Blooming Secrets
Chapter 01
By GirlChama

Standard Disclaimers Apply

Blooming Secrets - Mk. (hopefully final) 3 - Chapter One

The steady thrum of the techno beat was not unlike the beating sound of a heart. Considering that every other word of the vocal mixed song was "kokoro," Makoto was not surprised. Her foot tapped in time with the music while her head bobbed almost imperceptibly. Her right hand held a green drink with a small umbrella straw sticking from the slush. She was not entirely sure what it was, but Minako had ordered it, and it did taste good.

Right now said woman was cutting loose amongst the throng of people on the dance floor. Her black mini-skirt and orange leather top had procured several offers to leave the club for the night, from both gender members, but the love child had refused them all, seeking only to lose herself in the wild and exotic beat. A few meters away from her, but still in a crowded spot of the floor, a certain fiery-tempered priestess was dancing as well, surprising both of her friends with her sensual movements that seemed to reflect nothing of her daily life. It made Makoto wonder if Rei had done this before on several occasions. The gyrations of her body alluded to yes.

Makoto herself had taken a break from dancing and was cooling off with a cold drink from the bar, provided by Minako. Like Minako, she had received offers, though not as many as her blond friend, to leave the club for the evening and like Minako she had refused them. On a regular night she might have agreed to a one-night stand but her stomach wasn't in it.

Her finger dipped into the green slush of the drink before she removed it and tapped her lime-green fingernails on the napkin that had come with the drink. She continued to watch as Minako and Rei danced away, heedless of the night, rather the morning hours that were on them.

The music's beat was gradually slowing, the heartbeat fading into more of a light tapping than the life of the music. By the time it faded away, Minako and Rei had moved back to the seating section of the multi-level club, joining Makoto as she stood from the table.

"Guys, I think I'm going to call it an evening," she said and began to smooth the sheer black top that covered her green tank top before falling to her hips, blending with her black velvet pants.

"Ne, Mako-chan, we just got here," Minako said through a sly grin.

"Yes we just got here, Minako-chan; three hours ago..." Makoto sighed and finished the rest of her drink before she looked to the two and said, "Besides, I'm not really feeling up to it anymore. I'm just going to head home, okay?"

"Okay, Mako. Do you want one of use to walk you out?" Rei asked with a gentle smile.

With a dismissing wave Makoto took a few steps away from them before turning around and saying, "No thanks. I'm just going to head home. I'll see you guys later, okay?"

"All right, good night, Mako! We'll see you later!" Minako called as the beat of the current song began to increase in strength, coaxing the blond bombshell back onto the dance floor. Makoto did not wait to see before she grabbed her jacket and stepped out of the club and into the cool October night air.

She wondered for the briefest moment if it was actually still night or the early morning hours that she was traversing through. She shrugged mentally before sliding her hands into the pockets of her black jacket, looking down and over her outfit. Minako had suggested she wear all black, but Rei had suggested that she break it up a bit with the green top, and though the all black had looked extremely sexy in the full length mirror, she was not in the mood for that kind of evening. Besides, and Rei had pointed it out as she had thought it, green was always her color.

After enduring a bus ride that seemed to take far too long, thanks to the less than pleasant leers from a few members of the opposite sex, she had arrived to her apartment; removing herself from the bus as a few last cat calls were thrown her way. The fiery brunette stepped away from the bus and resisted the urge to return a few color calls of her own, before she stepped inside the main building, readying her keys as she jogged up the stairs, a yawn escaping her lips.

She slid into the apartment, her name tracing over her nameplate before on the door before she allowed the jacket to fall from her shoulders and shut the door. Makoto was exhausted, she decided, as her grip on the jacket slipped entirely without her permission. Her green eyes stared at the jacket for a moment before she laughed lightly and decided to leave it for when she cleaned up in the morning.

Makoto moved sleepily toward her bedroom, pausing when a faint blinking light caught her attention from the kitchen. Stopping, she turned and looked toward it, catching sight of the phone hanging off of the wall, its built in answering machine being the source of the nagging red light. With a sigh, she stepped toward it, indulging in a loud yawn before she started the messaging sequence.

"You've reached the residence of Kino Makoto. I'm sorry I'm not here to take your phone call, but if you'll leave your name and number, I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you and have a nice day."

Makoto sighed at the polite message, wondering if she should change it to something more formal, because of how perky it sounded. Then she glanced to the machine again, and wondered who could have called in her short absence. There had been no messages before she had left, earlier in the evening, with Minako and Rei.

"Kino-san, this is Hachiroujirou Jusai with the Shinjuku Institute of Culinary Arts. We've reviewed your files and decided to oblige your request with an appointment tomorrow at one-thirty in the afternoon. I would appreciate it if you could call us sometime in the morning confirming the appointment. Thank you, and good evening."

A grin broke out onto Makoto's face, despite her fatigue, and she resisted the urge to dance, as she had been only minutes earlier. The ecstatic girl felt the last remnants of fatigue being swallowed be adrenaline as she listened to a second message play over the answering machine.

"Kino Makoto? I'm sorry that this is so late, but it can't be helped. This is Doctor Yuuyou at Magic Bus hospital. I work with the intensive care, cardiac unit. I'm sorry, but-"

The message was not finished before Makoto had left the kitchen and moved back to get her jacket, fully awake now. She slid the jacket over her shoulders as she spun towards the door, sending it in a large flare around her thighs. Makoto slammed the door behind her and stepped back into the chilly air, drawing a stout breath before she took down the stairs again. The answering machine's message finished spilling before it ended and a long beep from the machine told Makoto's empty apartment that it was done.

- - - - -

She found herself on the bus once more, wishing she could have changed clothes; something told her this was going to be a long evening. The thoughts were pushed to the back of her mind as she crossed her legs and stared out the window.

"Is one of the girls in trouble?" she thought silently. "Magic Bus hospital is close to the club we were in this evening... Could Minako and Rei have been in an accident?" Makoto's eyes hardened at the thought and she glanced up to the driver murmuring, "Speed up..." before she turned to look back at the other patrons on the bus. There were only two others and they looked like people that were trying to sleep, making her wonder if they were homeless. Green eyes turned to gaze out into the dark, light illuminating her face every few meters with the orange light from the street lamps.

Magic Bus was taller than she recalled it being, she saw as the bus approached a stop close to the building. It could not have been more than eight stories tall, and like most hospitals it had a rounded driveway with a cover over two double doors for emergencies. Unlike most hospitals, though, a large garden was situated on the other side of the cover, with several flowers and gardenias lining the bed. Just before the flower beds bright fluorescent lights were planted, illuminating the name of the hospital and the building itself. "That seems like it would be hell for patients trying to sleep..."

The bus finally stopped half a block down from the hospital so that Makoto climbed off, walking quickly, and more loudly than she would have liked, down the sidewalk. As she reached the double doors, they slid open automatically, leaving her hands free to wring each other as she stepped inside, grateful for her jacket as the cool dry air hit her. It was still an improvement over cold, wet air.

The powerful quiet that greeted her ears was unnerving her even more than the situation already had. She had expected at least a few people to be moving around, but the hour of the night seemed to have enveloped all of the hospital patrons. "Except me," she thought casually before drawing her jacket around her tightly. The hospital smell was present, but not as strong as she had remembered from previous visits to other hospitals. It was not sitting well with her, regardless, and the current situation did nothing to solace that fact.

A few signs of life caught her eyes, as she glanced around, moving ever forward to the receptionist desk a few meters straight in from the doors. To her right, walled off by glass paneling was a small lobby that had two visible couches; some plants and a television nestled into the corner. Then to her left, also behind a glass wall, were a number of vending machines that did not seem too appealing at the moment.

Makoto sighed before gathering her resolve and marching forward to the desk, her eyes hardened and her shoulders rolled back. She was going to be strong during this, whatever this was. She was always the strong one, the one that everyone could turn to... If Minako and Rei were hurt, Usagi and Ami had not shown up yet...

"I need to find Dr. Yuuyou," Makoto spoke as she stepped up to the nurse's desk, catching the attention of a male and female nurse, both hunched over clipboards of paperwork. The two RNs exchanged wry glances before the male nurse turned back to Makoto and opened his mouth to speak. "It's late, I'm sleep deprived and I am in no mood to be screwed around with. Where can I find Dr. Yuuyou?" she asked again, leaning forward and placing both hands on the desk to support her weary body.

"He's on the fifth floor with the cardiac patients," the man spoke, pointing nervously with his hand. Makoto stood up and followed the direction his hand pointed, gazing at the elevator. Then she smiled, bowed from the neck and moved onward, barely hearing a sigh of relief from the man behind her.

The carpet of the elevator was a soft pink, a dusty rose color. Her feet shuffled over it, noting the worn place in the center of the elevator, but it was not long to the fifth floor and she was not given long to dwell on the technicalities of it.

There was a three-way hallway now, and directly in front of her the hallway stretched out with nothing but doors on either side of it, leading off into different rooms. The walls were a creamy color and the floor was carpeted with the same dusty rose plush, worn in the middle. It was noticeably cooler here than it had been on the first floor. "Isn't heat supposed to rise?" she wondered silently. "They must make it cooler here on purpose..." Makoto stepped forward, curiosity causing her to lose her fierce grip on her jacket as her hands fell to her sides. Turning to the left, she saw that there was no nurse's desk, to her dismay. She turned to her right to see a group of young men at the end of the hallway and with them were a young-looking woman and a man in a white lab coat.

"Dr. Yuuyou..." she thought silently and began to walk toward the group.

With still a few meters to go, all but the doctor had realized her presence, though she had been walking silently, but she was not concerned with them. She wanted to know why the hell Dr. Yuuyou had called her in the middle of the night and if all of her friends were all right.

Makoto stopped walking a few paces behind him, ignoring the appreciative glances of one of the young men in the group because of her clubbing clothes; a blond, tall and lean. She glanced at him for a moment, long enough for him to wink and then turned back to Yuuyou. It was not the time for flirting.

"Yuuyou-san?" she asked peremptorily.

He turned to face her, almost surprised that she was standing there and asked gently, "Yes?" his voice a tribute to the thick silence all around them. Makoto realized, then, how silent the entire group had been, even when she had stepped off of the elevator.

Despite the fact, her eyes darkened and she took a stout breath to stare at this man. He didn't recognize her, of course, she quickly reminded herself, because he had just left a message. "Don't go pounding heads, Mako... Not yet, anyway..."

She opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off, when another member of the group spoke for her, "Mako-chan?" Anger and weariness were immediately replaced by surprise as she turned to look toward the only brunette of the group that had spoken. He regarded her with a curious expression, glancing from her to the woman with bright red hair and though it was subtle Makoto did not miss the curiosity that was exchanged between them. When the woman's gaze fixed back on her, she in turn, looked back to the brunette, only to see that he was approaching her, walking past the youngest of the group and the only male red-head.

"Do I know you?" she asked cautiously, stopping him short from hugging her.

"I would hope so! I'm Ken!" he spoke and waited for realization to dawn on her face.

He was not disappointed when she broke into a grin that mirrored his own and threw her arms around his neck, greeting him with the cry of, "Ken-chan!"

She hugged him tightly as he did to her until the silence was once more broken by whispers of "Ken-chan?" that pulled her from her reverie. Pulling away from him sharply, she ignored the whispers and everyone else in the room and took him by the shoulders.

"Is it your mother?" she asked quickly, feeling some of her original fears vanish but only to be replaced by new ones. If Ken and his friends were here then it couldn't have been Rei and Minako, but what about his mother, Hidaka-san? Ken's expression of confusion plainly said that his mother was fine and Makoto continued without pause, looking to the doctor to ask, "If it's not Hidaka-san, then what's the emergency?" Still caught up in the surprise of this revelation, the doctor could only stare for a moment and Makoto turned back to the group.

"I mean, aren't you Ken's friends?" she asked, gesturing to the group and then to the red head girl she gestured and asked, "And you must be his girlfriend, or something..."

At once laughter broke out from the tall, lean blond that had caught her attention in the first place.

"Shut up, idiot!" Ken snapped roughly as he looked back to the blond man, causing Makoto's eyes to widen. "Stupid Youji..." he murmured and then looked back to Makoto, smiling sheepishly. "Mako-chan, I would like you to meet Tsukiyono Omi," he said and gestured to the youngest of the group, allowing Makoto time for appraisal as the young man returned a greeting of his own. He seemed the cheerful type with the ready smile he gave her, but sober at present, further darkening the feeling of dread within her.

"...Fujimiya Ran," Ken continued, gesturing the male red head. He stared at her for a moment and then nodded gently in way of greeting. Then Ken sighed and said, "...Kudou Youji..." and gestured to the blond man that was instantly on his feet. He swept toward Makoto, taking her hand before she could stop him, stooped forward and kissed it. He was even taller than she was, and with the bold movement her eyes widened and she swallowed a sudden lump in her throat.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kino-san," he spoke in a tenor purr, causing Makoto to blush, despite her earlier feelings about him. Makoto pulled away, saving Ken the opportunity to slap Youji's hand, and then relaxed once again, taking a deep breath and remaining silent.

"You know Dr. Yuuyou," Ken spoke again, slightly more agitated because of Youji's interruption. Makoto and the doctor exchanged nods and then Makoto turned to the red headed woman that stared at her evenly, but not threateningly. "Finally, Mako-chan, this is Manx," Ken spoke in exasperation, and gesturing to her. Makoto's eyebrows rose at the woman's name, but Manx seemed unfazed. Instead she gave a poised smile, causing the hairs on the back of Makoto's neck to stand up. Makoto got the intense feeling that this woman could kick her ass with one hand tied behind her back, that was, if she wasn't Sailorjupiter.

"Kino-san," Yuuyou spoke before Makoto could begin to ask questions. "The reason we've called you here is to inform you that your grandmother is not well. Earlier this evening she suffered from cardiac arrest and then all at once had a heart attack..." Makoto's eyes widened at the information, but the doctor continued. "Momoe-san is, to be quite frank, not in good condition..."

"Wait," Makoto said, and held up a hand for emphasis. "My grandmother? I don't have a grandmother. She's been dead for nearly seven years now..." Makoto spoke easily, stomping that idea into the ground. Her brow furrowed even as she thought of it.

At this revelation Dr. Yuuyou's eyebrows perked and he suggested, "What about your other grandmother, your father's mother?"

"How do you know who I was talking about?" Makoto asked with wide eyes, surprise written all over her face. It was true that she had been talking about her mother's mother, but he couldn't have known that...

"Kino-san," Yuuyou spoke after a sigh. "We went through Yamaguchi's things and found your phone number with your father's name attached to it. I was expecting to hear from your father or mother, but since you're here the responsibility has fallen to you. Is there anyway we can get in touch with them?"

"No," she said immediately and glanced away from him, "They're dead." She felt a hand on her shoulder and resisted the urge to shrug it off. Looking to it and then over her shoulder to its owner she was glad that she hadn't. It was Ken, offering her a bit of comfort. "Of course he would know. He's been your best friend since grade school... Well, except for Usagi..."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Dr. Yuuyou said and he sounded sincere. He reached into his lab coat pocket and pulled out a few slips of paper, before handing them to her. "These are the things we found with her." Makoto took the papers as he handed them to her and looked over the information. There were two of them and both of them held the information of her parents' names as well as her name. It also held her phone number, but the address was the one she had used before her parents had died and before she had moved to Juuban. Beneath each set of information was a date from several years earlier. She took a deep breath and flipped the filmy papers over, exposing two pictures that caused her eyes to widen.

"My God..." she murmured and stared down at the people in the pictures. One was of her father, mother, and herself from a fishing trip they had taken one summer, ages ago. The other was a picture of her by herself in front of a backdrop provided by a professional photographer. She turned them over again and looked down at the dates once more before she looked up to the doctor.

"Where is she?" Makoto asked and felt Ken's hand squeeze her shoulder once more. As Yuuyou gestured toward the door they all stood in front of, Makoto slipped the pictures into her pockets and sighed, turning toward the door. She stared at the pine colored thing for a moment. "What am I going to say to her? What is she going to say to me? What am I going to do if she doesn't know who I am?"

"Mako-chan?" Ken asked from behind her and she took another deep breath, some of her resolve cracking. "I'll be strong," she thought and took a step toward the door. It was slowly followed by another and then another until she was standing in front of the door. She took the straight and vertical handle of the door pushing it downward to open the door.

"I'll come in with you," Manx said and Makoto swallowed and nodded simply. She wouldn't ask Ken to come in with her and, whoever she was, Manx knew Yamaguchi-san better than Makoto would; better than she ever would at this rate.

"Ken-chan," Makoto spoke, one hand resting on the doorframe as she paused. "You should have kept in touch... " Without waiting for an answer Makoto stepped in, followed by Manx and Yuuyou and then the door closed, leaving the four young men to stand in the hallway and wait as they went in.

Ken stared at the door, the other three behind him, as he watched with a confused expression, his mouth slightly ajar. He bowed his head and sighed before backing to the wall and leaning against it.

"Ken-kun?" Omi asked gently, stepping next to his older friend. Ken glanced to him, with a small and weary smile on his face. "Are you going to be okay?" Omi continued, causing Ken to smile a bit more strongly.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

Both turned to the door at the sounds of faint speaking and Omi asked, "Is Kino-san going to be all right?" Ken sighed again, his green eyes darkening at the question. Makoto had already been through this before, as the others all knew, but how much else could he reveal about her? She had always been a private person. It had nearly taken an act from the emperor to get her to open up to him and show him what a great person she was.

Finally Ken nodded and spoke, "She'll be all right, eventually. She's strong." He sighed again and bowed his head, his fists clenching in frustration. "Mako-chan, even if you're strong you're going to be hurting. I know how you are... How could you have been related to Yamaguchi-san all of this time?"

In the bedroom the lights were very dim, even though they were fluorescent and there were only two fixtures attached to the walls while there were none in the ceilings. One was over the head of the bed, straight across from the door and it was the one that was lit.

Soft white light fell over the pale woman lying in the bed, her body covered by the thick cotton blankets that nearly disguised all femininity in her form. Gray hair curled softly around her chin, but there was a crimp in it that worked around her head like a halo, causing Makoto to think it had been a clip or in a ponytail. A clear tube was fed into her mouth, taped at the corner to keep it from moving around. It was currently feeding something into her system and the sight caused Makoto to swallow roughly. Her chest rose and fell with a steady, gentle rhythm and with that same rhythm Makoto heard the mimicking beep of a heart monitor that was on the far side of her bed.

"Mo- Momoe-san?" Makoto asked, stepping toward the bed.

"She can't hear you, Kino-san," Manx spoke in the doctor's place, causing Makoto to glance to her from the corner of her eye.

"We can't give her pain killers or her heart will stop once more. Instead we've given her a sedative so she can sleep through it... If you'd like we can-"

"Please..." Makoto whispered as she continued to stare at the frail woman. "Please just be quiet..." she spoke and stepped toward Momoe's prone form lying on the bed. Her hand slowly moved from her side to grasp Momoe's hand, even though the blankets separated them, causing Momoe's hand to be a soft lump. Makoto kneeled gently next to the bed and reached beneath the blankets to free her hand.

It was warm, despite the pale color of Momoe's face and Makoto released a relief filled sigh of breath. She lifted the hand to her cheek and held it there, closing her eyes. "If it wasn't for you I wouldn't even be alive... I don't know you, but I know you're a good person, I can feel it..." Makoto's eyes opened again and this time they shone with a small film of tears that she blinked away quickly, focusing in on Momoe's face. "Momoe-san, I want to know you..."

She knelt there for a time, holding Momoe's hand to her cheek and simply staring at her, before Yuuyou stepped forward and cleared his throat. A subtle movement in Makoto's body language said that she had heard him.

"Kino-san, she's not well, and right-"

"I'm not stupid!" she snapped sharply, her resolve crumbling even more. She took a deep breath and then paced herself speaking softly, "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for..."

"That's all right," Yuuyou spoke but his words feel on deaf ears.

"Momoe-san, please don't die!" Makoto thought sadly.

Manx stared down at Makoto's figure as she rose to her knees and lay over Momoe's form. One of her blue eyes twitched of its own accord as she felt something twinge within her, and she turned to the door to leave. As she reached for the door the first sob, since she had arrived, racked Makoto's body. The door opened without pause and she stepped into the hallway, adjusting the light change without problem.

The other four were still present and as she emerged they were at full attention. Ken stepped forward and stared straight at Manx's face, silently demanding to be informed. With a sigh she bowed her head, looking away from at the same time. Ken scowled and then rushed past her, resisting the urge to push her out of his way.

Dr. Yuuyou blocked his way for a moment as the doctor stepped out of Yamaguchi-san's room, his head bowed solemnly. There was a loud sob from the room, which caused Ken to brush past him rudely and move into the darkness, his eyes adjusting quickly.

He saw Makoto leaning over the bed, her hands clasping one of Yamaguchi's fiercely and her body shook with quiet sobs. His ears instantly picked up the heart monitor's shrill beep, but he did not bother to look to it.

He took a deep breath, setting his resolve and moved toward Makoto, glancing to the door to see if anyone else would come in. Ken knew, instinctively, that even after this time Makoto would not want a stranger to see her vulnerability. He took a stand behind and placed a hand on her shoulder, but she brushed it off ruefully.

"Mako-chan," he spoke and proceeded with the gesture once more. She sat up this time, but did not face him and he squeezed her shoulder again. "We're all hurting right now, but we can't give up hope," he added at the last moment. When Makoto said nothing and did not look at him, he winced and sighed silently. "Damnit," Ken thought in frustration. "I am not good at things like this."

"Ken," Makoto spoke and saved him the effort of having to coax her. One of her black, covered arms lifted up and wiped her face before she turned to face him, but when she did, her face was red anyway. "Why do these things happen?" She looked back to Momoe without waiting for a response and he did not patronize her by giving one.

Instead he knelt down behind her and placed both hands on her shoulders. He hadn't seen her in ages but time had not bridged the friendship between them. Despite her more elegant clothes and her obvious distress he could tell by her initial reaction to the summons that she was still the same old Mako.

At his touch, she bowed her head and released a heavy sigh. "You're here for me again, Ken... I shouldn't be surprised, but I am. God, why do things like this happen?!" Ken grimaced as he saw her fists clench over the bedding cloth and then relax.

"Mako-chan, we should go..." Ken spoke as he looked from his childhood friend to Momoe.

Makoto opened her mouth to say something, but it closed shortly after. There were so many questions running through her head. She wanted answers to them all, but she was tired and she had not slept in hours upon hours.

Ken and Makoto stepped out of the room minutes after he had walked in. His arm was cast protectively around her shoulders and his face was downcast, but he managed a small smile when he looked to his companions. Makoto's expression mirrored his, but she did not face anyone. Her gaze was trained on the dusty rose carpet. She turned immediately to Dr. Yuuyou, pulling away from Ken as she did so.

She did not face, him, though and she spoke only, "Do you need me to stay and do anything?"

"Kino-san," Manx spoke, effectively drawing all attention to her. The grief-stricken redhead turned as well, but she was silent and she still did not lift her eyes. "Being that I am in charge of Yamaguchi-san's finances, I can handle the hospital arrangement's if you would like." Makoto's eyes finally rose at the gesture, but she still said nothing. It had been a kind act on Manx's part, but her tone was blunt and she did not show half of the fatigue that Makoto felt. So Makoto simply nodded and then turned back to Yuuyou.

Bowing from the neck, she spoke, "Thank you for everything, doctor. I'll be back tomorrow..." Then she turned away and walked nimbly, for all her now-haggard appearance and walked down the hall, leaving the six to stare after her. Only when Ran moved toward the elevator himself, did Ken give a grunt of surprise and run after her, rushing past the stoic male redhead.

When he got to the elevator he fell into step next to her and they walked in together. Ran reached the double metal doors before the closed but he did not board the lift. Instead he moved past them and down the hallway opposite the one they had just come from. He was moving to the stair well.

"Mako-chan," Ken pleaded once the elevator started moving. "Please look at me." He saw her face contort, but her eyes remained hidden beneath her bangs. "At least say something!" he then said sharply, becoming more and more frustrated.

"What do you want to hear?" she demanded angrily before she turned her dark gaze on him. It caught him off guard for a moment, but he braved it nonetheless, and stared her down. "I'm on the verge of losing someone I don't even know, but despite that, it still hurts!" Makoto said angrily and then slowly looked away; up to the floor counter above the doors. "I won't ask if you can honestly understand how I am feeling right now but please don't demand too much of me..." Makoto turned back to him and was caught off guard when he wrapped his arms around her shoulders in an affectionate hug, pulling her against him protectively. He rested his cheek against her forehead and sighed.

"I've lost someone important before, but I just found her again this evening..." He paused for a moment to let his words sink in, not seeing how her eyes closed tightly. "I don't want to lose her again."

After her spoke Makoto echoed his sigh before lifting her hands to hold his arms.

"You're not going to lose me," Makoto thought silently and squeezed his limbs. They were interrupted by the soft jolt of the elevator telling them they had reached their destination. Reluctantly Ken pulled away, relieved when his efforts were rewarded with a small smile.

They stepped out, arm in arm, walking at a slow pace that Makoto set. Ken was used to late nights and very early mornings such as these, but he had never known Makoto to be.

Standing side by side, they seemed a mismatched couple, her with her elegant velvet pants and black leather jacket., while he wore blue jeans and a red T-shirt, brown hair falling into his eyes. Their common ground was that they were both weary and haggard in their mannerisms.

Makoto and Ken paused before the lobby door and faced each other, smiling slightly forced smiles. Then a moment later their smiles dropped and Ken sighed.

"We never had to lie to each other before," Makoto spoke in regards to the fake smile.

"No. Why start now?" Ken asked, cocking his head gently to the side as he did so and silence was between them again. They stayed that way for a time until solemnity was too much for either and Makoto broke away, saving Ken the necessity of having to move.

"We shouldn't lie to each other, not now. Have things really changed so much, or is it just the lack of sleep and the circumstances? Please just the lack of sleep..." She thought silently before turning back to him. Arms encircled Ken with a strength he was not entirely ready for and he placed a foot behind himself to steady both of them, his own arms moving to encircle his friend.

"Do you need a ride home?" he asked as he heard the elevator ding. Something in the back of his head told him he should look and send a death glare to Youji, if it was Youji, before the older, but still young, man could tease him about the scenario, but he didn't want Makoto to sense the movement so he remained still. She nodded against his chest, all but silent in her movements.

"Yes, please," Makoto answered and slowly pulled away from him, pulling him into a standing position as she did so.

"Okay, come on..." he said and glanced over his shoulder to see that, indeed, the others had reassembled, sans Manx and Dr. Yuuyou. The three stood behind, waiting for him to make his move. He nodded toward the door and of the three, Omi nodded before Ken looked away, only catching the briefest of Youji's smirks before he was leading Makoto to the double doors of the hospital.

The air was cooler than when she had left the club, and Japan's natural humidity was not helping the bone chilling cold from seeping through the cracks in her clothing. She sniffed and pulled her arms around herself, walking side by side with him at a brisk pace. She glanced to him, and saw him without a jacket, realizing he must be colder than she was. So it was not without reason that she was gaping as he lead them to the side of a very sharp, expensive-looking motorcycle.

"Never ridden on a motorcycle?" he teased gently, as he caught up on her expression. With a somewhat soured face, she turned to him and frowned. Then she sighed and shook her head, watching as he pulled a helmet over his head.

"Aren't you going to be freezing?" she asked gently as he gestured for her to get on the bike. Ken paused in his movements and shrugged.

"I've been through worse," he stated easily.

His motorcycle fit two people easily and she slid onto the back without a helmet, waiting as Ken saddled the machine in front of her. Wearily, she wrapped her arms around his waist and allowed her face to rest against his back as the engine came to life, purring like a kitten. She yawned sleepily and allowed her eyes to close as he whipped forward at a fast pace, gentle for it, the cold air brushing over both of them with abandon.

It seemed to warm slightly as they rolled to intersections, or through them, rather. Ken's shameless carelessness when it came to the authorities was not a comforting thought right now, but she was too tired to care about it.

"Momoe-san, what are you really like?" she wondered and then blinked slowly, her vision obscured by the water that suddenly appeared in her eyes. "Must be all of the wind," she thought, and lifted a hand from Ken's waist to wipe at her eyes.

- - - - -

It took less time to reach her house than it had to reach the hospital, and she gave most of the credit to Ken's fast, controlled driving. "I wonder how he'd fare against Haruka-san," Makoto thought as she began to slide off of the bike, Ken still sitting on it. He cut the engine off to her surprise and pulled his helmet off, brown locks of hair falling back into his face.

He was not looking to her, as she was looking to him, but rather to her two-story apartment; the one that she did not give him the address to when she had moved nearly five years ago. For a moment he stared up at it with strangely vacant eyes and then looked back to her, producing a smile when he realized that he had been caught staring.

"I'll walk you in," he offered, but it was more of a command that she knew she wouldn't be able to say no to. There was no use hurting his feelings.

"Or does he really just want to get a good look at my apartment?"

She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind, but others came forward as replacements. "I've got my best friend back, and a grandmother I never knew... If I were a different person, this might be seen as a blessing..." She frowned as she stepped into the main building and then began to walk up the loud metal stairs to her apartment. "That's so morbid, though..." Behind her she could practically feel Ken's eyes wondering all over the place. He always had been protective. "Maybe that's where I get it from..."

They rounded the landing at the sixth step and turned to finish the rest of them and she was grateful that her door was only two more steps away. The door across from hers, 203, shut rapidly, causing Makoto to blink in surprise before she remembered the old woman that lived across the hallway. "Great, rumors will be flying tomorrow..." Makoto pretended to ignore her, though and instead opened her door with a gentle push, before moving in and allowing Ken to step in.

"Not bad," he said appraisingly, but he had only seen the foyer. It was apparent that he was not staying long.

Regardless, Makoto teased, "Glad to know I have your approval. I've only been living here for five years..."

"Hey," Ken said sharply and drew her attention to him with his tone. "The phone lines go both way, you know." When Makoto sighed and allowed her jacket to roll off of her shoulders forlornly, he continued, "You should have called..."

With a sad smile she nodded and affirmed his statement. "But I didn't... and I'm sorry..."

"It's okay now," he said quickly and offered her a small smile of his own. "But now you're definitely going to have to keep in touch."

"You know I will," she said with a cheeky grin that he couldn't resist to take up. She opened her mouth to speak but a loud yawn cut her off. A moment later she rubbed her watering eyes and Ken sighed.

"I'd better be going..."

"Are you going to be all right without a jacket?" she asked as he reached for the door.

"Yeah. Like I said, I've been through worse." He dropped the door handle for a moment and turned about, hugging her before she could stop him. Before she could respond to the hug, though, he had pulled away and he was moving out of the door. "Goodnight, Mako-chan. Call me if you need me."

With a simple, dumb-founded nod she closed the door after him and locked it, listening to his feet over the metal stairs outside. With a sigh she leaned against the back of the door for a moment and sighed before standing again.

"Good night, Ken... A lot of things to think about..." Makoto thought for the umpteenth time that evening, allowing the sheer black top to roll off of her shoulders and lie with the jacket over her arm.

- - - - -

"Did you see the way Manx looked at her? It was the way a starving person looks at meat..." Omi said as he, Youji and Ran moved into their apartment, one behind the other. The youngest and shortest of the three usually wore his heart on his sleeve and now was no exception.

"Maybe that's why she always ignores my advances," Youji muttered thoughtfully.

"Youji-kun!" Omi reprimanded gently, making his way to the kitchen. "Be serious!"

"I am. I don't know that much about Manx beyond her work life, and even then... Does she like men?" Omi opened his mouth to say something but Youji, as if sensing the words, quickly spoke, "Anyway, that doesn't change the fact that she is interested in that girl some way or another."

"Or why else would she have brought Makoto to really see Momoe-san? I mean- Kino-san obviously didn't remember her or maybe she didn't even know her, and it seems bit fishy..." Omi sighed as he dropped onto the couch, crossing his arms over his chest in aggravation. Youji watched the young man for a moment, seeing how clear it was that he was upset over the whole situation.

"But is it just Manx's way of dealing with things, or Momoe-san's condition, as well?" Youji wondered silently and took a step into the living room. But he made no move to bridge the distance between himself and the youngest member of their group. "If you're feeling up to it, you could strike out on your own and do some research," Youji suggested.

Omi glanced at him thoughtfully for a moment before he nodded, then spoke, "True..." Then he sighed and shook his head, pushing the suggestion away. "But I can't... I have classes in a few hours as it is, and I need some sleep..."

"Whatever," Youji said with a shrug. He began to turn away, but paused, seeing that Omi was not moving. "Yo, Omitchi..." the tall, lean man said by way of calling. Omi turned to him and simply raised a sleepy eyebrow. "You going to be okay?"

"Yeah," Omi said, somewhat sleepily, but with a light smile. "I'll be fine... I'm just going to wait for Ken."

"All right," Youji said once more, and paused again. "Hey, Omi," he spoke gently. "Don't give up... You can't miss her until she's not here."

"Yeah, I know..." Omi said, but this time he did not face the oldest member. "I just wish I knew why Kino Makoto, of all people, was being brought into this... There has to be another reason..."

"Omi," Youji said with an exasperated sigh that caused the younger to sigh. "You know how fucked up Kritiker is. They won't tell us anything until they feel like it, and for the most part I don't think we're going to be seeing a lot of Makoto-san. She does have her own life..." Then he grinned and added, "Or do you mean to tell me you didn't know the posh way she was dressed?"

Before Omi could reply with the saucy comeback he had been planning, Ran stepped into the doorway behind Youji and said flatly, "They have their reasons... We'll just have to wait and see them..." With that Ran turned away from the other two and tromped off to his room, leaving them to sit and stand respectively.

Youji's gaze followed until Ran turned into a doorway and Youji could no longer see him, "Well, wise words from the hard ass." Then with a sigh he turned to Omi and the two shared a nod. "Yeah, he's right..." the taller said and then turned away, almost waiting to see if Omi would stand and head to bed. When he did not, Youji simply smirked and said, "'Night, Omi."

"'Night, Youji-kun," Omi replied and waved to the older as he disappeared into the hallway.

Ken arrived home and parked his motorcycle behind the flower shop he worked at during the daytime. His arms had broken into goose bumps on the way back from Makoto's apartment, but he barely noticed. His mind was consumed with other things, and he hadn't been lying when he had told Makoto that he had been through worse.

"Her apartment was nicer than I thought it would be. I'm glad she's taking care of herself..." he thought as he unlocked the door to the flower shop and stepped inside, locking it behind him. The aromatic smell of flowers enticed his nose for a moment but it quickly left him as he walked toward the back room that would lead him to the upstairs apartment, motorcycle helmet in hand. He was too used to being around the flowers, and he knew it.

He didn't dwell on that, though. Right now he just wanted some sleep...

"I'll even work the afternoon shift with Youji if I can get some shut eye..."

Upstairs he passed the living room, only to pause and take a step back, seeing Omi sitting on the couch in the dark. With weary green eyes, Ken stared at the youngest member of their quartet and asked, "Omi? What's up?"

Omi was unruffled by the question, and turned slowly to look to Ken. Despite the fact that Ken had been silent in his entry, Omi was not surprised to see him.

"Just waiting to see how things went... How is she?" Omi spoke gently and Ken detoured into the den, dropping his helmet onto the coffee table with a thud of protest. Without giving much though to the noise Ken dropped onto the couch next to the young and sighed.

"She's taking it well, but she's definitely seen better days... " Ken said and stared at the wall opposite him, thinking of some exceptions to that statement. "Most days that I knew her she was pleasant, but there were those times when it seemed like nothing could make her smile..." They were silent for a time, Omi's hands clasped tightly in his lap and Ken sitting comfortably sprawled on the couch, each lost in their musings.

Finally Omi began to stand and turned to Ken, saying, "I'm going to sleep now. I just wanted to see how things went..."

"Okay," Ken replied and stood as well, stretching his arms over his head sleepily. He did not bother to reach for his helmet, though, and simply moved after the slightly shorter of the two, eyes closed in a slightly sleepy fashion.

"How did you two meet, exactly?" Omi asked, innocently enough, Ken though, but when he looked to Omi's face he could see a small grin. It was something he would have expected more from Youji, but not from Omi. Still, because it was Omi, he simply returned the look with a grin of his own.

"That is a story for a later date, Omitchi," Ken spoke as they both paused outside the doors to their rooms.

"Sure thing, KenKen," Omi replied with a sleepy grin before stepping into his room, leaving Ken to smirk at him.

Ken stepped into his room, shaking his head with a yawn. Omi was a good kid- no, he wasn't a kid. He was more mature than many of the adults Ken knew, and he had seen things in his life that no seventeen year old should have to see, yet he fronted an air of happiness around most people that left them thinking he was a regular teenager.

Stripping to his boxers he leaned over on the bed and began to crawl beneath the covers sleepily, thinking, "Maybe it would be a good idea to see Mako-chan tomorrow... She doesn't need to be alone right now, and when we parted those years ago she didn't exactly have many friends. I have to make sure she's okay..."

- - - - -

The swirling and churning gray mist was growing colder, Sailorpluto realized and took a deep breath of the cool air.

The set of mirrors before her flickered back and forth, but the mists set off any shadows created. Then again all excess light was swallowed as well. The mirrors darted back and forth, though, unaware of anything around them. They weren't sentient, after all, but the knowledge they provided was invaluable. Each provided a vision into a different spot in reality that she could look into at a given point in time. They were hers to control and command and scry, but never to own. She would never completely own them, and she was not sure she wanted to.

While in the third dimension she was powerful and substance reigned but here in the fourth dimension there was no substance. Her very body and all of the mirrors in her presence became like the void and the mist surrounding them in this place. It was the reason she loved to dip into the time stream and feel a piece of silken cloth between her fingers. Even fighting was better than standing here as nothing.

She sighed and rested her forehead against the metal staff that was held in her left hand. Her right arm extended and she fanned her gloved fingers so that she could see them well. From nothing, a single photograph was dropped into her hand; its own substance lacking as everything else in this place. She looked over the thing and studied it before looking at the content of the picture. Its paper was browning with age and lack of care, but it could not have been more than a few years old. It was really quite young in terms of age, at least in her midst.

At least the actual photograph was high quality, despite its poor condition. In the center, though slightly tilted, two children were facing the camera; a boy and a girl. Pluto smiled lightly as she continued to stare at it. The boy was in the foreground, a tolerant expression on his face. They were so young... The girl was standing behind the boy with her arms thrown about his neck, and she was grinning outright as she stared up into the camera. Pluto smiled despite herself as she looked to the two children.

'My how times change,' and `absence makes the heart grow fonder' came to mind, but she pushed both of them away. Such things were truly not necessary, not if you knew what was going to happen or knew the course of action to take, as she did.

"It's quite the candid shot," Pluto thought to herself before she stretched her palm outward. The picture disappeared as easily as it had come and Pluto sighed.

- - - - -

Her eyes rolled open easily and she stretched lazily like a cat, all limbs moving outward as her muscles tensed. Then she relaxed and drew her arms to her chest, cradling the length of one of her pillows against her. She was still in her sleeveless green blouse and the black pants from the evening before and her head hurt from sleeping in the ponytail, but for a moment she wondered if she had had too much alcohol the night before.

"I didn't drink that much, did I?" she thought sleepily and sat up. Memories from the previous night, rather earlier that morning, rushed back to her of their own accord and she groaned. With a gentle, though somewhat incoherent, motion she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, trying to dispel the sleep that was still haunting her.

The pain of loss was a stabbing one that caught her off guard as she stood. She could remember the frail old woman lying on the hospital bed. "She's so tiny and small, could she really be related to me?" She moved into the kitchen, tightening her ponytail as she moved and trying to smooth down some of her flyaway hair.

Tea was set brewing as she leaned against the counter next to the stove. "And how strange is it that Ken happens to work for her? I thought for sure he would have been a J-league soccer star by now..." Makoto turned back to the tea kettle to see how far it had progressed and then looked away from it once more. "I guess I should be grateful that we've been reunited... I didn't know how much I really missed him, it seems..."

When the tea was ready, Makoto stepped into the den and settled on the couch next to the bay window, looking over some of her plants. "Momoe is my father's mother. I never really knew them. I don't even remember them. If she's my grandmother and she has my information, why don't I remember her?" Makoto glanced down to the mug of tea in her hands and she sighed, before taking a small sip from it. "Could she and papa have had a fight? Maybe that's why we never saw her... Not that papa was ever around that much with business always going on... Maybe that's why I never heard of his parents."

After taking another sip from her tea she turned back to look to her plants; a few extra large peace lilies, some roses in front of the bay window saddled next to an aloe that should have been in the kitchen in case of sudden burns. Ferns rested in the corners of the floors, out of the direct sunlight, and in the cooler air. "Am I supposed to go back to business as usual now? Can everything go back to the way it was? Am I just being silly? People die every day..." Makoto stood with a sigh and set her cooling mug down on the table in front of her before moving to grab the aloe. Its rectangular box balanced easily in her hands and she moved it into the kitchen, setting it beneath a fluorescent light. Placing her hands on the edges of the sink, she leaned forward and closed her eyes. "I don't even know how to act or feel about the whole situation. Why did this have to happen?"

The phone rang a moment later and without looking up, Makoto reached out for it, grabbing the cordless and turning it on. "Hello?" she spoke gently, pacing her breath.

"Mako-chan?" a female voice spoke from the other end, and green eyes opened to stare down at the aloe plant with its miniature thorns.

"Minako-chan, what's up?" she asked just as gently, but her heart was not into it.

"Ne, Mako-chan," the blond from the night before spoke calmly. There was a slight pause as if Minako was considering her words and then she said easily, "You sound like shit..."

With a chuckle Makoto stood off of the counter and began to saunter back into the living room for her tea, speaking, "I had a rough night." With a silent sigh, she dropped onto the couch and pulled her knees beneath her, reaching for her teacup again. She could almost feel Minako's scrutinizing gaze on the other end of the phone.

"What happened after you left the club?" Minako asked, and Makoto could not help but smirk. She knew Minako's game of trying to act calm though she was desperately interested. Maybe their age had finally added subtlety to her methods.

"I..." Makoto paused, unsure of how to continue. Unlike Rei, she had never been great with subtleties and she had never been a liar, period. "I met someone," she spoke, cringing at her own attempts.

All subtleties were thrown out of the window, as Minako demanded, "After the club? Did you go somewhere before you went home... or did you meet someone on the street?" Before Makoto could answer any of the questions, Minako's voice lowered and she purred, "Interesting..."

"Minako-chan," Makoto gently, but with a warning undertone. She sighed and took a sip from her lukewarm tea. Then she continued, "It wasn't like that at all."

"Oh..." There was no hiding the disappointment in Minako's voice and she did not bother to try. Makoto was not in the mood to play intrigue with her anyway. "Well, what happened then?"

Makoto sighed and stood from the couch, carrying the teacup with her as she moved back to the kitchen slowly, speaking, "I don't feel like talking about it right now. I'll explain everything later, ok?" She set the cup in the sink and rinsed out its contents before turning the stove off and moving the kettle to a cooler eye.

"If you say so, Mako-chan. Is everything all right? Do you need anything?" Minako asked gently, causing Makoto to smile despite her mood.

"I just want to catch up on some sleep, Minako-chan. I'll talk to you later."

"All right, Mako-chan. Call my mobile if you need anything."

Makoto sighed but did not say anything else, fearing that she would spill everything if she did. Instead of answering her, she closed the connection and moved into her bedroom, dropping onto the bed like a stone. The phone found a place next to her and Makoto stared at it for a while before she looked away from it and sighed, closing her eyes.

"I guess some things never change, after all. Even as close as we are, Minako-chan, some things I just need to keep to myself. You understand, though, and for that I'm grateful. I'll tell you when I'm ready to tell you." Makoto curled around the pillow she had been holding when she woke up and tried to push everything to the back of her mind to sleep.

- - - - -

Minako sighed after she heard the dial tone of a closed connection through the black mobile phone she carried in her hand. She stared at it a moment longer before dropping it on the purse next to the bed she sat on. Then she reached forward and proceeded to finish tying her shoes, glancing up when the sound of a sliding door caught her ears. Rei stood just outside of the room she had let Minako borrow for the evening, already dressed and ready for another day of work in the temple. As she saw Minako's somewhat wary expression, her own transformed to mirror it.

"How is she?" the priestess asked gently, making no move to enter the room.

"Well, either we tuckered our little sister out at the club, or she found some action by herself after she left..." Minako said as she finished tying the bow in her shoes.

Rei's eyebrow perked for a moment before she crossed her arms over her chest and asked, "So is she all right?"

This time as Minako sat up she sighed, placing her arms behind her to prop on them and stare at the priestess with a confused expression. Rei stared at her for a moment, wondering if slight shortness with the blond had hurt her feelings, but when Minako shrugged she knew nothing bad had passed.

"I honestly don't know, Rei-chan. She said she just wanted to sleep..."

- - - - -

She had told Minako that she wanted to sleep, but she didn't sleep. She couldn't. Instead she lay on the bed with her eyes opening every few seconds, trying not to think about the situation at hand and how desperate she was for some resolve. Makoto was hoping for a positive resolution, but anything was better than waiting around with no idea of what would happen.

"Maybe Momoe-san will live and she can tell me about my papa and mama..." Makoto thought silently and unconsciously squeezed the pillow that was barely within her grasp.

The phone lying centimeters away from her curled body rang shrilly, causing her to open her eyes fully and glance toward it. It rang a second time and she continued to stare at it before turning away and closing her eyes. On the third ring her conscience was debating leaving it for another time or picking it up. By the beginning of the fourth ring, her hand snaked out and grabbed the phone. Lifting it to her mouth, she propped her the pillow at her side and spoke wearily, "Hello?"

"Hey, Mako-chan." Makoto blinked in confusion at the masculine voice on the other end of the phone.

"Ken?" she asked gently, sitting up from bed and rubbing the side of her face that was exposed to the cool air.

"Yeah. How are you this morning?" Ken asked and Makoto smirked to herself. It seemed as if he was trying to make pleasant conversation, but there was really no use in it, as they had discussed in the hospital's lobby.

"I've been better," she spoke bluntly, but he did not seem offended. Her face softened and she leaned against the headboard of the bed, tucking her feet beneath her and hugging the pillow to her lithe and willowy frame. "I'm glad you called, Ken. But I think you know that, don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess so, huh?" he asked before finishing the statement with a half-hearted chuckle. Then he sighed and said, "No reason to lie, ne?" Makoto laughed at the fact that they were thinking along the same lines, even after all of these years and shook her head, despite the fact that he couldn't see her. "Mako-chan, can you meet me at Crown for lunch? We haven't been there in a while together..."

Makoto frowned and spoke, "Ken, I-"

"Mako," Ken spoke quickly, but gently, "you don't need to be alone right now. I know you're hurting. I know you. I think that reminiscing will help cheer you up." Makoto smirked from her end of the phone, but her heart was not really in it.

"Okay, Mr. I-know-so-much-about-you, but be prepared to buy lunch."

"You got it," he spoke with a carefree and somewhat happier tone.

"I'll see you then."

"'Til then!"

Makoto hung the phone up and sighed, staring down at the receiver in her hand. With a sigh she rolled forward onto her face and then stretched out, pressing off of the headboard with her feet. She released the pillow and the phone and sighed wearily before reaching for the buttons in the back of her blouse.

"I have to get a shower. I have to wash my hair. I have to change clothes! I don't feel like going out... I don't feel like going out..."

- - - - -

She stood outside of the Crown Arcade but her eyes were focused more toward the top where the café was settled in. With a sigh she slipped her hands into the pockets of her light jacket. It was October now. Minako's birthday was only a few weeks away and already it was getting chilly.

Beyond the double sliding glass doors, Makoto was warmed slightly; not only by the warm air but also by the familiarity of the beeping and blipping from the arcade machines. With a casual wave to Motoki she slipped upstairs, all the while thinking, "I don't feel like going out... I don't feel like going out..."

End Chapter One