A/N: TGIF!
We're going back in time with this chapter in hopes to explain Yumi's past. She might seem a bit ooc, but she has her reasons to be... grumpy.
Thank you for reading!
"Wait."
It was too early for such a stern command and Yumi froze in place – not because she was scared, but because it was really too early for someone to sound so bitter.
The simple word sounded like a screech from a monster; the request bouncing off of the statue of Maria-sama and crashing into Yumi's ears mercilessly. One might have wondered if Ogasawara Sachiko also cringed at the way her voice sounded that morning.
As the heiress ever so elegantly closed the distance between her and Yumi, Yumi pictured fire coming out of Sachiko's mouth, smoke from her nostrils. The monster hypothesis was finally proved when Sachiko spoke again, "I was the one who spoke, and the sentence was directed to you."
"Uh…"
"Hold this, please," Sachiko said, handing Yumi her book bag. Then arms reached for Yumi's sailor collar, and the brunette sucked in all the air which surrounded Maria-sama's statue, but she never flinched –once again, Yumi wasn't scared of Sachiko. The brunet felt strange, nonetheless. It was this bizarre disconnect; this weird feeling that came from even looking at the Ogasawara heiress.
Yumi knew she shouldn't judge a book by its cover; however, she couldn't help the contempt she felt toward Sachiko, which first started during the welcome ceremony just a few weeks prior to that encounter. It was hate at first sight: from the moment Sachiko stepped foot into the church, drawing sighs from every single girl in the audience, all the way through the flawless piano performance of Ave Maria, –eliciting even more 'ooohs and aaaahs' from her groupies – Yumi didn't need much more to conclude that Sachiko was a true tool.
Was Rosa Chinensis en bouton adored by all first-years? Yes.
Was she beautiful? Yes.
Was she someone Yumi wanted to be around? Fuck no.
All Yumi wanted was peace. She wanted to go through high school like she went through life: unnoticed. Anonymously, Yumi could watch the circus burn down. Anonymously, Yumi was able to be a simple spectator, quietly invited to watch the world spin but not allowed to participate in its whirl. And that's how she liked it: the sidelines, the bleachers, the wearing a jersey but knowing she was never going to be thrown into the game and save the day with a goal at the 90th minute.
###
The inhaler went off inside one of the stools. The medicated lungs thanked Yumi and allowed her to step out of the bathroom with minimal side-effects: she couldn't help the shaky hands. For what it was worth, asthma was a minor hiccup in Yumi's life. The diagnosis from three years prior, on the other hand, had put the Fukuzawas in quite a situation. The smell of hospitals still made Yumi cringe, "It could be five, it could be twenty five, it could be fifty five. Yumi can live a long life; regardless, the first five years are of absolute importance if we want her to reach adulthood." Though the doctor's were cautious about the recovery, they were also optimistic after surgery. Nevertheless, the truth of the matter was that the foreign muscles housed inside Yumi's chest could decide to stop pumping blood to her veins at any time. Call it premonition or whatever you want to call it, Yumi had a strange feeling about things, which made her thoughts about the future nothing but gloomy. If we want her to reach adulthood, the words swirled in her head again.
Yumi had never asked to be fixed. The surgery, which kept the girl from school for a long time, happened –miraculously– out of nowhere, and ironically right after her parents had gone through the gargantuan task of preparing Yumi as well as Yuuki for the worst. Moreover, unfortunately, for Yumi to have survived, someone had to had passed, and that thought lingered in the girl's mind – it was a heavy burden: living because of death. If that alone wasn't enough to drive the girl insane, the fact that the doctors didn't know if she could survive past her high school years was haunting to say the least.
If we want her to reach adulthood.
"Yumi-san! Yumi-san!" Takeshima Tsutako called out, though Yumi tried to walk away.
"Yumi-sa~n! Please wait!"
"What is it, Tsutako-san?"
"I was wondering if you would want to have this!" Tsutako's eyes glimmered behind her glasses. She shook a picture she had taken that morning in front of Yumi's face.
"If you stop shaking it, I might be able to see what you have there."
Tsutako held the picture in front of Yumi with both hands, then, she allowed the brunette to take the photo into her own hands for further examination.
"You took a picture right before the monster was about to strangle me." Yumi faced Tsutako again, "That's probably why she didn't follow through with it. Thank you!" She gave the photo back to the self-proclaimed Photography Club Ace and started to walk away.
"Whooooa! Whooooa! Whooooa! Yumi-san! Hold up!"
"Tsutako-san…" Yumi squeezed her temples, "What is it?"
"I'd like to use this picture next time the photography club has an exhibition."
"You do whatever you want with the picture. You have my permission. Now can I please go back to class?!"
"But…"
"But?"
"I need permission from Sachiko-sama."
"Oh. Right! I'm afraid you need new glasses, Tsutako-san. I'm Fukuzawa Yumi."
"Yumi-san! Please, come with me to the Rose Mansion. I need you to say you're okay with me showing the picture when I ask Rosa Chinensis en Bouton."
"Hahahahaha!"
"Yumi-san!"
"Nope."
"Yumi-san!"
"It's like you're consciously walking into a lion's den. Are you insane?"
"I'll take care of cleaning duty for you for a month."
"No deal."
"Two months."
"Still no."
"Three months."
"The entire year…" Tsutako was going to say no for sure!
"Deal!"
Dammit!
###
Tsutako lifted her arm to knock at the Rose Mansion's door, but before her knuckles reached it, a voice behind the girls interrupted the photographer.
"Hello."
"Shimako-san!"
Rosa Gigantea en-bouton, Todou Shimako squeezed between Yumi and Tsutako with a quiet "Excuse me," and opened the door leading into the foyer before addressing the two girls in front of her again, "Do you have an appointment?"
Yumi wondered how in the world did a first-year student could be as put together as the girl standing in front of her. Little did Yumi know that behind such a serene façade, Shimako was just another freshman: insecurities and all.
"We actually don't," Tsutako started, "but we would like to see Ogasawara Sachiko-sama, please." The photographer asked, trying to sound proper.
"Sachiko-sama?"
"Correct." Tsutako said, and quickly explained why she and Yumi were asking to talk to the heiress.
After Tsutako's explanation, up the creaking stairs they went. The sun coming through the stained windows flooded the bare walls with splashes of reds, yellows and blues – a beautiful, transient work of art, only there for the three girls. Yet, locked in their own worlds, they missed that wonderful picture.
Once they reached the top of the stairs, Tsutako and Yumi stopped at the sound of a loud bang followed by, "This is absurd! The Onee-samas are being mean!"
The scream coming from behind the biscuit door was nothing but appalling; nevertheless, Shimako, who had kept walking, turned around while holding on to the door handle, "What? That? Happens all the time."
Yumi chuckled. She couldn't place Shimako's tone of voice: it was either sarcasm or the words of someone who just accepted things as they came, though deep inside, the brunette really hoped Shimako was trying to be funny. The brunette opened her mouth and inhaled, though when she was about to speak, Shimako opened the door wide, not expecting Sachiko's arm to have been extended and reaching for the handle on the inside of the room.
By missing the handle, Sachiko was in a bit of a difficult situation to say the least. Even though she tried to keep herself standing, she took one too many steps and hit Tsutako's shoulder, which over-adjusted her stride and sent her on her way, forehead first, toward the stairs.
Yumi watched the entire thing unravel from the corner of the room. She could have cared less if Sachiko had fallen on her face in front of her. She would've laughed and hoped Tsutako had taken a picture of it for posterity. However, Sachiko was headed to the stairs and Yumi couldn't bear to see anything of such caliber happen to anyone. She had spent too much time in hospitals, knew how awful they were and didn't wish the same fate upon no one, not even the monster. Deep inside, hidden beneath all of the layers of hardened feelings, even though Yumi tried not to care, her heart pumped blood through a body that radiated good.
So the decision had been made and Yumi's plan needed to be properly executed.
She took a step toward Sachiko, grabbing the girl by the forearm and twisting her entire body away from the stairs. Yumi then wrapped her other arm around the heiress' waist, securing her tightly against her chest and when she knew Sachiko's route had been modified, the brunette twisted around. The entire thing was almost perfectly executed.
Almost.
A simple error occurred in Yumi's calculations: Sachiko was taller and consequently heavier than Yumi. As Yumi twisted her body, she lost her footing, which sent both her and heiress straight toward the wall.
Thud!
And it was a monumental thud.
Click.
Tsutako was good.
"Sachiko-sama!"
"Sachiko-sama!"
"Yu—"
"Ha! Sachiko killed the underclassman and the newspaper has tangible proof of it. Great!" Satou Sei was the last one out of the room. Nonchalantly she walked to the corner, examining Yumi's scrunched face as she felt a tickle in her lungs, but tried hard not to cough. When Sei extended her arm, Yumi accepted it at once.
"Can you take care of Sachan?" Sei asked Mizuno Youko. At the silent nod, she grabbed Yumi's bag and took the brunette downstairs.
"You alright, kiddo?"
"I think so." Yumi reached inside her bag and grabbed the inhaler.
Fweesh.
Ah shitty lungs, don't fail me now.
"Now," Sei looked Yumi in the eyes before continuing, "Do you always try to be a hero or were you showing off in front of Sachiko-chan?"
"E-excuse me?"
"You heard the question. Don't try to evade it."
"Rosa Gigantea…"
"Sei."
"Sei-sama…"
"That's better. Now explain yourself."
"She… was headed head-first toward the stairs. Nobody deservers such fate, not even the mons—"
"Se~i!" Yumi had been saved.
"What!" She blonde feigned annoyance.
"Please don't let Sachiko-chan leave." Youko asked.
At that, the creaking of the wooden floors had been completely muffled by Sachiko's heavy stomps. It was as if the heiress was purposefully abusing the house.
The heiress walked passed Sei and stood in front of Yumi, "Do you have an onee-sama?"
"Sachan." Sei interjected.
"Don't Sachan me, Sei-sama."
Turning to the first-year once more, Sachiko tried again, "Do you have an onee-sama?"
Yumi was brief, "No. I don't."
"Then, come with me." Sachiko turned around and started back up the stairs, until she realized Yumi hadn't moved.
"Who are you to demand I follow you like a dog?"
"I'm your senior, you do as I say if you don't want to get in trouble."
"We're the same age, Ogasawara-san."
"But…"
"But I'm a year behind you?"
"…"
"Let's just put it this way: some of us have bigger demons than just a daddy comp—"
"Enough! Whatever kept you from school must have been difficult for you, but it doesn't make other people's issues less burdensome." Sei interjected. "We all have our demons and we fight our own battles every day."
"…"
"Now, you come with me." Sei took Yumi by the hand and started to walk toward the front door. "You stay here Sachiko. You're not the Straw Millionaire. I see you, though. I know what you were about to do…"
Sachiko thought that if she was really the Millionaire, she had chosen the wrong straw.
###
"Are you out of your mind?"
Sachiko sat at the table with a cup of oolong tea in front of her. Tsutako was unusually quiet, sitting to the side of Shimako.
"Onee-sama, you said that if I had a Petite Soeur I didn't have to pla—."
"You are out of your mind!" Youko was stern; calm and collected yet firm, just like she needed to be. Youko was also smart and beautiful; many would have called her 'the whole shebang.' Nevertheless, the only person who Youko wanted to see her in that light had decided she was going to go through life with a wall built around her heart.
The reigning Rosa Chinensis sat there and sipped on her tea, waiting on a response from her petite soeur. No words were uttered for a long time, only the clinking of the teacups carefully hitting their respective saucers could be heard. It wasn't as if awkwardness had enveloped the moment, the silence allowed Sachiko to think and the other girls to take a breather from the series of interesting events that had transpired that afternoon.
"That kid should have just let you crack your skull open." Torii Eriko finally broke the silence.
"Even you, Rosa Foetida?!"
"Yes. Even me, Sachiko. You went a bit too far there."
"Especially with that first-year being who she is." Youko breathed heavily.
"What do you mean?"
"Let's just say… the kid hasn't had the best of luck in life."
"Onee-sama…" Sachiko lowered her head, "I am sorry."
Just as Eriko was about to move on, Youko spoke softly, "I don't buy it."
"But, onee—"
"You're incredibly hasty and thoughtless, Sachiko." Rosa Chinensis interrupted. "And you're not sorry. Well, maybe sorry for yourself, but not for acting like a child toward that first-year. Who, in their right mind, offers their rosary to a stranger like that?"
Two palms slammed against the table making teacups and saucers tumble, "But I had picked her to be my petite soeur!"
At that moment, Tsutako stood up, "I'm sorry, Rosa Chinensis, but I believe they have met before, so perhaps your assumption might be at least a little inaccurate." Tsutako followed her words by extending her arms and handing Youko the picture she had taken that morning. The Red Rose examined it carefully.
"They had talked before, Rosa Chinensis, Rosa Foetida," Shimako added, "that's why the two ladies were here: to see Sachiko-sama."
"Is that true, Sachiko?"
Sachiko said not a word. She simply walked toward Youko and took the picture in her own hands, scrutinizing it as carefully as Rosa Chinensis had done herself. Yumi's pigtails lay atop of her shoulders, her eyes looked straight at Sachiko's hands, which were tying the white scarf.
Tsutako had a great gift, the Ace of the Photography club's shot was really on point that morning. Sachiko's face was soft for a change, and she seemed to have been enjoying the contact with Yumi; however, try as Sachiko might, she could not remember talking to anyone that morning, let alone helping a stranger by fixing their uniform.
"I hope this is enough proof that I wasn't out of my mind for wanting to ask her to become my Petite Soeur." Although she couldn't remember the interaction earlier that day, Sachiko cleverly used the picture in order to try and appease her onee-sama.
Shimako, Rei and Yoshino uttered an unison, "I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry for thinking you were insane." Eriko's words dripped with sarcasm.
"Yeah… I still don't buy it, Sachiko." Youko interjected. "…If you know each other, then what's your friend's name?"
"…"
"My friend's name?" Sachiko wasn't counting on her onee-sama's wits.
"Her nam—"
At that exact second, the biscuit door swung open and Sei squealed, "You gotta take a look at this picture of Yumi and her brother!"
Yumi, Sachiko thought.
"Look!" Sei lifted a picture of the two siblings at age four or five. Maybe Yumi had made a mistake by sharing the photograph that she carried in her wallet with the rambunctious White Rose. "These Fukuzawas are too cute!"
"Fukuzawa Yumi," Sachiko said under her breath. And just then, her heart felt strange, as if a burden had been lifted up from her chest for a split second and then replaced with a heavier load. Sachiko had felt a similar anxiety once before, but that couldn't have been the same feeling, could have?
Out of a sudden, Sachiko spoke louder than the giggles coming from the girls hurdled around Sei, "Yumi."
And just like that the giggles subsided.
"Hai…"
Sachiko walked up to where Yumi stood and stopped right in front of the brunette. She then looked at her onee-sama, then back to Yumi. Sachiko lifted her rosary from her chest and looked at the crucifix, she then removed the rosary from around her neck and opened it in front of Yumi, "Please, become my Petite Soeur…"
"Are you fu—"
"Oh, Whoa! Ah! Yumi-chan has the face of an angel but the mouth of a sailor!"
Yumi's blush reached the tip of her ears. Maybe there was too much caffeine in her medicated blood, or maybe she was just having an off day, whatever the reason was, she immediately berated herself for –almost– cursing in front of the Yamayurikai.
"I…" Yumi started. "Ogasawara Sachiko-san..." Sachiko cringed at the sound of her full name being uttered so gently but with so much disdain. "I… appreciate your request and understand your situation – Sei-sama explained everything to me – but, I am no one's savior and I don't consider myself disposable either. Had you asked me if I could play the role of Cinderella in the Yamayurikai's play so you didn't have to, I might have considered it, but to abuse of your power to the point of lying to get your way… I don't think I can accept your rosary, even though it is beautiful, and I am sure, worth more than what my parents make in a week."
"…"
"It seems as if Sachiko has been rejected for the second time in a week…" Eriko chuckled.
"These first-years are something else…"
Yumi had quietly made her way toward the biscuit door and was about to walk out when she heard Sei say, "Well, Sachan remains as Cinderella, then."
"You know." The brunette raised her voice and everyone turned toward the door. "Before I go, I wanted to say that I am a bit surprised that the Yamayurikai onee-samas would force a junior to do something she feels uncomfortable doing.
"No one has asked for your opinion. And what are you still doing here?"
"Ogasawara-san," Yumi chuckled, "You are a spoiled brat and you don't deserve the friends you have. I pity the person who takes that rosary from around your neck. Roses, en-boutons, gokigenyou." She closed the door quietly and walked down the stairs slowly. Her heart was racing, her hands shaking, her face covered in a deep red hue. Even Yumi herself was surprised at such bold move.
A/N: Yes, perhaps it is a bit cliche that two characters would share a heart condition, but maybe, and just maybe, that similarity might make Yoshino and Yumi's relationship even stronger ;) ;)
As always, thank you so very much for reading!