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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 again to my Comrade and Guest. I'm glad you both enjoyed the last chapter despite its tardiness. x_X I thought Asuka's "evil" air would be noticed. Yes, she does seem to have that dangerous undertone to her character. Also, I do see where you are coming from with a pairing between her and Kagome. I do have other plans for them, though, but I do like your pairing. ^_^ Makoto is meant to be Yaya's rival. The annoying quality and her riddles are there simply to drive her and, apparently readers, looney. x) I'm glad it worked. xD And yes, that last bit was to tease for this chapter. =p I may just have to write a Strawberry Panic comedy one day, given the positive response to this fiction and my other comedic works in the past.
When we last left off, Shizuka and Chikaru had come up with a club to manipulate the decisions made on the Senkou Dance. However, it wasn't revealed exactly what this club's activities might be since we were distracted by shades and back-to-back poses. =p The purpose of the club will be revealed in this chapter and the underlying message will play into future chapters.
This chapter hopes to really drive that point, actually, but will also be expanding on character development. Hope everyone appreciates it. ^.~
~Strawberry Panic: The Second Year~
"How goes the operation?" Shizuka asks, entering the stronghold of the Astraea Dance Investigations Club.
"Still in progress. The information we were able to garner from our agents within Miator and Spica seem to be congregating on a few of our venues, but there are still volatile forces therein." Chikaru reports, walking over to a white board of graphs and charts.
Shizuka takes herself to the board, analysing the data, "Perhaps it's time to take a more direct approach."
"What did you have in mind?" Chikaru asks, as Shizuka brings her to a map of the school grounds.
The map is marked with gridlines and coloured flags have been placed at certain locations. There are three specific flags that are larger than the others, each of a colour representative of one of the schools. The other flags are red and grouped. Shizuka examines their placement, considering their possible movement.
"There." She remarks, pointing at a select group, "We can have ADIC Unit 5 infiltrate the music room in Spica to 'misplace' the instruments that are necessary for music selections deviating from our targets."
"Do you think they're ready for something like that?" Chikaru asks.
"This is what they've trained for." Shizuka responds, moving the flags.
"Still, if we control the choice of music, we'll only put Spica in a precarious position should Miator choose an opposing theme." Chikaru notes.
"Oh, I have Miator covered." Shizuka answers.
"You mean?"
The glint in Shizuka's eyes is unmistakeable as is the dangerous toothy smirk on her lips, "Yes, our girl on the inside. She'll make sure all goes according to plan."
Full Moon
Tamao sits at her desk in the Student Council Office. Chihaya and Noriko have finalised the data from the first years, drawing up statistics and listing important comments from the first years regarding the top five choices. Interestingly, they even had the information brought to her by one of Miator's first years. Apparently, having had spent so much time on the project, they are worried about the upcoming exams and had given the information to the last first year they interviewed rather than find Chiyo.
"Are they that nervous over them?" She asks aloud, though there is no one else in the room.
She takes her violet eyes to the books sitting at the corner of her desk. Just as her assistants have put off their studying, so has the President. The dance will take place right after exams and just before summer school. The same rule will apply to the dance as it has with summer school. Failure on any of the subjects will result in mandatory summer classes, which will forbid attendance to both events.
"I wonder… will we be alright?" Tamao asks again.
"Will Nagisa-chan be alright?" She continues, revealing her true concerns, "She needed help from someone of the highest calibre just to pass them before. Would she need that now?"
The redhead finds herself in Lulim's clubroom once again, her face buried in books while her company doodles. A blanket of black shields the girl's face from view, but Nagisa can feel the girl's contentment. She can sense the changes in her since the last year, however slight they appear to be. Chikaru always seems on top of things. She was the go to person whenever any of the girls had a problem. She even had a sixth sense about them, somehow knowing when something was wrong. Last year, she had suddenly appeared the minute Nagisa couldn't deal with Shizuma's tragic past. She'd also learned from Kizuna that it was only after Chikaru's suggestion that her younger friends thought to cheer her up with cookies after she learned about Kaori. This year, too; Chikaru somehow knew that she has been lonely and has done much to alleviate that feeling. However, she didn't go about it in the same way. In the past, she directed her capabilities toward mitigating the effects of love's trials. This year, she has been more of a distraction from them completely.
"Chikaru-sama, can I ask you a question?" She chances a guess at what might have caused the change.
"Of course, Nagisa-chan." The raven-haired girl replies, "What is it?"
"It's about Shizuka." Nagisa says.
This takes the upperclassman by surprise, but she quickly regains composure and tells the girl that she'd be glad to answer whatever question she might have. Nagisa struggles with the words, not wanting to sound blunt, but none of the formulations seem to provoke another reaction. Though Chikaru has long since hypothesised about the pending question behind the question, she didn't know Nagisa would have taken this long and she didn't think the girl would ask it through Shizuka. It seems her roommate's always been a blind spot for her.
Finally finding a good enough configuration, Nagisa produces her enquiry, "What was it like for Chikaru-sama last year?"
"Nagisa-chan?" Chikaru responds, honestly surprised by the question.
"When Shizuka-senpai was away." Nagisa clarifies, "How did Chikaru-sama get through it?"
Chikaru smiles at the intuitive girl, angling her head so her eyes could gaze at the half-erased white board at the front of the room. She considers the best way to answer Nagisa. She had been expecting Nagisa to ask about Shizuma directly and not through third parties. Still, apart from being intermediaries, the experience should be no different.
"Last year, I didn't feel as though Shizuka wasn't here." She tells the redhead.
"What do you mean? Wasn't Shizuka-senpai in France?" Nagisa asks, expectedly puzzled.
"Yes, Paris, in fact." Chikaru confirms, but continues her answer, "Shizuka was there for the whole school year, but I still believed she was right here beside me."
She stands and moves over to the front of the room, her hands held over her heart, "You see, Nagisa-chan, while in my head, I knew Shizuka was so very far away, in my heart, she couldn't have been any closer than she already was."
"Chikaru-sama…"
"We've known each other since we first entered this school, you see. We know everything about one another and so, I knew she would never forgive me if I let go of myself in her absence." She adds.
"But how can Chikaru-sama keep going like nothing is different when she's not there with her every day?" Nagisa blurts out, merging her actual dilemma with the mask she's been using.
Chikaru moves to her, giving her a hug and placing a gentle hand to pat the back of her head, "It is hard, Nagisa-chan. There were times in that year when I felt alone and felt myself drained of life, falling to ashes. However, each time I did, the flames burning brightly within me would bring me back from those ashes. Nagisa-chan also has this fire inside of her chest, but right now it hasn't come alight."
"Fire?" Nagisa asks, looking at her chest.
"It is the fire that drives us all to our roles, our passions." She explains.
"Oh, you mean like all the clubs you run, Chikaru-sama?" Nagisa guesses.
"Yes, like the clubs. It's different for everyone, but once you've uncovered the fire and let it burn, the same thing that makes you feel lonely will only strengthen your resolve." Chikaru says in conclusion.
"I think the only fire inside me is burning over how much I miss Shizuma-sama and it is scorching hot." Nagisa admits.
"I know how you feel, Nagisa-chan. Remember, Shizuma-sama is feeling the same way, too. For her, do your best to uncover the fire burning inside." Chikaru consoles.
During recess, the girls of Spica decide to enjoy a dip in the pool. Yaya, Hikari, Tsubomi, and Eiko float hand-in-hand in the pool, letting the warm waters and bright sun wash over them. The stresses of having been assigned with compiling music for the dance are tremendous and worsened by the fact that Miator still hasn't announced their choice for theme. However, there are other troubles concerning the Spica girls.
"Has anyone noticed that there are more Lulim girls around campus lately?" Yaya says, giving voice to what each of them has been thinking.
"Yes, what do you think is going on?" Tsubomi replies, turning her head to face her senpai on the far left.
"I haven't noticed it." Hikari quickly says, though her grasp on Tsubomi's hand is undoubtedly tightened.
"I think it's great! From what I've heard, the girls at Lulim don't have a lot of accomplishments so it should be good for them to see what a real school like Spica is like." Eiko asserts, her words bathed in the pride of the Spica student body.
"You're probably right, Eiko." Tsubomi responds, "The students of Spica are known for our tenacity and diligence in studying and training our abilities to their fullest. Lulim could use a lesson in that."
"If that's really what they're here to do." Yaya notes, getting the other girls' attention, "Hikari, in the many years we've been on Astraea Hill, when have you ever seen a single Lulim girl on our campus? Never mind a whole battalion of them."
"Well," The blonde begins to answer, "There was that tennis match Amane-senpai had with Kenjou-san. Girls from all three schools were there to watch Amane-senpai play."
"That's not what I meant, Hikari." Yaya says.
That would be the last of the discussion. An abrupt wave moves past the four girls, disturbing their buoyancy and forcing them off their backs.
"What was that?" Tsubomi wonders, brushing the strands of pink from her face as another wave hits them.
"I wasn't expecting the tide to rise in a swimming pool!" Yaya complains, trying to keep the water from her eyes.
Eiko alerts the others to the cause, pointing to someone at the far side of the pool, churning the water with every stroke she makes. Her power is unbelievable as she rockets from one side to the other. Her fair skin glistens on each recovery and a banner of ebony marks her position in the water. When she reaches the wall, she lifts up for a push turn, getting on her back, which unveils her face.
"Is that?" Hikari gasps.
"Mori-sama!" The others utter in her stead.
Shizuka paces herself during the back crawl phase. Her eyes gaze up at the clear blue sky, unmarred by a single cloud. However, she pays more heed to the sounds of the pool, to her own heartbeat, to her breathing, and to speed. She keeps her mind on the timing of her strokes, to her extension, and her body's axial rotation. Before long, she's found herself at the wall. Smirking to herself, she chooses not to perform a conventional push turn, which she had already used during the butterfly length of the medley, and instead extends her recovering arm to meet the arm she is using in her glide to the wall. As soon as she feels her fingers contact the concrete surface, she pushes down, using her arms as a guide for the rest of her form. Shizuka possesses tremendous dexterity and, knowing this, has contorted herself into a tight backflip at the wall. Eyes open to visualise her target, she finds the bottom of the pool. As she sees it, she points her hands to make the top portion of her body streamlined as best as she can while she feels her legs brush lightly against the wall. Once in position, she pulls them in to have her feet grasp the vertical surface before extending her legs for a powerful forward thrust into her third length.
Tsubomi watches in complete awe of the girl, mouth agape and uncaring that such posture is unbecoming. Yaya, Hikari, and Eiko stand beside her, not making a move to exit the pool or to continue floating. The spectacle before them has them stupefied and they aren't the only ones. Shizuka's intense swim has attracted every one of the girls who'd thought to use the pool during recess.
"She's like a torpedo…" Eiko wows, staring intently.
Her long waves of ebony billow with each pull. Her speed seems to barely slow from the drag it causes and her glide is likewise undaunted. To her viewers, it is apparent her trained posture has allowed for such a degree of propulsion that any drag created carries little noticeable impact.
When she comes upon the wall again, it is a simple matter of flipping forward and before any of her spectators see her kick off, she is in the middle of the pool once more, a swift front quadrant stroke driving her front crawl.
Shizuka is actually oblivious to the attention she's drawn, her focus concentrated upon her practice. It has been some time since she's seen a pool. The Paris campus had been too small for a pool and many of the neighbouring beaches were not quite suitable for her, despite how open-minded she may be. This will have been the first chance she's had in the pool since her fourth year at Lulim. However, as luck would have it, she senses that her performance hasn't suffered much, at least not as much as she feared.
She continues through the length, flip turning back into butterfly to start her next lap. It is her desire to prove to herself that she is still capable of her typical routine, starting at a continuous 500m. As she surfaces, she takes in a deep breath, flailing her arms out before pulling them straight forward to cut into the water as her legs carry the force of her powerful undulations.
"She's back to doing butterfly." Yaya states.
"Well, she was back to doing butterfly." Tsubomi replies, watching as Shizuka hits the wall and switches again to back crawl.
"Doesn't she get tired?" Eiko asks, her fingers keeping count of each length being swum.
"Not that I can tell, but the way her body cuts through the water, I don't think she'd get very tired." Yaya comments.
"But just look at her strokes. They keeping coming. Whenever I try to do a front crawl, I always have to finish the stroke before my other hand can get into the water." Tsubomi complains.
Yaya approaches the pink-haired girl and grabs her shoulders, resting her chin next to her face and saying, "That's because Tsubomi-chan's puny arms can only produce a rotary stroke."
"Rotary stroke?" Hikari asks her roommate.
"Yea, it's a term for the timing of the strokes. Mori-sama is doing a front quadrant, which means she starts a new stroke before her previous one gets into recovering position." Yaya explains.
"Wow, I didn't know Yaya-senpai had so much knowledge about swimming." Tsubomi gasps.
"I don't." She replies, brushing away some of her bistre hair, "Actually, one of the teachers taught me about it because I was too rotary, also. It's better to keep the pace up because it gives you a better catch."
After a while of watching the Lulim star's tireless laps, she also adds, "Okay, is the girl ever going to stop?"
Just then, one of the attending teachers makes the announcement, "Alright! Free time has ended!"
Shizuka has just completed the front crawl portion of another set when recess is called and Hikari leans over to her roommate to say with a giggle, "I suppose that answers your question."
Once recess is called, Shizuka pops herself out of the water and goes to the edge of the pool. She takes a few deep breaths as she tests her pulse. Lifting her wrist, she checks her time on a waterproof watch and smiles to herself. Not only has she proven to herself that her skill hasn't slacked due to her time away from the pool, but she's actually improved by an entire lap. As she continues to catch her breath and return her heart rate back down to normal, she humours herself with hypotheses on what might have kept her physical prowess well-maintained.
"That was a wonderful performance, Mori-sama." A dainty voice speaks, bringing the girl's attention to the crowd that has gathered.
"Thank you, Etoile Konohana-san." Shizuka returns, taking her weary hazels to the masses.
As Hikari giggles, having known from Tamao that Shizuka doesn't like being in the spotlight, Tsubomi and Eiko approach her, also showing their admiration.
Yaya is the only one holding back, but also mentions in passing, "Mori-sama sure knows how to get attention, even if she doesn't mean to do it."
"You might be right. I did ask for it this time, though." Shizuka responds to her, whispering to herself after, "Some of them should still be on location."
"What was that?" Hikari asks, noticing her lips move.
"Nothing." Comes the quick response, "Did I mess up your recess? I noticed the four of you were enjoying yourselves floating in the pool."
"No, watching Mori-sama's swim was spectacular so it makes up for it." Tsubomi blurts, causing Shizuka to smile at the smaller girl.
"Shizuka. There's no need for that -sama stuff." She simply says to them, pulling herself out of the pool.
"Yes, Shizuka-senpai." Tsubomi replies, bowing her head until she realises that has placed her face under the water.
As she pops her head back out with a gasp, Yaya's lips curl into a smirk and the four watch the star of Lulim depart, joined in their gaze by many girls of each of the three schools. Unseen by the group, Hikari looks intently at the upperclassman, pale green pearls following the girl's every step.
"Shizuka-senpai's ability is stunning." Tsubomi says, still unable to stop herself talking about the sixth year's swim.
The four of them are in the showers, washing off to get ready for afternoon classes. Eiko clings to every word her senpai says, though this puts her awkwardly against the adjoining panel between stalls. However, as the pink-haired second year is fixated on her thoughts, she takes no notice of her kouhai's inappropriate proximity. Yaya, on the other hand, does see it, but stays her hand due to the disapproving glare of her roommate, which causes her to let out a light chuckle.
"Her ability is wasted at Lulim." Tsubomi continues, turning to face the others.
Hikari wraps herself in a towel, approaching Tsubomi's stall to reassure her, "Don't worry. There are a few ideas within the Student Council about that."
The petite girl's strong words alarm the two who know her well. Yaya shares a concerned glance with the pink-haired girl before pondering, "Exactly what sort of ideas might those be?"
"Hikari-senpai is being careful, isn't she?" Tsubomi adds, the memories of all that had befallen her senpai the previous year resurging in her mind.
"There's nothing to worry about, Tsubomi-chan." The blonde assures, "I have Amane-senpai, after all and the ideas I'm speaking of belong to her."
The revelation catches all in attendance off guard. Yaya furrows her brow at the notion that Spica's prince would also become involved in any scheme, let alone another manipulation of persons of interest. She grows curious at the development of the school's Student Council. Tsubomi, on the other hand, is captivated by her senpai's new trait and interested in seeing if the plan works. The first year with them, however, can only follow along as best she can, having not nearly enough information to understand why the Etoile mentioning a plan would cause such distress.
Shizuka, in response to the droves of fans following her, has decided to skip the shower and proceeds directly into the locker room to change. As her room is on the path from the pool to Lulim, she has decided to return there to shower before classes. She opens her locker and places her uniform on the nearby bench. Removing her swimsuit, she gets her bag to put the soggy outfit in and starts to dry off. Once she feels sufficiently dry enough to dawn her uniform, she turns to find the bin and tosses the wet towel like a basketball. When she turns back, she finds her outfit no longer resting on the bench where she had placed it, but instead in the outstretched hand of a new visitor.
"Here you are." A soothing voice speaks, its possessor displaying a friendly look with her crimson eyes.
"Thank you?" Shizuka replies, reclaiming pieces of her garment to change back into.
"My pleasure." Amane replies, giving Shizuka the last piece of her uniform before beginning to take her leave.
She takes her time leaving, which prompts the ebony-haired girl to chance a guess at her unexpected appearance, and call for her, "Etoile-sama?"
"Yes?"
"What's been going on at Astraea? It seems a lot's changed in the last year." Shizuka remarks, choosing the question she asks carefully.
To this, Amane smiles and sits herself down on the far end of the bench. Shizuka takes her seat beside her and awaits the response. The Prince of Spica recounts everything from Nagisa's transfer to the Etoile-sen, the gravity which had set in motion many schemes. Of course, Chikaru had already told Shizuka all that had occurred during her absence from the hill, but she postulates that any divergence in the telling will reveal to her the prince's hidden motives for appearing before her.
At night, in the room of Nagisa and Tamao, the former continues studying while the latter considers the upcoming events. She has chosen the theme for the dance, but when she did, she learned that Spica had almost immediately finalised their music composition and Lulim already had their venue prepared. She feels something is amiss, but decides it's all well that everything is ready so soon. Tomorrow is the first day of exams and the dance will be held soon after they end. However, the true concern evident within her violet eyes is on her roommate who has been at her desk or in the library continuously the past few days.
She clears her throat and says, "So tomorrow is the first day."
Nagisa turns from her books to her, smiling to respond with a simple, "Yes."
"Is Nagisa-chan going to be alright?" Tamao asks, revealing her true thoughts to her roommate.
"Yes, Tamao-chan." She easily answers, but after a pause in which she sets her gaze down at the floor, she adds, "I've studied well, this time, but I would still have liked to have tutoring."
Tamao understands the redhead's meaning and goes to draw her into a comforting embrace, "Regrettable. It's unfair to you, Nagisa-chan."
"Oh, Tamao-chan. I'll be fine. There's a fire inside that I'm starting to uncover." She replies, moving her hand over her heart.
Author's Note: Remember how I was happy to have any action in this fiction, such as the tennis match? Yes, I highly enjoyed the swimming in this one. xD Yes, I also took some pleasure in imagining the scenes out of the pool. Yes, I took them from episode nine of the anime and rewatched the scene while writing this one. ^_^;;;
The other scene with Shizuka and Amane in the locker room was actually inspired by a similar scene with Amane and Shion from the anime, though played out differently with respect to the differences between Shizuka and Amane's characters. Amane appearing before Shizuka is the task she had mentioned in an earlier chapter and it was her room's window at which she had stared. Yes, Amane is involving herself and yes, it does feel a bit like Kaname's interference in the past. x) She has joined the DARK SIDE!
As has Hikari, it would seem. Actually, I'm not yet sure how involved I'd want her to be. Hikari's foreknowledge about the ideas within the Spica Student Council and Amane's inclusion in them are merely a direct result of her being one of the Etoiles. However, I'm actually enjoying this more assertive Hikari.
I do also feel that I've made this chapter a bit too Shizuka-centric. It wasn't my intention, but as Chikaru is helping Nagisa cope with missing Shizuma, the best comparison for Nagisa would be Shizuka and, as I said, I really enjoyed the swimming scene. xD Honestly, though most of the scenes of this chapter included her in some way, the majority of them were really focused on the other characters there. Only the swimming scene and the before title card scene regarding the Astraea Dance Investigations Club were about developing her character.
Anyway, all of those bits will be playing out in future chapters.
次回予告
Tamao: Testing has begun.
Nagisa: Wow, am I exhausted!
Tamao: But you'll pass. That's the important part.
Nagisa: It doesn't look that important to some people. What are they thinking about?
Tamao: What do you mean, Nagisa-chan?
Nagisa: Will everyone do well?
Tamao: And once we've all passed, we can attend the dance. Oh together, hand-in-hand they glide across the dance floor. And then… And then!
Nagisa: Tamao-chan…
Next time on Strawberry Panic, Tricks of the Trade!
Tamao: And then! Oh~!
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