On Sunday, Shizuma was woken by sunlight shining in her eyes. Groggily, she pushed her hair out of her face and looked around the room. Kaname and her clothes were gone.

'Figures she'd get out of here as soon as possible.'

The emerald-eyed beauty got out of bed and took a shower before dressing in a pair of white jeans and a black top with spaghetti straps.

Her hair still wet, she went downstairs.

Miyuki and Amane were sitting on a sofa, completely caught up in feeding grapes to each other. Shizuma smiled at herself. So Miyuki had been the one Amane had wanted to impress.

Chikaru and Shion were on another sofa, the raven-haired girl sitting on the other's lap, talking animatedly about the student council.

Loud noises came from the kitchen. Curious, Shizuma entered and saw Yaya, Tsubomi, Nagisa and Tamao making breakfast for the gang. As Nagisa saw her, she paled.

"Shizuma, can we talk?" she asked.

"Sure. Let's go outside."

As they went towards the beautifully landscaped garden, Shizuma noticed Kaname standing on wooden patio, holding a cup of coffee and staring off into space.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Shizuma asked after they had gone a small distance from the house.

"You know I spent last night with Tamao-chan."
"Yes. So?"

Nagisa remained silent for a while. Then, suddenly, she stopped walking and grabbed Shizuma's shoulder, turning the silver-haired woman so she had to look at her.

"Shizuma, why did you plan this party?"

"I thought it would be fun to get away for a weekend."

"But you could have invited our friends to the summer home without planning a pickup party. We could've just gone here and spent time together."

"Oh, come on, Nagisa. As soon as you'd gotten the invitation and found out that Tamao-chan had gotten one as well, you were excited beyond belief. You couldn't wait for Friday to arrive. And the others felt the same way, everyone was excited and wanted to know what would happen."

"But why didn't you tell me that you had planned this?"

"Why should you have more information than the others? It made the whole adventure more exciting for you. And anyway, if I had told you, you would've wanted to know all about the party before we even left school."

Nagisa was quiet as she thought about this. Shizuma was right, she supposed.

"Why the pickup-theme? Were you so desperate to sleep with other girls?" the redhead asked pointedly.

"I thought it would add some spice. And nobody was forced to sleep with anyone. The rules were clear. You had to spend one hour with the person whose number you drew, and you were only allowed to do things both of you felt comfortable with. If that includes sleeping with another girl…" The former Etoile shrugged.

"You didn't answer my question."

Shizuma sighed, annoyed. "No, I wasn't desperate to sleep with other girls. If I had wanted to do that, I'd have had enough opportunities on Astrea, without having to go through all this planning." The emerald-eyed beauty was slowly getting angry. Why in the world was Nagisa giving her the third degree?

Nagisa didn't quite know why she was so furious at Shizuma. The doubts about their relationship and the night with Tamao were definitely part of it. And the fact that she didn't know what had happened between Shizuma and Amane. Or her and Kaname. Kaname's behaviour that morning had been rather strange. The Spican had come into the kitchen, grumbled something that definitely hadn't sounded like 'Good morning', thrown Nagisa a nasty glare and had disappeared with a cup of coffee.

"Why did you bother to point out that you'd spent the night with Tamao-chan? I know you did. I also know that you spent the night before with Tsubomi-chan."

Nagisa blushed bright red.

"I…I…had sex with Tamao-chan."

An indefinable feeling ran through Shizuma. It wasn't a bad feeling, exactly. It just felt…strange.

"And?"

"What do you mean?" The redhead looked puzzled.

"Well, you wouldn't tell me if it meant nothing."

"You're right. It meant a lot to me. It made me feel really, really good."

Shizuma smiled. "If it made you feel good, then that's something positive, isn't it?"

"No, it isn't. Because you and I are in a relationship. I shouldn't even have sex with anybody else." Tears formed in Nagisa's eyes.

Shizuma slipped her arms around the young girl.

"Hey, don't cry. Remember, there weren't any relationships this weekend."

"I know." Nagisa sighed heavily.

"If it isn't that, then what is it?"

"I…I would…I would really want to do that more often."

"What? Have sex with others?"

"No. With Tamao-chan."

Shizuma looked at Nagisa thoughtfully.

"Do you just want sex with her or is there more?"

"What do you mean, more?"
"Are you talking about sex or about a relationship."

Nagisa thought about that for a while.

"I don't think I could just have sex with Tamao-chan. She's my best friend, and I realized I feel much more for her. It goes beyond sex." she finally said.

"So what does that mean for us?" the former Etoile asked quietly, already knowing what was coming.

"I…I don't know."

"Well, I doubt Tamao-chan would be willing to share you with me."

"I doubt that, too." Nagisa said haltingly, looking flustered.

"Nagisa, you have to decide whether you want to be with me or with Tamao-chan."

"I know…I just don't know what to do." She bit her lip. "Shizuma, are you really and truly happy with me?"

Shizuma knew her answer could make the decision easier or more difficult for her girlfriend. She decided honesty would be the best course of action.

"No, I'm not. There are things I would like to have that we can't have together." she answered truthfully.

"I'm not completely happy with you, either." Nagisa whispered.

Shizuma hugged her tightly.

"Then I guess I'll wish you and Tamao-chan the best of luck."

"Thanks. But…but what about you?" Nagisa's face looked worried.

The former Etoile laughed. "Don't worry about me, Nagisa. I'll manage. Even if I'm single for a while. You've given me my composure back and shown me that I can fall in love after losing Kaori. I know I'll be able to go on. You've done a lot for me, Nagisa. Now go on and be truly happy. You deserve that."

"Will we still be friends?" the redhead asked meekly.

Shizuma tightened her hold on the young girl. "Always," she whispered. "I'll always be there for you."

"And I'll be there for you."

"Thank you. Now go on and tell Tamao-chan the good news."
"Aren't you coming?"
"I'll stay here for a few more minutes."
As Shizuma watched Nagisa run off, bittersweet emotions took hold of her. Letting Nagisa go had been the right thing for both of them. Especially now that she had Kaname on her mind. She wondered what the Spican had been thinking, standing on the patio.

Kaname was still standing on the patio when Momomi walked out, gently laying a hand on the raven-haired girl's shoulder.

"Hey, here you are." she said softly.

"Hey, Momi. How was your night?" Kaname turned to look at her lover.

"It was…very interesting." the brown-haired girl carefully said.

"What do you mean, interesting?"

"Well, I had a wonderful time with Hikari-chan."

Kaname snorted. "Really? I would've thought you'd fall asleep from boredom."

"Kana, be nice."

"Okay, okay. So it was interesting and wonderful. And you're telling me this because…?"

Momomi sighed heavily. "I'm telling you because I realized I want to be with Hikari."

Kaname turned, startled. "What? You're breaking up with me for that little kid?"

"She's not a little kid! She's a beautiful, thoughtful, gentle, caring young woman!"

"Oh, and all of a sudden, you want gentle in your life."

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. I have always wanted that in my life, actually."

Kaname stared at her, not believing what she was hearing.

"I want to have a real relationship with Hikari, filled with love and understanding for each other. I'm tired of scheming, and I'm tired of sneering at others who talk about their emotions. I want to talk about emotions, about future plans, about dreams." The brown-haired girl answered.

"But seriously, she really is just a kid. Hell, I bet she hasn't done more than kiss Ootori."
"So what? When we got together, I was as innocent as Hikari is now."

Kaname sighed.

"So you're serious about this?"
"Yes, Kaname, I am." Momomi said softly.

"Then…well, I hope you'll be happy with Konohana."
"I will be. Thank you, Kaname." She gently kissed her former girlfriend's forehead. Then she moved toward the patio door.

"Momomi?"
"Yes?" She turned around.

"I'll always be there for you. And I hope we can stay friends."
Momomi smiled. She knew what these words had cost Kaname.

"We'll always be friends, Kaname. And I'll always be there for you, too."

She entered the house, leaving Kaname alone on the patio.

Later in the day, after a long breakfast without Kaname, who had just grabbed some bread and a banana and had gone outside again, everybody packed their belongings and cleaned the worst part of the mess. The rest would be taken care of by the staff, as Shizuma had assured them.

The bus arrived to take the girls back to the school. As everyone climbed in, Shizuma mused at the newly formed couples. Miyuki and Amane, Hikari and Momomi, Yaya and Tsubomi, Shion and Chikaru, Tamao and Nagisa. All of them blissfully happy. The former Etoile climbed into the front seat, just as Kaname scrambled into the seat way in the back.

The bus drove off, with its load of chattering girls, of which only two were quietly staring out the window.