A/N: ARRRGGGRRRGGGHHHHHGGG! ... I feel so mentally exhausted... I'm not 100% satisfied with this update but I can't be bothered anymore
Tried a new style. Somewhat slice-of-life-ish. Enjoy what you can and just look forward to the final 20th chapter.
A Strange Turn of Events
It was a strange day. Perhaps not to you, my dear reader, but to Fujino Shizuru the day started looking strange the moment she entered her apartment.
Now as you may or may not know, our beloved heroine is in a committed relationship – and also living – with her girlfriend, who goes by the name of Kuga Natsuki.
Their story is long and turbulent one: full of turmoil and heartache; a story surrounding a painful one-sided love; adventures on such a scale that no one with a sane and rational mind would whole-heartedly believe in them; and also death. But that is not the story I will speak of today.
Today, we will instead dive into what appeared to be a normal, typical day in the city our two main characters resides in. Today we will unravel the mystery of what befell our red-eyed protagonist.
It was a clear autumn afternoon. The temperature had dropped in the past week as summer made its absence known.
It was on this day that Fuuka Academy's ex-Kaichou could be found leisurely walking, her usual diplomatic smile on her face.
Their apartment was a short distance from her campus, and though she would usually take the bus or have her girlfriend pick her up, today she felt like enjoying the last of the clear blue skies before the murky winter weather took hold.
She gently tugged at her scarf, wrapping it tighter around her slender neck. The tip of her chin and jaw burrowed down into its warm confines as the autumn chill whisked past, blown by a passing gust of wind.
Our young lady thought of the winter ahead; of the snow and the cold; of the ice… and it led her mind to her blue-haired beauty and of her powers that used to be. The ice that was once aimed and fired at her; the ice that once summoned a mechanical beast which caused their temporary demise; and the cold stare that used to claim those rich green eyes.
Shizuru took a moment to stare blankly at the sky as her mind wandered through past deeds.
After enduring those troubles, the turmoil which fell on the two afterward seemed insignificant in comparison, and yet they still mattered – the discrimination, the hordes of jealous fans, and their own confused, misguided actions and feelings. They had all hurt at the time
'But now, is not the time to think about such things.' Shizuru mentally chided, reminding herself that things had finally settled down for the better. They'd learnt and agreed to simply enjoy their life together and not worry about their troubled past or shrouded future.
She continued her journey home after her moment of depressive contemplation, and on passing their local grocery store our heroine was struck with a heart-enlightening idea.
'Perhaps Natsuki would enjoy her favourite dish tonight.' She thought to herself.
Always one to indulge her supposedly gruff girlfriend, our heroine took an unexpected –yet frequently taken – detour before making her way home.
Yes, this day had been just like any other day in the life of Fujino Shizuru – the musing over trivia, the reminiscence about her painful past and the spoiling of her beloved girlfriend – but little does she know her world is about to be spun out of place...
Smiling to herself, our friend thought of the adorable expression her loved one would show upon the announcement of their dinner tonight. As she grasped the plastic shopping bags into one hand and proceed to unlock the doors to her apartment with the other, she recalled that her girlfriend is on her day off and wondered whether she would be sprawled out on the couch lazily, or still suited up in her leathers after a day's ride.
It was then, the moment she managed to enter her home properly, that Shizuru realised something was strange, very strange.
She first heard the sounds of suppressed whimpers as the bags in her hands rustled in the otherwise silent room.
Our dear Shizuru thought for a second that it was her beloved that was weeping quietly - until she heard the clear crisp voice that she had come to know so well:
"Shizuru?"
The love interest of our tale popped her head around the corner to peer at her recently arrived lover, who was still standing – appearing lost – at the door.
"Natsuki?" Our main character replied back with the utmost of confusion.
At first she couldn't understand why Natsuki would be crying, but now knew that it wasn't the blue-haired biker that was still wailing softly. The noise seemed to be coming from the direction of their lounge. Shizuru had no idea who the mysterious person could be, or why Natsuki seemed so unaffected.
'If it's Mai or a friend that is crying, then she should look concerned…' Shizuru reasoned.
To Shizuru, it did not sound like the television or some other form of electronic device that was making the sad sniffles and chokes – the crying was clearly real, and was making our usually aware and intuitive friend rather perplexed.
She gave her lover a questioning look. Our blue-headed friend offered an odd, rather uncomfortable and indecisive smile, along with a roll of her eyes.
"You know how I mentioned that it felt someone was watching me the other day?" Natsuki began in a hushed tone devised to keep their conversation private from their 'guest'. She made her way to the threshold and took the groceries from Shizuru's hands.
Shizuru gave a silent nod as she stepped out of her shoes and slowly made her way to the living room – still puzzled as to why there was a crying girl in their home.
"Well it turns out it was another… ahem… jealous fan that hasn't quite accepted the two of us." Natsuki finished, just before re-entering the lounge where a young woman wept painfully in their leather couch.
Now this type of encounter wasn't all that strange to the pair; as it has been mentioned before, the two had handled hordes of jealous and resentful admirers before. Never though had Shizuru encountered one that her Natsuki could so much as tolerate, let alone allow entry into their own home!
Confusion had morphed into complete bewilderment.
Our heroine felt lost, like the world had shifted from under her feet – her blue-haired lover had always been a possessive and protective one, certainly a trait that our main lead took full advantage of given the chance and the harmless opportunity. The fact that Natuski hadn't thrown the poor girl onto her backside and then growled a threatening warning was particularly peculiar to Shizuru.
"I know I'd asked Natsuki not to be too harsh to those girls - but you are certainly acting strange." Shizuru whispered honestly, only to receive a mischievous smile and a twinkle in the biker's eye in return.
They walked over to, and sat together on the opposite side from the emotional girl.
"Well here she is. Say what you want to say." Natsuki said in a tactful tone
Shizuru's ears perked up at Natsuki's manner, and she wondered at the oddity of her wanting the girl to confess her feelings about the matter.
'Natsuki has always hated hearing the girl's rambles: how we've not suited for each other; how they cared so much more; how they are more deserving… Why does she want to hear it now?'
To say the least, our heroine hated the fact she was out of the loop, and also the strange sensation that something was very, very off about today. She played along with it anyway.
"Yes, Natsuki is right; perhaps it's best to let it all out and speak your mind now that we're all here."
"Don't-Don't speak so familiarly of Natsuki-sama!" The girl screeched between cries.
'-sama?'
Oh yes, what a strange day it was.
"Hey now! Shizuru has every right to speak of me like that – she's my girlfriend." Natsuki chided sternly, but without anger.
Yet at the very mention of Shizuru's place in our green-eyed friend's life, the unnamed girl bawled harder into her hands.
"Look, you- um…" Natsuki struggled to find words to comfort this anonymous girl that she had met less than fifteen minutes ago.
"But I've always liked you, we would have been so great together, we just never had the chance! But I still hoped… I still hoped even if I wasn't your girlfriend… I could… I could be-" The girl rambled in tears – both in self-loathing and in self-pity.
Natsuki wondered to herself on how to gently settle the girl's pitiful and desperate hopes when the biker's keen instincts sensed a dark and eerie intent within the room.
Quick to act, the biker rushed to her feet and declared in rapid speech: "The thing is: I love Shizuru and there's no one that can replace her in my heart."
"I-I know, e-even though I hate to admit it: Shi-Shizuru-sempai is perfect in every way. But-but I-" The girl spoke in near strangled chokes, too preoccupied to realise the danger she was in.
"Yes, yes but you can't help but have feelings for me. I appreciate your feelings and thank you, but I'm afraid I cannot return them." Natsuki continued hastily, practically lifting the besotted and unhappy girl to her feet before whisking her away to the door.
Our green-eyed lead would have felt guilty at her careless handling of a vulnerable girl's affection, given her past experiences and all, however the situation called for such actions - and quite frankly with her magnitude of similar encounters she had a sick satisfaction from the treatment she gave to those hated fan girls – Shizuru's or not.
Closing the door shut at the still snivelling young lady, our friend Natsuki let out a sigh of relief… yet her back tingled from that looming ominous presence she now sensed from behind her.
Before turning around, our blue haired friend mused on whether it had been a good idea to rile her lover up after all.
She turned to face our heroine, whom in the course of the events had changed to appear more like the villainous enchantress – staring dangerously into her lover's eyes – the red hot gaze holding untold demands only her beloved could decipher. Natsuki knew exactly how to dissolve the situation: just as Shizuru did when this usually happened.
"Ara? Is my Shizuru upset about something? Perhaps she is jealous?" Natsuki teased with a smile, walking up to her silent girlfriend and pulling her close – touching noses.
She stared into crimson eyes and watched as the dark haze lifted and become replaced with a shine.
"I'm not jealous." Our heroine pouted, as she nestled her face into the crook of her beloved's neck and wrapped her arms around her in an embrace reassuring herself of their love.
Our blue haired biker chuckled and returned the embrace – glad at the fact she got to reverse their roles and tease her lover back for once…but for Shizuru it had just been strange day.
A/N: I had an omake but looking back at it - it wasn't necessary or funny so I took it out.
I feel guilty for this disappointing piece of work so expect the final update in the near future! It'll be short but heart-warming! ^-^