Title: Riding the Roller Coaster (Part XVII)
Author: ficeler37
Note: Don't own Mai-Hime. I'll let Sunrise take the credit.
Rating: PG
Word count: 1261
Summary: The magic show.
A/N: Back with more magic show craziness. This chapter focuses more on the magician / Natsuki interaction, but I did try to squeeze in some Shiznat time too. Anyways, on with the story!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The amphitheatre is instantly filled with laughter after the magician's little stunt. On the other hand, the lone unhappy person in the establishment hurriedly brings down her hands, only to cross them in front of her chest protectively. Wait, I can still feel the wire of my bra. Taking a closer look at the offensive item being held by the tongs, the heavily brushing blue haired beauty screams in anger. "THAT'S NOT MINE! The one that I'm wearing right now is a dark blue lace bra from Versace's Golden Era collection, not some cheap used crap you buy in a thrift store! Who are you trying to fool with that 32 A bra? I'M A 34 C!"
After hearing Natsuki's passionate clarification, Shizuru can only hide her face in her hands and use all the strength in her body to stop from rolling on the floor and bursting into a truly unlady-liked laughter. Oh my god, how can you be so adorable, Natsuki! She reaches into her purse, takes out some Kleenex and dabbles at the drops of tears at the corner of her eye.
Back on stage, the magician shrugs his shoulders casually. "Oops, I reached into the wrong dimension and took out my 'man bra' by mistake." He drops the tongs to the ground and puts the bra on outside his suit clumsily, which incites the crowd to guffaw even more. "As you all know, policemen have gun holsters. But for us magicians, we have magic accessories holsters." As if on cue, two bouquets of flowers spring out from each of the bra cups on his chest, earning the magician another round of applause.
Damn this magician. Oh mister, I'm so going to see you after the show. Green eyes shoot out venom at the masked man who is taking a bow towards the audiences.
Taking off his 'man bra', the magician picks up his silver tongs once again. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, my magic tongs are going to try to reach a place that holds the mystery of human kind, a place that even the smartest scientists have not yet mastered its true meaning. We call this place … the human mind." Eerie music begins to come out of the overhead speakers, and many little kids throw themselves in the arms of their parents for a sense of comfort.
Natsuki takes a step back with furrowed brows as the masked magician approaches her steadily with the magic tongs in his hands. This guy is not going to whack me on the head with those tongs, is he?
Noticing the unfriendly aura around the blue haired beauty, the magician stops in his track and tries to calm her down. "C'mon. Don't be afraid, Natsuki-chan. My magic tongs are not going to hurt you. In fact, they are going to grant you a wish. They are going to grab whatever it is that you desire deep down in your mind."
"Really? Whatever I wish?" Green eyes scrutinize the man behind the mask dubiously. Without the girl on stage even realizing it, those same eyes pause momentarily on the chestnut haired figure who is smiling elegantly from the back row.
"Yup. Would you mind putting your arms up over your head again?"
"Fine. I'm curious to see how you are going to pull this off."
This time, instead of wriggling the tongs near the neckline, the magician makes the tongs hover above Natsuki's black baseball cap. "Magic tongs, show me what Natsuki-chan really wants."
Suddenly, earsplitting applause bursts out from the audience. What? What is going on? What are the tongs holding? The confused girl lifts up her head and sees a ten thousand yen bill clamped tightly by the silver object. MONEY! Green eyes light up right away as the very broke Natsuki reaches for the precious piece of paper.
But before the blue haired girl can get a hold of the ten thousand yen bill, the magician moves his tongs away from her and grabs it with his free hand. "Interesting. But I don't think that's what Natsuki-chan really wants." The masked man shoves the bill in his fist so that it completely disappears from everyone's view, and blows on the balled fist. "Reveal!" When he opens up his fist again, a pigeon comes flying out of his palm into the audiences.
"How do you know what I really want?" The blue haired girl questions the masked man with an annoyed tone. I can't believe he just turned my ten thousand yen bill into a damn pigeon. What the heck am I going to do with a pigeon? Roast it?
"Just wait and see." The magician whispers to Natsuki with a cryptic smile that nobody can detect. You think I didn't notice the sneaky glances you threw towards Ms. Fujino?
The pigeon takes a flight around the amphitheatre twice leisurely before finally setting foot at the back row next to a beautiful lady with crimson eyes. Satisfied with the result, the magician gives out a loud whistle and the pigeon flies back to the stage obediently.
A quick wink towards the blushing blue haired girl and the magician continues with his next trick. He takes off his tall hat, flips it upside down, and leads the pigeon into the hat. "Hm, I don't think our Natsuki-chan wants a pigeon either. Let's see what we can do about that." After shaking the hat left and right roughly, the magician turns his hat over and a bag of cotton candy falls out. "Everyone, please give a round of applause for Ms. Natsuki!" As the masked man hands the cotton candy to the blue haired girl, he takes this opportunity to get closer and whisper in her ears. "I can't give you what you really want, but think of the cotton candy as a consolation prize."
"What are you talking about?" Before the blue haired girl can get a satisfactory reply, the magician's assistant has already arrived to escort her back to her seat. Did he mean he was too cheap to give me a hundred bucks? Or did he mean …
For Natsuki, it feels good to blend in with the crowd below the stage once again. As she sits down next to the Kyoto beauty, she lets a sigh of relief and balances her head in between her hands with her elbows on her knees. "Well, that was awkward. But at least I got us another bag of cotton candy."
"Natsuki looks so cute on stage. (happy sigh) I'm going to try to get you invited up on stage again next time we go see a magic show." The chestnut haired girl puts her hand on her cheek and begins to let her imagination run wild.
"What do you mean you are going to try to get me invited? Didn't the magician randomly draw my number from a hat?" Veins begin to pop out on the blue haired girl's forehead as knuckles turn white from the strength of the balled fists.
"Natsuki, what do you think is the likelihood of you being chosen out of the hundred people or so in this amphitheatre?" Slender fingers lightly brush on the purple rose hidden underneath the blue haired girl's shirt in a playful manner.
"Ah!" Another sexy moan breaks free from the younger girl's lips. "Fujino Shizuru!" Overwhelmed with embarrassment, the blue haired girl whacks the Kyoto woman over the head with her bag of cotton candy. I am going to get back at you, Shizuru. I swear on the mayonnaise collection in my fridge!
TBC.