keyofnik:

Mako’s initial reaction to sensing someone’s near her is with complete aggression. It just guts me. This is a girl used to her only interaction with people being violence. The way she spins around, the edge to her voice. I completely believe that Mako’s been victim of more than one sneak attack in her time.

(So let’s for a second consider, after a young life already full of violence and people wanting to get the best of her however they possibly can, just how amazing she must feel when she realizes she’s got four sisters that she can trust utterly to watch her back.)

She isn’t looking for a fight, but by god, she’s ready for one.

But it’s only Usagi. Who’s scared for a second, and Mako must be used to that too.

Consider Mako’s nature. Consider her reaction to bullying. Now consider that before Usagi, she never really has a friend.

Mako should have LOADS of friends! I mean for one thing, SHE’S MAKO. Even without that, she’s probably saving two to three kids per day.

But there’s no one.

Because the kids she saves? They’re afraid of her too. They’re already skittish. Now here comes the big tough girl with the bad reputation. So what do they do? They run away. That’s why Mako expected nothing when she saved Usagi. She’s far too used to not getting anything.

Usagi though, after her initial shock, she doesn’t run. She introduces herself. She’s ALREADY not afraid of Mako. She’s utterly taken with her. With her awesome moves, and her pretty earrings, and her isolation and loneliness, and her utterly ridiculous food. Usagi saw enough four times over. This girl is someone she wants for a friend.

But the absolute killer or me? Mako scooting over. She has no reason to believe in this at all. She’s faced harshness and cruelty at every turn. She’s been through it time after time, school after school. ALONE. This is a girl living her life completely on her own without anyone in her life to care for her or support her at any step of the way.

And she scoots over. “Why don’t you join me?”

Everything you need to really know about Mako is in that moment.

She has every right to be furious with the world. She has every right to doubt everything, to have given up.

Instead, she sees a friendly face, and she scoots over.