Chapter 12 – Past Due Obligations
"The problem with living so long is that we get used to it. We watch the mortals age and wither and die around us, watch the world change and decay...but no matter the hardship or the pain or the sorrow we suffer, we choose to continue living. Out of sheer habit, I think." Derek Landy, Mortal Coil
...
Warm chestnut eyes swam before her vision. A kind and caring smile set within a deceptively cute face that showed its owner's expressions. She saved me, Sachiko recalled once again the events at the clubhouse building the previous day. Then she was at the Rose Mansion and once again saved me, if only from my Onee-sama. Memories of Yumi agreeing to become her Petite Sœur flooded through her mind. Why would she do that? It's not as if she owes me anything. For that matter why did she save me from the girls who tried to attack me? The en Bouton still wasn't certain just what had finally driven the three girls away. Try as she might she couldn't bring herself to believe that the addition of a single person would give them cause to run away. They still had us out numbered three to two and should have been able to have defeated us. I doubt Yumi even knows how to fight, she thought. The longer Sachiko pondered the events the less they seemed to make sense to her.
That entire day was one strange occurrence after another. Sachiko recalled storming out of the second floor meeting room and rapidly descending the rickety staircase. She had been so intent upon proving her Onee-sama wrong that she hadn't been paying attention and had forcibly yanked the front door to the Rose Mansion open heedless of who might be entering at that moment. Her mind registered the fact that a student was falling and operating more on instinct and reflex she had made a grab for the falling girl only to have herself grabbed. Unprepared as she was for the insistent tug upon her arm she could do little more than fall as she was yanked from her feet. Sachiko had managed to stifle a yelp of pain as she felt her lip collide with the other girl's head. Upon opening her eyes she had been mesmerized by the motion of the fallen girl's tongue as it slid across her pink lips. What was that feeling? It was as if a warm breeze blew through my entire body. What a strange and yet exhilarating sensation. "Yumi," Sachiko breathed the younger girl name aloud unintentionally. So many questions about you that need answering.
"So you do recall her then?" Youko asked from the other end of the back seat of the sedan where she had been observing her Petite Sœur. At least she is starting to remember the events that transpired yesterday. I was beginning to grow concerned for her.
"Only bits and pieces," Sachiko admitted as if reading the older woman's mind. "Parts of yesterday are still foggy. Did I really make her my Petite Sœur?"
Youko nodded with a soft chuckle. "Yes, you did. Of course at the time you introduced her as Yukuzawa Fumi" Sachiko groaned as that memory came back to her as well. "There was absolutely no talking you out of it either, Sachiko. We decided that it was best to allow you to have your way."
"So then you disapprove of Yumi becoming my little sister?" the en Bouton asked of her Onee-sama. What if she decided that Yumi isn't right to become a Rose? Sachiko had to admit that it a distinct possibility. I don't know if they even allow normal humans to be a part of the Yamayurikai.
Youko thought for a long moment before replying. If I were to tell her that Yumi was our choice it might adversely affect their budding relationship, she reasoned to herself silently. Better to see what transpires before mentioning anything to her. "I'm not against it. Neither are the others or Yumi-chan wouldn't be wearing your rosary at this moment," Youko told her in a serious tone of voice. "I'm happy that you finally took the initiative to find a Petite Sœur, though I didn't expect you to make the first underclassman you literally run into, your little sister. I can only hope that she won't prove to be an embarrassment to us." Let's see how she responds to that, Youko smirked inwardly. With any luck she'll take the bait and rise to the occasion.
"You needn't concern yourself with that, Onee-sama," Sachiko assured the older woman. "I will see that she is properly instructed concerning the behavior and decorum of a Rose. Yumi will be the ideal Rose when it is her time to wear the title."
"That should be interesting to watch," Youko chided her own Petite Sœur gently. "Considering you've been so disinterested in being a Rose yourself that your attendance to meetings and events has been dismal at best. How do you plan to educate her on behavior you yourself have not been present often enough to properly learn?"
"You don't think I can do it?" Sachiko asked defensively. "Need I remind you that Father was once a King and I, as his daughter, was a Princess? I need only ensure that Yumi acts as a proper Princess. If I can do that then she will only bring honor to the Chinensis house when she herself is a Rose."
"I think you can do anything you set your mind to," Youko was quick to fire back, not wanting to discourage the younger woman. "The question is do you really want to do this? If you don't then it would be best to let the poor girl go now or she will just be hurt in the end."
Sachiko was already shaking her head before Youko had finished speaking. "No, Onee-sama. This is my obligation and I will see it through to the end," she stated matter-of-factly. "You reminded me that I was in fact placing a burden upon the other members of the Yamayurikai. I'll see that Fukuzawa Yumi is the best Rose possible or I'll die trying!"
"That may be a little extreme, Sachiko," Youko replied with a grin on her face. "Don't frighten her off by being overly harsh. Yumi-chan is nothing more than a sixteen year old girl and doesn't have the countless life times of experience or knowledge to draw upon as you do. I'm fearful that you may overwhelm her if you try too hard to mold her into a resemblance of yourself."
"You may have a point, Oba-sama," Sachiko replied with thoughtfully even as her brow creased in contemplation. I can't believe I picked someone to be my Petite Sœur. Just how am I supposed to deal with a teenager? Sachiko sat and tried to think back to when she was a teenager herself and couldn't recall clearly how it had been. There were just vague faded and blurred memories of being actually younger. Times were different when I was her age. I was already blooded and leading kinsmen into battle. Girls these days are far different. They have no understanding of obligations or responsibilities. Sachiko thought of her own classmates and how scatterbrained and shallow they seemed to her. All they do is talk about the latest fashions, their boyfriends and who was the latest to lose their virginity. I just don't understand them! Sachiko pondered what to do with her newly acquired Petite Sœur as the car rolled along.
Youko hesitated for a moment before broaching the next subject with her own Petite Sœur. "Being an Onee-sama takes a substantial amount of time, Sachiko," she started with. "You have to invest a great deal of yourself into their care. While a Petite Sœur's job is to be there to support their Onee-sama, it is the Onee-sama's job to shelter, protect as well as educate their Petite Sœur." Youko paused before addressing her point as delicately as possible. "Sachiko, it has been a long time since you've invested yourself in anything or allowed anyone close to you. Are you going to be alright with this?"
"What do you mean Onee-sama?" Sachiko asked curiously.
"Well, it is not unheard of for sœur partners to become close to one another," Youko explained, hoping the other would understand what she meant. "Yumi-chan is just a young girl who I doubt has had much experience with others outside her immediate family."
"So you're saying she may grow attached to me?" the raven-haired woman glanced over to see her Onee-sama nods once sharply. "Great! This day just gets better and better. As if I didn't have enough to deal with already I've gone and added an infatuated girl to the list!" Sachiko sighed heavily; weary of the entire situation already even though it was only just starting. I've spent years forcing people away from me so they don't get hurt and in a single day I manage to not only stumble into a child but even invite her to be my little sister. What the hell was I thinking?
Youko turned and glanced out the window at the buildings of metal, stone and concrete. "Do you recall when all of this was just open landscape with nothing more than a small fishing village here?" she asked of the raven-haired woman seated in the backseat of the sedan with her.
Sachiko paused in her inner musings and looked out the nearest window as downtown Tokyo, with its towering skyscrapers, sped past the moving car. "Not really," she replied. "I think I was off in the European countries at the time. It was the Edo clan that fortified the surrounding area, then later built the castle which bears their name wasn't it?"
"Ōta Dōkan had the castle built," Youko replied with a slight tilting of her head. "That would have been near the middle of the 1400's as I recall," Youko supplied. "I was really disappointed when he took the tonsure, shaved scalp," she clarified for the other woman, "and became a Buddhist monk. He was a likeable person once you got past the stiff Samurai outer exterior and were able to see the warrior poet within his heart."
"History is filled with fascinating people, Onee-sama," Sachiko said dryly, failing to see how the topic related to the many problems they currently had to deal with.
"My point is," Youko pressed on unperturbed by the younger woman's lack of apparent interest, "Tokyo didn't happen overnight. What started as a small fishing village grew into the sprawling metropolis we see today over time. We don't know how Yumi-chan will do or that she even will have feelings for you. Not every pairing develops that way after all. Don't assume that it will happen as that would be starting off your Sœurship with what could amount to a misassumption."
"So your counsel is that I take things slowly with Yumi?" Sachiko asked. "See what develops without borrowing trouble before hand?" Youko simply nodded as there wasn't anything further to say. Sachiko thought about the older woman's words, weighing them in her mind. When she had spent time among the Huns learning to tame wild horses her Sensei there had told her that with a skittish horse you first had to win its trust before you could hope to earn its respect. "Damn!" Sachiko suddenly swore aloud. Upon seeing the questioning look from Youko she clarified. "Yesterday I told Yumi to meet me at the front gates to Lillian this morning so we could better get to know each other." So much for earning her trust!
"Well there is no helping it now," Youko told her. "I'm sure she went to her classes. She seems like a bright girl," Youko said in an attempt to placate the younger woman.
Sachiko chuckled self-depreciatingly as another thought suddenly struck her. "I wonder, if in the history of Lillian, if there has ever been a worse start to a sœurship then ours? First I fall atop of her, then I call her by the wrong name and when I ask her to do something I completely forget about her." Youko, having no answer for her question remained silent. "I'm not so certain I am cut out to be and Onee-sama, Oba-sama," Sachiko confessed doubtfully.
Youko chuckled softly for a moment till she noticed the other woman taking offense to her finding humor in a moment when she needed reassurance. "My apologies, Sachiko. I was not laughing at you but rather at what you said. I recalled saying those very same words to my Onee-sama when she told me it was time that I found a Petite Sœur of my own." While Youko had been enrolled to look after Sachiko, she none the less went through all the appropriate phases a young girl would have gone through, including becoming the sœur of the then Rosa Chinensis en Bouton.
"Is that so?" Sachiko replied with thoughtfully to which Youko simply nodded. "At least you weren't saddled with an emotionally awakening teenager with all the inherent problems of puberty thrown in for good measures!" Youko arched a brow and directed a look back at her that clearly stated that the older woman had been given just that in Sachiko herself, minus the puberty. Sachiko huffed indignation and turned to stare out the window at the passing cityscape, refraining from commenting further as she realized that she had most certainly not been the easiest of Petite Sœurs. While she did at times feel remorse for all she had put the older woman through she also couldn't help but be herself. Her father, if nothing else, had raised her to be her own person and not bowing to the dictates of others. The two of them sat in silence the remainder of the drive to their destination, each lost in their own private thoughts.
The black sedan pulled into a driveway which led down to an underground parking area. As soon as the car rolled to a stop next to the curb the driver jumped out and opened the rear car door for the ladies. As neither of them were strangers to the Ogasawara Group's main office building they quickly exited the vehicle and walked the short distance to the waiting doors which opened automatically for them upon their approach. In a short amount of time they were stepping out of an elevator on the top floor of the building and briskly walking towards the receptionist desk. "Ojou-sama," the receptionist said in surprise upon seeing Sachiko suddenly emerge from the elevator and start walking towards her. The middle aged woman quickly scrambled to her feet and bowed respectfully.
"Gokigenyou, Yoshida-san," Sachiko replied with a slight nod. "I need to see my father," she explained as she came to a stop before the woman's desk.
"He's currently on the phone, Ojou-sama," the nervous woman replied. "If you will wait just a moment I will slip in and let him know you're here."
"No need," Sachiko said even as she moved and stepped around the woman's desk. "I know the way to his office and will tell him myself." Sachiko strode forth purposefully, her intent clearly not to give the other woman, whose job it was to keep people from seeing the head of the Ogasawara group, the chance to waylay them. "That will be all Yoshida-san," Sachiko tossed over her shoulder, stopping the other woman in her tracks as she was about to race after them to halt their attempt to see Sachiko's father.
"That was a little rude," Youko, who had trailed after the raven-haired heiress, said just loud enough for Sachiko to hear. "He's your father."
"Yoshida-san's job is to see that my father is not interrupted…even from his own daughter," Sachiko explained. "I learned long ago that with her type you have to take the initiative to have the upper hand." Sachiko, upon reaching the double doors to her father's office didn't hesitate as she opened the door and walked briskly in, followed by her Onee-sama who paused long enough to close the door once again. "Father, we need to talk," Sachiko said even as her father glanced up to see who had stormed into his office and was interrupting his call.
"Something's come up," Tooru stated into the receiver as he closed the file resting on the desk before him. "I'm going to have to call you back. Alright please call and we can reschedule. Arigato." Tooru hung up the phone and then leaned back in his chair and regarded the two women. "To what honor do I owe this unexpected visit?" he asked as he stood and stepped around from his desk while motioning to a pair of couches off to one side of the room. "It must be fairly important to bring you all the way down here on a school day. Not that I mind having two beautiful women in my office mind you," he added with a playful grin.
"Gokigenyou, Oji-san," Youko said with a slight bow as she greeted her uncle.
Tooru smiled warmly at his niece. "It is always good to see you, Youko-chan. It's been far too long since last time you visited. You should come by for dinner some time." Youko did little more than nod and return the warm smile. Tooru turned to regard his only child, suspecting that the visit was her doing.
Sachiko wasted no time in getting to the point. "Father, I can't go through with it. I don't know what I said yesterday or what I agreed to, however I can't go through with it if it means giving birth."
Tooru motioned once again towards the couches and waited till both the women were seated upon one of them. "Can I get you anything to drink?" he enquired even as he stepped to a side bar and poured himself a drink. Looking back over his shoulder he saw both women decline his offer. With a slight shrug he turned and walked over to the remaining empty couch and sat upon it before responding to his daughter's request. "I'm afraid it is out of my hands, Sa-chan. I already informed the council of your decision and they are fully behind it. It would be nearly impossible to back out of it now."
"But Father! I wasn't myself yesterday," Sachiko exclaimed sliding forth to sit upon the edge of the couch as she strived to make him see her point fully. The raven-haired daughter quickly went over the events of the previous day, leaving out the attack behind the clubhouse as she felt that would cause more trouble for the current situation. "I honestly don't know what came over me yesterday," she concluded with as she finished telling her father.
"But you feel fine now?" Tooru asked as one brow arched upwards in a questioning look. "No desires to offer aid to other classmates or flatten unsuspecting underclassmen?" he teased with a soft grin to indicate he was just being himself.
"Never felt better," Sachiko confirmed with a slight nod of her head, having long ago grown used to her father's particular sense of humor as well as how to ignore it. I still haven't needed to take the enzyme today, she realized. Until I know why there aren't any cravings for it I better not tell him as it will only cause him concern that I'm skipping the medicine required to keep me alive. "Other than sleeping in a little late this morning I can't recall when I've felt better father. I can't explain it but it's as if I feel more alive."
Tooru first glanced to Youko before returning his gaze to his daughter. "So then I fail to see what the issue is, Sa-chan. You yourself say you feel wonderful. Maybe it's due to finally fulfilling the obligation you've side stepped for so long?"
"The issue is that I'm not ready to do it!" Sachiko replied heatedly. "It's an antiquated concept that should have been abolished long ago. The lesser families have stopped using it long ago. It's time we stepped into the here and now rather than live in the past."
Tooru took a long drink before replying. "Will you ever be ready? I mean even if it is not a requirement? Do you think you will ever find someone that you could settle down with Sa-chan?"
"Yes. Of course I can…I mean will," Sachiko stated haltingly. "I just haven't found anyone I would consider for that as yet."
"How about Suguru? He and you would certainly be a handsome pair." Tooru pressed. "If not now, then when do you think you'll find another? I really would like to see some grandchildren some day you know?"
"I don't know," Sachiko snapped back. "Eventually!" she yelled exasperatedly. "We're immortal, why is there such a rush for me to turn my body into a baby factory?" Sachiko rose to her feet and started pacing as the other two present watched her. "We have all the time in the world. I refuse to become some broodmare so that a group of old perverted men can have sex with someone new for a change! There has to be something you can do!" Sachiko pleaded suddenly stopping and turning to face her father.
"First of all," Tooru started with after a heavy sigh, having had this particular conversation multiple times with his daughter. "No one is going to have sex with you unless you want them to. The medical procedure is sterile and with the newer delivery system it is vastly more effective."
"So instead of some sex slave I become a lab rat and just keep kicking out babies till my body says it's had enough?" she asked rhetorically. Sachiko started pacing once more, her hands wringing unconsciously before her as she walked back and forth. "That's just barbaric," she continued with. "It's not like we're at war and there is such a strong need to increase the size of the clan."
"Aren't we?" Tooru asked, his voice suddenly sounding very tired and old to his daughter.
Sachiko stopped in her tracks and turned to look at her father. "What? The war ended long ago. You saw to that."
"The open hostilities and large scale battles were ended but you can't simply erase the years of hatred between our races," Tooru told her before pausing to take another sip of his drink. "As we see in the humans, there will always be radicals, extremists and purists who will never give up the fight. They exist on both sides and have for as long as we can remember. There have been numerous casualties on both sides over the years. Granted, not the whole sale slaughter of thousands in a single battle as we used to see upon the battlefields of old, however still enough to deplete the number of immortals on both sides. The Ookami and the Kyuuketsuki both have groups that would prefer a return to the old ways. Add in other fractions that believe neither species should mingle with the humans and there are more than enough enemies surrounding us. Possibly even more now then back before the war ended," he told her. "At least back in those days you knew who your enemy was and you could face them openly upon the field of battle. Now everything is so cloak and dagger that it just makes me sick."
"Why wasn't I told of this," Sachiko asked in a slightly awed and frightened tone upon hearing her father's words. Perhaps most frightening of all was the fact that her father suddenly looked old and worn where before she had always seen him as young and full of spirit. Is this why I was attacked the other day? Was the attack simply the latest to occur in a continuing war that has spanned the ages? If in fact that was the case, it wasn't something she was fearful of as she was no stranger to conflict. If things escalated to open war it would be the humans that would suffer most, she realized. She could clearly see that if the humans were drawn into the conflict it would only be a matter of time before the weapon they had developed, capable of leveling entire cities, would be utilized. In a war of that magnitude there can be no winners.
Tooru shrugged slightly before going to take another swallow of his drink only to realize that the glass was empty. "You were always off in other parts of the world and seldom home. It was apparent that you wanted no part in assuming responsibility of the clan so you weren't told. It's not really common knowledge that there is still a cold war that wages on between us and the Ookami. The Queen's people work closely with our own to keep such attacks quiet." Tooru stood and moved back over to the bar and refilled his glass. "The attacks have started to become more frequent as well as more organized. While you remain at Lillian you're in the safest place possible. Especially with Youko-chan next to you to cover your back. If I thought for a moment you were in danger I would have to pull you out of Lillian."
"Oba-sama," Sachiko breathed as her gaze swung to the older woman. "You've known all along then?" Sachiko gave thanks that she had decided to keep the attack behind the clubhouse building to herself.
"As a member Oji-san's staff of course I knew," Youko admitted. "As you're my responsibility, Sachiko, I can't ignore anything that might be a possible risk to your safety."
"What's so special about Lillian?" Sachiko asked. "I mean other than what I already know. Even given that, I fail to see why it would be the safest place for me right now."
Youko quickly shot a glance to her uncle who nodded slowly after a brief moment of hesitation. "The Maria-sama Medallions," Youko answered the younger woman only to see a quizzical look upon Sachiko's face at her words. "We accidently learned a few years back that the Maria-sama Medallion's that all the students are given at the first year welcoming ceremony prevent the Ookami from changing their forms within the walls of Lillian. Furthermore, once placed around a person's neck they won't be able to remove them till they have graduated." Seeing the skeptical look in her Petite Sœur's face she simple said, "Try taking it off."
Sachiko clasped her hands before her as a proper woman would do when addressing a person. "I was never given one," she stated matter-of-factly.
Youko nodded as she rose from her seat and stepped next to the other women. Slipping her hand under the collar of Sachiko's Lillian uniform she found what she was looking for and slipped out the chain and the Maria-sama Medallion attached to it so the other girl could see it. Sachiko's eyes grew large in surprise as just a moment before she was certain she had never possessed such an item. "There is something about them which inherently causes the wearer to forget they are even there. The more you attempt to think about them the stronger their influence for you to forget becomes," she explained. "It's taking me a great deal of will power and mental strength to even speak of it for this long. I can already feel myself forgetting it."
"If they stop the Ookami from changing," Sachiko enquired even as she unconsciously slipped the medallion back beneath her uniform, "What effect do they have on us?"
"We don't know," Tooru supplied, drawing both their attentions back to him. "At Hanadera the first year students are given prayer beads. We suspect that they act the same as the medallions do at Lillian. We've long known that like Lillian, Hanadera has a mixture of Ookami and Kyuuketsuki in attendance. The number of attacks have been greater there than at Lillian." Tooru took a long sip of his drink after turning and leaning against the bar. "We seemed to have gotten way off topic though."
"Yes," Sachiko agreed with a curt nod of her head. "Father, surely there has to be something you can do? You're the head of the clan after all!"
"But I'm not a king," Tooru reminded her. "Times are different and there is the council now. If you do not follow through on your pledge then we will lose face and the council could very well turn against me. Were that to happen I would be no more than a token figure head, if not outright replaced."
"They wouldn't dare!" Sachiko recalled well that the council he spoke of was formed directly after the great wars ended. Her father had abdicated his throne to follow the Ookami Queen of the Houribe clan, working to bring a final peace to both their species. Once the fighting had finished Tooru had declined reclaiming his Kingship, electing instead to remain a vassal of the Queen. Due to this a new form of leadership had been created to oversee the Ogasawara clan as well as all the new members that had been taken in from the defeated clans. The original council members had been there to help with all the tasks associated with assimilating what remained of their entire species into a single cohesive clan. There were far too many details for Tooru himself to handle every day and so he delegated issues to the council to deal with. Over time the council member position rose in prominence and influence. The incline had been slow and subtle but to an immortal that had forever, it was a small matter. Currently, though not considered royalty now, Tooru rather resembled the human Queen of England and the current council was akin to the Parliament of that same country. "There has to be something you can do, Father." She pleaded.
"There is only one way to avoid the obligation, Sa-chan," Tooru replied in a voice both sad and tired as he already knew her answer.
"You can't mean…" Youko gasped.
Sachiko shook her head sharply. "No. I refuse to be bonded to any man!" She said in a tone that left no room for argument. I will not become some man's property! Mother once told me to never settle for anything less than everything I wanted. When the day comes that I find the right man then I may bond with him…if he is worthy.
"I thought as much," Tooru said. "Let me speak with them and see what I can do. I don't hold much hope though as they have been awaiting your fulfillment of this obligation for a great deal of time."
"Thank you, Father," Sachiko meekly replied, as she realized that right now this was the best she could hope for.
"At the very least, if I cannot get them to cancel it, I'll see if I can push it back at least till you're done with school," he offered. "I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything. Now if you'll excuse me, I really do have a great deal of work to do." They exchanged their farewells and the two Lillian students left to return to school. Tooru walked over to his desk and upon sitting opened up the file he had been reading when his daughter arrived. Grey eyes regarded the picture of the brown eyed girl with pigtails wearing a Lillian uniform. "Fukuzawa Yumi," he mused softly to himself, "You look like your mother and just as cute! It's hard to believe it's been sixteen years already."
Author's Note:
I'm quickly coming to the conclusion that this will not be a short story. This is the 12th chapter and I'm just getting to the point where things get interesting. Then again when I started this project I had very little clue as to what it would become. I hope it continues to entertain.
I would like to say that I really do appreciate the reviews and PM's on this story (as well as my other ones). Though reviews are most certainly not required (I strongly dislike when authors hold stories hostage till they get reviews), they do in fact inspire and motivate me as a writer. So to everyone who has reviewed you have my sincere gratitude!
Kind Regards,
EJ Daniels
All characters within this story, unless otherwise stated are the sole property of Oyuki Konno the original writer of the Maria-sama ga Miteru light novel series.
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