"Sometimes the best way to get over someone is to get to know them."
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or Mai HiME or Mai Otome.
Chapter 5 – Tight lipped
"It's barbaric. Look at the poor fish stuffed together in such a small tank. We shouldn't support such cruelty." The crimson-eyed woman said with spite.
"But…" I always liked the goldfish-game… I was looking forward to finding a new friend for Goggly… The chuckling of the chestnut-haired girl drew her attention back to the current situation. She could see that Shizuru was about to drag Natsuki away from the game, but Tomoe wasn't ready to lose yet.
"Onee-sama, let's rescue at least one of them from a painful and tragic death." The jade-haired girl tried to make her voice sound as dramatic as possible.
"Ara, ara, I think you're being a little melodramatic here."
"Aren't you cruel… and here I was thinking we could save at least one." She covered her face and sighed before turning her back on the upperclassmen. Her body was slightly shaking back and forth to imitate light sobbing. Natsuki, who had been silently watching the conversation, felt the need to step in. Crying girls did always make her panic. She just couldn't deal with fragile teary eyes at all. Clenching her hand around the stuffed puppy a little tighter, she felt like it was her duty to make Tomoe smile again as a sort of repayment for giving the husky to her. She walked over to the supposedly upset girl, and placed her free hand on the back of her underclassmen.
"Don't worry. I'll help you." She said in her typical serious tone.
Tomoe peeked through her hands with a grin. "So, Natsuki Onee-sama is scooping a goldfish just for me?"
"Let's rescue one of those poor little creatures." was the answer as she glanced apologetically over to Shizuru.
"Natsuki, you do know it's not helping the fish if you give the carney any money."
"It's also not helping them if I don't." Natsuki gave Shizuru a glance that said: 'But it's at least helping her.' The Kyoto girl stared at her younger friend in disbelief. After she was sure that Natsuki really was determined to cheer the other girl up she finally gave in, rolling her crimson eyes in defeat.
"Fine. Let's rescue one." Pronouncing the word 'rescue' in a very sarcastic manner, she walked over to the tank to take a closer look at the goldfish.
Tomoe immediately righted herself and smiled in delight. Natsuki's eyes lingered on the younger girl as she watched her rushing over to the tank. It somehow made her happy to see the joy in the gray orbs again. It was such a nice change to have someone around who doesn't always fake emotions.
"Onee-sama, look at this one!" Tomoe's voice was almost cracking over the energetic comment as she pointed at an agile little fish that was swimming near the surface.
Shizuru was just about to reply to the middle schooler when she noticed that Tomoe wasn't speaking to her but Natsuki. The change of addressing was definitely something she had to get used to. She didn't really mind that the girl stopped calling her 'Onee-sama', but the fact that she had suddenly shifted the addressing towards Natsuki made her curious.
"Alright, this one you say?" The raven-haired girl asked to make sure while pointing at the little creature.
Tomoe nodded frantically with her brightest smile. Natsuki turned around and gave the carney his money before kneeling down in front of the tank. After three unsuccessful tries, she started to feel a little embarrassed.
"Damn, that slimy little beast…" She mumbled when the next try went to waste.
"Natsuki, don't you think you've spent enough money by now?" Shizuru's voiced sounded as if a mother was scolding her child. "I'm sure Tomoe will be satisfied with whatever fish you catch her."
The glance which was now shifted towards the jade-haired girl made the words sound even more intense. It was obvious that Shizuru just wanted to get rid of her, but Tomoe wasn't going to be defeated yet.
It might be wrong to use Natsuki's weakness for sad girls against her, but I have no choice. I am not as stupid as you think Shizuru Onee-sama!
Natsuki who was still busy looking for the quick fish gave Tomoe a brief questioning peek to see if Shizuru was right, and the gray-eyed girl knew this was her chance. She changed her face from happy to somewhat sad before she answered the crimson eyed girl.
"If I can't have this one, I don't want any of them. I can't simply replace someone after I've laid eyes on them. It wouldn't be fair to the other fish, for I would still always think about only this one. I thought you of all the people would understand." The voice of the middle schooler was low, but Shizuru understood every sharp word. When Tomoe's eyes purposefully wandered over to the raven-haired girl who was still kneeling in front of tank to underline the statement, Shizuru almost snapped. She had a really hard time keeping her composure. Until now, she had simply thought of the jade-haired girl as someone noisy, but now she was sure that the brat was just plain evil. Gulping down the frustration, Shizuru forced a fake smile and turned around to pay the carney.
"What are you doing?" Natsuki asked as the Kyoto girl kneeled down beside her.
"Helping Tomoe getting what she wants, obviously. After all, we've always been a good team, right Natsuki?" She smiled at the green-eyed girl and received a nod. Tomoe only scrunched her nose over the statement. As if Onee-sama would really want to help. She wants to get rid of me… But I guess when they catch the fish I have no more excuses to stick around any longer… Please little fish, be fast enough.
And as if the fish had read her thoughts it was still not ready to be caught. It kept slipping away over and over again to a point where nothing more than frustration was left. The carney watched the desperate hunt and couldn't keep the grin off his face. Shizuru was about to give up and face her destiny of having to share Natsuki for the rest of the evening when suddenly water splashed into her face.
"Gotcha!" Natsuki screamed in delight, holding the jar that finally contained the sneaky little creature up in the air like a trophy.
"Natuski Onee-samaaaa! Thank you!" Tomoe's voice cracked with joy when she saw it was the right one. Without thinking she rushed towards the raven-haired beauty and flung her arms around the girl's neck. Natsuki was so shocked about the sudden body contact that she couldn't keep standing stable. Unable to hold her balance she stumbled backwards as an overjoyed Tomoe held onto her.
When Natsuki suddenly hit the edge of the tank behind her, her knees finally gave in to the weight. But instead of trying keep herself from falling by using her arms, she kept holding the jar up in the air out of reflex, and so she and Tomoe were sent flying backwards, right into the cold water. Soaked to the bone, the girls were sitting in the middle of the tank.
"Good try little one, but not god enough to beat a Kuga." Natuski said to the small creature in the jar with victorious smile on her lips.
Tomoe suddenly burst out in laughter.
"Oi, what's wrong?" Natsuki asked already a little embarrassed.
"Not good enough to beat a Kuga, eh?" She chuckled again. "Look at you, sitting soaked in a tank surrounded by fish, talking to the cute little one as if it's some kind of evil enemy."
"Talking about enemies…" Natsuki countered much cockier than expected, and although it took a second before the young girl got the meaning, her body instantly showed off a reaction. She could feel the heat rise to her cheeks over Natsuki's comment. How dare she… When did she become so glibly.
"Oi, you girls get out of the tank now! Or I'll make you pay for all of the fish!" The voice of the carney sounded completely annoyed. Natsuki once more smiled at Tomoe before a hand was silently held out in front of her.
Ah right, I'd completely forgotten that Shizuru Onee-sama is still here. I bet she's angry like hell at me. But it wasn't completely my fault, was it?
Of course the hand was only meant for Natsuki, but instead of taking it, the raven-haired girl handed the jar over to Shizuru. Tomoe could see that the Kyoto-girl was not only disappointed, but even a bit angry about it. Still, she took the jar without any comment. Natsuki was quick to get out of the tank herself, offering the jade-haired girl a helping hand.
"Are you okay, Natsuki?" Shizuru asked with concern, while bringing her hand up to stroke the girl's cheek. Natsuki ditched the contact but answered instead.
"Oh come on, it's just water. It's not like I'm going to die from it." The husky voice fit the cool response all too perfectly.
"Well, you might if you drive home on your bike with your wet clothes. You can stay over at my house tonight. I'll call a cab." Shizuru offered in the sweetest voice.
"No!" Natsuki spat out without thinking. "I mean… No, it's not necessary. I have something to do in the morning, and…" The stuttering was only one thing that made the atmosphere very awkward. The tension was almost tangible, and although both were still smiling, none of them felt comfortable. It was one of those moments where you wish you could just vanish, but since Tomoe had no magical abilities, she did the first thing that came to her mind. Not knowing if it would be of any help to either Shizuru or Natsuki she triumphantly tossed in:
"As sort of a 'thank-you-both-for-catching-the-cutest-fish-in-the-tank' I'd like to invite you to my house. It is right down the street, and Natsuki Onee-sama could change into dry clothes, while you can have tea. Both of you can safely drive home afterwards without having to worry about each other."
Shizuru was absolutely not thrilled by the idea, but she could see Natsuki deliberating. She already got her rejection, and driving home with her was better than having the girl alone at the house of this annoying little brat.
"That's a wonderful idea, don't you think Natsuki?" Shizuru's fake smile was at its best, but since Natsuki was still too uncomfortable about the previous conversation, she didn't look in the crimson-eyes and couldn't tell the difference. Relief was clearly visible on the face of the biker, and so she just nodded in agreement.
Tomoe took the lead, carrying the little fish in the jar while Natsuki and Shizuru walked silently behind her. Shizuru thought of a thousand ways to spark up a conversation, but nothing felt right to her, and so she just remained quiet. When Tomoe turned around and saw the tragedy, she couldn't help but mentally grin. That's how it feels, Onee-sama. This time it's my victory. Her gaze wandered to the raven-haired girl, who looked just as troubled, and suddenly she felt really bad about the whole situation. It was my plan to use Natsuki against her, but… I don't know if it's worth it. After all, Shizuru Onee-sama will never see anyone but her. Somehow, I don't even know why I fought so desperately at all. I've always thought Onee-sama was the one and only, but seeing her with Natsuki isn't as hurtful as I thought it would be. I wonder how Natsuki feels about that… Does she hurt, too?
A/N: I wanted to give my readers and especially my beta HollowPoint at least a little Christmans present. So, here's another chapter of our lovely NatTom pairing. I've also started working on the next She came at dawn chapter and I again worked a little on my new NatNao story which will be published next year. I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and hope to hear from somebody of you through a pm or review, yours damn unique