A/N: I'm having trouble seeing little miss perfects from all of the Strawberry Dorms running around and sweating at relay activities ^^
DISCLAIMER: I sure don't own any of the characters in Strawberry Panic, manga or anime, yet they sure like to bug me in my dreams and write something about them. ^^;
SPORTS Day At The Strawberry Dorms?
"Tamao-chan, I'm NOT going to take off any more CLOTHES!"
That bright, early morning the whole of the Strawberry dorms shook as Aoi Nagisa 's innocent cry rang out, a bit desperate. The Etoile glanced up sharply from her sprawled position on the green grass. Her honey-golden eyes narrowed, the silver of her long hair softening the fierce glow emanating from the peircing orbs.
Nearby, Star Bride nickered softly while Amane gazed around in dazed surprise.
"Was that... Nagisa-kun?"
Frowning towards the two-bedder rooms, Shizuma got to her feet, graceful even in an awkward position for a civilized young woman.
"Yes. Nagisa..." Thinking of the pastry-loving redhead made her heart ache, so Shizuma headed towards the dorm. Nagisa didn't like her stealing kisses, or trying to, but if she was going to be unsuccesful in even getting one small smooch, she was determined that Tamao girl get the same cold shoulder.
Blushing in embarrassment, Aoi Nagisa ran around the room she currently shared with the obsessed girl pattering after her.
She was trying to refuse the cute dresses being sent her way; it wasn't the problem of being dressed properly, though. No, it was that Tamao INSISTED she help her change. Bad enough Nagisa didn't have any sisters, but her mother was never one for great affection and Nagisa was suddenly panicking from all the naked attention.
*KNOCK, KNOCK*
Oh, thank GOODNESS! Lunging for the door, Nagisa flung it open, welcome for any intrusion.
"Nagisa..."
Or... maybe anything ELSE other than the sexually harrasser of stalker called supreme Etoile at her door. To make it worse, Nagisa felt a true-coming of age blush steal up on her face. Yes, she'd have to admit it sooner or later. That sexually harrasser of stalker had slinked her way into her pounding heart.
Nagisa was in love with her.
Shizuma wanted to bite something.
Preferably the cute girl standing right inside the flung-open door, her blouse unbuttoned three notches down and a NOTICEABLE slit running from thigh to ankle because of her new dress. Old England during the Ton days would call it scandalous. Shizuma called it Sweet and Spicy Sexy Style.
At Nagisa's ragged intake of breath, Shizuma remembered to breathe, too. Yeah. Breathe and return the death glare the girl her innocent love was rooming with.
Thankfully, just rooming with.
"Ah, Nagisa."
Shizuma paused, trying to think of something APPROPRIATE to say, instead of things like, "Take the rest of your clothes off, love, and I'll have you for dinner."
"Why, yes, Etoile-sama, I'd, uh, LOVE to."
Huh? Shizuma came back from the clutches of her perverted mind and stared down at the accepted proposal. DON'T tell me she'd said her thoughts out lou-
"I'm sure you have better things to do with your time than help me train for the Sports Festival."
Shizuma relaxed, then smiled in relief, saying, "Oh, yeah, sure, the- the... Sports... Festival..?" Holy Strawberries, her auto-pilot brain/body had actually REMEMBERED the Sports Festival introduced to her two weeks ago, even the PAPERS she'd signed-
"Okay, NO time to waste, then, Etoile-sama! Tamao-chan, THANK you for your help with the CLOTHES!" At that short outburst, Nagisa Aoi dragged a stunned Shizuma away by the crook of her elbow, leaving her roomate behind, gaping slightly.
She had half the mind to mutter a sympathetic, "Yeah, know how you feel, too." as she was dragged down the hall.
Nagisa quickly accepted the husky, albeit slurred, offer and quickly dragged a ruffled Etoile towards the stairway connecting the 4th and 5th years.
Etoile-sama was acting strange today, not her usual dominant self, all black and silver and sexyy- yet this Etoile-sama was magnificent also. The woman almost seemed human, stumbling as she was dragged backwards, occasionally smiling in confusion at passing faces.
The Sports Festival, huh? Sounded... INTERESTING.
Now under the cloud-dotted sky, Nagisa turned to an almost sea-sick looking Etoile, her hand flung haphazardly at her eyes.
"Etoile-sama, you can move around now."
Nagisa couldn't help the teasing lilt that slinked in her voice. Nor the slight fidget in her step as the silver-haired woman glanced over at her.
"Nagisa..." "Shizuma."
No one could sound that guarded. No one, except...
"Miyuki." Shizuma glanced over at the stern-eyed woman behind her beloved, gave her a cheeky grin.
"Yeah?"
A frown, then, "We're having... a Sport's Day?"
Oh, yeah. She'd TOTALLY forgotten about that. Ri-ight. Nodding affirmative, Shizuma wrapped an arm around Nagisa's lovely neck and smiled warmly as she watched a small blush rise on both girl's faces. Nagisa's she expected, and Miyuki's, too. She was probably reminded of how affectionate Shizuma could be when she found the one person she could see colors with.
"Yup. I wanna see how well this girl throws a ball."
She should have known better than to kid around with Miyuki, childhood friend though she was. The girl frowned and opened her mouth to say something 'productive,' then-
"Etoile-sama, I'm sure Hikari and my team mates would love to help out in this sports festival. When is it?" Shizuma glanced over at a dazed Amane, her hand nestled firmly in the waves of her underclassman's long hair.
Subtle, she was not.
Shizuma pretended to contemplate things and then shrugged, murmuring a decisive, "Ah, sometime in the next week. We've got this week to prepare for the events!"
Activity bustled inside the cage-in perimeter of the Strawberry Dorms.
Curfews and dinner rules were taken away, unless abused. It gave everyone a sense of freedom, and every girl inside the Church later that night seemed carefree, enjoying their newfound senses of whispering excitedly about the Sports Festival and not being scolded by the head mistress.
Balls were blown up, precious air expressed into the black holes until someone thought to bring in the air compressor. Laughter tinkled out into the night as the compressor roared, expressing their elation at excercising their ability to work like a kid again.
Shouts bounced off seemingly deaf ears amid the lunchroom, and a small juice fight had started. Only one meatball had made it onto the floor before a bird flew in and picked at it.
Every girl inside had gone quiet, then started to coo over the flying sweetness.
Nets entangled long legs, poles hefted over shoulders. Rips in shirts, casual, gone the uniforms and cathedral clothes.
Today was a day to be free, the night was a place to roam, and every student took full advantage of the delicious fun this came with. It was like Christmas, no chains attached.
This was what Amane, Hikari, Nagisa, Tamao, Chikaru, Kagome, Tsubomi and Yaya were taking advantage of late that night, near ten at the sheds just outside the back of the church. Holding hands to make a line, everyone huddled together and brought flashlights.
"What are we doing out here again?" Hikari's nervous whisper was comforted by Amane nudging her into her arms and squeezing, smiling softly over her head.
"We're looking for some equipment to play hockey. Y'know, the sticks, puck, stuff like that. If we can find a basketball, all the better."
Hikari snuggled closer in Amane's embrace and sighed. The girls following them nudged each other and grinned quietly, giving looks that would make Hikari blush. Amane just grinned back and let her angel rest. Who cared if they grinned, they were being playful.
"So, you guys could start SEARCHING for these items..."
Hikari nudged Amane away, smiling herself at the HINTS her Prince was giving to the others. Taking Nagisa's hand in one of hers and Kagome's in the other, she turned to all of them and gestured towards the sheds.
"Let's go in."
"ARRRGHHH!"
Miyuki rushed to their room when she heard a familiar voice screaming bloody murder. Dear Mother Mary, Shizuma was acting like a love-sick fool..! She'd better not see her molesting another innocent young student-
"Shizuma!"
Miyuki made a formidable sight, bursting into the room, spread-eagle, ready to pull an overwhelmed girl from Shizuma's fang-like teeth.
"H-Hehehahaha!"
What met her narrowed eyes had her rolling them. Shizuma was backed up against the window, her eyes wide and focused on a spot in the ceiling. By experience, Miyuki knew there was a hole there from the one time Shizuma lost it and threw a hidden baseball into the plaster of their room.
Walking over to the frozen girl, Miyuki gently guided the paralyzed one onto the bed, sighing audibly. "Mo, Shizuma, next time just WHACK the thing with a BROOM or something."
Pointing her chin over at the needled broom, Miyuki sighed again and smiled, her eyebrows twisted in understanding confusion as Shizuma pounced on her, gripping her tightly around the middle and jerking her face into Miyuki's bodice.
"Seriously, Shizuma... Don't be afraid of a LIZARD."
Chuckling a bit at the girl's silent scream reverberating into her stomach, Miyuki hugged her friend tight and sighed again. She had to let her go.
For Shizuma.
For Nagisa.
For... herself.
Pulling away, even against the needing arms, Miyuki leaned over the crying Etoile and gave her a quick peck on the cheek, wetting her own eyelashes. Pulling the girl onto her feet, she ushered her into the bathroom.
"There, look, it's fine... Don't worry anymore..."
Sighing again when her friend glomped onto her, she pulled away and reached down into her pocket, the edges fringed with lace, something she allowed herself to wear.
"Shizuma..."
At the edged tone her childhood friend took on, Shizuma backed off and shuddered near the cabinets, smiling worriedly and begging,
"P-Please, Yuki-chan, n-no, not that, PLEASE!"
At her nickname, Miyuki had to hide a small grin. Nevertheless, she pulled out...
"AAAAAAAAAAGHHH!"
A stuffed salamander, her childhood fave thing to cuddle, excluding Shizuma herself. Said woman cowered and his her face in her hands, about sobbing. Gently, Miyuki pried her fingers apart and placed Pocky into her hands.
She was taking a great chance.
"YEEEEEEEEEEEKKK!" Shizuma stood and hurled Pocky, the green and orange lizard, into the hole in the wall. She had obviously been practicing her aim since last time.
By 'last time', Miyuki had gone through the same thing and got the bright idea maybe her friend would appreciate lizards more if she got used to a stuffed animal one. Shizuma had hurled the thing straight into the toilet.
Miyuki was so mad, she wouldn't talk to Shizuma for close to two weeks.
She'd had to relent a bit when Shizuma walked up to her during lunch and hauled her away to the private room they'd shared. Visibly shivering, Shizuma held out Pocky and lightly tossed it into Miyuki's arms.
"I-I made sure it was clean and washed."
Miyuki could have forgiven Shizuma for everything, even entering them both in this blasted school together, right then and there. She'd jumped into the shaky-smiling girl and was twirled around, hearing a sobbed, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.."
They'd gone through this before, and they'd go through this again. This time, 'again' had Pocky ending up in the school roof.
"SHIZUMAAAAAA!"
Even as she towered over the apologetic woman, she was secretly happy, and warm inside. She could cure Shizuma, she WOULD cure Shizuma of her fear of lizards. And if she didn't, Miyuki would tell Nagisa Aoi and then SHE would help Shizuma.
Even if it meant letting her go, Miyuki would always have Shizuma happy. Now, however, it was her turn to jerk Shizuma around.
"Young lady, if you don't want a relative of Pocky staring at you when you wake up tomorrow, you GET YOUR BUTT UP THAT WALL AND GET POCKY BACK!"
Yes, she mused, staring as Shizuma scrambled to her feet and zoomed around, trying to look repentant that she'd thrown her fear right, technically, out the window; she'd always love Shizuma. Yet, now, she hated Shizuma in a twisted way.
Oh, well.
Tomorrow everything would be good, and Pocky she'd set right up near Shizuma's sleeping face. Miyuki loved to hear Shizuma screamed. She never tired of it.
"I FOUND IT!"
Tsubomi held up a tennis racket and giggled cheerily, her eyes sparkling in the candle's light. Shadows danced around, showed off by the nice glow of friendship. Yaya sauntered over and smiled down at the pink-haired girl. She'd come to think of her as her little tsundere. Right now she was in tsun-tsun mode. Awww, kawai..!
"Good job, Tsubomi-koooooi." Tsubomi blushed fiercely at the teasing way her 'senpai' acted towards her, and lowered the racket to point directly at her approaching form.
"Y-Yaya-sempai, there're more over there, near that other corner..." "Oh, here, huh?" Yaya grinned at the way the smaller girl cuddled back away from her, not meeting her eyes at all and stammering a small, "O-Over th-there, next corner..." Yaya held out her hands and encircled the girl's shoulders, laying the top of her chin on the shaking girl's head.
"Yare, yare, Tsubomi-kooi, you're shaking, you... cold?" Throwing a smirk over her shoulder at the other girls' knowing grins, Yaya winked, then tightened her hold. They were now backed into a corner, almost out of the light's innocent warmth. Tsubomi's knees buckled, and Yaya almost laughed when her tsundere bounced up with an 'A-Ahh..!', right back into the security of her sempai's knowing touch.
Yaya knew Tsubomi had hit bottom off the top of the rack's holds, and took regrettable pity on the girl now underneath her. "Ah, THERE they are!", reaching under and grabbing a couple more racks and a net. Whirling, she showed the others her loot.
Tsubomi shivered again, trying to repress the sinful desire building low in her stomach, made even more real by the hard pounding of her heart. What was happening to her...?
Nagisa screamed in frustration. Loudly.
"This is not FAIR! MINAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Where ARE you guys? MO!" A soft chuckle came from behind her, and Nagisa whirled around, surprise evident in her red ruby eyes. She took a step back, gulped.
"Hey, Nagisa."
Right centered front, her silhouette framed celestial golden by the moon high above, stood Shizuma, her eyes glowing a fierce honey, sweet and melted love. "Sh-Shizuma-sama!" The girl grinned at her, cocking her head to the side as she brought a fishing pole forwards. The rod gleamed thin and capable, reel chunky and yet vivid within the Etoile's fingers.
Teeth gleamed, and Nagisa gulped again, her eyes dilating rapidly. She felt like a vampire, and she ran her tongue over her upper teeth to see if she'd grown fangs. Nope. But...
"Want to join me for a couple of dips?"
Nagisa blinked, her eyes widening. Shizuma wondered what was wrong, then ran the sentence again in her mind, then grinned in understanding. Stepping down from the tree trunk she was standing on, Shizuma leaned into the girl's personal bubble space.
"I meant fishing for a koi, Nagisa, fishing." Silently congratulating herself for that little pun she'd thrown in, (koi = fish / lover) Shizuma stepped past and laughed softly, hearing soft footsteps padding behind her. She so loved teasing her little underclassman.
When Nagisa had first entered the school, Shizuma, yes, had said she'd take good care of the girl, but then, out of hospitality and forced manners. Now, though, Shizuma wanted nothing more than to take care of the girl behind her. That's why, when Nagisa fell into the lake, Shizuma wouldn't give it a second thought of diving in after her.
"*glub, glub!* Sh-Shizu-maa- *glub*"
Irony, Nagisa thought in a dazed haze as the bubbles floated about her face. Ironic that the first time she'd say Shizuma's name would be when she was all 'wet'. Snorting at that, Nagisa instantly regretted it when water forced itself into her mouth, invading her body, choking her...
"NAGISA!"
Yes. I'm here, Shizuma. Find me, and save me... Love...
Shizuma thanked the Holy Virgin the school had allowed casual clothes today. Incredibly tight, Nagisa's now-soaked shirt and pants would allow her a bit of freedom in the water, compared to the black uniform they usually wore.
Diving into the thanfully warm lake, Shizuma shed her shoes and shirt- she didn't have time to bother with her pants if she didn't want Nagisa to drown. And no, she never wanted Nagisa to drown, never, only in her own desire..
THERE! Shizuma would recognize that red hair anywhere, anytime, be she drunk or be she dead, she was there, right there..!
Shizuma reached out and clutched at cloth, felt skin. Pulled. "*GLUB!*" Oh, not good, not goo- AAGGH! Shizuma was out of air, she was so desperate to get to her. Oh, no, she was so sorry, she couldn't pull any more...
"GEHAK!"
Shizuma barfed up all her innards. Yeah, that sure didn't feel good. Was she SUPPOSED to bark out all her innards? Oh, yeah, breathe... "HAAAAA!" Shizuma forced herself to breathe, forced herself to gulp in a whole lungful of air. Sweet, fesh air...
"Mpph!"
Warmth covered her lips, melded, KISSED her, and robbed her of all air she'd ever taken in all her life. Shizuma moaned and returned it as best as she could, she was still hacking up water... Warmth sucked out all the water, then returned viciously with a burst of fresh air, the most sweetest, delicious air and Nagisa...
"Shizuma-sama, please don't DIE!"
Her eyes sure popped open at that. Shizuma stared at the figure above her, all soaking wet and looking like an angel on fire with her clothes sticking all like tanning oil. Her heart was swelling, she couldn't take it anymore, she had to say something, even though she must have looked like a drowned sewer rat. Gathering her breath, Shizuma smiled and cupped Nagisa to her, laughing like a wild woman.
"Nagisa, I'm pretty sure I'm alive and pretty good right now. Hell, I think I love you!"
I don't wanna get lost. I don't wanna live my life without you.
When you're lookin' like that
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND, the winner is SHIZUMA and NAGISA from Miator for the three-legged race!" Waving wildly, Shizuma and Nagisa laughed at the crowds cheering wildly around them. Looking straight into each other's eyes, they whisper for their ears only, "Wo ai ni, koibito."
All they could say was that people sweated, people got injuries, people's competitive spirits were awakened and made a nuisance of themselves.
That means, everyone had fun and enjoyed playing around like a child. And the best part of it, people had found bonds that would hold forever and into the rest of their lives.
A/N: I didn't know how the heck that was gonna end and it... just.. ended! 0.0 I'm goin' wierd! Okay, if you guys got any questions, concerns, or plain statements, send 'em my way with a big grin! ^^