Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-hime nor do I own Mai-Otome or any other series made by sunrise.
A/N: Glad to see there are some people out there enjoying my story. I thank all of those who took the time to add some reviews. I greatly thank you. Alright! Hope you're all ready for this. Put your reading caps on and let's a go, go!
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Endless Darkness
Chapter 07 - It's only a fairytale.
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-beep, beep, beep- An alarm clock went off. A lump under the covers shifted as a hand was extended from under it and slammed down on the 'snooze' button. The brunette began to rise from under the cover. The girl shook her head to let her hair fall down.
Aoi looked over at the clock as it read '10:00 AM'. Luckily, they were on vacation from school for a few more weeks.
Aoi shifted her eyes over to her roommates bed and noticed that Nao wasn't in it. "Nao..." She thought, and forced herself to get up. The brunette was wearing a simple dark colored sleeping shirt and pants.
Aoi walked into her bathroom and began to clean herself up. Her hair was a mess and her face was kind of pale. Probably do to her worrying all night long about Nao.
After she had her bath and brushed her teeth, Aoi walked out into the kitchen and began to make herself some breakfast. She decided to make something simple like toast and eggs.
Before she could begin eating, there was a knock on the door. "Who could that be? Chie, maybe?" Aoi got up from the table and opened the door. When she saw who was on the other side, she was puzzled. There stood a man wearing sunglasses and a black suit with ruffled hair. "Can I… help you?" Aoi asked hesitantly.
An evil grin crept up onto his face. "Why, yes you may.".
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"AHHHHH! Not my mayo…!" A cobalt headed girl sprang up in her bed, drenched with sweat. Natsuki panted heavily as she glanced around the room. She quickly stumbled over to the side of her bed and felt underneath her bed and pulled out a small, brown shoebox. Natsuki flipped over the top of the box and took a sigh of relief. The box was full of mayo packets. "Thank god your safe. No one will take you my precious mayo."
She put the box back underneath the bed and looked up onto her nightstand to see a picture frame of her and Shizuru. They looked happy together in the photo. Though Natsuki looked kind of uncomfortable and Shizuru was her same playful self. Two things that never really mix well.
Natsuki shifted her attention over to the alarm clock next to the picture. It read '10:37 AM'. "Wow… That's earlier then usual." Natsuki always had a habit of waking up at noon or later on days where there was no school.
Do to the shock of her nightmare, she felt wide awake. "Damn it…" She cursed and fell face first into her pillow. Natsuki soon lifted herself out of her bed and walked out of her room. She made her way to the bathroom to take care of her business.
After she finished, Natsuki strolled into the living room. The light from the morning sun was desperately trying to make it's way through her blinds.
The female biker gazed over to her couch where Nao slept. She walked over and looked down upon the girl. Natsuki was about to wake her when suddenly, Nao started to toss and turn in her sleep. "What the…?"
"no… mama… please stop… don't go…" Nao began to shudder as tears began to stream down her cheeks. "She must be having one hell of a nightmare." Natsuki thought. She lowered her hand and rested it on the redheads shoulder. Soon, the muttering stopped and the churning ceased. The girl wiped the tears away and smiled.
"WAKE UP YOU FREELOADER!" Natsuki began to shake the girl violently. "Ah! What the hell. STOP!" Nao yelled, trying to get the girl off her. Natsuki let go and backed away. Nao shot a glare at her and Natsuki just grinned.
"Sleep well?" Natsuki jokingly asked. "No thanks to you." Nao replied, trying to get up but failed do to the dizziness from the shaking. Natsuki lent her a hand and pulled her up. "If you don't mind, I need to use the little girls room." Nao said and lazily made her way into the bathroom.
Natsuki just watched as the redhead disappeared into the bathroom. -gurgle- The girls stomach began to growl. Natsuki sighed and walked into the kitchen to prepare her and her guest some breakfast. Though she wasn't really a cook, she could still whip up a batch of pancakes.
After Nao was finished, she washed her hands and exited the bathroom. As soon as she entered the living room, her nose filled with the heavenly scent of pancakes.
Nao peaked around to the kitchen and saw Natsuki stand at the stove, a box of hotcake mix was on the counter next to her. Natsuki flipped the pancakes constantly, making sure none of them got burnt.
"Nice to know you can actually cook something without setting the kitchen on fire." Nao said as she walked over to the table. The statement caught Natsuki off guard, but she quickly retaliated. "Yeah. And it's nice to see you're not hungry. Leave more for me."
At that point, Nao's stomach growled, making the girl lightly blush and turn away. Natsuki put a few pancakes onto one plate and a few more onto another. She put them on the table and walked over to the fridge to get some syrup, then to the counter drawer to get a couple forks.
After laying the various items down onto the table, Natsuki walked back over to her counter and started up her coffee maker. Nao began to cut up and eat her hotcakes. By then, the air grew thick with an awkward silence. Natsuki stood over the coffee maker, thinking of something to say.
"So…" She started, attracting the redheads attention. Natsuki turned around and leaned against the counter. "What's new with you?"
Nao just gave Natsuki a stupid look. "Oh nothing really. Just my mother was killed in an accident and my life is in ruins. All the good stuff, ya know." Nao then gave a sarcastic smile. "Okay, bad topic…" Natsuki twiddled her fingers and looked around her small kitchenette.
Listening as the coffee began to brew, Natsuki then sat down at the table. The silence began to annoy Natsuki as she began to play around with her food. Her appetite suddenly vanished under all of the discomfort. "Tell me, Nao… Why?" Natsuki asked, looking in Nao's direction. "Huh?" Nao looked at Natsuki in confusion.
"Don't act stupid, you know what I mean. Why did you try and kill yourself?" Nao looked away, without so much as a second glance. "You're such a strong girl, or, you were. You go and try to off yourself like this. What's wrong with you!?" Natsuki began to raise her voice in question.
"ANSWER ME!" Natsuki jumped out of her and slammed her hands down onto the table as she yelled that.
Nao then whipped back around and glared at Natsuki. "You want to know why!? Tell me, what's the point of living a life that just takes away from you and gives nothing in return, hmm!?" Natsuki blinked at the question. "Why should I even bother living when everything I love is stripped away from me?" Tears then began to weld up in Nao's eyes.
"What about your friends, Nao? What about Aoi, Mikoto and all the others? How do you think they feel knowing that you chose to kill yourself?" Natsuki gave Nao a furious look. Nao just averted her eyes as tears began to stream down her cheeks. "It's only a matter of time… Before they get taken away as well."
-Smack- The sound of Natsuki's palm striking Nao's cheek echoed throughout the apartment. Nao reached up to the red, throbbing pain on her cheek. The redhead then got up and walked out of the kitchen. "Wait, Nao!" Natsuki followed right behind Nao.
Natsuki reached out and grabbed Nao's shoulder but the girl shrugged her hand off. "You know…" Nao started. "When I first heard about my mothers accident, I didn't know what to think…"
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"Nao… Nao…" Nao felt something nudging her body. "Nao, time to get up." A soft voice whispered to her. Nao's eyes slowly opened and saw a women standing over her. "Good morning, Nao-chan." The women said with a warm smile. "Morning, mama." Nao replied. The girl sat up on the side of the bed and looked around her dorm room.
Nao's mother moved into an apartment complex in town, close enough so that she could visit Nao every morning before she went to work. Her mother worked in trading company. Luckily, they kept her employment papers so that she could return to her job.
Nao's mother walked into the small kitchenette and continued making breakfast. Nao got out of bed and walked into the kitchen. "This dish…" Nao said puzzled. She looked at all the delicious food on the table. Her mother Akemi put down a bowl of rice next to it all. "Breakfast is served." Akemi said and smiled at Nao.
"This is all the food that you…" Nao said, trying to place where she saw all of this before. "…That I fixed on your first day of elementary school. All of your favorites." Akemi said looking at Nao. "My how you've grown." She said embracing Nao. "It seems like only yesterday when I saw that little girl run happily into school and now you're grown up." Akemi started to choke up.
"Okay, mama. I get it." Nao said, returning the embrace and pulling away. "Alright, go on and eat and get ready, Nao. We've got a big day today. We have so much to do." Akemi said, walking back into the living room of the dorm.
Nao could only smile. Finally, she had her mother back.
Nao and her mother have been doing some stuff together everyday in town so Akemi could catch up on some of the things she has missed in her daughters life. Today, they planned on going shopping together.
After Nao got all of her clothes together, she and her mother left the dormitories and headed for town. The sun began to shine out from behind the clouds. Nao looked over at her mother who was about a few inches taller then herself. She had shorter, lighter hair then Nao, but there was some things they had in common. Such as the eyes, personality and beauty.
They got on the subway to the city. Once they arrived, they got off and started down the sidewalk to the shopping district. "So, honey. Is there anything new that you want to talk to me about?"
Nao looked over at her mother, then back down to the ground. "Not really. Since schools let out, there's not much going for me."
Akemi stopped in her tracks, so did Nao, about a few feet further away from the women. Nao looked back at her mother. "Something wrong, mom?"
Akemi just grinned at her daughter. "You know, I've always wanted to go on a shopping spree with you. Now that you're all grown up…" Akemi slowly approached Nao. "Wait… What? Mom, hang on." Akemi grabbed Nao by the arm and they began to run to the one of the clothing stores. "C'mon Nao-chan. It's time you got yourself a new image."
After a few hours of shopping went by, Nao was about done with her mothers "shop happy" attitude. Holding bags of clothes, Nao sat down on a bench in the "JCPenny" store. She couldn't take it anymore, unlike her mother who was browsing through some pants. "Mom, don't you think this is a bit much? I mean, you're going to go bankrupt. You're still trying recuperate from your medical expenses." Nao said, trying to reason with her mother.
"Oh come on Nao, lighten up. You should never worry about such trivial things." Nao just turned away. Not only was her mother addicted to shopping, she also was kind of stubborn at times.
"Nao, is that you?" A familiar voice asked from behind Nao. "Oh, it's you Mai." Nao simply said, then turned back to her mother. "Nao, is one of your friends. Why don't you introduce me."
Nao sighed but then got up. "Mai, this is my mother, Akemi. Mom, this is Mai. Shake hands and then lets go."
"Nice to meet you, ma'am." Mai said, shaking Akemi's hand. "Likewise." Akemi said with a smile. "So, Mai. What's your relationship with my daughter? Friend, lover?" Akemi said with a giggle.
"MOM!" Nao yelled, attracting attention from other people around the store. "Oh come on Nao-chan, I'm only joking." Akemi chuckled. Mai blushed a little but then looked at the watch on her wrist. "Well, I better get going. I have to pick up a few pieces of clothing here then get to the supermarket and get some food for Mikoto." The orange haired girl said and start passed the girls.
"It was nice to meet you Akemi. Bye!" Mai said and ran off to the other side of the store. "Oh, speaking of food. I need to run to the supermarket as well. Would you please take these clothes back to your dorm room honey?" Nao couldn't refuse her mother, so she nodded her head and picked up the bags.
"I'll come by your dorm later and we can have a nice big lunch, alright Nao-nao." Akemi said and walked away. Nao stood their and sighed. Things have become so much more annoying ever since her mother woke up. But, she was happy. Nao finally could live along with her mother in peace, and that was enough for her t overcome anything.
The clouds in the sky started to turn darker in color. Nao entered her dorm room and laid the bags on the ground and plopped down on her bed. "Mmmm…." Nao soaked into her bed, allowing the comfort to overwhelm her as she slowly fell asleep. But something was bothering her, like a stabbing pain in her chest.
Nao really couldn't tell what it was, but something didn't feel right. In the end, she just shrugged it off and fell into a deep sleep. Letting her mind fill with wonderful images of her, her friends and her mother. A smile crept up onto her face before she was completely under.
Hours past, yet her mother did not show. Nao slowly awoke from her slumber, cracking her eyes open to a dimly lit room. She looked over at her clock on the nightstand. 'It read '7:37 PM'. "Oh man, I slept to long?" Nao looked around the room and noticed that no one was in the room. Her mother didn't come back.
-Ring, Ring- "Ah!" Nao jump from hearing the phone. Her grogginess was quickly replaced with shock.
Nao pulled herself off of her bed and picked up the phone. "Hello. Who is this?" Nao asked with an irritated tone. "Is this miss Yuuki Nao's residence?" A light, feminine voice asked over the phone. "Yeah, what about it?" Nao asked. "Yuuki-san, we have some bad news."…
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"…I just couldn't bare with the fact that my mother could die. I isolated myself from everything…" Nao continued on as she sat down onto the couch. "I just couldn't go through all that again. I just wanted to end the pain." The sobs growing in her voice. Natsuki could only feel sympathy towards the girl. She to knew what it felt like to have everything taken away from you.
Nao felt two arms wrap around her. A warm feeling of an embrace. She looked to see Natsuki cradling her. "what.. Are you doing?" She asked, puzzled. "You've been through so much. I know how you feel but, killing yourself won't solve anything."
Nao could only chuckle. "To think… I must have really sunk pretty low for YOU to be comforting me…"
"Better then nothing, right?" Natsuki replied. Nao started to doze off. The warm feeling became to much for her as she fell asleep.
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Aoi awoke in a dark, cold room. Her eyes fluttered as she looked around. She noticed a window up by the ceiling just emitting enough light to see. "Where… Where am I?" Aoi question as she tried to move, but something was wrong. Her hands were bound together by rope. "Hello! Is anyone there?!" Aoi shouted. "Help!"
"Scream all you want my dear. It won't help you in anyway. No one can hear you." A dark figure in the corner of the room said as it approached Aoi. "You… You're that man from before." Aoi said, pushing herself against the wall as an attempt to flee.
The man chuckled and removed his shades. "My name is Masaru Kenji and I'm looking for someone that you know, Senoh Aoi."
"H-… how do you know my name?" Aoi asked in shock. "Why, let's just say I'm well informed. I also know who your friends are, what they like and dislike and about everything about them and you." Kenji began to chuckle. "Now, tell me, where this girl is hiding." He asked as he pulled out from his pocket and showed it to Aoi.
"That's…" Aoi started. "Correct! Yuuki Nao." Kenji finished for her. "And you're going to tell me where she is hiding."
"Even if I knew where she was, which I don't, what makes you believe I would tell you anything?" Aoi said with an enraged tone. "fu fu fu… My, aren't we the tough guy." Kenji reached over and flipped a switch on the wall and light appeared over in the side of the room. "Oh my god.. CHIE!" Aoi screamed in shock.
Chie was hung up by a rope that was tied to her wrists. The was gagged with a cloth and there was blood running from her nose as well as bruises on her face. Her clothes were torn and had a few blood stains on them.
"You will tell me where Nao is, or I will kill you're little friend." Kenji began to laugh. Aoi could only sit in horror as she looked at her friends current state.
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Is this the end of Chie? What will happen with Natsuki and Nao? And what is Kenji after? Find out later in Endless Darkness!
A/N: Sorry for the late release guys. I kinda had writers block and I couldn't continue with it. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. And if you could, please find some time to give me a review. Just so I know people are reading and like the story. Later.