Yumi stopped in front of the statue of Maria-sama the following Monday morning and bowed her head to pray.
Thank you, Maria-sama, for the gift of my new friend Katsura-san. We spent most of the day yesterday laughing together as we cleaned our bathroom and she helped me make dinner for the rest of the girls and Sister Agatha. She even helped me clean up afterwards. We then spent a lovely hour sipping tea and eating some cookies that Sister Agatha baked for us. It was one of the best days of my life, being able to be with and share those things with Katsura-san. Anyway, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I promise to do everything I can to be worthy of her friendship. Amen.
"Yumi-chan," she heard as she finished her prayer and turned to head towards her classroom.
She turned back. "R-Rosa Chinensis en Bouton?" she squeaked. She knew someone had stopped next to her to pray, but she had had no idea who it was!
"Would you walk with me, Yumi-chan?" Sachiko asked with a smile.
"O-of course!" Yumi stammered, shocked to be stopped by the Princess of Lillian, let alone have her speak to her.
"I wanted to apologize for what we put you through on Saturday, Yumi-chan," Sachiko said with what seemed to be real sorrow. "It must have seemed like an inquisition, but I promise you, Sei-sama was only concerned for you and your friend Katsura-san."
"Th-there is no need to apologize, Sachiko-sama," Yumi tried to tell the blue eyed beauty. "I know that Sei-sama was just concerned with knowing what kind of girl her petite soeur was involved with."
"Again, I believe you have it wrong, Yumi-chan," Sachiko said with another kind smile, "Both Sei-sama and Shimako-san were truly concerned about what this girl Kamakura-san was possibly planning on doing to get revenge on you and Katsura-san. You know, as members of the Yamayurikai, we are pledged to ensuring the proper care and well being of the students here at Lillian. Since both you and Katsura-san are such students, it is our responsibility to ensure that you are provided with an academic atmosphere that is free from intimidation and conducive to the learning experience. Can you agree with me so far?"
"Um, yes, I guess I can see that," Yumi said thoughtfully. She had to agree with the logic in Sachiko-sama's statements.
"Good. Then you can understand that our concern is not just for you and Katsura-san, but for all students that might be exposed to Kamakura-san's intimidation tactics. I just wanted to let you know that neither you, nor Katsura-san, nor anyone else will have to worry about Kamakura-san again. I made a few discrete phone calls this weekend and, without mentioning any names, I made it quite clear that such an attitude as she has been displaying over the past year or so is totally unacceptable to the Yamayurikai and to me personally. I have been assured that she will no longer be troubling you or anyone else again."
"S-Sachiko-sama, I don't know what to say. I'm sure that Katsura-san and everyone else will be extremely grateful," Yumi said.
"And you, Yumi-chan?" Sachiko asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Ah, well, of course, I am very grateful as well. It will be nice not to have to worry about retaliation for the trouble we caused on Friday. Thank you very much for your help, Sachiko-sama," Yumi said quite formally with a bow.
"You are most welcome, Yumi-chan," Sachiko said with another smile as they arrived at the entrance to the education building. Sachiko said her good-byes and they split to go to their individual shoe lockers.
Yumi was surprised that Sachiko-sama had wanted to speak with her. She, more than anyone on the Yamayurikai, had seemed to have the most difficulty dealing with Yumi on Saturday. Well, she probably just wanted me to let Katsura-san know the good news, Yumi thought.
In fact, Kamakura-san was not in class either that day or the next, and when she showed up again on Wednesday she wore a distinctly different attitude. She was almost obsequious in her actions and speech with both the teachers and the other students. She did not go so far as to apologize to either Yumi or Katsura, but neither did she mark them out for special treatment. That in itself was enough for Yumi.
She and Katsura-san got into the habit of walking back to the dorm together each day that Katsura-san did not have club activities. Even more surprising to Yumi, Shimako-san, and even sometimes Sei-sama would walk with her as far as the turn to the Rose Mansion. They only ever discussed classes and homework, although Sei-sama asked Yumi if she could look at more of her artwork. Yumi tried to decline politely, but the Rosa Gigantea seemed to be set on seeing them. She even went so far as to start teasing Yumi and hugging her which always caused Yumi to squeak, so much so that Sei-sama started calling Yumi her "little dinosaur." It was all so different, she wasn't sure exactly how to handle it, but neither could she say that she didn't like the attention. It was actually kind of nice.
Shimako also set up a weekly study session with some of the students in Yumi's classes and then asked Yumi if she would be willing to help out. Of course, Yumi was thrilled to help in any way she could and essentially ended up teaching a supplemental class for the group the way they all looked to her for assistance. Shimako was always there to thank her and tell her how great it was that there was someone with the intelligence and capability to teach that they could rely on.
Even Youko-sama and Eriko-sama asked her if she could stop by the Rose Mansion and give them a hand in their Yamayurikai duties a couple of days a week. They always praised Yumi's efforts in everything that she did, even if it was just in making tea.
One day, a couple of months later, Yumi stopped again in front of the statue of Maria-sama to pray on her way back to the dorm, but she was almost too giddy to try. Sachiko-sama, who had seemed to take a special interest in Yumi and always seemed to want her by her side at the meetings, had actually asked her opinion about a certain issue the week before and, when Yumi had finally been forced to speak, it was Yumi's recommendation that they had acted upon. She was so happy at the time, but also somewhat afraid that it would be all her fault if it all went wrong. Yet it had all turned out great. Even the club president that had been involved told her that it was a wonderful idea and that she was going to recommend it to the other clubs.
Yumi was still so happy when she reached the dorm that she had gone into the common room and, for the first time in almost three years, had sat down at the ancient upright piano and played a couple of songs. She knew she was rusty, but even that didn't worry her as she skipped up to her room to change before going to take care of her precious plants in the conservatory.
Sister Agatha, who had been watching from the corridor when she saw Yumi arrive, was shocked at the change in her little girl. She knew she had to remember to thank Sei-chan the next time she saw her.
-oo-
"I'm sorry, Ojou-sama, but there is still nothing. We are trying our best," the man on the other end of Sachiko's cell phone said.
"I'm sure you are, and thank you for all your hard work. Please keep at it and let me know immediately if you find anything at all," she replied.
"Of course, Ojou-sama," he responded just before she hit the 'End' button.
It had been months and there was still no news. Sachiko was totally frustrated but could certainly not show that to any of her Yamayurikai friends as they sat around the table in the meeting room. Within days of meeting Yumi Fukuzawa she had hired a prestigious detective firm – one not already associated with her family – to do everything in their power to find out the history of this girl before she arrived at Lillian. She thought she had provided them with everything they needed, but it was still taking far too long. It was like Yumi simply appeared on earth the day she was dropped on the doorstep of a church just outside of Musashino by a person or people unknown. Her name came from a tag that had been sown into the collar of the torn and filthy jacket she had been wearing. The only thing she carried was a tiny photo of herself. It had been clutched so tightly in her hand that it took three doctors to gently pry it from her tiny fist even after she had been given a heavy sedative. Her fingers were so stiff one doctor sarcastically commented that it seemed as if they hadn't been moved in over a year.
It turned out that Yumi had glossed over the atrocities described in the medical reports from when she was first examined by the doctors. It was no wonder she continued to wear long sleeves and sweatpants in gym class even though the temperatures had warmed. The photos Sachiko had seen of the seven year old Yumi's emaciated body showed scars up and down her arms, all over her chest, stomach and back, her legs, even the soles of her feet. Both her vagina and her anus also showed evidence of multiple, repeated tears and scarring from the brutal rapes that she had had to endure. It seemed that no part of her body except her face had been spared. Some of the scars would have faded over time, but the simple quantity . . . looking over the photos had made her sick once again and she had cried herself to sleep on more nights than she could count.
And yet, having Yumi at her side in the Rose Mansion had seemed to bring her a greater peace than she had ever felt before. It wasn't just that Yumi seemed to want to do anything and everything for her that she could; Sachiko had servants that performed those types of duties for her every day. Nor was it that Yumi so obviously admired her and looked up to her. No, it was that Yumi seemed to truly enjoy being around her; and she enjoyed being around the sweet, kind, and caring Yumi.
Yumi still had problems speaking her mind and saying how she truly felt, and that could be extremely frustrating at times, but it came as no surprise to Sachiko. Yumi had spent so many years worrying only about others that thinking of herself was almost an alien concept to her. But she was slowly opening up, and the mind behind that adorable, expressive face was amazing. The solution she had come up with for the captain of the fencing club's budgetary issues had been nothing short of brilliant. She had heard that almost every club at the school was now implementing Yumi's recommendations, resulting in significant savings for all of them.
Still, she could sometimes see that Yumi's vision of who she was had not changed appreciably. Sachiko frequently noticed a particular expression on the young girl's face that showed she still thought of herself as less than a normal human being; unworthy of the accolades that were deservedly being showered upon her. Every member of the Yamayurikai, along with Sister Agatha and Katsura-san, was doing everything they could to bolster Yumi's confidence and self-esteem. They had made some progress, but nowhere near as much as they had hoped.
It was going to be a long process. Sachiko knew instinctively that whatever it was that had happened before Yumi arrived at Lillian was the key to saving the troubled girl's soul. The detective agency she had put on the case was one of the best in the business and they were still running into roadblocks and dead ends. She was just going to have to break down and tell them about Yuuki as well.
What she knew of Yuuki's past, once she really started thinking about it, wasn't much more than what she knew about Yumi's. Yuuki had been brought to the Ogasawara estate about ten years prior and she had been told that he was the son of a friend of her father's that had died. That had been enough for the seven year old Sachiko and she had never seen a need to learn any more than that.
No, the detectives would have to sign a non-disclosure agreement, but if it took adding Yuuki-kun's name and photo to their list of information then she would do it if it would save the girl that Sachiko had realized she was coming to love.
If she had offered her rosary to Yumi before this, if she had asked Yumi to become her petite soeur, Yumi would have immediately thought that it was being offered as an act of pity. That was something that Sachiko could never do. It would break the poor girl's heart and set her back so badly that she might never recover. Sachiko dearly wanted that girl to be by her side always. She just had to do it in such a way that Yumi would accept.
She decided that after the Yamayurikai meeting she would call the lead detective and request a meeting. She would tell them about Yuuki and see if that did anything to help in their search for Yumi's past.
-oo-
Providing what meager information Sachiko had on her adopted brother ended up being the key that the detectives needed to unlock the mystery of Yumi Fukuzawa's past. It turned out that when Sachiko's father, Tooru Ogasawara, was in college at Todai he met a young man by the name of Takahiro Aoki. The two became fast friends and stayed in touch even after Takahiro moved to the US to start a business as a government contractor. The Aokis frequently returned to Japan for vacations and to catch up with old friends, especially the Ogasawaras, and often took their children to the local sightseeing spots.
Then, one evening, Takahiro and his family became the victims of a home invasion where both parents were brutally murdered while their two children looked on. The children, a boy and a girl six years old, born less than a year apart, were separated by the invaders and the boy was thrown into a closet in one of the bedrooms. The boy heard his sister screaming and calling out his name even as he desperately pounded on the door to try to get free before he passed out from the terror and exhaustion. When he came to the next morning all he heard was silence. Finally daring to explore he found his parents still where their killers had left them, but there was no sign of his sister. He was able to make it to a neighbor's house before he collapsed.
The police investigated, but due to the delay in reporting, the trail had long gone cold. The Amber Alert issued as soon as it was known that the daughter was missing garnered no results. After almost a year of fruitless investigation it was determined that the killers had probably gotten away across the border. They hoped that the body of the little girl, or her bones, would eventually be found. Since crimes of this nature were fairly common in the area they lived the story in the local paper barely rated an inch or two of coverage.
Takahiro Aoki's will assigned guardianship of any surviving children to his good friend Tooru Ogasawara. Within two weeks of the murders, Yuuki Aoki was living at the Ogasawara estate outside of Tokyo, Japan. Within another month, he had been legally adopted and his name changed to Yuuki Ogasawara. Nothing was ever found regarding his missing sister.
Medical records from the Yumi Fukuzawa case were compared against those of Yuuki Aoki-Ogasawara. According to those records, the likelihood that Yumi was the missing Aoki daughter approached seventy percent. DNA extracted from the roots of hairs removed from the brush found in Yumi's dorm room by someone who would always remain nameless made up the final thirty percent. Yumi Fukuzawa had been born Yasumi Aoki.
The report and supporting documentation provided to Sachiko by the head of the detective agency at a small bistro near Lillian was as complete and professional as anything her father could have wished for if he knew about it. More importantly, it was sufficient for any government official to ensure that Yumi could be legally adopted by the Ogasawaras in accordance with her father's will.
The only question left to Sachiko was what to do with the information now that she had it!
-oo-
"Yumi-san," Shimako asked her after class one day, "would you like to walk together to the Rose Mansion?"
"Ah, not today Shimako-san," Yumi replied cheerfully, "Katsura-san and the rest of the tennis club are having a friendly, inter-school tennis match today and I promised I would come by and cheer for her."
"Oh, well, please give her my best and tell her that I will be rooting for her, Yumi-san," Shimako grinned.
"I will. I'll see you tomorrow, Shimako-san," Yumi called as the Angel of Lillian left the room with another smile and a wave.
Yumi cheered for her friend as she won two out of three of her tennis matches. Katsura-san waved and grinned at her with a bright smile. By the time the tournament was over the sun was setting and the lights had been turned on for the courts. Yumi decided to wait for Katsura-san so that the two of them could walk back to the dorm together. She took a seat on a small mound just outside the lights that illuminated the now empty tennis courts. She had been looking towards the small clubhouse building, expecting to see Katsura-san come out after her shower, when movement on the courts caught her eye. Katsura and another girl were walking out towards the center court. Yumi stayed quiet and just watched, holding her breath.
Katsura-san and the other girl stopped at center court right next to the net and faced each other. Yumi saw the other girl's mouth move as she took something out of her skirt pocket and then Katsura-san nodded. Katsura then bowed her head slightly as her sempai, Yumi now realized, put her rosary around Katsura-san's neck. It was the first time Yumi had ever seen a soeur ceremony and her eyes started to tear. She wasn't sure what she was feeling. She was very happy for Katsura-san, but for some reason her heart also hurt. She found herself having difficulty breathing as tears traced silent rivers down her cheeks.
Katsura-san and her new grande soeur embraced briefly before turning and heading back towards the clubhouse hand-in-hand. Yumi stood and, not knowing why, began running back towards the dorm, tears flowing from her eyes and sobs catching in her throat. Katsura-san was now a petite soeur. She had someone that she could be with, someone she could have fun with and learn from. She had a big sister.
Yumi had not been watching where she was running but found herself at the foot of the statue of Maria-sama. She collapsed sobbing behind one of the ornamental hedges and stared up at the serene face of the Madonna.
Maria-sama . . . I . . . I should be happy for her . . . I am happy for her . . . she has a big sister . . . an onee-sama. Then why . . . why . . . does my chest . . . hurt . . . so much? I . . . I have . . . a . . . family . . . already . . . don't I? All the girls . . . at the dorm . . . and Sister Agatha . . . aren't . . . aren't they . . . my family? Isn't . . . that enough . . . for me? For someone . . . like . . . me? Isn't that . . . all . . . I . . . can expect? For . . . someone . . . like me?