"You always were a cunning linguist, James."

- Samantha Bond


Mia never really adjusted to sleeping in strange castles during these away missions. Cardair's regal bedroom furnishings looked welcoming and fanciful, but once all the candles went out at night, the cautious Otome always kept her nano-systems at Half-Alert, constantly waiting for some spy to try pouncing on her in her sleep. Thank goodness she always had Kishu's remote authorization, just in case.

A strong, slender arm flashed across the dark sheets and hooked her around the sternum. Mia briefly opened her eyes in surprise, but within a second she knew this wasn't an arm she had to worry about. She could easily recognize it from its weight, skin tone, curvature, and the ruffled white frills hanging around its elbow. This arm belonged to her bunkmate.

"Caught ya, Birdie." Akane breathily whispered in her ear with a tiny growl.

Mia slowly rolled over to meet the gaze of the partner Otome lying with her head tucked against the opposite pillow. Akane's bright eyes and sparkling ear stud gleamed in the night like piercing white daggers. Her expression was cheerfully devious.

Their arms wrapped around each other in a close hug. Mia was happy to know there was always one friendly face keeping her company in this foreign place.

"What are you going to do with me, Kitten?" Mia whispered back. Her eyes were full of pretend-fear.

"Maybe I'll start by plucking your feathers." Akane smirked.

The Cardair Otome teasingly curled her knuckles into the shape of claws. Her left arm traveled down Mia's shoulders and stopped over a sensitive spot on her lower back, just above her right dimple of Venus. She applied the tiniest amount of pressure with her fingertips.

"Gyaahn!" Mia squeezed her eyes shut as she threw her head against her pillow and squealed with embarrassed delight.

Why you little…

Now it was Mia's turn for revenge. The Konalan Otome's right hand reached behind Akane's neck, away from the soft channel of her spine, and stopped on a spot just below her left shoulder blade. Mia gave the skin a little poke with her thumb.

"Nyaugh!" Akane bit her lip to stop herself from making too much noise. She didn't want to find out how much trouble they'd get in if their ruckus caught the attention of any of the guards outside the maid house.

"I told you not to me touch there!" Akane shout-whispered while gritting her teeth.

"And I told you never to touch me there!" Mia shout-whispered in response.

They grinned toward one another in forgiveness. Their hearts playfully reverberated against each other as they both giggled.

Akane curled her fingers through Mia's shoulder length hair. Mia delicately brushed Akane's bob cut over her ear.

"Hungry?" Akane narrowed her eyes slyly as she licked her chops.

"I was hoping you wouldn't keep all the tuna for yourself." Mia flicked the little pink tip of her tongue over her lip just like a snake. Her Master wasn't the only one allowed to have little "side projects" that satisfied certain needs while protecting her Otome status.

Their innocent smiles became more lurid and mischievous. Sheets ruffled around as the two women quietly moved into position.

Blurb.

Mia exhaled peacefully in her sleep. The corners of her motionless lips were curled slightly upward. Her fingertips twitched in the preservation fluid as a warm tickle resonated in the middle of her thighs.

"How's the Founder doing, Cassie?" Francie asked her assistant.

"She just had a minor power spike from a residual memory loop. Nothing to worry about." Studying the feedback monitors a little more closely, Cassie added: "She usually has these with an MF pattern. This one seems to have an FF pattern, though."

Kathy shifted her eyes curiously. Francie peered down at the programmer with an emotionally neutral look on her face.

"Don't ask." Cassie timidly glanced up from the screen. Her primary concern was the Founder's comfort and privacy.

"Don't tell." Francie crossed her arms and stoically shook her head.


Author's note: This chapter is 100% important to understanding the mythology of the Mia character because now you know where her HiME birthmark would be if she existed in the original series.