Disclaimer: I do not own Strawberry Panic. Characters Hanazono Saeko, Hanazono Hirako, Hirano Aki and Matsuoka Ai are characters from my imagination.
This is my first fanfiction ^_^ I hope you will like what you see.
Chapter One: The Birth of a Goddess
"Waaaah… waaaah….." An infant's cries were heard thorough the hospital ward. A worried young man rushed to the delivery room with a mixture of happiness and relief. He saw his wife, an elegant silver-haired woman, exhausted and panting with her child crying in the doctor's arms.
"Congratulations, you have a healthy baby girl!" The doctor made the generic statement, which was ignored by the man who held his wife's hand dearly, tears welling up in his eyes. Fortunately, he held back and comforted his exhausted wife, "Our darling Shizuma is very cute, take a rest Saeko."
~Two Years Later~
"Ahaha… Ooh…" Young Shizuma played with one of the household's maid whose turn came to take care of Shizuma and keep her company when her parents are busy, her father, Hanazono Hirako, either on business trips or losing track of time while he works in his office and when her mother, Hanazono Saeko, reprimands Hirako for spending too much time on work.
"Ah… it tickles!" the newly employed maid, Hirano Aki, laughed. Shizuma was grabbing onto her hand and realizing how soft they were, started to press her fingers in curiosity and fun. Suddenly, the toddler placed one of the maid's fingers into her mouth, sucking on it like a candy and nibbling it lightly occasionally, startling Hirano Aki.
"Don't do that, Shizuma-chan!" Aki exclaimed. She attempted to pull out her finger; however the silver-haired toddler wouldn't stop sucking it. Instead, the toddler nibbled harder on the finger. No matter what she did, baby Shizuma just wouldn't release her finger. While Aki continued her attempts to free her finger, a musical melody was heard. Baby Shizuma listened to the piano melody and slowly fell asleep, lying on her side and let out little snores.
"Eh?" Aki turned her head to face the clock on the wall and realized that it was Shizuma's nap time and that the melody was actually a lullaby played by Saeko, who was a brilliant pianist. As Aki carried Shizuma in her arms, she realized that Shizuma was still holding onto her finger, even though the sucking and nibbling subsided. "My, my…" Aki smiled at Shizuma, whom she placed in her crib and stirred in her sleep, snoring softly.
~Four Years Later~
"Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew…" A young girl read silently at her study table in her table. "…hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with…" Her reading was interrupted by a knock on her door. Slightly irritated, she marked the page with a bookmark, closed the book and gave the knocker permission to enter her bedroom.
Her bedroom was unusually large and empty, slightly gloomy, the only light source shining into the room through her white curtain. The walls were brown and the carpet floor was dark brown. A giant bed sat at the end of the room with more white veils draped over the poles of the bed.
"Shizuma, it is time for your piano lessons. Come to the piano room in five minutes." Saeko came to remind her. "Yes, Mother." Shizuma replied, standing up and placed her book away before preparing her piano notes which she used to revise for her piano theory tests and left for the piano room with a slight smile on her face.
"Good afternoon, Matsuoka-sensei." The silver-haired girl greeted her teacher with a smile. "Good afternoon, Shizuma-san." Her teacher, Matsuoka Ai, replied with a similar smile. "Shall we start our lesson? I hope you have sufficient practice for the piece of music which was your homework." "Yes, sensei." Shizuma sat in front of her family's Grand Piano and waited for her teacher's cue.
"You may begin." Shizuma relaxed and played her favourite piece, Maiden's Prayer. Her long, slender fingers played the notes flawlessly, creating a soothing melody that resonated thorough the mansion. When she finished playing the piece, Matsuoka Ai was again, surprised by the child's musical talent.
"You never fail to surprise me, Shizuma-chan." Matsuoka Ai laughed. "Well, my job here IS to surprise you!" Shizuma replied laughing. "I heard that, Shizuma." A cold voice interrupted the laughter. Shizuma turned to face the source of the voice and saw her mother, wearing an irritated expression on her face. Shizuma and Ai were in a state of shock till Saeko grinned.
"Just kidding! You never fail to attract me to the piano room." Laughter exploded from the three people and Shizuma asked, "What did you come here for, Mother? Normally you would only hide behind the door and listened to my practices." Saeko was slightly surprised, wondering how Shizuma knew that she was listening behind the door, but decided to answer her question instead of asking for an explanation.
"Well… I forgot to tell you that we're invited to the Rokujou Mansion for their daughter's sixth birthday which is today." Saeko explained sheepishly. Shizuma tilted her head slightly to the side and asked, "Who's the birthday girl?" "It's Miyuki-chan; you've never met her before. But I think you'll like her." Saeko smiled. "The party's at night. Be prepared for it by six." She then addressed Ai, "Sorry to interrupt your lesson Matsuoka-san. I'll leave now."
Saeko was about to leave the room when Shizuma spoke, "Why don't Mother stay instead? It's better than standing behind the door; legs aching after a while, leaving to attend to some minor chore before realizing there's nothing to do due to the efficiency of our maids and ended up bored and listening to my practices behind the door again. There's a nice sofa over there and I don't think it's covered in dust."
Saeko's mouth hanged slightly ajar from shock that her daughter actually knew about the cycle that she was always trapped in. She recovered quickly from the shock before sitting onto the sofa and watching Ai asking Shizuma to play another piece of music.
Shizuma sat down comfortably before touching the keys with her fingers, contemplating the next music to play and had an idea. She played the soothing melody which she often listened to, her fingers dancing gracefully on the keys. A while later, Shizuma looked across the piano to see her mother sleeping on the sofa and couldn't help but stifle a laugh.
"Alright, lesson is over. Enjoy the party at the Rokujou Mansion." Ai winked.