Author's notes: The usual disclaimers apply. I do not own Sailor Moon, Haruka, Michiru or any of the world they are from. I own the plot, original characters and my interpretation. Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

Please enjoy this next segment as I attempt to keep on the publishing schedule I wanted to offer.

The aqua-haired woman chuckled and nodded. "Yes, Usagi-chan. I'm coming." The chuckle turned into full laughter as the younger woman bounced and nearly fell off her geta. Michiru's eyes softened as she watched the young oblivious princess. The girl had welcomed her as a new friend, innocent as to the ulterior motives the older woman harbored. Oh, she enjoyed the friendship, and treasured every moment near the bubbly blonde, but Michiru wasn't going to lie to herself. Had it not been for her duty, she would not have sought her out. She never had before. Michiru was very glad she'd finally had reason to step outside herself as she followed the bouncing blonde toward the sweet stand the younger woman had found. Ami offered Michiru an apologetic glance which Michiru returned with an indulgent shake of her head. There was no reason to apologize. Not for Usagi's enthusiasm. Possibly for dragging her to a festival for lovers, but even that, none of them could have known. As far as Ami knew, Michiru had never been in love and Usagi knew even less.

Michiru had always enjoyed Tanabata Festival in years past, but this time it was little more than masochism. However, she and Haruka had agreed that with Mamoru stuck with some school project or other that someone responsible should be with the Princess. Not that she could do anything more than a normal human could. Memories had returned, but their transformations had not. Haruka had gotten frustrated with that faster than Michiru. She knew it was there, just beyond her reach, pulsing softly. They would come but Michiru had to admit to not being overly anxious about how long it might take. The longer she could fake a normal life the longer she would have before having to be truly close to Uranus.

"Umm, Michiru-san? Could you? I seem to have forgotten my money."

Michiru looked down, blinking briefly at the bright blue eyes reflecting back at her. They shouldn't be overly close, not yet, but Usagi had proved unwilling to keep any friend at arm's length. Ami had attempted to warn her about the boundless love Usagi showered on her friends, but no warning could prepare her for being welcomed into the inner circle Usagi called friends. Ami. The thought brought to the forefront that Ami and Makoto had been with them just a moment ago. She wanted to look for them, but the petite blonde in front of her was staring up at her with pleading eyes.

"Of course." She glanced at the daifuku mochi that Usagi had picked out. "Also, one of the red bean, please." Usagi giggled as Michiru paid.

"Thank you!"

Michiru shook her head. "Think nothing of it. Please." She glanced around, sweet in hand. "I wonder where Ami-chan and Makoto-chan ran off to," voicing the question almost absently.

"Oh, didn't you know? They were meeting people. Well, Mako-chan was, and I think he had a friend or brother or." Usagi shook her head, obviously confused, "Anyways, it's just us."

"Ahh, well, I hope I am good enough company." None of her worry came through in her voice, though Michiru was somewhat concerned as Ami hadn't mentioned anything about meeting someone. Not that she expected to hear about it, but it wasn't like the younger woman to be sneaky about asking Michiru favors. She glanced around, unable to find either the petite blue-haired woman or the taller brunette. If she had known they were going to be abandoned, she might have prepared better. As it was, she didn't quite feel as though she had forged enough of a bond with the young woman with her to pretend they were close friends.

"I think so."

Michiru smiled warmly before the younger woman set off again, looking for a place to eat her sweet in peace. Or at least the second mochi, the first having already been devoured somewhere between breaths. The two ate their sweets quietly. Michiru ate far slower than Usagi who sat and watched the world around her. Occasionally, the aqua-haired woman would notice a frown, but more frequently there was simply innocence and joy in them. The frowns became more frequent as the moments passed and finally, Michiru set her empty napkin in her lap deciding that the younger woman would only spiral further into whatever depression was trying to claim her if something wasn't done to disrupt the cycle.

"Usagi-chan? What's wrong?"

"Oh! Nothing!" she shook her head. "Nothing, just..." she blushed and curled into herself, "I see all these people with beautiful yukata and I'm jealous."

Michiru blinked. Usagi was in a bright pink yukata with white bunnies dancing all over it. Her obi was a bright yellow. The whole ensemble seemed perfectly fine to her. Certainly brighter than Michiru's own black with blue waves and green obi. Though Michiru did have a white mesh half obi tied diagonally across hers.

"I don't understand. Yours is gorgeous, Usagi-chan."

"It's also held together with pins." The response was so quiet, Michiru wasn't entirely sure she heard it.

When she did, she laughed, "Oh, Usagi-chan. No one knows."

"But I know."

Michiru shifted and nearly knelt down before the other girl. "Usagi-chan. If you want, I'll help you."

Blue eyes filled with tears looked up, "Really?"

The hope in her voice was too much to refuse. Michiru nodded and led the now bouncing blonde to a shop owned by one of her students' parents. A few well-placed words later and they were in the back room where Michiru made quick work of the yukata Usagi was wearing. Tapping her lip thoughtfully, she nodded and ducked out. As her phone vibrated inside her obi, she was glad she did.

You have a tail.

Who?

P. I'll distract.

Thanks. Be careful.

The meddling still smarted and neither of them had quite forgiven the older woman for the insult. Michiru, herself, had seen Setsuna twice since the party. Both times had been for Hotaru's lessons. There was no question for either of them that Setsuna had information they needed. There was also no question that the other woman would hold onto it until she felt it was necessary to impart. Which meant they weren't equals in her eyes either. While they knew at some point they'd end up working side by side with her, that day wasn't just yet and the longer it took, the better. Especially as it would require discussions no one wanted to have just yet. Castles in the sky, solitude, and Saturn were just some of the topics that raced through Michiru's mind when she thought of the three of them together.

Forcing the thoughts away, Michiru returned to the back with a rainbow mesh sash and a kanzashi with golden stars on it. Usagi's eyes went wide but her chattering ceased as Michiru finished. "There."

Usagi clapped her hands in front of her as Michiru held out a mirror to look into. "I'm gorgeous!"

Michiru laughed, "You were always gorgeous. You just needed the confidence to show it." It was better to focus on Usagi than to think about Haruka distracting Setsuna from her obvious desire to interfere, not easier, just better. She hated treated the other woman as an enemy, but the one thing she and Haruka had agreed on was that in the end, they could only rely on each other. Not even the other soldier from the outer solar system could be treated as an equal. Not yet. Not until they had perfected their illusion. Before, in their past lives, Pluto had never been with them to see how they interacted. Which meant that while the oath was inescapable, they were the only two present who knew about their indiscretion. The only exceptions were possibly Artemis and Pluto. Therefore, around them, the act had to be flawless.

"Now, let's go enjoy the festival, yes?"

The pair headed off to listen to the taiko presentation that echoed through the night.

##

Several stalls down from the kanzashi shop Michiru and Usagi had ducked into, a blond in hakama and haori leaned casually against a pole. She watched as a tall woman with green-black hair wearing a dark yukata was trying to look inconspicuous. There wasn't an easy way to have Michiru ditch the woman which left one of them being in the hot seat. Haruka refused to let the older woman ruin the bond she and Michiru were attempting to forge with the young Princess. She moved forward, stepping to a nearby stall and looking at the fans for sale.

"Don't you have better things to do than to follow me all night?"

Haruka muttered under her breath but offered a charming smile. "I could go galavanting through the festival kissing every girl I ran across, but I thought seeing who you were following would be much more fun." If she was going to be caught, she might as well go down fighting.

Setsuna straightened, narrowing her eyes. "Who said I was following anyone?"

Haruka didn't bother to open her mouth. The only response she dignified the denial with was the arch of a blonde eyebrow. For long moments, they stood there, neither of them speaking. The soldier inside of her watched the tan woman's movements. Subtle shifting of muscles that shouldn't be noticed. She was uncomfortable, at a loss, and at the same time. Triumphant? She frowned and met garnet eyes.

"So, which one is it?"

"I'll tell you when you tell me when you knew who you once were."

"Getting a bit brazen there, aren't we?"

"Does she know?"

Blonde hair lifted in the breeze as she shook her head. "Yeah, that doesn't work on me. Oh, thought you might like to know, Minako-chan and I are no longer an item, so you can remove the pole up your-"

"Uranus!" Setsuna hissed, her eyes going wide briefly before she realized no one heard the outburst. All attention was on the taiko performers and her loss of composure had been covered by the pounding drums.

Haruka, however, smirked more and leaned in. "And there we are." Green eyes shone dangerously in the glittering light. "You deserved that, by the way."

"Tenoh-san." Haruka nearly laughed at the maternal disapproval that infiltrated the growl.

"Yes, well, now that we have that established, why don't you go back to pretending you're enjoying the festival and I'll do the same, yeah? And in the mean time," she turned, tossing a look over her shoulder. "If you want to be part of a team, you have to ditch the machinations and cryptic messages. It really doesn't encourage trust, Setsuna-san."

Haruka began walking away, her heart pounding in time with the drum performance. It was a risk. She didn't want the older soldier as an enemy, but she didn't want to be treated like a child either. She slowed down somewhat, hearing the other woman catching up to her. The point hadn't been to leave a larger rift between the two soldiers, just to put the other woman on notice that Uranus and Neptune were working together.

"It wasn't that I didn't want to trust you," the woman offered. Haruka shrugged in response. "We were a team once. The two of you don't have to do this on your own."

As much as she wanted the acknowledgment, the words grated on the blonde's ears. They had always been solitary, doomed to it, sworn to it. "We were a team, but now what are we? She's here and we have memories, knowledge, but no power with which to uphold our oaths." Turning slowly, green eyes burned into garnet. "So tell me, what is it for? Why? Why give me all of this knowledge, drive, but no reason to have it?"

Setsuna looked down, breaking the contact. "I don't know. I know her entire court is here. I know we were not the only ones reborn."

Careless to how it might appear, Haruka grabbed Setsuna's arm, ignoring the questioning glance at her hand. "What do you mean we weren't the only ones?" Pluto didn't repeat nonsense. Serenity's court was one thought. Then there was other, included in a statement spoken in a distinctly different tone. Who was the other?

Setsuna nodded slightly, her eyes moving to the crowd. Haruka followed her eyes, squinting then frowning and shaking her head. Ami and Makoto were with a couple of men. That didn't mean anything. They were girls. That was expected.

"Endymion's guard."

The words dug into her heart. Endymion's guard. The queen hadn't just sent the princess and her court ahead. She'd sent everyone. Both hands at her side now, she clenched her fists. "You're sure?" Teal eyes narrowed, evaluating the two men who were laughing with the younger girls. While she and Michiru had agreed to treat all the girls as potential senshi, only Minako had effectively been confirmed. However, now they likely had two more confirmed.

There were disadvantages to being isolated and monitoring only deep space. The first among those was not recognizing a potential threat when the princess's personal guard was on indefinite hiatus. Her thoughts shifted from casual to analytic. She watched how the two men held themselves. Military. Both had long hair, but tied neatly behind them in a queue. The shorter one had delicate features. The taller seemed to have a confidence born of certainty. Then there were the other details she noticed, the caress of an arm, the shifting of a body to be closer, to be comfortable. Whether they or the generals were awake, Haruka was certain the shine inside each of them would attract the others. It had with she and Minako.

"I remember watching them from the Time Gate."

"Do you think they're after the princess?"

"I'm not sure. I don't know what happened in the first place and the people on our side who have those answers aren't in a position to offer them."

Haruka nodded. "Then we find out." She made a mental note to ask the older woman about who would have those answers, though she figured she already knew. One of them was living in her apartment.

"We?"

She only took a moment before nodding. "If we're a team, we're a team." She smirked at Setsuna, "Michiru-san may take more convincing." She couldn't prevent feeling the insult to her pride when the other woman eased at the honorific. So she suspected at the least. Not that there was any reason to worry. Her mood soured, Haruka took the opportunity to glare at the two girls being treated to sweets. "So, Usagi-chan, Minako-chan, Ami-chan and Makoto-chan," she nodded her head toward the two girls, "Who's the last?"

"Hino Rei. The miko at Hikawa Jinja."

Haruka nodded in response, shifting her stance to present a more companionable appearance as well as to make possible more private conversation. "Thank you. I'll tell Michiru-san." Despite being in new bodies with new memories, it felt right to exchange information with Setsuna. An irony she didn't miss given that just moments before, she'd been plotting to prevent the woman from knowing any of their movements. Still, apologies went a long way, especially among old friends. The connection eased some of the pain in her soul and despite the petulant urge to push her away and revel in the pain, she refused to turn down the offer of a second companion in her loneliness. "Minako-chan found the Holy Sword and Artemis found her." She heard Setsuna inhale sharply. "I'm not sure if he's figured out anything, but then again, I don't know how much the queen's advisors knew about us."

"I don't believe they know much at all. It wasn't as if we were present at court regularly."

Haruka snorted. No, the Guardian Senshi had been the princess's companions. The three of them had been tasked with a different duty. She pursed her lips.

"Which means they may know of our existence but not necessarily our identities."

"Right, though they may know about the Talismans."

Haruka crossed her arms, tensing. "If they do, it's a safe bet my identity has been compromised."

"Are you sure?"

She chuckled dryly. "I nearly cut him in two with my sword." Her voice revealed an odd mixture of concern and relief.

"You have it then?" Haruka nodded silently, watching the two men with Ami and Makoto again. "And Michiru-san's mirror?" She nodded again. "So all we're missing..."

"Is our powers." Haruka grumbled. "If you don't mind me, I need to keep an eye on things. You have my cell." She took off through the crowd, making sure she was far enough back to not be noticed by the men, or if she was, to feign innocence.