Welcome to Gaia! ::

"You... Scared me. But I am the person who caused my own pain. I am so confused with this situation that I don't know what to do with it. Up until yesterday, I spent my life searching for someone who I could love. Someone whose home I could make for them. Someone I could cook for, have children with. Spend the rest of my life with. For someone who would share the same kind of love for me that Usagi has for Memoru, who you know as Serenity and Endymion. I never knew that I had a love story, too. Of all the memories that came back to me when Serenity awoke, why couldn't I have those, too?" Makoto pondered aloud.

"You said you planned to propose? I would have said yes. I was so devoted to you that I consistantly pondered my future with you. My father held some concerns about our relationship, but knew that because had I chosen you, you would make a fine king... With some extra training." she giggled. "After all, being a king is more than just slaying your enemies. He saw how happy I was with you and my comfort with you helped ease some of the spirits of the people in the kingdom. If I could trust you with my mind, body, heart and soul, so would the people. But it wasn't just about that, though... Just as much as I taught you, you taught me. I always wanted to try my hardest and be tough. You molded me into the person I needed to be to protect the Princess. You taught me that it was okay to focus on other things besides my duties as her protector. You taught me to be protected. That night I died, I told you that you failed to protect me. But I didn't get to finish that sentence. I wanted to tell you that it was OK. That I would always love you. That our spirits were bound by fate and we would meet again. And here we are...

"Yoma Hunter, my Knight of Jupiter, I think I can help you bridge your two bodies so that you can go back to being one person. I want to help you live in this time. I feel like you are a stranger. Yet, like I have known you my entire existence. I want to be yours and only yours. And you, only mine. Yes, you are a Youma Hunter. I understand your nature. Your desire to protect the innocent. We can work through that and show you what we do to save the lives that they capture from the innocent. This is going to take time for us to get used to. But perhaps we can get to it together, my dear beloved Hunter. "

Makoto felt herself drawn to him. She wanted so badly to touch him. To be held by him. She wanted to know if his embrace was still as enchanting as it had been in her memories. If his lips were still as soft. If he was still as well endowed and talented behind closed doors as he once had been. Wait a second... Where had that thought come from!? She was getting ready to give into one of her urges when they were interrupted.

"Wow. That's some kinky role play you've got going on there!" a girl behind them giggled as she walked past in the arms of another man. "Can we join?" she teased. In her hand she was holding a cigarette, which she took a drag of and puffed out several heart rings.

"Leave them alone, pet. Their escapades are not ours." the man said.

She frowned. "Yes, Master Ren."

"Master Ren what?"

"Master Ren, dominate of the concubines." Her voice was filled with lust as they continued to the end of the hall.

"Well, that was weird." she commented. "Would you... Would you like to come back to my apartment with me? We can talk more without being interrupted."

Together they walked out of the hotel. Makoto found herself smiling as they walked down the street. The sky was turning shades of red, orange and purple as the sun was beginning to set. "This is the 21st century in Japan. Things are way different here than in the Silver Millennium." she explained. On the way home, she took the time to point out some of her favorite places. Her school, the flower shop, her favorite bakery... It was a nice, peaceful walk until...

"Hey, you wench! Where did you go with my brother!?" Nariko snapped. "Oh my God! You're with another man! You two-timing-good-for-nothing-WHORE! I'm going to kick your a**!" scream

Nariko took a swing at Makoto with her school bag. She swiftly raised her arm and caught it at the bottom of the strap. Nariko attempted to yank it back but it and Makoto hardly budged.

"You're a feisty little brat, aren't you?" Makot mused. "Look, I don't know where Ite went, but you'd better stop with this nonsense. I'm not going to put up with it!" Makoto warned.

"You... You're just a violent t**t! You probably beat him up and left him for dead somewhere didn't you!? I heard about you. I heard about how you got kicked out of your middle school for being a violent hag!" The insults were strong with this one. She started to take several swings at Makoto. She simply dropped the bag and placed her hand on Nariko's head, using some of her basic martial arts skills to hold her back.

"You have no skills, Nariko. Stop this childish act. It will get you nowhere." Makoto said softly, but sternly.

"I want... My brother back!" Nariko cried. "He never even came home last night. And I saw you. I saw you take off with him this afternoon! Where is he now, huh? And why are you with another man!?"

"Ite and I-" She paused and looked at the Youma Hunter. Was he Ite transformed? Or was he somebody else. "Ite and I are friends right now. You don't even know me and yet, you make assumptions of me based on your false thoughts and rumors? Stop acting like a selfish, spoiled brat. I'm sure that if you go home, Ite will show up eventually. Now please, leave us alone."

"I'm not spoiled!" gonk gonk Nariko cried. "I'm worried about my brother and you did something to him. I know you did! And when I find out what it was, you're going to pay!" Nariko ran off in tears.

Makoto looked back at the Youma Hunter. "I think... That she is your sister... Shes looking for you in your other form. But I'm not sure... I never saw what happened to her brother yesterday. I only saw the Youma copy of him and I'm not sure if that's what he was the entire time or not."

In the distance, Makoto heard a loud, murdering scream. It sounded like Nariko.



"You didn't follow through with the plan!" Sakura snapped. "How are you going to get revenge for your brother's death if you can't even get her to land a punch on you!?"

"Look, I tried! I realy-"

"You're pathetic!" Sakura spat. "I knew you couldn't do this on your own. I guess I'm going to have to consume you for energy and do the job myself!" Sakura opened her moutn to reveal a long, dark teal tube underneath her tongue. Her body grew and she turned into a monster of the same color with long, spikes about its back. Its hands formed in to three-fingered claws. Out of the tube shot a hose-like stream of saliva, which wrapped Nariko up and stuck her on a fence.

"I usually wait until its dark to consume my prey, but this will do."

Nariko screamed as loudly as she could for help. Maybe there was someone around. Ite… That hag... Anyone! She was too young to die!



"Nariko!" Makoto exclaimed. She could see the shadow of the youma transforming in the distance. "s**t! Jupiter star power make-up!" She called.

"Not so fast!" The Youma giggled. "That girl is in my special web. Everything you do to me will hurt her. You don't want that to happen, do you?" She squee'd.

Jupiter didn't know what to do. Should she attack the youma and attempt to call a possible bluff? Or should she make the attempt? There was only one way to find out. And that was to attack. Ensuring she kept the power of her attack to a minimum, she called out "Flower hurricaine!"

The attack hit the monster directly in its gut. Both she and Nariko let out a scream. The monster laughed as Nariko shouted out "Watch what you're doing you b***h!"

"We've gotta get her out of that somehow without harming her. Any ideas?" If Mercury made it, perhaps she could freeze the goo off of Nariko. But they had to come up with another idea before the youma decided to consume her.

"It's worth a shot!" Jupiter replied before turning to the monster. She charged it head on and began a series of hand to hand combat tactics on it. Unable to focus on eating its prey, it put its efforts into defending itself against Jupiter.

"Yeah, that's right. Come at me!" She drew the youma far away enough from Nariko that the Hunter had a perfect opportunity to take his chance.

Nariko was beginning to cry, as Sailor Jupiter's blows affected her as well. "Please!" She cried. "I can't take this! This isn't how I wanted to die!" Her tears were of pure fear.

Jupiter wanted to call out words of comfort to Nariko. But doing so might just turn the monster's attention back to Nariko. Instead, she continued to keep it busy.

"You think you can outwit me?" She laughed. "Think again!" She hooked onto Jupiter with both her claws and slammed her against the wall next to Nariko. Then, the hose in her mouth came out again and spewed its liquid over Jupiter, pinning her down next to Nariko. She turned to the Youma Hunter. "You're next!" she growled.

Jupiter screeched in agony as she felt the Youma Hunter's attack pierce her shoulder, even though there was no sword there. She saw the Hunter grab his arrows and aim at the Youma. Jupiter knew that he wouldn't hit the creature where it wouldn't harm her too much.

The Youma screeched in agony along with Jupiter. It's shoulder disabled, it reached for the sword, attempting to yank it out. Finding this move to be useless, it extended its claws out. Each one became elongated like a sword, and as sharp as one, too. It began to take swipes at the Youma Hunter. It's hope being that he would back down, knowing that each blow he landed on it would land on his girl, too.

"Just you wait..." The Youma laughed, tossing his words aside.

Jupiter was watching the battle as it progressed. She could tell that the Hunter was trying not to hit the Youma. She shouted words of encouragement to him, assuring him that she was still okay. At the same time, she felt as if her energy was beginning to drain. The good was warming up and the monster was becoming more swift as it attempted to land its blows. It was feeding off her as it worked. Trying to not lose hope, kept her fears to herself. She decided to try moving. Maybe of she wasted energy, the monster wouldn't be able to take it.

Struggling against the pain in her shoulder, she started to wiggle her body and move her muscles. Sure enough, she couldn't move. Except for her shoulder. As she struggled with it, she heard a cracking noise. The damage done to the monster's shoulder weakened the goo in that area of her body. Working her shoulder a little more, a piece cracked off and fell to the ground.

"Youma Hunter! Start hitting it! Don't use deadly force! " she called.

"Shut up, girl or I'll kill you both!" the Youma snapped. It took a swing at Nariko, should was still watching nearby and sliced open her cheek. It turned back to the Youma Hunter. "Maybe I'll pin you to the wall and then make you watch me dismandle the slowly, torturing them until their last breath. Then, I'll consume you little by little as well!"