Chapter 5: Distance

Disclaimer: I do not own Maria-sama ga Miteru or any of its characters.

A/N: Italic texts are for 'thoughts' , recollections or events that happened in the past.

Sachiko

Sachiko's phone vibrated. Yumi freed herself from Sachiko's embrace and urged her to take the call. The screen showed it was Suguru-san.

"It's your husband" Yumi mumbled, looking like she has been slapped by reality. "I shouldn't have come to see you" she repeated.

Sachiko cancelled the call and pocketed her phone. She turned her attention back to Yumi who was backing away from her. Sachiko saw the troubled expression of Yumi and frowned. It was heart breaking to see that expression on her face. A part of her knew that if Yumi would ask, she would be willing to give up everything just to be with her. Sadly, Yumi doesn't seem to want to make the request. Yumi remains to be the unselfish girl she was when Sachiko met her in high school. And like their last break up, Yumi said she doesn't want Sachiko sacrificing anything just to be with her.

Thus finally Sachiko replied. "No, you shouldn't have come."

"So does this mean that this is another goodbye?" in a hushed voice, Yumi asked.

Sachiko bit her lip and averted her gaze. After a long pause, she responded "Do you want it to be?" She was giving her the decision.

Yumi likewise took her time, seemingly trying to find the right words. Sachiko knew the answer to her question, but she wanted to ask anyway. The younger girl clenched her fist as if bracing herself, "it has to be this way"

Sachiko looked into her eyes, trying to read her thoughts. "I know" she uttered. From the beginning, she knew it was impossible for them.

And with a resigned sigh she joked, "Will you try to get over me this time?"

"I will try" Yumi returned her smile.

Yumi left soon after. Her phone vibrated again. She glanced down at her phone and saw a message from Suguru-san that Yumi is currently in the building.

No, she already left - again, Sachiko said to the blank space Yumi was occupying earlier.

xxx

Sachiko went back to her office and attended the scheduled meetings for the day, most of which didn't turn out good. The project updates presented to her were dismal, in her opinion.

She went home early that day, and headed straight to her bedroom, but with her mood still at its worst. She doesn't share a room, let alone a bed, with Suguru-san. She sprawled on her bed in an unladylike manner. She dropped all pretences and let her handbag and laptop fall off the bed and onto the floor with a thud. Thinking back to the occurrence earlier, the way she rushed (almost ran) to the elevator to make sure she reached Yumi this time, to forgetting her blazer and be dressed inappropriately in front of other people in the office, to closing the elevator door on her mother, and up to the time when she grabbed Yumi to pull her into an embrace despite having CCTV cameras everywhere, she knew she was not herself. The way she looked and acted earlier was far from the calm and collected Sachiko everybody knew her to be, and she didn't care. She didn't regret going after her. When she was with Yumi, she could drop the mask and be open about her emotions – only with Yumi.

She brought her slender arms to cover her eyes, trying to erase the recent memory from her mind. But her skin still recalls the feel of Yumi in her arms and her gentle movements as she buried her head onto Sachiko's shoulders and hair. The momentary closeness, allowing her barriers to fall for the briefest of times and then put it back up as soon as she let her go.

But she will not break down. She is no longer the child that she used to be. And with the strength and resolve she has gathered up in the past years – the years she was facing the world alone and not relying on Yumi – she fetched her phone.

"Father?"

There was a woman's voice in the background. It seems to be that her father was quite busy at the moment. She exhaled audibly to calm her nerves. This is one of the reasons why she has to let Yumi go, because she doesn't want to be like her father and grandfather. To commit the same sin that has brought sadness to her and her mother. And she knew Yumi didn't want to be branded a mistress either.

"Sachiko"

"You're busy at the moment?"

"No, it's alright. It is very rare of you to call. But we will be seeing each other tomorrow, can't this wait?"

He's not going home tonight, Sachiko concluded.

"I will take on the business deal with our partners in Singapore" she announced.

"But that deal is scheduled in a week's time. Will you be able to prepare for it?"

"Yes father. I will be getting the documents from Suguru-san this very moment so I can meet his team and start the preparations. I will send regular emails so you can keep track of my progress and you can assess whether or not I am ready by the end of next week". Sachiko said in her business-like voice.

Her father sighed. It seems she will get her way again this time. "Okay Sachiko. You don't have to keep me updated, because once you put your mind to it, I know you can do it. Just don't exhaust yourself too much, okay?"

"Yes father" she said and waited for the older man to hang up.

Sachiko then sent a message to Suguru-san about the project. It will eat up her whole week to prepare, and after that, she will be going to and from Singapore, getting the much needed distance she wished to get.

Yumi

Almost a week had passed. Yumi dropped her bag onto Yoshino's couch and settled herself down. She plucked out the pony tail off of her long hair and exhaled loudly.

"I take it the break-up didn't go very well?" Yoshino stated.

Yumi shook her head 'no' and leaned back on the chair, willing the tiredness to disappear.

"Coffee?" Yoshino offered.

"Do you have some liquor?" Yumi responded still with her head leaned back and her eyes closed.

"Isn't it too early for that?"

"This is the last time I will be breaking up with someone before breakfast."

Yoshino laughed, "Does it mean you intend to break more hearts after this?"

Yumi looked at her friend and laughed.

She was exhausted. Jun-san did not want to accept the break up until the very end. She decided to do it while they were on their morning run in a gym, because it was too cold to run out in the park. On one of their rests, she decided to say the news only to find the man weeping his eyes out, begging her to forgive his possessiveness and promising that he would change. He reasoned that he just didn't want to lose her and that was why he was acting the way he did. He said that he will give her space – a week – to think this through.

xxx

"No Jun-san, I don't need a week" Yumi said.

"Of course you do! You will think about it Yumi-san, right? I will give you time. I will not approach or talk to you for the time being. I will ask our manager to reassign me to another project so we do not have to meet for the Shibuya-9 Project."

Yumi shook her head and his eyes widened in disbelief.

"I'm sorry Jun-san, it's over" she said firmly.

xxx

"Then he came after me. I was already inside my car and he was still banging on the window pleading for me to take him back. It was the worst break-up by far." Yumi complained as she put her head in her hands in exasperation.

Yoshino stood up to go to the kitchen and after a while handed Yumi a cup of sake. "This is all this house has to offer" she said.

"I thought it was too early for this?" Yumi asked but still took the offered cup.

"By the sound of it, it seems like you really need it." Yoshino reasoned. "You shouldn't have waited for another week Yumi-san. Remember that talk we had at the café, where you said you will break up with him?"

Yumi downed the sake in one go, earning her a surprised look from Yoshino. She was unable to tell her friend that the reason she stuck with Jun-san longer was because she needed a distraction... from her. Only to conclude that Jun-san is not providing enough of a diversion from thinking about her old lover.

It has been a week since the incident, but she can still vividly remember the warmth of Sachiko's embrace and the silkiness of her voice as she whispered that she missed her. It took a while for them to separate and give each other some space. But in the end, she knew they still shouldn't be together. She knew that Sachiko is willing to risk everything for her – a risk she doesn't want Sachiko to take. She would rather bear with the pain of being apart from her, rather than let Sachiko suffer estrangement from her family and from society.

"You're thinking about another person entirely, aren't you Yumi-san?" Yoshino said, shaking her out of her recollection. "You never told me what happened about that book of Sachiko-sama's"

"Maybe next time Yoshino-san. I have Jun-san to worry about at the moment" she lied.

Yoshino just shrugged. She knew her friend too well to know that the other woman hasn't thought back to her ex-boyfriends the least bit. They were too unimportant to deserve that look of despair that just flashed across her friend's face. But forcing her to talk wouldn't work, not now anyway.

"I sent a message to Rica-san if we could switch projects" Yumi said a little more cheerfully.

"Isn't that the project in Nara?'

"Yes. That way I will be physically apart from Jun-san. Rica-san hated that project anyway because she can't bear to be separated from her boyfriend."

"Does it mean you will be in Nara for weeks?"

"I will not give you a chance to miss me" Yumi joked. "I will be here in Tokyo on weekends and anyway I promise to be back for the New Year festival."

Sachiko

Unlike Japan, there was no winter in Singapore and Sachiko relished the warm morning air in her face as she went to the edge of the view deck of the Marina Bay Sands. Truthfully, she was afraid of heights – she still is. But this is just something she wanted to do, even once.

She still remembered the time when she participated at the Handera School Festival. The three of them, together with Shimako and Rei, were asked to sit on a high wooden stage where smelly and sweaty teenage boys were rushing to get to you. It was a horrible experience, but she kept her act together. She was Rosa Chinesis after all, and it was her duty. It was also the same day when Yumi had gone missing, only to find out later on that she has been kidnapped because of a very stupid reason. She wanted to slap the face of the men that dared harm her Yumi, but was appeased by Suguru-san, saying that Yumi handled the matter herself.

How she was able to bear being on a high, unstable structure, she didn't know. Back then, she believed that it was her own desire to prove that she can do these things that made her accept the job. But looking back now and remembering the conversation with Yumi days before, she realized that it was only through Yumi's influence that she was able to do a task that she thought was once impossible.

With these thoughts, she smiled and went to the elevator. On her way, she passed by a street magician.

"Do you have a moment miss?" the man was wearing jeans and a plain collared shirt.

She averted her gaze and pretended not to hear him. "This will take only a minute" the man came running after her.

He immediately handed her a fork.

Sachiko looked down at the object questioningly.

"You can check, it's just a regular fork" the man said with a smirk.

Sachiko wanted to shout that she doesn't care and throw the fork off of the edge of the building. But there were people staring, so she decided to play along. She pretended to bend it with her hands just to test it, but it didn't budge.

Upon seeing Sachiko's action, the magician smiled and asked her to hold the fork upright, with half of the handle clutched in her hand tightly. The magician then turned the top of the fork three times. Sachiko can feel the handle turning in her closed fist and it made her wonder what trick this mas was trying to pull.

"Open your hand" the man demanded.

Sachiko hated the commanding tone but obliged with his request. To her surprise the body of the fork was twisted. Her eyes widened for just a second, so the street magician didn't see her reaction.

Thinking that she was still not impressed, the man asked her to hold the fork upright again. The man ran his thumb in an upward motion along the stem of the same fork and Sachiko visibly saw it bend toward her. This time, she was unable to hide her surprise and almost dropped the fork to the ground. The crowd around her burst into applause and the magician smiled and bowed at the appreciation.

Sachiko, now back to her senses, handed the now disfigured fork back to the man. But he raised his hands and shook his head, "Please keep it. It is a reminder that nothing is impossible"

And before the man turned to leave, he added "even forks bend, right?"

A/N: The part about the street magician is an experience that happened to me personally. And it still baffles me to this day as to how he did it. ^_^

The part about the Hanadera School Festival is somehow with reference to the Anime version of MSGM OVA 3.