Kaizer20: I know, I'm sorry =( Generally the reviews tend to trickle off so I don't have any motivation to continue. I'm flattered that you admired me, and if it's any consolation, I do plan on continuing this one. It's got a good storyline going and it seems to be fairly well reviewed. I have a lot of things going on right now like worrying about a job and college and stuff like that, so sometimes I get sidetracked, but I really do like this story, and I plan to continue it.

Huggler: The ugh was because Tsubomi doesn't like Chiyo, and I was writing from her perspective =P I'm glad you liked the chapter! Tsubomi didn't really think it was a fling, but she figures that's how Yaya thinks, and she didn't want Yaya to know she had feelings for her since she thought Yaya wanted Hikari. Make sense?

Leseratte: Wow, thanks! I'm glad it seems that way to you, since it's always hard to keep everything in character.

Stavri: Yeah, that's why I was careful to add the A/N despite what Miyuki thought. Things can get blown out of proportion on here pretty easily, and that's absolutely not my opinion on all men- not even most men. But it'd mess with the storyline if he wasn't evil =P

strawberrymolly: Thanks! I'm glad you like it so much =)

RomanticVulcanolight: HikariXYaya? NEVER! xD I always thought Hikari was just in idol worship of Amane, and was bound to notice how much sexier Yaya was eventually if she had an ounce of lesbian…ness…in her body at all. Actually, if she really had been straight, I think she would have gone for Yaya first. Most straight and bi girls I know prefer girlier girls, but that's just out of experience. Huh. Anyway, that's where that part came from.

MalokaiKuhlua: Thanks, and I'm planning on it!

GardenBeauty: Thanks! I'm glad you like the ShionXMiyuki plotline. It was hard to start, but hopefully it's starting to get deeper.

How Can You See With Your Eyes Closed?

Chapter Eight: Anywhere You Want Me

Miyuki lay on top of her bed- she hadn't bothered to change out of her uniform, and she was positive she looked a complete mess. It wasn't right, it wasn't okay- parents should not want their daughter sleeping with a man who had every intention to have her, as Shion had put it.

They had been shocked of course, but who were they to say no? Who were they to deny the man who would pay off their debts? The head sister hadn't wanted it, but her parents had insisted, and now they were the campus-length away, in the one of the guest rooms of the school.

Miyuki had known Hideshi wasn't the kind of man who she could grow to love- she knew she would never even trust him, but she had believed that he would care about maintaining a certain image in public.

"I want to share the same room as my Miyuki tonight," he had said. "I want us to truly bond- to spend time with each other outside of these formal conditions."

Shion was long gone by the time Hideshi had suggested the matter, and for the first time in her life, Miyuki felt completely alone, as if she were trapped and there was no way out. She hadn't realized how much she had come to rely on the Spican's comforting, if not overprotective, presence, and she found that, when Hideshi had suggested they share the room, she wouldn't have minded Shion being there, because she knew how she would react. Shion…Shion would have thrown all rules of polite society aside in that moment, all respect for Miyuki's decision… She'd been so angry when Hideshi simply put his arm around Miyuki's neck…but Shion hadn't been there, and now Miyuki wasn't there either. She was waiting for her…fiancé…to join her in bed.

She felt like she was going to be sick.

Miyuki scoffed at herself- had she really become so used to Shion's doting over her that she couldn't handle one night by herself? That she wanted the Spican to run in and save her?

Yes.

The door creaked open, and Miyuki remembered that she hadn't bothered to shut it all the way before she fell down on her bed- she hadn't felt the need to bother to do so. She'd skipped dinner, telling her parents and Hideshi that she wasn't hungry- that she'd had a big lunch, and taken the time she was given to curl up on her bed and pretend like she had the ability to act like she was eighteen instead of thirty for once. Quickly, she sat up and smoothed her uniform, all the while making up a smooth excuse. "Gomen, Hideshi-san. I was simply tired from the overexcitement of today that I-"

She turned, stopping in mid-sentence when the area that Hideshi's head should have occupied was empty. Lowering her line of vision, Miyuki found herself staring into the violet eyes of the Spican president, who had stopped in the doorway at the sound of her voice. "Expecting someone?" Shion finally asked hesitantly, walking in with her hands clasped behind her back.

"I…of course not," Miyuki sighed, sitting back down on her bed. "I just wanted to be prepared in case it was him." Of course she couldn't tell Shion. Stupid, adolescent dreams of romance and Prince Charming.

"Oh…" Shion said slowly, running her tongue along her top row of teeth nervously. "So, I was thinking."

"About?" Miyuki asked, one eyebrow raised. "Not what we talked about earlier…?"

"No," the Spican replied. "Well, yes, obviously, but that's not the reason I came here." She stopped at the foot of Miyuki's bed, staring down at it for an awkward moment before seating herself a few feet away from the Miator president. "I wanted to make sure you were alright. It was stupid of me to just storm out like that, but I just couldn't…" She shook her head vigorously. "Anyway, I was sitting in my room a few minutes ago and just thought that I shouldn't have left you alone in there."

"I was hardly alone, Shion," Miyuki said- there was no point in keeping up with honorifics now that the Spican had all but gotten down on one knee. "You forget Shizuma was there."

Shion grumbled under her breath. "Whatever," she muttered. "I just wanted to know if there's anything you talked about that I should know about? And if you don't tell me, I'll go to Chikaru."

Miyuki sighed, rubbing her temples with her fingers. It was a fifty-fifty for if Chikaru would tell Shion the truth or just send her away with that mysterious smile- however she had a bad feeling that the odds were stacked against her.

"If he tries anything, I want you to tell me."

But he hadn't- not yet, at least. And she didn't want Shion to lose control and just go at a grown man twice her size. Miyuki glanced over at the clock just above the door: seven-thirty. He would be back any minute now, and Shion didn't appear to be going anywhere any time soon. "He didn't try anything," she finally decided on- at least it was the truth. "You don't have anything to worry about."

Shion frowned. "Why would you say that?" she asked, seeming honestly confused. "Of course I have something to worry about, Miyuki, I…I've loved you for what feels like forever, and would you have nothing to worry about if the girl you loved was promised to someone else?"

Miyuki was about to spit back that she'd been in that situation before, and she hadn't been nearly as persistent, when one word in particular jumped out at her. "Love…? Shion…" She gazed at the Spican, who had her head tilted down, her posture notably smaller than usual. "You can't love me, Shion. You don't know what you're getting yourself into."

The Spican laughed dryly, turning to face Miyuki and causing the bluenette's eyes to widen in alarm at the sight of her watery eyes. Shion swallowed hard, obviously trying to hold back tears. "You think I'm so fragile, don't you? That I have no idea what the situation is, that I'm powerless to help you, right?" she asked, her voice thick. "But I'm not, Miyuki," she said, her voice little more than a whisper, and she inched closer to Miyuki, pleading with the bluenette beside her. "I'm not powerless and I can help you."

"No, you can't," Miyuki snapped. "I'm not going to let you throw your reputation away for me, Shion. You have no idea of the amount of scorn my parents have brought on our family name that would transfer to you. Think, Shion- I know it's not something you spend a lot of time on when you're dead set on something, but I'm not going to let you destroy your life."

Shion gritted her teeth. "Will you cut that out already?" she practically yelled, turning so that she was fully facing a stunned Miyuki. "My family name has more than enough pull to overlook anything that your parents have brought onto yours, and even if it didn't, I wouldn't care, because I love you, and I don't want you to marry him! I want you to smile again, damnit Miyuki!" She groaned, burying her face in her hands, muffling her next words. "I don't understand…why you won't accept my help. It's not ruining my life, and I'm fully aware of the fact that you don't love me. I just want to help, Miyuki. I just want to see you smile."

Miyuki felt her eyes well up with hot tears and her throat close up as a familiar, burning sensation lit up inside of her. No. She wouldn't cry. Not anymore. "Shion…" she began in a pained voice, "I'd never be able to look at myself again without feeling guilty for what I did to you if we went through with that. I think-"

"Stop!" Shion cried, holding her hands up to cut Miyuki off. "Just…stop. Stop thinking so much, Miyuki. Stop thinking about how everyone else is going to be affected. Be selfish for once."

Miyuki raised an eyebrow. "According to you, I am always selfish," she quipped, perhaps for the mere purpose of pushing Shion that little bit further.

Shion let out a low growl and suddenly lunged forward, grabbing Miyuki's wrists as she went. The two girls crashed down onto the bed with a low thud, Miyuki beneath Shion, who held her wrists above her head. "Just…stop," Shion murmured, and then closed the distance between them in one swift move, pressing her lips to Miyuki's as she straddled the thin girl between her legs. "Let me love you, Miyuki."

She had to stop this. She needed to get Shion out of here. Hideshi would be here any minute and oh god, her heart felt like it was on a carnival ride, and her body was tingling with the sensations that began at her lips and flowed through her nerves all the way down to the tips of her every finger. Slowly, she began to respond, and Shion's grip loosened on her wrists, the Spican's right hand effortlessly sliding up to intertwine their fingers above Miyuki's head while she balanced herself with her left, her blonde hair serving as a veil to the room around them.

Shion broke the kiss only to run her lips lower, down Miyuki's jaw and to her prominent collarbone, and into the crook of her neck. "Shion," Miyuki whispered, her voice hoarse with the desire burning within her. "Shion, you have to go."

"No I don't," the Spican replied, her voice muffled by Miyuki's skin. "I never have to go. I never have to leave you."

"Shion…" Miyuki wanted desperately for her to stay- the tone in which the words had been spoken made her want to believe every promise Shion made to her. But Shion had to go- everything always had to go, before she started to care. Before she fell in love. "You really have to…before…"

A shuffling of footsteps in the hallway caused Miyuki's eyes to snap open, and with a superhuman effort that she didn't think should have been possible from the way she was shaking all over, she shoved Shion away, unfortunately sending the poor girl toppling onto the floor. With only seconds to react, Miyuki quickly wiped her lips free of any evidence and straightened her uniform while Shion sat up slowly, rubbing the back of her head.

Not a second later, Hideshi appeared in the doorway, thankfully unaccompanied by Miyuki's more perceptive parents. "I thought that dinner would never end, Miyuki, I-" His speech was cut short by the sight of a frazzled looking Miyuki sitting bolt upright while that same angry little blonde from earlier appeared to be nursing what looked like a nasty lump on her head. "You girls weren't fighting, were you? I hope I haven't been the cause of a rift between friends…" He chuckled at his arrogant joke, and Miyuki cringed.

From the floor, Shion puffed out her cheeks, blowing several strands of blonde hair from her face as she glared up at Hideshi.

"Of course not," Miyuki said with a practiced smile. "We were just speaking about some council issues, and we don't always see eye to eye, as anyone will tell you. Right, Shion?"

Shion grumbled under her breath as she stood, dusted herself off, and eyed Hideshi suspiciously. "I wouldn't say that," she said, and Miyuki wanted to punch Shion and kiss the blonde senseless at the same time. The Spican turned to Miyuki without addressing Hideshi. "What's he doing in here?"

Yeah, probably going to go with punching.

"Nothing, Shion," Miyuki stated hurriedly. "You might want to get back to the Spica dorms, though, considering how late it is."

Shion ignored Miyuki, her brow furrowed and her arms folded over her chest as she took a step in Hideshi's direction. Miyuki groaned internally. Not the alpha-female thing… She had made up her mind that she'd rather Shion not know about what was going on than have the Spican know and do something stupid that would affect her seriously.

Shion folded her hands behind her back, looking up at the man with 'innocent' curiosity. "I apologize, sir, it's just that we're such close friends," damnit, Shion, "and it hurts me terribly to know that she's keeping things from me, especially about her love life."

Well, Miyuki thought, at least I know how she got Amane to run for Etoile.

Hideshi chuckled and looked down at her patronizingly. "How sweet- girls these days are just so close to their friends," he said, then proceeded to reply, "I asked for permission to share Miyuki's room for my time here- just to get to know each other better, if you know what I mean." He winked.

Miyuki's eyes widened and suddenly the room seemed three sizes too small and getting smaller. No…not yet…she wasn't ready yet… Her eyes flickered to Shion, who was still facing Hideshi, her back to Miyuki, and all she could do was pray that the Spican reacted in the same fashion she'd been reacting in the entire day.

As she watched, the temperature in the room seemed to escalate several degrees- it was interesting, how different people could have different effects in their anger. When Chikaru was upset, the entire world seemed a few degrees colder, in accordance to her mysterious personality. Shion was more dominant and outspoken, so the temperature seemed to spike along with her anger. The Spican's posture tensed, and Miyuki watched as her hands began to curl slowly into fists- overall, the changes were miniscule, but the effect was one of a whole different person.

"Shion…" Miyuki found herself whispering- the Spican hadn't said a word yet, and her body language clearly displayed that she was much angrier than the Miator president had suspected she would be. "Calm down…"

And then the blonde whirled on her, storming back over to where Miyuki sat, her gaze meeting with the bluenette's for only a second. In that second, though, Miyuki saw a rage deeper than she'd ever seen in her life, tainted only by the tiniest traces of hurt and betrayal. Shion turned abruptly when she was only a few feet away from Miyuki, turning her gaze back to Hideshi, everything about her posture radiating possessiveness, and suddenly the bluenette realized what Shion was going to do.

Finally, Shion opened her mouth to speak.

"I think it's time we got a few things straight."

PGBR

"Did you see Toumori-sama earlier?"

"She looked like she was about to skewer someone alive," Yaya muttered in response to Tsubomi's question as they sat at the dinner table. Her arm was curved around Tsubomi's waist in a possessive gesture, her fingers dancing over the light fabric of the pinkette's sweater, every so often poking her, causing the tsundere to squeak girlishly. Tsubomi had rolled her eyes at the gesture at first- Yaya had spotted Sei eating at their table before they'd fully entered the dining hall, and within seconds the pinkette found herself glued to the brunette's side.

"Ah, you needn't worry about me, Yaya-chan!" Sei crooned to Yaya's displeasure, taking joy in Yaya's disgruntled reaction. "I'm leaving tonight."

"Really?" At this news, Yaya's mood seemed to increase by several notches while Tsubomi's took a noticeable hit.

"Yepyep," Sei affirmed. "I got a call from an old friend that I haven't seen in a while. She wants to meet up again." A slightly glazed look washed over the blonde's eyes before she snapped out of it and turned back to the two girls across from her. "Miss me already, Tsubomi-cha~n?" she asked with a sly smile that became a Cheshire grin when Yaya pulled Tsubomi tighter against her.

For her part, Tsubomi was lost in thought- she would miss the blonde, of course, but more importantly, she would miss what the blonde had done for her. She knew full well that the only reason Yaya was holding her so tightly was because she felt threatened by Sei. What would happen when there was no more blonde to be threatened by? As if reading her mind, Yaya pressed a kiss to the top of Tsubomi's head and bent down to whisper in her ear. "I know it took her to get me to admit my feelings," she murmured, "but don't think I'm going to risk such an adorable girl because the main irritant left."

Sei seemed to pick up on her last few words and frowned slightly at her word choice before brushing it off. "Yeah, well, there's this tradition we had at my old school," she said as a last idea hit her, and she leaned forward onto the table, closer to Tsubomi. "A girl I knew promised me a kiss before I graduated. Now, since we're never going to see each other again, won't you give me something to remember you by?"

Tsubomi blushed crimson, blinking rapidly, at a complete loss of what to do. Fortunately for her, the choice was made for her. Beside her, Yaya growled and tugged the pinkette right into her lap, pressing her lips to Tsubomi's neck, her eyes never leaving Sei's.

The blonde laughed it off. "Well, can't blame a girl for trying. Ja," she said with a nonchalant wave over her shoulder as she stood and headed out of the dining hall, followed closely by Hikari, who agreed to see her to the gates.

Tsubomi sighed, feeling the growl radiating from within the brunette behind her. "She's gone now, you can stop with the staking," she said dryly, though her cheeks were flushed. "You're hopeless, Yaya-sempai."

"And you're cute, Tsubomi-kouhai," Yaya replied cheekily, scooping Tsubomi up into her arms despite the pinkette's loud protests and carrying her off to their shared dormitory.

PGBR

Across the room, Chikaru observed in silence as Shizuma fed Nagisa bites of food and Tamao watched with that sad, broken smile, never interfering, always…watching.

She sighed slightly, wondering when everything had gotten so complicated, and why no one could ever fall in love with the one who loved them back.

Yes, I totally wrapped up Sei's plot in a convenient storyline just for the sake of expanding this story. Hope you all don't mind too much! I do prefer to keep things within universe.