GETTING THINGS RIGHT

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Maria-sama Ga Miteru. Any similarities to other works out there are pure coincidence.

Have fun reading it! And please remember, English is not my first language so be kind, or as kind, as you can be.

CHAPTER 1

The summer vacations were about to start. The members of the Yamayurikai were all gathered at the Rose Mansion.

Yoshino was preparing the tea alongside with Shimako, while Yumi was serving it to the other members. At the table, Yoko, Eriko, Sei, Sachiko, and Rei were talking and finishing some preparations for the upcoming semester. Since the three Roses were accepted into universities, this would be the last time they would be present at the Rose Mansion.

"So Onee-sama, I think we have everything ready for the next semester." Sachiko said while organizing the papers in front of her.

"I am glad we found such efficient petite-soeurs, right Eriko?" Yoko said.

"I agree with you, Yoko," Eriko grinned, "we are lucky that they are not all like Sei and Yoshino-chan. If they were all like that it would be a disaster."

All the members laughed, except for Yoshino and Sei, which seemed not to get the joke.

"Here Onee-sama" Yumi placed a cup of tea in front of Sachiko

"Arigatou,Yumi." Sachiko replied

They kept discussing some other issues and talking about whatever came to their minds. Finally, Sei stood up.

"Well everybody, I guess it is time for us to get going. Yoko and I still need to move some of her stuff to the new apartment."

"That's true. Onee-sama you are moving out of your parent's house this summer, right? How is everything going?" Sachiko asked.

"It's alright. Now that the classes are over, I will have more time to move in. And Sei is doing all the heavy lifting anyway."

"I see." Sachiko sipped her tea.

"Oh, Sachiko…"

"Yes, Onee-sama."

"Have you already figured it out who is going to be responsible for the budget for all the clubs, festivals and the Yamayurikai itself?"

"No, not yet. We haven't come up with a decision yet. We are still trying to figure out who is going to be able to handle it. I would take care of it myself, however, I'm not quite sure I will have enough time for it. If nobody else can do it, Rei and I will probably have to do it together."

"Alright. That's a good plan. Eriko was always very good at it but it surely took a lot of her time. So… Eriko, Sei, if you don't have any other business here are you ready to leave?"

"Hi hi." Both answered together. They said their goodbyes and followed Yoko out of the door. Not so long after, the remaining members of the Yamayurikai, Sachiko, Rei, Shimako, Yoshino and Noriko ended their day and started to head home.

While catching the first bus home, Yumi met with Yuki inside the bus.

"Hey, Yumi!" He called for her, "Come here. There is a seat beside me."

"Yuki! Thank you!" She moved to sit by her brother. "What are your plans for this summer? Do you have anything in mind?"

"No, not really. I guess I will be relaxing at home. What about you?" Yuki said nonchalantly.

"I don't have any plans. I guess we will be bothering each other during the summer." Both laughed at it.

A half-hour later the twins got home. They opened the front door, hung their jackets by the entrance, took off their shoes and put on the sleepers.

"Mom, we are home." Yumi announced.

"Yumi, Yuki, do you mind coming to the living-room please." Their mom replied.

"Hi" Both answered in unison.

In the living-room they found mom and dad sitting on the couch waiting for them.

"Dad! How unusual to see you home this early? Don't tell me you got fired!" Yumi joked

"No, not at all," dad started "on the contrary, I got promoted!" he finished with a smile. "Kids, sit down a little bit" Yumi and Yuki stared at each other and took a seat on the couch.

"As I told you before, I got promoted, and I can't let the opportunity pass. There is only one problem, I got transferred…"

"Whaaaaaat?" Yumi stood up like a flash. "Don't tell me you got transferred to Hokkaido? It is too far, we won't be able to see each other so often anymore…"

"Yumi! Calm down, let dad finish to explain." Yuki interrupted and dragged Yumi down by her sleeve.

"Yumi, it is not as easy as it seems" dad kept going "I got transferred overseas. We are going to move to the United States. I would like you two to come with us. We will leave next Saturday, which means a week from tomorrow. You also have the option to stay, but I would like an answer by tomorrow night, so I can tell my company to purchase the tickets."

"Hi." The twins replied, going to their respective rooms.

Yumi placed her bag on her desk and went to take a shower. After she was done, she grabbed some comfortable clothes and lay on her bed. Her head was working at a furious pace.

What am I going to do? that's the worst thing that could happen. I can't leave Onee-sama… but what about my family? I can't leave them either. Maria-sama, what should I do?

After Yumi had dinner she locked herself in her room. She was sitting on her bed, staring at the phone in her hands. She finally gathered enough courage and dialed a number. The voice on the other side of the line answered;

"Ogasawara residence, how can I help?"

"G-good evening," she stuttered, "this is Fukuzawa Yumi. May I speak to Ogasawara Sachiko please?"

"Yes. Just a minute please."

A few minutes passed and Sachiko answered the phone.

"Sachiko speaking…"

"Onee-sama, I am sorry for calling at this time, can you speak?"

"Yumi. Of course, I can. What's the matter?"

"Hum… Onee-sama, do you think we could meet tomorrow in the park near your house?"

"Yes, certainly. Would around noon work for you?"

"Sure, I will see you tomorrow onee-sama."

"Sure, have a good night."

Yumi hung up the phone. She was getting anxious. How is she supposed to explain all of it tomorrow! Maria-sama... She thought while staring at the night sky.

Morning came by fast. Yumi wasn't able to sleep at all at night and without noticing, the time to meet with Sachiko was already here. It was a beautiful day at the park, cicadas were buzzing and the sun was shining strong. Yumi was waiting for her onee-sama in front of the park entrance. She was dressed very casually; white shorts and a pink short-sleeve shirt. The Rosa Chinesis en Bouton watched while Sachiko left the black car that had just parked in front of her. Sachiko was elegant as always; she picked a dark blue sleeveless summer dress for the occasion.

"Gokigenyou Yumi. How are you doing?" Sachiko said while approaching the smaller girl.

"G-Gokigenyou." So pretty! She thought. "I am good onee-sama what about yourself?"

"I am good as well. So, why did you ask me to come here today?"

"Humm... I think it is better if we find a place to sit." Yumi said while keeping her eyes on the floor.

Both girls walked side by side through the park. The walkway was surrounded by trees that at this time of the year were a beautiful green; the trees were providing shade all over the area, those who couldn't stand the sun for too long tried to hide on them.

"Yumi! Let's sit over there." Sachiko pointed at a bench under a tree that was further from the others. It was the perfect place to talk in private.

They walked in the direction of the seat and after they sat Yumi started the conversation.

"Onee-sama… How is your summer going to be? Do you have any plans?"

Sachiko looked at Yumi without understanding, but she smiled. "My mother and I are supposed to go to France next Sunday. We are most likely to stay there for 10 days. After that, I will come back home. We have duties in the Yamayurikai during the summer break, so we all need to be here. We need to figure out how the council will be administered and we also need to discuss the festival and other events such as the sports event. My onee-sama said she would come to help us and give us some advice as soon as she is done settling in her new place. I hope you didn't plan on taking a long time away."

"About that onee-sama…" Yumi paused and averted her eyes to the ground. "I won't be able to come to the meetings this summer."

Sachiko was confused. Her expression hardened and she looked annoyed. It took a lot of self-control to keep her voice calm.

"And why is that? May I know?"

"My father got promoted at his company, and we are going to the USA."

"Oh my…" Sachiko got surprised, "that's great Yumi. I am sure you are going to enjoy it. However, a three-month trip is a bit too long…"

"No! Onee-sama…" Yumi interrupted Sachiko almost yelling and with tears in her eyes. "Gomenasai" Yumi apologized when she saw the even more surprised expression on Sachiko's face. "What I mean is that my family is moving to the USA and I have decided that I am going with them."

They were staring at each other not being able to mutter a word. Tears started rolling from Yumi's eyes. Sachiko was still staring at the smaller girl, she was speechless, and she couldn't think about anything. Her expression was calm, all she could do was stare at her petite soeur, her mind was blank. Yumi was holding her hand and saying something but Sachiko couldn't hear anything, she couldn't process. What Yumi had just said came in as shock.

"Onee-sama! Onee-sama! Please say something!" Yumi was trying desperately to bring her onee-sama back, and finally, Sachiko was able to pull herself together.

"That's great." She said while gently pulling her hand away, "And when does your family plan on leaving?"

"By the end of next week, our flight is on Saturday. We are already packing our stuff. I need to apply for school until the end of the month."

"I understand." - Sachiko stood up and looked at Yumi with a smile on her face - "I hope you will be happy. Now if you excuse me, I need to go. I have something to attend to."

"Onee-sama!" - Yumi said while crying - "I am sorry, I didn't want something like that to happen, but I have to take this opportunity and use it to grow as a person. To become stronger, to be able to walk side by side with you."

Sachiko turned around to face Yumi; she placed her hands on Yumi's shoulders and looked straight into her eyes.

"Yumi, I'm sure you are going to do your best and be happy. I really need to go now. Goodbye Yumi."

Sachiko turned her back to Yumi. This time she wouldn't turn around, she knew she couldn't turn around. If she did, she would show emotions that she worked hard to keep locked inside. It became hard to walk and breathe at the same time; the way back to the car seemed endless. Without noticing, tears started rolling down Sachiko's face, and she couldn't hold them back anymore.

Why? Why do I feel like I'm ripping apart from the inside; it's as if I'm slowly drowning, sinking into the deep and dark depths of the ocean. How is such pain possible? Maria-sama please, help me…

One week later

Yumi was standing in front of the boarding terminal alongside Yuki, her mom, and dad. It had been a long week. She spent her entire time packing and getting ready to depart. Furthermore, she was frustrated. She tried in vain, multiple times to call Sachiko but she couldn't reach her. The past week had taken a toll on her.

Her flight was supposed to leave in an hour. The Yamayurikai members had told Yumi that they would come to the airport to see her off.

"Yumiiii-chan!" She heard someone call for her. Just by the entrance, Yumi saw five of her friends; Yoshino, Rei, Yoko, Sei and Shimako.

As I thought. She won't come. Yumi said just to herself to hear. "Hey everyone! Thank you for coming." Yumi put her best smile on, however, for some reason it wasn't good enough.

Yoshino held Yumi's hands and gave her a friendly and sorrowful smile. "Everything is going to be alright, just promise to keep in touch, ok?"

Yumi faced Yoshino letting a tear escape, "Hi!" She replied wiping her tears away.

"And whenever you are ready to come back, we will always be here for you." Shimako approached trying to comfort Yumi.

"Ah, Yumi" Rei called for her, "Onee-sama asked me to say good-bye and good luck on her behalf. She couldn't come today. And the same goes for me. Try not to get in trouble over there."

"Thank you very much Rei-sama, Yoshino, Shimako..." she said while brushing away more of her tears.

"Yumi-chan…" Sei came to her "Take care. Enjoy my second home and don't let any stupid occidental lay a finger on you, otherwise, I will have to kill some of them!"

"Sei-sama! Calm down, nothing like that will happen!" Yumi laughed. After that, the atmosphere got a little less tense.

Passengers of the flight DL601 – Destination Los Angeles – We welcome you now to board.

The voice on the speaker announced.

"Well, I guess it is time for me to go. Thank you very much for coming everyone. I will miss you all."

"Yumi," Yoko hugged the smaller girl and spoke only for her to hear "Don't let the past stop your future, everything is going to be fine. She loves you and the decision she made was only to protect herself from more pain. Go ahead, learn all you can learn, grow up and become a strong woman. I'm sure Sachiko wishes the same."

"Yoko-sama, thank you, very much. Please take care of Sachiko."

"I will. Don't worry." Yoko smiled and placed a hand on Yumi's head.

"Yumi, it is time to go." Her dad called.

Yumi hugged each one of her friends and stopped in front of Yuki.

"Goodbye Yuki, take care."

"Whaaaaaatttt?" Yoshino yelled surprised "Y-Yuki is staying in Japan?"

"Hi" Yuki replied to Yoshino "I decided that I want to stay here and finish school."

Two Hours Later

Yoko got home and went to make a phone call.

"Hello, this is Mizuno Yoko, may I speak to Sachiko please?"

A few minutes later Sachiko answered the phone.

"Onee-sama, gokigenyou, how can I help you?"

"Gokigenyou Sachiko. I just came back from the airport, we went to say goodbye to Yumi."

"I see. I hope everything went well. If you don't have anything else to say you may excuse me."

"Sachiko," Yoko's voice pierced Sachiko, she knew her onee-sama was annoyed by her actions, and sometimes it really intimidated her. "I just called to see if you were ok. I see you are fine. I better go now, have a safe trip tomorrow and enjoy France."

"Thank you onee-sama. I will talk to you when I get back. Take care, talk to you soon."