Disclaimer: I don't own Mai HiME. I own Sunrise though. Hahahaha, right.
Note: As an apology for those who reviewed Home, I present a series chockfull of pointless fluff.
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When Shizuru gets too rowdy, you have to resort to
Keeping her on a Leash
Chapter One - Gambling
There were times when Kuga Natsuki felt that she held the upper hand over Fujino Shizuru. Granted, there were few, but she realised that it was quite simple to wrap Shizuru around her thumb. But although this might be the case, most of the time, Shizuru would cause her plan to backfire first. Still, there were times.
Unfortunately, this was not one of those times.
"Mou, Natsuki, how could you be as sly as to replace the bath soap bottle with the mayo one?"
Her face was starting to heat up, and titters were heard from the group. Chie was recording it down, but since Natsuki was too busy trying to stop her cheeks from burning up, she didn't notice. Mai was grinning foolishly, leaving Mikoto looking confused, as usual.
"It was nice of Natsuki to offer to help me remove the sticky substance though."
Nao, who was sitting at the far end of the table, snorted and snickered at the same time. How she managed to pull off that feat was insignificant. Aoi and Chie looked as if they were about to burst into rude snickers, while Mai had to clasp both hands over her mouth to stop from laughing out loud.
"But Natsuki, your toun –" Shizuru was cut off immediately.
"Shi-Shi-Shizuru!" Natsuki screamed, unintentionally drawing the attention of the whole school.
The students were not exactly pleased to be suddenly interrupted in the middle of their lunch break, but were more than satisfied to see a stuttering and blushing Kuga. Noticing that it appeared to be their Kaichou who had caused this side of Fuka's Ice Queen to come out, excited whispers coursed throughout the entire student body.
Mikoto wondered whether it was impolite to snatch their abandoned lunches.
"What is it, Natsuki?"
A firm grip was secured on her clothed arm, the fabric pressed against her skin due to the pressure applied. Natsuki then proceeded to drag Shizuru away from the disappointed spectators, while the latter kept her mildly amused expression throughout the whole ordeal.
Chie leaned towards the direction in which they had disappeared as much as possible without falling off her chair, eager to at least try catching their conversation on her voice recorder. As the rest of Fuka Academy observed the block which Shizuru and Natsuki were behind, waiting to see when they would reappear, Mikoto had a buffet.
"Shizuru, what are you doing here?"
"You mean I'm not allowed to visit my Natsuki during lunch?"
"Yes! Er, I mean, no! But stop teasing me in front of everyone!"
"But it's true. Natsuki did substitute the bath foam for the mayo."
"N-n-no! I did no such thing!"
Shizuru cast an incredulous stare at her blue-haired friend, unconvinced. Natsuki cracked under her disapproving look almost immediately, and she began to doubt her own knack for stubbornness. If it wasn't Shizuru she was facing as an opponent, she would still be arguing with whoever it was until one of them fell asleep.
"Fine! I admit it! I swapped the mayo bottle for the body wash bottle when you were bathing!"
A chorus of squeals followed right after her sentence ended, accompanied with a gleeful shout of affirmative from a certain someone equipped with a voice recorder. Natsuki, realising what she had just shouted in the presence of the entire Fuka Academy, could have died right then and there due to the massive heat energy summoned in her nervous system.
There was the clattering of cutlery, and she could tell that some of the more obnoxious fangirls of Shizuru had just been held back by interested students. Giving an involuntary sigh of relief, Natsuki was once again grateful for the consideration of her friends. However, due to her carelessness, she would have to watch her step from now on. And just when she was beginning to grow out of her paranoia too.
"Ara …" It was all Shizuru could say before succumbing to a minor fit of giggles.
Natsuki scowled, but it was likened more to a cute pout rather than an intimidating facial stance. Her mind struggled to come up with some way to get back at her crimson-eyed companion, but seemed to be failing rather miserably. Even that good-for-nothing organ that resided in her skull abandoned her when it came to this fiend.
The bell rang, announcing the end of the lunch break and saving Natsuki's skin as she dashed off to leave a chuckling Shizuru behind.
It was just too bad it couldn't save her from the interrogation of a few friends, even though that was definitely much better than in incur a certain someone's wraith.
"Spill it, Natsuki! What happened back there?"
Mai grinned sweetly, but that malicious glint in her eyes revealed her evil intent. Chie, waving her voice recorder about enthusiastically, and Aoi brought up the rear of this formidable army. Not to mention Mikoto, who wasn't present, but would be at a mere call from the orange-haired general. Natsuki gulped, her left eye twitching as they awaited her turn in the game of war.
"N-nothing at all!" She nearly groaned at the lack of a proper excuse.
"Oh, then what about that passionate speech you made?" Mai's toothy smile widened.
With Chie's nimble fingers pushing at the buttons on her voice recorder, a crisp chorus of 'Fine! I admit it! I swapped the mayo bottle for the body wash bottle when you were bathing!' soon erupted from the device. The class was unsuccessful at holding back their hysterical laughter, but Natsuki was too mortified to give them the eviler-than-evil eye.
Seeing that the emerald-eyed girl was desperately trying to withhold her volcanic explosion, another cruel smirk was given to her as Chie upped the volume and replayed it, casting an amplified version of the humiliating sentences which Natsuki swore could be heard by the entire Fuka Academy. She could almost detect the whimsical chortles of a Kyoto-ben, and was horrified to find herself wishing that she was there to see the happy expression on her face.
"Argh! Since you already knew what happened, why still ask for it?" Natsuki growled.
"Oooh, a confession. Now we've got some solid evidence." Chie cooed, eyes narrowing.
Natsuki was very sure that she had never known a more appropriate time for the teacher to enter the classroom and begin the lesson.
But instead of listening to the rambling of their teacher, Natsuki was preoccupied with whacking her brain to think of vengeance. Some sort of punishment absolutely had to be dealt to anyone who had embarrassed her, although Shizuru would be a special case. As everyone knew, the light-goldenrod-haired girl usually rendered anyone who went up against her defenceless.
She would have to do a great amount of serious concentrating if she was to beat Shizuru, but she was determined to get the desired results. Natsuki was hellbent on turning the tables of their zero to thirty-seven hundred and forty-six scores though, even if it meant cooperating with her mind. She was by no means stupid, and was in fact quite intelligent, but Natsuki found it hard to do so.
She decided to contemplate it while Shizuru was at her apartment.
"Doesn't she have any weaknesses?" Natsuki hollered, her fingers clenching and unclenching from frustration.
"Ara, doesn't who have any weaknesses?" A sultry voice whispered, slender arms snaking around her neck in a hug.
"Erm, the final boss at the last stage of a video game!" Natsuki lied, doing a mental high-five.
"Hmm?" Shizuru breathed into her ear, eliciting a full-fledged flush from her victim.
"Natsuki knows that Natsuki is my only weakness." She continued when there was no reply, enjoying the sight of the reddening girl.
The seemingly innocent sentence triggered a railway for her train of thought, and sudden inspiration flooded her mind in a massive wave as large as the quantity of food Mikoto could stomach. Natsuki's blush was dispersed, much to Shizuru's disappointment, as an impish grin spread across her face. Resisting the urge to release a series of evil guffaws, she turned to face a perplexed Kaichou-san.
"Shizuru, let's have a bet." She suggested, taking on a noncommittal tone.
"What on?" Her hooded eyes gleamed with interest and curiosity.
"Whether I can make you blush in front of the whole Fuka Academy."
Shizuru was instantly intrigued with the idea, for Natsuki to suddenly be so confident in a win. The dark-cobalt-haired girl only smiled, but her heart was bouncing in excitement and her mind reeled in anticipation of what she was going to do tomorrow. Even if it involved a huge risk and a massive amount of confirmed mockery, she felt that it was well worth it.
The flaxen-haired girl registered Natsuki's words, eyes flashing with suspicion as she wondered what she had in mind. Well, whatever Natsuki had planned, she had a feeling she would enjoy, if she was to blush at what Natsuki would do. If her predictions were correct, then Natsuki would have been extremely successful – although Natsuki wouldn't dare, would she?
"And what are the stakes?" She asked, knowing that Natsuki meant business regarding this bet.
If it was even possible, Natsuki's already intense smirk brightened considerably. How she relished occupying the seat of authority! Being able to name any prize while knowing that you have already won was a fantastic feeling, indeed. Realising that this was a situation not easily chanced upon, she decided upon choosing something equivalent to the rarity of the circumstances.
Her mind began running a slideshow of probable choices, equally thrilled. Natsuki reviewed each and every prospect, filing those she deemed commendable in a folder she kept in the many crevices of her head. As much as she would have liked it, she knew that Shizuru would not relent to being her eternal slave. Neither would she stop teasing her – Natsuki knew that she would never give that up. For reasons unknown to her, Shizuru was addicted to doing just that.
No matter what, it must be something comparable to the years of chagrin Shizuru put her through.
"Why don't you pick your reward first?" Natsuki tried, grappling for time.
"Natsuki has to wear a sexy dress to that dance Reito-san insisted on organising."
"What!" Natsuki would have spat out the mayo sandwich she was eating, if she actually had been eating one.
"Take it or leave it." Shizuru shrugged dismissively, undaunted by the outburst.
"Fine." Natsuki countered, refusing to lose. "And as for my prize… well, I've always wanted a pet."
Shizuru's brow rose in an elegant arch, surprised by Natsuki's selection. To be brutally honest, it appealed to her as well – there seemed to be nothing severe involved, other than a bit of money spent. Natsuki did not notice her delight, however, and remained blissfully oblivious as her own mind generated thoughts of finally defeating Shizuru.
"Agreed." Shizuru sealed the deal before Natsuki could change her mind, not that she was going to.
--
The following day, Natsuki set up her preparations.
She had gone through great pains to impale thirty-six alarm clocks on the ceiling, where she would have more difficulty reaching and therefore destroying any objects fastened to, waking up shrieking and screaming. But a smile was soon fixed into place as the muddle was cleared from her apologetic mind and her expectations of that day were recalled.
Before heading off to school, she drove to a convenient pet store to purchase the necessary items she would need for her soon-to-be-gained pet. Spinning a collar on her index finger in impressive loops, she let it cease to a dangle as she slipped the flexible band into her jacket pocket. A long, black leash soon joined it.
Her Ducati roared into life as she grasped the handles steadily, dutifully sending her off to Fuka. Her mind whirled at a pace matching that of her motorcycle, knowing that the obsession with trouncing Shizuru was getting a little out of paw but doing nothing to stop it. She deserved at least a few minutes of elation, didn't she?
It didn't take long for the rest of the HiME crew to notice her smug smirk that was strongly plastered amidst her devious expression, and started questioning her about it. All of them were batted away with shrewd 'you'll see's and left slightly disheartened, except for Shizuru whom Natsuki provided a positive grin that somehow resulted in several indigent shouts from the shorter girl.
It was already too late when they found out what Natsuki was plotting.
Kaichou-san was entirely unprepared.
Natsuki literally flew from her seat and pranced to the door when the bell sounded, proclaiming the start of the lunch break. Her classmates keeled over from shock at the change of attitude, causing a few of them to suffer from mild head concussions. Sharp eyes instantaneously spotted her target, and she walked towards the unknowing objective.
Fangirls spread apart to form a pathway, eyeing the dark-sapphire-haired girl with grudging respect.
"Shizuru, remember our little bet from yesterday?" Natsuki started, approaching her from behind. The group from yesterday tagged behind, truly fascinated with the enigmatic confrontation.
"Of course." Shizuru answered, not turning around as she slowed down to let Natsuki catch up.
"I make my move." Natsuki wrapped her arms around the taller girl, pulling her into an embrace as she rested her chin on her shoulder. "And it's an instant win."
The crowd of Shizuru-sama worshippers all believed that they could die happy from the rare and astonishing sight of their idol in a flustered state. They fainted in unison, collapsing into a limp heap on the flooring. They will not wake until much later, when Suzushiro Haruka chanced upon them. Cue sympathetic looks from Aoi and Mai.
Chie groaned once she recovered from the scene, realising that she had just missed an extraordinary opportunity as the blush was viciously whipped off from her face.
But Natsuki had rehearsed for this.
"You know that your Natsuki thinks that 'stunningly gorgeous' is an understatement when you blush, Kaichou-san."
It proved to be a historical moment for Fuka Academy.
After they had all recuperated, Shizuru included, Natsuki demanded her reward.
"Ara, assuming that you want a dog," The burgundy-eyed girl assented, wondering if she should be dismayed or amused by the events that had taken place. "What breed do you want?"
The sadistic smirk she donned broadened further, the mischievous spark in her emerald eyes flaring up. Some shrank away from the sheer conviction pouring out of her in dominating waves, pulsating throughout the school compound and coming close to brainwashing the other, innocent students of Fuka Academy that were entirely irrelevant to the matter at hand.
"Yes, definitely a dog." Natsuki began, rubbing her palms against each other comically.
"The type of dog I want has light gold hair." She described meticulously.
"Fur, you mean." Shizuru remarked, still somewhat affected by the prior performance.
"I suppose you could say it that way." Natsuki replied mysteriously, voice dancing with unrestrained mirth. "She would have unusual eyes."
"Would you be more specific?" Shizuru played along. "Name the colour, at least."
"An enthralling, deep red." Natsuki responded with a straight face. "And she is addicted to tea."
Getting at what she was implying, Chie, Aoi and Mai gawked in disbelief. Mikoto, knowing that this was an important situation not to be disturbed by frantic and persistent bawling for something to quell her never-ending hunger, kept quiet although baffled.
The winner fished a dark purple article out of her pocket, verifying their doubts.
"Slip this on, Shizuru-chan." Natsuki ordered, handing the collar to the addressee. "You're to be my new pet."
Another historical moment for Fuka Academy occurred, twice in the same day.
Surprise!
I bet everyone saw through that, so, bah!
Well, yes, I was surprised that something like this hasn't be posted here yet. Maybe it's just my poor searching skills :D