That morning, Isuke couldn't muster up the will to eat her breakfast. Her Mama, Eisuke, was a good cook, but that day the food simply didn't taste like it used to.

She hadn't slept well either. She had been restless and thus she had awoken several times. The entire night had been filled with dreams, none that she could remember, however.

She used the chopsticks to shove the rice around the plate, just like a child would with their unwanted vegetables. She glared down at the plate intensely, ignoring her Mama, who was peacefully enjoying his breakfast on the other end of the table.

Isuke poked at a piece of ham. Upon realizing its color was baby-pink, she frowned deeply.

Sagae Haruki… A name she would rather forget.

Why did that girl leave such a strong impression on her, anyway? She had talked to her for maybe two minutes and didn't feel like they got along very well. She seriously didn't like her.

So then why couldn't she get the girl out of her head?

Eisuke cleared his throat, tearing her out of her thoughts. She looked up at him, waiting for him to say something.

"Listen, Isuke…" he begun, sighing heavily. He pushed away his empty plate and rested his arms on the table, staring right at his adoptive daughter as he spoke.

"I realize that it's been tough for you… You know, being raised by someone who aren't related to you, and who are gay on top of that. It has put you in a lot of difficult situations over the years; Papa and I can't imagine how tough it's been for you at times."

She rolled her eyes. This wasn't the first time they'd had a conversation like this one. It was cheesy and awkward, and in the end, it didn't do her any good.

"But we really want you to remember that we care about you and we only wish what's best for you," he continued in a serious, yet kind voice.

"Yeah, yeah," she yawned, stretching her arms into the air, "Are we done now? This conversation is making me sleepy."

Eisuke gave her a sharp look that implied he wouldn't accept such behavior.

"Isuke," he said strictly. They stared at each other for a while, until Isuke gave up and looked down.

"Fine, I'm sorry, Mama," she muttered in irritation, pouting slightly because she felt like she had lost an argument.

"I just wish you wouldn't interfere in my personal life all the time," she declared as she stood up and began walking towards the door.

"We believe it would be good for you, Isuke. You're always so reserved, in a way. You don't let anyone get close to you." He actually sounded a little worried, which was rather rare.

While Mama and Papa did a lot for her, she always felt like they somehow did it more for themselves, somehow. Like getting her a girlfriend, for one. The thought was kind, but when she didn't even want one, could you really say they were doing it for her sake?

She wished they wouldn't. She didn't need a girlfriend. She didn't need friends. She didn't need her Mama and Papa. They were all dispensable. She didn't truly need them for anything.

Inukai Isuke didn't need anyone except for herself.

Nothing could cheer Isuke up the way shopping did.

She now had several new outfits that she could barely wait to wear, as well as some new makeup and gel for her nails.

She was looking forwards to getting home so she could relax on her bed while fixing her nails and maybe listening to some music for the rest of the day.

Normally, on a day like this, she'd probably hang out with Nio, but she didn't feel like talking to her at the moment. Besides, the bubbly blonde often got on her nerves.

This was far better.

Isuke opened the door to her house and walked inside, placing most of her shopping bags in a corner before heading to the living room. As she entered the opulently decorated room she spotted Eisuke standing behind the couch, speaking to someone on the phone.

"Oh, she got home just now!" he erupted as he noticed her being there. He took a short break, listening to the person on the other end.

"Yes, do you want to talk to her?" he asked. She was rather curious now. Most of her so-called friends would call her on her cell if they wanted to talk. She couldn't think of anyone who would call her parents first. Must have been someone who didn't know her number, but who could that be?

"Alright then," he nodded, "I'll make sure to tell her you called. Bye."

Isuke raised an eyebrow at him questioningly.

"Someone I know?" she asked as she passed by on her way to the kitchen.

"Yeah, said she wanted to catch up sometime. You two haven't seen each other in a while," Mama replied, still not answering her question directly.

She found a glass and tapped some water into it.

"Hurry up and tell me who it was already," she demanded.

"You really want to know?" he asked.

What was that supposed to mean? Why wouldn't she want to know who called to talk to her? It involved her, so of course she wanted to know.

"Can't you tell that Isuke's nearly dying from excitement?" she commented drily, rolling her eyes in annoyance. Why couldn't he be more straight forward and just get it over with?

She took a sip of water.

"It was Takechi Otoya-san."

Isuke nearly spit out her water upon hearing that.

Isuke sat on her bed wondering why Takechi Otoya, of all people, had contacted her. She had barely spoken to her in months, and the last time she did speak to her, she hadn't been all that nice…

Her and Otoya had met through one of her parents' attempt to find her a girlfriend. It had been roughly three months, if she remembered correctly.

At first, Otoya had seemed rather sweet. She was playful in a teasing manner and she was fun to be around. She did also have some annoying traits, though. All in all, Isuke would say she had tolerated the blue eyed girl. They actually dated for a couple of weeks, until Otoya started showing her true colors.

To begin with, she could only see vague signs of it through a couple of comments that Otoya made. Later, when she got to know her better, she would notice that her teasing was more like bullying in some cases. She wasn't overjoyed at the fact, but figured she could live with it, as she wasn't a victim of her bullying.

It wasn't before Otoya revealed some of her rather freaky… fetishes, that Isuke had gotten enough. She'd already realized that Otoya was strange, but the new information kind of scared her, and Isuke wasn't scared off easily. Let's just say that having a girlfriend who was, amongst other things, obsessed with scissors, became too much for her.

After all that, she'd told the girl off rather harshly and avoided speaking to her ever since, which had proved to be challenging since they went to the same school.

Otoya had been difficult to get rid of, but she eventually got the point across. She had left her alone since then, and up until this very day, she had thought that Otoya was over her.

It appeared that wasn't the case.

Damn it, how would she get out of this mess?

She absolutely didn't want to be involved with that lunatic. Otoya was far worse than all the other girls Mama and Papa had introduced her to combined, and there had been some pretty terrible ones.

The main problem was that Otoya only really cared for herself. She didn't seem to think about how other people felt, so even though Isuke didn't want to be with her, she wouldn't give up.

She would most definitely be impossible to get rid of. Just imagining that weirdo following her around, convinced that she still had feelings for her made her want to go dig a deep hole where she could lay down and die.

That's when it hit her.

Even someone like Takechi Otoya would take a hint like that. Anyone would back off if that was the case.

Yes, if only she was already taken, that would get rid of Otoya, and everyone else, for good. She just needed to get a girlfriend.

Now, where to start searching for that bothersome redhead?

Walking down the street in a quick pace, her orange eyes scanning the area, she finally caught a glimpse of red, waist length curls up ahead. That kind of messy, yet fashionable hairstyle could belong to no one but just the person she was looking for.

She had called Nio a while ago to ask where she could find her, and Nio had been overjoyed to tell her that she was most likely heading home from work and that Isuke could catch up to her taking this route.

"Sagae!" she yelled, making the redhead stop dead in her tracks. Ugh, this was so not the way she wanted to do things. It was everything but classy and elegant. She didn't appear to be her usual confident and teasing self. What was wrong with her?

She turned around and looked at her with wide yellow eyes.

"I-Isuke-sama," the girl stuttered in confusion.

"Are you free tomorrow?" Isuke demanded to know.

"Why?"

Isuke thought Haruki seemed to be the type to come up with a snide remark in a situation like this, however the girl appeared to struggle with finding her voice. She assumed that Haruki was rather surprised to see her again. Isuke would be surprised too, if she was her. After all, she'd made it rather clear the last time that she didn't approve of Nio's plans and that she wanted nothing to do with Haruki.

"I changed my mind about the deal." Haruki eyed her hesitantly.

"You get what Nio promised; 5000 yen each week," she quickly added. While she still wasn't quite sure she wanted this, she knew she hated losing. And having someone like Haruki reject her would definitely be considered a loss.

An awkward silence settled between the two as she considered the suggestion. She had been quick to accept the first time, but Isuke assumed that her impression of her had worsened significantly since then.

"Okay…" she finally agreed. For reasons unknown to her, Isuke felt like she'd just won the lottery.

"But I'd like to add one condition," she snickered smugly, now acting more like the kind of girl Isuke had thought her to be.

And there was the catch, as expected. There was always a catch, wasn't there? So much for winning that lottery…

"I'm not open for suggestions, Sagae. The sum I offered you is more than sufficient," she replied annoyed. She didn't like not having things just the way she wanted them. Then again, most people didn't, she assumed.

"It's not about money, though," said Haruki simply. A small, playful smirk was forming on her lips, and it made her more than a little uneasy.

"Oh?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Since you told me to call you Isuke-sama, why don't you start calling me Haruki?" she winked.

To that, Isuke only rolled her eyes and snorted, making her new girlfriend laugh heartily.

Sagae Haruki was such a pain.

Haruki smiled to herself.

She came from a big family. She had nine younger siblings and her mother had been ill for quite some time now, so she hadn't been able to go to work nor look after the kids. For this reason, Haruki and the oldest of her siblings, Fuyuka, had been left in charge of the family. Normally, she would be the one taking on different part time jobs in order to feed them, while Fuyuka would stay at home, doing housework and looking after their younger siblings to the best of her ability.

She'd always had to take up several jobs, which took a lot of her time and energy, as well as it ruined all her chances to do well in school or join any clubs.

She felt like her entire life was dedicated to helping her family, and that she missed out on so many things that she really wanted to do. She wanted to study for tests, play sports, go shopping with her friends, go on dates, and the list went on.

Of course she loved her family above anything else and would do anything for them, but part of her wished to enjoy her own life without having to worry about them having enough food on the table every day.

Just the mere idea had always been so unrealistic that she didn't even understand why she bothered fantasizing about it at all.

But now that she had made a deal with Inukai Isuke, her future seemed so much brighter.

5000 yen per week; that was more than she earned on most of her part time jobs, and it wouldn't be nearly as time consuming. Frankly, it was easily earned money. So easily she almost felt like she was utilizing the girl.

She shoved the thought away immediately. She wasn't using anyone. Isuke had been the one who proposed it to her.

She'd been a little suspicious about the pink haired girl from the very beginning. Going to such lengths just to make people stop pestering her? She would call it going overboard. Then again, Isuke did appear like the typical spoiled rich girl who didn't have any real problems in life.

That was probably it, but still…

A voice in the back of her mind kept telling her she was in way over her head. She felt like it'd only end up causing a lot of trouble for her, in the end.

She didn't know precisely what to think of Isuke yet. She wanted to like her, she really did, but the voice just wouldn't shut up. It told her she had made a deal with the devil.

No. She shook her head.

"Man, Haruki, chill out," she told herself with a small chuckle, "Listen to yourself."

This was a good thing for her and her family. She had made the right decision.

This would be great. Her family could eat now. It might not cover all their expenses, but it was certainly a good help. Life would get so much easier from now on, she convinced herself.

Finally it would all get better.

"Finally," she muttered softly.

Hello again. Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone who showed interest in my stories. Writing is so much fun, but having people read your stories is even better, in my opinion. All your reviews made me so happy.

I think I just created the weirdest pairing ever, though. Lol, I can't see Isuke x Otoya ever happening no matter the circumstances. It won't be a real pairing, I just thought Otoya's character fit well for what I had in mind. That being said, she'll be featured in future chapters. I also plan on bringing in some pairings (Sumireko x Mahiru, Hitsugi x Chitaru etc)

Anyway, next chapter should be up this weekend (unless something comes up) and thank you for reading! I'm seriously having so much fun writing this fanfic and I hope you're enjoying it as well.