Strawberry Panic-Episode 1:

Reuniting

Nagisa sat on the plane, looking out the window, clenching a piece of paper tightly in her hands. Her left hand released so that she could push some strands of her red hair from her face. Her hair was longer now and she kept it down, with a small black hair clip trying to prevent her hair from getting in her face.

As she tried to rearrange her hair she glanced back down at the paper, only one name sounding in her mind.

Shizuma

Nagisa sighed as she looked at the paper and read it for the fifth time.

My sweet Nagisa,

You finally graduated from college and as promised I we will be together. In this letter I have sent you your plane ticket to California, where I live. I can't wait to see you again. Hopefully after six years you've managed to grow an inch or too, or maybe not, I love you all the same.

Love Shizuma

PS: XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO and XXXX and little more O

Nagisa smiled as she folded up the note and put it in her pocket.

Ah, that's my Shizuma...

"Could all passengers please make sure that they are seated and have their seatbelt buckled, we are beginning our descent into Los Angeles."

This was Nagisa's first time on a plane and she was happy to know that it was almost over. Every time she felt a drop or a shift she would find herself suddenly clenching her armrests, startling the teenage boy sitting next to her. When she thought about this she felt a little embarrassed seeing as she was probably 8-10 years older than the boy.

Her thoughts were disrupted though, when the plane started to descend. The 23 year old gasped and clenched the armrests, digging her nail deep into the material.

Just a little longer, she thought. Just think about something else.

Unexpectedly a thought of Shizuma washing a car popped in her mind, and of course, the silver-haired beauty was wearing a white T-shirt.

"Uh Miss, are you okay, your nose is bleeding."

Nagisa blinked returning from her Shizuma fantasy, looking at the boy.

"Excuse me, could you repeat what you said?"

The boy pointed at her nose and lifted and eyebrow, "you're having a nose bleed, are you okay?"

Nagisa put her hand over her nose and laughed nervously. "Oh, I'm okay, heh, the pressure changes cause me to do that, don't worry."

The red head sighed as she reached inside her back pocket and pulled out some tissues. She wiped her nose and stared out the window, watching as the ground became closer and closer.

I've really got to stop thinking about Shizuma-chan in public places; I keep ending up with nosebleeds. Hm...I wonder if she has that same problem?

Shizuma waited at the airport, holding a bloody tissue to her nose, her white cheeks now crimson.

Ack! That was humiliating, I can't believe I just sat here staring in space as I drooled and my nose bled. Whether I'm in America or in Japan, I looked like I was going to molest someone. If it weren't for that guy I would have stayed like that until Nagisa came.

Shizuma sighed as she removed the tissue from her nose and threw it in the closest garbage can. The sliver haired woman adjusted her ponytail and pushed a few stands out of her face. As she was reapplying her strawberry lip-gloss when her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and nearly leaped out of her chair. She picked it up quickly and answered it.

"Konichiwa Nagisa-chan," Shizuma greeted cheerfully. "Oh, you're here! Great! I'm waiting for you not too far from your gate. *pause* It was worth going through security. Okay sweetie, I'll be waiting. Call when you get close so I can find you."

Shizuma closed her phone and recomposed herself, pulling a book out of her purse and reading the last chapter. Yeah, she could totally finish a fifty-page chapter before Nagisa arrived.

Nagisa reached under her seat and pulled out her backpack and headed off of the plane. A good thing Shizuma bought her a seat in first-class, it made it easier for her to get out of the plane. Nagisa sighed as she remembered that she had to go through U.S Customs. Even though Nagisa never left her country, she had a passport because her parents were the types to travel and they thought that she would travel with them. And that's how the redhead found herself attending Miator.

Nagisa was really nervous as she filled out her form, making sure that everything was correct and filled out properly. As she read over the slip of paper she was grateful that she had taken English all the way through college.

As she waited in line, it seemed that the line was moving and inch at a time.

I wish that this line would hurry up, don't these people know what I've been missing for six years. I mean come on!

After about 20 minutes of waiting, Nagisa was at the front of the line but blinked that when she saw that she would have to step into another. She looked around for the shortest line she could find. The redhead was lucky to find one that only had four people.

Nagisa sighed.I can't believe that I just wasted my time standing in line, just to wait in another one. This doesn't make any sense.

Finally it was Nagisa's turn to hand in her information so that she could get her luggage and see her sliver-haired queen. The man at the desk quetly looked over her the form and her passport, and then looking at her. He smiled and opened her passport, stamping it.

"There you go, you're all set."

Nagisa took her passport back and smiled. "thank you sir" she said in almost perfect English.

Here I come Shizuma!

Nagisa had no trouble finding her red suitcases because they both had picture of her and Shizuma tied to them. She knew that people might had thought that was weird but it helped her identify her bags.

It wasn't long before Nagisa had made it to the main entrance, almost immediately pulling out her cell phone and calling Shizuma.

"Hey ShiShi-chan*pause* yeah, I'm here. Right over by the..."

Suddenly she felt an arm wrap around her waist.

"I found you," Shizuma said as she closed her cell phone.

Nagisa dropped everything in her hands, including her phone as she turned around. As she stared at Shizuma happy tears began to fall from her eyes. Shizuma's eyes also became watery as she embraced her love.

"Oh Nagisa, I've missed you so much!"

Nagisa pulled back for a moment to look take in Shizuma, tears still streaming from her eyes.

"You haven't changed at all."

Shizuma smiled as she hugged the redhead again. "But you have, as I predicted you've gotten taller. I guess your last growth spur helped you out a bit."

Nagisa shook her head, "oh ShiShi-chan...you're exactly the same."

Nagisa wanted to lean in to kiss her silver-haired girlfriend but she hesitated, seeing as there were so many pairs of eyes staring at the two of them. Mistaking them for sister or other family members. Shizuma let Nagisa go, picking up everything that nagisa dropped and taking her largest suitcase and backpack off of her hands.

Shizuma looked at Nagisa her brass-like orbs glowing with excitement.

"Welcome to America Nagisa-chan."