Makoto fumbled with her keys in the dark to unlock her apartment door, eventually getting it open. She walked in and re-locked it before collapsing on her nearby couch, sore and exhausted. She had just spent a few long hours chasing after a daimon to retrieve a stolen heart crystal, and now all she wanted to do was sleep. Why couldn't they catch a break for a few days?

With a groan, Makoto got up to shower and get in her actual bed. As tempting as it was, sleeping on the couch would only make her even more sore the next day. She had this strange feeling that she was forgetting something, but she just couldn't recall what it was. 

The next day at school, the teacher placed a blank paper in front of her, and she suddenly remembered exactly what she was supposed to do last night. Study for this history quiz. This wouldn't go well... An hour later, she walked into the hallway with a sigh, already anticipating how bad of a grade she had gotten this time. 

Ever since those stupid daimons started appearing everywhere, her grades had sunk. She just couldn't seem to fight and study at the same time. Her history marks were suffering the most though, especially after she just failed that quiz. It was her third one this month. She didn't even want to think about what the other girls would say if they knew about her problem. What if they tried to keep her out of senshi business and they got hurt because she wasn't there to help?

No, she'd just try to figure out how to fix her grades herself. At least it was lunch time now... As she was walking upstairs to the rooftop, a previously failed quiz slipped out of the crack in her bag and fluttered to the floor, unnoticed by her.

Ami hadn't been happier in quite a long time. She had just received a perfect score on her essay for literature, and earlier in the day she received back a flawless calculus exam. Her smile was bright and wide, and she even had the courage to say hello to a couple people as she walked down the hall. She hadn't gotten her usual hours of sleep recently because of daimon attacks, but thanks to the magic of espresso shots revealed to her by Mamoru, she never felt overly exhausted. Sure, the recent attacks wer increasing in difficulty and lots of lives were at stake, but knowing she had her senshi by her side made all of the negativity float away. Nothing could wipe the smile from her face. 

As Ami turned the corner towards her world history class, she spotted Makoto's high brown ponytail coming out of class just a few feet in front of her. "Hey, Mako-" Ami paused, noticing that a piece of paper had fallen out of Makoto's bag. She bent down and picked up, immediately noticing the large red 50 written on the front. Ami's mouth fell open as she double-checked to be sure this paper was Makoto's. Sure enough, her name was scribbled on the top, and almost all of her answers on this test were wrong. 

Makoto was failing. If this continued, she would get stuck in detention and probably scolded by Luna. What would happen to her senshi life? Were her obligations to being a senshi keeping her from studying and doing homework? 

Concerned for her friend, Ami neatly folded the test and jogged after Makoto, shouting her name. Finally, Ami caught up with the brunette. "Mako-chan!" she said, pretending like she didn't know anything. "You dropped this." Fighting the urge to bite her lip, Ami held out Makoto's paper for her to take, making sure it was still folded so the score was hidden. She knew that Makoto would not admit she was failing, and so she had to wrack her brains for some sort of solution that would help. At a loss of ideas, Ami finally just said, "How are you today?"

Makoto didn't hear Ami calling her until she was already walking out onto the roof, too busy thinking about what to do about her classes. Maybe she should start skipping those after school arcade visits? But what if that just made her look more suspicious? No one else seemed to be struggling this badly with school. Well, Usagi and Minako were making their usual grades, and Rei seemed to always have her things under control. She doubted Ami was having problems either, she was a few lessons ahead of the teachers anyway.

"Hm?" She finally turned around as Ami ran up the stairs to catch her. "Oh, hi, Ami-chan!" Makoto smiled at her, not wanting her friend to think something was wrong. She took the paper that Ami handed her and immediately recognized it at the quiz from last week, paling. She mentally hit herself for not being more careful with it. Did Ami see the score? 

"Um...thanks, I didn't notice." She hastily stuck it back in her bag, telling herself to empty it out in the trash later. "I'm fine, just tired from last night..." she said. If Ami wasn't going to bring the paper up again, she wouldn't either. Sitting down on a bench, she pulled out her bento box and opened it up. It was amazing that Mako had found the time to cook it at all, but if she had to function on less hours of sleep than usual, she might as well have a lunch to eat.

Ami nodded, understanding how Makoto felt. Maybe that was why her grades were dropping? If that was the case, why didn't she just take a break from fighting?

'Because it's embarrassing, that's why,' Ami's subconscious told her. Of course Makoto wouldn't say anything. She was too proud, and she didn't want her friends to look down on her. Of course Ami and the other senshi would never do that, but Ami could understand why Makoto would worry.

But wasn't their friendship close enough to where Makoto could feel comfortable coming to Ami with anything?

Unsure about what to say next, Ami just silently followed her taller friend to their bench on the roof. She knew that if she didn't think of something to talk about, Makoto would get suspicious.

"I'm actually starting to feel a little tired myself. I hardly had enough time to study last night. These daimon attacks are starting to really concern me. It's a good thing we scheduled a meeting for this week. Uranus and Neptune are concerning me, as well. I just can't see how sailor senshi can possibly be enemies."

Ami hoped that maybe by bringing up topics related to the test score she had just saw, it would push Makoto to talk to her about what was going on.

Makoto looked up from her lunch when Ami mentioned her lack of time to study, surprise evident on her face for only a second before she tried to mask it again. Ami was struggling as well? She had no idea.

"Oh right, the meeting on Saturday..." Mako stifled a yawn as she remembered it. They had wanted to talk about the new senshi that had appeared, and try to gauge if they really were a threat or not. Sailor Uranus and Neptune...Just what were they looking at Pure Hearts for? And why did they refuse to help their fellow senshi if they were so good at beating the daimons?

"Yeah, I wonder what their goal is?" she mused. Lunch passed, and so did the rest of the school day. That Saturday, the senshi had set up a meeting at the Hikawa Shrine in the afternoon, and when the time came for it, everyone was there...except for Makoto. Even Usagi and Minako eventually showed up, but their last member failed to show up, even an hour after the time they had decided upon.

"I wonder what's taking Mako so long?" Minako asked, placing her borrowed manga back on the table. "Maybe we should call her or check her apartment..."

Ami had been worried sick about Makoto all week. Every time they saw each other, the taller teenager was always tired and had a hazy look in her eyes. But Ami still didn't say anything about the grade she saw, or how she noticed Makoto's lethargy. She hoped against hope that maybe, just maybe, Makoto would come to her for help and confide in her...but she never did.

Was Ami not giving off the vibe that would make her friends comfortable with talking to her about their lives? She wanted to be that person...for Makoto, especially...but she didn't know how to do it any different than how she was already trying.

The final straw was when Makoto didn't show up at the meeting. This was way out of the ordinary, and now the other senshi were starting to get suspicious. At Minako's speculation, Ami immediately came up with an excuse to bail out her friend:

"Oh, we have a big exam in history this week. I'm sure she was probably up late studying or something like that. I think we should just leave her be for today - I can catch her up on everything when I see her at school."

Minako nodded in understanding, and that seemed to be enough to steer the senshi off of Makoto's trail, but Ami knew she could only hold them off for so long. As soon as the meeting was over, Ami hurried to Makoto's apartment. She knocked on her friend's door, a little more aggressively than she had intended, but she didn't care.

"Mako-chan! Open the door!"

Every day seemed to last forever when you were tired, Makoto realized as the week dragged on. It took almost all of her energy to not take a nap during school, but she somehow did it. 

She spent her time on Saturday attempting to study for once, while they had a break from their duties as senshi. After tidying up her apartment, Mako sat down in her living room with a history textbook. She had about two hours before she neeed to leave for the meeting, so maybe she could review a couple of chapters in that time. Mako opened it up and started reading about the Warring States Period of Japan, determined to get something done.

Almost four hours later, the sun was setting, and Mako was fast asleep on her couch. The book was draped over her chest from when she had dozed off, and she was snoring with one arm hanging off her makeshift bed.

The knocking on her door made her jerk awake again with a gasp. The book hit the ground as she sat up, blearily looking around. "Huh...?" Mako heard Ami yelling for her to let her in, and she stood up and wiped the corner of her mouth, confused. Why was Ami here? Didn't they have a ...meeting! 

Her eyes finally found a clock and she instantly became alert. She had completely slept through it! Anticipating what Ami was going to say to her, she almost dragged her heels going to the door and unlocking it. 

"Oh...hey Ami-chan..." Mako said, looking sheepish as she readjusted her ponytail. She was in so much trouble... "Sorry about the meeting, I think I drifted off..."

Seeing Makoto at the door looking so tired and embarrassed made Ami's heart melt. She hated to see Makoto in such an unorganized state, and she wanted to help with all her heart.

But it was so frustrating to be pushed away.

Ami stormed into the apartment, rising on the tip of her toes and placing her hands on Makoto's shoulders and pushing her back inside. The door slammed behind her, and she immediately began her tirade.

"You are so...so...stubborn!" Ami yelled, her eyes ablaze with agitation. "Don't you notice that you have friends who love you and want to help you? I see you every single day and I always ask you how you're doing and you lie to me! How do you think that makes me feel? You missed that meeting, and I had to make up an excuse for you! I notice how tired you are, and how stressed you are, and how you can barely bring yourself to walk down the halls because you are so exhausted. Don't you see that I am right here, waiting for you to come to me for help? Does our friendship mean nothing to you? Because I thought I was someone you could depend on, damn it!"

Ami's eyes widened in surprise at her own words. Taking a step back, she looked down at the floor. "I...I'm so sorry. I...didn't mean that, um...I'll go. Sorry." Ami turned, heading for the door and away from the outburst she had just created.

Makoto barely had time to react as Ami pushed her right back into her own apartment. Well, she probably should have been able to stop her from doing that, but she was so tired that it was a miracle she was supporting her own weight right now, let alone her and Ami at the same time. Mako was silent as Ami verbally tore into her, unable to even think of a response to her rant. But Ami was right, wasn't she? She did have friends, and she'd been ignoring them in favor of suffering by herself lately. Did their friendship mean nothing to her? Had she just been so worried about dragging them all down that she was inadvertently pushing them away? In her misguided attempt to protect them, she had clearly hurt Ami...

As Ami walked back towards the door, Mako's wide eyed shock turned into a softer look. "Ami, wait a minute!' She easily caught up to her with her longer stride, and grabbed Ami's shoulder. "I'm...I'm really sorry, okay? I didn't mean to do that to you- to any of you. I just...I didn't want you guys to think I needed to sit out any fights to study more. I really want to be there for the team, and I.." Her voice choked up, and Makoto suddenly realized she was crying. 

"I couldn't stand the thought of someone getting hurt because I wasn't there like I should have been." Not sure what to say next, she pulled Ami into a hug from behind, trying not to completely break down. "J-just please don't leave me alone..."

Makoto's hand on her shoulder caused Ami to freeze. Electricity ran through her body, and not because of Makoto's powers. She couldn't bring herself to take another step, or to even turn around. She was just...frozen.

And then Makoto hugged her. 

Her words circled around and around in Ami's mind, replaying over and over. "Please don't leave me alone."


Ami turned and wrapped her arms around Makoto's waist, hugging her tightly. "You're not alone, Mako-chan. I promise," she said quietly. What felt like minutes passed, but Ami couldn't bring herself to pull away. Not when she knew Makoto was so distraught. She wanted to show her friend that she would always be there, and she would never let her go.

"I'll never leave you."

Makoto squeezed Ami back a little harder that was probably necessary, tears trailing down her face as her breath audibly hitched. She had no idea how much she needed to hear someone say that to her until Ami had done it, and now she was a wreck.

"Thank you..." After she calmed herself back down again, Makoto hesitantly let her go. She sniffed and wiped her cheeks off with her sleeve, still slightly red but feeling better than before. "Ami..? Could you maybe...help me study some of this stuff? I don't think I'm doing very great in History lately." She glanced at the book still on the floor. "I just can't seem to wrap my head around it..."

Ami's eyes widened as Makoto hugged her back, squeezing her a little tighter than she would have preferred. But at the same time, it was...nice. Warm. Safe.

When Makoto pulled away, Mercury felt empty, in a way. As if she was missing something. Looking up at Makoto's tear-stained face, Ami couldn't help but reach up and wipe a stray tear off of her friend's face. She didn't know exactly what Makoto was feeling inside, but she wanted her to know that she would be there for her no matter what.

Smiling, Ami said, "Of course I'll help! I'm glad you asked." Taking Makoto's hand, Ami lead her over to couch and sat down, picking up the textbook. She realized she wasn't wearing her glasses and fished into her pocket, pulling out her case and slipping the glasses over her eyes. "Ready?"

A couple of weeks after the day Makoto missed the meeting, she and Ami were now studying together at her apartment after school each day. With Ami's help, Mako actually felt like she was retaining some of the history lessons they were learning in class, which led to a slow, but definite increase in her grades. Beyond school being less stressful, Mako found herself looking forward to their study sessions after the last school bell rang. She had forgotten how much she had enjoyed Ami's company, and her mood had noticeably improved as the days went by.

The sky rumbled as dark clouds rolled in overhead. and Makoto could sense that a storm was passing through as she warmed up the tea kettle in her kitchen. As a sort of thanks to her friend for even bothering to help her, she had started making tea and snacks for the both of them. It was going to rain soon... She frowned slightly, worried that Ami wasn't here yet. She hoped she wasn't going to be caught in the downpour.

As the days with Makoto turned into weeks, Ami couldn't help but wish for their time together to never end. She felt...special. Makoto hadn't told anyone else of her troubles - only Ami. She trusted Ami. It was nice to know that someone valued her as a friend and trusted her with secrets.

Every now and then, when Ami would lay in bed at night, the darkest part of her mind would ask if Makoto was just using her for her intelligence. But then that angel sitting on Ami's shoulder would remind her that Makoto's not like that, and that they were truly friends. 

And for that, Ami would give Makoto anything. Having someone who appreciated her for who she was had to be the greatest gift Ami had ever been given. 

So as Ami ran through the rain towards Makoto's apartment, she didn't care that her clothes were soaked, or that her hair was sticking to her face. It would be worth it, because she was going to spend yet another pleasant evening with her best friend. 

Ami was still in high spirits when she knocked on Makoto's door.

Outside, thunder cracked, and a downpour of rain began. A few minutes later, someone knocked on Makoto's door. Almost grinning with excitement, she set the tea tray down on the low table in the living room and went to let Ami in.

"Ami-chan, you're"- she stopped when she opened the door all the way and saw Ami completely. "You're drenched! You should come inside." Makoto went to grab her friend's hand, and to both of their surprises, a static spark jumped from where their skin touched. Makoto pulled her hand back again, blushing slightly. "Uh, sorry...the lightning outside is getting pretty bad..." she said, trying to explain herself. She moved out of Ami's way instead. "I can run your clothes through my drying machine if you want. I think I have something in my closet around your size..."

It was a good thing she had never thrown out that middle school uniform that hadn't fit her when she first transferred.

Ami looked down at herself, having completely forgotten that she was dripping with rainwater. "Oh...yeah, I guess I -" Ami's words were interrupted by a small shock that ran through her body. She jumped, letting out a small, startled squeak. At the same time, though, a small blush appeared on Ami's cheek at the strange metaphor.

Sparks. She had been feelings sparks for weeks now, and it seemed that the sparks were so strong that they had become literal.

Giggling, Ami entered Makoto's apartment and took off her shoes. "I'm sorry for getting your floors wet," she said as she walked to the bathroom to change. She quickly opened the door and shut it before removing her soaked clothing and gathering them so that Makoto could dry them.

"Don't worry about it, I can clean that up later..." Makoto went back to her bedroom as Ami used her bathroom, digging through her clothing for the outfit she needed. At the same time, she wondered how Ami had failed to notice how badly it had started raining outside. She usually had an umbrella with her on stormy days like these. 

"There it is!" Mako pulled out the still clean school uniform triumphantly, and walked back down the hall. After thinking some more, she grabbed an extra towel too before continuing on. 

"Ami-chan..?" She knocked lightly on the door. "I'm going to leave the clothes and towel out here, okay?" After that strange event when they touched, Makoto wanted a moment to compose herself before she did anything else embarrassing.

"Okay!" Ami said through the door. After combing through her hair with her fingers, Ami opened the door to find a pair of dry clothes and a towel waiting for her. Smiling at Makoto's consideration, Ami grabbed the materials and retreated back into the bathroom. After changing and drying her damp skin and hair, she gazed at herself in the mirror. The clothes Makoto had given her seemed to be her old junior high uniform - the one that hadn't fit. Even thought it was too small for Makoto, it was much too big for Ami. The sleeves extended over her hands, and she had to roll the top of the skirt multiple times so it wouldn't fall off of her waist. But it was better than nothing, and Ami was glad she didn't have to wear wet clothing.

She left the bathroom, wet clothes in hand, and went to the living room. "Here are my clothes," she said, blushing slightly. "Again, I'm sorry about all this. I don't know why I didn't think to grab an umbrella before I left home - I guess I was just excited."

'Ami, what are you doing?!' she thought, berating herself for being so weird and awkward. What if Makoto took that the wrong way?

But...was it the wrong way?

After leaving Ami to change, Makoto had gone back to the doorway with another towel and soaked up the water, trying to take her mind off the fact that her fingers were still tingling with static. What was wrong with her this afternoon? The storm wasn't that intense, right? She went and threw the towel int he open drier and went back to the living room, and poured the tea in a pair of cups just in time for Ami to step out again. She took one look at her and tried not to laugh.

"Ah, I didn't think I was that far off from your size..." The uniform was definitely still too big for her, but at least they were wearable. They even looked cute on her in a way. She stood up and took the wet clothes, smiling at her. "It's good that at least one of us is excited for History, at least." This was why Ami was such a good tutor, she always put all her effort into her work, something Makoto really respected. After throwing the clothes in with the wet towel, she turned on the machine so they could start working on their studies.

After an hour of going over a chapter, lighting flashed outside. Makoto looked up just as a massive thundering sound shook the building. The lights flickered before shutting off, leaving them in the darkness. Makoto cursed under her breath and stood up from her spot. 

"The storm's knocked the power out..." she said. For once, she was annoyed with the elements outside. it would be a lot harder to work now that it was quickly becoming night time, even if she got a flashlight.

Ami couldn't help but feel a little dismayed at Makoto's statement. Was that what everyone thought? That academics was the only thing that could evoke emotion and excitement within her? 

Shaking the thoughts from her head, Ami switched gears to education as they began their study session. After about an hour, the storm outside seemed to be getting more and more intense, and finally the power went out. 

The sudden change in lighting startled Ami, and it took her a moment to realize this wasn't just some three-second power outage. They were immersed in total darkness, and not even the light from outside was bright enough to illuminate the apartment through the windows. Without even noticing, she had reached out and grabbed Makoto's hand. The feeling of being in the dark terrified her - not the darkness itself, but rather what was hiding in it. 

There was no worse feeling than not having any knowledge of your surroundings. If there was one thing she hated, it was being completely ignorant. 

Exhaling shakily, Ami finally realized how tightly she was holding onto her friend. She quickly let go, resorting to hugging the history book instead. "Sorry," she said quietly. "I-I guess we're done studying..."

As Makoto stewed over the storm's bad timing, her attention was drawn to someone grabbing her hand. She tensed up, and it took her a moment to recognize that it was Ami who had her in a death grip. Her irritation faded as she realized that her friend was shaken up. No one squeezed that hard unless they were scared. She hadn't pinned Ami as being intimidated by the dark, but  if it bothered her that much... Ami let go of her, and she felt disappointed that she couldn't help her more. 

"You're probably right." Lightning flashed again, and she could see Ami holding the textbook for support for a split second. "...I think I have some candles, hold on..." Carefully, Mako moved around the table and felt her way to the kitchen. A few minutes and a few near accidents in the dark later, she walked back in and set a pair of candles on the table. "I found a flashlight too," she said, proud of herself. Makoto flicked it on and set in on the table before trying open up a pack of matches. "Now we can at least not sit in the dark."

Ami began to feel slightly better as the light of Makoto's candles and flashlight illuminated parts of the room. Her muscles relaxed and she put the book down on the coffee table, bringing her knees to her chest. "That's...a lot better," she said. After a few moments of silence, Ami realized how awkward she was being and blurted out: 

"Mako-chan, do you...have any fears? You're always so brave and -" Ami paused. "S-sorry, that was too personal."

Makoto finished lighting the candles, and the blew out the match before sitting back. The living room area was bathed in a warm orange glow, which was good enough for the moment. She glanced at Ami to check on her, and was happy that she seemed to be calmer now. "I'm sure the power will come back soon, but this should last us a while." Ami's next question threw her off.

"No, it's fine. I just wasn't expecting it..." she said. She didn't think about what she was afraid of very often. Growing up in an orphanage made her push a lot of her earlier fears away faster. Except for one particular thing that she could never stomach very well. And she could trust Ami to at least not make fun of her.

"I guess it's... airplanes," Makoto admitted, staring at a candle. Just saying the word made her picture one, and she suppressed a shudder. "I just really hate them."

Ami stared at Makoto, wondering what about airplanes she was so afraid of. Judging by the sad, faraway look in the brunette's eyes, Ami guessed it was something extremely deep and personal. It didn't take a genius to notice that. Her body moved on its own, scooting a little closer so she could place a gentle hand on Makoto's shoulder.

"Do you...want to talk about it? I understand if you don't, I just...thought I would offer."

Makoto looked at Ami as she placed a hand on her shoulder. She was still feeling down as her thoughts haunted her. She remembered that day with almost too much detail, and anything that reminded her of it seemed to trigger those same feelings. Just going to the airport was too much for her after a few minutes once she heard or even spotted one.

"Not really"- But before she could even finish her sentence, she picked up on a familiar sound that made her stomach drop. Outside, a low whirring sound could be heard. Her mind jumped to conclusions, and she realized that it was a plane turbine.

Makoto made an uncharacteristic sound that was a cross between a shriek and a whimper of fear, and pulled away from Ami in an attempt to escape the noise. It was irrational, but she wasn't thinking straight at the moment. She just desperately needed a place to hide. Mako ended up huddled behind the couch, where the candlelight didn't reach, and her face was hidden in her arms as she curled up. No, not again...

Ami jumped when Makoto suddenly made a strange noise and moved away from her. Had she done something wrong? No, this wasn't a sign of discomfort or disgust. Judging by the way Makoto moved to sit behind the couch, Ami deduced it was a sign of fear. 

It was then that Ami took notice of the whir of a plane turbine getting further and further away as it passed by them. Was Makoto really that afraid of airplanes that she couldn't even stand the sound?

Ami's heart broke for her friend, wishing there was something she could do to help. She couldn't tell if Makoto was the type of person who liked to be comforted in times like this, but Ami guessed it was worth a shot. The memory of the day they hugged after Ami had confronted her flashed in her mind, and she moved off the couch with confidence. Quietly, Ami walked behind the couch and knelt down in front of her friend, her eyes gentle despite being hidden in the shadows. The pitch black of the room behind her caused goosebumps to form on her skin, but Ami ignored it and focused primarily on Makoto. 

Using both of her hands, Ami gently pried Makoto's arms away from her face. "Hey, look at me," she said softly. "It's okay now. We're safe, and nothing bad is going to happen." A comforting smile crossed Ami's face as she leaned forward, hugging Makoto tightly.

Makoto's eyes were screwed shut even as the sound faded. All she could think about was the moment of the crash that repeated in her head in a loop. She had completely forgotten about Ami until she felt her arms being moved away. She slowly opened her eyes again, and realized that she was still in her apartment, in the present. She was still tense and on the verge of hyperventilation when Ami hugged her. 

It shocked her at first, but then her breathing slowed as the adrenaline faded. Ami was right, nothing was happening. The plane was gone. 

"S-sorry..." she mumbled. Now that Mako was snapped out of her panic, she realized how odd that must have looked, Ami had just called her brave, and she had fallen apart right in front of her. A wash of hot shame ran through her. "I sort of lost it there. I'm alright now though."

Ami pulled away slightly and shook her head. "Don't apologize. Bravery is about knowing that it's okay to be afraid," she said. "It's good to be afraid of something - you're not human if you don't have any fears." Ami didn't notice how close she was to Makoto's face, or how her fingers were lightly gripping the brunette's shoulders. "At least your fear is rational," she mumbled.

Makoto was silent as Ami talked. She was right about bravery, and she knew it, but Mako still hated to seem so vulnerable. That was partially the reason why she had hid her phobia in the first place. How could the Senshi of Thunder run away like a child at the sound of a plane? But Ami made her feel like less of a coward somehow.

"Mine is...rational?" she asked. All this time she thought she was just overreacting. Her behavior couldn't possibly make sense. "Ami, I haven't even been on a....you know what I mean, but I'm afraid anyway!" She definitely hadn't been on the plane when it crashed either, but just seeing it go down had been enough to affect her.