-Kakashi-

They were slowly making their way back to the Ryokan, when Kakashi reached for a small box in the sleeve of his yukata. The box used to have a velvety texture, but through the years of touching it whenever he felt doubtful about his endeavour, it had gained a silky smooth finish. He had been carrying it around with him since the very day he had bought it in Venice, and that was five years ago. When he saw the ring in that small jewellery store, he just knew he wanted to give it to Setsuna along with the rest of his life, but once he had it, he worried about the implication of this gift. They had been seeing each other casually up to this point, for ten years, no strings attached whatsoever. They lived for their jobs after all, but now after five years, he was sure that this was not an impulse purchase, at the same time he still didn't know how Setsuna would react. Every time he wanted to give it to her, it wasn't the right time, yet. First, he still had two teenagers living with him and she was still a fresh graduate, then his little monsters enrolled in the agency, causing their own kind of havoc and Setsuna was one of their tutors. After they had graduated and become trainers themselves, his nephew died and his niece disappeared. Problems just kept breading more problems and there was always too much on his plate to ask Setsuna to have to deal with it as well, and besides, their age gap was also an issue, at least to him. Adding to all of that, she had just gotten promoted not long ago and if, in the best case scenario, they would take the next step and even just establish a stable relationship, one of them would be forced to change departments. Deep in thought he walked slowly behind the object of his affection who was walking with Hotaru and Michiru ahead of him.

"What's eating you up old man" Haruka interrupted his train of thought.

"I feel old." Kakashi said tired and Haruka stared at him for a moment gobsmacked.

"Kakashi-ji, you are barely a dozen years older than me and just eight years older than Setsuna. Major Yukimura would slap you right now for calling yourself old because that would make him ancient." Haruka said light heartedly before she finished her Ramune.

"Haruka, how would you feel if you got an aunt?" Kalashi asked the blonde tentatively.

"I already thought I would never see the day that you would finally ask her the big question." Haruka laughed. "So today is the big day?" Haruka asked curiously.

"Well, I have waited for so long now and there was never a perfect moment to do so. In the very least I can give her this ring, even if it will just be a simple gift with no connotations." Kakashi sighed.

"You mean the ring you got in Venice with the garnet coloured diamond?" Haruka asked offhandedly.

"How do you know about it?" Kakashi asked her suspiciously.

"You always rub its box in your pocket when you are deep in thought. One day I got curious what your lucky charm was that you kept guarding like a state secret." Haruka said easily.

"Do you not have any respect for boundaries child?" Kakashi sighed resigned.

"I do, that is why I never asked nor talked about my findings." Haruka shrugged. "Either way, this is as close as you will get to a perfect moment. You are on vacation. The people shadowing us are dealt with and right now, nothing is burning down in the agency or anywhere else that affects us directly." Haruka continued evenly.

"Look at her, she is young, beautiful, successful, smart and elegant. Compared to her I am just a thug who made it high because he played his cards right." Kakashi said quietly.

"Kakashi you are a Takahashi, you made it because you fought hard, not just within the agency but even in your own family, for your rights. Also, we all age, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and love makes even the smartest people extremely stupid. So if she loves you, she will definitely say yes." Haruka ensured him.

"And if she says no?" Kakashi asked doubt filled.

"Then you know where you stand." Haruka answered calmly as she put an arm around him. "Either way, I have ordered enough sake, to celebrate or drown out the pain, for tomorrow night. Take a leap of faith. Whatever happens, I'll catch you on the other side old man." Haruka patted his shoulder reassuringly.


-Michiru-

They were finally back at the Ryokan when Haruka received a text message and excused herself that she needed to talk to Yaten.

Michiru got Hotaru ready for bed, for Haruka, and tugged the little girl in the ready laid out futon, before she sat down next to the little girl to read her a good night story.

After the story Hotaru asked Michiru: "Aren't you getting ready for bed?"

"I will, when I get back to my room." Michiru explained.

"Are you not staying over?" Hotaru continued to ask.

"I do have my own room Hotaru-chan, but I will stay here until Haruka gets back." Michiru assured the child.

"Are you mad with Haruka-papa?" Hotaru asked timidly.

"No, what makes you think that I am mad with Haruka?" Michiru asked surprised in return.

"Because you are not staying here. Chibiusa said that every time her mum and dad fight, that they sleep in different rooms." Hotaru explained.

"What makes you think Haruka and I are like Mamoru and Usagi?" Michiru asked nervously.

"Last night when Chibiusa and I needed to go to toilet, we saw you and Haruka-papa share a futon and Chibiusa explained to me that only mommies and daddies sleep in each other's arms like that." Hotaru explained patiently.

Michiru couldn't fault Hotaru for her logic and conclusion.

"Well, friends share futons, too. Like Chibiusa and you." Michiru tried to wiggle out of the situations.

"So, you are best friends and want to always be together like Chibiusa and me?" Hotaru asked innocently.

"Yea… it is a bit more complicated than that." Michiru tried to explain.

"Is it because of me? Is it because you want to stay Michiru-nee and not be Michiru-mama?" Hotaru asked innocently. "I promise I will be good." Hotaru added pleadingly.

"Oh, my goodness, why would you think that?" Michiru asked shocked.

"In Kindergarten, Daisuke-kun told me his new mom left his dad because she didn't want to be his mom anymore." Hotaru explained sadly.

"Come here Hotaru." Michiru opened her arms wide so Hotaru could come and get a tight hug. When she was holding the child tight in her arms she told Hotaru reassuringly. "Anyone that you want to call mum will be proud to have you as her child and I am happy to be your mama if you want to me to be there for you, that doesn't have to depend on what is in between Haruka and me."


-Yaten-

Haruka was sitting next to Yaten as they went through the incident reports.

Takashi Tenoh was getting more aggressive with his attacks, but so far he had not found any viable entry points to the Tenoh tower and the main entrance was guarded by the Yamaguchis. The crime families did not report any unusual activities in their jurisdictions either and Yumi kept an eye on vital connection points they had set up.

But the few weak spots they did have, which he found, Takashi attacked hard, with no consideration to losses made.

Haruka frowned and started to massage her lower lip, a definite sign that she was thinking hard at this point and that there was no point in asking her any questions at this stage.

He looked at the memory cards, she had collected earlier and wanted analysed, so he copied them all to his hard drive before he sorted them according to time stamp and location. If Mamoru and his family were the only targets, then these pictures did not paint the whole picture but something more. Each one of them was tailed all day long, starting from last night and not only that, Haruka was in the majority of them.

Yaten was about to point that out, when Haruka stopped him from flicking through more pictures.

"Hold it there and zoom into this one." Haruka instructed him as he was looking into a picture, that was taken of Haruka and Hotaru playing darts to win some teddy for Chibiusa. In a corner was a lanky man with short pale blonde hair, grey eyes and familiar features.

"What was his name again..." Haruka mumbled.

"Want me to check him out?" Yaten asked.

"Not now, we're on holidays, just forward that zoom to Mamoru's phone. It's already late and we all need rest. Otherwise what's the point of a holiday?" Haruka sighed before she told him to make secure copies for her before he would go to bed.


-Haruka-

Haruka returned to her room, where Hotaru was already sleeping peacefully while Michiru was sitting patiently next to the her, drawing on a loose sheet of paper from Hotaru's sketch book, in the dim light of Hotaru's night lamp.

Michiru sat so gracefully, still fully dressed in her yukata and her hair done up, revealing her creamy and irresistible neck. As Haruka opened the door Michiru slowly turned her head and Haruka looked into the most beautiful and mesmerising blue eyes she could recall.

"Thank you for looking after her for me." Haruka said tiredly as she entered and sat down on the ground next to her bag.

"You're welcome." Michiru replied softly as she stood up.

Haruka reached into her bag and grabbed a couple of pills Kakyuu had made for her to replace daily injections. Her head was getting fuzzy and her vision started to get blurred. She had forgotten to take them with her to the street festival and missed her medicating time by too much. Now she was suffering the consequences. Gritting her teeth, she reached for the pre-filled syringe instead and rolled up her sleeve.

"Let me do that." Michiru offered as she took the syringe out of Haruka's shaky hand.

"Thanks" Haruka mumbled as she closed her eyes and leaned back.

She could feel the dreaded burn in her veins as Michiru administered her the injection and subconsciously held her breath.

"Haruka? Should I call Kakyuu?" Michiru suggested cautiously.

"No, it'll pass any moment now" Haruka whispered through gritted teeth. "Don't worry. You can go ahead and go to sleep." Haruka managed to mutter before sweat broke out due to the intense pain her body was going through.

Haruka was glad that the room was rather dark and kept her eyes shut for good measures. She waited for the sound of the door opening and closing, but it didn't come.

Minutes, that felt like hours, passed and the pain slowly subsided. Cautiously opening her eyes, Haruka looked to her left and Michiru was still there, watching her with a look Haruka couldn't define.

"I know this face is hard to bear with, but I was pretty much born with it. There is not much I can do to make it any more lovable." Haruka joked.

"You are able to joke again, so you must be better. Next time I will still call Kakyuu for good measures." Michiru threatened but sighed with relief nonetheless.

"Do as you please." Haruka sighed as she got up.

"Do you really think it was a good idea to come here when you clearly haven't fully recovered?" Michiru asked quietly.

"What would you prefer me to do? Die away slowly and alone in the clinic or to enjoy the time I have left with the people I care about?" Haruka asked her seriously in return. "I might have a year, two years, maybe even fifty years or just a week depending on health and circumstances. I do not intend to hide and cower in the face of danger and death. I want to live, I want to see Hotaru smile, to laugh and to be happy. Even if it is just for now." Haruka said tiredly as she got up.

"I am just worried that you are overextending yourself." Michiru tried to clarify herself. "Hotaru needs you more than you can imagine and that alive and well." Michiru tried to reason with Haruka.

"Thank you for your concern. I am fine. I just missed taking my pills ONCE today." Haruka said defiantly. "Hotaru has more people, than just me, to look after her and who love her for when my time comes. She is stronger than you think." Haruka stated evenly.

"And what about you?" Michiru asked.

"I am not asking you to look after me or to stay with me. I know what a mess I am. I told you already, you won't find happiness with me, as no one else could." Haruka smirked.

"Haruka-papa?" Hotaru called sleepily.

"Did I wake you Hime-chan? I am sorry." Haruka went over to the little girl who sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Why are you mad with Michiru-mama?" Hotaru asked innocently.

'Michiru-mama?' Haruka thought to herself surprised. Maybe it was a Freudian slip.

"I am not mad with Michiru, go back to sleep Hime-chan." Haruka gently urged Hotaru.

"Are you going somewhere?" Hotaru continued to ask.

"No, I am just going to sleep now." Haruka answered.

"You are not in sleeping clothes." Hotaru commented.

"I am getting changed now." Haruka explained.

"Hurry." Hotaru rushed Haruka.

"Ok, ok." Haruka sighed. "Go back to sleep."

"No, I want to wait until Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa are ready to sleep, too." Hotaru insisted. "Michiru-mama, you will stay, right?" Hotaru added.

Haruka didn't dare to turn around, to look at Michiru, and while it might have been only seconds that passed before Michiru replied to Hotaru, it felt like excruciation long time nonetheless.

"Of course, I just need to get changed first." Michiru explained.

"Haruka-papa has spare clothes, right Haruka-papa?" Hotaru interjected before Michiru could leave the room.

"Of course. It's in the cupboard, just help yourself to whatever you need." Haruka said tired before she got up and disappeared in the bathroom for a quick shower.

As she stood under the warm stream of water, she asked herself why she was so easily irritated. It had to be the lack of sleep, she told herself, but she knew it wasn't the only reason.

Earlier, Kakyuu had asked her in passing what Haruka thought of Michiru in that yukata and she had slipped up and told Kakyuu that Michiru looked like all Christmases and Birthdays combined but, what she didn't say was, that Michiru was not hers to hold.

'Come one Haruka, you can pull yourself together for Hotaru's sake.' Haruka told herself as she dried herself.

When she was dressed again and had brushed her teeth, before she re-entered the room, Michiru wasn't there anymore, but Hotaru was sitting wide awake on her futon, that she had pulled right next to Haruka's.

"Hime-chan, why aren't you sleeping?" Haruka asked as she rubbed her hair dry with the towel around her shoulders.

"I am waiting for you and Michiru-mama." Hotaru explained patiently.

"You know; you cannot just call Michiru mama you know?" Haruka tried to explain but Hotaru obviously didn't seem to agree.

"Why not? She told me she would be happy to be my mom." Hotaru disagreed. "Don't you love Michiru-mama?"

"I do." Haruka agreed as she got under the blanket of her futon.

"So when Haruka-papa loves someone, then she becomes my mom right?" Hotaru reasoned.

"Well it is a bit more complicated than that…." Haruka tried to explain.

"Why?" Hotaru asked insistently.

"Emotions do not always stay the same Hime-chan." Haruka continued.

"But you told me you will always love me; will that change one day?" Hotaru asked anxiously.

"No! No, that will never change Hime-chan. I will always love you more than ice cream, remember?" Haruka assured Hotaru.

"So why would your emotions change for Michiru-mama?" Hotaru asked, putting Haruka at a loss for words for a moment.

"Well, it doesn't just depend on what I feel, right? One day Michiru will have to get married and then things will change again." Haruka started to explain.

"I am ok if she marries you." Hotaru announced.

"But it won't be me, that she will marry." Haruka clarified quietly.

"Why not? You said you love her, why wouldn't she marry you?" Hotaru asked perplexed.

"It's an adult thing." Haruka resigned to use as an excuse.

"Like, that you don't have just ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner, even though you could?" Hotaru tried to help out.

"Yea, something like that." Haruka agreed.

Just in that moment Michiru entered the room, now dressed in a yukata for sleeping and with her hair down.

"I'm sleeping in the middle, then no one needs to sleep alone on a futon." Hotaru announced.

They went to sleep wordlessly and the next morning Haruka went to the hot springs before the sun had even risen.

She hadn't been in the bath all too long until Mamoru joined her on the other side in the men's bath.

"I think it would be best if you return home for Obon. You would have an excuse to be there without making it too elaborate, the festival will keep Usagi and Chibiusa busy and distracted from the underhanded jibes of your mum and your suffering will be limited to the few days of the festival." Haruka suggested calmly to the other side of the bamboo screen that separated them into the various baths.

"And what will you during that time?" Mamoru asked back.

"What I do every year, I go Harry Potter Volume two mode, hide and pretend I never existed in the first place." Haruka responded dryly. "Though this year I might take Hotaru again to Kyoto where Sayuri's family is keeping part of her ashes."

"Will the boys join you?" Mamoru continued to ask.

"Why? Will you be needing extra help to look after your girls?" Haruka asked in return.

"Just wondering." Mamoru answered offhandedly.

"I'd lend you Seiya if you want extra protection, but I think that would cause even more issues with your mum, so if you like I can talk to Kakashi-ji to let Minako and some people of her choice keep an eye on you. She will be in the same area as you anyway. It will look natural and non-invasive. Though I do think that you either need your own entourage or arrange yourself with your father if you want this issue solved in the long-term." Haruka explained calmly.

"It is not me that I am worried about. It is more Usagi and Chibiusa. You said it yourself, you do not trust her skills in self-defence, leave alone, her defending Chibiusa on top of that." Mamoru sighed.

"Thinking positively, you never know what tiger will reveal itself in Usagi when her baby gets attacked, but realistically, I cannot even see her handling Chibiusa problem free right now and you were so obsessed with making another one, you overlooked that small detail till now." Haruka teased light hearted causing Mamoru to groan on the other side. "Relax, we will find a way that will make everyone happy, or well, as happy as possible." Haruka said reassuringly when suddenly the door to the women's door opened and Kakyuu entered.

"Tenoh, Haruka, you come out of there, right now." Kakyuu said sternly.

"EEEhhh, but I got barely comfortable." Haruka protested

"I noticed that you missed your pills last night, so you are getting an injection for today." Kakyuu said strict.

"Can that not wait?" Haruka pleaded.

"Are you working here on something or waiting here for someone?" Kakyuu asked suspiciously.

"No….we are on holiday, I would not dare to do that during our holiday." Haruka answered slowly.

"Do you want to play with the guys poker tonight or do you want to sit with the girls and do beauty treatments?" Kakyuu listed the choices that Haruka had.

"Can I at least get dressed first?" Haruka sighed.

"Hurry, I still need to get myself ready for the hike later." Kakyuu rushed Haruka.

"Yes, yes." Haruka got out of the hot water pool and went to the changing room behind Kakyuu.

Before Kakyuu injected Haruka, on the bench she was sitting on, she asked Haruka quietly. "Is something going on between Michiru and you?"

"No, why do you ask?" Haruka asked evenly in return.

"When I went looking for you, she was in your room, still sleeping next to Hotaru-chan." Kakyuu explained as looked for a viable vein.

"Hotaru seems to have adopted Michiru as her new mum." Haruka explained through gritted teeth as Kakyuu injected her.

"Your child has similar taste to you." Kakyuu snickered.

"I would hope so, she is my spitting image after all" Haruka grinned pained as she leaned back with closed eyes.

"Oh, I do hope on the positive influences from Michiru then, because I do not think this world could handle another you." Kakyuu laughed.

Once the pain subsided, they walked out of the baths and bumped into Setsuna and Kakashi, who were on their way to breakfast. Haruka noticed the garnet coloured diamond, discretely sparkling on the older woman's hand, immediately and looked at her uncle expectantly. Kakashi grinned wide in return and without hesitation the blonde stepped up to Setsuna and hugged her tight.

"Just so you know, I have adopted you from the first day I saw you, welcome to the family." Haruka laughed and Setsuna hugged her back with a soft smile.

"What do you mean by that?" Kakashi asked surprised.

"Oh, old man, I knew from the start, there would be no one else willing to put up with you for the rest of their life than her." Haruka smirked.


-Michiru-

They got back from their hiking and fishing trip and everyone was ready to put their feet up, not to move for the rest of the day. Even Hotaru and Chibiusa just wanted to go to the Onsen and to sleep early after.

Haruka had arranged for the guys a special room in which they could have their guys' night with grilled snacks, drinks, cigars and poker for the night, while the women got another room in which they were provided full body massage chairs and also snacks, drinks and games of various kinds.

The kids were well asleep in the room next door, when Michiru entered with Usagi where everyone else was already sitting in the massage chairs.

Only Setsuna wasn't there yet, but she entered eventually and was immediately barraged by questions about the source of the ring she was wearing.

"I just didn't want to lose it during our excursion." Setsuna explained its absence during the day.

"So how did he propose?" Usagi asked all dreamy eyed.

"He asked me last night when we got back from the festival." Setsuna said calmly.

"Did he go down on one knee?" Minako asked enthusiastically.

"No, but he was so nervous, his hand was still shacking when he put the ring on for me." Setsuna snickered.

"What took him so long?" Rei asked exasperated.

"Kakashi might not look like it, but he is very considerate in his own way. He had, and still has, a lot of things on his plate and it is still hard for him to share his thoughts with me." Setsuna tried to explain. "The only person he was ever truly close to was his older sister, Tomoko, Haruka's mum and he had promised her to look after her kids with all his heart. I think any distraction would have felt to him like he was betraying her. Also, when we first met, he was a freshly promoted captain and I had just graduated as an agent. It wouldn't have looked good for either of us to be seeing each other, not to mention that the director for security was Takashi Tenoh, Haruka's grandfather, back then, who loathed it that Kakashi got custodial rights for his oldest son's kids instead of him. He tried to get Haruka and Haruto to be taken away from Kakashi on a regular basis." Setsuna sighed. "Kakashi was caught between a rock and a hard place, but he still pulled through somehow. Mainly thanks to the help of Kakyuu and her family and of course the Yamaguchis" Setsuna continued to explain.

"I don't think I did much though. Haruka and Haruto were both very independent by the time that I met them. Pretty much like an older version of Hotaru right now, just split into a responsible and reasonable half and ….. Haruka." Kakyuu laughed and the rest joined her. "Kakashi did his best to raise them by being mum and dad replacement while still trying to be the cool uncle. Luckily the twins always had each other to rely on when Kakashi was busy with work and Haruka was always good with finding things to do, while Haruto made sure, those things would not get them into trouble or killed. If you would meet them on the street, you would think that those three were the most carefree people in the world. I was truly shocked when I met Kakashi-ji for the first time in the inauguration ceremony for the agent training. He was like he was replaced by a cold and heartless fighting machine with the only objective to eliminate the enemy. The man, who always had a warm smile for me since elementary school and who brought home cream puffs and ice cream for his niece and nephew, even if they caused trouble, played with them hide and seek at every chance he got, so cold and emotionless, was a true shock." Kakyuu recalled.

"I think the more you carry on your shoulders, the less likely you are willing to share it with anyone else, especially the person you love and care for, because you know what kind of burden it all is." Setsuna concluded pensively.

"Did you have had an inkling though that he would ask you the big question?" Makoto asked cautiously.

"I did, for over five years now." Setsuna chuckled.

"Wow, you are very patient Setsuna." Ami said admiring.

"Well, he was worth all the wait, to me at least. There was no point in pushing him to come to this conclusion. Don't get me wrong, my younger self did do that at the beginning which only resulted in him pulling back and going away on long missions or he just stayed home with the twins, just to avoid me. We had a major falling out just after seeing each other unofficially a bit more regular for three months. I was so frustrated with him and others often told me that there are many more fish in the sea, but it wasn't a fish that I wanted, but this damn stubborn lone hawk in the sky." Setsuna chuckled.

"Why make it easy, when you can make it excruciatingly difficult." Kakyuu snickered.

"You are the one to talk, you have someone following your every step and yet you aren't committing to poor Taiki." Setsuna smirked.

"You have good talking, how often does Kakashi go on missions anymore?" Kakyuu asked in return.

"Maybe once or twice a year." Setsuna recalled vaguely.

"And when he goes, how worried are you?" Kakyuu asked evenly.

"When I am not with him,….I lose appetite and sleep." Setsuna admitted.

"Now imagine him doing that every one or two months." Kakyuu sighed. "I am already worried witless every time Haruka goes on missions and she is close to me like a real sister or brother. I do not know if I could do that for Taiki as well or even more. There are many defenceless people who rely on me and every time he comes home injured, I feel guilty for not having been there to prevent it, yet if I went, who will continue my research which will potentially rescue millions?" Kakyuu asked rhetorically as she poured everyone a drink. "Right now, I have a very carefully balanced environment, that relies on the fact that nothing is changing. I remember when one of my ex was giving me a hard time for leaving him because I just stopped feeling favourably his way or even an ounce of any kind of emotion for him. Haruka, in the end, had to go and …give him a piece of her mind. I never heard of him again." Kakyuu explained as she gave everyone a drink and Makoto and Minako nodded knowingly. "As protective as I am of her, she is of me, but she also cares for Taiki, too. They went through hell with each other and for each other, on countless missions. He would die for her without a second thought and she would not leave any options unused to save his life. If either of them died in any of those scenarios, how could I look either of them into the eyes without resentment and they look back without survivor guilt? Also, what if my emotions one day change like they have before? There would be no going back to what we have right now. The innocence would have been taken that cannot ever be returned." Kakyuu said more to herself than the others around her.


-Haruka-

They were all sitting around the table and laughing while Haruka shuffled the playing cards as it was her turn to be the dealer.

Suddenly Haruka sneezed.

"You ok there?" Kakashi asked her.

"Probably just all the smoke here tickling my nose." Haruka laughed it off.

"Who would have thought that a woman would be willing to put up with you for the rest of her life." Major Taro Yukimura snickered as he good naturedly patted Kakashi's back, who only could grin from ear to ear.

"I still can't believe it myself." Kakashi admitted. "It has been so long that we have been together, that really nothing should feel different, and yet, everything does." Kakashi swooned over the thought of Setsuna.

"If this is not a man in love, then I do not know what is." Mamoru said amused.

"You would know, Mamoru." Taiki said smiling.

"How long has it been since you got married?" Seiya asked as he watched Taro cutting the stack that Haruka had placed in the middle of the table

"Four years now." Mamoru said proudly.

"Feeling any different from the day you fell in love with Usagi?" Yaten asked curiously as he took the cards Haruka dealt him.

"Not at all and yet totally. You kind of grow so accustomed to your partner over time that you start to take their presence for granted but the moment you are apart, there is no one else in this world you long to see more." Mamoru said pensively as he looked at his cards.

"I can tell you from twenty years of experience of marriage, that will still change a lot." Taro said chuckling as he placed the small blind.

"I have been seeing Setsuna for just a bit over a decade and even that was already a very turbulent roller-coaster ride." Kakashi said sighing as he placed the big blind.

"How did you manage to keep her waiting for you for so long anyway?" Haruka asked astonished.

"Beats me, I don't know how often I knocked at her door, fearing that someone else was already there, keeping her company." Kakashi admitted. "I can't tell you how it was for her, but for me, it was like walking on an emotional tightrope with no safety net for the past decade or so."

"Standing on it is better than falling off it." Taiki said evenly as he called the bet.

"Pretty much, but sometimes I was forced to move and every emotional muscle twitch could have been the end of me." Kakashi recalled as he started to frown as watched Seiya, calling the bet unfazed as well.

"If you fall, you fall. A quick and painful end is better than prolonged suffering." Seiya said indifferent.

"But it is hard to get back onto the next rope, once you have fallen." Yaten sighed as he folded.

Haruka looked at her Ace-Deuce pair of hearts. 'Great…Hunting Season…' Haruka thought to herself without betraying her poker face and called.

"It is best not to get onto tightropes to start off with if you can't fly. Falling is an inevitable thing and safety nets are few and far apart." Haruka said evenly.


-Michiru-

"But enough of me, when will the big day be?" Kakyuu asked Setsuna smiling broadly.

"Not any time soon. If we did, officially, got married, or even would be just dating openly, one of us would need to move departments or even worse, quit. I couldn't do that to him and I know he wouldn't let me do either of those either." Setsuna replied with a sigh. "The regulations on fraternising within the department only got slacked for one single case and has been tightened worse ever since." Setsuna explained.

"But it did get slacked, so maybe it can get slacked again. Anyone who knows you two can definitely attest that you can keep private and professional life as far apart as Arctic and Antarctica." Minako argued.

"The only person who can do that is the director of the entire agency and his name is Takashi Tenoh." Setsuna said wryly.

The consensus "Oh" went around.

"Anyway, how about some good news for a change. So how are you girls doing on the romantic side of life?" Setsuna looked teasingly at Ami and Makoto who blushed furiously.

Ami just started drinking the cool Umeshu, Kakyuu had given her earlier, and Makoto was grappling for words as she felt like she needed to say something to relief the awkwardness.

"I think Haruka broke the hand of the last I guy I dated." Makoto tried to remember.

"Haruka told me she broke only two of his fingers." Minako interjected.

"Was it? Yea well then it was two fingers. Either way, he never laid another one on me." Makoto shrugged indifferently.

"Haruka sounds like she gets involved quite a lot in your love life." Ami commented.

"If you hurt or make someone she cares about uncomfortable, she will just make sure, with any means necessary, that you never do that again." Minako explained. "And for the record, Nangyoku-san was a douche." Minako said dryly before she finished her drink.

"Didn't I ask for HAPPY news?" Setsuna emphasised.

"Well, to me, that was happy." Makoto defended her choice of information. "And shouldn't it be Michiru, who has a happy news since she got promoted to mommy?" Makoto pointed out, making Michiru choke on her drink.

"Well, Hotaru asked me last night to be her mom and I agreed." Michiru said matter-of-factly.

"And? What did Haruka say to that?" Minako egged her on.

"Nothing." Michiru replied evenly.

"Don't hold your breath for that stupid blonde to ever say anything to that." Kakyuu sighed. "After she got burned once, when she was a mere sweet 17 years, she never attempted to hold another lasting relationship again." Kakyuu explained.

"Are we talking about Sayaka?" Setsuna interjected.

"Yep. Haruka was so smitten with that woman, she would have taken the moon down to earth if that was what Sayaka would have asked for. I don't know the details, how it ended, because if Haruka wants to keep a secret, then no force in this world can unearth it. I just remember the look on her face when Sayaka's wedding invitation for Kakashi-ji sailed in. Haruka had the, now typical, but back then rather unusual poker face on. I had known Haruka then for about a decade, now for more than two decades and her face was never as emotionless as on that day." Kakyuu reminisced.

"Who was this Sayaka?" Rei asked curiously as she served their third round of drinks

"Sayaka Shinagawa was Kakashi's right hand woman. When Kakashi got promoted to Captain, she was his lieutenant. I can see why Haruka would fall for her. She was petite and sweet. Haruka had, back then already, a keen sense of protectiveness. I guess it was inevitable that Sayaka would wrap Haruka around her little finger." Setsuna explained. "She would come by Kakashi's place after work quite a bit to confirm strategies." Setsuna added.

"Not only that, Sayaka was also extremely jealous. I remember her limiting the amount of times Haruka was allowed to see me or do anything with any of our friends outside. She did not do that outspokenly, but in a way that Haruka just knew that she would be in trouble if she did something that displeased or upset Sayaka." Kakyuu remembered. "Haruka was so whipped back then, it seems so unbelievable now that I look back on it." Kakyuu noticed astonished.

"Well, what did you expect would happen when an experienced woman takes in that cute puppy, who would do anything for a bit of affection." Setsuna frowned.

"When it was over, Haruka was the most useless piece of living tissue you could imagine. Even Haruto had a hard time making sure that she ate anything at all. When that glutton refuses food, the end is near. That was when I learned how to make crème Brulees, Haruka's favourite, just to get her to eat anything at all. But time heals all wounds and eventually Haruka had other worries that were more pressing and got back to her cheerful and flirty self, but she never attempted to start another real relationship with anyone. " Kakyuu continued.

"I thought Haruka and Yumi used to have something going on though." Minako interjected.

"That…Was complicated…but ended soon as well, once Haruka had rescued Yumi from the kidnapping incident. Trust me, I have been there for every one of her little adventures, she just shut herself, bit by bit more with every experience of failure." Kakyuu sighed. "Maybe that is why we get along so well, we have stopped reaching for better times since they are bound to end." Kakyuu chuckled before she reached for another Yakitori stick.

"What happened, that was so bad on the day Haruka rescued Yumi, that would cause such a reaction?" Michiru asked as casually as she could muster, at this point of intense curiosity.

"Well, Michiru, what are you willing to tell me in return for breaking the doctor patient confidentiality?" Kakyuu smirked.

"What do you want to know?" Michiru asked evenly in return.


-Seiya-

Haruka was dealing the flop. Five of hearts, Jack of spades and a three of hearts, with his pocket Jacks he was in good company. Taro checked, as did Kakashi, Mamoru and Taiki. This was not going to be a fishing expedition, Seiya thought to himself, he would not let people just wait for good cards to come.

"People, go big or go home." Seiya chuckled provocatively as he placed a bet.

Haruka followed unfazed.

Major Taro Yukimura was still thinking hard, but folded in the end.

Kakashi followed as did Mamoru, without the slightest hint of hesitation.

Taiki followed as well but then suddenly raised and doubled the total bet wordlessly.

Seiya looked at his older adopted brother from the corner of his eyes for a split second before he laughed.

"Now this is what I call a bet." Seiya laughed as he followed and added his chips to the centre of the table.

"Don't you want to raise again?" Haruka smirked at Seiya.

"I don't want to scare the few that are left." Seiya snickered in return as Haruka followed the new bet nonchalantly.

Everyone else still in the game followed suit as well and Haruka dealt the turn card, an Ace of clubs. Seiya watched everyone's reaction closely. In the Major's eyes, a glint of regret had flashed, and Kakashi's face turned even harder, that meant those two had Aces, or at least Taro had one but if Kakashi had pocket Aces, he would have raised the bet earlier, so therefore the last Ace must be still in the stack, because no one else showed any emotion whatsoever. The likelihood of that last Ace appearing was slim therefore victory would be his with his triple Jacks.

Everyone before him checked again and Seiya placed a bet, he would bid his time until the real betting would start with the river card.


-Setsuna-

She had watched Kakyuu and Michiru closely and knew that Kakyuu was beyond the stage of lightly tipsy while Michiru had immense curiosity glinting in her eyes and would not let go of this topic easily, so before any of them would say something that they might regret the next day, Setsuna intervened.

"I don't think it would be fair to the others if you two play 'I show you mine if you show me yours' alone, so let's make it a drinking game." Setsuna suggested.

"I am all ears." Kakyuu grinned and the others nodded in agreement.

"How about we split into two groups. On the one side we have Kakyuu, Makoto, Minako and Usagi and on the other we have Michiru, Ami, Rei and myself. Both groups will take turns asking one specific person in the other group a question and everyone else has to guess if the answer is true or false. Everyone who guessed wrong has to drink a shot of sake while the others can choose to eat a snack if they want to. So the person who answers the question has the option to lie, but if they do, they need to drink as well once everyone has made their guess. Then the one who got asked can continue asking the opposite group. How does that sound?" Setsuna asked.

"That sounds good" Michiru conceded and everyone nodded in agreement again.

"Great." Setsuna exclaimed as she filled for everyone a sake cup and handed it around.

"Heads or tails decides who starts." Setsuna explained as she fished a coin from her pocket.

"Heads" Michiru decided.

"I guess it is tails for me then." Kakyuu said easily.

"Tails" Setsuna announced.

"Let's start easy. Have you met Haruka before you started the mission with her, Michiru?" Kakyuu asked innocently.

"I have." Michiru answered evenly.

"You need to elaborate! How else can we judge if you are telling the truth or not?" Kakyuu argued.

"The week before mission planning commenced, I was shopping with Minako and we bumped into Haruka while she was taking Hotaru out for ice cream." Michiru said nonchalantly.

"On the count of three, everyone who thinks that is true raises their right hand and everyone who thinks that that was a lie, raises their left hand." Setsuna instructed. "One, two, three." She counted decisively.

Everyone except for Minako and Usagi had their left hand raised and Michiru reached for her sake cup.

"Rats." Minako cursed as she emptied her cup.

"So, Kakyuu, what happened that Yumi would have left Haruka?" Michiru asked calmly but Setsuna knew that she was burning to find out.

"Wow, such a heavy hitter right from the start." Kakyuu commented. "Ok, well, Yumi got kidnapped as you know and Haruka went to rescue her, in her own special way. While it might sound extremely romantic if someone kills and injures over a hundred people just to rescue you, it is less romantic to see your subject of affection blood soaked and eyes filled with unadulterated blood lust, unstoppably storming into the warehouse where you are kept and slaughtering everyone in sight, despite their pleas and cries for mercy. Back then Haruka might not have reached her peak performance yet, but she wasn't sick either. It took Kakashi and Haruto all their strength and persuasion to stop her. You never want to see or make Haruka angry. She is a force that you won't survive when she loses her control. Yumi did not feel safe around Haruka anymore for a while, so after the incident she decided to take the offer of an arranged marriage that her grandfather had arranged for her." Kakyuu said calmly.

Unanimously, all right hands rose into the air.

"So Michiru, when did you really meet Haruka?" Kakyuu smirked.

"She picked me up from the main station the week before I went to Paris with Ami and drove me to the Peninsula hotel for the evening." Michiru said evenly.

Unanimously, all left hands went up.

Everyone expected Michiru to reach for her sake cup again, that Kakyuu had refilled generously, but Michiru just sat there calmly.

"Don't look at me, I don't need to drink." Michiru chuckled at all the astonished faces staring at her.


-Taiki-

The river card was dealt, a four of hearts, and so his last chance for a straight was down the river as well, literally.

He looked down on his King of clubs and his Queen of diamonds and sighed internally.

To bluff or not to bluff?

Seiya looked confident, he had been pushing since round one, so he must have pocket Jacks probably and was hoping his three of a kind would be enough to beat the others. He would not let go of this Jackpot easily.

Haruka had her resting trademark smirk on, that she usually sported during their games, but he knew it didn't mean much when that smirk did not spark the mischief in her eyes.

If Kakashi checked now, he might have two pairs and was baiting the rest or just waiting for the reaction of the others and if he would bet now, he was bluffing.

Kakashi checked and Mamoru placed a bet. That meant Mamoru must have either a Flush or maybe triple Aces. Though Taiki doubted that the latter was the case, since then Mamoru would have been probably a bit more aggressive in his play if he did.

Unwilling to waste more of his chips, Taiki folded, earning surprised look from his little brothers.

As expected Seiya doubled the bet.

Haruka just chuckled and doubled the bet again and there it was, the tiny twinkle of mischief.

"I am just doing that so you can save your chips old man. With your luck in love I am just taking the game to compensate." Haruka smirked at Kakashi who sighed and folded.

Unfazed Mamoru raised the bet again.

Taiki watched Seiya's eyes grow wide and the realisation dawning on him that his triple Jacks might not be enough. Too stubborn to fold, he followed just to be struck again when Haruka raised the bet again which Mamoru re-raised. Seiya looked at him for help and Taiki just shook his head. Sighing Seiya folded, leaving the battlefield to Haruka and Mamoru.

"Haruka, as a friend, I am advising you, give up now as long as your dignity is intact." Mamoru warned her jokingly as he added his chips to the pile in the centre of the table.

"Oh, Mamoru, you read my mind. You should really fold while you can. Don't forget, you are the one, lucky in love." Haruka chuckled as she raised the bet again.

"You could be as well, if you just committed to Hotaru's new mommy" Mamoru jibed as he re-raised it.

"Whom Hotaru chooses to be her mom has nothing to do with me." Haruka replied evenly. "As long she is happy with her choice, that is all that matters." Haruka doubled the bet again.

"Don't you want her to have a happy family?" Mamoru asked with a smirk.

"That is not in my capacity to give to her to start off with, considering my job choice, no child should have to worry if their parent will or will not come home the next day and neither should a partner have to do that." Haruka said evenly as she went all in.

"If you try hard enough, you can. As you can see, I am." Mamoru responded unfazed as he matched her bet.

"Mamoru, you have a standard family with a standard job. I would have to give everything up that makes me me and even then I cannot be sure that I can give Hotaru that, with all the enemies I have collected over time. Nothing about me is standard, it's all extraordinary." Haruka smirked as she revealed her cards, forming a straight flush.

Sighing Mamoru threw his King and Queen of hearts in.

"My steel wheel crushed your flush. Stick to your love Romeo, you will never beat me in card games." Haruka snickered as she collected her winnings.

Taiki had been watching the exchange mainly focusing on Kakashi, who listened intently. Something in the eyes of the older man changed, as if a sudden realisation had hit him.

"Five rounds and so much to drink, I don't know about you guys, but I need to make space for more sake." Kakashi grinned superficially as he slowly stood up and headed to the rest rooms.

"Good call, but I think I just need to stretch my legs." Haruka agreed as she stood up and headed in the opposite direction.

"I join you Haruka." Taro announced, as the blonde walked towards the inner garden of the Ryokan.

"Yaten, can you do me the favour and see if anyone is still in the kitchen and if yes, do you mind asking for some more of those beef skewers?" Haruka instructed his silver haired brother before she left the room.


-Michiru-

"So, Makoto, who was your ex and why did your ex need a heart to heart by Haruka?" Michiru asked the brunette to shift the focus away from herself.

"Oh, he was just a manager in Chiba Industries. At the beginning he was very charming, but towards the end he was quite condescending and …difficult with me, when he got irritated. One day Haruka spotted us on one of our less harmonic dates and had just kept an eye on the situation since. She did not get involved until I broke things off and he wouldn't leave me in peace. And well, as Minako has already said, Haruka only broke two of his fingers, but considering how much she had studied human anatomy when she used to hang out with Mamoru in med school, to flirt with all the female doctors and nurses, I am sure she made sure, that he will not forget their encounter till the end of his days." Makoto sighed.

"Oh you mean that Nangyoku-san with the long brown hair and blue eyes who used to come and visit Mamoru quite a bit?" Usagi interjected.

"Yes, him." Makoto confirmed.

"Usagi! This is not how this game works, how is this guessing when you ask her for extra details?" Rei complained.

"Oh, that's ok, we can just skip this round and Michiru can just ask someone else something." Makoto tried to pacify Rei.

"I would never let you get hurt." Ami let slip pensively, making everyone focus on her in surprise and causing her to blush.

"Alright, Michiru, you can ask again." Setsuna encouraged Michiru.

"Ok, Minako, do you have a love interest at the moment?" Michiru asked the blonde sitting diagonally across the table from her.


-Haruka-

Haruka stood outside, breathing in the fresh air and looking over the moonlit garden to the other side where the women were having their evening program. She heard distant laughter and watched them sitting huddled around the centre table. They were probably drinking, eating and playing games as she was with the guys. Looking up to the sky she looked at the full moon. Next month would be Obon again.

"There is no clearer sky than the sky in Hokkaido." Taro said as he stood next to her.

"I bet you say that about every place in Japan that you are stationed at." Haruka chuckled.

"Maybe." Taro snickered.

"What is eating you up, Major. You are usually a bit more the life of the party than this." Haruka asked.

"I haven't heard from Ryou for a while." Taro said pensively.

Haruka knew that Ryou Fujioka was Taro's teenage slip up. He had fathered him with a woman a decade older than himself and, as it was custom at that time, she disappeared from his town to spare her parents the disgrace. Years later Ryou had looked for his father and eventually found Taro. By that time, Taro was already married and had another son and daughter with his wife.

She knew it had been hard for Taro to respect his lover's wish to not look for her, but just to have his son, a fully grown teenager by that stage, one day appear at his door, telling him that his mother, Taro's first love, had passed away from cancer, just had broken the man's heart all over again.

Haruka was merely a teenager herself back then when Taro started to visit Kakashi more frequently to drown out his sorrows. Eventually Taro did take Ryou in and his wife Mayu treated him like her own son, but Ryou kept his mother's name to honour the sacrifices she made while raising him.

"Where was he sent off to?" Haruka asked evenly, not averting her eyes from the gentle glow of the moon.

"China." Taro said grief struck.

"How long has it been since you heard from him?" Haruka continued to ask.

"About a month, maybe. We have pre-arranged times where he is supposed to contact me, but he has been slipping. First it was just hours, then days. Last time he was over a week late. I know he keeps telling me he is fine, but call it a father's intuition that something is wrong. Kakashi told me earlier that the agency is suspecting him of treason, but I know Ryou. He would never betray us. He would never let me down." Taro said with conviction.

"That is a high expectation you have of him. People are bound to disappoint at one stage or another." Haruka said calmly.

"He could never disappoint me; no matter what he has done, he is still my son and I will always be proud of him." Taro said steadfast.

"I can look for him for you." Haruka said quietly.

"Thank you Haruka, I knew you would understand." Taro sighed with relief.

"Don't thank me yet. What if he really did betray the country?" Haruka asked as she turned to face Taro.

"Then I trust you to do the honourable thing. It is better for him to die in combat than to be executed here at home. I could not face his mother if he did that." Taro said frowning.

"When is he supposed to contact you again?" Haruka continued to ask as she nodded understandingly.

"Next week." Nobu informed her.

"I will look into it as soon as I am back in Tokyo." Haruka told him as she turned back to return to the others.

"Understood." Taro nodded.


-Michiru-

Minako had denied having any love interests at this time, just to end up drinking another cup of sake. But true to Minako's nature, she turned the game around to be a fun and light hearted round of asking for the most embarrassing or clumsy moments in each other's lives.

So Michiru found out that Rei once fell asleep during Miko training and burned her hair with the incense, that Makoto was once so badly infatuated with someone that she had once made Valentine chocolates with salt instead of sugar and that Usagi once had turned all Mamoru's white coats pink by accidentally washing them with her red T-shirt. They laughed and joked around, while the sake was poured generously.

In the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Haruka, walking in the garden with the Major. They seemed to be in a deep and serious conversation, Michiru reckoned as she watched Haruka's whole demeanour turn pensive.

"Michiru, do you believe that Kakyuu once dressed Haruka up in full Kimono gear and did her hair and make up for a family function?" Minako asked Michiru, getting her attention back to the happenings in front of her.

"Or are you too busy thinking back to your night with her at the Peninsula?" Kakyuu smirked as she followed Michiru's gaze and spotted the blonde.

"I think it is true that Kakyuu dressed Haruka up like that once." Michiru replied unfazed as she raised her right hand and Kakyuu nodded with a wide grin.

"I want to see pictures of that." Rei insisted after she finished her sake.

"Me, too" Usagi and Minako joined in.

"As if I would be still alive if I had taken one." Kakyuu laughed.

"Unbelievable, the last time I only wanted to apply mascara on her and she was acting as if I was experimenting on her with a new torture device. And you got to doll her up all the way." Minako sighed amazed.

"Anyway. It's my turn to ask. Michiru, what happened between you and Haruka at the Peninsula?" Kakyuu asked her suggestively, as she refilled the empty cups with sake.

"Nothing happened if you don't count her sleeping on the couch while I took the bed." Michiru answered with a smirk.

"I don't believe that." Minako said wide eyed while Makoto nodded.

"People raise your hands." Setsuna reminded them and everyone raised their hands according to their guess.

While Kakyuu, Makoto, Minako and Usagi unanimously raised their left hands, Ami, Rei and Setsuna had their right hand up.

"I want a second opinion on that." Kakyuu insisted as she pulled out her phone and dialled Haruka's number.

"Yo." Was Haruka's curt reply.

"Haru-chan. I have heard that you picked up Michiru some time ago from the train station and drove her to the Peninsula." Kakyuu spoke as she put the phone down on the table.

"Yep, you could say that." Haruka confirmed.

"Did anything happen besides that?" Kakyuu asked curiously.

"What do you mean with 'happen'?" Haruka feigned ignorance.

"Michiru said nothing happened." Kakyuu informed the blonde.

"Then nothing happened." Haruka confirmed again.

"Haruka Tenoh, I know you will have a hangover tomorrow as will I so remember those words when I decide if I give you an injection or pills." Kakyuu threatened.

"Ok, ok. I slept, that happened." Haruka replied with sigh.

"And Michiru?" Kakyuu egged on the blonde.

"She did that, too." Haruka said matter-of-factly.

"Did you sleep-sleep or sleep-sleep?" Kakyuu asked impatiently.

"If you mean to ask me by implying with sleep that I ravaged her in so many ways that night, that she was incapable of walking the next day because I have shown her new horizons and heights of pleasure that drained her of all her energy reserves, then no, that didn't happen. But if Michiru meant with 'nothing' that I slept on the couch after being forced to stay and strip for her while she watched and that she slept on the bed five meters away afterwards, then yes, that 'nothing' happened." Haruka said with a hint of a chuckle in her voice.

Kakyuu shook her head and hung up frustrated while the entire group opposite to Michiru emptied their sake cups and her own group looked at her puzzled and blushing.


-Haruka-

"What was all that about?" Seiya asked curiously as Haruka put her phone back into her sleeve.

"I think the girls are playing a drinking game. Kakyuu definitely sounded as if she had her fair share." Haruka chuckled.

"I better go and order hangover food from the kitchen for tomorrow." Taiki suggested.

"I have already done that when I asked them to prepare these rooms. Everyone has also extra water in their rooms and Taro, your room is next to Kakashi's." Haruka said calmly as Yaten was dealing everyone their cards.

"Shall we call this the last round then, so we can save them from themselves when needed?" Kakashi suggested.

"Are you worried that your goddess will be suffering tomorrow?" Haruka snickered.

"Little one, you might not know it yet, but hangovers get worse with age." Kakashi smirked.

"You could have fooled me, old man." Haruka chuckled. "But yes, I agree, we might need to intervene so that we can finish souvenir shopping tomorrow without suffering their wrath at every corner." Haruka grinned. "I also have great whisky we can move on to and indulge in after this game."

"Why not get it out now?" Seiya asked.

"How am I supposed to whip you when I am too busy enjoying my drink?" Haruka chuckled.


-Michiru-

"Did you really make Haruka strip and sleep on the couch?" Rei asked baffled.

Before Michiru could answer, the door to their room opened and revealed two sleepy kids.

"We can't sleep anymore." Hotaru announced.

"But you two look pretty sleepy to me." Setsuna remarked with a chuckle as the kids entered the room.

"Haruka-papa always lets me sit with her when I can't sleep." Hotaru insisted.

"How about I take you both back to bed and stay with you until you are asleep again?" Michiru suggested but before Hotaru could answer Usagi stood up.

"Don't worry Michiru, I can do that. I trust you girls to tell me all about the rest tomorrow." Usagi winked.

"I take Hotaru, so you can concentrate on Chibiusa." Setsuna joined Usagi, as she stood up as well and picked up Hotaru. "I know this little trouble maker is very much like her Haruka-papa when she is half asleep. If she doesn't get what she wants she will sit awake all night. You want a good night story and some warm milk, don't you?" Setsuna asked as she caressed the little girl's back and Hotaru just nodded content.

"We will talk later Michiru." Setsuna smirked before she left the room with Hotaru in her arms and Usagi following her close by with a tired Chibiusa in her arms.

"So Michiru, spill the beans about the Peninsula." Kakyuu smirked.

"I think it is my turn to ask the questions, isn't it?" Michiru chuckled. "Makoto, have you ever fallen in love with someone unexpected?" Michiru shifted the focus away from herself.

"I wouldn't call it falling, it was more a gradually growing in love with that person. One day I just noticed that I really missed that person when I wasn't around them and that made it clear to me that I was in love all along." Makoto said dreamily.

"Oh, Makoto you are so easy to read." Rei laughed as she sat next to a blushing Ami while everyone had their right hands in the air.

"So what about you Rei? Ever had your heart taken from you unexpectedly?" Makoto asked the raven haired girl right back.

"The heart wants what the heart wants. I was never in love expectedly so, so far, I have always fallen in love unexpectedly." Rei chuckled. "My turn. Minako, supposedly if you had someone you liked why wouldn't you make a move?" Rei asked uninhibited.

"Because I think that that is something people expect of me, that I would thoughtlessly make a move if I'm really interested or that if they are interested in me and made a move aggressive enough that I would just give in, but neither is the case. I do think there is a right time and place to make a move, but I agree with Haruka. Even with the right place and the right time, we can never know if it is the right person if they are not on the same page as yourself. Which means, it would be doomed to fail from the start. So, as long as I cannot be sure if I can make the other person happy and don't cause any friction for them anywhere else, I will just enjoy the status quo. Because as Kakyuu has already said, once you move forward, there is no going back." Minako said pensively. "My turn." Minako quickly bounced back to her bubbly self. "I think we should plan a small secret wedding for Setsuna and Kakashi anyway. Screw the rules. If no one finds out, they can't get into trouble or separated. They need a happy end. We do not have enough of those to waste this opportunity. I am sure Kakashi wants to give Setsuna the wedding she has always dreamed of. We could go over to the boys now and ask them to help with it and to keep it off everyone's radar. What do you all think? "


-Taiki-

'So much to intervening with the drunk girls….' Taiki thought to himself as he watched everyone except himself and Yaten getting drunk playing 'whisky flip'.

The game was very simple, cards would be shuffled and two cards would be placed face down. The player would then choose one and have to guess if it was a black or a red card. If you guessed right, a shot would be put aside and the next person would have their turn. First person to guess wrong would have to drink all the drinks that have accumulated till then.

Right now probably Seiya would have the worst hangover in a couple of hours, closely followed by Mamoru and Kakashi. Haruka would not be spared the pounding between her temple tomorrow either, Taiki sighed as he watched her finishing the last two shots before the bottle was empty.

"Ok, enough, time for bed." Taiki announced.

"Eh, but the fun just started." Kakashi protested.

"I think Setsuna will agree with me." Taiki said evenly.

"OOOOOOOhhh you are so whipped old man." Haruka chuckled drunk.

"Yaten, you take Seiya to bed. I take Mamoru back to Usagi and you three wait here until we get back and fetch you." Taiki instructed Haruka, Kakashi and Taro.

"I am not that far gone yet, I can take Kakashi back to his room." Taro replied easily.

"Ok then there is only Haruka left. You stay here Haruka, you hear me?" Taiki asked the blonde who was sitting in the middle of the room with a wide grin.

"Sure, whatever you say." Haruka smirked.


-Michiru-

"Do you think Setsuna would prefer a traditional or more a western wedding?" Minako asked the girls.

"I think walking down the aisle is something nice." Makoto said dreamily.

"But a traditional wedding has its own beauty." Rei gave to consideration.

"Either way, it is a day for the two of them and not us." Michiru said evenly. "So planning without them is pointless. But what we can do is find venues in which we know they won't be found out no matter who would want to snoop it out." Michiru pointed out.

"Well we all work in the agency, so finding a place that is off the radar of the agency would be impossible for us to find." Ami observed.

"Haruka has been running black ops for so long, she might know a spot or two and if worse comes to worst, we can just disguise it like an innocent trip like this one." Kakyuu said easily.

"Either way, you can perform the ceremony, right Rei?" Minako asked as she turned to the raven haired woman.

"Sure. It won't be made official anyway, so there won't be any paperwork that would need filing." Rei nodded.

"So now we just got to ask Kakashi and Setsuna what they think of our idea. I am sure Kakashi won't mind whatever the decision will be, he says to everything Setsuna wants yes anyway." Minako giggled.

"And who is going to make sure Usagi won't spill the beans to someone outside?" Rei interjected.

"Oh with matters of love, Usagi won't be careless, at least not more careless than usual. But maybe we keep the wedding a secret from her for now." Minako sighed.

"We should start planning as soon as possible. Autumn and spring are wonderful times to get married. So we won't have much time to coordinate our absence if you want the wedding to be before the Dublin trip. Otherwise they will have to wait till next year and spring is usually also fully clustered with appointments." Ami said pensively.

"Let's go over to Kakashi right now." Mina suggested.


-Yaten-

Taiki and Yaten were walking back to the room in which they had their guys' night when they bumped into the group of women coming towards them. They were all joking quietly with one another and Yaten saw, how adoringly Taiki looked at Kayuu.

"What are you doing here?" Yaten asked them as they got closer.

"We are here to talk to Kakashi." Minako announced.

"He has already gone to bed, as has everyone else already as well." Taiki pointed out.

"So what are you still doing here?" Kakyuu asked.

"We are here to pick up Haruka, she is still in the room." Yaten pointed out.

"Oh, how much did she have?" Kakyuu asked amused.

"More than she should have. She is only in a childish mood though." Taiki replied dryly.

"That is not so bad." Kakyuu waved away easily. "Well if it is like that, then there is no point for us to go there. I think we all should go to sleep to ward off a hangover then and deal with our plans over breakfast. Do not forget to drink plenty of water before sleeping, ladies. Doctor's orders." Kakyuu said with a wide grin.

"Should I help you to get to your room Kakyuu?" Taiki asked concerned.

"That is fine, just make sure my blondie doesn't accidentally stumble into the wrong room and causes misunderstandings." Kakyuu said offhandedly before she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Yaten had a difficult time to suppress a chuckle as he watched his brother being dumbstruck for a moment as he watched the red haired woman walk away in front of them.

"I better go ahead. I saw Michiru walking towards our room undeterred." Yaten cleared his throat.

When they arrived back at the room. Haruka was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh no" Taiki groaned as she spotted the open door to the garden.

"She could be anywhere, right now." Yaten chuckled.

Michiru walked unperturbed passed them, towards the walls of the room, tapping each panel gently with her fingertips.

"If Hotaru is like Haruka, then it is because she emulates Haruka in so many ways." Michiru smiled gently, as she seemed to be listening out for something only she could hear. Suddenly she stood still and opened a hidden cupboard, revealing a sheepishly grinning Haruka.

"Boo" Haruka chuckled.

"Come on Haruka-nee, we better get you into bed." Yaten suggested as he walked up to the blonde and put one of her arms around his shoulders.

"Thank you for finding her so quickly. We got her from here." Taiki sighed.

"I can take her to bed for you, her room is next to mine anyway." Michiru tried to be helpful.

"That is ok Michiru. Right now, Haruka is way more dangerous to you than she could be to us. No matter what happens, do not let her into your room tonight." Taiki advised her seriously.

"Oh, I am not that dangerous." Haruka waved away easily as she stumbled slightly and Taiki stepped up to her other side.

"Yes, you are. You have no inhibitions whatsoever and lose all sense for consequences when you are drunk." Taiki said dryly.

"Spoil sport." Haruka pouted as they half carried her to her room with Michiru following close behind.

"Where is Hotaru?" Haruka asked as soon as she got carried into her room.

"Setsuna took her in for the night." Michiru explained as she tugged Haruka in and Haruka seemed to have passed out the moment the teal haired woman had covered the blonde with the blanket.

Yaten took a bottle of water out of the fridge and placed it in reach of Haruka before Taiki started to usher Michiru and him out of Haruka's room.

"We better leave now before Haruka wakes up again and starts whining about the on setting hangover." Taiki explained.

"How come you two are sober?" Michiru asked, once Taiki had closed the door behind them.

"I pulled the short straw and Taiki volunteered to be the designated person in charge of security tonight." Yaten explained.

"I see." Michiru smiled gently. "Then thank you both for your diligent service tonight. I wish you both a good night." Michiru said gracefully before she entered her own room.


-Haruka-

Haruka opened her eyes again, as soon as the boys and Michiru had left the room, and sat up. Her head was dizzy and the top of her head felt like a metal plate that was slowly but steadily crushing her brain.

She reached for the bottle of water Yaten had laid out ready for her and finished the bottle in one go. Sadly, that didn't alleviate the dizziness. She clearly had too much to drink and was now already paying for it. Haruka slowly crawled over to the mini fridge to grab another bottle of water when she passed her bag. The glint of her Kiseru caught her eye and she fished it out along with the small tobacco box.

'It's not as if anything interesting was going to happen anymore tonight.' Haruka thought to herself as she made her way to the porch and sat down, leaning her back against the wall. She stretched herself first, to loosen her shoulder muscles before reached for her pipe and filled it with a freshly rolled ball of tobacco. Her heart rate was still elevated from her alcohol consumption and Haruka tried to sit as comfortable and relaxed as possible as she lit her pipe.

Suddenly she heard the door from the room next to her opening as she blew her first ring of smoke into the night's sky.

Haruka turned her head and watched Michiru stepping out into the gentle glow of the moonlight just dressed in a simple yukata. The sight was nonetheless breath-taking to Haruka as she let her eyes travel up and down Michiru's beautiful figure. Her hair and skin were flawless, her demeanour impeccable and her eyes just took hold of Haruka's heart that was already beating fast, to just make it kick it up even a notch further and even start beating in her ears.

"I thought we decided, no more smoking for you." Michiru said gently and melodious as she sat down next to Haruka.

"I think only you decided that." Haruka smirked before she took another drag from the Kiseru, trying to regain composure.

"May I have some of your water?" Michiru asked as she pointed at the bottle next to the blonde and Haruka nodded wordlessly.

Michiru reached for the bottle of water between them and drank from it.

"Just leave me some so I don't need to get up and get another one." Haruka commented as she watched Michiru drinking.

"Do you still want some?" Michiru asked as she put the bottle down.

"Well, I do need to flush out all the alcohol that I consumed eventually." Haruka grinned remorselessly before she closed her eyes and leaned her head back to savour the moment and to imprint the picture of Michiru's beauty glowing in the moonlight permanently in her mind.

"Well that sounds very far from the thoughtless drunk, Taiki has depicted you as." Michiru chuckled.

"Oh, I am not entirely thoughtless, my thoughts just turn in to actions a lot faster than I can think them through." Haruka smirked.

"So, what are you thinking?" Michiru asked.

"I am thinking that if you are not going to move back to your room any moment soon, that I will drag you into my room as soon as my heart stops pounding in my head and that I will free your beautiful body from the soft fabric that is separating you from my hands and lips that crave to explore you and my tongue that is hungering for a good taste of you. But before all that I need to drink some water." Haruka said evenly before she opened her eyes again and emptied her pipe into the ashtray to the other side of her.

When she was done Michiru pulled her in for a kiss in which she was fed gulp of clear fresh water. When Michiru broke off the kiss, Haruka looked her deeply into the eyes and searched for something that she could not put into words. Her heart was beating so fast and hard, that Haruka feared it might actually jump out of her chest.

"You said you wanted to drink some water first." Michiru snickered with a glint of mischief in her eyes.

"What about Daniel?" Haruka asked with a raised eyebrow, as a tiny voice of doubt in the back of her head was trying to voice its concerns.

"My heart knows no Daniel." Michiru replied evenly and before Haruka could stop herself she claimed Michiru's lips with her own and deepened their kiss, with her arms firmly wrapped around the beauty in front of her, drowning out all thoughts and just giving in to her desires.