A/N: This begins the more romantic arc of the story. Sachiko has made her intentions clear and Yumi and Shimako have tacitly acknowledged their attraction to each other. Neither Yumi nor I know which way this is going to end, but Sachiko has A LOT of work to do to even have a chance.

Disclaimer: Marimite is the creation of Konno Oyuki. I make no claim to own anything but this particular scenario, and I am making no money from writing this story.

Ten Year Later

Chapter 9: Clowns (Can You See Me Now?)

Yumi

The next Monday morning after the funeral found Yumi at the office working on her next design. This was a proposal for a new community center in Sendai. The previous one had been badly damaged in the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami and the city needed something new to help its citizens feel hope and to spur the region's recovery. She felt good about projects like this and she was excited to be invited to present a design. She worked feverishly on her computer. Yumi's father, Yuuichiro would walk by every so often, look at her design, and offer suggestions that the young woman added without question. Yumi loved the working relationship that she had with him. More often than not, they were thinking the same thing even though he still did his designs the old-fashioned way, on drafting paper. Yumi's designs were printed on drafting paper by a high-tech printer. A lot of good-natured teasing made the work go by faster. At the end of the day, she was tired, but satisfied with what she'd done.

"Dad, I need to go pick up Yuuichi-kun from pre-school. Do you have enough energy to hold down the fort? I mean you are getting older," She asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

An eraser flew by her ear, missing by inches, "Smart-ass. This old man could outwork you or any other person in this firm," he quipped.

Yumi looked at Yuuichiro and tried not to laugh at the defiant lift of his chin. She knew that if he really wished to hit her with the eraser, he could have done so with ease. She also knew that his comeback for her old comment was the truth. He really could outwork them all and he had a tendency to overwork, which made him look older than his fifty-two years. He was still a handsome man even though his black hair was now mostly gray. "Don't overdo it or Mom will kill us both. Love you, Dad. I'll see you tomorrow morning when you come in."

Yuuichiro grunted, "Miki would be more mad at me than you. She's been nagging me for years to slow down. I can't help it. It's the way that my generation was trained." They shared an affectionate hug and as Yumi walked to her car, Yuuichiro thought, 'Maybe it's time to start teaching her to take over the business. It'll certainly make Miki happier and that is its own reward.'

Sachiko

Back at home after entertaining the Royal Bank of Scotland representatives, Sachiko found herself with little to do but jump on the internet. After some teasing by Suguru, she had created a facebook account and spent most days checking Yumi's account. She felt a warm thrill in her center when she noticed that Yumi had changed her profile to read "divorced" and "Interested in: Women." While she was happy that Yumi's divorce with Kobayashi was proceeding, Sachiko hoped that the loss of that marriage didn't undo the progress that Sachiko felt that she made at the funeral. She took a step that she had been putting off for years: she sent Yumi a friend request.

After the request was sent, the statuesque woman noticed that there was a flirty conversation going on between Yumi and the former Rosa Gigantea, Toudou Shimako. Sachiko felt a fit of her old adolescent hysteria building. 'Who does this woman think she is to try to swoop in and steal my Yumi?' As far as the blue-eyed heiress knew, Shimako was still with Noriko. 'I wonder if Noriko-chan knows that her girlfriend is flirting with another woman on facebook.' Her heart dropped when she went to Nijou Noriko's account and found that she was in a relationship with some gaijin and that she was now living in the United States. This led her to utter a profanity that she would never allow be heard in public.

Sachiko now realized that she had a formidable rival for Yumi's affections. Had it been a stranger, Sachiko knew that she could easily destroy them, but this was a friend. This was Shimako-chan. Shimako was one of the few former Yamayurikai members that did not shun her after the break-up. She never went out of her way to make friendly overtures to the former Rosa Chinesis, but she was always polite and outwardly kind. She thought aloud, "The Angel of Lillian, eh? I just have to keep showing Yumi my love and hope that it is enough to tear down the walls has built up against me before that little mouse can get her claws into her."

"So Sa-chan has a familiar rival for Yumi-chan," a sarcastic voice chuckled from the doorway. Sachiko's husband was standing in the doorway of her office. He still had his garment bag over his shoulder. "I'm home, Sa-chan, would you favor your husband with a 'welcome home' kiss?"

Detecting a playfulness in Suguru's voice, Sachiko decided to respond in kind, "I'll pass, dear husband, but by the look on your face, I'd say that Alice-san has already welcomed you home. My God, please don't advertise that you are able to be with the one that you love when I still can't. You look like a cat after drinking a bowl of cream"

"Cream, huh?" Suguru pondered. "I guess that one could call it cream. We both had plenty though. Alice had missed me and he was quite insatiable."

Torn between wanting to strangle him for bragging and laughing, Sachiko chose the latter, "You have told me more about your love life than I ever wanted to know, Suguru-san. Thank you for the disgusting mental images."

"You are quite welcome, Sa-chan," Suguru shot back between chuckles. "Now we just need to get you and Yumi-chan back together so you can give me disgusting mental images of the two of you having sex. So get your aristocratic ass off facebook, and go get your girl!" He looked around and seeing no staff in the room said sotto voce, "My sources tell me that she is en route to Hanadera Kindergarten to pick up her son. If you hurry, you might get to see her."

"Now you get your hug," the raven-haired mother said as she threw her arms around his neck. "You really are a better friend than you are a husband."

Accepting the hug, the former Prince of Hanadera countered, "And I liked you better when you were just my younger cousin with our precious Yumi-chan by your side. Now get the hell out of here before you miss her." He laughed as his dignified wife ran out of the room with unseemly haste. "There's still hope for her after all. Now how do we keep the old ogre from finding out that Sa-chan is in contact with Yumi-chan again? Hmm…I should call Tooru-sama."

Shimako

As Shimako prepared her materials for class the next day, she marveled at how her life had changed in the space of a week. One week ago, she was more depressed than anyone thought possible. Noriko had called to tell her that she found someone while she was teaching in the US. It wasn't that her ex-girlfriend and petite soeur had found someone to love, but it was the excitement in Noriko's voice as she talked about her new beau. Yes, Noriko had fallen for a man. Those two reasons were what caused the normally even-keel woman to disintegrate into a sobbing mess at the drop of a hat.

It was news from her Oneesama, Satou Sei that gave her something to get excited for other than the room of kindergartners at Lillian Elementary. Shimako had nursed a small crush on Yumi throughout high school. She kept it to herself because it was obvious to all that Yumi was beyond gone for Sachiko. She was content to become one of Yumi's best friends and to be a pillar of support.

Then came Nijou Noriko and the crush was pushed to the back burner by a love affair more passionate than anyone would expect from Shimako's seemingly placid nature. It was her love for Noriko that ended her dreams of becoming a nun. The emotional and sexual attachment was too powerful for Shimako to conceive giving up for a life of prayer and celibacy. If there was a poll among the Lillian student body as to who had lost their virginity first between her, Yoshino, and Yumi, everyone would have guessed wrong as the passion between Noriko and the Angel of Lillian had kindled into a scorching flame shortly after they became soeurs.

They managed to settle into life after high school, attending Lillian University. Shimako took a Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education with eye to becoming a kindergarten teacher while Noriko worked all the way to a PhD in Cultural Anthropology and Sociology. So they both became teachers at Lillian, Shimako in the elementary division and Noriko at the university. They were living together and quite happy until Noriko was given an offer that she couldn't refuse and left to teach in the United States.

On the surface, it was an amicable break up with both women understanding that a long distance relationship would not work for either of them. Additionally, Noriko was showing signs of restlessness and they were beginning to quarrel over the strange text messages that Noriko would get from other women and over Shimako's lower sex drive because chasing five and six-year-olds would have tired even the hyperactive princess of Molmol, Kaolla Su. Shimako was not Kaolla Su and could never be characterized as hyper. She could be lively yes, but not hyper.

It was Noriko who suggested that they end it and Shimako reluctantly accepted, not realizing how big of a hole that Noriko's absence would create. For the first couple of months, Shimako showed no outward signs that her heart was broken, but all it took to break the wall of pain was Sei pulling her aside and in no uncertain terms telling her to cut the bullshit and just be honest with herself. She wept on her Oneesama's shoulder for an hour and then after Sei left, she spent the weekend racked with sorrow and loss. What made it worse was Noriko's call, informing her that she was now dating an American man. She wanted to die, but Shimako was back at school on Monday, ready to pour all of her heart into teaching her young charges. She was still hurting and depressed for the next few weeks after Sei's reprimand and Noriko's news when her Oneesama dropped another bomb.

Flashback

As Lillian's newest kindergarten teacher was leaving for the day, her cell phone chirped. She sighed tiredly when she saw the name Satou Sei on the Caller ID. Knowing that if her Oneesama was calling her, she had better answer or the older woman would keep calling and texting her. "Yes, Oneesama, how can I help you?"

"Aw, you're no fun Shimako-chan. I even have good news for you," Sei teased. Shimako could picture the mischief dancing in her sempai's eyes. "Guess who's about to be on the market and looking for a girlfriend?"

Not wanting to play her soeur's games, she asked, "Who would that be, Pippa Middleton?" The thought of the Duchess of Cambridge's younger sister had kept Shimako warm on nights when Noriko worked late. It was her celebrity crush.

Sei laughed and replied, "Nah, it's someone much closer to home. Yumi-chan has finally come to grips with who she really is and threw her worthless husband out. I think that she might have a little thing for you."

Shimako's heart began to beat faster as the high school infatuation that she thought gone had reemerged with a vengeance. She was only able to squeak out, "She does?"

"Funny, Yumi-chan had the same reaction when I told her that you had crushed on her in high school," Sei chuckled. "In all seriousness, I hope that Yumi-chan's first post-divorce girlfriend would be someone like you or that walking stick, Kanako-chan. I'm just praying that the Ice Queen doesn't realize that Yumi-chan's unattached and tries to get back into her life."

End Flashback

To say that Shimako was in love with Yumi would be an overstatement. All she knew was that she had always liked Yumi and had played with the idea of dating the young architect in the past. 'It might wind up being something real,' she thought. 'I'm not rushing this though, because we are both technically on the rebound. If nothing else, I can try to keep her out of Sachiko-sama's clutches. Let's start with asking her out for drinks.' She smiled a smile that would have been more in place on her Oneesama's than hers. 'Maybe at some point, I can teach her some really nice tricks.' She dialed Yumi's number on her cell phone.

Yumi

As Yumi was driving to pick up her son, she mentally played through the events that happened directly after the funeral. Sachiko had kissed her head off and Shimako was flirting with her. 'Who would have thought that a quiet girl like Shimako could come off so sexy? I wonder what Noriko-chan taught her. I haven't been hit on like that by a girl since Sei-sama and she was only kidding, I think. One never knows with Sei-sama.' These thoughts flitted in her mind before her former Oneesama's face overwhelmed them. As much as she wanted to, she could not deny the desire that Sachiko's kiss had kindled in her body. 'I guess that Sachiko-sama will no longer be satisfied with an innocent relationship, will she?' Yumi laughed to herself.

She arrived at Hanadera Kindergarten and her face flushed when she saw a limousine parked in front of the school. "Maria-sama, please tell me that she isn't here," Yumi prayed fervently. "I'm not mentally prepared to see her yet!"

Her fears were confirmed when the limo door open and an elegant, raven-haired beauty exited the vehicle. The smile on Sachiko's face was blinding, which caused Yumi's heart to flutter and warmth began to spread in her center. 'God, does this mean I want her? I don't want to be with her, but I think that might like to sleep with her,' she thought appalled at the implication. She plastered a smile on her face as parked her car and prepared to walk into the school.

"Yumi," the heiress said simply, reveling in the blush that was still on the brunette's face. She exulted, 'Yumi's thinking about that kiss, about me!' She smirked confidently as she walked toward her former little sister, then she extended her hand, expecting Yumi to shake it.

Yumi was panicking, 'Shit, shit, shit! Why do I let that witch affect me like this? Maria-sama, please send Shimako-san to rescue me!' As if to be an answer to Yumi's impassioned prayer, a car pulled up. Unfortunately, it wasn't the Lillian Kindergarten teacher that got out of the car. It was Kobayashi and some woman that was much younger than her, looking at him with adoring eyes.

Sachiko's smirk dissolved into rage. 'He had my angel, and he was messing with some young kid?!' She turned to look at aforesaid angel whose blush had changed to something approaching joy. The blue-eyed woman asked herself, 'What the hell? Why is this vulgar display making Yumi happy?'

Faith in Maria-sama restored, Yumi walked slowly to her soon to be ex-husband and asked teasingly, "Well, Masamune-kun, what do we have here?"

The professor rubbed the back of his head as he introduced Michie as a "good friend and the person who saved his life." Michie's face crinkled when he called her a friend, but the adoring look was back at the end of the introduction. "Well, Yumi-san, you were right. We really are no good together. We both need something that neither of us can give to the other. I will sign the divorce papers when I am served."

"Thank you, Masamune-kun," Yumi smiled. "For Yuuichi-kun's sake, I would like us to still be friendly. We have been friends for twelve years and I would hate for our mistake of a marriage to end that."

Masamune nodded, ignoring Michie bristling next to him, "I would like that too. You were my first love, but I was never yours. I never could compete with her, could I?"

Yumi flushed in embarrassment as she remembered the "her" that Kobayashi mentioned was watching this conversation. She looked to see how Sachiko was reacting to all of this and she saw that damned arrogant smirk that was on her face prior to the man arriving. Taking a deep breath, Yumi made a quick decision, "Masamune-san, could you go collect our son while I speak to Ogasawara-sama please?"

With a start, Masamune looked over to see Sachiko giving him a dismissive glare. "Certainly, besides, Michie-chan is going to be a part of my life for a long time, so I would like him to meet her," he paused, and then whispered to Yumi, "For our son's sake, please be careful with her. She nearly killed you once. Don't give her the chance to leave our son motherless."

Yumi smirked, "As if she really has a chance. I have other options. I also think that I might like exploring the singles scene." They laughed before he escorted his girlfriend into the school.

"Yumi, I heard what that male said to you, and I swear before God, Maria-sama, Buddha, and all of the ancient kami* of our nation that if you forgive me and give me another chance that I will love you as you deserve to be loved and that I will never hurt you again."

Yumi fought down the lust that Sachiko's blue eyes and passion triggered in her and said tiredly, "You said the same things at the zoo, Sachiko-sama, and I believe that I made my own feelings quite clear at that time. I simply cannot trust you right now. Trust must be earned."

"More than anyone else, you know how I hate to lose. I gave you up once, but I will not hand you over to Toudou Shimako," Sachiko responded with a quiet intensity.

Yumi smirked, "What if I said that we were already dating? Would you still be so sure of yourself?" She watched as the heiress deflated and experienced a delicious, vengeful thrill. "We are not dating, yet. I might decide that she is better for me than you have been or would be. If you want to be with me, you have a shitload of work to do to prove to me that I would be safe giving my heart a second time, and even then Shimako-san and I may start dating."

Sachiko's smile was radiant, "So you mean that there is a chance?"

Yumi's stomach dropped as she realized what she said. She groaned, "Damn it…"

To be continued…

A/N: Thank you all for patiently waiting. I hope that I didn't overdo Shimako's back story. My favorite shrine daughter will make her move in the next chapter. By the way, this chapter's title and the remaining chapter titles will have theme. Virtual cookies will be awarded to the first person who guesses the reference. Thank you again for reading and please let me know what you thought. Peace!

*Kami - Spirit or gods