Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-Hime/Otome…
Crimson irises read across names as she scrolled down the list as Shizuru made a mental note as to which profiles she would be spending more time on the second read-through. Kanzaki...Suzushiro….Minagi…Kikukawa…Yuuki…..Tokiha…Kuga…
She smiled to herself as she scrolled down further, where the mid-to-lower priority partners were listed.
Harada…Senoh…Wang…Mizuno…Marguerite….She sighed as reached the bottom. I'll just check over the names and pictures for these last few I suppose…
"Wow, your father's got quite the line-up, Shizuru. Kanzaki, Suzushiro, Minagi, Kikukawa… a lot of big names are here." Midori whistled as she pulled up some of the profiles.
"Shizuru-san, you're already familiar with most of the top names already, don't you?" Yohko asked as she took a sip of her tea.
"Eeh. Reito-san, Haruka-san, and Yukino-san were all part of the student council at Fuuka during our high school years. We still keep in touch regularly."
Shizuru smiled as she read over the other business partner's profile specs as she tapped each name.
"They helped me a lot during my term as student council president; they helped me fend off my zealous fans. I'm relieved that they'll be attending the event tomorrow. Though,"
The brunette chuckled as she pulled up yet another profile, "they might reduce my chances at effectively 'mingling' with future business partners. Reducing my encounters with enthusiastic fangirls will most certainly be appreciated."
"Ah, looks like your father wants me to attend also, to take a look at the new residents." Midori casually noted as she quickly skimmed the profiles.
"I'll be checking-in said residents later that evening; Midori will be writing up rooming assignments while she's there. I heard from your father that he expects you to also find a roommate, so Midori will be assisting with that as well."
"And," Midori grinned at Shizuru with a smile, "Since I'm sure you'd like to end up with a non-obsessed roommate, you'll be helping me with the selection process!"
Shizuru, having finished scanning over the information she needed for the following day's event, set down her iPad and took a grateful sip of her tea.
"I would very much like to take you up on that offer, but I'm afraid there are few that do not recognize me; with my company intern profile, even those who have not met me before would recognize me."
"That's true too, huh….hmmmm…." The doctor hummed in thought as she snacked on a rice cracker, pushing the bridge of her glasses up.
The three of them mulled in silence.
"Oh! I got it!" Midori exclaimed proudly as she stood up from the kotatsu, mildly surprising the other two women. "Midori," Yohko scolded as she pulled the red-haired woman back to a sitting position by the ear.
"O-Ow~!" She sighed as she rubbed her slightly reddened ear. "What I meant to say was a disguise, so Shizuru doesn't look like the Shizuru in that profile."
At this Shizuru quirked an eyebrow. "A disguise?"
"Ah, I could see that working." Yohko tapped her fingers on the warm mug. "It wouldn't have to be too drastic or anything to work. What do you think, Shizuru?"
"I don't see why not." She took another sip of her tea. "It sounds like fun."
"Well, now that that's settled, let's get to work right away!"
"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu, Midori-san." [I'm in your care (formal)].
"Hodo hodo ni ne, Midori." [Don't go too overboard with it, Midori]. She warned gently as Midori encroached upon her fully suspecting prey.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine." Midori grinned as she and Shizuru headed to the bedroom. "I'll be relying on your judgment, Yohko-sensei." Shizuru replied cheerfully as they disappeared into the bedroom.
"Hai, hai. Itterashai" [Have a safe trip]. The doctor sighed and waved in defeat.
Shizuru had barely walked into the room when Yohko gave the pair a deadpanned glance. "Rejected."
"Wha-?" Midori sputtered as Shizuru smiled knowingly. "Rejected." Yohko repeated in a flat tone.
"Ma~ma, nothing to be too disappointed about." The brunette patted the red-head on the back as they headed back into the room.
~*pin pon* I will kindly leave the various outfits to your imagination *pin pon*~
Several rejected outfits later, the trio sipped another pot of tea having found a Yohko-approved disguise. Shizuru sighed as she finished her mug of tea.
"Ara, it's grown quite late. After I help cleaning up, I should probably be heading back. I need to be in the office tomorrow before the networking event."
Shizuru slowly got up and started to clean up the mugs and bowls. "It's fine; you don't need to do any of that. Midori and I can take care of that. Besides, you must be tired. We both know how early you need to get in the office."
Yohko sighed as she stood up, starting to clear the dishes as Midori almost pushed Shizuru out the door.
"You heard her. We've got it here, so see you tomorrow. See ya!"
And the door shut with a click, leaving a somewhat confused Shizuru standing at the door. She breathed out as she turned and looked out to the courtyard. "It's gotten pretty dark out…" She commented as she walked back to her apartment. "The snow has started falling again too…"
She relished the warmth of her apartment as she unlocked the door and pulled it open. I think I'll take a bath and turn in for the evening.
Shizuru sighed as she stared blankly up at the steam-shrouded ceiling of her bathroom as she stretched out in the spacious bathtub. She languidly lifted a slender leg out of the water, wiggling her toes slightly in the steam-filled air. She lowered it back into the water, stretching out her arms in front of her.
She brought up the email attachment on the glass display, reviewing the information she had already memorized.
"Even so, it seems a bit unfair that these profiles do not have pictures while mine is flamboyantly public. It seems like I was sent the same file as the other business partners' children." She sighed as she scrolled down the list. "I suppose it's merely a measure of preventive discrimination; that way we will have to interact with each other to find out each other's company affiliations…is what my father is likely thinking."
She turned the display off, slowly standing up from the tub. The brunette wrapped a fluffy light lavender towel around herself as she drained the tub. She toweled off her hair as she walked over to the basket, hanging her towel to dry as she dressed herself.
She hummed softly to herself as she pulled on her pajamas, half-smiling at her not unpleasant reflection in the mirror as she blew-dry her hair.
She sighed as she fell onto the smooth sheets of her bed, covering her eyes with her arm. She switched off the lights with the push of a lighted panel, gazing at the soft blue analog numbers projecting the time onto her ceiling. She set her alarm for the following morning, rolling over onto her side. She snuggled into her stuffed giraffe as she drifted off to sleep.
"Goodnight, Natsuru-chan." The brunette murmured as her consciousness ebbed.
A/N: Konbanwa~ YH desu *bows* This is chapter 2 published on the same day whooo~