Yaya's fingers gripped the chain link fence with both hands, her upper body weight hanging heavily from her freezing digits as she leaned in against the enclosure wall, both for the support but also as a means of venting her mounting frustration. Her temper bubbled over as her impatience met its limitations, the youngster slamming a clenched fist into the dulled alloy weave, the fence in turn rippling with a distinctive metallic chink as the impact flowed across its surface. This was the fifth such place she'd led Hikari to since the bus had arrived in outer Taito early that morning, the depot at Minami Senju station a lonely, cold, foggy affair, but nothing like the shit hole she'd remembered it as, the obvious signs of redevelopment only continuing to persist as the companions had walked from block to block, Yaya in search of someone, anyone that would recognize her from her earlier years. But each time she'd reached her intended destination the story had been the same, the areas either boarded off and marked with demolition warnings, or deserted and empty, the once teaming parks and skate board recs now a hollow shell compared to their equivalents in the vivid childhood memories the teenager still retained. Yaya sighed heavily, her heart sinking as her shrinking selection of options re-presented themselves, the less appealing of those on her list now edging closer and closer toward unavoidable and inevitable. Hikari remained silent behind her, the tiny blonde watching her troubled friend vent whilst doing her best not to comment, the dark haired girl already having made it clear on various occasions throughout the day that Hikari's constant questions and inquiries were only making matters worse. She was so far out of her depth by now, Hikari had simply resigned herself to remain the silent partner while Yaya went to work, the determined youngster so very much more experienced in the ways of the world than the Konohana girl had imagined. Standing in her jean shorts and grey mohair thigh highs, her bleached black crop top showing far too much of her skinny midriff than was sensible in the chilly air, Yaya felt as helpless as the bellowing black leather overcoat that hung from her shoulders, the garment dancing idly to the evening breeze's Brownian tune. Since when had this place become such a dead end? There should be people here the Nanto girl told herself, people that knew her and knew the guys she was trying to hook up with. She wasn't even hampered by the otherwise typical lack of funds she'd have expected to have been plagued by were she a resident here, given that the information she sought would more than likely come at a price. Yaya had withdrawn as much as she could from Hikari's family visa while they were still in Momoyama, the shrewd teen having then cut the card into pieces to avoid the temptation of using it again later when cash became harder to come by, the withdrawal ATM identification number bound to give their location away. But despite the newly acquired resources she was still in this ridiculously frustrating bind, and still no closer to securing the girls somewhere safe to stay. After a long day of crawling from place to place, the weary third year was just about ready to drop. Unlike the pretty blonde, Yaya had hardly slept on the bullet train, her head racing like a trap dog on pro-plus and her heart thumping like an oversized odaiko drum. She had to find them somewhere to crash before night fell, or the girls would be faced with either the unpleasant prospect of choosing from the dodgier ID free hostels on Arakawa side, or the less than appealing alternative involving a trashcan and some newspaper on the outskirts of Tamihime Park, something even she found repulsive after what seemed like a lifetime in well-to-do Kyoto. This was definitely becoming an issue of time, and as the sun dipped low in the evening sky, the temperature was fast dropping back toward single digits. She glanced back toward her roommate, cursing the blonde's slightness of figure, Yaya's flimsy pastel summer dress the only item of clothing they'd found to fit the once-Etoile, her accompanying woollen wrap doubtful to do anything to stay the cold. Yes, very much an issue of time indeed. Biting her lip in irritation, Yaya pushed away from the chain link barrier, the teenager abandoning the old skate park as she swept her dark mane clear from the back of her rigid jacket collar on the way back to her roommate at the curb side, Yaya's hands in her pockets and her shoulders slumped in defeat. "I'm sorry Hikari," she muttered, parsing her lips as she shrugged again sheepishly. "Only a few more I promise," she heard herself repeating. Hikari smiled warmly nonetheless, sliding her hands around the loop of Yaya's arm, squeezing herself in tightly against her dear friend's jacket. "It's okay Yaya-chan, I'm sure you'll find them soon enough," the tiny blonde replied, glancing back up toward Yaya's dark eyes with a questioning look, "Who are these friends we're looking for anyway? I don't remember Yaya-chan ever having had visitors at the Dormitories before? Are they friends from back home?" she asked. But Yaya didn't answer, the brooding third year privately amused by the thought of these particular acquaintances wandering around the toffee-nosed estates of Astrea Hill. - - - - - Shion stalked from the meeting room in a torrent of irritation and fury, the council President already delayed once by the numerous disciplinary matters generated by the previous evening's debauchery, and then yet again by the idiotic behaviour displayed by that wretched Nanto child. Hurrying off down the corridor, she left the Miatorian trio to themselves, Shizuma and the two Etoile also present during the consultation meeting with the local police, but the Spican senior less than eager to speculate afterward as she raced to escape the horrid confines of the school premises, a car already waiting and the sixth year minutes away from being somewhere where she could breathe once more. Tamao watched her go as she held the door open for the visiting investigators, the older Etoile trading concerned looks with her peers as the three bid the flannel-suited gentlemen goodnight and safe journey. Playing the responsible host, Nagisa then led them toward the main exit on her own. Left together outside the council chambers, Shizuma and Tamao stood in silence. "Well we know the girls mean business... considering the amount of money Hikari withdrew after leaving the estate," Shizuma muttered, her words ultimately meant for herself but her thoughts leaking from their place of confinement. Tamao continued the train of thought for her companion however, the concerned Etoile following on from Shizuma's lead. "They must be reasonably confident of having somewhere safe to go too; they didn't take a change of clothes..." The two seniors exchanged brief but worried glances. "What's she like Tamao-chan, the Nanto girl I mean?" the sixth year asked, "I've socialized with Hikari on several occasions but rarely spoken to Yaya at all. She always seemed the moody type. What do you think she's up to?" the former-Etoile inquired. Tamao sighed heavily, "I'm not sure. But Yaya has a talent for the dramatic when she chooses. They could be going anywhere really," she replied, thinking momentarily before tagging on, "I worry for Hikari. She's not the most experienced of girls." The two students remained silent afterward, the evening's gravity having fully out-swayed the appeal of end of term release, Shizuma already having noted with unspoken dismay the direct implications for their planned stay at the Summer House, neither Etoile being free to leave premises while the school had students out and missing. There was only so much the Sisters could do alone after all. Tamao turned back to close the council chamber doors, content to leave the glasses and water jugs until morning while there were so few people left in the Dormitories to find them, the end of term time breaks so liberatingly informal in that respect. It was just as Tamao was sliding the second panel into place that Shizuma stopped her mid-action, the sixth year's slender fingers resting on the poet's hand. "Thank you, Tamao," she whispered quietly. The dark haired Etoile glanced to one side, her gaze lowered and her eyes avoiding Shizuma's. "I..." she began, but fell silent as the words evaded her. Shizuma smiled meekly, squeezing her companion's hand briefly before turning to attend the lights further down the hall. "We should eat; the search and these endless meetings have swallowed the day and I'm sure we're all starving. Rather than bother the staff this late, perhaps we can find ourselves something in the upstairs kitchens?" Tamao remained still, the suggestion washing past her. Catching the lack of response, Shizuma turned back toward the younger student. "Tamao-chan?" Dark blue eyes traversed the eloquently patterned wallpaper before snapping to focus within the silver haired girl's line of sight. "Don't let me become another Miyuki Shizuma," she whispered quietly. The Hanazono woman was taken aback. "Don't let me make the same mistakes with Nagisa that she did with you," Tamao continued, and turning fully to face her former-Etoile, the fourth year held a long breath before finishing her carefully selected choice of words. "And Shizuma-sama, promise me... promise me you'll do the right thing by her, promise me that you'll fix what you've broken; at least give me the hope that Nagisa might do the same by me," the dark haired girl finished. And while Shizuma remained frozen by her astonishment, Tamao floated off down the hall, the fourth year mumbling something quietly about needing a moment alone. - - - - - Frustration having given way to rising desperation now, Yaya hurried her steps on the empty sidewalk, the sound of their footfalls echoing as she tugged again on Hikari's hand for the small blonde to keep up. As they crossed the street back toward the deserted train station, the welcome sight of the green and white neon signs briefly sparked the reassurance that perhaps Yaya-chan might have somewhere less intimidating for the girls to try, and that she would soon be leading herself and Hikari onto somewhere brighter, cleaner, and perhaps a little more inhabited; the eerie silence here in Sanya the most terrifying aspect of the less than inviting district Hikari had found herself traversing. But that reassurance was gone as quickly as it had come, Yaya whisking the blonde past the rain-stained white tiles on the station's south exit, past the vacated bicycle racks and out underneath the super structure of the metro flyover, the sound of the trains resonating loudly as they trundled by above them. Winding around a rising metal staircase, the companions climbed their way back to the brighter street lights above, crossing two low wooden fences and another empty parking lot before climbing a second set of stairs on the far side, the girls edging slowly toward a long, narrow looking bridge in the darkness beyond them. Her nerves getting the better of her, Hikari piped up timidly, "Uh, Yaya-chan... should we be walking around a place like this so late at night?" she asked, the sun having long dipped from sight and the Tokyo horizon now alight with distant skyscrapers and the office buildings of the wealthier districts surrounding Taito. A little to her left, Hikari could have sworn she'd seen the Shinjuku building that the faculty sensei had lectured the girls about in Human Geography. "Why, does this place unnerve you?" Yaya snapped in mindless irritation, the blonde girl pulling her hand back in the moments following Yaya's words. Stopping on the apex of the wide, curving bridge, Hikari hugged herself to shoo the cold away, and to do something to avert the building apprehension. "No," she replied, the noise a little too much like a whining junior, the third year trying to sound more adult having caught the after thought before continuing, "It's just... very dark, that's all Yaya-chan, and we might get lost if we can't see where we're going," she added in justification. Yaya sighed, more at herself than at her companion. She reached out her hand again, trying to sound reassuring this time. "Don't worry Hikari, I know where I'm going," she replied, her tone somehow more resigned and weary than it was annoyed or condescending. Hikari eyed the outstretched digits a short while longer before biting her lip and accepting them. She didn't like this strange place, even less so now it was dark, but Yaya obviously knew where she was going, even if the girls had spent most of the day going round and round in circles. When her companion had told her that they were going to go to Tokyo during their escape from the Dormitories the previous evening, this was not at all what Hikari had expected. "Cmon, it's not much further," Yaya muttered, the third year turning back to the path ahead of them. - - - - - "Welcome back Tamao-chan," Nagisa chimed, glancing up from the piping hot saucepan her girlfriend was busy attending on one of the Dormitory kitchen stoves. Tamao smiled back wearily, nodding her appreciation as she approached. "You're making dinner?" she inquired politely, perching with her folded arms resting upon the white polycarbonate surface as she watched Shizuma work. She'd changed, and once again wore her crisp Miatorian uniform. The sixth year replied with a smile and a sly sideways glance, "Ramen. No promises eh," she grinned, the older student hoping to sweep aside the earlier exchange with her usual playful humour, the silver haired upperclassman manhandling a spoon as she forcefully separated a stubborn wedge of noodles within the pot. Tamao accepted the opportunity gracefully, her face blanching with feigned horror as she stuck her tongue out in a mock gag. "Ugh," she smirked, "rich girl in the kitchen alert." Shizuma chuckled softly, glad for the lack of continuity as she returned her attentions to the saucepan fully. "It won't take much longer so I hope you're both ready to face the hang man's noose," she joked. Both girls smiled in reply, Nagisa moving to curl her arms around Shizuma's waist, and Tamao taking the moment to rest her eyes before seating herself more properly on a nearby stool. The overly extended length of her day was really taking its toll, her slender lower back aching badly. A long soak after dinner suddenly struck her as a particularly appealing idea. Without doubt, after a second day of prolonged upheaval, everyone present in the kitchen would be more than happy to see their beds that night. - - - - - Yaya held her hand up briefly, the third year leaning forward to peer around the corner before signalling to her friend that it was okay to pass. Stepping out into the street lights, she clutched for Hikari hand's once again, dragging the nervous youngster across the road and into the shadows on the other side. Passing by the metal-shuttered building as quickly as she could, Yaya kept the blonde's pace pressured until the two girls had cleared another corner and left the intimidating young men gathered on the wall outside the strange meeting place to their own devices. Hikari was thoroughly petrified. "Where those men... gangsters Yaya-chan?" she whispered under her breath, her blue eyes swimming in the orange glow, the sight of edged weapons having chilled her soul completely. The word 'gangster' grated on the dark haired girl's nerves, the lack of acclimatization on her overly privileged companion's part reminding her of a cheesy american chick flick. "You don't call them that here Hikari," she replied, once again tetchy and irritable as they neared their next destination. "And you steer clear when you see people like that, okay?" she snapped. Turning another corner, Yaya stopped dead in her tracks. "Yaya-chan?" the little blonde asked. But Yaya was lost in memory, her head hammering with internal resentment, a life time of repressed history rushing back to her. Hikari looked again at her stationary friend, before glancing around herself. They stood before a dreary looking residential street, a small parade of shuttered shops on the right hand side, and a large, dominating block of flats on the left. Leading up from the far side of the slate grey concrete frontage was a winding stone staircase, the bottom of which was partially obscured by a large collection of filthy looking garbage vats, the oversized circular containers on old broken wheels, some of which, in their absence, caused their respective bins to lean at a rather unhealthy angle to the vertical. Hikari bit her lip again, squeezing her friend's hand for comfort. Looking up slowly from the parking area, her unsettled blue irises took in the multitude of balcony railings, each floor alight with curtained or shuttered windows, the concrete surrounding them stained with dried water marks and worse. It was a horrible building, and not only for the lack of elevator, the Konohana girl thought. "Come on," Yaya muttered, pulling at her roommate's arm, the tiny blonde still considering their surroundings. "Yaya-chan? Wait, we're... we're going up there?" Hikari asked in astonishment. "Yes, now hurry up," the dark haired girl replied, the dark haired girl then trotting across the road and under the over hang by the trashcans. Dazed by the vulgarity of the kanji scrawled across the walls, the Konohana girl searched for somewhere less unpleasant to look as she hurried to catch up. Stopping by the stairwell, Yaya took a moment to peer around the corner. Looking back, she put an outstretched finger to her lips, Hikari nodding obediently to signal her understanding. Moving off again, Yaya tiptoed up the stairs, pulling Hikari by the arm, carefully stepping past an old man that lay asleep in the corner of the stairwell, the scruffy figure wearing many, many oversized layers of clothes and huddled against the concrete with his legs sprawled across the girls' path. Passing terrifyingly close to his feet as they edged passed timidly, Hikari blanched at the reek of urine and stale yeast, Yaya sneering in disgust. "You'd think they'd have found him a home by now," she muttered as the flight of stairs turned back on itself. Hikari's eyes widened at Yaya's comment, but the young girl remained silent for fear of waking the wretched hobo. Reaching the second floor, the determined Nanto girl led the couple along the west facing terrace, the walkway providing access for the local residents, each apartment having its own front door and a wide bay window and window-sill basket. Most were empty or filled with assorted rubbish, although one of two sported pretty garden plants, their containers better tended and more cared for than the rest. The graffiti persisted, as did the rubbish, with numerous black bags strewn along the way, some obviously having been there for too long, their contents scattered out from gaping holes torn by scavenging feline claws. The whole place stank of rotting waste and the occasional pile of animal faeces. Hikari gagged, trying not to wretch as they passed a particularly messy individual's front door, the rubbish pile outside hardly bagged and generally just dumped for someone else to deal with. "Yaya-chan?" she whimpered. But the other third year pressed on, rounding the corner to the south side before stopping and sighing heavily a few yards from her intended destination. Swallowing her apprehension, she turned back to her roommate. "I'm not going to be long, okay? I want you to wait outside and keep a look out. You're not to come inside, do you understand Hikari?" The little blonde nodded with her jaw firmly clamped. "If anyone approaches you, you tell them to sod off. If they don't, you call for me, got it?" Hikari repeated the gesture, squeezing Yaya's hand again for comfort, but still not understanding why they had to come to such a disgusting, horrible place, or what Yaya sought to gain from the visit. The dark haired girl brushed a messy curl from Hikari's eyes. "You do you trust me don't you Hikari?" she asked, and for a third time the youngster repeated her nodding dog impression. But as Yaya turned away, Hikari's face still alight with her meek smile of acceptance, the dark haired third year could only question her own actions for their utter lack of wisdom. After all, this had been the last place on earth she'd wanted to try. Edging forward, she snuck past the bay window and approached the front door. Sweeping a hand beneath the dusty hemp doormat, the young girl deftly removed the door key she'd been looking for, wiping the dried dirt from it before attempting to open the lock. Her heart pounding in anticipation, she stopped as soon as the lock had clicked its acceptance, the nervous figure holding the slab slightly ajar as she waited for her adrenaline to settle. Then, her head thumping as she pushed against the portal, Yaya disappeared from Hikari's view. - - - - - It had to have been more than a short while, Hikari retold herself, the youngster gripping the wall for support as her frozen legs threatened to buckle beneath her. Her knees felt weak and her stomach kept threatening to lurch, a combination of the horrid smell from the rubbish bags two doors down and the way her heart leapt each time she heard a noise close by. Watching fearfully as yet another clank revealed itself to be stray cats marauding the bins below her, Hikari whimpered in the cool night air. Yaya was taking too long. Perhaps something had happened to her? Perhaps there'd been someone waiting inside? Perhaps Yaya was in danger? Hikari's mind raced. She hadn't heard anything and the light behind the curtain still remained dimmed, yet Yaya hadn't returned to fetch her either, and there'd been no signs of her companion moving around inside. The third year shuddered, terrified for her friend but just as terrified for herself. Why had Yaya wanted to come to such a horrible, horrible place when it was obviously so dangerous? The youngster edged forward, her apprehension battling against the motion but her growing concern for her best friend pushing her on regardless. "Yaya-chan..." she whispered under her breath. "Yaya-chan?" she repeated. Creeping further toward the open door, Hikari caught the sound of a clanking noise inside. She flattened against the wall, her heart pounding and her mind threatening to explode. What could be making such a noise? Her fingers trembled, and she reached timidly for the door frame, her fear so great that she had to pull herself toward to the open portal with her hand because her feet refused to move. Peering around the corner, she could see little but darkness, the door still half open and blocking most of her view. She pushed carefully on the peeling, faded paint work, the wooden slab swinging slightly before refusing to budge any further, the panel resisting with a strange, bouncy impedance. Hikari cocked her head in confusion. Scanning the dimly lit floor, she soon realised the mechanics of the problem, a vast pile of unopened and crumpled envelopes strewn behind the door frame, the mountain of paperwork catching on the base of the door and stopping it from fully opening. The letters were numerous and assorted, but despite the huge variety of carriage and colours, the name of the addressee remained the same, one Okimoto-sama, or san in the more common advent of the contents being a bill or a council document. Hikari pushed harder on the door to shift the stack, her apprehension giving way slightly to allow her the strength to complete the task. Half-stumbling into the corridor, Hikari edged forward in the dark. Just as she thought she could make out the beginnings of an open doorway at the end of the hall, a mumbling male voice echoed from the darkness. Hikari froze, waiting in terror to see what happened next. The noise repeated, but this time louder and more coherent. A moment later, the voice was asking who was there. Bright, dazzling light then flooded from the living room situated at the corridor's end, and suddenly there was a cry and the sound of breaking glass. Obscenities barraged from the doorway, and Hikari panicked as the blurred figure of Yaya Nanto rushed back toward her. "Run!" the sprinting girl screamed, another crash echoing from behind her as a hurtled beer bottle shattered loudly across the hallway wall. Frozen like a deer in headlights, it wasn't until Yaya was practically atop her that Hikari finally managed to force her feet into motion. More bottles, and more shouts followed as the girls burst from the front door. "And don't you ever dare come back here you pathetic little bitch!" came the final declaration, the two girls barely hearing it as they barrelled back toward the stairs. - - - - - With the Sister already fast asleep, and the finer details of the previous evening's events still obscured from the weary Administrator, it fell to Shizuma to do the final walk of the Dormitory premises on her behalf, something the old lady had entrusted to both the silver haired senior and her council orientated former-roommate on numerous occasions given the pair's rare absence from residence, even out of term. There was a somewhat cosy informality outside the school year, and with the ever present eyes of society out of the way, everyone found their lives much easier as a result. With the Konohana and Nanto hiatus very much a pressing issue, Mizue had resurfaced in the downstairs lounge where the girls had been gathered after dinner, the trio bidding her a polite greeting before the Sister had made her requests, the tired ascetic wanting to turn in before the early morning meetings with the missing girls' parents the following day. Knowing the routine all too well, Shizuma had then agreed, the other two heading in opposite directions; Tamao towards the Dormitory she'd once shared with Nagisa, intent on soaking in the bath before bed, and Nagisa towards her room with Shizuma on the upper level to prepare tea and fix their messy bed. The sixth year in the mean time began her walk of the Dormitory building, Mizue already having finished securing the rest of the estate premises, but far too exhausted to complete the entire task alone. The police had already swept the residential hall checking for the two runaways, so there would be unlikely anything of concern for Shizuma to deal with, and certainly nothing the more than capable former-Etoile wouldn't be able to handle. Whilst somewhat irresponsible with her affections and a little wayward with her responsibilities during the period after her Etoile Cadette's passing, the Sister could rarely fault Shizuma's ability. And so Shizuma found herself wandering the halls, torch in one hand and the master key set in the other, the young woman checking each Dormitory was open for the cleaners whilst making sure all the outside exits were locked for the night. It was thankless task, especially in the late evening chill, but as soon as she'd finished she would be able to return to Nagisa. It was towards the end of her journey that the young woman found herself faced with a quandary, the sixth year pausing on the upper level, a strange smell catching her nose near the Spican third of the triangular building. Confused, and a little perturbed despite the lack of activated fire alarms, the young woman wandered from dormitory to dormitory, doing her best to track down the smell. It was a sweet, distinctly floral smell, and the nearer Shizuma came to the source, the more the scent nagged at her sense of recollection. She knew it from somewhere, but couldn't immediately place it. Turning the northern corner of the dorms, she found herself on the same corridor as the upstairs Spican lounge, the corridor still lit and the smell emanating from within the rest room. It was at that point that she plucked the word from the air... Jasmine. Stopping by the open lounge doorway, Shizuma hesitated, knowing all too well who she'd find within were she to step any further across the threshold. Miyuki had always burnt jasmine when she couldn't sleep, and in the emptiness of the Dormitories, the only person she'd have to face were she to be caught would be the Sister, Mizue more than likely to forgive her given the stress of the term end. It made sense, knowing that Shizuma would have recognized the smell from her neighbouring Dormitory, for the council President to sneak off to the Spican wing in the hopes of remaining alone. Shizuma sighed, her heart suddenly very low and her head telling her to leave her former roommate in peace. She wouldn't know what to say to Miyuki yet anyway, and Tamao had made it perfectly clear that the intrusion would probably be poorly received. But standing still as she prepared to push herself away from the open portal as quietly as possible, the sound of soft breathing caught the sixth year's ear, the gentle noise almost as feint as the flicker and pop of the incense burner. Miyuki was asleep, Shizuma realised. Unable to stop herself, the former-Etoile peered cautiously into the room, the lounge lights dimmed unlike those in the hall, the curtains carefully drawn and a small glass burner set atop one of the oak tables situated between the sofas. Edging further into the room, Shizuma caught the delicate satin binding of a soft lambs wool blanket poking out from the edge of the far sofa, the couch facing away from her and situated behind the pot-plant infested half-divider. Creeping further still, the Hanazono girl doing her best to avoid the looser floorboards, she slowly made her way around the half-height wall until she could fully see the figure curled up asleep upon the sofa. Miyuki was wearing little other than her long white winceyette nightdress and a soft blue kimono, the outer garment half open amongst the fluffy white cocoon that she'd wrapped herself within. Breathing ever so gently, her chest rising and falling in long slow cycles, her face appeared restful and calm, framed by the shadow of her long onyx hair. Shizuma's heart caught in her throat, and without a single sound she subconsciously mouthed her response. 'Beautiful...' Watching her dear friend sleep, the Hanazono girl sank silently onto the table's edge by the intricate crystal burner, the young woman succumbing to the weight of her loaded soul, her emerald eyes locked on Miyuki's pretty face with a warm regard. She was right the previous evening; she had forgotten how attractive Miyuki could be, the vision before her dredging memories from their early years at Astrea, the days when Miyuki had shared the Etoile-to-be's bed for comfort and security. Her face then resembled that of the sixth year's now, minus the lines of care worn age around the young woman's restful eyes. Beneath the sleeping figure, a little aside from the couch, lay Miyuki's open diary, her elegant silver fountain pen resting atop the blank ivory paper. She hadn't written anything on either today's or the previous day's entry, and Shizuma found herself reconsidering Miyuki's need for solitude here, away from the corridor they shared in the Miatorian third. Obviously events had weighed heavily on her dear friend's mind. "I believe you'll find she'll approach you when she's ready." Tamao's warning repeated in her head, and once again Shizuma felt guilty for the intrusion. But despite knowing she shouldn't be here, the silver haired senior couldn't help but remain in place, the young woman watching her once roommate intently, her swimming emerald eyes flickering with the candle light from the burner. "...promise me you'll do the right thing by her, promise me that you'll fix what you've broken..." Tamao's level voice repeated, and this time Shizuma felt herself swept into action. She couldn't remove the months of ill will, couldn't paper over the neglect and abuse she'd levelled at her childhood friend, but she could at least make a start towards the healing process. Reaching carefully from the table, she lifted Miyuki's diary from the floor, the former-Etoile resting it in her lap as she marked two single kanji across the right hand page, her hand using the lightest of strokes for fear of the scratching gold nib waking her companion. The first kanji, a two kana symbol with wide sweeping strokes and a single hiragana letter following it spelt the word 'forever.' The second, a more complex affair with the most delicate of etchings, finished her sentiment completely. Glancing briefly across the text, the young woman smiled wistfully, knowing full well that such words could do little to fix a lifetime of wrongs, but infinitely lighter nonetheless feeling for having written them. A single, misty tear rolled free from her cheek, and Shizuma replaced the diary as quietly as she could, glancing again across the peaceful figure curled around the soft white blanket on the sofa, before creeping back toward the corridor and her waiting girlfriend beyond. - - - - - "How could I have been so stupid?" the third year repeated to herself, the dark haired teenager pushing absentmindedly against the front door of a nearby late night sandwich bar, the metal belt hook of her soft leather coat cracking against the glass as she entered. She staggered into the café, wandering a few tables in before flopping down into a distraught heap against the wall. The bar was a squalled affair, the tables strewn with cheap plastic condiment collections as well as two part cardboard advertisers that announced the special of the week or the latest meal deal to its customers. Across the horrid brown and slate walls were various garish neon signs, as well as various aging health and safety notices, as well as the expected food hygiene messages and fire exit signs. The patrons were as unpleasant, the late hour and less than appealing neighbourhood giving rise to an assortment of drunks and bored youths, the most notable collection of which loafed across the back wall corner. Her entrance so heavily announced, Yaya's obvious instability drew the attention of the eat-in's various inhabitants, from the bored looking attendant at the back to the gang of young men huddled in their corner. Glancing around nervously under such attentions, Hikari sidled into the seat opposite Yaya on the long, vinyl-coated chipboard table. Still thoroughly bewildered, the young blonde remained silent. "I should have known better..." Yaya mumbled. Her head was pounding, and her chest ached as though it were ready to pop from the exertion and stress. She was so far removed, it wasn't until the attendant had asked for their order that the vacant Spican snapped to. "Something beef with rice, and spicy noodles for her," Yaya muttered, pulling a crumpled note from her inside pocket before pushing it toward the young man. Snatching the note away, the smelly looking attendant grunted something unintelligibly before shuffling off back behind the deli counter, his cheap polystyrene flip-flops slapping against the lino floor. Yaya closed her eyes, cradling her throbbing temples in her fingertips. How could she have been so stupid... Of all the places, of all the people. What was she, the special needs poster brat with the cute face but ultimately thick fucking expression? That was the dumbest, dumbest place she could ever have gone... And yet, the thought persisted, the only place left she had to try. She sighed, her chest heavy, the stupidity of this entire trip dragging her down. What had she intended to achieve by bolting back her anyway? They were going to kick her out of school regardless of whether she'd run or not, at least if she'd had stayed in Kyoto she'd have retained a chance of keeping that cosy house to live in... Perhaps. And well, there was Hikari's future to consider. It's not like a minor family disagreement over the pedo-boy was ever going to leave her friend homeless and without an education, the Konohana girl having no concept of just how lucky she actually was. It was at that moment in Yaya's lopsided tirade that she became aware of someone staring at her, the frowning gaze burning a hole in the back of her neck. Looking up, she found herself greeted by a stumpy youth in loose fitting slacks and a tattered american baseball jacket, the aging garment obviously such a prized possession it he'd never bothered taking it off to wash. Yaya sneered, her dark eyes narrowing. He was staring at her intently, having risen from the table in the corner where the young men were happily lounging, her new fanboy now standing in the middle of the walkway a foot or so from Yaya and Hikari's table with an undeterminable manner to his expression. "What do you want?" she snapped, Hikari flinching at the possibility of tension. But the thought flew from her mind the moment the young man opened his mouth in reply, "Yaya Okimoto?" he asked in a bad chinese-english accent, "Now that a face in Taito ward I not ever expecting."
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