Milk and its Derivatives is the continuation of the Citrus story. Set approximately seven years after graduating from high school, Mei and Yuzu are now young adults living together in a stable relationship. Adulthood introduces the pair to new experiences and challenges.

Chapter Text

Daimyō

Yuzu smiled sweetly at her sister as the child tightened the hold she had on her hand. Atsuko was slightly nervous, which Yuzu deemed only natural since she had never been taken to an event prep before. She had explained to her sister what the purpose of it was, easing her anxiety, yet words could not compare to the experience and Atsuko kept shuffling her feet about the polished marble that made up the floor and the staircase leading to the hotel’s main entrance.

She had her eyes on the floor as well, most likely wishing to not trouble her sister with her own disquiet. The thought flooded Yuzu with tenderness as the child was unnecessarily thoughtful when it came to her family. Yuzu loved to think that Atsuko’s deep consideration for others came from observing her family members behave in a similar manner. It was an heartwarming concept and one that was particularly dear to her as upon the child’s birth, she had sworn to bring only love and positivity in her life.

A happy sigh fled her lips as she contemplated her current life. She had never dreamed she could be this happy. Another sigh soon followed, although the second was one of slight annoyance and lead to the furrowing of her brow. Matsuri was running late and even though Yuzu had no need to wait for her before stepping into the hall, she knew that her presence would provide Atsuko with a greater level of security. Still, she had an ace up her sleeve. She would have loved to give it to her sister after Matsuri had arrived but the girl’s tardiness was all the impetus Yuzu necessitated to move forward.

“Little samurai.” She called before dropping down to balance herself on her heels and look into the child’s eyes. ”I’ve got something for you!”

She smiled warmly as her sister’s eyes widened in anticipation.

Atsuko looked particularly dashing today; she was wearing pair of dark jeans, paired with a checkered shirt and a blue cardigan wrapped around her hips. A pair of beautiful orange and blue-colored sneakers completed her attire, and securely clipped on the front pocket of her shirt were her beloved aviators - a child-sized pair to match her Nee-san’s.

“There you go, sweetheart.” Yuzu said after fishing a small object from the blue leather bag she was carrying. “...you might need this today.”

“...whoa!” Atsuko’s whispered in pure awe as she took in the sight of her new precious possession. It was a lanyard, a real one, like the one her Yuzu-nee had in one of the belt loops of her pants. The white name badge was a small plastic card, comprising of a photo of Atsuko and her name, written in both kanji and hiragana.

Atsuko recognized the picture as one taken during the Academy sports day. Her name was written in black bold characters under it and following her name was her designation:

“Team Member”

She was filled with pride at once and a light blush traveled along her neck and colored her cheeks. Yuzu reached to gently take the lanyard from her sister’s hands and unfurled its strap before giving her sister a meaningful look - one asking for permission.

“Yes! Please, Yuzu-nee!” Atsuko chirped while swinging rhythmically and bouncing on the balls of her feet, a sort of victory dance that she had learned from her oldest sister.

All too soon, a solemn expression conquered Atsuko’s delicate face though. She bent her head slightly forward as if waiting to be knighted. A sudden dash of shyness surprised Yuzu. She found herself slightly emotional when putting the lanyard strap over her sister’s head. She adjusted it around her neck so that the lanyard would fall nicely on her chest and with a fluid motion she leaned forward to drop a loud kiss on the child’s brow. Atsuko looked at her proudly with eyes full of only adoration.

Atsuko took the lanyard in her hands and turned it around to look at it, all the while smiling uncontrollably. She managed to look away from the it for a few moments to stare directly into her sister’s eyes while her lips curled in what was the perfect rendition of Mei’s proud smile.

“Thank you, Yuzu-nee.” She said sweetly. “Thank you, so very much!” She repeated enthusiastically and performed a small jump at the end of her sentence, unconsciously mimicking the theatrics of the sister she was thanking.

“Of course, sweetheart.” Yuzu combed her fingers through her sister’s dark fringe. She had trimmed it this very morning, so that it no longer fell to obscure the child’s emerald gaze. Seeing her own eyes on Atsuko’s face was a treat and it filled her with pride.

“Alright then.” Yuzu stated, before standing up and putting her hands on her hips in a pose of genuine satisfaction. She was looking quite gorgeous herself in a pair of low-hipped silver-gray baggy leggings which tapered around her calves, underlining her muscle. As for her upper body, a pair of fashionable suspenders were clipped to the pants and ran over the cobalt sleeveless button down that she was wearing. On her feet were a pair of blue-colored open low boots. Her hair was braided and gathered in a bun that was hold in place by blue lacquered wooden hairpin.

Mei had appreciated her outfit a great deal as it allowed her to admire her partner’s angular collarbone and calves, both parts that she had declared to have a weakness for; And by the way she loved to extensively study them with her lips, Yuzu had no trouble believing her. The thought tinged Yuzu’s cheekbones with a dash of rouge and she secretly smiled to herself.

“... Yuzu-chan” Yuzu almost yelped when Matsuri’s whispered voice sneaked up on her from behind.

“Matsuri-sama!” Atsuko greeted her enthusiastically, as always eager to spend time with her pink-haired friend. By the way she was holding her bange in her hands, she seemed more than eager to reveal her new treasure to Matsuri.

“Atsuko-dono.” Matsuri’s suddenly warm eyes settled on the child. A genuine grin played on her lips as she gave Atsuko her customary lazy handwave, a gesture she only bothered to do for the child and her oldest sister.

“Let’s g---”

“Why are you blushing Yuzu-chan?” The question caught Yuzu by surprise and only served to reignite the rouge hue of her cheeks. The kindness that had been softening Matsuri’s clever gaze a mere moment ago sharpened into a look of slyness that made it seem as if she knew the answer to the question she was asking and more.

“Eh?” She jolted - unwisely. She had to find a way to divert the pink haired girl’s attention away from her blushing cheeks.

She was suddenly struck by inspiration once she took in the sight of Matsuri. The young woman was wearing a dark blue buttoned shirt with the collar turned up; on her bottom half she wore a pleated skirt of the same color, a pink belt separated the two sections and around her neck was laced a loose tie of the same pink color.

On her feet were a pair of pink Doc Martens boots, a sight which filled Yuzu with warmth as she had gifted them to Matsuri a few Christmases ago. Their worn-out look was a testament to the love the girl felt for them. Yuzu took a mental note to give her a new pair once the current ones fell apart. Matsuri deserved this and more, both as a friend and as a co-worker.

What piqued Yuzu’s interest though was not what the girl was wearing but rather what was missing.

“Hey, Atsu-chan…” She laced her sentence with a sigh as she turned toward the bright eyed child, making a good show of looking disheartened by crossing her arms over her chest and lowering her gaze. “...Matsuri never ever wears her pass, you know.”

The sudden widening of Atsuko’s eyes made for an adorable and comic sight, one that had Yuzu wondering if the emerald of her own eyes could be as deeply enchanting as Atsuko’s was.

“But...why, Matsuri-sama?” The curiosity in the child’s voice was honest as she most surely thought that Matsuri would have a good reason to avoid wearing her ID badge.

Yuzu would be lying if she said that she was not enjoying the look of nervousness that had just appeared on her friend’s face. It was a novel and precious sight. Matsuri’s embarrassment lasted but a second though as all too soon her tense face relaxed into her customary smirk.

“Well… I told Yuzu-chan that I wouldn't wear it unless you had one too, Atsuko-dono.” Yuzu was impressed by the girl’s ability to always land on her feet.

“I do have one!” Atsuko proudly declared while holding up the plastic card toward her friend. Euphoria had her bouncing on her feet and Yuzu had to take hold of her shoulders to steady her.

“Indeed you do.” The warmth had returned to Matsuri’s cool blue eyes as she gazed upon the child. Atsuko’s enthusiasm was impossible to resist. After the child had succeeded in conquering Mei’s heart, Yuzu knew that even Matsuri was done.

After rummaging through her backpack for more than a few seconds, Matsuri’s hand re-emerged with her own pass in its clutches.

Yuzu declared everything to have been worth it. The countless times her friend had ignored her pleas to wear the lanyard were being generously paid back by the bright smile that Matsuri’s words and actions had painted on Atsuko’s face, so much so that Yuzu found herself smiling affectionately at the young woman while her fingers caressed the top of Atsuko’s dark hair, combing through the silky strands.

“...let’s get started now.” Matsuri announced with little fanfare after putting the lanyard around her neck. Yuzu resisted the urge to remind her that they had yet to get started because of her lateness.

Upon stepping into the cavernous hall, Atsuko felt like being swallowed at once. The room seemed to stretch forever in all directions and the ceiling was so high that she had to crane her neck all the way back and then a little more to take in the sight of it. If her Yuzu-nee had not been holding her hand she would have surely drifted away.

“Atsu-chan.” She felt Yuzu-nee squeeze her hand gently but she found herself unable to tear her eyes off the ceiling.

Those huge chandeliers hanging from it were as big as her room, she was certain. She would love being in her room just about now, she could hold Selene and maybe Nee-san would read to her. Or they could practice making shadow puppets with their hands! They were not as good as Yuzu-nee and Mama yet. Atsuko’s hands were too small and Nee-san had never played the game before yesterday. They could help each other out though.

“Sweetheart.” Her Yuzu-nee called again, she had knelt next to her, her warm presence reassured Atsuko immediately, allowing her to lower her head at last and to turn toward her sister.

She smiled sweetly while her sister combed her fingers through her freshly trimmed fringe. Yuzu-nee had given her a haircut this morning and she no longer had to contend with her hair falling over her eyes. Her sister was about to say something but did not get to as Matsuri-sama interjected.

“Think of this as a battlefield, Atsuko-dono.” Atsuko furrowed her brow at the statement, the meaning behind such a comparison eluded her. Even though the words had been spoken by her friend’s most confident voice, she could not see how a gala could be a battlefield.

Matsuri’s confident voice was peculiar as it lacked Nee-san’s calm notes or Yuzu-nee’s brave ones. It had a sort of mischievous edge that made the sounds dynamic, as if she were perpetually on the verge of revealing something.



“We have the terrain advantage as we are already placing our battlements.” She continued while her blue eyes swept about the room as if they were truly assessing a battlefield. She must have perceived Atsuko’s uncertainty as she immediately looked to her and curled her lips in a knowing grin that never failed to charm Atsuko.

“...a battle, Matsuri-sama?” She asked, head tilted to one side, right hands curled lovingly around her brand new lanyard.

Matsuri nodded wisely while running a hand through her pink hair. After she did so, a few locks fell to frame one side of her face, giving her an adorably sleek look that somehow had her appear even more sly.

Atsuko was a bit confused. Her desire to understand proved to be stronger than her embarrassment though and she tilted her head slightly back to look directly into Matsuri’s eyes while slightly lifting one of her eyebrows in a questioning fashion.

Beside her, Yuzu-nee giggled out in pure delight. She sounded quite happy and Atsuko instinctively turned toward her. When she did, her Yuzu-nee simply shook her head in bemusement and flashed her the brightest smile ever. Then, she put a hand under her chin and leaned over to place a delicate kiss on her raised eyebrow.

Once the sweet moment had passed, Atsuko turned toward Matsuri with renewed curiosity. She was still eagerly awaiting an answer.

“It’s exactly like a battle, Atsuko-dono.” Matsuri smirked while giving her young friend a complicit look. She modulated her voice to sound enticing and did not even bother to mask the pride that she felt over having put such a wide eyed look on the child’s face.

“The goal is…” She started again, bending slightly to look directly in Atsuko’s eyes. “...To have these rich people part with as much money as possible an—”

“For Papa’s charity!” Yuzu had to step in then. For as much as she appreciated the spin Matsuri had managed to put on the gala, as it had made the event incredibly appealing in her little samurai’s eyes, she had to curb her friend’s tendency for the dramatics somehow and bring everything back to an acceptable dimension for the child’s mind to play with.

“It’s...a battle to help Papa’s Charity!” She declared wisely, knowing how proud Atsuko was of her Papa’s work as he helped children all around the world - children that had not been as lucky as her. Atsuko knew that she lived quite the privileged life and was absolutely loved and cherished. It felt only fair to share her Papa.

Thinking of the gala as a battle for Papa made totally sense to Atsuko. Her Mama had explained to her that the gala was truly a means to gather money through an auction and an auction was like a contest! People battled to buy this or that and the prize went to the one that would pay the most. At first, the concept had seemed silly and unfair to Atsuko but after Mama explained to her that the money would be used to help out her Papa’s charity, she understood.

“Yes! That’s right! We must help Papa!” She declared ardently while clenching one of her fists with confidence as her other hand flew to wrap itself around her precious lanyard.

She looked around the room again then, taking into the sight of it with different eyes. The hall was a maelstrom of activity as people moved all about it. There was little to no confusion though as they were clearly carrying out specific tasks. They were also all wearing the same polo shirt, orange colored with the black Citrus-E logo on the back. It was their uniform after all, just like an army!

Atsuko nodded to herself. She understood Matsuri-sama’s words now. With renewed enthusiasm, she took her Yuzu-nee’s hand and the trio resumed their walk through the hall.

They failed to get very far as Nerima-san, a college student that had been working for Yuzu for two years, ran up to them from the direction of the kitchen.

"Boss!" He looked frantic and out of breath. He was so nervous that he averted his eyes the moment Yuzu turned to him, taking a step back and then shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"What is it, Nerima-san?" Yuzu asked, her reassuring voice and kind smile worked wonders as they put him at ease immediately. She was a demanding but fair boss as she had soon realized that a pleasant atmosphere allowed people to work better, especially when teamwork was concerned - a truth she had learned from her Mama.

"One of the uh... refrigerators is acting out - The food in there will spoil if we don't get it moved quickly." He relayed the troubling news to her but was no longer avoiding her eyes. He appeared to be relieved, as if just the act of telling Yuzu had somehow set a solution in motion. "It's going to take at least an hour and a half to fix."

"There's no room in the other fridges?" Yuzu asked. Even though she already knew the answer, she needed all the facts to be spelled out in order to devise a solution; It was the way her mind worked the best.

He shook his head in dismay, appearing to be truly sorry, not just because of the troublesome situation but also for not being able to be of any real help to his boss. Silence fell as Yuzu paused for a moment and stared up at the ceiling before slapping her fist against her open palm as inspiration struck her.

"Get it back onto the truck." She requested in a firm but friendly tone. "There's a restaurant a block down the road that will be able to hold onto it while we get the repairs done. I'll call them now."

Yuzu quickly pulled out her phone and started scrolling through her very lengthy contacts list, beginning to realize what her mother was talking about when she suggested getting separate phones for personal and business calls.

Eventually, she found the number she was looking for. The owner of the Savoy restaurant owed her a favour after Yuzu had worked on extending the area of an event organized by Citrus-E to include his restaurant, thus giving him a large boost in business.

Once the matter was settled, Yuzu felt a soft punch on her right arm and turned around to see a bemused Matsuri looking at her with a fox-like smirk on her face. Yuzu had learned long ago that the look Matsuri was giving her was a look of somber admiration.

“Why am I even here?” Matsuri asked rhetorically, huffing in fake annoyance for good measure.

“Because you love seeing me save the day?” Yuzu replied swiftly, flashing a dazzling smile to her seemingly annoyed friend.

After she got back together with Mei, Matsuri’s attitude toward her had somehow shifted. She still enjoyed to mercilessly tease her and Yuzu knew the reason for that to be her propensity to get easily flustered. However, something in their dynamic had also settled as Matsuri no longer felt the urge to push her toward Mei. Their friendship had gained a new layer as well as they spent so much time working together. They had developed a strong feeling of camaraderie that allowed them to verbally spar with each other in complete abandon and with a shared understanding that it was all in jest.

Her words of self-praise had Matsuri roll her blue eyes, just as Yuzu had expected. The younger woman was about to retort when the unusually quiet Atsuko suddenly spoke up.

“Yuzu-nee!” The child’s voice was full of admiration, Atsuko was staring at her older with wide emerald, looking completely astounded.

“...what is it, little samurai?” Yuzu asked gently, eager to learn what had prompted such a reaction. She could not think of anything in the hall that might be able to induce it.

“You’re so cool, Yuzu-nee!” The child declared loudly before wrapping her stringy arms around her sister’s waist, as always needing to translate her feeling into actions.

Yuzu felt the familiar heat of a most furious blush spread under her cheeks. There was nothing she could do about it, for Atsuko’s unbridled admiration was not something she could withstand while keeping her face pale.

She lifted the child in her arms to properly return her affection, laughing as Atsuko wrapped herself around her.

Still, ignoring the sharply bemused look Matsuri was giving her proved to be impossible, though Yuzu could only sheepishly shrug her shoulders as an answer.

“Yeah...you’re so cool, Yuzu-nee.” Matsuri stated dryly before turning around and walking away while lazily waving her hand. Yuzu did not need to ask where she was going. She knew that Matsuri was going to see that everything was perfect on her end of things.

“Alright then, little samurai.” Yuzu pulled back to look at her young sister. “How about we have a look around?”

She put down down a nodding Atsuko and extended a hand - this time tipped with brilliantly blue nail polish - to Atsuko, who accepted with great enthusiasm, latching tightly onto her oldest sister’s hand with her own and allowing herself to be led around the cavernous room. Atsuko had only ever known hotels to be places to sleep while away from home, so it was a new and exciting experience to be visiting one for a different reason entirely.

The furnishings and wall decor provided ample proof of the level of luxury that the venue offered. Three large and elaborate five-tiered chandeliers hung from the ceiling of the rectangular hall, each with hundreds, possibly even thousands of tiny lights that would surely glow brightly when they were switched on in the evening.

The carpets had yellow chrysanthemum motif against a royal blue surface and were immaculately cleaned, showing no sign of the hurried movements of the hotel staff and Citrus-E crew as they went about the final preparations for the evening.

Twenty or so large circular tables were dotted about the room, forming a semicircle around a slightly raised wooden stage platform set against one wall in the middle of the room. There were two large TV screens set on either side of the platform, each displaying a curious and seemingly random array of bright colours.

“Yuzu-nee?” Atsuko asked with curiosity as they approached the stage, pointing at the televisions. “Why are they like that?”

“They’re checking to make sure that the TVs are working properly, Atsu-chan.” Yuzu explained, declining to offer a more in-depth explanation, knowing that her technology team or even Matsuri could provide more detailed accounts of why testing the equipment each and every time was crucial to the smooth running of events.

“Like that time Kaori-san helped Nee-san with her computer?” Atsuko asked, recalling an evening when her Nee-san’s assistant had visited their apartment to help with a practice run of an important presentation.

“A little bit!” Yuzu replied, impressed that her sister had remembered the informal meeting. She smiled as she took a moment to recollect the concerned look on her lover’s face as Kaori-san struggled to get the presentation slides from her laptop onto their television at home.

Atsuko looked longingly at the stage and Yuzu immediately knew what her little samurai wanted.

“Come on, I’ll help you up.” Yuzu swiftly decided, ignoring the steps on either side of the stage and opting instead to hoist Atsuko up.

Atsuko giggled with delight as her Yuzu-nee lifted her up onto the wooden platform, feeling the firm palm of her oldest sister’s hand against her back propping her up until she stepped forward and away from the edge of the stage. Yuzu soon followed and pulled herself onto the two-foot tall platform, silently ruing that she lacked the elegance of motion that her lover possessed.

“What do you think, Atsu-chan?” Yuzu asked with a grin as Atsuko looked across the room with wide eyes.

“Wow!” Atsuko replied, trying to take in the many details of the room from her new vantage point.

They saw the Citrus-E staff still hard at work as they carried elaborate flower arrangements with great care and set them in the centre of each table, pausing each time to ensure that the luxurious linen tablecloths had no creases and were exactly centered. Given the prestige of the event, even the small details had to be perfect.

“This is where the quartet will perform.” Yuzu explained as Atsuko wandered about the spacious wooden stage. “And where the auction will take place as well as-”

Yuzu paused as she saw a group of four slender and athletic young women and two lean yet muscular young men entered the room, each wearing black track jackets and matching sports leggings. They all had bags of varying colours slung under their arms as they walked and chatted with Matsuri.

“Ah!” Yuzu exclaimed. “Perfect timing! They’re here!”

“Yuzu-nee?” Atsuko asked, with a curious expression on her face.

“You’ll see this evening, Atsu-chan.” Yuzu replied with a coy tone. “I want to keep it a surprise for your sister, so let’s keep it a secret between us!”

“Okay!” Atsuko giggled, unsure as to who those people were but happy to help with the surprise that was planned for her Nee-san.

“I just hope the stage is large enough…” Yuzu murmured under her breath although she had little reason to worry as Matsuri had personally seen for the stage to be even more spacious than required.

They left the stage via the steps and continued the tour, but were quickly stopped by the arrival of a middle-aged woman wearing a kimono. The sight caused Yuzu to grimace as Summer would not be ending for at least a few more weeks and even under the air conditioning of the hotel, it must have been stifling under those layers. Still, the woman carried a bright smile as she approached them.

“Okogi-san!” She called out, bowing deeply to Yuzu once they reached each other by the side of the stage.

Yuzu responded in kind with a deep bow of her own, which prompted the ever-perceptive Atsuko to follow suit, matching the depth of her sister’s bow perfectly.

“Nakano-san!” Yuzu replied enthusiastically to the kimono-wearing florist. “The flowers look incredible, you’ve outdone yourself this time… And please, you can call me by my first name.”

“Haha, very well then, Yuzu-san.” The lady responded before turning her attention to the black-haired young girl stood to her employer’s side. “And this must be the darling little sister that you’re always talking about. She has your eyes, Yuzu-san!”

Atsuko resisted the urge to squirm as the elderly woman bent down to get a better look at her. She did not relish being the centre of attention but just as her Nee-san had said, it was important for her to get acquainted with the limelight.

“Hello.” Atsuko greeted the friendly-looking woman. “My name is Aihara Atsuko. It’s very nice to meet you.”

Atsuko bowed again for good measure, her glossy black hair and lanyard dangling limply below her neck.

“My my!” Nakano replied before standing back up straight and turning to Yuzu. “She’s every bit as cute as you said she was!”

The comment prompted both sisters to giggle, with Atsuko thankful that her dense black hair obscured the tops of her ears as she felt them turning red.

“Sure is!” Yuzu replied before turning to her sister. “Atsu-chan, this is Nakano Kuniko. She’s doing all the flowers for the gala this evening.”

Atsuko found herself relegated to smiling politely at the appropriate times as her eyes glanced about the room. She had little to add to the ensuing conversation between her Yuzu-nee and the florist as they discussed the various technicalities of the arrangements for the gala. Instead, she contented herself with marvelling both at the decor of her surroundings and the ease with which her oldest sister conducted herself. Atsuko had only ever known her Yuzu-nee to be an easygoing and lighthearted young woman, so it was truly a privilege to see her as she went about her professional life.

The success of Citrus-E was not the result of a great amount of luck or coincidence, as Yuzu had combined her natural charisma with the strong work ethic that she had learned from her lover to great success. In the space of just a few years, she had gone from running a tiny operation from her and Mei’s bedroom to a fast-growing startup that already employed seventy people. Now, her youngest sister finally had the chance to witness firsthand how she had managed to follow in the footsteps of her family and find prosperity.

After their conversation ended, Nakano bid Yuzu and Atsuko farewell as she returned to work. Atsuko then turned to her sister with a look of excitement on her face.

“Yuzu-nee, is Shirapon-san coming too?” Atsuko asked with eyes full of hope. Seeing the kimono-wearing florist had reminded her of their encounter with the eccentric yet charming friend of her sisters. The two had discovered an unlikely connection and Atsuko hoped that she would be able to see the mysterious young woman again soon.

“Sadly not, Atsu-chan. Shirapon is… Well, Shirapon is part of a different social circle.” Yuzu replied, before making a quick addition to distract her sister from asking too many questions about the head of the Shiraho family. “-But Himeko-san and her husband will be here tonight!”

Atsuko made little effort to hide her disappointment. Shirapon and Mase-san were both very intense people despite being so different, yet Atsuko knew which one she would have preferred to share the company of. Mase Himeko was nice enough and a dear friend to both of her sisters, but Atsuko found her to be quite tiring when in her presence for a prolonged period of time.

“Himeko-san?” An unmistakable high-pitched voice called out behind them, drawing their attention. “I hope you’ve told her and that husband of hers that the gala isn’t in Harajuku."

Matsuri appeared by their side, her eyes still scanning about the room as she checked for any issues. Despite her carefree and often mischievous nature, there was no question that the pink-haired woman took her work seriously when the situation called for it. Still, it was a nice bonus if she were able to find some amusement while doing her job.

“You know as well as I do that that would be a wasted effort, Matsuri.” Yuzu replied with a giggle, sharing in her friend’s bemusement at Himeko and Soichiro-kun esoteric sense of style. “Besides, that style suits them.”

“It doesn’t suit my eyes, though!” She huffed morosely, once again running a hand through her messy hair.

“Oh well, at least they’ll have fun… I still think we should have booked the karaoke machine.” Matsuri pouted, unwilling to let her suggestion go.

Atsuko giggled upon hearing the words. She had heard enough stories from her Yuzu-nee to know that the karaoke sessions between her, Matsuri-sama and Taniguchi-san were seldom quiet and uneventful affairs.

“See! Atsuko-dono agrees with me!” Matsuri gestured towards her dark-haired young friend, still hoping to bring Yuzu around on the idea.

“We can’t, Matsuri-sama. Nee-san said so.” Atsuko’s voice became firm as she echoed her sister’s words. Her Nee-san was the law and Atsuko had little desire to go against her will; Her Nee-san was so smart and so wise.

“Hey, Yuzu-chan? She still sounds more and more like your Mei-san every day.” Matsuri casually remarked, finally conceding that there would be no karaoke at the gala.

“Well, those two are inseparable. It makes me so happy.” Yuzu trailed off as a smile formed on her glossy lips. Mama sure was right, Atsuko had Mei wrapped around her little finger but the reverse was also true.

Once the tour had been completed. Yuzu found herself unable to stop smiling and the reason why was looking at her with wide green eyes.

Over the years, being admired by her employers and employees had become the norm. The feeling still filled her with a great deal of pride but no longer surprised her. Besides, it was only natural to be appreciated, considering how much passion and energy she put into her work.

Nevertheless, when the admiring eyes belonged to a member of her family, the situation was quite different. It was no longer about pride as it became about happiness, being able to inspire such feelings in her loved ones was an endless source of joy.

She had always been in awe of Mei’s devotion to the Academy, so much so that back in the day, she had resigned herself to a life without Mei as her presence would have prevented her beloved from chasing her dreams.

Fortunately, in the end, what Mei wanted the most had not been the Academy. Yuzu could only admire the strength her love had displayed in rescinding her marriage agreement. She knew it had been terrifying for Mei to suddenly find herself free. Free to choose her life, free to love, free to make mistakes. It had been a long journey from then to now, and it had been totally worth it.

Just as working countless hours to start up Citrus-E had been, the beginning had been rough but now her dream was sailing smoothly and profitably. Atsuko had never seen her at work, not on site, where her creativity mattered the most. Her reaction had left Yuzu’s mind speechless.

Her little samurai was so very proud of her.

Atsuko had visited her office quite often though. She was particularly fond of the bean bag chairs that Yuzu had elected to furnish her office with, in place of a more traditional sofa. So much so, that Yuzu was planning to get a bean bag big enough to hold two persons for their house, or rather, she was planning to get it in the eventuality of them moving to a bigger place.

Yuzu had made of her office her own kingdom and had styled it in a way that allowed her to feel her loved ones all around her. Always. They were the energy behind her every move after all.

Strings of pictures of her family and friends layered sections of the differently colored walls, artistically clipped on thin chains in the guise of laundry drying under the sunshine. Her desk held pictures as well, not in frames, but under its glass top. They made for a beautiful canvas, one that Yuzu constantly held in her eyes.

Also on her desk were a couple of the many Lego sets that her Mama and Atsuko had built, albeit not the bigger ones. She had a big one though, on one of the five wooden cubes that were scattered about her office, they served both as seats and as small tables.

And of course, also sitting on her desk were a couple of adorable teddy bears made of crystals. In a wonderful twist, the solemn looking one sported green eyes while the smiling one had beautiful purple eyes. A present from her love.

Eventually, in between avoiding workers and circling around furniture, they had made it back to the stage. Without breaking her step, Yuzu plucked Atsuko from the floor and hoisted her into her arms, the child squealed happily over being suddenly lifted. Yuzu helped her onto the stage once again and was rewarded by a most radiant and grateful look.

The constant walking around and the never ending motion of the workers had tired her out a bit, she had no need to voice her situation though as her Yuzu-nee had already figured it out.

Yuzu rested her back against the stage before putting both hands on it. She pushed against it and hoisted herself up to sit on the smooth wooden surface while idly kicking her legs.

Atsuko wasted no time, she took her cue and immediately sat herself by her sister’s side, sighing happily when Yuzu draped one arm around her small frame and drew her lovingly into her side.

Suddenly, a member of Yuzu's crew materialised, seemingly from thin air. The young woman held several bottles of an electrolyte drink with a brand name that never failed to make Atsuko chuckle. She offered one to each of the girls prompting big thankful smiles from both.

“Thank you, Maki-san.” Yuzu said upon accepting the bottle into her hand, her dazzling smile caused the petite girl to blush ever so slightly. Yuzu liked the girl’s energetic personality. She was shy around her, but among her co-workers she was a veritable force of nature and always with a smile on her face when the boss wasn’t around.

Maki-san had joined Citrus-E less than three months ago, she had graduated from high school only a year ago and was looking at ways to help her parents out with paying for her college tuition. They had three other children to think about after all.

Yuzu made a point of getting to know all her employees to a certain extent, partly because it was not possible for her to not take an interest in the people surrounding her and partly because knowing them allowed Yuzu to gauge how to maximize their potential. The latter was not the result of cynical thinking, she knew all too well how rewarding being good at something felt and happy people made for a happy workplace.

“Thank you, Maki-san!” Atsuko mimicked her sister and offered a radiant smile of her own to the girl. The girl bowed slightly before walking away. As she went, the beautiful Citrus-E logo on the back of her polo shirt caught Atsuko’s attention.

“Yuzu-nee, I wan— I would like a Citrus-E shirt too!” She said while turning to her sister with eager eyes. It was only natural for her to make such a request, she had plenty of Academy clothes after all! Her father had given her a rock taken from the site of the first school he ever helped build! Her Mama had given her one of her hard hats!

Yuzu looked genuinely puzzled by her sister’s request, mostly because it seemed absurd that she had yet to give such shirt to her. Upon reflecting for a few seconds though, she realized that Atsuko was right.

...she had only given one to Mei. Not ever her Mama had one. This mistake would have to be rectified as soon as possible.

“You bet, Atsu-Chan!” She smiled sweetly at her beaming sister while reaching for Atsuko’s bottle and neatly twisting off the cap before giving the bottle back to her.

“...thanks.” Atsuko whispered gratefully. She was quite thirsty and wasted no time by immediately taking a long sip.

“I’m going to have it made your size as well, little samurai.” Yuzu promised, loving the sparkle of excitement that animated her sister’s verdant eyes at the prospect.

She leaned over to rest her forehead against Atsuko’s for a few moments, eliciting an affectionate giggle out of her. Then she playfully kissed the tip of the child’s nose, enjoying the cute sneezing face that Atsuko never failed to make as a result. Eventually, she pulled back to sit into a straight position and after opening her own bottle, she allowed herself to take a deep sip from it. She almost choked on the beverage when a very and unusually agitated Matsuri rushed to her, stopping a few centimeters shy of her knees.

“Yuzu-chan!” She said after taking a step back. She had spelled the name out in a rather firm voice, one that sounded suspiciously reprimanding.

Yuzu had to repress a giggle at the sight of her childhood friend looking bewildered - Or as bewildered as Matsuri would ever allow herself to look. Frankly, to anyone else she would appear as sporting a calm, if somehow, very involved attitude.

Yuzu knew better though, Matsuri’s eyes, almost permanently narrowed, were wide open and she was rhythmically tapping the tip of her left foot against the floor, which she only did when feeling impatient. Quite impatient.

Yuzu put her bottle down and draped one of her arms around Atsuko, a gesture meant to remind Matsuri to censor herself. Yuzu knew it to be unnecessary, as Matsuri knew better but she rather not take any chance when Atsuko was concerned.

“I went through the auction list, Yuzu-chan.” Matsuri mentioned with a look in her eyes that could only be described as predatory.

“We managed to get some great donations, didn’t we?” Yuzu replied with a not insignificant amount of pride in her voice. She had called in many favours and used her puppy dog eyes to secure some highly desirable items for the charity auction.

“Yes! But there’s great—” She narrowed her eyes, willing all her cleverness in her blue gaze as if she was trying to unravel the most complex of plots.

“...And then there’s original art from Saito-sensei.” Matsuri observed dryly, eager to retrieve her legendary coolness.

She could not fool Yuzu though and she ran her fingers through her hair in mute exasperation, cutely messing up her pink locks as she did.

“...How did you manage that? He doesn’t sell his art any more. He hasn’t for two decades! Everybody knows that!”

Yuzu smiled to herself, her pride continuing to grow. A piece of original art from the esteemed artist who had, for some reason, elected to pass his teachings on to the Aihara Academy students, was sure to fetch a high price. Possibly even one high enough to fund one of her stepfather’s projects by itself.

“I can’t claim credit for that one.” Yuzu confessed candidly and was not surprised by Matsuri’s eyes narrowing slightly. By her side, she knew Atsuko was following the exchange with great interest, knowing how to pay the proper attention to peculiar happenings had been one of the first things that she had learned from her beloved Nee-san.

There was much to learn by simply listening.

“You know Kaori-san - Mei’s assistant at the Academy?” Yuzu asked, while tilting her head, in a bid to catch Matsuri’s eyes with her own.

“I spoke to her yesterday…” Matsuri’s voice trailed off as she darted her eyes around clearly unwilling to make eye contact.

“Well she was able to convince him to part with one of his old pieces - I think she might be the only person patient enough to entertain that guy.” Yuzu explained, once again marvelling at Kaori-san’s ability to deal with the eccentric artist, a person that even her cool and collected lover had difficulty treating with.

The latest revelation had Matsuri toss her head back to stare at the ceiling. A gesture that Yuzu could not decipher in the least. It lasted but a few seconds though as Matsuri’s eyes were once again fixed on her.

“Is she…” Matsuri started but left her sentence unfinished, as if a thought had suddenly occurred to her. Her seemingly sudden confusion did not last, as in the next second Matsuri’s eyes ceased to be vacant and the clever sharpness that always animated them exploded in her blue gaze at once.

Regardless of the excellent recovery she had just performed, today had proved to be a day for the unexpected, as Yuzu could have sworn that her boisterous friend, which confidence in herself stood unparalleled, had suddenly grown shy. If only for a moment.

“Is Kaori-san on the guest list?” Matsuri asked at least. Her neutral voice and relaxed demeanor were firmly back into play and her face was a study of indifference.

“She isn’t.” A genuine trace of regret colored Yuzu’s voice. “...But from what I know of her, she wouldn’t enjoy it here.”

“Well…” Matsuri smirked mischievously at her old friend. “...can you blame her? There’s not even a karaoke machine!”

“...really, Matsuri!” Yuzu exclaimed in exasperation while tossing her head back to stare at the ceiling for a second. She returned her eyes on Matsuri’s smirking face and said in the most loving of voices:

“Mei said that the orchestra is already accounted for.” Yuzu winked as Matsuri rolled her eyes.

“I need you to be on your A-game. I can’t do this without you, Matsuri.” A blush spread over Matsuri’s clever features at the loving sincerity of Yuzu’s words.

Atsuko smiled uncontrollably at the sight, as Matsuri-sama always said, she did not do well with feelings.

“So let this one go, Matsuri!” Yuzu-nee finished playfully. By the sparkle in her eyes, Atsuko could tell how much she had enjoyed painting Matsuri-sama’s cheeks red.

She was still toying with her lanyard by feeling it out with her fingers, unable to let her new treasure be. Event preparations were surely fun. She had not expected them to be so. Maybe the gala would not be so bad after all. Her Yuzu-nee had always said that having too many preconceptions in regard of something was of no use.

She entertained the thought while taking another sip of her beverage. Once she was done, she put her bottle down and snuggled into her sister’s side once more, keen on admiring her oldest sister’s and Matsuri-sama’s every interaction.

Suddenly Yuzu-nee’s mobile went off once again. It had hardly stayed silent during the past few hours, but this once, the tune it was playing was a different one. Her sister fished her phone from her blue bag and swiftly unlocked it.

Whatever she saw had her hooting in delight. Atsuko pulled away from her, so that she could look at her face and get a feeling over what was going on. Yuzu-nee could not stop smiling.

“Check this out, Matsuri!” She showed her phone to Matsuri and the sight caused the ever present smirk on the pink-haired woman’s face to relax into a smile.

“I see how it is.” Matsuri lamented, although she sounded quite amused rather than annoyed. “You get actual pictures while I keep getting landscapes.”

“Here, Atsu-chan.” Finally her sister showed the screen of her phone to her. It was a picture from her sister’s best friend, Taniguchi Harumi. She was standing in front of a mirror, apparently trying on a dress, and asking her Yuzu-nee if the dress was a yes or a no.

“Who cares about landscapes, anyway? She is so annoying.” Matsuri-sama protested again. It was quite unusual hearing her complain so vehemently about something. As a rule, she was too cool for that.



“She lives in Australia! She is really brave! Australia is the most dangerous place in the world!” Atsuko blurted out enthusiastically, wishing to contribute to the conversation somehow.

“Ah!” Her words drew a short delighted chuckle from Matsuri-sama. “It’s Australia that should be scared of her, not the other way around, Atsuko-dono.”

A somehow nostalgic expression took old of Matsuri’s eyes then as if she was remembering something, it lasted but a few moment as she quickly shock it away.

“Is Taniguchi-san your friend too, Matsuri-sama?” Atsuko asked timidly, somehow she was feeling suddenly shy. She had been three years old when Taniguchi-san left Japan, because of that she had little memory of her.

Not remembering her sister’s best friend saddened her quite a bit. Regardless, the situation would correct itself soon as Yuzu-nee had told her that Taniguchi-san was planning to come back to Japan sometime soon.

"My friend? Taniguchi-senpai?" Matsuri asked before pausing for thought. It was difficult to refute that she and the younger Taniguchi sister were friends, but that would not really do justice to their entire history.

"Well, Atsuko-dono... I suppose that we are friends, yes." Matsuri's eyes narrowed for a split second as this was a story that was best told another time.

Interlude of Love

Mei glanced over at the clock. It would not be long before Yuzu and Atsuko would arrive. Having already completed the tasks she had set out to finish that morning, she found herself with little to do but the busywork that Kaori would usually handle. Outside, the faint calls of the swim team could be heard from the school pool as they carried out their own last-minute preparations for an upcoming meet.

She had more than ten minutes to spare though and was not inclined to let her mind drift untethered these days. A smile of bemusement played on her lips as her eyes settled on the pictures gracing her desk. They were more than just images as each had a beautiful story to tell.

When she had first asked her partner to print some pictures out for her, she had done so with a touch of shyness in her voice as she had been raised to conceal her desires. As of now, three pictures sat on her desk, each set in a simple thin silver frame. Elegantly minimalist and quite at odd with her office which was furnished in a rather stuffy fashion. She did not mind the odd combination as she had been used to the heavy mahogany desk all her life and would, most likely, keep everything as it was if it depended on her. Yet it felt quite right to have her personal objects fail to blend in, somehow. There was a point to be made there, although she could not verbalize it yet.

Mei leaned back into her chair, shifting her weight to one side and curling her body around the chair’s left arm. A seat of power should not feel that comfortable, especially one that was all but temporary, yet the leather had grown familiar with her shape and yielded pleasantly to her moves. She ignored the impulse to sit straight for the time being and let her contemplations ran away from her. It was not a difficult task when she had such a beautiful sight to contend with.

In front of her and on her right was one of the pictures taken on Atsuko’s first day of school. They had to ask for Kaori’s help on that particular occasion as Atsuko had been adamant to have her whole family in the pictures with her. Another one from that day was proudly displayed in their living area at home. The one Mei had chosen for her desk had Atsuko in Yuzu and Mei’s combined embrace as they held their little cub between them. Yuzu and Atsuko were both grinning uncontrollably while Mei had a more discreet smile on her face and looked a tad incredulous.

Mother stood at her back with one hand clasped around Mei’s shoulder. Mei could recall the warmth of her touch just by looking at it. Her mother was smiling, proud as ever and tears of happiness had gathered in her eyes. Her father was behind Yuzu and he did look genuinely happy, although his embarrassed smile betrayed his rigid education.

On her left was one of her favorite pictures ever and a rather recent one as well, since it had been taken after Atsuko’s dramatic win of the school race during the Academy sports festival. Atsuko was in her sisters’ arms again, where she belonged. She looked a bit of a mess, albeit a very happy one. Mei’s smile was far from discreet in this picture as she was smiling as uncontrollably as Yuzu. Her lover’s most radiant smile created quite the sight when coupled with her tear-streaked face. Mei looked slightly more dignified than Yuzu and Atsuko, though she looked quite a mess by her own standards.

The last picture gracing her desk, appropriately put in between the other two, featured her and Yuzu. It was not a staged picture as they had been looking at each other when it was taken. They were at Shinjuku-Gyoen and Yuzu had just wrapped herself around her left arm, caught in the motion of falling into step with her. Her hair was gathered in a high ponytail and a huge pair of sunglasses sat on top of her head, holding her hair back as an headband would. The hairdo greatly suited her visage as it highlighted the casual elegance of her features as her beautiful face was shaped as a heart; The soft curvature of her cheekbones, devolving into the gradual narrowing of her smooth cheeks and finally closing up on her thin and perty chin.

She was radiant, wearing a pastel sundress along with the most beautiful smile Mei had ever seen. What made the picture even more special though was the way that they were looking at each other as to put it mildly, the look they were sharing left no doubt over what they felt for each other. It was a most eloquent portrait of their love. She could not guess what had inspired Mizusawa to snap that picture but she was glad that she had.

Those pictures did not serve as a reminder but rather a statement. Stills from her beautiful life. Of course, three pictures were but a small sample as her life had become quite the eventful journey. Yuzu had been more than delighted to see to her request but to also endeavor to constantly add to her collection, often without being asked to. Every now and then, Mei would find a folder waiting for her on the dining room table, a simple gesture that touched her deeply, as she had learned love to be in the details far more than the Devil was. As of now, the top drawer of her mahogany desk was but a treasure chest, full of beautiful stories.

She had yet to properly look at the pictures they had taken at Fujikawaguchiko as she loved to deeply study each and every one of them. She had all but yielded to the temptation and was already reaching for her drawer when the beautiful sound of Yuzu and Atsuko’s voices blending together drifted to her and stilled her movement.

She had left her door slightly open for this very purpose. The thought of hiding under her desk and surprise them both by jumping out tickled her for a moment, bringing a grin on her face. They would never see it coming. Still, she held the sight of Yuzu and Atsuko stepping into her office too dear to ever miss. She let go of her mischievous thoughts and relaxed back into her chair, taking a deep breath and preparing herself for the marvelous view to come.

These last few years, she had grown into the habit of opening all of her office windows during Summer. The scent of Summer had become most precious to her as it spoke of her lover, just as the Sun did. Today had been no different. She had invited the sunlight in and, as was its habit, its light had conquered everything, leaving no spot untouched and yet, somehow, when Yuzu and Atsuko stepped past the threshold, the room grew even brighter, as though a solitary cloud had silently parted overhead.

They were both wearing those incredible smiles of theirs, the ones that reached their eyes and spilled happiness wherever they looked. They were both looking directly at her right now.

Atsuko let go of Yuzu’s hand and darted towards her with little regard for her safety and with no plans of slowing down. She knew that Mei would always catch her and so she did, smoothly turning her chair around with a push of her feet and bringing Atsuko into her arms before any collision could take place.

“Nee-san!” Atsuko squealed with joy while throwing her spindly arms around her, somehow succeeding in grabbing at her shirt in spite of the garment being rather tight. She burrowed into her, nestling her head into her neck. Mei held her tightly, fully wrapping her arms around her diminutive frame. Atsuko loved her firm embraces and she always had. She felt safe in their hold as she always should.

Mei tucked her chin on the child’s shoulder and raised her eyes to look at Yuzu, knowing that a most beautiful smile would be forming on her lips. Very few things made her partner as happy as watching she and Atsuko together did.

The smile was there indeed. Mei felt a smile of her own tugging at the corners of her lips and permitted it to appear.

Yuzu glowed at the sight of it, taking a deep breath to fill her lungs with air as if she wished to grasp the moment and hold it in for as long as she could. When she released her breath in a long sigh of contentment, her own face relaxed to draw a look of serene happiness. There was a quiet quality to her joy as she looked at Mei, one that made it felt contemplative, as it lived beyond the single moment as a state of being.

She shook her head then and the fine locks of hair that had escaped her topknot danced about her face delicately. She brought her free hand to her hip then in a pose of utter satisfaction and tilted her head to one side, squinting her eyes slightly to catch every detail.

After a long moment, Atsuko pulled back from her neck. Mei had little doubt over the prep having being a wonderful experience for her sister as Atsuko wore her heart on her sleeve when happiness was concerned and right now she was radiant for the whole world to see.

“Look, Nee-san!” She retrieved a lanyard from where it lay against her chest and proudly held it up for Mei to see. Unsurprisingly, a bout of shyness had her blush slightly as she showed her new treasure to her sister.

Yuzu had not told her about the lanyard and badge, most likely wishing to give Atsuko the chance to share it with her. Atsuko’s joyous enthusiasm was infectious. Mei felt it spread to her and blend in with her own joy, making it more vibrant and so much warmer. When she stole another look at her smiling partner, her happiness grew richer still, for Yuzu was ecstatic over the joy a simple gift had brought to Atsuko.

Mei refocused her attention on Atsuko and grazed the tips of her fore and middle fingers over the smooth plastic surface of the badge, attentive eyes taking in every detail from the font, to the wonderful picture that Yuzu had selected.

“Team member.” Mei read out loud, before giving Atsuko her proudest look and nodding solemnly to her. Serious matters demanded serious responses.

“A fitting title, Atsuko.” She said solemnly while threading her fingers through her sister's recently trimmed fringe.

Yuzu decided to stop being a spectator then and finally stepped forward into the room, first skipping about to put the convenience store bags containing their food on one of the elegant armchairs that were dotted about the room and then walking around the desk to stand beside Mei’s chair

The Chairwoman’s seat was a most beloved seat for the two of them, one that they had shared on many occasions while trading kisses in the orange glow of dusk whenever Mei elected to bolster her working hours, prompting her eager lover to pay her much-appreciated visits.

A mischievous glint twinkled in her emerald eyes then and without warning she pressed her bottom against the edge of the Chairwoman’s desk—green eyes trained on Mei as her lover lifted one perfectly shaped eyebrow at her action—and after gripping at the edge with both hands, she pushed herself up and back and took a seat on the polished surface, facing Mei and Atsuko with a mischievous grin gracing her lips.

Mei’s felt her eyes widen at the bold move, though she would never expect anything less from Yuzu. Truly, her love had taken a seat on her desk plenty of times, though she usually reserved such boldness for when they were alone. Nevertheless, there she was now, cheekily planted where Mei’s document had been placed mere minutes ago and inviting her lover to stare.

She was leaning back slightly on her cobalt blue tipped hands while swinging her legs back and forth from her perched up position. She appeared delightfully playful at the moment, with her lips forming a grin that was one part challenge and one part adoration.

Those lips truly were a delicious sight and one she would have been able to properly handle had they been alone. Still, they were in the best of company and Mei’s memory was legendary for a reason. She would go back to address this situation at a proper time, with added interest of course.

“Yuzu-nee promised me a shirt too, Nee-san!” The eager delight was so vivid in Atsuko's eyes and mannerisms that Mei found herself smiling without realizing it. “A real one, Nee-san! Just for me!”

“You bet, little samurai! One your size! Made especially for you!” Yuzu said in her usual flamboyant fashion, leaning slightly over to present her closed first to Atsuko.

“Yeah!” The child cheered loudly, immediately bumping her own closed fist against her oldest sister’s.

Yuzu had a wonderful morning with Atsuko - that was the truth spelled out on her face. It was not surprising as Atsuko had never seen Yuzu working on site before and her partner was veritably exceptional at her work, as gracious as she was effective and capable of inspiring her people with her beautiful energy.

“I can’t believe I never had a shirt made for her!” Yuzu pondered out loud, scrunching up her face in a most adorable pensive expression as she did.

“And Mama needs one too!” She nodded, bringing her closed fist upon her open palm as she spoke. Mei had to agree with her: Mama and Atsuko not having a shirt was a mistake to be rectified as soon as possible. Also, maybe...

“Yuzu.” Mei started with a note of shyness in her voice and the beginning of a blush about her cheekbones. “Father might like to have one as well, I think”

If Yuzu had been surprised by her request, she did not show it. She simply smiled sweetly and nodded again.

“Great idea, Mei!” She said enthusiastically while Atsuko showed her approval by nodding several times. “Everyone in our family will have one!”

She looked directly at Mei then, a beautiful gaze strong with purpose, she was all but cradling Mei within her eyes, holding her firmly, providing her with understanding and warmth and most importantly, reminding her to be patient with herself.

Mei tilted her head in a gesture of gratitude and nodded delicately in response. She still felt rather shy about expressing her feelings for her father and voicing her wish to include him in the shirt project had created a moment of conflict between her nature and her will.

A mere two weeks ago, she would have never spoken such words, most likely the thought would have not crossed her mind at all but things, albeit slowly, were changing somehow. Mei had only learned about the nature of hope from Yuzu and not too long ago in the grand scheme of things. She no longer thought hope to be the the vice of dreamers. It was the star of the brave.

Since breaking her second engagement, Mei had sworn to never be a coward again. She was still learning though and opening her heart to her father was truly terrifying. Nevertheless, she was feeling bold these days.

“All right!” Yuzu thundered, clapping her hands in front of her for good measure. Her exploit a clear bid to provide Mei with the chance of closing her delicate moment and move forward. “The food won’t get any colder bu—”

“Yuzu.” Mei interjected, feeling a bundle of playfulness unravel within her at her partner’s loving antics.

“You are yet to properly greet me.” She sighed deeply, willing her supposed disappointment to soften her face in what was the beginning of a pout.

On her lap, Atsuko was only too eager to join her play. She turned around and leaned back against Mei’s torso, crossing her arms over her chest for good measure.

“Nee-san is right, Yuzu-nee. You did not greet her.” She narrowed her eyes and furrowed her brow in a loose interpretation of a scolding look.

“Not at all, Yuzu-nee.” She added vehemently, shaking her head in mock disappointment for good measure. By then, Mei had to exercise every inch of her steely will to avoid trading her pout for a grin.

“You’re right.” Yuzu conceded, nodding firmly as she did. Her face became a mask of seriousness yet her verdant eyes held delightful sparks of mischief.

“Both of you are absolutely right.” She reinforced her previous statement and then swung her legs forward, while using her hands to push herself off the desk. She got on her feet with a small yet overly theatrical jump. Mei would not have it any other way, though at the moment, she was deeply fascinated by the mischievous spark currently gracing Yuzu’s eyes as it put an element of uncertainty as to what her next move would be.

“It’s unacceptable.” Her beautiful green eyes narrowed meaningfully as she spoke, tempting Mei to raise a single eyebrow at her serious looking love.

Atsuko slid off her older sister’s lap that very moment —showing a graciousness far beyond her age-- as she wished to grant her sisters a private moment to greet each other.

Yuzu was forced to break character then, as she could not stop herself from showing her appreciation for Atsuko‘s consideration and she winked at the grinning child as Atsuko made sure to scamper out of sight. Her playfulness lasted but a moment as when her eyes fell back on her lover’s face, her somber and solemn expression returned at once.

“Mei.” She intoned charmingly while offering her hand to the seated woman.

Somehow, Mei felt a blush creeping up her neck and hesitated for a moment as she permitted herself to stare into the marvelous depths of Yuzu’s emerald eyes. When she took Yuzu’s hand, her partner’s play of seriousness dissolved, her lips bowed and then parted to reveal neat pearly teeth as she gave her most dazzling smile to Mei.

Mei got to her feet gracefully on her own and without waiting for Yuzu to tug her joined hands. After all, their partnership was based on sharing, it was only right for Mei to do her part.

“Hello, my love.” Yuzu’s warm voice was but a caress upon her flushed skin. She smoothly brought their joined hands to rest on her slim shoulder while lifting her other hand to cradle her face, moving with grace as she held the steps of this dance within every inch of her body.

The soft pad of her thumb brushed her cheekbone delicately, once and then again, before Yuzu closed the distance. Mei’s eyes widened in anticipation as her love took her lower lip between her own lips, holding onto it for a moment before pulling back slightly.

The loss of contact prompted Mei to lean forward and meet her partner’s lips again, the smile she found there revealed her lover’s ploy and she willingly played into it. She parted Yuzu’s lips with her own, allowing her tongue to caress the underside of Yuzu’s upper lip for a fleeting moment before retreating from the kiss. She was chased, as expected, and their lips met for a third time, the kiss was a delightfully playful one and they soon parted to shyly smile at each other.

Once they fully released each other, Yuzu took a step back and turned sideways, ever so willing to bring Atsuko back into the conversation. Mei would never expect anything less from her partner as they both found the very thought of Atsuko feeling left out to be terribly unpleasant.

“How was your morning?” Yuzu inquired then, tilting her head slightly to catch her eyes with a sweet smile. She already knew the answer to that question. The absence of carefully-stacked files and papers across her desk was proof that she had finished working on anything substantial some time ago.

“Quiet and uneventful.” Mei replied with honesty. She had not needed to complete any of her tasks urgently, but leaving the office on Friday with an incomplete list of jobs to do had left her with an itch that could simply not be scratched.

“Well, I’m sure that Atsu-chan and I just remedied that.” Yuzu giggled before turning to wink at her little sister.

Atsuko had seated herself in one of the elegant armchairs that were dotted about the room. At a glance, the office looked largely the same as when Mei’s predecessor had occupied it, yet it had a much more comfortable and homely atmosphere now.

“Naturally.” Mei sighed, permitting herself a small smile.

“You heard that, little samurai? We made your Nee-san’s day much better!” Yuzu’s liberal interpretation of her words was designed to elicit a smile from Atsuko and the child was all too happy to oblige her. Yuzu and Atsuko had made her day much better just by showing up.

“Yes! We sure did, Yuzu-nee!” A peculiar brand of warmth filled Mei’s chest on hearing Atsuko reproduce her oldest sister’s speech pattern, so much so that she allowed her smile to widen because of it.

Mei had always wished for Atsuko to take after Yuzu as there was no better role model than her. She wished her to be just as kind, strong and creative as her love was, and to believe in herself, never ever giving up what was truly important to her, no matter the odds.

Even so, Atsuko held the both of them within her in equal measures. Mei could not deny that seeing her best qualities mirrored in the child filled her with pride and joy. She would make sure to keep her flaws to herself.

“And we also brought food, Nee-san!” Atsuko was quick to add what was, in her eyes, a vital piece of information. Mei could not disagree with her as food was quite important though she could not help but worry over her girls’ inability to pace themselves when eating was concerned.

“Ah! That’s right!” Yuzu chirped up, clapping her hands and bouncing on her feet.

“How about lunch now, Mei?” She asked, eyebrows disappearing into her hairline.

Her green-eyed beauties had little food at breakfast as they had indulged in quite the feast during the slumber party. Of course, they would be quite hungry by now. Unfortunately, Mei did not think that they would make a cautionary tale out of their latest experience.

“Yes.” Mei replied while taking hold of Yuzu’s hand. She lead her to Atsuko and then surprised the both of them by adding: “...not in here though.”

She permitted herself yet another smile, delighted by the intrigued looks those identical pairs of verdant eyes were giving her.

Top of the World

“I can’t remember the last time we were up here, Mei!” Yuzu exclaimed, stretching her slightly tanned arms above her head as she emerged onto the roof of the Aihara Academy.

Under the bright glare of the late morning sun, the highest point of the entire school complex shone with its recently painted white surfaces and polished guardrails lining the edges. It was hardly a popular hangout spot among students, but the Chairwoman had insisted that it receive the same levels of upkeep as every other part of the school. Yet save for a row of steel shelves housing freshly-watered plants, one could be forgiven for assuming that the place had been ceded almost entirely to the elements.

“We were with Momokino-san, I believe.” Mei replied, her eyes narrowed as they adjusted to the light.

“Were we? I guess I must have been up here more often than you were.” Yuzu’s mind began scouring its memory banks and returned a few private chats with Harumin, a scheme orchestrated by Matsuri to hide on the roof to avoid helping with a school sports day and one other memory of the rooftop that she would have preferred to forget.

“I do not recall you being a member of the school gardening club.” Mei teased as she observed the progress of the club’s current growing projects. Perhaps a funding bump was in order.

“Pssh…” Yuzu had no retort. “...Don’t lean over the rails, Atsu-chan!”

Atsuko immediately took a step back from her perch and continued gazing over at the Aihara Elementary building, which had fewer storeys than the main Academy. She grinned to herself as she enjoyed her first trip to the rooftop. The views of the school complex and the surrounding area were every bit as impressive as her Yuzu-nee had promised them to be.

Mei felt a smile tugging at the corner of her lips when her love instructed their sister. Mei had the reputation of being overprotective when it came to their little cub but Yuzu was just the same in spite of her proclamation to the contrary. The sight of Atsuko staring in the distance kindled the memory of her own first time upon this very roof. From afar, they must have appeared quite identical. The foreboding quality of the scene did not escape her as she immediately found herself wishing to join the child.

‘Mei.” Yuzu’s warm hand upon her shoulder stopped her contemplation and she turned toward her love with slightly wide eyes. Yuzu took the blanket that she had procured for their impromptu picnic from her arms before nodding her head toward Atsuko.

Mei would not allow her to step away just yet, such sweet consideration deserved to be properly acknowledged and so she curled her hand around the soft curvature of Yuzu’s jaw while slightly dipping her head to claim her lips in a delicate kiss.

She tasted her love’s surprise in the moment of stillness that followed their contact and indulged herself by capturing Yuzu’s upper lip between her own. She held onto its delicious softness for a few moments before leaning in for yet another kiss.

With the morning sunlight streaming over them, they felt very much like cats basking in the warmth and their kissing maintained the lazy rhythm of a sweet Summer stroll.

Eventually, they separated, and the dreamy look on Yuzu’s face was one to be treasured and committed to memory as it was made of gently parted lips, half open eyes and blushing cheeks. What made it even the more breathtaking was the knowledge that she was the reason behind it. Mei had never thought much of herself, but seeing herself reflected in Yuzu’s love-filled eyes had succeeded in planting the seed of doubt in her mind. Having someone like Yuzu and Atsuko love her so deeply had been slowly teaching her that, perhaps, it would be okay if she were to love herself as well.

Mei allowed Yuzu to see to the task of preparing their lunch spot with a slight bow of gratitude before turning her attention to Atsuko.

Yuzu would have known how she felt regardless yet Mei would not deny herself the luxury of showing her appreciation for her partner. The expression of contentment that such gestures would bring on Yuzu’s face were just too precious as her lips would slightly curl in a smile, a barely visible one, meant to be seen by Mei alone.

She reached Atsuko’s side, careful to make her presence known by allowing her heels to clack rhythmically on the ground. A sun-scented Summer breeze greeted her on her arrival, kissing her face and delighting her senses.

Mei recalled feeling a great deal of pride over everything her Grandfather had built when standing on the rooftop for the first time. She had also felt terribly intimidated by the responsibility of it all.

“Nee-san?” Atsuko looked up at her, her relaxed brow furrowing in curiosity once her eyes settled on her. Mei’s intense gaze would often bring forth inquisitiveness. It greatly pleased her that Atsuko did not experience any reluctance in investigating it.

A thought struck Mei and all of a sudden, she bent forward, allowing Atsuko to take hold around her neck, then proceeded to gracefully sweep Atsuko off of her feet, hoisting her up into her arms without any real effort. Mei allowed herself a full smile when Atsuko’s squeals of delight rang by her ear. She kept her eyes trained on the far-off distance though and Atsuko quickly shifted her gaze toward the same direction.

“I was about your age when father brought me up here for the first time.” Mei’s words had completely captured Atsuko’s attention. She very rarely spoke of her childhood and the topic was usually best kept away from Atsuko. “The lines on the track had just been repainted and he insisted on taking me up here to get the best view.”

Mei’s steely expression softened as she contemplated the memory as one of the precious few moments that she had spent not with Aihara Shou, the teacher and Chairman, but Aihara Shou, the loving father.

“Come on you two! The food is over here!” Yuzu called their attention back to the perfectly square and flat tartan blanket. For a trio of bento boxes purchased from a stand at a train station and a few bottles dispensed by a vending machine, Yuzu had done an admirable job of arranging the simple meals into a visually-pleasing setup.

The lunch with Yuzu and Atsuko had proved to be as enjoyable and engaging as Mei had predicted it would be and her choice of location had only enhanced the wonderful gathering. The meal itself was a far cry from what Yuzu could prepare but Mei could not have asked for better company. Her love’s talent when it came to the preparation of food was difficult to equal. In a classical example of the student surpassing the teacher, Yuzu’s culinary prowess had even surpassed their mother’s - A fact Aihara Ume took a significant amount of pride in, although she refused to get all the credit. Her daughter’s talents were her own.

As of now, they were standing in the parking lot, intent on parting ways. None of them were too thrilled at the prospect, especially Mei as her next meeting would most surely be a taxing one. She had no intention of allowing the souring of her mood to spill upon her girls and engaged herself in keeping a neutral appearance. She would not be able to fool Yuzu but keeping Atsuko unconcerned was worth the effort to at least try.

She had favored the train today in place of her car as her next destination was one frequently plagued by traffic. Still, the sight of Yuzu’s orange Jaguar filled her with a modicum of jealousy as Mei had discovered herself quite fond of driving, although her preference was for less conspicuously-coloured vehicles.

Yuzu pleasantly tightened the grip she had around her hand in a bid to offer her some comfort. They had clasped hands as soon as they had left her office and Mei had little doubt that they would have done exactly the same should the school not have been deserted. The thought left her untroubled. Her other hand was in Atsuko’s equally tight grip.

“Mei.” Yuzu’s voice halted her musings with its beautiful sound. She could hear Yuzu’s desire to stand by her or to at least drive her to the mansion. It was not going to be as they had agreed to keep Atsuko in the dark as far as her next obligation was concerned. The child had no need to further concern herself today as the gala was not going to be an easy affair to go through.

Mei permitted herself to satisfy the urgent need to feel her partner’s arms around her by releasing Yuzu’s hand and stepping in to burrow her face into her shoulder while her free hand settled about Yuzu’s lower back and made a fist around her loose shirt. One of her partner’s arms circled her shoulder and wrapped tightly around her pulling her even closer.

The comfort provided by her lover’s touch soothed her troubled mind immediately and when Atsuko added her own warmth to the embrace by releasing her hand and wrapping her spindly arms around her waist, Mei felt her agitation slip away and permitted herself to bask in the love that she was being given so effortlessly, if only for a while longer.

Il Principe

Mei watched as the maid bowed deeply before gesturing for her to follow. She hardly needed to be shown around the house that she had once lived in, yet it felt somewhat cruel to deny the middle-aged woman a chance to fulfill her role. The immaculately-clean house was all the proof she needed that the small contingent of housekeepers employed by her Grandfather took great pride in what they did.

While she enjoyed seeing personally to jobs around her own home, Mei could not begrudge her Grandfather for delegating such things. The house was much too large for him to consider maintaining alone, especially not with his mixed health in recent years.

If she had not been feeling tense, then Mei could have permitted herself to smile at the mundane thoughts running through her head. She had little need to think about the man’s living arrangements, well-organised as they were, but she still found herself considering his wellbeing. In truth, she still knew little about the real Aihara patriarch. He surely had hobbies and interests beyond furthering his business ambitions, though Mei had never seen any evidence of such things.

It was probably safe to assume that he did not have a collection of teddy bears and he certainly had no interest in golf. The notion made Mei feel slightly uncomfortable as she considered whether she knew the man who had been so instrumental in her upbringing at all.

She forced herself to refocus her thoughts as the maid guided her to the east wing of the large house. Now was not the time to lose sight of why she was here. Her Grandfather would be expecting an update on the preparations for the Aihara charity gala, as well as likely asking for an update on his request to bring his youngest granddaughter into the fold.

They were heading in an unexpected direction, but the differing decor did little to lift Mei’s mood. It was unusual for her Grandfather to receive guests in anywhere other than his own office, but that did not make the cavernous living room any more welcoming. The maid quickly departed and they were soon all alone.

“Good morning, Grandfather. You look well.” Mei greeted the elderly man with a deep bow, immediately feeling herself under his intense gaze from the moment she had entered.

It was difficult to discern whether the surprising choice of meeting room was some sort of intimidation tactic, yet Mei refused to allow herself to be made to feel inferior in the spacious and lavish living area. Several large and elegant-looking cream sofas all circled a low-lying glass table, with a large sleek television mounted to one of the walls. Aside from the news or the occasional documentary, she had no recollection of ever watching much during her childhood. She had never been allowed to do her homework in there either, with most of the furnishings being different from when she called the place her home.

The man himself sat in the centre of one of the sofas, already wearing one of his trademark gray suits and folding his arms across his chest. His angular glasses guarded a pair of eyes that missed little and rarely deviated from their object of attention. His cheeks looked slightly fuller and more colorful than their last meeting as he continued to distance himself from past dips in health.

Mei took a seat in the sofa opposite him and awaited his response.

“Thank you for coming at such short notice, Mei. I understand that you have been quite busy.” As expected, his stern tone gave little emotion away and his facial features remained unmoved.

“It was no problem, Grandfather. Yuzu is overseeing the latest preparations, Atsuko is with Mother and Father should be home next week.” Mei replied, matching his intense stare with a soft yet steadfast look of her own.

When it came to her Grandfather, Mei’s mind was clouded. She could not say with any certainty whether her quick name-drop of Yuzu and her father was an effort to antagonise the man sitting across from her, or just a natural reply. His expression remained unmoved as Mei’s fingers curled slightly at the mention of her beloved partner and younger sister.

Mother and Father had little appetite for such events even when they were at home, with the former having met the Aihara patriarch only on a few occasions since her remarriage. Atsuko’s birth only prompted a short visit and it was doubtful whether he even knew when Aihara Ume’s birthday was. Father though had no choice but to attend, the networking that could take place at such events was too precious for his projects for him to do otherwise.

To Grandfather, it mattered little. His son had already proven himself to be unreliable, so much so that his own ambitions were put on hold as he was forced to return to the academy until Mei came of age. He glanced at Mei’s ring and examined it from across the table, taking in the physical reminder of the young woman’s new life on a different path to what he had envisioned for her.

“I see” He replied. “It sounds like there have been few distractions then. That is good.”

Mei shifted awkwardly in her seat as her Grandfather pursed his lips slightly, seemingly considering his next words. It was the most expressive he had been in recent memory, yet she still could not discern just what thoughts ran through his head.

"I trust that the arrangements for this evening have gone smoothly?" He finally asked.

The maid returned to the room with a tray and carefully set it down on the table with the tiniest of thuds. On the tray was a beautiful black porcelain teapot and matching cups. She elegantly poured out two cups of tea and departed the room silently with a bow. Grandfather was quick to take a cup and began sipping as he awaited Mei’s reply.

"Yes, Grandfather. It should be an excellent event for the guests and for Father's charity." Mei replied before taking a cup for herself.

She took a sip and felt the warmth of the green tea against her lips. It had been exquisitely prepared, with the water being the perfect temperature and the taste having a slightly bitter edge without being unpleasant. Still, she had no doubt that it still paled in comparison to Yuzu’s own brews. There was something uniquely satisfying to refreshments prepared by the person she loved more than anything - Even the finest finishing schools in the world could not teach that.

"Good. I expect nothing less from you, Mei." He nodded to himself, satisfied that he had left things in capable hands. Even if he could not expect complete loyalty from Mei, he could always expect the greatest degree of competency.

"...Yuzu and her team deserve most of the praise." Mei paused before offering an uneasy response. She could not in good conscience take any credit for the hard work that Yuzu, Matsuri and the rest of the Citrus-E had performed in order to deliver on the strenuous demands of her Grandfather. A compliment from the stone-faced man was a rare thing, but sincerity was still paramount.

"Hmmph. I should know to expect the unexpected when it comes to that girl." He paused for a split second, giving Mei enough time to pull the cup away from her mouth, but not enough time to offer a response. "And what about your younger sister? This will all be new to her."

Mei set the cup down and mentally steeled herself at the mention of Atsuko. She knew of her grandfather’s plans regarding the young girl and formulating the appropriate responses to his next few questions would be important for ensuring that Atsuko was as insulated as possible from the rigours imposed by her family name.

"I have already told her what to expect. I have complete confidence that she will handle it well... Atsuko is most definitely an Aihara." Mei spoke with greatest degree of conviction that she could muster as her grandfather’s expression remained unreadable.

Surprisingly, the elderly man allowed himself a small grin after taking another sip of tea. Hearing that his granddaughter was already displaying the character traits to be expected of an Aihara pleased him greatly.

"I am glad to hear it. Have you given any thought to my proposal? She is still young, but it is important to start preparing her for when she gets more involved with the family and the Academy." His matter-of-fact tone did little to hide the fact that he had now come to the real topic of their meeting. The time for formality was over.

For the Aihara patriarch, this was the ace in the hole, the key to ensuring his legacy.

"...I would prefer for Atsuko to decide what she wants to do for herself." Mei finally conceded to the small quiver in her voice. She wished to raise her voice to add extra weight to her opinion and had now exposed a point of weakness to a man who never failed to identify such things.

"Mei, why are you even bringing her tonight if you don't want her to start learning?" His voice became more stern and added a few more decibels. His tea cup was now placed back down on the table, unlikely to be touched again until he was satisfied that the matter had been resolved according to his will.

Mei shifted in her seat again. Even now, why could she not resist her grandfather completely? Had she really learned nothing from Yuzu?

"It is as you say, she is still young and-" Her follow-up was even weaker as she felt her standing in the conversation diminishing rapidly.

"You were her age when we started preparing you." Gramps quickly interrupted, striking Mei with a piercing purple gaze and pointing a slightly wrinkled hand towards the interim Chairwoman of the Aihara Academy.

Mei could only bow her head in response. The joy of the previous night was now a distant memory, one now replaced by a feeling of failure and inferiority. Any excitement she had felt about the evening ahead of her and her two favorite people was gone.

Grandfather sighed loudly, making his dissatisfaction known. His eyebrows raised and he tilted his head, still keeping his bespectacled eyes on his granddaughter. He took little joy in scolding her, but it was necessary to reiterate her the importance of delivering the best possible future for both his family and his academy.

"I'm not going to be around forever, Mei. I have worked very hard to make the Academy what it is today, just as your Father once did and just as you do now. It is vital that we secure the long-term future of the Aihara Academy. Tonight is supposed to be the next step towards that." His speech became softer and his hands stayed placed on his lap.

"...I know." Mei replied without meaning to, she could barely recognize her voice, such a tremulous whisper had no place falling from her lips. It lacked everything that was her, everything that she had fought so hard to become. She found herself empty and powerless, unable to give voice to her feelings, her wishes.

Her grandfather had been a great inspiration to her for so long. It was impossible to call his dedication or his business acumen into question and regardless of methodology, he sincerely wanted for nothing more than the sense of security offered by the knowledge that he had left his life’s work in capable hands. In Aihara hands.

"Being indecisive doesn't suit you, Mei. It has always been my wish for an Aihara to be in charge of my school for a very long time but I sometimes wonder whether such a thing is still possible." He made his concern clear.

Mei was clearly more than capable to run the academy. She was more than willing to run the academy. The only doubt he felt was whether her dedication to the family business would someday wane, just as his son’s had.

Shou abandoning the family had thwarted all of his plans and put a stop to his ambitions. Later on, Mei’s willingness to follow the whims of her heart had done the same and completely precluded the possibility of him spending these last years of his life in serene retirement.

He had to admit that his blonde-haired granddaughter’s moxie and business savvy had greatly surprised him. The fact that she had built her own company from nothing had caused him to feel a strange sense of camaraderie with her. She was still a foreign object though, unpredictable and incomprehensible for the most part.

As it was, she could no longer trust his family. He could certainly not trust Shou and even though he knew Mei to love the Academy as much as he did, he also knew that the Academy and the family legacy was no longer what she valued the most.

The birth of his youngest grandchild had been a blessing. A chance to set the course straight once again. He was a practical man above all things, able to push past his grievances and disappointments in order to secure his goal. An Aihara must always be at the helm of the Academy as only a true Aihara would understand and promote the spirit of the Academy. It could never be anything else.

“Grandfather…” Mei’s voice halted his contemplation. Her brow was slightly furrowed, as though her eyes wanted to speak words that her lips could not.

“...I should take my leave now.” She said, now bowing slightly and averting his gaze. “There are still matters that require my attention.”

He agreed with her and soon enough he found himself alone in the living room. His tea was no longer warm but no one knew that he liked it better this way.

Song of Then

The sense of failure had a particular bitterness to it and unlike sadness, it did not fall over the heart at once; it seeped through and drop by drop, it filled everything. By the time Mei’s conversation with her Grandfather had concluded, there was no space left untouched by the poison of failure.

It was not her Grandfather that she had failed. Failing her Grandfather was something she had grown accustomed to and it could no longer leave her in such a dazed state. Today, she had failed the people she loved the most, the two people who had filled her life with incredible amounts of happiness.

She moved as in a dream and for once, she was glad for the maid leading her to the exit as her mind felt so muddled that even a task as easy as this would have exhausted her. A sharp thought pierced her mind with little mercy. It demanded her to turn around and make her way back to him so that she could at least speak her mind, telling him how things were and how they were going to be.

“Aihara-sama.” The maid’s unassuming voice had her almost jump. They had reached the foyer and now the exit was surely too close to turn back.

Mei collected herself, using every inch of her will to do so. She traded her slippers for her shoes, briefly nodding her goodbye before stepping into the sunlight. She squinted her eyes at the warm glow of Summer and immediately retrieved her aviators sunglasses from her bag. Her Grandfather’s gloomy mansion had caused the sunlight to bother her eyes.

Then, a sudden sensation, a jolt within her chest and that peculiar feeling of having eyes on her.

“Mei!” A rush of happiness flooded her as her name was called by the voice that she loved above all sounds.

She turned toward it and sure enough, her beautiful Yuzu was standing there, along the sidewalk, not far from her and waving at her energetically as if her presence alone would have not commanded the entirety of Mei’s attention.

Yuzu stood in the sunlight, smiling as radiantly as ever as the warm rays flared up the gold in her hair and added a beautiful bright note to the subtle bronze of her skin. A colored foulard ran through the loops of the faded denim skirt she was wearing as a belt would, underlining the trimness of her waistline. On her upper body Yuzu wore a faded denim shirt. The top button was open as so to reveal the enticing view of her angular collarbone, one of Mei’s favorite sights. A pair of low-cut orange heeled boots and a loose bag of the same color completed her outfit.

The ring on her finger shimmered as well as she waved, kissed as it was by Summer’s lips. Mei could not resist the temptation of brushing her thumb over her own band at the sight.

Mei started walking toward her as in a dream, almost floating. Her tense face had relaxed and her heart felt lighter, such was the effect her partner had on her. She stopped less than a meter from Yuzu and took her hand.

Without warning, the urge to feel Yuzu grew too strong to ignore. Mei released her hand and stepped forward to wrap herself around her partner. She held onto her, gripping at her denim shirt and resting her smiling lips against her neck.

A delighted chuckle tickled her ears as her lover clasped her arms around her, taking hold of her own wrist as she joined them about the small of Mei’s back. Yuzu then pressed her cheek against Mei’s and the warm of her touch was pleasantly familiar as was the rhythm of her breathing. They stood like that for several moments while the sun cast its warmth against their joined bodies.

Once they parted, Yuzu gently pushed a lock of hair behind Mei’s ear and Mei melted into a smile of relief. She reached for Mei’s hand once again to delicately play with her beloved’s slender elegant fingers.

“Yuzu.” Mei said the only word that inhabited her mind at the moment, all the while offering Yuzu an adoring yet inquisitive glance.

“Let’s go home together, Mei.” Yuzu proposed, leaving the reason behind her sudden appearance unspoken. Surely, she must have predicted that Mei would have been unsettled by meeting with her Grandfather.

Still the euphoric glint in her eyes revealed that she had simply desired to meet with Mei regardless of the situation.

She turned around and wrapped herself around Mei’s arm, causing the tips of her ears to turn rouge, yet the smile that had settled on her lips did not falter. They started for the station, walking in companionable silence until Yuzu started humming a familiar tune under her breath, as was her habit.

“I think Mama and Atsu-chan are building an octopus. That girl has so much Lego...” Yuzu remarked, flashing another dazzling smile in her direction." ...And even more creativity.”

Atsuko most surely did not lack in creativity, so much so that when weaving a tale about a jealous Space Octopus— which surely was the source of inspiration of her current Lego endeavor — she had cast Mei as the hero of her story. Mei felt that had not been the only time her sister had her wearing such mantle, regardless of whether she felt herself deserving of that position.

It was upon that thought that the spell of contentment that Yuzu had cast on her broke. The memory squeezed Mei’s heart in a cruel grip as she felt anything but a hero a the moment.

Quite the contrary, actually. She was but a coward, keeping silent while her sister was being spoken of as an object. She had failed not only Atsuko, but the rest of her family as well. She did not deserve to have those emerald eyes look at her with such love.

"She also put her new badge on Selene for safekeeping…” Yuzu continued. “...And I’m sure that she’s going to love her other present even more!” She added, putting a little jump of delight in her step.

“...Mei?” Yuzu called for her, falling still and peering at her in concern.

Mei’s sudden lack of willingness had not passed unnoticed and she wished she had pulled her sunglasses down, as facing Yuzu’s gaze directly was a true hardship in that moment.

“A bit of tiredness... Do not mind it, Yuzu.” She was not lying as the day was proving to be quite taxing and she knew her partner to be too gracious to investigate further.

They turned a corner, walking at leisurely pace, as Mei was unwilling to let this brief moment of solace go. There was a peculiar serenity embedded in the simple action of taking a stroll with Yuzu.

Her troubled mind had not allowed her to fully enjoy it but nevertheless, the simple comfort had not failed to smooth her tension a small amount, yet she still had no words to explain to her partner what had transpired during the one-sided conversation she had just exchanged with her Grandfather.

“...Should we write a note to go with her present, Yuzu?” She switched to a topic that she knew would garner Yuzu’s complete focus.

“Yup!” Yuzu nodded giddily at the thought. “You should write it though! She loves your calligraphy!” A joyful giggle followed. “I’ll draw something to go with it! The three of us as bears maybe?”

The image brought a sincere smile upon Mei’s lips and she mentally thanked her lover for being such a thoughtful person.

Upon entering their home, Yuzu announced their arrival in her usual singsong voice. The place was empty and her action might have seemed pointless but it was not. Their home was one of the symbols of their relationship, a place they both had invested money in. Their joint actions and sacrifices had made it a reality and by announcing their arrival, Yuzu aimed to reinforce that very fact. They began their life together a long time before moving into their apartment but the cozy abode two floors below them was in the past now.

Without warning, Yuzu lost her balance as she became tangled while removing one of her shoes. She would have landed on her face if Mei’s hands had not darted to grip her waist to swiftly and firmly pull her back. In spite of her near collision with the ground, a giggle tumbled past Yuzu’s lips as she found herself with her back tightly pressed against Mei’s chest. Her partner’s arms were clasped firmly around her midriff as Mei’s face rested along the curvature of her neck from behind.

“Yuzu.” A whisper against her skin sent a shiver through her. “You should be more careful.” Mei was pleading rather than reprimanding her.

“Don’t worry, my love. I have catlike reflexes.” She jokingly reassured her while covering her partner's hands with her own before claiming them in a firm hold.

Yuzu took her time, savoring her lover’s closeness and synchronizing her breathing with Mei’s. Once their patterns matched, she slowed down, progressively, taking longer and deeper breaths, leading Mei to steady her own rhythm.

She gently removed Mei’s arms from around her, stroking the skin with her thumbs as she did, before turning around to face her lover, cupping her face with both hands to stare firmly into the depths of her wide purple eyes.

Yuzu, leaned closer, parting her love’s lips with her own before claiming them with gentle firmness, falling into a slow and languid kiss that consumed several moments. The rhythm they fell into was one of lazy pleasure, a love so delicate that it had them swaying in place with Mei’s hands taking purchase of Yuzu’s trim hips.

They stood within each other’s arms for a few more moments, simply gazing into the depths of each other’s eyes as they could take hold of the other through the simple act of staring.

Mei relieved herself of her blazer at last and put it on the coat hook while Yuzu stood by her in bemused attendance. They put on their slippers and walked into the living area, Yuzu stretching her arms above her head as she skipped forward.

In spite of feeling the strong need to get out of the rest of her suit, Mei elected to remain behind Yuzu. She felt mentally exhausted and wanted nothing more than to be lead. Her partner’s presence of spirit was a light she intended to follow and yet a part of her rebelled against the idea of having Yuzu soothe her troubles. She felt undeserving of such privilege.

Without warning, Yuzu pivoted on her right foot and turned to her with a most dazzling smile on her face. Mei squinted, 