Chapter 8: Picking up the Pieces
A loud, frustrated sigh emitted from her for the nth time that day. Never mind the fact that it was only a couple minutes passed seven in the morning and that she's been in her office since five. And never mind the fact that the paperwork laid before her was being completed in an almost automatically easy fashion.
It was the fact that it was a Saturday. That it was her day off. That she was working on her day off. That it was the first Saturday in almost three months that she wasn't looking forward to.
Haruka sighed again and slapped the heavy packet of papers in the "done" bin. Her eyebrows stitched into a frown as she grasped her temple, massaging it a little, for she knew the headache that hadn't surfaced yet will rear its ugly head sooner or later.
Her door opened slowly forcing her to look up to her shocked secretary.
"G-good…morning Chairman."
If it were any other ordinary day she would've laughed brashly at the face Yuki sported, but today it just kind of irked her. She knew it was the first time in three years she came to work before her secretary, but she didn't need to look so damned surprised from finally witnessing the event…
"I need the overall report from last night's meet and greet," Haruka only stated and looked back down at another packet. She was running out of them much sooner than she'd hoped.
"I placed it in Tenoh-sama's office. She specifically told me last night that she would be the one to deal with it," Yuki replied.
Haruka gave an annoyed sigh and flipped a page over.
"Chairman I don't mean to be a drag, but…isn't today your day off?"
The taller woman's frown deepened. There…the headache had finally, successfully appeared. "What about it Yuki?" she asked in an irritated fashion and locked eyes with the aged ones of her secretary.
The older woman merely sighed at her demeanor. "I'm…calling your mother."
The blonde sighed loudly and whacked the packet of papers into the bin, making a harsh, loud sound. "She'll come in her own accord. Let her sleep…I'll be here when she decides to come in."
Her secretary gave her a look which only screamed pity before nodding and closing the door to her office. Haruka folded her hands before her and growled loudly.
After last night's fiasco, she didn't have the heart to go back to her beach house. She figured she won't be able to in a while…not without the lingering thoughts of the aqua haired woman dancing through her mind. That entire place reminded her of them: the time they spent there, the secret meetings held every weekend, the happiness that was the outcome, the pain that was the outcome…their failed relationship.
The fact that she was readying herself for it to be a doomed one didn't help her feelings much. Her thoughts still centered itself on Michiru—she still wanted to touch her, talk to her, taste her, be with her. And for the millionth time since she left the galleria, she wished she never attended it in the first place. She wished she could turn back time and just not accept the invitation…be a good little CEO and attend the meet and greet properly just so she would be able to see Michiru again tonight.
Ignorance is bliss…was a saying she would be more than willing to accept.
But she knew even as she felt this now…that the lingering thought that Michiru had spent time with her and with another man at the same time…had squashed her feelings that the smaller woman might've wanted the same relationship with her. It was foolish of her to think otherwise, but a girl could dream couldn't she? The violinist had been gentler than Keiko had ever been. She had listened, she had spoken…they spent hours upon hours just being together…and those hours changed Haruka, but it saddened her to know that it was nothing, but sex to the younger woman.
She wondered why she was never good enough. Why did the women she always fell for always end up going to a man?
She leaned back into her executive chair and began to massage her throbbing forehead, a frown permanently creased in its surface.
It's even funnier that…it surprisingly hurt more the second time it happened to her. One would think that since it's happened before, a person could build immunity to these things…but maybe the fact she felt more for Michiru than she did with Keiko was the reason it hurt even more.
No, she can scratch the maybe. Michiru did mean something more…she still does. But in the time span of their relationship, it had never occurred to her that the violinist could do that. That she was able to be with someone else…which was normal given the state of their relationship. Haruka needed to stop thinking that the smaller woman did something wrong when in their so-called contract, she wasn't wrong at all. Haruka could've slept with Hikaru last night and still sleep with Michiru tonight and it wouldn't matter…because of their shallow relationship. Michiru could've slept with Jiro last night and come back to her beach house to sleep with her and she wouldn't be in the wrong either.
It was normal in casual relationships. But she wished it wasn't…just so she could have a reason for this anger now coursing through her body.
She remembered being angry when she had found out about Keiko cheating on her as well…but when she got over it, she came to the conclusion that being angry was easier than being depressed…which was a feeling she wouldn't let herself get washed in. But amidst the anger, the irritation, the irking feeling that she couldn't see Michiru again in the way that she had seen her, she felt it…the throbbing, painful beating in the crevices of her heart.
And after all the anger had dissipated from her body, she knew all she would feel was sadness. Strong, painful, unadulterated sadness…that she was nothing, but a plaything and that Michiru had meant so much more.
The door to her office opened to reveal a worried Tenoh Yoshiko and almost immediately, she wiped the combination of depressed and angry look upon her face to one of clear nonchalance.
"Oh stop it Haruka-chan," her mother sighed loudly and sat down on the executive chair before the taller woman. "Be angry…be sad…let me know what happened. Don't think for a second your little mask works with me because as your mother…I can honestly tell you that it doesn't."
Haruka couldn't help, but chuckle and looked away from Yoshiko's eyes. "What makes you think something happened?"
She sighed again. "You're here on your day off…even the Board members would be suspicious…"
The blonde gave a tired smile before pulling another packet to her. They sat in silence for a moment, Yoshiko waiting patiently for her daughter to open up.
Finally after a minute passed, Haruka pushed the open packet away from her and looked at her mother seriously, the same emerald eyes looking back at her in askance. "Who's Sugiura?"
Yoshiko gave a thoughtful look for a moment before replying, "Sugiura Toshio?"
The blonde shrugged. "Who is he?"
"He is the CFO of Kaioh-Miroku," the elder female Tenoh stated easily.
"Is he a valuable asset to the company?"
"Under the Kaiohs he is in command of the entire company." Her mother didn't know where this was going, but decided to answer any question the tomboy would ask just to dispel any awkwardness that might ensue. "Before Kaioh Tea Company and Miroku joined forces, Miroku was under two CEOs, Sugiura and Fuji. Fuji had a stronger hold of the company, therefore he was moreover President and Sugiura was Vice President. Upon the partnership of Kaioh-Miroku, one of the main deals to make the joining one with permanence was to marry: the daughter of Fuji Takeru who you should know as Kaioh Shina and the son of Kaioh Kei who is Kaioh Shinji. The day the two of them married was the day the two companies merged into one."
Haruka nodded understandingly and frowned. "Michiru…obviously isn't going to follow the line…"
The elder Tenoh nodded. "There's gossip flying around that Sugiura's son will be the successor of the entire line, Sugiura Jiro. He's smart and more than able to hold his own in the company, but the Kaiohs aren't too happy about it of course because if they were both to retire, there would be no one left in their line to have a grasp in the company. The Kaioh name will always be higher than the Sugiura name…but when they leave…it's as if they were never there."
The blonde sighed and rested her cheek on her propped arm.
Not knowing one bit where this conversation was going, Yoshiko decided to keep at it anyway. "Do you know who Kaioh Yui is?"
Haruka looked at her mother in confusion. "Kaioh Yui? An aunt?"
Yoshiko chuckled and shook her head. "The history…of rich people is one of infinite sadness Haruka-chan." A noticeable frown etched Haruka's features as her mother continued, "They always follow the same road…one with the clear mind to bear children as mere successors and that's it. Did you know that the Kaiohs always had one child before Shinji-san? This means that they have no uncles, no aunts, no great aunts, no great uncles…no cousins. The only Kaiohs still alive in this world are the three that you already know and, Kaioh Kei, Michiru's grandfather."
Her daughter's confusion grew as well as her curiosity. "Who's Yui then?"
"Shina-san and Shinji-san's first daughter."
That piece of information fell on her like bricks. She stared at her mother in shock at first before babbling out, "Daughter? Michiru's not their first?"
"As I said earlier, prior to Shinji-san, the Kaiohs never had more than one child. The tabloids nowadays focus on the Kaiohs' falling out, but it wasn't always like that before."
Michiru's words from last week rang through Haruka's ears. How her parents' marriage had been rough at first, but then Shinji had somehow thawed Shina's heart. But something happened again that was the catalyst to the marriage the world knows now.
"When I first met the Kaiohs years and years ago when you were still in junior high, they were like your father and me," Yoshiko started with a sad smile. "They were such a happy couple that one couldn't have guessed that their marriage had been born from necessity. Even luckier for them was the fact that Yui, their eldest daughter, had an interest regarding their tea company…so they didn't have to worry about a successor upholding their name. But they didn't think that Yui alone could've supported the entire company so Sugiura Toshio and the two Kaiohs came to a conclusion that marrying their two eldest children was for the company's best interest."
Haruka swallowed hard and bit her bottom lip, a disgusted scowl pasted on her face.
"Yui was finishing high school at the time and I doubted that she had any idea that her parents were already planning her future. She was in a tender age where she already knew the rights and wrongs and love and hate and when the news was brought to her, she knew she was right and her parents were wrong and she loved someone else and not Jiro.
"Of course you can see how this turned into such a big deal. Sugiura, of course, wanted that CEO spot for his son and the arranged marriage could only solidify the deal, but Yui refused it. There were rumors that the Kaiohs paid the man who equally loved Yui to leave her alone…to just disappear…so that this deal could continue. And those rumors were probably true because from the stories that I've heard, Yui fell into a deep depression right as she entered Tokyo University and it ended with her killing herself in the Kaioh Estate from overdose."
Haruka's mouth hung open, her emerald eyes widening as well.
Yoshiko only smiled sadly and sighed. "She and Michiru-chan were close from what I heard…and Michiru happened to be the one to see her first in that state because she was home from the University for Christmas break."
An overwhelming feeling of pity entered the blonde then. This was the information Michiru couldn't share with her…and she understood now why the smaller woman had evaded it. Her story…her past…it was depressing. It was something that even Haruka would be more than willing to forget…and more than able to evade if the conversation ever came up.
"Was that the reason why the two Kaiohs' marriage failed?"
The elder female Tenoh nodded sadly. "One doesn't have to be a scientist to realize that they were both blaming each other and themselves for what happened to Yui. But just like you Haruka-chan…it's easier for them to remain angry with one another than admit that they did something wrong. And with Michiru in the middle of it all…I don't know how they're going to solve all their problems while maintaining their family ties."
Haruka looked away, feeling the familiar lump in her throat tightening. "Michiru and that Jiro guy's scheduled to marry in a year…"
Yoshiko's eyes widened at her daughter's words.
"It seems mutual though…so I guess I can only congratulate them…" The elder Tenoh saw the infinite look of sadness washing out of Haruka's disposition…how her same emerald eyes gave a look of utter defeat before the blonde settled on her anger once more and pasted a sarcastic smile on her face. Sighing, she brushed her hair back and looked at her mother squarely in the eyes before muttering, "She's doing it to save her parents' marriage… I know she doesn't 'love' him… it's out of necessity. If what you just told me is any insight to her current problems…she just wants to sacrifice her feelings for a happier family she remembers…"
The elder Tenoh sighed at the look her daughter made and looked at the bin of finished papers to the side. "What happened last night?"
Haruka got up from her leather chair with a sigh, walking to the imposing glass wall behind her and looked out at the warm, bustling city below. "I shouldn't have gone…"
Yoshiko's eyebrows stitched into a frown at the tomboy's words.
The young CEO tsked and shoved her fisted hands into her pockets. "We broke it off last night. I met her fiancé…that Jiro guy and there was this air of competition between us. I don't even know where it stemmed from… I just knew that he was her public lover and it irked me that I couldn't be…" her voice was steely and forced, devoid of sadness and instead filled with a kind of monotonous anger. "He attacked me with words…I attacked back. I won the mini fights, he won the battle…"
She abruptly turned around, her mother seeing the conflict raging in her face as she roughly brushed her hair out of her sparkling eyes. She began pacing the space behind her desk, her steps heavy and loud. "I called her my f-ck buddy…"
Yoshiko's eyes widened at her harsh words. Her pacing stopped as abruptly as it started and she just stood there, her posture tight and frozen. Her face, once filled with anger, brimmed with the sadness she felt the night before and it was as if she was reliving that night with Michiru…sitting in front of her and relaying to her the falsehood of what she felt and thought their relationship was.
"I don't know where it came from…I guess it was just my mouth running away from me…but when I realized what I said, I was too angry to even look at Michiru in the eye to reassure her that it wasn't. Hell…maybe she wanted to hear something like that! She's more than able to ask whether or not I'm able to go back to being normal if we broke it off and when I acted as if it was fine by me she wasn't…when in entire time she was with someone else! Where's the decency in all that?!"
Amidst the anger rolling off of her body in waves, a lone tear escaped her eye and began to make its descent slowly down her face. She let it go as her hands balled into fists, turning her knuckles white.
"It wasn't supposed to be like this…" she muttered in an almost whisper. "I wasn't supposed to fall in love…" Another tear escaped her eye as her jaw clenched from the overwhelming feeling her heart felt…as if it would burst from pain at any given moment. "The whole night she was with Jiro I just…looked at him…when I wasn't too busy acting as if I was okay. What did he have that I didn't? What's so great about him that he's more than able to cling to her side and touch her like a lover can and I can't? Why do I have to hole myself up with her whenever we're together?
"And for the first time in my life…I wished I was a guy…'Cuz if I was a guy I would be more than able to be with her the way he is. We wouldn't have to hide in the seclusion of a beach house every weekend…not that I didn't enjoy the isolation, but I wanted to see how it would feel like…to be with her publicly and have people know…that she's mine and not anyone else's."
Haruka swiped the tears rolling off her cheeks with her arm roughly and just stared in front of her, her eyebrows in the deepest scowl she's ever felt them.
Her mother finally got up and walked to her, embracing her frozen figure in her arms. She stood there momentarily in that still tight posture before giving a small, depressed laugh that completely broke Yoshiko's heart. The tomboy's frown finally departed and in its place came the feelings she's been masking ever since she left the galleria.
Her forehead slumped on her mother's shoulders as waves upon waves of frustrated tears erupted from her. Her heart lurched at the question that's been pervading her entire being: why wasn't she good enough? Why couldn't they be together? Why…did they have to, first and foremost, be with friends with benefits? Why couldn't they be more?
Why did she have to fall so in love with the violinist…when the other didn't feel an ounce of love back?
O--O--O--O--O
A f-ck buddy, huh?
A wry smile flitted across Michiru's face as she took the teacup to her lips and took a sip.
"So I told him of course you'll be able to make it…you've never missed a deadline for any one of your albums before. What made him think this was any different?"
The violinist nodded absentmindedly at her manager's incessant talking and brought the cup to her lips again. Taking another sip she took a glance at the busy streets outside and saw the activity, but at the same time didn't see it at all.
It was the first time in a long time that she wasn't looking forward to tonight, and that little thought served to make her eyebrows crease into a frown. She sighed loudly inadvertently.
"Okay…okay…what is wrong with you?"
Her attention swiveled to Shizuka who finally stopped talking with an irked look in her face. Wiping the small hint of a frown in her face, Michiru looked at the woman in front of her with an asking glance before she gave another sigh.
"Don't give me that look," her manager muttered. "You've been off on your own little land since we met up this morning and I bet you haven't listened to a word I've said…so if you don't want me to talk, you can do it."
Michiru sighed and put her cup down. She gave an easy smile before eyeing Shizuka and stated rather easily, "A lot's been on my mind…I'm sure that's a viable enough excuse." The brunette woman gave her a look of pity that she dismissed easily with a wave of her hand. "It won't deter me from finishing my album…so don't worry about it."
"Michiru-san, have you ever let anyone in?"
The sudden question struck the violinist much harder than she wanted to show.
Shizuka sighed. "I've been working for you…for…ever Michiru-san…And this whole time we have nothing, but an employer to employee relationship. I've never seen you let anyone in…not even your so-called fiancé…so I'm asking, have you ever let anyone in? Someone that I don't know?"
The violinist looked away from her prying eyes before shaking her head, earning herself a little lie for the day. It wasn't exactly a lie…she had someone, but not anymore. Her manager immediately gave her a look of pity.
"Then maybe you should. It could change your life…" They locked eyes, the serious intonation of Shizuka's words hanging over them. A minute later, the brunette haired woman gave a little smile before reaching for her purse. "Well, we're technically done for the day. I'll see you on Monday, bright and early."
Michiru gave one nod as the older woman walked away from the table without another word.
She finished the rest of her tea in silence, the picture of Haruka and Hikaru walking away from her galleria shoulder to shoulder gracing her mind again. That same scene had apparently burned itself in her mind ever since it happened last night. She wondered if it would be too strange to call Hikaru up right now and just…ask. Maybe not bluntly, but out of humor?
If something did happen…she'd be awake by now wouldn't she? They both would…
An uncharacteristic scowl graced Michiru's usually so stoic face as jealousy flared her entire being. Riding on tension, she snatched her purse beside her and fished for her cell phone. Before her mind could stop her from going ahead with calling the girl up, she pressed through her contact list and pressed on Shou Hikaru's name.
It rang about three times, almost sending her to the voicemail before a throaty and obviously still waking, "Hello?" greeted her.
"Hikaru-san," she greeted, her ears picking up a too happy tone in her voice—one that didn't match the look of a frown in her face at all.
"M…Michiru?"
"Nh, are you up?"
The blonde girl from the other line gave a flirty little laugh. "Yeah, I'm up. Hey…get off me…I'm going out."
Sapphire eyes widened at the words that were definitely not spoken to her, but she immediately got her composure back. "I'm at Yoshi's for a little bit of lunch. I just got done with my manager, but I was wondering if you'd like me to treat you…we didn't get to talk much in private last night."
An eager laugh erupted from the other line as Hikaru answered, "I'll be there in a bit. Wait for me."
"I will."
She turned off her phone, a disappointed and sad look upon her face.
A f-ck buddy indeed…
It took about fifteen minutes before Hikaru came, one that Michiru spent in quiet contemplation at how easily Haruka had gone on when she looked so depressed and lost after their so-called break up. In the end though, she didn't want to jump into conclusions. Who knew? Maybe…that wasn't Haruka Hikaru was speaking to, but someone else…Michiru rolled her eyes. The chance of that is slimmer than the fact that it could've been Haruka…
"Morning Michiru…or should I say afternoon?"
Hikaru much to the violinist's dismay looked too happy to not have spent a night with someone…
"How're you? You look…extremely happy…" Michiru stated in observation, inwardly cringing at the words spoken.
"That's 'cuz I am!" the woman before her exclaimed. A waiter came in and took her lunch order momentarily, the violinist eyeing her seemingly genuinely happy composure. "Last night…was nothing short of amazing."
The violinist let out a hollow chuckle as another cup of tea was placed before her. She gave a small bow to the waiter and lifted the teacup to her once more. "From the way you and Tenoh-san were acting towards each other yesterday, it already seemed as if you were going out."
"Oh nothing like that Michiru," Hikaru stated easily with a wave of her hand. "But you know…when you get around…it's nice to know the difference between a man and a woman."
The aqua haired woman laughed inwardly. Only Hikaru could sound so proud while saying things a…whore…might say… But she continued on their conversation nevertheless to gather more information as to what had happened the previous night after all of them had separated. "Better than the first time?"
Brash laughter escaped from the younger woman making Michiru's smile freeze on her face as well as try to swallow the lump that had lodged itself in her throat.
"I must say…she…was so much better than the first time."
It was like the slap in the face she needed to wake up from the last two and a half months that was their secret relationship. They really were just friends with benefits to the blonde…and that little realization wouldn't be the one to make her go on as if it was nothing, just as Haruka had successfully done…but that and time would definitely be the main factors.
If Haruka could go on as if it was nothing…she could as well. Maybe not anytime soon…but she will.
I have to…
"So…what about you and Jiro?"
She had forgotten she was in the face of the woman the young CEO had graced her bed in last night…and she was surprised to still sport the calmest façade when her insides boiled. And just as quickly as the violinist had invited the other for lunch…she wanted her to disappear. She noted that Hikaru didn't smell like Haruka…and that was a little consolation prize because if she did, Michiru's never ending calm and kind demeanor would've shattered in a blink of an eye.
Feeling annoyed at the fact that she had to stay just a bit more so as to not look suspicious, the aqua haired woman gave the barest hint of a sarcastic smile and answered, "He and you are closer friends than we are so I'm assuming you know exactly how Jiro and I are…"
The blonde woman sighed loudly. "You know…he is trying…He just kind of wants you to try harder…"
Michiru nodded with a stoic look on her face, not liking at all that someone of Hikaru's stature was telling her how to work out her relationship better. "I…will. I'll try harder…Do you know…where he is right now?"
Hikaru looked at her incredulously. "You're the fiancé…call him up and tell him, don't ask, but tell him that you're coming for a visit right now because it's Saturday, it's yours and his day off, and you want to spend some more time with your soon-to-be hubby!"
The violinist didn't replace her stoic face with anything. Instead she looked out of the window once more before nodding. "Yeah…I think I'll do that."
As soon as she finished her words, the younger woman's food finally arrived. Michiru let her eat in relative silence as she thumbed her phone carefully, going down to Jiro's personal contact line. She stared at his name with a small frown gracing her face.
Hikaru looked at her in between bites for a moment before stating with a sigh, "Call him. I'm sure he'll be happy to hear from you."
The violinist didn't pay heed to the younger woman's words and inadvertently pressed down to the contact name Tenoh. Swallowing hard, she looked at Haruka's last name with a deeper frown. She never noticed Jiro's and Haruka's names were right next to one another before. She pressed the up and down button of her cell phone simultaneously, her eyes growing sadder as the screen changed to her sudden actions. Her company looked at her serious face questioningly, one that she noticed through her peripherals. Before Hikaru could speak another word, she pressed the up button one more time followed by the call.
She pressed her phone up against her ear, evading the smiling face of the blonde girl before her and instead focusing on the bustling streets outside once again. The phone barely rang before Jiro answered the other line.
"Good afternoon, Jiro," she greeted back, the cheeriness of her voice not reaching her sapphire eyes.
"What's going on?" he asked, clearly surprised by her unsuspected call.
"I…" the violinist bit her bottom lip before swallowing the lump in her throat down. "…was wondering if you and I could do something today. Hang out…or something…"
The other line was silent for a second before Jiro answered back, "Yeah…yeah of course we can. Umm…where…would you like to go?"
This was definitely uncomfortable…
"We can go on a date," Michiru replied, sighing inwardly. She couldn't believe how hard and awkward this conversation was getting. "Do you…have anywhere you'd like to go?"
"I…actually have to meet up with my father for a couple hours. Dinner? Would dinner be alright?"
The violinist nodded to herself before replying, "Yes…dinner will be great."
"Good…good…"
Another awkward silence danced between them before Michiru rolled her eyes outwardly. "Alright, I'll see you later. Call me."
"Yeah…will do."
She hung up the phone momentarily, chancing a glance at the uneasy face Hikaru was currently sporting. "That was uncomfortable…"
The violinist chuckled in sarcasm. "I…have a meeting with my father," she lied while eyeing Hikaru easily. She needed to leave…now… "We have something important to talk about so…"
She trailed off as her company nodded. "Go ahead. If I'm lucky, Haruka might still be waiting for me at home."
She gave a small smirk as Michiru smiled back in return. "Have fun."
"I will."
O--O
She gasped for air as she rose out of the water, feeling the heavy droplets plummet down from her hair and sticking to her bikini clad figure. After leaving Hikaru in the restaurant, Michiru opted to go to her parents' estate just to swim in isolation in their huge, Olympic size indoor pool. It had calmed her storming mind somewhat until now, about an hour later, when she decided to finally get out.
Grabbing a towel on a long beach chair, she merely hung it over her shoulders before laying down on the chair's cool surface. The motors running the Jacuzzi served as the only noise in the entire building, and if isolation was what she was opting for in the first place, this was certainly the best area to do it.
The tricky thing about being alone was just that. She felt and was alone…and her mind, after her body was tired from physically exerting herself for a full hour, was still thinking at a speed of a hundred miles a minute.
She felt the wetness of her bikini cling to her exposed figure, her sopping hair slowly leaking with water on the beach chair. And as she closed her eyes from the tiresome feeling overwhelming her, she still smirked in quiet desperation that the only thing gracing her mind was a brash, young CEO.
Her still wet hand rose to her face, giving her temples a massage she desperately needed. She couldn't get Haruka out of her mind…and it was driving her insane. Unfortunately for her, it wasn't the Haruka her mind had been acquainted with for the better part of the last three months. No, the Haruka in her mind was busy lavishing all the attention she used to give to her to a sexy, scantily clad, barely-wearing-anything Hikaru; when her imagination ran wild, it certainly didn't know the beginning and end of it.
She pictured them spending the night, Haruka's confident smirk pasted in her face the entire time. She could picture Hikaru waking up at the insistence of her phone call and actually see the younger blonde woman get out of the tomboy's grasp to answer her phone. She could picture Haruka on the other line, pouting at Hikaru to hang up and just…stay with her.
She growled loudly in frustration, the sudden noise echoing across the empty pool.
Settling down once more, she grasped her head harder, emitting the frown etching across her face to go deeper.
She remembered her last night…wearing a suit so much sexier than she's ever seen Jiro or any other man wear. She remembered the challenging smirk she gave her as she clearly stated that she purposefully came to the galleria that night. Remembered the flare of competition erupting from her emerald eyes the moment she met Jiro, her biting words, her biting comments… Her depressed form.
Why did you look so sad when you easily turned around and just had sex as if it was nothing?
Shutting her eyes just a bit tighter, she forced herself to relive the memory that was last night in the storage room. Haruka's posture, her eyes, her face, her demeanor…everything about her screamed that she was miserable. How was she able to look as if she cared that their relationship was ending and do a complete turn around and sleep with another woman?
It irked the violinist that she was more than capable of doing just that… Because it made her see that it really did mean nothing at all to the blonde. That she meant nothing…
Her eyes began to finally brim with tears, her vision of the roof of the indoor pool blurring as she opened them.
She was attracted to Haruka from the first day she met her. She was attracted to the fact that the blonde could be herself in the face of everyone and still smirk so confidently. That she didn't care about what anyone else thought. She could be herself…and damn anyone else who thought otherwise.
Then she got to know her…and found that she made her feel more alive just by being with her, than anyone in her entire life. She loved her company. She loved her cooking. She loved the fact that she had said and done all the right things that made Michiru's hellish week so much better. She loved their time spent together, their conversations, their entire rendezvous—
She loved her…
I still do…
Her brimming tears finally overflowed and she just let them escape one by one. She didn't whimper or make a sound…she just laid there with the deepest feeling of regret and pain she's ever felt in her entire life overtake her body…and she just succumbed to it.
Haruka had been the light at the end of the tunnel she needed from her almost monotonous life. She made everything so much better just by being there. It wasn't the sex… It was her… Haruka…
She swallowed the water accumulating in her mouth to relieve her throat momentarily of the lump that had made its home there. And a sniffle and whimper finally broke out from her as the picture of her elder sister came into her mind. At first she wondered why her psyche decided to let her remember her, but then smiled in melancholy as she reached the reason rather easily.
She always wondered why her older sister had succumbed to the weakness. Why she didn't have the strength to continue living. She hadn't understood…until now. Ever since Yui died, Michiru only felt anger towards her sister…not because she died, but because she was the catalyst of her own death. Why had she been so weak?
She didn't love…as a very good reason. In fact…it was a stupid reason. She couldn't believe her sister died…in the name of love. So what if her parents paid the man to leave her alone? So what if they did everything in their power to stop him from seeing her…even going as far as making his parents' small town bakery shop fall into bankruptcy in a matter of weeks? So what…if he decided to leave her…just so her parents' company would stop all the nonstop assault they've fed him since her refusal?
Both of them should've been stronger…
But now…in the face of her own problems…she saw love as the only reason why anyone, especially her sister, would go into a hellish depression.
And she didn't blame her anymore.
She didn't blame Yui for succumbing to her feelings. If anything…she was stronger than Michiru had ever been. She actually stood up in front of their parents and refused the marriage…even the lineage if she had to. She stood up for what she believed to be right…and killed herself…for what she believed was right.
Michiru would never be able to do that… She wasn't strong enough to tell her parents she didn't want this marriage. She would never tell them that she would by no means ever feel strongly for Jiro. Lastly, she would never have the courage to tell them she loved another woman…even though this woman clearly didn't love her with the same voracity.
She wished she could…but with her family's future and reputation on the line…
Michiru let the thought trail off softly. I can't be the one to completely break this family apart…not when I'm the only one who can bring us closer together…
Haruka's easygoing smile flitted through her mind again, making her automatically smile at a vision only she could see. She would never get over her… She would never be able to forget her…but at the same time she knew she didn't want to. Haruka was her beacon of light…her little hope that her life had been better before. Her means of not repeating what her sister had successfully done.
The thought of them being only friends struck her then. If Haruka was more than able to go back to normal…it would be alright for them to be friends wouldn't it?
She wiped her eyes candidly with her fingers before straightening up in the beach chair at her mind's sudden proclamation. She was a good actor…She was more than able to pull off being friends with the tomboy if she had to…just so she could continue gracing her life just as she had before.
Her heart gave a sudden painful lurch at the thought of them being just friends. She smiled in melancholy, chastising herself that it couldn't be more even if she wanted it to. To be with her…was good enough. As her friend…as her confidante. If Haruka was willing…she would be more than happy to be with her again…even if they were just friends.
She swallowed firmly again as the empty feeling in her stomach wouldn't subside. Her mind eventually veered off the path it was traveling though as her cell phone rang out noisily.
Picking it up with her now dry hands from its spot on the cold tiled floor, she looked up at Jiro's name and answered the call.
"Hey…I was wondering if you wanted to eat out now. I have another meeting with my father later tonight concerning some deal he wants me to partake so I need to make room for that in my schedule."
Michiru glanced at the huge clock gracing the eastern wall of the pool that read just after four in the afternoon. It was definitely too early to start dinner, but she nodded nonetheless. "That's fine by me. Where would you like to go?"
"Regency is—
"Not there." She hadn't even realized she cut off the older man until it was too late, but didn't regret saying so. That was definitely a restaurant that would be off limits for the time being…it being a place she actually wanted her and Haruka to have a meal in. She wasn't completely lying when she gave an outward invitation to the blonde after she said it was her favorite restaurant.
"Oh…" Jiro's surprised voice was evident in the other line as she licked her lips, her brows stitching in thought of another restaurant they could go to. "Lunaire?"
She didn't mind eating French at the moment so she nodded outwardly before replying, "Sounds great."
"Shall I pick you up?"
"Sure. I'm at my parents' estate."
"Be there in ten."
She hung up her phone and got up from the soaked beach chair. Gathering the ends of the towel, she brushed it along her cascading hair and made her way to the showers and changing room. As she was showering, her mind immediately began planning how she and Haruka could meet up again with the mindset of them being friends.
It would most definitely be awkward at first…but if they could get over that discomfort it would be as if they were always friends. Giving some thought about it, without the sex and kisses that only pervaded a part of their relationship, they were overall very good friends. She could even call her, her best friend if she wanted to; she had relayed almost everything about her to the tomboy and likewise.
And then she wondered if she was way in over her head… If her mind was just giving her options of a viable future she knew would be close to impossible if it wasn't spent somehow with Haruka.
She sighed loudly.
What was definite was that Haruka had no feelings for her…which kind of made befriending her for real that much easier. She didn't know how she'd pull it off…just that she would.
Fifteen minutes later and into an attire that was a creamy sundress, she grabbed her purse and walked into the living area where Jiro sat waiting for her. He gave a small smile and held his hand out towards her, one that she took with a smile of her own. She inwardly noticed that his three piece suit…didn't suit him as well as the ones she's seen and taken off of the blonde, and her smile could only grow outwardly even more.
They walked outside to his yellow Lamborghini Murcielago and he opened the door gentlemanly for her. Hopping in to the driver's side, Michiru could already feel that this night…was going to be the most awkward night in the history of their so-called relationship.
They had met at a very early age, Jiro being the supposed love interest for her older sister at the time and although the violinist remembered him…she didn't at the same time. All she knew was that he and her sister were to marry to become the successors of the new generation of Kaioh-Miroku. Of course, that didn't happen because of the circumstances surrounding her sister's death and not too long ago had the idea been put in the air that the two of them could marry.
She wasn't interested in him…not in the least bit. If what she and Haruka had was a "business venture" relationship, hers and Jiro's was an estranged one. They had decided to test the waters a long time ago and had begun showing up in events together with a subtle kiss in the cheek at the end of every night. Only recently had she taken up the offer for marriage from her parents; she would marry if they would try to fix theirs.
"A lot on your mind?"
His voice brought her out of her reverie as she only looked towards him with a small smile. "A lot's always on my mind."
The red haired man gave an uneasy smile as his hands visibly tightened on the wheel. "Why'd you call me out tonight?"
It would be the first time that they'd go out and not for public show, and Michiru was inwardly smirking at how uncomfortable it must've been for him. "I figured I haven't tried hard enough with our relationship…so I'm starting now," she only stated and even gave a small shrug.
He nodded as if he understood, but didn't at the same time. They ceased all talk until they got to Lunaire, an otherwise normal looking restaurant that was abnormal because of its completely see through, glass roof. It was a pretty romantic restaurant, but it being just after half past four didn't give it the same romantic flare as it did in the nighttime when restaurant goers could see the stars floating amidst the clouds in the night sky. The hues the orange and red made against the setting sun was a bit romantic though, and that Michiru was more than willing to give to Jiro.
They were seated easily, given a secluded spot at the corner of the restaurant where they could see the rolling waves of Tokyo Bay coming in for the high tide. And the start of one of the many awkward silences pervaded their table as they both looked at their given menus attentively.
"So…" Jiro's voice shattered their growing silence forcing Michiru to look up to him. "What're you planning on getting?"
She almost chuckled at his question. The two of them were never ones for the brightest of conversations when they were alone, even though they were two very intelligent people. "I'm going to settle for the herb-crusted pork Florentine which would probably go best with the Romanee Conti wine." She smiled and closed her menu, her ears picking up the sound of an orchestra playing at some corner of the restaurant.
"Nh, that's a pretty good choice," the red haired man stated in agreement and nodded simultaneously. "I'll probably go with the chicken cordon bleu."
He closed his menu as well and placed it over hers. Just as he finished this action, their waiter came to get their orders and disappeared almost too quickly. Once again, silence permeated the table.
Michiru didn't really care for the awkwardness of the situation. In fact, one would think she was sadistically enjoying it…seeing the troubled face Jiro easily showed every now and then. It was moments like these that made her realize just how wonderful a company Haruka made. She smirked at the thought of her. Regardless of who she was with and what she was doing…everything always ended with Haruka. She immediately felt sorry for Jiro who she would always be pitting the blonde tomboy against…fully knowing that said tomboy would win the competition every single time.
There were never awkward dinners at Haruka's beach house…save for the ones that the blonde started.
Michiru smiled outwardly as she remembered all the times they prepared their dinners together. Looking up at Jiro whose troubled look hadn't dissipated and who was now fidgeting with his tie a bit, her smile turned into a smirk as she reached over for her napkin and folded it on her lap.
"Do you like to cook Jiro?"
The question was very abrupt and she could see his onyx eyes kind of widen as the silence was broken yet again. "Cook?" he finally asked with another question.
The violinist chuckled a little. "Yes…cook. You know, oil, spatula, seasoning, some kind of meat…the things they do to the things we order before they take it out to the table?" It was the kind of response Haruka would've given and she inwardly smirked at the fact that the other girl had rubbed off on her all the positives and negatives that was her personality.
Jiro chuckled at her explanation as well before nodding. "Yes, I know what cooking is, but no…of course I don't cook. I leave that to my maids. I barely know what my estate's kitchen looks like!"
She knew he hadn't meant to answer so arrogantly, but it definitely turned her off that he had nonetheless. "That's too bad," she replied with sparkling eyes. "I love to cook."
Sapphires met onyxes as she reached for a glass of water to her right and took a sip of it.
"I…" The older man was at a loss for words and she kind of pitied him, but at the same time didn't.
"You?"
Jiro cleared his throat and looked away. "I never knew you liked to cook…"
Michiru laughed a little, still eyeing him down tactlessly. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me." He met eyes with her again as her words came out. The violinist's smile still flittered, now turning into a small smirk. "But that's only because my parents…don't know a lot about me either."
She felt him audibly swallow as he once again looked away. "I don't mean to do it to pry—
"I know," she cut off and glanced at the waiter who was coming to their direction with their food. "But if we really are to get married, I want us to be in the same boat." She saw his Adam's apple bob again as their eyes met again as well. "I don't know what your impression is of me from the time we began this experiment to now Jiro, but I can safely say that I'm no pushover." Her words were clear, the same defiant tone the older man heard just a night ago coming back fully. "If you want this to work out talk to me, not my parents. Ask me the questions to answers you want to know…not my father or mother. Lastly, fully know that you're no higher than me in status than I am with you. We're equal in this relationship now, and when we marry we will be equally the same."
Their eyes locked effectively, the serious intonation in Michiru's words ringing clearly from the sparkling of her sapphire eyes. She didn't break off their eye contact when their waiter busied himself over the tension in the table by giving them their food and splashing some wine in both their glasses. And only a minute after he had already left did the smaller woman finally gave the barest hint of a tiny smile before breaking their eye contact and looking down at her food before picking up her utensils and eating without another word.
The rest of their dinner was spent in heavy silence one that Michiru didn't even try to break. With her mind filled with thoughts of the blonde and how this dinner could be infinitely more different than it currently was, she didn't see the continued troubled look on her fiancé's face nor notice that he barely ate a bite of his dinner. What she did notice was, after thirty minutes he had began the incessant routine of looking at his watch to which she kind of ignored at first, but only began to feel irritated of after a while.
"If you need to be somewhere, you may go," she said softly before putting some more of her dinner in her mouth.
Jiro gave a clearing of his throat before he looked at her uneasily. "You won't have a ride home…"
She only smiled. "I'll call Satoshi-san…as I always do. I'm never in dire need of chivalry Jiro…"
He looked at her momentarily before nodding. "Are…are you sure, you'll be alright? Eating dinner here, alone?"
Michiru's smile doubled at the guilt coming out of the older man's words. He was definitely not as confident as the world sought him out to be…at least not around her. She only locked eyes with his onyx ones as she wiped the sides of her mouth with her napkin. "I'll be fine."
His eyebrows stitched into a frown as they held another staring contest, this one broken easily by the ringing of his cell phone. He looked down at it and nodded at her in gratitude. "Thank you for inviting me for dinner. I'll leave my card for you to use—
"It's fine," the violinist reassured again. "Don't worry about such trifle things…"
Scratching his head restlessly, he nodded one last time and left the table without another word. She sighed at his anxiousness…how her words had affected him so much more than she thought it would. Lifting her wine glass to her lips, she sipped some of the Romanee Conti and glanced towards the exit where Jiro had, by now, disappeared out of and was surprised to meet with familiar emerald eyes.
She swallowed the wine down as sapphires and emeralds connected, one of shock and the other, scrutiny. Michiru turned away and placed her wine glass down, sensing the approaching figure of the woman she was most definitely not expecting.
"Chairman our seat isn't—
"Postpone the meeting for tomorrow. Seven AM sharp." There was no room for dispute in her voice.
The fat man who Michiru could only guess as a Board of Director member from Tenoh Corporation merely nodded his head in assent as she looked up again to the imposing figure of the tall blonde woman. Shizu Miike gave her a small, confused look as well before stating, "I'll tell the other board members. I…trust you won't have dinner with us then?"
The blonde woman shook her head. "I have more important matters to attend to." He nodded once again before leaving the two women alone. A brief silence danced over them before the question, "May I sit down?" washed over it.
Michiru swallowed the lump in her throat as her eyes met with sparkling emeralds again. "Of course…" she answered and added a small nod.
The blonde woman pushed Jiro's plate aside with a stoic look before locking eyes with Michiru's again. "I hope I didn't impose on anything."
The violinist merely shook her head. "No…Tenoh-san."
Laughter rang from the older woman. "Michiru-chan…call me Yoshiko."