"Mayumi!" she turns around to see her best friend, whom she misses the most. She runs and engulfs them in a big hug, which they return.
"Momi, Kaya. I miss you both! How are you guys?" She asks as she continues squeezing the life out of both girls.
"We're fine. It must be hard when you're a part of the 12 families, huh?" Kaya asks while Mayumi laughs awkwardly.
"Hey, Mayu. Can you tell us who your boyfriend is? Isami-san or Miya-san?" Momi ask. Mayumi startles at the question making her face turn red.
"What makes you ask that kind of question?!" she looks away, blushing.
If those two are courting her, she'll need to choose only one. Of course, she had already decided who will she choose, and it was Shihou. But by what's happening right now, that was beyond possible.
"Well, in your week of absence, we got some news that someone saw you with Isami-san several times. There's also this group of girls saying that they see you together with Miya-san. When they approached him, he said that you and he were on a date, so don't bother both of you. I'm asking you this, who is your real boyfriend between the two?" her friend asks, curious about Mayumi's answer.
"What are you talking about, Momi! They are my friends! And besides, if one of them is my boyfriend, dad will kill them!" Mayumi said, blush evident on her face.
"Yeah, you're right. But are you sure?" Kaya asks, which causes her to blush more.
The two of them continued to tease Mayumi until they heard a cough. They turned around to find the source to see a girl standing behind them with a slight smile. A girl with long strawberry blond hair tied in a ponytail with grey eyes and red eyeglasses, Mayumi began to think, isn't she Shihou's girlfriend?
"Amagi Mayumi-sama, right?" she asks with a smile.
"Umm...yes?"
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Mayumi nods with hesitation. She's nervous and curious about why she wants to talk to her. Maybe she wanted her to distance himself from Shihou?! But isn't he already doing it by himself?
"Is the rooftop okay with you?" she asked as she turned around and began to walk away, Mayumi trailing behind her.
"Umm...yeah, I think it's fine!" Mayumi said, still wary about what was happening.
"Let's go?" she said as she left the way. Mayumi swears she saw a glimpse of Shima Sumi in the corner of her eye.
As they reach the place, the girl turns around to face her. Seriousness is apparent on her face making Mayumi intimidated.
"You may not know me, but your friend Shihou knows me..." She untied her hair and ruffled it to look like a messy hairstyle. At that moment, Mayumi confirms that this girl is indeed Shihou's girlfriend. She is beautiful and more attractive than her.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, sorry! My name is Haru Hikari! Feel free to call me by my first name Amagi-sama!" she said as she bowed, making Mayumi feel uncomfortable.
"Mayumi is fine! Why do you want to talk to me, Hikari-san?" She asks awkwardly with the sudden formality she's receiving.
"Because of my childhood friend, Shihou. Did the two of you argue? Ever since last week, he's been out of himself. I mean, ever since you moved to the Amagi main house and when Sumi-sama was the one who began to handle your affairs. Since that happened, he's been like that! What happened between the two of you?" Mayumi's eyes widen; she's wrong. She got it all wrong! They're just friends and not a couple! How stupid of her to assume someone's relationship! Nevertheless, she tried to remember what had happened.
"Umm...I'm sorry, Hikari-san. I couldn't help you find the answer because I don't know myself. He was the one who said that I'd be leaving the Isami house to move to the Amagi main house. He didn't even tell me the reason why..." Mayumi said sadly while looking at the ground. Hikari smiled as if she already knew what was happening.
"Thank you for informing me, Mayumi-sama. And it seems like your boyfriend is here to pick you up!" she said, smiling slightly, while Mayumi looked at her, confused.
"Boyfriend?" Mayumi asks. Hikari points behind her. Mayumi turned to look at her back to see Tennou standing there with his arms crossed to his chest with an irritated face.
"No, he's not my boyfriend!" Mayumi denied it awkwardly. Hikari's eyes widen slightly before smiling, somewhat sad, which causes Mayumi's confusion.
"If you say so, I'll go now. Bye, Mayumi-sama!" Mayumi frowned. She is using her first name, yet she still uses sama. She's wondering why she keeps being formal with her.
"Wait, Hikari-san!" she called. The girl stops and looks at her.
"I would appreciate it if you don't use honorifics!" smiling at her, she said this. The other girl looks at her without any emotions on her face. She looks down as if contemplating before looking up at her.
"I don't think I'm in the position to call you without using honorifics Mayumi-sama. Anyway, I'll need to go now!" She said, waving and leaving in a rush.
Mayumi is confused by what she means, but she thinks the girl is still uncomfortable talking about it, so she remains silent. When she is finally gone, she turns to Tennou, confused as to why he's here.
"How did you know that I'm here?" she asks, crossing her arm. Tennou's starting to creep her out.
"I ask your friends, let's go! I will show you something!" he said as he held Mayumi's hand.
"Umm...okay?"
Hikari is on her way to the meeting place. When she arrived, she saw Sumi sitting drinking tea with Hayami Tatsuya eating bread crumbs.
"Sumi-sama!" she lightly called. The woman turns to her, smiling,
"Oh, there you are. Hikaru!" she said, obviously teasing the girl. Tatsuya smiles at him, and she's one of the few people he communicates appropriately with.
"Hi, Mari... " he rasps out. Sumi smiles at him before fully facing Hikari.
"It's Hikari, Sumi-sama..." she sighs, clearly tired of the woman's teasing.
"Well, they have the same meaning, so I think that's fine. Right, Tatsu~?" she asked the man in front of him, while the other smiled at her with a nod.
" Yes.. "
"So what information you managed to acquire?" the woman said, taking a sip of her tea.
"We're right! The one who has a problem is Shihou!" Hikari happily exclaims to the woman.
"Him?" the woman smirks, putting down her teacup and looking at Hikari.
"Not only him..." she began to frown. She wasn't sure if she should say it. The time she's talking to Mayumi when he suddenly appears.
"Hikari?" Sumi asks, concerned with the sudden downfall of her mood. Hikari looked at her and hesitantly replied.
"Umm... Miya Tennou. It seems like he like Mayumi as well. I think that's why Shihou has been ignoring Mayumi-sama for the past week! Because maybe he knew that Tennou likes her!" she said awkwardly, scratching her head.
"I see..." Sumi looks at the girl, concerned. Tatsuya looks at both of them before seeping his tea.
"And when I'm still talking to Mayumi-sama, and he suddenly came up, he looks me in the eye. His eyes look like it saying that I should know my place! What does it mean Sumi-sama?" Hikari looks down while biting her lower lips.
"Hmm..." Sumi began to think her eyes still stayed on the girl in front of her. Tatsuya looks at Hikari and Sumi with a confused panic, flailing his hands around. Sumi looks at him with a smile before holding his hands to calm him down.
"The Miya family will do anything to get their future partner, and aren't you fully aware of that rule? Anyways you're right. Hikari, we have another problem other than Shihou. Our big problem is dear Tennou! We need to make him stay away from Mayumi so that Shihou can have his way..." As she opened her eyes, Sumi looked at the hands she was holding.
"Sumi-sama, why are you committed to making them a couple?" Sumi looks at her with a smile.
"Let's just say a little girl came to me asking for help after seeing her brother crying..."