[A/N:] For those of you who celebrate this season: Merry Christmas! For those of you who don't: Happy Holidays! For the Grinches: Enjoy the bonus day off anyway.

Standard disclaimer applies. I own nothing except the story concept. Everything else belongs to whomever actually owns or licenses anything connected to MSGM and to Oyuki Konno. Thank you for letting us continue to play in the world you created.

Now, bring on the story!

The Gift That Matters...

Chapter 1

Sachiko Ogasawara stared at the legal document in front of her. She caressed it almost lovingly. It was the reward she had been diligently chasing for the better part of a year. And it was a long year in coming.

It was the final and most important part of the gift that she was going to give to Yumi that evening after the annual Yamayurikai Christmas party. It represented too many lost hours and long nights away from Yumi and their current home. She was all too aware of the strain it had put on their relationship. But she had managed to accomplish what she needed to do without Yumi's knowledge and just in time for Christmas.

Now everything was finally in place. It was time to relax and enjoy the season with Yumi. If she still wanted to stay with her...

-0-0-

Earlier that same day...

Yumi Fukuzawa stood in front of Maria-sama quietly saying her morning prayers. In addition to her usual wishes for her family, her thoughts were heavily focused of her girlfriend of one year and their relationship. In the last three months, the had not seen each other very much due to her and Sachiko's schedules. Sachiko had also been putting in extra hours at her family's company working for her father on some project of great importance. Yumi hoped it would be over soon. Dates with Sachiko were a rarity and their recent communications had been mostly through text messages and notes left in lockers.

Yumi was concerned that they were drifting apart. It was her biggest fear. Losing Sachiko. Not to another person, but simply because their lives had diverged. She was trying her best to be strong. But there were some days that were harder than others.

Yumi was painfully aware that her own graduation from Lillian was a mere three months away. 'If it is this difficult now,' she thought. 'How much more so after graduation and when I begin classes at Lillian University?'

Looking up at her schools matriarch, Yumi said. "Please give me guidance Maria-sama." She fought back tears as she did. Yumi wiped her face quickly before she turned to start her day. Forcing a smile onto her face, she began walking to class. 'It wouldn't be proper for Rosa Chinensis to be seen crying...' she thought to herself.

-0-0-

The Christmas party had gone well. Everyone of the most recent and current Roses had made it to the party. The most memorable part for Yumi had been Touko's official introduction of her own petite-soeur Koyuko Shibuya.

As they were leaving the school grounds at the end of their evening, the group stopped to offer prayers to Maria-sama on the eve of her son's birth. Even the ever ambivalent Sato Sei was inclined to offer a short prayer this time.

After Yumi finished her prayers, she looked up to Maria-sama in quiet contemplation of the last few months. Her melancholic mood now pervasive enough to pick up on as each member finished their prayers and looked to Yumi. Yumi continued to stare at Maria-sama with her head cocked to the side. Her hands clasped in front of her. Her posture indicated that she was obviously deep in thought.

She had been contemplating the distance that had occurred between her and Sachiko. However, as she thought on the matter, she had also begun to apply it to the rest of her friends as well. Shimako, Yoshino, and her would all be graduating in three months. Given their different paths, this would all but guarantee to separate them even further.

'Great.' she thought to herself. 'Even more of the important people I love and care for going their separate ways.' The idea was weighing heavily on her mind as she continued to stand in front of Maria-sama. That thought depressed her even more, frustratingly so.

Her Yamayurikai friends knew something was bothering Yumi as they patiently waited for her. This was most obvious to Sachiko. She quietly signaled to their friends to let Yumi be. While was contemplative, Sachiko knew she would speak her mind soon enough. Her Soeur did not disappoint her.

Yumi reached a decision within herself. She would not allow graduation or any other life event to separate her and her friends any farther. She could not bring herself to be as ambivalent about the matter as Sei, nor could she be as meddlesome as Youko. She had to follow her own path between the two extremes. She wanted her friends to know they mattered and that she would always be there for them. She nodded to herself in agreement before she suddenly turned and looked to her friends.

She hesitated for a few moments trying to find the right words. She had to re-start several times before succeeding.

"It seems the Christmas season is having an effect on me." She began. "It is the time of year when we all gather together again to regale each other with our life adventures." She smiled briefly before letting her face fall into one of sadness. "While it is eagerly anticipated and a pleasant experience for me, it isn't enough."

"Why do we only gather once a year?" She asked as she looked at them all. "As close as we are and have been, why are we not in each other's lives more often?" Looking to Yoshino and Shimako she told them; "I cannot remember the last time any of us spent time at each others homes." She looked to the ground briefly. "Soon, the three of us will be stepping out those gates for the last time as Lillian Gakuen students and move on towards our future lives." Yumi paused as tears began to fall from her face. "I don't want us to become more estranged. I don't want us to become a familiar face relegated to yearly visits, the rare text message or an old photo in an album." She looked directly at Sachiko. "I don't want any of us to be left behind!" Yumi began to sob as she finished. "We deserve better than that from each other." She then went silent.

The rest of the group looked to each other as Yumi's words sunk in. True, their times together had gotten fewer and farther in between. But none of them had thought that they had drifted any farther apart. Their friend however, had not seen it that way.

Sachiko was deep in thought. She had felt guilty enough already about the past few months. She knew their time apart had been hard on Yumi. However, she hadn't considered just how hard it had been on Yumi's psyche. Given her habit of thinking detrimental thoughts, Sachiko felt that she should have anticipated this.

As the silence dragged on, it began to eat at Sei's nerves. Emotional out bursts like Yumi's had never been Sei's forte. As such, she felt now would be a good time to break the tension. "Awww, does Yumi-chan miss..." she began before being abruptly interrupted.

"Don't Sei!" Yumi said angrily. "Don't you dare try to avoid this with some flippant remark. Not all of us are cursed with such a carefree attitude like yours. Some of us need something more."

Sei was about to reply when she felt Youko's hand on her arm. Sei looked at her as Youko silently shook her head 'no'. As she did, Sachiko moved closer to Yumi as she continued to speak.

"Three years ago in this spot, I was desperately asking Maria-sama to return me to my quiet, uneventful days. Tonight, I find myself just as desperately wanting my troublesome days here to continue." Yumi paused giving a sigh. "In that spirit, I promise you, all of you, here in front of Maria-sama, that no matter where I am or what I am doing, I will always be available to you." She looked at them all. "Always." She repeated. "I don't care what time of day it is, or what the reason is. If you want me; text, call, e-mail, or just show up at my door. Whatever you need to do, do it. I will be there for you!" She paused again. "I want us all to make that promise to each other." Yumi fell silent again.

"Yumi." Sachiko began. "Did you think you are going to lose touch with any of us? That we would all simply walk away from you without so much as a second thought?" Sachiko stepped closer to her. "Did you think I would do such a thing to you?"

Yumi said nothing, squeezing her eyes tightly shut to prevent the tears that were ready to spill out. She took a deep breath before responding. "You have been so busy and distant lately. I have been wondering if you had become bored with me. That maybe you had changed your mind and decided to follow your family's wishes after all." She paused. "I thought you didn't want a future with me anymore."

Silence reigned again for several seconds. "I am going to follow my family's wishes Yumi. There is no way..." Sachiko began.

"No!" Yumi shrieked as she bent over and placed her hands on her knees to keep from collapsing.

Sachiko let her cry for a few moments as she struggled to keep her own emotions in check. "Yumi" she finally said. "Stand up and stop interrupting." Yumi immediately stood straight, but it took great will power to finally raise her head and look at Sachiko.

Sachiko took another step forward and cupped Yumi's cheek with her hand as she always did. Yumi resisted the urge to lean into it. "As I was saying," Sachiko continued in the most loving voice she could muster. "I am going to follow my family's wishes. And there is no way they would ever allow me to do such a thing to you. I truly doubt I could do such a thing to you."

Yumi took a deep breath as she took in Sachiko's words. Running them through her mind a second time. Even though Sachiko's words erased her two most troublesome doubts, she felt stupid. Her self-esteem and those doubts had run rampant in her mind and had played tricks on her again.

"The reason I have been so busy these last few months was because I was preparing for a surprise for Christmas and getting our presents together."

"Presents?" Yumi asked as she suddenly perked up, trying to follow Sachiko's words.

"Yes." Sachiko replied. "Yours...and ours." She reached into her bag. "I was going to save this for tomorrow morning, but I guess now will have to do." She told Yumi as she handed her a set of keys.

Yumi looked at them for a full second before asking "What are these to?" Sachiko smiled as she replied. "To your new condominium. Well, actually our new condominium in the Shibuya District."

"Eh?!" Yumi said in surprise. "A-a condo? For us?" She looked at the keys again as she thought about what it meant. 'A place for us. Just us. A place for her and I alone. But...' She looked up at Sachiko. "Anou... Why the Shibuya District? It is so far from here."

Sachiko laughed. "It is only a few kilometres away. And as for the why, that tidbit of information will have to wait until tomorrow morning."

Yumi pouted at her girlfriend with her best puppy dog eyes. Sachiko wasn't giving in though.

"Let's say we have everyone meet here tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM. I'll have the limo drive us all over to the condo. Then you will get your other gifts. Okay?"

Yumi and the others nodded their heads in affirmation. With that everyone said their good byes and went their ways home.

-0-0-

[A/N:] Spoiler alert: In case some of you did not pick-up on it. The name of Touko's petite-soeur is an amalgam of two names and a location. Specifically, Shibuya (the city) and the first names of Koyuki and Hiroko. Now, who among you can guess the connection between these three? I'll wait...