Title: Roommates Diary I - New Routines (Part III)
Author: ficeler37
Note: Don't own Mai-Hime. I'll let Sunrise take the credit.
Rating: PG
Word count: 1387

Summary: Reasons behind the queen size bed. Natsuki Vs. Kenta (Who's this?).

A/N: I'm bringing in a semi-new character! Can anyone guess who it is before scanning down the new chapter? I know that Mai or Nao is usually a good choice for the counseling best friend role. But you just gotta love somebody with a big mouth and absolutely non-politically correct speech patterns, haha.

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On their way to the bed frame / mattress section to look at the queen size beds, Natsuki tries to reason with Shizuru. "My study room is not that big, if you put in a bed that size, you won't be able to fit a desk in there." Now that Shizuru is a university student, she probably needs a lot of room to study. I don't want her to move in and have to sacrifice her study habits.

"It's okay. I don't need a desk normally. I'll just buy a laptop lap desk and use my computer in bed." And if I absolutely need to use a desk one day, I can just sneak into Natsuki's room and use hers. Way to break into her room with a legitimate reason, Shizuru!

"Why do you need such a big bed?" Natsuki stares at the other girl with a quizzical frown. I've seen her bed in her apartment. It was about the same size as my full size bed. Hm … I guess she didn't really have a choice since she didn't buy the furniture.

Finally arriving at their destination, Shizuru walks over to the nearest queen size mattress and sits on its edge. "Just in case Natsuki wants to have a slumber party in my room." I can't tell you that I expect you to move into my room one day, can I? With a teasing wink, she pulls on Natsuki's arm and causes the blushing girl to fall on the mattress with her face being the first impact point.

Pushing herself up immediately, Natsuki rubs her reddened nose tenderly. "Shizuru!" She glares at the giggling figure who is now lying on the mattress on her back with her arms raised above her head.

"Just kidding." I'm not kidding. "My real concern is … What if I fall off the bed one night while twisting and turning in my sleep?" Shizuru turns on her side and balances herself with an outstretched elbow, glancing at Natsuki with a raised eyebrow.

Feeling a bit uneasy under Shizuru's intense gaze, Natsuki crosses her arms in front of her chest and turns her head to the side. "I seem to recall that last time I slept over at your place, you remained in the dead center of the bed the next morning. I was the one who rolled off your sofa and woke up on the floor with a stiff back." Damnit, why do I need to bring this up again just to prove her wrong? Bad memories …

The older girl brings her hand to her chest and fakes a sarcastic look of disbelief. "I could have fallen off the bed in the middle of the night and climbed back up to my old spot before you spotted me. You wouldn't have known." The ordinarily elegant Kyoto woman flops down on her back in a childish manner. "Plus I like having the option of rolling around in bed if I want to." To emphasize her statement, Shizuru flips over and pins Natsuki down with her upper body suddenly. "Who knows who I might find trapped underneath me one night?"

Her hair is tickling my face. I can smell the shampoo she used last night. A flustered Natsuki looks up at the innocent-looking face only inches away from her own. Wait, that is NOT what I should be thinking about right now. People are probably staring at us! "Uhm … a burglar?" Her movement constrained by the body on top of hers, Natsuki tries her best to sink into the mattress.

"(Humpf) Natsuki is no fun." Shizuru releases her hold on the other girl with a cute pout on her face. Patience, Shizuru. You don't want to push Natsuki too far in public. Wait till you are alone with her. "Would Natsuki like to test out the other queen size mattresses around here? We can pick one out then go back to my apartment and grab my things."

It does not take long for the two girls to find the perfect mattress. Shizuru then proceeds to pick out an elegant looking bed frame made of redwood. As the older girl waits in line to finish her purchase with order forms in hand, Natsuki excuses herself to look at a magazine rack a couple aisles away.

Natsuki is surely surprised when she spots a motorcycle magazine hidden behind some home improvement journals. Hey, I don't have this one! Lucky! Suddenly an unexpected poke on her lower back makes her hand freeze in the air, onlyinches away from her target magazine.

"That's a nice tattoo you got there. Whoever put that tattoo on you is a genius!"

Natsuki swivels her body around angrily and is taken aback by the familiar face. "It's YOU!"

The young man in his late twenties with stylish short red hair replies with a smirk, "DUH! With that biker suit that you are wearing today, only someone with X-ray vision will know about your little 'I-LOVE-MY-GIRLFRIEND' tattoo on your back. Well, someone other than me of course." Just as Natsuki is about to open her mouth to retort, he beats her to the punch. "Yea, yea, yea, she's not your girlfriend. I remember that line."

"Argh! What the hell are you doing here?" God! Talking to him is almost as exhausting as arguing with Shizuru! …Well, except I can always beat him up when I'm speechless.

"Geez, nice seeing you, too. Can't you react like a normal person and say stuff like … (in high pitch voice) What a surprise to run into you in Fukea. Don't you think we are meant to be friends?"

The blue haired girl glares at the smiling young man. "What kind of sane person would want to be friends with you?" That voice change bit was kinda creepy …

"Ouch, that hurts. To show you how sincere I am, I'll properly introduce myself first. The name is Eto Kenta. High school graduate. Tattoo artist extraordinaire." He takes a gentleman bow towards the seemingly not impressed Natsuki. "Why do I have the feeling that you might castrate me if I call you Natsuki-chan?"

"Because I will do it without blinking if I ever hear those four syllables coming out of your mouth again." Ha, that should scare him off. Wait, what is up with that look? Unable to ignore the mixture of hopefulness and sadness on Kenta's face, she grumbles following a sigh of defeat. "Kuga is fine." On second thought, this guy is not that bad. Yes he talks too much, but he did help me punish that jerk in the amusement park.

Ecstatic about Natsuki's revelation of her last name, Kenta chuckles as the corners of his lips curl up to form a nice crescent. "Alright then, Kuga-san. Just curious. What are you doing here in Fukea on this beautiful Sunday morning?"

"Shopping for a queen size bed." Not used to doing small talks with people she barely knows, Natsuki is not sure whether she should ask Kenta the same question even though she does not really care about his reply.

"So I see that the girlfriend is moving in. Way to go, champ." Kenta punches Natsuki lightly on the shoulder.

(Sigh) Why do I even bother clarifying the relationship between Shizuru and me in front of this guy? "Even though we are roommates, we are not sharing the same bed! She's just buying a queen size bed for herself because she likes to have the option of rolling around in it." Reciting the reason Shizuru gave her just moments before, Natsuki is confident that they can just drop the topic at this point.

Kenta throws an arm around Natsuki's shoulder and whispers to an eyebrow twitching Natsuki. "Are you listening to yourself? What kind of lame excuse is that? You two are so gonna get it on."

"AHHHH! SHUT UP!" Natsuki slaps Kenta hard on the chest, which causes the victim of the assault to tear up. "Don't look at me with those teary eyes. You deserve it."

"That was uncalled …" Before he can finish his complaint, Kenta finds himself being pushed violently to the ground. "Don't be so rough, will ya? Despite my tough exterior, there is a gentle soul in there."

"Shuush! Shizuru is coming. Hide!"

TBC.