Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME
Pretty Woman - Chapter One
Tries to run away from angry mob dragging an evil plot bunny attached to her ankle.
- - -
Pretty woman, walking down the street
Pretty woman, the kind I'd like to meet
Pretty woman
I don't believe you, you're not the truth
No one could look as good as you
Mercy...
'I don't have time for this.' A young woman thought as she walked down the streets of the city of Fuuka at night. She appeared to be a young woman no older that twenty whose natural beauty turned the heads of every man and a few women that walked past her, some with awe clear in their eyes, some with no hidden lust in them. She paid no heed however and continued her purposeful yet elegant strode down the illuminated streets. 'Why did I agree to this anyway?' She mentally complained remembering a certain conversation she had with one of her friends not a few hours ago over the phone.
- - -
"Please, please please?" A pleading voice from the speaking box could be heard.
"I don't know." She answered tapping her finger impatiently on the desk full of papers before her. "Why don't you ask someone else to do it? I'm not available right now. I'm sure Haruka or Yukino wouldn't mind going with you."
"It's been a while since we last saw each other; I miss my best friend you know." The same voice said in a sweet yet sad voice knowing that she would somehow relent to it sooner or later.
"We saw each other last week." She answered with an eyebrow raised although she knew the person on the other side of the line couldn't see her. "And I still have a lot of things to do."
"That's too long." The other simply said. "It's Saturday anyway, you could use a break from that term paper." The voice countered.
"So says the one who went on vacations for a full week." She replied in a voice filled with sarcasm.
"It couldn't be helped, and it wasn't really a vacation, it was a family matter. I've already told you that." The other person said.
She gave a rueful sigh "Does it really have to be tonight?" She asked rubbing her temple tiredly.
"Yes, I don't get to see these friends that often and I would really like for you to meet them." The voice explained. "And this is one of the rare times they actually get a day off."
"Oh alright, where do you want us to meet?" She asked giving up.
"Thank you! How about we see each other at that cafe we went to the other day?" The other voice offered.
"That's okay, what time?" She asked leaning against the border of the wooden table.
"Is eight okay with you?" The other person asked.
She spared a quick glance at the watch perched on the corner of her working table. It read five thirty in the afternoon. "Yes, that's perfect." She finally answered. "Who are these people we're meeting anyway?" She asked.
"That is a surprise." The voice said with a hint of mysteriousness dripping from their voice.
"Right." She said trying not to sound too put off by the answer. "So at eight at the cafe?" She asked, tactfully changing the subject.
"Yep, see you there. Oh, and thank you again for this." The voice said and she could perfectly imagine the happy smile on their face causing one of her own to tug at the corner of her lips.
"Yes, yes. As if I had any other choice." She said making sure the annoyance in her voice showed clearly. "Bye now, I have to get ready." She said standing up. If she was going to attend she had to take a shower.
"Ok, see you later." She heard the other say before a click indicated the end of their conversation.
She gave a sigh again. She really had to stop giving into her friend's wishes so much. It was true they had not seen one another for a while now, but still...She shook her head and walked over to her room going straight to the closet. There she took out a pair of red panties and a matching bra. She then made her way over to the bathroom ready for a well deserved and refreshing shower. She had been going over that term paper for at least four times searching for things mistakes or adding a thing or two whenever she saw it necessary.
She turned on the spray and disrobed slowly as she waited for the water to heat up a little before entering the small chamber letting the water to cascade down her body and gently massage her sore muscles.
She let a relieved and content sigh this time, her body quickly relaxing as she reached for the shampoo bottle perched on the tiled bar in front of her. She squirted a small amount of the creamy liquid into her hands and then proceeded to rub it into her hair.
She had to admit she was fairly curious as to who these people they where meeting were. She just hoped it wasn't one of those pathetic blind dates her friend sometimes tried to get her into.
- - -
She checked her wristwatch and picked up her pace as she saw it was almost already eight o' clock, she had about five minutes to reach her destination. She wasn't someone who would be late to a meeting. Never. And today would be no exception despite that she had no desire whatsoever to attend said gathering.
She sighed in a mix of annoyance and resignation when she saw a familiar figure standing in front of the entrance of the accorded restaurant before she forced a polite smile onto her face. "Good evening Kanzaki-san." She said coming to a stop next to a handsome man in his early twenties whose hazel eyes were looking at her with kindness and what seemed to be amusement. It irked her somewhat.
"Now now, is it really necessary to address me in such a polite way Shizuru-san?" The young man answered leaning down slightly to deliver a soft kiss on her cheek.
"I'm sorry, I sometimes forget not to do so while we're not in school, besides, it is usually a custom to answer a greeting when it is given you know?" She said sharply crossing her arm over her chest but making no move to avoid the offered kiss.
"Are you still mad?" Reito asked looking down at her with a not quite apologetic look on his handsome features.
"How could I not be? You know I have been very busy these past few days, yet you still asked me to come here to meet these friends of yours?" She said in annoyance
"Would you have honestly preferred to spend the rest of the night locked up in your room going over and over all that paper work even though you've finished it already?" Reito asked shaking his head slowly as if he didn't believe what he has hearing. "I bet you've memorized it by now. I'm amazed you haven't gone mad yet."
"It's no crime to be prepared." She countered giving him a glare. It was true she had already learned by heart the most of content of the paper work. "Besides this way I can get ahead and do other important things."
"Such a workaholic. Honestly, I'm glad that I invited you today. That amount of workload cannot be good for anybody." He said reaching a hand to ruffle her head.
"You're one to talk." She said slapping the imposing hand away with a little more force than it was necessary. "You know you're not really that different from me." She said feeling offended.
"Oh, I beg to differ. I'm actually quite different from you." He said rubbing his abused hand. "I am serious about my work but I actually go out and have friends outside our study circle." He said opting to give her a pat on the side of her arms. "Someone like you ought to go out some more. It'll do you a lot of good, especially with that temper of yours." He added with a wicked grin. "How many poor guys have been turned down by you up till now?"
"I don't care about men and you know it." She said giving him a slight shove.
"Ah yes, I sometimes forget that you have a preference for the ladies." He said good naturally, remembering how he had once been one of the many men turned down by her. "Still that does not explain how you also turn down the girls who ask you out though."
"I'm just not interested right now." She said dismissively turning her head away from his prying eyes.
"Right, right. 'Work and education come first', right?" He said repeating the same words that she had once said to him.
"Exactly." She curtly answered.
"Well, at least I don't have to worry about having some slimy guy all over you." He said grinning at her with a brotherly smile.
"As if I'd let something like that happen." She answered dryly.
"Who knows, maybe one day you'll decide you want to have an actual relationship."
"Oh, please spare me the 'I'm a man so I know better' speech. God knows how many times I've heard that." She said with a a roll of her eyes. "Now, would you mind telling me who it is that we're meeting?"
"I told you it was a surprise." He said looking down at his own wristwatch. "They should be here soon enough." He declared and only gave a mysterious smile at the glare he received from Shizuru.
"Fine, be that way." She said giving up. "But I warn you, if this is one more of your pity attempts to get me hooked up with someone, I swear to you that I'll-" She started to declare passionately pointing at him with an accusing finger, but paused mid phrase by the sight of two people standing behind him. Two young ladies. Two very pretty ladies to be exact.
"A-ano...Reito-san?" One of the girls asked. A pretty busty red head, even more so than Shizuru herself, and expressive lilac eyes was looking between the two of them as if she wasn't really sure wether to interrupting them had beed a good idea.
Reito spun around at the sound of her voice, his smile getting wider by the second and his eyes twinkling with something that Shizuru had only seen one time during the time when he had been completely smitten with her. Although slightly surprised, she decided not to make any early conclusions yet, she'd just have to see how things unfolded during their dinner.
"Mai-san! It's so good to see you again!" He exclaimed reaching out to envelop her in a tender embrace that surprised Shizuru once again. "I see that you managed to bring Natsuki-chan along with you." He teased looking at the other girl and extended his hand to shake it with the the other girl who had been silently watching their friendly display with a small loop sided smile adorning her pretty face. It morphed into an exasperated one when he dived down quickly to deliver a kiss one her cheek the same way he had done to Shizuru.
"Reito-san, I see that you haven't changed at all." The girl acknowledged with a deep yet feminine voice. Her emerald green eyes then swayed from Reito to Shizuru and she couldn't help but be entranced by them. The other girl held her gaze for a minute as if she was expecting something then seeing that Shizuru made no move other than blink, she smiled and extended her hand to her as well. "Hi, Kuga Natsuki." Was all she said waiting for Shizuru to take her outstretched hand.
"Oh! I'm sorry, Fujino Shizuru, nice to meet you." She answered quickly taking the offerd hand into hers and giving it a short yet firm shake. She found she missed the contact when they parted, Kuga-san's hand had felt very soft and warm. She decided to push the sensation to the back of her mind but returned the small smile that was offered to her.
"Allow me introduce you." Reito's voice sounded to her right and she hastely returned her attention back to him. "Shizuru-san, this lovely girl here is Tokiha Mai, she is Mikoto-chan's room-mate in Fuuka Gakuen." He said with his arm still around her shoulder.
The mentioned girl sheepishly rubbed the back of her head and waved with the other one, blushing at Reito's words. "Well, I'm not so sure about the lovely part..." She said with an embarrassed and sweet laugh.
"Ara, so you know Mikoto-chan, I understand now how you two met each other. I'm surprised you're still Mikoto-chan's roommate, what with her overabundant energy."
"Well, she is a handful alright..." She said with an indecisive smile, giving Reito a side along glance before she focused again on Shizuru. "But she is a good girl." She finished.
"Indeed, she is." Reito said with a firm nod. "I thank you again for taking care of my little sister."
"Oh, it's nothing really, she surely makes everyday an interesting one." She said waving her hand dismissively.
Reito laughed at her remark and disentangled his arm from the red head's shoulder to place it atop Kuga-san's giving it gentle pats.
"This, as you already know, is Kuga Natsuki, she is also rooming temporarily with Mai and Mikoto. I cannot imagine what poor Mai must go through every day." He said and wisely moved a few steps back when she gave him a playful yet feral glare.
"Oi, you're saying that as if I'm some kind of delinquent or something." She complained and huffed her head in a such a way that Shizuru found strangely adorable.
"Well, it's not as he's that far from the truth." Mai said under her breath with a mischievous smile hidden beneath her hand causing Reito to laugh cheerily.
"Hey, take that back!" The accused girl cried in indignation as she reached out to take a lock of fiery head into her hand and started to pull on it slightly.
"Ow! Okay okay, I'm sorry!" Mai yelled as she tried to shake off her friend's hand by swatting her wrist continuously with the palms of her hands.
Shizuru watched the friendly display totally mystified at the way the blue haired girl's face blushed out of embarrassment that she too had to let out a hear-thy laugh.
"What!? Not you too Fujino-san!" Natsuki exclaimed mortified.
"Now now kids." Reito said coming in between the two struggling girls. "Let's all try to get along."
Shizuru's laughter died instantly.
"Kids!?" She and Natsuki exclaimed at the same time, making Mai laugh at their indignation.
Natsuki sighed and tucked her hands into her jean's pockets."I give up, I can never win against you two."
Shizuru for her part decided to act like the mature university student that she was. "Ok, I think it's enough with the pleasantries. Why don't we go in already, we're making a scene out here." She said nodding her head to some passersby's that were looking at their direction.
"Good idea, I'm getting tired of standing out here doing nothing." Natsuki said with pride walking past them an into the cafe, leaving the other three standing there watching her disappear behind the glass door. A second later Natsuki poked her head out the door of the cafe with a scowl on her face. "You coming in or what?" She asked impatiently.
Shizuru smiled and followed after her, thanking the girl when she held the door open for her with one arm. The smile she received in return made the, until now, asleep butterflies flutter inside her stomach. It didn't help matters when she felt Natsuki following her with those intense eyes until she was well into the shop. She couldn't help but turn around to gaze at her once more, but instead of meeting green eyes as she was expecting, she found Mai's face squashed against the transparent doors with Reito just behind her looking a bit surprised and a triumphant looking Natsuki holding the knob of the now tightly shut door between her hands.
Giving a victorious chuckle Ntasuki let go of the door and strided to where Shizuru was standing decicively ignoring Mai's angry cry.
"Natsuki!"
Maybe this afternoon wouldn't be so bad at all.
- - -
A/N: I'm so sorry! -tries to shake off plot bunny biting into her ankle- I have no excuse, except these things won't leave me alone! Listening to Pretty Woman several times a day invoked an evil plot bunny.
I had a three day vacation and I sat down on my desk to write...but that damned song! -shakes fist- Good news is that I actually wrote some parts for the next chapters of Coming Back and Surviving Finals Week, they're nowhere near done though but at least it's an improvement.
Please tell me what you think, I'll also try to work on Through the Eyes of A Man as well as my still untitled KonoSetsu fic and I'll TRY to fend off the evil plot bunnies that come my way. I make no promises though, please bare with me. -limps away-