Citrus: Mei's Story vol. 10 - Resolute Heart

III. Subversive Machinations

           I sighed in barely veiled impatience as I sat down near Haji in my grandfather's sitting room. Maruta stood nearby along with a beautiful if meticulously put together woman in a fitted office dress suit. Outside the still open door, my grandfather's men were just visible. Collecting myself, I nodded towards Maruta. She nodded to her assistant and moved closer as the woman moved to exit and close the door. Haji let out a nervous chuckle.
           "What is it today?"
            Keep it together. It's just for show. We've been doing this for the last few meetings. Just think of your boyfriend, Haji. I'll think of Yuzu. That's how we'll get through this.
           As we waited for the woman to return, I attempted to keep up the act that we were having a conversation about the wedding.
            "I believe we're supposed to pick out flower arrangements for the reception. Isn't that right, Maruta?"
           "I believe so, Lady Aihara."
          Maruta nodded with her most fraudulent smile yet. She hated this just as much as Haji and I. However she was particularly annoyed with who it was I had ended up engaged to. Watching her interact with Haji reminded me of the times I witnessed the unspoken dislike between her and Mother. The only difference was that she was very clear that it was only in this situation with Haji. However I was happy enough to keep playing the part that any of this was actually real. At least for the time when we were being watched. I put on my own fake smile and turned back to Haji.
           "Well then, Mr Udagawa do you have any preferences?"
           Before he could respond, the woman returned with a binder and made sure the door behind her was closed and locked. We all looked at her with barely hidden expectation. She let out a sigh and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and nodded to Maruta with a self-satisfied smile.
          "They're gone."
          At her words we all relaxed and dropped the act entirely. Haji looked like he was going to throw up as he looked towards the two of us.
          "Do we really need to put up an act like this every time we all get together?"
            It's not that bad. At least we can keep putting off actual things by pretending to fight over things. Like flower arrangements. I'm pretending we're planning my wedding to Yuzu and that's informing all my choices.
           I sat back in the couch and gestured towards the bridal book in front of me with a flippant hand.
           "We're going with lilies and yellow roses."
           "I still can't believe the person the old man chose was Haji! I could call Micchan and we could make them reconsider."
          As she spoke, Maruta had her assistant clear the table of wedding things and set up the necessary items for our real meeting. Haji let out a terrified laugh and then immediately gave her a pleading look.
          "Please don't do that..."
          Better him than someone else, besides it's not like either of us were given a choice this time. Stop giving him such a hard time. You know what he's facing as well.
          "Considering everything, he's the best option for us actually."
         Maruta raised a finger at my words and slowly shook it back and forth in disagreement before she offered the biggest reason to not settle.
         "He's not your prince."
         "And I'm not his, we both are not even remotely interested in each other."
         It's not like either of us are straight! And we all know what we are planning here.
         "So if I'm going to be forced into a marriage to some man, I'd prefer one who doesn't want to touch me."
         That remark earned me a sigh and a glare from Maruta before she shrugged and started going through the information on the table between the three of us.
         "Still, I would prefer if we didn't actually consider you married to anyone other than Yuzu."
         At her name, the room went silent and the air grew awkward. It was clear that they had both noticed that I still struggled with the distance, but things had shifted since I had discovered the truth about Mika. I was no longer going to wallow in my loneliness and pain. Still it was impossible for me not to be affected by hearing her name. My voice couldn't hide the interest inside.
         "How is she doing?"
         "She's gotten better at hiding it, but she doesn't go out as often as she used to."
         So she's still struggling...
          I looked from Maruta to Haji. Maruta was always good for information, but she only collected it from other sources in situations that she wasn't directly concerned in. Yuzu wasn't exactly part of her typical circle. Haji, on the other hand, had two potential connections that might give him more information. Unfortunately he just shook his head.
         "Yuzu only came by for work or with friends when in the area..."
         She's been struggling to not break, even though that's what we need from her. We need her to act, or else we need to move forward quickly so we can activate Plan B as soon as possible.
         "And Matsuri's stopped coming to the restaurant so often except to pick up food for her brother. She looks the same as she did a year ago."
         I blinked. I hadn't realised that Haji and Matsuri had been close for that long. But the look in his eyes spoke of a worry that the girl was trapped in a bad situation once more. I looked towards Maruta. Ironically Matsuri was far more likely to be closely watched by Maruta personally.
         "Still silent?"
         "Only about what happened. She spends all her time with Harumi or at home with her brother."
         I let out a relieved breath. Other than Yuzu, Matsuri was one of the most important people to me. Despite how things currently stood, I still felt like she was my little sister. I just wish I could get her to join us and help spur Yuzu or figure out how to deal with the ramifications of Plan B. I set aside my sisterly feelings and decided to ask something that would tell me exactly how much time we still had.
         "And Yuzu, does she still have her ring?"
         "My reports say she wears it on a chain and doesn't even try to hide it. Tends to play with it when something makes her thinks of you."
         "How do they know she's—"
         "The wistful look filled with sorrow and pain that matches yours is one give away, but she sometimes will mutter your name when she thinks she's alone."
         Yuzu... please don't give up on us. It's not too late.
         I nodded and smiled weakly to let her know that I understood what she was trying to tell me. Yuzu was heartbroken. Like back in Kyoto when she was struggling to confess. That meant she was going to decide how to act before too long. Plan A required the majority of things to be up to Yuzu. We just needed to be ready to makes sure she had the opportunity.
          "Thank you for that, now where did we leave off last time?"
         "We were discussing how we might deal with the board and the outdated rules they have for who can be the chairman."
         And with that we started working out the details for exactly how Plan B would go. The primary objective was to find a way to use the marriage as a way to get the board to accept minor changes that would end up allowing me to become the chairman despite their traditions. All while avoiding having to prove our marriage and secretly being with who we want. Eventually I would become the sole head of the Aihara family and could solidify the link between Haji's family and mine without the need for us to stay married. Then we could divorce and marry the people we actually loved. Some of the things would also work if Plan A occurred, but that path would offer different challenges and a vastly different timeframe. We wanted to plan everything we could in the worst case scenario, and then Maruta and I could set up a framework to be ready for if Plan A actually occurred and we had to quickly adjust. I wanted to leave nothing to chance in Plan B. It was the only plan that I could actually strategically figure out. As much as I loved Yuzu, I couldn't always predict when or how she would act. The only thing I was sure of was that we loved each other to a level that made us crazy. Matsuri was underselling things when she called us addicts for each other. Now I just had to show her and everyone how far I would go for Yuzu.