A/N: This chapter answers a couple of left over questions from my first story regarding Tsutako's parents and our intrepid reporter, Mami-san.
Special thanks to Seyan, Elfspirit7, Teufelchen29, Insomniac1970, and TheSilentReader for your comments. I really appreciate them :) It is your comments that keep me going. This update is for you.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of MSGM. All such honors belong to Oyuki Konno.
Hiromi walked sedately along the cobbled pathway from the Rose Mansion towards the building that housed the various school clubs, a copy of the Photography Club's approved budget in his hand. He and Tsutako had gotten together a number of times over the break, mostly out on dates or over at his house. He still had not met Tsutako's parents. The question of how, or if, to explain his charade as a student at Lillian was the biggest hurdle to overcome. He still didn't know how to answer that question. It would be almost another year before he met them if he were to wait until he no longer had to maintain his female persona. On the other hand, he could meet them now as a male, but that would make for an embarrassing situation if he ever ran into them afterwards while wearing his uniform. Besides, Tsutako had probably already shown them her updated portfolio containing any number of pictures of him as a girl.
Therefore, explaining the situation to them was probably the best move all around, but would they have the same business reference to understand his and his family's reasoning behind the decision to masquerade as a Lillian maiden? Would they be as accepting of him as his friends had been? Especially when they learned that he had spent an entire week in Italy with their daughter sleeping in the same hotel rooms every night? Sometimes even the same bed? Parents can be so picky about little things like that, he chuckled to himself before allowing himself the luxury of a heavy sigh.
"Such a serious sigh Hiromi-san. That doesn't sound too good," he heard a voice say almost at his elbow. He started and stepped away quickly to the sound of laughter from his new attendant.
"Touko-chan, please don't sneak up on a person like that," he gasped as she continued to laugh at him.
"I'm sorry for laughing Hiromi-san, it's just that you reacted almost like my onee-sama," she explained through her continuing giggles, "your expression was just priceless."
"I'm so glad that I could entertain you Touko-chan," he admonished her, "is there something that I can do for you?"
"Before I answer that question, will you please tell me what that you were sighing about? I am not kidding when I say that it sounded serious. If there is anything I can do, any way that I can help, please just let me know."
"Unfortunately it is not something that anyone can help with," he said reluctantly, giving in with another sigh, "I have been dating Tsutako-san since we established the Rose Foundation last year. She has met my family on numerous occasions. I sometimes think that they like her better than they like me," he chuckled, "but I have never met Tsutako's parents. I don't even know if they know about me and I don't like this feeling that I am keeping something from them; that I am hiding the fact that I am dating their daughter. Or worse, that Tsutako is hiding from them the fact that she is dating me. It doesn't feel right and I can't get it out of my thoughts."
"Have you spoken about any of this with Tsutako-sama?" Touko-chan asked him seriously. "I mean, this is not only your issue, but hers as well. Even you recognize that she may be hiding something from her parents. I remember . . . well, let's just say that a lack of communication can cause many more problems than freely speaking your mind."
"Not yet. I planned on speaking with her about it today when I delivered her approved budget. Hopefully it will put her in a better mood," he grinned.
"Well, at least you seem to be as smart as I always thought you were," she replied with her own smile. "You had already decided to speak with her about the issue, so you are already on the proper path. Rather than worrying about it by yourself, share your burden with Tsutako-sama and between the two of you I know that you will come up with an answer that will satisfy you."
He smiled at her as they continued to walk towards the club building. He had never been formally told about the issues that arose between her and Yumi-san the previous year; how she had thought Yumi was aware of things that she was actually unaware of. It was that mistake in communications that had caused the rift between the two and had resulted in her initially rejecting Yumi's offer of her rosary. Even unofficially he knew none of the specifics, those were still just between the two of them, but he knew enough to understand what she was trying to say, and he appreciated her kindness.
"Thank you Touko-chan. I am sure that we will."
"Well, if you are on your way to the Photography Club, do you mind if I tag along?" she asked, thereby closing the previous subject, "there was something I wanted to ask you; something that only you, more than any student at this school, are possibly qualified to answer."
"Ah . . ."
"Not right now," she quickly added, "just sometime soon. I want to get your opinion on . . . well, dating," she finished softly.
"Oh, well, I will gladly listen to you, but I am not sure how much help I can be," he mumbled, "my alter ego has absolutely no experience in such matters, and I am relatively new to the whole dating scene myself."
"It is not about dating itself," she explained, "but particularly a 'boy's eye view' of dating is what I am interested in learning about."
"May I assume that this has something to do with Yuuki-san?" he asked with a smile.
"You may assume whatever you want, Hiromi-san," she replied with a smirk, "but I will not say 'yea' or 'nay' either way."
"Ouch," he winced at her rhyme scheme, "you did that on purpose. Well if it is a male's perspective on dating I will certainly try to give you my own thoughts and ideas but please remember that they are exactly that, my own thoughts and ideas, not Yuuki-san's nor even male's in general, simply my own. Is that acceptable?"
"Acceptable and understood," she replied with a grin, "At least your 'thoughts and ideas' should be significantly better than the only other male I could ask. I doubt that Suguru-san's views regarding dating between boys and girls would do me much good."
"You may have a point there," he chuckled.
They agreed that they would get together the next afternoon since there were no scheduled club or Yamayurikai meetings. Shortly thereafter they arrived at the building that housed the various clubs at Lillian, including both the Photography Club and the Drama Club. Touko excused herself and headed off to her own club room while Hiromi went on to the photography club room on the second floor. He had almost reached it when the door next to the club room opened and a young woman with short black hair and dark brown eyes exited with her coat over her arm and her book bag in hand. She turned and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw who it was in front of her.
"Mami-san, good day. I hope you are doing well," Hiromi said with a smile and a short nod to the girl. Hiromi had briefly forgotten that the club room for the Lillian Kawaraban was directly next to that of the Photography Club. It made sense that the current editor and chief of the school newspaper, Mami Yamaguchi, might be around the office at this time of day. As the only person that was aware of his true gender that was not a close friend or relative, he had not been looking forward to their first meeting since she had learned his secret.
It had been the last week of classes the previous school year and he had been helping Yoshino-san and Noriko-chan clean the kendo dojo when he had somehow accidentally been hit in the groin very hard with a shinai. The pain had briefly made him pass out and, in the ensuing investigation to determine how badly he was injured Mami-san, who had just happened to stop by to speak to Yoshino-san, had been present when Yoshino had removed his slightly bloody "special" panties and his true gender had been revealed. Neither Yoshino nor Mami had been aware of his charade until that moment and, well, he really did not want to remember a lot of what came immediately thereafter. Tsutako had called in most of her markers that day and had killed Mami-san's impending exposé on the condition that the reporter could publish the story twenty years from now. That did not mean, however, that she could simply forget about the incident or the fact that a boy was attending Lillian.
"H-Hiromi-san, good day. What are you doing here?" Mami stammered.
"Visiting Tsutako-san in the Photography Club," he replied, still smiling, "I also thought I would stop by to see if you had finished your proposed budget for the school year," he temporized. "Although I had forgotten exactly where your club room was, I saw no reason for you to make a special trip to the Rose Mansion if I was already going to be here."
"Oh, well, t-thank you, but I . . . I'm still working on it. I will bring it by sometime tomorrow," she continued, still feeling somewhat uneasy. He decided that he could not allow this issue to fester any longer. Checking up and down the hallway to make sure that no one else was around he decided to be frank.
"Look, Mami-san," he sighed as he took in her closed posture and concerned expression, "we need to work this out. We cannot avoid each other for the entire school year and I do not want you to feel that we cannot even speak civilly to each other anymore. Would you be willing to listen to my story, sometime later this week maybe, or whenever you feel ready to do so? I still cannot allow you to print it, but I am willing to tell you my tale and even answer your questions to the best of my ability so long as doing so will not hurt anyone else."
The shocked look on Mami's face was actually a better reaction than he had expected.
"You would be willing to do that?" she asked incredulously. "I thought the Yamayurikai had closed ranks and put the entire issue off limits! No one would speak to me after Tsutako killed the story and forced my agreement to that twenty year gag order."
"That was probably more to protect my privacy than to actually withhold the information from you. None of them would have felt comfortable speaking to you before I was ready to do so myself. They would have felt it was my tale to tell rather than their own," he explained as she slowly nodded her understanding, her posture becoming more relaxed as well.
Tsutako must have heard them speaking in the hallway. The door to the Photography Club opened slowly and she stepped out, a questioning look on her face. Hiromi smiled at her and indicated for her to join him. He did not want Mami-san to think that she was being surrounded. The beautiful dark haired girl in the rimless glasses, his friend and lover, came over and gave him a quick kiss and took his hand into her own, entwining their fingers together as she turned to face the reporter with a grin. Her actions took him by surprise for a moment before he smiled at her and squeezed her hand.
"Good day, Mami-san," Tsutako said. "As you can see, I have nothing to hide here either." She giggled as Mami ogled the pair.
"Be nice Tsutako. Don't tease the girl," he chided her with a grin. He raised his other hand and gently cupped her cheek as the two looked at each other. The love in their eyes was palpable.
Mami coughed loudly to get their attention but then spoiled her impression of indignation with a slight giggle. "Ok, I get it. Not only are you harmless, but you're taken as well. Sheesh! How's a girl supposed to stay concerned regarding certain issues these days. Just let me know when and where you want to get together and I'll be there."
"I promise you Mami-san, both of your previous statements are one hundred percent correct," Tsutako grinned.
"Let me check with the other members of the Yamayurikai and I will get back to you," Hiromi replied to Mami's request. "I need to tell Nana-chan the story as well, so it will be easier if I only have to tell it once. Is the meeting room at the Rose Mansion alright with you?"
"The Roses and their boutons will be there as well?" she asked.
"I won't promise for them, but I don't see why not. They may want to put their own two cents in as well," he replied. Actually, he thought they would want to make sure that they had an opportunity to have their own voices heard.
"That works for me. Just let me know when," she finished with a smile, much more relaxed than she had been when she first stepped out of her club room. She began adjusting her coat and bag obviously ready to head out.
"I will," he said with a nod, "and thank you again for your cooperation. You don't know how important it is to me," he said sincerely.
"I made a promise, so I will keep it," she said wistfully as she walked past Hiromi and Tsutako, "but whether or not I can treat you as a normal 'girl' is still up in the air. I'll listen to what you have to say, but I'm not promising anything more than that."
"That's all I can ask. Thank you," he said bowing his head as she walked away.
The two lovers watched as the editor and chief of the Lillian Kawaraban walked down the hallway and then turned down the stairs. It was late enough that there were no other students moving around.
"Is Shouko-chan still here or did you send her home already?" Hiromi asked as they turned and moved hand-in-hand towards the still open door of the photography club room.
"I sent her home an hour ago," Tsutako laughed, "It's just us old seniors that have to hang around late still worrying about our final year. Speaking of which, I wanted to talk to you about something," she finished.
"What a coincidence, I wanted to speak with you about something as well, although I doubt it is the same topic given your lead in," he replied as he closed the door behind them.
Tsutako turned and immediately took him into her arms and laid her head against his breast. He put his arms around her and pulled her gently into his embrace and set his chin on top of her head. "What's this about, Tsutako? What are you worried about? Mami-san?"
"No, I trust her to keep her word," she spoke softly into his chest, "I'm worried about us. I almost lost you last year. When I thought you were gone, I felt so bereft, so heartbroken and scared. I never want to have those feelings again, Hiromi. I want to know what your future plans are, not just for this year, but for college and after – and if I figure into any of those plans," she finished with a quiet sob, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Tsutako," he said gently, pulling her closer, "I will never ever leave you again. I learned my lesson last year. I have not only friends but a whole other family now – a family of the most loving sisters that any man could ever ask for and I refuse to give them up. As for college, I have already worked it out with my godmother. If my grades are decent enough, I plan to enter Hanadera University next year as a graduate of Hanadera Academy. At least that is what my eventual diploma will say. It is our sister school after all. My godmother has made an arrangement with the headmaster of Hanadera and no questions will be asked." Tsutako raised her head and looked up into his eyes with happiness as he continued.
"I know you plan on attending Lillian University next year, so we will still be able to be together almost every day, but as man and woman. That is if you still want to be with me or can be with me," he said with a little worry in his voice.
"What do you mean, 'want' or 'can'?" she asked confused, "I've already told you that I never want to ever lose you again."
"Nor do I ever want to be separated from you again either," he explained as he looked into her eyes, "but that leads me to the topic I wanted to speak to you about. You have met my family but I have never met yours, as either a man or a woman, and I don't feel comfortable continuing with that part of our charade. I want your parents to know me, to know what you mean to me and what I mean to you. It is not meet that we continue our relationship without their knowledge and approval. Can you understand how I feel about this? I won't give you up without a fight but I also don't want to fight if I don't have to. I want to tell your parents about myself, about my role here at Lillian, about my plans for the future, and about how much I love you and how much you figure into those plans."
He hoped and prayed that she would understand his need. He was prepared to argue his case with her and to try to explain why he wanted this so much.
What he didn't expect her to do was to start laughing at him.
It was his turn to look confusedly into her eyes as they sparkled with merriment as she tried to control her laughter. She just kept shaking her head, trying to get control of her breathing while he looked on dazedly at first, then with a bit of frustration. He had no idea what she had found so funny about his words. He thought he was being honorable and she was laughing at him?
"I-I'm sorry, Hiromi," she said as she finally quieted enough to get a few words out, "It's not you I'm laughing at. I honestly understand and appreciate your position, and I approve of it. It's just that . . . ," she giggled more and had to take a deep breath, "It's just that it's a little late for that. Oh, don't get me wrong, I want you to meet my parents and they want to meet you. After all . . . ," she giggled again and had to take another breath, "they already know all about you." She allowed the giggles to take over again briefly before she was finally able to get herself back under control and look at him.
To say that he was surprised was beyond question. Like Yumi-san, his face must have shown every conceivable emotion that went through is mind – confusion, surprise, shock, joy – and finally understanding. It was too much. He let go of Tsutako and shuffled over to plop down in a convenient chair, his legs giving way beneath him as the full import of her words struck him like a hammer blow.
"H-How long have they known about me?" he asked looking up at the beautiful girl; the girl that he loved more than anything but, right now, was finding difficult to understand.
Tsutako crouched down in front of him and took his face gently between her hands, looking into his eyes so that he could see the love and pride she held for him. "Ever since that night at the Rose Mansion; the night that you and Sachiko-sama started the Rose Foundation and the Rose's Scholarship for the Arts. I knew then how important you were going to be to me – how important you were to me – and I knew I just had to tell my parents all about you. I was thrilled about the scholarship and that I wouldn't have to transfer out of Lillian, but I was even happier that you said that you liked me and wanted to get to know me better; that you wanted to learn all about the things that you would come to love about me. Hearing those words made me happier than I have ever been in my life and I couldn't keep it bottled up inside me."
She reached down and took both of his hands in her own, holding them tightly. "So I told them everything. I know I should have told you earlier, but I was a little afraid how you would react when you learned that I had spilled your secret without your knowledge. I should have known better," she laughed softly. "I should have known then that your honor would not allow you to keep something like this from them indefinitely."
Something suddenly occurred to him. "So, that means that they knew about me when we went to Italy? Did they know that we were staying in the same hotel rooms!"
"Of course! I have never lied or withheld anything important from my family. Needless to say my dad was a bit concerned, but I promised them that I would remain a virgin and that, should I ever decide otherwise, I would let them know first. I have never broken a promise to them and they know that, nor do I ever intend to." She giggled. "My dad basically said not to tell him any of the details but that he trusted me to use my best judgment. Since I'm almost eighteen now and he can't follow me around everywhere I go it's not like he has that much to say about what I do anyway; but it's nice to know that he trusts me and cares for me."
"So . . . I've been worrying about nothing?" he asked, incredulous. "Do you know how much I have been agonizing over this?" he started giggling both from relief and at the amusement of the situation. "I've been worrying so much and all I had to do was ask. I can't believe I was being so stupid."
"Well, you are not totally to blame, Hiromi," Tsutako said softly, "I should have told you about this a long time ago. More importantly now that you do know that my parents know all about you," she said somewhat tentatively, "w-would you like to come over for dinner some weekend soon?"
"I would like that very much, Tsutako," he replied with a brilliant smile. "Thank you. Now that they know about me I want to meet your parents even more." Although I am still a little concerned about your father's reactions regarding that trip to Italy!
Again, thanks to everyone that reviewed chapter 1. It is your comments and reviews that keep me going. Please feel free to comment/review/PM me on this latest update. Next chapter, a little more Touko-chan and the start of the relationship between Yoshino and her brand new petite soeur, Nana-chan.
Thanks and take care.