In point of fact, her prettiness was almost a warning to anyone she started a fight with. Think about it for a moment. What happens to someone who fights a lot? Head strikes. Punches to the face happen quite often, especially in street scraps where delinquents could be handling just about anything. Yet Makoto was pretty. Not a scar on her face. Not a broken tooth, nose put out of joint, swelling around the eyes or anywhere on her face, her lips weren't swollen nor were there any of the other telltale marks of someone getting knocked the fuck out.
Her face was probably one of her best assets in a fight, you might say. Guys look at a face like that, they see some dumb chick who has never thrown a punch in her life. If they don't know who she is, they're about to learn. If they do know who she is then her reputation will make 'em too scared to try anything.
"I don't have any money on me," a young boy protested. "I... I don't have anything!"
"In other words, you wasted our time," said one of the three mask-wearing delinquents surrounding him. "Gonna have to take our pay somehow. Your hide seems like a fine place to start."
"Funny you should mention hide," Makoto said warningly. "You'd have been better off hiding."
Now, Makoto's actual best asset in a fight wasn't her face. Obviously. People that try to win fights with their face don't win many fights. Her best asset was actually her strength, which she used to lift one delinquent by the collar with one hand, and then toss him into the other two.
"Wh-Why you...!" one of them yelled, getting back onto his feet.
"Forget it! That's Makoto, you maniac! Ten of us couldn't beat her!"
The trio scurried off like rats. Tsk! Just like bullies, show 'em someone stronger and they'll flee faster you could spit. Makoto was in a bit of a bad mood. This whole Libra thing sat about as well with her as a thumbtack on a chair. She still didn't trust this mystery whatever Libra was supposed to be, power boost or not. Couldn't put her finger on it. Call it an instinct.
"You okay?" she asked the victim. He nodded. Meekly. Probably a bit embarrassed to be saved by a chick. Or maybe he was afraid of her beating him up. Whatever. She was no good at that whole emotional support thing. "Alright then. You be careful."
"Careful does not factor into it," declared a loud voice. Makoto tensed up. Those goons may have found themselves reinforcements. She spun around into a fighting position and - "It is quite clear that what this young man needs is purpose! Discipline!"
A faint tug of red appeared on her cheeks. Before her was a boy in uniform. He was standing at attention, back straight as a ruler, arms down at his side and feet tucked smartly next to each other. Those piercing blue eyes, that rigid jawline and that short black hair... Why, surely this must be a relative of her beloved sempai!
Suddenly he stepped forward, passing by Makoto with barely a glance. He towered over the victim and flashed a reassuring smile. "With discipline on your side, there will be no challenge you cannot overcome. You will not have to depend on others to defend yourself."
"Oh, he's so right!" Makoto sighed. "If you learn to defend yourself, then..."
"Um, I'm not sure about this," the wimpier boy said, backing away.
"Join our Youth Brigade!" Sempai declared, forcefully putting his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Learn the power of discipline! Discipline! Discipline! Discipline!"
What a noble, hardworking young man he was. So strong, going out of his way to help out others, even those who would refuse his help. Makoto sighed. So handsome too. If only she could get him to notice her, then she would -
<i>"Hey, Makoto, sorry to barge in, but Rei just met with some brainwashed students playing soldier. Seems like they were trying to brainwash people into a mini-army and had a tendency to chant 'discipline' over and over again."</i>
"Discipline!" Sempai chanted, staring the smaller boy directly in the eyes. "Discipline!"
<i>"Yeah, just like that! I - Aw, crap! Makoto, we have a problem here!"</i>
Yeah, she thought to herself, then realised Libra could probably hear her too. She finished the thought anyway: Her problem was a nosy, troublemaking anomaly with its own secret perverted agenda poking in on her business and - Hey, was that boy's clothing changing into a matching uniform?
"Disclipline!" they were both saying. Chanting more like. At once. In unison. In fact, it wasn't just in unison. The same tone, inflection, emotional conveyance, body language. They were both standing at attention now with a hardened gleam in their eyes. And turning towards Makoto.
... Aw, man! Why did this always happen to her?!
"Sir!" the former bully victim turned soldier snapped. "This girl has displayed rough and violent tendencies! While it is obvious she wishes to help those beneath her, the attitude she has displayed borders on delinquency! Recommend immediate recruitment!"
"Not today!" she yelled, putting best foot forward and aiming her fist right for the nearer one's head. Except that she had underestimated him. After all, a pretty face like that had probably never gotten into a fight before. Uniform or not she should be able to knock him on his ass.
His hand caught hold of her wrist when she was maybe two inches from hitting his nose. Makoto pushed her entire weight forward; all that happened was her feet sliding on the ground. Her hand didn't budge an inch. Not when she pushed forward, nor when she pulled back. It was like a vice. Utterly irresistible.
"Agreed! This girl shall learn the power of discipline!"
They had both said the last word again as one. Makoto tsked. With her other hand she reached to a pocket on her dress where she kept her transformation pen. They might be stronger than Makoto Kino, but like hell were they stronger than Sailor Jupiter!
<i>"And what will you do when you transform?"</i> Libra asked. <i>"Whoa, getting deja vu here... Uh, are you going to electrocute them? You know, murder them by way of electricity? The girls that attacked Rei just now were brainwashed innocent people. You need another approach! Let me help you."</i>
She wasn't going to strip naked in public again. Not a chance.
<i>"That would give you a massive power boost. No, Rei got them out of it by reminding them of their passion but I'm not sure that will work here... From what I'm seeing, these boys joined this Youth Brigade because they felt like weaklings."</i>
Urgh! The former victim was stepping forward now, reaching for Makoto's face. Trying to prise her eyes open. Just as she thought, that must be how they worked their brainwashing. She didn't want to listen to Libra, but if she didn't then she'd have to kill these two!
<i>"Thank you, finally!"</i>
Then she felt it. There was a change to her transformation pen. Blast it, she must have unconsciously given Libra permission to alter it somehow! She grasped it in her spare hand. Did she dare use it? Risk giving him more power over her?
<i>"I advise showing them that strength means different things."</i>
But that was the issue, wasn't it? In a manner of speaking it already had power over her. Somehow Makoto knew that the transformation pen was much, much more than that now. She also understood that Libra wasn't controlling her actions in the least. Making suggestions here and there, but nothing she absolutely had to follow. There were good pieces of advice as well as bad.
The pen triggered and lightning spilled out all around her. It felt just like transforming into Sailor Jupiter, but different too. Lightning sparking around her and through her. She felt powerful. She felt mighty. She also kind of felt, well, really pretty for some reason that she couldn't peg down.
When the dust settled, both boys had been blown back a bit by the energy release of her change. Sailor Jupiter was on the scene!
<I>"Technically, you're not naked..."</i>
Technically, it wasn't possible for Jupiter to throttle Libra. Didn't mean she wasn't going to imagine herself doing so! Later. After she'd dealt with these two.
"Her discipline is so lacking that she changes clothes in the middle of the street," the smaller soldier said. "She must be taught how to wear proper and appropriate attire!"
"Agreed. She will be far more suitable in uniform," said the other.
So that was it, then? Libra intended for Jupiter to seduce these two guys and snap them out of it? How convenient. For all she knew Libra sent these goons along just to make sure they did use these powers, that they did normalise behaving in sexualised ways. Makoto Kino was a lot of things. Tough, pretty, tall but probably most of all she was kind of stubborn.
The soldiers marched towards her, one on either side. Jupiter backed away and found herself up against a wall. It would be easy for her to flirt with them, use the transformation pen to sexy herself up and tease them into breaking the brainwashing. But that wasn't how she wanted to play it.
"Breach of discipline!" they yelled as one. Jupiter's eyes narrowed. She had absolutely no intention of inflaming their passion to set them free. Trouble was, she was having trouble thinking of much else she really could do without hurting them. She might not trust Libra, but she'd seen that they could corrupt people. There had to be some other way! There had to be!
<i>"Got it!"</i> Libra suddenly said. <i>"Let out a low electrical pulse, hit them both in the face. With the power boost I gave you that ought to sort them out."</i>
Better than nothing. She lifted her hands as if to protect her face, and then arched lightning out of her fingertips, directly into their emotionless faces. It had been the weakest attack she'd ever done with her electricity, she'd kind of hoped it would knock them out. Unfortunately they were still standing right next to her.
"Discipline!" they yelled. "Discipline!" Well, so much for that. "Disci-" They stopped. Huh? As one their heads tilted downwards. The two soldiers blinked. "Discipline," they yelled. "D-Discipline!"
They'd broken eye contact. And Jupiter had seen this kind of look and posture enough times to know where they were really looking. Those creeps! She felt like yelling "My eyes are up here!" but, well, that was how they hypnotised people, so...
<i>"There we go!"</i> Libra said. <i>"Magnetised perception. They'll stare at your tits as if they were typical, average and totally unbrainwashed straight boys. They might be able to pull their heads away for a little while, but it's like gravity. The second they stop fighting, their gaze returns to neutral."</i>
Makoto twitched. Oh, it had been a while since she'd been this angry. On the one hand that tactic did work, yes. They weren't able to hypnotise her anymore into joining their little clique. But what the hell was she supposed to do with them now?!
"Boobs!" one of them suddenly said, seemingly to his own surprise. "I mean... Discipline! Discitits! Ah, Titscipline! Disbreastpline! Titbreasttits!"
"And our candidate for stupidest ever victory goes to..." Jupiter sighed. All she could do was scratch her head in abject disbelief while the two boys openly gawked at her chest, with the uniform seeming to melt right off them, becoming a completely ordinary set of clothes. "Listen, Libra. You never, ever tell the others 'bout what just happened. Got it?!"
Although little did Makoto know, but up on a rooftop nearby a cleaning lady was dusting the roof and scowling to herself.
- The Inners meet to discuss what to do about Soldier.
- Soldier makes his move, having lost five recruits all of a sudden.
- Cleaner reports what she saw to Soldier.
- Another Inner has an experience with a recruit, and the chance to use their powers.
- Meanwhile Libra reflects on what he's doing, and the new influence he has on both Rei and Makoto.
- Something else
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