Development

Legal Disclaimers (my lawyer made me:)
Sailor Moon is property of Naoko Takeuchi, Toei Animation, DiC,
Bandai, Mixxine and a lot more probably. Bottom line is: Sailor
Moon and it's characters are not mine so don't sue me. You should be
used to the disclaimers by now.
______________________________________________________________________
Finally! I hope this was well worth the wait. Oh, and this chapter
will probably be the only chapter that will be written in 1st person
perspective because I have decided to go back to 3rd person, since
it's so much easier to write. Hope that wasn't too confusing for
you.

D.C. al Fine
(5) Development
Lady Jupiter (LadyJupiter@SailorJupiter.com)

Makoto hurried home so she could pack for the trip. In her
mind, she had already planned what to throw into her suitcase. She
planned her whole wardrobe except for one item of clothing.
"Don't forget to bring a swimsuit!" Shinozaki's voice rang
through her head.
She wondered why she would need that in the middle of winter.
She doubted she had a swim suit that fit her in the closet. It had
been almost two years since she had gone to the beach for a swim.
She knew her old swimsuit was probably much too small by now,
considering her growth spurts.
After dropping her books off at her house, Makoto took the bus
downtown to buy a new swimsuit. On the weekdays, the shops were not
as crowded with bustly customers. She first entered a small
boutique where she bought most of her clothes. The shop keeper
recognized her and gave her a warm smile.
"What can I do for you, Miss? Is there something in particular
you're looking for?" a woman made her way to her.
"Hai, I know it is not the season to buy it, but would you by
any chance have any swimsuits?"
The saleswoman looked surprised but led Mako to the back of the
shop to a rack of swimsuits. At once, Makoto's eyes fell on a
simple two-piece emerald green set with black trimmings. She took
it off its rack and examined it. It looked quite close to her size.
"Ah no," the saleswoman advised, "With a body like your's I'd
show it off. Here, try this one."
Makoto's eyes popped out at what the saleswoman was holding
out. It was a slinky two piece with barely enough material to make
a glove. She shook her head earnestly and held onto her choice. In
the dressing room, she found the suit to fit perfectly and bought it
immediately.
As she stepped out of the store, she bumped into a blonde girl.
"Hey, fancy meeting you here!" the bubbly blonde smiled at her.
"Do I know you?" Makoto arched an eyebrow. The girl did seem
somewhat familiar, but she could not place her finger on it.
"Minako. I remember you. You're the helper at the hospital
right?"
It took a minute to click, but Makoto finally remembered. "Oh
yeah, Minako! I remember now. How's that ankle?"
"It's doing great. Remember, call me Mina-chan. All my friends
do!" with that, the blonde turned and entered the store.
Makoto shook her head and continued her walk to the bus stop.
She remembered quite well now, the friendly blonde. She had been
like sunshine in the gloomy hospital.

"Hmph!" Makoto grumbled angrily. She had been standing outside
her apartment in the cold for close to half an hour. Shinozaki had
called an hour ago telling her he was coming over so they could go
to the train station together. "Typical guy. Always late."
Finally, coming over the horizon, taking his time with his hands
in his pocket was Shinozaki. He waved at her, obvious unaware of
her cross state.
"What took you so long?" Makoto asked when he got within
hearing range.
"Heh, sorry. I was halfway here when I forgot to bring the keys
to the cabin." he apologized. "Come on, we can make it if we
hurry. The train station isn't that far from here."
Makoto pulled her duffle bag from the floor and started for the
bus stop. Shinozaki offered to carry her bag, but Makoto refused.
"I can carry this by myself."
"Are you sure? Looks kinda heavy."
"Well it's not." she snapped.
Shinozaki backed off, "Hey sorry. Just trying to help. Come
on, I'll carry it for you. That way we can walk faster to the bus
stop. I don't think we'll make it at this rate."
Mako surrendered the bag to him and they started to walk at a
faster pace.
"Geeze, what did you pack in here?!" he asked, pulling the bag
up tighter.
"Just clothes and some emergency supplies." she replied.
"Gee, seems like you have enough stuff in here to last half a
year."
"Hmph," Makoto grumbled. First, this guy arrives late, and
then he teases her about what she puts into her bag?

After taking the bus to the train station and then getting onto
the right train, Makoto finally had a chance to relax. She stashed
her bag under her seat and leaned on her hand, looking out the
window at the trees zooming by.
"It'll be about an hour and a half before we get there."
Shinozaki told her. He sank down in his chair across from her and
closed his eyes.
After a few minutes, his steady breathing could be heard. She
shifted her eyes from the window to his sleeping form. Slumped like
that, he almost looked innocent. She unfolded one of the blankets
that was placed on her seat and covered him with it and proceeded to
stare out the window.
Shinozaki was lost in his own dreams again. His angel was
beckoning to him. She was telling him to hurry and join her. He
hurried off the train and into a field of starch white daisies. In
the middle of the field she stood with her arms out, her face raised
toward the sunlight. A soft smile played on her lips as she turned
around and around.
He was enthralled with her. He walked to her, captured like a
moth to the flame of a candle. As he got closer, the flowers
erupted in a burst of colors as butterflies flew all around him.
When they cleared, he saw her facing him. She held out her hand to
him, which he quickly took. He raised it up to his lips and kissed
her silky skin.
She took her hand from his, which made him frown. Seconds
later, her arms were around his neck and his were around her slender
waist. The two of them were dancing to music played by fairies
under the white shining moon. Fireflies sparkled around them. The
music softly faded away, but neither of them seemed to notice.
Her skin was so soft as he lifted her chin up so that he could
gaze into her bright emerald eyes. He still could not make out who
she was, but those eyes captured him. Slowly, inch by inch, their
faces crept closer to each other. He was mildly aware of her sweet
breath hitting his lips. He closed his eyes, surrendering himself
fully to her and waiting to feel her heavenly lips on his.

"Shinozaki-kun!" Makoto shook his arms.
"Nani?" He slowly opened his eyes to peer into a forest of
green. Makoto's face was hovering over his and she suddenly noticed
how close they were. She abruptly backed into her own chair.
"The train is slowing. I think this is the stop, ne?" Makoto
asked him. The sky was already dark and passengers were beginning
to get ready to get off.
"Hai, this is the stop." He got up and stretched.
She also stood up and stretched out the kinks in her neck and
shaking out her legs, which were asleep. All of a sudden, the train
came to a jolting stop and Makoto found herself thrown against
Shinozaki. He caught her, but lost his balance.
The two of them were in a heap on his chair. She scrambled to
get off his lap as the train went into motion again, but as soon as
she got up, it stopped again, throwing her on him.
Her faced flushed a bright red as she aplogized, "Gomen. My
legs are asleep."
He shrugged, "Maybe you should sit down until the train comes to
a complete stop?"
She gave a futile smile and cautiously got back to her seat and
waited for the train to completely stop. "Must have been some dream
you were having."
"Nani?" he frowned.
"You were smiling while you were sleeping." she told him.
"Was I? I don't remember." He lied. For a reason he could not
explain, he did not want to tell her about his angel that had been
haunting him for nights now.
When the train eventually came to a complete stop, the two got
off. The cold was so biting, it made Makoto breath in short quick
breaths. Small puffs of mist were escaping her mouth.
"It's c-c-colder than I expected here." she commented while she
dug in her duffle bag for a jacket. When her hands finally hit the
soft fabric, she quickly drew it out and threw it over herself,
happy for the warmth.
"Come on, this way." Shinozaki, who had already put his jacket
grabbed her arm and led her away from the large crowd also getting
off the train.
"Where are we going?" Makoto asked, stuffing her hands into the
soft fleece pocket of her jacket.
"We have a snow mobile in the garage here somewhere." he dug
his hands into his pocket, trying to find the right key. He drew
out a pair of fleece gloves and handed it to her. "Here, it'll keep
your fingers from snapping off."
"What about you?" she asked as she slipped the gloves on.
"I'll be alright. Besides, that pair is too small for me. They
used to be mine when I was smaller." He finally drew the right key.
They were now standing in front of a large storage building
which looked big enough to fit at least thirty cars. He opened one
of the many doors with the key and turned on the light, revealing a
dusty little garage with cobwebs on every corner. Surprisingly, the
snow mobile looked cleaner than the rest of the garage.
"Not bad," Shinozaki remarked, running a hand along the seats.
It wasn't as dusty as he had expected. He took Mako's bag, put it
into the rear compartment and secured it with some ropes. Makoto
stood clear as he dragged the small vehicle out onto the snow and
lock the door.
"You sure this little thing can carry the two of us?" she asked
increduously.
"Don't you worry. This baby has enough power to pull a frieght
train halfway around the world." He got on and patted the seat in
back of him.
Reluctantly, Makoto got on behind him and put her legs up. She
mouthed a silent prayer.
"Hold on tight," he reminded her and started the engine.
Seeing there was nothing else to hold on to, she slipped her
arms around him tightly.
"Oh wait, almost forgot." He got off and went back into the
garage and came out with two helmets. "Here you go, this one should
fit."
The two of them slipped on their helmets and got back on.
"Alright back there?" he asked.
"Yeah, fine." she mumbled through the helmet. She again
slipped her arms around him and took in a deep breath. "Ready any
time you are."
He smiled under his helmet and let the snow mobile go. It
lurched hungrily into the snow and pretty soon, they were quickly on
their way up to the cabin. Makoto wrapped her arms around his waist
tightly as the speed increased. He could faintly feel the beating
of her heart beneath the layers of clothing separating the two.

"Here we are," he came to a halting stop which made Makoto's
body press into him. She slowly untangled her arms from him and
stood up, stretching her cramping legs. Before them stood a cabin
with its roof covered in a thick blanket of snow. Shinozaki hoisted
up both their bags and led the way up the barely visible steps
covered with snow.
"Are you going to leave this here?" Makoto indicated the
snow-mobile parked at the bottom of the steps.
"I'll put it in the garage later. C'mon, let's go get the house
warmed first. You have no idea how cold it gets at night here." He
paused to dig for his keys again.
The frontdoor opened with ease and Makoto found herself in a
small room. There, they dusted the snow off their coats and placed
their helmets on a rack. Shinozaki put her bag down and removed
his heavy boots as Makoto followed the same. As soon as she planted
her feet on the cold tile ground, she shivered.
Shinozaki handed her a pair of cotton slippers to wear. "This
is just the coat room. You can leave your jacket here if you don't
want to drip all over the carpet inside."
With a separate key, he opened another door and turned on the
inside that room. Makoto stepped into that next room, gratefully
for the soft plush carpet under her feet. A smell of spring
potpourri permeated the room. Shinozaki immediately headed for the
thermostat and turned it up.
"Feel free to look around while I go park the snow-mobile in the
garage." And with that, he left her alone in the house.
Makoto took a tour of the cabin and saw that it was not as small
as she thought. The room she first entered looked like a den, with
a fireplace and wall full of books. She exited that room into
another room that was a cross between a bar and a kitchen. The
stove and refrigerator was against one wall, while a bar-table and
several stools were pushed against another one. Makoto walked into
the den and went through another door, which led to the living room
where a large big-screen television stood along with
state-of-the-art speakers. Facing television was a sofa and a
love-seat of a rich muave color. Behind the sofa was a large
panoramic window. When she tried to look out it, she only found
darkness.
"Strange," she said to herself. Why would a window be there?
she thought. The way the house was laid out, the window would be
overloo