Author's Note: As promised~

Chapter 10:

Reliable Miyuki

Shizuma snickered a bit as she handed the cell phone back to her father.

"Sometimes you're so childish Shizuma!" Mr. Hanazono complained as he snatched his phone back from her.

"Don't worry. It's fine, it's fine! Miyuki just called to see how everyone was doing. Nothing I couldn't handle."

Nagisa was amazed to see how at ease Shizuma was around her father, considering how much he had such an imposing presence. Seeing Shizuma so enthusiastic, it was something Nagisa yearned to see again after the Etoile elections and Shizuma's graduation.

Shino laughed, "Thankfully we're relying on Miyuki here and not Shizuma. We may have died of starvation before she even realized we were all gone."

"That's not true!" Shizuma squawked. " For my dear Nagisa-chan, I'd have come down here myself, swam across the lake, grabbed her up and carried her the whole way home." Then with a smirk, she added, "You two on the other hand, are grown men. You should be able to handle yourselves."

"You hear that Shino? My daughter, your twin, would have left us both for dead." Mr. Hanazono mused.

"I'm sure she was only joking. Right Shizuma?"

Shizuma averted her eyes, and thought for a second. "I was only kidding."

"You don't even sound like you're trying to convince anyone." Shino deadpanned.

"Shhh! You'll wake up the two new lovers over there." Shizuma chuckled pointing towards Tristan who was sleeping, in a rather uncomfortable looking position, leaning against the wheel of his newfound metal lover 'Bella'. "They make a good couple!"

Nagisa giggled in Shizuma's lap. Tristan had dozed off within the first fifteen minutes of being in the cave. Thanks to that adrenaline rush he had earlier, Tristan was completely drained. And nobody argued that the man deserved a good rest after all he had been through that day.

"My, my Nagisa…" Shizuma stroked her fingers through cherry-colored locks of hair. "You've been quiet this whole time. Something bothering you?"

Nagisa froze up for a second. Suddenly, she shot up, sitting upright as she started to sputter. "Oh no… I was… j-just... thinking… th-that's a-all."

Shizuma shot her a disapproving gaze. Nagisa wasn't good at lying especially not when her eyes were locked with Shizuma's. It was like Shizuma's gaze would drag the truth out of her, and to make it worse, it was impossible for Nagisa to negate the deadlock.

"Well, the truth is… don't take this the wrong way o-or anything… a-nd I don't really mean anything by it…"

"Nagisa…" Shizuma urged on, becoming visibly concerned.

"The tru-truth is… I'm a little nervous around Mr. Hanazono!" she somehow managed to shout it out all at once without even realizing it. "He scares me a bit." she admitted quietly.

"Me?" Mr. Hanazono pointed to himself with a baffled look on his face. "I didn't realize."

Shizuma erupted in laughter while Shin attempted to stifle a few chuckles, considerate of the fact that Nagisa seemed to be close to tears and completely embarrassed all at once right about now. The silver-haired woman snaked her arms around her lover's shoulders.

Shizuma mused, "He's completely harmless, like a sheep in wolf's clothing! But he's been blessed with a rough face and cool composure because otherwise he'd be destroyed in the cutthroat world of business."

"I suppose that's true enough." Mr. Hanazono nodded in agreement, a slight blush evident on his cheeks. When Nagisa saw the slight blush on the man's face, she giggled a bit as she mused in her mind, "I guess even men his size can get embarrassed."

Shizuma pulled her younger lover's head back onto her lap and continued to stroke her cherry hair, fiddling with her ear every so often. Silently she spoke so that only Nagisa could hear. "You know, I was starting to think you were unhappy with me in some way just now."

Nagisa could feel a smile slowly make its way on her face as she breathed, "Uh-uh. Never."

~oOo~

Meanwhile, with the storm clearing up and the wind getting calm, all Miyuki had to do was drop the name 'Hanazono' in the report to the police emergency lines, and they were there in a matter of minutes. It didn't hurt that Miyuki's uncle was head of the police emergency squadron either.

Tamao decided to stay behind, though she never really explained why. All she said was, "I have something I want to think about alone." and that was that.

There were four police cars, speeding across the drenched roads. It's been half an hour since Rokujou's conversation with the former Etoile and the dark clouds were already starting to dispel as the sun's gentle rays started to peek through. The torrential rains and powerful gales soon turned into a light drizzle with a calm island breeze.

Miyuki rode in the first car, with her uncle driving, and there were two more behind them. Miyuki was never a very sociable person and neither was her uncle, so conversation was always awkward between the two, if there was any at all. He was already filled in with the details of the situation given his position. There was absolutely nothing for them to talk about. Still, he tried.

"So, how's school going?"

"I graduated. It was a great ceremony. Your invitation was sent in the mail."

"Right, right. I do remember seeing that now that you mention it, but I was really busy at the time so…" he trailed off, scratching the back of his head nervously. "So you know what career you're looking for? The police are always looking for new people."

"I've been training to take over the family company since I was young, remember?"

He was getting nervous realizing how little he knew about his niece, but he continued despite that. "Sounds great! Only thing you have left to do now is find a nice man to marry, am I right?"

"I'm already engaged to Shino, remember? You also should have received that invitation."

"Right, right, it came in the mail." He didn't have the guts to reveal that he completely forgot about it.

Finally, he was struck with the wisdom to remain silent after all his failed attempts at small talk. Thankfully the drive wasn't too long. He pulled up to the edge of the road overlooking Lake Silverwinds with his fellow officers pulling up nearby. In the distance they could see the fire and a few shadows inside the cave.

Quickly one of the officers pulled out a few inflatable rafts from the back of his trunk, enough for each of the four officers, including their chief, to have one. Miyuki stayed up on the road, while her uncle led the rest of the officers into the lake on their rafts.

…

"And just like that huh? I guess Miyuki really is reliable, unlike a certain daughter of mine." Mr. Hanazono commented as he noticed the police approaching in their rubber rafts.

"It's finally time to go then!" Shino noted, stretching happily as he rose to his feet.

"Guess so." Shizuma sighed. As she stood up, she lifted Nagisa and held her bridal style, causing the smaller girl to immediately become flustered in her arms.

"Geez, Shizuma!" Nagisa pouted. "I can walk on my own, this is just embarrassing!"

"I'll treat you to some tea later on, okay?" Shizuma winked.

"Really? Cake, too!?", she suddenly became over-excited and Shizuma could have sworn she saw a little tail wagging restlessly behind her.

Shizuma laughed a bit, "Yes, whatever you want. You know, sometimes I feel like you love cake more than me."

"That's not true, I love you both equally." she said innocently.

"…I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about that."

…

Meanwhile, with the mist from the rain clearing up and the sun peeking through the clouds, Miyuki had a great view of everything that was going on. She could see Shizuma carrying Nagisa into the first raft, Shino getting into the next raft, and Mr. Hanazono in the one after that. Who she couldn't seem to spot was Tristan.

As they approached the road in the rafts, it was now Miyuki's job to toss down the ladder and secure the other end to the road. It was easy for everyone to climb up, although Shizuma did have a few complaints since she had to let go of Nagisa so she could climb up.

"I swear to god Shizuma, if you do something this stupid again you can expect more than just a long lecture next time." Miyuki warned her silver-haired friend.

"Ughhhh, does this mean I'm still getting a lecture?" Shizuma deflated.

Miyuki sighed, "Not this time. Consider it a late graduation present from me."

Everyone made it up safely save for one and Miyuki couldn't help but wonder aloud, "Where's Tristan, I thought he was with you? And why hasn't my uncle returned yet?"

"The driver?" one of the officers interrupted. "He said he wasn't leaving without 'Bella', which is apparently what he named the limo. The chief stayed back to negotiate with him to come up, but he just keeps refusing. So chief told us to continue on ahead and he'll call a salvage team to bring up the limo."

"It's hard to keep a man from his lover, even if she's made out of cold, hard metal." Shino joked as he landed a kiss on his fiancée's cheek.

The salvage team arrived within twenty minutes and, with the help of a helicopter, lifted 'Bella' onto the road, with Tristan already safely inside despite all the warnings he was given against it. The police chief made his way to the ladder in his raft and climbed back up to the road.

With everyone safe and accounted for, rafts deflated, and 'Bella' revved up, it was time to head back.

Mr. Hanazono was more than just a little upset about the car arrangements. He was put into the first car to ride along with Chief Rokujou, while both of his kids were put into separate cars along with their lovers and out of his sight. Miyuki refused to ride back with her uncle and nobody even realized when Shizuma claimed the last car as her and Nagisa's "temporary love nest".

He wasn't too concerned with Miyuki and Shino. "Miyuki is responsible and Shino's hanging on to the morals I taught him." he thought out loud. But then there was Shizuma. It's not like he didn't know that she was sexually active, more like she doesn't even try to hide it. "I just hope she doesn't do anything to that poor innocent girl.", he sighed. Yes, he knew Shizuma was sexually active, it was Nagisa, and the couple's numerous escapades he wasn't aware of.

Tristan refused to be separated from Bella, so he drove the limousine behind the line of police cars. The drive home seemed to lag on forever, especially to Mr. Hanazono, who wanted nothing more than to check up on Shizuma as soon as possible.

Finally everyone arrived back at the house, the sun no longer peaking but shining as brightly as it had when they first left the house, before all of this even began. However, it was clear that there was only a little time left before sunset.

For the first time in a long time, Shizuma was actually excited to open up the door to the house. She had jumped out the car with her beloved even before her father had the chance to come check. She held Nagisa's shoulders, pulling her close as she enthusiastically pushed the door open and yelled, "We're back!"

When the door flew open, the first thing they spotted was Tamao scrambling up from her seat and quickly making her way towards them, running to hug her cherry-haired friend. Shizuma hissed, but neither of them broke the hug, squealing with excitement to be reunited. They did a twirl in each other's embrace just before separating. Suddenly, the blunette's face grew dead serious and she stepped back and looked over the two, seemingly mulling over something in her mind.

Suddenly Tamao blurted, "Nagisa, I love you!"