A/N: Hello everyone! I've figured out where I am taking this story now, it just took me a little bit to figure it out. Thank you for the reviews/pm's. It is always great to hear from everyone. There was one last thing I wanted to touch on quickly. A review pointed out that this story was very westernized and I have to agree. I don't think I intentionally meant for it to come out that way. I think what I've been reading lately has probably influenced my take on specific scenes and just the college life in general here. Anyways, I just wanted to thank you for that review and give some of my thoughts on that because others probably have noticed.
As always, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Sachiko sat silently as her professor went over a subject on the board up front. She wasn't sure how anyone was supposed to be able to stay focused for the entire class period. It just wasn't possible, but she found it hard to look away from the board today because every time she did her eyes wandered over to Rei who seemed to notice every time.
She cursed her decision to try and take as many classes with Rei as possible now. She knew that Rei knew about what she did, Yumi had told her that Yoshino and Rei knew. She had been friends with Rei long enough to know that Rei was going to question her after this class. She wasn't sure she really wanted to talk about it though. The last thing she wanted was to explain everything that had happened and make it seem like things were alright, because they weren't. She was on thin ice, she knew that, and most certainly didn't want to accidentally convey that to her friend.
Unfortunately, when the class was over her worries came to life as Rei quickly stood from her seat and headed right to Sachiko. The look on her face was anything but happy. "Talk," was the only word that came out of Rei's mouth. The serious tone in her voice was enough for Sachiko to know that Rei wasn't happy with the situation.
Sachiko sighed as she glanced around seeing that there still other students there. "Can we do it somewhere else?"
Rei glanced around before nodding, "Yoshino is still in class for another hour. We can go back to my dorm."
Sachiko just nodded as she grabbed her things and stood from her seat to follow Rei.
Once they were in her dorm room Sachiko set her things down on the desk that Rei and Yoshino shared before taking a seat.
"Alright, so let's start with the obvious. Tell me what happened," Rei said as she sat down on her bed. Hearing both sides of the story would be helpful for her and Sachiko's explanation was essentially what Yumi's was.
Rei sighed as Sachiko finished explaining what had happened the other day. "You don't seem too torn about this situation," Rei said noting that Sachiko seemed pretty normal actually. The talks they've had in the past would make Sachiko a crying mess in Rei's mind. She knew how much Sachiko loved Yumi, so her calm behavior was odd to say the least.
"Well," Sachiko said as she thought for a moment, "I was. . . I mean, I am. I. . ." Sachiko sighed, she knew this would sound weird. "We kind of made up, but didn't."
Rei raised an eyebrow, "what does that mean exactly?"
"Well," Sachiko paused as she thought about the other night. "It means that Yumi has decided to give me a second chance, but there are some conditions."
"Such as. . .?"
Sachiko bit her bottom lip as she thought, for some reason she felt embarrassed by this. "I have to tell my parents that I'm seeing her, and. . . If I ever choose Suguru again, she will leave me."
Rei blinked at Sachiko a few times, "Yumi said this?" She asked just to be clear.
Sachiko just simply nodded.
"Good," Rei simply said as Sachiko raised her eyebrow this time. "You need a push in the right direction. You are too thick headed for your own good, especially this time around."
Sachiko frowned a little bit.
"I'm not trying to pick on you," Rei said realizing what she was saying wasn't exactly nice. "Listen, I'm your best friend. As your best friend, I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty that you and Yumi belong together. If you go off and marry Suguru, you will be absolutely miserable for the rest of your life and I know you know that."
Sachiko nodded.
"So, how do you feel about these rules?" Rei asked curiously as Sachiko thought for a moment before sighing.
"I feel like they are fair, but I'm ashamed that it's come to this," Sachiko explained as Rei nodded. "I am afraid because it doesn't seem real that I'm telling my parents in a few weeks. I feel like I should be freaking out right now, but I'm not, and I know when the day comes, I will."
"Have you told Yumi-chan how you feel yet?" Rei asked as Sachiko shook her head. "You really should."
"I know," Sachiko replied with a sigh, "I just. . . I don't know. I'm afraid that if I tell her the reality of this still isn't having its effect on me, that she might think I'm not taking this seriously. I cannot mess up again."
"You won't," Rei said as Sachiko looked at her questioning how she knew that with the look on her face. "Yumi is crazy about you, she cares for you Sachiko. I know she will be there the entire way through. She loves you and I know for a fact that she would want you to share your feelings with her. In fact, I think she would be secretly jealous if she knew you were here sharing these concerns with me instead of her."
Sachiko remained silent for a moment as she thought about everything Rei had said.
"Thank you," Sachiko finally said as she lifted her gaze from the floor where it had fallen during her thoughts. "I think I'm going to go talk with Yumi now."
Rei smiled, "I think that is the wise thing to do," she said as she stood and starting heading towards the door with Sachiko close behind her. "Before you go, I was wondering if you have spoken with Youko yet?"
"Briefly," Sachiko replied as Rei opened her dorm room door and turned to Sachiko. "We haven't talked one on one yet, but she seems in favor of this situation. She doesn't seem to mind that I'm staying with Yumi right now."
Rei blinked a few times at Sachiko, "we will have to talk about that some time. For now, focus on telling Yumi how you feel."
A few hours later. . .
Sachiko scrolled through messages on her phone as she waited for her food order to be done. Yumi was in class right now and after talking with Rei and doing homework for a few hours she needed something to eat. She decided to get something at the school's cafeteria as a break from her school work.
"Hey, you're that girl always going to Yumi's room."
Sachiko lifted her head from her phone as she came face to face with someone she didn't recognize. "I'm sorry, who are you?"
"Oh right, sorry. I stay in the dorm next to Yumi. We don't really talk much, but I just wanted to make sure Yumi was alright. I think I heard her crying the other night."
"Thank you for your concern, and to answer your question, Yumi is fine. Perhaps the noise was something else? The walls are thin in these dorms," Sachiko suggested as the girl thought about it a moment before shrugging it off.
"Yea, perhaps you're right, it could have been anything. I just figured I would ask seeing as though I've seen you around quite a bit. Speaking of which, what was your name?"
Sachiko paused for a moment before smiling, "I'm Ogasawara, Sachiko. I'm Yumi's girlfriend."
"Girlfriend? You mean you and Yumi are. . .?"
"We're a couple," Sachiko confirmed as the girl nodded.
"I guess that explains why I see you around so much then."
"Ogasawara?"
Sachiko turned to see that her food order was ready before turning back towards Yumi's dorm neighbor. "Oh, that must be yours, I won't keep you waiting. It was nice meeting you, tell Yumi I said hi."
"I will," Sachiko said with a small bow before turning and grabbing her food.
Once she was back in Yumi's room she took a deep breath. Her mind had been on Yumi's neighbor the whole walk back. She had hoped it was alright that she had told her Yumi was her girlfriend. In the back of her head she knew it was ridiculous to think that Yumi would be upset over it. In fact, she would most likely be happy that Sachiko had done it.
Sachiko shook her head before heading over to Yumi's desk and sitting down to eat her lunch. She knew it wouldn't be a big deal, and it had felt good to finally tell someone. Sachiko sat silent for a moment thinking about that fact. She had finally told someone aside from her close friend group. It was a step, no matter how small. She just hoped she wouldn't freeze when it came to her parents.
Sachiko shook the thought out of her head before standing up and digging through Yumi's clothes to find a sweater. She swore it was always freezing in the dorms.
Just as she was sitting back down at Yumi's desk the door opened and Yumi came in with a deep breath before tossing her stuff on her bed.
"Everything alright?" Sachiko asked curiously as Yumi nodded and went to her dresser and started searching through her things.
"I guess so," Yumi sighed as she turned to Sachiko with a small frown. "My mom texted me during class, we're having a family gathering this weekend."
"Oh," Sachiko simply responded as she put her head down. That cancelled any plans she had with her. "I guess it would give me a chance to get some more clothes from home."
Yumi bit her bottom lip as she stared at Sachiko for a moment, she had been questioning if she should do this, especially considering the situation. "Actually, I was hoping you would come with me."
"C-come with you?" Sachiko asked completely caught off guard as the room went silent. After a moment Sachiko was finally able to sort out her thoughts, "have you already told your family about us?"
Yumi glanced to Sachiko and shook her head, "no, but I figured this would probably be the best time to do it."
"I want to tell them, Yumi, but won't it be a little odd? What if your parents don't accept us? What if we get to wherever this get together is and the rest of your family doesn't accept us?"
"I know," Yumi said firmly cutting Sachiko off which immediately silenced the older girl. "I've thought about all of that, but I want to tell them. It may even help you tell your parents when we go out to dinner with them."
Sachiko thought about all the people who would find out if she went through with this. Yumi had a point, it could help her tell her parents. "Are you certain you want to do this?"
Yumi nodded, "I know the timing might not seem ideal, but I don't want to hide what we have anymore. I'm sick of telling my parents you're just my friend."
"What about the issue we are having right now?" Sachiko asked even though it pained her to.
Yumi remained silent for a minute as she looked at Sachiko.
"You bring up a good point," Yumi said before taking a deep breath. "I know that all of our friends would tell me not to do this before you tell your parents. I know that if you don't' tell your parents after I do this that my heart will really break, but. . . I love you, Sachiko and…and as crazy as this might seem after what happened, I trust you. I trust you when you tell me I am the only one you love and that you want to be with only me. I trust everything you wrote to me in that letter."
Yumi paused for a moment taking a deep breath, "I trust you when you say that you will tell your parents. . . So, it doesn't matter if I tell mine first, I know that you will tell yours, because you promised me."
Sachiko smiled even though she couldn't look at Yumi right now. The pain of picking Suguru that morning hurt, especially now. How could Yumi stand there and say such wonderful things about her when she was the one who was hurt the most.
"Sachiko. . .?" Yumi asked curiously after a moment.
Sachiko lifted her head and cleared her throat, the smile on her face had only grown bigger as she thought about how much Yumi really loved her. "I would be happy to go with you, but I think we should tell your parents first. They should probably know before we go."
Yumi nodded, "how about tomorrow? We can go over there for dinner and spend the night, assuming it all goes well."
Sachiko smiled as she stood from where she was sitting and went over to Yumi giving her a hug. "I will be there either way, I promise."
Yumi smiled before pulling back a little and standing to her tip toes to give Sachiko a kiss. The kiss was ended when Sachiko finally pulled away. The look on her face wasn't the one Yumi was expecting, something was on her mind.
"Before we do that, I think we need to talk," she said remembering her conversation with Rei earlier.
Yumi sensed whatever was bothering Sachiko was something she might not be comfortable with. She worried it might be something about their relationship. That didn't make sense though, Sachiko seemed more than willing to take the next step in their relationship.
"It's nothing bad," Sachiko said reading the worry on Yumi's face. "I just feel that you need to know this. I don't want to keep anything from you."
Yumi just simply nodded as Sachiko let her go and went over to sit on her bed. "I'm not feeling the way I think I should."
"The way you think you should?" Yumi asked as she went to her desk chair and took a seat facing Sachiko. "What do you mean?"
"I'm telling my parents about us very soon and…It just doesn't seem real. It's like I cannot comprehend what is about to happen so I'm not worried about it even though it's all I'm thinking about," Sachiko explained as Yumi raised an eyebrow at her.
"I'm worried that when the time comes I won't be able to tell them. I feel like I should be freaking out right now, but I'm just not."
Yumi took a deep breath, "I think I understand, and I'm glad you shared this with me."
"I'm sorry for feeling like this," Sachiko said feeling tiny right now. She was completely at the mercy of Yumi's reaction right now and she was on thin ice. She just hoped she could explain herself more if Yumi reacted poorly. She worried that Yumi would think she was having doubts about telling her parents.
"I think this is probably normal," Yumi said as Sachiko looked to her honestly surprised. "I kind of feel the same way about telling my parents tomorrow, but I'm sure when we leave to go there I will start to panic."
Sachiko nodded, it seemed Yumi completely understood what she was getting at.
"Let's make a promise then," Yumi suggested as Sachiko raised an eyebrow curiously. "We won't leave my parents house tomorrow night without them knowing and likewise, we won't leave dinner with your parents until they know. It will be up to you tomorrow to make sure I can't leave until my parents know, and when it comes time for you, I will make sure you can't leave until they know."
Sachiko thought about it for a moment, "so I won't let you leave until you tell your parents and you will do the same for me?"
Yumi nodded, but look on her face was asking the question on her mind for her, "do you not like that idea?"
Sachiko quickly shook her head, "no, no, it's not that. I think that is a great idea, I just wanted to be sure that is what we are agreeing on before I hold the car keys from you tomorrow."
Yumi smiled, "I'll text them now then and tell them we're coming for dinner."
Sachiko just nodded before remembering what happened earlier, "oh by the way, I ran into your dorm neighbor earlier."
Yumi raised her eyebrow, "how do you know she is my neighbor?"
"Well, she told me, she was curious who I was because I'm around so much. I told her I was your girlfriend," Sachiko admitted as Yumi looked up from her phone pleasantly surprised. "I hope that is alright, I just figured if we are telling our parents, that you wouldn't mind."
Yumi smiled brightly this time, it seemed Sachiko was trying to make an effort, "I don't mind at all. In fact, I think we should celebrate. How about a mini date tonight? We can go out to our favorite restaurant later tonight and you can tell me all about it."
Sachiko smiled, very relieved that Yumi wasn't upset, "that sounds wonderful."