Disclaimer: I own nothing.
This is… a little weird, and you'll just have to bear with me, okay? I got the idea one night, and seriously could not stop thinking about it. Literally. I even had dreams about it. Finally, while I was supposed to be working on the scripting for the collaborative comic I'm working on, this burst out instead. I hope you enjoy the fruits of my hand spasms.
A sheik black Audi pulled up to the gate. The driver's tinted window lowered revealing a large stern hand poised to punch in the entry code. The sleek silver keypad delivered an accepting beep along with a little flash of green light and the gates rolled open. As the window rolled up, the car pulled forward down the gleaming white driveway. Making its way around the centered fountain gushing an unnaturally clean blue water, the Audi rounded the curved driveway and rolled to a stop before a large white-stoned mansion.
From the backseat, a navy-haired girl with amber eyes bit her lip as she gazed up at the unfamiliar house. She clutched the worn avocado-colored suitcase that sat on her lap a little tighter. The driver drummed his fingers on the steering wheel fidgetingly and gave a heavy sigh. "So," he cleared his throat and spoke up. "Do you like it, Ni-na? It'll be your new home." He swiveled his head around and smiled at the girl. Nina blinked at the childish nickname and the goofy grin offered to her before returning her gaze to the castle-like building. Home...
"Yes, I like it, Officer Wang." The man ran his fingers through his messy hair and exhaled.
"You know, you don't have to call me that anymore. Sergay is fine. Or even..." His golden eyes smiled at her hopefully. "Father..." Nina's stomach churned at the thought.
"Yes, Father," she spoke dryly. At the orphanage, Sergay had visited nearly every week with the head of Child Services in their area, to make sure everything about the place was up to standards. Nina had lived at the orphanage for as long as she could remember, and Sergay's visits were the one thing that kept her going. He understood her better than anyone and she couldn't think of anyone she cared for more. When the orphanage was bought out and shut down, Sergay made sure every child at the orphanage either found a home, or was transferred to a new facility. Just when she was positively sure she would never see him again, it was announced that Sergay would adopt Nina, but she simply couldn't think of him as a father. He was always something a little more to her... But now, as everything began to change, she realized how little she knew about the one person she thought meant more to her than everything else.
Like how he can afford this mansion on a police salary, Nina thought.
"Ni-na?" She wretched herself back from her thoughts. Nina's eyes set on Sergay standing outside of the car, one hand on the opened door, the other offered to her. With the smallest suggestion of a smile, Nina took her new father's hand and swung her feet around to exit the vehicle.
Sergay shut the door behind his daughter and rattled the keys in his free hand, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. A man in a black suit and a cap began making his way towards him from the house. Sergay gave him a short nod and handed him the keys. The man glanced at Nina questioningly.
"Ah, yes, Takeda, this is my daughter, Nina. I've just adopted her." Takeda's eyebrows lifted and inspected Nina a bit longer. Uncomfortable with the way he was eyeing her, Sergay coughed to get his attention. Takeda whipped his head away and saluted Sergay.
"S-sorry, Sir. Oh, and," Takeda lowered his eyes a bit, "your wife called." Shit, Sergay thought. I forgot to tell her about... he glanced at Nina staring uncomfortably at the pavement. With one hand, she was clutching his and with the other, she was holding her suitcase tightly.
Returning his gaze to his chauffeur, Sergay composed himself. "Yes?"
"S-she said she would be arriving home in a little while and that she's sorry for being so late."
Sergay mulled over the words and struggled to think of a good way to mention Nina to her. He couldn't just say, "Oh yeah, Honey, I forgot to tell you, but I adopted a fifteen-year-old girl named Nina today."
"Right. Thank you, Takeda. And... the car..."
"Hm? Oh, right." Takeda saluted him again. "Yes, Sir." He yanked open the driver's seat door and lugged himself inside, started the car up and drove off to the back. Sergay sighed and tried to remember why he paid the man eleven dollars an hour. He turned to Nina and gave her hand a squeeze with a smile.
"Ni-na, do you need me to take your suitcase?" She shook her head without meeting his eyes.
"It's fine, Father."
Sergay nodded and headed up the steps to the house. He paused before opening the door, deliberating. He smiled nervously at Nina. "Forgive me, if things are a little weird for a while. This… this is all happening so fast. So," he pulled her into a hug, "please bear with me, Ni-na. As my daughter." Nina nodded into his chest and clutched his suit. Sergay broke the embrace and took a deep breath before opening one of the large French doors.
A grand mahogany staircase dominated most of the front entrance. It rose up gallantly and split off into four hallways separated by a grand ballroom. Downstairs and to the left was study which in itself broke off another hallway, and to the right was a gleaming kitchen. Sergay smiled at Nina's lit face, scanning the perimeter. A woman in a maid outfit stood at the foot of the stairs. She smiled warmly at the pair.
"Ni-na," Sergay gestured to the woman. "This is Aoi. She's our servant and maid." He cleared his throat and nodded at Aoi. "Please escort Nina to one of the guest rooms upstairs. She's to live there for now on. I'll, uh… I'll explain later." The small brunette raised her eyebrows questioningly but nodded.
"Yes, Sir." She smiled at Nina and gestured to the stairs. "Right this way, Miss." Sergay urged her forward silently and Nina slowly followed Aoi up the stairs. After watching the pair safely cross the ballroom, Sergay slumped forward with a sigh.
I hate my job.
The singular thought purged through Natsuki's mind all day as she worked. Of course, as a designer for Ducati sports bikes, she ordinarily enjoyed her job very much, but today, three things had set her over the edge. One: her Ducati DRIII had broken down. Two: she left most of her model drafts at home, and three: one of her co-workers was at a funeral for some estranged family member who died, another was out sick, and she had to cover for both of them. Not to mention her boss was PMSing particularly badly that day.
After being lectured about being "ill-prepared" from said PMSing boss, a meeting, fighting with a broken copy machine, another meeting, and even more unmentionable atrocities, Natsuki stared down a thick hunk of bound papers that was a proposal for a dual exhaust addition to a bike that she was supposed to "review thoroughly" and approve. She checked her desk clock. Still another couple hours until her shift was over and she could finally go home and relax with the one she loved.
The one I love…
Natsuki sighed and flipped open the proposal, skimming the first page. Yup. Just as she suspected. Excruciatingly tedious, but she had to read it. Lovely. Natsuki added it to the mental list of reasons why she should switch jobs. She drummed on the table and flipped the page, skimming through the second.
And then her pants started vibrating.
It took her less than a millisecond to react and pounce at the opportunity to escape her hell. She whipped the phone out of her pocket, not bothering to check the caller ID and answered it even before it had the chance to begin ringing.
"Hello?" she began, offering the sweetest voice she could muster to whoever it was that decided to save her from insanity.
A hesitant female voice came through. "Um, h-hi. I'm not sure that I have the right number…"
Fuck! Natsuki thought. Just when I thought I was saved.
"Is Natsuki Kuga there?"
"It's me," she replied, allowing none of the hope that was restored by that last statement shine through. The voice on the other end brightened instantly, and all previous hesitation vanished.
"Natsuki? God, it's been so long. It's Mai." Natsuki leaned back in her chair, surprised.
"Mai? It's great to hear from you." But alas, that statement would have been true even if Michael Myers was on the other end, or even worse, a telemarketer.
Mai laughed politely. "You too. So do you still live in Fuka?"
Natsuki nodded before remembering that Mai couldn't actually see her. "Oh, uh, yeah.
Because of… you know who…"
Mai laughed more openly this time. "I heard all about it from Chie." Natsuki cringed at the thought of her non-traditional marriage becoming the common small talk amongst her former classmates and shuddered at what horrifying rumors Chie might have twisted it into.
"Well, yeah. So where are you living?"
"A bit of everywhere, actually. I work as a photographer for a magazine now, amongst other things, so I'm kind of everywhere."
"Sounds nice," Natsuki said. Actually, it really did compared to her current job and life. How is it that Mai got the fun life?
"It's actually really hectic."
"But to move around without being tied down. It really sounds like fun." An image of Shizuru worked its way into Natsuki's mind. Shut up, her conscience hissed. Don't think like that.
Mai seemed to understand what she meant. "It gets a little lonely, though."
"But what about Mik--,"
"So guess where I am?" Mai cut off in a slightly firm voice. Natsuki was a little taken aback at the interruption. She was sure that Mai had finished speaking and that she'd heard Natsuki start. It wasn't like Mai to interrupt, unless… and if that was the case, it would be best to move on and not to press the issue.
Natsuki flicked her hair back with her hand and started again, "I don't know, where?"
"Remember that old diner I worked at in our first year high school? Linden Baum?"
Natsuki's green eyes flashed. "Mai, you're back in Fuka?"
Mai giggled softly. "I was actually wondering if you could join me here so we can catch up, you know, face to face." Natsuki flicked her eyes to her desk clock. Still several more hours until her work day was officially over.
"O…Kay. Yeah. I'll be there in a little while," she said, all the while thinking up a scheme on how to escape her mountains of work.
"Great! I'll see you then."
"Alright, see you then."
Natsuki folded her phone closed and racked her mind for en excuse to leave early, any excuse.
Then she got an idea.
An awful idea.
The Grinch got a wonderful, awful idea. Er, I mean Natsuki.
Natsuki yanked open a drawer and perused around through the clutter in search of a bottle of eye drops, but her eyes fell upon something else. Natsuki froze for a moment. Then she smiled gently at the photograph and pulled it out. A woman with soft brown hair and crimson eyes stared back at her. Her palm was to her chin, and her mouth made a tiny "o" shape as if she were blowing a kiss to the camera. A blue bikini strap was sliding off of one shoulder.
The bikini was all she wore.
Natsuki had been so embarrassed when she had received it. It was her eighteenth birthday and she was sure the only reason she'd been given it was to embarrass her. She wondered why she'd kept it so long, but mostly, she wondered what Shizuru was doing right now, right this moment.
Probably sitting at home, sipping tea, waiting for me, she thought dryly. Suddenly, she remembered Mai and how she'd probably be coming home late. Natsuki picked up her phone and dialed her home number. It range twice before sending her to the voicemail box.
Strange… A familiar voice sounded out.
"Sorry, Natsuki and I aren't here right now, so leave a message and we'll get back to you." A click and then was beep were heard as if begging for Natsuki to comply. And Natsuki complied.
"It's me. A friend of mine came in from out of town and I'm meeting her tonight, so I'll probably be getting home late. Sorry. Thanks, Baby," she said, adding the last bit for sincerity. Clapping her phone shut once again, Natsuki turned her attention back to Shizuru's picture still in her hand. With a ghost of a smile, a real smile, imprinted on her face, Natsuki gently stroked along the contours of Shizuru's printed face with the very tips of her fingers.
Natsuki promptly pocketed the photo and began her search for eye drops again. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Thinking about Shizuru at a time like this… Her hand soon clasped around a small bottle and she pulled it out. Here it is… Natsuki popped open the bottle and squirted a few drops in each eye. Rubbing her eyes to make it look like she'd been crying, she mustered up all the sadness she could.
Think dead puppies, she thought and strode determinedly out of her office and over to her boss's. Natsuki knocked once on the door and headed inside, eyes red and glistening. A toad-like woman dressed in an obnoxiously yellow suit looked up from her desk. Natsuki gathered her sweetest, saddest voice ever.
"Excuse me, Miss, but it's so terrible, my do--," with a quick glance around the office, Natsuki paused. It was adorned with the tackiest knick knacks of cats she had ever seen.
Oh God…The woman's computer was even shaped like a purring cat. A cat clock hung on the wall, its eyes moving back and forth, its tail swinging in time with the second hand, mocking her. Natsuki realized that her heart-wrenching story of her dog being struck by a car would not wrench this lady's heart.
But that Grinch was so clever and so slick
He thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick. Crap, I mean Natsuki. And she's female.
Damn cat people, she thought and continued. "Miss, please, you have to understand, m-my, m-my poor little Shnookums…" Natsuki mentally gagged, "my Shnookums had a terrible accident. He was sitting on his kitty throne when he fell and injured his paw." Natsuki fell to her knees, feigning tears. "My Shnookums needs me! I should have never left him alone today with that evil, evil, dog lover!" Natsuki was now groveling on the floor.
Her boss's face melted into a strange configuration that resembled pity. "That's terrible!" she cried. "Go! Go to your Shnookums!" Natsuki nodded through her fake tears.
"Y-yes, Miss. I will." With that, she rose up, bowed to her superior, and left the office, grinning like an idiot that her boss had bought such a ridiculous story.
Erstin always thought her room was nice. Of course, compared to the other rooms in the house, hers was tiny and insignificant. The servants' corridor where she lived was ignored by anyone who lived in the main house, and any guest was ignorant of its existence. She wasn't even allowed to visit any of the rooms in the main house except to clean when no one was around. Her existence was to be ignored by her masters and to the guests, she didn't exist. She wasn't even sure that her masters knew of her existence. Still, she received a paycheck every week.
When she was younger, she was upset by being so ignored. She begged for attention from the other maids, but as she grew older and matured, she began to accept her quiet existence. Erstin didn't speak much. There were days when she never even spoke at all, not even to those who shared her living quarters. She would go about the day, cleaning unused rooms, avoiding any contact with other people. But in her room, she could be herself.
Her room was the only part of the house that was hers. It reminded her of her existence on those days that she forgot about it. To make sure it would always be hers, Erstin carved her name into the wall in small print beside her bed. She posted a large sign on the door to prove her ownership. In large lettering, it read "Erstin's Bedroom", and she always smiled when she saw it.
When Aoi, another maid in the house, found out what she'd carved into the wall and seen the sign, she scolded her for defacing the property. But Erstin was secretly happy for it. It meant that Aoi noticed her, someone noticed her. Besides, Aoi would never know why Erstin did those things in the first place, and she would never understand how it felt to be so small and unimportant. She was the head maid and servant and was allowed to go about the house as she pleased to serve her masters, even if guests were around. She was lucky.
At first, Erstin envied Aoi. But as she began to accept her insignificance, she realized that her place was behind the scenes, cleaning rooms without others knowing, and in her room where she was allowed to be free. But soon, she found a place she liked better than her own room.
There was a guest room in the main house that was rarely ever used, but every time Erstin went up to dust and sweep, she loved it. The walls were painted a meek yellow, and when the sun shone in through the two large windows, the whole room felt alive. A soft, four corner bed resided in the corner, and shelves of books aligned the walls. To Erstin, it was perfect. The more she went into the room, the more time she wanted to spend in it.
One day, while Erstin dusted the books, she came upon one that piqued her interest. She inspected the spine, read the title over and over. Kissing in the Rain, it read. Gathering all the courage she could muster, Erstin slowly, deliberately, pulled the book down from the shelf. Holding her treasure in her arms, she quickly looked about the room as if someone were to pop out of the corner and punish her. Silly, she thought. No one will scold me for looking at a book. Still, her heart raced at the small act of defiance.
Erstin clutched the book to her chest and sat down on the bed. She stared at it in her arms. Kissing in the Rain. She opened it and began to read. After a moment or two, she lay back onto the bed, absorbing herself into the book, busy eyes soon lulled by the eminent power of comfortable sleep.
And then she fell asleep.
"Are you sure you have to go now?" Mai pushed again. Natsuki nodded, checking the time on her phone again. Nearly eight. Definitely time to go.
"Sorry, Mai. I've got someone waiting for me at home," she said.
"Alright, alright if you say so," huffed Mai in a mock hurt voice, "but I'll be expecting a phone call tomorrow. I'm leaving Fuka in a month and I want to squeeze in as much of my old classmates in as I can," she added with a smile.
Natsuki shook her head, "Well, I guess it can't be helped. I'll call you tomorrow." With that, Natsuki climbed into the backseat of the taxi and shut her door. She gave a small wave to Mai. Natsuki pulled out a small slip of paper and some money from her purse before handing it to the driver.
"Head to that address. The money should cover the expense." A grunt was the only response from the man. He started the car and drove off into the night. Natsuki pressed her forehead against the cool window and shut her eyes to the lights flashing by outside, recalling the events of the night each one by one as if they were rocks that she could pick up, and inspect, turning over and over.
The first one was an image of Mai when Natsuki arrived. She'd aged since she last saw her, but not necessarily in a bad way. Mai simply looked… older, more mature.
And still as busty as ever.
From the angle Natsuki stood, she was sure that Mai hadn't noticed her entrance quite yet. The red-head sat, twirling the straw in her drink idly, watching waitresses as they passed, no doubt reminiscing on the days when she wore the same outfit, performing that same job.
"How many?" Natsuki whirled her head around to gaze at a slightly overweight lady holding some menus.
"Huh? Oh," Natsuki nodded at Mai. "I'm with her." The hostess nodded and Natsuki strode over to Mai and sat down at the booth. Mai looked up at her and Natsuki grinned.
"So it's been awhile, huh?"
Brought back to reality by a rather sharp turn, Natsuki opened her eyes to the world passing by in front of her, heading down the street that led to her house.
Almost home…
Natsuki closed her eyes again, thinking about the things they'd discussed. People: Tate and Chie, Haruka and Yukino. Mikoto… Shizuru… Their jobs: traveling across the country, working regular hours at an office. Their lives: transporting from hotel to hotel paid for by her company, bound to Fuka. Their futures: envisionments of settling, dreams of moving…
Natsuki opened her eyes and gazed outside. We should be getting there soon…
"Here," Natsuki said as they began down a familiar street. "You can drop me off here." The driver once again grunted and stopped the car. Natsuki gathered her purse and exited the cab, waiting for it to drive off before starting off down the road. Her body moved on autopilot, having taken the path countless times before.
Though all of the times were on my bike, she thought grimly then wondered when she'd have the time to work on it. The weight of the dreaded proposal she put off from work that day suddenly became eminent in her bag. She'd have to work on that tonight. She mentally kicked herself for procrastination. Sounds around her drifted into her mind which barely comprehended as it whirled about from Natsuki inner thoughts.
Moments later, she arrived at her house. She didn't bother to search for her keys amongst the mess in her purse, but rather forcefully shoved the door, knowing it would be unlocked.
"I'm home," she projected flimsily to anyone who'd care and plopped herself down on the nearest couch. She shut her eyes and drifted into relaxation. Finally home. Within seconds, warm arms wrapped around her neck from behind and a smooth cheek slide across her own. Natsuki flinched briefly before melting into the embrace and leaning against the warm skin, taking in the familiar scent.
"Welcome home, Natsuki."
"Thank you, Sergay," she said in return and kissed her husband on the cheek.
Author's Notes:
Heh. So. It was pretty long, eh? Please don't kill me for that ending, but don't worry, I'll clarify a lot of things in the next chapter. Yep. I'm doing a series here. Also, I'm sorry for throwing in so much crappy humor when Natsuki was at the office. That thought in itself seems humorous to me, so I couldn't resist. I'm confident that I got the necessary stuff across, so it didn't terribly suck.
Unless it did. And of course, if that's the case, by all means, tell me. I need a little feedback.
Also, some parts of it felt a little forced here and there, so any thoughts of how I could smooth it all out would be great. Actually, just review your little heart out cause I'm not exactly sure my roughly seven readers all loved it. Oh, and if you're going to review, please have the decency to write more than five words. I literally got a two word review once. "nice job" Yup. You know who you are.
But who am I kidding? Any review is much appreciated. Beggars can't be choosers…
-Dukky