Disclaimer: Nope.
Also, I should say this story is ACTIONY! Not a couples story. Though it does have them and couple moments in it, that's not the focus of this story. Just to make that clear.
"Headmaster, there's an emergency!"
Natsuki stirred a little, slowly opening her eyes at the sound of the urgent voice.
"Wha…?"
"Please get up and come to the castle immediately!" Natsuki heard footsteps as they faded away, and she assumed it was Yoko who ran off. She sat up in her bed as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and turned to look at the time. It was six twenty-two. It didn't register until then that she was in her room. How did I get here…?
"Ah, Natsuki is awake." Natsuki jumped and almost flipped out of her bed. She turned to look towards the doorway that linked Shizuru's room with her own, and there she was, standing in the doorway. "I have your suit for you."
"Shizuru…did you bring me here…again?" Natsuki was still half asleep, even though she surprised her. Shizuru smiled gently at her as she walked over to her bed.
"Yes. You really should try to put aside work more." She laid Natsuki's uniform on her bed. "Although I don't mind carrying Natsuki to bed, I'm concerned about her health." Shizuru gave her a look that seemed to dare her to say something back. Natsuki felt herself flush violently at her words as she looked away.
"Shiz-bah, go get dressed and I'll meet you outside!" She got out of bed as Shizuru giggled quietly. She cast Natsuki one last adoring look before turning to return to her room. Natsuki sighed, if words would kill her it would be the teasing ones from Shizuru. She looked at her new uniform lying on her bed. It was quite formal and impressive. A black waistcoat with silver buttons, and a white collar shirt. Full length black slacks with a blue stripe running down the each side. Even a new blue coat, identical to her old one, but with a light blue trim around the collar aswell, and a shoulder board on the left shoulder. She took off the clothes she had on, and put on her new uniform. She felt bold and elegant in it as she reached down to her nightstand to grab her hairpin. She pulled her hair back and set it in place. She made her way to the door and stepped outside, closing it quietly. She walked a short ways to Shizuru's door and waited there, playing with the cuffs of her coat. A few minutes later, Shizuru stepped out of her room, pausing as she saw Natsuki. She seemed stunned for a moment before shutting her door.
"Ara ara...that looks incredible on you." She said dreamily, as she stepped away a little to take in her new look. Natsuki averted her eyes shyly.
"You think…?"
"Indeed… " Shizuru's eyes flickered a moment, as she turned back to the door to her room. "There is one more thing." She walked inside, and a couple moments later came back with a pale dark blue cape.
"What is that?"
"Another part to your uniform." Shizuru walked around Natsuki and hooked the cape onto her shoulders. It fell to a few inches off the ground.
"How does it look?"
"Simply handsome…" Shizuru said admiringly. Something in her tone made a chill run down Natsuki's spine. She liked it.
"We should get going…we've taken a lot of time." Shizuru nodded and followed Natsuki down the hall.
Mai stood by the one way window of the interrogation room. The two captives sat in chairs, handcuffed. Mikoto stood by them along with Sakura, from Chie's squad. Mai was slightly irritated. Chie and she had tried to interrogate the both of them for information, but they refused to speak to anyone other than Natsuki Kruger. They didn't say why. She watched as one of them glanced at the window, perhaps trying to see through it. The two men looked odd to her…unnatural. Trained from birth to be assassins or criminals of whatever nature perhaps. Artai had an interesting background with unique criminals. Never know what you're going to find. She sighed and glanced over at the now unconscious Yoko, slumped against the wall. If Natsuki can't get anything out of them, Yoko would no doubt have some interesting medicines to prompt them. She heard distant footsteps down the hall as she turned to see Shizuru and…Natsuki, in a different uniform? She blinked a little, looking their way.
"What'd I miss?" Mai jumped and whirled around. Nao was standing behind her with her hands in her pockets.
"God Nao! Don't do that! Where in the world were you?" Mai snapped at the younger girl irritably.
"Well I was bored, and I saw you and Chie flying around, n' thought I'd follow." Nao looked through the one way glass. "I see we caught some goodies."
"Mai, have you managed to get anything out of the two captives?" Natsuki walked up to the two girls, Shizuru at her side. Mai took in Natsuki's new, very impressive uniform.
"Uh…No, sorry. They refused to speak to us, they only want to talk directly to you." Natsuki looked curious at her words, as she turned to look at the two in the room. "By the way, I love your new look."
Natsuki snapped her head round to look back at Mai, a little startled by her comment. "Oh, thank you." She walked towards the steel door that separated the rooms, and with little effort pulled open the heavy door. She stepped inside and let it slowly closed behind her.
"Ah, Headmaster!" Sakura said as she turned and bowed slightly. Mikoto turned to her with a smile on her face.
"You two go wait outside with the others, please." They both nodded and walked out of the room. The man facing Natsuki looked up at her with a dark expression.
"Ah…Natsuki Kruger, Headmaster of Garderobe and second of the five columns, what an honor." He snarled the last three words. The other man behind him turned his head lazily to look at her. Both of them looked ragged and lifeless.
"First off, tell me your names." Natsuki watched them with a stern look on her face as she strode around the two men, the younger looking one never taking his eyes off her. The older looking man kept his head half hung, as he spoke in a gruff voice.
"We don't have names." The younger one held his icy stare as Natsuki looked questioningly at the older man.
"Fine then, what are you planning to do at the Artai prison?" She stopped by the one way glass and faced the two, placing her hands behind her back. The younger man, still fixedly staring at her, gave a quick laugh, almost coughing. The older one glanced awkwardly at his partner, and turned his gaze to Natsuki. A dangerous glint in his eyes, Natsuki felt a little uneasy at his stare, but didn't flinch.
Outside, Shizuru stood close to the door, watching intently if one of the captives were to attack. Mikoto had slumped against the wall next to Yoko, half asleep. Mai stood a short ways from Shizuru watching the two men's bizarre actions. Nao was leaning against the wall, clearly bored and uninterested. The silence was overpowering to Sakura, standing on the other end of the window. She broke the silence.
"What do you think they're saying?" Mai turned to look at her.
"Who knows, but if they were talking about the highest prison in Artai, it can't be good…" Mai looked back into the small room. "Taking a wild guess, if they want to speak directly and only to Natsuki, it may be about Nagi…" Nao glanced up at the older girl, as Sakura stared blankly. The small girl reminisced about the chaos that had descended, that had almost consumed Windbloom. Thinking about it reoccurring terrified her.
"You don't think it will happen again, do you?" She asked shyly.
"It's not easy to break out of that prison, and since we've captured what seems to be the only two suspects involved in this conspiracy, I don't think the chances of that happening again are very good." Mai said. She heard the other girl sigh. Mai shifted awkwardly, thinking about the past, questioning herself, wondering if this was a precursor to something just as big. No doubt it would be bigger and more destructive than before. Back then they just barely managed to overcome Nagi. If it happened again, chances are Windbloom's very existence would hang in the balance. Shizuru felt the tension growing within the two girls near her. She cast a glance at them both, seeing concentrated looks on their faces. She herself was a little concerned with what this might bring on for the future. Thinking ahead, she was considering the alternative of sending a group to Artai to check out the prison and see if there's been anything suspicious, depending on what Natsuki gathered from these two.
Something caught Shizuru's eye and she snapped her gaze back to the room. The younger man, who looked almost feral now, was standing on his feet crookedly, as he was still handcuffed to the chair. Shizuru instinctively reached for the door as Mai tensed. Noticing Natsuki hadn't moved from her position of standing there, Shizuru relaxed a bit. Mai stood ready to intervene if necessary. As she watched Natsuki, she found herself impressed by her composure. Mikoto slowly opened her eyes, trying to focus on Mai. She groaned a little as her stomach growled.
"Maaiii, I'm hungry." Mai turned around, a little caught off guard.
"You'll have to wait Mikoto…this is important." Mikoto groaned even more, but fell back asleep almost instantly. Nao pushed herself off the wall and walked towards the window.
"Looks like things are starting to get fired up, hm?" She said, hinting mild amusement.
"How can you say that??" Sakura looked at Nao, as if she was insane.
"She's a redhead." Mai said jokingly. "Can't expect much else out of her-ow!" Nao lowered her fist , crossing her arms as Mai rubbed her head gently, glaring at Nao. Sakura had a dumbstruck look on her face. Shizuru ignored their bickering and continued watching Natsuki and the two men. Natsuki finally moved a little, shifting her gaze towards the floor, catching a sliver of her emerald eyes. The younger man was tugging wildly at his restraints. The older man seemed to be playing with his fingers. Or…what was he doing…
Suddenly, Shizuru shouted, "Mai! Materialize!" In a flash Shizuru's Meister robes flowed freely around her. Startled, Mai followed her lead and summoned her own robes, as did Nao and Sakura. But once Mai was ready, Shizuru was no longer at the door. Bewildered, she looked into the room to see her standing, with her double-ended saber held threateningly against the older man's neck. Natsuki had hardly moved at all from her position, she was still.
The older man sat, stunned. His partner was still thrashing with the chair clamped to his back. Natsuki looked up at the older man.
"It wouldn't be wise to try anything in your position." He turned his gaze up at Shizuru, who had a blank stare boring into him. He sighed and relaxed a little, and his partner finally seemed to calm down a little.
"Even something as subtle as hand signs." Shizuru added quietly, and threateningly. Even Natsuki felt the tension in her tone. The younger man looked at his partner, an incomprehensible look on his face. The older looked back at him and his lips formed a grim line. Shizuru eyed the two men carefully as they both bowed their heads and began twitching their fingers.
It happened all at once, Mai couldn't tell what in the world had actually happened. The first thing she noticed was the explosion in the room, but amazingly it didn't break the glass barrier. She turned her concern to Natsuki and Shizuru, only to see them standing beside her the next moment, Shizuru's hand on Natsuki's shoulder. A thick smoke covered the room, nobodu could see anything. She looked at Natsuki and Shizuru.
"What the hell happened??" Natsuki had a blank stare on her face. It seemed almost terrified.
"They used hand signs to self detonate." Shizuru said, looking at Natsuki. She had such a distant look on her face. She was beginning to wonder if Natsuki had really noticed the blast. Even as she grabbed her and sped out of the room she didn't seem the slightest bit phased. She moved a little and looked at Natsuki directly, keeping her hand on her shoulder.
"Natsuki…?" Mai seemed to notice her far-off expression as well. Natsuki blinked it away. She glanced up at Mai.
"What?" Mai didn't say anything. She just watched Natsuki.
"What did they say?" Shizuru asked her. Natsuki turned, almost looking shocked and confused. Shizuru noticed instantly that her eyes looked shallow and empty. Almost lifeless. Natsuki's face softened as her gaze fell to the floor. Shizuru felt a strange aura around the blue haired girl. It was uneasy, almost scared. With her other free hand she reached for Natsuki's hand and gently held it. This seemed to snap her out of her daze.
"I need to see Queen Mashiro." She looked up through the cracked glass window. The smoked had cleared enough and she could vaguely make out the remains of the two men's bodies. But it didn't look like there was any blood. What were they…?
"The Queen left for Aries with Arika for…something, ugh." Yoko said slowly, as she came to, rubbing her head. Mikoto woke up beside her as well, and she turned her head to stare stupidly at Yoko like she was the strangest thing she had ever seen. Sakura stood frozen to her spot as Nao still held her uncaring look. Natsuki turned around to look at Yoko.
"When will she be back?" Yoko looked up at her.
"Probably…well, either today or tomorrow. I can't remember right now." Natsuki sighed and ignored everything else.
"I would like an autopsy on these two bodies ASAP." She walked out of Shizuru's tender grasp and down the hall, the blank and distant look taking her face once more. Clearly worried, Shizuru hurried after her as she turned the corner to walk up the stairs. Mai turned to the others. Sakura hadn't moved an inch since the explosion, and continued to stare blankly in at the destroyed room. Mikoto stood up and walked up near her to observe the damage. Nao observed the scene stoically. Yoko got to her feet.
"I'll take care of the autopsy. If there's even enough to do one…" She said morbidly. Sakura flinched a little and tore her gaze away from the gruesome scene. Seeming to be completely oblivious to what was going on or what happened, Mikoto tugged on Mai's robes.
"Can you make something to eat now Mai?" Mai looked down at Mikoto and sighed. She looked around at Yoko.
"Do you need any help before we go?" She asked as Mikoto still clung to her arm
"I think I can get it on my own, if you need to leave." Yoko walked up to the remainder of the barrier. "For now I can just get the autopsy done and worry about the mess later. Actually, could you help me rope off this area?"
"Of course." Mai said, feeling Mikoto's grip sag. "It'll be quick, don't worry."
Natuski and Shizuru were on their way back to Garderobe in their limousine. Shizuru kept glancing at Natsuki, sitting next to her. Her expression hadn't changed since they were down in the castles basement. Her gaze was fixed on the floor, her eyes looked even emptier now it seemed. It was tearing at her that Shizuru didn't know what had happened, but thought it best to not pry information out of her now. Instead, she gently clasped her hand over Natsuki's, causing her to slowly look at her. Shizuru smiled gently in return, as she brought her arm around Natsuki's shoulder, causing her to tense slightly, and lightly pulled her head down to rest on her shoulder. Shizuru laid her cheek on the girls blue hair. Natsuki sighed and relaxed into Shizuru's gentle hold. She closed her eyes, enjoying her calming embrace.
"Yay!" Mikoto yelped as Mai set a bowl of her best ramen in front of her.
"If you want more let me know, we don't have anything to do until the Queen gets back." Mai said as she sat down with Mikoto. Nao was sitting with them as well, though she looked as though she didn't want to be there. Mikoto was practically inhaling her food.
"So, things will either be really hectic now or smoothed out, you think?" Nao said casually.
"I guess so…but judging from Natsuki's reaction, I don't think it's going to end well." Mai sighed. It wasn't very often Natsuki was that deep in thought and oblivious to the world around her. For as long as she'd known her, it had taken something serious to bring that up. She wanted to go see Natsuki and ask what had happened. She was starting to worry a little. She rubbed her eyes trying to take her mind off of it as Nao stood up.
"I'm gonna go somewhere." She said. Mai looked up at her.
"Already?"
"I need to see someone." Nao opened the door to the kitchen to leave. "Get some information."
"I see…" Mai knew where she was going. She didn't particularly like Nao's methods of prying information, or really how she did anything. She rolled her eyes as Nao shut the door. Mikoto finished her ramen and finally looked up.
"Nrh rft?" She asked with her mouth full.
"Swallow your food before you talk."
"Where's she going?" She asked.
"Going to see her little bar buddies." Mai said, resting her chin on her hand. Mikoto looked at her curiously.
"Bar buddies? Those people she always goes to see?"
"Yeah, and don't even think about making friends with them." Mikoto looked more confused. Mai was sure she could handle any of the bums there, but she didn't want Mikoto seeing some of the asses that hung around there. She smiled a little, she almost felt like a mother.
"Mai! Can I get more ramen??" Mikoto sat up straight looking hopeful. Mai sat up a little bit.
"Do you remember how to ask politely?" Mikoto paused for a moment.
"Um…can Mai please get me ramen?" Mikoto smiled wide. Mai smiled back and grabbed her bowl as she stood up.
"You ask 'may I please have more ramen'." She walked over to the counter.
"Yeah that!" Mai made some more ramen and sat back down at the table, as Mikoto reached for it. But she stopped and brought her hands together. "Thank you, Mai!" Mai looked at her, a little surprised.
"You're very welcome, Mikoto." She smiled again as she reached for the food. Mai was trying to teach her manners again, reminiscing on past incidents. More than once fights had almost broken out because of her impolite attitude. But Mai knew it wasn't because Mikoto was rude. She had rarely ever been around people, other than cats. She simply didn't know how to act, though she was catching on pretty fast. Besides her lacking in social skills, Mikoto was good at heart. The best ADD friend Mai ever had.
Shizuru opened the door to Natsuki's office, and she led her in. Natsuki still seemed deep in thought and far off. She sat her on the couch and sat down next to her. Natsuki relaxed into the back of the couch, staring at the ceiling. It almost seemed strange that she was aware of her surroundings, as distant as she had been. Shizuru began playing with the girl's hair that was draped over her shoulders. It was soft as it slid through her fingers. Natsuki closed her eyes.
"Shizuru…" Her tone was surprisingly soft and gentle. Surprised, Shizuru stopped.
"Yes?" Natsuki opened her eyes and lifted her head to look at the other girl.
"Was there anything I needed to do today…?" Shizuru thought for a moment. "I can't remember at all."
"Other than organize the field trip, I don't believe so." Natsuki sighed, relieved. Shizuru took the opportunity to wrap her arms around her and pull her closer. Natsuki laid her head on Shizuru's shoulder and closed her eyes again, relaxing. Shizuru gently ran her fingers through her hair as she too closed her eyes.
"When Mashiro gets back, I'll tell you everything…" Natsuki said quietly. "Until then, please just stay here." Shizuru just smiled and held the blue haired girl closer.
"Of course."
OK!! Woot! I enjoyed writing that one . I'll try to have the next chapter up next week!