Cross My Heart — Book I: Uncertain Continuities
CHAPTER TWO: Decisions
KEY: [Bracketed] text denotes POV. Italics indicates thoughts or flashbacks.
Disclaimer: I don't own MariMite. That honor goes to Konno Oyuki-sensei, Shueisha, and other related entities. Story rated T+ for eventual yuri feels, profanity, and love scenes.
[Yumi]
"Yuuki," Yumi called, rapping her knuckles on her brother's bedroom door. After receiving no reply for the fifth time this evening, Yumi's patience had thinned to a thread. This time, she didn't hesitate before slamming her palm against the door. "Yuuki!"
The door finally swung open, revealing a sweaty Fukuzawa Yuuki. A chorus of electric guitars and heavy bass drum beats blared from the blue earbud dangling from his left ear. The music cut off. "What do you want, Yumi? I was in the middle of a free weight set," Yuuki said.
Despite her earlier annoyance, Yumi felt a little guilty for interrupting Yuuki's exercise session. As a student council member herself, she knew firsthand how difficult it was to find time for fitness during the busy graduation season. Her own exercise routine, which she'd recently started under Yuuki's encouragement, had fallen by the wayside recently.
She raised her head to lock eyes with her brother, who had grown more than a few inches in recent months. "Sorry, I just didn't want to forget to give you this."
Yuuki took the the thick cream envelope Yumi extended to him. Noting the elaborate floral engraving on the surface of the envelope, he said, "Fancy. What's it for?"
"Onee-sama came during yesterday's meeting to hand out invitations to her graduation party this Friday. Sayako-obasama figured Kashiwagi-san would appreciate it if some of his underclassmen showed up."
"Kashiwagi-senpai will be there? And he'd want me to attend?"
Yumi noticed a hint of red on Yuuki's cheeks. Surely, the sudden influx of color was just a delayed bodily reaction to his workout and not to the mention of his senpai... right? "You and all your other council members, I guess. Onee-sama told me that everyone else's got mailed out, but she figured it would be easier to make me a messenger for yours."
"Is that so?" Yuuki said, breaking into a grin. "I hope one of Dad's suits fits me or else I'm going to have to ask Masamune if he has any spares."
"You don't fit into any of your suits anymore?"
"Well, I tried one on today, and I couldn't get my arms through the sleeves..." Yuuki's monotone response and unfocused pupils belied the intense grinding of gears in his head. Soon, a deep red flush crept over his cheeks as he drew a sharp intake of breath.
As her brother fidgeted, Yumi found it increasingly difficult to keep a smile off her face. She had a pretty good idea about what-who-occupied Yuuki's thoughts; only one person could make her normally-placid brother grow so flustered. As Yuuki's older sister, she was obligated to confirm her hunch, no matter how embarrassing he would find it.
"Yuuki," Yumi said, "wouldn't it make more sense to ask Kashiwagi-san if you could borrow a suit?"
"Eh? How so? I don't want to bother senpai unnecessarily!"
Though Yuuki's flush had deepened enough to guide night ships into Tokyo harbor, Yumi managed to contain her growing smirk. "I'm sure he'd be more than happy to lend you a suit if it means you can attend Onee-sama's party."
"I'm not sure... Do you really think he won't mind?"
"If it's you, I'm sure he wouldn't mind at all if you borrowed one of his suits."
Yuuki frowned, unsure of what his sister was implying with that comment.
"Yuuki, stop overthinking it. Kashiwagi-san would probably be more than willing to watch you model suits in his room while you're choosing."
"What!? M-model? Senpai and I aren't like that!"
"Are you sure? You turned pretty red when I mentioned him."
"I wasn't red!"
"Well, you definitely are now!" said Yumi. Upon seeing Yuuki's resigned expression, she immediately burst into a fit of giggles.
"It's not that funny-No, it's not funny at all!" Yuuki sputtered. "D-don't you have some business to take care of for tomorrow!?"
Yumi's only reply was to laugh even harder, bending forward and pressing a hand against the door frame to keep herself from falling.
A heavy sigh escaped Yuuki. "Ugh, forget it. I'm just gonna finish my workout." With those words, Yuuki forcefully closed the door on the Cheshire cat in the doorway.
With a triumphant chuckle, Yumi bounced her way into her bedroom. The mirth propelled her through her usual nighttime rituals as she brushed her teeth, changed into her pajamas, and laid out her uniform for tomorrow. And if she hadn't noticed the gleam of silver and rose gold on top of her desk, her good mood would likely have followed her into the world of dreams.
But the gleam out of the corner of her eye drew her like a moth to flame, prompting her slipper-clad feet to shuffle across her room. She picked up the shiny bracelet and placed it on a microfiber cloth she'd spread across her palm. She'd spotted the piece at a vendor near Lillian and Hanadera's transit station and purchased it after scraping together her leftover New Year money and allowance. Appearance-wise, the necklace, a long chain of thin silver, was fairly simple. It was the pendant at the end that would distinguish it from any other. Yumi hoped what she'd chosen would convey the deep affection and appreciation she felt toward her Onee-sama. The same Onee-sama who would be "making a joint announcement with Kashiwagi-san" at her graduation party.
Yumi might have had a reputation for being naïve, but she harbored no illusions about what would happen. The party's guest list probably featured pages of names of rich politicians, powerful business moguls, and other members of Japanese high-class society. In such a bright, elegant setting, it was obvious that Kashiwagi Suguru and Ogasawara Sachiko would announce their current engagement and perhaps even the date of the impending wedding ceremony.
The audience would erupt into cheers. The cousins would be married, and an heir would be produced to continue the Ogasawara legacy. Each step had been carefully planned by the Ogasawaras and the Kashiwagis to retain power within the family. Sachiko, dutiful and obedient, would never deviate from the role she was born to play.
The sequence of events was painfully familiar to Yumi. She often used the matter-of-fact review of her grande sœur's life trajectory to keep her emotions in control. To resist the urge to squeeze Sachiko's hand a little tighter or to lean into a hug longer than what was considered appropriate. To keep her focused on her Onee-sama's words instead of the shape and shimmer of her lips whenever they conversed.
A small white envelope lied next to the pile of notebooks on Yumi's desk. The speciously innocuous object held a letter that had the potential to irrevocably alter her relationship with her Onee-sama. After reading the letter, Sachiko might demand her rosary back and sever all ties, or even feel inclined to slap some sense into her perverse petite sœur. The thought of her Onee-sama's face full of contempt and disgust shook Yumi to her core.
So why am I still going through with this? Why am I still confessing to Onee-sama?
Under a layer of fear and denial, Yumi knew exactly why. In her dreams (and in the internal dialogue of her waking mind), the beautiful heiress was "Sachiko," not "Onee-sama," and they went out on dates as girlfriends, not sœurs. A fantasy Sachiko gave her sweet kisses, warm hugs, and whispered declarations of love in her ears. And sometimes, when the dreams turned into tangles of sheets and flesh, into a chorus of throaty moans and rapid breathing, Sachiko would...
"Maybe I should give this bracelet one last polish!" Yumi said aloud, uncomfortable with the direction of her thoughts. She hastily reached for the bottle of jewelry cleaner sitting next to the letter... and knocked it over. She could only groan as she watched the silver liquid spread, coating the pure white surface of her confession.
Yumi tried not to think of what the spill boded for tomorrow.
[Sachiko]
"Finally! I thought he'd never leave!" huffed Sachiko. She glared at the seat her grandfather's wizened steward had occupied. Today, during an hours-long meeting in the Ogasawara mansion study, every form and procedure pertaining to the wedding had been examined and critiqued.
Suguru cocked a brow in Sachiko's direction. "Oh, does someone have an illicit liaison scheduled for tonight?"
"No, nothing of the sort," Sachiko replied tersely. Luckily for Suguru, she was too wound-up to react to his baiting.
Earlier, when the Tokyo sun had just dipped below the horizon, the steward had entered through the massive walnut double-doors of the study. The mundane round of handshakes and exchanged greetings was the high point of the meeting; it was the only time Sachiko didn't have an urge to set the businessman aflame.
As they slogged and signed their way through pages of legal jargon, questions from Suguru were answered with patient, thorough explanations; similar queries from Sachiko met explanations prefaced by the steward's heavy sighs and furrowed brows. When he asked the pair for an opinion, the man would set aside his fountain pen, lean forward, and nod along as Suguru offered his thoughts. The lawyer's pen was never faster, his eyes never duller or as fixated on the pile of contracts than when it was Sachiko's turn to contribute. It was painfully obvious that her grandfather's employee saw her as nothing more than a vessel for the next Ogasawara heir.
Suguru, who had grown up in close association with his cousin, knew exactly what caused her jaw to lock. "Sacchan, as tempting as it sounds, it wouldn't do to murder the steward."
"I would never!" snapped Sachiko.
"Oh, really?" Suguru's amused grin told her exactly how much he believed her.
She released the tension in her shoulders with a long sigh and muttered, "At least not by my own hand..."
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised if I see the steward floating face-down in the complex koi pond tomorrow."
"With the way you've been carrying on, I'm considering adding you to the list of victims."
Suguru nervously uncrossed his legs. "You're... you're not serious, are you?"
"Not in your case, at least," she answered, focusing on the heavy full moon dominating the nightscape. Her eyes narrowed as she recalled one of the steward's blank smiles, one of his disinterested stares when she started speaking.
Suguru attempted to comfort his cousin. "Sacchan, he may have been slightly patronizing when he talked down to you-"
"He talked through me!" she hissed. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the edge of the leather armrest. "He treated me as if my opinion, my responses, my presence at the meeting didn't matter at all. He didn't even bother to pretend he was listening when I offered an opinion about the contract phrasing. I'm lucky these are just preliminary negotiations."
Sachiko thought back to the bits of filler conversations they'd exchanged when documents were being scanned and copied. "How it possible that you got questions about the future direction of the company and I got questions about when the family could expect my first child? And why did he look like he was going to have a coronary anytime I even hinted that I planned on assuming an active role in the company?"
She reclaimed her seat and bitterly mused, "Maybe he thought I'd settle for applying my business economics degree to household management."
Suguru shrugged. "Fire him when you 'take over the empire.' Or have your plans of company domination changed recently?"
Suguru's words jostled buried memories of a night long past. A night that still brought twinges of anguish and anger every time she remembered. With a hard edge to her voice, she replied, "No, that has always been the plan and always will be."
Before either of them could say anything more, the mellifluous notes of a muted tenor saxophone floated through the tense air. Suguru withdrew his phone and glanced at the screen. His expression relaxed into a slight smile.
Though Sachiko would normally take offense at being ignored for a text message, she herself felt drained after the day's proceedings. She also didn't feel like discussing details of that night with her cousin. Still, Suguru's rapid change in demeanor intrigued her enough to stay a moment longer before retiring to her room. She cleared her throat to get Suguru's attention and asked, "Are you sure you're not the one with the illicit liaison?"
"Don't be silly, Sacchan. It's just Yukichi," Suguru said dismissively, tapping out a reply to a message. "It's been awhile since I've heard from him."
Sachiko had a feeling that her petite sœur's brother had never been "just Yukichi" to her cousin. The light dancing within her cousin's downturned eyes furthered her suspicions. "Well, I'll leave you be to converse with 'just Yukichi,'" she said, rising from her seat. "I'm afraid that it's far past time for me to retire."
"Well, I suppose that's my cue to leave as well," Suguru said. "I'll see you Friday?"
Sachiko nodded, too tired to say anything more. After exchanging parting pleasantries, the cousins soon split, aware that they would soon reunite on Friday. And on that night, through the joint announcement, she and Suguru would remove the last obstacle separating them from the rest of their lives.
And she would be one step closer to fulfilling the goal she'd conceived that night. Sachiko sighed, knowing that her bedtime routine would be flooded with vivid memories she'd tried desperately to suppress.
Sachiko was heartbroken. Who wouldn't be after hearing her betrothed, her beloved claim that he would never-could never-love you because of his sexual preferences? Yesterday, on the eve of her high school entry celebration, her Dream Prince had ridden off on a rainbow horse, crushing her hopes for a marriage of love. And fifteen-year old Sachiko was left to pick up and glue together the pieces of her rejected heart.
Today, Sachiko walked down the hallway to her father's study, hoping to have the impossible engagement called off. As she drew near, she noticed one of the dark mahogany double-doors was slightly ajar, allowing her father and grandfather's voices to leak through the gap. Due to their busy schedules, her father and grandfather were rarely home at the same time, and Sachiko thought herself truly lucky to catch both at the same time. She placed her hand on the door handle, but froze after hearing a peal of female laughter.
The voice belonged to Kawamoto Masako, one of the heiress's to Genki, a prominent company in the pharmaceutics industry. Masako, clad in a low-cut cream-white wrap dress, leaned forward to admire herself in the mirror on the office wall. The necklace shining against her pale skin was undoubtedly a present from Sachiko's father, who was standing behind her. "Touru-sama, you shouldn't have!" she gushed.
"Anything for you, my darling," Touru said. He raised his hand and trailed his fingers down the curve of Masako's bare shoulder.
Sachiko choked down a wave of vomit. The Ogasawaras had attended the Kawamoto twins' Lillian University graduation party the week prior. Knowing of your father's multiple mistresses was one thing, but knowing that one of them was half his age was another thing altogether.
"But mine is so much grander!" squealed another voice that nearly matched Masako's tone and timbre. Dread churned in her stomach as Sachiko angled her head to peer at the other side of the room. Mayuki, the other Kawamoto twin, and Sachiko's grandfather mirrored the positions of the study's other occupants. "Exactly how many karats is this diamond, Akihiro-sama?" Mayuki asked, twirling the large brooch to admire the jewel's shine.
"What nonsense are you spouting, Onee-san?" Masako interrupted. "Just from looking at it, mine is clearly worth more than yours!"
Before either twin could say anything more, Ogasawara Akihiro said loudly, "Masako-san, Mayuki-san... " He snaked his arm around Mayuki's waist. "It would be a travesty for two beautiful sisters to start quarreling."
Touru chuckled, then lightly squeezed Masako's shoulder before adding, "Take comfort in the fact that each of these necklaces, replete with jewels of the highest quality and luster, are probably worth more than my steward's salary for the next five years combined."
Perhaps it was her father's self-congratulatory expression and unashamed flaunting of the Ogasawara fortune. Or the way her grandfather never really looked at Mayuki's face, choosing instead to pay close attention to the generous dip in her neckline. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the glimmer in the Kawamoto twins' eyes that showed just how easily they had been bought. Something-everything-about the scene shook Sachiko to her core.
If she and the Kawamoto twins shared the same upbringing, the same polished façade of blueblooded wealth, what made her think she was any different? If her father and grandfather had no qualms about using women as objects for pleasure, what made them think they would sympathize with her at all?
She thought back to the day when the betrothal had been made official between the Kashiwagis and Ogasawaras in one of the mansion conference rooms. After Sachiko and Suguru's parents had signed the agreement, her grandfather had called for a bottle of champagne to mark the occasion. She'd been too young, too blinded by infatuation to see that the adults weren't clinking glasses to celebrate a betrothal. They weren't downing the fizzy, pale-pink liquid out of excitement for a family union. Today, as she stood listening to the Kawamotos bicker over the value of their necklaces, she finally saw her impending marriage in its full dimensionality: a convenient tool to confine wealth within the family for another generation.
Something within Sachiko snapped.
She ran.
After witnessing the scene in the study, she knew her only option was to settle things with Suguru directly. And so, like a woman possessed, she flew through through the long halls of the mansion, ignoring the incredulous looks from the household staff, until she turned the final corner into the guest wing. When she reached her destination, she wrenched the door open without preamble.
Deep-seated anger preserved her composure when she was greeted by a scene of her fiancé writhing naked beneath the son of one of the Ogasawara's business partners. Upon hearing the door swing open, both lovers turned to stare, eyes wide, at the sudden intruder. They immediately broke apart.
"S-sacchan!" Suguru panted, pulling up the sheet to cover his body. His bed partner had already burrowed beneath the covers. "I can explain!"
"Kashiwagi-san," she said, ignoring how strange it felt not to address him as 'Guru-kun,' "You can spare yourself the trouble since I will make this brief. We are going through with this marriage." When Suguru opened his mouth, she stayed his speech with a wave of her hand.
She proceeded, "In return, I will turn a blind eye to your philandering. But do not-do not-interfere with my campaign to take over the empire." She turned heel and walked out of the room, not even bothering to wait for Suguru to reply to her bold proclamation.
Sachiko supposed that was the day she had fully metamorphosed into Lillian's Ice Princess. The cool detachment stayed constant during her first one-and-two-thirds years at Lillian. When Youko took Sachiko as her petite sœur, the Yamayurikai did all they could to befriend her. At her Onee-sama's behest, she'd stopped the extra lessons in flower arrangement, tea ceremony, and etiquette to focus on her council work. Because they were in the same year, she and Rei had been often paired and constantly ran errands together for their older sisters. But no matter how close the Yamayurikai got, no matter how many times they had strived to engage her on a personal level, Sachiko kept her distance.
Until she'd met Yumi.
Sachiko gazed fondly at the framed photo sitting atop her bedside night table. Maria-sama's stone gaze oversaw the scene of Sachiko leaning forward to fix Yumi's crooked sailor scarf. What made the photo so unique wasn't the scenery or the subjects, but the expressions on each of their faces during the interaction. In Yumi's wide eyes and slight blush, Sachiko recognized an adorable mixture of disbelief, bashfulness, and curiosity. Strangely, as easy as it was to name Yumi's emotions, she could not do the same for her own.
To this day, Sachiko still didn't know why she had been drawn to the petite brunette standing at the statue. Reaching out to her underclassmen in such a direct and intimate manner was not only foreign to a fully cognizant Sachiko but downright alien to one suffering from her daily morning bout of low blood-pressure. Even more puzzling to the heiress was just how close she and Yumi had grown during their sœurship. With saintly patience and her own distinct, bright energy, Yumi had somehow braved her way past Sachiko's cold façade, infiltrated her defenses, and wormed her way into a place deep within the heiress's heart. Most importantly, their relationship had given Sachiko the courage to face the consequences of her near-future, one that would start on the eve of her graduation party.
Sachiko, unaware of the soft smile on her face, reached forward as she glanced at Yumi's still profile for the umpteenth time. "Goodnight, Yumi," she whispered softly, just as she did every night, before tugging on the lamp chain. On the eve of her graduation, the young heiress closed her eyes, lured into deep sleep by thoughts of her gentle petite sœur.
Author's Note:
- I figure that all the reflection is appropriate since Rei and Sachiko are graduating, but I realize that isn't the most exciting stuff to read. Like I said, this is probably going to be an extremely slow-paced fic with lots of table-flipping moments (just like that part of the summer OVA at Sachiko's house when the episode ended right before Sachiko and Yumi "lazed around with each other all day").
- Beta wanted! I've never had one before but there are a lot of times when I agonize about how a scene should go, if that scene is necessary, etc. I figure this usually means I should recruit a beta to either a) kick my butt or b) bounce some ideas off of. I'll beta for you if you beta for me? Is this how this works? LOL I AIN'T GOT NO CLUUUUE
- Thanks for the follows and reviews, y'all! :D
