Hearts of Destiny
Pairing: Mai x Naotora
Genre: Friendship/Romance
Disclaimer: I do not own DOA or any of its characters.
Author's Note: So…I took interest in the little cutie pie, Naotora, so I decided to write about her. And who would be a better waifu than Mai Shiranui herself~? I mean, they are both the last DLC characters to join Dead or Alive, so why not~? Enjoy!
UPDATE: This used to be separate stories, but I'm just going to jumble them all into one. So…sorry if I deleted those stories, but I would rather have more reviews if it's all in one.
"Ahh! I'm gonna be so late!" a girl with black hair tied in two low pig tails cries as she takes a look at the clock while putting on her shoes, grabs her shoes and runs out the door while calling, "I'm off!"
She rushes out towards the sidewalk, not caring if the neighbors stared at her or not. All that mattered is that she needed to catch the train to get to DOATEC Academy for Girls. She transferred a few weeks ago and is now starting today. She is looking forward to making new friends, but there's a small problem: she's very shy and apologizes constantly over nothing. People consider her a bit weird, but that's how she is. However, aside from her shy personality, she's also a samurai warrior and been trained by her father. She tries her very best not only for the sake of her family, but for herself as well. She trained long and hard to become the best samurai she could be.
The raven-haired girl rushes toward the train station and sighs in relief to see that the train is still there and enters. She looks out the window after walking toward a spot where she feels comfortable as the train starts moving. She just stares outside as she thinks about how to introduce herself and make new friends. Because of her shy personality, she knows it's going to be difficult. She lets out a sigh.
"Mou…I need to focus!" she says to herself. "Okay, Naotora. This year, I'll make at least…3 friends! Yes, that's right! 3 it is~!"
She pumps up two fists as if to show her confidence. However, that confidence is short lived when she hangs her head down.
"Is it going to be possible, though…?" she groans. "I mean…I'm a very shy girl…"
She lets out a second sigh and just stares out the window. She is hoping that she'll make friends this year than she did in middle school. They couldn't deal with her constant apologies and shyness anyways.
**DOETEC Academy**
Once the train arrives, Naotora gets squished by many people trying to get out, probably to go to work or school. The poor shy girl squeaks from someone purposely knocking her down and dropping her books and bag in the process. She groans as she struggles to pick everything up. However, a voice calls for her as a hand reaches out, handing her a text book.
"Here you go," a cheerful girl's voice says.
Naotora looks up at the girl. She has long brown hair tied in a pony-tail and wearing the same uniform as her. She takes the notebook, stands up and bows.
"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" she says. "You're very kind!"
"No problem~!" the brunette replies as she looks back. "Goodness, those people can be rude sometimes."
"U-um…they might be in a hurry for work or something…"
"Yes, but still…"
It is then that Naotora finds herself staring at the girl's beautiful features. The long hair swaying from the light wind blowing at her and her pretty face and slender figure. She couldn't help but blush at those features.
She's…really cute…the raven haired girl thinks.
"Oh, so are you applying for DOATEC Girls' Academy?" the brunette asks.
"Ah, y-yes!" Naotora replies, snapping back to reality. "I'm…I'm a freshman, by the way."
"Really? I'm a 3rd year here."
Naotora blushes again. "Ah…I see…"
The brunette giggles. "You're so cute, you know? Hey, how about we can be friends? How does that sound?"
The raven haired girl gasps happily as her blush remains on her face. "Y-you think so!?"
"Of course~!" The brunette holds out her hand. "My name is Mai Shiranui by the way. What's yours?"
"I'm…I'm Naotora Ii."
"Nice to meet you, Naotora-chan~!"
Both of them shake hands and blush slightly. The girls are just lost in each other's eyes, just staring at one another. They even wonder if they can hear each other's hearts beating rapidly.
Just then, they hear the warning bell ring, startling both of them. Naotora turns to the brunette and bows in shame several times.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she cries. "I didn't mean for us to be late on our first day!"
Mai just laughs and pets her. "Not to worry. I can get us there in a jiffy~!"
"How are you going to do that?" Naotora tilts her head in confusion. They are way far from the school and there's no way they can get there in less than 5 minutes.
Mai takes her hand and winks at her. "Hang tight~!"
"Huh…WAH!"
Naotora just shuts her eyes tightly as she is being dragged by Mai until they come to a complete stop.
"We're here~!"
The raven haired girl slowly opens her eyes and finds herself at the entrance behind a big tree where the cherry blossoms fall. It was like they just got here in 10 seconds.
"How did you-" Naotora starts when Mai gently puts a finger to her mouth.
"Please don't tell anyone about this, okay?" the brunette whispers.
"O-okay…"
Mai smiles and pets her. "I'm glad. This is only for an emergency anyways. Well, I'll see you later."
As the brunette skips away, Naotora blushes as she watches her sempai run off. My heart is beating again… she thinks. What an…awesome ninja she is… She knew that no one else could run that fast, for normal people at least. So, judging from that fast movement from Mai, Naotora figured that she's a ninja. Despite all that, the raven-haired girl is swooning.
"Mai-sempai…" she says.
**Lunch Time**
Naotora looks around the cafeteria and the tables are already full. She groans at this and walks outside to find a decent spot to sit and eat. She found no one to sit next to and eat with since she didn't know anyone and was too shy to talk to them. She finds a spot where there is a shade from a big tree and decides to eat there. However, just as she is about to sit down, she hears a familiar voice calling her.
"Naotora-chan~!" Mai calls as she runs toward her, waving.
"Mai-sempai…"
The brunette stops and giggles. "You can call me Mai. We're friends, aren't we?"
"Yes, but-"
"It's okay," Mai sits down next to her and sets her lunch box down. "Lucky for me, I have the same lunch period as you, so there's no need to worry about finding anyone to sit with."
Naotora blushes from this and smiles. "Th-thank you, Mai…chan…"
The brunette gasps happily with sparkles in her eyes from the shy girl calling her that and hugs her tightly. "Ohhhhh, that's SOOOO adorable~! You're just too cute, Naotora-chaaaaan~!"
"M-M-Mai-chan…there's people…st-staring!" the raven haired girl groans as she flails her arms around to get free and thankfully, Mai lets go.
"Sorry about that," she says, laughing nervously while putting a hand at the back of her head. "Hehe~! Anyways, let's eat!"
Both of them dig into their lunches and Mai looks over at her bento.
"Wow! That's quite a lunch! Did you make it yourself?" she asks.
Naotora picks at her chicken. "Yes."
"Nice~! Mind if I try some?"
"S-sure…" Naotora blushes as she hands her bento to her.
Mai takes one piece of chicken with her chopsticks and takes a bite. "Mm~! That tastes really good! You're a great cook, Naotora-chan~!"
"I…I'm not that great of a cook," Naotora says, shyly. "My mother's the better cook."
"No way~! You can cook as good as your mother, trust me!"
The raven haired girl blushes even more as she eats her lunch. I feel like…I'm falling for her… she thinks. Yes…I'm in love with her…
The silence is broken when Mai decides to pop a question.
"So, what are your hobbies, Naotora-chan?"
"Well…I do samurai training at the dojo from time to time…" the raven haired girl replies.
This surprises Mai as she nearly chokes on her food. "Whoa! Y-you're a samurai!? That's AWESOME~!"
The raven haired girl quickly puts her hand on her mouth to quiet her down. "D-don't tell anyone else, please. It's embarrassing."
Mai giggles. "Don't worry~! Your secret is safe with me since you promised to keep mine."
Naotora nods as she picks up another piece of chicken to eat when Mai quickly snatches a piece from her bento.
"Hey!" Naotora cries. "That's the last one!"
"Hehe~! Sorry, but I couldn't help myself!"
"You could have at least tried my rice!"
"Oh, goodie! More food!"
"Mai-chaaaaan!"
The two girls have fun goofing around for the whole lunch period until they helped each other eat each other's lunch for the last few minutes of the period. Once the warning bell rings, both of them stand up and Mai pets the shy girl.
"I had a great time eating lunch with you," she says. "Let's do it again, okay?"
"Yes. That would be lovely…" Naotora replies.
Mai nods as she turns to leave. "See you tomorrow, Naotora-chan~!"
The shy girl waves as she blushes again and puts her fist on her chest. She is definitely in love with the cheerful ninja. But…how will she confess her feelings to her?
**Late That Night**
Naotora lies in bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about how to confess to her sempai. Many phrases fill her head, but she isn't sure if any of those them are enough to have Mai return her feelings. Or worse: what if Mai already has someone? She's in her third year anyways, so anybody would have confessed to the beautiful brunette. She puts an arm on her forehead as she sighs heavily.
"This is going to be impossible…" she groans.
**A Few Days Later**
For the next few days, Naotora decided to wait and see if Mai already has someone she loved. But from what she can see, there is no one that she was interested in. She briefly talks to many girls and walks away. Yes, she has a good time with them, but not as a good as she did when she's with Naotora. She then learned that there's no one that she's interested in, maybe not here, but outside of school? Maybe like a boyfriend or something?
However, her questions are answered by some girls talking amongst each other.
"Mai-sempai is so cute~!"
"Geez, lay off already! I want her more!"
"Not gonna happen! Didn't you hear? She's got a boyfriend already!"
"Wait a minute. I thought those two broke up months ago."
"Really? I'm sorry, I didn't know."
"It was Andy, wasn't it? Yeah, that's it. She and Andy used to be together."
"Yeah, but…Andy told her that their relationship just wasn't meant to be. And that broke Mai's heart."
"Because he was interested in another girl?"
"I'm 100% sure that's correct."
Naotora quickly hides behind a corner, cupping her hands to her mouth with tears stinging her eyes. Oh, my gosh! She thinks. But…she looked so happy. Maybe…maybe she's trying to hide it and not show her true feelings to anyone else. But…what if there's another reason why?
She takes a peak from behind a corner to see Mai talking with one girl. It looked like she was confessing to her while giving her a love letter. But Mai just smiles, pets the girl and shakes her head. The girl bows in shame and apologizes as she runs off. Mai's smile fades and turns around to walk away. Naotora quickly runs off before the brunette even notices. She stops and looks back to see if anyone is following her, thankfully no one isn't. She clutches the books to her chest and shuts her eyes tightly.
"Oh, Mai-sempai…I'm so sorry…"
**Late Afternoon**
Naotora walks in the empty halls with the sun setting. She had cleaning duty and it took her longer than she expected since she's getting used to the new environment. As she puts away her supplies, she sees Mai walking by. This is the perfect chance to talk to her, so after closing the locker, she calls her name and runs toward her.
"Mai-chan!" she says.
"Oh, Naotora-chan," the brunette turns and smiles at her. "What's up?"
"Can I…talk to you for a moment?"
Mai tilts her head in confusion and nods. "Okay."
The two girls head for the front entrance and silence fills the air as the shy girl looks down at the floor, fiddling with her fingers. This is finally the moment where she tries to confess her love to the brunette. Gathering up her courage, she takes a deep breath.
"Mai-chan…" she says. "Ummm…uhhh…I know it's been a few days, but…I've admired you ever since we first met. And that admiration turned to love. And when you revealed to me that you were a ninja, I began to fall for you even more. So…I wanted to tell you…I love you, Mai-chan. Please go out with me!"
Silence fills the air again as none of them move a muscle. Mai blushes, shocked to hear the shy girl confess to her like that. However, the brunette is happy. She gently wraps one arm around the shy girl's waist, pulls her close as she tips her chin and leans in to kiss her. Naotora's eyes widen from the unexpected kiss, just for a brief moment until she pulls away. Mai smiles her beautiful smile.
"I love you, too," she says. "When I laid eyes on you, I knew that we were destined to meet each other like this. It was a fateful meeting between the both of us."
"B-but what about…"
"I know." Mai says as she smiles a sad smile. "I loved Andy, too, but I'm over that now. It's time to move on. Because I finally found my true love."
Naotora cries in tears of happiness as she hugs her new lover. "Mai-chan!"
The brunette gently returns the hug and kisses her on the forehead. "Naotora-chan…I love you. I love you so much!"
Both of them pull away and lean in to share a passionate, heartwarming kiss. For both the ninja and samurai, in their hearts, they were destined to love each other this way. Now and forever.