A/N: Hello! I feel that I need to apologize a little. The last chapter had a cliffhanger and because of that I wanted to get this chapter out much faster so everyone didn't have to wait. I had this chapter almost done as of two weeks ago. Then I started a part time job at night for some extra money. I had an interview that same week and ended up in contact with someone that I did work for previously and am now working on a website for them. In other words, my life went from not doing much to having lots to do in a week. So I had to put this on hold for a little longer than I wanted. However, I just got done going through it and I've added some things that I think needed to be changed, so I think overall it is better because of the wait.
Anyways, that was a small update and explanation for what happened. I hope you enjoy this chapter and as always thanks for any reviews and pm's.
Side note: If you sent me a private message and I didn't respond, please just send me another letting me know. I sometimes read them with intentions of replying later when I have time then forget! I won't be bothered at all if you send me a message that just says "reply." I am also sorry if I have done this to you!
Youko lifted her head from her laptop she had been working at as she heard her cellphone start ringing. She looked to the small table on her right and then around her before realizing it was behind the laptop. Her heart sank when she was it was Yumi calling, the first thought in her mind was that Sachiko screwed up again.
"Hello?" Youko answered cautiously.
"Hello, Onee-sama," Sachiko answered as Youko raised an eyebrow before pulling the phone away from her face to ensure she had seen the caller correctly.
"Sachiko? Why do you have Yumi's phone?"
"No time to explain. Could you meet us at Yumi's dorm room in the next twenty minutes or so and would you mind if we spend the night? The sooner the better."
Youko blinked once or twice before looking at the laptop in front of her. What she was working on was mostly done and not super important at the moment. "Uhh, yea, I can be there in about ten minutes."
"Thank you," Sachiko said with relief evident in her voice. "We will see you when you arrive."
About ten to fifteen minutes later. . .
Knock, knock, knock...
Both girls froze before looking at each other. Yumi had just put the last of her essential things in the bag they were taking to Youko's when they heard the knock on the door.
"Sachiko, Yumi, it's Youko," came a muffled voice through the door.
Sachiko took a deep breath as she zipped up the bag Yumi had been packing while Yumi went and opened the door. Before Youko could enter the room, both girls were walking out ready to leave.
"Why the rush?" Youko asked curiously as Yumi locked her dorm room door.
"I'm fairly certain my mother is on her way here," Sachiko said in a tone that told Youko that was a very bad thing. "The sooner we leave here, the better."
"Alright," Youko said as the girls started walking towards her car keeping a lookout for Sayako as they did. Thankfully, she was nowhere to be seen and the girls made it to Youko's car without hassle.
Sachiko put their bag in the backseat before climbing in the car and shutting the door.
"So, you mind telling me what is going on?" Youko asked as she started the car and pulled out of the parking space.
Sachiko thought about the situation for a moment before taking a deep breath, "I told my mother I want out of the marriage this morning."
"I take it that didn't go over to well?" Youko asked a moment later as Sachiko shook her head.
"Not really. What really upset her though was when I mentioned I wanted out of it because I was seeing someone. Now she thinks I've been lying to her about staying at Yumi's and that instead I've been out with some guy."
"Well that doesn't good. Did you tell her the truth?"
"No," Sachiko frowned as she leaned her head against the window. "I panicked and kind of just hung up on her. She wanted me to come home so I could be Suguru's dinner guest at my own home. I refused to do it, I told her I wanted out of the marriage, then I let it slip that I was seeing someone else."
Yumi turned in the front seat so she could see Sachiko better. "If it means anything, I'm glad you did what you did."
Sachiko glanced from the window to Yumi who was smiling at her. She couldn't help but feel a little at ease and smile back, "I guess if I think about it, the slip was a good thing, I was just hoping her reaction wouldn't have been so... upset."
"I bet telling her you're dating cute little Yumi-chan will make all of this problem go away. Your parents love Yumi-chan," Youko explained as Yumi blushed a little.
"It will certainly ease her mind to know that I haven't been running around with some boy," Sachiko said disgusted at the thought.
Yumi chuckled at Sachiko's expression, it made her wonder how her parents didn't have any idea of her sexual preference. Sachiko raised an eyebrow at Yumi curiously, before shaking her head and smiling herself. Yumi always seemed to understand what she was thinking.
Youko glanced to Yumi for a moment before looking back to the road. Yumi barely had to do anything to make Sachiko smile, even when she was under a lot of stress.
"So why are you hiding from your mother anyway? Don't you want her to know?" Youko asked as Sachiko nodded.
"Yes, but she was very upset on the phone when I mentioned I wanted to have the marriage cancelled. I was hoping this might get it through to them that I am serious," Sachiko explained before looking at Yumi for a few moments. "I didn't mean to tell her I was seeing someone yet, but the next time I speak with her, she will know it's Yumi. I think I just need a little time like she does."
"What do you think?" Youko asked glancing to Yumi.
"I am happy and relieved," Yumi said as Sachiko glanced to her curious as to what she had to say. They hadn't really had a chance to properly talk since the phone call this morning. "The wedding isn't cancelled, yet, but the steps to making that happen are finally starting. I am sad that we are having to avoid her mother, but at the same time I am so happy for the reason we are avoiding her."
"We will get it cancelled," Sachiko said a moment later as Yumi glanced back to her smiling.
"I know," Yumi replied. "I just can't explain how happy it makes me to finally see that things are starting to happen."
"I'm happy too, even if I'm not showing it very well right now."
Youko smiled, "well you two are welcome to stay here as long as you want," she explained as she pulled into the driveway. "If I know your mother though, she will be here soon. Bring your stuff up to your room. I'll deal with your mother when she gets here."
Later that afternoon. . .
"Everything is going to be fine," Yumi said as she leaned forward and gave Sachiko a kiss on the lips before resting her forehead against Sachiko's. This took Sachiko's eyes off the door to their room where a faint muffled conversation could be heard coming from. Sachiko's mother had not only come over, it seemed she was in the house talking with Youko now. "You know Youko-sama can handle your mother, probably better than any of your friends."
"I know, I'm just. . . My mother can be ridiculous and I gave her good reason to look for me, but at the same time, she must be extremely upset," Sachiko reasoned.
"Perhaps you should call her later then? You're right, she probably thinks you are running around with some boy right now. Let her know you aren't staying with a boy, maybe push the issue of cancelling the marriage," Yumi suggested as Sachiko remained silent for a moment.
"Won't she figure out that I'm with a girl then?" Sachiko asked thinking about how that conversation would go. If she told her mother she wasn't out with some boy, then she was at her friends, which would make one of them a liar about not knowing where she was, or she would just maybe figure out that she was out with a girl.
"Maybe," Yumi replied before going quiet again. ". . .Maybe that is the best way to do it though."
Sachiko looked into Yumi's eyes for a moment, "I still want to tell them in person, but I think maybe you're right. . . I wonder what they are talking about?"
. . .
Youko set a cup of tea down in front of Sayako before walking to the other side of the table and setting her own glass down before sitting. "So, she just hung up on you and now you can't find her?" Youko asked curiously.
"Yes, she told me she wanted out of the marriage and that she was seeing someone, then she just hung up. I went to Yumi-chan's dorm room, but she wasn't there. I tried calling her and Sachiko multiple times."
Youko pulled her phone out of her pocket and clicked the screen on for show before frowning, "I don't' have any missed calls or messages. It doesn't look like she has tried to contact me."
Sayako sighed before taking a sip of her tea. "I can't even imagine what she is thinking. Did you know about this mysterious person she is apparently dating?"
"I've had my suspicions, but I never confronted her and she had never told me anything," Youko explained before taking a sip of her own tea. "I've heard her make mention of not wanting to marry Suguru however."
"She did?"
Youko nodded, "that is why I had my suspicions about her seeing someone."
Sayako thought for a moment, "I wonder how serious she and this boy are."
Youko covered her mouth with a handle as she chuckled a little. Sayako raised an eyebrow at her odd behavior. "I'm sorry," Youko apologized, "I don't know if you should worry about her being serious with this boy. I like to think she would have told me if it were serious.
Sayako looked at Youko curiously for a moment, she didn't like that Youko seemed to make the situation seem less serious that it was. "The fact still stands that she is out there with some boy. . . What if she-" Sayako took a deep breath. "What if she gets pregnant?"
"Uhh, well," Youko said at a loss for words. She just couldn't imagine Sachiko pregnant. "I-I think Sachiko understands the consequences of something like that. I don't' know if I would worry about that so much."
"I wasn't worried about her running away when I woke up this morning," Sayako simply stated as Youko sighed seeing what Sachiko's mother was doing.
"You're right, I am just trying to make you feel better," Youko said as Sayako nodded and apologized. "Have you checked with Rei and Yoshino?"
"No, I didn't know which dorm was theirs."
Youko nodded before turning her phone back on, "listen, I will keep an eye out for her. If she calls me, texts me, comes here, or anything like that. You will be the first to know. Until then, I will give you their phone number so you can contact them," she explained as texted Sachiko's mother Rei's phone number before standing.
"I know you are worried, I am too. Unfortunately, we need to have faith that she won't do anything stupid. If I had to guess, she is afraid to face you after telling you she wants to cancel the wedding. Perhaps, she thinks doing this will show you that she is to be taken seriously about this."
Sayako nodded as they started walking towards the door, "I just hope she calls soon. Until then, I will have to talk to her father about her wanting to cancel the wedding."
"When she calls, and she will, I'm sure she would be much more willing to cooperate if you've at least taken her request seriously. She wants out of it, but she is scared to face you because she thinks there is no way it will happen."
Sayako stopped at the door and looked at Youko with an expression that was a mixture of disappointment and something sadder. "Thank you for telling me this."
"No problem," Youko said as she opened the door for Sayako. "I will call you if I find anything out. If she contacts you, would you send me a message of some sort to know she is alright?"
Sayako just simply nodded before walking towards her car. Youko stood in the doorway and waved before closing it and locking it with a deep breath.
After cleaning up the tea cups she headed towards the guest bedroom and knocked on the door. "Sachiko, Yumi, are you in there?"
"Coming," Youko heard through the door before it opened a moment later revealing Sachiko. Yumi was sitting on the edge of the bed. "You should call your mother sometime today."
Sachiko sighed, "I know I should," she replied before heading back into the room and sitting on the edge of the bed with Yumi again. "What did she say?"
"Well, she is worried that you might get pregnant running around with your supposed boyfriend. I didn't explain to her Yumi couldn't get you pregnant."
Yumi's face turned bright red as the words left her mouth before she covered her face. Youko just simply chuckled at her response.
"I didn't tell her you were with Yumi. I did push the fact that you want the marriage cancelled though. She didn't have much to say about it, except that she was going to speak with your father. I couldn't really gauge her reaction to the news very well. That being said, she is obviously worried about what you might possibly be getting into right now. Even if you don't want to talk to her right now, I think she deserves to know that her daughter isn't doing anything dangerous or potentially life ruining."
Sachiko nodded, "thank you for letting me know. I will send her a message or something later."
"Good, but for now that can wait," Youko said glancing at a wristwatch she had on. "It is getting to be about that time and you've both had a long day. I would also be the worst Onee-sama ever if I didn't make sure both of my younger sisters were fed. So, what sounds good for dinner?"
"You don't have to cook for us. If anything, we should be cooking for you as a thank you for letting us stay here," Yumi said as Youko dismissed what she said immediately with a wave of a hand.
"Nonsense, you and Sachiko may not be blood, but I consider you both my sisters. I am simply doing my part in helping you in your time of need," Youko explained as both girls smiled.
"Then at least let us help, it would be unfair for you to do everything."
"She is right," Sachiko said with a smile as Yumi looked at her. "Besides, I had a lot of fun the last time we cooked together," she explained before leaning over and giving Yumi a kiss.
Youko smiled, "then it's settled. Let's go find something to eat."
A few hours later. . .
Sachiko sighed as she looked down at her phone trying to figure out what to do. She was torn between sending a text to her mother and actually calling her. She knew a call would be much better in this situation, but she wasn't sure she was ready to do that. She wished there was just someway the phone wouldn't ring and instead just go to voicemail.
"Everything alright?"
"Yes, I was just-" Sachiko's breath caught in her throat at the sight before her. Yumi had just come out of the shower and had the towel wrapped tightly around her showing off her figure. "-Just, thinking of...my phone."
Yumi raised an eyebrow curiously before turning and looking at Sachiko. "You were thinking of your phone?"
Sachiko shook her head, "no, I meant to say that I'm thinking about how to contact my mother."
"She would probably prefer a call," Yumi said as she turned her back to Sachiko and let her towel drop before grabbing some clothes.
Sachiko's eyes instantly traveled down Yumi's body as soon as the towel hit the floor. She bit her bottom lip when Yumi bent over to put on her panties.
"Did you hear me?" Yumi asked when Sachiko didn't respond.
"I did," Sachiko replied before taking a deep breath to calm herself as Yumi pulled a shirt over her head before joining Sachiko in bed.
"Are you going to call her now?" Yumi asked curiously as she glanced to the phone in Sachiko's hands. "You don't have to stay on the phone with her. Just let her know that everything is alright and that you haven't done anything dangerous."
"You're right," Sachiko said as she stared at Yumi a moment longer trying to shake what she had just seen out of her head. After a moment she unlocked her phone and navigated to her mother's number before quickly pressing the call button. She knew if she didn't just press the button quickly she would be sitting there for twenty minutes trying to find reasons not to call her. Yumi wearing barely anything was definitely more appealing right now.
She took a deep breath as she heard the phone start ringing.
"Sachiko," Sayako answered quickly with worry thick in her voice. "Where are you? Are you alright?"
"Mother," Sachiko said trying to silence the barrage of questions that were starting. "I am fine, but I won't tell you where I am. Also, I will hang up if you insist I come home, especially if you insist because of the marriage. In fact I don't even want to hear Suguru's name mentioned from this point on."
The phone was silent for a moment before Sayako finally spoke again, "do you really want the wedding cancelled that bad?"
"I do," Sachiko simply responded as she glanced to Yumi who just gave her a reassuring smile. She wasn't sure what was being said, but she knew she needed to be supportive of Sachiko right now.
"Is it because of this other boy you have met? Are you with him now?"
Sachiko stared at Yumi for a few more moments, she remembered the agreement she made with Yumi. "I want the wedding cancelled because of the person I met, yes. . . To answer your other question, yes, I am with them right now."
"I see," Sayako responded before going silent for a minute. "Since you are being uncooperative, can I at least know that you are safe and not doing anything you shouldn't be doing. I don't want you making a mistake that will change your life because you feel you need to prove a point. I have talked with your father about cancelling the marriage."
Sachiko frowned a little, her mother's tone of voice was desperate, worried, and scared. Even though she wanted to be mad that her mother said she was uncooperative at the moment, she couldn't. It was a rare moment where her mother was truly motherly and it broke her heart knowing she was this worried. "You talked with father?"
"Yes."
"What did he say?"
Sayako took a deep breath, "he almost called the police, but after speaking with Youko, I convinced him not to. . . He is furious, but not because you want the wedding cancelled. He is worried about you Sachiko, we both are."
"Does that mean you both understand that I am serious about cancelling this wedding?" Sachiko asked firmly as she felt Yumi give her hand a squeeze.
"We have both agreed to hear what you have to say about cancelling the wedding. However, we would like to discuss this in person. We would also like to meet this person who you have...fallen in love with," Sayako explained. "If it is alright, we would like to have this conversation over dinner tomorrow or the next day. I realize this is on short notice, but you have to understand our concern."
"I do," Sachiko replied quickly to try and put her mother's worries at ease a little. "I am sorry for making you worry so much, but I promise you there is nothing to worry about," she explained before looking at Yumi and smiling. "We would love to meet you and father for dinner tomorrow."
"We will be eating tomorrow night at seven. We are going to the usual restaurant," Sayako explained before stopping and taking a deep breath. "Sachiko, please don't do anything you will regret."
"It's impossible mother. I will see you tomorrow night, and I promise, you will love her as much as I do," she said before hanging up the phone before her mother could say anything else.
She just simply looked at the phone for a few moments before taking a deep breath and looking up to Yumi. "Hopefully that will make it a little less awkward tomorrow night."
"You told your mother you were with a girl," Yumi pointed out as Sachiko nodded fully aware of what she had done.
"Yes," she responded before glancing down at her hand that Yumi was still holding. "I figured there was no point in hiding it anymore, besides, all I want right now is to fulfill the agreement we have and put all of this wedding stuff behind us."
Yumi smiled, "I completely forgot about the agreement," she said as she rested her head on Sachiko's shoulder.
"Thank you for the second chance, I promise I will do whatever it takes to be with you."
Yumi's smile widened as she lifted her head to give Sachiko a kiss before snuggling close to her again, "I know. Just being here right now is proof of what you are willing to do, and I think that far exceeds what I was asking for with our agreement."
"If my parents decline my request to cancel the marriage?" Sachiko asked curiously.
Yumi sighed as she thought about what would happen if Sachiko's parents decided not to cancel the marriage. She wouldn't leave Sachiko, the possibility of that happening right now was pretty much out of the question. Tomorrow night she would come out to her parents and already kind of had in a small way. She wondered if her parents would take them in or if Sachiko could live at her dorm with her. Perhaps even Youko would let her stay here.
Sachiko chuckled causing Yumi to break her thought process and look at her oddly for a moment.
"Sorry," she said before shaking her head a little. "I was just thinking about how ridiculous that thought is. I won't be giving them any other options tomorrow, they will cancel the wedding. If they do somehow still find a way to decide they don't want to then..."
"You can run away with me," Yumi said finishing her sentence as Sachiko looked at her moment to gauge how serious she was. She smiled a moment later, Yumi was completely serious about what she had said.
"Then I will run away with you."
