Author's Note: This is a story I started a while back and my girlfriend asked to read it. After reading it she liked it even though she knows nothing about 'Maria-sama ga miteru' and she's been encouraging me ever since to continue writing. So, this is for you, Janel. I love you :)

Early morning in the Fukuzawa household, before an alarm could go off, a hand shot out and hit the snooze button. That hand belonged to the eldest child of the Fukuzawa's, Fukuzawa Yumi, who was already dressed and ready for school. Yumi headed downstairs into the kitchen where she found her mother preparing to start on breakfast.

"Gokigenyou Okaa-san."

"Oh! Yumi, why are you up so early? You're already dressed for school too? What's happening this morning?" Fukuzawa Miki responded in surprise and slight suspicion.

"I have something important to do at school before our council meeting. I'll be heading out now. See you later!" Yumi said while grabbing a banana out of the fruit bowl. Out the door Yumi went in a rush without giving her mother a chance to question her some more. 'Sorry Okaa-san, but your questions will just have to wait.'

After all, today was the day that, Fukuzawa Yumi, would grow a backbone and confess her feelings to her Onee-sama, Rosa Chinensis en bouton, Ogasawara Sachiko. From the first time Yumi laid eyes on Sachiko at her first year's entrance ceremony, she felt her heart stop momentarily. When it started beating again it might as well have been Morse coding "I-L-O-V-E-Y-O-U." And if Yumi still had any lingering doubt in her, it was cleared away when they met face to face.

Sachiko had stopped Yumi by the Maria-sama statue to fix her tie. If Yumi wasn't so overwhelmed by the situation, she would have felt some shame for the ecchi thoughts going through her head. After that, Yumi didn't think she would or could, get any closer to the bouton. But fate decided that it wasn't done just yet and on that same day, Yumi found herself on her back, at the bottom of the stairs at the Rose Mansion, with a body laying on top of her.

It wasn't just any one's body, oh no, it was the Rosa Chinensis en bouton, Ogasawara Sachiko. Sachiko's body was laying none too gracefully on Yumi. As if the nasty bump to the head wasn't enough to frazzle her brain, Yumi came to the conclusion that; she was a lesbian, the person laying on her smelt really good, like roses really, their breasts dwarfed her own barely A-cups and she was definitely a lesbian, because their body felt so good. When Yumi opened her eyes; she saw exactly who it was. Her panties, which had almost finished drying after earlier that morning's run in at the statue, didn't stand a chance.

From then on the ecchi thoughts just got worse and worse. But that wasn't the only thing that evolved over time. Yumi's feelings also continued to grow. The feelings that Yumi had for Sachiko had grown so much that now it was impossible to hide them- not that she as ever good at hiding things- but still.

The teasing from the current Rosa Gigantea, Satou Sei and Rosa Foetida, Torii Eriko was getting out of hand. They were practically telling everyone that Sachiko was her world and they were right. Many days Yumi found herself feeling dizzy and weak from the amount of blood that pooled in head from the embarrassment of it all. Maybe if her breasts were bigger, the added weight from the blood might have caused her to tip over. But none of that matters now. She had reached the gates of Lillian and her goal was nearly insight.

Passing many students, Yumi failed to realize how her aura that radiated with confidence and her face that was set with determination, affected the students. Word quickly spread that something must be going on with the Rosa Chinensis en bouton petite soeur. Stopping at the statue Yumi clapped her hands together to pray.

"Maria-sama, today I'm going to confront Onee-sama and tell her everything. Please be with me." Finishing her prayer, Yumi nodded her head and made her way towards the Rose Mansion while greeting other students along the way.

Upon entering the Rose Mansion, Yumi stopped to listen for any activity in the upper level. Hearing nothing, she ascended the stairs and entered the room, to find that she was the first to arrive. Things seemed to be going according to plan. She got up ahead of time, she arrived before everyone and now she was to prepare for her honored guest. After school yesterday, Yumi didn't go home after the council meeting but instead, she visited the supermarket to get a few things. While in there she came across a mixed berry flavored tea and she decided to try it. Last night she brewed the tea and it was a hit last night. Her family loved, so this morning, it seemed like a good idea to share it with her Onee-sama and the others.

Not only that, it was a good "mood-setter;" for what she had planned to do. While waiting for the water to boil, Yumi decided to stand by the window to keep watch. It was here that her nerves were starting to get to her. Though Yumi was confident that her Onee-sama would return her feelings, one could never be too sure.

But then again, anyone who hated men as much as her Onee-sama, had to be a lesbian, right? It just made sense to be; what else was there? Though, that didn't mean that her Onee-sama was interested in her. Yumi knew that she didn't have much to offer in many ways. She wasn't shapely, but she had an excuse for that, she was still young and growing.

Financially, she was just middle class and academically, she just barely made it into the top 10 and that was after, her Onee-sama tutored her. In spite of the odds that were against her, Yumi knew she had something about her that allowed her to be in the running for her Onee-sama's affection. She had what she had grown to call, "the thing" or "the Yumi effect." It didn't sound like much because it wasn't much, but it was something. It was the very thing that made everyone that met Yumi, took a liking to her. They would all fall to "the thing."

Moving from the window when the kettle sang, Yumi put the tea leaves to seep and washed everyone's cups and turned them down in the drain. When everyone arrived, the cups would only need to be collected and the tea poured. While turning down the last cup, the door to the meeting room opened. Turning to greet the new comer, Yumi's breath caught in her throat, her eyes widened and her nose flared. Momentarily losing her composure at the sight of her Onee-sama, Yumi stuttered out a greeting.

"G-gokigenyou Onee-sama. Thank you for coming."

"Gokigenyou Yumi. Of course I came. How could I deny my petite soeur, in her time of need? What type of Onee-sama would I be?" Walking to her seat, Sachiko set down her bag and turned to Yumi while talking.

"Ano, gomen Onee-sama," Yumi replied looking down at her hands, which were wringing together.

Watching Yumi for a moment, Sachiko approached Yumi and stood in front of her. Reaching out, Sachiko cupped Yumi's cheek while caressing it with her thumb. Sliding her hand down to her chin, Sachiko raised Yumi's head, forcing their eyes to meet. Gazing into her petite soeur's eyes, Sachiko saw something flash in them, which she was becoming familiar with seeing more and more recently. She wasn't sure what it was and she never gave it much thought.

"It's alright, Yumi. You just need to trust me more. I care for you and I will always, make time for you."

Opening and closing her mouth, like a fish out of water, Yumi made to respond, but the words seemed to be caught in her throat. Yumi reached up and held Sachiko's hand to her face, reveling in its softness. Such hands knew nothing of a day of hard work. Her Onee-sama was sure to be easily winded, but her stamina would increase over time. Yumi was sure of it, fore she would help her as they made sweet, sweet- eyes widening and face flushing, Yumi pulled away in an attempt to hide the desire in her eyes. Finding her voice, you made to speak.

"Ah, yes. Thank you, Onee-sama," Pausing to take a steadying breath, Yumi continued with her back turned, "...take a seat and I will bring you some tea." Staring at Yumi's back for a while longer, processing the look she had just received, Sachiko took a moment to respond. She was sure she had just been faced with a hungry look from Yumi. This look screamed desire. It left little room to imagine what Yumi could be thinking about because the look showed it plainly; it was only a matter of "whom." Suddenly feeling unsettled, Sachiko turned away and went to take her seat. It wasn't long before Yumi set a steaming cup down; it was only then that she finally took notice of the aroma that permeated the room. Not being a morning person and having low blood pressure in the mornings, caused Sachiko to miss it earlier.

"Yumi, this smells heavenly," Raising the cup to her lips, Sachiko took a tentative sip, "and it tastes even better, than it smells! What flavor is this?" Smiling brightly, pleased with herself for her find, Yumi happily responded, "its 'Mixed Berries, I'm glad you liked it." Taking her seat with her own cup of tea, Yumi turned to her Onee-sama. Yumi needed to say what she needed, before she lost her nerve.

"Onee-sama, I asked to meet with you early this morning because, I have something very important to share with you. I'm not sure how you will respond to this, but I'm praying for a positive reception."

"I am you're Onee-sama Yumi, you can tell me anything and I will never hate you for it."

Taking a deep, calming, breath and slowly releasing it. Yumi steeled herself and sat up ramrod straight in her chair. Squaring her shoulders, Yumi struck Sachiko with a piercing look in the eyes. Slightly taken aback by the sudden change, Sachiko's eyes widened and she sat back in her chair. Yumi had never looked at her like this before. She didn't know what to make of it.

"Onee-sama, I know that the time we've spent together hasn't been very long, but even before we were together, I have been experiencing this. From the moment I first saw you at the first year ceremony, I experienced this. Ogasawara Sachiko, I, Fukuzawa Yumi, is in love with you and I have been so from the moment I laid eyes on you. This isn't that of a crazy fan-girl, soeurs or friends. There is nothing innocent about my feelings. These feelings I hold for you have grown stronger day by day, fed by every smile, every touch, kind word, even just your presence. It was your stunning beauty that captured my attention, but it was you as a whole, that stole my heart before I even knew it was gone. Onee-sama, I am a lesbian, or at least I am after having met you. I never noticed a woman or any women the way I do, until I noticed you."

Feeling as if she had said enough for now, Yumi waited patiently for Sachiko's response, taking in her wide-eyed and mouth slightly gaping expression. It was quite clear that her Onee-sama was not expecting to hear this from her. It was taking everything Yumi had to stay seated and not take off running through the door. It felt like hours had passed, when in fact, but a few minutes had since her confession. Sachiko had yet to respond, holding the same expression she had, since having heard Yumi declare her love for her. Sachiko's brain was racing a mile a minute and yet, it seemed to be taking forever, to process the information it had been supplied with.

'Yumi is in love with me? How did I not see it? Does anyone know? Is this what Eriko-sama and Sei-sama was teasing Yumi about? That look of desire earlier that was displayed by Yumi, was for me?' Any further thinking would have to wait for later, fore just then the council room door swung open and in walked the rest of the council members.

"Gokigenyou Sachiko, Yumi." Everyone chimed as they entered and walked to their seats.

"Gokigenyou," Yumi replied nervously, while rising from her seat to serve the others their tea and glancing at Sachiko, who still sat frozen.

"Sachiko? Is something wrong?" Youko asked with concern, having noticed Sachiko's lack of response. Everything about Sachiko was abnormal. The normally impassive girl, sat with a shocked expressing seemingly staring ahead at nothing, but in fact, her eyes were following the movements of a pig- tailed brown-haired girl. The others all stared on in confusion and growing worry. No response came from Sachiko. The petite soeur's went about setting tea before their respected Onee-sama before taking their seats.

Calling twice more to Sachiko, Youko still received no response from the girl. Yumi was starting to sweat with worry. All the while, Sachiko stared at Yumi. Reaching out, Yumi took Sachiko's hand in her own, where a reaction finally came from Sachiko where she gasped and jerked her hand away. Taking this as rejection, Yumi placed her hand in her lap and stared at the table. Blinking rapidly, Sachiko looked around the room at everyone that had gathered. She took in each expression that was directed at her. Concern and worry was etched into everyone's faces except for Eriko, who seemed amused by her reaction and Sei who had a small grin forming.

"Y-yes Onee-sama?" Sachiko finally answered stuttering. 'Calm yourself, Sachiko. You are an Ogasawara and as such you must always be the image of perfection.' With this thought, Sachiko straightened her back and schooled her facial expression into one of impassiveness. Youko looked on watching her petite soeur attempt to collect herself. 'Sachiko you're not fooling anyone but yourself. Something happened and I am going to find out.'

"Is something wrong? You never responded to our greeting and I've been calling you for the pass 5 to 10 minutes," inquiring with a raised eyebrow, Youko continued to study Sachiko and glanced over to Yumi when she saw her stiffen slightly. 'Hmm? What's this here…? That's right... When we entered Sachiko was staring at Yumi and she reacted negatively to her touch...Something is definitely going on between the two.' While waiting for Sachiko's response, Youko glanced at Sei and Eriko. Both seemed to share the same thoughts as they returned the stare with accompanying smirks.

"I'm sorry to worry you Onee-sama, everyone," Sachiko answer, casting a glance at everyone around the table and ending with her eyes on her Onee-sama. "Everything is fine, please, let's start the meeting."

"Everything is not fine," Yumi's voice broke through, disturbing the silence that had settled after Sachiko had spoken. "...and it will never be "fine" until you respond to what I told you, Onee-sama. I will not be ignored, we will finish our conversation." Grabbing her things Yumi rose from her seat and started heading for the door. Pausing at the door, Yumi glanced back over her shoulder saying, "Onee-sama, I expect to see you at lunch time in your meeting place. Gokigenyou everyone." And with that Yumi left closing the door behind her with a resounding sound. The silence left behind was deafening. No one moved or spoke. It almost appeared as if they had all stopped breathing. All eyes fell on Sachiko, who still sat staring at the door in open shock. The first to break the silence was Yoshino, who quickly rose from her seat to give chase after Yumi.

"Yoshino!" Rei shouted after her while rising from her seat to stop her. "Rei-chan! Something's seriously wrong! Yumi is never like that and I need to know what's wrong," holding on the doorknob Yoshino threw a fierce glare at Sachiko, "For your sake, Yumi better be okay or not even the power of the Ogasawara will save you from me."

"Yoshino!" Rei practically screamed in rebuke and shock! "My, my, this has to be the most entertaining meeting we have ever had, wouldn't you agree, Sei?" Eriko announced with a grin on her face more fitting for Sei's. "And Rei-chan, you need to learn to control your petite soeur. This simply will not due."

Rei slumped down into her chair in a rather unladylike manner, but with what had just happened no one thought to comment or blamed her. Shimako, though lagging behind had gathered up her things during the whole episode between Rei and Yoshino. Now finished, she rose from her chair and tried to quietly excuse herself.

"I will follow after Yumi-san and Yoshino-san, Gokigenyou everyone." Shimako said with her calm angelic voice. The others just watched her leave and after the door swung shut, everyone's attention that had once been diverted with all the happenings, found its way back to Sachiko. After this recent development there was no avoiding it now. Youko would have her answers and she would have them now. There was no time for waiting because something serious seemed to be amiss.

"Sachiko, what happened between you and Yumi? Don't try telling me that it's "nothing" or that it's "fine" because it's clearly not. Yumi made sure to point that out." Youko asked and stated in a pointed tone. Everyone looked on, waiting patiently for Sachiko's response, all the while observing her reaction to the questioning. Sachiko, who was now facing everyone but not meeting their eyes, stared at the tea cup that Yumi had set in front of her only moments before. She was sure that it was still warm and probably still held her sent from where she touched it. Sachiko heard her Onee-sama speak but she couldn't form a decent response because she didn't have one. She was just as shocked and confused as they were. No way, would she reveal to them what Yumi had only just revealed to her. It was private and she wouldn't dare betray her petite soeur like that. Straightening her back and raising her head, Sachiko prepared to say something that could possibly pacify the waiting Roses.

"What happened between Yumi and I, is a private matter. I apologize on the behalf of Yumi, for disrupting the meeting and for worrying you. Thank you all for your concern. This meeting seems to be adjourned. I will be going now. Goki-"

BAM!

"No, you will not. Sit down Sachiko. Now," Youko slammed her hand on the desk, cutting off Sachiko. Youko sent a fierce glare at her petite soeur, daring her to defy her. Sachiko froze mid rise from her seat, eyes torn open wide, jaw slightly slack, "Sit. Down. Sachiko." Youko repeated herself in a threatening tone. Opening her eyes even wider than what was surely to be humanly possible; Sachiko slowly lowered herself down into her seat, fearful of making any sudden movements that might invoke the wrath of her Onee-sama.

This was a first time event for everyone that was currently present. This was possibly, the first time Youko had ever handled her petite soeur so harshly. The normally calm and collected, Rosa Chinensis, was showing a side of her that was alien to everyone. The fellow Roses, didn't know how to handle this situation that seemed to be quickly, spiraling out of control. The currently burning fire, Mizuno Youko, was the mitigator and the voice of reason during disputes and uproarious occasions. When Sei and Eriko or Rei and Yoshino (though in the case of Rei and Yoshino, it was more so Yoshino than anything) started on each other, it was always Youko that ceased fire between them. Now, they all sat stock-still, staring back and forth between the two soeurs.

"Now, I ask you again Sachiko, what happened-"

RIIIIIIIIIIIINNGGGGGG!

As cliché as it was, Sachiko was saved by the bell. Never before was the sound of the school bell so sweet. Its rich tone sung of sweet victory and relief for Sachiko. Finally, she could escape the clutches of her Onee-sama. Not uttering a word, Sachiko quickly rose from her seat and power walked with long strides as gracefully as humanly possible, out of the council room.

"Wow, this is…this is so interesting! I can't wait for our next council meeting!" Eriko cheered like a little girl, almost jumping for joy in her seat.

"I know right?" Sei agreed with Eriko while turning to Youko, "What the hell got into you Youko?" Sei asked with an awed expression on her face.

"You heard the bell; we don't have to discuss this. Gather your things and let's go." Youko replied in a slightly exasperated tone of voice. And with that, Youko gathered her things and went on ahead; leaving the last 3 remaining Rosa's lagging behind. After watching the door swing shut, the Rosa's quickly gathered their things and also headed off for class. This meeting would make them a few minutes late, but it was definitely worth it. There was something going on with the Rosa Chinensis family and they all wanted to know.