Sorry about that- I uploaded the last chapter here!
Masato took a gentle stroll around the new flower beds. He loved to watch the little blossoms begin to open in the cool, spring air. The young heir was overly stressed with everything going on at the time for him- disputes to solve, businesses to regulate, and a certain someone to entertain. Masato blushed as a picture of a certain pink haired girl some to mind.
He still knew very little about who she actually was, but he was determined to help the innocent, young woman out. She was, after all, the only woman he had shown interest in for a while- not to mention the only one who didn't find any interest in him. She was unique- an enigma among women. So few could blame like she, even if they tried. She was pure, he knew, until Ren married her. He knew that her purity could only be tainted by a man like Jinguji- seductive and fowl-played. it was only a matter of time that his influence ruined her forever. He, however, know just how to preserve a flower.
It took love, care, and warmth, something that could be and would be provided to her every single day at his mansion.
The more time he spent with her, the more quirks he noticed. When waiting, she always folded her fingers in her lap as if she were lovers holding hands- spooning her hands and intertwining her fingers. She also ever so slightly would shake her chopsticks up and down before putting food in her mouth, as if trying to shake something off. On top of that, she ate her vegetables first, whether or not she liked them, and then rewarded herself with one thing of her favorite food on the plate. She than would move onto her second favorite and reward herself again and she would repeat this until she reached her favorite food- and even then she saved the best piece for last.
He could go on forever about her, he knew so much from only about a week with her- how she moved her air, when she squinted her eyes, and how she tried to yawn without opening her mouth in front of people, ending up expanding like a puffer fish.
Masato sighed as he turned around his building, watching as the workers planted the new tulips into the ground, smiling at them. He found that they looked like how he would expect Haruka to work- smiling and patient. One of them even looked like her.
Masato stopped and stared at a pink haired woman working with the tulips near the back of the group side by side with a red haired man and a blue haired man. Masato took a step closer, trying to get a better look at the beautiful woman kneeling on the ground while facing away from him. He stopped as she turned her face towards him, showing him her beautifully golden eyes with green irises. He watched as she smiled happily towards his brother, who in turn smiled back at her, shoulders near touching as they worked together. Tokiya stopped and reached for her face, whipping a piece of dirt from her cheeks. She blushed at contact- another thing he noticed about her- and thanked him kindly.
Masato glared at him brother. There was only one thing that Masato knew that he himself would provide her that could ruin her purity- his jealousy. Seeing her there, nestled in between his brother and his assistant, caused a strong wave of jealousy to wash over him- to see HIS brother touch the woman HE loved seemed almost traitorous. He knew his brother felt the same way for the pinkett that he did, but that only made matters worse for him. After all, he was a busy and wealthy business leader with little to no free time while his brother was wealthy with almost twice the amount of free time Masato had.
Who knew that his bastard brother would have things so much better than him? He almost chuckled at the irony of it all.
Still, he would press on and in time Haruka would see just how wonderful of a man Hijirikawa Masato could be. He would prove to her that he could love her and cherish her like no other man alive. He would treat her kinder than any other man could and love her and-
"Um, sir, are you okay?" A small voice asked. One of his younger maids was standing near him, smiling up at him kindly. The others tried to call her back in a panicked chatter, but she stood firm, staring him right in the eyes. He liked that about her- she was only eighteen but was as bold as an bull and strong willed as a tiger, staring directly into his eye.
Unlike the other flower caretakers in the garden, she wore a pair of of overalls over a red, checkered shirt with long sleeves. She also had on large, clunky boots.
"I'm fine." He answered.
"You were staring at your brother before?" She asked, making small chat in her American accent.
"No." Masato answered simply, staring back at Haruka.
"Than maybe... at miss Nanami?" She asked knowingly. Masato scowled at her but she nearly giggled, holding a hand over her freckled face as her cute, brown braids bounced with each giggle and blue eyes squeezed shut happily. "I'll go get her for you~" She giggled, beginning to skip over to the pinkett. Masato sucked in a breath, suddenly panicked. He wasn't ready to speak to her yet. He tried to call her back but she called out to them. "Excuse me!" She sang, causing the three of them to turn to her. She was so loud! She seemed to think nothing of it, but to anyone around her she was bellowing like a whale. "Mister Masato would like to see-"
"Tokiya!" Masato suddenly shouted out, trying to cover up. Tokiya stood up and approached Masato, leaving the young maid, Otoya, and Haruka alone together. The maid giggled and bent down to Haruka with a twisted smile on her face, causing Haruka to yelp and pull herself back.
"Y-yes?" She asked, trying to keep eye contact.
"Aren't you the apple of everyone's eyes~" She giggled, causing Haruka to blush and shake her head.
"N-no, I-I'm not quite sure what you're talking about." Haruka said, flicking a strand of her hair back. The girl nodded unconvincingly, a smile on her face.
"Yeah, your probably right, Mister Masato was probably just staring at you because he doesn't like you." She said sarcastically, causing Haruka to blush.
"S-staring?!"
"Mimiko, leave her alone." Otoya frowned, standing up and crossing his arms.
"Oh come on, Oto-It~ I was just having some fun~" Mimiko giggled.
"Ano, do you two know each other?" Haruka uncertainly.
"Yep, I'm Mimiko, born in Japan and raised in America and I'm currently a flower care woman here! And you're Haruka Nanami, the girl Mister Masato talks about all the time!" Mimiko said, causing Haruka to blush. "But don't think I'm gonna lose to you easily, alright!?"
"L-loose to me? What do you mean?" Haruka asked shyly.
"I mean I ain't gonna give up just yet!" Mimiko said again, causing Haruka to look at Otoya, confused. Otoya gave her a small smile, pointing at Mimiko, making a heart with his fingers, and then pointing... at Masato.
"R-really?" Haruka asked uncertainly. Otoya nodded.
"Not gonna lose, not gonna lose! NOT GONNA-"
"Mimiko-san, please stop shouting!" Masato yelled as calmly as he could. Mimiko smiled and waved at him, shooting her 'okay', causing Masato to shake his head.
"I don't think... I could ever keep up with her energy..." Haruka sighed.
"Oh, Haruka-chan~" Mimiko said. "Even if we're love rivals, let's be bestest friends ever! We can go shopping, try on each other's clothes, pick up cool bugs and snakes, and play video games!" She said, shaking Haruka's hand vigorously. "Let's go do something right now!" Mimiko said, pulling Haruka along.
"W-wait, shouldn't you get changed first?" Haruka asked, still thoroughly confused, needing time to think. Mimiko stopped and let go of Haruka, fitting her thumbs into the straps of her overalls and pulling them out before letting them snap back to her.
"I am changed. I've been on off duty for an hour now and have the rest of the day off too." Mimiko smiled, continuing to drag Haruka around.
So, what do you guys think of Mimiko? I literally just added her in on the moment. She was going to be just some character who showed up to asked Masato if he needed something but that I came up with this cute girl and just HAD to put her in.
I hope you guys enjoyed this longer chapter- it took me sooo much longer to write than I thought I would take- but it was sooo worth it~
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