her head to clear the last few dregs of fog from her head, a number of recent memories came flooding out like the blood she remembered was pouring out of her.

"Change back!" Mercury ordered again. No sooner had her wind-ruffled khakis settled into place, red-splotched-white gloves ripped it open, a number of buttons popping off. Mercury lifted Makoto's arms and reached behind her as well, Makoto staying as still as she could to keep from interfering. When Mercury's fingers started working at her bra clasp, however, she let out a yelp and tried to lower her arms in a sudden, ridiculous upwelling of embarrassment.

"This is no time for modesty!" Mercury said sharply, and Makoto stopped, flushing. Mercury quickly stripped her upper body and stared for a split-second in consternation at the deep, jagged tears in Makoto's flesh. Makoto herself winced at the sight: three lines of ruin scored her from the socket of the shoulder down nearly to her sternum. Makoto looked at the open worry in Mercury's face, and felt even more afraid. With all Ami knew of medicine, for her to make a face like that couldn't be good.

"Punctures can be some of the most dangerous injuries, very prone to infection." Sailor Mercury said in a detached voice, clinically. It hardly sounded as if she were actually talking to Makoto. "If these had just been superficial flesh wounds this wouldn't be nearly so worrisome, I would staunch the bleeding and stitch them shut."

It dawned on Makoto that she was likely doing this to calm her own nerves. Makoto recalled hearing that doctors often ethically barred themselves from operating on close family or loved ones, and wondered if this was Mercury's way of detaching herself from the situation. Makoto watched her pull out her medical kit, selecting two bottles of liquid.

"Antibiotics and a coagulant agent." Mercury carefully applied the contents of one bottle to her wounds, then opened a small package and pulled out a sterilized cloth, using it to clean the wounds and apply antibiotics. Makoto's breath hissed between clenched teeth as her friend started that part, and she saw Mercury's arms stop and tremble slightly. Blue eyes closed for a moment, and her throat bobbed up and down slightly in a gulp, then she was calm again. She withdrew her hands gently, and took out another container.

"Painkillers. Open, swallow," she said shortly. She had to look at Makoto's face for this, but she kept her eyes averted just slightly to the side, refusing to look directly into Makoto's own eyes. Makoto accepted the pill, and took a grateful swig from the canteen held to her lips. "Can only give a patient with this much blood loss one pill, and it will take a little while to go into effect. Bear with me for a little while." Makoto nodded, and gritted her teeth as Ami finished. It was an odd sight for her, now. The wounds still splayed nauseatingly open, but the coagulant slowed the blood loss to a tiny stream that Mercury could easily stop with a towel.

"Ma... Makoto." Mercury said hesitatingly. Makoto's eyes looked at her seriously now, hearing the tone in her voice. She saw the signs of Mercury's own fatigue and wondered at how steadily she had been working. "Can you hold this here for a moment, are you strong enough?" In answer, Makoto lifted her undamaged arm and brought it up to put pressure onto the towel. Sailor Mercury nodded gratefully and leaned back on her arms. Seeing suppressed pain flicker across her friends features, Makoto was quickly reminded that she was not the only one who'd come out worse for the wear from their encounter. Again she saw Mercury being hoisted in the air by a massive claw and slammed mercilessly into the ground. She looked over her, and saw that the bandage around her knee was stained a dark red again, obviously opened from her exertions. A sleeve of khaki slid into place around that knee, and it was Ami in all her mundane beauty that sat on the forest floor.

"Ami-chan, are you okay?" Makoto felt a momentary rise of irritation with her friend. "Take care of yourself for a minute, damn it!"

"In a second," she breathed. "You're in the most danger right now."

"Not if a rib is gonna puncture your lung, I'm not! What did that impact do to you?"

"Ah, that? That wasn't much. It held me wrapped in that claw the whole time, it probably hurt its hand more than it hurt me. I banged my head on the ground, but there's not much I can do about a concussion right now. At least I'm conscious."

Makoto eyed her suspiciously, sure that she was downplaying her own injuries. "What about that piece of ice that hit you, or your leg?" She asked pointedly.

"If my collar bone is broken there's no way I can set it here, and I'm not debilitated by pain. My knee can't get any worse, honestly. It's bandaged, so I won't bleed much. Right now I just need to rest for a second, and stitch up those cuts of yours."

Makoto frowned, something about that notion bothering her. Looking at Ami's knee, it came to her.

"Stitches? What happens after that, wouldn't I have to rest and let them heal so I don't open them again?" Blue eyes blinked at her in surprise.

"Yes, you would. Why?"

"We don't have time for that! We have to keep going. Even if we're not being pursued, we won't make it out of here for months if I can't move! If nothing else gets us, like these damn bugs--" Makoto took a moment to swat at insects that had started making their way up her body, bored at merely investigating her blood-stained clothes and starting to congregate around her. Changing back from Sailor Jupiter had helped keep a swarm from forming as quickly, but that wouldn't last much longer. "--we'll run out of food, at least."

"Do you have a better idea?" Ami demanded.

"What about cauterization? Burn them closed. What do you say to that, doc?" At the suggestion, her friend's ashen face darkened angrily.

"Absolutely not!"

"Would it work?"

"Stop being an idiot," came the snapped reply. "I'll stitch you up and wrap a bandage around with some of the coagulant agent. You won't bleed, much, but you're going to take it easy. We're not going anywhere today--except maybe away from that monster, no need to camp next to that--and that's doctors final say on that."

Makoto fell silent with a slight flush.

"Congratulations for being big and strong girl that can burn her wounds closed, Mako-chan, but I think I can do better by you." A little smile grew on Ami's features. "I think I'd prefer some Mako-sashimi over some Mako-barbecue."

A short laugh burst from her lips at Ami's declaration, but she raised an eyebrow. "You're not planning to slice me up even more then, are you?"

Ami's laugh echoed hers. With a welling of strength, Ami sat up and looked as though she would clasp Makoto into an embrace. She stopped short, however, to Makoto simultaneous disappointment and relief. A hug might have been nice, but she wasn't in a condition to enjoy it much. With the thought of an embrace, Makoto was also suddenly, vividly aware of her state of undress. She looked up, flushing slightly, and was only more embarrassed to see Ami starting directly at her.

"Time to get to work, then."

It was a surprisingly gentle operation, she was grateful to discover. The painkiller helped a bit, and Ami was swift and rock-steady with her needle, stitching up the wounds efficiently. After that was done, she made an awkward bandage wrap around Makoto's chest and over one shoulder, covering the wounds and holding the anointed gauze padding in place, as well as giving her some modesty back. Just when she thought it was all done, however, Ami suddenly reached out with both hands and grabbed hold of her breasts.

"Ami-chan!"

Ignoring her, Ami bobbled them around a little bit, then let go with a satisfied smile on her face.

"Good. I don't think the bandages will shift because of your breasts moving." She looked innocently into Makoto's scandalized expression. "Well? It's not my fault that they grew so much, and how silly would you feel if bouncing boobs made your bandages fall off while you're walking?"

Makoto opened her mouth to reply, then thought better of it. "Thanks, Ami-chan," she sighed.

"You're welcome. So, have you been keeping track?"

"Of what?"

"Who's saved who more times now?"

"You're supposed to be the one that's good with numbers, Ami-chan. I think I'm ahead, though."

"Are you sure?"

"Oh, very. C'mere, look at this..." Makoto bent forward, arranging her fingers as though she were counting figures. Curious, and a mite disbelieving, Ami leaned over to watch. Feeling the other girl lean closer, Makoto rose her head and, with a wink of one spirited green eye, stole herself a brief kiss.

"Right, so we're even."

Ami clapped her fingers over her lips and sat back, blushing hotly. Makoto smiled shyly now, thinking that the brilliant idea of a moment before might now require some explanation. Still, she thought, the feeling of her lips and the look on her face would probably be worth it.

"But... what if I was ahead?" Ami said. "I think I might have been, so wouldn't we be more uneven?"

Makoto raised an eyebrow at her. "Then I guess I have to let you kiss me, as long as we've agreed that kissing and saving are counted the same."

"When did I agree to that?"

"You just said we were more uneven because of it, so you must agree with the premise," Makoto pointed out, trying to stifle a laugh.

"You just wait, Mako-chan, we'll see how this works out when we're home." Ami arranged her face into a beatific expression of amiability, so much so that Makoto actually worried about what that might mean. Her words also punted Makoto's thoughts a few miles away from her cloud-break of happiness, and now she began tiptoeing around voicing their forgone-concluded course of action: continuing this abominable travel. Hoping vainly, she checked again her senshi communicator. Still static.

"Let's eat," she said, forcing some cheer into her voice. Ami started, and looked like she might go to the food pack, but Makoto figured this as good a time as any to see how far she could exert herself. It didn't take her long to adjust to using very, very little of the right side of her chest. She was a little surprised to learn just how much she relied on the muscles in that area for things as simple as walking, and was sure she looked like a creaky machine walking stiffly to her pack. While it was good to know that she could walk without too much difficulty, Makoto wondered about the both of them trying to move. Could she work out a way to support Ami at all? That was saved for later consideration.

As of the moment, walking back to where Ami sat, something uncomfortably close to their campsite finally drew more of Makoto's attention, now that more pressing matters had been attended to.

"Ami-chan, what was that thing?"

Makoto sat down and doled out some of their remaining supplies. Ami took a bite of her food and allowed herself a minute of contemplation, before admitting simply:

"I don't know."

"You think it's connected to the enemies we were fighting?"

"I don't know."

Makoto quieted. Ami couldn't be expected to anything more than she herself did, she reasoned. Whatever it was, though, was besides the point. It was dead. The only real question, then, was:

"Do you think there's more of them?"

"I don't know. I hope not."

They both lapsed into silence now. Makoto didn't want to consider it, but she knew that if another one of these things found them, or if even the terror cell they'd infiltrated finally came after them, they stood much less a chance of survival than they had before this encounter. They finished eating.

"We need to get going."

"We do," Ami agreed, surprising Makoto. After that declaration that she would rest and all of that, she'd expected more of a fight. They sat, the first steps of continuing feeling inordinately heavy.

"Should probably take some precautions," Makoto decided, just to do something, "Jupiter Crystal Power, Make Up!" Ami looked at her, startled, as she made her transformation. Somehow, not even the identity of Sailor Jupiter filled Makoto with much confidence this time. Perhaps it was the first returning pangs of ache deep in her chest as the painkiller wore off, or maybe her inability to make any confident, assured movements, picking her every step carefully to avoid utilizing muscles that no longer did anything but signal pain. Sailor Jupiter today felt no more empowered now than she had a moment before, just perhaps better-clothed.

"Mercury Crystal Power, Make Up!" Another surprise, then, as Ami followed her example. "Why not?" The Senshi of Wisdom shrugged. "I'm slightly more useful now than I was a moment ago. Who knows what might happen next." With that gloomy pronouncement, they both steadied themselves the best they could on their feet, arranged their packs as comfortably as they could, and limped again on their journey. Jupiter wasn't able to support Mercury as much as she had before, but they did their best, willing their way through pain and discomfort to just keep one foot moving ahead of the other.

Their days passed miserably, their nights painfully, their mornings sorely. Neither of them had much breath to waste for conversation, until they would stop for the night. Then they would lay themselves out, often close to one another. Prickles of fear would crawl across their necks, the creature's attack having removed any security they might have felt. Being close helped, finding security in the presence of a close friend, and being able to help one another up when they woke.

Whenever sleep would elude them, they would talk of the past, and of home. They would sweat in the hot, humid jungle and Mercury would find herself speaking of slicing her way through cool water, powering her way through the liquid with quick, assured strokes. She wondered aloud if her knee, even with the aid of the technologies of Crystal Tokyo, would ever move quite the same again. She would laugh it off forcefully, saying that Michiru would certainly take the title of fastest-swimming senshi, then.

They would feel pangs of hunger, and Makoto would think of her kitchen. She talked that when they returned, she was going to make the most wonderful cherry pie that she'd ever made before, and they could share huge slices freshly cooled from the windowsill; light, sweet, flaky crust would melt in their mouths and deliciously thick filling made from fresh cherries would dance on their palate with the feeling of summer.

They both talked about seeing their friends again, and even managed little chuckles at Usagi's reaction. They'd be lucky if their benevolent Queen didn't lock them in a room for the rest of their lives, to keep them out of trouble. They managed to stave off the worst of despair in this way, thinking of happier times from before, and trying to keep their minds conjuring happy times to come.

Somehow, miraculously, days or weeks later they came upon the highway. Sailor Jupiter couldn't begin to guess whether this was near where they started their hike into the jungle; if it was, somebody had moved their abandoned car, but that was to be expected. There was no sunny break in the brush when they approached. The morning had dawned gray and bleak and had darkened progressively; the sky above was now only marginally lighter than the colour of the pavement as they stood panting at the tree line. They appreciated the break from the heat, and the clean scent of rain was heavy in the air. Sailor Jupiter looked at the road and though, though their journey still loomed for a good many more miles ahead of them, the sight of one--of any--goal was blissfully sweet. Before they could attract undue attention, the both of them transformed back. A couple of beaten and weary travelers weren't exactly inconspicuous, but more so than senshi.

Beep!

A sharp tone startled her from her thoughts. Two of them. The pair of friends looked at one another, not daring to hope. They lifted their communicators.

"Ami-chan? Mako-chan? Either of you, can you hear me? Please respond." It was Rei's voice, and it fell off for a count of ten before it came back again, with the same message. Her voice sounded tired, and mechanical, as though this weren't the first time she'd tried to reach them with the same message. Overcoming a lightheaded relief, Ami answered.

"Rei-chan...," relief thickened her voice, and she had to swallow before continuing. "Oh Rei-chan, it's Ami."

"Ami-chan! Oh, I have to tell--no, but you, what's going on with you? Where are you, what's going on, how are you doing? Is Mako-chan with you--"

"Rei-chan, please. I'm with Mako-chan. We're somewhere near these coordinates, at the highway," Ami relayed a pair of attitude and longitude points, "We need a lift. We'll answer more later, just get somebody over here. Neither of us are in any shape to teleport."

"R-roger." Rei's voice sounded strained on the other end, and it was obvious that she was incredibly worried about the pair of them, but realized that pelting them with an interrogation wouldn't help right now.

"The Millennial Army is on the way for a pickup, sit tight."

"Got it. Thanks, Rei-chan. See you soon."

"Right. I'll go tell everybody else that you're okay. By all my ancestors, you don't know how good it is to hear your voice. You said Mako-chan was with you?"

"Yes, I'm here, Rei-chan. We're okay, but we'll be a lot better as soon as we get some help, and should probably take it easy for the moment," Makoto hinted tiredly.

"Er, right. See you soon." The communicator went silent, and Ami breathed deeply. For the first time in weeks, a smile with no undercurrents of worry or fear arranged itself on her lips. She leaned sideways against Makoto and seemed to melt into her. Makoto was surprised to feel the same happening to her own face, with a matching lightness in her heart. Feeling the seemingly fragile presence of Ami pressed against her, she took a moment and contemplated her dearest friend. She was smaller, she was injured; though she was fit, she could not quite compare to the constant attention Makoto put into maintaining her endurance and strength. And yet, she had still made it this far, and done just as much, if not more than, Makoto had herself. It wasn't surprising, then, when Makoto found that Ami had nearly fallen asleep on her feet. Smiling gently, Makoto awkwardly settled herself down against the tree and sat Ami sideways across her lap, arranging her leg comfortably. It was something of a chore, being unable to use her right arm for the most part, but she managed with few mishaps. A cool wind gusted, bringing with it a first few drops of warm summer rain. With Ami's head resting comfortably against the healthy part of her front and a solid tree at her back, Makoto watched the wet breeze ruffle through Ami's hair, and a steady rain began to fall. They were soaked within minutes, fat drops of water pelting them and the tree, and coursing down their bodies. Ami barely even stirred, and Makoto raised her eyes to the sky to watch the rainfall. Normally being caught out in the rain while tired, hungry and hurt was adding worse to a bad situation, but somehow Makoto viewed it as one of the few pleasant things the world had done for them in a while. The Senshi of Thunder liked rain. To her, the rumbles of thunder that crawled through they air weren't anything to fear, but were more the purring, crooning lullaby of some mysterious God that had finally taken mercy on them

She hardly stirred when the sound, and then the sight, of a Silver Millennial helicopter came to her attention. After examining the markings and verifying the military insignia on the side, she was able to relax again, though she wasn't sure what she might have done were it anybody else. She waved a hand up at the pilot, and the copter landed on the empty highway; not a soul had passed on the highway today.

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They were lifted to the nearest airport in the capital, BrasilÃa, and found a private Royal jet awaiting them. They were boarded swiftly and with as much privacy as possible, surely causing some sort of media uproar and whispers of conspiracy and cover-ups. Aboard the plane Makoto was surprised to find, of all people, Mamoru and Minako aboard and waiting to greet them. They exchanged hasty greetings, the Prince of the Earth and Senshi of Love with ill-disguised shock at the pair's condition written all over their faces. Makoto was very, very adamant that they needed rest more than anything right now, and they were shown to a small but serviceable bed in the plane. Makoto could have despaired over the ostentatious laziness that this spoke of in their Queen's character, but this time made a mental note to encourage the placement of beds wherever their Queen saw fit. She listened with vague attentiveness as Mamoru informed her it would be a little over an eight-hour trip back to Crystal Tokyo, with a few stops to refuel. Ami then took the job of waving off suggestions of stopping and receiving medical attention sooner, that they would be fine for the few hours until they got to the facilities in Crystal Tokyo. Somehow managing to get the others to leave them alone, they both collapsed and fell asleep on the fabulously soft bed, Makoto curling one arm protectively around Ami. Abandoning any pretense of modesty or pride or whatever would bar her from closeness with her friend, her heart awash with relief and happiness and peace, Ami turned to Makoto and curled against her, head resting on her chest. Makoto clasped her hand in her own.

"Soft...," Ami murmured sleepily. Her head sunk in the pillow and her mind sinking to sleep, Makoto had time for one muttering of her own,

"Yeah, the bed is," before she fell soundly asleep to the sound and rocking of the jet taxiing out of the runway. Not even takeoff managed to rouse the pair.