Miyuki paced in her room, starting at the bed, crossing over to the desk, walking a few steps toward the door and swinging toward the bed again. The bed upon which the letter lay. The letter from her family, concerning her future.
Dearest daughter it began. They hadn't even bothered to use her name. But that was quite usual for those letters from her parents. Miyuki sighed. She'd gotten used to the idea that there would never be a close relationship between her and her parents a long time ago.
The letter went on to explain that her parents had been thinking about Miyuki's life after her graduation from St. Miator. Her engagement party was to take place at the end of April, her wedding was scheduled for the end of September or at the latest early October.
There was a ring in the envelope, from the man she had been promised to on the day of her birth. He had only been five years old at the time, not caring in the least about a potential future wife. The fact that someone shared her misery made it only worse for Miyuki.
She picked up the ring and eyed it with disgust. It was a beautiful ring, she supposed, made of a yellow gold band, with several diamonds set in a star pattern. A beautiful ring if received from someone beloved. But Miyuki had never met the man she was due to marry in a few months. And this ring did definitely not meet her taste.
She couldn't blame the man, she was a complete stranger to him. She could only blame him for submitting to this foolish plan, dreamed up by their families.
Dropping the ring and letter, Miyuki resumed her pacing, heading over toward the desk. In the center of the desk stood a framed picture of Miyuki and Shizuma.
Miyuki's eyes focused on the face of the silver-haired young woman. Shizuma… her dearest friend and so much more. She studied the emerald eyes, the fine-cut face, the gorgeous features. She felt so much for Shizuma. But the beautiful temptress had never looked at her for more than a deep friendship.
Even though, a thought had formed in Miyuki's mind over the past few hours of pacing since she had read the letter, which was why her steps always took her towards the door. Towards the door, but not through it. Her missing courage prevented her from taking the final steps.
Again, she looked at the letter, its content, and thought about what it implied. Standing next to a stranger. Vowing to love and honour him, no matter what. Putting on the guise of a happy bride. Spending the wedding night with him…and all the nights to come.
These thoughts pushed her off the bed. A last, short glance toward her desk and some quick steps through the room. Miyuki felt the cool metal of the doorknob in her hand. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and turned the knob.
It was long after midnight when Miyuki reached the room she was aiming for. Quietly, she slipped through the door, closing it when she had gone through. The sleeping form of Shizuma Hanazono stirred in her bed, mumbling something. Miyuki quickly crossed the room and knelt next to her best friend on the mattress. Shizuma glanced at her with drowsy eyes, seemingly not comprehending what Miyuki's intention was.
"Shizuma." Whispering the name nervously, the blue-haired young woman leaned toward her best friend and gently kissed the other girl.
"Shizuma, please," she murmured when their lips parted. Slightly puzzled, Shizuma yielded and kissed Miyuki again. The kiss lasted longer, became intense and deep.
Sighing longingly, Miyuki wrapped her arms around Shizuma's slender body. The former gently pushed her friend onto her back before sliding on top of her, kissing her constantly. Miyuki's hands cautiously stroked Shizuma's back, while Shizuma's lips began exploring her friend's neck.
Miyuki moaned. Her hands wandered from the emerald-eyed woman's back over her shoulders to her collarbone. Here she hesitated, not daring to move lower. Shizuma raised her head and looked into Miyuki's brown eyes. A teasing smile pulled at her lips as she shrugged her shoulders to let the thin straps of her wispy nightgown slide down her arms, baring her breasts almost fully. Miyuki stared.
Still smiling, Shizuma gently guided Miyuki's hand lower…and lower. First rather awkwardly, then more steadily, Miyuki stroked her friend's breast. The silver-haired beauty closed her eyes and sighed. It had been a long time since she'd been touched like that. She had spent the last semester pursuing Nagisa and hadn't done more than look at other girls. Well, maybe kiss some of them, but it had never gone further.
Miyuki's caresses pushed her toward the edge of self-control. Quickly, Shizuma unbuttoned the brown-eyed girl's nightgown and slid her hands inside, making Miyuki gasp. Bending her head, she resumed the passionate, deep kiss with the student-council president. Miyuki, becoming bolder by the moment, pulled up the hem of the former-Etoile's nightgown, finally pulling it over her head and viewing Shizuma in all her luscious glory.
"Like what you see?" Shizuma whispered with a naughty grin. Miyuki nodded, unable to speak. Still grinning, Shizuma gripped Miyuki's nightgown, tossing it unceremoniously onto the floor. Miyuki reached up and pulled her friend back close to her, kissing her, parting Shizuma's lips, allowing their tongues to play, while stroking her neck, her back, moving lower, and finally discovering that her best friend was only wearing a lacy string.
Feeling Shizuma's body so close, with nothing between them, Miyuki experienced sensations that she'd never dreamed of, a desire that bordered on physical 's leg slipped between Miyuki's. The silver-haired woman broke off their kiss, looked into her friend's eyes.
"Are you sure?" she whispered. "Yes, I am," came Miyuki's quiet answer.
"Good, I'm not sure I could have stopped." Shizuma's lips slowly moved to Miyuki's neck, nuzzling their way down to her collarbone, moving on to her breasts, where they continued their teasing until Miyuki squirmed and moaned in ecstasy.
Then, they moved lower and lower, removing the last bit of fabric covering the president's body. Miyuki slid into a maelstrom of lust and desire, her senses foggy until, a felt eternity later, she slipped into an exhausted, satisfied sleep.
Miyuki woke from a deep slumber. She felt someone's arm around her, a warm body snuggled up next to her. Smiling, she opened her eyes and saw Shizuma, sleepily blinking in the morning sunlight streaming in through the open curtains. "Good morning." Shizuma said quietly, also smiling. Miyuki's hand slid up her friend's side, slowly moving towards her breasts. Suddenly, she felt Shizuma's grip on her wrist.
"Miyuki…what happened last night?" The question seemed innocent enough, but there was a note of steel in the former-Etoile's voice, which told Miyuki that her explanation for the late-night assault of her best friend should be good or would not be accepted.
"I…well…it was just…the letter…and I was thinking…" The normally confident and poised student-council president was reduced to stumbling around, looking for words. "What letter?" Shizuma asked gently.
"I got a letter from my parents yesterday. They wrote that my engagement party will take place in April, and the wedding will be in September or at the latest in October. There was also a ring that I'm supposed to wear…a ring from him. And suddenly, I thought about my future. That I'm going to stand next to a stranger and vow to love and honour him, then I'll have to be the happy bride and after the wedding, I'll have to go to bed with him. Maybe not the first night, but eventually.
I'd be a virgin who had never experienced anything with a beloved person. I've been at this school with I don't know how many lesbians for six years and I haven't even gotten a proper kiss from anyone, let alone anything else. No one has ever approached me and I…well…"
Miyuki choked on a sob, tears already running down her face. Shizuma's smile had long left her lips, her expression sympathetic. She reached for Miyuki and drew her into a tight hug, gently stroking her friend's head while she sobbed onto her shoulder.
"Oh, Miyuki…" she murmured quietly. She couldn't comprehend what her best friend was going through because, thankfully, her father wanted her to make her own choices, also regarding the person she chose to spend her life with. After a while, Miyuki calmed enough to raise her head and look into her friend's eyes.
"Shizuma, I wanted to experience my first time with someone I love…and I do love you. Maybe not the way I would love someone I want to marry, but I love you. I have loved you enough to not look at any other girl since we first became room mates. I know you will never be more than my best friend…but I couldn't change my feelings. My love has changed over the years, especially when you and Kaori became a couple. But then, I became the student-council president, and I didn't take the time to look for love. And now…" Again, words failed her.
"Miyuki…" Shizuma considered what to say, choosing her words carefully. "Miyuki, I can share my body, my lust and my desire with you…but you know my heart belongs to Nagisa." Her voice broke slightly on the last words.
"I know…and I don't want your heart, Shizuma, because I couldn't give you mine." She studied the tear-filled emerald eyes. "You really love Nagisa…why did you let her go?" Miyuki asked quietly.
"Because…because I can't give her what she deserves. She suffered because of my memories of Kaori, because I couldn't let Kaori go while I was still Etoile. I was voted Etoile with Kaori and I was connected with her while I still was Etoile. And now, after returning the necklace, and after reading her letter, I feel that I can move on.
But Nagisa has suffered too much already. She is young, she should be happy and carefree, and her love and relationship should be the same. I can't give her that. I have let Kaori go, I have said goodbye to her, but I'll still need time to heal and get over it. And Nagisa can't be the person who helps me. She ran away that night at my summer home when I broke down."
Now tears were streaming down Shizuma's face and it was Miyuki's turn to hold her friend tightly.
"Shizuma, Nagisa is strong. I think you should give her and yourself a chance. She loves you as much as you love her. She didn't want to run for Etoile with Tamao because she didn't want to ruin her chances with you. One word from you and she would have been yours, Shizuma. No matter what happened before, she wants you in her life because she loves you."
Shizuma bit her lip, her tears slowly subsiding. She appeared to be in deep thought. "I'll think about it." She finally said.
"And your parents have set a wedding date?" she asked carefully, not knowing how Miyuki would react.
"Yes, they have." The blue-haired woman sighed deeply. "I don't want to marry that man."
"Then don't."
Miyuki laughed mirthlessly. "And exactly how am I supposed to do that? My family has arranged marriages for generations. There's no place for love in the Rokujou family tree."
Shizuma shrugged. "Doesn't mean that you can't be different. You need someone who will help you stand up to your family."
"You make it sound so easy…I mean, your father accepts that the heir to the Hanazono emporium is lesbian. But my family…I just can't picture that happening."
"Well, yes, my father does accept it. And his new wife does, too. But getting to that point wasn't easy, believe me." Briefly, Shizuma remembered the endless discussions with her father and stepmother concerning Masahiro's daughter's sexual preference.
"But seriously, Miyuki: if you found someone and were in love, you would stand up to your parents."
"Okay, hypothetically speaking, you may be right. But seriously, we have only a few months until graduation, I know every single girl on this hill and won't be able to get away to meet anybody. And in April, right after graduation, I'll become engaged and then married. There's no way I could find someone to fall in love with if you look at it realistically." Miyuki sighed again.
"Never say never, Miyuki. Remember what I said when Kaori died? I was certain that I'd never again meet someone who could make me feel like she did. And then Nagisa came…" Shizuma's expression softened at the thought of the beautiful redhead.
"And I know that I will also find someone after Nagisa," she continued, pushing her memories aside.
"You don't have to rely on that. You could simply give yourself and Nagisa a chance." Miyuki said simply.
Shizuma sighed. "I know. And I said I'll think about it. But if I decide against it, to spare Nagisa a lot of pain and sorrow, then I know I'll be open for a new person. But let's get back to you. You never know what's in store for you. Maybe you'll look at Kaname tomorrow and realize that you can't spend a single day of your life without her." Shizuma grinned mischievously.
Miyuki groaned. "Her of all people…I don't think so." She laughed. "But seriously. I had other dreams for my future. I wanted to go to college, maybe take over my dad's business or maybe open up something of my own. That won't happen. I'll be reduced to being a wife and bearing children."
"You know, that's an extremely bleak outlook." Shizuma patted her friend's back sympathetically. "But don't give up, Miyuki. I bet that there's someone out there for you. Maybe she's right around the corner. And even if you don't meet the love of your life on Astrea Hill, then you should still try to stand up to your parents and make your college dreams come true."
Again, Miyuki sighed. "I'm going to borrow your words: I'll think about it." Her eyes raked over Shizuma's luscious naked body. "Remember what you said about sharing your body, your lust and your desire? Is that still an option or was that only for last night?"
Shizuma grinned. "Liked it that much, did you? But I have to admit, I'm a bit starved myself…" She moved towards Miyuki, placing her lips on those of her best friend. For the next few hours, the two were blissfully occupied with each other.