Disclaimer: Nothing's mine but the plot!

A/N: This chapter focuses mainly on the side relationships (Shimako/Noriko, Rei/Yoshino) because the next chapter will be ALL Sachiko/Yumi and the last chapter {except maybe an epilogue, depending})

Chapter Twelve

The day before the festival, both the Yamayurikai and the Hanadera student council were desperately trying to get every last line memorized and every scene perfected.

Noriko was practicing her lines with Yoshino while Shimako practiced her minor lines with Yuuki, the only ones she hadn't managed to memorize. However, it was pointless, seeing as Noriko couldn't tear her eyes away from her onee-sama and Yumi's older brother who seemed to be touching Shimako a bit more than the script called for. Eventually, she and Yoshino simply gave up once the latter spotted a group of fangirls clustered around Rei and stormed over to break up the mob.

Slowly, Noriko approached Shimako and Yuuki, who seemed to be enjoying their rehearsal a lot more than the two en boutons had been and slipped her arm through her onee-sama's on the pretense of watching them rehearse. Unfortunately, it was difficult for Shimako to concentrate on her own lines with Noriko so close, so she smiled to Yuuki in apology as she allowed Noriko to pull her out of the gymnasium for a short break.

PGBR

"Noriko."

Her petite soeur ignored her as she led them across Lillian, towards the ginkgo trees, and Shimako finally had to stop walking completely for Noriko to turn around and face her.

"Noriko," she began softly, stepping forward and brushing Noriko's cheek with a soft, cool hand. "You haven't been acting like yourself recently..."

"I wonder why." Noriko's reply was brief and unusually bitter, especially considering that it was directed to her onee-sama. "I mean, it can't have anything to do with the fact that he's practically infatuated with you and you don't feel the need to inform him that you're not interested," she stated with heavy sarcasm. "Unless...unless you are...and in that case-" She was silenced by Shimako's finger on her lips just as a single tear was running down her cheek.

"Don't cry," she murmured as she kissed the tear away before pulling back and gazing at her petite soeur with a weak smile. "It makes me want to cry."

"Well what I am 'sposed to do?" Noriko cried, her voice almost a yell as she pulled away from her painfully silent onee-sama. "You never made things clear so how am I supposed to know if you want me or not?"

Shimako grimaced at the pain that she had caused her beloved petite soeur for a moment before pulling the distressed girl into her arms and resting her chin on Noriko's shoulder as she felt the quiet sobs wrack her body. "Well then let me make them clear now," she said as she ran her fingers up and down Noriko's heaving back. "I love you, and only you, and I'll never love anyone but you, so will you please be my girlfriend?"

Noriko pulled away, smiling through the tears as she watched her onee-sama duck down to check her expression and nodded slowly.

"Good," Shimako said and left her words at that as she felt Noriko wrap her arms around her shoulders.

Their lips met beneath the ginkgo trees, salty from their tears and yet sweet with the feelings that had finally been revealed.

And when the kiss broke, they stayed intertwined and Shimako retrieved Noriko's still shaking hand and pressed a slow, gentle kiss to each of her fingers as a silent promise of her love.

PGBR

"Rei-chan!"

Rei looked up and a bead of sweat dropped down her cheek as she saw her small, feminine-looking cousin storming towards the sea of girls.

"Move it! Back off!"

"Yoshino-chan...," Rei groaned as Yoshino dragged her off into a corner of the gym. She loved her cousin more than anything- more than she wanted to- but Yoshino had a mean jealous streak that only seemed to strengthen with age.

"Don't 'Yoshino-chan' me!" the girl with the braided hair retorted. "You were flirting with them!" Her finger was pointed directly into Rei's face, who gently eased her arm down.

"I wasn't flirting with them," she replied quietly, looking down at her cousin's eyes. Whenever Yoshino got like this, all anyone else saw was a girl who was overly possessive of her onee-sama. Rei saw the hurt behind the anger- no matter how unlikely it was that Rei actually felt anything for any of the fangirls, Yoshino couldn't help but to be jealous. It was just her nature.

"Yeah, well you weren't telling them to back off, either," Yoshino muttered. "I thought the whole keeping up appearances gimmick was Sachiko-sama's thing."

"Yoshino-chan..."

"Kiss me."

"What?"

Yoshino groaned in aggravation. "If you don't feel anything for anyone else, kiss me," she demanded, her chin tilted up in defiance.

Rei sighed. "Yoshino, we're...we're cousins," she said sadly, knowing that Yoshino would take her words as proof that she did love someone else.

"So are Sachiko-sama and that switch-hitter Kashiwagi," Yoshino shot back. "And they're going to get married."

Married... The thought of being married to Yoshino was welcoming to Rei as she imagined being to wake up next to her beloved cousin every day, but she forced herself to focus. "Yoshino..."

It wasn't her fault, it really wasn't- it's just that when Yoshino's lower lip started to tremble, all bets were off. Yoshino never cried, and maybe that was why Rei couldn't bear to see it when she did. So she did the easiest thing in the world and closed the gap between those trembling lips and her own. And through the kiss, she felt Yoshino smile, and the guilt simply disappeared to leave room for the sensation of the soft, fervent lips against her own. "I'm the only one...," Yoshino murmured into Rei's ear after they broke apart, their lips remaining millimeters away. Though it wasn't phrased as a question, Rei could sense Yoshino's hesitation.

"Forever."