wow the story become more interesting, can't wait for your update =)
btw the way I lova kanameXamane, don't know why but I think they look good together, much better than amanexhikari

Keep writing, love your story very much

Wow this story is soo wonderful I love it. Keep up the good work and I cant wait for more and you know the more time you take on it the more intersting ad exciting it will be. Ive been folowing this story for a while and was happy to have it updated especially on my b-day. It was an awesome thing that made my b-day special ^_^. lol even though the story wanst specifically designed for me it was still cool.

Moon

*purrs with the happy* Loved, loved, LOVED this chappy =D

The interactions between Shizuma, her mother, her lover, and Nagisa were simply delightful. I sighed with pure pleasure and happiness when the whole event was done =3

Loving this story. It's so stunningly well-written, and plays like it could be viewed on tv in its own series, it's so darn good! =D

*continues devouring your story* =3

Holy crap its a male character. Thats new. So is this guy Yaya's brother? It looks like it. It would explain why hes so accepting of her, and why he hates her dad so much.

The whole mood of this story changes every so often. First it was romantic pseudo fluff between the canon couples, then it was was romantic angst and bitterness, and now its garage bands and dark family secrets. I love it!

Glad to see Miyuki back at the end of it, as well as some interaction between Kaname and the others. People (understandably) really don't like her, do they?

The weirdest thing about all of this is that Hikari has ran back to the person that scared her away in the first place. And seems to be fairly comfortable being around her. Did she finally get over her insecurities, or is all this based around rejection from losing Amane? Either way, it wont be pretty when all of this comes crashing down. Again.

Nagisa and Shizuma just cant seem to catch a break, can they? The funny part about it is that most of their problems seem indirectly caused by Yaya motivating Hikari to run away in some manner or another. I wonder if they've realized this?

On the plus side, Nagisa is getting along with Tamao again. Thats nice.

Lets hope they all dont end up screwed over. Looking forward to see how this turns out.

I can't wait for Shizuma and Miyuki's talk. Thank you for updating, keep it up!

Holy plot, Batman...

This was excellent. You took the story, threw it through multiple curveballs and extrapolated on practically everyone's past. I like where this is going, despite not having the slightest clue where this is going. >_<

Good chapter as always, but this one had me raising an eyebrow. The strong level of vulgarity coming from our cast back home, in particular from Shizuma, strikes me as rather out of place. Kaname may get a free card if (who am I kidding with this "if"?) her implied background is explored further . Also, the technical aspects seems to be off in parts, in particular with capitalization ("chinese").

Other than that, more of the same excellence that we've been experiencing so far. I am sure that Hikari is in for the time of her life as she settles into a ghetto. I'm also glad to see that Miyuki has once again returned to the forefront. As a supporter or as an antagonist, I have not yet decided. However, you've been treating us greatly with the speedy updates, so hopefully I won't have the time to think to hardly on it.

Interesting chapter. Yaya's background was unexpected, though it was something I'm kinda familiar. I kind of can't shake off that feeling that Hikari should just dig herself a grave and die. Isn't she even a bit aware how much and many people had her selfishness, innocence and naiveté at borderline with stupidity hurt already? Well that goes from Yaya/Tsubomi shipper.
And yes, more metal for world! That Ginji fellow seems to be interesting.

Well anyway I'm looking forward to read next chapter, I'm curious about girl's mission of retrieving their kouhais.

Heh, when I first read the description of Ginji the bootleg porn dealer, I again had a flash of annoyance with Yaya. This was your plan? This was where you were going to take Hikari, of all people? The one who was shocked into a near-coma by watching you and Tsubomi in the cathedral? Smart move, Thelma. Ah, the things we do out of love and total freaking desperation. I can see it from Yaya, I really can, and I still fear for poor Hikari.

I do find it amusing, though, that Hikari has at least heard of hentai enough to know how bad it is. I don't know why -- it just amuses me.

Poor restless Shizuma. Peace is fleeting, isn't it?

Strawberry Panic, meet rock and roll. I've read a lot of rocking out scenes before, but I have to hand it to you, author-san: this is the first time I've heard a metaphor like "castrated each squealing note." Freaking epic. This ain't no pansy-ass soft rock. And their mutual "Ruurraggh" as the rehearsal closes had me grinning hugely, and wondering how hard these guys are trying to be bad-ass, and how much of it is natural. Not to mention the, er, happy racism between friends.

"Um, thank you for the jacket, Mr. Porn Guy." Hikari's either going to be a basket case for life, or a liberated bad-ass after all is said and done here. (Though I'd settle for just liberated.)

Now, if this were one of those fics where Tamao and Shizuma were still at one another's throats, Tamao's line about Shizuma having a stash of pills somewhere would take on a whole new meaning. It's such a sweet scene between the roommate Etoile, with Tamao of all people being surprised by Nagisa's proximity. They're back to being non-threateningly touchy-feely, thank goodness, with each of them initiating contact at one time or another. While they have not had A Talk, there is obvious forgiveness on both sides, and nothing but genuine concern from Tamao. So nice to have that closeness back again, but in a more mature form.

The more I read of Ginji, the more surprised and impressed I am. First of all, this is the first significant male character to show up on camera, really, and while he obviously has his demons and his issues (not to mention the skeevy nature of his business), he does not Completely Suck. He gives the girls a place to stay even when Yaya gives no other explanation (yet) than being in trouble, he gives the girls the bed to share, and he shows obvious concern in spite of his gruff exterior. You remind us several times that he's a gentle giant, and the more we learn of his story, the more we see he's just a generally decent sort who's been dealt a bad hand in life and is trying to make the best of it.

And what an image of the two girls curled up together, both of them completely at peace in spite of what they've just been through. While Hikari has shown signs that she will not quite follow Yaya to the ends of the earth (based on her increasing protests as they continued deeper into the slums), her look of angelic uber-serenity says a lot about either her devotion to Yaya or her desperate need for someone -- anyone -- to comfort her. Either way, at least she's not wracked with nightmares. At least someone's getting some peace in these strange times.

More roommate sweetness, with Tamao again taking the role of the strong, sensible one. Also, we get to see Tamao playing the part of exposition again, which actually impressed me quite a bit the more that I thought about it. Personally, I find it easy to forget that Tamao has been there far longer than Nagisa, and knows so much about recent history -- this in spite of her occasional tendency during the anime to transform into Exposition Lass. There's so much more to her than the brevity of her time with Nagisa in her life, and it's neat to see these hints that she might have been, at her heart, a Shizuma fangirl herself at some point. So there you go again, taking what could have been a by-the-numbers moment and turning it into a miniature character study of Tamao-chan, hinting at her past and showing her present levels of prudence.

I guess I'm confused again by the calendar. For some reason I thought the academic year was over, but I guess it isn't, since they talk about Shion coming back before or at the beginning of term. I think I had it in my head that since your story had three seasons planned, each would comprise an academic year (with the final two being Nagisa's fifth and sixth). So it would appear we're not rid of our sixth-years yet. Anyway, I wouldn't expect Shion back right away -- she's probably getting her forehead polished, and Lord knows that might take a while.

I love the mental image of Tamao doing a legitimate face-palm, by the way, moreso because you turned it into a verb.

See, now that the towel chase has returned to my mind, I can only imagine it happening in high speed, with Yakety Sax playing. Not the tense moment it was intended to be, but I can't help myself.

What exactly, wonders this American, does Going Over The Fight With The Forehead mean? (And more importantly, does it involve Shion?) I see there is no love lost between Shizuma and Kaname at this point, and for the life of me, I can't remember much interaction between them in the anime. Do they have history of which I was not aware? Is that a story to be told later?

More proof that Ginji must be a basically decent guy is Yaya fearlessly wandering his apartment in her underwear. At the very least, she seems to trust him. And I haven't seen any "Ooh, Yaya done grown up purty!" moments, which is a relief.

Yaya-chan, are giving your old friend grief, or are you trying to talk your way into a singing gig? Now I have mental images of Yaya and Hikari fronting a rock band... I blame you.

Another question from an American reader: When you refer to the "booze and the fags and the dope," by the middle one do you mean cigarettes?

Ugh, between Ginji's reaction to her visit to her father, and then Yaya's self-admission that she can't cry long anymore, there's the possibility of some really ugly skeletons in that closet.

But yay for Yaya playing dressup with Hikari, and yay twice for the image of goth Hikari giving a polite curtsy to the gentleman playing host, and being embarrassed by his wink. Thank goodness.

Shizuma is amazing in the confrontation with Amane, particularly with her multiple uses of "that" to describe Kaname. Disapprove much, do we? She's had a while now for her fury to build up quite a head of steam.

I know something you don't, and... despite knowing that I made a selfish choice? Hmm, this sounds intriguing. Do tell, Amane, do tell...

Welcome back, Miyuki, and may I just say that you're effing awesome in this final scene. It's nice to see you back in business with your singular snarky fury directed in another direction for a change. And once again, we have exposition turning into another great character study, with revelations about Miyuki and Kaname along with the expected back-story on Yaya. Ah, that old Miator-Spica rivalry is alive and well accounted for this morning.

So why does Kaname seem so confident about the girls' whereabouts? And why does Miyuki seem to take such reserved glee in pointing that question out in front of everyone?

And Yaya has a brother? One wanted for a crime... just like Ginji was wanted for a crime... Hm, Yaya had appeared to be under Jiro's supervision when Welfare came calling, and Yaya and Ginji both have memories of him taking care of her when she was younger...

Hm.

Nice bit of final exposition there, Tamao-chan, though I don't share the optimism that Kaori's grave would be the best place to discuss much of anything. I guess time will tell.

NEXT! On STRAWBERRY PANIC! A former Etoile, her moe girlfriend (probably), a non-cis-gendered equestrienne and a mysterious antagonist in one car for an eight-hour drive to Tokyo. Bring marshmallows!

A splendid chapter, with much to think about, and many new questions to ponder. Well done!

It’s not often that I feel the need to add a disclaimer to my work, and generally I don’t within the actual body of the text as I feel that it ruins the suspension of disbelief for the reader.

However, this time I feel the need to add something somewhere, so as such;

“Although the world of Strawberry Panic and the characters contained within it are fictional, the district of Sanya in Taito Ward is not. I offer my apologies of any residents that might find my portrayal of the area unfair or offensive, and extend my respect to the Kanamachi Ikka.

むち　を　おゆるし　ください。”

Wow, this keeps on getting better and better. Can't wait to read the next update. :D

Wow, what happened? -bites nails while reading on-

-bites nails- Ooh a cliffy. ;)

Another great chapter, I finally had the chance to read latest chapters. :D

You like making my head spin, don't you? haha, oh man, Shizuma is frustrating me with the indecisiveness. Now normally I'm all for a Shizuma/ Nagisa pairing, but honestly this story just makes me think Shizuma is, and always will be all about Miyuki. SHe's just going with Nagisa because she's simple and easy, but Miyuki actually gets Shizuma, with all the flaws, damage, and baggage.
Personally, I'm routing for Shizuma and Miyuki to end up together because I don't think Nagisa's strong enough to handle Shizuma, or any of it really.

That's just me though. I love the story, please keep up the writing!