Family

Four

"You know, it's kind of nice seeing this craziness happen to someone else," Natsuru noted, the blue haired girl sitting with her friends in the cafeteria.

Nao stabbed her lunch pointedly. "Yuck it up," she said dryly, "when I get my hands on that reporter she'll wish she never wrote that."

Her sister Akane looked at Nao nervously, not sure if her sister was joking or not. "Don't do anything rash," she said mildly.

Mikoto looked amused, the brown haired girl eating her own food. "Did you really throw out the love letters?" she asked.

Nao made a growling noise. "I tried to, but Akane told me throwing them away at school would be cruel to the girls who left them," she answered.

"So you're going to answer them all?" Natsuru asked.

"No, I'm going to throw them out on the way home, so my fans don't find out about it," Nao answered her dryly.

"Mean," Mikoto said, but she sounded kind of admiring too.

Akane wasn't quite sure how serious Nao was being too. I mean, she had certainly gone to the trouble of carefully picking up the notes and putting them in her bag. Would she do all that just to throw them out?

Nao finished off her lunch as she quietly noted, "I overheard Kaede having a argument with Shizuka earlier. I really don't think that chick is too tightly wrapped."

At the mention of her former friend and crush Natsuru sighed softly, the other woman looking down into her food with a sad expression. "She was normal before all this Kamper stuff happened," she said a bit plaintively.

"Or she was a really good actress," Akane muttered.

Nao smiled, happy to see her little sister could be a little sharper than usual. "Either way," she said, "I think we'd better be careful, just in case. She was REALLY pissed."

"But," a silky, almost sexy voice said from right behind her, "I don't think she'll do anything on school grounds."

"Eep!" Nao yelped, whirling around to see the student council president looking at her with amusement. "Don't DO that," she growled.

Shizuku Sango ignored the astonished looks from various students as the elegant and sexy woman sat down. "You look cute when you're angry," she teased Nao with a faint smile.

Natsuru blinked, wondering when Shizuku had decided to target Nao for teasing rather than her. Not that she minded, really, but it was a bit confusing. "Did you do something to convince Kaede not to do anything at school?" she asked.

"I think I've convinced her for now," Shizuku shrugged. "However, I think we will be in danger off school grounds."

"We'd better travel in groups." Mikoto suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Akane agreed as she and Mikoto both looked at Natsuru and asked, "Could you walk me home?" Then both girls glared at each other.

Nao bit back a snicker. "No fighting girls, there's plenty of Natsuru to go around."

Shizuku also looked amused as she noted, "I almost wish I could join you, it sounds like things would be quite enjoyable."

"Seriously, we probably should leave school as a group," Nao admitted reluctantly, "I could see them trying to pick us off."

With a straight face Shizuku looked at Nao and drawled, "Are you asking me out?"

Nao was just taking a drink of her juice when Shizuku asked, and the liquid went down the wrong pipe. She coughed and choked as Akane pounded her on the back, recovering enough to glare at the other girl. "Don't you ever quit it?" she coughed.

"No," Shizuku smirked. Somewhat more seriously she said, "I'm afraid my student council duties will keep me late today, but I don't think I'll be in any danger."

Akane looked worried, "But still..."

"Someone should go with you, just to be safe," Mikoto said with a frown.

Nao sighed with agrivation even as she finished cleaning up the juice she sprayed. "Okay, Akane, Mikoto, you two walk Natsuru home. Stay in open spaces with lots of people around, I don't think Kaede is nuts enough to start something in public," she said briskly.

"Right," Akane said, glad someone was taking charge.

"I'll stay here after class and walk Shizuku home," Nao said with a sigh, "god knows I have enough of school during the day. Why not stay after class too?"

"You really don't have to...," Shizuku started.

"Zip it," Nao said briskly, "you can't rely on Kaede being your friend to protect you, you know. If she's really cracked in the head, she may not care."

Shizuku hesitated, then nodded in surrender. "Very well," she said, "can you wait in the student council rooms after class? I'll finish up as quickly as I can and we'll walk home."

"Sounds like a plan," Nao sighed

Later on in class Nao tried to pay attention, even as she considered what was going on. She really wasn't looking forward to having to wait around after class. Still, it was for a... she paused, wondering how she'd describe her relationship with Shizuku. Friends? She barely knew her. Ally, maybe. Or possibly pain in the ass.

Class dragged on but eventually it ended, and Nao quickly escaped before any of the crazier fangirls showed up. She had been here for more than a week but apparently the 'fever' hadn't died down yet. Nao was devoutly hoping someone new would get the girl's attention, but so far it hadn't happened.

Nao reached the rooms used by the student council and went inside, pausing to look around at the nicely decorated place. She really wondered at how powerful the council was, considering the rooms and things she had heard. Apparently Shizuku could manipulate the school with ease, geyt people registered for classes and even cover up the ongoing Kampfer wars.

"I should have brought a game with me," Nao muttered as she sat down by the long table.

Thankfully it wasn't long before Shizuku arrived, her long purple hair shimmering as she walked. "Thank you for waiting, Nao," she smiled slightly.

"Yeah, yeah," Nao shrugged as she picked up her school bag. "You got your books?" she asked her briskly.

Shizuku gracefully picked up her own book bag and they headed out into the hallways together. "Thank you again for doing this," Shizuku noted mildly.

Nao warilly checked their surroundings as they left the school and headed off down the street. "It's fine," she answered, "you're Akane's friend, and she'd be upset if you got whacked."

Shizuku chuckled at that. "She didn't actually say that, did she?" she asked.

"No, but her Kampfer form might," Nao admitted. As they walked she noted, "At first, I sort of thought that Kampfer were people's repressed sides coming forward, but you don't seem to change. Or Mikoto, too."

Shizuku gave her a look of mild respect. "Most of the others don't seem to be interested in figuring out the mysteries of the Kampfer." She continued, "You're right, the personality changes don't seem to be consistant."

"You're not claiming to have a repressed side that comes forward?" Nao raised a eyebrow.

Shizuku smiled impishly, "That's for me to know and you to find out."

Nao was looking at her when she saw a flash of movement from the corner of her eye. Without a thought she tackled Shizuku as she barked, "Gun!"

The machine gun coughed out bullets, splatting against the wall they were near, even as both girls crawled for better cover. Bullets pocked into the stone and dinged distressingly off a nearby lamp post as people screamed and ran for cover.

"So much for them not attacking in public," Nao growled as a dark ble haired girl with a cute hairclip blazed away wildly with her gun.

"Indeed," Shizuku growled as her red wristband blazed. Her knives appeared in her hands as she said, "She's a White Kampfer."

"What was your first hint!" Nao shot back.

Shizuku ignored that, "We ran into her before, she's Ryouka Yamakawa."

"Please give up peacefully," the girl yelled weakly, "If I have to shoot you both it would be a terrible mess."

Nao blinked. "Is she serious?" she asked Shizuku.

"I'm afraid so," Shizuku admitted.

Ryouka fired off another burst of those annoyingly limitless bullets, keeping the two pinned down. "All we want is for Mistress Sakura to get Natsuru," she continued as she fired off bursts of bullets, "just cooperate and it'll be easier for us all."

"I could take her if she wasn't laying down covering fire," Shizuku scowled, ignoring the request for their surrender.

Nao sighed as she summoned her own power, the red and gold glove appearing over her hand. "Can you keep her attention a minute?" she asked, resigned.

"Of course," Shizuku smiled confidently. With no warning she bolted from their shelter, racing along the sidewalk. Ryouka was so startled she fired wildly, then tried to get focused on the fleeing woman.

Seizing the moment Nao went around cars and over a bush to get behind the girl. Even as Ryouka was asking for them to surrender again she struck, spraying spider webbing from her hand and tangling the girl up.

"Eeek!" Ryouka squealed. "Help! Rapist! Pervert!"

"Hey, I'm not," Nao said, offended just as she felt a presence behind her.

The attractive blond with a sword glared at Nao. "I'm introducing myself because I must, not because I like you or anything," she sniffed, "I'm Sayaka Nakao, surrender. I have the drop on you."

Nao met her eyes confidently as in the background Ryouka begged someone to free her. "I really doubt that'll last," she said.

"Eh?" Sayaka started when a knife flew by Nao's face to slam into the sword, knocking it from her hand. As she reeled back Shizuku appeared, drawing the knife back by the connected chain as she advanced grimly.

"Oof!" Ryouka grunted as Sayaka grabbed her and fled, leaving the other two girls alone on the now deserted street.

"Well, that was fun," Nao sighed and dug out her cellphone to check on her sister and the others.

To be continued...