CHAPTER 7
Having Kuga Natsuki at Garderobe for three years, Principal Kruger had expected this little incident to arise with the arrival of Fujino Shizuru. But she was bewildered to see how bad the fight actually was.
Both girls were standing in the middle of the room, await the principal's punishment. Messy head, they looked like a wreck with minor injuries all over their bodies. Natsuki's right eye was deep purple, while Shizuru's left cheek was bandaged. As far as the principal knew, Natsuki had never gone this far, going all out to take down the other girl. Shizuru was the first to dare to fight Natsuki back; it turned out that she was more than just a book smart girl.
Adjusting her glasses, Principal Kruger eventually smiled; Natsuki finally had her lesson.
"Just so you know, I didn't start it," Natsuki grumbled, looking away.
"Kuga! Behave!" Ms. Steinberg was standing by the principal's desk, exasperated.
Shizuru just looked the other way, choosing to stay quiet.
Principal Kruger rested her chin on the back of her hands. "Frankly, I don't care who started it. Both of you are responsible for this mess, causing trouble in campus and encouraging other students to follow in such manner. You will be cleaning the library hall everyday after school for a month—"
"A month!" Natsuki panicked.
The principal took off her glasses and put it on the desk. "That will be all."
Griping inwardly, the two girls excused themselves and left the room.
"Putting them together for a month might cause even more problems, Madam," Ms. Steinberg said, looking worried. "Or… do you believe the time has come…?"
The principal rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I thought of quitting Garderobe fifteen years ago, Yukariko… But they begged me to stay because I had no heir to take over this place. They wanted me to wait for the right time, but time is running out. I still can't bring down the enemy within us. They're growing stronger each year past. I can feel it…"
Ms. Steinberg poured some hot tea for the principal. "All of Mr. Kuga's children-in-care, who graduated as Otome, had all disappeared into thin air in recent years… They're up to something, Madam. Our sources lost track of them. Some were even caught and murdered."
The principal nodded. "It only means that they're gaining ground. The war will be sooner that we expected. Fifteen years aren't long enough for us to prepare…"
"The only remaining girls from Mr. Kuga's household are Higurashi and Fujino. They're our only last link to the Dark Knights," Ms. Steinberg added anxiously.
The principal sighed with a smile. "I sense that they're still clueless of what lies ahead for them. We must stop it before it's too late."
"We've been trying with every other girl before them, haven't we? The result is frustrating. And, unlike Higurashi, Fujino proved to be headstrong and much more stubborn. I'm worried that we might lose her as well."
Principal Kruger rubbed her temples, deep in thoughts. She and Mr. Kuga were friends for a long time before this whole issue came up. Their friendship grew suspicious when Mr. Kuga started to send his children-in-care to Garderobe. The only reason Principal Kruger accepted those kids was to keep a close eye on them. There was a high risk involved training those girls to equal Otome fighters, but it seemed to be the only way to know her enemy.
"Of course, while we keep Higurashi and Fujino close to us, we can only trust our people… I trust Natsuki. She seems to be the only hope I can see right now."
Ms. Steinberg frowned. "But Kuga Natsuki is still his daughter."
The principal chuckled lightly. "Ah, I know Natsuki well! If I have to rely on a fifteen-year-old girl to stop this war, it'd be her."
The last bell of the day rang. Akane followed Shizuru out of the classroom, looking concern.
"Are you sure you will be all right with Kuga there?"
Shizuru smiled. "I'm not going to get into another fight, Akane. I don't want to be expelled just yet."
"Mr. Kuga wouldn't let that happen! Oh, how I miss him."
"I think we should write him soon," Shizuru said, turning when she heard a series of hurried footsteps approaching. "Suzushiro…?"
Haruka marched towards Shizuru, Yukino closely behind. "Oh, my God! How many stitches?"
"Seven." Akane informed with a deep frown on her face.
"That's horrible," Yukino mumbled, covering her mouth.
Haruka firmly put both hands over Shizuru's shoulders. "Don't worry, Fujino. I will not let that girl come near you again. I'll make sure there will be no more Kuga invasion! Her day is over!"
Shizuru just chortled. "Well, thanks, Suzushiro. But I gotta get going. See you guys later," she said and walked away.
"Where is she going?" Haruka asked.
"The principal ordered both Kuga and Shizuru-chan to clean up the library after school everyday for a month," Akane replied.
"Fujino was punished too!" Haruka looked perplexed.
"But isn't it an absolutely bad idea to put them together right now?" Yukino commented.
Haruka pumped her fist. "Good point, Yukino! We must follow her to the library. That Kuga surely would try something nasty again!"
The interior of the library looked older than Shizuru had thought. The hardwood floor was left dull over decades of use, and the strings of bulbs were loosely hung from the high, vault ceilings. Some parts of the walls were actually left unpainted. Only the rows of high-end computers on the creaky, old desks could save this library's face.
It amazed Shizuru that a prestigious school like Garderobe would let its library undesirable like this, considering the high tuition fees and all. She would have a field day just to clean up the first partition of the hall.
Shizuru looked around; Natsuki was nowhere to be seen. She sighed, expecting to do the cleaning all by herself. Having heard stories from Haruka, Natsuki must have been pampered by the principal that she just decided to pull a no-show today.
Pulling her sleeves up, Shizuru let out a sigh. She took a minute to observe her new school uniform, wondering why she had to wear this ridiculous attire. If she graduated and became a Meister, she would be a royal bodyguard, not some maid.
Pushing her thoughts aside, she walked to the janitor room behind one of the tall shelves. But she paused when she opened the door and saw Natsuki already inside, fumbling for a mob.
"You're late." Natsuki tossed a green bucket to Shizuru's feet. "Go get some water, so we can start."
Shizuru picked up the bucket and stared at the dark-haired girl.
"What are you looking at?" Natsuki grunted. Her patience seemed to be all-time low; no wonder she had no friend.
Shizuru shrugged slightly. "I don't see any faucet here."
"Go around the building, for God's sake." Natsuki glared at the chestnut-haired girl, who still did not make a move. "Now what? Want me to carry you there?"
Gritting her teeth, Shizuru just turned around and walked away. This girl was really getting on her nerve. The last thing she'd ever need was someone to carry her around, but she'd just love to make Natsuki beg one day.
"There you go…" Haruka clung to the murky window to the library. Yukino and Akane were gathering behind her.
Inside the library, Shizuru and Natsuki maintained twenty feet distance from the other, obviously attempting to prevent another urge to pull each other's hair.
"They seem to be doing just fine," Akane said, smiling in relief.
But Haruka had her doubt. "Hold it. Hold it, lady. Let's wait some more."
"Are you hungry, Haruka-chan? What would you like for dinner?" Yukino asked.
"Did you see how Kuga moved right there? She's trying to get closer to Fujino! Something bad is happening!"
"What would you like for dinner?"
"What? I didn't see anything," Akane said, pressing her forehead against the glass.
"What would you like for—"
"Right there!" Haruka interrupted.
Shizuru felt a splash of water near her feet and looked up at Natsuki, who was acting as if nothing happened. What kind of trick the moody girl was going to pull now? Natsuki took a small break every five minutes, letting Shizuru did most of the work.
Gripping the mop firmly in her hands, Shizuru moved a little further away, trying to keep her cool. She looked up again, sniffing. Leaning against the shelf, Natsuki had just lit up a cigarette.
"I don't think you can smoke in here," Shizuru said quietly, continuing mopping.
"Stop preaching me. Better yet; wash your mouth with that water in the bucket." Natsuki flicked the ashtray to the floor, putting up a blank face. Surely, she meant for Shizuru to clean it up.
Shizuru stopped, staring back. "Are you always on PMS? You just can't hold any decent conversation."
"H—h—how dare you talk to me like that!" Blushing, Natsuki threw the cigarette at the chestnut-haired girl.
Shizuru backed away a step, avoiding the burning cigarette.
"You were just a scumbag before that man took you in! Don't you forget your place!" Natsuki scoffed, crossing her arms. "Oh, well, look at you now. You can fool anybody with your pretty face and soft talking, but you're still just a whore to me anyway."
Shizuru paused. She didn't know if she should feel angry. All through her miserable years, she had heard countless insults from just anybody pasting her in the streets. But Natsuki's words seemed to hold an enormous effect on Shizuru because she was Mr. Kuga's daughter.
Natsuki's attitude towards Mr. Kuga and his children-in-care was totally taken in the wrong direction. Mr. Kuga never mistreated them in any way. Shizuru still remembered former Mrs. Kuga's reaction the first day Mr. Kuga took her in, and assumed that Natsuki must have heard all the fabricated stories from her mother.
"Kuga… I think you misunderstood us—"
"They all claimed the same thing you do now. Try and convince me," Natsuki said sternly.
"Mr. Kuga never—"
"Why did he spend so much money just to send you guys here? Amuse me. Tell me he's a saint. You guys are just his polished products he could sell later on to the nobles. Tell me he loves you."
"He loves you."
Natsuki's head shot up, glaring.
"The first thing he taught me to write was your name. Kuga Natsuki…" Shizuru remembered how she went to bed that night five years ago with her heart mended again after her parents deserted her years before that. She believed that she had always been Mr. Kuga's favorite because she came the day Natsuki was taken away from him. She was simply a replacement, everything Mr. Kuga wanted to see Natsuki to be. And even though Mr. Kuga's love for her could be superficial, it was the only thing that kept Shizuru going.
"That doesn't mean anything," Natsuki muttered.
Shizuru just watched Natsuki storming out of the library. Although Natsuki still acted indifferent, Shizuru could feel the girl's heart brake again. Someone so kind such as Mr. Kuga deserted his family like Shizuru's own parents did to her. The world was so miserable that its ugliness became so common—that when someone sacrificed for something so honorable, the sacrifice was cast in a shadow along with cruelty and malice.
'Someday you'll see… Someday you'll fight for the one true purpose. You'll be the one to undo the madness of it all. I have my trust in you.'
Shizuru sighed as she recalled Mr. Kuga's words. The responsibility weighed like a mountain over her shoulders. She just didn't have the stomach to fail Mr. Kuga's wish.
Late that night, Natsuki returned to her dorm room after late supper to find that her roommate was nowhere to be seen. Tokiha Mai always disappeared during the night, and if the girl turned up pregnant one day, Natsuki wouldn't be surprised one bit. What kind of business a teenage girl with hormonal rage had in the middle of the night? Thank God that Windbloom had the best and most secured condoms in the world.
After a shower, Natsuki changed into her nightgown, drying her wet hair with a towel. She sat herself down at the desk and pulled an envelope out of the drawer. It was the only letter her father ever wrote her. Strangely, the letter came the first week of her arrival at Garderobe. No other letter or phone call prior before she was sent to this school.
'…I don't need to tell you how much I've missed you. You should already know that. Don't believe everything your mother says. She doesn't know the whole truth…
Natsuki, I love you more than my own life. I feel the need to beg you to leave Garderobe at once. You're not made to be a fighter, and there is no need to sacrifice yourself just to follow your mother's ill wish. She only wants to quarrel with me, using you. The path to become an Otome is hard and can be fatal. I am worried for you, and I want you to live your life in a normal way…'
Natsuki sighed and tossed the letter back into the drawer. She never wanted to become an Otome, but only did as her mother demanded. Unfortunately, Mr. Kuga's letter only angered her and caused her to determine to stay at Garderobe instead. She didn't know if she made the right decision, but it seemed she had grown attached to this place already.
While the only thing her mother ever talked about when writing her was how horrible and disgusting her father was, she found an earnest refuge with Principal Kruger. The principal certainly knew how messed up Natsuki's family was, but the woman never widened the wound by telling her to hate her father even more than she already did. Principal Kruger only encouraged her to be strong in order to fight her way to achieve her freedom, to become a better person—to stand tall above all others.
Sliding the glassy door opened, Natsuki slipped out to the balcony, slightly shivering in the cool breeze of the night. She turned when she heard some giggling and talking. Haruka, Yukino and Shizuru were gathering together just a few balconies away, looking to be having fun with one another.
Natsuki immediately bent down, but just enough for her eyes to see. It had always puzzled Natsuki as to why a loud and ridiculous girl like Haruka could have a loyal friend like Yukino. Maybe the blonde knew some trick to make good friends. Even the mysterious one like Shizuru seemed to warm up to Haruka.
Looking at Shizuru, Natsuki's eyes widened in realization. She had always believed that she never met Shizuru before the girl came to Garderobe, but she now recalled her last day at Kuga mansion. There was a blond boy standing by the door, staring at her. Natsuki had always thought that he was the prettiest boy she had ever seen. The fact that her father never adopted a boy had not struck her until now. She couldn't believe that it was really Shizuru. Five years had changed them so much, and she couldn't stop the longing to see her father now. Would he recognize her if they passed each other in the streets? Would he stop and say hello even if he did? He only wrote one letter to her in five years, and that was the cruelest thing Natsuki had ever known.
Before long, the sound of chatting and giggling stopped. Those three girls must have gone inside already. Natsuki slowly stood up, but paused when she caught a grinning stare from Shizuru, the only one remaining at the balcony.
Shizuru smiled, tilting her head to the side. "I thought your legs went numb."
Natsuki sharply looked away, clenching her fists. "I dropped something, that's all. I was trying to find it."
"With your light turned off?"
"Shut up!"
Shizuru shrugged. "Well, I better go. Seeing you as the last thing before I go to bed might give me nightmare."
Blushing in anger, Natsuki growled, glaring as the chestnut-haired girl slipping into her own room.
