|Chapter Three|

Letting out a long sigh, Makoto relaxed in the warm water of the night. They had told her where to go for bathing, and to her surprise it was a small secluded inlet surrounded by bushes a bit away from the waterfall. The guys splashed noisily over the soothing sounds of the waterfall and over the past week she had grown to enjoy it. Quickly they had all fallen into habit of them being gone in the day, coming back for a small lunch break, and then back around dusk all dirtied from training. Makoto found herself cooking all the meals and being the collector in the group. During the morning hours she collected fruit she found surrounding them, practicing jumping around quickly in the trees to train her agility and speed to dodge branches. So far, she was starting to beat her record times of picking berries. Using her carving tools, she put her hands to work making dishes so to easily serve the food and mix.

This evening, they had deer that she had happened to catch and use. Saying a small prayer, she had buried the bones and thanked the gods for the delicious meal. Still, she worried that she was finding ways to occupy herself in order to keep her thoughts from choosing. From the conversations she had with Trunks and Goten, she found them nice and down to earth truthful which added a quality that she liked. Feeling that she needed rest, Makoto cut her bath short and put her swim suit back on while in the water before exiting and wrapping a towel around her chest. The warm fire greeted her and dried her hair slowly; looking into the flames as she thought about the others and last conversation she had with Minako, Rei, and Ami.

"This is exciting, I feel like our future is going to be peaceful," said Minako, giving a stretch.

"Just because we stay loyal to Usa doesn't mean we can't follow our dreams," said Rei, sipping on her tea. Ami nodded in agreement, taking a small bite of cake. "I mean, she did give us a year to get started on our futures for ourselves. Just because we are building Crystal Tokyo doesn't mean we have live in the palace and not have normal lives. We just need to find careers where we can leave for periods of time and have someone else take over. Maybe that's why I'm glad I'm going into fashion. I've already told Usa yes!"

"Really? So did I," said Minako, producing a grin. "I mean, lots of recorded artists do pump out a lot of records in the first year and then I can make an excuse that I was going to find myself when I serve Usa."

"I've decided to work in the palace," said Ami. "After all, we do need a well trained medical doctor to look over things and make sure the royal family's health is always good. What about you Makoto?"

"Yes, Makoto..."

"Makoto..." She was pulled out of her thoughts by Trunks calling her name and Goten waving his hand in front of her eyes. Focusing in, she found their worried expressions only to crack a smile.

"Sorry, just thinking," she said, giving a yawn to follow. Goten touched at her bruised knuckles that she quickly pulled back to hide.

"You've been doing some training too?" he asked, taking a seat next to her. He couldn't help but try to get closer to her. There was something about her presence that interested him and he liked how honest she seemed. At this moment, the way the fire played off her long auburn waves made everything seem like he was in an illusion. He had talked to Trunks about her, and his worry for how she was secluded. Still, he never admitted he had feelings for her since he watched quietly and would continue to do so. Goten had always been shy when it came to dating but kept his feelings secretive. After the last problem of liking the same girl as his friend, Goten kept that part of his life to himself. Now, he would be doing the same unless he was able to get her alone with him. Then, the gloves were off.

"Yeah," she said, looking at his worried expression.

"I haven't heard of a girl training since my mom, she's the Ox Princess," said Goten and gave a laugh. Makoto had never heard of her before but cracked a smile. "What kind of training do you do?"

Unsure of what to reply, Trunks spoke up.

"She probably doesn't want to talk about it Goten, why don't we roast some marshmallows?" he asked only for Goten to quickly nod at the thought of food and dashed into the tent to get some. Makoto gave Trunks a smile as he sat across, the flames showing off his good bone structure and solemn face. Was he always this kind? There was something about his aura that always brought her eyes to him and something in his voice that demanded attention. Feeling her hand quickly move, to catch what was flying at her, Makoto looked down into her hand to see some ointment.

"This helps with bruising, for the average Tokyo girl," said Trunks, cocking a grin. Makoto giggled and placed it on her lap, glad for the conversation. Usually when Goten was around, she found their levels of discussions were lowered. Being alone with him eased her mind, or perhaps it was the idea of being able to depend on someone else for a change. "Are all you Tokyo girls so mysterious?"

"Not all of us, at least in my group of friends," she said, feeling at ease while speaking with him while Goten rummaged through the food items to look for some marshmallows. "I guess you could say I'm the mysterious one since everyone else is very open."

He seemed interested, his playful eyes watching her movements and noticing a hidden sadness to them; even her smile wasn't genuine enough. Trunks felt wondered what it was like to watch her really smile and started to push the thought out of his mind when he thought of Goten. His dear friend had said that he liked something about her but didn't peruse it. Did Goten truly like her, or just the look of her and the fact she was here cooking for him? He didn't want to bother with drama. Pushing that to the back of his mind, he focused on wanting to get to know her more.

"Sometimes you don't need to speak in order to be heard," he responded softly, watching her nod and emeralds brighten up.

"Exactly," she said, broadening her smile a bit. Her eyes focused on him, memorizing his face in case she ever did see him again on the streets. Somehow, he was the first person she spoke with that understood her. Even though she had caring friends that would do anything for her, she still felt misunderstood. Perhaps it was because she wasn't an open person anymore and closed herself up after the death of her parents. She didn't want to blame anything on it, but it was a fact she changed completely after the event. Having bounced around place to place, relative to relative, when she was of age she worked hard to keep her own place and valued money since she never had much. But, she knew she did feel jealous that the other girls were able to live mostly carefree about a warm home to go to and not to have to work to keep it there. It was always lonely on the other side; the only other ones that she could compare herself with were Haruka and Michiru. Both were kind and expressed themselves through what they did. Michiru expressed through her music and Haruka through her driving. If she could have changed things, she would have wished to be with the outer planets grouping since it seemed so much more close on an emotion and mature level, although they were older.

Makoto wasn't the only one to be thinking and gazing mindlessly; Trunks was able to see an eye full while she looked distracted at the blaze before them. Her long auburn waves lay long and poured down her shoulders, curling at the fresh warmth. He was mesmerized by her appearance of sitting in a forest green with small white polka dot bikini. Trunks thought by now she would have grabbed something to curl up with like other nights but he could also feel the warm air mixing around them. Why was he suddenly looking at her so intently? He knew he hadn't been able to actually focus in on her before, but now that Goten was gone and leaving them in silence he was able to gain a new insight. More or less to examine her physical beauty; she worked out and he could see her muscles shuttering under the skin while they tried to relax from training. He knew those shutters well when he first started training. Luckily, he came from a family history of easily building muscle and it hadn't taken him long to bulk up as a child.

Just when Trunks was about to speak again, Goten popped out of nowhere with a half eaten bag of marshmallows and grinned at the two.

"I found them!" he said in triumph. Makoto giggled and looked at the man with sticky white foam sticking to his face. She had never meet two people that could eat this much, and they made Usagi look like a saint even though she could pack down a lot of food. Feeling her body aches, Makoto opened the jar of cream and placed it over her knuckles only to feel a slight burning sensation from the cuts. Tossing it back to Trunks, the three began to roast marshmallows cheerfully while Goten got the two to join in on a few songs he said needed to be sung around the camp fire.

Leaning back her head, Makoto gazed up at the dark sky with the white speckled dots surrounding them in beauty. Letting out a sigh, she closed her eyes and took in the scents around her. This was where she finally felt she found her peace and knew she wanted to be one with nature...perhaps even forever. This was the first late night they stayed up together and for some reason, Makoto almost felt things coming to an end. Goten was the first to go to bed early after overly stuffing himself, leaving the two around the fire silently again. Makoto let out a sigh, bringing her gaze toward the fire but found herself frozen as she locked into an unbreakable gaze with Trunks. Emerald and blue clashed in a strange competition while neither weaved or broke.

"It's hard to theorize why a beautiful young woman like you would be training," commented Trunks, his voice taking a purring effect. With those words, it felt as if the spell had been broken. Makoto bowed her head to hide a blush that crept up at his complimentary words.

"I could wonder the same," replied Makoto simply. Trunks smirked; she hadn't figured them out as much as he thought she would have over these weeks. Or was she hiding something?

"From the collection of information, you seem like a very down-to-earth woman with a good head on your shoulders. You have a dream that you want and will follow through with. But what's holding you back? If your dream was so precious, why haven't you started it?" he inquired, receiving a chuckle from Makoto in response.

"A 'collection of information'?" she asked, watching him lighten up as she slowly darkened. "You're right, there is something holding me back. I have a very important business proposition that I need to consider before I get too deep. If I accept, there is no turning back along with a series of complications that come with the agreement. But if I deny, there is also the disappointment and sense of regret that could be held. I still want my dream, but every time I think about the proposition it continually keeps pushing it further away from my grasps."

Trunks was surprised at how well she opened up so quickly; he was used to the confidence but not to this extent. It made him feel as if he was invading her personal space.

"How difficult could this proposition be?" he asked curiously, hearing her scuff. The emeralds darkened and he felt her receding.

"I've said too much; you wouldn't believe me if I told you," she replied, her voice softening as the end as she gazed at the ground. Silence thickened as Makoto curled up into herself, closing everything out while her thoughts raced. Feeling her chin moved, Makoto was surprised to see him in front of her examining her closer. His fingers felt warm on her chin and sent a shiver through her body at the sudden realization of his though.

"Come here," he said softly as Makoto felt her body responding and leaning into the warm arms. They felt so secure, and so safe as she lay leaning into his chest using it as a pillow. Closing her eyes, she took in his musky scent as the calming feeling consumed her. Never had she felt this relaxed or safe since her parents died. Soothingly, Trunks petted her lilac scented silky hair as his arms consumed her in the warm hug. "I know something we can both believe; this proposition isn't for you if it will take your farther from your dreams. Life isn't always about only others; you have to focus on yourself as well."

The words sunk in as his voice rumbled softly in her ear; breathing softly, Makoto nodded her head and snuggled warmly. It was the only time she felt sleep sneak up on her and welcome it peacefully.