A/N: There are a lot of characters making their debut in this chapter ;)
I found myself reading and re-reading what I wrote, then re-writing parts of it, but it still feels choppy - I do apologize for that. Lastly, I wanted to thank you guys for reviewing, following and stopping by to read the story!

Whatever it was - Chapter III

Noriko's flight – fortunately or unfortunately – arrived as scheduled. She walked slowly to the baggage claim belt and stood there: eyes blurry with tears that stubbornly spilled forth. Watching the many different shapes and colors passing by her, she tried to decipher the meaning of the knot in her throat.

"Are you not picking it up?"

A very familiar voice rang in Noriko's ears and confusion took the better of the girl. Without uttering a word, nor turning around to regard the voice, she watched a very pale arm reach around her. Long strands of blonde hair swayed in the air back and forth, covering the face of the woman fishing the suitcase with the name 'Nijou' written on it from the baggage belt.

"Did you forget how to speak Japanese?" The woman asked in perfect English.

"I-iie," Noriko answered.

"I see."

"Where's– "

"Who? Kanako?"

" Yes..."
"Apparently, they needed her at the office more than they needed me."

"Kanako works with you?"

"For me, would be a better way to put it."

"Sei-sama, how can the woman who hates men more than Sachiko-sama work for a company that caters specifically to them?

Sei started to wheel the suitcase away, leaving Noriko grounded in place, "That's exactly why she's so good at what she does, No-ri-ko-chan."

"I don't believe this!" Noriko breathed quietly while quickly falling into step with Sei. "People change, you know," Sei started, "I've told this to you before, but to me, places like Lillian shouldn't exist."

"…"

"They sheltered us, you know, all of us… during the most crucial years of our lives! We were fortunate enough that we were actually able to go home and interact with the outside world at least for a little bit at the end of the day, otherwise none of us would have survived after graduation."

"I don't even want to think about the idea of being in a dorm at Lillian. Although, I am sure some of us would've gotten lucky much more often."

"Some of us… perhaps."

"Rosa Gig… Sei-sama, I didn't mean to– "

"It's no big deal. Shiori is part of my past as much as the others that have come and gone. They all took a piece of me when they left and I'm completely fine with that because they also left a little of them with me. I'm thankful for that exchange because all of that, Noriko, all of the pieces I parted with and the ones I picked up on the way made me who I am today. Shiori just happened to be the first one and for a long time I didn't understand very well how to handle those feelings."

"Sei-sama…"

"We're really gonna have to do something about this sama business soon." She nudged the younger girl with her elbow, offering Noriko a warm smile.

"But… That's how we've always called you."

"Well, then I'm gonna be forced to call you Nijou-sensei from now on."

Noriko gasped, her cheeks blushing slightly at the idea of the honorific being added to her last name. The dark-haired girl had adapted very well to the westernized and much less formal first-name basis; though when it came down to Japanese names, the honorifics were engraved in her memory, much like the names and titles of the people she respected.

Sei opened the trunk of her car and with a fluid motion threw Noriko's suitcase in it, shutting the door and walking to the driver's side. She stopped and leaned on the hood, "You don't go around calling Touko, Matsudaira-sensei, or Kanako, Honokawa-sensei, do you?" she smirked at the end of the remark, "Get in, Nijou-sensei."

"Sei-s– "

"Nah!" Sei interrupted, while backing up the car and leaving the covered parking garage.

"Sei…" Noriko cringed at the way that rolled off her tongue and at the thought of being disrespectful toward Rosa Gigantea.

"…"

Silence reigned in the car for several minutes until Sei decided to turn the radio up. "I just had new speakers installed, watch this," Noriko's eyes grew large as the music coming out of the speakers made the entire car, including Noriko herself, shake.

"Ok! Ok! I see it!"

"Pretty nice, huh?"

"You know, I thought by now you would have switched cars."

"Why do you say that?!" Sei stated in a hurtful tone, "I'll never get rid of her!"

"…I always thought a black car would suit you better, Rosa Gigantea."

"Sei."

"Ugh! Sorry..."

"You are Rosa Gigantea, too, remember?"

"There's really no winning with you, is there? How can I forget that?"

"I don't think you can win… nor forget."

"…"

"Now, before I turn this up again, tell me how much time you're planning on spending in Tokyo. I wanna actually see you more than just today, you know, to bribe my granddaughter!"

"S… Sei, you don't ha–"

"None of that, Noriko. Youko was all over Yumi for the longest time; 'my granddaughter this, my granddaughter that,' even now, I feel like she likes Yumi more than she likes Sachiko!"

"That's not an issue when it comes down to us."

"Well… I didn't mea– "

"At least nine months," Noriko quickly said, hastily interrupting whatever Sei was about to use as apology, "It was supposed to be two, but now it's more," she continued, a little on the frantic side. Sei glanced over, looking at the girl with questioning eyes, though she didn't pry – Sei wasn't Youko.

"I'm actually working for Tokyo U next semester. Well, more like working with them, through UMASS."

"Oh. So you will be Nijou-sensei, after all," Sei said a bit awkwardly as she scratched the back of her head and then using the same hand brushed to the side the bangs that had covered her eye, "You might be able to see Eriko, Tsutako and a few other familiar faces then."

"Is that so?"

Noriko found it so interesting that several of her Lillian friends and acquaintances ended up going to College for longer than they were expected. Some even ended up working either as teachers, professors or administrators in schools and universities.

"Hmm, hmm…" Sei responded.

"Truthfully, I really think that many of us did that because in a way education was what brought us together to begin with. It allowed us to create these extremely close connections with other people… Some of us just couldn't let that go. Although others decided to just… well… let everything go…"

"…"

Sei knew that the majority of Lillian students, Sei included, were nothing but sheltered kids pretending to know more than they did and getting their hearts broken by life. Anyone who knew Sei, knew that the blonde would always hold a grudge against Lillian: from her parents forcing her to attend the school, to Shiori breaking her heart, to the rumors about the writing of 'Forest of Briars,' to many other things that happened within those walls. Though, many would say that the blonde was a glutton for punishment for not going away after she graduated from high school. Nonetheless, Sei had her reasons for staying, two of them had first names starting with the letter Y.

The blonde held on tightly to her steering wheel, clenching her jaw. She then sped up and without looking, drove by the tall gates that greeted her every day for so many years. Noriko, on the other hand, couldn't take her eyes off of the old entrance. Even though both women had two completely different ways of handling Lillian, it wasn't strange to think that those two hearts were one and the same in brokenness and yearning for mending.

Noriko watched Sei squirm for several moments before she could sit up straight once more. Cheeks still flushed red from holding her breath, the blonde tried to make small talk, " So, are you teaching western history?"

"Anthropology," Noriko corrected.

"Aaah. I see. Teaching students the art of academically observe stuff. Why am I not surprised?"

Sei tried to explain that in a very weird way, and mind you, she hated that this was coming out of her mouth, but in a very weird way she thought, "it's a Gigantea family trait!"

They were very good observers indeed, so much so that Sei believed that if they walked into the Rose Mansion the next morning, there would be a great possibility of finding a younger version of them, "clad in a dark dress, sitting on the windowsill staring at the nothingness outside."

In a way Noriko had done what Sei was planning on doing before Shimako came along. By not choosing a Petit Soeur, Noriko actually brought the 'cycle' as Sei called it, to an end.

"Although, whoever was picked as your successor, at least to me, but most likely to the girls that grew up adoring you, that person, Noriko, had to be at least a little like you and by association, like all of the other Gigantea sisters. That's my educated observation on the Gigantea matter."

"So if we look at it with your eyes, then Touko is Youko-sama's cycle-closer?"

"Maybe." Sei knew of the Red-Rose family's dynamics too well. "I'm sure she meddled in your business as much as Youko meddled in mine. Maybe, in a perfect world you two would've ended up together."

Only in a perfect world… Noriko loved Touko as a friend – no one could have doubted that – however, dating Touko would have made Noriko commit homicide, or perhaps suicide.

"…Kanako is a saint."

"No kidding."

"…And it looks like the saint and the monster both are home," Sei said, turning into the driveway of the house Kanako and Touko had been sharing for almost tree years then parking behind the SUV Touko drove.

"I'll get your bag if you open the door?"

Noriko gave Sei a quick nod and watched the older woman fish out her suitcase and roll it toward the main door of the two-story home.

"Touko, Kanako I'm ho– "

"Surprise!"

The screams resonated across the living room while Noriko looked around speechless.

"No way!"

"Yes way!"

Yoshino held her drink up as she closed the distance between her and Noriko, "…and we've been drinking for an hour already, so you'll need to catch up quickly!" She hugged the taller girl tightly. "I've missed you, No-ri-ko-chan."

"I've missed you too, Yoshino-sama."

"What's the deal with these honorifics?" Youko chided at the younger woman.

"Youko-sa… Youko!"

"Come give me a hug!"

As Noriko finished hugging everyone and was being thoroughly questioned by Nana and Yoshino about everything that had happened to the dark-haired woman during her flight, Sachiko decided to take the moment to harass Sei: "What took you so long, Satou?" she gave the blonde a very classic Sachiko-stare.

"Don't be so crabby, Sa-chan!" The blonde walked toward Noriko handing one of the drinks she held to her Lillian granddaughter,

"Thank you," Noriko said, taking a big sip and closing her eyes, the liquid coated her mouth and burned going down – Noriko didn't care.

Stepping closer to Yumi, Sei grabbed the petite brunette by the waist, " Traffic was horrible!" She then unhooked her arm from around Yumi and moved toward Sachiko, giving the Ogasawara-heiress a long and tight embrace.

"We were starting to worry," Yumi pouted.

"I should've called, I'm sorry. We just got to talking, and…" Sei looked at Noriko as a smile reached her lips and brightened her eyes, "She grew up to be such a wonderful woman."

"Sei… You can't be – "

"It's like Youko dating Touko!" Yumi whispered.

"No one in their right mind would date Touko," Sei pointed a finger at Yumi, locking her jaw in joke anger.

Sachiko chuckled at the blonde's antics, "Unless you're…Kanako…"

"She's not that bad, you guys! Yumi tried to help her Petite Soeur, "Touko has a really amazing heart!"

"Only Kanako would put up with the craziness and still smile like that, though…" Sachiko lifted her drink and pointed at the general direction where Kanako sat by Touko, sporting a bright smile while she caressed her wife's back, "… but we're missing the point here," she finished, looking back at Sei.

"That Kanako is really a saint?"

"Sei!" Sachiko reprimanded.

"Okay, Okay! Listen… Noriko never was and never will be of my interest. I look at her and still see the 16-year-old Noriko; too smart for her own good, yes; super cute, yes, but she never belonged to me. Let's be honest here, guys…" Sei took a sip out of her drink then looked into the cup and moving her hand in a circular motion, stirred the cocktail as if gathering her thoughts.
"Yumi, when you look around this room, who do you see?" Sei finally asked.

"Well, I see Sachiko, You –"

"Ah, ah, ah, that's enough. Thank you… The first person you see is Sachiko, right? Now, from stories I've heard, Sachiko can find you, Yumi, in the middle of hundreds of people, covered head-to-toe in a panda suit. Correct, Sachiko?"
The raven-haired woman smiled toward Yumi, then looked at Sei as images of the Hanadera festival from years ago flooded her thoughts. She knew Yumi was indeed dressed in a panda costume even as she walked amongst hundreds of other people.
"Correct," she whispered.

"See, even though you guys still see the world as it is and are aware of your surroundings, you belong to each other in such a deeper level that you are either the first person the other sees or you can spot the other kilometers away. I'm going to go even further and add Kanako and Touko, Yoshino and Rei to this. These people's connections are incalculable as well. The love is engraved so deep within their hearts, they don't have eyes for anyone else."

"So, you're saying that Noriko…"

"All I'm saying is that Noriko and I have no such connection. Not that I don't love the girl, because… how can you not love her?!" Sei chuckled before continuing, "But the love we share is different, although love, nonetheless."

"Sei-sama…" Yumi said in a voice thick with adoration toward the woman who could be such a flirt and a pain in the neck at times, but who could also say the sweetest things when they needed to be said.

"Don't Sei-sama me!"

Youko, who had taken an interest in the conversation between the younger Chinensis sisters and Sei, had walked up to the trio right as Sachiko kindly spoke to Sei, "One way or another you always find a way to surprise everyone when you open your mouth."

The elder Rosa Chinensis wrapped her arm around Sei's shoulder and smiled wide before starting, "Sei's mouth does surprise people…" She then raised her glass and took a sip of her red wine, "Cheers to that!"

"Are you tipsy, Rosa Chinensis?" Sei asked as she grabbed onto Youko's waist bringing the woman closer to her.

"I believe I must plead guilty as the evidence…" Youko pointed at three empty bottles of red wine sitting on the kitchen counter, "…indeed lead to my slight intoxication."

Sachiko watched as Sei smiled at Youko's words then finished her own drink and started to walk toward the kitchen, untangling her own arm from Youko's waist, "Sei, let me refill it for you," Sachiko offered, "Yumi, please grab Onee-sama's glass so we can refill everyone's drinks, will you?
Yumi did what she was asked, reaching forth and taking the almost empty glass of wine from her Lillian grandmother, then walking to the kitchen counter she placed her and Youko's cup down and tenderly kissed Sachiko's cheek before helping with the refills.

Once Yumi walked away, Youko straightened herself up and looked deep into Sei's grey eyes before asking, "How is she?"

"Good."

"Sei…"

"She's fine, Youko. She's a smart girl, you know. Well educated, speaks however many languages, has seen a lot more of the world than we have, met people from all kinds of walk. I'm sure she's had a lot of opportunities to discuss whatever her pain was with more insightful people than we will ever dream of meeting."

"But, did it help?"

"What?"

"Talking to all of those people?"

"She's the only one who can answer that question, but by the way her eyes glistened when she looked at Lillian, yeah…she's still not over it."

"Did she mention her at all?"

"One snarky comment."

"Very Rosa Gigantea of her."

"Hey!"

"Ah! Come on!"

As Youko reached for Sei's hand, Yoshino's scream halted the attempt. "Nine months?!" she started, then looked around the room and asked, "Did you guys know Noriko's staying for nine months?"

Noriko looked around as she watched her beloved friends smile and make their way to the living room, getting comfortable for the dark-haired girl's story behind the reason she'd be staying for such a long time. Sei started to follow the group but Youko grabbed the blonde the by arm, shooting her a questioning look. The blonde entwined her fingers in Youko's then lifted her free hand, palm up as if saying she knew nothing. Youko knew Sei was lying, though she did nothing but shake her heard at the blonde. As they made their way toward their friends, Sei never let go of Youko's hand.