Chapter 25: Sister, Sister Yume’s training sessions with Merle were going well. She still had no idea what the Lovers’ Maneuver was, but she noticed that she was becoming physically stronger with every passing day. Her jumps were improving as a result, so much so that she and Mikhail were able to add the throw triple axel to their arsenal, putting behind them the awful memory of Yume’s fall when they had first attempted the jump. Still, Fool refused to judge them worthy enough to perform the Lovers’ Maneuver. It didn’t help matters that Mikhail seemed to be holding her at arm’s length ever since what happened -- or rather, almost happened -- on their first day of training. He only ever kissed her on the cheek, and whenever Yume invited him up to her dorm room after practice, he always had somewhere else to be. “I’d love to, Yume, but Mia wants to talk to me about some changes she’s thinking about making in one of my solo numbers. We didn’t get a chance to discuss it this morning during rehearsal, so she asked me to come by when we got back from the rink,” Mikhail said in response to her latest invitation. “Maybe some other time.” “Yeah, some other time,” Yume said as he gave her yet another chaste kiss good- bye. Watching him leave, she let out a heavy sigh. They were supposed to be deepening their bond as lovers, but Mikhail was treating her more like a friend, and she didn’t understand it at all. Didn’t he want to pick up where they had left off before Clarissa and Pilar had interrupted them that night? “Trouble in paradise?” Yume jumped, started by the sound of Fool’s voice. “Oh, it’s just you, Peeping Tom,” she said coolly. Since kicking the perverted Spirit of the Stage out of her room after learning that Mikhail could also see him, she hadn’t seen him much, although she had caught him hiding in her bathroom the previous night. “Are you still mad about that?” he asked. “I told you, I thought I was in was Mikhail’s bathroom. It was just an innocent, harmless mistake!” She raised an eyebrow. “Are you in the habit of peeking in men’s showers as well? I didn’t think you swung that way.” “I-I don’t! I…uh…I just…” “Oh, I don’t care. Just be quiet and come with me,” Yume muttered out of the side of her mouth when she noticed the dorm manager Marion approaching. She had been meaning to talk to Fool about something, but she certainly wasn’t about to do it in public and have everyone think she was a lunatic for talking to an imaginary person. “Oh, hey, Yume,” Marion said, waving as she passed them by. “Great job today during rehearsal.” “Thanks.” Grateful that Marion didn’t stop her to chat, Yume headed back to her dorm room with an obediently silent Fool in tow. She didn’t say anything more to him until they were inside and the door was safely locked behind her. It would be just her luck for Pilar or one of the others to come bursting in at the worst possible moment. “This must be serious,” Fool said. “What’s on your mind?” “It’s Misha,” Yume admitted, plopping down on her bed. “He’s been acting strange lately.” “What do you mean?” “I don’t know how to really explain it. Not exactly cold, but… distant, maybe?” “Isn’t that how he always acts?” Fool asked. “He isn’t exactly the warm and cuddly type.” “I know, but…” She sighed, finding it difficult to find the right words to describe it. “Have you noticed anything? Has he said anything to you?” “Not likely. He ignores me most of the time, to be honest,” Fool said. “Which reminds me, are you sure I can’t stay here with you? It‘s a bore staying with him all the time. He doesn‘t even have any good Russian porn laying around!” Yume gave him a look. “Let’s keep to the subject at hand, Fool.” “Fine, but if Mikhail’s having problems, he hasn’t mentioned them to me. Maybe you’re just imagining things.” “Maybe…” But she didn’t think so. Laying back on the bed, Yume tried to think of a reason for Mikhail’s lack of strong affection, but nothing came to mind other than the one thing she didn’t want to consider: that perhaps Mikhail had grown bored of her and was only staying with her out of obligation because they were supposed to perform the Lovers’ Maneuver together. “Are you certain he hasn’t said anything to you?” she asked Fool again, crushing a pillow to her chest. “He hasn’t complained about me or mentioned wanting to break-up? Anything like that at all?” “No.” “What about other women? Has Tatiana been calling him? Or any other girls?” “No -- Well, wait, there was one,” Fool said, rubbing his chin. Yume bolted back up, her heart pounding. “Who?” she demanded to know. “His sister, Katia. She called last weekend.” “Fool!” She threw the pillow at him, missing him only by inches as he flew out of the way of danger. “Don’t scare me like that.” “I only answered the question. No need to get violent.” “Well, if he’s not cheating and he doesn’t want to break up, then why does he keep treating me more like a sister than a girlfriend?” “I don’t know, but here’s an idea,” Fool said, crossing his arms. “Why don’t you just ask the guy and leave me out of it? I’m not your personal spy.” “I think I will,” Yume decided, jumping back up. ***** Fool was right -- for once. If she wanted to know what the problem was, it was better to confront Mikhail directly than sit around worrying about it. Unfortunately, when she knocked on his door a few minutes later, there was no answer. “I guess he really did have to meet with Mia after all,” she said with a frown. At that moment, her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and checked the Caller ID, all thoughts of Mikhail temporarily pushed aside when she saw Sora’s name on the display. “Is the baby coming?” Yume asked excitedly, not even bothering with a proper greeting. Since Sora’s due date was fast approaching, she had promised Yume she would call whenever the time came. Sora laughed. “No, not yet,” she said. “This little one is staying put for now. Actually, I was calling to see if you had a chance to invite Mikhail over for dinner yet. I was thinking tomorrow would be a good night.” “Oh, right, dinner.” She had nearly forgotten about Sora’s invitation. “Um, about that…” “If you’re too busy at the moment, I understand,” Sora said. “I know you two are training hard for the Lovers’ Maneuver.” “It’s not that. I asked Misha, and he accepted, but…” But Yume wondered if he still wanted to go, considering his attitude toward her as of late. “You don’t want us to meet him? I promise, we’ll be on our best behavior.” “It’s not that either.” Out of the corner of her eye, Yume saw Mikhail walking back to his dorm room and knew that she needed to wrap things up. “Look, Sora, can I call you back later?” she asked. “I’ll check with Misha and see if he’s free tomorrow night.” “Of course. Talk to you later.” “Yeah, bye.” She ended the call just seconds before Mikhail reached the door to his room. “Yume?” “Oh, hey,” she said, trying her best to sound casual even though her mouth had suddenly gone as dry as a desert. “How was your meeting with Mia?” “It went fine,” he said, digging his key out of his pocket and using it to unlock the door. “She decided she liked the original choreography best after all, so we didn‘t change a thing.” “Oh.” Even though he didn’t invite her in, Yume followed him inside. His living room was as messy as she remembered the first time she had visited, a fact that seemed to embarrass the normally unflappable Mikhail. He began going around the room, picking up his dirty clothes and socks. “Uh, sorry, I wasn’t expecting guests,” he said, tossing the clothes into his bedroom. Though he closed the door behind him, the quick glance she got inside revealed it wasn‘t in much better shape than the living room. “With all the training we’ve been doing lately, I haven’t had much time to clean.” “It’s okay,” Yume said, faintly amused. She was beginning to think Mikhail was just a natural-born slob -- ironic, considering his perfectionist nature on the ice. “So, why are you here? Is something wrong?” After clearing the couch of some miscellaneous junk, he sat down and patted the cushion beside him. “Come, sit down.” Yet Yume remained standing in the middle of the room, frozen in place. She had so many questions, but faced with finally confronting him, she didn’t know where to begin. “Yume?” “I, uh… My sister called,” she said, feeling the need to say something. “She wanted to know if we were free for dinner tomorrow night.” “I don’t have anything planned,” he said. “That sounds fine to me, unless you have other plans.” “N-No, I’m free, too.” She inwardly sighed, relieved to hear that he still wanted to go. “I’ll let her know to expect us.” She turned to leave, but Mikhail stood back up and reached for her arm, stopping her. “Wait, is that all? You don’t have to go so soon.” Yume glanced back at him. “You want me to stay?” “If you want to,” he said, releasing his hold on her arm and stuffing his hands in his pockets. “But if you have something else to do…” “No, not at all!” She pivoted back around. “So you do still like me?” “Of course I do.” Mikhail gave her a quizzical look. “What kind of question is that?” “Well, lately…” Yume shook her head, deciding it didn’t matter. Obviously, she had been reading too much into things, just as Fool said. “Never mind. It’s not important.” But Mikhail wasn’t going to leave it at that. “Yume, what is it? You didn’t come just to ask me about your sister’s dinner party. Something is bothering you.” “I-It’s nothing,” she insisted, turning her face away from his. “Silly, really. Honestly, it’s not even worth mentioning…” “Tell me anyway. I want to know why you thought I didn’t like you anymore.” “Well, every time I invite you up to my room, you always seem like you have something else to do,” she said. “I thought maybe you were trying to avoid me.” “Oh.” He didn’t deny it. “So you were avoiding me?” “No, not you, exactly,” Mikhail said after a short pause, running a hand through his hair. It was his turn to evade her questioning gaze. “I was avoiding being alone with you.” She failed to see the distinction between the two. “Why?” “Because I didn’t want to pressure you.” “Pressure me? Into sex?” “Yeah,” he admitted. “You’ve never done it before, have you?” “No, but I want to,” Yume said boldly, which seemed to take him by surprise. To be honest, she even shocked herself a little by making such a declaration. “You do?” “Why do you think I keep inviting you to my room?” Smiling, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pleased when Mikhail, in return, placed his hands on her hips. “I want to be with you, Misha,” she said softly, gazing up into his eyes. “I want us to become true lovers, in every meaning of the word.” “Are you sure?” She nodded, and he brought his lips down to hers. His kiss was soft, almost hesitant -- like he was asking permission her permission to go further. Yume’s mouth opened slightly, allowing his tongue to slip inside, and she pressed her body against his, encouraging him to continue. One of his hands slid up the back of her T-shirt, moving up her spine until he reached the closure of her bra. After he struggled with it for a few seconds, the fastener split open. The same hand then made its way to the front and cupped one of her small breasts, now free from their confines. Yume gasped when a finger brushed against her nipple, sending a pulse of pleasure through her nerves, and she was certain he felt her heart pounding in anticipation. Still kissing her, Mikhail began guiding her backwards, in the direction of his bedroom. She barely noticed until her back bumped against the closed door. His hand moved downwards to turn the knob just when they heard somebody knocking at the entrance. Mikhail glanced over his shoulder, looking as if he wanted to kill whoever was the cause of the unwelcome interruption, but made no move toward the door. “Shouldn’t you answer that?” Yume asked breathlessly. He turned his attention back toward her and shook his head. “It’s probably nobody important. They‘ll go away if we ignore them.” Opening the bedroom door behind her, the two of them continued where they left off, Yume tripping over some discarded clothes on the floor and falling onto Mikhail’s unmade bed. She had pulled him down with her as she fell, and they locked eyes for a long moment, Mikhail propped above her. Yume sensed he was about to lower himself to kiss her when there was another knock on the door. He muttered something rude in Russian under his breath. “I think you should see what they want, Misha,” Yume said, unable to fully concentrate due to the distraction. With some reluctance, he pushed himself off of her. “Fine,” he said. “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes. Stay right here.” He left, shutting the bedroom door behind him. Yume, feeling awkward just laying there, stood back up and walked over to the mirror that hung over a dresser. She frowned at her reflection, reaching up to release her hair from its ponytail. Had she known what was going to happen, she would have taken a few moments to freshen up before coming over. At least she had taken a shower at the rink after her training with Merle. Finding no brush in sight, she used her fingers to comb through her hair, teasing it to give it some extra volume. She then maneuvered underneath her T-shirt to finish taking off her bra, wondering if she should take the opportunity to strip off the rest of her clothes as well while Mikhail was gone. Blushing, she shook her head and decided to remained clothed until he returned. Yume sat down on the edge of his mattress, yet jumped back up almost immediately, too full of nervous energy to stay still. She started straightening his room, dumping his dirty clothes into the almost-empty hamper beside the dresser and fluffing the pillows at the head of the bed. It wasn’t the most romantic setting for her first time, admittedly, but at least the room looked somewhat cleaner than it did before. But what was taking Mikhail so long? He said he would only be right back, but a glance at his alarm clock revealed about five minutes had passed since he left the room. It shouldn’t take that long to get rid of an unwanted visitor, should it? Her curiosity getting the best of her, Yume walked over to the door and pressed her ear against it. She could faintly hear Mikhail’s voice, but he wasn’t speaking English. That meant he had to be talking to either Sergei or Dmitri. She breathed a sigh of relief and was about to sit back down on the bed when she suddenly heard a woman’s voice. Yume froze. Who was she? Tatiana Pekrovskaya? No, Tatiana had given up hope on ever winning back Mikhail‘s love. She’d made that perfectly clear before going back to Russia. Besides, the woman’s voice was higher pitched and sweeter than Tatiana’s. It didn’t sound like Elizaveta’s voice either. After taking a deep breath, Yume reached for the knob, and as quietly as she could, opened the door. Through the small crack, she saw Mikhail talking to a brunette whose back was turned toward Yume, hiding her face from view. Mikhail laughed at something the woman said, then pulled her into hearty hug, lifting her feet off the ground and twirling her around in a circle as she let out a high-pitched squeal. At that point, Yume walked out of the bedroom and made a point of slamming the door closed behind her. Mikhail, spotting her, set the woman back down on the ground and released himself from her embrace. “Oh, sorry, Yume, I forgot you we--” Yume crossed her arms over her chest. “What’s going on here, Misha?” she demanded to know, interrupting him. “Who is she?” “So you’re the famous Yume?” the woman asked in heavily-accented English, finally turning around. “How wonderful to finally meet you!” Before Yume had the chance to even comprehend what was happening, the girl bounced over and gave her a hug as well. “Uh… It’s nice to meet you, too?” she said, looking at Mikhail over the girl’s shoulder for some sort of explanation. “Yume, I’d like you to meet my little sister, Ekaterina,” he said with a slight roll of his eyes. “Sister?” Ekaterina pulled away, allowing Yume to properly see her face for the first time. Indeed, she recognized her as the girl in the picture that Mikhail kept at his bedside. She was very pretty, sharing the same striking ice-blue eyes as her brother, and appeared to be about the same age as Yume. “Please, call me Katia,” she insisted, smiling brightly. “I’ve heard so much about you, Yume.” Gasping, she covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, no, I’m not interrupting anything, am I? I knew I should have called first.” “Uh…well…um…” Again, Yume glanced over at Mikhail. “Katia decided to come for a surprise visit,” he explained, answering Yume’s unasked question. “She’s staying until opening day of the show.” “Yes, it’s always been my dream to come to America!” Ekaterina said, performing a graceful pirouette. “And since my school is on summer break, I thought it would be the perfect time to come visit Misha. I want to see all the sights!” “I already told you, Katia, we’re in training for the Lovers’ Maneuver. I won’t have much time to take you sight-seeing.” “Oh, but I came all this way!” She linked her arm with his, a pout on her rosebud lips. “You won’t just ignore me the entire time I’m here, will you? I‘ve missed you so much.” “I missed you, too, but --” “Um, I think I should be going,” Yume interrupted, feeling out of place at the family reunion. It was obvious that they weren’t going to be able to finish what they started. “I’ll walk you out,” Mikhail said, not objecting to the idea. He released his arm from Ekaterina’s grip and escorted Yume outside, his sister calling out, “It was great to meet you, Yume!” before the door closed behind them. He let out a sigh. “I’m really sorry about all this,” he apologized. “I had no idea Katia was planning to come for a visit. She didn‘t mention anything about it the last time we talked.” “It’s okay,” Yume said, doing her best to hide her disappointment. “She seems really nice.” “She is. I hope you two will get along.” “I’ll try.” Brushing her hair behind her ear, she asked, “So, about tomorrow…?” “Oh, right, your sister’s dinner.” “We can do it some other time. I’m sure Sora won’t mind.” “No, Katia will be fine by herself for a couple of hours. She can go see a movie or something. I‘ll ask Sergei to take her.” “Are you sure she won’t mind?” Yume got the feeling that Ekaterina wouldn’t exactly be thrilled with the idea of her brother dumping her off with someone else for the night. “Sergei is a good guy. I won’t have to worry about her if she’s with him, and I think they‘ll have a great time together.” “That’s not exactly what I meant…” “It’ll be fine,” he said, kissing Yume tenderly on the forehead. “Tell your sister that we’ll be there, and let me deal with mine, okay?” “Okay,” she agreed. “See you tomorrow.” “Bye.” ***** After dinner, Yume called Sora back and told her that she and Mikhail would be happy to accept her invitation. She didn’t mention anything about Ekaterina, knowing Sora would have probably extended the invite to her as well out of politeness. She had nothing against Mikhail’s sister, but Yume didn‘t really want her tagging along with them tomorrow night. She then started to strip out of her clothes to take a bath when she notice something -- or more precisely, someone -- roving around out of the corner of her eye. With a weary sigh, she let go of the hem of her T-shirt, letting it fall back down over her stomach, and turned around to face the Spirit of the Stage. “What are you doing back here, Fool?” she asked. “I told you earlier, you can’t stay here anymore. You‘re Misha‘s annoyance now.” “You might want to tell your boyfriend that,” he said. “He just kicked me out.” “Why?” “No reason.” Yume arched an eyebrow, dubious. “Okay, so maybe he caught me trying to peek in the bathroom when that pretty sister of his was taking a shower,” Fool said. “But it was all just a silly misunderstanding. I’m innocent!” “Uh-huh. Sure.” She didn’t believe it for a second. Fool shook his head dejectedly. “Why won’t anybody ever believe me?” “Maybe because you’re never innocent?” “A minor point. Anyway, Mikhail says that as long as his sister is staying with him, I can’t, so it looks like we’ll be roommates again.” “Oh, goody,” Yume deadpanned, taking a seat on the edge of her bed. “But, wait, Katia is staying in his room? I thought we weren’t allowed to have guests in the dorms.” He shrugged his shoulders. “When he tried to get her a room at the Hamilton Hotel, she insisted on staying with him instead, so he got permission from Marion. Since they‘re siblings, I guess she didn‘t mind.” “Oh.” Yume fell back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Were they ever going to find some uninterrupted alone time? It seemed like every time they were about to take that next big step, something else got in the way. Maybe it was the universe’s way of telling her she wasn’t ready after all. But if she and Mikhail weren’t really “lovers”, would they still be able to perform the Lovers’ Maneuver on opening day? “Hey, don’t tell me you’re jealous,” Fool drawled, looming over her. “She’s his sister. It’s not like you have anything to worry about.” “No, I’m not jealous,” Yume said, sitting back up. “I’m just a little disappointed that Katia interrupted us when were about to --” “To do what?” A blush formed over the bridge of her nose. “None of your business.” She stood back up and grabbed Fool by the midsection, tossing him into a desk drawer. “I’m going to take a bath,” she announced, ignoring his bangs and shouts from inside. “Don’t peek, or you’re going to find yourself homeless.” DISCLAIMER: Kaleido Star doesn't belong to me. AUTHOR’S NOTES: Sorry this chapter is a little late this month. I had a bad case of writer’s block until I decided to have Katia come for a visit. The next chapter should be posted by the end of May.