The Atoning Dawn

A/N: I hope the last chapter explained all that there needed to be explained. Please go easy on me and enjoy the chapter you have probably already read ^_^

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Strawberry Panic. And I'm only writing this because I can't afford to buy it out from… I forget who it is, but, yeah, that dude or chick.

Hikari: What did I do?

Yaya-chan has been avoiding me. I just know it. But, I just don't know what it was that I had done to make her want to avoid me. I can't help but think that she's still beating herself up for that time that she had acted...strangely towards me. I thought that we had already gotten over it, but, perhaps she's still grieving over that incident. Sure, I found it strange, and, it had even scared me, but, she's my best friend and, it was all, probably, just some big mistake. Yeah, that had to be it. It was all just some big mistake. Yaya-chan would never do anything like that to me. But, I still don't know why she's been avoiding me. Doesn't she know that she can tell me anything?

'She does know that, doesn't she? We're close enough friends for us to be able to talk to each other about everything, right?' I thought with a sigh as my third class of the day began, and Yaya-chan still hadn't come out from hiding.

The class seemed to drag on much longer than usual, my thoughts having wandered to my raven-haired room-mate. My thoughts were so concentrated on Yaya-chan that I was barely able to hear the teacher's question. Nor was I able to hear her ask me to answer said question. In fact, I didn't hear a thing. I just kept staring at my notebook, twisting and turning my pencil around in my hand. My head was resting on my left hand, my index finger lightly tapping on my cheek. It was a nervous habit I had picked up from Yaya-chan, but, that seemed to be the only thing that I really knew about her. What I really wanted to know was why she was avoiding me.

By now, the teacher was becoming irritated at having one of her students openly ignoring her. But, my attention was elsewhere. It was only when Hitomi Itsuki, a classmate of mine, had tapped my shoulder, arousing me from my mental wanderings. I turned around quickly to ask why she needed my attention when the teacher came up to my desk with an irritated glare about her face.

"Is my class really that boring to you, Hikari-san?" she asked, being sarcastic.

"I...uh...n-no m-miss Inozuki. I-I was just...um...I'm sorry..." I stuttered out, not knowing how to explain my way out of the situation.

"Well, don't let it happen again. I wouldn't want to have to call your parents." she said, a slight smile on her face, as if she were saying that she wouldn't even if she had to. "Really now, I would've expected something like this from Yaya-san, but you Hikari-san... I think you two are spending a little too much time together."

I let out a quiet sigh of relief as Ms. Inozuki went back to her lessons. Unfortunately, as soon as she had left, my mind went right back on to wondering about Yaya-chan. Was she really that out of it most of the time? No way. That can't be. She's always payed extra attention to me, even when she didn't have to. I began thinking of how much of a great friend she's been this past year, how she protected me from that strange girl to even little things like how she would lightly run her hand through my hair to help me calm down whenever I would be feeling down. The rest of the day went on like that, me thinking of Yaya-chan, and then a teacher getting mad at me for not paying attention during class.

As soon as the final bell rang, signalling that classes for the day were over, I began to run around campus in search of my raven-haired room-mate yet again. I sprinted over to the library, no Yaya. I ran over to the church's garden, I found the club president who had talked to Yaya-chan, but, no Yaya. I even went to the Mariah statue, but, again, no Yaya. Why was it so hard for me to find Yaya-chan when she can find me so easily? She always knows when and where to find me, but, whenever I try to find her, she vanishes into thin air. Do I really know that little about Yaya-chan?

After about an hour and a half of a fruitless search for my raven-haired room-mate, I decided to just go and watch Amane-sempai practice her riding. On my walk over there my mind went back to yesterday and the conversation that I had had with Amane-sempai...

Flashback

I was just as depressed as I was today when I couldn't find Yaya-chan. I had decided to talk to Amane-sempai to try and see if she could give me some advice about the situation that I was having. I was sitting under the tree where I had met Amane-sempai the first time we had talked. I was tired from all of the running around that I had been doing that day as well. All of her fans had gone back to their dorm rooms or club rooms after she had finished her riding, leaving me alone to wait for my "Prince."

It took her about ten minutes to get changed into her school uniform and walk up to me. She had that sympathetic smile on her soft face, a smile that I couldn't help but to smile back to.

"Hello, Hikari." She said as she stepped up to me and slowly lowered herself to a sitting position next to me under our tree.

I was surprised at how I had just called the tree that Amane and I had first met "Our tree." Because of this, a faint blush made it's way onto my face. I had to recover myself a little so that I could say hello to her as well.

We just sat there for a few moments, silently enjoying each others company. After a few minutes, Amane-sempai had decided to speak up. "So, has Nanto-san come out of hiding yet?"

I had told Amane-sempai about how Yaya-chan had been avoiding me for the past week now. I had also told her how upset I was and even asked her if I could've done something wrong. She said that it could've been possible, but she highly doubted it. But, that was almost a week ago, and that thought of me possibly doing something wrong to Yaya-chan was still nagging at my concience. I began thinking about anything and everything that I could've done to Yaya-chan to make her want to avoid me. I guess I was thinking a bit too long, because Amane-sempai had to wave her hand in front of my face to get my attention.

"A-aahh. S-sorry, Amane-sempai." I said as I was pulled from my thoughts. "I was just thinking about something."

"...Was it about Nanto-san?" she asked, gently putting her hand on my shoulder.

"...Am I that easy to read?" I asked, feeling guilty that so many people can tell when something is wrong with me, but I can't even help the one person who's been there for me.

"...What's wrong Hikari?" Amane-sempai asked, worry evident in her voice.

"..." I couldn't answer her right away, my mind was still filled with questions and possibilities on why Yaya-chan would have wanted to avoid me like the way she's been doing.

"...Would you like me to have a talk with her?" she asked, trying to help me feel even a little bit better about the whole situation.

"..." I didn't answer her because I was beginning to think if she could really help. I mean, if Yaya-chan can't talk with me about her problem, then she definitely wouldn't talk with Amane-sempai about it, right? But, even with that in mind, for some odd reason, I nodded.

End Flashback

I was pulled away from my memory of the other day when someone decided to put their hand on my shoulder.

"IIIIYYYYAAAAAAA." I screamed as I whipped around to glare at the person who had decided to scare the living hell out of me. Imagine my surprise to see Amane-sempai with her hand extended and hovering over my shoulder, a look of concern on her face.

"A-aah... Sorry, Hikari. I didn't mean to scare you." she said, her face looking a little more red then usual. Especially her left cheek.

"Oh. N-no. I was just thinking about sometrhing, that's all." I said, slightly staring at her lightly swollen cheek. "What happened to your cheek, Amane-sempai? Did you get in an argument with someone?" I asked, worry in my voice.

"Hmm?...Oh, this? No, nothing happened. I just got a little too...close to someone who wanted to be left alone." she said, a look of worry on her face.

"...Oh... Okay. How is she doing? The person you got a little too close to?" I asked, wondering how her friend was doing.

"...Oh...She's fine...I hope...She stormed off before I could help her..." she said with worry and concern dancing in her voice and on her face.

"Oh...Okay...ummm... Why are you not at practice? Did you get the day off or something?" I asked, wondering just why she wasn't with her horse.

"Ah. I um...kinda skipped some of my classes today. I didn't really feel like doing much work today."

"Oh...okay..." I said as I began to wonder if she was really telling me the truth. 'Wait a minute, why wouldn't she be telling me the truth? I shouldn't be thinking like that about Amane-sempai.' I thought as I began to feel guilty about how I thought that she might be lying to me.

"Umm...Hikari?"

"Yeah?" I asked as I looked at her with as much kindness as I could, not wanting her to know that I had just thought something like that about her.

"I um...I talked with Nanto-san today." she told me with a look of worry on her soft features.

At hearing Yaya-chan's name my mind went into overdrive, wanting to know everything that had happened. "Really? How was she? Is she okay? Where is she at now?" I asked, not really waiting for her to answer my questions. "Where is Yaya-chan, Amane-sempai?"

"Well... I think I hurt her..." she said, a look of dread on her face.

The word 'hurt' rang through my head over and over, while images of Yaya-chan began to float through my thoughts. 'Hurt? Yaya-chan is hurt? Oh my god.' I thought as images of Yaya-chan on the ground crying out began to invade my mind.

"Hurt? What do you mean? What happened, Amane-sempai?" I asked, worry and dread in my voice and on my face.

She began explaining how she had run into Yaya-chan at the lake. She said that she looked like she just woke up, but had asked her why she had skipped classes anyway, wanting to know so that she could come and tell me the news afterward. Yaya-chan didn't answer her right away. She felt a little intimidated by Yaya-chan, but she had asked her again anyway, just to make sure that she had heard her. She scared her when she tried to stop Yaya-chan from leaving and she fell. She had grabbed Yaya-chan to make sure that she didn't fall and hurt herself, only scratching her wrist in the process. She said that Yaya-chan looked quite upset at that and then stormed off. She also said that she felt like she shouldn't follow her.

"I'm sorry, Hikari. I wasn't really thinking when it all happened. Do you want to go look for her?" she asked, probably suggesting that she would help me look for her.

"...N-no. It's alright. She'll come and talk to me when she's ready...I guess..." I said, not really wanting to disturb my friend any farther away from me then she already was.

"...Okay...Do you want me to walk you back to your room?" she asked, trying to be as gentle about the situation as possible.

"...N-no...I-I'll be fine. But thank you anyway." I said, kinda wanting to be alone for the time being.

"...Alright...I'll see you later then, Hikari?"

"Y-yeah. Later." I said as I began to walk back to the dorm rooms so that I could take a shower to wash off the rest of the sweat that was making my hair stick to my face.

As I was walking to my room, I sware I thought I saw Yaya-chan with a bunch of first years. I ignored it because I figured that Yaya-chan would be at the nurse's office getting her wound cleaned. At least, that's what I think she's doing. Anyway, I ignored it, hoping that Yaya-chan would be at the nurse's office, and I made my way back to my room. I was delayed for a few more minutes when the nun in charge saw that I was looking rather exasperated. I told her that I was fine and had to listen to her for a good fifteen minutes before she allowed me to go. I wasn't surprised to find that the room was empty, even though I was hoping for Yaya-chan to be there. I went to my dresser and grabbed some clothes and a towel for a shower. When I went to the door to open it, it was locked. I looked around the room a bit more closely then before and found that Yaya-chan's bag was at the foot of her bed.

I ran back to the door and began to bang on it. "Yaya-chan? Yaya-chan?" I yelled in between knocks, desperately trying to get her to respond to me.

"...H-hold on. I'll be right out, Hikari." she said, sounding rather weak.

I let out a sigh of relief, feeling slightly better knowing that Yaya-chan was finally back. I waited for her to exit the bathroom with a look of worry and relief all mixed together on my face. When she finally did come back out, she had already changed into her pajama's and had a bandage around her left wrist. I looked at her bandaged wrist with complete shock and worry, seeing as how the bandage was slightly blood-soaked.

"Oh my god, Yaya-chan. What happened?" I asked, already knowing what had happened but wanting to hear it from Yaya-chan.

"...I uhh...fell and hurt my wrist. It's no big deal though. The nurse said I should be fine with a little rest." she said with great reluctance.

"...D-did anything else happen...Yaya-chan?" I asked, wanting to know if she would tell me anything else about what had happened.

"...Hmmm...not that I can think of...Why? Did something happen?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"No. Nothing happened." I said, not wanting to get off topic but gave Yaya-chan the benefit of the doubt and decided that she didn't have to tell me anything that she didn't want to tell me.

"...Good. So, uhh...how was class today?" she asked, a strange expression on her face as she tried to turn the subject in a different direction.

"I-it was alright. It would've been better if you were there with me." I said, honest disappointment in my voice.

After hearing that, Yaya-chan turned her head to hide her reddenning face. I could only guess as to what she was thinking about, but I could guess that she was probably thinking about the altercation she had with Amane-sempai...and yet, I wonder why I wish that she wasn't thinking about that. I could see that at the corner of her eye her eyes were filling up with tears. 'Oh no. Don't tell me that I just made her cry? Oh, Yaya-chan, please don't cry!' I thought as she turned towards me with a fake smile on her face.

"...I-I'm sorry, Hikari. I...I just...I'm sorry..." she said, her tears falling from her eyes and a pain was in her voice like nothing I had ever heard before.

"..." I couldn't say anything more for fear of hurting Yaya-chan even more. All I could do was pull Yaya-chan in my arms and try to comfort her. She had her arms around my waist as she tried to wipe her tears on my shoulder, lightly soaking my shirt.

'I'm sorry, Yaya-chan. I didn't mean to hurt you.' I thought as my hold around her shoulders got slightly tighter. 'Why won't you tell me what's wrong? Is it really so bad that you can't talk to me about it?'

After a few minutes of us just holding onto each other, Yaya-chan pulled herself away from our embrace. I know it may sound a bit weird, but I wanted to hold onto her for a little longer. I felt colder once her arms left my body. She began to wipe her eyes with her sleeve, lightly sniffling while she kept her eyes and most of her face buried in her arm.

"...Yaya-chan, I-" I began to say but was interrupted by a knock at the door. "...H-hold on. Be right there." I said as I continued to watch my crying friend.

Keeping my eyes on Yaya-chan, tears still falling down her face, I decided to go to the door and tell whoever it was off. With that in mind, I walked up to the door, running excuses through my mind that didn't sound too rude, but would also get a point across. When I opened the door, I was surprised to see Tsubomi-san there, holding a small folder with Yaya-chan's name on it.

"T-Tsubomi-san? What're you doing here?" I asked, former intentions forgotten at seeing the blushing, sakura-haired, under-classman.

"W-well, I-" she started to say but was soon interrupted by another under-classman that was passing by.

"Ah! Yaya-onee-sama!" the under-classman said, a blush forming on her face as Yaya-chan stepped up next to me to see who it was that I was talking to, her face looking nothing like someone who had just been crying.

"Oh. Hey Yuki-san." I heard Yaya-chan say, not sounding as enthusiastic as the purple-haired junior. "How are you?"

"I-I'm okay... H-how are you?" she said, the blush darkening her cheeks about ten-fold.

"Good. Considering..." Yaya-chan said, trailing off and sounding a little tired.

"O-oh... r-right... s-sorry, Yaya-onee-sama..." said Yuki-san, looking quite sad as she said it.

"Umm. I don't mean to interrupt, but I have something for Yaya-sempai. Sister Mamasaka asked me to deliver this to you." Tsubomi-san said, a little irately, as she handed Yaya-chan the folder with her name on it.

"Oh. Thanks, Tsubomi." Yaya-chan said as she took the folder and began to open it. But, before she did, she looked over at Yuki-san and gave an exasperated sigh. "Hey. Yuki-san. How're you and Suzuka-san doing?"

"Oh, we're doing great. Although, she seems to be acting a little odd lately. I think she's getting jealous." she said, sounding much happier and even gave a little nervous laugh at the end.

"Eh? Jealous of what?" Tsubomi-san asked, pure curiousity in her voice while I just stood there, not really knowing what they were all talking about.

"Why wouldn't she be jealous? I mean, I have been getting private tutoring from Yaya-onee-sama." The under-classman, now known as Yuki-san, said in a matter-of-fact tone while putting an extra emphasis and oddly disturbing tone when saying "private."

During this entire conversation, my hands began to tighten into little fists and one thought began to ring through my ears:

'Why didn't she tell me any of this?'

A/N: Yo. I'm gonna start leaving some Omake's at the end of my chapters. I used to only use Omake's for my reviews, but, I think that you guys deserve a little more entertainment than my crap of a story. Enjoy.

Omake:

Yaya: Why am I so friggin' angsty in this story?

U-chan: What? The chicks dig the angst. I'm making you much more irresistible this way.

Yaya: Well, yeah, but-

BANG BANG

(Crowd of screaming fangirls): YAYA-ONEE-SAMA!

U-chan: What'd I tell ya? Chicks dig the angst.

Yaya: (Sweat-drops)