A/N: Just a question before you move on. Don't you think it's still early on their relationship (in this story) for them to end up in bed? And take note, Yumi is always too scared and a worry-prat all the time, right? Don't say later that I didn't warn you. Now hurry up! :)


Chapter 2. The Bites


"Huh?" Yumi caught her breath.

Did she hear it right?

No. It couldn't be. There was no way!

"Yumi, didn't you hear what I said? Take your uniform off," Sachiko commanded impatiently to the unmoving Yumi.

"But, but…" Yumi didn't know what to say, didn't know what to do.

Was Sachiko-sama serious? Or was it some kind of a joke?

Why would she take her uniform off?

What would Sachiko-sama do to her?

Was it the punishment for that stolen kiss?

Scared, Yumi backed away a few steps.

"Yumi? What are you doing? Take it off already or I'll take it off for you."

"B-but, Onee-sama…" Yumi couldn't do anything but stammer with shock. When she didn't do as told, Sachiko moved to take her uniform off.

Yumi, now trembling with fear, bolted to the door with a cry, leaving Sachiko completely mystified.

---o---

It was Yoshino-san's fault. Really. If Yoshino hadn't dragged her along in her chase to Rei, it wouldn't have happened.

Yumi heaved a sigh as she remembered what happened earlier.

During the lunch break, she was on her way to the Rose Mansion when she saw a rather odd sight. Yoshino-san was stalking Rei. She wondered why and amidst her confusion, she found herself forced by Yoshino to join the chase. It had been going well until they had to hide under the bushes. That was where the problem began. They didn't know that those bushes were home to those big red ants. Because they were so focus with Rei, it was too late when they noticed the ants crawling on their backs. And yet they couldn't cry out because Rei would surely found them so they had to endure a few minutes. It was quite a scene. When Rei-sama was out of sight, they scrambled to their feet and tried to free themselves from those angry ants. She and Yoshino raced to the bathroom.

Yumi heaved another sigh. She didn't know how Sachiko-sama found out. It was embarrassing. Really embarrassing.

Yumi glanced at Sachiko then looked back at her notes when their eyes met. For another few minutes, there was silence at the Rose Mansion except for the sound of pens scratching on papers and the shuffling of papers. She looked up when Sachiko got up from her seat.

"It's still early but I need to do something. Yumi, will you come with me?"

"Y-yes," Yumi answered while not meeting Sachiko's eyes.

After saying goodbye to the others, they walked quiettly towards the gate where the Ogasawara's family car awaits. When Sachiko asked her to get in the car, Yumi got confused.

"I'll take you home, Yumi," Sachiko answered to the unspoken question.

"Huh? I'm fine, Onee-sama. You don't have to…"

"Don't make me say things twice, Yumi," Sachiko cut her off.

Defeated, Yumi sat beside Sachiko.

During the trip, the two of them were quiet. Yumi's thoughts drifted on what happened before the meeting at the Rose Mansion, when Sachiko pulled her to the storeroom at the first floor and asked her to take her uniform off. She was so shocked then, and ran away with fear. She was sure that it was some kind of punishment from Sachiko.

Later, when they saw each other at the council meeting room, Sachiko looked at her with blank expression, making her more nervous. She thought Sachiko was mad at her. And when Sachiko asked her about the ant bites, she was shocked at first, before responding a meek 'it's fine'.

No thanks to that stolen kiss, she made a fool of herself by acting weird when all along her Onee-sama just wanted to help her.

Silence in the car continued for a long while. When the car stopped, Yumi glanced around. She realized that they had arrived at her house.

"Uhm, Onee-sama, thank you very much for the ride," she said nervously.

"Won't you invite me in?"

"Eh?...Uhm, sure, let's go."

The invitation inside led them in Yumi's bedroom.

"Now, Yumi, let me see your back. Don't try to run away this time," Sachiko said as soon as they entered her room.

"Y-yes, just wait a minute, Onee-sama. Please have a sit first," blushing, she picked up a short and a shirt then went out of her room. When she came back, she had changed from her uniform. Turning her back on Sachiko, she took off her shirt. She heard Sachiko gasp.

"Yumi, how could you have endured these bites? Honestly. What did you thought then that you ran away from me?"

"I…I'm…I'm sorry, Onee-sama," Yumi apologized. She couldn't tell Sachiko that she thought then that Sachiko wanted to punish her and having her naked was her way of…She closed her eyes tightly. She was really embarrassed to remember her weird thoughts when Sachiko asked her to take her clothes off. Surely Sachiko didn't have interest in her in that way, dis she? She really was stupid.

Yumi's eyes opened when she felt something soft and warm touched a stinging ant bite at her shoulder, then followed by another to the other bites at her back.

"Onee-sama will make the sting go away for you, Yumi," Sachiko whispered.

Yumi closed her eyes again, shivering, as Sachiko kissed the stings away. She covered her lips to keep them from moaning out loud. Being cared like this by her beloved Onee-sama was heaven. She dared not question Sachiko's unprecedented action. She just sat there and enjoy the moment.

If only Yumi turned around and look at Sachiko, she would have seen her Onee-sama blushing with her own boldness. But she didn't, so she didn't saw.

After a while, Sachiko took off something from her bag.

"This should help," she said, before gently rubbing an ointment to the bites, which previously her lips had touched.

"You should always be careful, Yumi. You really got me worried."

"Y-yes, Onee-sama," a giddy Yumi replied.

"There, that should do it."

Sachiko closed the bottle of ointment, then pick up Yumi's shirt and like a mother to her child, she put the shirt on the blushing Yumi.

"Onee-sama, how about this bite here?" Yumi asked, pointing to her neck. She blushed all the more when Sachiko grinned a mischievous smile.

"Where? I can't see anything, Yumi."

Yumi flinched.

"Uhm, I'm not making it up. There is…"

Sachiko cut Yumi off.

"If you want a kiss, you should just ask me, you know," Sachiko teased.

Yumi thought her face would burst any moment with embarrassment.

"I'm not making it….up," she started with a fierce voice but slowly lowered when Sachiko kissed her neck.

"There you go," Sachiko said with twinkling eyes.

"Onee-sama, I'm not really…" Yumi protested again but stopped when Sachiko laughed.

"I'm just teasing you, Yumi," Sachiko said as her shoulders continue to shake as she tried to control her laughter. Seeing Yumi's discomfiture, she laughed all the more until tears formed in her eyes.

"Onee-sama!"

Yumi couldn't help but raise her voice but was soon caught up with Sachiko's mirth.

"You're making fun of me," she accused Sachiko in between laughter.

"Because you look so cute," a smiling Sachiko responded. She opened the bottle once again and put an ointment at the bite at Yumi's neck.

"W-what is it?" Yumi asked nervously when Sachiko stared at her face for a long time.

Sachiko continued to stare for a moment before she answered. "Yumi, you have a bite in your lips, too."

"W-what?!"

Sachiko laughed before her lips descended on Yumi's lips. Her decision from last night was, from then on, she would show Yumi how important she was. Although she didn't like that Yumi was hurt, she also wanted to thank the ants. Thanks to their bites, now she needed not to think or find a way on how to begin showing Yumi how she truly felt.


A/N: There you go! You thought they ended up making love, right? Admit it ;)

Did you really think it's some kind of punishment? What was Yumi thinking? She should thank the ants, right?

And please don't ask me why Yoshino is stalking Rei. Maybe they had a fight or Rei is doing something suspicious or whatever. To quote Sachiko's line in the anime, "I'll leave it to your imagination."

Again, Maraming Salamat!

---Arvendell---

24 January 2008