A/N: Well, that last chapter went over like a fart in church. Just because Yumi accepted Shimako's confession does not mean that everything is over. There is more drama to come. On that note, here is chapter 13.

Disclaimer: You know the drill.

Ten Years Later

Chapter 13: Scream Fly Dream

Sachiko

Groggily, Sachiko opened her eyes. She was in her bedroom, but she had no idea how she had gotten there. She remembered her joy of seeing that Yumi had officially accepted her friend request on facebook. That happiness turned to ash in her mouth as she read the next notification that her love was now in a relationship with Toudou Shimako. Everything went black. The next thing that she knew, she was here in bed.

While the heiress was trying to piece together her memory, her husband was in a chair next to her bed, sleeping. A maid had placed a blanket over him. She smiled at his thoughtfulness, marveling at how their relationship had changed in the past few weeks. Ever since she had become determined to win back Yumi's love, they had become friends again. It was a refreshing change from the war zone that had characterized their marriage in the previous ten years.

Suddenly, the pain took her breath away. Yumi…Yumi had started dating Shimako. 'No, it can't be true,' Sachiko told herself. 'No! No! No!' This continued until the thoughts came out of her mouth and she screamed, "No Yumi!" Tears streamed down her face. She felt had been kicked in the stomach. Her breathing was shallow and her screams of heartbroken denial startled Suguru awake.

She began to thrash around and hyperventilate. He yelled for Sachiko's personal maid. He was holding her arms as the maid arrived in the room. "Call Dr. Shimoseki," Suguru commanded. "Tell her that your mistress is awake and hysterical." That order issued, he proceeded to pin her upper body under his chest so that she would not bash her skull on her headboard. Through gritted teeth, he tried to pacify his wife by saying, "Sa-chan, calm down. You are going to hurt yourself, and I do not want Yumiko-chan to have to live without a mother."

That seemed to get the blue-eyed woman's attention. "Yumiko, she's all that I have to live for now," Sachiko said shakily. "Oh God, it hurts!"

The raving began again, and Suguru cursed the business meetings that prevented he and Alice flying to Okinawa to avoid his soon to be ex-wife's inevitable hysterical melt-down. After ten minutes, Sachiko stopped thrashing and both took the opportunity to catch their breath. It was in this lull that the doctor rushed into the door, immediately giving Sachiko a sedative that made her fall asleep within moments. A visibly exhausted Suguru asked, "Doctor, could you stay with her, please? I have some business that I need to attend to.

Shimoseki Kairi was a woman in mid forties. She had been Sachiko's primary physician since she started puberty. She looked at her charge more as the daughter that she had always wanted rather than as a patient. It didn't take a psychiatrist to see that the raven-haired young woman was in a bad place. "Kashiwagi-sama, I will do my best for Sachiko-sama, but her issues are more psychological than physical. I can deal with the physical, but unfortunately, I cannot help with the mental." She paused a moment before continuing, "I would recommend a colleague of mine who is a Lillian alumna and a kouhai of Sachiko-sama's. Her name is Tanuma Chisato. She is young, yes, but she is discreet, professional, and she graduated first in her class at Tokyo University. She has successfully treated depression in many young women, so you can see that she has a high level of skill. She also has experienced several painful one-sided loves; the most prominent of which was Sachiko-sama's best friend, Hasekura Rei-san."

"Sounds good," Suguru said thoughtfully. "Please contact her and ask her if she is willing to help us. I leave my cousin in your hands, Dr. Shimoseki." The older woman nodded, and Suguru thought, 'Maybe there is a fatality between Sa-chan and Yumi-chan and this is for the best. I hope that Dr. Tanuma can help her.'

As the Kashiwagi heir left, Dr. Shimoseki said to herself, "Why did he refer to Sachiko-sama as his cousin and not as his wife?"

Yumi

"Yumi, could you come to my office please?" Her father asked her the next day at work.

She noticed that her father looked a bit agitated, and queried, "What's wrong, Dad?"

He fidgeted a bit and replied, "Hirota-san called and he would like me to pull you from the Haibatsu project."

"That old bastard didn't learn from our last call. I understand that he doesn't like working with a competent woman, but this is ridiculous," Yumi fumed.

Yuuichiro looked down and said softly, "It wasn't because you are a woman. It's because you are a lesbian. He thinks that it will cause him to lose face to do business with in his words 'a pervert.'"

Yumi's face fell, "Are you firing me, Dad?"

"No, Yumi, I will never fire you," he answered. "However, I just want to caution you that just because your inner circle, including your mother and I, accepts you for who you are does not mean that everyone will. I think that you should talk to Shimako-chan about removing evidence of your relationship from the Internet. It will damage your ability to succeed in this business as you will have to deal with old-fashioned types like Hirota."

The young architect exhaled, "I'm sorry that I put you in this position, Dad. I will be more careful in the future."

Her father smiled, "Be sure that you do. By the way, I told Hirota-san to shove his request up his ass. It's your project. I want you to be its face, and I want you to be the face of this agency, so be careful, okay? Oh yes, I would like to see Shimako-chan again. Please bring her to dinner Sunday night."

Yumi started. Her father's tone brooked no dissent, but she wasn't sure that her relationship with Shimako was quite at the "meet the parents" stage. She agreed because she had no choice and made a mental note to warn her girlfriend. Yumi asked herself thoughtfully, 'Girlfriend, huh? It seems strange to think of Shimako in that context, but I accepted her confession and decided to try dating her, so I guess that does make us official.'

As soon as she got back to her desk, Yumi opened her cell phone and called Shimako. She was surprised that the young teacher answered. "Shimako, I was just going to leave you a voicemail because I assumed that you were teaching."

The former Rosa Gigantea giggled, "It is naptime, so I can talk if I'm quiet. What's up, Yumi-san?"

Yumi took a breath and answered, "Shimako, please don't take this the wrong way, but my dad asked me to change my facebook relationship status. He doesn't want us being public with our relationship because it is bad for business."

Shimako sighed, "Are you regretting accepting my confession? Are you ashamed of dating a woman?"

"No, Shimako," Yumi said quickly. "I'm proud of who I am and I am happy to be with you, but I have my father and his business reputation to think about. If I was running the firm and I was established, then it would be a different matter. I accepted your confession because I wanted," She paused and her voice became husky, "I want to be with you, especially right now when I cannot see you because of work."

Shimako, sounding relieved, asked, "So just to be clear, we are only breaking up on facebook and not in reality?"

"That's correct," said Yumi with a smile on her face. "How about I pick you up from school after I get my son and we go over to my house for dinner? I'm cooking. I'm not Morimoto, but I can whip up a pretty decent tonkatsu."

Shimako laughed softly, "Sounds great, but how will I get home tonight? My car will still be here."

"Who said that you were going home tonight?" Yumi asked with an evil chuckle.

Shimako pretended to be shocked, "Have you been hanging out with my Oneesama? You sound just like that dirty old man in a woman's body."

"Let's just say that the Sei-sama had some interesting ideas," Yumi drawled mischievously. They shared a laugh and hung up, both happy with the call. Yumi logged in to her facebook account, and after sending private messages to all her close friends, changed her relationship status back to "divorced". 'That should do it,' she said in her mind. "Now it's time to get back to work!"

A voice behind her said, "It is, but I need to speak with you, Yumi-san." Yumi whirled to see Alice standing there. "I need your help with Sachiko-sama."

Yumi groaned, 'Oh shit, this will be an uncomfortable conversation.'

Suguru

Snuggling in bed with Alice later that evening, Suguru tried not to think of the emotional agony that his cousin was enduring at the moment. After ten years of unrelenting enmity and marital warfare, they had become friends again and he was now left to help pick up the pieces before their daughter noticed that something was wrong with Sachiko. 'I wonder why Yumi-chan jumped so quickly into dating Toudou-chan,' he mused. He sat up and ran his fingers through his dark hair. "No fucking way that I'm sleeping tonight," he growled semi-audibly. "Sachiko is going through an emotional crisis. The old monster is on death's doorstep, and Tooru-sama is out of the country. On top of that, the Kashiwagi board is on my ass to produce a son because they don't want a girl to inherit the firm. Fuck my life."

By this point, Alice had awoken and he was listening his lover's softly spoken rant. He gently rubbed the former playboy's back, startling him. He asked, "Suguru, do you want to talk about it?"

Suguru favored his partner with a loving smile and replied, "I wish that it would help. Sa-chan's meltdown could not have come at a worse time. I'm completely swamped."

"If it is of any help," Alice whispered. "I'm here for you."

Suguru's smile reached his blue eyes, a rare occurrence the last few weeks, and he kissed Alice's forehead, "You have no idea how much I appreciate that, Love."

"I did do one thing that might help," the younger man added. "I asked Yumi-san to come speak with Sachiko-san. I'm thinking that her presence might reassure Sachiko-san enough for her to come out of her collapse."

Suguru looked at Alice and said a happy prayer to the gods that they had blessed him with such a wonderful boyfriend. "A-chan, what would I do without you?"

With mischief dancing in his eyes, "Well, you couldn't do this." Alice suddenly dove under the covers and started to express his love for his boyfriend in ways that made the raven haired man gasp in pleasure.

Sachiko

Fuzzy images filled the heiress's head. She saw Yumi sitting at her feet with her head in her lap. They were wearing their Lillian uniforms, and Sachiko was gently stroking her soeur's soft hair. That image warped and she was in the Lillian chapel, marrying her cousin. She could taste the salty tears that were flowing down her face. She saw the dark room in which she and her new husband consummated their marriage. The pain and humiliation was brutal.

She then visualized the delivery room with the gowned medical staff hovering over her. She felt the fear and the unrelenting agony as she felt like her nether region was being torn apart. She felt again the relief and joy as she held her daughter for the first time. She saw the fights between her and her husband. She felt the sense of betrayal as he flaunted his lover in her face. The hatred flared in her heart again.

The images swirled and she was at zoo where Yumi kissed her after rejecting her feelings. She saw Suguru smiling at her for the first time in ten years. She saw Yumi agreeing to be friends with her again. There was a headache and then the blessed release of sleep.

She awoke to her soeur sitting by her bedside, looking quite uncomfortable. "Yumi, is it really you? Maria-sama, please tell me that this isn't a sleeping medicine dream."

Yumi sighed, "Yes, Sachiko-sama, I'm here. Even with as much hell as you had put me through, I could not let you take that journey alone because I am a friend. I cannot give you what you want, but I can be here."

Sachiko grabbed her former soeur's hands and clasp them to her bosom, "It means so much to me that you are here," she said weakly. She was about to continue, but a thoughtful look crossed her face and she asked, "Why did you accept Shimako-chan's confession? I thought that you would give me more time to prove myself."

Yumi's mouth worked violently as she bit off a tart response. She took a deep breath and responded carefully, "I never promised you that I would wait until I could trust you again. To be honest, I should have waited longer to accept her confession, but right now I feel that it was the best for all three of us to move forward. I like Shimako a lot. I might even be falling for her. I really do need someone like her in my life. She has a gentle, healing spirit." Breathing easier, the architect continued, "You were my first love, and we are friends again after you took my feelings and ripped them to shreds. Maybe I decided to date her because I hoped that this happen and you would experience a taste of what I went through."

Sachiko squeezed her crush's captive hands, "That cannot be it! My Yumi would never hurt someone knowingly."

"How can I get it through your head that you killed that Yumi ten years ago, Sachiko-sama?" Yumi asked with a rising exasperation. "I am not the woman that I was then. I had to survive as did you. I made some mistakes in these intervening years, but those failures have made me stronger. But you are stuck in high school, Sachiko-sama. You are looking for feelings that died when you dumped me and married your cousin. We can never go back to those same feelings. I like you as a friend, and over time I may be able to look at you as my Oneesama once more, but please do not expect anything more from me or I will end this friendship before it gets started."

Sachiko looked horrified and she pleaded, "Please don't do that, Yumi. I need you in my life. It hurt so much to see that you were dating another woman because I let myself get my hopes up that we could be together again. That being said, I will not give up on that because I love you, Yumi. I love you more than life, than death, more than my name, more than my God, more than anyone but my daughter. If I give up, then I am truly lost and my life will have little meaning."

Yumi was breathless at the raven-haired woman's confession. She tried to harden her heart, but happy memories flooded her mind. She remembered the times that they spent flirting, holding hands, and the innocent dates that they went on. Yumi's heart started beating rapidly and she was tempted to give her former Oneesama hope, but the memories of pain came back. She pictured what Shimako's face would look like if she were to dump her for Sachiko. She pictured the disappointment on Yuuki's face, and she shook her head, answering sadly, "I can't, Sachiko-sama. I care too much for my current girlfriend to give you what you want."

Sachiko nodded, "I expected as much because deep down, you are still the loving Yumi that you were in the past." She managed a wan smile, "You can't blame a girl for trying, can you? I meant every word of what I said earlier. I will not give up on you, Yumi. Let Shimako-san know that if she doesn't treat you properly that I will do everything in my power to steal you from her. Tell her that I've declared my intentions."

Yumi groaned inwardly, 'She is serious…shit.' She began to get uncomfortable under her former Oneesama's intense loving gaze. She decided that she needed to get out of that room and back to Shimako as fast as possible. She had left her with Yuuichi because Alice said that it was an emergency. Her girlfriend was not happy, but agreed to watch the little boy. Nervously, Yumi mumbled, "Um, Sachiko-sama, I need to get home. I left my son with a sitter. I hope that you feel better soon."

"Now that I know that I can be in the same world with you and see myself in your beautiful eyes, I will be better. Thank you for coming to see me, Yumi. Please come by anytime. You are always welcome and invited," said Sachiko with a warm smile. She was so overjoyed that she had unsettled her crush that her hysteria calmed.

Yumi, on the other hand, fled from the room as fast as she could, fretting, 'Why can't she let me go? Why do I let her get to me so easily? It will be better if I don't see her for a while.' She drove home quickly. She ran into the house and straight into Shimako's arms. "I am sorry, but I need this, Shimako-chan. Can you hold me a little longer?" She pleaded.

Shimako immediately knew that something had happened with Sachiko and that her girlfriend would tell her when she was ready. She kissed Yumi's forehead and stroked her back lovingly while the young woman wept in her embrace. "I'm here for you, Yumi, as long as you need me to be," she said softly while damning Sachiko to the hottest precincts of hell.

She asked herself angrily, 'What did she do this time? How do I break the hold that rich witch has on my Yumi?' Struck with inspiration, she began kiss the young mother's lips softly and teasingly. After a few moments, Yumi stopped crying and started kissing her back with increasingly passion. They were soon breathless, and Shimako, voice husky with excitement, asked "Should we take this to a more private location? Your son is asleep, but…" Yumi nodded and led her into her bedroom where they let their feelings take full flight for the first time.

At that same time, in Osaka, Dr. Tanuma Chisato was reading an email from her mentor, Dr. Shimoseki. "I'm to work with Rosa Chinesis, huh? This should be interesting. Too bad I can't examine Fukuzawa-san as well. With her suicide attempts, she would be a much more interesting case. Oh well, I get to explore and discover what issues a true ojou-sama like Ogasawara-sama has, and maybe I can see Rei-sama again," she chuckled thoughtfully.

A/N: Finally done with this chapter! Please enjoy and review! I really appreciate everyone's support and comments! Thank you! ¡Gracias! Merci! Arigato! Danke!