(This fiction is based on the characters and settings created by Oyuki Konno)

A Woman Scorned - Chapter 2

(5 years ago)

"Sachiko, I'm home," Yumi said as she walked through the door of the off campus apartment she and her girlfriend had shared since she started taking classes at Lillian University. The brunette was just finishing up her second year of college and her over achieving girlfriend was going to be graduating next month after only three years.

Yumi slipped off her shoes, placed her backpack by the door, and went into the kitchen to see what ingredients she needed to buy for dinner. She squealed when she felt a person behind her give her buttocks a firm squeeze.

"Sachiko," the brunette said to the older girl once her heart left her throat. "How many times do I have to tell you, not to surprise me like that. You'll make me die of a heart attack one of these days."

"But you make such cute little noises, my love," the black haired heiress said, turning the younger girl around to face her. "I just can't help myself sometimes." Sachiko wrapped her arms around Yumi, and kissed her girlfriend with a hint of passion.

"So that's how you want to play it," Yumi said seductively, before devouring Sachiko's lips with her own. As the two girls' tongues fought for dominance, the brunette slowly pushed her lover back until Sachiko was pinned against the counter. The younger girl pressed her body against her partner while moving her head and nibbling the heiress's soft neck.

Sachiko started to purr, and pulled Yumi tighter against her body. She felt the younger girl's hands run up her sides, pulling her blouse out of her skirt. She moaned as Yumi's warm hand slid up her stomach and caressed her left breast. She started feeling flush as her girlfriend trailed love bites down the side of her neck to the top of her chest. She placed her hands on Yumi's shoulders, pushing Yumi down to her knees.

At some point during their passionate lovemaking, the two girls ended up naked on the floor of the living room. Yumi looked up at Sachiko and smiled, basking in the bliss of being close to the person she loved most in the world. She snuggled closer to her partner, laying her head upon the heiress' chest and listening to Sachiko's racing heart.

"Yumi, we have to talk," Sachiko said in a serious tone, causing the brunette to sit up and look at her lover.

"What's wrong," the younger girl asked in concern.

"I'm marrying Suguru," the black haired woman said with finality. "The wedding will occur after I graduate."

The brunette, not believing her ears, did a double-take, "Huh!? What? You can't!"

"I don't know what your problem is," Sachiko stated flatly. "You knew I was engaged before we became soeurs. This shouldn't surprise you in the least. I never said anything about canceling the engagement."

"What about the last two years we have been living together," Yumi argued.

"It was a fun diversion," the heiress answered. "You gave me many happy memories."

"You said you loved me," the younger girl wailed. "Doesn't that mean anything."

"There is a difference between love and duty, Yumi. I wish you could understand that. I did not lie to you. I loved you. Now, I can't," Sachiko said coldly. "I have to follow my family's wishes. I cannot refuse, nor would I even consider it."

"What your saying is you don't love me anymore," the brunette said, her voice trembling.

Sachiko stood up and looked down on the sobbing girl. "If that's what it takes, to get you to move on, then yes," the heiress said as she turned around and strode to the bedroom.

Yumi beat her fists against the couch and wept violently, crying out at the top of her lungs until her body couldn't take anymore and it settled down to tears and sobs. She looked up at Sachiko and watched the woman exit the bedroom with a small suitcase. When the older girl got to the door she turned to the girl sobbing on the floor and said calmly. "The rent is paid until the end of the month, and I already transferred 100 million yen into your account for services rendered."

"So all I was was a high priced whore!" The brunette screamed accusingly.

"If that is what you want to believe," the heiress said flatly. "I don't have any more time for your histrionics. I hope you'll understand someday." She turned and faced Yumi and bowed slightly. "Thank you for taking care of me." Sachiko turned back around, opened the door and left the apartment, leaving the distraught girl kneeling in the middle of the living room.

After Sachiko left, Yumi cried into the cushion of the couch until it was soaked and the brunette had no more tears to shed. With an eerie calm, she pushed herself off the floor and staggered to the bathroom. Yumi splashed water on her face, and started the bathtub filling with hot water.

The young girl exited the room and walked into the kitchen. She reached out her hand toward the butcher block on the counter to get a knife. When her hand closed on thin air she looked accusingly at the empty knife holder, then proceeded to open every drawer looking for one. Having no success, the girl cried out in frustration, dropped to her knees, and leaned against the cabinet, beating the back of her head against it.

As the rhythmic pounding worked it's way through her being, Yumi's mantra became, 'Let me die'. She lost track of time, as her mind repeated those words, over and over again. They only stopped when the back of her head unexpectedly impacted something soft, rather than the hard surface of the cabinet. She fought as she felt herself pulled into a tight embrace.

"Shhh, Yumi-chan," a voice whispered into her ear, as her body was gently rocked back and forth. "Sei will make everything alright. You'll get through this, kitten. I promise." Yumi snuggled into her friends shoulder and cried a second time.

Sei held the younger girl as her cries became sobs and her sobbing quieted to sniffles. She pushed Yumi's head off her shoulder and gently wiped away the tear tracks with her thumb. "Are you calmed down now," she said softly. When the brunette nodded, she sighed. "Let's get you washed up."

Sei helped Yumi to her feet, and the two women walked to the bathroom. She slowly led them through the pooling water that came from the overflowing tub. She guided the brunette to the tub and turned off the water. The sandy haired woman gently lifted her friend and set Yumi down in the bathtub.

Sei stripped and started washing down the expression less girl in the tub. 'Damn it Sachiko,' she thought angrily. 'Leaving me to clean up your mess.' Sachiko had called the sandy haired girl less than a half hour ago and commanded simply, "Yumi is at the apartment. The door is unlocked. Go help her," before hanging up. Not knowing what was going on, she rushed over here and upon hearing the commotion inside, rushed in to the rescue.

Sei knew deep down, that no matter what the heiress did, this wouldn't have ended well. 'At least she thought to take the knives,' she thought thankfully, as she looked at the brunette's empty eyes. The older woman knew what it was like to be devastated and alone. If it wasn't for her Onee-sama and Youko, she probably wouldn't have made it after Shiori left. She gently washed Yumi's face, talking softly to the younger girl. "Don't worry, kitten. I'm here. I won't leave you."

The older woman started the bathtub draining, and spread some towels on down to mop up the water laying on the floor. She then helped Yumi stand, in order to towel the young girl dry. Sei guided Yumi to the sofa after wrapping her friend in a fluffy white robe. "Why don't you just rest here for now, while I start heating water for tea," she told her friend, and headed to the kitchen. "When you're ready to talk about it, I'll be here to listen."

Yumi pulled the robe tighter around herself and when she inhaled the familiar scent of roses caught her nostrils. She smiled sadly and said softly, "This was Sachiko's."

Sei came back to the living room, once she started the water heating. "Did you say something, Yumi-chan," she inquired, sitting down next to the younger girl and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Yumi looked at Sei and shook her head. The older girl looked back at her friend with concern. The thing that most bothered the sandy haired woman was the brunette's dead eyes. They usually telegraphed a hint of the girl's emotional state, but this time there was nothing.

Sei got up off the couch when the teapot whistled, and returned shortly with the tea. She put the tray on the coffee table and poured two cups of the brown liquid. She held a cup in front of her friend, who took it and sipped automatically. Sei sat back down and sipped hers. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"Sachiko left," Yumi stated flatly. "She's getting married after graduation. She said I was a fun 'diversion,' and paid me off."

"I don't believe that," Sei responded with surprise. "Anyone who looked at the two of you together could see that you both loved each other."

The brunette shook her head. "If she truly loved me, she wouldn't have acted so cold. She wouldn't be marrying Kashewagi."

"Why don't you start from the beginning," Sei suggested.

Yumi haltingly related to her older friend everything that had transpired since she had come home from class that afternoon until the time Sachiko walked out the door. By the end of the story Yumi's tears started leaking again, and Sei was quite irritated with Ogasawara Sachiko.

'Sleeping with Yumi, and then breaking up with her,' the gray eyed girl thought disgustedly. 'Sachiko has a lot to learn about tact. Plus adding insult to injury by giving her money.' The older girl was seeing red and heaven help the heiress next time they met. She wrapped Yumi in a tight embrace, kissed the top of her friend's head, and said, "You'll get through it, Yumi-chan."

"But it hurts so much I can't stand it," the brunette whined. "I feel like I'm going to die. When will it stop hurting."

"I don't think it ever will completely stop hurting," the older girl stated. "But it will lessen over time. The wound is still fresh. But as you force yourself to push through each day, you'll get stronger and things will get better. Giving up just because Sachiko left, is a coward's way out, and I'd really miss my little Yumi-chan." Sei gave the girl a little squeeze. "Now I think the best thing for you to do is get some sleep. I'm sure you're exhausted. I'll stick around for a few days until you're stronger." The older woman helped Yumi to bed, who fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Over the next few days Yumi's emotional state improved bit by bit. She was nowhere near the way she used to be, but the brunette didn't go around like the walking dead, and her eyes showed a tinge of sadness rather than numb shock. She was even telling Sei she might return to her classes the next day.

That's when the other shoe dropped.

Yumi was packing up some of her things, getting ready to move out of the apartment and back home to her parents. With the money she received from Sachiko, she could have easily taken over the lease. But with Sachiko gone, the place just didn't feel like home anymore, and the strong memories that the apartment contained were sometimes too painful to bear.

The phone rang, just as she was taping a box shut. She walked over and answered it. "Fukuzawa here," she spoke into the hand set.

"Yumi, I need you to come home right away," her father said, slowly, as if he had to think about each word before he spoke. The brunette could hear the sounds of her mother weeping in the background.

"What's going on," she asked, concerned, not liking what she was hearing. "What happened?"

At her question, her father broke down and sobbed. "I-It's Y-Yukki. H-He got hit by a train. H-He's dead." After hearing the second set of devastating news in the past week, Yumi screamed, and fell to her knees, dropping the phone in the process. Sei came running from the bedroom, and quickly went over to her friend to see what was wrong.

Yumi looked up at the sandy haired woman, with tears in her eyes. "Y-Yukki's dead. I-I need to get home."


Authors Notes: I'm sorry for the little cliff hangar at the end. I thought this was enough drama to put in one chapter. So we will see what happened to Yukki in the next chapter, which I hope to have out within the week. Thank you all for reading, following, and reviewing.

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Again, thank you all for being here.