Chapter 20: Hostage

Erstin was a light sleeper, so when Nina got up from the other bed across the room in the middle of the night, she was immediately awoken from her already troubled sleep. What is she doing... Erstin strained her eyes in the dark and saw the groggy girl stumbling toward the kitchen...

"Aw..."

... and walked into a wall.

Erstin had to put her hands up to cover her mouth so she wouldn't giggle out loud at the blue-haired girl's endearing display.

However, Nina was still half-asleep even after the walk-into-a-wall incident. She staggered into the kitchen like a drunkard and opened the fridge to take out a bottled water. After she drank the whole bottle in one go, Nina put the empty bottle back into the fridge and stumbled back toward her bed. HER bed. Not THE bed she was sleeping in a minute ago, but the one Erstin currently occupied.

When the sluggish girl plopped down on the spot beside her and snuggled her tightly with a satisfied sigh, Erstin's mind was reeling at the speed of sound.

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD!!!

Erstin squeezed her eyes shut while blushing furiously when the sleeping girl nuzzled her face into the blond's ample breasts and mumbled something incoherent. A few seconds later, Erstin's eyes snapped open and her mouth went dry as Nina slid one leg between her thighs.

Erstin honestly thought that if the world were to implode the next moment, she would die happy.

Nina's cool lips were a sharp contrast to the rest of her warm body. It must be the cold water she drank... Erstin felt a shiver down her spine when the other girl pressed those lips on her exposed collarbone, although she highly doubted that it was because of the coldness. She could hear her own heartbeats pounding inside her head like a jackhammer. It was so loud that she was afraid that the mad noise would wake Nina from her peaceful slumber. If that happens, then it will be really difficult to explain myself... Wait a second, Nina-san climbed into this bed herself, I didn't do anything wrong, did I? But why do i feel so guilty...

"Ah! Mmm..." Erstin quickly bit down on her bottom lip to stop the surprised yelp (moan) when Nina shifted in her sleep, accidentally brushing up against the blond's most sensitive part with a bent knee in the process.

It's going to be a very long night for Erstin.

It was also a very long night for Sugiura Midori.

"Why did I agree to that old maid Fumi's stupid request in the first place?" Having completely forgotten the fact that she was five years older than the pink-haired Director, the self-proclaimed seventeen-year-old shouted in frustration, her voice drowned by the raging storm.

Earlier that day, Midori received a phone call from Fumi right after she got back from a two-month expedition in Egypt. Apparently there was another Searrs attack at Fuuka and the Director wanted her help to locate a missing HiME, Munakata Shiho. According to Fumi, Shiho was supposed to be on a camping trip with other kendo club members, but she and another two students never came back from their errant run.

And that's why Midori ended up here in the middle of the forest, hungry and lost and soaked to the bones. She thought that the girl might have gotten lost in the forest, so she went looking for her.

It was sunny the entire day, so she didn't bother to check the weather forecast before she set out. What kind of idiot would trust the weather forecast anyway?

Her flashlight died on her an hour ago. There was no moonlight since the sky was covered by heavy rain clouds, and it was impossible to start a fire in the middle of the storm. Basically, she was blind as a bat. And what's the chance of finding one missing girl in the middle of a forest in complete darkness while braving rain and wind blowing 75 miles per hour?

"STUPID BASTARDS!!!"

Back in one of many Searrs' secret laboratories, Miya Clochette was pacing in Tomoe's empty room. The second in command of the C-type Otome squad was worried beyond words. Tomoe-sama is strong, she would never lose to anyone... But her signal was gone, something must have happened to her GEM. Even without her GEM, the emergency homing device should still work. Why didn't she used it to contact me?

News from the combat division was not good at all. Apparently the entire Golden Fleet was lost, and the higher-ups were furious. What kind of enemy did they face? Miya couldn't help but fear for her teal-haired captain's life.

"Please come back to me, Tomoe-sama..."

"Can't sleep?" Youko sat down on the chair next to Nao, who was looking out the window with a bored look on her face. It's well past midnight and the rest of the gang had all found someplace comfortable enough to spend the night, be it the couch or some soft rug on the floor. The redhead delinquent, although tired, was not sleepy at all.

"Blame Kuga and the brat. They got the only two beds in the house." Nao said with a blend monotone. She didn't really care about where to sleep, she just wanted to blame her sleeplessness on someone else.

"I see. Try not to stay up too late." The school nurse finished the cup of warm milk in her hand and stood up from the chair. "Good night."

"Yeah. Good night." Nao said and watched the woman left the living room. Her lazy gaze then turned to the slumbering figures littered in the living room instead.

Haruka and Yukino were sleeping on the couch. There was barely enough room for one person to sleep on, but somehow those two managed to share the narrow space. Nao had thought that the rude blond would hog the couch for herself, but as it turned out, the former Executive Director was only lying on her side at the edge of the couch while using her body to shield the mousy girl from accidentally rolling off the makeshift bed.

Mai was sleeping on a rug in front of the fireplace, Mikoto was sleeping on top of Mai as usual. The busty girl's ample breasts made the perfect pillow for Mikoto, and the petite girl's warm body made the ideal blanket for Mai. As Nao watched those two sleep, she couldn't help but think that they were made for each other.

In the corner of the living room, Chie was snorting lightly in a reclining chair with Aoi curling up on her lap like a cat. Nao highly suspected that those two would suffer from a serious case of back pain the next morning, but for the time being, they looked comfortable sleeping in such odd position.

She had no doubt that the "Honeymooners" and their doubles were also having a good night's sleep in each other's arms upstairs, and that really pissed her off.

Fuck, even the android had someone to cuddle with.

Watching them sleep so peacefully made the redhead want to... What is this? Nao clenched her hand into a fist in front of her chest. Envy? She wanted to grab a chalk board and a rusty nail and rudely interrupt their peaceful slumber with the worst noise imaginable. Now, where can I find a chalk board?

Nao sighed.

Life is so not fair.

Nina had always thought she knew herself pretty well. This morning when she woke up from the best sleep she had in a long while, she realized that she did not know herself at all.

She didn't know she was capable of rape.

The girl underneath her was still deep asleep, her short blond hair disheveled. There were several faint bruises on her otherwise flawless creamy white neck which Nina was sure were not there last night. Her loose pajama shirt had hiked all the way up to her chest because Nina's right hand was grabbing the sleeping girl's bare left breast. Further down, much to the blue-haired girl's mortification, their legs were entangled in the most intimate fashion.

She had no idea how she ended up on top of Erstin, she only knew that the blond girl looked thoroughly ravished, and she herself was guilty of causing it.

Maybe I should stop groping her and get off of her as soon as possible. Nina thought, her panicking mind not functioning properly at the moment. Ok. First, hand, away from her breast. She let go of the soft and supple mound STOP THINKING HOW NICE HER BREASTS ARE!!! and carefully shifted her weight to her side. Unfortunately, by doing so, she had unintentionally kneed the girl underneath in the most inappropriate place.

"Mmm..." An erotic moan escaped the sleeping girl's lips. The sound almost made Nina's head explode. To her horror, Erstin's long lashes slowly fluttered open, and she found herself staring into the girl's hazy emerald eyes.

Nina swallowed hard. Her mouth opened and closed a few time, but her voice refused to come out. She felt like a goldfish out of water.

Two hands found their ways to the back of Nina's head. In her half-awake state, Erstin pulled the panicking girl down and held her in a suffocating embrace.

"G'morning, Ni-na." She slurred, and rubbed her ample bosom against Nina's blushing cheeks.

They were very quiet on their way to the Director's Office.

After a long session of them apologizing to each other, Erstin had explained to Nina that nothing happened last night. Well, nothing serious happened, only some groping and rubbing and licking and... Ok, Something happened last night, but Erstin didn't think Nina was at fault.

Nina said she would take full responsibility.

Erstin refused. She didn't want to be a mere 'responsibility'.

They didn't talk much after that.

"Good morning, Nina-chan, Ers-chan. Did you have a good night's sleep?" Arika smiled brightly at them as they came into the lounge. "Fumi-sama told us not to wait for her. I think she is busy working right now."

"Um. I see." Nina nodded absent-mindedly.

Arika didn't notice Nina's detached state. She continued. "Ers-chan, what would you like for breakfast? How about some ham and egg? Ah, don't worry, Tomoe-chan and I have had breakfast earlier."

"It sounds good. Thank you."

"Alright, I'll be right back." Arika said and then left the room.

"I... I'll go with you." Nina suddenly jerked up her head and hastily follow the short maid out.

Erstin sighed. It seemed that the blue-haired girl couldn't stand to be with the same room as her anymore.

"Good morning. I've been waiting for you, Dr. Ho."

Erstin jumped at the voice and turned to stare at the teal-haired Otome.

"... and then she woke up. I apologized and told her I would take full responsibility, but she said no. She must really hate me now!" Nina grabbed her wide-eyed roommate by the shoulders and shook her violently while rambling almost hysterically. "She said no! What should I do? She wouldn't forgive me! Should I commit seppuku? Maybe cutting my stomach open is the only way to redeem myself..."

"TIME OUT!" Arika yelled. "Stop for a second and calm down, will you?"

Nina nodded, her amber eyes still darting around nervously.

"Alright. So You were saying, you took advantage of Ers-chan when she was asleep. What exactly did you do?"

"I... " Nina could feel heat creeping up her face. "Touched... her body... and stuff." She mumbled.

"Stuff?"

"Like... I... Heh? Hey! Why do you need to know that?"

Arika shrugged. "I'm just curious." She grinned like a middle-aged lecher and nudged the taller girl with her elbow. "Come on, tell me. We are practically sisters, what's the harm of letting me know? Did you do 'this' and 'that' to her?"

"WHAT?!" Nina thought her cheeks might catch fire. "None of your business, Arinko! It's between me and Ers."

Arika's sky blue eyes twinkled mischievously. "I see. 'Ers', hehehe... So you two don't need honorific now."

Nina felt like strangling herself.

Erstin dropped down on the floor, her knees too weak to support her own weight.

Tomoe hovered above the blond girl and spoke in a low voice. "Take a good look at this, don't tell me you don't recognize this face." She shoved an opened book in front of Erstin's face and pointed out the picture in the middle of the page.

A girl with long chestnut hair and delicate features smiled serenely in the picture.

"S... subject V." Erstin breathed.

"Correct answer." Tomoe giggled. "Here it says my Viola is 'Fujino Shizuru, the Student Council President of Fuuka Academy'. How Strange. Say, Dr. Ho, do you know anything about it?"

Erstin shook her head. "My clearance level is not high enough. I don't know anything more regarding Project Garderobe."

"Ara, too bad." Tomoe knelt down and grabbed the blond's chin, elicited a frightened yelp from the girl. Before Erstin could get away, Tomoe had put a sharp knife on her throat.

"N... no. W... what do you want with me?" Erstin whimpered.

"Shh... Don't move. This is only a fruit knife, but it's awfully sharp. You don't want to bleed all over the floor, do you? All you need to do is stay quiet and... Ah, yes, exactly like that. The frightened look you have on your face is perfect. Be quiet and look very afraid, and I promise no one will get hurt. Understood?"

Erstin nodded.

"Good girl." Tomoe chuckled and then licked her hostage's pale cheek. Erstin held her breath and squeezed her eyes shut. "You look really delicious when you are afraid, 'Ers-chan'. Now stand up, we are going to the Director's Office. It's going to be so much fun."

TBC

Author's Notes:

1. As promised, the 'storm' is here now. Please read and review.

2. April 14 is my 26th birthday!!! XD