Author's note: Aaaand I am back! I just got back from a two day break. Well, not really a break because I had to do certain things out on the field. Still, I managed to have time working on chapters ten and eleven. Chapter Ten is already finished, while Chapter Eleven is almost done. I just need to do some editing and spell-checking before uploading that. For now, let's get on to Chapter Ten. I also had fun writing this, since I wrote this chapter while on the bus. Thank you so much for leaving reviews for the previous chapters. Again, please do R&R and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Ten

Tsubomi walks on her way home, just by herself. Her eyes were still shot from all the crying she did that night. She even secluded herself from the rest of her friends in the Saintly Chorus, even from Hikari. Each time she saw Yaya, pain would throb her heart. She did all she could to divert her attention—from skimming through new lyric sheets to singing by herself.

Her vision starts to blur as she walked, realizing that tears were already welling from the edges of her eyes. The pink-haired girl stops, shakes her head and wipes her tears away. She continues to walk for a few moments, until she sees a familiar figure behind a tree. The young student walks silently, slowly until she reaches the tree's opposite side. To her surprise, she sees a sobbing Yaya. Though the dark-haired Spican tried to make her sobs real silent, the rose-haired girl hears them. This causes an ache on Tsubomi's chest. But, she gets reminded of last night—of how Yaya acted.

She acted very cold towards me. Why would I care…? Tsubomi shakes her head and tries to walk away. Carelessness, however, strikes at the wrong time.

"Huh?" Hearing the noise, Yaya turns around and tries to find where it came from. Tsubomi happened to have stepped on a fallen tree branch. The raven-haired girl sees a shadow from behind the bush, hinting that someone was nearby.

"Who's there?" Yaya calls out.

With her head bowed down, Tsubomi slowly comes out from the bush. This causes Yaya to heave a sigh in annoyance.

"Oh, it's just you."

J-just me… Tsubomi thinks sadly.

"What brings you here, little brat?" The dark-haired Spican shot her a naughty smirk.

"N-nothing…" Tsubomi stammers, she struggles to hold back her feelings. Seeing Yaya in that condition was indeed painful for her.

I-I couldn't do anything! The pink-haired student falls on her knees, causing Yaya's eyes to widen.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

The younger girl starts to weep, covering her face with both hands. Yaya is left speechless and motionless. She makes no move; however, she gets reminded of yesterday—of what she heard from the infirmary.

"I knew it. You like Yaya-chan."

It must have been painful for her. Yaya thinks miserably. She slowly understands why Tsubomi feels sad. Aware of the pink-haired girl's feelings, Yaya felt sorry for treating Tsubomi coldly that night and leaving her like that. She moves closer and puts a hand on the younger girl's shoulder.

"Tsubomi, I'm…sorry…" Yaya whispers while the younger woman weeps. The raven-haired Spican embraces her and strokes her pink hair to calm her down somehow. They stayed like that for a while.

"Have you calmed down?" Yaya asks without looking. There's no response from the younger Spican. She turns to see the pink-haired woman sleeping, her head slightly leaning on her shoulder. As Yaya glances at Tsubomi's sleeping face, she couldn't help but smile. However, somewhere in her heart, she also feels pain. I don't intend to hurt you, little one. Right now, I just… Unable to finish that thought in her mind, Yaya shakes her head in remorse.

Few moments later, Tsubomi awakens from her slumber. The rose-haired girl yelps in surprise after realizing that her head was leaning on her senpai's shoulder. H-how long have I been…? Tsubomi kept on wondering.

"You're awake, finally." Yaya sighs.

Tsubomi looks up and sees Yaya staring at the setting sun. She...stayed with me…? She could only ponder in silence.

"Looks like you've calmed down." Yaya faces her and pokes her forehead slightly.

"Ow—!" Tsubomi lets out a sulking expression and holds her forehead. Yaya remembers the pink-haired girl's injury and immediately apologizes. "S-sorry. I guess it still hurts." To her surprise, Yaya leans closer and gently blows air onto Tsubomi's forehead, to somehow ease the pain there. As gold orbs meet Yaya's brown ones, they both blush and turn their heads away for a few seconds.

"Geez, Tsubomi. You should be careful next time." Yaya mutters, facing the younger woman. "Stop stressing yourself."

"I am not stressing myself, senpai!" The pink-haired girl pouts her lips in irritation. Yaya laughs at this sight, causing Tsubomi to feel even more annoyed.

"Geez, little one, you're so cute when you're like that." Yaya says with a playful grin. The younger woman stands up. "It's getting late, senpai. We should go back to the dorms."

As Yaya looked up, she sees Tsubomi's hand reaching out to her. Tsubomi's face is still turned away, and still with that frowning expression. Yaya lets out a giggle and holds on to her hand. Her brown eyes broaden as their hands touched, causing Yaya to feel somewhat strange.

They walked together down the path leading to the Strawberry Dorms. Both of them were silent, the sounds of their footsteps can only be heard. While walking, Tsubomi looks up to the raven-haired girl—her eyes still showing sadness in them.

"W-what's wrong?" Yaya inquired.

"Ah, n-nothing." Came Tsubomi's reply. They continued to walk in silence. The two of them were seemingly staring on the ground. After a few moments, the pink-haired girl speaks again.

"S-senpai?"

"Hmm?"

Tsubomi hesitates, but tries to voice out. "T-thank you." The dark-haired girl responds casually, "Just stop stressing yourself." The pink-haired girl lets out a stifled laugh. The two girls continue to walk that path, with the sun setting closing the curtain for that day.

Yaya couldn't sleep that night. Her eyes continue to stare at the ceiling, her thoughts preoccupied. She remembers the sight of a pink-haired girl's sleeping face. A smile unknowingly forms on her lips, her heart somewhat beating unusually faster. The raven-haired girl takes a deep breath with a hand on her chest.

"W-what is this…?" Yaya's question is heard inside the room, with her blonde roommate hearing it. Hikari tries to hide the smile in her face by facing the wall. Yaya-chan, you're in love. The blonde Etoile murmurs in her mind.

A pink-haired girl sleeps soundly that night with a happy expression on her face. The only light filling the room was that of the moon. Tsubomi unconsciously snuggles on to her pillow with soft murmurs escaping her lips.

I like… No… I…love you…

On another floor in the Strawberry Dorms, Tamao speaks across Nagisa inside their room.

"Nagisa-chan, Rokujou-sama spoke to me yesterday."

Nagisa didn't say anything. She tried facing her friend to let her know she was listening.

"She offered me to run for student council president." Tamao's tone was soft and uncertain.

"Tamao-chan, you'd be a wonderful president. I can't think of anyone who could replace Rokujou-san."

"Thank you, Nagisa-chan. That means a lot to me."

Turning into their beds, one sighs and the other silently cries herself to sleep. Tamao's wounded soul continues to endure an unbearable sadness, her silent cries considered her only way to cope with such.

次回予告

"A new love is slowly blossoming, Tamao-chan!"

"Yes, Nagisa-chan."

"This is getting exciting!"

"Nagisa-chan, should I accept it?"

"Eh? You haven't decided yet?"

"Next time on Strawberry Panic!: "Tea and Biscuits Chapter Eleven." "

"Nagisa-chan, what am I supposed to do?"