A/N: It was a good thing that I decided to have a trip to lala land during the weekend ;) When Monday came, I was loaded with work that the next day, I feel like it was Friday already because of the work I did. The weekend couldn't come any faster! This morning I thought it was Thursday already! I'm getting confused! :)

Anyway, I'm just taking a quick break to post this one.

Chapter 24. Fears

"Yuuki, we trusted you to protect your sister and Yana-chan," Yuichiro said firmly.

Both brother and sister looked on the floor like children properly chastised as they listened to their parents. Their little adventure at the amusement park was found out because Yana couldn't stop talking about it. It had been fine at first. However, when Yana started talking about Sachiko, their parents were shocked, before it turned into anger and disappointment.

"Doing things behind our back. What were you two thinking?" Miki said sadly.

"Sorry, Mom, Dad," Yuuki said with tinge of regret for deceiving their parents.

Yumi, too, was apologetic as they were being scolded. However, her mind was somewhere else, thinking of the things that happened at the amusement park.

"Thank you for your time, Sachiko," Yumi said with a smile. She had enjoyed her time with Sachiko immensely. She had never been happier listening to Sachiko speak and laugh. Both of them had set aside her amnesia and decided to enjoy the moment. She couldn't remember smiling a lot like she did this day. Sachiko's presence made her forget about everything. She was now sure that she and Sachiko had a close and deep relationship in the past. It was cemented by the contentment and happiness that she felt when she was with her.

However, as the sun started setting down, Yumi's happiness was dampened by the fact that they were going to be separated again.

Why? Why did she long to be with Sachiko so much? Was it still because Sachiko made her feel happy and contented? Or was there more to it?

"It's my pleasure, Yumi," Sachiko said softly, a hint of loneliness now back in her eyes.

"I'd like to see you again, Sachiko," Yumi said, her face now mirroring Sachiko's. She didn't want to be parted with Sachiko. She wanted to be by her side.

"Come visit our…my house, Yumi."

"At Tokyo?"

"Yes."

Yumi wanted to say yes. She was about to say so, but caught herself when she realized that she couldn't. Her parents wouldn't allow her. Regretfully, she closed her eyes and shook her head. She didn't want to see Sachiko's reaction at her refusal. Somehow, she knew that Sachiko would be really disappointed.

"I understand, Yumi," Sachiko said, clearing her throat when her voice croaked. She felt like crying at the moment. Why it was that life wasn't easy? All she wanted was to be with Yumi, but there were many things to consider, many things to overcome before she could have what she wanted.

"I'll keep in touch with you, Sachiko," Yumi said with a smile, trying to brighten the mood.

"I would love that," Sachiko said softly. She would find a way to see Yumi again. 'Wait for me, Yumi,' she thought.

Yumi smiled, then turned her gaze to the parking area where Yuuki and Yana were waiting for her.

"You have to go now, Yumi."

Yumi nodded. She turned to Sachiko and hesitated for a moment before she leaned up and placed a soft kiss on Sachiko's cheeks. She felt her lips burned at the sensation and immediately pulled away.

"I'll go now. Take care, Sachiko," Yumi said hurriedly, her face turned away from Sachiko to hide the heat that crept to her cheeks. Why was she so embarrassed? It was just a way of saying her gratitude and goodbye to Sachiko. It was just a friendly kiss.

Why then did she feel warmth inside her?

Unsure how to react, Yumi walked towards the parking lot, leaving Sachiko frozen in her place. It was rude of her to just take off like that, but Yumi was once again confused.

Yumi covered her face to hide her blush. The thought of that kiss to Sachiko's cheeks had brought another flow of warmth within her.

"Yumi-chan, are you alright?"

"Yes, Dad," she immediately answered. A wave of courage coursed through her.

"I'd like to apologize, Mom, Dad, for deceiving you. Please forgive me and Yuuki. But I want you to know that I'm not really sorry that I met with Sachiko. I felt like something was lifted from my chest when I was with her. More than ever, I want to remember my past. Why Sachiko's family did what they did to us? And I want to know why Sachiko evoked so many emotions that I couldn't define. Why? Would you tell me the reason why I'm feeling like this?"

Both father and mother were silent at her questions.

"You won't. Yuuki won't. Sachiko won't. All of you want me to remember everything by myself. I couldn't do it if you won't help me, Mom, Dad. Sachiko is willing, but she didn't want to go against you."

As they absorbed Yumi's last sentence, realization dawned in the three people listening to Yumi.

"You're going to Tokyo, aren't you?" Mom asked with fear.

Yumi nodded sadly yet firmly.

"Sachiko invited me for a vacation."

"We can't stop you, can we?" Dad asked sadly.

"No, you can't, Mom, Dad. Please don't force me to oppose you again," she pleaded.

Yumi watched with worry as her parents stayed silent for a long time. She dreaded the answer, but she wouldn't back out. She would do it no matter what. She's confident that her parents would forgive her if she did anyway. Besides, she had a feeling that this time, they would let her do as she wanted.

"Don't worry about Yana-chan. We'll take care of her," Dad said softly.

Yumi's face immediately brightened. She threw her arms around her father, then to her mother while thanking them profusely.

Yuuki remained quiet and watched the display with a smirk.

"I'll arrange it right away!" Yumi said excitedly and went upstairs with light steps. She would tell Sachiko about it.

The three people left at the living room shared a look.

"Did we do the right thing, Dad?" Miki asked her husband.

"I don't know. But maybe it's time we let her do what she wanted," Yuichiro answered.

"I'm glad you did it, Mom, Dad. Don't worry, Yumi will be happy. I've never seen her so happy like she was when she was with Sachiko-san. You would have agreed with me if you saw her smile and laugh happily. Besides, I think she was starting to remember her," Yuuki assured his parents. He understood their fears. Despite finally accepting what Yumi wanted, they were still worried what would happen if she went to Tokyo, especially if she met the people who were responsible for what happened to her.

"I'll accompany her. I'd like to visit some friends," Yuuki added.

---o---

"It's nice to see you again, Yumi-chan. You, too, Yuuki-kun," the black-haired woman greeted the siblings as soon as they stepped out of the train.

"It's nice to see you, too, uh…" Yumi paused. She was embarrassed. She didn't know the black-haired woman's and the blonde woman's names. Sachiko hadn't told her the names of the people who would fetch her at the station. And worse, she had forgotten to ask their names when she met them before in front of their house.

"Sei. I'm Sei and this scary old woman is Youko," the blonde woman teased. She chuckled when her companion glared at her.

"Don't listen to that dirty old man, Yumi-chan," the one named Youko said dryly, making both Yuuki and Yumi chuckle and Sei laughed loudly.

"Okay, Youko-sama."

"I'll leave my sister to your care, Mizuno-san, Satou-san," Yuuki said.

"Drop the formality, Yuuki-kun. You can call us by our names. Don't worry about Yumi-chan. We'll take care of her," Youko assured.

Yuuki nodded with gratitude and then he turned to Yumi and said, "Have fun, Yumi. I'll see you soon."

"Thanks. You, too," Yumi said, hugging her brother briefly.

---o---

Yumi gulped. She eyed the car worriedly.

"What are you waiting for, Yumi-chan. Get in the car," Sei said, sitting at the driver's seat after stealing the car key from Youko.

Forcing her body to get out of its frozen state, Yumi's stiff legs moved towards the car.

After Yumi was seated, Youko, who observed the whole thing, went out of the passenger side and stood beside the window of the driver's seat.

"What's wrong, Youko?"

"Give me the key, Sei. You sit behind, I'll be the driver."

The tone in Youko's voice made Sei not to argue. She immediately followed Youko's order. She realized that something was wrong with Yumi. As their travel progressed, she tried to distract Yumi by talking a lot. It wasn't hard with her outgoing and talkative nature, as Youko had put it.

Despite Sei's attempts to engage her in a conversation, however, Yumi found herself unable to focus on anything but of the car. She was sweating profusely despite the cold air inside the car. Her skin was tingling. She warily eyed their way, and wished that the travel would be over.

"We're sorry, Yumi-chan. We can't take another ride except this," Youko apologized. Yumi may not remember what happened before, but the fear was surely planted in her mind.

"I told you we should have rented a motorbike," Sei told Youko.

"And who will drive?" Youko asked with raised brows.

"Need to ask?" Sei said proudly.

"With your superb driving skill, I doubt it. If you want to die early, don't take us with you," Youko said, rolling her eyes.

Cars and bikes, Sei treated them as if they were nothing. She drove like mad.

"Acting like that, you'll cry if I die anyway," Sei said cheekily.

Youko rolled her eyes again and said, "Wrong. I'll kill you again if you die on me. And then Sachiko would kill you, too."

Sei pouted and said to Yumi, "Don't believe her, Yumi-chan. She's just jealous."

Yumi smiled warily, trying her best to be at ease. Maybe her anxiousness was at riding cars was heightened by the fact that she would see Sachiko again soon. She didn't know what to expect. Thus, she was restless, and yet she was excited, too.

"I'm sorry, Youko-sama, Sei-sama. Riding cars gives me goose bumps. I couldn't relax. I tried to avoid cars as much as I could, but when I couldn't, I'm quite like this," Yumi explained with a tinge of embarrassment.

"We understand, Yumi-chan. You're doing fairly well, you know. I've met someone before who was involved in a car accident, too. She hated riding cars after the accident. If she was forced into it, she would be stiff as death. She couldn't breath."

"I think I'm a bit like that before, too. My family helped me improve a little. Besides, Yana couldn't just ride Yuuki's bike every time we go out."

"So, tell us about your daughter."

Talking about Yana distracted Yumi's attention to the car. Though still wary and nervous, her fear had lessened.

Once they reached their destination, Yumi breathed a sigh of relief. However, she was again nervous when she realized that she was now standing in front of Sachiko's house. They would meet again. She would see her again. What would happen? Would she remember something now? What if she didn't?

She feared that everything would be futile.

A/N: Did you know that the original version of this story had only 24 chapters plus shorter scenes on each chapter? Now it's over 30. The remaining chapters weren't merely an outline. They were filled up already. However, I still feel the need to add a few more scenes plus I have to make sure that there's continuity from the previous chapters (because it's been a long time since I started this story that I have forgotten already what I wrote in the earlier chapters :) So I won't post the rest of the chapters yet. And to tell you the truth, I'm feeling lazy about going over the previous ones haha ;) That, and the fact that I have tons of workload.

I have the habit of modifying the chapters a lot. In fact, even to the last moment or after I posted the chapter for a few seconds and realized something, I will still change it in the hopes of making it better ;)

Last Monday (Nov 17; Chapter 21), I had 10 chapters left to post. After posting two more last week and another today, I still have 10 chapters left. It just keeps on getting longer! I wonder how long it will be before we reach the end since I have a new list of things to add in the story? ;)

I'm trying to make the best of I can in this story because this will probably be the last 'serious' story that I'll write. It's quite a task to write something like this. It's so long, so hard to think, complicated and such ;)

---Arvendell---

26 November 2008

10:00 AM