"Awe man! Ya beat me again!? How do you do that?!" Mimiko cried, falling back onto her couch. Haruka blushed and rubbed the back of her head.
"I'm just good at racing games and strategy games I guess." Haruka admitted, placing her wiimote down. Mimiko, Haruka, and Otoya had all gone to play wii games in Mimiko's room since she dragged Haruka off, Otoya keeping close to them in case Mimiko got a bit... intense for her. But the two of them got along surprisingly well. They both loves Mario Kart (A.N.: I don't own Mario Kart and do not to intend to say otherwise), which they were playing at the time with Otoya, and both had the same hobbies- like flower caring and bug hunting.
"Nah, I think you're just a pro-gamer is all." Mimiko sighed.
"How did I come in eleventh?!" Otoya complained.
"It's cause Haruka threw that green shell back." Mimiko smirked.
"That was mine?" Haruka asked, turning to Mimiko.
"As far as I could tell." Mimiko shrugged.
"I almost came in sixth, but that shell knocked me off a ledge and set me back." Otoya sighed.
"You also almost came in ninth, but Haruka's banana screwed you over as well." Mimiko laughed.
"That was mine?" Haruka asked, suddenly feeling bad for ruining Otoya's run.
"Yah, I remember you putting that there before ending the race- you just dropped three right by the end." Mimiko giggled, covering her mouth.
"I suppose I do that pretty often, huh?" Haruka blushed, looking down. "I guess I'm just good at this game because of the lack of fighting."
"Nah, you kicked butt in Fire Emblem as well." Mimiko smiled. (A.N.: I also don't own Fire Emblem)
"W-well, I mean, like, shooting games- I'm good as turn taking games." Haruka corrected and Mimiko shrugged.
"Well next time we'll bring Syo-Ku in on this as well." Mimiko smiled.
"No way- Nanami and Syo will slaughter us." Otoya complained.
"Otoya, I think you mean the three of us will slaughter you- I'm a pretty good player." Mimiko bragged, pointing at her third place on the board.
"Well if it's Nanami against Syo... oh god, both of them get first every game, who would win that?" Otoya asked.
"I hate to admit it, because Syo-Ku and I have been friends for so long, but Haruka would win that round." Mimiko admitted, smirking.
"Oh, you and Kurusu-kun are friends?" Haruka asked.
"Yep, Oto-It, Syo-Ku, and I are all good friends!" Mimiko smiled. Haruka smiled. It was nice to have friends like them, always smiled and laughing. She was afraid that her wealth would turn them away from her, but they all seemed to ignore it pretty well. A little too well sometimes.
A faint knock was heard on the door and the door slid open. Masato sat on the floor, looking in at them. The three of them rose and Mimiko welcomed him in.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but can I talk to Nanami-san?" Masato asked, looking at Haruka.
"Alright, ya better get going!" Mimiko smiled. "But I still ain't gonna lose." Haruka chuckled awkwardly and stood up, walking over to Masato. He blushed as he took in her appearance- she was dressed in a pair of Mimiko's overalls with a pink shirt underneath. Her hair had been branded a little, her hair having been growing longer for a while, now to her shoulders when down. Haruka was dressed up as cute as a button thanks to Mimiko, and Masato was thankful for that.
"Th-this way, please." Masato asked, leading Haruka down the hallway. Haruka followed him, suddenly remembering what she was wearing. "Well you three seem to be getting along well." Masato said, looking away from her.
"Yes, Mimiko-chan is very nice to me." Haruka nodded. Masato lead her into his private quarters. He sat down in front of her and gestured for her to take a seat. She tried to sit on her legs, but her overalls made it uncomfortable, forcing her to sit cross legged.
"So, I have been looking over the terms of your marriage with Jinguji and found that the marriage was simply to provide money to your company, is that right?" Masato asked, already knowing that this was true. "Looking it over, I found that there is a loophole in the agreement that may perk your interest."
Haruka frowned, furrowing her eyebrows. "I'm sorry, but I don't quite understand where you're going with this." She admitted, hopelessly lost.
"I mean, I found a way to void your marriage." Masato said, jumping straight to the point. Haruka's eyes widened with shock. Void the marriage? Was that even possible?
"L-like getting a divorce?" Haruka asked. "H-how?"
"Well the agreement was made to provide money to your company. There was no reason for the Jinguji corporation to have been picked for this, it was more of a pick from the pile sort of deal. So, simply put, if you agreed to marry someone else with large expanses of wealth than you would meet no wall of resistance in the process." Masato explained.
Haruka blinked. Get remarried? That had never even crossed her mind before! But who could she even remarry? The only wealthy bachelors she knew were Natsuki, Cecil, Tokiya, and...
"W-wait, are you, um, proposing?" Haruka suddenly asked, causing Masato to blush.
"W-well, I mean, I guess- i-in a means to help you only! I-I, um, well, er, um..." Masato stuttered, his strong disposition cracking at an alarming rate. Haruka blushed and looked down at her lap. Getting remarried... At first the idea was very exciting to her, but as she thought back, Ren was... nicer now to her. She hadn't even run away because of something he said- it was one of the maids. Suddenly it seemed a bit harsh. He was warming up to her finally, and the idea of breaking a sacred bond like marriage seemed almost sinful now.
"Hijirikawa-sama," Haruka whispered, keeping her eyes down. "This is very kind of you to do for me, and I couldn't be any happier to have friends like you and Hijirikawa-san and everyone else here... but... I don't think I could do that.." Haruka admitted, biting her lip.
"Why?" Masato asked, trying not to sound too hurt.
"I just... I married Jinguji-san whether I like it or not. And I'm sure Grandma did it for a reason. I think that if I turned back now, I would miss some big even that I would have never seen if I hadn't married him. I'm sorry," Haruka whipped her eyes, trying not to act so week. "I don't think I'm ready to make such a big decision."
"...I understand." Masato said, nodding his head. "I just wanted to let you know. You are dismissed." Masato said, pulling some papers to his face. Haruka bowed and stood up, turning away from him and leaving the room. When the door closed behind her, Masato's hands clutched the paper, shaking slightly. She had turned him down. He bit his lip to keep quiet, refusing to let any tears down. He understood why she did- he should have known that she would remain loyal to her husband- even one like Jinguji. Still, it hurt just the same. He asked her and she turned him down.
But Masato was a kind man. He wished for nothing more than her happiness. He turned his head when his phone rang beside him, a picture of Ren's face showing up on the screen. It would hurt, but he knew what he had to do.
Hura! I've been meaning to write this chapter for about a month now, but I kept pushing it back, over and over and over again. But now I finally did it! Haruka rejected him- I bet that there are a few of you out there that are completely pissed about that.
Sorry that this chapter is an hour later than I usually put it out on the weekends- I just woke up later than usual and needed some time to wake up.
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