A/N: Thanks to you folks who reviewed the previous chapter ;) Now, on to the story ;)

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Chapter 6. Acceptance 2

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"Why don't you tell her how you feel?" Asked the boyishly beautiful girl to her equally beautiful long-haired friend.

There was no response. The person being asked was lost in her thoughts.

"Sachiko?"

Silence…

"Sachiko!"

The call was a little louder, finally getting the attention of the quiet person in the room.

If Sachiko was startled, she hid it well.

"Yes? You were saying something, Rei?"

Rei gave a frustrated sigh.

"I said why don't you tell Yumi how you feel?"

A frown delicately appeared in the beautiful face of Sachiko, and then it was replaced by feigned ignorance.

"What do you mean?"

A humorless smile appeared in Rei's lips.

"Yumi. You're in love with Yumi."

There was another silence at the room.

"Why are you saying that?"

An indifferent exterior. Sachiko was trained to do that, expert to be like that.

"Everyone knows, Sachiko," Rei said patiently. Sachiko could be stubborn all she wanted but Rei had enough patience for that. Growing up with a hard-headed and forceful cousin in the person of Yoshino had its benefits after all.

Sachiko knew that she couldn't play around with words to Rei. Her friend knew her that much. However, she was not called stubborn for nothing.

"You're mistaken, Rei. I may be fond of Yumi. No. That would be an understatement. I may care a lot for Yumi, love her even, but I'm not in love with her," Sachiko said, putting emphasis on her last words.

"How do you feel when other people are with Yumi? No. That's not it. Answer this. How do you feel when Yumi is with Sei-sama and she's being cuddled by her?" Rei asked, undeterred. If Sachiko was stubborn, she could be stubborn, too.

"I may be a bit possessive but I'm not in love with her!" Sachiko said with a little force than usual. The façade was broken. Just thinking about Sei being overly familiar with Yumi made Sachiko's blood boil.

"You're jealous of Sei-sama. You want to be like that to Yumi, too, but your nature wouldn't let you," Rei said, forcefully at first before it softened.

"Rei…"

"You are in love with her, Sachiko, whether you accepts it or not."

Whatever retort Sachiko would say was cut off by footsteps climbing the stairs of the Rose Mansion. The door opened and revealed Shimako.

"Gokigenyou, Rosa Chinensis, Rosa Foetida."

"Gokigenyou, Rosa Gigantea."

"Is something the matter?" The newly arrived Rose asked. She knew that something was going on based on the atmosphere at the council room. She looked curiously at the two persons in the room.

"Sachiko is being stubborn as usual," Rei answered with irony.

"Rei!" Sachiko said warningly.

"I see. Is it about Yumi-san?"

It wasn't a question but a statement of fact. There were a number of ways that Sachiko could be stubborn about, but Yumi was always at the top of the chain, Shimako knew. Everyone at the Yamayurikai knew, except the other person concerned.

Sachiko glared at Rei, silently telling the latter to not speak about the matter, but was ignored.

"Yes. Sachiko is in love with Yumi and won't admit it. If she would, then it will be easier for the both of them."

Sachiko looked aghast at Rei's statement, and Shimako's unsurprised reaction only made the matter worse.

"But Sachiko-sama doesn't want to. What's holding her back?" Shimako asked calmly, unnerving Sachiko.

"Just her stubborn self," Rei answered flatly, glancing at Sachiko whose eyes had turned into slits.

"Please stop saying things on my account, Rei," Sachiko interrupted, annoyed that her two friends were talking as if she wasn't there.

"Because it's true, Sachiko. What are you worrying about? Yumi loves you, too. She's in love with you from the first time she met you. Everyone can see that."

"That's not…how did…" Sachiko stopped. She would just make a fool of herself if she wouldn't be calm about it, though her stomach lurched at what see had just heard. "How can you be so sure, Rei?"

"Ask Shimako here."

Sachiko turned to the White Rose, waiting for confirmation. Her heart raced with hopefulness. At the same time, she felt anxious. If what Rei was saying was true, then…

"She is. She said so herself."

Sachiko's eyes widened, forgetting about her worries. She was frozen as she looked at her friends.

"Yumi…said it?" Sachiko finally managed after she overcame some of her shock. Her mind raced with many things, with possibilities.

Shimako giggled at Sachiko's shocked expression.

"Yes. Yoshino-san made her. Yumi was shocked at first to realize it."

Rei smirked. Trust Yoshino to do it her way.

Sachiko was speechless. Was it really true? But Shimako wouldn't lie to her, would she?

"I'll think about this information. Thank you, Shimako, Rei. I'll be going now."

Rei and Shimako watched as Sachiko put her notes in her bag. Once done, she turned to leave, only to stop at the door when Rei called her.

"If you won't tell her, I'll do it for you," Rei challenged.

Sachiko gazed at her friend hard and said in a stern voice, "You won't do such thing, Rei."

Rei was not bothered.

"I will if you won't. I'll give you a week to do it."

Silence.

Sachiko didn't argue with it anymore. She stepped out the door and left the other Roses.

"It's the only way. If we won't force it on her, she wouldn't act on it," Rei explained to Shimako's unspoken question.

"I guess you're right."

Normally, once her back touched the softness of her bed, Sachiko would be asleep in seconds. However, tonight was not the case. She had been thinking about Yumi and what Rei and Shimako had said.

"What do I really feel about Yumi?"

Possessiveness was only one amongst the many feelings that Yumi evoked from her. Happiness was also another feeling that Yumi evoked from her. Yumi made her smile, made her happy. When she was with Yumi, she could forget most of her troubles.

Her duties.

Her responsibilities.

Her family issues.

Yumi made her burden lighter. Was that what made her be in loved with Yumi?

Both Rei and Shimako said that she was in loved with the younger girl.

But there was more to it, right? How did it all start? How could her friends arrive to such conclusion about her feelings? How was she going to understand what she truly felt?

If wanting to be with Yumi most of the time was being in loved, then she was.

If wanting to touch Yumi was being in loved, she really was.

If feeling jittery and giddy (she grimaced at the terms, hardly imagining herself thinking about it let alone feeling like it) added to the factor, then she surely was.

Being happy, contented, excited, those were the feelings she had when she was with Yumi. If feeling those was how to be in loved was like, then she liked the feeling.

If all those things were how being in loved was, then there was no more doubt about her feelings.

Somehow, Sachiko didn't know whether she was shocked, happy or what, with the revelation.

She needed to talk to Rei first though. She was grateful for what Rei did but she wouldn't allow her friend to interfere about confessing Yumi her feelings. She would do it at her own time at her own pace. She just needed more time to sort things out. Surely Yumi could wait.

Suddenly, Sachiko's reason for not feeling sleepy changed. Now, she could hardly sleep with excitement. Thinking about Yumi being in loved with her made her happy, though she still held some reservation. She should hear it first from Yumi, even though she knew her friends would never lie to her.

She wanted to hear it from Yumi.

"Yumi."

The thoughts of Yumi and of good things to come finally lulled Sachiko to sleep.

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A/N: A few more chapters and we will see the end of this ;) I hope you'll hang on until then.

Also, Simple to Complex might be the last story that I will post for MSGM. I have an Excapade completed in my files, and probably another one if I finish the sequel to it. I'll probably send it to you folks who have stayed with me up to the end.

Well then, bye for now. Take care, my dear folks!

-Arvendell-

11 June 2011

1:18 PM