- Brought Back Together By You -
Season 1: Episode 12
- o -
Two And A Half Months Later; Fujino Corp.
...It's a nice day today... Shizuru noticed as she looked out her massive glass wall from her sitting position behind her desk. ...Nice enough for a short walk later on perhaps?... Winter was starting to settle in. The days had started to become shorter and the air rigid; A sign that autumn was definitely over and winter was starting to take its reign. Shizuru enjoyed the winter in Tokyo. She usually jogged around the neighborhood during this time of the year back when she was living with Natsuki, especially during the mornings before she took her morning shower and got ready for work. Now that she was expecting, she tried to at least walk as much as she could, not wanting to break her routine. But not in the mornings like she was accustomed to. She now did so during her lunch time. She found the distraction from work rather soothing, and the baby seemed to enjoy their walks since it didn't make any movements at all while she did so. Moreover since it always involved a very expected and convenient trip to the ice cream shop after their meal.
[Deep Sigh] Shizuru closed her eyes, leaning her head back against her chair; Both hands gently caressing her belly. A smile grazed her lips, "Ara~, you have grown so much..." She whispered as she did this, staying like this for a few moments. She was a little tired and today was going to be quite a long one for the both of them.
"I thought we had reached an agreement last night" She whispered again in her soft, gentle Kyoto-ben. "If I gave you what you desired, you in return, would let me sleep at least until six" She slowly opened her eyes to stare at the blue sky ahead of her. "You woke me up at four in the morning today"
The baby definitely was a morning baby. It was moving around way too much in Shizurus belly and wouldn't let her sleep. "I'm not going to make any more deals with you, you never keep your end of the bargain" She softly voiced as she closed her eyes once more. "Are you sure you are my child? If you haven't noticed by now, Fujinos always keep their word... What you're doing to me is so Un-Fujino like" The baby was waking her up at insane hours for three weeks straight now. At first, she would try to fall back asleep again, but after a week of doing so without being able to, she gave up on the idea and just started to go to work early instead. That way she would be able to finish her work and go home early and rest.
"A-Ara!" Voiced Shizuru in surprise. She looked down at her now grown belly. ...What on earth are you doing in there!... The baby had kicked. This was the first time she had felt the tiny creature do such a thing. Recently she was starting to feel small movements inside her belly, but she had never experienced something like this.
Shizurus surprised face turned into a soft smile. "Ara~" She caressed her belly again, "Of course you're mine, ne?" She reassured. She knew the baby hadn't taken her words seriously of course. Right at the moment she was talking just to talk, so that the baby could recognize mommy's voice. She knew that as her pregnancy advanced the baby was going to start kicking and moving vigorously inside her belly. She thought she was prepared for when this happened, but who could prepare themselves for something like this? Not even the great Fujino Shizuru could.
Shizuru smiled. Her baby was growing inside her, and in a couple of months she would be able to hold this tiny life in her arms. This tiny life which she loved so much and was greatly anticipating. "Be good to mommy and behave... We have a long day ahead of us today" She had to sit in for a meeting with an important client today. A client she had never dealt with before, for her father was the one who was personally handling it. And her father had to leave the country four days ago for he had an important meeting with the company's foreign investors in Europe. He was able to reschedule most of his meetings so that his very pregnant daughter wouldn't be stressed handling his work as well as hers; But this meeting he just wasn't able to postpone. It was too important and time was of the essence. So, he left Shizuru in charge of this client until he came back. His daughter was a mini him strategically. He knew she would be able to handle it. Her being there is as if he was in the meeting himself. Like if he had never left. So he had nothing to worry about.
[Sigh] Shizuru twirled her chair around to face her desk, "Let's go over these files so that at least we have some idea of what to expect in this meeting" She looked down at her belly. "And just so you know," She began in her sing-song voice, "Fujino's are always prepared, never surprised, it is very unprofessional" She looked up at the documents again and was about to start reviewing them. "We always have to know what is going on in our company" ...Audi & Bentley Inc... She read the cover of the file in her mind. "Even if it is about a subject we don't quite understand very well" She had never dealt with car manufacturers before.
[Sigh] "This is going to take some time" The file was quite thick itself, and the meeting was going to start in about an hour or so. ...Lets just go straight to the Accounting and Financials... She told herself. She didn't need to know everything about the project at the moment. That's what the project managers were there for. She just needed to know certain aspects. The monetary aspects. Shizuru didn't need to get too involved. Her father would be back in Tokyo in a weeks time anyway, so her presence wouldn't be necessary then.
Shizuru opened up the file and started to review it, but moments later was interrupted when she heard her door open and then close. She didn't look up though. If it was a visitor Noriko would have let her know first. So she instantly thought it might be Noriko herself who had entered the office. Nevertheless, the only person that used to come by unannounced was the bluenette, znd Shizuru knew for a fact it couldn't be her.
She looked up three seconds later, noticing that if it was indeed her assistant she would have said something by now. "Ara~" A smile adorned the brunettes face, truly glad to see the figure that was walking her way.
"Guess what I've got~" Michiru voiced in her happy sing song voice as she walked towards the brunette. She was hiding something behind her.
"Ara, what an unexpected surprise" Shizuru voiced, happy to see her best friend. It was not everyday the busy Kaioh Michiru would visit her at the office. Shizuru twirled her chair to face the girl who was now standing next to her. "Didn't you have a recording session today?"
"Yes" Michiru bent slightly to be in the same eye level as the brunette. She smiled at her growing belly then caressed it with her unoccupied hand. "But I finished early today so I stopped here before I went home. I figured you needed a break..." She looked up at Crimson, and softly smiled at her. "How is junior behaving today?" She left Crimson to stare at her belly again.
"Fufu, this little one doesn't understand the concept of sleep" Shizuru giggled as she also stared at her belly. "This little one is being very stubborn today. Always wanting mommy's attention and not letting her concentrate on her work"
Michiru smiled because of the brunettes words. "I know what junior just might need to let mommy concentrate" She voiced once again to the belly. Her face was down to the belly's level. "A treat, perhaps?" And she brought the ice cream into view. Smiling Marines stared at happy Crimson for a short moment. "Manjome-san says hello" Michiru had stopped by the ice cream shop first, knowing that Shizuru often visited the place after her lunch brake. She knew Shizuru was always craving for ice cream. It was one of those things that came with the pregnancy. And today was particularly cold outside. She didn't want Shizuru to walk that far in the cold.
"Have you had anything to eat yet?" Michiru visits Shizuru at the office two to three times a month to have lunch together whenever she is not on tour. It was something they had been doing since they graduated.
"Ie, not yet" Shizuru sighed as she placed her stare to the files on her desk. "I was about to ask Noriko-han to pick up something for me from one of the restaurants downstairs. I have a meeting soon and I'm not fully prepared for it" She stared back at Marines. "But I can't really concentrate so leaving the office for a few minutes sounds really good right now"
"Are you sure?" Michiru didn't want to interrupt Shizuru's work, "I can come back at another time. Or we can have dinner together instead?"
"I'm positive" Shizuru gave Michiru a soft smile, letting her know that it was really okay.
Michiru smiled at the belly and caressed it once more. "You hear that, junior? I saved you from being cooped up in here and having to deal with mommy doing all this boring number stuff all day" Subconsciously, Michiru slowly closed her eyes and was slowly leaning to Shizurus belly to give it a kiss. But shut her eyes wide open in a matter of a millisecond when she noticed what she was about to do. ...What am I doing?... She panicked a little, but stayed cool, afraid to look up at Crimson. She slowly stopped caressing the girls belly, bringing her hand to her lap were the other one resided; Holding the ice cream with both hands now. She was nervous. Very nervous. She slowly looked up to stare at Crimson who still smiled at her and instantly relaxed. [Sigh] ...Good... She didn't notice... She felt relieved. ...I have to be more careful... Shizuru doesn't need this right now... And she distanced herself from the brunette. That was a line she didn't want to cross. She valued the brunettes friendship and didn't want to mess it up. Shizuru had been through a lot the past months, and although the brunette didn't talk about it, or mentioned a certain Raven haired girl at all; Michiru knew Natsuki was still deep inside the girls heart. Deep inside the girls mind, the girls thoughts. She knew that Natsuki would always be a part of the brunette no matter how far apart they were. And that was something Michiru could not understand. She could not understand how the brunette could still feel so deeply for someone who had hurt her in such a way. Who had taken advantage of her trust. But who was she to judge?
"I'll place the ice cream in the fridge so you can have it after lunch... Wouldn't want to ruin your appetite" Michiru Let Shizuru know as she stood up and walked towards the fridge.
"Fujino-san?" Asked the sudden voice from Shizuru's phones intercom, startling the brunette.
...A-Ara... Shizuru immediately pressed the SPEAKER button. "Yes, Noriko-han?" She answered calmly.
"A representative from Audi Inc. is requesting to see you" Noriko responded, "She says it's rather urgent"
...That's odd... Shizuru couldn't help but think, "Just give me a moment" Then voiced and pressed the HOLD button. She paused to think. She hadn't fully reviewed the files so she was totally unprepared for this unexpected meeting. She didn't have any idea what this person might want to talk to her about.
"Michiru" Shizuru faced the mentioned girl, "This is only going to take a few minutes" She gave her an apologetic smile.
Michiru smiled back. "No problem, I understand" And she started to head for the door.
Shizuru watched her friend head for the door and pressed the HOLD button once more. "Noriko-han, please have the representative come in"
Michiru gave Shizuru another smile together with a peace sign, mouthing "Good luck", but before she was able to open the door, the person on the other side opened it first and bumped right into her; Causing both girls to fall on the floor. The tall blond girl landing on top of Michiru.
"Ah!" Michiru let out, she had hit the floor. Hard. She slowly opened her eyes. The girl that had bumped into her was still on top of her. Michirus face went totally red when she realized who it was. "Y-You!" She somewhat screamed, pushing the girl to the side.
"Nice to see you again too" Amara voiced as she laughed at the girls reaction. She was definitely not expecting to see her formal college crush in Shizurus office. Well, crush was an understatement. Amara practically stalked the girl for three years. Michiru didn't know this of course, Amaras affection was always displayed in a bullying manner. She made the girl's life a living hell back when they were at the University together.
Shizuru immediately left her chair and walked up, stopping in between her two fallen friends. "Are you alright Michiru?" She couldn't help the girl up because of the pregnancy, but she did place a hand on her shoulder to show she was indeed concerned. "Amara-han?" She voiced a moment later, now placing a questionable stare on the blond. She wasn't sure what she was doing here at all. She hasn't seen her since they had graduated. Her sudden visit was very unexpected.
"Hi, Shizuru-san" Amara greeted as she stood up. Then eyed Michiru, stretching out a hand to help her up but Michiru didn't take the offered hand. She gave Amara a fake smile instead as she stood up herself. "Suit yourself" She scoffed, then placed her stare on Shizuru instead. "Wow~ Your as big as a balloon, Shizuru-san!" She voiced surprised. "You look like you are going to pop any minute!" And that was true. Shizurus belly was quite large to be almost seven months pregnant. She looked like she was going to give birth already.
Shizuru giggled, "I'll take it as a compliment" And couldn't help but smile. "It's been a long time, Amara-han" She voiced sincerely. "How is life in America?"
Amara was in Shizurus business classes back when they were at the University together. They weren't close friends, but they knew and sometimes talked to each other. Michiru was a Music major so she didn't have classes with the two girls. Except for the occasional school requirements during freshman and sophomore year which consisted of Math and Writing. But that was pretty much it. That was how Michiru was able to meet the two girls. Otherwise, it was unlikely for them to cross paths.
Amara was offered a good position at Audi Inc. after she graduated. An offer she just couldn't resist. It paid well, not to mention she was able to do something she loved: Travel and work with upscale cars.
"Pregnancy definitely suits you... You look, amazing!" Amara was out of words by the brunettes glowing beauty.
"A-Ara" Shizuru couldn't help but blush. "Michiru says the same all the time" And then she placed her stare on Michiru who tried to hide her blush from the comment.
...Oh... Amara couldn't help and frown a bit. She must have misinterpreted Shizurus words. ...They must be together I guess... The way Michiru looked at Shizuru just made it seem that way. ...Figures, these two were joined to the hip back then... It was only a matter of time I guess... "I'm very happy for your joy. Congratulations on this wonderful news, I'm sure you will be a great mother, Shizuru-san" She voiced sincerely.
"Ookini for your kind words" Shizuru smiled at the blond then proceeded to the couch to sit, motioning for both girls to do the same. "Are you managing the Audi-Bentley deal?" Then asked with interest.
"Yes, I usually meet with your father when he comes to America to meet with the Board of Directors at either Audi Inc or at Bentley..." Amara answered as she took the seat opposite to Shizuru. "This is the first time to meet in Japanese soil actually" She glanced at Michiru who looked rather uninterested about what she was saying. Michiru didn't show it of course, but Amara could read her so well. "Fujino-san called me to let me know I would be meeting with you this time around since he had other important matters to tend to at the moment, so I thought it would be nice to come here early and surprise my former classmate before the meeting. Not to mention I wanted to meet the team of designers, which by the way, are doing an amazing job! Very impressive threesome you've got there!" She kept on, remembering the meeting she had with said three the day before. She couldn't help but wonder about the Raven haired girl she had met though. She could have sworn she had seen her somewhere before. Exactly where or with whom she just couldn't quite place. But there was one thing she knew for sure: ...Kuga Natsuki is HOT...
"Mm" Shizuru voiced in agreement, "I'm not completely filled in on the details about this deal yet, but I was able to slightly take a glance at the financials and the projected income details. I'm very impressed on the bottom line thus far" Yes, she was very impressed indeed.
Amara smiled at what Shizuru had said, knowing the meeting was going to go rather well because of this news. She looked at her watch, remembering she had somewhere to be in a few minutes. "Oh god I'm going to be late. I'm sorry but I should get going. I'm going to meet with the team downstairs before we head to the meeting" She stood, then grabbed Shizurus hand for a handshake and bowed. "It was a pleasure to see you again Shizuru-san... And again, I am very happy for you" She smiled sincerely as she released the brunette's hand. Then stared at Michiru who stood quietly beside the brunette. "Nice to see you again as well, Michiru"
Michiru was not pleased at all. ...You can't be serious!... This girl tortured her for three years, and now here she was, being nice to her like if nothing had happened at all. "I wish I could say the same" She voiced rather coldly.
Shizuru couldn't help but giggle at the interaction between the two. "You two never change" She stated, smiling. "I'll see you in a little while Amara-han" Then voiced, watching as the blond walked towards the door, taking her leave.
"See you in a little while, Shizuru-san!" Amara replied as she opened the door, and then stepped out. Closing it shut behind her.
"You do remember she had a crush on you all through freshman year" Michiru voiced seconds later as she walked over to the brunette's closet to grab the girls jacket. She knew this because it was practically all over the University. "Cool Amara has a crush on Marvelous Fujino Shizuru" read the headline of the newspaper club. There was even a poll about how long they would date if they indeed ended up dating. Back then, Michiru thought it was funny, and teased the brunette to no end for it. But now... Well, her feelings are in the way and she thinks it to be extremely annoying. Natsuki would have probably thought the same if she knew about this.
"Ara~" Shizuru giggled as she put her jacket on. Then, intertwined her left arm with Michirus right. "Is Michiru jealous?" She teased her friend. She always did. Shizuru teased everyone. That was nothing new.
[Sigh] Michiru had to play it cool, trying to contain her nervousness. They've walked like this many times before, but having Shizuru like this when she was trying to distance herself just wasn't helping. "Jealous is an understatement... I'm enraged!" She teased back as they walked out of the office to grab lunch.
oOoOo
20 Minutes Later; Somewhere Inside Fujino Corp.
"Where the hell did I put the damned schematics..." Voiced an irritated Natsuki as she frantically looked around the huge office space she shared with her two co-workers. She was going to have a meeting in a few minutes and she had misplaced the documents she was reviewing a little while ago. She had accidentally fallen asleep while reviewing them. When she woke up the documents were gone. Vanished!
"Okay..." She sat on her chair and tried to calm down, "Think, Kuga" She breathed in and out a couple of times, gently tapping her forehead. "What was I doing..." She tried to retrace her steps. ...Shit!... But then stiffened, hearing the voice of her two co-workers along with Amara who were nearing the office. "A-Ah! I have to find this thing!" Amara had come by the office earlier and had invited the entire team to have lunch with her. It was just Amaras way of saying hello and of wanting to know a little better the people she would be working with the next month before heading back to America. Natsuki declined the invitation though, she wanted to prepare herself for the meeting, but somehow ended up misplacing the documents instead.
"Are you ready to go, Kuga-san?" Asked Amara from the door staring at the bluenette. ...Mmmm... Yes... Hot indeed... She smirked as she eyed the bluenette from head to toe. ...I missed Japanese women...
"Ah, yes. I'll be there in a minute" Natsuki stated as she ravaged her desk one more time. [Sigh] ...He's going to kill me if I don't have my paperwork again... By HE, Natsuki meant Hirohito, Shizurus father. Hirohito was the one handling this particular deal. The team usually met with him to give him project updates every week. The first time she met with him she was sure she was going to faint from all the pressure she had felt on her chest. She was sure he was going to kick her out of the project, and she was sure she was going to be fired by her boss. Goodbye sweet promotion. But the bluenette was surprised when Hirohito just treated her like everyone else instead. Sure, he was a little harsher on her than her other team members. The bluenette had to work harder than everyone else to make him happy. But she knew why he did it though. It was because of what she had done to his daughter.
What Natsuki didn't know was that Hirohito had little choice on this. As soon as he saw her name on the contract he was going to decline the project. Pass it along to another company. The contract specifically indicated that they wanted Kuga Natsuki in it. It was her design the two automotive giants really desired after all. So he had to place his personal feelings for his former 'Daughter In Law' aside and only treated her on a professional level. Nevertheless, two signatures were needed in order to proceed with the project: The Presidents and the Vice Presidents. His daughter had reviewed and signed the contract already, so he assumed she was alright with it. Alright with working near the girl. It was signed. And it was indeed Fujino Shizurus handwriting. So, he went on ahead and approved the project. What Hirohito didn't know was that Shizuru had taken the contract home with her and did not read the entire document. She was having one of those restless nights. She was irritated because of her so called 'Stomach flu' at the time and signed the contract. Judging it from the first thirty pages she had already reviewed.
[Sigh] ...I'm going to be yelled at again... Natsuki frowned, heading for the restroom to make sure she looked appropriate for the meeting. She made sure her raven tresses were neatly tucked in its high ponytail. Her black suit nicely smoothed. She fixed her collar since it looked a little out of place, she wasn't that good at fixing it. Shizuru usually fixed it for her before she left for work. But other than that little mistake Natsuki looked H.O.T.
...Okay... She took a deep breath. ...I'm ready... And she shut the door behind her, heading for the elevator were some of her team members waited. Apparently there was a lot of traffic on the elevator today.
"Hey, Kuga-san!" Waived Sugimoto to Natsuki, motioning for her to come over to where he was standing.
...Great... Natsuki rolled her eyes, she was not in the mood for conversation at the moment. Or ever to say the least. Sugimoto was a nice guy, but he simply talked way too much and didn't know when to stop. ...I hope he doesn't sit next to me at the meeting... She walked over to him. "Hey" She voiced, clearly annoyed; Hoping he would get the message and left her alone.
"Wow, in a spectacular mood already Kuga-san?" Sugimoto was amazed, he could tell from her annoyed face. "I hope you don't get yelled at again" He handed Natsuki the schematics she was looking for earlier. "I decided to take them so that you don't forget them like you usually do. Fujino-san seems to really hate that about you"
...Yea... He hates that and a lot more... Natsuki snatched the documents from her team mate. "I was about to have a heart attack looking for these!" She gritted her teeth, angry at him. "You should have told me you took them!"
"But I did!" Sugimoto defended himself, "And you talked incoherent words about Mayo and some sort of things I couldn't quite place. You sure are strange Kuga-san" Apparently Natsuki must have been taking a nap and he didn't realize it.
"Just... Don't touch anything on my desk!" Natsuki growled at him giving him her death glare. But her death glare clearly didn't have an effect on him. He was used to it. Way too used to it. They have been working in the same office for two and a half months now, so it's effect had completely worn off. [Sigh] Natsuki placed her stare on her black dress shoes instead. She closed her eyes and breathed in. ...For today... Just calm down... Just let it go... She was trying her hardest to keep herself organized. ...Just calm down... Without the brunette she could hardly concentrate at all. ...Breathe... She was a total mess. And knowing the brunette was only steps away drove her insane.
Natsuki saw Shizuru from time to time as she walked into Fujino Corp. in the mornings. Sometimes she saw her when she was on her way to have lunch. But each time Natsuki hid and kept her distance. Why? ...Because she asked me to...
[Ting] Natsuki looked up by the sound of the elevator that had just arrived. She stayed to her right, waiting for some people to step out and then she stepped inside. She brought her hand up to push the button that would take her to the 34th floor where their meetings usually took place. But her finger hovered over the 60th button instead. It was hard for her to break the habit. For four years she had been pressing that 60th button. Emeralds stared at it intently. She could not take her eyes off of it. Her finger always hovered it but was never able to take that final step and press it. Yet never able to pull away from it either. Her lips slightly parted. She was slowly breathing through her mouth. Shizuru was on the 60th floor. Natsuki wanted to go there. Natsuki wanted to see her. But she couldn't.
"It's the 34th Kuga-san" Suggested Sugimoto. When Natsuki didn't press it he pressed the button for her. "We have meetings there every week, you should have it memorized by now"
"I..." Natsuki slowly brought the hand down to her side and looked away from the button, placing Emeralds on Sugimoto instead. "Bad memory" She smiled sheepishly, "Gomen" And scratched the back of her head.
Sugimoto laughed, "That's another trait Fujino-san hates about you" He smiled at her. "Maybe he won't go too hard on you today" He felt sympathy for her. She was always being yelled at.
[Grunt] "Yea, I doubt it" Natsuki rolled her eyes. It didn't take long to get to their desired floor. Their office was only on the 25th floor and most of the people that were on the elevator had pressed higher numbers, so getting to the 34th floor only took a minute.
Sugimoto yawned, stretching his arms. He was walking beside Natsuki now, heading for the conference room. "Working here is tiring" He voiced trying to make conversation with the always so cold and distant bluenette. "I can't wait to go back to Sumitomo Inc. and see everyone again... I'll definitely ask the boss for a vacation. My wife is going to divorce me if I don't" They were working long hours and were leaving work extremely late almost everyday. Their boss was not joking when he mentioned that they would be seeing their family less.
"Mn" The bluenette hummed letting him know she was listening. She did not voice anything else after that. Just listened to the guy complaint and yawn. Occasionally nodding in agreement from time to time.
"Morons first" Natsuki joked as she opened the door and let her teammate go on ahead of her. ...Okay... Go and pick your seat so I can sit as far away from you as possible... She watched him sit next to Amara, who was conversing with Okudaira, Natsukis other teammate. The conference room was quite large. It could easily fit about fifty people. There were a couple of projectors to be used if ever needed for presenting, and the giant table was located in the center of the room, far away from the walls. There were some of Fujino Corp.'s employees there for the meeting already. Designers and engineers who worked with Natsuki and her teammates on the project.
"Kuga-san!" Okudaira waived, motioning Natsuki to take the seat next to hers.
[Sigh] Natsuki was just too tired. She wanted to sit alone and didn't want to have to talk to anyone. She knew this was going to be a long meeting since there was an actual representative of the contracting party present. She figured they would be going through every detail on the job today. ...What a bother... She leaned back on her chair as she crossed her legs, finding her comfortable position. She started to review the documents once more. She noticed that as the minutes passed, more people had gathered in the room. Some she had seen in her meetings with Hirohito, but some she had never met before. ...Great... I'm going to be stuck here for hours... Not to mention be brutally humiliated in front of all these people... She grunted. She just wanted to go home and rest. The conference room was almost completely filled now, only a few seats were still unoccupied.
"Why so quiet, Kuga-san?" Asked Amara as she stood from her seat and walked towards the bluenette, taking the empty seat next to hers. She realized that for some reason everyone that had came into the room stayed as far away as possible from the bluenette. ...This girl is very, very interesting... Natsuki had not spoken a word since she got to the conference room. And it had been almost ten minutes since. ...Is she always this antisocial?... She couldn't help and wonder.
"Ah, Gomen" Natsuki looked up from her paperwork and apologized to the blond; Twirling her chair to face her. She tried not to snap at her and tried to sound as nice as she could; Which wasn't still very nice at all. The blond was representing the client after all, so Natsuki knew she had to be nice. Plus, Amara hadn't done anything to her, so she didn't have to sound rude, right? Natsuki is not as childish as she used to be. Or at least tried not to be. "I was just reviewing the plans" She had made a mistake last week and Hirohito yelled at her to no end for it. She was trying to avoid being embarrassed in front of all these people again.
"That's probably not necessary at the moment, Kuga-san" Amara voiced once more. "It's my first meeting with all of you, so we are most likely going to review protocol and financials today. My boss really want's me to report back to him on how much he will be investing on this project"
Amara watched as Natsuki placed the documents on the table. She couldn't help but smile. She recognized the design so well.
"That's a very impressive design, Kuga-san" Amara noted. "My boss was fascinated by it when he saw it at the exhibition being held over at Sumitomo Inc. He just had to get his hands on it before anyone else could" She remembered her boss going back to America and couldn't stop talking about what he had seen. He made a big fuss about it and had his lawyers type up a contract ASAP. Amara was glad he had made a big deal out of it. If the Europeans would have gotten their hands on this design first, she was sure his company would have gone bankrupt in a years time. Cash-flow was going to be extremely tight.
"Arigato" Natsuki voiced rather pleased to hear this. "Please call me Natsuki, I've never been a big fan of formalities" She added, scratching the back of her head a little embarrassed by the request.
"Alright, Natsuki-san it is" Amara coolly replied as she stretched her hand towards Natsuki for a handshake. "Please call me Amara, it is only fair to drop formalities since we are going to be working together for the next month" Her eyes wondered around the bluenettes frame before placing them on the documents again. ...She must be hot in bed... She tried to shake the thought away. She shouldn't be thinking about this sort of things at the moment. She had a job to do. And anyway, not every hot girl she met had to be gay, right? She didn't get that vibe from Natsuki. The only vibe she got from the girl was the LEAVE ME ALONE one.
"I can't wait to finish the schematics for this particular design" Amara continued, tapping said design with a long finger. "I want to take it back to America and start reproduction right away" She leaned back on her chair and crossed her arms. "You must be exited, within two years time there's going to be thousands of these on the streets all over the world!"
Natsuki smirked. "You make it sound as if it is going to be affordable for everyone to buy" The brand was recognized all over the world. So obviously the vehicle was going to be very expensive.
Amara laughed at this. "Well..." She started. "It's a hot design. Powerful and stylish, yet very elegant and refined. Who wouldn't want to get their hands on one of these?"
Natsuki was going to reply to Amaras comment but then noticed that the room was starting to quiet down. She could sense a familiar presence but shook the thought away. ...Great... Hirohito must have arrived... She thought as she twirled her chair around to stand just as everyone else was starting to do. The room had become completely silent now. All eyes staring at the door that had opened for the awaited presence that had not yet stepped inside. And then, Natsuki tensed. ...I don't believe this... Her heart raised. She looked straight ahead of her unlike everyone else who was facing the door. She stood there, motionless. Thinking she was going to faint as she heard the familiar voice. A familiar voice she hadn't heard in so long.
"Ookini, Noriko-han" Voiced a smiling Shizuru in her strong Kyoto-ben as Noriko stepped aside, holding the door for her. Shizuru slowly stepped inside the conference room. Noriko closed the door and followed just a few steps behind. ...Everyone's already here... Shizuru smiled, holding some files the way you would hold heavy books. Both arms surrounding them. She slightly bowed to the figures that were standing and proceeded to the end of the room to find her seat. She was almost half way there, and then stopped all of her movements for something had caught her attention. She felt a familiar presence. A presence she hadn't felt in so long. Her heart was starting to thump hard in her chest. Her lips slightly parted, becoming dry. Her cheeks slightly flushed. She knew whose presence she sensed. She slowly turned her face to the side. And stared. Stared at shocked Emeralds that realized Crimson was staring back. They stayed like this a few moments. Staring at each other. As if they were the only two people in the room. As if they were the only two people left in the planet. ...Natsuki?... Shizuru's hand started to lightly tremble. Crimson hadn't seen Emeralds in so long. "Natsuki..." She was entranced. She did not blink. Not able to pull away from those perfect green orbs. Those perfect green orbs she had tried to erase from her dreams the past two and a half months.
"Fujino-san?" Voiced a worried Noriko a few steps behind. Her boss had stopped walking and had not moved for what seemed like eternity. Everyone was staring at her, confused. And Noriko was starting to panic. Worried about her pregnant boss. "Fujino-san? Is... Everything alright?" She tried again but was not receiving a response from her. "Are you okay?" She stepped a little closer and touched her boss' shoulder from behind.
"A-Ara!" Shizuru lowly voiced, startled by the sudden touch while accidentally dropping the files she was holding. She released her stare from the bluenette and looked down. Noriko and the other employees that were closest to her had bent to pick up the fallen files.
Shizuru blinked. She breathed. What was this she was feeling? It was something she hadn't felt in so long. Was it excitement? It was excitement. She was nervous. And very excited. "I-I... Kanin na" She apologized and bowed to her employees. "I was a little... Distracted" Then grabbed the files and slowly walked to her seat. Trying to regain her composure while on the way. She sat on her seat and nodded so that everyone else could do the same. She placed her stare on the documents, and from the corner of her eye she could see that everyone had seated. Everyone but one person. One person was still standing. Standing perfectly still. Staring blankly ahead of her. Shizuru closed her eyes and breathed in once more. ...What is this?... She wasn't expecting to see the bluenette there. At Fujino Corp. ...I... I don't understand...
"Natsuki-san?" Amara whispered to the standing bluenette. Everyone else had seated except for her. "Hey!" She whispered again as she touched her arm. That seemed to have worked for Natsuki was snapped from her reverie and looked around frantically. She immediately seated noticing that people were staring at her. Her cheeks were furiously flushed. ...What the hell was that?... Amara couldn't help but wonder. She had watched the whole interaction between Shizuru and the bluenette from beginning to end. ...That was... Strange... "Are you okay?" She whispered once more to the trembling bluenette.
"Y-Yes!" Natsuki lowly stuttered, looking down at her files. Trying to control whatever it was that she had just felt. Shock. Desire. A million questions on her mind. A million questions she didn't have answers to. ...That man! Hes doing this to me on purpose!... But she knew that was not true. Hirohito had threatened her not to go anywhere near his daughter on her very first day at Fujino Corp. He waited for her arrival and literary told her that he would kill her himself if he saw her or even heard she was anywhere near Shizuru. ...Why is she here!... She placed her trembling hands on her lap trying to relax. ...What am I going to do?... She wanted to run away. ...Is that man testing me?... But she knew it didn't make any sense. ...She's going to hate me for this... She was supposed to stay away. Far away from her.
The meeting had started a few moments after the brunette took her seat. Shizuru voiced a few opening words, properly introducing Amara to the present staff. Soon after her opening, the Human Resources and the Accounting department took over and started the meeting. Shizuru just listened to them talk, unable to remove her stare from the contract in front of her. She had read the one hundred and sixty two pages long document three times in a row now. Noticing that Natsukis name was mentioned about eighty times in the contract altogether.
...How?... How did this happen?... The brunette was staring at her signature. And yes, it was her signature. No one could ever forge it. Each stroke was very specific. Each stroke was very precise. It was undeniably hers. [Sigh] ...I must have thought I was seeing things... That's the only explanation she could think of. She remembered reading the document before. She didn't read the whole thing, for the first thirty pages sounded very promising. But in the first thirty pages Natsukis name was mentioned about twenty times. Yes, the brunette knows. She counted. So how could she have missed it before? ...Yes, I definitely thought I was seeing things... She remembered being irritated because of it back then. She thought she had gone completely insane. That she was seeing the bluenette everywhere, even in writing.
[Sigh] She dared not to look up from the document. She was sure she was going to stare at Emeralds if she did. She could feel the bluenettes eyes on her. They had been on her for almost an hour and a half now. She didn't feel uncomfortable about it though. Well, maybe a little. The brunette hadn't told Natsuki about the pregnancy yet. She had tried to contact the bluenette a couple of times before. When she felt strong enough; sure enough she wouldn't snap at the girl again like she had done in their last meeting. But as more time passed she just found it harder and harder to do so. To voice anything about the matter. Why? She didn't really know. Maybe she was afraid of how Natsuki would react. Maybe she didn't want to be disappointed if she received the reaction she wasn't expecting. All she knows is, the more her belly grew, the more insecure she felt.
Shizuru looked down at her grown belly. ...Maybe... She noticed it... Her belly was quite big. How could the bluenette not notice it? [Sigh] ...I need a break... She rubbed her temples. She was tired. They had been sitting there for almost two hours now. ...Maybe we could finish this another day?... She glanced at her watch, it was about to be four soon. She had arrived work at five thirty this morning. ...Or at least stretch?... Her legs were a little sore and swollen because of the pregnancy. She needed to move. She needed to walk. She needed to breathe. To focus. She sat there, and waited for the right moment to interrupt the meeting so she could announce a fifteen minute break.
At some point during the meeting Emeralds had stopped looking down at the documents and stared at the chestnut haired Hime instead. She was entranced by her. Could only stare at her. She didn't know how she could have kept her distance from the brunette for this long. She noticed the brunettes cheeks were still pink. ...She's not sick again, is she?... She wondered. There was no way the brunette could blush for this long. Its just not humanly possible. Natsuki found it cute. Yes, cute indeed. But strange. Very strange. Very unlike Fujino Shizuru. ...I hope she doesn't have a fever or something... She frowned at this. Shizuru usually didn't get sick. But she seems so fragile to her at the moment for some reason. Too fragile. [Sigh] She finally looked down at her documents again, and instantly blushed furiously when she heard Kyoto-bens voice.
"Ara~" Shizuru couldn't help but giggle. Natsuki had sighed, and it was quite loud to say the least. Everyone in the conference room had their eyes on the poor girl, giving her death glares. "I believe Kuga-han is in need of a break" Shizuru thanked the gods for this unexpected distraction for she needed a break herself. She wasn't sure how long she could have sat there. The time to interrupt just never seemed right. "Why don't we take this opportunity and have a fifteen minute recession?" She voiced to everyone in her calm Kyoto-ben. "We'll continue after the break were we left off" Then she softly smiled to the person who was presenting. "If Mariko-han doesn't mind of course."
"Oh, not at all Fujino-san" Mariko voiced, also glad to be able to take a break. Everyone in the room started to raise from their seats as soon as they were dismissed and headed out of the conference room to talk, grab some water and stretch their legs.
Natsuki got up from her seat and hurried out the door. People were staring at her, Hard. Questioning how she could show such disrespect in front of their beloved Vice President. The bluenette gave everyone who was staring at her death glares on her way out. She headed for the restroom, the one farthest away from the conference room, knowing the ones that were near it would probably be filled with people already anyway. And she didn't want to see anyone. She wanted to be alone. She needed to cool down. She felt her body steaming from Shizurus giggle and words. From her presence. Shizuru was so close. So close she was on the brink of going mad.
Amara couldn't help but laugh at the bluenettes interaction with others. ...Quite something indeed... She left her stare of the retreating bluenette and walked over to Shizuru who had raised from her seat and was talking to her assistant. She was heading out the conference room herself.
"I'm sorry to interrupt" The blond cut in, "You must be tired, Shizuru-san. Do you want to continue this meeting tomorrow perhaps?" Then she frowned. "I don't want you to be pushing yourself too hard in your current state"
"Ara, Ookini for your concern Amara-han, but we can handle it" Shizuru smiled and caressed her belly as she said this. "In any case," She continued, "I prefer to just get this over and done with today. I presume it should be almost over, we've been in this room for quite some time just discussing strategy and financials" She stated. "I hope your boss is quite pleased with the results"
"Ha ha, I'm sure he will be as well" Amara voiced in a light tone. "You should probably take a walk. Your legs must be killing you from sitting this long" She remembered her pregnant co-workers back in America would walk around every so often because their legs would cramp if they were sitting for a certain amount of time.
"I think I will just do that, Ookini for the advice" Shizuru smiled sincerely. "I'll see you in a little while" And she started to walk out of the conference room with her assistant by her side. "Noriko-han, you could take a break if you'd like. I'll meet you back here in about ten minutes?"
"Yes Fujino-san" Noriko nodded then headed to the nearest bending machine to get something to drink.
Shizuru walked the opposite direction. To the restroom farthest away from the conference room. She needed this distraction to think. To focus. Yes, to focus. Feeling like she always lost control when the bluenette was around. She needed to walk and stretch her legs. They were a little swollen because of the pregnancy. She needed to wash her warm and dry hands. Her hands that had been flipping through that long contract for almost two hours straight, trying to make some sense of it. She smiled and nodded to the employees who bowed and greeted her as she walked by. It was very unusual for them to see her on this floor, for Shizuru usually used the conference room that was located on the floor above this one.
Moments later, the brunette reached the restroom and opened the door. She immediately stopped midway for she could see the bluenettes reflection in the mirror. The bluenette had a towel covering her face. The brunette couldn't see well from her current position, but from the girls movements she could tell that she was drying it. Shizuru smiled at this and proceeded to the sink next to hers to wash her dry hands.
"..." Natsuki stopped drying her face, she could sense the brunette was near. She was very close. She slowly placed the towel on the sink. Slowly opening her eyes. And she stared at the brunette. Not directly at her but at her reflection from the mirror. She tensed up, not knowing what to do. Should she say hi? Should she just leave? Should she apologize? Should she stop staring? ...Stop staring Baka!... But she just froze on the spot. Her lips parted a little, slowly breathing through them. She didn't want to stare. She didn't want the brunette to feel uncomfortable, but Emeralds could never look away. That was something she wasn't able to master. That was something she never wanted to do. All she wanted was to endlessly stare at her. Her natural and undeniable beauty. ...God, she's gorgeous...
Shizuru could feel the bluenette staring at her. She could always feel when Emeralds were on her. She didn't know how she was be able to tell, all that she knew was that she always could. "Konnichiwa, Natsuki" She lowly greeted, not leaving her stare from her soaped hands. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?" She placed her hands near the faucet to wash away the soap, loving how the cool water felt against her warm skin. It was refreshing.
Natsuki had to blink a couple of times. ...She's... Talking to me?... She stayed quiet for a few seconds, still in shock. ...Say something Baka!... "H-Hi..." She stuttered. ...Are you serious!... Is that the best you can do?... How stupid are you!... She breathed in and tried again. Calmer this time. "Hi, Shizuru" Then breathed out, "Yes, It... Has been quite long" She watched Shizuru intently. ...Something... She tried to figure it out. ...Something is different about you... But she couldn't quite place it. ...She gained a lot of weight... She definitely noticed, but couldn't help and smile because of it. ...She looks cute even if she gained weight... Natsuki was just so dense. Too dense. And not for her own good, but for her own disadvantage. How could she not notice? How clueless could she be?
Shizuru dried her hands and placed the wet towel in the dispenser. "How are you?" She calmly asked, staring at Emeralds from the mirror. Both of Shizurus hands were resting on the side of the sink now. She had to stare up a little to meet Emeralds since she wasn't wearing heels. Shizuru and Natsuki were about the same height now. The bluenette had suddenly grown before she turned nineteen years old, making them almost even in height. Natsuki had overgrown Shizuru, but just by an inch or so. And the bluenette was quite proud of this even though it wasn't that noticeable. She felt like she had the upper hand because of it. Specially in bed for some reason.
...Do you really want to know?... Natsuki thought. [Sigh] She left her stare from the brunette and placed it on her own reflection instead, fingertips fidgeting with her collar. "I'm... Okay I guess" She replied, trying to fix the darn thing. She was going to ask the brunette the same question but was interrupted by the girls voice.
"Here, let me" Shizuru whispered, facing the bluenette. Her fingers reached Natsukis arm seeing that the girl was becoming aggravated because of her collar.
Natsuki stopped her movements. She felt her heart was going to stop, that she couldn't suddenly breathe, the instant she felt Shizurus touch. She slowly brought her hands down to her sides and turned to face Shizuru. She felt the brunette take a step closer to her; Her hands slowly traveling up Natsukis arms to reach her collar. Natsuki parted her lips a little, silently breathing through them as she felt Shizurus fingertips slightly touch her neck as she lifted the fabric upwards. The brunette was so close to her. Oh so close. ...Shizuru... Natsuki slowly closed her eyes, trying not to move, not to break this wonderful moment between them. Loving the sensation she was feeling because she had the brunette so close to her. Touching her body. The girls touch that always calmed her.
...Mmmm... Natsuki could feel the brunettes nose close to hers. It was almost touching hers. ...Calm down... The bluenette was starting to breathe a little deeper now because of the closeness. She bit her lower lip, feeling the brunette slowly unbuttoning one of her shirts upper buttons. She could feel the brunettes warm breath tickling her chin. She wanted to take this girl into her arms. She wanted to kiss her senseless. To love her. To hold her. To be loved by her. But she knew she shouldn't. She had to stay away. But staying away was torture. Pure torture.
Natsuki subconsciously started to ever so slowly caress the brunettes nose with the tip of hers. ...Oh god Shizuru... She was feeling extremely aroused feeling the girls proximity. The girls skin. Her perfect, smooth skin. She wanted to kiss that skin. To bite it. To taste it.
Shizuru tried to calm down. She hadn't meant to get this close to Natsuki. But when the girl started to have trouble with her collar Shizuru acted on pure instinct and helped her with it. Just like she always did when they were a couple. Shizuru couldn't deny the attraction she felt for the bluenette. It was clearly there. It had never left. Although she hadn't seen her in almost three months she wasn't able to forget the bluenette. But Shizuru had come to determine something during this separation. She didn't want to go back to her. She knew that today she felt like everything was Okay. She didn't feel repulsed by her. The thought of her didn't suffocate her or pained her any longer. And she had tried so hard to get to this point. So hard that she didn't want to ruin it. Because tomorrow, the possibility still exist that she might not feel the same as today. And she didn't want to go back there. Back to that suffocating pain. She knew that it would take a long time to trust the bluenette again. Who knew if she would be able to trust her at all. She loved her. She knew this for sure. But she didn't want to live the rest of her life filled with insecurity. With distrust. She was going to have a child. And if Natsuki accepted the baby as hers she wanted to be in good terms with her. And although they would not be together again as a couple she wanted to have a good relationship with her. A friendly relationship. A healthy relationship. For her child. For their child.
Shizuru slowly closed her eyes, feeling the bluenettes nose on hers, slowly traveling to her cheek. Gently and smoothly caressing her with it. She could feel the girls breath tickling her skin. ...Ara, Natsuki... And this feeling felt so good. Shizurus hands were slowly traveling up to Natsukis collar again. She tried to control her breathing. Her breathing that would surely turn into small gasps if she didn't stop this now. She was feeling extremely aroused by the second. ...Natsuki, please stop... But she didn't want her to, not really.
Shizuru slowly ran her fingers through and around the girls collar, slowly fixing it. She couldn't concentrate for Natsukis nose was slowly traveling again back to hers. Her lips only centimeters away from hers. ...She's not going to stop... She could sense Natsukis arousal as well. And she was quite pleased that she could still bring such emotion to the bluenette. That she was still wanted by her. That her body somehow still needed hers. ...I have to stop her... But the bluenette was making it so difficult for her to do so.
Once the girls collar was fixed Shizuru slowly ran her fingers down to the bluenettes shoulders. Slowly smoothing them like she did a million times before. Then, her fingertips travelled down the girls arms again. But stopped and brought her hands to her sides when she felt her warm fingertips touch the bluenettes, making her slightly tremble because of the intimate contact. She slowly opened her eyes again. Trying so hard to resist claiming those lips the bluenette had been biting all this time as hers. She stared at them for a long moment. What wouldn't she give to feel them again? ...Stop, Shizuru... When she felt sure enough she wouldn't stutter she swallowed and softly voiced: "It's done, Natsuki" She slowly took a step back. Slowly regaining a steady breath. "Your collar, it's... It's done"
Natsuki slowly opened her eyes as well. Her breathing was still a little out of control but she was slowly composing herself. She slowly released her bitten lip and the tight grip of her hands. She had turned them to fists at some point when she felt the brunette so close to her. She was trying so hard not to embrace her. Not to kidnap her and steal her away. Not to force her to come back home with her. She was never able to forget the fact that her touch had hurt her before, and she didn't want to do that again. Never again. She started to regain her steady breath as she stared at Crimson who stared back at her. Crimson who smiled her true smile at Emeralds just like before. Just like a long time ago. When things weren't as complicated as they are today. A smile that assured the bluenette that she was fine now. That they were fine now. That she wanted to be friends. Nothing more than friends.
...She's trying so hard... Natsuki could tell, ...I guess I can give friendship a try... Natsuki didn't like the idea. She wanted to be with Shizuru. To love Shizuru. But being friends with Shizuru had to be better than being away from Shizuru, right? At least she hoped it would be.
Natsuki took a deep breath. "Arigato, Shizuru" She sincerely yet huskily voiced as she brought a hand up to her collar. Emeralds softly smiling their true smile at Crimson in return.
Thanks for reading!
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