Commonality

By

DrummondType2

"You're a handful," Natsuki sighed, supporting Nao as they walked up a flight of stairs.

"Isn't your girlfriend going to get mad at you for hanging out with me?" Nao slurred tiredly. She couldn't put her full weight down on her left foot, and there was a bruise on her left cheek. There were a handful of men in the back alley behind Rorschach that were, Natsuki reflected with a certain satisfaction, probably still unconscious after the beating she'd administered when she found Nao being attacked.

"I already told Shizuru all about it," Natsuki said, "She said to make sure you got home okay."

"What am I, a charity case?" Nao grumbled.

Natsuki smirked, "I'm not sure what I'd call it. Why were you down there, anyway? I thought you gave up the whole trolling for creepers when we lost our powers. If I wasn't there to talk to Yamada, you'd have been up the creek without a paddle."

"I wasn't trolling for pedos," Nao said, hopping up the steps more than walking, "I was actually looking for a shop down there, and some of those jerks recognized me from before. And for the record, I never asked you to come to my rescue."

"Yeah, because your fighting skills without your powers are so impressive," Natsuki helped her clear the last step to the landing, "Here's your floor."

Nao sighed, "Thanks, Pu…Kuga. Thanks, Kuga. You can go, now."

Natsuki shook her head, "I'm making sure you make it through the door. So, these are the apartments you moved into, huh?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Not as fancy as the place you had before I busted up the joint, right? Well, it's all Mama and I can afford, so screw you, Pup."

"I wasn't making any comment about the quality of your living space, Nao," Natsuki said, "Y'know, I thought we buried all this stuff when the Festival was over. You're going out of your way to pick a fight with me, and I'd like to know why."

Nao took her arm off of Natsuki's shoulder and limped in front of her, "Honestly? I think I was just more comfortable when you and I fought. But tonight, I go downtown to try to pick up a present for Mama's birthday, and I get beat up. And you? No powers. No Element. No CHILD. And you still manage to kick those guys' asses. And you came out of the Festival with someone who loved you, and me…"

"You've got your Mother," Natsuki pointed out, "And you're living with her, again."

"It's…never mind. It's not important. I…"

Just then, a door catty-corner from the landing opened up, and a red-haired woman poked her head out.

"Nao! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Mama. I ran into some muggers, but…my friend, Kuga, came to my rescue."

Satsuki Yuuki looked at Natsuki, her lime green eyes studying the younger woman. She offered a worried smile, "Thank you. I hate to impose, but could you please help me get Nao inside?"

"Uh, sure."

Natsuki helped Nao into the apartment, despite the younger girl's protests, and then she helped Satsuki Yuuki take the girl's shoes off, and she led her to her bedroom.

Nao laid down on a futon spread out on the tatami mats, and closed her eyes, "Let me know when the ride stops."

She rolled over, and Satsuki draped a blanket over her.

"Thank you for helping," Satsuki bowed to Natsuki.

"You don't need to thank me," Natsuki said, "Nao is…a friend."

Satsuki looked her over, then motioned to the living room, "May we talk?"

She sat at a small table in the living room, and Natsuki sat on the other side.

"I would offer you tea," Satsuki Yuuki said, "But I will be honest, I have mixed feelings about you, Kuga-san."

Natsuki nodded, "I'm sure my name has come up more than once in the things that Nao has told you about that time."

"Yes. She told me that you cost her an eye at one point. However, she also says that you saved her life when you had every reason to wish her dead. So, as I said, I have mixed feelings about you, Kuga-san."

"For what it's worth, the loss of Nao's eye was an accident. But yes, I was ultimately responsible. As to wanting her dead? No. I never wished for her death. I admit, at one point, I thought of her as a hated enemy, but I never desired her death."

Satsuki nodded, "She also spoke to me of cruel things she did to you. She was upset. She says she caused you to have an accident on the road, and that she was planning to gouge your eye as well."

Natsuki nodded, "Yes. But at the time…I wasn't really in any frame of mind to stop her."

"I heard about that, too. You and I have something in common, Kuga-san."

Natsuki said nothing, but nodded.

"You were just a child at the time, but you were in a coma, and lost most of a year. And when you came out of it, both your mother and your father were gone," Satsuki looked deeply in Natsuk''s emerald eyes, "I was beaten and when I came out of my coma, my husband was dead, and Nao…my little Nao was much older, and there was a deep poison in her heart. She's tried to hide it from me, but a mother knows."

"Nao…was left to her own devices," Natsuki said, "I know a thing or two about that. And both of us, in our own way, were trying to get revenge for the things that were taken from us. I think…if we'd understood each other sooner, so much fighting could have been avoided."

"I had occasion to speak with another friend of yours," Satsuki closed her eyes, "You know her quite well, in fact. One might say…intimately."

"You spoke with Shizuru?" Natsuki blinked.

"Indeed. Shizuru Fujino. She came to apologize to me for causing my death," Satsuki Yuuki gave a strange laugh, "I chose to forgive her. After all, I have no real memory of dying. Do you?"

"Vague impressions," Natsuki said, "Darkness. Cold. But...I don't really remember it that well. But, of course, it was just like the time I was in the hospital. Cold. Dark. Alone."

"Nao told me that you saved her from Fujino," Satsuki continued, "She says that you're a very forgiving person."

Natsuki shrugged, "I've gotten to a place in my life where I've decided that it's better to let things go, rather than hold onto stuff that hurts me. Holding a grudge…it's like…drinking a vial of poison and hoping it will hurt your enemy."

"There are three things that we have in common, Natsuki Kuga," Satsuki Yuuki sighed, "We've both spent a long time in a hospital. We've both died as a result of those strange events last year. And…"

She seemed to be having trouble finding the words, so Natsuki spoke for her, "We both have ties to Genichiro Kuga."

"You…knew?" Satsuki Yuuki blinked.

"I knew. I knew that my father was cheating on my Mother. I knew that he left with another woman that he'd been seeing for some time after I was in the hospital. I only wish I'd known it was you, sooner. Because then…"

"Because then, you might not have tried to fight your sister?" Satsuki nodded. She turned to face Natsuki and gave her a slight smile, but a sincere one, "For what it's worth, I believe you."

"Does she know?" Natsuki asked.

Satsuki shook her head, "She thinks that Ryonosuke Yuuki was her father. I don't want to take that from her. But, at the same time…I see that you went out of your way to look out for her, tonight. So…perhaps I have no right to keep it from her. Maybe the two of you would be closer if she knew."

Natsuki considered, "I don't know. Nao…Nao is a friend, these days. But family? I'm a juvenile delinquent who's behind a year in school, who rides a motorbike, who's been seen hanging around a bar in the downtown area, and who is in an open relationship with another woman. Do you think letting Nao recognize me as her sister would be in her best interest?"

"That depends on how you feel about having the illegitimate daughter of a prominent businessman, with a reputation for engaging in compensated dating, as your younger sister," Satsuki said with a smirk.

"I wouldn't mind," Natsuki shrugged, "But it's not my place to tell her about her lineage. If you're asking my permission to tell her, then I have no objections. If you're telling me that you never intend to tell her, then I'll simply be her friend, no matter how much of a troublemaker she can be."

"I still have mixed feelings about you, Kuga. You bear more than a passing resemblance to your mother, and I'll be quite honest, she and I were not friends. But…it makes me happy that you and Nao can be. And…you were looking out for her tonight, weren't you? You didn't just happen upon her. You were trying to keep her safe."

It wasn't a question, and Natsuki offered no denials.

Satsuki nodded, "For what it's worth, I'm sorry about what happened to your Mother. And to you. We both of us know what it's like to be left alone in the dark."

Natsuki smiled, "Yeah. It's not a good place to be. Please, don't let Nao stay in the dark for too much longer."

Natsuki rose from her seat, "I'll see myself out."

"Kuga?" Satsuki looked up at her.

"Yeah?"

"You and I have a lot in common. Including her."

Natsuki nodded, and then she was gone. Satsuki sighed, looking at the door to Nao's room. In the morning she would have to tell her daughter everything.