MariMite
Stuck With You
Sachiko's Prologue
Ogasawara Sachiko was smiling faintly as she pulled a pale blue, woollen turtle-neck over her head. It was seven in the morning, and the seventeen-year old girl was already wide awake and showered. She did not stray that far from her normal wake-up time that morning, only getting up fifteen minutes earlier; but then, that was fifteen extra minutes making sure that she looked presentable for her petite sœur.
Her feelings for Fukuzawa Yumi had been growing since the girl had accepted her rosary last year. At first, her feelings were purely onee-sama-like – she was there to aid, guide, and mentor, to comfort and to assure, to give constructive criticism and to help her blossom into a mature, elegant young lady.
But then, somewhere inside her, something changed. All she thought about was Yumi, all she dreamt about was Yumi, all she wanted was to be near Yumi – to touch her, to caress her, to hear her sweet voice flowing from her luscious, pink lips. She found herself spacing out in class, daydreaming about her precious imouto. She would absentmindedly doodle Yumi's name in her subject books, only having to erase them later so that the teachers wouldn't get suspicious. She had already been questioned twice this term on her grades – they had fallen since her daydreaming had begun – and had the teachers hovering over her shoulder in worry.
It was quite a nuisance, really.
Still, she mused, pulling on a pair of jeans, putting up with lecturing teachers was a small price to pay for daydreaming about her beloved Yumi. Of course, her falling grades were an issue, so she had taken to revising late through the night to boost them back up, and took copies of Hasekura Rei's notes after each Yamayurikai meeting. That was a big help, and she was especially lucky that she and Rei were in the same class. Nevertheless, copying Rei's notes didn't help bring back the sleep she was losing. Bags had appeared under her eyes after just two late-night revision sessions, and Sachiko was dismayed at them. It is unsightly for a lady to have such unattractive features. She was quite lucky that Yumi hadn't noticed them yet – she would usually notice things like that right away, but for some reason, the girl's perceptiveness had lessened. Sachiko put it down to exams.
Yumi was the reason that Sachiko had risen extra-early on a Saturday morning. She had asked her if she would like to visit the new department store that had recently opened in Tokyo – Seventh Heaven, so named for the seven storeys and the 'heavenly' items on the shop floors. Personally, Sachiko thought the name of the store to be rather silly, but mused that she had no right to judge a store name without knowing the owner. It wasn't ladylike. Nevertheless, Yumi had mentioned the store once with excited eyes and a smile, so Sachiko decided to ignore the name of it and asked her to go with her. She would do anything to keep Yumi smiling happily.
It was ten past seven when Sachiko had completely finished preening herself. It was a little early, as she didn't need to be there until eight o'clock, but she would ask Ray to take her to the Fukuzawa residence anyway. Sachiko hoped that they wouldn't mind her coming sooner than told, but it was a ten minute journey, so by the time she arrived there, hopefully someone would be up to let her in. Yumi had told her once before that her mother was an early riser, and liked to sort out the bills and the paperwork on the first morning of the weekend. Still, Sachiko would understand if she had to wait. It was a Saturday, after all.
Keeping that thought in mind, Sachiko wondered through her wing of the mansion, descending down the stairs with natural grace. She walked through the main section of the mansion quickly, making her way to the phone in the hall. When she got there, she frowned at her idiocy – why hadn't she just used the phone in her room? Shaking her head at her stupidity, she picked the phone up and dialled Ray's number. After five rings, the phone was answered, and a gruff, masculine voice spoke through the line.
"Rushman here."
"Sorry to bother you, Ray-san, earlier than planned," Sachiko started, her tone apologetic.
"Ojou-sama! Good morning! And no, not at all, is there anything you need?"
"Good morning," Sachiko smiled, "Do you think you could come and pick me up now? Something has come up, and I'd like to see Yumi as soon as possible."
"Of course, ojou-sama, I'll leave right away."
"Thank you, Ray-san."
Sachiko put the phone down, feeling satisfied. Ray Rushman was a pleasant, reliable American who had been found by her father whilst he was on business in New York. Back then, Ray had recently lost his job to a wealthy Asian business man, and as a result, his bitterness got the best of him, and he hijacked the car that Touru was waiting for. Touru had quickly realised that something was wrong when 'Takeda' started driving at one hundred-and-fifty miles an hour, screeching round ever corner.
Ray never told her the full story, and she tried her best to keep out of her father's way, so never had she learned the finer details. But from what she had concluded, Touru had gotten Ray to calm down somehow, and managed to rationalize with him. After the whole ordeal, Touru had been so impressed with Ray's ability to drive safely at such a high speed that he offered him a job as his daughter's chauffer back in Japan, with free accommodation. Ray had humbly accepted the offer and moved to Japan, where he lived in a posh apartment only five minutes away from the Ogasawara Mansion.
Sachiko's thoughts were interrupted when a butler came into the room and announced that her ride was here. Picking up her shoulder-bag, she left the hall with excitement in her wide strides, a small smile of anticipation on her face as she slid into the back seat of the car, with a little feeling in her chest telling her that today would be an important day for her and Yumi.
Okay!! Well, this is the first prologue of Stuck With You (obv). I know that the poll results say that Puppy Love was the most wanted, but I added the votes in reviews and PMs to the result, and SWY came out on top, so I hope that's cool with everyone.
Stuck With You... well, I don't know how long it's going to be yet, but I plan to switch the P.O.V in every chapter from Sachiko to Yumi. So Yumi's prologue comes next and then we progress from there! =]
Something that I forgot to mention in ACTR: the name ideas for Eriko's family. Nobody knows what Yamanobe-sensei's first name is, so I looked up his voice actor - Eiji Itou. So that's where Yamanobe's first name comes from. Also, their daughter, Tsuta. Tsuta means 'ivy' in Japanese, and I named her so because I was humming The Holly and the Ivy at the time when I wrote it. Deep stuff going on here, people!
Also, who has started watching the fourth season? I saw the first four eps yesterday and I absolutely cannot wait for the next one! Fantastic stuff. The opening sequence rules as well.
Oh, and I found a bunch of MariMite cursors online, so if you want a Sachiko or a Touko on your computer, ask me for the link =] Unfortunately, there is no Eriko or Kanako, but there is a Mami.
...I'm blabbling. Please review! I'll give you cookies if you do! Chocolate chip ones! xD
