Groaning, Nagisa hoisted her travelling bag onto her bed and proceeded to unpack. She had just thrown her dirty clothes into the hamper when the door opened and Tamao entered.

"Nagisa! You're back!" Delighted, the blue-haired girl hugged her best friend.

"How was it?"

Nagisa sighed as she sat on the bed. "Well…" she said.

"Didn't you have a good time?" With a concerned look on her face, Tamao sat beside the redhead.

The other girl thought for a moment. "No, I didn't." she finally admitted.

"What happened?"

"Well, we went to a party on Friday and we spent yesterday with some of Shizuma's fellow students. I just don't fit in. They talk about things I'm absolutely not interested in or stuff I know nothing about."

"But you and Shizuma always seemed to have similar interests."

"I think 'seemed' is the key word here." Nagisa sighed heavily. "Shizuma was totally at ease, having the time of her life. She always tried to include me, but it didn't really work. I felt so out of place. And Shizuma has changed."

Tamao hugged her friend tightly. "I'm so sorry, Nagisa."

The redhead returned the hug. "I'm glad to be back." she whispered. Pulling herself together, she sat up straight.

"I'll concentrate on school and tutoring Chiyo-chan. And I'm definitely not going back to Tokyo alone. Next time, you'll come with me."

Tamao smiled. "I'll be glad to come. I really miss Miyuki." A sad look crossed her face.

"Oh, that reminds me…" Nagisa jumped up and rummaged through her bag. After a moment, she pulled out a thick envelope.
"This is for you."

Smiling, Tamao took the letter. "Thank you!"

Nagisa stood up. "I'll go look for Chiyo-chan, I promised her I'd go through her math one more time today."

The poet barely listened as she opened the envelope and pulled put the pages covered in Miyuki's handwriting. Grinning, her friend left the room and went to find Chiyo.

Two hours later, Chiyo closed her math book.

"I think I'm as ready as I can ever be." she said. "Thank you for helping me, Nagisa-oneesama."

"I was happy to help you, Chiyo-chan. And when your test is over tomorrow, I'll have a surprise waiting for you."

Happiness filled the young girl's eyes. "Really? Oh, I just can't wait!"

"The time will pass quickly." Nagisa smiled. "Meet me at the gate after school, okay?"

"I'll be there, Nagisa-oneesama!"

"Good. Now sleep well, don't worry about your test and don't study anymore tonight, okay?"

Chiyo solemnly nodded.

"Good night, Chiyo-chan."
"Good night, Nagisa-oneesama."

Both girls left the common room and went to their dorms.

The following day, Nagisa waited at the gate after school, a picnic basket filled with delicacies in her hand. After a few minutes, Chiyo came toward her, a happy, expectant look on her face.

"Chiyo-chan! How was the test?"

"Thanks to your help, it was easy, Nagisa-oneesama. I'm just glad it's over."

"Well, all your studying earned you a treat. I've got everything for a picnic by the lake in here." Nagisa held up the basket.

The young girl's eyes lit up. "What a wonderful idea!"

Chatting about their day, the girls walked toward the lake. At the perfect spot, they lay down the blanket. As they settled down, Nagisa opened the basket and pulled out sandwiches, pastries, fruit, and cookies.

"This looks excellent, Nagisa-oneesama! I should treat you after you helped me so much." Chiyo mumbled.

"Don't be silly, Chiyo-chan. Helping you was no problem, I was glad to do it."

She offered her the plate of sandwiches. The young girl took one, biting into it immediately.

Smiling, the redhead started to eat as well.

While eating, the girls chatted away, talking about school, hobbies, friends, their families- everything they could think of. Without their noticing it, the hours slipped away and the afternoon turned to early evening. As the sinking sun slid behind a cloud, Chiyo shivered. Nagisa slipped an arm around the young girl, pulling her close to offer some warmth.

"Th-thank you, Na-nagisa-oneesama." Chiyo stuttered, her heart beating rapidly. Being so close to her admired oneesama made the young girl nervous. She shivered involuntarily.

"Are you still cold?" Nagisa asked, wrapping her other arm around the girl as well.

"No, I'm not cold." She blushed furiously as she looked at the redhead.

The young girl's nervousness touched Nagisa. A warm feeling spread through her as a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"I really like you, Chiyo-chan." she whispered.

"I really like you, too, Nagisa-oneesama."

Without thinking, Nagisa lowered her head and kissed Chiyo gently. Startled, the younger girl returned the kiss, not daring to believe what was happening. As their lips parted, she looked at Nagisa with big eyes, a strong blush coloring her cheeks.

"I think I'm dreaming." she murmured.

"You're not dreaming," Nagisa answered just before their lips met a second time.

Chiyo closed her eyes and leaned closer to Nagisa, enjoying the kiss deeply, wishing that this moment would never end. The redhead leaned back, stretching out until both of them were lying flat on the blanket, Chiyo still in her arms, their lips still locked together.

She gently stroked the younger girl's cheek, deepening the kiss and teasing soft moans from her. A small voice in the back of her brain told her to stop, to walk away from this right then and there, before any damage was done, but it felt so good, so right, after that disastrous weekend. Chiyo snuggled closer, shyly stroking Nagisa's back.

The clock on the bell tower of the cathedral chimed, indicating that the curfew was just a short half hour away.

Nagisa carefully ended the kiss.

"We have to get back to the dorms or we'll get into trouble." she said quietly.

Dazed, Chiyo nodded. Without talking, the two girls gathered the leftovers, put them into the basket, folded up the blanket, and went back toward the dorm.

Just before they entered the building, Nagisa stopped.

"Chiyo-chan."

The young girl turned to face her.

"Chiyo-chan, I had a wonderful time with you today." she said quietly.

"I had a wonderful time as well." the young girl whispered.

The redhead pulled her into a hug.

"I'll see you tomorrow in the library after school for a physics study session?"

"Hai!" Chiyo looked at her happily before running into the dorm building.

Nagisa slammed the door of her room, startling Tamao, who was sitting at her desk, writing something.

"Nagisa, is everything okay?" she asked.

Her friend dropped onto her bed, sighing loudly. "No."

"What's wrong?"

"I kissed Chiyo-chan."

"You did WHAT?"

"I kissed her. When we had our picnic by the lake. The sun was behind a cloud, it got chilly, Chiyo-chan was cold, I held her to warm her up and suddenly, I kissed her."

Tamao stared at her best friend, her mouth open.

"Was…was it just a short kiss or…"

"It wasn't. I guess in Chiyo-chan's eyes, that about qualified as making out."

"Nagisa, what did you do?"

"We ended up lying on the blanket, I held her, I stroked her cheek, she stroked my back. It only ended there because the tower bell rang."

"Oh, wow."

"What am I supposed to do now?" Nagisa wailed.

"Well…it depends on…why did you kiss her? Only because you're frustrated with how badly the weekend went or did you kiss her because you really like her and there might be more between you?"

"I don't know." The redhead buried her face in her hands.

"You have to find out, Nagisa. Otherwise, you'll really hurt Chiyo-chan. And Shizuma."

"Do you think I should tell Shizuma?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe I should just try to work things out for myself first. But I really don't know what to do. This weekend…well, the time I spent alone with Shizuma was really wonderful. But as soon as we were with her new friends, it was awful. Don't you think that I should get along with her friends as well?"

"Yes, you should. But you know that she's in a very different environment now, it's natural that she'll change and find new friends."

"I guess. But what if this is who she really is and we don't have much in common at all?"

"That's a possibility, Nagisa."

They were silent for a while, each turning over her own thoughts.

"But you have to make up your mind about your feelings for Chiyo-chan, too. She's crazy about you, she's always been crazy about you. And she's so young. You're her first love and you've got a lot of potential to hurt her."

"I don't want to hurt her."
"I know you don't. But that means you have to be sure that you feel enough for her before you continue whatever started today. If you're not sure you want this, then break it off before it becomes more."

Nagisa sighed. "I think I need to sleep on all of this."

"Maybe that's a good idea."

Silently, both girls got ready for bed. As they lay in the dark, Tamao said: "Whatever you decide, I'll always be there for you."

"Thank you, Tamao. Good night."

"Good night, Nagisa."

Nagisa lay awake, thinking hard about her feelings, listening as Tamao's breathing evened out. After a long time, she finally fell asleep.

The next morning, Nagisa woke, feeling awfully groggy. Tamao's bed was already empty. As she showered and got ready for school, she realized that she didn't know any more than the night before. Her feelings were still scrambled, and she didn't know what exactly had made her kiss Chiyo.

And even though Shizuma was her girlfriend and she shouldn't kiss anyone beside her, she couldn't make herself feel guilty.

She picked up her book bag and went towards the dining hall to get breakfast. As she walked through the hallway, Midori caught up with her.

"Good morning, Nagisa-sama."

"Good morning, Midori-chan."

Looking at this smaller version of Shizuma, the ghost of a bad conscience brushed through Nagisa's mind.

"Yesterday's weather was wonderful, wasn't it?" the younger girl asked conversationally.

"Yes, it was." Nagisa answered, wondering what Midori had in mind.

"A great day to enjoy the sunset at the lake." Midori turned suddenly and pushed Nagisa against the wall. A chill of fear whispered down the redhead's back.

"And guess what else I saw at the lake, besides the gorgeous sunset?"

"I…I don't know." Nagisa stammered.

"Oh, you don't. Then let me refresh your memory." Midori's blue eyes were flashing. "I saw a picnic blanket…I saw Chiyo-chan…and I saw YOU, kissing her on that blanket. You two were so intent on each other that you wouldn't have noticed if I had come up and eaten the rest of your sandwiches."

"But…I…I…"

"Listen to me. My sister has been through enough in her life. She's lost her mother, she lost Kaori. I was young at the time, but I remember. I remember very well. The whole household walking around on tiptoes. Hearing her crying every night, sobbing her heart out. Seeing her exhaustion because she was afraid to sleep, afraid to dream of Kaori. It was a nightmare. For everyone, but especially for her. And now, you are cheating on her."

"I'm not cheating on her."

"Oh, you're not? Then what would you call kissing someone like that when you're in a relationship with someone else?"

"It didn't mean anything. I don't know why I kissed Chiyo-chan. I love Shizuma, I love her very much. I'll straighten things out with Chiyo-chan."

A sob caused Nagisa's and Midori's heads to whip around and see Chiyo standing a few feet away from them.

"Nagisa-oneesama…" Chiyo whispered, a tear running down her cheek.

"Good luck to you." Midori let go of Nagisa and went into the dining hall without looking at either girl.

"Chiyo-chan. I…" Nagisa turned toward the younger girl. With another sob, Chiyo bolted and ran down the hallway, back toward the dorms.

Nagisa dropped onto the carpet.

"This is just getting worse and worse." she moaned, burying her head in her hands.