Eleven
The week had almost finished and neither did any of the girls felt like they were out of place. Sure, when they first came here on a Sunday they felt like they were intruding everyone of their presence. Never before they felt like they were in a place where they shouldn't be standing. When all eyes were set on them that evening, all they wanted to do was to pack up their belongings and go straight back home. At least they had each other to rely on so they wouldn't feel so lonely in such an unfamiliar place. Also, they knew how much the Student Council members were trying to do just to make them feel welcome and comfortable. They really did appreciate that, and more importantly, they appreciated the kind thought and offer from Chikaru from last night. They weren't thinking of doing anything on a Saturday, other than spending some time with one another. However, they couldn't let a chance of discovering a whole new place pass by!
Shimako had already finished getting ready and was waiting for her roommate to do the same. She didn't mind the fact that Yumi seemed to be taken quite longer than she was supposed to, as if the pigtailed girl was going on a date. She couldn't help but be amused as the other girl fussed over her clothes. She could offer the girl her help but it wouldn't be as much entertaining as it was just watching her. It was just a gathering of friends and since Sachiko would be in it, the Angel of Lilian knew that her dear friend was trying not to embarrass her Onee-sama would improper clothing.
After quite some time, Yumi finally decided on wearing an outfit that not only looked cute on her, but comfortable as well. When she did a twirl in front of the mirror, she couldn't help but smile to herself. She wanted to look good for Sachiko and of course, she didn't want any of the students here to think badly of the way she dressed since she was a member of the Yumayurikai.
"It feels almost as if I'm in a broadway show." Shimako said softly with a tinge of amusement in her tone.
Embarrassed by the fact that she had forgotten Shimako was waiting for her, Yumi began to blush scarlet as she casted her eyes on the floor. "I'm sorry for keeping you waiting, Shimako-san." Yumi said softly. "I…didn't mean to."
Shimako giggled at the other girl before she stood up from her bed and went over to her friend. She flattened out the wrinkles of the jacket on Yumi's shoulders before she took a small step back and observed the girl. She had a thoughtful look on her face before the look disappeared and was replaced by a gentle smile. "Would you like me to help with your hair, Yumi-san?"
Of course, the only respond that she could get out from her friend was an intelligent "Ehh!" in which she couldn't help but giggle a bit.
"Well, since you are already treating this friendly gathering as a date between you and Sachiko-sama I thought I could give you a hand." The blonde explained as she tried her best to hide the look of amusement upon her face, though she knew that her eyes were giving it away.
"D-Date? Who s-said I was t-t-thinking that this w-would be a d-d-date?" Yumi stammered out her sentence with such a perfect look of shock on her face that Shimako had to let out a small bit of amused laughter to leave her lips.
"Oh Yumi-san, you are, indeed, a very interesting girl." Was all the blonde said before she turned and headed towards the door. "You better hurry though, I'm sure that everyone is waiting downstairs."
Yumi's face expressed the shock that was adorning her face before embarrassment kicked in. She then quickly went over to her dresser and ran a brush through her hair, untying the small knots in them before pulling out her red ribbons to tie her hair up in her trademark pigtails. She checked herself in the dresser mirror one last time before smiling approvingly to herself. "Done!" She exclaimed before standing up from her seat and turned to face her friend. "Sorry for keeping you waiting again, shall we go?"
"Of course." Shimako responded with a smile.
The two girls exited their room and made their way down the stairs. Yumi was looking forward to this outing but most of all, she was looking forward to being with her Onee-sama. She could only spend morning, lunch and after dinner with Sachiko every day and if she was lucky, Sachiko wouldn't need to be in her Literature Club. Well, if she was really lucky, Sachiko would take a break in writing a short novel for Sei to read. Actually, the reason she was even writing the novel was to prove that she, too, could be creative. Just thinking about that got the pigtailed girl to sigh softly to herself. She thought that she could spend some more time with her Onee-sama now that they didn't need to worry about Lilian and Sachiko being busy as the Ogasawara heiress. It seemed like the older girl couldn't spend so much time without something to do. That was what she had seen when they had entered Astrea Hill.
"Mmm, it seems like we've gained another member." Shimako spoke up beside her. It startled Yumi just a bit but wasn't enough to get a little squeak out from her. When the pigtailed girl turned to the group that was waiting them, she blushed when her eyes connected with the sapphire ones.
-x-
Sachiko had her arms crossed across her abdomen as she stood with Youko while waiting for her petite soeur to get down. She didn't know how long she had been waiting for the said soeur to finish getting ready. It wasn't that big of a day and she didn't know why Yumi had to take that long to get ready. Every once in a little while she had to glance at the watch on her wrist, while her foot was tapping impatiently quietly on the ground. She had offered the girl to help her get ready if she so needed, but her offer had been declined. Even though it hurt a little for her petite soeur to decline her, she was proud of Yumi for wanting to do everything by herself. Now, she wished that she could have pushed her offer onto the girl because Yumi was fashionably late. The raven-haired beauty didn't mind the fact that another Miator's students have joined them. She minded the fact that her petite soeur was late!
"Sachiko." Came a soft voice from her Onee-sama as she felt a hand on her shoulder. The tapping of her foot stopped instantly as she let out a sigh. Having Youko beside her always calmed her nerves when her mind was consistently around Yumi.
"I apologize," Sachiko responded with another sigh. "Yumi is late."
The hand on her shoulder gave her a small squeeze. "It's alright. We are not in a hurry." Youko responded and when the younger girl turned to look up at her Onee-sama, she saw a gentle smile on the other girl's lips. With a shake of her head, she turned to look up at the interior of the dorm, expecting to see that pigtailed girl descending the stairs.
"Spoiling her will not do her any good, Onee-sama."
Youko let out a chuckled as she patted the younger's shoulder. She withdrawn her hand and turned her head over to the dorm, amused to see what was going to happen next. As the group waited for another minute, they saw movement from the stairs and when they focused their attention on the two younger girls, they couldn't help but giggle at Yumi's daydream expression while walking beside Shimako. Everyone was giggling except Sachiko. Once her sapphire eyes made contact with the big brown ones, Sachiko knew that her petite soeur could guess she was in trouble. The two girls then made a quick movement down the stairs, and soon enough they had joined up with the group.
"I apologize, everyone, for our lateness." Shimako said sincerely as she lowered her head in a bow.
"It's okay, Shimako. I know it's quite hard to take care of Yumi-chan." Sei said playfully as she winked down at the pigtailed girl. The girl in subject couldn't help but blush at the comment before mimicking Shimako's action.
"I'm sorry for making everyone wait!" She said, her voice raising a little as she felt embarrassed for taking so much time getting ready for today.
Sachiko cleared her throat slightly before she moved to stand in front of her petite soeur. She reached her hands up towards the scarf that the other girl was wearing, and by the look of it, she knew that Yumi was in such a hurry that she didn't put the scarf on properly. Quietly she untied the knot that her soeur had done herself, and retied it before smoothing the material down. She then lifted her eyes up from the scarf to meet the brown orbs that were watching her movement with an adorable blush. She couldn't stay mad at Yumi. No, she couldn't even come close to being mad at the girl.
"Yumi." She said softly. Even though she wanted to smile at the fact that her voice had brought Yumi out of whatever daze that the girl was in, her lips remained pressed together in a thin line. "It is improper for a lady to be late." She chided the girl.
Yumi's cheeks deepened a few shade of red as she nodded. "I'm sorry for making you wait, Onee-sama."
Sachiko then smiled as her hand came up to rest upon Yumi's cheek, enjoying the warmth feeling that was radiating off of the girl's skin. "I hope that I won't need to wait next time."
Before Yumi could answer, Sei let out a loud sigh to gain the two girls attention. Once the older blonde got the attention that she was looking for, she simply shrugged before motioning her hand to the two of them. "Even though the scene is flattering and what's not, if we don't hurry we might miss the train. Or would you two like to have some more moments while providing us with some more entertainment?"
Both girls blushed as they reluctantly separated from one another. The scene before them was too good not to laugh. Once the group had sobered up from the laughter, they started to make their way to the train station. The walk there was pleasant enough that it seemed too short for them. With Yumi and Nagisa being the main people to provide laughter, giggles and what's not, it didn't take long for them to reach the train station. It also didn't take long for the train to arrive, and once they did the boarded the train to go to town.
"Where should we go first, Chikaru-sama?" Nagisa asked curiously over to the older girl. They were sitting together and Nagisa had decided to take the seat next to the window.
Chikaru placed a slender finger against her chin thoughtfully. Then she shrugged before turning over to the younger girl with a smile. "Let's decide once we get there, Nagisa-chan."
"Eh!" Both Yumi and Nagisa exclaimed in unison. However, the reason behind their little squeak was different.
Yumi immediately turned to look at Nagisa as the latter did the same. Yumi was sitting across from her with Sachiko, so Nagisa didn't think that she'd hear what Chikaru had said.
"Are you alright, Yumi-san?" Nagisa asked.
Yumi smiled and nodded her head. "Yes, I'm fine. Are you alright?" She asked the red head with concern.
Nagisa blinked before letting out a soft giggle. "Oh, yes I'm fine. Chikaru-sama doesn't have a plan to where we should go once we get to town first."
"Oh!" Yumi said before ideas started to swim around the girl's mind. There were a lot of things to do in town, and catching a movie wouldn't be one of them. So after a few more moment, she nodded to herself before glancing over to Chikaru with a hopeful look in her eyes. "Um, Chikaru-sama…?"
Chikaru turned, offering a gentle smile at her. "Yes, Yumi-chan?"
"Can we…visit a jewellery store first..?" The pigtailed girl asked unsurely.
"Of course! We now have our first destination!" Chikaru exclaimed excitedly as she quietly clapped her hands. "Thank you, Yumi-chan, for offering your help."
Yumi blushed at the praise before she quickly shook her head in denial. "N-no, I haven't done a-anything much."
The older girl chuckled in amusement only to see the blush had deepened on the girl's face. Her eyes then traveled over to the pair that was sitting opposite from them. She could clearly tell that there was a storm raging within those two, Sei and Youko. The reason that she had suggested the Yumayurikai to participate in this wondrous outing wasn't because she wanted to spend more time with them. Of course, that had been one of the few reasons why she had asked them to come. The main reason that she had invited them to come was because of Sei and Youko. There was something between these two women that she would like to find out, and perhaps, help out in any way that she possibly could.
'Oh well', she thought to herself as she had calmed down from her chuckle. 'I have a lot of time to get to know these two.'