Wooo-hooo! Ok, it's Chapter 11 time!

I wish I did, but I don't own Kare Kano!

Oh well.

Chapter 11: Nostalgic Repartee

Yukino's sisters crouched down in front of her, their mouths hanging open in awe. They looked at each other in disbelief. They slowly dropped Yukino's hands and Yukino pressed her hands to her face.

"You and Arima are breaking up?" Kano asked, clearly worried.

"What happened?" Tsuki breathed.

Yukino shook her head. Should she tell them? She sighed. A wave of longing washed over her. It had been a very long time since the three of them had really talked. She missed the days when they had been very close, playing in the garden during the summer, playing in the snow during the winter, and watching movies all year long. Since they had all gone to high school, there hadn't been any time for them to catch up and become re-acquainted with each other. Both of her sisters had been placed into class D, which meant that they were in completely different buildings at school. She had moved out of the room they shared several months ago, but right now, she almost regretted it. It was nice being alone at times, but maybe if she at least still shared a bedroom with them, she wouldn't have these terrible emotions bottled up inside of her.

Yukino longed to pour her heart to her siblings, to burst into tears and tell them the whole sordid tale, to wrap her arms around the two of them and to seek comfort in Tsuki's reassuring smiles and Kano's logical advice. But she wasn't sure if they would understand. Yukino took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

What was she thinking? These were her sisters. Of course they would understand!

Or, at least, they would try to. Plus, if she had been quick to tell her boyfriend (or ex-boyfriend, as the case might be) about her problems, maybe they would be in a totally different place right now. Maybe she would be filled with happiness instead of shame and depression. Maybe they would be locked in each other's arms, away on their own little planet, far from reality. Maybe she would feel wanted and safe under his gaze, instead of scared and exposed. Maybe he would still love her. A lump formed in her throat, and she choked, catching teardrops in the palm of her hand. She was crying out for their help.

Her sisters were looking at her with large, innocent eyes.

Tsuki and Kano took Yukino's hands again and pulled her to her feet. Yukino reluctantly obeyed, and the girls led her to the couch. They sat on either side of her, wiping her tears, brushing the hair out of her eyes and cooing soothing words into her ears. They were like mother hens. Yukino almost felt like smiling a small smile. Almost.

After Tsuki had given her some tea, and Kano had put her coat and boots away, and the three had taken showers, Yukino joined the two into their room. They were already in their pajamas, though it was only the early evening. Yukino decided that she was going to sleep in their room that night. She needed their support. They had hauled their pillows and blankets to the floor so they could all sleep next to each other on the carpet. Yukino felt so cozy surrounded by her sisters and their soft belongings. The room was a place of pale pinks and blues, soft yellows and lavenders, white walls and light wooden furniture. The atmosphere was so calm and homey.

Yukino took a sip of her tea, and set the cup down on the rug in front of her.

"So," Tsuki began, "What is the problem between you two?"

Yukino sighed heavily for the thousandth time that day and rubbed her damp, sandy hair.

Where was she supposed to start, anyway?

"Is it sex?" Kano asked frankly.

To both Tsuki and Kano's surprise, the question didn't seem to catch Yukino off guard. Instead, Yukino took another sip of ginger tea before staring into her cup. She studied her reflection in the light brown liquid before rubbing her hair again.

"Sort of," she replied slowly.

Kano and Tsuki's eyes widened, and their mouths fell open. They glanced at each other, clearly impressed.

They leaned in, their noses almost touching Yukino's.

"What happened?" They asked eagerly.

"Well," Yukino sighed. This was so embarrassing.

"Well," she started again, "Do you remember that boy I was tutoring?"

"Mmm-hmm," The two answered urgently, wanting to hear more.

"It turned out that he was attracted to me, I guess." She paused, looking into her cup again.

"Yeah, and?" Kano asked, gesturing with her hands for Yukino to go on.

Still looking down, Yukino frowned bitterly.

"So he made a pass at me."

Tsuki gasped.

"What did he do?"

Yukino played with her pinky nail. She had to tell it all.

"He...kinda..felt me up."

She frowned. It sounded every bit as frank and vulgar as the action had really been.

"Oh my gosh!" Kano looked angry.

"What did you do?"

"I left, and I decided not to tell Soichiro."

"Oh."

Kano opened her mouth.

"So, what, did you like it or something?"

Tsuki smacked Kano in the arm.

"Kano!"

Kano rubbed her stinging shoulder and shrugged.

Yukino toyed with the handle of her cup.

"No, I didn't like it, but that was the rumor he spread around school."

Tsuki gasped again.

They listened closely as Yukino continued to tell about how Arima had found out and refused to talk to her for the rest of the day. She tearfully told them about how he barely looked at her, and when he did, it was only to pierce her with his deathly glares. Her sisters nodded, their eyebrows knit closely together, and their eyes full of patience and care.

Much later that night, Yukino turned in her warm blankets on the floor of Tsuki and Kano's bedroom. She thrust her arms under her white pillow and took a moment to run their conversation through her head. She gave a small smile. She loved her sisters. They were as attentive and supporting as she had hoped they would be. She closed her eyes. She was so glad that she decided to talk to her siblings. Even though they were a bit younger, they offered some very thought-provoking insight and good advice. It felt good to be exchanging ideas again. She was very surprised, after they finished discussing her situation, to hear some of their own boy troubles.

Tsuki had confided, her brown eyes twinkling, that she had developed a large crush on a boy in her class who would help her clean up every day after school. It seemed apparent that they both had feelings for each other, but were much too hesitant to say anything, fearing some of the consequences that came with being in a relationship. They were both too afraid of getting hurt. Yukino's predicament made Tsuki even more reluctant to pursue her romance. Yukino didn't know what to say to Tsuki, seeing as she knew how much pain a relationship could cause, but her sister glowed so much when she talked about her crush that it didn't matter anyway. She seemed to be pretty content with their current friendship.

Yukino was even more surprised to hear that her younger sister's boy troubles were somewhat more severe than Tsuki's. Kano was actually trying to start a relationship with a first-year boy, and had gone out on a few dates with him. This boy was very sweet and kind, but couldn't seem to forget his ex-girlfriend, who dumped him after she cheated on him with an older student. On top of that, Kano was competing with a more-ahem- aesthetically pleasing girl in her class, who was even more forward with her flirtations than she was, and happened to be her best friend since elementary school!

Yukino shook her head.

*Kids these days.*

She rolled over onto her back, flinging her arms out to the side, her hand almost touching Kano, who was asleep on her right. Yukino looked to her left, where Tsuki was snoring lightly, her shoulders rising and dropping slowly. She stayed on her back for a while, her arms outstretched on either side of her, reaching toward her sisters. She was so grateful for having them with her. No matter how tumultuous her relationship with Soichiro had been lately, how unsure Tsuki's crush was, or how scandalous Kano's boy troubles became, their sisterhood would always remain the way it was.

Yukino flipped over onto her stomach and snuggled deep into her many blankets, relishing in the warmth.

*No matter what, we will always be there for each other.* ************************************************************************ Yeah, when having boy troubles, sometimes vegging out wit yo' girls is the best thing you can do. (besides moving on, that is..^^;;;;) Welp, did you guys like it? This was a very calm chapter, especially compared to the one before it! Anyway, please review!! Don't make me beg, now!