Well here is the next chapter hope you enjoy.
Edit: There was some confusion in Natsuki's age so I wanted to fix that fix. I altered a few sentences in this chapter to try and get the point across. She was 13 when her mother died, but that was years ago, now she is a little younger than Shizuru, so about 20 - 21.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Shizuru asked, unsure of the response she would get. Would Natsuki snap at her and tell her to keep out of her business or would she actually trust Shizuru enough to tell her what her nightmare was? Shizuru wasn't sure, but now all she could do was wait for Natsuki reply.
Natsuki sat next to Shizuru in silence for several minutes. She tried to decide if she wanted to divulge the reason for her nightmare and ultimately the reason for her to be living on the streets. At this point she trusted Shizuru, hell she went home with the women and had planned to sleep the night! No, trust wasn't the issue, what Natsuki didn't want was pity. She did not want to be treated differently because of the misfortunes of her past. Too many times people have taken pity on her just for being on the streets when so young, she hated the looks given her, and the fake concern. Natsuki didn't want to even imagine pity filling Shizuru's beautiful eyes after she heard the blunette's story.
She looked up and was caught in the crimson eyes of her host. Those eyes were full of concern and compassion, curiosity and respect, but no where in those eyes did Natsuki see even a spec of pity. She quickly got up off the sofa and started to pace around the room.
She stopped several times, turning to Shizuru and opening her mouth as to speak but wouldn't make a sound and would resume pacing once more. Every time she stopped she would change what she planned to tell Shizuru. One moment it would be to tell her she didn't feel like talking about it, and another time it would be to start talking about her nightmare.
Shizuru silently got up and stood in Natsuki's pacing path hoping to get her to pause long enough to talk. Natsuki was so lost in her internal debate she wound up running straight into Shizuru. Stumbling backward she looked at Shizuru in confusion, having not seen her move at all. The blunette blinked a few times and then gave Shizuru a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of her head. Chuckling Shizuru led Natsuki back to the couch.
"If Natsuki does not wish to answer she does not have to. She does not need to wear a trench in my floor debating with herself." Shizuru slightly teased, trying to ease the tension.
"S-sorry, I wasn't sure if I was comfortable enough to speak with you about this but now I am. You also have a right to know considering I'm living under your roof for the time being." Natsuki said in a slight rush, giving a big sigh at the end in preparation for her story.
Natsuki began by telling Shizuru what her dream was, figuring that was the best way to start. As Natsuki went through her nightmare Shizuru paid rapt attention, never interrupting and never changing her facial expression. Natsuki was thankful for this as she really just needed to get it out in one go. Once she got through her nightmare she took another deep breath and started filling in the blanks.
"You see my mother was a great genetic scientist. She had been working on a secret project that she couldn't even tell me about. The only thing she told me was that many people could be helped if she could succeed." Natsuki started explaining, "But apparently others also saw the potential her project had, but they had no intentions of using it to help people. One specific organization was very adamant in getting my mom's data and started threatening her."
By this point Natsuki was trembling slightly so Shizuru put a hand on her knee. Natsuki gave an appreciative smile to Shizuru at the comforting touch before continuing on.
"Me and my mother were constantly moving hoping they would give up. Once my mother realized they wouldn't give up no matter what, she decided it would be better to destroy her work then to let it fall into the hands of such a corrupt corporation." Natsuki hands clenched as she started into the next part.
"It was shortly after this that my nightmare happened. She told them her work was destroyed but they thought she was lying so they killed her, knowing that she would never reveal its location if they still existed." Natsuki choked out, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. She furiously rubbed at her eyes with her arm, determined that she would not cry and she would get the whole story out.
Shizuru's heart broke as she watched the tears form in Natsuki's eyes. All she wished to do was to take the girl in her arms and hold her tight. She wanted the ability to take the pain out of those brilliant green eyes.
"After I got away they thought that I might have been told where her work was hidden so they constantly hunted me, making my life difficult, and bringing misery to anyone close to me. I was constantly on the move, and along with my age, there was no way for me to get a job or keep it, which resulted in me living on the streets." Natsuki continued remembering the countless attempts at trying to find a job, and every time being turned down.
'So that is why she lives on the streets. That must have been very hard at the young age of 13, and then continuing that lifestyle for so many years' Shizuru thought, finally getting the whole picture of what a tough life Natsuki had been living for so long.
"It wasn't until a few months ago that there organization was taken down by a secret government facility. I've been running from them for years, and I'm glad that its over." Natsuki said, finally ending her tale.
Shizuru sat there a moment taking in all that the girl had been through. Many questions arose in her mind but she eventually settled with the basics.
"Did you ever go to the police, or any other family member?" Shizuru chose as her question, trying to get all the facts.
"Not at first no, I was too scared. I did eventually go to the police and they started investigating but never found any leads, so filed the case away." Natsuki said in anger, believing the officials had not put enough effort into finding those murderers. "I didn't have any family so they put me in a foster home. But the men that killed my mother found me and I had to run away to protect the people caring for me."
"Ara ara! You have been through so much yet you still have such spirit to continue fighting through life." Shizuru said with genuine admiration for the emerald eyed girl.
Shizuru could resist no longer and carefully wrapped her arms around Natsuki pulling her close. She couldn't bare to see the pain etched into the blunette's face and could only think to do one thing to ease the girls burden, and that was physical comfort. No words could express how much respect Shizuru held for the younger girl.
At first Natsuki was resistant to the hug, and very stiff. It had been a long time since she had gotten a hug, but she soon relaxed into the hug, feeling safe for the first time in years. She felt so much better now that she was able to get that all off her chest. She buried her face into Shizuru's shoulder finding great comfort in the embrace. As Natsuki took a deep breath, in an attempt to regain control of her emotions, she inhaled Shizuru's scent and couldn't helped but be lulled to sleep by it and the warm body so close to her. Her eyes grew heavier and heavier and before she knew it she was fast asleep.
Shizuru looked down to see that the blunette had fallen asleep on her, not that she minded. Deciding not to disturb the poor girl, Shizuru just shifted around on the sofa so that they both were lying down and comfy.
As the crimson eyed woman looked down at Natsuki's sleeping form she couldn't have been happier that she took in the girl. Hopefully she could even help Natsuki get back on her feet and let the younger girl start living her life again. With those thoughts in mind, Shizuru gave Natsuki's forehead a light kiss before closing her eyes and succumbing to sleep, just missing the small smile that formed on the blunette's face.
Okay so this chapter was mainly to get Natsuki's past out of the way. I wanted to explain why she was on the streets so as not to leave people wondering. But now with that out of the way we can start focusing on ShizNat!
There are parts of this chapter I'm not too thrilled about but couldn't get them to work any other way. I also don't feel like there is enough progression with the story.
Well I hope you like and I'll try to update soon, please tell me what you think of it.