Disclaimer: I do not own My/Mai Hime/Otome.
A/N: Based on true events o.o lol Only a hint of NatNao, but basically, ShizNat.
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Chp1: Prologue
"You're giving me that look again…"
I blinked. "What look?"
My redhead friend sent me a sharp glance. "That longing, lustful---"
"Okay, okay!" I hushed her hastily before she could continue. My cheeks were already pink and a guilty expression was on my face. "I was only thinking, Nao…"
She scoffed at my response and swung off the monkey bars to approach the slide I was leaning on. "What about?" Irritation was in her voice and I could spot a flicker of impatience in her eyes.
"Ano…" I scratched my head sheepishly. "You?"
Nao wasn't impressed. "You're the stupidest person I've ever met."
I winced. Ouch. "I expected to hear that from you."
This time, Nao laughed and flashed a wicked grin. "At least you know me well."
That made me feel better. "Yeah, but…" I swallowed. "I wasn't lying when I answered, you know."
Her eyes met mine. "Trust me, Natsuki. I was straight when you confessed your feelings back then and my sexual orientation remains the same." She shifted awkwardly before resorting to crossing her arms. "What the hell did you see in me anyway?" There was a frown on her lips.
"Ah. That question."
Nao rolled her eyes. "Yes. That question."
I searched for an answer to satisfy my friend. My mind went blank. "I don't know." A swift kick to my shin and I cursed loudly.
The redhead was pleased to see me nursing my new injury. "Considering you're an idiot, I guess I should've known your answer would've been as dumb as you."
Despite being hurt, I was grinning (with a small grimace) alongside Nao. "But I don't need to be as intelligent as a prodigy when I have you around." I watched her blink and refrained from snickering when her jaw unhinged. I dashed away to avoid another aimed kick to my legs.
"Oi, get back here, Kuga!" I didn't need to glance behind to realize she was chasing me. "I take it as an insult when someone calls me smart!"
"I only implied it!" I yelled back, still sprinting across the park.
Yeah, that's me. Kuga Natsuki. I harbored a serious crush on my partner-in-crime, Yuuki Nao. Obviously, I was rejected, but you know what? There was someone else to pick up the shattered pieces. I simply didn't know it yet. I didn't know when nor who, but this is how it all happened. How I discovered Fujino Shizuru meant more to me than I realized.
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I was trudging up the flight of stairs toward the third floor of Fuuka Hime, an all girls high school. It so happens that my locker was way up there and my first period was in the second building far off. Yeah, I bet the staff wanted to screw my life by making it so, especially when my second period was back on the third floor too.
"Thank you, Mai, for encouraging me to exercise daily from consuming so much mayo." I heaved my insanely-heavy backpack with a grunt, not bothering to notice I was muttering to myself. "But if anyone sees an ambulance outside, you know I dialed 911."
Once arriving at the selected floor, I leaned against the wall for support briefly to regain energy. "This is why I skip classes," I grumbled. Heading towards my locker, I dropped my bag without a care and spun in the combination. I frowned when I did it incorrectly. "Doors hate me. Anything with locks hate me." My next attempt was interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Good morning, Kuga-han."
"Eh?" Indifferently casting a glance beside me, I was mildly surprised to see one of my classmates beaming. This girl must be an early bird to be smiling so cheerfully. "Oh, good morning, Fujino-san." I nodded at her. Huh, looks like her locker is beside mine.
The honey-haired girl was in the process of emptying her bag. I scanned her over and I admit, she has a drop-dead gorgeous figure. She was wearing a purple skintight tee with a short, fluttering white skirt today. I noticed she was the innocent, pretty girl type. From first glance, that is.
"Do I have a stain somewhere?"
My gaze flew up to meet worried maroon eyes. Her sentence didn't make sense. "What?"
"You were staring," she explained, all the while hunting for the invisible dirty mark. She twirled, rather elegantly, and I struggled not to gawk when her skirt lifted far enough to offer a glimpse of…oh my goddess, where does she buy her lingerie? I must have that!
Mentally smacking myself to get a grip, I lied, "Oh no, I was only admiring your shirt. Where'd you buy it?"
"Ah," Fujino breathed out a sigh of relief. Another smile popped up and I swear, she has an endless supply of them. "My mother purchased it as a gift, but it never crossed my mind to inquire which store it was from."
A sudden shout of "Shizuru!" broke our short conversation. We both turned to meet the sight of our other classmates, Haruka and Yukino.
"Ara, I must take my leave." She bowed politely. "I shall see you in second period, Kuga-han."
"Right, see ya." I watched her approach the two and soon enough, they were enthusiastically speaking (Haruka more loudly) about goddess knows what. Suddenly, I felt that emotion named curiosity travel through my body. In my case, that was never a good sign. Particularly when that curiosity is about a person.
Fujino Shizuru.
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A/N: Should it be continued? o.o
