15.
Relating To One Another
Natsuki was staring at a blank sheet of paper, frowning.
Shizuru, holding her now growing belly, sidled alongside her, "Problem, lover?"
"My publisher sent me an article on writing fiction. He wanted me to see if I could come up with a standalone piece. In it, one of the suggestions was having characters in the story representing some abstract concept. For example, on an old television show from America, Gilligan's Island, the seven regular characters were each meant to represent one of the seven deadly sins."
"Ara, if you were to write a story about us, who would represent which sin, I wonder," Shizuru said.
"Well, I'd definitely be Wrath," Natsuki smirked, "At least, that's what I'd think of a girl who spent a whole decade looking for revenge."
"I would have to disagree with you, Natsuki, sorry to say. Nao or I would be better contenders for Wrath. In a fit of rage, I slaughtered all of District One. And Nao? She tried to kill Takumi for losing an eye. And Takumi didn't even have anything to do with it. That's far more wrathful than what you did. If anything, I would have to say that Natsuki would be a better representation of Pride."
Nao emerged from the guest bedroom, rubbing her eyes, "What are we talking about?"
"A writing exercise. Which of us would represent which of the Seven Deadly Sins if we were characters in a story."
"Oh," Nao yawned, then looked at Natsuki, "Yep, Pride."
"What?!"
"Why do you think Fujino can make you blush so easily? It's because of your stubborn pride, and her ability to get right through it. And Fujino would be Lust."
Natsuki snorted.
"What? You think I'm wrong? She was certainly warm for your form."
"'Was?' Nao, it is not something to refer to in the past tense," Shizuru scolded.
"Except Shizuru was too scared of herself to show it. And she certainly didn't rely on her sexuality to get what she wanted. If anyone represented Lust, it would have been you and your efforts to rip off all the pervs in the city."
"Fine. I can buy that. So," Nao leaned over the table, resting her chin on the back of her hand, and spoke in her most sultry voice, "And what sin would your precious Fujino represent, then, Kuga?"
Natsuki was aware of the trap. How would you compare your pregnant spouse to a deadly sin, especially with her right there in front of you?
"I plead the fifth?" Natsuki offered weakly.
"Ara, Natsuki has been watching too many American court dramas. This is Japan. We don't have a Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination. And even if we did, it's not applicable in marriage," Shizuru's smile was broad.
"It must be something really bad," Nao offered helpfully, "I do hope you're not looking at her baby bump and thinking Gluttony. You had a bump like that yourself, after all."
"……" Natsuki muttered.
"I'm sorry," Nao grinned, "Didn't hear you."
"I said Sloth," Natsuki growled.
"Sloth?" Shizuru looked puzzled.
"Who was always getting Haruka to volunteer for all the work while sitting behind a desk sipping tea?" Natsuki asked, pointedly.
Shizuru sat down, looking dejected, "Oh, for a nice cup of tea…"
"I can make a cup of herbal tea," Natsuki said, "We've got some that are caffeine free."
"I appreciate it. So, we've covered three of the Deadly Sins. Pride. Lust. And Sloth," Shizuru pointed to each of them as she spoke, "So who would be the remaining four? What's left? Gluttony?"
"Mikoto!" All three women said in unison.
"Ara, that was easy enough. What else? Nao, you were a nun…"
"Hmmm. Envy. Wrath. Greed. And…that's all of them, I think."
"Envy is easy enough," Natsuki said, "Suzushiro. She was always trying to surpass Shizuru."
"Envy trying to surpass Sloth?" Shizuru smiled sweetly, "Is that an oxymoron, or a delicious irony? Ara, but Greed would have to be Sister Yukariko, who was willing to hurt so many just to get what she wanted."
"Is it fair for us to say that about her?" Natsuki asked, "Having had a child, I can say I might have done exactly what she did if our positions were reversed."
"Wrong actions for the right reasons still fall into the category of sin," Nao tried to sound profound.
"Who would Wrath be, though?" Shizuru wondered.
"Mai?" Natsuki offered, "I mean, did you see the kind of damage that girl could do when she was righteously pissed off?"
"That's going to be interesting to put to the test," Nao grinned.
"What do you mean?"
"Because," Nao leaned back against the wall, "I've heard from a certain catgirl with a bottomless pit for a stomach that Mai Tate is now expecting."
"Great. Her kid and our Naomi can go to the same school," Natsuki smirked, "
The doorbell rang. Natsuki went to answer it.
"Oh, hello, Mother. Is something up?"
"You could say that. I need to test all of the HiME. I believe you have one of them working here?"
"Test them?" Natsuki waved her mother in, "For?"
"Well, you were in contact with several of them prior to receiving the blood transfusion from your Father."
"Yes, but I've only been intimate with one of them. And I'm reasonably assured she hasn't been cavorting with the others," Natsuki was blushing, but terse.
"You wouldn't have to have sex with them. The nanomachines would have been in any and all of your bodily fluids. Sweat. Blood. Tears. Saliva. If you so much as brushed up against one of them, they could have picked up traces of nanomachines. Now, it's possible that the nanomachines would have been spent, and therefore useless, but it's necessary to run tests to see if anyone else was infected. And I figured I'd start with your housekeeper."
Natsuki called to Nao, and then explained the situation to her.
Nao suddenly flushed, "Um…so I could be pregnant like Shizuru is and Natsuki was?"
"No, dear," Saeko said, "Only if you were in a sexual relationship with another woman."
Nao's blush went redder, "Um, like I said."
"Nao?" Natsuki's eyes were wide.
"It was one time. I was hanging out with Kikukawa over the summer right before she left for Tokyo U., and she was feeling down, and we were both drinking, and…It was before I started going out with Reito, and then…"
Natsuki held her head in her hands, "Nao, have you been with Reito?"
"Well, yes."
"Okay, so you won't have nanomachines anymore, if you did at all. But that still leaves a pregnancy test. And, if you are, a DNA test afterwards to see if it's Yukino's or Reito's."
Saeko sighed, "Natsuki, you have very strange friends."
"I think it has more to do with the whole tragic life of a HiME than anything I did to draw them in," Natsuki pointed out.
"Look, it was a drunken mistake, and Yukino and I agreed never to talk about it, and…Reito and I are definitely more compatible."
"You're going to have to call her and find out what's going on with her," Natsuki said, "It could have gone both ways…"
888888
It was three days later before Saeko Kuga had all the information she wanted.
"Well, I have good news. Yuuki-san is negative for nanomachines and pregnancy. However, she may well have been a carrier at one point, because Yukino Kikukawa was playing host to them. However, she's also not pregnant. Mai Tokiha is negative for nanomachines, positive for pregnancy, but unlike you and your wife, she resorted to traditional means to accomplish that. Alyssa Sears negative on all counts…Thank goodness. The other HiME are negative for nanomachines. But they can be spread, so Fujino is going to need to do a blood transfusion as soon as possible to kill off the colony still in her. It shouldn't affect the pregnancy.
"And may I say, it's never a dull moment with you ladies."
888888
Nao was sitting by herself, looking pensive.
"Yen for your thoughs?" Natsuki asked.
"I think I get what you were saying, a couple of years ago, when you said you didn't know that you considered yourself a lesbian. 'Cause I'm not sure what I consider myself, right now?"
"Well, I recall telling you at the time that it was up to you to figure it out.
"So…You and Yukino?"
"She was leaving, and she was feeling down about how things worked out with her and Suzushiro. We were drinking, and she sort of…she really does lose her inhibitions when she's drunk. So she leaned forward and kissed me, and I'd been drinking, too, and I thought…'what the hell, I can try it one time.'
"But I felt bad about it, after. You and Shizuru don't feel bad about it after."
"It's because you didn't love her," Natsuki said simply, "But you're not so cold that you didn't care about her."
"Yeah, well, she didn't love me, either. She looked so…disgusted with herself when she looked at me the next morning. 'It was a mistake, Yuuki,' she said to me. So…That didn't go anywhere."
"But you were actually attracted to Reito before you and he…?"
"Yeah. It's kind of strange. I always hated guys, but…that had more to do with what happened to Mama…And Reito is warm and gentle. But…I still think about Yukino.
"Not in a longing sort of way. I've decided that other girls don't work for me. But…I feel like I'm responsible for her being hurt, and I just wish I could take it back."
Natsuki smiled gently, "Nao Yuuki's darkest secret. She's actually a decent person who cares."
Nao grinned, "If you're going to get personal…"
"Look, you can't undo what happened with Yukino. That's why alcohol and sex aren't a good combo. But it reminds me of a conversation I had with Shizuru, once."
"About?"
"Well, she was a closeted lesbian, but she could have found other girls who would have been interested in both having a relationship AND in keeping it a secret. But she didn't. Because she didn't love any of them. It took one sullen girl who wouldn't give her the time of day to spark her willingness to admit to herself what she was.
"Yukino wasn't hurt because it was you. She was hurt because it wasn't who she wanted it to be. So, what you two did was a mistake, yeah, but at least on your part it was an honest mistake. I can't say for sure what will happen, but I'm afraid that Yukino may make the same mistake over again until she learns to love herself, first."
"Kuga?"
"Yeah?"
"You suck at cheering people up," Nao turned to her, and smiled softly, "But I appreciate that you're the kind of person who makes the attempt, at least."
