Here's the next chapter! I really hope you all enjoy it. This is my first fanfiction so be please patient as I'm still working out the kinks. But other than that, thanks to everyone who favorite/reviewed! I hope you all like it. : )

"Dialog"

"Thoughts"

Chapter Two: Breaking Down These Walls

Slam.

The thick white apartment door made a hard impact against its frame. The owner rushed inside as if she was in a hurry to be somewhere. In reality the cobalt haired girl had nothing to do but wait until Mai's call.

In reality she was nervous, nervous as hell. Her earlier encounter with Shizuru was something she could brush off while enjoying a ride on her bike but now that there was nothing to occupy her mind there was a dam that broke loose in her mind. No matter what Natsuki did it always seemed that the Kaichou haunted her every thought.

Pacing around the entrance to her apartment that was a short hallway leading to a front room occupied by bland pieces of furniture made the environments slightly more welcoming, she decided on a small snack to keep her mind busy. Walking through the apartment, she made her way to the open archway that separated the compact kitchen from the front room. The younger girl opened the door and sagged against it with a small sigh, searching for anything to spark her interest. She opted for a mayo slathered ham sandwich and reached for all the ingredients. Spinning around she kicked the fridge door causing another loud slam to ring in the apartment. It seemed with all the things on the younger girl's mind, each action resulted in slamming or tearing at with frustration. Once she was satisfied with the amount of goop that she spread on the bread she followed with ham to top it off and put the sandwich together and shoved it into her mouth, taking an unladylike chomp and staring off as she tried to chew the large mush of food.

After swallowing, Natsuki looked around the apartment not focusing on anything in particular, and then her eyes settled on the game station that was splayed out in front of the TV. With the sandwich in hand she lazily treaded over to it and turned it on. "Might as well do something interesting while I wait." She spoke to herself and then took another huge bite, catching the oozing mayo that fought to escape. Looking up she saw the clock, it was just past three P.M. and she finished her snack and picked up the controller and plopped on the couch that rested against the wall parallel to the TV.

Anxiety soon left her as she engrossed herself in a game involving sci-fi creatures in which she took great pleasure in shooting their ugly heads off. A few hours had past and she was now lying on her side with her elbow on the arm rest propping herself up. A familiar chime went off and Natsuki was torn from her game playing. Absent mindedly she paused and opened her phone, "Yo." She greeted into the phone.

"Hey Natsuki!" Mai bubbled with hardly kept excitement. "You ready for tonight? It's going to be at 6 at our usual place." She chided

Looking at the clock with a small grimace she saw she had only an hour before it started. "Yeah, that sounds great I'll be there." Natsuki responded, a little more abruptly than she meant to.

"You alright Natsuki?" Came a worried response from the busty girl. Natsuki knew she meant well but sometimes it really annoyed her how many times Mai asked this.

"Yeah I'm fine, just was playing a video game is all. I'll see you there Mai." The blue haired girl tried to end the call with a convincing note, but knowing Mai she isn't someone to be convinced very easily.

"Alright Natsuki…see you then." Natsuki faintly heard her respond and closed her phone. With a lazy grunt she forced herself off of the couch and towards her bedroom.

"I should probably get a quick shower before I leave." Grabbing a towel from the rack she paced across her room to the door to the bathroom. She quickly stripped herself of her uniform and stepped into the shower, letting the hot water warm her and calm the thoughts that had been plaguing her all day.

After a relaxing shower she stepped out, wrapped a towel loosely over her lithe body and went to her closet. Scanning the options, Natsuki settled on a pair of tight, faded jeans with a small tear near the left knee and a white v neck top that hugged her small figure. After picking out her attire and throwing them onto her bed she went to the drawers to find a pair of matching panties and bras.

Once she was dressed she rung her hair out and drying it with her hairdryer, she threw it up in a loose bun, leaving two thick bangs to hang around her face.

The young girl briskly grabbed her keys and helmet and left her apartment, down the stairs, and outside to her parked Ducati. "Tonight's going to be…interesting." She thought as she carefully put on her helmet as to not disturb her bun and prompted to drive off in the direction of the party.

The party went smoothly as Natsuki tried hard to concentrate on whomever was singing at the moment rather than the curious red orbs that seemed to be on her all night. Sake was passed around as the atmosphere was playful and bubbly. She was never one for much drinking so she settled with one drink or sake and then followed with some soda. Before she knew it hours flew by that was filled with laughter and fun, and it was already 11 o'clock.

Shizuru scooted closer to Natsuki on the small couch they shared and spoke over the chatter of the other girls. "Would Natsuki mind if I came over?"

The blue haired girl involuntarily shivered at the question and dumbly nodded at the sparkling pair of eyes that seemed to glow brighter at her answer. "Get a hold on yourself Kuga, it's just a friend sleeping over. Nothing else."

The two girls excused themselves and made their way to the motocycle that was parked out front. Natsuki was fine to drive but she could tell Shizuru had a little more to drink that herself and the small giggly grin on the Kyoto woman's face proved it. Once on the bike, Natsuki felt long slender arms slowly encircle her waist and her face burned. The biker revved the engine and fought back the burning sensations in her chest, trying to end her tidal waves with one last gulp and sped off.

The night seemed uneventful when they arrived to the apartment, which Natsuki thanked for. Shizuru gave her puppy eyes and asked to sleep with her in the bed tonight. Inwardly she panicked but to not cause a scene she slowly nodded and got ready for bed. Once they were both lying down, the older girl innocently clung to Natuski and hummed in contentment. The rebel could hear her heart pounding in her ears as she lied there uncomfortably for what seemed like forever, as her brain spewed out a never ending torrent of questions and panicked thoughts.

After she knew Shizuru would be asleep, she gently excused herself and tip toed out into the front room after grabbing a leather jacket with a certain object of her interest in it. She slipped out of the room and shrugged on the jacket, zipping it up over her nightwear and paced over to the door that connected to the hallways of the apartment building.

Walking outside Natsuki was greeted with a small chilling breeze that left a wake of musty night air. She let out a sigh she unknowingly seemed to keep the whole time she was near Shizuru, why she could never be calm around those strong crimson eyes was a question she knew the answer to, but didn't want to believe. The biker sat down with a huff on the edge of the sidewalk that lay just below the window to her second floor apartment. She shoved a hand into the leather jacket she threw on and retrieved a small rectangular carton that had never been opened. "I never usually resort to this sort of thing, but hell if I can get a motorcycle under the table, why not some cigarettes." Natsuki finished her thought as she peeled off the plastic covering and drew back the lid to the box, withdrawing a slender white cigarette and placing the end lightly between her lips. She shoved the box back into her pocket and withdrew a lighter, lit the end and took in a hesitant first draw of air. It burned the back of her throat but she fought back a cough and let out the smoke smoothly and watched it dissipate against the dark night. Once again she succumbed to the suffocating questions that never let her sleep or think in peace; "Why do I like her? And why can't I just let it go? There's no way someone like her would ever like me. I'm sure if she knew she would be disgusted at me. I'm…a monster for liking her." Mixed emotions of anger at herself and a pained feeling swelled in her chest and she sought to erase them with a curt inhale and exhale of the toxic smoke.

Lost in her own thoughts, Natsuki failed to hear the small scraping of a window being opened by Shizuru whose face showed signs of a sleepy daze. The older woman remained quiet as she tried to make out the figure that sat below. She heard a faint murmur and recognized it as Natsuki's voice, followed by and inhale, and then a faint cloud of smoke. The girl below sounded distressed and the body language that mimicked could faintly be seen. The honey haired girl's heart tugged at the image; she wanted to put out that cancerous stick and envelope the younger girl in a hug.

Deciding to be quiet, Shizuru slipped the window down and made her way downstairs of the apartment complex and gently opened the door that led to the outside. "Natsuki, Is everything alright?" She inquired and watched the blue haired girl stiffen instantly; insure what to do with the incriminating evidence between her fingers.

Trying to hide the cigarette she craned her neck to meet Shizuru's gaze. "H-hey, don't mind me I just wanted to get some fresh air…um, just go back to bed, I'm ok." Natsuki tried to smile reassuringly, but the ending came out more like a desperate plead than a command.

Sensing the distraught look Natsuki unknowingly held in her face, Shizuru was unable to turn away when something had been troubling her dearest friend. She strode over with a small smile on her face she begrudgingly sat on the dirty concrete just to be nearer to the younger girl. Although she was unable to take her eyes off the half burned cigarette that now seemed flattened between two nervous fingers once she sat down.

"Great. I know that face." Natsuki inwardly cringed. She knew Shizuru was never one to impose her morals on others, but when the older girl couldn't help but to stare off at the object of her discontent; she was fighting the urge to voice her opinion. With that Natsuki grounded the weak cigarette against the sidewalk and flicked it far away from the two to be lost in the enveloping night.

"But didn't Natsuki want to finish it?" Shizuru questioned, observing the girl's profile hoping she was not the cause for the sudden action.

"Nah, I didn't really like it anyway." Natsuki finished and turned her head softly in the other girl's direction, catching some sort of guilt in the pair of eyes that seemed to look through her. She shifted a bit out of discomfort and continued. "It's ok Shizuru I just don't want to disappoint you." And with that she realized Shizuru's face contorted slightly, only just enough for her to catch on. The pit of her stomach dropped and she looked down in shame and embarrassment. "Shit, my breath must reek of that smoke."

Just as Shizuru was about to respond, Natsuki bolted up in an attempt to end the subject. A hand was outreached to her but it seemed that the younger girl refused to make any eye contact.

"Come on, we should probably get to bed, it's late." Natsuki forced out in a rushed manor. Shizuru decided not to push her luck and took the help offered to get up from the sidewalk. Just as the taller girl began to rise, she felt a hard tug.

Natsuki, not realizing her strength, in a curt motion pulled the older girl too far and Shizuru fell against the rigid younger girl. Time slowed and neither knew what to do in this awkward moment. In hopes to soothe the bothered girl, Shizuru slowly wrapped her now free arms around the stiffened body. "Thank you for the help Natsuki, but it seems that you do not know your own strength." The older girl giggled and rested her head in the crook of Natsuki's neck.

The chuckle could be felt against her neck and Natsuki's heart rate tripled as she struggled to contain herself. "Don't mention it." She replied as she turned her head away to hide the smoky odor from the other girl.

Noticing her actions, Shizuru smiled and continued her sly teasing of the other girl. "My, how will I repay you for such help? Maybe with a kiss…"

A time bomb exploded at the base of Natsuki's skull with the last word that oozed from those lips, which were probably turned up in amusement. She stood there unknowing of what to do next, but then felt a soft wet kiss being placed on the hollow of her neck. It was a soft, chaste kiss that left just as quickly as it came. The sensation swelled and her knees buckled. A soft whimper escaped from the already built pressure of her bottling up her affections for the older girl. "Fuck." Now she was caught. Her hard work of hiding these emotions behind walls crumbled as she felt a tidal wave engulf her. She couldn't breathe, her chest felt like it was going to be crushed, and every part of her body felt as if it had been electrocuted.

Shizuru inwardly shuddered and stood there dumbly as a pink tinge rose to her cheeks at the sound of that needy cry. "Have I gone too far?" Anxiety rose in the Kyoto woman's chest as she swiftly yet gracefully let her hold on Natsuki go. She could not exactly describe the feelings that bore into her chest, but it seemed to have a hint of desire that sparked when she heard that eliciting whimper. Swiveling around to hide her crumbling mask she called out, "Come on Nastuki, you don't want to catch a cold." Ending with a giggle, Shizuru kept her back to Natsuki and entered the building.

Behind stood Natsuki, as she stared blankly at the door as realization made itself known. Her heart hit bottom and any feeling she of hope, had been crushed. Mistaking Shizuru's sudden actions to ones of disgust and rejection, she hung her head as tears threatened to break free. "I knew it; she could never like someone like me." She felt hollow as she tried desperately to regain her composer to keep from worrying her friend. Natsuki strode to the door and with a firm grasp, opened it and proceeded to the stairs. Each step seemed harder than the last and the weight of her heart made her legs feel as though they were made of lead. Now in front of her apartment, she stood for a second and with a large inhale she opened the door. Greeted with nothing but the silence and emptiness of the front room, she thought idly that Shizuru must be in her bedroom, but the thought of following caused a pang of hurt to prick at her heart. The couch would be her bed tonight, she decided as she grabbed an extra pillow and blanket from the hall closet.

Throwing her limp body onto the couch she adjusted herself and draped the blanket lazily over herself. "It's going to take a miracle to get to sleep tonight." Natsuki thought as she stared blankly at the dimly lit wall across from her.

The night dragged on with tossing, turning, cursing herself for her hopes and the small tears that escaped when she replayed the events that took place earlier. Finally exhaustion took hold and her heavy eyes shut, forcing a last tear to roll away.

In the other room Shizuru sat clutching her knees against her chest as she realized she would be sleeping alone tonight. She felt guilty about pushing Natsuki's personal boundaries and she was sure the other girl was mad at her for it. She sighed and laid down promising to herself that she would make it up to Natsuki in the morning with her favorite breakfast.

Silence hung thickly in the one bedroom apartment as the two women fell into a troubled slumber. The dark closed on them both and reality slowly slipped from their mental grasps.

That's it for this chapter! Yes there will be misunderstandings and angst! hahah

I hope you liked it, R&R please :)