A/N: Finally! after a year of not updating this, i finally got my groove for this fic... somewhat... So just a small heads-up, this chapter is short. I know, but i'll make it up for the next one which I already have a layout of. (I make a layout of all my updates first before writing, that way I have an Idea on how it flows.) So please, put your guns back in their shelves because zaki-kun still wants to live :3 So anyway, here's the much awaited update of transfer school.
Disclaimer: I don't own Mai Hime/Otome... and the Omake is based on a comic strip i read.
Chapter 22: Bad feelings
Fuuka General Hospital.
Natsuki sat beside the while hospital bed where her orange haired friend lay down with a weak smile. It's been her second day at Fuuka , taking care of her friend who was rushed in the hospital for fainting. Sure Shizuru was supposed to come with her but her jealous nature got ahead of her and forced Shizuru to stay at Miyagami. She doesn't want to see Reito even a foot near Shizuru after she read the report from the Covert Ops stating that Reito pretended to be her. Pretended to be 'K'.
Her hand continues to peel the apple she brought for the busty patient as her eyes read on a sheet of paper while the patient just laid still. Only the sound of the fruit being peeled echoed within the room.
"So you're confused?" Mai asks, breaking the silence between them.
Natsuki jerked in surprise. She was lucky to miss her finger being cut by the knife after Mai asked her about what she told her. "MAI! Don't go surprising me like that if I'm cutting something! Didn't you tell me that?!" she shouted and threw the apple at Mai's head.
"OW! That hurts you stupid! I'm a patient here!" Mai complained.
"Patient? Last time I check, women working in the kitchen should know that suicidal starvation known as diet should not be implemented!"
"Hey! It's not starvation! It's just simple diet!"
"Yeah that no matter how many times Mikoto told you that you are not fat, you believed Nao's prank."
The two are now in a heated glaring contest for a few minutes before their glares softened and ended in a fit of laughter.
"Anyway, you were saying that you are confused with Fujino-san?" Mai asks.
Natsuki gave the sliced apple to Mai and sighed heavily. "Yeah."
"How so?"
"She's just acting weird. She gets all possessive when I'm with Kanade-kaichou or she acts more close to me than before." Natsuki said with a confused expression. She picked up the papers on the table near her. "And it's driving my mind to overdrive thinking on why she's doing it."
Mai picked on one of the apples and threw it into her mouth, chewing the crunchy and juicy fruit. "Did she tell you anything when she arrived at that private school?" she asks, remembering the talk with Shizuru when Natsuki was at the hospital. It was evident in her face that she loves Natsuki but their friendship had blocked the feelings her heart was setting for her.
Natsuki shook her head and returned her sights to the banded paper. "Nope. Aside from her usual clinginess and teasing that is." Natsuki replied. Knitting her brows upon reading what was written in the paper.
"I see. Wait, what are you even reading?" Mai asked and Natsuki showed it to her. Reading a few lines, then the top of the banded paper, Mai let out a loud fit of laughter upon knowing what Natsuki was reading intently.
"Shut up! It's bad enough that the kid had to cry just in asking me to participate in this." Natsuki said angrily, glaring at Mai.
The fiery-orange haired woman continued to laugh at her friend for even saying yes to anything that was offered to her. "S-sorry Natsuki. B-but… this… ahahaha! Oh boy I will watch this!"
Natsuki groaned and glared at the banded paper in her hand. 'I'm going to get Seina's head for this…"
Flashback, two days ago at Miyagami.
Natsuki was pushing Shizuru to the stairs after their dinner. The Brunette was persuading Natsuki to take her when she visit Mai. Apparently, due to the exam Natsuki needs to take the next day, she had to postpone going to Fuuka to visit her friend.
"C'mon Natsuki. Let me come with you when you visit Mai-san." Shizuru whined, stopping Natsuki's push by planting her feet in place.
But Natsuki shook her head in rejection. "No and a thousand times no. You and Kanade will have your examination week and you need to study." Natsuki tried to push Shizuru again but the girl didn't budged a bit. It was a great coincidence that the seniors are having an examination week and Natsuki used this to her advantage.
Shizuru pouted and crossed her arms. "But I want to visit the others too. Haruka, Yukino and Reito-kun." She pleaded. She wanted to check ho Reito was handling the student council and if Harauka already driven him insane.
But instead of having Natsuki say yes, it just made her frown and stopped pushing Shizuru. Gritting her teeth, Natsuki turned around and sighed heavily. "As the Setokai bodyguard, it's my duty to ensure your safety and your grades also. And before you complain and say you got it all under control, your exams starts tomorrow. So no." she said coldly. It pricked her heart when she hear Shizuru wanting to see Reito along with her friends.
Shizuru felt the looming ominous aura from her friend. She smiles and engulfed her in in a hug. "Fine I'll stay here if Natsuki is worried about my grades." She cooed, leaning her head atop of Natsuki's shoulder. The blunette in her arms tensed up and relaxed immediately in her arms. "Then please send my regards to Mai-san? I know she'll be fine if you are going to visit her."
Natsuki nodded. She was thankful that Shizuru was behind her or else she'll see the blush that has invaded her face. No matter how much of a bad-ass attitude she puts up, Shizuru will always be there to tear it apart.
The small quaint comfy time of the two was cut short by the cough from the Miyagami Kaichou. Realizing that she was being watched by the other occupants of the living area which is the whole Setokai, minus Cindy and Kaori, she pushed herself away from Shizuru's hug. She didn't realize that their exchange of banters and ending it in such position as being watched by the others.
Shizuru eyed Kanade with a raised brow. The pale violet haired kaichou was smiling at them with Minamo beside her, blushing as her gaze as directed at the floor. 'I think this woman is really doing it on purpose.' Her mind deducted, analyzing the smile plastered on Kanade's face. "How can we help you Kanade?" Shizuru asks with a smile that can freeze even a building on fire.
Not being bothered by the smile, Kanade placed a hand over Minamo's shoulder. "Well Minamo here has a request from all of us." Kanade said with a smile. Both Shizuru and Natsuki turned to Minamo who was holding a banded paper in her hands. "It seems that the Setokai is a bit down in the budget so in the coming festival next week, we are going to present a play to everyone."
"For a price!" Mayura, the setokai accountant, added with a determined tone in her voice.
"Indeed. For a price, a small one though. So is Natsuki going to join us?" Kanade asked sweetly.
With the expectant smiles of Kanade and Minamo, Natsuki sighed and answered the one and only possible answer she can give.
"No." Natsuki answered flatly. Turning her heels and aiming for the stairs, Natsuki knew that Kanade would not take no for an answer and the only way to keep it as no is by leaving the scene.
Minamo with the hope that Natsuki would participate in her well-arranged play sniffled loudly. Her arms cradled the script tightly and she was biting her lower lip to stop herself from crying. This was not ignored by Shizuru and pulled Natsuki back into her previous place.
"Natsuki I think you should reconsider." Shizuru commented, holing Natsuki's wrist to stop her from walking away. But the blunette shook her head in reply. As far as she was concerned, she was not the teamplayer type and especially not the actress type.
"But! Natsuki-san! I promise you won't have a lot of lines!" Minamo pleaded, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.
Still Natsuki was firm in her decision. Another shake of her head indicated she still doesn't want to agree.
Shizuru sw the tears slowly falling from Minamo's eyes and she released her hold on Natsuki wrist. "Natsuki please? She's already crying." Shizuru pointed out.
And indeed, the child was already crying as her arms clutched on her script. Kanade looked sad at the said scene while Shizuru has a pleading look on her face.
An in an instant, Natsuki's eyes went wide in the facial expressions of the three ladies before her. Minamo's crying face made her eyebrows twitch, Kanade's sad face gave her heart a slight twinge of pain, but Shizuru's expression. It was enough to make her blood freeze and immediately moved her body to swipe the papers from Minamo and dashed up the stairs, leaving the setokai and Shizuru.
After flashback, Setokai POV
After Nastuki rushed up the stairs, Minamo's crying suddenly stopped and her pursed lips suddenly turned into a conniving grin. Her once was tear-filled chocolate eyes glint of mischief as she looked up to Shizuru. "You're tactic is awesome!" she told Shizuru and showed her a thumbs-up.
Shizuru chuckled and patted Minamo in her head. "Ah it's not a problem. Though I am expecting a nice reward for teaching you such technique?"
Minamo nodded her head and skipped back to her sister, leaving Shizuru and Kanade.
"That wasn't nice to teach Minamo, Shizuru." Kanade said with a surprised look on her face.
But Shizuru merely chuckled and smiled at Kanade. "A fair price for something I wanted." Shizuru then chuckled again. "Fufufu. This should be fun~" she said, walking away to the direction of the stairs leading to the dorm rooms.
Kanade, a hand placed on her left cheek, watched how Shizuru waltzed up to the stairs with a victorious smile on her face. "My, she's definitely starting to fight." She paused an sighed before putting up her smile again. "Am I right, Kuon?"
The vice-president and overseer of the covert-ops who was now behind Shizuru nodded her head. "Indeed. Then what shall you do kaichou? Clearly, before you even reach Kuga-san's heart, a vicious serpent is already guarding it. not to mention the ice wolf herself." Kuon commented with a tactical smile.
A whispered chuckle escaped Kanade's lips before she sauntered through the carpeted hallway. With her hands at her back, clasped together, a certain thought was in her mind and it made her smile. "I can't wait for this play."
"You know Natsuki, I think you've been duped." Mai said with an imaginary sweatdrop at the side of her temple.
Natsuki frowned and rolled up the script tightly. Holding it firmly in her hand, Natsuki used it to hit Mai's head in a rather forceful manner. "Bad Mai! Bad!" she reprimanded with her brows knitted together. She hates to admit it, after the event with Minamo, Shizuru came inside their dorm room smiling like she had won a marathon. She was suspicious with the way Shizuru smiled and deducted that Minamo must've made a deal with the conniving fox that is Shizuru.
Mai laughed and tried to stop Natsuk from hitting her with the rolled-up paper. Grabbing it away from Natsuki's hands, she swatted Natsuki's head with it and gave it back to her. "Stop it! geesh! That sounded awkward y'know!" Mai leaned back to her towered pillows and let out a relaxed sigh. "But I have front row seats, along with Mikoto, Nao, Chie and Aoi! I feel this would be a fun show." Mai showed Natsuki a wide smile that the blunette merely rolled her eyes about it.
"Whatever…" Natsuki mumbled, rolling out the paper and turning the page to the last scene. Minamo was correct, her lines was indeed minimal compared to the other character. But at the last scene, Natsuki's eyes bulged out and she threw the script at the white wall. "The fuck! I'm so gonna strangle Siena for approving this!" she roared in annoyance. The last scene was brow twitching to the point it made her want to choke Minamo's older sister for it. She doesn't have the heart to even lay a finger over Minamo hence she opted for the next thing to strangle, her sister Siena.
"Ahaha! Seriously Natsuki, I'm curious now. What's your role in that play? Seems rather interesting." Mai asks with a Cheshire grin.
Natsuki snarled lowly, glaring at the script like it was trash. "You don't want to know for your own safety." She growled and leaned back to her seat, taking one of the apples she peeled and threw it to her mouth. With the loud crunching sounds, Natsuki planned on what she'll do with the Covert Ops leader to torment her life.
Back at Miyagami, Siena felt a wave of cold shiver run through her spine. Goosebumps began to appear in her arms and her usual smiling disposition turned into fear. This was noticed by Kuon who was drinking tea beside her.
"Are you okay Siena?" Kuon asks, placing the teacup down to the marbled table of the setokai dorm balcony.
The Covert Ops leader nodded her head and rubbed her arms to ease her away of the goosebumps. "I think? I just felt like I lost a few years off my lifespan." She said, reaching out to her own teacup and taking a sip of the tea to ease her unusual feeling.
"Hm. Must be Nanaho complaining about your members again." Kuon commented.
"Maybe. Anyway, what do you think of Minamo-chan's play? I am sure that this would grab the audience's attention compare to last time."
Kuon placed her teacup again to the table and smiled. "It would be interesting."
And both just giggled and continued to drink their tea as they oversee the practice that's taking place by the garden of the dorms. It was a sight to be amused of, seeing that there's a certain rivalry taking place.
"Interesting is an understatement. This play would be a blast." Both Covert Ops said at the same time.
This time, it was Natsuki who involuntary shivered.
"You okay Natsuki?" Mai asked.
The blunette nodded her head. "Somehow. I feel something will shave my life off a few years."
a/n: Short... very short.. I know.. It's all what my mind can make up right now since I already have the next chapter in mind. I hope I can finish it this week :p I'm not expecting reviews since I already know that some people already gave up on reading my fics or coz this update is not much interesting.. but to those who will give me a review, all I can say is that... You won't regret it! :3 I'll make the next update more interesting! ehehe until then, here's a short omake based on a comic strip in the LGBT page in FB... Oh and don't forget to join ouur mai hime fanfiction page in FB! :D
Omake:
At a bar, Natsuki was drinking alone when her friend Mai Tokiha suddenly sat beside her with a huge grin on her face.
Mai: Hey Natsuki! Chie spread the rumor that you're a lesbian.
Natsuki: -held on her mug tightly- The hell?! I'm not a lesbian!
Mai: You're not? –looking behind Natsuki with a raised brow-
Natsuki: Why do people even deduce that I'm a lesbian?! –focused on her speech to notice anything around her-
Mai: I see… -still looking behind Natsuki with a smile creeping up to her face-
Natsuki: I'm tired of people saying "hey lesbo!" "hey carpet-muncher!" "I bet you're a butch for riding such bad-ass bike." Or the famous "You're too beautiful for a lesbian." I've had it with people assuming I'm a lesbian just because I drive a ducati, knows how to fix vehicles or collect model kits! I've jad enough! I'm not a-
Someone tapped Natsuki's shoulder. Blunette turned around in mid-sentence, only to have her staring at ruby colored eyes and dressed in clothes that are showing the eye-popping cleavage of the woman before her.
Natsuki: (OoO) Hi, I'm a lesbian… -sticks out her free hand and blushing-
Shizuru: Fufufufu. That's good news for me. –winking at Mai before shaking Natsuki's hand.-