Once they got back in Tokyo, Haruka and Michiru sat together on the park bench watching the Inners, and Hotaru sat there beside them. Setsuna excused herself from her talk with Ami and the others and walked over to where they were sitting. "Hotaru," Setsuna smiled at the young girl, "your father asked us to take care of you. Is that all right?" The dark haired girl nodded solemnly, "I guess so." Hotaru looked up at her curiously and asked, "Where am I going to live now?" There was a moment of silence, as the three Outers exchanged a glance. Obviously, they had not really considered that. "With us and Setsuna in the apartment," Haruka said, but there was an odd look on her face. "What?" Michiru asked. "It's only two bedrooms," Setsuna murmured. "I'm sure we'll manage," Haruka said optimistically. A few hours later the sun had set and a softly snoring Hotaru lay in the middle of Setsuna's large bed, sound asleep. It had been a long day for the young girl, and playing with her new friend Chibi-Usa had taken up a lot of it. Across the hallway, however, things weren't going as well. "Watch the hands, Tenoh," Setsuna sighed as the three of them tried in vain to get comfortable. It was a double bed, but three people were a bit too much for it. "It wasn't me," Haruka protested indignantly. She was being pushed all the way to the side of the bed, Michiru laying in the middle, Setsuna on the other side. "Sorry," a faintly blushing Michiru murmured, "I think that was my fault." A pause, and "I though that... part belonged to Haruka." Haruka chuckled softly. "Don't say a word," Setsuna growled. "I wouldn't think of it," Haruka answered, a smile evident in her voice. Setsuna sighed and tried to roll over, managing to roll right off the double bed onto the hard floor with a loud thump. 'I didn't think Setsuna knew that kind of language,' Michiru thought with a chuckle. "Setsuna, remember we have a child here," she scolded her gently. 'This is going to be a long night,' Haruka thought to herself as Setsuna awkwardly climbed back up on the bed. The next day they were having a Senshi meeting at Rei's temple, and the Inners were mildly surprised to see the three Outers looking so.. poorly. Haruka's hair was boyishly styled as usual, but cowlicks badly disrupted the look. Michiru had skipped her makeup, and Setsuna had little bits of hair standing straight up. Not to mention the bags under all their eyes. "Is there some new menace coming?" Luna asked worriedly. The dark haired woman sat slightly apart, the two kittens cradled in her lap. "Do we need to start preparing?" Usagi asked seriously. Rei came in carrying the tray of tea, and all three Outers grasped their cups like they were their salvation. "Wow," she murmured before settling down at Usagi's side. The blonde gave her a grateful smile, reaching out to take Rei's hand. "Sorry, there's no menace coming," Michiru drank her tea gratefully, "we just didn't get much sleep last night." "Is Hotaru adjusting all right?" Makoto asked worriedly. Chibi-Usa and Hotaru ran by the open screen playing tag, obviously enjoying themselves. "She's adjusting fine," Setsuna sighed wearily, "but Haruka snores." "I do not," Haruka protested. "Michiru, you tell them," she pleaded with her lover. "Haruka does not snore," Michiru said with great dignity, quietly adding, "much." "Gee, thanks," Haruka sighed. Minako chuckled softly, "You mean you three are...?" "No," Setsuna frowned. "We're sharing a bed because of space constraints, nothing more," she said defensively. Sitting beside Minako, Natsuna grinned, "That must have been fun." "Not quite," Michiru sighed. "I think we're going to have to look for a larger place," Haruka admitted. "I'll get the newspapers," Rei volunteered, going over to see her grandfather. In a few minutes they were all pouring over the papers, checking out vacancies. "Why are all the adult adds in this paper circled?" Ami asked tentatively. "I try not to think about it," a sweatdropping Rei answered. "Eww!" the others chorused. Not too long afterward they had assembled a list of good possibilities, and started calling around for appointments to see the various suites. Once prepared, Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna and Hotaru were off. Haruka looked up at the small building thoughtfully, "I guess this is the place." She rang the doorbell, and waited. The door opened and a dark haired girl smiled up at them happily, "Hello. I'm Yomiko Readaman." She turned inside to yell, "Nancy, they're here!" She carefully pushed her glasses up while casually using her foot to push a teetering pile of books back up. "The rooms are back this way," she said cheerfully. Setsuna looked around wide eyed as they carefully navigated a hallway lined with piles of books. Fiction, non-fiction, manga, they were scattered all about. "Wow," Hotaru exclaimed. Yomiko forced a door open, revealing... piles off books. "I'm using this for storage," she said cheerfully, "but I'm sure we can put the books elsewhere. There's three rooms, unfurnished, and you can use Nancy's and my kitchen upstairs." "Thank you very much for showing us the suite," Michiru blinked. Setsuna sighed, "We'll seriously consider it." A dark haired woman waited at the door, wearing a zippered leather jumpsuit. "Did you clean the rooms out?" she ask Yomiko with a smile. "I'm sorry, Nancy, but I really didn't have a chance," Yomiko blushed. "Sorry, folks," Nancy sighed, putting her arm around Yomiko's shoulder. "If you want to come back later, we'll try to have the rooms empty," she smiled. "Maybe next time," Haruka shrugged. The four of them got into the car and were off to the next one. The pink haired teen smiled at them cheerfully when they rang the bell. "Hi, I'm Utena Tenjou," she shook their hands. The house was two levels, the top floors two bedrooms, the bottom three. As Utena explained it, she and her schoolmate were renting the top floor rooms, and they needed someone else to rent the bottom floor suite. "Is you're roommate here?" Michiru asked. Just then a high pitched voice squealed, "Utena-sama!" A flying Wakaba hit her back, sending them both crashing to the ground. She smiled up at the four of them cheerfully, "Hello." "I don't think I could stand that sort of thing on a regular basis," Setsuna sighed to the others. "Now what are we going to do?" Utena complained once they all left. The doorbell rang again, and she saw three other women standing there. "I'm Juri, these are my friends Shiori and Anthy," Juri smiled, "we saw your ad. for the rooms. Are they still available?" "Where to next?" Michiru asked. Next, it seemed, was the home of a Miss Miyuki. The girl opened the door, and Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna gaped at the red leather clad woman hanging off the girl. She gave them a sultry smile, while Miyuki sweatdropped. From inside a woman in a furry catsuit cried out, "Miyuki-chan, we're waiting." "Neat," Hotaru laughed. Haruka reached out and closed the door, firmly. "What was wrong with that one?" Hotaru was still complaining as they drove to the next place. Setsuna had picked it by simply closing her eyes, extending a finger, and jabbing down randomly on their list of possibilities. The house on the edge of town was settled on a plot of green, large enough for them all with plenty of room to spare. A short conversation with the owner later and the agreement was made. They could move in after only a few days. "How do you do it?" Haruka asked, looking at Setsuna in awe. "It's a gift," Setsuna shrugged. "At least that's over," Michiru sighed. "Not quite," Setsuna sighed. They both looked at her in surprise, "One, we still have to share a bed for the next few days, and two," Setsuna blushed, "the leather lady slipped me her phone number." She bashfully held up the slip of paper. Author's Notes Earlier, I mentioned that Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna were sharing a small apartment. With Hotaru suddenly appearing in their lives, it occurred to me that sleeping arrangements might be a problem. Not to mention house hunting... Yomiko and Nancy are from Read or Die. Yes, Yomiko's home is really like that! Utena, Wakaba, Juri, Shiori and Anthy are from Revolutionary Girl Utena Miyuki-chan and friends are from Miyuki-chan in Wonderland
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