Haruka released a heavy breath as she glanced at her phone once again. The time displayed mocked her as another minute ticked by before her eyes began to search the room, finding it annoyingly empty. The start of the show was nearly upon them, and not a single visitor had arrived backstage. Long ago, she abandoned the idea of leaving to look for the blonde and raven haired girls, particularly with the suspicious glances her band members gave when she asked the security guard if there was someone stopped trying to get backstage. Seiya commented on her expecting a girlfriend, which led to an argument that, lucky for her, Taiki broke up. Her mind was all over what she may have learned from the young girl. The idea that she could have been ghosted scattered her hopes like a violent tornado, growing more potent as the minutes ticked away. Compounding her frustrations was Seiya, who took it upon herself to stay by the blonde's side. Something about support for her data dumping before the show, but Haruka had long lost the capacity to listen.

"Com'on Haruka, lift your head a little," Seiya sighed as she sat beside the folded-over blonde. The rarity of concern in her voice got her attention more than the light punch on the blonde's shoulder. "Even I have to admit, the likelihood of any woman turning you down is… impossible," Seiya continued, averting her eyes as the words were not easy for her. "It's more likely something happened on the way here than whoever it is ditching you!" Teal eyes shot wide at that, flashes of another agent of the Shadow Galactic cornering the young blonde filling her mind.

"Not like that!" Seiya waved as she considered the blonde's response. "Something more like the bus broke down, or the flu, or—"

"I think our dear Seiya is trying to say that there is a logical explanation. Unfortunately, our fearless leader is too worried about you to say it as eloquently. You'll have to trust that they'll let you know, and once they do, you'll feel silly for worrying so much!" Taiki smiled as she pushed Seiya away from the blonde. "Now, it is time for our warmups," she added as she took Seiya's shoulders and pointed her towards the door.

"I can walk, you know!" The raven haired singer complained as she failed her arms. Taiki smiled, ignoring the singer as she locked her gaze with the blonde.

"You can give her the ceremonial push onto the stage," purple eyes blinked as Haruka smiled.

"Nani? I am not a punching bag!" Seiya continued to protest, looking at the laughing form of Yaten for help. The silver haired idol only shrugged as she instead extended a hand to Haruka to help her off the bench. She shared a thankful smile with her bandmates before turning towards the singer, still held by Taiki.

"Let's go, Seiya," she hummed as she pushed him strong on the back. She nodded her silent thanks to the other two, feeling better about the singer annoying her for the last hour with a straightforward push.

"That was a little aggressive, Tenoh!" Seiya choked as she stumbled to get her legs underneath her. "You do know that the break a leg is an expression!" Aggressively adjusting her coat as she stood straight, regaining her composure before walking towards the stage. The other three followed a few steps behind.

Concealed behind a sheer curtain, they set with their tradition to prepare their instruments, concerned about any interference in their message. It also allowed the crowd's excitement to grow, the energy-producing in waves before they even began, amplifying their message.

As Haruka was about to walk on stage, something caught her eye. She paused her steps, looking down into the bright purple eyes of a small girl. A smile grew on her lips at seeing the young girl again—something reassuring about her genuine empathy.

"Hotaru, I almost didn't see you there," she bowed in greeting as a radiant smile grew on the younger girl.

"Gomen, on how late it is," Hotaru apologize. "I was so excited to meet you, even if it was only for a few moments! But you know what they say, it's never too late to be who you might have been. So we couldn't miss this chance to meet you!" The little girl cheered as Haruka raised a curious eyebrow at her words.

"Yes, we found out about the passes very last minute," a cold voice alerted Haruka to the other backstage guest. The bright teal hair peeking out from the shadows was the only hint she needed. She met the cold ocean blue eyes without reservation, wearing her best mask.

"I apologize security gave you any trouble. We don't typically use them," Haruka bowed.

"No need to apologize," Michiru cut off. "Minako seemed to forget that she had them until the concert was about to start. They are out front waiting for Usagi, but Hotaru wanted to see the band so badly that we made our way back here."

"I'm honored that we hold such a priority in your favor," Haruka smiled, letting the comment about Usagi slide past her. She inhaled deeply, reveling that the other guardians were looking for the dual-tail blonde, which was for the best if she was honest with herself. But the sea-colored tempest before her was the biggest hurdle for getting to the young girl. "I am grateful for your visit, and I hope you find your friend quickly. It would be a shame to miss the show."

"Hai, it would," Michiru agreed, her eyes flickering to the others on the stage. With a silent understanding, Haruka gave her fans an additional bow of gratitude before she turned to the stage. As she took her spot behind the keyboard, she realized Taiki was right. There was a reasonable explanation. Even though she didn't get the opportunity she had planned on, she was ready to deliver the message anyway.

"Usagi, I hope wherever you are, you hear this."

~*~*~

"Argh! Stupid Usagi! Where is she?" Rei threw her hands in frustration, turning on her heels to glare at Minako.

"Don't look at me. I said meeting at the venue was a bad idea!" Minako defended herself. "I was so looking forward to seeing Yaten before the show," she cried as she looked at the passes in hand.

"What did you say, Minako?" Michiru suddenly became interested in the conversation. The girls had been pacing outside the venue since they arrived with no sight of the odango blonde. Setsuna had backed out of attending the concert, crediting some research she had left to do and going to Michiru to accompany their adoptive daughter, lest she leaves the inners to care for the young girl. Watching the argument unfold, she was glad she attended Hotaru, although her growing headache was starting to resent it. "We got special backstage passes for this concert, you know to wish them good luck. But, unfortunately, we won't make it since Usagi baka got on the wrong bus!" Rei answered, her hands on her hips as she paced. As Michiru watched the miko walk, she sensed something else worried her about Usagi's absence. She sussed that the girls' inevitable screaming was why the Senshi of Time changed her mind, but now she was beginning to suspect that Setsuna knew it from the start.

"There's no way Usagi got on the wrong bus! Give her some credit!" Minako screeched.

"I'm surprised you made it here without chasing some boy and missing your stop!" Rei raised her voice back.

"Hey, hey! Don't worry. She'll be here. We'll still have a chance to go backstage," Makoto tried to reason.

"Why do you go backstage? I'll wait for her here," Michiru smiled.

"You don't want to see them again, Michiru-mama?" Hotaru looked up at the Senshi of the Seas with pleading eyes.

"Someone had to wait here for Usagi," the teal haired woman smiled, swallowing the bit of regret she had in her throat.

"Why don't you… you take Hotaru," Rei relented, handing tickets to Michiru. "I'm sure Usagi will be along, and I want to let her know exactly what I think of her tardiness."

"Ummm, alright," Michiru shrugged as Hotaru cheered. The violinist accepted the two tickets, tilting her head as she studied the girls. She had many questions, but she knew they would have to wait.

"Rei! What were you thinking? The whole point was to keep her away from them!" Minako scolded as they watched the two walk towards the backstage entrance.

"I know, I know," Rei released a sigh. She glanced at Makoto and Ami, who were watching curiously as to what they were planning. "But at this point, there is no way we'll be able to get Usagi backstage. So it's better to have Hotaru tell Haruka instead of no one showing up." Minako released a heavy breath as she realized the miko was right. She tilted her head to the side, wincing as she glanced at the other two girls waiting for an explanation.

"You three head inside and enjoy the concert. Michiru and Hotaru will be looking for us. You can fill them in on who we were trying to help. I will try to find Usagi," Rei smiled as the girls walked into the concert.

~*~*~

"Stupid! Stupid Usagi!" The odango girl cursed herself as she stood on the bus. She kept rolling her weight on the balls of her feet in pent-up energy as she could see the stadium lights appear on the horizon—her frustration much to the displeasure of those next to her on the bus.

As the vehicle stopped in front of the venue, Usagi jumped off the steps and onto the sidewalk. Her head swiveled around, trying to focus on where to get into the concert in the swell of music and cheers that echoed around her.

"Usagi!" A familiar voice raised above the others. She turned and ran towards the raven haired girl. She outstretched her arms as they reached Rei, enthralled to see a familiar face in the crowd.

"Where have you been, you stupid blonde!" The miko cursed as she pushed her hand into Usagi's face, the girl nearly falling backward before Rei caught her. "Com'on, the concert is almost over," she growled as she pulled the blonde along.

"Rei, where are we going?" Usagi whispered as they passed a black door in the opposite direction of the stadium.

"A surprised that will make up for missing almost the whole thing," Rei smiled as she pulled her along. They reached a room in short order, Usagi looking around curiously at the relatively blank walls. A few people gathered none that recognized which confused her more. That is until a screen caught her attention. The concert was streaming, the camera focusing on each of the idols on the stage.

"They sound different tonight," she murmured, the screen flashing to Seiya. "I feel as if he's looking right at me," she pondered. She closed her eyes, listening to the music, getting lost in the lyrics.

I love you, moonlight princess.

I'm waiting for you, moonlight princess.

Usagi felt the words calling to her, opening her eyes as she was met with intense teal eyes on the screen. Incoherent in her thoughts, she did not register the band members thanking the crowd before leaving the stage. Instead, she clasped her hands together, supporting them over the center of her chest. Why did the Four Lights make her feel so sad?

"This way," Rei smirked as she pulled Usagi's wrist, her hand falling from its clasp as she followed.

"Where are we going? Should we even be here?" The girl continued to question as they turned down a hallway.

"I understand if it's your first time in a place like this. You aren't the type to get invited to special events like this," Rei chuckled as they approached a door. "But it took me a long time to arrange this meeting, so you'll enjoy it!" Although there was an edge of the threatening 'or else' in Rei's tone, Usagi left with nothing more than nodding in agreement.

"He's waiting for you," she added as her head tilted towards the hidden door. "There's not much time, so just follow his lead, alright?" Her hands were on either side of Usagi's shoulders, barely waiting for the blonde to acknowledge her instructions before she spun her around. "Good Luck!" She called before she pushed Usagi hard on her shoulders, the girl stumbling through the open door.

"Rei?" She called out as she heard a click behind her, but silence greeted her.

"So, you're alone?" A deep voice finally greeted her, an amused twinge at the end, making it more a statement than a question. "Alone and scared," they clarified when she didn't answer.

"What do you want?" Finally, Usagi managed to get out.

"To know you better… I want to bare it all with you."

"Um, I don't think you understand. I mean. I love Mamo—"Usagi began to ramble.

"Ah yes, the boyfriend in America. Am I right?"

"How did you know that?"

"I told you I want to know you better, to be close to you," the voice clarified as it grew closer. Usagi backed towards the door, hoping Rei was on the other side and would finally regret selling her to this… this…

"Are you alright?" The voice asked, closer and much softer as a gentle hand stroke her shaking arm. Usagi opened her eyes. Intense teal eyes laced with concern observed her. As she glanced down at the hand that touched her, those same eyes followed, retreating the hand back. "You're shaking?" She heard as she felt a jacket move over her shoulders, her captor finally coming into enough of her view.

"Haruka?" She asked as the tall blonde led her to a chair. There was more light in the room as she sat. She could see the idol in her concert suit, minus the navy jacket now wrapped around her.

"I'm sorry if I startled you. I guess the light near the door is out. I have been staring into the spotlight for the last few hours. I guess my eyes haven't adjusted yet," the pianist chuckled in the form of an apology. "Rei had helped me get you back here before the room got crowded," Haruka explained, her hand running through her hair, meeting the young girl's eyes as her fingers drifted through her long ponytail.

"I had— I had to see you again to see if I get this same feeling," Haruka finally spilled out.

"I'm sorry, you misunderstand. I love Mamoru," Usagi began to ramble, her cheeks burning hot under the taller blonde's gaze.

"Are you sure you don't feel anything around me?" Haruka's smirk widened as she shifted from her spot, sifting on the edge of Usagi's chair.

"You seem nice, but that's all," Usagi waved her hand as Haruka leaned in closer, studying her reaction.

"Are you sure that is all?" She asked, her voice nearly a whisper as her nose was inching closer.

"Hai, you're a girl after all," Usagi flatly rejected, her eyes skimming up and down as if she didn't follow her question. Haruka sank back off the chair, turning her back from the younger girl. She bit her lip in frustration, unsure what she expected from the shorter blonde. It was evident in the young girl's confusion that she didn't share the glimmer of recognition that the pseudo starlight had, meaning one of two things. She wasn't the Moon Princess harboring Kakyuu, or her ability to conceal her identity was better than Haruka's own proficiently in self-defense. Maybe both?

The thought stung her like a slap in the face. Can she discount the connection she felt earlier? Could she have touched that sensation with anyone but her princess? She spared a glance over her shoulder at the girl, her concern growing on her face that she had said something wrong. Dammit.

The idol tilted her head back, her fingers moving to the bridge of her nose to try to stop the oncoming headache. She owed some explanation to Usagi, and for the first time, she wished that someone else was here to keep her from tripping over her words.

"Ah, Odango," an annoying voice pierced the fog in her mind. She cursed that she was not more specific with her plea as she heard Seiya's dreadfully heavy steps slink closer to them. "I see you're interested in a private performance. Wouldn't it be better to be serenaded by the lead singer than just some notes on a keyboard," the raven haired idol offered. Haruka could see the scene unfold in her mind without even seeing those dumb navy eyes challenge her.

A metallic taste intensified in her mouth as she tried to hold her tongue to maintain control of her temper and not say something she ought not to in front of Usagi.

"Baka, She didn't come to hear you sing," Haruka cursed while her back remained to them.

"Nani? don't tell me she came here to hear you sing?" Seiya released a heavy chuckle, a smirk growing on her lips as she read the telltale signs that she was getting under the pianist's skin. She knew Haruka had a temper, mainly when dealing with her. An outburst in front of Usagi would end any completion for the petite blonde.

"I missed the concert," Usagi quietly mumbled, her face red with her inability to arrive on time. "Rei brought me here to see the concert's end."

"So you did hear me sing live? How did it make you feel? Much better in person, isn't it?" Seiya continued, seemingly ignoring the taller blonde.

"It was nice," Usagi smiled. "But I couldn't help but wonder who you wrote the song for. It felt as if you were singing to her." The girl closed her eyes, the lyrics filling her mind once again, but her gaze didn't fall on words, but a field of burning flowers and a beautiful woman walking among the beautiful scenery.

"Hai," Seiya leaned closer, taking the hand of the temporally blinded girl. "We're singing for someone significant to us," she added as cornflower blue eyes blinked open. A deep pink began to swirl around the bright eyes as the younger girl flushed with their closeness.

"Enough!" The blonde's tenor tone raised a pitch as she spun back on her heels, her eyes instantly narrowing on the singer. "We were having a private conversation before you arrived," Haruka warned, her tone underscoring the threat to the raven haired woman if she did not remove herself on her own. "Was there something you needed, Seiya?"

"There is something I need," the two idols nearly jumped at the cold tone. "Usagi," Michiru snipped as she outstretched her arms toward the seated girl. Usagi glanced at the two idols before accepting the calloused hands of the violinist, the deceiving rough texture of her skin matching her glare.

"What kind of boys bring a young girl backstage for a private conversation," Michiru continued, practically shouting the latter half.

"I'm sure it's not like that," the soft voice of Hotaru cut through the tension. The short raven haired girl took the hands of both Usagi and Michiru, the small voice leveling over everyone as the only reasonable one. "They're not like that, they're nice."

"It's true," Usagi mumbled. "We were talking about Mamoru, and they were trying to cheer me up," Usagi offered, the somber tone and her downcast look recoiling in Michiru that perhaps she was a little too harsh. Her eyes flickered up at the taller blonde, shifting as if he considered comforting the young girl for a moment.

"She doesn't need you to cheer her up. She has her friends for that," Michiru challenged Haruka, halting the taller blonde's movement.

"Funny, I didn't see you when she got here and when she wanted to talk," Haruka folded her arms over her chest. Her teal eyes bore into the ocean blue ones. She was over the need to sneak around this overprotective woman. How could she be obsessed with keeping her from interacting when her heart calls out to someone?

"That's only because you snuck her to some dark room to chat, real chauvinistic." A smile grew on the ocean Senshi's lips as both the idols jerked at the accusation. Finally, she had found a nerve and decided to go for the kill.

"Instead of focusing on your own needs, if you want to help her or anyone, try focusing on what they need. While you're at it, start practicing with literally anyone else!" Michiru was furious. She had let her temper overcome her, ruminates of the dark waters that concealed the danger when a foolish sailor underestimates the ocean. Those idols had underestimated her. Hotaru was now stroking her adoptive mother's arm, never seeing the woman like this as Usagi looked on with empathy in her glassy eyes. The two younger girls glanced at the idols, silently apologizing as they led the teal haired woman away.

"Geez, Tenoh. You like to live dangerously," Seiya hummed as the group left them alone.

"Meaning?" Haruka flipped her hand to signal the singer to translate her thoughts.

"I understand finding little Odango cute, but to peruse the serious one. I admire your taste, but your charm cannot tame her."

"What are you getting on about?" Haruka blinked, her mind assuming she had misheard.

"I saw how you challenged Michiru," Seiya smirked, nudging the blonde for good measure. "They say arguing is the best sign of a healthy relationship."

"That's bullshit, and you know it. If it were true, you and I would be married by now," she narrowed her teal eyes at the singer, challenging her to deny their famous arguments. "And you should lay off Usagi," Haruka added as she shoved her hands in her pockets. "The girl is missing her boyfriend, she doesn't need someone trying to make her fall in love in his absence." Her features turned softer as she gazed at the door the young girl disappeared, though. "She really just needs to be able to talk about it," she sighed as she turned to leave.

"You may be wrong about the salty mermaid," Seiya hummed to herself. "But you may be onto something for what Odango needs." She smiled as she thought of seeing the young girl the next day at school.

~*~*~

Michiru released a heavy breath as she rested her pencils on the sketch pad. She had tried to relax once they returned home with some art therapy. However, she needed Hotaru to be calm to sleep, and the girl was also always sensitive to her mood. The best way to help them was to help herself.

Michiru allowed herself to get lost in her medium, the graphite moving along the paper with the dark contrasting the light. The same message she had been feeling, something was coming, something big. The light would call to the dark, beckon it almost. She knew better than to question the wheel of fate, her mirror, and her housemates, a constant reminder that she could only prepare for what was to come and not halt it. Her years spent with Setsuna taking turns with baby Hotaru taught her that. When the girl would not sleep, cemented that they cannot simply skip the bad to get to the good, derived more from the talks with the green haired time guardian, her stories of the countless catastrophic stories she had to watch play out with her hands tied with the taboos she could not break. Yet, even on those sleep nights, sharing the pain of her fellow Senshi sentenced to her duties alone, she cherished the moments.

"Tadaima!" She heard from the entry before Hotaru's curried footsteps moving to greet her other mother. She knew that she had some time as the young girl recounted the exciting events of the concert before the older woman came looking for her. She tilted her head back, collecting her thoughts as she heard the pencil slip to the floor. She smirked at the ironies of life that even her tools were rebelling from her tormented thoughts as she bent down to retrieve it. Then, looking back on her mindless doodling, she notices a swirling pattern within the random graphite strokes.

"if I didn't know any better, I would say I captured the wind," she chuckled to herself as she rested the pencil back on the pad. Then, as if her words challenged the god of fate himself, the curtains blew wide, a strong gust of wind spinning up from the chilly evening, swirling around the room before catapulting the pencil holder and scattering all the tools on the table.

"Michiru, are you alright?" Setsuna called as she reached the room, concerned with the sudden noise. The teal haired woman glanced at her, nodding in a manner that did nothing to convince the older woman as she walked into the room.

"Something is approaching," Michiru mumbled as she glanced at the sketch pad on her desk before finding the garnet eyes again. "And I think it's Sailor Uranus."