"Yuzu," breathed Mei close to the blonde's ear. It was Sunday and the sun was sitting behind the window blinds, leaving lazy yellow stripes over the bedside and tile floor. Everyone at the hospital was relaxed on a day like this, far from the chaos and emergencies, simply waiting to get better. Yuzu's wing was calm, not a lot of hurry or just idling by.

Somewhere a funeral bell tolled, crows scattered next to a church on a green hill. Inside her head Mei was cobwebs and spiders, still anxious and stuffy. Mei's life had been in freefall. Now things were coming to a simmer. How had it all come to this? She'd had paradise in the stretch of an arm, and it had wilted away. Why had she gone wrong, why did she deserve this punishment?

Yuzu writhed on the hospital bed under the covers, grungily falling in and out of sleep, trying to blink her eyes open but failing as consciousness arrived and left in waves. Mei saw the girl's beautiful eyes in between spasms, but eventually, with the soul still half missing, she reached a steady state of awareness. The real Yuzu was still locked away in a tall tower like some Rapunzel or sleeping beauty, but physically present for all intents and purposes.

Mei bit her lip and cursed herself. Yuzu felt it, even in her trapped state. Her eyes shifted in the direction of the tall raven-haired beauty who was barely containing herself in the visitor's chair. Her head rested on her palms as she sat on the edge of her seat near the bed, sometimes whispering, sometimes praying. She wanted to be let go of this torture.

"Mei, what's wrong?" said Ayukawa-san, the female psyche doctor who was there for Yuzu's care and psychological observation. She had a white coat on, glasses, an age above forty and crow's feet and black strands of hair tied back. Mei wasn't responding, "Can I talk to you outside for a moment?" Mei finally woke out of her torturous stupor and followed the doctor out of the room, her face disgruntled and tired.

Mei smiled at Yuzu briefly, and the blonde looked worried that Mei was leaving her again, even if she didn't completely understand anything anymore. In her khaki jeans and purple blouse, Mei followed Ayukawa-san to a coffee area for visitors, as she reviewed the case for her again. "And remember, no sudden anything, lead her out of this with soothing, slow communication. Have a goal in mind of where you want to go. This is going to be very tricky."

Mei nodded. It was stupid that it had all come to this but she had to try. She breathed out calmly, cringing at the stress she could feel throughout her body. She would do anything for that sweet candy-haired girl who used to smile for her.

Her crisp steps from her high heels tapped thunderously on the hard tile floors back to Yuzu. The blonde's adorable eyes were wide open waiting for who she thought was her lover from before the letter, before the whole mess had started and they had parted forever. Yuzu waited for the most reliable presence in the room, who she unconsciously knew was her key out of here.

Mei opened the door swiftly, and Yuzu inhaled in wonderment, curious as to what Mei's next step would be. Lately Yuzu felt scared and she didn't know why. Nothing quite made sense to her and she forgot things.

"Mei, I—"

"No, Yuzu, listen to me." Mei reached her hand around the back of the blonde girl's head, resting her down onto the bed. Mei closed her eyes and fulminated a plan in her mind. There had to be some way to change Yuzu back to the way she was before this all started.

"Yuzu, you know that I love you, right?"

Yuzu was startled, she looked at her mother who shrugged her shoulders and smiled, entreating them to go on, that it was alright and to pay attention purely to Mei. Yuzu looked back and nodded, her blonde curls bobbing cutely.

"Great. That's a great start. Listen."

Mei thought to herself, meditating, not wanting to make any rash movements, treating this like a chess game with the transgressions of her past.

"Yuzu, I haven't told you this, or anybody before now. I love you, not just like a sister, but as a lover."

The doctor was stunned to hear it out loud as was Ume, you could hear a pin drop in the hospital room. Udagawa was not in the room, having instead chosen to eat pastries and read a magazine in the lobby, figuring he had taken Mei as far as he could. Mei was gladdened to be empowered like this, finally having the agency to solve the mess she had started with that horrible letter a year ago.

"Yuzu, I want you to forgive me. Forgive me for leaving you, for what I did to you. I ran out on us—"

Just then Yuzu held her head tightly, the headache was intense, she pressed her palm to a sweaty forehead and passed out on the bed.

Mei was shocked, Yuzu had seemingly fallen back into her dream state.

"Don't worry, Miss Aihara, this happens to patients in cases like this. I see you chose the direct route."

The doctor made sure the IV was connected to Yuzu's arm as the blonde rested, breathing hard on her back, eyes closed, grimacing a bit and sweating. Ume helped tuck her in under the sheets again.

"Is she going to be alright?" asked Mei tensely.

"Oh yes, she's recovering from her mind being jogged back into place."

"I thought it would be best, Ma'am. I'm not going to let another opportunity to be with the person I love most in the world leave me again. I'm not going to settle for being in pain every waking hour of the day, with my guilt and without her. I've chosen…I want my own happiness."

The doctor looked at her admiringly, adjusting her glasses, "I daresay it seems like that's what you've decided. That's fine, just please consider the patient fell out very hard from seemingly everything that's gone on between you two. She must have shut off that memory because of the stress."

The doctor had Yuzu packed under the sheets tightly, approving of her recovery. "Let's get some coffee."

"Mei," spoke up Ume, "Can I talk to you for a moment?" A hiccup and anxiety in her voice.

Mei blushed; she had forgotten Ume was even in the room. Summoning all her strength to help and love Yuzu like a proud actor on a Shakespearean stage, Mei had felt like the lone actor. "Of course, Mother." The doctor blushed, "I'll be waiting down the hall."

Mei sat down on the other side of the bed, facing her mother and also keeping an eye on Yuzu, next to the sunny window shades. She looked down on the girl who she now knew was the most important thing in her life up to that point.

"Mei, why didn't you tell anyone about this? I thought you were engaged to Udagawa-san?"

Mei's eyes flashed open, she realized that all discussions would be like this for the next few months. She might as well take the broad-side of the sword she was falling on right away. "I was. I'm not now, and he knows."

Ume was shell-shocked and then tried to refocus. "I see."

They sat silently for a while, Ume touching Yuzu's face a bit to wipe away any sweat, cause and concern coloring her personality these days more and more, leaving her haggard and openly depressed. Yuzu was her only daughter after all, who she had lived for these last sixteen years.

"I understand, Mei. I see that you love my daughter very much. It must've been hard for you to throw everything away with your fiancée for the sake of my daughter. I know your grandfather likely planned it your whole life. It must be difficult to open your soul in front of strangers and myself, and not have Yuzu even understand the implications."

Mei smiled, "I deserve all the punishment I can get, thank you Ume."

Ume looked over calmly at the girl, "I don't want to punish you, nobody should be punished for love. It's a simple thing if you understand it objectively. It exists to help, not hinder us. It's a gift."

Mei felt like crying again but held back the tears. She sniffed and pulled out a tissue to dab her eyes and blow her nose. Today she was not a sad girl, she was here to fight for something she wanted. She felt brave, like today was the beginning of a new life for her.

"Mother, I know it must come as a shock, but Yuzu and I were having an affair all along behind your back."

"Mm," was all the older woman could muster. She kept her eyes on Yuzu's sleepy struggle.

"We lied to you, and for that I'm sorry. I lied to myself, catering to my grandfather instead of our family with you and Yuzu, but he's the only real parental figure I ever had for so much of my life. Just as you are the only mother I've ever had in my life, and Yuzu was my sister, but perhaps we needed each other much more than even that."

Ume sat and listened, gently pulling a curl from Yuzu's eye, tending to her a cloth.

"I…love Yuzu. I want to be with her, I want to be able to choose her. If Kami-Sama ever gives me a second chance, I want to take it. I want to live happily. I was stupid not to listen to Yuzu and her pleadings, to have mistreated her so much. She knew better than I what I really wanted and needed."

Ume responded after sitting back down in her chair with a huff, "We all make choices and decisions. It sounds like you've made yours. Yuzu is a passionate girl, blind to some things, as I'm sure you are as well. She's also quite brave, it sounds like that's affected you. Let's bring Yuzu back together."

Mei got weepy beyond her powers, she walked over to the other side of the bed and hugged her mother tightly, letting all of her bad feelings go in an embrace that felt secure and warm. Ume also shed a tear, feeling happy that she was closer to her daughter-in-law again, both of her daughters in the room with her.

"Now go see that doctor, and come back to us."

The 'us' laid deeply in Mei's mind as she made her way through the hallway to see Ayukawa-san. 'Us' had a very nice ring to it and she realized that it was all she had ever wanted her whole life.

[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, I was having a conversation with my mother in law."

The doctor sipped some coffee and looked up from her records in her office, wondering at the girl for a second, noticing the changes in her face.

"Miss Aihara, we've tried the subtle approach, and frankly, it has failed."

"Doctor—"

"And," interrupted Ayukawa-san, "I think it's time we try the direct approach. I want you to consider what you're going to say. I'm now sure that only you can unlock her mind, release her from this prison. You caused this and coincidentally you have the key. We've readied her subconscious for what comes next: subtle reminders, casual talk, touch. Now it's time we reconsider our strategy and get to the heart of the matter."

Mei demurred.

"Miss Aihara, it seems clear that from what you've told me in private, your letter and your leaving her suddenly have left this girl in a bad situation, and accosting her on the street, this is clearly a shock-induced memory loss. So, I've come to the conclusion that we can shock her out of it."

Mei looked on, frozen.

"It's time that we discuss ideas on how."

"How…?"

"Yes, I think we can work together on this. I can understand your situation because it's very much like if I had suddenly left my husband, jolting him out of our long-term emotional ties. Yuzu is in a very fragile emotional condition, her position in life has become imbalanced. It's like if you threw her off of a balance beam she was striding for so long. There's a way out, though."

"Yes? I'm all ears." Mei was desperate.

"What about giving her what she's always desired?"

"Huh?"

"Mei, from our phone conversation this morning, where you explained the situation, it sounded like you were holding back in your relationship with her out of care for what would happen next if you were to leave her suddenly."

"Right."

"Well, now you've decided to be with her as her partner, correct?"

"Of course!" Mei smiled; she was catching on but she didn't know where she was being taken.

"What if we tried to give Yuzu…pleasure?"

"Pleasure?"

"What if we dove into her subconscious and gave her the deepest desires she holds dear?"

"Doctor—"

The doctor interrupted her again, to Mei's chagrin, "There's a way out of this. You withheld your true self from Yuzu. It's time you gave her what she's been searching for. I understand that you had an imbalanced relationship and then tried to jump back into her life suddenly-after leaving her depressed and full of sorrow—out of the blue."

"Yes, Miss." Mei felt like a child, their whole relationship had been so immature.

"You've made an adult decision to be with her. She knows you now, we're where you two were before, back to six months and more ago, where you were both quite intimate with each other. But perhaps her subconscious doesn't understand your true feelings? You've told her that you love her now, so she has that at least."

Mei was on the edge of her seat, this was a lot of elaboration for a strategy.

"Mei, I want you to sleep with her."

Mei was stunned. Deaf dumb and mute, absolutely shocked.

"I'm telling you this as a health professional and a friend, Miss Aihara. I don't want to see you two go through any more pain now. I want to see this resolved, the longer this goes on the worse it is for you and especially the patient. As I understand your relationship, you've held back with her."

Mei started to recover, "Yes."

"You were afraid of the consequences from your grandfather, your career, your inheritance."

"Yes."

"But that made you too miserable to bear."

"Indeed, ma'am."

"There's only one solution for it, I want you to seduce Miss Yuzu tonight. But when you do, I want you to do so clearly, to regain intimacy step by step, to bring her back into your trust. I'm leaving it to you since you yourself broke your relationship. Only you can heal her now, it's clearly up to you. Not even her mother can bring her back from the depths."

Mei was frozen, "I want you to be the one to fix what you did. And I think since you love her so much, that you would jump at the opportunity."

Mei gulped subconsciously, "Doctor, this is quite a plan!" She laughed out loud, a red shade of crimson, totally embarrassed to be talking about her bedroom theatrics with Yuzu out loud.

"Well, you've taken the adult step of making a mature adult decision. You've chosen to love your stepsister as a partner, you've even left your fiancé. Decisions like this are nearly impossible for single or LGBT females to make in Japan today. I respect your courage and resolve to be yourself in a country like this, as a Japanese woman I deeply respect your decision. I want to help you any way I can."

"Yes, but doctor…"

"I know it will be hard, and embarrassing for you. I will be here tonight, around 10PM, and that's when we will spring it on her. I think it's important to resolve this situation as quickly as possible for the patient. Through text I've already gotten a favorable decision from her mother, she believes in you and Yuzu, she supports you both and wants you to succeed."

"Yes," Mei said welcomingly.

"I will be here in the hallway, I won't let anyone look in at what you're both doing, but I'll be here as support. You can let me know through text what happened, or you can call me if something goes wrong."

Mei began to cry tears of happiness, it was such an excellent plan and exactly what she wanted, life was finally giving her a break and she knew it. She looked up towards the ceiling, blessing whatever God or gods had given her this chance. This was a smart lady doctor! Mei would finally get the opportunity to directly confront Yuzu with her honest feelings.

"Miss Aihara, I know it's been hard, I don't want to see anymore tears from you two."

Mei shook her head, "Of course not."

The doctor smiled back; she was quite proud of her plan, the direct approach.

[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

Mei talked Ume through her plans, to which Ume nodded in approval about everything she was saying. She knew if this was going to get better, it was going to take both of her daughters working together.

"I support you both, I'll wait in the hallway with the doctor, I support your plan and I really want it to succeed."

Mei smiled and hugged her mother in law, she left for dinner with her ex-fiancé again, Udagawa being fully supportive of her through the entire process. They arrived back around 8pm, as Ayukawa-san and Ume conversed chattily while Yuzu slept, sometimes waking and watching television for a while, sometimes playing games on her phone, all the while looking distressed and not knowing why everyone around her seemed so happy. She was weary, she still didn't quite understand what was going on and didn't know why her head was still so foggy. It was like there was a big knot in her head that she couldn't untie.

'Ugh,' she thought, 'Everyone around me seems like they're celebrating a birthday party, I feel like crap.'

Her stomach felt bad, the dinner had been some mushy food she hadn't liked much, she wanted to go home. Yet somehow, she knew she belonged in this hospital bed. Living a glorious life out there in the real world was not for her, it had become challenging, exhausting.

She wanted Mei back here. Where was Mei? "Ow," the pain grew more intense, the throbbing in her head. What the hell was going on?

She cradled her head and the two women noticed immediately, "Yuzu, are you alright?" Ume showed a look of concern. "My head, it hurts again."

"Give her some pain meds," said the doctor. Ume took some pills from a bottle and got a cup of water, "Here you go honey, everything will be alright."

Yuzu swallowed the pills and felt a little better. She felt tired, sluggish, like she couldn't move under these sheets. She had never felt so emotionally exhausted by everything all at once. It was like her life was on the edge…but she didn't know why. She couldn't remember a huge part of her life; it was being held back for some reason.

'Damnit, what happened? One minute I was with sensei…' but it didn't come back. Something was blocking the next part of her memory. She had noticed that all of it was tied to Mei. That raven-haired goddess beauty genius she had fallen in love with. Grandfather had given her over to a fiancé, months of pain, crying, every time Mei came back into the room Yuzu got a new surprise. Memories always came back in a torrent, and she started to feel a little better. She wanted her back, why did she ever leave? The hints and tastes weren't enough, she wanted the full meal.

The women were chatting and a gameshow was on, contestants were jumping into a pool, interviewing people on a street, being asked questions by a gameshow host. Every time the crowd laughed, Yuzu would feel a little bit shittier. Why was the world so sweet to everyone but she couldn't have what she wanted? Why was she deprived of her one true love while everybody laughed and smiled? The world was cruel.

Yuzu felt a bit like crying but held back. Internally she was scared of when the final memory would drop. The blockage was still there, she dreaded the idea that it might have to do with Mei. In her dreams and sleep, after every time Mei had reentered the room, Yuzu had recovered a little more. She had gone from sweet intimacy, the fireworks, both of them studying in her room and sitting together, kissing in the hallway, to nothing, to feeling terrible after the fiancé entered the picture.

She wanted Mei back, but she dreaded the black-haired witch's presence. She knew the next time the key turned, it would be a big one. The anxiety within her built and built for that moment. Consciously she knew she was on the edge of being plunged into a very deep, cold ice pool, she dreaded the moment she was thrown in limbs flailing, the ice-cold realization…of whatever it was she had forgotten.

She slept again in peace, falling into dreams about Mei.

For some reason, this time they were at a playground, her and Mei were only around 8 and 9, sometimes 14 and 15, sometimes her normal age, in pastel colored clothes, and her favorite shirt from when she was in middle school, a white shirt with a dolphin and rainbow. Playing on the jungle gym, she was having so much fun, pushing Mei down a slide, egging her on to climb the monkey bars, chasing each other in tag, the swings.

Every time she pushed Mei, she felt her warm back, then she remembered watching her silhouette in bed at home, wanting to cry at how pretty and beautiful her stepsister was, wanting to help her. Reaching over and sliding a hand over her side to calm her pretty stepsister in her restless sleep, wanting more. Much more, a future, everything.

"Stupid!" the thoughts said, making Yuzu wince. "But she's right there!"

"Stupid! You can't have this girl, she's your stepsister!" Ume was furious. Grandfather showed up, "She's marrying a man, she's inheriting my empire, she will produce my grandchild!" Imperious. Yelling, shouting, pissed off.

Yuzu sweated in her sleep, as a warm hand graced her forehead. Internally she thought it must be her mother, who had steered her out of so many nightmares lately. However, the hand had something more to it, the long nails, the sternness, like they were driving a car to go to the store, rather than steering her into a positive future and so caring. It was a bit numb, the psychological grasp of this touch, not totally mindful, but yearning. On fire with yearning, thankfulness.

Yuzu woke out of her stupor in a cold sweat, she saw Mei in the nighttime darkness, and only Mei.

Her piercing violet eyes looked into her soul like fire. "Mei, why? What…"

"Yuzu, I did this to you." A tear crept down Yuzu's cheek and she didn't know why.

"What?"

"I did this to you, and I'm going to fix it."

"No, I—" Yuzu relented and backed away from the girl who had fire in her eyes. She cradled her head, "I still feel woozy. I've started to remember a lot of things but it still feels incomplete. Did you have something to do with this?"

Mei crept further up the bed on all fours, the fire still there. Yuzu was scared, intrigued, confused. Half of the things were still cloudy. "I've told you, Yuzu, that I'm sorry. I feel so guilty for having surprised you once too many times. First there was the letter…"

Yuzu gasped, that was coming back clear.

"Then there was probably when you learned about my engagement."

"Yes." Yuzu was listening now; her ears had perked up beyond her power. Something about Mei's voice always grabbed her attention, something magnetic always pulled her in.

"I hurt you. What is the last thing you remember?"

This was it, the final moment Yuzu had dreaded subconsciously and unconsciously, it was coming, the big final hurdle. "The last moment…"

"Yes, Yuzu. Please, I'll help you, I'll hold you, we'll get through this together."

Yuzu thought and thought, what was that final thing? "I remember being really depressed. You had left me for a man who you were going to marry, and I was trying to move on. I'm sorry, but I still love you, I can't let it go."

Mei was the one feeling emotional now, but Yuzu responded, "I mourned losing you. We were so in love, it was so exciting, and then all of a sudden, I was alone again. Please don't leave me alone, Mei!" The terror in Yuzu's eyes was startling, the green shimmer.

Mei was crumbling, she had been excited to meet Yuzu alone again but was not prepared to endure all the pain she had caused on top of her own which she had experienced this weekend and before with Udagawa.

The two sat silently for a while. Mei rubbed and touched the sheets, the feel of soft cotton, it reminded her of Yuzu's blonde hair and moved her to go on with this experiment. She hated seeing what pain Yuzu was in. There was still a kernel of hope she grasped onto, that they could get through this together.

"Yuzu…"

This was it, the final grand slam, the hit that would turn the blonde around, the one that had caused the amnesia in the first place.

"I was with my fiancé…"

Yuzu listened calmly. "I told him I was leaving him." Yuzu was stunned. She crept up to Mei and touched her face, rubbing her cheek and chin, "Really?"

Mei looked down and shed a tear, "Really. I'm really leaving him. I don't care about my family responsibilities, all that an Aihara woman is supposed to do for a grandfather who took care of her for her entire life. I want you. I want you I want you I want you, from my toes up to my eyeballs. My body needs you, all of me must have you."

Yuzu started to cry; this had been amazing news. All the negative feelings of being left alone surged forward out of the sickness, the feelings her body had protected her from in the course of the amnesia. It all flooded back giving her a very intense headache. "Ow."

Mei left the bed and retrieved painkillers and a glass of water, helping Yuzu take two pills to relieve her of her worries that she felt physically. Yuzu gulped the water down greedily to the last drop, and Mei thought her girlfriend might finally be on the road to recovery.

"I'm sorry, Yuzu, for not considering your feelings. What I did was terrible, but I hope you understand that I was confused, I was being pulled in many different directions. However…"

Yuzu looked up to the beautiful girl in front of her, "Now I feel like there are things I have to do, there are no longer choices about any of this. I need you, I have to have you, just like you have to have me."

Yuzu simply nodded, not sure what to say.

"What do you remember now?" She had a kind smile, urging Yuzu to go on.

"The day before I lost my memory, I was with the teacher talking about leaving you once and for all. Harumin had urged me to forget about you, I was going to get a single mattress…"

Yuzu cried. She wept into a pillow. Mei immediately felt sorry for her. Mei put a hand on her shoulder, Yuzu's entire body wrapped into the bed as she wept. The black-haired woman felt incredibly stupid for the entire ordeal, but she realized that this is what love is.

Once Yuzu had gotten over it, Mei crept to her side and hugged Yuzu, as a few more silent tears fell into her chest, wetting it with tears and snot. She felt a bit like a mother to a baby bird, bringing it into this life as a hatchling. She had done the deed so now she must give alms for the future she wanted.

Yuzu finally finished up, "I remember it all now. You really shocked me, Mei. Why did you have to run up to me in the middle of the day and shout things at me? Why?"

Mei nodded. "I was stupid and jealous, and I had decided I wanted you and no one else could have you. You had become my entire focus and love and I was going to have you one way or another. I'm sorry I did what I did. I can't take it back, I was stupid." Mei smiled warmly, Yuzu looked into her eyes and understood.

"It's okay, when you put it like that," Yuzu blew her nose into a tissue. "I get how seeing me with an older man might bring back memories of your old fiancé who used to do things to you."

Mei held Yuzu's shoulder and looked at her gently and warmly. It had all gone much better than expected, a little pain but they had sorted it out. "I want to be your partner, I want to be with you."

Yuzu lifted herself up and discarded the tissues in a bin. "I've heard everything you have to say, but I'm just not sure I can trust you anymore."

Mei was stunned. Her face had a blank look, white as a sheet. "I was talking to my therapist for a long time and you manipulated me. You used me and discarded me when you felt it was necessary. I'm not sure if you're really the one for me anymore."

Mei was broken, utterly shattered. "You…huh?"

Mei crept off the bed and stood looking at the girl. Yuzu had iron in her eyes. This was all a disaster now.

"Who breaks up with somebody over a letter? Who chooses a man when they're obviously gay? I confided all my secret desires and fears in you, and you left them to rot on the roadside. Aren't I human to you? I'm not a super being, I have my own thoughts and feelings and cares, as sensei has said time and again. Just human, nothing more."

Mei was speechless, no tone could come from her vocal chords, she was a shallow, broken statue barely sitting upright.

"Yuzu, I…"

Yuzu looked at her. The blonde then looked glumly down at her lap. "I'm willing to give you another chance regardless. Maybe I shouldn't? But I will, because I love you. You left me in the full spring of my romance for you, you shattered me, but I will try to love you again. You left your fiancé after all—"

Yuzu looked up to Mei for reassurance, all the vixen could do was nod, eyes steeped in tears that hadn't yet dropped, "And I can feel your passion. Overall, you've made quite a good case to keep me, but I don't know if I can make the same in myself to keep you."

Mei dropped her eyes to the ground, "I see."

"I love you, Mei, and you have told me as much back. I have to consider your feelings, you've devasted me numerous times, but I guess that is what love is."

"Yes," replied Mei glumly, stubbornly, defeatedly.

"I've loved you with all of my heart's soul, so I have to at least give you a second chance. But things may not move as quickly as you like."

"Of course," Mei felt a sprig of hope in her step, stepping forward a tad back towards the blonde, from the funereal distance she had kept in the dark.

"I'm willing to deal you this second chance, but you have to promise me something."

Mei bit her lip with defiance, she wanted this more than anything ever in her life, "Speak it," almost thundering back at the blonde, though not having meant to be that snobbish or defiant.

Yuzu resumed, though noting the tone. She knew Mei liked to be in control, Yuzu was the more feminine one. Today though, or now of all times, was her time to speak her will.

"You have to promise to stay with me."

'That's it?' Mei thought to herself. 'Really?'. Yuzu smiled out of the corner of her lip.

Mei noted the smile, walking forward immediately and kneeling next to Yuzu's bed, she placed her head in the girl's lap. "Anything to be together with you again, Yuzu. I want to be together with you for the rest of my days. You're all I can think about, all I want."

Yuzu's lap was warm, radiating, it was home. Mei felt like she belonged there, like it was meant for her.

"You can have me, Mei, if you make this promise. Now let's go home."

The bands of moonlight faded on the two lovers, Yuzu stroking Mei's dark tendrils of hair, her scalp, and like a little kitten, Mei soaked up the affection for an hour or even more, practically purring at the affection. She had never admitted to herself, either because of her father's or grandfather's influence, that this was all she had ever wanted. She was a pliable girl, it really wasn't all business, she was human after all.

Ayukawa-san had looked in once or twice, during a confrontational moment, and later with Mei leaving her head in Yuzu's lap, and assumed everything had turned out fine. She went to go talk to Ume, "It seems Miss, that they have sorted it out."

Ume simply flashed a smile from her magazine on her phone, "Splendid. I thought they might."

"But are you really okay with this? It is your household and they are step-sisters after all."

Ume smiled again and sighed, "I like seeing my daughters happy, that's all a parent can ever really hope for."

Ayukawa-san paused, then, "Indeed Mrs. Aihara," replied the doctor, "Indeed."