A/N: Short due to the holiday season, I wanted to do one more batch of uploads before the New Year. That being said, see you all in 2016…after my family all return to their own homes, and I, eventually return to mine…

Sinfully Devine
Arc 4: The Sacrament of Holy Baptism
Chapter 23

What is the word of God?

We find this answer in the last chapter of Mathew, chapter twenty eight, verse nineteen.

It reads as so;

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

What was it about red roses, and their propensity to be fickle, stubborn, and unable to see beyond the bridge of their own noses? Yōko wasn't particularly sure, but every one of them shared those traits with varying degrees of complications to go along with them. Sachiko was by far the worst offender, but it took a person with such traits to be able to see them in another, and Yōko knew she was not far behind in the charge. At one time, she'd been unhappy about the matter.

Now, she merely took it as truth...

Stern…

Those blue eyes had always held a level of demand within them. Reprimand perhaps, a sense of anger, a tinge of inadequacy? Yōko wasn't entirely sure what she saw in Sachiko, or what tiny hints of that emotion peeked out between the steady frown and disquieted stance as the woman peered out of the bay window. There was a way to handle the woman; a tone a voice, a brush of the hand, or even just a little smirk between otherwise chastising words. It was an art made from several long years of trial and error.

"We should have matching garments this year, don't you think?" Yōko asked, flitting through Sachiko's closet.

"Honestly, I'd rather not. Matching garments implies we're together, and I had been planning to ask Yumi to attend…"

"As what, Sachiko, your consort?" Yōko asked darkly.

"That's out of line, even for you." Sachiko murmured, turning to face the older woman. "It isn't your place to decide."

"Isn't it?" Yōko asked calmly. "I ask that you attend with me, as that's befitting our nature. It happens every year, they'd think very little of our matching garments. No one would assume the worst of either of us."

"Yumi has attended several gatherings before, and she's earned my mother's respect…" Sachiko shrugged, she didn't see an issue with her whims, blinded by desire though they were. "It's about time I groom her into her role. If she is to be by my side, these kind of functions…" Sachiko trailed off and sighed. "I can't shield her forever. I've already learned that lesson once before. She's not a blue blood, so, in order to demand the respect she should freely be given, she'll have to make a place for herself now. While she still can."

"You assume…" Yōko said quietly. "Have you even asked?"

"I desire that she be given a proper and rightful chance to stand by my side, forever, and without questions about her status coming into play."

"But…" Yōko began quietly. "They will come into play, and it'll stir a fierce controversy." The younger woman was about to respond, but, Yōko cut her off at the pass, her hands falling over Sachiko's shoulders. "Don't misunderstand me. The complications you want to dredge up go far beyond Yumi's gender and pedigree."

"But, those are issues…" Sachiko admitted with a sigh. "Aren't they?"

"Well, yes, quite frankly they are…but, if those were the only things to consider, I'd think very little of it." Yōko wondered what kind of gamble Sachiko would be willing to make, knowing she would easily lose any bet she made. "Those things, they're easy to overcome…with time, and determination."

"Then why, may I ask, are you so against this?" Sachiko hissed angrily. "You've been refuting everything I do when in regards to Yumi. As of late, you've done nothing but lecture me. Why? Why would you even care, it poses no threat to you, no ill repute to your family name. So why?"

Yōko ignored Sachiko's hysterics…she expected them, wanted them out in the open. "Because like it or not, Sachiko, you mean the world to me. I'd rather not see you be hurt by your own narrow-minded stupidity. Lord knows you have a knack for it."

Sachiko stifled a curse, instead reeling around, to gaze about the room, her fury nearing a full boil. "What gives you the right to say such a thing?"

"Experience for one."

"Oh, please experience?!"

"The issues here, they hit a little bit closer to home than either you or I would ever want to admit." Yōko said, again, another firm push that demanded an icy retort. "I know this, and if you would simply talk to Sei, or perhaps even Yumi, you'd see it too."

"What nonsense…"

"You're right, it is. Emotions are always so, especially of the romantic variety."

The two became quiet then, because the young woman looking for a fight could not retort something that Yōko had readily agreed to. She was at a loss for words, and weakly, she stood there, watching as Yōko continued to watch her. The stare down would last ages if it had to. "That...is none of your concern, though I thank you considering my honor I promise that your worries are atypical."

"Sachiko, listen to me…" Yōko murmured quietly. "There are many things you can do as an elder sister, but, there is a line that should never be crossed. Once you attempt to do so, you do so knowing that you relinquish power as the elder. You put aside the title, and whatever demanded respect that came along with it. The rosary you gave Yumi was a symbol of your sisterly affection, your desire to guide her and protect her…but, that doesn't promise, nor imply the kind of bond you want with the poor girl. Failing to see and understand that…" She sighed more to herself than to Sachiko, but, her tone became clear as crystal. "It is going to lose you a great deal more than merely Yumi's heart."