-Yumi-

It was well after midnight when she was sitting on the porch outside of her bedroom overlooking the fish pond. The fish were calmly swimming in the moonlight and even though it was a day after the full moon, the moon was barely smaller and was reflected clearly in the surface of the calm waters. She was sitting there her eyes affixed to the water's surface and yet her mind was stuck on the small golden paper box next to her. It was the Godiva chocolate that Haruka always sent to her when she couldn't make it to the annual moon viewing or if Yumi was stuck holding a Moon viewing tea ceremony with different customers to deflect attention from Haruka with her other relatives. Haruka was by no means someone who was romantic in the classical sense who would send chocolates or other small gifts to display affection. In general, the blonde hated any overt display of affection that had sincere meaning behind it. In that Haruka was very peculiar. She could shower Hotaru with love and affection at every turn, kid around with the guys and flirt with anything that could walk on two feet and had a pulse, yet when it came to real heartfelt intimacy or real love of the romantic kind, Haruka locked it all up in the confined spaces that she deemed worthy and not a millimetre outside of it.

This chocolate was not as much as a sign of affection rather than an offering of the yearly apology of having been caught many years ago. Haruka, still being her brash teenage self, had snuck into the Myamoto tea house to visit Yumi in the middle of the night for a break and some affection. Training had been hard on her and Haruka just wanted to forget the world and Yumi helped her with it, under the bright full moon. Maybe it was the thrill of the forbidden, maybe the risk of being caught while all the guards were on duty or just Haruka's exuberant levels of sheer confidence and pride that she carried that night due to the fact that she made it in unseen by all the guards, that made it particularly memorable one. On the way out though, Haruka and her were caught by her grandfather who happened to have stayed over that night and tended to wander the hallways at night when he couldn't sleep. Haruka still drunk on confidence, made up the story of having had moon viewing tea with Yumi, on the blonde's insistent request of course and Naoko had to confirm for Yumi that she had let Haruka in even though that was far from the truth. Since then Yumi was obliged to do a special moon viewing tea ceremony every year, to keep up the lie and because her grandfather liked the idea of it. But that was not why Haruka started to send Yumi chocolates. Naturally, Haruka booked all Moon viewing tea ceremonies in advance but already in the following year, she couldn't make it, since she was stuck in Belgium on a mission. Instead she sent small box of Yumi's favourite chocolates as an apology and almost one every year for the full moon days on which Yumi had to hold a tea ceremony and the blonde couldn't attend. This year was different though, it wasn't just that Haruka wasn't available, but that she was slipping away for real and if that wasn't bad enough, Katashi had touched the box.

She knew that thought was childish, he was her husband after all, but still, it was hers and Haruka had sent it to her and not him. In some ways, it was her own fault for not making clearer instructions on her mail. Since Katashi had gotten back, he had virtually turned her teahouse into a fortress. No one entered or left without being scanned by his men. The only control she had were all the happenings within the teahouse, the daily routines, the household, whom she would serve tea to and whom she could refuse, but nothing else. She was caught in her self made golden cage. At least none of Katashi's men, except Takumi, passed the boundaries to the inner parameters of her kingdom, and when he did, only when her husband was near to save his hide from her wrath. To the outside Katashi had the full right to know what his wife was up to and to take care of their property, but to her he had no rights whatsoever except the ones they agreed to before marriage. It wasn't even her who made it clear from the start that this marriage would be due to necessity but it was him. He needed a new life, a new start and she needed to get out from under her grandfather's control, so both agreed to a marriage that would be perfect to the outside, but inside they would keep their lives separate. Yumi told him from the start that she didn't care of how many mistresses he would have as long none of his affairs would ever come to light or would result in any children. He on the other hand just requested her to do her bit in what it would take to keep up the perfect façade and eventually an heir. An heir… even just the thought of that, made Yumi's stomach turn. Katashi had never made advances, just as he had promised, but lately he had gotten more affectionate while at the same time more intrusive into her private space. He checked up on her at every free moment he had and he was even attending last night's moon viewing tea ceremony that she had actually intended to hold for herself to have time to think of Haruka in peace amidst the many changes that were going on. Instead, Katashi joined her and gave her the box of chocolates personally. Since Haruka never included anything besides her trademark initials carved very covertly in the bottom right corner of the box, Katashi didn't know where they had come from and had them all tested for poison. Yumi had already given up on receiving any this year and all forgotten about the chocolates, since she knew that Haruka couldn't send at this moment and felt a moment of welcome surprise and excitement that was quickly followed by anger that she needed to keep bottled up to not give away the sender of the chocolates. The tea ceremony was held in absolute silence while the bright moon shone in and as soon as she was done, she excused herself to go bed, leaving the box in the phoenix room. The next morning, she woke up to the chocolates lying next to her pillow. Katashi and her only officially shared the bedroom but he never joined her and always slept in the smaller adjacent room when he was home. She had left the bedroom as soon as she had seen the box and had busied herself with her daily tasks, but now in the middle of the night, she couldn't escape it, Haruka's box of chocolate that had been defiled by Katashi. She wanted to scream and let out all of her anger and frustration, but she didn't want to give Katashi the satisfaction that he had any influence over her emotional landscape and so she just sat there, staring down the pond in which the moon reflected, but of which the light just couldn't reach her heart tonight. She was so frustrated with everything around her, she was about to reach for the box to throw it into the pond when a hand reached out to hers and stopped her.

"Yumi-sama." Shinobu had spoken softly to gain her attention. "I apologise for the delay, here is the tea for your moon viewing chocolate." Shinobu just continued unasked to open the box of chocolates, revealing a small assortment of her favourite bitter chocolate pralines. "I am sure Tenoh-sama would not want you to consume them without this chrysanthemum tea, to cut the bitterness of the chocolate." Shinobu continued softly. Yumi collected herself. She had let her emotions blur all her senses that she hadn't even noticed when and how Shinobu had returned.

"Indeed." Yumi put her hand back down and reached instead for the tea cup that Shinobu had brought for her. She wanted to ask her so much, but with the increased surveillance and her husband sleeping next door, she didn't want to arouse any attention.

"You look tense Yumi-sama, would you like to draw you a hot bath?" Shinobu offered.

And Yumi looked into her cup of tea before nodding.

"I will be waiting there for you then until you are ready to have your bath and I will help you to wash off the stress you had to endure during my absence." Shinobu informed Yumi before she left the room again.

Yumi turned back to the pond with the warm tea in her cold hands, the heat slowly infusing into her hands. The sky was slowly turning from a dark blue to a lighter shade. The sun was about to rise. She reached for one of the chocolates and let it melt in her mouth before drinking her tea. Shinobu was back, there was still hope.


-Michiru-

She had barely made it home and was now standing in front of her own apartment door, very carefully opening the door to avoid waking her aunt up who would most likely taunt her about her walk of shame home while nothing of that sort had happened, but was probably easier to explain away than her actual work. Just when she had made it inside she noticed her aunt's shoes missing and a note where she usually kept her keys.

'I am out for a few days of impromptu location scouting. Will be back soon, so I am keeping the spare key. Don't forget to eat and sleep properly. Love, Riko.' Was all the note said, so there was no real need to sneak into her own home.

Tired she walked into her living room and dropped her tired body on the couch. She was due back at work already by lunch time, so there was not much time left to sleep, but at least she had eaten more than enough for now. In theory she knew that she should be falling asleep instantly, but while her body seemed to go into a coma like state, her mind was running on high speed. As she looked outside the window and watched how the sunlight slowly lit the sky and washed away the last moonlight, her mind went over the many questions that haunted her during her waking hours which seemed to only multiply each day. What was her father up to? What was in that package that Kaito had passed to Kazuko? Where was Manami? Where did Kenji go? Why did Kakyuu not answer any of her calls or texts? Where was Setsuna? What was Haruka up to? So many questions and no answers, but before she could follow up any of her thoughts, her eyes had closed and she had fallen into deep yet restless sleep.


-Kakyuu-

Kakyuu was forced to go to sleep some more like a little child and was lying partially sulking in the resting room on her clinic floor when Satomi joined her on the bed on the other side of the room.

"Didn't think that Yuuko-sensei would dare to send you to bed, Satomi-sensei." Kakyuu commented as the other person had sat down and looked at her with a smirk on her lips.

"She didn't, I just thought that there is no point being around while she is starting the preparations for the transplants and is just bossing the boys around. The two of us will be doing the left kidney that is not functioning after all, then Yuuko will replace you to replace the other kidney and you should be coming back for the liver since that will be the biggest challenge." Satomi informed her of Yuuko's plans.

"I can stay throughout the whole procedure." Kakyuu insisted.

"I know you can, but you are not alone here and it is best when we always have a fresh set of eyes on it to ensure no mistakes happen." Satomi explained calmly.

"But you are also all the way through there." Kakyuu stated calm and yet defiant, she wouldn't let anyone talk her out of her own clinic and the taking care of her most important patient.

"I will only be keeping an eye on the anaesthetics while you two take care of the rest when you get back. The liver is all Yuuko and you." Satomi clarified.

Unlike her daughter, Ami, Satomi was a lot more confident and didn't let anyone mess with her. Besides the blue hair and the bright blue eyes, they also shared their giggle, but besides that, mother and daughter were very different in their character. Maybe it was just a matter of age and this would be Ami in a few decades, Kakyuu thought to herself when Satomi asked her something.

"You were only twenty when your mother passed away, weren't you?" Satomi asked her and brought Kakyuu's thoughts to a sudden halt.

"Yes." Kakyuu answered a bit confused and detached. She had always been close to her mother and her sudden loss was hard for her. If there hadn't been the twins, she wouldn't have known what she would have done with herself.

"I don't think you remember, but I was only a new hire at the hospital back then and freshly assigned to her treatment team when we first met. She had pretty much the same eyes and silent determination as you do now. I think she would be really proud of what you have achieved so far." Satomi said as she lay down on the bed. "I will not stop you from staying during the transplant, but you have had a lot of stress in the past weeks already, I think you can do better than whatever you will produce right now, that is why I suggested for you to rest now and to get a break later. I am sure Haruka would prefer you alive and healthy when she gets back onto her feet and not be the cause of your collapse for when you do if you keep this level of stress up." Satomi said before she turned over to sleep, leaving Kakyuu alone with her thoughts.


-Seiya-

He woke up with a splitting headache and stuck, tied to a chair. Trying not to make any sudden moves or sounds, he tried to recall what happened before the world went black on him. He remembered running through dense forest and being chased…but by whom? And why? His senses were slowly coming back and he could hear muffled talking from the room next door. From the small slit in the door he could see a bear of a man, huge, hairy, a beard as big has his face, grunting into a phone that looked like a child's toy in his hands.

"….I just caught one, but I am not sure which side he belongs to…..what he looks like…..Asian?... you know me…I don't know you look all the same, black hair…and so on…..i don't think sending you a picture will do any good….kid got a bruised face when he 'fell'.." the man grumbled into the phone.

'Fell?' Seiya thought to himself…when on earth did he 'fall'... He wasn't that clumsy while running, at least not to the point to feel this sort of concussion.

"Chip reader didn't work…I think the kid broke its chip….i could always cut him open to confirm." A mean chuckle followed those words.

'Oh, oh.' Seiya thought to himself. He wasn't caught by some prehistoric Viking; he was caught by a prehistoric Viking with a mean streak. Suddenly nausea took hold of him and he tried hard to keep it down, but there was no holding it and he hurled onto his lap.

"Hold on, I think he's up. I call you back when I know which one this is." The man grumbled and shortly after appeared through the thick wood door.

"Oh great, you made a mess." The man sighed before he picked Seiya up easily with one hand and carried him over to a big tub and hosed him down.

"Well, now that you're up. Who are you?" The man grumbled.


-Taiki-

They had just finished prepping the OR and walked together to Haruka's room so that the whole OR could get fumed, to guarantee an absolute sterile environment for the operation, and to wait there for further instructions.

Yaten had a robot, with a flask filled with hot coffee, already waiting for them when they got there and both poured each a hot mug of the black brew before they sat down to each side of Haruka's bed.

"I know you want to ask me something so go ahead." Yaten said calmly as he sat to the left of Haruka and slowly lifted the mug to his lips to give his brother the chance to ask the questions that were burning on his mind, but Taiki noticed both of Yaten's hands were gripping the mug tightly, so that his knuckles turned white.

Z?

"Will you tell me everything?" Taiki asked as he looked down into his own mug before taking a long sip and feeling how the cold brew warmed him from the inside.

"Everything that I am authorised to tell you." Yaten nodded slowly.

"Who has limited you what you can tell me?" Taiki asked his adoptive brother who stayed quiet in contemplation on how to respond.

"My uncle." Yuuko answered for Yaten as she entered the room before Yaten could say anything, and the young man sitting opposite to Taiki, that he had regarded as his own brother for all these years, just nodded.

What did this mean? Was Yaten an outcast of the Watanabes? Did he commit an unspeakable crime so bad that he was even disowned by his own blood relatives?

"You have never told anyone where you came from and who you are?" Yuuko asked Yaten who hesitated and slightly shrank in his seat while diverting his gaze to Haruka.

"Besides Haruka, have you told anyone?" Yuuko continued to ask cold.

"No. No one. No one besides Haruka-nee and Haruto-nii." Yaten replied slightly intimidated.

"Good." Yuuko just nodded. "Don't break promises that you have made." She continued and Yaten just nodded.

Yuuko looked Taiki up and down with a raised eyebrow, as if she was gauging what to say to him, when Kakyuu joined them with Satomi close behind her.

"Kaki, do you trust him?" Yuuko asked her while she kept her eye on Taiki who didn't dare to say a word.

"I do." Kakyuu replied slightly surprised.

"He is a Kouyama." Yuuko responded cold.

"How…" The word just slipped out of Taiki.

"Your facial expression. Must be running in your veins to have this face when you are faced with dilemmas. I just remembered it because you have the same stoic expression as your mother when she was under pressure from your father or had to hold her tongue whenever he was on trial before the local clans." Yuuko explained smug.

"Yaten did have to tell me that he is related to you, I could see that, too" Taiki snapped slightly. His mother was a particularly sore topic for him and the only cause for him to lose his cool that he had not been able to shake throughout the years. Kakyuu gave him a sideways glance, imploring him not to aggravate the professor but Taiki was on edge.

"No shit Sherlock, I would have never guessed that something so blatant would have possibly escaped your keen observation skills." Yuuko smirked.

"That is enough Yuuko." Satomi stepped in. "Where are the organs?" She continued to ask.

"In the acclimatisation tank." Yuuko responded curt.

"Are they ready to be transferred?" Satomi continued to ask unfazed by Yuuko's provocative demeanour.

"They will be by the time that you need them." Yuuko continued defiantly.

"Yuuko, enough. Go and get them ready for me we are starting the transplant now." Satomi sent Yuuko out of the room who looked at Satomi with a mixed, yet undefinable expression before she just left the room again.

"Kakyuu, get ready for the procedure, seems that we can't wait for the transplant after all." Satomi just sighed before telling Taiki and Yaten to bring Haruka into the operating room.


-Riko-

"So what's the projected likelihood of success of the operation?" She asked into her phone.

"About 25%." Yuuko's voice came rather sombre from the other side.

"I thought that these are 100% compatible organs." Riko voiced her thoughts.

"Yea, but considering her brain scan, I am not sure if, even if I replace all of her organs and all of them are 100% hers, that she will wake up. You know how it was with my father." Yuuko stated detached.

"I remember. Do the others know?" Riko asked quietly.

"No. There is no point in telling them. I need them all to do their best and not to worry that all their lives could be at peril, because they don't know the endgame. I looked at the precautions that Haruka took. They should all be fine if the worst were to happen, but I doubt they would be able to cope emotionally and you know how emotional people act. Very unwise at best, extremely stupid at worst. I cannot guarantee any success, but I will do all in my power to keep her with us. We have not spent decades fighting to lose her so close to the end." Yuuko spoke with resolve.

"You just do what you can do, no one will blame you if anything were to go wrong. This was a shot in the dark made quarter of a century ago. I take care of the rest." Riko replied solemnly.

"Will you tell her?" Yuuko asked vaguely.

"When will you start the surgery?" Riko asked in return.

"In two hours, the OR should be ready. Satomi and Kakyuu will start the surgery while I will join them for the second kidney and the liver. I will wait at most two days for the heart surgery since Haruka is slipping away faster than anyone is anticipating. It is a miracle that her heart is still beating at all, but her being stuck on the machines for longer brings their own set of issues." Yuuko reported.

"I will tell her after the meeting. All hell will break lose if I don't and all our work up until know will have been in vain if that happens." Riko sighed.

"Alright, I will keep you updated via text. The kids here don't really leave much space for chats." Yuuko made it short.

"Understood." Riko affirmed and both hung up without further delay.

Riko put her phone back into her pocket and sighed as she looked up the sky the cloudy sky. She hated breaking bad news, but she knew she had no other choice. She was needed more than just a messenger.

"Bad news?" Miyu, her mother asked as she joined Riko in her old childhood room.

"As of now, the last officially eligible Tenoh-child is dying." Riko tried her best to stay neutral.

"I feared as much. Call her home." Her mother just nodded thoughtful to herself.

"Mum, you know I can't. The problems it would cause with her father…" Riko started but was interrupted by her mother.

"Don't worry about him. Let him be my concern. She is needed at home. She is as much my child as you are since long before you two tied the knot." Miyu said firm. "I also know that you need her. I can see that you need her by your side right now." Miyu added more softly.

Riko's eyes were brimming with tears and her mother wrapped her arms motherly around her. Leaning her head onto her mother's shoulder and smelling the familiar smell of her in the Kimono that she wore, Riko let tears the fall silently into the silk.

"Thanks mum." Riko mumbled into her mother's shoulder while her mother consoled her.

"Nothing to thank for. We are family." Her mother reassured her as Riko caught herself and straightened up again. "The others have arrived and we should not let them wait any longer than necessary." Her mother reminded her as she tenderly wiped the last remains of Riko's tears away.

"Of course." Riko agreed and both left the room and walked along the dimly lit hallways of the old family estate before they entered a larger room where five people were already waiting for them, amongst them Setsuna and Manami.

"Good morning Hino-san, Mizuno-san, Tsukino-san. Thank you for coming before dawn." Miyu greeted Rei's grandfather, Ami's grandmother and Usagi's mother in turn while only nodding to Setsuna and Manami.

"I trust that Manami-chan and Setsuna-chan have already updated you on the latest status of state of affairs that we are dealing with." Miyu spoke as she sat down at the head of the table while Riko remained standing behind her mother. "You are probably wondering why it is just us who are meeting in secret and not the entire council of elders. As investigations have shown, the source of malice that has been decimating our families has been among the old families all along. Only the families present as well as our guard families have been reliably cleared of suspicion and I am capable to vouch for each of you without a doubt." Miyu explained the small round.

"How dare you to have suspected my family to start off with." Youta Hino lost his cool and stood up from the place at the table where he was sitting, to Miyu's left.

"Calm down Hino-san." Wakana Mizuno, who sat to Miyu's right, spoke imploringly to the only man in the room.

"We have all been under suspicion and our three clans have been cleared." Sumiko said calmly, but her pose was tense as she sat opposite to Miyu.

"Just the immediate clan members." Miyu clarified. "Not all extensions have been cleared. We can confirm now that the traitor is amongst us, or at least very closely related to our clans. I have spent the last three decades doing in house cleaning on my side, from my clan to every clan associated with us and affiliated with us that we vouch for. The Nishikawas, Okamotos and Yamaguchis are in the clear as are the Watanabes and Maedas." Miyu explained.

"But the Okamotos and Yamaguchis aren't your affiliates alone." Youta objected.

"They are under my protection as I am under theirs. The Yamguchi's have been the guards of the Tenohs' for generations and the Okamotos have ensured a peaceful and orderly transition of power between all families that have been on guardian duty. They were among the first to be cleared without a doubt. We are only as strong as the weakest link among us, but I needed to be sure that the gates that guard our safety measures were safe first, so they were first in line to be checked." Miyu explained.

"But why were we under suspicion to start off with?" Youta complained. "We have done our part under the peace agreement of our ancestors for generations!"

"Since the fatalities that had almost eradicated the Meioh-clan and nearly condemned them into nonexistence, we needed to be more careful. We are closing down on the source of all the unexplained fatalities amongst our own and it would have been arrogant to not suspect that the traitor is amongst our own or at least someone who know us and knows how the system works. I have been Setsuna-chan's immediate guardian on the request of her grandmother on her deathbed since Setsuna-chan had been a young teen and you know as much as I do that we have all committed all of our grandchildren and many of our own children before that to the agency for that one purpose and that one purpose only since then, to keep them safe and to only send them into calculable risks rather than having them ripped away from us by so called accidents or unforeseen incidents. The Ainos, Hinos, Kinos, Mizunos and Tsukinos have left the duty of guarding and governing to us, the Kaiohs, Meiohs, Tomoes and Tenoh's for hundreds of years now and we have rotated and split duties on the terms and conditions that had been agreed upon, long before any of us were born, to eliminate the matter of power concentration and to guarantee peace amongst us and the rest of the world. It was always us who took the hardest hit for us all. Not you alone have lost a child." Miyu looked stern into Youta's eyes who slowly calmed down.

"But I haven't called you all for a history lesson. I asked you to come to support me in the next council meeting to request Setsuna's birth right to ascend to vice directorship of the IIA. She is more than capable for the job and has been now passed over twice under my request. Tenoh-san is being his usual difficult self and he is fully in his right to refuse my request, but I know if the council supports my request with a majority, he will have no choice but to promote her there." Miyu moved on.

"Why?" Wakana asked surprised. "She is still very young and wouldn't that expose her way too much as that we could keep her safe in that position? She will inherit the IIA the moment Takashi retires anyway." Wakana voiced what was obvious to them all.

"Since Tenoh-san has returned, he has severely restricted my scope of authorities by cramming every domestic duty onto me. While that is not an issue in itself since I am used to high workloads and it gives me a good overview how things are going within Japan, he has indirectly limited my international reach, and therefore is acting against the rules of staying transparent for us internally. While that is a concern, it isn't our main concern. The main concern is that he is knowingly or unknowingly hindering us from investigating all other clans covertly without raising any suspicion." Setsuna explained calmly while sitting next to Youta.

"Are you seriously suspecting the Kinos and Ainos of betraying any of us?" Sumiko joined the discussion again. "We have known them for generations, they have fought along our side, they have sacrificed as much blood as we all have to keep peace."

"I didn't say that they were the traitors, I am merely saying that they have not been cleared yet. Tenoh is the one who would have it easiest to clear their name, but it is not like he has time for such a thing. He needs to stay focused on the tasks of the IIA itself. Our intra house issues need to be sorted by someone else. The Tomoes are already running all the official finances and while Ichiro-san is doing his best to take the seat of his father, he is still too young and inexperienced to make sensible moves. His eldest son will enrol in the IIA in a few years and this is his only chance to spend as much as possible time with him before he starts training. Also, the matter with his brother is impairing his judgement at the moment." Miyu explained. "Until they have been cleared without a doubt, we cannot include them in this discussion."

"I understand. You have my vote. I trust your judgement as my mother has trusted in your wisdom." Sumiko nodded understandingly and Miyu acknowledged it with a single nod.

"You have my vote, too." Wakana joined and looked at Youta expectantly.

"Fine, you have my vote, but just so you know, if Takashi brings up even one good counter argument, I will side with him. He is the director of the IIA and he should have full control over it without external interference. He has made the biggest sacrifices of us all and yet he never complained about it, nor backed away from his duties." Youta voiced defiantly.

"I understand. I can live with that." Miyu nodded thoughtfully.

"By the way how is Takashi's grandchild doing? News about her has been thin lately." Sumiko enquired while Wakana went extra quiet.

"She did very well during the first council sessions that he has held. She has been rightfully voted to mediator according to the voting system that the late Tomoe had implemented during his time of service, and I think they made the right choice." Miyu recalled.

"Were you there?" Youta asked curiously.

"No, but I have my sources." Miyu just said cryptically and Riko wondered which of the attendees had spilled the beans to her mother.

"But I have heard that Osamu is still performing duties that are part of the mediator's duty." Sumiko voiced from the other side of the table.

"Right now, Osamu is only taking care of the unfinished matters that are leftovers from his time as mediator while she is still studying up on her duties, learning the intricacies of the network and forging her own connections." Miyu explained unfazed.

The sun slowly rose behind her and Riko watched how the light slowly crawled into the room, swallowing up the light that was emitted by the small dim lamps that surrounded them.

Youta looked outside and sighed: "I need to return to the temple for the morning prayer. You have my vote, but don't make me regret it." He added before he bowed in respect to Miyu who stood up as well.

"Nishikawa will take you there." Miyu nodded at Manami and Manami bowed obedient in return.

"I should get back to the clinic as well…" Wakana slowly stood up from her seat and Setsuna offered to take her there on the way back to Tokyo.

Sumiko was about to get up and leave as well but Miyu motioned for her to stay.

"I think we need to talk, just you and me. Riko, you need to make a call. Go and make it." Her mother said without turning around to her.


-Hotaru-

Hotaru woke up in Kakyuu's bed and looked around herself. The room looked as if no one else besides the cleaning robots had been in here in recent times and she noticed that she was all alone. Outside of the window, the sun was barely up and Hotaru decided to make a visit to someone that she could be sure of to be awake this early in the morning. Jumping out of the bed, she and starting to look for the others, she noticed that everything was clean and tidy and that the place was unusually quiet. So quiet that she couldn't even hear the small vacuum bots that usually ghosted the tower when there was no movement of people detected. Undeterred by the unusual silence, she made her way to the elevators, but instead of pressing the button to call one, she veered to the very right and opened a hidden panel with her cat pendant. It was not a very big opening but spacious enough for her to comfortably walk into and to reach a system of hidden paths that led to various sections of the tower. Taking the slide on the very left, she comfortably slid a few levels down and enjoyed the breeze that she experienced while doing so. Walking confidently in the dim light to another panel in the wall, she pushed carefully through it and walked into the gardening levels where Haruka grew all the vegetables that they ate. Walking past the many rows of various vegetables growing vertically in special growing trays, she finally reached her destination, the tofu room. Looking around she didn't find the old woman that she was looking for, but a middle-aged man who looked just a bit older than Kakashi and Ichiro.

"Akira-ji" Hotaru called excited as she walked towards the man.

"Good morning Taru-chan." The friendly man greeted her back and put the tofu down that he was handling to dry his hands on the apron that he wore before picking up Hotaru for her to give him the customary kiss on his rough unshaven face.

"You are always so scratchy." Hotaru commented as she made a face and Akira chuckled his usual low chuckle.

"Looking for my mum?" He just asked in return before he put her back down.

"Well, I was hoping I could surprise her." Hotaru explained with a wide grin but before she could elaborate, her stomach growled.

"Uh huh." Akira just chuckled. "She is busy this morning, but if you don't mind waiting until I have packed all this tofu up, I take you to her." Akira offered.

"I can help you carry." Hotaru offered and Akira accepted by giving her a small bucket filled with a few wet cloths, that was standing next to him and they both walked to a different set of lifts, not accessible from the main elevator section.

"I think I should let Kakyuu-nee know where I am going." Hotaru suddenly realised as they stood in the small lift.

"Don't worry, you are not leaving the perimeter. I call her as soon as you are with Atsuko-kaa-san." Akira said calmly and they both rode down in silence.

The bucket in her hands started to slip, but Hotaru pulled it up with ease and carried it without a problem next to Akira who carried all the other boxes filled with fresh tofu.

"Dad, sorry I didn't get up sooner." Hiroshi greeted them, sleepily yawning and rubbing his eyes, when the doors of the lift opened again.

"Don't worry Hiro-nii, I am already helping Akira-ji." Hotaru said proudly and held up the bucket that was entrusted to her care.

"Hotaru-chan, what a surprise. You are definitely a big help today." Hiroshi smiled wide as he stepped aside for them to exit.

"Take Taru-chan to wash her hands and then to your grandma and ask her to call up to the tower to let them know that she is with her in the bunker." Akira instructed his son.

"Don't you want me to help you with those, dad?" Hiroshi asked and motioned to the boxes of tofu but his father just shook his head, ruffled Hotaru's head a bit and told her to be a good girl before he walked away towards another little train to take him back to the store.

Hiroshi just picked up Hotaru and the bucket that she was holding and lifted her onto one of the transport dogs that stood near a tunnel entrance.

"Ever ridden one of these?" Hiroshi asked Hotaru who looked for somewhere to hold onto.

"Not without Haruka-papa." Hotaru admitted hesitantly.

"Don't worry, I keep you just as secure on here." Hiroshi assured her as he sat down behind her and they slowly moved through a long and windy tunnel to arrive at another door that Hiroshi opened after scanning his hand on a floor panel.

When they got out, Kyoko was sitting in front of a closed door, snoozing.

"Should we wake her?" Hotaru whispered and Hiroshi cheekily shook his head before he took one of the wet clothes out of the bucket and dropped it on her neck.

Screaming, Kyoko woke up and punched her brother in the shoulder who just grinned even wider and made a sign with his finger to be quiet, before an all-out fight started.

"What is going on out here?" Atsuko asked as she opened the door and caught the three fooling around.

"I wanted to surprise you, but only Akira-ji was in the tofu room." Hotaru answered promptly and noticed that an old man sitting in the room out of which Atsuko-baa-san had come who eyed her with mild curiosity.

"I see. You two clean, up this mess and you come with me." Atsuko instructed them in a stricter manner than usual.

"Akira-ji told me to wash my hands first." Hotaru raised her wet and slightly tofu covered hands when Kazue, the mother of Hiroshi and Kyoko, joined them.

"I take care of this ka-san. You just re-join with Kenshin-ji. If you need anything, just call for me ka-san." Kazue appeased her mother in law who nodded and closed the door of the room that she came from again.

Once Atsuko had returned into the room that she had come out of, the siblings got a round of scolding before being told to clean up and then to go and to help their father in the store while Hotaru was to stay with the siblings' mother.

When Hotaru was taken to wash her hands, she asked Kazue carefully if Atsuko was mad with her.

"Why would Atsuko-kaa-san be mad with you?" Kazue asked surprised in return.

"I don't know… she seemed mad at us earlier." Hotaru recalled.

"Oh, that had nothing to do with you. If anything, it has to do with the ruckus that Hiro-chan and Kyo-chan were causing." Kazue explained as Hotaru was drying her hands and before Kazue proceeded to call the tower to confirm Hotaru's whereabouts.

"Hotaru, want to spend the day with us?" Kazue asked after she hung up with what sounded like Taiki.

"Only if I am of no bother." Hotaru replied.

"You are never a bother. Come with me and let's have some breakfast. I am sure you are starving." Kazue smiled gently.

"I could eat an elephant." Hotaru admitted and Kazue laughed.

"I don't think we have elephants on the menu, but I do have an elephant shaped waffle iron. Want some elephant waffles?" Kazue asked and Hotaru nodded enthusiastically.

"Kazue-ba-chan, can I ask you a question?" Hotaru asked as they were both in the kitchen and Kazue made the batter for the waffles.

"What is it Hotaru-chan?" Kazue asked in return as she added milk and a few chocolate chips.

"Who was that ojii-san that was sitting with Atsuko-baa-san?" Hotaru asked curiously.

"That was Kenshin-jii-san." Kazue started to explain. "He is Atsuko-baa-san's older brother. He came last night to visit and they have been talking since."

"Oh, that is very long. I would be grumpy, too, if I hadn't slept. Maybe they are hungry, too." Hotaru nodded understandingly.

"Aren't we all be grumpy when we were tired and hungry? If you like, you can bring them some elephants after you have had your breakfast." Kazue just chuckled as poured the first batch of small elephant waffles and Hotaru nodded keen.

The room filled with the warm and sweet smell of waffles and Hotaru closed her eyes in anticipation as she inhaled as much of that goodness as she could, which caused Kazue to laugh.

"Why are you laughing? " Hotaru asked curiously.

"Oh, you just remind me so much of how Haruka and Haruto used to be when they were little." Kazue chuckled and served Hotaru the set first hot waffles on a plate along with a big glass of cold milk.

"Did you make Haruka-papa and Haruto-ji elephant waffles, too?" Hotaru asked after she thanked for her food and carefully started to nibble on the first waffle.

"No, but Atsuko-kaa-san always made them some and Akira would bring them to the Kindergarten when he would come to pick them up, and of course I would always get one as well." Kazue reminisced.

"Oh, did you go to Kindergarten with them…I mean…weren't you … a bit too big to go to Kindergarten with them?" Hotaru asked astonished and yet as carefully as possible as not to offend Kazue.

Kazue had to try hard not to laugh.

"Oh, was there with them but as their Kindergarten teacher. I had to make sure that they behave and study hard to be good children like you are one." Kazue chuckled.

"Oh…" understanding dawned on Hotaru. "But they behaved, right?"

"Well, do you behave when your teacher tells you to?" Kazue asked in return.

"I always try to be good." Hotaru answered earnest.

"Yea, your papa tried, too." Kazue laughed and ruffled Hotaru's hair.


-Michiru-

Michiru had just arrived at the office and made her way immediately to Kazuko's office to meet her supervisor as agreed upon, but instead of finding Kazuko behind the big messy desk, Kazumi was sitting behind it, going through some of the paper work, desperately trying to put them in some sort of order.

"Oh, good morning Kaioh-san." The young woman greeted her with a wide grin. "Kazuko-nee and Manami-nee have already left for Iga." She explained the absence of her older sibling.

"Did she leave any instructions to what needs to be done?" Michiru asked surprised as she had the impression that the other definitely had something planned to do her something with her.

"Yea, we are supposed to head to the archive, review the old training recordings from the last ten years and to put them in order of relevance, type of training exercise and learning experience." Kazumi sighed while Michiru was secretly glad that her tired body would get a bit more rest and so they headed to a level a few below the defence department and retrieved a whole box of hard drives to be reviewed in the department's viewing room.

"How come there are so many unprocessed videos?" Michiru asked while Kazumi was setting up the viewing equipment and Michiru was putting the hard drives, onto which the result of their work would be recorded, into place.

"Well, apparently someone of another department had the bright idea to start protocol all training sessions that would happen here, to optimise the training even more efficiently, rather than just drawing from the experiences from old mission reports. But whoever came up with the idea has left the project half way done and never implemented any processing procedures. When Yaten-san was here, he worked out a program to use the material to program the robots, but he never thought about just using it as a visual aid and then my sister had the brilliant idea to use them as teaching videos and so I ended up having to do most of it along with Manami-nee. We have actually just recently caught up on the task. I remember still watching the old footage from 25 or more years ago, from real tapes, just at the beginning of the year." Kazumi explained as she got comfortable in her chair next to Michiru and reached for the control tablet as well as some popcorn.

"From more than 25 years ago? That is a long time. Anything interesting on them?" Michiru asked casually as they waited for the whole system to come to life.

"A few really good agents actually. Some fights were really amazing. It is even more amazing because it is hard to tell who is who since only the elite got taped and for safety measures, they always wore masks, in case we would ever have a mole, and all was under codenames back then. It is so cool to think that some of those old paper pushers upstairs could have been these amazing fighters. I mean imagine Tsukada-san, with his potbelly actually being the great panda." Kazumi giggled at the thought of the old man who was responsible for their pay checks and who had a weakness for Tempura, being an actual active agent.

Michiru had to smirk, since she knew that from the janitor to the highest echelons, everyone had to undergo at least basic training to be employed here and that no one would be spared an annual review, but she didn't want to ruin Kazumi's amusement.

"Now we are still recording the best under codenames and masked, but thanks to body and movement scanners and analysers, it is only a matter of seconds for the computers to make a pretty good guess on who might be under the mask so that takes a lot of out the fun of guessing who is who." Kazumi continued to explain and Michiru just nodded as they started to watch many agents fight, fail, recover, overcoming other agents and eventually themselves, just in form of a robot.


-Satomi-

Kakyuu just got sent out by Yuuko and she could see, through the window to the hallway, how the other doctor was sulking on the couch in the waiting area.

"There was no need to be that harsh Yuuko." Satomi chided her counterpart who just grumbled and proceeded to remove the other kidney.

"You lied to my cousin, didn't you?" Satomi enquired to which Yuuko only grumbled in response.

"You are the worst liar I know. You are always in a bad mood when you feel like that you had to lie. When Riko-chan finds out, you'll be in deep trouble." Satomi continued.

"She won't if you don't tell her. She can only tell lies when she looks someone into their eyes." Yuuko responded stubbornly.

"Oh, she can tell just by the way your voice is off Yuuko-chan. You know that and I know that. She just doesn't want to confront you unnecessarily with it over the phone." Satomi stated evenly.

Yuuko groaned but proceeded with her work. The creases in Yuuko's usually youthful and carefree face deepened as she frowned while she made one careful incision after the other but then withdrew her hand. It was displaying micro tremors and Yuuko looked terrified to Satomi.

Satomi just took of her glove, wiped her hand clean of Haruka's blood and cupped the other's woman face with it.

"Tell me what is bothering you. You know it won't go away no matter how much you will it to go until you have cleared your conscience." Satomi said firm but without judgment in her voice.

"I don't know if the organs will work." Yuuko blurted out. "It was a thought experiment that Tomoko and I just actualised because we had the equipment to spare."

"You two thought it through though?" Satomi asked.

"Yes, of course, to the very last detail." Yuuko confirmed. "But we never actually trialled it on any living creature. It was more a to test the hypothesis if you can grow and age organs outside of a living body with full functioning capacities for drug tests." Yuuko explained.

"And these organs are all functional?" Satomi asked calm.

"Yes…but …geesh look at this? Haruka is a mess. Her whole internal organs need rearrangement and replacement and we had no time to simulate or practice any of these procedures." Yuuko displayed clear signs of a rising panic in her voice and her eyes even though the rest of her body, not counting the micro tremor in her hand, didn't betray the tumult that was going on in her.

"When was the last time you performed field medicine?" Satomi continued to ask calmly.

"Five weeks ago, in Chile. But she only had a flesh wound." Yuuko recalled.

"And real field surgery?" Satomi enquired with a steady calm.

"Maybe fifteen years ago…in the Tundra… a bypass with very limited means." Yuuko responded irritated.

"And how is the patient today?" Satomi stayed calm.

"Running the IIA like a dictator just fine." Yuuko scoffed.

"There you go. A successful surgery, no help, no simulation, no practice sessions, highly dangerous and on a Tenoh, who are tough as nails. This is no different." Satomi stated with conviction and Yuuko seemed to calm down. The micro tremor in her hand seized as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"You are right. There is a theoretical chance. I hate lying, it takes too much brain capacity from me and I need to focus on what is right here." Yuuko stated firm.

"Great, now that we are back on track, you will apologise to Kakyuu later. The poor girl has been doing her best for your godchild for decades now. Give her some credit." Satomi reminded Yuuko before she went over to the glove dispenser and got herself fresh ones.


-Hotaru-

She knocked softly at the door and waited for Atsuko to allow them to come in. Kazue and her entered quietly and Hotaru politely greeted both adults in room just as Kazue had shown her earlier and then proceeded to put the plate of warm waffles between the adult onto the small coffee table. Atsuko dismissed Kazue to do a chore as well as telling her that she would look after Hotaru in the meanwhile, so Hotaru got comfortable sitting next to the old woman that she had always held dear in her heart.

"Is that her?" The old man, that Kazue had called Kenshin, addressed Atsuko.

"Hotaru-chan, introduce yourself to Kenshin-nii one more time. It seems his ears are failing him at this advanced age." Atsuko told Hotaru and Hotaru obliged.

"Yes, Atsuko-baa-chan. Kenshin-jii-san, I am Tomoe, Hotaru." Hotaru introduced herself again.

"Did you have breakfast yet Hotaru-chan?" Atsuko continued her conversation with Hotaru and Hotaru nodded happily.

"Kazue-ba-chan already gave me some chocolate chip elephant waffles earlier. These here are for you and Kenshin-jii-san. They are really good. Kazue-ba-san said that she used the same recipe as you did for Haruka-papa." Hotaru elaborated.

"Haruka-papa…, Atsuko, if she is a Tenoh, she needs to come with me." Kenshin insisted with badly suppressed irritation.

"I feel like Kenshin-nii has really bad hearing don't you think Hotaru-chan? What is your surname again?" Atsuko asked her again and Hotaru replied confused: "Tomoe".

"There you go Kenshin-nii, you heard it from the horse's mouth. This child is a Tomoe and therefore not under your jurisdiction." Atsuko said firmly to her brother.

"The system has alerted us to a new set of DNA with the Tenoh-DNA signature. If it is not her, who is it Atsuko?" Kenshin growled and Hotaru moved closer to Atsuko.

"Calm down Kenshin. You are frightening the child. Your system might have had a glitch. The only Tenoh that is presiding here is Haruka-ojou-sama and as you can tell by the lock down, she isn't present on the premises, so go back home and take care of the rest of the clan." Atsuko said firmly while putting an arm protectively around Hotaru.

"And why are you looking after her? She is a Tomoe and the Tsukudas are responsible for her as well as the IIA." Kenshin argued.

"She is Haruka-sama's goddaughter and I am responsible for Haruka-sama and everything and everyone that belongs to her. I swore my allegiance to her father and his family and renewed it with her and I will stand by her and her family, not the entire Tenoh-clan. A bloodline doesn't automatically guarantee that someone is worthy of support and being casted out doesn't need to mean that they had been wrong with whatever the reason was for which they got banished." Atsuko stated evenly.

"Your choice and consistent weakness to support the renegades hasn't just cost your own life and future, but that of your husband as well as that of your oldest son. You are now widowed and Akira is running an Izakaya while he was one of the most promising graduates in the program." Kenshin contended.

"My husband died for what he believed. He could not have asked for a better death. As for my son, Akira is his own person and decided to follow my footsteps himself. Aren't my other children enough for the service of your master?" Atsuko just replied dryly. "I did encourage them all equally to serve their name's obligation to the best of their ability. Akira just chose to serve here with me." Atsuko countered and gave Hotaru one of the warm waffles on the plate that she had brought while keeping a protective arm around Hotaru. "You need to eat to grow big and strong, so no one can bully you Hotaru-chan." Atsuko said kindly to Hotaru and Hotaru didn't dare to decline the offer and took the small elephant waffle and started to nibble on it.

Kenshin was subtly fuming across the table but didn't say much until he suddenly stood up and grabbed the bit of the waffle that was still in Hotaru's hands.

"You know, there are plenty of other waffles here." Atsuko replied unimpressed.

"I know…I will test this for myself." Kenshin just replied as he put the piece of waffle carefully into his handkerchief.

"And what will you do with your finding?" Atsuko asked calm.

"I will send all of your kids home to you as well as a few of their cousins, for the crime of being associated with you and regularly frequenting your store against my implied order not to do so….if my hunch turns out right." Kenshin emphasised.

"And if it doesn't?" Atsuko continued to ask.

"Then it was nice to see you, little sister." Kenshin replied calmly.

"I don't have space here for the whole, unruly, horde of young Yamaguchis" Atsuko stated just as calmly before taking a sip from her tea.

"Then you better make space. It's your family, too, and we always look out for family, no matter their choices in life." Kenshin just grunted.

"That bad?" Atsuko asked while looking into her tea cup.

"Probably worse." Kenshin sighed.