DISCLAIMER: I do not own strawberry panic.

Introduction: OKAY EVERYONE! So, by popular demand I have written a story about how Shizuma and Chikaru met. This story is supposed to be read before, but can be read after Snowflakes and Cherry Blossom Petals. So, here goes.

A goddess-like, silver-haired woman sat grimly behind an imposingly large, finely-polished, red wood desk. She wore a sophisticated red female suit, with a white collared shirt underneath. Her deep, olive green eyes held a painful, but familiar, sadness. She slowly rose from her chair and walked across her sprawling office toward a large window that took up her whole office wall space.

Outside was Tokyo and autumn was beginning to set in. Cool winds swept over the busy city while trees began shedding their dying leaves. With a heavy sigh, Shizuma Hanazono closed her eyes and leaned her head against the cold glass.

Suddenly, a knock came from her office door.

"Yes?" Shizuma asked as she kept her body towards the window.

A brunette, wearing square-rimmed glasses, shyly came in. In her trembling hands was an envelope.

"M-m-miss Hanazono; I have a letter for you." The woman stood within the entrance of the office with a visible uneasiness.

"Place it on my desk, please." Shizuma said as she turned to face the lady.

The lady practically sprinted to Shizuma's desk, placed the envelope gently down, and quickly left the room and closed the door behind her. Shizuma walked to her desk, sat down, and stared at the unopened envelope. She saw that her mother was the sender and Shizuma sighed as she opened the envelope and took out the neatly folded letter. She opened the letter and read the contents carefully.

Shizuma,

Your father and I have decided that out main office building's exterior is not attractive as our competitors. I want you to find a well-known designer and pay them whatever they want as long as they can make our building look like it is worth 100 million dollars.

And, I ask that the designer also design the appropriate attire for our employees because if one employee dresses better than another; we don't really look like a team then, right? Make sure the suits have gold trim since gold makes people appear more sophisticated.

With that said, I expect you and the designer to work closely and I want you to make sure that everything comes out perfectly. Remember; failure is not tolerated within the Hanazono family.

Your mother,

Miss Hanazono.

Shizuma crumpled the paper and sighed as she tossed it into the waste basket. She got up and walked outside to her secretary's desk. The brunette, with the square-rimmed glasses, was sitting behind the designated secretary's desk. When she saw Shizuma, she bolted from her chair and bowed deeply.

"M-m-miss Hanazono; what is it that you need?" The brunette barely stammered out.

Shizuma's eyes softened as she looked at her trembling secretary. She reminded Shizuma of the girls back in St. Miator and how they always seemed to lose their breath when she was around.

"Miss Yamasaki, do you know any designers, who are of reputable credentials, here in Tokyo?" Shizuma asked.

Miss Yamasaki's eyes brightened and she vigorously nodded her head.

"Yes, ma'am; I know a list of designers since I used to have dreams of becoming one. I shortly dropped out of designer school to pursue business since I wasn't much of a designer but I still keep in touch with many of my designer friends." Miss Yamasaki nervously vomited the information out.

Shizuma nodded her head.

"I need a very talented designer who can design suits and decorate the inside of this building as well as have some architectural knowledge for renovating the exterior."

Miss Yamasaki bit her lower lip in concentration and then her face lit up brighter than a halogen light bulb.

"I think I know who to call, Miss Hanazono."

"Perfect, give that person a call and then tell them to meet me here at 9:00 am tomorrow."

Shizuma leaned in real close to Miss Yamasaki's face, causing the secretary to blush furiously and back into her desk.

"Miss…" The secretary's voice trailed off as her eyes focused on Shizuma's lips.

"Thank you, Miss Yamasaki." Shizuma smiled as she broke her seductive gaze and walked back to her office.

Miss Yamasaki nearly crumpled to the floor and she put both her hands over her racing heart. Taking a deep breath, she mustered back her strength and rummaged through her desk for the designer's phone number.

Later that night, Shizuma went home to her condominium that was in Tokyo itself. Usually, for autumn and winter, she would reside within her vacation home that was located in Japan's lush countryside, but she wanted to drown herself within the noise of Tokyo this year.

When she entered her amazing, mansion-like condominium, she placed her coat and satchel on the coat hanger and went to the kitchen. She opened the pearly white refrigeration and took out a can of coke. As she closed the refrigerator door, her eyes were captured by a photo of her and Nagisa. The photo was held in place by a single magnet. Shizuma could feel a pang of heartache stab her chest. She opened her coke and took a long sip.

I hope that you and Tamao are happy, Nagisa. You helped me live again but when you left you took away more from my world than Kaori did when she died. Shizuma thought to herself.

She sighed and pulled the photo off of the refrigerator door and tossed it into the trash can. With a heavy heart, she walked up to her bedroom and reluctantly fell asleep.

The next day, Shizuma arrived at work at exactly the time she wanted to meet the designer. As she walked to her office, she stopped by her secretary's desk.

"Good morning, Miss Yamasaki." Shizuma greeted seductively.

Miss Yamasaki felt her heart implode within her chest.

"G-g-good morning, M-m-miss Hanazono, the designer is waiting in your office." Miss Yamasaki stuttered out.

"Could you bring us some coke, please?"

Miss Yamasaki nodded her head and ran to the cafeteria. Shizuma walked to her office and opened the door. A silky, raven-haired woman sat in front of Shizuma's desk. She had her back turned to the door but when she heard the door open; she turned around and stood up to greet Shizuma.

The red bows in her hair, those tender eyes, and that smile… Shizuma silently evaluated the woman in front of her as her heart began to pump faster.

"Good morning, Etoile." Chikaru Minamoto greeted with a smile to melt away winter.

For some reason, Shizuma was so captivated by Chikaru's beauty that all she could do was stare, wide-eyed, at Chikaru. Finally, she was able to regain some control of her body and she walked to her desk.

"Good morning, Chikaru, it has been a long time." Shizuma said softly as she sat down behind her desk.

Chikaru giggled and sat back down in her own seat.

"What is wrong, Shizuma? You look like as if you are overly enamored with me."

Before Shizuma could retort, Miss Yamasaki came in with the cokes, placed one can in front of each person, and then quickly left the room and shut the door. The two ladies opened their cans and began to drink.

Shizuma studied Chikaru's body as she sipped her drink. Her eyes stole glimpses of the beauty of Chikaru's torso underneath the cream-colored sweater she wore. Shizuma nearly drooled as her eyes became fixated on Chikaru's round chest and then realized that Chikaru was watching her intently.

Shizuma's eyes became wide-enough for her eye balls to fall out.

"Oh my, I was-I am so sorry." Shizuma began to frantically apologize.

Chikaru, however, began to giggle.

"I feel honored to have the former Etoile look at me in that way." Chikaru assured Shizuma.

Shizuma could feel the blood rush up to her cheeks.

"I am not sure what is wrong with me; I am sorry, Chikaru."

"Don't be sorry, I feel very flattered."

"I guess I just missed seeing you." Shizuma smiled.

"If only that were true." Chikaru said as she winked at Shizuma.

Shizuma felt her heart skip a beat.

"So, how have you been?"

"Life has been good to me; I have been making a lot of people happy, and earning good money, designing clothes for people ranging from everyday business people to celebrities. How about you; have you and Nagisa bought a house together yet?"

Shizuma felt like as if someone had stabbed her between the ribs. Chikaru clearly saw Shizuma's pain and began to apologize but Shizuma stopped her.

"It is okay, you did not know. Nagisa left me about seven months ago. She said that she realized she and Tamao were much more compatible with each other than she and I was. I should be over this by now but I do not understand why it hurts every time I think of her."

Shizuma hung her head and closed her eyes. Chikaru came to her side and wrapped her arms around Shizuma's shoulders.

"It is perfectly fine for you to hurt, Shizuma. When one gets their heart broken; it is hard to mend the pieces back together. I understand that you love her but grieve one last time for your loss and I will help you move on."

Shizuma turned her chair to face Chikaru and she buried her face into Chikaru's plush chest. She began to sob and all the pain she had kept inside began to flow out. Chikaru held Shizuma in a secure embrace and placed her cheek on the top of Shizuma's head. She stroked the silky, silvery hair of the crying goddess within her arms and she only wished that she could to more to take away the burning pain within the beautiful, strong, and kind ex-Etoile.

END: So, how was it so far? lol as always, I always love reading reviews. I also want to say thank you for taking the time to read my writing again. So, hopefully I will update in a day or two. Take care!