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Disclaimer: Sakurako Kimino, the creator of Strawberry Panic and Media Factory, the company that sponsors its anime, own all copyrighted material this fanfiction may include such as characters, events, et cetera.
The rest of it is mine... ALL MINE! BWAHAHAHHA! *thunder crackles in the background* ... So no stealing! =p Well, unless you ask me nicely. ^.^;;;
Author's Note: Thanks Nene-chan and Guest and to Guest, yes, this would be an omniscent narration, though I try to put limitations on it by having the narrator follow a certain character per scene. As for more descriptions of the setting, I could try that. I've never been very good at scenery. xD I think I've more a knack for actions. You'll see in this chapter. =p As for Yaya, I agree, the girl's a bit aloof. Activate Eiko Shields! 8D I've got one dose of Eiko-chan for you this time, but the chapter's mostly Shizuka-centric. xD
The time has come. No more posturing, no more waiting. Shizuka versus Kaname, winner take all! Well, probably not. This is, after all, only a friendly game, right? ^_^;;;
I hope Shizuka doesn't make a mess of her pretty new outfit. Poor Chikaru has too many other costumes to be making to have to repair it.
Anyway, let's not put this off any longer. Now, I present, Chapter 5: Shoubu!
~Strawberry Panic: The Second Year~
"A wildfire is starting… It will burn through the forest, but from the ashes, a new forest will arise, growing taller and stronger than ever." Ootori Amane stands before the Fountain of the Virgin Mary, thinking on the new school year has been thus far. Where does she fit? What will be her role? And how will it affect the outcome?
Duel
"So now that you've gotten me out here, why don't you enlighten me." Shizuka says, unzipping the sleeve she kept her racket in.
"In time." Kaname casually replies, "I find I'm more talkative after I've warmed up."
"I know how you warm up, Kaname, and I don't think I'm equipped for that." Shizuka retorts, fixing the bow on her shirt, "Besides, someone put a lot of effort in making this outfit for me. I wouldn't want to dirty it."
"You should have known better then. I issued a challenge to you. You're bound to get that dirty." The President suggests, pointing the tip of her racket at the girl.
Shizuka huffs, a smirk appearing on her features, "When have you known me to exert myself that much?"
"There's a first time for everything." Is all the President says.
Her opponent pauses for a moment, eventually letting the words leave her lips, "Yes… there is."
Now that they are past the foreplay, as Kaname called it, the President serves the first volley. The ball speeds towards Shizuka, hitting the court inches before the line. Shizuka's hazel eyes fix on it, following its movement with precise accuracy and she shifts her step at the last second. Once in position, she bats the ball back over the net, keeping the height just right to have it slide against the top of it, catching the dead net and slowing it down so it would bounce sooner. However, Kaname catches this and is already in position to counter, sending the ball back with a smirk. This is, until she sees Shizuka's form at the net. Stunned by this, Kaname isn't able to react fast enough to catch Shizuka's approach shot, the ball landing behind her, giving Shizuka the first point.
"Fifteen-love." She announces and with a wink, asks, "Is that first base?"
Kaname serves again and Shizuka again questions her motives. She returns the serve softly, making it easy for the President to strike back. With the speed of the ball, Shizuka is forced to remain on the outside, but has no difficulty returning the ball.
"Do you expect me to guess?" She asks, intentionally lobbing the ball.
"There's nothing to guess, my dear." Kaname replies, eyes of scarlet narrowing in on her victory, "I just like a challenge!"
With that, she overheads the ball, the speed of it being too much for Shizuka to react in time. Even following the bounce, it strikes the fence and embeds itself into it. A breeze blows and Shizuka uses a hand to keep her long ebony strands from her face, commenting about this. It wasn't as if she'd ever been a good challenger. She had only played tennis for fun and didn't care too much for the rules.
Kaname smiles at this, making another serve, but accidentally serves out of bounds. She cringes at this imperfection, but then notices Shizuka still intent on hitting the ball back. Before she can, Kaname whistles at her, demanding she let the ball go as it was out and Kaname should serve again.
"You see? This is why I don't like these duels." Shizuka grumbles, tapping her racket on her heels.
"Fifteen-all." Kaname returns, ignoring the girl's complaint and moving across sides to make her second service.
This time, she nets it, growling as Shizuka shrugs, noting that she wouldn't be able to return a serve like that anyway. The two poor serves give her the point, and as Kaname calls the fifteen-thirty, her next serve is much more conservative. Shizuka notices this, returning with a light volley of her own, which irritates Kaname who strikes hard before it lands. However, her opponent had anticipated this and was upon the net again, gently pegging it down, which causes the ball to land just on the other side of the net and just before the line.
"Fifteen-forty, right Kaname?" Shizuka muses, twirling her racket in her hand as she celebrates the successful drop volley.
The next point nearly goes to the girl also as a top spin on her return rally causes Kaname to clip the line, saving her from losing the point. Beads of sweat streak down the side of her face, but she is smiling intently. Shizuka seems not to notice this, checking the strings on her racket in anticipation of the final serve.
"My lady seems to be enjoying herself, after all." She suggests, bouncing the ball in her hand.
"Well, I do think embarrassing you is a fun activity." Shizuka jabs, looking up from her racket, "Thirty-forty, Kaname. Set Point."
"There's that fiery side I adore." The President says, the ends of her lips curling up.
"Are you going to serve or are you just going to stand there swooning at me?" Shizuka responds, "Besides, I thought we'd already passed the 'foreplay' phase."
"You're right, of course." Kaname serves after this, adding, "But there's no harm in mentioning it."
Shizuka lobs it with a back hand, the serve having been rather low, "I suppose not."
"Then, does that mean we can do this again?" Kaname muses, giving the ball another smash.
Shizuka catches it this time, scooping it up for another lob down the line, "If you're lucky."
"How sweet." Kaname strikes the ball hard.
"Like this." Shizuka adds, returning the rally at a sharp angle cross-court and out of her opponent's range.
"Good set, Shizuka. You had me scouted." Kaname congratulates, "Your serve."
Yaya and Tsubomi walk together to choir practice. Yaya had just pulled yet another prank on the younger girl, this time dropping a rubber spider on her notes and causing her to let loose a high-pitched squeak while walking from class. As expected, Tsubomi wasn't pleased by this.
"One of these days…" She grumbles at her, the vein on her forehead coming into view as she grits her teeth.
"Sure sure, one of these days." Yaya shrugs, putting her arms behind her head as the two continue onwards.
"Tsubomi-senpai!" A dainty voice calls out behind them.
As they turn, a scrawny girl with curly blonde hair runs to catch up, gasping for air once she arrives. Yaya is confused by this; she's never seen this girl before. However, judging by her size, Yaya guesses she's one of the new first years.
"Eiko-chan! Nice to see you. Are you ready for your first practice?" Tsubomi greets the girl with a smile.
"Yes, I'm very excited about it!" Eiko answers, clasping hands with her senpai, "To be able to sing with Tsubomi-senpai, I haven't stopped thinking about it!"
"Eiko-chan…" Tsubomi nervously says as Yaya looks on with a frown.
"If you two need some privacy, I'll be at choir practice." She mumbles, starting to walk off.
With a pout, Tsubomi takes Eiko's hand and marches to catch up to the bistre-haired upperclassman, "I'm going to make sure Eiko-chan practices diligently. After all, Spica girls can't be as flippant as Yaya-senpai."
"Flippant?" Eiko asks.
"Oh yes, Yaya-senpai never takes anything seriously. I can't tell you how many times I had to remind her not to forget her sheet music." Tsubomi tells her with a shrug and a smirk, moving past the older girl.
"How unreliable!" Eiko gasps, clinging on to every word her senpai says.
"Yes, very unreliable." Tsubomi purrs, shooting a dirty look over to Yaya only to find her missing.
Her eyes widen and she scans the area, but Yaya is no longer there, having quickened her pace to the music room. Eiko tells her not to worry, that she will definitely listen to what her senpai has to say and will cherish any advice she can give her. Tsubomi smiles at the girl and nods to her, continuing together to their destination.
At Deuce, Shizuka's serve blazes to her opponent and barely gets returned. Kaname flinches at its speed, only managing to pop it over the net where Shizuka pegs it to the other corner from Kaname in another drop volley, forcing her to run for it, which leaves her in a poor position to return the following slice.
"Chikaru-oneesama!" Kizuna chirps, running with Remon to the club room.
Inside, the Lulim Student Council President sits, still going over the case from earlier. Though she had told Nagisa that they would continue this another day, she still busies herself with organising the various observations, happily transferring the information to the white board.
"Chikaru-oneesama, Mori-senpai is playing tennis with Kenjou-sama!" Remon squeaks, rushing to her side.
"It's true, it's true! We saw them playing just now!" Kizuna chimes in, jumping up and down.
Chikaru lifts her head up with closed eyes before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I know."
The two girls are confused by this. They had believed the President would want to be there for her roommate. Kizuna goes to the row of desks in front of where Chikaru sits, looking at what she has in her hands. Remon also looks and sees that it's only notes about Tamao and Kagome and they are further puzzled by her.
"Chikaru-oneesama isn't going to go watch it?" Kizuna asks.
"Chikaru-oneesama is staying here?" Remon adds.
The President slowly nods to them, lifting a finger to inform them that Shizuka didn't like audiences. It was unusual as it is for Shizuka to have consented to the match with Kaname, but she still wouldn't have wanted a crowd watching. She ponders if Kaname knows about this, but assures herself that the Spica President must have made the necessary preparations.
Still confused and upset that they won't be going to watch what they saw to be an intense game, the pair's enthusiasm deflates. Chikaru begins looking at the papers again and, once Remon takes her attention to Kizuna, they both nod in agreement and turn back to the older girl.
"Chikaru-oneesama, what is the situation with Tamao-san?" Remon enquires.
"Yea, what is going on with the case?" Kizuna chirps.
Smiling warmly at the two, Chikaru shows them the notes that Nagisa had taken, and recounts the scene. As she does this, Kizuna goes to gather their super sleuth outfits from the closet, the same ones they had used for the Case of the Unidentified Blue Umbrella.
Kaname smashes the ball standing close to the net, the ball bouncing just under Shizuka's racket.
"Game set!" She declares, taking in ragged breaths, "My serve."
Momomi sits in the Student Council Office looking over a stack of papers. Makoto stands by the window, looking out. She notes that Kaname is in the middle of her match against Shizuka now. She wonders if her plan will be successful. To this, Momomi only sighs. She's a bit miffed over Kaname's stipulations for the bout. She had forbidden either of them from attending, even going so far as to have the two use their influence to keep the remainder of Spica's student body from happening upon the match.
"I don't get it." She complains, "She's never kept me away from her games before."
"Poor Momomi. The separation is difficult for you, isn't it?" Makoto jokes, turning from the window.
"Oh be quiet." The older girl grumbles, going back to the papers.
"It can't be helped, Momomi. Mori-sama is… not like us." She suggests, crossing her arms in thought.
"Well, she is a student of Lulim. That's no surprise." Momomi mutters, flipping through more papers.
"Yes, she is. It's a complicated matter, isn't it?" Makoto replies, though her attention is back to the window.
Shizuka knocks the ball out of bounds and Kaname goes to retrieve it for her next service. They have been going for three games now, with the score at thirty to thirty. Kaname serves one towards the centre mark, but Shizuka easily catches it with a back hand stroke. The ball goes back over the net as Kaname rushes it, pegging it with the sweet spot of the racket. Shizuka runs to it as it bounces, striking it hard. However, Kaname is upon it within seconds, clipping it for a high lob moonball. Shizuka prepares for it, waiting for her moment before overheading it to her opponent.
A few feet in the distance, Yaya finds herself walking by herself. Choir practice today wasn't a pleasant memory for her and she thinks back on how little Eiko kept sticking by Tsubomi, hanging on every word the second year said. It had gotten to a point where Yaya couldn't take it anymore and, as soon as practiced ended, she made her exit, taking to idley strolling near the Spica school grounds. That is how she found herself there, at the tennis courts, watching a match between the President and a girl with long, flowing ebony hair and a fancy tan outfit with magenta bows.
"That must be Mori-sama." She whispers to herself, standing outside.
Shizuka scoops up a low volley, hitting the ball with enough force to shoot it straight over the net and down the line. The speed she gets from it is enough to blast it past the President as she rushes forward to catch it, flying to the ground right before the T. In the aftermath, a bead of sweat streams down Kaname's cheek, scarlet eyes wide in shock. From her stance, Shizuka shouldn't have been capable of hitting the ball with such speed. In fact, getting that speed from a reverse scoop was incredibly uncommon for any player.
"She's good…" Yaya mumbles to herself, her own eyes of amber staring at the scene.
The Lulim sixth year serves, controlling the trajectory of the ball with astounding precision. Kaname returns the serve with the same accuracy, hoping to take the point with a sideways spin on the ball. As Shizuka moves in, the ball bounces away, going from one side of her to the other. Despite this, Shizuka manages to spin about, tapping the ball to send it back over.
"Why is she attending Lulim?" Yaya asks no one, furrowing her brow in curiosity, "With talent like this, she should have come to Spica."
Kaname pegs Shizuka's shot, sending the ball deep into the far corner of the court, just before the alley, and securing the point. On her next serve, Shizuka makes a softer volley, lifting her racket up at mid-court just in time to deflect Kaname's return with a block, bouncing the ball suddenly and forcing Kaname to react. The shot is slow, but low thanks to its backspin, and Kaname braces for a counter, holding her racket before her with both hands. Instead of the anticipated drive volley, Shizuka launches a Hail Mary, the ball flying high into the air and stunning her opponent. However, such a move is easy to counter and Kaname readies for her smash. However, she's worried about Shizuka's motives for providing such an easy volley, taking her eyes off the ball just long enough to miss. The ball bounces next to her and once more before Kaname can get her racket to it, giving Shizuka the point via unforced error.
"Advantage, Mori-sama…" Yaya mutters, finding herself captivated by the match.
In the Cooking Club's room, Chikaru is busying herself with preparing a snack. She dips the seafood in the sauce she had made earlier, taking care to soak everything. Her second year company, Hyuuga Kizuna and Natsume Remon are still with her, now dressed in matching master chef attire, watching the raven-haired sixth year move back and forth between the bowl of seafood and the pot of sticky rice.
"Chikaru-oneesama? What are you making?" Kizuna asks her, staring at her work.
"Just some rice balls." Chikaru answers, joyfully pressing the sticky rice into a flat base.
"But why are you making them spicy?" Remon asks, "Chikaru-oneesama doesn't like spicy food."
She begins adding the spicy seafood filling to the rice and then proceeds to pack it in, shaping the rice around it into a triangular shape. As a finishing touch, she adds a single strip of seaweed, wrapping it over the bottom edge.
"I'm not that much of a fan of spicy, either." Remon admits, having hoped to try the snack once Chikaru had finished them.
Hearing the girl's words, Chikaru only giggles, laying out more sticky rice from the pot to start on another one. Kizuna puts a finger to her mouth, salivating over the finished rice ball, but then sighs, also admitting to having a low tolerance for the strong flavour. The two whine, noting that neither of them could make the snack and wanting Chikaru to make it in a flavour the two could handle. The older girl stops for a moment, removing the plastic gloves she had been using to keep her hands clean and goes to them.
"I promise I'll make another batch that isn't spicy." Chikaru consoles them.
"Thank you, Chikaru-oneesama!" They shout in sync, hugging her on either side as she wraps an arm around each of them.
"But…" Kizuna suddenly adds, "Can't Chikaru-oneesama make those ones now?"
"Please!" Remon continues, "Why do you have to make these now?"
Chikaru gazes down at them warmly, saying only that, "The game will be over soon."
Shizuka lands another point, tying the game at another forty to forty Deuce. They are on their fifth set now and each player has had two wins. This game will decide the victor. Shizuka tosses the ball up for another serve. Unlike the previous sets, this one has been much more intense, neither opponent willing to allow an easy point.
"You should compete more." Kaname shouts across the court, catching the serve with a simple forward swing.
"Is this what you've been reduced to, Kaname?" Shizuka muses, tapping the ball for a short distance rally, bouncing close to the net.
Kaname rushes to it, pegging it back to the T on Shizuka's side as Shizuka continues saying, "With Amane off limits, you're really coming back for me?"
Shizuka taps it cross-court, sending it to the left corner of Kaname's side. Kaname manages to catch it and even directs it to the opposite corner, but this gets struck by Shizuka's sledgehammer back hand forward, landing before the baseline too quickly for Kaname to turn to it.
"I have my reasons." Kaname tells her.
"You mean other than my 'tender flesh'?" Shizuka jests, a light breeze lifting her hair just then to reveal the milky white skin of her neck.
She serves again, her form displaying her grace. Kaname smirks at her opponent's ploy, returning the rally with a stiff club. Shizuka sends it back with ease. This goes on for a few rallies until Kaname sends a short volley to the centre mark. Shizuka taps it down, but Kaname speeds to it, driving it back and past her opponent.
Turning to go back to her position, Kaname tells her, "I believe you have a great talent. I only want to challenge myself. It shouldn't surprise you that I desire to improve myself."
Shizuka serves again, but notes that, "I don't really care about that, though."
Kaname returns it, moving to the center in anticipation for her smash at the next volley. Shizuka gives her the chance, but catches it as it zips to her right side, lobbing it back over. Kaname pushes it deep, but Shizuka still hits it, sending it to the opposite side with a spin towards mid-court. The spin makes it bounce and curl inward towards the ad court, an attempt to have it skip around the tanned blonde as she reaches for it. However, Kaname had taken notice of Shizuka's move and scoops the ball as it rounds for the left. As the ball goes back, though, Shizuka strikes hard, shooting the ball right into the far left corner to give her the advantage again.
Gritting her teeth at having fallen for the trap, Kaname turns back to Shizuka to say, "You don't care?"
"Should I?"
"Oh, I believe you already do." Kaname challenges, returning the next serve.
"Really?" Shizuka questions, a bit of boredom evident in her voice as she strikes back.
"Really." Kaname confirms, "I believe you're hiding."
Shizuka is taken aback by the comment, costing her the point as Kaname makes a powerful strike straight down the line. She flinches as the ball flies past and the fence gives off a loud rattle once it hits.
"Hiding?" Shizuka repeats, walking over to pick up the ball before glaring at her opponent for making such a remark.
Kaname grins at her, poised to catch the next serve. She wouldn't, however; the serve comes at such an impressive speed that Kaname only notices the ball once it has bounced back from deflecting off the fence. Slowly, Kaname takes her eyes to it, watching it roll along the ground with a stunned gaze.
Turning her attention back to the impressive player, she hears the following statement, "If I was hiding, I wouldn't be Shizuka."
By the next serve, Kaname has regained her composure. Though the ace was intimidating, it only supports what Kaname has pointed out. She successfully returns the service and moves in. Shizuka taps the ball and causes it to swerve to the right side. Kaname reaches it in time and pushes it to Shizuka's right, where the girl back hands it to the center, hoping to have it pass over before Kaname could turn to catch it. However, Kaname manages to dash back in time, tagging it with a sweep and having it zip along the left side of Shizuka's court barely inside the tramline, leaving little room to counter as the score ties up again.
Kaname flicks some of her blonde bangs from her eyes and says, "Shizuka wastes her potential."
The statement affects her and she looks at the Spica President with a wary expression. Setting up for another serve, she is caught by the words and winces, sending the ball into the net. Gasping at the error, she turns from the ball back to Kaname and slowly moves to the other half of the service box to make her next serve attempt. However, with Kaname's scarlet eyes piercing through her, she is unable to focus and nets the serve again, costing her and giving Kaname the advantage.
"You see." Kaname remarks, standing firmly in position.
Shizuka bounces the ball on the ground a few times, taking in a deep breath. After doing so a few times, she finally tosses it up and hits a successful serve, the ball speeding over the net at a very good height. Kaname smiles, returning it with a stiff stroke, also sending it just over the net. Shizuka is calm, her hazel eyes fixing on Kaname instead of the match at hand. This unnerves Kaname since the girl is still returning the rally.
"What drives you, Kaname? Why are you so eager to compete?" She asks the President.
She lobs the ball and Kaname sees her opportunity. Waiting for it, she exclaims, "To win", and overheads the ball back to Shizuka.
In that split second, as the ball flies toward her, Shizuka nods her understanding, closing her eyes and shifting the position of her racket at the last moment. The ball, which would have landed against the sweet spot, instead passes under it. Shizuka had rotated it on its side, leaving only the edge to follow her swing, easily missing the ball.
As another breeze blows across the court, Shizuka looks away, allowing it to cover her features with some of her long hair. She only whispers the words, "Then, you win."
"Congratulations, Kenjou-san. Good game." Chikaru greets, having arrived with Remon and Kizuna.
Noticing her arrival, Shizuka walks to her with a smile and looks down at the obento box in her hands, "Late, as usual."
"My apologies. I'll be more punctual next time." Chikaru tells her, winking at the girl as the two underclassmen look on.
Author's Note: I must say, I highly enjoyed writing this chapter. Those of you who have followed me and read my other fictions will know they are quite different from this one. In Final Fantasy, in Megaman, and in Ga-rei, there is almost all action with bits and pieces of fun and light drama, plus a hea… massively unhealthy dose of angst. xD
Fans of Strawberry Panic should know that the most dramatic thing here is a broken heart, hardly comparable to war, mass killings, demonic manifestations of hatred, etc. Therefore, it's not quite what I've done before.
That's why this chapter, with at least a more action-based setting, is a relief to me. Also, I adore tennis. It's a fun sport that I quite enjoy playing. It also allows me to present one of my favourite types of conversations, the sarcastic and insulting trades between adversaries in a duel. The purpose of the match, though, was to illustrate the differences between Shizuka, Kaname, and Kaname's previous opponent, Amane.
This chapter also brings Eiko into the mix and, as I'd noted at the end of the last chapter, I'd have done exactly as Tsubomi did and set up my Eiko shields against Yaya. Now, I know Yaya wasn't exactly the pranking type in the anime and she surely wasn't in the manga, but in the episode where the pool is open, Hikari notes that Yaya pranks her all the time so I took it that the anime just doesn't show most of it for the purposes of continuing the dramatic fluff instead. Also, a great deal of the episodes focused on Nagisa, anyway, taking time away from showing Yaya's evil intentions for her targets. ^_^
The next chapter will go into that a bit further. See you then!
次回予告
Yaya: Wow, Mori-sama is good.
Tsubomi: Hmph, if she was really good, she would've won.
Eiko: Yippee, we're doing the ending thing now! ^_^
Yaya: *facepalm* Tsubomi-chan… your puppy is getting excited again.
Tsubomi: Sick her, kouhai!
Yaya: Ahh! Get away!
Next time on Strawberry Panic, Chosen One!
Yaya: I'm going to look out this window…
この番組はメディアファクトリーとご覧のスポンサーの提供でお送りいしました!
次回をお楽しみに