"Haaa...great" Yuzu groaned
"So...are you going to explain how this happened?" Seka asked with an image of both Yuzu and Mei on the screen
"People really don't know how to mind their own business-ah! Hey!" Yuzu exclaimed as Seka smacked her head
"Do you like the attention or something?! Why do you keep getting yourself into situations like these?!" Seka exclaimed
"It's not my fault. I can just go live and explain the situation" Yuzu said
"This can't keep happening, Yuzu. Do you know how hard I've worked for you?" Seka asked
"Seka, calm down. Yes I know you've worked hard and I appreciate it" Yuzu said
"What were you even doing there in the first place?" Seka asked
"I had a family dinner because my mom is getting remarried. I was invited to meet my new stepsister and-"
"Wait hold on" Seka said as she looked at the screen closely and looked back at Yuzu
"What?" Yuzu asked
"Isn't she the one you've been after this entire time?" Seka asked and Yuzu looked to the side
"Yuzu!" Seka said
"...yeah you got me. She's the girl I've always talked about..." Yuzu said
"Don't tell me you set your mother up with that man just so you could get a chance to see that girl again..." Seka said
"...look I had other methods but I don't think she'd like that" Yuzu said
"You've got to be kidding me. All this just to be with some girl?" Seka asked
"She's not just some girl okay? She's my soulmate. The only one for me is her" Yuzu said
"...you're nuts" Seka said
"Correct" Yuzu said
"Love sure does make you do crazy things. Alright. Honestly I don't care who you date but what I do care about is these news" Seka said
"I'll get rid of them" Yuzu said
"Are you some genius hacker?" Seka asked
"No but I do have my ways to handle this type of news. You go on and take a break. I'll have to get myself ready for a livestream" Yuzu said
"Are you sure you can handle this yourself?" Seka asked
"I have wonderful friends who would gladly help me. You've done so much for me and I feel bad for giving you so much trouble. How about you take a break from all this work and let me do my thing okay?" Yuzu asked. Seka hesitated for a bit before closing the laptop. She sighed in defeat and nodded
"Fine. I'll let you handle this but for once just do as you're told. You've got a great career going on and you shouldn't let it go to waste" Seka said
"Yeah I know..." Yuzu said and Seka ruffled her hair
"Will you be skipping your classes today?" Seka asked
"Nah, I think I'll go. I can't skip because she'll be there" Yuzu said
"Eh? You even attended the same school?" Seka asked
"It wasn't easy. I had to work hard for it" Yuzu said
"Haaa the only thing I can do is wish you good luck with your love life. But remember that if you do date then this will affect your career...especially with how crazy some of your fans are" Seka said
"Yep! Got it. Thanks Seka" Yuzu said and Seka stood up grabbing her bag
"You owe me" Seka said
"Sure. I'll take you out somewhere" Yuzu said
"Bye Yuzu" Seka said
"Bye Seka" Yuzu said. Once the door shut, Yuzu immediately got herself on the phone. She heard the phone ring until the girl picked up
"Ah hey Yuzu" Shai answered
"Shai, I need you to hunt down those news reporters" Yuzu said
"I...eh? Wait what? Oh! Does this have to do with the scandal from last night?" Shai asked
"Yes. I need you to get rid of the news for me" Yuzu said
"...I can't magically make them disappear" Shai said
"I know that. I'm just saying to do your best and hunt down those reporters. Maybe they can take it off. I'll have to give Maruta a call and see if she can deal with the news online. She's smart" Yuzu said
"What were you even doing?" Shai asked
"My dumbass couldn't remain calm and I ended up wanting to drag her with me. I mean I could've convinced her to follow me if it weren't for Momokino-san showing up" Yuzu said
"A-ah I see..." Shai said
"...Shai" Yuzu said
"H-huh? Yuzu?" Shai asked
"...whatever happened between you and Momokino-san. You need to fix it. I don't want Momokino-san to become an obstacle for me. So do something about it and get her out of my way. I've forgotten how clingy and protective she can be with Mei. They've been besties since forever so of course she'll stay by her side. She's just going to ruin things for me and Mei" Yuzu said
"I-I'll try and do something" Shai said
"Please do...and make it quick" Yuzu said
"I thought your plan was to be patient until she finally comes to you" Shai said
"Yeah but she won't come to me if she has her by her side. Once she's out of the picture then Mei won't have no one to rely on. I highly doubt she has anyone else other than Momokino-san" Yuzu said
"...I'll see what I can do" Shai said
"Thanks Shai. If anything happens you can call me but I'm sure you'll be able to do it" Yuzu said
"Will you be going to school?" Shai asked
"Of course. Mei will be there" Yuzu said
"But what about the-"
"I'm going live soon and explain the situation. Hopefully that calms things down" Yuzu said
"Okay. I'll see you at school then" Shai said. Yuzu hung up and looked at the time. She groaned softly before getting up and walked to her room
"Better get myself ready before I go live. Hmmm...now what should I say?" Yuzu asked

"I understand, grandfather" Mei said
"Good. I didn't expect her to appear again. I believe she did this on purpose" Her grandfather said
"Maybe..." Mei said
"Would you like me to assign you to finish your studies elsewhere?" Her grandfather asked
"No need. It will be fine" Mei said
"If any trouble occurs you can come to me. I'll see what I can do to get that out of the news" Her grandfather said
"Thanks grandfather" Mei said
"Oh before I forget. Mei in three weeks you'll be going on your first date. It'll be a weekend so make sure to mark your calendar. I'll give you the details soon" Her grandfather said
"Mhm. Got it" Mei said
"Have a great day at school, Mei. You'll do great" Her grandfather said
"Thanks. Bye" Mei said and ended the call. She sighed deeply and put her phone down. That's when she heard something from a distance and flinched
"Hi everyone. Yuzu's finally back"
The voice came from the living room and Mei stepped out of her room to find Himeko. Himeko tensed up sensing Mei's gaze and put her phone away
"Was that...Yuzu?" Mei asked
"Ah it's just Yuzu went live and...I'm guessing it has something to do with what happened last night. Anyways we should get rea-"
"Put it back on" Mei said
"Eh?" Himeko asked
"I need to see what she has to say..." Mei said and Himeko went back to Yuzu's livestream
"Anyways I'll make this quick and get to the point. What happened back there was my fault. I sort of crossed the line and got Aihara-san upset. I didn't mean to make her uncomfortable. It's just that we had an argument and...yeah. Hm? You have a question? Oh why was I there? Ah it's simply because I was meeting my new stepsister. My mother is getting remarried so we'll be a family soon. It was our first meeting and I might've fucked up" Yuzu said
"Huh? She pretty much told the truth" Himeko said
"...what are you planning now?" Mei mumbled
"Mei?" Himeko asked
"I don't understand what that will do but whatever" Mei said
"Did your grandfather say he'll deal with the news?" Himeko asked
"Yes. That will be taken care of soon" Mei said
"Good because I don't want your first day of school to be surrounded by news reporters. I mean what if they find out about the old news about you an-" Himeko paused seeing Mei's glare and looked away
"Sorry" Himeko said
"What's her account?" Mei asked
"E-excuse me?" Himeko asked
"Yuzu's account" Mei said
"Why would you-"
"Do I need a reason?" Mei asked
"N-no but...ah whatever. Forget I said anything" Himeko said and gave Mei the account name. Mei got to Yuzu's account and scrolled through the images that were posted. Most of her pictures were herself in new stunning outfits along with a couple of images with other people
That's quite a lot of followers...
"So it's just pictures of her..." Mei said
"Well she's a model. There are some pictures she posted about her vacations" Himeko said
"We should go" Mei said
"Yeah" Himeko said. After the girls were done, they went to the college campus where they met Shiraho
"Good morning" Shiraho said
"Morning Shiraho-san" Himeko said
"Morning" Mei said giving her a nod
"It's quite a nice day today" Shiraho said
"Right? But I really can't wait for fall. It's a great season that isn't too hot nor too cold" Himeko said. Mei looked at her surroundings trying to make sure a certain someone wasn't close by
...she isn't going to try and appro-
"Oh hi everyone" Someone said from behind the girls
"Taniguchi-san! Hey, you're back from your trip" Himeko said
"How was it?" Shiraho asked
"Mm it was alright. It was nice to be away and relax. Oh...it's you Aihara-san. Nice to see you again" Harumin said
"It's nice to see you too. I didn't think we'd bump into each other again" Mei said
"Same. It sure has been a while since the last time I saw you" Harumin said
"Indeed it's-"
"Waaah! Harumin!" Yuzu called her out from a distance before running towards her
"Hey Yuzucchi!" Harumin said and Yuzu wrapped her arms around her
"It's great to see you again! Why didn't you tell me you were back?" Yuzu asked
"I wanted to surprise you" Harumin said
"Did you get me anything?" Yuzu asked
"Of course. I brought souvenirs" Harumin said
"You're free today, right? Come by my place" Yuzu said
"Sure. I can show you the pictures I took" Harumin said
"Perfect! Oh hi everyone" Yuzu said
"Hi Yuzu-pon" Shiraho said
"Hey Yuzu..." Himeko said
"Ah right. Mei, I'd like to apologize for the way I acted yesterday. I think I cleared up the situation so you don't have any trouble today. In case anything happens you can always contact me but I don't think I have anything to worry about because Himeko is with you right?" Yuzu said
"Mei will be alright. Her grandfather is already handling the news as well" Himeko said
"Oh so am I. Maybe by tomorrow those news will be gone. Anyways sorry for troubling you especially since you just got back" Yuzu said
"Uhm it's fine..." Mei said
"Hope you have a great day at school. Anyways, we have to go now. See ya later" Yuzu said and linked arms with Harumin. The two friends walked away together heading inside the school building
"...are they...always this close?" Mei asked
"It seems everyday they get closer and closer" Shiraho said
"Those two have been close since day one. They get along so easily and talk about whatever" Himeko said and glanced over at Mei's expression. She tensed up seeing her teary eyes and tried to grab her arm
"M-mei, are you-"
"I need to use the restroom. I'll see you guys later" Mei said, avoiding eye contact as she left.
"Something wrong, Momokino-san?" Shiraho asked
"I-I...honestly I don't know what's going on anymore. I can't understand what's going on with Mei...and I'm worried about her" Himeko said
"And I'm guessing it's more difficult because she's quiet about it?" Shiraho asked
"With the way Mei behaves whenever Yuzu is close by is making me believe Yuzu more" Himeko said
"The red string of fate?" Shiraho asked
"Yes. At this point I'm just going to put those two together in one room and let them talk it out. Unfortunately we have another issue and that's the Academy. Not sure if her grandfather would accept it. Ugh...I'm not sure what's right for her. I want to give her space but if she keeps behaving like this then who knows what'll happen next" Himeko said
"I think Yuzu will be able to handle this but it won't hurt if we give them a push" Shiraho said
"I'm tired of seeing Mei hurt and upset. I want her to be happy...just like she was back then. Before her father left...and unfortunately it seems that Yuzu is the only one who can do that just because they're connected in some way" Himeko said
"Could we set them up together like...a date?" Shiraho asked
"That would work...but...I'll need someone's help. Someone to easily convince Yuzu like-oh great" Himeko groaned
"Hm? What is it, Momokino-san?" Shiraho asked
"Uhm nothing. We should look for Mei" Himeko said
No way in hell I'm going to ask for her help…