He searched everywhere, but he was not able to find Mayumi. Going back to the Isami estate, he hopes Mayumi will already be there. Maybe Tennou already brought her back without telling him. Yeah, that's all he can only think about now! After entering, he immediately asks some house members if they have seen her. Shihou felt relief when they said that she was already in her room.
Knocking on the door, he heard a voice saying, come in. He saw Mayumi sadly looking through the window when he entered the room. Shihou notices the frown on her face and wonders what happened? His body moves, approaching Mayumi and hugging her from behind, causing her to startle.
She decided to look at him making her eyes widen when she saw his relieved face. Did she make him worried? Maybe yes! After all, she didn't tell him that she was going back already, and her father might scold him for not doing his job well!
Shihou nuzzles his head to her neck, causing the poor girl to blush madly. Her blushing dissipated when suddenly she remembered what she had seen earlier. How happy Shihou was with that girl, a lump formed in her throat as she began to speak, apologizing for the ruckus she made. Shihou gets his senses back and apologizes as he lets her go.
"Eh?! Isn't it the other way around? I know you're worried because if something bad happens to me. There's a chance father might kill you." Mayumi said, averting her gaze at him as she turned around to face him.
Sighing, he felt relieved that she didn't notice his real feelings when he hugged her. However, she had quite the point because he could already imagine what her father might do. When he looks at her, he frowns. She avoided eye contact, but the moment Mayumi looked up, his heart stopped. At this moment, all he wanted to do was to kiss Mayumi and tell her that she was his, and no one could take her away from him. But that was beyond possible. Averting his gaze, he takes his leave, wishing her a good night's sleep.
When Mayumi looked up and, their eyes met, Mayumi knew she already has fallen in love with this man. Seeing him at that moment makes her want something that she's aware she'll be embarrassed to ask. She wants to kiss him and confess her feelings, hoping they will return them. But her hope was lost when Shihou averted his gaze and left, wishing her a good night's sleep. When he was no longer in the room, she began to cry.
It's not her first time falling in love with people that would be impossible to return. After all, she had already had this feeling before with her childhood friend Rokuhiko. But she chose to stay quiet, and later on, she finds herself happy with his relationship. Maybe if she ignores this, the same thing might happen. Ignoring the thoughts in her head, she lay on her bed and cried herself to sleep.
The next day was awkward for both of them, and of course, Sayuri and Keisuke noticed the awkwardness. They giggle as they bet on how long it will take Shihou to confess his feelings for Mayumi.
"You are clear as glass, Shihou! Just confess already!!" Keisuke said. A big smile on his face as Sayuri agreed with her big brother.
"Common brother! Ask Mayu out already!!" her little sister whines to his big brother. Shihou rubs his temple in annoyance. Both of them always like to meddle in their love life.
"No! And I can't!" he answered without realizing it, causing him to blush madly at the realization.
"And why so?" Keisuke teasingly asks, a smirk on his face. The conversation is interrupted when Mayumi suddenly pops out of nowhere.
"Shihou! What's the schedule today?"
"Huh?! Ah, yes! We'll go out at 8 am! We have a meeting with the 4th family head Kanazawa Mitsumori. So you will be there for almost 3.5 hours. Next is the 5th family that should be us! So maybe you can go to the meeting much later; father would like that too! And then the last one for today is the 6th family head Shima--" Shihou suddenly stops when the realization hits him.
The embarrassment that he had long forgotten came back to him, as he remembers when he bought the sanitary napkin for Mayumi. Sumi is there and helps him; swallowing his embarrassment, he begins to speak again.
"Shima Sumi was the most beautiful teacher of Tsugami College University..." Mayumi's eyes widen.
"Eh?! I want to meet her soon! Isn't that the school where you'll enter college?"
Shihou was shocked to hear the sentence; he didn't remember telling Mayumi where he'd enter college. A warm, tingling sensation is what he felt; this was the first time he had felt something like this. He feels like he's going to get used to this for some reason. He startles when he hears a whisper from his brother.
"It's the law, am I right? You can break it if you want!" his brother whispered before he and Sayuri left them alone.
Mayumi looks at him, smiling. He wants to protect that smile. He wanted to be the only one to receive that kind of smile. Yes, it sounds selfish; but he wanted to be selfish right now. He'll take Mayumi to be his bride before Tennou can announce it, even though it means breaking the law. He smiles the most genuine smile he can muster as he looks at Mayumi.
"Let's go! Kanazawa-san was a doctor, so we had limited time with him. So get yourself ready!"
"Y-yes!" Mayumi said, embarrassed blush on her face going unnoticed by Shihou.
The genuine smile that she got from him; made him more handsome than he already was. Her heart can't contain it anymore! She quickly goes out of the living room to get ready.
++++----++++----++++
"Sorry! I have an urgent operation, can you wait for a while or maybe you can go to your next meeting? I think I won't be able to continue talking with you right now..." he said apologetically.
"Ah, we understand, Kanazawa-san! I know it's busy being a doctor!" Mayumi said with a smile. After that talk, they leave to go back to the Isami estate. But Shihou insisted they go first to the Shima house instead. Mayumi agrees because she knows how troublesome it is for Shihou to use transportation.
As they reach the Shima house, the embarrassment on Shihou's face is crystal clear. The thought of how Shima Sumi found him looking at the sanitary products and how she helped him resurfaced in his mind.
"It's nice meeting you again, Shima-san!" Shihou said.
"Nice to meet you, Shima Sumi-san! I'm Amagi Mayumi! Amagi Seichi's daughter!"
"Ah, so you're his daughter! Shihou!" hearing his name, Shihou shivers. By any chance, does Shima Sumi wants to tease him?
"How did you manage to buy that in front of everyone around you?" she said, clearly teasing him.
"Eh?! What did Shihou-san buy?" Mayumi asks, confused about what the two are talking about; Sumi looks at her and smiles slightly.
"Sanitary napkin," she straightforwardly said; this caused them to blush in embarrassment.
Why does she even remind them of it! It was already embarrassing just by asking Shihou. Suddenly he is pulled by Sumi as she whispers something to his ear.
"Is that the girl you buy the sanitary napkin for?" he blushes at the question, but he nods anyway.
"Oh~ So she's your girlfriend!" Sumi whispered, continuing to persuade Shihou to say a word about them.
"No, she's not... not yet..." Shihou said the last word came to a whisper as he had a light blush on his cheeks. But even though he said the last word as a low whisper, Sumi hears it still. Grinning, she came up with a plan to make Shihou make a move on the poor girl. Walking in front of Mayumi, she giggles.
"I can be your teacher!" she eagerly told her as Mayumi's eyes widened.
"Huh?!"
"I will teach you everything you need to know about the 12 families! Let Shihou have his rest, as I teach you. Okay?" looking at Shihou, she saw his eyes widen, making her smirk widen; this will be so fun!