Alright Ch 23. A bit of introspection for characters in this chapter weighted a bit more towards Yuzu. Thank you to everyone who has been waiting around for me to continue this story. Over 15k views since i first started this thing. Much love goes out to all of you. Without further adue... here we go!
Mei and Yuzu headed towards school. Yuzu seemed to be flipping through her textbook deftly with her thumb on her free hand barely paying attention to where she was going and Mei had to push and pull her back and forth a bit to help her avoid running in to things. Each time Yuzu would look up and back at Mei for a moment before blushing and quickly looking away. She must still be thinking about the kiss yesterday. Mei still hadn't fully understood that. Precious as Yuzu might be to her she was her sister so the kiss made no sense under that label... what did it mean then? The two walked on in silence until they arrived where Himeko was waiting for Mei.
"Good morning MeiMei!" Himeko said as cheerfully as ever before giving Yuzu a flat look. "And Delinquent..."
"Himeko, Refrain from insulting my sister in such a manner." Mei interjected quickly before Yuzu could retort prompting strange looks from both of them but Himeko gave a shrug.
"As you wish MeiMei." Himeko said as Yuzu studied Mei before turning her gaze when Mei moved to look at her. The three walked on Mei and Himeko chatting with Yuzu following behind quietly glancing up from her textbook to Mei every now and then looking back to her textbook whenever Mei looked back every now and then. Once they finally arrived at school Yuzu put her textbook away.
"I'm gonna go find Aime and Harumin." Yuzu said giving a wave to the two of them as she heads off taking her bag from one of the bodyguards after putting her book into her pack. Mei thinks to follow for a second but decides she'd probably be pretty safe at school before hours and would instead go with himeko to take care of student council things before class.
Yuzu found Harumi and Aime and gave a wave to the two with her free hand. The two walked up to Yuzu, Aime taking Yuzu's bag from her
"So when are you getting out of that sling anyway?" Aime asked "Not that I mind carrying your bag but I'm sure having an arm up in a sling must suck all the time." she said ignoring Harumi's grumpy glares.
"This Saturday actually. I won't be at school that day. Gotta get the device removed and what not and the residual of the knockout gas will keep me out of school the rest of the day. I'll be back on monday though." Yuzu said with a bright smile
"Yuzuchi are you ok?" Harumi asked stepping forward changing her grumpy glares at Aime to a concerned look to Yuzu. "I heard about what happened yesterday..."
"I'm fine Harumin." Yuzu said giving a dismissive wave of her hand "Just a few bruises... well and maybe a bruised rib... Will have to wait till Saturday to find out for sure on that one. It's been a bit difficult to breathe since then so I'm pretty sure it's bruised, but it'll heal." Yuzu explained
"See this is why you don't let her get in a fight when she's already injured!" Harumi said turning to Aime
"Hey, I told you already I told her to stay out of it. I can't control her." Aime said with a sigh
"Don't blame her Harumin. I got involved on my own choice it's not her fault!" Yuzu said waving her free hand frantically towards harumi
"Of course you're to blame!" Harumi said to Aime. "You know full well how big Yuzuchi's heart is and you shoulda kept the fight where she wasn't gonna find it to get involved!"
"How does that make ANY sense?" Aime said to Harumi with an irritated glare
"Harumin stop! It's not her fault! I'm the one who chose to get involved!" Yuzu begged "Please don't blame her!" Harumi looked to Yuzu gauging her and thinking of her decision before giving a sigh.
"Your lucky Yuzu's here to vouch for you or I'd place the blame squarely on your shoulders." Harumi said
"Of course you would. You don't trust anyone but Yuzzy" Aime sighed exasperatedly
"As if you haven't given me reason NOT to trust you around her!" Harumi said
"Hey we've already been over that... I regretted what I did and she forgave me." Aime said
"Guys please stop..." Yuzu said with an exasperated sigh
"And you think just because she's forgiven you that I have to?" Harumi challenged
"Whatever, Yuzu's the only one I need forgiveness from for that incident." Aime shot back
"STOP IT!" Yuzu shouted at them causing them both to blink and look to her as she huffed heavily. "What is wrong with you two?! You quarrel over me like I'm not here... like I can't take care of myself! When will you two start treating me like a normal person?!"
"Yuzuchi..." Harumi said with a hurt look on her face "I... I'm just trying to help..."
"S-sorry Yuzu... I uh... I'm not trying to talk like that... Tanaguchi and I just don't agree on things." Aime said with a guilty downcast look.
"Harumin I know your just trying to help but fighting with another one of my friends isn't going to help me. I don't want my friends to fight each other. I want you to get along so we can all be friends together." Yuzu said to Harumi with an exasperated sigh.
"Trouble in delinquent paradise?" Himeko said walking up to the group with a snicker.
"Ugh and now the pipsqueaks here." Aime said with a grunt.
"What do you want vice-prez?" Harumi said turning to Momokino with a flat stare
"I thought Mei told you not to call me that anymore." Yuzu said with an annoyed glare at Himeko
"What MeiMei doesn't know can't hurt her!" Himeko said "Besides, I don't say it as an insult it's an endearing label based on truth." Himeko snickered "Anyway I came down here because Mei said your missing your psychiatrist appointment. You better get going before you miss too much of it."
"Oh, crap I totally forgot!" Yuzu said turning to aime to take her bag. "Sorry guys I'll catch up with you on first break!" she said taking off.
"I didn't know Yuzu was in psychological therapy..." Aime said confused
"Why wouldn't she be with all that she's been through? Frankly if you're still cutting you probably should be to." Harumi said to her
"I haven't done that in over a year." Aime said
"Cutting?" Himeko asked which caused Aime to flinch.
"I uh... I've had my share of depression that resulted in less than optimal choices with my body." Aime said sighing "Unlike Aihara though I haven't done so in over a year... and I never did it to my arms."
"Well I suppose if you're not doing it anymore, I don't have to worry about reporting you to the nurse." Himeko said
"That's rather thoughtful of you Vice-prez!" Harumi teases
"As the vice-president of the student council it is my job to aid the president in her duties part of which includes looking after the wellbeing of the student body!" Himeko huffed crossing her arms over her chest
"Then explain why you let the fight happen yesterday..." Aime challenged with a smirk causing Himeko to freeze up
"Th-That was the P-Presidents call." Himeko stuttered "I told her we should have stopped it immediately but she said she had her reasons!"
"Not the least of which I'm sure was that Kaiaka the leader of that little group that attacked me is the student council representative in charge of student discipline I'm sure." Aime shot back with a smirk
"Not anymore she's not!" Himeko huffed "Such shameful displays deserve no place on the illustrious student council!"
"Riight." Harumi and Aime both intoned in unison both giving snickering responses and Himeko's frustration
"Anyway, we'll see you around pig tails." Aime said
"Catch you on the flip Vice-prez" Harumi agreed as she and Aime headed off
"And just where are you two go- HEY GET BACK HERE!" Himeko shouted running after them after she turned around and realized they were halfway down the hall.
"Mei worked really hard to comfort me though and she really helped me cope with it. I think she really wants me to rely on her when I'm sad." Yuzu said to her psychiatrist
"And do you think you trust her enough to do so?" Nine asked
"I... don't know." Yuzu said thinking again about the kiss "H-hey... can I ask you something unrelated to that whole thing?" Yuzu said
"Of course, we're just here to help you work through the way you feel about things in your life." Mahime said with a smile
"There's a certain person I know... Everytime I see them... all I can think about is... being with them... in more than a friends kind of way... I don't know how to explain it but just being near them it kinda makes my heart hurt and my stomach gets weird. I just want to do things to make them happy." Yuzu said averting her gaze downwards away from them as she spoke blushing slightly.
"This person... they're close to you? You know them well?" Nine asked.
"Not at all actually. They're nearly a complete mystery to me. The way they act... it's kind of... odd. Like I can't tell if they hate me or if they like me. But I still feel this way in general towards them. Yuzu said
"Ah to be young and in love again." Nine said with a chuckle
"I wish my husband still made me feel that way." Mahime added
"L-L-L-Love?" Yuzu stutteringly asked
"You said you care about them and you want to make them happy but in more than just friends way? And that just being near them makes you feel different right?" Nine asked
"Y-Yes..." Yuzu said
"Then I think it's pretty safe to say you've got a crush on whoever this mystery person is." Mahime chuckled
"Love is a tricky thing but even if you get hurt it's always worth pursuing so don't give up on it Yuzuko." Nine said
"Anyway that's all the time we have... about time for your first class. We'll pick up again tomorrow. Take Care Yuzu." Mahime said as the two stood up and packed their things heading out.
'Am I in love with Mei?' Yuzu wondered to herself as she too exited the room and headed for class. 'Is that really how I feel about her? I mean I know I want to make her happy the way she's done for me but isn't that just familial love? That's not the same thing as romantic love is it?'
At lunch Yuzu sat with Aime and Harumi quietly eating her bento as Aime regaled them with tales about the last martial arts tournament she had taken part in.
"All it took was one more roundhouse kick to the head and he went down like a sack of bricks." Aime said proudly.
"Uh huh suuure..." harumi said. "Except last I checked you weren't able to jump 180+ centimeters in the air."
"A round house kick isnt always level with the body Tanaguchi." Aime huffed "just because your used to seeing them done that way doesnt mean you cant aim one up. The key thing that makes it a round house kick is that you swing your leg into it with momentum from the side."
"Whatever." Harumi said rolling her eyes. "Anyway, since you said you're getting the surgery this weekend and finally getting your arm out of that sling why don't we hang out after school on Friday?" Harumi turned to Yuzu who didn't seem to have heard her as she quietly stared at her food.
"Earth to space cadet Yuzuchi!" Harumi said with a snicker though still got no response.
'That kiss certainly felt like it meant more than just a sister's comfort...' yuzu though raising her finger tips to her lips
"Yuzu!" Aime said loudly causing the blonde to jump in her seat blushing as she looked to them.
"Aah sorry I was spacing out what did I miss?" Yuzu said
"We could tell that." Harumi said with a snicker "i asked if you wanted to hang out on Friday since your surgery is on Saturday.
"Oh uh... sorry Harumin... mama grounded me for getting involved in that fight yesterday." Yuzu sighed
"Well that's not very fair." Aime frowned. "You were just trying to help me."
"I promised mama that I wouldn't get into any more fights after we moved here. Even helping you I broke that promise." Yuzu explained
"Well that bites but a broken promise is still pretty severe." Harumi sighed "maybe next weekend then."
"If I'm ungrounded by then." Yuzu sighed.
"You got two weeks for breaking a promise?!" Aime asked
"I think mama's words where 'until she feels I learned my lesson'." Yuzu said
"Harsh." Aime and Harumi intoned at the same time
"Hey uh change of subject... have either of you ever been in a relationship with anyone before?" Yuzu asked
"Not unless you count my prearranged fiancé." Aime said
"Your what?" Yuzu asked in horror.
"What your telling me you don't have one?" Aime asked
"Of course not what kind of horrible person forces their daughter into marrying someone they don't know or love!?" Yuzu protested
"Most of the parents that send their daughters to this school." Harumi said. "I thought I told you this a while back... nearly every girl in this school has a prearranged marriage set up for when they graduate. It's just the way of the elite."
"But that's horrible!" Yuzu said
"Eh it could be worse. I can learn to love someone I'm predestined to marry and it takes the heartbreak out of trying to find a partner the normal way." Aime said shrugging
"What if you're not happy with who they picked?" Yuzu asked
"You make the best of it and in the end if they're really unbearable you can still divorce them." Aime said. "Anyway, back to your original question... why do you want to know if we've been in relationships before?"
"W-well..." Yuzu stuttered "I wanted to know what l-l... love feels like for you... My psychiatrist said I might have a crush on someone. When I'm around them my heart beats really hard... it's hard to breath and all I can think about is doing things that make them happy." She blushed heavily looking down at her lap fiddling with the edge of her sling with her free hand. Both Harumi and Aime gave her confused stairs for a moment before trying and then inevitably failing to break out in hysterics "I'M SERIOUS!" Yuzu shouted at them "You guys are awful!" Yuzu grumbled slumping a bit
"I'm sorry Yuzuchi... Just the thought of you of all people..." Harumi said wiping a tear from her eye breathing heavily
"To have a crush on anyone... miss grumpy incarnate herself..." Aime tried to finish Harumi's sentence but both broke out laughing really hard again.
"I'm not that grumpy!" Yuzu growled. "To hell with both of you I don't need this!" Yuzu said packing up the last of her food and grabbing her bag walking away from the two who were laughing even harder unable to follow.
Thanks for reading. A bit of internal questions for the sisters this time. Hope you enjoyed it. As always, please feel free to leave a review with comments, suggestions, and critiques. Ciao for now!