-Usagi-

Once again, she had gotten lost on the big Chiba estate and was struggling to find her way back amidst the many pathways, walkways, meeting rooms and other various living quarters of the extended family as well servants. If she just hadn't followed that stray cat that had appeared on the estate, she wouldn't have gotten lost, but no, she had to let her curiosity get the better of her and had to investigate how the cat had managed to get onto the estate. Looking down on her watch, it would not be for a few more hours before Chibiusa would return from Kindergarten and enough time for her to find a servant to ask for her way back. As she continued to walk, she thought to herself that it was like it was jinxed. When she needed a house servant to help her, none could be found, but when she was merely idling around the property, she could not walk five steps without being asked if she needed anything or what her business being there was. These moments were when she felt most lost with her life. Everyone else seemed to have their life together and here she was, lost amongst miniature gardens and pristinely kept pebble paths. Becoming a housewife had always been a dream of hers and her mother had made it always look so easy alongside of running her small jewelry store, but when it was Usagi's turn, it all felt a lot harder. Being there for Chibiusa and to raise her to a well-rounded human being scared her more than she wanted to admit it to herself, since she didn't want to make mistakes and yet she felt like she was still half a child herself. Being there for Mamoru as a supportive wife had become more and more difficult as well, with his erratic working hours that were practically extended with the various family meetings he had to attend to almost daily, they saw each other even less than when he was on excursions with Professor Abe. They barely exchanged words with one another other than 'Good morning', 'Good night' and 'Take care', let alone spending quality time with one another. Usagi didn't feel like she was particularly free, or even that her days were at all unoccupied, she just felt like she did have a job without a clear-cut job description, nor goals, nor real means to achieve any implied goals. Lately she had been wondering if she had made a mistake by starting a family so young before exploring her options outside of having a family and making a home for the people she loved, but she also knew that that thought would be blown away when Chibiusa would be home to keep her busy. Finally, she found the wall to the outer perimeter, and she knew that if she kept walking alongside of it, she would eventually find the main entry path from where she knew her way back. As she slid along the white wall as inconspicuous as possible, she could hear two men, that she had never heard before, talking to an older woman. For some reason, the older woman's voice sounded familiar, but she could not recall if she ever befriended someone with such a heavy French accent.

"Everything is in place, mother." The deep voice of the older man stated even, with a hint of excitement. "One word and your desire will be turned reality.

"Indeed." The woman replied with glee. "Aren't you happy, Shinji-kun?" the woman continued, sounding less than question but more of an accusation.

"No, grandmother, of course I am happy for you." The younger man replied with a hint of hesitation lacing his tone.

"Happy for me? Who do you think I have been doing this for? Me? US! Remember that! After my reign your father and then you will follow my footsteps and no one will dare to stand in our way!" The woman announced in a harder tone, making Usagi wince and causing for her to misstep onto the pebbles next to the path. "What was that?" The woman asked with a slight sense of alarm and Usagi didn't know what to do when the sliding door suddenly opened and a young man's face, maybe around Mamoru's age, poked out and looked at her grimly.

"Nothing, grandmother. There is nothing here." He said evenly, loud enough for this grandmother to hear, but his eyes clearly indicating to Usagi to get out of here immediately before he closed the sliding door again.

"Must be that darn stray that had been walking in and out of here as if it is its home." The older man scoffed. "First thing I will order, when I get the chance to do so, are dogs, even more than the Tenoh estate holds, to keep out these cursed creatures."

"Have your allergies been acting up again, son?" The woman spoke, almost with a hint of concern if her voice was not so cold that it seemed possible that it could freeze the air it travelled in.

"Nothing worth mentioning." The old man replied stern, were the last words that Usagi caught before she was out of ear shot.


-Kakyuu-

She was struggling though the blacked-out maze in which Haruka had disappeared in, to train on her own. The blonde had had a very foul mood when she had returned from a business lunch with Taiki and Kakyuu could only expect the worst. She had her fully packed medical pack on her for the worst-case scenario as well as a dog accompanied her just in case, she needed to transport Haruka back to the clinic. She kept an eye on the vitals that the monitor reported that Haruka had to wear to even enter any high strain training grounds and they seemed just too calm to be Haruka's. As she finally made it around the last corner, she found Haruka in hand to hand combat with one of the humanoids, sweating, but according to the heart monitor, not particularly straining her system. The motions were fluid and Haruka was keeping up fine with the speed the humanoid was offering up.

"I am fine." Haruka grunted between punches and kicks. "Please stand still for a moment, the next speed up session is starting any moment and I need to be able to hear the moves." The blonde instructed Kakyuu and she immediately stood still as she watched Haruka work out speed up so fast that even her night vision goggles had issues to show her every move. The sound of padded hands and shins hitting metal filled the air like a summer typhoon hitting city. As fast as it came, it was over and Haruka wiped off the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand before she reached for the panel behind her that allowed her to turn the lights back on.

Kakyuu took off the night vision goggles and sat down on the robot dog next to her with relief.

"Can you please not worry me by disappearing like that?" Kakyuu sighed.

"You knew where I was the whole time, you even knew how I am doing." Haruka pointed out the monitor strapped to her chest and wrist as she took off the fighting gloves.

"Knowing you though, that doesn't have to mean much at times." Kakyuu sat down on the dog that had gone into resting mode.

Haruka looked at her pensively with a look in her eyes that spoke volumes but that Kakyuu could not read to its fullest extent. Haruka was physically here but her eyes were so distant, Kakyuu wondered if they were even in the same room.

"The last thing I want to do is to worry you." Haruka said steadily as she stepped up to Kakyuu, knelt down in front of her, looked into her eyes and put her firm right hand onto Kakyuu's shoulder before she spoke calmly "No matter what happens, no matter how strong the storm may rage, you will always be safe. I promise." Haruka's voice was as steady as every step she had taken to stand in front of her, as firm as Kakyuu had remembered it ever being and as resolute as only Haruka could be.

A calm flooded Kakyuu's system that she had missed feeling in a long time.

"Ok" Kakyuu nodded.


-Michiru-

The three women had exchanged only a few cryptic words before her aunt left with the newcomer after she instructed Michiru to stay put.

Kumiko returned to her dinner, deep in thought, and Michiru could feel that it would probably be of no use to disturb the woman who listlessly finished her meal, seemingly not even noticing that it had gone cold. Michiru used this moment of silence to have a closer look around her, to take in every detail that was presented in front of her.

The space was similar designed to Haruka's apartment, spacious and with an unobstructed view of its surroundings, the only difference was that it was emptier than the blonde's quarters and that it did not hold that intangible warmth that Michiru had learned that she had been missing all her life until she got in contact with the wild tomboy.

The sky was slowly turning from a dark blue to a hue of pink as it started to dawn over Tokyo.

Kumiko had finished her meal and was putting the empty bowl back to the box from which it was taken out of earlier. She also took out two quarterstaffs of which she threw one to Michiru.

Michiru caught it easily mid-air and looked at Kumiko quizzically.

"You might have a lot of questions, but your aunt is not here to spoon feed you the answers. You need to show me if you are worthy of the answers that you require if you want them from me." Kumiko said easily before she launched into an attack that Michiru barely blocked in time.

Michiru got her footing back quickly and started to counter every blow that Kumiko handed out. Kumiko attacked her with an ease that could be of someone barely half her age and Michiru didn't dare to think about the hours of combat that it took for her former teacher to master these techniques and moves.

"I didn't ask to be spoon fed." Michiru defended herself.

"As you can see, I am holding no spoon." Kumiko only chuckled before she launched a kick towards Michiru that Michiru evaded with a jump in the very last moment.

"I should have known. Once a Tenoh, always a Tenoh." Michiru smirked in return as she landed as graceful as possible on the bare ground. "Who was that person Riko-ba went with?" Michiru asked and got immediately attacked again with the quarterstaff that she blocked with more force and aptitude this time around.

"A friend." Was Kumiko's acknowledging answer of her effort to defend herself.

"What is her name?" Michiru continued to ask and a series of blows and kicks followed that she deflected with all she had.

"Yuuko." Kumiko eventually replied after Michiru successfully blocked another of her attacks.

"Why did she come here?" Michiru continued to ask but Kumiko flashed an all too familiar brazen grin before she simply disappeared behind a pole.

Michiru rushed perplexed after her former teacher, but the blonde woman had simply disappeared into thin air.

"Defence alone won't get you what you want." Kumiko's voice echoed through the empty space.

"Where are you?" Michiru called out while she looked behind every single pillar, but she received no answer.

Michiru was on her way to the elevators when she caught a glimpse of movement in the corner of her eyes and ducked.

The quarterstaff that Kumiko had been handling flew pass her face and stuck to the wall behind her, a note dangling off it.

'Find me, and you will know' were the only words written on it.


-Seiya-

He was finally close to Japanese soil again and he inhaled deeply before he overlooked the empty and abandoned harbour he had entered. It had been an arduous journey to stay undetected, but it all would be worth it at the end, he thought to himself as he steered the small boat closer to a hiding spot under the pier. The night was pitch black, no moon was lighting the path, not even the stars were showing the way. The sea was unusually calm for this time of the year but he was not one to complain about that fortune. He looked over his shoulder to the closed cabin behind him where his precious cargo was waiting to be taken off the boat and to its destination, he could almost taste the impatience that filled the air. His stomach suddenly turned and his knees got weak. He knew he couldn't afford any signs of weakness now. He had to be strong, resolute and unwavering in the pursuit of his goals. The matter at hand was time sensitive, and as much as he wanted to just climb into the bed in the cabin at the back, he knew that that was not an option. Time was running out. This was his once in a lifetime chance to prove his worth, and by all that was holy to him, he swore he would not fail at protecting what was most precious to him.


A/N: Thank you for all the kind reviews. I am definitely still writing, just with precious little time, only small chapters are manageable at this stage, but hopefully more frequently in the coming days.