LIES AND PRETENCES
Chp. 6: A Sorrowful Confrontation And Making Amazing Strides
"I have figured out your lies Akemi Fujino and I Natsuki Kuga will get the answers that I deserve to know regarding the supposed death of Shizuru" she said as she nodded goodbye to her friends and headed towards the entrance to leave the restaurant.
"I hope that everything will be alright Chie" said a very worried brunette as she hugged her girlfriend close as they both watches the retreating back of their friend as she left the restaurant.
Once outside Natsuki made her way to her motorcycle with a heavy heart and a burning rage that could never be put out until she could get the answers to all of her questions that can only be answered by one fuckin' crazy bat known as Akemi Fujino. She had to shake the thoughts of that woman out of her head right now cause now she had to figure out how to talk to the one person that has stood by her through all this hard ache and pain. Nao Yuuki was a wonderful friend and a wonderful lover as well but Natsuki new that she had chosen to be with her because she wasn't as possessive and overbearing as Shizuru was and yes she had love for the woman. But if you were to compare the love she has for Nao to the love she had or better yet still has for Shizuru she knew deep down in her heart that she loved the ruby eyed goddess a lot more than the red headed vixen, and that explained why she could never get the woman out of her mind as well as her heart once she heard about her death back then. Sighing once more she started up her sleek metallic beast and headed for her apartment that she shared with the red head.
Finally reaching the apartment complex Natsuki parked her bike and just sat there for a few moments to gather her thoughts on how to approach the red headed woman that she loves. "Damn it Kuga you can do this, no, shit you have to this so you can try and make things right if you can" she said to herself as she got off the bike and headed for the stairs that would lead her to the place that she calls home. Once she reaches the door to her apartment she could hear the sound of feint chatter coming from behind the door, so she slowly inserted her key and turned the knob and entered the apartment without making a single sound. As she entered she could make out the voices of Nao and their friend Mai Tokiha talking to one another. She could also hear the sound of Nao's voice quivering as she spoke to their friend and she could feel the heaviness in her heart as she got closer to the kitchen door.
"Nao you don't really know what is bothering Natsuki right now, so why don't you just wait and talk to her so you can find out what is truly going on" said Mai as she rubbed her friends back.
"I fucking know what the problem is Mai and it has always been the problem starting from the day when Natsuki left HER to be with me" replied Nao.
"So tell me what you think the problem is Nao, huh tell me cause I want to know why you are acting like this and why you think that Natsuki doesn't love you anymore."
"She loves me I know that Mai but she doesn't LOVE me as truly being in love with me okay are you happy now that I said it."
"Look Mai she has cried so much lately and it has been breaking my heart hearing her cry cause you and I both know that she wouldn't cry in front me."
"What is it that she has been crying about Nao, tell me if you know" she asked with pleading eyes.
"I have heard her call out Shizuru's name dammit and it hurts like hell to hear that coming from the woman that I love so much knowing that she is lost without the one person that she loved most in this shithole of a world" said Nao as she sobbed some more.
"Oh Nao I am so sorry that you have to go through this, but you knew from the beginning how much Shizuru-san meant to Natsuki, and I do admit that Natsuki went about things the wrong way when it came down to her relationship with you and Shizuru-san."
"I thought that I meant enough to her to make her forget about Shizuru, but all I was doing was kidding myself the whole damn time, because the only reason why she started having feelings for me was because she was tired of Shizuru's teasing and games" she said with a lopsided smile.
"You know that I do love you Nao" was the low husky voice that they heard coming from the doorway to the kitchen.
Both women turned to see a tall blunette leaning on the door frame with a sad look on her face. Mai looked surprised to see the other woman and Nao just gave her a weak smile as she entered the kitchen completely.
"Yeah mutt I know that you love me but 'Are you in love with me' cause that is the million dollar question here isn't it" she said with a smirk.
"Nao, I do love you but I can't lie to myself or you any more cause it hurts so much to see all the anguish in your eyes, so the truth is that I Natsuki Kuga am not in love with you Nao Yuuki cause the only person that holds that place in my life was and is Shizuru Fujino and I am truly sorry for hurting like this, so please do you think that you can find it in your heart to forgive this fool standing here in front of you."
"I knew it all along mutt but I wanted you to finally man up and realize it for yourself, because I knew that we were only living in a fairytale romance and I also knew that it would come crashing down sooner or later" she said looking the blunette straight in the eyes.
"Okay you two need to be alone to talk alone right now and I think that I should make myself scarce right about now" said Mai as she made to get up and leave.
"No Mai wait I need to talk to you as well because I have found out something and I need your help to try and figure out what I should do next."
"What is wrong Natsuki and why are you acting all nervous" asked the busty red head.
"I think that...that Shizuru is still alive and her fucking mother is hiding her somewhere and I don't know how to go about finding out for sure so that's why I need your help, please help me" she said as tears began to flow down her face.
"Oh Natsuki, I'll do all that I can to help you" said Mai as she went to capture her friend in a loving embrace.
"How do you know that she might still be alive and who told you that she might be" asked the busty woman.
"I talked to Chie and Aoi earlier and they told me about two women that had been in their restaurant three days ago" Natsuki said as she looked at her friend.
"Well what did they tell you exactly when you saw them today, please tell me everything Natsuki" the red headed woman stated as she pulled her closer and hugged her tighter.
"Mai, Chie said that see saw a woman that looked just like Shizuru from her walk to everything in between including her crimson eyes" she said as she held her friend tighter.
"OH MY GOD, then that really might have been Shizuru-san that I saw that day when we were out shopping, Natsuki" replies Mai with excitement brimming in her eyes.
"Wait is that what you were talking about when you said that you thought you had seen a ghost Mai" Natsuki asked.
"Yes Natsuki is and I remember seeing two women that day one was a tall blonde and the other one that I thought looked like Shizuru-san was a brunette" Mai stated.
"What the hell are the two of you talking about here you know that we were told that Shizuru had died from her injuries so how could she be alive" exclaimed an irritated Nao.
"If you remember the whole incident about her supposed death we never got to see her body let alone get close enough to her mother to ask any questions" stated Mai as she glanced at the other red head in the room.
"You're right Mai cause when I asked Akemi about seeing Shizuru's body she refused me and told me that I wasn't welcomed there at all because it was fault that she had lost her only child" said Natsuki with a pained expression on her face.
"Okay Natsuki what else did Chie say about the two women" Mai asked as she let go of her friend so that they could sit down in an available chair surrounding the dining table.
"Chie said that the brunette had left to go to the car because she had just gotten released from the hospital earlier that day" replied Natsuki.
"Did Chie say why the woman was in the hospital and how long she was in there for" asked Mai.
"She that that the other woman said that her friend had been in a coma for over a year and that she had just woken up a couples of days ago" replied Natsuki.
"Ok now did she say what the other woman looked like Natsuki" asked the busty red head.
"Yeah, Chie said that she was a tall blonde woman with blue eyes" the blunette said.
"Natsuki, didn't you say once that Shizuru had a friend that was in love with her and wasn't that said friend a blonde woman also" Mai stated with an amused look on her face.
"Shit Mai you're right I bet it was that bitch Sandra and if so then that really was Shizuru that Chie had seen on that day" stated Natsuki.
"I believe you mutt, because I remember seeing a woman turn the corner heading to the special ICU area of the hospital and she looked very much like that blonde woman Sandra but I just shrugged the thought off since you were coming home that day" said an emotionless Nao.
"I guess well all have the answer to the question about her being alive or not and that answer is a definite YES and if her mother is behind it which I'm sure she is she'll never let anyone near their place in Kyoto Natsuki" said Mai.
"I will find the truth and I will most definitely have words with Akemi Fujino about Shizuru, but first of all Nao believe me when I say that I never meant to hurt you at all" stated Natsuki as she walked over to the red headed vixen.
"I know mutt and I'm not mad at you at all because I've always known that Shizuru still held your heart no matter what" Nao said as she and Natsuki shared a hug full of forgiveness and love.
"I forgive you mutt and no hard feelings but just know that I truly loved you and I still do and I can live with being just your friendr again so don't fret about it" she said after they ended their embrace.
"Nao, I love you and you will always be special to me no matter whast, but I have been living a lie since the day I told Shizuru that I didn't love her and it hurt so much to say those words to her and walk away like I did" Natsuki said as more tears began to fall.
"I mean I've always known how she flirted and how she teased, but back then I had gotten fed up with her suffocating me about our love which in turn led me to find a relaxing comfort from her with you Nao. And I didn't want to let that sense of calmness disappear in my life. So instead of talking to Shizuru about how I felt, I hurt her and that caused her to try and take her own life because of my own stupidity" she said through sobs.
"It's okay Natsuki you should be looking forward to finding the truth about all this, because if she really is alive then you can start over with her and make everything right like it should be" Mai said as she hugged her friend once again.
"But what if she doesn't want anything to do with me Mai" Natsuki said with a pout.
"Then you just have to woo her until she falls in love with you all over again and that's only if she doesn't love you any more Natsuki" said Mai.
"Ahem, well I guess since I don't have anything better to do at the moment, so I'll help you out anyway that I can mutt" stated Nao as she joined in the hug.
"Thank you Nao and I mean that from the bottom of my heart" Natsuki said as she kissed Nao on the lips for the very last time.
"Okay so what do we do now" was the thought that ran through the minds of all three ladies as they break away from the group hug.
-MEANWHILE AT THE FLAMING PHOENIX-
"You know babe I hope that things work out between Nat-chan and Nao so that we can all come together and help her find out the truth about Akemi Fujino and her possible lies about Shizuru-san's death" said the tall charcoal haired woman to her lover.
"Me too Chie" she said as they shared a loving kiss.
-MILES AWAY IN THE GREAT TOWN OF KYOTO-
"Mother I am fine now so I don't see why I can't just go to the University and finish my schooling there" stated a beautiful crimson eyed brunette.
"Look Kitsune I don't want you to be in a stressful environment so that's why I had them arrange it so that you could finish your studies here at home in a calmer environment" said Akemi to her daughter.
"Shi-chan your mother is just looking out for your well-being and you know that you are her world so please just do as she says okay" said a pleading blonde woman.
"Okay mother I will finish up my studies here at home only on one condition" said the brunette.
"What might that be my dear kitsune" replied a curious Akemi Fujino.
"The condition is that once I finish my studies and graduate I want to work for the company in Fuuka instead of here in Kyoto" said the brunette with a bright smile.
"Shizuru you know that I want you to work for Fujino INC but I think it would be better if you worked here instead my darling daughter" she said with a stern look on her face.
"Mother I will work for the company but only in Fuuka because that is the place where I woke up and it is the place that I use to live, and further more I want to do things without you looking over my shoulders all the time so please let me do this my way" Shizuru said in a pleading tone.
"Okay but if I think or find out that you are in any kind of danger there, I'll bring you back here to Kyoto myself do you understand."
"Yes mother thank you and don't worry cause Sandra will be there to keep an eye out for me as well, want you Sandra."
"Yes Akemi-san I'll always be by Shi-chan's side no matter what" said the blonde as she smiles at the older woman.
"Now go up stairs and get some rest Shizuru dear and I'll have you some refreshing Green Tea waiting when you wake up."
"Yes mother I shall take my leave for now and I'll see you later Sandra as well" she said as she glanced over at the blonde woman.
"Yeah see you later Shi-chan and have a good rest" she said as she leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.
As Shizuru headed upstairs the one thought that was running a muck inside the head of Akemi Fujino was: How am I going to make sure that Shizuru being alive will stay hidden from that lying tramp Natsuki Kuga. She is the one that hurt my dear kitsune and caused all this to happen to her in the first place. And that's why I made sure that no one would see inside the casket at that time cause Shizuru was in the hospital in a coma and I be damned if she will hurt my daughter again. Well there is something good that came out of it and that is Shizuru remembers nothing of Kuga or her friends and I want it to stay that way. So I'll need to make sure that Sandra continues to help me on this and I will do my best to get her and Shizuru together like it should have been in the first place.
As silence engulfed the Fujino mansion only one person was left to her thoughts of protecting her beloved daughter from going through more heartache and pain.
A/N
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as well and I will be trying to update it more often. So thanks for reading my stories and I hope you continue to read them all as I finish them so bear with me as I continue to write.