"Onee-sama?!"

Yumi blinked and staggered back when the weight on her limbs lifted, and the fog in her mind cleared. A sudden influx of light and sound flooded her senses, and her eyes screwed shut at the throbbing ache that pounded against her skull.

That sounded like Touko-chan, but why...

Her eyes snapped open when she recognized the fear in the younger girl's voice, and she looked around the room in alarm, frantically searching for the source of the panic. Her search ended quickly however, and her alarm shifted into unease when she found that all eyes in the room were staring straight at her. Sweat prickled at her brow, and she opened her mouth to say something, but before the first semblance of a sentence could form, a whirl of brown filled her vision and she found herself staring into the burning gaze of her petite soeur.

"Onee-sama are you okay?! What happened?"

Yumi blinked in surprise when Touko reached up and took her face into her hands. The younger girl's brows furrowed as she worked on brushing something away from her cheeks.

Yumi reached up and wrapped her hands around the girl's wrists, stilling her movements. "Touko-chan what are you doing?" As soon as those words passed her lips, Touko fixed her with a hard stare, and when her frown turned into a scowl Yumi finched, letting go of the girls wrists.

"Onee-sama are you ok?" The girl repeated.

Yumi, thoroughly confused, didn't answered right away. Instead, she looked around the room, unsettled, feeling as if she had just woken from a dream. "I thought…" her words stopped short, and her lips pressed into a thin line when a pair of tearful sapphire eyes flashed through her mind. A sudden feeling of loss gripped her chest, and she looked around the room once more, searching for something she felt was missing.

"I'm sorry. A-A teacup broke…" Yumi froze when the words tumbled from her lips before she could stop them. "Y-You must have heard me panicking over it. Things got out of hand and...you know how clumsy I can be." Yumi trailed off when the eyes of her petite soeur narrowed, and she withered under the scrutiny. She didn't know where these excuses were coming from, but she didn't know what else to say. Images were flashing through her mind like stills from a movie, and though the characters were familiar, she couldn't tell whether they were from bits and pieces of a memory, or just the fabrications of a dream. With every moment that passed, it was harder and harder to believe that it could be anything but the latter.

"That didn't sound like your voice." Touko's gaze pierced through Yumi as she watched her closely, waiting for the tell-tale signs of the older girl's normally expressive face.

Yumi shrunk away, "I was frustrated, it must have shown in my voice. Everything is fine now, I promise."

"But you're crying."

Yumi blinked.

"I-I," she stuttered and broke away, using the palms of her hands to wipe away the tears, "That was my favorite tea cup," she finished weakly, avoiding everyone's gaze. Where were these tears coming from? She couldn't get them to stop. She flinched when she felt a gentle tug on her sleeve, and she turned around to see that the steely eyes of her petite soeur had softened into one of understanding.

The younger girl watched her closely for another moment, and when Yumi's face failed to reveal anything further she visibly relaxed and reached into her pocket. "Onee-sama you're so clumsy." She pulled out a handkerchief, and held it out to her, "Do you have any idea how worried we were?"

Yumi reached out for the handkerchief, but before her hand could wrap around the soft material, it was pulled away at the last moment. The younger girl fixed her with a firm look, before she reached up and wiped away the few remaining tears herself. Her voice took on a serious tone as she continued, "This isn't proper behavior for the future Rosa Chinesis. You need to handle your emotions better, Onee-sama, otherwise you'll cause problems for yourself and for others!" Her words were spoken sternly, but the sting of it was taken away by the tenderness of her actions as she continued to wipe Yumi's face.

The tension eased from Yumi's shoulders, and relief washed over her when she realized the girl wouldn't push the matter further. Initially that surprised her, but as she dwelled on it further, a thought crossed her mind. The teacup that shattered… It was part of a set that belonged to Onee-sama. Realization dawned on her then. No one needed to question why she was so upset over breaking something that belonged to Sachiko.

"I'm sorry everyone. I didn't mean to worry you." Yumi stepped back once Touko had finished, and conveyed her thanks with a smile. She looked up and sent that same smile to Rei and Yoshino, and the moment they relaxed their stance and nodded, she turned away quickly to hide the relieved look on her face. She didn't know how much longer she could've gone keeping a steady expression like that. She had gotten better at it over time, but it still required a great amount of effort. She quickly slipped another smile back onto her face and turned around.

"Now!" She exclaimed as she brushed the wrinkles from her skirt, "How about I clean up, and make us some tea. Does that sound good with everyone?"

"We'll help you clean up, Yumi-chan." Yoshino piped up behind Touko. She moved past them to retrieve a few towels while Rei had already moved to pick up the chair.

Touko gave her one last lingering look before turning away, "Don't worry about the tea, Onee-sama. I'll take care of it."

Yumi watched her friends as they moved about the room, and let out a shaky breath as they fell back into a normal routine. Once she was sure that everyone was occupied with what they were doing, she allowed the smile to slip from her face, and turned around. The sight of tea and broken porcelain greeted her, and for a long moment she stood there with a blank expression on her face as two scenes played over and over again in her mind.

A tired and worn silhouette by the window.

Hallow sapphire eyes.

She couldn't recall much else. Like the remnants of a dream, the memory of what happened earlier was quickly slipping through her fingers.

A dream.

What else could it be?

Her body moved forward on it's own and began to clean up the mess. She picked up the largest piece of porcelain and observed the intricate markings of the once pristine teacup. Despite the words that spouted from her mouth earlier, this really was part of her favorite set and it upset her to see it like this. The set was specifically chosen not just for it's beauty, but because it had the exact number of teacups to account for each member of the Yamayurikai.

Yumi frowned.

Now the set was incomplete. And something about that bothered her deeply.

As she continued to ruminate over the shattered teacup, something fluttered out of the corner of her eye, breaking her from her thoughts. She carefully set the stack of broken pieces to the side, and looked over, curious to see what it was.

Just a little off to the side, spared from the mess of tea and porcelain, was a worn stack of papers. As soon as she saw what it was, her fists clenched and her breathing grew shallow. The room around her shifted and faded away as she lost sense of everything except for the papers in front of her. Something about it drew her forward, and the next thing she knew she had one hand planted beneath her, while the other was stretched far across the table. She winced at the crunching sound that came from beneath her palm, but ignored it, and reached out further until the papers were gathered up into a shaking hand.

The ringing in her ears returned, and her heart pounded hard against her chest. At first glance it appeared to be an old worn out copy of one of Lillian's papers, but as she looked closer, she caught sight of her name scattered all throughout the main article.

Her brow furrowed in confusion. It didn't look like anything that had featured her before. She turned the paper over, trying to catch sight of the title, but just as the bold header of the main article came into view, the door behind her opened suddenly, startling her. Without fully realizing why, she panicked, and quickly stuffed the paper into her bag before whirling around to the sight of long dark hair sweeping across her vision.

A shuddering breath escaped her, and the pounding in her chest doubled as she watched the older girl glide in, radiating confidence and composure, a stark contrast to the fleeting image in her head.

When their eyes met, the older girl's gaze softened, and a small smile appeared on her face.

"Hello Yumi."

Upon seeing the familiar expression on her Onee-sama's face, Yumi calmed, and her body eased from its rigid posture. The ringing in her ears faded, and her heart settled back into the comfortable rhythm it always took whenever the older girl was near.

"Gokigenyou, Onee-sama."

Before she even finished her greeting Sachiko was already moving toward her, quickly closing the distance between them, but when she was only a few steps away something caused the older girl to glance downward and abruptly freeze in her tracks. Yumi watched in confusion as the older girl's peaceful disposition quickly shifted into one of horror.

And that was when she felt it.

A strange warmth that flowed thickly down her palm and pooled at her fingertips. She followed the older girl's gaze downward, and her eyes widened when she found a steady stream of red spilling onto the floor.

In the silence of the moment, as the rest of the Yamayurikai looked on frozen in horror, she couldn't find it in herself to do anything more, than to utter a baffled, "huh," before panic took hold of the atmosphere and chaos erupted around her.


Yumi squirmed in her seat. A quick glance up had her flinching and looking away. From her seat across the table, Sachiko was looking over her with sharp eyes, not once looking away since the start of the meeting. Anxiety was tearing a hole through her stomach, and she inwardly cringed when she recalled what happened just a short while ago.

Rei had been the first person to act. She moved quickly as she snatched the towel out of Yoshino's hands, and pressed it firmly into her palm. In the time it took Yoshino to fetch a first aid kit, and Rei to tend to her hand, Touko had guided a thoroughly shaken Sachiko to a seat and calmed her down. Yumi remembered the heat that flushed across her face as Touko explained the events that led up to that moment.

In their eyes, It was one careless accident after another.

But she supposed it was for the best. She could take the hit to her pride if it meant being able to keep the finer details to herself. She needed time to sort through her thoughts, and figure out what exactly happened on her own.

Yumi flexed her left hand around the bandage, testing it. Oddly enough it didn't hurt, and though the amount of blood that flowed from the cut was startling, it was thankfully not bad enough to require stitches.

She traced a finger along the bandage as her mind wandered back to what had distracted her earlier. That newspaper. She didn't remember it being there when she had first entered the meeting room.

How did it even get there?

Yumi threw another quick glance to Sachiko, and looked away just as fast when fierce blue eyes met with her own. She missed the way the older girl's frown deepened at her actions, and focused her attention back onto the events that happened earlier that day.

Is a spirit playing a trick on me?

She had never been one to believe in superstition, but what other explanation did she have? Something strange had happened earlier, and though it all seemed so real, it was difficult to convince herself that any of it actually happened in the first place.

"I believe that's enough for today. We'll pick up where we left off tomorrow morning. Is that fine with everyone?" Upon hearing Sachiko's voice, she looked up to see that everyone was already packing away their belongings.

Was the meeting over with already?

She hadn't heard a word of it.

Eager to find out what was written on the newspaper, she was up and headed for the door before anyone else even rose from their seats.

"Yumi."

The call stopped her in her tracks. Though the voice was firm, Yumi recognized the subtle pleading tone there as well. "I'd like a moment of your time, if you don't mind." She slowly turned, and nodded her head. She couldn't quite read the expression on her Onee-sama's face, but judging by her fixed gaze and rigid posture, she knew something was bothering the older girl.

The rest of the Yamayuri sent her encouraging smiles before biding her farewell as they left, but Touko lagged behind, and packed her bag slowly. She wanted to stay behind with her Onee-sama as well, but when she looked up and met with the steady gaze of Sachiko-sama, she understood immediately that they needed this moment to themselves. Touko let out a dejected sigh, and nodded her head. Sachiko smiled at her in thanks, and she left after giving her Onee-sama one last hug and a promise that she'd see her tomorrow.

Once the door to the meeting room closed, and the two Roses were left alone, Sachiko took the few steps it took to close the distance between them and gathered Yumi into a tight embrace.

Yumi went rigid as tearful sapphire eyes flashed through her mind again, and a strong sense of déjà-vu overwhelmed her.

She recalled a scene very similar to this happening not too long ago, and her arms shook as she returned the embrace, their actions mirroring the images running through her head.

"You scared me, Yumi." The older girl said with a quiver in her voice. "I never want to see you hurt like that ever again."

Yumi hesitated before gently pulling away from the older girl. She lifted her gaze slowly, almost afraid of what she would see, but when a familiar set of sapphire eyes met with her's, she let out a shaky breath and nodded her head slowly, "I'm sorry Onee-sama. I didn't mean to make you worry. I'll be more careful, I promise."

Sachiko's expression softened, and she pulled the girl into another embrace. "I've missed you so much. I'm sorry that I haven't been around for you as much as I'd hoped to."

"I-It's okay Onee-sama. I understand how busy this time of year can be. We'll just... We'll just have to make the most of the time we have left together." Yumi trembled as a voice, not unlike her own, rose up in her mind, and echoed those last few words along with her.

The arms around her tightened, "You're right, Yumi. I know that I won't be too far away after I graduate, but it won't be the same." Sachiko pulled away and rested a hand against the girl's cheek. "I know this is selfish of me, but I want as much of my time left here in Lilian spent with you." A hopeful spark glinted in her eye as she continued, "Let's spend some time together, just you and I. Would you like to stay with me over the weekend? We can leave together after school on Friday, and I'll have you home by Sunday evening."

Yumi's heart raced as she looked deeply into the eyes of the girl who stood before her, still searching for any trace of what she'd seen earlier, but when she saw nothing but a familiar gaze and calm blue waters reflected back, her shoulders relaxed, and a small smile appeared on her lips. She placed a hand over the one resting on her check, and leaned into it, finding comfort in the warmth that radiated from it. "I'd like that very much, Onee-sama."

"Then it's settled. We'll meet here Friday after school."

Sachiko pulled away, and with a small smile still lingering on her lips she untied, and re-tied Yumi's scarf into a perfect knot. When she moved on to smooth the wrinkles from her collar, a thoughtful look crossed her face, and her hands slowed until they stilled and rested gently on Yumi's shoulders.

Yumi watched curiously as blue eyes, for the briefest of moments, grew stormy and distant, before they fluttered shut, and reopened to the same gentle gaze that she was accustomed too. Sachiko smiled at her reassuringly, before giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze and pulling away.

"It's nothing, Yumi. I'm looking forward to this weekend, that's all." Sachiko retrieved her bag and motioned towards the door, "Come now, Yumi. Let's go home."

Yumi nodded mutely, suddenly feeling the day's exhaustion weighing down on her. She followed closely after the other girl, and relaxed in the comfortable silence that settled between them. As they stepped through the doorway of the meeting room, she hesitated, and took one last thoughtful glance inside before she turned, and let the door fall shut behind her.


Authors Note: Thank you for reading, and thank you for the support!

I would love to hear your thoughts on what direction I should take with this story. I've changed a few things already from the feedback I've heard, and I like where this story is headed because of them. Thank you!