Fish Eye finished getting changed, frowning. Where were Hawk Eye and Tiger Eye? He was sure they'd be waiting to pounce when he got home, but they weren't even home themselves.
With a shrug, he decided to just go to bed. He supposed he could wait until morning to say 'I told you so' about Seiya.
The sound of the front door opening made him look up. On the other hand, he thought, he couldn't wait until morning to find out why they'd missed curfew. Stealthily, Fish Eye slipped down the stairs and peeked around the doorway into the living room.
"We're sorry," Hawk Eye was saying.
"Sorry isn't enough," Nuriko said sternly. "Not only are you late, but you never asked permission to take the car in the first place!"
"We know," Tiger Eye replied. "We were kind of in a hurry."
"To go where?" Sanosuke asked.
"We told you when we left," Hawk Eye said. "We went to watch Haruka race. I told Tiger Eye how fast she is and -."
Nuriko's maroon eyes narrowed. "Don't lie to us, boys."
"L-lie?" Hawk Eye said faintly.
"Haruka went out to dinner with her parents tonight," Sano told them. "She came over here afterwards to deliver a book for Michiru's mother."
The boys exchanged a defeated look. "Are you going to tell us the truth?" Nuriko asked.
"We can't," Hawk Eye said quietly. "I can only promise you that it wasn't illegal or dangerous."
"Would you be more willing to talk if I took a belt to you?" Sano asked seriously.
Fish Eye gasped, covering his mouth. A belt? His father only did that for what he considered the worst offenses. As annoying as they could be, Fish Eye didn't want to see that happen to his brothers. He rushed into the room.
"Don't, Papa!" he protested. "I know where they were!"
Everyone looked at him in surprise. "Fish Eye, what are you talking about?" Nuriko asked.
"Hawk Eye and Tiger Eye," he said. "They were with me all night - following us around."
He was looking so intently at his parents that he didn't see his brothers go pale.
"Fishie!" Hawk Eye gasped.
"They decided it would be fun to tease Michiru and I, so they tailed us everywhere we went," Fish Eye continued. "I didn't say anything earlier because they said they'd do all my chores for a week if I didn't tell."
"And we didn't want to tell you the truth because we knew you wouldn't like us harassing Fishie," Tiger Eye said quickly.
Nuriko and Sanosuke studied their children for a long time before turning to each other in a moment of silent communication.
"All right," Sano said finally, shifting his attention to the boys once more, "but why did you arrive home so much later than Fish Eye?"
"It would have looked suspicious to come home at the same time," Hawk Eye shrugged.
"I have to admit, I don't understand you boys," Nuriko said, shaking his head. "You must have known how angry we would be if you refused outright to tell us where you'd been, but you feared our anger over the truth more?"
"We panicked, I guess," Hawk Eye admitted.
"Well," Sanosuke said, "we _don't_ like that you ruined your brother's evening - "
"They didn't really," Fish Eye interrupted. "We ignored them after a while."
"Fish Eye, what we don't like is that there was no reason for it," Nuriko told him. "We're glad you and Michiru had fun in spite of them, but they could have found something more constructive to do with their time."
"And they shouldn't have tried to lie about it," Sano added. "Plus they missed curfew."
"Not really worth it, was it?" Tiger Eye pouted prettily.
"No," Sanosuke answered. "You're both grounded tomorrow, and your mother will give you a list of extra chores you can take care of."
"Fish Eye, since you were the one being tailed, we won't punish you for blackmailing your brothers," Nuriko said. "But don't do it again."
"Okay, Mama," Fish Eye said. "May I go to bed now?"
"Yes," Sanosuke replied and nodded at Tiger Eye and Hawk Eye. "You two go as well."
The boys filed up the stairs.
"Goodnight, you guys." Fish Eye headed for his room.
"Wait, Fishie!" Hawk Eye touched his arm. "Why did you lie like that?"
"Why do you think?" Fish Eye grinned. "To save your worthless hides."
"But we gave you a hard time about dating Seiya," Tiger Eye pointed out.
"Yes," Fish Eye agreed, "but you didn't tell Mama and Papa about my date, so I guess I owed you one. Besides," he added, "I didn't want Papa to use the belt on you."
Both his brothers hugged him at once, causing Fish Eye to yelp. "Hey, I'm getting squished!" He giggled.
"Thanks, Fishie!" Hawk Eye said. "Thanks a lot!"
"Yeah!" Tiger Eye agreed.
"You're just lucky I was in a good mood," he told them. "Seiya's a wonderful guy, you know, and we had a good time."
"We're glad," Hawk Eye said honestly.
Fish Eye looked surprised. "Really?"
"Yeah," Tiger Eye told him. "You obviously enjoyed yourself, so he must be okay."
Fish Eye shook his head in wonder. "Boy, if a close call makes you guys do complete turnarounds like this all the time it should happen more often! Goodnight."
His brothers watched him go into his room, then looked at each other.
"I feel like scum," Hawk Eye said. "Do you feel like scum?"
"I guess so," Tiger Eye admitted, then grinned. "But it beats not being able to sit down."

Seiya came out of the shower humming. The date with Fish Eye had gone so well, and Fish Eye had kissed _him_ first! Could the night have been any better?
The front door slammed downstairs, making him jump. He heard shouting, and walked over to the bedroom doorway to hear what was going on.
"What the _hell_ did you two do to my car?!"
Seiya blinked. His mother's voice. His mother's very _angry_ voice. Taiki and Yaten must be home, but what could have happened?
"We were in a little accident, Mama," Taiki said. "But the car isn't damaged, just dirty."
"Accident?" their mother, Apricot, repeated. "Were you hurt? Or anyone else?"
"Not yet," Yaten answered with a sigh.
Seiya heard a chuckle and knew his father was on the scene as well.
"Da Cider, don't you dare laugh!" Apricot confirmed. "It's not funny!"
"Aw, lighten up, honey!" their father said easily. "The kids are okay and like they said the car's just dirty. I'm sure they'll clean it up for you tomorrow."
"Will you stop doing that?!" Apricot sounded frustrated. "Stop minimizing the bad things they do - they'll never learn that way!"
"It's not like they were out committing arson or anything, relax!"
Seiya saw his brothers slip up the stairs. His parents apparently didn't notice, since their argument continued without them.
"I hate when they fight like that." Taiki sighed. "Especially when it's our fault."
"You'd hate getting spanked worse," Yaten told him. "Let's just go to bed and Mama will have cooled off by morning."
"So where _were_ you guys, anyway?" Seiya asked them.
His brothers exchanged a look and Yaten shrugged. "Nowhere special. Goodnight."

Seiya watched him go, then looked at Taiki. "Well?"
"Uh," Taiki stammered. "We ... uh ... it's not important. How was your date?"
Seiya's face lit up. "Wonderful! Fish Eye is so cute and fun to be with, you'll like him, too, once you get to know him, you'll see."
"I'm sure you're right," Taiki replied with a faint smile. "Goodnight, Seiya."
The black-haired boy watched his taller brother head for his room and shook his head. Hopefully the two of them would be back to normal by morning, too.
Tiger Eye grimaced as he yanked another of the seemingly endless weeds out from along the fence. He examined his hands mournfully. "My skin is getting ruined doing this. I _detest_ weeding."
"Would you rather mow the lawn?" Fish Eye asked him. "That's what Hawk Eye has to do when he gets home from work this afternoon."
"No, I hate doing that, too." Tiger Eye looked over to where the Quartet were playing some kind of game that seemed to be a mixture of soccer and volleyball. "I can't believe they got off scot-free," he muttered.
Fish Eye frowned. "What are you talking about? What did they do?"
"Uh, nothing." Tiger Eye turned back to his weeding. "Hey, Fishie," he said thoughtfully, "what do you know about Yaten Kou?"
"Not much yet, but I guess I'll be seeing more of him if Seiya and I keep dating," Fish Eye said. "My first impressions weren't great, though, you know that. Why do you ask?"
"No reason."
"Hi Fishie!" Michiru waved as she came out of her house.
"Michi, hi!" Fish Eye ran to meet her at the fence. "Listen, thanks a lot for covering for me yesterday, I appreciate it!"
Michiru giggled. "Things got a little complicated - Haruka had to do some covering for _me_ so I could cover for you! I hope we don't have to do this again for a long time."
"Oh, me too!" Fish Eye said. "I'll be sure to thank Haruka. Is she home today?"
"She's working this morning, I think with Hawk Eye."
"Yes, he's working, too. Then he has to come home and do yard work." Fish Eye shook his head. "I don't know what was going on, but he and Tiger Eye came back late last night and won't tell anyone where they were. I had to save their butts with Mama and Papa, but they still wound up in trouble." He nodded in Tiger Eye's direction. The blonde gave Michiru a dirty- handed wave.
"Hello, Tiger Eye," Michiru said with a smile. "So where _did_ you go that's such a big secret?"
"If I could tell you, it wouldn't be a secret," Tiger Eye replied. He stood up and brushed off his hands on his jeans. "I'm going to start work on the weeds around the tree now. See you later."
"Watch the girls don't bop you with their ball," Fish Eye warned.
Michiru waited until Tiger Eye was out of earshot then turned back to Fish Eye. "So tell me everything!" she said, her blue eyes glittering with excitement. "How was the big date?"
"It was great!" Fish Eye told her. "Seiya was a perfect gentleman. You'll tell Haruka that, won't you? My brothers have accepted that I'm going to date him, they actually seem okay about it now."
"Hawk Eye will probably tell her that himself, if he really feels that way," Michiru said.
"I'm really glad you had such a good time."
"Oh, I did! We had a wonderful dinner, we went for a boat ride and he took me to the _aquarium_, Michi! Wasn't that a thoughtful idea?"
"Sounds like something Haruka would do." Michiru smiled fondly. "On one of our first dates, she arranged a picnic on the beach because she knew I'd love it. If Seiya is anywhere near as thoughtful as Haruka, you'll be treated like a princess."
"I can live with that." Fish Eye grinned.
"Heads up!" Jun Jun called out a split-second before their ball bounced off Fish Eye's head. He assumed a flat-eyed look.
"Michi, how would you feel about going for a walk or something?"
"Sounds like a safer idea than standing around here," Michiru agreed, trying not to smile.

"Kurama, honey, where's your sister?" Setsuna asked as her redhaired son came down the stairs.
"I saw her leave a few minutes ago with Fish Eye," Kurama answered. "Do you want me to run after her? She can't have gotten far."
"No, it's all right," Setsuna said. "I was going over to Nuriko's and wondered if she wanted to come with me and visit with Fish Eye but I guess she found him anyway." The doorbell rang and Kurama went to open it. "Good morning, Zoisite. Mama's right here."
"Zoi, hi!" Setsuna walked over. "What's up?"
"I was heading over to Nuriko's and wondered if you'd like to come with me," Zoisite said, holding up a bowl of fresh-baked muffins. "You know he's got seven children there with him now, right? I figured he might enjoy some adult company."
"We must have been on the same wavelength, I was going there myself." Setsuna looked back at Kurama. "You can come, too, if you like. I think the girls are all over there playing in the backyard."
"That's okay," Kurama said hastily. "They're cute, but I think they'd be a little overwhelming all at once without someone there to act as a buffer."
Zoisite laughed. "Good point. Come on, Set, let's go."
Haruka wiped her eyes but the tears kept coming. And every time she looked at Hawk Eye, fresh gales of laughter would make create another waterfall of mirth.
"Haruka, people are starting to stare, would you shut up already?" Hawk Eye looked around the gas station nervously. "Besides, it's not that funny!"
"How can you SAY that?!" Haruka exclaimed. She looked around and lowered her voice. "You tell me that you, Tiger Eye, Yaten, Taiki, and your four cousins followed Seiya and Fish Eye all over town last night in one car and among other things you ran out on an ice cream bill, rolled downhill backwards, and fell in the lake, and this isn't funny?!" She started laughing again, holding her sides that were beginning to hurt.
"I wouldn't have told you if I knew you'd react like this," Hawk Eye grumbled. "Just don't tell anyone else, okay? Fish Eye would never forgive us."
"Don't worry, I won't even tell Michiru," Haruka straightened up and began getting herself together, grinning. "Thanks for telling me, though. I needed the laugh."
"Ha ha. Glad to oblige," Hawk Eye said flatly.
Haruka gave him a friendly punch on the arm. "So after all that, I guess you changed your mind about Seiya?"
"Yeah, I didn't really have much choice, since he was really nice to Fish Eye all night and heck, when they finally kissed, it was Fish Eye who made the first move." Hawk Eye shrugged.
"I won't give him any grief if he wants to keep dating him." He looked at Haruka. "How about you? Has your opinion changed because of what I told you?"
Haruka looked thoughtful. "I guess so," she admitted. "Seiya could have taken advantage of Fish Eye, but he didn't. There's no way he could have known you guys were tailing him, right?"
"With Taiki and Yaten there? He'd have come over and knocked their heads together, I think." Hawk Eye paused, then regarded Haruka curiously, "Tell me something - I know you never liked Seiya, but you didn't have anything against Taiki, right?"
Haruka shrugged. "I never really spent any time with him. Sometimes he seems like a bit of a snob, but then people have said the same thing about Michiru and I. I saw him goofing around with Yaten once and he was pretty funny. He's probably okay." A slow smile spread across her beautiful face. "Why would you ask? When you were together with Taiki in that car for hours last night did you come to some realizations?"
"I don't know." Hawk Eye turned away, but not before Haruka caught sight of the blush in his cheeks.
"Hey, they haven't passed a law against being interested in someone, you know," Haruka teased. "Go for it."
"Really?" Hawk Eye looked at her in surprise. "You think I should?"
"Why not?" Haruka asked. "I was wrong about Seiya and Fish Eye, so I'm not going to advise against this, and there's no reason to, anyway."
"Hi!" Michiru waved as she and Fish Eye came across the pavement toward them.
"Remember, not a word about last night," Hawk Eye begged.
"Don't worry so much, I can keep a secret," Haruka told him. She leaned over to give Michiru a kiss as she walked up, but the green-haired beauty took a step back, wagging a finger at her.
"You'd have me get grease all over this dress?" she asked. "Shame on you."
"My lips are grease-free," Haruka assured her. "I promise, I won't touch you."
"Hmm, okay." Michiru leaned over and kissed Haruka's lips, the blonde obediently keeping her hands behind her back.
"You owe me a hug later," Haruka told her.
"That's a deal," Michiru said.
"How's it going, Hawk Eye?" Fish Eye asked.
"Things are slow right now. Haruka says it'll pick up later, though. How's Tiger Eye doing with his yard work?"
"Complaining every minute, what else?" Fish Eye smiled, then looked at Haruka.
"Michiru told me you helped cover my story last night. Thank you."
Haruka nodded. "You're welcome. Hawk Eye was saying your date went well - I guess I was wrong about Seiya."
"It's nice of you to say so," Fish Eye told her. "I'd like for all of us to be friends."
"Maybe one of us should host a party or something," Haruka suggested. "We can get to know Seiya and his siblings on a different level, and your cousins can meet the rest of us."
"That's a great idea!" Hawk Eye agreed. "If they meet others, they may actually get out of the house and we won't have to deal with them so much!"
Michiru smiled. "I don't think that's quite what Haruka had in mind, but I like the idea of a party."
"We should probably hold it at our house, since we'd have the most kids already in one place," Fish Eye said. "I'll talk to Mama about it."
"Good opportunity to get to know someone new, right Hawk Eye?" Haruka said mischievously, then moved away to serve a customer. Michiru and Fish Eye looked at Hawk Eye for clarification, but he ran to help Haruka, his face turning red enough to clash with his hair.

"I was thinking a barbecue would be a nice idea, don't you?" Setsuna asked her friends as they sat on Nuriko's back patio and enjoyed the sunshine. "You and Sanosuke still haven't met everyone, and it would be a good opportunity for the kids to mingle as well."
"That's right, you have _got_ to meet Apricot," Zoisite told Nuriko. "She a great person, and her children are the same age as yours, too."
"Are she and Da Cider still having problems?" Setsuna asked Zoisite worriedly.
"I don't know," he admitted. "I hope not, but even if they are, a get-together would be a nice break for them."
"It sounds good to me, and I think we should have it right here," Nuriko said. "It wouldn't be fair to bring all seven kids over to someone else's place. Mmm, Zoisite, these muffins are great!" He reached for another one.
"Thanks!" Zoisite grinned. "I'm lucky I was able to smuggle any out of the house the way Kunzite and Haruka were inhaling them."
"Speaking of Haruka, it was nice of her to help Hawk Eye get the job at the gas station," Nuriko remarked. "It's only been a couple of shifts, but he seems to like it there."
"What about your other boys?" Setsuna asked. "Do they like their new jobs?"
"No." Nuriko laughed. "But I think they're going to try and stick it out, if only to have an excuse to get away from their cousins." He looked over to where the girls were having a wonderful time climbing the big tree in their yard while Tiger Eye tried in vain to pull the weeds around it.
"Have the girls been that much trouble so far?" Zoisite asked.
"Not exactly. In fact, they were out all yesterday evening." Nuriko sipped his iced tea.
"At least they made it back in time for curfew. I can't say the same for the boys. Oh Setsuna, please tell Michiru how sorry I am that they pestered she and Fish Eye last night - believe me, it won't happen again."
Setsuna looked puzzled. "I'm not sure what you mean. Who pestered whom and when?"
"The boys told me how they followed Michiru and Fish Eye all over town last night when they were shopping," Nuriko said. "Didn't Michiru mention it?"
"I don't understand," Setsuna said. "Michiru was at home all evening. Don't you remember how she brought the cookbook over here for you?"
Now Nuriko looked confused. "But ... Haruka brought the book over."
"What?" Zoisite looked up. "How did Haruka get into this?"
"As I said, she brought the cookbook over," Nuriko replied. "She said Setsuna brought it with her to your house, but Kenshin called her home, so Haruka offered to bring it over."
Zoisite and Setsuna exchanged bewildered looks. "We didn't see each other last night, Nuriko," Zoisite told him. "Kunzite and I went out for dinner with the girls, and after that we all spent the evening at home, but we didn't have any visitors."
"And I never left my house at all," Setsuna said. "I was waiting for a long-distance call, that's why I sent Michiru out with the book. She gave me a hard time about it, too, which isn't like her."
"This is getting more complicated by the minute" Nuriko shook his head. "Fish Eye said the boys followed he and Michiru around all night, and Hawk Eye and Tiger Eye admitted it, but Michiru never went out except to deliver the book that Haruka brought over instead?"
"Haruka lied to you, Nuriko, I'm sorry," Zoisite said. "I don't know why or what's going on, but I'll certainly be talking to her about it."
"I have a few questions for Michiru, too," Setsuna remarked. "Why did she not deliver the book herself? Especially when one of her feeble excuses was that she'd pulled a muscle. She had to walk twice as far to bring the book to Zoisite's!"
"All I want to know is if Fish Eye wasn't out with Michiru last night, where was he and why are his brothers helping him cover it up?" Nuriko wondered out loud, his expression grim.
"Hi Mama!" Fish Eye said cheerfully as he and Michiru came around the corner of the house. "We have something to ask you!"
The adults turned to look at them. "What a coincidence," Nuriko said evenly. "We have a few things to ask you, too."

End of chapter 10
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