Legal Disclaimers (my
lawyer made me:)
Sailor Moon is property of Naoko Takeuchi, Toei Animation, DiC,
Bandai, Mixxine and a lot more probably. Bottom line is: Sailor
Moon and it's characters are not mine so don't sue me. You should
be
used to the disclaimers by now.
______________________________________________________________________
Thanks to:
Mike for the new E-mail address.
__________________________________________________
| Visit my homepage at: |
| http://www.oocities.org/tokyo/temple/9286 |
| Official site of Lady Jupiter's stories. |
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D.C. al Fine
(2)Exposition
Lady Jupiter (LadyJupiter@SailorJupiter.com)
Mako opened her eyes, expecting to be greeted by sunlight,
but instead was awaken by a cold midnight breeze. Her beside
radio-clock read three in the morning and her internal clock told
her it was too early to be thinking rationaly. She turned on her
side and tried to get more sleep, but a nagging feeling was
slowly
churning in her stomach. After what seemed like ages, Makoto sat
up
in the bed, sleepy-eyed. She glanced at her balcony window. Her
expensive satin curtains were billowing, reminding her of an
apparatus looking for a home.
"I must have left them open again," she mumbled to
herself.
She remembered clearly now. While she was watering the various
pots
of plants out on the balcony, there had been a phone call. In her
eagerness to recieve the call, Makoto left the balcony window
open
and forgot about it.
Rising to her feet, Makoto threw the covers off and shivered as
the breeze greeted her. She shoved her feet into bedroom slippers
and shuffled to the window, unaware of the fog gathering around
the
room. Just as she was about to close large window, something
moved. Something she had mistakened for a shadow moved toward
her.
"What the-" before she had anything else to say, hands
reached
out and grabbed her, pulling her out onto the balcony. For some
reason, Makoto didn't feel frightened.
The figure held her and stroked her long auburn hair, pulled out
the rubberband and let her hair cascade down her naked shoulders.
Makoto was wearing nothhing but a pastel green nightgown of the
softest satin with thin green ribbons holding it up.
"I missed you so much," the figure expressed to her in
a voice
that touched her inner most nooks and crannies. He brought his
hands to her face and touched her cheeks.
"I-"
::ring::
As if a bolt of lightning hit her, Makoto lept out of bed,
clammy with sweat. Disoreinted and light headed, she felt around
for the phone and found it on the floor.
"Hello?"
::click::
"Stupid lunatics!" Makoto muttered into the receiver
and
slammed the phone down. She really believed she was getting
somewhere with the dream. For weeks now, it plagued her
incessively. Just when she thought she knew who the cryptic
figure
was, she would wake up. The clock read three forty-five.
"Might as well see what kind of sleep I can get in two more
hours." Makoto mumbled and flopped down into her bed,
reminding
herself to wake up earlier so she could try to complete the
homework
she hadn't finished last night.
"I can't believe my
bad luck!" Makoto shouted as she
rounded a corner. Not only had she overslept, but she also burned
breakfast (which was rare), and didn't finish her homework on
time.
And now, on her way to school, she saw that she was so incredibly
late that not a single student was on the street. Everyone was
either at work or in school by then.
Running as fast as she could, Makoto rushed to school. She
knew this was going to result in at least another week of
detention.
A sleek black car crept up next to her. Its automatic windows
lowered as the driver slowed down. "Need a lift?"
Makoto stopped long enough to look in, then jumped through the
open passenger-side door. She slammed the door shut and let out a
sigh of relief. "It sure is lucky to see you. I'm late as it
is,
but can you please drive faster to school? I can't handle
_another_
detention!"
The driver, who happened to be the one and only Kyupid Masato
chuckled. "How can you assume I'm going to school?"
"Aren't you?"
"As you said before, we're late as it is. There's no way we
could sneak into school and avoid detention this time."
Makoto slumped down into the seat and let out a mumble of
defeat, "Oh great, another check in my record."
"Who said we had to go to school?" Masato replied,
turning the
car onto another street.
"You mean we're going to ditch?" Mako asked, her eyes
getting
wider. She wasn't exactly a goody-two-shoes, but she never
ditched
school purposely. <...well, there _was_ that other time, but
it was
for a good reason....and then, there was that _other_ time at the
other school, but only because I had a good reason.>
"No, we're simply taking a vacation from the stresses of
school.
Don't worry about it." Masato persuaded her.
"But this is the first time I played hooky in years."
Makoto
started.
"Besides, you can always call the school to tell them you're
sick. That'll save you from detention."
"But-"
"C'mon, just today. Tomorrow, we'll go back to school.
Besides,
nothing interesting happens on Mondays anyway. They go so
slow."
"Alright, you convinced me." Makoto gave in.
"Great. Why don't we stop by your apartment so you can
change
and dump your stuff." Masato suggested, putting an arm
around her
shoulders while the other arm was draped comfortably over the
steering wheel.
"Good idea," Mako said softly, feeling lost again. She
was
drifting her way onto cloud nine and there were angels singing in
her ears. The car stopping in front of her apartment didn't jar
her
out of her heaven, but the sound of Masato moving did. She
suddenly
jolted up, wide eyed. "What are you doing?!"
"This is your apartment isn't it?" He pointed to the
large
ten-story building.
"Yeah, I'll go change." Makoto grabbed her books and
started
out of the car.
"I'll go with you," he started to take his keys out of
the
ignition.
"No!" Makoto said a little too quickly. She didn't want
him in
her apartment and have him discover that she lived by herself.
"I'll only be five minutes."
"Okay, okay, don't throw a fit about it."
When Mako came back, she was no longer wearing her school
uniform. She had on a pair of khaki pants and a green tank top
under her light jacket.
Masato whistled as she got back into the car, "You look
good."
Blushing, Mako accepted the complement with a, "Thank
you."
The engine roared to life and the car lurched forward as Masato
stepped on the gas. Makoto squealed with delight.
with him.
"How about the park?" Masato grinned at her.
"Wonderful!" Mako's enthusiasm was practically leaking
out of
her ears. She couldn't beleive how lucky she was these past few
days. She had been floating on cloud nine. Masato was a great
guy,
not at all like the wolf Rei warned her about. They had already
gone on several dates aand the more she went on, the closer she
felt
to him.
At the park, Masato pulled out a blanket from his trunk and
spread it out on green grassy patch. Both of them were lying on
their backs, looking up at the blue sky with its cumulus clouds
tickling their imaginations.
"It looks like a castle," Makoto pointed to a group of
clouds
that vaguely resembled what she mentioned.
"But that one looks like a violin," Masato pointed to
another
group. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, enjoying the
smell of freshly mowed grass.
"It's so peaceful here."
He turned on his side and faced her, "Everyone's either at
school or work. It's just you and me, alone." From out of no
where, he pulled out a bottle of wine and two elegant glasses.
"Where did you-"
Masato popped the cork open and filled the glasses with
expertise as if he had been doing it for some time. He shushed
her
and handed her a glass. "It's my little surprise to
you."
"But I don't drink," Mako protested.
"Surely, a dame as beautiful as you had a sip or two once in
a
while?" He said after a sip from his cup.
That phrase sounded familiar. She could have sworn she heard it
form a recent movie where some ludicrous leech was trying to
impress
a woman he was sitting with. Mako pushed that thought away and
looked at the clear liquid in the bottle. "I
shouldn't."
"I bought it just for you," Masato taunted, holding his
almost
empty glass in front of her.
"But I'm not old enough, and you're not old enough."
She
protested again and again softly.
"Just a little sip. Just try it, I promise no one will
know."
Masato persuaded, already sipping his second cup.
Mako reasoned to herself. Yet, the
other
side of her conscience tried to reason with her,
herself. When she was younger, she had asked her father why kids
weren't allowed to drink and he had answered, "Alcohol isn't
a good
habit. But I know I can't stop you and the more I forbid you to
do
it, the more you'll want to try. Go ahead and take a sip if you
want, it's not as exotic as everyone makes it look like. But just
remember, it's not something to abuse."
"Are you still with me?" Masato asked, staring at her
dazed
expression. "You haven't even taken a sip yet and you're
already
topsy-turvy?"
"Okay, maybe just a sip or two," Mako finally gave in.
She
carefully tipped the glass to her lips and tasted the sweet
liquid.
It didn't exactly taste good, but it had a rather unique taste.
"You like it, I presume?" he asked.
"It's not that bad. But don't expect to me to drink this on
all
our dates. We're not old enough." Makoto chided after
another sip.
Masato gulped down his remaining champaign and poured more into
the empty glass. He turned and looked at her thoughtfully, his
eyes
starting to turn a darker hue. "Let's pretend that we're old
enough
to drink. Just for now."
"Pretending games?" Mako laughed, "I think we're a
little too
old for that."
"Nobody's too old to pretend. You pretend you're the mommy
and
I'll be the daddy. Remember? Haven't you ever played that when
you
were small?" Masato asked, taking another large gulp.
Makoto only nodded. She was starting to feel a little woozy and
she had only drank a fourth of what was in her cup.
"I'll be the daddy, coming home from a hard day at
work." He
emptied off his glass in a gulp. "Ah, nothing like a glass
of
champaign to end the working hours. Isn't that right,
honey?"
"Right," Mako echoed.
"And what have you been doing all day while I was in the
office,
dear?" Masato asked softly, gathering her in his arms.
"Just the usual housecleaning and running down to the
drycleaners to pick up your suit." It felt as if she was a
doll and
each time someone pulled the string in her back, words would come
out even when she didn't have anything to say.
"That's good," Masato mumbled and starting kissing
around her
lips.
Mako wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or him making her face
flush so hotly and her senses melt away. She was drifting on a
cloud, no longer aware of the blanket underneath her.
Masato tasted the sweet alcohol still on Mako's lips as he
rolled her over so that he had pinned her down. He kissed her
over
and over again, sending her thoughts into turmoil.
Suddenly, Mako felt her blouse being unbuttoned and tried to
focus her eyes. Masato's fingers were working clumsily at the
front
of her blouse. "Masato-kun, what are you-"
"Shhh, I'm your husband remember?" Masato shushed her
with a
light kiss.
Mako shook her head. "That was a game. What are you doing?
Stop it right now." She pushed his hand away and tried to
sit up,
but the alcohol was taking its toll.
"Makoto, don't deny your husband of what is rightfully
his!"
Masato growled, pinning her deeper into the blanket.
"Stop it! You're drunk!" Mako put her hands on his
chest and
tried to shove him off.
"I'm notta drunk! Yuuu're da one who'sh drunk!" He said
to
her. He was surprised at how strong Mako was.
"Get off of me! I want to leave!" Mako shouted, trying
to
shove him off. Because of his advantage in mass, he couldn't be
moved, but still had to try hard not to be thrown off this
amazon.
Makoto was regretting drinking the alcohol. She couldn't find her
balance and it was hard to keep his hands off her body.
"C'mon wifey," He lowered his head to kiss her but his
breath
reeked of alcohol.
"Stop!" Mako shrieked and slapped him across the face.
For a second, Masato was stunned, but that second passed and
after there was only rage. He held her arms down on the grass and
glared at her menacingly. "You're gonna be sorry about
that!"
"Never!" Makoto struggled but couldn't get out from
under his
grasp. He got closer and closer and she shut her eyes, trying
with
all her might to throw him off of her. The next thing she knew,
he
was gone. She opened her eyes, wondering what happened. Towering
above her now were two guys.
"What the fu-" Masato was about to say but the other
guy shoved
him away.
"The lady said 'no' or can't you take a hint?" the
other guy
said sternly.
"Why you nosy little brat!" Masato advanced to the
intruder.
"Can't you respect other people's privacy?"
"Privacy my ass! If you wanted privacy, what are you doing
in a
public park?"
"I'll show you-"
"You'll show me what?!" The intruder shouted, rolling
up his
shirt sleeve and clenching his hands into a fist. "I betcha
I'll
show you more than what you show me. I'll show you stars that
you've never seen before."
Seeing that the other guy was about to punch him, Masato
retreated, took one more look at Mako ono the grass, and stomped
away.
"Bastard!" The intruder shouted and fixed his sleeve.
"Miss,
do you want me to call the police--"
After turning to the lady on the grass, the intruder couldn't
help but stop dead. He never expected to see her here in this
situation. "Makoto?!"
Mako squinted and tried to name the face that was looking at
her, but it was hard because the sun was directly in back of the
man. She knew that voice from somewhere....
"Makoto?!" he asked again, kneeling next to her. Even
with her
unraveled hair, he reckognized her.
Suddnly, Makoto knew him. "Shinozaki?"
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?"
He
asked.
"I-I-I-I....shouldn't YOU be in school?" she stammered.
She
was angry at him for finding her like this, but she was also
thankful that someone had intruded.
"It's lunchtime." He replied.
Mako understood. Some highschools would let the students go
home for lunch, but not her school.
Shinozaki looked at her and shook his head.
"What?!" she deffended.
"You might want to fix your shirt," He nodded at her
half
unbuttoned blouse.
Mako looked down and blushed. She raised her hands to the
buttons, but since she was seeing double, had trouble grasping
the
real buttons instead of the illusions.
"Had a little to much to drink?" Shinozaki arched an
eyebrow
with a knowing look.
Ignoring him, she tried to make the three images of the button
she saw before her into one, but could not do it. She was getting
frustrated and embarassed because Shinozaki was just standing
there.
Finally, he offered some help. "Looks like you're not
getting
anywhere." He quickly buttoned up her shirt for her.
"Thanks," she grumbled and starting walking shakily
into the
direction she perceived as home.
"You need a little help getting home?" He called after
her.
"No thanks, I can make it home myself. Your lunch break is
almost over." She said flatly and continued walking.
Shinozaki was about to abide and leave her, but judging on the
unstable way she was walking, decided to see her home. He started
silently, a few meters behind her, but she suddenly whirled
around.
"Hey!" Mako started but stopped in order to gain her
balance
after the quick about-face. "I really don't need you to see
me
home."
"Who said I was? My house is in this direction too!" He
retorted. "You're not the only one who lives on this side of
town."
"Well, you better not be some stalker!" With that, she
started
home again with longer strides.
When finally they made it out of the park, Makoto turned and
started to cross the street. The little alcohol that she had
drunk
was really having its affect on her. Everything sounded as if it
were coming from the end of a long tunnel. It wasn't until the
car
was a couple of meters that she realised that if she didn't move
fast, she was gonna have a nasty headache the next morning.
Before
she knew it, hands pulled her out of the way.
"Aren't you glad I'm around?" Shinozaki said with a
cocky smile
while still pulling onto her upper arm.
Mako mumbled a thanks and continued walking back. The only
thing she wanted to do was go home and sleep. Her head felt like
a
ton of bricks.
"What's your address? I'll take you home. I don't think you
can make it home safely." Shinozaki asked.
Mako turned and looked curiously at him. "What do you want?
Why are you being so nice all of a sudden? Looking out for _my_
safety? Why do you care what happens to me? Or are you just
nosey?"
Shinozaki shrugged. "For one thing, I'm a gentleman, no
matter
what you think." His cocky smile returned. "Besides, if
I let you
go home alone and you get hurt or worse, I might be charged with
attempted homicide or something since my fingerprints are already
on
your shirt."
Mako could name another party's fingerprints that were probably
all over her shirt, but didn't want to bring that up. She just
told
him her address and let him lead her. It was nice not to have to
think for once where she was stepping into.
She wasn't sure what happened, but the next thing she knew, she
was lying down on her couch and fell fast asleep. For the first
time she could remember, no dreams came to her. It was nothing
but
a dull black sleep. It felt as if she had just closed her eyes
when
the phone rang. She looked at the clock.
"Nine-thirty already?!" Mako bolted out of bed and
grabbed the
phone. "Moshi-moshi?"
"Mako-chan! Where were you today? I was worried sick. I
called twice and got nothing except the machine. Are you
sick?"
Rei's worried voice replied.
It took a while for her to answer. What had happened a few
hours before seemed like nothing but a bad dream.
"Mako, are you okay?" Rei asked again, this time a
little
slower.
"Iie, Rei-chan."
"What's wrong?"
"Can you come over right now? I know it's kinda late, but I
don't want to talk about it over the phone." Mako asked her.
"Yes, of course. I'll be there in ten minutes."
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
Makoto closed her eyes for a while, then opened them to answer
Rei. "I'm sorry for not beleiving you about
Masato-kun."
Rei answered promptly, "I'll be there as fast as I
can."
Just as she promised, Rei
was there in a flash. Mako had barely
set the phone back on its reciever when the doorbell rang. Even
before opening the door, she could smell the tantalizing aroma of
fried chicken.
"Thought you'd like something to eat....while we talk."
Rei
said the last part quietly.
After setting the dishes on the table and taking the pieces of
chicken out of the paper take-out bag, Makoto sat down across
from
Rei. They ate in silence for a while until neither of them could
stand it anymore.
"You were right," Mako finally said.
"I'm sorry you had to find out that way."
"You mean the hard way?" Mako shrugged, "I
probably deserved
it. I can get real stubborn sometimes."
"No, you were just another innocent girl who fell into the
wolf's trap." Rei sighed and shook her head sadly.
"How did you know about him? How do you know how many girls
he's messed up?" Mako asked.
Rei looked down and picked at her chicken for a while. "I
was
one of them. Luckily, I screamed loud enough and a park security
was nearby. But there were a few girls who weren't so lucky. But
then, there are also a few who liked it and they're the ones who
give us bad names."
"I have the worst luck with guys. Ya know? Boy, do I know
how to pick them. My ex was cheating on me with at least three
other girls before I finally realized it. My first boyfriend was
just using me to get his ex jealous. I'm beginning to think there
aren't any decent guys out there." Makoto gave a weak smile.
"If you don't mind me asking, how did you manage to get rid
of
him? I mean, he took you to a secluded area in the park and all
right? Or did he change his age-old plans?"
Mako looked down and said softly, "That guy from the
hospital,
Shinozaki was coincidently strolling by and came to help."
"How sweet, a knight in shining armor to rescue you."
Rei
commented.
"No, I didn't need someone to rescue me, I could have taken
care
of myself." Makoto rejected forcefully. Then, her face fell
again
and she said softly, "Okay, maybe I was a little drunk from
the
alcohol. Maybe I _was_ lucky that Shinozaki was there."
Rei nodded, "He's a special guy. It's a wonder that a guy
like
him can still be single."
"He's single?" Makoto asked, trying not to sound too
interested.
"Hey, is that a hint of hope I hear in your voice? Yah know,
I
can probably set you two up. You'd make the cutest couple. Both
tall
and good looking..."
Makoto laughed, "Rei-chan, I don't want to be set up with a
guy
like that. He's a jerk. Always was, always will be. Okay, maybe
he
wasn't a jerk today, but tomorrow, he will be."
Rei shrugged, "Can't say I didn't try."
It was a dazzling sunny day
in Tokyo and Makoto lamented on what
a shame it was to spend half of it couped up in a building. What
was worse, she again had laundry duty in the hospital.
"I don't know what's worse, laudry duty or being stuck in
here
on such a beautiful day." she moped while folding some
sheets.
"I know what's worse. Being stuck here folding laundry on a
sunny day with _you_." Shinozaki, who was also folding
sheets
answered.
"Oh shut up!" Mako threw a pillow case at him.
"Now there's gratitude I never see everyday."
"Look, I already thanked you for what you did the other day.
Why
do you have to be so mean all the time?"
"Ok, ok, don't give me that speech about being nice again. I
don't think anyone deserves that kind of punishment. I'm sorry,
ok?" Shinozaki shook his head. "Besides, I was just
kidding."
After finishing her duty in that small cramped room, Makoto
noticed that she started to smell a little like laundry
detergent.
She wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"What's wrong?" Shinozaki questioned, noticing her
grimace.
"Nothing's wrong, if you like smelling like this."
"Like what?" he leaned over to her and sniffed her
hair. For
that second, she was completely aware of how close he was to her.
He was so close, she could even catch a whiff of his cologne. She
smiled. He smelled like an ocean breeze, mixed with cherry
life-savers and also a hint of laundry detergent. "You smell
alright to me." He said, snapping her back to reality.
"Hmmm....oh yeah, thanks." She blushed. She walked out
of the
room, looking around for Rei. It was about time for a well-needed
break. She was beginning to feel lightheaded.
"I told you, mom, I'm
okay. Why don't you go down to the
cafeteria and get something to eat?" A girl's voice could be
heard
from an opened door.
Makoto poked her head in. "Is there anything you need?"
The girl looked at her and smiled, "Actually, I'd like you
to
point my mom to the cafeteria. She hasn't had a bite to eat all
day
since she's been hovering over me like this."
The older woman in the room didn't take offense and answered,
"Well, if you're sure you're okay. I think I _will_ go down
and
get some salad. Do you need me to bring you anything?"
"No thanks." The girl on the bed replied and watched
her mother
go.
"Your mom sure is very motherly." Makoto remarked to
the girl.
"Would you mind pulling up the blinds? I would but..."
she
pointed to her leg in the new cast.
"Sure, no problem."
"By the way, my name's Minako."
Mako nodded, "Glad to meet you, Minako."
Minako giggled and ran a hand through her long blonde hair.
"You can call me Mina-chan if you'd like."
"Okay, Mina-chan. Oh, and my name's Makoto."
"Can I call you Mako-chan?"
"Yes. Sorry to sound rude, but I have to go look for
someone.
I'll stop by later because I know what a drag it is to be in
places
like this. Maybe we can talk some more later." Makoto said
her
goodbye and walked out.
Shocked wasn't the word to describe the way she was feeling.
Makoto knew that she wasn't really the social type, but for some
reasoan, she felt amicable towards that blonde. Sure, Minako
seemed
like a bubbly blonde, but that wasn't what made Mako feel like
befriending her. It was almost like she had no will of her own.
Shaking off that feeling, she continued with her search for Rei.
A
strange feeling of deja-vu came over her. Makoto realized why as
she found Rei. Ever since the first day she started helping out
at
the hospital, she and Rei would always take their breaks
together,
almost at the same time without realizing it. She was never one
to
beleive in karmas, but there seemed to be some small link between
her and the raven haired girl.
When Makoto found Rei, the two girls sat down and had a little
snack. Rei brought up the subject of the Christmas party which
was
not far. Mako couldn't help but drift into her memories of her
last
Christmas with her parents. It was one of the happiest times she
had and the memories were slowly fading with time. Every year,
she
remembered less and less of them. She was afraid, one year, she'd
forget all about them.
"Mako-chan? Are you okay Mako-chan?" Rei's concerned
face
snuck into her thoughts.
"What? Oh yeah, sure."
"You zoned out for a second there. Maybe you're working too
hard in here? Why don't you go outside for a walk? I'll cover for
you." Rei offered.
Before she could say anything, Rei shooed her from the table
and warned her to be back in fifteen minutes. She was going to
cover for her, but it would not be good for Mako to be missing
for
a long time.
______________________________________________________________
Well, that's the end of
chapter 2. Better watch out for chapter
3 because that chapter's a little wierd since I changed
perspectives.
Sorrie about the long wait, I hope this was worth it.
Oh, notice how I used
musical terms to name not only this fic,
but the chapters? ^^;; just wish I remembered what those terms
meant.