8
Aug

Our Lady of the Immaculate Heart

by Tsukizubon Saruko (月図凡然る子) (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/21350.html) Christina stepped out of the deathly heat inside the bus into the deathly heat outside it, which was equal if not greater but at least not so stale. It wasn’t a long ride from Fishkill, but both her undershirt and blouse were already sticking to the skin on the […]

8
Aug

Knight

by shukyou (主教) illustrated by luckykitty (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/21575.html) (Lavender’s Blue) To call his feelings for the princess love at first sight would have been to underestimate them by a considerable magnitude. He knew he should be still and keep his eyes focused on the coffin, that the other eyes in the stone-cold church that were […]

8
Aug

Lessons

by Usagi Anami (兎あなみ) (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/21813.html) Odd noises were coming from the supply closet. Hannah could have expected to hear the clinking of test tubes, the moving the clunky microscopes, or Mr. Stevens muttering to himself a bit too loudly when he thought all the students had left. A decidedly feminine moan that made Hannah’s […]

8
Aug

Tiger’s Eye

by Kyouya Shizuka (強谷 湖) (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/22271.html) (set in the world of “Stalking Worthy Prey” from the July 2006 Shousetsu Bang*Bang by permission of the author) “Some toms,” the Joker told her with a grin, “have got no appreciation for a good thing. None whatsoever. Now, me, on the other hand…” Nao twitched her tail […]

8
Aug

Saving Grace

by Ms. C. Mouse (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/22671.html) Gracie cried out as she woke up. The sensation of falling sent adrenaline pumping through her system. Her hands groped for anything solid. Her legs stiffened. A few seconds passed before her addled brain accepted the fact that the mattress under her wasn’t actually moving and allowed her fingers […]

8
Aug

Please Stay

by Yoshiyo Hotaru (昌夜 蛍) illustrated by amei (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/23262.html) At exactly quarter after three in the afternoon, the final bell rings, and class is dismissed until September. Matsu’s heart leaps up into her throat. She stays in her desk as everyone else starts putting away their books, and even after they’ve left, with a […]

8
Aug

Buttercup

by Koizumi Shinme (恋墨新芽) (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/23541.html) The maidens must learn to spin and weave as their mothers do, but they are not women yet, and need not spend the whole day at it. They have made games of the lightest kitchen chores (for the servants do the rest), and they have appointed themselves the gatherers […]

8
Aug

Honey and Roses

by Jasmine Rhodes (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/23568.html) I stare up at my ceiling, fighting back the tears in my eyes. How can any one person be this blind, this stupid, how can you not realize you’re in love with someone for three years, and then all of a sudden their lips are on yours and soft and […]

8
Aug

Gypsy Dance

by Shinko Hisada (身固之妥) (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/23818.html) It was an odd feeling for Lady Katherine of Helmsford to slip unnoticed and unremarked through a crowd of her father’s people. Usually they parted for her, bowing or curtseying, but today they treated her like one of them. Which was a good thing, in fact it was exactly […]

8
Aug

The Movement of Your Hands

by Mitsui Matsuri (蜜井茉莉) (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/24287.html) Ren lied, always, about how they met. “We bumped into each other the library,” she said to their new agent, as they sipped weak coffee on a cold April morning. “I dropped Malleus Maleficarum on her foot and broke her big toe.” “Mal– what?” “Ren was doing a thesis […]

8
Aug

Sundiver

by Amazuki Kiyoe (天月清愛) (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/24430.html) The sudden spurt of a flare in the distance whites out the viewing window for a moment before the sensors can respond. Mayumi winces, squinting her eyes shut and waiting for the glare to diminish as she sips at her wine. The edge of the glass tastes salty against […]

8
Aug

Silk

by Kubaru_Suki (少年好き 配る) illustrated by eisenkleid (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/24639.html) Beneath a drape of crimson crushed velvet, Miyabi grinned. She folded the fabric back and peeked out from under it. “Is it me?” she asked. Nobody answered. She looked up and down the aisle. “Hoshiko?” A nearby pile of yellow tulle giggled, “I can’t tell. Maybe?” […]

8
Aug

The Fate of the Queen

by Nara Kagerou (奈良蜻蛉) (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/24899.html) The night blossomed with light. Paper lanterns and peacock feathers, diamonds glittering on the curve of bared throats, silk necklines plunging down soft bosoms; the twinkle of laughter, the clink of glasses, the slosh of champagne. The orchestra bubbled with exuberance, violins cascading their voices to trail notes along […]