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Chapter Seven
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A/n: Hai thar~ As you might (or might not) have read in the last author's comment, this is a retake of chapter six, but completely in Yaya's POV. So you might notice the exact same dialogue and all, and before you start to worry, don't! Tee-hee, it's supposed to be this way. I'm quite happy with the way it worked out, but you see for yourselves!

Hope you like it.
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She'll Keep Waiting
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"Yaya-chan? Wake up, you're gonna be late." a soft, sweet voice awakened Yaya from her restless, light slumber and she squeezed her eyes shut against the light that drowned the room. For a second, the raven-haired girl believed it was Tsubomi waking her up, and she smiled groggily as she looked up, but only to find the face of Hikari staring back at her. Her face dropped on instant.

"Alright, alright, five more minutes." Yaya replied as she buried her face into her pillow again, her eyes getting watery because of the lack of sleep. She figured she must be looking like a zombie, and with the thought of facing Tsubomi while looking that horrible, she jumped out of bed and staggered to the bathroom, clutching her arms to keep the warmth from escaping. Lazily looking into the mirror above the sink, the brown-haired girl nearly scared herself to death. Taking a step closer, she narrowed her eyes at her reflection and gauged the damage. Her hair looked about like some sort of explosive went off in it, but the rest was pretty okay. Except for her eyes. Yaya frowned as she took another closer look. Red and puffy. But above all, dull. And sad. Hurt. Afraid and guilty.

Yaya sighed as she turned on the water tap and splashed some water in her face, trying to get rid of all the thoughts that washed over her again. She'd even dreamt of Tsubomi. How much worse could it get? Dreamt about the girl she just wasted everything on.

She grabbed a brush and started the terrifyingly painful job of getting her hair untangled, while her thoughts drifted off on their own accord. Well, it's not like they had ever left her alone, they had kept bothering her until she'd finally fallen asleep, miserable and guilty as she felt. She had known damn well that she wasn't in any state to kiss the girl, and yet there she was, letting her lust and feelings take the best of her once again. Just like she'd predicted, she had ruined it all again. And the guilt was already eating away at her, her stomach knotting tightly together if she only thought about the way Tsubomi had looked at her last night, not to mention the apology she'd whispered, as if it were all her fault. The girl deserved to know that it wasn't. It was any but hers. Yaya was the one that had to apologize, and how she wished she could. But of all the feelings that were among her, the one that bothered her the most was that Tsubomi probably didn't know what she meant with that kiss. That the pinkette would just think that it was nothing, that she was just a second choice. Oh, how Yaya wanted to let her know that she wasn't. She'd never been. Of all people, Tsubomi had been the one to get her heart mended. Over all this time, the roseate-haired girl had just popped into her life and hit her with that feeling of love again, not too subtly to say the least. Just like that. Yaya had only dreamed of such things before.

Another sigh escaped Yaya's throat as she swayed back into her room to get dressed. She furiously hoped that the little pinkette would run into her at some point of the day, she really wanted to get things talked through. This just wouldn't work, Tsubomi deserved to know everything.
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Putting up the best fake grin she could muster, Yaya walked into the cafeteria with confidence (at least, she hoped she did), her eyes dashing all over the place in an attempt to spot anything that even looked a bit like Tsubomi. But after she'd checked the whole room twice, she grimaced as she didn't see the cute face, nor the lovely amber eyes anywhere.

She flopped down in the nearest free cubicle and stared out of the window, watching the left over raindrops slowly trickle down the windows, idly wondering if it would rain again today.

Yaya closed her eyes for a second, exhaling slowly. She'd hoped that by lunchtime, Tsubomi would've been here. She hadn't ran into her at breakfast, which wasn't such a great deal, but the only other moments that were left were now dinner and choir practice. Chances were getting slimmer and slimmer, and the raven-haired Spican was becoming a little anxious. What if she never wants to see me again?

But then again, why did Tsubomi run out on her in the first place? It made her feel so insecure, so guilty. She never meant to do any harm to her. But, Yaya was sure that, judging from the youngster's very obvious reaction last night, the pinkette must've felt something. Anything. The way she'd been pulling her in closer and closer, asking for more with no words; that's not just some natural reaction when someone kisses you like that. Not when you aren't into somebody. And Yaya knew that if Tsubomi hadn't felt anything, that the roseate-haired girl wouldn't have kissed her back. Even Yaya could tell that Tsubomi was a shy girl alright, she wouldn't act so brash and bold in such a situation. The coal-haired girl wasn't even sure if she had been her first kiss or not. On that thought alone Yaya's heart started fluttering, and she cursed herself for it.

"Yaya, fancy seeing you here." Yaya snapped out of her thoughts and looked to the sound of the soft voice to see no other but Chikaru joining her in the cubicle, sliding into the seat across from her.

"Oh, hey Chikaru-sama."

"Please, Yaya-chan, how many times have I told you to call me Chikaru-chan? Or anything else, just drop the sama." the Lu Rim president smiled as Yaya nodded, "So, anyway, I wanted to ask you how the progression of the play is going. You studying your lines?"

Yaya bit her lower lip for a second, her eyes shimmering with doubt, "...Yeah, I suppose? It's going quite okay, though I haven't really done as much as I should've." she looked up as she cast an apologetic glance at Chikaru, but she only smiled as the latter's eyes twinkled with mysteriousness. The black-haired young woman folded her hands and slightly leaned in, arms resting on the table.

"I see. That's okay. But why haven't you?"

"Well, you know-" Yaya let out an exhausted sigh, dropping her shoulders and shifting her gaze towards the window again, "Got a lot on my mind these days."

Chikaru's eyes twinkled knowingly as she leaned in a little closer, trying to make eye-contact with the Spican student across the table. The latter looked back, an uncertain, inquiring frown plastered on her face. Yaya didn't particularly liked the way Chikaru eyes seemed to pierce right through her, like she could gather all the hidden information about her in a second. She knew that the Lu Rim student was known for that skill, but it just gave Yaya the chills.

"Like what? If I may ask?" the Lu Rim queen asked.

"Ah, the ever-present personal issues, I think. The troubles of life, the problems we're all fighting, I don't really know, Chikaru-san. I'm just messed up. Once again." Yaya said after a while, her eyebrows furrowing deeply above her eyes.

Chikaru nodded, "But why's that? Did someone hurt you?"

The raven-haired Spican let out a huff, "No. More like the other way around."

"Would you mind talking about it?"

Yaya remained silent for a while, her expression remote as she followed the patterns the sun made on the window. Would she mind? Would she mind pouring her heart out to her, to tell her everything that bothered her, from her worries to her guilt to her heart-wrenching feeling of recurrence? She didn't know, she didn't like talking about it. It made her feel so vulnerable, so broken down. To nothing, to just another fragile girl. Yaya knew she was a strong girl, and she didn't like being out there, unprotected, ashamed and afraid.

"It's just that," the brown-eyed girl began after some time, feeling her heart drop as she thought of the events again, "She said she was sorry... I can't tell her that there's no need for her to be, because I am the one that hurt her. And I can't tell her how sorry Iam." Yaya blinked back her tears, scoffing at herself for letting her guard down that much. She was surprised at the intensity of her feelings for Tsubomi, figuring it was a crush, but it seemed that she was really in love.

"Well, maybe you should just go there and tell her. She might not listen, she might not care, but at least you said it. Trust me, it'll feel good to get it off your chest." Chikaru replied simply, smiling reassuringly at Yaya, whose eyebrows were still furrowed deeply above her chocolate eyes.

Slowly but surely, the coal-haired girl nodded, getting confident. Thanking Chikaru, she swiftly stood up and stalked out of the cafeteria, leaving the smiling Lu Rim student behind. Yaya's heart was pumping once again, fed with the idea of maybe facing Tsubomi. She wouldn't even care if the pinkette wouldn't see eye to eye, she could at least show to her that she cared and that she wouldn't just sit there and watch it all smash into pieces.

Yaya had no idea where she was going. She was just walking, blinded by her determination, her feet taking her where to go automatically.

Eventually, she ended up at Tsubomi's dorm room. Blinking a couple of times, the Spican took a deep breath and knocked on the door, too late to realize that she had no idea what to say to the roseate-haired youngster. She swallowed, anxiety racing through her, and when she heard no reply, she just tried again. Screw what to say, I'll just make it up as I go.

"Tsubomi-chan?"

No answer.

"Come on, I know you're in there."

No answer yet again. Yaya sighed, wanting to walk away already. What was the point if there she wasn't there to listen to what she had to say? But then again, what would be the next moment she would encounter Tsubomi? Two weeks later, at the play? God knows what could happen in between there, God knows what feelings she might develop. Yaya didn't want her to think badly of her for all that time. Not now, not later. So she tried again.

"Tsubomi, please stop ignoring me. Or wake up... either one, I don't know what you're doing in there, I don't have x-ray vision you know. Look, I know you don't want to talk to me, but at least let me know you're listening to what I say. Please?"

With no reply yet again, Yaya grimaced and looked down at her feet. She wondered why she was here in the first place. But then, a small note landed at her shoes. Yaya raised an eyebrow and picked it up, reading the words 'what do you want?' scribbled across it.

"Ah, clever." Yaya chuckled lightly, stuffing the paper into her pocket, "Alright. So, um, about last night... I- I want to say I'm sorry. I really am, Tsubomi. I never meant to hurt you. You know that, don't you? It's just that... dammit, I just want you to know that I didn't just kiss you because I felt like it. I kissed you b-because I like you. I think I like you a lot, actually."

Surprised at the fluency and rapidness of her words, she paused for a moment. Yaya was never the one to out herself with words. She preferred to speak through her actions. She'd always been more of a do-er, she just had a way of saying stuff with it. Yes, she was flirty and a tease, but that was just one of her ways to show her feelings. But on the other hand, because of that, Yaya was afraid that she would come over as just flirty to Tsubomi as well, while Tsubomi was a whole other case. In fact, the Spican was well aware that Tsubomi might even already be thinking that. But the little pinkette was way more than that. The raven-haired girl sighed.

"What I'm trying to say... is that I'd really want you to think about this. Just, consider it for a minute. Please think because I know you didn't just kiss me back without any reason to do so. I know you didn't simply liked it. I know you felt something."

No reply yet again. Then it just suddenly hit her. What if she hadn't felt anything?

Because, who was she to say that Tsubomi felt the same way? Why did she ultimately assume that the pinkette was in love with her too? As well as she had thought it through before, as well as she'd searched arguments for it, even if she knew that the girl had kissed her back, Tsubomi had kept her mouth painstakingly shut at this moment. The tall Spican was confessing to her, which was a big deal, but she had said nor done nothing yet. She hadn't responded except for the stupid note that basically scoffed her off. Yaya felt her stomach knot together tightly and she grimaced, trying to hide her hurt as well as she could. She exhaled shakily.

"...And if you don't, then I'm really sorry."
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Sunlight slowly faded away behind the trees as Yaya stirred in her bed. She was feeling exhausted but couldn't get to sleep. Dinner had been about half an hour ago, and the raven-haired Spican had felt disappointed when she hadn't seen Tsubomi appear. Not even a glimpse. She had been worried because the pinkette wasn't the person to just call in sick, wondering what was up with her to do that today. Worried that she was feeling so bad she couldn't get up. Yaya groaned as she turned around again, feeling the restlessness filling up her nerve system as various images flashed across her mind. She felt queasy and it was getting uncomfortably hot under the blankets.

Kicking them off her, she stood up out of bed and marched over to the window. She pulled aside the curtains and opened the window, feeling the breeze hit her face like a splash of cool water. Her pulse was way higher than it should be, her breathing was rapid but she didn't know why. All she knew that whatever what was going on with her, was because of Tsubomi.

It was like her life suddenly revolved around that little kid. Yaya would've never guessed that one kiss would make such an impact on herself. Imagine the effect it would have had on Tsubomi. The black-haired Spican felt her stomach turn at that thought and quickly exhaled, breathing in new, fresh air. Leaning over the edge of the window, she looked out to the rapidly darkening sky, dawn setting in quickly. Yaya felt her body cool down, felt her uneasiness ebb away. It felt good. Like she hadn't had a care in the world after all.

She had no idea for how long she stood there. Just standing, watching the setting sun make way for the moon and seeing the clouds scoot over to be replaced by hundreds of stars. But in the back of her mind, her thoughts moved back to Tsubomi on their own accord, simply wondering what that adorable girl was doing.
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A/n: Pffff, it felt like I would never finish this! o-o I got distracted while writing this so many times, it's a miracle I got this posted! Honestly, next time I go on tumblr somebody stop me because it will be the end of this series. xD ...No kidding. ANYWAYS, I'm quite satisfied with this, though I have the feel that it is a little repetitive at some times. But then again, poor Yaya is all confused so it would be logical to have thoughts returning? I don't know, all I know is that I think I did well. I really liked how the POV switch worked out.

As for more important news: I will be off to France for two weeks this Saturday. I will bring my laptop but I can't guarantee that I will spend every evening writing. So the next chapter might be a little delayed, at least two weeks. Sorry guys, I'll try to keep writing as much as I can!

To stop my yapping, I hope you all liked this and I'll try to make the next update fast. Read&Review please, you'd make me very happy :3
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Disclaimer: Strawberry Panic! belongs to its respective and awesome creators.
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