Thoughts: Kiss or Kill
Disclaimer: If Mai-HiME was mine, then HiME's would have a 'bankai' mode, where they could all summon their robes, too.
When I was writing this, I always thought "why Switzerland?" I could've always named it Windbloom or Aries. I guess that's my own little mystery…
Once again, my 'Switzerland' is AU! I know they speak many languages, but let's keep everything in English.
"There! All finished," Natsuki sighed, putting one hand on her hip; another wiping nonexistent sweat on her forehead. I'd say a job well done for someone who rarely cleans.
Having too much sleep the previous day, our heroine woke up early dawn. Since she was bored and saw the suitcases still lying around, she began unpacking.
The agent was pretty surprised as she took out the boyish clothing and accessories, finding them suited to her size and taste. Guess we have more things in common than just another pretty face. Natsuki did not like the fact that she was going to wear someone else's clothing, but it was better than wearing skirts or blouses, which she hated. And thus, I secretly thank you, Nina Wang; perhaps I'll pay you a visit when this mission is over.
With nothing else to do, she twiddled her thumbs, watching the scenery outside on the balcony; the spring breeze brushed her face. Guess I should take a morning shower.
x – x – x – x
Coming out of the bathroom sporting a black jacket, white tank top, and a pair of loosely fitted jeans, she was greeted by a somewhat frantic Fumi, though still modest and polite in her hurried steps towards the agent.
"Ah, Nina-sama, I was at your room earlier, but no one was there—I never expected Nina-sama to already be awake."
"Is something wrong?"
"Master Viola is back from his trip and wishes to see you, Nina-sama."
"Father was on a trip? Never mind, show me the way. I would like to give him my morning greetings."
"Yes, of course."
The pink maid led the agent through another series of halls, intersections, and corridors.
"This is Master Viola's study. Master is currently inside waiting for you, Nina-sama."
The pink curled servant knocked on the door. "Come in; it's not locked," the man on the other side answered. Fumi did a halfway bow and opened the door with one of her hands.
A middle-aged man with spiked blonde hair and glasses looked up from his book. Closing it, he smiled warmly at the young girl with midnight tresses.
"Thank you, Fumi; you may leave." He signaled for the maid to go; Fumi nodded in acknowledgement and closed the door as Natsuki entered the study.
Standing up, Sergey Viola made his way towards his daughter.
"It must be awkward meeting your father for the first time like this," Master Viola smiled warmly again and protruded his hand. Courtesy was implicit in his tone.
When Natsuki was walking in the halls with Fumi, she had always pictured a slimy egomaniac grease-ball of a father who would look at her perversely. Instead, she was welcomed by a warm and moderately nice-looking one.
Tearing away from her thoughts, she shook his hand. It's people like these that makes a covert operation challenging; their true thoughts are always concealed behind a mask. Getting some dirt on him may be harder than I'd thought.
Now…what would 'Nina Wang' say in this case…?
"No, sir. I'm very happy to be able to finally meet you." She pulled back her hand and grinned meekly.
"Please drop the formalities, my daughter. Call me 'father'… or tou-chan," he winked.
"Ah! Um, then please call me 'Nina', Father!" Cheeks flushed within reason.
Seeing her daughter standing and acting very stiff, he gave her an amused smile.
"Why don't we sit down? Did you eat breakfast yet, Nina?"
"Not yet, Father…"
"Let's go have some then!" He motioned towards the door, but stopped. Turning around, Sergey commented with a cheery and childlike manner. "Come on, now. I haven't eaten anything since I got off the plane!"
"Ah, yes, me neither." 'Nina' said but quickly added a 'Father' at the end of her sentence. She flashed him a light smile. Two can play this game, Viola…
x – x – x – x
Choosing to eat outside in the sun, the servants brought two plates of toast with ham and eggs to their masters in the garden instead of the dining hall.
"Doesn't it feel great outside?"
"Um…Yes…" Natsuki jabbed a fork into her eggs, fiddling with them.
"Is the food not to your liking? I'll tell them to make something e—"
"No!" The agent nervously coughed and cleared her throat. "I mean it's not that...I-I just feel nervous…" This plate…
"Having breakfast with your father for the first time?" He gave his daughter another cordial smile.
"That and…" Why is this not rice with miso soup…?
"And?"
"…from yesterday's dinner, I thought it would be more Japanese," she replied staring at her plate.
The smile was replaced with a questioning frown, accompanied with a raised eyebrow.
"You seemed more like a Western girl to me, but you're more traditional than I thought, Nina."
"No, it's not like that, Father. Yesterday, everyone was speaking the language and eating sushi…" She stopped poking the eggs with her fork and tried to bring a bite of the scrambled eggs to her mouth.
"Ah… you mean that," he laughed. "You see, Nina…Rather its fate or my taste in women, all my wives are Japanese. All your sisters grew up speaking the language, and so I had to employ workers that could communicate in Japanese as well."
"I see…"
That explains the design of the bathroom, too, then.
"…I'm really happy that you came back, Nina." He sipped his coffee and stared at it idly.
"…If only your mother…no, let's not talk about this right now." His face at this moment had a solemn demeanor.
"…"
The atmosphere is set.
Let's see how you give in to pressure, Viola…
"Why did you never contact us?" No contact has ever been made between Nina Wang and Sergey Viola until now.
Why did you—no…why did Nina Wang choose to live with you? Her eyes brimmed with hidden curiosity as she began eating her ham.
Startled by the sudden question, Sergey paused and closed his eyes. He wondered about how he should tell 'Nina' his story.
Abrupt silence formed between the pair.
After what seemed like an eternity, Sergey sighed, finally opening his eyes.
"Back then…when I was younger, I was not as rich as I was now. The only reason for my social status today is because of an arranged marriage… Their family wanted no possibility of a future scandal, so they prevented me from contacting your mother."
Sergey checked the expression on his daughter's face before continuing.
"Within a couple years, I was appointed as the head of the family, but… with my new position, my workload just increased exponentially. There just wasn't enough time… But when things finally settled down... W-When I found that she had you, she was… I'm sorry, Nina… Please forgive me. I was too late…"
The man before Natsuki was in the verge of tears. She didn't know what to say to comfort the man; she wasn't sure if this was an act either.
The reports say that Nina Wang's mother died in an accident... Then, one day, Nina gets a letter from her 'father' telling her to come live with him. The agent glanced at Sergey, seeing a couple drops of tears escaping his eyes.
If all this is true so far... then, basically Sergey Viola wanted to reunite with his daughter... and Nina Wang wanted a family again...
A family... Hmph, though I would've been more cautious if I were her. No, there's no saying that Nina Wang's mother didn't secretly tell her daughter who her father was...
Anyhow... Viola considers himself powerful enough now not to care about scandals, huh?
"It's okay... We'll have plenty of time together from now on, Father." 'Nina' tried to soothe the man in front of her.
There's one more thing I need to know, then… Time to test my luck. Putting her fork aside, her gaze fixated on her glass of milk as she spoke softly.
"When I thought I was going to be alone… Father, you contacted me... Thank you." She quickly casted a glance at her 'Father'.
Embarrassed, Sergey promptly wiped away his tears. "Nina… if only I found you sooner… I feel so ashamed meeting you like this, really. Here I was going to show you my cool side, ha, ha. I screwed up big time… sigh… I'm grateful that you decided to come live with me… Nina, I really am."
Studying his expression quietly, Natsuki thought of her reply.
Viola isn't nothing like the ruthless businessman I was expecting from the reports. Though, again, I can't rule out this is all a facade... but for now I'll go with the notion that Viola could just be a family man...
"I'm grateful to you as well, Father. I could've never dreamed of living in a place as beautiful as this," Natsuki complimented. It was the truth; up until now, her room in Searrs had been her only dwelling. The place was comfortable, but lacked style and natural beauty.
"Ha, ha, you're very honest, Nina. Hmm, that reminds me. Is Fumi treating you kindly, Nina?"
"Yes, very."
"That's good. I'll assign her to you until you're comfortable with the mansion's surroundings—ah, that's right. Fumi told me about the tour; we should eat our breakfast faster, then."
'Nina' looked at her 'Father' quizzically.
"You'll see," Sergey gave his daughter a wink.
x – x – x – x
After breakfast, Sergey told his daughter that he had to attend another meeting and left the mansion.
Fumi arrived and escorted Natsuki out of the area. They began their tour of the mansion, starting with the current building.
"As Nina-sama has noticed, the estate is built on top of a hill, surrounded by a forest, but there are a total of four buildings," the maid explained. 'Nina' nodded.
"The one that we are currently in is the main building. Master Viola lives in this building, but there are also guest rooms. At times, Shizuru-oujo-sama and the rest of Viola-sama's daughters also sleep here. Each building has the regular essentials: bathrooms, dining halls, studies, a library, and etcetera with the exception of a ballroom, which is only located in the main building."
The pink maid briefly showed Natsuki all of the rooms in the main building.
"And last but not least, this is the Kotatsu room."
The agent froze in horror. Kotatsu…
"Nina-sama?"
"It's nothing…please continue." Even the flooring was of tatami mats…
And so, they made there way to the garden, where Fumi showed her the gazebo and the pool.
"The rest of the buildings are located West, East, and South with the grand garden in the center. The Mistresses live in each of those buildings with their daughters," Fumi said as they made their way out of maze of roses.
Deciding to visit the West building first, they arrived at the entrance; Himeno Fumi splendidly continued her tour.
"This is the West building where Erstin-oujo-sama, Yukino-oujo-sama, and Mistress Sara Chrysant resides."
"Her name doesn't sound very Japanese."
"Both Mistress Fia and Mistress Sara are not full Japanese," Fumi simply stated.
"Is that so…"
Opening the door, the maid showed Natsuki around the West building. Following the clockwise pattern, they arrived at the South building next. Fumi quickly explained that Mistress Fia Marguerite and her daughter, Tomoe, resided there.
After about three hours, making it now noon, Natsuki was relieved and stunned when they reached the final structure, the East building. The East building, where Fujino Ein and her daughter, Shizuru resided, was unlike the design of the other buildings.
The raven haired girl could understand the certain Japanese furniture and decorations found here and there in the estate, but her eyes bugged out at the sight before her. The building, looking more like an oriental royal palace, stuck out like a sore thumb in the entire domain. After the tour of the 'palace',the agent mentally branded the place 'The Japanese Palace'. She sweat-dropped, recalling the sliding doors, bonsai trees, and the fish ponds.
As they exited the 'palace', 'Nina' called out to the maid.
"Shouldn't I be greeting any of the mistresses?"
Fumi turned to face her master.
"Nina-sama, Mistress Fia went on a long overseas visit to her parents, and Mistress Sara is traveling around the world, signing many business contracts."
"What about Mistress Ein?"
The maid froze, unsure of what to say.
"…Mistress Ein… she's…currently in the hospital," Fumi finished weakly, her smile no longer on her face.
"She's sick?"
"Yes, she's been unwell for a long time, Nina-sama."
Deciding to change the subject, Fumi clasped her hands and smiled cheerfully. "The tour is over, Nina-sama. Shall I escort you back to the main building?"
"Yes, please." I guess some other methods may be required to know more about the mistresses.
"Thank you for today's tour. You know very many things, Fumi," the pseudo brown eyed girl stated, as they strolled towards the main entrance. Though, I feel a headache coming on with all this new information. A hand went to massage her temples.
"It's expected from a maid," the pink uniform clad woman smiled.
"What do you do in the estate?" It was simple question asked out of curiosity.
"Hmm…" Fumi stopped and put a finger on her lips, pondering. "Basically, I supervise all chores—ranging from cleaning to personal shopping—in the estate as the Head Maid."
Before the blue haired girl could make a comment, she paused. Realizing the two were now near the double staircases, Natsuki glanced down as she heard excited chatting echoing into her ears. Now that I think about it, they did seem to be talking about some kind of trip this weekend…
Pseudo brown met crimson once again. Force of habit, brown eyes scanned the purple long sleeve v-neck shirt and the long white dress that clanged onto their owner's body, leaving little to imagination. Natsuki immediately turned her head and secretly blushed. Those clothes fit her too well…
Never would she know that Shizuru was also 'checking out' the young girl as she turned her head. The brunette's gaze lingered onto the sporty and wild look of her younger sister.
Fumi, who had noticed the secret exchanges, simply smiled; she softly whispered to 'Nina' that she had matters to attend to, bowed, and walked away.
"Ara, Nina?"
The agent, who was at that time, staring at the floor counting the dark marble tiles, immediately swung her head to face the honey haired woman.
"Y-yes..?" The younger girl stuttered.
"Right now, all of us are going to go horseback riding. Would you like to come with us?" Soft Kyoto-ben reached the agent's ears like music.
The raven haired girl mentally shook the thoughts away, regaining her cool demeanor.
"I don't know how to ride a horse…" The brown orbed girl finished with a small cough.
"Ara, we'll just have to teach you then…" The chestnut haired girl smirked.
The rest of the siblings who were conversing with each other now also looked up to Natsuki, awaiting an answer.
What is with them and that 'let's all look at the new girl' every time that Kyoto woman opens her mouth?!
Nervous because of all the eye contact, Natsuki heaved a defeated sigh and nodded.
"Very well, then. Let's go."
x – x – x – x
Omake
Inside the study…
Sergey: -Darth Vader voice- I am your father, Nina
Nina (Natsuki): No way…
Sergey: Yes way, now come you little munchy puffy puppy! Give yo daddy your loving embrace!
Nina (Natsuki): …
-Natsuki takes out her dual guns and shoots Sergey multiple times in the chest without a second thought.-
Shizuru: Ara, Natsuki… those are-
Nina, who had been serving the cast tea, quickly ran over to her dying father, tears falling freely from her eyes.
Nina: Father! Father!
Sergey: Who knew the bullets –cough- were real?
-Sergey dies as Nina screams out his name for a final time. Eyes void and full of hate glare at Natsuki, who was whistling innocently. Nina unleashes the Harmonium on her. A mini tornado storms through the stage, ripping Natsuki's clothes to shreds, leaving a bare naked girl in her wake.-
Natsuki: Kyaa! –falls to the ground with hands fumbling to cover her private areas-
Shizuru: Na-tsu-ki… -the horny button is triggered in Shizuru's head-
-The ruby eyed girl pounces onto her prey and devours her on the spot.-
Natsuki: Ahhh..nnn… Noo… -a hand reaches out for help in vain-
Author: -nonchalant- Sigh… can someone get another Sergey into the scene? Make sure it's a normal one! We're running near the deadline here!
A/N: I never expected to have this chapter so long, but it just turned out that way. Beginnings are always what I dread most, but I needed to build a firm starting point. Now that this is accomplished, I can focus more on the ShizNat relationship.
As for the spellings of certain characters, I'm not too sure. I know Sergey is really Sergay, but that just sounds wrong. It's like Sir Gay Wang. Ack, spare me…
I'll mostly be using Otome characters, while saving HiME characters for later. I'll describe some names of the mistress to jog your memory.
Fia Gros - 'The Lovely Onyx', Argos XIV's Otome. She was the one that got killed by Midori. (Last name changed to Marguerite)
Sara Gallagher – The wielder of the 'Galactic Aquamarine.' She is the Bat woman of the 5 columns. (Last name changed to Chrysant)
Ein Ruu - Nguyen's Otome, the Imperious Azurite. She is Shizuru Viola's onee-sama back in Garderobe. (I changed her name to Fujino Ein.)
It may be weird with the back and forth English and Japanese greetings. When I put Mistress or Master in front of a name, expect it to be in English. If I don't, then I'll use the Japanese last name, first name system.
I will now give virtual cookies baked by Natsuki to anyone that reviews! Heh, they actually taste pretty good, you know. Hmm, mayo flavored… -munches-