The Darkness Before Dawn

Umiko walked over to Yukiko and Hidan and slapped Yukiko's hand off him. "I didn't say you could flirt with him" she hissed. Yukiko looked shocked and held her aching hand while Hidan looked on in confusion. Kakuzu peeked over a rack of suits but quickly became bored with the drama.

"You said I could talk to him!" Yukiko said. "Talk, not flirt" Umiko gritted out through her clenched jaw. "Ladies! You don't have to fight over me! Although it's fucking hot~" Hidan cooed at them. "SHUT UP!" they both roared at him as Umiko stared Yukiko down. Neither woman was giving an inch, both had their fists clenched and ready to fight. Yukiko finally turned away, "we'll discuss this at home."

"YOU DUMPED HIM SO WHAT'S THE ISSUE?!" Yukiko yelled as Umiko slammed the door behind them. They angrily tossed off their shoes, jackets and bags and stomped into the great room, startling everyone else in the mansion. "What the fuck?" Shinju whispered as Yukiko and Umiko squared off against each other. "I did dump him but he's still mine!" "That doesn't even make sense! If you want him, be with him!" "NO! He's an asshole!" "I have a headache" Shinju said while rubbing her temples.

"DON'T EVEN START! You're a fucking doormat for that cop! Drop everything for him when he finally contacts you!" Yukiko said, rounding on Shinju who looked shocked before her expression turned to anger. She set her tablet aside, carefully, as she got to her feet. "You take that back" she growled. "No! Why hide the truth?! You're chasing someone who doesn't have the time for you!" "Yeah! Have more respect for yourself!" Umiko chimed in.

"You're one to talk! You had your reporter bitch and you had a perfectly fine guy but you both decided to fuck all that up by being your uppity selves!" Shinju replied, standing her ground. "For two smart people you two are fucking dumb" she finished, crossing her arms over her chest. Yukiko and Umiko glared at her.

"What is going on?!" Tenno asked as he entered the room with Kay following. "These two are fighting over a cop and accusing me of being a spineless bitch when it comes to my cop!" Shinju filled them in. "You are spineless! You bend over backwards for that scarred asshole!" Umiko said. "You drop your work and put the mission in jeopardy when he texts you! Because of you, we're behind!" Yukiko said.

"YOU disappeared for nights, leaving me with all the goddamn work so you could get laid!" Umiko said to Yukiko. "You're supposed to be the medical expert so genetics shouldn't be that hard for you...unless you're finally admitting your incompetence." Yukiko snarled back. "Ouch" Kay muttered. "YOU!" Shinju yelled at her, "YOU fucked up royally! You did a sloppy hit and now we've got unwanted attention on us! Are you losing your skills? Are you too old for this now? Do we really even need you?!" "Are you fucking kidding me?! Like you prissy bitches can kill up close and personal! You hide behind a computer, you and you hide behind your microscopes and experiments! Come talk shit to me when you all fucking grow up!" Kay said as she leaned aggressively towards Shinju, both of their eyes blazing in anger.

"IT'S BECAUSE OF ALL OF YOU THAT WE'RE BEHIND!" Tenno roared, silencing the fighting women. "They're investigating Kay and there is a stack of missions from Mother that are piling up because you four can't get along! Get your shit squared away!"

"I'm not working with them." Umiko said. A chorus of "same!" and "ditto!" followed her statement. Tenno sighed and said "it's because of your strengths and weaknesses that you became this team, the most successful of Mother's teams. She's counting on you all to pull this off and take down the Uchiha and the City for good!" Four pairs of angry eyes met his tired ones before they huffed and left the room, heading to their separate rooms.

Tenno knocked softly on Yukiko's door and entered when he heard a faint "come in". He found her sitting on her bed, wiping her tears. "Oh Mistress" Tenno said softly as he sat down next to her. "Talk to me" he said as he wrapped his arms around her and she sobbed into his chest and he listened patiently and comforted her. When she had fallen asleep from exhausting herself from crying, he tucked her in and left her room.

He peeked in on the rest of the women. Shinju was doing her nightly skincare routine, relishing in the calming ritual; Kay was cleaning and testing her guns, ensuring that the next mission wouldn't fail because of a misfire; Umiko was laying on her bed with her eyes closed listening to music, the lyrics expressing how she was feeling.