True Manipulation Chapter 9: Distractions part 2

O, K, & D Law offices

Saturday, about noon.

Two days after the wedding:

"Hello you have reached Fujioka Haruhi I am temporarily out of the office right now, please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as I can."

The voice was hesitant. "Hi Haruhi, this is Fuyumi. I um, called to well….ask if you are doing ok. I noticed Kyouya is still living at the mansion and he hasn't left his room in about 3 days, he's probably been busy with work and you guys are probably trying to synchronize your schedules to move in at a later time? I also thought that maybe you were on a business trip and that is why I haven't seen you. So, um call me, yeah, ok bye."

Haruhi was most certainly not avoiding Fuyumi. Today, has been two weeks since the wedding. Haruhi had nothing to say to her and furthermore it should be Kyouya's place to talk to her, not Haruhi's. It was his own ridiculous behavior that had people speculating. No one had caught on immediately to the fact they weren't living together, until Kyouya started going to social engagements like normal, but by himself. When asked about his wife, he was always quoted saying "no comment." No comment indeed, he hadn't contacted her nor even felt he should share his reasons for leaving her on their wedding day. It was apparent he had gotten the company so he could go back to being The Invincible Shadow King.

Haruhi was still steaming from the thoughts of him. As each day passed she got a little angrier. It was working well for her career but not the attorneys on the opposing side. Her first trial case on Tuesday involving Tsuki Juno, and his now divorced wife Kimei, had ended ugly for the wife. She got nothing. Normally the assets would have been divided equally amongst the couple but the 3 days of no sleep after the wedding and thorough concentration was the wife's downfall. Haruhi normally didn't do divorces but Tsuki was a friend of a friend at the law firm, so under conflict of interest she got the case. Tsuki was thrilled and Haruhi had received a reputation of being "ruthless" from the media coverage it received. She didn't like how this was affecting her, not only were people knocking down her door now with divorce cases, but this wasn't what she went to law school for. She had never wanted to see justice dealt wrongly. She had done her job but she wasn't happy with it.

He hadn't even tried to call! Haruhi was raking her hands through her hair with frustration because she couldn't let it go. She couldn't just shrug it off. She couldn't even stay on topic of self-hate from her recent trials. She even bought a house large enough for two people in hope's he might come around. The house was literally 20 feet from Ootori Industries. Her pride hadn't allowed her to confront him. She was startled from her dark thought by the phone ringing.

"Fujioka Haruhi speaking." Haruhi mentally winced she had just sent a nasty letter yesterday to the biggest paper in Tokyo telling them that she was no longer a Fujioka. She had been sending a message to Kyouya when it was put in the retractions on the front page of the newspaper today. There was no way he missed it, he just didn't care. She gripped the phone harder and waited for the person to speak.

"Hello dear, how are you?"

"Who is this?"

"I think I should be insulted after all I have the feeling we are going to be such great friends."

"What do you want Yamalina?"

"Tamaki was right, at least you are intelligent." Haruhi was ready to breathe fire, she may not be the prettiest girl but that didn't mean it was right to remark on it at every occasion.

"Is there a point sometime?"

"Oh well I wanted to congratulate you as being the most avoided woman in Ootori's harem."

Haruhi gritted her teeth, "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Why Tamaki told me the 'happy couple' wasn't seen together at Nekowaza's Ball and Kyouya never goes alone. It seems for newlyweds you are in no way together, which is unusual for normal people but considering you don't live together, I guess not. Have you found out that when Kyouya gets what he wants he throw out away like last week's trash? Or did you really buy into the act he was presenting? I personally think he overdid the affection a bit, but of course to those naïve people it actually looked like he couldn't keep his hands off you. I'm sure you've realized by now once an Ootori always an Ootori."

Haruhi appeared calm listening to this diatribe but she was crying on the inside. She was defensive and biting to her 'favorite' caller. "I don't know why you felt the need to call me and tell me this, but I can assure you as an Ootori, should you call me again I will bring proceedings for harassment. Good day Miss Yamalina." She slammed the phone down with a satisfying thump. She would need another cup of coffee to deal with life.

She went out of her office to the coffee station, but her secretary stopped her before she could get to the magical brew. She had an irrational desire to go and yell at Kyouya. She would not let herself be embarrassed any further by this situation.

"Hey, Haruhi don't forget about the office party tonight, you are bringing Mr. Ootori right?"

Haruhi turned more towards her secretary feeling rather sick at heart. She hadn't remembered what the momentous occasion was, but that she in fact was required to go to this one since she had skipped all social engagements thus far and had been encouraged to attend. No one would understand what was going on with her and Kyouya. People do not get married for weird reasons and then never see each other. "Um….?" She couldn't think of any excuse off the top of her head.

Her secretary continued to prattle not noticing the tension, "We all are really looking forward to meeting your new husband!"

Her secretary was a bubbly girl, who meant no real harm, and Haruhi didn't want to disappoint her, "I…I was just headed over there to see if he had any pressing matters that came up, but most likely we will both be there tonight."

Haruhi escaped the building after retrieving her keys and driving over there. She would not let this stupid situation lead her to any more embarrassment. She was a professional person, and too old for the run-around. Haruhi was getting worked up and wasn't in the presence of mind to check in with the front desk. She got into the elevator and road up to Kyouya's floor before being intercepted by a man who moved like lightening. This was apparently Kyouya's new secretary. "I'm sorry ma'am but Mr. Ootori does not want any visitors today, you will have to leave."

Before she could start arguing with the man, security showed up as well in the elevator and were physically trying to escort her from the premises. She started panicking as they tried to stuff her unresisting body into the elevator. She did the only thing she could think of, she shouted down the building. "KYOUYA!!" Security had clapped a hand over the crazy lady's mouth before Ootori-sama was disturbed. Kyouya appeared in the doorway in less than a flash as the elevator doors were starting to close.

"TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF MY WIFE!" A very pissed Kyouya strode forward. The dark aura emanating from him was enough to convince the security staff to let go of her in an instant. If Ootori-sama said this was his wife they weren't going to argue with him.

Her breath had been suspended ever since he had appeared god-like in the door. Anyone who said they weren't affected by power were liars. There was something about an authoritative Kyouya that made her blood quicken. She felt strangely emotional and hoped that everything that had happened hadn't been an act.

Tears started to well up behind her eyes and she tried not to look at him until she could control them. As an Ootori, Kyouya had the best training there was to offer in how to read people and he hadn't missed the tears at all. He touched both of her arms and came eye level with her. "Did they hurt you?" he asked through clenched teeth. The black aura grew stronger and the staff didn't hesitate getting out of there, as he non-verbally dismissed them. Him touching her proved her undoing as two tears leaked out and tracked down her cheeks.

He took her inside his office, a man she had never seen before was sitting in the chair opposite his desk. He was immediately dismissed as Kyouya settled her into the chair the man had vacated. She had wiped the two tears away while the man had exited. She didn't like him to see that his thoughtless words or actions could hurt her. She was not a person to be easily upset by anything. She tried to tell herself she didn't care about him but it was becoming less and less easy to convince herself.

"Are you here to serve me papers?"

Haruhi's head snapped up, "Nani?"

"Obviously, for an annulment?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because it's the easiest way to get out of a marriage that hasn't been consummated," he said exasperated.

"I was under the impression that neither one of us was planning on dissolving our marriage." She was blushing like a school girl by what he said, but luckily he wasn't looking at her. He was shuffling some papers on his desk.

"And what about Tamaki?" He was watching her carefully now, to gage her answer.

Her voice took on an edge, "What about him?"

"Are you getting back together with him or not?"

"I can't believe you asked me that!"

"It's a legitimate question Haruhi, Why are you having such a hard time answering it?"

She actually laughed at the absurdity and missed the seriousness in what he was asking, "Why would I go back to someone who ruined my only wedding day?"

"Only you know that answer."

She rolled her eyes, "The answer is no, Kyouya."

Seeming a bit satisfied he returned to his papers, "So what is this marriage exactly?"

She looked at him incredulously, "I assumed a normal one, but now I'm not so sure."

He wasn't saying anything, just shuffling papers around. "So anyways I bought a house."

Still nothing. She began to feel nervous and blurted out, "So err, what are you doing tonight?"

He blinked and refocused on her, "Why?"

She started to ramble, "Oh well I have this work party tonight and everyone wants to meet you so I thought…"

"Do you want me to go?"

"Yes." He nodded; business as usual. He took out his planner to take down the specifics.

The conversation was uncomfortable for Haruhi with his silence, so she blurted out, "Kyouya are you going to move in with me or what?" She could have clocked herself. Real smooth. She had been kind of working up to it but that went out the window.

He stopped moving all together. He stared at her with such an intensity that she had to blink. "You realize your chances of an annulment are void if I move in? Before you say it, there will be no separate bedrooms."

Nonchalantly she replied, "That's fine."

"What is bringing this on Haruhi?"

"Your sister called me to ask me about why she hadn't seen me and then Yamalina called me today…"

Before she could finish he interrupted her, "SHE WHAT!"

"It seems her and Tamaki are watching us with an obsessive fervor."

"I will ask you one more time, is this what you want? for me to live with you?"

"Yes Kyouya." She said it so softly he almost didn't catch it.

He picked up his phone immediately, "Tachibana can you have my entire personal belongings packed and moved into 1410 Kawaii circle." The Shadow King knew her address; rich bastard hadn't even come to see her. She would not get mad, now was not the time to have her judgment clouded.

He hung up and pressed a button on his desk, "Koji cancel my appointments I am leaving the office." Ootori Kyouya was leaving early…from work? Haruhi stood amazed as he dragged her along.

"Wait, where are we going?"

"I'm taking my wife to lunch."

"But Kyouya I have to go back to work."

"Honestly Haruhi, haven't you caught on by now that I own that firm, and you obviously do now since making me marry you? If my wife disappears on a Saturday from work and doesn't come back I'm sure no one will even say a thing."

"That's not right! Maybe that's why my boss was trying to give me a better office?"

"Did you say something?"

"No, let's go." Haruhi knew when she had been out moved.