Chapter Four

--

The group found themselves being relentlessly herded by Haruka to a secluded part of the field.

"Everyone sit!," the blonde roared as she paced around, seemingly unable to stop.

Yukino sat immediately while Nao and Mai shrugged before complying.

Haruka then glared at Shizuru who was still standing silently and at Natsuki who was trying not to get caught watching her.

Moments later, after a swiftly moving palm belonging to an angry blonde was delivered to the back of Natsuki's head the girl let out a low growl before shrugging off her jacket and tossing it on the ground.

"You can sit on that Shizuru," Natsuki mumbled while pointing at the jacket. "I don't want you getting stains on your..."

"Cute butt?," Nao offered.

"Shut up Nao, uniform skirt, seriously Nao shut up."

Nao smirked and rolled her eyes as Mai clasped her hands together and let out a dreamy sigh.

"Ara Natsuki is so sweet," Shizuru said as she took a seat, being closely followed to the ground by a blushing blue haired girl.

--

"Oi!," Haruka sputtered out as she waved her arms around angrily. "What the heck did I tell you people about dating at other times?! I'm calling trying to call this meeting to order you know!"

"Our apologies Haruka," Nao replied. "The extreme pacing, arm waving and general roaring confused me a little, I thought you were just being a weirdo."

"It's not my fault those two over there are aggravating me with their shameless high school romantics!"

'Ara, why does everyone seem to be saying things like that today?,' Shizuru wondered. 'I'm sure I haven't shown actual signs of my newly forming interest just yet. A little teasing here and there but nothing that would betray my thoughts...'

Shizuru's thoughts continued swirling around her head as Natsuki next to her let out a defeated sigh.

"Little help please?," the blue haired girl voiced out to no one in particular.

Her plea of course was hopelessly answered by her smirking friends.

"Why do we have to do everything?," Nao asked with a mock shocked expression.

"Yeah Natsuki ask her out yourself," Mai added with a nod.

Natsuki kept her eyes, both eyes, including the one that had recently developed a Nao/Mai caused twitch, towards the ground.

'Oh my God Shizuru is totally gonna figure out I'm in deep, deep like slash possible love with her! Or worse that I'm actually friends with these nutjobs!'

Noticing Natsuki's seeming frustration as she sneaked a look at the girl beside her, Shizuru almost let a furrow form at her brow.

'Natsuki seems even more silent now... I wonder if she's disturbed by my outward teasing. Should I hold back? But it's so fun to tease her... I wonder what she's thinking.'

'I'm so hopeless, there's nothing I can do... Shizuru is so good looking...,' Natsuki thought as she remained silent along with her two friends, Shizuru herself and Yukino who had said nothing throughout the whole ordeal.

'That couple is so good looking...,' Mai thought.

'Man I'm good looking,' Nao thought.

Haruka frowned as her eyes landed on each member of her gathered group.

"Right. Ok redhead I've decided to take advantage of this odd unexplained silence, explain the situation immediately before the romance restarts!"

Unfortunately for the blonde however, Nao was still in thought. Not deep thought, but thought all the same.

'Seriously, I am. I am so totally good looking.'

Finding herself seemingly left with no other choice, Haruka hesitates no further and picks up the ball Natsuki left on the ground before delivering a swift kick to the round object.

"Oh my God not the face!," Nao yelled. "Are the looks ruined? My good good looks."

"Your looks are fine Nao," Mai said as she tried to stifle her laughter.

"Ok good," the redhead replied as she quickly recovered from the moment of passing insecurity. "Well ...there are bullies, Yukino attracted a bunch of them and Haruka wanted to kill them. You'd get angry if we all ended up in jail so instead I made Yukino join the team to up her cool points a little."

Natsuki frowns.

"This is about bullies? Can't I just beat them up? What's with the team meeting?"

"Ara Natsuki seems to have a tough side to her how cute. I'm going to learn all Natsuki's sides."

'Well looks like I'm not going to stop with the comments after all,' Shizuru thought with an inward shrug and smile combination.

Nao and Mai then traded glances, each with a smirk forming on her face.

"Her sides huh? You sure you wanna learn them or stroke them?," Mai asked with a rather Nao-like wink.

The red head herself let out a laugh before choosing to join in, this time eliciting a small laugh from Shizuru.

"How about attach yourself to? Huh, huh?," Nao asked.

"Shut up Nao!"

"Natsuki has interesting friends. I look forward to spending more time with them and also Natsuki," the chestnut girl said sincerely.

"Shizuru I'm not cute! And she's not interesting; she's crazy, stay away from her."

Shizuru scoots away from Nao which ends up in her scooting closer to Natsuki.

Nao and Mai look at each other once again before mouthing out the names of their counterparts.

"Natsuki?"

"Shizuru?"

"Is this what Natsuki wanted?," Shizuru asked the girl as she turned her head to the side and offered a cute smile.

--

"Umm hello?!"

Haruka stands up and throws a fist in the air.

"What the heck is with this new and exciting romantic air? We're here for a reason, bring back the killing intent!"

Mai sweatdrops and Nao leans back amused.

"I for one, also vote for the beating," Haruka continued.

Natsuki sighs as she ran a hand through her hair.

"To be honest I'm not exactly surprised," she said. "But seriously you've got to calm down.

'I've been here for like an hour and a half, the actual soccer playing hasn't even started and I swear I'm exhausted,' Natsuki added in her head.

"I'm a cheerleader that's not what we do!," Haruka replied with a huff.

Natsuki and Nao let their eyes fall on the calm Mai and Shizuru before looking back at Haruka who had followed their gazes.

"Oh please, those two aren't normal. That one is heavily medicated on 'tea-like' beverages and the other one just spent the last hour bouncing off proverbial walls!"

Nao nodded.

"You make sense my young angry blonde counterpart. Oh yes, yes you do."

"Haruka, you gotta calm down as best you can alright?," Natsuki added hastily, afraid that Nao's latest unnecessary statement would bring forth yet more unnecessary screaming, yelling, hitting or general arm waving from the blonde before them.

"You know what they say Haruka," Nao began.

"Don't say it Nao," Natsuki interrupted.

"Revenge is a dish best served over and over and over again," Nao finished.

"Actually no, please carry on ignoring me at will," Natsuki mumbled. "It gives me warm fuzzy feelings on the inside as if I'm being hugged and surrounded by cute puppies."

--

Haruka however, seemed oddly interested in the statement.

"What?," she asked as she finally sat down.

"They don't say that? They should, that's a damn good saying."

"The point idiot! Get to it!"

"Right right," Nao agreed easily, happy that people were actually listening to her. "Just beating these people up isn't gonna solve the problem. We can't go beating up the entire school. No offence Yukino but you need a pretty serious image change."

"I don't think there's anything wrong with her image at all," Haruka said with a 'hmph'.

"Yeah well that kind of comes with the territory of wanting to date her. If Natsuki thought there was something wrong with Shizuru's image we wouldn't be wearing these."

"Nao quit doing that thing!"

"What thing?"

"That thing when certain people's names are dropped into conversations which have already been scattered with numerous scary words!"

"Words like what?"

"Words starting with 'd' and ending in I'm gonna kick your ass!"

--

"Greetings everyone, I see you have all successfully riled up my sister."

Natsuki looked up from her grass seat at the sound of the familiar voice.

"Alyssa? Hey Miyu."

"So glad to see I get a questioning look while my friend gets a greeting. The idiot redhead sent me a message and told me to show up here or she'd abduct me from classes again," the young blonde replied with a sigh.

"Idiot redhead...," Haruka repeated prompting Nao to raise her arm up and wave it around.

"Present!," she declared.

"Believe me, I could tell you were around," Alyssa replied as she rolled her eyes at her still fuming older sister. "What do you want Nao?"

"I like her. She looks like she has guts."

"You just like the matching colour of her hair," Nao said with a snicker.

"Oh right, this is my sister Alyssa and her friend Miyu."

"Alyssay, Miyu meet Yukino my classmate and Haruka and Shizuru, upperclassmen from the cheerleading squad."

"Are you kidding me neechan? I know who these people are."

"You do?"

"I actually go to our school."

'Although I haven't actually seen Fujino Shizuru from up close... so this is the one nee-chan drools over. Interesting.'

"That being said, I'm very pleased to personally meet all of you. Thank you for taking care of my sister."

"Natsuki's sister is very polite. Please be assured that spending time with Natsuki has been our pleasure and that I am also very pleased to meet you.

'First names already?,' Alyssa thought as she made silent calculations in her head. 'That's good. Sitting very close together, also good but not a suitable fact to make judgement on... on the other side is Nao.'

At that point, the redhead herself decided to once again start the explanations.

"Ok Alyssa, here's the deal Yukino here's been having a little trouble."

"Trouble as in?" 'This isn't one of those meetings in which people must admit they're addicted to alcohol is it? Why are they sitting in a meeting like circle...'

"Alyssa are you listening?"

"Right of course."

"Yukino has been attracting some less than nice people due to her, hmm..."

'Oh.'

"Increased mental capacity?"

"Yeah she's a little nerdy," Nao confirmed with a nod eliciting a glare from Haruka who had taken to rubbing Yukino's back comforting the girl along with Mai.

Natsuki fidgets and Shizuru shoots her an 'are you ok' look.

Natsuki fidgets while blushing.

"Since you're like a little genius I wanted to know how you managed to get not bullied."

"Your command of language as always, amazes me Nao. But in answer to your question I have other things going for me."

The group was rather interested in this latest response from the younger girl, with Haruka and Yukino in particular paying more attention.

"For one, everyone always assumes I also have increased physical abilities due to the fact that I share Nee-chan's last name. Plus as the cheerleader pointed out, I have guts."

"So that's it?," Haruka asked wanting confirmation.

"That and Miyu is familiar with several fighting styles and she has mastered them all."

Miyu bows.

Alyssa turns to Yukino.

"Would you like to borrow Miyu?"

"Alyssa I don't think that's necessary," Natsuki hastily replied.

"Yeah Yukino has Haruka," Nao said which caused the blonde to nod before she caught herself.

"In that case, I would suggest following the idiot redhead's suggested plan. Change or add something to your projected image that would make certain unsavoury people unlikely to... mess with you."

"See! I told you people my way was the way to go! That's Genius verified," Nao said as her trademark smirk returned to her face in full force.

Before Natsuki, Haruka or Alyssa could even say anything to rain on her parade however, another person decided to run in to interrupt the apparent meeting on the grass.

--

"There you people are, what're you doing group dating so early?," Chie said as she placed her hands on her hips in her mock authority figure pose. "You newbies haven't even met the team yet."

"Captain! we're not group dating," Natsuki said quickly.

"Some of us are not group dating," Nao said.

"None of us are group dating," Natsuki insisted.

"Is it still considered group dating if only some people in the group are dating?," Mai asked before poking her tongue out at her friend.

"I hate you guys."

"And by the way Haruka, the cheer squad is waiting for you. Everyone seems to think Fujino-san wandered off somewhere and you're keeping it under-wraps or you kidnapped her..."

--

AN: Thanks again to all those who review and set up alerts, I appreciate your time :D Just trying to offer an easy read for everyone out there so I hope you guys continue enjoying the work! If anyone has any fun suggestions, throw 'em out there too. Thanks much.

Re:

monzzi3 – I always find Nao and Haruka the most fun to write lol. Everyone should have a 'Nao friend' in high school, keeps things interesting ;D

Ume sama – How come no one else mentioned the kicking comment ? Gosh ;p you and I must have a matching sense of humour... along with Nao of course.

Yay :) – You're too observant ;p