A/N: I guess this story would be my first actual ACTUAL Yuri story; the others probably hinted at a girlxgirl theme but the theme wasn't heavily...emphasized or implied(to my knowledge at least). Anyways please enjoy, The Cold's Shards begins now.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own. Mikagura School Suite belongs to the rightful owner(s).

Warning: This will be a yuri fic, you have been warned.

Prologue

3 years ago...

"Iliya-sama!" A young maiden smiled as I greeted her by the gate with eagerness. Even though she was 3 years my senior I always waited for her outside the front gate since our schools were about a block away from each other...that and our moms were really great friends.

"Who's this cutie Iliya? Your sister?" A student asked.

"It's Kurisu Naiteu from that middle school down the street. Hi Naiteu-chan, how are you today?" Another student replied as I shyly waved at her.

"That cute middle school kid again? What a diligent, polite child. Her mother taught her right."

"She's always waiting outside the gate everyday huh? Don't you think it's a little bit stalker-ish?"

"I think it's cute when you have a younger kid following you."

"Look at you Kurisu, you sure are famous around here." I looked up as Iliya stood before me, resting a hand on my head as we watched the other students leave the school grounds. "You're making me jealous."

"What would you like me to do about it?" I said as she waved goodbye to a few friends. "Stop coming to see you? Because I might just do that if this is how you are planning to greet me."

"You wouldn't dare would you? I'll be sad and lonely." She threw me a small pout, adding a little bit of a whimper to it. "I'll even have to walk home by my lonesome self."

Siiigh...she's playing the same 'guilt trip' game my mother does. Now that I look at it, she probably learned it from her too. I pinched the bridge of my nose before smiling. But whatever, she's Iliya-sama after all..."All right I get it, I get it so don't give me that look. Besides...you have the same effect whenever you come to my school. All of my other friends love you to death."

"Aww, that's so sweet of them! Do tell them I love them as well." She laughed, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to her side. "C'mon! There's this karaoke bar that just opened and I want to take a look before we go back."

"Oh no you don't..." I grabbed her arm before she could dash off, holding her in place. "You know how your grandmother doesn't approve...uh...underage drinking. Your toleration level for alcohol is laughably nonexistent and I'm not going to carry you back home since you tend to puke everywhere."

"Poo, you made a good point. I do tend to be a wreck after one shot." She deflated instantly before nodding her head with agreement. "You're right, no drinking today. Let's just kick off the weekend with a nice bath instead."

"And then we can wrap up the night with a patrol around the park. Since you know...it's part of your club activity."

"Hahaha. You know me so well." She grinned.

"That's because I hang out with you a little too much." I retorted and we laughed as we started to walk home. Iliya-sama has always attracted the attention of others but she acted humble most of the time, which is probably why she's so popular. Her lush golden hair gave her a radiant glow like a goddess while my hair in comparison-dark blue with silver streaks, an unusual combination-gave me a mysterious vibe.

"Hang on, I need to pick something up from my home." She told me when we reached an intersection and ran off in the other direction. "It won't take long okay? Let your mother know I'm coming." My mother adored Iliya-sama and always loved it whenever she came over to play with me. She viewed her like an older sister more than a baby sitter. After informing my mother that a guest would be coming over once I got home I bolted upstairs to get the bath ready. Iliya came over just like she said a few minutes later, walking right into my mother's warm embrace.

"Honey! Iliya's here." My mother yelled before disappearing into the kitchen to get dinner ready. I was already inside the warm bath when I heard my senpai rapped her knuckles three times against the door.

"Come in." I said from the bath and watched as she walked in with nothing but a towel around her body.

"Oh yeah, this hits the spot." She smiled as she drop the towel on the floor and slid into the water behind me, releasing a sigh as the warm water lapped over her exposed skin. With a mischievous glint in my eyes I waited for her to get comfortable before splashing her, giggling as she glared at me from behind her wet hair. We got into a small water fight which ended when my mother yelled that dinner was ready. Hurrying out of the tub and putting on some clean clothes we entered the dining room to see my parents waiting with smiles on their faces.

"Brrr...the nights sure are cold." Iliya mused, wrapping her coat around her body and tucking a piece of golden hair behind her ear. After helping my parents wash the dishes, we hurried out the door just in time for patrolling the local park. "But it's nothing I can't handle."

"It's a wonder you haven't gotten ill after spending a few hours outside with those thin layers." I shook my head as we found a nice comfortable place to rest, right underneath a tree. We sat silently next to one another, staring out at the city lights. "Peaceful isn't it?"

"It is...Oh! That's right, I wanted to give you this." She rummaged around her coat pocket and held up a silver necklace. "Ta-da! My mother bought this from some shop and since it was so...uh...plain, I decided to change it up a bit. Hope you like it." I held out my hand, watching the object fall into my palm and looked at it with curiosity. On one side my name was etched in and hers was on the other.

"It's beautiful." I whispered as she helped me put it on. "Thanks."

"No problem...by the way, have you decided on which high school you're going to attend?" She asked me as we laid back on the grass to watch the stars above us instead of the city. "You only have a year left. Time flies fast ya know."

"I know, I know. My mother's been pestering me about it since the beginning of this year." I replied before turning my head to the side to face her. "I was wondering...I could attend your school if I wished right? This way we could spent a lot more time together."

"You want to attend Mikagura Academy?" She quirked an eyebrow at me before mulling the idea over for a minute. "Mmmm, well if you do attend then you must join my club for sure. No excuses and no exceptions."

"The Night Patrol Club? Who wouldn't?" I teased her. "I heard it's one of the famous clubs right?"

"No doubt about that. Of course some of the teachers have complained and told me to cut back the hours after some of the members continuously fell asleep during classes." She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Truth be told, I also fall asleep during my lectures so I've been on the receiving end."

"You also tend to drool when your sleep...a lot. It's like Niagara Falls but on a miniature scale."

"No I don't! You must be mistaken for someone else." She puffed up her cheeks indignantly and turned away with a humph. "Naiteu-chan you meanie."

"By the way, what's in that box?" I asked, pointing to a case laying on the grass next to her.

"Well since it is a beautiful night, I definitely made the right decision to bring this thing." She said, sitting up to unclasp the locks and held up the instrument, a gold trumpet. "Do you have any request for me?"'

"Play that one." I said, resting my head upon her lap. "You know...that song."

"Again?" She looked at me funny. "You've always asked for the same one ever since we met. This is probably the millionth request."

"Pwease?! You know that song is only for us and no one else." I gave her my best big doe eyes and added the trembling lips to boot. Closing her eyes with defeat, Iliya smirked and began to play her rendition of Amazing Grace. The music was pure, strong and extraordinarily moving, just like how I remembered it when we first met. Smiling, I made myself a little more comfortable and allowed her music to lull me to sleep. Little did I know that that little park memory would be the last time I would ever hear her play.

Hmm...she's asleep. Some time after the music ended, Iliya watched me sleep and gently brushed my hair out of my face with her fingers. Bingo! This is a good opportunity to do...that. Heehee. Rummaging around her bag, she took out a camera and took a quick picture. Perfect! She looked at the picture with a smile. I love you Naiteu-chan.

The day before the finals...

WEEEE-OOOOO! WEEEE-OOOO! WEEEE-OOOO!

"Kyaaa! Look at the blood!"

"How horrible!"

"She fell from up there!? That's absurd!"

"Where were the teachers?"

"Hmm? What's going on today? Why are there a lot of noises?" I paused to see a bunch of students gathered around in the lawn with upset expressions on their faces. There were red and blue lights flashing and sirens wailing by the time I got to the front gate. I got out of school early and decided to stop by the bakery to order some of my favorite snacks so that I could share with my favorite person.

"How tragic, she died upon impact." An officer was saying as others rushed around to keep the students from taking pictures or getting close to the corpse. "She was fairly young. It's always tragic for someone like her to leave so soon."

"Oh wow, something big must have happened." I said as a lot of students were blocking my path. "E-Excuse me then..." Taking a deep breath, I started to squeeze between the bodies to get to the front. "Sorry! Pardon me! Let me through!" As I finally got through, I noticed the taped off region and a lot of cops and medical personals running around.

"Stay back if you would please. This area is off limit until we finish our investigation." An officer was saying as I got closer to the tape. "Kid, it's best if you don't see it." That's when I saw what they were trying to shield from the public eye...the disfigured corpse laying underneath the cover on the ground with a puddle of blood surrounding it. The lush golden locks that were once filled with life were now limp and messy. The items in my hands crashed to the ground as I stood there trembling. Taking one painful step at a time once I cleared the tape, I ended up beside the covered body and, shakily pulled back the cover to see who it was although I knew deep down it was her.

"Naiteu-chan." A soft voice that belonged to her friend spoke gently behind me but I continued to stare at her bloodied face and wide-eyed expression. Hands gripped my shoulders and dragged me away from her and I gripped the student's clothes tightly as the police pulled the covers back over the corpse. "Shhhh. Shhh." Hands ran through my hair soothingly as I balled my eyes out, drenching her clothes with tears. "It's okay. It's okay. The officer said she didn't suffer long."

"T-That...d-d-doesn't...m-make me...feel...a-any...better..." I spoke before movement caught my eye, a boy disappearing behind the school building. "Uhm...I-I'm fine...I just need...to use the restroom." Excusing myself, I hurried after the student before I lost the trail, wiping my face with my sleeve. Finally I ended up near one of the dormitories and wandered around with confusion. "Weird...I'm certain that he came this way..."

"The mission has been accomplished ma'am." A boy's voice reached my ears and as I peeked from behind the wall, I noticed the student I was looking for with a phone near his ear. "No one ever suspected you or your brilliant plan."

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Another voice that I couldn't make out flowed out of the phone, sounded like a female's. "It's no surprise that she'd take the bait. All I needed was some reliable sources, people and a fool-proof plan. Nothing to it."

"Heehee, you are such a sly woman." The boy chuckled. "I'm surprised that she was gullible enough to follow me to the rooftop and when the time came...whoosh! She fell so easily like a rock in water. Man, I wish I was there to see her go splat on the concrete!"

"Hmph." The voice behind the phone snorted with displeasure. "Stop gloating. She's dead and that's all that I care about."

"Now there's no one else powerful than you on this campus. You have this entire school wrapped around your finger." The boy smiled.

I-I have to get out of here... I covered my mouth with both hands to hold back a cry of grief. As I crawled on my hands and knees back to the bush, my shoe accidentally kicked an empty soda can and it bounced along the ground loudly. Oh crap...!

"What was that?" The boy paused and looked around wearily. He stepped out to survey the area, spotted the can and lifted the phone back up to his ear. "Sorry, it was nothing important, just a soda can some student left behind. Now then...back to my prior assignment..."

Iliya-sama...was killed...My mind was on overdrive as I sat in the bushes, trying to process the information as the boy went back to his phone call. Iliya-sama...was killed...she's dead...she's dead. Gathering up my wits I went back to the front gate and ran home as fast as my legs could carry me, slamming the door shut abruptly. My mother, startled by the suddenly noise, came out of the kitchen to see what was the matter only to fall back as I rushed at her, wrapping my arms around her.

"Honey, what's wrong?!" She asked as I clung to her like my life depended on it. "You look like a mess...you didn't see a ghost did you?" I mumbled something inaudible, prompting her to ask me to repeat what I said.

"Iliya-sama...is...dead..." I repeated a bit louder. My mother tensed up at the news and hugged me tighter. Iliya was like a second daughter to her so her death was a heavy blow to us. We sat in the hallway in silence until father came home and he pulled us into a bigger hug, saddened by the loss. Dinner was unusually quiet and we all went to bed early. I didn't sleep well that night anyway.

Present time (3 years later)...

It's been 3 years since she past away...my golden-haired goddess and best friend in the world. Now that I finished up my second year at the Academy and was about to start my 3rd year, I've tried to get to the bottom of her case, to figure out why she died. The school board said that she committed suicide and that it was an accident but...they didn't know the real truth. To make it even worse, they dismissed it as an unsolvable case and forbid anyone to talk about it ever again. As time continued, they soon forgot about her and got on with their lives but...I could never forget...will never forget what happened.

"Tch...if only I was there...I could've prevented her death..." I laid on my bed with silence, staring at the only possession she left for me, a silver necklace that had my name etched on the front and hers on the back. I stared at her name fondly, running my thumb over it when the chime of the bell tower caught my attention. Throwing off the covers, grabbing my jacket and putting on my shoes, I quietly rose from the bed. Undoing the latches of the window I slipped out without disturbing my roommates, putting the hood up over my head. "It's time for me to do my part time job, as the only member of the once famous Night Patrol Club."