Chapter 5 - On Edge
"Thank you Suguru for bringing Sachiko home," Sayako smiled warmly at the young man standing beside her as he gave a nod to acknowledge the older woman. She then led them towards the door so that she could question her nephew about what happened. Suguru looked at his cousin one last time before stepping out of the room to face the waiting older woman.
As they walked towards the receiving room, the Sayako asked one of their maids to prepare them some biscuits and tea. Well aware of what his Obasan wanted from him, Suguru spoke of what happened a few hours ago. "I've never seen my cousin so distraught and it was as if she was not even the Sa-chan that I know. Well after the dinner, we saw Hanazono-san down the street and she was snogging with someone and then, that was when Sa-chan reacted hysterically."
Pouring the tea on each of the cups that she laid on the coffee table, the young maid handed the hot cup of refreshments to Sayako and Suguru. The young lad gladly took the cup and sipped the hot tea, calming his nerves bit by bit. He smiled sweetly at the young woman in appreciation, before the girl returned to the kitchen.
"Yesterday, Sachiko came home a little infuriated. You are right Suguru, it's not like her to be like that. Or it's possible that she's been like that for quite some time now and I did not even notice it. What kind of mother am I to not see what has been happening to her own daughter?" Sayako could not contain the sorrow that filled her heart as tears ran down her face. It had bothered her for a while now that her own daughter does not share the burdens she was experiencing; sometimes she feels jealous of Meixiu, she learned that Sachiko would sometimes tell her nanny things that she was feeling and yet, to Sayako, she kept her mouth tightly zipped.
"Sayako-obasan, please do not think like that. You did not do anything wrong. I'm sure that Sa-chan is just experiencing something she hasn't experienced before thus she does not know how to handle it. Maybe she does not want you to worry about her. Please do not blame yourself," the young man reached out his hand across the table and gently squeezed Sayako's hand. He was stunned to find how calloused her hand was, and it changed his view about the Queen of the Ogasawaras—he respected her even more, probably more than he would respect his own mother if there was even one. His mother was a different story and it was something he'd rather not talk about. Just the thought of his mother made him cringed in disgust.
When Sayako had calmed down a little bit, Suguru let go of her hand and was somehow missing its warmth already. In the eyes of his mother, he was nothing but an obligation she must fulfill as part of the Kashiwagi family. Right after he was born, his mother left him in the care of the housemaids and ran off with her lover to some place unknown. As he was growing up, his father barely had time for him so Tooru insisted on taking in young Suguru so that his wife could look after him.
In the eyes of the handsome young boy, Sayako became the mother he did not have and the Ogasawaras became more of his family. And when he was young, he always played the knight in shining armor for his dear cousin Sachiko because to him, she was the sibling he never had. This was also the reason why he could not marry the young heiress; because for him, marrying Sachiko was like marrying his own sister—maybe not by blood, but it still counts.
These women of the Ogasawaras are surely dear to Suguru that he would do anything just to protect them, and not marrying Sachiko was the best way to protect her—from him. He simply cannot love her as a woman, and though the youngest member of the Ogasawara does not see that, he loves her and will do his best to make her happy.
It was bright and sunny the next morning and everyone in Lillian were in high spirits. Some students who came to school early were happily chattering about what they did yesterday when class was suddenly cancelled in the afternoon. A few of the students still talk about Rosa Chinensis en Bouton, though there were a few who seemed to have moved on from the gossip.
A group of first year students were casually dancing and prancing on the cobbled path of Lillian Girls Academy whilst leaving their uniforms in disarray. They continued their merry-making until a stern and cold voice called out their attention.
"Excuse me." A voice from behind called the attention of the flouncing students.
Knowing that if someone asked for your attention, it was only but proper to give response to the person who called out and upon halting whatever the young freshmen students were doing, they wished that they had just ignored whoever it was. The students looked at Rosa Chinensis worryingly.
"G-gokigenyou R-rosa Chinensis." With terrified look on their faces, the young girls were still able to greet their upperclassman in chorus.
"I believe that the school did not lack in instilling to the students how to a Lady should properly behave in public. You should always be mindful of you actions."
Poor students. Stuck in the early morning rant of the Ice Princess. Sachiko's lecture continued for awhileeven asking the frightened students to recite the rules of Lillian that was written on their student's handbook. Feeling satisfied that she was able to reinforce the proper ways of a lady, Sachiko left the cowering student and walked towards the Rose Mansion.
When she got in the Rose Mansion, Rosa Chinensis noticed the she was the first to arrive. She put down her things and took out her notes for she was not able to do her homework last night. For minutes, she just stared at the letters on her notebook and nothing seemed to get in her mind at this point. Her thoughts seemed to replay what had happened last night.
The young heiress stirred from her sleep when a continuous dinging sound broke the silence of her chamber. Irritated that her sleep was disturbed, she looked for the source of the offending sound and when she found it, it was actually her cellphone saying she has one new message.
Onee-sama, thank you so much for today. I really love spending time with you; I wish we could do it more. By the way, I just got home, I saw Shi-chan at the shopping district awhile back. I miss you already Onee-sama.
It was only a short message and yet it sent Sachiko's heart in frenzy. She was dithering whether she would be glad that the person she is in love with misses her just as she does but at the same time she felt her heart constrict, she could not take away the image of Shizuma kissing her on the street. She felt defeated.
"Get a grip Sachiko! Don't you have confidence in yourself? You are an Ogasawara! Besides, it was dark and you did not get a good look of the girl. So how sure are you that was Yumi? It could just be any other girl." Sachiko rationalized with herself, not wanting to let what happened earlier that night falter her determination to win Yumi's affection.
Grabbing her laptop that was on the night table, she turned it on and waited for it to until her desktop was ready for use. As she looked at her mobile phone, she was contemplating if she was going to reply to Yumi's message and thinking that she might say something she might regret for she was still somehow trying to clear her mind, she decided not to.
She decided to check her email and open her Facebook account just to check if there were any new mails she needed to review. Seeing that she does not have any new messages, she decided to retire for the night but a private message popped on her screen coming from a friend of hers she met online.
The Duchess: Hello my dear. It's been awhile.
The young heiress smiled that she was able to talk to her friend. She met her online months ago and she seemed nice so she decided to get to know her. Normally, she would not entertain such thing but it was at that time that she really needed someone to talk. She was struggling with what she was feeling towards Yumi but was afraid to open up to someone she knows for fear of being misunderstood. Then this person appeared at the right moment and ever since, they have been confidants.
Yuki-Hime: Yes, it's been awhile Auntie. How have you been? I have so much to tell you I don't know where to begin.
At first, the sapphire-eyed Ojousama was reluctant to tell her friend something about her; she was a stranger after all. However, the woman assured her that whatever she would confide in her would remain a secret, it was all for the sake of being able to voice out what has been bothering their lives that Sachiko gave in. They never gave their identities and would only give subtle hints about themselves if only needed. Therefore, for the sake of not being disrespectful, Sachiko started calling the older woman Auntie.
Her friend was older than she is, about the age of her mother who is now in her forties. She is the wife of a very prominent businessman thus the anonymity of her identity is very important—ironically, so does Sachiko. The similarity in their social status was probably the reason why both women became at ease with each other.
The Duchess: Do tell. You know I'm all ears when it comes to you. You are like a daughter to me.
Her newfound aunt was always like this, willing to listen to all her qualms. If only she could tell her mother all this things, she probably would not need the comfort of other people.
Yuki-Hime: Thank you auntie. Remember what I told you about a friend of mine, the one that was under my care in the student council? Well… the last time we talked… I told you that I don't know how I feel about her. At first I thought it was just sisterly love, I was just looking out for her but as time went on, I realized that I don't just love her as a sister… I love her more than a sister should. I really am head over heels in love with her. Everything was going well for us, until a few days ago, someone came and claims that she was my love's wife. What's worse was that person had been my rival ever since we were young. I really did not mind about those competitions, I could just care less about those things; she could have all the fame and glory! But why do I have to compete with her again? This time, for heart of the person we both love. What's worse is that I feel that I don't stand a chance because of my family.
The Duchess: Why is that? Do they not accept such relationship?
Yuki-Hime: No it's not like that. Well… I don't know… I haven't told anyone in my family about this yet. And I'm really afraid to disappoint them and I'm afraid they would do something to my love if they ever find out. My grandfather is decided that I should marry my cousin, but I don't want to. Yes, I liked him before, but now that I found my true love, I would do anything to break the engagement off.
The Duchess: Well, I think that you should tell your parents as soon as possible and I'm sure that they would understand. You just have to tell them, no parent would not wish for their children's happiness. Fight for your love; do not let other people even your parents to stop you from achieving your happiness.
The conversation between the two women left the younger one with a refreshed perspective in her goal. She knew that her friend was right, it was now the time to grow a spine—she would not let anyone stop her from getting her happiness. It was now time for her to be brave. She can do it, for Yumi, she is willing to do anything.
The following morning, Sachiko woke up feeling energized. Not needing the help of the helpers in waking her up, she surprised them when she walked to the dining room all dressed and ready to go. Tooru and Sayako were already seated at their usual place; they too, were astonished to see their daughter looking happy so early in the morning.
"Gokigenyou, Otou-sama, Okaa-sama."
" Gokigenyou Sachiko-chan. Are you heading to school after breakfast? Would you like me to drop you off to school?" Tooru cheerfully asked his one and only daughter and waved at her to take her place and immediately, one of the kitchen attendants placed a plate on the table for their precious ojousama.
Sachiko looked at her father with wide eyes, it was unlikely for her father to be this…vigorous. It was as if she was looking at a different person but it made her happy to say the least. It was like those times when she was young and they would all gather at their summerhouse.
She was about to accept his father's offer when suddenly her grandfather came in to the dining area. The air, without warning, turned cold and aristocratic—Ogasawara Mamoru had always had that kind of aura. The old man frowned internally when he noticed that everyone turned quiet upon his arrival. If anything, he loves his family so much and it saddens him to great extent that they look at him with fear.
"What a wonderful sight in the morning. Seeing all my family complete and happy. Carry on, continue what you were talking about. Do not hold back on my account," Ogasawara Mamoru pronounced with authority laced in his voice.
"Gokigenyou, Ojii-sama."
"Good morning to you as well my dear granddaughter. You are looking as wonderful as ever," the patriarch of the Ogasawara clan replied with gleam in his eyes.
Looking at the old man she had come to love and hate, Sachiko responded politely, "Thank you Ojii-sama."
"I'm sure that you would look even more beautiful on your wedding day. I just can't wait for the day that you would wed Suguru, our family would officially be complete." His booming voice filled the entire dining room as he joyfully laughed, unaware that his own granddaughter visibly cringed at his remark.
In an instant, Sachiko's glowing demeanor this morning she woke up went down the drain. Just a simple mention of her pending marriage puts the young heiress in a very, very dangerous mood. Upon sensing her daughter's distress, Sayako ordered one of the maids to ready the car Sachiko would be using in going to school.
"Sachiko, I believe that you should get going. You would not want to be late for school." Sayako looked at her precious daughter with concern in her eyes and when Sachiko met her eyes, she knew that her daughter was struggling with something.
The young member of the Ogasawara stood up and bowed slightly to the people left at the table. Silently, she thanked her mother for saving her. She felt her vision cloud and her mood soured making her irritated so early in the morning.
The mock bantering sound approaching the second floor door broke Sachiko's flashback of what happened this morning. In a few moments, the biscuit door swung open revealing the Foetida family flanked by the Giganteas.
Gokigenyous rang out in the meeting room as they went about to their respective seats. Noriko began the process of making tea and served it to her sempais and when she reached her onee-sama, Shimako rewarded her with a kiss on her cheek that made her blush like strawberries.
"O-onee-sama…" Noriko stuttered while the rest of the Yamayurikai stared at the Gigantea sisters.
"Whoa! Shimako-san… I did not know you had that in you. What has gotten in to you? Are you guys a couple now?" Yoshino interrogated as she fired her questions ceaselessly.
Still in her calm and composed self, the second year Wisteria blonde looked at her bestfriend and smiled knowingly, "But Yoshino-san, don't you do that to Rei-sama as well?"
Yoshino paled instantly the moment Shimako mentioned her and Rei's morning ritual. Every morning before going to school, Yoshino would give her cousin a peck on the cheek. The older Yellow Rose just laughed at how cute Yoshino's reaction was. It was her first time to see Yoshino speechless.
"Mmn! That's right! I think Yoshino's favorite part to kiss would have to be my…." Rei intentionally trailed her speech which made Yoshino turn from paper white to cherry red.
"Rei-chan no baka!"
All three pairs of eyes looked at the only person who was silently sitting by her chair, her face looking stern and distant; she looked like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Sachiko was slightly spacing out, she was thinking of the only person that can make her heart flutter. Why is she still not here? What happened to her? Did Hanazono do something last night to make her this late?
The thought of Shizuma doing something to her Yumi made her mood even darker; she was so ready to call Yumi on her cellphone when the door slammed open with her favorite brown-haired woman looking so exhausted.
"Ahhh… I thought I made it on time. Gomenasai everyone," Yumi said apologetically.
"What's taken you so long?" Sachiko probed but it sounded icier than she really wanted it to be. She was just so worried sick about the young girl, plus the fact that her morning was ruined and the event last night, she could only assume that those things finally took its toll on her and she unexpectedly took it out on her petite soeur.
"I-I'm really sorry Onee-sama. I was actually on time but when I got to school, the School Director called me out saying she needed to tell me something important," Yumi said nervously, her eyes boring holes on the floor afraid to look up at her irate Onee-sama. Still with her head bowed, she peeked at Sachiko through her bangs which was way beyond cuteness in anyone's standards, and that was not missed by the sapphire-eyed heiress. Who would get mad at that face that looked so cute and adorable? Sachiko thought and her features lightened up a bit as she tried to hide her blush.
Brown eyes watched the two people in front of her with amusement evident in her eyes; she never thought she'd think of the young brunette as… lethal. Not that Hasekura Rei thought that Yumi has murderous capabilities, but the way she can handle The Ice Princess, she thinks that Yumi really deserves the title. Yumi can make or break her friend without the girl even noticing it.
With her all-knowing smile, Rei broke the building tension as she said, "Ahh… Yumi-chan, don't mind Sachiko. She's just her usual grouchy self." Rei looked at Sachiko as she continued, "You see… She was getting envious of us."
"Eh? What do you mean Rei-sama?" Yumi inquired as she cocked her head to the side. 'Oh my goodness!I think my Yumi-Cuteness-o-Meter has reached its limits for today,' Sachiko thought as she watched her petite soeur interact with her friend.
As she looked at Rei, Sachiko shot her a warning look as if telling her to 'shut her mouth or else….' But Rei was not fazed by her friend's threatening look, and smiled even more evilly when she returned her gaze at her fellow third-year. "Well, she's bitter because she is the only person in this room who did not get her morning dose of kiss from her petite soeur."After hearing what Rosa Foetida said, everyone except for the Red Roses tried to stifle their giggles.
"REI!"
"For your information, I- I am not envious," Sachiko said sounding cold but the slip in her words made Rei laugh louder. Yumi, on the other hand, could only blush at what Rei said a few moments ago.
"Yumi, please take your sit and tell us what Nakamura-sensei wanted from you."
She made her way to her sit beside her Onee-sama and told them the reason for her delay. After she had told them what the teacher asked of her to relay the message, they discussed about the details regarding the school program. It was not that long when they heard the first bell for homeroom.
As the members of the student council gathered all their things, they all decided to meet up after the training and then went out of the biscuit door to attend to their homeroom. The Foetida sisters went ahead saying that they needed to drop by the dojo before proceeding to their rooms followed by Shimako and Noriko.
Sachiko and Yumi were the only ones left and when the older girl stood up and reached for the door handle the young brunette girl called to her onee-sama halting the heiress from taking another step. As she looked at her petite soeur, her heart skipped a beat when she noticed how stunning Yumi is today.
She was again, wearing her hair in ponytail that emphasized the contour of her neck. 'Beautiful' Sachiko thought but slightly frowned when she remembered what happened last night. 'Could you be that girl,Yumi?' Sachiko pondered deeply and when she snapped from her momentary reverie, she looked surprised to find Yumi standing very close to her.
"Yumi…"
"Onee-sama…"
Stepping closer to the taller girl, their face just inches away from each other and their eyes meeting, both Red Roses savored the breathtaking beauty bestowed before them. Yumi was feeling nervous but gathered all her wits to ask her Onee-sama if she was still mad at the young girl. Sachiko could only shake her head in denial.
"I was just worried about you, my cute and adorable petite soeur. Every time I do not get to see you, I cannot help but wonder what you are doing or if you are alright and unharmed." Yumi looked at her onee-sama with all the love in her eyes as her heart warmed upon hearing what the older girl had said.
"If I could only transform you into a pocket-sized Yumi, I probably would have done so… I would put you here in my pocket, just so you can always be here close to my heart." Patting the breast pocket of her uniform, Sachiko looked at her petite soeur and smiled at how cute her love can be when embarrassed.
Yumi closed the gap between her Onee-sama and tiptoed so she can reach the taller girl to give her a lingering peck on the raven-haired girl's cheeks, and wrapped her arms around the waist of the older woman who makes her hear race. Stunned by Yumi's action, Sachiko just stood there frozen… unresponsive to the girl's embrace.
When she recovered from that simple yet mind-blowing kiss, Sachiko hugged her petite soeur just in time for Yumi to release herself from the older girl. Yumi missing the contact welcomed her onee-sama's reciprocating gesture. Unknowingly, Sachiko lifted her hand to trace the part where Yumi had placed her soft and luscious lips, her heart jolted outright when she realized that Yumi had slightly kissed the corner of her lips and even if it was just a tiny bit of her lips, it was still… a kiss on the lips. She could have sworn that she can taste the lip balm that her beloved was wearing… mixed berries.
"O-onee-sama, please don't get mad. I'm sorry if I made you worry," yhe mocha-eyed angel uttered as she snuggled herself at her onee-sama's bosom taking in the sweet smelling scent of the other girl as Sachiko held her even tighter. Reluctantly, Yumi untangled herself from the taller girl, and rummaged in her bag as she reached for something wrapped in a colorful paper. She looked at the older girl before placing the present on her palm for Sachiko to see.
"Yumi, what is this?" Sachiko asked.
Yumi took the gift and unwrapped it for the young heiress, "When you left me last night, I was walking towards the restaurant and I saw this cute cell phone trinket and I thought that I should get us one. See… it's a red rose with a letter engraved in the middle, so I got letters S and Y." Yumi handed the trinket back to Sachiko as the older girl took it and thanked the young girl for her thoughtfulness. She took out her mobile phone and placed it on.
She also noticed that Yumi addressed them as "us" and it made her smile sheepishly, and thought to herself 'could Yumi be thing of 'tha't about us, as well?' Curiously, the letter on her trinket was letter Y. "Yumi, I think you handed me the wrong trinket, see here it's letter Y not S." Sachiko said as she showed her petite soeur what she meant.
"I—uh—no Onee-sama. I intentionally gave you the letter Y…" she trailed of, uncertain how she would continue her explanation. Yumi took a huge gulp of air and continued. "…because uhm it's starts with my name and yours start with a letter S so I uhh got that for me and I thought it's like cute because that's what couples do but I'm not saying we are couples but we are as close as one… No wait! I meant we are not close to being couples but we are close because we know each other really well and we care for each other and love each other." Yumi babbled and when she realized she said something embarrassing, she sank her head low knowing she just made a fool of herself.
Lucky for Yumi, her Onee-sama was too shocked by what she had heard. Sachiko stood there frozen as she tried to let the words spoken by her beloved to sink in. It probably took her 5, no make that 20 seconds for her body to react accordingly, feeling blood rush to her face, she could feel her cheeks begin to warm and that her ears and her neck began to redden as well.
Not wanting to embarrass Yumi further, she took the young girls hand and guided her to wrap it around her waist as Sachiko held her tighter. Stunned for she was not being reprimanded by the taller girl for muttering unintelligible thoughts again, Yumi looked up and her eyes widen when exactly at that moment, Sachiko was leaning down, their face meeting closely. Yumi closed her eyes and waited for the kiss and that it did, though not on the area where she wanted for the kiss to land but it was enough reason for her heart to skip a beat and made her blush.
"That was for my daily dosage of petite soeur's morning greeting and for the trinket. I love the letter Y."
At this time of the hour, the Ogasawara Mansion seemed like a ghost town. Echoes reverberate within its empty hallways; the silence was defeaning and the living occupants were nowhere to be seen.
In one of the largest rooms in the mansion, there inside, Sayako lay on her bed thinking about her family and most of all, her dear daughter. Sighing deeply, Sayako looked at the ceiling of her four-poster bed contemplating on what she could do to help her one and only child.
Surprised that an arm snaked towards her abdomen, Sayako looked at the intruder, her features softened when she found her husband getting under the covers and held her even closer to him.
"Tooru, I thought you've gone to the office already. Don't you have a meeting today?" Sayako asked quickly, her tone seemed like she did not want her husband to be there but contrary to that, the Queen of the house snuggled closer to her beloved thankful that he was there with her.
Seeing the lines in his beautiful wife's face, Tooru examined his wife intently as he knew too well that the woman would not say anything to make him worry and to add more stress in his already nerve-wracking job as the CEO of Ogasawara Conglomerate. "I was already out of the gate but I missed you already so I came back. Just give me a few minutes dear, you know I can only do this when we are alone together."
Feeling each other's warmth, Sayako and Tooru remained in their position—Tooru resting his chin on Sayako's head as she snuggled on her husband's perfectly sculpted chest. "Our daughter is not happy, Saya-chan."
"I know." Sayako answered. She looked at her husband, her eyes almost pleading, "I think we both know what's causing this… can we not do something about this, dear?"
Looking defeated and ashamed that he cannot do anything to make his love happy, he uncharacteristically sighed and said, "Father had decided on this long time ago though there's something we can do but are you ready for it? Is it time for them to know? Besides, we cannot bring 'that'into play unless Sachiko makes the first move to-"
An offending ringing sound rang out in the room and getting the source of the noise, Tooru answered his mobile phone and after a few seconds, he hung up and looked at his wife sadly. "I better go, Father wants to see me now. He said he has something important to tell me."
The man with calm and handsome features slid off the covers and arranged his slightly wrinkled shirt. When he was done, he went to the other side of the bed to give his love a quick kiss that sent electrical surge to their lips travelling down to their body. The supposedly quick goodbye kiss turned into full-blown kisses that both adults have missed. Panting heavily as the kisses became more exhilarated, Tooru muttered in between kisses in a muffled voice,
"Father… can wait… another… hour…"
"Test mic…"A booming voice filled the gymnasium of Lillian Girls Academy followed by a loud tapping on the microphone, " 1, 2, 3…" but only an offending sound of the feedback coming from the speaker system greeted the students of Lillian Girls Academy causing them to cover their ears in an attempt to save their eardrums from exploding.
"Good morning students of Lillian Girls Academy. You may all be surprised why your teachers gathered you here. As you all know, your summer vacation is fast approaching…" the speech was cut off by excited students squealing in delight by the nearing vacation, and even though they were supposed to be the young maidens thus they should act as one, no one can hide the fact that they are still teenage girls who love to have fun and were just as excited to go to the beach and travel.
"Ahem."
Instantly, the cheering crowd died down, returning to their prim and proper state, and let the speaker finish off her speech. "As I was saying, summer vacation will just be in a few days and we all know that you have plans to travel and go to the beach as you youngsters love to do these days. As a precautionary measure, we will be having First Aid training just in case an accident happened during your vacation, you girls will know what to do."
Everyone nodded in agreement with what the speaker had said therefore every student were very attentive when an expert in rescue operations came to teach them about emergency measures for different cases. The instructor, being an alumni of Lillian, taught them the basics in providing first aids to casual wounds and minor injuries.
"It feels good to be back in Lillian and I have to thank Nakamura-sensei for inviting me here. Just like you, I was also a maiden of Lillian Jogakuen and up until now, I still have in me the values that this school has taught me." The speaker bowed slightly to acknowledge the presence of the school director and went ahead with the training. The room was packed and the students were grouped according to their class.
"The last that procedure that I'm going to teach you is the Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, in short CPR and Rescue Breathing." The former Lillian student then explained when to use CPR versus Rescue Breathing, everyone was thrilled to know that the procedure needed mouth to mouth contact which caused some girls to shriek in delight. "Alright, that is basically the procedures for CPR and Rescue Breathing. Does everyone understand?" the expert inquired.
"Yes!" All the students answered excitedly in unison.
The speaker was delighted to hear that all the students understood the concept but it was not enough for them to know but it was also important for them to experience it so she announced to the crowd that she would be picking two people who would do the demo in front of everyone. She walked around the gymnasium looking for her first person. She stopped in front of a young girl who was slightly dazed off; the instructor had been eyeing the girl ever since she came in thinking the she was very cute, and when the girl noticed that she was the one selected, she gave a surprised yelp.
"What a cute girl you are. What is your name?" the instructor asked. Looking up to face the woman before her, the young girl answered meekly. "G-gokigenyou. My name is Fukuzawa Yumi."
"Such a lovely name, it suits you my dear. Come here with me in front." Grabbing Yumi's hand, the older woman pulled Yumi towards the front catching the young girl off guard that caused her to stumble but the woman caught Yumi before she kissed the floor. Sachiko watched what happened to her petite soeur disapprovingly, and glowered at the woman hogging her beloved. She did not miss the flirtatious tone of the woman when she was speaking to her Yumi.
When they were in front, the instructor stopped for awhile and contemplated on what she was going to do next. She thought of just being Yumi's partner, she really liked the girl—Yumi's exactly her type but she just can't shake the feeling that someone was watching her, like a predator watching its prey, and she is the prey.
Following her instincts, she decided to just let it go and recomposed herself. "Alright, thank you Yumi-chan." She looked at Yumi, gave her a quick wink, and returned to the audience. "Okay, now that we have our first volunteer, who would like to be Yumi-chan's partner?"
That announcement started ruckus among the student body. Many of the students in Lillian in all different year levels, in one way or another, harbored admiration for the young Red Rose. She was everyone's favorite Yamayurikai member.
Hands immediately shot up in the air, from all first year students and surprisingly, among third year students as well. All were eager to become the young brunette's partner with the similar intention of wanting to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on her. Yumi gulped down as she looked nervously at the crowd.
"Wow! You really have a lot of admirers Yumi-chan. Okay, let see who will the lucky student." The former Lillian student looked around and spotted a second year student with pixie-styled hair. "… and the lucky student who will be Yumi-chan's partner is that woman with-"
"Excuse me!" the voice rang out inside the gymnasium. The intensity plus the chill in the tone of the voice caused everyone to stop and be silent.
"O-onee-sama!" her head was cast down when the instructor was picking her partner, she was nervous about the whole situation and when she heard her Onee-sama's voice, her head snapped back quickly and instantly looked at the intense gaze of her soeur.
Sachiko was seething on her seat the moment the older woman showed interest on her beloved and the fact that almost half of the Lillian Girls Academy were ogling Yumi like some kind of a piece of meat-as if she wasn't. However, the young heiress told herself that she has more right to do that in the pretext that she was the young girl's onee-sama. She groaned inwardly, never could she blame Yumi for being so cute and adorable for she herself was captivated by her younger sister's sweet innocence. The raven-haired girl would never allow anyone to touch her beloved other than her.
"I am Fukuzawa Yumi's onee-sama. I think I have the right to be her partner on this." Sachiko said commandingly, causing Yumi to blush. 'Oh god! It's enough that I have to compete with Sei-sama and Hanazono for Yumi's affection, it would be too much if I would have to compete against the whole school!'
"Oh! Alright, may I know your name please?" the instructor asked, feeling shivers run down her spine when she looked at the young girl's onee-sama.
"Ogasawara Sachiko, current Rosa Chinensis of the Yamayurikai." The former student's eyes widened in shock that she was now face to face with the famous Ogasawara Sachiko; there is something about the Rose that she could not put a name to it, but she could sense the protectiveness of the older Rose towards her petite soeur. 'Could it be…'
"Okay everyone, now that we have our volunteers in front, I want everyone to get their own partners as well and grab a mat on that corner. We will be performing this simultaneously." The girls stood from their seat and walked towards their desired partners, and when everyone settled down, they all sat on the floor waiting for instructions.
Pleased at how quickly the girls worked, the Rescue personnel gave instructions to the girls to pick which one will be the rescuer and the victim, and start the basic position for whoever will be their roles. Sachiko looked at Yumi to ask who will be who and they decided that Sachiko will be the rescuer so Yumi laid down on the mat while the older girl was kneeling parallel to Yumi's head.
She then instructed the students get in the position and have a feel of the situation. Hearing what the instructor said, Sachiko leaned down, her face getting closer to Yumi's. The brunette was so flustered by her onee-sama's nearing face that all coherent thoughts flew out of the window. They have forgotten where they were and all eyes were now directed towards them, as they await for the Red Roses' next move.
Dazzled by her petite soeur's charm, Sachiko placed her palm on Yumi's cheeks, quite different from the instruction given which was to place it on the forehead to help in tilting the head up. She then used her other hand to lift Yumi's chin to give her lips more access when she claims her love's supple lips. Oops! Rewind. She tilted Yumi's chin to open Yumi's airway.
Just a few more inches and their lips would now touch; everyone stopped what they were doing, holding their breath, waiting for that one final step. Sachiko closed her eyes, ready to claim what's rightfully hers.
"Sachiko, I think you forgot to place the face guard and aren't you supposed to pinch Yumi's nose before giving her rescue breaths?" her voice laced with mischief and teasing, Hasekura Rei smirked as she watched her best friend snap from her dreamy trance. Sachiko groaned rather loudy.
'Nice going Rei…' Sachiko thought sarcastically, she wondered how Rei suddenly appeared out of nowhere. 'You just had to kill the mood. I swear one of these days I'm going to shove that Kendo stick up your ass.'
"I believe that in emergency situations, one would not be able to think of face guards especially if it's their loved ones who are in danger," the raven haired girl retorted smugly, she knew that she got her friend there.
But Rei was not finished yet, "And Sachiko, I think I heard Sensei that one should place the heel of their hand in the chest center and do compressions… not squeeze." Looking confused at what her friend said, Sachiko looked at where her hand was placed. Her left hand was now cupping Yumi's right breast, her eyes widened in shock but never taking her hand off the ample mound that was so soft and warm and something pointy? She swore she did not know how her hand got there. Must have a mind of its own.
Blood began to pool on Yumi's cheeks the moment her onee-sama's face came closer to hers, lost in the beauty that hovered over her, she could not help but be captivated by those pools of ocean blue orbs. The intensity of her blush deepened even more when she suddenly felt something warm on top of her breast. Realizing it was her onee-sama's hand, Yumi felt so lightheaded she thought she was going to faint until she heard Rei's taunting comment. Yumi thought that if this is how Sachiko would perform her CPR, she was so sure that she would die from heart attack and massive blood loss.
"Ahh yes, I understand now. Thank you so much for clarifying this, and I very sorry that I had to ask you to come over here." Looking at the young woman before her, the other woman sighed in relief knowing that the issue has been cleared.
The young woman stood up and bowed slightly at the person she was just talking to and uttered, "I'm glad to clear things up. I would hate to cause trouble to my wife, thank you for taking care of her." After that, she walked out of the room and started looking for her young brunette wife among the throngs of students scattered all around the campus. She thanked all the gods above that Lillian was not as big as her former school St. Miator or it would take her forever to find her lovely wife.
After the survival training that was held at the gymnasium, the members of Yamayurikai agreed to meet at the Rose Mansion so that they could all eat together and at the same time discuss the upcoming summer vacation. Rei, Yoshino and Shimako arrived at the Rose Mansion first but were surprised to see someone waiting for them at the front door.
"Gokigenyou Rosa Chinensis." The girls greeted Mizuno Youko, former Rosa Chinensis. Youko smiled at them, glad to see their faces.
"Gokigenyou. But I believe that I had long passed on that title to my petite soeur." Youko replied and looked passed the girls searching for her sister and her imouto.
"Rei, where is Sachiko and Yumi-chan?"
The head of the yellow rose looked at the people beside her and they all giggled shyly which caught Youko's attention, she raised her eyebrow curiously at her juniors' actions. She was about to ask again but Rei suddenly answered, still giggling. "Oh..she's probably looking for a place where she can drown Yumi-chan so she can give her a CPR." Upon hearing Rei'sanswer, the girls could not control their laughter anymore leaving Youko bewildered. Seconds later, the two girls the former Rosa Chinensis was looking for came walking hand in hand with their face all flushed. 'What happened to these two?' Youko thought to herself but dismissed it right away.
"Gokigenyou, Onee-sama." Sachiko said and smiled, she looked at her fellow Roses wondering what they were sniggering about.
"Gokigenyou, Youko-sama." Yumi chimed in, and just like her older sister, gave Youko her warmest smile and hug. Everyone went up to the meeting room wanting to start on their lunch, but they were fairly surprised to see the state of the second floor—the furniture were moved to the side and some were even dismantled; men in jump suit worked around the second floor to give it a little bit of refurbishing as per ordered by the school director.
Seeing that the Rose Mansion was not available, they decided to go to the Milk Hall to have their lunch there. Yumi sensing her onee-sama's discomfort, suggested something she thought would be a change for them but fun at the same time. Yumi knew that Sachiko never really liked crowded places and at times like this, the Milk Hall was packed with hungry noisy students.
"A-ano…" Yumi trailed off, which caught the attention of the other people. They all stopped walking, waiting for Yumi to continue, "Would you like to eat outside? I mean like a picnic instead of going to the Milk Hall?"
Yumi looked so adorable with the blush visible on her cheeks, and as others contemplated on her suggestion, Sachiko could not help but feel warm inside. She had inkling that Yumi suggested that because the young girl knew that she did not like crowded places. "I think that's a good idea, Yumi. It's a nice change."
"Yeah! We can use the blankets we used last year… I think they are at the storage room. Let's go get them Shimako-san." Yoshino interjected as she grabbed Shimako's arm and started heading back to the Rose Mansion. The rest of them found a shaded area beside the wooden building, it was perfect because the trees provide the much needed cover thus protecting them from the scorching heat of summer.
Everyone started eating as they sat on the grass, happy at Yumi's suggestion of having lunch outside, it was a change in view and it was refreshing. They began small talks discussing about this and that and some suggestions for their yearly summer getaway.
A shrill scream broke the peace and harmony among the Roses when a tremendous force knocked Yumi off causing her to topple, her face almost touching the ground because of the weight on her back.
"Sei-sama! What did I tell you about not touching Yumi?" Sachiko screamed in anger, her eyes boring holes on Sei as the blonde university woman got off the brown-haired girl.
Another scream erupted from Sachiko's petite soeur when the blonde woman accidentally lost balance and knocked herself over again at Yumi. In her desperate attempt to stop her fall, Sei grabbed onto something blindly. Unfortunately, what the older woman took hold of was Yumi's uniform and the strong impact caused the buttons on the young Red Rose's clothing to pop out, considerably exposing the young girl's front.
Yumi was so shocked at what happened that it took her moments to recover from what happened and before Yumi yanked her ripped uniform to cover her breast, everyone fairly got a good view of her uncovered front. All eyes were on Yumi, a look of shock graced most of the Roses' faces, both current and former, except for the two persons. One with a look of mischief which sent shivers down Yumi's spine, she knew that look and she knew she'd never survive the blonde's teasing onslaught and the other, a look of hurt which made Yumi's heart clench. She never wanted that kind of look on the person dear to her heart, and she would not want to be the cause of the pain.
"Yumi-chaaaaan! You naughty girl! I did not know you had it in you to be this wild. Not even Youko would allow me to mark her like that." Sei exclaimed.
Yumi was starting to panic, the signs of embarrassment immediately painting her face as it felt way too hot than usual. "I-it's not what you t-think it is." Yumi stammered causing Sei to laugh aloud at Yumi's denial. Yumi looked at her onee-sama trying to convey in her 1001 facial expression that what Sei said was a lie.
"They are allergies, I ate something last night causing me to have these hives." Anyone who saw the red marks on the young girl's breast and abdomen would definitely doubt at what she said. Sachiko caught Yumi's eyes, and she knew that the girl was having emotional turmoil. She was so confused at what was happening, the young girl was mentally telling her not to believe her Onee-sama's girlfriend but flashes of last night's events replayed in her mind her face scrunched up in painful expression, plus the physical evidence that was momentarily displayed before her eyes did not help at all.
"And what was it that you ate that caused those allergies of yours?" Sei asked with mischief twinkling in her eyes.
"Me?"
Everyone followed the source of the mysterious voice who timely answered the question of the former White Rose. Sei roared uncontrollably upon seeing the silver-haired beauty, "Are you allergic to her kisses then, Yumi-chan?" Yumi's body felt hot from the embarrassment she was facing, she hope that the earth would open up right at this moment and swallow her whole.
"My…My… Yu-chin… Did you enjoy last night so much that you could not wait to take off your clothes and have me ravish you in broad daylight?" Shizuma teased as she saw the state of dress Yumi was in and smirked at the woman who happened to be shooting daggers with her cold blue eyes, but in her mind, Shizuma was concerned about the young woman. She knew how much of a klutz the younger girl is.
"W-whaaat? Shi-chan! Stop saying embarrassing things. You know that's not true." Yumi said defensively as she pouted her lips. Shizuma could not help but laugh at her; she is just so cute when Yumi gets all mad. "What are you doing here?" she asked again this time without the venom in her voice.
"Because I missed you? Is that enough reason for my dear wife?" Shizuma answered sweetly, the young girl looked at her not believing what the new arrival reasoned out. "I had to talk to your School Director, she was a bit concerned about your civil status but everything is cleared out now."
Youko noticed how Sachiko was not acting her usual stoic Ice Princess, all emotions were actually displayed on the young heiress's face and the former Red Rose could not help but giggle at her own petite soeur. She never thought the day would come where she would see on Sachiko's face the life-phases that Yumi is so famous for and to spice things up, Youko invited Shizuma to join them for lunch. 'This should be interesting.'
Graciously thanking the look alike of her best friend, Shizuma and Yumi settled down on the blanket with Yumi now in between Shizuma and Sachiko. Somehow, the young girl felt a bit uncomfortable, the two women sitting both her sides were now glaring at each other and were now having their silent competition for Yumi's attention.
Competitive as she was, Sachiko do not intend to lose so she grab one of the biggest fried chicken pops off her bento, and offered the food to Yumi as she outstretched her arm to place the food near Yumi's mouth. Quickly enough, the silver-haired woman saw what Sachiko was trying to do so she scooped a spoonful of strawberry ice cream and offered it as well to the young woman at the same time glaring at her rival.
On the other hand, Yumi was left with the hardest position of all. There, in front of her, were two kinds of food offered to her; one, a fried chicken pops offered by the most beautiful woman her eyes ever laid on, and a spoonful of strawberry ice cream from the person she calls her wife. Yumi did not want to hurt both feelings; gathering all her wits, she took the chicken and ice cream at the same time.
To say that they were dumbstruck was an understatement. All the members of the Yamayurikai, as well as Shizuma, were stunned with what Yumi had done; they were anticipating what the young girl would do in the sticky situation she was in and they did not expect her to do just that. They watched her wince while chewing the food as the flavor of the chicken and strawberry blend in her mouth.
Yumi shuddered after swallowing that undistinguishable taste of chicken and strawberry and she swore she would never do it again if put in the same situation. Youko wanting to change the mood started discussing their annual plan for summer vacation. Everyone suggested what they want to do and took time to weigh if that was the best option until Shizuma interrupted their cheery conversation.
"Perhaps a vacation at the beach?" Shizuma suggested and smiled knowingly at the young brunette sitting beside her. "Why don't you take them up to Maison de L'amour?"
Having mentioned the place Shizuma suggested, Yumi's eyes lit up. "Really Shi-chan? You don't mind?" Yumi asked excitedly. She haven't been to the beach house in a long time and it was a place special to her, both to her and Shizuma.
"Of course not, Yumi. That property is yours too. Have you forgotten you are my wife?" In response, Yumi gave her most beautiful smile and invited everyone to come to their beach house. Everyone agreed that since they were offered free lodging and it would be a nice change this year to go to the beach, members of the Yamayurikai, past and present agreed to do it as soon as the summer vacation begins.
Despite the excitement of everyone, there was one person who seemed to be unperturbed by what's going on around her. She was happy that their vacation has been settled and that they are going to the beach, but what bothered her more was the mention of a property both Shizuma and Yumi owns. 'A conjugal property?' Sachiko felt her heart crushed, is she losing this battle?
Sei maybe a tease all the time and she loves to get a reaction from Sachiko but this is one reaction she did not want to see her friend, though she does not show it she cares very much for the Ice Princess. Sei decided to break the foreboding tension as she asked Yumi-chan and her petite soeur, Shimako about their own petite soeurs, "Shimako, Yumi-chan… how come I don't see your petite soeurs?"
The young brunette was first to answer but before that, Sachiko offered her own tea to Yumi to wash down any unpleasant taste in her mouth. Sachiko felt bad for her petite soeur because if it were not for her and Shizuma, Yumi would not have done that to spare their feelings. What Yumi did made her fall for the girl even deeper.
"Uhmm..Touko-chan is in New York right now. She's auditioning for the role of Kim for Miss Saigon. They needed to cast Asian actresses and so Touko-chan decided to join the audition." Yumi answered proudly, she was very supportive of her petite soeur's career choice and she would do anything to help her out. Shimako looked at her onee-sama ready to answer the blonde's question when a dashing Noriko heads to their direction at full-speed.
At a distance, Noriko could already make out the people sitting on the grass. She was thankful to all the gods above and to all forms of Buddha for her luck today. Right after the survival training, Rosa Gigantea en Bouton excused herself from the group saying she needed to get something in her room. She forgot to bring with her her bento and just when she was about to go out of her room, her cellphone started ringing. She got the phone out of her pocket and regretted her action of answering the call.
As soon as the line was connected, the person on the line started screaming at her, asking her questions one after the other. Noriko started panicking, something she never does but decided that she wanted to live longer so she rushed out of the room and looked for the one person that could calm the raging dragon.
"Yumi-samaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Save meeeee… Catch!" Noriko screamed like a banshee as she tossed her cellphone to Yumi and miraculously, the second member of the Chinensis family caught the phone. Yumi was shocked to see a flying cellphone, she closed her eyes and raised her hand hoping to catch the object zooming directly at her face. She felt relieved when she caught the phone but her grip was too tight that she accidentally pushed the loudspeaker button.
"H-hello…" Yumi said nervously.
As soon as the person on the other line heard the voice she wanted to hear, the person started her litany. "ONEE-SAAAAMAAA! What is this rumor I heard that you have a wife? It's all over Facebook! And even Twitter! I would not be surprised if they even revive Friendster for this one just so they can spread the news! I've only been away for a week and now I hear this shocking news that your wife is freely walking around Lillian! And not only that, you two were indecently showing your affection in public! Whoever that bitch is will have a taste of the Drill Girl's rage for tainting my Onee-sama's innocence! And Onee-sama… What about that secret you told me? Who is this wife of yours and I would murder her for ruining your possible relationship with -"
Touko-chan never got to finish what she was about to say when she heard a familiar voice call her name and as for her dear onee-sama, Yumi was so embarrassed at what had just happened. How could she be so clumsy for accidentally pushing the loudspeaker button and her petite soeur's barrage of questions made her blood rush to her head.
"Tou-chan… I believe that the bitch you are talking about is me…"
Touko froze when she heard the owner of that voice. If she was only present, everyone would see how the tsundere of a petite soeur of Rosa Chinensis en Bouton crumbled to her feet. Luckily, she was miles away from home. "S-s-shizuma-sama? I-is t-that you?"
Shell shocked, their eyes widened and their mouths agape, they could not believe that the mighty tsundere of the Chinensis family, Matsudaira Touko, would stammer like that, it was indeed a first time. "Ara Tou-chan! I think Yumi is rubbing off on you," Shizuma said while sticking her tongue at Yumi who in turn flushed furiously.
"Mou.. Shizuma-sama… you know how much I love my Onee-sama but I would hate to rob my Onee-sama's greatest talent. I think it's only Yumi-sama who could trip over her tongue and yet she still looks cute and adorable." Touko answered through the phone unaware that everyone can hear her as she tried her very best to stifle her giggles.
After hearing what Touko had said, everyone burst out laughing including Sachiko. They all agreed that it was only Yumi who can be like that, only she has the right to look so cute even if she's being a plain klutz. To Sachiko, seeing Touko-chan interact with her rival like they were really close was like a slap on her face; she was the cousin and Touko-chan's Great Grande Soeur and never did Touko relate to her in such an informal way. Also, she was a bit hurt as well when Touko said that she and Yumi had a secret, and what was that relationship that was going to be ruined? Could it be with Shizuma? Or is it possible that Yumi is in love with somebody else?
Again, Sachiko was lost in thought thinking about her petite soeur. She did not notice that Yumi's conversation with her cousin has ended. Her emotions had been on a roller coaster ride this past few days that she was starting to feel exhausted—emotionally and mentally. She simply does not know where she stands in Yumi's heart. Clearly, when it was just the two of them, she could feel the love Yumi has for her, that she cannot help but hope that Yumi could possibly love her the way she loves her petite soeur. But times like these, when Shizuma was with Yumi, she could not help but doubt the affection her beloved was showering her. She hates to admit but they simply look like a real couple.
Sachiko's reverie was cut when she heard Yumi shriek for the third time, this time it was Shizuma's doing. Her eyes searched for her dear petite soeur and found her slumped on the ground clutching her torn uniform to cover her front and standing beside Yumi was her rival with that roguish smile on her face and Shizuma's hand positioned in a weird way like it was cupping something. Put two and two together, the raven-haired beauty could only assume that Shizuma mercilessly groped her beloved!
Her irritation grew even more when she saw Shizuma's mouth moved upward and her cupped hand twitched involuntarily like that of a dirty old man oozing with malicious intent. Blood rose on her face, her striking blue eyes turned to slits. How dare she touch her Yumi like that?! B-but… I-I bet it would feel soo good to feel those soft and perky…
She shook her head to clear those fantasies of hers, steeled her face to cover up her unladylike thoughts, and braced herself to start her one hell of a tongue-lashing towards the silver-haired woman.
"Hanazo-"
"Oh my god! Yumi! I cant believe it! You've grown!" Shizuma delightfully shouted leaving all her audience clueless to what she was saying. Yumi, still on the ground, looked at her with confusion then suddenly, Shizuma jumped on her landing on top of the brown-haired girl as their bodies pressed together. Everyone, especially a certain blue-eyed heiress who was rooted in her position, visibly paled at the woman's bold action as they continued to watch the scene before them.
Continuing her verbal teasing towards the young woman beneath her, Shizuma slightly elevated her torso so she could look directly into Yumi's eyes, "Who would have known that beneath that uniform of yours is a hidden treasure. I never thought your breast had a chance to grow this big, well not big but they're-hmppfft….
When she finally freed her hand after being pinned by the woman on top of her, Yumi immediately covered Shizuma's mouth to stop her from muttering anymore embarrassing things. But once the silver-haired beauty started, it would take more than a hand to put a leash on her blabbering mouth. Yumi did not know how it happened, she knew she was able to cover Shizuma's mouth and next thing she knew the woman was able to wrest her hand and started with her endless teasing again.
"What is it that you did not want them to hear Yumi? Was it the nightly massages I give to-"
"Shizuma!"
To say they were thunderstruck was the ultimate understatement of a lifetime. Who would have thought that the sweet and innocent Fukuzawa Yumi had a monster lurking inside of her waiting to be released? Hearing Rosa Chinensis en Bouton yell ferociously at her wife made everyone cringe in fear that even the most hysterical outburst of the all-time Ice Princess, Ogasawara Sachiko was… surmounted.
'Oh wow! I never thought I'd see the day Yumi-chan snapping on someone,' Hasekura Rei said to herself while still looking stunned at the young Red Rose and suddenly she shivered causing goose bumps to rise on her skin.
'These Chinensis Family are really something… It was like seeing Youko and Sachiko fused together and the result was a blazing hot Yumi-chan,' Sei thought, unknowingly complimenting what Rei commented.
Thinking the drama has ended, Sachiko smiled to herself proud the Yumi put her rival in her proper place, for now the silver-haired beauty was rendered speechless. But Sachiko's victory was short lived when she realized that Shizuma was still on top of Yumi. She was so ready to pull free the woman crashing her dear petite soeur when all of a sudden, Shizuma's head descended towards Yumi's face.
Long silvery hair draped down on Yumi's face as her own descended slowly as she watched the young woman's eyes glowed with annoyance. She knew that she has stepped out of bounds and that Yumi really is mad at her; it was the first she heard the young girl say her name, not Shi-chan but Shizuma. And she never wanted that to hear that ever again, she never want to put Yumi in so much pain so she nuzzled her head on the crook of the young girl's neck and whispered ever so softly almost inaudible if not only her lips were pressed to the young woman's ear, "I'm so sorry Yu-chin. I'm not going to do that again, I promise."
"Mmn…" Yumi resigned to a slight grunt, she did not trust herself to say something coherent afraid that she would say something she would regret. However, her action sounded different from the people surrounding them, for the members of the Yamayurikai, it sounded like Yumi was moaning in pleasure. And with the way she and Shizuma were positioned, in the eyes of the outsiders they simply look like couples who are being intimate despite being in public and not the simple exchange of apology between two people.
Squeezing the hand of the woman walking along side her, the raven-haired woman stopped for awhile as her partner curiously looked at her. Realizing what it was, the other woman asked, "Are you okay? Y-you're not j-jealous, are you?"
"Me? Jealous? You wish!" the raven-haired woman retorted but realized her mistake for pouring out her frustration to the one person she loved the most. "I'm sorry love, I'm just so worried. Have you seen how dejected she was? I don't think Sachiko is going to take this lightly," Youko said worriedly and hugged the woman beside her to gather some strength.
"Shhh… Sa-chan just needs to be strong and really fight for what she wants, just like you did…" if there is one person who truly understood what Sachiko feels, it would have to be Youko. She had loved Sei for a long time and was silently waiting for the blonde woman to open up her heart for another possible chance at love. When Shiori broke Sei's heart, the woman vowed not to love again. But Youko patiently waited until finally, Sei realized her worth.
Probably difference with her petite soeur's situation is that she can feel that Yumi loves Sachiko too, it was just that both are in a very unusual situation-Sachiko is still betrothed to Kashiwagi and Yumi… has a wife. "Sei… can we help them?"
With love flowing in her eyes, the blonde university student embraced her raven-haired goddess, she may not have long black hair like Sachiko's but still, Youko's still her brand of raven-haired beauty, exclusively for her only. "Trying to meddle at your petite soeur's affair?" she asked teasingly, and gave the girl a quick kiss on the lips. "Why don't you invite everyone for dinner later?"
Suddenly, a very irritating sound of a woman moaning in pleasure pretty much killed the mood of a certain short raven-haired beauty. She turned to her blonde partner, her eyes blazing like hot coals, "Sei! How many times do I have to tell you to change your ringtone?!"
"What? You don't like hearing your own voice?"
To see all members of the Yamayurikai together is not something to see, every once in a while they would have dinners together and just hang out to catch up with each and everyone's lives. It was unfortunate that Touko is in America and Eriko is… somewhere around the globe probably looking for a fossil that she could use to bribe Yamanobe-sensei into marrying her.
In all those times, the girls are bundled together according to their Rose families with the occasion of Sei and Youko being together. However, it was quite boggling to see Sei and Sachiko sitting close together who were discussing about something really serious.
If possible, Sachiko did not want to be with Sei. She has nothing against the former Rosa Gigantea it's just that she's very jealous of the older woman's relationship with her petite soeur. Even though Sei is in a relationship with her onee-sama, Sei being Sei is still an ultimate flirt and her favorite plaything is her beloved Yumi.
After their eventful lunch, Sachiko was feeling unsettled again, the incident with her petite soeur and Shizuma put more questions in her already confused mind. She wanted to know if Yumi and Shizuma were really doing things that real couples do. She wanted to know if Yumi was being forced to do something or if she was willingly offering herself to her rival. It brought so much pain for Sachiko to think of those things thus she wanted to know and she asked for the help of the person she knew would be able to do so. As a result, Sachiko and Sei are now huddled together discussing her dilemma.
"Are you sure about this, Sachiko? What are you going to do with what you are going to find out?" Sei asked in a hush tone so that no one would be able to hear what they were talking about.
Sachiko seemed like having second thoughts but deep down, she knew she needed to find out. And that will determine what will be her next step. "Yes, Sei-sama. Please, you are the only one who can help me. Onee-sama would never approve of this that's why I called you awhile ago."
"Okay, but let me think first what we are going to do. Prepare yourself as well. I know you love Yumi-chan, I've seen it in your eyes, and I only want what's the best for you and her."
Minutes later, a hand gently touched Sachiko's shoulder getting her attention and was shocked to see Yumi with sad and worried eyes. "Onee-sama, can we talk? Please." Yumi asked almost pleadingly.
Sachiko excused herself and together with Yumi, they went out of the restaurant and walked towards a small park just across the restaurant. It was already dark when they went out and people were crowding the streets of Tokyo. When they reached their destination, Yumi took her onee-sama's hand and intertwined it with hers.
"Onee-sama, please don't be mad at me," the young girl said, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. Sachiko was shocked by what she heard, she thought that she was being careful not to show her feelings but she was wrong. Yumi could read her like an open book, when did this happen?
"Im so sorry Yumi, I did not mean to hurt you. Im not mad," Sachiko answered as she wrapped her arms around Yumi, absorbing the feel of her beloved pressed against her body. She could feel her heart beating wildly as Yumi returned her embrace.
"B-but you would not talk to me, Onee-sama. After the lunch period, you would not even look at me." Tears began to flow in Yumi's eyes, she did not want her onee-sama to be mad at her, and it pains her to see her that way especially if she was the cause of it.
"I was jealous with Shizuma…" the young heiress said almost inaudibly, but Yumi was able to hear it and was surprised to know the reason why her Sachiko was being distant from her.
Not wanting to prolong both their pain, Yumi raised her hand to Sachiko's cheek while gently caressing it with all the love she could give. "Onee-sama, please don't be jealous. You are the most important person in my life and I hate hurting your feelings. Shizuma and I are-"
Just before Yumi can finish her sentence, a group of men suddenly grabbed Yumi and tried to take her with them. Sachiko, stunned by what happened and her fear of men kicked in, stayed rooted on her place. Yumi screamed as one of the man, tried to touch Yumi in appropriate place whilst rousing the young raven-haired girl from her shock.
"Get your filthy hand off her!" Sachiko screamed as she glared at the men holding her petite soeur. But the men only laughed at her weak attempts and to spite her even more, one of the men tried to kiss Yumi on the lips.
"Onee-sama heeeeeelp…"
Everything was a blur to Yumi, at first she was seeing men harassing not just her as well as her onee-sama and next thing she was now in Shizuma's bed. She was so worried about Sachiko, she wanted to know what happened to her and she tried to look for her cellphone but she could not find it.
"Looking for this?" Shizuma called behind the couch as she held up her left hand and on it was Yumi's cellphone. Yumi tried to grab it but Shizuma was too fast for her. The taller girl looked at Yumi, her eyes full of hurt and anger, "Do you know how worried I was? I came to your school to pick you up and to my surprise, you were not there! You did not even bother to inform me! And when I found you, you were being attacked by men! What were you thinking Yumi?"
"Im so sorry Shi-chan.. Im so sorry.." Yumi said as she propelled herself towards the other woman to embrace her. "It slipped my mind, I was so distracted after lunch and I forgot to inform you. Im so sorry…" Shizuma closed her eyes as she tried to bury the anger she was feeling, she did not want to remember what she saw just a few hours ago.
When Shizuma could not find her wife at Lillian, she decided to go to the shopping district to buy groceries and get Yumi her medicine. It was her fault why Yumi had an allergic attack, she forgot that the young girl was allergic to peanuts and when they had dinner last night, she failed to check how the food was prepared. And when Yumi complained of having difficulty of breathing and rashes began to appear on the girl's skin, she knew that the food had peanuts on in.
Lucky, Yumi was bringing her emergency drugs in case something like that happens and just before she left after their lunch, Yumi asked her to buy her medicine for last night was her last stock. She went to buy new equipment for her sport, she needed to buy a new saber and foil since she donated hers in her old school.
She was about to go back to her car when she heard a familiar scream. Yumi! Her legs carried her to the origin of the scream and she was mad to see a group of men molesting her dear wife and her companion. Before the man could touch his lips on Yumi, Shizuma was there to rescue the girl. Good thing, she was a very skilled swordswoman that she was able to take on all men, unfortunately for those scumbags; they tasted the newly bought saber and experienced the wrath of the silver-haired warrior.
Yumi passed out from what had happened that she was not able to see Shizuma's arrival. When Shizuma got to her, Sachiko was cradling Yumi on her lap as she tried to wake the young girl. Not long after, the rest of the Yamayurikai came looking for them when they noticed that Sachiko and Yumi have been gone for a long time.
Sachiko was beginning to panic when Yumi would not come around, she did not care that she was slumped on the dirty earth, her hair disheveled and her face stained with tear streaks. "Yumi, Im so sorry, Im so sorry," she chanted endlessly.
Shizuma seeing the unconscious form of her wife, immediately went to her and lifted her up from Sachiko's lap without even saying a word. When she was sure that Yumi was secured in her arms, she carried Yumi towards her car. Surprised by Shizuma's rude actions, Sachiko stood up and raced towards the woman walking away from them.
Because of the weight she was carrying, the silver-haired woman did get that far when Sachiko reached them. "Where are you taking Yumi?" Sachiko demanded as she grabbed Shizuma's arm to stop her from taking another step.
"Im taking her home," she said nonchalantly and continued to walk. "With me, she would be safe."
"Please, let me take care of Yumi."
"Why will I concede to your request? You couldn't even protect Yumi."
Shizuma pulled away from the younger girl's hug and walked towards the table. Yumi was stunned that she stayed rooted on her place, the look in Shizuma's eyes was that of pure anger—something she had never seen before. When Shizuma came back, she was holding a sword in her right hand and a mischievous smirk replaced the fury in her eyes
Standing just a few feet from Yumi, Shizuma held the saber in her hand as she looked at the young girl maliciously. Yumi could not do anything but stay where she was standing. Suddenly, Shizuma was standing next to her and leaned down so that she could whisper on Yumi's ear.
"You do know that you will be punished?" Shizuma said huskily which sent shivers down Yumi's spine. Catching the quick swish movement of the saber on Shizuma's hand, Yumi closed her eyes and waited for her impending death.
After a few seconds, Yumi opened her eyes surprised to see that she was still alive and no blood was spilled that night. She was so relieved thinking it will be her last day. When she looked around, she saw Shizuma looking at her with mischief swirling in her eyes that made her really irritated.
"What the hell was that for Shizuma?" Yumi shouted angrily and stormed towards the older woman who was trying to stifle her laugh and give the silver-haired woman a beating but before she could do so, her eyes widened in shock.
On the floor was her uniform slashed uniform leaving her with just her under things. A draught blew from the open window and seconds later her brassier and underwear added to the pile of slashed clothing on the floor.
A/N: Hello everyone. Im so sorry for the late update, been very busy with a lot of things... i could only get a few minutes of my time to work on the story and to make up for it, i made a really long chapter. I hope that its not too much, and i also hope it would not bore you. let me know what you guys think, so please give me your reviews. I want to know your reaction about this chapter, and things would start to get even more crazy after this one.. I might even change the rating to M. haha but we'll see, im still not comfortable writing M stuff.
Maison de L'amour=House of Love according to babylon :)