Michiru sat in her car in front of her daughter's elementary school, waiting for the girl to be dismissed for the day. As she looked around, she finally caught sight of her little girl exiting the building but something didn't seem right. As usual, she got out of the car and started walking toward the child. When she could fully see her daughter's face, she realized with some horror that the girl was crying. Bending on one knee, she spoke softly. "Ki-chan, what's wrong?"

Kiseki didn't answer, just jumped into her mother's arms. "I want to go home," she said, the sounds muffled by her mother's hair.

Michiru, confused beyond belief, lifted her daughter as she stood. Deciding not to press the issue, she carried Kiseki back to the car and put her in the backseat. As she moved to the driver's side door, she tried to think of what could have possibly made her child so upset. She drove them back in silence except for the occasional sob from the backseat as Kiseki calmed down and stopped crying. Once they returned home, Michiru opened the door for her daughter who bolted inside.

After flinging the front door open, Kiseki ran inside and straight to her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Michiru pulled Kiseki's school bag out of the backseat and closed the car door. Going into the house, she still couldn't fathom what would have made her daughter cry. She knew that Kiseki loved to go to school, loved seeing all of her friends. The artist just couldn't piece together what could have happened. As she stood in the living room debating whether or not to go upstairs, the phone rang. She wasn't going to answer it until she looked at the I.D. and found Haruka's cell phone number flashing on the tiny screen. "Hey," she said after picking up the receiver.

Haruka stood next to her race car as she talked with her wife. "Hey yourself," she said with a chuckle. "Do my girls have any plans tonight?" The blonde could hear the smile when her wife spoke.

"No," Michiru started, "but something's bothering Kiseki. She was crying when I picked her up from school today." She sat down on the couch and picked up the television remote.

The racer leaned on her car as she listened to her wife. "I take it she didn't tell you what happened." She waved to a few of her teammates who were heading home for a much-deserved vacation after 3 straight months of races.

Michiru shook her head though she knew no one could see her. "No. She just said that she wanted to go home." She looked up from the remote and to the stairs when she noticed a small movement.

Kiseki stood at the top of the staircase and stared down at her mother, teddy bear in one hand and her blanket in the other.

Michiru looked at her daughter sympathetically, almost forgetting that she was on the phone. "Ruka, when are you coming home?" She waved for Kiseki to come to her and watched as the child descended the stairs slowly, obviously still upset as she kept her head low.

Haruka began to walk toward the locker rooms to change into her street clothes. "I'm leaving in about 15 minutes, so I'll probably be home in about an hour."

"Ok," the artist said as she lifted her daughter onto the couch. "We'll be here waiting for you. Be careful. Bye" She placed the receiver back down and turned to the small blonde sitting next to her. "Hey," she said soothingly.

Kiseki glanced up at her mother for just a moment then shot her eyes back to the floor. She wrapped herself in her blanket and hugged Kuma, her teddy bear, as she leaned into her mother. "When does daddy come home?" she asked quietly.

Michiru gently ran her hand over Kiseki's hair. "She'll be back in a little while." She took a deep breath to clear her mind. "Do you want to talk about what happened at school?" She felt the child shake her head ferociously against her side. "Ok, ok. It's ok, Ki-chan." She decided that it would be better to wait until her wife got home; Haruka could get Kiseki to talk about anything.

Less than an hour later, Haruka finally pulled into the very long driveway of her home. Moving slowly, she left the car and went up to the front door where she stopped and peeked into the front window. She could see her wife and child sitting on the couch, watching television. She smiled before pulling her house key from her pocket and entering the mansion.

When Kiseki heard the front door lock click open, she jumped from the couch and ran the short distance around the couch and immediately attached herself to her father's leg.

Haruka chuckled as she looked down at her daughter. "Hey, kid." She bent down and picked the girl up then turned to close the door.

Michiru stood up and went over to her family. "Welcome home, Ruka," she said as she leant forward to kiss the blonde.

The racer smiled after the kiss ended and took her wife's hand. "I'm glad that tour is over. I missed you two and the guys were starting to drive me insane." She squeezed Michiru's hand for a second before letting go. Carrying Kiseki over to the couch, she sat down and hugged her little girl. "Ki-chan," she whispered. After the smaller blonde looked at her, she continued. "Did something happen at school today?" The girl nodded sadly. "You want to tell me about it?" She gained no response, only a small sigh. "Ki-chan?"

Michiru sat down on the table across from the couch and listened as her wife and child started to discuss the day's earlier incident.

Tears started to well up in Kiseki's eyes again as she started to explain. "Yuikazi said I don't have a real family because you're a girl and that I don't have a daddy," she said to her father. "He said that I'm not real because you're a girl."

Kiseki's parents were shocked beyond belief that a five-year-old would say such horrible things about another person. Michiru stood up and immediately grabbed the cordless phone from its cradle. Knowing that her little girl would be listening, she went outside to the back porch and dialed the number to Kiseki's school. "Hello. This is Tenoh, Michiru. I would like to speak with the principal please. It's urgent."

Back inside, Haruka couldn't believe what she had just been told but she knew that her daughter wouldn't lie to her. Seeing the tears start to fall down Kiseki's face broke her heart and she pulled the child close to her, hugging her tightly. "I would like to know why nothing was done!" she heard Michiru scream from outside. She covered Kiseki's ear, the other was pressed against her chest, to prevent her from hearing the harsh conversation.

Kiseki clutched at her father's shirt as she did so often since she was born. She sniffled and a small sob escaped her.

Haruka hated knowing that her daughter was crying, especially over something another child had said, but she knew that she couldn't even begin to imagine how the girl must have felt the moment it had been voiced. "Hey," she said quietly. "Kiseki, look at me." When the girl leaned back and looked at her, her heart broke for the second time that day. She reached up at wiped the tears from her little girl's face. "Do you know why he said that?"

Kiseki turned her head down and closed her eyes before giving another sniff. "He makes fun of me a lot and I told him to leave me alone. Then I called him dumb because he made up a word."

Haruka wanted to chuckle but didn't. "So he said that you don't have a family because you called him dumb?"

"No," Kiseki said. "He said I don't have a family because you're a girl!"

Haruka closed her eyes and fought the urge to smile. Kiseki obviously didn't understand and the racer found it slightly amusing. "You shouldn't listen to him, baby. He's just jealous."

Kiseki looked at her father through bloodshot eyes, clearly confused. "What's 'jealous'?" She reached up and rubbed her eyes, her body shaking slightly from her sobs.

The older blonde sighed internally and thought of the best way to explain. "Jealous means that you have something someone else doesn't have and they want it, too."

Kiseki's confusion grew rapidly. "But Yuikazi has a family. He has a mommy and a daddy and a sister and a puppy and,"

"That's not what I mean, Ki-chan," Haruka said. "You'll understand soon. Just don't listen to him." She took her child's hands and squeezed them lightly. "Nothing he says is true. He's just trying to make you feel bad.

A few minutes later, Michiru came back inside and set the phone back on the charger. Looking directly at her daughter, she feigned a smile. "Kiseki, can you go up to your room for a minute? Daddy and I have to talk."

Kiseki frowned again before speaking. "Am I in trouble?"

The artist shook her head. "No, baby, you're not in trouble." She watched as the five-year-old climbed off her father's lap and slowly went to her bedroom.

When the girl was out of earshot, Haruka broke the short silence that had been created. "What did the principal say?"

Michiru closed her eyes as she sat back down on the table. "Nobody told him about what happened. He said that if he had heard what happened, he would have called us and Yuikazi's parents. He wants all of us to come in sometime tomorrow and have a 'conference'."

Haruka could tell that her wife was truly pissed off about the situation. It wasn't that she wasn't mad about it herself; she could never have shown her true anger in front of her child. "Then that's what we'll do. What time?"

Michiru shrugged. "I told him I'd call him back after I talked to you about it." She brought her hands up to the sides of her head as she rubbed her temples, trying to fight the headache that was building up. "I just don't understand why she won't talk to me about anything."

Haruka immediately reached out and softly rubbed her wife's arms. "Hey. Don't think about that. You know she loves you and it's not like she just came out and told me either."

"I know," Michiru started. "But at least you got her to talk about it. Maybe I'm just a bad mother." She turned her gaze down to the floor

Haruka looked at her skeptically. "You are not a bad mother. You're just a pushover."

Michiru looked up at her wife and was forced to smile at the goofy smirk that was on the racer's face. "I am not a pushover and we are not going into this conversation right now."

Haruka chuckled. "You're right. Well, you can go ahead and decide when we go in because I don't really care. I just want to make sure this doesn't happen again."

Michiru nodded. "Do you think we should let her stay home from school tomorrow?"

Haruka thought about the question for a moment then shrugged. "She probably won't want to go anyway." She thought for a few more minutes before making her suggestions. "Maybe we can get Setsuna baby-sit for the day. She hasn't seen Ki-chan in a while and Hotaru probably misses her, too."

Michiru nodded again. "That sounds like a good idea, actually. I'll call the school back and find out what time we need to be there," she said as she stood up. Just as she went to reach for the phone, Haruka grabbed her hand and made her turn to face her. Before she could say anything, Haruka was kissing her deeply.

The racer ended the kiss before it got too heated a few minutes later. "Missed you," was all she said before she walked away and headed upstairs. Moving quietly and slowly down the hallway, she peeked into her daughter's room to find the girl sitting on the floor with her coloring book, a pack of crayons, and a pack of colored pencils. She smiled before deciding to go into the room. "What are you up to, kiddo?"

Kiseki looked from her book but quickly turned back to it. "Nothing," she whispered. A few seconds later, she slowly turned back to her father. "I love you, daddy."

Haruka's heart skipped a beat at the words and she smiled. Moving slowly, she moved to where her daughter was and sat down next to her, pulling her into a tight hug, "I love you, too, Ki-chan." She let out a long breath as she held her child, not noticing Michiru standing in the doorway.

Michiru watched the exchange and smiled slightly, her previous headache receding. She didn't want to say anything to ruin the moment.

After a few moments of silence and emotions, Haruka finally let her daughter go. Before standing up, she placed a light kiss on the top of Kiseki's head. When she turned around and finally noticed her wife, she smiled slightly and closed her eyes.

Michiru waited to speak until after the racer had closed their child's bedroom door. "Are you ok?"

Haruka nodded. "I'm not going to let that bastard make me feel bad." She nearly jumped out of her skin when the artist replied.

"Tenoh, Haruka!" Michiru screamed. She lowered her voice quickly, realizing that she was still standing in front of their daughter's bedroom. "Don't say something like that about a little kid!"

Haruka chuckled lightly, much to Michiru's disapproval. "I didn't mean Yuikazi. I meant his father. I know Yuikazi would never have even known I was a female unless his father had told him." She turned to go down the hall but turned back around when Michiru stopped her.

The aqua-haired girl sighed and looked at the blonde pleadingly. "Please just tell me you won't kill him tomorrow at the conference. Kiseki already has to deal with this situation. Let's not add, 'her father went to jail,' to the list."

Haruka didn't say anything nor did she show any emotion. "I promise I won't hurt him." She turned back to their bedroom. "Too much," she muttered.

Michiru followed Haruka into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. "Ruka, come here." When the blonde sat next her a few seconds later, she felt a bit relieved. Laying her head on the racer's shoulder and taking her hand, she lowered her voice yet again. "She was miserable while you were gone. There wasn't a single day that she forgot to ask when you were coming home."

Haruka smiled and laughed. "That's ok. There wasn't a single second of every hour that I didn't miss you two." She laughed with her wife for a moment before lying back on the bed, pulling the artist down with her.

Michiru adjusted her position, lying fully on top of Haruka. Moving her head down slightly, she kissed the blonde and smiled.

"Now, now, Michi," the racer whispered. "Our daughter is home, you know?" She laughed fully then hugged her wife close.

Michiru shook her head against Haruka's chest. "You're such a goof." After a few more moments of laughter, they both calmed down and just enjoyed being in each other's arms.

Without warning, the pair was pounced on by a small weight. Kiseki had finished the page she had been coloring and wanted to give it to her father. When she entered her parents' bedroom and found them laughing, she took the initiative to join in on the fun, dropping the newly-colored picture at the door. Climbing up next to her parents, she lied down and looked at her father. "Hi, daddy."

Haruka looked over at the child and smiled again. "Hi, baby." She reached over and ruffled the child's hair before lightly pushing her head down.

Kiseki giggled as she batted at her father's hand. "Stop it, daddy." A minute later, she jumped back down to the floor and retrieved her picture. Bringing it back to the bed, she placed it down where she had been previously laying.

Michiru rolled over next to her wife and sat up, looking over at the piece of paper. "What's that, Ki-chan?"

Kiseki gave a million watt smile that rivaled her mother's. "It's daddy's picture." She pushed the paper closer to her dad and jumped around like a kangaroo. "Look, daddy!"

Haruka rolled onto her side and positioned herself on her elbow to look at her daughter's gift. She picked up the paper and studied it, loving how the colors clashed so childishly. She studied the picture; three penguins, two large ones and one small, standing close together. One of the large ones was colored gold, the other aquamarine, and the small was colored a bright red. The background, a patch of icebergs, was a wash of different colors. One iceberg was green, one was blue, and one was brown. Haruka noted Kiseki's "signature" done in black crayon at the bottom and had to laugh. "Thank you, Ki-chan."

Kiseki smiled and turned back to the hallway. "I go make another one." She ran off back to her room where she flung herself onto the floor and began to flip through the pages of her coloring book.

Michiru chuckled as she watched the girl run off. Shaking her head, but still smiling, she turned back to Haruka. "What do you want to do about dinner?"

Haruka glanced at her wife and shrugged. "I say we go out. That's why I called before I came home anyway." She stood up and stretched, feeling her back crack a bit as she did. "That feels better," she thought.

Michiru smiled again as she stood as well. She moved out of the room and to her daughter's, telling her to get ready to leave.

After fifteen minutes, all three were in one vehicle and on their way to the restaurant. Choosing to go where Kiseki wanted, they ended up getting Chinese food. Spending almost an hour and a half at the restaurant, they finally left to return home. Upon entering the house, Michiru took Kiseki to the basement for her music lesson. Haruka laid out on the couch and enjoyed finally being able to just lie around her home with her family close by.