Makoto, Nate, Rei, Juichi, Minako, and Usagi went camping together. It was Nate's idea. He hadn't have a chance to explore much of Japan natural scenery, so Makoto suggested they all went camping on the mountain. Usagi suggested that they should all do together to have fun and training at the same time. Rei wasn't so keen on the idea, but Minako and Usagi worked real hard to convince Rei to come along.

"If this is supposed to be for our training, how come Ami is not here?" Rei said irritably.

"Well, Ami had a mock-up exam this weekend, so it can't be helped." Minako made an excuse.

"And you know you want to come here, Rei. You just don't want to admit it." Minako said with a grin.

"What are you talking about?" Rei asked.

"Minako meant that you weren't interested in coming here until you heard that Junichi will be here too, right?" Usagi asked Rei.

"That's absurd. I didn't come here because Junichi is here. I came because you guys dragged me here. Plus, we can't have Makoto here with Nate alone. It won't be appropriate." Rei said.

"Whatever you say, Rei, but we are all here now. Let's have fun!" Usagi yelled and ran to catch up with Makoto, Nate, and Junichi who had walked a bit further.

"Yeah a little bit of nature won't hurt." Minako smiled and rushed to catch up with the group.

"Come on, Rei. As a senshi, it would be great to brush up on your surviving skills." Artemis told Rei.

"Fine, whatever." Rei said and walked to catch up with the group.

Once they all got to the camp site, Nate suggested "Junichi and I will set up the tents. Why don't you girls go relax by the lake?"

"No we can't have you do all the work. Besides, it will be faster if we all help." Mako said to Nate with a smile.

So, they were all setting up their own tents. Nate and Junichi had no problem setting up their tent. Mako and Rei took a while, but the tent was set up perfectly. The problem was with Usagi and Minako, who didn't seem to know what they were doing.

"Let me help you with that." Junichi offered.

"Thank you, Junichi. You are such a gentleman." Minako said loudly to make sure Rei heard her.

Rei rolled her eyes. I can't believe Minako. Cut if out already.

"Now that we've set up our tents. Should we go hiking around the area?" Nate suggested.

"That's a good idea. I've done some research and here are some hiking trails we can follow." Junichi said while setting out a map in front of him.

"Let's go to this one. We can see the view of the lake from the top of the mountain." Nate suggested.

"But that's like a 10 km hike, Nate. I don't want to do that. Why don't you and Mako go and we'll just follow the trail near here." Minako said and winked at Makoto.

Usagi immediately picked up on Minako's idea. "That sounds good. I'm a little tired from sitting on the bus already. I think I just want to go for a shorter hike around here." Usagi said.

"Plus, you've never been here before, Nate. You should enjoy the best hike!" Minako said.

"If you wouldn't mind, Mako?" Nate asked her.

"Not at all. I'm planning to get some serious workout here, so let's do it!." Makoto said.

Nate and Makoto packed some water and snacks, then went off on their hike.

"Shall we go as well? Even if we are just following the 5-km trail, we have to get going if we want to make it back before dark." Junichi said.

"Yeah, let's go!" Usagi shouted with excitement.

—

Nate and Makoto was at the half way of their hike, admiring the view of the whole mountain from the top.

"It's so beautiful and peaceful here." Nate said.

"Yeah, I like to come here when I'm stressed. Being with nature helps calm me down." Makoto said.

"What do you usually stress about, Mako-chan?" Nate asked with concerns.

"About…" Mako stopped herself before she said fighting.

That was close. I almost forgot that he didn't know about me being a senshi. It was just so comfortable being around him. And when I'm with him, I always think about how we used to be in our past lives.

"Nothing in particular. Maybe about my heartaches." Mako changed the subject.

"What do you mean, Mako?" Nate asked.

"I am not a typically beautiful Japanese girl. I'm too tall, too curvy, and people always say I'm too masculine. I've had my heart broken many times I can't even count. It's so normal for me to get rejected." Mako said. She wasn't planning on telling him this, but the serene nature surrounding them makes her feel like opening up to him more.

"Can I tell you something, Makoto?" Nate asked.

"What is it?" Mako said.

"I think you are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life." Nate said honestly while looking into Mako's eyes.

Makoto's face turned red. She avoided his gaze.

"And I'm not just saying that. The definition of beauty is always different from person to person. You shouldn't worry about fitting into a society's definition of beauty. You just have to find the one person that likes you for who you are." Nate said.

Makoto's eyes were tearing up a little. Makoto looked at Nate and smiled.

"You are so sweet, Nate." Mako said.

"If you don't mind me saying it, I like that you are tall and curvy. Girls like Usagi and Minako are too short and too thin." Nate said with a smile.

"Now you're just saying that." Mako said shyly.

"I'm not. I really think you are the most beautiful girl, Makoto." Nate said.

They both leaned in and kissed each other. It was sweet and gentle.

Nate pulled his lips away from her a little and said "I think I'm in love with you, Makoto."

Makoto was a little surprised to hear Nate say that.

"I know this is crazy. We've just met each other a couple of weeks ago, but I feel like I've known you all my life." Nate explained.

You are not crazy, dear. We've known each other for more than one lifetime. Makoto thought.

" I love you too, Nate." Mako said slowly and looked into his eyes.

They smiled and embraced each other.

"I don't know what the future will hold for us, but for now I know that I love you, Makoto." Nate said.

I don't know what will happen to us in the future, either, but I don't care anymore. Mako thought to herself and rested her head on his broad shoulder.

—

"I don't really want to go back, but we should get going before it gets dark." Nate said to Makoto while holding her in his arms.

"You're right. Let's go. I'll make you a nice dinner." Makoto said.

"And after that, I will tell you the tales of the stars tonight." Nate said while touching her cheek.

They both walked down from the top of the mountain for a few hours.

"It's getting dark faster than I thought. We have to hurry up, Makoto." Nate said.

"I guess we spent too much time on the top of the mountain." Makoto said while walking closely behind him.

"I don't regret it for one second." Nate turned and looked at Makoto.

Mako smiled at him. "Me neither." She said.

"Be careful, Makoto. This is pretty steep." Nate warned her while he was walking down the path ahead of her.

"Don't worry, Nate. I'm fine, ouch!" Mako exclaimed.

"Are you ok?" Nate quickly turned back to see Makoto.

"Ouch" Mako touched her left ankle and felt a sharp pain.

"Seems like you twisted your ankle." Nate crouching down to look at Mako's ankle.

"It's just a sprain. I should be fine." Mako said while trying to stand up, but her ankle didn't agree with her. She's wobbling and almost fell to the side. Luckily, Nate caught her before she hit the ground.

"You can't walk like this, Makoto." Nate said while holding her arm over his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Nate. After all you have warned me and everything." Makoto said with a guilt look.

"Accident happens. Don't worry about it. We'll just have to figure out a way to get back with you using your ankle the least." Nate said.

"If you can get me a stick, I can use it as a cane and walk slowly all the way back." Makoto suggested.

"I can't let you do that. It's a pretty big sprain. I don't want you to injure your ankle anymore." Nate worried.

"But I don't think there's any other way. We're still too far from the camp to ask for help." Makoto said.

"I know how." Nate said while lifting Mako and resting her on his back.

"What what are you doing, Nate? Put me down. I'm heavy." Mako said.

"Nonsense. You're not heavy at all. And I'm happy doing this for my lady." Nate said.

Mako thought about the time Nephrite said the same thing to her when she was injured from the hand combat training with him in the forest. Nephrite scooped her into his arms like a princess and walked back to the palace. Back then, as a sailor senshi, she insisted that she wan't hurt much and could walk by herself, but Nephrite refused to listen to her.

No fine gentleman will let his own lady suffer. I'm happy to do this for you, my lady. Makoto thought about what General Nephrite said back then.

"Hold on tight. I don't want you to fall down." Nate said.

His words snapped Mako back to the present. She put her arms around his neck and rested her body on his back while he's holding her legs with his arms. He started walking back slowly.

Nobody's treated me like a lady. Only you, Nephrite. Mako thought while resting her head on this back.

Nate noticed the gentleness of her face on this back. "Are you alright, Makoto?"

Makoto hardly depended on anyone since her parents passed away. She always did everything by herself. It was nice to have someone she could depend on. Everybody all needed someone to lean on once in a while. "Thank you very much, Nate. You are like my knight in shining armor." Mako said quietly.

"Coming from a strong girl like you, it's a huge compliment." Nate said with a smile.

—

Author's note. Sorry this one is taking so long. I had been stuck about where to go with the story. I spent some time figuring out the whole storyline. So hopefully this means that I should be able to get the next chapters out sooner. Thank you for reading. Let me know what you think. I'm still learning how to write fiction and I know I have a long long way to go, so any comments are greatly appreciated. :)