A/N: Time to hop back on this horse. Thanks for all who have reviewed. You are appreciated!

Disclaimer: Maria-sama ga Miteru is the intellectual property of Konno Oyuki. I have neither intention nor expectation of making any money from this story.

Ten Years Later

Chapter 17: Dangerous and Moving

Sachiko

"Harada-san, do not worry about the damned speed limits, just get me to the hospital as fast as possible!" Sachiko commanded. Her father had called to tell her that Sayako had been in an accident and had been taken to Touko's family hospital for treatment. He advised that the matriarch was not of the woods yet, and that Sachiko should hurry just in case. When the chauffeur worried aloud about being stopped and cited by the police, the heiress spat, "I will pay any goddamned traffic fines that you might get and I'll make sure that they are not on your driving record. Now please be quiet and drive as fast as you can." She lamented that Suguru was not home when she had received the call. 'Now HE would not have had an issue driving like a bat out of hell,' she thought to herself. The one time that she actually wanted him to drive like a maniac was the one time that he was unavailable.

Arriving at the hospital thirty minutes later, a worried Sachiko jumped out of the car before the chauffeur could open the door for her. Noble dignity was shed as she sprinted into the hospital toward her mother's room. She stopped short when she saw the family of her mother's driver weeping inconsolably. This was not a good sign. Sachiko rapidly went through all of the calming techniques that Tanuma Chisato had taught as her hysteria level began to rise.

She continued to the elevator and when she arrived at the elevator, the raven-haired woman spotted her father. On the positive side, it did not appear that he was grief-stricken. However, he did look like he was in shock. Sachiko jumped in to his arms, pleading, "Father, please tell me that she is still alive."

"Yes, she is," Tooru began. "I don't know how, but she is. The police said that her car had blown a tire and flipped multiple times before landing against a tree. The chauffeur was thrown through the front windshield. He didn't suffer, but Sayako has broken both arms, half of her ribs, and she has a slight skull fracture," he recounted. "I called in Dr. Matsudaira to help Touko-chan and Yuuki-san work on her. I know that he is retired and that Touko-chan and her husband are excellent doctors, I just trust the old man more."

'He really does love her,' Sachiko thought. 'Despite all of the affairs he has had, Father actually loves Mother.' Composing herself, she asked, "What did Touko-chan say?"

Tooru combed his graying hair with his fingers, "Well, Touko-chan and Yuuki-kun agree that in and of themselves, none of your mother's injuries are life-threatening, but it is the amount of damage that she took that has worried them. I cannot lose her and Father in the same day," he finished forlornly.

"Wait, Grandfather is dead?" Sachiko asked quickly.

She was surprised to see her father's eyes fill with tears, "Yes, Sachiko, someone went to his hospital room and sabotaged his life support. They cut all of the tubes and he died quickly. It was either murder or an act of mercy for him and for the rest of us. I truly loved my father as much as I hated and feared him."

The heiress was of two minds concerning this revelation. Firstly, she hated her grandfather more than any human being ever born. Second, she hurt for her father. He had always been overly-indulgent with her as a child because of his many absent periods. Tooru had felt the need to spoil his only child when he was home due to guilt over missing her growing up and for his mistress. She still had not really forgiven him for the affair that had lasted until she had married Suguru.

Her emotions swirling, Sachiko did the one thing that always felt right, she hugged her father. 'Maybe the reason that his infidelity hurt me so much was that I have always been a Daddy's girl and I felt like he betrayed ME,' she thought idly. Tooru had encouraged Sachiko's affection much more than Sayako had when she was a child. Her father was the one man, other than Yuuki and Suguru, whom she did not feel apprehensive around. The new Ogasawara patriarch cast off his dignity and wept on his daughter's shoulder.

A polite cough disturbed this touching father/daughter tableau. Sapphire blue orbs met brown eyes that were so much like her true love's that it momentarily took her breath away. Dr. Fukuzawa Yuuki felt like an unwelcome guest, seeing this familial moment, but he had news to convey. "Ogasawara-dono, Grandfather has examined Ogasawara-sama and determined that none of your wife's injuries are life-threatening. This confirms what Touko and I had determined. We all believe that she will be fully recovered in 10-12 weeks, and the only reason that it will take that long is due to her broken bones. We wish to keep her here for a couple of days to monitor the skull fracture and make sure that she does not have any brain damage. The tests to this point have come back negative, including the verbal test that we gave her."

The proud nobleman sank to his knees, "Thank you, God. Thank you, Maria-sama. Thank you both for sparing my wife!" Yuuki courteously offered to escort the Ogasawara to Sayako's room with a caveat that they keep their voices low and avoid exciting the patient. Tooru rapidly agreed to the terms and followed the young doctor praying the whole way.

Sachiko studied her father and thought about how things would be different now that the old monster was dead. 'He loves Yumi, so if we were to reunite, I cannot see him having any objections. On the negative side, we lost most of the power that Grandfather wielded like a 100 kilo club (A/N - approximately 220 pounds). However, our business partners both respect and like Father. They trust him as well. I need to call Suguru,' she thought before pulling out her cell phone.

Suguru

While his cousin was considering her future, the Kashiwagi heir was in Nagano, visiting the Nozawa Onsen Village with his love, Alice. Alice had arranged this escape because he saw how much stress Suguru had had to deal with in the last few weeks. They had enjoyed a leisurely soak, had made love several times, and were just about to take a nap when the "Prince's" cell phone rang. "Shit," growled the normally gentle Arisugawa Kintarou. They were normally so busy that they had very little time together and he was jealous of every moment that they had alone.

His love groaned tiredly, saw that it was Sachiko, and answered, "Sa-chan, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" His tone made it very clear that he was not happy with the timing of the interruption.

"Sorry to interfere with your and Alice-san's mini-vacation, but I have some shocking news for you," the younger woman said breathlessly. "The old bastard died! Someone sabotaged his life-support machines and Grandfather is dead."

Suguru sat straight up with those words, causing Alice to give him a questioning look. He shook his head and repeated, "Someone killed the old monster in his hospital bed, huh? I am happy that he is dead, but you realize that this is going to drastically increase our workload until we can get the zaibatsu used to our hands, rather than Kentaro-dono's, at the reins. Your father will become more of a figurehead than a leader; you know that, don't you? We will be running the company because Tooru-sama is too kind to do what is necessary."

Sachiko asked with a chuckle, "We? I thought that you were divorcing me, Suguru-san."

Hearing the mischief in his wife's voice, Suguru responded tiredly, "Do you think that you could handle all of those old farts by yourself? This is for our daughter and her future. We will need to work together on this. Once things are under control, then we will be free to divorce and be with the ones that we love. Speaking of that, winning Yumi-chan back may have to wait while we are slaying old dragons."

The heiress sighed, "I know. I love Yumi and I like Shimako-san, but I cannot help praying that Shimako will screw up and Yumi will dump her for me. However, I also know that Yumiko and her inheritance is priority one. Let's meet first thing Monday morning and plan our strategy. We should keep Father advised so that he feels like he is a part of this."

"Agreed," her husband replied. "My office, 9:00 with Tooru-dono, is that acceptable?"

Sachiko answered quickly, "Yes. Now get back to your boyfriend who is likely QUITE angry with me. Have fun, you two. I will hold down the fort here until Monday."

After setting his phone on the nightstand, Suguru turned to face his lover, "You heard all of that, didn't you?" He asked, anticipating his younger boyfriend's wrath.

"What do you mean?" With tears in his eyes, Alice asked, "The part where you and Sachiko-san agreed to stay married a little longer or the part about us putting our lives on hold until she gets her life together?"

Running his left hand through his raven hair, Suguru sighed, "I never said that we had to put out lives on hold. I only said that I needed to put my divorce off for a little while. It is not about Sachiko. It is about my daughter, Yumiko. She is every bit as much my priority as you are. Do you understand that?" He flopped against his pillow tiredly.

"So what would you do if I got married to a woman as my family's board is hounding me to do?" Kintarou spat angrily. He was crying now.

Suguru was at his limit, but he kept his composure, and said quietly, "Do as you please. I love you more than anyone not named Ogasawara Yumiko, but please do not make me regret giving you my heart because I have chosen to prioritize my daughter over you in this situation."

At this, Alice threw his arms around Suguru's torso and wept on his chest, "Please don't say that, Sempai! I love you so much. I feel like all the color is gone from my world when I can't see you. I'm just being peevish because I thought that after your divorce, we could be more open about our relationship. I want to marry you, Sempai."

His love chuckled and ruffled Alice's hair, "Same-sex marriage is not legal in Japan, silly."

Seeing that Suguru's mood had improved, Alice put on a cute pout, and replied, "We can go to Canada like Mizuno-san and Sato-san did. They have a marriage license and everything. I want a wedding with you, Sempai."

Both men blushed, and the Kashiwagi heir laughed, "I didn't think that you could still make me blush, Alice. We can do that after this current crisis is over. Besides, it will shut up all the old farts that are pestering us for sons!" They shared a companionable laugh and cuddling together, they fell asleep.

Yumi

"Dad, the Sendai project is ready to break ground. It looks beautiful, the clients love it, and I did it under budget too!" Yumi bragged as she stood by her father's workstation/desk. He had the radio turned to his favorite news station while he worked.

Yuuichiro grunted in approval, "So how is the Tenmei project going? We cannot afford to get behind on that one."

Groaning internally, Yumi replied, "I am on schedule with that one as well. I just need to clarify a few things with the client on some of the details before we can green-light the contractor to break ground."

"So what was the client like and why did they insist on meeting with you before giving us the contract?" He asked curiously.

'Shit,' Yumi thought to herself. 'Well, there's nothing for it though.' To her father, she answered, "The president of the Tenmei Corporation was Sachiko-sama. It is a subsidiary of the Ogasawara conglomerate that she is running personally. She wanted to catch up and to pull my chain a little. She said that our bid was the best anyway."

Mr. Fukuzawa chuckled, "That sounds like Sachiko-chan. You are not thinking of breaking up with Shimako-chan for her, are you?"

"No!" Yumi yelled sharply. "God no, my relationship with Shimako is going really well. There is no way that I would sacrifice that for Sachiko-sama. Besides, I am still not sure that I could ever trust her again in that way, even if things don't work out with Shimako."

Relieved, Yuuichiro said, "Good. I like the smiles that you have had lately. I didn't want them to disappear again. Yuuichi is happier than I thought that he would be without his father in the house. Masamune-kun has a new girlfriend, does he not?"

"Yes," his daughter responded nodding her head. "She is one of his students, and she chased him. I'm glad that he found someone to love and to love him because I want him to be happy. I just don't want him."

Yuuichiro began to reply, but was interrupted as the announcer reported the suspicious death of Ogasawara Kentaro in his most unctuous tones. "Hmm, the old lion is dead, huh? That will change a few things, won't it Yumi?"

She thought for a moment, and shook her head, "There may not be the threat from her father that there was from her grandfather, but I am happy with my current girlfriend, and I am not looking for another one, even if she was my first love."

"That's my girl," the head architect said proudly. "You do realize that she will feel free to pursue you more energetically, right?"

Yumi waved that notion aside and looked at her father, "Are you playing devil's advocate or are you suggesting that I give Sachiko-sama another chance at the expense of Shimako's heart?"

"I am doing nothing of the sort," he retorted. "I wanted you to say that you are committed to Shimako-chan and not put yourself in jeopardy with Sachiko-chan."

Face red, Yumi felt ashamed at her outburst, "Sorry, Dad, but I just felt that I was being pushed toward Sachiko-sama. I feel that I might be in love with Shimako, and hurting her is the last thing that I would ever do knowingly or purposefully."

Yuuichiro hugged his daughter, "That'll do, Yumi. Keep thinking that way and you will find happiness, I'm sure. Happy employees produce better work and make me more money."

Yumi snorted, "I knew that what it was all about was money, you greedy old man!" They both laughed until he schooled his face to look as stern as possible so that he could order her back to work. She stuck out her tongue at her father and went back to her workstation while her dad wailed about the disrespect that he receives on a regular basis from his favorite daughter. "I'm your only daughter, you old goof," she snarked at her desk.

Shimako

As she got her charges down for their afternoon nap, Shimako took that opportunity to hop on the Internet. Her heart leapt into her throat at the headline that she saw on her home page, "Ogasawara Kentaro dead under suspicious circumstances. What is the future of the Ogasawara Zaibatsu?" 'Oh Maria-sama,' she thought with rising dread. 'Sachiko-sama is free now. I don't want to lose Yumi, but it would be impossible for me with compete with Sachiko-sama. I should call Yumi.'

She stepped out into the hall, pulling out her cell phone before calling her girlfriend. "Fukuzawa Architecture, Fukuzawa Yumi speaking, how may I help you?" The voice on the other line that Shimako loved so much said.

"Um Yumi-san, it's Shimako. Can I see you tonight? I'd like to take you to dinner," the honey-haired teacher queried.

Clicking keys on her computer, Yumi replied, "I can't tonight unless you want to come over. It is a school night for my son, and I need to get to bed on time."

"Oh, that's right. I have to teach tomorrow too. Can I come over about 6:30?" She asked.

Still typing, Yumi answered, "Sounds good. I cannot wait to see you. Maybe you ought to bring a change of clothes because I'm not sure that I am going to let you go home tonight."

Shimako blushed, "Yumi! I knew that I shouldn't let you hang out with Oneesama! She is a bad influence on you!"

"Are you complaining?" Yumi flirted back. "You know that you love me, and you cannot live without my charm."

Embarrassed now, Shimako started to stutter, finally managing, "You are so unfair. Why is it all that I need to do is to talk to you and everything is alright again? Have it your way, I'll bring a change of clothes, you dirty-minded girl!"

Yumi laughed quietly so as to not alert her dad that she was on a personal call, "I love you too, Shimako-chan. Don't be late, or I might start without you."

It took a moment for Shimako to realize what her girlfriend was implying and she flushed crimson, "Mou! You are impossible! If I knew that you were like this, I probably still would have fallen for you," she finished lamely. "Got to go, Love, one of my little ones is crying. I will see you at 6:30."

"Thank you, Shimako, for calling. It made my day. See you tonight," Yumi said before hanging up.

Turned on, Shimako had to calm down before rushing to comfort her student, thinking, 'It is going to be one hell of a night!'

A/N: I am so sorry that this has taken me so long to update. There are no excuses. Enjoy and let me know what you thought. Thank you for reading!