Because I miss NatNao...

Summary: Natsuki's old childhood friend is coming to live with her for her last year at Garderobe Academy. Who else does she bring but the one person she's never gotten along with. NatNao

Life is Cruel

The bell rang as the excited chatter of the students filled the room.

"I can't wait for the summer to start!"

"Silly, it already has!"

"I'm going to the beach!"

"I'm going to get myself a lover! A summer lover!"

"A Strong but gentle prince to whisk me away. Ahh, I can't wait!"

A lone figure at the back of the room stood up slowly and collected their belongings. When she felt a shadow looming over her, she sighed out, "Yo Kuga!" a hard slap on the back confirmed her worst nightmare.

"Chie."

"Osu!"

"What do you need?" she found it troublesome to have to contain the annoyance in her voice for the sake of her friend.

"What are you talking about, 'what do I need'! It's summer! It's time to find ourselves a girlfriend." Chie had the most determined expression on her face; it was hard not to smile at her energetic friend.

Natsuki let out an involuntary laugh and smiled at her old friend, "Girlfriend…huh?"

"Yep. Girlfriend."

"I don't know. I'm not really interested right now."

"Hmmm…could it be…" Chie pointed an accusing finger at her friend, "Could it be you're still hung up over Mai-chan?!"

Natsuki immediately slammed the hand on the table and placed a finger over her lips, shushing her friend, "Hey! Keep it down! I don't need the whole world knowing…"

"Hah! I knew it!"

"Yeah, and what? She broke up with me you know, it's not odd for me to still kind of like her. Besides, she's smart, she can cook, and she's really really pretty…"

"Oi…close your mouth, flies'll get in." Natsuki shook her head and glared at her friend.

"Why don't you go back to your little fan club over there?" Natsuki pointed to a group of starry eyed girls standing not too far away, "They're summer prince is keeping them waiting? How rude." Natsuki smirked as Chie forced a smile at the group of girls.

"I'm so glad this school offers an alternate slacks and jacket uniform too…or I swear I would've gotten raped countless times by now."

"Really? I kind of like the breeze." As if proving her point, Natsuki swished her skirt around.

"Do you realize how stupid you look right now?"

"Shut up."

"What happened to your regular uniform? You rarely wear the skirts."

"One, since you messed up with the laundry, I have to wait until after school today to pick up a brand new uniform, and two, it's really hot."

"I have to give you that one. Anyways, we're wasting time here. When will your friend come in?"

"Late tonight. Maybe around midnight."

"And she's staying with you?"

"Yeah. Her dad's letting her stay for the school year. She'll have her own room when the year starts. Oh, and she's also bringing a friend with her."

"Cool, so have you been in touch with her lately?"

"Yeah. She doesn't sound any different, but I'm sure she looks different now."

"So what's her name?"

"That, you will have to find out later, now let's go. I don't feel comfortable wearing this skirt while my own fan club is probably lurking around the corner."

The two left the classroom and aimlessly chatted their way down the floors. Summer brought radiant green grass, healthy flowers, and singing birds together in one, and it was really a sight. The outside of the school looked flawless, as usual. The inner courtyard was decorated by a fountain sitting in the middle, a statue of a woman in armor sculpted at its center.

The grand building completely surrounded the courtyard, and the grassy area over to the North side provided as a lunch area for the students, even though there was an indoor cafeteria as well.

The school itself was majestic in its own way, like a castle. The all female staff and student body were like princesses, some princes, wandering around their personal castle. The colors white and navy blue decorated the school and an insignia of a sword was their emblem and mascot.

The front of the school led down a hill, and off to the right was the dormitories. Students were allowed to stay in their own apartments if they so wished, but the dorms came free with their paid tuition.

To put it shortly, Garderobe Academy was gorgeous. A lush and green landscape surrounded the elevated school, and tall trees hid the beauty from the outside world. The city itself was wonderful, and the people were kind and open minded ones with open hearts and wide arms.

Natsuki and Chie made the way to the dorms with no interruptions and they parted ways after promising to meet up later that night. Natsuki threw off her jacket and kicked off her skirt as she walked into her bedroom. After pulling on a pair of running shorts, socks, and a shirt, Natsuki emerged in a stretching position.

She lunged and touched her toes. Once to the left, and another to the right. A watch was snugly fit onto her left wrist, and a wristband on her right. She dropped her keys and phone carelessly into her pocket before closing the door to her home behind her, and jogging down the stairs.

The routine was the same. Walk out, smile at the adoring fan girls, run on, and smile at more adoring fan girls until she left the school gates and was safely running down the hilly road. The trees provided a nice shade for her, and she found her run relaxing her little by little.

She hadn't even realized it when she had reached the bottom of the hill. It was much different in the town. At the academy, it was quiet, controlled, and elegant. In the city, it was almost the opposite, but still elegant. The sound of cars driving down the road filled her ears, and the scent of food reached her nostrils.

She loved it. If she could, she would spend all her time in the city instead of at the academy. She looked at her watch. It had been ten minutes since she had been running. The little short cut through the path she herself had found not so long ago cut the three mile run into a one and half mile run. It was steep, but it was still enjoyable.

If Chie's parents weren't paying for her education, she probably would have given up. But they had given her another chance, so she wasn't about to throw all their money away for nothing. The academy was a bit too quiet sometimes. Sure, it had its moments, but the city was much livelier, and things changed every day. The environment wasn't as safe and protected as the academy.

Natsuki always lost herself within her thoughts when she was running. Sometimes, she would run on for a seemingly endless time, her thoughts just completely taking her over. This was such a time, and Natsuki was in no state of mind to notice the red-headed girl walking in front of her, resulting in a very avoidable situation, were she paying attention.

"Ow…" she rubbed her head.

She looked in front of her and saw a red-head no older than herself, maybe even younger, laying face down on the ground, and attempting to get up. Shocked at herself, Natsuki immediately went down to her knees to help the girl, "Shi-sorry…I should've watched where I was going."

The girl pushed up to her knees with the help of the frantic blue haired newcomer and said sarcastically, "Yeah, you should've, but you didn't." She winced as she stood.

"I'm sorry." Natsuki rubbed the back of her head sheepishly as a faint blush tinted her cheeks.

The girl with the red hair turned to her and looked like she was about to say something, but stopped. Natsuki immediately stopped all movement as all of her sensors went into completely and utterly shocked mode.

In no time at all, Natsuki and the stranger had accusingly pointed at each other and yelled out, "You!"

"What are you doing here?"

"I could say the same to you!" Natsuki tried to glare the girl down, but found that her effort was fruitless. They looked like they were about to tear each other apart until a voice called out to them.

"Nao-chan! Natsuki-chan!" A braided brown haired girl approached the two and Natsuki found herself in completely and utterly shocked mode for the second time that day.

"Aoi? What are you doing here?! You're not supposed to be here until later tonight!"

Aoi rubbed her head, "Well…I came in early…and I wanted to surprise you…"

Natsuki shook out of her shocked state and instead pushed the red-headed girl known as Nao aside, "Hey!" the girl nearly fell off the curb.

Natsuki took Aoi in a fierce hug and it was returned with the same love and caring that she had given, "Long time no see, Aoi."

"I could say the same thing, Natsuki." The two parted from the hug and Natsuki wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders.

"So how have you been? And…wow…you've…you've filled out…haven't you?" Aoi blushed a cute red and turned away.

"I-I mean not like I was staring or anything…it's just…your chest…it's gotten…erm…never mind." Natsuki herself was a blushing and stuttering mess. Aoi giggled.

"At least you're still the same. Still as shy as ever I see." Aoi poked her cheek affectionately.

"Yeah, I guess so. So where's all your stuff?"

"In the taxi. I got the driver to wait for us. See?" Aoi pointed to an unmoving taxi on the far side of the street.

"So what were you doing all the way out here then?"

Aoi lifted a small pendant in the palm of her hand, "I wanted to get you this."

It was a little pendant of a wolf, blue and white. Natsuki smiled at the gift and allowed the girl to pin it on her shirt, "Ah, sorry I'm all sweaty right now. I was running when I ran into her." Natsuki pointed at Nao, who was impatiently tapping her foot, "Anyways, where is your friend?"

Aoi poked her fingers together, "Ah…well you see…"

Before Aoi could finish, Nao stepped into the conversation, "Whoa whoa…Aoi…when you mentioned that we would be staying with a friend of yours…please don't tell me that…that thing is what we're staying with…?"

Aoi smiled sheepishly at both of them, "Umm…yes?"

The two in front of her went wide eyed and began to sputter out words to try to 'reason' with the 'obviously insane girl'.

"No way! There's no way I could live with this pig!"

"Come on Aoi, this is a joke right? Yuuki? Of all people?! Come on!"

"She's stupid! My IQ will drop to zero and all the money your parents paid for this will be for nothing!"

"She's a conniving little bitch who won't stop until she's put in jail…for the rest of her life!"

"She's chicken shit! Chicken shit I tell you!"

"She's insane! She'll kill me in my sleep!"

Aoi sighed as the rants continued on, and soon, the bickering began. Aoi sighed again and took a deep breath, "Stop!"

The two immediately turned to face the usually quiet girl who wasn't so quiet anymore. She had a stern expression on her face, and she didn't seem likely to drop it anytime soon, "Now I've had it with you two! You two have been my closest friends! Natsuki, you've been my closest since I was born, and Nao, you've been close to me since grade school. I know you two don't get along, but grow up! I did this on purpose, yes. You two need to fix whatever problem it is you have with each other, and you need to do it soon, or so help me I'll…" Aoi clenched her fists and sighed, "Just do it for me…please?"

Natsuki and Nao face palmed. She used the puppy expression. They reluctantly nodded and glared at each other, "Fine."

"Ok…but if she sets me off, I'm not responsible for my actions." Natsuki sneered at Nao.

"Oh yeah?" before they could start up again, Aoi glared at them both, making them shut up.

"Good. Now let's go back to the taxi and get settled in. After all, summer's just begun. We need to have fun, right?"

The two nodded and followed the now energetic girl back to the cab. The drive up to the school was mostly quiet. Aoi sat between the two arch enemies and continued to play referee. They stayed on their sides, glaring out the window. Nao's finger would have fallen off from excessive and nearly violent filing if Aoi hadn't stopped her.

Natsuki would have created an earthquake with her shaking leg if Aoi hadn't pinched the girl's thigh, and continued to do so whenever she started up again. When they arrived, Aoi paid the cab driver and they all unloaded the suitcases. Natsuki gladly took Aoi's two large bags of luggage, as Nao easily carried her duffle bag and small suitcase up to the dorms. The inside of the dorms was cool, and the walk up the stairs wasn't too excruciatingly painful for Natsuki's arms.

The girl finally dropped the luggage in front of her door. She took the keys out of her pocket and began to attempt to fit each one into the lock. Nao rolled her eyes and held back a comment due to Aoi's glare, "Natsuki, didn't you mark your keys?"

Natsuki sweat dropped and chuckled nervously before going back to try the numerous amounts of keys. She was in the middle of trying another key when a finger tapped her shoulder, "What is it Aoi?"

"Aoi?"

Natsuki turned around and found the face of her short haired friend instead of the angelic and innocent face of Aoi. She nearly had a heart attack.

"Hey, you ok?"

"Yeah…I just wasn't prepared for your face." Chie popped a vein, "I didn't mean it like that!"

"Whatever." Effortlessly, Chie took her own set of keys from her pocket and unlocked the girl's door, "Really Natsuki, I told you to mark your damn keys."

"I know I know. I'll do it later." It was then that Natsuki noticed the shocked and blushing Aoi behind her bifocal sporting friend, "Oh, Chie, this is Aoi. Aoi, this is Chie."

Chie turned around, and immediately, her heart stopped. Standing in front of her was her definition of an angel. Long and silky braided brown hair, a pair of the softest blue eyes she had ever seen, and a face that could rival the innocence of a newborn child. She was transfixed on the sight, that is, until Natsuki nudged her side quite harshly with her elbow.

Aoi was stunned. Standing before her was a princess…or more like a prince in all her princely glory. Short dark hair surrounded a handsome, yet undeniably feminine face, and elegant rectangular glasses were perched on her pink tinged face. Aoi was shocked. The person in front of her was an angel. She had to be. She was broken from her state by Nao slowly patting her back and raising an eyebrow at her.

"S-sorry about that…umm" Chie rubbed the back of her head and extended her other one, "Hallard. Hallard, Chie. You are?"

Aoi accepted the hand, and her cheeks instantly went up a few more shades of red, "Senou…Aoi…nice…nice to meet you…Chie-san…"

The two smiled awkwardly at each other. Natsuki looked confused at her usually confident friend's lack of…well…confidence. Nao smirked at Aoi and decided it was time for her to step in. This is for Aoi. Hey Hallard-kun, why don't you take Aoi on a little tour? I'm sure she wants to look around. I'll unpack here"

Natsuki glared at Nao and was almost going to say something until Chie answered way too quickly, "Ok! I-I mean…I'll do it. I'll show her around." She immediately stepped out of the room and stood in front of Aoi, "S-Shall we?"

Natsuki sweat dropped. They had completely forgotten she was still standing there with the girl's bags at her door. The two soon disappeared awkwardly down the hall, leaving Natsuki and Nao to themselves.

Natsuki turned to Nao and crossed her arms, "What was that about?"

Nao rolled her eyes and dragged her stuff in before dropping it by the door. She then dragged Aoi's stuff in next, "You're dense, you know that?"

"What? What did I miss?"

"Never mind…look…Aoi and I are only staying here until the year starts right? Then we'll get our own room right?"

"Right."

"Good."

"Fine."

Nao ignored the raven haired girl and instead grabbed her bags, "So, where to?"

Natsuki led the girl to the only empty bedroom, which she had set up for two, "They set us up pretty nicely here. I wouldn't know how much all this costs. Chie's parents are paying for me, but I'm guessing it's pretty high up there."

"No kidding. Aoi's parents have been spending tons on me. I can't help but feel bad."

"I know what you mean…" the two were silent until they realized that they had agreed on something. Blushing, Nao caught a glimpse of Natsuki, who was leaning on the door frame, a faint pink sprawled across her nose.

Nao let the little blush die down before unpacking, "I'm gonna go change."

"Gee, thanks for the announcement."

Nao heard a grumbling sound behind her soon followed by the sound of a slamming door. She sighed. This was sure to be a memorable summer.

I promised I wouldn't start another story until my H/M one was done, but I really miss NatNao...I took down my other one because I didn't know where it was going. There was a plothole as big as Jupiter...O.o so sorry about those reading it...also...I've been writing too much drama...drama, drama, drama...so here's fic for those who are sick of drama...enjoy boys and girls...oh and umm (clears throat) "You know who" isn't going to be in this...because whenever you bring "you know who" into a NatNao, there's always drama...and I'm sick of drama...so "You know who" doesn't even exist in this AU world. yeah...

Anyways, let me know what you think...so I'm not writing only for myself here...cuz that's no fun 8D