A/N: It's been about a month since I last really updated this tory and I think I will wait a month each time because...no one reads this one so for the few and the dedicated for all odd fictions. I give you an odd chapter of Azure Monarchy. I suggest a minor reread of the previous chapter. I'm on holiday right now so who knows..maybe I can breathe, sleep, eat and live Shiznat fanfics again. We will see...I need something to inspire me again.

Disclaimer: I don't own Mai Hime and Utena so hopeful BePapas won't be after me with Sunrise.

Azure Monarchy by Kara papas

Elevator

The dinging sound ringed through her ears as she hastily walked into her elevator as the other finished rising. The timing was so close and she had left that Karisan woman in the apartment crying; the woman that would be in love with her daughter. However she had never really loved her daughter when the thought crossed her mind. She had gone crazy in the last few hundred years. And after the birth of the strange pregnancy her mind went to the wayside. She had difficulty keeping herself from falling back into that wild haze that was brought upon her the day the King of Webstein fell under the blade of the Mistress of the Warlord of Rose. The azure haired woman who bore an uncanny resemblance to Natsuki put her hand on her forehead and grimaced at the thought of the memory. It was hazy and in black and white.

Flashback

The king and queen had just gone out for a morning walk outside of the summer castle in the great rolling hills of the Karisan landscape. The land was breathtaking and beautiful and the people were happy with the fact that the Kruger royalty had overthrown the wild warlords of Karis. The Krugers had been in Karis for about five years and everything was finally becoming stable. The King was an older man about in his mid 50s but had the spirit of young lively knight as he'd often boast to his very young queen. The queen was a vibrant youth at least to the king she was but she was still considered to be an old maid by the time she got married to the king and many people worried that she'd never produce and heir because of her older age. The king could never see her as old. The flowing long locks of azure a long with harlequin eyes. The twenty year age gap meant nothing to the king as they entered the open garden and childishly played hide and seek with each other when at the maze. However it was the last time she'd ever play in the maze with her beloved King who she had finally given an heir to unknown to herself and him.

"Come now my love you can give better chase than that!" The King happily said as he ran away from his young Queen.

The azure haired woman scrunched up her nose and pouted and as she tried her best to keep up while wearing a ridiculous dress.

"My love!" The woman almost sung out. "You try running in a dress and maybe one day I be the one saying 'catch me if you can'!" The woman teased. Then she heard a strange sound she was not accustomed to hearing. It was the sound of someone crying out in pain and her mind went into instant shock knowing the voice of her most precious king. The sound of metal against metal ringed out as she finally caught up with him.

He was fallen to his knees with his royal blood pouring forth from his body as the villain before him was none other than a woman cackling. The Queen shuddered as she saw that this raspberry haired woman raised her sword for one last swing. It was the finishing move and it was dealt in front of the queen and another that came running in.

"Shiori!!! NOOOOO!!!!!!" A orange haired woman shouted, but too late as the sword easily severed the head from the neck and the bloodied torso. The young queen let out a chilling scream as she fell to her knees crawling over to the decapitated head cradling it as the two women argued. Then she looked over at the sword as her mind took leave.

End Flashback

The elevator dinged once more and the azure haired woman found herself at the lobby of this grand hotel and walked over to the front desk and dropped the keys there without saying a word to the foreman. As she walked out in her haste she ran into a young reporter from the Webstein news paper. The girl was a ditzy energized girl but at the same time very lazy with long hair done in a strange bun with braids coming out of it.

"Ouf!" The girl sputtered about and opened her eyes as the woman caught her by the shoulders.

"I'm sorry. Are you okay?" The azure haired woman said as the young brunette kept her eyes glued to the beautiful green eyes before her. She nodded furiously and the woman patted her on the shoulder and left as fast as she could on foot. The girl watched in awe and then her beeper and cellphone went off at the same time. The girl quickly fumbled for the phone.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU ARIKA!!!!!!!!!!!!" The voice that was obviously Mai's boomed through the receiver into the poor ear of Arika Yummeiya. The girl's hair frazzled out and she looked as if a shock of electricity traveled through her as the voice kept on.

"YOU NEED TO GET UP HERE RIGHT AWAY!!!! WE'VE GOT ONE HELL OF A SCOOP TO LEAK INTO THE PUBLIC!!!!!!" The voice again violated the poor girl's hearing; what little she had left.

"I'll be there right away ma'am!" The line went dead and Arika found herself in a complete dumbfounded state as what to do to get to the penthouse the fastest. Meanwhile a relieved sigh exited the mouth of Mai as she sat down on the couch in the living room as Natsuki ushered Shizuru to the bedroom and came back out rubbing her temple.

"So, Mai…" Natsuki said hoarsely as Mai leaned her head onto the back of the coach gazing at the ceiling.

"Mmmm, yeah Natsuki?" Mai said as she such her eyes.

"Where do you get the idea that I am going to tell you anything about what is going to befall the future of this country?" Natsuki said calmly as she sat down on the couch near by Mai. The orange haired woman brought her head level and turned it to look at Natsuki who was holding a bag full of used bullets. Natsuki sighed and looked over at Mai. "I will give you a full interview of the death of Colonel Natsuki Kuga. Okay?"

"But…you're Natsuki Kuga….aren't you?" Natsuki tossed the bag of spent rounds to Mai who fumbled around upon catching the bag. Mai looked at the bag and then Natsuki with a questioning look, "These are?"

"Those are the bullets that killed Natsuki Kuga." The look upon Mai's face became a long drawn out gawking shock. Mai could suddenly feel the weight of the amount of bullets in the bag realizing that the bullets were real, but she still tried to reason out it. The prideful yet very shocked editor's mouth was just opening in protest to the bullets right as the door to the penthouse opened and closed. Natsuki gaze went from Mai to a short brunette with braided pigtails and who now looked like a fish out of water as her eyes were tracing every last inch of Natsuki's body.

It was truly an interesting sight as the three women in the living room part of the penthouse just ideally stood about in silence. Shizuru walked in the living room perfectly dressed as she always did and analyzed the situation flawlessly, but decided to go with the silence as she sat down next to Mai grabbing the bag of the bullets from the editor lap. Mai gaze was averted by this gentle action and she soon realized the situation was not being handled and her reporter that just arrived seemed to be seizure at the sight of Shizuru and Natsuki. Mai didn't know that her report, Arika, had already once encountered Natsuki and Shizuru.

"Natsuki, I am afraid I have to break this silence, but should I aid you in verifying the bullets usage." Shizuru said loud enough for Mai to hear. Of course Mai heard and snapped right back into fearless editor mode.

"ARIKA!!!!" Mai shouted at Arika once she turned her head in the direction of the young reporter who seemed to be able to ignore the brazen editor's voice.

"I just saw you!!!!" Arika said to Natsuki and then the girl blushed furiously. "I also saw you with her." Arika pointed over at Shizuru who gave the girl a quick wink and blew a kiss. Arika grinned stupidly and Natsuki growled a tad bit jarring the girl out of her temporary daydream and smack into a life or death situation with Natsuki's anger. "Uh, yeah…I saw you two. Like not too long ago. I swear!" Akira searched for the words in her head when Mai cleared her throat.

"AHEM!" Mai finished and covered her mouth excusing herself. "So Ms. Fujino, what or how do you plan to verify that these really went threw or into the body of Natsuki Kuga?" Mai said with an odd confidence, but was met with a very lively expression from Shizuru's face. The orange haired woman cringed at Shizuru's obvious morbid delight. Shizuru glanced over at Natsuki who was busy trying to calm down Arika and looked back at an impatient Mai.

Shizuru sighed and look ahead of her and then stared at Natsuki's body as flashes of a not so distant memory ripped through her mind. Her perfect frame so cold and soaked in blood, my Natsuki. "I have to tell you about a famous assassin from Karis Ms. Tokiha."

"Is that who killed Natsuki Kuga despite the fact she is right there standing by my report Arika." Mai said in a cocky tone, but noticed that Shizuru's eyes were fixed on nothing. She could now sense there was something more serious going on. "Arika get over here and sit by me with a notepad or a tape recorder."

"Yes ma'am!" Arika scuttled over and Natsuki sat by Shizuru with a stoic expression that could fool most, except Mai. In the depth of Natsuki's eyes there was a story that mirrored Shizuru's. An event had happened and only those two knew the true details of the events.

"I apologize." Mai signaled Arika and the young reporter turned on the tape record and placed it gently on Mai's and then got a notepad to jot down questions that were asked and short hand the answers received if possible. "Now tell me about this famous Karis assassin."

Shizuru smiled because she would have to eventually reveal who she really was, but she would go as slowly as possible. She knew that the Red Princess was an infamous assassin that no one cared for because of the amount of lives she had taken. Shizuru felt her hands being enveloped by Natsuki's and she made eye contact with her lover.

"The assassin I'm going to mention you will know right off the bat who she is. The Karis assassin; Red Princess witnessed the death of Colonel Kuga." Shizuru and Mai eyes went wide and she began to wonder the possibility of what Natsuki said was true or not. It did not makes sense still. Mai knew Natsuki very well and the woman in the room with her was Natsuki Kuga, but if the Red Princess was there; Natsuki might have been really killed. The confusion was settling in when Mai instantly assumed something out loud.

"Then the Red Princess is responsible for Kuga's death then." Mai said with anger. Shizuru smiled at the valiance of Mai's friendship.

"No, I didn't kill Natsuki." Shizuru said looking at Natsuki's hands. "I did earlier, but that was an accident that she insisted on." Shizuru said frowning and Natsuki became guilt riddled, but Mai was in a small state of shock mentally going over what she had just heard.

"You can go over the delights afterward, but please continue on with the witnessing account of the so called death of Colonel Kuga." Mai said swallowing hard.

"I only heard the shots being fired. It was dark and we were at Angel's Harbor. We had been separated. I followed the sounds of the shots fearing the worst only to see a man in front of Natsuki holding a gun against her forehead. I hastily fired my weapon killing her attacker, but I was too late." Shizuru face started pinking and her eyes began to water. "Natsuki was dying by the time I had gotten to her. Her body was cold but she was still lucid. She was bleeding so badly. That was all that covered her front was blood. The wounds were all fatal because the blood was deep blood. It was a blackened red the was seeping from her mouth every time she tried to talk." Shizuru face was covered In tears and Mai couldn't help but stare at Natsuki the entire time because Natsuki was shivering and crying as silently as she could. Natsuki grabbed Shizuru and pulled her into a fierce embrace. Shizuru mumbled against Natsuki shoulder but Mai could clearly make out what she was saying.

"Natsuki…I couldn't feel your warmth…your body had gone so cold and lips were drenched in your blood. I just…I couldn't have lived on…I didn't know…I was lost…without you…oh God…Natsuki I was so scared. You were heading to place I could not follow. I love you…Natsuki…I love you."

Mai hit the stop button on the tape recorder. "Arika you have the entire week off and it's a paid vacation…forget everything you've heard…and go ahead and leave now." Mai said harshly without glancing at the girl once. Before the editor of the Webstein newspaper were two war scarred women who had suffered alone and she had now seen proof of something that should not be possible. The door to the penthouse shut and Mai gulped.

"How is it that you are alive? Tell me. I know you Natsuki…this is you but…that really happened. I mean I'm holding spent bullets and you two are whimpering like school girls. You are too strong of a woman…so …. So it really happened." Mai said in hushed shock as Shizuru slowly was released from Natsuki's embrace. Natsuki cleared her throat a bit and started to explain more theory behind her second life.

"Mai, I am really so very fortunate to even be alive. You see I was mentally attached to the body that died. It was like I really was that person. IN fact Dr. Youko says she can't figure out the exact science behind it because there was no way of collecting data, but I was really that person. I mean I have the memory of being shot up. And, I can tell you…it was frightening. I remember what dying feels like. I died. " Natsuki breathing became noticeably uneven and Shizuru began to whisper in Natsuki ear and Natsuki green eyes locked onto Shizuru form as Shizuru gently kiss Natsuki cheek calming her.

Mai was moved by all this affection between the two, but she was still left with one pressing question. "If you claim to no longer be Natsuki Kuga. Who are you now?"

Natsuki proudly smiled at Mai. "I am the last remaining member of the lost monarchy of Webstein. I am, by this day forward and when I am shown before the citizens of Webstein, will be Queen Natsuki Kruger." Mai's eyes widen with amazement as her long time friend went from revealing death to royalty. Mai had away to aid Natsuki for this new role.

"This is all so much. How do you handle it?" Mai said leaning forward and watched Natsuki go red. The seriousness left the woman like water in desert. Mai giggled and slowly walked away. " I have to get away from here….like I said too much. It's almost absurd, but it's real isn't it?" Natsuki nodded and grinned waving goodbye. Mai got the hint and as she traveled down the elevator her mind thought of many things for this upcoming paper.

Mai determination paid off as the doors opened at the lobby. The title page of a upcoming paper flashed into her mind.

"THE AZURE MONARCHY"


Mini Feed:

Kara: -playing City of Heroes- You're gonna die! Mwhahahahhahahahha

Natsuki: -playing City of Villians- NOOOOOOOO you evil author!!!!!!!

Shizuru: -also playing City of Villians secretly sneaking up on Officer Lopez(kara)-

Kara: -character dies- OMG!!! NOOOOOOO!!!!

Natsuki: - Character is healed- Who did that?

Shizuru: -character appears before Natsuki-

Natsuki: pauses- Red Princess???? what kind of name is...wait that villian is wear a yukata!


So reviewage would be very nice.