Disclaimer: I don't own MaiHiME.
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Yes, well, the plot's changing fast. I'll take the sled and slide down slow.
"Natsuki, are you sure I didn't left my iPad in your car?"
"No, Shizuru. It's positively not there." She settled the phone between her chin and shoulder. She rolled the cigarette on her hands.
"This is bad. I can't even log in to my e-mail with this laptop. I'm sure I haven't change my password..." Shizuru's voice trailed away and the line went off.
"Natsuki, pass me your pot." Nao demanded while laying next to her.
"No."
"Dude! Come on…" Nao insisted.
"You're not having a headache!"
"That's for my depression treatment."
"Shut up, Nao." Natsuki puffed.
"What a waste!" Nao inhaled the smoke that escaped from Natsuki's mouth.
"I wish it can prevent my headache, too. I'm sick of Depakote."
"Natsuki, what if...what if the government still says no even if the hypothesis of your mother's research is valid, important and applicable?"
"It has a high potential for abuse, I understand that. Even if it is valid, it's still a long way before we can relieve our headache legally with this." She puffed again.
Nao glanced at Natsuki.
"What?" Natsuki barked.
"Did you know that Tomoe went to Minagi's house the other day?"
"So?"
"And you're aware that Shizuru has a fans-club in our school and Tomoe is the leader, aren't you?"
"They have a leader?" She glanced at Nao with amusement.
Nao sighed, "Yeah… So, she met the older Minagi."
"I thought his last name was Kanzaki."
Nao gave a rueful grin, "Natsuki, what if he-"
"He won't spill the beans."
"Yeah, like you can guarantee that."
"Do not think of what you can't handle to think about," Natsuki laughed a cynical laughter, "All mom need is less scandal for her research."
"And here you are, breaking the law."
"Can't help it. We are minor. Exclusive criteria."
"What if… what if Kanzaki doesn't want this to be legal so he can run the-"
"I said stop it! I told you it's still a long way before we can legally smoking pot."
Natsuki turned her car alarm on and left. All the way to her locker, she tried to ignore the feeling of being the center of her schoolmates' attention. She should be got used to the stare since she got a lot of that since day one she enter that school. They secretly admired her beauty but too scared to talk to her. The attention became worst when Shizuru started getting close to her last year.
Chie approached her while she slammed her locker shut. "Natsuki, Takeda really enjoyed the sexy Natsuki Kuga pictures so much that he had to be carried to the school clinic for excessive nose-bleed." She said with sultry voice.
Natsuki faced Chie with a frown.
"Go check the bulletin board," Chie snickered.
Natsuki walked toward the end of the hallway. She gaped astonishedly at the pictures of her bare back on the bulletin board. Some of the pictures had been taken while she was kissing. She ripped the pictures and looked around bewilderedly. Her eyes caught Tomoe's smug smile.
"You!" Natsuki strode toward Tomoe. She was ready to punch her when she felt a hand seized her arm.
Shizuru's other hand slid around Natsuki's waist, kept her at a safe distance from Tomoe. "Natsuki, don't." She whispered to her ear.
Natsuki struggled and shoved Shizuru off. "This is your fault!" She pointed Shizuru with the pictures then flicked her lighter and burned them on the floor.
There was a strained silence as Natsuki and Tomoe looked at each other tensely. Shizuru's in the middle.
They sat together in the detention room, waited for Mr. Sakomizu. Natsuki did her best to ignore Shizuru's dramatic plea and Tomoe continuously saw her with a death glare. Natsuki kept her sight outside the window to calm herself.
Tomoe met Mr. Sakomizu first. They talked for a while before Tomoe exited his room with an annoyed frown.
"Kuga, you're next," he called Natsuki.
"You're lucky he didn't call your parents," Shizuru said to Tomoe after Natsuki had gone behind Mr. Sakomizu's door.
"Yeah, consider me lucky enough that you left your iPad in my car. And all those sex tapes," Tomoe said. Though she smirked, her anger was palpable.
Shizuru rose from her seat and squeezed Tomoe's arm. "Those pictures... you don't happen to download them from my email, do you?"
"Bingo." Tomoe tried to free herself from Shizuru's tight grip.
"Listen to me Tomoe..." Shizuru's voice trembled but her grip tightened and made Tomoe flinched a little. "Please, don't do something stupid. I..."
"Can I drive you to your part-time job?"
Shizuru stared hard into Tomoe's eyes then gave her a nod.
Next chap: the student council president.