Hello everyone,

This story's, a sequel to Everybody Loves Yaya, been in the planning stages (read, Development Hell :D) for some months now. I wanted to do a parody of elections and political campaining in general... that it's an important election year in the US is the icing on the cake. Since it's a follow up to Everybody Loves Yaya, expect plenty of Stopani Characters interacting with Family Guy characters and plenty absurdism to boot. It won't be as long as ELY, and will run alongside Opposites. :)

I hope you'll enjoy!

Yaya for president!

Chapter 1 : Candidacy

Dear Peter-chama,

First of all, thank you for sending me that enormous American king-sized hamburger. I never expected to see a quarter pounder that actually weighs five pounds. Tsubomi-chan and I'll be eating from it for an entire week, I think, as soon as we cut it to pieces and slide it into the microwave! Also, thanks for remembering to vacuum-pack the hamburger this time around, as the one in your last package sadly perished during transit. The smell of the package is already a legend in our school.

Tsubomi and I am doing fine here at Astraea Hill, but I sure miss all the freedom I had in America and James Woods High. One of my teachers called me a loose cannon the other day. I swear, all I did was to fold a paper airplane and toss it into her neck. Well, it's her own fault for being so mind-numbingly boring.

In any case, I'm surviving the Hill as usual. I've been busy with choir practise lately when I'm not running through town with Tsubomi in my free time. I have to tell you, it's not the same as the Rolling Stones songs we Karaoke'd when I was in America. If I could sigh in writing, there's be one here now.

I'm really looking forward to your visit next summer. Give all my love to the other Griffins.

Love,

Nanto 'Yeah-Yeah'.

Yaya put down her pen and waited a moment for the ink to dry. And this concluded this session of letter writing on this lazy Saturday morning. She'd written letters to her parents, her aunt, her grandmother, an old friend from the neighborhood and, of course, Peter Griffin. The two of them were still friends and continued to write to each other every so often... though she had to admit that her letters were more coherent and longer than Peter's letters usually were.

After she'd put all the letters in envelopes and supplied them with the proper amount of stamps, Yaya picked them up and left her room. A short walk later, she stood in front of the Dorms and slowly strolled along the path to the entrance building which held the mail-room. It was a sunny, warm day and Yaya enjoyed the walk. She let her mind wander for a moment, thinking about what Tsubomi might be doing.

This morning, they had woken up snuggled up together in Yaya's room since Hikari was staying with her mother over the weekend. Yaya and her girlfriend had shared a lovely breakfast and after that Tsubomi left to do her homework early in the morning so that she could spend the rest of the day and sunday with Yaya without worrying about it. Of course, Yaya herself tended to do her homework at the very last moment, such as midnight on sunday or one hour before class... if even that. It was one of the things that tended to cause some friction in their relationship.

When she noticed a large gathering of girls gathered in front of a podium next to the entrance of Spica Academy, she frowned for a moment, until she remember there was a political rally today. She stopped for a moment to watch from a distance. Almost all the girls gathered were Spican, with the occasional interested Miator and Lulim student mixed in the group.

The girl on stage was giving an impassioned speech while the crowd listened intently and was flanked by two of her toadies. Yaya recognized the girl as Arakawa Megumi, a spitfire of a third year who'd been very critical of Toumori Shion's leadership of Spican affairs for as long as she had been at Spica. Megumi was short of stature, but carried herself as if she were a giant. Not a hair was out of place on her stylishly short mane. Seeing it was saturday, none of the girls were wearing their school uniforms... except for Megumi. Because Megumi was ALWAYS wearing her school uniform, regardless of the occasion.

Yaya never did like Megumi. She was a hardliner in many ways and tended to have rather extreme and uncompromising ideas. Due to her poise, her uniform and her perpetually raised chin, her body language just screamed 'I AM A NAZI'. Of course, Yaya thought she might be a bit biased in that regard. However by the way she was using her voice, Yaya was almost certain that Megumi had gone to the media library to see Triumph des Willens a couple of times before holding her speech.

"... And that is why it is time for change!" Megumi raged. "Three and a half years... Three and a half years of Toumori reign. And what has it brought us? Not a thing, I tell you! Have we been able to decisively defeat Miator? No, we have not. Can we call Spica's Etoiles a victory? I think not... we all know that if it wasn't for Hanazono-sama's interference, Miator would have won the Etoile election two years ago! Toumori-san was not even able to rally new viable Spica candidates for our most recent Etoile election and now Lulim has taken the prize! LULIM! Has Toumori been able to keep the excesses of Kenjou Kaname and Kiyashiki Momomi, excesses we are all familiar with, under control? No, she has not! And that is why we must enter a new age! We need a new, strong president who will bring prestige back to Spica. And, my friends, I will be that president!"

Yaya shook her head. The only thing that little miss Nazi was trying to do was to curry favor with the crowd through one-liners and she hadn't even presented a single suggestion to how actually set in motion any of these changes she had been screaming for so loudly. But Yaya wasn't interested in these kind of politics and even less in Arakawa Megumi, so she was about to move on when she noticed that Toumori-san was in the audience. Standing at the edge of the crowd, looking as if she was about to explode. Next to her stood her girlfriend Chikaru, trying to calm her down.

"Ah, look, there she is now," Megumi said, obviously smelling blood. "Commendable of you to show up. I'm surprised you have some backbone at all, Toumori-san."

'Don't let her bait you, Toumori-san,' Yaya added mentally. 'Don't give her the satisfaction'.

"Really?" Shion replied sharply. "And what have you accomplished then, Arakawa-san? Other than making a lot of noise, that is."

"I've been investigating," Megumi grinned. "You see, I find your relationship with Minamoto-san to be disturbing and I'm not the only one. Just how far does this relationship stretch? I, for one, think it has constituted a major conflict of interest over the years."

"How dare you!" Shion spat. "My relationship with Chikaru-chan has nothing to do with my duties as council president, nor hers!"

"Shion-koi," Chikaru said, trying to calm down her beloved. She hooked an arm around Shion's waist and tried to pull her away. Unfortunately, Shion would have nothing of it.

'No, no, no,' Yaya sighed internally. 'You're playing right into her hands, Toumori-san...'

"I beg to differ!" Megumi all but snarled. "I don't know about you, but the rest of us don't like the idea that the fate of our school is decided in the bedroom! Tell us, all of us here, Toumori-san. Do you sell out your own school knowingly and willingly or are you so weak that you allow Minamoto-san to mine you for information while you lie in her arms?"

Shocked gasps sounded from the crowd, but Yaya's gaze was fixed on Shion and Chikaru. Shion was literally seething with anger at the implication, while Chikaru looked as if she'd just been slapped in the face. It was Chikaru that Yaya felt instantly sorry for. If there was one person who didn't deserve to be subjected to Megumi's vicious slander, it was her.

"You see," Megumi continued. "I find it kind of odd that ever since you and Minamoto-san have rekindled your relationship, Lulim seems to be coming out on top of everything, including the most recent Etoile elections."

"Arakawa-san," Shion trembled with rage. "What happens in our bedroom is private."

"Yes," Megumi didn't miss a beat. "And that is what we're all afraid of, Toumori-san. Girls, if you vote me in office as your council president, I promise you there will be an end to the kind of Realpolitik Toumori-san has subjected Spica to. I, for one, am happy that Toumori is graduating soon, for she could have very well run Spica into the ground if she were to be in office for another year."

"YOU GODDAMN BI..." Shion shouted before catching herself. She stood there as a statue with her eyes squeezed shut while time froze around her. Finally, she threw her head back and sighed. "Sweetness," she told Chikaru. "Let's just go. There's nothing more to say."

Shion hooked her arm through Chikaru's and took off in a prideful stride, almost dragging Chikaru along with her.

Yaya shook her head. Arakawa Megumi was an intolerable person, and she decided to walk away when Megumi continued her rant. She was blocked, however, by one of Megumi's uniformed toadies. "Would you like a pamphlet?" the girl asked in a rather belligerent fashion.

"No thanks," Yaya said and moved to walk past her. However, the toady matched her move.

"Would you like a pamphlet?" she asked, more insistent this time.

"I said no."

"Would you like a pamphlet?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"Give me the pamphlet, Goebbels-san," Yaya said, and the girl pressed a pamphlet against her chest.

Yaya walked off and gave the pamphlet a quick glance. It was a glossy, self-aggrandizing collection of one-liners and Yaya promised herself to toss it in the nearest wastebasket as soon as she was out of range of the propaganda girl.

Just as she rounded about the corner, she was promptly glomped by a cute pink-haired tornado carrying a picnic basket.

"Ah!" Yaya said as she was momentarily startled and relaxed when her beloved girlfriend possessively hooked her arm around hers and started walking really close to her. "Where did you come from all of a sudden?"

"Just the Lulim kitchen club," smiled Tsubomi and pointed at the basket. "I've got all western style sandwiches and some nice fizzy drinks."

"Ah, the picnic!" Yaya nodded.

"You forgot, didn't you?" Tsubomi narrowed her eyes.

"Uh, no. No, no, no, how could I forget? Uhm, where are we going again?"

The girls slowly made their way to the lake. The day was warm enough for the time of year for many young couples to seek out the romantic lakeside for walks, picnics, making out and various other wholesome activities. On the way to the lake, it happened many times that Tsubomi grabbed a little tighter hold on her girlfriend and stared down the single girls who dared to check out her Yaya. Admittedly, there was a lot to check out, as Yaya has opted to wear a tanktop and baggy trousers while her long hair cascaded down her back from under the baseball cap she was wearing. Tsubomi herself was wearing a cute loose-fitting yellow summer-dress and matching hat, but it was Yaya who was attracting the most attention.

Finally, the girls arrived at the lake and had a tough time finding a spot that wasn't occupied or out of peeking range from another couple. They settled for a flat rock at the south side of Astraea Lake, from where they could wet their feet in the cool water.

It took Tsubomi little time to put down the cloth and remove the food from the basket. Yaya had to admit she was impressed: her girlfriend had really put some effort into this outing. Yaya picked a pickle sandwich to begin with.

"Hm, nice," Yaya said.

Tsubomi smiled softly. "Thank you," she said and inched a little closer to Yaya.

"Tsubomi-chan?"

"Hm?"

"How'd you like it if I'd get a tongue-stud?" she asked and stared at Tsubomi expectantly.

Tsubomi blinked, and then was seemingly lost in dreamy thoughts. A few moments later she turned three shades of red and narrowed her eyes at Yaya. "Yaya-chan! Don't be so ecchi!"

"Who's being ecchi?" Yaya smirked. "I only said it might be a nice idea if I'd get a tongue-stud. How is that in any way an ecchi thought?"

"Well, uh..." Tsubomi thought. "It's ecchi because it can be construed as ecchi. So, it's ecchi. Stop being to ecchi, Yaya-chan."

"So just thinking about getting a tongue-stud is pro-actively ecchi?" Yaya chuckled.

"Exactly," Tsubomi nodded. "Hentai..."

"So I shouldn't get a tongue-stud?" Yaya asked.

Tsubomi thought for a moment. "I, uh, I did not say that. Let's not be hasty to dismiss that idea."

Yaya giggled. "Oh, forget it. I don't need a tongue-stud to make you writhe in ecstasy, Tsubomi-chan"

"YAYA-CHAN!" Tsubomi trembled, but Yaya could see that anger was clearly mixed with arousal. "If Yaya-chan doesn't stop being so ecchi, she can forget about making out when we're done with our meal."

"Awww," Yaya mock-pouted.

"I mean it!" Tsubomi crossed her arms and adopted a resolute expression on her face. "Keep this up and you'll have be making out all on your own."

"What?" Yaya mock-blinked. "Right here? In public?"

Tsubomi gasped. "Yaya-chan is twisting my words! That's not what I meant!"

"Relax," Yaya smiled, pulled the girl towards her and kissed the top of her head. "I was only joking."

Tsubomi pouted slightly, but a pout turned into a smile when Yaya leaned in for a kiss. A peck turned into a brush of the lips. A brush of the lips turned into a deep soul-searching kiss. And soon enough the food was brushed aside as the cloth was needed for entirely different purposes. As the two girls lay on their sides holding each other while kissing, Tsubomi pulled the cap off Yaya's head before starting to tug at Yaya's tanktop.

"Now who's being ecchi?" Yaya smirked in between kisses while more clothes were being tugged at. Yaya considered herself lucky: she had a lovely girlfriend with a fighting spirit... and a sexlife that was more than healthy for a seventeen year old.

"Shut up," Tsubomi hissed and captured Yaya's lips once more. Their semi-innocent make-out session was on the urge of escalating into something very publicly ecchi when the girls had the idea to roll over each other. Unfortunately, they concentrated a little too much on each other rather than the limited dimensions of the flat rock they were laying on. The end result were two very flustered girls yelping when they rolled off the edge and fell two feet down into the sand.

"Ow!" Tsubomi rubbed her head and felt at her back. "I fell on something."

"You alright?" Yaya asked while readjusting her tanktop to make sure certain parts of her anatomy weren't exposed if someone came to investigate the panicked yelps they had let out just now.

"I... Is this your bra?" she said after finding the offending object that poked her in the back.

"No," Yaya blinked. "I'm not wearing a bra, remember."

"Then who... AH!" Tsubomi trembled when she saw a couple they hadn't noticed when they had set down. Only a few meters away from her were Tamao and Chiyo, locked in a loving kiss as they lay on a grassy knoll at the lakeside. It wasn't as ecchi as Yaya and Tsubomi's recent activities: the two Miator girls were revelling in each other's presence and were blissfully unaware of the two peeping toms.

Yaya and Tsubomi silently picked themselves up, went back to the picnic and gathered everything up. They relocated a few steps away from the other girls to give them some privacy and decided to stick with food instead of loving for now.

"Well..."

"Well..."

Silence.

"That was so cute, wasn't it?" Yaya smiled.

"I'll say," Tsubomi added. "To hear Chiyo-chan talk about her Tamao onee-sama, you'd think she's a angel come down from the heavens."

"Tamao-chan," Yaya smiled. "I haven't seen her this happy in over a year, ever since Nagisa-chan... Well, you know."

"It's nice to know that they've both found the persons meant for them," Tsubomi smiled. "Just as I've found the person meant for me."

"Like what the Miator Penguin says?" Yaya smiled.

"If God exists," Tsubomi smiled. "He made you for me."

Yaya scratched her head. "Well, we're still young," she smiled. "Maybe in 10 years from now, you'll find out that God made a fat hairy bloke called Barry Schlegel-san especially for you."

Tsubomi shuddered. "If that's the case, I'll track God and force him to redraw my contract. And if He doesn't I'll kick Him in the nuts."

Yaya chuckled. "Well, it's good thing for God that He doesn't exist, then."

"Seriously, though," Tsubomi said. "Chiyo-chan and Tamao-san make a cute couple. Did you see Tamao-san following Chiyo-chan around with that camera to 'document her beloved's daily patterns to preserve the memory for prosterity'?"

"Wait a minute," Yaya said as she stood up and peered in Tamao and Chiyo's direction. "Oh, that's so WRONG!"

"What is?"

"The fact that Tamao-san has the camera on a tripod taping their entire make-out session," Yaya snickered. "She'd better be careful. If someone like Kenjou-san gets her hands on that camera, Tamao-chan and Chiyo-chan will find themselves on Youtube before you could say 'Eroge'."

Tsubomi frowned and reached towards Yaya's behind. "What's this?"

"That is a butt. Specifically, it's my butt," Yaya said without turning around. "It's currently being fondled by a cute pink-haired girl."

"No," Tsubomi said when she fished a pamphlet from Yaya's backpocket. "I meant this."

Yaya sat down again while Tsubomi leafed through it. "Oh, that," Yaya said. "I meant to toss it away, but you glomped me before I got to the wastebasket, so I just stuffed it in my pocket."

"Good," Tsubomi said. "I was worried you might actually be interested in this horseshit."

"Horseshit?" Yaya said and wrapped an arm around Tsubomi. "That's uncharacteristically sweary for you."

"Sorry," Tsubomi said. "I just don't like Arakawa-san. She's always picked on me and the other younger students, and I loathe the idea of her becoming council president. The plans she has for Spica... The insults she hurls at Toumori-san, who always gave her heart for Spica and its students. It's nothing sort of criminal."

"Hm," Yaya shrugged. "You just say that because you're the student council secretary."

"That's not true!" Tsubomi snapped. "I care about my school and what happens to it."

"So do I," Yaya said. "But politics simply don't interest me. A game here, a manipulation there, every word you say twisted, useless squabbles with Miator. Arakawa-san is right about one thing, though."

"No, she's not!" Tsubomi snapped again. "But if she were, what would it be?"

"That Lulim always comes out on top," Yaya giggled. "I'm no fool, Tsubomi-chan. While two dogs fight, the third one runs off with the bone. And Lulim is the third dog, Chikaru-chan makes sure of that. Which school hosted the annual bake-off this year? Which school hosted the Ambassadorial visits? Which school represented Astraea Hill at the Pan-Asian private school conference? All Lulim... And all because Miator and Spica are so blinded by their own rivalry that they don't even see it happening."

Tsubomi looked away. "I... don't think it's that easy."

"Are you kidding me?" Yaya chuckled. "Chikaru-chan is the undisputed Queen of Astraea Hill and she has been for years. I don't think she herself even realizes how much power she has. If Chikaru-chan wouldn't be as nice as she is, she could have done some real damage."

They shared some more sandwiches until the basket was empty. Yaya smiled as she wiped her chin with a piece of cloth. "Wonderful, Tsubomi-chan. You really outdid yourself."

Tsubomi beamed. "Well... I like making sandwiches for Yaya-chan."

"I think I should repay you," Yaya smirked. "So, how about we go back to my room and show you how grateful I am for your efforts?"

Tsubomi gulped slightly. To Yaya, it was so cute to see Tsubomi getting nervous. "W-what do you mean?" Tsubomi whispered.

"We have some time to kill before we hit the movie-theater tonight, Tsubomi-chan. All girls are out to enjoy the day," Yaya smiled. "Hikari-chan is away till monday. You do the math."

Tsubomi nodded softly while blushing.

"So I take it that's a yes?"

When they returned to Yaya's room at the Dorms, both girls were already engaged in a serious match of tongue-wrestling. With her one free hand, Yaya managed to unlock the door without looking. The kissing couple entered the room and kicked the door shut behind them. While kissing, they slowly made their way towards the nearest bed.

"Ahum," sounded behind them. Yaya felt Tsubomi stiffen. The pink-haired girl yelped, broke the kiss, but did not break the embrace.

Shion was sitting on Yaya's bed, looking rather bemused. "Ah, sorry about that. I didn't expect you two to be... well..."

"Toumori-san," Yaya frowned as she moved to the nearest chair took a seat. Tsubomi sat on the bed opposite to the one Shion was sitting on. "What are you doing here? How did you get in here, by the way? I locked the door."

"That's not important right now. I need to talk with you," Shion said, then turned to Tsubomi. "Alone, if possible."

Tsubomi frowned and crossed her arms, showing her intention to stay.

"Whatever you have to say to me, you can say to Tsubomi-chan," said Yaya.

Shion nodded. "Very well."

"How is Chikaru-chan doing?" Tsubomi asked with some concern.

"Well enough," Shion nodded. "Better than I'm doing in fact. She's... upset that our love is being used for propaganda, though."

"I heard," Yaya said. "Arakawa-san's really talking out of her ass, isn't she?"

"I'll get right to the heart of the matter," Shion said, cutting any discussion about her relationship with Chikaru short. "Nanto-san, I want you to run against Arakawa Megumi for the position of council president."

Yaya blinked. And again. When the statement finally registered in her mind, she couldn't help but shout out : "NANDA YO?"

"I know it's a lot to swallow, but hear me out here. Please," Shion said. "I've been council president for about three and a half years. Kaname-kun and Momomi-san have been councilors for three years and all three of us are graduating this year. It's uncommon for that to happen. Usually, one or both the councilors steps forward and campaigns for president, but because we are all leaving at the end of the year and there's no clear successor for the role, there's a power vacuum. Which Arakawa-san is only too eager to fill."

"I still don't see what this has to do with me," Yaya said.

"I'm getting to that," Shion said. "Arakawa-san has been nipping at my heels for the last two years. She's made it abundantly clear that she has plans to change the ways things are done at Spica."

Shion walked to the window and looked out. "I love Spica. Girls in my family have been attending Spica for the last nine generations. Spica stands for accomplishment, hard work, independence and bringing out the best in one's self. These values are what makes Spica the best school on the Hill and what makes Spicans the best students of the Hill. If Arakawa-san comes to power, she'll change all that."

"She's right, Yaya-chan," Tsubomi said as she took out the pamphlet. "Have you seen this? She wants to turn Spica into an elitist snob-fest!"

Yaya chuckled. "I thought Spica already was an elitist snob-fest."

Shion narrowed her eyes, but her expression soon softened. "You may be right," she said. "But don't forget that in Spica, everyone with the talent and the will has the opportunity to grow and excel! If Arakawa-san gets her way, however, all that'll matter is the amount of money they have on the bank. If money is the only criterium instead of talent, hard work and will..."

"She wants to turn Spica into an elitist club, she wants to limit contact with students from other schools and ban relationships with girls from other schools," Tsubomi said.

"What?" Yaya said. "She's nuts! How is she going to make that happen?"

"The sad thing is, Arakawa-san is very popular with the voters... mostly because the majority of the student body is stinking rich. But scholarship and transfer students will be having a very hard time."

"But why should I run?"

"Because you're the only one who has any chance to stand against her!" Shion said. "Don't you see? You're very popular amongst the students, not only at Spica but also Miator and Lulim! You are a prominent member of the choir and a lot of girls see you and Tsubomi as the perfect couple." Tsubomi was pleasantly surprised to see a slight blush on Yaya's cheeks. "You're smart, witty and you're not intimidated by Arakawa-san."

"But I don't know the first thing about politics!" Yaya protested. "How could I run the council or even campaign when I don't know what I'm supposed to do?"

"We'll worry about that later," Shion said. "Right now, it's keeping Arakawa-san out of office that matters the most."

"Look, why don't you ask Wanatabe Rie-san?" Yaya pressed. "She's already running against Arakawa-san."

"Wanatabe-san would be perfect for the job," Shion said. "She genuinely cares about Spica and its students and has wonderful ideas for the future. Constructive ideas, I might add. But... she has no force of personality at all. She'd be blown out of the water by Arakawa-san at the first debate."

"It won't be easy," Shion said. "But if you find people to endorse you, it'll be much easier. Kaname and Momomi are very important. Kaname will be hard to convince, but if you get Momomi on your side, Kaname will automatically follow. Arakawa knows this, so you must hurry."

"Wait a minute, I never said I was going to do this!"

Shion ignored her. "Hikari-san should be easy to convince as well. You are her friend, no? And as an ex-Etoile, her endorsement would be significant. Also, I would recommend using your friendship with Nagisa-san to try to gain the endorsement of Hanazono-sama. She might no longer be a student, but she is still much loved and respected... her word will weigh very strongly in your favor."

"I never said I would do this!" Yaya repeated.

Shion looked her in the eye as she grabbed a surprised Yaya by the shoulders. "Then think about it. Think hard. Imagine the kind of school Spica will become if you don't use your talents to fight the evil that Arakawa represents. Don't think of yourself, but think of your fellow students and of Spica's tradition. Remember, Nanto-san: Open to all who work hard to excel. Not open to all with a fat wallet and complete lack of willpower. I will be awaiting your answer, Nanto-san. If you are the honorable person that I think you are, I already know what you're going to say."

That said, Shion left the room, leaving a startled Yaya and a beaming Tsubomi.

"Geez," Yaya scratched her head. "Laying it on a bit thick, didn't she?"

"I think you should do it."

"What? Are you nuts?" Yaya shook her head. "I have no idea how to run a school! I'm gonna tell Toumori-san right now that I'm not interested."

"Nanto Yaya," Tsubomi said resolutely. "This is bigger than you, Yaya-chan. This is about our school."

"So what?" Yaya shrugged. "I don't think Spica'll be better off with me at the helm."

"Yaya-chan," Tsubomi said. "Think about it. What would you do if you were student council president?"

Yaya sighed. "Okay, I'll play along. Well, first of all, I'd work to revoke that stupid rule that we all have to wear white panties. I mean, who's gonna see?"

"Good first start. What next?"

"To have the pool cleaned a little more often. Any less cleaning and we'd be swimming in algae."

"That's a good one. What next."

"Well, I suppose we could use some new track and field equipment," Yaya said. "Also, Club budgets heavily favor sports-related clubs, and I think it's not fair that some clubs get less budget only because they're not sporty enough."

"See?" Tsubomi said. "You've already got some creative ideas already!"

Yaya sighed, but then grinned evilly. "Convince me, Tsubomi-chan."

"Huh? How?"

But before Tsubomi could react, Yaya grabbed her and pushed her onto the bed. She lay on top of her girlfriend and kissed her intensely. And soon all thoughts of politics were forgotten.

Tsubomi still felt a bit weak in the knees as she walked towards the cafeteria to fetch some dinner. Despite her efforts during their lovemaking and the chats in between their lovemaking, Tsubomi still wasn't sure that Yaya was convinced... at least Yaya had decided to think it over some more before going to Shion with her final decision. They'd still go on a date later that evening, so they decided to get some rest to recover from their strenuous activities. Though it was hard to break the cuddle, she'd left Yaya napping in her room to get the both of them some dinner which they would eat in their room. She was just about pick a tray and load it with food when she noticed Arakawa and her two goons walking into the cafeteria.

Even though most of the cafeteria's tables were empty, Arakawa and her goons headed to her favorite table, now occupied by two young Lulim first-years.

Tsubomi narrowed her eyes when Arakawa ordered the two Lulim students to leave as they were occupying her favorite table. When the two tiny girls politely asked them if they could have the table, because they had already started their dinner, the goons jumped into action. One goon ripped the girls from their seats, while the other one took their trays and roughly shoved them to another table.

To say that Tsubomi felt disgusted by this action was an understatement. What she had seen had greatly offended her sense of justice, and perhaps against her better judgment, she decided to confront Arakawa about it.

"Arakawa-san," Tsubomi moved to the table where Arakawa Megumi had already sat down and one of her goons was setting down a rather expensive-looking tea service. "That was very rude!"

"Okuwaka-san? What was rude?"

"The way you treated those two poor girls!" Tsubomi narrowed her eyes. "A future council president should consider her role within the school, to rule by example. And is this the example you wish to set for Spica?"

"Okuwaka-san," Arakawa said calmly. "They are first-years and they should respect their sempais. We command, they listen. That is the order of things."

"They shouldn't have to listen when their sempai is a rude and arrogant child, who isn't half the person she thinks she is," Tsubomi said harshly. "For what it's worth, I truly hope power will remain out of your grasp!"

"Methinks," Arakawa smiled slightly. "You need to be taught a lesson about the order of things, Okuwaka-san."

Immediately, the goons jumped to action. One girl grabbed Tsubomi from behind and covered her month while clamping an arm around her waist. The other girl grabbed her legs and together they dragged her to the emergency exit. Because there was next to nobody in the cafeteria, Tsubomi was dragged to a secluded part of the dorm near the woods without being seen.

While one goon kept a hand over her month and held her, the other goon punched her in the stomach. And again. And again. And again. Punch after punch after punch. After that abuse, Tsubomi was unceremoniously thrown to the dirt on the ground.

Tsubomi coughed and sneezed as the dry sand entered her nose and mouth. Her body ached as she lay trembling on the ground.

But by sheer will alone, she managed to drag herself to her feet. Her body protested at every turn, and it took all her force of will to keep herself from crying, falling down or vomiting. Dignity... dignity... dignity, was her mantra. While the goons mocked her, Tsubomi forced herself to keep walking away, holding her head up high.

Yaya sped through the hallways as soon as she had heard the news. She'd been napping when someone knocked on the door and it turned out that the person to give her the bad news had been none other than Kenjou Kaname... perhaps only for the reason to see the look on Yaya's face.

Yaya pushed past Kaname, ran into the hallways and made her way into the nurse's office.

"Hey!" called the nurse as Yaya nearly knocked her over. "No visiting hours."

"Tsubomi!" Yaya called when she saw her girlfriend lying prone on the bed. Her heart broke when she saw the bruises on Tsubomi's stomach.

"Yaya-chan," Tsubomi said weakly and was surprised when Yaya carefully sat her up and pressed her against her chest.

"I'm sorry," Yaya sniffed. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Tsubomi hissed in pain, but slowly eased in Yaya's embrace. "It's okay. Not your fault," Tsubomi said. "It's... not as bad as it looks."

The nurse walked to the bed and gently separated the two girlfriends. "Yaya-san, Tsubomi-chan is suffering from several superficial bruises, an internal bruise and some torn muscles. For a moment I worried that her spleen might have been ruptured, but luckily this wasn't the case. I do wish to hold her here for a couple of days for observation."

"Who did this to you?" Yaya whispered while she gently stroked Tsubomi's cheek. "I swear, I'll make them pay! I will not forgive them!"

"It's okay, Yaya-chan," Tsubomi said. "It was Arakawa-san's goon squad. I said something that insulted her, so her goons did her dirty work for her. But I told the teachers what happened and now they're being disciplined. Not Arakawa-san, though, she probably talked herself out of getting punished. I'm sorry we won't get to go on our date tonight."

"Yaya-san," the nurse said. "I'm afraid I have to ask you to leave. Tsubomi-chan needs to rest."

"Alright," Yaya said... reluctantly. She leaned in to kiss Tsubomi on the lips. "But I'll be back first thing tomorrow."

"Yaya-chan," Tsubomi rolled her eyes. "Don't do anything stupid."

"Hey," Yaya smirked. "The stupid things I do are usually constructive."

Arakawa was still sitting in the cafeteria enjoying her tea while Yaya stormed inside. Her eyes locked with Arakawa's and she walked towards the table.

"Nanto-san," Arakawa greeted pleasantly. "Such a pleasure. What can I do for you?"

Yaya said nothing. Instead, she reached over to the handle of the tray and, with a sudden jerk, she yanked the tea-service to one side, sending it flying through the air to finally shatter in a thousand pieces as she slammed onto the floor.

Arakawa's features revealed a flash of surprise and anger before she recovered. "That... tea service cost 20 million yen and was 200 years old."

"You had my Tsubomi-chan beat up," Yaya hissed. "Be careful, Arakawa. Your next words will help me decide if I'll break your face too."

"Ah, yes," Arakawa said. "I understand your anger, and I apologize for the excesses committed by my underlings. I understand Okuwaka-san is doing well... in fact, I understand she told her teacher what happened and she had my underlings dragged to detention. Such a shame."

"A shame, hm?" Yaya narrowed her eyes.

"Yes," Arakawa said. "It'll be very difficult for Okuwaka-san. Rin-chan and Mei-chan are not the brightest of girls and they will be looking for someone to blame when they are released from detention. But fear not, Nanto-san. You are a popular student, and if you'd see fit to endorse my bid for presidency, I'll make sure that Rin-chan and Mei-chan will leave Okuwaka-san alone."

"I have a better idea, Megumi-san," Yaya said as she leant over the table to look Arakawa in the eye. "I am going to run against you!"

"HAH!" Arakawa giggled... until she saw the expression on Yaya's face. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Dead serious," Yaya snarled.

Arakawa smiled. "Ah, finally some serious competition. We shall see what happens, Nanto-san."

"I'll BURY you, Megumi-san," Yaya said. "Mark my words!"

"We shall see," Arakawa smiled sweetly. "We shall see."

When Yaya left the cafeteria, she felt the overwhelming urge to kick something. She imagined the face of Arakawa on a rather ugly piece of wall and rammed the nose of her shoe into it several times in a row. She still felt a rush of adrenalin searing through her system and she needed a release. When she spotted a piece of paper lying next to a public phone, she grabbed a pen and started scribbling.

'Dear Peter-chama,

Guess what...'

The next few days were spent making preparations for Yaya's campaign. Shion had been more than delighted to hear that Yaya had decided to run for president and offered her help in any way she could. So a lot of time had been spent making preparations before Yaya would officially announce her candidacy. And already, she was regretting her decision as she started to find out just how many games would be played in this race.

There were others who would help. Tsubomi was feeling much better and would be starting to help out with the campaign. Some of the interested first-years had already been appointed as postergirls who would spread flyers when they'd be ready.

Yaya had also asked Chikaru for advice, but the kindly Lulim girl had politely declined. Seeing that Arakawa had already accused Shion of leaking information to her, Chikaru had decided that it was for the best not to get too deeply involved with Yaya's campaign, if only to avoid Arakawa from gaining a big sword to wield against Yaya.

For now, Yaya was having a hard time finding a campaign manager. At first she had wanted to ask Shion, but Shion had decided it was for the best to remain in an advisory position, for fear of driving voters towards Arakawa. Other than Shion, there were precious few candidates to choose from.

They were having a heated discussion about the color of the flyers when one of the first-years announced that a parcel had arrived for Yaya. Yaya, eager for a break, decided to go to the mailroom. It was then that she learned that the parcel was so big that it had been stored outside.

"What a big package," Tsubomi blinked. "What the Hell did you order online this time, Yaya-chan? Don't tell me Yaya-chan has bid on a Peruvian stone Olmec head on Ebay... again."

"Hey, don't knock the cool Olmec head," Yaya narrowed her eyes. "It's not my fault the Penguin wanted me to get rid of it because it was heathen."

Yaya shrugged and took a crowbar. After some effort, she broke a hole into the top and was eager to peer inside.

"Oh, god! Oh, god, fresh air! Freedom!" shouted a familiar American fat man when he poked his head through the hole.

"Dammit, Peter!" sounded the bass voice of a white talking dog. "Was it really so hard to poke airholes into this wooden crate before mailing us to Japan?"

"Ohhhh," wailed a baby as he crawled out of the hole as well. "Dammit, why did the Fat Man have to eat so many beandips before locking us into this giant wooden coffin? Argh, all my clothes have saturated. Nobody light a match! No open flame! I'm a fire-hazard!"

Yaya blinked. "Peter-chama! Brian-sama! Stewie-chan!" she wailed and flew right into Peter and Brian's arms. "What are you doing here?"

Tsubomi narrowed her eyes. "Stewie-kun..."

Stewie narrowed his eyes in turn. "Oh, great, it's the Loli..."

The two were locked into a narrowing-eyes contest.

"Well, when I read your letter... I mean, after I made Lois read me your letter while I was watching the football game, I realized I couldn't let my Yeah-Yeah down. I, Peter Griffin, have come to Japan, the land of the rising sun, horny tentacles, dancing fat guys in a thong and square water melons, to become your CAMPAIGN MANAGER! Eh? Eh? How's that for a surprise, eh?"

Tsubomi blinked. "That's completely ridiculous! Peter-sama, you have no idea how politics works here. You have no idea about our school culture or even our country's culture. Yaya would be a fool to take you on as campai...

"Done!" Yaya shouted and hugged Peter for good measure.

"NANI?"

Next time : Peter's antics while trying to gain Shizuma's endorsement for Yaya. :)