Not much to say here. Except that I hope this story will go well. Thank you for reading and reviewing, I got a great response on the first day of it being in production, four reviews the next day. I love you all!

Chapters will be dedicated to specific couples. I suppose that each chapter will be a mini-story for each couple.

Oh yeah, the contents of this story is dedicated to my Onee-sama, yurianimeotaku.

Disclaimer: The usual.


Chapter 2: Sanctuary, Tsubomi and Yaya's Case

Morning dawned bright and early for the Astrea Hill girls, and the morning laziness seemed to flow through each and every girl at the campsite. Most of the first years were still sleeping when the older students awoke, and they took great pleasure in waking the kids up.

Fully dressed at five in the morning, Yaya and Momomi smirked at each other and entered the first year's room.

"Alright, kiddies! Rise and shine!" Momomi said, clapping her hands together. The students groaned and complained, saying it was too early.

"Oh come on! Haven't you heard the saying 'Early to bed, early to rise, makes a lady smart, pretty and wise'?" Yaya asked, turning on the lights.

"Yeah," one of the kids muttered. "But it didn't say anything about waking up at three in the morning!"

"It's five, actually," Yaya corrected her smugly, and she left the first years with Momomi and headed towards the fourth years, the cabin that Tsubomi resided in. She smiled and walked over to her bunk, examining her sleeping face. So innocent, so pure...it was the exact opposite of the look she usually wore during the day, that pompous look that made her seem like she had an attitude problem...and she did. But Yaya saw through all of that. She figured the girl just wanted attention. She smirked a bit, looking down at the younger girl with fondness. I'm willing to give her that attention...if she'll only take me...

She composed herself enough to stop staring down at Tsubomi, and she turned on the light, yelling loudly through the room. The girls complained and groaned, of course, and Yaya made her small speech again, and they started dressing. Yaya shook her head. Of course, she was a sixth year, but she admired these smaller kids for their innocence. Innocence that Yaya would never have again.

She left the room, not knowing that Tsubomi was staring after her, knowing that she had been watching her. Tsubomi had fallen out of REM sleep and was awake, even though she appeared to be sleeping. She had heard the footsteps and recognized Yaya's breathing, and pretended to be asleep. She wondered, though. Why would a popular girl like Yaya, who had looks and a beautiful voice and a lot of friends...ever be interested in a girl like Tsubomi? Tsubomi curled up with her pillow and leaned against the wall, thinking to herself. My sanctuary is where my heart feels most comfortable...could Yaya-senpai be...my sanctuary?

--

Later on in the day, as the students organized themselves to go out and start taking in the whole of the campsite, the camp counselors hung back for the day and let the kids have their free time without them. This, they found out, was a glorious idea. It was time that they could spend without having to yell at kids. So they decided on a bit of friendly competition.

The Astrea Hill game divided into two teams for a basketball game. Most of the younger students were pitted against most of the older students, which was a disadvantage and an advantage for both teams. As teams were being decided, Hikari noticed something.

"You guys, Tsubomi-chan isn't here yet!" she said. She looked over to Yaya, who had just sighed and pretended not to notice anything about it. Hikari watched her for a minute, then shook her head.

"Oh whatever, I'll go get her," Hikari said, and headed off towards the cabin. She found Tsubomi there, of course, hugging her pillow and hiding her face in her knees.

"Tsubomi-chan?" Hikari asked, looking a bit concerned, and she sat on Tsubomi's bed. Tsubomi looked up at her, her eyes looked glazed-over and red, and she looked back into her knees. Hikari sighed and gently lay a hand on her shoulder.

"Tsubomi-chan, what's wrong?"

Tsubomi didn't say anything at first. She trembled lightly, and she stumbled over her words when she tried to speak. She finally let out a bit sigh and looked up at Hikari.

"I think...I might be in love."

Hikari shook her head and grinned. "Naturally. First time?"

Tsubomi nodded gravely and Hikari laughed a bit.

"Well, congrats. Who is it? Anyone I know?"

"You know her, alright..." Tsubomi said, almost in a whisper. She blushed heavily and gulped again. "I think...I might...I might be in love with Yaya-senpai."

Hikari gave her a shocked look for a split moment, then smiled fondly at her. "I thought so."

"You thought so?! What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Well, when me and Yaya-chan were fighting, you seemed highly concerned about her, and that was when I wondered. And Yaya-chan seemed happy that you were concerned."

Tsubomi scratched the back of her head bashfully, smiling a bit. "Last night, she was watching me."

"Watching you?"

"Yes. Not like the stalker-ish kind of watching, but just...watching. And then she woke us all up." Tsubomi sighed a bit, feeling frustrated. She hated this feeling. She wanted to love Yaya, and at the same time, she was afraid to. Because she already knew her love for Hikari was strong, and that she probably wouldn't think about a girl like her anyway.

Hikari shook her head and crossed her arms. "That is exactly what I would expect from someone like Yaya-chan. Don't worry about it, she's probably just interested in you. Come on, we're having a basketball game and everyone is waiting for you."

Hikari extended her hand. Tsubomi looked at her hand for a few long moments, debating whether or not she should stay in bed or follow her. She decided on the latter and took her hand, letting Hikari lead her back to the gym.

When they got there, Kizuna and Remon were playing the contents of Kizuna's iPod on some very huge speakers, so they could listen to music while they played basketball. One Winged Angel blasted through the gym and they started to pick teams.

"Well, finally. Looks like some of us aren't taking the "Early to rise" part of my speech seriously..." Yaya said, smirking at Tsubomi. Tsubomi avoided eye contact and looked at her feet sheepishly, not saying anything.

"Well, we've got our teams, and it's going to be older students versus younger students. Alright, let's get this started!"

Kaname and Hikari were both chosen to start the game. They stood in front of each other, staring each other down. Miyuki held the ball in the air.

"You two ready?" Miyuki asked. They both nodded, and the ball went in the air. Of course, Kaname got to it first and smacked it, but Hikari ran over and got it before anyone took it in their hands, and ran off to her side. Kaname's mouth gaped open, and she looked over at her team mates and pointed over at Hikari with her thumb. They sighed and shrugged, and started to chase after the other girls.

Yaya was blocking Tsubomi. She smirked and kept pushing Tsubomi by the arm out of the way as the ball came close to her. Tsubomi flushed with anger and eventually grabbed her arm, pulling herself in front of her and grabbing the ball, passing it to Chiyo with a smirk. Half an hour later, the younger girls were leading by fifteen points.

"Time-out!" Shizuma called, and the older group gathered. "What the hell?! Their stomping on us!"

"They're tiny, it's hard to block them. They can just go through our legs," Kaname said, rolling her eyes. "This was a bad idea. They've got strategy and we don't."

"They get turned on easily," Momomi said, and the group smirked at each other.

"Right, right! There aren't any rules in this game, right? We don't have a referee."

"Right. So play dirty! Do what you can to win!" Yaya said. They looked over at the group of smaller girls, and they all looked back, giggling and getting back in their circle. "Look at them, mocking us."

"It makes us seem like we can't play the game," Amane said, shaking her head at Hikari, who stuck her tongue out.

"Seriously, right? So let's beat them at their own game. Who's with me?"

A chorus of "Hai!" followed these words, and they broke up into their team again. Tamao stood on the outside of the court, ready to pass it to one of her team members.

"Take no prisoners!" Yaya called, and the older girls laughed and started to move in. Tamao freaked and thew it feebly, causing Kaname to catch it and start to dribble it over to their side. It went on like that for a while, until Hikari moved in front of Kaname as she was running. They stood there, staring at each other, looking into each other's eyes...Hikari smiled and winked, giving her the "V" sign, and Kaname snickered and passed it off to Momomi.

"No way am I falling for that one again," Kaname growled. Hikari looked amused and ran off to the other side of the court, giggling. Kaname rolled her eyes.

These kids...she thought, and as halftime arrived, they took a small break to get water. Tsubomi was leaning against Hikari and watching The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy on Hikari's video iPod, while Yaya helped Kizuna and Remon with the tunes. Overall, Tsubomi and Yaya didn't have any contact with each other whatsoever. It was as though nothing had happened between them, and that Tsubomi had never been late...for whatever reason she was late. But once in a while, Hikari would throw Yaya a "knowing" glance. Yaya wondered what she knew.

The basketball game, though entertaining, was tiresome and took most of the afternoon. The girls were tired, but glad to be able to have the exercise. They talked and joked as they made their way back to their cabins.

Tsubomi and Yaya, however, were not in the mood for joking around. Yaya was not as out-going as she usually was, and Tsubomi was completely silent. Yaya sighed with a melancholic tone and looked to Hikari, whom was walking beside her for moral support.

"Hikari-chan, what should I do?" she asked, looking over to Tsubomi's pathetic figure. "I mean, she looks so lost and confused. I don't want her going on like this just because of me."

Hikari sighed and placed a hand on her best friend's shoulder. "Yaya-chan, just talk to her. I'm sure she wants to talk to you too. I know she doesn't show it much, but Tsubomi-chan is very shy."

Yaya sighed, her mind debating with itself. She didn't want to go and pressure Tsubomi more, but then again, she didn't want her to suffer like this anymore. She looked back to Hikari, who nodded at her. She nodded back and gathered up her courage, and walked over to Tsubomi.

"Tsubomi-chan?" she asked softly, and Tsubomi looked up at her slowly.

"Nani?" Her voice sounded distant, her eyes seemed as though they belonged to another person. But there was no mistaking the blush that came across her face at the sound of Yaya's voice.

Yaya sighed and looked at the ground. "I...I need to talk to you..."

Tsubomi nodded, and in a few minutes, they were walking along the campsite lake where they would go swimming, not saying anything to each other for a long while. They didn't even so much as look at each other. Yaya concluded that it was only because it was such an awkward situation, and the fact that they had never talked to each other directly...alone, in the quiet, with no one around.

They simply walked in silence for a while, listening to the wildlife around them, the chirping of the birds and the soft sounds of crickets in the distance as the sky grew darker, so that it glowed pink and purple. Yaya wasn't sure which one of them would start speaking first. She was almost certain that Tsubomi was thinking the same thing.

They sat on a bench near the lake, the rushing sounds of the nearby rivers mixing with the sounds of the wildlife. It wasn't as beautiful as Astrea Hill, but it was beautiful nonetheless. Yaya looked to Tsubomi. She was sitting with her hands in her lap, swinging her legs and looking slightly skittish. She smiled softly and leaned back on the bench, looking up at the darkening sky.

"You came here to talk. So talk," Tsubomi finally said, sternly, not looking up. Yaya was taken by surprise, she looked at Tsubomi, and this time she didn't look away. She wasn't going to...not anymore. She was going to face her and deal with it.

"Well. I noticed that you came late to the game."

"Everyone noticed."

Yaya sighed. Tsubomi was just too difficult sometimes. "Look, I'm trying to make a point here. I was concerned, okay? You didn't seem in a very good mood when you arrived, and I thought...well...maybe something happened."

Tsubomi looked up into her face, finally, making direct and complete eye-contact with her. Their eyes seemed locked together, neither would look away now.

"You were...concerned?" Tsubomi asked in a hushed voice, her face taking on the softest shade of pink.

Yaya nodded a bit, smiling. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be? I'm concerned about all of my friends..."

Tsubomi's stomach squirmed at the word "friends", and she looked down at her knees again before looking back up at the older girl sitting next to her. "Why would you worry?"

"Becuase," Yaya said, and, taking a bit chance, grabbed Tsubomi's shoulders lightly and moved her in front of her, "you are important to me. Even though we fight, even though...we have more disputes than a lot of our friends...I still care about you, Tsubomi-chan."

"Yaya-senpai...I still don't understand..."

"Look, Tsubomi-chan. I don't think of you any less than I think of everyone else. Hell...I think of you more. Do you understand, Tsubomi-chan? I...I..."

Tsubomi's face broke into a shy smile. "You what...?"

Yaya's chest seemed to convulse, but she didn't let herself throw up. Instead, she swallowed down her pride and shook her head. "I...I love you."

That was what did it. A few long, sickening moments later, Tsubomi looked away from Yaya again, clutching her knees with her hands and shaking. A solitary tear fell from her eyes and landed on her palm. "You lie."

"Lie? Me?"

Tsubomi didn't nod or shake her head. She just remained there, staring at her knees. "You...and H-Hikari-senpai..."

Yaya sighed and wrapped an arm around Tsubomi's shoulders comfortingly. She leaned gently into her embrace, her breaths shuddering under the pressure that was keeping her tears from falling. "Hikari-chan is a complication. She's nothing more than that. We haven't...we haven't done anything with each other. It was just me being the emotional jerk that I was. I took advantage of her. I know you don't know that, we kept it quiet, but...Tsubomi-chan, you have to believe me."

And they looked at each other, locking eyes again. Yaya's eyes were full of fire, of passion. She really wanted Tsubomi to understand. And for the first time, Tsubomi thought that finally understood Yaya. And even more...she believed her.

There was another long silence, in which neither of them spoke, and Tsubomi composed herself. She remained in Yaya's arms, and she spoke.

"Yaya-senpai?"

"Hai?"

Tsubomi smiled a bit. "I love you too."

A seal had been broken that day. The seal that was keeping their feelings inside, packaged away in the depths of their minds. And all the while, Tsubomi knew that this was it. Her sanctuary...