Sorry for the delay! :} And I thank my extremely talented beta-reader, Miracles79, for taking his time in editing this chapter :D

And I also thank you guys for the reviews

Disclaimer: I do not own Kannazuki no Miko

Chapter 2

Strangers

"Hey Saotome-san! Why do you look so troubled? It's still early in the morning" Reiko asked whilst watching the usually energetic brunette begin to frantically pace back and forth at one particular spot in her office.

Saotome Mako abruptly stopped what she was doing, turning upon hearing her name being called out by a familiar voice. She looked up from where she had been staring at the ground and her own auburn eyes met the gaze of her coworker. She then glanced up towards the clock and it showed thirty minutes past seven, her anxiety welling up once again, averting her gaze and instead directing it towards Reiko. The two of them were staring at each other for a minute when Mako suddenly, and unexpectedly, flung her arms in mid-air and exclaimed, or more like shouted "Darn that Himeko! Where is she?! Does she even know that she's almost late for work?! Aaah!" with that being said, she got her bag, rummaged through her belongings and hurriedly fished out her phone. She dialed a number which she had memorized by heart, placed the said device near her ear and stormed out towards the veranda; leaving a completely stunned Oota Reiko staring dumbly at her retreating figure with her lips a little open.

The blurry figure in front of her seemed to be telling her something. "We will meet again, this I promise you…" She watched as the said figure lifted an object that seemed to be a necklace with a pink shell as its pendant. "And this will be our symbol, Himeko" her heart ached at the sound of her name being called out by this all too familiar stranger. She felt tears pouring down from the corner of her eyes as she tiptoed and placed a chaste kiss on the stranger's soft lips. She couldn't remember what her reply to the declaration was but she was certain that she felt contented while their forms basked in the warm rays of the rising sun…

Himeko stirred in her sleep when she heard the annoying sound of her phone's ringtone. She covered her ears with her pillow in the hope of silencing the annoying ring. She tossed thro and fro but to her dismay, the ringing still persisted. She hesitantly got up and picked the phone from the dresser and answered in a slightly annoyed tone "Hello, this is Himeko"

"Himeko! Where are you right now?" replied the caller.

"Mako-chan? Is this you? Why are you calling so early in the morning?" the blonde said, completely irritated that her best friend would wake her up. "You do know that I hate being-"

"Wait, what did you just say? Himeko, you're still in bed?! I can't believe you! Do you know what time it is already?" Mako cut her friend's rambling which gave more to the annoyance of Himeko.

Himeko looked up and said "It is 7:45. Why'd you ask?"

"Himeko, what are you talking about! You're going to be late for your first day of work! You need to get here now!" hearing the words 'late' and 'work' in quick succession effectively caused the young blonde to scramble up her feet. "What! I got to go, Mako-chan. Talk with you later" with that she hang up the call and hurriedly went to the bathroom. She wasted no time in taking a quick shower, changed her clothes, ate a small amount of breakfast, brushed her teeth, combed her golden hair and put on the necklace both Souma and Mako gave her as a gift for her nineteenth birthday. She looked herself up at the mirror and was satisfied with the results.

As she was about to dash off, she caught sight of a dangling object. She neared it and eyed the object dreamily as she took hold of it. 'Oh Chikane-chan… I really wish I could see you again. Where are you?' she suddenly felt a pang of sadness on her heart when she remembered her dream. She always felt like this every time she remembers her first love. She tenderly kissed the pink shell and merrily made her way out the hallway. 'Strange' she thought. She could have sworn she felt a faintly familiar sensation coursing through her as if something truly amazing was about to happen, the same feeling she felt the day she met Chikane-chan all those years ago. The first was when hers and Chikane's path came across for the first time.

A good five minutes passed when Himeko made her way out of her apartment, sprinting hastily towards work. 'I am so dead' she drearily thought as she bypassed various shoppers in her continuing haste to arrive promptly on time. Luckily for her, her workplace was near her place and so it was just a short fifteen minute walk. Although, with the rate she was going at the moment, there's no doubt she will arrive in just five minutes...

And just like that, she arrived at the foot of the majestic building. 'This is it!' she inhaled deeply as she fixed herself to be of proper appearance in the eyes of others. She felt her phone beeping and so she got it out of her pocket and saw that she received a text message from her trusted friend. "If you don't hurry up, you'll surely get fired" –it said.

"Geez, Mako-chan! She even added a smiley at the end" she said to no one in particular as she was pretending to be mad at her cheery brunette friend. She looked at her wristwatch and her amethyst eyes went wide. Just five more minutes and she'll be late. She quickly entered the entrance and politely greeted the guard. Afterwards, she saw that the elevator was descending down. 'Perfect timing!' her mind celebrated and walked towards it. When she arrived, the elevator doors opened and she hurriedly got in. Suddenly however, her movement was halted as she felt her body collide with something equally next thing she knew, she suffered the same fate as the one she bumped into, landing hard on the cold floor with her bottom first.

"Miss Chikane, are you alright?" the blonde heard a worried exclamation from another person. 'Wait! Did she just say Chikane?' her heart skipped a beat at the mention of the name of her beloved. The other occupant was about to give Himeko a word or two when a melodious voice interrupted her assault.

"It is okay, Otoha. I'm perfectly fine" the voice said to the other whose name was Otoha. Himeko could practically hear her heart thumping loudly in her chest as she listened to the calming and sweet voice spoken by someone hidden behind 'Otoha'. She just wished the other occupants couldn't hear her heart's erratic beating amidst the silence that passed for a short while. "It is my fault. I'm sorry but are you alright-" she looked up when she heard the voice's owner ask if she was alright. When their eyes met, both girls seemed to be lost in their own world.

"Himeko…" Himeko heard the girl say. It was hesitant, as if uncertain that it was actually happening; as if assuming that reality was playing tricks with her tired mind. And it came as a soft whisper; but Himeko heard it nonetheless. She could clearly see the inner turmoil in the other girl's alluring sapphire eyes, which she knew her own amethyst eyes were reflecting. She saw the beautiful woman stand up and fix her elegant office attire. The woman offered her hand which Himeko shyly yet gladly accepted. They were now on their feet and neither one dared to break eye contact. Although the cough that came from Otoha seemed to have brought both girls back to their senses.

Himeko saw the other girl giving her a smile that could make anyone prey to such a gorgeous goddess. She abruptly noticed as well that the other woman was wordlessly eyeing her from top to bottom and she swore that she would soon faint from the heat that rushed to her cheeks. To Himeko's utter surprise, she saw disappointment flicker in those blue orbs when it caught something that she was wearing. 'I wonder what…' she looked down and finally understood why Chikane seemed so disappointed. The latter caught sight of the necklace her two close friends gave to her. Himeko was about to say something when someone bumped into her and a masculine voice spoke from behind her.

"Himeko? What are you doing in here? If you don't hurry, you'll be late" he said and, with the lack of an appropriate honorific, Chikane's hearing sense perked up further as she stared, silently fuming, at the man who was now ignoring the pair.

"Souma-kun? What happened?" a voice spoke through the phone that the man was holding.

"Oh, I just encountered Himeko by the elevator" he said lovingly to his secret girlfriend as he placed the phone near him once again. They had a lovely conversation before Souma carelessly bumped into Himeko along the way, too engrossed to even notice his surroundings. Mako was just too fun to talk with.

"Really?" the four people heard the amused voice say. "Tell her to quicken her pace a bit. Cause if not, she'll surely lose this job" the girl said trying desperately to hide her fits of giggles.

'Mako-chan! I swear I'll get you for this! Just you wait till I get there!' Himeko's mind screamed in mild irritation as her face was as red as a ripe tomato at the moment.

"Haha, quit that Mako. Anyways Himeko, what has caught your atten-" the man's sentence halted midway as he finally recognized the presence of both Chikane and Otoha "Himemiya-sama?! Kisaragi-sama!"the clumsy blonde saw her friend muttering an apology for his rudeness while bowing low to his employer.

"Souma-kun" Himeko was shocked at how her friend acted. He always appeared to be the cool type in front of others. Suddenly, realization hit her head hard. She was standing in front of someone who could have only been the primary leader of the corporation. She felt ashamed with herself and an adorable blush covered her whole face as she also bowed and uttered a hasty apology "I'm so sorry, Himemiya-sama. I didn't mean to hit you" as she looked up, she could have sworn that a look of hurt crossed the Himemiya princesses' face.

"Himeko, let's go. Please excuse us, Himemiya-sama" Souma said after bowing and taking Himeko's hand and dragged her along inside the elevator.

Chikane could only stare at where Himeko and Souma just entered.

"Miss? Are you alright?" Otoha said concerned as the shock she felt earlier began to lessen. 'She looked just like her. But she was wearing an employee's uniform. I haven't seen her before so she must be new. It doesn't seem she knew miss though; so it couldn't be her' the attendant thought as she walked a little bit behind when her boss started moving forward then exited the building. 'I don't think miss is handling this well. Oh whatever, whoever that girl was, I will find out sooner or later' she concluded as they entered the awaiting black sedan.

Chikane remained completely silent, ever since the encounter with the girl that looked like her first love. Scratch that, she believed it was her. She felt it in her heart, the connection that they shared. 'So why did she act differently with me?' with all honesty, she was taken aback when Himeko bowed curtly at her and said her apologies of bumping her earlier. 'Maybe because she concluded that I'm her employer?' she reasoned out. But she knew that single reasoning was not enough. And upon seeing that the girl wore a necklace with a heart-shaped pendant, her heart sank.

If she really were Himeko, shouldn't she be wearing the necklace she made for her five years ago? And don't forget the male employee who arrived and interrupted their tender moment of staring at each other. 'I believe his name is Oogami Souma-kun' thinking about the young man made Chikane's blood boil in jealousy. Who wouldn't be when they seemed to know each other so well? And add the fact that Himeko seemed to actually like the man and more so be fond of him. The Himemiya princess felt devastated. She sighed as she looked out the all-but-blurry moving scenery that showed every time their car passed by.

During the elevator ride, both forms were as silent as dead men. Awkwardness encircled the two occupants as they would, from time to time, sneak a peek at the other. Never in their life would they think that an elevator ride could feel so long and weird. Himeko heard Souma cough a little to get her attention in which she immediately gave by looking at her companion.

"Himeko, about earlier…" he started to say which made Himeko blush upon remembering a certain woman with breathtaking sapphire eyes.

"What about it?" she said as a way of urging Souma to continue his sentence since it appeared he was hesitant to spill it.

"I know this would be unexpected for you to hear, but may I ask if you and Chikane-sama know each other before all of that happened in the elevator?"

The question definitely hit a chord inside of Himeko, especially in her heart. A part of her wanted to say yes but something was holding her down. 'Is it because she's of high authority here?' Probably, although she would definitely show Chikane her full respect as she was of a high status and her probable boss in the company, that doesn't seem to be the issue at hand. She feels as if they were still not sure of each other. She inwardly decided that she should give it some time so that she could get to know the other once again. And when that time comes, Himeko will reveal her true relationship with the heiress. And so she opted to say no. Deep inside, amidst the feelings of hurt for denying Chikane in her life, she felt that it was the right choice.

Souma nodded his head to acknowledge Himeko's answer. And though he could tell that Himeko was hiding something, he respected her decision and would wait patiently, together with his girlfriend- Mako- for the blonde to reveal the truth. The bizarre thing is that he just can't shake the awful feeling that he would be included in an ugly misunderstanding. But because he wanted this day to end well, he decided to set it aside for a while.

A chime has resounded, signaling that they have reached their destination. Once the door of the elevator opened, it revealed a grinning Mako.

"Saotome-san, are you alright? Earlier you seemed so desperate and now you're looking like you've just caught something really weird on camera" Reiko said as she peeped over Mako's still grinning face.

"Oh, so the sleepy-head princess has finally arrived" the girl said with a cheeky grin as her hazelnut eyes flickered with mischief.

"Wh-why you two! I so hate you guys!" Himeko said with all the anger she could muster as she stuck a tongue out at the pair of them. She crossed her arms on her chest as the blush from earlier once again appeared on her cheeks. The three other occupants laughed warmheartedly sue to the cute response their adorable friend gave them which, coincidentally, caused Himeko to redden even more, if that was even possible.

After the laughter died down a bit, Mako said "So Himeko, what happened back there with Himemiya-sama?"

Just hearing Chikane's name made Himeko lose her focus a tad bit. She couldn't help but be distracted every time she remembered such a unique beauty that the world rarely sees. "Wh-what about it?" the blonde stuttered her reply as she saw a smirk adorning Mako's features.

"Did you two kiss or something?"

"O-of course not! Why would you even think of that?! For goodness sake, we were standing near the elevator! And besides, we were in public too, Mako-chan!"

Seeing Himeko so flustered like this made Mako's grin widen. Who would want to stop teasing the girl if she looked as cute as she did now? And it appears Himeko has a crush on their boss, nonetheless. "Okay, then what happened? Since you said you did not kiss" she said albeit playfully.

"I'm telling you the truth! I accidentally bumped into her while I was rushing to get to this floor, okay? That was it and nothing more. And besides Mako-chan, why didn't you tell me that I would be working in the Himemiya Corporation?" Himeko replied rather fast, making her companions give their full attention to fully comprehend what she was saying. She was fidgeting under the gaze of her friends, as well as annoyed upon realizing that Mako kept the identity of the workplace from her.

"Woah, slow down there partner" Reiko said, waving her hands in the process.

"Yeah Himeko. Slow down a bit. And don't you think that's a silly question you got there? Why? You don't want to work here?" the girl in question said. Himeko shook her head, saying that it was indeed fine. "Alright, regarding that bumping incident, we believe you. Well you know, since that's bound to happen to you everyday" Mako said, earning a dangerous glare from her best friend.

"Mako-chan!"

"Haha! Okay, okay. Well anyways, did you and Himemiya-sama meet somewhere before? Do you know each other personally?"

Himeko went quiet hearing the question from Mako. The three other people: Souma, Reiko and Mako, sensed Himeko's discomfort. As Mako was about to take back her question, Himeko said "That would be silly, Mako-chan. Why would Chikane Himemiya-sama, the only daughter of the world's richest family, know me? Besides, if we did know each other, she wouldn't have time for me at all. She has a lot of other things to attend to…" she stated with a voice filled with, what her friends could comprehend, hurt "Yeah, she's too busy. And has a lot of other things to do, a lot other than finding me" she said the last part in a bare whisper that only she and her heart could hear. Her own words stabbed her delicate heart as she spoke words which she had often contemplated.

Chikane felt her heart constrict. Her mind, together with a certain Kurusugawa Himeko, thought 'We're just like strangers now'

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Till next time!