Disclaimer: I don't own Mai Hime.

Beta'd by: Kyzano aka "Dragon"

Hello to my newest story! This will be a short one, so expect the pace to be quick. Dragon, the beta, asked that I do this short story and it's something I've been mulling over for a while, so I decided to go for it. This story reminds me of her, so I thought the least I could do was dedicate it to her. You're an awesome friend, Dragon! =D

Let me just say this: neither Natsuki nor Shizuru are "otaku" (both with and without the negative connotations.) The title just felt right when trying to describe the situation they're in.

*mangaka = comic artist/cartoonist, author of a manga

All the stares were starting to irritate her. A lot.

She was sure her face would freeze in that expression if she kept it up an longer, but glaring at everyone seemed to be the only thing that kept people from gazing at her for extended periods of time. What am I, an artwork display? She grumbled in her thoughts crossly. She continued to scowl, fixing her jade eyes forward toward her destination: Fuuka Academy.

She didn't like unwanted attention before today and she sure as hell wasn't going to start liking it now. With her hand clenched around her school bag's strap, she continued to pointedly stalk forward in large, deliberate steps, looking for her three friends. She finally spotted two specks of red and one black farther down the trail and sped up.

Mai Tokiha turned around when Natsuki was about ten feet away and smiled, "Good morning, Natsu—ki?" She ended in a higher pitch, caught off guard by what just happened. The raven-haired high schooler had caught up to Nao, Mikoto and herself and zoomed right past, grabbing her wrist and making a run for it.

The busty redhead stumbled to keep up with the track team's star runner as she was pulled along. Thankfully the sprint didn't last very long. She panted heavily, hunched over and out of breath, wondering why Kuga suddenly decided to take her on a practice run. "G-geez Natsuki, next time you want me to run with you, ask first." After regaining her composure, she leaned up and looked around; they were about seven minutes -if walking- into the forest around Fuuka Academy.

"That wasn't a practice run," Natsuki replied stiffly, not even phased by the short sprint. "I wanted to ask you something."

An eyebrow slowly lifted in response, "You know, you could have asked me while we were walking to school."

The black-haired girl shook her head, "I can't ask you with all those people around."

The cook-in-training considered this. Why wouldn't she want others to hear? Her purple eyes widened when she came up with her own answer, "Is the question…" She glanced all around to make sure the coast was clear before leaning in, "…personal?" I wonder if she's about to tell me who she likes… even though it's hard to image her liking anyone. Mai inwardly smile, despite this. But it's nice to know I'm someone she can relay her secrets with.

Natsuki gave an expression that clearly said, 'What're you? Stupid?' "What're you going on about?" She asked.

However, before Tokiha could answer, the shorter raven-haired girl came running up, "I found them!" She yelled back, most likely to Nao. Mikoto turned back to the two, a wide grin on her face as her chest heaved slightly. She was on the track team with Natsuki, but was fairly new so she wasn't as experienced. Still, she had so much energy and enthusiasm that Kuga would bet the middle schooler would catch up with everyone else in no time.

"Why'd you run off, Natsuki?" She asked, yellow eyes shining brightly with interest.

"God dammit, Kuga!" Came the irritated voice of a familiar redhead as she stumbled into the scene. She panted deeply while leaning against the trunk of a tree, "It's bad enough I have to keep up with Mikoto because she drags me everywhere, but now I have to keep up with Mikoto as she runs after Kuga!" Green eyes shot a piercing glare into another set of green, as if blaming Natsuki for her problems.

Natsuki just smirked in response, enjoying the sight of an exhausted Yuuki, "You should exercise more, Nao."

"Screw that!" Nao shot back instantly.

"Natsuki," Mai started, getting the older teen's attention, "Why did you run off?" She re-asked Mikoto's question. Minagi stood next to her, nodding her head, eager to hear the answer.

The scowl reappeared on Kuga's face as she stared at the two, "Why were those people looking at me and whispering the whole time I was walking to school?" Her eyes bore into Mai's, waiting for a reply. The most she could assume was that they were rumors. If they were rumors, she needed to know exactly what they were so she could put a stop to them. Now.

Tokiha managed to tear her gaze away from Natsuki's and turned to exchange looks with Nao. They both stared at each other, certain they were thinking the same thing. The carrot-top turned back to the school's star runner, a knowing smirk on her face, "Oh, they were probably just talking about… that."

Yuuki had a smirk of her own, her facial features now reminding Natsuki of a mischievous cat, "Definitely that."

Natsuki narrowed her eyes dangerously at the younger redhead, "What's 'that'?" So it was a rumor…

"Pff, like I'd tell you. It's much more fun watching you fret over it." Nao crossed her arms over her stomach and leaned back against the tree trunk she was resting on.

"You're the one that probably has the most information about it. You're almost as bad as Harada and Senoh about these kind of things."

"Yeah, I know all about it. What of it?" The smirk never left Nao's face.

"Tell me, or I'll make you tell me," Natsuki stated levelly, looking every bit serious. And people still wonder why she's called the 'Ice Princess'…

Mai's gasped, "W-wait, Natsuki! Calm down," She walked over to the two, trying to make sure no one got hurt.

Kuga's gaze shifted over to Tokiha, "Don't try to stop me."

"Oh! Oh!" Mikoto intervened, "Is she talking about that new manga?"

That stopped any train of thought the fellow runner might have had. She turned to Minagi, a puzzled expression on her face, "Manga?"

"Um…" Tokiha started, a guilty expression on her face. "Yeah Mikoto, that's what she's talking about."

"Mai, I'm not talking about a manga," Natsuki said.

"If you're talking about 'that' then you are," Nao chimed in, enjoying the confused expression on Natsuki's face.

Mai looked up to the star runner and, after taking a deep breath, said her next words as bluntly as she could, "Someone has written a manga about you."

Natsuki blinked as the words sunk in. In wasn't until a whole minute afterward did she respond, "WHAT?"

Nao sniggered, "I told you she would react this way."

Mai unplugged her ears, "I honestly don't know how you haven't heard about it, Natsuki. It's on its third volume and it's extremely popular around school—Oh!" The cook exclaimed before fishing around in her backpack, "I have the latest volume on me if you wanna have a look." She held out the fairly thick looking comic book.

Natsuki stared at Mai incredulously, "Did you actually pay for that?" Kuga pointed at the offending book.

Mai nodded.

"Why?"

Mai scratched the back of her head sheepishly, unable to look Natsuki in the eye, "W-well, it has a nice story-line and—"

"Give me that!" Natsuki demanded, yanking the comic from Tokiha's hand. She stared at the cover, reading off its title, "'The Princess and the Queen'?"

"Yeah, the princess refers to you because everyone calls you the 'Ice Princess' and the queen refers to the queen of campus!" Mai explained brightly only to be met with an expectant stare. The busty teen sighed, losing her enthusiasm, "The 'queen of campus' is the Student Council President."

Natsuki once again stared dubiously at Mai, "The Kaichou?"

"Yeah, the comic's about you two." The first-year high schooler suddenly gave Natsuki a searching look, "You do know who the Kaichou is, right?"

Natsuki gave her best friend a blank stare, "Who doesn't?"

"Just making sure…"

Natsuki frowned, glaring down at the book before storming off.

"Huh?" Mai was caught off guard for the second time that morning, "Where're you going, Natsuki?"

"To settle this once and for all!"

Natsuki Kuga stood outside the door to the Student Council room, steamed. She decided to read the first few pages of the comic that was supposedly about her and did not like what she saw.

She had composed herself in front of the entrance as much as her body would allow, for fear of breaking the door down upon entry. That said, that didn't mean her entrance would be calm and collected.

She slammed the door open and barged in, glowering, "Why haven't any of you done anything about this crap!" As if to emphasize her point, she tossed the thick manga down onto the nearby table with a loud thud. If that's how she came in when she had calmed down, imagine what it would have been like if she hadn't cooled herself first…

While three out of the four occupants in the room turned to the raven-haired teenager, the blonde was the first to respond. She turned her body around and glared at Natsuki, "Kuga Natsuki!" Yelled the Disciplinary Director.

Kuga didn't respond and instead she restated her question: "Why haven't any of you done anything about the manga?"

The blonde raised an eyebrow, "You didn't make this?"

This ticked Kuga off even more, "Why the hell would I write this bull!" It was taking every ounce of self-control she had to keep herself from ripping the comic book in half right then and there.

The black-haired boy, Natsuki recognized him to be the Vice-President, spoke up, "If Kuga-san didn't write it, that means we're back to square one in finding out who did."

"What?" Natsuki turned to look him, "You don't know who wrote it?"

Reito Kanzaki shook his head, staring back at Kuga, "Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm afraid not, Kuga-san."

"When I do find out who rode it," Haruka Suzushiro started, curling her hand into a trembling fist, "I'll have them expelled!"

"'Wrote', Haruka-chan," The Council's Secretary corrected from behind the blonde, repositioning her glasses.

Natsuki turned her attention to the last occupant of the room, recognizing her as the school's one and only Kaichou. "And you!" She stormed over, slamming her hands onto the desk in a very Suzushiro-like fashion, "Don't you have anything to say about this?"

"Hm?" Red eyes drifted up from what she was reading. "Are you, perhaps, talking to me?"

Natsuki's eyebrow twitched, "Yes." Who else would I be talking to while looking straight at you? Her green eyes then dropped to see what the other was reading. Th-that manga! She's reading that stupid manga! "Why're you reading that?" Kuga exclaimed.

The older brunette looked down at the comic before gazing back to Kuga, "Why not? It's the newest volume that just came out today. I'm interested in seeing what happens."

The track team member was struck speechless at the response. Finally, she found her voice, "Don't you have anything to say about this?" She repeated her earlier question, pointing at the President's comic book.

"Hmm, let's see…" The older girl's voice trailed off as she skimmed through a few pages with a critical expression on her face. After a minute or two she put the book down, with her thumb keeping her place, and looked back up at the raven-haired girl:

"The mangaka must have put a lot of work into this; the artwork is beautiful. And from what I've seen so far, the personalities of each character are almost exactly spot-on." She gave her review with a placid smile on her face.

Natsuki gaped. She can't be serious! She shook her head after regaining her composure, giving the President a severe look, "That's not what I meant. Doesn't this freak you out? The person used you in their comic! It's not only an invasion of privacy, but it's creepy!"

"Truth be told, I'm not that disturbed. I actually find it quite flattering," That ever-present smile remained. "The story is well thought-out and the person pays attention to even the smallest details. It has just the right amount of drama, fluff and angst to make a wonderful Adventure/Romance manga."

That caught Natsuki off guard. Natsuki took a step back, her cheeks flushing brilliantly, "R-r-romance?" Her voice almost cracked because of her suddenly dry throat.

The brunette's eyebrows lifted in amusement, "Oh my, do you mean to tell me you didn't know that? This is your comic, after all; it's partially about you."

"I just learned about it today!" Kuga defended.

Today? My, it seems she doesn't keep up with what's popular in school. This story has been around for at least a month and a half. The red-eyed 'Queen' continued her thoughts as she studied Natsuki's flushed face. Ara... The real-life blush is certainly is as cute as the one in the comic. The blush was like a mask of bright red, bordering on purple, streaked across the middle of Kuga's features.

She stood up. "In any case," The brunette raised her hand, slowly reaching toward a stunned Natsuki's face and gently clasping a lock of black hair between her fingers. She lifted it to eye level as she looked straight into the runner's bright green eyes, "As you probably already know, I'm Fujino Shizuru, Student Council President. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Kuga Natsuki-san."

It took a couple seconds, but the 'Princess' was finally able to grasp what had just happened. She blinked, "What…" Natsuki paused to collected herself, her glare coming back stronger than ever, "What the hell're you on!" She growled out, shoving Shizuru's hand away, making her drop the lock of hair. "You better have something done about this soon." She turned away, grabbing her backpack and friend's book before walking out, glowering all the while.

The room Kuga had stormed out of was silent for a few moments before the President spoke up, "Perhaps I came on as too strong?" she asked sincerely, looking vaguely apprehensive.

Reito turned to his friend, giving her a helpless smile, "Just a bit."

I hope you've enjoyed this first chapter. I've already written the second chapter (expect them to be about this long in length throughout), but I want to try writing one chapter ahead at all times, so when I write chapter three, I'll post the second chapter. As stated before, this story will go by fast, so mind the pacing. ^^;

Any guesses on who the mangaka might be? I'm curious as to what you all think. And if you like what you've read, or see something I can improve on, please leave a review with any questions or comments you might have. =)