Authors Notes: Okay so this story is just banging around in my head so loudly it's all consuming for me to write! Not sure if I can keep up with the pace or if it will slow – but I will do my best.

As you will see, this chapter will begin to set the stage for Sachiko and Yumi, just how far I'm not sure since I'm writing this Authors Note halfway through this chapter hehe. An "Out of Character" moment will happen in this chapter and shape the chapter– that I can tell you since I'm about to write it so don't hate me TOO much for it. I think it's a different twist, at least, in my head right now it might be a good one? So when you read it and your mind screams at you how it's very wrong, please give it a chance? The reason for what I am going to write might not seem entirely clear in this chapter but it will in others. So please stick around and don't give up on me just yet *bows*.

Oh the music that Yumi will be listening to is Daft Punk, it can't be helped, and "Discovery" happens to the album I've had playing in the background while writing this story – why change something when it works? XD Not to mention Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem featuring that album and drawn by Leiji Matsumoto is beyond amazing – watch it if you haven't! (He is one of my favorite artists too).

Thank you everyone for your words of encouragement!

Thoughts by the characters are italicized and between two of these * little guys.

0o0o0

I don't own any of the characters, I wish I did because they are amazing, but a girl can dream XD

"So, that is the cabin, what do you think?" Yumi asked, happy and excited for her Onee-sama to be the first to see the house.

"It is beautiful, Yumi, thank you for sharing it with me." She said enjoying the happiness that emanated from Yumi.

Yumi blushed and led Sachiko back to the second floor where most of the bedrooms were located, the bedroom on the bottom floor was her parents and it just didn't feel right for anyone to sleep in that one. With arms wide she turned to the other girl and made a motion for her to pick any room she wished to sleep in.

"Which room is yours?" Sachiko asked look into the rooms with their doors open.

One room had twin beds while there were two rooms across the hall, each with larger beds. Sachiko hadn't seen those rooms completely yet but had a feeling one of those was her petite soeurs.

With a blush still on her face she turned and led Sachiko to the room on the right of the two rooms. Sachikos' eyes went wide for a moment as she took in the room full of books and images of nearly everything they had done together. A warm feeling made its way to Sachikos' heart to know that even when Yumi was away she still thought of her.

"This is my room." Yumi whispered as she walked to show her Onee-sama around.

"This door leads to a small bathroom, this door to the balcony, and this…" she began as she opened the door to show that it joined with the room on the left.

"A joined room?"

"Hai, with Yuki, his room as a small bathroom as well as a door that leads to the balcony; if you are interested in any of these rooms then I will offer you mine." Yumi stated, knowing that while Sachiko could tolerate her brother fondly compared to most men – the idea of sleeping in a bed that a man had been in would surely unnerve her, not to mention Yukis' room was full of his work out equipment.

"That is very kind of you; I think I will take you up on your offer." Sachiko said with a knowing smile to her petite soeur.

*She knows me well.*

"Would you like to see the balcony? It really is amazing…

Yumi was interrupted and stopped in her tracks as her stomach rumbled, a blush coming to her cheeks.

"Perhaps after lunch?" Sachiko chuckled softly as she sat her luggage in Yumis' room before they headed down the stairs.

…

"Onee-sama, we have enough food for today then we'll need to head to the small shop that is close by." Yumi stated as she took from the fridge the food she had brought in a cooler, knowing that there would be no food in the house until she bought some or caught some from the lake.

"I hope that sandwiches are okay or would you rather nap until later in the day?" Yumi asked suddenly remembering how Sachiko was when she had gone to her summer house.

"I am a bit hungry, a light sandwich sounds wonderful, and then perhaps I could nap?"

"Of course! While you are napping then I will do some shopping and a few of the chores that need to be done around the house." Yumi nodded as she sat down next to her Onee-sama with food and drink.

While they ate both girls were in thought. Yumi was making a mental list of all the things to be done while Sachikos' were a bit deeper. The silence continued but it wasn't uncomfortable as each girl drew comfort in the other being there.

"Yumi, I am the first to be here aren't I?" Blue eyes turned to a once again blushing younger girl.

Yumi looked down for a moment and nodded. It was true. She never had any friends come to the cabin like her brother had over the years. It wasn't that she didn't have the friends to do so, just, this was a part of her life – at the time – she had enjoyed the most. Now the time spent with her Onee-sama took that spot but the idea that both of her favorite things were in one spot made her warm inside.

"Yuki has had friends here but you are my first, Onee-sama. That's not a bad thing is it?" Brown eyes snuck a sideways glance at the other girl.

"No. I would say I am surprised but I am not, this place seems very special to you, and I am honored to be here with you. I hope to have many memories here." Sachiko smiled at Yumi and took her handkerchief out to gently clean around her mouth, smiling all the more at Yumis' embarrassed look.

0o0o0

After putting Sachiko to bed and making sure their cell phones worked in case she needed anything, Yumi began her 10 minute ride on her bicycle to the little shop from the cabin. She was so happy that the cabin pleased her Onee-sama and even more pleased at the time alone they would have! She hoped that Sachiko would be okay with the plans she had for the upcoming two weeks knowing that outdoor activities weren't always to Sachiko's liking.

*Well, she can always read on the porch or balcony or nap.

I'm just happy she is here.*

Yumi locked down her bicycle as she walked into the little shop, greeting the shop owner while she pulled her list from her pocket. The conversation she had while writing the list came back to her mind.

"Here is some money, Yumi, for groceries." Sachiko said handing her petite soeur a money envelope.

"I can't accept that, Onee-sama, it was me who asked you here. It is my treat."

Sachiko knew how stubborn Yumi could be. She could easily use a certain tone in her voice to get the smaller girl to comply but she didn't like to do that with Yumi unless it was truly necessary. There was a silence for a moment until an idea struck Sachiko.

"How about a compromise?"

"Compromise?" Yumi asked, confused.

"Hai. Since we will be here two weeks we each take a week to pay for groceries with a set limit?"

"Not a set limit because what if we go somewhere or are in the mood for certain foods that might be more expensive than others?"

Yumi sighed as she held the envelope that Sachiko had given her for her week of grocery buying. Her Onee-sama may have won that little battle but Yumi was one step ahead. She knew the second week of them being at the cabin was Sachikos' birthday, her 18th birthday, to be exact. A cheshire grin spread across her face at the plans she had for such an occasion.

"Will that be all today, Yumi-san?" The shop owner asked, long time friends of the Fukuzawa family.

"Hai!" she said making small talk while he rang up her bill for the week while she began opening the envelope.

"That will be…"

Yumi didn't hear him; instead she let for an 'EEP!' at the large number of 10,000 yen notes that filled the envelope. No wonder her Onee-sama easily conceded to the compromise. There was enough money in here for her to live at the cabin for a whole summer eating nothing but the finest of foods.

*Onee-sama…*

She paid the bill and collected her change, determined to return the envelope to Sachikos' luggage when the moment was appropriate, and loaded up the bicycle. Yumi was riding for a bit while she did a mental checklist.

*Okay food and drink – check.

Need to chop some firewood for the indoor and outdoor fire places.

Make sure the dock is in working order.

Get the lawn equipment from the shed so we can sit outside if we wanted.*

Her list was far from complete but once she returned home and put the food away she would change clothes and begin on the wood chopping. That would be the most strenuous task, one she knew her Onee-sama would be unable to help her do, so it would be best to get it done while she was sleeping. She looked at her watch and saw that Sachiko would probably sleep for a few more hours.

…

Yumi stood in front of the mirror in Yukis' room. She made sure once everything was put away in the kitchen she tiptoed up the stairs as quietly as she could knowing that her Onee-sama hated to be woken up when she was sleeping. Carefully shutting the door that joined the two rooms she began to change into her work clothes. It was still early in the afternoon, 2 p.m., and the heat would still rather potent. So here she was and suddenly she was unsure her choice of wardrobe for the two weeks had been a smart one.

*What would Onee-sama say?

Would she be disgusted in what she saw?*

It was true that Fukuzawa Yumi was a klutzy young woman, anyone could attest to that, but in the last year it had been made known that it was toning down. Yumi looked at her reflection in the mirror, her cut offs and tank top showing more of her body than she had ever revealed to anyone outside of her family. She lifted her arms and flexed. Tight lithe muscles moved to the top of her skin as her mind flooded with memories.

Yumi knocked on her brothers' door one night to ask if she could borrow a book for a report she was doing.

"Yuki! You're all sweaty, what is going on?" she asked when he answered the door to let her in

"Working out, it helps me think and stay in shape." He said wiping the sweat from his face before handing her the book she said she had needed upon knocking on his door.

"Is…is it hard?" she asked looking down, not entirely sure why she asked him.

"Hard? Not really, not if you start off with what you can handle. Why?" he raised an eyebrow suddenly curious as to why she'd ask.

"I think….well…I think I'd like to try? Is it something you could teach me or we do together?" Yumi lifted her head, looking a bit embarrassed.

Yuki was quite for a moment as he looked at his older sister. She had always been in good shape and it was her body type he preferred in girls, so why would she want to work out? The silence was a little much for Yumi and she sighed.

"If it is something that can help you think and stay focused, I would like to learn. I am in good shape so I'm not doing it for any reason of that sort, I don't want to be big like a man either, but if I got a bit stronger then that wouldn't be so bad – perhaps it would even make me less clumsy."

"Okay then, we can start tomorrow."

That had been around the time she had been a 1st year student at Lillian when Toko-chan had come into their lives. It had truly started when she and Sachiko had the beginnings of…the incident…which she later learned was the decline of Sachikos' grandmother leading to her passing. Yumi shook her head to clear her thoughts at those bad memories and feelings. That had been a very difficult time for her and she had thought she was losing her Onee-sama. Tightness griped her heart suddenly as she put her hands over her chest closing her eyes until it went away.

The more she thought about Sachiko not being in her life the more her heart hurt and how her heart had been hurting since the day Sachiko had said she loved Yumi, she knew things had changed. She had been so happy to hear those words come from Sachiko but she knew it was as soeurs only, even though Yumi had begun to fall in love with the raven haired woman so many months before, it still made her heart soar to know she meant something to the beautiful Sachiko.

Yumi felt something wet on her cheeks as she looked again at her reflection. Tears ran down her face and she wiped them away. She and Sachiko were worlds apart – she knew it better than anyone ever could.

*We're like the Prince and the Pauper; well I guess I should say Princess.

Onee-sama has stature, wealth, beauty, brains, a future – she has it ALL.

Me?*

Anger and disappoint flared within Yumi as she turned from the mirror, disgusted, and left the room to carefully go down the stairs. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge to take with her while she took her feelings out on the wood needing to be chopped.

0o0o0

Sachiko stretched out her long body when she woke up. All of her tense muscles relaxed instantly to the point where she could have easily fallen back asleep but as her eyes caught the time on her watch, 3 p.m., she thought it would be good to try and help Yumi with any chore that needed to be done.

*Yumi…*

So many thoughts about her petite soeur filled her head and she was surprised at how another person could consume her like Yumi did, making her feel so many new feelings. She rolled over in the bed to be instantly rewarded with the scent of her petite soeur coming from the pillow and sheets. The idea she was in the bed Yumi slept in made her feel dizzy again inside and she continued to the think of the person who was changing her life everyday.

Their lives were so different, she acknowledged that, but it didn't concern her. Yumi wasn't like the other girls who were only friends with her because of her last name. A moment of anger flashed across Sachikos' face at how she had truly learned the extent of what power hungry girls could do. She had been aware every year when she went to her summer what those girls wanted with her time but she didn't truly understand the depth of it until she had brought Yumi there.

Sachiko made a disapproving noise with her mouth as she pushed bad thoughts from her mind. It didn't matter what those girls had done, Yumi had outshone them all and proved to Sachiko for the hundredth time that money or someone's last name didn't make them a truly wonderful person. She loved the person Yumi was…

Tonk!

Sachiko sat up in bed quickly at the noise she heard come from the window next to the bed. She was deathly still until she heard it again. Deciding to investigate the noise she got out of bed and walked to the door leading out to the balcony.

Tonk!

Sachiko stepped out into the sun and put her hand to forehead, to act as a visor, until her eyes adjusted to the light.

*Perhaps it's Yumi making that noise?*

Blue eyes scanned the back property, amazed at the view of the lake and mountains, until she caught movement to her right. The reaction that coursed through her body was so strong that she could not move her eyes from what she saw. It was apparent that Yumi was listening to music from the way she was singing while she worked.

Tonk!

"Work It Harder Make It Better
Do It Faster, Makes Us stronger
More Than Ever Hour After
Our Work Is Never Over."

Tonk!

It wasn't the fact Yumi was singing that made Sachiko react the way she did it was seeing the girl dripping in sweat in the amount of clothes she was wearing. She had never seen Yumi in such short shorts or a tank top before let alone her hair tied back in a single hair ribbon. It caused such strong feelings in Sachiko that she had to grip the balcony to keep herself steady.

*Wha…what are these feelings?

My heart feels like it's going to stop!*

Once under better control and wiping the sweat that was instantly on her forehead with her handkerchief she really began to watch Yumi chop wood from behind, she assumed for the fireplace, and it was then she noticed something as Yumi grabbed another block of wood.

*Are those….!*

Sachikos' breath and heart stopped as she watched Yumi grab the block of wood, bending over in such a way that her cut off shorts exposed a rather large area of her...

*K…KK…Kami-sama!*

An uncontrollable blush went through Sachikos whole body but such a sight didn't keep her from noticing something different about Yumi. With a fluid motion she watched as her petite soeurs arms, shoulders, and back muscles all moved in detailed harmony as she swung the large axe up and into the wood with the noise she had been hearing after stretching. Sachiko saw the axe stay in the rather large block and wondered how Yumi would get it out but what she saw the younger girl do was too much for the older girl to process. Yumi spread her stance, used her legs to lift the axe with the wood block attached high over her head, and bring it down once more to the chopping block – successfully splitting the wood in two.

The image burned itself into Sachikos' mind as she turned around and went to sit on the bed, not entirely sure as to what she just witnessed. Thoughts were running through her head faster than she could process them, emotions were filling her heart faster than she could understand them – nearly a dangerous concoction. Sachiko moved to the little bathroom attached to the room she was staying in and splashed water on her face, to cool down and collect herself, before even beginning to understand what she was experiencing. Drying her face she looked at herself in the mirror.

*Okay Sachiko, one thing at a time.

The clothes Yumi was wearing…*

A blush went to her face and her heart quickened as she instantly recalled Yumi bending over, how good and different she looked. It attracted her, yes Yumi was very attractive to her in many ways, and she would admit that though it had taken nearly a year for her to be able to do that. She realized and understood why Yumi would wear such clothing as well – it was hot out and she was doing physical work – so it was practical even if it was not ladylike to show that much skin in public.

*Though she is in the privacy of her own home so that one can slide…just barely.*

The next thought that came to Sachikos' mind was the most important, Yumis' body. Everything she had been taught told her that a woman's body was what it was and that the most physical activity it should experience were in her duties of the home, her husband, and in child birth. She shook her head to clear those thoughts. Such thoughts weren't always right, right? Rei did not fit the mold her Mother had instilled in her because Rei did Kendo and she had seen the body Rei had.

It was not unknown that at Lillian Rei was known as the Prince of Lillian because she had somewhat masculine features and for her love of Kendo. Sachiko had heard Yoshino on several occasions ask Rei to flex when they thought she couldn't hear or notice. Rei and herself had physical education together giving her the first glimpse of the body Rei had. It didn't shock her like it had with Yumi.

*Why?*

Perhaps it was due to the fact Yumi did not belong to a club let alone a club that required her body to be strong. What mystified Sachiko is that she never noticed this change in Yumi. A frown crossed her features for a moment at that thought.

*Does that mean she was hiding it?

Did she tell me but I didn't see?*

Such thoughts didn't sit right with Sachiko and she returned to the balcony to watch the girl in question. Yumi was moving lawn furniture out from the shed to the porch and Sachiko found her eyes following every movement the girl made.

*Toned but not overly muscled, still feminine but strong.*

The feeling inside of her stirred again just as strongly as before as she made herself experience it to know what it was, Sachiko was not a woman who enjoyed being confused.

*This feeling…

I want to see more of her, I want to touch her with my hands, I want to feel her body against mine…*

It was then she began to recognize the feelings inside herself, the feelings she had kept locked up for nearly a year.

*Yumi…*

0o0o0

Yumi returned from the dock as she finished all the chores she had set to finish before Sachiko woke up. Her watch said 4 p.m. She was rather proud of herself for getting all of the wood chopped, put up, and the rest of the chores done in about two hours. All that was left to do was shower and begin dinner so that when her Onee-sama woke up everything would be…

"Ohayou Yumi." Sachiko said as she saw Yumi grinning wide as she walked into the house.

Yumi stopped dead in her tracks at the sound of Sachikos' voice. Brown eyes met blue and she didn't know what to say.

Sachiko could see the emotions flash across Yumis' face: Fear, horror, happiness, shame… She handed Yumi a cold bottle of water and motioned for her to sit next to her at the table in the kitchen.

"You look like you've been very busy. I hope you didn't strain yourself out there while I was sleeping." Sachiko said tenderly, knowing the air was full of…tension.

Yumi opened her mouth to speak, to find her voice, but all she could think about was what Sachiko must be thinking of her – her body. She was covered in sweat and grime not to mention her attire. Tears began to spring to her eyes as she looked down, twisting the water bottle without thought, as she was beginning to berate herself.

Sachiko had seen this before when Yumi thought she had done something terrible and she gently reached out to touch Yumis' small hand.

"Onee-sama I am filthy!" Yumi all but shouted as she found her voice and pulled away quickly only to instantly regret it as she saw the look in those blue eyes she loved so much.

Sachiko felt a deep tightness in her chest as she reached out anyway and took the hand in her own. She could feel them rough and dirty against her own but she didn't care. Their eyes met for the longest of times until Yumi's closed as she pressed her cheek against the hand of her Onee-sama that was now pressed against her cheek. Sachiko's heart softened so much as that dizzy feeling was back and she realized it didn't matter what Yumi looked like, she was still the most wonderful and beautiful person she knew, she always would be.

"Yumi, when you are ready I will listen, I will always listen." Sachiko whispered, seeing the acknowledgement in Yumis' eyes to her statement as she opened them.

Authors Note: So there it is, Chapter 3. I know a lot could be said but I made Yumis' body curved and not straight lined, not that I have anything wrong with that mind you. I wanted her body to show a bit...a BIT...of strength when you looked at it - not some woman on steroids or a huge body builder. She is still VERY feminine just a bit stronger, that's all, promise.

Thanks to everyone who has stayed with me this far on the journey and for all of your support.

Chapter 4 to follow in the coming days/weeks.