Haruka explained the entire story without leaving out a single detail, mainly because if her chances of getting the girls to help her were already low if she hid something from them, not only would they definitely not help her, but she could even be expelled from the group. After dedicating so much time to changing and becoming friends with all of them, it would be a shame to be expelled from it.
"I understand your situation, but the fault is completely yours," Nana said.
"That's right. Why did you lie in the first place?" Momo nodded.
It was unnecessary to say that everyone was asking themselves the exact same question. Why did she lie? What's so bad about saying that you hadn't managed to get the girl you like? After all, it's not like they were the only ones in existence. There are thousands of girls in the sea, even if very few are as beautiful as them.
"Well… it might be hard to understand, but the truth is that we've always been rivals," Haruka answered.
"Weren't you friends?" Lala asked, confused.
"Best friends," Haruka nodded.
"I don't think I understand…" Lala said.
"Ahem, although we're best friends, we've also been competitors since elementary school," Haruka said.
"And what exactly were you competing in?" Nemesis asked curiously.
"To understand this, first you have to know that unlike normal kids, Souta and I awakened our sexuality in elementary school, specifically in fifth grade," Haruka said.
Seeing that everyone was looking at her, Haruka continued.
"Now that you know this, you also have to know that I realized I liked girls after confirming that boys didn't interest me at all. I even tried dating Souta for a while, but in the end I realized that it was women I liked and not boys. That's when everything started, when our rivalry began," Haruka explained.
"Why does it seem to me that your competition wasn't healthy?" Nana wondered.
Although the sharper girls had already realized what kind of competition the two of them had.
"Ahem, we both started competing to see how many women we could pick up. I won't go into details, but over time it became our obsession. We even traveled to other places to compete," Haruka said.
"I see… I suppose you both came to Sainan for that reason too," Momo said.
The answer was clear, but she still wanted to hear it from her own mouth.
"That's right, and I have to say it was pure coincidence. Without going into too many details, we ended up coming to Sainan and after arriving we saw Lala by chance… I was captivated by her at first sight and the rest… the rest you already know," Haruka said.
"Yes, the rest we know," Yami nodded.
As if they didn't know. She had spent weeks trying to flirt with Lala and hitting on them, weeks of effort that ended in failure, although at least she decided to stop trying and behave like a normal person. It took her a few weeks, but she finally understood that she had no chance with any of them.
"Anyway, and as I already told you, Souta called me the other day and bragged so much about his girlfriends that I got angry without meaning to and said things that weren't true. Before anything else, I apologize for saying all those things about you. It may not have been true, but that's no excuse for saying it, especially considering that all of you have partners. So I'm truly sorry," Haruka said.
Everyone was surprised because today they hadn't expected to hear an apology come out of her mouth. Was this really the same Haruka who always acted superior and arrogant? It seems she has truly changed… or maybe it's a new strategy?
But the reality was simpler than it seemed. Yes, Haruka had undergone a fairly important change in her personality during the time she had spent here in Sainan. Since she arrived she hadn't achieved any of her goals, but she had gained friends. Haruka had never had friends before for quite obvious reasons, so she had never known what it felt like to have friends until this very moment. In fact, she had never thought about making friends with any man other than Souta and now look at her: she's friends with Akira, whom she used to hate with all her strength, and she even has feelings for him. If that isn't a change, then nothing is.
To be honest, there wasn't one specific situation that made Haruka change, but rather a combination of everything she had experienced in Sainan up until now. But yes, she had changed, and this time for real.
"… I know it's very selfish, but… could you help me? It's only pretending and I won't do anything inappropriate," Haruka said.
She didn't want to do this. In fact, she wished she could go back and prevent her past self from saying something so stupid, but the reality was that she couldn't go back to the past and fix it, so she only had to face the present.
"And what would happen if you rectified and told your friend the whole truth? It's the most logical option," Mikan suggested.
Telling the truth was the best option. Why lie? In life not everything is wanting something and having it instantly. There are many things one can only desire but not have. What's so bad about telling your friend that you hadn't found a girlfriend? Mikan couldn't understand why Haruka didn't tell the truth.
"Well…" Haruka tried to say.
"Mikan is right. Continuing with this lie isn't worth it. Just imagine if we help you. Then what? Will he invite you on the next holidays, whether it's Christmas or not? How long do we have to pretend? Will we even have to pretend a wedding? No, the best thing is for you to tell the truth," Lala said.
They could help her this time, yes, but… how long could they keep pretending? At some point, they would all marry Akira and would probably have to leave the planet for a long time. How would Haruka pretend then? The best thing was to tell the truth now while there was still time to do so.
Haruka was left speechless, but deep down she had to admit that her beloved Lala's words were true. Lala and the others were engaged to Akira and one day they would marry and would probably forget about her… What would she do then, pretend she had left such beautiful girls? No one in this universe would believe that nonsense.
"You're right, but… how do I do it? I'm afraid he'll laugh at me the way I laughed at him the last time it happened to him… I simply wouldn't be able to stand it. He would laugh at me for years," Haruka said.
The last part was an exaggeration, but otherwise she was right and hadn't exaggerated.
All the girls thought something when they heard her: Doesn't she deserve it? If you laugh at someone, you have to be prepared for them to laugh at you in return. Otherwise, you wouldn't have laughed at him.
The normal thing would have been to tell her that and let her face the consequences of her actions herself, but the kind-hearted Lala decided to help her this time.
"Although you really should face the consequences for having laughed at him… this time I'll help you, but don't do it again," Lala said.
Lala was a kind spirit, incapable of doing evil, and she liked helping people in trouble. It was simply her nature.
"Really?" Haruka asked hopefully.
"Yes, but I'll only do it this time," Lala nodded.
The others simply looked at Lala with curious eyes: Help her, in what way?
"In what way do you plan to help her, sister?" Nana asked, frowning.
Lala looked at her sister who was looking at her with a furrowed brow, as if she was thinking something inappropriate.
"What are you thinking? Do you want me to tell Akira to 'punish' you?" Lala said with a playful smile.
Nana turned red as a tomato.
"O-Of course I wasn't thinking anything inappropriate, I was just curious!" she hurried to say.
Well, she did think about something for a few seconds, but only for a few seconds.
"How are you going to help her then?" Mikan asked curiously.
"Easy. I'll call her friend myself and tell him the whole truth. If she can't do it, then I'll do it. Problem solved," Lala said.
Simple and straightforward.
"B-But that won't stop him from laughing at me," Haruka said.
"Oh, I completely forgot about that, hehe," Lala said with a smile.
A drop of sweat fell down Haruka's face. The girls didn't want to help her, but she also couldn't reveal the truth to Souta or she would become the object of his mockery.
"Maybe I have an idea that could work," Momo said suddenly.
Everyone turned to look at Momo, waiting for that supposed idea that could help Haruka, who was desperate to find a solution.
"How about we tell Akira to tell him?" Momo suggested.
"Akira? I mean, Haruka likes girls. Why should Akira intervene?" Mikan asked.
"That's right… wouldn't it be even more surprising if Akira goes?" Dita nodded.
Haruka thought both of them were right. How could she let Akira go? It wasn't because it bothered her, but because it would be strange considering she hadn't mentioned that she now had a male friend named Akira.
"And so what? Does liking women automatically mean she can't have male friends?" Momo replied.
The girls' minds lit up. That's right! If Akira presented himself as Haruka's friend to help her, wasn't that normal? Just because Haruka was a lesbian didn't mean she couldn't have male friends.
"Momo is right. What do you think, Haruka?" Lala asked, fixing her gaze on Haruka.
Haruka thought about it. If it had been before, she would have rejected this proposal without thinking, but that was before. Now everything was different. Before she treated Akira as her enemy, her rival in love, but now her confusing feelings toward Akira made it impossible for her to hate him. Her feelings toward him weren't those a friend would feel for another friend, but rather… in any case, it wouldn't be bad if Akira helped her.
"It sounds good to me, but… will he agree to help me?" Haruka asked Lala.
"If it's Akira, he'll agree," Lala said without hesitation.
Akira was a kind person who always helped people in danger or who needed help. How could he not help a friend?
If it had been the old Akira, he would definitely have refused to help Haruka, but since their relationship was now different, he would help her without hesitation. As for their current relationship… Akira considered Haruka his friend because she seemed to have changed her attitude and got along well with the Haruka who no longer tried to flirt with his girls every chance she got and no longer showed that arrogant attitude. It was quite simple. Meanwhile, Haruka considered Akira something more than a friend, but she still wasn't ready to reveal those feelings to the world, considering she still felt something for Lala and didn't want to ruin her friendship with Akira.
It was curious to see how their relationship had undergone such a drastic change in such a short time.
"If it's Akira, he'll help," Mikan nodded.
Everyone agreed. After all, they knew Akira like the back of their hand and knew he would help Haruka with her problem.
"Then… could someone help me ask him? It's just that I'm a bit embarrassed," Haruka said.
The girls were surprised. Haruka was embarrassed and a little flushed, something they had never seen before—a side of her they didn't know existed but that they quite liked. They liked the shy Haruka much better than the previous arrogant and vain Haruka. Since she had changed, they liked her much more.
"I'll help you, don't worry," Lala said.
Haruka looked at Lala with a grateful look. Her Lala never failed her.
After this small conversation, the girls spent the rest of the day talking about their things, watching movies, and doing girl things in general. A calm, simple, and pleasant afternoon that everyone enjoyed. Although they were also anxious to have their date with Akira.
{Note: Doing girl things does not mean doing yuri things, so don't think badly. I clarify this because I'm sure some of you had thought about it.}