-Kakyuu-
Kakyuu wiped her eyes with the sleeves of her shirt and nodded with relief before she got Haruka a glass of water. The blonde tried her best to sit up on her own but just grimaced in pain and opted to push the button of her bed instead to get into a more upright position.
"You shouldn't be moving until I have examined you again." Kakyuu chastised the blonde as she held the straw to the blonde's lips and Haruka sipped carefully on the liquid.
"Everything hurts, sitting up makes hardly a difference and a bit more pain but not choking to death should be preferable to you for me." Haruka chuckled between sips.
"True" Kakyuu concurred as she moved the some of the blonde hair out of Haruka's face. "Can't have that happen after all the trouble that you have caused me." Kakyuu responded smug.
"Got to make you work for your new MRI and your whole new laboratory set up after all, and may I say, you look utterly exhausted Kaki." Haruka returned with a smug grin.
"New MRI? New lab?" Kakyuu asked confused.
"Oh, don't tell me they didn't deliver it all on time or that Haruto missed the landing spot DESPITE me pushing him right onto it." Haruka groaned as she looked up to Kakyuu. "I wanted it to be ready for Christmas for you this year…At least tell me that he's ok and has nothing more than a few bruises. I mean, I am here, so he had it clearly in himself to drag me to our meeting spot." Haruka continued. Noticing Kakyuu's confused face Haruka sighed. "Ok…, at least tell me that he's with Sayuri. I made her promise me that she'd tell him the good news if I got him back as soon as possible because she needs to tell him something very important." Haruka sighed.
"Haruka,….what is the last thing you remember?" Kakyuu asked the blonde with a sick feeling to her stomach.
"Base jump from the French Alps….eh…hay stacks…eh before that… mission stuff.. blabla … the mission was definitely completed successfully…bla bla…package should arrive by courier in time for the meeting…Why are you asking me all that? How bad was my fall? Did I hit my head that hard? I do remember rolling off most of the impact. You better ask Haruto everything you want to know since he takes care of all the detailed stuff. You know me, I only make sure that he comes home." Haruka told Kakyuu, slightly confused and tired.
Kakyuu didn't know how to reply, she didn't know where to start, if she should start and where to go from there.
"OK, you seem to be even more tired than me that you are even speechless. You, Abe, Kakyuu, speechless. Come here Kaki, lie down next to me, my arms and shoulders don't hurt. You look in need of a shoulder to lean on and you know my shoulder is always here for you. You know, we all need a break sometimes, there is no shame in that. Let's leave the nitty gritty detail stuff to Haruto to deal with when he gets back from Sayuri's place…It is good for him to stay busy now anyway. You are going to love the new lab concept that we came up with." Haruka grinned boyishly.
"Alright Haruka, but only if you catch some sleep, too." Kakyuu insisted as she pushed the button to get Haruka back into a horizontal position.
"Deal." Haruka agreed quickly.
"You are not going to sleep, are you?" Kakyuu sighed.
"You know I don't sleep well until Haruto is back in the tower." Haruka admitted sheepishly.
"Let me give you something to help you settle." Kakyuu replied as she grabbed a syringe from one of the drawers, causing Haruka to cringe but the blonde refrained from whining.
"Oh, by the way, who is that kid in that picture?" Haruka asked Kakyuu as she connected the syringe to Haruka's IV.
Kakyuu hesitated for a moment and looked down at Haruka with mixed feelings. "I'll tell you after your nap." She eventually replied as she pushed the liquid into Haruka's veins. She watched her friend slowly drift off to sleep again before she allowed herself to finally cry to her heart out, to no one in particular and at the same time to let out all the pent-up tension, frustration, despair and yet relief. Haruka was back and they would make it, somehow.
-Ami-
She was still in the laboratories, working on various samples of new vaccines, when Makoto joined her.
"Ready for lunch?" the brunette asked Ami as she walked up behind her and looked over the smaller woman's shoulder.
"Almost." Ami informed her friend and Makoto pulled back and sat down on a chair nearby. "You seem excited." Ami noted as Makoto hummed an unknown melody.
"I spotted Rei and Minako coming to work together." Makoto grinned.
"They work together all day, of course they would come to work together." Ami noted objectively, making Makoto roll her eyes.
"Of course." Makoto sighed.
Ami wrapped up quickly so that both could go to the small café that Makoto had been excited about in the last couple of days, but just as she put down her pen, Minako entered the lab and greeted then both briefly and put a file from Setsuna for Ami onto her desk.
"Mako, got a minute?" The blonde addressed the brunette who just nodded and followed the blonde out of the laboratory.
Ami went to wash her hands and watched them through the laboratory windows. Minako seemed to be talking rather fast and agitated with Makoto whose face just turned sullener and nodded to the news that she was receiving.
The conversation didn't last long and the blonde left Makoto standing rather lost in her own thought behind in the hallway.
"Everything alright?" Ami asked Makoto who seemed to be staring into the nothingness that of the empty hallway.
"Hmm? Yes. Of course." Makoto said absentmindedly.
"If you need to get something done, I understand. We can postpone the café for some other time if you like." Ami tried to helpful.
"Yes. I mean no. I have been looking forward to try their new version of Baumkuchen and they only have it once a week. Let's go before they are sold out." Makoto seemed to have caught herself and to be back at her usual cheerful self, though her melancholic eyes did betray her, Ami didn't want to pry if Makoto was not ready to share what was on her mind.
-Taiki-
Taiki was sitting with Yaten in front of a wall made up of rows and rows of bulletproof glass boxes. Each contained an envelope with the Tenoh family seal prominently displayed on it. The only way to get your hands onto one of them was by literally shedding blood. One had to hold their palm on the scanner and it would not only scan it, but also prick it and assess your blood to decide on which envelope would get into your hands. The selection criteria were unknown to anyone besides the twins and Haruto had painstakingly designed this wall just so that Haruka could place her last orders for the worst-case scenarios, that both came up every now and then in their private late-night sessions, in there just the way she wanted. Any miscalculation, contamination or breach would result in the room being flooded with tear gas and half of agency on their doorstep in the best-case scenario or a toxic nerve gas and the permanent lockdown of the entire tower in the worst-case scenario. It wasn't the first time they had to use the doomsday wall, as Haruto tended to call it jokingly, but that did not alleviate the dread that went through his body as Yaten handed him the wipe to clean his hand before they both would get their hands scanned simultaneously to indicate to the system that an order where both could act was an option.
"There is no need for that right now." Kakyuu suddenly could be heard saying from the doorway and Yaten turned around with relief.
Even Taiki couldn't resist a sigh and put the wipe into the bin. When both men made their way to the door to see Haruka, Kakyuu only let Yaten through and stopped Taiki.
"Go ahead Yaten, but don't bring up any news and please make Haruka a cup of tea when you see her." The doctor instructed his younger brother. "You can't, not yet." Kakyuu explained as she took him by the hand and led him back into Haruto's old operating office and to the window that overlooked Tokyo. They stood there silently for a moment, Kakyuu looked out of the window, with her eyes affixed to the Skytree that stood tall above all other building and neither spoke a word while Taiki observed her reflection in the smooth glass that faced them.
"She is not well enough to see you yet." She eventually continued to explain but then stopped again, as if to find the right words.
"Why?" was all that Taiki could manage at this stage of tiredness, emotional and physical.
"Remember when Haruka and Haruto had the base jump accident in the French alps a few years back?" Kakyuu t started again.
"No, not really, I was still an informant to Haruto back then. I only read about it in a note that Haruto left for me in our meeting spot. I had not even decided to join the agency back then." Taiki recalled.
"Well, Haruka's head is back there right now. She doesn't remember anything that has happened since then. It might be just a temporary thing like with the diving incident at the coast of Chile, but it is where we stand now, and I do not want to stress her emotionally right now since her recovery is still in a very delicate place. It might take a few hours, days or weeks for her to recover all her memories, if she does at all. Haruka doesn't remember when or that Hotaru was born or that Haruto is gone. Her condition is stable, but she is not out of the danger zone yet and I do not want her to go through the emotional trauma that she has to relive to get to the stand of today, yet. You are part of it." Kakyuu wrapped up her explanation.
"So, why can Yaten go when he joined us last?" Taiki couldn't hide his frustration.
"They have a longer history than you and her." Kakyuu finished the topic and turned around to return to the clinic leaving him behind to keep staring out of the window and alone to his thoughts.
This just wasn't fair, he thought to himself. He had fought so hard to proof himself, time and time again and now he stood at the beginning again. Now he was glad that Seiya wasn't here, though even he wouldn't probably have an easier time to regain Haruka's trust than Taiki would have. The mixture of relief that Haruka was still alive and the frustration that he had to face so many battles again made his head dizzy and leaned his hot forehead against the cold window panel. This time, he would have to face the confrontations alone, without Haruto having his back. It was going to be hard, but what choice did he have? This was his family now, a family he had chosen himself and one that was more than worth all the effort in this world. Question was just, did he still have that fighting strength? Just when that thought crossed his mind, he realised his selfishness and looked at Kakyuu again. She was closest to Haruka and she would have to relive the loss of Haruto with Haruka again and help the blonde to regain her lost memory, all the good and even more of the bad. In comparison, his task was small.
-Satomi-
She was walking into the vault to share the good news of Haruka's awakening, just to find her friend in the process of meticulously dissecting the removed heart, while the other spare was back in the blue tank, beating at a calm and steady pace.
"You came all the way here to save her and now you are hiding here in the laboratory?" Satomi asked Yuuko incredulously as the other pulled out a thin piece of plastic from the scarred heart tissue.
"Do you really think that? That I can save anyone?" Yuuko just replied dry, her eyes ever so focused on the dead heart in front of her.
"You have saved her. That is a fact." Satomi repeated and Yuuko looked up briefly before turning her attention back to the heart.
"Did I really? I have seen people in perfect physical health go and people beyond the medical definition of brink return to life. I didn't do anything, besides turn up and do my job." Yuuko reiterated.
"So that is what you have been up to since the last time that I have talked to you in person? Rushed in and saved people from the brink of death and just walked away and hiding in some laboratory in between your rescue sessions?" Satomi asked mockingly.
"Not the entire picture, but yea, you could summarise it to those components. I can't just go to see her. You know that. I need to wait for the right time, or it just gets messy. Anyway, you see these things there?" Yuuko gestured to a clean sheet of paper on which various small and miniscule fragments of calcifications, foreign fragments scattered. "I am not sure how Haruka was still alive to start off with. These things didn't show up clearly in any of the scans and even if they did, it would have been fatal to remove them since they were not just in her heart, but also partially scattered throughout her other organs, so this is my chance to analyse them." Yuuko explained as she removed another piece from the heart tissue and placed it on the paper. "They are out for more than her life. Whoever did this, it was not their first attempt and it will not be their last. Right now, Haruka needs rest to recover. We are facing an ever growing but unidentified enemy after all." Yuuko muttered.
"So, it is 'we', after all?" Satomi asked but Yuuko just shook her head.
"'We' as in 'us', not 'you'." Yuuko clarified stern, then added in a mumbling tone: "I would not let anything like that get to you, you were not made for this."
-Yumi-
She was sitting silently at dinner with her husband in the dining room. While they never spoke much when they shared their meals, Katashi seemed unusually distracted this evening. Lately he had been leaving the estate at odd hours in the night, sometimes even unaccompanied by any of the servants. Yumi didn't know if his servants knew what their master was up to, because even her servants didn't know, but that was definitely not due to the lack of trying to find out.
Suddenly a servant knocked at the door and Katashi called him in. Takumi looked nervous as he handed Katashi the phone but Yumi kept up the façade to be preoccupied with her dinner.
"Darling," Katashi called her and Yumi tried hard not to cringe.
"Yes, my dear?" She replied seasoned.
"I need to leave now for an urgent meeting regarding another opening another tea house in Europe. May I leave dinner early?" He asked her out of politeness but definitely only rhetorically.
"Of course. Please travel safe." She replied with the same level of politeness.
"Please don't wait up for me, as it may get late." Katashi informed her as he handed the phone back Takumi.
"I understand." Yumi replied before Katashi bowed as apology and then left with Takumi.
Yumi finished her dinner in peaceful silence and yet utmost anticipation.
This was it, she had finally found a chance to escape her own home and made her way with Shinobu to the Tenoh Tower after having gone through the motions as if to retire early and making sure that all guards were in place. She rushed through the dark passage as fast as she could, her mind only focused on finally getting any news about the blonde's wellbeing. Once she was at the all too familiar elevator, she held her hand to the secret panel and could feel through the resistance of the cold panel how fast her heart was beating. The ride to the clinic level was longer than she remembered but when they reached the floor, all of her turmoil was forgotten and she proceeded to walk as calmly as possible towards Haruka's room, just to find Yaten in front of it, blocking her way. The young man didn't say anything, but his demeanour made it clear that no one was to pass the door that he was guarding. Through the big glass panels, she could see that Haruka was sleeping on the other side, all her vital signs clear and noted as stable by all the machines that she was connected to. Yumi let out a sigh of relief and stepped closer to the window to be even just that little bit closer to the blonde.
"Evening Yumi." The doctor greeted her, with exhaustion etched onto her face, as she joined the small group in front of Haruka's room.
"Evening Kakyuu" Yumi greeted back. "Shinobu, will you please go and make us some vitalising tea?" Yumi instructed the young girl after she had seen the exhaustion in Kakyuu's eyes.
"Go and show her where everything is Yaten, I stay here." Kakyuu added and both of their counterparts nodded obediently before they left together.
"You can't enter. Haruka just had most of her organs replaced and we still fear rejection by her body." Kakyuu explained and led her away from glass panel that separated her from the blonde.
"I understand. What's her status?" Yumi came to right to the point as they sat down on the couch in the waiting area.
"There is the thing with her organ compatibility which seems to be going well at this stage. Her motoric needs a fair bit of rehabilitation as well as, hopefully, temporary, amnesia." Kakyuu sighed.
"So, she has woken up?" Yumi couldn't hold back her relief and excitement.
"Yes, but….her memory is not the best at this stage. It still has many gaps and I am trying to focus on her physical recovery before I aim for her mental recovery. You might want to avoid to go and see her for a while." Kakyuu suggested cautiously.
"How bad is the memory loss this time?" Yumi asked steady.
"She is at the moment still at the pre-kidnap stage, at the pre-Hotaru stage as stand." Kakyuu informed Yumi and Yumi's stomach turned into a knot as she fidgeted on her wedding ring on her left hand that she had not taken off in her haste to come here.
A long moment of silence followed until Shinobu and Yaten returned with freshly brewed tea.
The tea was expertly brewed to perfection, but Yumi noticed none of that as she put the cup to her lips and sipped on it habitually.
Haruka's head was so far in the past, that it was hard to gauge how the blonde would feel about her right now and how much or how little of their memories together the blonde was aware of. This could be a wonderful time with less baggage to be aware of and yet would also be a painful process no matter how you looked at it, but Yumi was determined not to let anything to get between them again, even if it was only for a short period of time. But what was even more important, she would do all she could to help Haruka back onto her feet and to help her to stay safe in this crucial time. Bigger things had gotten in motion with no clear strategy that could be observed.
-Michiru-
In the past few days Michiru had grown restless. The sun had just risen and she had finished studying up on her family history in the past two days. It was a lot to digest and yet it explained a lot of past incidences to her. She was in some way, agency royalty and yet she wasn't. She was supposed to be the link that would be skipped, and that made her wonder if she had gotten special treatment due to her name and status. It was clear that Haruka got it twice as hard as others since she was destined to take over the mediator role, but Michiru? Her destiny was just to have a happy family and to raise children of which she, one day, would have to sacrifice one to the system to become the next director of the IIA. She was not meant to be an active player in this game, and yet she was here and now she was wondering if she knew enough, had enough training and was equipped for what was ahead of her. While she knew that her aunt was on the premise, they had not run into each other at any point in time. She knew that Riko was somehow involved in the whole structure at this present time, but as it was custom, nothing was noted from presently involved parties in current missions or events. Such thing would only be noted after a mission was completed or a job was retired from. Technically her father was retired, but right now he was just 'wrapping things up', as it was noted. She got up and ready for breakfast and looked herself into the eyes as she was brushing her teeth. It seemed she had aged over night a few decades, and the worry could be clearly read off the dark circles under her eyes. Was it really the unknown mission ahead of her that had her so restless the past few weeks? She knew the answer, but there was no rationality behind it, especially with bigger problems beckoning so close at this time. She had to pull herself together, she was a Kaioh after all. A Kaioh that would not fail her destiny.
After having gotten ready, she went to the dining room to have breakfast with her grandmother, just to find der aunt typing furiously away on her laptop and sipping black coffee absent minded.
"Good that you are up. We don't have much time to talk right now, did you study up?" Her aunt asked without averting her eyes from the screen.
"If you are referring to our history, then yes, I have." Michiru replied as she looked around for her grandmother.
"Mum is already out. They are having an emergency meeting at the Hino temple." Riko informed her.
"What happened?" Michiru asked concerned.
"Old Tenoh took the news of his new Vice director very well." Her aunt replied before she tried to take another sip from her now empty coffee mug.
"Isn't that a good thing that he accepts Setsuna without protest?" Michiru replied confused.
"He is taking it way too well. He has even delegated the Dublin meeting to her." Riko looked at her mug disappointed and Michiru refilled it without further comment.
"So, I am not needed after all?" Michiru asked with a mixture of confusion and annoyance.
"On the contrary, you are now needed more than ever." Riko replied after having had a much-needed refill of her preferred source of caffeine.
"How so? Rei is her right hand at the agency, naturally, she would be the one who would be chosen to head the security detail, while Minako would probably run the Intelligence Department in the meantime and Ami would probably take over the day to day oversight of the Research Department until a final decision will be made on Setsuna's replacement." Michiru thought aloud.
"True and yet not entirely. The real question is, why is he insisting to stay here when more crucial matters are ramping up overseas and secondly, no offence to Setsuna, but she is not at his level of observation nor diplomacy when it comes to the international stage. She doesn't carry his weight and without Haruka in play at the moment, we are still short on players and power there that can observe the whole situation and take action if necessary." Riko explained.
"So, what will we do now?" Michiru asked with no appetite as she looked down on the warm breakfast that was left for her in the oven.
"You will still go to Dublin and help out Setsuna." Riko determined.
"As what? I was moved to the Defence Department and I do not have a real reason to be there unless I have been told to. There is no defence needed there." Michiru argued.
"Michiru, you are more than simply an agent, you are an artist and I have just become your agent." Riko informed her.
"Uh huh" Michiru replied between mouthfuls of rice and Miso soup. "And what exactly does that mean?" Michiru asked eventually as her aunt did not elaborate.
"Oh, right, I am organising you an exhibition in tandem of the one under which guise's this meeting will be held as we speak. All these people don't just meet up without attracting attention, so to divert the unwanted attention, it is being held under the guise of an art exhibition with some charitable elements to it and you will be one of the new and upcoming artists that will show her new pieces there." Riko announced nonchalant.
"But I don't really have any coherent pieces at this moment." Michiru replied with a hint of shock.
"Well, I saw a few pretty good pieces in your art room and you got two weeks to come up with a few more pieces to make it coherent." Riko noted.
"Just two weeks? But the meeting is not for another four." Michiru replied under slight distress.
"Yea, but to get you beyond the exhibition part, you need to have a legitimate reason to get INSIDE the meeting rooms, and what better way than as the insignificant arm candy of a diplomat?" Riko asked rhetorically as she turned her laptop around to show Michiru the picture of Daniel.
-Seiya-
He was tied to the chair and forced to watch the fire in front of him as the bear of a man just sat behind him, doing something that he couldn't see. Seiya wasn't the patient type like Taiki, nor the cautious type like Yaten to just sit there quietly and to bid his time until a chance would open up for him to escape. He had been stuck here for a few days and had gotten used to the routine that he was subjected to. Once a day he would get woken up from the 'bed' he was allowed to sleep in and get his only meal of the day, a bowl an undefinable goo and cup of ultra-strong coffee that would even wake Haruka from her coma, followed by nothing more than just water all day, that he tried not to overindulge in, because every trip to the bathroom was an ordeal in itself.
With the days getting shorter and shorter by the day, he wondered if Kakashi was doing alright and was enjoying the northern lights or if the old man was dying from his flu. He knew that Kakashi had no means of knowing where he was and with his tracker broken, even Yaten wouldn't be able to find him here. Sighing, he tried and failed like every day to get comfortable. At least he wasn't freezing, he thought to himself as he tried to stretch himself to keep his muscles ready for the run. He was just about to ease back into the chair when he suddenly heard how the grumpy old man opened the cabin's door and someone with heavy steps entered the place.
"Must be high priority for you to get here so fast" The grumpy man addressed the newcomer who just chuckled.
"Caine requested fresh meat and I am supposed to take home the leftover to filter." A familiar voice laughed and the blood in Seiya's veins froze. This voice was uncomfortably familiar to him, conjuring up all kinds of repressed memories in his mind.
"Tell him that he should be gentler to my woods when you see him. He is making a mess here." His host just grunted displeased.
"Why don't you tell him yourself, Jensen." The familiar voice asked amused.
"People are a pain to deal with and Caine is a major pain, you know that." Jensen just grunted in his grumpy manner.
"Alright, I will tell him to be more careful when playing around here." The familiar voice laughed. "So, what do you have for me?" the familiar voice finally asked with a hint of anticipation, making Seiya's slight panic grow.
"This fell down from one of the hills here. Might be one of the cub's pups." Jensen explained as their steps grew closer and in panic, Seiya closed his eyes and pretended to have nodded off.
"Jensen, you can tell apart hundreds of squirrels, but you still can't tell humans apart that you have not interacted with?" the other man just chuckled.
"I tried to ID him with the chip reader, but seems that his is broken or he has none." Jensen ignored the mocking of his counterpart as he turned Seiya's chair around to face them.
"What happened to him?" the familiar voice asked.
"Told you, he fell from one of the hillslopes." Jensen replied defensively.
A hand lifted Seiya's chin.
"You aren't asleep Seiya, I can see that from a mile away. Open your eyes so I can see if you have any brain damage from your fall." The familiar voice commanded coldly and Seiya opened his eyes reluctantly.
"Tell me who am I?" A tall man with short brown hair and piercing green eyes asked him.
"Kino, Kino Tetsuo, the interrogator aka the infamous torturer of the black ops of the IIA." Seiya replied as calm as he could while trying to hide all the terror that flooded his system.
-Haruka-
Haruka's chest was aching sharply when she slowly woke up and tried to open her eyes.
"Take it slow Haruka-chan." She could hear a familiar voice saying softly from nearby.
"Satomi-sensei, what are you doing here?" Haruka asked surprised as finally focused on the source of the voice.
"Ssshh, Haruka-chan, you don't want to wake up Kakyuu-chan, right?" Satomi pointed to the other side of the bed where Kakyuu was sleeping tight. "I woke you up to examine you in peace and to get you to have try to eat something." Satomi explained.
"Eh… ok." Haruka nodded in acknowledgement, still confused on why her paediatrician would be here in the tower.
Satomi helped Haruka to sit up, to ease the pain, before she started her examination of the varies stitches that covered Haruka and asked her a series of long questions of which Haruka answered all earnestly.
"You are just like I remember you when you were little." Satomi chuckled while she made notes on a notepad and before she helped Haruka getting dressed again.
"How so?" Haruka asked in return.
"Always so enduring." Satomi smiled as she put a bowl of steaming dashi in front of Haruka.
"You cannot eat real meals yet, you have fasted for too long by now, but I reckon we can start you now on something more savoury than just herbal teas and just nutrient water." Satomi explained.
"Aren't you having anything, sensei?" Haruka asked as she carefully lifted the warm bowl that was filled with the delicious smelling hot broth.
"I have eaten earlier already." Satomi explained and Haruka looked up at clock that hung on the wall.
It was nearly midnight, of course she must have eaten hours ago.
"Oh, I see. Then excuse my rudeness and thank you for the meal." Haruka started to sip on the broth that instantly eased her mind and warmed her soul.
"I am glad that you still like Yamaguchi-san's food." Satomi smiled and Haruka couldn't suppress a childlike wide grin.
It felt peaceful right now, as if time had stopped and a piece of her childhood had returned, but the familiarity and yet unfamiliarity of her surrounding reminded Haruka, that this was a false calm. She looked around a bit more while she ate and noticed that the nightstand next to her was empty. Not a book, no gadget, not even a glass of water stood there ready for her. This could only mean that she had been out for a long time and that whatever got her here, had kept her here longer than she expected, longer than she had planned. The darkness outside prevented Haruka from accurately telling the season, but considering that her last memory was from late summer and the current rain that was falling outside in high volume and with an ominous wind whipping it against the windows, they must have entered autumn at some time during her 'absence'.
"Would you like to go to sleep again after your meal or would you like to stay up for a bit?" Satomi asked her as Haruka was half way through the small bowl of soup.
"I would like to stay up for a bit." Haruka admitted, but she didn't really know what she would do with her time awake. It was not like she could do much in the middle of the night or had the strength to get up from the bed.
"Satomi-sensei, how is your daughter? Ami?" Haruka asked to fill the silence for a bit.
"You remember Ami?" Satomi asked surprised in return.
"Well, I remember mum taking us to visit you in the hospital when you had her. Mum had let us choose a fluffy pyjama for her since summer was ending and we brought you some orange chocolate, since you said that you like them when you gave us candy after giving us our vaccines the year before." Haruka recalled.
"Good memory Haruka-chan and thank you for asking. Ami has grown a fair bit since then and doesn't fit those pyjamas anymore, but she is fine as far as I know. She has become a doctor herself by now and is working on her own research." Satomi chuckled as she ruffled Haruka's now longer and messier hair.
For some reason this felt like something that was from the distant past to Haruka. Sitting together with an adult and actually being treated as a child. Not in any way patronising, but caring way. Kakashi was a big child himself, so hanging out with him always felt more like being a child oneself, in an unsupervised group of kids who had the chance to get high on sugar and all antics would be experienced together rather than with the fear of any repercussions. It felt nostalgic to Haruka to talk to someone who had known her mum as more than a sister, as more than a childhood friend, but as her mum, as a close friend and fellow doctor. With the storm raging in the background, Haruka felt particularly restless but for some reason Satomi's presence put her at ease. She did not want to get back to a restless sleep and yet, at the same time, did not want to tie Satomi up by staying up.
As if Satomi could feel the blonde's conundrum, the doctor suddenly asked Haruka. "If I let you stay up for a bit, will you promise me not to do anything to wake up Kakyuu-chan?"
"Of course. I promise." Haruka replied perplexed.
"Good, then I will bring the dishes out now and go to sleep myself. When you are ready to go to sleep again, just press the red button here." Satomi pointed to the small machine that was attached to Haruka's drip. "If you need anything else, press the blue button and I will be back here in no time. Can I trust that you will go to sleep after a reasonable amount of time?" She asked Haruka in a caring but firm tone and Haruka nodded earnestly.
"Good, don't stay up for too long and don't get any funny ideas. I have a good memory, too, and I remember you being up to all kinds of mischief when you got the chance." Satomi chuckled before she ruffled Haruka's hair one more time and left the room.
Left alone to her thoughts, Haruka looked around her room closer. Everything was slightly different from what she remembered, more minimalistic, yet cosy and warm, more machinery was around and yet it was very quiet. The humming and beeping of the machines were very low and the brightness of the various screens and monitors were kept dim. All in all, it was even pleasant to some extend and it looked like the way her brother and her had designed it, yet it didn't look brand new. So, the renovations were faster than expected or she had been out for longer than she had ever expected to be. She tried to concentrate to recall more memories, but the harder she tried, the more her head ached and her eyes hurt.
She had managed to trigger another migraine, but it was not too late to stop it in its tracks.
Out of habit she reached with her left hand for her right and rubbed the space between the bones of her little finger in her palm and her ring finger. Quickly she found a small capsule hidden there and massaged it. This was why she hated to remember anything, this is why she tried to dwell in the past as little as possible. The pain was immense, mentally and physically. The relief took time, and the seconds of pain turned into minutes of pain. She hated using this device, since sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't and lately, or at least in her recent memory of things, the occasions in which it didn't outweighed the times where it did. Her searing pain in her left brain increased and the pressure on her eyes got even worse. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the circular motions of the fingers in her left hand. Many times she had thought about replacing the implant, but it was the one things that her mother had given her before her death, that no one knew about and something that no one knew about, no one could take away from her. She squeezed her right palm harder, to the point where the pain there rivalled the pain in her head. Tears that she was unwilling to shed were welling up in her eyes and she pushed herself into the mattress as if to will them back into her head. Suddenly she could feel that familiar relief in which her shoulders relaxed and the pain subsided. Haruka took a deep breath of relief and opened her eyes again. She looked over to Kaktyuu who was still sleeping soundly. Her figure looked slimmer compared to Haruka's memory and the blonde wondered if her friend had been eating properly of late, but this was not the time to ask, nor was this the time to be awake. With a slight tremor in her right hand, she reached for the red button that had been pointed out to her earlier and pressed it. She could feel the pressure in her drip slightly increasing and her arm starting to feel a bit fuzzy. A familiar sleepiness overcame her and she put the remembering to the back of her mind. Whatever it was that her gut was uneasy about and needed to remember had to wait, now was not the time to pressure her brain into performing any task.
-Michiru-
They had returned to Tokyo and she had been locked in her studio by her aunt. Having been told to produce at least ten pieces of art that she would be presenting on a selected few exhibitions in less than three weeks and dreading having to socialise with rich 'art collectors' who care as much for her art as a lion cares for a salad, Michiru sat in front of an empty canvas with nothing in mind to put down to it.
Technically Michiru had a lot of works she could just resort to using, but not enough of them made a coherent set of ten or more and the ones that did, she didn't want to display on a mission. They were too personal to her. So now, sitting in front of a blank canvas, surrounded by many already painted ones, no Muse seemed to hear her silent beg for inspiration. She didn't know if it was the pressure from herself to create work that she could actually be proud of without giving anything of herself away, or the dread that she had to get into contact with Daniel that blocked her, usually, very reliable creativity. Sighing, she put her brush down, walked over to the window and looked outside. The wind was picking up and the skies were a depressing grey, pretty much the perfect mirror image of her emotional state. She looked over to the other buildings and kind of hoped to find the Tenoh Tower in her purview, but she knew that that was impossible from her studio and that she technically could only really get a glimpse of it in her living room.
She had to pull herself together and create something new, if she didn't want her aunt to pull out the works that she had done after she had bumped into Haruka for the first time and did not want to display. Her aunt had liked those works the most and Michiru had to agree that those contained just the right amount of heart and soul besides artful technique that made them more than worthwhile to use as a comeback to the art scene, but that was just it. They contained heart and soul. The heart and soul that did not belong in a mission. Stepping away from the window, she picked up a few of the sketches she had made after her encounter with the blonde at the station and subsequently at the hotel. To her it was more elaborate doodling on which she would work on later when she had the time and was in the mood to expand on. It was a handful of very rough sketches of the blonde standing and sitting in various positions on that couch in the Hotel room. Haruka was quite recognisable to anyone who knew the blonde. The confident posture and the trademark mischievous smirk were unmistakable. Just then Michiru noticed the eyes that Michiru had given the blonde in those sketches. Mysterious, with a sense of depth and yet, contradictory to the confidence and cockiness, melancholic.
She pulled more sketches out, from after their common mission and vacation together, and there was no mistaking it, no matter how fierce, strong, determined, calm or happy Michiru had sketched the blonde, the eyes were always subtly melancholic and now it made a lot of sense to Michiru. Haruka had seen the hell of conflict and the depths of despair, yet she was still trying her hardest to keep it all together to achieve her mission goal, which was… Indeed, what was the mission, what was Haruka's goal, her impetus, her drive, her motive to do what she did? There had to be a reason behind it and there had to be a bigger goal the blonde worked towards.
Haruka was rich enough to retire, influential enough to live peacefully, protected enough by all that she had built so far, yet she had accepted all tasks and duties without the slightest resistance or hesitance. Would retirement have bored the blonde? No, Michiru doubted that, as the blonde had joked on occasions that she would have become a racer if she would have had the chance, or an adventurer. Haruka did not lack excitement that she wouldn't be able to create herself without the added risks that she was taking now. There must be something that either her aunt wasn't telling her, or that everyone was missing,… or Michiru was simply overreacting. She closed her eyes and recalled Haruka's face from the night on which Michiru had confessed her emotions out loud to the blonde and recalled the pain and sorrow that suddenly flooded the blonde's eyes. In her own mind, Michiru had secretly hoped that Haruka would have been as overjoyed as herself for realising the obvious and maybe even returned the sentiment, but instead, she had kicked off an avalanche of turmoil within the blonde and possibly scared the blonde away for good.
That thought depressed Michiru even further and she put all the sketches that she had of Haruka back into a folder and behind a stack of other unfinished works. Her heart was suddenly even heavier and her soul felt despair which slowly turned into anger. If life had been different, if she had just met the blonde earlier as she would have if she had not been the spared generation, if she could have been by Haruka's side from the beginning... she might have not averted all the pain that Haruka would have to go through eventually, but she could have supported Haruka through all of it. Even if they would have never ended up as lovers, Michiru was confident, she could have at least been a close friend to Haruka , in whom the blonde would have confided in and for a change, her name, her family, her heritage would have been of a benefit to Michiru, as she enjoyed an inherited safety level, that Kakyuu or Yumi did not. Michiru would have had at least one friend who understood the pain of loneliness and constant need to keep secrets as Haruka had to deal with it since birth as well and she could have been supportive of each other. But it was all too late for that. Too late because of an unidentified threat that had been looming over them from the beginning of their time. Looking through more sketches, she couldn't find a single one without some sort of presence of the blonde. Haruka had invaded and taken over her mind a long time ago and she needed to shield that from the rest of the world, or it could get exploited. 'I guess if I can't use any happiness for these works, might as well use this frustration.' Michiru told herself as she stepped back from the sketches that were stowed away under the window and returned to the blank canvas with new found vigour.
-Ami-
Makoto had been distracted since they have had lunch together and, this morning, she had even called in sick.
Makoto was never sick.
Last time Makoto was sick, she came into the office despite having high fever and dizzy spells.
Now, well after her working hours, she stood with a small bag filled with medicine and some vitamin drinks in front of the brunette's apartment. Despite having made many valiant plans on how she would confront Makoto about missing work today, all her courage had left her at the instant that she actually stood in front of the brunette's apartment door. Ami debated with herself if she should just hang the bag at the door and then to write Makoto a short message about it, so the brunette could grab it when it suited her. After all, if she was really sick, she would need all the rest that she could get, was Ami's strongest argument to just leave before any neighbours would report her for lurking in front of an apartment, but before she could proceed with her plan B, an all too familiar voice called out to her.
"Ami, what are you doing here? Have you been waiting long?" Makoto asked surprised.
"I..eh.. I just arrived." Ami lied and didn't even know why she lied.
"Oh, good. Want to come in?" Makoto asked her as she unlocked the door to her apartment.
"I should leave.." Ami replied hesitant.
"Nonsense, you came all the way here, please join me for dinner, or at least tea." Makoto waved off her response.
"I don't want to disturb your recovery." Ami replied as she looked the other up and down for signs of sickness. Makoto looked as fit as she did the last time Ami had seen her.
"Oh yea, that. I just had a bad case of food poisoning, but that has passed now. My mum was here and pampered me right back to health. " Makoto replied blushing and smiling sheepishly while she practically shoved Ami into her apartment.
"Oh.. so you won't need these." Ami replied, holding the bag tighter in her hands.
"Don't you want to offer me 'these' first before you make that decision?" Makoto asked in return, eyeing the bag with curiosity as she took off her shoes.
"Oh, it is just some medicine and a few vitamin drinks. I just wanted to be sure that you are staying hydrated." Ami explained.
"I am parched from driving my mum home, so I do need it. Thanks Ami." Makoto grinned and took the bag right out of Ami's hands.
"Well then, excuse my intrusion." Ami finally gave in as she took off her own shoes and followed her hostess into the apartment.
Ami had only been a few times here, but it was always a very warm and cosy place, filled with happy memories. Makoto put the back into the kitchen and took out the drinks and placed them in the fridge before putting on an apron.
"You surly haven't eaten yet, right? Have dinner with me, that is the least I can do for the hassle that I have caused you." Makoto insisted and Ami just nodded in defeat.
"Great." Makoto said cheerfully.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" Ami offered but Makoto immediately shook her head.
"Just make yourself comfortable in the living room, you know where everything is. My mum made so much food, I would not be able to finish that all on my own anyway, so don't you dare to hold back. My mum is an amazing cook." Makoto informed her and Ami sighed but took it upon herself to at least set up the dining table.
As she was setting it the table, she noticed a small box, that was gift wrapped, on it.
"Oh yea, that is for you." Makoto commented as she brought the various dishes to the table. "I know your birthday has long passed, but I got you that since before the time your birthday came, since I guessed that Tenoh senior would not reinstated you any time soon. He is a Tenoh, after all." Makoto chuckled ruefully. "But i still wanted to get you something since I did not have the chance to cook for you this year." Makoto continued to explain.
"Oh, thank you." Ami replied surprised. She herself had forgotten that she had had her birthday weeks ago. She remembered receiving a text from her mum that day to congratulate her but, like most days in the Tenoh tower, she had been too busy to pay it much mind.
"You can open if it you like." Makoto smiled encouragingly and Ami excused her rudeness before opening the small box. Inside was a simple, yet elegant necklace with a dark blue gemstone pendant.
"I wasn't so sure what to get you, since I usually only cook for all the birthdays that we celebrate together, so I got you something matching to the earrings that you always wear." Makoto shyly tried to explain her gift.
"It is very beautiful. I don't know how to thank you." Ami replied half speechless.
"You could thank me by helping me eat all this." Makoto pointed to the many dishes that she had brought to the table.
"Well, I will try my best to show you my sincere gratitude" Ami chuckled.
They had a comfortable dinner and Makoto wasn't exaggerating when she said that her mother was an excellent cook.
"Now I know where you got your cooking skills from." Ami sighed with satisfaction as she had another bite of the tender beef of the beef stew.
"I am nowhere near my mum's cooking skills." Makoto replied blushing deeply. "By the way, did you do something special on your birthday? Did at least someone unsanctioned pass by to celebrate with you your birthday? I hate to think that you were all alone on that day." Makoto continued after clearing her throat.
For a moment Ami wanted to reply that she was far from alone and that she had been so busy that she had forgotten all about it.
"My mum. She texted me." Ami answered truthfully.
"Oh, she didn't come by?" Makoto asked surprised.
"She is a very busy medical researcher so it is not that simple for her to leave the clinic. And as a paediatrician, she helps many kids to become healthy again to celebrate many birthdays to come. That takes precedence." Ami explained.
"Oh, I see." Makoto nodded thoughtfully and Ami noticed a new photo on the bookshelf to which Makoto's eyes had drifted.
"You got a new picture of your parents?" Ami asked as she noticed the picture of a tall and robust looking man, standing protectively behind a rather slender and small woman, with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.
"Yea, that was from dad's last business trip." Makoto explained.
"What was it that your father was doing again?" Ami asked while trying to recall if Makoto had ever told her before.
"My father is nothing important like your mum, he is just an accountant. When I was little we rarely travelled, but lately he had to take over some overseas accounts for his company, so they have been travelling a lot more." Makoto explained.
"Oh, that is nice that he is taking your mum along on his business trips." Ami commented envious.
"Dad always jokes that mum is his fragile heart, so he doesn't always take her with him, in fear that something might happen that could harm her and break his heart. So, when he is gone for longer periods of time, she stays home, so that she can welcome him when he gets back." Makoto recalled.
"So that is where you got that from. Your dad sounds like such a romantic." Ami chuckled.
"Oh, he is only romantic towards my mum." Makoto clarified.
-Seiya-
He was stumbling in the early morning hours in the cold Scandinavian air. He was still slightly dizzy and the cold cut deep into his skin and through his bones. He had barely escaped as things suddenly got tumultuous in the cabin and in all that chaos, he had made a run for it. Uncertain where he actually was, he just kept running straight ahead. He was bound to find something that would be familiar to him. If he could remember it. The wind was picking up and the storm that was brewing got closer. Seiya knew that he had to find shelter soon, or he was done for. The falling snow didn't contribute to his visibility but at least disguised his presence as well. He could feel his limbs slowly giving in. He was running out of energy. Was this it? Would this be his lonely cold grave? Seiya didn't want to think about it. So many times, in the past, he had thought about ending it all and yet when it felt that his end was near, his mind suddenly changed. If someone would have told the teen that was kneeling next to the lifeless body of his mother that he used to be that one day he would want to live, he would have maniacally laughed off that possibility, but now, now he wanted to go home. His home. His home with his friends, with his chosen brothers, with his family. Seiya stumbled and lay in the cold snow, unable to move another inch. 'Was this it?' he asked himself as he looked up into the dark sky. Suddenly someone in a snow suit leaned over him and he recognised the blonde mob of hair. "It this it?... Are you here to take me home Haruto? Haruka? ...Is it warm or cold where we are going? It's so cold and dark here..." he mumbled with the last vestiges of his consciousness.
