Michiru paced around the living room of her seaside home for the fifteenth time. The two of them should have been back by now; already at half past noon. The Royal Anniversary had begun as an infamous Tenoh pub crawl of Tokyo had now turned into what the water soldier was considering a hostage situation at best. An interstellar political fiasco in the worst case, she thought. Hotaru looked at her adoptive mother with concern from her position on the sofa. Kakyuu and Usagi occupied the other two positions with the Senshi of Death. Seiya was currently in the hall bath tending to the still sick and hung over Yaten. Taiki was among the missing. Mamoru stood by the archway to the kitchen, coffee still in hand. From the last point Michiru had been conscious, she had heard Setsuna saying something to Haruka about her car and a briefcase. Haruka cackling madly was the last thing she remembered before waking up to the hangover of a generation. Shortly before the Senshi of Water made her seventeenth lap around the room the doorbell broke the awkward silence that had descended upon those gathered. Michiru looked into the peephole; "It's Taiki-kun!" She exclaimed and threw the door open.
The pop star had seen better days. He was covered in dust from the road and his suit was wrinkled and stained. He was missing his shoes and his glasses only had one lens. Michiru could sense the salt water permeating his clothes. "How?" Michiru started, but the starlight entered and cut her off. "The last I was with them, they were in Osaka harbor. Before Tenoh-san ran the car off of the docks." Michiru froze; an audible gasp went out from the collected group. Hotaru looked as if her entire world had been destroyed. "They weren't in it; I was," He added quickly, trying to control the damage from their misunderstanding. "They forgot I was passed out in the back, and the top was down. It was more to throw off the Yakuza after us, than anything else."
"Yakuza! How is this any better?!"Michiru snapped. She'd had a hard enough time keeping Kakyuu and Usagi on speaking terms based on the actions of their two Senshi. Seiya walked out of the bathroom at that time, looking only slightly less haggard than Taiki. "How'd you escape?" He asked, crossing the living room to sit at Kakyuu's feet. "She's stopped retching, but I'd wager that she'll still feel horrible today." He said, resting his head against her knees. "As I said, I was asleep in the back seat, until the car impacted with the bay water. While those two ran towards the dry docks, I swam back to the harbor and returned here. Not many believe that you're famous when you're covered in bay grunge." Taiki replied. Kakyuu placed her hand in his hair, her slender digits tangling themselves in the black mass with ease. "Maker; I believe that you should explain what happened in the interim from when they left with you in tow. This doesn't make any sense without that part of the story." Kakyuu said calmly. She wasn't as concerned now that Maker had returned, though she was still concerned with the missing Time Guardian and her friend's lieutenant. Usagi nodded, as the Star Light sighed.
"It began shortly after Ami-san had referenced some American author. Haruka-san had foisted a few more Kamikazes on the poor girl…" He began, but Usagi had cut her off in this instance. "I don't remember Ami-chan going with us." She said, her eyebrows rising. "And when did she start tanking Kamikazes?" She asked in earnest.
"You were pretty far gone by the time she got there, Usako." Mamoru said, taking another long drink from his mug of coffee. He motioned for Taiki to continue. "I remember her and Mako-chan arriving shortly after ten, and we had already been to Karaoke." He said.
"Right. And it was after Ami-san and Haruka-san talked, that Setsuna said she had a briefcase. So all they needed was Haruka's car to sneak off to the casino in Osaka." Taiki said. Michiru looked at him quizzically, a terrifying notion brewing in her mind. "What book was it, Taiki-kun?" Michiru asked, taking the offered cup of coffee that Mamoru had poured her.
"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, I believe. Why?" Taiki asked, intrigued by this bit of earth culture. While he was well read in the classics and core literatures of Japan and other works from the Silver Millennium that Kinmoku had preserved, the current century of Earth's culture had evaded him somewhat. There was just so much to absorb.
"Shimatta! That explains a lot." Michiru spat. Hotaru blanched at her mother's language, taken back by the level of worry and stress that she was enduring to make her turn crass. "Did you notice anything odd in the car? Packages that Haruka wouldn't tell you where she got?" she asked, sitting down beside Hotaru on the sofa arm. She had her face buried in her palms, mainly to hide the hurt and fury in her eyes. She didn't want to let anyone other than her wife and her housemate see the tempest brewing in her mind.
"That was the briefcase that Setsuna-san mentioned." Taiki replied. "You might want to let me report this in whole first, otherwise; they'll be back before I get done." He finished flatly. If everyone but the minor weren't suffering, the tones being taken would give cause enough for offence. Hotaru silently resolved to stay sober until Crystal Tokyo if this is what her Haruka-papa did after excessive partying.
"Very well. We were at the Drunk Fountain, right?" Michiru resigned, regaining her composure. If Haruka was still alive, she would answer for this. The Water Senshi was more afraid of her Princess' reaction. And whether or not Kakyuu would take offence.
"It was the Drunk Factory, actually." Taiki corrected. "Close, though. We had been at the Fortune Fountains karaoke before that. It was about that time…."