"I kissed him!" Mimiko cried, covering her face with her hands. Haruka's mouth dropped right open. She knew that Mimiko could get a little over excited about things, but something like this was just...
"U-Um... Do you... Are you sure?" Haruka asked in disbelief.
"Yes! My lips were on his lips!" Mimiko yelled, almost sounding angry that Haruka didn't believe her. Haruka jerked back, frowning
"W-well, I mean, I want to believe you, but... How?"
"I don't know." Mimiko sighed, letting her forehead fall onto her folded knees.
"Well, are you sure it was you?" Mimiko looked up at Haruka, confused. "I-I mean, are you sure he didn't... You know... kiss you?" Haruka suggested, not quite sure what else to do. Of course that could have been how it happened.
"Yes I'm sure." Mimiko sighed, crossing her legs and rubbing her face with her hands. "His eyes were wide open. It was an accident."
"W-well," Haruka tried to think of something to say, anything to comfort her friend in her time of need. "What did he say?"
"Who knows. I just ran out of there. Left the house, walked for a while, found a payphone, called you, then walked over here."
"Wait, you walked here? I thought you said you took a car." Mimiko looked down, ashamed. Haruka frowned again. She had no idea what to do in this situation. She had never had any friends her age or any with these kinds of problems before. There was only one thing she could do. Haruka scooted right next to her and pulled her into a comforting hug. Mimiko returned the hug, sniffing on Haruka's shoulder. Haruka rested her head on Mimiko's, patting her back comfortingly.
Mimiko nearly started crying again, but she bit her lip and kept it in. It was clear that Mimiko had truly crossed the line with Masato and their friendship was damaged. But in reality, there was no where else for her to go. He was the only one who was willing to keep her employed- before him, she couldn't keep a job for more than a month before messing up and getting fired.
"...Haruka?" Haruka hummed, pulling away from Mimiko. "Do you wanna know why I like Masato?" Haruka nodded, smiling at Mimiko. Mimiko looked down, blushing. "Well, it was a long time ago- a few weeks after Masato hired me. I was running with a pail of water to help refill the stream that ran through the garden, since we were having a bit of a drought and the water was drying up. But I nearly ran into him on the way and dropped the water bucket. We were covered in water and I practically ruined his new Kimono. I was so sure he'd fire me on the spot- tell me to pack my bags and never show my face around there again. But..."
Haruka leaned in, a smile blooming on her face. Mimiko blushed and a soft giggle left her throat, a smile trying to break out on her tear stained face.
"But all he did was laugh and pat my head. He told me that 'Everyone makes mistakes, so it's important to learn from them'. Then he reached out and patted my head. Oh, Haruka, you should have seen his eyes! They were so warm and forgiving!"
Mimiko looked up at Haruka, a smile blooming over her face, all previous signs of grief gone. Haruka smiled back. Mimiko leaned forward, eager to just talk now.
"I've always done my best to do all that I can ever since. But I still mess up all the time. Things became easier when Oto-It started working there too."
"How long have you been working there?" Haruka asked, furrowing her brow in confusion.
"Just a few months longer that Oto-It." Mimiko shrugged. "Oh! You know what really gets on my nerves? When people saw that Masato is a 'cold person'! He is so kind and forgiving and sweet! Why do people think that about him?" Mimiko huffed, crossing her arms. "I mean, really. He's so forgiving, even if he is a little scary when he's angry, that doesn't make him a cold person." Mimiko rolled her eyes and Haruka giggled.
It seemed like the gloomy mood of before completely lifted, Mimiko excitedly telling Haruka all about her times with Masato- the times she messed up and the times that she was praised, even a couple times Masato messed up.
"-Oh! And there was that one time when Oto-It was being yelled at by Masato, until I told him that I was the one who...broke a vase... and he just completely froze up! It was kinda like when Tokiya and Oto-It- no matter how much Oto-It or I mess up, we don't get fired. N-not saying that I take advantage of that or anything! I just like that I have chances!"
"I know, I know, don't worry. I know you would never do something like that." Haruka giggled. "You know, I think I'm seeing an entirely new side to Masato. I never knew that he was so... Forgiving."
"You'd never think so when you first meet him." Mimiko smiled.
"But if he's so nice to you, why haven't you told him you like him?" Mimiko's smile disappeared in an instant. She looked down, fiddling with her fingers.
"W-well, I've THOUGHT about it before. But I could never actually do it. I was scared... that he wouldn't like me back. I guess I don't want to be rejected by someone whose been so nice to me in the past. I-If he said no to me, I-I don't think I could ever look him in the eye again!" Mimiko sniffed, rubbing her eyes. Haruka quickly moved back to Mimiko's side again, wrapping her arms around Mimiko once more. Mimiko leaned onto Haruka, rubbing her eyes excessively.
"Sorry, Mimiko. Mimiko, I promise you that if when you need me, I'll be there. I'll help you talk to him again, I promise you that." Haruka sword, squeezing Mimiko comfortingly.
"Thank you, Haruka. Thank you so much!"
Hey guys! Sorry this is a really short chapter, but I just didn't know how to end this and was kinda struggling to write this part. But at least I got a few good parts to it. I kept changing the little story that Mimiko tells of why she loved him so much, since I couldn't really decide what to write for that, but I think that I pulled it off at the end.
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