A/N: For Little by Little, the events for each next chapter will happen weeks after or months after the previous.

Chapter 3.1. A Date To Remember

Many things had happened since the graduation party for Sachiko and Rei. For one, Youko and Sei, whatever they had talked about that night, the others didn't know. Just that, the two seemed to be avoiding each other. As for Sachiko and Yumi, they hadn't seen each other since that day, but they did call each other, or rather Sachiko called Yumi whenever she had free time, because Sachiko was busy with her family's business and in preparations for college. Yumi, on the other hand, since it was still a break, spent her time at home. Sometimes she went out with Yoshino or her petite soeur, Touko, or simply and mostly, thinking about Sachiko.

So what was the difference of this day?

Today, Yumi was busy and nervous and excited preparing for a date. Sachiko had asked her only yesterday to go out with her and so, with such short notice, she frantically spent yesterday and today looking for something to wear. She even went shopping, but went back empty-handed. She didn't have enough money to buy the dress she thought would fit the date since Sachiko asked her to wear something formal.

"Hey, you haven't decided yet?"

Yumi whirled around to see her brother, Yuuki, leaning at the door of her room.

"Yuuki, you shouldn't just barge in another person's room," she snapped at him, mostly because of her nervousness.

"Relax, relax," Yuuki said as he went to her bed and picked and looked at each dress laid on it. "What's wrong with this one?" He asked after picking a yellow dress.

"It doesn't fit right anymore. It's a little smaller than before."

Yuuki put the dress back and stared at her with a thoughtful expression.

"What?"

"How about that white dress that Aunt bought for you when she traveled abroad? Where is it?" Yuuki asked after a moment.

"It's at the closet. But it's a size larger than mine. I'd look like a hanger if…"

Yuuki wasn't listening at Yumi but instead searched her cabinet until he found the white dress.

"You should try this one."

"I told you already, it's…" she started to protest.

"Don't worry. It's been months. You've grown since then so this would be perfect."

Yuuki handed the dress to her and then patted her shoulder before walking towards the door. Before he completely left, he turned to Yumi and said, "It would be fine. Don't worry too much."

Yumi stared at the dress long after Yuuki left her room. She really liked the dress. And she thought, with a blush, that it would look good on her.

But would it really fit her?

She sighed. Resigned, she took off her house clothes and put on the white dress.

---o---

When Yumi went downstairs to wait for her date to arrive, Yuuki, who was walking towards the living room, stopped on his tracks and whistled.

"You look good."

Yumi felt her cheeks warmed at the unexpected compliment and stuck her tongue to Yuuki, thinking that he was just making fun of her.

Yuuki laughed.

"Sachiko-san wouldn't want you doing that."

"Yumi-chan, are you sure you're not hiding something from me?"

Yumi turned around to see her father looking at her intently, and a few steps behind him, was her smiling mother.

"What do you mean, Dad?"

"Are you sure you don't have a boyfriend?"

She blushed, but before she could protest, Yuuki beat her.

"Yumi doesn't have a boyfriend, Dad, I can assure you that. But a girlfriend…" Yuuki trailed off and looked at the glaring Yumi with teasing eyes. "Anyway Dad, don't worry about Yumi."

'I'll kill him. I'll really kill him', Yumi thought over and over as she continued glaring at her grinning brother.

"Are you happy then, Yumi-chan?" Dad asked with a serious expression that tore Yumi's eyes away from Yuuki.

"Y-yes," she stammered, not really following what her Dad was getting at who smiled at her answer.

"Then I'm happy for you. I don't really mind as long as you're happy."

With that, her Dad went to the living room to watch TV.

"I agree with Dad. As long as Yumi-chan is happy, I don't mind," said by her Mom before returning to the kitchen, leaving Yumi utterly confused.

"What are they talking about?" She asked her brother.

"You should be happy. Mom and Dad just gave you their blessings," Yuuki answered with a smirk.

"What blessing?"

Yumi was sure that the three of them, Mom, Dad and Yuuki, were making fun of her.

Yuuki heaved a long-suffering sigh.

"You know what I mean. They don't mind if you love a boy or a girl as long as you're happy," Yuuki explained.

Yumi's eyes widened and she stared at her brother in shock, who went to her and patted her shoulder for the second time that day.

"I'm happy for you," Yuuki said before joining their Dad at the living room.

It took Yumi a few minutes before she absorbed everything that had been said, and then hurriedly, she went to the living room. She would have run had she not been wearing high heels. She surprised her Dad with a fierce hug.

"Yumi-chan?"

"Oh Dad, thank you, thank you so much," she said tearfully. "And I love you so much."

Dad laughed and patted her back and said, "Anything for my little girl, anything."

"She isn't a little girl anymore, Dad," Mom said who came to the living room carrying tea.

A/N: Hey, if you're hoping that I'll be solving Sachiko's engagement with Suguru, then please stop now coz I don't have plans to. In fact, you could just assume that he doesn't exist. I don't want to go deep in writing this story :)

---Arvendell---

02 February 2008