A/N: Don't expect much! D: but enjoy either way.
"Shit happens."
It was all Kuga Natsuki could say when a boy randomly ran past her screaming with his ass on fire. She shook her head, dark blue hair swishing with her movement. Why was her school so weird? A slender figure with an athletic tone to it, Natsuki always walked the longer routes to Fuuka Academy alone. Her icy emerald eyes liked the scenery and there was something about a quiet morning with no one else around that made her feel refreshed.
Of course, things like the boy with his pants on fire was normal too.
When she finally reached the school gates, an immediate scowl stole her pink lips. It was almost a habit to start glaring everytime she arrived, as if going into the building was the worst thing she could possibly do. Of course, if one looked very closely, the rebel was actually frowning rather cutely. No one would've known it was about missing her morning cup of tea.
When you're new, no one actually cares. You don't go to the front of class and introduce yourself like a superstar, you don't walk in like you own the place and have people gawk at your amazing looks, but what you really do, is take a damn seat and wait for attendance to be taken.
That's exactly what Senoh Aoi did. With a sigh.
She had just moved there with a friend. Fortunately, they both attended Fuuka Academy. Unfortunately, they only shared the last two classes together. She was dimly aware someone else had taken the seat next to her, beside the window.
"You new?"
Blinking, Aoi looked up with her big blue eyes to see a girl who wore a white hoodie underneath her school vest. "Uh, yes, I am."
A nod. Green eyes settled on watching out the window, before flickering back to Aoi. "What is it?" she asked impatiently, noticing the other person fidgeting.
A little indignant with the sudden attitude considering the unknown girl had initiated small talk first, Aoi inquired, "Do you have a name?"
"If you're asking, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" the blunette said dryly.
Aoi would come to realize the person beside her was a very mysterious character. "Senoh," she answered simply. She waited for a response. She got one.
"Kuga."
And that was all for the rest of the period.
Only half of the school day had passed and as the lunch bell rang, she could care less to stand in line with the ridiculous amount of people for cheap cafeteria food. Natsuki brushed past the sea of hungry teenagers to get out of the building in order to meet up with Mai and the rest of the gang. That is, until someone bumped into her.
Not registering the small grunt that escaped her own mouth, Natsuki heard the clatter of books before spotting a fallen girl in the middle of it. She quickly knelt down to gather the mess she accidentally caused. "Sorry about that," she apologized, "Here." She only took a second to sense that the girl she helped back up her feet was new, what with all the unnecessary books she carried. When you attended a school for so long, you can pinpoint the newcomers of your grade like a radar.
How many new students did we get this year? She thought with a small frown.
Before the girl could look up and say thank you, Natsuki strolled onward. Her ears picked up on Senoh's voice, the brunette in her class earlier that day, from way behind and she came to her own conclusion that the two knew each other.
"I didn't get a good look at her friend," she muttered, running a smooth hand through her blue locks. She was outside now.
"Natsuki!" Mai was waving at her in the distance. "Everyone's at the tree. What's taking you so long?"
Since she was not one to ever be in a hurry, Natsuki calmly walked the rest of the way to her exasperated best friend. "I knocked into someone," she replied, shrugging.
"Oh dear," Mai sighed. The two started towards their friends nearby, already eating. "Did you at least apologize?"
The blunette rolled her eyes. "Hey, I do have some type of manners. I even picked up her books." They were interrupted by a girl with short black hair who stood up to greet them.
"Ah, here returns Busty-Woman and Curvy-Woman! Together to fight crime and-"
Natsuki flicked her on the forehead. "We're not superheroes." She paused. "And what curves?"
Chie, the one who was rubbing the red mark on her forehead now, gestured with her hand. "As you can see… You have a body that screams to be manhandled." At the intimidating glare, she said without thinking, " Ooh, Curvy-Woman turned into Grumpy Monster."
Before anything bad could happen, Mai sat down beside a younger girl with untidy black hair, casually bringing out her bento box. "Natsuki, you have curves, and yes, sometimes you are a grumpy person." At the sound of protest, Mai spoke to Chie this time, "Chie, those were very corny superhero names and yes, you should stop provoking Natsuki's wrath." She then swallowed the first bite of her lunch. "Hello there, Mikoto."
After directing a scowl at Chie, Natsuki grumbled before plopping herself down to join the other two. "I don't have curves…" She ignored Chie's presence as she settled down next to her.
Glad that everyone was being civil again, Mai decided to put in her own two cents. "But have you seen yourself in those tight biking leathers of yours? I mean, wow."
Chie couldn't resist. She chipped in, "Your legs are like a pathway to heaven!"
Annoyed, Natsuki retorted, "Have you always had a perverted mind?"
"No, no, I have an enlightened mind, enlightened," she said again for emphasis. As the two argued while Mai butted in to lower the chance of violence, no one noticed a pair of chopsticks swiping bits and pieces of their lunch.
Mikoto sat there eating with a delighted smile.
It was a different day.
Aoi had given her a pencil that looked suspiciously like the one she lost. "I saw you run into my friend yesterday," she explained. "She said this must be yours, and she says thank you for helping her."
Natsuki took the pencil. It had the words 'Ice Princess' carved into it. "Anyone with manners would've done it," she told Aoi nonchalantly. "Just tell her to get rid of those books so that she can see where she's going next time."
Aoi laughed. "She works too hard. That's all."
A week rushed by.
Kuga Natsuki never understood why girls went to the bathroom in numbers. Do the others just chat away while you're on the toilet? So when she left the school restroom one morning, she didn't spare a glance at the group of girls giggling their way into it. Although maybe she should have, because that group of giggling girls were also following an individual girl.
A girl with crimson eyes who didn't spare Natsuki a glance as well, too distracted by her own thoughts.
Today was raining.
Natsuki leaned on one hand, propping her elbow on top of the desk. She grunted when she felt Aoi nudge her.
"Hey, why the long face?"
The girl hadn't stopped speaking to her ever since she returned her pencil, so she might as well be entertained. "My friends and I will have to eat lunch in the noisy cafeteria."
Aoi looked over at the window and saw indeed the rain falling swiftly. "Oh. It's not that bad." She added as an afterthought, "The cafeteria, I mean. The rain probably won't stop before lunch."
Natsuki just hummed in response.
Aoi played with her hair for a moment, as if reflecting upon a decision. "Say, why don't you join my friend and I?" Before Natsuki could decline, she continued, "Zuru has made plenty of friends already but she told me she doesn't even know their names! I was hoping that maybe… How should I phrase it?"
The blunette raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't even know their names?" Her echo went unheard.
"You see, she's too polite to tell them to buzz off. Do you think you can let us sit with you?"
Natsuki crossed her arms, not liking this at all. "Why don't you tell them to back off if she can't do it?"
Aoi threw her hands up with a sigh. "Alas, she convinced me not to; she'd feel bad, you see?"
Natsuki made a noise of displeasure. "Are you guys really that desperate?" At Aoi's pleading expression, she considered for a moment. Then she looked at her pencil, the Ice Princess one, and decided the inevitable. "Fine. Today, just for today."
"Kyaa, thank you Kuga-san!"
"…Senoh-san, get off."
"Hehe, ok."
When lunch came around, Natsuki walked down the stairs with Chie in tow. She watched the short-haired girl clean her glasses for a few seconds out of boredom. Almost in autopilot, her feet carried her into the cafeteria that was already filling up with people scrambling for food.
Satisfied with her work, Chie fixed her glasses back on. "So we're eating with Senoh-san and who?"
"Some girl. Zuru or something." The blunette was unashamed for not knowing.
"Natsuki, Natsuki." A finger was wagged, as Chie lightly scolded the proud lone wolf, "You always need to know a girl's name before having lunch with her."
"…Where's Mai and Mikoto?" She seriously couldn't handle the gossiper alone.
"Oh, don't worry! I won't embarrass you in front of your new friends."
"Chie." It was literally growled. The girl chuckling behind her was just intolerable. Natsuki shook her head. "There's Senoh-san. The one with brown hair."
"Whoa." Chie gripped Natsuki's shoulders from behind in excitement. "She's cute! Is that her friend too?"
"The blondie?" she asked bluntly. "No clue."
The 'blondie' as Natsuki nicely put it, was smiling at something Aoi was saying before turning her head to where she was pointing. Which was at them.
Natsuki's eyes narrowed then widened in disbelief. "I think I know her." Her pace hastened, leaving Chie behind momentarily. She didn't care that her friend whined at her to slow down and didn't stop until she reached the table with the familiar face. "Hi," she said, breathless. She didn't pay attention to Aoi at all and for good reason.
Beautiful red eyes twinkled at her, in shock before quickly melting into wonder.
"I'm Natsuki." Her mouth moved by its own will and she had to bite down her tongue to keep herself from spilling words faster than she could think.
That hair of hers wasn't brown, it wasn't yellow… God, she needed to touch her. It just couldn't be her, that would be too much of a coincidence!
"Natsuki," the soft voice that came through those velvet lips, "Natsuki, it's me. Shizuru." An eager smile took its place. "Do you remember?"
At that question, she couldn't contain herself any longer. Instead of answering right away, the blunette came forward and grabbed the startled Shizuru into a bone-crushing hug. "Of course, I remember! Shizuru…"
Aoi's jaw dropped. Chie was speechless.
They know each other?
Shizuru laughed and returned the embrace with equal force. "It's been awhile," she whispered and to Natsuki it felt like she planted an invisible kiss on her neck. "I recently got back. Did you miss me?" she teased.
Natsuki shook herself out of a daze. "I haven't been thinking about you for the last few years we've been apart," she admitted, "But seeing you here! I just had to, had to…"
"Sweep me off my feet like reunited lovers?" Shizuru peered up mischievously to see a blush overtake Natsuki's cheeks.
"You've certainly matured, haven't you?"
"Mm, would you like to find out how much?" Shizuru's voice dropped down a few notches into a tone that sounded suspiciously seductive. The look she gave Natsuki was just as bewitching.
"Oh my god, what did I miss?" It was Mai. And Mikoto. And Chie and Aoi who she had totally forgotten still existed.
Natsuki stiffened. "It's not what it looks like," she managed to say without stammering. She had the ability to breathe easily once again when Shizuru slipped out of her arms, although she did feel a little weird. "I've known her since we were kids." She turned to face their friends with an uncomfortable expression.
Shizuru beamed. "Shall we sit down?" They all agreed, but most importantly, she sat straight across from Natsuki. The blunette pretended to look away, undeniably self-conscious at the intense gaze directed at her.
"I'm Tokiha Mai," her best friend began. "This one is Minagi Mikoto and that one is Harada Chie. I guess you both already know Kuga Natsuki." They nodded.
"Senoh Aoi," said the one who suggested the meeting in the first place, "and this here is Fujino Shizuru."
Natsuki almost jerked at the feeling of someone else's foot caressing her leg. She quickly looked up to see a suggestive smile in the form of Shizuru's lips.
"A pleasure," she said, except it came out as a sexy purr, or at least to Natsuki's ears it did.
The blunette swallowed, could practically see the flush of red creeping up her own neck. Was Shizuru trying to turn her on? They've only just reunited, so maybe it was only her imagination. Maybe.
As the minutes passed by, it was obvious that Chie and Aoi hit it off nicely. Mai took the time to get to know Natsuki's childhood friend and the blunette was relieved to be distracted in a chopstick fight with Mikoto over her last piece of sushi.
It didn't help that she lost because Shizuru boldly (out of nowhere) leaned forward to lick a rogue crumb off the corner of her lips. She was trying to distract herself from Shizuru's beauty after all! Her voice was too damn enchanting.
What no one but Chie didn't know, was that Fujino Shizuru was having trouble keeping her eyes off Natsuki as well. It was difficult enough trying to follow a conversation with Mai, but even more so when Natsuki kept glancing at her with hidden desire in those expressive eyes of hers.
Shizuru's libido dearly wanted to be released, but the Fujino was careful not to reveal it on the first day. Flirting couldn't hurt and she couldn't wait to talk with Natsuki alone. It was about time they caught up and see what changed while they were separated anyway.
Half-listening to what Aoi was saying, Chie subtly leaned in to whisper, "Natsuki, why does your friend look like she wants to explore your Cave of Wonders?"
It took a second or two for the blunette to process that. Her mild blush in turn made Shizuru across the table flash a smirk. "She's not a sex machine, Chie," she hissed back.
"Really? I bet she wants to get into your pants." Chie scooted away before Natsuki could say that was a bunch of shit.
As if the two rehearsed, Mai leaned in to whisper in her other ear, "Natsuki, stop looking as if you want to ravish Fujino-san on the spot. Manners please." Then straightened back to her earlier position.
Not knowing what Chie and Mai had said to make the girl in front of her start to stutter so cutely, in Shizuru's opinion, Natsuki's face was priceless.
A/N: Goddess, I did all of this today. I wanted to write more but i honestly couldn't rack my brain for more creative stuff. I posted it NOW cuz i knew if i left it alone saying, 'I'll get back to it, no worries' i WOULD NOT lol I'll just edit it later. Give me some feeback/criticism/advice please!