Disclaimer: I do not own Maria-sama Ga Miteru. I just like to fool around with the story and characters. For fun. Not for profit.

A/N: Back with episode two! (Well... technically three if you include the pilote but... meh) Woot!

Thanks for the reviews deepseachinky and serenityskywalker! You two roxxor! I also wanna thank anyone who fav'd or followed this story. You all are the light of my very dark life! (Nahh its not so bad. lulz)

On with the show!

The One-Thousand Faces of Yumi Fukuzawa

Thoughtful

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thought·ful

/ˈTHôtfəl/

Adjective

Absorbed in or involving thought

Synonyms

pensive –reflective–musing – meditative

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Not a moment after she entered the Rose Mansion second floor meeting room Shimako, ensuring that Yumi was not present, cleared her throat.

"Excuse me everyone."

Her voice wasn't very loud, nor was it outright demanding for attention. But when she spoke, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at her, eyes wide in surprise. Since when did Rosa Gigantea suddenly burst into a room and gather everyone's attention like that? It was so odd, in fact, that Shimako found herself turning around and looking over her shoulder, suddenly feeling that it hadn't even been her that caused everyone to look up.

"Uh… sorry." She said, turning back to the group, her ears burning slightly. "I only meant to make an announcement."

Sachiko, from her chair beside the table, nodded slowly. "Alright, Shimako-san. What kind of announcement?"

Rei made a movement from her seat, not quite making it out but also not staying in it. After a moment, she seemed to decide to stay put. "Uh… should we wait for everyone?" She asked. Shimako scanned the room quickly. Who was missing? Sachiko and Rei were both there, working on miscellaneous forms that were shuffled down from the administration today. Further down the table was Shimako's petite soeur, Noriko. Her eyes were wide, not unlike a deer facing a car's headlights. Apparently, she was just a surprised at her grande soeur's entrance as everyone else. Turning her head towards the other side of the room, Shimako spotted Yoshino, who had the kettle of tea poised in a pouring position. She was standing, frozen, also staring at Shimako with a wide-eyes stare.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Shimako decided to slowly put more effort into surprising her friends more. If they were so shocked at one time…

Shaking her head, Shimako made her way towards Noriko at the far end of the table. "No, we can't really wait." She said, her shoes clacking softly on the wooden floor as she walked. "Well, as long as Yumi-san isn't here, its fine."

It didn't take long for the others to catch on. Yoshino was the first.

"Ooohh is it another picture?" She squealed happily, the tea forgotten. "Yes! It's been like, a whole month since the last one!" All but leaping towards her cousin, she latched onto Rei's shoulder and took a seat on her right. "So, what's the face? What's the plan?"

Shimako, deciding to stay standing as opposed to sitting, placed a hand on Noriko's shoulder. The younger girl peered up at her, raising her dark eyebrow questioningly. Shimako sent her a warm smile, letting her know that everything was alright, pursed her lips. "Well, only if Sachiko-sama and Rei-sama are alright with it…" She said, trialing off as she brought her eyes up to the older girls.

"What is the expression?" Sachiko asked.

"Thoughtful."

Rei leaned back, as did Sachiko. The two girls exchanged a look and, after a moment, Sachiko tilted her head back towards Shimako.

"'Thoughtful', you say? What do you mean by 'thoughtful'?

"I mean pensive. Thinking about something. Musing." Shimako explained, letting her eyes coast from Sachiko, to Rei, and then to Yoshino. "I want a picture of her thoughtful expression."

There was a few long moments of silence. During which, Shimako held her hand tightly on Noriko's shoulder. Her other hand, she noticed, was shaking slightly as she held it limply at her side. Apparently, the fact that she was bringing up an idea for capturing another of Yumi's famous expressions was exciting to her. Suppressing a nervous smile, she squared her shoulders and made herself appear as serene as she always was.

"That… is… an… incredible idea!" Yoshino shrieked, standing up excitedly. Rei recoiled away from her cousin, her face a mix of shock and amusement. An interesting combination, Shimako couldn't help but think. Maybe that could be next on the 'Yumi's faces' list. "We are so doing that! Can you imagine it? Yumi-san's face all scrunchy and-" Yoshino pursed her lips and screwed her eyes shut, trying to imitate what she thought their classmate would look like.

Rei sighed and gently rubbed at her ear with her hand, sending a chastising look in Yoshino's direction. "Well, Sachiko?" She asked, turning all the way towards her fellow third-year. "What do you think?"

"Do you have a plan?" Sachiko asked archly. "If it's your idea, it is to be your plan."

Yes, Shimako knew how it worked. If someone wanted a face, they had to be the ones to come up with the plan to get Yumi to make the expression. It's the agreement the Yamayurikai made when they first started capturing their friend's expressions on camera. So far, though, most of the plans had either been Yoshino's or Sachiko's. If the others agreed to this, it would mean it would be Shimako's first time planning a capture. As the realized that fact, Shimako felt her hand shake a little more.

"I… have a plan." She said, clenching her hand tightly into a fist behind her back. Why was she so nervous? Was it because she was afraid it wouldn't work? Was she scared they would refuse her idea? Why? She swallowed and released her breath slowly. "We will present Yumi-san with a riddle."

"A riddle?" Rei echoed, tilting her head curiously. Her gesture was mirrored by her cousin who had re-taken her seat beside the older girl.

"Yes." Shimako nodded, feeling a little better now that she got the idea out. "We will give Yumi-san a riddle. A difficult one. One that she will think very hard about. If we choose the right spot and time, then she should make a thoughtful face we can then capture." It sounded easy, if not a little campy. But, again, Shimako didn't really know why she was so nervous. Sachiko seemed to pick up on her feeling, but chose instead to question her further.

"Do you know any riddles that Yumi would not know?" She asked.

"No, I do not." Shimako shook her head. She then brought up her hand from behind her back and placed it on Noriko's other shoulder, causing the younger girl to start. "But Noriko does."

"Noriko-chan?" Yoshino asked, turning her attention to the girl sitting in front of Shimako. "Noriko-chan knows riddles?"

Shimako smiled, her pride seeping out through her serene control. "It's something of a hobby, apparently. Right Noriko?"

"Uh… Y-yea." Noriko said softly, neck shrinking down nervously as every eye in the room turned down to her. "I know a few…"

Sachiko looked to Rei again, seemed to ask a silent question, got an equally silent answer, and turned back to Noriko. "Can you tell us one, Noriko-chan?" She asked kindly.

Noriko turned her head up to look at Shimako, got a warm smile in return, and then visibly relaxed. "Yea. Let me think of one." She said, blinking slowly. Her lips formed a few quiet words as she thought. After a long minute of silence, she straightened up in her seat. "Alright. I have one."

"Let's hear it!" Yoshino said, smiling widely.

Noriko's eyes narrowed, her face became contemplative, and she then spoke. "A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms. The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in three years. Which room is safest for him?"

The room went quiet for a long moment. Shimako could tell that the others were thinking about the riddle, and laughed silently to herself. She had heard this one before of course, and had found the answer fairly easily. This was one of her petite soeur's easier riddles.

"Oh! I know!" Yoshino pounded her fist into her other hand. "Room three! Because the lions should be all dead! They haven't eaten in three years!" She snorted a laugh and shook her head. "Easy, Noriko-chan! How about a harder one? Yumi-san will be able to solve something like that easily!"

Noriko nodded and cleared her throat. "Alright. How about this? You wear me every day but you never put me on. I will change colors if you leave me out too long. What am I?"

Again, the room fell silent as the girls began to think. And again, Shimako had heard this one before. A little more difficult, but solvable. I had taken Shimako a full ten minutes of thought before she had actually gotten it, though. She wondered if it would take the others as long.

"Clothes?" Yoshino tried. "Dah… no. You put clothes on."

"Make-up?" Rei hazarded, shrugging.

"No, you put it on." Yoshino shook her head.

After another long minute of silence, Sachiko made a noise. "Ah!" She breathed. "It's skin. We wear it every day, but never put it on. And if its outside too long, it changes colors." She nodded, pleased with herself. "A good riddle, Noriko-chan."

"Thank you, Rosa Chinensis." Noriko breathed, coloring in embarrassment.

"Another one! Another one!" Yoshino said, her eyes alight with a challenging fervor. Noriko tilted her head, and clicked her tongue in thought.

"Well, I had a new one… a pretty difficult one. One I haven't even told you, Onee-sama." She said towards Shimako. "But… I would like to save it for Yumi-sama… if we are going ahead with the plan to capture her face."

Shimako nodded and turned her attention back towards Sachiko. "Well, Noriko seems to be prepared." She said, smiling. "Should we go ahead and capture Yumi-san's thoughtful face?"

Sachiko looked back at Shimako, a slightly humored look in her dark eyes. After a moment's contemplation, she nodded. "Alright. We will go ahead with your plan." She put her elbows on the table and held her chin in her hands. "When would you like to put your plan into action?"

"Tomorrow. Everyone is here after classes and we can set up the time easily enough with Tsutako-san." Shimako explained, feeling as though an immense weight was lifted from her chest. "Noriko, can you let Touko-chan know what we are doing?" She asked the younger girl.

"Yes, Onee-sama." She said and, with a bow, left the room.

After watching her petite soeur leave, Shimako turned back to the others and placed her hands on the table. "Thank you, Sachiko-sama. Rei-Sama."

Yoshino snorted. "Sachiko-sama and Rei-chan just want a copy of the picture as much as you do, Shimako-san." She said, throwing a sardonic look to the older girls. "Not to mention, I do as well. For a copy of Yumi-san's face… there isn't much we won't do."

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Noriko had indeed done a job well done. Not only had the first year let Touko know, but she also went ahead and gathered Tsutako, their resident photographer, before Shimako could even find her. Obviously, once Noriko had gotten over the nervousness of being put on the spot, she was just as excited about the plan as Shimako and Yoshino. Well, maybe not as much as Yoshino.

But close.

Also, true to Shimako's prediction, the next afternoon everyone was present in the Rose Mansion. There was not a lot of work to do that afternoon, and the Yamayurikai were spending their afternoon in a fairly leisurely fashion. Tea was serves with cakes, and the girls chatted amicably as the clock winded down to a reasonable time to head home.

Casting her eyes on her wristwatch, Shimako noted the time and sent a silent nod to the others around the room. It was the time to begin, and from the tell-tale sound of the rock thrown against the Rose Mansion wall a minute ago, Tsutako was now in position. She wouldn't say where she would be located, and more than once Shimako wondered how the girl would be able to get a good picture of Yumi from the inside of a second story room from the outside. The other had waved off Shimako's worry, saying that "she had it covered"… whatever that meant. Shimako could only hope the photographer knew what she was doing.

And that she wasn't doing anything dangerous.

Shimako let out a breath to release her nervousness into the ether, and gave Noriko a gentle nudge beside her. The girl started, but kept her reaction under control. Shimako could feel her nod slowly, and heard her clear her throat as she began to talk.

"Uh… Yumi-sama?"

"Yes, Noriko-chan?" Yumi asked, setting her teacup down on the table softly.

"Do you like riddles?"

Yumi blinked a few times, and her mouth opened in slight surprise. After a moment, she seemed to pull her thoughts back together. "Uh… well, I guess so? I'm afraid I'm not very good at them, though." She said, laughing weakly.

Noriko shook her head. "It's alright, I heard a fun riddle the other day, and I thought you would like to hear it. I mean, I thought everyone would like to hear it." She corrected herself.

"Of course, Noriko-chan." Sachiko said beside Yumi. "What is it?"

Taking a deep breath, Noriko narrowed her eyes and again her face took on a completive expression.

"First think of a person who lives in disguise,

Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies.

Next tell me what is always the last thing to mend,

The middle of middle and the end of end?

And finally give me the sound often heard during the search of a hard-to-find word.

Now string them together and answer me this,

Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"

She then fell silent and released the remainder of her breath, her face red with nervousness. Shimako smiled in pride at her petite soeur, and then took a look around the room. Everyone had a similar, thoughtful expression as they considered the riddle. Indeed, as Noriko had said, Shimako hadn't heard this one yet. But, solving a riddle wasn't the point of the plan today. The goal was-

Shimako leveled her eyes on Yumi and almost let out a laugh at what she saw.

Yumi's face, which was normally either calm and content, or happy and friendly, was now wide-eyed and confused. She blinked rapidly a few times, her eyes aimed up towards the ceiling as she attempted to think about the riddle. Her lips worked noiselessly as she repeated the riddle, attempting to pull apart different sounds and words to find the answer. Her hand came up and she tapped her bottom lip a few times. Her cheek twitched once. Twice. A third time, and she scratched at it absently with her other hand. After a long minute, she tilted her head to the side and brought up her hand to hold the side of her head up.

As she rubbed the side of her head and scanned the ceiling for her answer, Shimako smiled triumphantly. There it was: Yumi's thoughtful face. The perfect expression that captured the girl, their friend, as she sat thinking, attempting to solve a difficult problem. It was different from any other face Shimako could remember seeing on Yumi before. Her happiness… her sadness… her anger… her smugness… all of them were different in certain ways.

However, even though they were different, they were all still Yumi. And Shimako had been the one to bring out this expression. Shimako and Noriko. As she came to this realization, Shimako felt a warm feeling in the center of her chest. She and her petite soeur had brought out a part of Yumi for all to see. Sure, it wasn't nearly as important or striking as something like her expression of love or happiness… but it was still Yumi.

And Yumi was their friend.

That made it important to them.

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A few days later, Shimako entered her home after arriving home from school. She greeted her father as she always did and, earning her a curious look from the monk, all but dashed to her bedroom. She opened the door and closed it behind her, pressing her back up against the door. She pulled her school bag around to open it, and began to rifle through it. After a few moments of pushing books aside, she found her prize.

A small envelop.

Smiling triumphantly, she walked over to her bed, placing her back carefully down beside it, and sat down with a sigh. For another few moments, she stared quietly at the envelop in her hands, the feeling of nervousness again working its way into her hands.

Tsutako had once again been successful in her endeavor to capture Yumi's face; though she again wouldn't say how she was able to get the picture from outside a second story window. After giving it some thought, though, Shimako assumed she took it from another second story window that faced the Rose Mansion. There were no other building close by, except for some other classrooms, so she assumed Tsutako had used a long range lens to capture it.

The girl was dangerous, Shimako decided after that.

She opened the envelop and slipped out the photograph from within. Once she took a look at it, Shimako couldn't hold back the soft laugh that slipped out.

Yumi's expression was that of complete thought; her thinking face was perfectly captured. She held her head in one hand, her fingers curled in her hair as the other hand was beside her mouth, her fingers in the process of tapping her bottom lip thoughtfully. Her eyes, a light, chocolate brown, were raised to look at the ceiling of the room she was in. The top half of her mouth was drawn up in a scrunched fashion, allowing for a slight view of Yumi's teeth as she mused over the riddle.

Shimako shook her head with another laugh.

Expression captured. Mission successful indeed.

She stood up and walked over to her dresser to put Yumi's picture with the others. As she slipped it quietly in side drawer, taking a moment to glance over the other pictures of her friend, she thought back to a few days earlier, after the picture had been taken.

…

Yumi groaned and let her hands fall on the table unceremoniously. "Noriko-chan… I don't know the answer!" She whimpered pathetically.

"Indeed. I am afraid I do not know the answer either." Sachiko agreed, her smile still wide, knowing full well the mission had been successful.

"Can you tell us the answer?" Rei leaned forward and rested her chin in her hands.

Shimako looked at her petite soeur beside her and sent her a reassuring smile. "Go ahead, Noriko. You did well." Indeed the girl had done well. They succeeded in capturing Yumi's newest expression, if Tsutako was all she puffed herself up to be. So, yes, Noriko had done well indeed. The younger girl nodded and turned back to the others.

"First think of a person who lives in disguise, who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies." She explained with a grin. "That is a spy."

Yoshino groaned and put her hand up against her head. "Of course it was. For the love of-"

Noriko continued. "Next tell me what is always the last thing to mend, the middle of middle and the end of end?" She held up her hand and made a gesture with her fingers as she talked. "The last thing to 'mend' is the letter 'D'. The middle of 'middle' and the end of 'end' is also the letter 'D'." She then held up both hands and shrugged. "And finally give me the sound often heard during the search of a hard-to-find word."

"A hard to find word?" Yumi said curiously. "Er… what's that?"

Sachiko made a sound like a gasp, and turned to look at her petite soeur, her hand held up to her mouth. "Yumi! You just made it! The sound! You said 'er'." At the revelation, Yumi's face lite up and the grinned widely.

"Oh yea! 'Er'! So that is the last part! What's the end, Noriko-chan?"

Noriko nodded and finished the riddle. "Now string them together and answer me this, which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"

Shimako laughed and put her hand on Noriko's shoulder. "A good riddle Noriko. I liked it."

A spy. The letter 'D'. the sound 'er'.

What creature would you be unwilling to kiss?

Spy-d-er.

A spider.

Yumi shivered. Sachiko made a horrified face. Rei looked like she had eaten something unpleasant. Yoshino made a gagging sound.

"Disgusting." She said, reaching for her cup of tea.

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A/N: This chappie was incredibly fun to pen out. I love riddles, but I SUCK at them. Hahaha!

I decided to put Shimako as the main character for this chapter in order to shake things up from Sachiko always having the POV. I think I'll shift to other characters of the Yamayurikai for different chapter in order to keep things interesting. As much as everyone loved Sachiko, I think it'll be fun to see Rei, Touko, or even Sei pull a plan sometime. What do you think?

Also, I have a question to pose for you all. I am having a bit of trouble coming up with something to get Yumi's angry face. I mean... what on this good earth could possibly make this girl angry? Anybody have ideas? 'Cuz I don't. If anybody has an idea of what could set her off, drop me a PM. Puleez?

Anyway, Peace my homies!