A/N: What a way to start my day! First, I overslept and had to skip breakfast. Then I have cough and cold!

Nevertheless, it hadn't stop me having fun haha maybe when it worsened I would be forced to stay in bed again just like last time.

Anyway, as I've said, so I did. Here's Chapter 34 ;) Enjoy!

And oh, thanks Breanne St. I haven't seen it yet because I decided to post this first but I'll tell you once I had ;)

Chapter 34. Farewell

Yumi closed her eyes and filled her lungs with the fresh morning air. This place was really beautiful. As she opened her eyes, she saw the sun gradually made its way just as the fogs were slowly lifted away, revealing the clear, blue lake. She loved staying here. The place was paradise. And her paradise was here.

Yumi closed her eyes once more as she felt gentle arms hugged her from behind. She wasn't aware of the cold until those arms gave her warmth. She shivered. When soft lips touched her nape, she shivered again but for different reason.

"You shouldn't be out here so early. You'll catch a cold," said by the owner of the warm arms.

Yumi smiled as she put her hands at the arms on her stomach.

"You're already making me warm so no need to go back inside."

For a time, they watched as the sun emerged.

"Isn't it nice, to wake up everyday and see the sun rises like that?" Yumi said, breaking the silence.

"You are my sunshine. I don't need to go out here just to see it rise everyday," was the response Yumi got which made her giggle.

"Sachiko, you're getting corny," Yumi teased, earning an hmp from the person behind her, making her giggle turn into laugher.

When Sachiko pulled away from hugging her in feigned annoyance, Yumi stopped her by holding her arms as she turned around to face her.

"Are you annoyed, my love?" Yumi asked with a smile at seeing Sachiko's pout. When Sachiko remained quiet and pouting, she started tickling her until the latter surrendered and joined her laughter.

"Do you really love it here, Yumi?" Sachiko asked once they had settled down.

"Yes, Sachiko. This is the place where everything in my life fell back together," Yumi said softly.

Sachiko smiled and hugged Yumi tighter as she nuzzled her neck.

Yumi smiled, too, before she frowned as she thought about something.

"You know. I was just thinking. Did you come to Kobe sometime last year, in a hotel…" Yumi trailed off.

"Yes, I did," Sachiko said softly, not really paying attention to what Yumi was saying but rather on the feel of them close together.

"I've been meaning to ask you this for some time. Yes. I'm sure now. I saw you there. I think…"

"Yumi, thank you for coming back to my life," Sachiko whispered, halting Yumi's babble.

"Because your love led me back to you, Sachiko. And I'm truly grateful for it," Yumi said softly, forgetting about her question quickly as her mind was diverted to the present. Indeed, if Sachiko had stopped loving her, she didn't think she would ever find her way back to her.

"I don't think so," Sachiko said seriously.

"What?"

Yumi pulled back in surprise and stared at Sachiko. She saw the mischievous glint in Sachiko's eyes and couldn't help but glare and smile at her at the same time.

"Pray tell me what brought me back to you then, my dear Sachiko?" Yumi asked in mocked anger.

"I think it was my scent. You couldn't help but be entice with it," Sachiko said in mocked seriousness.

Yumi's jaw dropped.

"I'm even worried that you'll completely inhale me, Yumi. It made me wonder if I did the right thing about bringing you back," Sachiko continued.

"Sachiko, how could you say that," Yumi said softly, looking away from Sachiko.

Sachiko's humor disappeared. She grasped Yumi's shoulders. She was only kidding. She didn't expect that Yumi would take it seriously.

"I was just kidding, Yumi. I'm sor…"

Sachiko stopped talking when Yumi suddenly looked back at her.

"Since when did you get some humor, Sachiko?" Yumi said seriously although Sachiko saw the mirth in her eyes that she was trying to hide.

Sachiko pouted and glared at Yumi, making Yumi laugh.

"Glad to see that you had lightened up a bit. I was worried you'll be frowning for the rest of your life, Sachiko. You shouldn't be so serious all the time. The company would be fine, you know that," Yumi said with a smile.

"Says by someone who doesn't even want to take higher position at the company so she could help me better," Sachiko said with raised eyebrows.

Yumi grinned sheepishly.

"I'm sorry. I prefer to be at the field rather than stuck at the office and attending board meetings," Yumi said apologetically.

"I know. That's why I said I will honor your decision," Sachiko said seriously.

"I know that. Thank you so much for understanding," Yumi said softly.

"Anything for you," Sachiko murmured before she pulled Yumi into a gentle kiss.

"You know, Sachiko, maybe you were right about that scent thing," Yumi murmured in between kisses.

"Why would you say that?"

"Because amnesia or not, I fell for you."

"I've got quite an appeal, right? Making you fall in love with me twice. That's something," Sachiko teased.

"Right," Yumi said with feigned sarcasm, before she giggled and pulled Sachiko for a long, tender kiss.

For a while, the place was quiet except for the sound of gentle kisses as the two lovers shared one breath, their hearts beating as one. The rising sun seemed to smile at them as if giving them a blessing as the fogs were finally cleared, revealing the clear, blue water of the lake.

---o---

"Hey, where's my kiss?" Yumi teased when Sachiko opened the front door. It was Saturday morning and normally, Sachiko would go to the office after lunch. However, an important meeting had turned up and she had to leave early.

"You've had enough last night," Sachiko said with raised eyebrows, though a small smile was plastered in her face.

"Hmp," Yumi said with a pout, folding her arms to reinforce her feigned sulking.

Sachiko laughed softly as she walked back to Yumi.

"I don't know if it's a good thing but you seem to be acting more and more like Yana as days passed by," Sachiko teased, leaning towards Yumi.

"Mommy Love, I want a kiss, too," said the running Yana, interrupting Sachiko and Yumi.

"Yana, I told you not to run around the house," Yumi said with a laugh as Yana jumped into Sachiko's arms. Sachiko grunted with the weight thrown into her arms.

"You're getting heavier every day. Don't be such an insatiable like your Mommy," Sachiko said with a smile as she gave Yana a kiss to each of her adorable cheeks.

"Hey," Yumi protested.

"Although I don't mind it that much," Sachiko said to Yumi huskily, giving her a wink.

Yumi's face flamed as she groped for words of retaliation.

"Speechless, my love?" Sachiko teased, before turning her attention back to the smiling and oblivious Yana. "Isn't Mommy cute when her face is red, darling?"

"You're right, Mommy Love. Just like you do, too," Yana said innocently.

Sachiko blushed as Yumi stifled a giggle.

"Nice one, Yana."

Joining Yumi's mirth, Sachiko put Yana down and gave a peck on Yumi's lips before she headed to the door.

"You two have fun."

"Take care, Mommy Love," Yana said, waving at Sachiko.

"Sachiko, we're still going to pay him a visit, right?" Yumi asked before Sachiko reached the door.

Sachiko turned back with a serious expression.

"Of course. It's what you wanted, right? We'll see him later."

---o---

"Are you ready?" Yumi asked with a tinge of worry etched in her face.

"As ready as I can be. How about you?" Sachiko asked as she squeezed Yumi's hand.

"Anything for us, I will be," Yumi answered with determination. She took a deep breath before she resumed walking towards the door that would lead them to the man who had done a lot of things in their lives. This would be an important turning point in their lives.

"You can come in now, Ogasawara-sama, Fukuzawa-sama," the servant of the patriarch of the Ogasawaras said as he opened the door for Sachiko and Yumi.

After thanking the servant, Sachiko and Yumi faced the patriarch, Sachiko's grandfather, with determination.

"What are you doing here? Did you come to tell me how foolish your decisions were, Sachiko?" The old man asked coldly, ignoring Yumi's presence.

Sachiko felt anger bubble inside her, but a squeezed from Yumi on their joined hands calmed her effectively.

"We didn't come here to argue with you, Grandfather," Sachiko said calmly.

The old man scoffed but didn't speak.

"We know that you don't approve of our relationship, Sir, but still, I want to let you know that Sachiko didn't make a mistake when she chose me. I love her and I will take care of her for the rest of my life," Yumi said softly yet the firmness behind that softness was clear.

"What is right with the decision of that foolish granddaughter of mine?" The old man challenged, finally addressing Yumi.

"Standing on my own, fighting for my happiness, escaping a lifetime misery, those are only a few of the good results of disobeying you, Grandfather," Sachiko said firmly, then continued softly while gazing at Yumi's eyes, "And I couldn't have been any happier."

Yumi smiled back at Sachiko with love shining in her eyes.

Sachiko wanted to gaze at Yumi for as long as she could. However, there were other things that they had to do at the moment. With regret, she gazed back at her stoic grandfather.

"Yumi and I came here because of an important reason. We want you to know that we forgive you for everything, Grandfather. It doesn't matter if you want our forgiveness or not. We only want you to know," Sachiko said calmly and softly. She didn't want another fight with her grandfather. She wanted to leave everything behind already and totally move on with her life, her life with Yumi and Yana and her new relationship with her parents.

"We also want to ask for your forgiveness if we had hurt you, Sir. Please forgive us," Yumi said with the same calmness that Sachiko showed.

The old man stared at Sachiko and Yumi in surprise. He hadn't expected this to happen. It didn't even cross his mind that the next time he would see his granddaughter and the person his granddaughter chose to live with, they wouldn't be against each other's neck.

His granddaughter.

He had never seen his granddaughter looked so contented and happy. There was no trace of anger and bitterness in her countenance. Only peacefulness.

"Sachiko…"

For the first time in her life, Sachiko saw the old man uncertain about something. She nodded with understanding. If he wasn't ready to forgive them yet and to admit his mistakes, she was fine with it. She understood him. He had lived all his life with people cowering on his feet. He had lived all his life without saying sorry for anything. It was hard if the tables had been turned around. She knew it perfectly well because at some point in her life, she was like him, too, though not extreme. Besides, he had changed a lot physically. He looked like he had aged a lot after the last time she saw him, which wasn't really that long. Tiredness was showing in his eyes despite his effort to cover it with anger and intimidating façade.

"I forgive you for everything, Grandfather. For everything," Sachiko repeated, gazing at the old man's eyes meaningfully.

That was when the old man realized that his granddaughter knew what he almost done for the second time. It wasn't his intention, and was truly shocked that time when he realized that it was her granddaughter whom he had almost…

"That's all that we wanted to say. Thank you for your time. We're going now, Grandfather."

Before they reached the door, Sachiko turned back to her grandfather.

"Take care of yourself. You look so worn out," Sachiko said softly.

And with that, Sachiko and Yumi left.

Anger…

Bitterness…

Pain…

At the forgiveness that they had given to the person who had been their greatest adversary to their relationship, they felt freer. They had bid farewell to the feelings that had plagued them for a long time, especially Sachiko. Now, they could be truly happy.

A/N: Huhu it's going to end soon…I'm kinda sad and reluctant to say farewell to this story…

Anyway, I'll post an Excapade later, and of course, it is another naughty story of mine. It is an Excapade after all ;) I thought the topic would be fitting to start on this day (and finish next year haha just kidding ;)

---Arvendell---

07 January 2009

9:00 AM