The two girls strode out of the gates area. Natsuki walked about two steps ahead of Shizuru, and the latter followed closely behind, only meeting with Natsuki's back profile. She retained her smile, not particularly minding the view of Natsuki's swaying figure in front of her.
As the beauty behind her gathered her first impressions on her, Natsuki was coping with some inner turmoil. She was oscillating between speaking to her companion or remaining quiet and continuing their mute trip. After all, her job was only to escort the heiress, not entertain her. She presumed that the Kyoto-borne was aware of this as well, and so chose to cease her vacillating to settle for her second option. The two were strictly here on business, so their relationship should and would be kept professional.
Natsuki nodded to herself, satisfied with her decision. Shizuru, though, had no idea what had caused the girl to quickly shake her noddle forward and back.
The girl with the darker shade of hair pulled out her plane ticket again and checked for the gate to their flight. It wasn't there. She halted in perplexity, scratching her head. Shizuru, almost bumping into her, became conscious of the expression her escort wore and spoke up.
"Is something the matter?" she queried, siding closer to her to see what she was staring so bulgy-eyed at.
Natsuki, almost forgetting she was there, jumped at hearing her voice suddenly so close, but just as quickly recovered. "It's the gate. It's not on the plane ticket. We're going to have to check the panels."
"Indeed," Shizuru agreed.
The flight information display system panels were spread around all parts of the airport, so it wouldn't be hard to find one nearby. As the pair ambled down the large corridors of the airport searching for one, Shizuru's scrutinizing gaze caught sight of a very colorful store.
She stopped in her tracks, mesmerized by it. Natsuki wasn't hearing her client's footsteps behind her anymore, so she turned back to see what had made her stop.
"The gift shop?" Natsuki deduced, settling right beside Shizuru.
Shizuru was brought out of her trance at the sound of Natsuki's voice. "Ah, yes, Kuga-han, how much time do we have?"
"Well, the last time I checked, it was 10:30, so we've got a little less than an hour before our flight," Natsuki informed.
Shizuru twirled around charmingly to face Natsuki and smiled. "Would my escort mind sparing some time to take a look around the gift shop? I promise it will be quick."
Natsuki nodded, slowly. "Sure, but why?"
Shiziru kept her smile in place. "My, aren't you forward? There's no important reason behind it, I just like visiting the gift shops of places I travel to in order to buy souvenirs. Call it my fad."
Shizuru appeared almost embarrassed at admitting this, and some part of Natsuki's deep subconscious thought it was cute.
"But haven't you been to Tokyo before?" Natsuki questioned
"Oh, I have, but my parents wouldn't allow me much time to myself, and so I couldn't visit gift shops, or any public places for that matter," Shizuru revealed, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear and smiling faintly.
Natsuki didn't seem to notice her tough façade falter slightly at hearing this, but it was a bouncing drop that, just as fast as it came, left her.
"Y-you don't need to ask for my permission," Natsuki nagged, crossing her arms before her chest. "Do what you want. I'll wait for you."
Shizuru beamed at Natsuki before entering the gift shop. The bluenette could have sworn she almost saw her skipping giddily.
Well, if I'm here, might as well check out what they have, Natsuki mused, accessing the shop herself.
Natsuki sauntered past the many toys, souvenirs, candies, and books the shop stacked at view. She hadn't bothered to share more than three seconds of her time to each type of item. That was until a familiar magazine was caught in her line of vision.
It was this month's issue of the G.A.L.S magazine, courtesy of the Fujino Corporation's modeling agency.
How ironic, Natsuki thought with amusement as she picked up the article, I just happen to be travelling with the owner's daughter.
Glamorous. Astounding. Lovely. Sexy.
That was what G.A.L.S. stood for. All the company's models had to live up to the each word the acronym held, or possess at least some of the qualities before even considering applying to become a model at the Fujino Corporation's agency. It was very competitive, since all models were highly regarded and it would be hard to find replacements or add people to the lot. Many girls were after the fame and recognition they were bound to receive if they became a G.A.L.S. model, so there was always an innumerable amount of people trying out for entry.
Natsuki, of course, had never been one of them. She hardly even read the magazine. Had it not been for her mother, she would have never even known about the Fujino Corporation.
Man, sometimes I wonder how I get through life without knowing a damn thing, Natsuki thought, before her eyes flickered over to another article.
Stunning. Enchanting. Audacious. Respectful. Refined. Suave
That was what S.E.A.R.R.S. stood for.
S.E.A.R.R.S. was another modeling agency, the only one which dared to challenge the Fujino's G.A.L.S. What made the two companies' rivalry slightly ludicrous was the fact that Searrs consisted of an all-male model staff, while Gals was an all-female's. Most people took it as a battle of the sexes, and loved to watch the conflict between the couple for fun.
Natsuki only knew about Searrs and Gals because, while researching about Fujino, she stumbled upon a variety of information on both of the companies. Gals was still a tad more popular than Searrs, so the male models' company held bitter rancor for that. But, as one of the words in the acronym said, they were "audacious" and therefore did not give up.
Natsuki continued to read the latest Searrs magazine, eyeing the male models with a deep grimace.
Ew, put a shirt on, you look like a man-whore, Natsuki thought with disgust.
Though, just as she was about to turn to the other page, the alarm went off in the gift shop. A beep that resounded every two seconds. She searched for the cause of the alarm flaring, and found the source to be a red-head with a slightly shorter stature than herself.
The red-head had short hair that never crossed collarbone, and she was wearing a thick jacket that only made her all the more suspicious. Her facial expression also read "Oh, I'm screwed!" and Natsuki couldn't help but shake her head at the girl's incompetence.
The alarm had stopped by now.
"Excuse me, Miss, but please remain where you are," one of the clerks said, taking her time to walk out from behind the counter and towards her.
The girl reluctantly complied, stuffing her hands into her pockets grumpily, awaiting the search that was sure to come.
Natsuki, watching the girl's predicament unfold before her, couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She decided that it was none of her business and returned to her magazine. Still, though, she couldn't just disregard the situation. From her peripheral vision, she caught one of the fridge magnet stands by her.
And then she sighed. She was so going to hate herself for this later.
She hurriedly walked to the stand, pulled off one magnet, peeled off its price tag, the one with the barcode, and then rushed in the two women's direction.
"Excuse me!" she called once she arrived there.
The red-head, with her feline features, quirked an eyebrow, clearly wondering what the stranger wanted with them.
"What is it, Miss?" the clerk questioned, tapping her foot. "If it's something concerning the shop, please see the other workers, I'm sure they will be more than glad to—"
"Ah, no, it's just that, I think I know what set the alarm off," Natsuki confessed.
The clerk looked genuinely interested now. "Is that so, Miss?"
Natsuki didn't explain, she simply knelt down on the floor and lifted the red-head's foot swiftly, almost making her lose her balance and fall.
The young delinquent glowered at her. "What the hell—!?"
"I knew it," Natsuki said, mostly to herself. She was standing again.
The clerk leaned over to see what it as she held in her hand. It was a price tag.
"It happened to me once," Natsuki explained, grinning at the clerk. "The alarm went off, and no one found anything on me that set it off. But then one of the officers noticed there was gum on my shoe, and a price tag was stuck to it. That was what set it off."
The clerk was impressed by the girl's wits. "That explains a lot. Thank you, Miss." The clerk returned to the red-head. "And I do owe you an apology for my rudeness. Please don't reflect my actions on the store, since this was solely my mistake."
"Uh, sure, apology accepted," the red-head said, uncertainty clouding her tone.
The clerk bowed and promptly left.
"Damn, rookie mistake," the shorter of the remaining two grumbled, biting her elegant nail in frustration. "
"You think you're mad?" Natsuki flared up. "I can't believe I just helped you get away with crime…"
The other girl stopped biting her nail and turned to her with a scowl. "What are you still doing here? Expecting me to faint in your arms and squeal out 'My hero~!' like the rescued damsel in distress?"
I regret saving her already, Natsuki thought, her mouth twitching in annoyance. "Why are you talking to me like that? I just saved your ass!"
"Well, my ass didn't need saving, thank you!"
Natsuki grew even more aggravated. This was what she got for performing a god deed? Right about now she wished she could travel back in time and punch some sense into her past self for even considering helping out this insolent girl.
Natsuki was about to retort, but the red-head interrupted her upcoming comeback by abruptly extending out her hand and saying, "Nao."
Natsuki was taken aback. The girl was holding out her hand to her. Did she want something?
"Now…? Now what?" Natsuki asked, puzzled.
"NAO, stupid, not NOW," the red-head, now identified as Nao, chided. "That's my name. Gosh, you're dense!"
Natsuki opened her mouth, ready to snap back, but then she realized the other girl had just introduced herself.
Only her name? What about her last name? Natsuki thought. Well, if she's not giving out a last name, then neither am I.
"Natsuki," she said, holding out her hand and waiting for Nao's, who had retracted hers during her reproaching episode.
"Not suki?" Nao repeated, brows furrowing and eyes squinting sharply. "What—you don't like my name? Well, screw you, who cares what you think! I bet your name is a load of bull—!"
"No," Natsuki spat on edge, crossing her arms before her chest tightly. "My name is Natsuki! It's not that I don't like your name!"
"Why did they have to make your name so confusing, then?" Nao retorted incredulously.
"I don't know," Natsuki snapped back. "I couldn't exactly have a say on my name since I wasn't even born yet!"
"Well, I got to pick my name," Nao said slyly. Her eyes then wandered from Natsuki's perplexed ones to the digital, rectangular clock that hung on the shop's wall beyond her shoulder.
Natsuki, having mollified her frustration towards the girl, now began, "Wait, what do you mean by—?"
"Wow, it's already this late?" Nao said to herself. She turned to Natsuki, who was fuming over being interrupted. "Sorry, gotta go."
"What… where?" Natsuki, much to her chagrin, found herself asking.
Nao sent Natsuki a skeptical look. "This is an airport," she spoke slowly, as if dealing with a retard. "People fly to other places from here. I'm one of them."
"I know what the airport is for," Natsuki growled through gritted teeth.
Nao smirked, satisfied with her jest, knelt down to grab her carry-on and turned on her heel.
With her back now facing Natsuki, and her free hand scratching the side of her chin, she murmured, "Well… uh… thanks for… you know…I guess… See ya!"
And, without allowing herself a last glance back at her savior, she made a mad dash for her flight to who-knows-where.
"No problem…?" Natsuki tried replying, but the girl was too far out of earshot to hear her.
Airport's full of crazy people, Natsuki thought to herself.
The intercom came on again. "Dear passengers, welcome to Narita International Airport. Please be sure to keep a careful watch over all your baggage and items. If you happen to come across a passenger engaging in suspicious activity, please do not hesitate to report it to the staff member nearest you. All of us are glad to have you here today and hope you have a very pleasant flight and safely arrive at your destination. Thank you."
Natsuki sweat-dropped. Should I report her? I already let her away anyways… nice going, me.
Shizuru, holding a bag with her purchase in it, trotted her way over to Natsuki. "Kuga-han, is something wrong? I heard the alarm go off."
That was ten minutes ago, but still, thank you for making your belated appearance, Natsuki thought.
"Kuga-han?" Shizuru repeated, cocking her head to the side with a questioning gaze.
"O-oh, sorry, I was just thinking," Natsuki stuttered out, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. No way was she going to let Shizuru know of her mental remarks.
"A yen for your thoughts?" Shizuru offered with a smile.
"Are my thoughts that cheap?" Natsuki responded, looking offended.
"Ara, unless they revolve around the cure for a terminal illness, ideas for advancements in technology, or stances on controversial matters, I'm afraid I can only offer so much," Shizuru replied, retaining her smile in place.
"Then keep your yen," Natsuki replied, grinning. "My thoughts aren't worth it."
The heiress wanted to continue their casual banter, but seeing as how Natsuki's wasn't planning to divulge any more information and apparently wanted to keep some things private, she ceased her prodding.
"Has Kuga-han checked for our gate yet?" Shizuru asked.
Natsuki was hit by realization. "Oh, crud! I forgot about that! Let's go!"
Natsuki absent-mindedly grabbed for Shizuru's free arm, the one that held her carry-on and not the gift bag, and raced out of the store to the nearest panel.
- - -
The heiress and her escort arrived at one of the many screens that monitored the departure and arrival of the flights. Shizuru followed Natsuki as the girl searched for their flight in the "Departure" screen. Every now and then, Natsuki would look from the plane tickets to the screen, to find a flight number that was on par with the one on the plane tickets.
As she searched the panel for her flight, she felt a familiar vibration begin to buzz at her right thigh—her cell phone was ringing. She deftly pulled it out and checked the name displaying on the small screen. It was her mom.
Natsuki lifted her gaze and her eyes immediately found Shizuru's questioning ones.
"Sorry, I have to take this call," Natsuki said apologetically. "Would you mind looking for our flight number? It's the one right here"—Natsuki pointed to the far left side of the ticket—"6457 to Los Angeles."
Shizuru followed Natsuki's lecturing finger on the ticket and nodded. "I believe I can manage," she said, flashing her escort a reassuring smile.
Natsuki smiled back and rushed out the crowd of people to a corner by an electronics shop.
She pulled out her cell phone and managed to catch her mom before the ringing stopped. "Hello?"
"Hello, Natsuki," the woman greeted vibrantly from the other side of the phone. "So… have you met the Fujino heir yet?"
"As a matter of fact, mom, yes, I have," Natsuki said calmly.
"And?" Saeko prodded, urging more from Natuski.
"And… what?"
"Is he cute? Is he a gentleman? Is he dressed elegantly? Is he your age? Does he have that beautiful Kyoto accent?"
Natsuki sighed. It was time to break it to her. "Mom… he's a girl."
At the other side of the phone, Saeko blinked. "Well, even if he has a feminine appearance, as I've said before, love overlooks—"
"Mom," Natsuki disrupted sternly. "The heir is a heiress."
"… Transvestite?"
"Mom, it's a female!!" Natsuki screamed into the phone, earning some odd glances from other passengers. "Born with the breasts, and the curves, and the vagi—!"
"Natsuki, I understand what it means to be female, you can stop now!" Saeko scolded, her cheeks flushing because she had her daughter on speaker and was currently at work.
Saeko, too, earned some odd glances from where she was.
With her cell-phone now back to the normal, for-your-ears-only mode, Saeko continued. "So it's a heiress then?"
"Yeah," Natsuki confirmed, having glared the other passengers away.
There was moment in which the two relatives remained quiet.
"Mom, I know what you're thinking, and no, I am not turning gay for her," Natsuki said firmly.
Darn! "That's not what I was thinking at all." Saeko immediately crossed out that option from the list of courses-of-action-to-take she was scribbling on her hand.
Natsuki wasn't convinced. Her mother was one to think up crazy ideas.
"Well, you could always try and befriend her," Saeko suggested. "Who knows? Maybe you'll end up being best friends by the end of this trip."
Natsuki snorted. "Yeah, mom, I'm not becoming besties with someone that overuses Ara." There was a pause. "And besides… I'm just her escort. I doubt she'll want to have anything to do with me after this."
Saeko could detect the tinge of sadness that clouded her daughter's words. "Anyone who does not see a friend in you is a fool, Natsuki. I'm sure that if I were part of your generation, I would be your best friend."
"Mom, if you were part of my generation, I would be avoiding you," Natsuki jested.
"Ikezu," Saeko pouted, returning the joke.
"Ick a what?"
"You'll be hearing it soon enough," Saeko said with a snicker, to which Natsuki only frowned at.
Saeko checked her digital watch. "Natsuki, you're still in Tokyo, right? It's almost time for your flight. I'm sorry for holding you up."
"Ah, no, it's okay, you only took about five minutes of my life," Natsuki assured. "I'll see you when I get back, okay, mom?"
"Of course," Saeko said, grinning. "Be sure to send me some pictures of your new friend—oops—I mean, client."
"Wait, what do you—?"
Her mother had already hung up, though. And it was blatantly obvious that she had let herself slip-up on purpose. What was this woman trying to accomplish?
Natsuki decided not to dwell on the thought for much longer than necessary and casually strode over to where she had left Shizuru after stuffing her phone back into her jean's pocket.
"Welcome back, Kuga-han," Shizuru greeted. She held out both the plane tickets to her. "It's gate B19."
"Cool," Natsuki said, taking her respective ticket and leaving the other one for her client. "It's a good thing we're already by the B gates. We only have about 15 minutes left."
"Then we must hurry, yes?" Shizuru said in her dulcet tone, smiling.
"Yeah," Natsuki confirmed. "Come, help me look for our gate number."
And with that, the girls walked down the B gates corridor, looking for gate B19.
- - -
"Final call for passengers of flight 6457, please board now."
Came the informative voice from the intercom of gate B19.
Natsuki tugged at Shizuru's hand even harder to get her to run faster. There was almost no one left at the gate's waiting area, except for the passengers awaiting the next flight that would also depart from gate B19. Natsuki stopped hastily, and then flashed her ticket and Shizuru's in front of the counter lady's face.
Whoa, down, girl, the lady thought, though keeping her smile in place and directing her hand to the jet bridge. "Have a nice flight."
With that said, Natsuki and Shizuru practically flew through the bridge and into the plane. No pun intended.
"What seat number do we have?" Natsuki asked Shizuru, who was following behind her.
"12A and 12B," Shizuru said. "How fortunate, I get the window seat!
Natsuki was about to make a witty remark at that, but before she could, she bumped into someone.
That someone, as she turned around, began reproaching, "Hey, lady, watch it!"
"Not my fault your ass decided to stand the—gasp!"
Natsuki stared into the eyes of the young delinquent she had met at the gift shop.
"YOU!" Natsuki said accusingly.
"Well, if it isn't my hero~!" Nao sneered.
"You're in this flight?" Natsuki asked incredulously. She was honestly hoping that their meeting at the gift shop was their first and last.
"Yup," Nao confirmed. She glanced down at Natsuki's ticket. "12B? I'm seat 13B. Hey, looks like I'm right behind you!"
Natsuki opened her mouth to retort but one of the flight attendants came to break it up.
"Excuse me, we're about to take-off, so please place your carry-on in one of the compartments above and take a seat," she said sternly.
Nao smirked Natsuki's way and left to take her seat two seats behind her and Shizuru.
Shizuru only saw part of the exchange between the two, but she dismissed the encounter as being one of those "Oh, excuse me for bumping into you. No, I insist, it's my fault. No, mine. I said it was my fault and mine alone, dammit!!" kind of exchanges.
She took her seat by the window and marveled at the mechanics and process it took to get the plane moving. Natsuki slouched into her seat soon after, and buckled up, reminding Shizuru to do the same.
She's in this flight too, Natsuki thought grumpily. Great. Just… awesome...
11 hours and 18 minutes of this and that... Someone shoot me, finish me off with a knife, and bury my body in poop.
There's chapter two. Thank you so much for all your reviews, everyone. It really made me happy. Not to mention, it made me work faster. I hope the second chapter still keeps you interested in the story. As for the ShizNat.. Oh, it's coming alright. I'd really appreciate the feedback :3!