Singing Poetry (Strawberry Panic, Tamao/Tsubomi, #1)
Title: Strawberries and Lilies IV: Singing Poetry
Fandom: Strawberry Panic
Claim: General series
Prompt: #1 - unexpected news
Characters/Pairings: Tamao/Tsubomi, Nagisa, Yaya
Rating: G
Summary: A song writing contest has been announced, and Tamao wishes to enter.
Strawberries and Lilies
Chapter 4: Singing Poetry
Nagisa thought the announcement was quite unexpected. Students from Miator could write a new song, then Lulim students would do the judging, and finally the winning entry would be sung by Spica's Saintly Choir at the graduation ceremony. This was surprising to Nagisa because there was an intense rivalry between Miator and Spica; would students from Spica be all right with singing something written by a Miator student?
Nagisa could be such a worrywart, Tamao thought. Now she, on the other hand, was already composing a poem in her head. She had a few friends in the Saintly Choir; they would sing her lyrics beautifully.
As Nagisa and Tamao stood in front of the Strawberry Dorms bulletin board that had the announcement, Yaya and Tsubomi walked up to them. "Hey you two," Yaya greeted, grinning widely.
"Hi," Nagisa replied, turning with Tamao to face the two Spica girls. "Where's Hikari-chan?"
"Skipping with Amane-sama," Tsubomi answered, crossing her arms over her chest. Her lips thinned and eyes narrowed. "The student council president is pissed, so we're trying to avoid her."
"Watch your mouth," Yaya whispered harshly to Tsubomi.
Tsubomi ignored Yaya. "Hey, are you two interested in that song-writing contest?" the younger girl asked Tamao and Nagisa. "Y'know, I'll totally be okay with singing a Miator song if it's written by you."
"And you can be sure that it will be," Tamao said with a smirk.
Yaya also smirked. "Such confidence," she began, "or is it arrogance? But we can debate that later. The cafeteria is serving strawberry cupcakes today, and since Hikari-chan really likes them, I wanted to get some for her before they're all gone."
Tsubomi started giggling under her breath, but a glare from Yaya silenced her. Tsubomi turned her face away and blushed brightly, much to Yaya's satisfaction. The older girl then began heading in the direction of the cafeteria, and Tsubomi and Nagisa quickly followed. Tamao, however, lagged behind, as she was mentally composing beautiful line after beautiful line.
A gorgeous poem lingered within Tamao's mind, and all was going well until she actually had to put her thoughts to paper. She was now in literature class, and she was working on yet another draft (she had lost track of the exact number). The verses sounded wonderful in her head, but once they were on paper, they sounded mundane and uninspired.
Tamao heard very little of what the teacher said, as she was too occupied with her own problems. This material was probably going to be on an exam, but that paled in comparison to Tamao's "crisis," and that just distressed her even more. Nagisa glanced over a few times, and it was quite obvious she was concerned about her best friend. However, this was something that Nagisa couldn't help with. Tamao had to do this alone, unfortunately.
The bell rang, signaling the end of class, and Tamao hadn't come up with anything new. One would expect a literature class to provide the best inspiration for poetry, but apparently that wasn't the case. Tamao let out a heavy sigh. "Nagisa-chan, can you head back without me?" she requested of her friend. "I have a few things to do first."
Nagisa appeared crestfallen. "Sure," she agreed, her voice quiet. She picked up her school bag and took one last glance at Tamao before leaving the classroom.
Once the rest of the students had left, Tamao got out the first draft of the poem from her school bag. She gently placed it on the desk and read it over carefully. It was entitled "Lilies," and while it wasn't horrible, it was missing something. Tears welled up in her eyes, and out of frustration, she crumbled up the piece of paper and threw it across the room and into the trashcan. She then picked up her bag and stormed out of the room.
In her anger, Tamao unknowingly passed Nagisa, who was standing outside the door and had seen Tamao throw away something. Nagisa then entered the classroom and headed toward the trashcan. While she wouldn't be able to help Tamao, she knew a few girls who just might be able to, and she would find one of them quickly.
That evening, Tamao was alone in her dorm room. She didn't want Nagisa to worry, so she had sent the red-haired girl out with Shizuma, and Nagisa, while happy to spend time with her girlfriend, had been reluctant to leave Tamao alone. But Tamao had insisted and eventually Nagisa had agreed.
Now, Tamao sat at her desk, her chin in her hands. What was missing? She had written beautiful poetry before, so why not now? She ran her fingers through her hair and then pounded her fists on the desk. She felt tears ready to escape, but this time she was able to suppress them. Frustrating as this was, she had high expectations and she was not going to fail herself.
A knock at the door pulled Tamao out of her thoughts. She stood up and opened the door, revealing Tsubomi standing outside. The Spica girl was holding a crumbled piece of paper. "Hey, is that-" Tamao began, but was interrupted.
"Nagisa found this in the trash, and she gave it to me," Tsubomi said. Her voice was an awkward calm, and her hands shook slightly. "Why did you throw it away?"
"Because it's no good," Tamao answered, escorting Tsubomi into the dorm room.
Tsubomi inhaled a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I think it's beautiful," she disagreed as Tamao closed the door. "May I sing it?"
Tamao thought it would be cruel of her to allow anyone to sing such garbage, but as Tsubomi was being unusually polite, she decided to be a little bit hopeful, if only to see Tsubomi be her usual confident and outgoing self again. "Sure," the Miator girl said. Maybe this would help her figure out what was wrong.
Tsubomi smiled broadly and began singing the poem entitled "Lilies." She carefully sung each word, each line, and each verse in that gentle but sure voice of hers.
Tamao could not believe her ears. Tsubomi was absolutely stunning. She truly belonged in the Saintly Choir. Her voice would now stand out from the rest of the singers whenever Tamao listened to them in the future. Tamao now knew what she had been missing: a loving voice that could give life to each and every word she wrote.
Once Tsubomi had finished singing, she found herself locked in a passionate kiss with Tamao. How unexpected, Tsubomi thought. But certainly what she had wanted.
Fandom: Strawberry Panic
Claim: General series
Prompt: #1 - unexpected news
Characters/Pairings: Tamao/Tsubomi, Nagisa, Yaya
Rating: G
Summary: A song writing contest has been announced, and Tamao wishes to enter.
Strawberries and Lilies
Chapter 4: Singing Poetry
Nagisa thought the announcement was quite unexpected. Students from Miator could write a new song, then Lulim students would do the judging, and finally the winning entry would be sung by Spica's Saintly Choir at the graduation ceremony. This was surprising to Nagisa because there was an intense rivalry between Miator and Spica; would students from Spica be all right with singing something written by a Miator student?
Nagisa could be such a worrywart, Tamao thought. Now she, on the other hand, was already composing a poem in her head. She had a few friends in the Saintly Choir; they would sing her lyrics beautifully.
As Nagisa and Tamao stood in front of the Strawberry Dorms bulletin board that had the announcement, Yaya and Tsubomi walked up to them. "Hey you two," Yaya greeted, grinning widely.
"Hi," Nagisa replied, turning with Tamao to face the two Spica girls. "Where's Hikari-chan?"
"Skipping with Amane-sama," Tsubomi answered, crossing her arms over her chest. Her lips thinned and eyes narrowed. "The student council president is pissed, so we're trying to avoid her."
"Watch your mouth," Yaya whispered harshly to Tsubomi.
Tsubomi ignored Yaya. "Hey, are you two interested in that song-writing contest?" the younger girl asked Tamao and Nagisa. "Y'know, I'll totally be okay with singing a Miator song if it's written by you."
"And you can be sure that it will be," Tamao said with a smirk.
Yaya also smirked. "Such confidence," she began, "or is it arrogance? But we can debate that later. The cafeteria is serving strawberry cupcakes today, and since Hikari-chan really likes them, I wanted to get some for her before they're all gone."
Tsubomi started giggling under her breath, but a glare from Yaya silenced her. Tsubomi turned her face away and blushed brightly, much to Yaya's satisfaction. The older girl then began heading in the direction of the cafeteria, and Tsubomi and Nagisa quickly followed. Tamao, however, lagged behind, as she was mentally composing beautiful line after beautiful line.
A gorgeous poem lingered within Tamao's mind, and all was going well until she actually had to put her thoughts to paper. She was now in literature class, and she was working on yet another draft (she had lost track of the exact number). The verses sounded wonderful in her head, but once they were on paper, they sounded mundane and uninspired.
Tamao heard very little of what the teacher said, as she was too occupied with her own problems. This material was probably going to be on an exam, but that paled in comparison to Tamao's "crisis," and that just distressed her even more. Nagisa glanced over a few times, and it was quite obvious she was concerned about her best friend. However, this was something that Nagisa couldn't help with. Tamao had to do this alone, unfortunately.
The bell rang, signaling the end of class, and Tamao hadn't come up with anything new. One would expect a literature class to provide the best inspiration for poetry, but apparently that wasn't the case. Tamao let out a heavy sigh. "Nagisa-chan, can you head back without me?" she requested of her friend. "I have a few things to do first."
Nagisa appeared crestfallen. "Sure," she agreed, her voice quiet. She picked up her school bag and took one last glance at Tamao before leaving the classroom.
Once the rest of the students had left, Tamao got out the first draft of the poem from her school bag. She gently placed it on the desk and read it over carefully. It was entitled "Lilies," and while it wasn't horrible, it was missing something. Tears welled up in her eyes, and out of frustration, she crumbled up the piece of paper and threw it across the room and into the trashcan. She then picked up her bag and stormed out of the room.
In her anger, Tamao unknowingly passed Nagisa, who was standing outside the door and had seen Tamao throw away something. Nagisa then entered the classroom and headed toward the trashcan. While she wouldn't be able to help Tamao, she knew a few girls who just might be able to, and she would find one of them quickly.
That evening, Tamao was alone in her dorm room. She didn't want Nagisa to worry, so she had sent the red-haired girl out with Shizuma, and Nagisa, while happy to spend time with her girlfriend, had been reluctant to leave Tamao alone. But Tamao had insisted and eventually Nagisa had agreed.
Now, Tamao sat at her desk, her chin in her hands. What was missing? She had written beautiful poetry before, so why not now? She ran her fingers through her hair and then pounded her fists on the desk. She felt tears ready to escape, but this time she was able to suppress them. Frustrating as this was, she had high expectations and she was not going to fail herself.
A knock at the door pulled Tamao out of her thoughts. She stood up and opened the door, revealing Tsubomi standing outside. The Spica girl was holding a crumbled piece of paper. "Hey, is that-" Tamao began, but was interrupted.
"Nagisa found this in the trash, and she gave it to me," Tsubomi said. Her voice was an awkward calm, and her hands shook slightly. "Why did you throw it away?"
"Because it's no good," Tamao answered, escorting Tsubomi into the dorm room.
Tsubomi inhaled a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I think it's beautiful," she disagreed as Tamao closed the door. "May I sing it?"
Tamao thought it would be cruel of her to allow anyone to sing such garbage, but as Tsubomi was being unusually polite, she decided to be a little bit hopeful, if only to see Tsubomi be her usual confident and outgoing self again. "Sure," the Miator girl said. Maybe this would help her figure out what was wrong.
Tsubomi smiled broadly and began singing the poem entitled "Lilies." She carefully sung each word, each line, and each verse in that gentle but sure voice of hers.
Tamao could not believe her ears. Tsubomi was absolutely stunning. She truly belonged in the Saintly Choir. Her voice would now stand out from the rest of the singers whenever Tamao listened to them in the future. Tamao now knew what she had been missing: a loving voice that could give life to each and every word she wrote.
Once Tsubomi had finished singing, she found herself locked in a passionate kiss with Tamao. How unexpected, Tsubomi thought. But certainly what she had wanted.