Back into the swing of things, Really got my writing mojo back. Without further ado I give you chapter 22. Repercussions for promise breaking incoming.
Yuzu and Mei arrived home entering to find Ume getting ready for work.
"Hi girls how was your..." Ume began before spotting Yuzu limping and holding her side "what happened?!" She asked alarmed
"Eh I uh..." yuzu said scratching the back of her head trying to hide her pain "I'm fine." She lied going a bit pale though as Ume's gaze grew dark.
"The same old excuse... What the hell where you thinking?" Ume said in a quiet but tense voice.
"You say that every time, and I was thinking a friend was in danger and no one else was around to help her." Yuzu said sighing knowing she wasn't going to get out of this scolding.
"Because you use the same excuse every single time you get into a fight!" Ume shouted "When are you going to grow up! Your heavily injured for god's sake BEFORE you even got into a fight! You could have been killed if they ruptured any of your stitches!"
"Mama I'm sorry but I couldn't just stand there and let them hurt Aime!" Yuzu pleaded
"You could have gone and found an adult or god forbid you rely on your family and get your sisters help!" Ume shouted back
"Why do you assume I didn't?" Yuzu said trying to divert Ume's attention giving Mei a pleading look.
"Well did she?" Ume asked turning to Mei waiting to see if Mei would lie for Yuzu or not. Mei looked between the two of them before giving a sigh and giving an apologetic side glance to Yuzu before looking back to Ume.
"No... Yuzu wasn't aware I was watching the whole thing and I didn't try to stop it until Yuzu got involved. I should have stopped it before she got hurt. I'm sorry." Mei said giving Ume an apologetic bow
"Why do you do this to your family Yuzu? We're trying to help you and you go and try to get yourself killed fighting!" Ume shouts at Yuzu who shrinks back at her rage
"Mama your scaring me. I didn't mean to-" Yuzu tried to whimper before Ume cut her off
"You should be scared!" She shouted "You could have died! Is your life so damn bad that your willing to throw it away at a whim for someone else's sake? Do you hate your family that much?" As soon as she said it she felt gut wrenchingly awful and that feeling was even worse when she saw the grief stricken look that it caused to immediately form on Yuzu's face, what the hell was she saying? Why would she say something so awful to her daughter? What came next didn't help the matter. "You made me a promise when we moved! You promised you where done getting into fights! You broke that promise! Go to your room! Your grounded until I feel you've finally learned your lesson!" and she pointed angrily towards the girls bedroom. Yuzu moved slowly, head and gaze bowed to the floor shoulders slumped and shaking as she held one arm with the other and her side with the held arm trying her damndest not to cry as she went to her room disappearing inside and closing the door with a soft click.
"Mother... That was a bit harsh." Mei said looking at Ume with a disappointed glint to her otherwise stoic gaze
"I don't wanna hear anything from you! You had the power to stop the fight BEFORE she got involved and you just let it happen!" Ume shouted at Mei "Your supposed to be the responsible one!" Mei tensed her jaw a bit at Ume's tirade
"The careful balance of the social ecosystem at our school-" Mei tried to explain before Ume walked up and roughly grabbed her on the shoulder
"To hell with the social ecosystem of your school! Your sisters LIFE was on the line Mei! You had the chance to stop the fight long before Yuzuko got hurt but you didn't! Your as much to blame in this as she is! And you'll share in her punishment! Your grounded for a week too! No school politics, No student council crap, and No spending time anywhere but here or school! Period!" and Ume stabbed her finger towards the bedroom feeling guilty for letting her rage get out of hand. This wasn't really fair to Mei but what choice did she have? How else was she going to teach them that family is more important than anything else? Mei stared at Ume meeting her fiery gaze for several moments almost seeming like she was about to challenge her... Part of Ume hoped she would... call out the unfairness of the punishment... call out the unforgivable things she said to Yuzu... Prove that Ume was an awful mother... but Mei was too respectful of her elders for that and simply turned and stalked past her heading into the girls room. Ume gave a deep sigh and a frustrated growl ruffling her own hair before giving an exasperated shout then grabbed her keys and headed out for work closing and locking the door behind her. She pulled out her cellphone and tapped through to the pizza delivery service app and ordered and paid for a pizza to be delivered for the girls with a note from her on it in about half an hour.
Mei walked into the girls room to find Yuzu curled up into a tight ball in the corner, her unslung arm wrapped tightly around her knees and her knees pressed tightly to her chest over her slung arm, head bowed and shoulders shaking as she sobbed quietly into her legs. Mei walked over quietly and sat down on the floor in front of Yuzu gently laying a hand on Yuzu's knee causing the blonde to flinch a bit before peaking one tear filled puffy eye up over her knees to see Mei.
"You probably think I deserved that don't you?" Yuzu asked in a broken whimper
"Not in the slightest." Mei said "Mother is just angry. She will cool down in time."
"She's right though. I'm worthless." Yuzu said planting her forehead back on her knees
"No your not." Mei said "And that isn't what she said at all."
"You don't know her the way I do. You don't understand the subtext of what she says." Yuzu sobbed. Mei gave a heavy sigh and would pull Yuzu forward pulling her into a hug confusing the blonde for a second but she'd instinctively latch on tight with her unslung arm as Mei held her gently stroking her hair and holding her other hand at the small of Yuzu's back. It was bazar to Mei how naturally she came to comforting Yuzu. She couldn't even remember the last time she tried to comfort even Momokino this intamatley let alone anyone else. Certainly not at their age.
"Mother doesn't come off as the kind to speak in subtext." Mei said gently rocking back and forth to comfort Yuzu. "I think your just overthinking things and no, I'm not saying that as an insult. You can't help it... anxiety is a frequent companion of depression."
"So it is my fault then..." Yuzu mumbled
"No... You can't help what your brain decides to produce the wrong balances of chemicals. Mental trauma can be as damaging as a blow to the head." Mei said
"But I broke a promise." Yuzu said quietly
"And that's why mother is angry but not why she said the things she said. You breaking a promise made her angry. Being angry however is what made her irrational. In her irrationality she said things she will likely regret later." Mei said
"But if I broke the promise..." Yuzu said sitting up wiping away tears and sitting in front of but not looking at Mei who still kept her hands on Yuzu's knees. "and that made her angry... and her anger made her say those things... I indirectly made her say those things because I broke the promise..."
"No Yuzu. People say things they don't mean when they are angry because they are irrational. Irrationality might have been caused by the anger... but it is inherently unpredictable. You can not blame yourself for what others do in anger." Mei said reaching out to take Yuzu by the chin. She paused for a moment looking into Yuzu's watery emeralds as she thought how strange this current situation was... Why was she doing this? Sure Yuzu was her sister and she cared for her but this seemed like an entirely different thing. Logically she knew Yuzu deserved punishment for breaking a promise so why was she still feeling like Yuzu didn't deserve any of this?
"So... she still loves me then?" Yuzu asked
"Mother is incapable of not loving you Yuzu. You're her daughter. If she didn't love you she'd have abandoned you." She didn't add 'like my parents did' as much as she wanted to. Yuzu gave a soft teary eyed smile leaning a bit into Mei's palm on her cheek.
"Thanks Mei... that makes me feel a bit better." she said softly. Mei's heart skipped a beat at that sunshine warm smile Yuzu was giving her. What the hell? Where did this come from? She was so used to Yuzu's scowls and snarky antics, her desperation, and her tears. Who was this terribly sad radiant golden angel in front of her? Yuzu moved in to hug Mei again and Mei unconsciously pulled Yuzu's face close to hers.
"Mei?" Yuzu asked quietly confused
"Shut up." Mei said instinctively before pulling Yuzu into a soft tender kiss. Yuzu tensed for a split second raising her unslung hand as if she was about to shove Mei away in protest but then slowly relaxed melting into the kiss as Mei's tongue wraps around hers dancing a duet led by Mei. They stay there locked in the tender display of affection for several moments before they break away, both breathing heavily, Mei leaning her forehead against Yuzu's and looking to the blonde who was blushing heavily and her eyes lowered though she slowly raised them to meet Mei's and they stared at each other for a few moments before entering another gentle kiss which lasted equally as long as the last. Mei looked again to Yuzu who's face was even redder this time. Suddenly they both jumped as the doorbell rang "I-I-I'll g-get it!" Yuzu shouted jumping up and over the bed heading to the door as Mei exited the bedroom gently holding a hand to her lips.
"Delivery for Aihara?" The pizza delivery man asked
"We didn't order anything..." Yuzu said confused
"Uh right the note said 'Tell them it's from Mom and that Yuzu needs to eat more she's gotten rather thin since the hospital." he said reading the note "It's already been payed for and so has the tip."
"O-o-oh o-o-k-k-kay." Yuzu said blushing fiercely as the note called out her excessive weight loss from her injuries. She took the pizza and closed the door.
That night at bed time Yuzu was asleep facing away from Mei who was laying flat on her back thinking about earlier. She glanced over to Yuzu.
'What was that earlier?' she thought looking at the slender frame of the blonde. 'I was just trying to comfort her but... why did I kiss her?" Mei rolled over towards Yuzu and over top placing her arms next to each side of the sleeping girl and each leg straddling across Yuzu's hip without touching her. Mei gazed down at the blonde and her heart thumped hard in her chest as she looked at the serene grace of the sleeping girl. 'what's wrong with me... what is this feeling?' Mei wondered as she studied Yuzu's face, her soft porcelain skin, her long curled eyelashes that she knew hid those brilliant gem like emerald eyes, her small button like nose, the high cheekbones and soft contour of her chin and her supple pink lips. Mei leaned closer, her breath causing Yuzu to fidget a bit which caused Mei to freeze thinking she might be waking up but after Yuzu resettled Mei leaned even closer towards her lips but stopped just millimeters away before moving up to her forehead and gently kissing it. "You might be older but I will protect you." She whispered softly "You are precious to me." She then moved and lay down on her side of the bed moving to a more comfortable position to sleep. 'My precious Sister... the Broken angel... I will protect you.' she thought as she drifted off to sleep.
The Next day Yuzu had gotten up early and had gotten ready by the time Mei had gotten up. She felt rather lethargic today. Maybe it was because of how long she stayed up thinking about Yuzu. She got up and went getting ready quickly to make up for waking up later than she wanted to before gathering her things and moved to leave the bedroom before stopping noticing Yuzu was still in the bedroom sitting on the floor flipping through homework and textbooks.
"Did you have breakfast already?" Mei asked to which Yuzu jumped a bit not having expected Mei to be there as she had been deeply engrossed in her work.
"Oh uh... no i'm not really all that hungry. I ate most of that pizza yesterday." she said rubbing the back of her head.
"You only had 3 slices..." Mei said giving her a flat stare and a sigh. "Atleast have a breakfast bar or something. Mom was right, you have thinned out too much since the incident. You really need to eat more or your going to be more susceptible to getting sick." Yuzu blushed as Mei headed out of the bedroom and was hit in the face with a wall of delicious smells. She glanced over to the kitchen where she witnessed Ume cooking up a storm. Omurice, Miso sweet bean soup, and was that homemade tonkatsu ramen? No it took to long to boil the pork bones to make a proper tonkotsu broth in one night. She must have bought a starter but it smelt amazing. Maybe she got it from a nearbye resteraunt?
"Morning Mei!" Ume said with a cheery smile as she noticed Mei.
'Cheery... but not like Yuzu's smile. Genuine still but nowhere near the warmth of Yuzu's' Mei thought comparing Ume's smile to Yuzu's from the night before.
"I uhm... look I want to apologize for last night." Ume said with a sigh. "To both of you... can you convince Yuzu to come out of the bedroom and atleast talk to me? She's been ignoring me all morning." Mei blinked confused. Yuzu had gotten up before her of course but she didn't really think about the fact that Yuzu had probably already been out here and seen all this. She still ignored Mother after seeing all this effort she was going to to apologize? Mei looked back to the bedroom. Well what Ume had said was rather hurtful so Mei supposed she could understand why Yuzu might not want to talk to her.
"I'll try." Mei said turning back to the bedroom
"Thank's Mei your the best." Ume said popping the lid off of a pot and dishing hot steamed pork buns into a serving basket. Mei moved to enter the bedroom but the door thunked against something and she heard a yelp. She opened the door further to find Yuzu rubbing her ear and the side of her head. She had been listening at the door. Mei shook her head in amusement.
"Well... you heard her." Mei said turning back towards the living room. Yuzu blushed and shrunk down a bit pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her good arm around her knees. "She won't yell at you again." Mei said noticing this. Yuzu gave an untrusting exhasiperated groan before her stomach would growl and Yuzu would sigh getting up and following Mei out to the living room.
"Morning Yuzuko!" Ume said trying to be as cheery as possible "I made all your favorites!" she said waving to the veritable feast she had cooked. Yuzu was semi hiding behind Mei but was practically salivating over the foods on display. Ume began serving the food to placements at the table as Mei and Yuzu walked over sitting down. Yuzu would start with the Miso soup and ramen eating ravenously slurping up the ramen and guzzling down the broth of both soups before filling her plate with the other goodies available. Mei ate much more conservativley shaking her head at Yuzu's pigging out while Ume ate quietly between giggling at Yuzu's voracious appetite.
"Slow down before you make yourself sick." Ume said between giggles at her daughters rediculousness. Yuzu complied blushing slightly as she slowed down but otherwise continued to eat. After Breakfast Ume gathered the dishes putting them in the kitchen before sitting the girls down on the couch. "Alright I guess is the less fun part." she said with a sigh, Yuzu looking away from her. "I'm sorry for the way I reacted yesterday. It was uncalled for. I said some mean things, I said some untrue things, and most of all I hurt you with hurtful things Yuzu." she said with a grimace. "I'm sorry. I was angry and I was scared." the last part getting Yuzu's attention as she looked back over at her mother. "You've been in so much danger latley and you finally got away from that streak only to wind up in a fight that could have killed you and I was worried the same danger streak was going to start again... and in your condition I was afraid it'd be much worse than last time. I can't say I appreciate you breaking your promise but... I understand why you did it... and I'm sorry for the unforgivable things I said." She opened her arms to offer Yuzu a hug. Yuzu didn't move until Mei gently touched her arm to which Yuzu got up and moved over to Ume hugging her.
"You scared me Mama... You've never yelled at me like that... and the things you said... they made me think you hated me." Yuzu explained to which Ume looked very hurt by.
"Never... think that. No matter what happens I will ALWAYS love you." Ume said squeezing Yuzu tight. "I'm sorry I made you feel that way. I promise i'll try to never do that to you again."
"I love you mama." Yuzu said softly
"I love you too." Ume said holding her tight for a few minutes before letting go. "And you Mei. I said some awful things to you as well. You didn't deserve any of that."
"No you where right. I held the power to stop the incident before Yuzu was involved. I should have protected her by stopping it before she got involved." Mei said standing up and giving a bow to Ume "Please... forgive me."
"Theres no need to forgive you Mei... You where right... I don't understand the social ecosystem of your school. I trust you did what you thought was right." Ume said returning the apologetic bow before stepping forward and pulling Mei into a hug which made Yuzu smile. Mei returned the hug to a small extent before Ume released her. "I'm going to rescind your grounding Mei. Yuzu... I'm sorry but you still broke a promise. You'll still be grounded for a week." Yuzu gave a frown and a sigh.
"Fair enough I guess." Yuzu said.
"Well I guess it's time you two headed off to school." Ume said walking over to the kitchen and grabbing their lunches handing them to the two girls. "Have a good day." she said waving to them as they exited and headed off to school.
Hope you enjoyed. A bit more development of Mei in this chapter and starting more into the awkward 'do we love each other' phase. As always feel free to leave a review for critique, comments, or recommendations. Ciao for now!