Note: Standard disclaimers apply. Also, this is the serious fic that I want to publish alongside the humor fic, but this will undoubtedly be much longer. I didn't originally plan it that way, but hey, what're ya gonna do? It's still rated M though and for many of the same reasons as the humor fic: cursing, alcohol, sex…pick a vice.
I always thought that Miyuki would end up being the most unhappy out of all the characters in Strawberry Panic, not only because of her unrequited love for Shizuma, but because she was destined to be married off to some guy right after she graduates. That sucks so much. The poor girl is in love with her best friend, sees this friend fall in love, not once, but twice, and never with her. Yeesh.
Anyway, the first chapter is kind of short, but the next should be much longer.
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Your daughter is in Miator, isn't she?
Yes.
Excellent. I'm very glad to hear it. Their clear respect for tradition has given them quite the reputation.
We're very proud of her. As a matter of fact, she's the student council president.
Oh really? That's very good. It shows that she's embraced the values prized by Miator.
Yes, she is the paradigm of everything they represent. She's obedient, intelligent, respectful...she'll make an ideal wife for your son. We look forward to the day when our families are united by this marriage.
Very good. I'm more convinced than ever that we made the right decision all those years ago. After she graduates, we'll begin making the proper arrangements. Until then, we'll keep in touch.
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Miyuki retched in the toilet bowl, but she hadn't eaten for two days, so all that came from her mouth was a thin stream of saliva. The violent fits of vomiting only occurred late at night, when she was alone in her room and had nothing to occupy her except for her lonely thoughts. Her mother might have told her that it was just pre-wedding jitters that sent her running to the bathroom every night, but Miyuki knew better. Her stomach was rebelling because of something far beyond mere nerves.
During the day, shuffled between the shops of florists and seamstresses, dragged to the homes of relatives and future in-laws; her upcoming wedding still seemed surreal. But at night, after the visitors were gone and the well-wishers had said their goodbyes, after her parents told her how proud they were of her and sent her to bed to get plenty of rest, Miyuki had time to think. And thinking was the last thing she wanted to do. Her thoughts were mainly of the future and the wife she would soon become, and though she dreaded her marriage, she could cope with these thoughts. She had responsibilities, after all.
It was always after dealing with the thoughts of marriage that she would spend hours staring out of her window and thinking of other things. She would so often think of the soft notes of a distant piano or running through a field just to glance at the glittering stars dancing across the night sky. Unlike some people she knew, and one person in particular, Miyuki knew that once she was married, she would never again have the chance to simply run.
It was easy to fake those smiles she wore for the benefit of her family and it was easy to accept their congratulations with relative enthusiasm. After all, her union with the son of one of the oldest families in Japan was going to firmly establish her family as one of the elite.
Though his family was established and very well respected, their great wealth was almost gone, lost through a series of bad real estate ventures by his careless grandfather. Not long after his death, the eldest son, a much more savvy businessman with a good eye for investments, immediately began shopping for a wealthy daughter-in-law for his newborn boy. He found a few likely girls, but it was the Rokujo family and their money from a wildly successful software company that caught his eye. A few meetings and it was settled; their children would be married and both families would benefit from the other.
Miyuki knew that this was the single greatest reason that her parents were so eager to see their daughter wed. With her marriage to this man she had never even met, they would gain the respect that came from an association with such an old family, while their wealth would revitalize the former fortunes of a failing empire.
Oh, she had seen photographs, of course, and he was handsome enough. Tall and athletic, with a bright smile and broad shoulders, he was everything a girl could ask for in a husband. She also knew from speaking with her father that her betrothed was an intelligent man that loved playing American football and chess. Her father had met with him several times while she was still in school, mainly so he could determine if this man was good enough for his daughter. Though he wanted his family to be connected with a powerful name, he was a good man and he wanted to see his little girl be married to someone that would treat her with respect. Miyuki was grateful for his concern, but a part of her wanted to scream that his concern wouldn't even be necessary if he would think about her instead of the damned lineage.
She heaved again and tasted salt on her lips from the tears coursing down her cheeks.
Ever pragmatic and sensible, she knew that she should be proud that she was going to be the one responsible for the glory of her household, yet it was difficult to reconcile this with the wild terror she felt at being sold off like a prize heifer at a country market.
Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she unsteadily rose from the cold tiled floor so she could clean herself up before heading back to bed. As she brushed her teeth and splashed cool water on her face, she carefully examined her reflection in the mirror. While she never thought of herself as exceptionally attractive, she had always taken pride in her appearance. Neat and exact and professional. That was how Miyuki wanted the world to view her.
The Miyuki that once roamed the halls of Astraea with her immaculate uniform and stiff posture was gone, replaced by a pale, thin creature with defeated eyes. She almost chuckled when she saw herself. Instead of the polished obsidian hair that shined so that it seemed to reflect the hues of the summer sky, she now saw the dark strands sticking to her damp cheeks like ink spilled on a white canvas. Deep brown eyes that burned with intelligence and ambition, those eyes that flared when she argued with the representatives of the other houses during council meetings; they were now dull and flat. When Miyuki thought of what her old council rival Shion might say if she saw her then, she did laugh.
Then she thought of what her best friend might say and the sad laughter died in her throat. Choking on another sob, she closed her eyes and reached for the light switch. Carefully navigating through the darkness, Miyuki finally reached her bed and crawled under the blankets, praying for sleep to steal her away from her own mind.
She couldn't think anymore, not about the wedding, her responsibilities, her family...and certainly not about Shizuma. It was too much and she was so tired. So tired.
Miyuki finally fell into a fitful slumber just as the sun started to rise over the horizon and color the earth in all the shifting, translucent shades of morning.
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Note: Up next, Shizuma and Nagisa, maybe some Tamao too. Oh! I really like Shion, so of course she'll have a place in this fic. Review if you'd like and let me know how this thing is going. Til next time!
