[KnM][RGU][MH] Revolutions
Revolutions – Chapter 6 – The Curry Episode
A Kannazuki no Miko, Revolutionary Girl Utena and Mai Hime X-Over Fanfic
January 23, 2013 – January 28, 2013
Word Count: 8,300
NOTES: The characters from Kannazuki no Miko (KnM), Revolutionary Girl Utena (RGU), and Mai Hime (MH) that appear in this fanfic do not belong to the author and are being used without permission from their owners, who include TNK for KnM, J.C. Staff for RGU, and Bandai for MH.
The main story takes place a few weeks after Mai Hime, about 15-16 years after the end of RGU, and about 15-16 years after the end of KnM.
Note: This chapter would not have been possible, if not for DezoPenquin's comments in the reviews. Thanks Dezo!
More Author's notes follow at the end. Comments and Criticisms are greatly appreciated!
The explosive transformational qualities of 900 BillionX Curry (tagline: So Hot It Will Blast You To Smithereens And Make Phantom Elephants Trumpet Loudly), are not well documented anywhere in the world, not even by the most respected, renown curry experts in the world. So it really couldn't be considered Haruka's fault that she decided to actually use the curry packet in her cooking rather than throwing it down the deepest well on Fuuka Island and pouring concrete mix down after it. She simply hadn't known any better.
Yukino however, could be thought of as a bit more responsible. Vastly experienced as she was, first hand, with Haruka's cooking, she should have warned Shizuru and Chikane not to actually ingest any of Haruka's offering.
The two older girls had been invited by the two younger ones to a lunch gathering more social than formal to get some advice on their student council duties, and both university students had accepted. Kanzaki Reito, having gone to Toudai for university, was not able to provide Yukino very much guidance, but Haruka, as former Executive Director, had happily stepped up in his place. She then proceeded to surprise everyone with her offer to cook for the occasion, refusing to take no for an answer. Curry, incidentally, was one of the dishes she could normally pull off decently, and with her family's construction empire making recent forays into India, one of their vendors had sent their family a gift basket containing examples of the country's most jealously guarded secret treasures, including, amongst other things, 900 BillionX Curry.
As it was, the resulting explosion inside the student council's room caused much confusion and panic as the current and former student council presidents of Fuuka Academy were then both rushed off to the nurse's office post haste.
Things got steadily more ridiculous after that.
Sagisawa Youko-sensei checked up on the two students and could find nothing wrong with them – not even their mouths were burned from the supposedly super-spicy curry. And yet, there was definitely something odd about both normally unflappable girls, though she couldn't place a finger on what that was. To be safe, she suggested they rest a little longer in the nurse's room and then left it, closing the door behind her.
Shizuru and Chikane stayed in their beds for only a moment after the door clicked shut, before turning to look at each other. Blue-green eyes locked onto ruby ones for an eternity in a moment, unspoken confusion and understanding firing back and forth in rapid silent communication. Wordlessly, they both sat up. Chikane got out of bed first, and looked down at Shizuru's hands, opening and closing them incredulously. Shizuru went straight to the mirror in the nurse's room.
"Well now, would you look at that?" Shizuru murmured slowly as she studied Chikane's body in the mirror in fascination. She waved her hand and Chikane's reflection waved back at her. She smiled, and Chikane's reflection echoed the serenity on her face. She said, "my name is Fujino Shizuru," and could hear Chikane's slightly lower, huskier voice making the declaration. The voice was a little sexier to her head than she would have guessed. Shizuru chuckled, and looked back over towards her own body.
In direct contrast to the mirth she was feeling however, her own face, standing just a few feet away from her, looked distinctly perturbed, complete with a frown and deeply furrowed brows. "Ara, please don't make such an expression, Himemiya-san." Shizuru requested with jollity. "You'll cause wrinkles on my face."
Chikane blinked. Then, she raised an eyebrow (the opposite one Shizuru usually raised) and folded her arms across her chest. "Is that really our largest concern right now?" She asked, though at least she wasn't frowning anymore, and even had an amused half smile on. It was definitely strange to Shizuru's ears, hearing her own voice speak in standard Japanese.
"Perhaps not ours, and not right now," Shizuru admitted, "but it certainly would cause me some difficulty later on. I'm not quite as young as you are, you know."
Chikane cocked her eyebrow again, but then simply laughed, shaking her head ruefully. "Fair enough. But putting that aside right now, shouldn't we discuss our current predicament a little more seriously? I mean, this is quite unusual you know. There must have been some sort of hallucinogen inside that curry; I fear we may be higher than kites right now. Tell me, Fujino-sempai, why would Suzushiro-sempai want to do this to us? And, if you don't mind, could you stop groping my breasts? That's somewhat distracting."
"Ara, must I?" Shizuru continued to jiggle Chikane's mammaries, marvelling somewhat at the bounce they had in the mirror. "But they're so nice."
"Yes, well," there was a hint of exasperation in Chikane's voice (just a small hint). "It's not like you don't have them yourself."
"But mine are different." Shizuru replied simply, though she did comply with the other girl's request, turning back to face her and holding her hands politely in front of her.
"How do you figure? I believe yours are even a little larger..." The look on her face suggested that Chikane was resisting the urge to confirm this statement as brazenly as how her upperclassman had done.
"Oh, my dear Himemiya-san," Shizuru's eyes twinkled. "If you have to ask that, you are obviously not a connoisseur. Size has nothing to do with it!" After all, Shizuru thought to herself, Natsuki has the undisputed nicest chest in all of Fuuka.
A sweatdrop appeared overtop of Chikane's head (now THAT was a strange sight indeed, Shizuru decided. She didn't think such an item had ever graced the top of her chestnut colored hair before). Before Chikane could say anything else, Shizuru laughed and spoke first. "In any case, Himemiya-san, I suspect that we are not the only ones, as you say, higher than kites at the moment. As you noticed, Youko-sensei seemed to think that we were perfectly fine, so, whatever it is, it's not just affecting us." She paused. "Perhaps the hallucinogen is now airborne through our breaths and is now affecting everyone who comes within speaking distance to us?"
"And just what support allows you to make a leap to such a conclusion?" Chikane asked, though the expression on her face suggested that she didn't not like the possible explanation.
"Why, none, of course." Shizuru admitted. "It was simply conjecture. As we really don't know what happened, this will require some further investigation. We should probably talk to Suzushiro-san and ask her exactly what she was attempting to feed us..."
"I agree," Chikane nodded, and turned towards the door.
"... but perhaps it would be prudent to wait a little while to do so?" Shizuru finished, a little quicker than she would have liked.
Chikane turned back to face Shizuru, surprised. "And why would that be the case?"
"Well, when it comes to Suzushiro-san, one really needs to be careful about how one approaches her," Shizuru replied slowly, "as she does have a tendency to mistaken mole-holes for ant hills, and then the ability to transform those ant hills into mighty mountain ranges. Who knows. Maybe this will wear off on its own?"
Chikane considered this thoughtfully. Shizuru could tell that the other girl didn't relish the thought of having to deal with Haruka either. "Do you mean to just... let this continue, Sempai?" The other girl finally asked.
"Come now, Himemiya-san." Shizuru smiled playfully. "Where's your sense of adventure? When would we ever have a chance like this again, to try out each other's skins? Let us have a spot of fun. What could the harm possibly be?"
Chikane thought about this for a moment, and then gave Shizuru a half-lidded stare. "... you mean to prank Natsuki-sempai, don't you?" She deadpanned.
Shizuru laughed, putting up her hands in a 'calm-down' pose. "Ara, I am caught red handed. I trust you will not ruin my fun?" Shizuru continued to smile as charmingly as she could, knowing the effect would be great, as she had witnessed before just how disarming Chikane's smile could be (and how effective it was in getting the girl what she wanted). "Worry not; I will treat your body respectfully, as I am sure you will treat mine with equal reverence."
Chikane closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened them again, Shizuru could see a somewhat familiar spark of mischief in her own ruby red eyes, and the familiar charismatic smile of her own. "Very well, Fujino-sempai. Similar to the wrinkles; are we agreed that we shall not do anything that may cause the other undue trouble?"
Shizuru's smile almost became a grin.
They didn't have to shake hands. Possibly because neither actually wanted to define exactly what 'undue trouble' covered.
Shizuru suspected she really was high. The ridiculousness of the utterly outrageous situation she found herself in should have prompted concern and disbelief to be the dominant emotions within her but all she felt was absolute giddiness! So much so that she couldn't stop giggling to herself as she walked down the hallway, startling a couple of students. While not quite a stick-in-the-mud, Chikane was a fairly serious and demure student.
Coughing into her fist, Shizuru scolded herself for letting her mirth get the better of her, and tried to school her expression into the almost haughty neutral look Chikane usually wore. She pulled the schedule that Chikane had hastily jotted down for her out of her pocket, and headed over to her classroom where her class had an open study period. Opening the door, she could see most of her classmates were lounging about and playing with each other, with no one actually studying, of course.
Hmm... what would Himemiya-san do in this situation? Would she care that no one's doing what they're supposed to be doing? Shizuru wondered. She cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention. "Ano..." Twenty nine pairs of eyes looked over at her curiously. Shizuru smiled weakly. Well, she's not going to care today. "... never mind. Carry on, everyone." She hurried over to where Chikane noted her desk was (third row back, window seat) and sat down.
Within moments, Mikoto had hopped up onto her desk, literally just crouching on it, her skirt hiking up a little to show the edges of the shorts she wore underneath. "Hey, Hime! We heard there was an explosion! Are you okay?" She moved her face forward until it was well within Shizuru's personal space, peered closely at her, their noses almost touching.
"Ah, I'm fine, Mikoto, thank you for asking." Shizuru replied calmly. "It was just a... a minor explosion, that's all. I'm not hurt."
Mikoto frowned, sitting back on her haunches, a look of obvious confusion on her face. "Why are you talking like Shizuru?"
Shizuru's left eye almost twitched. Almost. "Ara, I mean, oh dear, I am?" She laughed politely (almost nervously, not quite), hiding her mouth behind her hand. With tremendous effort, she forced herself to speak in as accent-free, newscast standard Tokyo-ben as possible. She succeeded. Mostly. "Sorry, I must have been in her company too long. Her accent is rubbing off on me."
"Oh. I see." Mikoto planted her butt on Chikane's desk and thrust her legs out so that her feet rested on Chikane's neighbour's desk – Yuuki Nao's. "Shizuru rubbed off on you."
Nao sniggered as she tapped idly on her cellphone. Giving Mikoto and Shizuru a sly look out of the corner of her eyes, she smirked. "Don't say that too loudly, Mikoto. You're likely to start a nasty rumour."
Mikoto cocked her head to the side, confused. "Huh?"
Shizuru regarded Nao with an arched look. Casually turning to look at the girl, she put an elbow on her desk and supported her chin with her hand. "I'm sorry, Yuuki-san," she said briskly. "Does that make you jealous?" Her smile was equally cool. "And if so, who of?"
Nao looked stunned, obviously not expecting such a response from who she thought was their straight laced, highly proper, student council President. She almost dropped her phone.
Meanwhile, Mikoto looked all the more confused. "I don't get it." She said loudly, scratching the top of her head. "So Nao wants to rub off on Hime too? Or on Shizuru?"
The entire class suddenly got very, very quiet, as the remaining twenty seven pairs of eyes stopped what they were doing and looked directly at the conversation's participants. A pin could be heard dropping in the silence, a tumble weed blowing across the floor, a cow mooing in the distance.
Nao turned beet red.
Mikoto's eyes shrunk to confused black blots on her face while giant question marks danced over head.
Shizuru retained her completely calm composure. If she had a cup of tea, she would have sipped from it. But she didn't, so instead, she turned to face the front of the room again, taking some papers out from her desk and casually shuffling them. "Well now, Yuuki-san," she said with the driest tone she had ever heard Chikane use, "if that's the case, then I can tell you that you'd have far, far better luck with me than Shizu, I mean, Fujino-sempai."
Meanwhile, on her way walking across campus, a sudden chill went up Chikane's back and she sneezed.
The rest of Shizuru's day went largely without incident. Chikane's 10th grade classes were a piece of cake for her, and she didn't have a student council meeting that afternoon as they had met during lunch that day. Wandering around campus for a little while after class, Shizuru sought out all the normal places she would have expected to find Natsuki, and couldn't see any sign of the 2nd year student. The amount of random people who seemed to know her and wanted to say hello however, was quite long (almost as long as the list of people who routinely greeted Shizuru herself), and Shizuru found it a bit of a nuisance having to feign knowledge of the other person. Realizing that the best way to avoid a blunder was to not be in the public eye so much, Shizuru decided to head back to Chikane and Natsuki's shared room, where, to her surprise, she found Natsuki at the coffee table doing what looked like, of all things, homework.
The 2nd year student looked up in surprise when Shizuru came in the door – mirroring the look on Shizuru's own face. "Hey." Natsuki greeted. "You're home early."
"Aren't you as well, Natsuki? Sempai?" Shizuru added the respectful address a little belatedly. She walked over to the coffee table and peered curiously at the various note and text books open.
Natsuki wrinkled her nose in explanation. "Calculus test, first period." She muttered, as though that explained it all.
"Ah." Sitting down opposite Natsuki, Shizuru opened Chikane's school case and brought out some of the younger girl's classwork. "Do you mind if I join you?"
Natsuki shrugged, moving some of the books out of the way. "Be my guest. I've always told you the coffee table was more comfortable than the kitchen table anyway."
So Shizuru opened up some topic or other and started feigned taking notes, when she noticed Natsuki was looking at her weirdly. "Yes?" She asked.
"Aren't you going to change out of your school clothes?" Natsuki asked. She was already in a pair of shorts and tank top, the early summer heat starting to affect her.
"I may have to step back out," Shizuru lied smoothly.
"Oh." Grunting in understanding, Natsuki went back to her books and Shizuru told her heart to stop beating so quickly. Luckily for Shizuru, a few moments later, she got a text from Chikane (advising her that she may have failed her English pop quiz that afternoon), and she was able to use that as a convenient ruse.
"Hmm. It appears that I no longer have to step back out," Shizuru mentioned idly as she tapped a response back to Chikane (informing her that she'd better study harder for the next one then. Not that Shizuru actually cared; her grades were good enough that she could take a few zeros, although that might result in Haruka finally ranking above her in the grade standing. But that might also be a good thing; she could use that to balance out any 'undue trouble' she had probably already landed the other girl in with Nao). Thus responded, Shizuru got up and went to Chikane's closet where she picked out a pair of lounge pants and a T-shirt she remembered seeing the other girl wear once before.
Shizuru froze as she held the articles of clothing in her arms and wondered if Chikane changed in front of Natsuki, or if she changed in the bathroom. Looking in the mirror as casually as possible, she noticed that Natsuki's attention was entirely focused on her schoolwork, even as Shizuru took off her blazer and started unbuttoning her shirt. Hmm. I guess she changes in front of her then, Shizuru decided as she was able to finish undressing and redressing without Natsuki seeming to react at all. The complete lack of any sort of tension in the air at all intrigued Shizuru greatly; she realized that whenever she changed in front of Natsuki before in the past, the biker always seemed to be... aware of the fact.
Going back to the coffee table, the rest of the early evening went largely without incident. Natsuki continued to study while Shizuru continued to pretend she was doing the same thing although she mostly had one eye on Natsuki the entire time and was wondering just how she could go about pranking the other girl so as not to waste this precious opportunity. At first, Shizuru had thought about getting it over with quickly, and then sharing the laughter, but the longer she stayed incognito in front of Natsuki, the more intrigued she was by Natsuki's reactions, or more precisely, the lack thereof.
It actually took Shizuru a little bit of time to realize why she was so fascinated, why Natsuki seemed so different to her right now from how she normally was: Natsuki was completely comfortable in front of Chikane. The epiphany actually brought a pang of anxiety to her heart as she realized that there were others in this world beyond herself that Natsuki was close to, and even potentially, it appeared, closer still. Natsuki didn't blush. Natsuki didn't sneak looks at her. Natsuki didn't get angry or flustered when she finally caught Shizuru looking at her. She simply cocked her head to the asked, "what?"
"Nothing," Shizuru replied, feeling a little disquieted, but able to keep the emotion from her face. "I was just thinking."
"About what?"
"What you were going to make for dinner," Shizuru finished. At least, Chikane had told her it was Natsuki's turn.
"Hmm. Are you hungry?" Putting her pencil down, Natsuki wandered over to the fridge and peered inside. "I can make sukiyaki? Or do you want omelette rice?"
Shizuru was a little stunned. Natsuki? As a domestic creature? Now this had to be seen to be believed! "Whichever you'd like," Shizuru replied, doing a decent job of keeping the surprise from her voice.
Natsuki considered this and decided to go with the omelette rice. Within a few more minutes, the frying pan was out, and Shizuru watched Natsuki make dinner with little pomp and circumstance. It shouldn't have surprised her, really. Natsuki had lived alone in her own apartment before Nao had destroyed it during the Festival, though Shizuru seemed to recall her diet being made up mostly of instant.
"Where'd you learn to cook that?" Shizuru teased, when Natsuki put the omelette rice down in front of her. "I seem to remember stories about a cake incident in which you proved unable to even crack an egg."
Natsuki blushed (finally! Shizuru thought. She was beginning to wonder if perhaps the other girl was also body swapping at the moment). "Yeah, that was before spending weeks with Mai and Mikoto," she finally said, poking at her own food. "There was no way I could live down Mikoto being a better cook than me. But, um, you might want to look out for eggshells. I think I missed a few pieces."
"I'm sure it's delicious." Shizuru replied, spooning some rice into her mouth (though she did follow Natsuki's advice to look out for eggshells). And indeed, it really was good, Shizuru decided. Even more so due to the fact that it was made by Natsuki for her.
After dinner, they finished their respective studying and then turned on the TV. Natsuki pulled out the controllers and handed one to Shizuru without explanation. Shizuru blinked at the item curiously before accepting it. Video gaming was not one of her pastimes, and she was surprised that Chikane could play at all, but when Natuski grinned and said, "I'll go easy on you this time," Shizuru realized that the current student council President probably couldn't play well.
They popped in a cartridge and Shizuru noted that it was the same one Natsuki had been playing with Mikoto before. Natuski was completely owning her much like the wild child had completely trounced the biker last time.
"So how was your day?" Natsuki asked at some point during the play.
Feeling a bit frustrated at constantly losing, but quite sure that Chikane wouldn't have thrown a fit (and so neither would she), Shizuru was a little surprised with the question. "It was... well, actually, it started off a little strangely, but it's become a really good day." She finally admitted with a smile. It really had been.
"Oh? How so?"
"Yukino-sempai and I had a lunch meeting with Suzushiro-sempai and Fujino-sempai. And, for some reason, Suzushiro-sempai decided she wanted to cook. She made curry."
"Wait, Haruka?" Natsuki looked over at Shizuru incredulously. "How was it?"
"... Explosive."
Natsuki laughed. "And just what is that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly like it sounds. We ended up in the nurse's office."
Now Natsuki's expression became tinged with concern. "Seriously? Is Shizuru alright?"
Shizuru blinked. She couldn't help but feel a warm gooey sensation in her heart at Natsuki's obvious concern for her. "She's fine, I am as well, thank you for asking." She said, her tone dry as she knew Chikane's would have been, masking the giddiness she actually felt.
At that point, there was a clacking sound at the door, as someone slipped a letter in through the mail slot. Both girls turned to look at the mail slot, surprised.
Shizuru blinked, confused, when Natuski suddenly leapt to her feet, grabbed a handy pillow and whapped Shizuru in the face, causing her to fall over backwards on the bed she was sitting on the edge of. By the time she had recovered and sat back up, Natsuki was already at the door, and had triumphantly grabbed the letter that had come through.
What in the-?! Shizuru could only look at Natsuki, stupefied, while Natsuki grinned victoriously at her and crowed. "Aha! This one is for you!"
Shizuru continued to blink confusedly at Natsuki for a moment, her complete incomprehension taking much of the wind out of the other girl's sails. "What are you talking about?" Shizuru asked, still feeling horribly confused.
"Hah! I'm not buying it," Natsuki replied smugly. "I told you I'd get revenge next time YOU got one of these! Heh. It came sooner than I thought it would." Ripping open the envelope, Natsuki cleared her throat, and started to recite. "My dearest Hime-sama," she intoned.
And suddenly, the pieces fell into place as Natsuki read verbatim one of the better, less cringe-worthy love confessions Shizuru had ever heard in her life (and having been the recipient of many a love letter herself, she was in a unique position to appreciate how bad they could get), and realized that from Natsuki's words and actions, that both roommates must have received love letters before in the past and ribbed each other about it.
Shizuru experienced a very strange, conflicted sensation of horror mixed with happiness as, on the one hand, she couldn't help but wonder just how many love letters Natsuki herself must have received, but on the other hand, she was also having a hard time ignoring the words of love that Natsuki was reciting to her at the moment. In the end, there really wasn't very much Shizuru could do except sit there with an strange blended expression of discomfort and excitement on her face which she supposed wouldn't have been very far off from the expression Chikane probably would have had.
By the letter's end, Natsuki's ears were bright red, as was her face, but she was grinning as the embarrassment wasn't for herself (for once), but rather due to empathy. "... by the shoe lockers tomorrow evening after class." She looked over at Shizuru and chuckled. "Hey now, how about that, Chikane? Do you want to go meet them? I think this one's a girl."
Shizuru considered this. She wasn't sure if the other girl would go or not. Would she take the time to respond (positively or negatively)? Did she normally just ignore these things?
Luckily, before she had to respond, Natsuki simply closed the letter up and handed the envelope over to her. "There." She said, still smirking. "Now we're even. I'll leave your letters alone if you leave mine alone. Truce?"
Shizuru opened and shut her mouth a few times and then finally chuckled. "Truce." She paused when Natsuki sat down to continue their game. "Natsuki-sempai? Have you ever responded to these things before?"
Natsuki gave Shizuru a queer look. "You know I haven't."
And Shizuru could not help but feel relieved with the answer. Still, feeling her heart beat a little faster, she cocked her head to the side as she knew Chikane tended to do when she was feeling inquisitive and pressed a little further. "Why not?"
Natsuki frowned and raised an eyebrow. "... you already know why." She replied. "Hey, are you feeling alright, Chikane? You're acting... weird."
Realizing that she was going a little too far, Shizuru laughed as disarmingly as she could. "I am, aren't I? Forgive me, Natsuki-sempai. It's been a little bit of a weird, but good, day."
Still giving Shizuru a funny look, none the less, Natsuki turned her attention back to the game.
They went to bed around eleven or so, after they'd both taken showers. While Natsuki was in the shower, Shizuru corresponded with Chikane that yes, indeed, she would appreciate being able to spend the night, and that they'd chat in the morning to consider their next steps.
Chikane's reply had been: '... please don't do anything I wouldn't.'
To which Shizuru had simply replied: '... now where's the fun in that?'
As she laid down in Chikane's bed, wearing the nightgown the other girl slept in, Shizuru thought back to the events of the evening. Studying. Homework. Dinner. Games. TV. Laughing.
In other words, it had been a completely normal, average, boring school night. And at that moment, Shizuru couldn't help but feel massively jealous of the girl whose body she was borrowing for being able to share this with Natsuki. Every. Single. Day.
Sighing, Shizuru wondered if Chikane wouldn't mind letting her stay in her body for a while longer, though she somehow doubted it. She looked over at Natsuki, who was in her own bed, on her side, and facing away from her. She should probably prank her while she still had the chance.
Getting out of Chikane's bed, Shizuru quietly crept across the room and climbed into Natsuki's bed, snuggling in beside her and spooning her. Natsuki's body tensed up upon contact. Shizuru grinned to herself. Any second now, and she could imaging the other girl's flustered, 'what are you doing?!'
That never came.
Instead, Natsuki... relaxed.
Shizuru frowned. That wasn't supposed to happen.
Suddenly, Natsuki turned around and rolled over, and before Shizuru could realize what happened, she found herself on her back, straddled around the hips by Natsuki, who was looking down at her triumphantly. "Took you long enough to get over here," Natsuki smirked, her emerald eyes twinkling.
Shizuru's eyes widened. Her heart plunged into her stomach. What was Natsuki doing?
Natsuki put her hands on the sides of Shizuru's – Chikane's – face, cupping her cheeks. "I've been waiting for this." She lowered her head downwards to look Shizuru in the eyes, and Shizuru was stunned to see Natsuki's face so close to her own, and her eyes so filled with unreadable emotion.
Shizuru wanted to cry. Was this... was this really the true nature of the bond between Natsuki and Chikane? "N-Natsuki..." she whispered.
And then Natsuki's lips twisted into a grimace. "Gotcha!" She simply said. Suddenly, Natsuki's tender grip on the sides of Shizuru's face became pinches and Shizuru found herself pulled upright and throttled back and forth by her face. "Dammit all, Shizuru, I know it's you! You idiot! What are you thinking about Chikane and I?"
By the time Natsuki finally stopped throttling Shizuru, she was feeling somewhat dizzy, and her cheeks smarted something fierce. Rubbing her cheeks impishly, she looked over at the other girl who had a furious tick around her eye. "Ara," Shizuru smiled sheepishly, reverting back to Kyoto-ben. "Did Natsuki know it was me all along?"
"Of course." Natsuki said flatly. "Chikane texted me while you were in the shower. Holy CRAP, Shizuru! What was that? Did you really think that Chikane and I were...!" She made a guttural sound of disapproval. "Did you feel ANY sort of sexual tension between us at all?" Natsuki exasperated. "I mean, didn't it feel completely different from..." and then Natsuki floundered, suddenly blushing wickedly. "...from... us?"
Shizuru's eyes went wide when Natsuki's words hit her with the force of a tidal wave. "N... Natsuki?" She asked, softly.
And suddenly, she became complete aware of the weight of Natsuki, still straddling her, the heat from Natsuki's legs, still snaked around her hips, the heave of Natsuki's breathing, her tank top rather revealing as it had become somewhat mussed up with the rolling around, and the fact that Natsuki herself was suddenly appreciative of all those sensations too.
Natsuki jumped off of Shizuru like she was on fire, tangled herself up in the covers, and fell on the floor with a *bam*!
Shizuru... sweatdropped. It was a completely alien sensation to her, but somehow, managed to happen anyway.
"Okay, you need to go back to your bed, er, Chikane's bed, right now," Natsuki said very quickly, as she picked herself up with as much dignity as she could muster. "It's late. And I do have that calculus test first thing. Can we talk after that?"
Shizuru opened and closed her mouth a few times. Finally, she settled for nodding, not quite sure how to hide the blush across her cheeks, and went back over to the other bed in the room. "Goodnight, Natsuki."
"Goodnight, Shizuru." Natsuki replied.
Unfortunately, that tension that hadn't existed until Natsuki had so brashly pointed it out, persisted into the night, and neither of them was able to get much rest.
Shizuru's heart insisted on racing through most of the night, her thoughts all a whirl, as Natsuki's words, and the implications behind them, kept her wide awake, with yearning, with longing.
With hope.
Chikane and Shizuru remained stuck in each other's bodies for the next two days and Chikane began to wonder if she should be worried for her body's sanctity. While she was more or less still confident that her pact with Shizuru still stood, and that she really didn't have to worry in that regard, her reputation, on the other hand, was starting to suffer from all sorts of fantastical rumours that were sprouting all over campus, from insinuations between her and Yuuki Nao, to how strangely she was acting in her roommate Kuga Natsuki's presence, to being caught dozing off in the middle of class too.
One morning, Chikane decided to go to archery practice to see how Shizuru was faring at the activity, and was quite horrified to see Arisugawa-sensei also in attendance. With no training in archery at all, and two nights of insomnia dulling her concentration, Shizuru, in Chikane's body, wasn't even coming close to any of the targets, much to the worried gossip of most of her fellow club members.
Arisugawa-sensei even had the audacity to say to Shizuru, "you know, Himemiya, I mean this for your own good. You have no talent for archery at all. You really should join fencing instead. Why are you so attracted to this club?"
The absolute nerve of that woman! Chikane almost visibly bristled at the comment, enough for Shizuru to notice her agitation, and Shizuru simply said that just because she wasn't good at something didn't mean she didn't enjoy the activity. "After all, Sensei," Shizuru even went on to say cheekily, "it's obvious that you are not very comfortable or good at talking to students, and yet you continue to insist on doing so."
Juri did bristle, before finally shaking her head and walking away.
"Thank you, Sempai," Chikane said to Shizuru afterwards. "I couldn't have put that better myself."
"Why do you dislike Arigusawa-sensei so much?" Shizuru asked. "I quite like her, myself. Did she do something to offend you?"
Chikane couldn't quite tell Shizuru the truth in that regard. Actually, she wasn't really able to explain it herself. There was just something about the other woman that rubbed Chikane the wrong way. She did know, after all, that Himeko worked for the tangerine haired woman, and had photographed her on many occasions too when Juri was still modeling. Maybe it was simple jealousy that Juri could talk to Himeko whenever she wanted to, while Chikane herself just wasn't confident enough that she'd achieved enough in life (be that years or accomplishments) to even make first contact.
Sighing, Chikane simply said, "I just have no interest in fencing at all, Sempai. My mother also does not approve of swords, so I see no point in taking up a sport that would antagonize her, especially since I have no natural love for it in the first place."
"Ah, I see." Shizuru stifled a yawn. "I suppose that could be somewhat trying."
Chikane frowned at Shizuru. "What are you doing at night that leaves you so tired in the morning?" She asked, rather bluntly.
Shizuru shot Chikane a dry look. "Everything in my power to keep your body virginal."
Chikane colored.
The two looked at each other somewhat awkwardly before finally breaking down into a fit of embarrassed giggling, the utter ridiculousness of the situation straining even the most stoic of sensibilities. "Oh my god, Chikane-san!" Shizuru finally managed to say, wiping a tear of laughter from the corner of her eyes. They had finally started to address each other on a first name basis as, well, there were few situations two individuals could find themselves in that would bond them together tighter. "I don't know how much more of this I can take! To have Natsuki so close by, every night...!"
Shizuru didn't have to say anymore.
Chikane couldn't help but feel happy for the older girl. Since befriending Natsuki, over the course of the last several months, Chikane had thought she had detected a slight... evolution in her roommate's feelings towards the older girl. They were small things, really, like always enquiring if Chikane had seen Shizuru that day, and how she was doing. They had also had a couple more (rather frank) discussions about same sex attraction as well, and Chikane had been somewhat amused by all the questions Natsuki had asked.
Once upon a time, she would never have thought herself capable of having such discussions, and indeed, there were many questions of Natsuki's that she still hadn't been able to answer, though she had tried her best. She thought back to all the times she had seen her mother counselling some student or another about some life crisis or another, and had come to understand that even if one didn't have the answers, if one could offer at least an ear, then that was oftentimes enough.
"In any case," Chikane said, switching gears to address the more pressing issues. "I think it's the curry. I believe I've managed to convince Suzushiro-sempai to try to make more of it. It's a long shot, but I think, maybe if we ate it again, we'll be able to switch back."
"Well, anything's worth a shot at this point," Shizuru agreed. "When can Suzushiro-san make the curry again?"
At this point, Chikane sighed. "I'm afraid it might be a while. She didn't have any more so she went off to India herself to get some and I believe she took Yukino-sempai with her."
They considered the quagmire they were in for a while longer before they both sighed.
After another pause, Chikane looked over at Shizuru. "Shizuru-sempai, is it alright if we studied together tonight? I think it might be best if you did your own assignments. Your professors are starting to worry about your sudden drop in grades."
"Ara, I'm surprised," Shizuru gave Chikane a teasing smile. "And here I thought the infallible Hime-sama of Fuuka High would be able to handle first year university classes with little trouble."
"Maybe if you weren't already taking second and third year courses your first semester," Chikane retorted dryly. Honestly, that had been a bit of an unpleasant surprise. Chikane hadn't had to worry about scholastics, well, ever. To suddenly be plopped in an academic situation she couldn't handle had been unexpected and frustrating to say the least.
Shizuru only smiled. "Is there anything else I should know about?"
Chikane hedged for a moment. Finally, she nodded. "Yes. Director Himeno sought you out the other day and said a couple of things I didn't particularly understand."
Shizuru frowned. "And what would that be?"
"Something about the first district cleaning up, but that they were not seeking retribution, so not to worry."
"Is that so?" Shizuru's frown disappeared and she looked completely at ease. Somehow, Chikane didn't quite believe the serenity being presented to her by her own face however. "Ah, well, if Director Himeno said not to worry, then I won't. And neither should you, Chikane-san."
Chikane considered this for a moment, before finally nodding. "... I won't then." Still, Chikane could not help but feel a little worried, and a little guilty. She wondered if she should have let the older girl know how the entire conversation had gone, verbatim.
"Fujino-san," Fumi had said, a frown on her face. "I thought I should let you know that I've received reports that the First District had some recent activity in the caverns. I've investigated it further, and I believe they were simply cleaning up."
Blinking at the woman, Chikane had had no idea how Shizuru was expected to respond to that, so she simply put on an unreadable expression and said as calmly and smoothly as possible, "... I see."
Fumi had looked at her curiously, as though she had been expecting an entirely different reaction, so Chikane had thought it safest to simply frown and look away from the other woman. She hadn't expected Fumi's next words, spoken softly, and with kindness. "... please don't worry, Fujino-san. I do not believe they will seek retribution, as we are not enemies anymore. It was war, after all, and going after the head of the enemy is an accepted strategy."
Still not knowing how to respond to that, Chikane had simply kept her mouth shut, and wondered just how ruthless the business of private education actually was, to use such aggressive metaphors.
Meanwhile, somewhere in deepest, darkest India, Haruka and Yukino found themselves inexplicably beset by mountain climbing, tightrope walking, surfboarding elephants.
"What the hell?!" Haruka cried, running for her life. "How is this even possible?!"
Things went back to normal a couple more days later, when Haruka and Yukino finally returned to campus, sun-kissed and sporting comical bandages all over the place, but ultimately triumphant and in possession of another package of 900 BillionX curry. Chikane was all over Haruka to make the damn curry already, and when that was done, both she and Shizuru looked at each other gravely, and took a bite.
There was another explosion, and once more, the former and current Presidents were rushed off to the nurses' room.
Natsuki knocked cautiously on the nurse's door and then poked her head in when she heard Shizuru's familiar Kyoto-ben say, "come in." Walking into the room and closing the door behind her, she could see Shizuru – or at least, Shizuru's body – standing by the open window, looking outside.
Then Shizuru turned around, and smiled, and Natsuki could tell from those ruby hued eyes, and the way her heart suddenly started to beat a little faster, the way her body got a little warmer, that it really was Shizuru standing in front of her.
Natsuki smiled back, relief flooding through her. "Oh thank god, it is you." She breathed, coming further into the room. She looked around. "Where's Chikane?"
Shizuru giggled. "I think she's freaking out in a bathroom somewhere."
Natsuki raised an eyebrow. "Chikane and freakout don't belong in the same sentence." She couldn't help but feel a smile tugging at her lips. "What did you do?"
"The splits. For about an hour. Just before we switched back." Shizuru laughed. "She really shouldn't have spoiled my fun that first night by tipping you off."
That smile turned into aghast. "What the hell?" Natsuki cried, staring at Shizuru incredulously. "What is she going to think you've done with her body?"
"Whatever she will." Shizuru's smile was completely serene. "Come now, Natsuki. Don't worry so. She trusts your gallantry if not mine."
Natsuki snorted. Gallant. She had felt everything but that for the last few days. While the domestic bliss of living with Shizuru for the last few days and evenings were some that Natsuki was sure she'd treasure forever, the nights themselves had been torturous.
And yet, Natsuki was also thankful for them as well.
If she hadn't spent the last five nights lying on her back, losing sleep, staring at the ceiling, knowing that Shizuru was just a few feet away from her, and feeling her heart race all night, the evidence of her growing attraction to the other girl may never have piled up obviously enough in front of her own eyes for her to finally admit it to herself. And then, where would she be? Still stuck, unsure of the exact nature of her love for Shizuru, unsure of her feelings. She still wasn't entirely sure, really. What if it was a phase? What if she was just curious? But she hadn't felt that way for Chikane, ever...
When it came to making her heart (and other organs) race, there had only ever been one who could accomplish that.
Shizuru sighed. "It was an entertaining week. I suppose things are back to normal now, and I will no longer have such access to Natsuki." There was a hint of regret in Shizuru's voice.
Natsuki bit her lip. Was she ready? Gods, she still wasn't sure. But if the last week had taught her anything about herself, it was that she wanted to try. Really, really, wanted to. "What if you did?" Natsuki asked softly.
Shizuru raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"
Natsuki couldn't bring herself to repeat her words.
So instead, shyly, with brightly blushing cheeks, and her heart pounding in her ears, she tilted her head up, closed her eyes, and lightly pressed her lips to Shizuru's own.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
The tagline for the 900 BillionX curry in this fic is indeed the actual tagline for the curry from Utena (or at least they are according to the scripts at ohtori. nu). I can't eat spicy things at all, but I would totally buy cases and cases of anything that marketed itself as, "will blow you to smithereens and cause phantom elephants to trumpet loudly."
Yes, I am aware that in the Utena anime, it wasn't actually the curry itself that caused the body swap, but Anthy's terrible cooking. I just couldn't resist.
Many thanks to DezoPenquin again for the inspiration!
Cheers,
jen-chan
jen-chan-shaw. livejournal. com
OMAKE I: Privacy for the First Time
[CHIKANE in SHIZURU'S body enters into SHIZURU's apartment. CHIKANE looks around excitedly and confirms that no one else lives here. Goes into the bedroom and sits on the bed.]
CHIKANE: Wow! I can't believe for the first time in 15 years, I FINALLY have privacy and a bedroom to myself! Oh, joy!
[CHIKANE continues to sit on the edge of the bed, drumming her fingers against the edge of the mattress.]
CHIKANE: Hmm! What does a teenage girl do when she has a bedroom to herself for the first time in her life?
[CHIKANE continues to sit on the edge of the bed, drumming her fingers against the edge of the mattress.]
CHIKANE: ...
[CHIKANE looks around the room and notices the posters of scantily clad women plastered all over the walls. Continues drumming her fingers against the edge of the mattress.]
CHIKANE: ...
[CHIKANE grips the edge of the mattress tightly.]
CHIKANE: [Hangs her head and sighs] ... why did I promise to treat her body with equal reverence?
OMAKE 2: Running Joke II
[It's the scene in Chikane, Mikoto & Nao's classroom.]
MIKOTO: I don't get it. So Nao wants to rub off on Hime too? Or on Shizuru?
[ENTIRE CLASS suddenly gets very, very quiet. A pin is dropped. A tumble weed is blown by a fan across the floor by some stage ninjas. Outside, a cow (well, two cows) begin to moo. Cut to outside the window.]
HARUKOW & NANAMOO: Moooou.
[HARUKA and NANAMI slide onto the scene, weeping on each other's shoulders]
HARUKA: It's okay, Nanami-san, it's okay. It'll get better.
NANAMI: Says you! At least you've had two chapters with lines now!
OMAKE 3: Another Mai-Hime Style Preview Of Next Episode
[SHIZURU's Kyoto-ben can be heard doing the voice over for a series of fast paced clips edited together very confusingly and with deliberate misrepresentation so brazen the producers should be ashamed of themselves.]
SHIZURU: Next time, on Revolutions, a Kannazuki no Miko, Revolutionary Girl Utena and Mai Hime X-over, Chikane does the entire chapter without pants! And I don't mean she's wearing a dress either!
CHIKANE: What?! But I thought next chapter was supposed to be plot heavy! How am I supposed to-
SHIZURU: Dignity, Himemiya-han! Dignity!
CHIKANE: What does that even mean?! How can I- oh. [Reads the script] It's the beach episode, isn't it?
SHIZURU: Bingo!
CHIKANE: Wow. Is the author resorting to pandering already?
SHIZURU: No, I think she's just more pervy herself than she'd like to admit. As evidenced by some of the jokes in this chapter.
CHIKANE: ... speaking of which, you do realize I owe you payback, don't you?
SHIZURU: [Simply smiles serenely] Ara, in any case, please stay tuned for the next chapter of Revolutions, Chapter 7 – 'The Beach Episode'.