The very second Makoto reached the hospital's entrance she herself fell over from exhaustion. A few of the hospital staff quickly rushed to her and Minako taking Minako away on a stretcher immediately. They helped Makoto into a nearby chair and checked to make she she was okay. "I'm fine really," Makoto insisted as she tried to stand up but felt her legs give out and fell back onto the chair. "You stay put for right now. When we find out how your friends doing we'll come tell you okay?" a nurse said softly to Makoto trying to calm her. Tears were still flowing from Makoto's eyes as she looked down the hall where they took Minako. Finally she nodded her head in agreement knowing she had to call the Aino's to tell them of Minako's condition. She gulped in fear of what Minako's mom might do to her and called the nurse back. "Excuse me, but can you call her parents? I would do it but I don't think I'm the right person for it." Makoto said as she handed the nurse a piece of paper with Minako's number on it. "Sure thing, and if there's anything else you need just let me know okay?" Makoto just nodded once more and relaxed into the chair. Knowing she had to call the other senshi she gathered the rest of her strength and disappeared into an empty room. She grabbed the communicator from her pocket and got a hold of the three others. "Hey guys," Makoto said smiling a little goofily. "Sorry to call you so late." "What's going on?" Rei asked noticing Makoto had blood on her face and looked like crap. "Minako, she's in the hospital." Makoto felt the tears begin to fall once more. "I tried, but I was too late to stop them. She'll be okay, I hope. I'm sorry I didn't protect her." "Don't you dare say that. We're on our way okay? You can tell us what happened when we get there." Usagi said as all three girls broke the link to Makoto's communicator. Makoto made her way back to the waiting room and in what seemed to be less than 5 minutes her friends were there. Usagi was the first to run to her and embrace her. Ami went to find her mom and make sure that Mrs. Mizuno was the one to treat Minako. Once Usagi finally let go Makoto Rei took hold of her hand and pulled her to her feet. "Come on, we need to get you cleaned up." She smiled at Makoto and led her to the bathroom. While Rei took a wet cloth and cleaned Minako's blood from Makoto the taller girl told them about what happened. She left out the part about Minako and her becoming girlfriends in case Minako would be opposed to it even though Makoto was pretty sure the others knew their feelings for each other. "I'm going to kill them when I find them. I swear it." Makoto said angry. "I can't believe I let them hurt her. She'll probably hate me now." Makoto said turning away from her two friends. "Don't say that. You know that's not true. She'd never hate you! She loves you more than anything in this world and don't you ever doubt it," Usagi said firmly. "Now come on, we need to find Ami and see what she has to say about Minako's condition." The three walked through the hospital in silence as they tracked down Ami and her mother. "Makoto don't worry, my mom say's that Minako will be fine." "That's right," Mrs. Mizuno stepped out of her office. "I'll be the one to treat her and I'll do everything I can for her. She probably won't wake up for a day or two thanks to the concussion she suffered. The damage to her head was pretty bad, but nothing too serious. Three of her ribs are broken but those shouldn't take too long to heal. She's a tough girl after all." Makoto tried to take the news as best as she could. The thought of someone hurting her Minako so bad still enraged her and she was silently cursing herself for not stopping them even though she knew this wasn't her fault. "Can I see her? Please?" Makoto asked silently. "I'm sorry, but she's not allowed to have any visitors tonight, and even after that, until she wakes up it will be immediate family only." Mrs. Mizuno said knowing how much hurt she was causing Makoto. "I'm really sorry Makoto, but rules are rules." "Just five minutes, please?" Makoto begged with tears in her eyes. She couldn't even remember the last time she had cried so much. "I'm begging, please? Even one minute...anything?" Mrs. Mizuno sighed softly and knew that she wouldn't win this argument. Makoto wouldn't give up, or much less go home until she got to see Minako. "Three minutes, that's it." Mrs. Mizuno said as she led Makoto to Minako's room. "Be careful okay? Don't talk too loud or anything because it might make things worse for her." Nodding her agreement Makoto slid into Minako's room making sure no one saw her. The last thing she needed on her conscience was to cause trouble for Mrs. Mizuno. Makoto immediately sat on a chair next to Minako's bed as she looked at her love. "I'm so sorry I let you down," she whispered brushing Minako's hair from her face. "I'll never let you get hurt again. Even if it kills me I'll protect you. I love you so much." Makoto found herself choking on her words hardly able to speak "Please, wake up soon so we can be together." She stood and kissed Minako softly on the lips. She heard a cough from behind her and turned around to see Mrs. Mizuno. When she realized that the doctor had seen what she just did she blushed a great shade of red. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Mrs. Mizuno reassured her. "Thank you, for everything." Makoto bowed slightly. "I'm glad I could help. But now you have to leave. I'm sorry." "It's okay, but I'll be back tomorrow morning, and I'm not leaving this hospital until she does." Mrs. Mizuno laughed at her stubbornness and shooed her out of Minako's room. "Go get some rest if you can. Your body really needs it, and so does your mind. Don't blame yourself for this okay?" Makoto couldn't agree to that, she did blame herself. She thanked Ami's mom once more and as she was leaving the hospital she saw her three friends once more. "Do you want to stay with one of us tonight?" Ami asked concerned. "I'll be fine. I need some time alone to collect my thoughts." "Don't do anything stupid like punching brick walls okay?" Rei teased her knowing that when Makoto was frustrated she liked to take her anger out on hard objects such as brick walls. "You know I can't promise that." Makoto said as they walked towards her apartment. "Do it dammit," Rei insisted not wanting to see another of her closest friends hurt. "Fine, I promise not to punch any brick walls." Makoto said annoyed. She knew her friends meant well but right now she just wanted to be alone. To be able to cry, and feel bad and hate herself for letting Minako get hurt. "I can walk myself home you know. You all should get home. It's really late." "Your that eager to get rid of us?" Usagi asked trying not to take the annoyance in Makoto's voice to heart. She knew Makoto was hurting and wanted to be alone but she also knew Makoto being alone in a situation like this wasn't a good idea. "It's not that, really," Makoto tried to convince her friends. The group stopped and each girl gave Makoto a quick hug. "Don't worry Mako-chan. If there's anyone in that hospital capable of getting Minako better fast it's my mom. She's the best doctor they have." Ami tried to comfort Makoto a little. "I know she is. Thank you all. I'm sorry I'm being kinda mean tonight, but I just.." Makoto couldn't even find words to describe how she was feeling. "Don't worry about it, we understand," Rei said as the three of them began to walk off. "Try to get some sleep, and don't forget your promise." "I won't," Makoto said as she continued on her way home. Once she reached her apartment she made her way to her bed and immediately fell on it feeling completely drained. She lay in the dark on her bed trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes again. She reached out to where Minako was sleeping just that morning. When everything was perfect. Waking up with Minako in her arms. Confessing her love to Minako. Everything was so right just a few hours ago. Her life was perfect and now her Minako was in the hospital all alone. As hard as she tried not to, she cried with all her might. She let her emotions have free reign and she tossed on the bed. "Togi-Togi," a little voice called from under her. "Damn doll," Makoto said barely hearing her own voice. She clutched Minako's new toy close to her chest and whispered her name in the dark. "Minako, I love you. I promise I'll make this all better somehow." Makoto said laying back down. She stole a glance at her clock and cursed the time. She tried to close her eyes and rest but all she could see was a picture of Minako, unconscious in her arms. After what seemed to be years Makoto finally managed to cry herself to sleep. __________ The morning didn't turn out much better for Makoto then the previous night had. When she woke up her throat was sore most likely from crying so much she figured. Her muscles were cramped and frankly, she looked like she slept in a dumpster. She woke up and immediately wanted to take off to the hospital but decided that a shower was in place. She felt a little better after that and putting on some fresh clothes. On her way out the door she grabbed a muffin for breakfast and Minako's stuffed Togepi. "Well I know I said I wouldn't tell the others she liked him but if they say anything I'll just say I bought it for her cuz I thought it was cute and she can pretend to hate it," Makoto reasoned with herself. She walked as fast as she could without actually running to the hospital. The exercise felt good to her sore muscles. Before she could even get on the elevator to the floor where Minako was she ran into Mrs. Mizuno who greeted her cheerfully. "How are you feeling this morning Makoto?" "I'm okay I guess, a little sore. But I'll feel better after I see Minako." Makoto said almost smiling. "Well I've got some good news for you and some bad news too. I think it's best if I tell you now." Mrs. Mizuno's expression grew serious. "Bad news first, then the good please," Makoto requested. "Well the bad news is, Mrs. Aino is up there watching Minako's room like a hawk to make sure you don't see her." Makoto only grunted. She figured this would happen. That Mrs. Aino would blame her and try to keep her from seeing Minako. Little did she know that since they were in a public place there wasn't much she could do. "And the good news?" "Well after watching Minako through the night we've determined she'll most likely wake up before the days done and be ready to leave the hospital within a week." When Mrs. Mizuno saw the smile on Makoto's face she felt a little better herself. "Come on, I'll go up there with you. Mrs. Aino can get pretty vicious at times." "You know her?" Makoto asked as they stepped on the elevator. "Not until last night. But she's already smacked one of our male doctors claiming he was trying to do something dirty to her daughter. She's a nut case that's for sure." Makoto laughed at that. It sure was the truth and she knew that dealing with Mrs. Aino was going to be rough. Makoto also made a mental note to tell Ami what a great mom she had the next time they saw each other. After they stepped off the elevator Makoto accidentally pushed on Togepi's hand causing it to repeat its name once more. Mrs. Mizuno looked at Makoto quizzically and shook her head. "I'm not even going to ask." was all she said. It didn't take long for the two to reach Minako's room and find Mrs. Aino standing outside of it looking in through the glass window they had. When she heard the footsteps behind her she took her eyes off Minako and turned around. The second she saw Makoto her facial expression turned to one of disgust. "Go home Makoto. You've already done enough to my daughter," was all she said and then she turned around to look at Minako once again. "I'm not going anywhere. Not until Minako gets better and I get to talk to her." Makoto tried to keep her anger in check but the edge in her voice was evident. Mrs. Mizuno didn't interfere with them but stayed with them just in case things got too bad. "Well your never going to talk to my daughter again so you might as well leave before I have you kicked out." she snarled. "How will you do that? This is a public place and my best friend is here and I won't leave so you better learn to deal with it." Makoto wanted to hit something or someone right about now. It took all her self-control to keep from hitting Mrs. Aino. "I'm sure when Minako wakes up she won't want to be your best friend anymore. Look what you did to her! First you practically kidnap her from me, making her stay at your house every night, and now you’ve gone and let this happen to her.” Makoto couldn't control her rage anymore. As tears streamed down her cheeks she walked over to Mrs. Aino with every intention of beating the crap out of her. She noticed someone place a hand on her arm and stopped though. She looked over to see Mrs. Mizuno and immediately dropped to her knees. "Shh, it's okay. Come to my office for a few minutes and calm down." she offered to Makoto. Makoto accepted and allowed Ami's mother to help her up. When they entered the office Makoto sat down on a small couch that was placed against the far wall. Placing her head in her hands she began to cry once again as if her world were shattering. Mrs. Mizuno didn't say anything and simply sat next to the girl and embraced her. She had heard from Ami that Makoto lost her parents at a young age and while the two never really talked she was always fond of Makoto for being able to take such good care of herself. "She doesn't hate me does she? She's still going to love me when she wakes up right? Will she still be here for me, forever like we talked about? This isn't my fault! Mrs. Aino's wrong. Minako loves me, and I love her. It'll always be that way. I can't loose her yet, or ever." Makoto was now openly crying in Dr. Mizuno's arms. "Don't worry, she'll always be there for you, just like your here for her now. I know you two must care a lot about each other. I just have one question for you.." "What's that?" Makoto said as she stopped crying. "How'd you find her?" “I don’t get it..” Makoto looked confused. "Last night, if you weren't with her when she left, how'd you find her? How'd you know to go looking for her?" Makoto felt panicked. She knew she couldn't very well tell her about the communicators they all had. The only thing she could think of was to lie, which hurt her. She hated lying, especially to someone as sweet as Mrs. Mizuno. "She left this at my apartment, and I wanted to take it to her and I just found her along the way..." Makoto trailed off angry at herself for lying. Mrs. Mizuno didn't really buy her lie either since the stuffed animal thing, 'whatever the hell it is' she thought, wasn't in the picture at all last night. She knew better than to press Makoto on the issue though. "When you go back out there, just ignore her mom okay? Don't let it get to you." "I won't, or at least I'll try. I just hate it when she makes it sound like I'm such a bad person to be around. I love her daughter more than anyone in this world put together, and I won't let anyone, including her stop me from being with Minako." "That's fine, just wait until Minako's better before you do anything rash okay?" Mrs. Mizuno said as she led Makoto out of her office. While Mrs. Mizuno went in to check on Minako Makoto too a seat on a nearby chair and decided all she could do was wait for Minako to wake up and hope that Minako wouldn't blame her for what happened.
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