Second chapter finished! This is my very first FanFiction, so I hope you let me know what you think about the second part of it! :D
II
The small village was covered in dust, and almost every building was constructed with wood, in a very out-of-time manner. Shizuru could clearly imagine horses tied up on the front of the antique constructions. The sun was shining bright but however, the wind was fresh; Shizuru could feel the sunlight burning her face, the wind played beneath her skirt and Natsuki grabbed her straw hat for it not to fall away.
The two girls looked at each other after having formally presented. However, the tsundere girl wasn't the kind of girl that would usually stare at a person she just met, so she felt like she had to break the moment.
"I-I… I'm hungry… I mean, are you hungry?" Natsuki said, looking aside.
"Now that you said so… yes, I'm a bit hungry. I was so stressed before coming that I barely had any breakfast."
Stressed? Why would she be stressed? Uh, stop, this is none of your business. Natsuki thought.
"Ah, I see… Then we are in the perfect place!" she turned around and pointed to the rusty building behind her. A large board read "LA CANTINA" with old western capital letters.
"They serve the best food ever! Actually I was going there before we crashed… we could eat there if you want to." Natsuki said, quite enthusiastically. Shizuru smiled at such invitation. Despite her though attitude, she is like a little girl…
"It sounds great. I would love to keep you company on this bar." Answered the city girl to her official tour guide.
"Bar?" Natsuki snorted. "This is a real western saloon, miss! Bars are for fancy buddies." she said, joking.
"Oh, of course, sorry to insult the dignity of your saloon with my fancy-ness." Shizuru joked back, and they both laughed.
"'Kay then, let's go… lem'me help ya." Natsuki said while grabbing Shizuru's suitcase.
"Ara, such a strong girl! Thank you, Natsuki." Shizuru said.
"No prob, ma'am." said Natsuki, grabbing the front of her cowboy hat and nodding at Shizuru.
Natsuki opened the cowboy style door, making a squeaky noise. It was a small place, with rustic tables and various old pictures hanging from the walls. A vertical piano stood at the side of the saloon, thought no one was playing it now. There was about a dozen people inside. All the conversations stopped, the only sound now was Natsuki's boots stepping on the old wooden floor. Every head turned around to look at Shizuru. She felt weird, observed and it was as if she just gone back in time, with all the people wearing dusty cloaks, bandanas, straw hats, boots, vintage vests and trousers, large dresses, blouses. She could even listen to the metallic sounds of spurs and buckles moving, and must of the people turned their heads back to their own business, though a few of them still stared at Shizuru. There were walking towards the bar on the back of the local, with various alcohol bottles arranged on shelves behind it. At the left, there was the kitchen door, with a round window on it. On the ceiling, oil lanterns hanged. The light was quite dim, but gave a beautiful, special aura to the place. A small girl's head appeared from the kitchen door's window. The girl jumped quite excited and turned back in, Shizuru and Natsuki could only listen at her loud voice.
"MAI! Mai, Natsuki is here! And… Mai, who is that?" asked the little girl.
"Mikoto, do you have to be so loud? It's as if we haven't seen in ages…" said Natsuki. The kitchen door opened again and a tall, ginger girl appeared. She was wearing an apron and carried a handkerchief.
"Natsuki, you are late! I thought you'd never…" Mai stopped in the middle of the sentence. She looked blankly at Shizuru and then reacted. "Well, hello there! Natsuki, won't you present us with your friend, don't you have any manners?" said the red-haired girl, and both of them looked quite curiously at Shizuru.
"Oh… yeah, sorry. Mai, Mikoto, this gal here is Shizuru. She just arrived town…"
"Hello, I am Mai Tokiha and this little here is Mikoto Minagi," said Mai while giving a scoldy look at Natsuki. Natsuki wasn't one with the best manners so she just let Mai do the rest. "We live here! Well, not here on the saloon, out house is in the second floor, of course." Mai laughed. Mikoto was glued to Mai's chest, and just nodded and hummed at Shizuru with approval.
"I am Shizuru Fujino, I just arrived here, nice to meet you." Shizuru extended her arm and Mai accepted her handshake.
"I see, nice to meet you too, and I suppose you would like to have some food as well! Please, have a sit!" said Mai, and returned to the kitchen carrying Mikoto along with her.
Natsuki and Shizuru sat at a nearby table. Shizuru was quite amused with Natsuki's friends and really liked the place. Alasville was turning out as she hoped it would be. "Your friends are very nice." said Shizuru.
"Yeah… they're good people. But don't tell 'em I said that." said Natsuki while taking off her hat. Her black, long hair was now in its entire splendor. Shizuru couldn't help but to admire the cowgirl's beauty while she was distracted, and just for her luck, the girl started to take off the plaid shirt, keeping only her white tank top. She was quite thin, but her arms muscles looked strong. Her collarbone reflected the dim light of the lanterns that hanged from the ceiling.
Natsuki laid back on her chair and looked back at Shizuru, who looked away quickly and started coughing. The red-eyed girl breath turned heavier and she felt the heat on her face. Alasville weather was surely hotter than Kizawa City. Shizuru raised her arms to take off the, now completely unnecessary, sweater she was wearing. She took it off… Oh, man look at that pair! …Wait, Natsuki wha' da hell is wrong with ya? Natsuki looked away and breathed out. She couldn't help but to look again. Oh my God, they're way too good. And her skin… AGH, STOP, FER GOD'S SAKE. Natsuki shook her head as if that would shake the thoughts out of her mind. Shizuru looked back at Natsuki, confused.
"Is there something wrong, Natsuki?" she politely asked.
"Eh, ah, no, just that… it's quite, I mean, I need something to drink, and… do you want water? It's, ehm, it's hot, I'm, it's just that you look hot, I MEAN IT'S HOT INSIDE HERE. I'll get beer." Natsuki finished and rushed to the kitchen, and Shizuru felt puzzled. Once inside the kitchen, Natsuki sighed and breathed deeply. Just calm down, would ya? Don't bring weird shit to y'ar head 'gain. The cowgirl thought to herself. "Mai! I'll a couple of beers, 'kay?" she said to the ginger and grabbed a jar with lemonade from the fridge. OK, just come back and relax, breath deeply...
She walked back to the table, bringing the bottles of beer.
"Here. Mai makes this herself." Natsuki opened the cold beverages and sat down. Shizuru grabbed her glass and tasted the hand-made beer.
"It's great." A small drop of it slipped from her lips, and she took it with her index and gave Natsuki a flirty look before almost kissing it to pour it back into her mouth and then she just casually looked away. Natsuki blushed and drank her glass in two huge gulps.
"So… have you always lived here?" asked Shizuru in a very curious manner.
"Yeah… I've been here forever, though I've traveled a bit with my grandpa… I live here with him. We own a carpentry workshop and my grandpa has this weird hobby with raising horses." said Natsuki and sipped her lemonade.
"How interesting! I've just graduated from college, I studied architecture in Kizawa's University." said Shizuru.
"Wow… that's impressive. How old 're ya?"
"I'm 22. How about you? Though… you look younger than I am." Shizuru giggled, and Natsuki felt as if she was a child.
"I'm 19. I'm not that young." said Natsuki in a 'mature' tone and frowned. Aww, look at her serious face!
The kitchen door opened and Mai and Mikoto got through the door, carrying food that smelled delicious.
"Itadakimasu!" Mikoto said loudly and started vigorously eating a huge bowl of Mai's ramen.
Natsuki was right, Mai's food was definitely delicious and everyone enjoyed every bit of it. There was not only the best ramen Shizuru had tried, but also various delightful dishes.
"Mai, your food is really delicious, I truly enjoyed it." said Shizuru to the red-haired girl.
"Mai's ramen is the best ramen ever!" said Mikoto, and nodded.
"I'm glad you liked it, Shizuru. You are welcome to visit anytime! Which reminds me… where do you come from?" asked Mai, curiously. It was evident she was dying to ask Shizuru all about her life.
"I come from Kizawa City. I'm an architect, I just finished college and I'm moving to the 'old falling flat', in Natsuki's words." Shizuru said and smiled at Mai.
"Oh, I see. And where do you and Natsuki know each other from?"
"Well… We just bumped into each other when I was walking out from the train station." said Shizuru and looked at Natsuki.
"Yeah, uhm, I accidentally pushed her to the floor… that's where we know each other from. She was lookin' fer a cab." said Natsuki and snorted. Mai laughed.
"Oh, it's true, and how are you getting home then? It's not that near to walk…" said Mai in a worried tone.
"I'll give her a ride on m'bike. Mai, can we leave fer a mom'nt Shizuru's suitcase in h're, just while I take 'er home?" said Natsuki.
"Yes, of course! You should take her home already, surely she has tons of things to do!" said Mai.
Shizuru thanked Mai, who refused to charge Shizuru for the food, saying it was a welcome gift, so she and Natsuki got going.
The both of them got on the motorcycle and Natsuki turned on the engine of the powerful machine.
"I'm sorry, I don't have a helmet, I don't usually bring it when I'm driving inside town." Natsuki apologized while turning her face back to look at Shizuru, leaving their faces barely two inches apart from each other. She could smell the city girl's sweet fragrance, flooding her senses. Shizuru couldn't get her red eyes off Natsuki's green gems. She felt as if something locked her to them, and resisted the urge to kiss her pink lips. Instead she just hugged her close tight.
"Don't worry." said Shizuru quietly. Natsuki turned around and got the motorcycle going. She felt every inch of Shizuru's body on her back, her legs, and her soft arms embracing her strongly. She felt strangely happy and smirked. It was getting dark already, and they could see the sunset right in front of them, coloring everything with orange, red, yellow. Large clouds of dust raced behind the motorcycle.
Shizuru's head rested in Natsuki's shoulder. I could stay like this forever, watching the sunset and hugging you, Natsuki, Shizuru thought, closing her eyes and burying her face in Natsuki's body. The black-haired girl could feel Shizuru's nose and mouth on the back of her shoulder, making a wave of warmth cross her body.
"A-Are you okay?" she asked to the green-eyed beauty.
"Yes, yes, I'm sorry, I'm just tired… Please don't worry about me, Natsuki." whispered Shizuru and rested her head on Natsuki's shoulder.
"It's okay. We are already there." said Natsuki. Shizuru looked and saw the old falling flat. Despite everything, it is still a very beautiful house that just needs to be rejuvenated! Thought Shizuru, optimistically. The panels of the house had a light-blue old paint on them. It had a porch at the front, with an old white bench, and a wide backyard. There was a huge tree on the backyard, where a wheel swing hanged from a branch. Shizuru and Natsuki got off the bike and Shizuru looked at every place, taking mental notes of what she would be done to the house; Repainting everything, repairing and changing some of the old wood in the floor, cutting the extremely over-growth grass, some broken windows, new lights.
"I never thought anyone would live in this ol' house." said Natsuki while standing on the front door.
"Well… You would never expect how things turn out like." Shizuru said, opening the door and turning on the light. Or at least tried to turn it on. "Now that's going to be a problem." sighed Shizuru, trying to see something inside the darkness of the house.
"Let's go get som' new light bulbs now, we can walk to da' grocery, it's just passing that block."
Shizuru smiled to Natsuki and they started walking to the store. The night had already fallen and few stars where starting to shine on the nocturnal sky. It was quiet and calm. In the porch of a nearby house, an elderly couple sat on swinging chairs, the old man was smoking a pipe and the woman was knitting. A small red barn rose on the side of their house. The old man put down his pipe and looked at them.
"Oi! Natsuki-kun!" he shouted at Natsuki, who looked embarrassed at Shizuru and then turned back to look at him. The old man had barely any hair left, and what was left was gray. His nose was crooked, as if he had broken it when young and his face was covered with wrinkles. Despite it all, he definitely seemed as someone who had been very handsome when young. He was wearing a worn-out denim overall.
"Wha' is it grandpa?" Natsuki said to the man.
"You should be back at this house before midnight if ya don't wanna have problems!" he shouted. "Yeah, yeah." Natsuki said and shrugged her shoulders. "Did ya hear me, slacker?" the old man shouted again.
"Yeah, I did hear ya! I'd be back by midnight!" Natsuki said, irritated.
"Honey, won't you present us to your friend?" the old lady asked Natsuki, smiling sweetly at Shizuru, who smiled back at her. Natsuki's cheeks turned pink.
"Yeah granny…" she said and turned at Shizuru. "Grandpa, granny, this is Shizuru Fujino. She just arrived from Kizawa City. She's living at the old falling flat." Natsuki said shyly.
"Shizuru, what a beautiful name for such a pretty girl like you. I am Lauren Goodman and this is my husband Robert, we are Natsuki's grandparents." said Natsuki's grandma. Lauren Goodman was a very short woman, with pale skin and pink cheeks, and not as many wrinkles as expected in a woman of her age. Her hair was completely white, tied up in an up-do. She had green eyes, just like Natsuki's.
"Mrs. and Mr. Goodman, I'm so pleased to meet you." said Shizuru with a wide smile.
"So tell me dear, I have never seen you around so I suppose you just arrived town?" said Mrs. Goodman. Robert Goodman kept smoking his pipe and kept on staring at Shizuru, with a serious face that looked a lot like the one Natsuki made.
"Yes, I arrived town today and I had the fortune of meeting Natsuki, who has been very kind in showing me some place to eat and taking me home." said Shizuru. Natsuki blushed very deeply and her grandmother smiled tenderly at her.
"Is that so? My sweet child, you did that for this girl?" she asked her granddaughter, who just nodded and crossed her arms.
"Well, 'fter all it seems ya've learn'd sumthin' from us. Good fer ya, kid." Mr. Goodman said to Natsuki. Shizuru caught a glimpse of a smile in Natsuki's face.
"Well, I'm sure you'd keep on talkin' the whole night but we gotta buy some stuff fer Shizuru's house." Natsuki said to her grandparents.
"Oh, yes of course, but maybe Shizuru could come to have dinner with us tomorrow?" Mrs. Goodman asked Shizuru.
"Oh but I don't want to be more of a trouble than I've already been to Natsuki!" Shizuru answered.
"No, but it wouldn't be a trouble, not at all! We would all love you to come and share some delicious food and chat with us! Don't we, Robert?" she asked her husband, who closed his eyes and nodded, his pipe in his right hand. "Yeah, 'course." he answered.
"Well, then… I can't reject such a generous offer from such a lovely family. Thanks for your hospitality." Shizuru said. She felt really flattered.
With goodbyes said and after Natsuki's grandpa threatened again with getting home by midnight they kept on walking to the grocery store.
"Your grandparents are really charming people." Shizuru said to Natsuki. Shizuru walked with her arms down and her hands interlaced in front of them. Natsuki had both of her hands inside her pockets.
"I'd believe that 'bout my grandma'… but not so much 'bout my ol' man!" she answered and both of them started laughing.
"You have always lived with them?" Shizuru asked, a bit hesitant. She did not want to force Natsuki about something awkward.
"Almost… since I was six, I believe. My parents died in a strange helicopter accident. No one really know wha' happened, but ever since I lived with my grandparents." Natsuki said.
"I'm so sorry…" she said and looked down.
"It's 'kay. It's been a long time, I'm… well, I'm used to it ya know? 'Course I wish they were alive but life with my grandparents has been good. I've got a house, food and people that cares 'bout me… I've got nothin' to complain 'bout." she said and looked up to the sky. They kept on walking quietly for a while. The night was slowly getting colder; so cold that Shizuru's sweater wasn't enough to keep her warm.
"It's cold… how can it be if it was really hot before?" Shizuru said while rubbing her arms. Natsuki smiled at her.
"Welcome to the desert. You should probably get used to this constant changes. Here." Natsuki took of her plaid shirt and gave it to Shizuru, who looked blankly at her and blushed a little. She wasn't one to blush easily but this completely took her by surprise.
"But… aren't you cold? And you're just wearing a tank-top…"
"It's fine, I'm used to it." Natsuki said and looked away. Shizuru rubbed a bit the fabric. It was cotton, a bit thick. She putted it on and felt warmer. She took the collar fabric and brought it close to her face. It had on it Natsuki's soft smell. "Thanks…" she whispered.
Finally, they arrived to the grocery store and bought light bulbs, water, tea, and some other basic things to have, like a lantern for example, and walked back to the flat.
It was really dark now and it was hard to walk between all the over grown grass, they had to step very carefully not to get entangled or step on a whole in the dirt. Shizuru turned on the lantern and opened the door to her house. She could see her stuff was already there, in the boxes on the floor and she could distinguish that some furniture was covered with sheets. They both entered the house carefully. The floor was wooden and the walls had some old white flowered wallpaper. Shizuru took one of the light bulbs in order to change it, but Natsuki stepped forward and took the bulb.
"I'll do it." said Natsuki in a deep voice.
"Ara, you are so kind, Nat-su-ki."
Natsuki grabbed a chair to stand on and changed the light bulbs in the living room, the dining room and the kitchen, as well as the porch and the backyard.
"Shouldn't we get upstairs? We should check if the rooms are in condition for you to sleep in 'em… Hope there're no rats or sumthin'…" said Natsuki. Rats? Why didn't I think about that…? Ugh, revolting.
The two girls walked up the stairs, also wooden and covered in a cracked white paint, like the rest of the house. There were two door rooms next to each other on the front, and another at the right.
"This is more likely to be the main room, the other is surely a smaller one and the door on the left is probably the bathroom." Shizuru said and leaded the way to the first room. There was a large window that allowed the moonlight inside the room. It had view to the front of the flat. Natsuki changed the light bulb and turned it on right away. Inside the room there was a large bed, a dressing table with a mirror and a rusty wardrobe, the three of them with beautiful decorations engraved on the white wood. The room and furniture in it were gorgeous and vintage, but were covered in dust.
Oh well, I'll have to clean tomorrow… I'm too tired to do it now. I just want to rest already.
The next bedroom was empty; there was only a built-in closet on the wall. The bathroom was conserved in good conditions despite the time of disuse. The floor and walls were covered with white and blue mosaic, and there was a white, old-fashioned bathtub, sink and toilette. It just needed to be cleaned properly but clean water came out of the faucet perfectly.
Once they finished examining the house and checking everything was in proper conditions, they came back to the living room.
"Well, I think I have to go now… you know, my grandpa n' stuff…" Natsuki said.
"Natsuki you are so kind, really, I couldn't thank you enough for everything you've helped me with today." Shizuru said, truly grateful to the green eyed girl.
They were standing in front of the door, near each other.
"It's nothing… you are new in here and I was free today so…" Natsuki blushed and looked away.
"You're so sweet…" Shizuru gave a small step, getting nearer Natsuki, while she was looking away. She softly kissed her cheek. "Good luck, please get back home safely." she whispered to Natsuki, who turned to look at Shizuru and blushed even more.
"Yes… thanks." Natsuki got outside the house quickly and closed the door. She stood there for a moment, softly rubbing the place where Shizuru had kissed her. She felt hypnotized and wasn't sure of what just hit her. She got on the motorcycle and rode back home, cool wind on her hair, still with her mind on blank.
Meanwhile, Shizuru rested with her back on the door and her eyes closed, until she heard the bike's engine leaving the yard. Natsuki… I feel like I've known you forever and have just remembered it.