A/N: I do not own the characters of MSGM. All such honors belong to Oyuki Konno
Chapter 2
Yumi got her first look at the real Sachiko Ogasawara later that week as she and Katsura-san were walking through the Milk Hall at lunch. Yumi usually brought her lunch and ate in the classroom but due to certain circumstances (Miki had forgotten and Yumi had woken up too late that morning) she was in a position of having to buy her lunch. Katsura had agreed to walk with her to the Milk Hall so that she could pick up a luncheon bread and a drink, bringing her own lunch along so that they could enjoy it together. She heard the low voiced gossip long before she actually saw the girl.
"Isn't she beautiful . . ."
"I love her hair, I wonder . . ."
"Those eyes just look right through you . . ."
"Rosa Chinensis en Bouton . . ."
Yumi refused to allow her head to swivel like a top in search of the object of so many conversations. She had sworn to herself that she would act like a proper Lillian girl at all times. That meant walking slowly and gracefully, head held high and shoulders back with proper posture, and not reacting like a tweenie in the presence of some pop idol. She caught a glance of the object of everyone's conversations out of the corner of her eye, sitting at a table with a tallish, short haired blonde girl and . . . was that her classmate Shimako-san?
The lunch line had died down as everyone's attention had been diverted elsewhere and she was able to buy her lunch without any troubles. She and Katsura found a quiet table in a corner that still had a decent view of Sachiko-sama and her companions.
"What is Shimako-san doing with Sachiko-sama, and who is the other girl?" Yumi asked in a whisper.
"The other girl is Rei Hasekura," Katsura began explaining. "She is the petite soeur to Eriko Torii, the Rosa Foetida. I hear she is already the captain of the kendo club in only her second year. Some have started calling her the "Prince of Lillian" because of her boyish good looks. By the way, her own petite soeur is Yoshino Shimazu. She's a first-year over in the Chrysanthemum class and is also Rei-sama's cousin. As for why Shimako-san is with them, I thought you knew. Shimako-san was asked to be the petite soeur of Sei Sato, the Rosa Gigantea, so she is the new Rosa Gigantea en Bouton."
Yumi sighed. It seemed she was out of touch with what was going on around her. "I wish people would tell me these things," she pouted.
"If Yumi-san would spend more time socializing and less time with her nose in a book, she might hear some of the gossip," Tsutako said with a sarcastic smile as she joined the other two first years. "Yumi-chan, can you please scoot over a little to your left," she asked politely while raising her ever present camera to her eye. Yumi frowned at the photographer but slid over a bit and Tsutako followed, never once taking her eyes off of her targets. The camera's shutter started clicking softly.
"Tsutako-san may have been able to put it in a slightly more polite way," Katsura said with a grimace, "but she is essentially correct. You need to start speaking to others in class, not just the two of us," she continued as Tsutako shrugged an apology but continued firing her weapon of choice.
"It is not that I don't try," Yumi complained, "it is just that I cannot seem to really get into their conversations. I do not have a boyfriend so I don't go on dates that I can brag about. I do not really read the latest magazines or watch a lot of TV, so I cannot speak knowledgably about any popular shows or actors. Face it, I lead a very boring life that no one wants to hear about," she said with resignation.
"What about books?" Tsutako asked, finally setting her camera down so that she could eat her lunch before it got too cold.
"Unless they are school books, I don't really have a whole lot of time to read them. About the only hobby I have is a small amount of knitting, and that is very catch-as-catch-can. I have been working on the same scarf now for over a year," Yumi replied before taking another bite of her bread.
"Well," Katsura sighed, "just keep trying or at least keep your ears open. It's been at least three days since Shimako-san became the Rosa Gigantea en Bouton and it's about the only thing the girls have been talking about, at least when Shimako-san isn't around to hear."
"I will try harder," she vowed, her eyes never straying far from Sachiko-sama. "She's even more beautiful than the picture you showed me Tsutako-san," Yumi ventured shyly.
"You mean Sachiko-sama? I must have over a hundred different photos of her on my hard-drive, in all different kinds of places and situations, and I can never seem to truly capture her. It's like there is something hidden, or some kind protective aura that she puts out that won't let me or the camera in. I don't think I've ever had this much trouble bagging a target." Tsutako's frustration came through clearly in her voice.
Katsura laughed at her friend. "Knowing you, Tsutako-san, it's only a matter of time."
"Maybe she's a kitsune," Yumi suggested with a giggle, "one that does not like to be photographed."
"Maybe you're both right," Tsutako laughed. "If she were a yokai, it might explain a few things; like how she can keep her uniform so perfect all the time."
"No," Yumi said wistfully, "she is simply a true princess; a princess with so much beauty, pride, and grace that no camera could ever truly capture her spirit."
"It almost sounds like Yumi-san is in love," Katsura giggled.
"Ehhhh?" Yumi squeaked as she started turning a very pretty shade of pink. Tsutako immediately raised her camera again and started snapping shots until Yumi covered her face and hung her head. Katsura's giggle turned into a full-fledged laugh at her friend's reaction. Yumi just couldn't keep her emotions off her expressive face.
"I'm sorry Yumi-san," Katsura laughed, "I don't mean to laugh at you, but your expression is so priceless."
"I am so happy that I can bring the joy of laughter into your life, Katsura-san," Yumi huffed when she had regained her composure. "How could I possibly love someone whom I have never even met?" Nor am I ever likely to she thought privately.
Tsutako, still taking pictures of her friend every so often noticed the change in Yumi's expression immediately. She had gone from embarrassed to peeved to depressed in less than a minute and the depression had come on so fast it was incredible. Just what was it that had gone through her mind there at the end? Sachiko-sama may be impossible to read, but Yumi was an open book to anyone willing to pay attention.
Yumi was one of the sweetest, kindest, and most honest girls that Tsutako had ever met. If you spent any time at all with the girl, you would also find that she was actually very intelligent and thoughtful if she wasn't so self-deprecating. It was her total lack of self-esteem and self confidence that sometimes made you want to take her by the scruff of her neck and give her a good shake. Katsura and Tsutako had decided to take her under their wings, but it would probably take more than just the two of them to make any significant change in the pigtailed girl.
Yumi and Katsura had continued to argue over whether you could or could not fall in love with someone you had never met while Tsutako had been woolgathering. She had seen Yumi space out often enough, but up until now Tsutako herself had not been overly prone to such actions. It got in the way of taking her photos, so she refocused as Yumi put the conclusion to the argument.
"It does not matter, Katsura-san, your basic premise is flawed," she explained both rationally and with feeling. "You can admire, idolize, and even lust after someone without ever having met the person; but to be 'in love' with someone you have to know who they really are, their personality, their likes and dislikes, dreams and nightmares, their quirks and foibles, their fetishes and especially their faults. If you can know all this about someone and still want to be with that person every minute of every hour of every day, then you can say you are 'in love' with someone," she finished with a flourish.
"I bow to your greater wisdom, Yumi-sama," Katsura giggled as she put action to words and bowed low while still sitting in her chair. Yumi giggled right along with her when she realized how heavily she had been proselytizing. Tsutako clicked off a few more shots of a giggling Yumi (she really was the greatest model!) before she put her camera down.
"As insightful as all of this may be, if we don't hurry up we will be late for class," she told her friends as she started to quickly finish off her lunch. The other girls did the same and, within just a few minutes, the three were ready to head back to class.
Sachiko-sama, Rei-sama, and Shimako-san still seemed to be deep into discussions. She didn't know what came over her, but she positioned herself directly opposite Shimako-san and began to move her hands back and forth in front of her waist until she finally saw her classmate raise he eyes and notice her. Yumi pointed at her wristwatch. Shimako quickly glanced at her own watch and, with a brief word to her companions, gathered her things together while motioning for Yumi to wait.
"Thank you Yumi-san," she said quietly as she joined the other three. "I was so caught up in the discussion I had not noticed the time. If you had not done that I am sure I would have been late."
"Um, it was nothing Shimako-san, I just didn't want to take any chances," Yumi explained shyly.
"May I join you in walking back to class?" Shimako asked.
"Of course, of course," Tsutako said with a smile. "You are always welcome."
"Please join us," Katsura echoed while Yumi simply continued to smile shyly while she walked with her head down.
"What was that all about anyway?" Tsutako asked, "It looked like a fairly heavy discussion."
Shimako gave a small laugh, "Are you working for the editor of the Lillian Kawaraban newspaper today Tsutako-san. No, it was not that 'heavy' a discussion although it was important. This Friday is the Welcome Ceremony when the Roses will be distributing Maria-sama medals to the first-year students and we needed to finalize a few details. Nothing earthshaking that would interest Minako-san."
"No, this is just my own curiosity getting the better of me," she laughed. "Oh, by the way, I have a few photos of you I would like to you take a look at and let me know if you would mind if I published them," she asked.
"Could you bring them by the Rose Mansion this afternoon? We have a meeting schedule for right after classes let out so I would not be able to take a look until after that."
"Tomorrow is fine," Tsutako said with a mild shudder. Even she found the thought of breaching the door of the Yamayurikai's stronghold daunting. "I'll bring them with me to class."
"That will be fine," Shimako responded with a slight bow of her head as they arrived at their classroom, "until then."
As the girls split up to take their seats, Shimako lightly touched Yumi's arm.
"Thank you again, Yumi-san," she said. "I really do appreciate your kindness."
"I-it was n-nothing Rosa Gigantea en Bouton," Yumi stammered, again looking at her feet.
"Please just call me 'Shimako', Yumi-san. I am still not used to the title and I would like to know that you would think of me as a friend."
"C-certainly S-Shimako-san," Yumi replied happily.
"Very good, and good day, Yumi-san," Shimako finished with a serene and gentle smile.
Yumi walked to her desk almost floating she was so happy. The absolutely beautiful, warm and kind Rosa Gigantea en Bouton, even if she was a classmate, had asked her to think of her as a friend. She was shocked at herself for doing what she did. There was no way she would normally have gone so far as to intervene in a Yamayurikai meeting. She had no idea what had come over her, but she was thrilled at the outcome. Today was one of the best days ever: She had lunch with her friends, was able to see Sachiko-sama in the flesh, and had been asked by Shimako-san to treat her as a friend. She wasn't sure how this day could ever be topped.
As she settled on her chair, Katsura-san turned around and looked at the glow coming from Yumi. Katsura heard a couple of clicks behind her and knew that Tsutako had gone back into photographer mode to capture this new look on Yumi's face.
"What was that all about Yumi-san," she asked, "what did Shimako-san say?"
"She wanted to thank me again. Then she said asked me to think of her as a friend," Yumi sighed.
"Yeah, that's Shimako-san alright," Katsura said flippantly, "she is everyone's friend. I don't know anyone that she doesn't like."
It was only when she saw the light go out of Yumi's eyes that she realized what she was saying and how it would sound.
"You are right Katsura-san. She does like everyone. She probably tells everyone the same thing," Yumi said softly as she started digging around in her bag for the next class' books, head down so no one could see the tears as they began to form. She grabbed a handkerchief from her bag, wiped her eyes surreptitiously and quietly blew her nose. By the time she raised her head again she wore a big smile for her friend. The only problem was that it no longer reached her eyes.
Katsura couldn't say a word. If she tried to take it back, or tried to explain, it would only make Yumi feel even worse. She hated herself for being so thoughtless. All she had done was to hurt the one girl, the one friend that would do anything if she thought it might make someone else happy; and she had just reduced her to tears.
Some friend I am. She turned around to see Tsutako looking at her questioningly, her concern for Yumi plain on her face. Katsura shook her head and cradled her face in her hands. Was there any way to fix this? She didn't know, but she was sure going to try.