MariMite
Stuck With You
Yumi was uncharacteristically quiet as the elevator doors closed and the metal box shuddered. Sachiko didn't know it, but what she had just said to the girl had struck a delicate nerve, and the younger Chinensis was having trouble getting the recently-formed frown off of her porcelain face.
Why are you getting jealous? Something inside her asked in a stand-offish tone, Sachiko-sama is free to love whoever she pleases; it has nothing to do with you.
I know that! I know! Yumi thought back, her hand clenching into a fist, eyes closing in annoyance. Leave me alone!
Just because you're in love with her, why does she have to love you back? It mocked, winding her up, You have no right to get jealous.
I know that already! Yumi snapped. She was getting irritated. Go away, leave me be. I'm going to get through this by myself, I don't need you snickering in my head. Go away.
A light touch pulled Yumi out of her thoughts, her eyes snapping open. "O-Onee-sama?" She asked, looking at Sachiko in surprise.
Sachiko was frowning as her hand cradled Yumi's cheek, "Yumi, tell me what's wrong," She softly demanded, her blue eyes concerned.
"Eh? No, nothing's wrong," Yumi answered quickly, averting her gaze.
"Yumi, don't treat me as a fool. I know something is bothering you," she brought her free hand to Yumi's other cheek, gently tilting her face towards her, "Please let me in, Yumi. Don't keep me in the dark again."
Yumi leant into the warmth of Sachiko's palm, her eyes closing contentedly at the feel of her soft skin caressing hers. She couldn't really tell Sachiko that her problem was that she was in love with her – what on Earth would she think? Would she be shocked, surprised? Probably. Would she feel disgusted? Maybe. Would she want to break their sœur bond? Yumi honestly didn't know the answer to that one, but wasn't keen to find out. Their time together as sœurs was magical, and she didn't want it to end because of her more-than-sisterly love.
But before she could open her mouth to respond, the elevator gave an almighty shudder, making the two girls wobble on their feet, clutching onto each other's arm for support.
"What in the--" Yumi stated, looking questioningly at Sachiko's shocked face.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Sachiko murmured, releasing Yumi's arm and looking around. The green, luminous floor number above the closed doors read 6, but it was flickering, blacking out, "Oh no."
"Ssh," Yumi whispered from behind, gazing upwards, "Did you just hear that?"
Three seconds of silence passed, until something above the elevator groaned, and there was a horrid sound of metallic objects grinding together, as if trying to support something it couldn't bear the weight of. Yumi's beautiful eyes widened in realisation and she quickly dove toward Sachiko, pushing her forcefully into the corner of the lift, standing protectively in front of her. She took Sachiko's arms and wound them around her own waist, so that she would be able to hold onto something. The metallic groaning increased in volume. Hastily, Yumi pressed her palms tightly against the walls either side of the older girl, her footing widening to support that which she knew was coming.
"Y-Yumi?" Sachiko was too shocked to blush at the close proximity, looking down into eyes fierce with determination in slight fascination. Yumi had never been forceful with her before.
"Brace yourself, Onee-sama."
And then it happened.
A sudden jolt gave the two half-a-second to prepare themselves before the elevator fell loose of its metal bonds. With a gasp, Sachiko was flung forward, hitting Yumi's body, but the younger girl was concentrating too much on not falling over to help in any way. She huffed as she tried to stand her ground and not topple backwards; Sachiko's arms instinctively pulled her closer as she almost lost the grip on the cold walls. Their hair flew above them as gravity pulled them downwards, their bags also airborne. Yumi's eyes were snapped shut with focus as she struggled to maintain the tread on the floor. Her knees buckled as the elevator fell, wanting to give in and drop onto the metal floor, but at the same time feeling as if they were going to be lifted off of the bottom. Metal screeched against metal loudly, filling up Yumi's ears until she could hear nothing else.
A resounding twang broke through the screech, like that of a taught rubber band, and the elevator abruptly jerked to a stop. It was then that Yumi crashed to the side, unprepared, smacking her head against the hard metal surface of the wall with a cry of pain.
After that, silence prevailed.
XOXOX
After what felt like hours, the two shocked girls were pulled out of their frozen frames, and for Yumi, it was painful.
She was standing in front of a shaken Sachiko, worried at the girl's petrified face, and when she'd moved to touch her, an insanely powerful wave of pain descended onto her, next to her left ribbon.
"Ahh!" Yumi exclaimed, her hands immediately rising to cradle her head. She stumbled to the side, holding her head in her hands as her vision went a little fuzzy. Her cry snapped Sachiko out of her shell-shocked state.
"Yumi?!" Sachiko quickly stepped forward to catch Yumi around her waist, to stop her falling over, "Yumi, what's wrong?!"
"My head…God, ow!" The younger girl complained mid-moan as her fingers brushed over a rapidly-forming bump. Her brown eyes watered as a jolt of pain hit. "Ouch, oww…" she whimpered, her eyes watering.
"You need to sit down, Yumi, before you faint." Sachiko calmly instructed, though inside there was inner turmoil, slowly letting the girl down onto the floor.
Yumi grit her teeth to stop more sounds of pain. Wordlessly, Sachiko knelt down beside her and undid both of Yumi's ribbons, letting her hair fall down loosely past her shoulders. Privately, Sachiko thought Yumi looked even more stunning when her hair was down, but now wasn't the time to voice those thoughts.
"Which side did you hit?" She softly inquired, as if a loud voice would cause the girl more discomfort. She brushed Yumi's unshed tears away before they had the chance to fall.
"This side…" Yumi mumbled, tilting her head towards the left, "Just in front of where my ribbon was."
Sachiko fell silent again as she threaded her nimble fingers through Yumi's satin-like locks, combing it to one side so that she could check that there was no blood coming from the wound.
Yumi was equally as quiet as Sachiko's fingers danced through her hair. Her focus moved from the throbbing bump to the feather-like touches, as she marvelled at the gentle caresses. Her vision was clearing a little – maybe Sachiko's fingers had healing magic in them. She giggled at the thought. But then an involuntary "Ouch!" was emitted when those slim fingers brushed over the bump, cutting off her moment of laughter.
"I'm sorry, Yumi." Sachiko apologized as said girl flinched, "I don't mean to hurt you."
She pulled her hand back and sighed with relief, "It's not bleeding," she smiled at Yumi, but then it turned into a frown as she added, "But you're going to have a very nasty bruise there."
Before Yumi could respond, an unknown male voice crackled through a speaker above them, "Are you girls okay?"
The two Chinensis looked at each other, and then to the ceiling. "Press the red button on the panel," the voice continued, "and I'll be able to hear you."
Yumi looked back to Sachiko's porcelain face quickly, and then winced as her head throbbed to remind her of her injury. She closed her eyes and inhaled to make the pounding go down, and then proceeded to look at her onee-sama. It looked like the older girl was remembering the situation they were in, and her anger was starting to emerge. Her blue eyes narrowed, her lips pursed and her breathing was uneven as she started for the panel. Sachiko's 'angry-face' would be able to stop an invading, spear-shaking army of the most fearless, courageous, dangerous men ever right in their tracks, Yumi mused. Not many people who went against Sachiko's fury escaped the ordeal with their mind in one piece.
Yumi slowly rushed to her feet as she thought of the peril the un-suspecting man would be in, feeling a little bad for him. "May I, Onee-sama?" She hastily asked, catching her sœur's wrist.
Sachiko's jaw set tightly, but she nodded.
I think she knows her anger can get uncontrollable, Yumi thought as she stepped towards the panel, her head still throbbing, yet she didn't feel woozy anymore.
She pushed the red button, as instructed, and spoke into the intercom, "Hello?"
The man replied immediately, "Hey! Are you two alright?" His loud voice made Yumi wince slightly, but she ignored it.
"Yes, we're fine," She answered, keeping her eyes on Sachiko. She stood impossibly still, and her frown grew when Yumi gave her answer. She mumbled something under her breath in a frustrated manner, which sounded something like "The bump on your head says otherwise."
"What exactly happened?" Yumi asked as she reached for Sachiko, beckoning her closer. A relieved smile formed on her face as their hands came into contact with each other, and her pounding head dulled a little. Maybe Onee-sama really does have healing magic… Or maybe it's just Onee-sama and the effect she has on me… She stopped herself from continuing that train of thought before that voice came back and her headache multiplied.
"The metal bonds that lift the elevator broke," the man explained, sounding apologetic, "and you dropped several floors."
"Yes, I heard something above us groan before we fell," Yumi remembered, her eyes turning thoughtful as she played with the older girl's fingers in an effort to calm her down. It seemed to work a little, as Sachiko's blue orbs lost a little of their anger, softening. "So, how bad is it?" Yumi continued. She was surprised at how calm she was about the whole ordeal. Maybe her head injury was why she was composed. But that seemed a little silly. Injuries were supposed to hurt (which yes, this one did) and make you tearful, upset, and prone to overreacting.
"Well, the good news is that the emergency breaks kicked in," the man said, "They were designed for a situation like this. And they worked perfectly fine, but…" he trailed off.
"But…?" Yumi probed, anxious. Sachiko's brow furrowed as they waited for him to respond.
The man sighed, and Yumi imagined him to be running a hand through his hair in frustration, "But they didn't engage at the right time. They worked, but right now you two are stuck between floors two and three." He sighed again, "I'm sorry."
At his apology, Sachiko's anger instantly returned. "Sorry?!" She half-shouted through the intercom, making Yumi flinch, "This is meant to be a top class department store! You've barely been open a week! Just what exactly are you going to do about this?!" She slammed her palm onto the metal wall in irritation.
"Onee-sama!" Yumi protested, quickly lifting her hand off of the intercom button to hold Sachiko's. "Onee-sama, please…" Yumi gazed into the beautiful face which was purposely not looking at her, those endless eyes hidden by raven locks as the elder girl's face tilted downwards.
"I can't stand it…" Sachiko muttered, her hand clenching into a fist.
Yumi's eyes took in the frustrated stance her sœur was positioned in. She saw this side of Sachiko more often than most people, but it was still uncommon enough for her to be a little shocked by it. Her eyes widened as Sachiko's lip quivered slightly, and she immediately took the woman's cheeks in her hands. "Look at me, Onee-sama," she softly demanded. Then, when her sœur did not move, "Look at me," she repeated.
Slowly, sea-blue eyes turned to her, and Yumi stifled a small gasp as she saw that they were misted over, like they were gathering tears. As the salty water welled in Sachiko's eyes, a powerful wave of emotion came over the younger girl. She tenderly brushed the back of her hand against the smooth skin of the Ogasawara, holding azure eyes in a gaze full of care as she understood Sachiko's emotions.
Needing no invitation, Yumi moved her arms to around the girl's neck and pulled her close, standing on her tiptoes to rest her head on the taller girl's shoulder. The reply was instantaneous, as slender arms wrapped tightly around her back and came to the top of Yumi's neck in an automatic response, as if Sachiko were trying to mould Yumi to her.
"Onee-sama," Yumi breathed, stroking raven strands tenderly, "I'm fine. Really, I am."
"You're not, Yumi," Sachiko choked on her words, cradling Yumi's head, "you're injured. You frightened me; I thought you were going to pass out."
Yumi was touched by Sachiko's worry. She adored every part of her onee-sama, and the love and concern the older girl showed were two of her favourites.
"I know, and I'm sorry," Yumi soothed, "but this is no-one's fault. Okay? Please don't blame yourself for this, Onee-sama. It's just an unfortunate accident."
"I know, I just… I hate to see you hurt. It hurts me too." Sachiko took a shuddering breath as she tried not to let the tears fall.
"I'm sorry," Yumi apologized again, sighing at herself, "I don't mean to hurt you," she mirrored Sachiko's words from earlier.
"Oh, Yumi, it isn't your fault," Sachiko immediately replied, the salty liquid beginning to drop at the thought of Yumi blaming herself. "Please, don't ever say that something like this is your fault." She pulled away slightly, moving her left hand to cup Yumi's cheek. "No one could have predicted this," she continued as two tears broke through their boundaries and fell onto porcelain cheeks, "but I… I…" She broke off, unable to say any more.
Yumi slowly brought her hands up to Sachiko's face, catching the right tear on her index finger, and then silently moving to the other cheek, catching that one as well. "Onee-sama…" Yumi whispered, gazing into Sachiko's blue orbs.
"I love you, Yumi." Sachiko whispered back, raising her hand to Yumi's, holding it to her cheek, "Don't scare me like that again."
"I'll try not to," Yumi smiled, leaning into the touch.
"Good," Sachiko's lips turned upwards and she stroked the younger girl's face briefly before pulling away. "I think I should apologize now," she stepped around Yumi and faced the button panel, "It wasn't his fault that we're in this situation."
Yumi nodded, watching fondly as Sachiko pressed the intercom button and said sorry to the man on the other end, her cheeks a little red from Sachiko's small proclamation of love . I love you too, Onee-sama. I just wish you knew how much.
XOXOX
At least four hours. Yumi smiled a little at that earlier piece of information. She and Sachiko were trapped in an elevator for at least four glorious hours.
Whilst her Onee-sama seemed frustrated at the news, Yumi was elated. Sure, she was planning on spending the day with her anyway, but now there was no shopping to do, no distractions, no interruptions of their time together. No onlookers either… she thought, but immediately shook that idea out of her head. True, Sachiko had gotten the intercom man (who was apparently named Takeda) to turn off the CCTV, but she did have to threaten him with her name to do it.
"It's a breach of protocol!" Takeda argued through the intercom.
"I don't care what it is," Sachiko snapped – she was really getting annoyed with this man, "If we are to be stuck here for four hours then I will not have those four hours watched on camera! This is not an episode of Big Brother! I am Ogasawara Sachiko, and I will personally make sure you are fired from this store and never hired again by any other if you don't turn it off!"
At that point Yumi had intervened and said to Takeda that submission was always the best course of action for men. Yumi had to explain that the Ogasawara's did have that sort of power, so it was really better to just do as Onee-sama had said. After a bit of grumbling from Takeda, threats from Sachiko and sweet-talking from Yumi, the man had relented and promised them that he had turned the cameras off.
As Yumi recalled the argument from her spot on the floor, she thought about what she had said about Sachiko. Oh, gosh. I was really rude! She realised. Is that why Onee-sama is so frustrated? She turned her mocha eyes towards her sœur who was standing with her arms folded and a frown marring her beautiful face. She thinks I was insulting her!
"O-Onee-sama!" Yumi quickly rose to her feet, snapping the older girl out of her brooding.
"Yes, Yumi?" The frown melted away at once.
"I, um," Yumi mumbled, staring into Sachiko's eyes.
"Is there a problem?" Sachiko asked, growing concerned.
"I…" Yumi bowed lowly, looking at the floor, "I'm really sorry for what I said back there, Onee-sama! I didn't mean any of it; I just said it to make that man agree with you! I didn't mean to offend you!"
Yumi's hair fell around her shoulders, and her fringe hung over her downcast eyes, so she couldn't see Sachiko's reaction to her panicked apology. She squeezed her eyes shut and clasped her hands together, hoping that her onee-sama would forgive her. For a few seconds she waited in agitation, until a small bell-like laugh rang through the elevator. Slowly, she opened one eye to peer up at the older girl. The other eye snapped open almost immediately after, as a warm hand cupped her chin and her face was tilted upwards.
"Oh, Yumi, you silly mare," Sachiko smiled, her eyes full of love and amusement, "I know that. I wasn't offended in the slightest."
Yumi's shoulders visibly relaxed, and a sigh of relief escaped her lips as she straightened up. "Good," she breathed, "I thought you were annoyed with me."
"Never," Sachiko grinned, stroking the back of her hand against Yumi's cheek.
Yumi blushed from the attention she was receiving from the goddess in front of her. She thanked Maria-sama that Sachiko came into her life when she did. She knew she didn't deserve the older girl, so again she whole-heartedly thanked the Holy Mother for giving her this blessing.
She watched with fascination as Sachiko's face turned worried as her hand travelled from the smooth skin of her cheek to the tender area of the bump emerging on Yumi's head. "How's your head now?" She asked softly, tracing the perimeter of the bruise.
"It throbs a little," Yumi admitted, "But I'm sure it will stop soon. It lessened earlier when you… when you combed through my hair," she finished softly, her blush increasing ten-fold as she found a seemingly interesting spot on the wall to stare at.
A moment of silence passed before Sachiko finally said, "Well if that helped ease your pain, Yumi, would you let me do it again?"
Yumi's eyes widened a little at the words. A little stunned, she turned to her onee-sama and nodded slightly. With the nod came a shy smile from the younger girl, and she watched Sachiko smile back at her before settling herself on the floor, leaning against the wall. Sachiko patted the floor in between her legs, indicating for Yumi to place herself there.
At the gesture, Yumi's face flushed a deep scarlet once more. She hesitantly took a step forward, a little unsure that Sachiko meant what she thought she did. Sachiko seemed to notice her tentativeness, and extended an encouraging hand to her. Sliding her hand into the soft larger one, Yumi knelt down and turned around, sitting in the 'v' of Sachiko's long legs.
Yumi's breath hitched as Sachiko's other hand snaked around her waist, joining the one at the front, tantalizingly brushing against her clothed skin as it went. Sachiko didn't seem to notice, and just pulled Yumi back against her chest.
Now leaning against the older girl, Yumi's tension evaporated completely and she totally relaxed as Sachiko's skilled hands left her abdomen and rested on her head, masterfully weaving their way through brown silky locks. She let out a sigh of content.
"I thought that maybe it would be best to be comfortable," Sachiko's velvet voice drifted into her ears in a soft tone, "seeing as for the next four hours or so I'm going to be stuck with you."
Yumi let out a happy "Mm," of agreement, resting one of her hands on her stomach, and the other one on Sachiko's left leg, and started drawing lazy circles there.
"And despite the circumstances," Sachiko murmured so lowly that Yumi had to strain to hear, "I wouldn't have it any other way."
Wachaa! And so, the second official chapter of Stuck With You is out! I hope you all like it, it took quite a while to write. Muchos thankies to my wonderful Beta who gave the all-clear for this chappy. I give you a huge chocolate brownie for that, Beta-chan =]
Congrats to the 8 people that got the challenge right: tears of the soul, 8D, random reviwer (brilliant name), lilgumba, Minagi Ito (massive fan, by the way), computerhog654, Madlax and Senshixxl. You all get a celebratory muffin. Totally correct, they were Eclair and Lumiere from Kiddy Grade. Awesome anime, for those who haven't seen it. Get past the confusingness and it's brilliant =P. For those people who guessed and didn't get it, good on you anyways =] You all get a consolation muffin XD
So, reviews? Reviews are very nice. I like reviews. And they're even better when I get them from you guys!! =D