A/N: Sorry it took me several days for this chapter. Since Monday, I've been busy with work and I don't want to break my pace to do things unrelated to work haha ;) But now that I've finished some and don't want to start on the next topic today, I decided to do this instead ;)

Bettyful – thanks! ;) And sorry, too. That's just how I write. Only one major event per chapter, plus each chapter ay limited lang sa 1000-2000 words. I can understand your sentiment, though. Imagine pag nanonood ka ng tv tapos kung kelan maganda na ang nangyayari, bigla na lang to be continue, it's frustrating. What I'll do is try to update frequently, but that's a problem for me because of work and once I'm back at home, I just relax, no writing or surfing the internet. Even during the weekends, I don't write anymore. Oo nga pala, kung hindi ka member dito sa FFN, hindi ka na makakapag-review kc tinanggal ko na dahil sa isang pangyayari na nakakalungkot :( Pasensya na po…

Chapter 12. Insane

Aya couldn't sleep again. The incident a few days ago was still fresh in her mind, especially the face of the black-haired woman. She looked familiar, and yet she wasn't. She's sure that she had only met her for the first time that day. But she couldn't understand why whenever the woman's face came into her mind, it made her heart beat so fast to the point that she was almost scared that it would burst out of her chest. And the longing that she felt whenever she thought about her, it almost wanted to make her cry.

Why?

"Why am I feeling like this?..."

She didn't even know her.

She should have stayed a little longer that day and asked her name. She should have made sure that the woman was okay.

When she called for help that time as she held the unconscious woman in her arms, another woman came and introduced herself as the black-haired woman's business associate. She didn't like to leave the unconscious woman to the care of the others, but the security attested that indeed the two came at the restaurant together and had a reservation. Reluctantly, she left the woman to their care as they took her to a nearby clinic. And yet her worry didn't leave her, even if she knew that the black-haired woman would be fine then.

And she had the strong urge to be with her and take care of her.

"Why?..."

It took Aya another struggle to get some sleep. When she did, however, the woman in her dreams had a face now, and that face was that of the black-haired woman she met at the restaurant, the woman with a very beautiful face and yet with a hint of cruelty in her beauty, especially in her eyes.

Gasping for breath, she woke up, wondering why would the person in her dream turned to be that woman with long black hair.

---o—

'No. It's her. It has to be her.'

Sachiko thought over and over again.

It couldn't be a mistake.

The brown-haired woman who accidentally bumped into her in the restaurant looked very much like her. Though the face had matured and was more beautiful, it still looked very much like her love. The gracefully arched eyebrows, the slightly upturned nose, and the kissable red lips, they were the same. Her eyes, the soft loving eyes framed by long lashes, even if it was not the brown eyes she knew and loved well, its still so much like her.

But how could that person look like her?

Was she her love's relative?

No, it couldn't be.

Her heart kept telling her otherwise.

But what really was the truth?

If only she had talked to that woman that day.

When she regained consciousness, the woman was nowhere to be found. She searched for her at the restaurant, but she's gone and no one knew her. Even her business associate hadn't asked for her name.

But if it's her love, then why did she leave her?

She thought about it over and over again that she thought she'd go insane.

Probably she was already.

---o---

A man in formal clothing was standing rigidly as he spoke to another person on a telephone.

"I want you to act now before she finds out anything more! Do something to avoid a repeat of that accident or I'll have your heads off your shoulders!" He said angrily before cutting the line to the telephone.

Muttering curses, he sat on his chair to think about the things that he should do.

---o---

"I see. Make sure to keep a close eye on them. They would surely make a move now. Don't let them touch the family, especially that person, do you understand? ...Good."

Once the line was cut, the man in his late forties sat on his chair, lost in deep thoughts. He knew that the incident was accidental, and yet it would surely have consequences.

He picked the telephone once more. He needed to make another call to make sure that Ogasawara Sachiko would be in close watch.

---o---

Youko gazed at Sachiko with worried eyes. When she opened her mouth to say something, the latter beat her.

"I'm not lying or imagining things, Onee-sama. It's true that I saw her," Sachiko said with conviction.

"Right before you got knocked out?" Youko said dubiously.

"Sachiko…"

"I know what I saw, Onee-sama," Sachiko repeated with resolve.

"A dead person coming back to life. There's no way she would come back to life, Sachiko. That person must have some resemblance to her, and you already assumed that it's her," Youko said firmly, trying to make Sachiko understand while trying hard to stop herself from bursting into tears. She was scared for Sachiko, scared that Sachiko must be losing her…

"I'm not crazy, Onee-sama. I'm telling you, it's her. And I'm sure that it was her brother that I saw earlier that day."

"But Sachiko, how could that be possible?"

Sachiko was quiet for a moment, before she whispered, more to herself, "Maybe Yumi isn't really dead."

Youko's eyes widened. Now she's really scared with Sachiko's line of thoughts.

"What if Yumi isn't really dead, Onee-sama?"

"Sachiko…" Youko was at a lost of words.

When Youko just stared at her with unbelieving eyes, Sachiko's confidence suddenly wavered and she looked at the older woman with pleading eyes.

"Onee-sama, please…"

Youko turned away, unable to bear looking at Sachiko's tormented face. If only she could do anything, she would have done it a long time ago for her beloved little sister. But she couldn't do anything. And now, Sachiko must be…no, she didn't want to think about it. She wouldn't think about Sachiko that way.

"Let's say that you truly saw someone who looks like…"

"I told you it's Yumi," Sachiko cut Youko.

"Sachiko, unless we have it proven, you can't say that it was Yumi-chan. If you're really that interested with that person, then talk to her to make sure that it's her. But then, if it was Yumi-chan, then why didn't she talk to you?"

"I don't know!" Sachiko screamed in confusion, in frustration. And then suddenly, she seemed to deflate.

"I must be losing my mind," she whispered brokenly.

"No, you're not!" Youko said firmly. Even if she didn't believe that it was Yumi, she would not accept that her little sister was like that. She would find out who that person who looked like Yumi for Sachiko's sake. She would think of the consequences later.

"No, you are not, Sachiko," Youko repeated softly.

Sachiko raised her teary eyes to Youko. What Youko said, and what she left unsaid, meant so much to her.

A/N: Another chapter done! ;) Next is temporarily entitled "Alive".

Until next time! Take care!

Arvendell

16 October 2008

4:10 PM