-Haruka-

Haruka was lying on the couch exhausted and looking over the lights of Hong Kong blinking in the distance. She had just injected herself with a booster the moment she heard that the water in the bathroom had started to run and knew that she would have her five minutes of peace now to suffer this excruciating cocktail of chemicals that was preventing her from collapsing unexpectedly.

Suddenly her phone beeped and she received a message.

'Wherever you are, be safe, sleep well and come home soon. M.'

It was so simple and yet managed to conjure up a smile on her face.

'Sure thing' Haruka replied with a smirk and then wondered if that was enough or already too much. Michiru was incredibly patient with her and yet…..

Before she could finish that thought, Mei returned from the bathroom only wearing a bathrobe.

"Hungry?" Haruka asked easily as she sat up but Mei only shook her head.

"Ok, follow me, I show you your bedroom." Haruka explained as she got up and walked down the hallway to the right. She opened the first door on the left that revealed a comfortable room with view over the harbour and a t-shirt and shorts already lay ready on the bed.

"Where is Ryou?" Mei asked the blonde with an imploring look in her eyes but Haruka just shrugged it off and said calmly. "Not here."

"Will he come soon?" Mei continued to ask.

"No. He will go ahead of us to Taiwan." Haruka explained. "If you are thinking of escaping and following him or contacting him in any way, there is no point. I have already given him a new phone and dumped his old one. Running away from me or killing me is also counterproductive because I am your ticket out of here. So just do as you are told and sit tight." Haruka put the gun and the phone Ryou had given Mei before he left her behind on the nightstand.

"Just in case you need them to sleep better. Go to bed early, we are having a long day ahead of us. Your clothes should be done by tomorrow." Haruka finished saying before she left Mei alone in that room.


-Seiya-

Seiya was watching the happenings on the Avenue of Stars from their room in the InterContinental through his binoculars.

"Did you rig the backpack?" He asked Eddy who was lounging on the couch as he saw the money flying through the air.

"Of course. Not everything made in China falls apart the moment you touch it." Eddy chuckled.

"Instead of lazing around here, shouldn't you make your way back to the office, or did you arrange a different meeting spot." Taiki asked Eddy as he was working on his laptop.

"Goodness me, your brother knows no chill, Seiya." Eddy sighed.

"You tell me… anyway… he is right, look at this." Seiya handed Eddy another pair of binoculars as the man stepped up next to him and they watched how Ryou smashed the head of one of the thugs who attacked him into the nearby wall.

"Shit….." Eddy just said half with awe, half terrified.

"Yep. His nickname is lean, mean, killing machine for a reason." Seiya stated.

Ryou single handed fought, unarmed, eight guys with knives and guns with such ease it looked like he was just having a regular workout like others eat snacks in front of the television.

"Hey Seiya, don't you want to come with me?" Eddy asked suddenly intimidated.

"Are you nuts? He might skin you alive when he finds out you set him up and then I will be the unwanted witness to that crime. God knows how he will dispose of me!" Seiya protested.

"Then don't tell him." Taiki interjected.

"I thought you are my brother! Shouldn't you protect me from that monster?" Seiya asked exasperated.

"Haruka just texted and said that you two should fetch him as soon he has done his job and to lay low in the office until she contacts you." Taiki explained unfazed.

"Oh great." Seiya sighed.

"Well if you ask me, he should be making his way to the office just fine without our help." Eddy said without averting his eyes from the fight, where Ryou just kicked someone so hard that he flew several meters before being stopped by a dumpster mid-flight.

"If he gives you a hard time, just remind him that Haruka has his girl." Taiki said evenly.

"Will you be here ok on your own?" Seiya asked slightly worried.

"I will be moving as soon as they have taken the bait." Taiki said calmly.

"Well, be careful." Seiya just said before he packed his stuff again and left the room with Eddy.


-Michiru-

It was Monday morning when Michiru turned up at the office just to be sent down to the training range by the members of the auditing team. All the other girls were already down there getting changed for their practical examination.

"I thought we are not having that until the end of the week." Michiru told Minako who was getting changed next to her.

"They changed their mind." Minako shrugged.

"Just enjoying playing the power card they have over us while they are here." Rei sneered.

They had to go through various tasks they needed to finish and by the end of the day they were positively exhausted, though their results were something all of them could be proud of. Especially Ami had improved dramatically under Haruka's training regime that her improvement margin even impressed the most senior examiners.

"Let's go out tonight and celebrate our results." Makoto suggested.

"I second that motion!" Minako said cheerfully as they were getting changed again.

"I don't know. I am actually quite tired of all that running around." Michiru said hesitantly.

"Oh, come one Michiru. It is not every day that Ami beats the shit out of her examiners." Rei encouraged her.

"Ok, fine. Where do you want to go?" Michiru asked.

"Yamaguchi's" Minako grinned wide

"Good call. I really miss their oden." Makoto said dreamily.

Soon they arrived at Yamaguchi's and were seated in a comfortable booth further in the back.

"Aren't any of the boys joining us?" Ami asked Minako who was busy writing on their phone.

"Yaten said they are busy, but he recommends the sashimi as starters, apparently, they are got a really good catch this morning." Minako replied as she put the phone away.

"Well their loss. Let's celebrate!" Makoto raised her beer glass and everyone joined her cheerfully.

They were already on their fourth order when Michiru suddenly received an email.

'Agent Kaioh, herewith you are summoned for a review of your examination result in conference room 7 at 10 a.m. Regards, Director of the IIA' was all that was written in it.

"Everything ok there Michiru?" Ami asked her concerned as she noticed that Michiru's complexion had suddenly changed as she was checking her phone.

"I just got a message from the Director of the entire Agency." Michiru said slightly surprised.

"Do you think he found out about Kakashi and Setsuna and is now out to grill us for information?" Makoto asked concerned.

"Did any of you get such an email?" Michiru asked.

All the girls checked their devices but then shook their heads.

"Whatever it is, we all cannot let them down." Minako said determined.

"That's right." Michiru smiled to cover up her unease.

"Whatever it is, we will get through it together." Ami said reassuringly.


-Mei-

They had been out yesterday all day, getting her new clothes and a new haircut to give her an entirely new look. Throughout the day, the blonde didn't say much besides giving her short instructions on what to do and what to avoid. Every question she had was either ignored or left unanswered in so many words.

When others were around, Alex was very charming to avoid suspicion but as soon as they were alone, he returned to his cold self. Mei never saw him smile unless when he felt unwatched and was checking his phone in some quiet moments.

Last night she discovered that she was locked in her room while he had a guest. Guessing from the voice, it was another man who was just as uncommunicative as the blonde and only said few things of which she couldn't make any sense.

In the morning, they were alone again and the door was open for her again to roam around the house freely as long she didn't ask questions or did anything that displeased the blonde, like snooping around, trying to leave or to ask questions.

The weather was, as it was to be expected in the rainy season, very wet and the blonde spend most of the time on the phone, writing messages or making short calls. She looked at her own phone which had not received any messages or calls since she made that last call to Ryou in which he told her to trust the blonde. It was approaching lunch time and the blonde went to the open plan kitchen and Mei followed her. There just had to be a moment where she would be able to tickle a proper answer out of him, she thought to herself.

"What will we be having for lunch?" Mei asked the blonde as he got busy pulling pots and pans out of the cupboard.

"Food" was the curt reply as the blonde started to fill a pot with water.

"May I help you in any way?" Mei asked tentatively.

"You have never cooked a single meal in your life, so just sit there and look pretty." Alex was demeaning.

"How do you know that?" Mei argued.

"You are Mei Liu, only daughter of Gang Liu and Jing Liu. Your father is head of the main Beijing triad that your brother Jun will inherit when your old man bites the dust. You have been taken care off since birth and highly protected since you have taken your first breath. You attended all elite schools, money could buy, and even while studying in London your bodyguards Hua Ma and Fang Yu never left your side and catered to all your needs. At most, you know how to cook water and prepare tea since your mother insisted on you studying all the fine arts of feminine charm, but that is about it." Alex said evenly as he washed and then chopped tomatoes. "Want me to reiterate your last report card in which you scored high in all subjects except French in which you received a meekly 60% since you have no interest in it, but were forced to study it?" Alex asked mockingly.

"No need. Since you seem to know everything about me, why don't you tell me who you are?" Mei asked slightly irritated.

"I'm your ticket out of Hong Kong." Alex replied curt.

"What if I want to stay here?" She asked defiantly.

"Then you are welcome to go out of the door and never to return again." The blonde said unfazed.

"And what about Ryou?" Mei asked.

"Obviously, you will never see him again." Alex said calmly as she put pasta in the boiling water of the pot and added the chopped tomatoes to the waiting hot pan with the butter and garlic. "I have been commissioned to get him out of here, so clearly that is what I am doing." Alex said calmly.

"But you are here." Mei interjected. "How is that even in the least helping him to get out?" She asked doubtfully.

"You are being sought by your father who is right now looking a Japanese man who has kidnapped his daughter, not a blonde with an annoying brunette." Alex smirked as he slowly reduced the tomatoes to a sauce.

"As soon as I am getting paid the second instalment, I will ship him to Taiwan and as soon he is there, he will pay for your release or I just return you to your daddy for the reward." The blonde continued to explain. "Your father is raising the reward on a daily basis on your boyfriend's head, so if he doesn't hurry, I might as well just turn him in to your father and be compensated for all the hassle he has been causing me." Alex said dryly as he added some herbs to the sauce.

"You are awful and he told me to trust you unconditionally." Mei was exasperated.

"Your own fault for running away with an idiot. At best what you have managed so far was to have an adventure getaway for the last dozen days, at the worst you get him killed while you get sent to a monastery somewhere far away to repent for your sins." The blonde said unfazed.

"Aren't you scared I will run away now and…." Mei started.

"..and what? Be caught by me again as soon as you reach the main gate? What could you possibly do to stop me from recapturing you and just make it a lot more uncomfortable for you here? Ballet me to death?" Alex mocked her.

"You are infuriating" Mei exclaimed frustrated.

"So I have been told many times." The blonde said nonchalant as he drained the pasta and added it to the tomato sauce.

Alex coated the pasta well with the sauce before arranging it on two plates and giving one with a fork stuck in it to Mei who sat at the kitchen counter.

Mei looked at it with disdain but had to admit it smelled delicious, not that she would tell that the arrogant blonde who just started to eat when he sat down on the stool next to hers.

"How much money do you want to get us to safety and out of my father's reach?" She asked without touching the food.

"$15, 700, 825. 22, just to get Ryou out, like I said, he will still have to pay for your exit himself." Alex said between bites.

Mei realised that was the exact amount she had slowly put aside without her parent's knowledge and gritted her teeth.

"Is there something you don't know?" Mei asked the blonde who kept eating without a care in the world.

"Sure, for example, why did you run with him?" Alex asked in return, without showing particular interest in a reply.

Mei subconsciously reached for her stomach. Nothing was showing yet, but a small life was growing there, a life the two of them created with the heat of passion and wanted to raise with the love they felt for each other.

"If you want to get that removed, I can arrange for that, then you can return to your parents without bursting their bubble view of their virginal daughter. Even free of charge, after you paid for Ryou's freedom and safety of course" The blonde smirked.

"I will give you all I have only if you get both of us out." Mei gritted her teeth and swallowed her pride.

"In four days your father will pay me more just to shoot Ryou between the eyes and deliver him the corpse and I'm not the only one out for that reward." Alex said evenly.

"Fine, just get Ryou out as soon as possible." Mei deliberated. "Just give me a laptop and your account details."

The blonde got up and gave Mei the laptop with all the details already filled in, the only missing thing to transfer the funds was her Iris scan. Taking a deep breath, Mei looked into the camera resolutely and authorised for her entire funds to be transferred.

"When do you want the doctor's appointment for that?" Alex gestured to her belly.

"I don't want any appointment. It has done nothing wrong… and it is all I have left of him with me" Mei whispered as she read the confirmation of transfer.

"What will you do if Ryou doesn't get the funds in time to get you out of my grasp in time before I return you?" The blonde asked as he packed the laptop away again.

"I know he won't manage it. No one outruns my father twice, so don't tell him that I will not follow him until he is in safety. I know he will try to come back and get me again, but just tell him that I am done with him." Mei tried to sound firm but the lump in her throat hurt her and she could not supress a slight wince.

"Want to do that yourself? You and I know he won't believe me." Alex suggested.

Mei looked conflicted but then nodded.

"Ok, then eat while the food is still hot. I'll make some calls." The blonde said before he left the room and went to the garage.


-Taiki-

"Where are they at right now?" Taiki asked Yaten who was on the other end of the phone.

"Shopping district. If Haruka wasn't wearing her sunglasses indoors, I think everyone could tell how miserable she is actually feeling about two consecutive days of shopping." Yaten chuckled as he worked on the live feed of the surveillance cameras in Hong Kong from the comfort of his office.

"Hmm. Who would blame her…" Taiki nodded, just to realise that Yaten couldn't see him. "At least Mei doesn't seem to be your typical materialistic girl who buys everything she sees." Taiki noted.

"A bit difficult when you just got 'robbed blind' by Haruka…" Yaten snickered.

"True. Anyway, how is home?" The tall brunette asked his brother as he was going through the Hong King police's surveillance databases.

"Quiet without all of you. Stationed reinforcement at all entry points and repaired some of the broken robots, but I do not have any units to spare right now. I know Tenoh senior is still in town so I closed off the Yamaguchi entrance completely as Haruka has asked me to. I am really sick of instant noodles." Yaten sighed.

"We will be back soon." Taiki assured his little brother as he deleted Ryou's existence from the system. "You just hang in there, and don't eat all the souvenirs we got in Hokkaido. Haruka and Seiya will not forgive you if you do that." He reminded Yaten.

"Yes, yes…." Yaten sighed even more defeated.


-Seiya-

It was hot and humid. The fog still lay heavy over Hong Kong when he woke up sweat soaked on the old mattress in the office in which he was doomed to hide out with Ryou.

As usual Ryou was sitting at the window looking out for danger, but he knew that Kin's crew here would warn them in time if anything came their way. They weren't the best of people around but they were loyal to the quirky taxi driver and his mother, and either way, the police took hold of the modified phone that Haruka prepared and Eddy had planted on Ryou while the most aggressive gang that was chasing him took hold of the USB stick. Both contained programs what wormed their way into the system they were plugged into and made it possible for Yaten's system to keep an eye on their hunters.

As long as his brother didn't call to warn him, no danger was on the horizon.

After an improvised breakfast of cup noodles, they were sitting in their shorts in the small office trying to cool themselves in front of the old fan Eddy had brought by since the air-conditioning broke down yesterday.

All this nakedness in the uncomfortable humidity had only one advantage, they both knew that the other wasn't armed. Then again, Seiya knew that Ryou was a human turned weapon when needed to start off with.

"Hey, why did you abandon your mission?" Seiya struck up a conversation out of boredom, just to earn an evil side look from Ryou before he turned back to the window.

"I am just asking because I am bored and considering we are still stuck here for a while, might as well get to know each other a bit to build a bit of trust." Seiya continued his monologue.

"Why should I trust you?" Ryou asked evenly as he looked outside the window. "You know everything about me but I know nothing about you."

"Well, for one, I belong to Haruka's team and work for her." Seiya shrugged.

"So? Haruka works with a lot of people." Ryou answered offhandedly.

"Fine, fine. I get it. I am IIA special recruit 4279, one of only three graduates of the night storm program." Seiya sighed while watching the other man's reaction.

"You are the one she got from death row?" Ryou asked with wide eyes.

"Yep." Seiya shrugged. "My life is hers to use as she sees fit." Seiya continued easily as he went to the fridge and got a bottle of cold water before he tossed Ryou one as well.

"Why haven't you made a run for it?" Ryou asked astonished.

"Answer my question first." Seiya replied evenly and Ryou averted his eyes again while he leaned back to the wall behind him.

"My mission was it to stop Gang Liu from doing business with the conglomerate in London by all means necessary, so in short, to kill him as soon he makes that move. If you have ever met him, then you would know he is the most stubborn man in the world. His kill order was already approved, when Mei asked me to spare her father's life. Trust me, I never planned on falling in love, even less to ever have my own family, but what could I possibly do? Kill the father of the love of my life and make her feel miserable or run with her from that control obsessed man?" Ryou asked Seiya rhetorically.

"Hmmm….." Seiya drank thoughtfully from his water. "I actually did run several times. Unsuccessfully, as you can see. Haruka would always catch up with me and drag me wordlessly back. On one of the training missions, we were in India, I tried it again and got caught by organ harvesters. Haruka and Haruto turned up and rescued me with guns blazing while endangering the entire mission plan. When she untied me from the operating table I finally dared to ask her why she kept getting me without asking me why I kept running or punishing me for insubordination. She just said that family won't get abandoned no matter what happens and that whatever the reason, that I would tell her when I am ready and that she was willing to wait until the day would come without asking. Until then I have never had any real family. I was on death row for killing my abusive father who took the belt to me more often than he wore one, my mother died in childbirth and no one of the rest of my relatives acknowledged my existence once I was a known murderer. I was disowned and nameless from the moment I had thrusted that kitchen knife into the chest of the man to contributed to my creation and resented my existence and here was a person who had no connections with me whatsoever except being my trainer, calling me by my chosen name without judgement, who always had a spot for me at her dinner table and a bed for me to rest on without asking for anything in return, that she didn't expect from herself first. On that day, I promised myself I would do everything for my family, without questioning it and at all costs." Seiya explained.

Before Ryou could say anything, Seiya's phone rang.

It was Haruka.

"Speaking of the devil." Seiya chuckled as he picked up.


-Mei-

Alex returned from the garage after a long time. In the meantime, Mei had finished her lunch and even done the dishes for them before she sat back down on her spot on the kitchen counter.

"There are slight adjustments that are needed to get Ryou out of here, since more people have started to look for him, so I need you to do something more." Alex said evenly.

"I do not have any more money." Mei replied with slight despair.

"I do not need more money. I need you to do everything I tell you to, exactly the way I tell you to until he is in safety. Can you do that?" Alex asked sternly.

Mei was slightly confused but nodded nonetheless.

"Good, get changed. We are going out." Alex said curtly.

-Haruka-

She sighed internally when they entered the third boutique of the day in which the sales assistants swarmed them immediately asking them all kind of questions about what they were looking for. Mei was obviously not the extroverted type and with no money on her hands she never dared to ask or look for anything in specific, so Haruka always had to step in.

"Yea, my girlfriend here needs something to wear to a birthday party tonight." Haruka just answered smoothly after the sales assistant was done barraging Mei with small talk.

"Oh, whose birthday?" The sales assistant asked curiously.

"Mine." Haruka smirked.

"Oh, we have just the right thing then for her… and you." The sales assistant winked.

'Oh, kill me now' Haruka thought to herself but smiled charmingly nonetheless. "I can't wait." Haruka replied huskily.

Haruka was eventually sitting in front of the changing rooms, while Mei tried on various outfits the sales assistants brought her. Some outfits were more, some less revealing. The blonde was grateful for the air-conditioning in the store and just sat back and rested her weary body. In this heat and humidity, the boosters didn't work as long as needed and Haruka had to supplement them with the pills Kakyuu had given her. When she was sure that no one was watching and that no cameras were around, she pulled one out and swallowed it dry. The sales assistant returned again, bringing more clothes for Mei to try on, but before she could go into the changing room, Haruka pulled her aside.

"All these clothes look nice, but would you mind bringing her also suitable clothing to meet my mother tomorrow for lunch and dinner?" Haruka asked her.

"Of course." The sales assistant nodded understandingly.

"And maybe something for me to enjoy underneath." Haruka winked, making the sales assistant giggle.

After another hour in the store Haruka decided on three outfits, two decent looking ones that Mei seemed to be partial to and one outrageously revealing one, along with two lingerie sets.

Mei stayed quiet throughout the purchase, besides the occasional polite responses towards the sales assistants.

When they got out of the store Haruka sighed as she put her sunglasses back on.

"Don't worry, I won't make you wear any of it, if you don't want to." Haruka said easily with a broad smile on her face as she carried the shopping bags in one hand and put her other arm around Mei's waist. "So, if you could please smile more and at least pretend to enjoy yourself? We are supposed to look like we are in love to the cameras that are watching us, to distract from Ryou, so that I can get him out of here. Your father will find you latest in three days once we have left enough breadcrumbs for him to find you." Haruka reminded Mei.

"What about you? Aren't you scared my father will get you then and punish you for touching me?" Mei asked the blonde back sceptically.

"Are you worried about me, Mei? I am the bastard that robbed you clean and makes you abide my biddings. You shouldn't care about what happens to me." Haruka smirked.

"I am not worried about you. I am just worried that you are underestimating my father and get caught before you get Ryou to safety." Mei said defiantly.

"That's the spirit." Haruka chuckled as they walked down the sunny streets. "Now look over there at that shoe store." Haruka pointed at a shoe store across the busy street. "There is a traffic camera in that direction, now smile your most charming smile and give me a kiss on the cheek." Haruka grinned insolently. Haruka could see Mei's eyes turning cold, but she smiled charmingly nonetheless and was about to place kiss on the blonde's cheek when the blonde suddenly spotted police officers coming in their direction from another store with wanted notices for Ryou in their hands. In the spur of the moment Haruka pulled Mei closer, grabbed her chin and kissed her in the middle of the footpath passionately. Haruka made sure that she held Mei in a way that she could not retaliate and waited for the officers to awkwardly steer clear of the sudden display of blatant affection as it was expected of Asians before she stopped. Mei was pissed the moment Haruka let go of her, but to her credit she noticed the police officers who just passed them and kept quiet.

"So… want to get some shoes, sweetheart?" Haruka smirked.


-Mei-

She was standing in the bathroom, getting ready to go out with the new clothes and make up they had bought together today, for tonight. All day Alex had been very possessive and protective of her, not letting her step more than a few meters away from him, not letting anyone approach her unsupervised and making sure she was not lacking anything a girl could ask for. As she applied her lipstick, she remembered the moment of their kiss to avoid law enforcement. Alex's lips were a lot softer than the ones of Ryou, actually the whole face was a lot softer than the one of Ryou's … but before she could continue her train of thought the blonde knocked at the bathroom door and asked her to hurry up.

Mei gave her look the final touches before she emerged, ready to go out wherever the blonde would take her.

They drove in silence to what seemed to be a popular nightclub and entered with ease without having to wait since Alex knew of a second entrance through the back.

The blonde just knocked at a nondescript door and a slit was pulled open.

"Oi, George, long time no see." The blonde greeted the huge Bouncer with a wide grin who just nodded in return before opening the door for them.

They walked into the packed place, the music was thumping and the smell of alcohol and perfume pervaded the air. Mei wondered who could really afford to party so hard on a Monday night when Alex grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the bar. Finally there, the blonde whispered something to the bartender and they were lead to the back of the club through the store room to another hidden door.

"Yo, Jo." The blonde greeted the stern looking woman behind it.

"Long time no see, Captain." The woman greeted them back. "Is the package for her?" Jo asked as she spotted Mei behind Alex and the blonde nodded.

Jo, grabbed Mei's hand and led her to a chair that was placed against a white wall.

"Don't smile and look straight." Jo instructed Mei when she stood behind the camera.

After Jo took Mei's picture and fingerprints, she was sent to the VIP lounge that was through a different door than the one they came though.

Mei was instructed to sit at the bar, wait for the blonde while the Alex and Jo would talk business and by no means to talk to anyone but the bartender there.

"Want something to drink?" Charlie the bartender asked her friendly.

"No, I am fine, thank you." Mei answered politely as she finished looking through the menu which revealed horrendously expensive prices. She had never noticed how expensive life really was, until she had no money to fall back onto.

"Don't worry, it is on the house for you." Charlie winked.

"I really don't know." Mei answered hesitantly.

"The captain told me to look after you. So, don't worry. I know the captain doesn't like drunk girls." Charlie smiled kindly as he prepared her a non-alcoholic drink.

"Thank you." Mei said barely audible over the loud music.

"You're welcome. If you need anything just shout, ok?" Charlie said with a wink before he resumed taking care of his other customers.

Mei sipped on her drink quietly as she observed her surroundings.

The music was loud and the dancefloor on the lower level was full with people grinding each other in an attempt to dance to the rhythm. Many people were laughing, being cheerful or already just plain drunk. When Mei was younger, she always wanted to know, what going out to a nightclub would be like. Now that she had the chance to more or less to do so, she was not in the least interested to join the masses in their strange ritual of drinking and hopping up and down to the music created entirely by machines.

A guy suddenly approached her.

"Hey hot stuff, want to join me?" the stranger leered, making Mei recoil.

She looked for help from Charlie but he was at the moment busy serving another customer.

"No, thank you." Mei said calmly.

"I have never seen you around. You are probably new here, so you don't know that you are actually lucky that I spotted you." The stranger continued to talk to her in his drunken state.

Mei turned away to indicate to him that the conversation was over.

"Hey I am talking to you." The drunk protested and Mei could see from the corner of her eyes how he was about to touch her.

Terrified she closed her eyes, pulled back and crossed her arms to protect herself, when she suddenly could hear a thud, followed by a loud scream.

Alex suddenly stood protectively in front of her with a knife through the man's hand that was resting on the bar counter.

"I believe the lady said no thank you to your offer, therefore you owe her an apology for the inconvenience you caused her." The blonde demanded calmly.

"I am not going to apologise to that frigid b…" Before he could continue to talk the blonde twisted the knife that was stuck in his hand and was most likely scraping on bone judging from the agonising scream that came from the man that was barely covered by the music.

"Apologise to the lady, scum" Alex said a bit more menacing.

"I am sorry." Came the whimpering of the drunk.

"Charlie, I believe someone needs medical attention." Alex said evenly as he pulled out his knife in a fluid motion.

"I take it, that I also need to put the cost of the repair on his tab?" Charlie sighed and pointed to drunk guy before he passed Alex a towel to clean the knife.

"Sure." Alex nodded as he wiped the blood of the blade.

"I'll kill you." The drunk growled as he curled over his bleeding hand and Alex pointed the clean knife at his throat. "Never threaten someone, without knowing who they are." Alex replied coldly.

"What the hell is going on here." Jo emotionlessly asked as she came out.

"You have a trouble maker here." Alex pointed at the drunk guy.

"I will call your father Qiang." Jo pulled out her phone.

"No, no, don't. This won't happen again." Qiang was suddenly extremely sober.

"We will be leaving now." Alex nodded to Jo.

"Ok. Be safe." Jo said evenly in return.

This little altercation reminded Mei that Alex had another, darker side to the calm and smiling charmer he showed by daylight. Mei walked silently beside Alex back to the car when it suddenly started to rain. Alex took off his Jacket and put it over her.

"Don't worry, as long as you do exactly as I tell you. You will be fine." The blonde said evenly.


Taiki-

He was standing at the window of the house overlooking the streets of the Hong Kong hills, awaiting Haruka's return, when he received a message from Kyoko. Calmly he wrote a short message to Yaten before opening his laptop to get some more work done. Once he was done with all he could do that very moment from his position, he resumed watching the road. Eventually the black sports car pulled around the corner and he put an empty glass onto the kitchen counter before retreating to the master bedroom. Moments later he heard how Mei and Haruka entered the house and Mei was sent to the bathroom to get cleaned up. Taiki lay down on the bed that had been untouched by Haruka since their arrival and rested his eyes. Things were getting messy and he didn't like messy. Finally, Mei was done and he heard how Haruka locked her into the bedroom she was staying in. Taiki got up and went to the living room.

"You took your time there." Taiki noted.

"Ah yea…." Haruka nodded tired as she sat at the kitchen counter waiting for the water to boil to make tea.

"Why don't you get cleaned up and I make us tea." Taiki suggested and Haruka just nodded before going to the master bedroom and using the ensuite bathroom there.

Judging from the exhaustion etched in the blonde's eyes, there must have been more excitement than anticipated, causing for an accelerated breakdown of the compounds that kept her going. He prepared a booster shot for her and made tea while he waited for her to get back out. Not soon after the tea had reached its perfect brewing time, Haruka returned and sat down on the couch. Taiki brought the tea and the booster over and wordlessly administered her the shot.

"How many do you have left?" Haruka asked with closed eyes.

"Six. How many pills do you have left?" Taiki asked in return.

"Eight." Was Haruka's short reply.

"I move the meeting to tomorrow then." Taiki informed the blonde.

"Are the pictures we got today enough?" Haruka asked tiredly.

"More than enough in my opinion." Taiki said evenly.

"Good." Haruka nodded as she waited for the injection to do its job.

"By the way, your grandfather has requested a meeting with the mermaid." Taiki said offhandedly as he poured her some tea.

"I hate getting bad news on Mondays." Haruka sighed.

"You hate getting bad news all days of the week." Taiki stated dryly.

"Has he contacted any of the others?" Haruka frowned.

"Not as far as I can tell. All communication channels have been tapped into and I have alerted the old man and blondie." Taiki started to drink from his tea.

"Have you contacted our little one to run protocol G?" Haruka asked before she took a sip of tea herself.

"Yes, and for good measures, I have also changed settings at the beach house." The brunette said calmly.


-Michiru-

Tuesday morning came faster than she wanted and Michiru stood dutifully fifteen minutes early in front of conference room seven as she had been instructed by the director.

Bracing for the worst she took a deep breath and put on her most professional demeanour.

At exactly ten o'clock, someone opened her the door and asked her to enter.

"Have a seat Kaioh-san." Takashi Tenoh motioned to a chair on the other side of the vast conference table and Michiru obliged.

"Thank you Tenoh-sama" Michiru bowed before she sat down.

"Would you like some tea or coffee?" The director asked her.

"Just water is fine." Michiru replied.

"Shinagawa-san, please get Kaioh-san a glass of water, this meeting will take long." Takashi instructed the person who opened her the door.

'Was this woman the Sayaka Setsuna and Kakyuu talked about?' Michiru asked herself, but she kept her cool exterior focused on the man opposite to her.

"I have read your last mission report and reviewed the test results of the team you have used on the mission. I am impressed by the results; you are living up to your reputation Kaioh-san." Takashi started to say as he looked at her evenly.

"Thank you, Tenoh-sama, but I still have much to learn." Michiru humbly responded to the praise.

"Do I understand this correctly that you have trained your team with support of Haruka Tenoh in preparation for the mission at the Tenoh tower?" Takashi asked unemotionally.

"Yes, I did." Michiru confirmed.

"Did you overlook all training procedures yourself?" Takashi continued his questioning.

"I did." Michiru confirmed again.

"Did you make use of all training facilities that Tenoh-san had on offer?" Takashi asked as he leafed through her report and checked off notes he had made at the side of it.

"To my knowledge, yes, we did." Michiru told him truthfully.

"I can see here that everyone has improved dramatically in their performance, even Mizuno-sensei, who isn't really known for her physical prowess. …." Takashi started as Shinagawa returned with the glass of water and a file in her hand.

She put the glass of water in front of Michiru and Michiru gave her a discrete look from top to bottom as she thanked her for the glass of water. Shinagawa then proceeded to put the file next to the papers Takashi was working with.

"What is that Sayaka?" Takashi asked with slight irritation in his voice for the disturbance.

"The interim report from Hong Kong, sir." Sayaka Shinagawa said evenly.

So her hunch was right and this was the woman that broke the blonde's heart over a decade ago, Michiru thought to herself.

Michiru tried to see what Haruka must have seen in her, but besides a slightly above average face, there really wasn't anything special about her, Michiru concluded.

"You may leave Shinagawa-san" Takashi dismissed the other woman with a frown before he excused himself to look through the interim report.

Michiru just nodded understandingly and started to drink from her water while he flicked through the papers and looked at several pictures.

Michiru caught a glimpse of a familiar looking blonde who was kissing another woman in the middle of the shopping district of Hong Kong. Instantly jealousy rose within Michiru as she saw how tightly the blonde had her arms wrapped around the other woman, but she hid it well in every gulp of water that she swallowed.

"I am sorry about the interruption; bad news just does not understand the concept of a 'do not disturb' sign. Where were we…" Takashi said evenly as he closed the file again and put it aside.

"The training results of my team members." Michiru stated matter-of-factly.

"Right. I would like you to write me a detailed report about the training regimes that have been implemented as well the facilities and the equipment that have been used. I have been informed that you all stayed over in the Tenoh tower, therefore I expect a very detailed report, about all facilities and technologies used. I am intending to use it to improve that our own training programs to accelerate progress in our new recruits." Takashi continued.

"Understood." Michiru nodded.

"I expect that report to be done by the end of the week before I depart for New York with the rest of the Auditing team." Takashi instructed Michiru in his cool and calculated demeanour.

"Understood, I will start writing it right now." Michiru was about to stand up when Takashi stopped her.

"By the way Kaioh-san, what is your impression of Haruka Tenoh?" Takashi asked her, his deep dark eyes piercing hers as if to dig up the answer himself to a question, even she did not have a complete answer to.

"She is a very competent team leader. Her training methods are unconventional but very effective. She takes great care that the mission succeeds no matter the sacrifices that are needed to achieve the set objectives." Michiru answered unfazed.

"I expect your report to cover her as part of the training as well." Takashi concluded their meeting by standing up. Just then, Michiru noticed that Haruka and Takashi had a very similar body language when they were doing business. The composed demeanour with the square shoulders, straight back, emotionless facial expression and the ever focused eyes.

"I will be seeing you out." Takashi explained as he walked around the table and followed her to the door where he handed Shinagawa the interim report with the words. "Shinagawa-san, please add this person to file 2381618519." Then he turned to Michiru. "I am expecting great things of you Kaioh-san." Takashi said evenly before he dismissed her.


-Haruka-

Haruka was sitting in the Café Grey Deluxe eating her lunch and enjoying the view over the harbour, when an intimidating man with his handful of bodyguards joint her table without invitation.

Unfazed she continued eating her lunch and cut calmly through her steak.

"Mr. Liu, so you have finally decided to come to visit. I can recommend you the steak if you are here for lunch." Haruka smirked before she took another bite.

"Don't mess with me Miller, Jensen, Smith or whatever you call yourself. I have looked you up. I will not be made light of by a ghost." Gang Liu said through gritted teeth.

"There, there, Gang, you wouldn't want to upset the person who is still thinking about the outfit in which your dearest daughter will be put onto the black market. As a man, do you prefer black or red lace?" Haruka asked evenly.

"You bastard." Gang hit the table and his men were about to grab Haruka when suddenly several red laser points were spotted on Gang's shirt and the forehead of him and as well as his men.

"Gang, you are not on the Mainland anymore. We do business differently here in Hong Kong. Please refrain from disturbing the other guests here." Haruka continued unfazed.

"How do I even know that you really have her?" Gang growled under his breath.

Haruka fished out a small bag and pulled out Mei's earrings. Suddenly a beeping noise came from one of his bodyguards.

"Very smart of you to place trackers in her favourite earrings." Haruka chuckled. "Just sad that those don't work when there are signal jammers in their immediate vicinity and these handy insulation bags." Haruka smirked.

"That can't have been my only oversight for you to get your hands on her…." Gang said through gritted teeth.

"Indeed. Getting her out was quite a feat. Months, actually years of planning. But you know what the crucial key really was? Love. You know, your well sheltered daughter walked out on you and doesn't want to return to you, her overly restrictive father. She is actually happy by my side, the person who loves her and showers her with affection, attention and gifts. Such an innocent child you have raised there. Dutiful, I have to admit that, but yet, so easy to wrap around my little finger." Haruka taunted the man. "Speaking of innocent, maybe I get the best price for her when she is wearing white lace after all, because who wouldn't want to have the first taste of the great Liu's little girl?" Haruka looked at the man evenly but still kept an eye on her watch.

"You wouldn't dare…" Gang was bubbling with anger as a man approached them from the side and passed him an envelope. Haruka recognised officer Chen in his casual clothing and chuckled.

"Oh hello there, Officer Chen, right?" She grinned blatantly. "Shouldn't you be busy with the bank robbers you just caught a couple of days ago and the evidence you got to unearth the whole system behind them? You know, the ones you heroically cornered on the Avenue of Stars? Such a stellar performance. I heard you are even getting promoted for such an exemplary strike against all these lawless people." Haruka mock complimented the new arrival and watched the anger in his eyes turn into shock.

"Unbelievable how you uncovered and brought down such a large network of criminals all on your own." Haruka chuckled.

"I … I didn't…." Chen looked at Gang in panic.

"Shut up fool and get out of my sight." Gang angrily crumpled the corner of the picture in which Haruka was claiming his beloved daughter's lips in public.

"As you can see, she loves every moment with me, she is practically glued to me every moment I spent with her. How could I possibly say no to her when she asks for more….Not that I have given in…..yet ….but look at her beauty….there is only that much self-control one can have in her presence, then again, I would reduce her price greatly and nothing makes the world move around like money does. But maybe she is worth it and I have a taste when I get back to her. You have so many enemies, they won't mind buying used merchandise." Haruka smirked.

"Fine, how much do you want?" Gang asked as calmly as he could manage in this situation.

"You don't have enough." Haruka said coldly.

"Do you even know me and what I am capable of?" Gang was outraged.

"I do, your liquidity at this stage only amounts to 340 Million give or take." Haruka stated evenly. "My asking price is five billion."

"No one will pay that much for her." Gang snorted.

"That is right, you won't, but the bidding will start at midnight and I know your 'friends' from Shanghai and Moscow have deeper pockets than you. They might put themselves together and share her among themselves after." Haruka said evenly as she finished her lunch and pushed the plate away.

Gang looked at her with all the hate and anger only a father could feel and Haruka looked at him with the most dispassionate look he had ever seen another human being capable of.

A waiter came and cleared her plate.

"Would you like something else, sir." The waiter asked Haruka as she looked at her phone. 'Package delivered, camera in place.' Was the short message she had just received.

"I will have double espresso, while my friend here might enjoy a good cup of tea to calm his nerves." Haruka said evenly before she dismissed the waiter.

"Why me?" Gang asked frustrated.

"Why not? You have amassed so many enemies through your dealings, so many have suffered under rule and so many resent your tyranny. Isn't it your own fault that the few that are loyal to you are the few that are standing around you? Oh, I believe one is missing. The Japanese guy, the one person I could not buy off. The one that is more committed to your daughter than even her own father. He went chasing after her to save his reputation and to keep her save from me, yet you misjudged his intentions. Or maybe you didn't entirely. He does love her, but she loves me. He nearly screwed up my whole operation for me, but thanks to you running a large scale man hunt for him, I could just walk through the streets of Hong Kong, having fun with your little Mei undisturbed in bright daylight. You do not know how many people you have pissed off, but let's say enough people to pay me to piss you off. Want me to grab your wife as well, just to make a point?" Haruka pulled out her phone and showed him a live feed of his wife sitting in their hotel room, crying.

"You wouldn't dare…" Gang was clearly shocked.

"You have messed with the wrong people Gang. Those people are higher up the food chain than you and me and you have no protection, while I do. You shake for protection money; you know how this works." Haruka stated matter-of-factly. "Play within your given territory and no one will care what you do, mess with the big boys and trouble is bound to find you." Haruka stayed calm and collected.

"I am my own master!" Gang said stubbornly.

"You have free will and free choice to do what you like; you just have to bear the consequences of your actions or inactions. I am my own master, too, I just respect and abide the laws that have been set by stronger forces than myself." Haruka smirked. "Oh, and here, between you and me, that would be me."

Haruka's coffee came and Gang was served a pot of tea.

Haruka added no sugar and started to sip the hot brew while she watched the man opposite to her struggling with his thoughts and emotions. When she was done, she placed a wad of cash in the booklet with her bill and she stood up.

"Just so you know, a storm is brewing and this is only the start. You can't outrun me the way you are right now and your daughter might not survive the night. So go back to your room, hug your wife and overthink your life choices." Haruka whispered into Gang's ear as she passed him.

"I will kill you." Gang screamed.

"You can't kill ghosts." Haruka smirked before she exited the restaurant.


-Gang-

Gang was on the way back to his hotel room, he needed to make sure his wife was ok. He was outraged and felt humiliated in front of his men. The paralysation and powerlessness he felt at the blonde's words was frustrating him and he needed some quiet to think about his next steps. His allies here were either captured or in hiding and there seemed to be traitors among his midst.

As he entered his wife came running towards him, her eyes red from crying.

She handed him a letter speechlessly. He recognised the handwriting straight away. It was his daughter's, telling him that she was sorry but that she needed to follow her heart and that she was taking a yacht to Taiwan to meet up with the love of her life. She also informed them that she was writing this in secret and assured them that they did not need to worry about her. She would contact them again as soon as she could and as long they would not come after her.

"There is a Tsunami coming that way." Jing sobbed.

'…..a storm is brewing and this is only the start…. your daughter might not survive the night' the blonde's word came back into his mind, haunting him.


-Seiya-

They had left Shelter Cove Marina over an hour ago and were riding the ever more restless growing waters steadily towards their destination. There had been no word from Haruka since this morning and he was wondering if the lunch meeting had bought them enough time to run. Last night he had already gotten Ryou to his safety shelter and he only had to wait for the green light to be able to board the plane to his next destination. Haruka had locked Mei in on the lower deck earlier in the day and forbidden her to come up or to make any noise under any circumstances, under the threat that Ryou would be executed and his corpse returned to her father.

They had avoided for her to see anyone else of the team except Haruka, to make sure she would not be able to identify any of them in case she would get caught or did change her mind and tried to escape. Therefore, Seiya was alone in charge of the whole boat and did his best to keep it steady, but with rising winds and taller growing waves this was not going to be an easy feat. He could only hope that Mei did not puke all over the lower deck for him to have to clean later or worse plan her escape. Steering the boat unwavering and completely focused to get to their destination in one piece, he still worried in the back of his mind if they would all make it back home safely. He just hated it to be an onlooker instead of a participant in combat situations, but Haruka had given clear instructions and he would follow them.


-Gang-

He couldn't just wait here, he had to do something.

"I think it is time to contact her." His wife Jing said quietly.

He knew she was right but it still hurt his pride to have to call her.

"If you won't do it then I will." Jing said resolutely.

"Business is my part; the home is yours." Gang said sternly.

He swallowed his pride and pulled out his phone to dial a number, he had sworn to himself he would not use as a self-respecting man, but right now his only daughter was riding into her doom at full speed and he had to do all he could to stop that.

"Hello, who is calling?" A female voice asked motherly.

"Vivian, I need your help." Gang said reluctantly.

"I see Gang; seems you have come to your senses. I expect you to abide by my rules in the future as long and whenever you are in my neighbourhood." Vivian said steadily.

"Yes, I will. You probably know why I am calling." Gang sighed.

"The ghost you are looking for is on the way to the airport to fly to off to his next destination. If you hurry now you can catch him before he arrives at the airport, but maybe you are lucky and the typhoon warning will ground all flights, though your daughter is on a ship that has left nearly two hours ago." Vivian informed him evenly.

"What should I do?" Gang asked rhetorically and with a hint of despair.

"Right now, you have the choice between revenge or rescue. Choose well, because there is only time for one thing." Vivian said calmly.

"Let's go and get Mei." Jing begged.

"There is no way I would make it in time. She is as good as dead and if she isn't then our contacts over there will pick her up as soon as they reach the harbour." Gang said resolutely. "But I need to revenge the pain and humiliation this ghost has inflicted on my name and our family. Vivian where is the ghost now?"


-Haruka-

Haruka got a text from Kin.

"It's time to go Taiki." Haruka said evenly as she looked outside the window where it had started to rain.

"The car is ready." Taiki responded calmly as he zipped close his armoured suit and pulled on his bulletproof hood and mask.

"Let's give them a fight they will remember." Haruka smirked as she put on her gloves.

They got into the car and started to drive down the road.

Not soon after, four cars joined them and started to chase them through the pouring rain.

The typhoon was getting closer and everyone in their right mind had retreated to the dry safety of the surrounding buildings.

A major typhoon warning was broadcasted through the radio and Taiki slowed down so their pursuers could catch up and spot a glimpse of the blonde before she would pull up her bulletproof hood and mask.

"Buckle up Taiki, this will be a bumpy ride." Haruka undid the safety of her rifle and pressed the button that opened the back window.

The first bullets were flying in their direction and Haruka calmly took aim at the driver of the supporting vehicles in which she couldn't see Gang.

She hit the first driver first in the shoulder, before aiming for the front right tyre and the car swerved and hit a traffic light.

Three to go.

Haruka was careful to safe Gang's car for last, but after eliminating the second car, she noticed that in none of them was Gang.

"Yaten!" Haruka called into the communicator. "Are any more cars on the roads?" She asked the small silver haired man who was monitoring all traffic for them after the eliminated the third car.

"Hard to tell through all the rain…." Yaten said nervously. "Wait I see something to your nine o'clock Taiki!" But it was too late, they got rammed at full speed and their armoured car was hit very hard, sliding over the wet streets onto the lanes that went into the opposite direction, shaking Haruka and Taiki up pretty badly.

There was a ringing in Haruka's ears and her vision was slightly blurry, but that is when her years of training kicked in and made her shoot the rest of her magazine into the oncoming assailants without the slightest bit of hesitation.

In the meantime, Taiki had undone his seatbelt and reached for his own weapon to join Haruka in the elimination of their pursuers. Haruka exchanged magazines and shot every person she could spot through the upper thigh and shins. They made their way slowly on foot to the main vehicle in which Gang was sitting passed the other five support vehicles, and Haruka incapacitated every single person in it before yanking open the door.

The blonde lifted her mask and looked Gang evenly into the eyes.

"Gang, I told you not to mess with higher authorities that you do not understand nor have any power over." Haruka said calmly before she knocked him out with her rifle.


-Mei-

After a quick breakfast, Alex had driven her to a harbour and locked her in on the lower deck of a yacht. She wasn't missing anything, she had a bathroom, food and water. What she was lacking was information, how long it would take to meet up with Ryou and how long she would be able to see him until they would have to say their ultimate goodbyes. Her resolve to leave him was slowly leaving her and she was starting to wonder if she had made the right decisions.

This morning, while she was getting ready to follow Alex out of the house, she found a pen and some paper stashed under her make up with a note saying: 'I have a family myself. I cannot help you much but let me help you with this. This might be your last chance to write to your parents a letter before you go onto a trip you might not come back from alive. Use this paper to write them a last letter and slip it behind the mirror so Alex won't find it. I promise you I will not read it and bring it to your parents as soon as you two have left the house. Wishing you all the best for the rest of your life, a man who is asking you for forgiveness for the way you are being treated.'

Mei had been shocked for a moment after reading that note but then calmed down and started to write her parents a final letter in case anything was going to happen to her. The stranger who left her this note was right. This might be her last chance to write to them before she would try her best to stay by Ryou's side or die trying if her emotions would get the best of her, the least they deserved was a comforting note and an apology for her acting out. She had written a two page letter, trying to tell her parents everything that went through her mind but then decided to start again and to shorten it to one simple page letter with which she wanted to be remembered by. She tried her best to keep her emotions at bay and not to let any tears drip onto the crisp white paper, but she couldn't help herself but let her handwriting slant a bit. It had been the hardest letter she had written her entire life, one that felt heavier than the tree that was used to make the paper it was being written on.

Melancholic, she sat down at the window. The boat trip was getting bumpy and she could see though the small window at the side that a storm was getting closer. Slightly scared she tried to sit in the safest position possible in which she wouldn't be shaken around too much. Time went by slow, but she knew that, what felt like days must have been only a few hours that they were out at sea.

Eventually they reached a harbour and tilting her head she could see a sign that said. 'Welcome to Macau'.


-Haruka-

"I am really starting to hate this guy." Haruka complained after they had carried the unconscious Liu into an unused storage unit.

"You hate everything when there is a typhoon." Taiki stated dryly as he removed his hood.

"And here I thought you liked it wet and stormy." Kin chuckled as locked the door behind them after they had left the unit.

"Sorry but that is just too old, has too little upstairs and not the right thing downstairs." Haruka said wryly as she stretched her neck and suddenly felt a stinging pain in her side.

"Let's go and have dinner. We can still discuss the details what to do with him later." Kin waved away easily.

"You guys just go ahead, all this talk about water made me want to take a leak." Haruka said offhandedly and walked towards the bathrooms.

"We will be waiting in the car." Taiki informed her as he watched her closely and Haruka just nodded.

In the bathroom, she unzipped her outer armour and lifted her shirt. She hadn't noticed until now that she was hit earlier and in the best case, scenario this pain was only a budding bruise, but in the worst case…. No, she didn't want to think about it.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out two pills and swallowed them. There was no time nor space to be weak.

She washed her face before she walked out of the bathroom and faced Taiki who was waiting for her alone.

"I thought you would be waiting in the car…" Haruka said nonchalant.

"Something came up. Gang's reinforcement is coming." Taiki said sternly.

"Take Kin and get out of here. I will take care of the rest." Haruka instructed him evenly.

"I am not going to leave you behind." Taiki answered determined.

"Are you being insubordinate? This was not a request. We have a time schedule to stick to" Haruka returned resolutely.

Taiki took out the last four boosters and gave her two.

"I will give the other two to Seiya, so don't be late." Taiki reminded her.

"Yes, yes. Did I mention I really start to hate him?" Haruka sighed.


-Michiru-

She had just returned to her office and sat down behind her desk.

'So, Hong Kong huh?' The violinist thought to herself as she quickly looked up the weather there. Haruka must have been there since they got back, considering that that was when the shorter messages started. Michiru wondered what the blonde was up to there, when she remembered the very unmistakable picture that was within the report that Takashi had received. Her phone displayed a severe typhoon warning for Hong Kong and Michiru knew from past experience that the blonde disliked them a fair bit and tended to revert to what could only be described as a grumpy cat mode. The last time Tokyo received a typhoon warning during their training sessions, Haruka had only turned up for meals in the common area and had otherwise mainly spent time napping with Hotaru or hiding up in her mezzanine while avoiding all kinds of physical activity. That could only mean that she was probably holed up in some room, sleeping deep on some comfortable bed and waiting for the storm to pass. Michiru sighed and opened her laptop to start a rough outline for her report. Point one: training schedules, sub point group training and supplement individual training. Point two: Training facilities and equipment. Point three: Haruka Tenoh…'Why would Tenoh senior be interested in what Haruka was like and was up to?' Michiru asked herself as she remembered that they had a bitter falling out and that Haruka was pretty much disowned by him and her extended family. As director, Takashi had all the files on Haruka un-redacted and most to up to date. What was he hoping to learn from her that he didn't already know? Maybe this was a test to see if she was going to answer truthfully, but what reason would she have to lie to him? Maybe she needed compare her thoughts with the notes he had on the blonde, but where to start and how?

She leaned back in her chair and weighed her options. She couldn't look though the digital archives herself with the auditing team around who were watching their every move within the office, they would probably find her digital footprints faster than she could finish typing the search terms and would probably report it to Takashi. She also couldn't contact Yaten, because while he might be a computer genius, he was also fiercely loyal to the blonde and might omit any information that would shed an unfavourable light on Haruka. Asking Minako to use her privileges was also out of question, she was too close to Kakashi and that brought an extra level of surveillance with it. Same issue also affected Rei and Setsuna. There were only Makoto and Ami left to ask for assistance and neither had direct authorisation to access the complete information network nor did she want to get them into trouble for accessing it. Michiru had only a few days left before she would have to hand in her report so there was no time to waste. She slowly started to type her report but her mind was still on the issue of Takashi's files on Haruka.

As long as she stuck to the truth, there shouldn't be any issues with her report, Michiru thought to herself, but something about the whole thing still made her feel uneasy.


- Mei-

Since they arrived in the port, no one had let her out or told her what was going on. She was growing restless and most of her time she spent sitting close to the door out in the hope to catch news about what was going on outside. Suddenly she heard voices outside again. One she recognised to be the voice of the man who made the late night visits to the blonde, the other voice was the one of the man who brought her here. Before she could decipher what they said one of them opened the door causing her to tumble out.

"Get up and grab your things, we need to hurry." The man with the more familiar voice instructed her. He was tall and stern looking. His brown hair kept being blown into his face by the strong wind.

Mei did as she was told and followed him silently. They drove to the Sky Shuttle which took them swiftly to the airport, where another man was waiting for them with a lot of luggage. The tall brunette took care of all formalities and they boarded a private jet.

"Thank you for letting me write to my parents." Mei said quietly and the brunette just nodded in return.

"May I ask you, who you are?" Mei asked him tentatively.

"Right now, if anyone asks, I am your brother." He answered evenly as sat next to her, on the empty jet.

"Shouldn't I at least know my brother's name?" Mei continued asking.

"My name is Taiki and you, dear sister, are asking too many questions." The brunette said stern.

"One last question, I promise." Mei begged.

"Fine." Taiki sighed.

"Where are we going?" Mei asked.

"Out of Hong Kong." Taiki ended the conversation.


-Gang-

He woke up groggily with a ringing in his ear, his head hurting and his body aching. He looked around himself and it seemed that he was in hospital.

"OH, thank God you woke up." His wife Jing sobbed by his side.

Confused he tried to recollect what happened. The last thing he remembered was waking up to sounds of gunfight, while he himself was tied to a chair in a dark and musty smelling room. Just when he was struggling to get up he felt another blow against his head and blacked out again. But how did he get there to start off with. Suddenly he remembered. The ghost had knocked him out after he had tried to catch him.

"How….." He croaked.

"Don't speak darling, the doctors said that you have to rest as much as possible." His wife reached him some water to sooth his sore throat. "Jun came and rescued you as soon news reached him that you got caught. He is now out right now to find Mei. Rest now. I am sure he will be back soon to explain everything to you." His wife assured him.

Gang still felt sluggish and just nodded slightly.


-Michiru-

After she had written a few pages, she realised she could always call up Kakyuu. Kakyuu was honourably discharged from their agency and she was Haruka's personal doctor and childhood friend. Kakyuu never sugar coated the blonde and she knew Haruka's history with her grandfather probably better than anyone else. Quickly she pulled out her phone and dialled the red haired doctor's number. There was no answer. Maybe she was busy in the laboratory, Michiru thought to herself and decided to pass by after work to ask the doctor out for dinner.

After a long day in the office she pulled up at the University hospital and went to the front desk of the lab, but as she asked for Kakyuu, she was informed that the doctor had suddenly left without telling anyone the exact time or date when she would return.

"It is not unusual for Abe-sensei to suddenly take off." One of the women behind the counter explained.

"It will probably be a few days before she will be back." The other added.

"Ah, Kaioh-san." One of Kakyuu's student who was employed in the laboratory greeted her. "Looking for Abe-sensei? She probably won't be back for a while, especially when she has been on the phone just before she leaves it can easily be a week in which we hear nothing from her or can't reach her. Though if it is really urgent you can always call this number, usually the person on the other side knows when Abe-sensei will be back." The student put a number onto a small piece and paper and passed it to Michiru. Michiru thanked the two ladies and the student before she left again and then looked at the number. It was Taiki's.


-Jun-

Nothing was going as planned and now he was being summoned by the most influential person in the Asia Pacific region. His head was on the line and his small empire was at stake. He could not afford another mistake. He double checked his tie in the mirror and wiped the sweat off his forehead. There was knock on the bathroom door.

"Sir, are you alright?" Cai, one of his bodyguards asked him.

"Yes, I am fine. Just wait out there, I will be right out." Jun replied irritated. He had everything planned out so carefully and yet everything fell apart because of one factor he did not consider important enough to include in his plans and now he had to stand up to his failure and was at risk to lose it all, not just for himself but his entire family. His father was in hospital with his mother by his side. He doubled security for them and paid off every official and unofficial authority he could find to keep them safe. His sister was nowhere to be found and the organisation his father had built over the past decades threatened to fall apart due to his actions. He couldn't push it off any longer and it would be a really bad idea to let the other party wait so he exited the bathroom.

With his bodyguards surrounding him, he departed the hotel they stayed at and they drove to the dreaded meeting.

They arrived twenty minutes later at a tall office building and were led through various security measures before he was allowed to walk to his destination alone. Without his trusted bodyguards at his side he felt naked and vulnerable, but he knew he could not let anyone see his defencelessness. A stern looking man was waiting for him in front of the office he was supposed to enter.

"Mr. Xu…" Jun started.

"Only answer if you have been spoken to. Answer questions short and precise and most importantly, do not make excuses." Cheng Xu spoke coldly before he opened the door and they both entered

"Thank you for your invitation Ms. Wang." Jun spoke respectfully and Cheng gave him a stern look from the side.

"Let this one slide Cheng and have seat. You will have plenty of time to lecture your protégé later. You, too Mr. Liu, have a seat." The woman sitting on the other side of the desk instructed both men. Maybe she was in her thirties, maybe in her fifties or maybe she had just cleared her teens, Alice Wang was one of those Asian women, where age was merely a number that only changed on paper. Mainly known as 'the bank', she was rumoured not to just belong to the infamous Council, but to even belong to the highest echelon of it.

Jun swallowed, nodded and sat down quietly on one of the chairs in front of him. He knew a meeting with her ended only in two ways, either you left and your money stayed, or you didn't leave and your existence was wiped off the surface of the earth that even your own parents don't remember your very existence.

"Do I understand this right Mr. Liu that you contacted Mr. Xu here, to vouch for you, so that you would be able to expand your business internationally?" Alice asked rhetorically.

"Yes ma'am" Jun confirmed.

"And I would I be wrong that despite Mr. Xu's advice against dealing with the Conglomerate, your father decided to contact them anyway?" Alice continued.

"No, ma'am." Jun confirmed again, his voice slightly wavering.

"So, your father is actually the one who makes all business decisions and not you, so either you lied to Mr. Xu here about your privileges within your organisation, which would make it only reasonable for me to hand you completely over to his mercy or you are incapable of stopping your father from making irrational decisions that would be harmful for all of you. Which one is it?" Alice asked unsympathetically.

"My father just has issues retiring, but I am the one who makes all of our business decisions outside of Beijing." Jun tried to explain calmly.

"But he has the last word?" Alice continued.

"No, I do." Jun stated firmly.

"Not from what I hear coming from England. The Conglomerate sends their regards." Alice looked him unwaveringly into the eyes causing him to sweat slightly. Her dark eyes were looking in his for lies and deception and he knew he was busted.

"Cheng, I am holding you responsible for not vetting him properly before taking him under your wing. We will talk about this later." Alice informed the man next to him matter-of-factly.

"And now to you Mr. Liu. I do trust Mr. Xu here to spot talent when he sees it therefore I will give you a very rare second chance to prove your worth to the Council but you will be under the supervision of Mr. Guan. He should be coming soon. I have already instructed and informed him of his duties and I do hope for your sake that you will not step out of line again, because I do not appreciate for orders to not be followed and business to be done behind my back. Also at this stage you would be a very weak link if we would incorporate your organisation in any of our dealings, so clean up your house from any moles first before you ask for expansion again. How can it be that you do not notice that the bodyguards of your sister were enemy agents who would kidnap her to have leverage over you? To top it off your father starts a witch hunt for one of the bodyguards Mr. Xu had recommended personally. Makes me wonder how serious we can take your word when you do not take ours very well. Mr. Guan will overlook your clean up and it will be in his hand, if you will ever get recommended again. So, I can only advice you to listen to him well." Alice stated calmly.

"Thank you, Ms. Wang." Jun said with relief.

"To your sister, I have found her and she will be my guest until the clean-up is done and until you have grown to be a trustworthy entity. Depending on the severity of your future failings, either Mr. Guan or I will decide on the punishment. Mr. Guan will punish you directly, while I will instruct for the return of your sister, or at least parts of her depending on the severity of your errors." Alice continued evenly.

"I thought the ghost had her." Jun blurted out.

" The Ghost?" Alice chuckled wryly. "I do not think 'ghost' is a very befitting name for that person. The Wind fits a lot better. When you piss it off, it will grow to a storm and when you appease it, it can be a refreshing breeze. The one you call the 'Ghost' and I have made a deal for your sister and now she is mine. I do expect you to pay me back of course. I merely gave you a loan in advance for her life. I am expecting punctual monthly administration fees to be deposited in the account that will I give you, for keeping her alive and I expect you to not go looking for her. If you do, I will let you carry home her corpse to your dead parents. If you manage to perform under Mr. Guan well, I might feel generous and let her visit you when I see that your word can be trusted, like a word of a real man, not that of a child. But, of course, she will have to return to my hospitality until you have paid off your debt with me." Alice informed Jun before another man, younger than Cheng but older than Jun, knocked at the door and entered.

"Come in, this is Fen Guan." Alice introduced him to Jun. "Your new supervisor and guide."


-Haruka-

Jun was being dismissed and Cheng was being reprimanded for having only one tap on Liu senior instead of having several taps throughout the whole organisation, if he already didn't make thorough checks on the Liu's entire organisation.

Minutes passed and Haruka watched relaxed from the other room how the poor man was being scolded. Once he was dismissed Haruka stepped out of the hidden room and joined Alice in her office.

"You at work is always such an impressive sight." Haruka chuckled.

"You aren't any less impressive." Alice returned evenly.

"You never told me where your girls are right now, worried I run after them and bust their location for the world to find them or maybe just poach them off you with my charms?" Haruka teased.

"No, more worried that you cut their well-deserved vacation short." Alice snickered. "Is that how you knew I had them monitored?" Alice asked curiously.

"Pretty much, I recognised them from the University picture in London." Haruka confessed.

"You cannot trust any of those wannabe 'big guys' small fries. They are prone to make mistakes, planting people early makes it easier to watch their progress.

"Sorry that you lost two of your best planted moles in Liu's organisation." Haruka admitted.

"That is ok, you gave me direct control over them now and cleaned up Hong Kong for me quite a bit. Nothing more annoying than aunt Vivian calling me every week telling me that none of the boys are behaving." Alice sighed.

"I had a feeling that that might have been the case. Anyway, glad I could be of service." Haruka smirked.

"Just make sure your lover boy doesn't do such stunts again. It was hard enough to spin this story so that all parts fit." Alice reminded her.

"Yea, already on it." Haruka smirked.

"Here, I got what you asked me to get for you. You were right, nothing is as reliable as following the money. I don't have all of it yet, but the guy who brokered most of the money transactions is at the moment in town. I have told him to meet you as soon as you call him." Alice informed the blonde as she slid her a file.

"I am sure you were your usual charming self when you told him?" Haruka enquired casually as she flipped through the papers.

"He didn't need much persuasion, four of his colleagues have already mysteriously met their maker. So, he is on the run from his previous employer." Alice answered calmly.

"Great. I better catch up with him soon, before he is found by his old boss." Haruka sighed.

"You are not going there alone." Alice said firmly.

"Aw, are you worried for me? " Haruka chuckled.

"You are the mediator, I am part of the hand. For you to die under my watch would make people question my authority." Alice said evenly.

"I'll be fine. I got someone with me." Haruka waved off her concern.

"That is what your father told mine and we both know that didn't turn out too well." Alice frowned.

"Ok, but no more than four babysitters, and all preferably female, hot and single." Haruka snickered.

"Four men it is, old, hairy and sweaty." Alice smirked.

"Alice...what have I done to you to deserve that?" Haruka whined.

"Fine, two men and two women, just to be fair to your boy." Alice gave in.

"But he isn't gay...at least not that I have noticed...or did I miss something?" Haruka wondered jokingly. "Then again, I never pay enough attention on his love life" Haruka chuckled.

"Because it is non-existent?" Alice asked dryly.

"OOOhhh, burn, don't pick on my poor guy. We don't have much time for romance in our field of work, at least don't make light of our recreational exercise." Haruka joked.

Alice just sighed, shook her head and picked up her phone to call for her people.


-Taiki-

They had changed planes several times to shake off any possible pursuers and were finally landing in Tokyo. Mei had been exhausted from the extended ordeal of flying around the globe and was very docile as they reached customs.

"Welcome back Fujioka-san, Kou-san" The custom's officer greeted them as Taiki passed her their papers and that is when Taiki noticed that Mei woke up from her robot like behaviour.

She looked at him quizzically as the name slowly sunk into her consciousness. They exited with their luggage and were greeted by Taro and Ryou, whose facial expression lit up like Christmas tree the moment he spotted them. The two lovers fell into each other's arms and for a moment, Taiki envied them for the love they shared. He knew Kayuu would never pick him up at the airport like that at the same time he was relieved that she would never put him on any most wanted list either.

"Where is Haruka?" Ryou asked him.

"Not here, she is dealing with the mess you made." Taiki responded dryly.

"Tell her thank you from me." Ryou said earnestly.

"Thank you for taking me here Taiki." Mei let go of Ryou and hugged him tight.

Taiki felt awkward and just patted the other woman's back.

"Oh, before I forget." Taiki took out a gold chain from his pockets and Mei's passport. "Haruka has already removed the tracker, so it is safe to be used again, Fujioka, Mei-san." He handed Mei the chain and her papers. "The address of your new home and the account number with your money, minus the money used to buy your house are also in there." He pointed at her passport.

"I thought….How can I ever thank you enough?" Mei was speechless.

"Stop him from doing something so stupid ever again." Taiki chuckled.

"Tell Haruka that I will reserve her the best crab she has ever eaten when you guys come for your winter vacation." Nobu stepped up and patted Taiki on the shoulder.

They drove together into the city and Taiki was dropped off at the Yamaguchi's when suddenly someone came his way. It was Michiru.