-Chibiusa-
She had just gotten back from Kindergarten, but her mother was still sleeping and her father was in a meeting with her grandfather where she was definitely not allowed in, so she roamed the house in search of something to do when she found Seiya standing alone outside the small guest house, smoking, next to the one she lived in.
"Seiya-ji, that is not healthy." Chibiusa called out of the window and Seiya took another drag before he put the cigarette out in a small black pouch that he tugged into his pants' pocket.
"Why are you alone Chibiusa? Where is your mum? Or your grandma?" Seiya asked as he came closer.
"Want to come in and have a tea party with me? Mum is still sleeping and I don't know where grandmother is." Chibiusa replied earnestly.
"Well, you got to open me the door then, I cannot climb through the window." Seiya pointed out and Chibiusa rushed to the backdoor to open it for him.
"How come no servant is with you?" Seiya asked her as he took off his shoes and placed them near the door after shutting it behind him.
"They told me they have to do stuff for my grandparents and told me to go play with mum, but mum is sleeping." Chibiusa replied and Seiya frowned as he followed her into the living room where her toys were stashed in a big box.
Chibiusa got her tea set out and started to prepare them tea, while Seiya helped her setting the table.
"Do you play with Hotaru a lot?" Chibiusa asked him as he put the tea cups onto the matching saucers.
"Sometimes." Seiya replied. "What is your favourite tea?" He casually continued as he put the toy cakes onto a tray.
"Bubble tea." Chibiusa replied with a wide grin. "Is Hotaru ok?" She asked as she brought the tea pot to the table.
"I think so, why do you ask?" Seiya held up his cup for Chibiusa to pour him tea.
"She has not been to school all week, so I wanted to ask you when she comes back." Chibiusa explained as she poured into his cup.
"I thought you were no allowed to play with her anymore." Seiya asked slyly.
"I do not play with her when we see each other, we are playing next to each other." Chibiusa clarified with as much dignity as she could muster.
"Uh, I see. And what is the tea that you made for me?" Seiya asked as he looked into his cup
"Pretend tea, obviously." Chibiusa replied slightly irritated.
"Smells great, let's bring your mum a cup." Seiya ignored her irritation and stood up with the cup. "You show me the way and I carry the cup." Seiya suggested and Chibiusa got up quickly.
"This way." Chibiusa walked ahead to the bedroom of her parents.
The room was dark because the curtains were closed and her mother was head deep buried in the blanket.
"Usagi-san, you cannot sleep all day and night." Seiya said cheerfully as he put the cup down on the night stand next to her mother while Chibiusa climbed onto the bed.
Seiya proceeded to open the curtains to let in daylight and even opened the window for a few moments to let in fresh, but very cold, air.
"I just very tired." Usagi mumbled from under the covers, but Seiya did not let that slide and pulled the covers after he had closed the window again.
"And WE even made you tea. It is very rude to ignore your guests, so please get up, have a shower and we will see you in the living room in a few minutes. Please bring the cup with you, we will hold the blanket hostage till then. Right, Chibiusa?" Seiya sought backup and got it right away from Chibiusa who grabbed the free end of the blanket and made her way out of the room.
"Yes. We will see you outside, so please hurry." Chibiusa reiterated and watched how her mother sat up slowly and nodded, defeated but with a small smile on her lips that she hadn't seen in a while.
-Yuzuki-
She whistled twice sharp for the next group of dogs to come and have their dinner when she noticed that Otto was sitting stoically at his food bowl without making the slightest move to touch the fresh fish that was put there for him.
Yuzuki worriedly hurried to the big dog and noticed that something was clenched between his teeth which looked like that the dog would not give up to her, considering that her open hand in front of him remained empty.
"You want to give it to Haruka, don't you? Well then big boy, lets put your food aside so no one takes it." Yuzuki suggested and Otto stood up immediately.
She put his bowl into his crate and walked out with him into the cold Hokkaido dusk.
Haruka was standing alone on the top of the highest peak on the property and was watching the last light of the sunset disappear absentmindedly as Yuzuki approached her.
"Haru-chan! Don't just leave us like that." Yuzuki called out to the blonde who slowly turned around to her and smiled sheepishly at Yuzuki the moment recognition seemed to dawn on her. "Do not run off like that into your own little world like that." Yuzuki continued to playfully chide the blonde when she reached Haruka's side.
"Huh? I don't know what you mean Yuzu-bachan." Haruka just continued cluelessly and Yuzuki couldn't help but chuckle.
"One day, you'll meet someone who does the exact same thing to you and you'll understand how lonely we feel when you do that, won't she, Otto?" Yuzuki asked the big silent dog besides her who only nodded and sat down firmly between them.
"Oh, Ba-chan, ignorance is bliss. You do not want to know what I know." Haruka sighed.
"Wanting or not, knowledge is a necessity to be prepared for life's little surprises. Anyway, I think Otto has something for you. He was out on his own almost all of the day and since he had come back he has not eaten anything yet. He wouldn't even release that thing for his favourite fish dinner." Yuzuki pointed out and Haruka leaned down to the dog and looked him deep into the eyes.
Otto immediately opened his mouth and released the cigar tube that was safely secured between his teeth.
Haruka looked at it with a deep frown but still rewarded Otto with a long session of rubs behind his ears, which the dog relished as if it was the most precious thing on earth.
"You are a good boy, Otto. Go and have dinner." Haruka instructed him and, as if he understood every single word she said, got up, nudged Yuzuki gently before and headed to the house.
Haruka, meanwhile, slowly opened the tube and pulled out a cigar, smelled it before cutting it and placing it between her lips. She removed the thin piece of wood and an almost translucent piece of washi paper right after before she took out her lighter. She lit the piece of wood with which she lit her cigar slowly and simultaneously lit the washi paper. For a fraction of a moment 準備 lit up brightly before the washi paper disappeared into wisps of ash that flew away in an instant.
Haruka put the remaining wood out in the snow and took a long drag from the cigar before puffing out a small cloud into the clear sky.
"Ready? Should you get ready? Are we supposed to get ready or is something ready?" Yuzuki asked the blonde.
"I have been born ready and we have always been ready. Seems people are finally ready to show their true intentions as well." Haruka replied cryptically as she looked up the clear sky. "We have always been even ready for the darkest of hours. But let's hope it won't get to it." Haruka mumbled between puffs of smoke.
"What will the darkest hour be?" Yuzuki continued to ask.
"The hour before dawn on the night of the new moon." Haruka replied.
"Stars are usually the brightest on those nights, too, aren't they?" Yuzuki commented.
"Maybe, but we don't rely on the stars for our future, do we? Destiny is in our own hands and I only trust stars as far as I can throw them." Haruka smirked.
"Spoken like a true Tenoh." Yuzuki chuckled as she looked up to the sky at the thin sliver of the waning moon that let the snow around them sparkle. It was not new moon yet, so worse was yet to come and her stomach suddenly felt unease, but just in that moment Hanzo joined them with a whole pack of dogs returning from their evening round.
He quickly picked her up from the snow and put her on the dog sled on which he was standing.
"Don't want you to catch a cold. Why don't you head back inside to the boys while I keep our Haruka-sama company?" Hanzo suggested.
"You just want to smoke in peace and don't want to untie the dogs from your sled. Don't you dare to think that I don't know what your true intentions are Hanzo Yamaguchi." Yuzuki chided him.
"Akira will be back with the other dogs any minute to do that." Hanzo tried to appease his wife.
"Haruka-chan, you better make sure that both of you come inside after that ONE cigar. The baths will be ready in time so both of you can get rid of that stink before you join us for dinner." Yuzuki sighed before she signalled for the dogs to head home.
Once home, she looked up the hill where both figures were standing tall, overlooking their surroundings with hawk like attention, only small clouds of smoke suggested that both were talking about things that only the wind would hear.
-Makoto-
She was hiding in the break room of the research laboratories and was enjoying the bento that her mum had brought to her apartment this morning, when she noticed a small USB drive between the different layers of the bento wrapped in a small note from her dad.
'Server 21311, PW:4151518, 1500' was all that was on the note.
Her stomach dropped. She had known for a while now that her father would be asking her to do something one day that would not entirely conform with agency policies considering the heart to heart talks that they had shared over the past couple of nights and while she had reservations in regards to her father's plans, she was also not one to deny him filial piety. On the other hand was her fealty to the agency and its values.
Makoto was struggling to think of how she was going to manage to get to the server level at the allocated time since a grand staff meeting had just been announced that morning for 2:30pm, when Kazumi joined her in the break room and Makoto quickly slipped the drive and the note into the compartment of her Bento where she had found it in.
"Missing little Ami-chan so much that you even hide here to have your lunch?" Kazumi teased her and Makoto couldn't help but blush which caused the other to laugh even more heartily.
"No offense Kino, but you are not good at this and I got to catch flight this afternoon to Morocco, so…if you could let me have a bite of your lunch for extra strength…" Kazumi reached for the Bento and expertly removed one of the smaller onigiris that were filled with her mum's special egg filling.
"Nothing like the Kino special." Kazumi grinned after she put back the Bento on the table and winked a goodbye before leaving.
Makoto's heart was beating in her throat as she reached for the Bento. Cold sweat broke out on her forehead as she could neither find the stick, nor the note.
-Riko-
"How did it go?" she asked Kumiko as the blonde entered the room and made her way to her backpack.
"Everything went fine. Yuuko is fully back in her element and holing up with all the toys the world can offer. Don't look so worried. Satomi is by her side to stop her from doing anything reckless." Kumiko sighed as she stretched her back before leaning down and starting to pack her things.
"Haruka is not back yet and your father is still here, it would be unwise to move now." Riko tried to stop the other from packing.
"Too many Tenohs in Tokyo are a bad omen." Kumiko chuckled with a hint of resentment.
"Then it is good that I ordered your father to come to Kyoto with me before we head to Hokkaido." Miyu joined them unexpectedly from the elevator.
"Mum, what are you doing here?" Riko got up from her chair and went to greet her mother with a tight hug.
"I couldn't drop just drop by Tokyo without saying hello to my favourite daughter." Miyu replied and Riko could feel how her mother smiled over her shoulder.
"Your ONLY daughter." Osamu chimed in as he joined them with a heavy bag over his shoulder which he handed over to Kumiko.
"That is a lot more than I expected." Kumiko noted impressed as she opened it.
"There is never enough of this when you need it, so better be prepared than to be sorry." Osamu breathed heavily. "Also, I am getting too old to actually use this so it will be put to better use here than it is in my cellar." Osamu shrugged.
"What about your security?" Kumiko asked him, eyes still focused on the contents of the bag.
"My home is in a peace zone and I got a few more neighbours lately. All seasoned veterans." Osamu replied confidently.
"No more work talk for tonight." Miyu had let go of Riko and moved onto hugging Kumiko, who obediently put the bag down to hug her mother. "How is my favourite child?" Miyu proceeded to ask Kumiko.
"Fine, I am fine, Miyu-ka." Kumiko replied as she returned the hug.
"Such a Tenoh answer." Miyu replied as she pinched Kumiko's cheek.
"Hey wait, if she is your favourite child? What does that make me?" Osamu asked as it dawned on him that he was the only one who had not been greeted yet.
"My favourite son, of course" Miyu laughed as she let go of Kumiko and patted Osamu's cheek. "And my ride home."
"I am your ONLY son." Osamu just retorted bemused.
Just in that moment Michiru joined them with Setsuna.
"Good evening Setsuna-chan, Michi-chan." Miyu greeted the latecomers.
"Good evening baa-chan. Takashi-san is waiting for you downstairs." Setsuna reported quickly.
"Let's go then, Osamu. We cannot let that old man wait without him complaining. And you all stay here and enjoy what Atsuko-san should be sending over any minute now. Looks like that I will have to join you with the Yamaguchi specials another time." Miyu sighed before she took Osamu by the hand and they walked to the elevator.
-Usagi-
Seiya had been coming by almost every day since he had arrived on the estate, sometimes with, more often without Hiroko. The less Mamoru was around, the more Seiya had appeared, playing with Chibiusa or dealing with the servants of the house for her, and every time he entered her room, he tore away the blanket under which she was hiding from the world. Her head knew it already but her heart was not ready to admit it that coming here had started to wear on her and her will to get up in the morning. She had agreed with herself that she would come here out of love for Mamoru without causing trouble or making demands, but he was less and less around to remind her of that resolve. The necklace around her neck chimed quietly as she sat up to hug her legs to savour the last bit if heat that had remained on her skin after Seiya had taken away her blanket once again and she looked tired into the mirror that was facing the bed and reflected her image. Her hair was messy, and despite getting more than eight hours of sleep every day, her eyes were puffed and tired. Her complexion was slightly grey and she looked like a small pile of misery that had taken human form. The only thing that sparkled was the necklace that shimmered in the little light that managed its way through the heavy clouds beyond the now opened curtains. The necklace her mother had given her the last time they had seen each other, the last time they had spoken. Usagi reached under her pillow, where she had kept her phone hidden, and discovered once again that there was still no reply to her countless calls and messages that she had left for her mother. She had gone numb with worry for her and this environment didn't help to ease her mind. It wasn't like her mum not to call back. It was not unheard of that her mother would be unresponsive for a few hours or even days when she worked on a particular difficult or interesting object when given the chance, but to go off grid this long was just beyond unusual for her. Usagi leaned her heavy head onto her knees and sighed heavily. As much as she hated to admit it to herself but she needed her mum in this moment. She needed that reassurance from her that everything was going to be fine, that it was normal to feel this stressed when you spent too much time with the in-laws and that all this was easily fixed with a hot cup of coco, a few freshly baked cookies and a long, warm and tight hug, but there was no reply or sign of life of her mum.
She hadn't noticed that the bedroom door had opened again but could feel that the mattress was shifting a bit before she felt Chibiusa's small arms wrap around her and squeezing her tight.
Usagi didn't dare to look up to avoid seeing her daughter's disappointment shining in her eyes coupled with the sorry reflection of herself, instead she just buried her face deeper into her arms.
"Let's play camping Seiya-ji." Chibiusa suggested and promptly Usagi could feel how her blanket was gently thrown over her, covering herself and her daughter, slowly warming her up again.
-Haruka-
She was sitting in the kitchen, having the delicious breakfast that Yuzuki had prepared for her and Hotaru while the guys were busy loading the car, when Hanzo joined them.
"Senior is coming tomorrow, even with guests." Hanzo announced as he put the phone on the table and Otto who was laying peacefully under the table sat up with his remaining ear up with attention.
"Ok. We are leaving today anyway, so that fits. I trust you to keep them save here while we are in Tokyo." Haruka replied after putting down her chopsticks.
"I will try my best to keep them here, but you know him." Hanzo just shrugged.
"That is all I would ever ask of you." Haruka chuckled. "Your best is better than anything I could do in that regard."
"I trust you to do the same." Hanzo smirked.
"Of course." Haruka nodded.
Akira joined them with the morning frost still clinging to his beanie.
"Everything is packed. Ready to go?" Akira asked them and Hotaru stuffed the last red bean filled Mochi into her mouth.
"Meady" the little girl grinned bashfully.
"You heard her. Let's get going." Haruka chuckled.
