Although her stomach still hurt, Haruka managed to make it to school the next day in time.  Immediately afterward, she dropped Michiru off, and headed to the track, intent on running a few laps.

            After just fifteen times around the track she was winded.  *Well, I haven't been getting to the track enough ...only three times a week since I moved in with Mamoru.* She headed for the locker rooms.

            "Hey, Haruka-san!"

            Haruka whirled at the familiar voice.  *Elza Gray?*

            The girl bounced up, not looking winded at all, Haruka noted with some bitterness.  "Hey, Elza-san."

            "Whatcha doin?"  Elza asked.

            "I'm headin' home," Haruka immediately settled into the other girl's pattern of speech, as was her habit.

            "Really?"  Elza looked surprised, "How long have you been here?"

            Annoyance prickled at Haruka.  "Long enough." She snapped, whirling so that her back was to Elza.  "Ja ne, Elza-san."

            Not seeming to notice Haruka's irritability, Elza called back in her usually cheerful way.  "See ya, Haruka-san!"

            When Haruka arrived back home, she was in a terrible mood.  Today had been strange for her, with all the adjustments, and then that meeting with Elza Gray...today certainly wouldn't go on her "Days to Remember" list, that was for sure.

            "Haruka," Setsuna called, seeing the other Senshi standing out on the deck, the cold March wind ruffling dishwater blonde hair.  "Haruka, are you coming in for dinner?"

            "No," Haruka called back.  "I think that I'll just stay out here."

            Setsuna shrugged.  "Suit yourself."

            Biting off a nasty retort, Haruka sighed.  She missed Mamoru, and felt terrible for leading Michiru on. It was true what Setsuna had said, Michiru could never hate her.  In fact, she would always love Haruka, no matter what she suspected the wind Senshi of doing behind her back.

            *I wish that I could tell someone,* Haruka thought to herself.  She went over her options.  *I can't tell Usagi or Michiru for obvious reasons, and the Inner Senshi are too loyal to be trusted.  Hotaru is too young to understand the scope of this.*  She smiled, *But Setsuna isn't!*  Then Haruka's smile faded into a frown.  *But she's Michiru's friend, too.  I couldn't put her in the middle of this.*

            Haruka sighed, knowing that she had worked herself into a position that no one would envy.  Looking for a way to dispense her tension, Haruka wandered back into the house, looking for her swords.  Unlocking a cabinet in the living room, she pulled out to perfectly balanced long swords, admiring their split leather grip, darkened with age and use.

            Haruka had always liked swords, and collected them with the same earnest as she did cars.  Now, as she carried her two swords out the back door, feeling the cold damp sand underneath her bare feet, she couldn't help but feel the rush of adrenaline that accompanied a sword practice.

            Walking close enough to the water that it could splash on her feet, Haruka crouched, legs braced and swords at defensive angles.  She held the position for longer than a minute; extremely alert and relaxed, although her muscles appeared taunt with concentration.

            Then she sprang in a mad flurry of block and parry, her swords silvery blurs in an otherwise calm atmosphere.

            Ever since she had begun, her teachers had stressed that a competent sword master use not just the hand that he favored, such as the right, as in most cases, but both. Since that day, Haruka had worked doggedly at the feat, trying to eliminate the natal tendency to favor a certain limb.

            Now, twirling and dodging invisible enemies, Haruka knew that all of her training had paid off. Or had it? She felt slightly unbalanced, and attributed it to not practicing in a while, since her blades were perfect.

            Haruka continued in her death dance, still feeling slightly off-balanced.  *I'll just have to practice more often,* she decided, weaving a defensive figure eight. In her mind's eye, she could see the enemies, growing in number every second.

            She broke the eight with a high and a low sweep from each sword, ducking.  One sword tripped a faceless enemy, and her duck saved her from the sword of another, which instead skewered one of it's own.

            Gathering momentum, Haruka spun, catching a blow on the hilt of her sword, the action shocking pain through her arms.  Meeting the enemy's gaze, she let out a growl. Her mind had conjured a huge beast with the body of a woman with the head of a snake, and a furry body.  A scorpion tail jutted proudly from its backside.

            *The leader!*  her battle crazed head cried.

            Throwing her weight into her swords, she unbalanced the monster, and it flew back a few steps, her sword flicked out, gouging its left shoulder.  The creature howled in pain, and it's tail snaked out at Haruka.

            Blocking, Haruka ducked, letting momentum carry the tail farther than it should have gone.  As the creature staggered, Haruka plunged her sword into its ribcage, letting the other sword flick down to slice it across the lower legions, spilling foul smelling intestines.

            Gurgling, the monster hit the ground, twitching its limbs.  Blood frothed from its mouth, and its eyes started to glaze.

            "Dead Scream!"

            A glowing orb hit the monster and it screamed, instantly dissolving into dust.  Haruka whirled.  There stood Sailor Pluto, and Sailor Neptune.  Sailor Saturn was running out of the beach house, raven hair flying behind her back.

            "Haruka!"  Neptune cried, rushing up to her girlfriend. She hugged her tightly, then looked up into Haruka's face. "Are you alright?  Why didn't you transform?"

            "I..." Haruka stumbled.  She closed her eyes, shaking her head to clear it.  "I didn't realize that it was a youma, or that it was real.  I thought that it was a figment of my imagination."

            "What?"  Neptune asked breathlessly, de-transforming. "It was quite obviously a youma, Haruka!  How could it be a figment of your imagination?"

            Haruka shrugged.  "I just really get into my sword practice, that's all.  It helps to create enemies to battle, and I figured that that was what it was."

            Michiru was exasperated, but relieved.  "Oh well --at least you're alright.  I don't know what I would have done if you had been hurt..."

            Haruka let Michiru's voice fade, walking with the aqua-haired woman back to the beach house.  When they got inside, apparently finished saying her piece, Michiru scurried off to practice her violin.  Haruka walked into the kitchen, still in a dream-like state.

            Grabbing a rag, she cleaned her swords thoroughly, refusing to let her mood lead her into disrespecting them.  Finished cleaning her swords, she placed them back into their case in the cabinet.  Locking it, she returned the key to their proper hiding place.  Sighing, she leaned against the wall.

            "Haruka!"  Michiru called, "We've all decided that we want ice cream...drive us?"

            Although she wasn't in the mood for driving, let alone twenty-dollar ice cream, Haruka knew that her bad mood wasn't reason enough to wreck the good time that they were sure to have.

            "Alright," Haruka called back.  "Be there in a minute."  Grabbing her coat, Haruka took her time getting into the living room, hoping that her reluctance showed, at least a little.

            "Ready?"  Hotaru asked excitedly.

            Haruka grinned, her heart warming.  "Ready, Hime-chan."

            "Give me a piggy-back ride to the car, Haruka-papa!" Hotaru cried.  "Please?"

            Although her muscles still ached from her grueling sword practice, Haruka was determined not to let it show.  "Sure.  Climb on."  She bent over, and Hotaru scrambled onto her back.  Wobbling over to the car, Haruka stopped to fish the keys out of her pocket.  "Ride ends here, Hime-chan."  Haruka informed her young passenger.

            Groaning, Hotaru jumped off.  She climbed into the backseat of the car, and Setsuna got in, sitting beside her.  Michiru and Haruka got in, and they were off in an instant.

            By the time that they found a year-round ice cream parlor, it was getting late, so they decided to stop and get videos.  Michiru rented Music of the Heart, Haruka rented Driven, and Setsuna rented some movie subtitled in Chinese, called Raise the Red Lantern (AN: great movie).

            Getting home, they all fought over the TV.  Finally, Hotaru went into her room, to watch her movie on her own TV.  They drew straws next, and Setsuna won.

            After thirty minutes of conniving Fourth Wives and deceptive Second Wives, Haruka's eyes hurt.  She decided to go see what Hotaru was watching.

            Wandering over to the girl's room, Haruka knocked on the door.

            "Come in," Hotaru replied in a monotone, obviously enthralled with her movie.

            Haruka smiled, and pushed open the door.  Hotaru was sprawled on her bed, propping her head up by resting on her elbows.  She glanced out of the corner of her eye. "Oh," she said,  "Hey, Haruka-papa."

            "Hey, Hotaru."  Haruka replied.  She sat down on the bed next to her adoptive daughter, making sure that she had closed the door behind herself.  "What are you watching?"

            "Old Yeller."

            Haruka stiffened.  "Oh?" she asked tightly, remembering the day that she and Mamoru tried to capture a boar, and she had used Old Yeller as her argument.

            Hotaru nodded.  "Shhh."  She whispered, waving her hand at Haruka.  "It's getting to the good part--with the boars."

            Haruka choked on a sob, and Hotaru glanced at her papa.  Doing a double take, Hotaru grasped Haruka's hand, sitting up on the bed.  The light from the TV in the near darkness gave her an eerie glow.

            "Haruka-papa?" she asked.

            "I'm alright."  Haruka answered, sniffling.

            "Oh, it's okay..." Hotaru trailed off.  "Everything turns out alright; I've seen this movie before.  But," she continued with her childlike innocence, "If you get scared, you can hide your eyes in my shoulder."

            Haruka laughed lightly.  "It's okay, Hime-chan." She got up.  "'Night."

            "Good night, Haruka-papa."  Hotaru returned, still looking concerned.

            *Good God!*  Haruka's mind screamed.  *What's wrong with me?*