A/N: Trying to get back on the horse. I gave the SachiYumi shippers some hope last chapter, but is this the way that things are going to go? Who knows? On with this little drama we go, Allons-y!
Disclaimer: Do I really need to reiterate? I hope not. Marimite is not mine. I'm making no money off of this, get it? Good, please enjoy.
Ten Years Later
Chapter 16: Craving (I Only Want What I Can't Have)
Sachiko
"Yes, Father, I hired Fukuzawa Architecture for the Tenmei Project," Sachiko explained to Tooru on the phone. He had called to question his daughter's motives for engaging her former soeur as the architect for the new office building. "Our friendship had very little to do with my decision. I will not lie and say that it had no bearing at all, but the design that Yumi presented was worlds better than the other submissions."
Tooru, hearing the professionalism in Sachiko's voice relented, "I just hope that you know what you are doing, Daughter. My father is only in a coma, not dead. If he awakes and even suspects that you are attempting to rekindle your former romance with Yumi-chan, he will stop at nothing to destroy her. You know that."
"Do I know that? I have only spent the last ten years of my life in hell because the Old Monster made the consequences of defying him abundantly clear," Sachiko sighed, frustrated. "Besides, Yumi is currently seeing someone, so even if I wanted to renew our relationship, it is not possible." The last sentence sat in the heiress' mouth like ash.
Her father on the other line gasped in surprise, "What do you mean not possible, Sachiko? Nothing is impossible for Ogasawara except, of course when Father forbids it. We take what we want because we are wealthier and stronger than anyone else. We have been nobles since the Kamakura period through our strength. We have always sought and obtained power because we dared to do so. If you want Yumi-chan, then be a true Ogasawara and get her," Tooru finished arrogantly.
"Father, I lost Yumi precisely because of that type of thinking from Grandfather," the heiress replied with some heat. She loved her father, but it pissed her off when he talked like his father, whom she hated with all her soul. "Yumi is seeing one of our friends. Even though she has my Yumi, I still really like Shimako-chan. She is a wonderful girl. She is open, carefree, and loving, unlike me. I am the reserved, cold-blooded aristocratic bitch that you and mother wished for me to become. But deep down, I'm not. I hate to admit it, but my psychotherapy has helped me to see that I am a scared, insecure little girl who desires to be loved for who I am, but terrified to let anyone see it," Sachiko took a breath and continued. "Yumi came the closest to seeing the real me when we were dating. I knew that I could trust her with my cowardly heart. I am not perfect, but she loved me unconditionally anyway, and I threw that away because of the Old Monster and my fear. I have a LONG way to go before Yumi will trust me with her heart again, if ever. I cannot obtain Yumi the Ogasawara way. I have to try and do it MY way."
There was a moment of silence from the other participant in the conversation and Sachiko could swear that she could her father measuring his response. "Sachiko." Tooru began. "I am sorry that I was not strong to protect you and Yumi-chan from Father. I failed as your father, and I beg for your forgiveness."
"I will forgive you, Father, if you help me stand up to him, provided he comes out of his coma, which I pray to Maria-sama that he does not. He can linger in Limbo eternally or go straight to Hell for all I care," Sachiko spat out, sapphire eyes flashing.
The elder Ogasawara sighed at the hatred present in his only child's voice, and agreed, "I will fight for you this time, Sachiko. You called Father 'Old Monster,' huh? You could be right about that." He chuckled. "Please do not be a stranger, ne Sachiko? Your mother would love to see you and Yumiko-chan."
"I will, Father," Sachiko said before disconnecting the call. 'Now to see the situation with Yumi and Shimako,' thought the heiress. She booted up her laptop and went to Facebook. Yumi's status still said "divorced," and Shimako's read, "In a Relationship" with no name. 'What, was I expecting Shimako-chan to break up with Yumi over a business dinner? That was silly. Time is on my side, I hope. I just need to be patient."
The raven-haired woman changed to a business website. There was still rampant speculation concerning her grandfather's health, and it was driving Ogasawara stock prices down. 'I need to do something about that old bastard,' she thought savagely. It would be better for everyone if he never woke up. Maybe I should make some phone calls.' She shook her head, 'Now I AM thinking like him. Let's do something constructive and justify my salary.' She began to read the myriad reports that clogged her inbox, sighing, "Welcome to adulthood, Sachiko."
Yumi
After the dinner meeting that wound up being with Sachiko, Yumi had to spend a lot of time on damage control with her girlfriend. She could understand the kindergarten teacher's apprehension. She felt it herself when thinking about Noriko, Shimako's ex-girlfriend. It did not matter that the younger woman was happy with her boyfriend; she still knew Shimako in ways that Yumi did not and she had the advantage of being Shimako's first lover. 'Shi-chan always tells me how happy she was with how we made love, but it was my first time with a girl, so I probably messed up a lot. Noriko-chan had to be better than me. If she comes back and wants to get back together, was I rubbish enough for Shimako to want her more than me?'
The young architect caught her line of thinking and smiled, "I guess that I do love her. I wouldn't be driving myself crazy if I didn't." She remembered Shimako's worried look when she confessed with whom she had the dinner meeting. She was able to smooth it over with a promise of a weekend with just the two of them the next time Masamune-kun had visitation with Yuuichi. 'It would be good to go to an onsen and spend the weekend relaxing. I'll see if she likes that idea.'
The next problem was how to deal with Sachiko. Yumi had allowed the older woman to outmaneuver her with the Tenmei project. 'She certainly blindsided me there. I cannot let that happen again or Shi-chan might lose patience with me. I don't want that. I also do not want to encourage Sachiko-sama into thinking that I am regaining my feelings for her. Fuck that, been there, done that, and I have the scars and therapy bills to show for it.'
Just then, her phone rang. She relaxed when she saw that it was Sei. The former Rosa Gigantea was the number one cheerleader for her petite soeur's romance with Yumi. "Good afternoon, Sei-sama. What can I do for you today?" Yumi asked with amusement.
"Well, you could come over and do me," the notorious flirt answered. She heard Yumi sigh on the line, and continued quickly before the young mother hung up, "Just kidding! Our girlfriends would both kick my ass for that. Anyways, I received an interesting call from the Ice Queen. It seems that she wants to take us all out to dinner so that she can apologize for what she did ten years ago. Youko wants to go, mostly so that she can tell Sachiko to move on. Rei and Yoshino are going. I kind of want to not go because I don't want to see Sachiko bleed all over everyone, but that's the reason that I want to go. It will be fun to see the mighty Ogasawara Ojou-sama prostrate herself to everyone that she had thought was below her." Sei's bitter tone belied her feeling that the heiress had looked down on her in high school.
Yumi cringed at the normally carefree woman's words, "Now Sei-sama, you know that Sachiko-sama treated you like that because she thought of you as a rival for both me and for Youko-sama. Do you remember how crazy you would make her when you would flirt with me? The fire in her eyes was not arrogance. It was jealousy, and it was the only time that I felt like I mattered to her. She didn't want to lose her possession to you."
Now it was Sei's turn to be surprised, "Now Yumi, I am sure that you meant more to her than that. I feel flattered that she thought that I was a rival. The silly girl, I had no chance of stealing you from her. You were so head over heels in love with her that rest of us joked whether you noticed us or not when she was in the room. She was the only one who wasn't aware of your feelings until you got enough guts to confess to her. That is why you should not be alone with her again. I don't want to listen to Shimako cry again," she finished pointedly.
"Sei-sama," Yumi said irritably. "If I had known that Sachiko-sama was the president of the Tenmei Company before the meeting, I would not have blown Shimako off for her. I would rather have lost the contract than to see the look that I saw on Shimako's face when I told her what happened. I want to be with Shimako because I am falling for her, and I will not let Ogasawara Sachiko fuck up my life ever again. She did it once. She will not do it again."
Sei chuckled, "That's my girl. I think that I just fell in love with you again. I did have a slight crush on you when you first joined the Yamayurikai. If I didn't love my You-chan and my petite soeur, I'd ask you to run away with me so I could do all sorts of wonderful and dirty things to you."
"Damn it, Sei-sama," Yumi laughed in spite of herself. "You had better get a lid on that flirting or Youko-sama WILL kill you one day!"
Still laughing, Sei agreed, "I know, right? I make You-chan so jealous, but I always go home with her and I won't even do anything that will ever hurt her. Now, if you and Shimako wouldn't mind swinging a bit, I'm sure I could talk her into it," she finished with a leer in her voice.
"You never stop, do you?" Yumi asked, exasperated, but still giggling. "You are one dirty old man in a young woman's body. I will talk to Shimako about Sachiko-sama's apology dinner. She won't like it but she will probably go so she can see everyone. Now, I have to go back to work, Sei-sama. We lower mortals have to work hard and struggle to earn our bread whilst artists like yourself gather sustenance from God Himself."
Guffawing, Sei replied, "You have really learned to be a smart ass, haven't you, Yumi-chan? It is hard to be a goddess, but I will bestow my blessings on you because you won't let me do anything else. I will tell the Ice Queen to expect the two of you as well. She hasn't set the date yet, but You-chan will push her on that because I have a meeting in London next month for an English version of my The Forest of Thorns screenplay. The Brits want to use Asian actresses for the leads, but they want them to act and not to use the original actresses and a dub track."
"I suppose that it will be too much to hope that both lead actresses will at least be of Japanese descent," Yumi suggested laconically. It was a grievance of hers that Western movie studios paid little attention to the nationality of the actors were casting Asian movie characters. They just needed to be Asian, nothing else matter except to Yumi. She was particularly upset with the American movie, Memoirs of a Geisha because all the female leads were Chinese, and not Japanese.
Grumpily, Sei responded, "No such luck, Yumi-chan. Have you heard of the Korean girl group, Girls' Generation? The leads will be the two American-raised members, Jessica Jung and Tiffany Hwang. They are cute, can speak English fluently, and they are Asian, mission accomplished."
"But they are both in their twenties! They are too old!" Yumi exclaimed. Girls' Generation was another of Shimako's obsessions, so Yumi learned more about them than she wanted to ever know. "They are also about the same height. Wasn't one of the main characters supposed to be much taller than the other? I'm sorry, Sei-sama, I'm not watching that version. I will stick with the original thank you very much."
Sei sighed, "I agree, but Suga-sensei and I are getting paid a shitload of money for the rights to my manuscript and for me to consult on the translation, so who am I to bitch about casting? Plus, I get an all-expense free trip to London and I get to watch the shit storm when their fans find out that they are going to be kissing each other, a lot."
Yumi thought a moment, "Yeah that will definitely be hot, seeing two idols make out. Maybe I will take Shi-chan to see it because it will get her going."
"Now, WHO is the pervert, Yumi-chan? Using a Korean idol to get your girlfriend horny? Sounds like me. I am so proud," She sniffed theatrically. "I have nothing more to teach you about being a lecher. Congratulations!"
Yumi burst out laughing, "Sei-sama! There is no way that I learned ALL that there is know about being a lecher because everyone knows that YOU are the biggest lecher of all!"
"I try," the author deadpanned. There was an audible beep. "Oops, Yumi-chan, that's my editor. I got to go. Give my love and plenty of yours to Shimako for me?"
Yumi ended the call by saying, "Sure thing. Please give my regards to my favorite lawyer."
There was one more call that Yumi needed to make, but her stomach flopped. She needed to make sure that the contract had been sent, but she did not trust herself to remain firm with Sachiko any longer. The fact that the heiress could still affect her was unsettling to say the least. 'Let's put that on the back burner,' she told herself. 'It's not a priority.' Pushing it out of her mind, Yumi's thoughts turned to her son and girlfriend, and her mood lightened.
Chisato
Tanuma Chisato was taking notes as Sachiko was working through a question that she had asked her about the young noblewoman's insecurities. The psychiatrist was happily surprised with the progress that her patient had made in last few sessions. She was still fixated on Fukuzawa Yumi, but she had a better grasp of what caused the rupture between them and the reasons for her hysterical behavior. As she was writing, Chisato took in the cute expressions that the heiress made when she spoke of her love for her ex-girlfriend. 'Did I just think of Ogasawara Sachiko as cute?' she asked herself. 'No, no, no, Tanuma Chisato, you cannot ever refer to your patients as cute. Besides, you took this case so that you could have a chance to see Rei-sama again.'
The heiress paused as she watched the expressive face of her psychiatrist work and asked, "Is there a problem, Tanuma-san?" Sachiko refused to refer to the younger woman as "sensei" because it caused too much cognitive dissonance to refer to an underclassman that way.
Dr. Tanuma snapped to attention, "I apologize, Ogasawara-sama, I was simply thinking about how your faces changes when you are thinking about Yumi-san. It softens your whole demeanor. There are spots of color on your cheeks. It's like you are a young girl in love."
"Excuse me. I am only 29 years old. I am still a young woman, Tanuma-san," Sachiko retorted indignantly. "I AM a young woman in love. I have been in love with this girl since I tripped over her leaving the Yamayurikai meeting room. I loved her enough to let her go when my grandfather threatened to kill her. I married my homosexual cousin and endured a non-consensual consummation of that marriage in order to protect her. Other than my daughter, there is nothing and no one more precious to me. She makes me a better, more beautiful woman."
Watching the passion on her client's face made the young psychiatrist's heart begin to beat rapidly. A stray thought ran through her mind, 'I wish that someone would love me the way that Sachiko-sama loves Yumi-san, even if it isn't healthy.' Her breath caught, 'Oh my God, what am I thinking? This is so completely unprofessional, getting turned on by my patient. Focus on finishing this session. Take the notes. Go home, watch some drama, and drink a bottle of wine. Everything will be fine.'
She took a breath, and turned to the heiress, "Well, Sachiko-sama, we have come to the end of our time. I believe that you are making wonderful progress. I can see that you are better able to process your stress and I think that with a program of anti-anxiety medication, which I will prescribe to you, and meditative yoga, you should not experience any more attacks of hysteria like this last one. You are not an Ogasawara for nothing. I am impressed with how hard you have worked. I am not sure how much more I will be able to do for you in therapy, but I will be available if you need someone to talk to."
Chisato was rewarded with the flash of pleasure in young mother's sapphire eyes. "Thank you, Tanuma-sensei. I did not want to do this therapy, but it has helped. I feel freer than I ever have. I was even able to tell my father that I will fight to protect Yumi with everything that I have against Grandfather if I get a second chance with her. I was too frightened before. It has been a good thing." She extended her hand to her kouhai, who was still in shock that the older woman had finally called her "Sensei."
Getting in to her car, Chisato shut the door and screamed as she drove away, "Why do I always want what I cannot have? First, Rei-sama and now I am attracted to Sachiko-sama. Damn it!"
Sachiko
After Dr. Tanuma left, Sachiko went to her bedroom and collapsed on her bed, "It is over. No more therapy! I am so happy. My life is finally headed in the right direction. I am friends with my Yumi again. I am taking over the conglomerate slowly but surely. The old bastard could wake up tonight and he will not be able to beat me. I have got Yumiko smiling at me and Suguru is back to being my best friend. The only thing that would make it better would be if I could have Yumi in my arms once more. I should call Rei to let her know happened," she finished absently.
At a secret hospital in the Kanto Region
A dark figure moved quietly through the halls, searching for their quarry. The figure read the names until they found the correct room. With the dexterity of a practiced thief, the intruder hacked the security system and entered the room. The person moved stealthily to the bed on which Ogasawara Kentaro remained in his coma. After shutting off all the alarms, they turned to the shell of a man hooked to life support. "You have ruined so many lives, you son of a bitch. It is time for you to die." The assassin swiftly cut the respirator tube and the feeding tube with a surgical precision. They waited while the frail patriarch breathed his last assisted breath. Without the respirator, he could no longer breathe and after a few feeble attempts, Kentaro exhaled, dead.
The person moved quickly out of the room, evading the security cameras. Waiting at the gates was a limousine with a chauffeur holding the door open. Walking with grace, the assassin sat in the back of the car, shut the door, and carefully dressed herself in her accustomed kimono. The chauffeur's voice came over the intercom, "Are you ready, Oku-sama?"
Ogasawara Sayako settled into back seat with a satisfied smile on her face, "Yes, I am, Sato-san. Let us go back to the residence. Do not forget, we were never here. Remember that and you are a wealthy man. Turn on me and I will make sure that you fall just as hard, just as fast as I do."
Sato smiled, "As you wish, Oku-sama. I am your devoted servant."
Sayako pulled out her cell phone, "Tooru, it is done. You and Sachiko are free. Tell my daughter that I love her."
On the other side, her husband agreed, saying, "I will. What time will you be home, Love?"
"I should be back by…" The line went dead.
To be continued…
A/N: I think that I'll leave it at this. Thank you for reading. Please review as it helps me to write better. Thank you.