A/N: Good day, all. Although this is another the new chapters, I wanted to remind everyone that the Yumi arc of this story is a re-write and (heavy) expansion of my previous story First Loves: Vol 2. So if any of this is familiar, there is a reason.

Disclaimer: I do not own MSGM or any of its characters. All such honors belong to Oyuki Konno. I will lay claim to the storyline and my OCs, but I'm not manic about it.

"That's the last item," Yumi sighed as she slumped in her chair at the head of the table in the Rose Mansion's meeting room. God she was tired, but she had no desire to let everyone else sitting around the table and the walls of the room know that.

It was the final meeting before the Christmas Ball almost a month away. The last item on the agenda had been identified, discussed, argued, discussed some more, and finally decided upon. From now on it would just be the little details that the Hanadera council would handle.

She looked directly across the table to where Yuuki was sitting and saw him smile at her. Her brother had been an absolute wonder. He had shouldered the burden not only of the Hanadera council and the Christmas Ball, chairing the joint meetings when she was unavailable and ensuring that everyone was satisfied with the results, but had also been one of her most stalwart supporters during her illness. Between him, Touko-chan, and Sachiko they had pretty much covered everything. She wasn't sure if she would ever be able to repay him for all that he had done. Yes, he was family and he would say that it was his responsibility to watch over his sister, but she knew just how hard he had been working in her stead even here at Lillian. You could almost say that he was an auxiliary Rose!

She smiled back at him, acknowledging his silent praise and giving him her own silent thanks; something that the two "almost twins" had been able to do for most of their eighteen years. So often it never required a single word to be said for the two to know exactly what the other meant or felt. The Fabulous Fukuzawa Siblings at work again. She giggled and he smirked, once again knowing exactly what she was thinking.

"Would the two of you like to let the rest of us in on the joke," Yoshino complained.

"It's nothing that you and Rei-sama haven't done to us countless times," Yumi giggled again, watching as almost all of the female heads around the table started nodding in a knowing way, smiles gracing their lips; all except for Yoshino who was pouting.

It was Thursday afternoon and she had another round of chemo tomorrow that she was not looking forward to. She had already started to lose some of her hair although it was not yet noticeable by her friends or family yet. Sachiko had noticed, of course, since they shared a bed and it was impossible to hide the strands of hair that were left on the pillow when she woke up or in the brush on her dresser top. She had also lost all of her hair . . . down there . . . which, she had to admit, made their lovemaking a little different and was certainly easier to take care of. And she hadn't even had to shave!

She felt a hand grab hers under the table and she looked to her right to see Touko giving her a soft smile. She squeezed the hand in thanks for the reminder before thanking everyone for their hard work and formally closing the meeting. She continued to sit where she was, allowing Hiromi to refill her teacup and set another couple of cookies on her plate. Touko also stayed where she was, her hand still clasped around Yumi's. Touko's hand shook just a touch, but Yumi decided not to acknowledge it. It wasn't their way. She simply patted her hand before using her left hand to pick up her teacup. It wasn't her dominant hand, but that didn't matter. She still had enough strength to hold a cup of tea. She would have never lived it down if Sachi had learned that she had spilled a cup of tea in public. At least, with Touko-chan's help, she had gained some of her weight back. She picked up a cookie to nibble on.

"Can I get you anything onee-sama?" Touko asked her quietly.

"No, thank you, Touko. This," and she gave her petite soeurs hand another gentle squeeze, "is enough for now. Sachi will be stopping by to pick me up shortly and we will head home. I think Yuuki plans on hanging around a little while. Why don't the two of you take the opportunity to spend a little 'quality' time with each other," she offered with a wink and a smirk that would have done Sei-sama proud if the blush that arose in Touko's cheeks was any measure.

"I still can't believe that Sachiko-oneesama allowed Yuuki-kun to get away with giving her that nickname," Touko giggled as she tried to get the blood vessels in her face back to normal.

"Well, as she says, it's better than 'Sachan'," Yumi chuckled in reply, "at least it's not a nickname that Suguru-san ever called her."

"She really does trust Yuuki-kun," Touko said softly, "I would never have believed that any man would earn her trust, but Yuuki-kun seemed to do it without even breaking a sweat. I guess it's just one more reason I love him so much," she whispered shyly.

"It's not just trust Touko," Yumi corrected her gently as she glanced down the table to where her brother still sat answering a myriad of questions from both his own council members as well as her fellow roses, "it's love. She truly loves Yuuki as if he were her own brother. And you're right, he seemed to do it without, as you say, 'breaking a sweat'. But I think it is just his way. He accepted her for who she is, warts and all, just because he knew how much I loved her and how much she loves me. And I think he loves her just as much."

"I know he does. That's something else that astounds me. As harsh and cold as she can sometimes be, he still loves her," Touko sighed.

"Oh, she's nowhere near as cold as she was two years ago, let me tell you," Yumi giggled. "When I think of how frightened she could make me feel back then, and when I look at her today, it's like two completely different people."

"I guess that's true, onee-sama," Touko replied with a grin, "the two of you have done so much for each other. You are much more confident now than you were back when I first met you, but even then Sachiko-oneesama had already been working on you. I heard some stories from Tsutako-sama and Katsura-sama, and even Rosa Gigantea, about you during your first few months here at Lillian and I almost couldn't believe them*. But they all assured me that they were true, and since I heard the same stories from three different people at three different times, I had to believe. But still, to think that you thought so little of yourself back then, I just don't see it."

"Oh, believe me, all those stories are true, Touko," Yumi chuckled, "I was such a mess. I had absolutely no confidence in my own abilities and zero self-esteem. It was Sachiko that taught me to believe in myself more so than anyone else; although Tsutako, Katsura, Shimako, and Yuuki also played a large role in bolstering my confidence and making me see that I had something to offer my onee-sama. And . . . I guess they were correct. Even with everything that is going on, I don't think I have seen Sachiko happier than she is right now," Yumi smiled.

"Well, I can't say that I envy you onee-sama," Touko said with a gentle smile, "but does it help to say that I love you?"

Yumi lifted their two, entwined hands from beneath the table and placed a soft kiss on the back of Touko's hand. "Yes, Touko, it helps. Much more than you can ever imagine. And I love you too, Touko. Probably also much more than you can imagine," she said with another smile and another kiss to the hand of her petite soeur.

Yuuki caught sight of the movement at the other end of the table where two of the most important people to him in the world sat talking quietly to each other. He smiled when he saw Yumi kiss Touko-chan's hand. No one else in the room probably noticed and, if they did, would they ever think to say a word about it. Each and every person in this room dearly loved his sister and would do anything for her; even all the guys from Hanadera. She was an icon to them; a testament to the strength a person could have in overcoming adversity and each and every one of them looked up to her. He wondered if she ever thought of how high the pedestal was that they had placed her on. Hell, she probably didn't even realize they thought about her that way. It just would never occur to her. That, in and of itself, was one of the reasons they loved her so much.

A brief knock at the door heralded the arrival of Sachi. Her eyes immediately went to Yumi and, he was sure, took her measure in a micro second. Since her smile didn't falter he knew that she had realized that Yumi was doing fine today. Her next act was to turn her head unerringly in his direction and give him a smile that most in the room would never have seen without the influence of his older sister. To think that the indomitable Ice Princess of Lillian would ever actually smile like that at a man? Impossible! Right?

Yuuki actually realized just how lucky he was to be the recipient of that brilliant smile. He was never sure how he had suddenly found himself tucked away into some portion of her heart, but he accepted it and, without anyone knowing, thanked Maria-sama for it.

Masamune Kobayashi, his long time friend with a love of accounting, leaned over and whispered into his ear, "Please don't take this the wrong way, Yuuki-san, but do you know how lucky you are? I mean, to have both Sachiko-sama and Yumi-sama living under your roof?"

Yuuki grinned. "I know," he said while thinking, Heh, Yumi's been bumped up to a 'sama'? Well, it shouldn't really surprise him given the amount of respect that his council had for his sister.

"Yuuki," Sachiko called from the other side of the room, "are you ready to go home yet?"

"I'll be here for a little while yet, Sachi. Why don't you and Yumi go ahead and I'll follow you."

"If you're sure. We don't mind waiting," Sachiko said.

"I'll be fine. You two go on and I'll be home by dinner time."

"Alright, see you later than," Sachiko said with a smile as she grabbed Yumi's hand and helped her up out of her chair. He could see his sister wince just a bit. It had been a fairly lengthy meeting and he was sure her joints were bothering her, but she was doing everything she could to not let it show. The best thing he could do for her was to ignore it. She would not appreciate his drawing attention to her infirmity. When she was steady on her feet she gave him another smile, this one with a mix of gratitude, and the two girls left the room hand-in-hand with Touko following right behind carrying Yumi's book bag. Touko also gave him a quick smile before she went out the door. She would see her two onee-samas off and then return so that they had a chance to talk before they left to head home.

He was very much looking forward to that "talk." He double checked to make sure that he had some lip balm and breath mints in his pocket. It was never a good idea to try to kiss Touko with either dry lips or bad breath.

-oo-

After the meeting broke up for the day Nana and Sakura found themselves walking together towards the statue of Maria-sama. The two had been the last to leave after finishing the necessary cleanup and taking the trash out to the dumpster behind the Rose Mansion. There was no such thing as a janitorial service for the mansion so the roses and their soeurs made sure to keep it properly clean. In fact, the restroom in the Rose Mansion was probably the cleanest on the entire campus. Sakura still could not believe how filthy the restrooms in the education building could get after just a few hours. She had actually taken to making the walk to the Rose Mansion to use the facilities simply because she knew that they would be cleaner.

She had certainly had worse duties in her life. What really boggled the mind was that Sachiko-sama, Youko-sama, and Eriko-sama had performed all of these same chores. For some reason she had no problems visualizing Sei-sama cleaning a toilet . . . but Sachiko-sama? They said that it was just one of the things that the early Roses decided on to keep them humble. Whatever the reason, Sakura had decided to do the job thoroughly and with a smile on her face. She got a kick out of seeing the end results of her cleaning. Seeing a sparkling window, or a shining teacup, or even a gleaming porcelain toilet bowl, gave her a lot of satisfaction. Maybe it was ego, but she enjoyed being able to stand back and say, "look what I did!"

Now if she could only have that same feeling of accomplishment for having confessed to Nana-chan. No matter what the response, she felt that she had to tell Nana-chan her feelings.

They stopped before the stone statue of Maria-sama and Nana-chan performed her normal prayers while Sakura watched.

"I notice you don't normally say a prayer, Sakura-san," Nana said in an off-handed manner, "I assume that you are not Catholic or Christian?"

"Ah, something like that," she replied with a shy smile, "I really more of a follower of Shinto than anything else. I honor Maria-sama as much as anyone, but I don't know that praying to her would be in my best interests. Some of Japan's gods can be down-right jealous if you know what I mean," she giggled.

"Well, it doesn't matter to me one way or another," Nana chuckled. "Most of my family prays to Hachiman, the god of warriors and samurai. A large portion also prays to Inari," she said with a grin.

"Ah, 'warriors' and 'business success', covering all their bases I see," Sakura giggled, "that makes sense."

"Actually, something must be working," Nana smiled, "the dojo has been doing very well lately and we have even seen a white fox recently on the premises; somewhat like the one that they say has been hanging around Lillian the last few months."

"Um, well, I-I think this is where we part, Nana-san," Sakura stammered quickly, "I need to head in the other direction."

"Sakura-san," Nana said before the auburn haired girl could turn around, "Um, I already know what I plan to do after I graduate. I am the heir to the Arima family dojo and I can think of nothing else that I would want to do with my life. So . . . I have no plans to go off to college anywhere other than here at Lillian."

Huh? Sakura thought, where was this coming from?

"And you are saying this why?" Sakura asked with a slightly confused expression.

"Ah, well, you see . . . um, I just wanted you to know that I would be staying around after we graduate," Nana replied softly, looking more at her feet than anywhere else.

"And you were maybe wondering what my own plans might be?" Sakura asked in an amused tone, still unsure where this sudden conversation shift was heading.

"Well . . . yes."

"Well, in answer," she then said with a smile, "I too will be staying here after we graduate, but that is still over two years away. I may go on to Lillian U or I may decide to get a job at either Yukiko-san's or Shimako-sama's shrines. Either way, I will be here for quite a while to come."

"Th-that's good," Nana stammered.

"Nana-san, are you trying to tell me something?" Sakura asked her.

"Well, um, it's going to be a few years at least before I inherit the dojo, but when I do, there will probably be too much work for just me to handle. It would be . . . nice if I had someone by my side that I could count on."

"A-and do you have s-someone in mind, Nana-san," Sakura asked with a little tremor in her voice, now herself spending more time looking at her shoes than at the dark haired girl beside her, although she glanced up every now and then through her long lashes to see the bright blush that had started to flow into Nana's cheeks. Is it possible?

"Um, well, I . . . I l-like you, Sakura-san, and, i-if you were willing, I would like to spend more time with you, and . . . and, maybe even d-d-date?" Nana stuttered.

"Oh . . . oh, my," Sakura said in a weak and startled voice, "and here I was, trying to get up the nerve to ask you out! Oh . . . um, well, I . . . I like you too, Nana-san . . . a lot. I know that we still don't know everything there is to know about each other, and . . . and there are things about me . . . about my past . . . that you should probably know . . ."

"I know more than you probably think, Sakura-san," Nana quickly interrupted, "ah, but I agree that it would be nice to find out more about you."

"Oh, I don't believe it," Sakura said almost like a curse, "here I am, acting like some love struck school girl, when I . . ."

"You are allowed to act like a love struck school girl, Sakura-san," Nana broke in, "at least, at least as long as you don't mind if I do as well." Nana reached out and took hold of Sakura's left hand. "Would you, please, allow me to get to know you better and, maybe, together, we can find out if it really is love?"

"I . . . I would like that very much, Nana-san," Sakura grinned, giving Nana's hand a gentle squeeze. Her heart was pounding so hard in her breast that she thought it was going to explode she was so happy.

"Ah, well, then, that's good. I g-guess I better get going," Nana said, "I don't want to miss my bus. Can I meet you here again tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, I think I would like that," Sakura said and then, on impulse, went up slightly on her toes and placed a soft kiss on Nana's cheek. "That's for you . . . until we see each other again tomorrow," Sakura said softly before turning away and almost skipping back down the cobbled path towards the education building.

Sakura couldn't believe it. Here she had been trying to get up the nerve to confess to Nana-chan while Nana-chan had been doing the same thing! She continued walking towards the education building, her feet not seeming to touch the cobbled pathway, grinning and humming a tune that had been popular a few decades earlier.

-oo-

Nana placed her fingers against the warm spot on her cheek that could still feel the softness and warmth of Sakura's lips. She smiled and turned towards the Lillian main gate and nearly ran into her onee-sama.

"It's about damned time, Nana-chan," Yoshino said with a big grin.

"L-look who's talking, onee-sama," Nana replied with a slight stammer before straightening her back, "at least I told her how I feel. When are you going to tell Rei-sama that you are in love with her?"

"W-w-wha . . . what makes you t-think . . ." Yoshino stuttered.

"Oh come off it, onee-sama," Nana chided the older girl. "The only one that doesn't know that you are in love with Rei-sama is Rei-sama. You're not going to let your petite soeur beat you at something as simple as this are you, onee-sama?"

Nana grinned at the totally flummoxed look on Yoshino's face. She should have thought of this earlier. She knew how competitive Yoshino was. She should have made a contest of it long ago. Well, truth be told, it wasn't that long ago that she had finally realized her own feelings for Sakura-san, so maybe this was the first real opportunity to force the issue with Yoshino-sama and Rei-sama, but she'd be damned if she was going to let it slip away.

"I'll tell you what, onee-sama. I will bet you that you can't tell Rei-sama your feelings by the end of the Christmas Ball," Nana challenged her snidely.

"Whaaat? Well, well of course I can. Just who do you think you are missy? I will tell Rei-chan how I feel about her, bet or no bet; and," she stopped and thought a moment, "I think I may have the perfect way."

Nana just smirked. Did she know how to handle her onee-sama or what?

* See Before Sachiko

Thank you all for reading. Your comments, as always, are very much appreciated.

Take care,

CX