A/N: Thanks again to everyone for their comments and encouragement. Just as a reminder, when I decided to continue to write in the Hiromi Universe, I saw an opportunity to re-write and expand upon a story that had become very important to me; specifically the story of Yumi and Sachiko that I began with my First Loves: Vol 2 story. There was so much I wanted to put into the previous story that the 'songfic style' just did not allow. This chapter is a very good example of that. I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I do not own the MSGM characters. All such honors belong to Oyuki Konno.
"You know you need to tell her Shimako-chan," Sei told her petite soeur late one afternoon as the two shared jasmine tea at Mama Cho's. Sei and Shimako, unlike Yumi and Sachiko, only got together once or twice a month – just to keep in touch and make sure that the other was doing alright. Shimako was much less worried about her grande soeur now that she had some help from Youko-sama in watching over the tall blonde.
"I know onee-sama, and I'm going to. I just need to find the right time," Shimako responded with her trademark serene smile. "You know, I was very happy that you and Youko-sama finally got together after your trip to Italy last year. I am sure that finding closure with Shiori-san was difficult, but it at least allowed you to move on and find happiness with Youko-sama. I had always thought that I wanted to be a nun. It had been my dream for so long."
"'Had been', Shimako-chan, 'had been'," Sei grinned. "Those are the operative words. I knew as soon as I met you that you were not destined for a habit, but you needed to find that out on your own. My telling you wouldn't have made a difference to you then. Now . . . now you have a chance to make a life with someone that can truly make you happy; just as Youko has made me happy - finally! I bet you never expected your onee-sama to be so stupid sometimes," she said with a smirk.
"Oh, I knew it, but I also knew it would not make a difference for me to tell you so, onee-sama," Shimako giggled.
"Ah, I've been wounded," the older girl exclaimed, theatrically clutching her heart, and then chuckled before giving her petite soeur a thoughtful glance.
She had first seen Shimako-chan in the spring of her senior year as she had been standing beneath the sakura tree behind the education building. Her first thought as she had seen the beautiful girl was how much she reminded her of Shiori, but that brief image had been quickly dispelled. Shimako had run from that first meeting, but the two were soon thrown together again by Youko in one of her many bouts of meddling. No matter how hard Sei had tried to push her away, Shimako had remained, never attempting to come too close, simply being there should Sei ever need her for anything. It had scared her so much, this girl's ability to see straight through to Sei's soul and her needs. The mask Sei had so painfully built of a jovial, careless flirt had been effortlessly torn away under that tranquil but all-seeing gaze like some thin, wispy cloud on a windy day.
She was sure that it had been Youko's thinly veiled remarks to her petite soeur that had set Sachiko on the road to asking Shimako to be her petite soeur. Had she seen that Sei needed a push, some threat to their budding relationship, in order to force her to act? Sei had confronted Sachiko in the school's hallway one day and told her that she would never have Shimako as her petite soeur. And as she had thought, Shimako had rejected the Rosa Chinensis en Bouton's offer. When Sei had approached her later that same day, the girl with the dark blonde hair and angelic face had only smiled and held out her hand, offering her own heart and trust with an ease that had astounded Sei. It seemed that her acceptance of Sei's rosary had always been a foregone conclusion. To this day Sei was still unsure whether she had offered her rosary to Shimako or whether the girl had asked for it. Nor did it really matter.
The two had never formed the clinging, almost demanding relationship that most soeurs established. She and Shimako were happy to give each other the space and freedom that each one needed to live their lives. They were always there for each other if the need arose, and they supported each other probably more than most ever believed or thought possible. It was simply that the support they gave each other was different than everyone typically expected of a soeur relationship.
Even now, Sei was not providing advice on how Shimako should lead her life, or what she should do with that life. No, she was simply pointing out that a third person, Shimako's petite soeur and lover Noriko, had every right to know what it was that Shimako had decided to do with her life.
"All kidding aside, Shimako-chan," Sei said, getting back on topic, "you need to be fair to Noriko-chan. She deserves to know and she should hear it from your own lips."
"Yes, onee-sama," Shimako acquiesced with a shy smile, "you are right as usual. I am just a bit embarrassed about it."
"I swear, Shimako," Sei chided the girl in exasperation, "you can get twisted 'round the axel about the oddest of things. Noriko will jump for joy when you tell her. Why would you ever be embarrassed about it?"
"Alright, onee-sama, I will tell her tomorrow," Shimako finally agreed.
"Good. Now then, how about a sweet egg tart?"
-oo-
"Noriko, if you have a moment there is something I would like to discuss with you," Shimako said to her partner just after school classes ended the next day.
"Of course, onee-sama," the dark haired girl replied with her usual stoic expression as she presented Shimako with a cup of oolong tea in the meeting room of the Rose Mansion.
They were the only two in the room so far although the others – less Yumi who had started skipping school on Mondays and, usually, Tuesdays – were expected any minute.
"Not 'onee-sama', Noriko," Shimako said with a smile, "not for this discussion. It is just the two of us. Actually, in order to assure that it remains just the two of us, why don't we take our tea outside for a bit?"
"Ah, certainly Shimako," Noriko replied, this time with the smile that she saved for use only with her girlfriend, "just let me grab my tea."
The two girls, teacups in hand, walked down the squeaky staircase and through the kitchen to the back door of the mansion. There they sat at a small picnic table that had certainly seen better days but got so little use that it was not worth filling out a purchase requisition for a replacement and trying to force it through the administration. The day was chilly, but not quite cold enough to require the use of their coats. They would certainly need them when the sun started to set, but it was still warm enough just then to be able to forego the added bulk.
The two sat next to each other on the old wooden bench, their legs just barely grazing one another; one of their minor shows of intimacy that the rest of the student population would certainly take as accidental assuming that they even noticed. Although they had never attempted to keep their relationship a secret, neither had they gone out of their way to flaunt it nor were either of them were into public displays of affection. Why give the Lillian Kawaraban more grist for the gossip mill than was absolutely necessary? Noriko didn't think that Mami-sama would print a story on their love affair even if they made out in front of her. She was not like her onee-sama, Minako Tsukiyama, who would have been perfectly at home writing for The Enquirer. In fact, Noriko thought she remembered hearing from Mami-sama that Minako-sama had applied for a junior position at the Tokyo branch of the world-wide gossip rag. She couldn't remember whether she had actually gotten a position with them or not. Even if she had, it would have only been a part-time position since she was also going to university.
These thoughts floated through her mind as she waited for Shimako to tell her about whatever it was that she wanted to talk about. She knew that her lover would speak when she was ready, and she was comfortable with that. The two had learned very early in their relationship that they could and would speak their minds, but only when they were ready to do so. Neither pushed the other when it was not necessary. It was just one thing among many that made their relationship work.
"Noriko," Shimako finally said with a shy smile, "probably like many others, Yumi's announcement the other week forced me to think about what it was that I truly wanted out of my life. Life can be so short, anything can happen at any time. None of us are immortal or immune to the risks that the world can throw at us and I decided that I did not want to waste a single moment of it. Seeing what Yumi - and also Sachiko - have to face and fight just to be with the one they love a little longer . . ." she sighed and shook her head before she continued, "Noriko, I have decided not to enter the convent when I graduate. I have spoken with my father and the sisters here and they are in agreement. If, for whatever reason, I am not currently feeling a vocation for the church they are certainly not going to force me into it."
"Shimako, are you sure? I mean, it has been your dream for so long," Noriko asked her, not exactly surprised at the decision, most of them had been forced to rethink things when Yumi-sama told them about her disease, but wanting to make sure for the sake of her own heart which was now beating at a furious pace.
"Dreams change, Noriko-chan," Shimako replied, placing a hand on top of Noriko's. "However, I will also not be taking over the responsibilities of the family temple either. My brother has finally agreed to take on those responsibilities when my father eventually retires."
"Then . . . what do you plan to do, Shimako? Will you be going to college? If so, where?" Noriko asked, thrilled at the fact that her lover would not be leaving her for the celibacy of the convent, but still feeling unsure.
"Is that really the question you want to ask, Noriko?" Shimako asked her with a sly grin.
Shimako had forced her to play this game before, so Noriko thought about the question, and about what it was that she really wanted to know, before she responded.
"Shimako . . . love . . . is there room for me in your plans?" she asked quietly instead. "You know I will follow wherever you go, just so long as you will allow me to do so, or want me at your side."
"Ah, that was what I thought you really wanted to know . . . and yes, the decision I have made was made with the full intention to have you at my side if you still want to be there," Shimako said softly.
"Of course I do, you idiot!" Noriko exclaimed and playfully slapped Shimako's shoulder, "I plan on growing old with you if you will simply allow me to."
"I . . . would like that very much," Shimako said with a blush.
"So, now that that is out of the way, what have you decided?" Noriko asked with a smile.
"Actually, I will still be becoming a nun . . . of a sort," Shimako said teasingly, but did not draw it out too long, "I have also spoken to the elders at Yukiko's shrine, and I will begin training as a Miko as soon as I graduate. I will be living at the shrine while I am training, and then I will be rejoining my family temple to establish a Shinto sect. And to answer your question before you ask," she grinned again, "no, at my age I am not expected to either remain, or even be, a virgin and, at least at my shrine, relationships between women will be totally acceptable," she giggled.
"Actually, Shimako," Noriko said, now totally elated at the news her lover had for her, "it had better not only be acceptable, but expected! At least for the Miko," she giggled.
"I thought you might say that," Shimako laughed softly before giving her a quick but passionate kiss and to hell with any potential spectators.
-oo-
When Noriko entered the meeting room of the Rose Mansion the next day Yukiko was already preparing the tea for the upcoming meeting.
"Ah, onee-sama, good day," the young miko greeted her with what seemed like a slightly strained smile.
"Good day, Yukiko. Is everything alright?" Noriko asked her with a touch of concern.
"Um, well," Yukiko prevaricated as she poured a cup of tea for her grande soeur, "I heard from Shimako-oneesama that she finally told you about her plans to become a Miko. I guess that you were happy to hear that she would not be joining a convent or going off to another school?"
"Yeah, I was very happy," Noriko grinned, "although even if she had gone off to convent or college I still would have followed her."
"You love her that much, onee-sama?" the brown eyed girl asked softly.
"I do, Yukiko. I really do," Noriko answered as honestly as she could, understanding that it was important to Yukiko.
"Um, you do know that . . ." the Miko started.
"I know. I have always known," Noriko interrupted her with a shy smile, knowing full well what she was saying and why, "and it does not matter. I will follow her wherever she goes . . . because I love her."
"Then I am very happy for you, onee-sama," Yukiko replied with a true, genuine smile.
"Thank you," Noriko said gently. "Now, could I get a little more tea please?" she asked with a smirk.
"Of course, onee-sama," her petite soeur replied with a grin.
-oo-
Yumi lay in her bed covered to her chin with thick blankets and a comforter. A damp, cold cloth was draped over her forehead. She moaned in her sleep, tossing fitfully in an unconscious attempt to find some release from her torment. Her mother sat quietly next to her bed biting her nails with worry. Yumi's temperature was up over 39C with no sign of it breaking. The poor girl was still shivering with a chill even with all of the bedclothes covering her. If her fever didn't break soon Miki was going to have to consider taking her to the hospital.
Twice now Miki had to change her daughter's pajamas when they had become thoroughly soaked with sweat. Each time she had thought the fever had finally broken only to have it come back harder and higher than before. The doctor had recommended that she be kept quiet and comfortable until the fever finally broke. He was sure that it was a reaction to the most recent round of chemotherapy. So Miki re-soaked the cloth in a pail of cold water before wringing it out and replacing it on her daughter's brow. Yuuki was making a run to the pharmacy for some additional medicines while Yuichiro was rushing home from a business trip he had cut short.
"Onee-sama," Yumi called out weakly in her delirium. That and "Sachiko" were the only words her daughter had uttered in the eighteen hours since the onset of the fever. Miki didn't want to disturb the girl who was the Ogasawara heiress and Yumi's grande soeur unless it was absolutely necessary, but she was starting to get desperate. If having Sachiko at her side would bring some tiny measure of comfort to her little girl than, damnit, Sachiko would be by her side.
Miki stood and walked to the nightstand where Yumi kept her cell phone and looked up Sachiko's number and then hit the 'send' button. She listened to it ring three times on the other end before she heard a cheerful, "Good day, Yumi."
"Sachiko-chan, it's not Yumi, it's Miki. I'm sorry for the poor phone etiquette, but frankly I don't have the time or the energy. Yumi's sick and she's been calling for you. I don't expect you to drop everything but . . ."
"I'll be there as soon as I can Miki-okaasan. Is there anything you need me to bring?" Sachiko asked in a hurried voice. Miki could hear the wind rushing past the phone and the rapid slap of Sachiko's footfalls as she ran down one of the halls at Lillian University.
"No, just yourself. Yuuki is getting some more medicine. She just needs you Sachiko," Miki whispered so that Sachiko wouldn't hear the tears in her voice.
"I'm on my way okaa-san," Sachiko said and the phone in Miki's hand clicked to the sound of a dial-tone.
"Thank you Sachiko-chan," she whispered and glanced at her daughter who was thrashing in her sleep once again. Miki had no idea what nightmares were running through her daughter's mind, but she was sure it was no more frightening than the feelings of absolute helplessness when your seriously sick child is counting on you and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. If there is a worse feeling for any parent – other than to lose that child altogether – Miki didn't know what it was.
-oo-
This wasn't the first time that Sachiko had come to a screeching halt in the Fukuzawa's driveway and leapt from the car in a rush. Nor, unfortunately, would it probably be the last time she thought as she ignored the small gate and simply jumped the short fence and ran for the front door. The door opened before she could knock and she nearly ran over poor Yuuki in her desperation to get to Yumi. She had to slow down for the turn to run up the stairs, but that was all as she never broke stride until she forced herself to stop in front of the closed door of Yumi's bedroom.
Sachiko stood for a moment to catch her breath and compose herself before she turned the knob and slowly opened the door. Miki was sitting in Yumi's desk chair that she had pulled up to the side of the bed. Yumi's pale hand was held tightly in her mother's as she softly brushed a few strands of sweat drenched hair from her daughter's forehead. Miki looked over at the tall, raven haired girl standing in the doorway and a small smile graced her lips. Sachiko could see the dried tracks of tears previously shed on Miki's cheeks. She walked slowly over to her petite soeur's mother and let Miki rest her head on her abdomen as she held her around her softly quaking shoulders.
"The fever just broke for the third time about ten minutes ago," Miki spoke softly into the thin ribbing of Sachiko's sweater that she was now drenching with her tears. "If you don't mind, could you please watch her while I get another pair of pajamas ready? I'd also appreciate it if you could help me change her again."
"Of course, Miki-okaasan," Sachiko said as she gently stroked Miki's hair. Despite her words, Miki briefly stayed where she was, in the gentle embrace of her daughter's lover, simply enjoying the comfort being so unselfishly offered to her. The warmth of that embrace, the love that she felt within those slender arms as she silently cried her tears, told her more about Sachiko than any other time the two had spent together. She hated to leave those loving arms, but her daughter needed her so she took a deep breath, sat back, wiped away the tears and looked into Sachiko's eyes as finally she let go of her daughter's damp hand and stood to gather the things that she would need. She was about to thank Sachiko for coming so swiftly when they both turned at the sound of Yumi's weak voice.
"Onee-sama," she spoke so quietly and with such desire that it immediately brought tears to Sachiko's eyes. She knelt down beside the bed and took hold of the hand that Miki had just reluctantly released.
"I'm here Yumi. I'm here," Sachiko whispered as she placed a tender kiss on that pale, sweaty palm.
"S-Sachiko," Yumi whispered, still held deeply within the grasp of her illness, her eyes still closed tightly.
"I'm here Yumi and I'm not going anywhere," Sachiko said as she leaned over and placed a kiss on Yumi's sweat drenched forehead. The muscles in Yumi's face seemed to relax just a bit as, even though asleep, she heard Sachiko's voice.
"D-don't l-leave me onee-sama. P-please don't leave me."
"I won't Yumi. I will always be by your side my love."
"Saaaach . . . ," Yumi seemed to relax further and her breathing fell into the normal rhythm of a deep, restful slumber.
Sachiko used her free hand and re-wet the cloth that was draped over the pail of water beside the bed and squeezed it before she started to gently wipe the sweat from Yumi's face. A tiny smile of contentment appeared on her petite soeur's lips.
Miki returned shortly and between the two of them they were able to get Yumi's wet, sticky pajamas off and replace them with a clean pair after giving the tiny girl a sponge bath. Sachiko had been shocked at the wasted body of her lover. They had been together not that long ago but it looked like Yumi had lost fifteen or twenty pounds since then. The skin of her normally small, perky breasts sagged with the loss of body mass and her ribs showed clearly beneath almost transluscent, parchment like skin. It frightened Sachiko so much she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out in front of Miki.
When they had finished getting Yumi changed and the covers pulled back over top of her Sachiko lay down beside her and took the tiny girl in her arms.
"Sachiko?" Miki asked quietly.
"I'm just returning a favor Yumi provided for me when my grandmother died," she explained softly with a shy smile. "Yumi held me in her arms for hours after I had cried myself to sleep. It was the first peace I had felt in weeks and it was Yumi that provided it to me. I just want to do the same for her if I can."
Miki smiled in understanding and left the two young women alone, closing the door softly behind her. It came as no surprise to find Yuuki standing in the hall waiting for her.
"How is she?" he asked quietly, his own eyes slightly red and puffy.
"She's resting more comfortably now that Sachiko is here," Miki replied with a sigh. "I can only pray that the fever has finally broken for the last time. Come on, let's go downstairs and I'll fix you a cup of tea."
"How about I fix the tea and you sit down and relax," he grinned, but then became more serious. "You've been going for over thirty hours without a stop. You can have your tea, but then you need to go to bed and get some sleep. Yumi doesn't need you collapsing on her from exhaustion, and neither do we. Sachiko and I can handle it from here."
"Yes, sir," Miki tried to laugh but gave it up as a lost cause and just leaned forward and Yuuki took her into the circle of his strong arms. "Thank you," she whispered.
-oo-
As the doctor had predicted the fever finally broke and Yumi woke up the next morning mildly dehydrated but otherwise fine. Sachiko, on the other hand, seemed a wreck and took Miki aside just before the two sat down for breakfast.
"Miki-okaasan, I have a very large favor to ask of you," she said quietly so as not to disturb the others as they sat at the kitchen table.
"Anything Sachiko-chan. We owe you so much."
"You don't owe me anything Miki-okaasan," Sachiko smiled, "but I will gladly use your feelings of indebtedness if they will get me what I want. With your permission I would like to move into Yumi's room for the duration of her illness."
Miki looked deeply into Sachiko's eyes and saw both the determination to achieve what she wanted and her unstinting love for her daughter. She smiled and took hold of both of Sachiko's hands.
"I think Yumi would like that very much. Another pair of hands would certainly help around here, but your influence on her would be an even greater benefit. If nothing else, yesterday proved to me just how much she needs you, and I told myself that if it was something she wanted, she would get it.
"So welcome to the family Sachiko-chan, and good luck ever getting rid of us," she giggled.
"I think you would have a harder time getting rid of me, but thank you okaa-san," Sachiko replied with a smile of her own. "I promise that I will always stand by your daughter's side."
"I know you will, Sachiko-chan. I know you will," she said patting the taller girl's hand. "Shall we tell the others the good news?"
"Yes, lets."
Miki put her arm around Sachiko's waist and led her back into the kitchen where Yumi, Yuuki, and Yuichiro sat with mouthfuls of various foods.
"Everyone," Miki said in a very happy voice while Sachiko stood beside her with a large smile and a twinkle in her eyes as she glanced at Yumi, "I have an announcement to make."
Thank you for reading. As always, your comments would be greatly appreciated.
Take care,
CX