Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-Hime/Otome…
"Welcome, Viola-san." Sorata playfully yet politely greeted as Shizuru signed her name in and picked up her nametag. "Please enjoy yourself at this afternoon's event."
"Thank you, Sorata-san." Shizuru smiled and Sorata winked as she headed into the spacious convention hall.
There were a few people milling about, having filed in after Shizuru. Shizuru scanned the room, heading towards a business-dressed Midori once she had spotted her. Midori waved as she saw Shizuru approaching
"Konnichiwa, Midori-san." She greeted cheerfully. "Hey, Viola-kun."
"My father wanted me to give this to you," Shizuru stated, handing the folder over.
"Oh, thank you. They're printouts of each business partner's profile so I can identify and get a feel for roommate compatibility. I've already familiarized myself with their faces last night though; it's nice to have a fast reference though."
Shizuru sighed. "Well, at least one of us has a reference."
"Hm? You mean your father didn't include pictures with your list?"
"No, it appears he did not. Well, I suppose it 'levels' the playing field in the same way that my disguise does; though at this point it doesn't really matter."
"Want to take a peek?" Midori offered.
"I'll restrain myself; I'd rather not confuse myself too much. Speaking of which, I should probably be mingling with my future intern colleagues. I'll come find you later." Shizuru walked off with a polite wave.
Shizuru casually picked up a flute of water, strategically surveying the room for milling groups of people. Ah, there they are. Shizuru smiled as she spotted the former student council group near the stage towards the front of the room.
She took a sip of her water. I suppose I should make my way over there later… And with her resolve in place, Shizuru strode off towards the opposite end of the room.
She took a small breath to calm herself as she noticed people start to approach her. Either they are very proactive and charismatic individuals or my disguise isn't working as well as I thought… Shizuru mused to herself as she fell into her signature plaintive smile behind her mahogany-framed glasses.
"Good Afternoon, Miss…Viola?" The young woman smiled in a…charismatic manner while offering her hand.
Shizuru took a quick glance at the nametag.
"Good Afternoon, Harada-san." Shizuru politely took the offered hand, shaking it lightly. This must be Harada Chie-san. Daughter of the Hallard Publishing Company. Medium priority, I suppose. Shizuru pulled up her memories of the partner profile page.
"Shizuru Viola. It's nice to make your acquaintance."
"The pleasure is all mine, Viola-san. I'm the intern for the Hallard Publishing Company. I hope you treat me with your favor."
Hm…I don't think I would mind either way as far as roommates go…although I'm sensing a playboy attitude from this person…well, this is just the beginning..
"I'm one of the interns from the Fujino Corporation." Shizuru politely replied, identifying herself. Here comes the real test….(of my disguise)
"Ooh!" Chie adjusted her glasses in excitement. "The Fujino Corporation, huh. Do you happen to know if Fujino Shizuru-san will be attending?"
Shizuru tread carefully, trying to determine whether this woman had caught onto her identity. "Fujino Shizuru-san, is it? I'm unaware if I'm the only intern from the Fujino Corporation in attendance this afternoon; I apologize."
Shizuru watched as a flash of disappointment surged across the woman's expression. "That's too bad; I was under the impression that she was one of the interns from your company, and I was hoping to greet her this afternoon."
Ara, but you have just met me…
"My apologies; perhaps the front receptionist would know if Fujino-san will not be in attendance this afternoon?"
Though I wonder what Sorata-nee-sama will say…gomenasai, nee-sama….
Chie flashed another smile as she recollected herself. "Well, it's not the end of the world if I don't get to meet her today; I'm sure we'll be running into each other at the office. Who knows, we might even end up as roommates! It was nice meeting you, Viola-san! If you'll excuse me for now, I'm sure we'll run into each other at the office!"
"I wish you luck in your endeavors, Harada-san." Shizuru smiled as the charcoal-haired woman waved politely before walking off. Hmm…maybe not roommate material…
After some more socializing, Shizuru made her way towards the front of the room, where her former student council members stood in a small group.
She nonchalantly interrupted their conversation. "Konnichiwa, mina-san."
The talking continued, though her friends turned to her warmly in greeting.
"Hey there~ Shizuru, how have you been?" Kanzaki Reito ran a hand through his hair as he flashed her a friendly smile.
A grin broke across Shizuru's face. "I'm doing quite well, thank you for asking, Reito-san. I'm both relieved and impressed that you still recognize me in my disguise~" She added with a playful lilt.
Suzushiro Haruka huffed indignantly, hands across her chest. "How could I not recognize you, bubuzuke?"
"It's nice to see that you're doing well also, Haruka-san."
"We've known each other for a long time, so naturally we recognize you, Shizuru-san." Kikukawa Yukino warmly interjected.
"I suppose it has been a while, Yukino-san." Shizuru softly pondered aloud as she loosely held onto her nearly empty water flute.
"Well, in any case, I'm glad that you're all doing well. Have you been enjoying yourselves mingling with other business partners?"
Reito chuckled lightly as he replied. "Unfortunately, we seem to be too intimidating to approach. Perhaps I should've adopted a disguise too."
Shizuru laughed softly, covering her mouth with her hand. "The nerdy Kanzaki, huh…I haven't seen him in a while…"
"You flatter me too much." The group shared a laugh at the recollection.
"Well, as much as I enjoy your company, I'm afraid I'm under obligations to greet most if not all of the interns before the convocation speech. I hope you enjoy yourselves- and try to mingle, ne?" Shizuru winked as she withdrew from the group, her friends waving her off as she went to refill her water flute.
An orange-haired well-endowed woman in a matching grey suit jacket and striped pencil skirt stood next to a blue-haired woman similarly dressed in a black suit jacket and dress pants. Both sipped at some water, standing a little ways off from the rest of the small clumps of people.
"Ne, Natsuki." Mai quipped softly as she glanced around the room.
"Hm?" Natsuki hummed in reply, her high ponytail swishing lazily as she turned to face her friend mid-sip.
"…Shouldn't we be more, you know, proactive? I mean, we'll be working and living with these people for a while…"
Natsuki grunted slightly as she glanced around the room. "As long as I can work in peace, I'm fine."
Mai let out an exasperated sigh. "…Ah, I forget, you're in workaholic-business Natsuki-mode." Her amethyst eyes scanned the room.
"Wha!"
"Ah! There's someone standing by herself; let's go introduce ourselves, Natsuki!" Mai excitedly pulled, well dragged Natsuki over closer to the refreshment table, where a certain brunette was getting another flute of water.
Shizuru saw two people headed in her direction out of the corner of her eye as she plucked a fresh flute of water. She turned to face them, greeting them once she glanced at their nametags.
"Good afternoon, Viola-san! I'm Tokiha Mai."
Shizuru shook the offered hand with her free one. "Shizuru Viola. Nice to meet you, Tokiha-san." Shizuru turned to the other person, who had been strangely quiet.
Shizuru decided to be proactive, holding out her free hand. "Shizuru Viola. Nice to meet you, umm…"
"K-Kuga Natsuki. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Natsuki said stiffly as she tensely shook Shizuru's outstretched hand.
The girl's reaction piqued Shizuru's interest. Is she perhaps…nervous?
Nevertheless, Shizuru smiled politely, continuing her introduction. "I'm one of the interns from the Fujino Corporation."
"Ah, I'm from the Zipang Branch of the Kruger Conglomerate. And Natsuki is from…Natsuki?" The orange haired woman nudged her friend, who had been staring at Shizuru inadvertently while she had been chatting with Mai.
"Eh? Ah, I'm the intern from the Shinso Branch of the Kruger Conglomerate."
Maybe this girl has figured my disguise out…
Shizuru cast a curious glance at the blunette from behind her glasses.
"Is there…something on my face, Kuga-san?" Shizuru inquired politely.
"Eh?! Ah, no! I –I…uh…." Natsuki trailed off as a blush exploded across her face. "Ah! I should go find Mikoto…uh yeah. I'm going to go look for Minagi, Mai!"
And the blunette quickly strode off.
A laugh suddenly erupted from the orange-haired woman left standing next to Shizuru. Shizuru looked over at her curiously. "Is something the matter with Kuga-san? She was sporting a very…healthy shade of red."
"Ahaha, no, it's not that. I hope this doesn't surprise you too much or offend you, but I think Natsuki has developed a crush on you."
Shizuru was very surprised. She has a what? I didn't accidently put any makeup on or anything did I…?
"A crush…on me?" Shizuru trailed off as she watched the blunette hone onto a spiky, short-haired young woman similarly dressed in formal wear.
"Eh? Yeah. I mean, Viola-san is attractive, I must admit."
"And if this was my normal attire?" Shizuru cautiously pried further.
"I think it looks nice; and judging by Natsuki's reaction, she definitely finds you attractive in this 'normal' attire of yours. Though we're dressed like this," she gestured towards her clothes, "Natsuki and I look deeper on first glance of a person, if that makes sense."
Mai paused, thinking for a moment while Shizuru processed the information.
"Actually, now that I think of it, all of our employees work that way. You know the saying that 'beauty is only skin deep?' Well I guess, now that I think about it, our companies hire people that have the ability to look into a person's true beauty, though I'm sure it's sounding more corny than anything the way I'm explaining it, tehe~"
Hmm~ so companies like that do exist…
Shizuru found it incredibly easy to talk to Mai, even though this had been the first time they'd met and she was completely in disguise.
The Kruger Conglomerate, huh…I think I might rather enjoy working with this group.
She smiled in reply. "That is a wonderful approach. I, for one, very much appreciate it."
Mai laughed embarrassedly. "Ahaha, even though it's directed at the company, the praise makes me blush a little."
Natsuki and Mikoto walked over to join them as the lights in the room dimmed and Sorata walked up to the main stage.
Shizuru quietly excused herself, walking over to Midori while Sorata greeted the group of interns.
"Good Afternoon. My name is Taka Sorata, and on behalf of the Fujino Corporation, I would like to thank you for attending this sponsored event."
Claps were heard throughout the room as the interns applauded politely.
"I hope you have all had a chance to …."
Shizuru chatted next to Midori, who was writing up room assignments and compiling files of pairs. "Ah, Shizuru. How was your mingling?"
"It was pleasant, I suppose. It looks like my disguise worked for the most part."
Midori paused in her shuffling of papers, arching an eyebrow slightly. "…so there were some that found out?"
"Ah, well, the former members of the student council I worked with recognized me, which I expected."
The red-haired woman resumed shuffling her papers around. "Old acquaintances, huh? Well, I guess that's to be expected."
"And, the interns from the Kruger Conglomerate seemed to judge based on seeing a person's 'inner beauty'."
Midori paused again.
"The Kruger Conglomerate, huh. Well, they're an impressive bunch, to be sure."
The pair paused as another round of applause rippled across the room.
"Did you see any potential roommate candidates?"
Shizuru thought for a moment. "Hmm…my interest was piqued with 'Kuga Natsuki' from the Kruger Conglomerate…" she shivered. "There were also a few that…alerted my radar that I would like to avoid if possible."
"Hm? Ah, no need. I'll just assign this 'Kuga Natsuki' to your apartment. Does that sound alright with you? Then, I'm thinking I'll assign her friend Tokiha Mai and Minagi Mikoto next door to you, and then Yohko and I are right around the corner so you should be buffered from your fangirls..."
"That would be absolutely wonderful, Midori-san! Would you really be able to do that?" Shizuru clasped her hands together in excitement.
Midori gave Shizuru a wide grin. "Of course~! I was thinking that having you strategically placed with and/or near the Kruger Conglomerate interns will look attractive to your father also, so it's a win-win situation, ne?"
"A truly advantageous situation indeed. I was thinking that I'd like to spend more time and really get to know the Kruger Conglomerate, too. Really, thank you so much!"
The red-haired woman laughed. "No problem! Though, I might need your help with finalizing these room assignments and getting the keys for after orientation."
"I would be glad to help; I don't need to attend the building orientation anyways."
"…And so, if you would please gather in the lobby area where you entered we will take you through a tour of the building as well as where your offices will be located. After orientation, we will have your apartment assignments ready for you, as well as a shuttle for your daily commute! If you have questions at any point, please do not hesitate to ask!"
Sorata's voice echoed throughout the room as the lights came back on and interns started filing out of the room, excited chatter scattered throughout.
A/N: *huff huff huff*…konbanw-*looks at clock on computer*…ohaiyougozaimasu, YH desu *bows, but falls over*. I just cranked this chapter out…bam…I had like part of this chapter written and then I just went and added like 6 pages of stuff on this word document…let's see the last time I worked on this was like January I think….wow..well seeing as it is almost 2 am I'm just going to post this…and go to sleep. As always, thanks for stopping by! Please read and/or review?
I'm sleepy….
-YH
Not proofread or grammar read…..