Disclaimer: You know the disclaimer, people, don't make me repeat it.

Kindergarten Version 2.0

Michiru smiled childlishly as she placed her paints in the backpack. She was sure not to forget them again, just like last week. Finally reacomodating them over the blanket, at the side of her coloring books, she yawned. Her mother, Kumori, smiled and took her by the armpits. "Sleepy?" She asked as she carried her to her room. Michiru nodded sleepily, her eyelids half closed, and fell asleep even before touching the bed.

******

Tenou Masaouichi noticed that while he read a story to his daughter, Haruka, she had fallen sound asleep. He smiled warmly.

She looked so much like her mother; maybe that was the reason for which he treasured her so much. So strong, yet so small and fragile. Such a marvelous little package, Yuki had often said before passing away. She had loved Haruka more then anything in the whole wide world. His strong, marked features softened when he brought up memories: a particular one jumped to his sight.

The most beautiful, wonderful memento a loving father could think about: he remembered the first time, at the hospital, that Yuki had breastfeed Haruka. He remembered Yuki laughing at him when the doctor told them it was a girl: he had paled. Now, he could only cherish those moments and guard his daughter as he thought his wife would have.

"Where are you, Yuki?" He whispered, as he ruffled Haruka's pale blonde locks.

******

"Michi!" Haruka jumped in her seat. "Look, papa, there's Michi!"

Masaouichi pulled over and parked the car. Where Haruka was pointing, stood a small aqua haired girl dressed in a cute little dress, talking to her mom and clutching her backpack. "So she's Michiru?"

"Yes, papa, she is, she is!" She made a mad grab at his shirt, pulling him away from the car, while he desperately tried to close the lock. "Come on, papa!"

"Wait, youkai-chan!" He joked, grabbing her from the waist and pulling her easily up. She struggled, giggling, as he closed up the car's locks and tousled her hair.

"Papa! Papa... don't do that!" She started tousling his hair as well. They arrived at the point in which the Kaiou girls looked at them, messy haired and still smiling.

"Ohayo, Tenou-san." Kumori politely bowed. "Michiru has told me much about your daughter."

"Ohayo, Kaiou-san. Indeed, Haruka hasn't stopped talking about Michiru since they met each other last week. She insisted me to talk to you, before you took her home." He started combing his hair with his hand. "Sorry about being so unpresentable."

"I do know what does it feels when you've got a daughter, Tenou-san..." She said sitting down. "... I know what's to be unpresentable." She turned to her daughter. "Michi? Everything ready?"

"Yes!" She said enthusiasticly, taking Haruka's hand in her own and jumping.

"Okay then..." Masaouichi kissed Haruka's cheek farewell and he told her to be good at the Kaiou household. "Off you go."

Haruka nodded happily and ran, hand in hand with Michiru, to the Kindergarten gates. Masaouichi and Kumori stood there, waiting to see them slip out of view. "I *do* beg you to phone me if something happens at your house... My daughter's quite the *unpredictable* little girl..."

Kumori nodded at him, smiling. "I believe we will meet many times more, Tenou-san..."

******

"So I was watching it and papa came and turned it off." Haruka told Michiru, as they sat in the circular table in their classroom. "I wanted to see it." She complained. "But papa said it was not meant for children."

"Papa and mama have done that many times." Michiru nodded at her friend. "They don't let me see news or things like that."

"It's not fair." Haruka pouted, making her friend smile. "I wanna be a grown-up. Then papa won't turn off the TV and I will see whatever I want, and stay up all night, and invite you to stay at home, and have my own toys and cars."

Michiru giggled. "But you'll have to work."

"No, I will race. I will race a Ferrari just like my dad's." She smiled, opening her pack to take her lunch out. "And you?"

"I want to paint, like daddy. And mommy's teaching me how to play violin so I want to do it too." She took her lunch out, and her face contorted, forcing Haruka to laugh loudly. "Ugh, daddy cooked."

"Trade you. Papa cooks well." She gave her lunch to Michiru and started eating. Her face turned blue. "Ugh. Your papa cooked."

"You noticed?" Michiru asked, laughing and eating Haruka's lunch.

******

"So now, we're going to fingerpaint!" The teacher said, receiving a massive 'yay' from the students. "Please get out your paint out and I will give you a piece of paper. You can draw whatever you want."

"I'm going to draw a dolphin!" Michiru said, taking out her paints. "Look! I've got gray, and blue and green. What do you have?"

"Yellow and gray and green. Oh, and clear blue."

"You'll mean light blue."

"Sky blue."

"Sea blue."

"Sky blue!"

"Sea blue!"

Haruka sighed in defeat. "Blue, okay?" Michiru giggled and nodded.

"What are you going to draw, anyway?"

"The car I'm going to have when I'm a grown up."

Michiru giggled harder. "You have got something with cars, don't you?" Haruka just nodded and started painting.

The class had been painting for about twenty minutes when Michiru leaned on Haruka and noticed something. "Ruka, your painting has got dirt on it."

Haruka panicked momentarily. "Where?!"

"There."

"I don't see it."

"It's there, just by the car's window."

"I still can't find it."

Michiru lost her patience and put her finger over it. "There!"

"Michiru!" Haruka panicked again, harder. "You've got paint on your fingers! You painted on my car!"

Michiru's gaze fell down, ashamed. "Sorry." Haruka felt sorry for making her friend feel so bad just for a picture.

"It doesn't matter. I will paint another and you can paint all that you want over it." Michiru's eyes rose to stare at her and she smiled, trying to ask for forgiveness.

"Thank you."

"Don't be sorry." Haruka gazed at her closer. "You've got something on your nose." She put her finger over Michiru's nose, painting it blue.

"Hey!" Michiru laughed and she painted Haruka's cheek green. Haruka seized a classmate's red pain and passed her hand over Michiru's cheek, while Michiru put a touch of yellow to Haruka's chin.

The War of the Fingerpainting had started.

******

"Oh my..." Kumori looked at them, her eyebrow twitching. "I think you both need a bath."

"No, mommy, no bath." Michiru complained. "Daddy told you and me he'd order pizza as soon as he arrived and we're gonna miss it if you make us take a bath..." Her mother looked at her with stranged eyes. Michiru just knew what to do. "Pwease?"

Half an hour later, both children were being dragged into the furo. Michiru fumed, and Haruka laughed at her friend's faces of disgust.

"So your papa is going to order pizza?" Haruka asked while cleaning her face. "We never order it at home. My papa's wife says it isn't good for our health, but whenever she's out, papa orders it and we get to eat it all by ourselves!"

"Daddy just orders pizza in very special ocasions. He's told me that you being over to sleep is very special, and that's why he ordered it." Michiru smiled deviously. "Here!" She pushed water at Haruka, who for a minute coughed in confusion.

"Hey, that's not fair! You take it!" She pushed water at Michiru, who started laughing madly. The water wave war kept on until Michiru's mother entered the bathroom to find it's floor soaked, and both children smiling innocently.

"It was Milo, a sock-elf."

******

Michiru jumped into her pajamas while Haruka put her sleeping pants and shirt on. Michiru yawned.

"Was that pizza delicious or what?" Haruka asked.

"Yes, but I must ask daddy not to order sardines again." Michiru stuck her tongue out on the side of her mouth, in repulsion.

"Ne, sardines was okay." Haruka said, checking on her bag. She took Mr. Snuggles out of the bag. "Mr. Snuggles will eat the sardines you leave aside." She said, embracing the bear. "He likes them."

"How do you know?" Michiru said, jumping into her bed and patting the place next to hers. Haruka jumped into it.

"He's a bear. Bears like eating fish. I saw it on TV." She leaned into the cushion. "Besides, Mr. Snuggles likes you very much and will do anything I ask him to do for you."

"I don't need him to do that for me." She put her hand behind her cushion and retrieved an octopus. "I've got Owen."

"So he's Owen!" Haruka smiled. "You never told me he was an octopus."

"You never asked." Michiru yawned. Haruka smiled, and turned off the lights. She saw Michiru's face lightened by the light of the moon, flowing from the window. As she saw Michiru slowly fall asleep, she wondered what would happen to them in the future. Sleep slowly took over her and she fell asleep, clutching Mr. Snuggles hard to her chest.

******

Thirteen years later, Michiru slept. Calm. Nude; in the hot nights of Tokyo's summer, she'd rather be comfortable than modest. And besides, what's wrong on being naked when it's a heated night and you've got your lover sleeping by your side?

Haruka, on the other hand, was widely awake. Nude too. She watched her prey from a safe distance. A small, very small tentacle crept up Michiru's thigh, hips, torso, breasts, and neck. Haruka's mouth followed closely, placing butterfly kisses in the places marked by the small octopus. Michiru slowly opened her eyes, writhing delightedly.

Haruka's eyes met with Michiru's, and she placed a kiss on her lover's lips. At the same time she placed Owen over Michiru's head. Michiru giggled. She took Mr. Snuggles from his resting place and Owen from her head, put them by their side and gave Haruka her kiss back. Owen and Mr. Snuggles watched.

End.

Author's Ranting:

Erm... no comments?

Again, this goes dedicated to Ari-chan, who created Owen a little too late to conjoin him into Kindergarten's Version 1.0, but what the heck, Kindergarten Version 2.0 was made for him to debut. Thought, I don't know what am I gonna do if she keeps on making stuffed animals.

I dedicate this too to my friend Dionne-chan, who forced me to dedicate it, but I love her nonetheless. Keep on writing, Dionne-chan!

The Milo-the-sock-elf pun was randomness by my part, made for Ari-chan to enjoy. You'll find it's reason in the ending of her fic "Owen".

Haruka.