"I'm sorry."

Those were the first words that escaped Haruki's lips after she answered her phone. They sounded heavy, full of guilt and regret.

Had she still been in the same room as her, Isuke would have punched her.

"I must have made a shitty first impression, huh?" Haruki sighed tiredly, "I guess I've been pretty out of it lately. I'm sorry."

That idiot…

Haruki had nothing to apologize for. She hadn't done anything wrong.

Mama was at fault for being so harsh to her. Isuke was at fault for not preparing for this. Haruki wasn't at fault for anything, and yet, she sounded the most guilty. Isuke couldn't handle her being like that.

"Don't apologize, idiot," she said in her typical fashion, rolling her eyes even though Haruki couldn't see her.

"But Isuke-sama-" she started to protest, but Isuke cut her off.

"Don't beat yourself up over it. Mama and Papa were just being stubborn." Well, Mama had been stubborn. Papa actually seemed rather fond of Haruki, but that didn't really matter at all, seeing as Eisuke always got the last word.

"Are you alright?" Isuke asked hesitantly. It wasn't normally a question she'd ask anyone. It implied caring and worrying; two things Isuke normally didn't do.

Haruki simply hadn't been herself the last couple of days. It was like she was in a different world sometimes. There must have been something pretty serious on her mind to make her act like that.

"I'm sorry that I've been spacing out so much lately," she apologized sincerely.

Isuke wished she'd stop doing that.

"Stop apologizing already," she whined, "It's not your fault."

This felt so foreign to her. Showing concern and trying to soothe someone who was upset. She didn't remember ever doing this before, and she probably hadn't, either.

It wasn't very Isuke-like, but she'd go out of her way just this time, for Haruki.

The silence in the other end lasted for so long that Isuke wondered if she was still there.

"Haruki?" she eventually said. The only answer she got came in the form of another sigh.

"They don't like me very much, do they?" Haruki asked. Not that she needed to hear the answer, because it had been fairly obvious that Eisuke hadn't been especially impressed.

"It's not about you. I don't think it would have mattered to Mama no matter how you acted tonight," Isuke stated.

Mama had high expectations, that was for certain, and one of the most important of those expectations was wealth. He only wanted his daughter to be with someone who was classy, rich and had many connections. Isuke being with a poor girl with a difficult home-situation and no plans for the future wasn't even an option in his mind.

She should have thought about this before making the deal with Haruki, but she hadn't realized just how important money was to him back then. And besides, she couldn't say she regretted meeting Haruki.

"They just want me to be with some high-class rich girl."

There was another painfully long silence.

"And what do you want?" Her voice was soft, barely audible. It wasn't like her usual teasing and joking; it was a serious question this time.

She knew the answer all too well.

Isuke didn't want to be with the son or daughter of one of her parents' wealthy colleagues.

There was no doubt in her mind; she wanted to be with Haruki.

"Isuke loves money," she joked playfully, avoiding the question. She didn't want to say it right now, but soon… Soon she'd tell Haruki how she felt. "But I don't want what Mama and Papa wish for me."

"I see," Haruki replied. Isuke was genuinely curious as to what answer she'd hoped for, and she hoped it was the answer she intended to give her soon.

"Hey, Haruki?" she muttered, laying down on her bed.

"Yeah?"

She looked over at her nightstand, where she'd put a bottle of nail gel. It was the same color that Haruki had used the first time she met her.

Isuke found herself smiling at the memory.

When she thought about it now, baby-pink really wasn't a bad color. In fact, it might even suit Haruki rather well.

"Promise me not to worry too much about it, okay? We'll work it out somehow," she promised. She wasn't quite sure how to do it yet, but she knew where to start.

The next time they met, she'd confess her feelings to Haruki.

"Alright," she agreed, "Goodnight, Isuke-sama."

"Sup?"

Shiena looked up from her book, slightly annoyed by the interruption. The main reason she'd gone to the library in the first place was to get some peace.

A frown spread across her face when she spotted the owner of the voice. Black hair tied up in a ponytail, greenish blue eyes, an ever-present smile on her lips. Standing before her was none other than Takechi Otoya.

"What are you doing here, Takechi?" she asked coldly.

After she'd picked a fight with Sagae Haruki over Isuke, she didn't really want anything to do with her.

Shiena had always hated people like her. People that bullied. People that hurt others' feelings. People that never thought of how their actions would affect others.

So why… Why did Otoya make her feel this way?

She could be angry with her when she did something stupid, sure, but she could never hate her. Sometimes she tried hating her, tried telling herself that she was a bad person, but she just couldn't. She could never hate her.

And when she did what she did, Shiena hadn't thought about how moronic she was for doing it, or felt sorry for Haruki or Isuke. The first thing to come to mind had been if Otoya was alright.

Why did she care so much about her, anyway?

"My, that's cold," she giggled, "But I guess I deserve it." She rubbed the back of her head as she laughed guiltily.

"You most certainly do," the brunette replied matter-of-factly, not interested in her jokes or insincere excuses or whatever she was there for.

If she talked to her long enough, she'd end up forgiving her. And then, she'd end up going back to liking her, and she'd get hurt again.

Wait, where did that thought come from?

Did she really like Otoya that way? She'd found herself wondering that many times. Were those feelings, that only she could stir up within her, a part of being in love?

"Well, there's a test next week, and I noticed that you left your books behind at school," she started awkwardly, "And I thought that maybe you needed to practice, so I brought you my book."

She extended the hand in which she held a thick textbook.

It was true that Shiena had forgotten all about the test, but she wasn't about to accept help from her classmate.

"That's the worst excuse I've ever heard," she bluntly exclaimed, turning away from her outstretched hand.

Otoya wasn't that nice. She didn't go out of her way to do things for others that didn't somehow benefit her. There was no doubt that she had ulterior motives.

Deciding this wasn't worth her time or effort, she began walking away, planning to return to her book.

"Wait!" she yelled after her, "I wanted to say I'm sorry."

Those words made Shiena stop dead in her tracks. She didn't expect that. Takechi Otoya openly and honestly apologizing for her actions, and to her of all people.

Slowly, she turned back around, and as she did, a small smile appeared on Otoya's lips. She walked over to the closest chair and settled down.

"I must have looked pretty silly, huh?" Otoya claimed, still smiling, "Pining over a girl I didn't even like…"

Shiena looked at her questioningly. To her, she'd seemed very into Isuke. Whether her feelings towards the pink haired girl could be classified as romantic, or whether it was lust, or mere interest, she wasn't quite sure. However, she'd been convinced that she felt something for Isuke, and deep down, she knew she had been jealous.

"What Sagae said really pissed me off at the time," she said, looking at the ceiling, "But after calming down I began thinking about it. In the end, I realized something."

"Which was?" Shiena urged her on, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"I never really liked her to begin with. I just liked the thought of her, I guess," she sighed, "Yet, I never cared for her; not like Sagae does."

She nodded in agreement. That made sense, considering what kind of person Otoya was. She imagined she wasn't someone who started caring for someone easily.

"So… I'm really sorry, I mean it."

"I forgive you, Takechi. Just… try not to do something like that again, okay?" she begged.

"Alright!" Otoya chirped with a bright smile.

Before she could do anything to avoid it, Otoya wrapped her arms firmly around her waist and pulled her into a hug. She squirmed to get loose, but she wasn't nearly as strong as the other girl.

"Thank you, Shiena-chan," Otoya laughed as she hugged her.

Finally, Shiena managed to untangle her arms from her waist and push her away.

"Thanks for what?" she asked, getting a feeling that her gratitude wasn't the sole result of Shiena forgiving her.

The girl straightened up and ran a hand through her raven hair, that was now a total mess thanks to Shiena's attempts to free herself from her embrace.

"Thanks for caring about me," she explained before she turned around and jogged away, not allowing Shiena to speak another word.

So she had noticed, even through all of her complaining and scolding… That must have meant something, right?

She picked up the book that Otoya had left on a nearby table. Glancing down at it, she smiled ever so slightly.

Otoya had cared enough to stop by with a book, apologize for what she'd done, and even thank her for caring.

"You care too, don't you?" she smiled to herself, "You know… You're wrong to thank me, 'cause I should be the one thanking you, Otoya."

Her mother had been in the hospital for a long time now, and even though her condition had been rather stable, the kids couldn't help but worry.

Haruki was seated in a chair by her mother's bed when she woke up.

She opened her brown eyes, smiling widely upon seeing her oldest daughter.

"Hey sweetie," she muttered, still not fully awake.

"Hi mom," Haruki replied, stroking her mother's cheek gently.

"How are you holding up back home? The doctors say my new medicine is pretty expensive."

She sounded worried, and Haruki didn't want her to be. She was lying here, completely helpless, and all she could do was worry about her children and feel guilty that she wasn't able to take care of them. It just wasn't fair.

"We're alright, mom. Don't worry," she reassured her with a smile.

Her mother looked at her for a while.

"There has been something different about you lately," she stated, "I can see that you're worried, but despite that your smile is so genuine now. It wasn't always like that…"

She had never even known that her mother had seen through her act. She'd always thought she'd bought it, just like everyone else.

She was about to protest, but she was forestalled.

"You're my daughter; don't you think I know when you're lying?" she chuckled weakly. Haruki gave up on denying it and just settled to stroking her mother's hair gently.

"You know, the days here get long and boring," she spoke, "How about you tell me something nice? Like what's making you so happy even through all of this?"

Haruki pondered over it for a minute. She had always told her mother everything, but in this case she didn't fully understand things herself. Then again, if she could make her happy by telling her about Isuke, it was alright.

"I guess you could say I met someone," she started.

"Oh?" Her mother sounded curious, and much more awake than she usually did, which encouraged Haruki to keep talking.

"Nio introduced us a while back. Her name is Inukai Isuke."

She continued from there, telling her mother just about everything that had happened since they met, down to every little detail. However, she deliberately left out the part about them being in a fake relationship and Isuke paying her, so she had to alter a few parts of her explanation.

She told her about the culture festival, and her fight with Otoya and how Isuke had patched her up afterwards, how she'd made a fool of herself at dinner last night, and other little details, like how adorable Isuke looked when she was asleep during class or how cute she was when she blushed.

She was so caught up in talking, and her mother seemed so interested in listening, that she didn't even realize she'd said way more than she planned to.

When she finally did understand it, she had already said just about everything there was to say.

"Sounds like you're having lots of fun at Myojo. I'm glad," said her mother, "And Isuke-san sure sounds like a great girl."

Her mother must've definitely gotten the wrong idea. The way she'd talked about her, she had probably sounded like a love struck schoolgirl. She hadn't intended to; the words had just slipped out of her mouth.

But… she guessed there was some truth in them.

She did like Isuke. She'd wanted to get to know her and be friends with her. She enjoyed being with her, whether they were alone or in front of a crowd, acting all lovey-dovey. Heck, she wouldn't deny that she'd sometimes let her imagination run wild. Many times, she had thought of how nice it would be if it wasn't just pretend.

Looking back at her mother, she spotted a tear forming in the corner of her eye.

"Mom, are you alright?"

The brown haired woman wiped away the tear before she answered.

"It's just… there's nothing quite as amazing as seeing your little girl fall in love for the first time."

Falling in love? Was that what was happening? She couldn't be falling in love with Isuke, could she?

Isuke was… Isuke was her employer, and maybe even her friend, and Isuke was narcissistic and uncaring. Isuke wasn't someone she should fall in love with.

Yet, her mother had always known Haruki better than she knew herself, so maybe she was right. Maybe she was falling in love, after all.

Yes, she was slowly, but surely, falling in love with Isuke.

The scene between Otoya and Shiena was pretty difficult to write. We don't know all that much about Shiena and since Otoya has been the main "villain" of the story up until recently, it was tough to try and write her good side.

Haruki has also realized her feelings now, and a confession will be coming soon. I considered waiting a couple of chapters with Haruki falling for Isuke, but it sort of turned out this way as I wrote and I decided to keep it like this.

See you next update.