This chapter heavily features Nadeshiko. In case you haven't read 'Oomuro-ke' yet, go and read it. That spin-off gives a lot of insight into the lives of Sakurako and her sisters. Some parts of this chapter might seem a little confusing if you don't read 'Oomuro-ke' but it's nothing too drastic.

Disclaimer: I do not own YuruYuri. It belongs to Namori.

The Council of Change

Chapter 12: Help Me, Nee-chan!

At the sound of Sakurako's voice, Nadeshiko turned her head to look at Sakurako. She then turned back and resumed cutting vegetables. "Sure. What do you want to talk about?"

"Uh…" Sakurako looked around uncomfortably. "There's no one else at home, right?"

"No. Our parents won't be back until a few hours later and Hanako is spending the night at her friend Misaki's house. Apparently they have a joint project to work on. Didn't you already know that? Or did you forget?"

Sakurako shook her head. "I didn't forget. I was just confirming that no one's home because… Because I need to… I need to talk to you alone."

Nadeshiko looked over her shoulder to find her younger sister looking at the ground and shuffling her feet. She seems pretty nervous. That's kind of rare for her.

Nadeshiko placed the knife on the counter and turned around fully. "Does this have an anything to do with how strange you've been acting these past few days?"

Sakurako looked up in surprise. "You think I've been acting strange? I thought I was behaving fine at home…"

Nadeshiko gave her an amused look. "You don't spend even an hour at Himako's house nowadays. That's strange enough."

Sakurako frowned. "Oh, come on. That's not too strange, is it?"

Nadeshiko smiled. "Even if I ignore that, you've been awfully quiet for a few days now. That most certainly worries me."

Sakurako opened her mouth to make a retort but closed it again realizing that she really couldn't say much to argue with that. Being so quiet really was unlike her. Of course Nadeshiko had noticed that something was amiss.

"So, what's bothering you? I'll try my best to help you."

Sakurako remembered what exactly it was that she was supposed to speak to Nadeshiko about and immediately, she felt her cheeks heat up. For a moment, she considered running away instead of revealing something so embarrassing to her older sister. But if I don't tell her then…

"Sakurako? Are you okay?"

"H-Huh? Yeah, I'm f-fine." Sakurako took in a deep breath and let it out. "What I wanted to talk to you about is… Well, recently I found out that… I mean, I think that I… No, I don't think but I know that I… Well…"

Nadeshiko's eyebrows shot up at the unusual sight of Sakurako getting reduced to a stammering, nervous mess. "Calm down, Sakurako. You can tell me what's wrong. I promise I won't tell anybody."

Sakurako looked up to find Nadeshiko looking at her with a tender, gentle expression on her face. Nadeshiko's loving gaze allowed Sakurako to calm down a bit and so she looked her sister straight in the eye. "Nee-chan, I'm in love with Himawari."

Nadeshiko's eyes widened slightly. Did this idiot finally…? Nadeshiko cleared her throat. "By 'in love' you mean?"

"I mean that I love her romantically. What else is 'in love' supposed to mean?"

Nadeshiko stared at Sakurako in shock. "You… You actually figured it out?"

Sakurako's eyebrow twitched. "You don't have to look that surprised. I mean, I know that it's weird that Himawari is the one that I fell for but–"

Nadeshiko shook her head. "No, no. It's not weird at all. Actually, it was pretty obvious."

Sakurako's mouth fell open. "Wh-What's that supposed to mean?"

"Trust me, Sakurako. You weren't fooling anyone but yourself. I'm not surprised that you're in love with Himako. It's just a shock that you finally realized it."

Sakurako glared at her sister. "So you're basically calling me stupid, nee-chan."

"I said nothing of the sort." Nadeshiko's mouth pulled up in a smirk. "But it did take you awfully long to realize something so clearly obvious."

Sakurako's previous embarrassment was now gone. Instead, she was now rather irked at her sister's teasing. "Well, you know what, nee-chan? I'm not the only one who's obvious. You're pretty obvious too."

"What are you talking about?"

This time it was Sakurako's turn to smirk. "You have a girlfriend, don't you, nee-chan?"

Nadeshiko narrowed her eyes at Sakurako and the younger girl instantly flinched. She put her hands up in defense. "Don't beat me up but… You do have a girlfriend, right?"

"…"

"Nee-chan?"

"What makes you think I have a girlfriend?"

"Well… You talk with someone every single night. I think it's at the same time every night too. Also, I barged into your room at times when I forgot to knock and I accidentally heard some parts of your conversations. So I know that it's a girl you're talking to."

Nadeshiko blankly stared at Sakurako for a while before letting out a sigh of resignation. "Yes, you're correct. I have a girlfriend. Just don't ask me who she is. I can't tell you that; it's a secret."

Sakurako didn't really care about who Nadeshiko was dating. She was far too hung up on the revelation that she was correct. "Seriously? I guessed that correctly? I was worried I might be overanalyzing things and that you were actually just speaking to a friend. But I'm actually right! Jeez, I could have become the Student Council vice-president if I had been this sharp a few months ago."

Nadeshiko cleared her throat. "Sakurako, it's great that you're so sharp now. But make sure that you never tell anybody about this. Or else…"

Sakurako took one look at Nadeshiko's terrifying glare and instinctively took a step backwards. "D-Don't worry, n-nee-chan! I promise I won't tell anyone."

Nadeshiko nodded. "Good. Now then, let's get back to your problem."

"My problem?"

Nadeshiko resisted the urge to slap her forehead. How could she forget something so important? "You were telling me something about you falling madly in love with a certain someone. Remember?"

"Oh, yeah. That's what I came to talk to you about.." Sakurako turned beet red. "Hey! I never said that I was madly in love!"

Nadeshiko snickered. "You're so easy to tease."

Sakurako pouted. "I came to you to ask for help, nee-chan. Stop making fun of me…"

"Sure, sure. What help do you need?"

Sakurako averted her eyes. "I need to confess to that idiot Himawari and I have no idea how to do it. I need your help."

Nadeshiko raised an eyebrow. She's still calling Himako an idiot? "So you want to confess, huh? Did you think this through properly? What are you going to do if she rejects you?"

"If she rejects me then…" Sakurako looked up at Nadeshiko with fierce determination in her eyes. "I fought against Himawari all these years but if she rejects me, then I'll fight for her."

Nadeshiko smirked. There's no way Himako's going to reject you but I wanted to see your reaction. Good. It seems that you're ready. "Okay, Sakurako. I'll help you out. You can count on me."

Smiling, Sakurako bowed. "I'll be in your care."

Nadeshiko walked over to Sakurako and pushed her back into standing position. Then she gathered her younger sister in her arms and hugged her tight. Sakurako looked up in surprise. "N-Nee-chan?"

"You've finally grown up, little sis."

Sakurako didn't respond and simply enjoyed her older sister's embrace. She knew that Nadeshiko loved her but getting a hug from the older girl was rare. She honestly couldn't remember the last time they had hugged.

Nadeshiko pulled away and looked at Sakurako. "Okay. Lesson number one. When you confess, make sure not to call Himako an idiot."

In case you don't know, Misaki is not an OC. She's an actual character in 'Oomuro-ke'. Based on her interactions with Hanako I'm not sure if I'm supposed to ship them so you're free to take their sleepover however you want. Just keep your mind out of the gutter since they're only eight years old.

Read and review, everyone! Reviews truly do make my day.