-Taiki-
The airport was full with people either coming or going.
Here a small family seemed to be saying their goodbyes to their offspring, who was getting onto an overseas study trip. There a young couple was having a hard time to let go of one another.
Amidst the hustle and bustle, Taiki was just standing there at the airport looking stoically up at the arrival screen.
With his hands in his pockets, he dispassionately observed his surroundings and sized every person up meticulously.
"Yo." Haruka greeted him with a raised hand as she walked towards him with her luggage.
"You are late." Taiki remarked.
"Technically, I am early, considering I wanted to take another flight all together." Haruka corrected him.
Her hair was slightly damp and as Taiki took her luggage, he noticed a slight tremor in her hands.
"I am calling Abe-sensei." His tone left no space for discussions.
"Please do." She nodded tired in agreement.
They walked to the car in silence and Haruka got into the passenger seat without another word.
By the time Taiki had stowed her luggage away and joined her in the driver's seat, she looked like she had fallen asleep, but he could tell that she was just merely closing her eyes to avoid the bright sunlight. Her breathing was slightly laboured and sweat was forming on her forehead.
Before he pulled out of the parking spot, he docked his phone and dialled.
"Hello?" A female voice answered the phone.
"Abe-sensei, it's me Taiki." Taiki replied.
"What's wrong Taiki?" The doctor asked concerned.
"It's Haruka. Please come to the clinic." Taiki kept it short.
"I am on my way." Abe-sensei answered brief before she hung up.
-Michiru-
Bored of having to watch the metal box on the screens that were set up in their room, Michiru stood up and pulled out the files that Kakashi had given her prior to the trip to read up on them. While she walked back to the desk, a piece of paper fell out and Ami picked it up.
"Are you looking into Tenoh?" Ami asked as she had a look at the paper.
"Do you know anything about that person?" Michiru asked.
"I don't, at least not directly, but once in a while Makoto talks about her when Ayumi isn't in the laboratory." Ami explained.
"Oh, why is that?" Michiru asked curiously.
"Seems that Ayumi has a real dislike to that name. Drop it in her presence and you will get skinned alive." Ami admitted embarrassed.
"I see. So, what has she told you?" Michiru asked curiously.
"I promised not to tell anyone, I don't know why Makoto is very secretive about it. It doesn't sound very like crucial information to me, but if you like you can ask her later yourself. She promised to bring by lunch." Ami smiled cheerfully.
"Sounds good." Michiru smiled and took her phone to check the time.
'Still no message from Alex' she thought to herself as no new message showed.
Earlier she went over to the other's room to thank her for breakfast, but housekeeping told her that Alex had already checked out at dawn.
It hasn't been that long that she had known the blonde and it had been even less than 24h since she last saw Alex, but somehow she already missed her mischievous presence.
-Taiki-
Taiki watched Haruka getting out of the car. He could tell that the only thing that was keeping the blonde standing straight was sheer pride and stubbornness at this stage.
"Taiki, there is a paper bag in the front compartment. Take it out and hold onto it for me while you are waiting." Haruka said strained.
"Let's get you to the clinic first." Taiki urged her.
They were barely out of the elevator when a red haired woman ran up to Haruka and felt her forehead.
"How long are you already like this?" she asked.
"Relax Kakyuu, I have barely entered the country. They would have hardly let me fly if I looked this bad a couple of hours earlier." Haruka tried to smile.
"I will relax when you are not looking like this, but let's get you into the treatment room first." Kakyuu forced Haruka on the stretcher that she had readied earlier.
Taiki pushed Haruka into the room at the end of the hallway before being sent out.
Through the window to the room, he watched the doctor hooking Haruka up to several machines all the while talking to Haruka to keep her conscious. Or more like scolding, judging from the apologetic face Haruka had before the oxygen mask was pulled over it.
Taiki went back to the elevator to grab Haruka's luggage and pulled it to the couch opposite of the treatment room. He opened the front compartment and pulled out a small red paper bag and looked into it.
"Tea?" Taiki asked confused into the empty room.
-Michiru-
Michiru, Ami and Makoto were sitting in front of the surveillance feeds, having their lunch. Filled French baguettes.
"These are good, but you should try Makoto's homemade sandwiches with her specially made bread. Those are amazing." Ami said before having another bite of her baguette.
Makoto blushed. "Oh, they are nothing special." Makoto said humbly.
"I am sure to Ami they are very special Makoto. I rarely hear her praise food like she does yours." Michiru winked.
Now it was Ami's turn to blush deeply, making Michiru chuckle.
"Anyway, Makoto, you know Haruka Tenoh, right?" Ami tried to change topics.
"Aehm, why do you want to know?" Makoto asked unsure.
"Oh, Ami is asking for me. I am just conducting some research on Tenoh-san." Michiru explained.
"Any particular reason for that research?" Makoto seemed unusually guarded.
"I will be working with Tenoh-san on my next assignment. I would just like to know who I am working with before I meet her and I haven't found any records on Tenoh-san whatsoever in our archives." Michiru explained.
"I see." Makoto nodded understandingly. "Well it is an unwritten rule in the agency not to use her name…..I can only give you my subjective views and experiences. But it has to stay between us." Makoto insisted.
"Of course." Michiru replied.
"Well, she was our team captain. When Minako and I were still new recruits. She was pretty tough on us. Despite her incessant flirty behaviour and her laid back nature, when it came down to training and missions there was no leniency whatsoever. She is really strong and trained harder than all of us combined" Makoto said with admiration in her voice. "Her brother and her were known as the terrible two, since when you ended up in their group, you would suffer long training hours and uncompromising training regimes. Their motto was always: No one left behind. So, the whole group had to train till all of us would get through the routine. Many would sign up to their group, just to be dropped on the spot because they didn't cut it in their eyes. Haruka and Haruto always seemed nice and would be seen joking around or playing tricks on Kakashi and Setsuna, so many thought it would be fun and easy working with them. But once you were in training, those two would turn into stone cold demons. Minako and I barely survived and were the only official graduates of their team and their course of that year. I had heard there was an undercover training module with them as well. Drop out and graduate numbers unknown. I don't even want to think of how many even survived the first day to start off with, but to be honest, you don't get a flawless mission record by just joking around and flirting." Makoto explained.
"Why, if they were so good, aren't they at the agency anymore?" Michiru asked.
"Hmm. I don't think I am in a position or have enough information to give it justice, if I try to explain it. I can only tell you that in the twelve missions that we were together, they worked flawlessly. Haruka and Haruto would always take the brunt of the forces that we faced and would never leave anything to chance. They always planned everything meticulously, running all scenarios several times and have separate evacuation strategies for every team member in case things went sideways. There would be no one else you could feel safer with on a mission than them." Makoto said as she leaned back in her chair thoughtfully.
"What were they like?" Ami asked curiously. "As individuals I mean."
"Haruka and Haruto? Well, I guess what you would expect twins to be like. Inseparable and yet fundamentally differently. Just to play pranks on unsuspecting onlookers, Haruka would make Haruto grow his hair or wear wigs and dresses and pretend to be her or she would cut her hair extra short, wear men's clothes and shamelessly seduce girls with her charm. I think at one point or another they realised that she had more fun wearing pants than Haruto wearing dresses and so it stuck. But even when they looked alike and the untrained eye wouldn't be able to tell who was who, their nature would give it away since they were total opposites. Haruka was the one who would joke around a lot and be rather irresponsible when she had the chance to. Haruto on the other hand, he was more the quiet and conscientious type. He would always get into trouble with the girls that Haruka had fooled around with." Makoto laughed at the memory. "But nonetheless he had her back and always consulted with her on everything. To Haruto, there was no better person in the world than Haruka and same seemed to be the case the other way around. Hey, I know that all Haruka's records had been deleted, but I think Haruto's should be still around. So, you could have a look through those and make your own picture of things." Makoto suggested.
There was a knock on the door and Ami rushed to open the door for Setsuna.
"Here you are." Setsuna said looking at Makoto. "We need to go to the Paris office and do the interrogation on some suspects that got caught. Everything else here ok Michiru? Ami?" Setsuna asked the other two in the room.
"Nothing has happened so far." Michiru answered.
"I don't think anything will happen, but stay vigilant nevertheless." Setsuna advised.
"Understood" Ami and Michiru replied in unison.
-Kakyuu-
Kakyuu looked worried at Haruka's ever rising temperature.
"Don't be mad at Taiki, it wasn't his fault." Haruka tried to appease her.
"How could you let it get out of hand like this Haruka?" Kakyuu's scolding voice was full of concern.
"You said you needed a bigger virus sample and since those buggers seem to only multiply in me, I thought I let them, till you can get a sample big enough to make your tests on." Haruka smiled.
"You were supposed to do the viral dialysis every two weeks to keep the count down. Those samples would have been enough for a test each time."
"We have been doing this for years now and we are not a notch closer to a solution. This sample should be big enough for you to make major testing on them." Haruka's voice sounded very strained.
"When was your last dialysis?" Kakyuu asked concerned.
"Maybe… six weeks ago…" Haruka admitted.
"If you die, then all my efforts would have been for nothing as well Haruka." Kakyuu scolded Haruka.
"Taiki has a present for you." Haruka tried to shift the focus.
"Don't change the topic" Kakyuu responded sternly
"He asked me to get it for you specifically" Haruka baited her.
"I don't think he would be concerned about that if he knew what you have done…or for the matter of fact, haven't done." Kakyuu stayed firm.
"Hmmm" Haruka nodded defeated.
"Rest Haruka, your stupidity has tied you down for an overnight stay." Kakyuu informed the stubborn blonde.
"Aww I knew it, you missed me that much, you want to keep me here all for yourself tonight." Haruka joked.
"Seems you are already getting better" Kakyuu couldn't help but chuckle. "Now sleep." Kakyuu instructed the blonde.
"Aye, aye ma'am." Haruka smirked before she closed her eyes.
Kakyuu double checked that all machines were running smoothly before she left Haruka's side.
'This is going to be a long night', she thought to herself as she readied her bed next to Haruka's.
When she looked at the blonde again, Haruka had already fallen asleep, exhaustion clearly visible in her laboured breathing.
"Don't you dare to die on us Haruka." Kakyuu whispered her silent plea.
-Michiru-
Michiru couldn't shake the feeling that something must have happened to Alex.
Usually the blonde was practically glued to her phone, responding or sending message, every time she thought she wasn't being watched and now she hasn't responded to Michiru's text in over 24 hours.
'Michiru, first of all, it has only been even a bit over 24 hours, and secondly, why would she need to respond to you if this all was just holiday fun and games.' Michiru told herself off for worrying.
Anyway, it was not as if Michiru was seriously interested in the blonde. The kiss was just a slip up, Michiru tried to convince herself. She was expected to have a picture perfect family and Alex was far from fitting into that image.
That flirt was probably already busy with some other girl right this moment anyway.
This thought irked Michiru even more.
"Michiru?" Ami waved a hand in front of her to gain her attention.
"Yes?" Michiru focused again on her friend.
"Ready to get back to Tokyo?" Ami asked her.
"Yes, all packed. Let's go." Michiru put on a cheerful smile.
-Kakyuu-
Everything was quiet in the room, besides the steady humming of the machines, nothing else made a sound. Suddenly a groan could be heard from the side.
"Haruka, how you feeling?" Kakyuu asked her patient.
"Kill me." Haruka croaked.
"Once I cured you, I will definitely keep that option open." She chuckled as she got up to check Haruka's vitals.
The fever was finally down. And the dialysis seemed to have filtered a very big number of viruses out of Haruka's bloodstream. She would never admit it, but Haruka was right. Proper research would be easier with this sample size and now that the numbers were down to acceptable levels, she could disconnect the blonde from the machine.
"Thirsty." Haruka muttered.
"Wait here and don't move." Kakyuu cautioned her before moved to leave the room.
"Taiki." Haruka continued muttering.
"You are not going to work now." Kakyuu scolded her.
"Present." Haruka continued.
"Ok. I will check on his present." Kakyuu sighed.
-Taiki-
Taiki had fallen asleep on the couch and was woken by the sound of a door opening.
He sat up straight in an instant, just to be facing the beautiful doctor up close.
"You didn't have to wait here." Kakyuu's voice was gentle.
"But I wanted to be here for you in case you needed help." Taiki mumbled slightly flustered.
"Oh, so this is for me?" Kakyuu pointed out the bag he was still holding.
Still half asleep he nodded and passed her the bag.
"May I have a look?" Kakyuu asked politely.
"Of course." Taiki nodded
She opened the package and smiled delighted.
She smelled its content and said pleased: "These tea mixture smells amazing; how did you know I like liquorice root? Thank you Taiki, you are always so thoughtful." With that, she gave him a kiss on the cheek before she went to the kitchen of the clinic.
Taiki reached up to his cheek where the world's softest lips had rested just a moment ago andwas still in a daze when he noticed Haruka grinning in his direction and giving him a weak thumb up.
"Of course,…liquorice root…." He got up and entered the treatment room.
"Data" Haruka rasped.
"You nearly died and work is all you are thinking of?" Taiki sighed.
Haruka smiled weakly and shrugged lightly.
She tried to sit up but Taiki had to help her and adjusted the bed she was in. He noticed that she still hadn't gotten any strength back in her limbs and it seemed to get worse after each treatment session.
Kakyuu returned with some freshly brewed tea and some water for Haruka.
Haruka was sipping her water through a straw when Kakyuu offered tea to Taiki and had some herself.
"Don't you ever do that again" Kakyuu scolded Haruka.
"Hmmm" Haruka mumbled in response without looking at her.
Taiki kept quiet. He had promised not to tell Kakyuu, or anyone else for that matter, the real deterioration of Haruka's condition. He started to bite his lip which didn't go unnoticed by the doctor.
"Everything ok there Taiki?" Kakyuu asked him concerned.
"Just thinking hard about what Haruka will ask to have for breakfast Abe-sensei." Taiki deflected.
"Enough of this Abe business, how long have we known each other?" Kakyuu asked annoyed.
'Two years, eleven months, seventeen days' Taiki thought to himself.
"At least call me by my first name like I call you."Kakyuu sighed.
"Aehm, ok, Kakyuu...-sensei" Taiki mumbled nervous.
Haruka started to choke in the background.
"Haruka, you are always drinking too fast." Kakyuu reprimanded Haruka, as she got up and patted the blonde's back.
"l'll be conducting further research here. So, I can keep a closer eye on you trouble makers for a while." Kakyuu explained.
"Ok" Haruka conceded.
"Would you mind preparing my usual living quarters?" Kakyuu asked looking at Taiki.
"Of course not. Is there anything else you will be needing?" Taiki enquired.
"I might need you to drive me to get a some more clothes, toiletries and laboratory equipment. Haruka can you promise me to just rest here until I am back?" Kakyuu looked at the blonde imploringly.
Haruka nodded.
"Good, then I would say we pick up all of that now so that I can get started on the tests as soon as possible." Kakyuu concluded.
- Michiru-
They had just boarded the plane and Ami was busy texting on her phone in her window seat while Michiru settled down in her isle seat.
"Good news" Ami announced.
"About?" Michiru asked startled.
"Haruto Tenoh, I asked Minako to get all the files on him and apparently they are all there for you to pick up when we get back." Ami smiled.
"You didn't have to do that for me Ami-chan" Michiru smiled.
"You seemed distracted lately and anyway, what are friends for?" Ami said cheerfully.
"Thank you, Ami." Michiru smiled gently, her thoughts still wondering about the whereabouts of the blonde that seemed to fill every free space on her mind.
-Haruka-
Haruka was getting restless, but moving was out of the question.
Her whole body ached and even her eyes felt sore just from blinking.
She needed to sleep or at least distract herself.
There was no clock in sight and being in the quiet treatment room made minutes feel like hours and hours feel like an eternity and a half.
Her breathing was slowly returning to normal, which meant that at least that would hurt less with every breath taken.
Lying still with her eyes closed her thoughts started to wander.
'What day was it?'
'Was Michelle, or better, agent Kaioh still in Paris?'
'Was she having fun or would she be standing with that serious demeanour of hers in an art gallery discerning painting techniques?'
But most importantly: 'who was Michiru Kaioh really?'
Did she really want to know or would she be fine just knowing 'Michelle'?
Haruka sighed.
Was this beauty with her long flowing hair, mesmerising contagious smile, irresistible laugh, soft touch and sweet smell a dream come true or a nightmare about to get real?
Usually Haruka wouldn't give anyone a second thought, but this siren had her spellbound.
She had to admit to herself that she had been thinking of the other since the moment she dropped her off at the hotel. There was this something about her, that made Haruka want to watch her actions more, want to talk to her more, want to know her more.
'No, Haruka, she is just another hot woman that you are lusting for.' She tried to convince herself.
This was simple biology. Once it would be out of her system, her mind would be all hers again and she would be able to focus on whatever she needed to once again.
Haruka opened her eyes again and looked through the window to the outside world. The sun was high in the sky. Maybe it was already midday. Kakyuu and Taiki would be back any moment, she needed to conserve energy so that she could get out of here as soon as possible.
-Michiru-
It was still early in the morning, the sun was just about to rise, when Michiru came into the office. She couldn't sleep and she wanted some peace and quiet to go through the files that Minako had prepared for her.
Walking up to her desk she noticed a mountain of files and another three file boxes right next to it.
Minako walked up to her from behind and said "There is still some more coming from the archives."
"Oh, good morning Minako. I didn't know you work so early" Michiru sounded surprised.
"There was a late night meeting with the Paris office. So that is why I am still here" She yawned. "But I am practically right out of the door, I just wanted to give you these as well." She put another stack on Michiru's desk.
"Did he really do this much?" Michiru asked amazed.
"Well unlike Haruka, he would actually write the mission reports that he had to and take meticulous care of it. She would usually just make him do it for her when they got back." The blonde yawned. "Anyway. I am off to get some sleep. If you need anything else do not hesitate to contact Rei. She has the necessary access similar to me and can get you more if you like. Bye bye." Minako waved her hand before she disappeared out of the door.
Michiru sat down at her desk and sighed. This was a lot more than she expected.
She had been reading for hours straight now and it was like reading Swiss cheese. Haruto Tenoh seemed to have had a model career. Top male recruit of conscientious nature, innumerable commendations and a whole heap of redacted mission reports. Some were legendary within the agency.
It was always noted that he always worked in minimum of a two-man team and never alone. The other had to be Haruka Tenoh. Considering the work Haruka must have done within the agency, her achievements were impressive to say the least. She had read through countless reports, but all stopped about three years ago. No mentioning where he was now or what he was doing. He just simply had vanished.
This bothered Michiru greatly. As reliable as Haruto Tenoh was reported to be, it seemed unlikely that he would just abandon ship like that.
She stretched in her chair and looked outside her office window. The sun was about to set and she was not much closer to knowing anything more about Haruka Tenoh, through Haruto Tenoh, than she was this morning.
She needed to talk to someone about this, bounce some ideas and have some fresh eyes on this matter. But who would be objective about this?
She couldn't ask Minako or Makoto, because while both have worked with the Tenohs, they had already a clear opinion about them. Setsuna and Kakashi were busy and Ami was stuck with Ayumi in the lab, who apparently 'disliked' Haruka.
There was only Rei left, she could talk to.
She pulled out her phone and dialled Rei's number.
"Hello Michiru." The other woman's voice came immediately.
"Hi Rei, are you busy?" Michiru asked.
"I am nearly done with the Paris reports. What's up?" Rei's usually indifferent demeanour turned warm.
"Not much, I need to bounce some ideas. So, if you are up for it, I'd buy dinner." Michiru suggested.
"Sounds great, I am game. Pick me up in 30 minutes. I should be done by then." Rei happily accepted.
-Yaten-
He had been sitting for ages now in front of the screen, compiling and decoding data for Taiki to analyse later. His neck was getting stiff and his eyes were getting weary. Suddenly he found the needed decryption key. He was so overjoyed he stood up too fast and nearly hit the ground face first as he tripped over his chair.
He went out of the office, looked around and found Seiya lounging in the common area, eating ramen.
"Seiya, where is Taiki?" He asked his brother eager.
"Not here." Seiya responded indifferent.
"Thanks Einstein, I need to talk to him" Yaten returned unimpressed.
"He's downstairs in the clinic with Kakyuu-sensei." Seiya said in a mocking tone.
"Oh…. you know where Haruka is?" Yaten asked surprised.
"Roof… probably talking to Haruto." Seiya shrugged.
"Ooh..." Yaten answered apprehensively.
Seiya pointed at his bowl and then into the kitchen. "There is more of this in the kitchen. It's still hot. You should eat and maybe take a shower before you face either of them with the news you have. You look like roadkill." Seiya continued.
Yaten just scowled and went to the kitchen to make himself a bowl of ramen.
Coming out of the kitchen with the steaming bowl of hot fresh goodness he sat down opposite to Seiya.
"How bad did she look?" he whispered.
"Pretty bad." Seiya mumbled.
"Are you going to ask her?" Yaten asked his brother hesitantly.
"Not going to ask things that she thinks I don't need to know." Seiya said evenly and continued eating. "All that matters is that we got her back."
Yaten looked silently at his bowl and nodded.
-Michiru-
"Oh, the Okonomiyaki here are so good." Rei said excited as they waited for their orders.
"I hope you are right; we were waiting 30 minutes just to get in." Michiru laughed.
Right that moment the waitress came and brought them their order.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Rei asked as she mixed her vegetables into the batter.
"Do you know Haruto Tenoh?" Michiru asked casually.
"Hmm, I came across his work when we just came here." Rei thoughtfully.
"What do you think of him?" Michiru asked evenly.
"He seems very competent." Rei answered objectively.
Michiru slowly spread her batter mix onto the hotplate. "There aren't any records of him since nearly three years ago. Do you think he has gone lost in the system or changed sides in a deep cover operation?" Michiru hypothesised.
Rei went quiet. Michiru watched her grilling her batter while deep in thought.
When she flipped the Okonomiyaki, Rei started to talk again.
"Do you know Ayumi Watanabe from the research lab for diseases?" Rei asked detached.
Michiru nodded.
"Her and Haruto used to be engaged. I think if anyone might know him well besides his twin, then it would be her." Rei suggested.
"How did those two even cross paths?" Michiru's curiosity was ever stirred more.
"She accompanied him on two Ops" Rei explained thoughtfully.
"I thought team internal fraternizing is strictly forbidden." Michiru commented
"It is. But did you know that the Tenohs always took a medic with them when they went on longer missions? That is why they usually took Abe-sensei with them when they were running high risk two-man ops which might need support." Rei explained.
"No, it wasn't noted anywhere." Michiru admitted.
"It was part of their 'better safe than sorry' policy. Well on two of their recorded mission they couldn't take their usual medic with them, so, they took Ayumi with them instead. I think the first one is where Haruto got close to her." Rei continued to explain.
"What happened to Abe-sensei?" Michiru asked.
"She got a job at a research project at the University and now is actually a famous medical doctor and researcher at the University hospital but I have heard that she is mainly working for a private benefactor now." Rei informed her friend.
"You said Ayumi and Haruto 'used to be' engaged and not that they 'are' engaged. Did something happen?" Michiru continued to ask.
"Like you said earlier, for nearly three years, nothing has been heard of him. It is like he simply vanished into thin air." Rei noted as she gave her Okonomiyaki the last finishing touches by sprinkling the bonito flakes on it, which Michiru passed to her.
-Haruka-
It was already late in the afternoon when Haruka walked into Yaten's office and put a pack of special French Nougat, an assortment of chocolates and the toy car on his desk next to him.
"Thought you might like these." She smiled down at him
"Thanks Haruka-nee." He smiled back from his chair.
"Hey why does he get chocolates as well and I only got Nougat?" Seiya complained while standing in the doorframe. "I bet even Taiki got two things as well and I am the only one who got only one thing."Seiya continued to whine.
"I didn't." Taiki corrected him stoically as he passed Seiya on his way into the office.
"So, what did you get?" Seiya asked him defiantly.
"Tea." Haruka answered for Taiki with a smirk.
"Can I try some of it?" Yaten asked Taiki innocently.
"No." Taiki replied with an even voice.
"Why not?" Seiya asked.
"Because it is very sweet with a fleeting taste." Haruka grinned. "Did you like my present?" Haruka asked smug.
"Hmm" Taiki just nodded.
"That must be one hell of a tea, if it rendered Taiki speechless." Seiya commented.
"..." Taiki refrained from commenting.
"Anyway, let's get back to business guys." Haruka shifted the focus.
-Michiru-
She finally arrived at home and dropped herself on her couch for a moment. Glimpsing her phone, she read ten p.m.
Still no message from Alex.
'Why do you even care?' Michiru asked herself irritated.
But deep down she knew why. She missed that careless smirk, the husky voice and the playful words that accompanied it.
But there was no time to be thinking about the sweet talking blonde.
There was a bigger mystery that needed to be figured out before she could start working on her new assignment, Haruka Tenoh.
She stood up again and got herself her notebook.
Inside was all the information, or the lack there of, that she had on Haruka Tenoh.
She wondered if she should ask Ayumi about Haruto, if she couldn't talk about Haruka directly. After all, Haruka and Haruto seemed to be as thick as thieves and something was bound to slip. But how to approach the topic?
-Haruka-
Haruka pulled up at a private teahouse in Tokyo and parked in front of it.
At the entrance, a servant of the house was already awaiting her.
Haruka knew fully well what effect she had when she was fully dressed in her tailored suit and tie and took her time to approach the building.
"Welcome back Tenoh-sama" The girl with the long dark hair, greeted her with a deep bow.
"Thank you for having me. It's good to be back again, Sasaki-san." Haruka greeted her in return with a smile and a light bow. "You look very well today, is that a new shade of lipstick you are wearing?" Haruka stepped closer causing the girl to blush lightly.
Shinobu Sasaki could only nod shyly.
"It suits you very well." Haruka said kindly.
"Your room has been prepared for you." Sasaki informed her before kneeling down to present Haruka with her slippers.
Haruka took off her shoes and put on the slippers that were offered. She then followed the shorter girl to a tearoom in a very secluded part further in the back of the teahouse.
As she entered, she noticed a woman already waiting for her, dressed in an elegantly tailored Yukata sitting at the table.
"You may leave Sasaki-san" the woman spoke quietly and yet firm, pronouncing the implicit authority, without looking into their direction.
"Understood, Myamoto-sama" Sasaki bowed again before she left the two women to their own devices in a slight hurry.
"Yumi, don't be so harsh on the poor girl." Haruka smirked as she sat down next to Yumi Myamoto.
The teahouse owner frowned.
"If you would stop flirting with my girls, I wouldn't have to deal with their resulting tactlessness." Yumi replied a little harsher than she intended to.
"How would you know if I flirted with her?" Haruka asked her companion easily.
"You might not see it, but I do see, how they look at you." Yumi said disapprovingly.
Haruka reached for Yumi's chin and made her look into her eyes.
"Are you jealous Yumi?" Haruka smirked.
"You are being cruel Haruka." Yumi averted her eyes.
"How so?" Haruka asked her challengingly.
"You know why." Yumi answered evenly.
"I can go again if you want that." Haruka let go of her chin and was about to stand up again when Yumi held her back with a hand on her thigh.
"Don't." Yumi sounded a bit more pleading.
"So, what do you want?" Haruka asked her evenly.
"You." She said quietly
"Now that wasn't so hard." Haruka smirked.
-Michiru-
She was standing in front of the laboratories with a box of cookies from Paris and knocked at the door.
Ayumi opened her the door and let her in.
"Oh, Ami isn't here yet." Ayumi explained. "She told me she had to run an urgent errand for Setsuna before she could come."
'I know because I told her to come later.' Michiru thought to herself.
"Would you mind if I waited with you for her here? I brought cookies" Michiru smiled.
"Of course not. I go and make us some tea." Ayumi offered.
"Oh, that is very kind of you." Michiru answered appreciatively.
While Ayumi was making tea, Michiru positioned her handbag on the chair next to her so that the other would see Haruto's mission reports sticking out without fail and yet without being obvious. She opened the pack of cookies and arranged the cookies on the coffee table of the laboratory breakroom.
"We seem to have run out of sugar…" Ayumi explained as she brought over the teapot and two cups for them.
"Oh, that is fine, I think the cookies will be quite sweet enough for me." Michiru said understandingly. "You should try these ones with chocolate. Ami and I couldn't get enough of those while we were in Paris." She pointed out the little square cookies.
"Oh, thank you." Ayumi said appreciatively as she took one. "You are right, they are delicious. So how was Paris?" Ayumi asked Michiru in return.
"It was wonderful. I am sure Ami told you all about the Museums and Art galleries. Sadly, we were stuck with work towards the end though. But the city was so romantic, one couldn't help but wander around sometimes. That is why I have to admit I need to ask Ami for help with some my work." Michiru admitted embarrassed.
"Is there anything I could help you with?" Ayumi said, curiously looking at Michiru's files.
"Oh, it is just strategy analysis. Have you ever heard of Haruto Tenoh? He seems to be really brilliant in planning these missions but sometimes so much is redacted, it is hard to follow his line of thought." Michiru explaind casually.
"Yes, yes I know him well." Ayumi said thoughtfully.
"Oh, you have met him?" Michiru asked with played surprise.
"Actually, we were engaged to marry." Ayumi admitted with a tiny blush.
"Oh, what happened?" Michiru continued the charade.
Sudden anger flashed in Ayumi's eyes.
"His sister, Haruka, killed him out of jealousy of his great mind." Ayumi said bitterly.
"But nowhere it is mentioned that he is dead." Michiru tried to reason with the other woman.
"I saw it with my own eyes. It was his last black ops mission. A simple rescue mission. Some undercover agents got too deep into trouble and we were supposed to pull them out. I was supposed to stay in safe distance and call back up if needed and they were supposed to grab their agents and shoot their way out. Everything went fine. The target was located, I had my eye on the happenings from a good vantage point, but before it started, I was knocked out cold. When I regained consciousness, I was gagged and bound in my position. I felt so helpless when I had to watched Haruto and Haruka kill all the gang members around them and then Haruto suddenly broke down. I will never forget it. Three other man with gang insignia on their jackets joined Haruka and she just leaned down to my Haruto. She picked him up and shot him point blank through the base of the head severing his brain stem through his throat. The shock was so indescribable, I fainted. The next thing I know is that I got picked up by another rescue team led my Takahashi-sama. They never found his body. But I know what I saw." Ayumi insisted.
"I am very sorry to hear that." Michiru expressed her condolences.
"You know, unlike his arrogant and flirtatious sister, Haruto was a gentle soul. Very caring and nurturing. Many people say that because they were twins, they looked alike, but they didn't. Not one bit. Haruto was way more handsome." Ayumi reached for her wallet and pulled out an old photo which she showed Michiru.
"This was us just after he proposed to me." Ayumi explained.
Michiru looked at the picture in shock. There was a happily smiling Ayumi being hugged from behind by, what looked like, her Alex, just with neatly combed hair instead of the gravity defying tussle that amused Michiru on the blonde .
