A/N: One chapter for each. That's my intention when I started to write Fighting Temptations. The only thing that has been changed from my plan is to somehow, give you an idea that it will have a happy ending (because sad ending is just so…sad).
And yeah, if there are typo errors or missing words, forgive me coz I didn't proofread this one coz I told you I'm not feeling well (I think I said it in the other story). Never mind.
Chapter 9. Sachiko's Battle
It all started that night, that night when she, Ogasawara Sachiko, invited her, Fukuzawa Yumi, for a sleepover. They had a fun time that day. When night came in, of course, she had Yumi sleep in her room.
It was fine.
After all, they had slept together side by side for a few times already.
They were giggling and laughing as they settled on her bed, after which, Yumi shyly and gently draped her arm on her stomach while she placed her hands on top of hers.
It was all right.
She wanted Yumi to be close anyway.
And so they slept.
At the middle of the night, she woke up to find Yumi still hugging her.
No problem at all.
She was about to go back to sleep when at the corner of her eyes, she saw the moonlight bathed Yumi's sleeping form.
Instead of closing her eyes, she shifted a bit so that she was directly looking at Yumi's beautiful face. Yumi's face was a picture of contentment, her lips curved in a hint of smile.
Staring at Yumi, her heart swelled with happiness and at the same time protectiveness. She wanted to protect Yumi. She wanted to protect that smile, that smile that could brush away all her pains.
She raised her hand and gently traced the outline of Yumi's face with her finger and stopped at the corner of her smiling lips.
That was where the problem began.
She couldn't take her eyes off those slightly parted kissable lips.
She remembered how those lips moved when Yumi talked and laughed. And most of all, she remembered how those lips felt when Yumi kissed her hand after her grandmother died.
Suddenly, she couldn't breathe. Her heartbeat sped up a bit and her throat ran dry just as her lips felt dry. She wet her lips with her tongue, not taking her eyes off Yumi's, and then wondered how those lips would feel on hers. A rapid intake of breathe accompanied by the surged of desire was overwhelming that for a moment, she didn't know what to do. Her mind was on a battle. She desperately wanted to touch her lips on Yumi's, and yet at the same time she was scared, not only of how Yumi would react if she found out, but also of herself. Of course there were times that she had thought about her relationship with Yumi. But when it came to the point where she could feel something more than sisters or close friends should, she forcefully put them aside and avoided it as much as she could.
Now, that control was slowly slipping away.
She was afraid that if she kissed Yumi, she wouldn't be able to stop.
And Yumi would be disgusted with her.
She couldn't take that.
Definitely not.
She closed her eyes then as she did a breathing exercise to calm herself, her knuckles white in closed fist.
That night was the longest night for her.
To the present…
"Sachiko, are you alright?"
"Hmm…" Sachiko blinked. For the first time, she noticed her friend Hasekura Rei looking at her with a puzzled look. "Yes?"
"Are you feeling alright?" Rei asked for the second time. Sachiko spacing out was something new. Having known her for more than two years, it brought a worry to Rei.
"Yes, I'm perfectly fine. Shall we continue then?"
"We're done with the meeting," Rei said dryly.
Sachiko blinked twice before taking a good look at the faces of each and everyone at the room. She fought her blushed as she saw all of them looking at her quizzically. When her eyes settled on Yumi's worried face, she quickly turned her gaze away and at the same time chided herself.
"Everyone, I apologize for such thoughtlessness. Please don't worry about me," she said briefly.
The others were quiet for a moment before they nodded in acknowledgement. They understood that if Sachiko didn't want to say anything, they knew that they couldn't force her.
One by one, the others bid their goodbyes, leaving Sachiko and Yumi alone. Sachiko could see that Yumi was still trying her best to convince herself that she, Sachiko, was fine, but still couldn't help herself from worrying.
"Really Yumi, I'm fine," she met Yumi's eyes and said it calmly, although inside, her emotions were in a whirl. She couldn't tell Yumi that the reason for her unusual absent-mindedness was she. She couldn't and wouldn't be able to explain it to Yumi and thus, it would only make the latter more worried.
She watched Yumi's lips moved for a while, before she realized that Yumi was talking to her. She shook her head a little to clear her mind as she tried to listen to Yumi.
"Let's go home, Onee-sama."
"Yes."
When they reached the train station, they bid each other goodbye. Yumi, however, remained standing in front of her, shifting on her weight uncomfortably.
"Is something the matter, Yumi?" She asked, a little worried.
"N-no, nothing…I'm…I…" Yumi stammered and she nervously wet her lips with her tongue.
Sachiko had an inexplicable urge to do it herself. She quickly stepped closer to Yumi, then also quickly stopped as she mightily tried to control herself before she embarrassed herself more.
Wasn't it already embarrassing that she was spacing out because all she could think of was Yumi and her lips, how they twist in a hint of smile, how they sexily move when she talked?
'Sexy?! '
Sachiko berated herself.
"You're worrying for nothing, Yumi. I was just thinking about something. Stop worrying about me already, okay?"
She covered the things she was feeling at the moemnt with a smile. When Yumi smiled, she steeled herself and avoided looking at Yumi's lips and instead look her in the eyes, which was also a bad idea because her imagination drifted on how those eyes would look if…
'Stop it already, Sachiko!'
"Take care, Onee-sama. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yes. You take care too, Yumi."
This time Yumi moved away. As she watched her back, she suddenly had a vision of Yumi going away from her life. With nothing to lose, she made her decision and called Yumi. She smiled when the latter looked back with puzzled look. With sure steps, she made her way towards Yumi.
"I forgot to ask you, Yumi. Would you like to spend the weekend with me?"
Yumi was surprised at first, before her lips broke into a shy yet beautiful smile.
"Yes, Onee-sama."
She closed her eyes for a moment at the beautiful sound of Yumi's voice. She was sure that what she was going to do was the right thing for her, and hopefully, for Yumi too, because she had now understood what she wanted and what she needed to do.
---Wakas---
A/N: If ever I have the time (and the mood) to write, I'll do a sequel, just to show you one possible way how each pair ended together. I have a few ideas how, even thought of a title if ever I did continue (for now, it's Falling Into Temptations).
I said I'll think about it, okay? For now, let's leave it like that.
Thank you for reading this story! :) Hope you enjoyed it! Have a nice day!
---Arvendell---
09 February 2008
