Title: Smile the Sweeter Quickening a Pulse
Author: hyena_gal
Fandoms: Mai-HiME/Mai-Otome
Summary: Finding out who you are is just one step taken towards growing up. Falling in love would be the second step. Nightclub!AU. Crossover Mai-HiME/Mai-Otome.
Pairings: Kuga Natsuki/Viola Shizuru, Haruka Armitage/Yukino Chrysant
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never mine.
A/N: No magical powers and no evil star in this one. Just Rorschach as a nightclub. That's it.
Chapter 1: Keep the Beat Going
"She's with me."
Yukino had to clear her throat in order to say it, but once the words came out, Haruka just stepped close to her, their shoulders bumping slightly as she leaned a bit against her and gave her girlfriend a crooked smile which the smaller girl returned in full. Pulling out her cell phone from her dark green coat's pocket, Yukino searched through the saved messages she had until she found the one she needed.
Standing just behind them as she were, Shizuru bowed her head as she briefly smiled too. Looked down at a couple of mashed cigarette butts near her feet in the alley they were currently in. Only made her absently wonder why certain individuals in the world felt such an aversion to making use of trash cans of all things.
The three of them were standing out in front of Rorschach; neon sign faintly buzzing above them like an exceptionally angry electric beehive, purple light of it cutting vibrating shapes into the blackness, the only illumination provided for them to see by. From within the club the sound of music was audible, bass low and thumping like a working heart in the night, hidden behind walls like a secret to be found.
Her two friends in front of her let her pass in between them in order for her to mimic the action Yukino had just previously carried out: with lazy practice, Shizuru found the required saved picture on her own phone and held the mobile up towards the slot in the door at eye level to show the gleaming screen in the darkness to whoever was standing on the other side of it, other arm hugging her waist, serving as comfortable support for the lifted elbow. The night air was getting chilly, unfortunately. They were only in mid-September. Whatever happened to the pleasantly mild days after sunset they'd had only a few weeks ago?
It made going to a club a decidedly cold affair.
A second passed before the door was unlocked; smoke and strings of numerous muffled conversations met them in a wave from inside, almost something solid to touch and feel when it was combined like this as they stepped inside, atmosphere to sense with the skin, faces to drink in with the eyes.
There wasn't a lot of people present tonight; granted, Rorschach was never really a crowded club in any way, which was a small blessing in more than one way. Through the dim lightning and indistinct outlines of the locale lost in shadows, Shizuru could make out the shapes of seated, standing and dancing club goers. The smallest of dance floors and a half-vacant bar lay in front of them. The chance of brushing shoulders with anyone else was at a minimum; it was a nice change, actually, seeing as the place did have a tendency to be crowded most Thursday nights.
The three women effortlessly made their way to an unoccupied booth, slid into it, seating themselves around the small round table set in the middle and shrugged out of their jackets and coats. Taking in their surroundings, the earlier assessment made seemed to have been correct; everyone currently in the club were carrying on with their half-loud conversations with each other, groups of three or four or simply couples sitting together in booths, only stopping their talking when new faces stepped inside, moved through the club. The few persons who'd braved to be anywhere else which wasn't the secluded safety of one of those were up at the bar, either leaning against it as they chit-chatted with someone else or simply kept to themselves, nursing their drinks with unreadable expressions.
As they made themselves comfortable, Shizuru and Yukino's fingers happened to brush on top of the almost black wood of the table for a second.
"Your hand is cold, Yukino..." Shizuru quietly commented as she quickly covered the other female's hand with hers. Gave it a single squeeze and let her eyes hood as the other woman laughed self-consciously, started commenting on the weather they were having. It didn't take long before that slow smirk which always seemed to promise a lot of particular activities most commonly enjoyed in a bedroom setting made its appearance.
Haruka made a loud noise when she finally noticed it. Half-enraged, half-surprised as she hunched over the table in order to shield the bespectacled female at her side from the aim of the smouldering look which was being directed at her. Shizuru simply slowly leaned back in reaction, wildly amused smile playing on her lips instead.
"Just because you're the world's biggest quirt, Shizuru, doesn't mean you get to hit on my girlfriend!" the frowning woman declared, narrowing her eyes in warning.
"I think you mean 'flirt', Haruka-chan..." Yukino commented with a laugh next to her, calm and soft-spoken as always, still managing to make herself heard above all the assorted sounds wrapping around the trio.
The song currently playing was bleeding small vibrations down into the skin of Shizuru's hands and her neck. Fluttering butterfly touches of moving pulses. Arching an eyebrow, she propped her elbows on the table, laced her fingers together and rested her chin lightly atop of them as she looked at Haruka. "Well, it's not that I'm opposed to a little whip action if we're talking about the right woman..."
The expression the words elicited were predictable. The excessive amount of sputtering and catching of breath from the blonde's side then was just a little bonus, really.
Once Haruka had calmed down enough to form a somewhat coherent sentences again, there didn't seem to be any end to the pursed lips and disapproving glaring she was met with. "You've always been a pervert, Shizuru. For as long as I've known you."
The smile she gave her then could have belonged to an angel, it was that serene. Shrugging slightly, Shizuru fluttered her eyelashes in an obviously exaggerated manner. "Well, at least you can't accuse me of not being predictable then?"
Her friend gave her a deadpan stare which could only really be thought of as kind of insulting if she had been in any other company. "You know I only came tonight, because Yukino asked me to. You know, I'm still fighting my cold," was what she finally answered, as though that was the cleverest and not the most obvious thing ever. Well, okay, certainly it was when it came to the obvious part, but... Haruka was never one to hold back when it came to letting her exact thoughts be known when it came to a certain devilishly grinning woman's behaviour.
Shizuru tilted her head inquisitively.
"Why didn't you stay at home then?"
Haruka frowned. If she did it even more spectacularly she was going to carry an uncanny resemblance to a moping frog. "Like I'd leave Yukino alone in your company."
Yukino just looked like she really wished she knew how to call a truce between them by simply intensely pleading with her eyes.
When the headstrong female refused to mentally back down for only a few minutes, Shizuru gave her a pointedly searching look before heaving a prominent sigh. One hand curled under her chin, she made a light sweeping motion in the direction of the bar with the other one. "Well, as a peace offering I'll be buying drinks for the two of you then. What would you like?"
Yukino considered for a few seconds before letting her choice fall on a glass of Umesho on the Rocks and, completely predictably, Haruka simply said she was going to have whatever Yukino was having, which came as big as a surprise as if she'd proclaimed she thought Shizuru was acting like a horny freak most of the time.
Some things should never change. Preordained order of the universe and everything in its right place.
No problems getting to the bar and ordering beverages, seeing as there was enough room to stand with no crowding done. The bartender, a black-haired man in his earlier thirties with bangs which kept getting in his eyes as he got the orders ready, pushed the glasses in front of Shizuru with a sure hand once he finished pouring them.
And that's when it happened; Shizuru was on her way back with the drinks to their table when she happened to turn her head a bit, look in a certain direction... and her entire body stilled, muscles freezing up all at once, just like that.
If an individual's face was able to say more than words, this would have been the prime example above all in world history; she didn't need to say anything, seeing as she had 'eureka' written all over her face, lost in whatever snaring feeling she was currently overcome by. Of course Yukino and Haruka noticed. Utterly confused, they turned in their seats to look in the same general direction in which their drinks-fetching friend was; in an impressive show of balance, Haruka managed to tilt much more than half her body weight out of the booth to survey the situation.
And like a match flaring in the unlit space of a room, they also caught sight of her: the dark-haired girl.
Hard not to notice her - standing in the middle of the floor, in motorbike leathers, smooth blackness of her showing off her strong, slender shape, long hair down past her shoulders, pale skin and a strikingly pretty young face. Clearly in her teens, although she carried herself as though she were older.
Such a defiant air about her, in the set of the clenched jaw, observant green eyes taking everything in through the thin curtain of smoke hanging in the air, movements calm and measured as she made her way slowly through the club. She had all the appearance of a fierce princess with... well, with a very heavy round crown tucked under her arm. 'Biker Girl' seemed to study the place she'd just stepped into with a critical eye for a few moments before heading for a vacant corner of the bar, placing her helmet atop of it, hunching her shoulders as she rested her arms next to the head gear she'd just put down.
Shizuru quickly stepped to the table she'd left, set the two drinks down and, turning her head again, not letting her eyes leave this newly spotted prize, said with a voice already sounding a little distracted: "Excuse me for a moment." The blonde was gaping at her. It looked like she was going to dislocate her jaw by sheer weight if it dropped any lower.
"Oh, you got to be kid -" was exclaimed behind her, but Shizuru was already moving in a determined course before she could even hear the sentence ending, already knowing what Haruka was going to say. Stupefaction, immediately followed by outrage went neatly hand-in-hand as common reactions when it came to Armitage-san. Predictability would never not be comforting.
Effortlessly gliding between the few bodies standing between her and the intended goal, she sidled up next to the leather-clad girl, listened to her ordering a glass of Coke with a somewhat low, gruff voice. It fit her - went with the persona she was showing the world, all rough edges and stern frown. Someone to approach at your own risk.
Shizuru watched her from the corner of the eye for a little while and knew without a doubt that she was going to be a most intriguing person to talk to in all ways she could possibly imagine.
"Awfully late to be out on a regular school day, isn't it?"
The girl, slightly surprised for a single second, quickly schooled her reaction, a mask of indifference settling over her features. Her eyes were a bright green. Gorgeously so. Her face, even more attractive than Shizuru had initially thought it would be from the distance she had spotted it from. A vision gliding through the smoke; something ethereally beautiful, dark and self-assertive.
Turned towards her fizzing drink again, giving the older female her profile instead. "I wasn't going to show up for classes tomorrow, anyway."
"Is that so?"
If her voice sounded particularly amused, it was most probably because it was. Was definitely looking forward to where this was heading. 'Biker Girl' threw a quick glance at her before simply making a small noncommittal noise, full attention focused on her beverage again, seemingly intent on ignoring any forthcoming questions. Playing hard to catch was only going to wet her appetite even more than it currently was; this girl apparently didn't know how to use reverse psychology to her own advantage.
Shizuru gave her best impression of 'hungry-but-not-going-to-bite'. She did know how to restrain herself, contrary to belief.
"What brings a girl like you here?"
Her shrug was the most casual roll of shoulders in the world, leathers making a dry creaking noise as she did, fingers fitting lightly around the glass. Teenage apathy practiced to an effortless art. "Thought I'd check this place out."
Shizuru couldn't help but smile at the tone and behaviour. Simply couldn't.
Resting her cheek in the palm of her hand, she studied her dark-haired companion of a stranger, taking in as much of her as she could. She really was too pretty for her own good.
"So, what do you think of the place thus far?"
It looked like she considered her answer for a few minutes, brow furrowing slightly. She looked over her shoulder at a young couple occupying one booth, discernible as a boy and a girl in the darkness, heads close, smiling at each other like they didn't have a care in the world. All puppies and rainbows in their world, apparently.
"The clientele seems to be... mixed."
Which was... an interesting observation to come with, certainly. Did that mean she'd thought about what kind of people she would find in here? It most definitely tickled Shizuru's curiousity - it was just one out of a million things she wanted to know, wanted to ask her about.
"I guess you could say that," she acknowledged, voice soft and amiable, noting how the young biker didn't seem to relax at the comment; how the tension in her body continued to be evident in the way she held herself, tight in the shoulders and even more so in the set of the mouth.
Only thing it did was make her want to reach over with her hands and gently massage it away.
Knew she'd lose a couple of fingers in the blink of an eye if she dared do anything like it.
Shizuru had apparently managed to draw the mysterious girl into a conversation of sorts as it was, because she was the one who chose to speak after five minutes or so of a lack of exchanged words between them which followed. The music was loud and incessant. Something like a new bout of unrest in her then; gloved fingers briefly tapping along to the beat throbbing in the air on the counter as she threw a distracted look down herself before giving a little self-deprecating smile, more for her own sake than anything else: "Don't really feel like I belong here - with what I'm wearing..."
Craning her head back, Shizuru carefully let her gaze travel up and down her back and noted how the leather only seemed to be hugging the other female's curves in a most agreeable manner, showing off the compelling shape of her cute behind in the best possible way. Slender strong limbs encased in smooth blackness which showed off a perfect build. It was - nothing short of art.
"I don't know. I'm more than certain I'm not the only one here appreciative of your choice of... outfit tonight."
Made sure the unabashedly cheerful grin she was wearing couldn't be overlooked in any possible way as she made eye contact with the younger female again.
The teen pursed her lips at that remark and promptly blushed, colour streaking from her cheeks all the way up to her ears as she continued to keep her eyes on the glass in her hand despite the physical proof of her embarrassment making itself visible on her pale skin. Brought the drink to her lips in a swift movement and tipped her head back as she downed the brown content of it.
When she turned her face towards the older woman again it was only to find her wearing a faint smile, watching her with hooded, thoughtful eyes and an intrigued look. Expression a little lost and a softness in the darkened eyes which seemed far too intimate, far too close to be comforting, like she was reaching...
Watched as it only made her turn her head in reaction, clear her throat before frowning for the twenty-seventh time. The girl's proclivity for making those expressions only made her look like she worried a lot. Was a worrier by nature.
It was mildly disconcerting.
"So. Why 'Rorschach'?" the question came from 'Biker Girl', loud enough over the music playing, the people talking and laughing around them.
Oh. Shizuru had forgot about them.
She briefly pondered her answer, smile playing on her lips as she did. The cigarette smoke twirling in grey traveling tendrils above her drew her eye involuntarily for a little while. "It's about minds. What people see and their interpretations of exactly what they see - comes down to appearances, really, if you will. Why the name seems fitting for a nightclub somehow, I think..."
Green eyes on her, steady and intent, an obvious dare in them, brows knitting together again as she looked back at her.
"So, what do you see when you look at me?"
The song playing now was a generic pop song, the type where the singer's wailing about love and demanding it; all too hectic and endlessly thudding and it matched Shizuru's own pulse for just for a split second. But only that - and then it was back to normal, unaffected. She blamed the look she'd been pinned by earlier.
The words formed slowly. "I see someone who's searching for something. A girl who's trying to pinpoint whatever it is she's trying to figure out about herself..."
No reaction from the dark-haired female other than her fingers fitting more firmly around the glass filled with Coke, a swallowing motion in her slender throat, there and then gone.
"Also, that you're incredibly pretty. But that goes without saying."
A few surprised blinks then, another flow of colour across the cheeks, streaking over the bridge of her nose, before she seemed to get the flush under control.
"Want to hear what I see when I look at you?" And it was nonchalantly offered. That teenage indifference making itself present again.
"Absolutely."
"I see someone who... holds back. You seem to know what people want to be presented with, what they want to hear, so you say those things and you show those things..." A tilt of the glass for a second, simply to watch the drink almost slosh over the edge, a second away from staining the counter with effervescent Cola.
"And then you also come across as being a little..."
Quirking an eyebrow at the hesitation which followed, Shizuru couldn't help but playfully offer a list of suggestions, seeing as the younger woman seemed to be searching for the right word. "Forthright? Mischievous? Charming?" A pause and then: "Gay?"
'Biker Girl' had the decency to look adorably flustered then, as she only ought to. Thrown off balance temporarily before finding her retort. "Those were all your words just now, not mine."
Shizuru chuckled. "Does that mean you're not impressed with my flirting skills then?"
Something that looked like a cautiously amused smile tugging at her mouth almost despite herself when she heard that. "Well... you're not exactly being subtle..."
And Shizuru was already opening her mouth to answer again, her own smile curving her lips, when the dark-haired girl straightened her back all of a sudden, all distant eyes and guarded, a reticent mask sliding effortlessly into place. "I have to go..."
Muttered under her breath as the helmet was quickly lifted and held against her body with one sure arm curled around it. And then she was turning around, walking away, and all Shizuru could do was blink a few times at the abruptness of their conversation coming to an end, the soft changing of air as the girl brushed past and left her.
When two bodies sidled up to her five seconds later, she didn't look up at either of them.
"What'd you say to her? Did you scare her of with your imposter suggestions?" Haruka remarked, following the retreating black form with her eyes the same way her two companions were.
"'Improper', Haruka-chan," her girlfriend pointed out, touching her girlfriend's hand briefly before withdrawing her own. Slight frown on her face as she turned to the quiet woman leaning against the bar, trying to gauge the current state her mood was in at the sudden turn of events.
Shizuru didn't say anything. Simply stayed mute as she lost sight of the leather-clad female. Then she turned towards the bar again.
Ran a slow finger up the side of the glass which had been left behind, sweeping a single drop of Cola up with the tip of her index finger, the music above and around her a blanket, hushing her thoughts as she studied the brown drop of liquid absently.
Cupping the keys in her hand to prevent them from jingling, Natsuki stopped in front of the door, sigh heavy and eyelids heavier as she more or less successfully located the keyhole. It was a talent which was incredibly handy when working without any light to see by and was only something she'd had learned from practice.
It wasn't like she felt counting how many times she'd tried finding it with the scraping tip of a key while completely blind in the blackness.
Natsuki let herself into the darkened apartment, making as little sound as possible as she quietly made her way through the pitch-black living room, moving sightlessly around a table and a sofa before entering the kitchenette.
Not bothering to turn on the lights as she moved over to the kitchen sink, she sluggishly stopp in front of it without much further instruction needed, the entirety of the night seemed to catch up with her. Placing her hands flat on the counter, she closed her eyes after a moment. Glared at the black within black behind her lids as she started to take deep long breaths, feeling the expansion and contraction of her lungs behind ribs - how they slowly worked inside her, creating a steady rhythm for her to concentrate on.
She felt tired, like she'd been drained of energy or something.
Turning her head slightly to press her nose against her shoulder, leather smooth and cold against it, the verdict was quickly made: she smelled a bit of cigarette smoke. Still. Natsuki had hoped the ride back home would have gotten rid of it, wind sweeping it off her like an invisible firm hand, obliterating any evidence still lingering on her of where she had been.
The sigh leaving her was one of epic proportions. This was the last thing she needed. Only belatedly she sensed the presence hovering in the door frame to her immediate right, watching her quietly.
"Natsuki?"
She continued to look down into the sink as though the answer to all problems was located there, focusing on the breathing going on inside her chest. The constant dripping of water from the tap, fat clear drops welling up and finally falling from the curved shiny shape, held her attention before she answered in a soft voice.
"Yes, Mom?"
The following silence lodged heavy and awkwardly between them, calling for explanations and necessary questions which none of them were willing to speak out loud, lest the silence in the apartment should break.
Her mother's voice was hushed when she spoke. Hours of tiredness brimming in it. "You should go to bed. It's late."
Swallowing once, letting her tongue sweep out to wet her bottom lip quickly, Natsuki drew a breath. "I will." The clock in the living room could be heard, ticking away the late hours; a new school day was approaching by the minute.
Didn't move, not even after listening to her mother unhurriedly make her way back to her bedroom, the short drag and muffled thump of the end of the crutch against the carpeted floor again and again measuring the distance between her daughter's body and her own with each careful step taken.
Drop after drop hitting the bottom of the sink with a metallic clang in the dark as Natsuki kept staring sightlessly down into it.