Natsuki just blinked for a second utterly confused at what had just occurred; one second she was being laughed at, then one second Shizuru was leaving, and the weirdest part was that she was unhappy at the way the events took a turn. Shouldn't she be glad Shizuru gave up on the teasing? Shouldn't she be ecstatic that Shizuru was giving her a break? Yes, she should, but instead she was upset. Upset because suddenly Shizuru was the one retreating, upset because Shizuru was the one pulling away. What on earth had caused the retreat anyways?
Realizing that Shizuru was now regarding her with curious red eyes from the doorway Natsuki scrambled for a response trying not to fall back into her thoughts.
"Uh, sure…" Okay, so that wasn't the most articulate of responses, but she had done much worse in the past – like incoherent noises, noncommittal grunts and etc – this time it was actual words coming out of her mouth. As she walked outside to her bike with Shizuru patiently by her side Natsuki succumbed to the lure of her thoughts and lapsed into silence, not noticing the slightly worried look on her companions face. Natsuki had never been the most talkative of girls, but utter silence wasn't usual with her either, she usually at least attempted small talk with Shizuru.
Just as Natsuki felt the touch of air on her cheeks walking into the open air, the answer hit her in the face. She had been retracing the happenings in her mind the whole way, and the biker finally pinpointed the moment Shizuru began to act a little oddly. The first time she noticed it was when the Kaichou was desperately trying to look at something without looking directly at it, Natsuki ignored it thinking it was related to paperwork at first, but combined with her second discovery it was intriguing. Her second discovery was Shizuru's second bout with weirdness occurred just as she was laughing; again, it looked as if she was startled by what she saw, so the question now became what she was looking at.
"I've got it!" and as she walked outside Natsuki further worried her best friend by shouting triumphantly, in fact nearly making the graceful student council president jump from the suddenness, a true feat indeed.
"Ara? What is it that Natsuki has gotten?" Shizuru questioned making the ebony-haired girl realize the shout in her brain had been a tad bit more vocal than she wanted it to be, and again Natsuki was reduced to her usual state during a need for a comeback – incoherent noises and noncommittal grunts.
"I uh, it's, hmm, yeah, hmm." The good thing about her habit of incoherent answers was that it saved her from blurting out what she indeed had gotten. She in fact, had she not had a habit of only making random noises, probably would have blurted out 'you were staring up my skirt!' and promptly die of embarrassment.
Again, Natsuki found herself on the receiving end of another thoughtful slightly worried look from her friend, her very best friend, her closest, most precious person…who was looking up her skirt in two separate occasions…Very quickly Natsuki descended into another warpspeed twisting tangent standing almost listlessly by her bike as Shizuru's worry began to mount.
"Ara? Natsuki? Are you alright? Should you not drive?" The words barely registered to Natsuki since she was so busy with her thoughts, but nanoseconds later Natsuki snapped out of her wandering consciousness with another startling revelation - a revelation that was making a slight flush creep up her face.
"Sorry," she began grabbing her helmet and passing the other to Shizuru as she brought her blushing gaze up to Shizuru's ruby stare, "I'm okay, I just realized something stupid…really, I'm fine." At Natsuki's vehement explanation Shizuru's worry faded from what the biker could tell from her inspection, but a little curiosity remained. Thankfully as Natsuki mounted her bike, Shizuru picked up on her complete resistance to broach the topic and let it go…for now. There was a bit of promise in Shizuru's eyes, and Natsuki was apprehensive about the upcoming questioning she was sure she'd receive shortly.
How do you explain that for some reason, the person you have been rebuffing for the better part of high school has been looking up your skirt, you know they are and…you don't mind? That isn't exactly normal conversation, in fact it's not even the fact it's not normal conversation that bothers her; it's that it is personal.
Sighing Natsuki shoved all active thoughts out of her mind, she needed to drive, and the last thing she wanted was to get into an accident because she wasn't paying attention; she'd never forgive herself, especially if Shizuru got hurt. She'd kill anyone who'd hurt Shizuru, including herself. When Shizuru situated herself on the bike, climbing on as delicately and gracefully as usual, Natsuki took off, slightly surprising Shizuru with the speed at which she went. Natsuki was always careful to not really drive fast with Shizuru onboard, but this time, her preoccupation did strike that thought from her.
It was only when Shizuru's grip tightened infinitesimally around her waist did she realize how fast she was actually going. It was much slower than when she herself was trying to clear her head, perhaps her subconscious had not forgotten Shizuru, but faster than Shizuru had probably ever gone. What was surprising was that except for a small tightening of grip, Shizuru was utterly comfortable with the acceleration.
"Is this okay?" Natsuki yelled belatedly trying to confirm Shizuru was indeed okay and not pretending to be for sake of her mask. "It's perfect," was not a response she was expecting, but it made her heart lighter. Shizuru's voice was filled with a quiet by noticeable joy, and Natsuki could tell instinctively that somehow, Shizuru's formal social mask was gone; if only she could see through the helmet and know what the secret inner Shizuru looked like.
After Shizuru's answer Natsuki felt like her own enthusiasm was multiplying, bouncing from Shizuru to her to Shizuru in an unending loop. The biker could feel the same being replicated with Shizuru; the hands around her waist held looser, but firmer. Almost as if all fear was gone, and all that remained was an electric need. A need for speed; a need for closeness. Again the same feeling as before bubbled up in her.
When she had figured out Shizuru's destination for her eyes, she had initially been elated to figure out the answer, but that elatedness soon transformed into embarrassment. Embarrassment from her
instant acceptance and…happiness? She had been happy that Shizuru's eyes lingered up her thigh and under her skirt, she had felt a well of desire at the idea Shizuru wanted her, and she had been embarrassed by the fact she liked the attention. Never before had she liked the attention she received by anyone – male or female – but Shizuru wasn't anyone. She was her most precious person…