Disclaimer: Don't own.
AN:O_O wow, when I said I just had to reach 100 reviews I didn't think I would get there with the next chapter XD Thanks a bunch guys!
This was meant to be posted yesterday, but the site went down...while I was editing it...yeah *sigh*
Anyway, this chapter picks up right where the last one ended, enjoy;
Barricade
Chapter 12: Nothing to Worry About?
"Learning to trust is one of life's most difficult tasks"
Shizuru continued to stare at her door for a while, unsure how exactly to go about dealing with Anh. She was well aware that she would need to make an effort to get along with the violet eyed woman; they were going to be living together after all. But Natsuki's reaction to the newcomer had set her edge somewhat.
From her short experience in the brunette's presence, she was pretty sure that they would get on well enough, as long as Anh didn't make any serious insinuations about Natsuki. Trying to think positive, she recalled the conversation, if one could call it that, that they'd had with the brunette earlier. She replayed the event over in her mind, picking out bits of information that she could use to assess the situation. Fujino Shizuru was nothing if not an expert in reading people.
Anh had seemed playful more than anything, and at least Shizuru knew that she wouldn't have to worry about the woman finding her preferences disgusting. Playful as her tone had been, Anh's words hadn't just been for show, her eyes had made it perfectly clear that she liked what she saw. But then, Shizuru could hardly disagree with that; Natsuki was indeed a very appealing sight.
Apart from quite obviously being a shameless flirt, Anh hadn't physically invaded their personal space, and had in fact sat down when she'd noticed their mounting discomfort and tension. Her sitting down could be seen as an attempt to make her presence less threatening, though whether it was intentional or not remained to be seen.
She had maintained eye contact with both Shizuru and Natsuki when directly addressing them, which screamed confidence, and her choice of words had left little room to question her rather forward nature.
All in all, Shizuru's first impression of Anh was that she was probably a fun loving, flirtatious, confident woman, but ultimately, she was not trying to pose a threat.
With that conclusion in mind Shizuru pushed herself up of her bed and walked towards her bedroom door. With a deep intake of breath to compose herself she pulled up her mask and left her room. The small walkway outside her bedroom was only dimly illuminated by the light from the kitchen-come-living room and she squinted slightly in the semi-darkness.
She could hear music playing, though it wasn't loud, and sincerely hoped that Anh hadn't invited anyone into the apartment. She really wanted to make sure that the air between them was clear to prevent any further awkwardness on her part.
When she reached the room she was relieved to see that Anh was indeed on her own, hanging out of the window and smoking by the looks of things. She frowned slightly; she hated the smell of smoke and certainly didn't want the apartment to stink of the stuff. And anyway, the complex operated a no-smoking policy.
"I thought that you weren't allowed to smoke inside?" Despite it sounding like a question her tone let the brunette know that it wasn't. Anh turned the top half of her body, leaving one arm hanging out of the window to reduce the amount of smoke that entered the room,
"Well, I didn't want to tackle those stairs" She said with a smirk, and Shizuru had to admit that it was a fairly valid point. Still, she didn't want the room to smell. Before she could say anything though, Anh had flicked her cigarette out onto the street somewhere and was now just leaning on the window sill, looking out in to the city, much as she and Natsuki had been doing earlier.
Unsure what to say and feeling a little uncomfortable, Shizuru made her way towards one of the couches and sat down quietly. The music was emanating from a small set of speakers on the side in the kitchen and the Kyoto born was glad for it. She would have felt a lot more awkward if they'd been sat there in complete silence.
After a moment or two Anh turned and joined the crimson eyed girl on the couch, thankfully leaving a decent amount of space between them. Shizuru tried to think of something to say to break the ice, but for once, was at a loss. She was used to dealing with people that she didn't really know; it was pretty much part of the Kaichou's job after all. But, this was different. She was going to be living with Anh, so it actually mattered what she said...didn't it?
Perhaps not, neither of them were really stuck in that particular apartment. If they didn't get on and things got too awkward one of them could probably move to another apartment or something. And surely it would be better for all involved if they didn't pretend to be someone that they were not... if Shizuru had to constantly wear her mask she would probably end up being incredibly miserable.
But, she didn't much like the idea of revealing too much of her true self to the still relative stranger sat next to her. Well, they could keep things superficial for now she supposed. Even so...she still wasn't sure what to say. Anh however, did have something to say,
"Your girlfriend's hot" Shizuru's head almost snapped off her neck due the speed she turned to stare at the brunette, who flashed her a cheeky smile.
"Excuse me?" Had she heard that right?
"She's hot" Yes, she'd heard correctly. The Kyoto born fought the urge to scowl; Fujino Shizuru does not scowl,
"Yes, my girlfriend, and I would appreciate it if you didn't talk about Natsuki like that" Somehow, she managed to keep her voice calm and composed. The woman's smile didn't falter as she spoke again,
"Natsuki huh?... Natsu-ki... Na-tsu-ki~... Nice!" Anh chuckled while testing the blunette's name on her tongue, seriously making it difficult for Shizuru to keep from scowling,
"Please don't call her that" Her voice still managed to hold a certain polite quality, much to Shizuru's own surprise.
"Oh? Well, you didn't give me much to work with" She said with a slight smirk and Shizuru forced herself to calm down, she'd already acknowledged that Anh was just being playful hadn't she?...but she did need to lay down some rules, because there was no way she was happy about the brunette's comments concerning Natsuki. "What's her family name then?"
"Kuga" Natsuki's family name sounded a little strange when she spoke it, probably because she hadn't used it in quite some time. Anh nodded,
"Kuga-san...she looked pretty good in those leathers" Ok, this really had to stop. Didn't this woman know what was appropriate and what wasn't? Much to her annoyance, and slight confusion, Anh laughed,
"Haha calm down, I know she's out of bounds" Apparently she had finally failed to keep the scowl off her face. Anh's words were meant to assure her, though it was difficult to feel assured when the assurer was still wearing a mischievous smile "Doesn't mean that I can't comment does it?"
"I would rather you didn't comment on Natsuki at all"
"Well, how about I comment on you instead?" Anh wiggled her eyebrows and Shizuru couldn't help it, she chuckled despite herself,
"Was that your attempt at a pick up line?" Anh seemed to brighten at her amusement,
"Did it work?"
"No" The ex-Kaichou deadpanned,
"Ah well, I know when I'm beaten" She sighed, and then with a smile continued "How about we just be friends then?" Shizuru regarded the slightly older woman before her and realised that once Anh wasn't talking about Natsuki, she was actually quite funny. And in reality, the brunette's comments weren't all that different from her own teasing, she probably only said such things because she found the Kyoto born's reaction to be humorous.
"I suppose we could come to an arrangement" Shizuru smiled, starting to feel a bit more relaxed,
"Will I like the arrangement?" Was the amused and slightly suggestive sounding response, to which Shizuru chuckled lightly,
"Possibly not"
"You're going to tell me that I can't say anything about Kuga-san aren't you?" Anh pouted and Shizuru acknowledged that on some level, she and the violet eyed girl were somewhat similar.
"Correct" She smiled, causing Anh to sigh in defeat,
"Fiiine" The downtrodden look the woman wore was almost comical, but it was soon replaced by a slight smirk, "I can't promise anything though, the odd comment may slip out" Shizuru got the feeling that the woman would not be trying to restrain herself at all, but she smiled politely anyway. With the awkward and uncomfortable atmosphere lifting quickly, the Kyoto born found that she felt much better.
"Now, why don't you tell my more about your sexy self" Anh suggested merrily, causing Shizuru to repress a groan.
Natsuki stared at the TV screen, her eyes stinging through not blinking nearly enough and her thumbs moving of their own accord as her mind drifted. She kept having to refocus her eyes on the screen, as well as refocusing her mind to stay on her current activity. Which was playing Xbox with Mikoto.
The biker just couldn't for the life of her concentrate on the game. Her thoughts kept drifting to Shizuru, or more specifically, Shizuru's flatmate. She thought that she'd managed to cover just how bothered she still was when she left pretty well. She had no doubt that Shizuru would know that things weren't perfect, but she certainly liked to think that the older girl had not completely seen through her. She'd witnessed Shizuru pulling up her mask enough times to have learnt a trick or two of her own.
She didn't like using the Kyoto born's own trick against her, but as well as not wanting her girlfriend to worry, she'd felt somewhat vulnerable. Anh's appearance had really gotten to her and she wasn't used to feeling like her relationship with her most important person was being threatened. In reality, she wasn't really used to even acknowledging that she had a most important person.
If it hadn't been for the Carnival she wondered if she ever would have at all.
But, she did have a most important person, and that person was Shizuru. Dealing with possible threats to that relationship was not something she had dealt with before. At least not threats from an outside source anyway.
She'd felt truly threatened by Anh, and it had made her realise just how much of herself she'd invested in the Kyoto born. It scared her to think how much power Shizuru now had over her, unwittingly or not. She'd never been one to relinquish control, particularly control over herself, and she didn't know how to deal with this new situation she found herself in.
One in which she had very little control, if any at all. She could not control Anh, nor could she control Shizuru, all she could do was trust the Kyoto born and hope that nothing would happen.
"Natsuki, you're making us lose!" Mikoto's voice brought her out of her thoughts once more and she focused on the screen, where she noted that she was indeed contributing to their team's deaths rather heavily. So, with all the concentration she could muster, she focused on the game. By the time it ended she'd just about managed to level out her kills and deaths, though their team still lost. Once the game was finished, she disconnected her controller, leaving Mikoto to play on her own.
Mai watched from her bed as her blue haired friend trudged across the room to a set of draws, pulled out a baggy T-shirt and some shorts and then made her way to the bathroom. The red head had been curious about Natsuki's strange mood ever since the biker had returned about an hour ago.
The older girl had walked in and, without saying a word, plopped down onto the couch and started to play her xbox with a scowl on her face. Now, this would not have been at all strange a week or so ago, but now it was just plain weird. For the past two days Natsuki had been strangely smiley and content, owing to the fact that she was clearly in love with a certain chestnut haired Kyoto born. So, Mai thought it entirely strange that the biker would be so...old-Natsuki-ish after spending the afternoon with Shizuru.
She'd actually been expecting Natsuki to come home in a freakishly good mood. She sincerely hoped that nothing had happened between the ex-Kaichou and the biker.
When Natsuki reappeared from the bathroom, now donning her sleep wear, Mai regarded her with mild concern. Maybe the girl was just tired, she had been at school all week and she'd been helping Shizuru move as well. It seemed like a plausible explanation... until the blunette lay back on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She knew what that meant; Natsuki was mulling over some serious thoughts.
While she debated whether or not to ask the older girl if something was wrong she failed to notice said girl looking at her with a raised eyebrow, until Natsuki spoke,
"Why are you looking at me?" Mai smiled sheepishly,
"Uh...how was the move? Is Kaichou-san's apartment nice?" Natsuki shrugged slightly, the movement awkward due to her lay down position,
"Yeah, the apartment was alright" There was something about that sentence that made Mai suspicious...or was it curious? Either way, there was something not quite right about it...
"What about her flatmates?" Natsuki's gaze shifted back to the ceiling as she replied with a simple,
"Fine" The red head furrowed her eyebrows slightly, that didn't sound very promising,
"Okaaaay... are you sure?" She prodded, which earned her an irritated huff, and a curt response,
"Yes, I'm sure" Natsuki then turned on to her side, facing away from her roommate. Ok, Mai was seriously starting to get concerned now; clearly Natsuki was not happy with Shizuru's flatmates. But, what could they have done to evoke such an obviously negative reaction?
Natsuki wasn't exactly known for getting wound up by what complete strangers thought of her, and even if she did get a little rattled it never lasted more than a couple of minutes. She generally didn't give a shit what other people thought, so the flatmates can't have said anything to her.
Perhaps they had said something to Shizuru then? But, Mai imagined that if that was the case Natsuki probably would have been more forthcoming with her disliking of the older girl's flatmates, in fact she would probably have gone into a massive rant about how stupid and annoying they were.
Then she remembered the conversation they'd had a week ago; Natsuki had told her that she was worried about Shizuru meeting somebody at university. She highly doubted that this had happened, certainly not in one day, but she figured that she was probably on the right lines. Perhaps Shizuru's roommates were the type of people that Natsuki had been worried about Shizuru falling for?...That seemed possible.
She glanced at her blue haired friend with a slight frown as she tried to think of a way to breach the topic. Should she ask what was wrong or just go with her hunch and question the girl outright?
"Don't even think about it Tokiha" Natsuki's voice cut off any possible words she was about to form, causing the frown on her face to deepen,
"Don't be so stubborn! I can tell that something's bothering you!" To her surprise, Natsuki chuckled at her words, though the noise did not sound as mirthful as it should have,
"I'm just tired, so would you mind shutting up and letting me sleep?" Not at all convinced by the older girl's words, Mai considered trying to pry the information out of the girl, but quickly decided that Natsuki obviously didn't want to talk about it. So, with an almost dejected sigh, she lay back on her own bed,
"Fine, but if you want to talk about it I'm here to listen" She said honestly, not expecting or receiving any response from the blunette.
The honking of a car horn woke Shizuru suddenly and she opened her eyes to be greeted by an unfamiliar room. She rolled over and only just stopped herself from falling out of her suddenly smaller bed. After a short bout of confusion she realised where she was and relaxed back into the mattress, her hand covering her eyes while she stretched.
Her crimson eyes then flicked across her new bedroom before landing on her alarm clock, which she had set up next to her bedside lamp on the end of her desk. It was almost 11 o'clock, which was still pretty early in her books, but she decided to get up anyway. She really needed to start getting back into some sort of routine before her classes started otherwise she'd be a walking zombie for a week or two.
She had another 2 weeks before classes officially started and in all honesty, she was quite looking forward to it. Not the actual lessons themselves but the reprieve from hours of boredom they would hopefully provide. Not that she expected her business classes to be anything other than a borefest, but at least she wouldn't be wandering around her apartment to kill time.
With Natsuki taking summer classes the spring break had seemed longer this year since she'd had nothing to do during the day. The blunette would be starting her second year in a week's time as well, which would mean that the Kyoto born would have an extra week of free time. Still, she supposed that she at least had Anh's company now...though whether that would be a good or bad thing she still hadn't decided.
The night before she and Anh had stayed up for quite some time just chatting about general things. What they had done before coming here, how old they were, how they liked spending their time etc etc. She'd found out that Anh was 21 and had spent the past few years doing what she loved; travelling and sleeping around. Apparently the brunette was only attending university because she knew that there would be a lot of girls there...something that did not surprise Shizuru at all after spending an hour in the woman's presence.
The Kyoto born doubted that that was Anh's only reason for attending Fuuka University, but she certainly thought it had played a large part in the brunette's decision.
And, as she'd suspected, Anh had not refrained from making comments about Natsuki. After a while though, Shizuru had decided that getting worked up about it was pointless, especially since she knew that the older woman was just messing around.
In the end, she'd actually found that spending time with Anh wasn't too bad. She was more than certain that she could live with the woman anyway, which was good, she just hoped that Natsuki would be alright with that. Their other flatmate had not made an appearance yet, she thought was a little strange, but maybe they would turn up later on.
After another quick stretch she got out of bed with the intention of having a nice cup of tea and then a hot shower. It was definitely colder in this part of Fuuka and she quickly pulled her clothes on, not wanting to walk about the apartment in her sleepwear with Anh lurking around.
Being careful to not trip over the boxes she had piled up near her door, she left the room and headed for the kitchen. It didn't take her long to attribute the cold air in the apartment to the open window, where Anh was once again smoking. It didn't seem like the brunette had noticed her and she didn't particularly feel the need to announce her presence.
So, she simply opened the cupboard she had claimed as her own and pulled out the things she would need to prepare the perfect cup of morning tea. While she busied herself with this task, she failed to notice that the other occupant of the room had noticed her arrival,
"So, you're a tea drinker huh?" The Kyoto born very nearly jumped out of her skin at the husky voice that swept past her face, indicating that Anh was incredibly close. Expecting that it would be a bad idea to turn around with the woman's face as close as it was, she stepped to the side slightly before facing her flatmate, who was grinning at her, "Morning"
"Good morning Lu-san" Shizuru smiled politely, her mask having formed in seconds. Just because they had gotten on well the night before didn't mean that she wasn't still a little wary of the flirtatious woman.
"Any chance I could get a cup?" It took a moment for Shizuru's brain to understand what Anh was talking about, but when it did eventually catch up she nodded with a slight smile. Minutes later and the two of them were sat in the living room, each on their own couch as they sipped their tea in silence. Until Anh broke that silence anyway,
"This is good! I don't even really like tea but this just might've changed my mind!" The brunette exclaimed, causing Shizuru to raise an eyebrow at the woman,
"If you don't like tea why did you ask me to make some for you?" Anh chuckled and replied with a slight shrug,
"I thought it might help with the whole 'flatmate bonding' thing" Shizuru chuckled herself at this but gave a slight nod to show that she accepted that reason. The Kyoto born would have been more than happy to sit in silence, enjoying her tea, but apparently Anh was as talkative as ever, "We're going out tomorrow by the way, with as many people from this floor as possible, and we're not coming back until everyone's drunk" Although amused by her flatmates priorities, Shizuru didn't really think it would be a good idea to accompany Anh.
She imagined that Natsuki would be less than happy about her going out drinking with the older brunette.
"Ah, Kanin na Lu-san, but I'm not old enough to drink" The fact that her excuse was in fact true made things a lot easier...although Anh didn't seem to be put off by her words at all and gave her a slight smirk,
"Doesn't matter, you've got a great pair so the guys will just look the other way and serve you" The younger girl closed her eyes and sighed lightly,
"Can you please stop saying things like that?"
"But it's true! You do have a great pai..."
"Alright" Shizuru cut her off "I will come, but I won't be drinking" She supposed there was no harm in socialising with the people she was sharing a floor with, in fact; it was something that she knew she needed to do. Knowing the people who were living nearby was important and she understood that the best way to get to know who was who was by socialising with them. And anyway...Natsuki went out drinking with Nao. There wasn't really much difference, so perhaps the blunette would be ok with it...
"Where's the fun in that?" Anh protested, rather vigorously too. Shizuru chuckled,
"I don't think that you need alcohol to have a good time" Anh sighed and waved her hand slightly to dismiss the comment,
"I guess you're right," Her expression turned somewhat mischievous before she continued, "As long as there's pretty girls, I'm sure we'll have plenty of fun, alcohol or not" She winked and Shizuru couldn't help but chuckle again.
Mai fought the urge to poke her blue haired friend, who was currently staring absently at the mass of homework before her. The scene was somewhat similar to the one they'd been in a week earlier and Mai found herself thinking similar thoughts.
Her questioning the night before had yielded no results but she figured that she might be able to get some information out of the biker now that the older girl had slept on it. Just as she was about to speak up though, the blunette's phone rang out loudly and the older girl swiftly grabbed it and placed it next to her ear,
"Hey Shizuru" Natsuki moved away from her nosey roommate and headed out of the apartment so she could have some privacy. Mai would no doubt question her when she got back, but she would deal with that later.
"Ara, Natsuki looked at her caller ID for a change" Shizuru's cheerful voice, which usually lifted her mood, only made the uneasy feeling in her stomach worsen slightly,
"Yeah..." She felt awkward for some reason and she wasn't sure what to say,
"Are you okay Natsuki? You sound stressed" She cursed Shizuru's perceptiveness. How could the older girl possibly had deduced that she was stressed from a single word? She quickly thought of a plausible excuse,
"Yeah, I'm just sick of homework" She forced a chuckle past her lips and hoped that the Kyoto born would buy her justification.
"Well, at least you only have one more week of extra classes" The slight lilt in Shizuru's voice made Natsuki doubt that the older girl had really believed her words, but apparently she wasn't going to push the matter, much to her relief.
They talked about various random and pointless things for a while before Natsuki finally managed to ask the question she'd been holding in since the conversation started,
"How are things going with your flatmate?" She couldn't even bring herself to say Anh's name and it irritated her,
"Better" Shizuru laughed lightly "Lu-san is actually quite funny once you get used to her" That answer did not make Natsuki feel any better at all, but she tried to shove the negative thoughts to the back of her mind. She should be glad that Shizuru was getting on with Anh, and she decided to give playing the 'supportive girlfriend' a try,
"I'm glad that you're getting on well" Much to her further irritation her voice betrayed how she really felt about it and she cringed,
"No you're not" Shizuru's tone was light and amused, which confused the younger girl; why would the Kyoto born think her comment was humorous? She wasn't trying to be funny; she was trying to be supportive. With a slight frown she ignored her girlfriend's amusement and spoke again,
"I am. I want you to get on with the people you're living with" She was being somewhat honest; she did want Shizuru to be friends with the people she was sharing a living space with, to a certain extent...she just didn't want them to get too friendly.
"So Natsuki won't mind if I go out tomorrow with Lu-san?" The older girl's earlier amused tone suddenly made sense to the biker; Shizuru was trying to keep the conversation light, knowing that this revelation may be an issue. In truth, she couldn't deny the unpleasant feeling this knowledge gave her, but she once again tried her best to ignore it. Shizuru shouldn't have to ask her about this, and she certainly shouldn't be worried about doing so.
"No, I don't mind" She lied, relieved that her voice sounded normal this time "Um...have fun" She felt bad for lying to the older girl of course, but she was determined not to make Shizuru feel like she couldn't have a good time.
"Ookini" The Kyoto born paused for a moment before speaking up again, "Would you like to come round for a while in the day? I'd like to see My Natsuki before she is taken away from me by her evil studies" Natsuki had to admit that when Shizuru said silly things like that it did cheer up. She laughed a little,
"Sure, um...about 1ish?" Shizuru made a sound of agreement and they then moved onto other topics. Natsuki found out that Shizuru's other flatmate hadn't yet made an appearance, which set her on edge somewhat; she would have felt better knowing that Shizuru wasn't in the apartment on her own with Anh. But, there was nothing she could do about it. Soon enough their conversation came to an end,
"Alright, good luck with your studies, I love you" Shizuru's words of love didn't sound quite as happy as they had previously, which bothered Natsuki and she hoped that she wasn't doing anything to make the older girl worry. She made sure that her response held as much emotion and sincerity as she could muster,
"I love you too" She wasn't quite able to decide how well she'd done with that endeavour, she just hoped that it had been enough to settle any misgivings the older girl might be having. With the phone call ended her mind instantly drifted to the fact that Shizuru would be going out drinking with Anh...not that it should matter but... she shook her head, she trusted Shizuru. Nothing was going to happen.
She headed back into the apartment and Mai's curious gaze was upon her instantly.
She pointedly ignored her friend and made a conscious effort to look busy with her homework, rifling through the papers as she lay on her bed, propped up by her elbows. Annoyingly, it took Mai mere seconds to disregard her 'busy' status,
"Everything alright Natsuki?" The blunette's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly. She hated to admit it, but Mai just had a way of making her talk...she could already feel the invisible strings pulling words from her throat. It was something about the younger girl's voice she presumed...or maybe it was the irritating way she always looked so willing to help...
"I'm fine" She replied curtly, hoping that the red head would just drop the matter and leave her be,
"Liar" No such luck apparently "It's something to do with Kaichou-san's flatmates right?" How in the hell did the girl manage to do that? How could she have possibly known what was bothering her? It wasn't like she had complained bitterly about Anh or anything...though now she looked back on it, her comments had been somewhat...lacking. And her blunt refusal to talk about it the night before had probably given the red head a large hint.
"Actually, she only has one flatmate at the minute" She corrected, while at the same time ignoring Mai's question. She knew it was pointless to do so but she was going to make things as difficult as she could for her roommate.
"Oh...well, what's she called?" Natsuki raised an eyebrow at the seemingly strange question,
"Why does her name matter?"
"Because I can hardly keep saying 'Kaichou-san's flatmate' can I?" Mai smirked, which earned her an eye roll from the older girl. Sensing defeat, Natsuki sighed,
"Anh Lu...Lu is her family name I think" She added, while idly twirling her pen with her fingers, her eyes downcast, staring at her still untouched homework.
"Ok... Do you miss Kaichou-san?" The off topic question took Natsuki by surprise and she turned to give her friend a quizzical look. Mai looked fairly sincere about her question, but Natsuki knew better; the red head was trying to catch her off guard,
"Don't be stupid. I only saw her yesterday" Her tone clearly held suspicion but Mai didn't seem to react to it,
"Well, you know, they say that absence makes the heart grow stronger" The busty girl practically sing-songed, much to the biker's annoyance,
"That's great and all, but it's not that Shizuru's at university that's bothering me" She cringed as the sentence left her mouth,
"Aha! So you admit that something is bothering you?" Mai grinned, which was a little out of place considering she'd just gotten her friend to admit that something was wrong. She quickly sobered and gave Natsuki a soft smile, "Come on, what's going on? You've been miserable all day"
"It's nothi..."
"Stop trying to be all tough and spill!" Mai insisted and Natsuki finally gave up. Maybe the younger girl could help settle her worries.
"Shizuru's flatmate...Lu...she's..." She couldn't think of an adequate word to describe the troublesome brunette. Mai waited patiently for her to finish her sentence but after a moment she decided to suggest something,
"Threatening?" The way the older girl flinched ever so slightly let her known that this was indeed a correct assumption. She knew that admitting she felt threatened was not something that came easily to the ice princess and she gave her friend a reassuring look, "You trust Kaichou-san right?" She received a nod in response, "Then what are you worrying about?" Natsuki sighed,
"It's not Shizuru I'm worried about. I trust her, but I don't trust Lu" She clarified, and Mai found herself wondering just what kind of person this 'Anh Lu' was.
"Worried about the flatmate putting the moves on your woman?" The unexpected voice made both girls jump slightly and they both snapped their heads to the side to see Mikoto and a very amused looking Yuuki Nao. The two reclining teens had been so focused on their conversation that they hadn't heard the apartment door open/close.
"Yuuki! What the hell are you doing here?" Natsuki snapped, feeling thoroughly embarrassed at being caught talking about something that she considered to be a serious weakness of hers.
"Relax Kuga, Mikoto invited me in" Nao smirked before plastering a mostly uninterested look on her face, "What's up with you and Fujino?" Natsuki blinked at her for a moment...as did Mai. Feeling somewhat self-conscious she eyed the two for a moment before speaking "What?" Natsuki was the first to snap out of it,
"I'm just not used to you actually calling Shizuru by her name" There was a genuine smile on the biker's lips and it made Nao feel slightly embarrassed for some reason. Before her embarrassment became noticeable she quickly diverted the attention back to Natsuki,
"Whatever. You must have done something wrong if you're worried she might stray" She said offhandedly, which had the desired effect as Natsuki immediately sat up on her bed and shot her a glare,
"What? I didn't do anything!" She protested loudly. Nao sneered at her, feeling much better now that the older girl wasn't smiling nicely at her,
"You sure? You're pretty stupid" She goaded, ignoring the reprimanding stare Mai was giving her,
"Are nuns supposed to insult people?" The blunette teased, which made Nao's sneer falter. Before she could even think of a retort though Mai spoke up,
"Natsuki, Nao-chan, please" Natsuki laughed,
"Yeah, Nao-chaaaaaan" The younger red head growled and grabbed the first object she could find, which happened to be a nearby lamp, and proceeded to lunge at the still snickering biker, intent on beating her over the head with her newly acquired weapon.
A few minutes later and the apartment was calm once more.
Fortunately, Natsuki hadn't suffered any serious injuries thanks to Mai's quick reflexes. The busty girl had grabbed the chord of the lamp, yanking it out of Nao's hands, thus removing the red heads advantage. Her actions, followed by some reprimanding words had settled the two arguing 'friends'.
The two delinquents were now sat on the couch, arms crossed and looking away from each other like a couple of 5 year olds. Mai had left them to 'sort things out' and was currently pottering away in the kitchen with Mikoto, no doubt making the spiky haired girl something to eat.
After a minute or two of intense silence Nao decided to give up on trying to annoy Natsuki by ignoring her and instead pulled out her nail file, knowing full well that the scratching sound it made against her nail's would grate on the biker's nerves.
Sure enough, mere seconds later, Natsuki's eyebrow started to twitch at the incessant scraping noise. How the hell did Nao even have any nails left with the amount of time she spent filing the damn things? It was ridiculous...and stupid...and utterly pointless...and damn annoying!
"Will you cut it out!" She barked and received a chuckle in response, though Nao did put the nail file away. With a slight huff Natsuki turned her attention back to the other side of the room, where she had been looking earlier, her arms still folded across her chest.
"Is she hot?" Nao asked a few seconds later, throwing Natsuki completely,
"What?" Nao fought the urge to laugh at the confused expression the older girl gave her and instead elaborated,
"The flatmate. Is she hot?" The blunette regarded her for a second, apparently searching her face for something that would explain the weird enquiry. A slight smirk appeared on Natsuki lips and she laughed quietly, her previous annoyance with the red head having disappeared,
"What, do you want me to hook you up with her or something?" Nao scowled, she didn't know why she ever bothered trying to help the stupid almost-second-year student sometimes.
"No, I'm not a massive gay like you" Amusingly this comment brought a slight blush to Natsuki's cheeks, "I quite like co..."
"Nao-Chan!" Mai yelled from the kitchen, causing the younger red head to cackle loudly and shoot the busty girl a mischievous look.
"Anyway" She continued, turned back to face Natsuki, "I was asking because if she's a dog you don't have anything to worry about" The older girl wasn't sure what to make of that comment. It definitely proved what she already knew; Nao was all about looks when it came to 'relationships', not that the brash girl was interested in such things of course.
But, beyond that, it could also sound like a compliment if you read between the lines... Nao was insinuating that Shizuru wouldn't be with somebody unless they were 'hot', which by association, meant that she considered the biker to be just that.
Surely that wasn't what Nao meant though, and Natsuki promptly discarded that thought in favour of actually thinking about the red head's question. It didn't take her long to answer,
"That's the problem, she isn't ugly at all...and she's a massive flirt...and I'm pretty sure she was just teasing us the entire time...and the very first word she said was 'ara'...and, damn it she's just like Shizuru!" This realisation hit her over the head so suddenly she almost physically felt the impact. Nao found Natsuki's exasperated rant to be rather humorous and as such, she decided to laugh, much to the blunette's annoyance. Once she'd calmed down she spoke with a disinterested tone,
"What are you worried about then?" This earned her another frown,
"Have you been listening at all?" Maybe having this conversation with Nao wasn't the best idea,
"Yeah, you said that she's just like the Kyoto witch" She promptly ignored the older girl's scowl and continued "Nobody wants to date themselves do they?" Now seriously regretting her decision to tell the red head what was going on, Natsuki decided to subtly shift the focus away from herself,
"That doesn't even make sense! And anyway, who made you the queen of relationship advice? Child whore" She then very quickly jumped of the couch and away from the younger girl, who growled dangerously before lunging after her,
"Get back here Kuga!" Needless to say Mai was soon involved in another 'fight' between the aggressive pair.
Natsuki trudged up her third set of stairs, grumbling quietly to herself as her thighs complained against the exercise. She was quite a fit person but these damn stairs just took the biscuit. Seriously, would it have been too much trouble to just install a lift? She rounded the corner and started to traipse up the fourth set, ignoring the lanky boy who smiled at her as he walked in the opposite direction.
'Just two more sets to go...come oooon' She was on her way to see Shizuru and her stomach was turning in a mix of excitement and anxiety. She really didn't want to see Anh, but it was inevitable if she wanted to see Shizuru, and she had already decided to at least try and not punch the woman in the face. She doubted that Shizuru would approve of her beating her flatmate into a bloody pulp. She just hoped that the brunette didn't do anything to severely piss her off.
By the time she reached the final set of stairs she was practically dragging herself up them by the handrail, cursing her girlfriend for living on the top floor. Her legs felt a little wobbly due to the exertion as she walked down the corridors towards Shizuru's room. The halls were almost eerily quiet in comparison to the last time she'd been here and she idly hoped that she was on the right floor.
She easily found Shizuru's door though, and for some reason, she paused outside it. She stared at the faded wood for a moment, before shaking her head to rid herself of the sudden bout of nervousness and knocking loudly, shuffling her feel a little while she waited.
She was thrown off when she wasn't greeted by Shizuru, but Anh, who was smiling mischievously at her. Before she could say anything though Shizuru appeared next to the brunette, looking slightly flustered but also mildly amused.
"Well hello there Kuga-san, to what do we owe the pleasure?" The tall woman stood in the doorway, her arms braced against the doorframe, preventing Natsuki from entering the apartment. Her eyes trailed across Natsuki's body before returning to her face "I have a thing for uniforms you know" She winked, much to the blunette's annoyance.
She quickly reminded herself that she'd said she wouldn't do anything violent.
She shifted her gaze between Anh and Shizuru, slightly confused and also a little worried. Why was the violet eyed girl not letting her in? And why had she answered the door when Shizuru knew that she was on her way over? Unsure what to say she stood there awkwardly, fighting the urge to tug at her skirt after Anh's comment. Thankfully the Shizuru came to her rescue,
"Lu-san, would you let Natsuki in please?" Or at least she tried to; annoyingly, Anh didn't budge,
"Ara, I do believe that you're forgetting our deal are you not?" The brunette spoke over her shoulder, where Shizuru gave her a pointed look,
"I didn't agree to anything" Shizuru said, shooting Natsuki what looked like an apologetic smile...why was she apologising?
"Doesn't matter. I got to the door first, which means I get to kiss the person on the other side" Anh grinned smugly, which caused a deep frown to form on the blunette's face,
"Not gunna happen" She said curtly, her fingers twitching ever so slightly in agitation,
"You two are so boring" Anh complained with a slight pout before sighing and moving away from the doorway, heading back into the apartment and leaving the couple alone at the entrance. Shizuru smiled warmly at the biker, who despite her somewhat sour mood, couldn't help but return it.
"Would Natsuki give me a kiss for coming second?" Shizuru asked with a slightly amused tone, though she was being entirely serious. The younger girl rolled her eyes at the request; she should've expected such a thing from her girlfriend really. With a quick glance down the hallway to make sure that they wouldn't have an audience, she leaned towards the older girl. Shizuru instantly wrapped her arms around Natsuki's neck, pulling her in and capturing her lips.
It took the blunette a mere second to decide that she had missed this, and she placed her hands on the older girl's waist, holding there. She idly wondered how Shizuru had gotten so good at kissing...and then quickly decided that she didn't want to know.
"Oh come on! You pair of teases!" The voice made the two break apart and they stared at its owner; Anh, who evidently hadn't made it far into the apartment and was currently stood in front of her bedroom door, a slight pout still gracing her features.
Natsuki glared at the brunette, ignoring the blush that spread across her cheeks, and tightened her hold on Shizuru's hips slightly.
The Kyoto born sighed and leant her head against Natsuki's shoulder for a moment before pulling away and moving further into the apartment, glancing over her shoulder at Natsuki with a look that clearly told her to follow. The blunette quickly obeyed, though she made sure to close the apartment door first.
The pair then walked past Anh and disappeared into the chestnut haired girl's bedroom, where Shizuru promptly closed and locked her door.
"Do I need to turn my music up?" Anh's voice sounded through the apartment, causing Natsuki's blush to deepen as she understood what the woman was insinuating. Shizuru answered with an uncharacteristically blunt 'No' before moving over to her bed and perching herself on the end of it.
Her eyes easily found Natsuki's moments later and she succeeded in drawing the girl towards her with an alluring smile and a soft tone,
"Come here" As soon as Natsuki was close enough Shizuru reached out, wrapped her arms around the girl's waist and tugged, effectively pulling the biker into her lap. The action had been unexpected, and as such it took the younger girl a moment to figure out what had happened.
She glanced down at her body and noted that she was now sat astride Shizuru, her knees cushioned by the soft duvet covering the older girl's bed...then she noticed that her current position had caused her skirt to ride up dangerously high. Her cheeks flushed madly in response to their intimate position and the state of her clothing and she struggled against her girlfriend, trying to free herself from the Kyoto born's hold,
"Shi-Shizuru! What are you doing?" Shizuru was a lot stronger than she looked though, and she held the blunette in place with ease.
"I thought that Natsuki might want to rest her legs after walking up all those stairs" Shizuru replied in a sweet tone that didn't comfort the younger girl whatsoever. After a couple more seconds of struggling though, Natsuki realised that the only thing her thrashing achieved was rubbing herself up against the older girl, something that in her current position probably wasn't a very good idea.
She stilled her body and sighed, her cheeks still tinted deep red as she refused to look at Shizuru's face,
"I could have rested my legs on the bed you know" She said, trying to sound less embarrassed than she was and failing miserably,
"Oh? But Natsuki's legs are on the bed are they not?" The blunette scowled slightly; technically, Shizuru was right. She stayed silent for a long while, her blush slowly fading as she relaxed. Shizuru's arms were still wound tightly around her waist, and once her embarrassment had died down somewhat, she actually found that their embrace wasn't so bad. It was still a little shocking just how natural it felt to be held by the Kyoto born, but she was slowly getting used to it.
After a few more moments of inactivity she chanced a look at the older girl's face and was shocked to find that a faint blush adorned the ex-Kaichou's cheeks. Crimson eyes bore into her and she felt a familiar heat quickly return to her face.
Shizuru's blush had been caused by her girlfriend's movements, and while her original intention had been to simply hold the younger girl she now found that she wanted more than that. She wasn't sure if it was purely because of Natsuki's actions or if maybe not seeing the girl for a few days had caused her need to seem more intense. She also had an inkling that spending so much time around Anh was affecting her mind, the brunette did enjoy making sexual jokes and such like.
The cause wasn't really important though; the Kyoto born just wanted to figure out the best way to deal with her sudden surge of desire. Natsuki had said that it was alright for her to touch hadn't she? So, would it be alright for her to touch now? She stared into emerald eyes, trying to discern what the girl was thinking.
Shizuru's eyes were swirling with emotion and Natsuki found herself getting lost in the older girl's intense gaze. She could see affection there, but there was also slight anxiety and something else that she couldn't quite place. It was the lack of amusement that really caught her attention though. She very rarely saw Shizuru's expression completely void of some form of amusement and she wondered if she should be worried by its absence.
Owing to the strange atmosphere she could feel surrounding them she couldn't find her voice to ask the girl if she was alright, instead she continued to watch the Kyoto born's face intently. Shizuru seemed to be surveying her own expression and she wondered what the girl would be able to see there.
After a moment, she felt Shizuru's hands move. Intense crimson continued to flit across her face as if searching for something and Natsuki found herself unable to look away. Her heart started to pound with a little more force as the older girl's hands slowly slid down her back.
When Shizuru's hands paused in their decent the biker somehow got the girl's message and lifted her arms to wrap around the Kyoto born's neck, therefore holding herself steady and eliminating the risk of her falling off the girl's lap.
With that taken care of, the older girl's hands started to move again. They leisurely made their way across Natsuki's hips, travelling around the hem of her jacket before dipping underneath and brushing up her sides through the fabric of her hooded top. When they reached her ribs they slid around to her back, fingertips pressing into the material as they trailed down her spine.
Natsuki shivered as she felt slight pressure against the small of her back, and by the time Shizuru's hands had traced along the waistband of her skirt her breathing was shaky and she was sure that the temperature of the room had shot up.
Before the heat made her uncomfortable, Shizuru raised her hands, sliding them underneath her jacket at the shoulder and lifting the material until it fell down her back. The biker released each of her arms from her sleeves, the clothing falling to floor in a crumpled pile before she returned to her previous position.
She felt hands on her sides again, their stroking motions feather light, only just passing through her thin clothing and onto her skin. Despite the very slight pressure Shizuru was applying, Natsuki could feel the heat radiating from the older girl's palms, warming her own skin further.
Her breathing hitched when Shizuru's fingers slipped underneath her hooded top to press against her stomach lightly, tracing random patterns and sending another bout of small tremors through her muscles. Her breathing started to accelerate and she knew that her cheeks would be flushed.
Throughout all their movements, Shizuru's eyes hadn't left her face for a second. Natsuki was sure that the crimson gaze had gotten more intense, if only slightly, and she wondered what was going through the girl's mind. She also noticed that each of Shizuru's breaths were unsteady, the quiet, shaky exhales brushed against her face, occasionally stirring cobalt strands.
The older girl's hands crept across her bare skin, mapping its surface and leaving a trail of goose bumps where ever they went. Fingertips felt slightly cool against her heated skin and she tightened her hold around Shizuru's neck as they traced along her ribs.
The Kyoto born's left hand retreated from the confines of her top and moved up to cup her cheek. She used the pad of her thumb to trace Natsuki's lips, her eyes following the movement. Before long her thumb was replaced by her lips and she dragged them lightly across the area.
Natsuki was stunned by the action, the feel of Shizuru's lips just barely brushing against her own was unusual and new, though certainly not unpleasant. She didn't move, she could barely breathe, and her mind was quickly becoming useless. It was as if Shizuru had woven some sort of spell on her and she wouldn't have been able to break free if she'd wanted to.
After what felt like hours Shizuru's lips finally pressed more firmly against her own, though their pressure was still light, their movements slow and subtle. The pace was difficult to for Natsuki to match but she soon forgot about it all together in favour of tracking the older girl's hands as they continued to explore her skin.
While Shizuru's left hand returned to its previous position and resumed its explorations of her stomach and back, her right dropped down to play with the material of her skirt for a moment. This caught Natsuki's full attention and her heart beat raced, pulsing in her ears and drowning out any other sounds.
The slight pressure she could feel through her skirt soon drifted lower, slowly trailing downwards until it met the exposed skin of her left thigh. Her breath caught in her throat as Shizuru stroked along the bare skin, her palm brushing downwards all the way to her knee before moving back up again just as slowly.
The older girl's left hand soon copied the action on her other thigh and Natsuki felt her body temperature rise dramatically. Whatever Shizuru was doing, it was seriously having an effect on her body. Her mind felt hazy and her heart was thumping violently in her chest, she couldn't even remember how they had ended up doing this in the first place.
Shizuru was struggling to control herself, something that she often found herself doing when in such close proximity to the younger girl. She was determined not to make the same mistake she'd made the week before though, even if Natsuki had said that she hadn't done anything wrong.
She wasn't going to rush anything, and she was paying as much attention as she could to Natsuki's reactions to her gentle caresses; if she sensed any sort of uneasiness from the blunette she would stop. So far though, she hadn't felt anything that would suggest the girl was uncomfortable. So, she continued her motions.
Her hands, which were still slowly stroking the younger girl's thighs, gained more confidence as she moved them upwards once more, this time her fingertips applied more pressure and she felt Natsuki's breathing against her face intensify slightly. Their lips were still only lightly touching and the older girl was growing tired of their current pace.
She pressed against Natsuki's lips more firmly and after a few moments, swept her tongue out to deepen the kiss further. While she kept the younger girl's mind occupied with the movements of her mouth, her fingertips slid under her skirt, barely past the first knuckle, but she was sure that Natsuki had noticed as the hold around her neck tightened.
She waited for the blunette to relax before moving again, though her fingers twitched from time to time, eager to explore more of the smooth skin. When she was sure that Natsuki was alright, she used her fingertips to stroke higher, moving upwards along the biker's outer thigh until she met the material of her underwear.
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears and struggled to control her breathing so as not to break the kiss. She traced along the lacy material, following it around the girl's leg before shifting her hands and cupping her behind gently.
Natsuki jumped ever so slightly and broke their kiss to gasp. Shizuru kept her hands still, her eyes searching Natsuki's face a little nervously. The younger girl kept her eyes closed, her face covered in a deep blush and her breathing irregular. The Kyoto born noted that her own breathing was a little erratic but paid it no heed.
Tentatively, she squeezed the flesh in her hands, earning her another gasp as the girl's eyebrows furrowed slightly. As much as she wanted to watch Natsuki's face, there were other things calling out for her attention, such as the soft skin of the biker's neck.
She planted a series of feather light kisses along the blunette's jaw line, and then down her neck until she felt the younger girl's pulse beneath her lips. She let her breath tickle the skin for a moment before pressing her lips against the sensitive spot and sucked on it gently. Natsuki released a sharp gasp and the older girl felt her arousal start to climb.
In response to the wave of heat that rolled through her body, she tightened the hold she had on Natsuki's backside, inadvertently pulling their hips closer together and sending an unexpected jolt of pleasure through her system. She released a gasp of her own and struggled to keep her hips still, knowing that she would easily get swept away by her mounting desire if she got too distracted by the needs of her own body.
She returned her attention to the patch of skin she had been working on previously, her tongue pressing against it and her teeth occasionally nipping at the flesh, pulling more gasps from Natsuki's throat, which did not help with her arousal.
She really started to struggle to control herself when the blunette began to squirm slightly, she could feel every slight twitch in the younger girl's body as it pressed against her own and she knew that she was going to have do something about it if she wanted to keep her sanity.
She removed her hands from under Natsuki's skirt, though she wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or not when the pressure against her pelvis lessened slightly. She quickly distracted herself by letting her right hand wander underneath the blunette's top again, her fingers trekking up the plane of the girl's stomach to find the material of her bra. Her other hand rested on an exposed thigh, the pad of her thumb rubbing in small circles against the skin.
Her mouth left its position on the biker's neck, and she trailed kisses wherever she could as she made her way back up to the younger girl's lips, which she swiftly captured with her own while her fingers played with the lacy material in their grasp.
The way Natsuki's gasped into her mouth as she traced along the cup of the bra made her head spin and she couldn't restrain a soft moan in response to it. After exploring the bra a little while longer she gathered her nerves and cupped the girl's breast gently, delighting in the way it fit perfectly in her hand.
Natsuki's chest heaved under her touch and Shizuru was forced to pull out of the kiss to facilitate the younger girl's accelerated breathing. She waited a moment before squeezing the mound cautiously, pulling a quite moan from the blunette's throat that sent a bout of tremors through the older girl's body.
With the assurance that the younger girl was enjoying her touch, her ministrations slowly became more firm and confident. She watched Natsuki's face as the girl tried to suppress her reactions, her jaw was now clenched shut to prevent any moans from spilling past her lips, but Shizuru could still hear the muted sounds as they reverberated through her throat.
Her need to feel the biker's skin started to overwhelm her again, but as she moved her hand with the intention of slipping it inside the girl's bra and loud bang broke through the tension of the room, making both girls jump and immediately still all movement.
"I'm going to the shop, you two want anything?" Anh's voice questioned through the bedroom door, at which Shizuru promptly glared in frustration. She gathered herself as much as she could, and in the best polite voice she could muster, spoke,
"No, we're ok" Realising that her response was a bit too curt coming from her, she added "Ookini for asking though"
"You sure? What about you Kuga-san?" Shizuru glanced at her girlfriend, whose face was tomato red, her eye's showing something akin to mild panic, and quickly tried to think of something to say to prevent her girlfriend from dying of embarrassment. She wasn't fast enough though and the need to say something made Natsuki squeak out,
"I-I'm fine too!" An awkward silence followed, during in which both girl's held their breath as they waited for Anh to say something. After a couple of seconds, that felt like minutes, the brunette finally spoke up,
"Well, I already knew that" The woman's light laughter was muted because of the door, but was still clearly audible. Shizuru got the feeling that Anh knew she'd interrupted something, which would no doubt lead to a rather embarrassing conversation later on, but apparently she wasn't going to say anything now. Instead she uttered a quick "I won't be long!" and the sound of the apartment door opening and closing soon folowed.
The chestnut haired girl sighed in slight irritation, not even bothering to hide it since she was in Natsuki's presence. That was the second time she'd been interrupted just before things really got good! Ok, so maybe the last time it had probably been for the best, but still!
First Natsuki's mobile phone and now Anh...perhaps she should just lob the younger girl's phone at the brunette's head, you know, kill two birds with one stone? Harsh? She was frustrated damn it!
"Shizuru?" The slightly amused voice of the girl still sat in her lap pulled her out of her thoughts and she looked at Natsuki's face. She hadn't been expecting the blunette to find that situation even the slightest bit funny, so her amusement was somewhat confusing. She raised her eyebrow at the still deeply blushing girl, who smiled at her,
"It's kind of weird to see you glaring like that" Natsuki chuckled lightly and Shizuru pouted, though she was actually extremely glad that the younger girl was acting this way, she'd thought that things would have been awkward for quite a bit longer, but the girl's amusement had easily broken the tension surrounding them.
"Natsuki ikezu! Calling me weird" Natsuki merely chuckled again before moving out of their embrace. Shizuru let her go; the moment was gone now anyway.
Now settled on the bed with Shizuru behind her, an arm draped over stomach, Natsuki tried to focus on the DVD they were meant to be watching. She soon decided that she was fighting a losing battle though and gave into the thoughts swimming around her head.
Shizuru seemed to be getting on with Anh pretty well... very well in fact, and the biker found that she wasn't sure how to feel about it. She'd thought that her girlfriend getting on with the flirtatious brunette would make her angry and possibly cause her to act negatively towards Shizuru. But, while their friendship did set her on edge somewhat, she wasn't reacting to it quite as violently as she'd been expecting.
Shizuru had shown no interest in anything but her since she'd arrived at the apartment and had all but dismissed the brunette completely. The Kyoto born had clearly shown who she would rather spend her time with.
So while thinking about Anh didn't exactly call up any positive emotions, she no longer felt as threatened by the woman. Although, she did acknowledge that her mind may not be working properly just yet. She could still be suffering the after effects of Shizuru's intimate actions...if one could really call it 'suffering'.
And, she knew that her feelings on the matter may well change if she was actually in the presence of the older woman. But, for now she was content ...except for one thing that was bothering her a little.
Shizuru was going out later...with Anh...to a bar. While she did feel a bit more secure, the thought of Shizuru getting drunk with the tall brunette didn't exactly fill her with confident thoughts. And, it wasn't as if she only had Anh to worry about. They would be in a bar, full of drunken students who probably wanted nothing more than to get in to someone's pants.
She couldn't get out of the vicious circle of thoughts. No matter how many times she told herself that she trusted Shizuru, her mind always reminded her that even if that was the case, she couldn't trust the other people that the Kyoto born would be with. And, as she'd previously acknowledged; alcohol made people do things that they wouldn't usually.
She unconsciously shifted backwards a little, moving herself closer to the older girl,
"Natsuki?"
"Hmm?" She cringed when the clearly distracted response left her mouth and hoped that Shizuru would attribute it to her being immersed in the film... whatever it was.
"Are you alright?" The Kyoto born had lifted herself up slightly so she could see the side of Natsuki's face. The blunette cursed her mind for making her think negative thoughts,
"What time are you going out?"She was thankful that her voice sounded completely normal and didn't betray the fact that she was actually dreading leaving the apartment.
"In about 2 hours I think" Shizuru sounded a little distracted herself and Natsuki turned her head so she could see the Kyoto born in the corner of her eye,
"Okay...don't, um..." She struggled with her words, fighting with herself over whether to say something or not. Much to her confusion, Shizuru giggled,
"Natsuki" Her name was uttered softly, rather close to her ear "You don't need to worry about me getting too drunk, I'm not even planning on drinking" The biker released a breath she hadn't even realised she'd been holding and felt herself relax somewhat. She didn't even bother wondering how Shizuru had managed to figure out what she was trying to say, it was just one of those things that the older girl could do.
"Oh" She muttered, actually feeling a lot better with that piece of information in mind.
"Anyway, I don't think we will be out very long. Lu-san went out last night and was back in a hour" Shizuru paused to laugh lightly "She got so drunk that two of the boys from our floor had to drag her up the stairs" The mental image was enough to make Natsuki laugh lightly despite herself. 'Hah! Not so smooth now are you Lu!'
"Those guys must have wanted something...there's no way in hell I would drag anyone up those stairs. Getting up them myself is bad enough" The biker said with a smirk,
"Ara, so Natsuki wouldn't help me up the stairs if I were drunk?" Shizuru had intended for her voice to convey some sort of faked sadness, but she was in too much of a good mood to really pull it off. Cuddling with Natsuki seemed to have that effect on her.
"You wouldn't ask for help anyway" Natsuki scoffed before continuing in an amused tone, "You wouldn't want to tarnish your perfect image, would you Kaichou-sama?" Shizuru swatted the younger girl's shoulder, which just got the girl to laugh lightly,
"If it meant that I got to hold onto my Natsuki I would" She tightened her hold on the biker, pressing their bodies further together to back up her point. She then snuggled her face into blue hair and sighed happily, a smile tugging at her lips. Natsuki just chuckled at the predictable response, knowing all too well that it was the truth.
She didn't feel the need to question the Kyoto born any further now, her anxiety having settled for the most part. She knew it wouldn't last but she was more than willing to make the most of any reprieve she got from the incessant worrying she'd been doing for the past couple of days.
She would deal with her issues pertaining to the violet eyed woman later; right now she was perfectly happy to enjoy watching a DVD with Shizuru's arms wrapped protectively around her.
Natsuki sped down the streets of Fuuka, enjoying the way her surroundings seemed to blur together as her bike speedily carried her towards the school dorms.
She'd spent the past half hour since leaving Shizuru's apartment just riding around town, something that she hadn't done in quite some time. She knew that she really needed to get back and finish up her homework, but she'd sincerely missed the adrenaline rush she got when riding her bike like this.
She fought the urge to make her way to the winding roads by the ocean, knowing full well that she would end up a familiar cliff and spend far too much time there. Besides, she only really visited the place she felt closest to her mother when her thoughts were particularly morbid, and right now, she was trying her hardest to stay positive.
So, with that in mind, she took the quickest route back to the dorms...maybe breaking a few speed related laws on her way.
The walk from where she kept her bike to her dorm room wasn't long, but it felt longer than it was due to the cold air, darkness and complete silence that surrounded her. She frowned when she came across the stairs leading to her room; she was developing a real hatred for steps. She made quick work of them though and soon found herself opening the apartment door.
She was met with glorious warmth and the smell of cooking ramen that made her mouth water. She made her way to the kitchen, where Mai greeted her with a wide smile,
"Hey, how's Kaichou-san?" Natsuki shrugged in her usual aloof manner,
"She's ok" Mai eyed the older girl in slight disbelief...Natsuki didn't seem to be as wound up as she had earlier that day, in fact, she seemed pretty laid back. She wondered if her blue haired friend had actually decided that she had nothing to worry about with Shizuru, which didn't really seem like a very Natsuki thing to do...at least not in such a short space of time. But, she wasn't going to complain, since as far as she was concerned, the blunette didn't have anything to worry about.
Natsuki plopped down onto the couch beside Mikoto, who was constantly looking over to the kitchen, no doubt eager to devour Mai's cooking. The blunette had to admit that she was looking forward to the meal herself, she hadn't realised how hungry she was but the smell of food had quickly woke her stomach.
While she waited for the food to be ready she played on the Xbox with Mikoto for a while, trying to relax as much as possible. Her priorities for the night were as follows; Eat, homework, sleep. And certainly no worrying about Shizuru and Anh...or anyone else for that matter. She trusted the Kyoto born and that was that. She had nothing to worry about.
Natsuki furrowed her brows in confusion and irritation and an annoying sound pulled her from the abyss of sleep. She groaned, it couldn't possibly be morning already! She opened one eye ever so slightly and saw that it was still dark. A quick glance at the digital clock let her know that it was just after 3am. So, no, it wasn't morning.
As her mind slowly regained focus she recognised the noise as her mobile phone ringing and scowled; who the hell would be ringing at this time of the night? 'It better not be Yuuki or I'm going to seriously pummel her'
She waited for a moment, deciding whether or not to answer it, and idly hoping that her delay in doing so would make whoever it was give up. No such luck though as the device continued to assault her ears. When Mai grumbled Natsuki figured that she should probably just answer it. And so, after a short amount of searching, she held the device up to see who was calling; Shizuru.
She frowned deeply and her heart palpitated violently in her chest. Why would the Kyoto born be phoning her at 3 in the morning? It gave her uneasy feeling and she swallowed, her mouth suddenly feeling dry. Hesitantly, she answered the call,
"Shizuru?"
"Natsuki...I...Kanin...Kanin na" Shizuru was crying.
AN: I was ill and sleep deprived when I wrote half of this so I apologise if it's crammed full of mistakes/doesn't make sense *headdesk*
It really amused me to see that quite a few of you were genuinely worried that I would make Shizuru's other flatmate be Tomoe... how evil do you think I am?...although, the other flatmate is still illusive so who knows ;)
Reviews/concrit is always welcome and thanks for reading :) Till next time,
~IlliterateKoi~
