A/N: And now here comes a really random post of danger in the water! ^^ Bu-u-u-t, since you know me so well and how I wri-i-ite, ^^ you know randomness becomes me. .

DISCLAIMER: Naoko Takeuchi, all is peaceful in the earth from youma thanks to your characters from Sailor Moon. ^^

Let's Sort This Out. . .

(All Peaceful-Like)

Michiru snarled, flipping her tail back in a powerful stroke.

The water wielder had relaxed against the aquarium's floor, sighing contentedly and wondering about their mission before something made her look up. A dozen piranha were staring hungrily at her, their jaws open and tiny red fangs showing.

She didn't have time to wonder where they'd come from- they dove in for an attack.

Even transformed into the fastest sea creature there was in the ocean's depths, Michiru knew she was going to have to be extra careful against a whole pack of flesh-eating sea creatures. Fish wasn't really her forte, being one to avoid eating sea-food if she could, but she knew that eating fish made a person's bloodstream flow faster.

Michiru had enough brains to assume that, if she became a fish, then technically, she was what she ate, and her blood needed all the thickness it could provide in the underwater currents, since piranha were like mini-sharks and went crazy when they smelled blood.

One tiny scratch from them and Michiru would have to worry about bleeding to death.

Almost dancing among the ocean's currents, Michiru wondered how she knew where to dive, where to flip in the water, finning her arms out to do a complete twirl to avoid the snapping jaws, then mentally shrugged.

She'd turned into a mermaid- how much better equipped could she be to face the dark waters of piranha alone?

Propelling herself off the tank's thick glass, Michiru ricochetted off and slammed into the multiple drooling scavengers ready to chomp her to bits and winced when most of them slammed into the opposite frame, shattering the glass and struggling to get free of the sharp jagged edges poking out from the impact.

"Michiru!"

She looked over when her partner called for her, and grinned triumphantly, giving the blond a happy thumbs-up. Looking behind her partner, she saw a little girl who cuddled another woman's leg, and Kiroto right behind them, loosely holding the nape of a humongous wolf.

There was something familiar about the green-haired woman that made Michiru pause, and that was a mistake. Hearing a feral hiss that could only come from an enraged fish, Michiru turned, but too late-

"MICHIRU!"

And Haruka was beside her in the water.

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Haruka dove into the aquarium, cursing her innate stupidity.

If she hadn't called to her partner, if she hadn't distracted her and just dispatched of the idiot little fish instantly, rather than gape at what was happening, if she'd only been less determined to show Michiru what could be theirs, a family-

"MICHIRU!"

Bubbles surrounded her, and Haruka instinctively flapped her wings, grimly smiling when she noticed the swarming fish slamming, one by one, into the broken glass and shuddering themselves into unconsciousness.

Paddling awkwardly over to Michiru, Haruka gestured upwards, then flapped to the surface. Breaking to air, Haruka inhaled deeply and pulled Michiru up to her, hurriedly lifting them both out of the water and flopping onto the carpeted ground below.

"Haruka-papa! A-Are you okay? Setsuna-mama, c'mon, hurry!"

Startled, Haruka drew in a choking breath when the small dark-haired girl's arms wrapped around her neck, knocking her backwards into Michiru's shoulder, yet she relished the feeling of breathlessness, of the arms warm and caring around her.

Grinning over tiredly at Setsuna, Haruka regarded her old friend with a short laugh. "Get Hime-chan off of me, Sets-chan, she's gonna choke me before I can be a good father." Affectionately pushing the small girl off her, Haruka turned to Michiru, flipping her bangs out of her eyes with a curt snip of movement.

What met her eyes made her gasp, almost.

"Michiru! Oh, no, Michiru, NO!"

Haruka about fainted when she saw her partner, leaning heavily on her side, slumped and eyes closed. A small trickle of blood was flowing out of her wrist, and at an alarming rate. Panic was consuming her, no, she couldn't lose someone else, not now. . .!

Rushing to her side, Haruka took Michiru's hand in hers and pulled her partner into her lap, trying to staunch the bleeding with her hands, only getting her feathered fingers dirty in the process. The aqua-haired woman's skin was now turning an unhealthy pale, and Haruka yelled at Setsuna to do something, anything. .!

She dimly heard Setsuna's soft voice fading away as she ran to get some tissues, and before she knew it, Hotaru was there, pushing her gently away and placing her own hands over the small cut, now wet and red in blood.

Michiru. . .

"Haruka-papa, will you really stay my papa if. . . Michiru-mama turns back and stays alive?"

Haruka shook her head, trying to clear herself of all panic. Of course she would, why wouldn't she, Michiru wouldn't mind, surely, and she was laying there, bleeding, unconscious, she was going to die and leave her when she'd finally found a home. . .!

"Hime-chan, of course I will. M-Michiru-mama too, and Setsuna, so-"

And Haruka watched, eyes wide, when Hotaru beckoned Kiroto over from behind her and pulled the thick dark pelt of the wolf down, to where it was licking Michiru's cut and somehow slowing down the blood flow.

A dark crown of hair curled over her partner's unconscious form, and Haruka stared when the purple-eyed girl bent and gently sealed the wound with a flick of her wrist, a gentle shimmer of purple light coming from her hands.

"H-Hime-chan?"

Haruka's eyes widened when she saw Hotaru turn towards her. The girl's eyes were glowing a dark purple, but that wasn't what was alarming her. It was her form, her way of holding herself. Something was off-

"Haruka-san, your 'Hime-chan' may have saved your partner's life, but in return, since she borrowed my powers under the current seal of being a young girl not ready to govern me, I demand you raise her such as Setsuna is currently doing!"

The racer stood, frozen, wondering who this new being was in front of her, crouching low and wary near her partner. Michiru had stopped bleeding, and the deathly-pale color had gone from her face.

Well, the being had saved Michiru, and what was requested of her was what she was going to do anyway, so Haruka nodded and stood, taking her partner before the glaring being and putting her wings over the place where her heart was.

"I swear I will take care and raise Hime-chan until she becomes of age, just like a parent. Michiru here will be my partner in raising her, so. . . don't worry."

A flicker of a smile ghosted over the young girl's features, and Haruka realized that Hotaru was back and the dark presence that was there a moment ago had gone. Reaching up to take the small girl's hand in hers, Haruka pulled her down and drew her close to Michiru, smiling as she placed Hotaru's hand in her partner's own.

"Say hello to your Michiru-mama, Hime-chan."

Haruka watched as her partner murmured confusedly, then grasped the hand that curled about hers. Glancing up at the hand that appeared on her shoulder, Haruka was confused when she heard Setsuna's dark,

"Riwaindo."

-and everything was suddenly black.

All around her, Haruka could hear the enraged cry of animals and humans alike. Death had come to take her, it seemed, but Haruka was only glad she wouldn't have to see anyone leave her again.

Michiru shuddered, getting that same breathless feeling again. It wasn't so bad this time, she mused, knowing she'd avoided certain death in the aquarium Haruka had plucked her out of.

Haruka!

Groaning, Michiru squeezed the small hand in hers and rolled to her side, looking up into unfamiliar purple eyes. A roar was suddenly in her ears, and she curled in on herself, panting as something pelted her form.

The feeling was twisting inside of her, burning, growing outside in pained heat, and Michiru couldn't help but scream when her body arched, tail splitting apart into something she vaguely remembered as legs.

"M-Michiru-mama! Setsuna-mama, what are you doing?"

"Shh, Hota-chan, I'm just turning them back to when they were humans. It'll be fine, Hota-chan, see, look, they're humans again."

Michiru tried to breathe again, panted as she felt the heat leave her body. She now recognized the feeling. Almost unfamiliar, it was something she'd thought she'd left behind forever, and for good reason.

Growing pains.

Oh, she hoped to God Haruka wasn't having half the trouble she was getting back to human form, because if she was. . .

Clenching her legs together, Michiru flopped to her belly and rolled to her knees. She still felt the small hand in hers, and she smiled weakly as she looked up and saw the worried eyes of a small girl.

"Th-Thank you for being here, when I changed back."

A soft nod, the barest hints of a smile, and Michiru smiled back, trying to right herself. It was unnerving having legs again, it was almost like trying to walk after years of swimming, which, technically, was it.

Glancing around, she saw the familiar face of Kiroto, worry clear on her face, and she weakly waved a hand. The aquarium was shattered, water was everywhere, and the remaining pirhanas flopped around weakly, trying to get back into the puddles.

"Haru-chan? Hey, c'mon, earth to Haru-chan!"

Michiru looked over and saw her partner struggling to rise, eyes still closed, almost as if in a nightmare. Squeezing the purple-eyed girl's hand, Michiru weakly tugged at it, beckoning her down.

"Pet her hair, tell her she's not alone, that you're with her, and she'll be fine. Please."

A hesitant intake of breath, and then the girl was gone, rushing over to the blond-haired woman and gently pressing her hand to the top of her head and brushing downwards, cooing soft noises.

Michiru almost fainted when she heard the soft voice. It was the same one in the pool, before they'd transformed, but that wasn't it.

"H-Haruka-papa, come on, w-we're here for you, you're not alone, not any more, you'll be all right, please, Haruka-papa, wake up, Michiru-mama said she's with you, always. . ."

"S-She's Haruka's kid-?"

"Michiru-chan, no, wait, don't get the wrong idea."

"Kiroto-chan?"

She turned her questioning gaze to the younger woman who balanced on her toes beside her, a hand fisted gently in the thick furry pelt of a rather large wolf. Kiroto smiled, her lips quirked up in a pained manner from watching them change back into their normal selves, and she placed a comforting hand to Michiru's shoulder to steady her.

"Hotaru-chan, the girl, well. . . Haru-chan kinda adopted her, before and after she saved your life."

Michiru stared.

Looking over the blonde's shoulder, she saw the pained way Hotaru tried to keep herself from jumping in concern at her 'Haruka-papa' whenever racer groaned, and when she felt it wise, turned to glance hurriedly her way.

Hotaru.

Their- Haruka and hers- daughter.

A longing as intense as time filled her to the brim of her being, and Michiru nodded, tears coming to her eyes as she watched the little girl struggle not to cry herself. Dark green hair glanced off her daughter's shoulder, and Michiru righted herself finally, stumbling to her feet and pointing over. Kiroto lightly grinned.

"Oh, she's Setsuna-mama, Haru-chan's other beloved from back in childhood."

Michiru stared.

Well, this was getting interesting, and the mission was hardly if at all not complete.

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A/N: Well, Michiru seems to be taking this fine. ^^ Now how will Kiroto fit into this ball, and what about this mission that keeps getting put off when that's what they're supposed to be doing in the first place? .