The theme tune to Sailor Moon shrieked angrily in the room.
"...wha...?" Natsuki struggled up to sit on her bed. Like always the covers were tangled about her, she often got into fights with the things and they often won. She dazedly picked up the phone the clock on it flashing 7.00 at her.
"Hello?" or that was what she meant to say but it seemed her series of grunts was understood anyway. She was not a morning person.
"Good morning, my Natsuki," the tinkling Kyoto voice laughed at her down the phone. Shizuru always insisted on ringing her to wake her up. It was either than or buy her a new alarm clock every morning. "I trust you slept well after last nights festivities."
"Shizuru!" she leaned forward gripping the phone, trying to hold onto the girl for as long as possible.
"Ara how I love it when Natsuki says my name," the voice continued on oblivious to the mood of the other girl "I want you in school today. There's someone I would like you to meet at lunch and don't worry Mai and myself haven't cooked up another match making session." There was a click as the other woman hung up.
"Shizuru!" she yelled down the phone panicked "Shizuru!" what was going on why was Shizuru not in Kyoto? Why she was not trapped under a truck by some cliff side? She knew it wasn't a dream because she never had that good of an imagination.
She dove around in her covers hunting for the remote to the TV. When she found it eventually she turned it on to the news channel thinking there must be something about the accident on. The channel 4 news girl came into view. It was obvious the only reasons she was hired was because she was pretty and had an incredible burst size.
"There's nothing but rain all week! Rain rain rain rain rain!" she smiled dazedly at the camera "and now back to you Jinta-san!"
Jinta the news anchor shuffled his notes and adjusted his glasses "top stories this morning; A man accused of murder has been let go today with police apologies as it turns out it was all a coincidence and the so called murder victims were actually on vacation. The heir to the Suzushiro company has declined his father's invitation to join the business and instead has decided to pursue a career in policing, more to come on this story as it dev-" she switched the TV angrily, she knew she hadn't hallucinated the accident it should have made the news but instead those media filler stories were taking up the spot light.
She got dressed in her uniform. She would check with her contacts as soon as she got back from school. She had to find out if anything else was out of place, the more she knew the better.
She pulled up in front of the school with her bike that showed absolutely no signs of the previous night. It was as clean and oiled as she always kept it. The handle bars and seat was just as worn as she left them and the bike showed no signs of tampering.
She walked past a bench where a couple sat kissing only to walk back again for another look "Chie? Aoi?"
Said girls pulled away from each other and looked up at her questioningly. Aoi was a little annoyed and it showed but calmed down when Chie put her arm around her shoulder "hey Natsuki you made it in today," the dark hair girl checked her watch "you even made it in early, what happened did Shizuru drag you out of bed?"
She stared in disbelief at the two girls that showed no embarrassment at being caught kissing. Mai had always told her that she thought those two would make a cute couple but she didn't really think they actually were a couple.
"How long have you two been together?" she could keep the shock from her voice.
"We've been together..." Chie looked up at the sky and she could see the mental calculation going on "...nearly two years now."
"But we haven't really been that open about it until Chie proposed!" Aoi tackled Chie making them fall onto the pavement. There was a quick flash of gold on Aoi's hand which she took to be the engagement ring. She quickly left as Aoi kissed a laughing Chie quite heatedly.
She could feel her face flush in embarrassment. She hadn't known Chie and Aoi were a couple but she didn't really know them that well so she couldn't put the cause of their strange behaviour down with the same mystery that caused her night to be erased.
She hurried to her history class where Mai was. She threw open the door harder than she intended causing her to be introduced to the class with a loud bang. Class hadn't started yet and the only a few students where there no one she knew though.
"Now that Kuga-san has made her prescience known perhaps she would like to stop blocking the door?" her head turned sharply at the sound of Midori. The unofficial leader of the ex-hime rangers Stood glaring behind her when she was supposed to be in the far corners of the world protecting who knows what with some professor that was as nutty as she was.
"Midori what are you doing here?!" she turned to face the older woman who was still glaring at her.
"Its Sugiura-sensie to you Kuga and if you stop blocking the door I'll be taking your history class," she pushed past Natsuki and strolled towards her desk "now take your seats everyone the bells just about to ring."
She took her seat and waited for the class to begin. Chie and Aoi came in arms around each other only to reluctantly separate and go to their seats. She waited for Mai to come but by the time class was over she hadn't shown.
"Kuga stay behind," Midori waited for everyone to leave before turning to the other girl "Natsuki what's up you seem to be confused?"
She stared at the woman divided about telling her what happened. But what could she say? This isn't real, you're not supposed to be here and I'm supposed to be at the bottom of some cliff while Shizuru flies of into the sun set? No she needed more evidence, proof that she wasn't loosing her mind.
"I'm not feeling so good," she held her stomach and tried to look sick. Her expression worked a little to well as Midori seemed to believe it, she wondered if she should be offended?
"Well after the party last night I don't blame you, you should have Youko check you out though" Midori slapped her on the back and before she had time to ask about the party she had supposedly gone to her teacher was half way down the corridor. Instead of going to the rest of her classes she went to the Student Council room to look on Yukino's laptop. She still remembered the password from when Shizuru was the president. She searched for as much information as she could about alternate universes and parallel dimensions. She couldn't think of anything else, maybe when she went over the cliff she somehow slipped into a different world.
She snorted as she closed down the laptop now she was sounding like Shizuru, who was a closeted trekkie fan. The glamorous Kyoto woman secretly loved anything sci-fi especially the American shows and had kept her up long into the night with various B movie marathons and sub par sci-fi shows. Her avid love for the genre was the only thing that Natsuki could tease her with as she tended to have no defence against a long rant about how bad most of the shows were. Thinking of Shizuru she checked her watch, good it was lunch time. Shizuru wanted her to meet some one. She got up to walk to the canteen she saw Mai and Shiho sitting together sharing a magazine.
"Mai!" she called and the other girl waved back enthusiastically "why weren't you in class?"
"Natsuki, you won't believe what happened!" Mai flashed her left hand at her and there on her third finger an engagement ring gleamed brightly in the afternoon sunshine "Yuuichi proposed to me last night!"
"That's why she wasn't in class. We've been going over bridal magazines!" Shiho squealed and hugged Mai "you're going to be my onee-sama!" Mai squealed too and both girls clasped at each other bouncing up and down in their seats.
She defiantly knew she was in another dimension if Shiho was cheering Mai and Yuuichi on. There was just something so wrong about that. She took a seat at the table warily hoping someone would save her from the bubble of enthusiasm her best friend had become. Her prayers were answered somewhat in the shape of Chie and Aoi arriving. Chie was carrying Aoi's lunch tray as well as her own she sat them down at the table taking the seat next to Natsuki.
"So the excitement hasn't worn of yet huh?" Chie said looking amused at Mai and Shiho's behaviour. Natsuki wasn't surprised to find that Chie knew exactly what was going on.
"What are they so happy about?" asked Aoi.
"Yuuichi and I are getting married!" Mai squeal from the mass that was ShihoMai. Aoi on discovering this bopped Chie on the head for not telling her the news and joined in so the mass now became ShihoMaiAoi, all were communicating in that high pitched sequel only teenage girls can achieve.
"I didn't tell her cause I thought this would be more fun" Chie grinned at her and she had the horrible feeling that her face was frozen in an expression of horror.
"What's going on here, then?" Yukino had arrived with her own tray.
"Yukino!" Natsuki dove at the other girl desperate for some type of sanity "please don't tell me you're engaged as well!"
Yukino blushed and answered "no Haruka and I haven't gotten that far yet."
"Oooh haven't gotten that far yet?" Chie leered at the shy girl "how far have you actually got?"
She was some what taken back by Yukino's word because she would never have pictured the shy girl with that loud language murder. Yukino blushed madly at Chie's words and took the seat furthest from her.
"Now, Now Chie-san teasing poor Yukino-san is very unfair" everyone turned at the table at the arrival of Shizuru who crept up beside them during the commotion. She placed a slim hand on Natsuki's shoulder "you should instead tease Natsuki she turns the most delightful shades of red."
"Shizuru..." her voice was a lot more breathless than she would like but she wanted to throw her arms around the other girl and never let go. Instead she grasped her hand that was on her shoulder and smiled bright enough that Shizuru looked startled for a moment. It was only for a moment though and the pleasantly polite smile was back.
"Is Haruka with you Fujino-san?" Yukino asked trying to hide her eagerness.
"I left him to talk to Reito about boy things" Shizuru rolled her eyes teasingly. Yukino thanked her before hurrying of.
"If you would excuse us I have someone I want to introduce you to Natsuki" Shizuru tugged lightly on her shoulder and she rose to follow the other girl. She was just glad to be near her after last night where she thought Shizuru was walking out of her life forever.
She did love Shizuru in her own way. She wanted to be near her always and missed her when she wasn't. She sat up late into the night watching bad 90s sci-fi shows just to see her smile and had eight different types of tea in her apartment even though she much preferred coffee. She might not kiss or grope the other woman like she was so fond of doing to her but she did love her, more than she could remember loving anyone else.
But as they walked down the corridors strangely devoid of other students she began to worry. Since everyone in this world seemed to be engaged Shizuru wasn't leading her somewhere so she could ask that question was she? She did love Shizuru but she wasn't ready to marry her. They hadn't even gone on an official date yet, though now that she thought about it they did seem to do many things couples did.
"Natsuki I have a question to ask you" Shizuru stopped walking and turned towards her. Was Shizuru actually going to propose to her in a corridor? to be honest she was a little disappointed she would have expected her to propose in a more grand location full of flowers and chocolate but she supposed that this made turning her down a lot more easier. "Natsuki what-"
"-I'm sorry Shizuru but I wont marry you!" she said quickly trying to spare her friend the embarrassment. Her face was flaming red and she couldn't meet the other girl's eyes "I do care about you and I don't want you to leave for Kyoto but..." she trailed of as Shizuru shoulder started to shake. "Shizuru..." she reached forward thinking she had made the other girl cry. She drew her hand back startled when she saw Shizuru's face. The other girl was indeed crying but the wide smile on her face and helpless laughter did annoy her a bit.
"What's so funny?" here she was trying to be sensitive and Shizuru starts laughing at her!
"My My Natsuki I didn't know your true designs" her hand fluttered to her heart "alas my heart shall have to make due without being your beloved wife" she wiped at her tears with a handkerchief smiling brightly at Natsuki who was torn between embarrassment and sullen anger.
"I'm glad to hear that Natsuki turned you down Shizuru" Reito stepped out from the classroom they had paused by "if you have no objections I would love to take her place." he held out his hand which she took lacing their fingers. Natsuki stared dumbly at them.
"I have no objections," she looked at him in a way that made her want to punch the former vice president. Natsuki somehow knew with a certain horror what was coming next. "I know you've already met Reito but I would like to introduce him to you as my partner."
She remembered hearing the rumours at school that the president and vice president of the student council were seeing each other. She remembered being huffy and avoiding Shizuru until the older girl finally managed to track her down.
"What has Natsuki making such an unbecoming face?"
"Nothing" she turned away "shouldn't you be with Reito?"
"Ara so that why my Natsuki is so unpleasant today," she was hugged from behind quite forcefully "don't worry Natsuki your the only one I want to be with."
She said it teasingly whispering in her ear and at the time she never understood the full meaning of those words only that they somehow made her feel better.
"Natsuki?" Shizuru's brow furrowed as she reached to touch her best friend who looked as if someone ran over her puppy "it's not that big of a shock is it?"
She knocked Shizuru's hand away from her and took of running down the corridor. Half blinded by tears she didn't notice who it was she knocked into. She ricochet of him into someone else but she ran on uncaring of the chaos she had caused.
"Kuga, no running in the halls!" the voice of the boy sounded a lot like Suzushiro Haruka.
"Goddamnit Kuga! Watch where your going!" Nao glared at the retreating girls back before stooping to pick up her cell phone that she dropped as Natsuki barrelled by. "Hello? Mum are you still there? Yeah some idiot knocked into me. No, I'm fine."
This place was all wrong! Shizuru shouldn't be with Reito. She should be with- she shoved that thought away unwilling to continue it. She had to get back to her own world if nothing else Shizuru and Reito had confirmed to her that this wasn't her place. Her Shizuru would never be in love with Reito.
She had to get back.
