-Seiya-

Seiya was standing hung over in front of Haruka's door. All his joints hurt and his stomach was going through various stages of nausea. His brain didn't make it much easier on him either, with irregular rhythm at which it was pounding.

"How long are you going to make her wait. You know the longer you make her wait the more time she will have to come up with taunts or someone else might come by and witness your humiliation." Yaten snickered behind him.

"I know….." Seitya growled.

Just in that moment Setsuna and Hotaru came around the corner and Seiya groaned.

"What are you two doing here?" Setsuna asked surprised.

"Seiya lost a bet with Haruka yesterday, so now he has to piggyback her to the Onsen." Yaten chuckled.

"Well, that is not so bad….." Setsuna commented. "Usually Haruka has way more childish demands than that when she's drunk."

Yaten could only chuckle while Seiya gritted his teeth.

"Seiya-ji, you don't look so good. Want me to call Kakyuu-nee to have a look at you?" Hotaru offered.

"No, I am fine. Thank you though Hotaru-chan." Seiya sighed before he cleared his throat and knocked on Haruka's door.

"Haruka, get out here, so we can get over and done with it!" Seiya called.

Some shuffling could be heard from inside followed by silence.

Hotaru let go of Setsuna's hand and opened Haruka's room door but before the little girl could step into the room Haruka stood in the door and leaned down to whisper something into the little girl's ear.

"Seiya-ji Haruka-papa said that this is not the greeting you two agreed on." Hotaru chided him.

"Ok, ok." Seiya sighed. "Tenoh, Haruka, absolute ruler of the tower and ultimate commander, your lowly servant has arrived to obediently tend all your biddings, starting with carrying you to your well-deserved bath." Seiya said with the most serious tone he could muster.

Haruka finally stepped out of her room with Hotaru by her side.

"What do you think Hime-chan, do you believe him?" Haruka chuckled.

"I am not sure…" Hotaru started.

"Ara, what is all the commotion here?" Michiru asked as she opened her door.

"Seiya-ji said that Haruka-papa is the ruler of the tower, but I have never seen her measuring it." Hotaru explained an increasingly puzzled looking Michiru.

"Absolute ruler." Haruka added to the confusion.

"Seiya, I think you need to repeat yourself." Yaten smirked.

Sighing Seiya went down on one of his knees. "Your Majesty Tenoh, absolute ruler of the high tower and ultimate commander, your lowly servant has arrived to tend to all your biddings starting with carrying you to the Onsen."

"Oh well, since you insist." Haruka grinned as she stepped out of her room.

"Haruka!" Michiru said sternly.

"Oh, you want a lift instead?" Haruka smirked.

"You cannot be serious about doing this to him." Michiru objected.

"I won the bet fair and square." Haruka protested.

"Look at him, he is totally hung over." Michiru noted with a raised eyebrow.

"How come you aren't hung over as badly as expected Haruka-nee?" Yaten asked with a wide grin.

"Water, drinking plenty of water last night." Haruka smirked.

Suddenly Haruka's phone vibrated.

"Why don't you enjoy being piggy bagged, Hime-chan, in my stead and go ahead to the Onsen. I just go and grab charge unit for my phone and come then." Haruka suggested with a wide grin.

"Yay. You are coming, too, right Michiru-mama, Setsuna-ba-chan?" Hotaru asked cheerfully.

"Of course." Setsuna smiled while Michiru looked at Haruka with a look that Yaten couldn't clearly define.

"Well then, come little one." Seiya sighed relieved as he lifted the little girl onto his back before they all went ahead and left Haruka behind.


-Haruka-

Haruka watched the little group disappear around the corner before she returned to her room. Picking up her Kiseru from the porch, she looked at the message on her phone. Ryou had contacted his father with a distress message.

Pulling out her laptop she checked up on several locations she had as safe houses and chose the most suitable to pass its details onto Taro, so he could tell his son to hide there until she would come and assess the situation.

Sighing she closed the laptop and played with the Kiseru in her hand when suddenly Kakyuu opened her door and walked into her room.

"Tenoh, Haruka, you promised, no work during our vacation trips." Kakyuu complained as she spotted the laptop.

"Problems do not take vacations and it wasn't work. It is a mere favour." Haruka explained calmly.

"If it is just a favour, why are you frowning, Haru-chan?" Kakyuu pointed at the blonde's forehead.

"I have a feeling it might get complicated, but that is just my gut feeling." Haruka sighed.

"When will you be leaving?" Kakyuu scowled.

"Tomorrow night." Haruka said evenly.

"Will you tell anyone besides the boys?" Kakyuu continued to ask.

"No, the less know the better. It is time sensitive." Haruka sighed.

"Take someone with you." Kayuu sighed as she turned away from Haruka.

Haruka looked at Kakyuu's tired figure and stood up to wrap her arms around her doctor who has been watching her for over two decades.

"I will. I will take Seiya." Haruka promised as she pulled the other woman closer and into a caring embrace.

"Come home safe, both of you." Kakyuu whispered

"I'll try to get us back safe." Haruka assured the red haired woman.

"Sit down, I will give you your injection for the day, then you do not have to worry about the pills at least and can enjoy your time with Hotaru-chan." Kakyuu slowly pulled Haruka towards a wall against which the blonde could lean when the dizziness would set in.


-Michiru-

Michiru was washing Hotaru's hair when Setsuna touched a sore spot on her lower back.

"Michiru-chan, confess." Setsuna snickered.

"I must have bumped into something last night." Michiru shrugged easily nodded towards Hotaru.

"Don't think I will let this go so easily." Setsuna smirked.

They eventually entered the baths and soaked in the hot yet calming waters.

"How long?" Setsuna asked Michiru as Hotaru was distracted by a Butterfly nearby.

"Hard to say. When did it start between Kakashi and you?" Michiru asked calmly in return.

Setsuna just sighed "Probably around the time the two of us met….So it is that complicated?"

"Could it be any different with her than it was with him?" Michiru sighed.

"True, they do have similarities." Setsuna agreed.

Before they could continue their conversation, they were joined by the other girls from the agency.

"I feel like a truck hit me." Minako wailed.

"Try a steamroller." Makoto groaned behind her.

"You two should have just guessed better." Rei lectured them.

"There is a saying 'An Onsen can heal everything'…"Ami started.

"….except a broken heart." Haruka finished as she entered behind them with Kakyuu.

"Let's hope it washes away this hangover quickly." Kakyuu whined, as she was probably the one who had the most to drink last night.


-Taiki-

"I see you off. After all I still want to give you a present from Tokyo for Mayu, so she won't be so mad with you when you get back." Haruka chuckled as she stood up from the breakfast table and walked with the Major out of room in which they had their meals.

They had just finished breakfast and everyone seemed moderately recovered from the drinking of the night before. Taiki watched the women excitedly chatting about dresses and ceremony options on the other end of the table when Yaten pulled out his tablet and checked up on their home in Tokyo.

"How does it look?" Seiya asked his younger brother.

"Looks like Tenoh senior has given up...for now. I am not looking forward to be climbing up those tunnels to get them fixed." Yaten sighed.

"Haruka wanted to cut some of them anyway." Taiki informed his brothers.

"Yea, but one of them was not on the cut list." Yaten sighed. "So that one will need to be replaced permanently."

"Have you looked for alternatives?" Seiya asked.

"I have some options that I will show Haruka when we get back home." Yaten confirmed.

"I don't think that will be an option." Taiki sighed.

"Why not?" Yaten asked.

"Look over there." Taiki pointed out of the window where they could watch Haruka talking to Taro.

The Major nodded a lot while Haruka talked and when the Major talked Haruka frowned and nodded in return.

Taiki didn't like the look on her face. From experience, he knew that Haruka must have taken on another high-risk mission without consulting him, which would result in her doing most of it alone. Frustrated, he was about to stand up when Kakashi stopped him.

"Let her think over this case carefully on her own first. If you jump her right now, she will just be stubborn about it." Kakashi said calmly as he had watched the whole scene outside silently.

"If you want to help, look up Ryou Fujioka as discreetly as possible." Kakashi continued quietly before he drank his tea, never averting his eyes from the conversation his niece had with his old friend.


-Kakyuu-

They were out in town souvenir shopping and Kakyuu was piling up every speciality she could find while Taiki and Seiya carried all her purchases.

"Do you really need that much?" Michiru asked her as she walked next to Kakyuu who looked at freeze dried strawberries covered in chocolate.

"Haruka hates volume shopping, but we only come here twice a year, so besides my own shopping, I need to make sure she has enough to hand out to people she knows when we get back. Haruka only buys things for someone when the item reminds her of them when she sees it. If it doesn't then she won't get anything at all for that person. That has led to too many awkward moments where in a whole group of people, one or two wouldn't get anything at all. I am just preventing that. Also, she has given me enough money to buy out a couple of stores." Kakyuu grinned.

Michiru looked over to Haruka and Hotaru who were busy choosing special candies for the little girl's cousins.

The other girls were also busy buying items for their families back at home and it seemed that only Michiru was done with shopping since she had already bought special sweets for her parents and relatives in Kyoto the day they went to eat ice cream with Hotaru.

"You know Haruka won't bite you in public when you go over to her." Kakyuu snickered as she watched the violinist watch Haruka longingly, causing Michiru to blush ever so lig htly.

"I was merely clumsy and bumped into something last night while I was drunk." Michiru said easily referring to the small 'bruise' on her lower back.

"More like into someone." Kakyuu smirked while they were out of ear shot of everyone else. "I am a doctor and I know how Haruka gets when she gets drunk." Kakyuu chuckled. "So how serious are you two?"

"How serious can Haruka actually get?" Michiru asked in return, causing the red haired doctor to stop for a moment in motion from choosing special ramen flavoured crackers.

"Hmmm, if you had asked me that over a decade ago, I would have said that she is capable of proposing a lifelong commitment, now, I am not so sure. Haruka has been 'single' for so long, I have a feeling she could just be on her own for the rest of her life and not miss a thing. She has not been overly attached to anyone in a long time, it is hard for me to gauge that. After Yumi, I feel like, she has just come to terms with staying in whatever state she is right now." Kakyuu said pensively as Haruka led Hotaru to the cashier to let the little girl pay herself with the money the blonde had given her. "In any case, I like you and I can see that Haruka seems more relaxed around you. So, I do hope to see you around for a long time to come." Kakyuu smiled gently and Michiru nodded silently.

"Kakyuu, can we get these as well?" Yaten asked as he put a couple of bags of Kaitaku Okaki.

"You better grab some more; I know you guys will snack on them yourself more than give them away." Kakyuu chuckled.

Haruka and Hotaru came over as well and inspected the items Kakyuu had chosen.

"Did you grab a couple of boxes of Shiroi Koibito?" Haruka asked curiously as looked into baskets Seiya and Taiki were carrying.

"Yes, two boxes for Atsuko-obaa-chan and three for you." Kakyuu sighed.

"Are they that good?" Michiru asked and Hotaru nodded enthusiastically.

"Haruka-papa always says they taste like the first kiss." Hotaru explained eager. "I even saw Haruka-papa cry once when she ate them." Hotaru nodded thoughtfully.

"Only you would get emotional over sweets." Setsuna chuckled as she joined their little group.

"You need to have them with a freshly brewed first tea of the year. If you do not get emotional over the way it melts on your tongue and makes love to the tea in your mouth, then you just can't be helped." Haruka said defensively.

"But that tea is so bitter." Hotaru interjected.

"But its aftertaste is very smooth and even sweet if you give it a chance." Haruka explained.

"An adult thing?" Hotaru asked.

"Yep." Haruka nodded.

"So, when can I have my first kiss?" Hotaru asked.

"When you are eighteen." Haruka said unfazed.

"But what if I want some of that now?" Hotaru continued to ask.

"You are not old enough." Haruka explained.

"What if I know what love is before I am an adult?" Hotaru argued.

"How would you know what love is with four?" Haruka asked sceptically.

"I know I love you Haruka-papa and I love Michiru-mama and Kakyuu-nee and Setsuna-ba-chan….." Hotaru started to explain while continuing to list everyone she who was there.

"These taste like the first kiss of true love, until you know such depth, you will not really appreciate it." Haruka explained.

"But I truly love you." Hotaru stated steadfast.

"You just want them for yourself." Setsuna whispered into Haruka's ear.

"I heard that!" Hotaru exclaimed. "Haruka-papa, don't you love me enough to share them with me?" Hotaru put on hurt puppy look.

"Of course, I love you more than anything else Hime-chan. I go grab some more." Haruka sighed. "Come, we even choose some other snacks that you love." Haruka picked up Hotaru who started to smile again.


-Michiru-

They had a comfortably relaxing day shopping and strolling around in the city, returned to a real feast prepared by the resident chef and now where having fun with small fireworks in the back of the garden of the ryokan. Everyone was enjoying themselves and Michiru watched Haruka joking around with the kids when they lit some more.

Haruka's mouth was smiling but her eyes looked distant. Actually, Haruka had been distant all day since they went separate ways from the moment Hotaru had opened the room door. All day there had been people around them and there had been no chance for them to have a quiet moment for themselves. On the outside, they both behaved like nothing had happened and besides Setsuna and Kakyuu no one seemed to have noticed the little souvenir that Haruka had left the night before. It wasn't as if Michiru was in a rush to clarify what they had, but Michiru's curiosity was getting the better of her as she really wanted to know what was bothering the blonde so much that she didn't even complain when Kakyuu forbade her to have seconds of their dessert. As she sat there watching everyone else having fun, Rei sat down next to her.

"So Michiru, you still haven't told anyone why you made Haruka stay over with you that night at the Peninsula and why you made her strip." Rei teased her from the side.

"And here I was hoping that you were too drunk last night to remember." Michiru chuckled.

"How could anyone forget that detail?" Rei winked.

"Haruka was actually injured and I needed to bandage her up, that is why she had to strip." Michiru explained as they watched Mamoru and Haruka race with the kids on their backs for the right to light the last big firework item. Naturally Haruka and Hotaru won but Hotaru would let Chibiusa light it nonetheless.

"And why let her sleep on the couch then?" Rei asked curiously.

"I didn't force her. She was so tired that she just fell asleep where she was sitting." Michiru snickered at the memory. "So, enough of me, how long will you and Minako keep this up?" Michiru shifted the focus.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Rei feigned ignorance.

Rei was saved from further questioning as Setsuna and Kayuu sat down on the other side of Michiru and passed them both some cold tea.

"Setsuna, why are we already flying back tomorrow morning?" Rei changed the topic. "Isn't it totally inefficient to be flying back on a Wednesday instead of the weekend?"

"Tomorrow is Haruto's anniversary" Kakyuu explained quietly before she drank from her tea and watched Taiki clean up the buckets with extinguished fireworks.

"Oh." Rei realised her tactlessness.

"Nothing to feel bad about. I would wonder, too, if I didn't know." Kakyuu waved with her hand easily.

'Maybe that is why Haruka had been distant today', Michiru thought to herself, but then Haruka came over with Hotaru and passed the little girl, who was half asleep, to Kakyuu.

"I'm just off to the Onsen to wash off all this smell." Was he blonde's short explanation and Kakyuu just nodded as she caressed Hotaru's back so that the girl would fall asleep completely.

The three brothers and Kakashi followed the blonde and everyone else came to where Michiru and the others sat.

"I thought you had a strict 'no work during vacation' rule." Setsuna noted.

"We do, but I think life did not get the memo." Kakyuu sighed.

They sat there for a while chatting about everything and yet nothing before they decided to go to bed early so they would be able to get up early to get ready to fly back to Tokyo.

The next morning there was no opportunity for Haruka and Michiru to talk, again, as Haruka did not return to her room until late the previous night and they were off to the airport nice and early now. Since they had a lot more luggage with all the presents they bought, the Major came by with another car and they drove in different vehicles to the airport. Of course, Haruka drove ahead with most of the luggage while Taiki and Seiya drove the other two vehicles. At the airport, Taiki ushered them quickly into the plane that was readied for them while Kakashi and Haruka talked to the Major.

As Michiru looked outside her window she saw how Haruka saluted and thanked a group of 15 soldiers of an elite group, judging from their insignias, for their service when she suddenly recognised one of them to be the guy who bumped into Haruka during the festival.

'Was this whole trip a work trip or did something come up? What was going on?' Michiru asked herself when Haruka and Kakashi entered the plane and got ready for take-off.

The flight was smooth and uneventful and they arrived back in Tokyo as scheduled.

Taiki and Seiya took it onto themselves to drive all their guests back to their homes while Haruka, Kakyuu and Yaten took Hotaru back to the Tomoes before they were probably heading to Tenohs' family grave for Haruto's anniversary.

The whole time Michiru really wanted to have a private talk with the blonde, but she knew pushing it right now would probably have adverse effect, so she made a note to maybe make some time during Hotaru's Kindergarten hours, so they could have some time to talk uninterrupted.


-Haruka-

She arrived in Hong Kong late at night and was fairly tired from all the preparation she had to make before coming here and the turbulence she had to endure due to the rainy season.

She went outside and a tall lanky man walked towards her.

"Tenoh!" The man said cheerfully

"Zhao!" Haruka smiled in return.

"Let me take your bags." Zhao offered and Haruka passed him her bags, which he quickly stowed away in his car.

"You look like shit, Haruka." Eddy Zhao chuckled.

"As do you, Eddy" Haruka laughed.

"Hungry?" Kin asked casually as they entered his car.

"Starving." Haruka chuckled.

"My mum will love to hear that." Eddy laughed as he started to drive.

They drove through the well-lit streets of Hong Kong and eventually pulled up at one of the tall but older middle class high rise buildings.

"Your mum still doesn't want to move anywhere better?" Haruka asked.

"Nuh, she loves the neighbourhood with all its flaws. She can still walk to the temple without being hassled. These are her people, and it is easier for her to help the people who need her." Eddy explained as they entered the slightly aged elevator.

When they arrived at the apartment, they were greeted by an older lady who still had very sharp eyes and had the air of a go getter about her.

"It is good to see you Haruka." She hugged the blonde warmly.

"It is good to see you, too, aunty Vivian. I have some presents for you" Haruka greeted back and when the woman released her from the embrace, Haruka passed her a bag with souvenirs from Hokkaido.

"You know you do not have to bring me anything, your presence is delight enough for me." The elder woman said kindly.

"I know, but I still like bringing you something. I heard that this cream is particular good for your skin and the bath salt is supposed to rejuvenate you in case you have aching joints." Haruka explained.

"Ah, that is too much for me. Anyway, you look starved child. Are you not eating properly?" Vivian scolded Haruka motherly.

"Oh, I am starving right now." Haruka grinned.

They entered the kitchen where aunty Vivian had quickly prepared a, what she called 'small', meal, consisting of roasted duck, soup, fried rice and fried noodles and a lot of steamed and stir fried vegetables with seafood.

When they were all sitting together for a belated dinner, aunty Vivian started to talk business again.

"I hear you are using one of your safe houses here?" she asked Haruka as she put more of the duck into Haruka's bowl.

"I am lending it to a friend mine." Haruka explained.

"Are you two close?" The older woman continued her habitual interrogation.

"Used to be when we were little." Haruka continued patiently.

"If he is, who I think he is, then you need to be careful Haruka." Aunty Vivian cautioned her.

"How so?" Haruka asked in return.

"He might not just be a traitor, but also a thief. There is a rumour going around that the biggest triad in Beijing has put down a 'finder's fee' on his head and the safe return on whatever he has stolen from them." Aunty Vivian explained.

"Has he arrived at my safe house yet?" Haruka asked.

"No, not yet, but I think it is maybe too dangerous to meet him here. The mainland has expanded its influences, so standing still or being somewhere predictable might not be advisable." Vivian recommended.

"We have a good flow of tourists here, but that might not be enough to cover up your friend for long. So, you might have to move him around a bit, which just exposes more of your safety options to an outsider." Eddy gave her to think about.

"I need to meet him first before I make any move. I need to make sure with my own eyes if he I still the man I used to know." Haruka decided.

"Then stay here until he arrives. It will be better for you to watch him first before you meet him." Vivian insisted so Haruka stayed the night at their place.

The next morning Vivian was expecting special guests, so Eddy and Haruka cleared out early and decided to enjoy some local specialities.

'Thank you for the nice trip. M.' The message read that Haruka received while she ate Dim Sum with Kin in a small cramped restaurant in the neighbourhood.

"New girl?" Kin asked while he dipped his seafood dumpling in his chilli oil.

"Not really. Why you ask?" Haruka asked evenly in return as she replied to Michiru with a simple 'You're always welcome' before she put her phone away again.

"You never smile like that when one of the boys messages you." Eddy chuckled.

"They are not the only ones who message me." Haruka smirked. "How is your love life going? Your mum seems to have let go of the topic a bit since the last time I was here." Haruka snickered.

"Oh yeah, that is only because she hated my last girlfriend so badly, she appreciates my being single existence more now." Eddy said grinning between bites.

"You mean that girl actually left her fiancé for you?" Haruka asked surprised.

"Oh no, THAT one was only a one night stand and she still married her man the day after our encounter, just as scheduled." Eddy shrugged easily. "I was dating that lawyer from London; you know the one that got my cousin Tom out?"

"Oh, that one…she is feisty." Haruka chuckled.

"Yeah…" Eddy sighed dreamily when suddenly his phone rang and he picked up.

It was a short conversation that mainly consisted of Kin nodding and mumbling "I see". Just a few moments later he hung up and looked at Haruka sternly.

"Your boy has entered the burrow." Kin informed Haruka and put his phone away.

"I guess we better finish this up then and get going." Haruka sighed.


-Michiru-

It was finally Saturday and even though her work week had only consisted of Thursday and Friday, Kakashi had worked them to their bones those two days. They were flooded with so much paperwork and reports that needed analysing and auditing that they were stuck at the office from sunrise to sunset.

A free Saturday was more than welcome before the quarterly physical tests.

Michiru had slept in and now was still lying in bed, wondering what Haruka and Hotaru were up to. Maybe she would just pass by at the tower and check on them, considering Haruka could be a real sleepyhead if she had the chance to, they were probably still asleep now.

Michiru reached for her phone to check her phone for messages. She had 37 messages, most work related and none of the elusive blonde who seemed to be either busy or avoiding her since most of Haruka's responses were just single sentences or even just one word replies. The blonde never struck up a conversation and Michiru always had to be the one asking about the other's wellbeing to start a dialog.

Michiru wondered if that had anything to do with the soldiers that had seen them off, if Haruka was busy at work again or if she had a relapse that she was hiding from Michiru.

The first two she could not confirm without turning up at work again, which she really wanted to avoid, at least over the weekend. Her last concern should be easy to check up on though, she thought to herself as she wrote Kakyuu a short message inviting her for lunch. Just moments later she got a reply that the red haired doctor would be happy to have lunch with her, but that Kakyuu was busy at the University's laboratories so that she could only offer to have the canteen food there with Michiru, which was apparently pretty good.

Of course, Michiru agreed and got up to get changed. Considering Haruka would not risk getting treated anywhere outside of the tower, it was probably safe to say that, with Kakyuu working at the University, the blonde's health was at least of no concern at this point.

Her gut feeling was still not giving her any peace though, so a little chat with the red haired doctor was probably her best chance to get some sort of information that the blonde was not volunteering freely.


-Ryou-

Ryou had followed his father's instructions to a T and now has been waiting in a small rundown apartment near Hong Kong's famous night markets for further instructions for close to 48 hours.

"Do you really think someone will come to get us?" His lover Mei asked him as she sat on the old but clean bed.

Carefully looking out of the window onto the bustling street beneath them he gritted his teeth slightly nervous.

"Of course. If he does not believe me, there will be no one in this world who would." He said with a conviction that he did not truly hold within himself but with which he tried to convey calm to his companion.

They had been on the run for a week now, avoiding being caught by both, law enforcement who has been alerted to his presence and the underground people who were after his head. For him this was a mere routine exercise, but to Mei, who was untrained and used to a life in comfort and luxuries, this was an extreme change of circumstances. To his surprise though, she never complained and kept her calm in face of all the adversities they had faced so far on their journey.

"I am going to buy us some food, so wait here." He instructed the delicate woman on the bed as she gave her a phone he had bought earlier and his spare gun. "I will be back within the hour. You know what to do in case it isn't me who comes back." He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Is there anything in specific you want to eat or drink?"

"I am fine with whatever you are having." Mei smiled gently and Ryou kissed her on the forehead.

"I will be back, I promise." Ryou repeated before he left the apartment.

-Haruka-

Haruka had been watching her two guests discretely from an office just diagonally across the safe house she had provided for Ryou and tried to ascertain whom the other man had brought with him. She knew from Eddy's sources that it was a dainty looking woman, but nothing more. Ryou had been on his A game with concealing her from his surroundings and she knew that even though he was leaving her behind in the apartment to probably grab some provisions for them, she would be far from defenceless.

He would probably not leave her alone for long either, but Haruka needed to talk to him alone before making any decision and to understand what on earth made him abandon his post on his secret mission.

"What do you want to do?" Eddy asked her as he sat behind her, waiting for instructions.

Haruka slowly went over to the table, pulled out a notepad and wrote something on it.

After she was done she sealed her instructions into an envelope and gave it to Eddy.

"Give this to the doorman to give it to Ryou when he returns and when you get back, we scrub the paths he has taken to get here. I want to be sure that he was not followed or that he is bait." Haruka said calmly.


-Michiru-

She arrived at the University a bit earlier than expected as the whole place was rather deserted with the summer break approaching.

As instructed, she reported herself at the reception downstairs who promptly gave her a visitor's pass and an assistant showed her the way to Kakyuu's research laboratory.

Inside the other woman was brooding deep in thought over some charts that lay in front of her.

"Oh, Michiru, is it time already?" Kakyuu asked surprised.

"Don't worry Kakyuu, I am just early. Please just keep going with what you were doing, I don't mind waiting." Michiru explained with a smile.

"I see." Kakyuu nodded as she made some notes before she sorted the paperwork in front of her and locked it in the safe behind her.

"Ok, let's go. I am starving." Kakyuu grinned as she walked with Michiru out of the laboratory and to the canteen.

"You know, if you are too busy, we could have just rescheduled on another day." Michiru commented.

"Nonsense. I am not that busy when Haruka isn't around. I just like to keep myself busy when blondie isn't around. She tends to keep me busy to my eyeballs and then hardly any of my own work gets done." Kakyuu laughed easily.

"Oh, she isn't here at the moment?" Michiru asked slightly surprised.

"Yea, that is something you probably have not experienced yet, but Haruka tends leave for emergencies, if necessary, at any moment." Kakyuu explained.

"Is it that serious?" Michiru asked tentatively.

"Hard to say. The boys are very busy at the moment in the tower as well, so I have not heard anything from them since we got back either." Kakyuu said easily. "If anything happens or I am needed then I will get a call." Kakyuu tapped at her pocket in which she kept her phone.

"You don't live in the Tenoh tower permanently?" Michiru asked surprised.

"Oh goodness, I don't think I could handle being overly protected constantly like that." Kakyuu laughed. "I would have to wave my dating life permanently goodbye then, between Haruka scaring any potential suitors off and Yaten telling me their deepest, darkest secrets that I might not want to know about to start of, with since I am not serious about them in the first place." Kakyuu chuckled.

"Somehow that really makes sense." Michiru snickered.

"So how have you been the last two days? Setsuna came by my place last night and complained on how much you all had to do yourself." Kakyuu asked light hearted.

"We have been swamped with reports and data. I have been auditing like crazy, apparently, some people are coming to audit us and Kakashi just wants to double check everything we have done in the past three years since the last in depth audit." Michiru sighed.

"So how come you are having some time off already?" Kakyuu asked surprised.

"I have audited my share of files already. Sleep is overrated when things need to get done as fast as possible. I am just waiting for the others to catch up. Monday the auditing team will be arriving at our doors so I want to rest today and if anything comes up, I have today and tomorrow to deal with it. So far, there has been no call from the office so I am looking forward to eat a good lunch with you and to ask you all about your brilliant break throughs." Michiru winked.


-Taiki-

They were all cramped in one of the collapsed tunnels, sealing it off for good and stabilising the remaining structure.

"Unbelievable, doesn't that old man have anything better to do than to whack-a-mole our tunnels?" Seiya complained as he applied the liquid concrete to fill in the gaps of the rubble that blocked the tunnel behind a thin makeshift wall.

"Just be glad that we are working down in in the cool of the underground. Up there it's 37 degrees and so humid you can't tell the difference between the humidity and your own sweat." Taiki responded unsympathetic as he opened another bottle of cold water. "Any news from Haruka?" He asked Yaten who was inspecting the sensors in the tunnel.

"Nope, been looking into Ryou though. Real patriot, the Kamikaze kind. Graduated top of his class and picture perfect soldier. I don't see how and why he would need help to get out of any situation. I would have thought it would be more his targets that would need all the help they can get to get away from him and not the other way around." Yaten explained while he still focused on the electric in the tunnels.

"I would have preferred if one of us would have gone with her." Taiki commented.

"She insisted that home security had priority." Seiya interjected.

"If it is so important, then why isn't she here?" Yaten asked.

"Her presence here would just make her grandfather hit us even harder, also, as if Haruka was going to leave an old Senpai out in the cold when one of her former teachers asks her to get him." Taiki sighed.

"Let's just get this fixed as fast as possible. We still have another three to go and making a new access point will take us even longer." Seiya said pragmatically as he switched off the pump and smoothed the concrete at the opening of the wall.


-Haruka-

She had let him wait for two solid days and no one was directly following Ryou and his companion. Even so the people their pursuers had commissioned were drawing tighter circles around their target with each passing day.

Haruka was passing at a leisurely pace through the flower market of Mong Kok, with her camera in hand to take snap shots like most tourists who were there with her, when a man slightly smaller than herself joined her.

"I take it you settled in well in the place I gave you." Haruka said evenly without turning to face her companion as she took a picture of particular impressive orchids.

"Yes, though didn't you say you had a better place here in Hong Kong?" Ryou asked with chuckle.

"I do, but I didn't think you would need it since I didn't expect you to bring female company." Haruka returned with a smirk.

"I had no choice." Ryou defended himself but Haruka didn't react to that as she continued to walk towards the Bird garden.

"We always have a choice." Haruka said firmly.

"I can explain, but not here." Ryou urged the blonde as the turned around the corner.

"Relax, I have someone watching your Princess Peach, Mario." Haruka said calmly. "So explain." Haruka gave Ryou the chance to clarify the situation.

"Are you sure you can trust them?" Ryou asked, his tension slowly showing in his voice.

"I don't think you have the right to ask me that, because right now, I am not so sure I can trust you, because the Ryou I knew would have never abandoned his mission, even under the threat of inevitable death." Haruka replied coldly.

"Haruka, I love her." Ryou said earnestly.

"And you will fall in love again." Haruka said stern.

"I am not like you, I cannot go out with a new girl every night of the week." Ryou argued.

"I am not asking you to do that. I am just saying that there are plenty of other women out there who will be happy to warm your bed." Haruka said unsympathetically.

"She is pregnant." Ryou said quietly making Haruka stop in motion.

"For flying ducks…how…why…are you aware of who she is?" Haruka asked incredulously.

"Of course." Ryou answered with his head hanging low. "But haven't you also slept with plenty of your targets or their daughters? And don't tell me you never felt anything for any of them" Ryou asked pleadingly.

"Obviously I can do that, but you can't!" Haruka argued.

"Why not?" Ryou asked defiantly.

"I do not get them pregnant." Haruka replied matter-of-factly. "Are you even sure it is yours."

"Yes." Ryou replied steadfast.

Haruka shook her head and focused on taking pictures of the birds that were chirping away in their tiny, and definitely inappropriately small and cramped cages.

"I know she loves me and that that child is mine." Ryou insisted. "I want to give her a better life, a life where she is free." Ryou said thoughtfully as he watched a bird chirping in its small cage.

"Do you really think you are the first guy who has been trying to free her from her father's reach? What makes you think that she is even honest with you with that and that she didn't have another guy at the side who had the same plan as you? A mother will always know that the child is hers, fathers do not have that certainty. " Haruka looked at him sharply.

Ryou was ready to jump her throat, but didn't due to all the people around them and the unwanted attention it would draw to them.

"She is not like that." Ryou maintained.

"Ok, and what if she is her father's plant and is just out to bust all operations we have in his vicinity?" Haruka gave him to think. "Drop her. I will make sure she will get back to her father unharmed, if needed even take her for an abortion first, if she doesn't want to bring home a child and I will get you back to Japan in one piece to answer for your failure." Haruka said quiet and even.

"No, she is not like that. I will not abandon her like my father abandoned my mother." Ryou argued.

"Your mother left your father not the other way around. She made the tough choice so both of you would have a future. She did that because she truly loved him and you." Haruka explained.

"What do you know? I grew up without a father all my childhood. Do you know how often I wanted my father by my side like all the other kids had?" Ryou was getting emotional.

"Yea, sorry, I just do not have parents since I am eight, so if I call up my father right now for help, he will not send someone who can get my whiny ass out of the mess I made." Haruka said sarcastically. "Get your head out of your ass. What can you really give her that her rich and influential father can't, besides the rest of her life on the run? What can you give your unborn child besides being a fugitive from its first breath to the last it will most likely take shortly after." Haruka looked at Ryou sternly.

"But I love her." Ryou said desperately.

"Yea I can see that." Haruka said dryly, but before she could give him another jibe her phone rang.


-Eddy-

Eddy was pacing near the safe house up and down the street as he was nervously waiting for the blonde's return.

Haruka was casually walking up to him in a fast pace behind the market stalls with the guy they had been watching for the past two days close behind her.

"Luigi, this is Mario, Mario this is Luigi." The blonde introduced the two men who just nodded.

"We have maybe five to seven minutes until they are here." Eddy informed Haruka hastily.

"Get him to the office, I am taking care of Peach." Haruka continued curtly before she smoothly sprinted in between the market stands over to her safe house.

Eddy just went ahead of the other man up the building behind them to the office from where they had been watching the couple.

Considering Haruka gave them codenames it was safe to say that it was better for all of them not to have ever met in the first place.

He quickly unlocked the door and sat down at the window that was facing the apartment Haruka was about to enter and aimed the sniper rifle expertly at any possible threat to Haruka that he could spot.

"Get ready to pick up the phone." Eddy prompted 'Mario' as he watched 'Peach' reaching for the phone, the gun in her hand ever so steady aiming at the door behind which Haruka was standing.

The phone rang as expected and 'Mario' confirmed Haruka's identity.

As the blonde entered the apartment, law enforcement was already gathering downstairs, ready to raid the building. There was no more time left for them to leave.


-Yaten-

"Got a distress beacon from Haruka." Yaten informed his brothers as they sat together for dinner.

"What is the plan?" Seiya asked.

"You two are flying to Hong Kong while I hold the fort for us." Yaten informed them. "She also asks for you to take armour level 5 with you and to bring more boosters."

"Looks bad." Seiya commented while Taiki frowned as he dialled Kakyuu's number.


-Haruka-

Haruka entered the apartment, quickly closing the door behind her when her phone rang.

"You got three minutes. 20 officers are downstairs. 10 to each neighbouring building." Was all that Eddy said before he hung up again.

"Where is Ryou?" The woman inside asked her but Haruka had no time for explanations.

"Get up." Haruka instructed the woman in front of her as she opened the cupboard and tapped the wall for a secret compartment. "Good you're small. Hide in here and be as quiet as possible." Haruka urged her as the blonde shoved the smaller built woman into the small space behind the panels.

Haruka looked around the apartment and quickly tossed the bed before she took off her backpack and emptied its contents over the table.

Spreading the camera, freshly swiped tourist guide book, various change and trinkets over the table she readied this place for a lived in look.

Just before she could double check the gun on her back, there was a knock at the door.

"Police, open the door." A commanding voice demanded.

Haruka took a deep breath and opened the door with a confused look.

"Oh, eh, hello officer?" Haruka answered with a thick Scandinavian accent.

"We are checking this building for possible illegals." An officer explained curtly before he walked past her into the apartment.

"I am not illegal; I have a tourist visa." Haruka pulled out a passport from her pants side pocket and showed it to one of the officers the page with the necessary stamps.

"So … Alex Jensen, how long have you been here?" The officer who held her papers asked her.

"Just since this Wednesday" Haruka answered truthfully.

"And how come you are staying at this place." The officer continued the interrogation.

"Online booking. It is very cheap." Haruka explained as confused sounding as she could manage.

"How long are you intending to stay here?" The questioning continued.

"Until I get my luggage back, the airline lost it. Then I want to move to a place on Hong Kong island." Haruka explained the lack of luggage in her room.

The other officers looked through the sparsely furnished room and went to the bathroom, ignoring the small cupboard of which one of the doors was opened, giving the impression that it was empty.

"You better move soon. This is not the best place for tourists to stay." The officer with the papers excused the intrusion.

"Oh, ok. Sure. Thank you for your advice." Haruka nodded understandingly.

"Does someone else live here as well?" The officer who had passed her earlier asked as he came out of the bathroom.

"No. It is just me." Haruka answered with a lost expression on her face.

"So why do you have two toothbrushes in the bathroom." The officer asked.

"It was cheaper to buy a double pack." Haruka shrugged. "I use one for the morning, one for the night." Haruka flashed her pearly white teeth.

"Let it go Chen, do you really think two people would choose to live in this tiny dump for their holiday?" The officer with the passport in his hand asked the other sarcastically in Cantonese before returning it to Haruka again.

"You have a good stay here Mr. Jensen." The officer said before they all left the apartment.

"Thank you, officer." Haruka smiled.


-Eddy-

Eddy looked down at his phone and the only message he got from Haruka was the picture of a movie roll.

"Time to move Mario and for you to leave Peach to Bowser." Kin chuckled.

"I will not leave her behind." The other man refused as he pulled his gun on Kin.

"You can kill me all you want, but don't you think Haruka would kill your Peach faster than you can rush to her?" Kin asked unimpressed. "We are to lure the idiots you pissed off away from here so they can leave in peace. So, either you listen to the plan we have made since before you arrived or you can go and get your girl killed. Your choice." Kin said evenly.


-Haruka-

Haruka stood at the window and as soon the police officers were out of sight, Haruka pulled out a small sweeping device and checked for bugs they might have planted and found something in the bathroom.

Quickly she turned on the TV on a high volume and put everything she could see in her backpack before she let Mei out of the hiding spot, signalling her to stay quiet.

Haruka pulled out her phone and wrote Kin another quick message before she returned her attention back to the woman to her side.

She pulled out a small notebook and started to write 'We are leaving as soon as soon as the coast is clear. Grab anything you need and the rest goes to the bin.' Haruka instructed her.

'Where are we going?' Mei wrote in return.

'Taiwan' Was the only word Haruka wrote.


-Kin-

The sun was setting and Kin had led his companion through the back streets to a waiting Taxi. He instructed 'Mario' to wait in the cover of the buildings before he approached the driver who greeted him cheerfully before he gave him the keys and entered the small restaurant on that street.

Kin waved for Mario to come, enter the taxi and gave him the backpack he had been carrying so far.

"As you can see, all that is in that bag is cash for your new papers and a phone on which your next contact will call you to get you to Canada." Kin explained as they sat in his Taxi which he drove slowly in direction of the Avenue of Stars. "Whatever you do, do not lose the bag and wait for the guy, who will give you your new papers, at the Bruce Lee statue. Leave the phone in the backpack. The guy will find you by tracking it and he will want to confirm your identity. Your code phrase will be: I love maple syrup." Kin continued. "Once that is done, go to the InterContinental, you have a reservation under the name Akiyama. The staff will know what to do. Also give me your phone, it might not be as secure as you think."

Mario gave him wordlessly the phone as they were about to pull up at the drop off spot for Victoria Harbour.

"Once you have the new papers you, we will pose you at the airport clearly visible for your pursuers to think that you are flying to Taiwan before you and Princess Peach can run off into the sunset in Canada, so remember, wait until 11 pm and if you have not been contacted come back to the office by foot. Do not under any circumstances take public transport or any other taxi. If you fail today, we do it tomorrow again. The guy who does these paper is top notch but paranoid, so do not scare him off." Kin reminded his silent passenger who just nodded and mumbled "Thanks Luigi" before he left the Taxi.

As soon as his grumpy passenger had left, Kin drove relaxed to the next Taxi station and parked his behind the others before he made a call.

"Hello, Kin here. I am calling for that reward you have posted for that Japanese guy you are looking for." Kin said cheerfully as soon as the other person picked up.

"Where is he?" A grumpy voice answered.

"Money first." Kin said easily.

"Is transferred." The grumpy voice confirmed.

"I just dropped him off at the Avenue of Stars." Kin smirked.

"Ok." Was the last word he heard before the other side hung up.

Kin whistled a happy tune as he kept an eye on his watch.

Five minutes later he made another call.

"Officer Chen, my man. Heard you had a sucky raid today." Kin chuckled.

"What do you want Kin?" Chen asked annoyed.

"Didn't I tell you that your boy was not in my territory?" Kin smirked self-satisfied.

"If you are only calling me to taunt me then I am so going to find a reason to whack you over the head the next time I catch you." Chen threatened.

"There, there officer. I can also just call up your real boss and tell him that you failed to listen to me." Kin snickered.

"Fine, I take it you found him. Spit it out. Where is he?" Chen asked through gritted teeth.

"Avenue of Stars. I heard he especially admires Bruce Lee." Kin smirked.


-Mei-

The blonde had just disappeared after locking her in the apartment with the TV blaring and Mei was wondering what kind of person Ryou would trust so unconditionally with her safety without even telling her the name of the stranger. All he had said was that the blonde was a friend and from what she heard from her hiding spot was that the name was apparently Alex Jensen. The stranger was gone for quite a bit but when the blonde returned from what seemed to be shopping, he tossed new clothes wordlessly to Mei with a note to get changed. Before Mei could disappear in the bathroom, the blonde stopped her and whispered into her ear "Here, and all of it" with a thumb pointing at the underwear.

Mei wanted to refuse but she fierce and cold look the eyes of the other didn't leave any space for argument, so she slowly got changed while the blonde watched her intently.

Feeling vulnerable and humiliated she cursed Ryou in her mind for leaving her behind with this stranger.

Once she was done, Alex demanded to inspect the jewellery she was wearing.

She had particular difficulty departing with the necklace her mother had given her for her tenth birthday but the blonde didn't seem to care and after careful inspection just pocketed it all.

They didn't talk while the blonde inspected every inch of her discarded clothing carefully before bagging it. The silence just continued as the blonde just kept standing at the window watching their surroundings like Ryou used to do when he was there. Mei had so many questions, but the blonde had written earlier that the apartment was bugged and that therefore talking was not an option, not if she wanted to see Ryou again.

The sun had finally set and the night market was living up to its reputation.

They left the apartment in the safety of darkness and walked through the crowd of people who were grabbing dinner or just out for late night shopping. The blonde bought her some food they ate on the way to blend in and slowly made their way to a parking structure where the blonde tied her hands behind her back and put black hood over the head as soon as she sat down on the back seat.

"Stay down and do not move." Were the instructions she was given before she heard the blonde entering the car on the driver's side and the car started to move.

It was a silent drive and Mei started to lose sense of time.

Just when her imagination conjured up the possibility that Ryou got caught and that she was being sold to human traffickers, the car stopped and car doors were opened.

"Get up." The voice of the blonde sounded close by.

Mei sat up and her hood was removed.

They were in a garage and Alex removed the restraints form her wrists.

They walked into the nice house that was in the hills of Hong Kong.

"The bathroom is the third door to your right down that hallway. You might want to have a proper bath or shower. I am going to toss your clothes into the wash." The blonde pointed to the hallway to their left before arming the perimeter alarm system.


-Ryou-

Ryou had reached the bronze statue of Bruce Lee and waited patiently in its vicinity when he suddenly noticed several people encircling him and a single guy approaching him directly.

He looked the guy up and down and it did not look like he was going to ask him a pre-set question.

Ryou grabbed the strap of his backpack tighter while tensed his body ready for fight or flight as necessary when suddenly a gust of wind revealed a gun strapped to the side of the other guy. Ryou looked around and too many people were around so that any open shooting would cause too many casualties, therefore he started to move from his spot and leisurely walked away from his would be assailant.

It was ok not to meet the forger today. Tomorrow was another day, he thought to himself as he walked down the promenade, with a wary eye on his pursuers.

Suddenly the guy started to sprint in his direction and Ryou started to run as fast as he could to shake them off, but it was too late. The guy reached for his bag and Ryou yanked it out of his grasp when it happened. The bag burst open, causing for its contents to explode over the whole place. Money as flying through the air and a small box fell out of the bag along with the phone he was given. Ryou tried to reach for the phone and the box but too many people were suddenly swarming in and grabbing for the money. As if all of that wasn't already bad enough, to top things off, the police arrived with sirens blaring and Ryou had no choice but to make a run for it just to be stopped by a bunch of thugs in the next alley he turned in.