Hotaru squealed with laughter as Haruka caught her from behind, whirling her around before letting her go.
"I don't know what you have fed her today but she's an energy ball!" Setsuna chuckled as the child bumped into her, prompting her to grab her into a gentle hold and tickle her.
"Well I did give her hot chocolate this morning before breakfast because she was feeling down." Haruka stated, earning a chuckle from Setsuna.
"Turning her into a chocoholic like yourself are you?" Setsuna laughed, letting go of the girl who easily tagged Haruka.
"You little!" Haruka exclaimed, taking a mock step toward her though she didn't move to run after her.
"I'm jsut glad that she is having fun. She was a bit down this morning about you always being gone and kept having nightmares about the fire." Haruka whispered to Setsuna before taking off in a full sprint after the little girl.
Setsuna sighed as she obsorbed this information before she took went after the girl, wanting to show Hotaru that her insecurities weren't correct.
Hotaru's footing slipped on one turn, causing her to tumble right into Haruka and knocked them both to the ground.
"Oof! Jeez, you're heavy for a little squirt." Haruka chuckled, laying on the grass a bit dazed while Hotaru moved too get up.
"Sorry Ruka-San." she stated, earning a quizzical look.
"Ruka?" Haruka chuckled, sitting up "You spent too long with Michiru."
"Are you alright?" Setsuna asked, earning a nod from the little girl who looked more embarrassed than hurt.
"Hey, that is typical when a lot of people run at once. I played Soccer in highschool as well as being on the track team, this is not the first time I've gotten slid into." Haruka laughed, poking her in the ribs to make her laugh.
Setsuna chuckled as she watched Hotaru squirm away from Haruka.
"You worry too much about Haruka, she's built like a tank." Setsuna stated before adding "why don't we go get an ice cream since we already had lunch?"
Setsuna noticed how the girl seemed to act like a regular child in that moment, not like a child that had been terrified that morning.
"Setsuna-San? Can I go play on the playground?" Hotaru asked after finishing her ice cream.
"Sure, just be careful." Setsuna answered.
"I think that I'll let her come to the funeral home with me, I mean...She deserves to have at least a little say in what her parent's funerals are like. I think it may help her feel a bit more in control of the situation, besides she seemed to understand what we were saying last night." Setsuna stated, noticing the look that haruka was giving her and sighed.
"I'm not going to force her if that's what you're thinking, I'm going to ask if she wants to help me." she clarified, earning a sigh from Haruka.
"You were worried that you couldn't handle her during this since you were just as upset but you're doing well. I think she enjoyed whatever it was you told her about stars or whatever you two were talking about back at your work." Haruka stated, earning a chuckle.
"She was in awe at everything." setsuna stated, sighing before adding "She's so much like her mother was as a child."
Haruka sighed and nodded "Hotaru is almost the exact replica of Keiko. Except she isn't quite as outgoing, though I doubt that she's very shy either since she hugged me the first day she met me."
They watched the young girl try to do the monkey bars, only to almost fall, though a girl who was only slightly older caught her before she could.
"Looks like she has made a friend." Setsuna chuckled.
"Good, she needs friends her own age during all of this."
"Be careful! I don't want to exsplain to the doctors how you broke an arm!" Setsuna called as she watched Hotaru attempt it again.
"You're taller than even me, go help her on it." Haruka chuckled, earning a snort.
"And knock my head off on one of the bars? Haruka, honestly. I'm almost as tall as that thing!" Setsuna retorted.
Haruka sighed and retorted "you're just lazy." before heading over to where the two kids were.
"Miss lazy over there made me come over here to make sure you didn't fall. She would've did it herself but evidently she was afraid to hit her head on the thing or something." Haruka retorted, earning laughture from both the kids.
"I wouldn't have let her fall, sir." The girl stated, earning a laugh from Haruka.
"Not that it matters but I'm a girl." Haruka corrected nonchalantly before she glanced down at Hotaru.
"Want to try them with help? I promise just to hold unto you in case you go to fall."
Haruka stated, earning a nod from the little girl.
Setsuna watched from a distance, sighing a bit as the watched the three play.
Sighing she closed her eyes and wondered if she was even capable of raising a kid.
However suddenly she felt a hand touch her's causing her to look up, only to see hotaru standing in front of her, a concerned look on her face.
"Are you okay Setsuna-San?" she asked.
"Yes, Hotaru. I'm fine, just a bit tired I guess." Setsuna answered with a light grin just as Haruka came over to her holding out a bottle of soda.
"Here, you look like you need it. Maybe we should head home so you can take a nap?" the blonde suggested as Hotaru nodded.
"You look really tired." she agreed, earning a sigh.
"Alright, let's head back."