Twenty

For the next two days Amane had been quite busy with her practicing and trying her best to not be bothered by the screaming girls that were her fans. It wasn't the fact that Amane was hard to approach. It was the fact that the screaming fan girls had made it quite difficult for Amane to be approached. Fortunately, that didn't kill her determination to help someone out that she didn't even know. She had told herself that this had nothing to do with the ebony hair girl, but the more that she wanted to talk to Amane about cheering up the Hikari girl, the more she wanted to see a smile upon the ebony hair girl's face. She also had told herself that she was chasing after a lost cause. Well, it wouldn't be a lost cause if she hadn't even started yet! So when it came to day three, which was Thursday, the Angel of Lillian couldn't wait anymore. She had noticed the ebony girl walking with her head down low and her eyes full of sadness. It upset her to see the girl in that way, and so she had promised herself that she would talk to Amane today. So when lunch came around, she had quickly finished up her lunch and excused herself to make her way over to the Horseback Riding training ground. She could hear the screaming of the fan girls as she neared the training ground. When she saw a flash of Amane on her white horse, she smiled softly to herself as she went around the training fences to enter the barn.

Shimako could feel that she was being watched from the girls that were cheering on at Amane. She knew that it was rare to see a St Lulim wandering around the St Spica Horseback Riding training ground, but the dark blonde hair girl didn't mind it one bit. So when she had set her foot on inside the barn, she noticed that there were a few members that were there working on their horses, and they had stopped when they saw her entering the barn. She didn't pay any mind to them, not when she was there for a purpose. She walked straight to where Amane was getting her white horse into a trot, and waited for her just outside the barn.

Amane turned the horse around when she saw Shimako waiting for her. She had noticed the Rosa Gigantea en bouton walking toward the barn and entering it. She had to tear her eyes from Hikari, the girl that she had noticed for quite some time now, just to be polite to the girl that was waiting for her. After the incident she had wanted to talk to Hikari but since she never had a quiet time alone to approach the girl, there was next to zero percent for her to make her move. Not to mention that she didn't even know the girl's name as well. She was glad that she could take just a little break from the girl that was haunting her mind. So when she came to a stop before Shimako, she smiled down gently at the younger girl and nodded her head to acknowledge the girl's presence.

"Good day, Shimako-san." She spoke softly and from the outsider's view, it would look like that the two were gazing at each other lovingly. Well, whispers had already started up about the two. The girls were more than interested to know if Shimako was there to ask Amane to be her date for the dance. Even though the girls adored and admired Shimako, they felt jealous that the girl even had the courage to do so. They didn't know that Shimako was there for a very different reason than what they had thought.

"Good day, Amane-sempai. I hope that I'm not interrupting you with your practices." Shimako said politely as she looked up at the taller girl on the horse.

Amane shook her head gently before slipping herself off of her white horse. She then turned and smiled softly at the girl in front of her before speaking softly. "No, I am glad that you did." When she noticed the determination in Shimako's dark grey eyes, she became a little more serious. "Would you mind talking in private, Shimako-san?"

Shimako smiled knowingly and nodded. "Yes, if that is not too much of a trouble for you, Amane-sempai."

Amane smiled and asked her to wait so she could get her horse into his tall. Once she emerged from the barn, the two of them started to head toward the lockers that only the Horseback Riding members could use. So when the two had started to head towards that direction, Hikari was watching them with a pained look while her hand was clutching against her chest as if trying to comfort it in a way. She had thought she could go up to the star of St Spica and talk to the taller girl, but because of the incident last Saturday, she didn't want the girl to even know her name. She was embarrassed enough as it was. All she ever wanted to do was to sing well for Ohtori Amane and yet, she embarrassed herself in front of her love interest. So once the other two girls had gone out of sight, she let a silent tear fell from her eyes before turning around and left.

Shimako and Amane reached their destination; Amane had asked Shimako to wait for her so she could go clean up before they could begin that talk. Shimako had assured the older girl that she didn't mind the wait, and it turned out she didn't need to wait for that long. So when Amane emerged from the shower room, Shimako had patiently waited for the older girl to give the signal so she could start on the conversation.

"So, what do you want to talk about with me, Shimako-san?" The taller girl asked as she pulled the towel off of her wet hair. She opened up her locker to get out her St Spica uniform while Shimako turned to give the girl a little privacy.

"It is about a particular girl from the Saintly Chorus." Shimako stated and hoped that Amane would know who the girl was without her having to say the name. Then again, she had already knew that the older girl wouldn't.

"Hmm, which girl?" Amane asked in curiosity and concerned. In her head, she had begun to see that nervous blonde girl that was on stage on Saturday.

Shimako sighed and turned herself around when she knew that Amane had finished changing into her uniform. "The girl that seems to want to quit because of the little incident that happened on stage on Saturday."

Amane's eyes widened in recognition and she looked away, her dark ruby eyes were filled with guilt and sadness. Guilt, because it was her fault that the girl wanted to quit. Sadness, because she wanted to hear the girl's voice again. No, she wanted to see the smile upon the girl's face. She hadn't seen one smile from her, and she had wondered if the younger girl had always been like that. "I see…" She quietly murmured.

Shimako looked on at Amane, feeling guilty that she had brought this up to her, and yet she felt like she must. By Amane's reaction at the moment, she could tell that the older girl had grown some kind of feelings for this Hikari girl. So it wasn't at all a lose-lose situation. She could still succeed, if she could press on just a little.

"Amane-sempai." She said softly and when Amane looked over at her, she offered a smile in comfort before continuing. "If I have to guess, the reason that she wants to quit is because she thinks she has fail in deliver something that she has worked so hard for the person that she adores, and it didn't work out and in the end she had embarrassed herself in front of that person. I think that if that person can explain to her that it is not her fault and she should not give up, I believe that she would be very happy. Don't you agree, Amane-sempai?" She asked with that serene smile and the innocent look in her eyes.

After hearing Shimako's words, Amane couldn't help but smile at the younger girl. Even though Shimako didn't straightforwardly name the younger girl that had been haunting her mind, she had appreciated the darker blonde to be discreet about it also. So when Shimako had given her an advice that she needed to hear, she had to control her smile so she wasn't actually beaming down at her. "Thank you, Shimako-san. I owe you one."

Shimako gave a light shake of her head in respond. "You don't owe me anything, Amane-sempai. As long as the students around the campus are happy, then that is all that I want to see."

Amane nodded her head but not until she had reached over and placed a gentle hand on Shimako's cheek, that she couldn't help but let her thumb ran across the soft skin of Shimako's cheek. "There is so much that you can give," Amane began. "Yet, you don't expect to receive anything back in return. I am both confused and amazed that such a person would exist."

Shimako blushed not only at the praise, but at the soft touch that Amane was giving her. However, because she had been around Sei for quite a while, she took a step back away from Amane's hand and bowed her head. "I have everything that I need or want in my life, Amane-sempai, I do not need for anything more." Although she knew that it was a lie, but she did hope that the tone in her voice at least convinced Amane that she was telling the truth.

Unfortunately for Shimako, Amane noticed the lie but didn't comment on it. So instead of revealing that Shimako was lying, the older girl only smiled and brushed a strand of hair away from her ruby eyes. "Lunch is almost over, would you like me to walk you back to St Lulim?"

Shimako smiled in appreciation but shook her head at the offer. "It is quite alright, Amane-sempai. I wouldn't want you to be late to class. I can make my own way there, thank you for your concern."

Amane nodded but still offered Shimako to walk her half way to St Lulim, and since she didn't want to refuse Amane's kindness for the second time, Shimako accepted. When the two girls parted, Sei had silently joined up with her petite soeur not a moment after Amane had departed from her. The older White Rose shot the younger rose a look before the corner of her lips curled up into a smirk.

"Ohtori Amane huh?" Sei asked suggestively as she gave her petite soeur a little nudge.

Shimako blushed at the misunderstanding and quickly shook her head. "No, Onee-sama. Amane-sempai is just a friend."

"Mmm, I do wonder how you get the star of St Spica to be your friend." Sei mused before she quickly dismissed what she was saying. "I guess with you, everything is possible."

Shimako gave out a low chuckle before she turned her head to look up at the sky. "Not everything is possible, Onee-sama. You just have to always try your best."

Sei glanced over at her, wanting to know what was going on in her petite soeur's head. She then quickly set her eyes back to the path ahead of them, however, knowing that Shimako would tell her if the girl was ready to.

"So, have you found a date for the event yet?" Sei said, quickly changing the subject.

Shimako sighed and shook her head, knowing that her Onee-sama wouldn't stop asking the question until she would be able to find a date herself. "Onee-sama…" She let out a murmur that amused the current Rosa Gigantea that the older girl had to chuckle.

'It is not quite bad to turn up at such event alone. Besides, it is not all for the girls.' Shimako thought as she began to think about the boys that would be there. And since she couldn't imagine what the boys would be like, and how their attitudes toward the girls would also be like, she given up trying to imagine they would be polite and kind. She had only interacted with her father and the male clients that had come to her family's temple. They were all grown men, so she couldn't imagine what teenage boys would act like. 'Maria-sama, please take good care of me during the event.'

A/N

I can tell that there will be rumors about Amane and Shimako now! Haha! Oh these popular Roses with popular St Spica/St Miator or St Lulim people. Next you'd probably see Shizuma and Sachiko bonding! Haha, in my dreams...I think they'd rather fight with each other than make nice.