63A/N: Hello!
I'm hoping everyone is doing well :)
This is for sure a Noriko x Shimako story. It is also a Yumi x Sachiko story. Expect other pairings and a lot of Touko being a brat and Yoshino being... Yoshino.
I hope at least some of you enjoy this reading!
Cheers!
Yumi's phone buzzed inside her purse. She wondered who it was but kept talking as if the noise didn't bother her. Thought honestly, the call annoyed her very much so; Saturday mornings were one of the only times Yumi was able to see her petite soeur, and for someone to be calling right then, was basically asking for Touko's wrath to be unleashed upon them.
Since Yumi had decided not to attend Lillian University, the time Touko got to spend with her onee-sama was invaluable, Sachiko had been the one who had come up with the idea of the breakfast dates in order to give Touko something she could look forward to after her incredibly busy school week – it was also a great excuse to sleep in and then go pick Yumi up afterwards so the couple could spend the rest of the day together.
The phone's buzzing stopped for a second but then started again, shifting things inside the purse just enough that a can of mints had joined forces with the device, reverberating so loudly that ignoring that sound was virtually impossible.
"Please." Touko motioned toward at the bag.
"Are you sure?"
"It must be important, Yumi-onee-sama."
Onee-sama, those two words still made Yumi's heart swell up with love. Touko just wanted to be understood, and Yumi had wanted nothing but to understand the younger Red Rose. If someone had told Yumi that Touko would have become such an important part of her life when they first met, Yumi would have laughed and shaken off the thought of Matsudaira Touko being anywhere near her heart. What was interesting to say the least was that even though Touko was a piece of work, Yumi's approach to people and relationships were also quite unorthodox. Even so, the two girls –perhaps miraculously– had put their differences aside, forming a bond that had grown stronger with the years.
Yumi looked at the caller ID and squinted a bit, the unrecognizable number bounced around in her mind like it wanted so badly to belong there but it couldn't quite find the right place. Even though Yumi couldn't figure out whom the random phone number belonged to, she still answered it.
"F-Fukuzawa-san. This is Nijou Noriko. I'm in your World Literature class and I… I sit right behind you. I deeply apologizing for bothering you on a Saturday and for getting your phone number without asking you." The rehearsed speech was almost flawlessly executed.
"Nijou-san," Yumi smiled, "It's not a bother. Tell me what's up." Touko lifted her head up and opened her mouth but Yumi quickly shushed her with a headshake.
"I was wondering if I could take a look at your notes from yesterday's lecture. I might have… spaced out and ended up forgetting to write down the sources we need to use on that stup— ahem… that essay we were supposed to write."
Noriko wasn't one to slack off but that Friday had marked four years she had missed the statue of Kannon's exhibit, and she still couldn't believe she would have to wait another 16 years before being able to see the Buddhist figure in person. Although Noriko truly enjoyed the class, the what-ifs flooded the girl's mind that day completely throwing her off her game. If the essay wasn't due on Monday, she would have waited to ask the professor at school, but since it was due first-thing that day, she decided to take action. Even though the two girls had never talked, Noriko had found herself with no other choice but to look up Yumi's phone number in the school directory –the brunette was pretty much Noriko's only classmate who didn't look like she had a broom stuck up her ass.
Yumi couldn't remember Noriko's face, but also, for some reason, couldn't say no to the request.
###
"Just a few years ago you would have completely ignored that call." Touko pressed the crosswalk button. They were on their way to meet Noriko.
"Touko…"
"And now you're dragging me to God knows where to meet with someone whom you don't even talk to! You know you could just send her pictures of the pages, right?"
"Touko…"
"Yumi-sama!"
"…"
"Ugh!"
"Touko." Yumi stopped to look at her little sister. "Don't judge me by the things I've said or done in the past." The request from the oldest of the pair was sincere. Yumi knew that she had chosen a difficult path to follow while at Lillian.
High school had been a time in Yumi's life where the brunette had locked up her heart and hidden the key from anyone who dare come close to her. "I can't change what's behind me, but I think striving to be a better person is still acceptable at this point, right, Touko-chan?" Yumi had tried with all of her strength to keep people away, though the girl wasn't counting on coming across a handful of people who were more stubborn than she could have ever been. And in the end, the Yamayurikai girls, little by little, were able break the walls around Yumi's heart, exposing a girl who was sensitive, compassionate and first and foremost: a girl who was able to love unconditionally.
"Onee-sama…" Touko blushed.
"Yes."
"You haven't called me Touko-chan in a long time…"
"In my heart you'll always be Touko-chan." That sentence was enough to hush Touko, and the pair walked shoulder-to-shoulder, silently, until they reached the park where they would meet Noriko.
###
"Fukuzawa-san." Noriko bowed deeply before continuing, "You saved my life!"
Dark brown orbs full of gratefulness, were enough to ensure Yumi she had done the right thing by lending her notes to Noriko. And in the middle of that park, Yumi had finally taken the time to look at the younger girl, realizing how beautiful she really was. It was the blue dress that accentuated her curves, the way that her hair bounced when she walked, and the shy smile which hid a heart that longed to be occupied. Noriko stood out in the most subtle ways, not like a Sakura tree amongst gingkoes, but like the speckles hidden within a beautiful pair of eyes: one needed to be paying attention in order not to miss the lovely Nijou Noriko.
"It's no trouble, Noriko-san. You're lucky I had my book bag with me." Yumi said, handing Noriko the pad.
"Thank you!" She responded. Extending her free hand toward Touko, Noriko introduced herself, "I'm Nijou Noriko, it's nice to meet you…" she waited for Touko's answer.
"Matsudaira Touko." Was all the girl said.
"G-give me one minute, Fukuzawa-san." She turned to Yumi, "let me take pictures of the pages I'm missing. Then you ladies can resume your date."
"Where not dating."
"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"
"Yumi-sama is my Onee-sama."
"I… I don't remember you saying you had a sister, Fukuzawa-san. I was under the impression you only had a brother."
Touko slapped on her mask, " It's a Lillian high school division tradition. Where upper-classm—"
"Where upper-classmen take younger students as their petite soeurs. I'm aware of the tradition, my aunt attended Lillian." Noriko then decided to annoy the oh-so-proper princess who was Matsudaira Touko, "You guys call your student council members: Roses, correct? Rosa Blablansis, Feeneeenee and Gargantuan, or something like that, right?"
Yumi chuckled at both Noriko's joke and Touko's crimson face as the feisty Red Rose corrected the new acquaintance, "Chinensis, Foetida and Gigantea."
"That's what I said." Noriko smiled while still taking pictures from Yumi's notebook – unmoved by Touko's irritation.
###
Monday came too quickly and Yumi was already done with classes when she walked down the path connecting her classroom and the University's exit. Had she moved faster, she would've been able to catch the next bus home, though she didn't try. Running wasn't something she should have been doing during such a day, especially when the warmth of the spring sun would do nothing but beat up on her lungs.
When she finally reached a bench, her legs thanked her for the break. Backpack on the grass, elbows on thighs, she clasped her hands together and sent Maria-sama a little prayer. With eyes closed, she took a deep breath, then another one. If she stood still things would be fine. If I stay still things will be fi—
"Catch!"
Yumi opened her eyes extra wide, scared of what was coming her way. When she finally figured out the position and trajectory of the object, she simply extended her arms and caught it. In all truthfulness, it had been a perfect lob by Noriko.
"Wait. How did you kn—"
"You better use it before I take it away from you."
Fweesh.
Yumi took the hit and her lungs immediately thanked her. Ah, the beauty of caffeine and various other drugs all neatly packed and delivered in a simple drag. As she watched Noriko sit by her, she took another deep breath.
"You try really hard to hide it, Fukuzawa-san. And you do a pretty good job at it."
"Excuse me?"
"I hope you don't think I've been stalking you. You are a very pretty woman, don't get me wrong, but I'm not a creeper." Noriko smile was sincere and Yumi was appreciative of the girl's honesty and flattered by the compliment.
"…"
"In any case and back to your question… When you depend on it. You can spot it from a kilometer away."
"Come to think of it, you're right."
Noriko was happy Yumi hadn't taken her the wrong way. The freshman's true intentions were to help the older girl. Noriko knew very well the feeling of needing an inhaler.
Turning to look at the younger girl, Yumi thanked Noriko for letting her use the medication.
Yumi was forced to leave Lillian as her major was only offered at a handful of Universities in Tokyo, she was bummed for a while for not being able to be around Sachiko, Sei and Touko, but had found solace in her anonymity. Case in point was the fact that she was sitting at that bench, quietly having a conversation which didn't involved the Yamayurikai or its members, with someone who couldn't care less about Lillian's outdated traditions – someone Yumi felt quite comfortable talking to; a great change from many of her other –broom up the ass– classmates.
For some reason Yumi didn't feel as if Noriko wanted anything but to talk to the older girl. There was no hidden agenda buried in Noriko's voice, nor were there questions which were asked with ulterior motives. Maybe that was the way Sei felt when she met Yumi: Noriko was just a kid, honest to a fault, trying to put one foot in front of the other without stumbling too much; Yumi knew that feeling too well, and had tripped on her own feet so many times before finding a groove, she felt this incredible urge to get to know Noriko better, and perhaps, by doing so, she thought she could help the girl along the way. Sei had done the same to Yumi, it was Yumi's time to pay it forward.
"Noriko-chan." Yumi stood up. "Do you have anywhere to be now?"
"Not really. I was just going home before I saw you here."
"Then, let me treat you to coffee?" Yumi said and started to walk toward the gates.
There was nobody on earth who could have said no to such an amazing smile.
A/N: Thanks for reading!
