Disclaimer:      Look at A/N.

Looking Back

Part IV

Location: Woods in France

            It truly was a beautiful day. Partly cloudy with peace at every corner. Or…every tree, she guessed. Makoto eyed the woodland forest before her and smiled softly. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. She leaned against her car and closed her eyes, relishing the beautiful moment.

            Ring. Ring. Ring.

            She growled. Damn portable technology! Snarling irritably, she took out her cell phone. Before the other person had time to talk, she practically yelled,

            "This better be good otherwise I will hop into my jeep and haul ass back to personally kick your ass for butting in on my vacation time!"

            "I-I'm so sorry Ms. Kino!" Came the shuddering voice of Seth, the man she left responsible for her international chain of restaurants. "But we ran into major difficulty concerning that Radei wedding we're catering next week and…"

            Makoto rolled her eyes and rubbed her temples in annoyance. All she asked for was two weeks of peace. And less than five minutes of her arrival at her summer house she's already getting calls from people she had left hundreds of miles away. After settling the mix up of fifteen roast ducks not fifty, and pointing out getting out the cheaper dishes for the Greek wedding that weekend, she said goodbye to Seth, turned off her phone and tossed it into the backseat of her Jeep. Even if she got any calls, she wouldn't be able to hear them

            She unloaded her things from the back of her car and went inside her summer house. Her colleagues had been surprised that Makoto had opted to drive all the way to her summer house when she could've just bought a plane ticket. Makoto shuddered at the mere thought. Even after years of losing her parents, she still couldn't get over her fear of planes. Shrugging the thought by her, she continued her way towards the house.

She had someone come there a few days ago to make sure everything was in order by the time she got there. She eyed the spotless room and nodded approvingly. Checking the fridge and realizing it was fully stocked, she settled in and headed outside in her white shirt, blue shorts, cap, water bottle, hiking boots, and swimsuit underneath.

            Makoto had missed the simplicity of life. Her restaurants had raked in a lot of money for her and she had been able to establish a good amount of money as of late. However, besides giving of a good amount of it to charity, she really had no other idea how to spend it all. She had hoped to be settled down with a family by now, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

            Then again, She thought amused, I never really hoped to be a super hero from another planet. But like I was able to avoid that.

            Unlike Ami, she made regular visits to Japan, almost one every month. She missed her little blue-haired friend but she, too, understood what it was like to lose someone you held very dear to your heart. Ami would come back when she was good and ready, whenever that was. Makoto mused over as to how Isis might be doing. She would be what now? Two? Three? Kids grow up so fast. Hopefully Chibiusa wouldn't follow that trend. Makoto had visited the happy couple a few months ago to greet the baby. Makoto had nearly passed out on the major energy vibes the baby was giving out. Although, with Usagi and Mamoru right beside the little girl, it was hard to tell who gave out the most.

            Thinking about the happy family, Makoto couldn't help but sigh.  Usagi was so lucky to have what she had. A caring husband and a beautiful child. Makoto had wished for that since the days of fairytales. But like that was going to happen any time soon. She had been out several with many men. Sadly, a majority of them were out for her money, were intimidated by her money, were intimidated by her strength, or were just plain jerks. Apparently, not many men could handle their women raking in more dough than they were. Makoto rolled her eyes at the thought. She could almost hear Rei-Rant #7: Chauvinistic Males. She had heard much of Rei's success back in Japan. Though the fiery priestess didn't really appreciate all that she had acquired from her father, she was somewhat grateful for her father's people skills. Usagi, Rei, Hotaru, Haruka and Michiru were the ones who stayed behind in Japan. Though, Haruka and Michiru often went for trips around the world every month though not together. From what Makoto was able to gather, the two had grown apart in love-interest sense a while ago and had officially broken up about a month or so ago.

She, Ami, and Minako had chosen to reach as far as they could. Amusingly enough, almost all the scouts had wonderful success with all that they strived for.

Thinking of her friends, her eyes rested on a flower growing between the cracks of a rock on the path. Luna said that they weren't supposed to use their powers very often, but hey. Like Makoto had had any fun in the last few years. Bending down, she caressed the tiny bud. Closing her eyes, she willed her energy to surround the tiny plant. She could almost see her green energy swirling about the plant, urging it to grow. When she opened her eyes, she saw that not only the flower before her had bloomed, but every plant and/or flower by her had taken to a full bloom. Colors sprang from within the lifeless rocks and the dull tree. She grinned. It appears that her powers had been growing without her noticing it. She beamed at herself proudly.

For her early years, she had faced much discrimination by her peers due to her size and the rumors that idiots had spread of her beating up innocent people. That was a big part as to why she didn't date much in her teen years. So many guys were intimidated and scared of her to go out with her. She rolled her eyes at the though. Males. She thought to herself.

If only those gossiping idiots were to actually get to know you, girl! Came Usagi's voice in her ear. They missed out on someone wonderful.

Makoto came to a sloping, rocky trail. She knew at the end of it, she would run into the lagoon that was fed by a waterfall. The prospect of swimming the beautiful clear water of that lagoon caused her to hasten her pace.             She didn't come here very often but she always enjoyed her stays.

            However, after a few steps, the hairs on the back of her neck began to stand up. Was she being watched? She glanced behind her quickly, hoping to catch a glimpse of…anything. By the time she darted back, she saw nothing other than the path she had just gone through. However, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed movement. And it sure as hell wasn't the wind.

            Hmm. You don't wanna get caught, fine. She grinned. Let's see just how you can escape my little energy scan.

            She stood perfectly still at her point and closed her eyes, relaxed. With her energy, she began to create an ever-expanding perimeter check about her. And then, she sensed it. About fifteen or twenty feet away from her. Wait. It was starting to move? Yes, it was moving…and fast. Whoever it was, they had gone for about fifteen feet from Makoto to over thirty. She frowned, calling back her energy. Did whomever it was sense her energy check? But that was impossible. Only she and the other scouts could sense if they were doing energy checks.

            Cautiously, she turned around in a circle, her green eyes scanning the tree tops. Warily, she turned back around, heading for the lagoon. Any normal person would've gone to the nearest police station. However, Mako had a feeling that no government official could help her out. If anything, they would say that she did need to get out and was only seeing things. She chuckled mildly, thinking of her possible explanatin to the cops.

Oh, gee officer. I didn't really see or hear anyone coming after me in broad daylight but my supernatural Jovian scout powers told me that I was being watched. Do you think you could help me?

Makoto giggled as she peeled off her shirt and shorts and got ready to jump into the lake. The cops would probably think of her as crazy. Besides, like she could ever be considered 'normal'. She'd just have to handle it on her own. Thoughtfully, she clenched and unclenched her fist, producing sparks around her hand. She grinned. Oh well. Whoever it was, better not try to interrupt her vacation time. Otherwise…

            Makoto quickly spun around and aimed at a huge boulder standing at a height of about fifteen feet that was located about twenty feet away from her. With a loud battle cry, she unleashed a swirling thunder/wind punch at the subject. She put up an electrical forcefield about her to protect herself from the rock debris after her attack crushed it.

            Hmm…I need a workout. She thought, noting that, a while ago, she could've destroyed somehting like that boulder without leaving a trace of it behind. Making a mental note to put in some training time during her stay, she turned around and jumped into the lagoon, creating a huge splash as her body collided with the calm waters' surface.

Location: An area getting further away from Makoto by the second

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

That was the basic thought running through his brain as he continued to jump from branch to branch and tree to tree. I cannot believe I almost got caught. Damn. Chances are she already knows someone's here. He mentally sighed. How could he be so careless? Yeesh, he is so gonna kill me.

He had been surprised when he awoke and found himself in the forest area. He wondered just for how long he had slept before taking to the trees to find out where he was. A couple of hours later, he had sensed someone using a good amount of magic energy- without getting tired. Curious, he had followed the energy source until he found her. He stood there for a while, amazed at the blooming flowers that she had been able to create in less than five minutes. It was then that no doubt dared to cross his mind. This is her. This was his target.

            Of course, he was an idiot to allow even a bit of himself get caught in her little check there. Looking from where he came from, he realized that she had retrieved her energy. He stopped his activity for a moment and rested on the branch he had landed on. He leaned against the trunk to contemplate his current situation. When he had first seen her, he had thought thtat this would be easy. He hadn't expected for both of them to be out where civilization was far, far away. But like he was complaining. Their isolation would've made it easier for him to reveal himself to her without risking public exposure. But now that she suspected his prescence, this was sure to complicate things.

            Just then, he felt an energy blast come from the woman's direction and was almost blown of his branch because of the after vibes it sent out. He winced. Wow. She was pissed... and powerful.

            He grinned.

            He needed some practice anyway.

~*chickay*~

Well, looks like Mako's looking up for a challenge. Can she hold out against this new stranger? Oh…zee plot thickens! Are these new strangers good or (dumdumdum) bad? There's only one way to find out (aside from telepathically reading my mind). Next one is Minako's and then I'll focus on the Outers. Gimme some feedback on what you guys think so far.  Well…good night!