Chapter 5: Unlucky
Suzushiro Haruka had always respected (and secretly admired, although she would never admit it) Fujino Shizuru almost as zealously as she disliked the tea-sipping Kyoto beauty.
But one day, her respect for the calm and graceful kaichou was obliterated.
She didn't mean to peep, really, but she saw it. The almighty kaichou of Fuuka Academy took advantage of her best friend Kuga Natsuki, who at the time of the event, was deep in sleep and unaware of what happened to her.
For someone who believed so strongly in friendship, order, and discipline, what the kaichou did was unforgivable. Fujino Shizuru was a coward and a liar. If you love someone, you wouldn't hurt them,she thought. It's disgusting to use friendship as a front and then use your friend to satisfy your lust. Feeling your best friend up when she was asleep? Disgusting.
At least do it with her consent, damn it.
Sitting in the passenger seat of a grass green two-door Beetle, Yukino looked outside the car window and asked curiously, "Haruka-chan, where are we going today?"
Haruka gave her best friend a toothy grin and replied, "It's a surprise. I've got the whole thing planned, you'll know when we got there."
In your face, Fujino. I am so going to beat you this time. Because I am Suzushiro Haruka, I won't lose to the likes of you.
Haruka's nicely laid-out plan for the trip was ruined when she opened the bedroom door in her vacation house. They did get the surprise of their lives though.
"WHAT THE HELL!" Haruka's eyes popped out their sockets when she saw the two people in her room. Fujino Shizuru, or so she thought, was straddling Kuga Natsuki on her bed. The shameless bubuzuke-onna had pinned the other girl down with one hand over her head, and the other right on top of her breasts. The poor girl on the bottom was wearing practically nothing except her underwear and some heavy bandages.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING IN MY HOUSE, IN MY ROOM, ON MY BED?" The blond was livid with rage. She tackled the chestnut-haired girl so hard, they were both knocked over on the floor.
Yukino hurried to Natsuki's side and examined her injuries. "Haruka-chan, Kuga-san is badly hurt!" she choked; her dark green eyes were filled with tears. "We should get you to a hospital. Hold on a little longer, we won't let her hurt you again."
"Wait a second. This is a misunderstanding." Natsuki tried to explain, but no one was listening.
"Don't be afraid, we will protect you. This violent beast will never lay another finger on you," Haruka reassured the injured girl and tightened her choke hold on the "violent beast".
"You got it wrong, she didn't..."
Yukino gave Natsuki a sympathetic hug. "There is nothing to be ashamed about - having an abusive girlfriend is not your fault."
Natsuki rolled her eyes and pulled herself out of the friendly embrace. "As I said, she didn't hurt me, and I am NOT her girlfriend. Will you people ever listen? And you, say something." She glared at the Kyoto girl, who despite being pinned down in a choke hold by the hot-headed blond, had been quietly listening to the whole thing with an amused grin on her face.
"So this is your house. Lovely place." Viola smiled charmingly at the blonde on top of her. Haruka, however, replied with a enraged hiss and a murderous glare.
"YOU ARE NOT HELPING!" Natsuki snapped.
"Ara, you told me to say something."
Natsuki felt her vein popping and decided to take things into her own hands. "Oh, just shut up. Now will someone PLEASE get me a phone?"
Kruger headed straight for the mountain at the edge of the Fuuka Academy once she flew out of the church. Searrs could only trace her when she had her robe on, so she was planning to use this fact to her advantage and lure Searrs' army into the mountain. After doing that, she would release her robe and then sneak back to where her bike was. Those boy scouts could spend days searching for her ghost in the woods, but she would be long gone by then.
She landed in a clearing in the middle of the forest and released her robe. The fight against the android had cost her quite a bit of stamina. She was hungry and sore all over. Ever since she'd escaped from Searrs' secret laboratory, she had been keeping a low profile. She couldn't even remember when was the last time she had a decent meal and a good night's sleep.
Kruger let out a soft sigh. A decent meal and a good night's sleep sure sounded nice, but what she missed the most was Viola. Sometimes, she even doubted that busting out of the lab had been a huge mistake. Since while she was treated as a mere lab rat, she always had the one she loved by her side. Now look at this. She was finally free, but at what cost? Was freedom really worth that much? She was sick of being alone and constantly hunted.
Maybe that's why she was tailing the Viola look-alike; she was desperate. She wanted to see Viola so much, that just looking at a doppelganger's face was enough to bring her some solace. Pathetic.
Those slight stings on her limbs caught her attention, breaking her from her own thoughts. The moping Otome checked the sources of her discomfort and saw numerous small cuts on her arms and legs. Great. I am hungry and tired and filthy, plus my clothes are shredded. Just great. Can this day get any worse?
"Ara, ara. This place really had some bad luck." Shizuru stood in front of the collapsed church with an empty smile on her face.
This was where she fought Natsuki near the end of the Carnival. They fought, they cried, they kissed, and they died in each other's arms. After they were revived, she had begged for her ice HiME's forgiveness and the request was promptly granted, although Shizuru had never really forgiven herself.
How could she? She had violated her best friend's trust, and then went on a homicidal killing spree. She even tried to KILL Natsuki, all in the name of love. This is not love. This is a twisted obsession. If I really, really love her, then I should let her go.
She tried to, but it was so hard. She finally understood why Kiyohime chose to be her Child - it's because their natures were the same. She was a snake, a born killer that strangled its prey and then devoured it whole... Just like how her love had slowly choked the life out of the one she loved the most. Natsuki didn't want a lover; she wanted a friend. So that's what she should be - she would be - a friend, and nothing more.
She would do that for her, even though it was completely against her possessive nature, even though it was killing her.
So she stopped touching Natsuki. She used to grope the younger girl every chance she got, but now she knew better. Friends don't grope each other this way. She even went as far as to refuse to hitch a ride on Natsuki's bike. If I touch her, my resolve will definitely crumble.
Her efforts had not gone wasted though. Their awkward relationship after the Carnival had improved gradually over the past few months. Natsuki was more relaxed around her. Now everything seemed to have gone back to normal.
As normal as it could be.
Define normal. If normal meant tiptoeing around the girl she loved with her heart and soul, then yes, everything was normal. At least she would never again see Natsuki shrinking in fear of her touch.
"Sailor Kruger had fled. What should we do now, O Great Queen Alyssa-sama?" Nao mocked and then paused to snicker at her own joke. Alyssa narrowed her eyes slightly at the redhead's remark, but refrained to comment on that.
"Play nice, Yuuki-san." Shizuru turned to the child. "Alyssa-chan, I trust you would start digging into Searrs' database for the information I asked?"
Alyssa nodded but frowned at the collapsed church. "There is a slight problem. All the equipment is down there, in the basement."
Miyu put the child down and activated her drill arm. "Leave it to me, Ojou-sama. I will clear a path." The android then proceeded to her work.
"Hmph. How convenient. Just like Doraemon..." The redhead swallowed the rest of the sentence when she met Alyssa's angry blue eyes.
"Alyssa-chan, you are too scary for a ten-year-old. Cute little girls like you should try to smile more," Shizuru said with a serene smile.Strange. I didn't notice that before but this child's angry face looks so much like Natsuki's. Shizuru shook her head lightly to dismiss that thought. I must miss Natsuki too much. Silly me.
While the former kaichou was deep in her thought, her cellphone rang. "Hello?" Shizuru answered.
"It's me," the most familiar voice came through the phone. Shizuru gasped.
"Natsuki!"
Natsuki had to pull the receiver away from her ear to prevent her eardrums from exploding.
"Are you all right? What happened to you? Where have you been? Where are you now?" Shizuru's urgent voice came through the phone loud and clear.
Natsuki nodded, even though she couldn't see Shizuru over the phone. "I'm all right, just had some trouble with Searrs' men. I was careless. As to where I am now..." Natsuki moved the receiver toward an apparently baffled Haruka. "Tell her the address." The blonde did as she told, and Natsuki pulled the receiver back. "Did you get that?"
"I got it, but... Was that Suzushiro-san? What's going on?" Shizuru sounded very confused.
Natsuki glanced at the Shizuru double, who was still subdued by the ill-tempered blonde, and chuckled. "It's kinda hard to explain over the phone, but I'm sure you'll understand once you see it with your own eyes."
"But you are coming home, right?"
Natsuki felt a pang of guilt for making her best friend so worried. She really wanted to hide her unsightly condition from Shizuru, knowing how much it would upset her if she saw it. "I'm sorry, I can't come home yet, but I'll do that as soon as possible."
"What do you mean you can't... You are hurt! Natsuki, tell me. Are you injured? Don't lie to me!"
Too late. She's mad at me already. Natsuki cringed when she heard the other girl's upset voice. "Just a little scratch. It will heal in no time," she lied.
"Liar!" Shizuru accused.
"Really, it's nothing serious." If not counting a head trauma, a few cracked ribs, and a broken arm, she added in her mind. "I feel completely fine."
"I'm coming over," the former kaichou insisted.
Natsuki let out a sigh, knowing that there was no way in hell to stop the other girl from doing so. "Alright. If you must, see you later."
Natsuki hung up the phone and passed it wordlessly to a confused Yukino.
"Will you explain to me what's going on here? What was that phone call about?" Haruka demanded.
The injured girl grinned. "I called Shizuru. She said she is coming over."
"You called... Fujino is right here..." Haruka turned to scrutinize the chestnut-haired girl underneath her, but was a hundred percent sure that the girl was indeed the Fujino Shizuru she knew.
Yukino nodded her head, a grave expression on her face. "I see, memory loss due to head trauma, poor girl."
Natsuki snorted but quickly put her hand up to conceal her mirth. This is going to be so much fun.
"Report."
"Yes, sir. Z-type subject K was found in Fuuka's territory. Ready to move in, sir."
"This is a waste of time. Send in reinforcements from C-type."
"But, sir, C-type is still..."
"Are you questioning my order?"
"No, sir."
"It's about time for C-type to get a proper field test. Don't you think?"
"Yes, sir."
"Ne, Onii-chan, are we there yet?" A teenage girl with four obnoxiously pink and curly pigtails whined loudly, her arms latching almost painfully tight on a sandy-haired young man.
"We are almost there. And stop asking every ten seconds, Shiho," said Tate Yuuichi, who was sweating like a pig under the summer blaze. The almost nonexistent hiking trail in the uneven mountain terrain was not helping at all. "By the way, can't you walk on your own? You are heavy..." A fist connected with his jaw and interrupted the rest of his ranting.
"Shiho is not heavy! Onii-chan is so mean!" The girl continued her merciless assault with her light but surprisingly painful jabs, beating the man senseless.
"Ah, the burning youth. How I envy your close relationship. If only Kuga-san would accept my burning heart..." Takeda Masashi sighed deeply. The captain of Fuuka Academy's Kendo Club had no way of knowing that his unrequited love was doomed since the beginning.
Their Kendo Club had planned a special training session for this summer. Originally it was a seven days, six nights training camp for Kendo Club members only, but Shiho was throwing a hurricane level tantrum, so at the end they gave in and allowed the girl to stick around and act as their 'club manager'.
The arrangement was all right for a few days, and then they found out that they had run out of food in the middle of the mountain. As the club manager, Shiho volunteered for grocery shopping but requested Tate to come with her as her muscle guy. Tate, although with his manly sideburns and all, had no sense of direction. Him dragging along the captain for the trip turned out to be no help at all.
They were lost. Very.
TBC
Author's Notes:
1. To new readers who just found this story: thank you for reading this. Please review if you have time, I would really appreciate it.
2. To readers who have been following this story: thank you for sticking with me. I've been meaning to go back and fix my early chapters, and please forgive me for taking so long.
3. Thank you so much, Dr. Leebot! You're an awesome beta. XD.