Tokyo Rose
By the Urban Cowboy
Disclaimer: I do not own Mai Hime, but I am pleased to report I have an Xbox 360 gamescore of 9,375!
Much to a grateful Natsuki Kuga, the man sitting next to her eventually stopped talking to her after realizing that she wasn't about to hold a complete conversation with him. It wasn't his entire fault, him being a native of France and her, a Japanese citizen whose comprehension level of French wasn't up to par with his rapid pace. The man seemed like a nice enough guy, but the real reason that Natsuki wasn't responding to his inquires was because her mind was too absorbed with her ex-girlfriend back home in Japan.
Natsuki thought she was in love, but Mai didn't see it that way. They had met in college as freshman students and imminently connected. At first they were friends until one night one accidental kiss made Natsuki see her friend in a different, romantic way. Mai believed the same thing, but only to a point and that point came when her ex-boyfriend came back from college from America during Christmas break. With a sad face, Mai spilled out an endless stream of apologies and showered Natsuki her back. Figuratively speaking of course as Mai didn't even have the nerve to break up with Natsuki in person, rather by a long distance telephone call. Mai probably thought she was doing Natsuki a favor but instead it felt like salt on a raw wound. All this happened in only two days ago.
The hour after the quick, tearfully breakup, Natsuki threw her meager belongings and used some of her personal money to book a flight to Paris. That cash was the same money that she had previously planned to save up for a trip for two to Paris. She was headed there now, alone. She hated the idea of going to a foreign country by herself but she couldn't think of anywhere else to go to get away and staying there by herself somehow seemed worse.
Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the beautiful brunette woman standing next to her seat. While she was wrapped up in her personal hell she failed to notice that the Frenchman had left for the bathroom. The woman stood silently, patiently waiting for Natsuki to realize her presence and when Natsuki finally did see that she was no longer alone, she froze for several seconds taking the woman's beauty.
Just like Natsuki herself, she was Asian, possibly Japanese as well. Her hair was of a light brunette color, it was long, falling past her shoulders. Very little make-up, but this woman had no need for it. The only unusual trait about the stunning woman was that her eyes were red. It was strange, but not disturbing and only added an extra layer of uniqueness that made her prettier. All thoughts of Mai vanished in the blink of an eye; the cure for Natsuki's broken heart was here waiting for an invitation to sit beside her.
With as cool of a voice as she could muster, Natsuki addressed her mysterious visitor. "Can I help you?" she said in her deliberately slow but clear French.
This earned Natsuki a smile. "I certainly hope so. May I sit?" with a free hand she indicated the empty seat previously occupied by the Frenchman.
There was a nod from Natsuki "Be my guest." Once the woman was properly seated in the chair, Natsuki extended her hand to the woman. "I'm Natsuki Kuga by the way."
Natsuki's hand received a warm shake. "Shizuru" the woman answered in kind. "You are Japanese too, yes?"
Natsuki inwardly sighed with relief as she switched to Japanese. Her French was passable with most functions such as asking for directions and understanding short phrases; but she still had a long way to go for holding conversations. "Yes, I'm here on vacation. What about you?"
"I'm afraid that I have to do some work while I am here. Thankfully, at least I will have a lot of free time in between meetings." Shizuru smiled again. "I admire your taste; Paris is such a lovely country. Do you come here often?"
"No, first time visiting. I plan to see the Eiffel Tower and the . . ." Natsuki trailed off, suddenly aware that outside of leaving Japan, she had made no other goals for her trip. The young women's loss of love was the reason she left and she wasn't about to tell a person she just met, even a beautiful one, her problems. Besides, at a certain point she did want to see the Eiffel Tower so it wasn't a complete lie.
Shizuru nodded even though she knew Natsuki wasn't disclosing the full story. "Natsuki, I'll be here for several weeks and I would love to be your personal tour guide."
There was a slight blush from Natsuki. "I would really like that, Shizuru."
Shizuru's smile broadened and she handed Natsuki a business card with her cell phone number, fax number, office address, and name neatly printed out onto a small piece of expensive looking paper. According to the business card, Shizuru's last name was Fujino.
It was about now that the conversation between Natsuki and Shizuru was halted by the Frenchman. He coughed into was hand, signifying his wish to sit in his own chair. Shizuru gave Natsuki one last smile before taking her leave. She watched Shizuru head towards the first class section of the plane. Natsuki wasn't surprised. The Frenchman watched her too; envious that she had gotten more headway with Natsuki.
Natsuki smiled, felt good, no scratch that, she felt great. She hadn't felt this good since her rash decision to fly to Paris. A friendly invitation from a gorgeous woman can boost just about anyone's spirit especially her own. She settled down further into her chair, relaxing for the first time, and began to seriously contemplate on where she wanted to visit, and what she wanted to do. Now that she had a date, such matters took on a brand new importance.
Shizuru shared Natsuki's optimism happy with the upcoming time spent with the attractive woman. It would be a pleasant contrast to the other reasons she had come to visit Paris.