Blurred Lines

Disclaimer: Maria-sama ga Miteru and its characters are not mine.

Regret

Yumi

Yumi was on her way to her favorite café to meet with Yoshino-san.

It had been a while since she last saw her best friend. She hadn't told her (or anyone other than Ren-San) any specifics yet, other than she was currently heartbroken. She was unsure how her best friend would react upon finding out that she had not only met and flirted again with that person, but that the stranger was Yumi's boss and the Ogasawara Sachiko. Yumi was also certain she'd be scolded upon Yoshino-san finding out about her arrangement with Ren-San.

She had wanted to hole herself up in her apartment and simply not come out. Yumi had planned to bury herself under her pillows and blanket to wallow in her despair, but the people that cared for her just wouldn't leave her alone.

Ren-san came to her apartment unannounced after not hearing from her for a day. Her brother, Yuuki, sent countless messages when she failed to answer his calls; Yumi didn't even know how her brother knew she was currently an emotional wreck. Her friends from the office, as well as her manager, had been trying to reach her. And lastly, Yoshino-san sent her a threatening message that if she didn't come back to Tokyo and meet up with her, she'd come and get her herself at Yokohama… something she wanted to avoid considering her apartment was as much of a mess as her current state of mind.

In the end, Yumi decided to file for an indefinite leave of absence and headed back home.

She was intending on leaving the company for good, but when she handed in her resignation, Mr. Sawada wouldn't accept it. Her manager told her how much of a loss she would be for their group, and requested that she give it another thought. She didn't retract her resignation, but promised that she'd at least think about it. It was a difficult decision for her too as she loved her job, enjoyed the company of her officemates, the camaraderie of their team and lastly, she was grateful for her manager who has always been so supportive of her.

Her destination soon came into view and she hastened her steps. She could just see Yoshino-san sitting at their usual spot outside the café, but as she got closer, she noticed that her friend was not alone.

"Yumi-chan!" Satou Sei-sama exclaimed and pulled her into a bear hug. There were a couple of times when the blonde and her girlfriend had joined Yumi and Yoshino-san's meetups. Sei-sama was easy to get along with, while Youko-sama was okay but a little intimidating, but still they became friends.

"We saw Yoshino-san sitting here alone and we couldn't help but join her." Sei-sama said.

"That is not true, Yumi-san. I told her I'd be meeting you here and she just suddenly showed up." Yoshino-san huffed, but still stood up to give her a welcoming embrace.

Yumi laughed at their antics. These two were always fighting and teasing each other, but she could easily tell that they are good friends.

"So where is Youko-sama?" Yumi asked as she settled on an empty seat beside Yoshino-san. Since Sei-sama had said 'we' earlier, she assumed that her girlfriend had accompanied her.

"Inside, buying drinks." The blonde responded casually.

"We got milk tea for you." Yoshino-san knew her too well, she was indeed thinking of getting her favorite drink.

"So, Yoshino-chan told me that you have a boyfriend." Sei-sama said, leaning forward.

"Yumi-san, forgive me. This woman right here has been bugging me for information about you. It was not like I told everyone about your personal life!" Yoshino-san said defensively.

"Not true, Yumi-chan. Your best friend was just telling us about how madly in love you are with your man and was even showing us pictures from your social media account."

Yoshino-san glared at the blonde, "Stop spouting nonsense. You were begging me to show you Yumi-san's account, like you're a stalker or something."

The blonde ignored Yoshino and faced Yumi, " Just forget about that man, Yumi-chan, and be my teddy bear."

"Sei-sama, the way you are behaving now makes me think that you are interested in Yumi-chan. If Youko-sama learns about this, she'll really be pissed off." Yoshino-san said indignantly.

It never crossed her mind that Sei-sama would be interested in her. It was just unthinkable for Yumi. But as if to prove her point, or maybe just because she wanted to get on Yoshino-san's nerves, Sei-sama stood up from her chair, walked behind Yumi, crouched down and wrapped her arms around her. The older woman then rested her chin on Yumi's shoulder and smiled mockingly at Yoshino-san.

"And what if I am attracted to our cute little Yumi-chan? I don't think Youko would mind if I have a mistress."

"If it's Yumi-chan, I won't mind."

From behind her, Yumi heard the familiar voice of Mizuno Youko-sama. She was used to being hugged like this by Sei-sama, and knew Youko-sama was aware of her partner's eccentric behavior. Still somehow Yumi could feel a menacing aura behind her that was urging her to pull away from the blonde's embrace. If it wasn't Youko-sama, who could it be coming from?

"But I think our princess over here is not fond of public displays of affection, so I suggest you let go of your little teddy bear right now."

'Princess?'

Somehow, those words from Youko-sama sounded ominous to Yumi.

"No, I don't want to." Sei-sama pouted like a child.

"The drinks are here; please go back to your seat, Sei-sama."

Yumi suddenly stopped breathing…

'What is she doing here?'

Yumi broke into cold sweat, too afraid to turn around. It had not been that long since she had been thoroughly embarrassed by this person and she was not at all ready for yet another meeting with her.

As she contemplated on running away, Ogasawara Sachiko sat in the only vacant seat, which was consequently beside her. Yumi refused to look at her face at all.

"This is Ogasawara Sachiko-sama." Yoshino-san began. "She was in the student council with us back at Lillian. I think she's the only one you haven't met, right?"

- - - o 0 o - - -

Sachiko

Sachiko went to Tokyo after the incident with Yumi.

The gravity of what she had done – her outburst – that no doubt humiliated the younger woman hit her hard…but a tad bit too late.

It happened when Yumi had given a low deep bow, accepted her anger without retaliation and apologized. Sachiko's heart had sunk to the pit of her stomach and her guilt had made her want to rush out of the room after Yumi. However, she did not…thinking that because of her position, with her team of directors and senior managers, she should keep up her iron façade.

Yumi had been so close to crying, despite desperately putting up a brave front. The woman's lips slightly quivered but had stopped when she bit hard to stop the whimpers from being heard by the room full of people.

From the very start, she knew Yumi would be there…had read about it in the agenda that she would present at the meeting. It was for this reason that Sachiko had been on edge the whole day, sitting unhearing at the reports from the other management team members. She spoke very little and gave few comments, her anxiety growing as the clock ticked by. And when the appointed time came, she had squared her shoulders and readied herself…only for her composure to fall apart at the very last second.

It was the confidence that Yumi had exuded that irritated Sachiko. The calmness of the younger woman's demeanor, the controlled voice as she went through her presentation. There was no trace of awkwardness, no hint of unease in those hazel eyes. There had even been a small smile on her lips.

Sachiko hated how well Yumi carried herself, as if she had not gone through the same heartache she had. It had been more than a month, but was that enough of a time for her to move on? Or had Sachiko meant nothing to Yumi, such that Sasaki Ren's love was enough and he was able to make the younger woman happy to forget what had happened between them? These thoughts were poison in Sachiko's mind, so despite not hearing and understanding the report, she gave all negative remarks at the end just to make Yumi feel miserable. A surge of emotion had welled up in her chest and exploded.

She knew her words were laced with hysteria and she did not care. She wanted to make Yumi understand just how much pain she had inflicted, stressing that all the suffering Sachiko was experiencing was her fault.

But instead of rousing Yumi's anger, the younger woman had accepted it all…her rage, her hurtful words, her outburst…with composure and calmness. Yumi prostrated herself, shamelessly bowed down low and asked for forgiveness. The gesture had broken through the walls she placed around her heart and it only made her feel more miserable…regretting what she had done.

After another presentation, Sachiko had ended the meeting early, not finding the strength to go on, and had headed back to her office.

"Ma'am, your meeting ended earlier than usual, was there a problem?"

Keiko sounded cautious as she asked, as if afraid to incite her anger. But since Sachiko felt mentally and emotionally drained, she just sighed and shook her head.

Her secretary, however, was unperturbed by her despondency and continued to say, "I ask because I thought I saw Miss Fukuzawa rush to the restroom."

Sachiko lifted her head, worry etched in her eyes, "How is she?"

"She looked sick." Keiko said, looking concerned. "I think I heard her vomiting so I called her friends, Yamada-san and Takanashi-san."

The guilt Sachiko was feeling worsened.

"Where is she now?"

"They just walked out a few minutes ago. Miss Fukuzawa still looked ill though, or maybe as if she had been crying."

Sachiko doesn't have the heart to explain that it was her fault. She wanted to go down to the Design department's area just to see how the younger woman was doing…except that she knew Yumi wouldn't want to see her.

"Please call her friends to ask how she's doing, but don't tell them I asked you to."

Keiko nodded her head, though Sachiko knew there was more that she wanted to ask. Thankfully, she finally bowed her head and left, probably knowing that it was best not to probe.

Sachiko buried her face in her hands…hiding the tears that fell from her eyes.

…

It had taken a few days before Sachiko sorted through her feelings and decided to apologize.

She sent Yumi a message through her phone, but she didn't receive a response.

After an hour of waiting, she tried calling her but it failed. It seems Yumi has blocked her number.

Sachiko considered sending her an email or a chat message through company channels, but in the end decided against it, not wanting their IT department to see her messages.

She had tried calling her office local number, but still, Yumi didn't answer. Sachiko even tried asking Keiko to call Yumi and just transfer it to her once Yumi picked up, though that didn't work either. Probably, Yumi had decided to ignore calls from her secretary as well.

Finally, thinking that she was out of options, Sachiko decided to personally come and see Yumi. She was slightly worried of what the Design Department would think in case Yumi openly rejected her, but considering how much her guilt was gnawing at her, it was a risk she was willing to take.

However, to her dismay, Yumi was not there. Mr. Sawada informed her that Yumi had tendered her resignation letter but that he had not accepted it. Instead, he allowed Yumi to go on an extended leave of absence. He also mentioned that he had requested for Yumi to return with a response within a couple of weeks, a month at most.

It was a shock to Sachiko that Yumi had left and even had decided to leave the company for good. It intensified her guilt and made her feel even worse than she already felt. So, that afternoon, she drove to her apartment to see her. It was her last bit of hope. Sachiko was desperate to see Yumi, her anxiety intensifying to a point that she was having chest pains. Her mind couldn't think of anything else other than getting a hold of Yumi. All the important projects she had were pushed aside, her meetings canceled, because she couldn't focus on anything other than Yumi.

Sachiko felt intensely nervous as soon as Yumi's door came into view. She was only a few feet away when someone stepped out...

She stopped in her tracks. The man was quick to notice her and gave her a questioning look, maybe curious as to the disdainful look in her eyes.

"Is Fukuzawa Yumi in?" She asked, her voice coming out much colder than she had intended.

"You are Ogasawara Sachiko?" The man replied in an equally cold voice. It made Sachiko curious as to how much this man knew. She didn't think Yumi would tell him anything about her or about what they had.

"And you are Sasaki Ren?"

"She's not well and she doesn't want to see you. Please leave."

Sachiko had wanted to retaliate, to tell him that she wouldn't leave unless Yumi personally told her to. But somehow, she felt like she'd lost…again. It was so unusual for her to admit defeat without putting up a fight. But she knew it was useless to compete as Yumi already had made her decision. And after what happened at that meeting, she was sure that the little chance she had, had totally disappeared.

- - - o 0 o - - -

Yumi

The fates must be playing a trick on me…

That was the first thing that ran through her head upon hearing her best friend's words.

Without even looking, she knew everyone's eyes were on her, expecting a response.

She immediately casted her eyes down in an attempt to avoid her dilemma and instead, stared at the drink that had just been handed to her. Her mind was racing, unsure of what to say.

Should she act like she didn't know Ogasawara Sachiko?

Should she admit that this is the very person who was making her lose her mind?

"Yumi-san?"

It had been a few seconds already and the delay was no doubt making the three other women curious.

"Fukuzawa Yumi-san knows me already. She works for the Yokohama Branch, an office I am currently assigned to manage."

Yumi's tense shoulder slightly relaxed, she was saved by Ogasawara Sachiko again. The response was not a lie, though it didn't give much detail about their relationship either.

But still, Yumi was not thankful.

"Aaaw, that's why my Yumi-chan looks so scared." Sei-sama cooed.

"Don't speak that way about my soeur."

"What do you mean, Youko-sama? Sachiko-sama has always been scary." Yoshino-san responded with a laugh.

Yumi would have enjoyed listening to her friends' banter if she wasn't so absorbed in her own dilemma. After all, it was the first time she heard people talking about the proud executive as if she was not there. But still the good-natured exchange did nothing to lighten up the tension between her and the heiress.

"It's only natural for Yumi-chan to be uneasy around her boss." Youko-sama explained. "How would you feel if the president of your company suddenly joins us for a meal?"

"Right…or maybe, Sachiko did something to make Yumi-chan frightened."

"Stop making things up, Sei." Youko-sama scolded. "How did you come up with that conclusion?"

'Sei-sama was spot on.' Yumi wanted to interject, but at the moment, she was too oblivious to say anything.

"Or maybe, everyone in the office is afraid of Sachiko-sama?" Yoshino-san said in a thoughtful voice. "If not afraid, maybe intimidated?"

"That could be true too. But I still think Sachiko did something. Look, she is not even giving me her usual glare."

At this remark, Yumi was unable to stop herself from lifting her gaze to look at the person beside her. Truth be told, she didn't want to see Ogasawara-sama right now…or maybe not at all. However, her curiosity got the best of her and she wanted to see what expression she was making at the moment.

To her surprise, Ogasawara Sachiko's eyes were likewise directed towards her drink that she was currently holding with both her hands. Her long lashes covering her blue eyes that were filled with unease and…

'Is that regret?'

Yumi quickly looked away.

She could be wrong…or maybe the woman beside her was simply acting, but why would she?

Yumi brows furrowed, because even if she was right and Ogasawara-sama regretted what she had done…it was too late.

Anger welled up inside of her as the memory of how she had been humiliated rushed to her mind. She balled her fists and pressed it against her knees and she was about to stand up and leave, not caring about what anyone would think at the moment. She'd just explain the situation to Yoshino-san later because right now, she wanted to get away…as far away as possible…from Ogasawara Sachiko.

Until…

...cold clammy hands reached beneath the table to hold hers. She was about to pull away, but stopped upon feeling how much those soft hands were trembling.

"Yes, I did something unforgivable to Yumi" the woman began with a solemn voice, "and I came here today to apologize."

The anger she was already feeling flared up further and she hastily pulled her hands away. Her actions surprised their friends, something that didn't register to Yumi. She turned to meet those blue eyes that looked absolutely miserable, but instead of inciting her pity, it only fueled her rage.

"You're apologizing now?" Her voice was so laced with sarcasm that even to her it didn't sound like her own voice.

"Yumi-chan, calm down." Youko-sama said worriedly. It seemed some of those seated near them too were surprised by Yumi's outburst and had turned to look at them. "Sachiko, I don't think this is a good place to have this conversation."

Yumi took a deep breath in an attempt to control her voice, which was difficult considering the myriad of emotions that were overwhelming her. The realization that they had an audience and that their friends were with them was helping her to keep her voice down. She clutched the fabric of her shirt as if it would alleviate the dull ache in her chest - it felt as if her heart was being squeezed so tightly.

She swallowed down the lump in her throat before she stood up. Her face hardened as she spoke with finality,

"I'm sorry Youko-sama, but I don't have anything to discuss with Ogasawara-sama."

- - - o 0 o - - -

A/N: It ended in a tone similar to the previous chapter, but still, it felt so good to have Sei, Youoko and Yoshino back in the story.