Identities Chapter 2: The Played Becomes the Player, a mai hime fanfic

A/N: Hey guys! This is kinda important, so pay attention:

Key:

Natsuki singing

Nao singing

Chie singing

Okay, that's all really. Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Not Mai-HiME or Mai-Otome or any of the songs mentioned!

Chapter 2: The Played Becomes the Player

"I feel like such an idiot," the blunette notified the three other girls in the dressing room. She was dressed in a black baseball shirt, dark wash skinny jeans, red converse shoes, and a black leather jacket. "How is this whole sunglasses thing going to work? It's going to be dark everywhere except for on the stage…" She adjusted the aviators that covered her eyes rather well.

"You're wearing the contacts I gave you, right?" Natsuki nodded at the redhead's question. "Then if it bothers you that much, just take the glasses off. Your eyes will look blue instead green. It's a big enough adjustment for no one to recognize you." Nao looked the blunette up and down before adding, "That and your hot getup."

"Not that I don't enjoy the sight of Natsuki blushing, but I have to change the subject. We need to think about how we're going to behave. If we act like we do at school, any teachers or classmates will catch on immediately." Chie gave everyone a moment to absorb that.

"You… you have a point, Chie," Natsuki said, her brows furrowed in concentration. "We need more than just some minor changes. We need to become different people altogether, like you said before. Except I think we should create new names."

"This just gets more and more entertaining with every second." Nao grinned. "You go first since it was your idea, Mutt."

Natsuki sighed. "Fine… Duran. My name'll be Duran." Nao's grin turned to a smirk.

" 'Duran?'Isn't that what you—"

"Yeah, yeah, it is, but it's a cool name. Besides, no one except you guys knows my connection to that name. Your turn, Mikoto."

"…"

"…Mikoto?"

"She's practicing being silent. She thinks it will add to her cool factor, and ever since that comment about you-know-who, she hasn't spoken a word," Nao explained.

"Figures… I guess I'll just have to suggest names until she agrees… Mikoto, do you like… I dunno. Miroku?" Natsuki saw Mikoto nod. "Okay, Miroku it is."

"You make it sound like she's a guy. I guess that people might believe that since she as flat as a board." Nao snickered when Mikoto turned her head in the redhead's direction. It seemed like the drummer disliked that comment, but no one could tell because large black shades covered a large portion of her face. "Hey, Nat –er –Duran, I think that those are too big for her." Nao pointed to the glasses.

Natsuki shrugged. "I tried to give her a smaller pair, but she refused. Said that those looked cooler on her. Anyways, Nao, what about you?"

"I'll pass," the redhead waved her hand in a motion that said 'I don't care about names.'

Natsuki glared at the stubborn girl, but no one could see it because of the aviators she was wearing. "If you don't choose, I'll choose for you. And trust me, you won't like the name I give you, but you'll be stuck with it anyways." Nao just shrugged and looked away. Natsuki could see the indifferent expression on her face since Nao's shades were a transparent red that matched her hair perfectly. There were black hair attachments underneath her red locks, though, that made it look like her hair was actually long and black and had a shorter layer that's dyed to be red. It was odd seeing her with long black hair, but everyone agreed that it made her look pretty.

…Yeah, pretty hot. Natsuki shook her head as if to erase that thought like an Etch-o-Sketch

"Okay, fine. You'll be… Juliet." The blunette smirked when she saw Nao's eyes go wide.

"Hells no." Natsuki's smirk just got wider. "There no fucking way that I'm going out there with the name 'Juliet.'"

"If I recall correctly, you said that you were fond of that name, Nao," Chie interjected.

"Doesn't matter, you're stuck with it, Juliet. You should have chosen your own name when you had the chance," Natsuki said with the upmost amusement. Seeing that she couldn't do anything to get out of this, Nao just crossed her arms and mumbled incoherent curses. The biker couldn't help but chuckle. "Okay, your turn, Chie."

"Blue Rose," Chie announced proudly.

"…"

"… Pfft-!" The room exploded into laughter – well, Natsuki and Nao's laughter; Mikoto just stood there with her arms crossed. Chie's face turned slightly pink.

"What's so funny?" Chie pushed her golden-rimmed black shades to the bridge of her nose.

"That – ha! –is the worst fake name that I've heard so far!" Nao burst back into a fit of laughter. Natsuki was the first to regain her composure.

"At least I didn't give you a name like that, right Nao?" The blunette wiped the tears from her eyes. The redhead nodded while trying to stop laughing.

"You guys are such hypocrites," Chie mumbled. "Natsuki named herself after her favorite pet name, and you didn't even pick your name!" The bassist pointed an accusing finger at Nao. The sassy musician just waved at Chie dismissively, like she did when she was given the choice to create her own name.

"Whatever Blue Rose – snicker – As long as you approve of your own name. Now about the whole personality thing…" Nao's voice trailed off since she expected Natsuki to pick up where she left off. The leader cleared her throat.

"Right. I suggest that we all – with the exception of Mikoto, of course – become super flirtatious."

"…You're kidding, right? You want us to become a band of womanizers?"

"Think about it. We all keep to ourselves in our legitimate lives, so this is the exact opposite. Trust me, it won't be easy, especially since I for one don't even know how to flirt, but it'll throw everyone off if they suspect anything. It's brilliant!"

"Yeah, brilliantly idiotic! Fuck that. I'm not going to walk around and make a fool of myself."

"She has a point, Nao. You know the school's consequences if we get caught doing this." Chie shuttered at the thought.

"Hmpf. Stupid school rules… Who makes a rule like that anyways? 'No student may interact in anything of inappropriate behavior, whether they are on school grounds or not.' What a bunch of bullshit," Nao muttered. Natsuki grunted in agreement.

"Well, you remember what the really strict private schools were like in America. Even that rule is complete bullshit to them. And Fuuka isn't even a private school! Completely ridiculous…" The blunette crossed her arms.

"Well, you guys should remember that Fuuka High School is a lot like a private school. Heck, there are even scholarship students that go there," Chie said.

"You do know that we are some of those scholarship students, right?" Nao pointed to herself and Natsuki, who just nodded in agreement.

"Oh yeah… I forgot." The bassist smiled sheepishly. "So does everyone agree on the names and flirting thing?" After exchanging glances, all of the band members nodded. Good thing, too, since Midori chose to barge in at that very moment.

"Hey, are you guys goin' to –whoa! You guys look so… so… HOT!" Midori wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Damn! Natsuki-kun and Nao-san look especially sexy! Would either of you care to accompany me during your break?"

"No," Nao responded quickly. A second passed before a puzzled expression appeared on her face. "Wait. What break?"

"Oh, I guess I forgot to come and tell you guys. I figured that I could give you guys some time to enjoy the party. Besides, I'm guessing that the music you guys are going to be playing isn't exactly dance music, huh?" Midori stepped into the room, causing everyone's jaw to drop –except Mikoto, again.

"I'm gonna take a wild guess a say that this is a costume party?" Natsuki coughed and turned her head away in attempt to hide her blush. The older redhead stood in front of her with her old Fuuka High uniform on, but it was obviously too small. The buttons looked like they were about to pop off at any second, and it actually seemed like a few already did.

"Fufufu… Why would Natsuki-kun think that?" Midori had a strange look in her eyes as she attempted to approach the blunette. Unfortunately, everything became clear to the band when the older redhead staggered.

Natsuki sighed. "I should've known."

Nao face palmed. "Seriously, Midori-senpai? Drunk already? The party hasn't even started yet!"

"Just c'mon! Everyone's waiting for you guys!" And with that, the tipsy redhead wobbled off. Natsuki turned to her friends, a smirk on her lips.

"You guys ready? Know what songs we're playing?" Everyone nodded. Nao gave an exasperated sigh.

"Let's just go already. I want to get to that break and flirt with all the hot girls!"

"…And this is coming from the one who didn't like that idea at all…" The leader was quite amused by the redhead's sudden excitement. "And while I'm thinking about it, be sure not to say our actual names for the rest of the night, okay?" Again, everyone nodded. "Now let's get this party started."

"Yo, my peeps! My homeboys, my homey-homes! Sherlock Holmes!"

"Psst," Nao grabbed Natsuki's attention. "Why did we think it was a good idea to let Midori introduce us?"

The band's leader shrugged. "Obviously, it was not one of our best choices." The redhead nodded and flicked her black extensions over her shoulder while grumbling about how long hair was infuriating. The blunette chuckled in response as she adjusted her guitar strap. "Would you care to take over?"

"Gladly," Nao responded as she nonchalantly shoved the elder redhead from the microphone, holding the neck of her custom Les Paul with her right hand and gripping the mic with her left. "Sorry about that, folks. It seems that our dear friend Midori has already started partying without us." Loud whoops and laughs exploded from where said woman fell off the stage. "… Yeah. Now, let's stop talking and start rocking!"

The room boomed with numerous agreements, some people pumping their fists and chanting. "Wow," Natsuki heard Chie mutter. "Easy crowd."

That's because most of them are already drunk, Natsuki mentally replied. The blunette exchanged looks with Juliet after she put her guitar backstage and then Chie. She couldn't help but smirk as she raised her pick and glanced back at Miroku. The petite drummer clicked her sticks together four times before she and Natsuki started the song.

She felt so exhilarated, strumming away on her blue guitar in front of a large crowd. But the best part was that no one knew who she was. No one turned away because of any conflicts they might have with her, no one could shout anything hurtful or embarrassing that would affect Natsuki's mood. No one could do anything to bring her down from this new high…

…Because right then, Natsuki became Duran, the carefree, hot-shot guitarist and leader of this band. She was no longer the distant and icy Natsuki Kuga that was so well-known at Fuuka High, where she was either desired or hated. She had no limits.

Duran got into the song but played the guitar with so much ease that one could think that she looked bored. A smirk spread across her lips when Juliet stepped up to the mic with a sexy smile on her lips.

(A/N: Okay, now if you skipped the my intro to this chapter, now would be a good time to refer to the singing key there. Otherwise, you'll have no idea what's going on…) [1]

Oh baby, don't you know I suffer?
Oh baby, can you hear me moan?
You caught me under false pretenses
How long before you let me go?

Duran's smirk widened. Damn, Juliet was really hot right now. The blunette looked over at (Blue) Rose, just checking to see how she was holding up.

OohYou set my soul alight
Ooh~ You set my soul alight

As she expected, B.R. (Blue Rose) was jamming out on her black four string bass, which actually fit her quite well. The violin look to it reminded Duran of Rose's poetic side. The guitarist turned her face to the mic in front of her, breathing in.

Ooh~ You set my soul alight
Glaciers melting in the dead of night
And the superstars sucked into the super massive
Ooh~ You set my soul alight
Glaciers melting in the dead of night
And the superstars sucked into the (Sucked into the super massive)

Needless to say, the leader was rather pleased at how well this was going: everyone was singing perfectly, staying on the beat, and having a good time. Showing your own excitement was vital while performing, Duran knew, because if the performers have no energy, neither does their performance or the audience. Yes, this was going very well indeed.

I thought I was a fool for no one
Oh baby, I'm a fool for you
You're the queen of the superficial
And how long before you tell the truth?

Ooh~ You set my soul alight
Ooh~ You set my soul alight

Time to be shine, Duran realized. She had a singing part followed by the guitar solo. Oh boy…

Super massive black hole
Super massive black hole
Super massive black hole

Glaciers melting in the dead of night
And the superstars sucked into the super massive

Whew… So far, so good.

Ooh~ You set my soul alight
Glaciers melting in the dead of night
And the superstars sucked into the super massive
Ooh~ You set my soul alight
Glaciers melting in the dead of night
And the superstars sucked into the (Sucked into the super massive)

Super massive black hole
Super massive black hole
Super massive black hole

As the song came to the end, all of the band members jumped so that they all landed on the last note, gaining an even louder response from the audience. Rather than stopping between this song and the next, Duran went straight into the next song. After that… it was all kind of a blur. The band was having a good time, the crowd seemed to like the songs they were playing… all was good.

So good, in fact, that they never introduced themselves. Completely forgot, actually.

So, when Midori practically tumbled onto the side of the stage that Duran stood, the guitarist had to restrain from letting out a surprised yelp as an arm circled her shoulders. The clearly drunk "17 year old" grabbed the microphone in front of Natsuki, but it took a few tries before she actually managed to grasp it.

Duran was glaring daggers at the tipsy redhead, but it went unnoticed. "How rude. You guys didn't even tell us your names before blowing our minds!" Midori whined… At least, that's what everyone that she said. It's kind of hard to understand her when she's slurring all of her words together.

Yet another reason why she should knock it down a few notches. Duran rolled her and moved her head away when Midori tried to kiss her. More like smother me.

"Um… okay. Well, I'm Juliet." She really tried to refrain from cringing at the statement, but a slight twitch in her smile gave away her frustration.

"And that's," the faux dark-haired girl gestured to Mikoto. "Miroku, our drummer." An impressive drum fill followed. "Oh, and Miroku doesn't talk much, so don't expect any lengthy conversations."

"And I'm Blue Rose—" Nao and Natsuki snickered but shut up when Chie sent them a glare that could burn through an armored truck. " – But you can call me B.R., Blue, or Rose."

"Hey there," a husky voice spoke, making everyone turn to stare at the owner of said voice. "Name's Duran. Pleasure."

Natsuki smirked at the increase of chatter that resulted from her five words. Too easy.

"Hmph. Well, what our fearless leader left out –" Nao nodded towards Natsuki. "– is that we're ShadesCast , and we're here to rock your pants off." The redhead couldn't help but smirk at the hidden meaning in her words. "We're going to take a break and party with you guys, but then we'll get right back to business!"

The crowd cheered, which was rather unexpected by Natsuki. We're really that good?

A flash of red distracted the guitarist and caused her to search the sea of people. Emerald masked by blue eyes narrowed as she lifted her glasses to get a better look, but the stage lights were too bright to really see anything. Whatever she had seen, was now gone.

…Red eyes?

"Hey, Duran," Nao nudged the blunette, successfully breaking her out of her daze. "You okay? You've been spacing out since we left the stage."

"Yeah… fine, I guess. Just thinking about something." Natsuki sipped her drink...

...And then spat it back out.

"Oi! Did you do something to my drink, Juliet?"

Nao turned her head away, trying to hide her grin. "I don't know what you're talking about."

The grin widened when a clatter was heard as a glass knocked against the bar counter.

"Awfully clumsy tonight, aren't you, Duran? Might want to watch the alcohol."

"Fuck you. You totally spiked my drink with something."

"Maybe I wouldn't of if you weren't so clueless and spacey." Natsuki made another attempt to stand on her own two feet, but faltered.

"Dammit, Juliet. How I am supposed to play if I'm hammered?"

The redhead rolled her eyes. "You're not hammered."

"That's what you decided to comment on?"

"It was the most interesting part of the sentence." Nao downed the rest of her drink before standing up. "C'mon, break's over."

"Seriously? But we hardly did anything we were supposed to!"

Nao shrugged. "You were daydreaming the whole time. A few people asked you if you wanted to dance, but you just ignored them… Which is why I messed with your drink," Juliet explained like it wasn't a big deal.

"Gee, how did I get so lucky to have a friend like you?" Natsuki replied sarcastically. The leader stumbled again as the two made their way towards the stage. "Fuck. This'll be fun."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, Duran: you'll be the front man for the rest of the night. I gots to rest my beautiful voice." A sound similar to a choke came from the redhead's companion.

"oh, I forgot to tell you, Juliet: fuck you."

"No, I'm pretty sure you already told me that."

As the rocker got into place, Natsuki had to grip onto the microphone stand in order to stay upright. Chie raised her eyebrows.

"What's wrong with Duran?" She asked Nao as she checked the tuning of her bass. The redhead grinned as she did the same with her instruments.

"Let's just say that I made this party a lot more fun for her."

"She's going to kill you tomorrow if she has a hangover."

"Ha! You mean when she has a hangover! She probably won't even be able to leave her bed with the stuff I gave her."

"…It was nice knowing you, Juliet."

"Oi! B.R.! How much longer do you think you can handle?" Natsuki shouted over to the duo that was still backstage.

"Oh, I'm okay for now, but I shouldn't push it too much longer. I'm actually surprised that I've managed to stay for this long…"

"Are you dizzy?" Nao whispered to the bassist.

"A little, but Duran doesn't need to know that. She's already stressed out and tipsy thanks to someone."

The other snickered. "Fucking got her good, didn't I?"

"Blue, Juliet, get over here!" After the two complied and she noticed that Mikoto was in place behind her drums, Natsuki continued. "Okay, I figure that we should start with "Where Are We Running"… then –" [2]

"Wait, Duran-kun!" Midori, more intoxicated than before, draped herself over the blunette's shoulder. She shoved a piece of paper in the leader's face. "Some people told me that they had some requests for you guys to play. I double checked that they were songs that you guys already know."

That was the best translation that they could manage, of course. Natsuki, Chie, and Nao had grown accustomed to interpreting the drunken Midori after attending so many parties with her last year. It was then that they saw her and heard her at her worst.

Nao grabbed the paper since Natsuki was preoccupied with blushing like a tomato.

"Midori! Get OFF of me!" She could feel the older redhead's cleavage press against her back through the small school uniform.

"Does Natsuki-kun like it?" Midori whispered huskily in the flustered guitarist's ear.

"NO, I DON'T! Oh, and thanks for lying to us! You said that this was a costume party, but you're the only one that I've seen in a costume." This, of course, was rather odd coming from the blunette, seeing that she was daydreaming most of the time… so she could really "see" anyone or their costumes.

The tipsy woman shrugged. "It was optional."

"Midori," Nao cut in before Natsuki could respond. "Two-thirds of this is just scribbles and profanity. The other third consists of mostly of phone numbers and five songs. Three of those five songs have the word "Monster" in the title."

Midori giggled. "Ara ara, my bad." She stuck her tongue out before retreating off the stage. Everyone let out another sigh.

"Well… what are the options, Juliet?" Natsuki stretched but ended up wobbling a little. Damn Nao and her pranks.

"Let's see… We have "Monster" by Skillet, "Monster" by The Automatic, "Monsters" by Matchbook Romance, and… I lied. The rest are just pick up lines."

"This is ridiculous. I mean, I know that it's Halloween, but seriously!" Chie groaned.

"Meh… Let's just get this over with…" Natsuki said as she stepped up to the mic… and…

And… Well, that's all she remembers.

The next morning, our favorite blunette woke up with a splitting headache.

"Gah… I'm going to kill Nao…" She was suddenly very thankful for the aviators that had now become a part of her other self. Better get up and get ready for school… Wait… why do I feel so warm?

The biker looked down, only to wish that she had stayed asleep.

There was a woman on her. And she was naked.

It was then that Natsuki suddenly realized that she wasn't in her apartment, but in a hotel room. Well at least I'm not a complete idiot when I'm drunk. Natsuki also realized that she was still wearing her t-shirt and pants. So… I gave but didn't receive? Can't decide if that's a good thing or if it sucks.

She glanced over at the clock and read the red numbers with horror. "Shit!" She breathed as she carefully wiggled her way out of the woman's grasp. It wasn't easy, though; the lady had a vice grip! After quickly placing a pillow as a substitute, Natsuki rushed to gather all of her belongings.

A split second was spent admiring the curvy body of the bedded woman. She had shifted, so her back was facing Natsuki now, but Natsuki could recall the large breasts that had pressed against her side when she woke. I don't even remember her name… But I remember her voice, and the voice of another woman… Man, I remember one of the two being really hot, too.

Natsuki growled. She hated being on the other side of this situation because she knew what it was like to wake up to an empty bed and a hollow feeling in her heart. I guess the 'played' has finally become the 'player'… God, now I feel even shittier.

Natsuki briskly walked out of the room. She would have to run home, change, then speed to school in order to make it one time. Eff my life.

A/N: Well... this was fun to write. I hope that none of you are disappointed.

Sorry if you're confused by the names I've picked for Nao, Natsuki, Mikoto, and Chie. I based them off important parts of their character... Let me show you:

Natsuki= Duran. This should be obvious to anyone that's seen the series or read the manga. I know that it might be weird having people calling Natsuki by her dog's name, but I figure that it won't be too confusing since I'm not planning on having an actual dog named Duran in this story. (Sorry Duran Fans!)

Nao= Juliet. This is also obvious, whether you watched Mai-HiME or Mai-Otome. Nao's full name in Otome is Juliet Nao Zhang, and her Child's name in Mai-HiME was Julia, I believe.

Mikoto= Miroku. The name of her sword in Mai-HiME. She comes off as more of a silent guy, so I thought it would be okay...

Chie= Blue Rose. She's often seen with a blue rose in Mai-Otome, I think. It was hard coming up with a name for her.

Anyways... Time for the numbers!~

[1] "Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse

[2] "Where Are We Running" by Lenny Kravitz

So... Originally, I was going to have all the lyrics of all of the songs they played, but then I realized that that would be very boring for you guys and would take up about half of the story. Instead, I'll only include the lyrics for the chapter songs or really important songs (Please Note that "Supermassive Black Hole" is NOT the chapter song) but all the other songs will just be mentioned. That way, you can just look them up if you're interested.

If you want an idea of what Nao, Natsuki, and Chie's instruments look like, there are links on my profile.

No chapter song... mostly because I'm tired and can't find one that I feel like it fits. I really appreciate reviews! ;)