Diclaimer: Mai HiME / Mai Otome and its Characters do not belong to me. All this stuff belongs to Sunrise.


Chapter 9

"So then Mikoto and I went to the park and believe it or not, the dogs all were after her!" Mai's voice rang through the room, her story making everybody laugh. It got only odd whenever her eyes fell upon me or Shizuru, for then Mai would blush forcefully and start to stutter. Of course it was very suspicious, since it was as if we shared a secret embarrassing enough to make us openly deny its very existence. Even I couldn't stop myself from getting reddened cheeks whenever I saw Mai in this state, for it remembered me of what happened not so long ago.

'Mai caught us in the act… shit… at least it wasn't Nao, but still, I will never ever forget this… what a pity she won't either.'

'Na- Natsuki?! What… hell, don't tell me you… no way!'

"Eh?! Wha- Mai?!"

There she stood, Mai, in the door, looking wide-eyed upon the scene unfolded. The shock was written all over her face.

'Shit! I- Stop! STOP! No-'

It was too late, however, and I couldn't suppress the moan Shizuru's tongue elicited. It felt as if my body was on fire – burning from shame, I mean. Did Shizuru hear Mai or not? I don't know. In any case, she continued her wicked and pleasant as well as pleasing work and that worsened my situation further. Not that it was any funnier for Mai to see us doing… this and that… on top of her office desk… in the office where she works ever so often…

'No! Don't think about that!' I commanded my mind!

I seized the nearest bottle full of wine and drowned my earlier thoughts with several strong gulps - again, to tell the truth. Shizuru was able to turn the tables and making Mai wish to disappear the second she entered her own office, though it did nothing to relieve me from the humiliation I felt.

'Another one…'

The initial feeling of shame drowned in wine, this time I went with refilling my glass, only to make it empty again several moments later. It couldn't be helped, after all.

I felt Shizuru eyeing me with concern every time I emptied the content of my glass, but that couldn't be helped either. It wasn't my fault that I couldn't handle the past experience in such a careless fashion, not that it would change the situation if I get drunk, though. However, it was enough for me to forget it long enough to sleep at least one night over it and that was already something I could look forward to.

'And one more down…'

"Ara, Natsuki shouldn't drink this much." She finally interjected.

"Why?" I asked her dumbstruck, not able to form coherent thought anymore.

"Because I have no desire to see the things you ate today later in the evening again." There was no humor in her eyes, even if her choice of words caused some occasional giggle all over the table.

"Hrmpf…" was my response then, giving away much more about my current condition than my calm outer façade. Not that my whole appearance showed how much drunk I really was, but my gestures and intonation were enough for Shizuru to tell the exact state I was in.

"No means no, Natsuki." With that she snatched the nearly emptied bottle away from me, making me grunt in disagreement.

"If I may say so, you sure are whipped, Kuga-san."

'Fuck you, Reito.' After bringing my simple thought to an end, realization hit me and the next thought formed immediately. 'Am I really whipped after only one single day?'

My actions matched my state, so I turned my head to look at my girlfriend. After several long seconds, I asked her straight forward.

"Shizuru… am I… whipped?"

Said girl blinked in confusion, but soon regained her composure. While patting my head, she shook hers to tell me that it wasn't as Reito said it was. Happy about it I reached out to grab the bottle only to feel my girl's hand around me wrist, pulling my hand effortlessly in the opposite direction of the object I tried to get.

"No, Natsuki, you will not drink anymore tonight. And clean your face, Natsuki. Here, let me…" she took out a handkerchief and wiped my face clean. Luckily I didn't see the great number of arched brows nor heard I the snickers and giggles from my so-called friends.

"B- but Shizuru, I'm not a child anymore…" I whimpered, not able to resist my charming partner.

When finished, she put the handkerchief back and patted my head once more, what caused me to smile sweetly at her. I never knew that she could reduce me to a little puppy without putting much work into it.

"Fujino-san, where is Natsuki and who is this person who looks like the cold prude girl we all used to know?" It was Yuuichi who dared to ask such a question. Well, not that I cared right at this moment, for it was really inconvenient for me to throw something in his direction or to kill him off.

'Shizuru will defend my pride. She is my girlfriend, after all!'

I leaned toward her and slung an arm around her waist, hoping that she would do something against the mean things people started to say about me.

"Yuuichi-san, Natsuki never was prude or cold, you only didn't see us two interact with each other before."

'Damn you, Traitor!'

"So, how is she in bed then, eh?" It was clear that he also drunk more than Mai would have allowed him to if it wasn't for her to be still traumatized from what happened in her office earlier this evening. Again my thoughts drifted to what happened…

"Ara, Mai-san, what a surprise. It is nice to see you again after all those years. I hope everything is well? " Shizuru said while getting on her feet and turning her head slightly towards Mai, who still stood dumfounded in the entrance.

While I pulled my skirt down to hide my private region as long as Shizuru blocked the view, she pretended as if nothing happened. I saw Mai wince when Shizuru nonchalantly licked her lips. Both of us blushed. She was so shameless!

"Y… yeah, Fujino-san. Nice to… to see you… again. " Mai stammered, still red-faced.

"This is such a nice office, Mai-san. But hiding the condoms in your potted plants? I am officially shocked, Tate Mai-san. " she added with a grin.

"Eh?! How did you-? Unh!" Mai hid her face by hiding it behind her hands, rivaling my own shame. How did she even know? I have never seen the mentioned thing in here… in the potted plant she said?

Then my mind caught up to what it was that Shizuru was implying went on between Yuuichi and Mai in this very office.

But thanks to the alcohol and my face now hidden somewhere in Shizuru's lap – being drunk made this awkward sitting position much less painful – I wasn't able to blush properly, so I kept my head down. Maybe those thoughts would leave Mai and me in peace. And maybe those people here would let go of me and my sex life. Waiting for that in Shizuru's lap, yes, that sounded like a good strategy.

"How she is? Take a guess, Yuuichi-kun." Shizuru only laughed full of amusement. Attack is the best defense. Given the current situation, one could say that this proverb was her life motto.

"Huh, I bet she is all nervous and stiff if it comes to sex… and she has most likely the submissive part, but her blush is cute, though."

"Don't speak like that about Natsuki-chan!" the drunken Takeda intervened, earning a sharp glare from Shizuru for using my first name, with a 'chan' on top of that! He flinched immediately, of course. I had to hold back my grin and snuggled a little bit more with Shizuru's side, effectively calming her down.

"C'mon, I only said-" Yuuichi began, but was interrupted by Mai, who laid a rather hard grip on his shoulder. Her glare silenced him in an instant.

With that the discussion died down and my eyes shut close. The next thing I remember was Shizuru waking me and leading me into Mai's office, where we changed back to our biker suits… well, she changed me, since the world was spinning around me and I couldn't properly stand without her help or the help of the wall for that matter.

In the end it was an uneventful evening, though Shiho and some of the others undertook some occasional efforts to find out about the deeper nature of our relationship. I fear I told them everything, even though I didn't even utter a single word in the whole process. I have no idea if it was a good choice to drown my embarrassment with a huge load of alcohol, but the more I drank the less I cared. Well, I never was someone to get a total blackout when totally drunk, however without my girlfriend's help I wouldn't have made it even out of Mai's restaurant, much less so to our bike, which was still parked somewhere at the backyard of my friend's apartment. At least Shizuru didn't drink anything, otherwise the way back home would be a total pain in the ass.

Leaning at Shizuru and kissing each other on our way every then and when, we finally reached our destination. Without further ado she helped me with my helmet and getting on the bike. All I had to do now was holding onto her and to be honest, there was nothing I would have liked to do more than that. The roaring engine shook me out of my pleasant fantasies about what I would do with her during the night time, in the morning or around midday.

'Heck, am I that clingy already? Get a grip on yourself, Natsuki!'

With a long sigh I decided that it didn't matter, even if it was for me to be clingy and addicted to her. If it was with Shizuru, it was okay. I only hoped she took it easy when I began to grope her breasts during our ride, but I took it as a good sign that she didn't complain, although it shouldn't had left much effect on her for she was wearing her leather-made biker suit. I knew from earlier experience that it made the body much less sensitive to any outside influence… outside influence like Shizuru's hands exploring your body, for example. On second thought, however, I would like to forget the occasional accident I nearly caused whenever her hands started to wander around.

At last, I couldn't tell when I stopped groping her with my unusual boldness, for all I remember is being carried up the stairs leading to my apartment – bridal style! Not that it bothered me at this time for that matter, since my embarrassment was temporarily killed somewhere between the second and the third bottle of alcohol earlier this evening.

Hence I had no idea when she took off my clothes, laid me down on my bed or when I fell asleep, getting lost in countless weird and crazy fantasies my mind chose to torture me with for poisoning my body with this much alcoholic stuff.


"Ugh, my head…" she groaned, loudly announcing her awakening. "It's killing me… shit, that hurts!"

I heard her swearing, but decided to say nothing for it was to be expected after what she drunk last night. It's really a shame that our plans to spend an evening with a romantic dinner for two were for naught. With a sigh I returned to my current task, making breakfast, that is. Although I had only very little experience in cooking or other practical things, I still was urged to develop these skills as well as martial arts, Naginata-jutsu, how to run a worldwide business or mastering several important languages. I hadn't had any practice in cooking for a whole time now, since compared to all the other tasks I was given it didn't hold great significance. Even so, I managed to create a fine breakfast menu for two, now all that was left was bringing a grouchy Natsuki to join me.

I only hoped she would like a traditional breakfast. To be honest, I had absolutely no idea what she usually had or even if she ate anything at all in the morning.

Eventually her swearing stopped for a while, so I assumed she found the aspirin and the glass of water. I put the last dishes on the tray and took it to the table in our – no, her – small dining room. With a soundless sigh I pulled out a chair and sat down, chastising myself for getting ahead of me. I must not forget that my presence was still only tolerated at best, even limited in its time. Certainly, it was great that the target of all my affections returned my feelings. However, I wasn't in the position to ask her if I could stay with her for a while, for I knew that it would do nothing but endanger her well-being. Naivety isn't a trait I was cursed with, so I never let my guard down.

Or did they really think I didn't already notice the people following us? I counted at least two of them, one in front of the garage on the other side of the street yesterday evening and the other one at Mai's restaurant, who seemed to assume that like Natsuki I also was drunk, what led him to let his guard down. It was hard not to notice him. That explained the car with the license plate of Kyoto as well as my instincts warning me of an incoming danger.

Anyway, I visually knew both of them… they were part of the bunch of thugs the right hand of Otou-san, Sergay Wáng, often used for his dirty work. I didn't see him yet, but I knew he had to be around somewhere, so I was sure that there were at least three of them here in Fuuka, including Wáng-san I mean.

Going by what I knew about Otou-san and his usual way of handling such a crisis – his only heir leaving and not planning to come back is to be called a crisis – he would send some people to observe me, maybe even trying to capture me, though I had the means to defend myself while they were probably prohibited from hurting me. Either way, he would have at least some kind of backup plan or greater scheme in the long run. But it was a disadvantage that Otou-san knew me and my personality very well… he probably was sharp enough to assume that I wouldn't hesitate to go to great lengths for the sake of Natsuki without regretting it.

It was something like a taboo to speak about it, so Natsuki and I never mentioned the carnival whenever we were speaking with each other. We especially never ever talked about what happened at that time. Therefore, my girlfriend – at least that I could call her, for it was the very truth – still wasn't aware of the current state of my mind, that I had no regrets while thinking back on the many deaths I once had caused.

Yes, at this moment I truly considered 'disposing' of our unbidden followers. My initial idea was something like leading them into an empty alley, ambush them and breaking their necks before they had a chance to even utter a single word. I, Shizuru Fujino, had no problem with maintaining my peace and togetherness with Natsuki by plastering the way to reach it with the corpses of those who dared to disturb this tranquility. Knowing my father well, he would even buy the prime minister to subdue even the smallest of rumors, so in any case I could be sure of being left alone by the police. Murder was a heavy crime, the rate of detection was somewhere around 99.9 percent, and so under common circumstances there would be no way to avoid getting caught and sentenced to prison for a long time.

What was the worth of a man? How much value did a life hold? For me the answers to those questions weren't relevant enough to even remotely wanting to find an answer to them at all. The more I thought about it, the more promising the prospect of obtaining a peaceful life with Natsuki by violence was getting. But still, I knew Otou-san and therefore I was sure he would find some way to exploit my one and only weakness, to blackmail me until I gave in to his demands to ensure that what was dear to me stayed unharmed. Natsuki, to be precise.

He didn't value his employees' life, so he didn't value the life of a stranger. He didn't value Natsuki's life, that is. But there was also something I didn't value… I mean a life without Natsuki. Is it madness to know what would happen if she ever got killed? Would they call my psychotic for planning a happy killing spree in case I lost my dearest one? Although I strongly reject the idea of a massacre to be happy, I can still feel the strong sense of satisfaction pulsing through my veins… I simply cannot bring myself to deny the great deal of happiness coursing through my body when I left behind tattered and bloody corpses on my way to conquer Natsuki's heart back then when I annihilated the First District. I know for sure that I would kill Otou-san with a sincere smile on my lips, probably the first and last after he blew out the only light capable of oppressing the deep darkness within my soul.

With a start I realized that I was standing at the window, searching for the guy who was observing us the day before. He wasn't there, but even so… again my body acted on its own and I came to my senses far too late. It was… quite disturbing to know that I could go and kill a human being with a passing usualness not even worth of my full attention. It was even more so disturbing to know that my earlier train of thoughts wasn't entirely my own…

"Shit" I whispered, narrowing my eyes to slits, closing them for a small while. It was not good to give in to her… her, my other side, the dark part of my soul, the sudden mood-swings I lovingly used to call 'my small inner Kiyohime'. It wasn't true of course, for I honestly wasn't schizophrenic for real. But wasn't that prospect even more frightening? To know that the intent to kill was a part of my very soul? To be aware of the occasional urge to run a heavy blade through someone's neck until the severed head fell down on the ground, leaving a beheaded and dead body behind?

Somewhere that was true, such a way to think would be frightening for anyone, although not for me. I was familiar with those thoughts, with a world so rotten and full of intrigues and deceives, where a smile didn't mean anything and wasn't even worth the effort. The likes of Nao were well advised to still fear me, even without the powers I was once provided with as a HiME. I may have lost Kiyohime and my element, the extendable Naginata, but I certainly didn't lose my skills. I still held the knowledge how to kill a person in many different ways efficiently.

When I came to me, my right hand rested on a doorknob… the way to leave the apartment. What was it that woke my innermost instincts? What had stirred the sleeping monster awake?

I let my hand fall to my side while I made my way back to the breakfast I prepared. Before I could sit down, however, the sun began to shine upon me, calming me with her warm presence.

"Thanks for the aspirin, Shizuru…" she said, leaning with her elbow on the doorframe and supporting her head with her hand. Her eyes were closed, but my heart started to beat faster and a new sense of warmth radiated within my chest. Needless to say that I significantly relaxed and couldn't suppress the broad smile plastered on my face.

Such was the power my Natsuki held over me. I loved her with every fiber of my body, I longed for her with every shred of my soul. I loathed everyone and everything who dared to even think of interfering with my feelings. A deep love could turn into possessiveness after not being returned for almost ten years, especially on the second day after the seemingly impossible turned real.

I still smiled at her, the hate within me long forgotten. Her brilliant green eyes opened and connected with mine, casting a weak but nevertheless cute smile on her lips. Then her eyes caught the things I put on the table. Her smile widened and her expression softened even more.

"Rice, some grilled fish, miso soup, tamagoyaki, a couple of nori sheets and nattō, though I don't know if you like the latter." I explained, still smiling at her with the brightest honest smile I had in a very long time.

"Wait a minute, I will get the mayo, okay?" she said, but headed straight for the kitchen without waiting for my response. Now I grinned. My Natsuki was a fast learner… she knew that I would have insulted this terrible white stuff if she were to wait for my answer.

I arranged the dishes, so that we could begin when she was back.


I took out a cigarette and lit it. We were back at the warehouse and our small meeting was about to begin shortly. I hoped that at least one of them had more luck than me. The dormitories' quality was above average I had to admit, so it would be an option to send Nina there when she would grow old enough. At least my trip there wasn't entirely in vain, but that wasn't the reason I was there for, so I inhaled a last time, then blowing out the smoke, before I started to speak.

"So, has anyone returned with good news?"

"Straight to the point, boss. Whatever… she really is at Kuga's mait… mainet… mente… at Kuga's garage. They went out yesterday and returned late I think." Naoki said. Maybe he was an idiot who couldn't even correctly spell the word 'maintenance', however, this was beside the point. He was there to smash and crash things, not to win a grammar contest or anything like that. "But there is no sign from Hanada, I searched the area, but nothing… maybe he got drunk and slept in…" he added with a small laugh.

I nodded, showing him that I was pleased with his work. My former boss always said that it was important to motivate your employees, so I even forced out a smile and tried to express my gratitude. However, Hanada's absence was rather unsettling, for I know him as one of the more reliable members of our little group. I only hope he didn't overrate his own skills and tried something to gain a little bonus. Now that was something I definitely thought of him to do.

"Anything else?" I asked slightly impatient. The target was so very close and the boss would also be pleased; even without Hanada… we could earn much money for a job this little… I couldn't await it, to be honest.

"Ah, there is… I've seen her together with a hot black-haired biker-chick in front of a posh-restaurant. I wonder how she got enough cash to go in there or why they hadn't thrown her out… I mean, you can't go there with just a biker suit, right?" Yutaka grumbled, obviously annoyed that he had to observe a restaurant for all day and night. It was boring, after all, and that was exactly the reason why I chose to visit the dormitories. "Shouta followed them to where they had parked their bike and he said they seemed heavily drunk."

Shouta only nodded in agreement.

"So the rumors are true, then? She is really… you know, one of those girls?" Tsuyoshi threw in, frowning in slight confusion.

"It seems so, since they really were intimate, even in public." Yutaka answered the question.

Naoki snorted and grinned as if wisdom had decided to pay him one of those very rare surprise visits. "So that's why the boss' daughter carried the chick home in her arms, they wanted to fuck each other's brain out."

"Whatever, I will report the news to the boss and all of you should check your weapons. One never knows when they come in handy. Any questions?" I effectively ended the discussion, for I know that the boss would rip off my head if even the smallest detail of our current exchange were to come out some day. Maybe she was a lesbian, maybe even a whore with ten or more lovers a day, but she still was a Fujino and that alone was enough to know that I shouldn't make any mistake in dealing with her. The boss probably hated his daughter, but his hate for those who insulted his family surpassed any common measure. It was indeed frightening that I could imagine him killing me off with a gun right in his office… creepy that the really dangerous people always were on top of some fancy business while the small ones always took the beating and went to prison – or got killed by their employer.

In any case, unsurprisingly nobody had a question, so I went out of earshot of everyone and took out my mobile phone, dialing the boss' secret number from my mind, for it was too risky to have such a number in my own phones' memory.

After a few rings I was greeted with silence. Since I knew that he never began the conservation when called under this number, I initiated the conversation with the usual disguise.

"Here is your delivery service. I call you to inform you about the status of the parcel you ordered."

"So, Mr. Lee, you were able to find the lost parcel?" he answered with a question.

"Yes, Sir. It was exactly as you said, it was somewhere in Fuuka City, a girl came around and took it just yesterday. As far as I can tell, she even opened it, but the contents are still as good as new. Do you want us to bring it to you anyway?"

There was a short pause, indicating that he was thinking about something… most likely something dark and evil, involving dead people, blood and more work for us.

"Mr. Lee, I still wish for the parcel to be delivered, just as scheduled. The item's quality shouldn't have suffered enough from a mere girl to make it useless. And concerning the girl who is currently in possession of said delivery… well, you may proceed as you like, but I don't want her to talk ill of me for taking what is mine by right."

"I fully understand, Sir, and I assure you that we will take care of everything to please you. We will deliver it yet today." I said, hoping that he wouldn't let his foul mood out on me. And I had luck, since he closed the connection with a snort.

"Okay guys, even with Hanada absent we will end the job. We can search for him when we are finished, but the boss' order has top priority now. Everybody ready?"

No one complained, so we left the warehouse and got into our cars, driving towards our destination. I still didn't know what I would do with that Kuga-girl, though killing her wasn't an option. For Nina I had to stay strong, to stay by her side as a good father. I had to be a good father and not a murderer, to stay that way at any cost.

And there was still the matter that the heir of the Fujino main family wasn't just a pampered little girl, but a full grown woman with far above average skills in fighting with and without weapons. Nothing that some guns and Isamu couldn't handle, though, but even then we had to be careful to not harm her… maybe use that other girl as leverage to achieve our goal?

Lost in thought I noticed too late the cars coming to a stop directly in front of 'Kuga's maintenance'. Those fools, did they also want to ring the bell and answer the 'who's there' question with 'the evil kidnap commando'? I slapped my palm in my face, fighting the urge to drown myself in the nearby canal, but what's done is done, so we could as well get out and do our job.

The garage was closed yet, so I assumed that what Shouta said was true: they seemed to have a hangover, so to strike now was our best chance. Even a skilled fighter like Shizuru-sama couldn't overcome our combined efforts.

As we readied our weapons, I had Hiroshi to open the door to the apartment where Kuga was said to live without leaving as much as traces that could lead someone to us. As an engineer he had the right tools and enough experience to act fast, precise and without gathering attention. It was only a matter of not even sixty seconds before we could enter the building, going up the stairs in search of the door to said apartment located in the upper floor.

When we found it, we rushed silently up and readied ourselves to storm it as soon as the door sprang open. Hiroshi began his work to open this door without making much noise, so that we could get on them without them putting up resistance. I suspected they were still in bed, having all that alcohol last night should've taken a toll on them.

It took us only about thirty seconds to locate and surround them with Tsuyoshi, Naoki and Shouta each pointing a gun at them. So they were not sleeping. No word was said as both girls – each still holding chopsticks and sitting at a table while eating what seemed a rather lavish feast of a breakfast – were looking at us rather surprised, though the growing confusion was easy readable on this Kuga-girl's face. On Fujino's face, however, grew something I could describe as… well, the intent to do very nasty things with us. Her eyes resembled her fathers in that regard.

"You look utterly pissed, Fujino-san." I said, breaking the heavy silence.

"You bet I am, Wáng-san." she replied, her voice as cold as her aura. This would provide an interesting outcome, I dared to predict.


miso soup – A Japanese soup consisting of something called 'dashi' (it gives the soup it's typical 'Japanese' flavor) and 'miso', which consists of fermented rice, barley and/or soybeans. Wikipedia can explain this one further.

tamagoyaki – Something similar to an omelet, tasting salty or sweet, depending on how you prepare it.

nori sheets – Some kind of edible seaweed, to be precise.

nattō – Traditional Japanese food made from fermented soybeans, often used as part of a traditional breakfast.