A/N: So I finally finished chapter 2 and I'm so sorry to those that have read my first chapter! I know I had all that time to work on it but I had no inspiration and was lazy and now school has started again. Funny though how I typed this up only now when school has started, but I'm going to say that the two are unrelated in every if any way. Whatever! just hope you enjoy the second chapter and maybe if you write a review I might continue it... JK I will anyway.
Disclaimer: So yeah I don't own Strawberry Panic and what I said in my first disclaimer still stands.
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Chapter 2: Memories and Hardships
The sound of a lock clicking rang out through the empty apartment followed closely by the creak of the front door being swung open. Tamao was struggling with a moaning Nagisa, half-carrying, half-dragging the girl across the threshold of the doorway and to the couch that sat in the middle of her apartment's sitting room. Setting her down in a laying position, Tamao then shrugged off her heavy slate grey overcoat and hung it along with Nagisa's on the coat rack at the entrance way. She then proceeded to the kitchen, calling over her shoulder to Nagisa to "try to relax while the tea is getting ready."
After lying there for a few moments, Nagisa slowly sat up until she was in a sitting position there on the leather couch looking like she was in a daze, as if she was still trying to comprehend how she had gotten there. Blinking a few times to clear her head, she slowly began to study her surroundings of her old friend's home. It was fairly nice for a one-person apartment, if not a little simple. The eggshell colored walls were bare of any pictures or even nail holes, but Nagisa didn't really see Tamao as one for visual art. Directly in front of the couch she was on was a good sized TV hooked up to a simple stereo system. The window off to her left had its blinds open, letting in the cold grey light of the winter day which fell across the off-white carpet that covered the living room floor. There was a comfortable looking chair next to the window, which also had a lamp near it when natural light was not available. Nothing caught her attention more, however, than the massive amounts of books that filled the place. A small bookshelf off in a corner was the only thing that was actually organized, whereas everywhere else books were just piled up in large stacks, categorized by genre and author. Nagisa knew that Tamao liked to read, but she thought that this might be pushing it.
"Yeah, sorry about the mess," Tamao voice drifted in from the kitchen. "I've been meaning to install some shelves or get more bookcases but I've never found the time or money."
"You might be short on cash because you buy so many books," Nagisa mumbled a little louder than she had thought, as she heard Tamao laugh lightly in the next room. The blue-haired woman entered the room with two cups of tea in hand: steam still wavering above the liquid.
"Well, if I didn't buy any books, then why would I need the shelves in the first place?" she answered smiling, handing one of the saucers to Nagisa which she gratefully accepted with a small "thank you" as she sat down next to the red head. "So," she started hesitantly, foreseeing this to be a particularly uncomfortable conversation as she composed herself into a more serious state. "What exactly are you doing walking around town while lugging a suitcase?" Her amethyst eyes seemed to radiate concern for her friend as they bore into Nagisa's auburn ones.
Lowering her cup from her lips, Nagisa's eyes turned downward as she found a sudden interest in the pattern on her saucer. "Well… a lot has been happening recently and I'm just kind of drifting at the moment if you know what I mean," she answered vaguely: eyes still not meeting Tamao's.
"Aren't you staying with Shizuma though?" It seemed to be the wrong thing to say, as Nagisa's head seemed to sink lower making her eyes disappear behind her bangs. She remained motionless, but her voice gave away what she was feeling when she heard that certain name.
"Shizuma and I… um, I was but… well, it's kind of complicated," she rambled in a low voice, unable to think straight as the pain in her heart began to throb again. Her mind seemed to want to say something, but her mouth was uncooperative with what her brain was thinking.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Tamao asked hesitantly, her body turned towards Nagisa to show that she had her full attention.
"Hn," was her short reply to the question along with a slight shake of her head. She wasn't sure if she was ready to even think about it again, let alone talk about it. "Can I tell you later? I need some time to think." Tamao gave her a small reassuring smile as she agreed.
"Of course, Nagisa-chan. I understand if you can't talk about it yet." She brought her arm around Nagisa's shoulders and gave her a small hug of understanding, and stood up while picking up Nagisa's empty tea cup to take to the kitchen. "Take a nap while you're at it. It'll help you sort it out and you look pretty beat as it is."
"Oh Tamao-chan, can I stay here for the night?" Nagisa's voice called back with a hint of uncertainty. The question caught her off guard, and Tamao stood there silently for a moment as if contemplating her answer. Slowly, though, she turned around with her trademark small smile on her face as she faced her best friend.
"Not a problem Nagisa. You can stay as long as you'd like. Now take a nap, and I'll wake you when I start dinner." She watched as the red head gave a small sigh with a smile and laid her head against the pillow that sat on the couch. She was soon fast asleep, her face seemingly relaxed compared to her earlier distraught as she inhaled and exhaled slowly. Tamao walked over to her sleeping figure and bent down to brush away some strands of her vermilion hair out of her face, giving her cheek a light kiss before extinguishing the lights of the room.
She retreated down the short hallway to her small office and flicked the switch on the wall, causing a lamp on the desk to alight. She quickly booted up the laptop that sat upon the wooden desk and promptly sat down in the comfortable chair as she waited for it to load. When the welcome screen met her eyes, she logged on and slid on a pair of headphones. She had developed a fascination for American music ever since a friend had introduced it to her and got her the American-made Zune for her birthday. Selecting "play all" on an artist and making sure it was on shuffle, she laid back against the chair as the rock music began to flow through her ears: her mind going back to when she was still in school and all of the trials and errors she went through then…
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A/N: yes I know I was mean to leave it off like that but what comes next comes in the 3rd chapter so just wait a little longer! The next chapter will consist of some flashbacks that will be italisized as a heads up and also maybe we can get an explanation out of Nagisa-chan finally, huh? Oh! and if you reviewed that would be awesome :D
