A/N: Welcome back! If you want an explanation for my heinously long hiatus, I have an authors note at the end of this chapter that explains everything. So, uh, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own OHSHC in any way, shape, or form. My OC's, however, are the product of my own imagination.

When Watanabe Miyako was twelve, she became engaged to Haninozuka Yorihisa. It wasn't a bad match-up; while the Watanabe's were well-renowned for their skills in dancing and other physical arts, they didn't have the sheer wealth an old family like the Haninozuka's did. It was a very fortunate match for her family indeed. And yet, she…

"Hello, Haninozuka-san."

"...Watanabe-san."

When Watanabe Miyako was sixteen, she started dating Oshiro Aiko. Neither of their families would approve, and the very thought lit up a part of her she didn't know existed. She tried her best to smother it with Aiko's lips.

"We can't tell anyone. Please, promise me?"

"Miya-chan...I would promise you the world if I could. Now come on, I think our parents are wondering where we are."

Then they broke up.

"Miyako, how could you dishonor our family like this? Goddammit!"

"D-dad, I...please…"

"No, shut up! Do you know what you almost cost us? The Haninozuka's nearly dropped the engagement because of your...your...offense. You will end this farce of a relationship, or so help me, you will be disowned. Is that clear?"

"But I...I lo-"

"Don't. Finish that sentence. You will break up. Is that clear?"

"...Yes."

At nineteen, Watanabe Miyako became Haninozuka Miyako.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Haninozuka Yorihisa and Miyako."

"...Wata- hm. Miyako-san, smile. The family is watching.

"Sorry, Yorihisa-san."

A year later, she was pregnant. The Haninozuka's rejoiced. Her parents sent her a formal letter of congratulations. She held it above the trash for a long, long time, before tucking it gently into a drawer at her bedside table.

"Would you like to know the gender, Miyako-san?"

"Yes, please!"

And nine months after that, a bouncy baby boy was born. Miyako loved him on sight. She had picked out a name months ago, before Yorihisa had informed her that he would be naming the firstborn. Looking at her son now, though, she couldn't find it in herself to even be bitter. He was just so...

"Oh kami, he's beautiful."

"You did well, Miyako-san. Ah, um, thank you."

"Haa- You don't have to thank me for giving birth, Yorihisa-san. But, uh, you're welcome."

"Excuse me. I'm sorry to interupt, but we were just about to fill out the birth certificate. May I have a name?"

"Mitsukuni Haninozuka."

When Haninozuka Miyako was twenty-three, she discovered love again. It was odd, she supposed, to be falling in love after marriage and a child. But the baby brought about a side of Yorihisa she hadn't seen before. Something gentle. Something she could get along with, rather than merely go along with.

"Yorihisa-kun, I…"

She also discovered she was pregnant. Again.

"I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant."

At that point, life was finally going pretty smoothly for Haninozuka Miyako. Then she had an ultrasound.

"It's a girl."

And then she got sick.

"You have to abort! Giving birth poses the danger of death. You can't take this risk for the sake of a female child!"

"H-How can you say that! It's a child! It's my child, I won't-"

"YOU GAVE UP THAT RIGHT WHEN YOU SIGNED YOUR MARRIAGE CONTRACT!"

"..."

"Remember, you are obligated to birth a minimum of two male children-an heir, and a backup. Choosing to continue with this pregnancy will be considered a willful violation of your contract. The consequences of this course of action will be severe. You will terminate this pregnancy, do you understand?"

Haninozuka Miyako was a quiet girl, had been all her life. Sometimes she led too much with her heart instead of her head, but in the end, she would always bow to those above her. Disturbing the status quo wasn't ever something she wished to do, and defying the Haninozuka elders in such a way would create ripples reaching further than she could comprehend. She wasn't especially smart, or brave. In the end, she really had no choice but to bow. And yet, she...

"..."

She…

"No."

Rebelled.

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When she was only forty years old, Watanabe Miyako died. She left behind two sons that never knew her, three daughters to mourn at her bedside, and a legacy of honor and altruism.

"Promise me you'll take care of yourself Mai. You are kinder than you think you are, so be as good to yourself as you are to others. Please?"

"Of course I will kaa-chan. Y-you have my word."

And at age sixteen, Watanabe Mai promised herself that she would uphold that legacy to her own dying breath.

A/N: Sooooo... Hi. Yeah, that really isn't the right thing to say in this situation, is it? I've decided to rewrite this whole fic, because I went back to look at it and- yeesh. That wasn't good work, like, at all. So yeah, the entire damn thing is getting scrapped and redone. I mainly included a prologue to cover up the unsightly plot holes and over-reaching I did to conceive the story's base. We get insight into Miyako's character and a less terrible explanation for how this whole secret-sister thing came about. And in case anyone was wondering, yes, I WILL be violently murdering the unrealistic cliches that I used prior and actually putting effort into making the presence of Mai's friends seem realistic. See you all next chapter!