A/N: Replies to reviews will be on the bottom of the page, in case you guys just want to get straight to the story without having to scroll through my tedious words! For now, I'll just give a quick THANKS to all my reviewers so far—I've replied to your reviews at the bottom of the page, as I said :) You guys are awesome!

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A/A/N: Hey guys, be sure to tell me your opinions on the Noriko/Shimako pairing (as in how you think it should happen). I'm going with the boyfriend/girlfriend thing (for now) because that would be my gut reaction…at least it was. I think it'll be more successful for Noriko, though xP But would Shimako react to that, do you think, if she were pushed far enough? Assuming she does feel the same about Noriko (which she does, like, obvsly). Or would it have to be something else? I personally think the challenge of writing Shimako as somewhat jealous of Noriko's potential partner would be fun, but that's me. Make sure to review and tell me your opinions, guys!

chapter one

Let the Games Begin

"Might I ask what you are doing here, Sei-sama?"

Touko glanced over at her cousin, silently asking the same question of the blonde, but reluctant to jump into the conversation. The main reason for that may or may not have been the fact that with Sachiko so preoccupied with being annoyed with Sei, Touko had Yumi all to herself, if only for a few minutes. Yumi, of course, was fretting over Sachiko (as usual), biting her lip with a worried look in her eyes.

Averting her gaze from the older girl, Touko summoned all the courage in her (relatively small) body and managed to reach out and grab Yumi's hand under the table. Yumi gave a laughable start, but, thankfully, managed to refrain from squawking like a dinosaur. The older girl turned toward Touko, who was still looking away, though her cheeks were beginning to flush a deep red, and glanced down at their intertwined hands. Then she looked back up, staring at Touko until the latter was forced to give in and meet her gaze, only to be met with an expression of such blinding happiness that Touko almost had to close her eyes against the brightness of it.

Across the table, Noriko snorted, decidedly unladylike, into her tea. This, in turn, prompted Shimako to whip around to face her petite soeur, concern blatantly playing across her pretty features (and Noriko wished she wouldn't do that—wished she wouldn't care so damn much and only just not enough). The brunette reached out, gently touching Noriko's arm—an action that caused the latter to stiffen involuntarily—beneath the table. Once the initial shock had worn off, Noriko flushed even more brightly than her best friend, who smirked in satisfaction from her position next to her own onee-sama.

(Neither was aware in the slightest of Youko watching from her inconsequential seat off to the side. If they had been, they might have felt a shiver of foreboding run down their spines in response to her raised eyebrow and thoughtful expression.)

"Aww, is that any way to greet your elders, Sacchan?"

Sei's teasing tone broke both younger girls from their thoughts, and their attention was once again riveted to the front of the room, where Sei was reclining at the large bay window.

Sachiko appeared to tense at every angle—her jaw was clenched, fists tight at her sides, her eyes hard as the sapphires of Maria's heart. Still, she kept her composure—for the time being, at least.

After a long moment, presumably spent collecting herself, Sachiko sighed. "What are the two of you doing here, onee-sama?" she asked of Youko, who blinked several times, breaking from her reverie as the attention in the room shifted to her all at once.

"Ara," she said, quickly collecting herself and slipping back into her normal, somewhat teasing tone. "What a way to talk to your onee-sama, Sachiko." She raised one eyebrow as Sachiko flushed and, two seats away, Touko attempted to repress a smug smirk. Dark eyes flickered to the girl in question, who quickly wiped all traces of amusement from her features. "Sei and I have come here today to propose a vacation to commemorate yours and Rei-chan's graduation in a couple of months. Winter break is just around the corner—we thought it would be the perfect opportunity for a little retreat."

By this point in time, Shimazu Yoshino was all but bouncing in her seat, just barely sitting on the very edge of the chair while her onee-sama, Hasekura Rei, the Rosa Foetida, looked on anxiously. There was no doubt in anybody's mind (Rei's included) as to what was going through her head. If one were to look closely enough, one might even have caught a flash coming from her eyes.

Chance…!

Others' reactions were slightly less…pronounced, but intriguing nonetheless. Yumi seemed relatively eager, though her face was beginning to resemble a tomato due to Touko's hand gripping her own (and maybe it was just her imagination, the way it kept tightening as the meeting went on). For her part, Touko was biting the inside of her lip, the cogs in her brain turning at a magnificent pace. This could potentially be heaven or hell, depending on whether she could manage to spin the situation in her favor. Noriko was staring blankly down at the table, though her hands were wringing nervously just beneath it. Sachiko and Shimako were altogether unreadable.

Resting her chin on her intertwined fingers, Youko watched these reactions in moderate amusement, vaguely wondering whether she should invite Eriko along, just to make things that much more interesting.

"I…see," Sachiko finally said, finding her voice first. "Well, then, of course we will take part, if it is for our dear onee-samas."

"Try not to sound so excited, Sachiko," Youko purred, smiling enigmatically when her petite soeur whipped around, eyes flashing with restrained aggravation. "I'm glad that you feel that way, however," she continued, pushing off her chair and standing up straight, walking to the head of the table. "We were prepared to use force if necessary—I know how you tend to overwork yourself."

Sachiko huffed and reclaimed her seat, sulking for only a moment before she felt a hand grip her arm. She turned to smile tiredly down at Yumi, who was watching her with a mix of concern and poorly-concealed excitement. On her other side, Touko was glaring at the spot where Yumi's hand met Sachiko's arm, sore about loss of her onee-sama's hand beneath hers.

The eldest of the Chinesis sisters met the gaze of the youngest for just the briefest of moments, cocking her eyebrow just slightly, so that only Touko, who had known her for all her life, could detect it. Sachiko was, however, legitimately startled when she was met with a determined stare—a challenge, if she didn't know any better—and she felt her heart constrict and sink in her chest.

Because of course she knew of Touko's feelings—it wasn't as if the girl did a particularly good job of hiding them, no matter how convinced she seemed to the contrary. And usually she never would have hesitated in bringing down any competition for Yumi's heart—however, Touko was different. As much as she hated the girl's stubborn determination, Sachiko loved the girl to no end.

But did she love her enough to give up Yumi?

Her Yumi?

Sachiko grimaced (internally, of course, because Sachiko was, after all, a lady, and ladies don't grimace). There was little in this world that she hated more than this feeling of helplessness—of being unable to control anything around her. She needed Yumi more than anything, but how could she take her, when Touko needed her just as much, if not more?

But despite the arranged marriage and the rigorous training and the anything-for-the-family shtick, Sachiko had been spoiled all her life, and as is often the way it goes with spoiled children who grow up, she had always been (and would always be) just a little bit selfish. If Touko wanted Yumi…if she wanted to take her away, if she thought she could be better for her (and Sachiko knew that, really, she would, though she'd never admit it)…Sachiko wouldn't forbid it, not like she would if it were Sei or Kanako.

But she wouldn't give up so easily.

"A boyfriend? You?"

Noriko scowled at the drill-haired girl walking beside her. "What's that supposed to mean, anyway?"

Touko shrugged, quickening her pace, but not before aiming a mischievous smirk in the other girl's direction. Noriko rolled her eyes and lengthened her own steps to keep up with Touko. She honestly didn't know why she put up with her—it was only months of experience in dealing with her mood swings that kept Noriko from taking her teasing to heart. Touko was always just a little bit of a bitch, but the truly sharp words had lessened in frequency, to the point where they only really came out when Touko was truly hurting.

"What's so weird about it, anyway?"

"I never said anything was weird about it."

Noriko scoffed, pulling to a halt and folding her arms over her chest. "Touko…"

"It's just that, you know, it's a blatant plot to make Rosa Gigantea jealous. It's like, not even subtext anymore, you're being so obvious." Touko shrugged once again, flouncing out in front of Noriko and spinning on her heel to face her. "It's just…text." She cocked her head, curls bouncing in a deceptively adorable manner.

She was still wearing that infuriating smirk.

The nerve…this from a girl who was, not minutes ago, sulking like a child whose favorite toy had been stolen all because her onee-sama was paying attention to someone else… "Because you're one to talk," Noriko snapped back, her patience with the brunette wearing dangerously thin, rendering her more or less incapable of biting her tongue. "If you think Rosa Chinesis doesn't see how you look at Yumi-sama…"

Touko seemed to deflate, and Noriko felt just a twinge of guilt (just a twitch, really, because Touko really was kind of a bitch). She knew better than to snap back at Touko's teasing—knew it was just a façade to try and protect herself from feeling the emotions warring inside of her.

"Sorry," Noriko muttered, somewhat reluctantly.

"No, you're right," Touko admitted, shoulders slumping dramatically. Noriko had learned fairly quickly that the difference between Touko acting and Touko being honest was that her honest actions seemed almost stupidly exaggerated, likely because of her inexperience in actually dealing with them. "I know she does. But what can I do about it? Even if I started being more conspicuous, she already knows, so it wouldn't do any good."

She shrugged once again before perking back up (or at least putting on a convincing act of it) and spinning back around to face their classroom (although Noriko wasn't entirely sure how they had gotten this far already). "Anyway, we're not talking about me. We're talking about you and your desperate ploy for attention from your precious o-nee-sa-ma," Touko sing-songed, hands clasping her book bag behind her back as she twirled into the room with Noriko hot on her heels.

"It's not a ploy for attention!" Noriko defended hotly, dropping her bag loudly onto her desk beside the drill-haired girl. "What's so weird about a high school girl dating?"

"Um, the fact that you're gay?"

"I am not gay!"

The hush that descended over the classroom then was one that really had to be seen (or, rather, heard) to be believed. Taking deep breaths in an attempt to gain control over her emotions, Noriko didn't notice every pair of eyes in the classroom staring at her until she glanced up and caught sight of Touko, who was hunched over in her desk, shoulders shaking violently, her face completely hidden in her arms. It took her a long moment to realize that Touko wasn't crying at all—she was laughing.

And then, all at once, she noticed the stares, and she all but leapt back, hands raised in denial. "No, not like that!" she defended loudly. "I mean, yeah, but…I'm really not, I swear!"

Another moment of stunned silence, and the classroom volume slowly began to rise once more, freeing the two girls to continue their conversation.

"Damnit, Touko!" Noriko growled when the girl finally emerged, looking on the verge of tears, from behind her arms. "I don't know why I put up with you." Then she sighed, massaging her temples with her right hand. "Just…whatever. I meant it, okay? I'm not. I'm not denying anything about how I…you know…feel about her, or anything. I'm just not gay. I like guys, too. And girls. And..." She fumbled over her words for a moment, brow furrowing. This was starting to sound a little iffy on her part. "And Shim- I mean, onee-sama."

Quite iffy.

"Slut."

Noriko ground her teeth, willing herself not to strangle the girl, who had, apparently, decided to deal with her own problems by distracting herself with Noriko's (apparently hilarious) ones. Touko was a terrible friend- then again, though, it wasn't as though Noriko were winning any awards. It was how they worked-they vented to each other, teased each other and somehow it got them through. They did love each other, very much, in a roundabout kind of way.

Still, if the head sister happened to walk in on one of their 'arguments'...

"Touko…"

"So you admit you love the Rosa Gigantea?"

"You know, Touko," Noriko began, glaring at the girl from beneath her heavy bangs, "one of these days, Rosa Chinesis is going to kill you. And when that happens, don't expect me to cry at your funeral."

The actress merely scoffed, slumping down in her seat and resting her feet on the basket beneath the chair in front of her—her typical 'learning' pose. Noriko rolled her eyes, taking Touko's silence as the conversation having been ended, and turned to the front of the room, herself.

Touko didn't know what she was talking about.

Well, maybe a little bit. But what were the chances of Shimako caring if Noriko got a boyfriend, anyway? At least Noriko will have found someone else (someone she had a chance with) to focus on. It was a win-win situation, whatever the outcome.

At least, that's what she told herself. After all, having someone to hold her would be better than having no one, right?

Right, but then why does it feel so sneaky?

"Interesting."

"Isn't it, isn't it?"

"Shut up, Sei."

Tucking a stray strand of ebony hair back into place, Youko ducked away from her mischievous blonde cohort, pressing the iPhone to her ear with one slender shoulder.

"Missed you, Sei!"

The sugary, mocking tone rang out loud enough for the blonde to hear, causing Youko to wince and roll her eyes at the same time.

"Back at ya, Dekochin!"

"…"

"Alright, that's enough," Youko cut in before Eriko could deliver one of her quintessential, quick-tongued comebacks. Pushing Sei's face away with one hand and grabbing her phone with the other, she continued, "Anyway, that's how it is. We just thought you might want to tag along—after all, it's Rei-chan's celebration, too."

"…"

"And it's gonna be hilarious!"

"I'll take the next plane out."

With an audible sigh, Youko dropped her phone back into her purse.

With friends like these…

"Must you encourage that attitude of hers, Sei?"

"Oh, let up, Youko-chwaaan," Sei crooned, flinging a heavy arm over her friend's neck, oblivious to the latter's subsequent, mildly out of character blush. "You're starting to sound like Sachiko."

"Fine, Sei. Have it your way."

"That's what she said."

"…"

Review Replies:

Nura de Mithlond: Thank you! I really appreciate that you took the time to review even though English isn't your native language :) If I tried to write a review in Spanish (only other language I even moderately speak)…well, it would be a mess. I'm glad you liked the prologue, and I hope the rest continues to live up to expectations! And about the drama and angst…tell me about it! I mean, I have enough of that in my life, I don't need to be reading it, too. There may be smidges of angsting later on, but I promise, the main genres will continue to be romance and humor- only reason for any drama would be to help the storyline/pairings continue :P

ChiTownPanda: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! And thanks for your input—in Marimite (unlike other fandoms), I tend to stick with more canon pairings because they're so great as is. I'm still torn between Sachiko and Touko, though, as I love both characters for Yumi. Other than that, though, I've pretty much decided to stick to 'canon' (or as close as the show ever got to canon). Thanks for your review, and I hope you continue to enjoy! :)

vamp1001: Thanks! I won't be able to set up a regular update schedule like some authors, but I hope to get the chapters out at a good pace!

Guest: Thank you for the review! I agree with you on that—they both strike me as the jealous type (well, Sachiko IS, but, you know, whatever), so I can imagine them doing just that :P Noriko/Shimako is POSSIBLY my OTP, depending on the situation/fic :3

equastar: It's okay, I kinda am too, lol :P

I hope you guys enjoyed chapter one—chapter two just needs a proofread :P Pretty please remember to review, guys, motivation and whatnot! :)