A/N:
Thank you all for your overwhelming response to this fic. The positive reviews lead me to try and whip this thing out as fast as I can for all the people who hate waiting (I'm one of them) for new chapters to be written. I will take this time to answer a few questions that some of you have been asking. Yes I do read my reviews!
Nao is sent back in time right after the Hime Carnival and Shizuru's graduation, therefore it is summer holiday and that is why there will be no interaction at Fuuka Academy.
Natsuki Kuga's mind is currently in a state of sleep. Fumi was able to do this using her powers. Natsuki is not in the Otome world..nor did she switch places with Nao.
Nao has traveled back in time to AFTER the kiss between past Nao/Natsuki happened. Although the kiss is the reason that Shizuru is in her current state, it is the event about to take place after the kiss that had endangered Shizuru's life. Remember two days had passed after Shizuru became comatose, before the problem was revealed and Nao was sent back. As such Nao was sent to the past BEFORE those two days have taken place in the Hime-Realm.
OK! reading all that I think I confused myself LOL! But fear not readers I believe this chapter will hopefully clear things up surrounding the events leading up to the kiss.
Disclaimer:
I don't own Mai Hime/Mai Otome but if I did I would probably steal Shiho's maki maki stick!
MAKI MAKI power!
Chapter 3
Fujino Shizuru lay face down and motionless on her bed. She had been that way for exactly 10 hours and twenty six minutes. The girl's eyes were red and puffy from crying. She slightly turned her head to look at the alarm clock beside her, mustering all the strength she had left.
Natsuki...I can't live without you. I'll never forget the things you said last night...
Shizuru had been trying so hard to forget the awful things that had happened the day before. Of course that was impossible to do. Natsuki, the one person she loved more than anyone in the entire world, the person she had even killed for, had completely broken her heart. She thought back to when she and Natsuki had been sitting, having tea at the Linden Baum, and all she could remember were the harsh, hurtful words Natsuki had spoken.
"I don't love you Shizuru." Natsuki had stated, looking oddly uncomfortable and squirming in her seat. "I will never love you the way you want me to." she had said as her own emerald green eyes had met a pair of very hurt looking crimson ones.
Natsuki had continued "I have tried, I mean we both tried right? But I just don't feel it..." her words trailed off. "And I don't think I can ever forgive you for hurting my friends." she whispered, only loud enough for the words to reach Shizuru's ears.
Shizuru had reached across the table and grabbed Natsuki's arm. Her eyes pleaded with the woman she loved. Her usual soft, teasing tone was gone, instead replaced with a voice that sounded scared and out of control.
"Everything I did, I did for my Natsuki!"she almost shouted as she squeezed Natsuki's hands tighter. "I know Natsuki is scared..." she quickly said "but I can wait for you. I will wait for my Natsuki always." Shizuru finished with firm resolve.
Natsuki struggled to loosen Shizuru's grip on her. Her face had gone completely red, and the two girls conversation had begun to draw attention from a few of their classmates, who worked at the eating establishment.
Natsuki had stood up quickly, pushing Shizuru's hands away from her, anger apparent on her face. "Shizuru, damnit why don't you ever listen to me" she stalked towards the video game machines, where Nao and Mikoto were playing a racing game.
"Ha! Take that you smelly cat" Nao had yelled excitedly as her car passed Mikoto's. Mikoto had been distracted by the smell of Ramen at a nearby table and unbeknownst to Nao was currently eyeballing the poor customer's food.
"MAI FOOD!" yelled the rambunctious girl, as she jumped over Nao's head and onto an unsuspecting Mai.
"Settle down Mikoto, yours is on the way" said the gentle orange haired girl as she stroked Mikoto's rough dark hair.
"YAAAAY!" Mikoto danced.
"Next time you jump over someone's head, make sure your wearing pants please." reply Nao dryly. "I'm tired of needless panty shots---" she trailed off as out of the corner of her eye she saw Natsuki coming up behind her.
"Hello puppy poop" she called out cheerfully. "Miss me?" she gave Natsuki her most seductive smile. To her absolute shock and surprise Natsuki reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the video game.
"Whoa, no need to be so rough Kuga." Nao scoffed as she pretended to dust off her shirt.
"I heard that's the way you like it Nao." Natsuki spit the words out and then wrapped her arms around Nao, pushing her hard against the arcade game and sliding her hands up to stroke Nao's hair. "I love you Nao." Before the redhead could say anything more, Natsuki had crushed her lips onto the younger girl's, pulling their bodies together. Nao's eyes had gone wide, before registering something unreadable. She did not pull away from Natsuki. You see Nao loved to revel in the misfortune of others and seeing a prime opportunity to hurt Shizuru, she began kissing Natsuki back, as if putting on a show.
Natsuki had been the one to pull away, actually looking a bit confused. But the momentary expression on Natsuki's face changed quickly as she turned to a stunned Shizuru. "See?? You happy now? I told you I don't love you. My heart belongs to someone else." her tone was frosty. "Don't call me, or contact me. There's nothing more to say." Natsuki spun oh her heel and was out the door of the cafe. Shizuru watched in complete agony as the love of her life jumped on her Ducatti and drove off. The brunette ran outside, trying to escape her friends and their sympathetic, yet questioning eyes. She watched the back of Natsuki's bike as it drifted out of view, and out of her life, for what Natsuki had deemed, forever.
Shizuru had re-lived that moment over and over continuously since then. She shook her head, struggling to at least have one moment of peace before her thoughts wandered to Natsuki again.
I love you Nao...I love you Nao...My heart belongs to someone else...Nao...
Shizuru was making herself crazy, playing Natsuki's words over and over and over again. She sat up suddenly. She couldn't take this anymore. If she couldn't be with Natsuki then she couldn't be in this world anymore. She knew she was thinking drastically, but had she ever not when it came to the blue haired girl? Everything she had done in the past months had been to say the least drastic. Why should now be any different?
Shizuru moved around the house quickly. She gathered a few choice items into her arms along the way, making her way to the bathroom. Her fingers came in contact with the tap as she began to run a nice hot bath.
Yes...this is the only way my love...the only way for you to be free of me. This feels right, for the first time I think I am doing the right thing. Natsuki...I wish you only happiness...I hope you find what your looking for...what you need ...
She quickly stripped her clothes off and slid into the dark marble tub. Shizuru picked up the small items she had gathered earlier and began to arrange them on the side of the bath. Each item was a gift, or a symbol of love she and Natsuki had shared together. The first was a stuffed purple snake.
The first gift you ever gave me Natsuki...
She smiled for what seemed like the first time that day as she remembered Natsuki taking her to the fair, the day after school ended. Natsuki had won the stuffed animal shooting cute rubber duckies as they passed by on a conveyor belt. She laughed out loud remembering the look on the carnie's face as Natsuki had shot a perfect score. She could have chose any prize she wanted, and she knew Natsuki wasn't a huge fan of snakes. But no, her Natsuki had politely asked the man for the big stuffed snake, and smiling her trademark lop sided grin, had handed it to Shizuru.
Ara...I will always treasure this...
Shizuru hugged the snake to her chest, before placing it back on the side of the tub, straightening it to a perfect angle, before picking up the next item. Natsuki's favorite white hoodie. It was the one Natsuki always wore to school under her uniform. Shizuru sighed and brought the wrinkled garment to her nose. It smelled wonderful. It smelled like her.
I loved watching you at school Natsuki...whether it was in the Student Council office...or as you were running from the campus to ditch school and have one of your adventures...no matter what...those memories will always be with me...
She put the hoodie down, next to the snake and picked up the last item. It was a silver locket. Natsuki had bought it for her only two weeks before. Natsuki had told her it was a symbol of their friendship. She had recalled Natsuki stressing the word friendship, but she had hoped that eventually it would be something more. She gazed at the locket, smiling sadly and closing her eyes. Very carefully she unclasped the chain and draped it around her bare neck.
Goodbye Natsuki...I love you...I will always love you...and I will continue to love you even after this...
With her eyes still closed she let her fingers roam the outer edge of the bathtub, searching gingerly for the object she desired. She was met with the sharp prick of a shaving blade, as her hand enclosed around the small item. She brought the blade up to her face and stared longingly at it.
This is for the best...
With her free hand, Shizuru produced her cellphone, preparing to leave one final message for Natsuki. She remembered the cobalt-haired girl had warned her to stay out of contact, and so she began to slowly text someone, who could pass the message on.
Shizuru set the message to be delivered in one hour's time and then she settled back down, emerging her entire body in the water.
This is the end...
Shizuru brought the blade to her wrist, resting it slightly, preparing for what was to come. She was determined to leave this world, the way her heart felt at this moment, in complete and utter agony.
Natsuki...forgive me...
Nao was not having a good day. First of all she was trapped in the past in someone else's body and secondly to make things worse, she had just had an unfortunate run in with Natsuki's precious Ducatti. Nao had started off to meet Mai, when she realized why walk when you can ride. Sadly for her, good driving skills were apparently not her forte.
I thought I was supposed to be Natsuki? Doesn't that mean I should be able to drive like her too?
Nao sulked, as she made her way to the agreed upon destination. She was clutching her arm tightly as that was the body part she landed on, after failing to stop properly and slamming the Ducatti into the side of a large brick building.
Hopefully Kuga's got insurance...
Nao had hid the mangled Ducatti behind a tree near the apartment and begun the walk to Linden Baum. She had to stop and ask for directions, but apparently the cafe wasn't too far off from the apartment and before she knew it, she could see the bright flashing sign of the restaurant in the distance.
Nao took a deep breath and opened the door, her eyes surveying the many people in the building. She scanned the left side until her gaze fell upon a table of four very familiar looking girls. She knew she should be used to seeing people she knew from the future, here in the past, but the novelty of that feeling never wore off.
Mai Tohika, was seated at a large booth surrounded by three of her closest friends. Beside her was her best friend and roommate Mikoto Minagi, and on the other side of the table were the resident know it all and gossip queens of Fuuka Academy, Chie Harada and Aoi Senoh.
"Natsuki over here." Mai waved her over and motioned to a seat across from herself. As Nao slowly dragged herself to the table, she was then pulled into the booth by Aoi, thus causing her already injured arm to hit the hard wood. Nao glared at Aoi and Aoi slid closer to Chie, distancing herself from what she thought, was an angry looking Natsuki.
Chie flipped her cellphone into her hand and hit the record button. "Allright Natsuki, inquiring minds want a first hand exclusive on what exactly happened here yesterday" Chie flashed her trademark playboy smile.
Mai was quick to hush her friends. "Ok before we scare her off, let Natsuki speak, ok Chie?" she said as she used her hand to lower her friend's phone to the table.
Nao cleared her throat loudly, as she tried to think of something smart to say. Or something to say at all. She had no knowledge of the events these girls were referring to. In fact, she herself would have loved a "first hand exclusive" on the situation as well.
Aoi interrupted her thoughts. "You don't really love Nao right?" she squealed, clasping her hands together.
"Who would love Nao?" Chie chided, poking Aoi in the ribs.
"Hey what's wrong with Nao?" Nao almost shouted, eyebrow raised. She may not have been her past self's number one fan, but she didn't appreciate the way Chie and Aoi were referring to her former self. She hoped the younger Nao was just misunderstood.
"You don't love her." Mai said softly, gazing into Nao's eyes. Nao was forced to look away, as the intensity of Mai's stare was making her uncomfortable. It was as if Mai was looking right through her.
Ok Nao...you need to start acting like Kuga...you need to understand what took place here yesterday so you can get the hell outta dodge...and back to your life...
Nao cleared her throat for the second time and looked at Mai.
"Can I talk to you, ALONE?" she said, eyeing Chie and Aoi. The two girls looked back at Nao, and not wanting to risk the wrath of the infamous Lone Wolf, they excused themselves, smiling , saying that they would catch up with everyone later.
Nao eyed Mikoto, but the younger girl didn't budge. It seemed as though the past mirrored the future, in that the two girls were inseparable. Mikoto, at the moment was again not paying attention to either Mai or Natsuki. She was busy gobbling down the super ice cream sundae Mai had promised her, as her reward for cleaning their room.
"Listen Mai---I don't know where to start" Nao stammered. But before she could continue Mai spoke.
"You don't need to explain Natsuki. I get it. Although I don't approve of how you went about it. I know you were only trying to protect her." her eyes searched Nao's face.
Protect her? Wait? Who? Shizuru?
"I may be wrong, but you and I have always been honest with each other." Mai said. "I think you made a big mistake though, you crushed her" Mai looked sad.
"Shizuru loves Natsuki...Natsuki loves Shizuru...Natsuki was scared." Mikoto piped up. "Natsuki hurt Shizuru." Mikoto's eyes started to water. "But why Mai? Love is good right?" the feral girl asked.
Mai patted Mikoto's head and whispered into her ear. "Yup.". Mikoto seemed to forget her momentary second of sadness for her friends, and turned her attention back to her mountain of ice cream.
Nao didn't know what to say. Nao was an extremely smart girl, although her grades at Garderobe had never really reflected that. In fact Nao usually had to hold back, because it was easier to fool others if they thought they could fool you first. Nao's brain began to process some of the things Mai and Mikoto had said. Although she had no experience in the game of love, it wasn't hard for her to figure out what COULD have happened
Nao had a feeling that Natsuki really did love Shizuru. Mai and Mikoto's words seemed to support that fact. What if Natsuki had become too scared of her own feelings for Shizuru and instead devised a plot to push Shizuru away. From what Nao had gathered the plot had seemed a bit extreme. Then again she knew how persistent the Graceful Amethyst of her time could be, and if the Shizuru of this time was anything like that, trying to push her away in a normal fashion, would definitely be no easy feat. Natsuki would have had to completely squash ANY hope Shizuru had of them being together. What better way to do that then with a public display of affection for someone else?
For the first time since she had been in her situation, Nao felt like she was starting to understand Natsuki's mind frame. A thought suddenly struck her. She turned to Mai.
"You're right Mai." she said, as Mai seemed shocked. It wasn't everyday Natsuki admitted someone else was actually right. "I screwed up big time, in fact I'm a complete ass." Nao snickered on the inside, as it felt great to be able to make Natsuki admit she was a jerk. "But I need your help to fix it." she finished.
Mai nodded her head as Nao continued. "I need you to relay the events of the past few months to me, in your own words, starting with our CHILDS." Natsuki peered at Mai's bewildered face.
"Natsuki, why do you want to re-live all of that."Mai sighed. Nao gave her most serious look. She was beginning to feel more comfortable in Natsuki's body and therefore her usually high confidence was returning.
"I need to face my feelings for Shizuru. I need you to relay the events involving Shizuru and myself, the way YOU saw them play out. You know as a third party." Nao pleaded "Please Mai. It will help me sort all of this out and then I can start to make things better between Shizuru and myself." Nao finished looking pleased with herself, as she knew she had Mai right where she wanted her.
Mai sighed, but being the good friend she was, she began to relay the events of the Hime Carnival, back to Natsuki. She wasn't sure how this would help her friend, but she was always willing to help in any way she could.
Nao was amazed at everything Mai was telling her. She had to work hard not to act a bit shocked at times when something would surprise her, as she knew she was supposed to have already lived this. She found herself oddly saddened by the circumstances involving Shizuru's defeat of this world's Nao. She was a self proclaimed loner as well and had never known her own parents. She found herself hoping Nao's mother would wake up soon, although at this point that seemed impossible.
Ok enough about yourself...let's concentrate on ShizNat...hey where did that name come from? Shiznat?
She really was losing her mind. As Mai finished her story, ending with Shizuru's graduation and Natsuki's promise to "try and feel the same way as she did", Nao took a deep breath. It was a lot of information to soak up. In some ways it didn't surprise her at all, since she had seen a lot of crazy things in her own time as well.
Allright time for the next step...now that I know a bit about the past, and I think I know what fueled Natsuki's actions...i gotta find that damn Shizuru...really...getting so worked up over Natsuki? Shizuru's choice in women sucks...
As she was about to thank Mai and get up to leave, Mai's cellphone beeped. The orange haired girl opened it to read the message and a worried expression adorned her usually calm face.
"What's wrong?" Nao was curious.
Mai's hand was shaking as she handed Nao the phone to read the message. It was from Shizuru.
"Please tell Natsuki I love her and always will. I will no longer be a bother to her or anyone else. Don't worry about me, for the first time since before the carnival I'm happy." Nao scanned the message quickly.
"What the hell does this mean?" Nao asked, her voice raising.
"I told you, you pushed her too far." tears started to pour down Mai's face as Nao handed her back the phone.
Realization immediately hit Nao. Now she knew why Shizuru's life was in danger. "Mai, I need to get to her before it's too late." Nao began to panic.
Reito Kanazaki happened to be sitting with his friend Takeda Masashi in the next booth over. Hearing what he believed to be Natsuki and Mai's conversation, he jumped up, offering assistance.
"Does someone need a ride?" he asked Nao smiling. His teeth were so white and sparkly that they hurt Nao's eyes.
"Reito, can you drive Natsuki to Shizuru's?" Mai asked clutching his arm. "Please, it's important." she finished.
"Of course, c'mon Natsuki." he rushed out the door, with Nao following right behind him.
"Full speed ahead" yelled Nao.
Why do I care?? What's in all of this for me? I don't usually do things unless I can reap the benefits...
For the first time in Nao's life, she began to pray in her head for Shizuru's safety. She wasn't exactly sure why she did that, as she had never really cared too much for her own time's Shizuru. It wasn't as if she disliked her, she just didn't understand the woman. They basically stayed out of each other's way, only really crossing paths, when taking turns teasing Garderobe's favorite principal. Still, there was an unexplained feeling in her chest at his moment. Maybe it was from hearing about all the Hime drama, maybe it was indigestion, or maybe, just maybe, Juliet Nao Zhang cared more for these people, then she ever wanted to admit.
End chap 3
Omake Crack with Duran and Kiyohime
((Shizuru has brought Kiyohime to the park to play))
Shizuru: Ara, Natsuki I think Kiyohome wants Duran to come out and play.
Natsuki: ((irritated as usual)) PLAY? Duran doesn't play! He's a lean, mean fighting machine.
Shizuru: Ikezu Natsuki ((crosses arms))
Natsuki: Allright allright! ((not wanting to face the wrath of Shizuru's Naginata yet again)) DURAN!
((Duran appears and looks at Kiyohime))
Kiyohime: ((batting eyelashes seductively (all twelve of them) at Duran))
Duran:((Puffs out chest and begins to strut around the six headed snake))
Natsuki: ((blushing furiously on behalf of Duran)) Duran NOOOOO!!
Shizuru: Aww my Natsuki even blushes for her Child. I think Natsuki enjoys blushing.
((Kiyohime and Duran are now cuddling in the grass))
Natsuki: Duran what are you thinking? You could do so much better!!
Shizuru: ((eyes glow red)) What do you mean my Natsuki? ((Naginata appears))
Natsuki: Oh crap...((ducks)) Kidding Shizuru! Kidding! ((distracts the angry Shiz with a kiss))
Shizuru: ((psychotic split personality disabled by Kuga Kiss)) I love my Natsuki!
Natsuki: ((whispers in Duran's ear)) I heard Diana is single...
End Omake
Ok gang, sorry it was a long one. This chapter was sort of just an explanation of everything. The good stuff begins next chapter when Nao as Natsuki is forced into some very awkward situations with Shizuru. Will Nao prevail? Hopefully I will have this chapter up later tonight, as I think it will come easily.
