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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: Now, it's been two chapters since Asuka's started Yaya on a new prank the whole lot at Astraea binge. You have to believe someone's gone and taken notice and someone must have a problem with it. Worst of it is that Yaya's outgoing and spirited nature used to be directed towards the good whereas Asuka's gotten her on a bit of a rampage, running amuck across the land. What's to be done and how bad will the damage in the end?
Oh, and before I forget, yes, Friend, yes it is. =p
~Strawberry Panic: The Second Year~
"A chill wind approaches, bathing the whole of Astraea. We shiver and we hide from it." Hikari thinks to herself, watching the breeze blowing through the branches of a nearby tree, "But maybe there are those hiding in more ways than one."
Thickening Fog
"Good morning, Etoile-sama!"
"Good morning!"
Amane and Hikari wave at the scores of girls greeting them as they make their way to class. As the months went by, the frailer of the two Etoile had grown bolder, eagerly receiving her fans and becoming the role model they could admire. Amane revels in her development and has kept close watch over it with each passing day. That's why, she easily notices that the girl is rather quiet and reserved on this day.
"Hikari, is something wrong?" She asks.
"Oh, it's nothing." Hikari replies, but stops herself before going on to say, "Well, at least I think I might be nothing. I've just been feeling weird lately."
"Weird? About what?"
"What else?"
"Yaya-san?"
"I know you and Kenjou-san have been busy so I didn't want to bring it up, but it's been bothering me." Hikari tells her, looking back towards the dorms.
Amane considers the situation for a moment, tapping her finger to her chin, "Actually, Kaname and I have been getting odd reports."
"Odd reports?"
"Bits of data here and there from the students." Amane elabourates, "Seems things have been going awry across the school grounds. A few of the incidents read a bit similar to ones I'd heard when I was a third year."
"Do you think it's Yaya-chan?" Hikari asks, but Amane doesn't respond, prompting her to add, "I should go see her."
"Hm, curious." Amane mumbles, but doesn't say anything further, instead giving a tug to Hikari's arm to lead her inside.
Makoto shuffles about, reviewing a messy batch of papers in her hands. The next few weeks are crucial and need to be structured to perfection. Unfortunately, too much has gotten out of hand and delayed what Makoto had designed to be the starting point. This delay has made almost every following day important towards success. In fact, as she estimates, there are maybe only two days left to have Yaya come together with Tsubomi for them to be ready for the Etoile-sen.
"Except now, it seems she's more likely to be with that Asuka." She says through gritted teeth, wrinkling the papers in her clenching fist.
She goes to a board where she's started to list qualities and hypothesised mindsets of each player in the equation. She has done so in the hopes that she can find a flaw in Asuka to exploit or an allure in Tsubomi, but with their daily progression, Makoto sees almost a guarantee in the formation of couples and neither are the one she needs.
"Why did she have to happen now? If it had only been Eiko, I could have dealt with it, but with the both of them, I can hardly see a way to get Yaya and Tsubomi together in the same place let alone together as a couple." She complains.
"One, two, three. One, two, three." Kagome mumbles, holding Percival out at arms length while she watches her footing.
As Makoto struggles with the Asuka and Eiko obstacle, her companion has been looking over the various parts of the election, coming to the dance portion, which has intrigued her. When Makoto was at the board, reviewing the information she'd gathered, Kagome had had Percival begin flipping through the lesson manuals for ballroom dance, discussing the intricacies of it with the bear at length. By the time the silver-maned girl had noticed, Kagome felt confident enough to put her study to practice. Of course, it is one thing to dance with a partner; quite something different when that partner's feet can't reach the floor.
"Percival, I think you aren't keeping up with the beat." She mumbles.
Makoto smiles at the girl. Being just a second year, she is still very much innocent and doesn't meddle in the affairs of others. It's an adorable characteristic and Makoto can't help but watch her. She takes a quick glance at her work before turning back to Kagome, reasoning that she could do with a break. Kagome and Percival continue to round about, the blonde taking great care of her footing while her partner sort of just sways about.
"You two are doing well, actually, but perhaps I could give you some advice." Makoto finally says, moving to offer her hand.
Kagome stops her dance to look at the girl, tracing her eyes from her smiling face down to her extended arm. Slowly, she goes to place Percival's paw in her hand and then takes her other hand in her own. The setup is just a bit unorthodox, but Makoto decides to go with it. The three of them move according to her lead and she advises Kagome with a few minor corrections as they dance.
"So we should rehearse the waltz next, right?" Nagisa asks.
She is together with the usual crowd again, sitting around a table for afternoon tea. Actually, two tables, though the one where Nagisa sits is far more talkative. Joined by Lulim's most prominent and Miator's Student Council President, they continue readying Miator's candidates for the Etoile-sen. Anxiousness encompasses the area the more they consider how close the election is to them. Eventually, Chikaru lets slip some gossip she's heard, a purposeful move in order to sway the growing stress of her friends. In the following minutes, the four at their table trade stories they've gathered regarding the Etoile-sen rather than worry about it.
"Spica's getting lively." Tamao notes, following Chikaru's mentions.
"I wonder if Yaya-chan knows how many people in Spica want her to be chosen." Nagisa adds.
"I'm sure the call is hard to ignore." Shizuka suggests, taking a sip from her cup before looking into it with intrigue.
Chikaru's eyes glance at her roommate, chancing a guess at her meaning, "For all those involved, is that right?"
"This Etoile-sen should prove to be interesting." She replies.
The others nod, but Chikaru adds, "Although, there haven't been any official announcements just yet."
The two peer at their friends from the Miator Student Council and simultaneously ask, "Or is that classified?", as per the usual response they'd received from Miator, their recent catchphrase.
Both of the girls blush, but as Tamao shifts her gaze to Chihaya and Noriko sitting at the other table, Shizuka replies in their stead, "Is it really necessary to circulate?"
Chikaru giggles and they continue sharing their gossip. Meanwhile, at that other table, Noriko sighs. She's trying to accept what's to come, she's even gotten back into judo competition in preparation of it, but it's still a bit much. Chihaya takes her hand, knowing what's going on in her mind and it helps.
However, this ends up helping just a bit more, "So tired…"
"Kizuna-chan?" Noriko asks, she and Chihaya surprised by the girl's sudden outburst as she lays her head down on the table.
"What's the matter?" Chihaya adds.
"We've both had our hands full the past few days." Remon answers for her, yawning to show that she, too, is weary.
"From what?" Noriko asks, "What have the two of you been up to?"
To that, Kizuna suddenly props herself up, thrusting her arms out for dramatic effect before exclaiming, "Prepare yourself for a tale of intrigue!"
"Uh, Kizuna-chan?"
"An epic of love and war that blurs the boundaries of good and evil!"
"She's gone."
"Listen not ye of weak wills for you are not ready to experience the world-shattering story I am about to regale you with!"
"Kizuna, I think they've got it." Remon tells her very overzealous roommate.
"And the only proper way to start such a legendary story, such an awe-inspiring-"
"KIZUNA!" All three yell out.
"Right! Ahem, is to tell you its name: The Great War!"
"You mean to tell us about World War I?" Chihaya asks confused.
"I told you that wouldn't work." Remon grumbles.
"But it was a great war." Kizuna whines, meaning to stick with her naming choice.
"Then, how about the Great Astraea War?" Chihaya suggests so they might actually get on with it.
"Ah, a superb title, Chihaya-san!" Kizuna remarks, "Then let me now regale you with the legend of the Great Astraea War! Ooh, or should it be the Great War of Astraea? Or maybe the-"
"KIZUNA!"
"Right. It all started one fateful day…"
"Under repair. Please use the next exit."
"That's the third door that we've come across that's broken, Haruka. What are we going to do?" A frustrated student groans, anxiously tugging at her pink plaid skirt.
"I'm sure we can find another exit at the next corridor, Midori-chan." The girl named Haruka reassures, taking her classmate by the hand.
"I hope so…" Midori then leans in closer to complete her sentence, "because I really need to pee."
A shared couple of snickers muffle themselves in an empty adjacent classroom, which allow them to go unheard as Haruka and Midori move on. Inside, trembling billows of bistre and turquoise finally release their howls of glee. Despite Haruka's best efforts, the two conspirators heard her excretory admission.
"So? How about now?" Asuka asks.
"Alright, you have ascended, my young apprentice." Yaya replies between chuckles.
The two of them are at it again. Just before a day of classes started at Lulim, Asuka and Yaya snuck in and hid in that same classroom. Once the students and teachers enter their classrooms and classes had started, the pair went to work. They had with them a small stack of signs, which they place over each exit of the building. With every exit marked as "under repair", no one would be able to leave once classes were done, which is exactly what Haruka and Midori found.
"The problem was, now they woke the sleeping tiger!" Kizuna declares.
"Wasn't it a crouching tiger?" Remon asks.
"Right, now they woke the crouching tiger!"
"No, Kizuna-chan, no they didn't." Noriko mutters with a roll of the eyes.
"Hey, who's telling the story here? Anyway, me and Remon-chan were there in the classroom, too."
"Remon-chan, we've been walking around for hours!" Kizuna whines, leaning against her roommate.
"Don't be dramatic. We haven't even tried that side yet."
"I wouldn't bother." Midori tells them as she and Haruka round the corner, "We just came from there. Those exits are broken, too."
"What's going on?" Haruka asks in a whimper.
The group travels together to the next part of the building, picking up several other schoolmates and eventually realise that there are no available exits. Once that information comes to light, Kizuna deduces that they've been had. She slips away for a moment, picking an arbitrary door and trying it. Without any issue, the door opens and Kizuna steps outside. In the distance, she can distinctly make out a pair of Spica uniforms, one draped in long dark hair and another belonging to a shorter girl with long green hair. The two seem to be giggling as they depart.
"And thus began the Great Astraea War of Antiquity!"
"Kizuna-chan, do you even know what antiquity means?" Remon asks, "Besides, that's not how you found out. Everyone knew about their antics already."
"But every story needs a defining scene of the hero encountering the primary villain. I think I did a good job of that."
"So, Yaya-chan and Asuka-san are running amuck about the school grounds?" Chihaya asks them.
"Not anymore, Chihaya-san." Kizuna explains, "You see, now we were onto them. Now, we would have our revenge. Ku ku ku."
A few days later, "Oh my goodness, please come quick!"
Asuka draws the attention of several students from Miator as she sprints her way to them. She alerts them to a student who is wandering the rooftop of a nearby building and explains to them that the girl is depressed over a recent breakup. The students follow Asuka and when they arrive, they find one lone girl standing at the edge of their classroom building, her back to them looking out in a daze. As Asuka shouts for the girl to turn back, she suddenly falls, disappearing behind the walls as everyone present screams in horror. Motioning to the other girls, Asuka leads them to their fallen schoolmate only to discover her bloodied and mangled corpse lying still in the grass. Slowly, Asuka moves to the body and turns it over with care. Just as its face comes into view, the body animates, lunging upward and plunging its teeth into Asuka's neck. Blood spurts onto the grass as the girl screams, the sound soon muffled by the blood rushing through her throat. However, though grievous the wound is, Asuka does not fall. Instead, her form slowly rises back to her feet, partnering with her assailant as they begin the first awkward steps towards the other girls.
The other girls who aren't there… "Hey, what happened to them?"
"Don't ask me. You were supposed to lure them here." Yaya answers her, wiping away the fake blood from her mouth.
"I did! They were right behind me." Asuka whines, walking a few steps back the way she'd come, "Let's go find them."
In truth, this had been yet another prank. Asuka and Yaya had scouted a particular school building in Miator that had easy roof access on one side, that being an exterior fire escape. Yaya prepared a manikin in her likeness that she would prop up on the roof of said building. Asuka's purpose was to attract their victims, any number of girls from their rival school that would witness the manikin's plummet and be thrown into a panic, which Asuka would then utilise to have them follow her in a rescue attempt. Meanwhile, Yaya would quickly replace the broken manikin with herself in zombie makeup. When Asuka checked on her, she'd spring to life and attack, turning Asuka and setting the scene of a zombie apocalypse. How unfortunate that their intended victims did not see.
"They were probably too baffled by your 'death' to move, senpai."
"Oh, so it's my fault then?"
"That it is. You're just too convincing."
At least, that's what she is allowed to believe until they round the corner. When they arrive, they find those same Miator girls stalking towards them, themselves transformed into zombies, though in much more convincing detail. Their flesh hangs off their decayed corpses and one has her eyeball dangling like a pendulum as she limps forward. As for those whose eyes remain in their normal place, each one is glazed over in death and, in spite of the zombies' trajectory, those eyes don't appear to be looking at anything. At first, the two pranksters believe it to be a hoax, as well, even feigning boredom at seeing the same trick. However, when more groans are heard behind them, they turn to find half-eaten faces, brimming with maggots and yet still stalking towards them. Suffice it to say, the two don't remain bored for long and they also don't seem to stop running until they've reached the safety of Yaya's room, specifically underneath her bed sheets.
"And that's how you pull a prank, Spica." Kizuna proclaims, speaking through her maggot-face mask.
"Did we get them?" The girl with the eye-pendulum asks, honestly being unable to see with those bits on.
"We got them, Misato-chan." Kizuna replies, "Good acting all around. Oh look! Here comes Nagisa-sama. Hi, Nagisa-sama!"
Of course, none of the girls have removed their makeup and, by the time they realise this, they find themselves with an actual body. Upon seeing the zombie horde, the redhead fifth year of Miator had promptly shrieked in terror and fallen flat onto the ground.
"Not a very good survival technique, is it?" Kizuna asks.
"Kizuna-chan! We just killed Nagisa-sama!" Remon shouts, quickly going over to the girl.
"But as you can see, Nagisa-sama is just fine." Kizuna proudly announces.
"If I remember right, Nagisa-chan was in the infirmary for five hours." Chihaya recounts.
"Well, she's awake now and all the colour is back in her face so I'd say she's just fine." Kizuna suggests, "Anyway…"
"Ahhh! Bugs, get away! Get away!" Yaya screams, swatting at the bees surrounding her.
"And then…"
"What's going on around here!" Asuka yells as she runs, wallpaper stuck to various places.
"And the-"
"Kizuna!" Remon scolds, "Get to the war already!"
"I thought I was building up to it."
"You built up to it. So get on with it already!"
"Okay, but first, we need a pivotal moment scene."
Kizuna enters the darkened room, poised to unleash yet another counterprank on Yaya and Asuka. With night vision goggles equipped, she easily spots her target, a crouched Yaya lying in wait to pounce on her next victim. She takes care not to make a sound that could give her away and inches closer and closer. Finally, when she reaches Yaya, Kizuna unleashes twin water pistols and soaks the girl. To her surprise, Yaya doesn't react. She doesn't even move. As Kizuna inches even closer, she comes to realise this Yaya is only wearing a wig of long dark hair and white sheets to mimic a Spica uniform. However, the underlying plaid pattern reveals the girl is from Lulim, bound and gagged and set up as a decoy for Kizuna.
"The culprit's revealed." Asuka states, switching on the lights.
"And so she is." Yaya adds.
The lights are blinding to Kizuna, but she quickly reacts, removing the goggles and using a smokescreen to escape, leaving only the message, "Catch me if can!"
"I thought it was time to come forward. There would have been no decisive battle otherwise." Kizuna retells.
"So after they found you out, what happened?" Noriko asks, no longer worrying about what the other table are gossiping.
"Well, after I let them know about me," Kizuna continues, keeping to her story, "the war reached its climactic battle."
After being discovered, Kizuna and her allies rally a sizable number of Lulim's students to mount a true offensive against Yaya and Asuka. Her scouts report that the Spica duo had also amassed a grand army of their own. Under advisement from her lieutenants Remon, Kaede, and Miator's Misato, Kizuna decides to launch and all-out attack to end it. The whole of the following day, her team scours the school grounds for members of Yaya and Asuka's troops. Of course, by this time, Yaya and Asuka are well-aware of them and stage groups of decoys to lead Kizuna's forces on a wild goose chase. The hours drag on and Kizuna falls for each one. Eventually, evening arrives and more and more students return to the dorms. Kizuna chooses to use this in order to weed out the enemy units, but this is exactly what Asuka had planned.
"Kizuna-sama, we've gone past curfew!" One of the guards she'd stationed at the Strawberry Dorm gates warns, rushing to her.
"Curfew! Blast, I forgot all about that." She seethes, realising she's been had.
"Alas, poor Kizuna-chan." Yaya purrs, sauntering to her with Asuka.
"Wow, so that was the final battlefield?" Chihaya asks.
"Yes, and we fell for it." Remon growls, pounding her fist on the table.
"What happened next?" Noriko presses.
Kizuna groans, hanging her head low, "Our people were ready for anything they could throw at us, but… they knew that. So they didn't even try. Instead, they used the curfew to their advantage. Once we were on the other side of the gate, the sisters arrived."
"Oh no, not the sisters!" Both Chihaya and Noriko gasp.
"Yes, the sisters. They led us all to Sister Hamasaka's office." Remon continues.
"She ordered us to clean the church tower from top to bottom." Kizuna recounts.
"Well, at the very least, it was a Pyrrhic victory." Noriko suggests, patting Kizuna's back.
"If only…" Kizuna grumbles.
Remon grimaces, but goes on to say, "That had been Asuka-san's intention, but Yaya-san was one step ahead of even her."
"Like I said, they weren't even trying. Knowing their endgame, Yaya-san told her people to circle back to the gate after assembling those decoys. They'd mostly returned to the dorms by then and Yaya-san made her and Asuka-san bait to keep us distracted. As soon as my scout warned us, she made a dash for the gate. Her people had set up a rope of linens to get them both over the gate."
Remon continues, "And even that was a trap. Once we realised it, Yaya-san already had Asuka-san over the gate and was being taken up herself. They went inside without any notice, but we were right in front of it, a big group of us, just in time for the sisters to see."
"They made us clean the tower from top to bottom." Kizuna groans, plopping her head onto the table.
Chihaya and Noriko console their friends as the girls of the other table take notice of them. Among them, one in particular shows a knowing look upon her face, her hazel eyes staring plainly.
"Yaya should be the one doing this right now." Makoto mutters.
She and Kagome have been dancing all day, going over the various requirements for the candidates of the Etoile-sen. She had even gone as far as creating a mock candidacy announcement with Percival as her partner. Kagome had reiterated that speech in her cute and innocent tone of voice. It had been fun and it still is now as they approach the twilight hours.
"I fear even if I got them together now, it'd be too late to have them ready." She adds, looking down at the blonde.
"Percival thinks it will be alright." Kagome mumbles, lifting the bear up to meet Makoto face to face.
"I hope Percival is right."
Makoto's intended candidate is with her partner in crime once again, standing together under a starry night sky. She stares up at each of them, lost in her thoughts. Asuka notices this and comments about them. She tells Yaya that the stars are rather bright on this night, possibly as the air becomes thinner in the cold of arriving winter.
"But, bright as they are, they pale to the night." She adds, letting her voice trail.
Yaya reacts to this. The stars are truly brighter on this night, so bright their light seems to link them to one another. What then was the darkness among them but alone, watching as they come together. A tear wells up in her eyes as she is reminded of that thought, eventually spilling over and streaming down her cheek. Asuka moves close, seizing the moment by pressing her lips to hers. Her arms wrap themselves around Yaya and sooth her. The kiss deepens and the two falter, falling onto the grass in each other's embrace.
Author's Note: How was that for a chapter, eh? Things are really picking up. I'm just going to set aside what transpired at the chapter's close. Let's get into the rest of it. Wasn't Kagome adoreable dancing with Percival and getting Makoto to join? ^_^ I imagined it much in the same way she was introduced to Nagisa and Chikaru, making her odd comments in that soft and unassuming tone of voice. 3 As for the "war", I hearkened back to the Senkou Dance when Kizuna pranked her friends with Akuma-sama. I decided that it would take a seasoned prankster to deal with Yaya and bring her out of it, but as it worked out, it came to my attention that Kizuna would still be more on the level of Asuka, having only so much time with it. Meanwhile, despite Yaya becoming stunted and driven to pursue Hikari, she never truly lost touch with her mischievous side. Also, her sharp wit will play a role in future chapters, though that may not be seen for a while.
Now, as for the end of this chapter… *poof gone*
次回予告
Kaname: So we're into the final hour.
Tamao: I guess we are.
Kaname: Not that it's a surprise.
Tamao: No, it isn't, but…
Tsubomi: It doesn't feel right.
Next time on Strawberry Panic, Moving Heaven and Earth!
Shizuka: Give it time.
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