V.
A/N: To quote Amy Pond, "Alright, kids. This is where it gets complicated." Also, I mention this later, but to set everyone's mind at ease, according to Google and several genealogical websites, second cousins have approximately 3.13% of DNA in common with each other. It's legal for them to marry in most countries, Japan included. A second cousin once removed, which is the child of a second cousin, would have even less DNA in common.
"Kuga? Hey, you home, Pup?" Nao pounded on the front door of Natsuki's house. The door parted with a creak, but there was no one on the other side, at least no one that Nao could see.
"Where's Kuga?" Nao demanded, hoping her glare was directed at the resident specter.
"Enter," a voice said in a whisper.
"Damned right I'm gonna 'enter'," Nao shoved her way into the house, "What have you done with Kuga?"
The foyer went dark, and there was a swirling mist that rose out of the ground. Nao felt her heart racing, but she kept her face stern.
"Enough with the lame special effects. Kuga is my best friend, and she means the world to me, and if you've hurt her, I swear to whatever gods there are that I'll…"
"So dramatic," Shizuru appeared behind Nao, chuckling her fufufu, but her eyes narrow and cold, "Natsuki isn't here, right now. The cook gave notice, and so Natsuki went out to buy some dinner. Would you like to wait for her to return? Or, if you prefer, I can deliver a message for you."
"I can deliver my own damn messages," Nao shot acidly, "Especially since the message I have for her was that you're bad news. I know all about you. I know about Ahn Lu. I know about Genichiro Kuga. What? Is this some twisted ploy to get revenge on him by taking it out on Natsuki? Or are you just hoping to toy with her?"
The air between the two women grew ever colder, and Nao was beginning to see her wisps of breath as she spoke.
Shizuru's crimson eyes narrowed, "You're a crude wretch, aren't you? You don't know half of what you think you do, girl."
"I know that you're trying to hurt my friend."
Shizuru's eyes widened at this, "Hurt Natsuki? You truly don't understand. I would never…could never hurt her. She…is precious to me."
"I bet."
"You don't understand," Shizuru shook her head, sadly, "I lost the will to live when Ahn Lu betrayed me with my second cousin, Genichiro. But it was HER choice to betray me. I told her I would break the engagement, that I would find a way for us to be together…But Ahn Lu had no faith in me, and so she turned to my cousin. I do not blame Genichiro as you think I do. Why should I? He knew nothing of my love for Ahn Lu. I told no one. I let no one see. All he knew was that a beautiful woman had approached him. Did he betray his vows to his wife? Undoubtedly. But it was Ahn Lu who went to him, not the other way around. I could not fault him for turning to her in his loneliness."
"And Natsuki?" Nao's eyes were gazing at her with a strange mix of suspicion and sympathy.
"I knew her for who she was the day I first saw her. She is the very image of her late mother in her youth, though perhaps a touch more athletic than Saeko used to be. She was a bright and shining radiance that lifted the darkness of my prison."
"What prison?" Nao scoffed.
"I am bound to this place. I cannot leave. No matter which direction I go, the walls of this estate are the boundary of my world. And I have no idea why."
"And I don't care why. If you hurt Natsuki…"
Shizuru looked at her, tilting her head, "You love her."
Nao blinked.
"I can see it in you. The same wicked love that is in me. The feelings that we dare not speak aloud."
"Maybe you didn't have the guts to say it," Nao smirked, "But I'm not you. I already told Kuga that I love her. And she turned me down. But I'm still here for her, because when she turned me down, she didn't spit on my feelings, or call them filthy. She didn't mock me, or belittle me. She didn't give me that sidelong look that other girls give me when I tried to ask them out, or say we could be friends, but then suddenly be too busy for me. She stayed by my side after she said she was still my friend. So if you keep saying things like that, I don't care if you're already dead. I'll kick your ass. Because if you spit on those feelings, even your own, you're spitting on her."
Shizuru bowed her head, "I meant no disrespect to you. And I will not dishonor Natsuki's kindness. Nor will I deny that I yearn for her. But even if I had your courage to act, I no longer have the ability to. I am a shade, a vestige of a lost life. What you see of me is only my memory of my own self. My ability to affect the world around me is limited."
"Nao? Shizuru?" Natsuki walked in the front door, holding a bag of takeout, "What's going on?"
Nao was too startled to speak for a moment, and Shizuru took the initiative, "Nao has learned something that I hoped to hide from you. Forgive me. Kannin-na, Natsuki. I had no right to keep this from you, but I feared it would make you see me in a different light if you knew. You see, your father, Genichiro Kuga, was my second cousin, making you my second cousin once removed."
Shizuru turned to look at Nao, smiling gently. The ball, Nao realized, was in her court.
"Yeah. Suguira tells me there's only so many reasons why a person would be a ghost, and some of them are really bad. So…when I learned that she was related to your bastard of a Dad, I had to make sure she wasn't up to something."
Natsuki frowned, and fished out her phone. She tapped a few keys, and then sighed.
"If I'm reading this right," Natsuki sighed, "Second cousins have about three percent of DNA in common. If you were worried that I'd think you were the same as my idiot father, then I don't think it's anything you have to worry about, Shizuru."
"I don't think that's quite what she was worried about, Pup," Nao sighed, "But…that's her story to tell, not mine. Just remember what I said, Fujino. She's important to me, so..."
"Nao, wait," Natsuki took Nao's hand, "Don't go. I got Chinese, and there should be enough for the three of us to share."
"The two of you, perhaps," Shizuru smiled sadly, "I fear that I cannot partake."
"Oh. I thought that maybe if we left it as an offering…"
Shizuru shook her head, "No, that would not change my inability to eat, I fear. Though I do appreciate the thought, dearest Natsuki. You really are quite considerate."
Natsuki blushed slightly, "Well, if I were truly considerate, I would have asked if you could eat it, first. Or at least asked if you liked Chinese."
She then yelped as Nao pinched the flesh on the top of her hand.
"Nao, what the hell?"
"Kuga, she was paying you a compliment. The proper response is to courteously accept it and act all sweet and demure, not pour cold water on it. Jeez, you're hopeless when it comes to this stuff," Nao turned to look at Shizuru, "C'mon. We can all talk over dinner. I'm famished."
They were sitting at the table, and Shizuru sighed at one point.
"It is most unusual, the things you can and cannot do as a spirit. For example, I can smell the food, and it is absolutely mouth-watering. And yet, I cannot actually consume it. I can, if I focus, have enough of a physical presence to move objects, or touch someone gently, for a moment or two."
"Oh, like the woman who said she felt a hand in the shower," Natsuki recalled, "Wait…why were you trying to get her attention in the shower?"
Nao leaned on the table, propping herself up on one arm, grinning slyly at Shizuru, "Yeah, care to tell us what that was about?"
"In fairness, I'd been trying to get her attention all over the house," Shizuru looked up and to the side, "But she simply thought it was loose hair or a fly. It was only when I ran my hand down her back in the shower that she recognized that it was a human presence. Unfortunately, it did not have the desired effect. Rather than open a line of dialogue, it caused her to run screaming from the house, never to return."
"Uh, duh," Nao smirked.
"Um…" Natsuki seemed to be thinking about something, and a shadow flickered across her face, but then she changed the subject before she could address what was on her mind, "Hey, can you possess people?"
"I do not know," Shizuru shrugged, "I've never tried it before. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I was wondering, if I let you posssess me for a little bit…could you try the food that way? I feel bad about bringing it in and you not being able to try it."
"Uh, no way, Kuga," Nao said, "What if she can't pop back out again?"
"Miss Yuuki raises a valid point, Natsuki," Shizuru said, "I don't wish to do anything that might harm you."
Just then, Duran came trotting into the room. He walked over to Natsuki, put his head in her lap, and looked up at her with puppy dog eyes, licking his chops.
"How do dogs all know how to beg at the table?" Natsuki groaned, "No. You had yours."
Duran whined. Nao smirked, as she saw Natsuki's will soften. The Pup was always a softy for dogs.
"Hey, Duran," Nao called, flicking a piece of roast pork his way. He caught it and gobbled it up, then trotted over to his pillow and lay down.
"Is it too much to ask that you not spoil my dog?" Natsuki gave her a look of consternation.
Nao grinned, "Just imagine what I'll be like if you ever decide to have kids."
"Ugh," Natsuki shook her head, "Hard pass."
"Try me," Nao turned to Shizuru.
"What?" Natsuki and Shizuru said in unison.
"Look, the two of you…you get along. Me and the specter here, we've got issues. I think if one of us could kick her out, it would be me. So…call it an experiment."
"Nao, that's not…"
"Do it," Nao said directly to Shizuru, "Or I could bring up the other thing."
Shizuru sighed, and said, "Very well, but do not blame me if I cannot remove myself from your person."
Shizuru moved over to where Nao was sitting, and then sat down in the same position, blending into her.
Nao shivered a moment, and then opened her eyes. They were no longer lime green, but crimson.
"Shizuru?" Natsuki asked, "Nao?"
"We're both in here, Natsuki," Shizuru said, picking up a piece of meat with her chopsticks, "And now…"
She tried the meat, and then squealed with delight, "Mmm. That is most tasty. Oh, and it appears that Miss Yuuki has a benefit, as well. She gets to experience it the way that I do."
"Can you leave her?" Natsuki asked, concerned, "I want to make sure you're both okay!"
There was another shiver, and then Shizuru was standing beside Nao.
"That was…interesting," Nao said after a moment, "Kinda like…dreaming, but wide awake."
"Are you both alright?" Natsuki asked.
"I feel no ill effects," Shizuru said.
"Nothing unusual here," Nao added.
"May I then?" Shizuru nodded at Nao.
"Sure."
Shizuru merged into Nao again, and began to eat heartily from the food in Nao's bowl.
"This is scrumptious. I regret not having tried take out, before!"
"Seriously?" Natsuki asked.
"It wasn't seen as proper food for a lady of my station," Shizuru sighed, "So many restrictions. I was never truly allowed to live before I died. Oh, pardon me a moment. I need to go to the toilet."
Shizuru and Nao looked at themselves in the mirror.
"I know what you're thinking!" Nao said, "Are you crazy?"
"If you are truly opposed to it, eject me," Shizuru said, simply.
Nao paused, "It's…"
"It will be all my doing. She will know nothing more than that. But I must tell her, now, while I have that ability."
Nao was pained, "It might hurt her."
"Have you never heard the expression, it is better to regret doing something, than to regret doing nothing? I lived my life doing nothing, and I know that regret. It cost me everything, including my life. You wish to experience it, as well. I will ensure that she holds you blameless."
They returned to the table, but walked to the far side, sitting down beside Natsuki.
"Shizuru? Or…Nao?"
Shizuru opened her borrowed eyes, crimson, "Natsuki…I must confess something to you. I…This is surprisingly hard for me. Natsuki…"
She reached her hand out, and tentatively touched Natsuki's hair. Natsuki didn't recoil, but her eyes were wide in astonishment. Shizuru began to stroke Natsuki's hair with her hand.
"You are very beautiful, Natsuki," Shizuru exhaled, "Not just in the face and the body, but in your heart. I…"
She reached out with her other hand, putting it just under Natsuki's chin, tilting her face upward slightly. She leaned in. There was a soft warm sensation against her/Nao's lips, the feeling of a surprised exhale from Natsuki's nostrils on her cheek. There was a glorious tingling sensation as their lips pressed together, and Shizuru felt a sense of both exhilaration and horror from Nao, which Shizuru felt mirrored in her own heart.
When she opened her eyes again, Natsuki noticed that one eye was still crimson, while the other was lime green. The expression on Natsuki's face, Shizuru noted, was of utter shock. There was no blush, but there was no elation, either. Just wide-eyed disbelief.
"Forgive me, Natsuki, but I love you. With all my heart. I couldn't ignore this one chance I had to make that clear to you, though I fear I used Miss Yuuki's body to do something unwelcome and shameless. Again," Shizuru rose to her/Nao's feet and bowed, "Forgive me."
She turned and walked off as quickly as her borrowed body would allow her.