Chapter 38 – The Second Transfer Student

Ui's POV

"*phew* And done."

"Wow…color me impressed. You really do have a knack for cleaning, Ui-san."

"Thank you, Tamura-san. All those years of taking care of Onee-chan really paid off for me."

"Isn't she the older sister? Why are you always the one cleaning and such?"

"It really isn't a problem. I like taking care of Onee-chan. It always brings a smile on my face to see her all satisfied."

"I see…" Tamura-san gained a sweatdrop.

I was currently at Burossamuheizu Minshuku on just your average Sunday because I actually work here now. Tamura-san gave me a part-time job to help out cleaning the hotel and attending to guests if needed. Basically Mikuru-chan's job. But the only difference is that I'm getting paid for it.

It isn't just me, though. Along with Mikuru-chan, Mugi-senpai, Miharu-senpai, and Sumire-san help out too. Since the three now live here, they have to pitch in with the services, as well. Making the total amount of employees to 5.

As to why I wanted a part-time job…while having extra money is nice, the actual reason is a lot more personal than that.

You'll see what I mean.

"Well, I'm sure you want to take a break now. The others should be in the back if you want to join up with them. I'll bring up some snacks in a sec."

"Thank you, Tamura-san. I really appreciate it." I said before heading up to where the other four girls were resting at.

The four girls were currently in the Rec Center (previously known as the Reserved Spot) hanging out together. From what I've been told, it's been rather lively since Mugi-senpai and Sumire-san moved in permanently. They've been having a lot of fun together…doing whatever comes to mind for them. The two former rich girls do seem a lot happier now than they did before the tragic incident.

So much so that Sumire-san has dropped the "Ojōsama" title on both Mugi-senpai and Miharu-senpai. She now refers to the former as "Onee-chan" and simply refers to the latter as her name. She's definitely released her kiddy side to everyone. It's vastly different from the uptight and reserved personality we saw when we first met her.

I can't tell which had a bigger change. Mugi-senpai or Sumire-san.

"Pas de panique...I lost AGAIN! How are you so good at this?!"

"*giggle* I'll admit, Miharu. I was shocked as well when I beat Tainaka-senpai back in Okinawa. But now I'm really confident in my special talent. I am the Master of Linguine!"

"Sumire…I'm pretty sure his name is Luigi." Mugi-senpai gained a sweatdrop.

"Do you wish to play, Onee-chan?"

"No, I'm good. I'm only just watching."

"As am I. I am only just watching." Mikuru-chan added.

"Okay, then. Let us go another round, Miharu."

"Sumire…" Miharu-senpai grew an exhausted look.

"Hello, everyone." I called out. Gaining everyone's attention from the game Miharu-senpai and Sumire-san were playing.

"Oh, Ui-chan." Mugi-senpai said.

"G-Good afternoon, Ui-senpai." Mikuru-chan greeted with a bow.

"Hey, Ui. Wanna play? Sumire here keeps kicking my butt on this game." Miharu-senpai said.

"No thank you, Miharu-senpai. I have a few other things in mind."

"And by "few" you mean that one thing, right?"

"O-One thing?"

"Come on~…you wanna talk to HER again, don't ya?"

"W-Well, I…I-I wouldn't mind talking to her again. Sh-She is a nice person…a-and all." I stuttered hard as I grew a hard blush on my face.

"Miharu, stop teasing her." Mugi-senpai said.

"Alright, fine. I'll go get Yoriko's laptop. Where was it again, Mikuru?"

"I-In our living space next to the fridge. I-It should be finished charging by now."

"Alright. Je reviens tout de suite! *giggle*" Miharu-senpai spoke in French as she left the Rec Center to retrieve Tamura-san's laptop. Leaving me with the other three residents of Burossamuheizu Minshuku.

"So, how's the part-time job doing for you, Ui-chan?" Mugi-senpai asked me.

"It's doing well. Nothing too hard, really. Mainly because I have so much experience taking care of Onee-chan. I just use that knowledge from there to here. It's like I never left home and I'm being paid for it."

"I see. Well, good for you then."

"You know…if Hirasawa-senpai is the older sister, then why doesn't she do any of the housework?" Sumire-san asked.

"I-I have been wondering the same thing." Mikuru-chan added.

"Onee-chan isn't exactly the…" maiden type". Cooking and cleaning aren't really in her line of interest."

"Does that not bother you, Ui-senpai?" Sumire-san asked.

"Well…to be honest, it sometimes does. Mainly due to the fact that Onee-chan is just plain lazy at times. But even then, I'm happy to do it. Just to see her and everyone else happy."

"I see…" Sumire-san went silent for a bit. "Hey, Onee-chan. Is there not a term for that kind of person?"

"I believe you're thinking of "Yamato Nadeshiko", Sumire."

"Ah, yes. That is it."

"Yamato Nadeshiko, huh?" I gained a sweatdrop.

Doesn't that describe Minegishi-san more?

"I'm back!" Miharu-senpai called out as she held the laptop in her hands. I immediately grew excited at the sight of the thing. My heart began to skip a few beats and I had the biggest grin on my face. Even when the laptop was being set up and stuff, I still couldn't calm down from this excitement.

I can't wait! Can't wait, can't wait, can't WAIT!

"Let's see…it's a quarter past 3 over here…making it a quarter past 7 over in France, so…she should be up by now." Miharu-senpai said as she was setting up the video chat. "Alright, it's ringing. Take your seat, Ui."

I eagerly got in front of the laptop and waited for the call to be connected. Once it did, I saw on the screen a short light-orange-haired girl with purple eyes. And that's when my excitement barrier finally broke.

"Zoé-chan!"

"Ui! I am superu happy tū see you once more!"

"*giggle* Same here, Zoé-chan. Seeing you makes me so happy."

So about this girl I'm talking to. Her name is Zoé Richelieu, the little sister of an old friend of Miharu-senpai and her own childhood friend. I started talking to her the week before the Okinawa trip when I came over to apply for the job Tamura-san had posted.

I was on my lunch break when…


*A WHILE AGO…*

"*phew* Wow, this is pretty tough. Halfway through my first day of work and I'm already exhausted. But it's also really fun. Plus, I'm getting paid to clean and take care of people. If only Onee-chan would do something similar…"

"Sensationnel…c'est vraiment fou. Je ne savais pas que vous étiez liés."

"Huh? Is that Miharu-senpai? She's in this room?"

I opened the door slightly to see Miharu-senpai and Mugi-senpai sitting together in the small room. Both in front of what looked like a laptop talking to someone. I couldn't see who it was. But from the sound of it, this person sounds French.

"Alors, votre sœur a déménagé ici l'année dernière?" I heard Miharu-senpai say.

"Oui. En avril, je crois. Elle avait déménagé là-bas pour retrouver Ari. Les deux vont bien, d'après ce que j'ai entendu."

"Je vois…Alors, Ari est là aussi. Mec, si j'avais su ça, je serais allé les voir il y a longtemps."

"I believe they both live in Harajuku now." I heard Mugi-senpai's voice. "They both attend that art school with Matsumoto-senpai and Iyo-san."

"Really now? Well, I know where I'm going after this."

Miharu-senpai going to Harajuku? How would she get there when she still can't read Japanese? I guess Mugi-senpai would go with her. But she really needs to learn the language fully already. If she truly plans on living here…

"Uh…U-Ui-senpai?"

"Gah!" I was too bust thinking to myself that I didn't notice Mikuru-chan and Sumire-san standing right behind me.

"O-Oh…h-hello, Mikuru-chan. Sumire-san. Wh-What brings you two all the way here?"

"Uh…this is my room, Ui-senpai." Sumire-san said.

"Y-Your room, huh?"

Aw, crap. I'm so caught.

And then, as if my situation couldn't get any worse, the door in front of me opened up and there were Miharu-senpai and Mugi-senpai now looking at me. Just as confused as the two first-years.

Aw, double crap…

"Oh, wow. Hey there, Ui. Snooping as usual, I see?"

"You did NOT just say that…" Mugi-senpai retorted her half-sister with a facepalm.

"I-I wasn't snooping!" I said. "I-I was just walking by and uh…w-well…"

"You got curious as to who we were talking to. Right?"

"Y-Yes…" I confessed with my head hanging down in shame.

"*giggle* Ah, don't worry about it. You can meet her if you really want to."

"I can?"

"She's a friend of mine from back home. I haven't spoken to her since I moved here and we were just catching up with each other. No biggie."

"Oh…well, okay then. I wouldn't mind meeting her."

The five of us went inside the room and there on the table was a laptop. And on the screen was a girl with short light-orange hair and purple eyes.

And I'm not kidding when I say this…but my heart skipped a few beats.

"Oh? Qui sont ces filles, Miharu?" Due to the language barrier, I had no idea what she was saying at first. But then I noticed that this video chat had subtitles in Japanese. So, I was able to understand from reading that.

"Ce sont des amis à moi qui vont à l'école avec moi. Mikuru Tamura, Sumire Saito et Ui Hirasawa."

"They don't speak or understand French, by the way." Mugi-senpai added. "So, your best bet is to talk in English from here on."

"Oh, je vois…" The girl then cleared her throat. "Werr, then...it is nice tū meet you arru. I am Zoé Richerieu. Chirdhood friend of Miharu Neroni. Ret us arru be friends !"

"W-Wow…" Mikuru-chan said.

"Her English is kinda bad." Sumire-san added.

"Yeah…she was never good at it." Miharu-senpai said. "So much so that she always lagged behind during the English lessons. She doesn't seem to mind, though."

"Huh…Well, it is nice to meet you as well, uh…Richelieu-san." Sumire-san read the name from the subtitles. "My name is Sumire Saitō."

"I-I am…M-Mikuru Tamura. N-Nice to…m-m-meet you, Richelieu-san." Mikuru-chan said while slightly hiding behind Sumire-san due to her anxiety.

Meanwhile, I was currently…

"Ui-chan…"

"Ui-chan…"

"UI-CHAN!"

"H-Huh?! Wh-What?!" I jumped up a bit after Mugi-senpai yelled in my ear.

"Are you okay, Ui-chan? You were spacing out very deeply just now."

"O-Oh…I-I'm okay. I-It's just…"

What I'm about to say is going to shock the living daylights out of everyone.

"…I-I'm in love."

"Huh?! With who?!"

"W-With Richelieu-san."

"HUH?!" The four girls in the room yelled in pure shock.

"I-I don't know what it was that did it for me…but when I walked in here and saw her face, it was love at first sight. My heart skipped so many beats that I could've had a heart attack. Her broken English…when I first heard it, it was so soothing to my soul. Almost like a really really REALLY poorly written love speech."

"A-Are you truly serious, Ui-senpai?" Sumire-san asked.

"Yes…I am serious. I was never a lesbian before this moment. In fact, I wasn't interested in romance with anyone and could easily be described as a Siscon."

"What's a Siscon?" Miharu-senpai asked Mugi-senpai.

"I'll tell you later."

But now…right freaking now…I can no longer deny these sudden feelings for you, Richelieu-san. I say this from the bottom of my heart…I love you, Richelieu-san! Please go out with me!"

The room was dead silent after I had confessed my love to a person who I had just met not even 10 minutes ago. Was this a stupid thing to do right off the bat? Yes. Yes, it was. But for the first time in my life, I didn't care. It was my first time being so reckless with my thoughts and actions…and it honestly felt really good.

I could get used to this feeling…

"Wow...Ui...I feeru the same way about you, as werr!"

"Wh-What?!" Mugi-senpai, Mikuru-chan, and Sumire-san yelled in shock.

"Uh…R-Richelieu-san. A-Are you sure about this?" Mugi-senpai asked.

"Yes. I am positive. When I first saw Ui, I armost wanted tū confess right then and there. Mai hearto fruttered so much it ferto rike Yoshi was inside of me. And heru beauty is the most wonderfurru thing mai eyes have ever raid upon on."

"Y-Yeah, but…is this really okay? You two just met and all."

"I dó not care! Mai hearto has spoken! And this is nani it wants!"

"W-Wow…" Mikuru-chan said. "…I-I guess "love-at-first-sight" truly does exist."

"It sure looks like it, Mikuru-san." Sumire-san added.

"Can't you say anything about this?" Mugi-senpai asked Miharu-senpai.

"Well…Zoé is bi like me." Miharu-senpai gained a sweatdrop.

"Of course, she is…" And Mugi-senpai gained a bigger sweatdrop.

"And so, Ui...now that i know how you turrury feer, I say this tū you. I turrury can retsurn youru romantic feerings. I rove you Ui with arru mai hearto. And I wirru gó out with you. Mai one turrue rove."

"Richelieu-san…I'm so happy! Thank you for accepting my feelings!" I shouted with pure joy as tears of happiness ran down my face.

"The same goes foru me, Ui. Having you as mai roveru turrury makes me happy."

"Well…congratulations, you two. I-I guess." Mugi-senpai said as she and the other girls watched us gush at each other like how new couples tend to do.


*PRESENT TIME*

So, yeah. In just 15 minutes after we met, Zoé-chan became my girlfriend. And for the past month, I've been using my breaks from work to talk to her and sometimes have these miniature virtual dates.

It's been really nice so far. Nothing to complain, really. Zoé-chan is just as sweet now as she was when we first met and got together.

But…I just wish we could physically be together. Instead of just seeing each other through video chat.

*sigh* A girl could dream…

"So, did you get the gift I sent you? I made them myself."

"Yes, I did. It is so pretty, Ui. I can not berieve these seasherrs are rearu." Zoé-chan said as she showed off the seashell jewelry I made for her back in Okinawa. Including two wristbands and a necklace made of of seashells and a ring made of pearls that glow in the dark.

"I knew how much you loved the ocean. So, I made it to where you could always be reminded of it. A-And of me, of course."

"*giggle* Werr, they are beautifurru. Much rike you are, Ui. These seasherrs wirru remind me of the twó things I rove the most."

"Zoé-chan…"

"Okay, okay. That's enough of Romance Theater for now." Miharu-senpai said as she sat next to me.

"Oh, that's right. My break's almost over. I'll talk to you later, Zoé-chan. I love you."

"I rove you too, Ui." Zoé-chan said before she blew a kiss at the screen. And even though it was only virtual…it made my heart flutter.

If only that kiss was real and up close in person…

"Well, I'm off." I said to the four girls. "I'll most likely see you all at school tomorrow. So, see you then."

"Alright then." Miharu-senpai said.

"Goodbye, Ui-chan." Mugi-senpai said.

"See you tomorrow, Ui-senpai." Both first-years said together.

I then left the Rec Center to head back to work. With my weekly conversation with my foreign girlfriend completed, it was off to live life as normal.

Well…as normal as "dating a girl in a different country" makes it out to be.


Miharu's POV

"Gee…those two really are lovebirds."

"I know, right?" I said to Mugi. "It's really hard to believe that they clicked just like that. Even for French standards, that's a little insane."

"Oh, come now, Miharu." Zoé said. "You can not deny nani the hearto wantsu when it comes tū rove. Afteru arru...you have a girrfriend yourserf, correct?"

"Well, she confessed to me. And even then, it was two months after we met. Not 15 minutes."

"It stirru countsu."

"Anyway…you got the tickets I sent you, right?"

"Oh, yes. I did. Mai fright is in a few hours. So, I stirru have some taim."

"Okay, good."

"Still, I can not believe you two kept this a secret for so long." Sumire said. "Zoé-san moving to Japan and all."

"I-I certainly would not have lasted this long…" Mikuru added.

"Which is why we didn't tell you guys until this morning." Mugi said. "We really wanted this to be a surprise for Ui-chan."

"I-I can just only imagine her reaction."

"It will surely be an interesting one, Mikuru-san." Sumire said.

"Werr, I am rogging off now." Zoé said. "I dó pran tū get at reast an hour's rest before mai fright. A très bientôt!"

"Later, Zoé." I said.

"Goodbye, for now, Zoé-san." The other three girls said before Zoé logged off the video chat. And I closed the laptop afterward.

"Man…Zoé living over here…this is something I never expected would happen."

"To be fair, Miharu. A lot of things happened that none of us expected would happen." Mugi said. "And it's a long list, too."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"So, is Zoé-san going to attend Sakuragaoka?" Sumire asked. "And where will she stay?"

"Already taken care of. My friend Ari is paying for an apartment that's near the school. Her stuff's already there, from what I heard."

"I see…so, all we really can do is wait for tomorrow."

"Um…I have a question." Mikuru said.

"What's up, Mikuru?"

"H-Has Ui-senpai…t-told Hirasawa-senpai that she is currently dating a girl from a different country?"

"Y-You know…I-I don't think she has." I said with a nervous look.

"It's been a month, right?" Mugi asked. "I'm not sure how Yui-chan is going to react to such a huge surprise."

"Well, like Sumire said…all we can really do is wait for tomorrow." The uneasiness soon filled the room by all four of us. As we really didn't know how this surprise will go down tomorrow. Depending on the person and the reaction…

…It might be either heaven or hell.


Yui's POV

"Ooh~! A surprise this early in the morning! I can't wait to see what it is!"

"Why are you excited? The surprise is for Ui." Mio-chan said to me as we were all gathered in the clubroom right before morning classes started.

"I know, but…a surprise for Ui is basically a surprise for me, too. Since we're both sisters and all."

"Yui-chan, you have no idea how right you are in this case…"

"Huh? Did you say something, Mugi-chan?"

"O-Oh, nothing. Just, um…mumbling to myself due to being sleepy, that's all. Hehhehhehheh…" Mugi-chan said as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Oh. I see."

Come to think of it, Mugi-chan does sleep a lot more since becoming a normal teenage girl. Does being wealthy take away sleep from you?

"Ugh…why'd we had to come to school this freaking early?" Ricchan complained as she laid on the table.

"I'm so tired…I didn't get enough sleep last night." Jun-chan complained as she did the same.

"Well, you two are at fault for playing video games until 3:00 in the morning." Azu-nyan said to them both.

"We couldn't help it. Freaking Sakurako kept beating us."

"She had a 10-game streak going on and she wouldn't stop bragging about it." Ricchan added.

"Why do you bother playing against her? She always wins."

"We just wanted to beat her once~!" Both girls whined before slamming their heads on the table.

"Good grief…" Azu-nyan said with a facepalm before turning to Ui. "So, what do you think this surprise is?"

"I'm not sure. When I received the text message from Miharu-senpai about it, she didn't give many details. She just said "Meet me at the clubroom in an hour. I've got a surprise for you." And then it ended with something in French. Which I have no idea what it means."

"Knowing Miharu-senpai, it was probably either swear words or something about sex."

"Your girlfriend is pretty bold, Azusa-chan." Ui gained a sweatdrop.

"That's one way to describe her…" Azu-nyan gained a bigger sweatdrop.

"Hey, hey! We're here!" Miharu-chan yelled out as she came into the room.

"Sorry, we took so long." And with her was Nodoka-chan, for some reason. "Registration for her took a lot longer than it should've."

"Registration?" We all asked.

"For who, exactly?" Mio-chan asked.

"Well…"

"Come on, come on. She's right in here." Miharu-chan said.

"Rearry? She is in here? Oh, yes. I cannot wait tū see heru face-to-face."

"Huh?"

"What the?"

"What's with the horrible English?" Were some of the questions we asked once we heard a voice from outside.

"N-No way…th-that voice…" Ui said with the biggest look of shock I've ever seen.

Then came in a girl with short light-orange hair and purple eyes. Wearing the Sakuragaoka summer uniform with the shirttails untucked.

I gotta admit…she looked really pretty. If I swung that way, I probably would've fallen for her.

But…who is this girl?

"Z-Z…Zo…Zoé-chan!"

"Ui!"

Wait, Ui KNOWS this girl?!

The two then rushed up to each other and embraced into one ginormous hug. And from the looks of it, Ui was actually crying tears of absolute joy.

"Uh…what's going on?" Ricchan asked.

"Well, to start off…" Miharu-chan started explaining. "…that girl over there is Zoé Richelieu. A childhood friend of mine."

"She moved here from the same town where Miharu's from and starts attending Sakuragaoka today." Mugi-chan added.

"Really? So, we have another foreigner here?"

"Woah…another French girl attending school here is actually really cool!" I cheered.

"Can't deny that." Azu-nyan said. "But…how does Ui already know her?"

"Well…"

And right when they were about to answer…

"Oh, my God! Zoé-chan! I can't believe it's actually you! I'm really meeting you face-to-face! *sniff* I-I'm so happy!"

"I am happy as werr, Ui! Now we can be togetheru foreveru and ever!"

"Zoé-chan…"

"Ui…"

*SMOOCH*

"Wh-What the…?!" Mio-chan yelled.

"D-Did Ui just…" Jun-chan asked.

"Yeah…she's also Ui's girlfriend." Miharu-chan said.

"H-Her…HER GIRLFRIEND?!" We all shouted in total shock.

"And…they've been going out for a month at this point." Mugi-chan added.

"A-A MONTH?!"

While everyone was asking the two half-sisters multiple questions, I turned back to look at my little sister still making out with her girlfriend. Not a care in the world that there are multiple people in the same room witnessing it all unfold.

N-No way…U-Ui is…a-a lesbian?

H-How come…she never told me?

And for some reason…it brought a sharp pain to my heart.

Author's Note: After a little backstory of how they met, Ui finally meets her girlfriend in-person for the first time…alongside everyone else. Who had no idea that the relationship was even a thing.

And Yui seems to be taking it pretty hard.

If you remember back in chapter 34, Zoé was brought up minorly at the end. Here, she makes her full debut as a character. And yes, the bad English is part of her character. She is a foreigner, after all.

The Summer Break arc is starting soon. Maybe like 2…possibly 3 more chapters. I don't really have a plan for it, yet. All I have right now is that it's going to be a mini-crossover much like the Golden Week arc. Hopefully, not as long, though.

Thanks for reading. Later.