Looking In

Fact Finding

1st year, April

It hasn't changed at all. Not that I'd expect it to.

Yasuna stood alone on a sidewalk in the middle of the night, her face illuminated by the rosy glow of a nearby streetlight as she considered the house she hadn't seen for almost four years. It was nondescript enough; two stories like her own apartment, although somewhat bigger, but more importantly for a musician- stand-alone. A carport was off to the side with the same familiar yellow Toyota Corolla covered beneath it.

I kept waiting for the light to dawn with Arisu all evening, but it never did. She's always been self-absorbed, but I'm still amazed it never did occur to her that I would know her Fujisawa-sensei. She was my strings teacher my whole time at Lillian, after all!

Yet even by the time their mother had left and Yasuna had insisted Arisu turn in for the night, realization still hadn't set in…and for now Yasuna chose not to enlighten her clearly smitten younger sister.

This allows me to get my own answers.

Although it was after midnight, Yasuna felt no hesitation ringing the bell. She'd been here several times before as part of an extracurricular string quartet of Lillian students during her time there. As always she played bass, the string instrument often avoided by girls but to which she gravitated. It wasn't due to her size given that came long after her choice, but rather her personality.

I like to do things big.

The minutes wore on after the first ring and she considered hitting the bell again when she heard the sound of the door being unlocked and opened.

"Hello?" Yasuna heard her old mentor's voice call out sleepily from around the chain-lock.

"Good morning, Fujisawa-sensei. It's Arisugawa Yasuna."

"You played bass," the voice from behind the door recalled after a moment's pause. The chain was undone and the door fully opened. "I'm curious why you came to get reacquainted after midnight on a Sunday morning." Yasuna wasn't surprised at all to see a quizzical look on the teacher's face, rather than annoyance or anger.

Classic Fujisawa Aika.

"I wished to speak with you about my younger sister," Yasuna began simply.

Aika's face turned even more quizzical as she regarded the woman standing at her doorstep in the middle of the night; that is until recognition dawned and the teacher's eyes got very wide, removing all traces of sleepiness. When her face settled on a smile, she said, "I guess the uniform had to come from somewhere. Please, come in."

Aika ushered in her former student and made room in the cluttered living room for the two to sit down. Yasuna noted her teacher's habits had not changed. Arrayed around the same grand piano Yasuna remembered fondly there was music and instrument cases everywhere, although as always each instrument was properly protected.

"I must admit I wasn't prepared for guests at this hour, but please let me go get some tea at least. I have to believe that we'll be talking a while, and we may as well be comfortable."

Yasuna smiled politely. We're all entering the unknown, and formalities protect against misunderstanding. While the older woman was off in the kitchen, Yasuna sorted idly through a nearby stack of music. She wasn't surprised at all to see an assortment of less common string-based pieces as well as vocal scores with a supporting violin.

She's all ready to drill Arisu alone as well as together with this Kanina girl. Oh to be a fly on the wall later today.

Yasuna regretted that she wouldn't be a part of whatever happened, both because she would like to be present to share in her dearly loved sister's precious new gift if it indeed turned out that way, but also to be there if things did not go well. If nothing else was made clear to her during the previous evening, it was obvious Arisu's heart was now completely invested in these two. If Arisu fell, Yasuna knew in her heart that it could be life threatening.

Hence why I am here to make that crystal clear to Aika-sensei.

Aika returned to the room carrying a small tray with a white porcelain teapot, two matching cups, and some crackers. "I hope you like green tea," the teacher said with a contrite smile as she set the service down on the nearest available surface. "It's what I had ready to go for breakfast."

Yasuna put down the music scores and looked up at her old mentor. "Green tea is perfectly fine, Fujisawa-sensei. I appreciate your gracious hospitality at such an unusual hour."

Aika sat across from Yasuna, leaning forward a bit in her classic 'you are the center of my universe' listening stance and shook her head. "First off, you are always welcome, even if you didn't happen to have such a remarkable sibling. You also can stop right now with the 'Fujisawa-sensei' business. If I remember right, you graduated to calling me Aika-sensei by the time you finished 10th grade and were one of those I said could call on me anytime. And sadly I'm not your teacher anymore. Aika is fine."

Yasuna grinned at the no-nonsense response, remembering just how much she had loved this woman during her time at Lillian. "Thank you Aika-san. It's been a long time and I didn't feel I had the right to assume."

"It has been a long time," Aika retorted in a chiding tone, although she leaned back a bit and her smile grew wider. "I would have hoped to have heard from you, but you never visited again after graduation. If memory serves, you were having a challenging time with your family and your music was caught up in that. I'm sure you'll get to the former shortly as it must have to do with why your sibling is so skittish, but first tell me. Do you still play?" Aika leaned forward again, clearly intent on the answer.

Yasuna's gaze dropped sheepishly, but her grin remained at the treatment. It felt strangely good to be back in high school, even if it was just a momentary illusion. "Not as much as you would like, I'm sure. I practice with Arisu pretty much every day, which as you can imagine can be quite a workout. She has a lot more time for it, and has always been more passionate about her music by far. I play in the orchestra at the school I attend, although remember I'm studying engineering at a polytechnic university, so it is what it is."

Aika nodded thoughtfully. "You were always focused more on your math than your arts."

"I needed to separate myself from the family. To have something to call my own…and eventually something I could lean on if Arisu and I had to break away." Yasuna lifted her gaze and realized Aika was enjoying letting Yasuna talk a while, so she continued more ernestly. "Even back at Lillian, I could see our grandfather wasn't going to let us out of our obligations without a fight. I was to marry for the good of the family, and Kintarou was to accept his role as heir to the Arisugawa family, marry a nice girl with standing, and have a son while taking on the enterprise. I knew I wanted to be my own woman, and I've always known I have a sister and not a brother." Yasuna looked directly into Aika's eyes as she said this last, watching for any challenge or disagreement, but Aika simply nodded again, returning the look with no guile. "As things stand now, I can turn my back on the entire family and make my own way, and support Arisu in making hers. We're both ready to walk away."

The older woman reached up and rubbed her chin briefly as she considered this. "I remember you have a lot to walk away from, Yasuna-san. You'd get deposited here and retrieved by a driver when we had quartet practice, and although you've clearly been working on your colloquialisms, you still speak like an aristocrat. Even in terms of Lillian girls, your family ranks way up there. You keep speaking of your grandfather. What do your parents have to say about all this?"

Yasuna looked down again and began fidgeting with a loose string on her jeans as she answered. "Father died in a plane crash over three years ago, near the end of my senior year at Lillian. We were nearing graduation and I didn't want to trouble everyone, so I didn't share about it."

Aika leaned over a put her hand on the one Yasuna was using to fidget with. "I'm sorry, Yasuna-san."

Yasuna looked up and saw Aika's eyes and expression were quite genuine. She clearly felt bad for having touched on a sensitive subject, as well as for not having been perceptive at the time to such an event happening to one of her students.

"It's okay, Aika-san," Yasuna assured, chuckling a little. "As much as I want to believe it would have been otherwise, I don't think it would be making much of a difference right now if Father were around. He was able to fight for me, but in the end I don't think he would have been able to stand against his own father over Arisu. Too much was riding on it. In some ways, Father died at just the right time, having settled my situation and giving Arisu two years of validation as his daughter before she had to enter Hanadera and prepare to spend the rest of his life as Kintarou. It was like a consolation prize. This way he at least didn't have to torture his son over it. He can be the perfect idealized memory."

"And your mother?"

"Mother is grateful we live away from the estate so she doesn't have to deal with it. She knows she has two daughters, but she can't stand against her father-in-law. Still, she's been surreptitiously helping us from her own income, although we're certain grandfather knows full well what's going on and would stop it if we tried to change Arisu's destiny…hence why I need to graduate to open up Arisu's options. Mother's paying for my school, for the apartment not far from here that Arisu and I share, and for our living expenses. We visit now and then, but she generally keeps her distance. I think she's still hoping by not forcing the issue that she can find some way to reconcile Grandfather and Arisu." Yasuna shook her head as indication of her sense of that likelihood.

Aika took a deep breath and sighed before standing and pacing around the piano, emotions clearly on edge, her fingers tracing the edge of the piano top. "Shizuka-chan could see your sibling was hurting terribly. It all starts to make sense now." Aika's hand balled into a fist and very gently pounded the top of the piano.

"Aika-san, you haven't referred to Arisu by name or used a gender-related pronoun since I arrived." The statement, while not accusatory, was pointed. The associated expression on Yasuna's face clearly indicated that the statement required a response.

Aika flattened her hand and made to smooth the piano cover as she thought a moment. "Yasuna-san, the enigma wrapped in a conundrum that is Arisu-san is something you've dealt with all your life, it sounds like. I just met the child about 12 hours ago, so please be patient with me as I digest it all. I've known cross-dressers of course, at least loosely, but that isn't Arisu-san is it?"

Yasuna simply shook her head and Aika nodded. The teacher continued her way around the piano to return to Yasuna. "I still have a lot I need to understand. I've noticed even you keep jumping pronouns, Yasuna-san. I'll try to keep up, but please be patient with me."

Yasuna shrugged. "You have to do that with her. In her heart, her soul, she's as female as you or I am. I've known that since I first saw her lying on Mother's breast in the hospital. His body, though, is all boy…a boy on the verge of being a man. The world keeps trying to fit her in that box, and I think you've already acknowledged you've seen the results of that."

Aika sat back down, her motions making it clear she was deeply troubled. "I must admit I'm amazed at how she maintains her sanity, then. A girl in a boy's body…attending Testosterone Academy no less. You mention puberty, what will that mean for her?"

Yasuna felt the familiar heartache whenever this subject came up. She looked again into Aika's eyes and said simply, "If nothing changes, a casket."

Yasuna was relieved to see Aika's eyes widen slightly at this before looking down, and the woman's hands balled again as she pounded the side of her thighs with the fist. Aloud she simply said, "Damn."

Yasuna nodded. "Grandfather won't relent. Mother won't act, despite her assertion she'll ultimately choose her child over her father-in-law. I'm working as hard as I am able to graduate on time, but it will be another year. I would line up an internship, I'm at the top of my class and have had lucrative offers, but that would take me away from Arisu. I fear in my absence she may fall when no one is there to catch her. We're in a race against time, and time is winning."

Aika nodded. "Does she have friends?"

Yasuna pivoted her head from side-to-side noncommittally. "She plays a complex game in social circles. As I think you can imagine after so many years at Lillian, children in our strata are quick to trample over each other for a fraction of advantage. Most of her peers know him as Kintarou, a few know her as Arisu. In neither case, though, can she be genuine. Since Father died she's never socialized outside of Hanadera, myself and the immediate family, and her tutors, so it really hasn't mattered."

"And Hanadera?" Aika pressed, predicting the answer, but still wanting to hear Yasuna say it.

"For the most part, Hanadera is as you would expect given his circumstances. It's a knife continually twisting in his gut." Yasuna rose upon saying this and stood at the window looking out at the streetlight she had been standing near just a bit ago. "He had no friends in middle school. He had his emotions wrapped up so tight that no one could get through. That said, there are a few now that are warming to him. He's mentioned a Yuuki-kun who tried to be supportive through middle school, and who he's now allowing in a bit. I'd like to think things are actually improving. A third year named Kashiwagi Suguru remembered him from his first year in middle school and has taken him under his wing. He's apparently Student Body President and very influential, although Arisu alludes to his social status which makes me nervous if Arisu's peculiarities get linked back to the family. On the good side, I think the bullying seems to be dropping off, although he doesn't talk about it so I can't know for sure. He's being pulled into student council activities by Kashiwagi-san. I've never met the man, but I'm grateful to him even if Arisu isn't quite sure of his motives. She's obviously appreciative, and I think she even feels affection to him, but she says he makes her nervous although she can't explain much beyond that."

"Your pronouns are making my head hurt," Aika said as she reached up to rub her temple.

Yasuna turned from the window to regard Aika, allowing a smile to curl one side of her mouth into a smirk. "Welcome to my world," she said, then shrugged and her expression became neutral again. "Kintarou attends Hanadera. Arisu spends the evenings with me and wanders Lillian whenever she can. It's remarkable, really, watching her change roles. Even the way she thinks and perceives things is different from how Kintarou does. If you stick around her, you'll see exactly what I mean. That said, I'll try and stick with feminine terms to keep you from needing aspirin."

Aika nodded thoughtfully, apparently missing the mild humor Yasuna had intended. "I find Arisu's sense of nervousness around Kashiwagi-san to be very interesting. If anything you have said tonight has convinced me Arisu is most certainly a girl, that statement was it. I know him…and that's a fair assessment."

Yasuna looked at Aika expecting to hear more, but Aika shook her head and said, "I really can't say anything more until you meet the young man. Really, you have to meet him first. We'll talk then."

"Will he hurt Arisu?"

"If you mean physically, most certainly not. I'm certain of it. In other ways…again, figure out a way to meet him."

Yasuna resolved to find a way to meet Arisu's new Hanadera friends sooner than later.

"There are a few others Arisu has mentioned," Yasuna continued once she had filed the thought away. "A boy in her class saved her from a bully on the first day of classes. I think that's the same boy she mentioned reaching out to her in middle school. Another is helping her with her math and she's reciprocating with literature and archaic kanji. There's also an athletic one who is hovering around Arisu in PE. I'm not sure what to make of that given what I know can happen at Hanadera. You've seen Arisu…she's beautiful. Still, Arisu seems to think he's got a good heart and is just protecting her. I have to trust her at Hanadera. That's her turf and only she can find her way there."

"A girl in a boy's body that looks for all the world to be a girl attending an all-boys academy." Aika shivered as she considered the implications, imagining herself in such a position.

I teach at Hanadera, and it's creepy enough as an adult woman visiting only occasionally.

"Shizuka-chan is certain Arisu-san has been hurt. She isn't sure what that means, though. I've learned to trust her insight into people, and I'm especially inclined to do that where Arisu-san is concerned. Are you sure she's safe at Hanadera?"

"No," Yasuna answered immediately, with no hesitation whatsoever. "I just have no control over it. Grandfather is adamant, and Mother won't challenge him on it…especially since we know Father had acquiesced to Hanadera before he died. Do I lose sleep over it? Every night. My response is to redouble my efforts at school and be as much a part of her life as I possibly can so I can ease her through whatever happens. I will say I have no reason to believe she's been abused so far, but as much as she's open with me about girl things, she's compartmentalized Hanadera to Hanadera for the most part. She won't let me into that world, and given my sense of helplessness I don't ask." Yasuna looked down, clearly feeling guilty. She was well on her way to ruining the pair of jeans she was wearing.

Aika sighed. "I never thought all this through until now. No wonder she's hurting so much." She paused a moment, measuring Yasuna before saying something that under lesser circumstances could be greatly unsettling. "Yasuna-san…" She waited until Yasuna looked up again. "I am confident that she's safe as long as she's under Kashiwagi Suguru's wing. At least safe from everyone else, and if something were to happen with him, I can assure you that it would at least be consensual."

Yasuna chuckled wryly at the bizarre turn of the conversation. "As odd as that reassurance would sound to anyone else, thank you Aika-san. I never stopped respecting you, and hearing you say that knowing the boy..." She shrugged. "I'll take it. I think so far, though, what's hurting Arisu can all be traced back to Grandfather and this concern about maintaining status."

"I'm going to assume Arisu-san told you the whole story of what happened at Lillian yesterday." Aika then smiled grimly. "I've never seen Shizuka-chan so angry as she was after Arisu-san ran the first time. She was ranting about someone having hurt the child, and she didn't calm down even after we discovered the links to Hanadera in Arisu-san's purse. It didn't seem to matter to her, which honestly surprised me. I think if your grandfather had been nearby at the time, she would have at the very least slapped him silly."

Yasuna had to smile at the image, despite not even knowing what the girl looked like except from Arisu's description. "I'd love to see that."

Aika chuckled, reaching for her tea and taking a sip. "I'm sure you would. I'm also sure you're dying to hear more about this enigmatic girl that has turned your sister's life upside down."

"Extremely. I'm at turns more scared of and more grateful to this girl I've never met as I have been with anyone in my life."

Aika laughed gently at this. "She can be a pretty imposing figure. The girls in her class, and all the music students just about, refer to her as Rosa Canina."

Yasuna had to smile at that. "Seriously? Please tell me she didn't make that up herself."

"Oh no, not at all! She gained it in her last year at the middle school division when a classmate noted the Dog Rose's name in French is Rosa Canina. It didn't take much effort to link that to Kanina Shizuka's family name. Add then the respect everyone has for the high school division's Yamayurikai and there you have it. She fought the title for over a year, finally embracing it only after this last Christmas. Last year wasn't a good year at all for her, but she's been improving a lot since the new year started." Aika shrugged.

"How long have you known her?" Yasuna asked.

"Hmmm…I've known Shizuka-chan since she entered 7th grade. She transferred to Lillian from a Catholic school in Switzerland, of all places."

Aika stopped talking and went into another room briefly, coming back with a photograph. She handed it to Yasuna. Yasuna examined it, and saw a striking young woman with fine, somewhat exotic features. Tall, mature, with long jet-black hair. Despite the amazing appearance, what drew Yasuna were the golden-brown eyes.

My God, I can see what Arisu sees in this girl. She's stunning.

"As you can see," Aika continued after Yasuna had some time to process the photograph, "she has some European blood in her. Mediterranean, specifically. At the very least her grandmother is Italian; in her day, an opera star of some note. Shizuka wants to follow in her grandmother's footsteps. The Kanina family has always been drawn to Europe, dating back to Meiji, and her father works for the United Nations and lived in Geneva throughout Shizuka's childhood. She apparently spent her early youth wandering extensively all over Europe with her family. She came to Lillian speaking flawless German, French, Italian, and English…and barely passable Japanese."

Aika chuckled and shook her head in apparent amusement at the memory. "When she came here I think her Dutch was better than her Japanese. Her parents were so focused on her being continental multilingual that they overlooked that Japanese wouldn't just burst into her head fully formed from nowhere when she finally came back to live in her homeland. Her mother is a Lillian alumna and insisted she attend middle and high school here, hence why they moved back home. It was only when they brought Shizuka-chan to Japan that they realized how far she had to make up her deficient language skills. She did an amazing job of improving her Japanese before she started here, but she struggled at first. A lot. Middle school girls being what they are, she was seen as different and therefore wasn't included in things. It spiraled out of control for a while during the time I was just getting to know her. Fortunately, two things happened that pulled her out. She made a friend and found a hero."

Yasuna found herself entranced by the story. She wanted to know more about this girl, and Aika was providing it.

"The friend is a two edged sword, I think. Tsukiyama Minako-san has dreams of being a journalist, and despite being now just a second year is the newly minted Editor-in-Chief and President of the Lillian Karawaban."

Yasuna groaned. "Are they still as cutthroat as they were back in the day?"

Aika giggled at her former student's characterization of the Lillian school newspaper. "If anything, Tsukiyama-san seems intent on taking them to a whole new level. The former editor who just graduated was more of a moderate. I think we're in for a wild journalistic ride the next two years."

"What will happen if she discovers Arisu's wanderings on campus?"

Aika shrugged. "I honestly can't be sure. I can say the friendship between Tsukiyama-san and Shizuka-chan runs very deep. The two of them have been fast friends now for four years. It was Tsukiyama-san that sat with Shizuka-chan when she was otherwise alone back in 7th grade. Tsukiyama-san helped Shizuka-chan struggle through Japanese, and in return Shizuka-chan helped Tsukiyama-san learn German and improve her English. I remember Tsukiyama-san incessantly bringing German newspaper articles and magazines to Shizuka-chan, and Shizuka-chan would patiently lead her through everything. If she discovers Arisu-san, I suspect your sister's chances are best the closer she is to Shizuka-chan."

Aika paused to take another sip of tea.

"And the hero?" Yasuna prompted.

"Shizuka-chan would kill me if I shared that name. I think I'm the only one who knows her heart on that matter, and even I just a little bit. I'll just say it's a high school 3rd year with very distinct northern European features. Her mother is apparently American and her father has a mixed heritage like Shizuka-chan. This girl has been at Lillian since kindergarten. She's never fit in well at all, even to the point of getting into fights early on. It seemed to stop bothering her by middle school, but things have gotten worse again since she came to the high school division. She's been described by other teachers as a 'lone wolf', and I'm sure that's what attracted Shizuka-chan. She's followed in her footsteps ever since, even to the point of choosing not to go back and study music in Italy when an opportunity arose last year."

"Wow! They're that close?"

"That's the odd thing. Shizuka-chan has never outwardly expressed her interest. I don't think this girl even knows Shizuka-chan exists. It's driven me nuts over the years watching this, especially last year when this girl had some major personal issues which rose to the level of being addressed by the faculty. Shizuka-chan was heartsick nearly the whole year. She kept singing, but otherwise shut herself away from others and languished in the music room all the time. I'd kick her out, but then she'd just mope about in the library, taking extra shifts there from her peers given she works there as her campus service. She closed up even to me and still won't talk about it. Things have gotten much better since then, but she's still a shadow of what she was in 9th grade."

"How sad," Yasuna said, her expression making it clear she felt quite seriously about it. "Has she ever taken a soeur?"

Aika looked intently at Yasuna with this question. Yasuna returned the gaze, both women clearly understanding the implications of this.

"No. Shizuka-chan shared with me in 9th grade her hope to be this girl's petite soeur. By last summer, however, she was clear she wasn't interested in participating in the soeur system…this despite efforts by a lot of powerful students, including the immediate past Rosa Chinensis, to link her up with the girl we've been talking about. She's had plenty of offers from other upperclasswomen, all of which she has graciously declined. This year she's already had a few underclasswomen express interest, and she's politely ignored it. Until yesterday, I was confident it would never happen."

"Until yesterday. Arisu?"

"Yes."

"You're sure?"

"Well, I won't be sure until I see a rosary around your sister's neck, but I think the thought is becoming well entrenched in Shizuka's mind. The only thing I see holding her back is Satou-san…or perhaps whatever it is that keeps holding Shizuka-chan back with Satou-san." Aika smiled as she paused a brief moment. "In for a penny, in for a pound. The girl's name is Satou Sei, and she's the current Rosa Gigantea. She still has no petite soeur of her own."

Yasuna whistled. "Oh wow, there's no air of fate around this Kanina girl of yours. None at all."

"She is a pretty dramatic figure, literally and figuratively. You should see her perform...she is an operatic singer after all. A damned fine one. She's doing a lot better since the issues last year, which has been a great relief to me. I'm curious, does Arisu-san know about the soeur system? What will happen if Shizuka-chan were to offer?"

"She doesn't to my knowledge, but I suspect she'll be as thrilled as any other girl once she understands it all. I'm more concerned about my own feelings on the matter."

Aika nodded. "I can't imagine what you must be feeling. It's clear the two of you are very close."

Yasuna chuckled. "We are, although in many ways I think it'd be good for both of us to have other outlets. There are moments when we're more apt to strangle each other than hug each other. We are siblings after all," Yasuna said with a wry smile at her old mentor before becoming serious. "Aika-san, I'm scared for Arisu. Truly scared. On the one hand, I think Arisu having girlfriends, perhaps even a female mentor," Yasuna waved her hand at Aika, "would be most welcome. I really could use the help, and she could use the love and reinforcement. On the other hand, Aika-san, Arisu has no margin for error anymore. She's standing on the crumbling edge of the abyss, and it's drawing her in. It's all I can do to keep her from falling. If something were to cause her to jump, I don't think anything could stop her. I want to believe in this girl of yours, but if you have any doubt at all she'll drop Arisu if the going gets tough at Lillian, at home, or if puberty happens before we can stop it, I want you to help me gently end this right now before Arisu becomes any more invested."

Yasuna's expression pled to Aika to be absolutely candid, and Aika respected this by giving her answer a great deal of thought. She rose and again did a slow pace around the piano before coming around to kneel before the sitting Yasuna, looking her old student straight in the eyes. "Yasuna-chan," Aika began using the affectionate for the first time since they had reacquainted with each other, "Kanina Shizuka is probably my most cherished student ever. I know the term 'I love her like a daughter' is cliché, but I really do feel that way about the girl. I'd like to think the reason she ultimately never took a grande soeur is because it wasn't necessary- she already had me."

Aika chuckled a moment before verbalizing more thoughts. "On the flip side, I am not her. She doesn't share everything with me, and occasionally she does surprise me…especially in matters of the heart. As I said, I don't understand and can't predict anything she does or feels when it relates to Satou Sei-san. All that said, I think she already knows the stakes with Arisu-san. She was the one who determined right off that Arisu-san had been deeply hurt. Something about Arisu-san is deeply resonating inside Shizuka-chan. I don't believe Shizuka-chan would ever hurt Arisu-san intentionally. But unintentionally?" Aika shrugged as she got up off the floor and went herself to stare out the window at the street outside. "Anyone could do that…even you, Yasuna-chan." With these last words, Aika turned again to regard a thoughtful Yasuna.

Yasuna took a deep breath and released it slowly out her nose, clearly unsure. "I don't like gambling with my sister's life, but I'm not so foolish that I can't see it's a gamble either way." Now Yasuna stood to slowly follow Aika's route around the piano. "I've always trusted you, Sensei. I see no reason to stop now. Just realize I'm handing the life of the dearest person in my world to you and your protégé, Aika. I'm being blunt so there are no misunderstandings later. If you're not ready to take this on, you admit that now or else follow it through wherever it leads."

Yasuna had made her way around the piano and come to stand before Aika at the window. Light from the streetlight competed with the dim light Aika had used to illuminate the room. They looked at each other, Yasuna intent and Aika thoughtful.

"Yasuna-san, I'll be honest I wasn't exactly looking for another project," Yasuna's eyes dropped as she felt the hope she had allowed herself to begin feeling fall. Aika reached her hand out and lifted Yasuna's gaze back up by her chin. "I'm being bluntly honest, but let me finish before you despair. My reputation hasn't changed…I am seen as the teacher to come to when students have troubles. I have no lack of such projects, but none of them, not one, touches me like your sister. Part of that I'm sure is my own curiosity. I don't exactly see many new things after all these years at Lillian and Hanadera, and I am desperately curious to learn more about Arisu-san and to see how it all turns out. Part of it is my concern for Shizuka-chan and my hope that Arisu-san may actually save her as much as the other way around." Aika saw surprise on Yasuna's face and Aika nodded. "Yes, the darkness in Shizuka's soul runs deep as well, and I see the two being good for each other.

"Continuing on, part of it is you and your family. I do have pleasant memories of you and it warms my heart to see you doing so well, even if it isn't centered around music. I am also deeply intrigued by Arisu's own musical gift and ravenous to discover more of it. Professionally, I have never been more excited than I am right now at the prospect of these two performing together. Finally, though, I too have become smitten by this young one, both and neither boy or girl, and I want to see her surmount all her obstacles. I said I feel maternal over Shizuka-chan, and I'm finding myself developing the same feelings for Arisu-san."

"You can say this based only on the past 12 hours?" Yasuna pressed gently.

"I think so. Again, I've been doing this a while. If I fell like this for every troubled kid, I'd have burnt out years ago. No, this is different. You want me as invested as you are. That's asking a lot, but I'm prepared to commit to it. I can't promise it'll all turn out okay. I can't be there all the time for her, and I may misjudge even when I am around her. Still, I will do my best, which I think is all any of us can do. We can try to help light the way for Arisu-san, but she's going to have to walk her own path. We can't do it for her…dammit." Aika added the last after a pause, emphasizing it with a smile to indicate that it was meant to punctuate.

Yasuna nodded, although she had to smile as well at Aika's earthy genuineness. "Then so it begins."

"What next?" Aika asked.

"Well, I get to meet your protégé later this morning at St Mary's. I invited myself to join Arisu arguing that she'd much rather be driven than take transit." Yasuna grinned impishly. "Grandfather has made it clear to all the family staff that only Kintarou can be served, not Arisu. So if she wants a ride, I can name my price. Fortunately she didn't mind. She's so smitten, she's actually eager to introduce me."

Aika smiled, smile widening at the last. "I like that word. Smitten. I think that fits Shizuka-chan as well." Aika chuckled at the image before continuing. "I'll have them in the afternoon, then. I'm looking forward to it, as I think you discovered while perusing the music I've collected."

"Lots of Gounod, I noticed. I don't think Arisu has ever done operatic scores before, so you should have an interesting time of it." Yasuna found herself yawning, putting a hand in front of her mouth at the last minute.

"It's well after 2am, Yasuna-san. When were you planning to get up?"

"Four I think, although I can't guarantee Arisu won't get up earlier. I should head back, even if I just turn around and hop in the shower."

"I hope all goes well this morning. I'm not Christian, but I still may try to hide in the congregation so I can witness you first meeting Shizuka-chan."

Yasuna smiled at that. "If you're not worried about getting caught, depending on what happens with Arisu I might sit with you then. It's always good to keep the kids guessing. I really can't imagine between Arisu and Shizuka-san that they'll miss for long that I played strings at Lillian and therefore must know you."

"Arisu-san doesn't know?"

"Nope. Like I said, she's smitten, and only has one thing…or should I say person…on her mind right now. She's also always been pretty self-absorbed, a bit clueless of the people around her. I think that comes from her personal issues as well as her having walled herself off from others for so long. Hopefully Shizuka-san can help draw her out…and perhaps vice versa if what you tell me is true."

Yasuna made her way to the door, and Aika followed. "I look forward to seeing a lot more of you, Yasuna-san." Aika said this while reaching out and touching Yasuna's arm. Yasuna responded by drawing Aika into a hug. I hugged her at graduation, so I'm allowed.

Any doubts it was the right thing to do were dispelled as Aika returned the embrace in kind. "Thank you again for dropping by," Aika said as they separated and Yasuna made her way out the door.

"And thank you for opening your door for me…and my sister. I truly am grateful, Aika-san."

"No more than I am. Now get going, you. We both need some rest. Today is going to be a big day and we need to be ready to shepherd along the kids. Welcome to being an adult, Yasuna-chan." Aika said the last with a wink before waving her hand in a shooing motion.

Yasuna took the hint, turning and making her way casually back home, marveling at the few stars she could see in the Tokyo glare.

Please God. Please Maria-sama. Make this work out.

***Author's Note***

A bunch of dialog between two OC's. I wonder how many of you made it through to the end? I'm sorry for this, but I had to set the stage and the alternative was a bunch of internal dialog, which I thought was even worse. Next chapter begins a day of profound developments between Rosa Canina and Arisu.

And speaking of developing things, Tsutako and her camera have already been busy. Shizuka has a very interesting week coming up…

I wish to specifically call out CelticX for his efforts to resuscitate my ailing muse. Thank you again for all you do to inspire me, my friend. Same goes for EJDaniels. I wouldn't still be writing if it weren't for you two wonderful people.

As always, feedback in any form is greatly appreciated. I know this story isn't focused on your typical Maria Sama characters, but hopefully a handful of you will find it worth joining me for the ride.