A/N: Happy Tuesday all, even though it's colder than sin outside, Hell Michigan has now frozen over...well, it's been frozen since winter started, but that's proof the Michigan is hell, and that yes, it indeed does freeze over every year.

Sinfully Devine
Arc 1: Commandments
Chapter Ten

One should never covet a neighbor's house or goods. Such a thing is not only equivocal to stealing and falsehood, it's also a lack in faith.

God will provide, and faith in his words will prevail. Those are the teachings we must devoutly believe in…but, can that alone be enough?

All it took was one tiny lie to sew the seed, but simple things were often the cause of conflict later. Still, it was anyone's guess if honesty would have been better. Denial and refusal went hand in hand.

"So, who is it...really?" Sei pressed one afternoon, tired of waiting for Shimako to come to terms with her feelings. "Say it, and it'll feel better."

"I do not care for anyone in such a way." It was a soft retort, but steadfast and strong all the way. "There is no one that I love in such a way."

"Not even Yumi-chan?" The question was meant to be gentle, but it really wasn't. Truth be told, it was crass, and Sei knew it wouldn't be anything but that. "Not even a little?"

"Say I did…that it was in fact, a possibility." Shimako offered as she gave Sei a firm stare. "What concern of that is yours?"

"Why are you always like this?" Sei muttered, as she took the small book that Shimako held to her chest. "This thing is warping you. I took bible class too, you know. It's not meant to be a shield."

"It's not a shield, it's a reason for being. An explanation of why we exist here, on this earth…it is an answer for everything yet to be proven." Shimako said then fervently, a soft glare upon her features, a frown tugging at her lips. "Its faith, that's all it shall ever be…"

"I don't know, I need more proof than that." Sei muttered conversationally. "Great fairytale, but, that's all it is to me."

"Proof, to a mind like yours, is not something that can be offered…" Shimako said as she saved her bible from Sei's hands once more, least the woman rip it to pieces. "I understand that, it's your view to have….however, it doesn't have to be mine too." She said as she took the bible back into her own grasp.

"Oh, really?" An upraised eyebrow. A tiny grin. "And just what is your opinion, exactly?" Fingers pattering on the table. All of them signs of Sei's amusement, mingled into one single definition.

Trouble.

"I believe." Shimako said without hesitation. "My view is that this book, God's word, is enough for me."

"It was a book written by man, to enslave man." Sei responded with a roll of her eyes. "It's an oppression, that's what that book is."

"To you, maybe so." Shimako murmured. "To me, it's freedom."

"Freedom from what? Responsibility? The facts of life?" It was no question that Sei, just like the greater part of Japan hated organized religion, and those who spouted it constantly. "When has God really ever saved you? So what if he absolved you from your sins…. To that I question, what sin?" They were as a people quiet about their faiths, more or less, and Sei was not exempt from those rules….even if her own personal thoughts of the matter left many cringe if she ever did voice them. "What wrong did you do, that he can fix? Why do you give him that power, if he does exist?"

"You're trying to upset me." Shimako murmured, realizing that, and understanding the root cause of it. "My faith, it's my own. It's mine to have, you can either support that, or you can drive a wedge between us with your own rage."

"You're better than that." Sei hissed between clenched teeth. "Than that stupid book, you're above that."

"No one is above God." Shimako replied calmly. "It's impossible to be above a higher power."

"Shimako, there's one thing about faith, that you need to understand…" Sei had thought long and hard about such a struggle. About whether or not such a thing as a god of any nature could really exist. "You're too young to devote yourself fully to the implications of that book. The stupid thing is a sordid mess, and over the years, you're going to be forced to question it. No faith is so unwavering that it exists beyond reasonable measure….because adults are reasonable people."

"Faith is meant to be tried and tested." Shimako responded without missing a beat. "That's God's will."

"My point is that faith changes." Sei said with a pointed shake of her head. "Over time, unless you become blinded by that stupid thing, it will change…all faith changes, because people change as they get older."

…

Occasional dinners, time out for tea, and sometimes even shopping for clothes. Sachiko had been rather clumsy at first when it came to a commoners lifestyle, but had soon grown accustom to Yumi's idea of it. Meals at Yumi's house was strange…three course meals seemed to be condensed down to one, and banter was common. The siblings in the household fought, sending kind, but biting jokes across the table good naturedly. Yumi's parents were always kind and rather jovial as well, teasing even their children occasionally.

If that was the warmth of family, Sachiko hadn't a clue…the nearest thing she had to that kind of banter was Sei, and she found that she didn't take kindly to it. In fact, Sei was her own personal hell summed up into one human being. Even so, there was some truth to the problem at hand.

Sachiko couldn't help but feel anxiety whenever Yumi joined her at the estate. Meals there were grand, set up in long courses fit for long discussions at the table. Unfortunately, such a thing didn't occur. Often, meals were met with awkward silence or uncomfortable small talk. Strangely enough, when her father wasn't around, her mother had permitted the maids to join them at the table…that seemed to ease the experience quite a bit…yet even so, it was not a warm family environment.

Even their modes of transportation differed. Divers and limos were Sachiko's main form of transport. Yumi walked and took public transportation, even when offered a diver of her very own, Yumi had declined…and that had taken no small effort as she stuttered over the refusal.

"You're trying too hard, Sachiko." Yōko said one afternoon as she caught the woman glancing over a catalog.

"I am, aren't I?" Sachiko sighed. "Opulence doesn't suit her."

Yōko nodded her agreement. "A little early to be looking at that, don't you think?" The engagement ring in question was stunning, but also a bit excessive. "Wooing her without being clear is going to nip you in the butt…you haven't spoken your feelings to her clearly yet, have you?"

"Do you believe it would it truly change the matter if I did?" Sachiko asked pointedly, knowing that anyone with half a brain would not offer an answer. "I was merely perusing the advertisements, I had no intention of actually buying one."

Yōko nodded as she sat down across from Sachiko, some tea in hand. She had thought long and hard about how to go about matters, how to deal with Sachiko and her family without coming across too strongly. There was only one choice, and the outcome was an obvious sway towards the negative. Instead of voicing the matter outright, Yōko settled for a different string of facts. "Yumi-chan is the type of girl I wouldn't think to woo sternly. It would be best, I personally believe, that if you truly love her, you'll consider her feelings on the matter."

"Who says that I haven't?" Sachiko responded as she eyed Yōko darkly. "I want her to enjoy my companionship, of course."

"That isn't what I mean, but good of you to desire that." Yōko took a sip of tea and offered the younger woman a soft smile. "I mean, that you should make your relationship more spontaneous. She sees you as her Oneesama, not as Sachiko her future lover…and that is what you expect to gain from her one day, isn't it?"

Sachiko merely frowned at that, feeling a long running sab of inadequacy flow through her. It had lingered there for a while, the doubt of such a thing wasn't something she could pointedly avoid. She swallowed hard, and bit her lower lip. "Am I truly so terrible a choice that I would need to go to such lengths?" Sachiko asked then, feeling unsure as she questioned the fact once more.

"All I am saying, is that there are those in Yumi-chan's social circle, that are in a better position to seek something more explicit from her. They've been so outward and forward thinking from the start, and as such, Yumi-chan would likely acknowledge a proposal from them first." With a sigh Yōko lifted her tea to her lips. "After all accepting the proposal to go steady, or even betrothed, is far different than to ask to become her mentor and teacher. A relationship such as yours can only go so far, because you never thought to invite something extra."

The implication was a dark one, and Sachiko sighed, supposing that perhaps there was some truth to it. "You're saying I'm more like my father than I may want to admit, is that it?" There was something to be said for his actions, and how they mirrored her own. Treating Yumi as though she wouldn't dare look to someone else, when that was far from the case. Yumi wasn't the same kind of breeding, and her mindset came with expected freedoms. "That I would merely assume she'd accept me as a lover because I wish it, and such a thing is as good as law."

Yōko nodded. "That you assume it would be more than a request will doom you. She's not that shallow, nor simple minded."

"If she were of good breeding, or at the very least a man, I would not encounter such an issue." Sachiko admitted with a nod. "I know this, I understand the complications at my feat, but that's why I hoped Yumi would understand those difficulties without me voicing them."

"Oh, she understands them." Yōko worried about that the most, because the girl clearly understood more about that than she let on. "She knows well of what your status means for you, she was a fan of yours first, after all." It wasn't a direct deception, rather it was a choice to be blind to it, but Yumi knew well what such things meant. "Her reluctance to speak of such matters only shows how kind she is. When it comes to your desire not to talk of it, she favors your fear over her own curiosity. Your family isn't a secret, yet she doesn't push you the way another might."

"I understand, but I still stick firm to my beliefs." Sachiko murmured darkly. "Besides, no one would think to speak to Yumi in such a way. I can take my time."