Chapter 4

The next day, a lack of sleep and hungry Haruki barely made it to school on time. When she reached her secret hideout, Isuke was already there waiting for her.

"Here's your homework and your breakfast, Isuke-sama," Haruki said, passing the stuff to the pink-haired girl.

"Isuke will pay you back later," Isuke said as she took everything from the redhead. Last night, during all the hassle, Haruki had forgotten to text Isuke her bank account number right after Isuke had texted her what to buy.

"There's no need to," Haruki said with a wave of her hand.

"You're rich now?" Isuke asked without any trace of insult in her voice as she opened the bento box filled with four pieces of pancakes and honey and eggs as toppings.

"No... Actually…" Haruki hesitated as she scratched her head. "You only wanted pancakes, which I can make it myself. I've always made that during the weekends for my siblings. Anyway, as you can tell, I don't have the time nor the money to buy you just pancakes when I can just make them myself."

"Ah… so that explains why it lacks presentation," Isuke said as she took a look at the pancakes that Haruki made. "Luckily, I brought this." Isuke took out a wooden spoon and a can of caviar from her purse and opened it, before scooping some of it up into the wooden spoon and spreading it on the pancakes.

Haruki looked on as Isuke started working on the pancakes with her fork and knife, before taking a bite into the pancakes without the caviar toppings. Isuke's face was unreadable, but if she had to admit, Haruki's pancakes didn't taste all that bad. Sure, it lacked some flavor that she would've liked, but what it lacked, Haruki made it up with a fresh home-made pancake, which Isuke hadn't had in ages.

"Well, if there's nothing else, I'm leaving now," Haruki said, turning to leave. She had skipped her breakfast today because she had never woken up that early before, so she wasn't hungry yet by the time she had finished making the pancakes. On the days that she woke up late, she would skip her breakfast too because she was already late for school. All in all, Haruki never had time for breakfast during school days. But now, seeing Isuke eating in front of her, her stomach had started to growl.

"Where are you going?" Isuke asked. "I didn't say you could leave."

What else did she want now? Haruki stopped halfway and turned to look at Isuke chewing the pancakes. She was starving at this point now to even argue with the other girl.

"Just to the cafeteria to buy some breakfast," Haruki replied flatly.

"So, you cook breakfast for your siblings but you don't eat your own breakfast?" Isuke said. "Only a self-sacrificing idiot like yourself would do that."

"Whatever. If you just want to insult me, just do it on the phone while I go buy myself some breakfast, ok?" Haruki said as she took her wallet out from her bag to inspect whether she had enough cash or not. "Fuck," she muttered under her breath. Her wallet was empty because in her haste to school, she had forgotten to take some cash out from her family's shared piggy bank. When she looked up from her wallet, she saw Isuke looking at her with a neutral face.

"You know what?" Isuke said as she stopped eating. "I don't like your pancakes all that much. You can have the rest of it." The pinkette put the bento box down next to the empty space on the couch.

Haruki walked back to the couch and stared at the remaining pancakes in the bento box. "Don't like it, huh? You ate like half of it," Haruki teased.

"Well, Isuke was just hungry," Isuke said with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulder as she sat there with her legs and arms crossed.

"Well, then. Why don't you just finish all of it?" Haruki asked.

"Do you think Isuke's a pig? Isuke doesn't need to eat until she goes into a food coma," Isuke said, disgusted. Right then, Haruki's stomach growled again. "Besides, I don't think you're in the position to argue with me now, Haruki… considering your predicament," Isuke smirked as she gestured towards the other girl's growling stomach.

"I'm not arguing, though," Haruki said. "I'm just pointing out the obvious that you're too prideful to admit that the Sagae's home-made secret recipes pancake is mouth-watering delicious!"

"Ah… so stubborn," Isuke said as she smiled sweetly. "If I have to invite you the second time, I'm gonna throw away the leftovers."

"What?! No way I'm gonna let you do that!" Haruki said as she immediately took the bento box and sat down next to Isuke, before taking the pancakes, bare hands and all, and biting into them.

"Woah…" Haruki said in awe after swallowing her first bite. "What was that thing you put on top of the pancakes just now? It's mind-blowing!"

"I know right?" Isuke said, amused at Haruki's reaction. "It's only the finest food you'll ever taste."

"Wait… that's caviar?" Haruki said as she took another bite.

"Of course," Isuke said smugly as she watched Haruki chewing and swallowing. "Now tell me, Haruki. Is your pancake mouth-watering delicious, or does my caviar make it even better?"

"Hmmm… I'd say both," Haruki replied. "The taste complement each other, don't you think so, Isuke-sama?"

"Now, who's being the prideful one?" Isuke smirked teasingly.

Haruki ignored Isuke's remark while she wolved down the rest of the pancakes. Isuke sighed and shook her head. "What's wrong?" Haruki asked upon hearing the girl next to her sigh.

"Caviar is not meant to be wolved down, idiot," Isuke said as a fond smile began to form on her lips. "If that's how you appreciate your food, Isuke won't be sharing her caviar with you any time soon."

"Oh you mean, there'll be a next time?" Haruki asked innocently with her mouth full.

"Of course! You'll be making me breakfast from now on, Haruki," Isuke said like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Don't like my cooking, huh?" Haruki teased again.

Isuke rolled her eyes. "Well, seeing that you don't even have the time to go buy it for me, might as well cook it for me then, since you're also cooking it for your siblings."

"No problem-o!" Haruki agreed. "Though, I do wonder, don't you have your maids or chef to make breakfast for you every morning?"

At the mention of that, Isuke's expression suddenly change. "We don't talk about my personal life," Isuke said in a clipped voice.

Haruki sensed the change of mood in the pink-haired girl, so she just smiled and simply said, "Thanks, Isuke-sama."

"For what?" Isuke asked, perplexed. If anything, she is the one who should thank Haruki.

"For sharing your food with me, what else?" Haruki replied simply.

"Idiot," Isuke muttered. "Don't thank me. If you don't eat, how else would you have any energy to do my biddings?"

"Sure, whatever you say," Haruki said in a sing-song voice as she took the last bite of the pancakes, before the bell rang, signaling the beginning of the school day.


"You're more tired than usual, Haruki," Haru said, observing her friend yawning for the nth time during recess in the school cafeteria. She was sitting in front of Haruki, with Tokaku sitting next to her.

"I just had a lot to do," Haruki said in between a yawn. She only managed to get a few bites of her lunch before she started yawning again.

"I think you should stop with your illegal business," Haru told the sleepy redhead.

Haru knew about her friend's side business and although she did not approve of it in the beginning, she had come to accept it after Haruki explained to her why she needed it. Once in a while though, she would subtly drop hints for her to quit her business and do something more legal.

"Nah, it has nothing to do with that," Haruki replied drowsily. For the past few days, Haruki had been staying up late at night to finish Isuke's homework and assignments, on top of her own homework and house chores. And she had to wake up very early in the morning to make breakfast for her siblings and Isuke. On the second day when she made Isuke omelette (as per Isuke's request), she only made a portion that is suitable for one. She didn't have any breakfast before going to school, so her stomach had growled angrily again when she saw Isuke eating. Isuke heard it of course, and pretended that the omelette was not nice and asked (forced) Haruki to finish the rest of the omelette, with the caviar toppings that Isuke had spread on herself. There was nothing wrong with the omelette, as Haruki had noted, and it tasted even more delicious with caviar as the toppings.

Haruki learned the lesson on the third day and took it upon herself to cook a bigger portion for Isuke. When Isuke opened the bento box, she was surprised to find that the portion is big, but after Haruki had explained that it's for the two of them, Isuke wordlessly cut the portion in half and let Haruki eat first.

"I can't concentrate eating while your stomach is growling like it hadn't been fed in ages," Isuke had explained with a huff of annoyance to a confused Haruki, while tucking her pink hair behind her ear and looking away. "And I brought extra cutleries so that you don't have to eat with your bare hands like some cavewoman."

Haruki just accepted that explanation without asking more questions. After she had finished her portion, she passed the bento box back to Isuke. Isuke took the bento box from the redhead, and before she started eating with her own cutleries, she had asked Haruki, "If you want to cook for two next time, why don't you put the food in two separate bento boxes?"

"Ah… but then it will ruin the fun, won't it?" Haruki had replied to a bewildered Isuke. Then she laughed and said, "The truth is that, I don't have enough bento boxes at home."

"Are you really that poor?"

"What happened to no discussion about our personal life?"

"Ok, fair enough."

Haruki didn't miss how Isuke finished her portion, which was bigger than the first two days, even though she had insisted that she didn't need to eat until going into a food coma. "Who's being the self-sacrificing idiot here?" Haruki thought with an amusing smile on her lips.


"On the bright side, though, you're never late to school anymore. What changed?" Haru asked.

"Nothing much… just had a lot to do," Haruki repeated tiredly.

"If it's really 'cause of your illegal business, it's taking a toll on you. At this rate, you'll be sleeping in class more than Inukai-san," the shorter girl said in concern. "Don't you think so, Tokaku-san?" she asked her girlfriend for support.

Tokaku, who had been eating quietly all this while, gave a curt reply, "Yeah."

Suddenly, a loud crash was heard behind the cafeteria, followed by the sounds of an argument. Everyone in the cafeteria turned their attention towards the commotion. It was Isuke, initiating another breakup with her girlfriend, and the girlfriend was not taking it well.

"Speak of the devil," Tokaku remarked wryly without looking up from her lunch.

"Just another day, right?" Haruki joked while slurping her juice and turning her attention back to her lunch.

"Ah, the poor girl. I hope the other girl Inukai-san is cheating with won't end up like her," Haru said sympathetically.

Haruki suddenly choked on her drink and coughed uncontrollably, shocking even Tokaku. "Are you ok, Sagae?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," the redhead replied between coughing fits. When she had calmed down, she asked Haru, "You were saying that Isuke is cheating?"

"Where have you been, Haruki? Everyone's been talking about it," Haru began. "Her girlfriend suspected that she was cheating on her with someone from here."

"Here? As in…?" Haruki asked.

"As in someone from this school!" Haru laughed lightly. "Your tiredness had really taken its toll on you!"

"What can you expect from a playgirl, though?" Tokaku remarked bluntly. "Bound to happen anytime soon."

Haruki hummed thoughtfully. It's true, Isuke had been spending more time with her at her secret place, and sleeping on her couch every afternoon after school. It's true, Isuke had been neglecting her latest beau in return for ordering Haruki around. How about at night? Isuke could go out on dates with her girlfriend at night, so why didn't she?

"Oh, that's right," Haruki thought. "She had been bugging me even at night, texting me non-stop." The playgirl expected Haruki to reply each and every single one of her text, and if Haruki didn't, she would call her and demand a reply. It was a good thing that Haruki is an expert at multi-tasking. A few times when Haruki asked why Isuke had a lot of spare time to bug her instead of spending time with her girlfriend, Isuke just waved her off dismissively and reminded her that it's none of her business. Once, she even made a joke to Isuke that both of them might as well be dating with how much time Isuke spent with her instead of her girlfriend.

Well, there are the weekends, and it was during the weekends that Isuke would stop bugging Haruki. She started wondering what the pink-haired girl could probably be up to during the weekends if she didn't spend time with her girlfriend.

"Haruki!" Haru suddenly said, snapping her fingers in front of the redhead. "You've spaced out. Are you ok?"

"Nah, I was just thinking that the reason for the breakup was something as trivial as Isuke getting bored. Not necessarily cheating was involved," Haruki said dismissively. "Can't believe all the rumours that you heard."

At the back of the cafeteria, Nio chuckled beside Isuke as she watched another one of her friend's toy get tossed aside.

"So, who is the girl that you're cheating with?" Nio snickered.

"Hmmm… would you believe it if I told you it was you?" Isuke said sarcastically, strutting away as she looked for a place to sit.

"I'd believe it if you haven't been ditching me and missing tea parties these past few days," Nio said, her tone equally sarcastic as she walked beside Isuke. She was still upset over Isuke skipping Sumireko's tea party. Even though she had attended, Sumireko's minions had treated her as an outcast just because she was still friends with Isuke.

"Oh, cry me a river, Nio. I know you're the one who started this rumour," Isuke said bluntly. Nio was well known for starting and spreading rumours. If you want a rumour to spread fast, Nio is the person to go to. It wasn't like Isuke was mad at her friend or anything. She never cared about people spreading false rumours about her, as long as those rumours fit her playgirl image and boost her reputation as someone who is highly desirable but unattainable.

"As much as I'd like to take the credit of starting this rumour, it wasn't me this time," Nio said. "Your girl kept on asking me why you aren't available to spend time with her. I couldn't give her an answer 'cause even I have no idea what's up with you recently. She started to have this crazy idea that you were cheating on her. I mean, can you blame her? You didn't reply her texts, you didn't call her back, you only went out on one date with her. This is like the worst treatment you've ever given to any of your girlfriends. So I guess she started telling her friends that you were cheating on her and they treated it as gospel, so you know."

"Yeah, what else is new," Isuke stated flippantly as she continued walking. The cafeteria was unusually full today. "You know I'd be perfectly fine with you sitting with Sumireko's pretentious friends," the pinkette remarked indifferently as she saw from the corner of her eyes how the blonde was looking longingly at Sumireko's table at the cafeteria. They always sat with Sumireko's clique during recess, but ever since Isuke skipped the tea party, her minions had taken it upon themselves to shun them from sitting with them.

"Oh and ditch you to have lunch alone? What kind of friend do you think I am, Isuke?" Nio mock-gasped.

"Everyone would be dyyyying to sit with Isuke. You don't have to worry about Isuke eating lunch alone," Isuke remarked dryly.

"Yeah, everyone except them," Nio said, pointing towards Tokaku, Haru and Haruki. There were empty seats next to them, and nobody dared to sit next to Tokaku. However, as hostile as Tokaku is, it didn't seem to deter the determination of three students who suddenly walked up to Haruki and huddled around her, striking a conversation with the redhead.

"Heh, the only student who is as popular as you are with the girls," Nio sniggered. "Although I don't get what's her appeal. Oh well, looks like we can't sit with them now."

Isuke didn't know why but it irked her seeing all those students surrounding Haruki.

"We'll see about that," Isuke smirked. Putting on her best game-on face, she strutted towards their table.

"Ooo this is gonna be interesting," Nio said, smiling in glee as she watched the pink-haired girl walking towards Tokaku's table, before following her.

Haruki was busy entertaining the three students, much to Haru's amusement and Tokaku's annoyance, when suddenly Isuke set her bento box loudly down next to Haruki. One of the three students who was sitting there, looked up with an annoyed face to see who had interrupted her so rudely. Upon seeing that it was Isuke, she immediately stood up and got out of her way. The other two girls stopped talking with Haruki immediately and followed suit.

Smirking, the pinkette sat down and looked squarely at Tokaku in the eye. Nio sat down next to her friend and smiled at everyone. She couldn't wait for another showdown between Tokaku and Isuke.

"Hi, Haru," Isuke said, a saccharine smile on her face.

"Hi, Inukai-san, Kuzunoha-san," Haru greeted happily, a wide smile on her face. "How nice of you to join us. How has your day been?"

"Haru, don't talk to them," Tokaku instructed. "The only reason they are sitting with us now is because they are Sumireko's rejects."

"My my, what a controlling girlfriend," Isuke smirked. "Don't worry, Azuma. I'm not interested in her. She's not my type."

Narrowing her eyes, the blue-haired tomboy asked, "What do you want this time, Inukai? If you want my apology for that time, you can kiss my ass."

"Sorry, kissing your ass is the last thing I want in the world as you're not my type either. I just want to have my lunch in peace." Isuke flipped her hair with her hand, before scooping a spoonful of rice into her mouth.

"Somehow you and the word 'peace' don't gel well together," Tokaku said, eyeing the pink-haired girl warily. "You and your little sidekick are not welcome to sit with us."

"Hey, this little sidekick has a name and her name's Nio Kuzunoha!" Nio spoke up but everyone ignored her.

"I never knew you played this clique game too, Azuma. But Haruki here doesn't seem to have a problem with me sitting here." She turned to look at Haruki and flashed her a deliberate smile. "Isn't that right, Haruki?"

Haruki, who had been minding her own business yawning away, perked up when she heard her name.

"Don't drag her into this," Tokaku warned before Haruki could answer.

"No, it's alright, Tokaku," Haruki said. "I don't mind at all. In fact, I'm glad that they showed up when they did. I was beginning to get tired of explaining to those students why I can't join their club."

"Oh, so that's what it was about," Isuke thought.

"But pity your fangirls, though," Haru giggled. "Not only were they rejected by you, but they had been scared off by Inukai-san too. I guess that's a good thing 'cause you're always too kind to reject them whenever they ask favours from you."

"Your fangirls, huh?" Isuke asked, quirking an eyebrow. "Oh well, better luck to them next time."

"Don't listen to Haru. They're not my fangirls." She turned to Haru and reiterated, "They are not my fangirls."

"They wrote you love letters before," Haru argued.

"If you think warning letters about not getting enough credit points because I don't join their club and love letters are the same thing, then I don't know what to say," Haruki said with a laugh.

"That was like only one sentence. The rest were filled with-"

Suddenly, Isuke stood up, her chair scraping loudly on the floor. Tokaku reacted by standing up as well, her stance offensive while one hand protecting Haru defensively.

"Well, it has been fun eating with you average people," Isuke said, ignoring Tokaku. She began to leave the table, taking her bento box with her.

"But you haven't finished your food!" Nio said.

"Isuke's not hungry," the pinkette said over her shoulder and walked away.

"Weird… she was saying how hungry she was before…" Nio wondered out loud. "Hey, Isuke, wait for me!"


It was late afternoon when Haruki reached her secret hideout to find that Isuke was already waiting for her on the couch. Haruki had gotten used to the playgirl sitting on her couch, and Isuke was not as annoyed as Haruki's lack of punctuality as before. However, the minute the redhead entered, she sensed that Isuke was in a sour mood.

Her suspicion was confirmed when Isuke snapped at her, "You're later than usual."

Haruki checked the time on her phone. She was only late by half an hour, the usual time.

Wordlessly, she sat down next to Isuke and said playfully, "What has gotten you into such a sour mood, m'lady? Is it 'cause of your breakup?"

Breakup? Oh the breakup that Isuke had already forgotten about. "Yeah, I guess," she said, a hint of uncertainty flashing across her face.

"Ah, that must've been why she had no appetite during recess," Haruki thought.

"You wanna talk about it? 'Cause I'm all shoulders. You know, for ya to cry on." She grinned stupidly at her own joke.

Isuke made a face. "What? No, I don't cry over stupid breakups. And we're not that kind of friends to be talking about feelings or personal problems, remember?"

"Ah, right… so I guess asking you who the third wheel is is out of the question then," Haruki said casually as she put her arms over her head, leaning further down into the couch. "I just hope it ain't me 'cause I'd feel guilty if it is."

She meant the last part as a joke, expecting Isuke to bite back with a snarky remark, but when there was no response from the other girl, she slowly turned to look at her.

"Hey, that was a joke."

"Do you believe all those rumours about me?" Isuke suddenly asked, her tone suddenly serious.

Haruki thought she heard a hint of vulnerability in Isuke's voice. She had not been expecting that. As far as she knew, Isuke had never cared about any rumours about her before, or what other people think about her. Haruki wasn't sure if she was referring to the latest rumour about her, or any other rumours in general.

When it took forever for Haruki to reply, Isuke crossed her arms and turned her head slightly away. "Never mind, forg-"

"I think…" Haruki began slowly, as she carefully shifted her body weight to turn to face the pinkette fully. "… There's more to you than meets the eye, Isuke-sama." She finished, her tone equally serious.

Isuke was caught off-guard by Haruki's answer. She had been expecting a simple yes or no answer, but leave it to the redhead to surprise her in simple but unexpected ways. People had always surprised Isuke with luxurious and lavish gifts, but none of them had ever made her heart beat wildly at Haruki's simple words. And to top it off, Haruki didn't do that with any hidden agenda at all. She sounded so genuine and sincere that it hurt.

She opened her mouth and then closed it when she realized that she didn't have any clever remarks to say to the other girl. To make matters worse, she suddenly felt her face heating up.

Haruki flashed Isuke a genuine smile as she saw Isuke's face coloured. She didn't understand why but she really liked this side of Isuke.

"Are you ok, Isuke-sama? Your face is so red," Haruki asked in genuine concern.

"I… that…"

Suddenly, Haruki's handphone rang, breaking their locked gazes. Haruki took her phone out from her pocket, seeing that it was her sister calling.

"Sorry, I have to take this call," she told Isuke and stood up to answer her phone.

"Phew, that was a close one," Isuke thought as she watched the redhead left the couch. She wished she'd stop blushing so furiously or turning into a fumbling mess every time Haruki said those stupid things with her stupid smile and her stupid eyes looking at her. Isuke is the one who always turned people into a fumbling mess, not the other way around, but with Haruki, it's like everything has been turned upside down and she didn't like it one bit. And what's with that question? Since when did she care so much about Haruki's impression of her?

"Who's that?" Isuke asked the minute Haruki hung up.

"Oh, it's my sister," Haruki answered, before smiling mischievously. "Do you wanna know about our conversation too, Isuke-sama? I thought we're not that kind of friends."

"We're not. Isuke's just making sure it's not one of your stupid fangirls calling you to ask stupid favours from you. With how busy you are right now, you should know how to reject them and focus on what's important," Isuke said haughtily.

Suddenly, Haruki let out a loud laugh, surprising Isuke. "What's so funny?" Isuke asked.

"It just sounded like you're asking me to focus solely on you, Isuke-sama," Haruki said in between laughter. "Don't worry, you are what's important to me right now and I'll focus solely on you from now on!"

Isuke swung her fist at empty air as Haruki had run away from her, avoiding her punch. "Idiot!" Isuke shouted after her.


Notes: Ok, 2 chapters in one day. Phew!

And to answer a reviewer's question: My first language is actually my local dialect. Anyway, some of you may be wondering why I switch from American English to UK English. Well, my Microsoft Word sometimes auto-corrected some words to UK English, but sometimes they don't. And I spell most of the words in UK English because my country's education system taught us in UK English. However, sometimes, I may slip up and spell some words or use some words in American English because like everyone else, I'm influenced by American entertainment media. And also, I'm lazy to check back all the words that I typed and standardize them as either American or UK English.