A/N I'm away for most of tomorrow, so regarding this chappie I don't know if it'll be up then. Thanks to all my reviewers! I've used you reviews to make 'I reviewed TBD and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt' t-shirts! (Emiri hands them out to everyone who's reviewed)
Please remember: Flames will be used to burn your house down. Muhahaha!
Discalimer: If I own Mai HiME, why doesn't my lovely name appear in the credits of the opening song?
Chapter 9- the need for a higher education.
"Damn it! Without the full moon, we won't be able to catch up to her!" roared the monstrous man, stamping his huge boot onto a bed of wild flowers.
"But- boss, can't we just wait 'till tomorrow?"
In a Narusegawa Naru-esque style, Kobushi sent Thug #3 on an express flight to Timbuktu, giving the other 3 offenders a look that could crush solid granite.
The troupe (minus Thug #3, who was still god knows where) resumed their huffy plodding pace under their heavy black cloaks, the sunny daylight bringing them to boiling point.
Meanwhile, Shizuru and Natsuki had also come to a more comfortable pace; Shizuru had opted to slow the jog down to a power walk because Natsuki was visibly tired. Under the considerably lighter cloaks and facemasks, they had made good progress, reaching the small village of Hinata Springs just before the midday bell tolled. Personally, the cautious Shizuru would rather have skirted a good half-mile around the village, but with Natsuki being so tired presently, she knew that they were going to have to stop.
Giving the puffing girl a pitiful look, Shizuru's drive to protect her soul-mate strengthened. It was quite Ironic really, that even when Natsuki had been able to walk around by day, she had preferred the night; and thus become intolerant on a higher level to the sun. On impulse, Shizuru took the younger girl's gloved hand in hers, giving her a supportive squeeze. Surprisingly, Natsuki and Shizuru let out a big yawn at the same time.
"Ara, It seems that Natsuki is tiring, does she want to go to bed?" Shizuru teased, her thick accent slightly muffled from under the facemask. Natsuki stoically kept on walking, but her steps were becoming shorter and more erratic. After having not slept for the past 2 days and nights, the ex-hunter was reaching her limits. At this point, she realized what a routine the past 10 years f her life had been, sleep through the day, and train through the night. Simple.
But the past 2 weeks had completely shattered that. Natsuki had been pulled from one predicament to another, and completely overpowered on unexplored territory.
What happened to me in the last two weeks; By Natsuki
Day 1: got stalked by Shizuru, horny vampire teen soul-mate.
Day 2: Pwned a group of city guards. drank vampire blood.
Day 3: was mouth-to-mouth resuscitated by aforementioned vampire.
Day 4: read my first ever M-rated Yuri novel.
Day 5: Bought Mayo
Day 6: Was drugged (mouth-to-mouth) and kidnapped by Shizuru, psychotic stalker.
Day 7: Slept in huge bed, got godknowswhatted by Shizuru while unconscious.
Day 8: Slept. Refer to above statement.
Day 9: Ate drugged BLT. Was seduced by Shizuru.
Day 10: Slept with Shizuru. Again. Is becoming a habit.
Day 11: Was nearly murdered by homicidal cuddy toys. Grew fangs.
Day 12: Was again seduced by Shizuru. Watched her drink from botanists.
Day 13: was chased out of house by Vampire king. Went down dangerous slide. Saw Shizuru's rear unclothed. Learned what a night elf is.
Day 13 and a half: am being chased by Vampire king and cronies.
So absorbed in her bitesize review, Natsuki failed to notice that they had arrived in a small town (or big village), and had to be tapped on the shoulder vigorously by Shizuru.
"uh… 'k" she mumbled, realizing how tired she was. Shizuru gripped her hand tighter as the advanced down the dusty road that led into Hinata springs, a nervous lump rising in her throat.
"Reito-sama, can't we stop and rest?" grumbled thug #1, panting from under his tall hooded cloak.
"I told you to call me Kobushi, Tate-kun! Just because you were my partner-in-crime, doesn't mean you have the right to address my by my name!" gruffly roared Kobushi.
"y-yes Kobushi-sama…"
"'Shame we lost 'em though. The blue-haired chick was so hot…" mumbled Thug #2, Takeda. This made everyone stop complaining and hasten the pace, anxious to have fun with these two lovely ladies.
Shizuru and Natsuki stopped a few minutes later outside what looked like an Inn. Cautiously Walking up the long flight of stone steps to the main door, Shizuru nervously knocked on the old fashioned entrance and waited patiently. A few seconds later, a young man came out to greet them.
"Ah! H-hello ladies! What can this humble innkeeper do for you?" He said politely (but was in fact trying to see what size breasts the two girls had; it was not obvious from under the cloaks.)
"A room please, kind sir," Shizuru said in her most flowery, charming (and seductive) voice possible, causing a trickle of blood to all from the innkeeper's nose. Quickly gathering himself, she ushered them inside. Shizuru handed him a handful of coins and pulled Natsuki along with her, up the stairs and up another set of stairs.
"We'll be sleeping in the attic if you don't mind, innkeeper-kun," Shizuru called down to the stunned innkeeper, who was counting the money she'd given him with little yen signs flashing in his eyes.
Once they were up, Shizuru threw her cloak off unceremoniously and plopped herself down on top of it. Natsuki did likewise, glad to be out of the confining folds of the material; it was awfully hot and stuffy inside. Shizuru motioned for her to get comfortable. Her intuition told her that a monologue was coming up.
"I've been doing some thinking…" she started.
That's a surprise. You don't seem to do much of that.
"-And I've decided on a plan to shake our stalker off."
You make it sound as though it's just some Hentai with an unhealthy interest in young girls.
"We're going to school."
You need to learn how to control where you stick your- wait a minute.
"SCHOOOOL? NANI??" Natsuki shot up, proceeding to bump her head on the low ceiling. Shitting back down tentatively, she let Shizuru rub her head as she began to explain.
"I know what Natsuki's thinking. No really, I do. But if we keep traveling out in the open like this, that bloodhound of a man can easily keep following us until he eventually catches up. Those men may not have brains, but they have a lot of endurance.
"The easiest thing to do would be to settle down in a large populous city. But of course, that would mean that we wouldn't be able to work, and our money would slowly dwindle. We'd have to pay for a house and everything. That's a no-go.
"But, a school would work really well. Our scent would be covered by the masses of children our age, plus we'd have a place to sleep and meals. (Natsuki flinched at the way she said meals)."
"You're forgetting something, Shizuru." Bluntly butted in Natsuki, quite red now from the way Shizuru was stroking her. It had started innocently enough, just soothing the bump on her head, but now the girl had her hand up Natsuki's shirt and was drawing swirly patterns on her back in an extremely provocative way. Natsuki felt dangerous levels of blood well up behind her nasal cavity.
"Ara, what fault of mine shall Natsuki point out?" teased Shizuru, making a sad face (fake, of course) at the younger girl.
"I- I didn't mean it like that! I just… Shizuru, look at sense! School is during the day! You have to play outside at lunch! There are windows everywhere! Have you forgotten that you're a vampire!?"
"That is a fact that one would be hard pressed to forget, Natsuki…" Shizuru answered sagely, closing her eyes and going into a mock-meditative state. Then suddenly, she snapped her eyes open and cried, "I have found enlightenment!"
Natsuki just sat there, drumming her fingers on the floor, waiting for Shizuru to get serious. Shizuru regaining normal stance and resuming her drawn out explanation rewarded her patience.
"I happen to know of a school that operates exclusively at night, for covert purposes. It had just over 200 students, and is located in the remote northern plateau."
You HAVE been thinking, have you not?
"Of course, the chance to share a dorm room with my Natsuki was the main appeal…"
Knew that was going to crop up sooner or later… mou, Shizuru, you underhanded-
Does Natsuki really want to finish that sentence?
"N-no… but Shizuru, I was never good at following rules…" Natsuki cringed. In reality, she was just too socially inept to deal with teachers, students and…
Natsuki shivered.
Homework.
"ara, Natsuki is worried about homework? Of course I can help her there… teach her many things…"
The nosebleed that had been building up as Shizuru's hand went lower and lower down her back during the talk finally found it's way into her panties erupted unceremoniously. She howled with embarrassment and jumped up again, giving birth to a second nasty bump on her already throbbing head. Shizuru made to 'stroke it better' again, but Natsuki, forewarned at what the girl's hands would unconsciously do to her, moved away a little.
"So… it's decided then?" Natsuki said, resigning herself to Shizuru's iron will. Shizuru gave her a big glomp and, to Natsuki's displeasure (outward displeasure: in the little ero part of her brain, Natsuki was quite enjoying it) a kiss on her cheek.
And I'm sure Natsuki will look cute in the uniform. Then again, Natsuki turns me on in anything she wears, but really I would prefer her without any clothes on at a-
Shizuru. Time for bed.
As long as I get to sleep with Natsuki…
You're impossible, you know…
Why thank you.
Chapter 9! That took ages! I told (some of) you there would be a plot twist, right? I hope you like it. I wanted to give the story a kind of 'middle period' so to speak. I hope nobody hates me!
And yes, Kobushi is NOT the main antagonist. You'll meet her when we get to school. Because so many people asked me to 'throw in the frying pan' and 'make the main villain' so I figured school would be the best place to do it! Don't worry, Vamp lovers will get their fill of blood-sucking… and Yuri-lovers their fill of Yuri…
Stay tuned!
Omake:
Shizuru: We're going to school, Natsuki!
Natsuki: 0.o;
Shizuru: look at the uniforms! They would only sell me one girl's uniform, so I had to get you a boy one.
Natsuki: eh?
Shizuru: it even comes with something to make you look a more authentic boy! A fake-
static
Emiri