OMG an update! I am SO sorry it took so long! BTW, this fic is nowhere near finished; thanks to some of my reviewers, I noticed that I have some loose ends to tie up! So from now on, chapters will probably focus more on certain pairs than the whole Yamayuri Council. Reviews=Love and Updates!

In this chapter: Shimako and Noriko semi-fluff, plus that whole thing with Kashiwagi and Yamato- talk about explosive duos.

A/N: Sorry about the overall lack of Yellow Rose action so far; Yoshino and Rei have never really been my favorites as far as pairings go because I tend to prefer drama and major romance to something that's already quite established. But I will add more, I promise!

Disclaimer: Nothing's mine but the plot!

Chapter Fourteen

After the play, Shimako met up with Noriko beneath the ginkgo trees.

"You were wonderful," she said softly, stepping towards her petite soeur and planting a sweet kiss on her forehead.

"So were you, Shimako-san," Noriko replied, feeling uncharacteristically shy beneath her onee-sama's unusually intense gaze. "Although I think Yuuki-kun might have been a little more forward than necessary for his part...maybe I'll have a talk with Yumi-san and get him to back off..." By this time, the black-haired girl was mumbling to herself, staring down at the ground as she thought out her master plan.

"Noriko," Shimako murmured in her soft, calm voice, taking Noriko's chin in her hand and making the younger girl look in her eyes. "I love you." She ducked forward and pressed a brief kiss to Noriko's lips, intending it to be only for a second.

But something came alive inside of Noriko, hearing her onee-sama say those words so definitively and without hesitation. Raising her arms, she slipped them around Shimako's neck and leaned into her onee-sama, causing Shimako to stumble back into a tree as Noriko revived the kiss with a passion.

Shimako was frozen in place for only a moment before she came to her senses and wrapped on arm around her petite soeur's waist, her opposite hand slipping behind Noriko's hair to hold the back of her neck, pulling her closer. She pressed a long kiss to Noriko's lips before pulling away for just a moment and recapturing them over and over again.

The kiss only ended when Shimako broke away from Noriko's lips to place a firm kiss to the hollow of her neck. Noriko's arms wrapped around her shoulders lazily, but still holding her onee-sama in place as she continued her path up the column of her neck. When she reached her jawline, Shimako placed a lingering kiss to the area before straightening slowly, her forehead pressed to her petite soeur's. "We should get back," she mumbled, leaning against the tree, allowing Noriko to remain pressed against her. "They'll wonder if we've been kidnapped."

"I'm pretty sure Yamato-sama will be more than happy to fill them in on her side of the story," Noriko replied, rolling her eyes. She didn't miss the way Shimako tensed slightly beneath her and couldn't help but smile, just a little bit; her onee-sama was so naturally calm and composed that it was a rare sight to see her jealous or possessive over anything, let alone Noriko. She knew she owed Yamato more than she could ever repay her.

"Yamato-san needs to remember her place sometimes," Shimako said under her breath, and Noriko giggled; it wasn't like her onee-sama to make underhanded remarks, even when they weren't really insulting at all.

Noriko thought about everything that had transpired since Yamato appeared; Sachiko's lessened self control, Yoshino's admittedly unchanged possessive determination...and she couldn't forget where she was standing right now, in her onee-sama's arms as Shimako pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"I don't think she's ever forgotten it."

PGBR

Back in front of the main building, Yamato was leaning against a brick wall, bracing herself with one foot pressed to the side of the building. Once she spotted her target, she kicked away from the wall and sauntered over, darting in and out of the thinning crowd.

"Kashiwagi Suguru, right?" she asked a tall young man who bore a remarkable resemblance to the girl who'd stolen her younger sister's heart.

"And to whom do I owe this pleasure?" Suguru asked, smirking mildly. "You're one of Sacchan's friends, I assume."

Yamato made a slight, uncomfortable face. "Friends, acquaintances...annoyances, what's the difference? I'm Himeya Yamato, Fukuzawa Yumi-chan's half sister," she said, not bothering to take Suguru's outstretched hand. "I only wanted to tell you that if you or that stuck up, frostbitten cousin of yours do anything to hurt my baby sister, not even all of Daddy's precious riches will be able to reconstruct your internal anatomy."

Suguru raised his eyebrows, amused. "I assure you, I have no intention of hurting our darling Yumi-chan, nor does Sacchan. She cares for her quite a bit."

"Quite," Yamato deadpanned. "But I don't think that'll stop her from hurting Yumi- you're tied down by your family, right?"

He sighed. "Unfortunately, there is a business deal," he agreed. "But Yumi-chan is well aware of it. It's not anything new; she knows that Sachiko's first duty is to her family. Our family. Sacchan is my cousin; I want her to be happy, but there's nothing I can do about the arrangement."

Yamato scoffed. "Cousins don't kiss cousins," she retorted scathingly. "Of all the things you've got going on, family's not one of them."

Suguru raised an eyebrow. "You wanted to talk to me, Himeya-san?"

"Yes," Yamato said, sighing. "I want to work out a deal, or at least help you out of this situation since I've obviously failed miserably at keeping those two apart. After the time I've spent around them, I don't think a rhinoceros could."

"A rhinoceros doesn't have Sacchan's temper," Suguru commented lightly, with a twinkle in his eye. She didn't like him, but Yamato decided he wasn't a bad person, overall. "I'll help you, but I can't guarantee that we'll be able to break free of this arrangement."

Yamato nodded slowly and was about to say something else when she spotted Sachiko and Yumi over Suguru's shoulder. The handsome young man followed her gaze to where it rested on his cousin and her petite soeur; Yumi was wearing Sachiko's white, fur-rimmed jacket in the icy winter air while Sachiko was greeting relations rather half-heartedly, her arm never leaving Yumi's shoulders.

Suguru smiled. "You've already finished half your job, Himeya-san," he stated after a moment, glancing down at Yamato when she raised her head in acknowledgement. "You melted the ice queen."

Yamato shrugged. "I was going to make her do it in front of her mother so she couldn't deny it to anyone anymore," she said, "but I decided I should probably see if there's a better way, first." Yamato might have been Satou Sei's soul mate, but sometimes she thought it was better to think things through before jumping the gun. Figuring out Sachiko and Yumi's problem could wait for a little longer if it meant Yumi could be happier in the long run.