Soft sunlight filtered threw the lace curtains of Natsuki'sroom. Her eyelids lifted slowly, bringing into focus the posters, nudes and small mess of empties around her. Whoever this room belonged to, she felt she'd enjoy meeting her.
Natsuki let out a groaning yawn and stretched her arms out behind her head, brushing something soft and smooth as she did so. She started and looked to her left. A mop of golden hair and the small shoulder of a thin woman, swallowed in a heap of blankets, met her gaze.
"Shizuru!" Natsuki exclaimed. Her bedmate gave a soft moan but did not wake. Not again, thought Natsuki, letting out a groan. Her hand slapped her forehead in disdain.
Without disturbing the slumbering succubus, Natsuki slipped out of the bed, gathered her clothes, and showered and dressed in the bathroom down the hall.
One hour passed...
"Breakfast is served!"
Mai finished placing the cutlery on the kitchen table as Natsuki pulled out a chair across from Mikoto. The girl entertained herself rocking her legs back and forth under the table and fiddling with a fork. Mai had adopted Western dining customs as readily as she maintained those of her native country.
Shizuru emerged from the hallway fully dressed, an expression of pleasant innocent plastered on her face. She took the seat next to Natsuki, who blushed and stubbornly refused to acknowledge the woman. Natsuki knew too well Shizuru was playing naive about invading the bedroom. She made a much more convincing act of innocence than Natsuki.
Mai turned to the table, a bowl of fried hashbrowns in hand, and stopped when she noticed Shizuru must have come to the table from the main-floor bedrooms. She glanced between the two, a perplexed look on her face.
"Natsuki, your cheeks are flushed." She cocked her head, looked from one girl to the other, and seemed to come to a conclusion. A sly grin crept onto her lips. "Are you blushing?"
"Of course not!" snapped Natsuki.
"Wow, did something magical happen after I went to bed last night?"
Shizuru's innocence turned to a look of satisfaction. Natsuki gave a snarl. "Like what, Mai?"
Mai gave a sneaky smirk. "Chill. Okay, I won't ask any more questions about it." She served up a plate of food for herself and offered the others to do the same.
"You spoil me too much," smiled Shizuru.
"Nonsense! You're a dear friend! And you work hard, feeding you is the least I can do!" She popped a forkfull of fried egg into her mouth. "Speaking of which, today is Saturday. Are you free tonight?"
Shizuru gave a nod.
"Great! Then it's decided! We're going out tonight! Natsuki, that means you, too!"
"I should really get home."
"oh," said Mai, defeated. Then her eyes lit up. Go home this afternoon! Then come out with us! You know Wick's on Queens Ave. South?"
Natsuki sighed and gave in. "I suppose I can Google it."
"I can use a night to loosen up," Shizuru agreed. She gave a loving sideways glance to Natsuki. "I think we all can."
Three hours later...
Natsuki pulled into the driveway of her mother's house and parked the bike. She unlocked the front door and stepped in to be welcomed by the Bengal cat her mother dragged in a year ago.
"hey, Kiyo," she said with dismay. She hated cats. Admittedly she was entranced by the animal when it was a kitten, and insisted on naming it Kiyo in memorandum of her dear friend Shizuru. But as time wore on the animal became more and more detestable. Natsuki often contemplated bringing home a Shiloh Shepherd to eat it.
She went into the kitchen to find papers sprawled all over the table. She paid little mind to them – her mother often brought work home from other departments which she would review in her off-hours. The work she did herself was top-secret – even Natsuki knew little about it. Too little.
The woman sensed she was alone in the house. Except for the spotted rat that followed her and weaved through her legs. She scowled with disgust and nudged it away with her foot, only to have it rub against her legs again.
She sighed and opened the door of the fridge in search of a beer. Being 19 she could legally drink in BC. She'd grown fond of Canadian beer – it was stronger despite it's labels of 5% alcohol. Something about the way it was measured was different, making it's 5% more alcoholic than Japanese and American 5% beer. Her choice was a bottle of Alexander Keith's Pale Ale, brewed all the way on the other side of the country. She could never comprehend the vast expanse of Canada. So much land, yet so little of it was actually used. It was almost scary to think Japan was able to cram 300 million human beings on its four small islands, and yet Canada's population was just over 30 million and the country was at least twenty times the size in land mass.
Thinking of Japan often made Natsuki homesick. It was nice to know cities in the west often mimicked pockets of other cultures; Little Italy, China Town, Little Greece. But Little Tokyo would never be Japan. Nothing about this country would ever be Japan. Why she agreed to come with her mother eluded her to this day. Something about a change of seen intrigued her, but living in another country was so much different than touring it. Just the language was enough of a hurdle: despite her English classes in high school, she still had difficulty carrying on an in-depth conversation with a native speaker.
In her room, Natsuki flicked on her stereo system and set up her iPod to play Finger eleven. She liked Western rock. It was different than Japanese rock. Not better, but it was nice to break the monotony of one's music taste now and then. She didn't necessarily understand all of the words, but it was probably all about angsty relationships anyway.
She sipped away at her beer and rocked to her music collection. She needed to empty her mind. Anxiety was rising, thoughts were spinning through her head, questions singed her mind like a branding iron. For a couple of hours she simply forgot the world existed. Her music grew harder and darker as each album finished. Finally, exhausted, she collapsed on the bed and gave in to her tortured thoughts.
And try as she might to contemplate the issues at hand, all she could think about was Shizuru slipping in bed next to her in the night. Her heart pounded. Her cheeks flushed. Had Shizuru done anything more? Watched her sleep? Touched her? She outright blushed and brought her hand to her lip. Had Shizuru kissed her? The woman tried so hard. From the day Natsuki discovered Shizuru's true feelings, she tried desperately to win her heart. Shizuru was certainly a dear friend, a caring soul. Natsuki shivered. She wasn't sure if it was fear of infatuation. To love a woman would go against everything I am, she thought to herself. To love anyone even. Admittedly, she had had feelings for another in the past, but she refused to give in to those feelings. She knew she was as capable of love as any human being. But her life demanded more of her. That's what she told herself. She knew she could trust her friends, but it had taken her so long to get to that mindset. To give herself over to someone else complete was futile, and outright dangerous.
What am I so afraid of? came a voice from deep inside of her. The thought brought a swell of emotion to her chest. What harm could really come of loving someone? Shizuru, a woman as strong and powerful as Natsuki, was able to let herself love. But then, look where that got her only two years ago. We were all going crazy though, Natsuki defended. It's understandable how one could step over the thin line between sanity and insanity when you're pitted against your friends. Especially when you're in love.
Does love really bring the willingness to kill and be killed for that person?
Meanwhile...
Mai burst into Shizuru's room. The golden-haired woman turned in shock to meet her friend's crazed eyes.
"Akira's in the hospital!" Mai announced. "There was a fire, she tried to help!"
Shizuru stood and followed Mai and Mikoto to the car. The three of them rode off to the hospital where Akira was kept in the burn victim unit. They rushed into the unit and Mai asked to be directed to Akira's room.
"I'm sorry," said the young man behind the reception desk. "She's unable to see visitors at this time."
Mai insisted on being shown to the room anyway to know where the girl was. Takumi sat in chair just outside the room, head bowed in silent contemplation.
"Takumi!"
The boy looked up and barely registered his older sister. Mai crashed to her knees before her brother and looked pleadingly into his eyes.
"Is she going to be okay?"
The boy gave a slight smile – his usually bright eyes were dull. "The doctor said her burns were minor. It will take a couple of months for her to recover."
Mai breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad to hear that. You know it could have been much worse, Takumi."
Takumi gave no visible response. He sat for a moment and finally spoke. "The child she tried to save is dying." Tears welled up in his eyes. "And his grandfather died in the fire."
An hour went by and a nurse came to give visiting access to Takumi. He entered the room and closed the door. Mai sat in a chair next to Shizuru, Mikoto passed out with her head on Mai's lap. The door to the ward flapped open and two police officers, accompanied a doctor, stalked down the hall and stopped at Akira's door. The doctor opened the door and instructed Takumi to exit. The door closed behind him and the group sat wondering what the situation was about.
"How is she?" Mai asked Takumi sheepishly.
He hesitated. "Physically, she's better than I thought. She has a major burn from her lower back to her shoulder." He gazed defensibly at the door. "But she thinks she's going to be charged for disrupting an emergency rescue and life endangerment."
All eyes returned to the door of Akira's room.
Later...
Natsuki's phone buzzed in her pocket. She reached into her jeans and flipped the screen. It was a text from Mai.
We had a minor emergency, Akira is in the hospital. Plans are as before. There's nothing we can do but try to relax.
Natsuki sent a text back asking what happened and received a brief explanation of last night's fire mishap. Mai also asked her if she knew of any good lawyers.