Disclaimer:…I…forgot to put this in the first chapter…-_-;;;;;;; Well, here it is: I don't own Mai Hime/Mai Otome…
Natsuki stopped to sketch the overcast lake scenery a few times as she contentedly walked along the snow-dirt path around the lake, near the edge of the foothills, even stopping to sketch the view down a street that broke away from the park for a short stretch of sidewalk (though admittedly she spent less time sketching the houses lining the sides of her sketch).
She walked along the concrete path, taking special care to pay attention to and avoid the wet patches of water that had frozen into ice. She attentively stared at the stretch of sidewalk that sloped downwards around the small children's playground, warily eyeing the dully glistening patch of white-grey ice that just happened to cover the steeper part of the gently sloping path.
Her grip tightened slightly on the chair and bad slung over her shoulder, being careful to step onto the snow-covered grass around the ice patch. She hastily made her way back onto clean sidewalk, grip loosening as she had safely avoided incident.
She threw a quick glance back at the children's park and the surrounding area, turning back around in the absence of any sketch-worthy material, when…she saw a flash of dark purple against the washed-out white.
…Huh!
Natsuki whipped her head back around, eyes peering at the location where she thought she'd seen the flash of dark purple. The wind abated. No purple.
…My…she looked around again…imagination…?
A gust of wind blew her midnight blue hair into her face, temporarily obscuring her vision. She squinted, fumbling to tame her rebellious hair.
"!"
With a soft whump! a dark purple scarf caught itself on Natsuki's face. The faint trace of lavender clinging to the violet scarf tickled her nose.
Okay; guess I wasn't imagining things…
She removed the scarf as the wind withdrew with a sigh. Natsuki looked around for the owner of the lavender scarf. She held the scarf loosely yet securely in her mitten-covered hand, throwing glances left and right, tilting her head slightly downwards to look at it.
"…So…who do you belong to…?"
The scarf didn't answer. …Didn't think so.
Natsuki looked in the direction she thought the scarf had come from, her attention drawn to the small playground. She walked over purposefully, checking for footprints in the snow and glancing inside the partially obscured structures.
She glanced at the interior of a small covered-yet-open shelter, poking her head inside to get a closer look.
Sure enough, there was a person resting inside. Well at least I can return this now…The person did not stir.
Thinking the person hadn't heard her crunching around on the snow-covered rocks or the audible breaths that had been escaping her scarf, Natsuki cleared her throat.
"…A-Ano…." [1] Natsuki heard her voice ring in her ears.
No reply. "…"
"Excuse me...miss?" Natsuki inquired more boldly as she stepped underneath the covering, discovering that this person was a woman. Still no response.
Okay… …
She stepped closer, shifting the weight of her stuff in the hopes of at least warning the woman of her presence if not rousing her in some fashion.
She stood directly in front of the woman, a few feet away. "Hello…miss?" Natsuki was no longer an arm's length away; in fact, she could touch the woman's shoulder if she reached out to it.
She bent over to look at the woman's face. Wow….she's pretty attractive… Tawny, honey-brown wavy hair framed a fair complexion, the woman's eyes closed, lips betraying nothing but the small puffs of air the woman exhaled as she breathed out.
Natsuki was starting to get worried. I mean, wouldn't one usually notice the absence of their scarf? Or give some kind of response…
She leaned closer, removing the mitten part of her gloves exposing her fingers. "…Chotto gomene…" [2] She gently placed her fingers on the woman's cheek.
Natsuki withdrew her hand, face overwritten by concern. That's not good…! Natsuki yanked her mittens off, unslinging the chair and the bag with her sketching materials from her shoulder. She stuffed the purple scarf into her bag, untying her own from her neck and gingerly fastening it around the unconscious woman. She took off her earmuffs and placed them onto the woman's red ears.
She hastily gathered her things, slinging them over one shoulder once again. She turned to the woman, a gentle blush gracing her cheeks as she bent down to scoop up the young woman in her arms. "…Gomene…" [3] She stood up slowly, one arm supporting the woman's back, the other securely underneath her knees, legs dangling slightly, head gently thrown back.
Natsuki frowned as she saw the woman's neck in such an uncomfortable position. She shifted the woman's body in an attempt to get the woman's head in a better orientation. It ended up rolling the woman's head onto her shoulder, the warmth of the woman's fever emanating through her jacket.
Satisfied that the woman was reasonably comfortable and secure, Natsuki hurriedly walked back towards her house, making a mental checklist of what she needed to do the minute she got back.
She furrowed her brow, willing her legs to go faster as the worry started to set in. First thing's a bath, change of clothes, then after I tuck her in, maybe some hot milk tea; oh, I should probably turn up the thermostat too…Nothing save the sound of her shoes moving purposefully towards her destination betrayed any sign of the turmoil of thoughts raging inside Natsuki's head.
T/N: [1] Excuse me; [2] Excuse me for a little bit (like sorry I'm invading your personal space); [3] A familiar (as in not formal) way of saying 'I'm sorry'
Pretty much I thought the different ways of saying "I'm sorry" in some fashion would be more interesting…?
A/N: Chapter 2 is out! I cranked this one after class today…yeah…I was happy to be in the company of my muse…she always helps me through the day! So Shizuru is now officially in the story…kind of. Sorry! My muse sort of led me to this plot development. But I guess now it's for sure going to be more than two chapters…so yay? I've actually been thinking A LOT about how I could extend this fic if my muse so pleases…and there are A LOT of ways indeed…
Thanks for everyone that took the time to read the first chapter, my other Untitled ShizNat story, and/or decided to drop me a review! I really appreciate it! I enjoy reading them!
I don't know when the next chapter will pop up (as this super-fast update is a rarity…) but thank you for your continued support!
-YH