A.N. Hello, I just wanted to remind all m'dears of the ongoing girlfriend gag the pair have had going since the beginning. They're not actually dating, just incessantly teasing and confusing each other. Ok, wonderful.
Much love and thanks to Jle1993, and cheers to those taking the time to review! It is most appreciated.
Happy New year!
She Will Rock You
The very early morn
Natsuki slid her rear onto the passenger seat of her stepmother's Beetle, allowing her body a little jitter dance as she felt the cold shiver up her spine. The morning chill was busy biting at her bare knees and she cursed at the ridiculous length of her school skirt, smoothing it out before covering her lap with her rucksack.
Natsuki's hair was still damp and she wore her hood up, trying to keep some warmth to her neck, however her teeth were already chattering and she wondered why on earth she was doing this. She slammed her door shut as carefully yet effectively as possible and ended up yawning on the window. She blinked her watery eyes at the fogged glass and drew a tiny face upon it with her pinkie finger, Jen hated finger smears on her windows, so when Natsuki heard her mother climbing into the car she turned to her with a showering look of innocence.
Jennifer was far too busy throwing folders onto her daughter to notice anything out of the ordinary, and didn't spare her a real look until she'd already turned the ignition.
"Belt." Jennifer commanded.
Her daughter grumbled, "I'm going to," eventually managing to free a hand from the thrown stack of folders and clicking the belt into place. "If you'd simply passed them to me, we wouldn't be having issues."
Jen smirked, "You're not usually there!"
"And nor should I be!"
The older woman grinned, reluctantly agreeing with Natsuki in her mind, though never outwardly showing it. "Oh pssh, you'll live."
Natsuki made a non-committal sound, watching everything in front of her all at once with unfocused bleary eyes. She had managed to get more sleep than the previous night, however something woke her so fully before 5am that she found herself getting up. For reasons unknown to Natsuki, her mother had then decided to force her along the early commute to work, though she reckoned that it might have something to do with the on going bike ban.
Jennifer finally flicked on the little fan to circulate some heat when she stopped at a red light, her left eyebrow raised at Natsuki silently, and her daughter returned the look.
"…What?"
"Nothin'," She clicked her tongue, "I thought you seemed refreshed this morning, but now… you actually look like you're getting ill."
"Hmm… no, no I don't really do that." Natsuki dismissed with a little frown and shake of her head.
"You don't do that?"
"No, I don't like it. Tried it once, wasn't really my cuppa tea." The bluenette emphasised wrinkling her nose in disdain, "It's just so…inconvenient."
Jennifer let a laugh hiss through her smiling teeth, slapping her palm on her daughter's knee before pulling the car away from the lights. She laughed giddily at Natsuki's delayed sound of unexpected pain and wondered briefly if she should have judged her daughter's condition better… for she wasn't ill yet, but Jen could tell she soon would be.
"The question is," Jen began out of nowhere, pulling into a petrol station, "do you want a coffee?"
"Oooo, please!"
The mere notion of a hot drink had the hooded bluenette pop up her posture into one of obvious eagerness. And poor, shiny green eyes looked so sweetly pathetic that it was adorable. Yet somehow, Jen knew she wasn't doing it for effect. Awww, she's all plum-tuckered out… Jennifer smiled and glided herself from the car, rattling the key's loosely in her hand. Her dark eye's slid to the rather pink sunrise, quickly comparing and declaring it prettier than yesterdays.
At school
The pair situated themselves inside Ishigami's classroom, which for the foreseeable future would remain Jennie Kruger's 'Fortress of Arty-farty-ness', and she busied herself checking various prints and experimental gloss paintings her students were waiting on. She could smell the stink immediately from the rack and moved to open the balcony door wide, grimacing back at the paint that had most definitely been dolloped on far too thickly and had dripped down onto the floor overnight. …Pleh…
Her daughter meanwhile was slowly stalking around the classroom, blowing lightly onto her coffee. She stopped and stared towards the classroom door, seemingly listening for something.
"What is it?" Jennie asked. She glanced at the doorway while loosely rolling up a long printed banner.
"It's creepy is what." She replied, taking sips of coffee in between, "It's like… Nothin' but a ghost town."
"I know, it's heavenly." Jennie watched her daughter give the slightest of smiles, then step through onto the little balcony. Jen's desk sat adjacent to the threshold, so it was easy to observe Natsuki as she rested herself on the rail. However she couldn't help frowning at her daughter's back, the kid was worrying her. – Well – not enough to let her bunk off school, but enough to forbid her back on the roads. Jen often slept lightly, so she knew when her daughter was up in the night, rummaging around her room or shuffling to the kitchen for water. It was also obvious to her that Natsuki was going through a strange phase of nightmares. Which was truly odd considering she had never known Natsuki to suffer them before, and given their history, and likely subject matter, it would hardly be a comfortable thing to reminisce about.
But why now of all times?
Jennie finished tying some twine around the rolled up banner and absentmindedly bounced the tube upon her desk. It had been made for the tournament, and a council member would surely be along today to pick it up. Perhaps Shizuru? Jennie sighed, sitting down on Ishigami's old worn chair, one wooden leg always threatening a wobble. There's certainly a subject. She thought to herself, ignoring the creak of her chair. As Jennifer was privy to various information around the school it had become apparent to her that Miss Fujino was currently under a great deal of pressure, which would surely only grow further into the year. She could see such a continuous strain would eventually snap the poor girl, and as an adult, neigh! As her teacher, Jennifer felt it only right to assist if she could. …When on earth did I start caring so much about other kids? Jennie huffed at her coffee cup, pulling off the lid with subtle distaste.
"I wanted to talk to you about Shizuru." Jennie began, watching Natsuki turning, though she left an arm draped on the rail. She looked mildly surprised. "She seemed pretty quiet last night, is she alright?" She could tell Natsuki was suddenly thinking hard over the question, which unfortunately only verified Jennie's suspicion. Her daughter hadn't considered Shizuru at all.
"Um, yeah. I mean we were both pretty quiet, weren't we? …It had been a long day." Natsuki's brows drew together in uncertainty, though her head bobbed in a tiny affirming nod.
"True, though for the Kaichou the days will only get longer from here on out."
"…Why can't the rest of that council mob help her out more?"
"Well, it's not just student council work – it's exams, coursework, applications..."
Natsuki watched her mother's eyes dart away, pretending great interest in stirring her cooling beverage. The bluenette stepped away from the rail and instead leant upon the glass door, her arms lightly crossed over her stomach while an eyebrow lifted at her stepmother.
"What are you trying to say?"
Jennifer locked her black eyes on her daughter, and spoke with amazing composure, "I think you should leave her alone for a while."
A stranger would find it difficult to tell what was running rampant inside the bluenette's mind, but Jennifer could see it perfectly. Natsuki's jaw was carefully clamping shut, and those lovely green eyes were piercing straight back into Jennie's own consuming black. Sudden vexation, it seems. This was the reason Jennie had to approach the subject so coolly, her daughter could be brash occasionally, although she secretly felt a little prideful at her child's silent seething. She's gotten that from me!
"Did she say something to you?" Natsuki asked.
"No, of course not."
"Then why?"
"Why? Why because of this," Jen waved around the rolled banner, "because she needs to prepare for her exams, she needs to decide on her future. And because Shizuru is exhausted Nat!" Jennifer sighed seeing her little girl's shoulders sag, so she spoke far more softly, "I admit, the school wants her to do well, she has a lot of promise and it'll make them look good – but I don't care about that crap. I'm strangely, pretty fond of your friend, and having her around – believe that. But I don't think you can see it properly when you're so exhausted yourself. …Hey, just a while, just a week even."
Natsuki's defiant anger had been short lived in the face of her masterful mother, and now she simply felt …achy. This was the second time she had realised she had been a terrible friend, and she really didn't know what to do anymore.
The Lunchtime Jam
The temperature had risen considerably since the chilly morning, and the warm light had crept in, claiming patches of floor in the hexagonal music room. The wall length windows had even been pushed ajar to allow in a breeze from across the school field, which was steadily attracting groups of students out to enjoy their lunches in the sunshine.
Aoi had thrown off her jacket and was diligently messing with her hair - shaking it around, plumping up its volume, and generally scruffing it up. Meanwhile the usual suspects observed her wild movements with bemused fascination.
"She's getting in the mood." Chie explained from behind her shiny black kit, making Mai raise an eyebrow.
"I see."
"…Later she's going to spend ages putting it right."
"Naturally."
"This is going to kill me, and I want you all to know," Natsuki cut in with a whine.
Tate sniggered; he certainly didn't envy Kuga today. She stood facing Sakomizu's chalkboard, lightly practicing the scales scribbled there. Sakomizu himself was reclining comfortably with a foot up on his desk and a glorious saxophone resting on his stomach. It bounced slightly as he chuckled
"Try to think of it as a workout, it'll make you appreciate the guitar more."
Natsuki shook her head with a sigh, adjusting the thick strap on her shoulder. Her back was complaining already and her fingers were struggling with the sheer distance she needed to cover over the huge pale neck. Today, Natsuki would wield the electric bass guitar, and she didn't like it.
"If it's such a fabulous workout, why don't you do it then?"
Sakomizu eyed the teenager over the rim of his glasses, "Ah, can Kuga-san play the saxophone?"
Natsuki paused, battling her sulky face, "…no."
"Well then."
"You're not backing out of this Natsuki!" Chie called over, grinning like a madwoman, "Aoi was practicing all night for this. So if you mess up, you'll be destroying all her hopes and dreams!"
Air rushed through Natsuki's nose in amusement and she hobbled over towards the big amplifier, plugging in with a faux solemn nod. Aoi swung her head up, her cheeks flush and her blue eyes eager with excitement.
"Okay! I'm ready, lets do this!" upon Aoi's cry everyone rushed to their positions, Mai nearly colliding with Natsuki and her clunky bass. Everyone settled their giggles into a quiet hush, awaiting Chie and Natsuki's opening strike.
(Mr. Lee ~ The Bobbettes)
This is the easy bit, Natsuki thought to herself. She played along with Chie and heard Yuuichi's sliding twang join in. She may have complained, but hearing everyone's playing come together was always astoundingly fun. Aoi grabbed the mic stand and sang with Mai's backing:
~ One, two, three ~
~ Look at Mr. Lee ~
~ Three, four, five ~
~ Look at him jive ~
As she sang through the chorus Aoi led her guitarists and backer in a little dance. They bopped and swung, and almost entered into a full on box step – even Natsuki as she tried her damnedest not to mess up!
~ I met my sweetie ~
~ His name is Mr. Lee ~
Outside, the field occupants were growing incredibly curious over the music emanating through Sakomizu's windows, and some students were steadily making their way over.
~ Well, he's the handsomest sweetie ~
~ That you ever did see ~
On the other side of the campus, standing in front of the main entrance, a few members of the student council were overseeing the placement of tournament banners. Shizuru had been satisfied for several minutes, but had failed to convince Anh to agree with the height, and while they were arguing Haruka had marched over carrying three more banners astride her shoulders with poor Yukino struggling to hold the ends off the floor. She declared they were all "incontinent" and Shizuru was left sighing – incompetent - listening to the distant music bouncing over the grounds.
I wasn't invited today. She brushed her fringe back and let her hand come to rest on her neck – which was starting to ache from looking up at the high banner for so long. I declined yesterday because of work… of course I still couldn't have gone today either, but… declining once doesn't mean I never want to go.
Shizuru dropped her hand and turned to her fellow bickering council members with a smile, "Ara, you know what they say about too many cooks… I shall take my leave."
"What?! Bubuz-!" A gentle wind was enough to fill an unfurled banner like a sail, and Haruka was sent yelling across the flowerbeds.
"I leave the matter in your capable hands."
~ Come on Mr. Lee and do your stuff ~
~ Come on Mr. Lee and do your stuff ~
~ 'Cause you're gonna be mine ~
~ 'Til the end of time ~
On the second floor balcony, Jennie Kruger had placed her rickety chair out into the sun. She enjoyed her homemade bacon sandwich and a cheeky cigarette, letting her foot tap rhythmically on the paint chipped rail. She had no clue who was playing what, but when she recognised the singing saxophone she grinned in delight. Damn, that man can play anything!
Sakomizu-sensei finished his short piece and sat back down again – like he hadn't just busted out a brief bit of awesomeness and stunned all the students now hanging through the windows.
~ One, two, three ~
~ Look at Mr. Chie ~
Natsuki nearly lost it, she had been reaching her absolute limit with the friction burns screaming at her to stop, and when Aoi span around singing she couldn't keep it up. The bluenette burst into laughter, and everyone momentarily choked before together they managed to piece back a semblance of an outro, rhythm pretty much abandoned, and they all sang:
~ Mr. Chie, Mr. Chie ~
~ Oh, Mr. Chie ~
~ Mr. Chie, Mr. Chie ~
~ Oh, Mr. Chie ~
~ Mr. Chie, Mr. Chie ~
~ Oh, Mr. Chie ~
~ Mr. Chie -ee-ee
A little jam later
Sakomizu-sensei had ushered them all out before Maria-sensei could get the chance to burst in and deliver divine punishment. He even sent them through the window, throwing his first-aid kit to them when he heard the bluenette exclaiming over her 'fucked up hand', and telling her to return it later.
She doubted there was a point though, after her friends had spent the remainder of lunch wrapping her entire hand in plasters and adding soft bandage to her forearm, with a ruler for a splint. Natsuki got the message, she would complain less, to them.
"You were so cool, Aoi!" Mai skipped in her step and hugged her, still completely buzzing from the jam.
Chie was high-fiving the group, "I just wanna say, you're awesome…and you're awesome! And Aoi, you're especially awesome!"
"What about me?" Tate asked, his hands both lifted in anticipation.
"Don't be clingy, Yuuichi." Natsuki smirked, offering her mummified hand, pulling it back slightly at the over-eager look on his face. "Gently…GENTLY!" she joked, watching him reach for contact in exaggerated slowness.
Aoi started hopping mid-brush of her hair, "What should we do next?!"
"Maybe a ballad?" Mai suggested.
Chie grinned, "Yes! Like that Ghost song, you know the one with the messy pottery scene."
"Oh," Tate scrunched up his face, clicking his fingers frustratingly. He stopped and looked to the bluenette when he heard her chuckle most knowingly.
" – Unchained Melody."
"That's it!" Chie pointed, then high-fived Natsuki once more. "You're awesome."
"No, you're awesome. And, I'm not doing anything more until we get a bassist."
"I take it back." Chie mumbled, but was nudged by Aoi who had sporadically finished with her hair. You'd never know she was so wild, she thought as she huffed and hid a smile.
"We'd need one eventually, right?" Aoi reasoned to Chie's pretend grumbles. And whispered she knew exactly why Chie had suggested that scene. Big perve.
Natsuki crossed her arms behind her head, scuffing the ground with her shoe, "I have an idea where to get one, but it might not work out. So, everyone be on the lookout… check in all the bushes."
Tate laughed through his teeth. "We're after wild bassists, eh?"
"Ahhh, the reclusive bassist," Chie added, "Do you think we'll need tranquilisers?"
Natsuki smiled to her friends, "It's a high possibility."
Detention
Headaches, Natsuki decided, were the worst way for the body to let you know something wasn't quite right. Signalling out from your brain like repetitive flare guns that you had maybe become a little dehydrated half an hour ago. The irritation of every sound you hear reverberating intensely, pounding around inside your skull like a menacing bouncy ball. Feeling the natural light slip into your eyeballs as splinters, causing you to frown a little too often, and just making everything so much worse… Wasn't it all far too unnecessary?
"Oh no…" Natsuki whispered. She pulled the hood over her eyes and laid her face into the dark nest she made within her crossed arms on the desk before her. Natsuki's rucksack fell from her lap to the floor with a thud, and she sighed.
Illness was not something the girl often gave into, and she put it down to a sense of determination. Usually for every week her mother suffered a cold, Natsuki would only partially experience a few days. One of which she would feel her worst, and the rest spent simply recovering. Occasionally though, she would fail to notice the tell tale symptoms, neglecting her body and its need for rest and nourishment. And this was apparently one of those times.
Natsuki shifted, doubling over to reach down into her bag where she pulled out some silver sunglasses she'd thrown in there that morning. A bit flashy to wear around school she supposed, but she needed them more than she cared about the potential trouble right now.
"Goddamn," she hissed, smoothing out her frowning brows with her fingers and accidently poking herself on the nose with her still attached ruler-splint.
Just as she'd sat up in the chair, fingers still pushing into her brow, her personal taskmaster entered through the open doorway. Holding the expected pile of papers, she looked impressively stern. Which had taken great effort it seemed, as the act quickly crumbled by surprise, revealing the true anxiousness the council member must have felt.
"Kuga-san? Why are you sitting at the teachers desk?"
"Hello Kiku-san. Do you have any pain killers with you, by any chance?"
"I- I, no. Um. You should not be sitting there, Kuga-san."
Natsuki blinked, truly shocked to see the mousey girl march toward her, pick up her rucksack and move off with it. Natsuki let her hand drop from her head, her mouth agape. Not so mousey then.
"Here, this is where you sit. And my name is Kikukawa." The girl punctuated, dropping the bag onto the table.
Any other day, and perhaps with any other person – save Shizuru – and the Brit might've flipped her meat. But the sheer audacity of Kikukawa's actions had her completely tickled. She would have smiled had she not been so sure the other would take it badly. Natsuki appreciated the odd start they'd made, and miss Kiwi's need to tout her authority and regain some control. But that still didn't mean Natsuki felt obliged to move.
Calling her by the wrong name though, that was a bit rude…
"Sorry,"
"…Did you hurt your hand? Is that why you asked me for pain-killers?"
"Ah, no. I have a killer headache forming. …This is just for blisters." Natsuki smirked and lifted her bandaged hand. "Do you suffer much from them?"
"No, not anymore."
"Wow," This time Natsuki did smile and judging from the slow narrowing of eyes directed at her, it was indeed not taken well. "I had the bass forced on me at lunch. But, I'm not very awesome at it you see." After the prodding Natsuki danced her multi-plastered fingers upon the desk, but had to wait for a long deep breath to be taken by Kikukawa before a reply was given.
"Kuga-san, if you truly are in need of medicine then let us head to the nurse's office."
"Yeah, I suppose." Natsuki huffed, more irritated with the notion of giving into the pain than Kiwi's 'Combo Breaker' moves in killing conversation.
Before the pair passed through the doorway, Yukino stopped, and turned a questioning frown to Natsuki. "Those sunglasses, you cannot wear them unless –"
"I need them."
"Alright."
By the time the pair made it to the infirmary Natsuki's head felt like the weight of a bowling ball. She perched on the edge of the starchy well-made bed and tilted her head just enough to accept a glass thermometer under her tongue. Sensei had generously shuttered some of the blinds after she had taken off Natsuki's shades, pulled down her hood and slid them into place on top of the Brit's head. The doctor had wanted a clearer understanding of her patient's temperature and would've completely pulled off the hoodie if Natsuki had bothered to wear something beneath it.
"We're approaching summer you know, what were you thinking wearing that?"
Natsuki shrugged and stared at the doctor, waiting for the thermometer to be taken out of her mouth. Then she said, "I was thinking, damn I'm cold."
"Kuga-san." Yukino reprimanded, shaking her head as though ashamed.
"You ought to go home, Kuga-chan." The woman was eyeing the thermometer with a grimace, "If you can get a ride, that would be best. Also, take these, they'll dampen your headache. You can take what I've got of this medicine, but you're going to need someone to buy you more – take another dose of this in four hours."
Natsuki found herself spoon-fed something like a child, gagging a little at the taste.
"Lots of rest Kuga-chan, and then maybe we'll see you back in a couple of days."
"What?"
"Is it really that bad Sagisawa-Sensei?" Kikukawa managed to fill her voice with a notable amount of concern. It impressed Natsuki, and she lowered her shades down with a directed smirk at the girl, bet you can't wait to see the back of me, Kiwi.
The doctor replied to Yukino while swiping the glasses off of Natsuki's face once again. "It's not too bad, maybe a small case of anaemia on top of a bug. I hear you've not been sleeping well?"
"Where did you hear that?"
"From your mother."
"Oh. Well," Natsuki glanced at the other girl, suddenly feeling a bit vulnerable with the two of them standing above her. She lifted her hood over her head, quickly having to lean back and out of the doctor's reach, "Who really needs sleep anyway."
"You are a stubborn thing." Sagisawa-Sensei commented.
"It looks like we'll have to postpone detentions then." Kikukawa hummed thoughtfully. She looked to the ill troublemaker with the kind of expression Natsuki attributed to someone doing math. "I'll retrieve your book bag from the classroom, Kuga-san, please wait here."
Natsuki's eyes widened, "O-Okay…" though the mouse was already gone.
Things were finally going well. Still terribly slowly, but well enough! It was true they could certainly use a few more pairs of hands to help out and eyes to oversee, in fact entire bodies would be more than useful. Shizuru smiled to herself realising that even if the grisly idea of disembodied eyeballs came rolling out to help, she would not be ungrateful.
Such is the state of this, along with my mind apparently.
Yukino meanwhile had quickly entered the council room; she had knocked politely as always, alerting everyone inside who were pleasantly surprised by her arrival. It was Haruka whose confused greeting she answered to first.
"I am just dropping by to let you know I will be free to help out this afternoon." Yukino smiled.
"Why?" Asked Haruka rather bluntly.
"It turns out Kuga-san is unable to attend detention. Perhaps for a few days."
"And who gave her permission for that?"
"Sagisawa-Sensei."
Haruka huffed, "Well, she best make up for it later then."
Yukino nodded, and just as she intended to excuse herself she felt drawn to glance at the Kaichou whom hadn't said anything yet, which was a bit unexpected. She did notice however, that Fujino-sans eyes had strayed onto the bag she held – Kuga Natsuki's bag. And by way of explanation she expanded upon her errand.
"I'm just heading to the nurses office to deliver Kuga-sans bag to her, then I'll be back to help." Yukino received a polite smile of acknowledgement from Shizuru, and even though the latter seemed not a bit interested in this news, she thought surely the crimson-eyed Kaichou was itching to take the bag herself.
Or not, she thought, watching Shizuru turn away and begin a conversation with Anh. Something is going on here…
Yukino walked through the hallway, rounding the stairs with swinging momentum while gripping the handrail, in deep thought. She wondered if they had had a fight. Didn't the girl say she had been 'putting her foot in it' lately. Maybe Kuga-san had finally annoyed Shizuru to the point of no return… Yukino could imagine that, she herself found the girl difficult to deal with, especially because she saw… well, she practically held it over her head, didn't she? Constantly bringing it up in conversation, no matter how sharply Yukino spoke to her! …And always with that little grin.
Yukino sighed. No, I don't imagine it's a problem like that between them. Not with how much Shizuru enjoys their strange jokes. Perhaps something happened last night, Haruka told me they went home together…or perhaps, because something didn't happen? Yukino flushed, stopping a few paces short of her destination.
Aah! It's really absolutely NONE of my business!
Well into the Evening
When Natsuki awoke she automatically blinded herself with her phone. She flung it from her face and heard it hit something wooden. It turned out to be her door, which was wildly swung open, invading her room with the bright electric light of the hallway.
"Christ! What was that?" Jennie shouted, and Natsuki howled.
"Aaa! The door! The light!" She yelled into her pillow, "Fuck...!"
"O' shit." Jennie bounced into the room quickly swinging the door back, leaving it slightly ajar. Then she carefully manoeuvred through the dark room, coming to sit beside her daughter. She pulled on the scarf that Natsuki had wrapped around her head and eyes earlier, "to keep all light out", and felt her forehead. "Is it still bad?"
"No… a bit better, I think?" Natsuki curled around where her mother sat, accepting the careful petting of her head. "Can I have more drugs?"
Jennie chuckled, gently pinching Natsuki's cheek and nose, "Of course you can have more drugs my little darling." She then lifted Natsuki's previously thrown phone to her face, its glow, even directed at Jennie, made green eyes squint. "In half an hour you can anyway."
"Aaah…"
"I'm running you a bath." Her mother stated, "Here, you have a message."
Eventually Natsuki managed to crawl over to her desk lamp, still blindfolded and hoping it would be dim light enough for her eyes to adjust to without sending her reeling for the bed. She sat on the floor, back to her desk and after feeling satisfied the lit room was manageable, she braved the screen of her phone. She had to squint, but she could just about look at it, her eyes only watered a little.
…Shizuru.
Natsuki's heart quickened. She felt both happy and unsure all of a sudden. And one of her legs bounced with nerves. Whether it was down to not seeing Shizuru all day or feeling so dreadfully weak with her illness, it made her grasp something very important in that moment, that whatever was written in this message, it had the power to make or ruin her entire night. The feeling made her hesitate; her thumb hovered anxiously over the buttons.
Natsuki took a steadying breath through her nose, and clicked.
'Do not worry about missing detentions. Lending a hand to the council instead would be much more appreciated, when you are well of course. X' – Sent 16:27.
"Oh." Natsuki reread the message over, feeling…odd.
What was really odd about it though? There wasn't a particularly bad vibe from it, and it was written with a reassuring message and there was even a kiss at the end, after all.
But still, Natsuki couldn't help but feel a little deflated by it. This person's really starting to… effect me. She grimaced. It was a little before nine, but Natsuki decided she should at least reply, even though the stupidly upsetting message had been sent hours ago.
'Ok, thanks a lot. X' Was all Natsuki could think of to say. It was an empty reply to a meaningless message, she thought. So why bother worrying about it. Natsuki dropped her mobile onto the floor and crawled towards the doorway, she moved with the hungry intention of soup, or bacon. However, before she could even stick her head through the gap of door and frame she heard and felt a vibrating buzz through the floor, coming from her phone.
It's Shizuru?
"Hello?"
"Natsuki, how are you feeling?"
"I don't really know," Natsuki rested on her knees, a little too shocked to move anywhere more comfortable. "I've been asleep."
"Ah, I'm glad you've been resting. You still sound sleepy," She chuckled warmly, which was pleasant and yet confusing as hell for Natsuki, who had found herself upset over a bland text message only a moment ago.
"Shouldn't you be curled up with your never ending workload by now?" Natsuki smirked, unsure if she was annoyed with her or not.
"Ara, don't remind me, please Natsuki."
She could still hear the smile in her voice, and knew it was steadily frustrating her. Perhaps they shouldn't speak tonight. Natsuki's growing aches were probably only going to exacerbate her irrational temper anyway.
"Besides," Shizuru continued, "I called to hear about you, if you're feeling well enough to speak to me that is."
"…Yeah, I can speak," Natsuki sighed, laying herself on her carpeted floor, "What would you like to hear about?"
Shizuru first asked once again how she felt, then about when she had started to feel unwell. Had Natsuki eaten yet, and when was she planning to. Natsuki had actually let loose a laugh when Shizuru told her it was becoming too much a temptation to run to her with ideas of force feeding.
"You are a scary woman sometimes, Shizuru." Natsuki laughed, the image of a wild haired Kaichou running rampant in her mind.
There was a thoughtful hum and chuckle from her before saying, "I heard your group today,"
"Did you? Ah, man it went really terrible," Natsuki ran her hand down her face chuckling, "It just devolved by the end."
"I heard you were on the bass,"
"You heard that?"
"Well, Kikukawa-san told me. You two are becoming friends?"
"Pfft!" Natsuki rolled onto her side, letting the phone rest on her ear, "I'll let you know when I know. So when did Kikukawa spread that bit of news?"
"After you were sent home, she came to help us. We achieved quite a bit actually."
"It's good I was ill then." Natsuki dryly teased.
"What? -No!"
Natsuki smiled, listening to Shizuru trying not to laugh, she was totally pressing her hand to her mouth in the attempt, Natsuki could almost see it. She did let slip a slight nervous giggle before going quiet though.
"Actually… I did get in a bit of trouble over that."
"Trouble?"
"Mmm, with Haruka."
"I don't get it. Why?" Natsuki frowned.
"Before, when we'd learnt that you would be sent home, I'm afraid that I did not act accordingly to what Haruka had expected and so she was rather disgusted with me. And she said to me, 'I'm glad I'm not your girlfriend!'"
Natsuki blinked and felt a grin tugging at her open mouth. "I…see."
"I had only thought, perhaps it would be selfish of me to get in the way, when Kikukawa-san was already handling the situation."
"Mm, yes, I see. Very practical of you Shizuru." Natsuki teased.
"I'm sorry, I should have gone to you. I wanted to!"
"Bit late now, though."
"Natsuki!"
Shizuru's whimpering whine made Natsuki unleash the laughter that had been bubbling up, and it took a few good moments to calm back down, she felt so much better now, talking with Shizuru like this.
I don't think I can leave you alone, not even for a day.
"Natsuki," Shizuru's smile could be heard easily through the phone, and Natsuki wondered what was coming, through that slightly breathless voice, "I really have been a very bad girlfriend."
Natsuki, who had been lying on her side with her hands tucked between her knees, felt her face prickle, she hoped Shizuru wouldn't sense her blushing somehow as her wide eyed expression changed into a tongue biting smirk.
"Yes, you have."
"You must let me make it up to you,"
"Hm, I'll think about it. Though not tonight, I need to get in my bath."
"…Natsuki, I never knew you could tease with such cruelty."
"Control yourself, Shizuru, please," Natsuki chuckled, "besides it's hardly going to be as nice as you're thinking, I still feel like crap."
"Ara, do have some dinner as well Natsuki, and don't faint in the bath," Shizuru added, "or I shall find it too tempting to run to you like a maniac and save you from it."
"I shall make sure not to faint in the bath."
...
A week had passed, an entire week without seeing Natsuki. It seemed her difficulty with sleeping had dragged out the sickness, and with Kruger-Sensei taking care of bringing home medicine and schoolwork, Shizuru found it almost impossible to design the perfect excuse to go to her. Especially since the girl even told her to stop worrying and focus on herself… Shizuru supposed Natsuki didn't understand that she already was. The only salve to the absence were their occasional conversations in the evening, which were sometimes short if Natsuki ended up drifting off to Shizuru's narrative of the day, though she didn't mind. Shizuru missed her, but she was also warmed by the belief that she was helping.
She wasn't the only one who had missed Natsuki, she realised. Lunchtimes had become less exciting for some, and the populace were made to suffer off beat pounding clashes and electric strings crying with no real effort to create anything other that noise. It was a little like nails clawing a chalkboard at times, and eventually the music room was locked up for lunch.
Lunch had just started in fact, and she could already picture Tate Yuuichi's bored face floating into the council room. It had become habit for most of the members to gather at around this time, exchange plans and updates for progress each intended to accomplish after lessons… red eyes flicked to the doorway as Reito entered, smiling happily to her, and lo and behold there was Tate, trailing in with the gormless expression of a gold fish.
Shizuru smiled pleasantly, although she secretly felt exasperated as the rest of the council members took their seats, causing a small hum of activity as each gave their greetings and unwrapped their lunches. Haruka it seemed, was equally unimpressed.
"Why are we here? I've done my work. What is this, an office job? Am I working through lunch with no actual work to be done? Who are we trying to impress here?!" She pointed accusingly at Shizuru and Reito, "You and you? You're the equivalent of a boss here, why am I working through lunch?!"
"Please Haruka-chan, do calm down," Reito chuckled with his hands raised.
"Don't 'Chan' me, tyrant! Keeping me here for no reason."
Shizuru had to smile, she often found herself grateful for Haruka's knack of bludgeoning the nail on the head lately. "Ara, you are quite right Haruka. With everyone's hard work this past week we have finished preparations ahead of time, my many thanks to all of you. So please, do spend your free time as you wish, I would hate to put upon you all any further." Shizuru stood gracefully and made a light bow towards the room. She received many polite gestures in return, including a grinning wink from Reito and a suspicious glower from Haruka, though not many actually excused themselves from the room, they mostly took the opportunity to fill their bellies and not talk about council work for once.
Shizuru sighed to herself for the umpteenth time that day and lowered herself on to her chair, watching distractedly as Haruka was swayed into joining them for a cup of tea. After all the fuss she made…
But Haruka wasn't the only fickle one here, she knew. Shizuru had felt the distance keenly these past days, and had spent the time berating herself over her half-way made confession, and the missing of opportunities to be with the girl she just couldn't stop thinking about!
…I could've sworn I just heard her laugh.
She felt ridiculous for her jealousies sometimes, knowing they made her raw and react without thinking. Trying to hide them was foolish too, because now Natsuki had started to notice, and though she doubted any harm was meant, the instinctual reaction was a prickly defence that only succeeded in driving a wedge between them. And if that wasn't confusing for Natsuki I'm sure my sulking was. She cringed inwardly. Shizuru Fujino had come to the conclusion that she couldn't play as coolly as others may've thought, not for long anyway. Not without a slight wave of panic hitting her square in the chest late at night when she hadn't earned a message from the girl. She had felt left out, it was true, but she knew now her little annoyance wasn't fair, and really not at all worth it. Not when Shizuru had to subsequently suffer the loss of Natsuki's company.
I'm sulking again now am I not? Shizuru brushed her hair back with a quiet self-mocking chuckle and attempted to pay attention to her friends. But that was difficult when she kept hearing something… that sounded very much like, well, a kind of Natsuki-esk sound.
Shizuru pushed back her chair and walked towards the open doorway, trying to pinpoint that certain familiar thing amongst the hubbub of students around the school.
"Shizuru? What is it?"
"Can you hear that?" Shizuru glanced at Reito and he joined her by the open door.
"Hm? …It sounds like someone's gained access to Sakomizu-sensei's music room."
"I think Sakomizu-sensei's classroom is locked still." Yukino piped up, causing Haruka to choke on her sandwich.
"It's been broken into!"
"No, I don't think so," Shizuru frowned ever so slightly, taking a step forward, "it sounds like it's coming from this floor…"
The occupants of the room grumbled thoughtfully but suddenly stiffened as a terrifying blur rushed passed the doorway wailing like a cursed beast! It sped in the direction of those strumming sounds Shizuru found so familiar.
"Was that Harada?" Yuuichi leapt to his feet.
"Well, we know what this means now don't we," Anh sipped her tea, "Kuga's back."
"Shizuru. Go already! Or shall I go and take care of Harada's disorderly behaviour and Kuga's tardiness?!" demanded Haruka, flinging her sandwich crust into the waste bin with emphasis.
Shizuru smiled excitedly, stunning the room, "I'll be going then,"
...
A.N. Yes, Shizuru totally just pulled a stun gun on them.