Welcome to Gaia! ::

OMG I laughed so hard at that title!

It was a bright, sunny day at Juuban High. The spring air filled Makoto Kino's lungs as she and her friend's in the Gardening club tended to the school's flowers. They were growing beautifully and Mako was feeling quite proud of their accomplishments. Soon, they would be picking flowers to arrange them for the upcoming Spring Festival. The school's principal had praised the club, telling them that the gardens had looked the best he had ever seen. They had high hopes for the club.

Today, they were weeding out all the beds and giving the flowers some natural food. Though there were a few boys in the club, it was made up of mostly girls. Each had gardening gloves and aprons made by Mako. She took her rose adorned glove off to wipe her brow. She gave a sigh of content as she stood up to admire her work. This bed was done. It was time to move on to another one. They only had a couple more beds to do and they would be done for the day.

One of the girls from the club walked up to Mako. "Madame President, have you put any thought yet into what you want to do for the Festival?" She asked.

"Yes, I have!" Mako beamed. "I have a fantastic idea that I plan to share with the group at tomorrow's meeting. Of course, the club is still going to have to vote on what they want. Did you come up with any ideas, Momo?" Mako asked.

"Well, I came up with one." Momo replied with a blush. "But I am sure that yours is way better. Everyone is going to pick it, so I don't think I'll share mine."

Mako put her finger up. "Now, Momo, you shouldn't cut yourself short! Nobody will have the chance to decide if your idea is good or not if you don't share it." Momo looked down at the ground. "So be ready to share it tomorrow, k?" Mako winked.

Momo nodded to Mako and the two got back to their work. As she helped to finish the flower beds, Mako couldn't help but take in the beautiful, sweet scent of the flowers she tended to. If heaven existed, this surely had to be it!

Mako was finally done for the day. She had washed off her hands and put her gardening gear away. She was ready to go home for the night. She had decided to make herself a crock-pot meal, knowing that the possibility of her getting home late was a possibility. She was going to use the left-overs to make herself a nice bento for the next day. Then, she thought that she might make some cookies. She had gotten her homework done before the end of the school day, so she was ready to relax.

As she was headed towards the gate, she noticed out of the corner of her eye someone shooting targets at the archery range. She stood there, watching him for several minutes as he made perfect bulseyes over and over again.

Realizing that she was staring at him more than the target, she turned and continued walking towards the gate.

Makoto decided to take her time walking home. It was such a nice day that she thought to continue to enjoy her surroundings. That boy shooting his bow certainly had caught her attention. She paused at a bed of roses and gazed at them. Pink, just like her earrings. She leaned in to smell one. She sighed as she took in its scent. Flowers had so many things that they could say to people. Mako felt as if she hadn't spent enough time in the school's gardens. But she chose to continue walking towards home. It was the time of year when things were blooming. She would spend the rest of the daylight she had in the garden if she could.

She turned and continued heading home. She was in such a solemn mood that she began to hum lightly as she continued to enjoy the nice, spring afternoon.

Makoto was nearly knocked off of her feet by Ite. Stumbling, she re-caught her footing. She half heard his apology as he she looked into his eyes... Just like her old Sempai's!

"You... You were just practicing at the School's archery range, weren't you?" she asked. "I saw you. You were amazing..." she trailed off, her voice light and airy as she spoke, entranced by his ever searching eyes.

[See, I did it! Lol. He was just too far away for her to see at first. wink ]

Mako was taken aback by Ite's attempt to keep her from falling. "Oh, I'm alright." she said. "I actually have pretty good reflexes. Thank you for catching me." She smiled. "My name is Makoto Kino. Its nice to meet you, Ite." Mako smiled at him. There was something about the look on his face that she couldn't quite place. "Your name... It sounds familiar..." She trailed off. Then, she remembered exactly where she got it from. "Oh! I know! I've heard some of the other girls talk about you at school! You're that gold medalist, right?" Mako was getting ready to tell him about Rei, who also enjoyed archery but she stopped herself from saying another word. It was then that she realized what his look just moments ago was.

"Oh, um. I'm sorry, I think that may have come off as a bit rude. I don't want to sound like a fan girl, but you just caught my eye as I was leaving earlier. It looked as if the weight of the world was being put upon and then lifted off your shoulders as you practiced. Like you were in your element. Thats how I feel when I tend to my gardens or cook something. Your passion in your sport shines through you. Anyways, you look like maybe you are in a bit of a hurry. Where are you rushing to this afternoon?" Mako asked.

"You, still feel like you're not good enough?" Mako stared blankly at him for a moment. Her shoulder suddenly felt cold without Ite's hand on it. "But... you went to the olympics and won a gold medal. How can you top that?" She asked, puzzled. "At your age, you have already reached a level that many can only dream of achieving! You shouldn't be so hard on yourself..." Mako trailed off.

When Ite asked her if she cooked, her puzzlement turned into a warm smile. "Yes, I do. Its one of my favorite hobbies. Since I live alone, I make everything for myself and then some. Today, I put on a roast before I left for school." She studied Ite's face for a moment, noticing a look that reminded her very much of Usagi. Except Ite's hungry look was not that of someone who who was always hungry. It was the look of someone who hardly had the chance to eat.

"I have a part time job that I need to get ready for."

Mako heard his stomach growling as if it were a lion cub, screaming at its mom for a meal. "Come on." Mako said, grabbing Ite by the hand. "My house is just about another block from here. I have plenty enough to make you a bento. And I won't take no for an answer!"

Mako looked down at her phone and sighed. "I'll message you later." she said into her text messaging app. Then, she silenced her phone. She could feel it vibrating in her pocket as a barrage of replies chimed back in. Perhaps she shouldn't have taken Ite's hand, but she just didn't care about what other people were going to say.

As they rounded the corner to her apartment, she let go of his hand to take out her keys. Unknowingly, someone from far away took a picture as she led Ite into her apartment. Mako took in the scene of the various plants she had decorated everywhere. The place was spotless. The smell of her roast filled the air. As Makoto took off her shoes, the timer on the crockpot went off. "Aah. Just in time! Make yourself at home while I put this together for you. "

She pondered Ite's words for a few moments as she tied her apron and pulled out a knife and cutting board. "You don't feel complete..." Makoto trailed off as she took a large, neutral colored bento box out of the cupboard. "Do you feel like maybe you just haven't found your true purpose with your talent, yet?" She used a pair of tongs to remove the roast from the crockpot and started slicing it.

"I mean, I'm a martial artist. And I didn't find my purpose until I found friends to protect. I, uh... Don't typically talk about my past, but before I made friends, I used to be an angry person. My parents died in a plane crash and the world just didn't understand an orphan living on her own. I wasn't a violent person, per sae... but I couldn't stand bullies and would take down someone who wasn't nice. I didn't know why I felt I had to do what I did but now, I have found out that purpose and I'm more whole for it." Tossing around a bully was actually how I met Usagi. Makoto smiled as she inwardly chuckled at herself. Wait a minute, why did she just say all that!?

"I think that's what it is." Makoto's phone vibrated in her pocket. She took it out. Before she tossed it on the counter, she saw a photo Minako sent her captioned "WHAT IS THIS!? EXPLAIN YOURSELF!!!!"

She sighed. "Jerks." she mumbled. "Hey, uh... We've been seen, I guess..." she said, shaking her head. "I'm going to have to find a way to rectify this." she sighed.

She started placing a heaping mound of roast neatly into Ite's bento, creating a work of art out of something that would normally be a messy blob on a plate. She pulled out a small pot and quickly made a roux as she took out a heap of vegetables from the crockpot and added them to a second level of the box as the flour and butter mixture cooked for a moment. Then, she ladled the juices from the crockpot into her roux and whisked it into a gravy of perfect consistency. She poured some of the gravy over the meat. She added a third level to the bento and placed several rolls into it that she had made the night before.

"There... That should do it!" she said. Normally, she would add more decoration, but she didn't want to make Ite late for work. It was enough for more than one person. But Makoto always loved giving extra. And Ite looked like he hardly ever ate at all.

She wrapped the bento and asked Ite to hold it up so she could take a counter-photo. "How should I caption this?" she asked. "Relax guys, it's just a bento? Keep calm, bento on? Or maybe I should put cute guys can smell my food from a mile away?" she half joked. "Or would that just be stirring the pot? I mean, you are drop dead gorgeous." she blushed.