Mizuno Ami’s Journal

Jupiter has awakened. She is amazing. The raw power that she can command…it’s breath-taking but also very scary.

After we left CROWN last night we ran into Motoki-onii-san he told us that Mako-chan had turned him down. We were trying to track down where she was at to find out if she was okay when she called us and said there were youma attacking her.

We were making her way to the lake to help her when we were stopped by youma of “our own”, they were strange, melting up from the pavement, unusual for youma. Rei said they felt weaker than youma we’d fought before, but youma they still were, so we transformed to fight them.

The appearing and reappearing was confusing us and keeping us off guard until Venus appeared to help us, and we were able to defeat them to go and help Mako-chan.

When we found her she was holding her hands together in front of her standing beneath a tree. The sky turned from day to night as thunder clouds rumbled overhead and lightning flashed and struck her, but she absorbed it. She didn’t seem to hear us when we called out to her.

“The power of Jupiter is awakening,” Venus told us.

When she finally opened her eyes she snatched more lightning from the sky, thunder clapped around us. Jupiter called a power we hadn’t heard before, and destroyed the youma that remained nearby with a brilliant burst of crackling green energy as it dissipated the daylight returned.

Mako-chan turned to us, “It’s because I’ve always been alone,” she said, and then she looked at Venus and said, “I…understand. It was necessary for it to be like that forme to end up alone, listening to the wind. All of it has been decided for us since our past lives, that’s why I’m okay alone.”

Both Moon and I tried to protest given she’s such a good friend but she told us that it didn’t mean she wouldn’t be friends with us any more, that it was hard for her to put it into words but that it all came from the past lives we shared.

There were almost blows earlier. Mako-chan had been given tickets to see Kame Fighter with Motoki-onii-san. She said it was just a thank you for making him some food seeing as he hurt his arm moving into his new place and couldn’t cook.

When Usagi-chan got to Crown she was very insistent that this was a date, and Luna insisted it could be counted as more of awakening attempt; because it would help Mako-chan to deal with another weakness that she has.

She almost declined to go after the way everyone was talking about it, but she did. We’re almost packing things in here at Crown for the night. I wish there was some way I could help Mako-chan with this, but I realize that such things should be done for yourself and by yourself otherwise what’s the point? They’re not going to really help.

It must hurt Usagi-chan to have the others ostracize her so much, I don’t think she’s ever really experienced it before, and I wouldn’t have wished that feeling on anyone, let alone someone I consider such a good friend. She tries to put on a brave face…when the people like M and K blatantly ignore her, and they used to eat lunch with her every day! I can’t understand it.

We (Naru, Makoto, Usagi and myself) arranged to meet on the roof to eat lunch, but neither Makoto nor Naru made it.

I wonder if Makoto is taking her lack of awakening hard…I thought to call her, but I have no idea what to say, and I fear interrupting something important. I probably should have just called…I’m such an idiot at times. After the way things were going at CROWN I wasn’t sure if I should, and that’s wrong of me. Even if Mako-chan told me she didn’t want to talk at least she would have known that I cared enough to call. I feel sorry for her today, Luna had her eating potato after potato, which is her least favorite food. She said that because we have no idea why Mako-chan hasn’t awakened to that second level of power we should try to help her overcome all of her weaknesses. I know Luna is our guardian and should know what’s going on more, but that just doesn’t feel like it’s a good way to do things. Who am I really to say, though?

Here’s some pictures that I took, and some that Mako-chan and Usagi-chan took, at the party we had on Saturday.

We all had to pose with the party pop streamer things.

Then I made everyone pose without them. (Usagi-chan insisted on taking my picture too).

Usagi-chan dancing.

(Taken by Mako-chan) Usagi-chan and I singing karaoke. ‘C’est la Vie’ by Aino Minako-san (but of course!). The rest are assorted pictures of us having fun taken by either myself or Usagi-chan.

I feel blessed to have such wonderful friends!
Usagi-chan and the others have been catching me up on a lot of things. I’m in shock that Chiba-san would have left for London, but as I think about it, I think it might be for the best. He and Usagi-chan can both get their heads cleared, we can all work out what it means about the Moon Kingdom, and past lives, and perhaps…well who knows. Just because you’re with someone in another life doesn’t mean that you have to be with them in this one. To my way of thinking if you’re reincarnated it would be to experience varied things; but it’s a confusing topic on the whole. I’d much rather focus on this life, especially considering what happened recently, but then to recall memories of being a senshi might help with our understanding of what are duties are, and our abilities and to complete those tasks we have this time around much better.

Okay, so here are the pictures from the party (I’m sorry for the size, but they were taken with a cell phone):

From left to right: Mako-chan (in green), myself (in blue), Usagi-chan (in dark peach) and Rei-chan (in red).

Closer shots of everyone looking so pretty in their kimonos: Mako-chan, Usagi-chan and Rei-chan respectively.

And now just some pictures of random happy things going on: karaoke, “goofing off” and so on.

So, there we are. The chase started once because Usagi-chan was wanting Mako-chan to try on some lipstick and then another time because Usagi-chan was saying how cute Mako-chan sounded singing the song she chose…she did sound cute, though.

I had a busy time because of cram school. I was helping tutor for a while, but it will be nice to have some time with close friends, at Crown.

Motoki-onii-san wasn’t there the last time we were there, I think Mako-chan was a little disappointed, but it took her mind from teasing me about Urawa-san.Last time Motoki-san wasn’t there, Chiba-san took over for him, but this time it was an older gentleman possibly the owner. I wonder how he would take to us using his space. No one seems to mind about the ‘year-long’ passes which makes me wonder…

But I’m really looking forward to the party we have planned for today.  I’m going to pick up some desserts from that favorite shop Mama and I go to. I hope everyone likes them.

So, now it’s 2005.
What an amazing year it’s been so far. I made some great new friends: Usagi-chan, Rei-chan, Mako-chan & Luna. It’s been very tiring, very drainy, more than a little scary at times, and a lot of fun.
I think a lot of me still thinks that I’m going to wake up one day and find I’ve really just stressed myself into a mental institution and none of it is really real. Perhaps, if I’d discovered this senshi power by myself that would be true, but to have friends who are also going through this, is wonderful. To have friends even without going through something like this would have been nice.
If you understand me, what I’m saying.
I had always thought that ‘friends’ were not really an issue. To be by myself was okay, to be studying, to be doing the best in that respect. I see now, how wrong I was. I also see that the people before this who I had been considering to be friends were not. To be friends is to give and to take. It does not mean, the other people are constantly taking from you and giving nothing in return, or are just giving you the time of day because of what your mother does, or who your family is. To be friends, means to give things to each other; to share with each other; to talk about things and to be able to get things out around people who understand and sympathize; or offer advice, or tell you that you’re wrong if you need to hear that.
That is what friends is. I’m glad I found out.

I was right. Usagi-chan was frantic when she finally showed up to the meeting at Crown today. After a few rounds of her explaining she wanted to go and see the hospital that Aino-san was at, and the rest of us trying to assure her that Aino Minako was probably doing just fine, Mako-chan agreed to go with Usagi-chan to give well-wishes outside the hospital, while Rei-chan and I continue our research.
Rei-chan feels that the two of them will probably not remain outside the hospital for very long. I have to reluctantly agree but there’s not much we can do. If we show up to try and stop them we would just make things worse.

We’ve been having a break in the youma sense. I’ve been able to catch up on some school work, and I’ve been helping Usagi-chan as well.

We haven’t seen all that much of Rei-chan. Hikawa is hosting a children’s festival this weekend and so she’s been helping them to prepare.

Usagi-chan, Mako-chan and I had a study session yesterday, until they got into a brief argument about Tuxedo Kamen again. I’m finding I really don’t like it when things like that happen because I feel so torn. I wish I had more information about the situation as a whole so that I could feel I was making a better decision.