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Wind Swept Starry Night	By : HoshiOkami Category: Sailor Moon > Yuri - Female/Female Views: 3861 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Alright peeps, I do not own Sailor Moon, nor the characters held within, the honor of that goes to Takeuchi-sama. I do not own the song that is in the story either, that credit goes to Jo Dee Messina. I do not receive money for any par

Chapter List
- 1-Wind Swept Starry Night
- 2-Wind Swept Starry Night Citrus Blend
- 1
- 2
Author’s Notes: First off, I use the song "You Belong in the Sun" by Jo Dee Messina. I do not own the song or anything attributed with it, SO NO SUING ME!!!!. Secondly, I apologize if there is too much OoC-ness in the story, I tried to keep them reasonably within character. To those that do not like Haruka/Seiya fics, too bad, this was not written by you and they happen to be one of my favorite couples :P To those of you who do enjoy this couple, if you would like me to write more fics with this couple, drop me an email or PM. I love reviews and I will respond, even if they are critical, but just a forewarning, I will ignore those that flame me just because of the couple portrayed in the story. Also, this is a story taken right from an RP one of my ex’s and I had, I tried to put everything into order and I also added a few things. Ok, I have rattled on enough, hope you enjoy the fic! ^_^ Don't forget to review!

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Haruka growled to herself as she moved down the street. She knew in her mind that her relationship was not working with Michiru. She loved the woman, yes, just as she had grown to love the others but now that peace reigned in the solar system, it was not as prevalent to stay in contact with the other senshi as she had when the darkness had been so close.

Thinking to herself, the tall blonde tried to come up with a way to tell Michiru about her revelation without hurting her too much. She had taken a walk after a small fight with the aqua haired woman earlier that morning. The fight had gone back to the incident in the dressing room when Michiru had the concert with the three Starlight brats.

‘That brat was too friendly and extremely nosey.’ The blonde grumbled inwardly, ‘Was she trying to get me to react, or did she not know that Michi was taken at the time?’

Shaking her head to clear the thoughts, the tall sandy blonde looked up just in time to see a long black pony tail disappear around a corner. She set her teeth and ran after to see who It was, hoping that it was not who she thought. Rounding the corner, the blonde saw a tall young man standing against the wall listening to his diskman. He looked up when he noticed her, then looked down at the ground again as he continued to listen to his music.

‘Kuso…. I had thought for a minute…’ she stopped herself right there, not even wanting to remember the brat’s name.

Continuing to her apartment, she continued to wrack her brain to figure out a solution to the problem. Every line that she started with in her head sounded wrong, and every time she tried to figure out a scenario, it made her want to be sick with how over-played it seemed. She opened the door to the apartment and was met with the smell of men’s cologne.

She followed the scent and walked into the bedroom, her brain froze when she saw her partner laying with a young man in their bed. The blonde turned on her heal and moved out of the bedroom, out of the apartment. A second later she heard Michiru’s voice calling after her, but she did not stop until she heard the apartment door open, her back stayed to the aqua haired young woman.

“Haruka… I’m sorry. I did not mean for you to catch us like that.” Michiru said quietly.

“How did you want me to catch you then?” Haruka growled, still not turning to look at the other woman, “How long has this been going on?!”

She didn’t hear a response from the other woman. She knew the answer even though she did not want to admit it to herself. She clenched her fists and took off at a full out run, heading for the stairs so she could leave the building.

~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~

Looking out the large bay window of her new apartment, the wind senshi sighed. It had been a month since she had found Michiru with a guy in their bed. It wasn’t easy to think about the aqua haired woman, but she found herself doing so often.

‘I need to stop or I am going to drive myself crazy!’ the blonde thought to herself.

She looked up when she saw a sudden flash of lightening, ‘I didn’t hear about rain today… What’s going on?’

She stood and studied the weather anomaly a little more closely, noting that it seemed to be centered over the center of the city, centered over Juuban park. With a sigh, she moved to get her keys off the kitchen table and ran out the door, not wasting time with the elevator, opting for the stairs instead. Exiting the stair well into the parking garage under the building, she ran to her car. It was at least two miles to the park and she didn’t want to be too late if there was anything serious taking place.

Pulling into a parking lot a couple blocks away from the park, Haruka got out of her car and moved to a near-by ally to transform into Sailor Uranus. Taking off from out of the ally toward the park, the young senshi dodged the trees that lined the park on her way to the center of the park. She heard fighting and figured that one of the other girls, if not Neptune herself, were already there. She pulled up short when she saw a strange looking woman standing over a battle worn Star Fighter.

‘When the hell did she come back?! And what the hell is she doing with that woman?!’

Watching further, she saw Fighter go down on one knee, the strange woman laughing as if she had just won.

“No one will come to help you, no matter how loud you scream! Did you really believe that the senshi of this planet cared for you pathetic Starlights?” the woman taunted, “It is time to give up Fighter! The others failed! What do you think you can do alone that they could not accomplish together?”

“What do you know?! I will fight to the death if I have to, to protect this planet and those living on it!” Fighter growled, exhaustion hanging heavily in her voice as she slowly stood and started to summon another attack.

“Star Serious LAZER!” shouted the proud Starlight, her attack lighting up the area of the park once more.

The woman had underestimated the attack and was not able to dodge it completely, “Damn you! That was just a small bee sting, you are nothing by yourself. You are a sorry excuse of a senshi, you don’t even have someone to fight for!” the woman cackled.

‘Guess this is where I come in if I am going to help at all…’ the blonde thought to herself as she summoned an attack, holding onto it to let it gain a little more power before sending it towards the strange woman.

The cloaked woman tried to dodge Uranus’ attack, but was not fast enough and took the hit in her side, “Stay out of this, you meddlesome fool! This fight does not concern you!”

“Fighter, get out of here. I will distract her.” Uranus shouted as she stopped running within several yards of the injured Starlight, “You still have people that will miss you! Get out of here now!”

Knowing that she would not last much longer against two senshi, even though one was severely injured herself, she looked to Fighter for the last time, “You are lucky one of the other senshi showed up to save your hide Fighter. However, this is far from over!”

Disappearing in a puff of smoke, the woman was gone, taking with her the bad weather and leaving the two senshi alone in the park together.

Fighter growled as she watched the woman disappear, then turned to Uranus while trying to stand, falling with a hard thud, “It does not matter if I am worn out and get injured. There is no one that would miss me oth-“ she stated, pausing abruptly as everything went dark.

Still standing a few feet away, the tall blonde looked down at the prone form of her rival. She was debating whether she should help her or leave her where she lay. Looking around, she saw no one in sight and sighed.

‘Great… now what do I do?’ Uranus asked herself as she moved to kneel next to the fallen senshi.

She reached her hand out and let it hover over the other senshi’s mouth to make sure she was still breathing. A sigh of relief left her when she felt a shallow breath warm her palm. The tall blonde quickly looked around again before taking one of the other woman’s arms and using it to hoist the woman over her shoulder.

“I can only imagine what some woman would do if they were to recognize Fighter laying here…” Uranus mumbled to herself.

‘If these three are supposed to be lights, they need to go on diets… at least Fighter does.’ The blonde thought to herself as she absently turned to try and see Fighter’s face, instead being met by the sight of the raven haired young woman’s back side.

Shaking her head violently to clear her thoughts and cover up her blush, she quietly made her way back to her car, ducking into an ally to de-transform. When she reached her car, she maneuvered the other woman into the front seat, then covered up the raven haired light with her jacket so no one saw the nearly naked form that sat unconscious in her front seat. Satisfied with how Fighter was sitting in her car, the tall blonde moved to the driver’s side and got in. She looked over to the other senshi for a moment before starting her car and heading to the light’s apartment building.

She parked in the back of the building, quickly getting out and moving to the passenger side to retrieve the raven haired young woman. Lifting the unconscious senshi onto her shoulder again, the blonde walked up to the apartment building and growled when she realized that it was a secure building. She pressed the button for the Light’s door and set herself to wait in the entrance area.

~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~

Taiki sat on the sofa, nervously glancing at the cordless phone that sat on its base near her. Her left arm hung in a sling, a reminder of the previous battle against the strange woman. Yaten limped back and forth on a broken foot a few feet away, giving the taller light worried glances while she did. Several hours had passed since they had heard anything from their lead singer.

“Yaten, I do not plan to tell you again, either sit down or use your crutches.” Taiki stated as she looked to the silver haired light.

Yaten simply rolled her eyes and continued her pacing back and forth, “Hmph… Seiya’s probably out there getting herself in trouble again…” she stated in a worried tone.

Taiki sighed, “She might have gone somewhere to get out of the storm from earlier, there are plenty of possibilities why she has not called us yet.”

They both looked to each other when they heard the buzzer for their door.

“Well, go buzz the person in, my leg’s injured…” Yaten said as she moved to sit down in an over-stuffed chair.

“Lazy…” Taiki muttered under her breath while she shook her head and waked to the front hall to press the button that would allow the visitor to enter the building.

~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~

Hearing the door buzz, the blonde opened it quickly and stepped into the building. She moved to the elevator, carefully maneuvering the unconscious Star Fighter into her arms as she waited for the elevator car to reach the bottom floor. She sighed as she stepped into the elevator, pushing the button for the Lights’ floor, then leaned against the wall of the car to relieve some of the stress of holding Fighter. She was fit, but she was not used to carrying someone for that long.

‘She may be a pest, but I can’t just leave her in the open like that.’ Haruka thought to herself as she exited the elevator and moved towards Fighter’s apartment.

Moving through the hall, she stopped in front of the front door to the Lights’ apartment and knocked quietly. Feeling the unconscious woman’s uniform microphone digging into her mid-section, she switched arms that the woman’s shoulders were held by, then knocked on the door again.

~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~

“Don’t bother sitting back down Taiki. Whoever you just buzzed in will be up in a few… What? Don’t look at me like that, you couldn’t possibly ask me to make it that far without my crutches.” Yaten stated.

Taiki slowly rose from the sofa, “Right…. And yet you somehow manage to have the energy to pace. Amazing…” Taiki stated sarcastically.

“Anyway, who do you think is on their way up?” the platinum blonde asked.

“I don’t know, perhaps it is someone who knows something about Seiya…” Taiki stated.

“What, like the cops?” Yaten asked quickly.

"No, I mean like one of the girls. Seiya could never get into that much trouble... Wait never mind yes she could" said Taiki.

She stared to walk to the front hallway after she heard the knock. "Coming..." she called, then opened the door with her right hand, eyes widening in shock, glancing at Fighter than Haruka.

"What happened to her..." Taiki asked, stepping to the side so Haruka could walk in.

Haruka carried the raven haired young woman into the apartment, gently laying her down on the couch before turning to acknowledge Taiki.

Taiki sighed a bit as she looked at Fighter, then turned her gaze back toward Haruka. "Thank you for bringing her here Tenou..."

She sighed as she shook her head, “You have to tell her to be more careful… If I had not found her when I did, she would not be here now. A strange woman had been attacking her. Would you know who that creepy woman was?”

"She didn't tell us anything about where she was going..." said Yaten

"We've told her numerous times to be careful. Hmmm your description matches that of Anustes" said the taller Light with a sigh.

Yaten shook her head as she glanced over at Fighter, "After our last battle, I'm not surprised that she tried to fight that woman alone, as you can plainly see, Taiki and I haven't fully healed from the battle..."

Thinking about it all, the blonde looked to the floor as she spoke again, “What kind of grudge does she hold against the three of you? If she has a weakness, we could use against her.”

"Anustes hails from the last planet in the Kinmoku star system. Once a respected ally, she turned against our Kingdom without warning. When Galaxia attacked Kinmoku, Anustes went into hiding. We thought she was dead until she attacked us... about a week ago..." said Taiki.

"In all honestly we have no idea. We think it might have to do with the history of both planets. There had been tension between the royal houses for generations. We'll contact you if we find out more about her weakness. That is if you are actually going to help us. As you can see... we won't be battling any time soon..." said Yaten, glancing at Haruka than toward the dark haired senshi

Haruka sighed as she looked to the dark haired light still on the couch, "She seems not to really worry about if you care about her to actually think what would happen if she were to die in a battle that she fought alone in."

"That's Seiya for you. She always follows her feelings, and sometimes doesn't think things through. It might have to do with our last battle. Yaten and I got a tip off about a youma attack. Yet it was a trap set by Anustes. By the time Fighter arrived it was too late for her to do anything. We told her we didn't blame her... but it seems like she thought otherwise... Thanks for bringing her back here. Hopefully her wounds weren't that bad." said Taiki.

She looked to Taiki, "She should be alright, though I don’t know how much damage she actually took before I found her. Take care of her," the blonde turned toward the door to leave.

"Bye Tenou-san, thanks again for bringing Seiya here,.." said Yaten.

~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~

Haruka sighed as she sat in the front seat of her car. She had just left the three Lights’ apartment and a small amount of worry was starting to nag at her in the back of her mind for the raven haired young woman.

‘Why should I worry about that brat?’ the blonde thought to herself as she started out of the parking lot.

After Haruka left their apartment, the two Lights turned to look at their leader on the sofa, deep looks of worry could be seen on their faces.

“Why does she have to be so damn reckless all the time?! Doesn’t she take our worry into account? What if she had died tonight?!” Yaten asked with a growl.

“I do not know, but we should let her be and we will ask her tomorrow when she is awake.” Taiki stated with a sigh.

“Then all we can do is wait? Not something that I care much to do, but it gives me time to sleep. I’m going to bed, good night Tai-chan,” the shorter woman said, moving to her crutches and using them to help her up the stairs to her room.

“Goodnight Yaten,” the taller senshi said softly as she watched the silver haired Light move to the stairs that led to the bedrooms.

~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~

The next day Haruka woke to the sunlight hitting her in the eyes. She shook her head at herself, she had slept in the living room with the t.v. on again. A wide yawn escaped her as she slowly sat up from the couch. The young blonde moved into the bedroom and found the clothes that she wanted to wear for the day then took a quick shower.

Looking outside while making a small breakfast, she knew that she wanted to ride her bike, it seemed like a wonderful day, ‘It is a wonderful day, especially since that brat isn’t around to ruin it.’

She finished cleaning up and moved through the apartment to find her riding jacket, helmet and gloves. After grabbing her keys off the table, she opened the door while locking it, then pulled it closed after her as she jogged down the steps to her bike.

Across town, the Lights were waking up for the day. Taiki had woken up before the other two and had gone into the living room to check on the raven haired young woman. She was tired of the recklessness that was shown by her friend and knew that it would not change any time soon.

She moved to open the curtain hanging on the window and received a groan of disapproval from the couch’s occupant; this reaction made the tallest Light move swiftly to the couch and slightly uncover the other woman to be able to talk to her.

“What were you thinking last night?!” Taiki asked, “Do you realize that you could have been killed?”

“It wouldn’t have mattered if I was anyway…” Fighter grumbled, turning on her side away from Taiki.

Taiki sighed and shook her head at the other young woman, “You have at least two people here in this apartment that were worried about you last night. If it weren’t for Haruka bringing you home last night, I don’t think Yaten and I would have known what had happened to you!”

Fighter grumbled against the back of the couch and fell asleep again. The taller woman clamped her jaw shut and walked out of the living room to start on breakfast.

Later that week Seiya sat on her bed and watched out the window. She had been told by the other two what Haruka had done, but it wasn’t possible that the stuck up snob would care about her. She sighed and fell back onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling as the fight with Anustes replayed in her head.

‘Why had she been there…? Why had she helped me?’ Seiya thought to herself.

Haruka had been questioning why she had wanted to help the brat. In her mind, the raven haired lead singer of the Starlights was no better than a childish brat and she did very little to cover how she felt most of the time, but it had surprised her how she had willingly not only offered help to Fighter, but had gone to the trouble of carrying her home after she had lost consciousness.

She smirked at herself and her own confusion as she grabbed for her bike keys and headed out for a bike ride so she could clear her thoughts. As soon as she exited the stair well she heard a scream. When she turned to look in the direction the scream had come from, she saw a young woman being threatened by a large black monster. Haruka ducked back into the stair well and transformed. It didn’t take her long to finish off the monster. When she turned to find the young woman to comfort her, the woman was nowhere in sight. The young blonde grumbled to herself and moved to the stair well again to retrieve her helmet and riding gloves and to be able to de-transform.

A moment later a strong wind blew through the underground garage and a distant cackle could be heard before everything was quiet again. The blonde grit her teeth when she realized her folly of being so careless with her transformation. She moved to her bike and got on, her helmet and gloves in place.

Half an hour later found the blonde at the Lights’ apartment building again. She parked in the back of the building and moved to the back entrance. Just as she was about to go in, an older gentleman was leaving the building. Haruka used the opportunity to not have to push the button for the Light’s apartment and just moved to the elevator. Once on the Lights’ floor, she found their door and knocked.

A muffled “Coming” was heard from inside the apartment a moment before the door was actually opened. The tallest Light stood just inside the door and blinked in slight shock to see the blonde at the door.

“Tenou-san, how can I help you?” Taiki asked.

“I was just wondering if I could talk to someone… I think I just had a run-in with your Anustes…” the blonde stated, her voice quiet from the anger that she had at herself.

Taiki stepped aside so that Haruka could enter. She heard the other two lights in the living area and smirked at the conversation. It sounded like Seiya hadn’t gotten a bit of peace about the night she had nearly been severely injured. She listened to Yaten give Seiya a hard time.

"I thought I had the upper hand in the battle... until that ama healed herself half way. I could have beaten her too..." Seiya stated.

"Grrrr… Seiya, that's not the point. You shouldn't have gone out on your own. What if you had gotten killed? Don't you care what Taiki and I think?!” Yaten asked, her voice raising slightly out of agitation.

"It's not that... I just wanted to get the woman back for injuring you two. I know I was too reckless... and sorry for causing you and Taiki to worry..." the raven haired woman said quietly.

"You’re apologizing? Are you sure you’re feeling okay...?" asked Taiki as she walked into the living room, Haruka in tow.

"Heh, no... I don’t know what I am…" muttered Seiya, stopping in mid-sentence as she saw Haruka walk into the room behind Taiki, “Why is she here?”

Haruka stood in the doorway to the living room, not knowing where to sit, her voice a low growl in response to Seiya’s remark, “I do not have to tell you my personal life, on top of that, it was not you I came to talk to, so you can relax. Taiki, is there any place we can go to talk?”

Taiki looked to Yaten before looking back to the blonde, “Hai, we can go to the second floor balcony.”

“I don’t see why she can’t talk to the rest of us,” Yaten stated, her eyes slit in annoyance, “The three of us are a team, you can either talk to us as such, or don’t bother with a conversation at all.”

A low sigh escaped the blonde before she glared at the silver haired Light, “Fine, if the two of you must know, I think I ran into your ‘friend’ in my building. There was a woman being attacked by a monster. After I defeated the monster, the woman was nowhere to be seen and I de-transformed in the stair well to the garage.”

Seiya snickered, “Baka.”

Haruka growled, “At least I didn’t go looking for trouble after the two that would matter the most to me had gotten hurt!”

“I think you would do the same thing for Kaiou-san.” Seiya stated, justifying her reckless behavior.

Haruka stayed quiet and closed her eyes as she turned her head away from the three in the living room. It hadn’t even been two full months yet and she was beginning to miss the aqua haired woman’s company.

Seiya watched the taller blonde curiously, ‘I wonder what’s wrong? Normally she would have torn me a new one for a comment like that, let alone saying her beloved’s name myself…’

“Tenou-san… are you alright?” Taiki asked, trying to defuse the tension in the air a little.

“No, but I will survive it.” The blonde stated as she turned back to the three, quickly running her sleeve over her eyes, “Anyway, is that woman able to create monsters to use?”

"Hmmm Anustes does have the power to summon monsters. She can also change normal, day to day objects into youma as well... Anustes did in fact summon, or create that youma, she could have been watching somewhere nearby. She has the power to teleport. Hmmm the woman could be miles away from here. Nonetheless there is the possibility that she does know who you are. And yes, she does know about me, as well as the other two Lights. I am sorry that you had to get involved with this..." said Taiki.

Haruka was watched by the three lights as she paced back and forth from her nervousness at having been discovered. It didn’t last more than a couple minutes before the young blonde moved to just lean in the door frame.

"Pardon me Tenou-san..." said Taiki standing and walking past the blonde and into the kitchen. She took out a few things from the fridge such as eggs, bacon, and butter for the toast. After, she put on some coffee. She put the bacon on than walked back to the small table. It took her longer because she was only using one arm.

Watching the taller woman for only a moment, the racer moved into the kitchen with her, “Need any help? I need the distraction at the moment.”

"That would be much appreciated, Tenou-san. I am afraid to say that the woman will most likely come after you now. I have a good theory on what her weakness might be." said Taiki to the tall blonde.

Haruka’s jaw clenched when she heard Taiki say that she would be harassed by the strange woman now. She growled at herself before realizing that Taiki had been talking to her.

“N-nani?”

“If you wouldn’t mind making the eggs and watching the bacon for me. Yaten can work on the toast.” The tallest Starlight said with a small smile.

“I didn’t sign up for that!” Yaten’s voice was heard from the doorway of the kitchen.

A smirk formed on the blonde’s face as she heard Taiki telling the shorter woman that it wouldn’t hurt her to do something that small. It didn’t surprise the blonde that Seiya didn’t join them in the kitchen. She figured it was more due to the fact that she was there as the kitchen was actually a nice size. It did not take time for the eggs and bacon to finish cooking and they were quickly plated and taken to the dining table.

“Tenou-san, would you like a cup of coffee?” Taiki offered.

“No thank you, I prefer tea with my breakfast.”

“You can find the tea bags in the cupboard to the right of Yaten, closest to the fridge.” The light stated.

“Arigatou,” the blonde tipped her head in a small bow.

Haruka sat opposite Taiki at the table with Yaten to her left. Seiya still had not moved from the living room.

“Seiya-chan, breakfast is done!” Yaten called to the young woman in the living room, “Hurry up before it gets cold!”

“I am not going to eat with her. I will eat later,” came the reply.

Taiki sighed and Yaten growled, standing up without her crutches as she moved into the living room to collect the raven haired young woman, “You are going to eat with us now, because if you don’t you will not get to eat until dinner.”

Haruka shot a quick glance to Taiki and saw her quietly giggling to herself. The blonde couldn’t help but chuckle herself.

‘A family… I miss the one that I had with Michiru, Hotaru and Setsuna…’ the blonde thought to herself, her smile quickly fading from her face as she moved to take a small portion of the eggs, a piece of bacon and a slice of toast.

“Tenou-san? Is everything alright?” Yaten asked quietly, having noticed the wind senshi’s sudden mood change.

Jumping slightly at having been spoken to, the blonde looked up at the silver haired young woman, “What? No, everything is fine.”

“Yeah, Yaten. She’s stone cold, why would she have any feelings?” Seiya asked, an almost cruel smirk on her face.

“Same could be said for you, snob nosed brat.” Haruka muttered under her breath, “I would figure that you would be grateful to me for helping you earlier this week.”

Taiki nodded, “Hai, Seiya, you still haven’t thanked her for her help.”

“Why should I?” the raven haired woman asked, “What did she do that was so special? She wasn’t the reason that I had felt so sore is she?!”

Yaten was nearly in tears with her laughter as the taller woman sighed and shook her head, grumbling about Seiya being a gutter mind.

“For starters, she made sure that no fan girls would have found you in your sailor fuku, she also made sure that Anustes would not kill you.” Taiki stated, an annoyed stare fixed on the lead singer.

“Not to mention she had to carry you up to the apartment by herself.” Yaten stated as an afterthought, laughter still heard in her voice.

Seiya grumbled to herself and sighed in annoyance, “Fine. Thank you Tenou-san.”

Haruka scoffed and turned away from the raven haired woman. She knew that the thank you wasn’t sincere, but she hadn’t expected a real one. She sat and quietly ate her meal, picking at her eggs when she suddenly remembered about the night she had helped the bratty lead singer up to her apartment. A soft tint of pink started to appear on her cheeks as she remembered what she had inadvertently looked at that night. What bothered her more about it was that she couldn’t say she didn’t enjoy the view, the raven haired young woman had a great body.

Without Haruka noticing, the object of her thoughts was sneaking glances at her when she thought that the other two Lights were not looking. It made an almost comical sight for Taiki as she watched the two rivals sneak glances at each other. It intrigued and worried her.

“Tenou-san, how is Kaiou-san?” Taiki asked of their guest.

There was a slight pause as the blonde thought of a response, then stated the truth, “I don’t know….”

All three of the Lights looked to the sandy blonde who now had her head lowered and her fists clenching the table trying to hold back tears of anger and frustration.

“Tenou-san…. You can’t mean….?” Yaten began turning to glance at Taiki in shock and worry.

“Kaiou-san…” Haruka spoke softly, not able to say anything further.

“I say she’s better off anyway. Hey, at least I can get another chance then.” Seiya stated with a winning grin.

Taiki stomped on Seiya’s foot and looked back to the blonde across from her when she spoke again.

“Good luck with that. She won’t stay with you…” the blonde stated, her voice hoarse from keeping herself from crying.

Seiya blinked at the blonde, surprise making her mute for the time being as she realized that her longtime rival was on the verge of tears, ‘What did Kaiou-san do to her? I have never seen Tenou-san act this way before.’

Haruka stood from the table and collected the rest of the plates that were empty and retreated into the kitchen to put them in the sink to let them soak for a small amount of time. She growled as she felt a couple tears race down her cheeks, quickly wiping them away before anyone could see them. With the water running, the tall racer didn’t hear the raven haired woman come into the kitchen. When Seiya finally spoke, she made the taller blonde startle in surprise.

“Tenou-san… Here are the last of the dishes…” the raven haired woman said softly, putting them on the counter next to the sink, then moving to find a towel, “You wash, I’ll dry and listen to your problems.”

Shutting off the water the blonde started to chuckle, almost menacingly, “I should believe that you want to listen to my problems? If you do, I can only figure that it would be to use them to your advantage later.”

“No, I do want to listen. I haven’t known you that long, but I have never known you to doubt yourself.” The raven haired woman stated as she stepped up to the sink to get ready to dry the dishes, “I have always seen you exude confidence, no matter what kind of situation you were put into. I have to say that I respect that, and it worries me that you might be truly hurt if you do not have the same confident air.”

Haruka turned to the woman next to her as she reached into the soapy water for the first dish to run the wash rag over, “Are you saying what I think you are saying?”

“I am saying that I am extending the olive branch,” the lead singer stated, “I liked our verbal sparring game, but I can’t sit idly by and watch you fall into depression.”

A questioning gaze fell on the dark haired senshi before Haruka gave a small genuine smile, “This will take some getting used to.”

“Hai, it will.” Seiya admitted, “But Ten-“

“You can use Haruka” the blonde said, cutting the other woman off, “If we are going to be friends now, there is no reason that you need to be so formal.”

Seiya nodded and watched Haruka fish out another dish to clean, “Then you may use Seiya for me, but what I was going to say was: if you don’t want to talk about what happened with Kaiou-san, I won’t force you, but I would hope that you would eventually.”

Haruka’s smile grew wider, “Thank you, Seiya-kun.”

“No problem.” The young woman stated, then winked at the blonde, “You made some great eggs this morning by the way.”

Haruka felt herself blush and she immediately turned away from the ebony haired young woman, trying to concentrate fully on washing the dishes. She heard Seiya chuckle softly next to her and felt the young woman gently nudge her in the side. Between the two of them, they finished the large dishes in no time, eventually what was left was the silver ware. The blonde reached her hand into the murky water, searching for the silver ware at the bottom of the sink, suddenly her hand rocketed out of the water after she felt her hand sliced by a knife. A soft hiss of pain was all Seiya heard out of the blonde before she turned to see blood pooling in the taller woman’s hand.

“Haruka-san, what did you do?” Seiya asked as she moved to retrieve the first aid kit that was kept under the sink.

“I think I found a knife…” the blonde stated through a clamped jaw.

While she bandaged the blonde’s hand, Seiya tried to be as gentle as possible, first cleaning it with peroxide, then wrapping a piece of gauze to her hand with medical tape. While the raven haired young woman worked, she realized just how soft the blonde’s hands were. She held the blonde’s hand just a few seconds too long. Both young women blushed softly and remained like that until both Taiki and Yaten entered the kitchen with the butter, jam, salt and pepper.

“Oh, Seiya seems to be moving quicker than we thought.” Yaten spoke up with a laugh.

“Can it Yaten…” Seiya grumbled as she gently released Haruka’s hand and turned back to dry the dishes again.

Taiki moved to grab an unused sponge and started to wipe down the counters and stove top, “Hey, Tenou-san, thank you for cleaning the dishes.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Yaten stated as she put the jam in the fridge again, her crutches nowhere to be seen, much to the annoyance of the other two Lights.

“What? Don’t give me those looks now! My foot’s ouch…. I mean fine,” Yaten said, quickly recovering.

Haruka turned to the silver haired Light when she heard the ‘ouch’ and smirked, “Don't you think you have had enough pain already?" she asked, a slight grin showing on her face as she watched the young woman for a moment before turning back to her work, "You should watch it Yaten-san... these two will start calling you stumpy..."

Seiya laughed at the blonde’s comment, nearly dropping a plate she was in the middle of drying, “That was good Haruka-san. Well you heard her Stumpy. It is time for you to lay off that poor foot!”

“She does make a good point, would it kill you to use the crutches every now and then?” the taller Light asked, trying to keep her laughing to a minimum.

“Oh har har, let’s all make fun of the gimp,” Yaten replied laughing, “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. It doesn’t hurt that much.”

Haruka smirked when she heard Yaten reach for her crutches after putting the jam away while she reached into the water for the final piece of silver ware. She handed it to Seiya before pulling the stopper in the sink to let the water run out. After the water was gone, she turned on the water and turned it to cold on her side of the sink to help the soap bubbles be swept into the drain. When the soap was gone, she turned the water to warm again and made sure that the other young woman could use it again while she wiped down the inside of the sink. When she was done, she turned to rest her back against the counter next to the sink as she watched Seiya finish drying the dishes.

Taiki and Yaten both left the kitchen, moving toward the living room, leaving Seiya and Haruka alone again in the kitchen. She was sure she heard the two whispering to each other, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying. Haruka had been around the three Lights only on minimal occasions, but she was still able to figure out that there was a strong bond between the shortest and tallest of the trio. She had known that the three lived and acted like their own little family unit, usually like sisters.

When she turned back to the raven haired young woman who was still next to the sink, she felt her cheeks burn red when she realized that she was closer than she had remembered, their faces mere millimeters apart. The blonde’s breath caught in her throat at the small, but quickly becoming a welcome, shock. She noticed the pink ting to the other woman’s cheeks as well. She had never figured that she would find herself one day with feelings for the pop idol brat. Had you asked her even a week before, she would have said, “Hell NO!” yet here she was. Haruka slowly pulled away from the raven haired young woman with a nervous laugh.

Seiya just smiled a bit as she watched Haruka slowly move away from her, recalling how close the other woman had been and the feel of soft skin as she continued to gaze into the other woman's eyes. 'What is it about her? I never would have dreamed of even thinking her cute... let alone harboring these growing feelings... Yet her smile is quite charming.' she thought.

“So, you have to tell me… what’s the deal with those two? They seem to be acting like secret lovers or something.” the blonde stated, trying to ignore her simmering emotions and hormones.

Seiya glanced to the living room, her soft smile turning to a smirk, “Those two? A secret…?! Heh nope!”

“You two have no grounds to just pin us. What’s up with those looks you two have been giving each other? And Seiya, you holding Haruka’s hand!” Yaten’s voice came from the living room.

Haruka felt the blush on her face deepen, her first words out of her mouth in response were, “I have seen you two exchange glances when you thought no one was looking. You two seem to be joined at the hip.”

Seiya smirked to the blonde, “They call it ‘trying to hide their relationship from the press’. Heh, they aren’t too secretive when they are-“

“Seiya!” Yaten and Taiki shouted in unison from the living room.

“What are your guys’ problems? I was gonna say when you are at home…” the raven haired young woman said with a wink and smirk to Haruka.

“Funny…” Taiki stated flatly, “Anyway, why are you two all of a sudden acting all chummy? Don’t get me wrong, it is a welcome change to the fighting.”

Haruka and Seiya walked into the living room and the tall blonde gave Taiki a shrug and cleared her throat, "I felt sorry for seeing her lying unconscious after the fight with Anustes. It's not my fault she is so pathetic." the blonde quirked an eyebrow and let a mischievous grin cross her face as she continued, "Not only that, but I couldn't help to notice that she has a great body, though it was actually kind of hard to miss it when part of it is right there in your face when you are carrying that body over your shoulder."

Seiya's cheeks turned bright red, growling lowly after being called pathetic. Yet her cheeks brightened even more when she heard the blonde speak further. 'Did she just say that? Wait didn't she just call me pathetic? Eh wish I could remember being carried here... heh at least I could have known what part of me she was starting at...' thought Seiya.

Haruka had been truly worried about the raven haired woman, but at this point she wasn't sure if she wanted to admit to herself that she could actually care for the other woman. It just seemed to be happening so fast lately. She turned to look at Seiya to see her reaction was to the other's question was. She hoped Seiya wasn't offended by what she had said. Her feelings had seemed to change for all three of them; they had started to let her in and seemed to be willing to help with her fear of being found out by Anustes.

Seiya rubbed the back of her neck somewhat nervously when she saw the blonde and the other two Lights look toward her. Each of them was surprised to hear Haruka's comment on Seiya's body. And they each smiled as they waited for Seiya to respond.

Seiya felt at a loss for words. And was truly flattered by the complement Haruka had given her. "Well... ummm eh to be honest I guess our past arguments were simply over a misunderstanding... Anyway do you really mean that...? Well, what you said about my body?" asked Seiya, as she continued to blush.

Smiling and closing her eyes, the tall blonde felt her playfulness come back, “That is a secret!”

Seiya chuckled softly when the blonde stated it was a secret. The other two lights each smiled at Haruka. Taiki moved closer to Yaten on the couch and wrapped her good arm around the shorter Light’s waist. A small smirk appeared on the green-eyed lights face. 'They do make a cute couple...' whispered Yaten. 'Very true... it's a welcome change to seeing them argue' whispered Taiki.

Haruka looked at the three Lights, “I still don’t know what to do about being found out…”

Silence took over the living room for a moment as the three Lights tried to decide what to do, then Seiya spoke up, “She could stay here for a little while. Taiki, your room is the cleanest, she could stay in there.”

“I suppose,” the tall woman said in thought, “That would give me the chance to better organize Yaten’s room.”

“I couldn’t ask you to-“ the blonde started before being cut off by Seiya.

“Don’t worry about it, those two spend the night in the same bed most of the time anyway.” Seiya said with a small smirk at the other two before continuing, “You aren’t putting us out. I promise.”

Yaten snickered, “I give it a month before they are spending the night together.”

Both Haruka and Seiya blushed bright red at the silver haired Light’s comment. The sight that the two former rivals made had Yaten in tears laughing and Taiki shook with held in laughter. Seiya grumbled under her breath at the other two Lights before motioning to Haruka to follow her.

“Here, I’ll show you Taiki’s room.”

~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~

A couple weeks later found the four of them settling into the arrangement nicely, each of them taking their own responsibilities around the apartment. Haruka and Seiya were spending quite a bit of time together. The blonde enjoyed her time with the three Star senshi, and she was beginning to wonder why she had disliked them in the first place.

Haruka moved down the stairs from the bedroom area, moving to the kitchen to make herself a salad to hold her till dinner. When she passed the living room she saw Seiya dozing on the couch, the other two Lights nowhere to be seen. The tall blonde stopped to watch the raven haired woman sleep for a couple moments before moving to cover her with a light blanket. It had become harder and harder for the blonde not to tell the other woman how she was starting to feel for her. She sighed at herself after leaving the living room and heading to the kitchen to make herself a salad. When she finished, she moved to the dining table to eat it. The sound of fabric rustling made the blonde look up towards the living room, a smile forming on her face when she saw that Seiya was waking up.

“Haruka-chan?” the ebony haired young woman asked rubbing her eyes.

“Hai, I’m here in the dining room.” The blonde responded.

A few minutes later Seiya moved into the dining room, mumbling a soft ‘hello’. The reaction made the blonde chuckle softly and she realized that she was starting to have true feelings for the person that she had seen as a brat.

“A salad?” Seiya asked as she sat down at the table with a wide yawn.

“Yeah, I wanted a snack. Oh, do you know where Taiki-chan and Yaten-chan went?” the blonde asked.

“They went out on a lunch date.” The raven haired young woman stated.

Haruka looked sad for a moment before hiding it with a smile. The mood change wasn’t quick enough for Seiya to not notice, even still being tired. The sudden mood change made the sapphire eyed Light worry that her new found friend was reliving something unpleasant.

“Haruka-chan…” Seiya started, “I may be tired, but I can still tell that something is wrong. What’s the matter?”

It took a moment for the blonde to speak, “I… was remembering how Kaiou-san and I would go out to eat…”

A sad look washed over the blonde’s face and the raven haired young woman immediately felt terrible for even saying anything. She stood and moved behind the tall blonde, letting her arms wrap around the other woman to try and comfort her with a hug. The tall racer’s eyes widened in shock for a second when Seiya initiated the hug, she relaxed after a moment and closed her eyes as she let her head lean against the other woman’s.

“I don’t want to see you sad, Haruka-chan.” Seiya stated softly into the blonde’s ear, “What can I do to make you laugh?”

Those soft, heartfelt words were the key to the blonde woman’s Niagara Falls. She reached up to gently hold Seiya’s neck in a reverse hug as she started to sob quietly in the other woman’s embrace. The Starlight felt hot tears touch the skin of her neck as the blonde began to cry and instinctively hugged the woman just a little tighter.

‘It is about time…’ Seiya thought to herself, ‘She needed to release the tension.’

Another few minutes and the blonde had stopped shaking from being rocked by her own silent sobs. Seiya gently released the blonde, moving a chair closer to be able to look at the other woman. The raven haired young woman reached out and brushed Haruka’s bangs out of her eyes. The Starlight offered a gentle smile to the blonde when eyes the color of a deep, clear blue sky looked at her. A couple stray tears escaped the blonde’s eyes and Seiya leaned in to kiss them away.

“Haruka-chan…” the raven haired woman said softly, “please, tell me what has been troubling you.”

Taking a shaky breath, the tall racer took a gulp of air before she even tried to begin to think of how to explain what had happened between Michiru and herself. She brought her own hands up to wipe away her tears, then looked into the other woman’s eyes again, a little more confidently.

“I….” Haruka’s voice was hoarse, “One day when I went back to the apartment and noticed something different…”

Seiya nodded, not wanting to discourage the blonde from talking by saying anything.

“I had known for a while that Kaiou-san and I more than likely would not last for too long, and funny enough, I had been walking back to the apartment wondering how I could tell her that I didn’t feel like we had anything any longer.” The blonde spoke softly, “When I finally got to the apartment, I knew that something was wrong. I could smell cologne in the air and it was a brand that I had never used. I followed it and found it coming from the bedroom…”

Seiya felt her jaw clench as Haruka continued, “The only two questions that I have are: why did she choose to get into a relationship with me, and how long had she been seeing guys?”

“Ruka-chan…. I had no idea….” Seiya finally gasped, “I knew she was as much of a flirt as you, but I had no idea that she would actually carry it out.”

“Neither did I…” Haruka spoke softly, closing her eyes and hanging her head.

Just then the other two lights opened the front door and walked into the apartment. When they saw the two at the table they immediately jumped to defense.

“What happened?” Yaten asked, “Seiya, you better not have done anything to her!”

“N-no, Yaten-chan. It’s ok…” Haruka said as she stood from the table to get a paper towel from the kitchen to blow her nose, “She actually helped me just now.”

Taiki stood nearest the front door, a curious glance catching the sapphire eyed Light’s eye. Seiya shook her head to the silent question in Taiki’s eyes. The taller woman raised an eyebrow before moving to take her jacket off. It was getting cold outside. She helped the silver haired Light take her jacket off and hung both up in the closet near the entry door. Haruka returned and sat down again in the same chair next to Seiya.

“Haruka-chan, are you alright?” Yaten asked.

“I’ll be fine now, Yaten-chan.” The blonde smiled at the shorter young woman, “Thank you for caring.”

Yaten smiled, “What are friends for?”

Smiling and nodding, the young racer turned back to Seiya, seeing the other young woman watching her made the blonde blush, but she did not look away.

A couple hours later when the four of them sat down to eat dinner. Yaten and Taiki watched as the other two glanced at each other back and forth, light conversation continuing through the meal. The tallest and shortest Lights smirked to themselves as they saw the reaction the other two were having on each other. When Haruka finished eating she stood and collected the others’ dishes and took them to the kitchen to wash them. She honestly felt a weight lifted from her shoulders, and was grateful to have three new friends. She jumped slightly when she felt someone put an arm around her shoulders.

“Haruka-chan, I can help wash. You dry this time.” The ebony haired Light said with a warm smile.

The two of them started with the dishes, the tall blonde drying a couple before Seiya spoke softly, “Haruka-chan, I am sorry that you were hurt. I don’t know what I can do to make it better, but I will be here for you if you need someone to talk to.”

Haruka turned to look at the other woman, loosing herself in the rich sapphire pools of the other woman’s eyes. Without any thought on her part, the taller woman leaned down and gently kissed the other woman’s lips. The plate that Seiya had been holding fell back into the sink with a soft thud as it hit the bottom. A soft sigh escaped the shorter woman as she let her arms move to hold the blonde. The kiss lasted for a moment more until Taiki moved into the kitchen, then the two quickly broke the kiss and turned to the taller Light.

“Hey, you don’t have to stop on my account,” the taller woman said with a small smirk.

“What did I miss?” Yaten asked from behind the taller woman.

“Nothing Yaten, these two were just cleaning the dishes.” Taiki said before moving to clean the stove, “Incidentally, you two, having been rivals, why are you being so nice to each other now?”

“Uhm….” The two said in unison.

“I don’t think that it would be a good idea for us to fight while I am living here with you three. It would just make our lives miserable, wouldn’t you think?” the blonde asked.

Taiki hid her smile by turning to look at what she was doing, Yaten just turned and gawked at the tall racer. The tall blonde continued to dry the dishes that Seiya had worked on after they parted the kiss.

“Will you two just go back to bickering after you are gone?” Yaten asked of the blonde.

Haruka thought for a second then shook her head, “I don’t think so. I feel as if you three have become my family.” She nudged Seiya gently, “This one maybe just a little more.”

Yaten looked confused then felt herself blush as she saw the blonde gently turn the raven haired young woman’s face to her and kiss her for a second time. Taiki turned to the two by the sink and smiled.

“Yaten-chan, I don’t think we have to worry about those two fighting anymore.” The taller woman stated.

Haruka gently parted the kiss, her cheeks bright pink as she looked deeply into the ebony haired young woman’s eyes, “I don’t want to fight any more.”

Seiya was blushing and she looked up into the other woman’s eyes, she was at a loss for words for a moment before a small, shy smile formed on her face, her voice soft when she did finally speak again. “Suki desu Haruka-chan…”

Haruka blushed as she let a small smile creep onto her face. She nodded and let her hand stay holding the side of the other woman's face. The other woman's skin was warm and soft to the touch as she let her thumb gently caress her lips and her cheek when her hand moved to gently hold the raven haired woman's chin.

“I think that I have known that for a while…” the blonde smiled shyly as she felt her cheeks light up.

A gentle smile crossed the raven haired Light’s lips as she felt the other woman's hand slowly caress her face. She loved the way it felt and wished she could feel a bit more of the charming blonde's touch. All the while her own cheeks flushed a slightly deeper shade of crimson.

Seiya gazed deeply into Haruka's eyes, “Ah... glad that you do..." she replied, giving her a small wink in return, and then glanced over at the other two.

When she finally did look away from the raven haired Light’s deep blue eyes, Haruka turned and looked at the other two, a smirk slowly replaced the shy smile from moments prior, "Guess it isn't so secret about any of us now is it?"

Both of the other two women were smiling from ear to ear. Yaten had a smug look on her face while Taiki just looked like she was glad the fighting would finally end.

“We can see the change,” Yaten snickered, “and it’s a welcome one.”

Taiki laughed softly, “You two make a cute couple by the way.”

Haruka and Seiya blushed deep crimson when they heard their friends speak. Everyone quickly finished in the kitchen and moved into the living room to sit and relax. Yaten and Taiki sat on the couch, Taiki laid on her side that she did not have her injured arm and Yaten laying in front, cuddling with the taller Light. The tall blonde and the raven haired young woman moved to sit on the overstuffed chair and love seat.

It was new to the former rivals, being able to be more open with each other and being able to actually trust the other. Neither knew how far it would go, but they were both willing to see how far it would go. The tall blonde caught the raven haired young woman’s eye and winked, smiling to herself when she saw the other woman start to blush.

‘She looks amazing, and she is so adorable when she blushes.’ Haruka thought to herself as she watched the other woman.

A couple hours later, when the movie they had been watching finished, the tall blonde stood from her seat and moved upstairs to change her clothes for bed. She entered the room, closing the door so that it was cracked, not expecting to take too long changing. She turned to look when she heard the door latch behind her and saw Seiya standing in front of the door, her eyes down to the floor.

“I’m sorry that you got mixed up in with all this stuff and with Anustes.” The ebony haired Starlight said softly.

“You don’t have to apologize.” The blonde stated as she found the night shirt that she wanted to sleep in, “I have to admit, at first I was furious, but now…? I wouldn’t take any of it back for an instant.”

Seiya blushed, “I guess if I had never gone out to fight that woman alone… we wouldn’t be where we are right now today. Something good did end up coming out of my rash behavior.”

Haruka tossed her pajamas onto the food of the bed and moved towards the shorter woman, sweatdropping after the woman admitted she was happy she did what she did. Without thinking, the blonde pulled the other woman into a warm embrace, her hand automatically gently moving Seiya’s chin up so their lips could meet.

After a couple moments, the blonde broke the kiss and looked down into the other woman’s eyes, her voice soft when she spoke, “You have three people that would be very upset if anything were to happen to you now.”

Seiya was deep red as she looked up into the blonde’s eyes after the kiss. She could only nod, not trusting her voice in that moment, but she slowly stammered out a response, “I-I will be mo-more careful next time…”

A small smile played on the taller woman’s lips as she listened to the other woman, then smirked when she stated, “You know, I wouldn’t have minded being the reason you had been sore.” She said with a wink, then she spoke in a little more of a serious tone, “Do you believe in love at first sight?”

Seiya smirked in response to the blonde’s statement, “Ah, then you could have served me breakfast in bed the next morning.” Then she leaned up to be able to whisper into the blonde’s ear, "Yes, I do believe in love at first sight... even if it has a bit of a rough start... suki desu turns into aishiteru."

Haruka felt her cheeks grow hot for the umpteenth time before gently letting the other woman go so she could change. She moved to the end of the bed as she reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the raven haired Light watching intently and she smirked before speaking to get the other woman’s mind off of her changing, even a little bit.

“So, what are we going to do about Anustes? I don’t want to go back to my apartment and end up being ambushed.” The blonde stated.

Seiya recovered quickly from her stupor, clearing her throat and looking down at the floor, “Unfortunately, there is no true way of tracking her movements. What we know at the moment is that her appearance has been linked to odd weather patterns. There is a possibility that she might try to attack you if you go back to your apartment.”

Haruka nodded and listened to the young woman continue, “I do not think you would be her target if you were with someone else, but I think she is getting to the point that she won’t think twice about attacking out of the blue, possibly attacking the other senshi that are here. I see now that we should have told you and the others here about her before now. Ruka-chan… I didn’t mean to get you involved in all of this…”

Tossing her jeans on the end of the bed, the wind senshi reached for the pajama bottoms but stopped when she heard the other woman not only call her a pet name, but apologize for getting her involved. She stood and turned to the other woman still standing by the door with a soft sigh.

“Sei-chan, there is no need to be sorry. In the end we are all Senshi fighting nearly the same evil, right?" she said as she slowly moved to hug Seiya again, "We should have been united as a whole a long time ago to help each other fight."

Slowly moving to kiss the other woman’s forehead, the blonde gently squeezed the woman slightly tighter, “But I am involved now, and I need to check on my apartment soon. I need to make sure I’m not going to lose my deposit because Anustes decided to destroy it.” The blonde tried to joke, then tilted the other woman’s head up to look at her, “I think that it would be best that you stay here with the other two. They are on the mend and they are getting stronger every day, but they would be sitting targets.”

“Ruka-chan, Yaten-chan and Taiki-chan will be fine. I would be worried that Anustes would try to attack either when you were on your way or when you reached your apartment.” Seiya replied softly, “I won’t let you go alone.”

Haruka chuckled, quickly brushing her lips over the other woman’s before moving to finish getting her pajamas on, “Sei-chan…”

They moved out of the bedroom and slowly moved down the stairs to the living room again. While they had been walking together, the wind and star senshi held each other’s hands. When they reached the living room, Taiki and Yaten looked up at the two, the silver haired Light let a smirk cross her face before fully laughing while the taller young woman chuckled softly. The two that had been upstairs looked down at their clasped hands before turning to the other two.

“Problems with our friendship?” the blonde asked with a smirk.

“Not at all Haruka-chan,” Yaten gasped, “I’m just not sure that it would be just a ‘friendship’ at this point.”

Yaten motioned for the tall wind senshi to come to her. Haruka raised an eye brow before complying. She knelt in front of the silver haired light and was surprised to hear the other woman whisper to her.

“Seiya's had a lot of let down's relationship wise. She may act tough at times... but she's a big softy. Don't hurt her ok?" the silver haired Light asked before backing away.

Looking between the two that were still on the couch, Haruka smiled and winked before moving to the love seat and patting the seat next to her once she sat down. The raven haired young woman moved to sit next to the blonde and leaned against her shoulder, Haruka let her arm wrap around the woman, she then used her free hand to gently tilt the shorter woman’s face up for a soft kiss. The blonde was happy at the thought that the other two Lights would trust her and her feelings for their lead singer. When she gently broke the kiss, the blonde looked back to Taiki and Yaten, receiving warm smiles in return. She returned her gaze to the eyes of the woman in her arms and found herself nearly lost in the other woman’s sapphire depths.

Everyone went quiet when they heard an almost timid knock at the door. Haruka stood up with Seiya when Taiki moved to open the door after being let up off the couch by Yaten. The two new lovers moved into the dining area to see what happened at the door, the blonde instinctively holding Seiya close, making sure her body was somewhat between the door and Seiya. From what the blonde could see, the tallest Light was talking to a strange woman with curly orange hair.

‘Who would knock on the door this late at night?’ the blonde thought to herself, then spoke softly enough just for the taller woman to hear, “Taiki-chan, who is it?”

Seiya picked up on the blonde’s suspicion and narrowed her eyes at the stranger by the door. She turned to Yaten when she heard the silver haired light move into the room. Yaten too looked suspicious of the newcomer. The raven haired young woman could tell that Yaten knew there was something off about this person.

“I’m not sure who it is,” Taiki replied to the blonde in a whisper, “There is a possibility that this is not an ordinary human…”

Suddenly clearing her throat, the orange haired stranger moved to look through the gap in the door, "Pardon me... but I only came to talk. Yes, to chat, to speak with each of you about a matter of great importance..."

Haruka turned and watched Seiya and Yaten exchange glances before turning back to Taiki, whispering back, “I don’t think that letting her in would be the wisest idea from what I am gathering from the other two.”

Reluctant to let the raven haired young woman go, the blonde moved to talk to the woman herself, gently pushing Taiki to the side and behind her, “I'm sorry... whatever you're selling, we aren't interested." the tall racer stated, ready to close the door, "I think I hear some girl scouts calling for their bunk leader though."

The orange haired woman cleared her through, putting her foot in the door way to prevent the door from closing. "I am just a fan here to give something to Seiya-san..." she replied, than pushed her way past the taller blonde.

Haruka growled as the woman pushed past her, trying to grab her to throw her out, but missed catching her.

The orange haired woman quickly took something from her pocket. Before the dark haired senshi could react, a small silver ring had been placed on her middle finger, the strange woman giggled. "That's all I WISHED to DO..." she said, her right eye twitched a bit, and Seiya sweat dropped while she looked on.

"Ja ne minna-sama..." said the young woman, than quickly fled from the Light’s apartment.

Another growl escaped the blonde as she slammed the door behind the freaky women. Seiya turned and watched as Haruka quickly slammed the door behind the strange woman. Her focus than turned to the sliver ring on her right middle finger, she looked closely at the ring’s polished surface.

Haruka stared at the door for a couple seconds before she moved to inspect the ring that had been forced onto her girlfriend’s finger. Small symbols could be seen inscribed on it, but were too faint to see without light hitting the ring in the right way. The racer turned to the other two in the room, fear on her face as thoughts of who might have just visited them ran through her head. She looked up into the sapphire eyed Light’s eyes and gently brought her hand up again to look at the ring a little more closely.

After a moment the blonde tried to pull the ring off, but found that she couldn't without most likely hurting the other woman in the process. She sighed as she regrettably gave up and just held the other woman's hand.

Seiya glanced away from the ring, and toward the blonde, a worried look appeared on her features when she saw the fear on the other woman's face. Yet she tried to hide a bit of her own fear when she felt her girlfriend hold her hand. She watched as the blonde made a good attempt to remove the article.

"I'm sorry for not being able to stop her. I have a snagging suspicion that was someone we didn't want finding us." the blonde said angrily, "Now the problem is to try and find a way to get this ring off of Seiya's finger. There's some strange writing on it, can you two read it?"

"No need to apologize... hmm besides this ring shouldn't be that hard to remove. True, yet what are the odds that it was Anustes..." said Seiya and watched as the other two Lights approached her.

"I might be able to read the inscription..." said Taiki while she moved closer.

Haruka stepped behind the sapphire eyed Light as the other two came to inspect the ring. She let her hands rest on the raven haired woman's shoulders as she looked over her right shoulder to watch the other two.

"Hmmm there's something odd about that ring. I've got a very bad feeling about it..." replied Yaten as she moved closer to look at the ring before letting the taller Light examine it.

Taiki held Seiya's hand while she started to try to translate the inscription, "This isn't kanji, this looks very similar to Japanese kanji... yet it's not. Hmmm this appears to be from Anustes' planet. It reads ''kangenha guujin woyorokobasu" ... Hmmm loosely translated it means "sweet words only please a fool" or more like 'flattery works on puppets and fools'.”

Haruka’s hands moved off of Seiya's shoulders and her arms wrapped around the woman from behind, the blonde's head still over the raven haired woman's right shoulder as she looked to Taiki, "So what does that mean? Is there any way to get it off?" the young blonde's arms tightened around Seiya in a worried hug as she turned her head slightly to kiss the other woman's neck, trying to comfort the both of them.

Seiya felt even more worried after hearing Taiki's words. An old Kinmoku fairy tale came to her mind. 'Please, let me be wrong about this...' she thought as she closed her eyes, and smiled a bit when she felt Haruka tighten her grip, that simple act caused her feel a bit more calm.

A worried look could be seen in Taiki's eyes, "It means that we have to find a safe way to get that ring off her finger ... and fast"

"Well, what if we tried butter, lard, hand lotion ... or even just plain water?" asked Yaten.

"Hmmm sadly I doubt those will work, but we could give them a try..." said Taiki.

"We should try, because I have a very bad feeling about that ring...." replied Yaten.

Seiya smiled a bit when she felt Haruka kiss the back of her neck. "Then let’s try that..." she replied, eager for that ring to be off her finger. Seiya sighed a bit when she heard Yaten's words. But hopped that lotion or baby oil would help remove the ring. All of a sudden she heard the sweet words of oddly enough, her own voice, echo through her mind.

Haruka winced at the platinum blonde's words, she looked hopefully at Taiki, her fear for the dark haired woman only vaguely shadowed by her hope, "Where do you keep the hand lotion? Do you have any baby oil?" the blonde asked as she moved to head for the bathroom to look for the items she had mentioned.

Taiki tried to stay positive "They are both kept in the bathroom,” she called after the tall blonde, then turned to the silver haired Light beside her, “there should be some lotion in the kitchen as well..."

Seiya let her mind wonder as she heard her own voice continue to give her numerous complements. The dark haired starlight completely forgot about the ring on her finger until she felt Yaten tap on her shoulder.

"Seiya come into the kitchen. Seiya? Hello... Are you even listening to me…? Wake up!" snapped Yaten.

"Ooooh, gomen nasai Yaten..." replied Seiya, "I started to day dream..."

"How can you day dream when you've got that cursed ring on your finger?" asked Yaten.

"I don't know" said Seiya as she rubbed the back of her head and followed the green eyed Light into the kitchen, followed soon after by Taiki carrying a small bottle of baby oil from one of their rooms.

Seiya once again started to glance at the ring and smiled a bit when she glanced at the others, "Well, here's hoping that something works..."

Haruka soon joined the Lights in the kitchen by the sink, the lotion and baby oil in hand. She moved to be next to the raven haired young woman. The blonde watched the attempts the others made to get the ring off the dark haired Light’s finger. Her mind worked over what the inscription on the ring could possibly mean.

“Taiki, could that inscription be a riddle? Or is it similar to a spell?” the blonde asked as she wrapped a protective arm around the sapphire eyed Light.

Taiki looked to her newest roommate and shook her head, “I haven’t a clue.”

“A fool could be used as another term for a puppet though…” the blonde thought aloud, “Brain washing?”

Yaten growled in annoyance at the ring as she stepped back from the sink, turning off the water and looking to the other two behind her lead singer. She shook her head to the tall blonde. The racer hadn’t wanted to see that she had failed to protect her new family. She clamped her jaw shut, the muscles in her jaw strained as she clenched and unclenched her jaw with her boiling anger.

Haruka looked worriedly over to the dark haired woman, slowly making her way over to her and carefully taking her hand that had the ring on it. Seiya slowly glanced away from the ring when she felt Haruka gently take her hand. She quickly gazed into the other’s eyes before her own were drawn back down to the ring on her finger.

“I don’t like the idea of becoming someone’s puppet…" Seiya admitted in a hushed tone.

Haruka’s eyes were warm as she slowly leaned down to kiss the young woman as she used her other arm to give her a firm hug. She moved away just slightly, so she could look at the sapphire eyed light's eyes.

The dark haired starlight than gazed back into the blonde's eyes just before she was hugged, "I love you, Tenou Haruka ... arigato. Just make me a promise that you'll stop me if ... if things get out of hand" said Seiya as she tried to ignore her own voice that seemed to echo throughout her thoughts.

"Aishiteru Kou Seiya.... I will try my damndest to help you and your friends get the ring off." the blonde stated softly to the other woman. She brought her hands up to gently hold the sides of the other woman's face and looked her dead in the eyes, her words firm, yet gentle, "Don't say that... nothing bad is going to happen.... the three of us will help you any way we can..."

"... Why are you three looking at me like that?" Seiya asked, sounding suddenly annoyed.

“Sei-chan…” the blonde spoke tentatively, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I am just wondering why everyone seems to be crowding me all of a sudden.” The raven haired young woman stated.

“How about we go upstairs and get you settled into bed?” Haruka asked as she gently started to guide the other woman to her bedroom.

There was no resistance as the blonde maneuvered the other woman up the stairs and into her room. She tucked the woman into bed and gave her another kiss before she left the room, hesitating at the doorway for a moment before finally letting it close behind her. The tall racer went back down stairs to talk to the other two Lights about what was happening with their lead singer.

'It's such a nice night. Perhaps I should ditch the others for a bit... No I could use a small rest. Who needs rest? Maybe a late night walk in the park ... another chance to be the flirt that I am will cheer me up. Wait? Where'd that thought come from?!' the raven haired young woman thought after the blonde left her room.

Seiya glanced up at the ceiling for a short while before her attention slowly returned to the ring. Part if her still felt the urge to go out, as if something or someone wanted her to leave the others, 'There's a sturdy fire escape outside ... wouldn't take too long to leave… I can't... but at the same time I hate seeing Ruka-chan and the others that worried...'

She set her mind and started to get up out of her bed. She moved to grab a light jacket and a baseball cap out of her closet before looking to the fire escape.

~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~

Haruka and the other two Lights were in the dining room, trying to figure out what they could do about the ring and what Anustes might be planning. The trio tried to come up with an idea that would help them against the witch. It hurt the blonde the most when she let herself feel that she had failed the Lights. She didn’t want to have another family pulled away from her. After about an hour the blonde quieted the other two and listened.

“Don’t you think she has been maybe a little too quiet up there?” the blonde inquired as her paranoia started to creep into her mind.

“Now that you mention it, it does seem just a little too quiet up there. She would normally have music playing.” Taiki stated.

Haruka stood and moved up the stairs, her ears tuned to any sound, but she heard nothing. She knocked softly on the raven haired Light’s door and waited for a moment. When she didn’t hear anything, she quietly opened the door to the woman’s room and peeked in. She felt the air leave her as she felt a panicked fear drain her energy when she did not see the young woman in her bed. Feeling the slight temperature drop, she turned to the window and saw it open. The blonde moved to the window and saw the baseball cap on the fire escape. Her heart nearly sent into shock, the blonde hurried down the stairs to tell the other two.

“We have a problem!” the blonde panted, “She’s not in her room any more. I will go out looking for her. You two stay here, turn your communicators on. If I run into any trouble along the way, I will open mine to yours.”

“Haruka-chan,” Taiki started as she looked into the blonde’s eyes, “Be careful, for Seiya-chan’s sake.”

A quick nod and the blonde moved to the front door closet to retrieve her bike jacket. The blonde hadn’t liked that it was the only one she could manage to grab before she couldn’t go back to her apartment, but it would have to do. She quickly tied her shoes and ran out the door. Once out on the street, she moved to the side of the building that Seiya’s room would have been facing. Looking down both ways the street would lead her, she saw Juuban park to her left.

“Of course… take it back to where it all started…” the blonde muttered to herself, sprinting to the park.

~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~

Seiya felt a chill run up her spine from the slight bite in the air after she was off the fire escape. Looking down the street in both directions, she turned in the direction of the nearby park, having felt drawn to it for one reason or another. She entered the park and walked along one of the many paths that led to the middle. Halfway down the path, she encountered a dark green haired young woman.

"Konnichi wa. Excuse me, but this is my first time to Tokyo. Would you kindly show me around?” the stranger asked.

Seiya woman slowly backed away from the strange girl and glanced at her with suspicion, "Sorry miss, I'm looking for someone. You're going to have to find someone else to sight see with.”

"But the city is so large... I would need the help of someone special like you to show me around. Please? I will give you a small tip for your troubles. I have enough to buy you a treat" said the woman.

Something she said seemed to cause the ring to react, and Seiya felt herself reluctantly nod as if she were being forced. "Certainly, it would be my pleasure."

Seiya slowly approached the green haired young woman, 'What the hell? I didn't say yes ... blah I just had to go out. Grrrr I'm such a baka to fall for such a trap.’

"I know I have seen your face before. You're Kou Seiya, Japanese idol singer. Hehe You can start by simply showing me around this nice park. After, I hope you can show me other nice places here. I've always wanted to go see Tokyo tower" said the young woman and grabbed onto the dark haired young woman's arm.

Seiya slowly started to walk down the path. She wished she could break free from her grasp and tried to think of anything that would help her. 'I have plans for you my little ningyo' the woman whispered into Seiya’s ear.

A smile crossed the green haired young woman's face as she clung tightly to Seiya's arm. It looked like the dark haired young woman was leading, but in truth it was the other way around.

"Oh by the way my name is Suna. Tehe and I recognize your face. Oh how interesting... You are such a joker. Seiya isn't it? That sounds like a very lovely name. Glad that you have the time to show me around..." said Anustes.

'Once this day is over you'll no longer have friends. Ah and your new love will become your enemy ...' she whispered.

"I'll find a way to break free before that happens" said Seiya.

'No, I can't let her-- I won't let myself harm them. Blah for their sakes I hope they don't come after me...' thought Seiya.

"I'll do everything in my power to make sure your twisted plot is ruined," muttered Seiya, and came to an abrupt halt.

Anustes pulled Seiya roughly to the side and over to a bench. "Oh dare you even try. Now be a good girl and wait with me" said Anustes as she looked down the path when she thought she heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Stop fidgeting unless you want to engage the full power of that right. Right now you can move on your own, but all of that can change with a tiny spell. Heh put on a happy face, love, we have company..." whispered Anustes, she used a single finger and gently caressed the ring on the dark haired young woman's finger.

Seiya leaned back on the bench and sighed a bit as she tried to think of a way out. She glanced up suddenly when saw the familiar blonde. She turned slightly to the side as she watched the blonde from a sidelong glance, 'I have to do everything to try and get her to leave...' thought Seiya.

Haruka walked up to the pair, her guard up when she saw the young woman sitting with Seiya on a bench in the park, ‘Who is thi- wait…. I know exactly who this is…’

With a wary smile on her face, the blonde moved to crouch next to the raven haired young woman, "Sei-chan.... you're alright.... the others and I were worried about you...." Haruka said as she moved to hold the other woman's hand in both of her own, almost hyper aware of the woman sitting next to her girlfriend on the bench, "Sei-chan..... would you mind coming home with me?"

She looked hopefully into the raven haired young woman's eyes.

"Ruk-chan you should go back to the others before it's too la--" she said but was cut off.

Anustes leaned closer so she could hear what Haruka had to say. "Ah so you know this woman Seiya? Why not invite her to stay? Please?"

"Hey why don't you stay? The others aren't going to be worried. Heh my life's in no real danger. I just wanted to get away" said Seiya. 'Nooo that wasn't me...' she thought.

"See she wants you to stay. Because in a few I am going to show you a lovely trick" said Anustes.

Haruka looked at the young woman sitting next to Seiya. The blonde blinked once before she turned back to Seiya and noticed a small hint of fear in her eyes. Her own suspicions rose, though she managed to keep her gaze calm as she looked to the green haired woman. The blonde's gaze turned back to the blue eyed young woman's as she gently pulled her hand down further over the arm rest so it was hidden by Seiya's body. Haruka flipped her communicator open and pulled her shirt over the top of it so it would stay hidden while it transmitted to the other two Lights, all the while she kept eye contact with Seiya.

When she was through, she took in a deep breath and turned to the green haired woman sitting next to Seiya on the bench, "I would love to come along for a little bit. It seems like a wonderful evening for a walk anyway."

She gave Seiya's hand a gentle squeeze before she glanced at her from the corner of her eye and then looked back at Anustes, "If we leave the park, where are we going to go?"

Anustes smirked slightly when she noticed the look of disappointment in the dark haired young woman's eyes and gave a slight chuckle before she spoke up, "Actually this park seems nice enough. There's plenty of space here. Few trees... ah and those trees shall actually make things a lot easier..."

The blonde prayed in the back of her mind that the other two lights were getting the signal and were able to hear what was being said.

Seiya looked even more nervous and squeezed Haruka's hand in a slightly rough manner, "You don't get it. She intends to use the full power of the -- " she suddenly loosened her grip as if silenced by an unseen power.

"Okay that's enough. Hehe stop it Seiya-san. You're going to give away my little secret. I can't have that happen just yet. Don't you want to see the look on her face when she learns the true meaning of what is going on? She will see why the park is the perfect place... you two have the nicest eyes. Shame I have to bring this peace to an end soon," said Antuses.

"Heh yeah, she'll be in for a real surprise" said Seiya, though she did not sound like herself, she moved her hand away from the blonde's, 'Grrrr how was I able to gain control? Hmmm has to do with thought. What caused the power to dip...' she thought.

Yaten and Taiki had gone to relax on the sofa. Yaten had rested her head on the purple-eyed Light’s shoulder. They both focused on the communicator that had been set on the coffee table. The small comm was turned on so they could quickly hear anything transmitted to them. They glanced at each other after they heard the voices.

"Good she's found Seiya. Hmmm seems like they aren't alone. Grrr that witch is there," Yaten growled.

"This will make things harder, but let’s just hope this doesn’t end badly. We should probably leave... that park isn't that far from here" said Taiki.

Yaten gave a slight nod and slowly moved off the sofa. Taiki got up soon after and handed her the crushes.

"I just wish we could be of more help" said Yaten.

"As do I" said Taiki as they helped each other put on their shoes before they left.

Haruka looked up into the sapphire eyed Light’s eyes, and started to worry when the other woman would not make eye contact with her. The blonde looked down to the ground as she started to think of what to do. She looked hurt when Seiya took her hand back. A wave of fear over took the blonde at that point as she hoped the other two were on their way.

'Mind control.... but how? Other than that ring, but the ring isn't reacting at the moment, unless it has already been activated somehow...' Haruka thought as she turned to look at the ring, 'Flattery works only on puppets and fools'..... flattery is usually in the form of words. I have to watch that witch. Every time she speaks Seiya does something totally opposite of what she started out doing.'

'Kuso.... this isn't going to be pleasant.... I have to keep her talking while I wait for the other two... but what to talk about?' the blonde thought as she looked up.

"Have you ever been down to the race track at all? I love to watch, when I'm not one of the racers. If you watch them long enough, you can figure out their strategy and you can beat them at their own game." the tall racer said with a small smile on her face as she continued to glance at Seiya from the corner of her eye while she kept eye contact with Anustes.

'If I can't regain control I'll have much more to worry about. Even when we were foes I never wanted to physically hurt her. And now that we've shared such deep feelings of amour I won't hurt her...' thought Seiya as she tried to meet Haruka’s eyes.

Seeming calm on the outside, the raven haired light panicked as she caught the hurt look in the blonde’s charming eyes, 'Hmmm maybe she had a plan? But in the event that it does fail, I hope she remembers what I tried to tell her earlier...'

Anustes gave a slight chuckle. "Wow how interesting. No, I have never had the pleasure of attending any of the races here. Hmmm but isn't there always an exception to that? What if the person has no real strategy? It is never wise to under estimate your opponent. Couldn't that get you into a lot of trouble? My would not want that to happen to you sweetie. Ah but I really enjoy is the traditional Japanese theater in Osaka. You should visit sometime. I rather love seeing the actors in traditional face make up. Wonderful actors and actresses. Even though it seems like the actors are in full control they are virtually being controlled by words. Each of them under the control of a writer’s vision. Awww Seiya you're being awfully quite. What do you think, races or plays..." replied Anustes.

Seiya continued to think about the warm feelings she received from the earlier events, the way the blonde's hand felt, her lips... "I prefer the theater. Ah intriguing how..." suddenly she started to sound more like herself and she reached for the blonde’s hand, and gently held it again. "Neither ... yeah they're both interesting. Heh rather see a race than one of those stuffy plays. But me, I prefer musical preference. I write most of the lyrics myself --" she said before being silenced like earlier as she suddenly pulled her hand away.

"But sometimes the actors don't follow the script. It can turn a power melodrama into a cheap comedy sketch. But don't worry miss. You'll going to see the true power of a writer" said Anustes.

Meanwhile Taiki and Yaten had headed out of the apartment. The shorter Light trying to walk as fast as she could. Yet her leg prevented her from going as fast as she wished. Taiki's words of encouragement helped some. Each of them was still very much worried for both Haruka and Seiya.

"That's the park up ahead..." said Taiki.

"Good, I honestly don't like the way the conversation is going. Something about what that witch is spouting..." replied Yaten.

"True, it almost sounds like random conversation. There must be something more behind it" said Taiki as the two started down the main park path.

"Sounds like they're down this way" replied Yaten as the two neared the others.

"Looks like there's a few people up ahead there on that bench..." said Taiki.

As she watched both Anustes and Seiya, she felt her feelings toward the raven haired young woman grow when the woman held her hand again. She felt the other woman retract her hand again soon after. She looked down at the ground again before she started to hum an intro to the only song she could think of. Her words were soft as she put her feelings into the words.

"You can spread your wings and fly

You can try to go so high--in the sky

That'll you'll never come down

You can follow every dream

But when it seems--everything you believe

never works out," Haruka sang softly looking up into the sapphire eyes of the young woman next to her.

"Remember I'm right here for you

When everything comes undone

You belong to me

You belong in the sun

Let it shine--let it shine," she sang, her hand reaching for Seiya's again.

"You can wander far way--

Every day I will pray that you're safe

Till I see you again

When you feel that no one cares

You’re scared-I'll be there-this I swear

Right to the end," her words were punctuated by a soft squeeze of the woman's hand.

"I'll always be right here for you

No matter what you've done

You belong to me

You belong in the sun

Let it shine--let it shine," her voice quivered slightly at the first part but she kept eye contact with Seiya.

"The clouds move in--But the storms won't stay

`Cause when they get a look at you

They're gonna be blown away

You belong to me

You belong in the sun

Let it shine--let it shine" the blonde finished the song her words fading as she felt her throat tightening.

Haruka managed to keep herself in control, her eyes only a little red when she looked up from looking down at the ground as she composed herself. She had no idea what else she could do, she just had to try and fight the other woman's words with her own, as she added emotions to her words. She gently squeezed Seiya's hand as she watched both of the womens' reactions.

Seiya continued to mentally struggle with the ring’s hold over her, once again turning her attention toward Haruka. 'Is she humming? But why?' she thought to herself. A soft blush crept over her cheeks when she heard the blonde's soft words, knowing that the other young woman was putting a lot of heart into the words being sung.

Eyes of a deep blue hue gazed into the depths of the deep azure orbs beside her. At that moment she felt a warmth overcome her as she continued to listen to the gentle lyrics. The dark haired young woman blushed even more when she felt the other woman take her hand in a gentle manner. Seiya gave her hand a gentle squeeze in return. A sign that her feelings where weakening the ring’s hold.

"Ruka-chan that was beautiful. Everything about the song was. I truly felt that you put a lot of feeling into it... Aishiteru my sweet tenshi ... but you're still in grave danger. Love, I can't bear the thought of you being hurt. Save yourself when the time comes," Seiya spoke in a sweet tone and moved closer to Haruka to steal a kiss.

Haruka looked deeply into Seiya's eyes, her heart sinking when she heard the raven haired young woman say she was still in danger. She saw the sapphire eyed light lean towards her. The blonde moved forward to meet the other woman, her cheeks lighting up slightly from the sweet kiss.

Meanwhile Anustes waited patiently until Haruka was finished with the song. During which her anger slowly started to increase. She turned from the two, a sly smirk crossing her face when she saw that Taiki and Yaten were close and could complete the group. 'Grrr the spell has weakened. Heh no matter, as long as that ring stays she'll always be my doll. It is time that I stopped playing around...' thought Anustes.

The green haired woman jumped off the bench, she quickly tugged Seiya's pony tail in a roughly and caused the two love birds to part their kiss. Seiya tried to scramble to hold onto Haruka, but the ring stopped her suddenly. A loud laugh escaped her lips when she saw the other two Lights run closer toward the group.

"Don't come any closer you two! You're the audience for this little play. I'd suggest that you each take a seat!" she yelled before she used a sudden energy pulse to knock the two to the ground roughly.

When the raven haired woman was suddenly gone, Haruka looked up at Anustes with a low growl. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the other two lights coming closer. As she turned to look, she saw the other two knocked down by the energy the green haired woman had sent out at them.

Anustes pulled the darker haired Light closer. The ring reacted to the witch's powers and took a greater hold over Seiya's body. Anustes wrapped a single arm around the seemingly 'unconscious' Seiya. The green haired young woman's outer appearance changed, she was now covered in a black cloak.

Taiki and Yaten tried to help each other up, worried looks could be seen in their faces. "Seiya! Seiya snap out of it! You can't let her take complete hold!" Yaten shouted, and then before Taiki could utter anything, Antuest sent another energy pulse their way.

"When I want the audience to move I'll say so. See what you made me do?! Before she had full use of her legs, she was only partly being controlled. Hey! Don't move damnit! Remember what I was saying before? All of that was BS. It's time for you all to see why Seiya ran out earlier. Why she was trying to warn you ... henshin... " Anustes stated in a calm tone.

Anustes suddenly released the blue eyed Light. Seiya staggered away from the bench, slowly raising her head. Her eyes that had once been filled with life, now seemed cold and lifeless. Without warning she sped toward Haruka.

The blonde's anger rose as she listened to the woman speak. She growled at the witch when she saw Yaten and Taiki hit by another wave. The last word in Anustes's sentence made the blonde jump, just before she turned to Seiya and dodged away from the young woman.

Seiya turned around quickly after Haruka leaped out of the way. A slightly malevolent smirk crossed the ebony haired young woman’s face as her seemingly lifeless eyes fell on the blonde before her. Seiya backed up a good ways than got into a fast run, she leapt into the air with her right fist aiming for the taller blonde's head. Yet for a split second those lifeless eyes returned to normal. She pulled her fist away, her fist grazed Haruka's shoulder just before the sapphire eyed Light tumbled to the ground.

Anustes didn't look pleased when she saw Seiya falter. "Try again my ningyo. If you don't, I will leave you in that doll like state..." she replied in a dark tone, then started to whisper a spell while grasping a pin that was hidden by her cloak.

The blonde winced and grit her teeth when she felt Seiya's fist at her shoulder. Her fear for herself and Seiya began to rise as she watched the raven haired woman turn to face her with the same emotionless eyes. She turned to look to where the other two had been and felt her heart sink lower, thinking Anustes had done something to them.

'Kuso!' the blonde cursed to herself as she leapt to the side again to avoid the other woman, when she turned to look back at the other two lights she sighed, 'They weren't supposed to let themselves be seen....'

Taiki quietly helped Yaten to her feet. The two quickly and quietly moved toward the other side of the bench. They each knelt down so they wouldn't be easily spotted. 'Shhhh ... we won't be of much help dead. Hmmm seems like Seiya-kun's still trying to fight off that spell...' whispered Taiki.

'Haruka-san still needs to watch out...' whispered Yaten. She took her communicator out and whispered something so Haruka could hear. 'Please try to go after Anustes. If you can destroy her power source so you can free Seiya...'

"What is her weak point?" the blonde asked softly into her communicator, hoping the platinum blonde heard her.

Anustes's hushed words started to give power to the ring that held Seiya spell bound. The dark haired Light slowly got to her feet. Her ring-less hand clutched her head while she mentally tried to fight for control, and it appeared that her efforts were in vain.

Her attention was drawn to the ring when she saw it glow slightly, 'Shimatta! That ama is doing something to Seiya....'

"Sei-chan! Stop this now! I know you are still in there, you have the power to break her hold, I know you do." Haruka shouted at the raven haired woman charging at her.

Just before Seiya would have had a chance to lash out at her again the blonde back flipped away and jumped to the left. The shoulder that Seiya nicked made the blonde wince when she extended her arms when she used her hands to catch herself and flipped again further away. She landed facing the raven haired young woman, her right hand moving to hold her left shoulder.

Both Taiki and Yaten each peeked out from under the bench. Their fears grew as they observed the fight. The silver haired Light waited on time in respond soon after she heard Haruka's voice over the communicator. "Antustes's rose pin is her weakness. If you can control that she'll be more vulnerable to energy attacks..."

"She'll also loose the power to control Seiya with the ring... You have to hurry, theirs a small chance that she could use her power to leave Seiya in that state permanently" added Taiki as an afterthought.

'I'm helpless against her. I can't fight her, I don't want to hurt her because she is under that ama's spell.' she looked up briefly to the dark green haired woman still on the bench after she heard Yaten's voice over the communicator, a sigh of relief escaped her when she realized the other two were ok.

The blonde grunted as she blocked Seiya from implanting her fist into her face. When she was sure of the other woman's pace as she swung the blonde moved away, sweat starting to break out on her forehead as she felt her shoulder start to throb.

Seiya watched on helplessly as her own fists lashed out against the charming blonde. Her breathing was heavy, yet calm. Eyes of a deep blue hue still appeared empty and lifeless, yet her mind was racing with her own thoughts and the words of Anustes.

A couple of hits the tall racer took as she blocked Seiya's punches had started to wear her out all the more, 'She's stronger than I had thought originally. This isn't going to turn out very well….'

She saw the other woman get ready to throw another punch and the blonde caught her hand, quickly pulling her to her body, catching her other hand as well. Before the raven haired woman could move to react Haruka caught her lips. When she parted the kiss she looked deeply into Seiya's eyes, her own firm as she leaned forward to whisper into her ear.

"Sei-chan.... listen to me... you have to block her voice from your mind, I think that is how she is able to control you. It's not the ring so much as her speaking that is making you this way. Please...." she moved to try and hug the raven haired woman.

It was a matter of seconds however before she felt the shorter woman wrench her wrists from her hands and pushed her to the ground. A pained cry left the blonde as her hip came into contact with some sharp rocks.

'Kuso... I could feel the tenderness of the kiss yet I couldn't do anything to stop myself from shoving her away. Grrr it's so hard to block that witches words. I hear them even now. No ... no I won't do that!' thought Seiya as she once again relied on her warm feelings for the charming blonde, to act as a shield against the witch’s words.

"I didn't command you to stand there ningyo! Move! Kill her like I ordered you to! You don't want to remain like that!" shouted Anustes. She continued to rub the hidden ring, trying to use her energy to control the darker haired Light. The green haired young woman took off her cloak and closed her eyes while she tried to keep her hold on Seiya.

At that moment Seiya rushed toward the fallen sandy haired blonde. It appeared that she was going to strike. Suddenly, she came to a full halt only a few inches away. The empty look in her eyes faded, and regained their vibrant appearance. Her hand unclenched and she reached forward to help Haruka up. A small tear ran down her right cheek. "Ruka-chan ... gomen nasi..." she said in a hushed whisper.

Haruka pulled her head back and closed her eyes quickly before she thought Seiya would hit her. She slowly opened her eyes when she heard the raven haired woman whisper to her and looked up into her clear blue eyes. She slowly reached up for the young woman's hand, she stood with the other woman’s help and looked down into the young woman's eyes, noticing the tear streaks down her cheeks. She brought up her hands to hold either side of the shorter woman's face and used her thumbs to gently wipe away her tears before leaning down to kiss her again softly. She gently ended the kiss and looked deeply into Seiya's eyes, she winced slightly from the pain that coursed through her hip.

Seiya gazed into the blonde's eyes when she felt her gently brush away the tears from her cheeks. The darker haired young woman's cheeks turned a slight shade of rose when she felt Haruka give her a sweet kiss. A look of worry appeared in her eyes when she saw Haruka wincing slightly.

"Sei-chan.... do you think you can do me a favor?" the blonde whispered into the other woman's ear.

She looked deeply into the shorter woman's sapphire depths before whispering more, "She wants you to kill me, right? How's about we give her a little play of our own?"

"How are you staying out of her power reach?" Haruka asked softly, "Whatever you are doing, please try and keep it up, and we can beat this ama at her own game."

"That sounds like a good idea 'Ruka-chan. I'm really good at staying away from her power reach. My feelings for you and the others are the only things stopping her spell for now ... so let’s hurry and start acting" whispered Seiya and smirked toward the end.

Anustes opened her eyes suddenly after she no longer heard the sound of fighting, "Ningyo why are you just standing there!? Hurry up... I want her good and tired when you deliver the final blow..."

'They had better start their plan. She's getting impatient...' whispered Yaten. Taiki gave a slight nod as she glanced out from their hiding spot.

'True, the two have a lot to lose. As long as that ring sits on Seiya's finger the witch can regain control...' whispered Taiki.

Seiya winked at Haruka before backing quickly away. Her eyes copied the dead look they once had, as to fool Anustes. The dark haired young woman one again charged at Haruka. Faking a quick punch and quickly copping a feel of the blonde’s rear. “Let’s continue to take this fight further. A little later I'm going to henshin. I want you to do the same. When I fake my finally attack, I am going to turn to attack her. We can attack her together and she'll never see it coming..." whispered Seiya before pulling away.

“We have to be convincing. Come at me with everything you have, do not hold back,” the blonde said lowly to the other woman, her face turning several shades of red when she felt the other woman grope her backside.

She fought the urge to smack the raven haired woman, instead the tall racer suddenly dashed toward a thick stand of trees, ‘She had better follow.’

Right on her heels, the dark haired young woman followed, a small smirk twitching the corners of her lips as she followed her girlfriend, ‘Damn she’s fast. I’m lucky I don’t have to follow her far.’

Once they entered the trees, the blonde moved so Seiya wouldn’t be able to readily see her, “Sei-chan! Snap out of it!”

Seiya turned just in time to see a tall figure duck behind a tree, she herself moved behind the nearest tree, reaching into her jacket to hold onto her henshin broach, ‘I don’t like this… but she did say to be convincing.’

A moment later she heard a twig snap behind her and moved away from the tree just before Haruka’s fist landed against the tree trunk. Subconsciously, the raven haired young woman knew the blonde stepped on the twig for her benefit and realized just how quick her new lover was when she wanted to be.

‘Alright then,’ the raven haired woman thought as she gave herself an internal smile, "Fighter Star Power... Make Up!"

The light of three passing stars enveloped her. The cloths quickly faded and her fuku took their place. "Yami wo kirissa sassurai no nagareboshi, Sailor Star Fighter! Stage on!"

Haruka heard the other woman call out her transformation phrase, she quickly dug her henshin pen out of her pocket, "Uranus Crystal Power! Make Up!"

Both Fighter and Uranus stood where their civilian forms had previously been, the blonde in a low defensive position, waiting for the fight to start. As it was, she didn’t have to wait long as the other woman unleashed a flurry of extremely quick punches. The raven haired Light saw that the blonde was completely focused on just the punches and sent a kick at the other woman. The blonde let out a pained cry when the kick connected with her already injured hip.

Uranus felt herself start to sweat as she dove and rolled away from the Star senshi. When she regained her feet, she realized that the other woman was already on top of her. Just before making contact with a punch, the raven haired young woman stopped short.

‘Ruka-chan!’ the Starlight growled in a whisper, ‘You have to take this seriously!’

‘Watch it!’ Uranus stated in reply, ‘We have company.’

Anustes started to grow suspicious as she watched the two fight. 'This isn't nearly as intense as before. Grrrr something is not right ... my ningyo is holding back I can feel it. The voices in my head are never wrong about these things.’

She moved closer, her eyes narrowed while she observed the two. The darker haired young woman saw her from the corner of her eye. A cold chill ran down her spine. 'Kuso she's starting to catch on... Anutues is closer, I hope Haruka moves into position and understands that at single attack won't work...' she thought.

Fighter took her original pose while trying to make sure her eyes seemed lifeless. It hurt her that she had to even fake fight with the charming blonde who had unexpectedly stolen her heart. Uranus watched the green haired freak move closer out of the corner of her eye. She winked to the other woman quickly before she leapt to the side, directly in the path of Anustes, her space sword appearing in her hand.

StarFighter felt Anustes gaze upon her even as she charged Uranus. The dark haired senshi swerved to the side, out of the direct path of the blonde's sword. 'I've got to make this look convincing... ' she thought. She put in every burst of power behind a quick left jab, then pulled her hand quickly away before making contact.

Yet the witch still grew suspicious as she watched on. An anxious look could be seen on the woman's face. Her right hand rubbed her pin, trying to do more with the rings spell "Grrrrr use a real attack on her already!" she yelled, and moved closer toward the fight.

All at once Fighter changed the direction of her attack, moving her fist diagonally from below than upward. She cringed a bit when she felt her fist make slight contact. Suddenly the blue-eyed senshi saw Anusets move closer still. 'Alright now time for the second half of the plan... I hope to kami-sama that she dodges and fakes...' she thought. She flipped backward and soon a brightly colored star appeared in her hands.

The star senshi held her attack high in the air above her head. Golden colored stars moved swiftly around her, the energy soon gathered into her hands, "Star Serious Laser!" shouted Fighter as she let lose the energy at Uranus, yet not enough to do much damage if the blonde wasn’t able to dodge.

Uranus watched the attack come towards her, the split second it took the attack to shoot away from Star Fighter, she looked directly into the other woman's eyes. The blonde felt the attack hit her, sending her sprawling backwards. Her sword remained in her hand as she lay pretending to be passed out.

Starfighter mentally cringed as she watched her attack hit Sailor Uranus. Yet the blue eyed starlight had to keep her outward appearance calm to fool Anustes ... the ama who now refused to look away. Still it was very hard for fighter to hide her worry.

'K-kuso..... I might still be alive, but that hurt....' the blonde thought as she managed to keep her eyes slit so that she didn’t look like she was awake at all, 'If she would actually get close enough, I could destroy the pin.'

She felt some cuts start to seep blood, one on her shoulder and a couple on her legs. As the breeze managed to come into contact with her wounds, she bit her tongue to keep from crying out at the pain it caused.

'She looks like she's in a lot of pain ... kuso she's been through a lot today… Do I really deserve someone as good as her --' Fighter’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the green haired woman.

Anustes circled the star senshi and examined the ring before she moved toward the senshi that had fallen during the fight.

'I will do anything I can to save Seiya.... I can't let anything happen to her while I am alive.' Uranus thought to herself, "Sei-chan.... believe in me.... and we can defeat this witch together.'

She watched Anustes closely, her worry growing when she noticed she might not be buying the act, 'Shimatta.... Sei-chan... get her closer to me and we can end this. I can destroy the pin while you use one of your attacks on her.'

"Well, done my ningyo. See that wasn't very hard now was it? But to make sure this isn't an act I am going to make sure she's truly dead... The voices in my head are giving me mixed signals" replied Anustes in an eerily sweet voice.

Anustes moved closer to Fighter, motioning her to follow. The dark haired starlight slowly followed after. All the while trying to make sure her eyes looked dead and emotionless. Antues now stood about a foot away from Uranus. The woman's eyes narrowed a bit as a look of suspicion could be seen in them.

Uranus felt the witch's presence next to her side. She stayed still, feeling her muscles start to itch to move. She made sure to keep very still as she watched StarFighter move up right behind Anustes. She wasn't sure what to expect, but she was willing to run with the situation.

"Fighter? Love ... doll sweet heart? How about a close range attack -- I want to make sure she's truly dead." replied Anustes.

Uranus waited a moment to let StarFighter summon her attack again. When she saw the glowing light between the other woman's hands, the blonde quickly opened her eyes to stare straight up at the green haired woman. She clenched her sword in her hand tightly and swung her arm in an arch in front of her, the blade facing out. When all was said and done, the blonde quickly flung her feet over her head and rolled backward with enough force to set her standing. She stood in a ready pose and grinned when she saw two halves of something red clatter to the ground.

Anustes had turned her head so she could watch Fighter form her attack. A wide smile appeared on the green haired young woman’s lips, "Yes, go for it my doll. Kill her ... then we'll go after those two friends of yours. Ah if they don't join we'll make them..." said Anustes.

"Now Fighter!" Uranus called to the raven haired woman.

Eyes of a red hue widened when she suddenly heard the blonde get to her feet. "My-my-my broach!?" she exclaimed after watching the two halves fall toward the ground. And the ring around Fighter's finger turned to dust at the moment the pin was destroyed.

StarFighter smirked when she heard Uranus' words. Stars swirled around the dark haired senshi. The enemy moved rapidly upwards, trying to get away, "STAR... SERIOUS LASER!" she yelled as she let the massive amount of energy at the green haired ama.

Without the broach, Anustes was helpless against the missive energy attack. She crossed her arms just as the blast hit her. "I was so close..." were the woman's last words as the heat of the attack caused her body to dissolve. Soon nothing was left but an empty red velvet dress.

Fighter turned slowly away, long beads of sweat rolled down her forehead. She felt a bit worn down because of the amount of energy she used in the attack. Eyes of a deep blue hue soon fell onto the prone form of her sweet heart. "Uranus?" she asked in a worried tone.

Yaten and Taiki quickly hurried out of their hiding spot once they heard the end of the battle, Taiki supported Yaten because the silver haired young woman had miraculously lost her crutches in the heat of the moment. They each looked happy and were pleased that the plan worked out.

Sailor Uranus gave StarFighter a weak smile as she felt her legs give out. She groaned after hitting the hard ground, and looked up when she heard StarFighter next to her, the weak smile formed on her lips again. She winced when the breeze picked up again for a moment. When she opened her eyes again, she looked up into StarFighter's eyes.

"I couldn't let anything happen to you..." she said softly, her hand letting her sword clatter to the ground, "Aishiteru...."

A look of worry could be seen clearly in Fighter's sapphire eyes. A single tear rolled down her left cheek when she heard Haruka speak. The dark haired star senshi gently caressed her loves hand as she slowly spoke up, "Aishitru Uranus ... arigato gozimashita. I owe you so much, without your help I would still be under Anustes' control..." she replied as she gazed deeply into the other senshi's eyes.

"I.... I have messed up a lot.... but I am glad that I was able to do something right for once." the blonde stated as she held up her hand to be able to hold StarFighter's, she heard the other two move towards them from their hiding spot and turned to look at them, "I guess you two weren't needed... I was foolish to endanger you as well..."

"Nah, we were needed. Without the moral support we provided you wouldn’t have made it. ”Yaten smirked and winked at the blonde. And thank you Haruka-chan for helping Seiya. Without your assistance we could have lost her..." said Yaten, crying a bit herself as she watched the two.

“Besides, now is not the time for any apologies. Everything worked out and we more than likely would have wound up here anyway,” Taiki stated and looked worried for the blonde’s wounds.

"I feel greatly for what happened ... I didn't mean for you to take that last attack the way you did..." replied Fighter to the blonde in her arms, unshed tears welled in the dark haired senshi’s eyes.

Uranus let her transformation go and lay in Fighter's arms for a moment before looking up to her. She reached up and carefully brought StarFighter's head down to kiss her softly before looking deeply into her eyes again. The raven haired young woman watched as the blonde's henshin faded. Gazing deeply into her love's blue eyes, she just watched as the other young woman lay in her arms for a bit. A few more tears trickled down the star senshi's cheeks. They turned a soft subtle shade of rose red after she felt Haruka's lips gently graced hers.

"It was the only way to get her to think we were actually fighting. I could have easily dodged, yes... but... that would have made her more suspicious. My wounds will heal, love, but if I were to lose you... my heart would be torn in two forever..." she took in a deep breath as she reached up her other hand and gently wiped away the woman's tears, "Don't cry, aijin.... I am alright."

"That's true ... arigato gozimashita but it’s still heartbreaking seeing you in such pain..." she said, pausing when she felt Haruka wipe away her tears, "Heh well I can't help it..."

As she looked up into the other woman's eyes and smiled up at her, Haruka’s hand raised again to wipe another tear from the woman's eye, "Shhh.... no time for crying. We are still alive and we have each other. That is all that matters. I would give up my life a million times over if it meant the difference between living and being able to love you, and living without you for all eternity."

Fighter just smiled slightly after hearing the blonde's words. "Heh, it's hard not too... Eh wouldn't want you to give up your life. A world without you wouldn't be worth saving..." replied Fighter.

StarFighter smiled down at the charming blonde then looked worried when she noticed the sudden look of pain cross Haruka’s face. She looked up to Taiki before she moved to help the blonde stand. The raven haired young woman let the blonde lean on her for support as they walked back to the apartment together. The raven haired Light let her henshin dissipate when they moved through the trees on the outskirts of the park, she kept her arms protectively around the taller blonde.

After entering the apartment, Seiya helped the wounded blonde lay on the couch. The tall blonde grunted quietly before looking up to the rich sapphire orbs of her Starlight. The raven haired young woman stayed by the blonde, holding her hand as Taiki inspected her wounds. When the taller Light was satisfied that nothing needed stitching and nothing would get infected, she put the medical supplies back into the first aid kit and stood up to leave the living room.

“Maybe it would be a good idea for you to stay out here for the night. I don’t want you making your injuries worse.” Seiya spoke softly into the blonde’s ear.

Haruka smirked and quickly stole a kiss from the raven haired lead singer, “Oh no, I have already gone through the hardest part of today. I am sorry, right at this moment, I don’t want to be away from you.”

Seiya blushed, but managed to smile in return, “I don’t want to be away from you either. Let me help you stand at least.”

Haruka slowly stood up with the help of the shorter woman, then limped up to Seiya’s room, also with her help. The two of them lay on the Starlight’s bed together, snuggled up to each other, Haruka’s head above Seiya’s on the pillow. Before they knew it they were both fast asleep. The next morning the sandy blonde woman woke still snuggled up to the raven haired Starlight. She kissed the woman’s forehead and pulled the covers up over the sleeping form of her new lover.

A small smile stretched across the tall woman’s face as she slowly started to work her way out of the bed, making sure she did not wake her partner. It was still a new concept for the blonde, but it was a very welcome thought.

‘A new partner and a new life,’ Haruka thought as she stopped at the door of Seiya’s room to watch her sleep for a moment before following the smell of breakfast.

Out in the dining room, plates had already been set on the table and the blonde could hear noises coming from the kitchen. Before she moved through the dining room to the kitchen she heard Yaten laugh. The tall blonde entered the kitchen and greeted her friends.

“Ohayo.”

“Ohayo, Haru-chan,” Yaten beamed at the taller women, “How did you sleep? Seiya-chan didn’t do anything funny did she?”

Haruka chuckled at the shorter woman and shook her head, “No, Sei-chan and I didn’t do anything last night.”

With a smile on her face, Taiki asked, “How are your wounds feeling?”

“They feel much better. Thank you for playing doctor.” The blonde smiled.

“I’m glad to hear it. Oh, Haruka-chan, can you take those pancakes out to the table for me, onegai?” the taller woman asked.

Haruka nodded as she moved to take the plate of pancakes out to the table, nearly running into the raven haired beauty who had been standing in the door way, “Sei-chan, I didn’t think you would be up this early.”

“I woke up and found that my Wind Goddess wasn’t in the bed beside me.” The raven haired woman said with a small seductive smile that only the blonde could see.

Haruka reacted to the other woman’s words and smile, feeling a delicious chill run up her spine. She hurried out of the kitchen to attempt to hide her blush. She turned and gave a playful glare to the raven haired young woman when she heard the Starlight laugh softly. The lead singer stepped up to the tall racer, her arms snaked around the blonde’s waist as she leaned up to capture the wind senshi’s lips with her own.

“Ok, ok, you two, break it up. None of that at breakfast…” Yaten stated with a small smile playing on her face.

Both Yaten and Taiki moved into the dining room to set the rest of the items down. The four senshi ate breakfast together, talking about what had happened the previous day and how quickly the two rivals had turned their relationship around. Both Haruka and Seiya smiled at each other before looking back to the other two.

Haruka had thought that it would be nice to go to her favorite coffee shop to have a little quiet time with the young woman, she also wanted to get out to stretch the leg that had the injured hip so that it wouldn’t get stiff with just sitting around. She leaned over to the raven haired young woman and kissed her on the cheek.

“Ne, Sei-chan, would you like to go get some coffee later? I know a nice little café,” the blonde smiled.

“Hai, that would be nice.”

They quickly finished their breakfast and helped clean up the dishes. When they were finished, they went upstairs to get dressed. The other two lights couldn’t help but smile at the two former rivals. It had been a strange two and a half months since she had broken up with Michiru.

‘I am finally ready to break free of destiny and make my own.’ The blonde thought as she looked at herself in the mirror in Taiki’s room.

She had decided to wear a casual suit, black dress pants with a white shirt and a royal blue vest the color of Seiya’s eyes. She turned to look at the door when she heard a low whistle, a smile formed on her face as she admired her girlfriend. Seiya had decided on jeans and a red polo shirt.

“I feel under dressed.” The raven haired young woman chuckled when she moved into the room to hug the taller woman from behind.

“You look fine,” the blonde replied honestly, turning in the other woman’s arms and leaning down to kiss her, “Besides, I think I prefer your street clothes to the red uniform you wear on stage.”

Seiya smirked, “What would you rather me wear then?”

“I reserve the right to save my statement for another time.”

Haruka chuckled when she heard Seiya laugh softly. The two of them moved out of the room and grabbed their jackets on their way out. They reached the café and moved towards the back of the seating area. The tall blonde, able to see over the booth dividers caught sight of aqua colored hair. She stopped suddenly and barely registered the raven haired young woman bumping into her as she stared a moment longer.

“Ruka-chan…?” Seiya asked softly, her voice held worry.

Shaking her head and smiling at the raven haired young woman, Haruka glanced back in the same direction and saw the young senshi of Neptune sitting with a young man. A chill went up the blonde’s spine as she moved towards a table in the back. The raven haired young woman stepped up next to the blonde, noticing that something was wrong.

“Ruka-chan… what’s wrong?” the young woman asked, her voice hushed.

“Michiru’s here.” Was the clipped response as the blonde turned and looked at the wall directly to her left.

Seiya looked around, her gaze finally landing on that of the young senshi of the oceans, then she looked back at the blonde with a smile, “Don’t worry about her. We are here with each other. Don’t give her the power of controlling your feelings.”

Haruka looked down into the shorter woman’s eyes before looking back up at her former lover. Her face turned into a stone mask as she moved towards the table Michiru was sitting at. She stood over the table until the other woman noticed her, her eyes closed and her arms crossed as she waited.

“Haruka….”

When she heard the woman speak her name the blonde opened her eyes and glared at the young woman before leaning down to whisper in her ear, “You hurt me real bad, Michiru, but I think I got the better part of the deal.”

“Ruka-chan.”

Haruka stood again and turned to Seiya, a smile playing on her face as she saw her former lover’s reaction of pure shock. She looked back down to the woman in the booth, but before she was able to say anything again, the young man spoke up.

“Hey! I don’t know who you are, but she isn’t with you! Now back off, buddy!” the man stated angrily at having thought the blonde was flirting with his date.

“Hold on, you have the wrong idea.” Haruka stated, stepping back from the table with her hands raised, “She is yours, I don’t want her back after she cheated on me.”

He looked to the woman who was seated across from him, before he could ask, she nodded at the unasked question. He stood from the table, threw down a tip and left. Michiru looked up at Haruka.

“Is there anything else you would like to say?” she asked after watching her date walk out, her voice laced with pure acidic venom.

“No, there is nothing left to say,” the blonde responded coolly.

“What are you doing back, Kou-san?” the aqua haired young woman asked when she turned to the raven haired Starlight behind Haruka.

Seiya moved up to stand next to the table, leaning into Haruka and smiling as the blonde put an arm around her, “The others and I missed Tokyo and we had wanted to visit again anyway.”

Michiru maintained her composed mask as she turned and looked away from the two. She knew what she had done was wrong and regretted not trying to stop Haruka from leaving. She hadn’t felt the same amount of feeling from any of the guys she had been with since the blonde left. When she stood from the booth, the young woman looked up into the tall blonde’s eyes, then looked to Seiya.

“Keep her happy, she deserves someone who will love her,” the water senshi stated before walking out of the café.

“I dunno about you, but that was kinda weird…” Seiya admitted.

Haruka nodded to the statement before turning to the other woman, she quickly kissed her forehead and moved back towards the table they had been going to sit at when they entered. Haruka moved to pull the chair out for the other woman, then gently helped her scoot it in before taking her seat across from her at the table. The blonde smiled when she looked at the other woman and found her already gazing at her.

“Ruka-chan… Aishiteru, now and forever.” Seiya stated softly, a warm smile lit her features.

A coy smile formed on the blonde’s lips as she winked to the other woman, “I would hope you do, because the only other person that I would ever want is already gone.”

Seiya chuckled and winked back at the blonde and looked up at a young waitress that appeared next to their table. The two of them gave their order, ordering coffee for the both of them and a slice of pie for the two of them to split. The waitress giggled as she walked away.
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Wind Swept Starry Night