Natsuki waited nervously in front of the school once classes were over for the day. She glanced down at her watch, and tapped her foot lightly as she looked around for Shizuru, so that they could go to the honey-brunette's home.
Natsuki had let it slip during her lunch period to Mai and Nao that she had been invited over to Shizuru's house, so that the chestnut-haired girl could help her catch up on all the work she had missed over the last two weeks.
It was a huge mistake on her part to have said anything to her two friends, as they immediately began teasing her about going over to the house of her 'crush'.
Natsuki let out a small huff of annoyance, as she remembered the good-natured ribbing she'd received from her friends for the rest of the lunch period.
Natsuki looked around herself once more, beginning to wonder if Shizuru had actually already left without her. Natsuki's heart began to sink a bit at that thought, but then she was startled as soft hands came up and covered her eyes from behind.
"Peek-a-boo, guess who Natsuki?" a honey-sweet voice sing-songed in her ear, and Natsuki felt a small grin pull up the corners of her lips.
"Could it be someone who is about to get the tickle of her life!" Natsuki exclaimed as she twisted her body around, taking the honey-haired girl behind her by surprise, and proceeded to tickle Shizuru along her waist.
Shizuru did her best to hold her laughter in, and began squirming around to escape Natsuki's grasp, but she found she was caught securely, and so she stopped fighting it and burst out laughing.
Natsuki grinned brightly as she watched the girl before her giggling and wiggling about at her touch, and it was only when small tears of laughter appeared at the corners of Shizuru's eyes, did Natsuki finally stop her tickle attack.
Shizuru let out a few, stray giggles as she wiped gently at the corners of her eyes. She then looked up at Natsuki and returned her bright grin.
"That will teach me not to sneak up on you anymore," Shizuru said with a light chuckle, as she rearranged her schoolbag on her shoulder, and motioned for Natsuki to start following her down the walkway away from their school.
"Darn right it does," Natsuki agreed with a small, smug skip to her steps.
Shizuru covered her lips to hide a small giggle, as she watched how cute the girl beside her was being. She had decided that she really did like Natsuki Fujino, and she had actually found herself missing the dark-haired girl when she had been absent from school for those two weeks. She hadn't even really meant to ask Natsuki over to her home to catch up on all the work she had missed. The invite had just kind of slipped out but she was glad that it had, as she now had the perfect reason to get to know the ebony-haired girl better.
She was looking forward to it.
"So, where's that over-protective brother of yours today?" Natsuki asked, as she strolled along by Shizuru's side.
"Oh, Yuuichi? He had kendo practice after school today," Shizuru replied, as she led Natsuki to the front of Fuuka Elementary.
"Ah, okay. Say, what are we doing here at the elementary school? I thought we were going to your house?" Natsuki asked, as she looked around curiously at all the younger kids leaving the school either with family members, friends, or walking along on their own.
"We're here to pick up my little sister," Shizuru answered as a bright smile lit up her face, and she bent down with her arms held wide open, as a bundle of excited energy seemed to fly into her arms.
Natsuki blinked down at the happy little blond in Shizuru's arms, who turned brilliantly-blue eyes up towards her.
"Hi! My name is Alyssa! What's yours? Are you a friend of my big sis?" the little bundle of energy exclaimed, as she looked curiously up at Natsuki.
"Ahh, yeah I'm a...friend...of your sister's. My name is Natsuki. It's nice to meet you, Alyssa," Natsuki replied, once she got over her initial shock at finding out that Shizuru had a younger sibling. The raven-haired girl then leaned down, and gave Alyssa a slightly-crooked grin.
"Your big sis invited me to come over to your house today, to help me with some work I missed while I was out from school," Natsuki explained, as she reached forward and gently ruffled her fingers through Alyssa's baby-soft, golden locks.
Alyssa grinned at Natsuki, as she enjoyed the gentle feel of Natsuki's fingers running through her hair.
"I like Natsuki, Shizuru. She's nice!" Alyssa exclaimed as she reached forward, and wrapped her small hand around Natsuki larger one.
Natsuki blinked in surprise at this sudden proclamation by the younger girl, before her face flamed in embarrassment.
Shizuru chuckled lightly as she reached down, and took her little sister's free hand into her own.
"Let's all head to the house then," Shizuru said as she gently tugged Alyssa forward, who in turn tugged on Natsuki's hand causing the ebony-haired girl to rise back up into a standing position, to follow the two light-haired girls home.
~o~o~o~
"Mom, we're home! Mom? Mother?" Shizuru called out as she unlocked the front door to her home with her house key, and looked around for her mother.
"Mommy, we're here!" Alyssa cried out as she bounced into the house behind Shizuru, with Natsuki following closely behind the two sisters.
Natsuki took a few moments to look around Shizuru's home, which had a warm comfortable feel to it. She could tell that a lot of love and care had gone into making this place feel like a true home, and she was curious to meet Shizuru's parents to see what they were like.
The urge and desire to meet her own 'true' birth parents continued to grow within her everyday, and she hoped and dreaded in equal parts, the day that she would possibly meet them. Hope, so that she could finally meet the people who had brought her into the world, and see if she was really more like 'them' than she was like her 'current' parents. And dread, because she worried that they wouldn't want to actually see or meet her. That maybe they were happy with the child they were currently raising, and so would want absolutely nothing to do with Natsuki.
Natsuki shook her head to rid herself of these increasingly depressing thoughts. She was here to work with Shizuru. Not mope around in her house.
"Mother left a note on the fridge. It appears that she's gone to the store to get some supplies for dinner tonight. She won't be back for a while. Mother rarely ever 'just' goes to the store. She usually gets distracted running a myriad of errands," Shizuru said with a fond chuckle, as she thought of her easily-distracted mother.
"Ah well, that's okay. I'll meet her another time then, I guess," Natsuki replied, as she gave Shizuru a smile.
"So, Natsuki plans to come over again another time?" Shizuru asked with a teasing grin.
Natsuki blinked, and then blushed lightly as she gave Shizuru a small scowl.
"I-I guess. Maybe...I don't know! If you don't mind the company...I guess...I would..." Natsuki trailed off, as she looked down at the ground.
Natsuki then started slightly, when she felt a light and gentle touch against her cheek. She raised her head and eyes back up, to be pinned by Shizuru's intense gaze and soft smile.
"I would be very happy if Natsuki decided to come over to visit me again sometime," Shizuru said softly, as she allowed her thumb to gently stroke down the side of Natsuki's cheek. Shizuru then seemed to realize what her thumb was doing, and she immediately dropped her hand from Natsuki's face. A light blush stained her cheeks, which Natsuki found looked absolutely adorable.
I wonder if that's why she seems to enjoy teasing me so much...to get me to blush. Because she looks really cute when she's blushing herself...Natsuki thought to herself, with a light grin.
"Sis! I'm hungry. When's Mom coming back?" Alyssa popped back up between Shizuru and Natsuki, and gave her big sister a small pout.
"She'll be back home in a little bit, Alyssa. Why don't you go wash up, and I'll prepare a light snack for you?" Shizuru said in an affectionate tone, as she bent down before her sister, and lightly ran her fingers through her golden tresses.
Alyssa's eyes lit up and she jumped forward to give her big sister a tight hug, before she raced off upstairs to wash up and change.
Natsuki let out a light chuckle, as she watched Shizuru's hyperactive sister take off up the stairs two at a time. "She really loves you, ya know. I can see it as plain as day," Natsuki said in a slightly-wistful tone. "I never had any brothers or sisters growing up, so it's always nice to see other people's close relationships with their siblings."
Shizuru rose to her feet and stared at Natsuki for a few contemplative seconds, not really sure how to respond to Natsuki's sudden pensive mood.
Natsuki laughed a bit nervously then, embarrassed that she had once again allowed herself to slip into a melancholic state of mind.
"Come on, Natsuki. You can help me prepare a light snack for Alyssa and ourselves. We'll need the nourishment to study," Shizuru said finally, as she reached forward and slipped her hand into Natsuki's, giving the sable-haired girl's hand a warm squeeze.
Natsuki nodded and smiled back at Shizuru, and let herself be gently tugged towards the kitchen.
Two hours later, after doing intensive revision and studying upstairs in Shizuru's room, Natsuki was passed out on the honey-brunette's bed. She had exhausted herself studying, and had drifted off to sleep face-down on her school work at Shizuru's low table. Shizuru had affectionately smiled down at Natsuki's lightly-snoring form, before she'd gently nudged the navy-haired girl into brief wakefulness, and helped her stumble over to the bed.
Shizuru had heard her mother finally come home then, and had gone downstairs to help her with all the groceries and supplies she'd brought home.
When Saeko heard that her eldest daughter had a new friend over she'd been excited, and rushed upstairs immediately to meet this new friend. But once Saeko saw the figure huddled fast asleep beneath Shizuru's blanket with her back turned towards the door, Saeko didn't have the heart to awaken the young girl. She resolved that she'd meet her another time.
In the meantime Saeko decided she needed to shower. She'd been out on the road all day, and just wanted to wash away the grime of a long, hot day from her body.
While she was showering Natsuki woke up, lightly rubbing her sleep-filled eyes. She looked around Shizuru's darkened room, and started slightly as she realized how late it had gotten.
She had to get home so her parents wouldn't get too worried about her.
Natsuki packed her school supplies back into her bag, and headed downstairs in search of Shizuru.
"Ah, you're finally awake sleepyhead," Shizuru teased lightly, as she placed three plates on the dining-room table. Natsuki blushed lightly, and then noticed that there was now one other person in the small house with her and Shizuru.
"Yo, Natsuki," Yuuichi called out from the living-room with a hand raised in light greeting, before he went back to flipping idly through tv channels, from his seat on the couch before the tv set.
"Yo...Yuuichi," Natsuki replied with a small wave of her own, and a quizzical look at Shizuru's brother.
Shizuru noticed the look and chuckled lightly.
"I told Yuuichi to be a gentleman, and behave himself around you. I love him dearly, but I don't want or need the over-protective brother bit he's been playing, ever since we met you," Shizuru said with a light smile, as she set a few utensils down on the table.
Natsuki nodded and then surprised Shizuru with a quick hug. The chestnut-haired girl blinked briefly, before a warm smile crossed her lips.
The navy-haired girl then pulled back from the hug, and Shizuru's grin grew slightly as she watched a cutely-fidgeting Natsuki.
"Thanks for having me over today. I'm sorry I didn't get to meet your parents. I have to get home now before my own parents begin to worry," Natsuki said as she adjusted the bag on her shoulder. Suddenly what she'd just said clicked something into her mind.
"Hey Shizuru, you've only ever mentioned your Mom. Where is...do you live with...ahh...this suddenly seems like kind of an awkwardly personal question," Natsuki stammered out with a bright blush, as she lightly rubbed the back of her head in mild embarrassment.
Shizuru smiled softly at Natsuki, as she began walking the dark-haired girl towards the front door.
"It's okay, Natsuki. You can ask me anything you want. I promise to always try to answer anything that you ask, to the best of my ability. Unfortunately, I can't really answer that question you asked myself. I'm not really sure just where my Dad is, and Mom is always pretty secretive about giving me an answer. I figure someday she'll tell me though, so I don't push her. She's an amazing woman and mother, so I don't really miss not having a dad around...much," Shizuru answered with a light smile, that didn't quite reach all the way up to her eyes.
Natsuki nodded her head, regretting having asked the question, and resolved to take Shizuru's mind off of any sad thoughts she may be having now, because of her questions.
Shizuru let out a small surprised gasp as she felt a soft warm pressure on the side of her cheek, and she slowly raised her hand to press against the spot that Natsuki's lips had briefly touched.
Natsuki's face was lit up brighter than a Christmas tree, and she was fidgeting badly on the front steps before Shizuru's front door.
"That was for all the help you've given me today. And for...just...well...just because! I'll see you in school tomorrow! Goodnight, Shizuru!" With that Natsuki ran off, her face still burning but a small smile playing across her face, as her lips tingled where they had pressed against Shizuru's soft cheek.
~o~o~o~
"I can't believe the school is having this stupid parent-teacher-student meeting, and we all have to be here," Nao groused as she knocked back a cup of juice, while standing beside her two best friends at the refreshment table.
"Well, the faculty and principal wanted to have a kind of 'informal meeting' with the parents and students, so we had to be here," Mai said, as she sipped her own juice from a small glass cup.
"I agree with Nao. This is pretty lame," Natsuki grumbled, as she leaned against the refreshment table.
"My my, Natsuki should show a little more school spirit," a soft Kyoto-ben accented voice spoke up, and Natsuki immediately straightened up and looked forward. She couldn't fight the small, happy grin that crossed her lips as she watched Shizuru walk towards her, with Yuuichi, Alyssa, and a midnight-blue haired woman in tow.
As Natsuki watched Shizuru walk closer to her, she found her emerald-green eyes magnetically drawn to the dark-haired woman following behind Shizuru. There seemed to be something...almost familiar about the woman. The way that the woman's own emerald-green eyes glittered in the brightly-lit room. The way her short, raven locks curled up at the base of her neck. Something almost seemed to scream at Natsuki as very important about this woman, but her attention was dragged away as her parents came to stand beside her.
"Ah Natsuki dear, I see that you've found all of your friends. Why don't you introduce them and their parents to us? After all this is supposed to be a 'meet-and-greet'," Kimiko Fujino said in her soft Kyoto-ben, as she and her husband came to stand beside their daughter.
Ichiro Fujino found his eyes being drawn just like Natsuki's had been, to the ebony-haired woman behind a young girl who looked surprisingly a lot like his wife. In fact the young girl looked strikingly like his wife did when she was much younger. And the dark-haired woman, who was now talking with one of Natsuki's red-haired friends, looked so much like...no...it couldn't be. It just couldn't!
Ichiro prided himself on being an incredibly sharp and brilliant man. He was able to pick up almost immediately on things and details, that most others would take much longer to realize or not get at all.
And right now the detail that was practically flashing in his face like a bright red ALERT sign, caused him to take a slightly unsteady step forward, and raise his hand towards Shizuru's face. This caused the honey-haired girl to immediately turn his way, her ruby-red eyes staring curiously at him.
"Excuse me, ahh...my dear," Ichiro suddenly found himself at a small loss of words, which was not something that happened to him...ever.
His wife glanced over at him in concern, as did Natsuki. The ebony-haired girl had a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she felt like rushing forward and stopping whatever it was her father was trying to say.
She could just feel that whatever was going to come out of his mouth next, would irrevocably change her life...again.
Ichiro wet his dry lips and cleared his throat, as he once again tried speaking.
"My young miss...are you...could you possibly be...I think that maybe...dammit! Young lady, I think that you may be my biological daughter!"
The sound of a glass shattering on the floor beneath them, was the only sound heard after that.
AN - A HUGE thank you to those who read and took the time to review my last chapter. You gave me the drive I needed to complete this new chapter ^^
Also could you guys please review to tell me if you like this story or not. I got a couple...unflattering...reviews last chapter because the plot is so 'different', and so I would just like to know if the rest of you would like to see this story continued. Thanks ^^