Chikaru woke still in her uniform from the previous day, she had thrown herself on her bed and cried herself to sleep after her encounter with Shizuma, hardly believing that she had managed to lose control so easily. Normally she kept her mask up, forever smiling, forever giving advice and having fun with her friends, basically taking care of everybody else and their problems. But for some reason, everything that was wrong and painful in her life had caught up to her and she was just so tired, that she had broken. Unfortunately someone had witnessed it, and, as her luck would have it, it had to be Shizuma. 'Why? Why did it have to be like this?' She pushed herself up off her bed, rubbing her eyes. There was no point in dwelling on it, she thought, she'd just end up upsetting herself again, right now she needed to regain her composure and clean herself up a bit for the new day. She had to admit she did feel a little better after all that crying, she must have released a lot bottled up feelings last night during her breakdown.

Chikaru moved to fix her hair and straighten her uniform, she checked herself over to make sure she was presentable, feeling a sudden pang of guilt as she remembered her harsh words towards Shizuma. Well, harsh words for her anyway, she did have a reputation for being the nicest person possibly in all three schools, and was loved for it by many of the underclassmen. Somehow this made her feel even worse, she felt suddenly like she didn't deserve to be here, to have so many students look up to her, 'I've failed them.' In the back of her mind, she knew what she had to do to make things right, or at least make her feel a bit better. She had to apologise to Shizuma for her inexcusable behaviour last night. Maybe she would see her at breakfast or lunch, and she would wait till there are less people around the Etoile, and then she would approach her, apologise quickly with a brief explanation, a lie of course, and then leave. Yes, that would work. But what would she say? 'Perhaps, if I said I wasn't feeling well? Or maybe I could be slightly truthful and say that there are things worrying me and I let them get to me. If she asks about them I could then say that it's personal and I don't really want to discuss it. That is a reasonable answer after all, and I wouldn't be rude saying that. Hmmm.'

Chikaru's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her door. 'Oh that could be Kizuna and Remon, I did leave early at dinner, maybe they came to check on me? They are so cute and thoughtful underclassmen.'

Chikaru moved swiftly to the door and opened it wide, to come face to face with the person she least expected to see that morning. 'Oh crap, I'm not ready to face her yet.' Her eyes widened in shock before she quickly attempted to slip her "mask" back on, the nervousness in her voice betraying her.

'Etoile-sama?'

To say that Shizuma Hanazono was nervous was an understatement. She was usually so confident and sure of herself, and of her effect on many students, both juniors and seniors alike. She used to flaunt it, take advantage of it, of the many girls she pretended she had feelings for. But Chikaru wasn't one of those random cute girls she usually preyed upon, she used to be her friend. Admittedly Shizuma had wanted a bit more than friendship when she'd first met Chikaru, when they were both juniors together. Chikaru was so cute, and had a radiant smile that drew many people to her, she was sweet and kind, and had a habit of continuously putting other people and their problems before her own. She was also very smart, and somewhat sly, Shizuma had found unexpectedly, and not so naïve as she had originally thought. Shizuma smiled to herself as she recalled one of the few times she had tried to kiss Chikaru in the past, the raven haired beauty had slipped past her embrace so easily, smiling the whole time as Shizuma hit on her, trying unsuccessfully to corner the girl against the side of the building. She had laughed and smiled at Shizuma, practically dancing around her as Shizuma was too slow, Shizuma could still remember her voice, 'It was nice talking to you, Shizuma-chan! I'll see you later!' She had smiled brightly before gracefully skipping away. 'Damn, I wish I had gotten a kiss from her, at least once.'

Her nerves grew again as she navigated the strawberry dorms, trying to remember which room it was, it had been so long since she had wanted to visit this room that she had forgotten for a moment which direction she had to go. She briskly walked down a corridor that seemed familiar, she believed the room she was looking for was near the end.

'I don't care if she was angry at me or hates me now, I can't let this go. I have to show her that I'm here again, and that she can trust me to be there for her. I want our friendship back.' Shizuma knew she wouldn't back down now, she couldn't afford to this time or she would lose this person forever. She gathered her courage and stopped outside a door she recognised. She lifted her hand and hesitantly knocked. Her stomach was churning in anticipation, 'What if I got it wrong?'

She heard movement on the other side and the door was swung open to reveal the girl she was afraid and yet so desperate to see. The girl's face faltered slightly, her eyes widening as she realised who her unexpected visitor was.

'Etoile-sama?' Her voice just about cracked, Shizuma could tell the raven haired beauty was as nervous as she was.

'Chikaru-chan.'