Ayla surmised that her Mom was probably dying of worry, and suggested that Masurani bring the three to her place while she "broke the news." She tamed her protestations with the rationale of what alternative was there? After several minutes, Masurani conceded.
'Mama-san!' Ayla called as she stepped in the front door, not having changed out of her Neo Senshi uniform. A short woman, some five feet in height, dressed in a khaki green housecoat scrambled up to her daughter, her stark red hair flailing behind her.
'You were out there!' she snapped, both fearful and angry. 'You were fighting and…oh my… you're hurt!' Her tones walked the edge of the disciplinarian, and the concerned mother. Ayla rolled her eyes as her Mom inspected the gash across her shoulder.
'It's nothing, really, Mama. I stayed in my uniform so it would heal more quickly.'
'Don't you roll your eyes at me young lady,' she chided, drawing Ayla into the living room, sitting her down and slipping the arm of the body suit from the wound. 'Just be happy I agreed to let you join the Resistance at all!'
'Mama - ow!' she winced. 'I'd never have joined if you hadn't…'
'Exactly. Tsk, tsk, of course it's going to hurt. It's fairly deep.' She stood and proceeded to the kitchen. A moment passed, and she returned, first aid kit in hand.
'Nasura made me the leader of the Neo Senshi. That wasn't so bad. It was just Haisha… she was so frustrating!'
'It's not good to yell at her, even if she did follow your orders.'
Ayla's face darkened.
'It's okay sweetie. Just think it through. You've got to be firm and kind.' She dabbed gently at the wound. Ayla bit her lip and winced.
'Yeah, but how? You're just loud,' she laughed.
'You got it from somewhere…' Osaka replied with a smirk. 'I think if you thicken the body suit… use mystic silk, instead of this flimsy cloth,' she said and pinched the fabric with two fingers. 'And maybe some padding would help…'
'Oh Mama…' she sighed as her Mom started wrapping her shoulder carefully with an off white bandage. "I know… I just haven't had the chance yet…"
'Listen, Ayla, I love you. I'm not going to let you die out there…' her words fell to a deep and emotionally dark silence. 'Not if there's anything I can do about it.'
'Gomen… I…'
'Shush,' was softly spoken reply. Her hands did not stop the task of bandaging the wound until it was complete. Osaka Apollo heaved a weary breath, pulling her housecoat tightly about her slender build and retying the waistband.
'So what happened? How bad is it?'
Ayla wiped at her aching eyes. 'It's bad Mama. It's horrible. There were so many! Nasura's going to have a hard time alone. We nearly lost, even with Makoto's help.'
'Makoto?" she said, sharply inquisitive. 'You mean Kino Makoto?'
'Hai Mama-san. She's changed, though. She looks like an angel!"
'She hasn't been gone long, then. Not since I saw her last.'
Ayla's eye widened. 'What do you mean?'
'I saw her today at the Shiranui Dojo,' Osaka began, leaning back tiredly. 'She's been taking care of Kai and Tenma for the last six years.'
'You mean she's Nakio!?' Ayla gasped loudly. 'Why didn't you tell me!'
'She only just revealed herself.' A sly smirk crept across her face. 'Neat to think you've been training with her for so long.'
'Well yeah,' Ayla agreed reluctantly. 'But holy crow she's changed! Um… I… I just… I just guess I would like to have known! Why did she keep it a secret for so long?'
'Something about protecting the twins. Mai wouldn't get into it.'
'I like her. I mean, I know she's still the same person, but she's so intense!'
'Why wouldn't you like her?'
'I don't know. Maybe because she's an Angel of War? That's pretty harsh.'
Osaka gazed at her daughter, watching her mind drift and face dark as other events came to light. Her face twisted in motherly concern. 'What else happened?'
'What?' she gasped, shocked out of her thrall. 'Oh. It's just one of, um… my Senshi. Xalia.'
'Ether Xalia?'
'Hai,' she gazed at her mom resolutely. 'She betrayed the order. The murders… she… it was her!'
'Yes.'
'You knew?' she began at a start, then her face softened. 'Great.'
'I'm sorry baby… but I only learned during the first strike.'
'No Mama,' she sighed. 'It's not you. It's just hard to know who to trust.'
'What did Nasura have to say about her?'
'Nothing! She said she didn't have time, but… then she told us that things are pretty risky for Xalia.'
'Hm. Did she tell you when she Knighted her?'
'Hai. She did. But what about Mamoru? I thought he was the Earth Guardian?'
'He is. Don't you remember when the demons nearly got in the house? The wards were the only thing that stopped them.'
'Oh boy I remember. I spent hours setting those things up,' she commented. Then: 'What does that have to do with Mamoru-san?'
'Mamoru isn't a frontline soldier. He wasn't prepared to fight alone. That's…'
'…why she Knighted her. I got it. So what happened?'
Osaka took a breath.
'It's…' she stopped, looking upset. Ayla felt a primal twinge from her mother. 'Uraki-Ayo intervened, and defeated her personally.'
She was shaking her head at the end of the sentence. 'What!' Ayla gaped. 'If he came here do to that, why didn't he just… he could have fought Nasura.'
'She was busy with you, and had no idea he'd attacked her.'
Ayla paled. 'Oh God…' she muttered, dark tones in her voice. 'It's my fault.'
'No Ayla, how? Don't blame yourself,' she replied, eyebrows knitting on her creased forehead.
'I wasn't paying attention to Janus…' she started, clenching her eyes shut, her fists echoing the motion as she pressed them against her chest. 'Akari wouldn't have killed her if… if I'd just…'
Osaka bowed her head. She had heard. The final selection mission broken up by the sudden murder of the young woman. That, the murders of the twelve squires, and the sudden attacks of the clones had disrupted their Knighting. Nasura had then taken the only action that remained by Knighting the girls on her own, without the support or even awareness of the Resistance core supporters.
There just hadn't been time for it.
Ayla was crying silently, and did not refuse her mothers arms as they opened. 'There wasn't anything you could do,' Osaka stated gently. 'You weren't Knighted yet.'
She replied a solitary mumble of internal unrest, and cuddled against her. After some time, Ayla said: 'What happened to Xalia. Why did she betray us?'
'She was brainwashed, like Mamoru was.'
Slowly, in due consideration, Ayla nodded. 'What if Uraki decides to come back?'
'He won't. When he came through, it delayed the expected wave of shadowlings. Nasura says the portal has a relative power level limit.'
'Then why…' Ayla's eyes whirled. She blinked, and closed them, her head pounding. Osaka pulled the young woman over to rest her head on her shoulder. 'He can't stay here with the Inner Senshi… um, I guess I should say Angel Senshi, neh, Mama?'
Osaka chuckled. 'Hai sweetheart.'
'So they're going to fight him, and what are we doing? Destroying this crystal. Haisha says that the shadowlings' numbers increase with each wave.'
'Nasura will explain. Right now you've got some time, so take it easy, okay?'
'Hmm,' she sighed. 'I'm just worried… and scared.'
Osaka laid a hand on her daughter's head and stroked her hair gently. 'I know sweetie.' A silence permeated the room. 'Usagi was scared too.'
'Usagi? You saw her too?' Ayla gasped with a glance up at her Mom's face.
'Hai, I did,' she replied gently. 'She's an angel too.'
'Oh wow…'
'Mm-hm. They all are… It started when Makoto was sent to another dimension…'
@~%~~~
'Mom!' she exclaimed, blushing fu
riously.
'Iesha-san,' Goku laughed. 'Are you sure she was that strong when she was young?'
'No Goku-san!' she chuckled delightedly at her daughter's embarrassment. 'Those beds are only made out of wood. She was a little strong for five, but even a pair of three year olds accomplish the same.'
'Thanks Mom,' Masurani glared. 'Sensei, can we go uh, spar - or something? Please?'
'Well, I'm having a good time - oof!' he winced as Makoto dug her elbow into his ribcage. He blinked and glanced at her. 'Oh. Okay.' He stood, and bowed respectively. 'Thank you Iesha-san. The meal was excellent.'
She shrugged in reply. 'I would've had my husband cook if he was home. He's much better in the kitchen than I am.'
'No kidding,' Masurani muttered solicitously.
'I heard that!' Iesha snapped, smacking Masurani's shoulder with a laughing smile.
'Better move it before she decides to spar with us!' Masurani laughed as she got to her feet. She then disappeared in short order from the room. Goku paused before leaving to ask: 'Would you really do that?'
She nodded firmly and laughed, 'You bet! I was training in the womb!'
'We should spar sometime then! You must be really good!'
'Oh get going you goofball,' she laughed, shooing him off. He half bowed, then left.
'Han, maybe you should join them,' Makoto suggested.
'Uh, yeah. Okay.' Slowly he stood up and accompanied the others. Later sweets.
Makoto offered a wan smile and slight nod in reply.
'Haisha, Naritha!' Iesha called to the patio. 'Are you okay out there?'
'Hai Iesha-san!' Haisha replied pleasantly. 'Thank you!'
'You're welcome!'
Iesha took a sip of her sake before speaking. 'So… what happened…?' she began hesitantly. 'You look… oh heavens, I can't tell how old you are.'
'It's been about… oh, coming up on seven years in a couple months. I'll be turning twenty five…' Makoto placed her head on her right palm, the according elbow rested on the table. Iesha examined her face for previously undiscovered details.
'Twenty five?!' she gaped. 'It's only been a little over a month! What happened? You were so different when I saw you last, little fighter.'
Makoto half-smiled at the nickname of past and pleasant application. 'I've been through so much… And now I really don't have the time to get into it.'
'What? That you're married? You'll have to tell me sometime,' she smiled. 'How'd you meet him…?'
'Like I said, too much to get into. I met Han in the sewers of New Quebec. He probably saved my life, too.'
Iesha gave her an astonished look. 'Pardon?'
'Long, long story… way before this.' She indicated her wings with a thumb.
'I'm so sorry, Makoto-san, but I don't even know what to think.'
'That's okay, he doesn't either.'
'You snagged a classic,' Iesha pointed out. 'Not that he isn't nice…'
Makoto nodded and added; 'I don't love him any less for his thoughtlessness. He has a very pure heart.'
'How can you tell? With a mouth like that…'
Makoto looked somewhat reproachful, as if unprepared for her statement. 'I'm psychic,' she explained softly. 'I know what he feels, and what he thinks.'
Iesha fumbled her cup. 'W-what?'
Matoko chuckled, amused by the reaction to something she took for granted. 'I can read minds. At first it was just Han's, but since my rebirth as an angel I can read just about any.'
'Am I safe?' she stammered, palms at her denim-bloused chest, a mock-fearful expression upon her face. Behind it, she knew, was genuine pause and worry. 'I've nothing really to hide, except - well - the usual stuff, but… Can I still trust you?'
Of course Iesha-san. I'm an Angel of War, not death. Nothing else has changed between us.
Iesha gasped, but smiled. 'Nothing else? More like everything else. You were only your mother's adorable daughter when I last saw you. But that was so long ago… before we even moved to Tokyo.'
Makoto nodded heartily. Her eyes wandered to the door leading to the basement, and back to Iesha. 'But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. It's Goku.'
'What about him?'
'He seems so… naive, but he's so powerful. And you seem to know him better than I do.'
Iesha tossed her head to one side so that a dark brown gathering dropped back behind her shoulder. 'It's not that he's not bright. He's just… I guess he's like an overgrown child. He's so very kind, though. I owe him a lot.'
'Like?' She arched an eyebrow.
'He saved my life. I was mugged by a pair of shadowlings, and Goku banished them. I learned later it was an attempt on my life. Being in the Resistance hasn't been easy.' Her eyes ascended into recollection as she spoke. 'He was so sweet. I offered him a place to stay that night. He said he was stranded here, away from home. In exchange for room and board he offered to train Masurani how to fight.'
Makoto smirked, and spoke with a certain gleam in her eyes. 'And your husband wasn't jealous?'
'Well, he's no eye sore himself…' she giggled. 'Of course he was. He broke a few things trying to learn Goku's style of fighting.'
'You mean he broke his arm… or…?'
'No, no,' she smiled. 'Walls, tables, chairs. He's not a bad fighter, but a bit of klutz with his ken. And his kamehame bolts are absolutely disastrous. Personally, the idea freaks me out.'
Makoto laughed. 'So you weren't kidding.'
'Heck no!' she laughed. 'Not at all! You'd be surprised. I've actually taught Goku a thing or two.'
Makoto blinked, surprised.
'Well no, I'm not that good a fighter! I mean in the kitchen. Goku's a very charming, attractive man, but can't cook at all!' she giggled warmly.
Makoto reluctantly shrugged, not familiar enough with him to know either way. An uncomfortable silence pondered along, Makoto seeking something… What? Maybe something ordinary. The desire to settle. The taste of it had been sweet; nigh six years of living a normal life. No monsters, no demons, no headhunters, no juicers. Just able to lie back and raise Ayana. She wished it would end. To live with Mai again, to have Ayana and Hanlan with her. To settle… Makoto muttered something half-heartedly. Iesha snapped out of the daydream she seemed to be caught in.
'Pardon?' Her eyes settled on Makoto.
Makoto's eyes fell into focus. 'Oh.. I was just thinking… It must be nice to have a family.'
Iesha adopted a bemused expression for her face. Her eyebrows worked as something dropped into place in her mind. 'You want a family…?'
Makoto sighed as she sat back and ran her long fingers through her slightly scruffy looking brunette hair. 'Right now I wish I almost didn't… being away from Ayana is almost worse than the idea of her being hurt or killed here.'
'Oh Makoto… I'm so sorry,' she offered sympathetically. 'I can understand that. Masurani fighting out there… even with her friends, scares me to death.'
'She's an amazing warrior, Iesha. You should be proud.'
'She is? I've seen her practice, and she almost dances… it's odd to see so much grace in such a deadly art. I'm sort of clumsy at it, but Goku says I'm very powerful.' She paused. 'I am proud though. Very proud, but also very, very afraid for her.'
Makoto could only nod. 'How old is your little girl?'
'Hmm…' Makoto agreed absently, fatigue drawing her into a blank, friendly zone. After a moment, she snapped back to the conversation, the query just reaching her. 'Oh! Little girl? I wish! She's almost sixteen now.'
'But you said…'
'I know what I said. It's… could we not talk about that?'
'Hai. Gomen Makoto-san,' she breathed, somewhat overwhelmed by the whole weaving. 'If you're that tired, you're welcome to pass out in the spare room.'
Again, she replied the same motion of her head. 'No… I can't. There's no time for it.'
Iesha's eyebrow creased in concern and motherly annoyance. 'The Neo Senshi won't be doing anything without you. It's
an order. If you head off now, you can catch eleven hours of sleep. That's plenty for a young angel of war,' she giggled. 'No arguments.'
‘Three’d be a great start,’ Makoto murmured and chuckled soundlessly. Iesha helped her to her feet. 'I… uh…' she stuttered, flustered.
'No, I won't hear it little fighter. Come with me.'
She felt somewhat embarrassed to be treated like a ten year old again, especially by someone who clearly was not her mother. The awareness of that absence struck her with painful pang. To feel that from another, despite the fact that she was not a relative, she found oddly comforting.
'Thank you,' she said softly, smiling.
Iesha winked at her with a plainly parentally loving smile, and saw her to bed. No sooner had Makoto laid her head back on the pillow, than she had drifted in what Iesha deemed a highly required slumber. The rest of the loosely stitched together group rested soundly upon cheap roll out mattresses and spare feather-down pillows some four hours later. Adversely, Iesha discovered sleep to be quite elusive. Perhaps it was due to the absence of Sanja. Where was he? Was he in danger? He had only gone to a smaller city outside of Tokyo yesterday.
No, she thought. He should be home! Jencha Co. wouldn't keep him for something like this.
Unable to shake the thought from her mind, she picked up a hardbound novel and tried to scare away the leering omen with the words therein.
Chapter 40
Svelte and Rumble