Chapter 8: It might be
.:x:. One week later .:x:.
"Haru, do you think you will be fine?" Asked Hatake as they entered Tenou Corp.
"I suppose… I don't have any choice anyway." Stated the other blonde, as she was welcomed by several employees. Haruka smiled as an answer, but deep down she knew she wasn't smiling. She wasn't fine.
"You don't seem fine though." Stated quietly her brother as he too was smiling and waving to several employees. He knew his sister well, even if she denied it, it was so easy for him to tell how she felt by just looking at how she was acting.
"Everything could be jeopardized, Take… I will have no choice but to pay attention to what I will say, do and how I act around her…what a life!" Stated ironically Haruka as they entered an empty lift. She glanced at her brother to see him frowning.
"That's the one you choose." He simply replied. They already had several arguments on that subject and he didn't want to revive the scenes from the past weeks. 'Won't do any good…'
"I know… and I shouldn't complain. I'm sorry Take." Said softly Haruka. She knew it wasn't easy for her brother to deal with her decision but he still managed to accept it and helped her.
"Don't worry, I'm sure it will be fine… somehow. Cheer up Haru! Your fans are going to be here any minutes!" Hatake patted his sister's shoulder and grinned mischievously.
"What fans? What are you talking about Take?" Questioned a stunned Haruka.
Hatake didn't turn back and only waved his right hand to Haruka. "You'll see. They're cute!"
"Huh?" Haruka stood still too stunned to move, she had no clue as to what her brother was saying. "Is he going crazy?" She muttered to herself. She then decided that it was probably her brother bad sense of humor. 'At least, I'm feeling a bit better now… well maybe he was trying to cheer me up then…' With that thought, the tall blonde woman smiled and headed toward her office.
.:x:. Setsuna's residence .:x:.
"Michi-chan, you're going to be late!" Shouted Setsuna from the kitchen. "And I'm going to be late in the process if you don't hurry up."
"Coming!"
Setsuna just finished cleaning the dishes when she spotted her younger sister coming out of her bedroom, still straightening her blouse. "About time!" She said smiling and walked toward the entrance.
"I'm sorry!" Apologized the aqua haired girl blushing and ran to catch her sister.
"What took you so long?" Asked Setsuna. She opened the door and was about to say something else when she noticed her sister fidgeting.
"Do…Do you think I look good?" Asked Michiru after a moment of silence.
Setsuna blinked several times and after the initial shock of the question, scanned her sister from head to toe. 'She does look good today…' Not noticing before, Setsuna decided to answer the question and to wait until they were on their way to work, to ask questions. "You look good Michi-chan." Said smiling Setsuna. "Come on, we'll be late otherwise."
"Hai!" Beamed Michiru.
.:x:. Haruka Office .:x:.
"Come in!" Called Haruka as she heard a soft knock on her door.
"Good morning!" Said a cheerful voice. Haruka looked up to see that it was no one else than her childhood friend Minako and her friend Ayashi. "Good morning Haruka-san." Said softly the other short blonde.
"Well good morning ladies." Smiled Haruka. She stood up as the two women made their way to the tall blonde. "Why this early visit, if I may ask?" Asked Haruka.
"Well, we were thinking that we could maybe enjoy breakfast together." Said Minako winking.
"You're more than welcome then!" Said Haruka, grinning. "I must admit that I didn't have time to eat yet… just got a coffee on the way."
"You should thank Aya-chan then, it was her idea." Said Minako as she held a Starbucks' bag up.
Haruka eyed Ayashi and saw the modest smile there. She quickly answered by a smile of her own, sincere, brilliant and charming. She then took the bag, headed toward the couch to sit on and placed everything on the small coffee table in her office. Ayashi and Minako both looked away blushing. They both knew that staring at Haruka, smiling innocently like that, was treacherous. They remembered too well the ruckus they caused during Haruka's 'training'. It was a very embarrassing moment and one they didn't want to have again. Unfortunately, the tall blonde had no clue that she was the one that had caused the commotion.
"You know, if you both don't hurry, I will certainly enjoy breakfast alone." Grinned Haruka.
The two blondes glanced at each other, seeing understanding in their eyes. They both shook their head to dissipate their thoughts, nodded to each other and joined the tall blonde.
"Hey, Ruka-kun don't eat everything!" Pouted Minako. "Where is…hey that was mine!" She then added.
Haruka stopped chewing and looked at Minako. "Sowwy" She said, gulped the rest and smiled.
Minako melted under her friend smile and all over again, she had to clear her mind of the cute blonde in front of her. 'It's insane!' Screamed her mind. She did remember her childhood friend being cute and adorable, very much so that she was always hugging her little friend, but now it was different and so much more complicated.
.:x:. In front of Tenou Corp Building .:x:.
"Rei-chan!" Called Michiru as she ran toward her friend. Once she reached her friend, she put both her hand to her knees and tried to catch her breath back. "I'm…I'm sorry. I'm late…"
Rei looked at her friend and smiled. "You don't have to apologize. Just try to be on time next time." She then turned and looked up. It was their first day as trainees and the building standing in front of them will become their second home. 'And for the next six months…' She turned to a panting Michiru and smiled again. "Shall we go? Or do you need more time to recover?"
Michiru smiled back and shook her head. "I'm…I'm fine."
"You sure? You don't sound like." Teased Rei.
Michiru straighten up a bit and looked at her friend pouting. "I'm not unshaped!" And with that she walked pass her friend.
Rei laughed at her friend's antic. She was glad to have Michiru as her friend. It was so refreshing to be herself and not what she was suppose to be, due to tradition and her place in society. She ran to her friend and patted friendly her friend's shoulder. "Hai, Hai!"
.:x:. Meiou Investment office .:x:.
"Setsuna-san, as I was saying… Hey Setsuna-san, are you listening to me?" Scolded a young woman in her late twenties.
"I'm sorry Ami-chan, I was thinking."
"Yeah I can see that. Want to talk?" Asked Amy.
"I don't know…do you have time?"
"Well, if you can clear my schedule for the next hours…then I do have hours!"
Setsuna smiled and gestured to her friend to take a seat. "Okay, it's about my sister…"
After the long speech from her boss, from when her sister arrived to this morning talk, Amy looked at Setsuna and smiled. "You know I never knew you were that protective."
"I'm not"
"You are, and it was a compliment… Jeez, can't you ever take a compliment as it is?" Grinned Amy.
"Yeah, thank you. So what do you think?"
"Me think that she is in total admiration." Answered the blue haired girl smiling.
"That's it?"
"Well, I don't know your sister personally so I will just supposed that she works like you."
"That won't work then, she is not like me… not at all." Stated Setsuna.
"Oh, then that complicates the story." Said the blue haired girl, she then mentally recollected all the details her boss gave her during the 'story telling' and reorganized her thought. "Oh…" She then left out.
"What?" Asked Setsuna eagerly. She knew her friend was trying to take into account the new information and process a new approach - she was not a genius for nothing. "Did you found the why?"
"I might be wrong though… So let me ask you one question before I answer."
"Shoot."
"Did she ever date anyone before?"
"No…don't tell me, she…?" Stammered Setsuna, she was trying to consider this revelation as she recalled each event with a new light.
"As strange as it may sound, yes she might be." Replied Amy grinning at her boss's perplexed face.
TBC