A/N: Thank you for being here! This is my first fanfic, so I will dearly treasure any and all feedback you're willing to share. Before we go, some opening remarks you're more than welcome to skip:

Rating: I rated the story T so you'd see it, but be warned: there are some chapters ahead where things get very explicitly sexual. The story needs this because the sexual encounters are crucial for plot and character development. Also—and I know I'm not saying anything new here—I don't really see why the most extreme forms of physical violence seem to be OK for YA stories while explicit descriptions of sexual intimacy aren't. (FWIW, there is no gore here.)

Pairings: There will be quite a few, some of them well-established, others (I hope) surprising. All main characters from the anime (season 1) are here, plus one or two from later. But I don't want to spoil the plot twists, so I'd rather not tell you exactly what the pairings will be. Thanks for going with me on this one.

Length: This is a novel-length story, divided into five main parts. Part 1, "Business or Pleasure," is made up of seven chapters which should all be up here soon. For Part 2 and beyond, I only have outlines right now. We'll have to see when I get around to writing the actual chapters. Sadly, like most of us, I can't commit to a regular schedule here.

Source: I didn't come to Marimite through the light novels or the anime, but directly via fanfiction. My ideas about the characters were forged not by canon but by your interpretations. As I read more and more of your stories, it became clearer and clearer who these characters were (and weren't) to me, and what kinds of similarities they bore to actual people in my life. I only watched the anime once I'd started writing this story, but after season 1 it departed from my vision, so I dropped it. I stick to most aspects of season 1 canon, but not beyond.

Disclaimer: I don't own Marimite. But I don't think anyone else should either. I fully support the right of creatives to make a living off their work, but not through copyright. Again, nothing new here, but if copyright had existed in premodern times, we wouldn't have the Greek tragedies, we wouldn't have Shakespeare, to only name some blatantly obvious examples. The narrative legacy of our cultures belongs to all of us, not—with all due respect—to so-called "original" authors and definitely, emphatically not to some made-up corporation.

Chapter 1: Sachiko

"The invitations went out today."

"I know," Ogasawara Sachiko said.

Of course she knew. She'd known since they were children that she'd be marrying the man standing before her: Kashiwagi Suguru, her cousin. The marriage had been arranged by Sachiko's father Toru, patriarch of the mighty Ogasawara clan and chairman of the Ogasawara Business Group, one of the few major conglomerates in Japan still controlled by a single family. The purpose of the marriage was to keep the business tightly in family hands—or more precisely, Sachiko thought, in the hands of her father.

For many years now, the board of directors had been pressuring the ailing Toru to appoint a successor. Toru had been in and out of cancer treatment for what seemed like forever, but even in his weakened state, he'd managed to hold off all pretenders to his throne. And in the meantime, he'd forged a plan for strategic retreat. Having no male heir of his own, Toru had decided to adopt Suguru, his sister's son, into the Ogasawara household through marriage. Suguru was young, presentable, and—most importantly, from Toru's point of view—pliable. He would be groomed as the new figurehead of the Ogasawara Group, with Toru controlling him from behind the scenes.

And Sachiko, as Toru had told her, would finally be able to repay her father for the damage of not having been born male.

"There's no going back now." Suguru attempted one of his trademark lopsided grins. But he looked nervous.

"I know," Sachiko repeated.

Years ago, when she'd first been told about their engagement, Sachiko had been ecstatic. Suguru was the perfect prince charming. He was tall but not bulky, slim but athletic. He was handsome in a delicate way, with finely chiseled, feminine features. He was elegant and stylish, wearing his tailored shirts and Italian shoes with the ease of a seasoned dandy. He was smart, with a roguish sense of wit that enchanted women and unsettled men. He was born into the right family, raised impeccably, and destined for greatness.

As Suguru peeked through the thick curtains that hid the view onto the grounds of the Ogasawara Mansion, Sachiko looked at him fondly. He was truly fit to marry a fairytale princess.

She'd been raised to be that princess. From her nannies, she'd learned that she was just like a porcelain doll, pretty and fragile. From her tutors, she'd acquired all the hallmarks of sophistication and grace—the piano and the waltz, ikebana and the tea ceremony, Shakespeare and Lady Murasaki. From her parents, she'd learned gentle submission to the greater good of the family. And from her high school, the elite, Catholic, all-girl Lillian Academy, she'd acquired her moral code, firmly grounded in duty, propriety, and self-abnegation.

Letting the curtain fall back into place, Suguru turned to her. Sachiko averted her gaze. Against her will, her brow furrowed.

She'd been devastated when he told her he didn't love her. No, she thought, that was neither objective nor fair. He'd said he couldn't love her. But back then, the pain and disappointment had left no room in her for fairness or objectivity. It was only later, gradually, that she'd begun to understand him. Going to Lillian had helped: there, she'd met girls who had no interest in boys, who didn't hate boys but simply couldn't find anything exciting about them. Girls who felt for other girls what she wished Suguru felt for her. What she knew, because he had told her, Suguru could only feel for boys.

"And you're ready for this?" He wasn't smiling anymore.

"I am."

It had taken her a long time, but yes, she was ready. Sure, love would have been nice. But marriage, for people like Suguru and her, wasn't about love. Great families like the Ogasawaras weren't great because of love. They were great because of duty, loyalty, and internal harmony. Suguru would make an excellent leader—Sachiko knew this, and he did as well. He wouldn't be under Toru's thumb forever. He wanted to lead the family, he deserved to lead the family, and Sachiko would not deny him what was his by right and duty.

She knew he would take lovers, just as her father and grandfather had. The fact that Suguru's would be men was indifferent to her. He'd told her to do the same, a courtesy—or an insult—that her mother or grandmother would never have received. But Sachiko's revulsion at the idea of an illicit affair was greater than her desire for bodily pleasure, which had never been very strong in the first place. No, she would put up with just enough sex to bear Suguru's children—children she'd raise with her family's sense of duty and obligation, without which a clan like the Ogasawaras couldn't hope to survive. They would be her joy, her fulfilment, her pride.

"What will you say to her?"

Sachiko drew a sharp breath. It was the only question she hadn't managed to answer in her mind.

"I… don't know."