January 10, 2008

The next day at Lillian, Yumi was walking along the row of trees leading to the campus, she stopped in front of the statue of Mary and said her morning prayer, the usual routine.

“Gokigenyou, Yumi-sama.”

“Gokigenyou, Rosa Chinensis.”

The girls of Lillian said as they greeted Yumi, Yumi looked at them & gave them a charming smile, “Gokigenyou.”, then continued walking, she saw the girls give her some sort of dreamy stare and almost fainted on the spot. *I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.*, Yumi thought. She suddenly remembered what Yoshino told her last night in the internet.

“You’re unbelievable, Yumi! How can you miss something like that?! Surely you must’ve noticed the dreamy longing stares the girls at school give you!”

*Is this what she meant?*, Yumi continued walking as more girls greeted her. She simply did the same thing to them and the girls did the same thing the other two did earlier. *Oooookay… This is disturbing, now that I’ve actually realized it…*, Yumi thought nervously, *I wonder if Onee-sama felt the same thing I’m feeling right now…*

Onee-sama…

Yumi remembered that she and Sachiko will have a date on Saturday, and the thought of it immediately sent colors to her cheeks, Yumi could feel that she’s blushing, *Wait, why am I blushing? We went to dates before, so how is this one any different? It’s just me and Onee-sama, no big deal!*

Just me and Onee-sama…

Yumi subconsciously started fantasizing about the things they could do during their date, things that are… in a word… inappropriate. Yumi suddenly stopped when she realized that she was having sick thoughts involving Sachiko and her. *Damn Sei and her dirty old man influence…*

“Gokigenyou, Yumi-sama!”, a bunch of girls said to Yumi, breaking her out of her train of thoughts.

“G-Gokigenyou.”, Yumi replied, *Sigh… This is going to be a long day…*

~~*~~

Later that day, after school in the Rose Mansion’s meeting room, everyone in the Yamayurikai is present except Noriko, who’s absent in order to take care of her sick aunt.

“Here’s your tea, Yumi-sama.”

“Thank you, Kanako.”

Kanako seated after serving tea to everyone, catching a glimpse of Touko giving her a death glare.

“All right, let’s begin the meeting. As the principal had requested, Lillian will hold an event on Valentine’s Day in cooperation with Hanadera.”, Yoshino started.

“When you say ‘in cooperation’, you mean—“

“Yes, Lillian and Hanadera will celebrate it together.”, Yoshino said to Nana.

“This is peculiar, have Lillian and Hanadera celebrated anything together in the past?”, Touko asked.

“No, not that I could remember… This is quite sudden.”, Shimako said.

“What are your thoughts regarding this matter, Rosa Chinensis?”, Yoshino asked Yumi. Yumi didn’t hear her though, her mind was wandering elsewhere.

“Onee-sama?”, Touko said, but Yumi didn’t budge.

“Yumi-sama?”, Kanako and Nana said.

“Yumi?”, Shimako said, but to no avail.

“HELLO! EARTH TO YUMI!”, Yoshino shouted and thus, got a reaction from Yumi.

“Yes? Um, did I miss something?”, Yumi asked as she saw everyone’s raised eyebrows.

“Are you finally with us?”, Yoshino asked.

“Um, yeah, I guess so, sorry for not paying attention like that… So, where were we?”, Yumi said.

“About the event on Valentine’s Day.”, Yoshino said.

“You mean the one with Hanadera? What of it?”, Yumi asked.

“What are your thoughts about it?” Yoshino asked again but this time, Yumi heard it.

“Well, first of all, I guess we can’t just discuss this among ourselves, we need to have a meeting with the Hanadera Student Council about this.”, Yumi stated.

“A meeting with Hanadera?”, Kanako asked, feeling uneasy. Even though she had already forgiven her father and her despite of men had dropped, she can’t help but feel some sort of hostility towards them for some reason.

“Yes, after all, it’s their event too.”, Yumi said to Kanako.

“Agreed, but how will we arrange this meeting with them?”, Shimako asked.

“My brother Yuuki is still a member of their Student Council, I think. I could talk to him about it.”, Yumi said.

“Yes, you do that, I guess this will end today’s meeting. We can’t discuss further without the other council.”, Yoshino said to everyone and they all nodded in agreement. *A meeting with the Hanadera Student Council, and Yuuki will be there, that’s something to look forward to, besides our date that is.*, Yoshino thought to herself.

“It’s still early but since we have nothing more to do for today, shall we head home?” Yumi asked to everyone in the room. They all agreed and stood up.

~~*~~

“Hey, how about going to a café? It’s still way too early.”, Yoshino suggested.

“Sure, that sounds good.”, Yumi said, everyone doesn’t have anything better to do so they agreed as well. Everyone except…

“I’m sorry, I can’t, I’m planning on visiting Noriko and see how her aunt is doing.”, Shimako said.

“I see, how about we all go?”, Yumi said cheerfully.

“We can’t all just go and barge into their house like that, we might disrupt her aunt.”, Yoshino stated.

“Ah, right…”

They reached the statue of Mary and said their prayers, then headed for the school gate. When they were getting near, Yumi saw a figure entering the campus and she immediately recognized who the figure is.

“Onee-sama?!”

Oooooo the plot thickens again! I'm liking it. :)

A cliffhanger? Why??

Haha! Oh well, nuthin' I could do but wait for updates ;)

waits for continuation :D

Me too :D

@lilgumba, Riza, Will, & ClaYYara
Thanks so much! Here's an update! :lol:

~~*~~

“Oh, going home already?”, Sachiko asked as she neared the girls.

“Gokigenyou, Sachiko-sama.”, the girls greeted Sachiko, “Gokigenyou.”, Sachiko greeted them back.

“What are you doing here, Onee-sama?”, Yumi asked, *Not that I mind or anything.*, she added in her head.

“Nothing in particular, I just came here to visit you all and reminisce a bit.”, Sachiko lied, she does have a reason and it, or she, is right in front of her.

“We’re on our way to a café, would you like to join us, Sachiko onee-chan?”, Touko asked her second cousin.

“No, thank you. I have other plans.”, Sachiko eyed Yumi and Yumi felt her heart skip a beat as she met her eyes.

*W-Why am I feeling nervous all of a sudden?* Yumi asked herself and no answer came to her.

Sachiko walked to Yumi and put her hand on the latter’s shoulder lightly. “I’m sorry but can I borrow Yumi for now?”, she asked the rest of the Yamayurikai.

“Sure, why not?”, Yoshino said then turned her head to Yumi, “Yumi, text us if you’ll make it to the—“

“She may not make it to the café, I’m afraid I might take quite a bit of Yumi’s time.”, Sachiko added, “Please go on ahead when you’re done at the café, I’ll accompany Yumi home.”

“I see, well so long then. See you tomorrow, Yumi.” Yoshino said as she walked out the school gate with the others.

“Tomorrow then.” Yumi said to them.

~~*~~

Once outside…

“What was that about?”, Nana asked.

“Oh nothing, just two soeurs wanting to have some alone time and catch up on each other’s lives.”, Yoshino said, *Go, go, Yumi!*

~~*~~

Back in Lillian

“Yumi.”, Sachiko called out and she could have sworn she saw Yumi jump a bit.

“Um, yes, Onee-sama?”, Yumi said as she tried to hide her nervousness, but clearly wasn’t doing a very good job at it. Sachiko noticed of course, but she didn’t ask why. Instead she just smiled at her and said…

“Shall we tour the campus, it’s been months since I’ve been here.”

“O-Okay…”, Yumi answered, *What’s going on? Didn’t she say that she only came here for a visit? Heck, she didn’t even ask me if I’m alright with it, she just took me from the others, and so smoothly too…*

Sachiko had walked on ahead while Yumi was preoccupied with her thoughts. When Yumi finally noticed that Sachiko wasn’t beside her anymore, the latter was already about 3 ½ meters away. “Wait, Onee-sama!”, Yumi ran to catch up with Sachiko, disregarding the ‘Walk slowly’ rule.

When they reached the statue of Mary, Sachiko put her hands together, closed her eyes, and prayed, Yumi looked at her, *I’ve already prayed but… Oh, might as well, one can’t pray too much, can they?* So Yumi prayed as well *Maria-sama, could you tell me what’s going on in Sachiko’s head right now? Amen.*

Once they’re done praying, they continued walking down the road, not really having any specific destination.

“Anyway, I wanted to discuss about our date.” Sachiko started. Yumi gulped, *The date!* The sick thoughts earlier came back to Yumi’s head, but she quickly shooed it away, *Now I’m really starting to hate Sei’s dirty old man influence!*

“Um, right now?” Yumi asked.

“Yes, is something wrong with that?”

“No, no! When you said ‘we’ll discuss about it tomorrow’, I thought we’ll do it at the internet or simply text each other.”

“Yes, that’s what I originally planned, but discussing it personally with you seems to be a much better option in my opinion.” Sachiko said as she smiled which made Yumi blush.

“So, where will we meet, and what time?” Sachiko continued. “Wait, since I’m the one who asked you out, maybe I should decide about that, don’t you think?” Yumi just nodded.

“How about we meet at the same meeting place as our first date, at, let’s say, 10 AM. Is that alright with you?” Sachiko asked Yumi.

“Yes, that’ll do, Onee-sama.” Yumi said with a smile.

“Okay, that’s that then.”

“Um, wait. Won’t we discuss about the places we’ll go to?”

“No need, spending some time with you is enough for me. It doesn’t matter where we go.”

“Really?”, Yumi said, her nervousness easing a bit. “I feel the same, Onee-sama…”

“And by the way, I’ll pay for our date’s expenses.”

“What? But, Onee—“

“Yumi. I’m the one who asked you out, it’s only fair that I pay for everything.”

“No, that ISN’T fair at all! How about we split it in half like last time?”

“Oh, you’re so stubborn, Yumi!”

“So are you, Onee-sama!”

Sachiko sighed in defeat, “I don’t want to start an argument over something so silly. I’ll let you pay for our drinks, how’s that?”

“Just drinks? But—“

“Yumi.”

“Err…”, Yumi gave up, “Okay, drinks on me, everything else on you…”

Sachiko smiled, “Okay, it’s decided.”

They continued walking, and Yumi’s nervousness is coming back.

*Why am I so nervous? I’m finally with Onee-sama after months of not seeing her. I should be happy instead of being nervous for goodness’ sake!* Yumi started a mental rant which lasted for about a minute. She then looked at Sachiko who was looking straight ahead. *She hasn’t spoken a word since we discussed about our date. I wonder what she’s thinking right now…*

~~*~~

Question, in soeur, how do you make the "o" and the "e" stick?

Yay! Haha! Keep them coming! :D

about the o and e...well...no idea ^_^

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh... hehehehehehe.. wow!!! i cant wait.. : :Spinningblob: :^o^:

yep..me too..no idea,..

oh more please :D, I can't wait for the date day XD

@Riza, Madel & Will
I have free time today so I continued. ^_^

~~*~~

Yumi then looked at Sachiko’s hand, she felt a sudden urge to take it in her own but something is stopping her, *What’s wrong now, Yumi? You’ve held hands before, haven’t you? Her hand is right there, just 2 inches away! What’s holding you back?*

Suddenly, another question popped in her head, *But why am I so eager to hold her hand in the first place?* Why indeed…

Yumi then remembered what Yuuki told her last night.

“Your whole life practically revolves around her. Keep acting like that, people will think that you’re in love with her or something.”

*Now Yuuki’s words are haunting me! Get out of my head!* Yumi is now having a mental battle, *But if I am, would Sachiko accept me or turn me away with disgust? No! What am I thinking? It’s not that I AM in love with her, am I?* Yumi is getting frustrated *Oh this is just wonderful, I thought I’ve ended this confusion last night, I hardly had any sleep, but here it is again!*

Again she started fantasizing about her and Sachiko together, this time their faces are getting closer and closer, getting ready for a dazzling kiss, but Yumi quickly dismissed the thought before it got any further. *What’s wrong with me? If Sachiko could read minds, I think she’d be--*

“Yumi?”

Yumi snapped back into reality, “Um, yes?”

“Are you alright? You seem to be thinking heavily about something.”, concern is clearly written on Sachiko’s face.

“I’m fine, don’t worry!” Yumi said with as much cheerfulness she could put out, but Sachiko didn’t take it though.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, really!”, *Oh crap, maybe she CAN read minds…*, Yumi thought but that’s just silly.

“If you have any problems, feel free to open up to me, I’ll help you out in any way that I can.”

“Yes, Onee-sama.” Yumi said. *But how can I if my problem right now is involving you? I don’t want you to know, not now, Onee-sama… I don’t want you to… turn me away…*

They continued walking in silence, Yumi looked around, and there are still students in the school, those with club activities and cleaning duty. Suddenly, Sachiko stopped so Yumi stopped as well. Yumi was about to ask Sachiko why she suddenly stopped like that when she noticed that they’re in front of the Rose Mansion.

“It’s been a while since I’ve entered this place. Let’s go in, Yumi.”

Yumi just nodded as they entered the place, gone up the stairs hearing those familiar creaks, Sachiko closed her eyes as she listened to it, as if the creaks were music to her ears. Yumi noticed Sachiko do so, *Wow, she must’ve really missed this place…*

Then they reached the door to the meeting room. Yumi was about to open the biscuit-like door when Sachiko laughed a bit.

“Onee-sama?”

“Oh, sorry, I just remembered how I bumped into you here.”

Yumi laughed a bit, “Yeah, you didn’t just bump into me, you even fell on me flat.”

“I’m sorry about that, was I heavy?” Sachiko asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.

“No, not at all, but I did feel your huge—“ Yumi quickly covered her mouth so as not to say anymore.

“My huge what, Yumi?” Sachiko asked, really, she had no idea what Yumi had almost said.

“No, never mind, let’s go in now.” Yumi said as she laughed nervously, *I’m such an idiot! Maybe Sei’s dirty old man influence is REALLY getting to me…*, she just thanked her hands for suddenly having a mind of their own at that moment.

They went in and Sachiko sat down on the chair she always used to sit on.

“Nothing’s changed here, everything looks the same.” Sachiko said.

“Yeah. Um, would you like to have some tea, Onee-sama?” Yumi asked.

“Yes, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t.” Yumi said with a smile then she went to make tea.

*How I missed doing this, making tea for Onee-sama. When was the last time I’ve done this?* Yumi recalled some previous events like Sei hugging her and Sachiko warning Sei not to that again. *What else?*, Yumi thought some more. Sachiko in her Lillian uniform sitting on that chair looking at some papers, and now Sachiko in civilian clothes sitting on that chair looking at… HER?!

Yumi blushed and turned her attention to the tea she’s making. *Did I just imagine that or was she really looking at me?*

And of course Sachiko was looking at her. What else is in there to look at? But Sachiko turned her head and DID find something else. A piece of paper on top of a pile of papers lying beside the vase filled with roses.

“Here’s your tea, Onee-sama.”

“Thank you, Yumi.” Sachiko noticed that Yumi wasn’t holding a teacup of her own. “You didn’t make some for yourself?”

“I had enough tea for today.” Yumi said laughing a bit. That morning, she visited the Rose Mansion first before she went to her classroom, Touko and Kanako were there and they both made tea for her. Yumi didn’t want to turn either of them down so she accepted both of their tea. During lunchtime, Touko and Kanako did it again, and that afternoon, Kanako made tea for her.

*And they even gave me refills.* Yumi remembered.

Sachiko sipped her tea and read the paper she saw earlier. “An event with Hanadera for Valentine’s Day?”

“Yep, that’s what keeping us busy these days.”

“Any progress?”

“Not much, we’ve just received that request yesterday afternoon, and we haven’t had a meeting with the Hanadera Student Council yet.”

“I see.”, Sachiko put the paper back to where it was, “Well, I’m sure all of you can handle this.”, Sachiko said as she handed Yumi the teacup, it was already empty.

“Do you want a refill?”

“No, it’s enough.”

“Okay then, excuse me.” Yumi went to wash the teacup. While she was washing it, she felt that someone is standing behind her and hugged her. Yumi almost thought that it was Sei but remembered that no one else was in there except Sachiko.

Yumi blushed furiously, *What in Maria-sama’s name is going on?!*

hehehe..lol.. huge what?!!!... lol... hehehehe
yumi is fantisizing about her onee sama.. A LOT>. :lol:

JUPI!


:^o^:

Update, Update~~~~~


^^

<start read>

Ooooh...wonder what happens next! :rolleyes:

Another update :lol:

~~*~~

In front of the Fukuzawa Residence…

“Thank you for giving me a lift, Onee-sama.”, Yumi said to Sachiko.

“It’s no problem. I did tell Yoshino and the others that I’d accompany you home.”

“Ah, if it isn’t Sachiko.”, Miki Fukuzawa said as she came out from the front door.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Fukuzawa.”, Sachiko said politely.

“Since you’re already here, why don’t you come in?”, Miki offered.

“I’d love to but I can’t right now. Some other time if that’s alright.”, Sachiko said.

“Yes, anytime is fine.”

“I’m sure Yumi would love it if you could come by here more often.”, Yuichiro Fukuzawa said as he appeared at the front door.

“Yes.”, Sachiko said as she smiled, “Well, I’ll go now.”

“See you on Saturday, Onee-sama!” Yumi said.

Sachiko nodded then left. Yumi went upstairs to her room and let her body fall on her bed, she stared at the ceiling. “What a day this had turned out to be…”

~~*~~

<Flashback to that afternoon at the Rose Mansion>

“Okay then, excuse me.” Yumi went to wash the teacup. While she was washing it, she felt that someone is standing behind her and hugged her. Yumi almost thought that it was Sei but remembered that no one else was in there except Sachiko.

Yumi blushed furiously, *What in Maria-sama’s name is going on?!*

Yumi’s heart is beating so fast that to her it seems like a galloping horse ready to jump out of her chest.

“Onee-sama?! What are you—“

“Yumi…” Sachiko said softly, her breath tickling Yumi’s neck.

Yumi almost dropped the teacup when Sachiko said her name in such a soft manner. She tried her hardest not to hyperventilate.

*Oh crap, this is so sudden! If she doesn’t let go soon, I might faint!* Yumi’s face is turning as red as the reddest object in the world.

As if the gods had answered Yumi’s prayer, Sachiko let go, laughing a bit as she does. Yumi, realizing that Sachiko had let go, turned her head to the older girl, “Onee-sama! What was that for?!”

“Oh, it’s just that my Onee-sama told me that you make funny reactions when someone does that to you, like shrieking like a baby dinosaur.” Sachiko said simply.

“Youko-sama?”, Yumi said, *I remember Youko doing that to me before she graduated…”

“Yes.”, Sachiko laughed a bit, “Sorry about that, Yumi, I thought I’d try it out, I didn’t hear a baby dinosaur shriek though. Some other time then.”

Yumi pouted, “That was not funny, Onee-sama!”

“Sorry, sorry.”, Sachiko said while holding a laugh. “Anyway, are you done washing the cup?”

“I’ll just have to rinse it then I’m done.”, Yumi went back to washing the cup, *It’s nice seeing Sachiko’s playful side once in a while.*, Yumi smiled at the thought but then felt a tinge of disappointment, *But now that she had let go, why do I suddenly wish that she hugged me longer?*, Yumi let out a sigh.

“What are you sighing for?” Sachiko asked.

“Oh, nothing, something just crossed my mind, that’s all!”, Yumi said quickly. She then dried the cup and put it to its place. *Onee-sama was… so warm…*

They left the Rose Mansion and went on their way throughout Lillian, running into some students and teachers along the way.

“Ah, Sachiko, how have you been?”, a teacher said.

“I’m fine, Ms. Yamamura.” Sachiko said, “And I trust that you are as well?”

“Yes, I’m fine too, thank you. And just so you know, Yumi is doing a superb job as Rosa Chinensis. You must be proud.”

“I am, I’m very proud.”, Sachiko said as she looked at Yumi.

“Well, I won’t take up more of your time. I’ll run along now.”

“Gokigenyou, Ms. Yamamura.”, Sachiko and Yumi said as they bowed their head slightly.

“Gokigenyou.”, Ms. Yamamura said as she left the two.

“It’s about time we go home now, Yumi.”, Sachiko said.

“Yes, I guess.”, Yumi said, *Well, it was fun till it lasted…*

~~*~~

They walked towards the school gate, praying at Mary’s statue along the way, then walked towards a car parked outside. Yumi looked around.

“What are you looking for, Yumi?”

“The driver, where is he?”

Sachiko laughed a bit as she opened the door to the driver’s seat, “Yumi, I AM the driver.”

“What?! No way! You’re kidding!”

“Go to the passenger’s seat and I’ll show you that I can drive.”, Sachiko said confidently.

Yumi did as she was told, she went to the driver’s seat and looked at Sachiko, “Um, are you sure about this?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Don’t be so nervous. I managed to drive all the way here without getting a scratch, didn’t I?”

Yumi just nodded, *Calm down, Yumi, this is Sachiko, not Sei nor Suguru.*

Sachiko started up the engine and drove smoothly. “See?”

“Um, yeah.”, Yumi said, “Phew, thank goodness, Sachiko is not a crazy driver… I don’t think I can handle a crazy car ride for a third time.”, Yumi whispered to herself.

Though Sachiko is not as crazy in driving as Sei or Suguru, she does tend to go over the speed limit from time to time, overtaking cars and trucks alike, making Yumi slightly nervous and tighten her grip on her seatbelt, as if holding on for dear life. *Maybe I spoke too soon…*

~~*~~

I know, nothing much happened here. ^_^

About Ms. Yamamura, she IS a teacher at Lillian, I've read it somewhere...

oooh.. sachiko can drive..this i gotta see.. hehehehehe :waits for more update:

Woah! I didn't even knew Yumi's parent's name! :lol: Nice!!

As for o and e together, just copy paste the the one I did in Soeur/Frere category, cause that's just what I did XD

Nice fic! /no1
Keep it up! n_n

You know, I keep hoping that Yumi and Sachiko wold have a car accident ^_^..could be interesting!

I actually read a fanfic where Yumi was in an accident. *sniff*

I just read and found out what Yumi's mom name was from the Yuricon ML recent translations before this. This is the first I've heard Yumi's dad's name.

Good stuff there. I loved the Sei-like hug. I had to do a double take when I read that part. It made me giddy.

@twetumsy
I've read somewhere that Sachiko can drive in the novels, I don't know if it's true though. :huh:

@Stephanie
Hey, it's been a while! Actually, it wasn't so long ago when I found out the names of Yumi's parents. About the soeur word, why didn't I think of that? :lol:

@Riza
Sorry, no accidents in this fic. ^_^

@lilgumba
I have read a fanfic where Sachiko got into an accident and almost died... /sob

Here's an update!

~~*~~

Yumi’s nervousness grew when Sachiko floored it when the traffic light turned yellow and almost running into another car but she managed to avoid it.

*Is this kind of driving genetic or something?! Who taught her how to drive anyway? Suguru?*, Yumi looked at Sachiko whose face remains calm even after all that, Yumi’s face says otherwise though.

*And to think that she’s the one who easily gets motion sick… sigh*

When things started calming down, by that I mean fewer cars in sight, Yumi decided to start a conversation, to break the silence.

“I don’t think I’ve seen this car before, is it new?” Yumi asked.

“Yes, it is, my grandfather bought it for me as a graduation gift.” Sachiko answered, not taking her eyes off the road.

“Who taught you how to drive, Onee-sama?”

“Our chauffeur…” Sachiko said but seems unfinished.

“Oh, I see.”

“And Suguru.” Sachiko added.

“Suguru?!” Yumi said a bit surprised, *Well what do you know, I was right. I guess that explains her driving, their chauffeur must’ve lessen the craziness, so Sachiko isn’t as crazy in driving…*

“Um, when did you get your driver’s license?” Yumi continued.

“A month after our graduation.” Sachiko then took her eyes off the road and looked at Yumi, “How about you, Yumi?”

“Err, about what?”

“When will you learn how to drive?”

“I’m not sure… I haven’t even thought about that.”

“If you’d like, I’ll teach you.” Sachiko offered.

“I’ll think about it, Onee-sama.” Yumi said with a smile then looked at the road. “ONEE-SAMA! WATCH OUT!”

Sachiko quickly turned her attention back to the road and managed to avoid running onto an incoming car.

“Thanks, Yumi.” Sachiko said calmly, as if it was nothing.

“Y-You’re w-welcome, Onee-sama…” Yumi said with her heart beating fast, *Well, on the bright side, things certainly aren’t boring with her on the wheel. I think I’m gonna pass out…*

Finally they reached Yumi’s house, *In one piece…* Yumi thought.

<End of flashback>

~~*~~

“I’m amazed that the car managed to go through all that without a single scratch.”, Yumi said to herself.

Somebody knocked on her bedroom door.

“Come in, it’s open.” Yumi said.

Yuuki came in with a smile on his face. “Oh, Yuuki, perfect timing, I was just about to go to your room.”, Yumi said as she sat up.

“That was Sachiko on the front door, wasn’t it?”, Yuuki said.

“Yes. You saw her?”

“A bit, when I was on my way to the kitchen.”

“Why didn’t you come and greet her?” Yumi asked.

Yuuki showed his phone, “I was busy talking to Yoshino.”

“Still, you should’ve at least showed yourself.”

“Yeah, you’re right, some other time when Sachiko comes by again. By the way, you said you were about to go to my room. Is there something you wanted to talk about?” Yuuki asked.

“Yuuki, you’re still a member of your school’s Student Council, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, why?”

The two talked about the Valentine’s Day event and that the two councils will have to meet more often for it.

“Okay, I’ll talk to the guys about it. I’m sure Kobayashi and the others would be glad to see all of you again.” Yuuki said.

“Thanks, Yuuki.”

“No problem, besides, this event involves both our schools so we all have to cooperate.” Yuuki said.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

~~*~~

Meanwhile, in front of the Nijou Residence, Shimako pushed the doorbell.

“Coming!” A male voice said.

*Huh, I thought Noriko and her aunt are alone…*, Shimako thought.

The door opened and Shimako was greeted by a familiar face.

“Ah, Shimako-san, what a surprise! It’s been a while.” The man said with a smile.

“Yes, it has, Takuya-kun.”, Shimako said to the man named Takuya Shimura.

“Come in, come in, Noriko-chan would love to see you, Shimako-san. “

Shimako came into the house and was greeted by Noriko who came running to her.

“Shimako! It’s so nice that you could come by!” Noriko said as she gave Shimako a hug.

“Yes, sorry for not giving you a call first though.”

“No, it’s okay. Anyway, make yourself comfortable, I’ll make some tea.” Noriko said as she went to the kitchen.

Shimako and Takuya sat down at the couch in the living room.

~~*~~

About Takuya Shimura...
SPOILER! SPOILER!

[According to the novels, he's Noriko's boyfriend, a university student who is Noriko's Internet acquaintance, and a fellow admirer of buddhist statues. Shimako and Mami eventually becomes romantically interested in him. I was so surprised the first time I read this.] :-o

SPOILER END

Sorry, I don't know how to do that spoiler tag thing or to change the tint color to hide it...

Suguru sure did thought sachiko how to drive his way XD

Sachiko can drive! WoW! Now there's 3 CRAZY drivers! :lol: (I wonder if Sei and Suguru fought in a car racing... )

For that spoiler I heard about the first part but not about the second half of it. Maybe that would explain some of the quarreling that was mentioned on Okazu but not explained because it was a spoiler. That's a double spoiler. So delicious! I wonder how it happened.


Oh and I hid the spoiler a little more. That one can drop a huge one on people who haven't seen it so I made that part of the text white just in case.


Good continuation of the fic. I look forward to the next part. :)

@Will
I'm surprised I even made Sachiko listen to Suguru and ride the same car as him. :lol:

@Ate
A car race between Sei and Suguru! Now that's a must see! :P

@lilgumba
I was so surprised about that, and thanks for hiding that spoiler. ^_^

~~*~~

“So, ah, how have you been, Shimako-san?”, Takuya started.

“Pretty well, how about you, Takuya-kun?”, Shimako asked politely.

“Pretty good.”, Takuya answered simply.

‘Pretty well’ and ‘pretty good’, these two don’t really have much to say to each other, do they?

“I’ve heard from Noriko-chan that she had already met your grande sœur, she said that she’s a very interesting person.”

“Yes, she is.”, Shimako said with a nod.

Silence enveloped the living room, both feeling a little awkward, but Noriko came just in time before the awkwardness got worse. Takuya stood up to help Noriko with the tea. Shimako couldn’t help but think that Noriko had found such a great guy like Takuya as she watched the two.

“Here you go, Shimako, nice and warm.”, Noriko said as she gave Shimako a cup of tea.

“Thank you, Noriko.”

Noriko then sat beside Shimako and Takuya sat on the couch near Noriko.

“Did the meeting end early today?” Noriko asked Shimako.

“Yes, we can’t really discuss things for the Valentine’s Day event without the Hanadera Student Council.”

“An event with Hanadera, huh?”

“Yumi said that she’ll talk to Yuuki so we could have a meeting with them.”, Shimako said.

“I’ll be looking forward to that, it’s been a while since we last saw them. They’re a fun bunch of guys.” Noriko said while laughing a bit.

“Hanadera is that all-boys school near Lillian, isn’t it?” Takuya asked.

“Yes, it is.” Noriko answered.

“By the way, how’s your aunt, Noriko?”, Shimako asked with a hint of concern in her voice.

“She’s asleep right now, she’s gotten a bit better but not well enough to be left alone in the house, I may have to be absent again tomorrow.”, Noriko said.

“Oh, I see.”

“And Takuya had been helping me in taking care of her.”, Noriko added.

“Really?”, Shimako turned to Takuya, “Were you absent today as well?”

“No, I don’t have afternoon classes in this week’s schedule so I came here.”

“Thanks a lot for helping Noriko out.”, Shimako said while bowing a bit.

“No, no! It’s my pleasure really, haha.”, Takuya said as he put his hand at the back of his head.

The three talked about some things to pass time, like whatever’s happening in Lillian, Takuya’s university life, Shimako’s new goal, Buddha statues, Shimako’s dad (with laughs here and there, in which Shimako felt a bit embarrassed about), Noriko’s school before Lillian, the internet, Sei, etc., until Shimako has to go home. At the front door…

“Well, I have to go now, thank you for having me.”, Shimako said.

“No problem, please come by again soon.”, Noriko said.

“Thanks again, and please send my regards to your aunt.”

“Okay, I will. See you, Shimako.”

“See you, Noriko, Takuya-kun.”

Takuya nodded, “Take care.”

Shimako smiled at them both then left.

~~*~~

January 11, 2008

The following day, at the Fukuzawa Residence…

“Hey, Yumi, I called the guys last night and we’ve all agreed to come over to Lillian after school today. Is that alright?” Yuuki said to Yumi.

“Yes, that’s fine, I’ll tell the girls about it. It’s best if we start early, since both our schools are involved, it might take longer to prepare stuff.”, Yumi said as she took a bite of her toast.

“Maybe that’s why the principals told us about this so early, I mean, it’ll suck if the first ever Lillian and Hanadera unite event didn’t turn out good.”, Yuuki said, “Then again, we don’t really know if this IS the first ever Lillian and Hanadera unite event.”

Yumi nodded but her mind doesn’t seem to be on the subject anymore. *Today is Friday, and tomorrow is the day of our date! Onee-sama…*

Yuuki quickly noticed that Yumi’s mind is preoccupied about something, or rather, someone. And judging by the bubbly expression she’s wearing…

“Hey, Yumi, thinking about Sachiko again?”, Yuuki said with a smirk, he knows he’s right.

Yumi quickly looked at Yuuki, “No, I was just thinking of the things we could do for the event!”, Yumi denied.

“Yeah right, you’re such a bad liar, you know that? If you want to daydream about her, go ahead, but don’t do so during the meeting if you don’t want to be laughed at.”

“Yuuki!”, Yumi shouted while blushing a bit.

“Hey, I’m just saying.”, Yuuki said laughing as he left Yumi.

“Geez, Yuuki is getting really fond of teasing me these days.”, Yumi complained as she finished her toast.

~~*~~

Thirty minutes later, Yumi reached Lillian, walking through the familiar row of trees, praying at Mary’s statue, and…

“Gokigenyou, Yumi-sama.”, A bunch of girls greeted Yumi.

Ah yes, all too familiar…

*Well, here we go again.*, Yumi thought, “Gokigenyou.”

The same drill…

*Don’t they ever get tired of doing that?*, Yumi sighed and then suddenly saw a flicker of light.

Yumi’s eyes closed a bit because of the light flick.

“By the way you’re sighing, I’m guessing that you are bothered by those girls.”

Yumi doesn’t need to look to see who the person is, who else would bring a camera with her wherever she goes and would have the guts to take a picture of Rosa Chinensis without asking for her permission?

“Well, gokigenyou, Yumi.”, the girl said while pointing the camera lens to Yumi.

“Gokigenyou, Tsutako.”, Yumi greeted back.

“You’re looking very preoccupied today, and by the looks of it, it’s not about those girls.”, Tsutako said as she finally lowered her camera.

“Really? What makes you say that?”

“Simple, I’m a photographer, I can see through a person through my camera lens.”, Tsutako said as she pointed the lens to Yumi’s face.

“I see.”

“That and because you have the most expressive face I’ve ever seen.”, Tsutako added.

“Everyone tells me that.”, Yumi said while laughing a bit.

“And the one you’re preoccupied about is Sachiko, is she not?”

Bull’s-eye…

“What? How did—“, Yumi suddenly stopped, *Oh crap…*

“Haha, so I was right! Really, Yumi, one doesn’t even need to be a photographer nor a detective to know what you’re thinking, your face just gives it all away!”, Tsutako said with a laugh while Yumi grimaced a bit.

“And by the way, take a look.”, Tsutako pulled out a picture from her bag and showed it to Yumi.

“Ah, this is—“, it’s a picture of Yumi and Sachiko walking together, side by side through a row of trees with some leaves falling, the lighting is just right which really brings out the colors.

“When did you take this picture?”, Yumi asked while eyeing the picture, awed by it, *Onee-sama looks so beautiful here… Then again, she always looks beautiful.*

“Yesterday afternoon, when else?”

“So, what are you going to do with it? Put it at a photo exhibit?”

“Truth is, I just thought you’d like to see it, but if there will be a photo exhibit at the Valentine’s Day event then I’d love to put it up.”, Tsutako said calmly, she looked at Yumi who’s still awed by it.

“You want to know my opinion of it, you know, at a photographer’s point of view?”, Tsutako asked.

Yumi looked at Tsutako, “Opinion? At a photographer’s point of view?”

“Yeah, so, you want?”

Yumi thought about it, “Well, there’s no harm in that. Why not?”

“I’ll be honest of what I think, it shows two people who are extremely close, two people who are, let’s say, more than just friends…”, Tsutako stopped for a moment as if giving Yumi time to prepare of what she’ll say next…

“Two people who clearly have ‘feelings’ for each other.”

Yumi was silent for a while, taking in Tsutako’s words, playing it over and over in her head.

“Two people who are extremely close,”

“Two people who are more than just friends,”

“Two people who clearly have ‘feelings’ for each other.”

*Two people who clearly have feelings for each other…*, Yumi thought, figuring out what Tsutako meant exactly, but deep in her she knows exactly what Tsutako is implying.

“Can one picture really say that much?”, Yumi said more to herself really than to Tsutako.

“A good photographer can see a person’s true nature and thoughts through the pictures and the lens, especially those…”, Tsutako looked at Yumi in the eyes, “…they deliberately try to hide.”

They deliberately try to hide…

Tsutako hit Yumi at a sore spot and Tsutako can see that.

“They will all be exposed by the camera.”, Tsutako finished. Yumi couldn’t help but gulp.

*Since when did she became Sherlock Holmes?*, Yumi thought, but then…

“Wait, I think I’ve heard that line on TV before.”

“Oh, so you’ve heard of it too? Pretty good line, huh? I was trying it out and that reaction from you is just gold.”, Tsutako said.

“Tsutako!”

“Haha, sorry, Yumi.”, Tsutako said but doesn’t seem like she meant it.

“All the while, you were just joking.”, Yumi said, sounding a bit relieved.

“I didn’t say I was joking, I meant what I said actually.”, Tsutako said while smirking a bit, “Anyway, I better get going, you should too.”, Tsutako was about to leave when…

“And don’t worry, I’ll send you a copy.”, Tsutako answered Yumi’s unasked question.

~~*~~

At the Rose Mansion…

“Where’s Yumi?”, Yoshino asked.

“Yes, she’s usually the first one here, isn’t she?”, Shimako said.

“Hmm, something must’ve caught her up.”, Touko said.

Then they heard squeaks coming from the stairs, like someone is in a hurry to get to where they are. Then the biscuit-like door opened.

“I’m late, I’m sorry!”

“Relax, Yumi, you made it just in time, there’s still a minute left before the meeting starts.”, Yoshino said.

“Here’s your tea, Onee-sama.”, Touko gave Yumi a cup of tea.

~~*~~

About that line that Tsutako said, I got it from Hana-Kimi Taiwanese version. ^_^

LOVE the assertive Sachiko.XD
Love reading fanfics where she does these little things that blow Yumi away.

Best LOL moment in the whole thing.

Overall, please keep updating! It's a really great fanfiction.

more more more.. :Spinningblob:

yeah! 2 updates! glad to see shimako's being focused in the first one :).

Nice! n_n
Sherlock Holmes, huh?

From the looks of it, you made your fic in "Microsoft Word" with all the “ and ”

:D :lol:

Lol, nothing, just copied Tsutako-chan in your fic XD

@Ver la Vida de Rosa
Haha, I didn't even notice that I was making Sachiko assertive when I was writing that part. I only realized it when I reread it. About that LOL moment, I had fun writing that part! :lol:

@Madel
The wait is over, but you'll be waiting again afterwards. :lol:

@Riza
I feel as if Shimako wasn't getting much attention so I wrote that for her.
:lol:

@Stephanie
That is correct, very nice deduction, Detective Stephanie, I didn't expect any less.

Just copying some Police Chief or something. Haha. /no1

Here's an update...

~~*~~

“Alright, I got everyone here just as you asked earlier over the phone.”, Yoshino said, “So what’s this meeting about? I thought you said that we’ll have a meeting about the event once the guys are here.”

“That’s exactly why I asked all of you to be here, to tell you that the Hanadera Student Council will come here after school.”, Yumi said as she sipped her tea.

Kanako felt kind of nervous all of a sudden, *The Hanaderans will be here…*, she thought.

“They act fast, don’t they?”, Touko said.

“Yes, Yuuki and I agreed that it’s best if we start early, so we could prepare about this right away.”, Yumi said.

“Yes, I agree, it’s best if we start early, since both our schools are involved, it might take longer to prepare stuff.”, Yoshino said.

“Wow, I said the same thing to Yuuki this morning.”, Yumi said with a smile.

“Hm? Really? Haha, great minds think alike!”, Yoshino said as she flashed Yumi a thumb’s up.

“I wonder what they’re like. I’m looking forward to meeting them!”, Nana said.

“Well, they’re… an interesting bunch of guys. Hahaha…”, Yoshino said to her petite sœur, remembering the time they met with them last school year for the Hanadera Cultural Festival. Yumi and Shimako coughed a bit, probably remembered it as well.

“Anyway, that’s all, I just wanted to warn you all about them coming here later.”, Yumi said.

*Warn?*, Yoshino and Kanako thought. Yoshino because she felt that there seems to some meaning behind it, *Why did Yumi use ‘warn’? She could’ve just used ‘tell’ like earlier.*, she thought, nothing could escape her detective-like instinct.

Kanako because she felt an uncanny feeling that it’s directed at her.

“There’s just 15 minutes left before our classes start, let’s go now, everyone.”, Yumi said as she stood up. Everyone stood up as well and headed for the door.

Yumi looked at Kanako, gave her a smile, patted her at the back, then went on ahead of her. Kanako stopped a bit, looking at Yumi’s form while she’s walking away.

*So it IS directed at me.*, Kanako realized then smiled, *Yumi-sama is so considerate…*, she then continued walking.

Yoshino, seeing Yumi’s actions to Kanako, now understood why she used ‘warn’, and why she told them now when she could just tell them later at lunch. *So, it’s to give more time for Kanako to prepare herself mentally.*, Yoshino thought. She remembered the time when they schemed of making Sachiko meet up with the guys, she smiled at that.

~~*~~

At the hallway in the 3rd Years Division…

“Noriko is absent again today, her aunt must have been very sick. You went to Noriko’s house yesterday didn’t you, Shimako? How’s her aunt?”, Yumi asked.

“Noriko said that she’s getting better but not well enough to be left alone in the house.”

“Oh, I see…”, Yumi said.

“So, Yumi, what did you and Sachiko talk about yesterday?”, Yoshino asked, Yumi blushed at the question, remembering yesterday afternoon’s events with her onee-sama. Yumi could feel that she’s blushing and hoped that Yoshino didn’t see her reddening face for she knows that her friend will tease her. Unfortunately for her, nothing goes unnoticed by Yoshino, especially a face as expressive as hers.

“Yumi, what’s up? Did something happen?”, Yoshino said with a teasing tone.

*Oh God, why?*, Yumi thought. And now there she is, being teased by Yoshino.

Shimako smiled at her two friends, then looked outside the window as Yoshino teased Yumi, she sighed.

Yoshino, being an observant girl that she is, noticed that something seems off with Shimako. She stopped teasing Yumi (in which Yumi was glad for), and concentrated with Shimako. Yumi wondered why Yoshino suddenly stopped but refrained herself from asking her, to save herself from being teased further.

*Well, she’s wearing her usual facial expression but her mind seems preoccupied about something. She didn’t say a single word during the meeting earlier…*, Yoshino thought while eyeing Shimako.

“Hey, Shima—“

“Gokigenyou, Rosa Chinensis, Rosa Gigantea, Rosa Foetida.”, 4 girls greeted them politely, cutting what Yoshino was about to ask to Shimako.

“Gokigenyou.”, the 3 Roses said to the 4 girls who bowed slightly to them then went into their classrooms.

Shimako looked at Yoshino, “Were you about to say something, Yoshino?”

Yoshino changed her mind, *Maybe I shouldn’t ask.*, she thought, “Yes, I was about to ask you something but I forgot.”, Yoshino lied.

“I see, how unfortunate.”, Shimako said.

“We’re here.” Yumi said as they’ve reached their classroom, the three are classmates this year. Yumi and Shimako went in while Yoshino stood in front of the doorway, looking at Shimako.

*I don’t need to ask, she’ll tell us whatever’s bothering her when she wants to. Asking her about it might make her uneasy.*, Yoshino decided to let Shimako be for now.

~~*~~

Yumi writes the formulas she sees on the board to her notebook, but she doesn’t seem to understand what their teacher is saying. It’s not because the topic is complicated but simply because she wasn’t listening. She’s there in class, sitting on her chair, writing on her math notebook, a part of her mind is focused to what she’s writing but a bigger part is off daydreaming about a certain someone.

*What should I wear tomorrow? Onee-sama…*, Yumi started fantasizing again and that part of her mind that’s supposed to be focusing to what she’s writing, had joined the bigger part which is daydreaming. When her thoughts began being “inappropriate” again, she shook her head, and stood up abruptly, getting the attention of the teacher and the entire class.

“Is something wrong, Miss Fukuzawa?”, their teacher asked Yumi.

“N-No, I’m sorry, ma’m!”, Yumi said as she bowed her head then sat down, her face turning red.

Yoshino, Shimako, and Tsutako (in the same class as well) all have a clear idea of why Yumi seems out of it today. Yoshino grinned, Shimako smiled, and Tsutako adjusted her glasses to her nosebridge.

*Concentrate, Yumi, concentrate!*, Yumi thought to herself, but concentrate on what exactly?

The teacher continued explaining and writing more examples on the board, calling some students to come to the board and solve a problem from time to time.

Yumi let out a small sigh then looked at her notebook, what she saw surprised her as she wasn’t even aware that she wrote it and when she did. It read…

Sachiko…

~~*~~

I was planning to write "My Sachiko" but I changed my mind. :lol:

Yumi eyed the name written there on a page of a notebook in front of her, *Did I write this? When?*, she thought. She looked around the room and saw that all her classmates are focused on the lesson they’re having.

*Now that I think about it, I wonder if other sœurs are like this? I wonder if all grande sœurs make their petite sœurs write their names subconciously…*, Yumi wondered even more.

*I wonder, do all grande sœurs make their petite sœurs’ hearts race?*, Yumi remembered that she asked that very same question before, not long after she had become Sachiko’s petite sœur.

Suddenly, someone tapped her shoulder, Yumi jumped a bit in surprise.

“Well, we’re jumpy today, aren’t we?”

“Cut it out, Yoshino. Besides, what are you doing out of your seat?”, Yumi asked.

Yoshino pointed to the classroom, “It’s lunch time, the teacher left. Haven’t you realized?”, she said.

“Ah…”

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’.”, Yoshino said with a little laugh, “You’ve been out of it since our first class started. Daydreaming about your onee-sama during class isn’t exactly what I’d call a positive attitude.”, Yoshino said teasingly.

“Yoshino!”, Yumi shouted while blushing a bit.

Yoshino laughed, “Why are you so affected about that anyway? You always react that way when Sachiko is involved, keep that up then people might think that you’re in love with her or something.”, Yoshino said with her index finger up.

Yumi’s eyes widened a bit, *Yuuki said something similar…*

““Your whole life practically revolves around her. Keep acting like that, people will think that you’re in love with her or something.””

“Hey, Yumi, let’s go now, Shimako is waiting for us.”, Yoshino said as she was headed to the doorway.

“Yes, coming!”, Yumi said and caught up with Shimako & Yoshino.

While they’re walking towards the Rose Mansion, question came to Yumi…

*Why is it that I’m being haunted by this confusion? Why is it that it won’t go away?*

~~*~~

That afternoon, after school, at the Rose Mansion…

“They’ll be here soon.”, Nana said as she started preparing tea.

“Yes, someone should pick them up at the gate. Would someone care to do it?”, Yoshino asked.

“I’ll go.”, Yumi said.

“I-I’ll go as well…”, that surprised everyone in the room.

“Are you sure, Kanako?”, Yoshino asked.

“Yes, VERY sure.”, Kanako said with emphasis on ‘very’. “It won’t make a difference whether I pick them up or not, I’ll still see them either way.”, Kanako said calmly.

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”, Yoshino said.

Yumi smiled at that, “Well, let’s go then, we wouldn’t want to keep our guests waiting.”

As the two were about to leave…

“Wait, I’ll go with you.”, Touko said as she eyed Kanako.

“Come along then, Touko-chan.”, Yumi said with a smile.

The three left the room, squeaks are heard as they went down the stairs.

“Touko really doesn’t want Yumi and Kanako to be alone, does she?”, Yoshino said. Nana and Shimako nodded in agreement.

~~*~~

“It’s nice that you could come along as well, Touko-chan.”, Yumi said.

“Yeah.”, Touko said simply.

Yumi turned to Kanako, “Since you volunteered to do this, I take it you’re ready to face them?”

“Yes.”, Kanako said with a nod.

Silence enveloped them and Yumi can clearly feel the tension between the two girls on either side of her, as if they’re ready to wring each other’s necks. And boy was she glad when she sighted the Hanaderans at the gate, that really got the tension go down.

“Yumi-san!”, Alice called waving.

“Alice!”, Yumi said as she neared the boys, “It’s been a while, you guys!”, she said.

Touko and Kanako stood behind Yumi. As Kanako watched Yumi getting along with the guys so easily, it put her at ease.

*Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.”, she thought.

~~*~~

After that, they went back to the Rose Mansion. Touko and Kanako prepared the extra seats, while Nana served the tea to everyone. Even though the meeting room in the Rose Mansion isn’t as big as the room they used before, everyone seated comfortably around the table.

Yoshino looked at the Hanadera Student Council members, the Yakushiji brothers are gone since they’ve graduated, there are four familiar faces, and two new faces.

“Shall we start with introducing ourselves?”, Yuuki asked. They all nodded in agreement.

They decided to start with the guys, Yuuki Fukuzawa, Kobayashi Masamune, Kintarou Arisugawa (Alice), and Takada Magane, the familiar ones. The two new ones introduced themselves as Taro Shinobu, and Ryu Kazuki, both are 2nd years.

The girls introduced themselves after the guys have finished, starting from the 3rd years down to the 1st year.

“Okay, now that we’re done with our introductions, let’s start the real meeting.”, Yoshino said.

“Um, wait, may I ask a question before we start?”, Alice said.

“Sure, Alice, go ahead.”, Yumi said.

“I haven’t seen Noriko-san anywhere, where is she?”

~~*~~

*I wonder, do all grande sœurs make their petite sœurs’ hearts race?*, Yumi remembered that she asked that very same question before, not long after she had become Sachiko’s petite sœur.
-It was in the manga, during the Yellow Rose Revolution arc.

Taro Shinobu and Ryu Kazuki are my made up characters, they're minor, I just needed two characters to fill in for the graduated Yakushiji brothers. :lol:

Touko is getting possessive over Yumi <It's cute :lol:

Spoilers O.O"

Oh yeah, nice fic! I await for the update! ^^;;

It's been a while since I've read the update, but I still haven't posted a comment! I'm loving it btw! Keep it up! (I want a sad ending...>:) )

@Ate Megane
Haha, yeah! I think it's cute too. Possessive Touko... :lol:

@angel facade
The spoilers... I was so surprised about that... And thanks. :lol:

@Riza

You're evil! >:)

Here's an update, it's been a while.

~~*~~

“Yeah, come to think of it, I haven’t seen her either.”, Kobayashi said, Takada nodded at that.

“Oh, Noriko is absent today. She’s at home taking care of her sick aunt.”, Shimako said.

“Ah…”, The three said.

“All right, let’s start.”, Yuuki said.

“First off, we need to decide where the event will take place. In Lillian or in Hanadera?”, Yumi said.

“Yeah, that’s a good question, Yumi-chan.”, Kobayashi said.

*Yumi-chan?*, somehow, Touko and Kanako felt annoyed at Kobayashi being familiar with Yumi.

“Which campus is bigger? Since the students of both schools will be together, the one with bigger space is the better choice, don’t you think?”, Shimako said, the others agreed with that.

“I think Hanadera is bigger…”, Yoshino said, “If I recall correctly, that is.”

“Yes, I think so too. The first time we were there, we would’ve gotten lost if Yuuki and the others didn’t act as guides for us.”, Yumi said.

“But then again, maybe that’s just because we’re not used there.”, Shimako said.

“Hmm, so Hanadera it is?”, the others nodded at that.

“Is it all right, Yuuki-kun?”, Yoshino asked, Yuuki smiled at that.

“Of course.”

“Now that that’s decided, what’ll we do?”, Kobayashi said.

“What does Hanadera usually do during festivals, Kobayashi-kun?”, Touko asked Kobayashi.

“Well, the usual, put up shops, competition between cultural and athletics clubs, you know, those stuff.”

“Let’s do a play! I know that it’s common but that really gets everyone’s attention.”, Yumi suggested as she suddenly stood up from her seat.

“Yes, but won’t the drama club already do a play?”, Yoshino asked in which the question is directed to Touko.

“Yes, we will. But then again, a play done by the Student Councils is always something to look forward to.”, Touko said.

“Another play won’t be so bad, besides, we had fun participating in your play last year, didn’t we, guys?”, Alice said with his eyes glistening.

“Uh… Yeah…”, the guys said as they looked down. They’d rather not remember it really.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”, Alice asked, Yumi and the others just laughed a bit. Taro and Ryu laughed a bit as well, they weren’t involved at the play but they were at the audience, the humiliation…

“Huh? What’s up?”, Nana asked, being the only one oblivious as she wasn’t there. “What happened?”

“Ahem.”, Takada cut the giggles, “Anyway, let’s not get sidetracked. Let’s continue on with the discussion at hand.”, he said with a firm voice. They continued and thus, left Nana’s question unanswered.

“Since it’ll be on Valentine’s Day, we should pick something from the romance genre, don’t you think?”, Kanako finally said something, Yumi smiled at that and Yoshino was amazed at how calm Kanako is.

“Yes, you’re right, Kanako-san.”, Kobayashi said. “Suggestions anyone?”

“Sleeping Beauty?”, Alice said.

“But that’s a bit common, isn’t it?”, Yuuki said.

“Yeah, I guess it is…”

“How about Romeo and Juliet?”, Shimako suggested as she sipped a bit of her tea and noticed that it has gone cold.

“That’s a great tragic love story.”, Yoshino commented, “A great tear-jerker.”

The others agreed that it may be the best option and it’ll do but…

“Um, pardon.”

“Hm? What is it, Touko-chan?”, Yumi asked her petite sœur.

“I’m sorry but the Drama Club had already chosen to do Romeo and Juliet.”, Touko said and that got everyone a bit disappointed, what a letdown…

“Well, Romeo and Juliet is out of the question. Any more suggestions?”, Kobayashi asked, and after a few seconds of silence…

“Err, Snow White?”, Nana said.

“Hmm, but I think Snow White has too many characters for us, we could ask the Drama Club for assistance but they’ll be busy as well.”, Yoshino said. Snow White is out.

“Should we go back to Sleeping Beauty? It seems to be the best bet for now.”, Kobayashi said.

“Even though it’s common, I don’t think we’ve done that before.”, Shimako said.

“Yeah, you’re right, Shimako. We’ve done Cinderella two years ago, Torikaebaya Monogatari last year…”, Yuuki and the others gulped at the mention of Torikaebaya Monogatari.

“But never Sleeping Beauty.”, Yoshino said.

“The story and the characters are easy enough portray…”, Yumi said.

“Sleeping Beauty it is!”, and with that, they ended up with their first option.

“Now the characters, we’ve got the Princess, the prince, the Queen, the Wicked Witch, and the three fairies.”, Yoshino said as she counted them on her hand, “That’s seven, to those who are lucky enough not to fall to those said roles will play as the townspeople, guards or the witches minions.”

Yumi looked at her watch, “There’s still plenty of time left, should we decide on who’ll play as whom now?”, she asked.

“Sure, why not?”, some said while the others nodded.

“Yuuki will play as the Prince by default, since he’s the Student Body President.”, Kobayashi said while grinning.

“Hey, that’s not fair! How come I always get the lead roles?!”

“Because you’re the president.”, Kobayashi said simply.

“What does that have anything to do with this?”, Yuuki asked.

“Don’t argue, Yuuki, majority wins.”, Kobayashi said as he crossed his arms.

“Huh?”, Yuuki looked at the others and they’ve all already agreed that he’ll be the prince, much to his dismay. Being outnumbered, he sighed in defeat…

~~*~~

The meeting seemed short when I was thinking about it but actually long when I type it down...

Yeah, I'm evil...got a problem with that? :D

Anyway, yeah, the meeting was kinda short...so why didn't you just continue on to the part where they choose who will be playing the princess?? I can't stand cliffhangers! They sorta make me impatient, haha! I'd put a vote for yumi! (incest!!!) :))

@Riza
I didn't say that the meeting ended there. I just said that because I thought it'll only cover one chapter. Actually, I hate cliffhangers too when I'm the reader, but not when I'm the writer! :lol: :D

Here's an update, and it's longer than usual...

~~*~~

*So Yuuki is still the president even though he’s already a 3rd year, kinda like Kashiwagi-san. At the time, Kashiwagi-san didn’t have to worry about entrance exams so he put most of his time and effort for the clubs he was in and for being the president. While Yuuki didn’t have to worry about clubs because he didn’t join any, so he just focuses on entrance exams and on leading the student body.*, Yumi speculated, she noticed her brother looking at Yoshino as she talks about the play.

*Oh, and I almost forgot, Yoshino has been added to Yuuki’s ‘focus on’ list.*, Yumi giggled at that.

“What are you giggling about, Rosa Chinensis?”, Yoshino asked.

“Ah, nothing, nothing! Please continue.”, Yumi said with a nervous laugh, it was then that she saw Yuuki giving her the look as if he’s saying ‘Daydreaming about Sachiko again?’. Yumi quickly replied a look as if she’s saying ‘I wasn’t daydreaming about Sachiko, mind you!’. There’s no doubt about it, they’re siblings alright.

“…………….. your hands.”, The two stopped their ‘look talk’ as they both focused back on the meeting but had no idea what Yoshino had just said.

“Um, what?”, Yumi managed to mutter where as Yuuki just kept quiet.

“Weren’t you listening, Yumi? I said ‘those who want to volunteer for the play’s roles, please raise your hands’.”, Yoshino said, thinking that Yumi was probably daydreaming about Sachiko again, how wrong she was.

“Well, anybody?”, Yoshino asked the people in the room, and as she had half-expected, not a single hand was raised. Yoshino sighed at that, this reminded her of the Sports Festival last year, when no one volunteered to run in Itsue’s place as the anchor for the green team, so she took Yumi instead.

“You girls can decide who’ll play whom, we don’t mind. Right, guys?”, Kobayashi said, the Hanaderans nodded.

“Well, if you say so…”, Yoshino then turned at Yumi and the rest of the girls, “How would you like to do this?”

“Well, I don’t mind whatever role I play.”, Touko said, Kanako said something similar, and so did Nana, Shimako and Yumi.

“You decide, Rosa Foetida.”, Yumi said.

“Alright then, if you say so. The three fairies would be Nana-chan, Touko-chan and…”, Yoshino looked at Kanako, “No, Kanako-chan is too tall compared to Nana-chan and Touko-chan, we need someone around the same height to be the third fairy…”

“How about Noriko?”, Shimako said.

“Noriko! Perfect!”, Yoshino said, “Now then, for the Queen…”, she looked around, “Rosa Gigantea, could you do it?”

Shimako nodded with a smile, “Yes, no problem.”

*Hey, wait, Yoshino is not calling my name yet. Don’t tell me--*, Yumi thought grimly, and what Yoshino said next approved of what she thought, like Yuuki, it’s much to her dismay.

“Um, excuse me?”, Yumi said, surely she heard wrong….

“I said I’ll play as the Wicked Witch and you’ll play as the Princess.”, Yoshino said.

“What?! Why me?”

“Well you said that I decide, and this is what I’ve decided.”

“But aren’t you more suited to play as the Princess, I mean, you’re Yuuki’s girlfriend!”

“GIRLFRIEND?!”, the guys said in surprised, then they looked at Yuuki grimly.

“Hey, Yuuki, you’re dating one of the Yamayurikai?!”, Takada shouted to Yuuki.

“Why didn’t you tell us anything about this? I thought we’re buddies!”, Kobayashi said.

“That’s right, Yuuki-senpai!”, Ryu said. Taro nodded at that.

“Um, wait, let me explain!”, Yuuki said nervously.

“You’re a dead man, Yuuki!”

“Calm down, guys! Calm down!”, Alice said as he tried to calm them down.

“Quit complaining, Yumi, you’re the one who suggested we do a play, you said you don’t mind whatever role you’re given, and you said that I decide!”, Yoshino said as she argued with Yumi.

“Yeah but… This is an outrage!”, Yumi shouted.

“What? What’s so outrageous about this?!”, Yoshino shouted back.

In the midst of all the shouting…

“Shouldn’t we stop them?”, Nana asked.

“No, let them be, I don’t think we’ll be able to anyway.”, Touko said.

Shimako just smiled at Nana and said, “Don’t worry, they’ll calm down and stop eventually.”

~~*~~

Meanwhile, outside the Rose Mansion…

“I wonder what’s going on up there?”, Mami asked the photographer beside her.

“I have no idea…”, Tsutako said.

~~*~~

Finally, the meeting ended. Kanako and Alice will play as the townspeople, Takada and Kobayashi will play as the guards, Taro and Ryu will play as the witch’s minions, Yoshino will still play as the Wicked Witch, and Yumi will still play as the Princess. Outside the school gate…

“…”

“…”

Both Yumi and Yuuki looked like their life had been sucked out of them.

“Well, we’ll see you on Monday.”, Kobayashi said then he and the guys went on their way. Shimako had already gone ahead since she plans on going to Noriko’s house again, Touko, Kanako, and Nana also went on their way.

“C’mon, Yumi, it’s no big deal. You’ll do fine as the Princess.”, Yoshino said to her friend.

Yumi accepted it and smiled, “Yeah.”

Yoshino smiled back, “Well, are you two going home now?”

Yumi looked at Yoshino then to Yuuki, “No, I’m going somewhere else. How about you, Yuuki?”

“I, ah…”

“Can you walk me home?”, Yoshino asked Yuuki. Well, they are a couple.

Yuuki smiled then nodded, “Yes, I’d love to.”

After saying their gokigenyous, they went on their separate ways. Yumi saw Yoshino grabbed Yuuki’s arm at the corner of her eye. She smiled at that, “Yoshino can be so assertive.”, she said to herself.

After a few minutes of walking, Yumi finally reached her destination. With a deep breath, she rang the doorbell. After waiting for 6 seconds, she was greeted by…

“Oh, Yumi, nice to see you!”

“Nice to see you too, Kei.”

~~*~~

“So, are you here to visit Yumiko obaa-san?”, Kei asked.

Yumi nodded, “Yes, how is she?”

“Still the same as I’ve told you the other night.”

“I see. Who looks after her?”

“I do when I don’t have school. A nurse comes here to take care of her when I’m not here.”, Kei said as she gave Yumi a cup of tea.

After Yumi finished drinking her tea, they went on their way to Yumiko’s room. Once they reached her door, they heard some chatter coming from inside.

“Is there someone else in there with her?”, Yumi asked.

“Well, you’ll see.”, Kei said as she knocked then opened the door, “Excuse me, I brought Yumi.”

“Yumi!”, a blond-haired woman said as she quickly stood from her chair and hugged Yumi before Yumi could even see the room.

“Ah, Sei!”, Yumi said as she struggled to break free from Sei’s grasp.

“My, how close the two of you are!”, an elderly voice said with a little laugh. Then someone else approached the two.

“That’s enough, Sei. Let go of Yumi now.”, the person said, no, commanded sternly.

Yumi gasped, *That voice!*

And in comes Sei! I was wondering if she'd actually be in this fic or not :)... excellent choice for the princess btw :P

...no fair...

Let me guess it's Sachiko! :lol:

@Riza
All hail cliffhangers! Haha, just kidding. And congratulations by the way, who's the petite sœur and who's the Onee-sama? :lol:

@Ate Megane
Pretty obvious, isn't it? The word "stern" seems to have become associated with Sachiko. And nice declaration, you even wrote a poem for Riza! How sweet... :lol:

Here's an update.
~~*~~

“That’s enough, Sei. Let go of Yumi now.”, the person said, no, commanded sternly.

Yumi gasped, *That voice!*

“Alright, alright.”, Sei said as she let go of Yumi and stepped aside, now Yumi is face to face with…

“Onee-sama!”, Yumi said, *Wait, what is she doing here?*

Sachiko looked at Yumi then to Sei, “Sei, how many times must I tell you to stop touching Yumi in such an obscene manner.”

Sei laughed at Sachiko, “Obscene you say? That was just a little friendly hug, isn’t that right, Yumi?”, she said with her signature grin.

“Well, I, um…”, Yumi searched for words to say but couldn’t find any.

“And Yumi.”, Sachiko said sternly which made Yumi tense up and look at her, “Don’t just let yourself be embraced so easily like that, and stop reacting in such a way, you’re making Sei enjoy doing it even more.”, she said as she neared Yumi.

“Yes, Onee-sama…”, Yumi said, *This is like déjà vu…*

Sachiko then started fixing Yumi’s collar which got a bit crumpled because of the hug, Yumi then thought to herself, *But I don’t really mind…*, and smiled a bit.

“Oh, so if it’s you, it’s okay? Honestly, Sachiko, you’re so possessive of Yumi.”, Sei stated which made Sachiko glare at her, and made Yumi blush.

*Onee-sama is… possessive of me?*, Yumi thought and she couldn’t help but smile a bit from that.

“It’s not that I’m being possessive, I just don’t want anyone harassing my petite sœur.”, Sachiko said as she crossed her arms (defensive stance), but that statement only made Sei grin some more.

“In other words, you’re jealous.”, Sei said simply which made Yumi’s face redden some more and made Sachiko’s eye twitch.

“Pardon?”, Sachiko said, looking annoyed, but if one would look closely, her cheeks show a light shade of red.

“Err… I’ll go and get some more tea and biscuits.”, Kei said as she stepped out of the room.

“Anyway, let’s not get any further with this nonsense, we’re only causing noise here in Obaa-sama’s room.”, Sachiko said as she started walking back to her seat by the bed, taking Yumi’s hand and dragging Yumi with her. Yumi saw Sei mouthing ‘She’s jealous.’ and giving her a wink.

Once they all took a sit, Yumiko spoke, “It’s nice that you could visit, Yumi.”, she then looked at Sachiko, “And this lovely young lady here is your onee-sama? My, what a small world.”, she said with a smile.

“Um, you know each other?”, Yumi asked.

Sachiko nodded at Yumi’s question, “Yes, you see, Yumiko obaa-sama was my grandmother’s petite sœur.”

“What?! So that explains it.”, Yumi turned her head to Yumiko, “When we saw each other at Lillian, you said you were on your way to a hospital to see your onee-sama…”, she then looked up, “And then I found out about Onee-sama’s grandmother, I thought the timing was just a coincidence…”

“Wow, a small world indeed.”, Sei commented.

“This just tells us that there are no such things as coincidences.”, Yumiko said with a smile.

“Huh?”, Yumi said, but she’s not the only one who’s a bit confused, Sachiko & Sei are as well. Then they heard a knock on the door.

“Here’s some more tea & biscuits.”, Kei said as she entered the room, then she noticed the unusual silence, “Did I disrupt something?”

Yumiko laughed a bit, “No, none at all. Come join us, Kei.”

~~*~~

Minutes flew by then it’s time for the three to leave, at the front gate of the residence…

“Thank you so much for having us, Kei.”, Sachiko said politely.

“No problem, come visit again when you have time.”, Kei said.

“Well, let’s go.”, Sei said.

“See you, Kei.”, Yumi said as she started walking with Sachiko and Sei.

“Yep, take care, you three.”

~~*~~

“So, Yumi, you want me to drive you home?”, Sei offered with a smile as she put her arms around Yumi, Yumi gulped at Sei’s offer.

“Um, I’d rather not…”, Yumi whispered, *Spare me!*, she thought.

“Aww, why not?”

“Because I’ll drive her home.”, Sachiko suddenly said as she separated Yumi from Sei.

*Huh? Onee-sama brought her car?*, Yumi looked around and saw it parked beside Sei’s car just a few steps away from the Ikegami Residence, *How come I didn’t see those cars on my way here?*

Sei laughed, “Just as I’ve said, you ARE possessive.”

Sachiko was about to talk back but refrained herself, knowing Sei, she’ll just tease her some more if she did, “Let’s not go on with this, it’s getting late, we should go home.”, she said calmly as she took Yumi and walked towards her car.

Sei went into her car, “Well, see you!”, she said as she waved then speeded down the road. *Sachiko, when will you ever…*

“Let’s go.”, Sachiko said as she started her car’s engine.

Yumi fastened her seatbelt and held onto it tightly, “I’m ready.”

Sachiko gave Yumi a confused look, “Huh? Ready for what, Yumi?”

“N-Never mind, Onee-sama!”

~~*~~

“We’re here.”, Sachiko said as she pulled up in front of the Fukuzawa Residence.

“Y-Yeah.”, Yumi said a bit dizzily, *Thank goodness.*, she thought as she was glad that she’ll be able to see another day.

Yumi took off her seatbelt then stepped out of the car, she turned as she noticed that Sachiko stepped out as well.

“Onee-sama?”, Yumi asked.

Sachiko stood in front of Yumi, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Yumi.”, she said as she gave the younger girl a kiss on her left cheek then swiftly went back into her car then drove off, leaving Yumi in a daze.

Yumi stood there bewildered, she raised her left hand and touched the part where Sachiko kissed her, *Wha… What just happened?*, Yumi could feel the heat rise up to her cheeks and that she seems to need more strength just to keep herself standing straight.

~~*~~

Meanwhile, out of Yumi’s view, Sachiko stopped her car, then she leaned on the steering wheel and muttered something…

“What did I just do?”

Oh this is getting really good!