It was strange having someone older and who you'd admired for so long cry on your shoulder literally. Yumi and Sachiko were now sitting on the floor, both of their backs resting on Yumi's bed and Sachiko still whimpering slightly. If you'd asked Yumi once she moved in that she would witness this much vulnerability from her ice princess, she would've pegged you for someone who'd been mistakenly released from an asylum.

"Sachiko," Yumi started as she carefully lifted the other girl's face and brushed the slowly falling tears from her beautiful eyes. They were a darker shade of blue. Exhaustion and sorrow shone from them, making Yumi's heart clench. Anger surged through her. How could someone hurt this angel so much?

"I think it's best if you lie down and rest and I go and take a shower. I don't think you've noticed but I smell…"

"As though you've just ended dance practice…yes, trust me, Yumi, I've noticed." Sachiko replied, making the girl beside her gasp. Yumi blushed from embarrassment and stuttered out an excuse before she grabbed her towel and headed to the bathroom, making Sachiko laugh softly. Soon she got up and went to look herself in the mirror. She scoffed. Youko's marks were still visible. How long would she continue to haunt Sachiko's memories no one knew…

"Yumi." Sachiko called out as she knocked on the bathroom door.

"Yes?" Yumi shouted back hoping her voice would be stronger than that of the running water.

"I'll need to come in and wash my face since I would need to be in dance practice in less than 10 minutes. I hope you don't mind." Sachiko responded.

"Of course I don't. It's not like you've not seen me like this before." Yumi replied, hinting to the time when Sachiko had had to change her clothes while Yumi was in the nursery.

Sachiko blushed. She'd hoped Yumi would not notice the change of pajamas. Apparently she'd had. She was wrong though. Sachiko had not seen much mainly because it had been dark and she'd refused to take advantage of Yumi like that.

"I'm coming in." Sachiko warned as she opened the door and went to the mirror washing her face and ignoring the flawless naked body which was behind the shower curtain. Sachiko felt a small part of her wish it had been transparent. Such thoughts caught the dark-hairs beauty off guard. She and Yumi had just become friends, she could not start having feelings for her roommate. After berating herself mentally a couple of times more, Sachiko exited the bathroom and the room altogether rushing towards dance hall. Perhaps a couple of hours of physical exertion would cleanse her mind of impure thoughts for her dazzling and adorable roommate.

Sachiko had never thought they would be impersonating a rock ballad. Who in their right mind would pick her for the lead role was beyond Sachiko. She naturally received her answer once their teacher announced that a famous dancer would be helping them with their choreography. In strolled none other than Youko. Most of the students recognized her and shouted in glee. Sachiko rolled her eyes, Rei looked at her, sympathy shining in her eyes, and Shimako was shocked and stared. She had been made aware that Youko and Sachiko had been close but just how much no one besides Touch, Yumi and Rei knew.

After the first couple of dance combinations had been shown to the girls Youko instructed them to follow her and try to mimic her stance and the details as well such as the correct position of the arms, the fingers, and the head. Sachiko sighed as she went along and tried to focus on the dance routine and not the person who had broken her heart. She should've asked why exactly Youko was here. Instead she'd been so concentrated on her internal pain that she had forgotten to do so.

Sachiko's lack of attention showed and soon she and Youko had to step aside in order for the older of the two to correct her. Sachiko was fuming internally. This was only a farce to get them some time alone. Rei and Shimako knew of course and had sensed the tenseness in Sachiko's shoulders which increased tenfold when Youko had dared touch her to correct her stance.

"That's enough!" Sachiko shouted as she escaped from Youko's grip and ran from the room. The students had been dispersed for a break around 10 minutes ago which was good since seeing their favorite angel flee from the room would've alerted them that something strange was going on and rumors and questions would most likely ensue, causing more harm than good, of course.

"Sachiko!" Res yelled as she ran after her friend and followed her all the way to the garden in the backyard of Lillian Academy. Sachiko was panting as she rested on a bench and looked at the red roses which were shining brightly in the sun. These were perhaps one of the last warm days of October which Sachiko would be able to enjoy.

"I am right here, Rei!" Sachiko answered, yelling had become a habit it seemed. Her mannerisms differed a little. Her poise and politeness were lacking, she was acting like a normal teen Rei observed as she sat down next to her friend.

"What happened in there?" She asked but Sachiko merely shook her head.

"I thought she wanted to get back together, and once I refused her she would leave me alone, but apparently I was in for a surprise. An unpleasant one at that." Sachiko elaborated once Rei's frown of confusion had blossomed upon the fair-haired beauty's face. Soon said frown morphed into an astonished look of understanding which then turned into one of sympathy.

"I see…I honestly don't know what to say, Sachiko, it would be best to ignore her, but seeing as she's hellbent on having more and more personal practices with you.." Rei said, making Sachiko gasp and furrow her eyebrows.

"Would you mind clarifying what you're referring to exactly?" Sachiko asked and Rei sighed before she explained further:

"I heard her, Youko I mean, talking with our head dance teacher and asking if she and you could practice alone so that you would be ready for the performance on Christmas faster and also so that she could observe you closer and see if you were ready to join her dance troupe."

"She must be crazy." Sachiko whispered, " There is no way I am going to be part of a dance formation with her in it and be forced to see her every day and night. That woman left me to follow her dreams, neither caring, nor sparing my feelings!"

"Sachiko, I know that this may be a difficult period for you…" Rei tried to pacify her, but an angry Sachiko was similar to a wolf, you needed to be careful whilst taming it otherwise you may get bitten. Words flew naturally and hit their target unbeknownst to the two girls, of course.

"Difficult? Difficult! She left me with a note. A formal and lacking all familiarity note…one that contained no love, no feelings, no affection, Rei! I could've been anyone, a friend, an acquaintance, but no that note belonged to such a person, but I was none of them! I was her lover, her girlfriend, her best friend! She loved me, Rei! You don't leave someone you love like that. You do not abandon them and allow them to find out that you were planning on leaving them in the end with a note! It broke my heart and made me think that I would never trust anyone like that ever again. This is not a difficult period for me, Rei. This is a nightmare I've been trying to recover from. And now she's opened so many wounds I don't think I'd be able to stitch them back together even after she's gone."

"I am sorry I made you feel this way, Sachiko." Youko suddenly said coming out of the trees. She asked Rei to leave them alone and promised to fetch her if Sachiko needed her friend. Rei seemed hesitant at first, but soon did so thinking it was best to leave the two and hoping they would find closure soon.

"Sachiko, I know what I did was abominable. I just…I would not have had the heart to leave you if I've seen you and told you that in person. This is the reason why I wrote you a letter in which I explained my circumstances and to which I am certain you agreed to and promised that we would stay friends." Youko stated as she brushed a stand of dark hair away from Sachiko's eyes. The younger one did not flinch from the gesture of affection, but did not welcome it either. Youko sighed as she went on:

"I wished I could turn back time and take you with me. You are the only one I've ever loved so strongly besides my family, but it seems I made the mistake of choosing myself and my future over you. I can't say I regret the decision I made though." Youko continued as she looked at Sachiko's confused frown and smiled before elaborating:

"Your family would not have agreed upon our relationship then. They would've even prevented you from coming with me even if your future would've been a brighter one. Still I feel you lack what it takes to be on stage, nor do you wish to be on one, watched by millions of people and idolized for the role you played in their eyes and not for the true wonder and pleasure that you are. They would not have seen your true self, Sachiko, they would've seen the refined lady your family had conjured you to be."

"I'm not the person I used to be. I've changed." Sachiko countered as Youko nodded and smiled sadly.

"You're still closed off and awfully formal yet you've become closer to Rei, Shimako, Yoshino and Touko. I've been made aware of all of that, trust me."

"But who would…" Sachiko then eyed an all too familiar teaching assistant passing by and sighed, "Of course, Sei.."

Youko chuckled. "It's been a wonderful coincidence that she was assigned to be a teaching assistant here given the fact that she's so young still. Some people would need to study a year or two longer to be given this chance."

"I know she's quite remarkable." Sachiko confessed as she'd visibly calmed down.

"That she is." Youko sighed as she smiled sadly, "Have I truly lost you, Sachiko?"

Sachiko shook her head as a lone tear fell from her left eye. Youko wished she could brush it away but Sachiko beat her to it.

"I could never truly hate you. I guess I needed to see how remorseful you are to begin forgiving you." Sachiko explained as she looked at Youko and smiled sadly as well before asking, "By missing you meant you wished to rekindle our friendship, right?"

Youko nodded before she chuckled as Sachiko flushed from embarrassment, "I believed you wished to get back together."

"I did for a while." Youko confessed, making Sachiko's eyes widen before she chuckled and added, "Don't look so surprised, love. You were a wonderful part of my life back then and I still want you to be. I guess… now we would be better off as friends, I know it would take a long time before I earn you trust and respect, but I want you to know I would never throw them to the side so easily once more."

Sachiko nodded as she took a shaky breath in, "We can try." She promised as she took Youko's hand and intertwined their fingers. Youko smiled as she squeezed the younger girl's hand.

The two spend the rest of the day talking to each other, discussing memories and becoming closer once more. It turned out that the two loved each other still only this time the romantic love was gone and had been replaced with a platonic one still as beautiful and natural as the first one.

Youko walked Sachiko to her room and bid her goodbye, hugging the girl in the process and promising that she would stay in touch. It turned out that Youko would return somewhere in

November, beginning of December to further assist the girls with their performance for Christmas. Sachiko was grateful she'd managed to reconnect with Youko who was the first person to accept her as who she was and even encourage Sachiko to be who she was and free herself from her family's traditions so to say.

Sachiko smiled as she watched the older woman walk away from her, thinking what she would say if Sachiko had voiced her strangely erupted feelings for her roommate Yumi, but Sachiko had decided against it. It was too soon she'd decided. Plus she may have just become confused due to the surge of affections between the two. It appeared the pain Youko had inadvertently caused Sachiko had done a good deed - helped Yumi and Sachiko grow closer.

Once Sachiko unlocked the door and closed it, she turned around and was frozen on the spot. The entire room was in disarray, clothes were scattered everywhere and a nervous Yumi was pacing around the room. Her hair was curled and cascaded beautifully around her shoulders, framing her face and giving it a mysterious edge. Her face had a slight make-up on - the eyeliner bringing out the girl's warm brown eyes and accentuating the long lashes further. Her lips had a rosy color onto them, making one wish to dive in and steal a taste. Sachiko shook her head. Apparently she'd not been deluded nor deceived. Her feeling for Yumi were there still.

"Would you mind telling me what happened here? Sachiko enquired as she set her bag on the nearby chair. Yumi chuckled nervously as she explained:

"I have a date with Touko and I have nothing to wear." She confessed and bit her lip, "Would it be alright to help me, Sachiko?"

The jealousy that surged through Sachiko cemented her thoughts - she did like Yumi and apparently someone else had stepped in and tried to take her away.