Disclaimer: I do not own Mai Hime.
Thank you very much for kind reviews. They are the important support for me. And thank some of you for pointing my grammar mistakes. This helps .
I am afraid my English is any better, so let's say that this horror below is my belated contribution to Halloween. Also my adventure with writing goes into unexpected direction. I've discovered footnotes and couldn't resist to use them. Sorry about that, I meant no harm .
Ever After
Warning: Fluff
Chapter 4
Warning: Gun (This needs a double warning, something like: weapons were used only for fictional purposes; so no attempts should be made to duplicate any actions described below.)
Nao was taken. The news surprised Natsuki. She was sure that Nao would dump the guy like she had done before to countless advances. Shizuru's reaction was even more surprising. "Ara, it was certain."
Natsuki was not so positive about it. She shared her doubts during a breakfast the couple was eating at the small kitchen table. "They don't fit together," she stated looking from above her glass of milk.
"Why do you think so?" Shizuru cocked up her eyebrows.
"C'mon, a bike mechanic and a queen of pink. It's just wrong." Natsuki snorted.
"They are the perfect couple. And I am not surprised with Nao's choice. She has a good taste." Shizuru put away her empty cup.
"How come?" Natsuki felt a pang of uncertainty hearing Shizuru so openly praising Nao. This was something rare.
"Come here and kiss me then I will tell you." Smiling mysteriously Shizuru gracefully patted her knee in welcoming gesture. Natsuki sighed and hesitantly left her chair and walked over to her girlfriend. She sat on Shizuru's lap and let arms of the older woman wrap around her waist. Shizuru pulled Natsuki closer and kissed her gently. Her smile widened. "If I was into boys Nao would have a serious rival."
Natsuki blinked with confusion. "Why do you think Javier is so great match?"
Shizuru winked playfully. "Do you know that if you were a boy your name would be Javier?"
"What?" Natsuki frowned.
"Both of you are so much alike." Shizuru giggled.
"This is ridiculous." Natsuki huffed.
"Let's see." Shizuru's hands sneaked under Natsuki's shirt. "He loves bikes, just like Natsuki," her fingers started to caress sensitive muscles of Natsuki's stomach. "He has this cool attitude, exactly like Natsuki," hands traveled up, fingers playfully brushing the skin right under Natsuki's bra. Natsuki's brows knitted. "He frowns and twitches the same way Natsuki does." Shizuru's voice turned into a sensuous whisper, her lips tickling Natsuki's ear. Natsuki's face flushed. "He is easy to tease and blushes pretty often…" Shizuru's hands cupped Natsuki's breasts and squeezed them softly. "And he has a perfect body, just like my Natsuki." The blue-haired woman bit back a moan. Shizuru's words made her anxious, but she was too distracted to contradict. She followed her newborn urges and bent forward to capture lips of her beloved in a passionate kiss.
When they separated, Shizuru giggled, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Ara, I wonder if he kisses so wonderfully like Natsuki does. It must be tested."
"Shizuru!"
---
Information about the engagement put Shizuru in a very good mood. She never let it outside, but Javier was a reason of her irrational worries. She was jealous. Shizuru knew she shouldn't be, but she couldn't help it. Seeing her Natsuki happy and relaxed in somebody else's company made her heart pang. She understood that Natsuki was not her property and she should have her own circle of friends she could share her hobbies with. The Kaichou respected that, even coaxed her partner to be more social. But still she caught herself too often on thinking about Natsuki's companions as her rivals. Javier, who got along very well with the stubborn girl, was Shizuru's main enemy. The news about Nao accepting his proposal made the red-eyed woman gleeful. So when the evening came, more than willingly she accepted the invitation and off she went to CKM to celebrate the occasion.
Shizuru's speech about similarities between her and Javier made Natsuki confused. She didn't like one bit to be compared to any male. Ok, maybe she was fond of things not every girl was squealing at, but she wasn't only female acting this way. And why Javier of all people? The fact that they both had green eyes didn't make them automatically alike. All this had made her rather gloomy for the rest of the day.
Now Natsuki grasped her beer-mug with irritation and glared at cheerful people around her. On the opposite side of the table Javier was beaming. Midori took care of his mug, so Natsuki predicted that he would be out of game soon. Beside the biker Alyssa sipped her cola, wisely deciding to keep silent. Shizuru somehow seated herself next to Nao and she was admiring the engagement ring proudly shining on the redhead's finger.
"So beautiful. You are very lucky woman to have so pretty boy buying you such nice ring. My Natsuki never proposed to me, how sad." The brunette pouted slightly.
Natsuki almost choked with her drink. "Oi! Why have to be me who should propose?" She snapped.
Shizuru ignored her completely and turned to Nao. "It's so romantic. Natsuki is not romantic at all." She sighed dramatically.
"I can imagine." Nao smirked. "Kuga has tact of a blind rhino. You must be an angel to stand her the whole time." In normal circumstances Nao would never insult Natsuki this way in the presence of Shizuru. But the raven-haired woman had a dreadful feeling that tonight circumstances weren't normal. She definitely had an instinct for self-preservation and she understood that keeping silent might help her to survive the night.
Usually Shizuru and Nao walked separated ways through their lives. But there were rare moments when both women united their forces. At these moments the whole world quaked with fear and lamented over a poor being which happened to be a victim of the devilish duo. Tonight it looked like their target was Natsuki.
Natsuki trembled with anger, but said nothing. The truth was that she had proposed to Shizuru (at least it was the brunette's assumption the younger girl didn't argue with). But she would never admit it in public, and definitely never in front of Nao – Shizuru knew it and she obviously took advantage of the situation.
"What have I done to deserve such treatment?" Natsuki wondered with despair. Maybe it was Shizuru's way of reminding her that despite proposal she never had got a ring (1).
"Indeed, she is such uncaring girl. I do imagine that Javier gives you flowers everyday. Sometimes I wonder if my Natsuki knows how a flower looks like," Shizuru lamented.
The biker gasped in disbelief. She opened her mouth to remind Shizuru that last month she had traveled half of Japan to buy her some fancy bonsai. Maybe a bonsai was not exactly a flower, but it was pretty close. But she kept herself shut when she saw a twinkle in Nao's eyes. The redhead only waited for Natsuki to slip it out to use it mercilessly for months later. Shizuru knew that and was toying with her girl.
"Damn woman. I'll make her pay for it later." Natsuki tightened her grip on a mug of beer trying to keep her temper in check.
"My Javi is generous with many kinds of gifts. He knows how to please his girl." Nao smiled smugly.
Shizuru shook her head. "I'm positive that Javier bought also a gift for Shika-san. Such gentleman he is. My Natsuki only gets presents from my mother."
"He was very brave with mama." Nao nonchalantly waved off. "She came to like him from the spot. He coddles her more than me. But hey, it was expected that Kuga wouldn't care about your family."
Shizuru tapped her chin with the finger. "I wouldn't say she doesn't care. More like Nat-kun has stolen my mother from me. When the okaa-san visits, my wolfy keeps her all to herself."
Nao laughed dryly. "That's low. But this is the whole Kuga – she keeps pleasures to herself and let others do the hard work. I bet this lazy brat leaves all the housework to you."
"Ara, that would be correct. There is no way to drag her into doing dishes." Shizuru nodded with contemplation.
Natsuki's jaw clenched. A low growl was her only verbal response, but inside she was screaming her retort. "Lies! I execute all my cleaning duties. And we don't have to do the dishes. We have a dishwasher." (2)
"I can bet that she had moved in with you just because she had had not enough space in her own flat for her lingerie collection, or her fridge had been broken and she had had nowhere to keep her mayo." Nao smirked eyeing the target of her abuse, obviously to check how bad Natsuki's mood already was. She must have been satisfied with the view since the lone wolf felt her face was burning.
"If the reason had been so pleasant," Shizuru sighed with resignation. "In reality she had moved in because she had crashed her bike again and had had no money for a repair. This way she had wanted to save on the rent."
"Aww, she used you. Heartless bitch."
Natsuki gritted her teeth and managed to keep silent, knowing from experience that anything she said now would be turned against her. But rage was boiling inside her.
"Heartless she is. She even doesn't allow me to touch her in public. She ordered me to keep our relationship down low. That how she pays for my kindness and devotion. So cruel she is."
Natsuki struggled to keep silent, but she knew she was on the edge. Her grip on the beer-mug almost crushed the vessel. She didn't believe her ears. It was true that the younger woman was not comfortable with public displays of affection, but they both had agreed that in sake of Shizuru's career they shouldn't unnecessarily be open with their relationship.
"Don't say!" Nao raised her brows in false indignation. "But at least she takes you out, for movies, dinners or to celebrate some events?"
Shizuru shook her head regretfully. "Natsuki always forgets about our anniversaries," she said in heartbreaking tone.
Natsuki had to remind herself constantly that she promised not to fall into the trap. It was obvious that these evil women did everything to make her burst. This knowledge helped her to stay quiet even if she was really pissed off. But this conversation drove her mad. "What anniversaries? Do we have any?" She thought bitterly.
The problem with her and Shizuru's relationship was that the whole process of getting together was pretty slow for them. The steps were so small that sometimes it was difficult to catch a moment of breakthrough which later was usually the reason for an anniversary.
Their first kiss? Which one it should be? The one of these during the Carnival? Or the one of these timid pecks later? Or maybe the one of these more heated? Or should it be this one when they were caught red-handed?
Their first date? It was hard to tell when their usual bike rides, shopping-together or eating lunch together turned into a real dating.
The first time they made love? Actually this accident Natsuki desperately wanted to forget. Shizuru had been wonderful as expected, but she had messed up things royally. The younger woman was really thankful to her lover that she didn't insist on this one to be celebrated or remembered at all.
Even the time when they had started to live together was hard to determine. As time passed Natsuki's occasional sleeps-over at Shizuru's turned to be every night. But officially she had never moved in. Later they just had bought their own apartment. And yes, this was kind of anniversary… about which Natsuki indeed was forgetting…
"You really should consider leaving her. So many years and no single ring. What ingratitude." The redhead sighed heavily.
Shizuru nodded with sad expression. "No ring. No flowers. No confession."
That was enough. Natsuki couldn't stand the teasing any longer. They crossed the line. She needed her honor and dignity back. She needed her revenge. Now.
The biker was very aware of a tiny box hidden in her pocket. She intentionally had left it in her jacket after her shopping escapade because it was the safest hideout from Shizuru's eyes. The chestnut-haired woman had a mysterious skill of accidental walking on things she supposed to not find (3). The life experience taught Natsuki that the only safe place was pockets of her jacket – as long as it was not destined for a laundry. She decided that the ring would be the birthday present, so she didn't want the older woman to find it sooner. But now her hand was gripping the box and a devilish grin brightened her face. The time of pay back had come.
"No rings, no flowers, no confession. So here," with triumphant smirk Natsuki shoved the box on the table. "What will you say now?"
Suddenly all chatters at the table stopped. All eyes fixed on the small box. Nobody moved.
After a while Shizuru turned her eyes away from the item a questioningly looked at her girlfriend.
"Open it," Natsuki ordered, a confidence in her voice.
Shizuru reached out for the box, her hands suddenly shaking. She carefully lifted the top, revealing the content to a sight.
"A ring," Midori stated matter-of-factly.
"Fuck," Nao blurted out, a hint of admiration in her voice.
But Natsuki didn't listen. Her eyes were focused on Shizuru and absorbed the view of transformation of the face of her beloved. All the playfulness was suddenly gone. Shizuru tried to keep her composure, but failed, her bright eyes suddenly filled with tears and her lips lopsided in a wide smile of pure joy.
Natsuki's smirk turned into a broad grin, the feeling of pride swelling in her chest. She managed to shut everybody up and moreover she made Shizuru happy. "This supposed to be revenge, not the sappy romance," she thought briefly. But she didn't care anymore. To see Shizuru's radiant face was worth all spiteful remarks of Nao, every single teasing of Midori or embarrassing comments from Alyssa, which for sure were to come.
But something at the edge of her mind still bothered her, not letting to enjoy the moment fully. She tried hard to remember what it was and finally her eyes widened in sudden realization. "Shit! And now what will I give Shizuru for the birthday? And how will I tell her?…"
---
As the week went by, Natsuki started to regret her rushed act at CKM. Now she was paying greatly for her short moment of triumph.
Shizuru was overacting.
Natsuki had only bought the damn ring. Not big deal. There was no need to make so big fuss about it. Natsuki felt insecure with this overflow of spontaneity from her beloved. It was rare for ever so composed woman to be so openly emotional to everybody. But it was rare (like once in a lifetime) for Natsuki to buy her lover a jewelry. And to deliver it in so unconventional way.
Shizuru was happy.
Natsuki wouldn't admit it aloud but she was ready to struggle a lot to make Shizuru happy.
So she somehow managed to bear all the extra teasing, groping, praising and tackling. She even managed to stay calm when dragged into mall for the shopping-together celebration.
But she snapped when Kasumi, one of their neighbors, dropped by to borrow some sauce and Shizuru invited her for a cup of tea only to make a great demonstration of her gift. Natsuki was wandering aimlessly around the chit-chatting women, but she decided that she couldn't take it any longer after hearing Shizuru's comments containing adjectives like sophisticated, dainty, exquisite, refined, stylish and extraordinary.
The younger woman stormed to the office room, shutting the door behind her with a loud thud. She decided that the Playstation would be a good cure for her frustration. She comfortably sat cross-legged on a carpet, just a meter away from a wide plasma screen, put headphones on and let herself to drift into the virtual land of mercenary.
After Kasumi left Shizuru decided that she was in a perfect mood to bake a cake, Natsuki's favorite. She was just making dough, when she heard the doorbell rang.
"Natsuki," she raised her voice, "could you open the door? I'm busy right now."
No response.
"Natsuki?"
The doorbell rang again.
Shizuru sighed, cleaned her hands and approached the front door. On her way she glanced into the office room and noticed that Natsuki was occupied by the console, oblivious to the outside world.
Shizuru saw two policemen by the peephole. Trail of worry faded her face, but soon was replaced by an alluring smile she opened the door with.
"Ara, what brings so charming men to our humble place? Long time no see, police officer Nakajima-san," she politely asked with the fake surprise.
"Good evening, Fujino-san," the man replied, shifting from the one foot to the other with uneasiness. "Is Kuga-san home?"
"Maa, what has this naughty girl done this time?" Shizuru made the cutest of her pouts.
The man called Nakajima started to wave his hands frantically in the gesture of defense.
"It's not that! She did nothing wrong."
"So is me then? What crime did I commit?" Shizuru titled her head and rested her palm on her chin in a gesture of deep contemplation.
Face of both men flushed red. Nakajima, visibly stressed, bridled. "You are out of any suspicions, Fujino-san. Actually this is not the matter. We have a favor to ask. This is very important, so would you be so kind and let us see Natsuki-san?"
"Natsuki-san? Since when they call my Natsuki by the first name? Did I miss something?"
The last time Shizuru greeted police officers at the door was far from friendly. They hunted the biker for breaking speed limits.
Shizuru sighed dramatically. "She is quite busy right now. I see what I can do. But," she smiled her trademark smile, "please come inside. It may take some time before Natsuki finish whatever she is occupied with and I can't let you wait at the door."
"You are too kind, Fujino-san." Nakajima grinned awkwardly, his voice revealing a relief.
"Can I offer you some tea to make your wait more entertaining?" Shizuru asked with a polite smile while leading the men to the living-room.
"It will be too much..." The police officer tried to protest weakly.
"I was about to brew some. I would be very disappointed if you don't try my latest found," she lied smoothly.
Nakajima had no chance to refuse.
Shizuru left the men and went to the kitchen. She took her time to prepare the drink. She decided it could be fun to see how the policemen would cope with her English tea served in the finest china.
She came back with tea and she made a little show of her skills while pouring drinks. "This is my favorite brand lately. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do." Shizuru observed with elegant smile a growing uneasiness of both men. After a moment she had enough of watching their struggle. "Now please excuse me, I'll go check on Natsuki."
The younger woman was in the middle of an epic battle, her fingers moving frantically on the joypad to make her favorite character – a huge knight in horned armor and a sword larger than life – win. She was so busy that she didn't notice somebody else's presence by her side.
Shizuru knew that calling Natsuki was pointless – even from the distance she could hear a crazy background music emitting from the headphones. So she approached Natsuki and coarsely tore off the headphones of her ears.
"WHAT!?" The head of the biker snapped up, anger flashing in her eyes.
"Ara, I'm sorry to interrupt you Natsuki, but a police is waiting for you in our living room." Shizuru smiled innocently.
On the screen the mighty warrior suddenly left alone died silently, attacked from behind by a huge fireball.
Natsuki grunted with surprise, then huffed. "What do they want?"
"They did not tell me. But they do have handcuffs." Shizuru's smile widened.
Natsuki blinked. "You are joking, aren't you?" She asked with distrust.
"I'm afraid I am not. I told you to not mess up with the law, but you never listened," Shizuru said in lamenting tone. Then she looked at her ringed hand and bestowed a brilliant smile on Natsuki. "But don't worry Natsuki, I'll be visiting you in a jail every day."
"Baka." Natsuki rolled her eyes and headed to the living room with Shizuru following close behind. When they entered the room the police officers rose to their feet.
"Hi, guys." Natsuki nonchalantly put her hands in pockets of her jeans. "What's up?"
Not happy with the uncivilized behavior of her girlfriend Shizuru stealthily pinched the rear of Natsuki. The shorter woman slightly jumped, her hands moved from pockets to cover her back. She glared at the innocently looking brunette and forced a smile. "Shizuru dear, could you make us some more tea?"
Before Shizuru made a riposte Natsuki almost pushed her out from the room, slamming the door shut behind her.
This time Shizuru probably broke the world record in speed of brewing tea. But when she was back, the conspiracy meeting seemed to be over already. With deep bows the policemen fled from her tray with green tea served in original Japanese mugs from Edo period, leaving the apartment with obvious rush.
Shizuru carefully examined her girlfriend who was sitting on the couch with her arms crossed and quite dumb smile on her face.
"Will you be so kind and explain to me what it was about?" The brunette demanded in a light tone. She could tell that the younger woman used all her will to hide her excitement.
Natsuki openly grinned and patted her knee. "Come here and kiss me then I'll tell."
Shizuru deliberated for a while with a poker face, then pounced at her lover. Surprised by the sudden action Natsuki lost her balance and they both fell back on the couch. Shizuru continued her assault by tickling sides of the younger woman. But Natsuki didn't stay defenseless and after a while the air was filled with a mad laughter of both women. Finally tired of their activity they paused and just rested with heavy breaths, disheveled hair and flustered faces.
When Shizuru was able to speak again she came back to the topic. "So could you be so kind and enlighten me about what's going on?"
Natsuki cleared her throat in attempt to get serious. "There is an emergency at the police station."
Shizuru waited for her to continue, but since Natsuki stayed silent, she decided to speak. "Are they out of tea? Mou, they should ask me directly to give them some. I wouldn't be upset." She asked with mocked worried expression.
The raven-haired woman laughed and playfully patted Shizuru's arm. "You and your tea."
"If it is not tea then what it might be?" Shizuru smiled and tucked the loose strand of dark hair behind Natsuki's ear.
Natsuki's body slightly stiffened. "They asked me about a favor. Since their colleague has twisted his ankle and is grounded, they need a replacement for their team which takes part in between-police stations competition," she said in one breath. "I told them I needed your permission to go. Because if I go, our weekend plans will be ruined."
Shizuru contemplated for a while Natsuki's words and then decided to investigate the matter further. "What kind of competition are we talking about?"
"A simulation of a real combat." Natsuki breathed.
Shizuru raised her brows in astonishment. "Why did they ask you of all people?"
"They need a good shooter."
"And how do they know you can shoot?"
"Well, a shooting-range at their police station is the closest one to our home. I sometimes go there to train." Natsuki waved her hand flippantly.
Shizuru chuckled. "When did you get so friendly with the police I wonder? As I can recall you were sworn enemies."
"Oh that. We are people of honor. We are able to forget about private animosity when a higher good is in line. Besides they respect fellows by trade." At moments like this Shizuru was never sure if Natsuki was serious or not. Over the years Natsuki had been infected by Fujinoism and had created her own Kuga-variant.
"A higher good? I believe you can do such thing, but are they able to befriend with the local delinquent?"
"Who is delinquent? I'm the agent you know. With all legal papers and licenses. I cooperate with cops," said Natsuki with hurt expression. Shizuru didn't have a heart to remind the younger woman that so called cooperation consisted in the biker using her papers shamelessly to avoid consequences of her sins as a driver.
"So if it is in sake of good relations with the police I don't mind you participate," Shizuru assured. "But this competition isn't dangerous?"
Natsuki laughed. "No, silly. They don't use real firearms. They use ASG replicas. They're toys, they will do no harm. But are you ok with it?" She worriedly looked at the other woman.
"How could I ever say no to those beautiful eyes?"Shizuru smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry I'll be all right. We can postpone our plans. But," she made a serious face, "these so called toys are not entirely safe. I want to be ensured that Natsuki will protect herself carefully."
"Yes, mother." Natsuki grinned happily.
---
Natsuki was gone before the dawn.
Atypically to her the raven-haired beauty woke up at a first signal of the alarm clock, silenced it with one smooth move and got up right away, trying to make no noise, unaware that Shizuru was awake already. The older woman didn't let her soldier go without a cup of hot tea and a bento in the backpack, deaf to impatient honks from outside and blind to Natsuki's angry glares.
Since their weekend plans were devastated, Shizuru unexpectedly had a free time to fill out. Some shopping was an opportunity, but she was back home late afternoon, still with plenty of spare time. She decided that she needed to unwind herself after a busy week. Her way to relax and rid of stress when she couldn't count on Natsuki's help, was to take care of her plants. Shizuru always wanted to have a garden. It was her dream - a house with a garden in the old Japanese style. Like the one from her childhood memories. Unfortunately due to her busy life she couldn't fulfill this dream yet. A small collection of bonsai trees on the balcony of her and Natsuki's apartment had to be enough of replacement for now. It was quiet and peaceful place separated from traffic by surrounding buildings, with no other occupants using their balconies too often, what made an illusion of the solitary place.
Unfortunately lately her haven had been assaulted in a very barbarian way. A young man had moved in to an apartment in the closely situated opposite building. Of course Shizuru didn't mind. The man had started to use his balcony as a gym, working out every night. Although it had destroyed her solitude, Shizuru still didn't mind. But when the man had took out a shining stereo and had broken the blissful silence with loud sounds of annoying pop music, she had decided she couldn't stand it. Her polite requests to turn the volume down had been ignored. Her all and mighty comments about basic rules of living in society had brought the opposite effect. The music had got even louder. It was rare for Shizuru to be ignored so openly. Usually she had no problems to make people do as she wished. This time however she met a resistance.
There was no doubt who would be the last standing in this duel of will, but last few weeks Shizuru had been too busy to take serious actions. The problem was suspended.
Shizuru hoped that the annoying neighbor would be absent Saturday afternoon. But she was not lucky. Five minutes after her appearance on the balcony a loud beat hurt her ears.
The man insolently stared at her from his balcony, malicious smirk on his face. This was a declaration of war. Shizuru didn't let the situation to get on her nerves. She didn't falter, but obviously there was no way she could relax in that noise. So she left the battlefield in graceful manner, a polite smile never leaving her lips.
In the silence of her apartment she scanned opportunities of the revenge. There was no doubt she would bring the man to his knees and let him pay for his behavior. This would take some time and needed some planning to get the desired effect but she was a long runner, she didn't mind to wait.
Feeling a little too flustered after the afternoon event Shizuru decided she didn't feel like sleeping. She chose to wait for Natsuki even if the girl had announced very late home-coming. She made herself comfortable on the couch and started to browse through her business papers. It didn't take long before she dozed off.
A sound of unlocking the door pulled Shizuru out of her slumber. Natsuki tried to sneak in without making noise expecting that Shizuru would sleep already. She entered the living room and after a short search she turned on a small lamp. When a weak light dispelled the darkness Shizuru couldn't help but gasp at the sight before her eyes.
Natsuki was wearing a full special assault team battle dress, complete with arms and a camouflage.
Shizuru silently admired the form before her. Corded black boots, a black pants, a black belt with black holsters with black guns and a knife in black sheath, a black flak jacket, a black riffle on her back, black gloves, a black bandana, black goggles on her head, black hair pined up in loose ponytail and a dust covered face with black war marks on the cheeks.
The brunette unconsciously licked her lips. This was the first time she saw Natsuki in combat uniform. "She looks so sexy."
At this moment Natsuki turned around and jumped at unexpected presence. "Shizuru? Why aren't you in bed?"
"I couldn't sleep. I was worry about my Natsuki." Shizuru admitted sincerely.
Natsuki laughed. "As you see I am safe and sound."
"So what was the result?" Shizuru smiled noticing the good mood of her lover.
"We won." Natsuki nonchalantly crossed her arms on her chest.
"Congratulations. But shouldn't the winning team celebrate the success?" Shizuru wasn't able to turn her sight away from the girl in black.
"We did." The cobalt-haired woman snorted and shifted uncomfortably.
"And it ended so quickly? It's only 1 a.m. and you are home already." Shizuru was quite amused.
Natsuki averted her eyes. "Actually the victory celebration was getting too… intense for my liking, so I left."
Shizuru sensed uneasiness of her partner but she decided to not ponder over it, yet. "How did you manage to leave a middle of nowhere? As I remember you had no vehicle - they came to pick you up. "
Natsuki shrugged. "I took a car and drove back."
Shizuru raised her brows in a gesture of absolute surprise. "Natsuki, did you steal a labeled police car by any chance?"
The biker glared at her lover, her look slightly hurt. "Don't use so strong words. I borrowed it."
"Did they know about it?" Shizuru intently looked at the younger woman.
Natsuki bit her lover lip. "Not exactly. I was in kind of rush, didn't have a time to discuss details."
"Ara, they might be worry and look for you. Or even they might chase you." Shizuru tried to keep a serious face, but confused Natsuki was too adorable.
"I think they did. But I lost them." Natsuki waved off. "C'mon, all of them are drunk. They won't risk a crime and sit behind a wheel in such condition." She grinned, teeth dazzlingly white in her dark-painted face.
Shizuru found the sight very distracting. "Was it fun then?"
"Nah. These guns are toys for big kids. I use the real thing." Natsuki emphasized her words with a pout. "Can you imagine that this pathetic running from tree to tree they call tactic! I'm not surprised they work on streets. Terrorists would turn them into a pulp in few seconds." Shizuru smiled at this rant because it was rather obvious that the younger woman had had fun.
"But this one is not so bad." Natsuki patted the riffle with affection. "Good range, good focus. They didn't expect to get shot by it from such distance."
"Ara, Natsuki played sniper?" Shizuru tilted her head to the side.
"It wasn't intentional. All this running around worn me out. So I had to find some way to end this before I died from fatigue."
"So it was you who left other teams cold?"
"Yeah." Natsuki smiled sheepishly. "Not every of them, but enough to win."
"I'm so proud." Shizuru smiled, adoring the sight of uniformed Natsuki. The view was almost perfect, if only her little soldier would like to show her some action. But this could be easily fixed. "Would my hero be so kind and show me the proper shooting stance?"
"Sure." Natsuki took the riffle off of her back and put it against her shoulder aiming at some imaginary target placed outside the window, her face serious and concentrated. Shizuru gasped at the sight. Natsuki had an aura of merciless predator around her, aware of her power to crush anybody who would get in her way. At this very moment Shizuru felt sorry for anybody who ever would find themselves at the end of Natsuki's gun. The crimson eyes instinctively followed the aiming line, looking for a target at the end of trajectory of the imaginary bullet. Shizuru looked outside at the buildings on the opposite side of the yard partially lightened by street lamps. Suddenly an idea hit her. For a moment she debated if it should be executed, and finally she decided that it was worth to try.
Grinning maliciously Shizuru approached the balcony door and opened it, then went back to Natsuki and pointed into the night. "Are you good enough to hit this shinny thing on the balcony in the opposite building?"
Natsuki didn't comment, just set up for a shot. A faint rasp was heard when she aimed. Then she pressed the trigger. Multiple times.
With unhidden pleasure Shizuru was listening to muffled shots and distant cracks of the smashed stereo.
When she was done, Natsuki lowered her weapon and grinned at Shizuru. "Strike."
At this moment a roar of engines and a screech of tires was heard.
"Crap." Natsuki's eyes widened in panic. "They found me after all," she hissed.
With one swift move the cobalt-haired woman jumped to the balcony door and slammed it shut, then ran to the entrance door and checked if it was locked. She crouched behind, the rifle ready to fire, her movements smooth and concentrated. Shizuru's heart skipped a beat. She felt her cheeks getting warm. "She moves like a wild cat. Magnificent."
After a moment distant voices were heard. It looked like a few not very sober people were looking noisily for the right address. Eventually steps approached to their apartment and halted on the other side of the door. Unexpectedly loud, impatient banging made Shizuru slightly jump.
"Natsuki-chan, open the door!" A drunken voice shouted. "We know you're inside!"
"We d-demand a kiss from the w-winner!" Another one stated, stammering slightly.
"And a huuug!" The third voice gibbered, emphasizing his claim with another thud at the door. "Chuu!" The noise undoubtedly woke up the whole building already.
Natsuki tensed, a strong blush visible even from under the paint on her cheeks. Shizuru chuckled. So now it was clear why her lone wolf had turned tail and run away from the party.
The girl in black looked very determined. Nobody but Shizuru knew better that stressed Natsuki wasn't something one might take lightly. The people at the other side of the door were in a serious danger. But since between them and their doom there was the solid locked door, Shizuru decided that the situation didn't need her intervention yet. Meanwhile she busied herself with feasting her eyes on the view. Predatory Natsuki made her feel butterflies in the stomach. The herd of crazy butterflies actually.
Suddenly an angry shout coming from upstairs roared the racket down. "Oi! Damn drunkards down there! Quiet! Or I call the police!" Shizuru recognized that the voice belonged to their neighbor Kato, Kasumi's husband.
The voices behind the door hushed, then some whispers could be heard. Finally with shuffling, tripping and swearing 'the rescue team' withdrew. Everything was quiet again.
Natsuki visibly relaxed, straightened up and started to laugh. She would laugh much longer if she was not silenced by the soft lips capturing her own.
---
(1) It happened during Shizuru's last year at uni. Natsuki overheard on a radio about a terrible car accident near Fuuka University gates. When she realized that Shizuru might had been around the place at the time, she went almost frantic to catch her by a phone. When she got no response, she panicked and ran to the campus. These times she was working part-time as a bike mechanic. She didn't bother to change her working clothes or even clean herself. After a sprint of her life she reached her destination and found oblivious Shizuru safe and sound and her cell phone turned off due to some lectures. Aggravated Natsuki was about to explode, but she noticed people staring (a mechanic's outfit and a smeared face was a rare sight around), so she dragged the poor student to an empty classroom and made a scene. Somehow from yelling and fuming Natsuki smoothly changed her mood to crying and sobbing and surprisingly even to herself she ended up hugging Shizuru tightly and declaring in a soft whisper her will of being together for the rest of their lives.
Thus started the new Shizuru's fetish – Natsuki in working uniforms.
---
(2) In her small apartment Shizuru hadn't a dishwasher. Since Natsuki started to spend the most of her time at Shizuru's, she was grumbling constantly about lack of it. Silent Shizuru finally responded and with her soft, melodic voice introduced the younger girl to multiple benefits of hand-washing together, supporting the theory with the practice.
"Washing dishes together can teach you to cooperate and socialize and it tightens bonds," she explained during their everyday routine of doing dishes while handing to Natsuki wet plate. "Plus it supports conversations."
Natsuki dried the plate without any comment, although her expression was skeptical.
One day when Shizuru went back home from lectures, she found in the kitchen a new item neatly crammed among kitchen furniture and ready for use, and clearly content Natsuki standing nearby.
"Ara, I see that Natsuki doesn't like to integrate," she said with disappointed tone, ready for verbal skirmish she was sure to win without difficulty.
"I want to spend the time we waste on doing dishes being busy with other activities." Natsuki was obviously determined.
"And what activities Natsuki considers as more interesting?" Shizuru raised her brows, feeling little offended that Natsuki probably preferred something like playing computer games or watching horrible movies to spending time together.
"Such as," smiling weirdly Natsuki approached the older girl and took her hand, "holding you," she pulled Shizuru closer and wrapped the arm around her waist, "embracing you," she whispered to Shizuru's ear, cupping with her free hand her cheek, "touching you," she leaned back a little to see the face of her beloved. "And kissing you," she completed, clearly satisfied with the expression she saw in Shizuru's eyes. And then she fulfilled her words.
Shizuru realized that she just lost the battle over the dishwasher. But it didn't bother her at all. Without more needless words she admitted that a dishwasher was indispensable in the kitchen.
---
3) Natsuki remembered too well the gun incident. When she finally had got a license for her toy she was so excited that she brought it home even if Shizuru had clearly announced that she wouldn't tolerate any firearms under their roof. Not feeling like arguing Natsuki hid her precious weapon in the bathroom's ventilation pipe. A few days later during/on some lazy Sunday she was woken up not by expected morning kiss but a harsh question. "Can you explain it to me?" When Natsuki opened her sleepy eyes she noticed obviously angry Shizuru keeping Natsuki's precious gun by two fingers like it was a disgusting trash.
After a few days of silence and Natsuki sleeping on the couch Shizuru was ready for forgiveness. After a romantic dinner and the very satisfying night Shizuru was appeased enough to explain that she accidentally had found this thing while cleaning the bathroom.
With the feeling of karma chasing her mercilessly Natsuki wondered who in their right mind cleaned on Sunday morning the interior of a ventilation system protected by a grille from outside.
A/N I apologize for the late update, but I am afraid the phrase 'free time' is unfamiliar to me. On the other hand this chapter was extremely long as for my capabilities.
I'll do my best to have next chapter ready for Shizuru's birthday, because it is about Shizuru's birthday (but this is not a promise, only wishful thinking).
Also I would like to apologize all the ASG, Police and SAT fans for any inaccuracy. I am not pro at these subjects plus some simplifications were made for the fiction's sake.
At last but not least: Happy birthday to Nekocia, the dear friend of mine :)