Because I've never watched '10 things I Hate about You', and probably never will.


Nao-chan has been back for a week now…She wasn't in the greatest of moods when she came back for practice. I mean, sure, she was nailing each spike and winning every practice game, but there are only so many club members I can send to the nurse's office at one time! That girl will not calm down! And to top it all off, the annual summer school festival and competition is coming up! Someone needs to fix that girl, and fast!


10 things I hate about You


A smack echoed throughout the gym as yet another ball met harshly with the polished floor. Kidou Shimizu ran over to Nao's partner and shook her, "H-hey! Kaori! Wake up!" The girl who had swirls in her eyes let herself be shaken silly by the desperate volley ball captain.

Nao sighed before walking over to the bench, her breathing labored, and sitting down. She draped a towel over her shoulders before taking a drink of water. Shimizu was handing her partner off to another member to be carried to the nurse's office. The ball bounced from the girl's hands with such a force that she fell backwards, rendering her in her current state.

Shaking her head, Shimizu turned to look at Nao, who was currently wearing her daily scowl, every since she returned from her trip that is. The girl tentatively approached the red head and sat down next to her nervously, "So…Nao-chan…"

The girl sighed, "what?"

"Oh! Oh, nothing…" Shimizu whistled an unknown tune as Nao just sat there, her scowl getting worse by the second until suddenly the girl violently stood from her seat and threw her towel on the ground.

She stormed over to the middle of the gym and pointed at one of the younger girls to set for her. The frightened girl did as she was told, and another loud slap echoed around the gym, followed by many, many more.

Shimizu sighed again and buried her face in her hands. A lower classman approached her, "Shimizu-sempai!"

"What?" She drawled lazily, tired of it all.

"Nao-sempai is off her freakin' rocker! Do something!"

The girl frowned and looked up to the younger girl, "I know! It's been a whole week, what do you think I've been doing lately?"

The girl was about to say something else when Nao's domineering voice called out for her. The girl squealed audibly and turned to look at the girl who had just knocked out another of her friends. She paled and turned back to Shimizu, "Shimizu-sempai! Please!"

The girl winced and squeaked when Nao called out again. With one last glance at Shimizu, the girl put on a fake smile and ran off to help the upperclassman. Shimizu stood up herself and clenched the towel in her hands, a determined look on her feminine features. She smiled at her will and turned back to Nao, only to pale when her underclassman was knocked out by Nao's overwhelming force.

She gulped. It wasn't going to be easy, but then again, nothing ever is.

Shimizu shifted the bag on her shoulder as she and Nao walked to the locker rooms after practice, "Say Nao…"

"What is it?"

"Is…Is something bothering you?"

The girl rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh, "No. For the billionth time, nothing is bothering me, except for you."

Shimizu sighed in defeat and backed off, "Fine fine…" She chickened out again.

Nao glared at the road in front of her. For the past two weeks, nothing but the overnight trip had plagued her mind, and the bear was the farthest thing from her thoughts. The image and scene was permanently burned into her mind, making her crazy. The worst part was, it made her feel fuzzy. Fuzzy. She cringed. Yuuki Nao does not feel 'fuzzy'.

She clenched her fists and violently pushed the door to the locker rooms open, where the loud and obnoxious chatter of her other club mates reached her ears. Girls greeted her, some with more fear than others. Nao waved slightly as a response, but ultimately, silently walked to her locker.

With her mind completely focusing on her current predicament, Nao mechanically stripped down and wrapped her body in a towel. She was about to head for the showers when an all too familiar voice rang around the room, "Attention, this is Kuga Natsuki. A reminder, the Summer festival and annual competition against Aeries girls' academy is coming up. Club captains are to assemble for a meeting in my office today at six. That's all." The room was instantly filled with excited chatter about the upcoming festival. Midori, of course, had bolted the day she arrived, opting to go after Youko again instead. No one stopped her. Life was…easier without her around.

Nao found herself narrowing her eyes and huffing before strutting to the showers.

Natsuki sighed and swiveled in her chair before running a hand through her hair. She felt twenty years older. She had to take care of the sports program, had a festival to plan, a club activity for that same festival to plan, being captain of long distance, and had the added weight of her 'feelings' towards a certain bitchy red head.

The door to her office swung open and a smiling and freshly showered Kaku walked in, a confident smirk on her lips, "Hey, leader lady. What's got you down?"

"Nothing."

Kaku grunted as she lifted herself up to sit on Natsuki's desk, "Don't give me that."

"Well if I gave you something else, it wouldn't really matter."

"Oh come on now Natsuki, have some trust in your good ol' buddy Kaku!"

"No! You promised never to tell that story about that party, but you did!" Natsuki growled.

Kaku laughed, "Come on, it's not like I told anyone who would use it to blackmail you or something."

"You're unbelievable."

"Ah, but I'm only human, Natsuki."

"…Let me ask you a question Kaku."

"Sure, why not."

"Have you ever felt something…weird…like in the pit of your stomach?"

"Like diarrhea? Because sure I,"

"No! Not like diarrhea! I mean like…a kind of fluttering feeling in your stomach…"

"Natsuki…I'm pretty sure that's diarrhea." Kaku reached into her pockets, "Here…I'm sure I have some Imodium here somewhere…"

"Kaku for god's sake it's not diarrhea, okay?" Kaku winced.

"Yeah, okay. Not diarrhea. Continue."

Natsuki sighed before sitting back down and continuing, "Whenever you see...a certain someone, do you suddenly feel really light headed, like a sudden feeling of being lighter than clouds?"

"Natsuki…are you on drugs? That's what it sounds like…if you want my help, I can redirect you to the nearest help facility,"

Natsuki smacked her table and stopped her friend before she could continue, "No, Kaku! I'm not on drugs!"

"Oh…okay then, well what else then, because all I've gotten so far is that you're taking a drug that apparently induces diarrhea…"

Natsuki growled and almost decided on giving up when her mind screamed to get it out of her system, "Whenever I'm with them, I feel good, comfortable. I feel at ease, but when we're separated, my mind drifts to them. It might not be the nicest of thoughts, but they seem to plague my every thought, like what are they doing right now? What are they thinking, you know?"

Kaku smiled and chuckled, "Natsuki, Natsuki, tsk tsk tsk. You've broken the number one rule of being the school's most wanted."

The girl raised a confused eyebrow.

"Don't fall in love."

Natsuki nearly fell out of her seat before staring at Kaku incredulously and laughing it off, "Don't joke with me, Kaku. Come on, no way that's love. If that's what you think, then it probably is diarrhea. Anyways love is supposed to be a warm and happy feeling, a feeling that you're…well, loved."

Kaku tilted her head to the side, "Oh? You don't feel loved Natsuki?"

She narrowed her eyes and looked to the side, "Not when I'm with them I don't. I don't feel loved at all!"

"How do you know that?"

"Well…it's not warm and fuzzy at all!"

Kaku wrinkled her nose before jumping off and running a hand through her hair, "Love isn't always warm and fuzzy. Actually," Kaku looked off, "It can bite you in the ass if you don't watch out." She smiled fondly at Natsuki before sighing, "Fuck. Natsuki, now look what you've done. Now I'm gonna do something that I'm probably gonna regret later." The girl frowned before sighing again and putting her hands behind her head, "Good luck with your diarrhea."

Natsuki glared at the door as it closed, but fell tiredly back against her seat. She stared at the papers scattered on her/Midori's desk and groaned. With her mind unclear and her thoughts muddled, Natsuki went on with the paperwork.

--

Nao slipped her duffel bag onto her shoulder before storming out of the locker rooms, her cheeks still pink from the warm water. She grumbled and mumbled to herself until she met up with three people she wasn't expecting to meet up with, "Mai?"

Mai and her two idiots were walking down the hallway, talking about god knows what. The orange haired one looked up and waved at the red head, "Nao-chan!"

"Hey, Mai, what brings you down here?"

She patted the top of Mikoto's head affectionately, "I came to get her." Nao looked down in disgust as the so called captain of the school's sprint team gobbled down a home-made sandwich.

Nao shifted the duffel bag on her shoulder uncomfortably and asked, "Are you heading up to the dorms?"

Mai nodded, "Are you still bummed about the trip?"

Nao froze. How could she know? Natsuki? "W-What?"

"You know, bummed that the bear ruined the trip and cut it short."

Nao breathed a sigh of relief, "O-oh, yeah, that. Bear. Trip. Cut short. Sure."

Mai smiled at her friend, and they walked out of the sports wing. The chatter of girls surrounding them was soon heard, and Mai and Nao had to avoid as girl after girl moved around the spacious quad, shouts filling the air, "So, how's everything been going for you?"

"…okay." She hoped that Mai couldn't see that she was lying through her teeth.

"You're lying." Damn.

"No! Why would you say that?"

"Because you just are."

Nao bit her lip, "…don't worry about it."

"Hmm…but I'm your friend, and that's what friends do." Mai smiled, "We poke and prod whatever it is your hiding from us, even if it makes you hate us."

"…then what would…a more than a 'friend' do?"

Mai raised her eyebrows and thought, "Hmm," She looked up to the sky, as if the answer was up there somewhere, "They would laugh with you when your happy, cry with you when your sad, and say that you're letting yourself go with a serious look on their face."

Nao sighed, "Okay, Mai."

The girl laughed, "Okay okay, fine. I don't know. I'm not the right person to ask. You should find someone who has…experience."

"Experience…huh?" Nao let her mind drift off to find the person to ask.

She parted with Mai and her hungry duo by the dorms and walked inside. The air conditioned room made her sigh in comfort, and Nao felt her smile, just a little. On her way up, she ran into none other than the busty orange haired girl, other than Mai. Yui smiled at the slightly younger girl and stopped what she was doing, "Nao-chan. Hello."

Nao smiled back and fixed the bag on her shoulder, "Hey, Yui-san."

"Is there something that you need?" Nao looked around and found that her feet had automatically taken her to the taller girl's dorm room, and Yui had just walked out.

"Oh, actually…what are you up to right now?"

The girl put a finger to her chin as she thought, "Hmm, Kaku asked me to meet with her, but she can wait." Yui winked and re opened her door. Nao gingerly stepped inside.

"Excuse the intrusion…" The girl took a look around. Yui had a single dorm room, off white, and mostly decorated with traditional art. Scrolls, paintings, vases, and other unknown ancient items lay around, and Yui asked Nao to sit at the couch.

"Now, would you like some tea, or soda maybe? Kaku might have left some here…" She trailed off.

Nao immediately waved her arms around madly, "No, no! I just want to ask you a quick question."

Yui raised an eyebrow and properly sat down on the chair opposite of Nao. The long haired girl straightened her modest almost knee long skirt and smiled warmly, "Now, what can I do for you?"

Nao laughed nervously. I feel like I'm visiting a shrink…the girl smiled sheepishly back and cleared her throat, "Well, first…I need you to promise me that you won't tell anybody." The girl had a serious look on her face.

Yui giggled, "Who would I tell?"

"Well I don't know…"

"Well go on."

"…Have you ever hated and yet loved someone at the same time?"

Yui frowned for a bit before replying, "Well…there was this…bully at my pre-school…she picked on all the 'girly-girls' as she put it." Yui smiled, "I beat her over the head with my hard plastic pencil box after she made fun of my new dress…but then I apologized and kissed the top of her head."

Nao watched the other girl carefully, "U-uh okay…anything…normal by chance?"

"Hmm…Kaku."

Nao's eyes lit up, "Oh! Kaku?"

Yui frowned again, "She slept with my history teacher, who we heard was a virgin at the time..." She looked at Nao.

Nao nodded excitedly, hoping to get more details about her and Kaku's relationship. Yui held her cheek with her hand and shook her head.

"I bet I could get it first…but I lost, so she took my twenty dollars."

Nao nearly fell out of her seat, "What?!"

"Well, Kaku and I were debating on who she liked best, me or her, so we bet on who could sleep with her first. I was mad that she won, yes, but she used the twenty dollars to treat us to my favorite ice cream place. I loved and hated her at the same time. Does that count?"

Nao just wanted to shake the other girl silly, because she was sitting there calmly, smiling. Nao shook her head and sighed in defeat, "Never mind, how about…have you ever wanted to kiss someone you wanted to kill?"

Yui tilted her head, "Nao-chan, homicide isn't a way to solve your problems, no matter how big they are. Besides, blood makes me queasy…"

"No! Not literally!"

"And your questions don't make sense. You keep contradicting yourself…it's hard for me to answer if you don't ask me a straight,"

Nao cut her off, "Have you ever been in love?" The question was blurted out so fast, that neither Nao or Yui understood until a few moments of silence.

Yui smiled again, and Nao groaned as she tried to hide within the couch. Yui coughed lightly, "See, that wasn't so hard, now was it?"

Nao mumbled something unintelligible in response, and Yui looked at the other girl closely.

"No."

"No?" Nao looked up.

"No." Yui stated efficiently.

"…no…"

"Never."

"Not even,"

"No." The girl shrugged nonchalantly.

"So in the past, you haven't had butterflies in your stomach when you're around another person, never wanted to punch their face in but kiss them at the same time, and you've never beat yourself up over the fact that the person you think you've fallen in love with is a moron who will never make anything out of themselves?"

Yui shook her head, "That's quite detailed, but no. In the past, I have not."

"I see…" Nao frowned and stood up. She and Yui walked over to the door, and Nao thanked the other girl, "Okay, thanks for your time anyways…and tell Kaku I'm sorry for holding you up." With a bow and a smile, Nao ran off towards her own room.

Yui smiled as she watched the girl disappear down the corridor, "How nice…" She locked the door behind her and headed for the stairs.

--

Chie's index finger moved deftly as another click was heard. The picture was taken, and Chie quickly ran over to the girl by the tree, "Aoi! That one was great."

The girl pulled her dress collar, the warmth of summer bearing its wrath. She smiled at the enthusiastic girl and looked over at the picture that was just recently taken. She blushed and turned away, "You took a great picture…"

"Thank you, but I never could have done it without the pretty model." She winked.

Aoi smiled at Chie's words, used to her constant flirtation now. She pulled the bifocal sporting girl towards the shade of the tree, and the two collapsed next to each other, the darkness by the tree protecting them from the sun's potentially harmful rays.

As she lay there facing the other girl, Aoi removed Chie's glasses, receiving a blink and a light blush as a response. She put the glasses in between them and smiled at the other girl, "It's so hot during the summer…"

Chie looked around and felt for the sweat on the back of her neck, "Yeah…it is."

They looked each other before bursting out into laughter, "So…how do you think they're holding up right now?"

Chie tilted her head to the side before finally registering what the other girl meant, "Well, neither of 'em is dead yet, we know that much."

"Hmm…hey, what's with Natsuki's reputation here anyways?"

"I don't really know myself…I guess everyone is just attracted to the girl who kept herself all the time, not bothering to immerse herself in the activities her peers did."

"Hmm."

"…What are you thinking?"

Aoi smiled and pinched Chie's cheeks like an overweight aunt would do to her niece, "About how adorable you are!"

Chie frowned and watched as Aoi stood up and stuck a tongue out at her, "Hey! Don't think you'll get away with that!" She rubbed her cheek.

"Oh but I will." The girl ran down the school's walkway, maneuvering around girls of all ages and sizes. Chie blinked before scrambling after the other girl, a smile on her face, and her heart at ease.

--

Nao returned to the dorm with her mind fuzzy and her problem remaining unresolved. She dropped her keys on the nearby end table and walked into her shared bedroom. She dropped her duffel bag on the ground and searched for a change of clothes. Thigh length red shorts and a light tank top were thrown on, and Nao lay back on her bed, the air conditioned room feeling good on her skin. She turned to the side and curled up as she frowned. The girl fell into a nap.

--

Natsuki heaved a tired sigh as the last club president dropped off their ideas and left her office with a wave. Natsuki looked at the soon to fall stack in front of her and groaned. Midori! She lazily dumped all of the papers into her backpack and locked up the office.

The warm summer evening made her sweat, and Natsuki pulled on the collar of her t-shirt as she waved at some random girls scurrying off to the sports wing. She shrugged and sluggishly continued on her way home.

The quad and dorms were unusually quiet, but Natsuki did nothing to look into it. She had been sitting in her chair for three hours going over the club ideas. This year it was the sports teams' duty to ensure the success of the festival, and so she was placed in charge. Clubs ranging from cos-play to motor cross were shouting ideas across the room, and by the end, Natsuki had a pretty damn good migraine.

The girl sighed and headed for her door. She fished out her keys, which were now marked, courtesy of Mai and Chie, and stepped inside. The dimness hit her first, and Natsuki switched on the light as she walked into the living room. She dropped her bag on the floor next to the couch before calling out, "Aoi?...Nao?" No answer.

Natsuki heard mumbling come from Aoi and Nao's room and did as her curious and primitive mind told her to, she investigated. The door creaked open slowly as Natsuki stepped inside. She noticed a figure curled up on what she knew as Nao's bed, and was about to step outside when she heard the girl mumble, "Natsuki…nnnggg…"

Natsuki stopped in her tracks, and again, her curious and primitive mind told her to investigate further, and so she did. Natsuki softly padded towards the girl curled up on her bed, and her features immediately softened. Whatever she had felt for the raging club captains just a second ago disappeared, and the only thing on her mind was this girl in front of her. The girl who had caused her so much trouble, yet still made her feel like jelly.

Just one close encounter one night opened up a new world full of surprises that never, in all the years she had known the other girl, would she thought would happen. She and Nao never got along. They always fought. They never really had a civil conversation for longer than two minutes, and they thought they couldn't stand each other. What had the days been like for the past week, when Nao had avoided her? Boring. All Natsuki could think of was doing paperwork for the lazy ass Midori.

It had been a whole week since Natsuki felt that familiar fire burning in her chest, the adrenaline of her verbal banter with Nao. She put so much into it each time. Her neck muscles became strained, her eyes bore into the other girl, and during that time, all she could see was her. What had it been all along? What had she been feeling for this girl who she thought she'd hated for the majority of her lifetime? What did she feel for this person who knew her better than herself?

Natsuki was thinking when Nao shifted in her sleep, feeling that she was being watched. Hazy green eyes came into view, and Natsuki blushed, embarrassed at being caught.

Nao blinked a few times before Natsuki's form registered in her mind. She immediately bolted into a sitting position and sat as close to the wall, and as far away from Natsuki as possible, "Natsuki! What the hell?!"

The girl rubbed the back of her head, "Sorry…I mean, I thought no one was home, and then I heard you mumbling in here…" Nao blushed a furious red and crossed her arms protectively around her body.

"That doesn't mean you should just come into my room and start staring at me like some old geezer!"

"Yeah…sorry about that…"

"God! I hate it when people invade my personal space like that!"

Natsuki frowned, "Ok, I apologized…I'm sorry."

"And I hate it when people think apologizing fixes everything, it really doesn't!" She lashed out.

Natsuki clenched her fist, "Ok! I get it! Can we get over this please?"
"No! That's another thing," Nao felt her emotions go on autopilot. All the pent up tension and turmoil she kept in was finally gushing out after Natsuki's rude trigger, "I hate people who think they can just 'tell' others to get over something, and I hate it when the same people butt into another person's business!"

Natsuki growled. Nao was really pushing it by yelling at her, "Oh yeah? Well I," Natsuki had to think fast, "I hate people who live in someone else's home and treat them like crap, I hate people who listen to the crappiest band in the world," Natsuki held up the CD she found lying around Nao's bed, "and I hate people who wear kiddie underwear!" As if proving her point, Natsuki dangled white panties decorated with barking puppies off of her ring finger.

Nao was shocked and yanked both items away with a blush and got closer, "Well I hate people who wear crap colored t-shirts," she pointed at Natsuki's brown shirt, "I hate people who run long distance, and I hate people who can't wear pants properly!" As if proving her point, Natsuki grabbed a hold of Natsuki's pants and pulled them up into a more 'proper' position, bringing her closer to the other girl.

Natsuki growled and barked back, "I hate people who touch my pants, I hate people with obnoxious red hair, and I despise people who show off their thong like it's a brand new car!" Natsuki reached around and pulled on the revealed stringy underwear.

Nao jolted at the movement and the fire in her eyes grew, "God! I hate people whose favorite color is blue, who likes cats instead of dogs, and who make me feel like tearing my hair out!" Nao pulled Natsuki by the collar, bringing them inches apart from each other. Her knees dug into the sheets of the bed.

Natsuki let out a row rumble and moved her hands to wrap around Nao's body before pulling the girl up against her own form, "I hate people who like the color red, who like dogs instead of cats, and who makes me feel like I'm a world class idiot!"

"That's because you are!"

"Only around you!"

"Are you blaming how stupid you are on me?!" Nao butt foreheads with the other girl, a fierce look of determination on her face.

"Yes, actually, I am!"

"Why?!"
"Because I hate how I think I love you!"

"Funny, I was just thinking the same thing!"

Their lips met in the spur of the moment, and the tension in the air slowly broke.

--

Somewhere behind the Physical Education building, a horde of girls, four, no, at least five hundred girls were in a massive crowd, the early moon's light not quite revealing their faces. At the head, there was a stand with three figures atop of it. One held a megaphone while the other two stood obediently by her side.

When the girl lifted the megaphone to speak, the chatter died down and everyone focused their attention on her, "Everyone! The school's Summer Festival is approaching! The hour is almost at hand. Tonight, another meeting is held in honor of our precious Kuga-sama! Remember, there are strength in numbers!"

Roars of agreement emanated from the crowd in the form of girly squeals and excited giggles.

The girl at the front pumped her fist. Our dream will soon be realized, 'I love Kuga Natsuki because she's so Fucking Hot'/ 'Kuga Natsuki Fan Club', what is your profession?!"

Erotic moans roared throughout the crowd…some fake…and some…not so much.


Oh my god. They kissed. And what are those crazy ass fan girls up to…?

Spikesagitta – between you and me…I kinda forgot Aoi existed…xD

Cj12kal93 – nyeh! That's okay! You didn't cheat! xD and How do you spell the disease, 'turetts, turrets, toretts,' LOL Idk…I don't think I was paying much attention when I was writing that…and no sorry, they didn't break down :D They're rich little academy kids! Of course they have money to pay five FREAKIN' dollars for a gallon of gas! Even if they're car is a v8 :O

Pieoflettuce – LOL Girl with wig looking for a good time xD that's a good one. But no, it was just Midori heh. And I hate that Mariah Carey! It's like…the stupidest song! (sorry if you like it xD) but really, 'I better not see it on YouTube'?? :O

C. A. C. H. - :P You got both of 'em! (claps) But 'Kiss Me' is my favorite xD It's so girly, but I like it anyways. :) and thanks for your review! I love answering reviews almost as I like sleeping…:D

Animeaics – :D they're teenagers forced to be in the same car with equally horny teenagers. What do you expect? 8D

ManiazAZN – Hah! I would read your 'insane idea' inspired by my Natsuki/Chie moment heh and (gulps) okay…you won't shoot me yet…that's a good start, right??

Yurifr3eak – xD unfortunately, they are no longer near the woods, and are back at school, so no…no lost cave LOL I almost did it, ALMOST really! But then I watched Winnie the Pooh, and Mr. Sanders gave me an insane idea…LOL I'm sorry!

Uchiha-chan – Welll…do you like a kissing NatNao better? xD and yes…Disney Classics…it's true…LOL

Blue Lone Wolf – LOL when I first read your review, it started as 'Kiss Me', and I completely forgot about the song and wuz like (uhhhh) and then I read the rest of it and was like 'oh…' xD thank you! Midori has always been one of the top under 'crazy' in my book, so I'm glad I used her well!

20Below – xD Wait no longer…or actually, wait again…because you've already waited for this one, and now have to wait for the next one…:P sorry…

Natsuki0x0 – xD I love cliff hangers. But not really. I usually just feel like I've written enough, and end up leaving it on a cliffy :P sorries.

Okay. So there it is, and no, I did not watch the movie 'Ten Things I hate about You', and I don't know if I listed ten things or not…LOL so don't be angry at me! And yes! The song 'Kiss Me' in the last chapter was foreshadowing! (not really) lol

Anyways, I hope that didn't feel rushed to anybody. Drop a review, drop a bomb (No don't!) drop your poor cat whiskers (don't do that either!) but the first one will make me smile…the others…well…the others will scare the crap out of me…x)