Gin: Hello, everybody! I'm back. *grins and makes peace sign*
Natsuki: Where the hell have you been!?
Gin: *sits at her desk* My computer crashed. Just got a new one recently.
Natsuki: That still doesn't give you an excuse! You could've just used someone else's computer!
Gin: Even so. I just haven't had time. I got a new schedule and I've been trying to get used to it.
Shizuru: Gin, I don't mean to sound rude, but could you just perhaps write the chapter already?
Gin: *cracks fingers* Let's see if I got my muse today. I'll have it done by the time you guys get back from lunch.
Natsuki: Oh, your're not getting away that easi-
*Shizuru drags Natsuki out the door*
Gin: Finally, some peace and quiet. *turns to readers* I do not own Mai HiME, the songs that are previewed on this story, or any references (like tv shows or anything like that). Thanks for reviewing, guys. It means a lot.
Platina GF: Your're quite welcome. Thanks for reviewing!
Guest #1: Thank you for your compliment and for reviewing!
Fate Kuga: Well, here's the new chapter. Hope you like it. Thanks for reviewing!
Guest #2: Thanks, I guess? Also, thanks for reviewing!
Gin: Now, let the chapter begin! *laughs like a madman with lightning crackling in the back ground*
After Shizuru introduced herself, a silence followed. Natsuki looked back between Shizuru and Nao. The blue haired bassist coughed. "Well, uh I should probably expl-"
"Wait, let me get this straight, Fujino got the drop on you?" Nao broke the ice with a grin. "Oh, that's just precious! And you were just bragging about how easily you could avoid people just a few hours ago!"
"Hey, it wasn't my fault! She was like, right behind me!" Natsuki argued.
"Yea, but she still got the drop on you! This is rich!"
Natsuki glared at the red head.
Shizuru smiled at the friendly interaction. "Ara, it's not Natsuki's fault that I found out."
Jade eyes turned to look at crimson. "Who's is it?"
"No, one's. I didn't wish to find out Natsuki's identity as a famous rockstar. It wasn't Natsuki's plan to be found out either. It just happened." Shizuru smiled as she sipped her tea.
Chie looked at the school president. "Kaichou-san, you do know that we cannot be found out, right?
"Shizuru turned to the gossip queen. "I figured so. After all, fangirls are quite a handful, if I do say so myself. I'll keep your secret, Harada-san."
The guitarist smiled in relief. She was actually worried that the famous Kaichou would spill the beans.
Mikoto grinned. "Thanks a lot, Kaichou-san!"
"Just call me Shizuru. And you're very welcome, Minagi-san."
Mikoto pointed to her chest. "Just Mikoto."
The older woman nodded.
"Thank you too, Kaichou." said Chie sipping the cold soda she had ordered.
"Everyone, just call me Shizuru. 'Kaicho' is a title only at school." Shizuru watched the rest of the band nod. She smiled.
Another akward silence came over the table.
Natsuki glanced between her band and Shizuru and finally cleared her throat. It was just too akward. The bassist thought they should go. She stood up. "Well, this is fun and all Shizuru, but me and the band gotta go...finish a new song. Yea, finish a new song. We got this recording coming up soon and we don't wanna miss the deadline."
The cobalt haired biker stood up and dragged her bandmates up. Natsuki laid the exact amount of money, for the drinks, on the table. She also laid a good tip for the cheerful waitress.
Before Shizuru could get a word out, Natsuki quickly smiled, as a silent goodbye, and proceeded to push her band out the front door.
"Thank kami we got outta there. It was so akward." said Nao as she and the rest of the band walked to the record label's enormous parking lot.
"You got that right. It was like someone took my voice. I didn't know what to say." says Chie entering the 4Runnner. The grey haired guitarist turned the car on and closed the door. Nao and Mikoto followed. Chie opened the windows to get rid of the hot air in the vehicle.
"It wasn't akward until you guys showed up." Natsuki slid into her bike and grabbed her helmet from the handle bar.
"Chie cocked an eyebrow and smiled slyly. "Did we interupt something?"
Nao, seeing where this conversation was going, joined in. "Like, perhaps, a date?"
Mikoto adjusted the AC to her liking and turned to the singer outside of the car. "Natsuki was on a date with Shizuru? Does that mean that Shizuru is Natsuki's girlfriend?"
Natsuki almost fell of her bike. "Wha? No! We weren't on a date!"
Chie and Nao shared a look. "So those that mean that Shizuru is your girlfriend?" The pianoist asked.
The biker flushed. "She's not! Why would you think that?"
"You never denied that Shizuru is your girlfriend. For all we know, the two of you could be secretly dating." Chie said.
Natsuki glared at the grey haired guitarist. "Well, she's not!" The biker put on her helmet and inserted the key into her bike. The Ducati gave a sweet, low purr as the bassist revved the engine.
Chie grinned and rolled up the windows, as it was already cold enough in the car, and followed the biker out of the parking lot.
An hour later, the HiMEs arrived back at Natsuki's place. Parking her bike alongside her 4Runner, the singer took her helmet off, letting her long hair cascade down her back. She dismounted her baby and watched as the rest of the band get out of the car.
"I'm telling you, sushi is better than ramen!" Natsuki saw Nao yell at Mikoto.
"No, ramen's better than sushi! The broth's delicious and the meat is good! Sushi's just fish!" Mikoto yelled back.
Nao growled as she entered the house. Mikoto followed with more reasons why ramen's better than sushi.
Natsuki lips twitched into a kinda -half amused smile as she watched her two friends. She went to the back of the car and grabbed her bass.
"They may not act like it, but deep down those two care for each other."
Natsuki looked beside her as Chie came closer. The guitarist grabbed her guitar and slid it on her back.
The biker grinned. "Nao actually cares. I thought the spider was just coldhearted." She closed the back door.
"She does. Not many people can see it. Just like how rarely people look past your 'Ice Princess' status. Your're just a softie trapped inside a tough exterior." Chie grinned as she ran into the house as fast as she can before Natsuki could register what she had just said.
Natsuki blinked before the gears in her head begin to turn. "Hey! I'm no softie!" The singer huffed as she followed the grey haired guitarist in.
The gang got back to Natsuki's apartment around 6:30 PM. It was now 8 and the band had just set the table for dinner. Even Midori came by.
"Bowls of ramen for Mikoto, sushi for Nao, a salad for Midori and Chie, finally- a ham and cheese sandwich for me." Natsuki put the selected food in front of the people she named.
Sitting at the head of the table, Natsuki watched as everyone thanked their meals and dug in. "You know, today's recording went awesome. We couldn't have done it any better."
Chie looked up from her salad. "I agree. We were on tempo."
Mikoto grinned. "We didn't miss any of the notes."
Nao swallowed the sushi she was eating. "The pitch was good too."
"Well, I'm proud of all of you," says Midori happily munching on her salad. "By the way, how did you guys get away from the fans? The last time I say all of you was when you decided to split up."
Nao glared at the cheerful woman. "Well, after you ditched us, we lost those crazies after we changed back into our normal selves."
"Ah..." Midori scratched the back of her head. "I'm just glad that your're all safe and sound. Hehe."
Chie narrowed her eyes. "That doesn't mean your're of the hook for leaving us to fend for ourselves."
"Uummm... I didn't really think you guys would've needed my help. You are, after all, the HiMEs, the toughest most badass band out in Japan." Midori gulped and prayed to Kami that the two girls would take her praise.
"Fuck you, Midori. Next time we record a new song, we're feeding you to the sharks. Hope you like shrieking banshees. Those bitches are just too damn loud for their own fucking good." Nao put her dishes in the sink. "And by the way, your're on dish duty, Manager."
The red head left the kitchen and went to the living room to watch some tv.
Midori looked at the amount of bowls that Mikoto had inhaled. The teacher turned her eyes to the salad eating guitarist. 'Ohhh, please spare me.' Midori pleaded with her eyes. Chie just smirked and put her finished dish in the sink, right on top of Nao's. Following the pianoist example, the guitarist gave a small wave behind her back as she left the kitchen.
Mikoto patted her non-existant stomach. "Ahhh, that was yummy! Thanks for the the food, Natsuki! I'm gonna go home to Mai now! Bye~" The cat-like girl brought all her dishes to the sink. All twenty of them.
With one last grin to the hostess, Mikoto ran out of the door and back to busty chef.
The teacher looked at the sink, toppled with dishes. She metally cried. 'Help me Natsuki!' Midori thought as she connected eyes with emerald green. Natsuki cocked an eyebrow and rolled her eyes. "Your fault, teach. Shouldn't have ditched."
The bassist stood up from her seat and dumped her dishes on top of Mikoto's. "Try to finish all of them before you leave or else I'll make sure to have Mikoto make even more the next time you come over." The biker left the kitchen, as Midori gave a small cry of desperation.
Natsuki sat on her leather recliner as her two bandmates fought over the remote. It was now ten and the biker was tired. Midori had already left after she finished all the dishes. All Natsuki wanted to do now was to sleep. Sighing, the bassist stood from her comfortable spot and grabbed the remote, turning the tv off. The two protested at Natsuki's actions.
"Shouldn't both of you go home?" she asked as she stared at her friends.
Chie turned to the clock and found her cobalt haired's friend to be right. "Dang, its already that late. I probably should get back to the dorms. Thanks for the food and see ya, Natsuki." The grey haired girl left with her guitar on her back.
Nao also noticed the time. "Shit, I gotta get to the hospital before the visiting hours are over." Her jade eyes glanced over to emerald green. "Thanks for the meal, Mutt." The red head left as Natsuki yelled at her for calling her 'Mutt'.
The house became quiet as the last guest left. A silence that Natsuki had come to appreciate. Locking the front door and turning the house alarm on, the forest eyed girl entered the bathroom for her sleeping ritual. Shower, brush, and change. Twenty minutes later, Natsuki was ready for bed.
Slipping under her covers, Natsuki's mind went back to the girl that had captured her attention since she saw her earlier that day. Crimson eyes and honey blonde hair seemed to have been burned into the walls of her mind.
'I barely know this person and yet I can't stop thinking about her. How her curls seem to gracefully sway as she walked, how she seemed to ooze confindence in any situation, and especially how she can make me blush like there's no tomorrow! How is that even possible? I'm the freaking Ice Princess, for crikes sakes! I'm supposed to be cold-hearted. Damn it.' Natsuki thought as she stared at her ceiling.
With a million things racing through her mind, the biker fell into a deep sleep filled with images of one crimson eyed beauty.
Omake
Gin: And break. Please don't hold this chapter against me. Its been a while since I've typed a chapter.
*Natsuki and Shizuru enter*
Gin: *closes her laptop* Hey, guys. How was lunch?
Natsuki: It was okay. Shizuru didn't let me put mayo on my ramen, though. *narrows eyes at the older girl*
Shizuru: Ara, too much mayo isn't good, Nat-su-ki.
Natsuk: *growls*
Gin: *clears throat* I've got the chapter posted so why don't you read it.
Natsuki: Fine. *drags Shizuru out with her*
Gin: *turns to the readers* Well, not much to say. I hope everyone liked the chapter. If you don't...well, just keep it to yourselves. Thanks for reading and good night! *leaves*
Horrible omake... Oh, well.
Please do review! It keeps me motivated! No flames, though. Its like being mentally stabbed in the chest. I know the chapter's short, but I've got finals next week, so my days are usually filled up by studying. Ignore all my mistakes too. I'm still working on this solo. Plus I wrote the bottom half of the chapter running on nothing except caffeine. Man, my eyes hurt. Thanks for reading and if you have any questions, just ask!
Gin out!