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Chapter Three
Yumi couldn't sit still- the trip up to a cabin in the mountains that the Yamayurikai had been planning for months was just a day away. Now she couldn't go five minutes without imagining herself and onee-sama together, Sachiko's warm arm around her waist in the freezing air...
No! Yumi shook her head violently, warranting a concerned look from Shimako and she immediately turned bright red. She had just been trying to rid her mind of the thoughts that could compromise her secret, but as usual her emotions had shone through spectacularly. Across the table, others' emotions were running just as free as Yumi's in this case: Yoshino had fastened herself to Rei's arm the minute she sat down, her expression set. Yumi knew she was looking forward to finally getting some alone time with her cousin, which she didn't get a lot of, surprisingly enough.
Noriko had been remarkably silent since the day before, when they had been told of the date of the trip, and whenever Shimako would express concern for her petite souer's wellbeing she would give an obviously forced smile and shift her eyes back down to her hands folded in her lap before her onee-sama could notice her blush. This was hard on Shimako-san- once Yumi caught her gazing worriedly at the rosary that was strung around her petite souer's wrist.
The only change in Touko was that she was clinging to Yumi more than ever, her expression set in a defiant scowl if anyone else tried to touch her and Yamato was only leaning back, her hands folded behind her head as she watched the door.
Surprisingly, Rosa Chinesis had yet to arrive, and Yumi was glancing worriedly at the door every few seconds until it flew open and Sachiko slid gracefully into the chair beside her petite souer. "I apologize for my lateness," she said in her musical voice- Yumi didn't hear because she hadn't completely adjusted to Sachiko's presence beside her.
"It's alright, Sachiko," Rei replied before taking the floor. "So you all remember our plan for the Yamayurikai Getaway trip, right?"
They all nodded- Yoshino so violently that her braids bounced up and down with the one nod. This is my chance with Rei-chan!
"Yes, well, we will all need to arrive here at Lillian around 5:00 tomorrow morning," Rei continued, ignoring Sachiko's pained grimace.
"How will we be getting there?" Yumi asked, curious.
Rei only smiled mysteriously. "You'll see..."
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Yumi's eyes were wide with a mixture of fear and happiness as she arrived at the school and spotted a yellow BMW parked haphazardly in front of the school. "S-Sei-sama..."
"Hola, Yumi-chan!" Sei was grinning brilliantly as she threw her arms around Yumi. "This was what I was here for the other day! Did you miss me?"
Yumi, whose gaze was set on the brilliantly yellow car, didn't reply immediately, her eyes wide. "Ah...hello, Sei-sama..."
"Yumi?"
The musical voice of her onee-sama came from behind her and Yumi quickly scurried over to Sachiko's side- Sei hadn't attacked her yet and she liked it that way. "Yes, onee-sama?"
"Touko-chan and I will be riding in my...chauffered car," she said slowly, gesturing to the long black car that was parked at a safe distance from Sei's death trap. "Would you like to ride with us?"
It was easy enough for Sachiko to call Yumi away from Yamato by claiming carsickness, though Yumi's half-sister suspected that Touko-chan's lap would do just as well. Rei and Yoshino ended up riding with Youko, leaving the others to their imminent doom.
Shimako led a trembling Noriko over to Sei's car, rubbing her back gently to reassure her, but Noriko pulled away after a moment- she could only handle so much closeness. On the driver's side, Yamato was already rearing to go, laughing with Sei and arguing about whether or not it was possible to jump the poor car from 0 to 60 in under five seconds.
Shimako frowned when Noriko shied away from her touch, but said nothing. It had been like this for a few weeks now, and she couldn't think of any possible explanations for Noriko's strange, repellant behavior but didn't want to risk losing her petite souer in case her true feelings accidentally shone through.
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In the end, they all made it to the cabin in one piece, though Shimako and Noriko both looked as though they might break at any given moment.
Yumi was just climbing out of the long, regal black car with Sachiko close behind. As soon as they got into the cold air, Yumi shivered involuntarily and her onee-sama looked down at her curiously. "Are you cold, Yumi?" she asked quietly.
"No!" Yumi said, too quickly because Sachiko frowned slightly. "I mean, I'm fine, onee-sama!" she said cheerfully, smiling up at the beautiful girl and trying not to shiver.
Yamato glanced over, hearing Yumi from Sei's car. "Do you need my jacket, Yu-chan?" she asked seriously, completely forgetting her pact to tease her sister's onee-sama until she went hysterical.
Completely ignoring Yumi's protests, Sachiko slipped her jacket off and drapped it around Yumi's trembling shoulders, glaring icily at Yamato. "Onee-sama," Yumi said resignedly. "You'll get sick."
"I'll be find, Yumi," Sachiko replied in a clipped voice. "All I need to keep me warm is you." And she wrapped her arm around Yumi's shoulder, pulling her into the cabin along with the other members of the Yamayurikai, but not before shooting Yamato a poisonous look that clearly stated: You might be her half-sister, but I'm her onee-sama, and I'm not going to give her up to you.