Disclaimer: Maria-sama ga Miteru and all characters therein belong to Konno Oyuki, Nagasawa Satoru, Shuueisha, and Geneon Entertainment. I'm just borrowing them for nefarious (but nonprofit!) purposes.
Fourth set of drabbles: Sei and Shiori.
Warning: these drabbles contain spoilers for the White Petals arc (episode 11 of the anime; the last part of volume 3 of the novel and manga).

Tarnished

Before Sei, Shiori had always been a good girl. She followed the rules, she always did her homework, and she prayed all the time. She never lied, or broke her word; she was practically perfect in every way, at least in terms of conduct.

Sei tried to break that part of her, tried to convince her to turn her back on all that was good and right in the world, on everything she'd known. In the end, all she really did was turn Shiori into a liar, into someone who couldn't be trusted.

Shiori still resents her for that, sometimes.

Sincere

Sincere is saying things and meaning them. Sincere is telling me you're transferring away and not leading me on and then leaving behind my back. Don't give me that shit about thinking you could at the time and then realizing later you couldn't. You could. You always could.

Sincere is telling me to my face, in words I can understand, instead of through some cryptic letter. Did you think I'd understand it? Well, I don't.

Sincere is loving each other wholeheartedly and never letting go. It's the sort of love you can't just throw away like that.

You weren't sincere.

White Christmas

Satou Sei was dumped on the night before her birthday. To add insult to injury, it was Christmas Eve.

Every year, as Christmastime approaches, thoughts of Shiori begin to make their way into her consciousness once more, breaking free from their confinement to the back of her mind. It's like her own personal snowfall— drops of white purity peppering her mind, forming a thick blanket by Christmas Eve.

As the years pass, the strength of the memories diminish, and Sei's tolerance grows, but the memories never fail to come entirely.

For Sei, Christmastime will always be the season of Shiori.

Revelation

When their relationship began, it was innocent. A sense of connection, an easy rapport. Smiles given and received. If they were getting closer, there was no harm in it. Her dream, her heart, had not changed.

Weeks passed, and the glances grew more heated, the touches more frequent. They were rarely apart. She told herself her first allegiance had never changed; it was still to her dream, to God.

For but an instant, their lips touched. The innocent facade was gone now, the truth laid bare even to eyes that did not wish to see: she had fallen in love.

Futile

I know what is good, and I know what is just. I know what Our Father expects of us. I know this is a sin.

The Headmistress speaks to me of losing oneself, of drowning in a sea of desperation and need. I heed her words.

I pray often. I pray for guidance, for the strength to do what is right.

But no matter how much I pray, she will not disappear from my mind. She haunts my every waking hour, and my dreams as well; there is no reprieve from this love, harsh as a summer storm.

I surrender.

Sentimentality

She still has the letter, tucked away in a drawer somewhere. She hasn't looked at it in years.

Back in high school, she used to take it out every so often and smooth her fingers over the paper, caressing the neat, orderly handwriting. There was no need to reread it— every word had already been branded into her mind. Over the months, the characters warped, her tears gradually wearing away at them.

It is only a fragment of memory now: distant, nearly forgotten. A sweet girlhood dream left to rot in the darkness.

And yet, she's never thrown it away.