-Kakyuu-

Kakayuu had just finished changing Hotaru into one of Haruka's t-shirts, that she regularly 'borrowed' when she stayed at the Tenoh tower and used as sleep wear, when Haruka entered her apartment.

"Ok, I know you are really good, also I understand you can be quick and that that is essential for quickies, but this is a new record." Kakyuu commented as Haruka stepped into her bedroom.

"Nothing happened." Haruka grunted.

"But I saw Michiru taking the elevator up again, once all girls were in their rooms." Kakyuu interjected.

"You couldn't have seen that." Haruka argued.

"Ok, I didn't. I could only see one lone elevator going back up and I doubt it was any of the boys, because they just came to wish me good night before going to their own apartments. It couldn't have been any of the other girls, because Rei was busy helping Minako to stand straight and Makoto was busy doting over a slightly drunk Ami. So, there was only Michiru left, who glared death stares at me the moment I kissed you. Spill the beans Romeo, how did you screw this up?" Kayuu prompted the blonde.

"As a matter of fact, I didn't screw anything." Haruka replied dryly.

"What's that?" Kakyuu looked at Haruka's left cheek closer and spotted a slightly pink imprint of fingers.

"Ahem. She might have called me a lying cheating bastard and emphasised her disdain with me with a slap in the face." Haruka admitted sheepish.

"Did you cheat on her?!" Kakyuu was exasperated.

"How can I cheat on someone that I am not even dating? No, she thought WE were dating." Haruka pointed at Kakyuu and herself.

"But we are so far from it." Kakyuu contended. "Besides that one time when you were drunk and I was curious….but we are nearly like siblings!" Kakyuu argued.

"No need to tell me that." Haruka said morosely. "Anyway, it is better this way. We have a big mission ahead of us and emotions would just get in the way." Haruka reasoned.

"Haruka, please tell me you set the record straight with her." Kakyuu looked at Haruka imploringly.

"Again, I don't owe her any explanation to begin with and it is not as if we were ever dating to start of with. Besides, there are so many issues on either side." Haruka shrugged.

"But that doesn't have to stop you from finding a bit of happiness on the way of tackling those." Kakyuu argued.

"How long have we known each other Kakyuu?" Haruka asked offhandedly.

"I don't know. Since you moved in with Kakashi-ji, so an eternity and a bit maybe?" Kakyuu surmised.

"You mean an eternity or two." Haruka chuckled.

"It sure feels that way, since we were the three musketeers…." Kakyuu said reminiscent.

"You know, there is someone out there who wants to kill Michiru, maybe because of her ties to her father, maybe because of her own work. I can't burden her on top of that with my family's issues that I inherited." Haruka said quietly.

"So that is why you moved all of them here?" Kakyuu asked.

"What do you mean? They are here for training." Haruka stated while pretending to be confused.

"If they were here just for training, you would make them turn up every morning at six and send them home at nine at night, just so you can attack them one more time on their way home. You wouldn't let them stay over in your sanctuary." Kakyuu stated undeterred.

"I just need them all to stay safe until they can keep themselves safe so that we can complete this mission without a hitch. That's all." Haruka shrugged.

"You keep telling yourself that." Kakyuu sighed.

"Hey, wait, is that my Iron Man T-shirt?!" Haruka exclaimed as she spotted Hotaru lying peacefully in Kakyuu's bed.

"Hey, wasn't it you who said to me 'mi casa es tu casa'?" Kakyuu grinned unapologetic.

"That didn't apply to my clothes!" Haruka argued.

"We are virtually family." Kakyuu chuckled.


-Rei-

Rei had just carried a semi-drunk Minako down to blonde's room and laid her down in her bed. She watched the sleeping blonde in the faint moonlight that illuminated her room. She was truly beautiful, inside and out, so carefree and caring at the same time, Rei thought to herself as she moved a few strands out of the serenely sleeping face. She thought back on how hard Minako had worked today to keep her safe and how hard she had fought to get them through the maze to pass all the obstacles that Haruka had sent their way.

She knew very well that it wasn't Minako's mission task to help her and that she was probably already done with all her tasks by the time Rei was hanging off that wall, but had turned around to look for her. The blonde must have spotted her being in a tight spot and helped her out anyway despite losing time and points for that. That was just who Minako was.

Minako shifted in her sleep, dishevelling her yukata, revealing part of her collar bone and chest.

It wasn't as if Rei hadn't seen Minako in all her naked glory in the Sento already, where it was already hard enough to refrain from staring at the blonde for too long, but this felt kind of even more off limits to her. Slightly flustered, she moved to cover the blonde with the blanket that lay on the bed, before she left the room to return to hers.


-Seiya-

It was still very early in the morning when Seiya was sitting alone in the communal area, enjoying his coffee and reading yesterday's evaluation.

It wasn't until around eight, when Makoto came to the communal area, probably to grab some breakfast and to see if anyone else was already up beside her.

"Good morning Seiya." She greeted him.

"Morning Makoto, there is coffee and toast in the kitchen. We didn't order breakfast for today, so feel free to raid the fridge and to use the kitchen however you like." Seiya told her as he looked up from the papers he was reading.

"Thank you. Have you eaten yet? Otherwise I will make you some pancakes, too." Makoto offered in her open and kind manner.

"I would never say no to pancakes, do you need any help with that?" Seiya grinned.

"No, that's ok. Kakyuu already showed me the way around here." Makoto explained.

"Great." Seiya resumed reading

Not shortly after, Yaten joined them, looking for Haruka.

"Where is Haruka-nee?" He asked Seiya.

"She has gone to drop Hotaru off at the Tomoes for their family Sunday brunch. She will come back soon." Seiya replied.

"Hmmm, I see." Yaten went to the kitchen. "Oh, good morning Makoto."

"Good morning Yaten. Would you like some pancakes, too?" Makoto greeted him

"Are you making breakfast for everyone?" Yaten asked her.

"Well, I might as well, since I am here." Makoto laughed.

"You are awesome." Yaten said cheerfully.

"Who is awesome?" Taiki asked as he came out of his office and joined Seiya at the table.

"Makoto is awesome. She is making pancakes for all of us. Want coffee Taiki? I bring you a cup as well then." Yaten explained.

"Yea, make mine extra strong and thank you Makoto. You know you don't have to do that, right?" Taiki told Makoto as he looked over to the kitchen.

"I really don't mind." Makoto replied. "It's fun to cook for so many people." Makoto smiled.

"Can we keep her?" Yaten asked Taiki as he handed his brother a cup of coffee.

"I think Ami would mind that very much." Taiki laughed making Makoto blush.

"What makes you think that?" Makoto asked him in the most casual tone she could muster while pouring some fresh batter into the hot pan.

"Well, whenever you aren't around, you are her favourite topic to talk about." Taiki explained. "Speaking of the devil. Good morning Ami." Taiki greeted Ami who just entered the communal area.

"Good morning everyone. Something smells really good here." Ami politely greeted them before she moved into the kitchen. "Good morning Makoto, what are you making?" Ami asked curiously as she looked over Makoto's shoulder.

"Just pancakes. Would you mind bringing these to the table while they are hot?" Makoto asked Ami.

"Of course not." Ami took the plate with the fresh pancakes and Yaten grabbed more cutlery and plates to set the table for everyone to have breakfast.

"They look and taste delicious." Yaten grinned happily after he had his first bite.

"Oh, you need to try Makoto's sandwiches one day. Those ones are even more amazing." Ami commented.

"Want me to make you some of those?" Makoto asked from the kitchen.

"No, I would prefer you to enjoy breakfast with me now." Ami smiled back, making Makoto hurry even more with her pancakes.

"Woah, did little shy Ami just unwittingly flirt with Makoto without knowing what sort of crush Makoto has for her?" Seiya whispered to Taiki, who silently nodded.

"Quiet waters are deep." Taiki responded with a whisper.


-Michiru-

At breakfast she was told that Haruka had already left the premises early in the morning to drop Hotaru off at the Tomoe estate.

Half of her was sad not to get to see the blonde first thing in the morning, the other half was glad that she didn't have to face her yet after their fiasco on the roof.

They had fought and bitter and hurtful words were exchanged, but most of all, Michiru regretted that slap that she had dealt Haruka.

"Everything ok there?" Minako asked her as she joined Michiru with cleaning up the kitchen.

"Of course, why shouldn't it be?" Michiru asked friendly in return.

"Oh, I don't know. You seemed a bit absent minded this morning." Minako noted as she helped Michiru filling the dishwasher.

"I am just thinking about the fight training we are having today." Michiru deflected.

"Oh, don't worry. Haruka is the best instructor you can hope for. I mean she helped a hopeless case like me. So, there is really nothing for you to worry about." Minako admitted sheepishly.

Taiki joined them in the kitchen.

"Haruka just called and said she won't be back with us until after lunch and that we should just go ahead with the basic tactical training refreshers before she gets back." He told the group. "Yaten is already downstairs in the training hall preparing the environment, so whenever you are ready, please join us there." He continued before he left the kitchen again.

After cleaning the kitchen, they all went down to the top training floor which was completely transformed.

"This is the layout of one of the possible location at which the meeting might be held. We are going to be going through various scenarios that Haruka had prepared for us this morning with various setups of people so please take a number from here and take the equipment of the table, marked with the number that you have drawn." Taiki passed around a small box with tokens inside, but before Michiru could take one, he stopped her.

"Haruka said you are going to coordinate us while she is gone. So, you will be staying with Yaten in the control room, for the first three rounds and then he will get swapped out with me." Taiki explained.

"I see." Michiru responded before she went into the control room.


-Haruka-

Haruka just got back from the Tomoe estate and took the elevator to her apartment. She didn't feel like joining the rest of the group for training and she did work all night to just to forget that deep addictive kiss that Michiru and her had shared.

She walked up to the mezzanine and lay down on the carpet.

"Ne, Haruto, were women already that complicated when you were still around?" She asked into the room.

She thought back how enthralling Michiru looked in that simple yet elegant yukata, bathing in the moonlight.

Like a Christmas gift that waited to be unwrapped.

How Michiru's soft hand took a firm grip on her neck and pulled her down to taste those sweet lips, how her own arms wrapped around that delicate waist and pulled her closer. How much she wanted to explore that soft and warm body in her arms.

But then suddenly Michiru broke the kiss.

"How can you do this?" Michiru had asked Haruka and Haruka remembered being still half dazed as she asked in return. "Do what?"

"Cheat on Kakyuu like this?" Michiru's tone was a mixture of hurt and anger.

Haruka remembered arguing that she couldn't be cheating on anyone if she wasn't even dating anyone to start off with. 'Big mistake….' Haruka groaned.


-Michiru-

Michiru was watching the team going in for a hostage situation with Makoto and Minako in the lead, Seiya and Rei as spotters and Ami, Taiki and Kakyuu as back up.

She had to admit Kakyuu was beautiful and funny, easy to get along with and very caring towards Hotaru.

She remembered how in sync the three of them looked when they were playing together yesterday. Like a small happy family. How envious she felt when Kakyuu took Hotaru off Haruka's arms and gave the blonde a tender kiss on the cheek.

She thought back to that longing embrace Haruka held her in when she had mustered all her courage to go up and see Haruka. Those strong arms that wrapped around her tightly and held her close. That fresh scent of laundry mixed with the smokiness of the grill earlier and that unique smell of Haruka's sweat that intoxicated her senses.

Cringing, she remembered how she had accused Haruka of playing with Hotaru's feelings, by cheating on Kakyuu who treated the little girl like her own daughter.

"Hotaru's mother has just died and no one will ever be able to replace her in Hotaru's heart. If anyone understands that then it's me, because unlike you, I do not have any family left anymore either." Haruka had angrily said with gritted teeth.

Those words had not left her since they were uttered by Haruka. The anger and pain that had flared up in the blonde's eyes.

"Captain. Mission complete. Perpetrators eliminated." Taiki's clear voice from the speakers interrupted her train of thought.

"Well done. Regroup." Michiru said evenly into microphone.


-Haruka-

She was still lying in front of the closed Butsudan and wondered if the group was done yet with all the mission exercises that she had prepared for them.

Her hand absentmindedly traced her left cheek where Michiru had slapped her hard after she had said that Michiru was in no position to ever replace Sayuri.

Haruka knew she had deserved that one, that she had overstepped a line, as usual. But when it came to Hotaru, Haruka was prone to be extremely irrational.

She knew that that wasn't an excuse for her behaviour though.

Michiru did say she never wanted to be a homewrecker and that thanks to Haruka, she felt like one, even though there was no home she could possibly wreck to start off with.

But that was just how Michiru felt and there was nothing Haruka could do to change that, because anything she could do would just make the situation worse.

They had no time for feelings, they needed to focus at the task at hand. They were responsible for more than their own life.

What did her father always say when her mum was upset with them about things they did not understand: 'Never argue with an emotional woman, you end up apologising either way.'

Sighing, Haruka got up and stretched herself. There was no way around it, she had to go down and do her job.


-Taiki-

They were about to finish their last exercise Haruka had prepared for them.

A retrieve and rescue mission.

Seiya had just shot the last menace before the group reached the safety zone as Haruka entered the control room.

Haruka greeted them curtly before proceeding to the screens and looking at the results.

"How did it go so far?" She asked no one in particular.

"Acceptable." Taiki said evenly.

"There is still some dissonance in the group." Michiru commented.

"Well they need a clear leader for that to dissolve." Haruka stated evenly.

Haruka stepped up to the microphone. "Good job everyone. Please enjoy the rest of your day as your free time. I have ordered dinner with Yamaguchi-obaasan. Yaten and Seiya, please pick it up at six." Her voice echoed through the training hall.

"Do you need me for anything else?" Taiki asked her as he turned away from the controls.

"You have done enough for today, go and rest. I will just go through the recordings and make necessary adjustments for tomorrow." Haruka explained.

"Where is Hotaru-chan?" Taiki asked as he turned around.

"She is with her cousins. Some play time with other kids closer to her age will do her good. I'll pick her up after dinner." Haruka told him evenly.

Taiki just nodded, then stood up and left, leaving Haruka and Michiru behind in an awkward silence.


-Michiru-

"You can go and rest, too, if you like." Haruka told Michiru emotionlessly.

"I didn't do anything physically exhausting today to need any rest." Michiru responded evenly.

"Ok" Haruka moved to the seat that Taiki had vacated earlier and replayed the footage of the exercises.

"Shouldn't we talk about yesterday?" Michiru asked Haruka from her seat on the observation spot.

"Is there anything we need to talk about? We had a disagreement. That's that. It happens. If you want an apology, I will apologise. I am willing to do whatever it takes to get this job over and done with. We have a mission to prepare for, that is the main reason you and I are here for." Haruka said indifferently as she stayed focused on the action on the screen.

"I don't want a half-hearted apology from you." Michiru was starting to get irritated.

"Ok." Haruka resumed her work and marked weaknesses in their approaches.

"Will you stay professional?" Michiru asked Haruka.

"I am right now, am I not?" Haruka replied absent minded.

"Fine" Michiru sighed.

Both resumed their analysis of the training and an hour later, compared their findings.

"It is probably best to keep Rei and Seiya as spotters while keeping Minako and Yaten as outer security coordinators." Michiru suggested.

"I agree. It is also better to split Ami and Makoto up. Makoto is getting too distracted while Ami is around, so I would say keeping Ami and Taiki as inner security coordinators and Kakyuu and Makoto as their back up in the inner perimeter. That way if there is a medical urgency in the outer perimeter, they can help out there as well, but their main focus will still be the inner perimeter" Haruka concurred.

Yaten entered the control room.

"Why aren't you picking up your phone Haruka-nee? Dinner is here" He interrupted their discussion.

Haruka pulled out her phone from her pocket. "Sorry, forgot to switch off the silent mode. Thanks, Yaten, we just finished here anyway. Please go ahead and start without me, I'll join you soon" Haruka proceeded to clean up. "You can go ahead as well. I will just wrap things up here on my own." Haruka said to Michiru.

"Are you sure you don't need help?" Michiru asked her.

"I am." Haruka answered firmly.


-Minako-

Dinner was a lot quieter without the bubbly Hotaru and even Haruka came late and left first, without having dessert. Everyone was unwinding with games, a visit to the Sento or just simply lounging in the communal area with a good book, so Minako decided to grab a couple of cold beers from the bar and to go up to the roof to enjoy some alone time with the sunset.

Minako had just settled on the best spot on the roof and pulled out her phone to write a message when Haruka startled her, from the top of the storage room on the roof, where she was lounging in the last warm rays of the sun.

"Who's heart will you break up here, Mina?" Haruka asked her with a grin.

"And here I thought I would be alone up here. Good thing I brought two beers." Minako chuckled as she put away her phone again before she turned around, climbed up to where Haruka was, sat down besides the tall blonde and passed Haruka one of the cold beers.

"Thanks, Minako-chan." Haruka greeted her appreciatively.

"Chris from Mi5, he has been annoying me since I left London." Minako sighed.

"Need me to talk to him for you?" Haruka offered.

"No, it's ok. By now, I have rejected him at least half a dozen times. He will have to understand it eventually." Minako sighed.

"Ok, let me know when you need help." Haruka chuckled before she opened her beer.

"Oh, I remember your kind of help. You broke Makoto's ex's hand, if I recall correctly." Minako mused.

"Two out of five fingers hardly make it a hand, ask anyone." Haruka chuckled. "For the way he treated her… I went easy on him." Haruka shrugged.

"You are like the most meddlesome big brother a girl could wish for." Minako laughed.

"Woah, don't tell me you didn't appreciate it every time I had to turn up to bail you out of the dates you got set up with." Haruka pretended to be offended before taking another swig from her beer.

"Well, how do you say no to blind dates that people set up for you? Everyone always thinks they know what you like or whom you like based on what they see on the surface of you that they are allowed to scratch on but that is hardly the whole picture. And I can't reject the person I have not even met yet. I don't think I ever got one match out of it." Minako sighed and drank some beer herself.

"The only thing I ever got out of helping you out with that was guys desperately trying to defend your honour or trying to proof their manliness and the snacks that I was allowed to buy for us." Haruka teased.

"Oh, come on, I did set you up with pretty girls, every time in return for bailing me out." Minako defended herself.

"Weren't you doing then not exactly the thing you hate so much when others do it?" Haruka teased Minako.

"I am at least good at it. I actually do know what you like. For example, the way you undressed Michiru with your eyes, don't think I missed that. There is no way I was ever wrong with the girls I set you up with." Minako insisted.

"Good point. Then again I am pretty easy." Haruka chuckled.

"Easy?! Do you know how hard it is to get you the right balance between sophistication, elegance and hotness that you like?" Minako asked exasperated.

"You seemed pretty successful with your matches." Haruka grinned. "Whomever you delivered was in the least worthy of a date or two. Anyway, don't you dare to think though that I missed the way you looked at Rei. So, is that what you like? Don't get me wrong, she is pretty, though a bit too stiff for my taste." Haruka commented easily.

"I don't know. I enjoy her presence. She is calm when I am not. She is focused when I am not. She is level-headed when I am not. There is something about her that fascinates me. No doubt about that." Minako admitted.

"So 'fascinating' is what the kids call it nowadays." Haruka teased her, earning herself a punch in the arm "Hey is that how you treat your former captain?" Haruka protested playfully.

"Don't pretend to be so high and mighty considering the chaos that is happening in your paradise." Minako reminded the other blonde.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Haruka feinted ignorance.

"You not eating dessert and Michiru being distracted, that can only mean trouble in paradise. Confess your sins mere mortal to the goddess of love." Minako demanded.

"I just didn't feel like having dessert and maybe Michiru was dismayed at your performance." Haruka deflected.

"And hell is freezing over. Come on, tell me. What have you done?" Minako egged her on.

"Nothing." Haruka drank more of her beer.

"Haruka, I just want you to be happy." Minako sighed.

"I just want you to be happy, too" Haruka looked away into the distance.

"Did you break her heart?" Minako asked directly.

"I might have scratched her pride." Haruka admitted.

"Did she break your heart?" Minako asked bluntly.

"Nuh, I am a heartless daemon after all." Haruka chuckled with a light bitter undertone. "Anyway. Speaking of heartless daemons, has Kakashi found out from where within the agency the 10 million have been posted for Michiru's head?" Haruka asked.

"Not yet, but he's still looking into it." Minako told her quietly. "The sniffer I planted for you in our system should activate itself in the next three hours, after the next security sweep." Minako informed her former captain.

"Good. I knew you would be the best for the job." Haruka put an arm around Minako.

"Woah, getting praised by you for the second time, today. I better go and buy a lottery ticket." Minako laughed.


-Michiru-

It was early in afternoon and Michiru was floating quietly in the big pool, letting go of all her thoughts and drowning out all of her emotions. She didn't think that being around Haruka could be this hard, but Haruka was right to distance herself. They did need to focus on the mission.

It had been now two days since they had shared the finer details of the mission with the others and were training intensively in the mornings.

The mediator could give the green light any day now and then they would have only one week left for the planning and training of all involved. It would then need to go a lot more intensive and a lot faster than it did right now. Haruka seemed to be pretty confident that they could take their time with the training though.

As much as Michiru as was itching to take the training to the next level to get it over and done with, she was glad that this gave her more time just to be here. Just being here put her whole emotional landscape into turmoil and yet her mind was at peace. It was just the paradox that the blonde made her feel. She just drove her insane and yet managed to make her feel so calm and safe at the same time.

Suddenly she heard small yet fast steps approaching the pool.

"Haruka-papa, Haruka-papa, I want to swim in the big pool." Hotaru's voice echoed from afar.

"When you are a lot bigger, then you can swim there." Haruka's calm voice followed.

"How much bigger?" Hotaru asked impatiently.

"As big as me." Haruka answered evenly.

"But Yaten-ji is not as big as you and you let him swim there." Hotaru objected.

"Ok, when you are as big as Yaten then, but right now, if you want to swim, then you can do it in the middle pool of the Sento when it's empty, otherwise we go to bed now and have an afternoon nap."

"No, no, I want to swim." Hotaru protested.

"Sento it is then. Hop hop." Haruka hushed the little girl into the Sento area.

Hotaru's giggling echoed through the empty space before it was muffled by the curtains and bamboo doors to the women's Sento area.

Michiru was tempted to just join them but then decided against it. Too raw were the emotions from the fight they had just had four days ago, that was just something she couldn't face so soon.


-Haruka-

Haruka was getting ready for her dinner with the right hands of the council to get initiated and was putting on one of her finer suits over her body armour.

"Haruka-papa, where are you going?" Hotaru joined her in the walk in closet.

"I am just going to dinner with Kakashi-jii. Which tie do you think is better, black or grey?" Haruka held up two ties for Hotaru to choose from.

"I like the red one up there." Hotaru pointed one out that was hanging on Haruka's tie rack.

"Excellent choice Hime-chan" Haruka smiled and grabbed that one instead.

After Haruka tied her tie, she picked up Hotaru and took her down to the communal area, where Makoto and the other girls were preparing dinner while the guys were setting the table and tidying the communal area.

Once there, she put Hotaru down again and knelt down to Hotaru.

"So Hime-chan, I am going to leave you here with all your aunties and uncles and you will listen to what they tell you, ok? Especially your Kakyuu-nee and Taiki-ji, understood?" Haruka told Hotaru.

"Understood Haruka-papa. When will you be back?" Hotaru asked.

"When you will be deep asleep. So, the sooner you go to sleep, the sooner I will come back home, ok?" Haruka suggested.

"Can I go to sleep now?" Hotaru asked.

"No, you need to have dinner first and don't you want to have your ice cream?" Haruka asked in return.

"Yes, but I want you to be home soon, too." Hotaru admitted.

"I will try my best to come home as soon as possible. Do I get a kiss before I go?" Haruka asked.

"Of course." Hotaru gave Haruka a big kiss on the cheek and a hug for good measures.

"Now go with Yaten and you two can play some games until dinner is ready." Haruka send the little girl off.

Haruka watched Hotaru running over to Yaten who took her into the viewing room where they could play some games on one of the consoles. When she could see that Hotaru was well occupied, Haruka went over to Kakyuu.

"Would you mind preparing me some boosters for tonight and have some sleeping pills ready for me when I get back? I have a feeling I will need a full night's sleep after this meeting." Haruka instructed Kakyuu.

"Of course. By the way your tie is crooked from carrying Hotaru." Kakyuu proceeded with adjusting her tie before feeling Haruka's forehead to check on her temperature.

"Thanks, Kakyuu." Haruka smiled sheepish.

"You have a slight fever. Let me give you a modified booster now and I want you down in the clinic tomorrow for some tests." Kakyuu instructed Haruka.

"Ok." Haruka agreed.

Haruka followed Kakyuu down to the clinic and obliged in taking off her jacket and pulling up her sleeve for the shot.

"How bad has your sleep been lately?" Kakyuu asked as she prepared the syringe.

"What sleep?" Haruka asked wryly.

"I will prepare you something stronger for tonight then. I am going to ask Taiki drive you." Kakyuu sighed.

"No, you can't. I need to go there alone." Haruka obected

"At least promise me not to drink any alcohol." Kakyuu insisted.

"I think I can manage that." Haruka agreed.

"I give you another shot for your own good." Kakyuu informed Haruka.

Haruka cringed. As many injections and dialysis sessions Haruka had already received in her life, she still hadn't gotten over the whole 'needle penetrating the skin' matter, so she looked away as she always did when no one was around, making Kakyuu smirk.

This injection hurt particularly more than usual and Kakyuu placed a bandage over it.

"Now you are all set. Off you go and be safe." Kakyuu said before placing her usual kiss on Haruka's forehead and running her fingers through Haruka's blonde mane.

Shortly after that, Haruka drove off to one of the most exclusive Ryoteis of Tokyo. A usual Ryotei needed at least one referral of an existing customer so that one could make a reservation for lunch or dinner. This one asked for five to even take a call.

Managed by the highest echelons of the Myamoto-clan, even Yumi, as a direct family member would need at least one other family member to vouch for her worthiness to eat there. Its privacy was the highest, one could ask for or could even imagine. It wasn't Haruka's first meeting there but the level of discretion still never failed to impress her when she arrived.

She was led into a serene looking dining room overlooking a tranquil looking inner garden.

Kakashi, Osamu and the right hands of the five core members of the council were already awaiting her arrival.

Once she was seated Osamu began to speak.

"The inauguration of the new mediator commences now."


-Minako-

Hotaru was sitting between Kakyuu and Michiru, opposite to Minako, happily chatting away about all the things she and her papa had done all afternoon and how she really wanted to play more with fireworks when Haruka got back, when suddenly Setsuna entered the communal room.

"Setsuna-ba-chan!" Hotaru exclaimed excitedly and hopped off her chair before she ran towards the tall woman to give her a hug.

"Hello there Hotaru-chan, have you even finished your dinner yet?" Setsuna asked kindly as she picked up the little girl and walked towards the dinner table.

"Not yet…." Hotaru admitted sheepishly.

"We have just started, please join us Setsuna-sensei." Taiki said as he stood up and got another bowl and chopsticks for Setsuna.

"Thank you, Taiki" Setsuna said as she put Hotaru back onto her seat before she sat down in the spot that Haruka customarily occupied. "I am glad to find you all still alive and well, despite Haruka's training." Setsuna continued. "How is everything going so far, Ami?" Setsuna asked.

"We are conducting drills every morning followed by scenario rehearsals and worst case scenario plays." Ami reported factually. "According to the charts that Haruka-senpai is keeping, an average of 9.3 points improvement has been recorded within the whole group. With a steady daily improvement that averages around 2.3 points." Ami continued.

"That is good to hear. When do you expect to achieve target performance? Taiki?" Setsuna asked the tall brunette.

"If things continue as they have, in about two weeks. Though it depends on how low we can keep injury rates and how soon the council meeting will be held. I believe that with additional training time we might during each day we would be able to cut that period to nine days." Taiki reported.

"Good, good." Setsuna nodded.

"Will you stay over as well Setsuna-ba-chan?" Hotaru asked her with an expectant look on her face.

"Just for today." Setsuna smiled in return.

"Hotaru-chan" Ami called for Hotaru's attention.

"Why do you call Setsuna-sensei oba-chan?" Ami asked the little girl.

"Because she is my aunty and I love her like my real aunt." Hotaru explained.

"Oh, so you don't love us like your real aunties and that is why we are only your onees?" Makoto asked her teasingly.

"No, I love you all like my aunties and uncles, but Haruka-papa said if the aunty is young and pretty, she can only be called onee-san" Hotaru explained.

"Oh, you charmer. One day you will be a real heartbreaker like your papa." Minako chuckled while Setsuna's eyebrow twitched.

"You have been spending far too much time with Haruka." Setsuna commented.


-Haruka-

"Thank you for accepting my proposal." Haruka bowed to the avatars carried by the right hand men and women of the five core council members mainly known as 'the Hand'.

Slowly one by one, they left the dining room, leaving Kakashi, Osamu and Haruka to themselves.

"Well that was surprising that you would suggest a postponing of the Council's meeting based on their circumstances instead of ours." Osamu commented once they were alone.

"People will always agree on things that bring them advantages, I have worked for most of them one way or another already. Knowing all the issues they are going through without them having to explain its intricacies is part of why they call me when discretion is needed." Haruka responded calmly. "Underworld or not, without rules only chaos will ensue. We can't have the begin of my term as mediator start with chaos."

Osamu nodded impressed while Kakashi kept drinking his tea.

"I have looked into the issue with the contract on Michiru. I have double checked and made sure that the issue is not coming from any of my enemies nor associates. So far I have looked into it and eliminated all possibilities, but none of them were the originators for that contract that has surfaced on the dark web." Osamu said with a hint of irritation.

"I have audited all her missions and have not found any possible initiators in her accumulated enemies, at least none that would have that sort of money spare nor the technical talent to pull it off." Kakashi added.

"I'll keep an eye open for what might turn up. The main focus for her now is the meeting and as long as it stays delayed, she can just focus on improving her skills in a safe environment. Having people who want to kill you in our line of work is an occupational hazard that is hardly avoidable. An open contract attracts unnecessary attention to us, but pulling her off would show weakness and would just give her time to seek out the source, exposing her unnecessarily to more danger." Haruka said evenly.

"I am entrusting her in your care in the meantime then Haruka-san." Osamu said approvingly. "I need to get going now so that my wife won't suspect anything being off." He added before he said his goodbyes and left the room.

"Speaking of chaos, what is the meaning of this?" Kakashi asked Haruka as he pulled out the sniffer Minako had planted for Haruka in the IIA's system and a remote access drive. "I have no record of you entering our premises." Kakashi continued.

"That's because I didn't. This one is mine but that one isn't. You seem to have a mole in your midst and you know mine is not the issue here because that one is on our side uncle." Haruka said evenly as she picked up the access drive and inspected it. "It seems to be foreign model, want me to track down its origins?" She started to take pictures of it from all angles before returning it to Kakashi.

"You are running short on your own staff and I have a whole agency filled with capable agents…." Kakashi started.

"…of which one or more might be traitors." Haruka finished his sentence. "I couldn't care less about the rest of the agency, but you are family, and many agents with whom I have worked with are important to you and me as well. You will need to get this thing officially addressed, though maybe just make a whole security system upgrade under the guise that there was a minor security system breach instead of a leak, so the mole doesn't suspect anything for now. I will be taking my sniffer back. By the way I am borrowing your Setsuna for the night, in case you are still keeping tabs on her whereabouts." Haruka said offhandedly.

"Why would you do that?" Kakashi asked Haruka, not in the least surprised.

"How else will you get the chance to up her security at her home tonight? I know you were looking for an opening for days and we both know she would never let you do it voluntarily, not that you would have the balls to ask her anyway. You better hurry. The last time, it took me two hours to even break into her place unnoticed and I am nimbler than you." Haruka smirked.

"I just don't want her to think that I am doubting her abilities to defend herself." Kakashi replied defensively before he continued." Speaking of having the balls to face Setsuna, I take it you will stay here to finish your tea and avoid her pissed off being for ordering her around to come to your place under some half-baked excuse?" Kakashi smirked in return.

"Pretty much. But hey, it is true that Hotaru-chan misses her and needs a strong mother figure in her life so she doesn't turn out like me." Haruka grinned unrepentantly. "Anyway, let me enjoy my life while it lasts." Haruka chuckled

"Get home safe." Kakashi patted her back before he got up.

"You, too, old man." Haruka watched him leaving.


-Michiru-

Hotaru had been very attached to all of them since Haruka left, keeping them all busy with games and repeated requests for more ice cream.

"Setsuna-ba-chan, you have not finished eating your ice cream, can I have it then?" Hotaru asked Setsuna.

"No, Hotaru-chan, you can't have too much ice cream." Setsuna reasoned with her.

"But Setsuna-ba-chan, Haruka-papa always says there is no such thing as too much ice cream." Hotaru reasoned.

"Apparently your Haruka-papa also said that I am not pretty enough to be an onee" Setsuna stated evenly.

"No, Haruka-papa didn't say that. Haruka-papa said people that are older need to be respected more and you are older than Haruka-papa but you are the prettiest Setsuna-ba-chan that I have ever seen." Hotaru charmed her way into Setsuna's heart and to the older woman's ice cream.

"Ok, fine, you can have a spoonful." Setsuna consented and Hotaru grinned broadly as she practically finished Setsuna's ice cream.

"Smooth Hotaru-chan" Yaten smirked as Hotaru went to him, after finishing the ice cream, to play Mario cart with him in the viewing room and both fist bumped.

"Only two rounds, did you hear me Hotaru-chan?" Taiki called after the two.

"Yes, Taiki-ji. Only two rounds and I go brush my teeth and get ready for bed." Hotaru replied grinning wide.

"I think you got played by a toddler." Michiru chuckled next to Setsuna.

"This is not your average toddler; this toddler has been raised by Haruka in the last two years." Setsuna sighed.

"Oh, it will only get worse if you don't intervene Setsuna, I know, because I grew up with Haruka and Haruto. They were just a couple of notches worse and double the trouble. It didn't help that Kakashi-ji even encouraged them." Kakyuu laughed as she stood up and cleared up the table.

Taiki helped her and Seiya went to the bar, asking everyone if they wanted any particular drinks.

After everything was cleaned up, Hotaru came running from the viewing room.

"Michiru-nee, Michiru-nee, I won." Hotaru exclaimed cheerfully.

"Well done Hotaru-chan and now it is time to go to bed." Michiru praised her.

"Ok, will you read me a good night story?" Hotaru asked her.

"Of course I will" Michiru replied.

"If it's like that, would you mind getting her ready for bed as well? I will be coming up as soon as I finished visiting the clinic with Kakyuu for a bit." Setsuna asked Michiru.

"Yes, of course I don't mind." Michiru obliged.

"Will you be staying in Haruka's place tonight?" Kakyuu asked Setsuna.

"Yea, I thought one of you was dying when Haruka called so I didn't get the chance to grab any change nor toiletries, so I will use her supplies and I might as well spend more time tomorrow morning with Hotaru while I have the chance." Setsuna explained.

"Well let's get you up there then Hotaru-chan." Kakyuu called and they walked together to the elevator where Kakyuu authorised access to Haruka's apartment with a push on the allocated button.

Once up there, Michiru and Hotaru were left to their own devices and Hotaru went beeline to the walk in closet to grab one of Haruka's t-shirts.

"Haruka-papa said it is ok for me to wear them when she is not home to tug me in." Hotaru explained and Michiru helped her changing before they went to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

When they were done. Hotaru gave Michiru a fairy tale book and climbed into bed.

After Michiru had finished reading a story, Hotaru was still wide awake and neither Haruka nor Setsuna had returned yet.

"Michiru-nee, why don't you join me until Setsuna-ba-chan comes." Hotaru suggested.

"Well I guess I could." Michiru agreed but before she could climb into bed with Hotaru, the little girl stopped her.

"No, you can't go with outdoor clothes into bed. Haruka-papa will get mad at me. Rule number one in bed: No clothes that have been worn outside. Come with me." Hotaru hopped out of bed again and led Michiru back into the closet.

"Here you can choose any of Haruka-papa's sleep shirts and shorts." Hotaru pointed out clothes that were on the left.

"Are you sure Hotaru? I can just sit next to you until Setsuna comes back."

"Setsuna-ba-chan and Kakyuu-nee always take really long time when they go to the clinic together. They always look at a lot of blood and stuff. Don't worry, Haruka-papa won't mind. Just take that white shirt there and those white shorts" Hotaru pointed at some clothes on the upper shelves.

"Oh well, I guess I could, but you have to promise me to close your eyes straight away when we get to bed." Michiru instructed the little girl.

"Agreed, Michiru-nee" Hotaru nodded.

As Michiru changed her clothes, she wondered what took Haruka so long to return and if the blonde was alright.

Once they were back in Haruka's bed, Michiru really understood why Hotaru wouldn't want her own bed.

Haruka's smell and presence was surrounding her and hugged her peacefully to sleep.


-Haruka-

Haruka laid alone resting on the tatami floor when the door slid open and a servant joined her in the empty dining room to inform her that all her guest had left the premises.

She got up and left the Ryotei in silence after thanking the manager and servants for their service.

When she got into her car, Yumi was already waiting for her, sitting in the backseat.

"I take it the dinner was to your satisfaction Haruka?" Yumi asked her as Haruka buckled her seat belt.

Haruka let her eyes feast on the view of Yumi in a very intricate Kimono before she replied.

"Almost, the tea was not made by you." Haruka smirked.

"Tea master Kanzaki is one of the best in his trade." Yumi said dignified.

"The tea was by no means bad. It just lacked a certain delicateness." Haruka explained as she pulled out of the parking spot.

"Calling me out here in the middle of the night is rather unusual of you." Yumi commented.

"I need to see your cousin, the computer hermit Rin" Haruka explained.

"And here I thought you wanted to see me." Yumi replied wryly.

"I always do, and right now I appreciate the effort you have put in your choice of Kimono." Haruka smirked.

"Flattery won't get you far." Yumi answered unimpressed.

"I don't need you to get me far, I just need you to get me passed the first couple of security perimeters of your clan's estate and closer to his house. I will do the rest. And I am not flattering you. I am just stating the truth. You know I like you in Kimonos." Haruka stated evenly.

"What do you want from Rin?" Yumi asked.

"Just to talk to him" Haruka replied detached.

"No one has managed to talk to him in nearly a decade, he has entrenched himself in that house since it was given to him. His place is even more fortified than the rest of the estate." Yumi explained.

"I know, that is why I need you to get passed your family's security measures first, so I can concentrate on his and not waste time on yours." Haruka explained in return.

"Why should I help you?" Yumi asked unmoved.

"Because I asked you to." Haruka stated matter-of-factly.

"It is extremely dangerous. We have lost several servants due to his security measures." Yumi cautioned Haruka.

"I am well aware." Haruka responded gravely.


-Kakyuu-

Setsuna was looking through the test results that Kakyuu had been collecting for the past weeks.

"This doesn't look good." Setsuna commented.

"I know." Kakyuu sighed. "Though have a look at this. I am quite hopeful for this new combination." Kakyuu passed her another compound and its results.

"How is she holding up in general?" Setsuna asked while she evaluated the results.

"Holding up her strong front, as usual. The pain must be excruciating though when she is hooked up to dialysis." Kakyuu shared her observation.

"Well it's Haruka, she won't complain about pain, especially not with Hotaru around." Setsuna said dryly.

"With all the training, I don't have much time to work on this, but I am glad Haruka does half day trainings instead of full day trainings. That way Hotaru gets to spend time with her and I get to come down here and work on a new cure for her. Also the girls have time to recover from the stress and injuries have stayed minimal so far." Kakyuu informed Setsuna.

"Have you thought about combining these two compounds?" Setsuna pointed at different files that were spread across Kakyuu's desk.

"I have tried to combine them, but so far I had no luck." Kakyuu admitted. "I just have to try harder, because as she is going right now, she will be lucky if she gets to see Hotaru entering primary school and that only if she keeps up with the booster shots, which have lost their efficacy lately. I have made improvements on them though and they seem to kick in faster." Kakyuu told Setsuna.

"The physical deterioration is quite severe." Setsuna noted with concern.

"We are stopping and reversing it with the booster shots, but like I said, the classical boosters have lost their effectiveness and bring their own side effects." Kakyuu explained.

"Does Haruka know how much time she has left?" Setsuna asked concerned.

"She said she doesn't want to know. I think she has been ready to go from day one of the diagnosis." Kakyuu couldn't hide her worries. "But at least she is not giving up, if there is a cure tomorrow, she will take it, no questions asked." Kakyuu stated confidently.

"But if she doesn't care how much time she has left, that will make her extremely reckless when it comes to her own safety." Setsuna concluded.

"I know." Kakyuu agreed quietly.


-Haruka-

Haruka pulled up in front of a typical nondescript Japanese house of an older style, further in the back of the Myamoto-clan's estate. She pulled out her night vision goggles and surveyed the situation.

"Please tell me you have a plan." Yumi requested, slightly nervous, sitting in the back seat.

"It's a work in progress." Haruka said as she took off her jacket and got out of the car to get more equipment out of the trunk of her car.

"Even my grandfather has not gotten him out of there since he got into it." Yumi told Haruka.

"Would your grandfather reward me if I manage to drag him out of there?" Haruka asked wryly as she changed her shoes and put on another bullet proof vest along with a full frontal helmet with inbuilt night vision as well as equipping herself with a couple more guns and knives.

"I guess he would, but you should be more worried about getting in there to start off with." Yumi reminded her.

"Stay here and if I do not call you in an hour, call Taiki to collect my remains" Haruka winked at Yumi with a smirk before closing the visor.

"Not funny Haruka." Yumi responded.

"It wasn't meant to be funny." Haruka said evenly as she pulled a heavy axe out of the trunk.

She went up to the gate of the small house and rang its bell.

"Who are you?" a robotic voice demanded to know.

"Someone who wants to talk to you." Haruka said calmly.

"Get lost. I do not talk to anyone." The voice spat back.

"I did try to do it nicely." Haruka sighed when she smashed the bell and its camera with her axe before she got to work on the gate.

Immediately it showered bullets on the spot where the gate used to be.

Haruka hauled off the axe towards the entrance, causing it to get stuck in the entrance door. Bullets had followed the axe's flight all the way to the doormat.

Looking left and right, Haruka spotted eight self-loading machine guns with motion sensors, four on each side.

Considering none of the bullets hit the axe itself, Haruka only had to outrun the guns and if there was one thing she could do, then it was running.

Haruka took a couple of steps back and charged.

She could feel the air pressure of each bullet that was targeting her passing her back as she ran smoothly towards the doormat.

Once there she, took the axe out off the door and slowly traced along house's walls until she reached the meter box.

Just three hits with the axe and the power supply for the whole house was cut.

It would probably only take a few seconds before the emergency supply would kick in and so Haruka quickly threw her weight against the closest window to gain access to the house.

Landing rather rough she rolled to the opposite wall and suddenly heard a discerning clicking.

The security system was rebooting.

She quickly moved to the door and noticed a staircase going up and going down.

'Up or down?' Haruka asked herself.

'Of course down' She decided and swiftly moved down the stairs.

Everything was eerily quiet besides the humming of the system resetting.

Suddenly a huge robot came charging towards her and it took all her skills and agility to jump out of its path. Rushing into the adjacent room, she seemed to have reached Rin's servers.

Quickly looking around, she reached into her pocket for the sniffer, Kakashi had returned to her earlier, switched its delay function on and attached it in the appropriate yet hidden slot.

She needed to find Rin, but to find him, she had to face that monstrosity.

She reached for her guns and slowly opened the door.

'Where was it?' Haruka thought to herself as she slowly stepped out and walked towards the direction it came from earlier.

Unexpectedly she spotted quick movements from her left side from the corners of her eyes and saw the flare of a gunshot. Quickly she hid behind a thin wall which barely protected her from the gunfire that hailed down on her. Reaching to her side she noticed she was hit and that the bullet had pierced her vest, but not her inner armour. Trying to ignore the pain that slowly flooded her system she moved along the wall and peeked to see if the robot was out of bullets yet.

More bullets flew, apparently not yet, Haruka sighed.

Trying to recall where it stood, she prepared for a counter attack. Lying flat down on the ground she crawled the corner of the wall and shot back, trying to hit all the vital joints of the robot. Eventually the knee gave in and the colossus fell over, but not before emptying its magazine in Haruka's direction. Slowly the dust settled and Haruka got up to have a closer look at the robot and its setup before she moved on, to look into the remaining rooms.

A, by now familiar, squeak abruptly came from behind her after she had turned left into the next hallway. She quickly duck, rolled beneath the robot and shot the robot, charging towards her, in its neck. The robot collapsed just in time as Haruka ran out of bullets.

She exchanged her magazines and walked in direction from where the robot came from. There was bound to be more where that came from the closer she got to her target.

While she walked along the corridors she disabled every single camera that came her way, so that Rin couldn't send more robots after her.

She noticed that that didn't stop him from trying though, as she was hiding suspended above another robot from which she was hiding by pressing her hands and feet against at the opposing walls of the hallway she was in. Her hands started to sweat from the effort and she could feel herself slipping. 'Ducks and cheese crackers' she thought to herself as she dropped herself on the robot and pulled out its cables that were embedded in its neck.

Finally, another five robots later, she stood in front of the last door and kicked it open unceremoniously.

A wiry man with pale skin and long black hair was sitting behind a desk surrounded by big screens.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" Rin screamed as Haruka stepped closer to him.

He tried to defend himself by shooting shakily a small calibre gun.

Haruka walked undeterred closer and as he was out of bullets, she took off her helmet and whacked him with it across his face.

"Don't you know this shit hurts?" Haruka growled.

"Oh my god, it's you." Rin started to mumble.

"Tenoh-sama is fine, no need to get blasphemous." Haruka told him evenly as she reached for her phone. "I'm in, would you mind joining me and making me a cup of tea?" She said calmly into her phone before she turned back to Rin. "So...we need to talk." Haruka grabbed the man by his shirt and dragged him upstairs.