|Chapter Two|

A small yawn escaped her lips as Makoto snuggled closer to herself while her emeralds peered lazily through a haze of long black lashes. Peeking at the morning sky, she noticed the sun dare not show through the thickly overcastted sky. Pulling her rain resistant jacket closer, she still felt cold sitting on the ground. It had been hard to sleep due to not being able to place up shelter or tents. They were only half way there, or that was what Goten had said, when they settled into the foliage under the eaves of a large pine tree. To help protect them more from the weather, Makoto suggested gathering brush to place between the branches to keep them drier. It had helped some, but the sound of water dripping on her hood kept her awake all night. Luckily, the two men had fallen asleep or looked as if they had. The journey there hadn't been as hard as she expected, following through an uncharted travel which made it almost impossible for her to leave the group or go ahead. A warning seemed to ping in the back of her mind to keep on guard after taking a look at the situation. Two very over powering men with one somewhat weak looking woman all alone in the forest; no trail leading in or out to their camp area. It made her unsure if they knew where they were going. Neither of them used a map or compass but she could tell they were headed further north due to the sun's position moving.

A check list moved through her mind and she was thankful she packed light but had enough supplies. Usually when she came up here, she turned into 'nature woman' as the girls called her, she would hunt and work hard for her own food. Some light snacks needed to be brought just in case. Energy giving granola bars, vitamins to keep one healthy, a large pan, knife, and of course she packed her bow. It was one of the rare things the girls found out that she liked: archery. Now she was going to put it to the test to check out her accuracy. It did help with her senshi training by aiming her attacks on a specific target.

Through the night, she tried to think of something else while taking in the fresh crisp scents and feeling at peace. Tucking her fingers further into her jacket, she looked to her left to see Goten had fallen over during the night and lay sprawled out under the branches giving a soft snore. Smiling to herself, she felt lucky neither of them snored loudly. Turning her head to her right, Trunks sat crouched like her unmoving. Suddenly, his head twitched up and she heard the snoring cease to her right. Peering ahead, she noticed something strange and felt a hand cover her eyes and pushed her back.

"What the..." she said, startled. Her heart leapt as she felt her head fall against the ground hearing a crunch from the impact. Her mind panicked as she moved back to reality realizing it was just some leaves and twigs she heard. Grabbing furiously at the semi-roughed large hand dwarfing her face, Makoto let out a growl of irritation. Surprised, Trunks reluctantly lifted his hand as his face appeared before her. He watched her emeralds widen in surprise and then scrunch quickly to anger; placing a single finger on her lips, Trunks watched the bewilderment take over.

"Stay here and don't make a sound," he said, emotionless. Narrowing her eyes, Makoto found herself obeying and stayed completely still as the two men seemed to move silently away. She wasn't sure what was going on but if her eyes didn't deceive her...was that a man flying? Looking in the articles of Satan City, she knew some strange things had happened here but she never read about flying people...or maybe she was delusional from the lack of sleep. Not wanting to stay laying back, Makoto leaned up on her elbows to peer up and felt as if she was going to jump out of her skin from Goten's face suddenly appearing.

"I thought I saw a bear," said Trunks, coming into view beside Goten and offering Makoto a hand. Declining, Makoto cast a glare and moved to her feet quickly. Giving herself somewhat of a distance, she brushed the dried dirt off before giving a stretch to her stiff muscles.

"I don't scream at the sight of bears," replied Makoto coldly, checking her bag and getting it ready to go. Silence loomed around the group while she angrily talked to herself to try and relax her demeanor but she stayed tense. A strange feeling washed over her as she looked around the still darkened sky to check the situation out. If there was a bear, then she was sure it would have been closer. And how did he seem to 'sense' something like that. His eyes were closed and then suddenly open. From his movements she saw his reflexes and wondered what type of training he did exactly. He was quick, but what made him so quick? Those muscles weren't there for show.

"So, you ready to continue?" asked Goten, watching her stiff movements and then gazed over to Trunks for a moment. He could see the tension and from her reaction could tell there was no hiding from her. If they were to hide something, it would take a lot of effort. Would this interrupt them for their plans this summer? Where did that sudden power source come from and who was that floating in the sky? Both of them kept their energy levels low to stay off the radar until there was time to figure it out. Unable to catch where that person went, they decided to just continue forward.

"Yeah," she said, giving a final stretch before picking up her hiking backpack. Moving in silence, they continued surrounded by trees. Letting her body continue to work, Makoto let her mind space off as she thought of Usagi's words. Why so much doubt? She had served this long and had been completely loyal without any regret so why now? Crystal Tokyo needed to be built before Usagi had Chibi-usa. Still, she didn't know if she wanted to say yes or no. Perhaps that was why Michiru and Haruka had left so suddenly as well. Feeling herself stumble and start to fall backwards, her arm was suddenly grabbed as she gazed up at Goten blankly. Quickly giving a thank-you, Makoto focused on where they were .

"So, what are your plans after university?" asked Goten, breaking the silence. Makoto shrugged and thought of a good response.

"I want to be a chef, and will be opening my own restaurant," she said moving up the trail. Goten suddenly seemed to get excited.

"You cook? Wow, my dad would love it if I brought someone home like that," he said only for Trunks to shake his head. Trunks felt embarrassed that his friend would only think of that aspect; why would a woman want to automatically be associated with a tool for cooking and being brought home? Trunks decided that through example, he would show Goten how it's done.

"What type of restaurant?" asked Trunks, seeing a brightness take over her eyes at the thought of it. A smile crept at the corner of her rosy lips.

"A pastry shop," said Makoto in a dreamy voice. "My first project will be my friend's wedding cake and I already have a few clients for events to cater."

"Have you worked out the nooks of expansion?" asked Trunks, seeing Goten eye him curiously as if he was getting the upper hand of the conversation he originally started.

"I have a few class mates that would like to build a partnership but in order to keep ourselves less financially obligated will be putting it into a corporation. This will leave open the idea of expansion in the future unless we would like to keep the business and name local," she said, making Trunks smile. He never found someone put together this much to think of all the aspects that were involved with a business. His mother was the leader in the business and technological world in Satan City who thought of all the same things. Growing up as a sole heir to inherit the business, Trunks had taken business classes and wondered if a partnership in Tokyo would work in the future. Now, he felt it all coming together as a sign with her being here. If he played his cards correctly, then he would be able to slide into the city and start expanding their family business.

"Let me know if you need help with any of the legal aspects or planning process involved; I know some a few things about business myself," said Trunks, giving Makoto one of his rare smiles. He found the grin caress her lips as she nodded.

"Here we are," said Goten, stopping and watching Makoto move forward to look at the clearing with a large swimming hole holding a medium size waterfall along with a small stream leaving the large mass of water. Having been camping before, she never found a spot like that. In amazement, she moved alongside them and set up their equipment and a meal ready. Taking to the small stream, they caught some fish and warmed them up over the fire as the sun started to come out and dry the earth around them.

"So why do you take this trip every year?" asked Makoto, watching Goten grin in response.

"To train," he said, and then paused to add on. "Muscle training, for...our club activities."

Makoto gave a giggle, blowing on the hot fish.

"For a nature club?" she asked only to get Goten's nod. Raising a brow she let out another laugh. "You don't expect me to believe that, do you?"

"Why wouldn't you?" asked Trunks, hoping that she was dumber than she looked. Makoto leaned back and calculated what she had seen so far. They seemed to move faster than normal people, have quick reactions, lots of strength, and well trained muscles. From the look of it, they weren't into just body building but fighting.

"You're fighters," she said, watching Trunks pause to listen to her response. She continued when he gave a small nod. "I'm sure your fan clubs will believe anything if you wiggle some flexing their way. But to the trained eye, it isn't hard to tell."

Trunks cursed a little, feeling as if their privacy was being exposed. She was an outsider but a smart outsider, perhaps she could be of some use later? He wasn't going to show her their secret and hoped Goten wouldn't mess it up with his big mouth and by being so honest. To prove her suspicions, Makoto flung her chop stick quickly in their direction only for Trunks to snatch it mid-air from Goten's face as he ate. Giving another giggle, Makoto leaned back on her wooden stump seating.

"We all have our reasons for being here, and we can make a deal to stay out of each other's ways for what we each have to do," she said, keeping eye contact with Trunks since he seemed to be the brains of this operation. Goten nodded while continuing to eat the extra fish he had caught.

"And what are you here for?" asked Trunks only for Makoto to give a sly smile.

"To think and get away from the city," she said, moving to her feet. "After all, I'm just your average Tokyo girl."

Trunks smirked, watching her move towards the water due to the heat quickly rising. There was something about her, but he couldn't put his finger on it just yet. Maybe he would test her later but due to their newly formed deal, it was going to leave the guys to go to another secluded area to train so she wouldn't see. But it was unlikely she would be able to see at the speeds they moved anyhow, but he wasn't going to trust it. This summer break was going to be strange.