51 Powerful Gossip

What was this new plot development? The villain was not informed.

"Ara, thank you so much! You're really such a good friend," Koharu continued to crow in delight as she squeezed her hard, so Ara glanced at Rin and Miharu who were beaming at them for some clues.

The two girls were a bit teary-eyed and Ara wondered which kind of drama Koharu performed today.

"You're really the best friend," Koharu added and it took a lot for Ara to maintain a neutral face.

"What happened?" Suzuki Ara finally managed to ask as she tried to get away from Koharu's embrace. But the latter seemed to have become an octopus so it was difficult to free herself without being so obvious.

"You went to see your big brother yesterday, right?" Miharu asked back, and when she nodded, they smiled again as they told her what happened.

"We went to the hospital after school, because Koharu and her parents were there with Yuichi."

Yuichi was Okada Yuichi, Koharu's younger brother who had a heart condition and was confined at the hospital.

"When we were there, your brother came with a lawyer," Rin continued. "Ah Ara, your bro's sooooo handsome," she continued, looking totally star-struck and sidetracked.

Ara's assumption that Rin must be a good-looking-face fan, was getting more solid by the day.

"Ah, and your brother said you asked him to help out. So he talked to Koharu's parents and asked them about what happened. After that he gave them an option to fix the misunderstanding at their work and get their jobs back or start their own business."

"My parents chose to clear their names and return to their old job," Koharu said. "So he told the lawyer to fix it, and he did."

"He's soooo coooooool,"Rin added again. "Ara, I'm a fan of your brother now."

Ara gave a bit of forced laughter. She wondered what would happen to Rin if she ever saw either Kazehaya or Kou. She could already imagine this girl being K.O.ed by their good looks. Her brother paled in comparison to those two guys and Rin's already like this.

"So it's already okay?"Ara asked, and the three girls nodded.

"More than okay. Your bro even put Yuichi under Suzuki Raiden Group's Brotherhood Program's beneficiaries. So, from now on, all hospital expenses will be paid by the program. Yuichi can stay at the hospital and receive treatment while they're waiting for him to be strong enough to have the surgery."

Hmm… Good job bro.

"That's good then. It means there's nothing to worry about anymore," Ara commented.

Since its lunch break, Ara had no excuse when the girls dragged her to have lunch with them. It would be weird if she declined, and so she tagged along for the day.

They were seated on the table at the cafeteria chatting when Koharu's eyes suddenly widened, her face looking starstruck. Rin and Miharu were still talking, oblivious to what Okada was doing, but Ara noticed the change in her. From looking disinterested at the topic to suddenly looking demure, she could already guess who Koharu saw.

Ara was right.

"Yo, Suzuki, Midori was looking for you yesterday," Sonoda Hiroaki suddenly said from behind Ara.

All the three girls immediately turned their heads to see the Judo vice-captain standing next to Ara's seat.

"Something came up so I had to go home suddenly," Ara explained.

"She went to see her brother to ask him to help my family,"Koharu suddenly butted in, hopeful that the boy would start a conversation with her.

But she was disappointed. Sonoda just glanced at her and turned his attention back to Ara. "She'll be doing club activity later. Just drop by if you have time. She was worried about you."

Ara nodded, and satisfied, Sonoda Hiroaki left.

"Woah, since when are you on speaking terms with Sonoda?"Rin asked as the four of them watched the athlete's retreating back.

"Just recently. I hang out with his girlfriend," Ara answered nonchalantly, as the corner of her eye caught another shift in Koharu's mood.

The girl seemed to be irked that Sonoda ignored her, and the storm in her brown eyes was directed at Ara. She was obviously peeved that the boy she liked talked to Ara and not to her. Ara surmised when Koharu mentioned about her troubles to Sonoda, she had wanted him to ask about her but was snubbed.

"Since when have you been hanging out with that Ichihara," Koharu couldn't help but ask with obvious venom in her voice.

Ara's brow arched at her. "Weren't you the one who said we should hang out with Midori?"

Before the accident, Okada Koharu tried her best to integrate Midori into their group so it wouldn't look suspicious if Ara would take Ichihara home in her car.

As if remembering her bad deeds, Koharu snapped back and resumed her 'damsel in distress' façade.

"Ah, I was just worried. Because of her, people hated and badmouthed you. I was thinking it's a bad idea to hang out with her now," Koharu explained with concern while smiling.

Amazing.

But people were past being so gullible.

"What are you talking about Koharu? That misunderstanding was because of you and not Midori's – and that rumor was already cleared," Rin scolded Koharu on the spot.

Bravo Rin!

"I think it's a good idea Ara's hanging out with her. It means there's really nothing bad going on between them and the rumors will completely die," Miharu added.

Bravo Miharu!

Ara was totally amused. Anger flashed in Koharu's eyes momentarily, but she immediately backed off. With the two scolding her together, she had no choice but to apologize.

"I-I'm sorry. I forgot about that," Koharu stammered, regaining her composure, but her eyes still glittered like hard, unyielding orbs. "I was getting angry for Ara. After she helped my family, I wanted to help her with her love life."

"What are you talking about? What does my love life got to do with Midori?" Ara wanted to roll her eyes. It seemed Koharu's brain got fried. Her acting skills and her memory's all messed up.

"She's your love rival isn't she?"Koharu asked innocently, and Miharu finally smacked her arm.

"Aw! Miharu what's that for?"

"Be happy I didn't smack your head," Miharu scolded Koharu. "How many times do we have to tell you Ara doesn't like Sonoda before you can understand?"

"I-I…"Koharu finally realized she messed up. "Sorry, I forgot," she said through gritted teeth.

Ara felt like laughing. All this time and it seemed the burikko just realized now that she had lost her alibi to run after Sonoda, and was totally unhappy about it.

"You will cause another misunderstanding for Ara,"Rin supplied. "If the archer prince finds out about the rumors, he will be upset too. Which boyfriend wants people to spread rumors about their girl?"

Ara's eyes popped. Boyfriend?

Technically Rin was correct, but Ara had never mentioned anything to them about Kou yet.

"Who needs Sonoda? Ara has a handsome prince for a husband and they're in love…"

Husband?

Ara was amazed at how things escalated. She just mentioned the archer prince weeks ago, then he suddenly became her boyfriend, and now husband.

Amazing!

For the first time in her life, this demigod witnessed firsthand how powerful gossip was.