What had begun on the flight from Coruscant to Earth, continued after the landing in Tokyo, SunTzu always seemed to get the backseat.

The three women left the airport in the middle of the three black, armored SUVs, courtesy of the Royal Guard, while SunTzu was in the last one.

After accompanying the members of the Inner Court back to the Palace, SunTzu wanted to take the subway back to Juban but instead was ordered into the Military HQ, where he received new orders.

Since SunTzu was the only Guardian around with Sailor Pluto, who was busy with Master Cilghal in the R&D-Department of the Palace Hospital Wing, SunTzu would take over the Personal Security Detail for the Royal Heiress.

No doubt that if there would be the slightest danger for her beloved Small Lady, Puu would have obliterated half the Galaxy to save her, but it was well understood that ways to save lives were equally as important as protecting the princess. Which meant no going home but rather staying in the Palace. At least SunTzu didn't had to stay in the barracks or the Air Base as he was granted a guest room in the Crystal Tower, a floor under the Senshi's quarters.

Chibiusa was absolutely delighted to hear about that as she had expected to be bored beyond death the next few days as Helios was on patrol on the CTE with the Starstruck and her raven-haired waifu was on Coruscant. So instead of sitting around bored in the throne room she had someone she actually could do stuff with. Someone with a very fast car and someone she could give orders too.

The next day, SunTzu learned in an astounding rate that Chibiusa hadn't forgotten that he was rich and that her puppy eyes had the same effect on him as Hotaru's. After an impromptu, puppy eye-induced shopping spree, starting when Chibiusa had eyed a handbag she would have so much loved to have after she had managed to for some reason have to have breakfast in Ginza, it was back to the Palace as her private schooling was about to start. After having finished middle school, due to the time switch back when Crystal Tokyo had been established she had skipped some years but she had made up that with her intelligence, in a regular school, the same as her mother to be precise, Chibiusa had received private tutoring for her high school diploma as the designated future ruler of the Solar System couldn't just go to school like a regular girl her age, it was simply too dangerous, not even if her best friend and inseparable other half who could literally destroy the universe would join her. Chibiusa was a good pupil, SunTzu had once heard, back then followed by laughter from Rei as the Senshi of Fire had told that Chibiusa definitely had this trait inherited from her father.

Night came and the princess decided to stay at the palace, being hours on the phone with her best friend, SunTzu knew as he had texted his protégé how her day had been going and she had told him via tezt, while she was talking with Chibiusa on the phone.

The second day didn't brought any mentionable events, except SunTzu noticed that he had slept better the last two days and had begun to ask himself if it was caused by the Palace or the closeness of a certain someone staying at the Crystal Palace these days as well.

The only real thing of interest happened the next day when Ami came back from Coruscant in the afternoon. Of course the pink-haired heiress insisted on picking her aunt-from-another-grandmother up herself. Or rather along with the knight assigned to her safety.

And Ami wouldn't have been Ami if she hadn't wanted to go home but rather straight into her office.

The blunette had asked SunTzu to visit her as soon as he got time and shortly before evening he did so. As so often before she had bad news.

Ami, Royal Intelligence and GAIS had found evidence of an illegal intergalactic weapon deal about to happen. Blasters, old Imperial surplus, had been sold from a company which had ties to another company close with Kengal. And apparently the weapons were sold to a group of men from Earth. GAIS had busted the company's office on Brentaal and apparently the buyers not only had been from Earth but there apparently also had been a mentioning that they would use the weapons against a common enemy. Ami and SunTzu didn't even need to talk about who that enemy could have been.

Royal Intelligence could trace one of the men back to Yokohama, but he wasn't a Japanese.

A brief double check from Commissioner Kobayashi for the purpose of administrative assistance over at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department confirmed Ami's suspicion. The suspect, Liu Han, was known to be a member of the Triad which had their seat in Yokohama. Also Royal Police was in the middle of an investigation to proof that the weakened local Yakuza tried desperately to find allies, among the possible organizations was the Yokohama Triad, named the White Tigers of Chinatown.

Within one hour GAIS had setup an operation to gather more information along with Interpol and regular police personnel from both Metropolitan and Prefectural police forces.

It was SunTzu who decided to check it out on his own.

"You know what probably will happen. Chances that these guys will try to kill you are pretty high. You could police and us take care of it." Ami warned SunTzu and the later gave it a genuine thought before he shrugged.

"I'm happy that for once this isn't a liquidation mission. I'll just try to find out if these guys are a threat and If they are I'll let you guys deal with it. No need to enlarge the number of souls that keep me from sleeping at night, although I'm pretty sure these guys wouldn't do that job as well as my ex-girlfriend."

Hearing this made Ami furrow her eyebrows.

"Do I still have to worry?"

"Do you ever not had to?"

Ami's gaze downright scanned the half-grinning SunTzu now.

"Do you want to talk? Maybe with Master Cilghal or Setsuna? You know as professionals when it comes to Mental Health?"

SunTzu wheezed, while the wry grin on his lips got bigger.

"Don't worry Ames, nothing I can't handle. It's actually getting better again already. Big part thanks to you."

He got up from the chair opposite of Ami's seat at her desk. "And I'm pretty sure Doctor Meiou is too busy to see me anyways." He mumbled as he walked out.

Next, SunTzu went to the Royal Quarters. He knocked on the door and it took some time until Chibiusa, dressed in a bunny onesie, opened.

She yawned as she opened the door and it took a moment before she held a hand in front of her mouth to cover the yawn before she waved him in.

"SunTzu, good thing that you woke me up. Other than that I probably wouldn't be able to sleep at night again. Anyways, what's the matter? We're having dinner?"

SunTzu stopped after two steps into the Royal Quarters and closed the door behind him.

"I need you to do me a favor your Royal Highness. Can you stay safe in the palace for the next few hours?"

"Why that?" And then she asked in ambiguous tone. "Do you have a date?"

"Err… no. But I have something important to take care of and cannot take care of your protection while I'm doing that, so please stay in the safety of the Palace."

"Oh, what are you up to? Mind if I tag along? Everything would be better than to hang around the Palace when nobody's here."

"I'm sorry but I cannot take you with me."

"Oh okayyyy. Now you have my curiosity."

"Chibiusa, please just stay here. It's just for a few hours. After that we can even talk about a late-night milkshake run."

"Hm, you're not going on a date but I can't tag along. So… a mission. I'm in as well."

"Absolutely not. Too dangerous."

"Oh, yeah, of course. Then why you should go alone?"

"Chibs…"

"You know as princess I can just order you to take me along."

"And as your assigned security detail I have to strongly advice you to not to do that. For your own safety."

"Acknowledged. Now, who do I have to call to officially change your orders to let me tag along? Luna? Artemis? My dad?"

SunTzu let out a big sigh but Chibiusa continued.

"I'm not a little child anymore, I'm almost 18. Michiru lately said that I sometimes seem to be more mature than you and Haruka. And I was trained well by you and Hotaru for dangerous situations."

"There's no way you gonna stay here, right?"

"Now that I know we got work to do? No way! I'm dying of boredom these days. So what are up to do? Assassination? Blowing up a building? Toppling a goverment?"

"Just a small recon mission to Yokohama. No direct action. No risk-taking."

"Geez, and you make such a fuzz about me wanting to tag along. Well, whatever tho. Fill me in on the details."

SunTzu had to give to Chibiusa that she knew how to disguise herself so she wouldn't stand out. And although he had to wait for exactly forty-two minutes until she had done so, the black face mask, hat, hairs in a single bun which was mostly hidden in an oversized hoody, under which she wore leggings, changed her appearance enough that nobody would guess that the Princess of Crystal Tokyo would stand in front of them. The teenage girl disguise would work.

SunTzu, now dressed in a suit, and not one of his real good ones, without tie, went for a salary-man-after-work-look to not make anyone suspicious.

And SunTzu actually would have rather taken the train to Yokohama to disappear in the masses of the rush hour but since he had to wait for Chibiusa that long he then decided to take one of the undercover cars Royal Intelligence had around.

So soon after The Princess of Crystal Tokyo and Crystal Tokyo's First Knight were on their way to Yokohama in a Nissan Cube and SunTzu forever was grateful that there were actually various bridges connecting Crystal Tokyo with other places in the Tokyo Bay so he hadn't deal with the traffic jams of rush hour of the planet's biggest metropolitan area that much on top as well.

Nonetheless the German was grinding his teeth, he didn't even needed the Force to know that this would not go as he had wanted to, his appendage was out for blood way too much. Beginning when he told her what he was about to do and her just asking why they just didn't smoke the whole lot up instead already to sitting down, immediately opening the glove compartment and taking the handgun stowed in it for herself, professionally checking both chamber and magazine before stowing it under her hoody. He had told her having a gun was a risk for her and she beaten him with explaining that he was one of her main firearms instructors back when she had started training with firearms.

The drive took them half an hour, a large part on one of the bridges connecting Crystal Tokyo with Honshu still were pretty packed with traffic. At least Chibiusa seemed to enjoy the ride as she had been joyfully watching the sunset, at least in these few moments she hadn't been glued to her mobile phone.

But SunTzu had a plan, a simple but effective one. He just would park at an area away from the target zone, at one of outer parts of Chinatown. And since the Princess was as much as a sweet tooth as her mother he know what he would tell her.

So as they closed in on Yokohama's world famous Chinatown, SunTzu parked the car, which earned him a surprised look from the pink-haired teenage girl.

"Hey Chibs, do you like Moon Cake?"

"Uhm… sure. Everybody loves Moon Cake. What's that for a question?"

"Cool. I was thinking before we go in, let's share one, you know for good luck and since we're here in Chinatown."

Her eyebrow was still raised in question but she shrugged.

"Okay, why not? I thought you'd be more focused on our mission tho."

"I… totally am, just thought it's a nice thing to do for good luck. Anyways, I'll be back in a minute. I found this confection store on TripAdvisor and they say they make a marvelous moon cake."

"Sounds dope. Hurry up tho."

SunTzu nodded at the teenager, who know had her hood over her head and then left the car.

As soon as he had crossed the corner her began to fasten his pace.

SunTzu moved fast, at least as fast as possible to not be suspicious. Intelligence had narrowed the target area in to a small side alley, crossing away from a street full of shady bars and stores near the center of Chinatown. One of the organization's money laundering companies owned a warehouse in that alley. Hiding in plain sight so to say as usually law enforcement would look for contraband primarily in the closeness to places where it could be shipped fast, like harbors or airports.

SunTzu had made sure that he hadn't been followed, using both tricks he had learned from Intelligence Service and his Force Powers. As soon as he had reached the street his walk became unsecured and his face showed a small wry grin. Just a drunken white businessman trying to look for the next cheap drink, not even caring that the bars were mostly empty and actually didn't look welcoming at all.

He went so far that he sat down at a table outside of one of the bars and ordered a shot of hard chinese liquor, in English and heavily accented and slurred.

Of course he didn't drink the shot, after all he still had to drive Chibiusa home and take care of her safety, when he was unwatched he secretly had poured the liquid away.

Acting even more drunk afterwards he dropped some money on the table and walked to the crossing leading into the alley with the warehouse, feigning to have problems walking upright.

And then he vanished into the alley, hoping that onlookers would think he either would just take a piss or rather vomit his intoxication out. Inside SunTzu smiled, the only thing things would have gone more easier would have been if he had brought AICA along. Nonsense, this was an easy job and she was good with Hotaru. SunTzu admitted himself a last thought about his starfighter and his protégé, hoping that both were doing as fine as they should be and then concentrated on the mission again.

A few meters into the alley he stopped his insecure walking and began to sneak into the dark corners. Night had fallen over Tokyo Bay and it's cities, supporting his stealthily approach towards the warehouse.

When he came closer he noticed to guys in fancy suits standing in front of the door house, looking grim and obviously standing guard. This was enough to let SunTzu know that something was fishy here. He was almost backing off again but then decided to give it one closer look.

Acting like he was so drunk he was almost passing out he approached the two men, both of east-asian descent but looking different than Japanese in some subtle notes. SunTzu could already sense through the Force that these guys were up to no good, although cautious curiosity seemed to be their main interest in that piss drunk big nose.

Seeming to barely being able to talk, his thick accent making his Japanese even worse to understand, SunTzu asked them were the next bar was but the man couldn't understand and told him in Chinese to fuck off. After a moment SunTzu shrugged and slumped along.

And then he and the two Chinese men heard the shot.

Chibiusa had waited for ten minutes and then left the car. Of course she had googled if there was a place doing moon cake here and since she couldn't find anything she immediately knew what was up. SunTzu had left her here to check out that warehouse. She got out of the car, checked if the gun was safe and concealed under her hoody and began to walk in the same direction SunTzu had left.

Moving through china town, lighted through it's famous multi-colored lights and masses of people there to get some food or drinks in, she vanished in the crowd, heading to the center of the area.

Some people glanced at the figure with the other over her head but nobody really gave it a second thought.

Except for a duo of adolescent guys who tried to hit on her from a street corner. Chibiusa made sure nobody else was in eyeshot before she pulled up her hoody and revealed the pistol in the hem of her leggings, which she commented with "Fuck off."

Within a second the two adolescent men were running away and the Princess of Crystal Tokyo couldn't help but smile to herself as she continued her way.

It took some time but she finally came into an area that seemed less inviting and busy than the others, there were no more tourists here as well. Definitely an area she should check out closer.

She walked into the next street and saw that there was a man standing in front of the large door of a warehouse. Cheap suit, horrible looking shirt, which looked like someone had puked different kinds of currys on it given the colors. Okay, here she was right, no cap about that.

Chibiusa strode past the warehouse, intended to wait until SunTzu or the Cops would show up, but suddenly the man was in her way. He asked her something in Chinese.

She tried to walk past him but he stepped in her way again.

And then he flickered her sweater's hood over her head and exposed her face and hair. He let out a gamy whistle but before he could say anything more a kick hit him on his knee cap, all the force Chibiusa could muster in her untransformed form in it.

The man slumped on his knees, groaning in pain and Chibiusa rounded him quickly, intending to get away as fast as possible. She just made a few meters when she heard him say something in a very angry voice and listen to him standing up again. She begun the run but the man, although he had a bruised knee and only driven by adrenaline and anger, catched up and pulled her violently around on her hoodie.

While in the spin, Chibiusa reached under the hoody and pulled out the pistol. In a second's fracture she had cocked the slide and pulled the trigger in the moment he faced her, the pistol at the height of his waist, a shot rang through the night as the 9mm projectile propelled out of the gun and into the man's groin, truncating everything down there.

The man immediately dropped on his knees again and pressed his hands on what was left of his genitals as he began to scream in pain and agony.

Chibiusa immediately rushed further, into the next house entrance and pulled out her Chibi Moon Compact. Shit was about to go down.

Almost instantly after the shot someone began to scream in highest pain, his shriek voice reaching over to the other side of the warehouse.

The guy next behind SunTzu draw a pistol and approached SunTzu with the intent to press the barrel into the seemingly drunk man's back.

But as soon as he was in reach SunTzu let himself fall backwards and put his hands around the attacker's wrist to rip the pistol out of his hands. Another shot rang through the night as the two men wrestled for the gun, closely missing SunTzu's flank, but in a matter of seconds the Knight of Crystal Tokyo managed to get the gun out of the Triad members hand, moved his hand with the gun up and shot the man into the chin. With one fluid motion he then swung around and shot the second thug who just had drawn his gun right into the solar plexus.

Not even able to take a breather as he suddenly sensed something incredibly powerful on the other side of the warehouse he began to run towards the building, eyes beginning to glow yellow.

As soon as the warm, welcoming feeling of her transformation ended, Sailor Chibi Moon tightened the grip around her gun and stepped back into the alley. The man who she shot was still screaming but his skin began to begin pale and there was sweat visible in his face.

She wasn't sure what to do and took a step forward to him, gun aimed halfway up. Could she shot that man? She hurted him and he probably would bleed out anyway but shooting someone to end him was something different than self-defense. Not sure what to do she took another step towards the man who now stopped screaming and yelled at her something in Chinese, face exorted into pain, voice strained.

Suddenly a door a building further was forcefully opened and spilled out five men in suits.

And they had pistols in their hands and immediately brought them up to aim at her but before Chibiusa could react, the door to the warehouse bursted open and somebody grabbed her at the waist and literally ripped her away from where she was standing and back into the warehouse.

SunTzu, now with Chibiusa under his arms, ran back into the warehouse, empowered by the Force.

He had broken through the old door on the other side and while rushing through the warehouse, which was packed with wood crates as well as duraplast crates, typically for weapons, what more proof did they still need now, knocked down another guard, broke through the other door and pulled his fosterling away, just as the first of the five triad members from their nearby safe house opened fire at Chibiusa.

SunTzu carrying Sailor Chibi Moon, who was so perplexed that she didn't even understood what was happening, jumped over one of the crates and set the princess down.

"What the fuck, Chibs? What are you doing here? How you even found this place?"

Before she could answer, SunTzu, now having drawn his own pistol, took a glance over the crate and saw the man kneeling on the floor, blood all over his lower body, wailing and crying.

"Did you shoot this guy?" He asked her and she finally began to process things again.

"He tried to grab me so I shot him. In the dick."

"In the dick? Holy Shit, you are just the same mess as your mother. What is it with shooting dicks in this family?"

SunTzu had just finished the sentence when the first salvo of bullets crashed into the duraplast.

"Shit, we have to get away from here. I'll distract them and you run through the other side of the warehouse." Both acknowledged the plan with a nod and Chibiusa got ready to shoot off.

"At three. One… Two… Three!"

SunTzu got up and shot a salvo at the triads who had now spread out and shot at the cover of the two Guardians. From nearby sounds of a gunfight, including automatic weapons, and sirens was audible, it looked like the cavalry in form of various Law Enforcement Agencies and Royal Intelligence was engaged as well now.

SunTzu draw their fire onto him and Sailor Chibi Moon started to run towards the other door.

Chibiusa had crossed more than half her way when she shot passed the guard SunTzu had knocked down. But the man awakened again and put his hand around her boot, almost making her fall down. SunTzu just had gotten back into cover while bullets flew over and left and right past him and saw what was happening. Despite the bullet hail storm he got up again, knowing that the gangsters now would use the chance to shoot Chibiusa in the back.

It was like in slow motion, he got up, a bullet whizzed by his left ear, as he quickly aimed at the first thug, realizing that all of them shifted their aim. Chibi Moon was still trying to free herself from the grip of the man on the floor, and swung her other leg up to kick the man in the head. The first gangster got Chibiusa into his sight and his finger was just about to pull the trigger."

"Chibi Moon!" SunTzu yelled out, knowing that with even the Force on his side he couldn't shot all five of the adversaries before they would shoot Chibiusa.

"Dead Scream."

Suddenly a bright purple light lit up the night and made the entrance of the warehouse explode, together with the five criminals. SunTzu acted instantly and shot up from his position as well, closed in to Chibiusa who just had managed to struggle herself free with the kick on the lying man's temple, grabbed her again with one arm, shot the man on the ground in the head and rushed out the door, sensing that the person who had saved them was one step behind them.

As soon as they were out of the building, SunTzu put Sailor Chibi Moon on her feet again and secured the door behind them.

While he did so, scanning for any more risks, pistol up, Sailor Pluto laid her arms around Sailor Chibi Moon.

"Chibiusa, are you unharmed?" The taller woman asked her friend, worriedness audible in her voice.

"I'm good. Thank you for rescuing us."

Setsuna's worried face turned into a faint smile after hearing Chibiusa say that she was okay.

SunTzu noticed that they seemed to be safe for the moment, and also he noticed that Sailor Pluto's attack hadn't left much left of the attackers. He turned around while holstering his pistol just to look at a white gloved finger pointing at him.

"YOU!" Setsuna shouted at him, her eyes glistening with anger. "What were you thinking to bring the Princess here with you?"

SunTzu's eyes widened in surprise, Setsuna was more furious than he had ever seen her before, even more when he allowed Hotaru to fight the Vong a few weeks ago, and he was genuinely worried she would attack him.

"Puu, it was my fault. All of this, I'm sorry. It's not SunTzu's fault. I made him do it. I was acting too impulsive again." Chibiusa pleaded to her friend from her side and then put her hands around her body again. "Please don't be mad."

Pluto was taken aback a step from Chibiusa's sudden hug and for the blink of an eye she just stood still, her gaze looking into nowhere before she began to pet Chibiusa's head and her face turned to look at the girl. For a moment they just stood there, Sailor Pluto motherly gazing at Chibiusa.

"Next time I'll overtake your protection again." She whispered to the girl before she squeezed Chibiusa again. "Come on, let's get you to safety, Small Lady." She then said louder and before she lead Chibiusa away, towards where the sirens came from, the first police men in tactical gear were entering the alley right now, she shot another angry glare at SunTzu.

A few minutes later, SunTzu was leaning against the hood of a police car, burning cigarette in the corner of his mouth, his eyes tired. Pluto had escorted Chibi Moon back to a main street, where masses of cop cars had stopped at and the police had swarmed out at from. Out of the opened side door of one of police vans, Ami, dressed in tactical gear and an MP5 underslung, looked out and the two other Senshi had headed for her while SunTzu had followed them in distance.

He was tired, this should have been a walk in the park, a simple target verification mission, but no. The mission had been going perfectly according to plan at first and then not only had turned for the worse with the shooting but to a full-blown mess which had even made Setsuna furious at him. Getting yelled at like this from the woman you had fallen for sure was anything but pleasant and SunTzu was pretty sure, that this had been the last nail in the coffin of his chances with Setsuna.

Chibiusa appeared and leaned herself against the hood of the cop car next to him. She looked at him for a moment and then pressed her lips together, before she finally spoke.

"I'm sorry I fucked this mission up so majorly. I really am. And I'm even more sorry that Puu is so angry at you now."

"It's not your fault Chibs. I should have been more assertive. No wonder she's so angry. I'm just not good enough."

For a moment both went silent and SunTzu continued to smoke his cigarette.

"Chibiusa, we have to go." Setsuna's voice suddenly came in, she was standing a few meters away, just like Chibiusa, detransformed again, eyes strictly fixed on Chibiusa, not giving one glance to SunTzu. Chibiusa stood still for another moment.

"C'mon Chibs. You heard Setsuna."

"What about you?"

"Gotta take care of the paperwork after this mess. Seems we have to postpone our milk shakes." He gave his best to smile at her and then nodded towards Setsuna.

Chibiusa gave a small nod and jumped up from the hood before she walked over to Setsuna.

As soon as she had arrived, Setsuna laid a hand on her shoulder.

As they began to walk away Setsuna turned her head back to SunTzu one last time and shot him another glare.

Setsuna's eyes still spoke of anger, her cold glance way above the intensity of its usual form. And then she left, turning back to Chibiusa again to talk to her.

SunTzu finished his cigarette and flipped it away on the street while he watched the Guardian of Time and the Princess of Crystal Tokyo leave, Setsuna not looking at him one more time.

Then, as soon as they were out of eye shot, his gaze wandered to the ground and his hand began to stroke both his brows with his index finger and thumb, trying to mask any sign of pain in his face as his heart really began to break.

AN: Dear loyal readers, thank you a lot! Don't forget the side fics are on AO3!