Chapter 19: Touch
"Shinji…"
"Let me think!"
The elder male Kaioh's head spun and he couldn't for the life of him stop it or make it slow down. Why? Why did she give up? Why now? Why when…everything's within reach…?
He opened his mouth as if to say something and closed it, the frown in his face growing deeper.
"Why?" he asked loudly, to no one in particular, especially not his ex-wife.
"We pushed her too hard…"
"But…she…she's strong! She's not supposed to just…back off like that! That's…ridiculous!"
"Face it, we thought she would back down sooner—
"And when she didn't, it could only mean we needed to push harder—
"Well we pushed too hard dear husband, what do you want me to say?"
His hands clenched into automatic fists as he shoved it in his mouth, biting one of his balled fingers thoughtlessly. "We should just…just tell them?"
"How would you like to do it? 'Tenoh-san, Michiru-chan surprise! We've been testing you this whole time and we believe you've met the criteria to pass! The wedding is hereby canceled and you two may go on the way you want to.' Do you realize how…heartless that sounds?" Shina asked forcibly as they evenly stared at one another. "This isn't some sort of…job interview in which they either pass or not Shinji—
"I'm not saying it is! Just…why?? Why the hell did she give up??"
His wife sighed loudly and plopped on the sofa, her hands going up to her temples to massage it roughly. He stood in front of her for a bit, still mechanically biting his hand before sighing as well and sitting down beside Shina.
"Alright," he said softly, his frown still marring his face as he gave a thoughtful look. "Let's look at the bright side for a second. Tenoh-san's not leaving…she'll only try to get away from Michiru-chan…or start to pull away, whatever. The point is, she's still here…which means it doesn't matter as to whether or not she gave up. As long as we know they still pretty much love each other…that's all that matters. Our daughter loves her…she doesn't know this. The fact that she doesn't know this is our trump card. Michiru-chan will not let her just…pull away. She's…her so-called 'best friend,' but we both know our daughter's feelings are more than that and if that's so…she won't just sit back and let her go away. She'll notice the difference in Tenoh-san…and then…maybe they'll talk about it…or something…"
"What if Michiru-chan takes Tenoh-san's pulling away in stride and lets her go for our sake? What happens then?"
Grays locked with sapphires seriously as Shinji gave an audible gulp.
"Then…that would be our definite cue to yield."
They sat in relative silence for a moment, sinking in to their own thoughts about the wedding and all the problems that surrounded it until Shina broke it with a question.
"Shinji…do you have a problem that they're both women?"
"I know you do…"
"Do you?"
He contemplated the question, but of course they both knew it wasn't the first time the thought had graced either of their minds; it was the main problem with their daughter's relationship in the first place!
"I…did…"
"You don't anymore?"
"She's not…normal…" the aqua haired man said with a shrug. "I think I did before because I didn't know her. Tenoh-san has a huge reputation for just…being a boisterous playboy. Regardless if that's true or not, there's always some truth when you hear things from the grapevine and…I didn't want something like that around our daughter. But this whole time, Michiru has been trying to show us something…and although she and Tenoh-san think that they haven't done so yet, they have…successfully. I think…if it were any other girl, I would not give it another thought and just shove her out of the picture. It would be easy enough. But we're dealing with…Tenoh Haruka…and although we've tried to bluntly and blindly push her…it obviously hasn't worked…which means everything that we've heard about her isn't true, and everything she and Michiru are trying to show us is."
Shina nodded in understanding as she passively stared at the Persian rug beneath their feet. "I seriously thought Michiru-chan was just in a phase in which…she's just trying to get over some sort of…high school based curiosity. Even then I wouldn't let something so…unbecoming of a lady…slide…But…it's amazing how connected they are. If you just stop thinking…and look at them, you would see how well they compliment each other. One is brash, the other calm. One is a tomboy, our Michiru, the lady. And if you try to look and delve even deeper than such superfluous things…you can see how…in love they are.
"As businessmen, we learned very early that love has no place in the corporate world. It's more of a weakness than a strength—a weakness that's often preyed and assaulted. It's what we've been doing to their love…and at first, I seriously believed and wanted Tenoh-san to just…fly away like Shigeru-san did. It undoubtedly makes things easier if that were the case, but…as I got to see her and talk to her more, I stopped seeing the superficial brash tomboy she often lets the world perceive and saw…a girl who just loves my daughter…and the more she lets us see this, the guiltier I become for being the obstacle in the way of our daughter's happiness.
"I want to slap myself sometimes for doing this to my own daughter…but we're too far into this to turn back now and the only thing I can think of doing is to keep going…because there is a light at the end of the tunnel…and even though they'll be together…I wonder if Michiru-chan will forgive us for putting them through this."
Shinji gulped at his wife's morose words and rubbed his face with his open palms tiredly. The elder female Kaioh got up from the sofa and straightened her clothes up, looking down at the aqua haired man as she did so.
"When Tenoh-san gets back…we need to be more civil," she stated resolutely. "I know it goes beyond what we did before, but—
"I know…I agree," Shinji said lowly and nodded. Looking up at her, his frown disappeared and a smile flitted over his handsome features. "How do you think she'll be as best man?"
A passive chuckle came out of Shina as mischief passed over the elder male Kaioh's face. "Trained…definitely. She will be Michiru-chan's bridesmaid and there isn't much of a difference regarding the job description…"
"Do you think Jiro-kun would mind?"
"I think he'd understand."
"Me too."
The light at the end of the tunnel just got brighter.
O--O--O--O--O
The days passed by in relative calm. Michiru called her at a daily basis…asked her out on a daily basis…and she refused or simply said she couldn't…on a daily basis. She didn't think it would be this painful to refuse the smaller woman…but when she hears her melodic, soft voice in the other line, she couldn't help, but slap herself afterwards for saying she was too busy for a little get together or meal. She hadn't seen her in well over four days and according to her mother who called only a night back, she would be back tomorrow which only meant she had to go back to planning the wedding tomorrow. She was dreading it, but at the same time looking forward to it. She didn't know what Shina and Shinji were going to do now that they knew what she was doing, but she hoped they would help if only to make this whole detachment mission faster. She would have to play the role of her life in the presence of the woman that surrounded her entire being; she wondered briefly if her mask was that good…Phone conversations were easy…Michiru wouldn't be able to detect the lie in her eyes whenever she stated that she was busy with an upcoming meeting or simply had too much paperwork to take care of. If she simply followed her Not to Do list…she figured she would be just fine…although that in itself was hard for her to do already.
"Tenoh!!"
She looked up from her reverie at the yell that erupted outside her doorway and stared at it in blank confusion for a second.
Was that…Jiro-kun?
Her door forcibly swung open, causing it to thud amidst the wall it just collided into as a disheveled, black suit, black tie wearing Sugiura Jiro came pouncing up at her door, his face one of sheer…anger.
"Where the hell have you been?!"
Is he kidding?
She scratched her head up at his livid form for a second as he stomped to her desk and smacked his open palm against it. Detecting the little hurt that flashed in his eyes, she chuckled at him and leaned back in her chair.
"Your hand okay?"
"Oh, don't give me that crap! Answer my question!" he yelled loudly while rubbing his bruised palm mechanically.
"Well it should be so obvious that…I've been busy with work—
"You said you wouldn't run away! Coward!"
"I'm…not running away…"
"Oh really? You know how Michiru's like without you right now? A wreck! She's quiet all the time! All she does is nod unless she really, really hates something and when that's the case, all she does is refuse! For the past three days we've been in every damn bridal shop in the entire Tokyo area and we can't even get a tuxedo for me because she hates how all of them look like!"
"What does this have to do with me?"
"It has everything to do with you! Everything she does has something to do with you!"
"Sugiura quit yelling…"
"You know, I've just about had it up to here with you," he seethed, putting his hand in front of him. "Spar, downstairs, right now!"
She was baffled for a second, then asked, "Are you serious?"
"Do I look like I'm kidding?"
"I…yeah. You look…like a joke to me right now."
"Oh, there goes Mr. Sarcastic! I'm serious as hell. I haven't been this stressed out since this entire thing started and everything would've been alright if you hadn't played your damn martyr role to such a freakin' extent! I need a punching bag…and if that punching bag isn't you, it won't do. Downstairs…par…right now. If you don't come within the next ten minutes, we're sparring in here!"
And with that, he left the room, banging her office door loudly in his wake. She laughed hollowly for a second.
What the hell just happened?
She scratched her head again in momentary confusion before getting up and going out of her office, her secretary looking at her with widened, asking eyes.
"I…don't know," she said accompanied with a shrug. "Don't ask…"
She strode to the elevators and pressed on the gym button located at the very bottom. She leaned into the elevator railings and sighed.
According to Jiro, Michiru wasn't faring real well. If anything, the violinist was right…Her continued presence at the wedding planning was important…else Jiro wouldn't have come over her place of business and begged her to come back—she figured insisting on a spar was his way of begging.
The doors opened to reveal even bigger, double sided doors before her. Opening one, she stepped foot into the spacious workout room, many thread mills and other exercising machines littering the floor and glancing to her left saw the blue sparring pad where Jiro currently stood, his long sleeves rolled up to his elbows and in the middle of untying his black silk tie. The entire floor was seemingly empty.
"Sugiura—
"Shut up and get ready," he snapped. "I'm not going to wait for you."
She sighed at his childishness and walked up to the pad, took her shoes and blazer off and discarded them on the corner of the mat. Seeing her take her shoes off, the tall man did so as well and waited for her as she rolled up her sleeves and untied her yellow tie.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
As soon as the question came out of her lips, he blindly charged her and she almost chuckled out loud at seeing all the openings he showed. Her eyes darted at his head and thought, Nope, Michiru would definitely not want to marry him if he was sporting a black eye, although it was soooo open and she definitely could knock him out with one blow if she wanted to.
A kick in the midriff? That would definitely hurt, but…if she were to be completely honest with herself, she liked Jiro and although he came here today to her in an almost comically funny manner, it was based on good pretenses. A couple throws it is…
It was fine anyway…he owed her a little beating especially after kissing Michiru…He's done it more recently than her…bastard…
She blocked a punch from his left hand, dodged one from his right and as he regained composure from her defensive stance, she grabbed his right hand with her left, grasped his collar with her right, swept her right leg from under him and pushed him with the force of her forearm and elbow roughly, his body sprawling across the floor.
He got up instantly and charged her again, his right fist coming up to her for a jab. She dodged it easily enough, clutched his arm tightly, turned around, and threw his entire body over her hip, his back once again landing roughly on the pad.
He got up again, a little slower this time and she could see the bated breaths coming from his tired figure. Breathing in loudly, he yelled as he charged at her with his right fist again and she outwardly rolled her eyes. She ducked his incoming jab, swept herself under him with her left hand clung firmly with his right arm, and with her right hand grabbed a hold of his right leg, carried him on her shoulders and hunched back, and threw him none so gracefully over, his entire body making a dull smack as it made contact with the blue mat.
"Oww…okay…okay…oww…"
"We done?"
"Yes…yes, we are…"
She sighed loudly and stretched her arm out to help him up, but he only looked at her with a painful expression.
"The mat's comfortable…" he grunted. "I don't want to get up yet…I think you dislocated one of my vertebral disks…"
She laughed loudly and sat down beside his laying body, her hands propping her up from behind her as she did so.
"You alright?"
"We'll…see…"
"I have a black belt in judo…"
"I…I know…now…"
She shrugged. "Well…I was going to do a palm strike on your face 'cuz that area was so open, but I don't think Michiru would want to marry you even more if you had a huge bruise in the middle of your face accompanied with a broken nose so I figured, 'Ehh…just toss him around…'"
"Thanks…appreciate it…"
"Yeah, you're welcome."
They sat and laid in silence for a bit before Jiro started making his way up in a sitting position as well, grunting every now and then and rubbing his back.
"Is it…normal to feel dizzy?"
"Yeah…sit down. I'll fetch you some water."
Haruka got up and strode over to a nearby vending machine, swiped her card over it, and got two water bottles for her and the hurting man. She walked back to him and handed it over, sitting back down to his right as he opened it and took a few chugs down.
"Thank you," he stated and wiped some water and sweat from his face with his sleeves.
They sat again in silence, drinking from their water bottles every now and then before Jiro gave an outward loud sigh.
"What?"
"Why?" he asked and turned to her with a defeated look.
"Why what?"
"Why…did you yield?"
Haruka looked away and drank some more of her water down. "The Kaiohs told you?"
"Yeah…"
She shrugged casually. "I was done with all the fighting."
"It's just two more weeks Haruka-san…"
"Nh…I'll try my best to make you look like the perfect husband within these next two weeks."
"You suck…"
"I'm not going completely away you know…Just…enough so that Michiru and her parents can live their lives peacefully."
"They can live their lives peacefully with you around."
"Were you in the same room all those times the Kaiohs and I had a verbal squabble 'cuz if that's living peacefully together then that is a distorted view on life in general…"
"They'll live…Shinji oji-san and Shina oba-san are just being hard asses…What happened to just…showing them your undying love for their daughter?"
"Didn't work…."
"You need more effort—
"Yeah, just like you need to show more effort in being Michiru's husband."
Jiro sighed and drenched his face with the cold contents of the bottle. "Michiru doesn't love me….She never will—
"Your attitude sucks too—
"Aren't you supposed to be like…sabotaging my wedding more than helping it bearing fruit?"
"Sabotaging your wedding would cause suffering on Michiru's end…why would I want to do that?"
"Cuz Michiru will suffer more in the end if you don't…"
The blonde sighed and swept her hands tiredly over her face. "As far as I'm concerned, I need Michiru more than she needs me. I'm the reason why she fights with her parents all the time and the main reason why this entire wedding got a speedy delivery in the first place. I've caused her a lot of trouble. For me to go away would probably be more than a blessing to her than a curse—
"You wouldn't be saying that if you saw her…" the red haired man said quietly and looked at his feet thoughtfully. "Before I saw her around you…I thought I knew her. I thought she was a pretty easy girl to read. A little more complicated than some of the women I've been around, but nevertheless, I knew her. And then you came along…and…I realized that I never knew her at all. She's so different when you're around. She doesn't have this wall that's constantly guarded…she can bring it down, if only for a matter of hours. I've never seen a genuine smile from her…until you came and showed me how beautiful she really was. I've never seen her truly laugh…but I bet you have. And it's just…these little things that the two of you do…that makes me realize that…even if you could make me the perfect husband to her…I would never come close…just because in the end, it's up to her to open up to me…and if she had you…why would she?"
Haruka gulped the heavy feeling in her chest down and looked ahead of her in silent melancholy.
"I don't know what you're planning to do…but I hope this resolve that you have right now breaks. For her sake, for yours, for this wedding's…Try your little plan out and if you can make it succeed while seeing her deteriorate around you as you do so…by all means good luck. But know when to give it up. Know that…you're going to be hurting her by doing this because even if you don't think you mean much to her…you probably mean…the world…to her…and if you go away…well…I don't want to know how she'd be like at the end of it…but promise me that when it starts to fail…and you know in your heart that you're hurting her…stop. Just…stop and let things take its course."
Onyx locked with emeralds seriously before the tomboy broke their glance, and with a conflicted and tired look upon her face…nodded.
"She's not mine…she never will be," Jiro stated evenly. "I haven't completely gotten it over my head yet, but the thought is lingering there…and in due time, I'll get over it. Before we get married…straighten your feelings out with Michiru. Let her know exactly how you feel. Don't let it just go away…You should be more selfish and just…do things your way. Your happiness versus everyone else's misery. It doesn't make sense for people around you to be happy and you to be sad or mad or depressed. I've already said it before…this wedding is nothing, but a pretense. If Michiru loves you too…you're probably the only person in this entire world I wouldn't mind her having an 'affair' with."
Haruka laughed hollowly and rubbed her temples with her fingers.
"But…you should come join us soon. I haven't seen her smile in a while…Perfect husband or not…I can't do it. I can't make her happy for my life…so come in…do what you have to do and if you make her cry…throw yourself in a brick wall first and then confess…cuz I really, really think your little show of…martyrism's only going to bite you back in the ass in the end."
The tomboy sighed and got up, looking at the sitting man as she did so. "I'm not trying to be a martyr…I just don't want her and her parents to be in bad terms anymore…"
"That's between them Haruka-san…They're only picking you as another thing to squabble about—
"And I'm a sore subject…I don't want them to fight over me. Michiru…she needs her family far more-so than her friend. I completely and utterly believe that. That's the reason why I'm standing down. The Kaiohs don't like me…Michiru loves her family, I love Michiru…it doesn't make sense for me to not be the one to yield."
"What if Michiru loves you more than her family?"
Haruka shook her head vehemently. "That's just it…I don't want her to choose Sugiura…She already lost her sister…why should she lose her parents too? For me? I'm not worth it!"
"I think if there's anyone worth it, it would be you…for her anyway," Jiro stated and sighed, rubbing his back painfully as he did so. "My back's pounding…can you help me up?"
The blonde smirked, stuck her hand out good naturedly and linked with his, pulling him up to her as he grunted loudly in pain, his free hand going to his back to clutch it once more.
"This…never happened…"
"Your ass getting handed to the mat repeatedly by me?" Haruka asked amusedly with a smirk.
"Never…happened…" Jiro muttered, punched his back in hopes of easing the pain there and making it hurt more. "Yeah…okay…oww…I'm gonna jet. Oji-san and oba-san are probably wondering where I went for a quick bite of lunch…"
"Everything at Kaioh-Miroku going alright?" she asked as they made their way out of the training room and into the elevators, the tall woman pressing the first floor button for Jiro and going with him to see him out.
The red haired man nodded and sighed tiredly. "A lot of on the field jobs right now. I feel like…I'm doing the same thing over and over sometimes…Job description over at the main building got heavier too. I'm under a lot of scrutiny from the board so I have to do my best to perform. My father's doing all he can to show that I'm the only future viable for Kaioh-Miroku, but right now I'm not sure what everyone else thinks."
"Sounds rough."
"Yeah…So come back soon…take some of the responsibility of being a fiancé off my back." He laughed and patted her on the shoulder as she gave an exasperated chuckle.
As they left the elevator and graced the main floor of Tenoh Corporation, the onyx eyed man turned to her for a second before giving a condescending smirk.
"Just to spite you, I won't play the part of a perfect husband…just so your plan goes out in smoke. See you later."
She could only sigh in heavier exasperation.
O--O--O--O--O
She hadn't seen Haruka in well over five days. She had spoken to her…two days ago. It was impossible yesterday seeing as she was in meetings all day long and a simple, "Hi" on the phone was not even doable. She felt as if the blonde was getting farther and farther away.
What if she won't come back and help with the wedding preparations? She was dreading that phone call in which the tomboy would clearly state that she can't come to the wedding because of another meeting or even worst…just didn't want to be her maid of honor anymore.
She could picture Yoshiko coming back, but Haruka would still claim to be busy…and she didn't know why she seemed so distant all of the sudden, but she wished she wasn't testing her ability to cope…because she couldn't. Not when it dealt with having to go without her brash tomboy by her side.
"You…need to learn how to lean on Jiro-kun."
I don't want to… Michiru thought brashly to herself, the familiar pangs in her body crying out again and her temple beginning that endless throb she had become so familiar of. I don't need anyone else, but her…why can't she see that?
"What do you think about this one?"
She looked up at the unsure face sported by her fiancé and gave a momentary glance at everyone who seemed to be looking at her. They had only been in the bridal shop for fifteen minutes and she was already tired…When were they going to end this?
Jiro stood before her wearing a black suit with a dark green vest and dark green bow tie over a white dress shirt. She didn't like it…she didn't really know why…but she didn't…so she shook her head. She…didn't want to do this anymore.
The tall man didn't question her decision, sighed, and went back in the dressing room, probably to try something else on.
For the past few days all they had been doing is trying clothes the groom would wear. They hadn't even scratched the surface concerning her wedding dress yet. Maybe she had been refuting because she didn't want to try one on…it seemed like a death sentence…but it would only be a matter of time before her parents would probably pick for her or Jiro would just pick one he considered good enough and she would have to look at all the dresses she would have to wear for the day of reckoning.
Right now…the stalling technique would have to do, and when she looked back up, she found Jiro wearing a suit with a pink vest and tie this time, an asking look on his face. She shook her head silently again.
"Eww…pink…Jiro-kun likes girly colors…"
Sapphires widened at the familiar, husky voice behind her and turned around, a playful and disgusted look pasted on Haruka's handsome face. Her heart leapt in her throat at the sight of the tomboy…and she couldn't even voice out a simple hello. The tall woman bowed in greeting to the rest of the people in the room, her bow a little lower to her parents and gave her a smile before sitting down on an empty chair beside her mother to her right. Shinji was to Michiru's left and Keiko sat there silently next to him on another plush chair.
"No pink then?" Jiro asked, smiling widely at Haruka's direction.
"Here…I'll go with you," the blonde said and stood back up. "We'll probably have to wear something similar for the wedding anyway so if they see a matching duo, it may look better."
"Very good idea," Shinji said and nodded in agreement. "I'll come too. If it looks better on a duo, a trio would look astounding."
Her father deliberately joining Haruka in the same room? She looked at him questioningly for a second and almost refuted…given that he and Haruka together in the same premises was already a bad idea, until the young CEO nodded as well.
"Sounds good," she said with a smile and without a word to any of the ladies, went to the back of the secluded room to try on another suit.
She was immediately worried. The last time she left the blonde with her parents, they had, no doubt, another round of squabbling. She hoped her father would turn it down this time around because she missed her…and if she were to leave because of them again, this time around would be unforgivable. They wouldn't want her to choose between them and Haruka—they would lose miserably.
"It'll be fine dear," Shina said suddenly from beside her. She looked at her questioningly as her mother continued, "I spoke to your father and told him to act a little more civilly for everyone's sanity in this wedding. He's probably trying to make amends by joining them, not start a fight."
She gave a little smile of thanks and nodded. She hoped so…
A little over ten minutes later and all three of them came back from the backroom, the alterationist getting up from her seat as soon as they entered. Everyone wore black trousers and blazers, the vest color a soothing and soft hued yellow and the tie, the same. She looked passed her father and Jiro and could only see Haruka. She missed her…
The smile on the blonde's face was like that little jilt she needed to wake up and when she laughed at something Jiro said, it was the first time in the last few days in which even she noticed that her own face had cracked a smile.
"Yes?" the red haired man asked with hope glittering in his eyes.
"She's smiling…we could have a winner," the tomboy joked at which she just gave a small chuckle.
She eyed their alterationist from beside her father who beckoned for two more women on standby. One of them, a very pretty young lady gave the young CEO a little elevator look before grazing her hand all over her shoulder…
"No, I don't like it."
Everyone stopped and stared at her for a second before Jiro shrugged helplessly once again and turned back around muttering something about women and complications. Her father joined him soon after and Haruka merely gave her a small, unfamiliar look before going after them as well, leaving the alterationists where they used to be.
"What was wrong with that last one?" Shina asked as she received a questioning glance.
"Won't match with the wedding theme," she said easily, gave a passing look at the disappointed face of the new alterationist and sighed inwardly.
She won't be able to do her job properly that's for sure…the violinist wasn't going to let just some woman touch her Haruka after she hadn't been able to do it for days on end. She stood up, surprising her quiet wedding planner and mother, and strolled to the back room, hearing the blonde question about picking between a bow tie and a regular one.
"Bow tie," she answered softly, surprising all of them with her voice when she parted the curtain.
"Alright, so bow tie…" the red haired man stated in exasperation. "Color?"
"Let's try…aquamarine? It's an in-between place between green and blue," the blonde offered. "If anything, we can get their softest or lightest hue so it's not so overbearing to the eye…"
"It should be fine," Shinji said off-handedly. "It's just the waistcoat and the tie that'll be colored differently…and the all important handkerchief on the pocket of the blazer. Black is fine for the trouser and dinner jacket though dear daughter?"
She nodded, her eyes repeatedly straying towards Haruka who was busying herself with looking at the different waistcoats around the small backroom they were in.
"Got it," the tall woman stated, pulled a soft colored aquamarine waistcoat out of the many clothes behind her and turned around for her to survey the color. "Yes, no, maybe so?"
"Try it?"
"Okay, go outside and wait for us."
She wanted to speak with her…alone…
"Come on Michiru. I'm sure everyone wants to get outta here as much as you do," the tomboy said and shooed her with a wave of dismissal with her hands, turned around, and went into one of the dressing stalls.
She looked after her for a moment before nodding, already knowing that she can't see it anyway and went out of the backroom. Haruka seemed different to her somehow. She didn't know what it was yet, but something was different…she could feel it.
The violinist made her way back to her chair, avoiding the questioning look her mother gave her and waited silently for the "guys" to come back out and show them how the new suits looked.
Five more minutes and they came out wearing black trousers and blazers and the waistcoats, tie, and a small handkerchief to the right of the blazer, a soft aquamarine color. The alterationists flocked over them again and she had to fight the urge to stop the same pretty girl from putting her hands all over Haruka…the blonde seemed to be enjoying it anyway.
"Yes? Please? Yes?" the tall, red haired man asked, eyeing her with a pleading expression.
She gave a momentary glance at the blonde who was smirking at something the alterationist must've said and nodded. "Looks good. Have it altered to your liking and…we should be set in picking the dresses. Will Hanako-chan be coming soon?"
"Hanako?" Haruka asked as she gave them an asking glance before looking back down at the girl before her, fixing her bow tie and giving her small smiles as she did so.
"My sister slash best man," Jiro explained.
"Oh…you have a sister?"
"Nh, younger. Just came back from Brown University in America a couple nights ago."
"I see," the blonde nodded. "So…the person who'll look like the best man will be Michiru's maid of honor and the one wearing the dress will be the best man?"
"Technically…"
"We should switch."
What?
Michiru's eyebrows furrowed as Haruka gave a noncommittal shrug following her all too quickly stated idea.
"Well…your sister and I should switch since it'll look better. I'll be your best man and your sister can be Michiru's maid of honor. It'll look better for the audience…they wouldn't wonder why everything's so…backwards…"
"What should it matter what they'll say?" the violinist asked, eyeing the tomboy as she did so and the frown in her face obvious to everyone in the room.
"I'm just saying," the blonde stated. "It's all a matter of show, so yeah…it should matter what they say. It's not like it'll make a big difference anyway…me being maid of honor or not. I'll still be there…" She said all this without looking at her and focusing her attention on the alterationist. "Yeah, the trousers and sleeves are a little long so I'll need those revised as well as the back. It's tight…I need it just a bit more loosely."
"You don't want to be my maid of honor?"
"Michiru don't make unimportant things a big deal."
She might as well have been slapped in the face.
"Let's talk in private."
"Seriously?"
"At least look at me when I'm talking to you then Haruka!"
Emeralds met sapphires and the whole room was encompassed in a silent blanket. She was hurt…the lump in her throat lodged there tightly. Her hands curled into frustrated balls as the tomboy moved out of the spot in front of the alterationist and walked over to her, a frown marring her handsome features.
She stopped three feet away from her and looked at her with an irritated and asking look. "What?"
The violinist searched deeply in her eyes…for what she didn't really know, but maybe a clue as to why she was acting this way. She couldn't find anything…
"I'm not trying to insinuate anything Michiru," Haruka said easily, and shrugged again for good measure. "Everyone knows this is for show. It's a real wedding…but the people invited are only there to see its continuance. Why should it make a difference whether or not I'm your maid of honor?"
Because it's my wedding…and I at least want you to be there right beside me for it…
"It'll make more sense if I were to be Jiro-kun's best man. I'm not trying to say I don't want to be your maid of honor. It'll just look backwards…and with the people that are expected to be there, it'll look stupid…and I doubt anyone in Kaioh-Miroku want it to look…stupid…" The tomboy began to turn around back to the alterationist and stated finally, "But it's up to you. I don't care where I go personally. Best man or maid of honor…doesn't matter much to me. It's all the same in the end."
She felt hollow inside. She thought of all people Haruka would understand why it was imperative for her to be right beside her during this whole event. And now…she doesn't even really care. There was just…indifference. Biting, harsh, indifference.
"Stay as her maid of honor Tenoh-san, I—
"No," she said quietly, cutting her father off. "She's right…We'll change it. Hanako-chan will be my maid of honor."
It was obvious Haruka didn't care. She wondered if she cared at all before. Maybe having a few days off of these hectic preparations gave her an insight as to what was really important to her…and noticed that she was putting too much thought at a wedding that meant absolutely nothing.
She sat back down on her seat as her entire body pounded in pain. Across the room, the tomboy could only look away and bite her bottom lip roughly, her hands automatically curling into fists she wanted to smack her own face with.
O--O
Hanako finally arrived about twenty minutes later into a quiet party that seemed in a standstill. Shinji, Jiro, and Haruka were kept busy with the alterationists across the room while the bride-to-be sat quietly in her chair, her mother standing near her ex-husband to see if the alterationist was doing her job properly while Keiko remained sitting, sunglasses over her eyes and possibly sleeping on the job.
Truth be told, Haruka was over this whole fitting deal and was seriously thinking her alterationist was just doing slow and deliberate movements to touch her more…She glanced over her shoulder to look at Michiru who hadn't left her spot and at their new party member.
Hanako was a cute twenty five year old with cascading reddish brown, shoulder length hair and the signature Sugiura onyx eyes. She was as tall as the violinist and had a kind of happy air about her, her wide smile and white teeth flashing continuously and doing an overall good job at making the ice she stumbled upon thaw if only a little.
"Haruka-san, come meet my sister," the red haired man stated and beckoned her to him.
She gave a brief apologetic smile at the suddenly pouting alterationist and inwardly rolled her eyes. She strode to them and stood beside Jiro, flashing what she hoped didn't look like her automatic flirty smile because apparently, she had the knack of accidentally flashing it when she met new cute girls.
"Haruka-san, my younger sister Hanako. Hanako-chan, Tenoh Haruka," the tall man stated and swept his hands between them to get his point across.
The blonde gave a little nod of her head as the girl before her smiled widely, her eyes looking every bit mischievous.
"Playboy Tenoh. Nice to meet you."
"Uhh…err…"
Haruka rolled her eyes at the simple introduction as she looked at Jiro who could only scratch his head embarrassingly.
"She goes to school in America, but loves Japanese gossip, what can I say?" he asked while giving the young woman a look that told her to shut up for a second.
But she wouldn't. Her smile only widened more as she asked, "Is it true that you bedded five women at one time and even had the stamina to go for one more round each?"
"What?" the tall man asked, his eyes widening in shock as Haruka grasped her head tightly.
She didn't even want to know if Michiru heard, read, or was looking at her at the moment because someone actually saying that particular gossip was, to say the least, mortifying for her.
"Well is it?"
"Hanako-chan, that's enough!" her older brother seethed and pushed her shoulder away. And then looked at Haruka with a kind of awed look in his face.
"Tch…Wipe that damn look off your face," she muttered to him and looked at the red haired girl in front of her. "No of course that's not true…"
"What is then? Four? Six?"
She rolled her eyes outwardly at her and turned around. "Some reporter woman made it up about me after I refused to take her home…It happened—
"Three years ago," Hanako stated cheekily. "Good gossip never leaves though."
She sighed loudly. "Apparently not. And neither does my nickname…"
"Oh? You want a new one? To celebrate my breakthrough in Japanese magazine columns maybe? What about…Tenoh Pimpology?"
Her mouth opened in shock.
"Yeah…she umm…just got done studying journalism…" the onyx eyed man stated uneasily and coughed into his hand.
"You should've asked Shou to be your best man instead of your sister and let her stay in America," she said loudly, earning a tongue sticking from Hanako.
"Since when have you and my brother been friends anyway? He's not exactly…cool…"
"I hate you…"
Haruka laughed. Guess they had a few things they could agree easily on.
"Oh, there's a slight change of plans by the way," Jiro stated while looking at his sister. "You are now Michiru's maid of honor. Haruka-san's my best man…just so you know."
"Makes sense…" She looked behind her at Michiru who sat farther away, her attention on her parents that were still trying to make the clothes fit correctly. "Is she okay by the way? She doesn't look happy at all…"
The red haired man sighed and gave a brief look to Haruka, one she just avoided. "Yeah…she'll be fine. Just trying to get over the last minute changes…" He then walked to Haruka and punched her shoulder, earning a death glare from her that he returned willingly. "That was uncalled for by the way…You know how much that means to her."
"It shouldn't matter," the tomboy said and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'll still be there…It's virtually the same—
"It's not and you know it…And just so you know, your plan for making her happy is completely in the gutter right now… 'cuz her face right now is definitely not a happy one my friend."
She sighed and glanced at the violinist's unmoving spot, her eyes trained on her parents' figures. She knew what she was doing when she proposed it…knew what she was definitely insinuating when she said it…but some sacrifices needed to be made…and if she was the sacrifice, Michiru needed to be willing to let her go…as her friend and confidante…She then looked at Hanako who took the seat beside her and began the arduous task of conversing, the violinist's eyes so far from interested, but spoke because of her manners.
"Were they ever close?"
Jiro turned to where she was looking at and glanced at the aqua haired woman and his sister. "Hanako-chan and Michiru?"
"Yeah. They're practically the same age so…were they ever close?"
The red haired man nodded. "Yeah, they were playmates during elementary school and hung around one another during junior high and high school. Pretty good friends from what I remember because Yui and I were friends and when we left, they usually hung out together."
Haruka nodded. "Good…I just got my replacement then…"
He gave her a dead pan stare. "Are you serious?"
Emeralds looked at her solemnly. "Of course I'm serious…Michiru sees me as a friend and if she had another one, we could share the responsibility as being so until she leans more on the other party member than me—
"You make her sound more like a responsibility than anything…"
"It's my psyche I think…I feel like a jerk today…"
"I can see that…Don't overdo it…you're going to make her cry."
"The day she cries is the day I'll stop."
"And if she cries today?"
"Guess I'll stop today…But she won't…It's not like her to cry in front of people." The blonde gave a shrug and then sighed at herself. "Do you think I can make her hate me?"
"Hate you? Michiru? No…"
"Because if trying to slip away takes too long…maybe I should just try the hate approach…be the absolute biggest jerk in the world and…make her hate me."
"Haruka-san…no…" Jiro stated exasperatedly. "You're an asshole…I can't believe you're actually thinking of going this far to get away. You really believe she'll be happy hating you?"
The tomboy sighed, her head spinning in dangerous circles. "I need to start distancing myself…"
"She has a charity benefit tonight."
"I know."
"She has tickets for you…"
"I'll…decline them…Off handedly say that since your sister just got back in town that she would probably want to join her instead…"
The red haired man shook his head disappointingly. "Hate it that you thought of it already…"
"I have tickets…really bad ones…I'll watch from afar…that's enough for me."
They looked at each other evenly as Jiro gave her what seemed to be a look of pity before sighing loudly and shaking his head some more.
"We'll be done today after we're done with fitting by the way," the tall man said and patted his suit down. "Maid of honor and bride's dress tomorrow. You'll be here?"
She nodded, already dreading it. To see Michiru in her soon to be wedding dress would be the proverbial icing on the cake…She's going to have to strengthen her resolve of indifference especially in regards for tomorrow…God knows her body wouldn't be as focused as her already so jumbled mind.
She hurt her today…this much was true. Her little off handed statements about being a maid of honor unimportant to her was the low blow Michiru probably thought she would never hear from her. But it was a good move in order to distance herself…and even if she felt like crap…and the violinist felt like crap as well…she was resolute on keeping it up…if only for that silver lining she was hoping for at the end of this stormy ordeal.
Fifteen more minutes and she had reiterated everything she wanted done with her suit to a still starry eyed alterationist. Going to the dressing room, she put the clothes she came in with back on and sighed in dismay at the little card with a phone number inserted sneakily inside her jacket pocket. She scratched her head in annoyance and came out, startling herself at seeing Michiru waiting for her at the door of the dressing area. She quickly regained composure.
"What's up?" she asked and kind of wanted to smack herself at sounding so damn…insensitive so damn easily.
She could see the tiredness rolling in the aqua haired woman's whole body, but didn't take her in her arms as she normally would, regardless of how badly her body and mind were screaming at her to do it. Instead, she casually stuffed her hands in her pockets and continued to look at her in askance.
Michiru looked like she was at a loss on what to say for a moment and finally looked up at her, a small tired smile gracing her features.
"I have a charity event tonight…I was able to cram it in because of the half days. I was hoping you would come as my guest."
She could already tell it was hard for her to even mention it, let alone invite her, but her resolve would not break. She wouldn't let it.
She shook her head. "I can't. I have to go back to Tenoh Corporation right after this. Mother needs me."
"Not even for a couple hours?" the violinist asked smiling ruefully, her eyes beginning to cast downwards.
"I don't have that much free time anymore…but…here…" She pushed the guilt eating her inside and saw Hanako just across the room. "Sugiura-san!" she called, earning her attention. She waved her to them as Michiru gave her an asking look. When she reached them, Haruka stated noncommittally, "Michiru needs someone to accompany her to her concert. Would you like to go?"
"Oh!" the onyx eyed woman said with pronounced glee. "Is it for Distant?"
They both looked at her as she gave a defeated nod. "Yeah…charity benefit. I'll be doing songs mostly from my new album."
"Oh, I bought it. It sounds wonderful Michiru-chan. Of course I'll go with you! I'd be an idiot to turn it down…"
"Call me idiot…that's fine by me," the tomboy joked and forcibly laughed at her own joke, the violinist not joining her easygoing chuckles. "This is fine though right?" she asked the smaller woman before her. "Sugiura-san taking my spot?"
She only nodded, looked at her one more time with infinitely saddened eyes before turning around and leaving without another word.
She felt a part of her resolve completely die as Michiru walked farther and farther away.
O--O
She felt like crying, but wouldn't for the sake of her make up that have already been meticulously framed over her face. She and Haruka parted not too long after her turned down request, the blonde not even giving her a passing look back or a mere goodbye. When her back was turned, she left, with not a single word to her.
The heaviness in her heart had been pronounced the entire day since Haruka's cold statement in declining her maid of honor status, but she hadn't let one lone tear out. Instead, she busied herself with the preparations for this new concert that she had asked to do a few days back to make her afternoons seem shorter, and now that they were all just waiting for the show to begin and she was in her dressing room, all she could do was look down at the floor aimlessly.
She wondered why Haruka was so different all of the sudden…Ever since that day she visited her in her office she had basically avoided her like a plague. They never met up again and their phone conversations weren't even conversations…Rather, they were clipped hellos and all too sudden goodbyes.
But what she did today was what broke the camel's back…
She must've known it was important to her…so why did she just up and suddenly decide that for herself? She didn't even ask her about it! She just…tossed the matter in the air like some sort of easy subject, picked at it, and let her clean it up afterwards.
It hurt…knowing her feelings didn't matter. It hurt how casually and easily the blonde did it. It hurt…that it was treated like it wasn't a big deal when it meant the world to her.
And now…she didn't or couldn't even spend a few hours of her time in a supposed day off since it's the weekend and it should be the tomboy's day off…she was declined so easily…when she was fighting with herself the entire time on whether or not to ask…
Distant…Haruka was distant…She hated that she was unreachable…and smiled ruefully at the fact that she was too unimportant to be able to do anything about it.
"Ready? We're about to start," Shizuka called from behind her making her nod automatically.
She needed to wipe the depressed look in her face and dive into her music…but it was kind of hard…seeing as her music revolved around a blonde woman who didn't seem to care about her anymore.
Lifting her head up with a determined look upon her face, she grasped the handle of her violin and walked out of the dressing room, pass her manager, some of the stage crew, and finally onto the opened stage, a vivacious round of applause greeting her. She smiled hollowly, greeted her guests noncommittally as she stood in front of the standing microphone, lifted her violin to her, and began playing.
She had been doing this for the better part of the week and it scared her how automatic it all was…playing composition after composition without even thinking. Even Self-Assured was done in auto mode and it didn't feel like she was losing herself in her music—more like detaching herself from it. She felt like a separate entity…that her feelings when she wrote these notes were from a different girl from a different life. But in the middle of the concert when she started to play Distant, she found herself again and her eyes that had been closed the entire time opened as her vision became blurrier and blurrier by the second.
As her fingers pressed on the right strings and her bow danced gracefully before her, her tears began swimming out and in her vision, she could only see the cold and all too sudden distant blonde.
"You…should learn how to lean on Jiro-kun."
"Why should it make a difference whether or not I'm your maid of honor?"
"This is fine though right? Sugiura-san taking my spot?"
Her heart burst in pain, the lump in her throat seemingly lodged there permanently…and she couldn't stop the flow of tears from coming out. She knew it was probably apparent to the people sitting in the first few rows…but couldn't do anything about it anyway…so she just let it go.
I don't want to lean on Jiro…he's not strong enough to support me like you are. I don't love him enough to let him support me…there would be no one who can do so, but you.
It means the world to me that you're by my side as my maid of honor. Feeling your presence behind me one hundred percent of the way is the only push I'd need to say my "I do's" properly. It's not enough that you're merely there…you have to be beside me. The people in the room needs to know that you're there for my sake…not as a best man and definitely not for Jiro…You're there for me.
This isn't fine…Nothing's fine…nothing's alright. Don't ask a silly question like some random person taking your spot…No one can.
Words that had left her in her time of need surfaced in her mind as she could only see a vision of Haruka's back to her, giving her a noncommittal shrug, and walking away without even a small goodbye.
It struck her then that they hadn't touched the entire day…Not one single time. The tomboy had smiled at her in greeting, stood before her three long feet away in conversations, and if she weren't doing these things, completely avoided or, the better word to use was, ignored her presence. She stuck with her alterationist…spoke with Hanako and Jiro…even stayed in the same dressing room to converse to her father! But did not bother to come sit beside her and ask how she was regardless of the fact that they hadn't seen or spoken to one another properly for days on end.
She felt sick to her stomach at this sudden revelation and wanted nothing more than to finish the concert already in progress. She finished Distant with a prolonged ending and as soon as the applauses were finished, she put herself on auto mode again and began playing, finishing her final score with a tired frown and the feeling of fresh, frustrated tears coming back up.
She bowed once as the applauses erupted from the crowd and made her way backstage, Shizuka looking at her worriedly and only nodding disconcertedly at her question of being okay. She needed fresh air…
She deposited her violin to the side and strode quickly outside, pushing the backdoor roughly and relishing the wind as it lashed against her face. She closed her eyes tightly if only to center herself for a moment before opening them again, the frown in her face imminent as her hands went up to press the fresh batch of tears away.
Looking straight ahead, she pressed her palm against her throbbing chest as her attention picked up an early leaver, untamed sandy locks dancing with the wild wind and emerald eyes looking up in random scrutiny, locking straight with her sapphires.
Her orbs widened in shock as Haruka looked back at her with the same expression, looking at a loss on what to do. When she didn't approach her, the violinist took it upon herself to walk towards her, across the full parking lot until they stood a few feet away from each other…and it pained her to see such an easygoing smile on the blonde's face…as if it's everyday that they meet up outside her concert venues after she had turned down an invitation.
She didn't know what to say…and she knew she looked like a mess, but she didn't care. She just hoped that Haruka would be the one to say something first.
The taller woman smirked. "Good job tonight."
She couldn't look at her straight in the face and merely stated, "I thought you couldn't come…"
"I couldn't at first…But my mother insisted on it so I decided to drop by—
"Tickets were sold out long before today…Just decidedly dropping by would've been impossible…"
"I know…I bought them a few days back…"
"And saying yes to my invitation wasn't a supposed upgrade?"
"I wasn't sure if I could make it Michiru…" she grunted, and the annoyance laced in her voice struck her core roughly. "Why should I say yes if I couldn't? I only found out earlier that I could…so I came—
"Then why not stay?"
"I have another long day tomorrow—
"I do too Haruka, but we both know a couple hours don't matter—
"They matter to me. I'm busy…that's all there is to it. I'm sorry if I seem like an unreadable clock right now, but that's how I feel. I'm always torn between working in my company and helping you out and—
"You're always free to just leave. Don't think I'm keeping you from doing what you want to really do."
She didn't know what she was saying, but every one of her frustrations were coming out in waves and she couldn't stop them even if she was given a second thought.
"I said I would stay until the end and I will. If you want me to leave that badly I can."
"I don't…I never want you to leave…But recently you don't seem as if you want to stay."
They stood in relative silence for a while before Michiru gave a hesitant, sad smile, turned around, and walked back to the concert venue.
AN: Z O M G was soooo busy this week. Three exams and it's only midterms…gah…I didn't have time to start writing until Friday and now it's 2:30 in the morning and I've only finished…-.-; talk about cutting it close…I personally enjoyed the match between Jiro and Haruka though…had me cracking up. Cuz in the back of my mind, I thought they were going to have a brawl the first time they'd fight…but of course that didn't happen cuz my mind didn't want to write it that way and well…I guess it worked out in the end. Jiro got his ass pummeled…haha. My Friday is gone…and you guys owe me a whole day. I think I've turned just a tad bit whiter since I didn't go out of my room at all and just…wrote. Gf came over and I'm like…but I gotta write bear! So she played wow instead…without me…yeah…thanks a lot guys…On a happier note, I was able to log on wow for a couple of hours yesterday, turned into a zombie (cuz it's Halloween and it's an event happening right now) and killed a bunch of low level hordies that I couldn't kill otherwise…AWESOME! On another note, I kinda…sorta…almost cried…when I wrote that scene concerning Haruka's dinner with Michiru's parents…haha…I think that's pretty funny…cuz I get into my story so easily and so quickly…anyway…I have seven "I cried" confessions and two "I almost cried" confessions…and I think that's just awesome. You shared with me…so I'll share with you. XD
Black Caballiere: I'm…cool! That's why I have to make you cry so much. Yeah, masochistic Haruka's the way to go. If she was real and she knew me, she'd kick my ass similar to how she kicked Jiro's for putting her through this. XD Oh, and reading reviews of people crying isn't boring for me…it's actually pretty fun since I'm laughing in the other side.
t.: Hehe, it's a close second to the break up chapter eh? Zomg ffn sux at reviews and cutting them off -.- they've done it to me soooo many times before and I'm just like…screw this…I don't want to review anymore…haha. Well I'm glad I turned your day depressingly hellish…it's what a prolonged angst writers are here for.
petiyaka: haha…you know…I want it to end. I desperately want them to like…kiss already…BUT MY BRAIN ISN'T GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO WRITE IT. It keeps telling me no…it's still too early…it's not the right time…not yet…and I can only follow…cuz that's what brains are for -.- Michiru lashed back rather early this chappy…let's see how they'll be next time.
Icy-Windbreeze: Yay, speechless is nice…XD How many chapters? I told someone way back when that it would be less than 20…-.- obviously it's going to be more than 20 now…so…less than 25? I'm not even completely sure anymore…I'm pretty sure it's not going to be over thirty though…that's overkill…I can't keep up with these weekly chapter updates anymore. They're killer.
Haruka Akira: My alter ego sux dood! A part of my brain actually wanted Haruka to jump Michiru in that parking lot…but nooooo. The other writer in me's going…nuh uh…that's not what you had planned…don't ruin it dumbass…and I, being who I am, conceded…/sigh. Glad her giving up state is not OOC haha…I think a lot of us can understand what she's going through though. Haha…ffn and cut off reviews…they suck. Hahaha half dead from the angst…yes…blame the alter ego author…it's not me doing it…it's…the other me. XD yep…I wrote Rai about…I think two times in this chapter…and then said ngeh okay I'm done. Hanako's new and I'll write about her though. OoOoo putting it on as a necklace? That sounds like an awesome idea…haha. Maybe I will…maybe I will. Haha engagement ring…well you know…she'll probably eventually give it to her if I decide to give you guys that deliciously sweet happy ending everyone's craving for.
glowie: haha Michiru not getting fan love…I…should I make her do something completely sad to get fan love too? What should we do about that? Prolong the story to fifty chapters? NO WAIIIIII!! Haha…sorry for the angst…I think I overdid it with this story now that I think about it. This is the last time I'm going to go, "Dood…you don't write enough prolonged angst…go for it…" cuz it's eating me up inside too. Yeah…I haven't been able to play much except yesterday…when all my exams were finally over and I decided to write all day…today…haha. I love running people over in GTA…cracks me up. XD playing the Wii is as fun as it is hazardous.
waiting4FWBupdate: haha what about…depressingly realistic?? Yeah? Yeah? I completely agree though…there comes a time when you're just like…no…nvm…I'll let go…if only for her…haha. Ease up on video games?? It's not my video games I should be worried about in conjunction with my eyesight…it's this laptop I have that I've been staring at since I woke up at 12 this afternoon and began writing.
mrerice: Haha I'm sorry you had to go to work all depressed. I think my story's making the look of being a masochist a fashion. Let's all join H&M in their never ending quest of masochism! Yeah, Shina and Shinji feel bad…but they're hoping for something to turn up. They can't do squat except make things go for the worst and since they don't plan on doing that anymore…it won't…at least something won't go bad because of them. Haruka can manage to make things fall apart all on her own.
Iatheia: haha…I kinda got the whole surprise dialogue Shina said in the beginning from reading your review. I put it in there…xD they had their customary talk…and the end result? Acting more civilly…although don't expect them to go out of the picture just yet. They're still in the middle of Plan A…or w/e letter plan they're on.
Kilohe: haha fun is the right term. I actually feel hella guilty in the middle of the week when I'm so swamped with schoolwork that I haven't written anything so…I'm trying to keep that whole updating on time gig working. Thanks for cutting back on egging my house (gimme the eggs, let me fry us some sunny side ups instead).
cpargrv: Haha dang…so straight to the point. I LOVE IT! I'm glad you're following up well on the story and I'm glad I deliver well enough time and time again. Hope you liked this chappy as well and I hope you like the rest of the story. Thanks for the taking the time to review.
shin: my readers are divided. One half are crying…the other half…rabid and wanting to strangle me. You're…I think you're teetering in the middle…but the caps lock definitely pulls you in the latter group more. :D She won't? Michiru won't fall into it? She…yeah she won't. There'll be more, "why are you being like this?" moments with them so yeah. Oh no, that schedule's reserved on Friday nights/Saturday mornings, from the time I reread my chapters, til I update. Today's more hectic than the usual…/sigh.
AlterEgoErin: Haha, too stubborn to give up. That sounds about right…but I think we can all sympathize with her. Poor, poor Haruka. Haha, well you know it will. Michiru'll make sure it's an epic fail…when she figures out she's distancing herself on purpose. Poor Michiru…poor Haruka…they would so strangle me…like you guys would…if you knew my exact address…XD
Vanessa Riverton: hahahaha. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssssssssssssssss!! Yes? XD sorry…I'm an ass sometimes. Make it all better? Not yet…maybe next chappy?
RaginFireDesire: Haruka is sweet isn't she. Michiru…there'd be more confrontations…maybe next chapter…haven't really thought of it yet. Haruka got majorly caught in this one though. Haha.
Akira-kun: Yeah…my story's like…a roller coaster/haunted house ride. It goes up and down and you never really know when it's going to take a turn for the worse...haha. ooOoOO yummy simile. You want it to go worse? We can…I can…haha. Wrote about something dealing with Kaioh-Miroku again…haha…it's like baiting meat to alligators…not a good idea, but they gotta eat…Sims!! Zomg…-.- I got into it like…two weeks ago…Sims for the Wii (which is pretty different from the others ones, but anyway) I stayed home all day playing it…My gf couldn't get me outta my room…and then the next day I was like…huh? It's only Friday…and she and my family members are like noooo it's Saturday…and I'm like…where the hell did Friday go? You were in your room…playing Sims? And I was like…oh shoot…yeah huh? Addicting…is not even the word close to that franchise…cult? Oh yeah…that's perfect…
firetiger: When will they catch a break? Haha you'll know when since it'll be nearing the end of the story. I mean…the story won't end when they finally confess…but…it'll get close to it…and then, they'll catch a break…or…I will too actually…haha.
Mantaray: I'm sorry that it's absolute crap. Hahahahaha. Double depressed yay! I laughed when you said you had to search for tissue paper XDDD yeah, angst will be the word of the next couple chapters I presume…but we'll see. I don't have a viable scene written in my head yet, but yeah…The most the Wii can do is make me sore…although I've heard stories where people dislocate their like…knee joints and stuff…how the hell??...
Thepillows93: Haha…glad I could make your day sad. She is a drama queen ain't she? Yeah…but that's what she gets for stopping for a second to think.
LaCazadora: haha an almost cried confession…nice. Glad you liked the sad chappy and hope you like this one as well.
wolvesorrow: I couldn't! I really…don't write…prolonged angst…maybe I got better with this story? I'm not sure…haha. Yeah, Shina and Shinji will be nicer…but now it's a matter of Haruka doing things that'll make things even more painful…she has her mask on hella tight. How can it get any worse? I'm not sure…should I cook something up for you to make it worse?
Swinging Cloud: tsk tsk…Haruka had to go and blow it just when they were already making progress right? Right?? XD maybe you should call me jerk all the time now…I've become immune and see it as a badge of honor. /pat it's okay to cry…XD yeah…them getting together equals more angst prior to the get together so…I'll try to make it come in soon…but for some reason my mind's just like…no…not yet…NEVAH!! Wait…wait…they will trust me…-.- Ohhh Tech week…I've heard of the whole wet and dry (rehearsals?) thingy, but I was never into theatre much to know. I took like…two trimesters of drama back in HS…improv and all that. It was fun as hell. Sounds hellish for you though. Hope it was successful!
Nekomi Kaze: yay another one to cry! Huzzah! Believe it! She has thrown that towel deep in the center of the ring. XD haha in a sudden and probably not so surprising turn of events, no…Shina and Shinji are definitely not happy that they got what they wanted…XD and :O ARASHI FAN?? Z O M G hell yeah!! Which one's your favorite? OH-CHAN!! OH-CHAN!! -.- is it obvious who mine is?
MisatoCarey24: hellow and no worries about not reviewing the last two chappies haha. I completely understand busy weeks. Yeah, guilt will be eating them up til the end. We'll see just how they decide to end it though. Hahaha so you mean to say it's like a job reading this 'cuz it takes hours to read eh? Well haha, can't argue with that.
Chumba Wumba: Hiiiiii. Welcome back. Zomg no yay for more exams…they need to die….DIEEEEEEE!! -.- I'm tired of exams…haha psychic? Well I guess…XD Yeah, I delved into character perspectives the last few chapters. I was thinking, well, it's usually on H&M's minds that we get to go into so why not see what's on the other people's? haha…yeah…they're hella bold for sleeping together in one sofa…Huzzah for achieving my goal…I think…I shouldn't write a lot of angst anymore though…Maybe I should change my story guidelines from Romance/General to Romance/Angst instead…it'd be more plausible…Didn't think it would be this sad though…and yeah…Jiro and Haruka are complete comic relievers…like this chappy for example. I can't keep the story too sad…it makes me depressed while writing. Hahahahaha a big lesbo…nice…yeah Yoshiko's tight like that. Hahahaha Michiru is hot…and yeah…gf's on aggressive mode is :D XD Satoshi as Miyagi-san XDDDD sounds…plausible. Zomg… "accurate depictions" take sooo much time out of my writing…I don't know anything about jewelry…so I had to research on rings for the wedding bands…took…FOREVER. But yeah…I was going for gemstones and I put aquamarine and amber specifically because those are H&M's favorite gemstones and if only for that reason did I put it there. Yellow diamonds are so much more enticing…well at least there's some on the side of the band. Yeah, Haruka being like that with her father stuck out in my mind too. It's definitely starting to take a toll on me…updating weekly. I'm just seeing if I'm up to the challenge of being able to do it weekly. You let a tear drop?? YES!! YEEESSS!! It makes me happy to no end when someone says they cried XD I shall try to make that silver lining appear sooner. My gf…is itching for me to get guitar hero…she begs for it like…at an almost daily basis since getting the PS3. Thanks for reviewing per chapter by the way. It amused me to no end seeing how you reacted per given chapter…not to mention a loooong one sided convo XD
Galinda Thropp: XD huzzah…one more crybaby to add to the list…:O oh…sorry…meant to be…a compliment? Haha well I'm glad I was the one to make you cry on a fic recently. Makes me damn proud…xD haha you need chocolate while reading this kind of drama…love it! Yeah…that ending…will come eventually. Sometimes I hate it that my mind makes me write in these vivid details…at the end…it seems like I'm not getting anywhere with the story…maybe a small crawl…but that's it…nevertheless, I said I wouldn't half ass it…so I won't. I can't rest properly if I do that anyway…-.-
Tigon ookami: OooOo welcome back as well. Yes, melancholic XD. I like to use words repeatedly apparently…that would be one of them. 12 chapters…holy monkeys…you had a lot to read…I've read fics in the middle of lectures…didn't get caught like you did…but…I'm kinda feeling sheepish…that…I'm popular in your law classes?? What?? XD that's funny for me…I can picture that though…you reading and then hearing the professor behind you talking and you're like…what? The case he was talking about earlier isn't about Haruka and Michiru!! XD Yay another cryer…XD Thanks for taking the time to read it though…that's a buncha reading. Guilt eats me up when I play too much and I end up writing afterwards…hell to pay indeed.
Proz-milo: haha love confession? It's been so long that I don't even know the meaning of the word anymore. Yeah…these angst-filled chappies are gonna be the death to all of us. My evil alter ego's writing it, so I have no say…
krugern: Haha I loved how Michiru was noncommittal on her rings too…and Haruka got hella depressed…-.- Yeah the board meeting cracked me up. It's so easy to write easygoing scenes like that. A LOT harder when a whole lotta angst is involved. Michiru's confused right now as to what's going on, but she'll lash back on her own way…probably. XD I love that heart wrenching feeling though…and as I wrote that I think my heart may have given a little twinge…or maybe that was my stomach telling me I'm hungry…one of the two…-.-
Haruka-Michiru: No one will break the ice! Everyone will see to it that they pine for one another FOREVER!! Haha…that's where it seems like it's going…yeah Haruka's been dealt the short end of the stick…sux for her…haha. Is that what it means when cats snore? I haven't had pets since I was like…eight…so I wouldn't know.