A Sailor Moon Fanfiction: The Pledge of the Sun.

Chapter 99

"Yes, Kaolinite," acknowledged Tomoe. "I pray for your success."

Kaolinite then disappeared from the lab, setting out to fulfill her mission.

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The next day, Usagi and the other girls were having ice cream at the cafe. As they enjoyed themselves, they talked about the news over at their schools and about exams. However, Usagi and Minako were less than enthusiastic.

"What's the matter with you two?" asked Harusuke.

"Come on, Harusuke. Isn't it obvious?" Usagi sighed. "Despite us being on our day off, I still can't help but think about it being our last year of middle school."

"I know. It's awful," agreed Minako miserably. "Not to mention, we have high school entrance exams soon, along with balancing out saving the world."

"Hey, now you bunch of Gloomy Guses! Turn those frowns upside down, and forget about it!" Makoto spoke cheerily. "You can be depressed later!"

Everyone glanced over at Makoto in surprise, seemingly jubilant as she flipped through her planner.

"You seem to be in a good mood, Mako," said Ami. "Is there something special going on?"

"You bet there is!" Makoto grinned. "Today is April 17th, which happens to be Rei's birthday!"

"Oh, yeah? I didn't know that," said Harusuke. "That's great. I take it you've got something planned for her?"

"You bet it, I do!" Makoto smiled. "I say we plan a big birthday party for her to celebrate and to get our mind off of things!"

"Um, Mako, that's great you want to plan a party for Rei and all, but I think you've forgotten something," Ami said. "Rei's not here."

Then Makoto looked around, and sure enough, Rei wasn't with them, which surprised her.

"Wait a minute. Where is Rei?" wondered Makoto. "I thought that she was going to meet up with us here."

"She left early yesterday to go the mountains," Minako mumbled. "Something about special training."

"The mountains?!" Makoto exclaimed in a shrill voice. "Why the heck would she want to go over there on her birthday?!"

"She said she wanted to spend her fifteenth birthday purifying herself," Minako replied.

Now Makoto was feeling miserable. "But I was going to bake a cake for her!" she wailed.

"You still can, Mako," Harusuke soothed. "You'll just have to wait until Rei comes back from her training. I mean, if that's how she wants to spend it, then who are we to stop her?"

"Yeah, but that's still a crummy way to spend her birthday!" Makoto complained. "And if I baked a cake on the day after, it wouldn't feel special!"

"Wow. Mako's sure is taking this seriously," whispered Usagi to the other girls. "I don't think I've seen her like this before."

"Maybe it's because she wants to bake a cake for a specific reason," suggested Ami. "Her cakes are delicious."

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Meanwhile, Rei was standing underneath the waterfall wearing nothing but a white robe and immersed in deep meditation somewhere in the mountains. As she meditated, trying to clear her mind, she couldn't help but start thinking about the dream she had the other day. She could remember the destruction, the horror, and, most of all, the voice she heard.