A/N: Here's the deal. I'm really stuck on my Ai Yori Aoshi story, and I haven't looked at my Love Hina story for a while. So…here's another chapter of Ten Years Later, and judging from the response from the last chapter, I need to redeem myself a bit. It went over like a fart in church. Michie may be an OC, but she is not a throw-away OC. She will appear again in chapter 6. This chapter is all Yumi and Sachiko. Please enjoy and let me know what you thought. Thanks!

Disclaimer: Marimite is the intellectual property of Konno Oyuki. This story is not for any profit other than the sheer enjoyment of playing with Konno-sensei's wonderful characters.

Ten Years Later

Chapter 5: I Hate…

Yumi

Pulling into the zoo at five to noon, Yumi saw her brother and sister-in-law/petite soeur waiting for them in the parking lot. She put the car in park and shut off the engine. After gathering her purse, she turned her attention to her now somewhat subdued 5 year-old. He was dozing lightly in his booster seat in the back. With a wry smile, she thought, 'A 45 minute drive will overcome ever the most hyper child, won't it?'

As Yumi unbuckled Yuuichi, he woke up and was More than ready to get into the zoo. He began to chatter, "There's Yuuki-ojisan and Touko-obasan! Let's go, Mommy! We've got to see the monkeys before they have to take their nap. I don't have to take a nap today, right?" Chuckling softly, Yumi shook her head and was rewarded with the 10-megawatt smile that one can only get from a happy child.

Touko and Yuuki were stifling laughter as they watched the normally composed mother and son running to them. Yuuki felt that he needed to have some fun at his older sister's expense, "Yuuichi, don't pull your mother's hand so much. She's too old to move that quickly!"

Yumi turned bright red and shot him a death glare, retorting, "I'm only 10 months older than you, butthead. I see that my petite soeur needs to employ some discipline on you to teach you how to better behave in public!"

'Oh my God, she sounded just like Sachiko-Oneesama just now,' Touko thought absently. 'I wonder if Oneesama realizes it.' She cleared the cobwebs of happier memories from her head and chastised her husband with a slap to the back of the head, "Yuu-kun, please be a proper example for our nephew."

"Yes, dear," Yuuki replied and everyone laughed. While they were walking through the entrance, he noticed that Yumi looked a bit more pensive than normal. He signaled Touko to walk/be drug ahead by a VERY excited Yuuichi. She nodded and took their nephew's hand. "Is there something wrong, Yumi?"

Yumi started to response negatively until she saw the look on her younger brother's face. She looked at her feet, and asked, "Don't be mad at me, Yuuki, but I have a meeting with Ogasawara-sama in a few minutes. She says that she needs to explain what happened in high school," she paused to gauge his reaction, but he was stone-faced, waiting for her to continue. "I need to clear this hurdle so that I can free my heart from her once and for all."

"Does this mean that you are ready to commit to your marriage?" Yuuki asked. She shook her head in negation. "What is the purpose then?"

Taking another deep breath, Yumi looked into her brother's eyes and said clearly, "I've come to grips with who I really am, and I will never be romantically attracted to men. I really tried to love Masamune-san, but I just can't. I am a lesbian."

Yuuki drew her into his arms, "I'm so proud of you, Yumi. It's about time that you woke up. The only two people that didn't know that you were a lesbian were you and Kobayashi. You've both been in denial for so long." He suddenly noticed that the front of his shirt was wet with his sister's tears.

"Thank you, Yuuki, for accepting me as I am. I was so scared to tell you. I should have known that you would have my back. You always have. I'm just scared to tell Mom and Dad. They will be so disappointed that I'll be divorcing my husband."

Yuuki laughed, "I wouldn't worry about them. They were also wondering how long you were going to keep lying to yourself. They processed that you were gay when you were dating her. They like Kobayashi, but we all know how miserable the two of you have been. It's your husband that you have to worry about. He is head over heels for you."

Yumi separated from her little brother and blew her bangs in relief. "I'll think about that later. Now, I need to prepare myself to see Sachiko-sama. I'm so nervous."

"Well, I can't say that I'm happy that you are meeting her. The last time that she spoke to you in person caused you to try to kill yourself," Yuuki said tersely. "She's lucky that I'm not going to be involved with your talk. I've never hit a woman, but she's the only one that's ever made me think of it."

"I may save you the effort," Yumi chuckled. "She better have one good damned reason for what she did. Did I tell you what Yoshino's response was when I told her that I needed to meet Sachiko-sama?" Yuuki looked puzzled and Yumi continued, "She screamed, 'Are you fucking kidding me?'" They shared a companionable laugh as they hurried to catch Touko and Yuuichi at the monkeys.

At the monkey enclosure, Yuuichi was telling the formerly drill-haired doctor everything that she could ever want to know about the primates. "Touko-obasan, did you know that monkeys can use tools like we can. Daddy let me watch this show and the monkeys were using sticks to get bugs out of a log. I wish that I could play with monkeys. They are my favorite animal. Are they your favorite animal, Obasan? I bet that Yuki-ojisan likes monkeys." Yumi's heart felt like it was going to burst with the joy that was radiating from her son's face.

Touko, on the other hand, had the beginning of a headache, treating her husband to a look that said, "If this is a Fukuzawa child, you are getting a vasectomy so we don't have any." Yuuki grinned and kissed his frazzled wife on her ear, a secret weak spot. "Eep!" She screeched in surprise. "Yuu-kun, don't do that in public!"

Yuuichi was oblivious, lost in the happy haze of being so close to his favorite animals. Yumi and Yuuki were laughing loudly, which caused Touko to turn red with embarrassment. In the midst of the laughter, a clear, crisp voice said, "Excuse me, Yumi-san?"

Sachiko

(One hour earlier) Finishing her hair and makeup in her bathroom, Sachiko was more nervous than she had ever been. 'After ten long years, I get to see my Yumi today!' Her heart exulted. Her head then reminded her, "What if she hates me for hurting her? I did what I did to save her.' Her heart and head began to argue, 'I should have told her the truth from the beginning. It might've softened the blow. What would that have accomplished except getting the Fukuzawas killed? I know Yumi. She would have gone after Grandfather, guns blazing, and he would have ordered their deaths. Well then, why didn't you contact her in the hospital when she tried to kill herself over your worthless self? I couldn't. It would have made things worse.' "Coward," Sachiko yelled at herself.

She suddenly heard a knock on her bathroom door, "Sachiko-sama, is everything alright?" It was Himeno Aya, her personal maid. In one of his bitchy snipes, Suguru had once suggested that middle-aged domestic was in love with her. It was one of his most hateful taunts because it reminded her of the girl she let go because Himeno looked like Yumi's mother, Miki.

Slapping herself for being loud enough to attract the attention of the help, Sachiko replied, "Nothing is wrong, Himeno, I was just trying to mentally prepare myself for an important business meeting this afternoon." It was only a half lie as this meeting was the most important in her life. After giving her appearance one last check, the raven-haired woman pulled out her cell phone and asked her driver to bring a car to the front. She had a fire engine red Porsche 911 GT3 that she could drive, but she didn't trust her nerves to not commit vehicular suicide behind the wheel.

On the way to the zoo, she rehearsed what she wanted to say. The words that she wished had come from her mouth: "Grandfather is going to kill you and your family. I love you. Please forget about me, for my sake and for yours. I only want you, but I cannot go against Grandfather." Realizing the thoughts bombarding her mind, Sachiko suddenly thought, 'I am a coward, aren't I? Now is the time to throw off the old cowardly Sachiko and embrace the woman that I was when I was with her.'

She saw Yumi's group before they saw her. Touko had straightened her hair. Sachiko thought that it was a pity because she really liked Touko's old drill curls. They were cute. Touko's husband had gotten quite handsome and looked less like a male version of Yumi and Miki, and more like his father, Yuuichiro. Yuuichi was the next to catch her attention. He looked like miniature version of Yuuki as he climbed out of the backseat, jumping into the arms of his mother. Sachiko's heart jumped to her throat as Yumi turned to greet her brother and his wife. 'She is still so beautiful after all these years!' Yumi's shorter, professional hairstyle was the only outward change that Sachiko could see from the distance.

The sight of her true love caused Sachiko's heart began to beat rapidly. She was almost hyperventilating in nervous excitement. To say that she was happy to behold the brunette would be an understatement. The thing that could compare was the first time that she held Yumiko in her arms. 'Yumi holds every part of my heart that is missing. That hasn't changed.' Preparing to face her former lover's wrath, Sachiko took a few deep breaths before exiting through the door held for her by the driver, Harada. "Wait here. I should be out in an hour," she ordered Harada.

"Yes, Ogasawara-sama," Harada replied.

Sachiko began to walk with a purpose after Yumi's party. Upon reaching them, she greeted her former soeur, "Excuse me, Yumi-san?"

Yumi

Yumi's heart fell into her stomach with those six syllables. Before her stood the woman that she loved more than her own life. This was the woman that had brought her unparalleled joy and unspeakable pain…Ogasawara Sachiko. "Yes, Ogasawara-sama, I've been expecting you," she said coldly. She excused herself momentarily to give her young son a quick kiss before sending him to play in the zoo with Touko and Yuuki.

"Your son is very handsome, Yumi-san," Sachiko said trying to break the ice.

Yumi's face was expressive with the pleasure at the comment warring with the underlying anger and ancient pain. She soon mastered herself and put the cold, distant mask back on. "Well, Ogasawara-sama, what do you have to say to me after all this time that was so important that I had to interrupt a rare day with my brother and my son?"

Visibly flinching, Sachiko took the first verbal slap. She bit her bottom lip and began slowly, "I deserve that. I deserve all your anger and your hatred. I need to tell you a story that happened two days before I broke up with you in the greenhouse."

Sachiko looked at the ground and said, "My grandfather found out about us, and threatened to kill you and your family if I didn't obey him. I never thought that he was capable of such cruelty. I always believed that the old stories of his ruthlessness were just slanders from those he defeated in business until I was at the receiving end. His dossier on your family was filled with your daily routines, financial history, vulnerabilities, and ways to destroy you all. I could not let the old monster hurt you, so I did instead. I followed his orders to save your life, and I am the one who almost killed you. I could not say anything other than what he told me to say otherwise you would all be dead. I thought that would be better to hurt you so that you and your family could live and find some happiness while I married a man that I hated, and who hated me. I'm so sorry that I made that choice instead staying with you forever like I wanted to do."

As Sachiko was speaking, Yumi was filled with rage. She slapped Sachiko so hard that the older woman crumpled to the ground. "What the fuck was that?" She screamed. "Didn't I tell you when your grandmother died not to keep things from me? Why didn't you trust me? If you had told me the truth from the beginning, maybe both of our lives would be better today!" Tears were flowing from Yumi's eyes. "You took it upon yourself to protect me without telling me what was going on. You did your Grandfather's work for him. You. Destroyed. Me. You broke more than my heart. You broke my spirit. I am not the optimistic, innocent girl that I was when we met. I married a man that I didn't love because he loved me. Is that something that the old Fukuzawa Yumi would do? No, but you fucked me up so bad that I needed someone to need me and to make me feel wanted."

"Do you think that Sei-sama and Onee-sama didn't tell me what happened after we broke up? They came to me on my wedding day, and told me in unsparing detail of the aftermath of the greenhouse," Sachiko said bitterly. "If I had to do it all over again, I would have told you everything. I was so afraid that if I did, you would confront Grandfather, and he would kill you. If I could not be with you, I wanted to be in the same world with you and breathe the same air. You were my first and last love. I will never feel for anyone what I felt for you. What I still feel for you."

Eyes flashing, Yumi grabbed Sachiko by the front of her dress and drug her to her feet, "You have no idea how much I want to beat the hell out of you, Ogasawara Sachiko. I won't do that because I believe that is what you want. You want me to hurt you. If I were to hit you again, you might have some hope that I'll forgive you sooner. That's not going to happen any time soon. The reason that I agreed to meet you is that I needed closure. I want to fall in love again. I was never attracted to men, and I decided that if I could finish the chapter that you wrote in my heart and life that I will be able to find another woman to love. One thing is for sure, it will not be with you. I hate what you did to me. I hate what you did to yourself. I hate that you never trusted me with anything important. I hate that I cannot get you out of my heart and mind completely. Most of all, I hate myself because I cannot hate you."

Suddenly removing her hands from the dress, Yumi grabbed the heiress' face and savagely ground her lips into Sachiko's, kissing her hard enough to draw blood. "Goodbye, Ogasawara Sachiko, I hope that you like the hell that you've created for us both. However, you will suffer alone because now I am free of you. Sayonara," Yumi finished before turning and running in the direction of her son.

Sachiko stood dazed and confused thinking, 'What just happened?'

To be continued…

A/N: I almost put in the whole scene between Sachiko and her Grandfather from chapter 3. I refrained because it would have been lazy. I hope that you all enjoyed. Please let me know what you thought! Happy New Year!

P.S. Ojisan= Uncle, Obasan= Aunt