Chapter 12

It was still early in the evening, and Seiya sat alone on his couch, continuing to wrestle with himself. The decision of whether to inform Usagi about the whereabouts of her siblings weighed heavily on him. For days, this thought had tormented him, yet he couldn't come to a satisfactory resolution.

Initially, he had intended to distance himself from Usagi and avoid contact with her as much as possible. But deep down, he knew he couldn't keep this information to himself. It would be wrong to withhold this knowledge, especially concerning her siblings, the only family she had left. They were the main reason she had agreed to the wedding despite her reservations.

The doorbell rang, and Seiya stood up to press the intercom.

Shortly after, Haruka entered the apartment and observed her best friend skeptically. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and waited for a moment before breaking the silence.

"So, my patience is running out. Now you'll tell me exactly what's going on with you, and I mean the truth. If I can sense that something's not right, just wait until Yaten tears you apart."

Seiya snorted quietly. He hadn't actually planned to talk to others about it. The situation seemed clear to him: he had to get Usagi, or rather Serena, out of his mind. The sooner, the better, but that was easier said than done.

"Seiya, I'm serious," Haruka continued. "Either you talk to me now, or I call Yaten... I'm sure he'll be up here in a few minutes."

Seiya saw that Haruka wasn't in the mood for jokes. He finally nodded and took Haruka's phone from her hand. Sighing, he sank back onto the couch, realizing that his best friend wouldn't let him escape this situation.

"But you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone, especially not Taiki or Yaten," Seiya whispered, looking intently at Haruka.

Haruka nodded, feeling the tension in the air increase. Seiya sighed again as he contemplated where to begin.

"Do you remember the woman I met last week?" he began.

Haruka nodded. "Yes, but you said it was over with her, didn't you?"

Seiya hesitated for a moment and ran his hand through his hair. "Oh, Ruka, if only it were that simple... Where do I start?"

Haruka tried to lighten the mood by grinning slightly. "At the beginning would be good," she suggested, hoping to coax a smile out of Seiya.

However, she received a warning look from Seiya that silenced her.

"The woman I met was homeless, but she fascinated me from the first moment. I asked her if she could cook, and then I took her with me since our cook was unavailable that day."

Haruka recalled that day. "Oh, I remember. That must have been the day with the stew. It was really good; she can definitely cook."

Seiya smiled at the memory of Usagi in his kitchen. "Yes, that's the one. The next day, I visited her again and invited her for coffee. Originally, I wanted to offer her a job at the harbor. But then I got Yaten's call about the search, and I had to leave. The Chibas would have gone crazy if their delivery hadn't arrived. Anyway, since then, her spot on the street has been empty. I really tried to find her, but there was no trace of her."

Haruka shook her head. "Oh, Seiya, that girl really has captivated you... But what now? Did you find her?"

Seiya furrowed his brow and nodded. "Yes, the evening at the Tsukino villa."

Haruka tried to understand the situation but couldn't quite grasp why Seiya continued to appear so tense. "So why didn't you talk to her? I mean, it's good that she's working for Kenji now and not living on the streets." Seiya paused and looked out the window. "I did talk to her, but only briefly. Very briefly." Haruka replayed the evening in her mind. "No, I was with you the whole time. You didn't talk to any woman. Only to Kenji, and after Taiki..."

Then she realized what Seiya was getting at, and her eyes widened in disbelief. "Holy shit! Serena? So that's why you wanted to leave so abruptly."

Seiya nodded briefly, maintaining his tenseness. Haruka's curiosity was now more than piqued.

"And what are you planning to do now? I mean, she's your brother's fiancée... Do you even know if she has any feelings for you?"

Seiya sighed and responded matter-of-factly, "No idea. If I knew that, I would be one step ahead already. At least she didn't slap me when I kissed her. That seems like a good sign."

Haruka couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What? Hold on, when did you kiss her?" She grabbed his shoulder and turned him to face her.

Seiya cleared his throat and continued, "The morning after the party, I was at Kenji's for some signatures and had to talk to her... So I went upstairs to her room."

Haruka was visibly surprised. "Old Seiya! Do you realize the mess you've just maneuvered yourself into? You're lucky Kenji didn't catch you!"

Seiya sighed again. "I know, and actually, I'm aware of that, but that's not even everything. I know I should distance myself from her. Feelings come and go; maybe I'll be lucky, and they'll disappear as quickly as they came, but... Kenji told her that her siblings are safe, somewhere here in Japan. I had Yaten look into it because I wanted to give her more detailed information to make her happy."

Haruka interrupted him with a skeptical look. "Let me guess, the old coot has stashed the siblings somewhere else?"

Seiya nodded. "Yes, according to Yaten's source, somewhere in China."

"And now you want to tell her?"

Seiya was desperate. "I don't know. I just don't know, Ruka. I should stay out of it. After all, it's none of my business. She'll soon be my sister-in-law, my brother's wife. That should be his problem, not mine. But I just can't get over her, and it's been that way since the first second."

Haruka sighed and reached for a cold beer in the fridge. She handed one to Seiya while contemplating. "So what do we do now?" Seiya raised an eyebrow. "We?" "Of course, we. Do you think I'll leave you alone in this mess? Your luck is that Yaten is still focused on his Mina theory; otherwise, he would have been here by now. So... Do you want to inform Serena about the whereabouts of her siblings?"

Seiya corrected her, "Usagi. Her real name is Usagi." Then he took a big sip of beer and added, "Is there anything else left for me? If I don't tell her... that would just be wrong. But I can't just sneak back into her room. If Kenji catches me, he'll kill me. I still remember how it ended back then when he caught Yaten in Mina's room. And back then, he was just there to talk as friends... I don't think Kenji has reconsidered his rules by now."

Haruka burst into hearty laughter. "Oh yes, I remember that too. He looked terrible, and he had that black eye for weeks." She thought for a moment. "But wait, Kenji's rule only states that no men are allowed in the rooms of young women, right?"

Seiya nodded. "Yes, that's why I can't go to her. The rest of the house is bugged everywhere."

Haruka thought for a moment and came up with an idea. "You can't, but I can. Write to her, and I'll discreetly deliver the letter so that no one else finds out."

Seiya sighed as he considered the possibility. "I'll think about it."

Haruka chuckled and handed Seiya a piece of paper and a pen. "Come on, you have nothing to lose. I'll go there right away."

The days did not pass without leaving their mark on Usagi. With Mimet's help, Usagi prepared for the big day of her engagement, which was only two days away. The nervousness within her grew with each passing day. She hadn't seen Seiya since the incident in her room, but Taiki visited her regularly. The meetings with him were pleasant, even though they were always short. They drank tea together or took short walks. Yet, something was missing for Usagi, and she couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.

She sat thoughtfully on her bed, absentmindedly flipping through the new furniture catalogs Taiki brought her yesterday. She didn't really need much, but Taiki insisted that she furnish more than just the bedroom and living room. Usagi chuckled, thinking about Taiki's sparsely furnished apartment. Probably his lack of interest in furniture was the reason he insisted so persistently that she fully furnish her apartment.

"Serena? There you are. There's a visitor for you. Let me gather these things, or they'll just be in the way," Mimet's cheerful voice sang as she entered the room.

Usagi looked up and smiled. "Is it Taiki?"

Mimet shook her head as she packed things together. "No, it's Haruka Tenoh, but don't ask me what she wants from you. She just said she'd like to talk to you."

Usagi nodded and replied, "Oh, okay, then send her in."

As Haruka entered the room with her short sandy-blond hair and beige suit, Usagi's mind began to whirl. She had seen this person before.

"Hello, Serena. It's nice that you're receiving me. How are you?" Haruka asked friendly and took a seat on the edge of the bed opposite Usagi.

Usagi was surprised by Haruka's friendliness and felt somewhat insecure. "Uh, I'm doing fine so far. What... what can I do for you?"

Haruka smiled and explained, "Feel free to call me Haruka; I thought it was time we got to know each other a bit better. After all, we'll probably run into each other frequently in the Kou Tower." As she spoke, she let her eyes scan the room scrutinizingly. When she was sure they were alone, she pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Usagi.

Usagi looked at the small piece of paper in surprise. "What is this?" she asked curiously.

Haruka whispered quietly, "A message from Seiya. He needs to see you."

Usagi felt her excitement rise. "You... you're friends with Seiya?"

Haruka laughed heartily. "Oh yes, with Seiya, Taiki, and even occasionally with Yaten when he's not in one of his moods... The three of them are almost like stray brothers to me. Believe me, you won't be bored with them at all."

Usagi clasped the paper with her fingers, feeling her uncertainty grow. "And what does Seiya want?"

Haruka looked deep into her eyes and spoke gently, "To talk. I know everything. He told me everything, and you can trust me. Your secret is safe with me, Usagi."

Upon hearing her real name, Usagi froze. She was unable to react. How could Seiya do this to her? How could he actually tell someone about her story? About her suffering? About her secret! He definitely did not have the right.

Haruka reassuringly placed her hand on Usagi's shoulder. "I promise you; I won't talk to anyone about it, not even Taiki. But Seiya needed someone to talk to about it, and you should know that my door is always open to you. That's all I wanted. Well, I'll be going now. If anything comes up, feel free to reach out. I wish you a pleasant evening."

Completely stirred, Usagi remained alone. She looked at the still-folded note in her hand. Seiya had actually betrayed her to Haruka, confided her most important secret to another person. Hesitantly, she unfolded the note.

Darling, I need to talk to you urgently. Please contact me. Seiya.

At the bottom of the note, there was a phone number, and Usagi stared in disbelief at the paper. Seiya. In the past few days, she had almost managed to push away the events around him, to focus on the important things. However, now all these thoughts and feelings were suddenly present again. A nervous flutter spread in her stomach, and she caught herself with her mouth twitching upwards, even though she should be angry with him. After all, he had betrayed her secret. Yet, since the departure of Chibiusa and Shingo, Seiya was the only anchor she had left. Should she really contact him now? For a while, she struggled with herself, weighing the pros and cons.

Her curiosity eventually triumphed. She took out her almost unused phone, saved his number, and began to compose a message, only to delete it immediately. She typed messages repeatedly, only to discard them afterward. She stared at her display and started over.

Hi, Seiya was eventually all she sent as the first message.

Now it was up to him to contact her, she thought. She placed the phone on her nightstand and disappeared into the bathroom to get ready for bed. When she had nestled into her bed, she cast a glance at her phone and immediately began to smile. A message from Seiya blinked at her. She enjoyed the pleasant flutter in her stomach for a moment before opening the message.

Darling, I urgently need to talk to you. In person! If you go through the garden, past the small lake, between the tree and the pavilion, there's a ladder on the wall... a bit overgrown, but you'll find it. I'll be waiting on the other side at 11 PM. Seiya

Usagi looked at the time in the upper corner of her phone. She had one more hour to decide. On one hand, she wanted to slip into her clothes immediately and climb over the wall to meet Seiya. On the other hand, doubts arose. She needed distance from Seiya, had to get her feelings for him under control because, in a few weeks, he would be her brother-in-law. In two days, it would be official that she would marry Taiki. Tellu had gone completely crazy in the last few days and had ordered countless wedding dresses for fitting. Also, a large selection of dresses was waiting for her decision at the engagement party, scheduled for tomorrow. It was getting serious, and yet she couldn't let go of Seiya.

It was clear that she could no longer wait if she wanted to know what he had to tell her. Her decision was made. She threw back the blanket and sneaked into her dressing room. It was challenging to find comfortable and functional clothing here, as Tellu's taste leaned toward elegant clothing that showcased her particularly well. Yet, in one corner, she actually found jogging pants and an oversized hoodie. She also grabbed a dark jacket and a cap to dress more inconspicuously. Usagi returned to her room and began to behave quietly and unobtrusively, as if she were back on the street. Street life had shown her how important it was not to stand out in the crowd. When she was finished, she felt ready to meet with Seiya and find out what he had to say. Her heart pounded with excitement and uncertainty, but she was determined to face him.

Usagi quickly changed into the chosen clothing and tied her hair into a bun, which she carefully hid under the cap. She placed the tracking bracelet in the drawer of her nightstand and cast a last glance at the clock. Fifteen more minutes; that should be enough to cover the distance. She slowly opened the door, knowing exactly where the motion sensors were and avoiding getting into their range. It was easy upstairs in her room, but downstairs in such a busy house, it was always a challenge to move unnoticed. Hopefully, the time would play into her hands. Usagi stealthily descended the stairs, listening to the silence. Then, she continued her way, carefully weighing each step to avoid the motion sensors and not be heard. Her thoughts revolved around Seiya as she quietly approached the back door and carefully prepared it. After all, she would need a way back later. Finally, she reached the garden and passed the small lake. Between a tree and the pavilion, she actually discovered the weathered ladder leading up the wall. The vegetation had almost swallowed the path, but Usagi made sure not to leave any traces as she carefully ascended.

Once at the top, she looked around and recognized the outlines of Seiya, who leaned against the wall on the other side, waiting for her.