Title: Riding the Roller Coaster (Part XIV)
Author: ficeler37
Note: Don't own Mai-Hime. I'll let Sunrise take the credit.
Rating: R for violence.
Word count: 1453
Summary: Still at the video game arcade.
A/N: I tried to give Shizuru and Natsuki an equal amount of cool screen time in this chapter. I wonder if you all can tell whether I like Shizuru or Natsuki more after reading what I have written in the past, hehe.
A/N 2: Ikezu means MEANIE by the way.
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At the moment, the elegant Kyoto woman is almost gliding with grace that she has learnt from years of tea ceremonies towards the shorter than average high school guy who is holding a toy gun at the screen. Her body comes into a stop a few steps behind the boy who dared to challenge her beloved Natsuki, and she just stands there with one arm across her waist, while her other hand is brought up against her cheeks in her favorite thinking position. Crimson eyes are fixated silently on the back of the boy as Shizuru starts pouring her feelings into her focused gaze.
The boy who had been completely engrossed in Time Crisis 3 before suddenly feels a chill to the bone, so he swings his head around madly looking for the source of the assault. But the only person who is standing remotely close to him is a sweet and innocent looking woman who is currently offering a smile that can melt the heart of any man. Wait, isn't she the woman who is with the girl xxx-kun is trying to hit on? Leaving her friend behind just to try and admire my shooting skills, huh? I wonder if she has a thing for me. The boy turns back to his game with a smirk on his face. Lucky me.
After shooting down a couple soldiers, without warning, the boy feels like his life is being seriously threatened, but he does not know why. Once again, he tears his attention away from the screen, and desperately searches for any suspicious looking man that is paying him the slightest attention but to no avail. Then he sees the same gorgeous woman behind him who is now pointing at the screen and smiling sweetly at him. Oh, she's trying to tell me to get back to the game. How nice of her. I guess she really wants to go out with me and xxx-kun. But as he turns around, he is shocked to find the words 'GAME OVER! CONTINUE?' in front of him. Damnit, I just started stage 2, and I have to put in coins already!
Just as the irritated boy is digging into his pockets to get out more quarters, an exquisitely smooth hand with long slender fingers reaches past the boy and puts in a couple quarters.
"Don't you think you've tried hard enough? I believe it's my turn to play." With a smile that forbids people to say no to her, the chestnut haired beauty slides into the spot in front of the screen, holds up the toy gun, and takes aim at the word 'YES!' with confidence.
The short boy is at a loss of words. The turn of events is totally unexpected. At first he thought the woman just came to marvel at his awesome skills, but now he is not so sure anymore. He stands motionless on the side and watches the elegant looking woman clear the stage with a smile on her face that does not quite match how she shoots at the soldiers on the screen accurately with no second thoughts. Okaaaaay, earlier I thought she was just another hot girl, but now I think she is a creepy hot girl.
The fact that the Kyoto woman is clearing the stages like it is a piece of cake does not help with the short boy's ego at all. Finally, the final 'STAGE CLEAR' pops up onto the screen, signaling the end of the game. He glares at the girl in the summer dress with venom in his eyes. Her score beats my highest score. I can't believe this.
On the other side of the machine, the blue haired girl scrutinizes the numbers on the screen, and calculates the true scores in her head. This guy joined the game starting at stage 2, so if I subtract my score in stage 1 from the final score, then the winner of this bet is …huh? It's a tie. His tactic is annoying, but his skills are real. For that, he has my respect. Eager to see the face of the man with skills comparable to hers, Natsuki walks over to the other machine and is utterly shocked by the person standing in front of the machine who is still holding the toy gun.
"SHIZURU?"
However, the initial shock of the blue haired girl is quickly overwhelmed by a sense of urgency as she notices a short boy reaching for Shizuru's hand with a not-so-friendly glare. Her body reacts before the mind does. In the blink of an eye, the short boy's body flies back in the air and lands on the arcade floor with a bone-crunching thud.
Natsuki grabs the chestnut haired girl and swings her behind her now alert body, and she stares coldly at the whimpering figure on the floor. "Touch her and you die, you get that?" A low growl escapes the lips that are now pressed into a thin line as green eyes take on a menacing look.
Warm arms sneak their way across the blue haired girl's stiff waist as crimson eyes take in the scene with a twinkle in her eyes. "Ara, I don't think he can stand up by himself any time soon. Natsuki, I think he has learnt his lesson." Shizuru leans closer to the silky blue hair and whispers something that only the slightly red ears can hear. "I'm sure everyone in this arcade already knows that I'm yours." The silence permeating the arcade only adds to the truth of the Kyoto woman's words.
"Shizuru!" The younger girl turns her head a little, but never letting her eyes leave the boy on the floor. "I can't protect you when you're holding me like this." The tone of her voice comes out as if she is scolding a child that she has no intention of upsetting.
Hearing the commotion, the arrogant tall guy is horrified to find his semi-conscious friend lying on the floor with a big bruise on his cheek. He quickly supports the weight of his friend with one shoulder and drags him out of the arcade while muttering "forgive us" continuously.
Seeing how the pest threatening Shizuru is gone, Natsuki relaxes her shoulders and gets out of the warm embrace. "Why weren't you staying behind me when I was playing the game? How can I live with myself if something had happened to you?" The blue haired girl grabs hold of Shizuru's left hand and stares into the crimson eyes with a worried look on her face. That was way too close for my comfort. Shizuru, I'm serious.
The chestnut haired girl simply gives out a sensuous smirk and playfully pats the black baseball cap covering the blue silky hair with her free hand. "As if Natsuki will let anything happen to me. If a truck tries to run me over, you'll probably just punch it away like how you punished that boy, right?" Thank you, Natsuki, for always looking out for me. But considering how I have hurt you in the past, don't you know that your act of kindness is only making me feel more like a sinner? The teasing of the chestnut haired woman only serves to hide her inner turmoil.
With a sigh of defeat, Natsuki gives up trying to engage in a verbal battle with the infamous ex-student council president. "So what do you want to do next?"
"Well, it seems to be too early to get on the Ferris Wheel because I want to see the sunset while we are in the cart. Do you want to go on a few more rides?"
"I saw on the park map that there is going to be a magic show at 4 pm. Do you want to check that out? It'll be a nice break from the summer heat." I had always wanted to go to a magic show when I was little, but mother never had the time to take me to one. This is kinda embarrassing. I hope Shizuru won't think that I'm too childish.
"Sure, that sounds fun." Ho ho, I wonder if I can bribe the magician into inviting Natsuki up on stage.
TBC.
----Omake beings----
"Shizuru, what happened to my coke?"
"Oh sorry, I drank it."
"Were you that thirsty?"
"No, not really. I just needed to cool down my body heat while you were playing Time Crisis 3."
"But it was freezing in the arcade. Shouldn't you have been drinking something warm since you didn't even have a jacket on?"
"Considering the view I had in the arcade, the coke was essential."
(sweat drops) "What were you looking at?"
"Ikezu." (deep blush)
----Omake ends----