Haruka ran a hand through her wet hair, slicking it back while looking at the nearly catatonic woman lying on the couch. After that single word, the woman had refused to answer any of her questions and Haruka had done the only rational thing she could think of by carrying the woman to what seemed to be her house. The door had still been open and she'd gently placed her onto a white sofa, unsure of what to do next.
"Ojou-sama! What on earth happened?!"
A bag of groceries spilled onto the ground as a young woman shrieked. She ran over to the woman on the couch and while there was a flicker of recognition, she remained unresponsive and still. Not sparing the blonde a glance, the maid quickly helped the still drenched woman up the stairs, leaving behind a trail of puddles.
Alone on the first floor, Haruka took the time to carefully pick up the spilled produce and take in her surroundings. The interior was as vast as the exterior had seemed, but it was scarce in furniture and decorations, not looking at all like an inhabited home. "Ojou-sama," the girl had called the woman. There was no doubt she was rich, coming from old money.
Haruka's thoughts were interrupted as the maid came down the stairs, muttering to herself.
"Goshujin-sama will need to hear about this…"
She fretted, visibly worried when she lifted her head and saw the blonde. Startling before coming back to herself, the maid went in front of Haruka and bowed deeply.
"Thank you very much for helping ojou-sama. She's in bed now so there is no need for you to worry."
"It's nothing. If I'm not being too intrusive, may I ask who you were talking about on the stairs?"
Biting her lip in worry and wanting to share her fears with someone else, the maid answered, "Oshiro-sama will need to know what happened to his wife today."
Haruka blanched, "Oshiro Kunzite? She's his wife?!"
She solemnly nodded, "Oshiro-sama thought it'd be best for Kaiou-sama to stay here while she recovers."
Her brain whirred into action. How fortunate she was to have just saved the wife of the very man who controlled the Japanese arts world! After hearing of her heroics, he'd have to become her patron and with his influence, she'd definitely get great reviews.
While the opinions of critic were law to photographers, the opinions of prominent arts/entertainment businessmen were law to both critics and photographers. They were the source of the money that funded them all, and no Japanese critic would dare go against someone Oshiro Kunzite was patroning.
However, she had technically been trespassing on private property and she could get into a lot of legal trouble. There was no guarantee that Kunzite wouldn't press charges against her even after saving his wife's life…
But if she was able to get the support of his wife, then Haruka would be completely safe! If his wife vouched for Haruka, Kunzite would be able to do nothing except become her sponsor. This was perfect!
The maid looked curiously at Haruka, who had remained silent during her planning. Haruka suddenly turned to make direct eye contact with the younger woman.
"Why don't you hold off on telling Oshiro-san? It'll just worry him and I'm sure he's a very busy man. It's okay, I'm an old acquaintance of Kaiou-san. I wasn't aware she'd married during my time abroad but I came to help her in her recovery."
She looked sorely tempted at the idea of not having to tell her intimidating boss (he'd fire her for sure!) but she fiddled uncomfortably with her fingers as she avoided the blonde's gaze.
Haruka's eyes lit up in understanding, "Oh, please, there's no need for you to worry. I'm a woman."
Her grey ringlets bounced as the maid looked up with a red blush, "Oh! I'm so sorry, I-!"
"It's no problem. But will you agree to keep today a secret for now?" Haruka spoke smoothly, her husky voice lulling and persuading the younger girl who nodded quickly.
"Thanks! I'll come by tomorrow then, koneko-chan," Haruka said while leaving the house, leaving behind a girl who was now blushing for an entirely different reason.
"Oshiro Kunzite wife"
Her google search was met with thousands of results, ranging from articles to pictures. Haruka had never met with him in person, only corresponded with him through her agent. Clicking on a picture, she saw a tall, broad shouldered man with sleek white hair who cut an stern and imposing figure. His mouth was in an upturned smirk, as if he knew he knew of his own superiority, but his eyes remained steely and mirthless. Next to him stood a woman of utmost elegance, who looked physically similar to the woman Haruka had saved but felt like an entirely different person. Perfectly styled aquamarine tresses, a sharp yet delicate and perfectly painted face, a tight black dress that wrapped and highlighted her perfectly proportional body, she complimented the severity of her husband's figure, carrying herself with an unmistakable poise and grace that Haruka could sense even through the photo. Together, they looked like the ultimate power couple, although Kunzite's possessive arm around his wife seemed as if he was showing off a trophy rather than holding his wife.
Scanning through several articles, Haruka found that while he was the chairman of Japan's premiere arts and entertainment company (a fact she was already aware of), his wife, Kaiou Michiru, had been a celebrated violinist with a lengthy career filled with numerous accolades.
The most recent articles talked about how the violinist's career had come to an abrupt end after a severe car accident robbed her of her hearing, and how she was at an undisclosed location to recover from her grievous injuries.
Haruka stared at those words and the image of the aqua haired woman, inconsolably desolate after being saved, brought itself to the forefront of her mind. In her excitement at the prospect of getting Kunzite's patronship through his wife, she had forgotten about the woman herself.
What had she gotten herself into?
A/N: This story is just too easy to write! (meanwhile my deadlines are coming up fast and I've made no progress on those ahh)
I wasn't able to put in the maid's name in this chapter, but I'll be sorely impressed if anyone can guess who she is. She's also a character from the manga/anime and Haruka's nickname for her is a big hint!
The next chapter will start with a focus on Michiru. Thank you all for your kind words! Very astute observations were made and I was surprised by how accurate some of them were! More will be revealed and I hope you will continue to read this story!