Helloooooooooooo there!

How ya people doing? :)

I hope people are still reading this. Many thanks for the reviews for the previous chapters. It was what made me want to post this as soon as I finished this which was yesterday. I'm so sorry it's so slow and um, I hope you like it. :D

'A tea party at a five star hotel? Swanky. At least I know the food is going to be good.'

Hiding her hands in her pockets, she made her way through the reception hall and out to the back where white finely carved garden tables greeted her amidst rose bushes of red, white, yellow, peach and pink. A wonderful sight for the eyes while sipping a cup of English tea and sampling sugary cakes; the ideal setting for the usual 'posh' member of society.

But not for her.

She rather preferred things on the traditional side. Japanese tea was more of her palate and she rather liked the tatami mats and the sounds of the bamboo fountain whenever it tilted down from the weight of the water. Although she did hate that she had to sit in seiza. It was the whole atmosphere of the tea room; quiet and peaceful and the fact that she would be immersed in her family's roots and culture every time she was there that she loved it so much.

She could never forget the first time her parents took her to her paternal grandfather's house. The mixed scents and tastes were firmly ingrained into her memories. Even the all too bitter first sip was not a memory that she could forget. Every single detail from the cleaning of the utensils to the preparation of the tea to the passing of the cup was in its own beautiful and held great meaning to her. It was the picture of her childhood days, way before her parents had left for the skies beyond.

It certainly wasn't very long before the first call of a harpy reached her ears. The sharp, high-pitched voice causing her to cringe initially. Fixing her momentary stumble, she closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them; her business smile was right in place. The woman swung her hips from side to side as she made her way towards her, the gigantic smile and quickened footsteps showing her obvious excitement.

Natsuki stopped her footsteps, preferring to let the woman come to her while she was stationary and lengthen what little time she had before facing one so perky. And when she blinked her eyes from the piercing sunlight, she was surprised to find that one had multiply into three. To her dismay, taking another blink in disbelief of what she just witnessed only served to multiply them yet again, this time into seven and from there goosebumps began to form on her arms. She almost let out a curse at the insanity of it all but thought to herself that she shouldn't be surprised; these women never come alone and are always in groups.

Make up and jewelry.

These were the features which stood out. Artificial things. Not their eyes, their nose or their teeth. Not a thing of their body. Oh wait, I forgot about the excessive amount of cleavage; so big that men could be seen stumbling as they pass by. She couldn't help but feel that there was a lack of elegance in the way they were dressed as she saw them. She simply could not understand the need for the openly show of their assets either of body or of shiny rocks. Also the ample amounts of coloured powder on their faces baffled her every time. Did these people not see that they somehow looked like aliens? She wondered what they were thinking when they looked in a mirror and stare at themselves. But she guessed it was all in preference and maybe that was why her views differed from those of the harpies. Beauty was in the eye of the beholder after all. Then again, there should be a limit to how much chemicals you are willing to put onto your face. She doubted it could be good for their health.

Bowing her head in formality and greeting, her eyes had missed a certain look exchanged between the women who were now surrounding her from left to right. The president of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), Shimada Ryoko aka leader of the harpies as she liked to call it, was the first to greet her, her purple hair donned in princess curls much like the bread rolls she used to have in elementary school.

"Thank you so much for sparing some of your time to join our little tea party, Kuga-san. Welcome! Welcome!"

Her smile reached her ears as she said this, her eager to please persona ever present. Natsuki ignored the heavy feeling in her gut and replied pleasantly to her, her gaze going past the people to the neatly stacked cakes further down the path. At the very least they did not lie about the cakes, she thought optimistically. This was after all one of the main reasons she even considered to come, another being to seem amicable to the PTA who graciously without fail, tried to invite her almost week (even going as far as to get Shizuka to extend their messages) to which she had declined vehemently until now. There was really so much she could do before they might snap against her, she thought to herself.

*flashback*

She had been fine up till now. After her first encounter with the overly bubbly parents (which she promptly named harpies thereafter), she had vowed to spend as led time as possible in their presence despite how supposedly 'advantageous' Mai had put it to be to mingle with them. She reckoned her sanity would be lost before anything of said 'advantages' would happen.

That was not a price she was willing to pay.

Having preferred to sacrifice precious moments of sleep to avoid the harpies, she usually awoke earlier and sent her daughter to school before any of the chatter bugs could catch her. Unfortunately, this particular morning, her sleepiness or you could say laziness got the better of her and she had forgotten her reason for such an action thus making them late enough (but still early enough for school) to be caught by the parents who had waited for this day to come where their object of interest were to appear front of their eyes.

Oh, how she regretted letting herself take those extra five minutes (which subsequently turned into ten and then twenty-five) of sleep!

"Pardon me, I must be on my way."

"Kuga-san! Would you be interested in joining us in our usual tea party? It would be wonderful if you could grace us with your presence this time," Ryoko smiled, her eyes twinkling with anticipation like the company behind her.

"I am af- "

Before she could finish her sentence, one of the braver one spoke, noticing her expression was one of whom was about to decline.

"We might be discussing PTA matters! As I recall, Kuga-san has yet to participate in any of our meetings."

That was true but Kobayashi-sensei had told her that participation was optional and not particularly necessary especially for busy parents. Despite that, faced with stares and hopeful expressions she felt her negative answer slowly die in her throat the longer she was subjected to them. She felt like a prey in the presence of hungry predators; cornered into a decision with her fight or flight instincts kicking in.

'Say yes! Say yes! Say yes!' she could hear them chanting even when their mouths were closed. Sighing quietly to herself, she gave them what they wanted albeit in a small hesitant voice.

At least the prospect of cake which they had mentioned moments later was enough to make her feel less depressed from the horror she knew she was going to put herself through.

*flashback end*

"Kuga-san, did you come alone?"

"Ahh…"

"Where is your husband?"

"What! I have no husband!"

She found the question preposterous. Why did they automatically assume that she had a husband? Were same-sex couples that rare?

"So… you are single?"

"Kuga-san is single?"

"Really?"

Looks like that it was not a one on one conversation as many joined in after hearing that she had no husband and soon she was surrounded by more of them the crowd getting thicker by the second of interested parties. She knew that she would regret coming here.

"Umm…well, you see…" was all she could let out before they cut her off.

"I have a brother in Tokyo. He's a lawyer. If you want I can set the two of you up."

"No fair Ijikawa! Oh Kuga-san! My cousin who's a doctor is available."

"My brother-in-law would be a great match for you!"

"I'm available! I just divorced!"

"No, me!"

"Me!"

It was suffocating her. She tried to get away from the group; smiling politely while inching away slowly but when they noticed the distance between her and them they moved nearer to close the gap.

"Really it's fine. I don't need any of that," she said desperately, her footsteps getting quicker.

"No, you mustn't be like that Kuga-san. You need the support of a spouse and your child will need a father figure in her life."

"I am fine! My daughter is fine!"

"Trust me, Kuga-san. You are not fine this way."

"Yeah!" the rest of them agreed.

The next thing she knew, she was practically running away from the group but alas, they did not relent. They followed after her, wanting to get her to approve of an arranged meeting which will hopefully lead to marriage.

In the midst of her escape, she turned her head to look behind her and there they were, chasing after her. And because she failed to look in front of her, she bumped into another person causing said person and her to tumble to the ground. Rubbing her shoulder, she looked up from the pained spot on her arm to apologize, only to be surprised as the three words left her mouth.

"I'm so sorry…Shizuru?"

"Ara, Natsuki? You missed me that much that you had to tackle me to the ground? I do appreciate the gesture but do use a less painful way to get my attention next time or at the very least think of the appropriate place to do so if you can't control yourself."

Shizuru had winked suggestively at her but Natsuki just stared dumbfounded at her; mouth hanging open unconsciously. That was before the harpies decided to make their untimely appearance once again.

"Kuga-san are you alright?"

And she was forced to confront them again for the umpteenth time, having been caught in their clutches.

"Ah, yes."

She patted herself down and was conscious of the presence behind her, who, during the course of her bewilderment earlier, had stood up and looked at her for a reply (or a reaction if you will).

"Kuga-san, about that- "

"As I said earlier, I do not need of those match-ups."

"But Kuga- "

"Iyaa!"

Having turned her back towards the teasing monster, she left herself vulnerable to an expertly placed jab at her side which caused her to accidentally yelp out in surprise and coincidentally reveal the brunette to the masses.

"My, who is this lady?"

Natsuki stared at Shizuru once again but there was no shock in her eyes this time. Oh bloody hell not. Those emeralds were blazing, screaming "I'm going to kill you for that" while her ruby counterpart shined in glee, unperturbed by the glare. She grabbed hold of the brunette by the hand and pulled a distance away so they could talk in private. The harpies did not follow; still wondering to themselves who the beautiful brunette could be to the one they were so interested in.

"What did you do that for, Miss Fujino?" Natsuki bellowed in anger.

"Miss Kuga ignored me to talk with her friends so it was only right that I punish her for her crime so that she doesn't repeat such behavior. It is horribly rude," Shizuru said self righteously with a smile that felt far too bright for Natsuki's liking.

"You're insufferable, you know that? I did not do that and for your information they're not my friends."

"Ara, you did and after putting poor little me to the floor at that. Ikezu."

"Didn't I already apologize for that? What are you doing here anyway?"

"You don't know why?"

"Was I supposed to know?"

"Didn't you know that I was stalking you?"

Incredulous was she at the face of the deviously smiling businesswoman; mouth opening and closing like that of a goldfish. When she finally got her voice to speak from the shock, it was a mumble of sorts and incoherent.

The blush was right where Shizuru wanted it. Having been disappointed at the lack of response earlier (particularly a red hue she was looking forward to seeing), she did not halt her onslaught of teasing until she got what she wanted. Chucking behind her hand, her eyes shifted subtly towards the crowd behind her friend not too far away and at the receiving end of her stare, the gossip mongers felt a sudden weight upon them like a bad feeling of sorts but disregarded the fact that the newly revealed goddess was even staring at them. So oblivious were they to the danger that awaited them even when their animal instincts from their past ancestors had warned them of the threat a certain red eyed devil would pose if they were to upset her.

"Yes, what is it Natsuki?"

"…you are joking, right?"

Her voice sounded like a squeak as if suffering from a lack of air. With eyebrows knitted together, one could tell she was struggling to make sense of the situation, unsure if she was being teased or not for the woman was somewhat convincing in her answer. Which says much of her still lacking expertise in the face reading department; she still has more to improve on, apparently.

"I wonder…"

Shizuru moved her face closer and whispered mysteriously, taking the chance to admire the lovely rosy cheeks presented before her. As emerald grew wider, she relished at the opportunity to examine them closer. And how pretty they were! So green and clear, the jewels in the shops were like imitations compared to them.

"Wha- Wha- Wha- ," Natsuki sputtered.

Chuckling once more, Shizuru could not contain her mirth any longer.

"Ara, Natsuki does not believe that I would actually do that, would she?"

"No?"

"Do you really think me a stalker? Ara, Natsuki should know that I do not have the luxury to spend my time shadowing a person, no matter how adorable I find her. My schedule would simply not allow such an activity."

"Adorable?"

"Yes, that is what I think describes Natsuki best at the moment."

"I am not adorable!"

She glared indignantly at the woman, willing her to fix her 'mistake' but no matter how long she waited, the smile did not move. Agitated that she did not get the response she wanted, she huffed and crossed her arms, turning her head away to show her displeasure. With the turning of her head came the sight of the yet again approaching crowd from the corner of her eye and it made her growl unconsciously in frustration.

"Kuga-san, may I ask who is this woman?"

"What happened to Shizuka's father?"

"Is she a friend?"

"What is she doing here?"

"Did you bring your friend along instead of a husband?"

The bombardment of questions was becoming too much for as she struggled to come up with something to appease them and get them off her back. Her heart rate rose and she felt like she was going to go insane. With her mind in turmoil with panic, she blurted an unexpected answer which caused everyone including herself to halt in a state of shock. Even the ever smiling brunette beside her stumbled with her mask but everyone was too dumbstruck to notice.

"Ara, what did you just say Natsuki?"

"I said…"

As the more the thought lingered in her mind, the more she was convinced that this was the answer to her problems. It became a conviction in her eyes.

"She. Is. My. Wife."

A laugh.

Another.

And another.

And another and another.

They laughed without restraint at Natsuki; so hard, there were tears in their eyes. Furrowing her brows, Natsuki was sorely tempted to give them the glare of death; feeling insulted at their lack of manners.

"For a minute there Kuga-san I thought you were seriously implying you were married to this woman here."

Ryoko wiped at the corner of her eyes as her other hand pointed at Shizuru. She did not notice however, that said brunette was actually frozen stiff though no else did anyway.

"I am."

"Surely there is no need for you to joke any further, Kuga-san."

"I shall have you know that I am every bit serious. Would you like to see a photo of us together?"

She did her best to exude confidence to their disbelieving stares, refusing to back down. Retrieving her wallet from her pocket, she revealed a photo tucked securely between the folds. Holding it between her left pointer finger and thumb, she allowed them a view but did not let them take it from her clutches. They bent their necks forward, trying to get a closer look and indeed it was a photo of the two of them with Shizuka holding both of their hands.

Unfortunately, however convincing it was, many of the harpies' desires to wish it were not true prevailed. They refused to believe even when the undeniable truth was laid before them (though in this case it was a half truth in a way but it should have been indisputable considering the circumstances) as they still hoped for a chance to obtain the blue headed beauty be it in the hands of their relatives or for themselves. After all, who wouldn't want a woman who had beauty and wealth as well as a beautiful and intelligent daughter to boot? It was like obtaining the ideal family to them. Blinded by their desires, they tried to find any loopholes as to dispel the notion of this woman being attached to someone. In other words, they wished that she was lying.

Hearing not a sound coming forth from the exasperating group before her, Natsuki's breathing became calm out of relief, thinking that they were subdued from their mission to marry her off and bring hell to her life. She pinched the bridge of nose in an attempt to soothe the headache brewing at the back of her head only to notice the photo in her hand was missing and she started to panic before her eyes laid upon a brunette who had discretely, without notice from the blue-haired one, inched closer almost to the point that their shoulders were touching.

The photo was held tenderly between her long, manicured fingers like a precious baby. Looking at them, she got curious as to how the woman was reacting to such a picture. From her position she could smell a hint of lavender from the fawn mane that obscured her view of the crimsons her friend possessed.

'She must be in shock,' Natsuki thought to herself, fingering her own midnight locks.

She was about to put a hand on Shizuru's shoulder to get her attention but was abruptly stopped by a voice calling her name.

"Kuga-san! I am afraid that we are unconvinced of the relationship between the two of you. Though the photo does prove that you know each other and are on quite friendly terms with each other, it does not however, imply that the both of you are married to each other."

"You can see that she resembles Shizuka. What more could you want as proof?"

She was flabbergasted. It should have been accepted without fail. Anyone would have believed it, wouldn't they? She just couldn't fathom their reasoning. Why couldn't they accept it and move on?

"Unless you come out and show us that you are more that close friends, we refuse to believe that the two of you are any more than that. A kiss perhaps would suffix?"

"Wha-? That is a breach of my privacy. Why should I have to show you that?"

Her cheeks were slightly pink at their request. Even when she was panicking on the inside, she could not help but be amazed at the lengths they would go to confirm her relationship. This day was turning crappier by the minute. She would not do it! Not even for the sake of being on good terms with these harpies. She would end this right here right now and tell them to stay the hell away from her. This is detrimental to her health. She would change schools if she had to if they start to become 'unpleasant' with her and Shizuka. Enough is enough! She couldn't go through with this anymore! Her sanity is on the brink of death!

And then suddenly all thoughts left her.

A blank when just a second ago it ran with a million thoughts.

She started to feel dizzy.

Her legs threatened to give out.

It was so intense, her cheeks tinged with the brightest of reds.

She felt so weak that it was hard to keep her eyes open.

Before she knew it her tongue was taken a hold of.

And she lost herself under the unbearable heat.

After awhile it was over and a sweet voice fluttered into her ears.

"This is my payment for letting you use me."

It was but a whisper she heard between her heavy pants. Her mind was working now but her thoughts were muddled. Except for one.

'Shizuru kissed me!'

And then she fainted; right into the arms of the one who kissed her.

"Ara, maybe I overdid it a little. So cute, my Natsuki. Still so innocent," Shizuru uttered, knowing the crowd heard her as she held Natsuki up in her arms.

By the time Natsuki awoke, the crowd had all dispersed, continuing with the much forgotten tea party. They had all bet on that one kiss to determine their chances with Natsuki and now after witnessing such an intense kiss and not to mention a glare from the ochre-haired woman that had clearly stated that the emerald beauty was hers alone and that none shall take her, they knew there was no hope. Finally, they had given up.

The first thing her eyes were greeted with was the most beautiful rubies she had ever seen. The smell of lavender surrounded her and she felt at peace. But all that was broken the minute Shizuru spoke. She then realized that she was laying her head on the smiling teaser's lap and became conscious of herself, immediately sitting straight up and taking a proper position on the bench.

"Thank you for helping me, Shizuru."

"Ara, I was simply taking what I wanted. Natsuki need not thank me for such a thing."

"But still, you did it for me didn't you?"

She did not get an answer for that but from the corner of her eye she could see the telltale sign of a faint blush on her cheeks and she couldn't help but smile.

This chapter was especially hard to write but I managed to have a bit of fun writing it especially the last bit. The idea came to me suddenly and I just had to put it in. Tell me what you think ;D.