Bite Me Sensei

by MissTinyTinyT91

AU- 2 years ago, Shizuru Fujino disappeared from Kyoto and under the new name of Shizuru Viola, she became a teacher at Fuuka Academy where her life would be turned upside down by the Ice Princess, Natsuki Kuga. With the odds stacked against them, the two face a chilling prospect of forever being haunted by their pasts and secrets- but will their love prevail? Read to find out!

10. To Live My Life As It's Meant To Be

A/N:Ah so it's that time of… no wait scrap that… I'M BACK and on my travels I stumbled across this chapter which took forever to get right. Literally I don't know how many times I've re-written massive parts for it and I had to delete some of it because I wanted to put it in the next chapter.

Right so here is hopefully a long update to show for my long absence. As always there's some terrible language which I have to apologise for- even more so for my dear ShizNatFizzle who enjoys smacking my wrist for my language- even on Facebook she does it! SORRY! My thanks to wonderful Shindu who read through this for me. Hope you all enjoy it and please leave a review- they really do mean the world to me.

Love to all. The chapter title is from Mumford & Son's song called 'The Cave' and it's one of my favourites so I think you all should YouTube it and have a listen!

Chapter 10- To Live My Life as It's Meant To Be.

Nao had just finished washing the dishes and had begun to put a stack of bowls away in the overhead cupboard, when suddenly she heard the sound of the door opening and then slamming shut with such force Nao jumped out of her skin- thus causing one of the ceramic bowls to fall on her head. "Oww... shit. What the fuck?" Nao rubbed the sore, throbbing point on the top of her head, taking a look at her hand to check there was no blood and she angrily stormed into the living room where Shizuru sat- hunched over on the sofa with her head resting in her hands. "Shizuru you idiot, a bowl hit me on the... Shizuru? What's going on?"

Shizuru lifted her head out of her hands, closed her eyes and took a deep breath before recounting the tale of her run-in with Alyssa. "Has Kuga-san ever mentioned a person called Alyssa Kruger to you?"

Nao sat cross-legged on the arm of the sofa and cocked an eyebrow at her cousin "Er... yeah, yeah she may have come up in conversation at lunch yesterday. Why? What about her?" Nao crossed her arms; she had never really seen Shizuru like this before. She had been mad at Nao before obviously but usually it was the weird, creepy sort of mad when she was eerily calm as she gave Nao a bollocking. Seeing Shizuru trembling with fear with a face as pale as a ghost made Nao almost sick to her stomach- just what the hell happened? Shizuru had been happy and smiling pretty much all day- much to Nao's annoyance as she knew that Natsuki had the balls to actually ask Shizuru to take her to the airport. Still it made a change from seeing the fake smile Nao had got used to over the past month!

"Kruger-san is Kuga-san's older half-sister."

"Oh…well that explains a lot." Knew there had to be a logical reason for someone apparently that cool to hang around with Kuga... but why is Shizuru still shaking? "Right, but what does that have to do with the shaking and stuff? You look scared out of your wits."

"Before I became Viola, when I was still a Fujino our business went into negotiations with a German based mechanical company and due to my father's illness, for a while he was unable to work and so I stepped in. I was the one continuing the negotiations and consultations with their legal team over the phone and through tele-conference calls." Shizuru opened her crimson eyes to stare at a confused looking Nao. "Nao, Alyssa was on that legal team. We spoke every day for a couple of months but then when my father came back to work he took control again and Alyssa and her Uncle who was the Head of Kruger Industries said they didn't want to continue anymore- cancelling the agreement. Father blamed me for getting too involved and losing us a multi-million dollar contract. That's when I left."

Nao shrugged- clearly that wasn't everything and she was desperate to know what Shizuru was holding out on "Would you stop with the suspense please? What's wrong?"

"Alyssa recognised me today Nao... she's suspicious and knowing her it won't be too long before she puts the pieces together. She could end this… what we've got here now."

In shock Nao slid off of the arm onto the actual sofa, her lime-green eyes widened in horror as she struggled to comprehend what Shizuru was saying and she ran her fingers through her vibrant red-locks "So... let me get things straight... Kuga's big sister is someone who you used to know and who now knows that you are here and could potentially rat you out for what? The reward money?"

"I seriously doubt someone like Alyssa Kruger is in need of the reward money Nao."

Nao sighed as she fell back into the sofa "Yeah... bet she uses money to wipe that ass of hers too." Nao scoffed. She knew that somehow Kuga Natsuki- or was it Kruger- was going to fuck up things big style and only make things complicated for her and Shizuru. Sure the two girls were technically friends- or thereabouts- but it still didn't make Nao feel any warmer to the girl who she lived everyday to piss off and torment!

"Nao, I'm not saying she would but I'm certainly not saying she wouldn't leak it to my family and now more than ever things are about to become difficult and potentially dangerous."

"Yeah I know... and we'll get through it right? Together?" Nao knew what that look on Shizuru's face was- she had seen it before when Nao was forced to switch her mother's life support machine off. It was guilt, guilty for what- Nao had no idea at the time but now? Now she knew what was going through her cousin's head and she was livid. "DON'T YOU DARE start thinking about sending me away again Shizuru? You promised... you promised that you wouldn't." By now the younger girl had risen on her feet- her eyes filled with absolute rage- a fire that instantly consumed her and her senses.

"And I'm not going to. If you would only listen to what I have to say..."

"But I don't fucking want to- what part of that can't you get through that skull of yours Shizuru?"

"Nao I had a lot of time to think about this on the way here. I think, no I know that it would be far safer for you if you moved into the dorms- especially now that the vice-president has left and Senou-san has a spare bed. I am doing this for you." Shizuru grabbed the younger girl into a hug- after a bit of a struggle; the younger girl relented and melted into the hug.

"I won't let you Fujino- there is no fucking way I'm leaving and you can't make me." And with that Nao broke away from the hug and stormed out of the room- slamming her bedroom door shut and leaving a disgruntled Shizuru behind.

I'm sorry Nao, but I can and I will.

---

What the hell is that buzzing? Is that my... shit that's my phone! Sparkling blue eyes scanned the areas for her phone- throwing documents around looking for the source of the buzzing noise on the desk yet huffed when she walked over to the bedside cabinet to where her phone vibrated in circles.

"Yamada?" Alyssa answered with a sharp and cold tone.

"I have information on that woman of yours- you're going to wanna give me a big pay rise after this Kruger."

"Be at the bar in 20 minutes... and then we'll discuss the probability of a pay rise depending on your getting the goods I want."

Alyssa smirked as she hung up the phone and grabbed one of Natsuki's leather jackets and the younger girl's bike keys- smiling at the memory of the fuss the younger Kruger sibling made when Alyssa offered to drive Natsuki to and from school... on Natsuki's Ducati! A minute later and Alyssa was out of the door, riding at high speed as she dodged cars on the roads of Fuuka and her sapphire-blue eyes scanned the right turn-off. It had, after all, been quite a while since she had been here! A few minutes later and Alyssa turned into the dark alley, switched the engine off and removed Natsuki's spare helmet- shaking and running her lithe fingers through her bright blonde locks. The Rorschach bar was pretty much empty except for a few punters at the bar. Alyssa's eyes scanned the area before walking over to the furthest and the darkest booth where she saw her man- a cigarette between his index and middle finger of one hand and a whiskey glass in the other.

"You're late Kruger." The man known as Yamada watched as the blonde placed the helmet and gloves on the table before taking a seat opposite him.

"I'm never late- you're just here early."

Yamada scoffed before reaching down into his bag- whipping out a beige manila folder and placing it on the table with his hand holding on to it. "You know the drill Kruger- it's not been that long since we worked together." He said with a smirk on his face, his eyes watching as Alyssa reached into the inside pocket of the jacket and pulled out an envelope- giving it to him as she pulled the folder towards her.

"I've included a bit extra to quit your bitching." Alyssa pulled out the wad of paper as Yamada checked just how much money was in the envelope. He had always trusted his more secret employer but it was an old habit that never died down when anyone gave him money and Yamada didn't like to be treated as a fool.

"Hmm... thanks, that's everything I could find on Viola-san. Birth certificates, work permits, driver's licence... even a copy of the administration form for her teaching course at Tokyo."

Alyssa looked over the information that her informant had unearthed, quite impressed with the level of detail that Shizuru had taken to put the Fujino Shizuru to rest and become Viola. Looks like this stuff had been prepared before she left. How she got these documents processed without being found out is a mystery but it's definitely not impossible with the right connections. Alyssa brought the document that appeared to be a photocopy of a lease on a house closer to her eyes- Yuuki Nao is listed on the lease? Who the hell is she?

"Yuuki Nao... did you find anything on her too?"

"I'm a professional Kruger of course I did... It was tough as she's only 16 so I seemed a bit creepy but she's a high-schooler at Natsuki's school and she seems to know Natsuki well too. Lives with Viola-san, last year she was put under the guardianship of her too after her mother died. There's also something interesting... look at the girl's birth certificate- the mother's name."

Alyssa flipped through the pages until the very last page which included yet another birth certificate. "Yuuki Shizuma... and?"

"Now look at Viola-san's mother's name."Alyssa flipped back to the front and a familiar grin spread across her face "Yuuki Akemi: Deceased since 1992." And underneath where it was supposed to hold Shizuru's father's name there was nothing written in.

"Bullshit. She's not dead, Yuuki Akemi became Fujino Akemi. I did a background check and found out that those two were sisters." Alyssa nodded. "But you knew all along who this 'Viola'-san was didn't you?" Yamada took a sip of his drink as the gorgeous blonde on front of him smirked. "Course you did. So I risked life and limb getting this useless information for you?"

Alyssa scoffed "You didn't risk anything- even I could have got this information. Stop being a damn drama queen Yamada."

"Hmm, then why didn't you do it? And now that you know this what are you going to do- rat her out for the reward money?"

Alyssa sighed, relaxing more into the bench in the booth and an all too familiar smirk spread itself across her face.

"Now that, Kruger is low. Even beneath you for that matter!"

Alyssa dropped the smirk. "Do you really think me heartless Yamada? Why should I bother- I don't need the reward money and you get enough working for me and Reigen. I'm not going to blow her cover Yamada. Her secret stays safe with me... and you, you know what'll happen if you tell don't you?"

"Let me guess- Decapitation?"

"No... I'll still need you to work for me- I'll just hack your balls off. How does that sound?" she suggested sweetly as she reached over to take Yamada's drink and take a sip of the amber liquid. Alyssa had to physically restrain herself from shuddering as the liquid burnt her throat and stomach... but that made her look cool right? Of course it did!

"Delightful." Yamada squirmed in his seat- the sudden grip of fear overwhelming the pissed off feeling as the young blonde had finished his drink! If there was one person that he never wanted to get on the wrong side of- it was Alyssa Kruger- he was already scared enough of her younger sister and he didn't want either to know it."So why not then?"

"There was a reason for Shizuru's disappearance Yamada. That girl had everything she wanted growing up but something was obviously missing- something important enough to make her go AWOL. She was a smart woman who had everything going for her and yet she chucked it all away." Alyssa sighed sadly and stared at the table as she fiddled with the glass in her hand. It was a bit of a habit whenever the young lawyer started to think too much- whatever stopped her from biting her nails down to the knuckle or smoking!

"Did you love her or something?"

"I wouldn't go that far Yamada. I respected her, admired her ambition and the way she carried herself and her business so I wouldn't go around making assumptions if I were you." Alyssa's blue eyes lifted up off of the table and glared at the older man who paled in an instant- a silent warning- they were always the scariest!

"There was a reason Yamada... and I'm sure as hell going to find it."

---

"Right class, from looking at the information that is provided can we determine whether there is a pattern in the profit gained by Fujino Corp in the years..." A loud knock on the door interrupted Shizuru who had been drawing a series of graphs on the whiteboard and all eyes went from the brunette to the door "Come in." The door opened to reveal the scowling, stern and incredibly unimpressed face of the school's disciplinarian- carrying what looked like a large bunch of lilies.

"Ara, Miss Maria, this certainly is a surprise."

The grey-haired woman grunted and walked over to the desk- placing the flowers on top of it. "They're not from me." She grumbled as she turned on her heel and left the room leaving a very surprised Shizuru and an intrigued bunch of school kids! Shizuru chuckled as she spotted the card "I think Miss Maria likes me class. What do you think hmm?"

At the back of the classroom Chie watched with her mobile phone out as the young teacher opened up the card and almost for a split second, Shizuru felt her heart stop beating as she read the note attached and despite the shock she took a deep breath and put her expressionless mask back on.

"Dear Shizuru,

Thank you for taking the time to collect me the other day.

I'm going to be in town for a while- perhaps we can meet up at some point?

See you around.

Alyssa K."

"Are they from your boyfriend Viola-sensei?" shouted Tanak- one of the class clowns who obviously fancied himself God's gift to the human race.

"No they are not Shimizu-san. Now where was I?" Shizuru placed the card back into the envelope before placing it on the desk.

"You were answering whether you had a boyfriend or not." Tanak leaned back in his chair, flashed a lopsided smile and winked at a visibly unimpressed Shizuru.

"Geez…Pack it in Tanak. Like every girl in this place- she's never going to sleep with you." Shizuru choked back a laugh as Chie from the back rolled her eyes and closed her phone before putting it back into her pocket. Amateur... geez! There will never be two clowns in this class- that's my gig!

"Thank you Harada-san." Shizuru winked at the charcoal-haired girl who sat up a little straighter in her chair at the hot young teacher's recognition and she turned back to the graphs drawn on the chalkboard. Alyssa sent me flowers at the school? Why? "Right... definition of profit margin. Is anyone going to take a shot at answering?" No-one… No surprises there…

Shizuru couldn't wait to get home after yet another tedious and dreary departmental meeting. Sure the only thing to come back to was a very pissed off Nao but compared to her day so far- Nao's silent treatment seemed heavenly! The one thing that usually made her day bearable was spotting her favourite student around the school campus and yet today it seemed Natsuki either hadn't come into school or worse... she was avoiding her!

"Nao, I'm home, are you in?" Shizuru poked her head round the kitchen and living room before checking the bedroom and study. Maybe she's not then. Shizuru put the bag down on the kitchen counter and placed the lilies in the sink- turning on the cold water when suddenly Nao emerged standing in the doorway.

"Who the fuck gave you those things?" Nao smirked when she saw her cousin jump in shock- it wasn't something her cousin usually did, however since Alyssa's arrival Shizuru had become rather twitchy and her usual calm demeanour had been shot to hell!

"Can you not creep up on me like that please Nao? That's the last thing I need." Good mood gone. Shizuru took out one of the many vases out from under the sink cupboard and filled it up with water- just because the flowers were from Alyssa- it didn't mean that they weren't pretty enough to be kept.

"Sure... Because I feel so inclined to do what you've asked me to." Nao scoffed, crossed her arms and leant on the doorframe. "So are you going answer my question or what?"

"Well last I heard Nao you were giving me the silent treatment were you not?" Shizuru started to rearrange the flowers when she noticed that the younger girl had once again gone silent and so she turned around to find the younger girl trembling slightly despite her obvious attempts to quell them. "Nao, why are you shaking?"

"We had a visitor today. Blonde hair, bluest eyes I've ever seen, a body and looks to die for... spoke Japanese with a really thick German accent. Any of this sounding familiar to you?"

"Alyssa came round?" Even though it sounded like a question Nao knew that Shizuru knew she was right "Alyssa has certainly been busy today." Shizuru growled as she turned back to the flowers- trying to face away from her cousin. Anger was flowing through the older woman's veins and Shizuru closed her crimson eyes and took a deep breath. "When Alyssa was here, what happened?" Shizuru asked with her back to her cousin.

Nao shrugged and then realised her cousin wouldn't have seen the gesture. "Nothing much really. She was quite bubbly, talked a lot and asked quite a lot of questions I didn't really answer- you wouldn't think she was related to Kuga at all. She gave me something to give to you but it's in my room so I'll... go and get it." Nao pushed herself off the doorframe and went into her room- returning a few seconds later with an unopened card. "Here. I was going to open it."

Shizuru nodded and took the envelope in her hand and inside the card a folded bit of paper fell out and landed on the floor in front of her- which Nao picked up and began reading for herself. "She wants to meet me tomorrow evening at the Linden Baum restaurant. I knew that this was going to happen Nao-chan... I just wasn't prepared enough for it."

"What, my Linden Baum, the place I go? Why would she tell you to meet her there? It's not like you're actually going to go is it?" Nao scoffed, throwing the folded piece of paper onto the side and she looked at the expression on Shizuru's face- she had seen it too much the past few days. "You... Na… NO…Holy fuck! I can't believe that you're even considering it Shizuru."

"Nao if I go there's a chance that I can talk her out of it and work out some sort of deal for the both of us."

"What happened to you being smart huh? Moron. You're going to get yourself killed you know if you go there and then what will happen to me?" the young girl exclaimed. Right now all she wanted to do was knock some sense into her cousin and give her a slap for being so damn stupid- Shizuru was great at being able to manipulate even the most stubborn of people but this Alyssa was a totally different kettle of fish altogether!

Shizuru shook her head "You're being very selfish Nao."

Nao retorted "Yeah well you're being a brainless moron Shizuru. You may as well just put a gun to your head and pull the fucking trigger"

"Well if that's the case and I'm such a brainless moron who will likely be dead by tomorrow evening maybe you should leave... save yourself the pain of trying to find someone else to take you in." Shizuru gritted her teeth in anger as she folded her arms across her chest- maybe she should never have come home at all this evening. Maybe she should never have let Nao live with her.

Maybe... just maybe she should never have left Kyoto in the first place.

"Yeah... maybe I should then." Nao yelled in her cousin's face as she turned to try and leave the room before Shizuru in a clear and levelled voice yelled back "You need to pack up your belongings Nao... and be ready to move out by tomorrow evening."

Nao turned around, her brows creased together in confusion "Huh... what? What do I have to be ready for?"

Shizuru stared at the table; she couldn't meet her cousin's lime-green eyes out of the immensity of the guilt built inside her. "All the arrangements have been made. Aoi-san will be expecting you to move in tomorrow afternoon after school so... you haven't got that much stuff so it shouldn't take too long."

Nao clenched her fists into balls by her side- her fingernails cutting into her palms so deep she could feel the trickle of the warm red liquid slip through her fingers. It would hurt later but for now the young redhead was numb all over. "I... You win." Nao hissed through her teeth as she spun on her heel and walked out of the room- slamming the door behind her. Shizuru- feeling exhausted- crumbled as she felt her strength leave her as she fell to the floor, rested against the cupboard door and began to let the tears fall freely down her face as she buried her face in her arms.

"Nao-chan." Shizuru wiped away the tears and pushed herself up off of the floor and headed out of the kitchen to Nao's room. The door wasn't entirely shut but the young girl's stereo was blaring and Shizuru watched as Nao emptied out a few drawers onto her bed where there was a suitcase already half full. She's really leaving but she will understand someday why I've done this... and then she'll hopefully stop hating me. As Shizuru turned away, she walked past the living room where the laptop was still switched on and lit up with the webpage displayed- and her curiosity got the better of her by what was shown up. Nao's been searching Alyssa Kruger... and Natsuki too? Shizuru huffed as she rooted around in her briefcase for her glasses before walking back and sitting down on the sofa. Should I look or not? Look? Don't look? There's actually an article on her? Shizuru took a deep breath before clicking on the link- her crimson eyes widened by what she saw.

"Natsuki Kruger (ナツキ・クルーガ or Kruger Natsuki), Age 17, born Tokyo, Japan, formerly 紀宮内親王 Kiku-no-miya Natsuki naishinnou, is the only daughter of German-born Dietrich Jordak Kruger and the former Princess Saeko of Japan. Her mother (before her death) was the only daughter of Prince Reigen of Japan- the current Emperor's first cousin making her a direct descendant of the Emperor Meiji. Her mother married the young CEO and President of Kruger Industries, Dietrich Kruger on 15 November 1987. As a result, she gave up her imperial title and left the Japanese Imperial Family, as required by the law passed in 1947. As a result, Natsuki is considered a part of the Imperial family yet bears no formal title. At the tender age of 8, Natsuki was left an orphan due to the Japan Airlines disaster in which a commercial Boeing 747 lost power mid-flight and crash-landed killing all 423 passengers and crew. No foul play was involved. At her parents' death, Natsuki was placed under the guardianship of her maternal Grandfather and was enrolled in the prestigious Fuuka Academy (Fuuka Gakuen) where she is currently studying her First year of High School education. She is an active member of the Fuuka Aikido dojo and regularly takes part in nationwide competitions and tournaments.

Natsuki has one half-sister from her father's first marriage to Anastasia Kruger. She is the current Vice-President of Kruger Industries, Alyssa Anastasia Kruger who currently is based in Hamburg in Germany and alternates between Tokyo and her hometown. Alyssa also attended Fuuka Gakuen before graduating and taking up a Law Scholarship at Harvard University in America.

It was announced that from the age of 16, she was formally engaged to Masashi Takeda in a private traditional ceremony and it is believed the two will marry in the summer with members of the Royal family in attendance. It remains unknown whether the Emperor and Empress will attend the event."

Shizuru continued to scroll down the page- fascinated by how much of a well-known person Natsuki was in Japan and the fact that her student was actually a second cousin to the Emperor no-less! Shizuru sat back in her seat and sighed sadly whilst massaging her throbbing temples. She had a huge stack of marking to do, assignment plans, she had the meet-up with Alyssa in the evening and she had pushed away her only ally in her family… life was certainly looking up for her! Shizuru closed the laptop and made her way to the bathroom- all that stuff could wait- for now what she desired most was a steaming hot bath.

---

Sooner rather than later thanks to the days blurring together into one uninteresting blob, Friday was here at last and the weekend could finally begin and despite the happy feeling that spread through the school- the joy seemed to completely bypass the raven-haired girl. Natsuki was pissed off. She was pissed off with Nao for not even having the decency to show up for a week and not taking her calls or replying to any of the group's texts. She was pissed off with Alyssa for being so damn secretive all the time and avoiding talking to her- which was Natsuki's job. Most of all though she was angry at Shizuru and the older woman's ability to completely and utterly confuse her at every given opportunity.

Unfortunately it seemed that both Shizuru and Natsuki had completely conflicting schedules that week and the two hardly saw each other at all. Even when the two would normally be forced to see each other in class- circumstance butted in and Natsuki actually found herself with valid excuses to leave- thus creating a highly unusual occurrence. So it came down to the occasional smile or nod in the hallway as they passed each other. However on that day, it was clear to anyone with a pair of eyes that it was a fake as the smile had left before Shizuru completely had her back to her student before she returned to her vacant, expressionless mask. Natsuki stopped in the hallway and turned back- something felt weird and Natsuki felt a bad vibe emitting from the young teacher.

"Viola-sensei?" Natsuki ran to catch up with the teacher. "Yes Kuga-san?"

"Is… is everything okay? You just seem… off."

"Thank you but everything is fine Kuga-san. However now I'm thinking on it I should have told you sooner but… I'm afraid I have to cancel our after-school tutoring session today. Something… rather important has come up and I need to tend to that first. Hopefully I'll see you next Friday though." Shizuru fiddled with the leather handle of her bag as she lifted her crimson eyes to meet the angry emerald orbs of the student in front of her. "I really am sorry Natsuki. How about we arrange for another day? I feel terrible making you wait another week."

"I'm sure you do… But I can't do any day but Friday next week- got roped in to training some of the newer members of our dojo after school." Natsuki folded her arms across her chest "We could… If it's… nah never mind." Natsuki mumbled under her breath- cursing her inarticulate nature. I could form a sentence a minute ago why not now?

"No I… please tell me what you were thinking." Shizuru took a step closer to her student who looked away and started to bite her lower lip- which made Shizuru frown a bit. Despite being used to some of the girl's habits, Shizuru never liked it when Natsuki bit her lips as the young girl's lips were just as stunning and torturously tempting. "Natsuki stop biting your lips- they are far too pretty and you'll hurt yourself… again." Shizuru said as she took another step closer. Natsuki immediately stopped biting her lips as she started to feel a little fuzzled from being yet again so close to her teacher- so close that she could smell the perfume Shizuru was wearing and on pure instinct she leaned in a bit closer to be able to get a better smell before she realised what she was actually doing. Great, now I look like an idiot as well as sound like one!

"I was thinking why don't we meet up at the weekend somewhere and do it there?" Natsuki shut her eyes and waited for Shizuru's answer. What she hadn't counted on were her words all coming out in one long incomprehensible mess and so when she finally opened her eyes and looked up her teacher she couldn't help but chuckle at her teacher's shocked and confused expression.

"I'm sorry I didn't catch a word of that Natsuki. Could you ask me again?"

"Oh don't make me ask again." Natsuki took a breath and sighed as Shizuru quirked an eyebrow. "Fine, why don't we do it somewhere else sometime over the weekend?"

"Is Natsuki asking me on a date?" Shizuru said in a low, hushed tone as the girl in front erupted in a full on blush- going every shade of red imaginable.

"I… you… I didn't. Shut up!" Natsuki growled as the young teacher chuckled. If it wasn't totally illegal and weird would I ever ask her on a date anyway? No, she probably thinks I'm too immature anyway- and plus the fact that we are both girls and she's clearly into guys.

"Wow, are you always this articulate? Anyway, I'm afraid I won't be able to over the weekend and I think that maybe we should keep it an in-school type of thing. Okay?" Shizuru felt the small tug on her heartstrings as she saw the flash of disappointment on Natsuki's face as the young girl nodded and only knew the feeling all too well. From the corner of her eye, Shizuru could see Midori wave her in as the history teacher was already sitting down in the teacher's lounge and behind her stood Kensei- the science teacher- pointing to a cup of tea in his hand. "Look I'm going to have to go and I'm sure your friends are waiting for you in the cafeteria anyway. I'll arrange another catch-up soon during sometime this week and if you're free we'll do it then."

Natsuki nodded before turning around and calling back over her shoulder to her teacher. "Sure. Talk to you later I guess." Shizuru's crimson eyes followed her student down the corridor before Natsuki basically kicked the cafeteria doors open and completely disappeared from her teacher's worried gaze. Every fibre of her being screamed "YES!" to spending more time with her favourite student outside of school, but there had to be limits and anyway it was impossible to know what would transpire in the evening's meeting with Alyssa. If this was to be her last day at Fuuka, would she want to leave things on a sour note with both her cousin and the person she was falling ever more dangerously in love with?

Natsuki threw her schoolbag onto the cafeteria table making Chie, Aoi and Mai jump back. "Natsuki is everything okay?" Mai's violet eyes watched with concern as her friend merely grunted in response as she pulled out her iPod and put her headphones in before drumming along to the beat. "Natsuki-chan?"

"I wouldn't bother Mai-kun; she's not going to say anything anyway."

Mai turned back around to face Chie who didn't seem too fazed by the older girl's silence. It was Natsuki after all and if she was pressed for an answer as to why she was being so damn annoying… someone was going to get hurt. "You'd think that she'd be happy it's Friday- she usually is."

"No, she's been like this all week since Alyssa-san came back. So Mai-chan you're not working tonight?" Aoi asked as she put her chopsticks down beside her empty bowl before resting her chin on her hands.

"Nope, the powers that be have closed it for some private thing tonight according to Midori… so I'm free."

"Awesome, you can come and help then right?"

Mai quirked an eyebrow as she realised that her rare evening off was going to be used helping somebody out-she didn't particularly mind but a bit of alone time was rare enough as it was what with her relationship with Tate and looking after Mikoto... and Natsuki. "What is it?"

"Well I was going to keep this as a surprise but… Nao-chan is going to be moving in with me tonight." Aoi said as she practically bounced up and down in her chair in excitement.

"Nao's moving in with you Aoi?" All heads turned to face the previously uninterested Natsuki who had taken her headphones out and frowned as everyone stared at her in disbelief. Well most of them couldn't believe their ears… Chie just beamed in delight as to her, her suspicions had just been confirmed- funny how Natsuki perked up as soon as Nao's name was mentioned… she has been on a downer this week without her I suppose.

"Erm… yeah she is. Her guardian thought she was better suited to dorms so she asked me if Nao could move in and I said yes. They'll be round later with her stuff but Mai-chan you won't need to be there until 6ish if that's ok?" Aoi was careful not to mention the meeting that she had been in with the Director and the newest member of staff where Shizuru had asked if Nao could move in with her. Aoi had been shocked to find out that Shizuru was actually Nao's cousin. It was annoying because she had been sworn to secrecy and wasn't even allowed to tell Chie.

"Yeah that's fine and I can get Tate-kun to come help too. Natsuki, fancy being helpful and…"

"No." Natsuki scoffed as she put her headphones in and started drumming along to the beat on the table with her emerald eyes shut- much to the annoyance of the others.

"I reckon secretly Natsuki's been missing her partner in crime. Did you see how her ears perked up as soon as Aoi mentioned Nao's name Chie-chan?"

"Not wrong there Mai… You could practically see her tail wagging too." All three girls giggled as the object of discussion growled as she kicked back her chair and stormed off. "Natsuki come back!" Chie yelled at the older girl's back- secretly admiring the smooth sway of the girl's hips as Natsuki kicked the double doors open brushing past one of the third years as she left the room- but then shrugged. Natsuki was hot but nowhere near as hot as Aoi in her expert opinion! She's a bit pricklier than usual- what crawled and died up her ass? Or is it just the Nao thing? She was alright earlier on I think.

"So Mai, any word from Tate about the Social? It was supposed to be next week wasn't it?" Aoi's sweet and high voice soon broke Chie out of her musings- dismissing Natsuki's bad mood as purely from missing Nao.

"Ooh yeah I forgot about that."

"Umm I don't think so… Oh no wait, he's said that since Kaede-oneesama left last month the whole thing's been postponed until after the election for the new Fukukaichou. But then again it might not happen at all seeing as Anh-oneesama refuses to start the election and this is the third time it's been rescheduled." Poor Akane-chan, at this rate she'll never get to talk to Kazu-kun.

"Anh-oneesama has hardly been in school since so it's no wonder they don't really know what's going on. Isn't Tomoe going to be in the election? I mean she's kinda been taking on the role ever since Kaede left so you would have thought they'd just stop beating round the bush and give her role anyway." Both Mai and Chie grimaced at the thought- the young teal haired girl was scary and another person it was dangerous to cross. It was also a well known fact that ever since her first meeting with Shizuru, the young girl had instantly become besotted with her and did everything and more to get her beloved teacher's attention. Tomoe Marguerite had been on cloud 9 ever since the young teacher had volunteered her services and guidance to those on the Executive Council- it was kinda pathetic but just another day in the life of a fan-girl of the drop-dead gorgeous Viola-sensei.

"God that girl is psychotic… maybe she needs to get laid to become slightly more normal." Chie said as she dug into her lunch. "Do you think maybe she bites the head off the person she has sex with afterwards?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if she did. Every time Viola-sensei comes into the room you can practically see the hearts in her creepy little eyes." Aoi grimaced- even she and Chie were never that bad!

"I wonder if Viola-sensei's single anyway." Mai asked as she thought back to it. Her teacher was still somewhat of an enigma and had never mentioned anything to do with her personal life. There had also been all sorts of rumours circulating the school ever since her arrival ranging from the young teacher having a secret flings with one of the male science teachers to the rumoured affair with Natsuki. Not that she particularly believed any of them unless they came from Chie or Aoi!

"She did get a bunch of flowers delivered to her yesterday though in class- they were really nice and proper expensive ones too. I could have sworn she blushed a little too see?" Chie passed around her phone, showing the girls the photos taken from the day before. "Whoever it is has money. Lots of it."

Today was definitely one of those days. One of those days when even the littlest thing could push Natsuki over the edge and the expression on her face made that clear to everyone. Maybe I should make a sign saying 'Back the fuck off or lose a finger' or an eye? Would an eye be better? I can't be bothered with this bullshit I'm going home.

---

Later that evening, Natsuki watched as Alyssa searched high and low for the keys to the rental car "I think I may pop over to Aoi's later, Nao's moving in with her so I thought I'd give Aoi some moral support."

"Uh huh that's nice." Alyssa said absent-mindedly as she stood up and scratched her head- where the hell did I put those damn keys?

Natsuki frowned as she figured that was just another one of Alyssa's 'I'm-going-to-pretend-I'm–paying-attention-when-really-I-couldn't-care-less' answers and so she decided to have a little fun "I'm also pregnant and I'm pretty sure Takeda's not the father. Also I got another tattoo on my butt." Natsuki stated calmly as she turned the page of her motorbike magazine.

"Awesome… I bet the baby's daddy loves it." Alyssa said with a smirk as she suddenly remembered where she had left them.

"Oh so you were listening?" Natsuki looked up from her magazine in shock as her viridian eyes followed her older sister as she went from the living room area to the kitchenette.

"Yup… I always pay attention with you Nat. It's just your Grandfather I don't and even then I don't bother pretending I give a shit." Alyssa yelled from the kitchen as she opened the fridge and saw the glimmer of metal from behind the mayo "Found my keys." Alyssa shook her head in disbelief- she really didn't remember how the hell they ended up there. This flat is far too small for me- I wonder if Nat would be okay about moving?

"Oh yeah you left them in fridge yesterday after you got back."

Alyssa rolled her eyes and swirled her keys on her finger before yelling a quick goodbye to her younger sister. She had told Shizuru to be there by 9, from what she could remember, Shizuru was always either early or she was bang on time and sure enough the younger woman's Toyota was parked in the lot.

Alyssa switched off the engine, without even glancing at the brunette getting out of the silver car; Alyssa pushed open the double door and switched on the lights in the kitchen and one of the booths.

Shizuru watched as the blonde haired woman moved around the kitchen of the place she had heard of from Nao- she was curious as to how Alyssa had managed to get the place to themselves- she also didn't see any other cars around and it didn't look like anyone else was in the diner… so far so good. Or maybe it's just the calm before the storm and the cavalry will come later? Alyssa looked up from the counter- a couple of mugs in her hand- and a sly smile on her face as she looked at the beautiful woman standing by the door as if she was about to bolt at any moment.

"You may as well sit down Fujino-san. I'll have some tea prepared and bring it to you."

Alyssa chuckled as she saw the colour drain from the younger woman's face as Shizuru calmly made her way to the booth furthest down the diner. It was a bit mean considering that she called her there to reassure her that she had nothing to fear from Alyssa's sudden appearance. She could see that Shizuru was trembling somewhat but at least she made the effort to try and keep whatever composure she had left! Alyssa made herself a coffee whilst she made Shizuru a cup of tea. It never fascinated her how much she actually had remembered about the younger woman. She had once seen a lot of her own ambition and drive in the young executive- if she had been allowed Alyssa wouldn't have wasted a minute trying to get Shizuru to work for her own company. Hideyoshi had been a fool and everyone in the Japanese business world knew for a fact that he should have retired and passed the reins over to his daughter- the old man was incredibly stubborn and was ridiculously proud.

"I see by the way that you haven't even tried to deny you're a Fujino you must have recognised me as well?"

Shizuru nodded and brought the cup of green tea closer to her "I failed to see the point in prolonging the torture or insulting your intelligence… Alyssa." Shizuru brought the steaming hot liquid up to her lips- breathing in the familiar scent before taking a sip. It tasted almost bittersweet to some extent… maybe it was a sign of things to come.

"Hmm… well I appreciate it Shizuru." Alyssa said softly with a small smile as she took a sip of her coffee and enjoyed the warm feeling in her stomach- it was already getting fairly cold outside and it wasn't even winter yet! "It's been… a while to say the least. After months of only talking over the phone, then with you disappearing… we finally meet here in all places. The world couldn't get any smaller."

"The world works in mysterious ways Alyssa. I have to ask- to get it out of the way- but what becomes of us now?" Shizuru's heart pounded like a drum in her chest as she awaited her fate- death or a stay of execution? Either way it was down to the person in front of her.

"Do you really think I'm capable of ratting you out? We're not kids Shizuru… If you were so desperate to leave that life which obviously you hated… who am I and what kind of person would that make me if I tossed you back to the wolves? You and I- we're similar. Both girls born to a world where greatness is thrusted upon us from birth and we are stuck in that life with no escape apart from death." Alyssa sighed sadly but smiled as she saw the look of relief on her friend's face- if they still considered each other that in the first place. "But I guess my upbringing was a bit more relaxed huh?"

"You were given a choice." Shizuru looked down at the cup in her hands- she was glad that Alyssa understood. After all Alyssa Kruger had always been destined to be great- as had Shizuru- the two were the perfect rivals and yet shocked everyone by showing how rival companies could work so well together.

"And I know you weren't. I remember your father, I remember how he treated you as nothing more than a centrepiece for display and I know that you were overused and underappreciated." Alyssa shook her head "You'd think that when you were 18 or 21 or something you would have a massive fucking say in your own life? I mean there are people like you for example who had to run away from home at 21, change your name and everything even though your face was pretty much plastered around Tokyo and… everywhere to come here and do what you want. And Natsuki…"

Shizuru's head popped up in an instant at the sound of her beloved student's name. Alyssa continued unfazed "To gain any resemblance of a normal life she has to change her name but then again Natsuki has to marry that useless Takeda Masashi or Masashi Takeda or whatever the hell his name is- your first name last thing gets on my nerves- er… what I was saying? Damn it!"

Shizuru couldn't help but chuckle as Alyssa swore under her breath- clearly Natsuki and Alyssa shared the same temper issues! "Natsuki and Masashi… are getting married." Unfortunately.

"Oh yeah. Anyway so they're getting married in the summer when she clearly doesn't want to. And each time I get involved something goes wrong. For her not me- that old bastard, her grandfather enjoys pissing me off by pissing Natsuki off." Alyssa gritted her teeth in anger as she fiddled with her hands on the table. "He never liked me. Reigen… that is. Because of me he lost his only daughter and so because of me Natsuki lost her mum and dad."

Shizuru watched as the usually clear blue eyes of the woman in front of her glistened over with tears and her heart immediately went out to the older woman and so she timidly took one of Alyssa's hands in her own- giving it a reassuring squeeze before pulling back. "It was never your fault. Not unless it was you who played fast and loose with the wirings Alyssa and I seriously doubt that."

"Do you know what it's like Shizuru? I've spoken to Natsuki 6 times in the past two years- two of those on my birthday and twice on hers. Then it was a yelling competition where she told me to never ever get involved with anything to do with her again. The last to tell her I was coming here and putting her on the spot so she couldn't refuse. Shizuru, Natsuki hates me and she the only reason she loves me is because technically she has to. Because I threw a temper tantrum and stomped my foot, Nat's parents got on a plane but never made the journey."

"A temper tantrum?"

"When my mum died… they wanted me to go back to boarding school which I hated as I was so far from home. I had been to Japan quite a lot before- you know, things like summer holidays… I was home schooled for a month I think whilst my mum was ill. She died, a week later I get told to pack my stuff and go back to school… so I threw a fit. I basically ordered my dad to come get me- it was Saeko who convinced him and so they left."

"Natsuki couldn't blame you for that Alyssa. It's unfortunate but these things happen and we have no way of knowing that the plane we are about to take is going to crash or the one we could have taken if we weren't an hour late. Natsuki knows this… I can assure you."

Alyssa nodded and smiled- at least she was starting to see sense "You and Natsuki talk about this? I mean… Natsuki actually… talks?"

Shizuru nodded "It takes her a while and you occasionally have to push her into a corner to but… sometimes she does."

"Hmm… I'm glad she talks to someone even if it's not me. So, I noticed this thing a while back, Natsuki gets annoyed if I bring it up but, you two call each other by your first names? Isn't that a bit weird for a teacher and her student to do?"

"Well… when we aren't in the confines of the school it seemed okay to have her call me by my first name… and vice versa. It seemed normal to us- doubt it is to anyone else though." Shizuru chuckled inwardly as Alyssa nodded and shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess but it doesn't affect me in anyway so why should I care? Nat's actually starting to do well- yesterday I actually saw, with my own two eyes, her studying. I used to think she was actually allergic to school textbooks so I guess something you're doing is… well… working. You know most teachers probably would've given up on her by now."

Shizuru smiled as she thought back over the past couple of months since she started. How she had been instantly drawn to the young dark-haired rebel, how much it made her smile whenever the younger girl would blush at her teases… and how everything that drove Shizuru mad were the things that made Shizuru fall even more dangerously in love with her student. Despite her attempts to prove to herself that whatever feelings she felt were strictly platonic- it caused her to fall even harder. "I promised myself that I wouldn't give up on her which so many teachers have easily done in the past. I… like Natsuki. She reminds me a bit of myself sometimes. Both of us had or have our lives planned out for us… our attempts however to rebel differ in subtlety but underneath that cold exterior she is a warm person."

"Yes she is… not like she really lets me see it though. She doesn't talk to me really- she freezes up most of the time but she gets pissy with me for keeping secrets. Talk about pot calling the kettle black." Alyssa scoffed and rolled her eyes "She was rather pissed with me earlier but I don't quite know why… she also skipped last period I noted."

Shizuru frowned in annoyance "Yes I heard from her teacher afterwards." Shizuru shook her head ad once again her crimson eyes looked around the restaurant "So how were you able to get this place closed? I hear from Nao that it's rather popular and Natsuki talks about it a lot."

"Ha, I own it… well most of it as I have Miyu running it. I'm just the silent business partner and I figured I needed somewhere safe and secure… for me whilst I'm down here!"

"It's a good idea, I like the place and you do a very good cup of tea. I might have to come here more often." Shizuru said as she flashed her old friend a smile which was reciprocated- and yet the smile on Alyssa's face disappeared and was replaced by an all too familiar scowl- a family trait perhaps. "What's wrong?" Shizuru timidly asked- her voice full of concern.

"You didn't have to run away Shizuru. You called me up that day remember? The day that you left… Do you remember?" Alyssa watched as a flash of guilt or realisation flashed across the younger woman's face as she shifted under Alyssa's cold and angry gaze and with a heavy heart Shizuru nodded. "I remember… I remember you being angry at me for not being selfish enough and for not standing up to my father… you then proceeded to hang up on me telling me to 'take the bull by the horns and live your own fucking life'."

"That does sound like something I would say even though I don't remember that bit. You know if you had told me I would have… I could have done something to help. I could have got you over to Germany where you would have been treated like the human being you are… as brilliant a human you are."

Shizuru shook her head "It would have got you implemented in the whole scheme- I got one of my dearest friends involved and even now I carry the burden of guilt for doing so. Alyssa, I could never do such a thing again." Alyssa sighed as she relaxed into the booth, closing her sapphire blue eyes and yet at the warmth of Shizuru's touch on her hand- the sapphire's shot open and looked down to where Shizuru's hand rested on her own. With a small reassuring smile Alyssa squeezed the hand back and watched as the smile spread across Shizuru's face…

… Little did they know however, that just outside in the parking lot the best gossip and rumourmonger Fuuka had to offer had just managed to capture their moment of tender reassurance on her phone.

"Holy… Shit JACKPOT! Alyssa Kruger and Viola-sensei… oh my god that's so hot." Chie took another quick look at the picture, smiling to herself at her winning shot before taking another look at the 'couple' sitting in the closed diner who were by now just laughing about something the young teacher just said. So that's what she meant by private function huh? I bet they're going to go at it on the count… eww. That's too gross even for me- we eat in that place. Hot… but gross. I'm calling Aoi. Chie pressed 1 on her speed-dial and within a few seconds her girlfriend answered the phone.

"Aww Chie-chan, are you missing me already?"

"I always miss you… but…"

"Butt what? My butt? You miss my butt?"

"No… well yeah but this is even better and juicier than your butt and I can say that knowing I'm not risking no action for the rest of my life. You are going to love this!" Chie could hardly keep the excitement out of her voice as she felt almost over-whelmed by the urge to jump up and down and 'SQUEEEEEE' like a little girl. Ah I'll do it when I get back.

"Ooooh, this better be good. Tell me tell me tell meeeeee…"

"Okay, I just saw Alyssa Kruger, THE Alyssa Kruger out on a date with possibly the fittest and finest teacher at our school!"

"Wh… fittest and finest? VIOLA-SENSEI?"

"Hell yeah! And I have pictures too!" Chie moved the phone away from her ear in case Aoi decided to scream and yet felt awash with concern when all she heard from the other line when she moved it back to her ear was silence- that is until Aoi's delayed response kicked off and Chie winced in pain. "That's the reaction I was hoping for!" If not but a bit too painful though!

"Get here right now and show me those pictures. They are just too cute."

"What about the whipped cream?" Chie said, sounding a lot like a kicked puppy. Tonight's whipped cream night and I'm only five minutes away from the shop.

"We'll do whipped cream night tomorrow night instead but if you take too long getting here with those photos, the only whipped cream you'll ever see again will be on a sundae and not me. Chie… Get. Here. Now!" On the very rare occasion something actually managed to scare the living crap out of Harada Chie. Most of the time it was Natsuki (although she was gradually getting used to the temper tantrums and the random beatings) however nothing was scarier than depriving her lover of precious gossip and the thought of sex being held for ransom!

"I'll be right there lovemuffin… Go kick Nao out whilst you're at it!"

"Way ahead of you… she's gone already to Natsuki's. Well Natsuki kinda dragged her back to hers."

"Awesome." Okay now that's just obvious that Natsuki's crushing on Nao "Be there in a sec." And with that Chie ended the call and put her phone in her pocket before taking a last look at the two women in the diner who looked like they were just getting ready to leave. Shit. Better go. I'll have to run back too and I'm not built like Natsu… oh shit! Chie grimaced as she suddenly realised one vital bit of information. Natsuki and Alyssa are sisters and Viola-sensei is Natsuki's tutor. Oh wow this just gets better and better. As Chie ran off into the distance the blonde-haired woman pushed open the front door and held it open to Shizuru who walked through.

"Thank you… for everything Alyssa and I suppose I should say sorry as well." Shizuru said as both she and Alyssa walked up to Alyssa's rental car- a sleek black brand spanking new BMW- which caused a small snigger from the Kyoto-born woman. Ara, a German-made car, a very flash and expensive car at that- no surprises there. Both were feeling rather tired possibly from all the tension suddenly disappearing and Shizuru could feel her bed's tug stronger than ever. Although the thought of going back to an empty house wasn't so appealing and by now her young cousin was probably and hopefully settled in her dorm with Aoi.

"Maybe I'm too tired but why are you saying sorry… again?"

"I'm sorry for getting you involved in this and not just you but Natsuki too. In many ways I still feel that I shouldn't have left."

Alyssa shook her head and rested her butt against the hood of the car. "No I'm not going to accept that Shizuru. You did what you had to do and if I was you… I probably wouldn't have the balls to do what you've done now.

"Mmm… at least it's a bit reassuring to know you're on my side… even though you scared me somewhat."

"Yeah, now it's my turn to apologise. Sorry." Alyssa squirmed and rubbed the back of her neck. "Maybe I'm a bit too theatrical… I seem to attract drama."

"You certainly do. So, I'm curious as to how you got my home address and knew quite a bit about my new life already. Care to share?" Shizuru quirked an eyebrow at the beautiful blonde in front of her who just shrugged her shoulders.

"A magician never reveals his secrets Shizuru you know that."

"Are you a magician Alyssa?"

"I can do a kick-ass coin trick if you want to see? Though… it's nothing compared to your disappearing act- you even had the audience fooled Shizuru." Shizuru hummed in agreement as she looked down to the watch on her wrist- it was definitely getting late. "Natsuki talks about you. I think it's more of a subconscious thing but she'll pick up on something and somehow relate it back to you. Believe it or not but, I think you might really be the first teacher that's really made an impression on her. You've lasted this long so it's already clear that you are made of something else." Despite the shock of hearing that Natsuki actually even talked about her, Shizuru managed a small chuckle and even rolled her eyes- clearly Alyssa was forgetting the month long nightmare period!

"I'd better make a move- it's getting late and I'm in meetings all day tomorrow. No rest for the wicked huh?" Alyssa said with a giggle as she pushed herself off the car and unlocked the vehicle. "I'm really sorry for… for the way I kinda handled things. I know I could have asked you instead of scaring you like I did and I hope this means that we can- I don't know- be friends or something? I know you're Nat's tutor and that may be weird but we were friends once right?" Alyssa said as she turned the key in the ignition- feeling the car roar to life.

"I don't see why not."

"Great. Anyway I'll see you soon."

Shizuru stood back from the car and smiled "With another bunch of flowers?"

"You are relentless aren't you, you little tease? See ya!" Shizuru watched as the car pulled away and took a much needed sigh of relief and for the first time in a long while she felt safe. She knew she couldn't be and she would never be and so it was up to her to enjoy it whilst it lasted. But for now she had one less obstacle and that was enough for now!

---

"Holy shit did he just get his head hacked off?"

"Yes. Nao I thought you said you've watched this?" Natsuki turned to her younger friend who settled back to looking bored and uninterested as she just shrugged.

"Did I? Huh, well now you know never to trust a word I say."

"I never did to begin with." Natsuki popped another bunch of popcorn into her mouth and turned her attention back to the film when she heard the unlocking and opening of the front door. "Great… Alyssa's back." She mumbled under her breath- totally unaware that the redhead beside her shrunk back into the sofa and pulled the cushion up close to her face. Alyssa whistled as she threw down the keys onto the coffee table in front of the girls. How did I get the theme to 'the Great Escape' in my head?

"Odd. Evening lovelies. What are you up to?" Alyssa reached over to take a handful of popcorn as she sat down between her sister and her friend.

"Studying. What does it look like?" Natsuki replied without taking her eyes off the screen- whatever she had been doing beforehand had obviously put Alyssa in a good mood. Well she was whistling… and smiling which she wasn't doing before she left. "Ah… studying. 'Kinda looks like 'The Last Samurai' to me."

"Yeah well it's studying because Meiji's in it and we have to do our study project on him for Midori." Natsuki turned her head to face her sister and raised her eyebrows- daring Alyssa to argue with her- and yet Alyssa just shook her head in defeat.

"You should know loads about him anyway shouldn't you?" The rolling of the eyes look shut Alyssa up. "Fine whatever floats your boat. By the way someone's keyed your bike, so you may want to have a look and check it out whilst I keep Nao company." Alyssa winked at Nao, shaking her head slightly before turning back around to see Natsuki leap off of the sofa and head out of the door. I am a bad sister- that was just awful Alyssa felt the jab of guilt run through her as she thought back to five minutes ago as she dragged her keys along her sister's bike- however it was necessary and therefore she didn't really need to feel bad for it!

"THAT MOTHERFUCKER IS DEAD!" was the last thing the two heard from the dark haired girl as she ran out of the apartment- leaving a noticeably uncomfortable Nao alone with the blonde lawyer who shifted closer to the young redhead. "Look Nao, I know that this is hard to believe but I never truly meant to scare you or Shizuru okay? I want you to know your secret is completely safe with me."

Nao scoffed as she brought her knees closer to her chest and turned away from the older woman. "Sure… and why the hell should I believe that? You're a lawyer- talking and telling people what they want to hear is your speciality right?"

Alyssa laughed softly "Yes I suppose you're right. And you're right not to trust me after everything that's already happened what with me showing up and throwing a spanner into the works. But Shizuru was- is- my friend and nothing ever changed that. I poured fuckloads of money into the search, contributed to the reward money so technically if I did rat her out I would only be getting back my money and a bit more- so what would be the point? I'm not going to reveal her to anyone- even if it means yet again putting Natsuki into the dark." Alyssa's blue eyes reached Nao's lime green orbs and after a short staring contest, Nao eventually relented and threw her arms in the air in defeat.

"Fine whatever… tell, don't tell it makes no difference to me. Shizuru's already pretty much turned her back on me by turfing me out so why should I care? I'm going. Tell Kuga I…" Nao frowned as she tried to think up of any excuse to leave and found she couldn't think of even one for the dimwit that dragged her out of her dorm and basically forced her to watch the film with her. She knew that she couldn't necessarily trust Alyssa but she knew that if something ever happened to Shizuru- the woman would find a way to get herself out of the mess. "Ah fuck it just tell her I was bored of her or something." Nao pushed herself off of the sofa and headed out the door quickly before Alyssa could say anything to try and stop her from going.

Like Hell I'm staying there a minute later- 'sexy time' for Chie and Aoi stops now.

---

"This is your early afternoon wake up call. WAKE. UP. NATSUKI!" Green eyes fluttered open as the loud commanding voice of her sister rang through her ears and before she even got the chance to sit up she was attacked with one of the sofa cushions. "Ow… Ali?"

"Oh come on it was a pillow, don't be such a baby. Now get up- we are going into town today and then if we're lucky we'll get to look around some proper two-bed apartments. I'm only just starting to feel bad for taking your bed and I don't like feeling guilty." Alyssa picked up one of the discarded towels beside the couch and chucked it at her younger sister. "Go take a shower and get ready quick, she'll be here any minute."

Natsuki huffed as she got up off of the couch, towels in hand and as she walked into the bathroom Alyssa made a mental countdown 3…2…1 here she comes. "Wait who's going to be here any minute?" Alyssa smirked, her sister wasn't stupid but she could definitely be a bit slow at times and yet before she could answer the two heard three knocks on the door.

"Well you're going to find out in a second aren't you?" Alyssa smiled as she opened the door "Shizuru hi! Come in… Nat's just about to have a shower but she'll be quick."

"Hi Natsuki." Shizuru winked at the dark haired girl who just stood in the threshold of the living room and the bedroom- her emerald eyes widened with confusion and her mouth agape in shock.

"Sh…Shizuru? Why are you here?" Natsuki, as subtly as she could, eyed her teacher up and down. Hooooooot… so freakin' HOT! Shizuru had tied her hair back into a bun, was wearing a long red sweater which showed off all the right curves of her body, dark blue jeans and tan leather boots. She was probably wearing more make-up than usual, she didn't even need to. It's not like she could get any prettier anyway. Now I'm starting to look like I'm checking her out again.

"Mou Natsuki's not pleased to see me?" Shizuru pouted and sighed sadly despite the warm fuzzy feeling inside of her as she watched as her student looked her up and down- reminding her of the first day they met. I quite like this feeling actually- I'm outside of school, as is Natsuki so does this make it a bit less wrong than it usually is?

"No it's just… it's too early in the morning for this. I'm going to have my shower." Natsuki scratched her head as once again she passed through the threshold into the other room and the bathroom.

"Yeah she's always a bit cranky when she wakes up. I don't think she knows it's just gone 1 in the afternoon though." Alyssa watched with beady eyes as Shizuru walked around the room before sitting down on the couch where Natsuki had been sleeping. "Someone also may have keyed her bike last night too so don't expect smiles and rainbows."

Shizuru nodded and frowned- deciding to leave the subject of Natsuki for the moment being. "So it's property hunting today? I remember the hell of getting our place when we first moved down here. Why is it that estate agents like to think we like to be hit on?" Shizuru leaned back against the sofa before immediately leaning forward when she felt something press into her lower back and when she found what it was she couldn't help but smile. In her hands was a little stuffed toy dog that from the looks of it was rather old- upon closer inspection Shizuru could even make out small tooth-marks around the toy's ear where a certain owner had bitten it.

"I have no idea… but whatever gets them more business I suppose."

"Hmm…What's this?" Shizuru passed the stuffed dog to Alyssa who just flipped it over in her hands before shrugging and handing it back.

"Hell if I know- Natsuki sleeps there so I guess it's hers. Looks kinda old and gross so … want a cup of tea? Natsuki won't be that long- she's used to leaving things to the last minute and getting them done."

"Yes please, tea would be lovely." Shizuru started to play with the stuffed toy in her hands and found on closer inspection the name 'Duran' etched onto the collar of the animal. "This little thing has a name it would seem- Duran." Shizuru walked into the kitchen and leant against one of the kitchen counters as Alyssa made the tea- humming in agreement before chuckling as a thought only just occurred to her.

"Then it's definitely Natsuki's. Everything she owned when she was young was called Duran- including her grandfather's koi fish; I think she had an Action Man called Duran too and their dog when she was young was a Duran. Must have been influenced by my Dad- he used to rock out to 'Duran Duran' a lot so it's no surprise seeing as Natsuki practically worshipped the man. Never knew she had that toy though." Alyssa poured the boiled water into two mugs and made the tea as she stared at the young woman whose eyes were still fixated on the toy "You're really taken with that thing aren't you?" she asked with an incredulous expression on her face.

Shizuru shook her head "No it's just, it's nice to see a more childish side of Natsuki I suppose. Sometimes she can act too mature for her age. I hardly doubt being engaged at such a young age has helped at all." Shizuru smiled in thanks as Alyssa passed her a cup of steaming hot tea and followed the blonde back into the living area. The two women sat in a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes before the question that had plagued Shizuru's mind since their meeting last night "How is my Father? I know that he never quite gave up on winning you round."

Alyssa sighed and relaxed more into the armchair as she tried to think of a way to answer her question as delicately as possible "He's been ill a lot lately- they've tried keeping it out of the press but they doubt that it'll stay secret for long. There's always someone who's willing to sell a story to the press for more money so the rumours are that they've made each member of staff sign some disclosure contract to stop them from doing it. Do you want my honest opinion?"

"Of course."

"Hideyoshi probably won't last much longer and the Executives are urging him to retire with one of them taking his place. It seems the front runner is one of the Kanzaki brothers though which one I don't know but your Father's not having any of it. He wants you back and I think we both know that he never for a minute believed you were dead. He's just as ruthless as you are Shizuru and not a man to cross as you are well aware." Alyssa's gaze was hard, cold and Shizuru felt as if she was being berated like a small child.

"You think I should turn myself in? So all that you said last night was just to soften me up before you dealt the blow?" Shizuru felt her anger rising and it seemed that Alyssa had seemed to notice and so she softened her gaze and raised her arms in surrender.

"No, you asked the question didn't you? You wanted to know so I told you. Can we just have an enjoyable day out… please? Quite frankly I want to forget work, forget your problems and my own and just concentrate on the future." Alyssa smiled at the younger woman who nodded and gave a small smile back.

It had been twenty minutes since Alyssa opened the door, simultaneously surprising her younger sister by bringing along Shizuru and Natsuki emerged from the bedroom to find the two women laughing in the living room. The sight of her teacher laughing as if all bonds and shackles that had previously restrained her from doing so had been cut was a refreshing sight and if anything, Natsuki felt like she was looking at a totally different Shizuru. However, the good feeling was soon replaced by jealousy as she soon realised that it was because of Alyssa that Shizuru seemed totally relaxed. How come I can't make her laugh like that? She never laughs like that with me… she does look really pretty when she smiles like that. Wait, didn't she say that she had plans for today? Are they actually friends already? Suddenly Natsuki felt her heart thump loud and hard in her chest and she clutched her chest with her hand. Okay… that was strange.

"Wow, Nat that was quick. You must be raring to go." Alyssa wiped the lone tear from her eye after she had managed to calm down. Shizuru turned around to see Natsuki in tight jeans and a long, flowing black sleeveless top with gold writing. Her hair was tied in a messy bun with some of her hair shaping the curve of her face- she just looked… Stunning just absolutely stunning and I'm staring at her.

"H-hello Natsuki. Shall we get going?" One glance at a pretty girl and my mind freezes and goes blank? Natsuki if only you could really see the effect you have on me… and now I'm rhyming too.

"Yeah come on then, Shizuru do you mind if we take your car please? Mine's been making a rattling noise since last night and I called up the rental company and they said they'll collect it on Monday and I'll get a new one tomorrow." Alyssa said as she once again started looking for her keys.

"Oh I don't see why not… Oh and your keys are on the kitchen table."

"Oh yeah, thanks. At least they aren't in the fridge this time eh Natsuki?" Alyssa winked at her younger sister as she left to grab the keys off of the counter and Shizuru looked at the dark-haired girl in confusion. Natsuki just shook her head as if to tell her 'don't bother' as she opened the door before stepping out without so much as a second glance at her gorgeous teacher. Don't look, be pissed, don't look, be pissed and out we go.

"Right, now we can go. Where's Natsuki?" Alyssa asked as she spun her keys round on her finger.

"Erm… she's stepped outside." Is Natsuki angry with me for what happened yesterday? I suppose I did cancel our catch-up and she has been improving in them… Oh this is going to be a fun journey. "Right, let's go then."

The atmosphere in the car was, in Shizuru's opinion, a little under unbearable. For the most part she and Alyssa started up a few conversations about a new business venture of Alyssa's which was to be headed in Fuuka- however the dark haired girl in the back seat remained reticent for the whole journey with the exception of a few grunts and shrugs every now and again. Each time Shizuru glanced into the rear view mirror she would occasionally spot Natsuki staring back at her before the younger girl would blush, then quickly turn away in embarrassment and continue bopping along to the music blasting from her headphones.

"So, Shizuru I was wondering, do you have any work plans for the Christmas vacation?" Alyssa turned in her seat to face the brunette whose eyes were focused on the road.

"Not yet. It's still a few weeks away Alyssa and it's only for a fortnight anyway." The perks of being a teacher- there's plenty of long holidays. Although I suppose it's more of a 'con' rather than a 'pro'- it would be two weeks without seeing Natsuki.

"Still, I have an offer for you if you're interested. I know from that look that you are begging me to tell you what it is." Alyssa chuckled as the little grin on her friend's face grew wider and the younger woman nodded. "Fine, this lingerie shop I'm opening, the staffs all hired and I've even drafted Natsuki in for a few hours during the week but…" A typical pause for affect no doubt.

"Mmm… But what?"

"But I am desperate to work with you again Shizuru, so I was wondering if you wouldn't mind being my eyes and ears? I'll pay you good money, really good money and you'll choose your own hours." Alyssa wasn't accustomed to begging, for her whole life everything she ever wanted was offered to her on a plate and if anything, people would be the ones begging for a job from her. However the prospect being able to have Shizuru as her own protégé made her feel giddy with excitement- especially as Shizuru seemed to be considering it.

Pro- I'll see Natsuki even in the holiday. Con- I really shouldn't be letting Natsuki be a deciding factor in a job offer. Pro- It'll keep me busy during the two weeks off school. Con- By spending more time with Natsuki I'll only make myself fall harder won't I?

"I'll do it." Is this another thing I'll most likely live to regret? But at least Alyssa seems happy.

"Great, Thank you so much. This is going to be fun you know?" Alyssa was happy- and looked like the cat that had well and truly got the cream. "I didn't even have to resort to bribing you with a lifetime's supply of tea."

"Oh no I'll only work with you if I get the tea supply."

"Crafty woman." Alyssa turned back around to focus on the road and she could see in the distance where to stop off and park the car.

"The estate agent's just down there so if you get that space." Shizuru hummed in agreement and turned off onto the row of the more high-end estate agents which was rather typical of Alyssa. Alyssa, being a firm believer in the philosophy of 'If you've got it, flaunt it', liked to look good and always felt that in everything a person did, they should always keep up appearances. As soon as Shizuru switched the engine off, Natsuki jumped out of the car like a shot and removed the headphones from her ears. The grimaced at the sign, indicating that this whole move now was definitely going to happen and wasn't just some tired-drunk suggestion Alyssa had made last night.

"I think I'm going to go get a soda or something. I'll leave this up to you."

Natsuki waited for the nod from Alyssa before she walked down the street and started to search for a vending machine. It was by now getting rather cold- even during the day and Natsuki mentally cursed as she hadn't brought a jacket and her arms had goose-bumps. She hated the cold, having been born in the summer and therefore being aptly named 'Summer Princess'- a smart and somewhat corny notion on her parents' behalf. I can't call Mai- she's working; Nao will probably be sleeping off last night's bender, would Chie be free or Aoi? Natsuki pulled out her phone and dialled Chie's number- only to hear that her phone was switched off. Chie has her phone turned off? I didn't think she knew how to do that.

After twenty minutes of aimless ambling with no luck finding a single vending machine and no luck getting hold of anybody, Natsuki decided to cut her loses and turned back to the estate agents where as she got closer she saw Alyssa walk out of the building with her phone to her ear. Natsuki rolled her eyes; visibly unimpressed and instead walked into the shop where Shizuru was going through what was probably a property specification sheet.

To Natsuki it was funny the way the world worked- funny in the satirical and sadistic meaning of the word. Ever since Chie had found out that her idol, Alyssa Kruger, was the half-sister of her new best-friend, Natsuki found herself buried under question after question about her sister. Some questions seemed quite sane whilst others bordered stalker-ish. Whilst Alyssa was loved and treated like some sort of Goddess, it always came as a shock to many that, despite the family ties, Natsuki felt little love for her older sister. She loved her like she was supposed to and as young children the two were as thick as thieves up to a point. When Natsuki's parents had died and Alyssa moved in with them that's when the sibling rivalry started- as did the resentment. Natsuki was brilliant at sports, but she was never as good as Alyssa. She was good in school (or at least she had been), but she was never as good as Alyssa. Natsuki excelled in numerous things, but Alyssa never needed to even try before exceeding her younger sister. Natsuki was forced to accept Takeda's proposal, thereby accepting a dull and boring life at home with little she could decide for herself- whilst Alyssa was a hot-shot lawyer, a model voted the 'Best Boobs' and 'Best Rear of the Year' a staggering five years on the trot in America and she could have anyone she wanted.

Most importantly though, most of the memories of her childhood faded as soon as she could fully comprehend just what had happened to her parents and how they were never coming back. Alyssa knew them; she could remember them and their silly ways and how they looked at each other with such love and devotion that it could bring a tear to anyone's eye. That was why Natsuki truly didn't like her sister and it was what nobody could ever understand.

Before taking a seat next to her teacher, Natsuki looked at some of the places advertised in the window but soon realised that nothing in particular excited her or screamed at her.

"Hello Natsuki. Alyssa's just…" Shizuru greeted her student with a smile and started until Natsuki interrupted- with her voice cold and emotionless.

"Alyssa's outside on the phone as per usual. I saw her go out and soon as I came in." Natsuki slouched in the chair and bit the inside of her cheek- not noticing how the smile faded from Shizuru's face and the older woman just went back to reading what was on the spec sheet.

"Yes she had a call from someone at the restaurant- it sounded rather urgent so I'm looking through these until she comes back." When Shizuru saw the blank expression on her student's face she began to worry and so closed the little booklet- grabbing Natsuki's hand as she stood up and dragged Natsuki along to the other, more vacant, corner of the office.

"What the hell Shizuru?" Natsuki pulled her hand out of the older woman's grasp and found she didn't even have to fight to get out of Shizuru's hold. Shizuru stood in front of her student, they were close enough to be able to whisper and they were also close enough to be able to feel the warmth of each other's rapid breaths.

"Something's wrong Natsuki and I hate feeling that you aren't telling me something, something important. Have I done something to upset you in any way?" Natsuki at first refused to bring up her eyes to meet Shizuru's own but when she did, she saw the raw emotion in her teacher's eyes- Shizuru was genuinely worried.

"Nothing's… wrong it's just… since when were you and my sister such good friends? A week ago you two didn't know each other and now you two are laughing and… smiling and it's just weird." Natsuki saw a flash of surprise on her teacher's face and if Natsuki knew the truth she would have even more reason to be cross- Shizuru was fighting a smile and the temptation to hug the young girl in front of her. Is that what was making her annoyed? Because I'm friends with her sister? That's so adorable.

"Natsuki, Alyssa and I used to work together before I moved here. We didn't really recognise each other when we picked her up but… we got talking again. Nothing sinister I promise." Shizuru smiled as she saw a look of relief on the younger girl's face as she seemed to take it in. "Does it bother you?"

Natsuki shrugged "No it's just… typical of Alyssa." The last words came out as little more than just a mumble and yet Shizuru was able to pick up on them.

"What do you mean by that Natsuki?"

"It's nothing… it's just an old childhood grudge." Natsuki silently hoped that Shizuru would just leave things at that and was relieved when Shizuru just accepted her lame attempt to hide the true meaning and didn't press the matter any further. Mercifully at the same time, Alyssa came back into the shop and walked over to collect her jacket from the chair.

"Girls I'm sorry but I have to go. Something's come up, I need to leave and try to sort it out." To say that Alyssa looked worried and flustered would have been the ultimate understatement and Natsuki knew that this was probably the first time she had seen Alyssa in that state.

"Ali what's going on?" Natsuki watched with intrepidation as her sister put on her jacket and even stumbled with one of the sleeves before taking it off again.

"You'll find out soon enough Nat." Natsuki frowned and let out a groan- what kind of answer was that? "Shizuru could you do me a favour please?"

Shizuru nodded "Of course, what do you need?" Truth be told she was equally as confused as Natsuki and she felt the frustration from not being included.

"Could you take Natsuki home and keep her there please? Natsuki you need to do this for me alright?" Alyssa said as she placed her hands on Natsuki's shoulders and turned her sister to look straight at her as she spoke. However before Shizuru could agree, Natsuki threw Alyssa's hands from her shoulders out of pure rage.

"No, no you are going to tell me what the hell's going on Alyssa. Don't keep secrets from me… I'm sick of people keeping secrets from me so you are going to be honest. Tell me." Natsuki clenched her hands into fists, she could feel her body convulse with fury and yet she seemed to feel her body relax as a pair of warm hands covered her own from behind her and interlaced their fingers. Shizuru… Shizuru's holding my hands? It feels… nice. Shizuru had seen from behind that Natsuki was getting angry and possibly ready to start an all-out family brawl in possibly one of the worst places. She needed to get Natsuki calm and out before the younger girl caused even more of a scene although she was thankful when instead of shaking off her hands, Natsuki seemed to cling on to them and the two stood with their hands interlinked behind Natsuki's back. Alyssa had seen as Natsuki's hands suddenly disappeared behind her back but was indeed grateful to Shizuru- clearly the older woman had some sort of calming effect on her younger sister which was a-okay in Alyssa's book. If only she could get Natsuki to calm down just like that!

"Natsuki," Alyssa started off quietly and calmly "I don't like this any more than you do."

"I doubt it." Natsuki interrupted but felt a slight dig in her hands from Shizuru and as she turned around, Shizuru shook her head and gave Natsuki a look that put the young girl in her place. "Fine, sorry."

"As I was saying, I don't know what's happening right now and I think it would be best to let the situation die down before telling you anything. Let me deal with things first okay?" Natsuki nodded and Alyssa gave her sister a small half-smile and then turned her attention to Shizuru- who had rather reluctantly released Natsuki's hands from her own. "Shizuru, could you take her please? My ride will be here any second so… I'll see you tonight Nat. Shizuru, I'm sorry for making you do this." And with that Alyssa was gone and Natsuki's emerald green eyes watched as the door slammed shut behind her.

"Natsuki… let's go." When the younger girl failed to move from her spot in the shop, Shizuru once again placed her hand in her own- marvelling at how soft and warm the young girl's hand was- and with a gentle tug, Shizuru led them out of the shop after saying a quick goodbye and apologising to the staff. "I'll take you home."

The ride back was silent, neither one said a word out of fear of not really knowing what to say and the awkward silence followed them from the car all the way back to Natsuki's apartment. Natsuki fumbled with the keys as she put them in the lock, opening the door and keeping it open so Shizuru could enter as well.

"I'll make some tea if you like Natsuki?" Shizuru said as she walked towards the kitchen, and yet when she heard no answer, she turned back around to see Natsuki standing by the doorway and staring hard at the floor as if there was something vaguely interesting there. "Natsuki?"

"Did Alyssa ever talk about us? About… me?"

Shizuru walked up closer to her student and upon thinking about it; she couldn't really remember hearing anything about any younger Kruger and so she shook her head. "No, not really. The only family she ever mentioned was your Father's brother. However once we met up again… you became all she talked about. She loves you so much Natsuki." As do I.

"She doesn't love me, she loves herself too much. She just pities me I think." Even as it was Shizuru saying it, Natsuki still couldn't quite believe the notion that Alyssa really cared about her. If she had cared, Alyssa would have stayed the hell away from her and stayed the absentee older sister. Shizuru frowned and couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"She does love you Natsuki, everyday she blames herself for what happened to your parents and she isn't stupid either. She knows how you feel about her; she hates herself more than you ever could."

"I don't… I don't hate her, I envy her and I only hate her reputation. She knew my parents better than I did, she was older and she remembers them. I don't, at least I don't remember much. I don't even like it when she calls me 'Nat', my Dad used to call me it and Mum always used to hate it when he did- I hate it when she does because it… it doesn't sound the same. Just sounds tainted. " Before Shizuru could respond, Natsuki's phone started to ring and the apartment was filled with the sound of her infuriating ringtone. "It's Mai."

"I think you should answer it." And stop that infuriating racket.

"Hey Mai."

"Natsuki has Chie been round yours?"

Hello to you too Mai. "No she hasn't, why? What's up?"

"Aoi's dad found out. He's gone ballistic."

Shizuru watched as Natsuki's skin completely drained itself of all colour. "Wh-what did he find out?"

"Apparently the Easter bunny doesn't exist, what the hell do you think he found out about?"

"Fine, fine but how did he find about them? When did this all happen? What's going on now?"

"Err… I don't know but it was all this morning and now Aoi's with him at the family home and Chie's gone AWOL and I don't know where she is." Natsuki could hear the quiver in Mai's voice and she knew that Mai being Mai, the poor girl was probably worrying herself sick.

"I think, I think I know where she is." Natsuki turned her attention to Shizuru, who had managed to hear most of the dialogue between the two and was extremely concerned. "Shizuru do you think you could take me somewhere please?"

"No Natsuki, I told Alyssa that I'd keep you here and here is where I'll keep you." Shizuru wholeheartedly wanted to say 'yes' but the look on Alyssa's face earlier had worried her and it was a rare sight to see the blonde woman look so dishevelled and worried.

"Shizuru please, I need to find Chie before she does something stupid that she'll regret." Natsuki temporarily forgot about Mai still being on the phone to her and she took another step closer to Shizuru. Their eyes met and after a silent battle between her conscience and her complete desire to do anything to make Natsuki happy, Shizuru nodded and Natsuki smiled her crooked smile in thanks.

"Mai, I'm going to go find her and I'll bring her back to the restaurant."

"Miyu just closed the restaurant, I called Alyssa and told her what happened so she got Miyu to close up… who's Shizuru Natsuki?"

"It doesn't matter; I'll just have to bring her back here to mine." So it was Mai on the phone to Alyssa- she could have just told me straight out instead but no she's got to be so mysterious!

"Okay, good luck Natsuki and please find her." Natsuki hung up and Shizuru pulled out her car keys.

"Where will she be?"

"The cemetery, she always goes there when she's in trouble and I bet you anything she'll be there." Learning from her mistake earlier, Natsuki picked up one of Alyssa's discarded jackets and followed Shizuru out of the apartment and into the car. She had a good hunch and her hunches were usually right- when Chie was in trouble she always went to the one place most people never thought she would want to go- her father's grave.

"You're sure that she's there?"

"Around 99% sure yeah. She always hated it when her mum dragged her along to see him, one day she ran away from home and she went there. I was there at the same time for my Grandfather's friend's funeral about a year ago and I saw her there." Natsuki looked out of the window, they were nearly there and all of a sudden she started feeling nervous.

"It was a few years ago now isn't it? Since her father died?"

Natsuki looked back at her teacher- shocked and slightly bewildered as to how Shizuru knew. "Yeah, about four years now I think but… how do you know?"

"When I first started here I found out some things from the other teachers- you know, things that we as teachers had to take into consideration in case we struck a nerve whilst teaching a certain subject."

Natsuki leaned back into the chair- it made some sort of sense "But you teach Business and Economics, how wrong could you go there?"

"I majored in BusEc but minored in Philosophy… plus I am a homeroom teacher as well so it made sense for me to know a bit about my students before I met them."

"Did you know much about me? Before you met me?"

"Not really, I heard a lot about your amazing ability to reduce a full-grown man to tears and managing to fit that many board pens into a man's mouth… thus scarring him for life." Shizuru frowned- it was either that or look to be condoning violent acts towards a member of staff and being a staff member meant certain loyalties!

"Actually… there may have ben a slight exaggeration with the numbers. Technically there was only about twelve."

"Twelve? So how did twelve turn into…?"

"Someone walked past as I pulled the thirteenth one out as it didn't fit, but on the table there were eighteen so he thought I'd put all of them in there and so he got Youko to get the rest out. Word spread that it was eighteen and my reputation rocketed after that." Natsuki smiled as she saw the look of surprise on Shizuru's face "You know, quite a lot of the things I got in trouble for I didn't actually do. I was always the first they accused so I went along with it- if it helped me obtain my goal then I took the opportunity."

"And do you still feel the same way? About wanting to leave?"

Natsuki hung her head down low, hesitant to answer that question and as she looked out of the window she found her salvation "Your exit's on the left- it's quite sudden so…"

Shizuru nodded and indicated to go down the next left. She obviously hadn't missed Natsuki dodging the question and could only assume that perhaps something had changed. What had made Natsuki change her mind however was a mystery. Was it that Natsuki has resigned herself to her fate and accepted her marriage was going to happen? Or had she found a reason to stay? Clearly asking myself these questions won't be doing any good.

As Shizuru pulled up into the car park of the cemetery, there was a change in the weather and the blue sky that had been there in the morning had all but disappeared and a dark, grey cloud hovered over Fuuka. What a strange coincidence… was the collective thought as the two women stepped out of the car and slammed the doors shut. Natsuki turned to her teacher "Her dad's grave is near the end of this block here; I'll run up and try to find her." Shizuru nodded and watched as Natsuki ran away from her- she didn't quite know whether to follow Natsuki to where Chie would hopefully be or whether to stand her ground and wait by the car. Shizuru rested against the car and felt her phone vibrating in her pocket and her crimson eyes widened in surprise as she saw the caller ID and so she pressed the button accepting the call.

"Nao, is everything okay?"

"No, I've really fucked up big style Shizuru… I've done something really terrible." Shizuru could hear the quiver in the usually strong, confident voice of her younger cousin. "Nao what have you done?"

"I was the one who told Aoi's dad, someone called this morning when Aoi wasn't there and I told them she was round her girlfriend's." Shizuru couldn't believe her ears "You stupid girl. Pack some clothes and I'll see you at mine." Shizuru hissed out of pure rage and she ended the call just as the raindrops began to fall- heavy and fast. Family ties be damned, I have to find them.

Shizuru pushed herself off of the car, running in the direction she had seen Natsuki go and when she neared the edge of the yard she turned to her left and she saw them. As she walked closer she saw both her students on the soggy, muddy ground and Natsuki had Chie resting on her lap as she stroked the younger girl's hair. Shizuru could see Chie was trembling and she had her eyes closed, she had obviously been outside for a fair amount of time and everyone's clothes were now completely soaked through. The crimson eyed teacher walked up slowly to the pair and crouched down beside Natsuki who just looked at Shizuru- her emerald eyes glistened with tears as she went back to watching over her friend who still quaked with sobs. It was hard for Natsuki to see her friend like this, so vulnerable and weak because the person she loved the most in the entire world had been stolen away from her. If this is what love does to you, then I don't want to ever understand love and I will never in a million years let it fuck with me. Natsuki clenched her jaw in anger as she continued to run her fingers through Chie's now soaked hair- she had forgotten that beside the two of them, the object of her own affections was sitting seiza style beside her. She had until she felt her body being tugged backwards and felt a pair of arms wrap around her shoulders. Shizuru wasn't pulling her tighter, but Natsuki could feel herself snuggling close to the warmth coming from her teacher and Shizuru rested her chin against Natsuki's bare shoulder.

"Natsuki we should get her back to yours pretty soon- we should get her out of the rain." She whispered into Natsuki's ear and felt her nod in agreement as Shizuru released her hold to move round her and move closer to Chie. Natsuki bent her head down to talk to Chie, "Chie, we need to get you back to mine okay? We can try and …talk things through yeah?" Chie pushed herself off of Natsuki's lap and opened her eyes to stare at Natsuki. Her usually mischievous eyes were bloodshot and swollen from crying.

"I can't go back Natsuki, I need Aoi… I just need to talk to her Dad and try to… I can't live without her Natsuki." Natsuki nodded, she understood completely but in doing so, she was scared that she was going to regret asking.

"Shiz… Viola-sensei, you know where Governor Senou lives don't you?" Shizuru stared in confusion as she stood up off the ground, and then realised what Natsuki was planning and Shizuru didn't like the idea whatsoever.

"Natsuki, no. I'm not taking you there, I told Alyssa that I would keep you at home and I've already gone against that. Let us go home and get warm and deal with the situation appropriately."

Natsuki shook her head in disbelief and stood up to look Shizuru in the eyes- the older woman's gaze was stern and her eyes cold with her face emotionless. "Why are you being so cold about this? If it makes you happy then take us back home but either way I'm not letting you stand in my way." Even if Shizuru wouldn't drive them there, Chie knew where Aoi's father's house was and Natsuki still had her own means of transport. It didn't matter at all.

"Natsuki you know that I want to help, but my hands are tied. He is a school governor and as a member of staff I cannot allow you to walk into his house whilst you are not thinking clearly and rationally." Her decision was final- she was not going to let Natsuki get away and even if it meant finding some way to make sure Natsuki couldn't leave- if she had to she would even completely drain her motorbike of every fluid to stop her.

"She just wants to talk to him." Natsuki took a deep breath to calm down, speaking softer and more quietly this time as she stepped closer to the chestnut-haired woman. "If it was you, wouldn't you want to do the same? Isn't that what love's all about? You know 'fighting for what you want' and all that shit?"

Shizuru huffed and folded her arms across her chest. "I suppose I would- but the 'fighting' bit I'm a little concerned with."

"I'm not going to hold him to ransom and demand a final fuck or anything- I just want to chat with him." Shizuru looked over Natsuki's shoulder as the dark haired girl turned around to see Chie pulling herself up off the ground. "Look Viola-sensei I really don't care why you are here at the moment but please… I can't imagine my life without Aoi and after all we've been through together- if you think I'll just get over it then you're wrong. Please… please take me there."

Shizuru bit the inside of her cheek and knew that no matter what her decision, both ways she would lose and they would go there anyway. "I'll take you. Come on; let's go before we catch a cold or something worse." Shizuru smiled at both girls who smiled back and Shizuru wrapped an arm around Chie's shoulders. The sobbing had subsided slightly but all three were starting to feel the cold through their drenched clothes and all three sighed in relief as they piled into Shizuru's car out of the pouring rain. As Shizuru started the engine, she looked up into the rear view mirror and was surprised to see Natsuki's green eyes staring back at her- but instead of looking away in embarrassment like she had done before- she just smiled softly before turning her attention back to her friend who was staring out the window. Shizuru pulled out of the cemetery and continued down along the main coastal road. She had only been to the Governor's house once as a faculty meet-and-greet, she hadn't been particularly keen on the proprietor who instantly was reduced to a teenage boy upon seeing the new teacher and it was rather difficult to keep up her façade of being impressed by the man who even in his fifties still fancied himself a lothario.

The Senou house was very large, very bold and super imposing, built with the obvious intention to show off the incredible wealth of one of the most prominent families in the district. Still is and never will be as big as the Fujino estate back in Kyoto. Due to the serious nature of the visit, Shizuru could only keep the smug feeling to herself as she pulled up into the very large driveway. "Natsuki I think I should at first do the talking, I'll try to get you two in alright?" Both Chie and Natsuki nodded and Shizuru got out of the car however Natsuki stopped her.

"Wait, Shizuru… what are you going to say? The guy's a prick."

"I'm just going to go and ask politely. Now sit down and stay there until I call for you."

Even from the other side of the large oak doors, Shizuru could hear the chimes of the doorbell run through the house and the door was promptly opened by a European looking woman dressed in a maid's outfit. The maid spoke in beautifully accented Japanese and smiled as she recognised the brunette in front of her- the crimson eyes were a pair that you weren't likely to forget.

"Ah, Viola-san." The young blonde smiled and promptly bowed leaving Shizuru rather impressed but not entirely surprised that she had remembered the brunette with striking eyes.

"Good afternoon Amelie-san. Is the master at home?"

"Is the master expecting you?" The smile on the young maid's face faltered as Shizuru shook her head. "Then I'm afraid you've had a wasted journey Viola-san. The master will not be seeing any unexpected visitors. I am sorry." Amelie bowed again in apology.

"Well that's a shame, could you please let him know I am here anyway- we'll see then if he'll refuse a visit from me." Shizuru watched as a smug expression worked its way across the maid's face and Shizuru could see her lips just beginning to form a firm and resounding 'no'- however, before the word left her lips, the loud booming and obnoxious voice of the Governor, Takeshi, himself halted her as she called down from the top of the large staircase.

"That's enough Amelie, please show this beautiful woman to the drawing room and get her a drink."

"Thank you very much Senou-san." Shizuru smiled her famous bewitching smile and bowed low as the maid closed the oak door- proceeding to guide a very smug looking Shizuru into a large, open room full of precious and precocious artefacts.

"Please take a seat, Master will be here shortly. Can I get you any refreshments? Or a towel perhaps?" Shizuru had completely forgotten that she was standing in wet clothes and looked down at the floor to make sure she hadn't created any puddles of rainwater.

"A towel would be lovely and I would love a cup of tea please." Amelie nodded and left the room where Shizuru walked around the room- careful only to look and not touch. Something she wished she could remember to do more around her favourite student! A minute later Takeshi entered the room.

"Ah Shizuru-san please, it may be raining outside but you are inside now, don't stand on ceremony please sit down."

"Thank you Takeshi-san, I must firstly apologise for dropping by so unexpectedly and now I am sorry for ruining your furniture." Shizuru crossed her legs as she made herself comfortable in the armchair and watched as the grey haired man sat down in the chair opposite her.

"Oh it's fine. I am happy to see you. Now, what can I do for you?" Takeshi relaxed into his chair and rested his folded hands on his lap. His relaxed and carefree expression annoyed Shizuru as she thought back to Chie in the graveyard- looking completely broken- and the fact that he looked proud rubbed her the wrong way.

"I understand that you are currently going through some issues with your daughter." Shizuru watched as Takeshi shifted uncomfortably and the smile on the older gentleman's face turned into a deep frown. "I have come to tell you that I think you have some wires crossed and I am here to urge you to reconsider keeping the two apart. I would greatly appreciate it if you would sit down with Chie and talk this out and see things from a different and first-hand perspective."

"Oh really? Well as I understand it, that same Chie has poisoned my daughter's mind against me and has even manipulated her to fall in love with her. Talking is completely out of the question. As young as you are, how can you possibly be of a position to tell me what to do?"

Shizuru shook her head and took a deep sigh "And that is exactly where you are wrong sir. I know I am not a parent, but I see these people every day and I see the way your daughter and Chie look at each other- I see nothing but the unconditional but deep love that lies between them. I may be young but I'm not ignorant, blind or stupid. What possible gain would there be by turning your daughter against you?"

"There is none and there never will be now. By this time tomorrow Aoi will be far, far away from here and that girl."

Shizuru momentarily let her mask slip as her eyes widened in horror. So that's his plan? Sending Aoi away… what a hateful and paranoid man. "I understand now. You are really so paranoid aren't you? You lost your wife, I know, so now you have become so unbearably protective of your daughter that the second she realises that she can live her life the way she wants to and that she can fall for anyone she wishes… you become overwhelmed by delusions of your daughter being taken away from you. Your daughter, the only living reminder of your wife that you have left. Am I correct?" Shizuru could hear the quiet snarl underneath the man's breath and she could tell by his flared nostrils that she had touched a nerve. Good.

"You're not just a pretty face then. But you are majorly mistaken if you think you can walk in here and tell what I can and can't do with my own daughter." Takeshi jumped up out of his seat, poured himself a large glass of whiskey and downed it in one large gulp. "You forget yourself and your position Viola-san- I will not be spoken to like that in my own home by some twenty-something year old harlot!" Takeshi threw the glass across the room, his eyes focused on the young teacher who irritatingly enough looked unmoved and unafraid as she watched the glass hit the pine cupboard- smashing into pieces on impact and falling to the floor. The harlot bit had been a little unnecessary and yet Shizuru opted to keep schtum instead of retorting and refuting his exclamation. At that moment the door opened and the maid stepped through, timidly and with her head down low as to avoid seeing something she didn't want to, she placed the steaming cup of tea on the small table beside Shizuru. However as she handed over the towel, Takeshi stopped her in her tracks.

"That won't be necessary Amelie… the young lady is leaving. Please show her out. Shizuru-san I beg you to remind yourself that I am the school's Governor and can have you fired if I see fit. " Shizuru nodded and made her way through the doors out of the room, following the maid and she knew that as being polite had failed, she had to think of another way. The two women made their way to the front door, as Amelie opened the door, Shizuru was very careful to place herself in the middle of the threshold and so enabling any chance of the door being slammed in her face.

"Tell me Amelie-san, how is Aoi? I know that you've been told by that man you call Master to make me leave but… I was still her teacher and care deeply for her." Behind her back, Shizuru beckoned the two girls in her car to quietly come out and luckily for her Amelie hadn't cottoned on.

"She is sad; she hasn't eaten her food today and won't come down for anything. We are not allowed to discuss it among the staff but… is it true? Is the Master sending her away because of this thing at school?" The maid leaned in closer and spoke very quietly- her French accent became clearer.

"Yes it is."

"He's sending her away?" Shizuru turned around at the sound of the little, quivering voice to see Chie emerge from behind one of the hedges that outlined the pathway to the house. To say she looked devastated would have been an understatement- her face creased up in a frown and her jaw set in anger. In a few quick strides she was by Shizuru's side and had even shrugged off Natsuki's attempt to pull her back.

"Chie… just wait a second before you do something you'll regret, Amelie please I beg you do not say anything but please, just let us in. Please, don't you think she deserves an explanation at least?" Shizuru struggled to keep both Natsuki and Chie back from barging into the house but she still managed to keep her gaze strong and steady as she looked into the maid's light blue pools. Soon she could breathe a sigh of relief as Amelie nodded.

"Mistress Aoi's room is at the top of the stairs and the third on the right, but hurry please before you are caught and I am fired." As soon as the words left her mouth, the French maid knew that she had done a very stupid thing and instantly regretted it- however she loved her master's daughter and the two had grown up together despite Amelie being three years older. Seeing Aoi upset was unbearable and deep within her, Amelie knew that the only thing that kept Aoi together was the young girl who was sprinting up the stairs. Amelie turned to the other two standing still in the doorway, the dark haired one with the green eyes she wondered whether she had ever met before- she looked incredibly familiar.

Natsuki frowned as she realised that the maid in front of her was looking at her weirdly and she didn't really like it "Have I got something on my face? You keep staring at me."

"No it's just, have you been here before?"

"Once, with my grandfather and that was like five or six years ago." The maid just nodded and all three turned their attention to the two girls quietly running down the marble staircase. Shizuru beamed with delight, urging them to be quick however they soon realised they weren't nearly quick enough.

"Oh wonderful, Shizuru-san you're still here and you have brought along some more of you students. I must admit I'm a little curious as to what the school delinquent is doing here and why Harada-san is holding my daughter's hand like that… as if to run away perhaps?" Takeshi snorted with a smug look on his face- it was unexpected of the young teacher to be a part of this but the futile rescue mission? That he had expected- he knew that Chie wasn't going to simply give up his daughter but that's exactly what Aoi was. His daughter.

"Governor Senou, I only came here to talk to you- I never planned on running away with Aoi, I just wanted to make you understand my feelings for her." Chie gently pulled Aoi so that the brunette was standing behind her and so was this time Chie became the shield. "I love her Sir and I would do anything for her to make her happy. I know I have a reputation but… but that isn't me anymore- that was the old me." Both Shizuru and Natsuki looked at each other and then at Chie who noticeably stood a little straighter and had managed to speak clearly without any fear.

"And I love her too Father and you were wrong to say that she manipulated me to love her. When Mother was ill and in hospital, Chie was really the only one there for me and she helped me so much when Mother died and you stopped being there for me. You will have to accept that I'm not your little girl anymore and that I choose who to fall in love with." Aoi moved back to Chie's side, holding her hand and giving the love of her life a smile. "I'll always be your daughter but I'm Chie's girlfriend too."

"So this is who you wish to spend your life with is it?" Natsuki took a step closer to Chie and Aoi- Aoi's father by now had gone a bright shade of red and the throbbing, pulsating vein in his head looked like it was going to burst any minute. He looked like he was just about ready to throttle either Chie or his daughter any minute and Natsuki didn't want to risk it.

"Yes, I want to be with Chie and no-one else."

"Oh really? Well I wonder if you'll still feel the same way about your precious Chie if you knew the truth about her- which is… a little less appealing."

Takeshi smiled as her saw the look of confusion on his daughter's face, the sheer terror on Chie's and he knew that his next move would restore order and the nuisance would be put to rest. "Tell me dear, has Chie ever mentioned to you what exactly happened to her father?" This was the opportunity he had been waiting for- the trump card he had been keeping in his arsenal for four long years.

Aoi turned to Chie who had gone completely pale "Chie what's he talking about?" Shizuru turned to Natsuki who shrugged and leaned in closer enough to whisper. "That's what I'd like to know."

"What I'm talking about is how the great Harada Daisuke was shot dead by his own daughter."

"Great? He was an alcoholic wife beater who deserved to be shot." Chie ignored the sharp intake of breath coming from her girlfriend next to her. "That's why you hate me isn't it? He was your friend and I shot him. You never believed for a minute when they realised it was self-defence and I walked free- so now you believe that I'm trying to turn your daughter against you because I turned against him isn't that right?" She hissed through her teeth as she was forced to relieve memories that she had spent the last few years desperately trying to forget.

She still had the scar on her forehead from it. It was that scar that ended up saving her from youth detention and later on prison as the wound on her forehead proved that Daisuke had hit out at his daughter and indeed his own wife before Chie pulled the trigger.

"That man was like a brother to me, we had been through a lot together and you robbed me of him so why wouldn't you rob me of Aoi?" Takeshi lunged at Chie- wrapping his hands around her biceps hard and as she tried to fight him off- his grip got tighter as Natsuki, Shizuru and Aoi tried to release his hold. "You will never take my daughter from me!" He snarled. "Stupid, filthy murderer. Get your hands off me!"

That set off the spark as Natsuki released her grip on the man and clenched her fist before swinging it back then delivering a powerful right hook onto Takeshi's strong jaw- rendering him unconscious. "Natsuki! Shizuru screamed as she crouched down to the floor by Takeshi's side and Chie fell to the floor with Aoi on her right- wincing in pain. Natsuki just shrugged nonchalantly

"Whoops."

---

"I can't believe you punched Aoi's dad." Chie laughed as she looked to her friend sitting beside her- nursing her right hand with an ice-pack. Natsuki scoffed and rested her head against the cold, hard concrete wall behind her "Yeah well I can't believe you didn't."

"Trust me I wanted to… If it weren't for the fact that I hope to marry his daughter someday I would have done." Chie closed her eyes and then opened them again to see Natsuki smiling wide at her- it was odd seeing her smile like that. "Yes you have a sexy smile but when you smile like that it's creepy. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You plan to marry her? Like, for real marry her?"

"Well yeah of course I do. I wouldn't go through all of this if I wasn't planning on having a future with her now would I?" Chie brought her knees up close to her chest and thought back to all that had transpired during the day. It started off nicely enough, Aoi had come round to hers to wake her up but then an hour later some thuggish looking men burst into her dorm and took Aoi away. Chie soon put two and two together. She then ran off to see her bastard father's grave, switched her phone off and then got found by Natsuki… and Viola-sensei. Then it got a little fuzzy!

"Wow. You really are a romantic… in an 'I'm-going-to-vomit' kind of way. It's kinda nauseating actually." Both girls laughed and Chie bumped her shoulder into Natsuki's before wincing in pain- obviously there was going to be some bruising.

"You're just jealous Natsuki-kun. Jealous 'cause you're not getting any."

Natsuki scoffed and shook her head "We're in a prison cell for beating up your girlfriend's old man, when were you planning on getting laid?"

Chie hummed in agreement as she took a good look around where she actually was and found to her amusement that the two of them were in fact locked up in a cell. That's when the pieces of the puzzle suddenly came together as Chie thought back to what took place an hour or so beforehand. It transpired that one of the other maids who worked in the kitchen had heard the argument and as soon as Takeshi wrapped his strong hands round Chie's arms, thus creating a sort of skirmish, she picked up the phone and called the police. As the older man was lying on the floor unconscious with Natsuki examining her hand and Chie on the floor- the two girls were immediately taken into custody as the paramedics worked on getting Takeshi to come round. Yeah, we're in a prison cell… shit this is baaaaad! Mum is going to kill me for this- if Aoi doesn't get to me first!

"I'm not, at least not for now anyway. Kinda have to make it up to Aoi big time if there's any hope for us two. I doubt she appreciated me keeping what happened to my father a secret… you do understand why I did though right?"

"Of course I did- though it would have been nice to find out from you rather than him. However it's still an If we get released. Even if we walk out of here free we'll be kicked out of school for sure." Natsuki stared at her bruised hand and didn't even notice Chie looking at her strangely.

"But I thought that's what you wanted? To get kicked out?"

Natsuki smiled and shrugged. "I don't know what I want any more. It's weird; I've tried for over a year to get my ass expelled from that place but now? But now I feel like… like there's something holding me back, there's something there at school that makes it hard to want to leave."

"Aww, you're going to miss us aren't you?" Chie winked at Natsuki who rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I guess no relationship is easy and yet sometimes I think that you can seem like the worst sort of person to end up with which is why I worry about Takeda, but then I think about what happened today and I realise that maybe there's hope for you yet. Whether there is for Aoi and I that's another matter completely. I guess its all part of having to keep our relationship a secret- sometimes there are secrets within secrets which become harder to keep inside of you."

"What do you mean by 'part of having to keep the relationship a secret'?"

Chie smirked as Natsuki sat cross-legged on the bench and turned to face her- reminding Chie of when a young child sat and listened to a story being read by a grandparent. Then she pictured a young Natsuki- which wasn't hard seeing as Mai had told her Natsuki hadn't really changed much in appearance from when they were little. So cute! "So, the love runs deeper I guess and because it's a secret you work harder to make it work between you two more, you crave each other more, being with them is like… a high and you get that horrible feeling in the pit of your stomach when you aren't with them. Even if it's for a split second you live for that next second when you two are together again. But what's weirder is that the worst feeling can be the best you'll ever experience from loving them."

"It must be painful- not being able to properly show how much you love them like other couples?"

Chie thought about it for a while and then nodded "Yeah, but then the time we spend together or with people who won't judge us becomes ten times- maybe even a hundred times- more special to us. From pain comes experience I suppose, but it's always better to try rather than let it eat at you for the rest of your life because you let that moment pass by. By doing nothing you'll end up… bitter and twisted and years from now you'll think back, kick yourself for never taking the leap. You can find someone to live your life with, like with you and Takeda, without any fear or prejudice but you'll always think about what you could have had with that person."

"Why do I feel like we aren't talking about you and Aoi anymore?" Natsuki turned to look at Chie who grinned back.

"Because you know that we never really were in the first place Natsuki. So has there been any progress with you and your mystery person?"

"Progress? Ha! There won't ever be any progress because nothing is ever going to happen." Natsuki twisted back round so her back and head rested against the concrete and she felt her eyes close- it had been a tiring afternoon. I was wondering how long Chie was going to go without ever mentioning that stuff.

"Have you ever thought that maybe Nao-chan feels the same way?"

Natsuki's emerald eyes shot open in surprise at the sound of Nao's name and as she opened her mouth to protest- the sudden sharp intake of air caused her to choke. "Huh? Nao? You think it's Nao?"

Chie frowned as she turned to face her friend and shrugged her shoulders "Well… yeah actually I do. You are always together, she gets on your nerves and she's at school… this week you've just been moping around and I kinda figured it was because she wasn't there."

Natsuki sighed and once again closed her eyes before hanging her head down low. "It definitely, 100% is not Nao. She gets on my nerves more than the next person but it's just not the same. I mean I spend pretty much every day wanting to kick her ass or just kill her- that's definitely not a good basis for a relationship by anyone's standards and not just my own."

"Alright then, but if it isn't Nao who is it?" Natsuki gritted her teeth; she was just about ready to hail some obscene profanities when as she looked over Chie's shoulder- she felt her heart skip a beat.

"Shizuru."

It was said almost like a whisper and Chie couldn't believe her ears- had Natsuki just confessed? Had Natsuki just willingly volunteered the name of the person she had fallen for? Natsuki fought to hide the blush on her face as she realised that by saying her teacher's name- she had inadvertently revealed who it was. Hopefully Chie wouldn't take it that way… please don't take it that way

Shizuru had to suppress the feeling of shock and relief- she had only heard some of the conversation between the two and it didn't take her long to realise just what they were talking about and despite the little voice in her head telling her that eavesdropping was wrong on so many levels… it felt near impossible to stop. However once her cousin's name was mentioned, Shizuru forced herself to get a grip and do what she came here to do whilst ignoring the fact that it had sounded like Natsuki had just confessed feelings for her.

"Shizuru? Who's Shizuru?" Hang on, why she looking behind… oh it's Viola-sensei. Ooh hello, on first name basis are we? Wonderful! Both Chie and Natsuki felt the shiver crawl down their spines as the usually smiling or 'oasis of calm' expression on the beautiful woman's face was replaced by a smouldering scowl- it was sexy but damn it was scary.

"Hi, Viola-sensei… nice to see you again." Chie gave her teacher a small wave, but wanted to crawl into the foetal position when she just got an ice cold glare from Shizuru.

"Why are you here?" Natsuki actually felt the temperature of the cell decrease dramatically as the atmosphere was tense. Shizuru cleared her throat before licking her dry lips.

"Damage control. I've had a word with Aoi's father and have managed to convince him to drop the charges against you two. You're free to go." Despite being given some of the best news she had been given for a long time, Natsuki still couldn't bring herself to feel relieved just yet, however Chie practically jumped off the seat for joy at the news and had to restrain herself from pouncing on the teacher and showering her with kisses!

"We're free? Both of us? Natsuki isn't that great?"

"Yeah… it's great news." Saying it still didn't make her feel any better- Shizuru still looked angry as hell and Chie didn't seem to notice the impromptu glaring match between the other two in the room.

"Yeah and you look soooo thrilled about it Natsuki. Thank you so much Viola-sensei- I owe you big time."

Shizuru broke off the glare at Natsuki as she folded her arms across her chest and turned to face Chie. "I said that you were free to go from here… but you both will be punished in due course at school. I expect to see you both in the Student Council room at one on Monday do you understand?" Both girls nodded and understood completely- they both expected some sort of punishment whether it was a criminal record or expulsion. Both didn't know which they preferred the sound of now! "Good, Chie there's someone waiting for you outside so I suggest you don't keep her waiting." Shizuru watched as Chie mouthed the word 'Aoi' and when Shizuru nodded, Natsuki could hardly see Chie for dust as she ran out front to meet her girlfriend… leaving just Shizuru and Natsuki in the cell.

Natsuki watched with anticipation as Shizuru walked silently around the cell before coming to a stop in front of the raven-haired girl. "You're angry with me?" the young girl asked timidly as she pulled he knees in closer to her chest.

"I'm not angry… well I am but I'm more disappointed and frustrated with you more than anything Natsuki. When I first started out here, when I first got told that I was going to be your tutor, all I ever heard- from those who didn't completely freeze when hearing your name- was that you were violent, disruptive, disrespectful and that before the first week was over I would be in pieces. However none of that actually scared me, rather I managed to convince myself that you were just another challenge and that being your tutor and mentor was going to be the best thing ever for kick-starting my career. The thing is I made a vow to myself to never give up on you like those other teachers had… but you make it so damn difficult Natsuki."

It had started off calmly and quietly however the anger was hard to quell. Shizuru took a breather and pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger to try and quell the headache that was brewing and so decided maybe she should take the calmer approach.

"Sometimes you can be the loveliest, the most charming and caring person… and today I saw a side of you that I have never seen before. As I watched you hold your friend like that as she cried I knew that those other teachers were just completely wrong about you. Again I felt privileged that I was able to see the real you and not the 'Ice Princess' persona.

That was until you did something so utterly brainless as to punch unconscious the Head of our Education Committee, the Governor of this district and a prominent benefactor of the school you go to! Why Natsuki?"

Shizuru tried to ignore the dull throbbing ache as she closed her eyes and turned away from her student. Her student who was still trying to get over what Shizuru had said, it had been a lot to hear all in one go but Natsuki thought back to that day, months ago when she had been beaten unconscious and Shizuru had been the one to take care of her. Natsuki realised then that Shizuru had been the only person to ever see past her less than amicable reputation despite having known each other for no more than a few days.

"I just… I wanted him to stop hurting her and stop hurting his daughter too. He was hiding behind his position, he was using it to completely control everyone's life and…" It just became all too familiar "And he was just being a grade-A asshole so I hit him. I didn't mean to knock him out I just wanted him to let go. Those two have been put through enough shit because of him." Natsuki hung her head low, staring at the ground beneath her feet and when she looked up she saw Shizuru bend down and kneeling in front of her.

"You were looking out for your friend- under any other circumstances it would be seen as an honourable act. But you need to control your temper Natsuki, it can easily lead you to trouble and as much as I wish I could be, I won't always be there to get you out of trouble. Now give me your hand." Natsuki nodded and placed her injured hand in Shizuru's own- however the young girl soon started laughing and Shizuru raised a brow in confusion. "What's so funny? I hardly doubt this situation is amusing Natsuki- in fact it's the opposite."

"No it's nothing like that… it probably isn't funny at all actually." Natsuki watched as Shizuru went back to examining her busted hand and using both hands, the teacher began to massage first the palm and despite the initial discomfort of it, Natsuki soon started to find it relaxing and soon forgot what had been so funny in the first place.

"Are you going to tell me or am I going to hazard a guess?"

"Oh yeah, it's just this scene is just becoming way too familiar nowadays. I bust something up and there you are to fix me back up again… it must be getting annoying." Natsuki bit her bottom lip and watched as Shizuru shook her head again before looking up and gazing into Natsuki emerald orbs. It seemed both funny and strange how both of them could just look into each other's eyes without feeling awkward or particularly uneasy but instead they could just lose themselves in them.

"It is troublesome I will admit." Shizuru said as she leaned in closer.

"Oh. Sorry."

"No, it's just… I don't like doing it because it means that you're hurt. I don't like it when you get hurt Natsuki." Shizuru stopped what she was doing and not before long she realised just how close in proximity she was to Natsuki's lips and so she gracefully stood up- dusting herself off. "Though I suppose you being into martial arts and kickboxing… I may just have to deal with it won't I?"

"Deal with what?" Came a familiar voice from behind and Shizuru turned around to see a very angry looking Alyssa standing in front of the entrance to the cell, flanked by two policemen. Natsuki sighed and closed her eyes- she had already been yelled at by Shizuru which even though she looked unmoved or bothered- it had actually struck a chord within her.

"Shit."

"Yes, 'shit' indeed Natsuki just what the fuck do you think you were playing at?" Alyssa yelled as she stepped into the cell. "You had to be all heroic and hit the big bad man didn't you?"

Shizuru frowned and shook her head. "Alyssa, Natsuki was only…"

"Yeah, you know what I don't care Shizuru. I asked you for one thing- one goddamn thing- to take Natsuki home and keep her there. How long after my back was turned did you go against it?"

"Alyssa, Tokiha-san called because she was worried about Harada-san and as she's also friends with your sister I seriously doubt that if a friend of yours had gone missing, you would just sit idle and do nothing." Shizuru gently grabbed hold of Alyssa's wrist and dared Alyssa to meet Shizuru's crimson eyes with her deep blue pools.

"You know damn well that I wouldn't." Alyssa hissed through her teeth in anger as she shook of Shizuru's hold on her wrist. "Why Shizuru? Why couldn't you just listen to me?"

"Would you rather I'd left the two to go on their own and get into even more trouble Alyssa? They have had a lucky escape, Takeshi-san has realised what could happen if he were to press charges and the school shall decide on the girl's punishment." To try and quell the storm that was brewing, Shizuru spoke calmly and quietly to Alyssa who seemed to be a little more understanding and accepting. "I told him that if he proceeded and followed through with this case he would have to deal with you and the rest of Natsuki's family. I managed to scare him off from that but he's pushing for a harsh punishment for both girls."

"Fine, I've been called into the meeting on Monday anyway. Natsuki?" Alyssa turned her attention to her younger sister who raised her head as soon as her name was called. "I've just been on the phone to your Grandfather- he's ordered you to write a formal apology and a statement of regret for Takeshi-san. You'll have it done by Monday's meeting yes?" It sounded like a question but Natsuki knew that Alyssa was going to have it even if it took her tying Natsuki to a chair and forcing the apology out at gunpoint!

"Yes… you'll have it." Natsuki muttered quietly but not quietly enough for Alyssa to hear it and be satisfied.

"Good. Look, I have to leave, the shit well and truly hit the fan today and I have 101 other pressing matters to deal with… Shizuru? If I asked you to take Natsuki home would you this time?"

"Of course." Shizuru hadn't missed the jibe from the older woman in front of her- however in some ways it was deserved.

"Good. Thank you, I'll see you later tonight Natsuki… I don't know what time I'll be back though so I'll see you at some point."

"Sure, but first of all I want to know where you were during all this." Natsuki asked as Alyssa turned to walk out of the cell.

"Fine, you want to know I'll tell you, I got the call from Mai, then I made another call to the Director who said that Takeshi told her Aoi was leaving so I was at the school terminating the transfer making it so she couldn't leave. Then I found out about you and came here. You satisfied now?"

"Oh yeah- completely satisfied." Natsuki crossed her arms across her chest and huffed- fortunately Alyssa had been in such a rush to get out she hadn't even picked up on the sarcasm before leaving the cell room. "A statement of regret? I only regret that I didn't hit him harder… asshole." Natsuki blew a stray strand of hair out from her face.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that Natsuki. We have a few documents for you to sign before you go- come on." Shizuru didn't wait for Natsuki before she left the cell- nodding her head in thanks as a policeman opened the door for the two as they made their way to the main office. Once the papers were signed, Shizuru and Natsuki walked in silence out of the station- both felt tired and drained from today's exertions and neither one as looking forward to what was to come Monday lunch.

"What do you think is going to happen to us? On Monday?" Natsuki asked as Shizuru unlocked the car and opened her own door. Chie and Aoi were still busy arguing and from the looks of things, one of Chie's cheeks was bright red with a distinctive hand shape on it!

"I don't know Natsuki… I wish I knew but this is a very serious matter and not to be taken lightly. Whatever happens happens. You just have to accept it." Shizuru got into the car, slamming her door in frustration, as unbeknownst to her student the meeting was not only to discuss Natsuki's future at the school but Shizuru's own. She had also broken the rules by failing to prevent any sort of confrontation between her student and one of the schools most prominent benefactors and so her head was also on the executioners block.

"For what it's worth- if I do get expelled on Monday… thank you for not giving up on me like the others did. And… I'm sorry for letting you down." Shizuru turned to look at the student sitting next to her- her eyes widened in surprise- and without thinking she grabbed Natsuki's hand in her own and with her other hand, she gently turned the young girl to look at her.

"Whatever happens Natsuki- I am so glad that I met you and I want you to know that no matter what happens… you know where to find me? I'll be right there with you on Monday- I promise."

"Okay." Natsuki smiled back and as Shizuru leaned over to Natsuki's side, Natsuki felt herself lean closer and shut her eyes before she felt a pair of soft, warm lips kiss her on the forehead. At the touch of Shizuru's lips against her skin, Natsuki took a deep breath of air to steady her heart which was racing at lightning speed and made her feel dizzy. The kiss itself lasted a couple of seconds longer than it should have but it took all of Shizuru's strength and self control to pull herself away- much to Natsuki's disappointment- and albeit reluctantly, Shizuru moved back fully into her seat with both hands ready on the steering wheel. She didn't really want to think about the possibility of not seeing Natsuki around school and yet she couldn't help but think about what could happen if either she or Natsuki did leave. Would the wedding between Natsuki and Takeda still happen? Or would her feelings for Natsuki disappear completely? More importantly though, would that be such a bad thing if they did? The feelings she had for her student were dangerous and she knew that one day something from within her would crack and that could only bring about disastrous consequences for the both of them. She also didn't know how long before it became too hard to control herself- her self-control had boundaries and it was only a matter of time before she broke through them.

I suppose we can only wait and see what happens! Come what may…

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A/N: Right so that chapter's finished- I really hope it wasn't too boring for you and I'm sorry if yet again the pace of this is too slow but now we know that the feelings are most definitely mutual… even if Natsuki is hesitant to admit it.

So the next chapter is judgement day, there's a little bit of a twist for you which I hope you'll enjoy and you'll also get to meet the Student Council! Plus Shizuru has another visitor and more revelations to deal with…

Until next time… Much love oh and I finished reading through this chapter at 5 in the morning after a lot of coffee so I'm sorry for any mistakes I have failed to spot!

Tiny xxx

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BONUS SCENE FOR YA!

The car journey home was spent in an unbearable awkward silence- Chie and Aoi weren't talking despite Chie's best attempts and every time Natsuki turned to look at her brunette teacher, she could see how much the day had taken out of her. It was decided that as the police station was closer to Natsuki's apartment, she would be the first to get dropped off and within a few minutes Shizuru pulled into the parking complex.

"I'll walk you up." Shizuru said as she undid her seatbelt and stepped out of the car- leaving no room for argument as she waited for Natsuki to follow.

"You don't need to you know… anything's going to happen to me within the next five minutes." Natsuki walked a step behind her teacher- her eyes downcast so they focused on the concrete floor as she tried not to sneak a peek at Shizuru's behind.

"I know, but I want to anyway. I want to ask you something."

"Erm… okay."

Shizuru smirked as she heard the hesitation in Natsuki's voice as the young girl gave her consent. "How did you go from being Kruger to Kuga? I understand your reasons… I think, but that made me curious." Shizuru slowed down her pace so they were walking side by side instead and she heard Natsuki groan.

"Couldn't you ask another less embarrassing question?"

At that moment Shizuru halted in her steps and gently pulled Natsuki to a stop "Well now you've said that I'm even less inclined to… can you please tell me?" Shizuru smiled softly at Natsuki who bit the inside of her cheek and glared at her teacher- who needless to say didn't look like she was going to relent anytime soon.

"Fine. When I was young I had a speech impediment and I couldn't say my name." Shizuru furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and Natsuki sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperation. "So… I couldn't pronounce my 'r's right so Kruger sounded more like… Kwuga. When it came to enrolment I remembered it and changed it to Kuga instead." Natsuki felt her face flare up in a furious haze of red as she blushed with embarrassment with then turned to anger when she noticed the look on her teachers face as Shizuru fought to restrain herself. "Don't you dare laugh."

That set her off and Shizuru erupted into a bout of laughter as she tried to turn away so Natsuki wouldn't see the tears forming in her eyes. "Natsuki I'm so sorry." Shizuru said, choked through the giggles, and when Natsuki huffed and turned to walk back Shizuru finally managed to calm down. "Natsuki? I said I was sorry." She yelled at the retreating figure walking down the hall and frowned as Natsuki raised her right hand in the air with the middle finger up.

Maybe I deserved that… yes I definitely deserved that. Still I've got a great view! Shizuru mused as she watched the bad-ass swagger of the girl's hips. Might as well enjoy it as I might not be her tutor for long.