AUTHOR'S NOTE: So hey, did you ever whimsically write a one-shot and then months later decide that there was actually more to say? Yeah, me neither. Well, until now, anyway.


Part 2: Come to Bed With Me?

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The final Student Council meeting of term ended as so many of the previous ones had: with Shizuma scarcely noticing, and frankly caring even less. In the end, it took a nudge from Miyuki to bring her out of her reverie long enough to give the closing words.

"Thank you one and all for your hard work as another academic year draws to a close," she said, more or less automatically. "Your dedication to your schools is commendable, and I'm sure next year will more than ever bring us together for the common good of all Astraea."

"Thank you, Etoile-sama," Miyuki nodded. "This meeting is adjourned."

Amidst the sounds of scooting chairs and rustling papers, Shizuma rose quickly and made her way to the exit, followed closely by Miyuki. No doubt her old friend would once again gently scold her for her inattention once they were clear of other ears, but Shizuma was really in no mood to hear it.

To her surprise, though, it was another voice that drew her attention as she attempted to make her escape. "Etoile-sama, a moment please?"

Shizuma and Miyuki turned to see Chikaru hurrying down the hall after them. The Lulim president smiled as she pulled up before them and gave a small bow. "I was hoping to catch you before you left, Etoile-sama. May I bother you for a moment?"

"Of course, Minamoto-san," Shizuma nodded in reply. She had not spoken to Chikaru, or indeed even made eye contact with her, since their other recent encounter in the council chambers. Surely this couldn't be about that, though, could it?

Seemingly oblivious to Miyuki's presence, Chikaru took a step closer, so that she was just inside Shizuma's personal space. "I've been thinking a lot about that near-miss we had last week," she said in a soft voice, her eyes twinkling.

"Have you, now?" Shizuma asked, somewhat shocked to feel the very beginnings of a blush rising to her cheeks.

"Very much so. And so I was wondering, Etoile-sama, if I might convince you to come to bed with me this evening?"

Once again, Shizuma found herself in the rare and awkward position of being completely speechless. Had she actually just heard that? Was Chikaru propositioning her? In front of Miyuki, no less? She glanced to her left to see Miyuki's reaction, but to her deepening shock, her old friend was actually smirking at her.

"Um," she choked out.

"You don't have to decide now," Chikaru went on, laying one hand on the Etoile's arm. "If you want to, though, come to my room at eight o'clock. I'd love to see you."

With a last bow and a bright smile toward Miyuki, Chikaru turned and left them, heading toward the Lulim wing of the dormitory.

"Um," Shizuma said again, turning shocked eyes to Miyuki. "Did she just..?"

"Are you going to take her up on her offer?" Miyuki asked, poorly attempting to hide her obvious amusement behind an innocent expression.

"What kind of question is that?" Shizuma whispered.

"An honest one. If you want my opinion, I think you should go."

"Miyuki!"

"Aha," Miyuki nodded, as though in understanding. "You've never been to bed with Chikaru before, then?"

"Of... of course I haven't!"

"Well, I won't spoil it for you, then," Miyuki grinned. She then leaned in very close and all but whispered the rest into Shizuma's ear. "Except to say that she's wonderful."

That said, Miyuki departed as well, leaving a stunned Shizuma to attempt to process everything she'd just heard.


That evening, at a quarter to eight, Shizuma found herself in front of the full-length dressing mirror in her room, eyeing her reflection critically, not to say nervously. She turned one way and another, trying to see herself from all angles. With a sigh, she realized that this negligee was all wrong, though: as much as she liked it, she was still going to have to make her way to Chikaru's room in uniform, and the gauzy fabric would get crushed and wrinkled even over so short a distance. Sighing loudly, she threw the garment into a growing pile of discarded pieces of lingerie, each of them judged to be all wrong for the evening.

What would Chikaru want to see her in, anyway?

With a self-deprecating sigh, Shizuma realized that this was her problem: she had allowed this situation to run away from her completely. How in the world had Chikaru turned the tables on her like this, anyway? How had Shizuma allowed herself to become the object of pursuit? How had Naoko-sama's adorable little sister managed to turn the Etoile into a bundle of nerves, like an underclassman getting ready for a first date?

Shizuma met the eyes of her reflection and steadied herself. It was time to put herself in control again, and she knew just how to do it. From the very back of her wardrobe she pulled a black merry-widow. She held it up against herself and once more checked the mirror. Yes, this would do nicely.

Chikaru would have no idea what hit her.


The confidence afforded her by her chosen undergarments lasted right up until Shizuma found herself standing in front of the door to Chikaru's room down on the first floor of the Lulim wing. Taking as deep a breath as the boning of the merry-widow would allow, the Etoile again tried to steel herself against the unfamiliar mix of nervousness and apprehension. Finally, making her decision, she raised her hand and knocked twice.

"It's open," a soft voice called from inside.

Shizuma opened the door and cautiously slipped inside the dimly-lit room. The first things she noticed were the tea candles floating in a broad, shallow bowl of water on the Lulim president's desk (completely against regulations, as a small, still-dutiful part of her mind pointed out to her), shedding a soft glow over the room's interior. The second thing she noticed was the enormous pile of pillows stacked up at the head of Chikaru's bed.

The third thing she noticed was Chikaru herself, still dressed in her St. Lulim uniform, lounging against the pillows and holding a book which she had apparently been reading by candlelight. The younger girl's brown eyes shone in the near-darkness as she smiled up at Shizuma, setting the book to one side. "You came," she said softly.

"I did," Shizuma nodded, unsure of what else to say.

"I'm so glad," Chikaru whispered. She then patted the mattress beside her. "Make yourself comfortable."

For a moment, Shizuma froze, her resolve once again at an ebb. This was Chikaru, she reminded herself. Naoko's baby sister.

Naoko's all-grown-up, stunningly beautiful, charismatic, flat-out magnetic baby sister, adored and beloved by those around her in a way Shizuma doubted she could ever be again.

Shizuma found herself rooted to the spot, a familiar hollowness spreading through her as green eyes met brown. She suddenly remembered what had drawn her to attempt to kiss this enigma the previous week: seeing Chikaru filled her with an aching, yearning desire, the likes of which she had simply never felt in her young life. It was nothing like the fleeting affairs of the past year, and certainly nothing like the damnably brief joy she had felt with Kaori. No, this was something far more desperate. All she knew was that Chikaru had something she needed. Something she wanted.

And even as a distant voice in her mind screamed that this was wrong, the rest of her knew that she had only one way, now, to get what she wanted.

And so she found herself responding to that want in the only way she could. Keeping her eyes locked with the other girl's, Shizuma unfastened the tie of her uniform, then let it drop to the floor. One by one, she undid the buttons down the front of her bodice, feeling her confidence return as she gave her quizzically smiling host just a little at a time: just a hint of what lay beneath with each successive unfastening. Soon she slipped the elegant dress from one shoulder, then the other, and slid the black-and-white fabric down along her legs, stepping clear once it piled into the floor.

All the while, Chikaru's eyes never left hers.

Finally, though, the younger girl looked her up and down, from her black stockings to her dangerously low-cut pantsu to the corselet that was barely keeping her decolletage in check.

And then Chikaru did something that Shizuma would never have expected. She frowned. "My goodness, do you actually find that comfortable?"

"Do you like?" Shizuma asked.

"Don't get me wrong -- you're a goddess -- but... you poor thing, can you even breathe?"

"I could... take it off for you," Shizuma whispered in a desperate attempt to wrest control back.

"Shizuma, darling, I think you should take it off for you before your cups completely runneth over," Chikaru said with a chuckle. "And for me too, I suppose, because I can almost feel my ribs cracking in sympathy. Let me get you something else."

To Shizuma's ongoing surprise, Chikaru hopped down from her bed, went into the bathroom and returned with a white terrycloth bathrobe. "Here you are," she smiled as she held it out. She then politely averted her eyes to give the older girl some measure of privacy.

Moving in a daze, now, Shizuma unhooked her stockings from the body of her corselet, then unfastened the endless hooks along the back of the garment and slipped it off. She then reached for the robe, but her hand stopped short, and in a cracked, pleading voice she did not recognize as her own she whispered "Chikaru..?"

Chikaru turned to look at her again, and the easygoing, mischievous smile she'd been wearing turned into something far more complicated: an emotional cocktail of fondness, understanding and no small amount of sorrow. And was Shizuma imagining it, or was there a trace of guilt as well?

"You're beautiful," Chikaru said quietly. "Now please, put this on and get in my bed already."

Shizuma slipped the robe on as Chikaru returned to the bed and again propped herself up on the pillows. The Etoile joined her soon after, and Chikaru pulled her into a cozy embrace, allowing the older girl's head to rest against her shoulder. Even in her bewilderment, Shizuma found herself letting out a sigh of something like relief as those arms closed around her.

"We really need to talk, Shizuma," Chikaru said at length.


Next: Talk to me?


AUTHOR'S OTHER NOTE: Yeah, sorry, things get a bit serious this time around. At least one more part will follow. I wish to once again offer my most sincere, heartfelt gratitude to Ninemil, without whom Strawberry Panic would likely have just been (for me) a wonderful diversion before moving on to the next anime. Thank you for the inspiration, and for making me love these characters even more.