Needing You Needing Me [ShizNat fanfic]

Hi hi, guys! I bring to you an awesome ShizNat fanfic, written by Hollowed-Words and I.
I mainly write for the Shizuru parts and she mainly writes for the Natsuki parts.
And as always, we do not own any of the original Mai HiME awesomeness. >.>;

Link to my ff.net: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/802527/ookami_desu
Link to her ff.net: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2440485/Hollowed_Words

============================================================================
CHAPTER ONE: Perchance
============================================================================

The winter snow had just begun to frost the campus, covering the grass and trees gently and with a grace expected of cold beauty. The large university which lay before her scared her, but only slightly.

Wide and excited emerald eyes looked out at all of the things they were able to witness. Standing in the gentle falling snow, her cobalt hair tenderly dancing with the delicate wind, she breathed in the arctic air and smiled. Adjusting the inky skull cap, so that her earphones felt comfortable, she randomly picked a song as she walked closer to the intimidating university.

Kicking up little snow flakes here and there with purple and blue converses, the young woman found a secluded spot under a dying old willow tree, its long tendrils already covered in the cold frosty snow. She was kept warm by an old military coat, its worn green thread still protecting her from the bitter winter that was coming. Dark jeans splattered with snow became darker, and slightly uncomfortable to move in.

Carefully walking through the dancing tendrils, as not to disturb a snowflake, she found her way inside and leaned her back against the old gray trunk. Finding the song she wanted, she smiled softly and closed her eyes.

“This is what I brought you, this you can keep. This is what I brought, you may forget me. I promise to depart, just promise one thing. Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.” She sung softly, to the snow and to the dreary clouds.

The music drowned out the deafening chatters of the students gracing the campus. Opening her eyes, she scanned her surroundings once more. Several buildings were within vicinity with the standard build of what a Tokyo building looked like. Tall, intimidating, and lacking any personal touch.

Bringing her gaze back down to ground level, her eyes were immediately caught she when spotted a brunette beauty from afar. Honey-colored haired topped with a purple and white stripped beanie, a lavender-colored scarf secured around her neck, and a gray colored pea-coat adorned her slim figure.

She watched as the brunette's body shook slightly with laughter at the antics of her two friends, a boy with raven-black hair and a girl with a blonde locks. The calm aura that she exuded was comforting, yet an air of mystery seemed to float about her. Even in the mist of her friend's loud shouting and playful jesting, the brunette seemed to fit in perfectly, despite the fact that she did nothing more than smile at them.

The blunette's phone buzzed in her pocket, and she cursed to herself under breath as she pulled it out of her pockets. Natsuki allowed the phone to continue to buzz as she read from the screen. Nodding to herself, she hoisted her black messenger bag higher onto her shoulder.

Through the snow and the wind, the navy haired young woman started to walk to the solid doors of Tokyo U.

Shizuru arrived to campus early to meet up with her two friends, Reito and Haruka. It was the start of their senior year and they were excited about the general education classes that they were finally taking now that the mainstream coursework for their majors were mostly completed. Due to the differences in their interest, the three were enrolled in different courses. Shizuru was scheduled for sociology, Reito for psychology, and Haruka for a kinesiology class.

Her friends were bantering back and forth as usual, where one would calmly start a challenge and the other would not only live up to it, but increase it, loudly. She smiled at her friend's antics, knowing better than to involve herself into their game of cat and mouse. Her crimson eyes scanned the campus, making note of everyone's state of dress. Heavy coats, scarves, earmuffs, hats, and gloves to keep their skin from freezing. Winter is a dreadful season, indeed.

Shizuru's eyes stopped when she spotted a peculiar blunette, donning on nothing more than a worn military coat to protect her against the harsh winters along with a black skull cap that probably did next to nothing to warm her. She noticed the stranger moving her lips ever-so slightly and strained to hear what she was saying. Or rather, singing, she found when she blocked out all sounds and honed in on the sweet melody the blue haired figure was creating from deep within her throat.

“Zuru! Shizuru!” a deafening yell was directed into her ears.

“Ara, yes, Haruka-san?” the brunette replied, breaking out of her reverie.

“It's time for class. What were you staring at anyway?” The blonde asked, quirking an eyebrow up.

“It's nothing. Shall we get going then?” She cast one quick glance over to the blunette to find that she was no longer there. Mostly likely on her way to class now, the brunette concluded. The three bid their farewells for the time being and separated for the start of their academic day.

Finding the classroom was easy, and the mysterious cobalt haired woman took one of the back seats. In the corner between two walls, she'd gain heat. Yet, the windows further along the wall were still in her sights, and she admired the old willow she had been resting under.

Sitting, she placed her bag down and quietly blew a little air into her naked hands, rubbing them together. She idly watched as the other students managed their ways in, mingling here and there.

Shizuru walked into her first class of the day, sociology. By the course description, she imagined that it would be a fun class, unlike the ones required for her diploma. She spotted a familiar blue haired girl in the back by the window and opted to take the seat two rows in front of her

Recognition flitted across the porcelain face of the blunette at the sight of the chestnut haired girl. Pondering on where her friends went, she leaned back in her chair and rested against the cold wall, waiting for the professor.

Looking at the hair of the girl from before, as it moved when she rearranged things at her area, was a little soothing. Natsuki leaned forward onto her hand, and admired the girl's hair. It was a pretty color, but one that would look strange on someone else, she reasoned.

'What am I, a hair dresser?' Natsuki inwardly scoffed at herself for getting caught up in something as silly as another girl's hair. Better things to think about, she nodded to herself.

'I wonder if Chie and Nao can make it to see the game...' Looking outside to the snow encased willow, the blunette watched as it danced in the frigid air. It looked so peaceful, and she put her hand to the chilled glass, watching as the heat from her hand formed a mist on the window.

She smiled, before she grimaced in pain as she removed her hand from the cold glass. Massaging it with her other, she scowled at them. 'I should have brought some gloves, my bones are aching from the cold...' Gaining warmth, she leaned on her hand once more, and sighed against the wall.

Looking to the brunette in front of her once more, Natsuki watched as her hair rustled slightly. Natsuki was too lost in thought to notice the professor walk in. Only when she started to shout orders was her focus broken from the girl.

Shizuru noticed a red-headed woman walk through the door. She seemed to be in her twenties, the brunette estimated. Instead of taking a seat like the rest of the students, the woman scanned the classroom for a few seconds, before wearing a smirk across her lips as she sauntered to the front of the class.

“Stop chattering, and pay attention! This is Intro to Sociology. If you're in the right classroom, good for you! You know how to read your roster. If you're in the wrong class, get the hell out of my classroom!” Some students jumped, while others looked amused.

“Good, none of you are stupid enough to get the wrong class. For starters, my name is Midori Sugiura. There is no need to address me as 'professor'. Call me Midori or I will dock points from you,” Midori went on, then grabbed a timer from her desk. “For our first class, we will be freezing the campus.”

Natsuki's eyes lit up, and she stood with her fists pumped into the air. “Evil science, yes!” She shouted, gaining a few laughs and a few scowls.

“Down puppy, down!” Midori commanded, a smile on her face as well.

Some people snickered at the response the professor gave the student. Others just rolled their eyes, most likely thinking that blue haired girl was an idiot. Shizuru turned her head back in amusement to watch the blunette from before jump up in excitement at the thought of freezing the campus. She found herself suppressing a giggle at the girl's antics before turning back to face the front of the room.

“Alright! Settle down. As I was saying, we're going to be freezing the campus. How? We're all going to position ourselves around the quad and at one EXACT moment, we will all stay completely still from what we were doing for about five minutes,” the professor explained.

Murmurs of excitement could be heard as the students began to whisper amongst themselves, causing Midori to have to raise her voice to finish what she was saying. “I will assign you into groups between two to six people. You are to stay within your groups and get to know each other during the assignment!”

The teacher turned around and began writing names on the board along with a group number. Shizuru waited patiently for her name to be written down, as well as that of her partner's. She was in group three, with only one partner, named 'Natsuki Kuga'.

Natsuki noticed her name finally written down, and she looked to who her partner was. “Shizuru Viola...” She whispered, then frowned slightly as no recognition for the name came to her. Sitting up, she craned her neck to see if anyone was searching for her.

“Members of group one, stand up! Meet and greet your new friend, then head out to the quad!” The redhead instructed. When the members of group one all stood up, they jumbled together briefly before walking out the door. Group two did the same when they were called.

“Group three!” Shizuru stood up, turning slightly, and scanned the room to see where her partner would be. She watched as the blue haired girl from before slowly stood up.

Natsuki smiled kindly as she finally got a full look of the chestnut haired girl. She quickly became lost and enraptured with glittering crimson eyes. 'How...beautiful...' Natsuki thought, feeling her cheeks slightly color at the thought.

Her partner seemed rooted to her spot, so Shizuru decided to be the one to introduce herself first. She closed the distance between the two and spoke. “Ara, hello. My name is Shizuru Viola. It is very nice to meet you, Natsuki Kuga-san.” The brunette greeted.

Shaking out of her embarrassing mind for a moment, Natsuki cleared her throat. “Hello Viola-san, nice to meet you as well.” She bowed her head slightly, and smiled once more. 'I should probably stop smiling so much.' She suddenly thought, and immediately scowled.

Seeing the large grin on the woman replaced by a scowl, Shizuru worried that she may have somehow offended the other woman. Pretending that she didn't notice the mood change, she continued on the conversation. “Shall we get going then?”

Natsuki's face turned from scowling to confused, then she surveyed their surroundings. “Oh yeah! Right, to the quad, let's go!” Giddy and smiling once more, the blunette took Shizuru's hand and led her out the classroom.

Shizuru watched her partner's facial expression change from scowling to confused, and back to a grin. It almost seems as if this woman cannot decide on what she's feeling. She felt warmth encase her hand before being tugged out of the classroom. Smiling to herself, though not knowing why, she allowed the taller woman to lead the way.

In the middle of walking down the hall, Natsuki suddenly stopped, taking care to not harm her partner with her quick decision. “Wait!” She spoke, and stood confused. Whipping around gently, so that her hand was still holding Shizuru's, she looked deeply into crimson eyes. “Where is the quad, anyway?”

Suppressing a laugh, Shizuru replied. “Ara? Is Natsuki-san a freshman?”

Natsuki blinked, then scowled again. “How did you know?”

“Anyone who has been here longer than a semester knows that the quad is in the center of the campus. Allow me to show you.” The brunette replied, taking the lead.

They walked further down the hall, passed two exit doors and took the last one at the end. The quad was not as full as it would be had it been lunchtime, but there was still a considerable amount of students bustling about. There were tables bolted to the floor on various locations for those who enjoy eating outdoors.

“Wow...I didn't think this place was so big. Weird.” Natsuki spoke, looking about the place as the snow fell gently. “Wait.” Natsuki whipped her head to Shizuru again. “So, you're not a freshman?”

“I am a senior this year. I decided to take all of my major's coursework my first three years so that I can relax with gen-eds in my last year. Do I look like a freshman?” Shizuru asked, an amused glint present in her eyes.

Natsuki blinked, and let her eyes scan the brunette in front of her. Shizuru seemed about, maybe five inches shorter than her. “Er...no I guess. But...I'm taller than you. I just sort of assumed.” Natsuki scanned her again, and her eyes widened. “I bet you could fit under my chin!” With no time for a reaction, Natsuki brought her arms around Shizuru and pulled her flush against her.

One second, Shizuru was answering Natsuki's question, the next she was pressed against the blunette. Her initial reaction was to push the other girl away, but that was squashed when she decided teasing would be a much more interesting approach to the situation. “Ara, does Natsuki-san make a habit of hugging random girls tightly, or is it just me?”

Satisfied that Shizuru did indeed fit under her chin, if she lifted it slightly, Natsuki released the brunette. With a slight blush on her porcelain skin, the blunette addressed the question. “Seems like it's just you, feel special?”

Shizuru feigned a thinking posture before addressing the question. “No, not yet. Usually it takes dinner and some flowers.”

Natsuki chuckled and shook her head. “Looks like you won't be a cheap date.” Sticking her tongue out at the brunette, Natsuki remembered the snow and began to catch snowflakes on her tongue.

“Ara, not easy to get a date with either.” The older of the two replied. “Does Natsuki-san enjoy eating snowflakes?”

Reeling in her tongue, with a nice snowflake on it, the blunette grinned. “It's fun to do, have you ever caught a snowflake on your tongue?” Natsuki asked, emerald eyes alight with excitement.

“No, not in memory, at least.” The brunette replied. “I do remember making snowmen with my sister when I was younger. Though, admittedly, that was a very long time ago.”

Natsuki hummed in understanding, then remembered what they were doing on the quad. “We should probably get in position, eh?”

“Ara? I was under the impression that we were in position. We are situated in the quad, are we not?”

Natsuki scratched the back of her head. “I just assumed there was a specific place we were supposed to be. I'm a freshman.” Sticking her tongue out again, Natsuki scanned the quad for Midori.

“Okay.” The redheaded professor approached them. “We'll all freeze when the bell chimes, okay? That should be in about ten minutes or so. In the meanwhile, just... talk or something.”

Shizuru watched the teacher walk away before checking her watch. She made a mental note of the time before looking back up at the blue-haired girl. “Ten minutes...what are we supposed to do for ten minutes?” Natsuki asked, then distracted herself with opening her hand and catching snowflakes on her porcelain skin.

Shizuru knelt down to the ground and began gathering snow into her hands. The snow was cold to the point where it hurt her bare hands, but brunette paid no mind to the pain. She continued to roll a snowball about the size of twice her fist.

Natsuki watched the brunette, gathering snow into her hand as well. “That must hurt.” She spoke, kneeling gently and started to roll the powdery ice.

“Natsuki-san is also not wearing gloves.” Shizuru replied.

Rolling up her sleeves, Natsuki shrugged. “I'm already cold, but you seem quite warm.” Smiling brilliantly, she continued to gather enough snow to build the base.

“Ara, what's the fun in building a snowman if you can't feel you fingers go numb?” the brunette asked.

Natsuki laughed a bit at that. “That's true, I guess.” Shaking her head, her navy hair whipped powder around her. “Though I do need to get some gloves.” Natsuki smiled.

“Where do you plan to get these gloves?” Shizuru asked, glancing at the blue haired girl. Natsuki smiled kindly, distracted from the snow by those enticing red eyes.

“Somewhere.” She then flashed a goofy smile. As Natsuki joyfully played with the snow, making the snowman the two were creating, her mind wandered to darker subjects.

At the orphanage where she had spent most of her childhood, it had only snowed once. But that time was a magical moment, and the blunette had loved snow ever since. Natsuki's cheerful face turned into a scowl at the thought of that wretched place, and her eyebrows drew together. Emeralds turned cold, and the idle snow in her hand that she had planned on adding to the base was crushed.

The orphanage where she was dumped, because her father was a drunk and her mother was dead.

“Ara, Natsuki-san? Are you okay?” Shizuru asked, noticing the other woman scowl again.

Natsuki looked back to the brunette and smiled again. “Of course.” She spoke softly, brushing the freezing water off of her palm.

The brunette held back a frown. She knew that was a lie, but seeing how they have only met for less than thirty minutes, she didn't push the subject. Instead, she brought her focus back to the little snowballs that she was making. She placed the smaller one on top of the slightly larger one and held the snowman in her palm before placing it softly onto the snow-covered ground. Then, she grabbed more snow to make a head for her masterpiece, but when she was about to crunch the frozen substance to make a ball, the bell chimed, causing her to stop everything she planned on doing.

The snow was freezing her already cold hands, melting away any heat that was once present. Her numb fingers grew stiff in their position and her bones began to ache underneath her flesh. She hoped beyond anything that the five minute mark would be over soon. Any longer, and her facial expression will not be able to hide the pain that she was feeling. 'Please let the five minutes be over soon.' The senior thought. A warm feeling around her wrist pulled her attention away from her prayer. Instead, she found herself focusing on the wrist that seemed to exude heat.

When Natsuki heard the chime, she was reaching for Shizuru's hands to help make the head. Her fingers froze on the brunette's wrist, and her expression was that of thoughtfulness with a tinge of pain. 'She's cold.' An idle thought passed through the blunette's mind, and subtly she moved her hands closer to wrap around Shizuru's arm slowly, so as not to gain much attention.

The other students of the university stared at the frozen statues of their peers. Walking in between clumps of frozen students, and smiling, wondering what class it was and how long they would do this for.

A couple of the students passed by Shizuru and Natsuki, and adored the almost there snowman, as well as the girls. Of course, for every positive reaction, there must be a negative.

Natsuki was having a little fun, until a snowball exploded on her face, thrown by an older student farther down the quad. “Got one, yes!” He cheered, and his friends all whooped loudly. Natsuki closed her eyes once, to get the freezing pinprick feeling out of them as her tears naturally washed the arctic water out.

When Shizuru saw that some jerk decided to hit Natsuki with a snowball, she threw a concerned look at the blue haired freshman. The tears burned Natsuki's eyes, but it hurt less than the cold snow. Watery emerald met crimson and Natsuki subtly smiled.

The two were finally released from their frozen position when they noticed the other members of their class started moving about. Shizuru immediately dropped the remaining snow that was in her hand before wiping her hands dry onto her jeans. As soon as her hands were dried and free of the white fluff, her skin began to feel as if it was burning.

Natsuki wiped her face with the sleeve of her coat, and tried to get the stiff material to bend and soften so that she could rub her eyes. Alas, the old worn coat was resilient and did not do as the blunette wished. Ignoring the stinging, Natsuki reached for Shizuru's hands and began to rub them between her own, cupping them. Lifting them up, she blew soft, warm air into both their hands, continuing to rub gently.

“Ara, Natsuki-san?” the brunette questioned when her hands were taken from her.

“You had the puddle of ice water, they have to hurt.” Natsuki answered, blowing another puff of warm air.

“Ara, ookini, Natsuki-san,” Shizuru replied, taking her hands back. “But they are warm now. We should be going back inside.”

The blunette looked around, and nodded. Taking her beanie off, she shook her hair out and wiped her face with the inky skull cap. Dabbing her eyes also, she started to walk off towards the building.

Following after the blue-haired girl, Shizuru quickened her strides to fall into pace with the her. “Does Natsuki-san make a habit out of warming other people's hands for them? Or is she just giving me special treatment?”

Natsuki laughed softly, pulling her skull cap back on. “You're just special.” She stuck her tongue out, then winked. At that, she winced and pulled the sleeve of her worn coat back to reveal a softer red long sleeved shirt. Taking a bit of the sleeve, she dabbed her eyes again.

Placing her hand lightly onto Natsuki's arm to stop the blunette from using her shirt sleeve, she smiled at the other woman as she pulled out a lavender-colored handkerchief for her. “Use this instead.”

Natsuki made an embarrassed face. “I don't want to ruin your little handkerchief.” She smiled sheepishly.

Shizuru let loose a small giggle. “Silly Natsuki. Handkerchiefs are made to be used. Take it.”

Natsuki shrugged a shoulder, and gently took the handkerchief. “Thanks...Shizuru.” Her pale cheeks reddened slightly as she softly used the purple cloth to dab at her eyes.

Shizuru resumed her trek back to the classroom, half-expecting that her partner will follow her. “Natsuki-san does not mind that I call her Natsuki, does she?”

The blunette stopped wiping her tears as the question made her pause, but rapidly dried them all away as she caught up with Shizuru, tucking the lilac colored cloth into her coat. Flashing a smile, she responded. “Of course not, as long as I get to call you Shizuru.”

“Ara, of course. I have another class to attend to now. This is my exit. I will see you around then, Natsuki.” The brunette said over her shoulder as she started to walk through a pair of doors towards a stairwell.

“Later Shizuru.” Natsuki called after the senior, then opened her cellphone to see where her next class would be. “Eh? English 101.” Humming slightly, she went off in search for the room.

Sitting in the back once more, with the professor's monotone voice droning on and on, the blunette sighed and leaned on her hand.

There weren't many students in this class, about half of the seats were empty. Idly scribbling notes about things she had never heard of, or of things long since past, Natsuki doodled to pass most of her time.

The windows were getting cold, so halfway through the class she sat further into the middle of the room, still in the back. The low humming of the lights above her, the low mumbling of her professor, and the scratching sounds of students pencils against paper really made Natsuki miss the brunette she befriended earlier.

'She had a nice voice.' Natsuki thought with a shrug. A folded paper landed with a soft crinkle on her desk, but the blunette jumped all the same, then smiled sheepishly, hoping no one saw. The soft giggling from the right of her made her blush and clear her throat.

Opening the note quietly, emerald eyes scanned it. 'I just noticed you when you changed seats, you were so far in the back that I couldn't see your pretty face. Wanna get coffee after this?' Reddened cheeks became ever rosier, and Natsuki bit her lip. Looking to the girl who had thrown the note, Natsuki made a quizzical face, smiling.

The girl had stormy eyes, and a nice smile. She nodded to Natsuki, a small blush on her cheeks. Natsuki scratched the back of her neck nervously, and nodded back in answer.

'Did...did she just ask me for a date?' Natsuki wondered, a crooked grin settling upon her lips.

Feeling a little giddy, Natsuki looked at the note once more. Only when she felt her shoulder being touched did she look up. It was the girl, and the class had apparently ended.

“Oh.” Natsuki smiled and stood, gathering her things into her messenger bag. Pulling it over her shoulder, she turned to the girl. “Come on, let's go get some coffee.” Stormy eyes twinkled at emerald, and the blunette followed the teal haired girl.

The two went to a popular cafe close to campus, and as their date came to an end, the stormy-eyed girl finally gave up her name. “Tomoe Marguerite, and I had fun, Natsuki.” The teal haired girl smiled as they stood outside the small cafe, snow gently caressing their cheeks.

Standing on her tiptoes, and grasping the collar of the worn coat the blunette was wearing, Tomoe lightly kissed Natsuki on the cheek, causing the blunette to blush worse than she had all day. “I'll see you around.” Whispered in her ear, Natsuki blinked as she watched the teal haired girl walk off with a smile on her face.

Through the muffled music and voices of the cafe, Natsuki's ears picked up a more festive tune. Intrigued, the blunette turned around and began to walk to the noise. Suddenly, she noticed how dark it had gotten, the sun setting already. Lights lit up her face as she came upon a carnival.

'I haven't been to a carnival in so long!' Natsuki thought excitedly, and hurried into the atmosphere of music, lights, and the delicious smells of food.

It has been a long time since Shizuru last went to a carnival. The loud chattering of people talking animatedly, the sounds of machines roaring through the crowds, the smell of delicious morsels sold by nearby vendors. She briefly wondered why she never attended more. The answer came to her almost instantly in the flash of a memory, but before she could dwell on it, a loud yell of her nickname caught her attention.

“Bubuzuke!” her loud friend yelled, even though they were right next to one another.

“Ara? What is it, Haruka?”

“Stop daydreaming. Want to go on the Ferris wheel?” she asked.

“Ara, the Ferris wheel is a two person ride, so you and Reito go on ahead. I’ll wait here for your return.”

The brunette witnessed her two friends exchange a look before shrugging at one another. Then, they turned to smile her, sending her a ‘see you in a bit’ look before walking away towards the Ferries wheel. As Shizuru watched her friends leave, she released a small sigh and wondered what she would do as she waits for her friends.

Natsuki, in her small burst of excitement, accidentally bumped shoulder's with another carnival goer.

“Sorry sir!” The blunette apologized with a bow, and looked around her. The Ferris wheel loomed over her, and while she examined it, something else caught her attention.

Emeralds scanned the familiar hair, and Natsuki wove a hand into her own hair. 'Why am I always staring at her hair?' The blunette shrugged, and noticed the brunette's friends from before had boarded the ride.

Natsuki waited a few seconds, but it seemed Shizuru would not be joining them. Figuring out the reason, the blunette walked a ways until she was by her side.

“Ara, Natsuki? What a coincidence,” the brunette had to practically yell over the voices of the people around her.

“I suppose.” Natsuki looked up at the ride again. “I just got off of a date.” She spoke again, craning her neck to see the top.

“I see... why didn’t Nasuki bring her date to the carnival?” Shizuru asked, noticing that the blue haired girl was alone.

Natsuki pulled her coat a little closer to her. “I didn't realize there was a carnival. Oh, you wanna ride the Ferris wheel with me? There's no one else I know here.”

“Kannin na, Natsuki. I do not like Ferris wheels,” Shizuru replied, eyes darkening at a haunting memory.

Nodding slightly, Natsuki shrugged a little. “I'll keep you company down here then, until your friends get done with it.”

“Does Natsuki like carnivals?”

Natsuki smiled, thinking the way Shizuru talked in the third person was kind of cute. “I do, I haven't been to one in a long time. I like the way it feels, it's kind of like magic. Does Shizuru like carnivals?”

“Ara, quite honestly, I do prefer sitting on a comfortable couch with a good book,” Shizuru sighed. “But my friends were insistent that I ‘have some fun’, which is how I ended up here.”

Natsuki nodded a bit, and watched as the Ferris wheel spun round. “I can't sit around for too long, I start to fidget.”

“Bubuzuke!”

When Shizuru heard her friend’s yell, she waved at her approaching friends. Reito and Haruka stopped two feet away from two and examined the girl Shizuru was talking to.

“Oi, bubuzuke. Who’s this?” the blonde woman asked, pointing at the blue haired girl.

Natsuki scratched the back of her head idly. “Natsuki Kuga, nice to meet you.”

“I am Haruka Suzushiro! Feel free to call me Haruka,” the blonde replied with a grin. “Oh, and this smiling idiot next to me is Reito. Feel free to call him idiot.”

Natsuki laughed, and nodded to the two. “Well, I'll see you guys around! Was nice to meet you both.” Natsuki bowed politely, and wandered over to one of the many food stands.

“Your friend seemed nice,” Reito began.

“But she’s somewhat rude to leave without hearing our goodbyes,” finished Haruka. “Well, whatever.”

And with that, Shizuru watched as Haruka started to walk after the blunette before following her friend. When the three caught up with the younger woman, Haruka was the one to grab her attention.

“You’re alone here, right?” she asked, then continued on without waiting for an answer. “Join us and make this bubuzuke onna not regret coming out.”

Natsuki idly twirled her cup of cocoa in her hands as she stared at Haruka. She has nice eyes, the blunette nodded slightly, then blinked as she realized a question needed an answer.

“Oh, sure! Er, why not?” She laughed slightly.

“Okay! Let’s hit some stands then,” the blonde yelled as she pumped her fist into the air.

“Ara, why don’t we see which of you can win the largest stuffed animal?” Shizuru proposed. “It’ll be a contest. A fun contest.”

Natsuki smiled, and agreed. “How about that one?” The blunette pointed to one of the basketball stands, keeping a secret glint in her eyes hidden.

Reito and Haruka shrugged. “Sure,” they said in unison.

“Ara, let’s go then,” clapped the brunette before she started making her way towards the game, followed by her friends.

As Natsuki walked, she examined which prize she would get when she won. Stepping up first, she shelled out a few yen, and grabbed a ball.

“Swish.” Natsuki breathed, the shot the ball directly into the hoop, relishing in the sound the net made.

Haruka stood next to Natsuki, and when she saw that the blue haired girl shot the ball into the hoop cleanly, she narrowed her eyes in concentration. She threw the ball and watched as it sailed through the air, closing in on the hoop. The orange ball passed the hoop, hit the backboard and bounced back down. Reito’s shot was not as hard, as his ball bounced on the rim before falling off.

Natsuki picked another ball up, and breathed out slowly, her breath freezing the the night air. Tossing gently, yet enough force behind it to propel powerfully, the ball once again passed into the hoop, swishing cleanly.

Haruka used less force in her throw this time. The ball did not hit in backboard, but the rim of the net. As the ball slowly traced around the circumference of the rim, Haruka prayed for it to fall in. It did. Reito’s shot, however, did not make it through the hoop.

“Nice one, Haruka-san.” Natsuki commented, the picked up her final ball. Sticking the tip of her tongue out in mild concentration, she noted that the carnival music had changed from cheery to a slightly darker, more adult tone. Looking around curiously, indeed no kids were to be seen, but college students like themselves.

Shrugging, Natsuki turned back to the stand and shot the ball, missing the hoop.

This was Haruka’s chance, Shizuru thought as she watched the match. The score was currently two for Natsuki, one for Haruka, and zero for Reito. Poor Reito already lost and she could see from his slumped composure that he was displeased with that.

Reito didn’t even bother with his last shot. He just walked over to stand next to Shizuru and watched the game unfold. Haruka narrowed her eyes in concentration. She tossed the ball and held her breath as it flew through the air. She mentally calculated the course of the ball and hoped for whatever higher power there was that she was right. She frowned a little as she watched the ball close in on the backboard, but her expression changed when the bounce that the ball made was so minuscule, it just dropped into the hoop perfectly.

“Hell yeah!” Haruka shouted when she saw the smooth drop. “Kuga and I tied. What now?”

“Nice.” Natsuki grinned, then looked to the man operating the stand.

He shrugged and gruffly spoke, “Pick a prize.”

“What’s the biggest stuffed animal I can get?” Haruka asked.

He pointed to a line full of medium-sized stuffed animals. “Any of those.”

“That one then,” the blonde pointed to a huggable sized cuddly bear.

Natsuki retrieved her cup of cocoa and idly drank it as she inspected the animals. It was still warm, and as she drank it, her eyes focused on one that stood out.

“What in the world, is that an octopus?” Natsuki asked, pointing to one near the man. Looking at it, he brought it down. “I suppose it is.”

“I have got to have that, it's funny!” The blunette chuckled as the man passed it to her.

Haruka approached the brunette with her huggable sized bear and thrusted the stuffed animal into the other’s hands. “Here. Keep it. I have no use for cute, fuzzy, and useless things.”

“Ara? Thank you, Haruka.”

“Natsuki crushed her empty cup and tossed it into a bin. Trying to situate the awkward toy so that she could comfortably hold it, she addressed the group. “Another?” She asked, finally noticing the small strap the octopus had, and promptly wore it like a backpack.

“Sure,” Reito said.

“Ara. Why don’t I pick the game this time? Does everyone agree?” Shizuru asked.

“I'm cool with that.” Natsuki shrugged, still adjusting the octopus here and there.

Shizuru looked to her two friends and watched them shrug. Then, she scanned the area to see what other games there were. “How about that one?” she asked, pointing to a game of balloon popping.

“Yeah, sure,” Haruka replied and started making her way towards the booth.

The others followed after her. She took a look at the rules of the game: 300 yen for five darts, 500 yen for ten darts.

“Ojii-san!” Haruka yelled as she slammed 500 yen onto the counter. “Ten darts please!”

The blonde was given her ten darts as she eyed the largest prize she could possibly win. She needed to hit 25 targets for that, which means she that needs to somehow hit more than one balloon with the same dart, for all her darts.

“Okay, pay attention, ojii-san! I’m gonna win big here,” Haruka said with utmost confidence.

She threw darts one after another, all of them hitting one balloon or more. On her last dart, she aim for that vertical line of balloons that has yet been popped. She threw her dart up high, yet loosely, and watched as it sailed in a parabolic motion, popping the five balloons in a row before hitting the floor.

“Congratulations missy, you hit 20 balloons,” the man said with a displeased tone, “so pick a prize.”

“What in the world is that?!” Haruka pointed to a rather weird looking stuffed... thing.

“Ara, I believe that is a queen chess piece, Haruka,” Shizuru replied. “That’s rather interesting. I have never seen it before.”

“I want that!” the blonde yelled, pointing to the gigantic-sized stuffed chess piece, which was technically only 1.5 times larger than the bear that Shizuru was holdng.

Natsuki smiled, amused. “Strange thing to have as a prize.”

Haruka smirked as she held onto her prize, “I could say the same about your octopus. So, you going to try to beat my twenty darts or what?”

Natsuki smirked and paid the displeased man for the darts. Throwing one, it completely missed. “Damn...I'm bad at these kinds of games. My shooting aim sucks.” Natsuki whispered, and missed all of her throws.

“Reito? Going to go now? Show us your skills?” Haruka asked.

“Nah. I already know I’m bad at darts. I think I’ll save my money for those delicious looking cavity-inducing fluff,” he replied, pointing to a stand selling cotton candy.

“That does look good.” Natsuki smiled, shoving her hands in the pockets of her old coat. At the food stand, as the others got their candy fluff, Natsuki was distracted by muffled shouts coming from a little whiles away.

Observing the group, who she recognized as the group of boys that had thrown the snowball at her, she realized they were bullying another girl.

“Hey!” Natsuki abandoned the stand and started to jog over to them, death glare in her eyes.

“Oh look, it's the dyke's girlfriend!” One of the boys whooped, and they all laughed.

Clenching her fist, Natsuki cocked her arm back and fired a mean right hook at the older boy.

The others noticed that Nastuki has run off when they received their cotton candy, so they took off after her. When they stopped, they found that the blue haired girl attacked one of the boys, earning glares from his friends.

The brunette’s eyes widened slightly when she recognized faces that she didn’t want to. Shizuru walked over to where Natsuki was standing, delivering a cold look to whoever dared look at her. She didn’t know why, but she felt strangely protective of the younger girl.

“Out causing trouble again, I see. You never seem to have to enough fun, do you, Kimura-kun?” the brunette said, a chilly edge to her tone.

The alpha male of the group stepped up when he was addressed, a smirk gracing his rogue-like features. “One can never have too much fun, Viola-san.”

Natsuki was too busy glaring at the one Shizuru named, so she didn't notice one of the other boys throwing a punch her way until she was on the ground cradling her chin.

When Shizuru noticed, from her peripheral vision, that Natsuki was on the ground, she immediately twisted her body backwards in time to catch the person who punched her blue haired friend. Anger bubbled inside of her, and her calm composure all but vanished in that second when she draw her own fist back and delivered a clean strike to the boy’s nose.

“It’s not nice to sneak up on people, Tohru-kun,” Shizuru said, her voice wavering slightly in anger.

Spitting up crimson and painting the pure white snow with it, Natsuki made it to her feet once more, wiping her porcelain and bloodstained chin.

“I suggest you and your friends leave now, Kimura-kun. You have just put me in a bad mood. And my friend, Haruka-san over there does not forgive easily either,” Shizuru said, giving the blonde woman a brief glance before settling her eyes on the alpha male again.

Shizuru was not lying, as in that brief glance, she noticed that Haruka was utilizing all her self-restraint to not lash out on these delinquents. Her body was trembling from her intense anger as Reito tried his best to calm her.

The college boys, while outnumbering the defending group, backed off. But of course, not without leaving a little present.

The boy that Natsuki had punched returned the favor with a quick kick to the ribs as they walked past. Gritting her teeth, Natsuki growled as she doubled over and watched as the boys ran off.

“What is their deal!?”

“They are a notorious gang here,” Shizuru began. “Although, as you see, they are not really in a gang. Just a bunch of friends who like to cause trouble for others.”

“What bubuzuke is trying to say,” Haruka said as she and Reito approached the two, “is that they’re just assholes who get a kick out of randomly beating people up.”

“Fuckers.” Natsuki tenderly stood, massaging her ribs as she did so and glaring at their retreating backs. One turned, flipped them off, and laughed.

Growling, Natsuki wiped a few more drops of blood from her mouth, spitting discreetly to get the rest out.

“Are you okay, Natsuki?” Shizuru asked, placing a concerned hand on the blunette’s shoulder.

“Fine.” Natsuki mumbled as she tried to get the taste of copper out of her mouth. Shaking her head with disgust, at both the 'gang' and the taste of blood, she turned her attention to the bullied girl.

Haruka approached the girl that was bullied earlier. She had short brown hair and olive-colored eyes. She seemed to dress for comfort, as she donned on baggy blue jeans and a plain black jacket.

"Rotten candy, kid?" asked Haruka as she held out pink and blue sugar fluff for the distressed girl.

Natsuki leaned to the wine eyed senior. “W...what did she just say?” Natsuki whispered, finding herself smiling through the distress and mild pain.

Ignoring Natuski’s question as she knows it’ll be answered by her statement to Haruka, Shizuru spoke, “Ara, Haruka-san. I believe you mean ‘cotton candy’.”

“Isn’t that what I said? Well, whatever. You want the candy or not, kid?”

As the girl accepted the candy with a smile, Natsuki wandered back to the food stand. She gathered a few napkin, and a cup of ice.

Using the ice to wash the blood from her mouth, she wrapped some in the napkin and pressed it to her sore ribs. “Well, I guess I'll see you guys around.” Natsuki spoke to the group.

“See you in class then, Natsuki,” Shizuru replied.

Her friends nodded their farewells to Natsuki as well, before turning their attention back to the bullied girl. “We’re going to go too, bubuzuke. Reito and I are going to walk her home.”

“Ara, alright then. I will see you two tomorrow,” Shizuru replied and watched her as friends started their way out of the carnival.

‘Those creeps ruined the night. I was having a good time too,’ Shizuru thought. ‘Kimura and his homophobic gang. How much lower can they go? Randomly beating up a defenseless girl just because she’s gay, or think that she’s gay. I shouldn’t assume.’

These thoughts plagued her mind as she made her way back to her dorm alone. ‘Bigotry,’ Shizuru continued to monologue in her head, ‘is the one thing that I hate more than manipulation.’

Love it but where can i find the rest?

zanekal1 wrote:Love it but where can i find the rest?

Haha, that's all we've got so far

:D They just started on it. lol

From the waves of nostalgia (Student Council reunion of sorts!) to the ShizNat fluffiness that occurs later on (how dare someone throw a snowball at our darling!), I enjoy the first chapter. ^_^ I wish I can review it properly, but it is late. >_< With chapter two, I can cook up something more elaborate.

Natsuki is such a creeper. Hahaha. :D

Hello MM!! The long awaited chapter two has arrived!

=================================================================================
Chapter Two: Morose
=================================================================================

Natsuki hadn't slept well that night. Torn between thinking of the brunette, her date with Tomoe, and the terrible way the carnival had ended. And the homophobic gang who terrorized them for a brief moment.

Walking to the old willow once more before her classes started, the blunette leaned against it heavily, feeling a bit down. Touching her side gently, she noted her ribs were still sore. Her jaw was sore as well, and a bit of blue bruising could be seen beneath the porcelain skin.

'Those idiots. Why did they feel the need to start something?' Natsuki thought, biting her thumb. Taking her thumb out, she stared at it before sighing. “I need gloves.”

Hearing a twig snap, she whipped her head to see three of the boys from last night. Not able to recall their names, she just glared as she hoisted her bag farther onto her shoulder.

"Hello there, dyke," Kimura said as he approached the girl.

His buddies circled around her, smirks gracing all of their lips. Two even leaned on either side of the tree she was leaning on.

"Your senpai won't always be around to protect you, you know? And when the day comes where she looks the other way..."

He trailed off, punching his palm to create a loud smacking sound in front of her face. His friends chuckled at this, as if it was a funny inside joke known only to them. And maybe it was.

Natsuki would have never admitted it, but she was frightened. Clutching her bag's strap with her left hand, she glared at the boy who seemed to be the leader.

“Get out of my way, jerk.” She growled, but sank back against the tree when they got even closer.

“Now I’m going to be nice and let you off with a warning this time since I’m in a good mood. But the next time you show your dykey face to me, you’re going to wish you were never born,” the alpha male said, voice lowered to a threatening tone.

The guys on either side of her took this as their cue and punched her in the stomach as hard as they could. They watched as the blunette crouch over in pain before eventually falling to the ground.

“Let’s go,” the leader mumbled as he and his pack disappeared into the crowd.

Natsuki gritted her teeth and shook as the pain wracked her stomach. Her ribs flared up again, emerald eyes tearing as she quietly lowered herself into a laying position. On her back, she threw an arm over her eyes and tried to fight back angry tears. The blunette's ribs were starting to burn, and she clenched her free fist over them.

Shizuru left class with the intention of going straight home and finishing that report she has been procrastinating on. When she received the assignment three weeks ago, it felt like she had all the time in the world to complete it. But now, two days before it was due, she was really feeling the pressure. It wasn’t that she was afraid of failing. No, far from that. She just needed to do well in this class in order for her teacher to write her a recommendation for the graduate school that she was planning to go to.

As she took quick strides across the campus, she noticed a familiar shade of blue lying down on the ground by the willow tree. Curious, she took a longer look, to find that it was her freshman friend from sociology class. Worried, she rushed over to see what the problem was.

"Ara? Natsuki? What happened?" asked a concerned Shizuru as she knelt down next to Natsuki.

The brunette's hand reflexively flew to cover the hand that the other girl placed over her abdominal, presuming that was where the pain resided. Hearing the accented voice of her new friend, Natsuki rapidly wiped her tears away.

Removing her arm, she locked eyes with Shizuru and managed a small smile before she grimaced once more. “It was those idiots from last night,” Natsuki spoke, the hand on her stomach warm under Shizuru's.

Crimson eyes narrowed at the thought before speaking in an uncharacteristically dangerous tone, “Kimura and his gang?”

Natsuki closed her eyes, and nodded. “Mm, I couldn't remember their names, but it was them.” The blunette slowly breathed in and out, shaking somewhat from the pain.

“Haruka, Reito, and I can take care of that problem if Natsuki likes. He and his gang know better than to trifle with us three,” Shizuru offered.

Bracing her free hand against the snow-covered ground, Natsuki sat up and discreetly wiped a few more tears.

“That would just provoke them. That was what this 'visit' was about.” Natsuki whispered, then winced when she tried to take a deep breath.

“So Natsuki thinks it’s better to pretend it never happened?” Shizuru asked. She opened her mouth to speak more, but decided against the idea. The brunette closed her mouth and began chewing on her inner cheeks in annoyance.

“Well, no, but...” Natsuki trailed off, and ruffled her hair in frustration. “They don't seem the type to just stop because people tell them to. They might take it a bit farther than just this.”

“Oh, trust me. They’re not.” Shizuru replied, voice holding a dark edge to it. “That much I know very well. But like I said, I can take care of it. I will only do so if Natsuki asks though, as this is Natsuki’s business. Not mine.”

Rubbing her tender ribs, Natsuki watched as the snow fell with grace. The innocence of it seemed wrong with the scene her life was playing out. Shaking her head slightly, she drew her legs closer, attempting to stand but failing once the right side of her stomach protested such movement.

“Damn.” Natsuki breathed, the cold weather turning her breath into fog.

“Would Natsuki like some help?” Shizuru asked as she placed a hand under the blunette’s elbow.

“Please.” Natsuki looked to Shizuru's face and smiled softly. Bending her knees so that her feet were flat on the ground, she awaited Shizuru's help, slightly shivering as the temperature lowered.

The senior guided the freshman’s arm to loop around her shoulders and proceeded to help hold Natsuki up by her waist. “Can you walk?”

The blunette had winced at the standing, and relished in the immense warmth the senior had.

“I don't know, standing was harder than it should have been.” Natsuki murmured, breathing slowly. She rubbed her jaw with the hand that wasn't around Shizuru.

Nodding to Shizuru, the blunette took her arm from around the older girl's shoulders, and attempted to stand on her own. Everything was going well, until Natsuki tried to take a step.

“Agh!” The raven haired student bit her lip as she fell to one knee, placing a palm on the ground and the other on her ribs.

“Ara, careful Natsuki,” the brunette replied as she kneeled down to the younger girl’s level on the ground.

“Shit, they might have done more damage than I thought.” The raven haired girl spoke as she shakily stood once more.

Shizuru turned her back to Natsuki and said, “Get on. I’ll carry you to the nurse’s office.”

Immediately, a thought entered the blue haired girl's mind. 'That...is not manly.'

“I can....not walk, but, um...” It seemed Natsuki did not have a very good argument to host.

“But what, Natsuki? Just get on. We need to get your injuries looked at as soon as possible,” the older woman ushered, impatience clearly coating her words.

“Alright fine!” Natsuki blushed, and jumped upon Shizuru's back with a slight muffled noise of pain.

Shizuru tossed her bag carelessly onto her shoulder before slowly standing up. She adjusted the extra weight on her back accordingly before beginning her trek towards the Clinic building not too far from their initial position.

“Is Natsuki not used to being carried?” the red-eyed woman asked as she ignored the stares of passerbys.

Natsuki adjusted her arms around Shizuru's neck, feeling the soft caresses of the brunette's hair on her face.
“I don't think I've ever been carried.” She spoke, inhaling the smell of cold snow and Shizuru's hair. 'I'm such a creeper.' Natsuki made a face at herself and smiled.

“I use herbal essence, cucumber melon for now. In case Natsuki was interested, since she seems to like the smell of my hair,” an amused voice replied.

Raven eyebrows came together in an embarrassed and panicked expression. “How did you know?” Emeralds shifted as Natsuki spoke softly, not intending the other to hear.

“Ara, know what?” replied Shizuru, though her tone contradicted with her words.

“Just drive!” Natsuki thought for a second. “Or walk, whatever it is you're doing.”

‘Ara, sweet Natsuki. Don’t think you can weasel your way out of answering my answers,’ thought Shizuru with amusement.

“I am walking, Natsuki. And I am capable of walking and holding a conversation at the same time. So answer me. Know what?”

Growling lightly, Natsuki just huffed. “Know that I liked the way your hair smelled.” She rolled her eyes and blushed more.

“I felt you smelling my hair, so I assumed,” the older woman chuckled. “And Natsuki produces very cute growl-like sounds.”

“Gah!” Natsuki grumbled a bit to herself, then winced slightly. “Are we there yet?” She spoke in a soft and small subdued voice.

“Ara, such a child,” replied Shizuru as she kneed the handicap button for the doors to open for her. “We are almost there.”

“I'm not a child, a child would be crying, dear Shizuru.” Natsuki smirked and did a bit of shifting from side to side.

“Hai hai,” replied Shizuru as she entered.

She walked up to the nurse behind the desk and told her about Natsuki’s injury, which prompted the woman to usher the two through a set of doors and into a small room with a bed. Shizuru slowly placed Natsuki down, careful not to hurt the girl any more than she already was.

Gripping her ribs and stifling a pain-filled moan, Natsuki tried her best to lay back and not curl into a ball of pathetic pain.

“Hello, my name is Yohko Sagisawa. I am your doctor. So what can I do for you today?” a feminine voice called out, surprising the students.

“My friend was punched in the stomach, and is currently in extreme pain,” the brunette replied, not giving Natsuki a chance to answer the question herself.

“Alright, well, let’s see what I can do,” Yohko replied.

Shizuru stepped to the side to allow the doctor to take a look at her blue haired friend. The purple haired woman approached with a blood pressure pad, but it was quickly slapped away by Natsuki.

“Would you just look at my ribs!?” She growled, wincing with one eye closed.

The doctor let loose a heavy sigh and muttered something about rude kids these days under her breath. She discarded the pressure pad onto the bed and proceeded to lift Natsuki’s shirt up, revealing the younger girl’s belly.

“This will hurt,” she said before she began to press down on several key locations. “Let me know when it hurts and then scale it from one to ten, one being no pain.”

The raven haired student winced and jerked at times, but once the doctor pressed down in the middle of the left side of her ribs, Natsuki cried out in pain. “Argh! Ten!” She managed, and bit her sleeve to try to stem the pain she felt.

The doctor made a mental note of that location and stopped what she was doing so that the pain would slowly decrease for the student. She waited for a little before asking, “Shall I continue? Or do you need more time?”

Natsuki rubbed at her forehead, and lay her head back before taking a deep breath. “Continue.” She answered weakly, looking paler than she had been outside.

Yohko pressed on a few more spots, but did not receive any more outbursts of pain. “Well, the left side of your ribs are in pretty bad shape. Probably broken.”

Letting out a slow deep breath, Natsuki closed her eyes. “Fantastic.” Sarcasm dripped from her voice, which had deepened from the pain.

“Ara, is there something you can do, Yohko-sensei?” Shizuru spoke up, catching the attention of the nurse.

“Other than give her the usual treatment? No, not really.”

“Usual treatment, what's that?” Natsuki cracked an eye open as she tried to favor her left side, taking care not to move or breath in a way that would cause her pain.

“Well, I’d bandage you up and give you something for the pain. If you want, we can have you get an x-ray to see if they’re really broken. It’s up to you.”

“I don't care, do what you want.” Natsuki waved a hand tiredly, and began to sit up through the pain.

“I can’t make that decision for you.”

Growling, at both the pain of sitting up and from irritation, the raven haired girl spoke again. “Fine, I would like the x-ray. Might as well see if my ribs are broken or not.”

“Alright,” the doctor said as she walked towards the door. “I’ll be back in a minute. Stay put.”

“Yeah, cause I'll just run out of here with my broken ribs.” Natsuki snorted once the doctor had left the room, the hissed at the pain that action cost.

“Ara. What a temper, Natsuki,” Shizuru said, moving towards the girl. “Shall I carry you out later as well?”

A growl from the taller student warned that if she was touched, hell would be paid. Shizuru sighed and leaned against the wall closest to her, which was facing Natsuki.

“I suppose that’s a no.”

Natsuki sighed, and bit her lip. “I'm sorry Shizuru. It...just really hurts, and I don't handle pain well.” Shaking slightly, either from the cold or the pain, Natsuki took another breath, as deep as she could without hurting herself.

“Ara, it’s alright. I understand,” replied Shizuru.

Natsuki gave a nod towards her, and looked to the door when it opened once more.

Yohko entered the room with a slip of paper between her fingers and handed it to Shizuru. “I told radiology that you guys are going there shortly. Here’s the directions. Come back to this room when you are done so that I can bandage your friend up.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Shizuru replied, reading the scribbles on the paper she just received.

“Thanks doc.” Natsuki slowly stood, right hand firmly planted on her left ribs. “Stupid shaky hands.” She mumbled as she brushed a few strands of hair from her eyes.

“Can you walk on your own?” Shizuru asked, though she made no move to approach the younger girl.

Natsuki's emerald eyes hardened as she glared at the ground.

“Course I can.” She spoke with a smirk, and took a few steps. Though she clutched her ribs tighter, she made no attempt to stop. “So, where are we going?” She asked Shizuru, looking at the door.

“Ah, right,” Shizuru said. “Just follow me then.”

Shizuru weaved her way through the halls, turning left and right as the instructions dictated. They stopped in front of a door labeled radiology, which was decorated with a drawing of comical-looking skeleton. Shizuru opened the door for Natsuki and waited for the girl to pass through.

“Oh God.” As soon as Natsuki entered the room, she located a nearby wastebasket and vomited into it, holding her hair back with her left hand.

When the brunette saw her younger friend vomiting, she had the extreme urge to rubbed the girl’s back. However, she restrained herself and went to talk to a nurse instead, alerting the staff of their arrival. Then, she approached the blue-haired woman, careful to keep a certain distance from the blunette.

“Ara, Natsuki,” she said as she pulled out a tissue from her bag. “Please use this.”

Natsuki spat into the wastebasket, and took the tissue without looking at her friend. “Thanks you Shizuru.” She mumbled, and wiped her mouth over the bin, screwing her mouth up in disgust.

“It’s not a problem. When you are ready, they will take you to have your x-ray done. I will stay here in the waiting area.”

Once Natsuki was done, she stood shakily and a nurse helped her to the room she could prepare herself in. Dressed in the customary hospital shift, Natsuki vomited once more before a nurse was able to help her get into the x-ray room.

Natsuki stood in front of the image plate, with her hands on her hips. “Hold your breath.” The doctor spoke, and a minute later the x-ray was taken. “From the side, please.”

She turned to the side, with her arms up but winced. “Just a few more seconds, hold your breath.” The doctor nodded to her, and another x-ray was snapped. The nurse helped Natsuki back to the first room to change back into her clothes.

Once fully dressed, Natsuki walked out of the room and smiled slightly at Shizuru.

When Shizuru spotted her friend walking towards her, she stood up from her chair and met the girl halfway in her trek. “Ara, Natsuki. How was it?”

“Good, I guess.” Natsuki answered weakly, still holding onto her side.

The brunette rummaged through her bag and pulled out a water bottle, holding it out to the emerald-eyed girl. “I went and found you some water, thinking that you might want it after all that vomiting. But perhaps your ribs will make it hard to swallow?”

“Thanks Shizuru.” Smiling slightly, Natsuki took the bottle and located the bathroom. Pouring some in her mouth, she swished the water about before spitting it out. Once she was done, she rejoined Shizuru.

“Shall we go back so that Yohko-sensei can tend to your injuries?”

“Yes please.” Natsuki smiled wide at her friend, and the two wandered back to the doctor.

The two arrived back to the room they occupied before to see Yohko already there. When she spotted the two, she greeted them with a tiny smile. “Welcome back. Radiology told me the results will be in one week or so. I’ll email you the results.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Shizuru replied, allowing her back to rest against the wall.

“Now,” the doctor said as she turned to the injured girl. “Time to get you wrapped up.”

“Awesome.” Natsuki shrugged her coat off with the help of Yohko. “This too?” The cobalt girl asked, tugging at her shirt slightly.

“Unless you want to wear your bandages over the shirt.” Yohko deadpanned, and waited. Natsuki made a face and took her shirt off as well, leaving her in her black sports bra and jeans.

Shizuru never noticed this before because Natsuki has always worn her coat in her presence. But now that the coat has been shed, she could clearly see the other girl’s neck. And more specifically, what was on the other girl’s throat. A scar was embedded on the left side of Natsuki’s throat. It’s faded coloring told Shizuru that it was old, but width of the scar told her it was deep as well.

“Alright, you’re good to go,” Yohko said as she cleaned up her supplies.

Shizuru was so lost in staring at the mark on Natsuki’s neck that she barely registered that the doctor’s work was done.

“Thank you, Yohko-sensei.” Natsuki spoke, touching the bandages on her ribs.

“I'll write you a prescription for some pills, for the pain,” the doctor said as she scribbled sloppily on a small Rx paper before handing it to the blunette. “Alright, guys. Anything else before I go see the next patient?”

“I think we are set, doctor. Thank you,” Shizuru replied.

“Have a good one, you two.”

And with that, the purple-haired woman left the two students.

“Let’s get you those pain killers at the pharmacy down the hall,” Shizuru said.

Donning her shirt and coat once more, Natsuki smirked at Shizuru. “This place has everything.” She spoke with a grin.

“Most things,” Shizuru replied as she started to walk out. ‘They don’t have a mental ward here,’ the brunette thought to herself.

“Mm.” Natsuki rubbed at her neck as the two walked down the hall. “So, what's with that guy and his 'gang'?” The blunette asked.

“Kimura-kun?” Shizuru asked.

Natsuki waved the name off. “Yeah, that guy.”

There was a moment of silence before Shizuru was able to speak. And when she did, her tone was cold. Dangerous, almost. “He likes to assert his authority over people by brute force.”

Natsuki side-glanced at Shizuru when she heard the cold tone her friend had used. “...I see.” Natsuki mumbled, rubbing her neck once more, tugging the collar of her coat from it.

The rest of the trek was melted into silence. When they arrived to the pharmacy, Shizuru nudged for Natsuki to give her Rx slip to one of the consultants behind the counter.

“Right, yes.” Natsuki spoke, giving over the slip. “Give me drugs.” She deadpanned to the girl behind the counter. Caught off guard, the girl giggled and filled the order.

“How will Natsuki get home?” Shizuru asked.

Natsuki blinked in surprise at the last word, and looked to Shizuru as her order was filled. “Home?” Brows creased together in confusion, before she realized.

“Oh...uhm, I'll just walk I guess?” Natsuki looked the other way as her order finished.

“In your current condition, it will take you days,” the brunette argued.

Blushing slightly, Natsuki read her pill bottle carefully, before popping two pills in and washing them down with the water Shizuru had given her earlier. Pocketing the bottle, and her pills, Natsuki winced as she swallowed.

“Then a cab, or a bus.” Natsuki replied.

“Which one?”

“One or the other.” The taller student stuck her tongue out, and rubbed her bandages through her clothes.

“Right,” Shizuru replied. “Then, I will leave Natsuki to her own devices and return to my dorm.”

“I will see you later then!” Natsuki spoke, and nodded to Shizuru.

Shizuru nodded her head at the younger girl and turned briskly towards the door, leaving the blunette by herself.
Alone, the raven haired girl swallowed, her mouth very dry. Screwing her eyebrows together, Natsuki hit her knees and grabbed another wastebasket, vomiting once more.

Leaning on a light pole, she looked around, but her friend was nowhere to be seen. Lifting a hand, she quickly hailed a cab.

She got in, and told him to drive. When he asked for a location, she scowled. “I'll tell you where to stop.” Natsuki answered, and leaned back in the seat, wiping a bit of cold sweat from her forehead as the cab began to move.

Shizuru walked back to her dorm, mind still reeling from the happenings of the day. ‘So Kimura and his gang is striking again? Are they planning to make Natsuki their next target? Even if he does, what can I do about it. Natsuki doesn’t seem to want me involved.’

Shaking her thoughts out of her head, she plopped down at her computer and stared at the screen blankly. She had papers to write and homework to do. Yet, she can’t seem to get her mind to focus. The situation with Natsuki was bothering her more than she liked.

Sighing to herself, she laid down on her bed. ‘Maybe I’ll just sleep early tonight and do my work in the morning.’

Eyes open and staring up at the sky through the window, Natsuki touched her ribs as the sun rose. Sighing, she braced herself on the wall as she stood, then changed into clean clothes. Throwing her coat over a stunning electric blue long sleeved shirt, she sat on the bed and tried to put on her converses, but failed once her ribs flared.

“Natsuki, you can always ask for help, you know.”

Looking to the doorway, she smirked at the violet eyed young woman who was looking at her worriedly. “Please help me with my shoes, Mai.” Natsuki suppressed a snicker as Mai rushed over and did as she asked.

As Mai tied her shoes on for her, Natsuki looked the gentle girl over. Emeralds softened and Natsuki smiled. Until sharp claws dug themselves into her shoulder.

“Agh! Mai, get your stupid cat!” Natsuki roared, pulling the small cat off and dropping it.

“Mittens, we don't jump on Natsuki.” The carrot haired girl scolded her kitten, then smiled at Natsuki. “Well, you don't jump on Natsuki, Mittens. I do.” Mai laughed as she knelt between the blunette's legs and winked.

Natsuki growled with a blush. “Mai, stop that.” She spoke, scowling as she tried to stand.

Mai stood and helped her up as well, and smiled sweetly.

“Have fun at school!” The violet eyed girl slipped Natsuki's messenger bag onto the blunette's shoulder, and kissed her cheek. Natsuki just shook her head and exited the room, and Mai smiled after her.

“Mai is so weird.” Natsuki mumbled to herself as she walked into the campus. Spotting the willow tree, she smiled before remembering that is where the gang found her. The memory caused her ribs to flare, and she rummaged through her pockets and bag.

“Damn, I forgot my-”

“Pills?” Natsuki whipped around to see Mai, with the pill bottle.

Confused, Natsuki reached out and took them. “Thanks.” Still confused, she opened the bottle and took two.

"Missing something?" Mai asked as she lightly shook a water bottle in front of Natsuki. "I'll trade you this for a kiss."

“What?” Natsuki asked, a stupid grin coming onto her face at the absurdity of that. “Just give me the bottle, crazy.”

“Killjoy.” The redhead deadpanned.

Natsuki rolled her eyes, then ducked down quickly to give Mai a peck on the lips. “There, happy?” She scowled cutely.

“Could have been longer.” Mai stuck her tongue out and handed over the water. As she watched Natsuki take her pill, her eyes burned the image of that porcelain throat and the scar into her mind, as she's done time and time before.

“I'll see you at home Mai, bye!” Natsuki caught her attention, and Mai waved her injured friend off.

'I still don't know how she got that scar...' Mai tilted her head to the side, before shrugging and returning home.

Sitting in her Sociology class, Natsuki clutched at her ribs. Mentally, she scolded herself for talking to Mai for so long, end result being she had to hurry to her class.

Shizuru stumbled into class just in time and took her seat by the window. “Nice of you to join us, Miss Viola.” The professor snarkily remarked and a few students chuckled.

Natsuki rolled her eyes and looked out the window at the old willow. While she admired the sight, she cursed the fact that she had already lost what little pan relief those pills had given her.

Staring into the snow, her vision began to blur as she started to daydream. Shizuru and her were in the empty classroom, and Natsuki had forced the older student up against the window, lightly making Shizuru's cheek press into the glass.

Then, Natsuki revealed a bit of Shizuru's neck, and bit down hard.

“Oh, what the fuck?” Natsuki snapped out of it and looked confused, blushing slightly. “Miss Kuga? You alright back there?” Midori asked with a knowing look.

“Fine.” Natsuki squeaked and hid her face.

Shizuru turned her attention behind her to look at her blue-haired friend and smiled when she caught emerald eyes with her ruby ones.

If anything, that action caused Natsuki's blush to worsen, and a hostile looking smile to take over her face as she tried to beat back the blush, before finally she buried her head in her arms.

Frowning slightly at the reaction she was, Shizuru turned her attention back to the front, listening to the redheaded professor drone on and on about stereotyping.

“Ah jeez...” Natsuki whispered into her arms, closing her eyes tight as she tried to get rid of the mental image. 'Sex with Shizuru...Gah! Stop thinking, Kuga!' She sat up carefully and rubbed her temples.

Natsuki was determined to at least get some notes scribbled down, but her hands kept shaking. From either the disturbing image or the pain in her ribs, she didn't know.

“That concludes our lesson on Stereotyping, I'll see you next class.” The professor called out, and the students started to shift.

“Ara, Natsuki. Do you want to have sex?” a soft voice asked.

Natsuki whipped her head to look at the voice's owner. “Wha-what did you say?” Natsuki nervously licked her lips.

“Ara? I asked what class Natsuki has next,” the brunette replied. “What did Natsuki think I said?”

Letting out an obviously nervous chuckle, Natsuki shakily stood and pushed her hair out of her eyes.

“Uh, ahaha, nothing.” Natsuki waved it off and took her bag off her seat. “I've got English next, you?” The raven haired girl coughed, wiping her mouth discreetly on a tissue Mai had given her.

“Fencing,” replied the crimson-eyed girl.

“Fencing.” Natsuki repeated, rubbing her neck. The collar of her coat had really begun to irritate it in the winter.

Shizuru began to walked towards the door, stopping only once to wait for the blunette to catch up to her. “Yes. How is your stomach doing today?”

Once Natsuki caught up, she looked down to her stomach. “Better, I suppose. With the pills, it doesn't hurt so bad. No way I'll be starting in the game, though.” Natsuki spoke bitterly, with a fist clenched at her side. 'Nao will definitely not like to hear this.' The raven haired student thought, bringing a fist up and biting her thumb.

Almost as if to prove her right, Natsuki's phone vibrated as she got a text from her lime eyed friend. Opening it, Natsuki's face paled before she shut her phone and shoved it into her pocket once more. “Looks like I'm skipping my next class, I'll see you later Shizuru.” The raven haired girl spoke quietly, and walked off with stressed eyes.

Shizuru rushed to match the younger girl’s stride. When she caught up to her friend, she lightly touched the girl’s elbow. “Ara, is there something wrong, Natsuki?”

The taller student turned her head to Shizuru while still walking.

“That obvious, huh? Well...it's my friend Nao. We have a very complicated relationship.” Natsuki offered, eyes darting around and anxious.

“Complicated how?” Shizuru curiously asked.

Natsuki nervously played with her hair, as she had neglected to bring her skull cap today. “Nao was my first girlfriend, and we had a pretty violent breakup. Nao and I...we're like the Ouroborus. This vicious self-hurting cycle that we can't seem to escape from.” She quietly spoke, looking away.

“Oh? So what’s stopping Natsuki from ending the cycle?”

A rosy blush spread across the blunette's nose and cheeks. “We...were each others firsts...so we're attached.” She let out a slightly painful cough and tried to hide her blush by rubbing her nose.

"Ara... that's somewhat cute. But in my opinion, also very stupid."

Natsuki whipped her head to Shizuru with her brows pulled together. “Stupid?” She asked, her attention on Shizuru as a door opened and hit her in the face, laying her flat on her back.

“Ara, is Natsuki alright?” Shizuru asked as she rushed to Natsuki’s side.

“Why does this always happen when I'm around you?” Natsuki laughed childishly as she rubbed her nose and smiled up at Shizuru.

“Because Natsuki pays more attention to me than her surroundings,” Shizuru replied. “Oh my, I wonder if that’s an indication of something.”

Clutching the door handle and pulling herself up, Natsuki blushed again.

“My surroundings don't talk to me in a sexy Kyoto accent.” She countered with a crooked grin.

“Ara? Natsuki thinks my accent is sexy?” Shizuru asked, thickening her accent on purpose.

Realizing her plan at teasing Shizuru had backfired, rather marvelously, Natsuki's face blushed once more.

“Totally.” She uttered, looking away as she started to walk again, shaking her head and most likely cursing herself internally.

“I don’t mean to pry, but don’t you think it’s healthier to turn your relationship with Nao into best friends? Rather than, well, your endless cycle of hurt?”

“I've tried, but she never goes along with it, sooner or later it's the same old thing.” Natsuki spoke, shrugging.

“I see. In any case, it really wasn’t my business, so I do apologize if I was prying.”

Outside, Natsuki stopped and turned to Shizuru. “Why did you think it was stupid?” She asked, having probably just remembered that.

“Because you are needlessly hurting one another. And what’s worse is that you know you are needlessly hurting one another. In the end, that relationship will boil down to so much bitterness. And hate,” Shizuru replied, her voice growing softer with each word.

She turned her eyes away from the younger girl, afraid that they may be showing some emotion she didn’t mean to let slip. Her years with Ahn were still fresh in her memories. No matter how much time has passed between them, Ahn never left her. The woman left her person years ago, yes. But she never left her mind. She was always there, haunting her.

Natsuki looked for everything like a whipped puppy, and she too turned her eyes away, kicking at the snow idly. “It is stupid.” She finally spoke, voice barely audible over the whipping arctic wind. “It is stupid, how much she loves me. And it's stupid how much we hurt each other. It's stupid how we can't stay together, or stand to be apart. It is stupid, but it can't be stopped.”

“If you want my advice, Natsuki, I’d say you need space. You both need space, away from each other. To either sort out your feelings or let it die,” Shizuru reponded. ‘That’s what I should have done.’

“Thanks Shizuru.” Natsuki smiled sweetly, then remembered the text she had received. “Unfortunately, I still have to go to her. I'll see you around, and be careful.” Natsuki took one of Shizuru's hand for a second and squeezed, before heading off.

“It’s not a problem, Natsuki,” the brunette replied to the younger girl’s retreating figure.

She decided that if she didn’t want to be late to class, that she should hurry. The crimson-eyed woman sped-walked to her fencing class, and hurriedly changed into the appropriate attire for the class.

Approaching the familiar apartment door, Natsuki sighed and knocked three times. The last a bit heavier than the first two, and she waited.

The door opened and she was enveloped in a tight hug that made her groan in pain. “Natsuki?” She inwardly winced at the redhead's worried voice, and she was taken into the apartment before the door was closed.

“What's wrong?” Nao had cuddled under Natsuki's chin and was awaiting her answer.

“Nothing Nao.” The answer didn't satisfy the redhead, and before the blunette could stop her, she had lifted up her shirt and seen the bandages.

Lime eyes went wide with worry and Nao looked into guilty emeralds. “What happened?” Natsuki shrugged off the question, and her military coat as she sat on one of the two black armchairs that accompanied the couch in the sitting room.

She felt a warm hand idly trace the scar on her throat, and Nao soon was sitting in her lap, looking expectantly at her. “Just...some bigots.” Natsuki turned her head to the side, which was a mistake.

“Your jaw too...” Warm hands cupped her chin as Nao stroked the bruise gently, before placing a few feather light kisses to it. “My poor baby...”

Natsuki grimaced a bit. “Nao, I'm not yours. You're not mine.” She whispered, and her eyes shut tight when she felt the redhead tighten against her.

Suddenly, she was pulled from the chair and was face to face with the redheaded girl, who looked angry and hurt.

“Then get the hell out.” The bitterness in Nao's voice made Natsuki want to change her mind just to get the guilt out of her heart.

“Nao-” Her reply was cut off by a vicious slap across the face, right where her bruise was. She yelped, and split the corner of her lip as she grimaced in pain.

“Natsuki! I'm sorry!” Nao rapidly apologized, tears in her eyes. Nao wrapped her arms around the older woman's neck, and buried her face in her shoulder.

Natsuki held her for quite some time, before she spoke in a quiet and ghostly voice. “Why do we do this to ourselves?” She asked, licking the blood from her lip before it could drip onto the floor.

She felt Nao shakily exhale against her. “I love you.” Natsuki clenched her eyes shut at the answer, and just tightened her hold.

Later that night, Natsuki finally left the apartment, feeling disappointed and disgusted with herself. Briefly, she touched the cut on her lip and hissed as she walked through the snow.

As she walked through the night, her breath became puffs of white air against the inked atmosphere. The temperature was freezing, but she didn't want to stay with Nao.

The redhead was clearly crazy for her, but Natsuki hadn't felt that way about her first love in a long time. Idly, she wondered if she ever had.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice a patch of black ice as she walked across it. “Ah!” She let out a surprised cry as she slid, and eventually fell onto her left leg.

Shizuru sighed as she walked through the double doors of a hospital. Her visit today ended later than usual, not that it really mattered to her. Haruka and Reito accompanied her earlier, but they left due to time constraints with their schedule.

‘Still, it was thoughtful of them to come see her with me,’ she thought.

She wandered the streets aimlessly, since she didn’t want to coop herself inside her dorm room. These visits always put a toll on her mood, and locking herself in her small room does not help any.

The sound of a surprised yelp caught her attention. She looked towards the direction and made out that the figure of someone fallen on the ground. Sighing to herself slightly once again, she made her way over the to person who, Shizuru assumed, slipped.

“Ara, are you-- Natsuki?” Shizuru’s asked as she bent down to help the girl up. ‘This scent... Natsuki smells like winter. Like ice... and sex? Was Natsuki and Nao... nevermind, Shizuru. It’s none of your business.’

“Shizuru?” Recognizing the voice, Natsuki was thankful it was dark enough to hide her blush. She felt shameful, and rightfully so. “It seems you're always around to pick me up.” The raven haired girl tenderly tested out her leg, glad to see she could stand on it normally.

“Ara, you make me out to seem like Natsuki’s knight in shining armor,” Shizuru replied. “Though, I don’t mind playing such a role in your life.”

Letting out a small chuckle, Natsuki spoke. “I should be the knight, not the idiot who gets herself hurt over everything.”

“And why does Natsuki think she should be the knight? I find myself hurt less often than Natsuki.”

The raven haired student smirked to herself as the two began to walk. “I'm taller?” She gave a horrible excuse and laughed at it.

Shizuru laughed at the silly reason and replied, “Yes, Natsuki is indeed taller. But that doesn’t mean that I am weaker.”

Natsuki fondly smiled at Shizuru as they passed under a lamppost.

“You are right, you're not weak at all.” She spoke quietly, but loud enough for Shizuru to hear her.

“Ara, I’m so happy that Natsuki acknowledges this. But I wonder how it is that Natsuki knows this. I was under the impression I look quite defenseless.”

Natsuki rolled her eyes, placing a hand on Shizuru's shoulder as they stopped under the lamppost.

“However you look is quite different than what you are inside. I knew you weren't weak, and you've proven to be much stronger and braver than I. I observe a lot of things.” Natsuki gave a shrug as she stood in front of the brunette. Idly, she licked the cut on her lip as she thought about strength.

Shizuru reached her hand up and caressed Natsuki’s chin, lightly grazing her thumb over the corner of her lips. “What happened, Natsuki?”

Giving a tiny hiss at the feeling of Shizuru touching the cut, Natsuki's chin trembled a bit before she steeled it.

“Ah...Nao kind of slapped me.” She admitted, her face lighting up in a shame-filled blush.

“She didn’t just kind of slap you. She really slapped you, hard. What happened?”

Chewing her tongue, Natsuki sighed slightly. “I tried to separate myself from her, tried to tell her I wasn't hers, and she wasn't mine. And she got mad.”

Removing her hand from Natsuki’s face, Shizuru sighed and replied, “I stand by what I said. You two need space from one another. You can’t just go running to her whenever she beckons you to. I don’t know what you get out of it, but it’s not healthy. And you know it.”

Missing the warmth of Shizuru's hand, Natsuki nodded at the older woman's words. “I do know...I should have just ignored her. But I'm too much of an idiot.” The raven haired student growled the last word and rubbed her bruised jaw.

“No. You just feel too much. You feel too guilty. Like you’re abandoning her. And you don’t want to do that. But Natsuki, you have to understand that that’s not the case.”

Clenching her jaw, because everything that Shizuru was saying was true, so damn true, Natsuki glared at the snow on the ground.

“I wish I had the courage to just leave her. To firmly let her know I don't love her, but every time I try...” Natsuki trailed off and ran a hand through her hair.

“Did you have sex with her?” Shizuru asked.

Her eyes widened slightly, realizing that she had blurted out the question she never meant to ask. But it has been circling her mind since she first speculated it. And she was curious, so instead of taking the question back, she settled for giving Natsuki a questioning gaze.

Surprised at the question, and the bluntness of Shizuru, Natsuki scowled with an immense blush before she hit herself in the head.

“Yes.” She sighed and gave up on standing, opting to fall slowly to her knees in surrender.

“And do you regret it?” the brunette continued to ask, eyes following Natsuki as she descended.

“God yes.” Burying her face into her hands, Natsuki sighed deeply as she stayed in her position of absolute shame and surrender.

“So why did you do it?”

Natsuki threw her hands up in frustration. “Because I'm an idiot! I'm a stupid weak little monster!” She declared and gathered some snow in her hands before throwing it into the air above her, making it fall on her downcast head.

Shizuru kneels down in front of Natsuki and spoke to her in a soft, gentle tone. “I’m not asking because I’m judging you, Natsuki. I’m asking because these questions are the questions you should have asked yourself. I understand where you are coming from, so please don’t be mad at me when I tell you that it’s time you detach yourself. She’ll hurt for a while. Maybe she’ll even hate you for a while. But if she really loves you, then she’ll understand that it’s for the best.”

Natsuki took a breath and let it out in a small cloud. "I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at myself for being so weak.”

She spoke, lifting her head to look Shizuru in the eye. A few moments of silence passed between them as Natsuki stared deeply into Shizuru's crimson eyes.

When their gaze met and held, Shizuru had an intense urge to kiss the younger girl. Something about her made her so utterly cute at that moment.

‘No, Shizuru! Bad Shizuru! Natsuki is in turmoil now. Don’t take advantage of her. You can’t take advantage of her,’ she scolded herself.

“I'll tell her in the morning.” Natsuki finally spoke again, nodding once.

When Natsuki spoke, she broke the brunette out of her thoughts, startling the older woman.

“A-Ara. Right. Sounds good,” Shizuru stumbled out.

Natsuki's face turned more serious and her eyes pierced through Shizuru's. “You alright?” She whispered, husky voice dropping lower in her concern.

“Ara, of course. I was just thinking, is all,” Shizuru replied, waving the question away as if it was silly.

“Alright.” Natsuki spoke low again, then tilted her face up to view the moon, the bright stars twinkling against the satin night sky. “We should probably go home.” She spoke again.

“Shall I wake Natsuki home then?” the crimson-eyed girl asked. “I’m not particularly busy at the moment. And I wouldn’t want to you find yourself on the ground again without me to pick you up.” Shizuru teased, giving her companion a wink at the last comment.

Natsuki smirked, but then let it slide into a warm smile. “I'd like that, Shizuru.”

Standing, she shivered, and only now did her notice she had forgotten her worn coat at Nao's. Her electric blue long sleeved shirt probably wouldn't hold up for much longer in this cold weather. Shizuru followed Natsuki as she stood up, and noticed that the girl was shivering.

“You’re cold,” Shizuru said, as she pulled her friend into a hug and rubbed her back. “Let’s get you home quick, shall we?” The brunette let go of her taller companion before grabbing her hand. “Now, lead the way, Natsuki.”

Overpowered by immense warmth, Natsuki looked down into warm eyes and smiled, though she was surprised. Giving Shizuru's hand a squeeze, Natsuki looked around before finding the right direction, and beginning to lead the way.

“So, how far does Natsuki live from here?” Shizuru asked after they have been walking for about ten minutes.

Blowing a long puff of air out, Natsuki turned her head to smile at Shizuru again.

“Nao lives on one side of the university, and I live on the other with my friend Mai.” Natsuki offered, taking in deep breaths as she walked.

“Ara, I see,” the brunette said.

And the silence resumed. By the time the two had wandered onto the college campus, Natsuki could barely feel the hand that wasn't encased in Shizuru's.

“God, it's freezing.” Natsuki whispered as the two walked through the snow, but she still managed to smile dazzlingly at Shizuru.

Shizuru stopped in her tracks and released Natsuki’s hand in order to unravel the scarf around her. Then, she stepped forward and threw the scarf around the blunette’s neck. “There.”

“Huh?” Natsuki blinked, moving a hand to the scarf. It was soft, and oh so very warm. And, Natsuki noted with a smile, it smelled of Shizuru.

Snapping out of that, she addressed the older girl. “But won't you be cold?” Natsuki rubbed the back of her neck.
“I am much, much warmer than Natsuki is at the moment,” Shizuru answered as she grabbed Natsuki’s other hand. “Now, let’s go before you freeze to death.”

Smiling, Natsuki gave a low chuckle, and held Shizuru's hand with care. She blushed, chewing her tongue as she entertained herself with thoughts about the brunette. She swallowed thickly as her thoughts ran a bit wild.
'How would she taste if I kissed her? Gah Natsuki, you are a pervert!' The raven haired student shook her head with a blush, but still wondered how Shizuru would feel if they had no distance between them and were kissing.

“Ara, Natsuki?” Shizuru asked, waving a hand in front of her friend.

Blinking, Natsuki shook her head and blushed. “Huh?” Came her intelligent reply.

“You were in a daze. What were you thinking about?”

Looking at Shizuru, Natsuki licked her lips nervously as her eyes seared the image of the chestnut haired woman's face in the moonlight into her mind. “Ah, nothing.” Letting out a nervous laugh, Natsuki put on a matching smile.

Shizuru chuckled. “That is such a lie.”

Natsuki chuckled as well. “Well, it's better than letting you know what I'm thinking, trust me.” Natsuki gave a wink.

“Ara... No. What were you thinking?” The older woman pushed.

Natsuki waved a hand. “It's nothing important.” Natsuki assured her good friend.

Shizuru stopped and frowned at her friend. “That’s not nice, Natsuki. Getting me curious about something and then not telling me what it is...”

Natsuki furrowed her brows.

“It's embarrassing, come on, it doesn't matter anyway.” Natsuki smiled, looking a bit confused.

“Ara, but I am curious. And you should not keep answers from a curious woman. Now, tell me.”

Natsuki blew another puff of air, then looked at Shizuru with a quirked brow. “I was thinking about you. There, better?” She looked away, chewing on the inside of her cheek.

"Not yet. What about me?"

Natsuki growled and tugged at her hair. “Argh, just forget it.” Natsuki shook her head, ruffling her hair nervously.

Deciding to tease the answer out of the girl, Shizuru said the first thing that came to mind. “Ara, could it be that Natsuki was thinking about kissing me?”

Natsuki stopped in her tracks and stood shockingly straight in her immense embarrassment. A strangled noise of humiliation clawed its way out of her throat as she smacked a hand onto her face, groaning.

Shizuru did not expect the reaction that she received. She had only uttered what she, herself, was thinking. But now, she was beginning to think that maybe she wasn’t the only one having those thoughts. “Ara? Was I... correct?”

Swallowing, Natsuki looked at the stars then at the pristine snow as it sparkled. “Haha...yeah.” She snickered nervously.

“I see...” Shizuru replied.

Before her brain could tell her otherwise, she reached up and grabbed the back of Natsuki’s neck. Then, she pulled the taller girl down and gave her a quick peck on the lips before releasing her hold and moving to walk ahead of the blue-haired girl.

“Let’s get going before you turn into a popsicle,” the older girl called out.

Natsuki just stood there and stared blankly after the older girl, before she licked her lips. Warmth spread inside her, and her stomach did a little flip. Natsuki smiled and walked after Shizuru. Grabbing for the brunette's hand, she lightly tugged until the wine eyed woman was facing her.

Before she could speak, Natsuki dipped down and captured her lips in a more time consuming kiss.

Surprised by the sudden move, Shizuru did nothing but allow it to happen. But as the seconds ticked away, her brain finally registered what was happening and she lightly pushed Natsuki back.

“Ara, what was that for?” Shizuru asked, not really knowing what to say in this situation.

Natsuki sheepishly looked away. “I'm sorry.” She apologized and kicked the snow at her feet.

“That doesn’t answer my question, Natsuki.”

“I felt like it?” Natsuki shrugged a shoulder.

“Let’s get you back to your apartment,” Shizuru replied, turning to continue the path they were walking in.

“Alright.” Natsuki shoved her hands into her jean pockets. 'Idiot.' She angrily thought.

The rest of their trip was silent, with Natsuki idly kicking up more snow and darkening her jeans with the melted water. Finally, they came upon Natsuki's apartment. The lights lit up the corridor outside the apartment doors.

Taking Shizuru's scarf from around her neck, Natsuki offered it to the older woman.

“You can keep it, until you get your jacket back,” Shizuru said.

Natsuki quirked a brow at her. “Alright then.” She draped it across her shoulders, but didn't cover her neck with it.
“Goodnight then, Natsuki,” Shizuru said as she slowly started backing up. “Don’t catch a cold now.”

“Goodnight Shizuru.” Natsuki clenched her jaw and leaned against her door. As she watched Shizuru turn her back, the blunette called after her. “Please don't be mad at me.

Turning to face Natsuki once again, Shizuru gave her a confused look. “Ara? I’m not mad at Natsuki. What makes her think such a thing?”

Giving a small cough, Natsuki spoke once she cleared her throat. “You seemed mad when I kissed you.” She explained.

“I am mad. But not at you. I am mad at myself, for kissing you first. I should not have done it. It was wrong of me to be taking advantage of you like that.”

“Taking advantage of me? Is that what you think you were doing?” Natsuki asked as she pushed off of the door and took a few steps toward Shizuru.

Shizuru lowered her eyes to the ground, and nodded.

Natsuki closed the distance between them, and placed a hand on Shizuru's shoulder. “You weren't, alright? Trust me.” Natsuki gave a small smile as she nodded once.

“Thank you, Natsuki,” Shizuru replied, finally allowing herself to stare into emerald orbs.

A painful memory of something that happened earlier today in the hospital flashed before her eyes, causing her to break eye contact with the blunette and turn away.

“I should be heading back to my dorm now,” Shizuru said. “Goodnight then.”

“Goodnight, Shizuru.” Natsuki spoke, and watched until she couldn't see the brunette any longer.

Entering the apartment, she leaned heavily on the door and began to shiver violently. “Natsuki?” Mai came out of her room and blinked at the state Natsuki was in. Turning on a lamp, violet eyes widened.

“Natsuki! Your lips are tinged blue!” Worried, the carrot haired girl brought her friend to the couch and wrapped a blanket around the blunette. “You forgot your jacket at Nao's didn't you?” Mai asked, rubbing Natsuki's arms through the blanket.

“Hehe, yeah.” Despite the cold, Natsuki had a warm smile on her face. “You're so thoughtless sometimes.” Mai sighed, and sat on the couch, snuggling up with Natsuki under the blanket.

Tucked under the blunette's chin, Mai kept rubbing Natsuki's arms. “You always find a way to make me worry, don't you, Natsuki.” She spoke softly, nuzzling the cold column of her neck.

After a few minutes, Natsuki's shivering didn't stop. “We need to get you into a nice hot nath.” Mai nodded, and helped Natsuki up.

Gathering up some fresh clothes for Natsuki, and some fresh bandages for her ribs, Mai turned the hot water on. “Mai, is this really-” Natsuki was cut off by Mai unzipping her jeans.

“Yes, it is necessary.” Mai spoke, and took the scarf from around Natsuki's neck, placing it on her pile of fresh clothes. Taking the electric blue shirt off of Natsuki gently, Mai looked over her bandages.

Once Natsuki was down to her bra and boxer shorts, which Mai snickered at because they had red hearts on them, the carrot haired girl helped Natsuki remove her sports bra.

Being professional, Mai began to unwrap the bandages. Once they were off, Mai couldn't help but gasp at the extreme damage. The skin was angrily bruised, and looked fragile.

Natsuki looked away, embarrassed and shameful. Mai just shook her head, sad that her friend wouldn't tell her what had happened. Removing her boxers, the violet eyed girl helped her friend into the bath to warm up.

“How's the temperature?” Mai asked, kneeling beside the tub. Natsuki covered her chest, but at the violet glare she received, she sighed.

“It's perfect.” Natsuki spoke quietly.

“I'm glad.” Mai smiled sweetly, and began to wash her friend.

Once she applied the bandages once more, taking gentle care, Mai helped Natsuki put her shirt on. Noticing the blunette's color coming back, Mai smiled.

Then she hit Natsuki on the head. “You scared me, you idiot!”

“Calm down Mai!” The two started to laugh and eventually retired to their own rooms.

Before Natsuki fell asleep, she took out her cell phone. Dialing, she held it to her ear and waited.

“Nao...we need to talk.” She spoke gravely.

Happy New Years, Mai Multiverse!

With the new year, I bring to you the third installment of this awesometastic collab piece that Hollowed and I have been working on.

==================================================================================
Chapter 3: Hurting
==================================================================================

Once she woke up, Natsuki felt horrible. Remembering all that had happened the day before, and the events of that night, made her torn between staying in bed or going out.

Then she remembered her conversation with Nao the night before. The two had agreed to meet up so that they could talk. She felt sick to her stomach, from the physical pain and from the pain she knew she'd feel when she met Nao face to face.

Standing, her vision blurred and she quickly entered the bathroom, vomiting into the toilet. Mai quickly came in to hold her hair back, and helped her wash her mouth out.

“Where are your pills?” The violet eyed girl asked.

“I left them at Nao's.” Natsuki grimaced.

Mai frowned. “You're going to go over there again, huh?” Mai asked, helping Natsuki up.

“I have to end this sick cycle.” The raven haired student spoke, glaring at the tiled floor. Mai nodded and squeezed Natsuki's shoulder.

“Just don't sleep with her. You know, like last night. Just saying.” Mai laughed and Natsuki groaned. Another perfect day.

Ready to confront her issue of the day, Natsuki quickly shrugged on a thin jacket over her long sleeved black shirt. “Wait, are you gonna take this?” The raven haired student turned to see Mai holding out Shizuru's scarf.

Natsuki smiled slightly at the memory, she picked the scarf from her friend's hand. “Thanks Mai.” She wound it around her neck, covering her scar and warming her neck.

“Good luck.” Mai leaned against her doorway as Natsuki left, and quietly sighed. Mittens rubbed against her ankles and she smiled down at the sweet kitten. “I hope she finds what she's looking for.” Mai confided in the kitten, before checking the time.

“I'm gonna be late for class.” She sighed and picked up her bags, giving Mittens her food before rushing off.

Steeling herself, Natsuki jogged a bit until she found herself standing outside of Nao's door. Taking a deep breath, she knocked. The door immediately opened and Natsuki entered.

“Nao.” Natsuki acknowledged the girl as she shut the door behind her.

“Natsuki.” Nao smiled up at her.

“You know why I'm here. I can't do this anymore, the yelling, the violence. I just can't.” Natsuki steeled an icy glare as Nao came closer.

“You're the same as when I first met you. Afraid of everything.” Nao spoke with acid in her sweet voice as she circled the taller girl.

“I'm not afraid, I just can't take your abuse anymore.” Natsuki barked, following Nao with her glare.

“You're still running away. Pathetic.” Nao hissed in Natsuki's ear, before flicking her tongue across the raven haired girl's lobe. Natsuki flinched away, but Nao fastened a hold on her jaw, pressing into the bruise.

“You belong with me, Kuga. To me.” Nao glared into rebellious emerald as Natsuki's eyes teared from the pain. Slapping her hand away, Natsuki turned to leave, before being wrenched back.

Moving her hands over Natsuki's bandaged stomach, Nao narrowed her eyes when Natsuki grabbed her wrists tightly to still them. Wrenching one free, the redhead slapped her viciously like she had done the day before.

This time, she didn't stop. After three slaps, Natsuki coughed and spit up a little blood. Feeling Nao's hands on her stomach again, the blunette groaned in pain when the redhead pressed down on her ribs.

“You feel this? This deep pain?” Nao asked, pressing harder.

Her vision blurry and her mind filled with pain, Natsuki just clenched her eyes shut as she felt her strength melting away.

“This is how I feel. And this is how you're going to feel for a long, long time.” Nao then pushed Natsuki into the wall, pressing hard on her ribs while glaring up at the taller girl.

Natsuki felt something shift inside, then blacked out from the immense pain.

“You're pathetic.” The lime eyed girl spoke to the unconscious blunette, cold steel in her eyes. “You are nothing without me.” Nao spoke again, then turned her head to the hallway behind her.

“Takeda, get out here.” Sounds of rummaging were heard before the tanned young man emerged. “Get rid of this trash, and hurry back.” Nao winked at the taller boy, and returned to her room.

Takeda groaned slightly in annoyance as he lugged Natsuki into his arms, and opened the front door. No one was out this early, and so he easily walked a few ways away before dropping her carelessly into the cold snow, running back to rejoin his red haired minx.

The porcelain skinned woman's limp body laid there until somewhere around mid-morning, when someone noticed her and called for help to have her admitted to the nearest hospital. The arctic wind whistled and rustled the tendrils of the old willow tree, tangling them and making a nervous knot.

Being rolled in on a gurney, raven hair looking as if it could paint the solid white pillow black, Natsuki was admitted and looked over. Undoing the bandages and assessing the damage, one doctor pressed lightly on where the bruising was worse. In her unconsciousness, Natsuki still managed to flinch and grimace.

“A rib or two broken.” He reported as he handed a clipboard to a nurse. “We'll need x-rays and to bandage them again once it's finished. Not much to do for a broken rib, I'm afraid. The body has to mend them.” He explained to one of the college aides.

The doctor nodded to the two nurses assisting him, and they began to roll the gurney down the halls of the hospital to the x-ray room. The scarf, having been rustled about in the examination of the blunette, fell to the busy hospital floor as the gurney pushed on.

The x-rays were taken without interruption, Natsuki was still passed out from the pain of her ordeal. Flinching whenever a nurse tried to bandage her, eventually the three nurses had to strap her arms and lower stomach down.

It wasn't until after her ribs were bandaged once more that she finally awoke, an IV being plunged into her arm. “Agh...” She protested weakly, uncomfortable with the needle in her arm. She did not stay awake long, as the morphine stopped her pain she slipped off into a trouble sleep.

The monitor beeped slowly but steadily.

Shizuru lightly closed the door behind her as she entered the hallway. She slowly made her way to the waiting doctor, who was busy scribbling on a clipboard. The doctor was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his 40s, with salt-and-pepper hair and gentle brown eyes.

“She’s... getting more violent, doctor,” she said, wringing and un-wringing her hands.

“Yes. And I’m very sorry that there isn’t much we can do,” he replied. “If it’s okay with you, I want to increase her dosage.”

“Do you think that will decrease her violent outbursts?”

“I cannot say for sure. But at this very moment, that’s all I can do in this situation.”

“Ok, then.”

The doctor scribbled down some words on his clipboard and handed it to a passing nurse. “I’m truly sorry that someone as young as you have to go through this.”

“Thank you, doctor”

“It’s not a problem. Have a good night. And try to relax.”

He gave her a warm smile before disappearing into the busy hallway with hustling nurses and bustling doctors. Sighing to herself, Shizuru started walking down the hall that she has become very familiar with over the past few years. She climbed down a few sets of stairs and entered the emergency room area of the hospital.

‘Nee-san,’ Shizuru thought solemnly. ‘What happened to you?’

She walked mindlessly down another hall until she felt that she kicked something. Looking down, she spotted a familiar piece of clothing. Deciding to pick it up so that no one would trip on it, she carefully began to fold it, with the intention of turning it in to the lost and found.

Then, she spotted a familiar tear and the sloppy repair job.

‘I lent this to Natsuki,’ Shizuru thought as she finally made the connection that the scarf belonged to her. ‘Does that mean-- oh no.’

Shizuru rushed to the nearest information area and grabbed the attention of a nurse with a panic-filled voice. “Excuse me. Is a Kuga Natsuki admitted into this hospital right now?”

“How are you related to the patient?” the nurse asked with a fake smile.

“I’m her sister-in-law,” Shizuru lied.

“Let me check,” the nurse replied as she began typing at her computer. “Hm. Yes, she’s currently in room 245.”

“Thank you very much!” Shizuru half-shouted as she took off.

She found the aforementioned room number fairly fast, with her quick stride and mental map of the hospital, which was ingrained into her brain. When she approached the door marked ‘245’, she peeked through the tiny slit to find her freshman friend lying on a bed, unmoving. Pushing the door to open wider, she slowly walked over to the blue-haired girl, wishing and hoping and praying that she was alright.

“Natsuki?” Shizuru asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

The monitor that relayed the girl's heartbeat sped slightly, but there was no physical change from Natsuki. Her chest was bare except for her bra and the bandages. Her arms draped over the blanket that covered her waist and down.

“Natsuki?” Shizuru tried again, this time only two notches above a whisper.

She clutched onto her scarf harder when she received no sign that the blunette was awake. Her shaking hand slowly moved to hover over the girl’s bandaged stomach, afraid to actually touch. Her eyes traveled up from there, and rested on the unconscious girl’s face. The slit on her lip from last night was still there, and in addition to that, a black and blue bruise was visible on her jaw.

Shizuru gently wrapped her scarf on one of Natsuki’s hands; the one that was further away from her. Then, she looked around the room for a chair, spotting one in a corner. After discarding her jacket onto it, she pushed it so that it was next to the bed Natsuki was laying on. She took a seat as she enveloped Natsuki’s other hand into her own, placing her head on the bed before closing her eyes.

‘Please be okay, Natsuki. I’m right here,’ she thought, before her mind drifted off into dreamland.

The sun was just dying when Natsuki finally awoke, her sooty eyelashes slowly revealing dazed emerald. Her window wasn't open, but the curtains were, and she could see the sun setting, painting the sky a blood-orange color.

Feeling something on her hand, she tiredly turned her head to the side to see it. It was Shizuru's scarf, and it confused her. 'Wasn't this on my neck?' She idly thought, before feeling pressure on her other hand.

Blinking slowly to clear her vision, her eyes widened. “Sh...” She couldn't speak, but she recognized the chestnut hair, and felt safe that her friend was there. Weakly, she squeezed the hand in hers.

Shizuru stirred in her sleep. In her half-dazed mind, she accessed that she was sitting in a chair. Confused as to why, she let her mind re-run through the events that happened yesterday. School, daily visit to the hospital, scarf, Natsuki.

‘Natsuki!’ Shizuru thought as her eyes shot open.

She picked herself off of the bed and looked over at the blunette.

Tired, yet happy emerald eyes smiled at her, and Natsuki mouthed a greeting to her now awake friend. She sharply swallowed, wincing a little at that action, and closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again.

Her vision shifted from Shizuru's eyes to the ceiling, and she licked her lips as she tried to focus.

“Good evening, Natsuki. I wonder why it is that I always find you hurt,” Shizuru greeted.

Giving a weak crooked grin at that, the raven haired girl's vision finally focused. Able to see her friend's face without it being blurred, her grin turned into a small sweet smile. The monitor sped up a little more, and she drew her brows together.

Standing up, Shizuru stretched her body and relieved herself of all the kinks from sleeping in a near-sitting position. “Would Natsuki like some water?”

Licking her lips again, Natsuki gave a quick nod and smiled at her friend again. She lifted a hand to gingerly brush her hair out of her eyes and stretched it toward the ceiling. Though the action caused some discomfort, she repeated it with the other. Slowly bringing it down onto her chest, she rubbed the scarf lightly with her fingers.

Shizuru ventured out into the hallway, walking to the closest vending machine that she could find. She inserted some coins in exchange for a water bottle before heading back to the room where Natsuki resided. When she returned, she found the younger girl idly stroking her scarf.

“Here you are, Natsuki,” Shizuru offered her companion the water bottle, making sure to twist open the cap for her first.

Accepting the bottle from her friend, Natsuki sat up slightly with a wince. Sipping delicately from the bottle, the blunette swallowed gently, to avoid any harsh pains.

Clearing her throat, she placed the bottle on the table within her reach. “Thanks Shizuru.” Her voice was scratchy, but understandable.

“Natsuki is welcome,” Shizuru replied as she re-capped the bottle. Then, she turned her attention back to her friend, staring deeply into emerald orbs. “What happened?”

Blinking a bit more to focus her vision again, Natsuki lifted her hand to brush her hair to the side again, being mindful of the IV in her arm. “I went to go see Nao, to officially end our...whatever it was.” She started, still stroking the scarf.

“She got mad...furious really. She spoke about how I was pathetic, how I belonged to her. When I argued, she only said that I was running away. She put her hands on my stomach, and I grabbed them to push them off. She slapped me like last night, but harder and more than once. Then she pushed me into the wall, and I think she broke one of my ribs.” Natsuki shook her head, her hands shaking slightly.

“Ara, I see,” Shizuru replied, not knowing what to say.

“That's all I remember, until waking up here.” Natsuki finished, licking her lips again.

“Is there someone I should notify of Natsuki’s current predicament?” Shizuru asked.

“I don't have any--...oh wait. I live with my friend, Mai. She's probably wondering where I am.” Natsuki raised her hand to her eyes, rubbing them to focus more.

“Does Natsuki have her number?” the brunette asked as she pulled out her cellphone.

Lowering her hand, she gave Shizuru the number. Her ribs started to throb, so she slid back down into a full laying position. The hand with the scarf starting to rub her ribcage gently.

Shizuru dialed the numbers on her phone and proceeded to press the ‘call’ button. The line rang a couple of times before a female voice answered.

“Tokiha Mai, may I ask whose calling?” The voice spoke, seemingly too cheery for this situation.

“Ara, good evening Tokiha-san. Might you happen to have a roommate by the name of Kuga Natsuki?” Shizuru asked, making sure she called the right number.

“Natsuki? Is something wrong? Yes, she's my roommate!” Mai sounded a bit more frantic now, and Natsuki guiltily looked down.

“Ara, please calm down, Tokiha-san. Natsuki is fine. She is with me right now, at the Tokyo University Hospital,” the brunette said.

A relieved breath rushed into the phone. “What happened to her?” The redhead asked, wondering if she should rush over there.

“Her friend seems to have broken her ribs,” Shizuru answered, not sure if she should use Nao’s name.

A few moments of silence passed, before Mai spoke again. “That little...does Natsuki need anything?” The redhead's voice sounded angry but still concerned.

Shizuru turned to Natsuki and asked her, “Tokiha-san wants to know if you wanted anything...”

Giving a small grimace, Natsuki shook her head slightly. Her skin had paled, and the corners of her lips had pulled down. Her breathing had gotten a little labored as well.

“Tokiha-san?” Shizuru asked, speaking into the phone again, “Natsuki says no.”

Noticing that the blunette was starting to have labored breaths, Shizuru rushed out into the hall to grab the closest hospital personnel she could find. “Excuse me, nurse. Can you please get a doctor for room 245? The patient is awakened and having labored breaths.”

“Of course.” The nurse replied and hurried off.

“Is Natsuki okay?” Mai's voice was heard as the transaction happened.

“I’m sorry to worry you, Tokiha-san,” Shizuru said as she walked back into the room and hovered over the blunette.

She noticed the bag of liquid that is attached to Natsuki’s arm was near-empty. Upon noticing that, she realized that the reason for Natsuki’s labored breaths were most likely from pain, as the pain-killing drug was slowly wearing off.

“Ara, Natsuki will be fine. I think she’s in a lot of pain right now,” Shizuru continued. From her peripheral vision, she spotted the presence of someone wearing a white lab-coat. “I’m going to get off the phone now, Tokiha-san. The doctor has just arrived.”

“Oh, okay. Thank you!”

“It’s not a problem. Goodbye.” Shizuru closed her flip phone and pocketed the tiny device as she watched the doctor approach.

Grabbing the clipboard, he read it quickly and recruited the help of two nurses. With one glance at the girl's pale face, sweat building up, the three hospital workers started to replace Natsuki's empty IV bag with a fresh one.

When the morphine drip started once more, Natsuki closed her eyes to try to rush the sweet relief of the numbness. Opening them again, she began to breathe normally, albeit a bit slow.

The three medics checked to make sure everything was running as it should, and that their patient was in no discomfort, before hurrying off to another emergency.

Natsuki turned her head to Shizuru, but looked past her with a scared and distressed look.

“I see you're still alive.” A venomous voice coated in false sweetness filled the room from the red-haired girl leaning on the door frame. Striding into the room as if nothing had ever happened except love between herself and Natsuki, she stood a few steps away and smirked.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Natsuki's weak voice didn't carry, but the redhead heard her well enough.

“You should save your strength for other, more satisfying things.” The lime eyed girl spoke back strongly, reaching for the bottle of water on the table.

Unscrewing it, she held it to Natsuki's lips with a smirk. Steely glare gave out to weakness, and Natsuki pitifully drank.

“Ara,” Shizuru started, bringing attention to herself as she stared at the redhead. “My name is Shizuru. Viola Shizuru. Who might you be?”

“Oh look, my little puppy has gotten herself a bodyguard. So cute.” The girl spoke with sarcasm, tilting the water bottle. Sputtering at the larger flow of water, Natsuki pushed the bottle away with the scarf-less hand, wiping the water from her face.

“Oops.” The redhead gave a little giggle. “I am Yuuki Nao.” She finally answered Shizuru with a smirk.

“Ara, I see. So you’re Nao,” the brunette replied, voice barely reigning the hate.

She pulled out a small handkerchief from her pocket and crossed the distance to Natsuki, handing the soft cloth the to blunette while forcing the redhead to retreat a little further away.

While she stepped away, Nao swiped the clipboard and read it. “Well well, a broken rib I see. That's a shame, those hurt. A lot.” Nao grinned evilly as she placed the clipboard back.

Natsuki gave Shizuru an uneasy smile and used the cloth to rid herself of the cold water.

“Indeed they do, Yuuki-san. Have you ever had broken ribs before?” Shizuru asked.

“Honestly? Nope. I don't get hurt.” Nao's smirk filled in the rest of that sentence.

'I don't get hurt, I hurt others.' Natsuki recalled hearing the redhead say that once.

Coming to the other side of Natsuki's bed, Nao placed her hands on the girl's bandages, leaning on them slightly as she smirked into crimson eyes, relishing in the hitched breath and low groan of the raven haired girl.

Shizuru’s eyes narrowed slightly as she reached her hand out, encircled it on the redhead’s wrist, and clenched. She then forced the redhead’s hand away from Natsuki’s body, by lifting Nao’s hand upwards about two inches.

“Let’s not forget that Natsuki’s ribs are broken. And I, for one, want them healed as fast as possible,” Shizuru said with a warning tone.

Loving the intensity in those wine eyes, Nao relented and backed up.

“It seems little pup already found someone else to fuck. You work fast, don't you?” Nao took to petting Natsuki's head, a sinister grin on her face. Still in some pain, Natsuki weakly moved her head to the side so she could not see the redhead, looking up at Shizuru.

“Yes, she does, Yuuki-san. And I like it that way. Now, if you please, Natsuki needs to rest...” Shizuru replied.

At that comment, Natsuki felt a bubble of laughter in her throat but stifled it as she grinned slightly.

Nao narrowed her eyes, and spoke. “Alright, I can take a hint. See you later.” Waving a hand behind her, she exited the room.

After Nao disappeared through the door, Shizuru turned to her friend and smiled, “I don’t think I like your friend very much, Natsuki. And I do hope you didn’t mind my last statements.”

Natsuki let a small chuckle pass her lips, wincing with a grin. “I don't.” She assured and ran a hand through her hair, either out of habit or to get the feeling of Nao's fingers from her hair.

“Oh? Did Natsuki find it amusing then?”

“I did.” The raven haired girl answered, the left side of her mouth quirking upwards in a smirk.

"Well, I'm glad to be of service then," Shizuru replied, thickening her Kyoto accent and winking at the blue-haired girl.

Natsuki lifted a hand to her face and covered it with a sigh as she blushed. “I think I created a monster.” She spoke, lightly chuckling as she peeked at Shizuru through her fingers.

“I hope Natsuki wasn’t referring to me,” Shizuru chuckled.

Rolling her eyes, Natsuki stuck her tongue out at the older girl before laughing as best she could.

“I don’t like the way she treats you, Natsuki. Shouldn’t you report her?” Shizuru asked, her tone suddenly serious.

Placing her hand down, Natsuki chewed on the inside of her cheek. “No, I can't report her.” She answered with downcast eyes.

“Can’t, Natsuki? Or won’t? What’s stopping you?” the brunette asked, tone holding more acid than she intended.

"Because... I just can't, alright? She's not... she wasn't always like that! She was just... provoked," the blunette replied in a small voice, almost as if she didn't really believe her own words.

“You are enabling her by doing nothing against her, Natsuki. Can’t you see that? She knows that you won’t go against her, so she would just keep hurting you, degrading you, using you.”

With every word that the chestnut haired woman spoke, Natsuki felt some jolts of pain. Though, she wasn’t sure where the pain resided.

“I was hoping I could...fix her, I guess.” Shaking her head slightly, Natsuki rose a hand to discreetly rub her eye, wiping a tear away.

“You can’t ‘fix’ her if you just let her walk all over you, Natsuki. I’m sorry for being so harsh, but--” Shizuru cut herself off before she let the next few words slip through her lips. She took a calming breath, and continued. “I’m sorry for being so harsh, but from what I can tell, she doesn’t think she needs to be ‘fixed’.”

“I know, I'm being an idiot again.” Natsuki spoke, sitting up a little to rest her back against the wall behind her bed. Shaking a hand through her hair, she looked at the other one. It still had Shizuru's scarf on it, and she touched it fondly. Taking it off, she offered it to the older woman.

“Keep it,” Shizuru simply replied. “I won’t force you to report her this time. But the next time this happens, you have to. Promise?”

Drawing the scarf back to her body, Natsuki wrapped it tightly around her hand. “I promise, Shizuru.” She swallowed, and nodded seriously.

The brunette released a sigh before taking a seat on the chair by the blunette’s bed. “Do you know how long you’ll be here?”

Natsuki licked her lips before tilting her head and staring off into space for a few moments. “Maybe about a week, or two? There isn't much they can do for me,” she answered.

“I see...”

Natsuki looked to Shizuru again. “So, what are you doing here?” She looked sheepish, thinking she should have asked it earlier. Taking the almost empty bottle of water off the table, she downed the rest of it and aimed at a trashcan in the corner of the room. Throwing it, it hit its mark and fell into the can.

"Why, Natsuki, haven't you noticed? I'm here to protect you from evil friends... and serve your every need," Shizuru replied, her voice dipping towards sensual at the end.

Natsuki's head whipped back to Shizuru with a slightly shocked look and a rose blush across her cheeks. Suddenly, Natsuki began to laugh, not very hard but enough to make her grip her ribs as she did so.

“Ara, I see Natsuki likes my answer,” the brunette replied in response to the laughing, as well as adding her own.

Wiping a tear of laughter away, Natsuki shook her head slightly as the pain faded.

“I like your laugh.” Natsuki spoke, turning her eyes onto Shizuru. The brunette's laugh was melodic and somewhat addictive.

“Ara, thank you, Natsuki.”

The raven haired student looked out to the window again. It was getting dark, and she looked back to Shizuru. “You should get going before it gets too dark, Shizuru. It looks like it might snow again.” Natsuki spoke as she looked up at the older woman.

“Ara, simply because Natsuki is kicking me out, I refuse to leave at this moment,” Shizuru said, sticking her tongue out at the younger girl.

“I wasn't kicking you out!” Another blush came across Natsuki's face as she furrowed her brows.

“Ara, I’m sure. That’s why Natsuki is telling me to go,” Shizuru replied, smiling to show that she was not offended or upset.

Rolling her eyes with a growl, Natsuki spoke again. “What are you going to do, sleep here tonight?” She asked, idly letting her eyes trace the older woman's face.

“That is a fantastic idea! I wonder if the hospital will provide a blanket for me,” the older woman replied, placing a pondering finger on her chin.

“Oh, and where do you plan to lay, on the cold floor? Oh wait! The floor won't be cold with the blanket, absolutely brilliant Shizuru.” Natsuki stuck her tongue out.

“Simple, this chair,” Shizuru replied. “Natsuki will soon learn that college teaches many people to sleep in many different positions. I am one of those people.”

Natsuki flushed and closed her mouth at the double entendre Shizuru had just unleashed on her. “I'm losing this.” The blunette crossed her arms and pouted.

“Ara, yes Natsuki. Yes, you are,” the crimson-eyed girl replied, grinning widely.

Natsuki tried to think of anything to retort, but found herself lacking. 'Damn, I can't think of anything now.' She shot a childish little glare at Shizuru. 'Silly Zuzu.'

“Zuzu? Is that a cute nickname Natsuki has thought of for me?”

“Wha-?” Natsuki balked when she realized she had said the last part of her thought out loud. “Bah.” Clapping a hand over her face, Natsuki slid it down and rested it back by her. “Sure, why not.” She crossed her arms again.

Shizuru chuckled. “Natsuki sounds like an old man with her ‘wha’s and ‘bah’s.”

Natsuki made a face, then smirked. “As long as I don't look like one.” She flipped her hair with an air of arrogance.

“Silly Natsuki. Of course not. I would not spend the night with an old man, unless he is family.”

Natsuki laughed a bit more at that, then shook her head and pointed a slender finger at the brunette. “You're the silly one.”

“Ara, I’m afraid I don’t know what Natsuki means,” the older woman replied, feigning innocence.

“Liar.” Natsuki taunted back, shifting more so that she could lay her head back on the wall behind her.

“I’m afraid I still don’t know what Natsuki means.”

“Then I suppose you're not as smart as I thought you were.” Natsuki put on a sad, disappointed face before sighing loudly. “Pity.”

“Ara, Natsuki thought I was smart? I’m flattered,” Shizuru answered.

“There is absolutely no winning against you, is there?” Natsuki asked in her deadpanned way, rubbing at her forehead.

“Not at all. Natsuki will always be fighting a losing battle.”

The injured girl snorted. “Good to know now instead of years later.” She remarked.

“Of course. Natsuki is welcome to try... I do not want to discourage you if you feel that I am wrong.”

“Oh don't worry, I'll always argue even if I think you're right.” Natsuki winked an emerald eye and smirked.

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“To make you talk more. I do like your accent, you know.”

“I assumed when Natsuki told me she thought my accent was ‘sexy’.”

Giving another roll of her eyes, Natsuki ran her fingers along her ribs. “God this is so damn itchy.” She whined. “I hate these stupid bandages.” Natsuki glared down at them.

Shizuru’s phone began to ring at the moment, startling the two. She hastily picked up the phone, not bothering to check who the caller was. “Hello?”

“Bubuzuke onna! Where are you?!” a booming voice screamed, loud enough to cause the brunette to hold the phone away from her ear.

“Ara, good evening Haruka. I am currently at the hospital,” the crimson-eyed girl replied.

A growl was heard before the words, “DID YOU FORGET THAT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE MEETING REITO AND I FOR DINNER?”

Natsuki held a hand up to cover an ear, wincing at the loudness. “She sure is a firecracker, isn't she?” Natsuki spoke, and smiled.

Shizuru returned the smile before answering into the phone. “Ara, I’m very sorry Haruka. Something unexpected came up, and I completely forgot about it.”

A loud huff was heard before the mumbled words were delivered. “Is everything alright? What happened?”

“Natsuki is at the hospital, but she is perfectly fine now, so there is no need to worry.”

“I see... I suppose we can reschedule the dinner. Reito got a table, but I guess I’ll tell him you aren’t joining. Don’t forget that you still have work to do, so don’t stay too long! Reito and I will be at your dorm after dinner for our study party.”

“Ara, Haruka cares about me so much. It warms my heart,” the brunette teased.

Sputtering noises were heard before a click sounded through, signaling the end of the phone call.

“Did you miss something because of me?” Natsuki asked, cocking her head to the side.

“Dinner, but there’s no need to worry over it. I’ll need to get going now though. I should eat at some point before my study date with a certain blonde. Will Natsuki be okay without me?”

Chuckling, Natsuki nodded towards her friend. “Yes, I'll be fine. I'll see you later, Shizuru.”

“Alright,” Shizuru said as she began packing her things. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She walked over to the blunette and gave her a quick peck before disappearing through the door.

The raven haired student wore a grin, before slinking down in the bed carefully, laying down. Reaching for the button controls, she turned off the lights and tried to sleep.


"So this is where you were hiding the whole time," Nao said as she approached the blunette, who was laying down on a patch of green grass some distance from the building.

"Yeah..." Natsuki replied. "I don't feel like going to class."

"Wanna ditch and go back to my place then?"

Natsuki thought for a bit, before agreeing. The two had returned to Nao's apartment, watched a little television and played a few games.

Suddenly, the power went out, halting their fun activities. Rummaging around the apartment and finding a few candles, Nao lit them and returned to Natsuki's side on the floor, backs pressed against the front of the couch.

“What do you wanna do now?” The redhead asked, leaning against Natsuki.

“I should probably go home.” Natsuki spoke, but Nao kept her from standing by straddling her waist, her hands on the blunette's shoulders. “Nao?” Natsuki gave a questioning look, cheeks a little flushed.

“You know you want this as badly as I do.” The lime eyed girl spoke as she leaned down, her breath tickling Natsuki's lips.

“W-what?” Natsuki blushed lightly as she looked into her girlfriend's lime eyes.

“Are you telling me you don’t?” the redhead asked.

Gulping, Natsuki bit her bottom lip as she fidgeted. “I-I do.” She answered quietly.

“Then, let’s do it,” the younger girl whispered hotly into the blunette’s ear.

Natsuki screwed her eyebrows together in embarrassment. “Right now?” She squeaked slightly.

Nao nodded, sitting into an upright position as she slowly, tauntingly began unbuttoning her shirt. “Right here.”

Natsuki watched every movement made by the flame haired girl. Once Nao's skin came into view, the blunette leaned forward to trace her lips across her collarbone.

Nao chuckled as she watched her girlfriend plunge forward, still continuing to unbutton her blouse. “So puppy does want it. Badly at that.”

Natsuki gave a little embarrassed noise, then lightly nipped the girl's skin. “Wish you'd stop calling me that.” She spoke softly as she watched Nao unbutton the rest of her shirt.

“Mm... but I think it’s cute.”

Natsuki blushed a bit more. “A-alright.” She spoke, leaning back and looking up into lime eyes.

Nao leaned forward to capture Natsuki’s lips with hers. Her arms reached forward and wrapped themselves around the older girl’s neck. Natsuki placed her hands on the redhead's hips, leaning forward to deepen the kiss as she closed her eyes.

Nao reached for Natsuki’s blouse and expertly undid the buttons for the first three before breaking the kiss. “You have too much clothes on.”

Natsuki blushed a bit more, before speaking. “I could say the same about you.” She slid her hands up and down the girl's thighs.

“That can be fixed. All you had to do was ask,” smirked the redhead as she pulled her shirt off her shoulders. She unclasped her bra and quickly discarded that to the floor as well, then looked at her girlfriend expectantly.

Natsuki swallowed hard, blushing deeply at the sight of Nao's bare chest. Leaning forwards slightly, the raven haired girl brought her shaky hands to her shirt to finish unbuttoning it, soon pulling it off and tossing it away. Under Nao's gaze, Natsuki also unclasped her bra, shyly taking it off and tossing it after her shirt.

“Is puppy shy?” Nao questioned playfully before latching her lips onto Natsuki’s neck.

Swallowing, Natsuki instinctively revealed more of her neck to the flame haired girl as she nervously placed her hands back onto Nao's hips. “W-well, it is our f-first time...” She stuttered, stifling a moan.

“So, why am I not shy?” Nao mumbled into the blue-haired girl’s neck as she continued to nip and bite and suck.

“I...I don't know.” Natsuki's brows came together as she pulled Nao closer to her, her hands finding purchase on the heated skin of the girl's back, blushing.

“Lie down,” the younger girl whispered in Natsuki’s ear as she brought her hand up to caress her girlfriend’s cheek, grazing over her breast as she did so.

Biting her lip, Natsuki gulped and slid down to lay fully upon the floor, resting her head and looking up at Nao with still nervous and shy eyes.

Nao lowered her hand from Natsuki’s cheek, and moved it to rest over the blunette’s breast, feeling the warm flesh heat up under her touch. She kissed Natsuki’s neck, and traced the scar with her tongue.

“Ah!” Natsuki let a soft cry out as Nao traced her scar, arching her back slightly to push her breast more into Nao's hand. Her hands shaking, she pushed her palms flat against the lime eyed girl's back.

Nao lowered herself and slid down to bring her hand by Natsuki’s breast. She began to knead the mound that was already in her palm. Then, she licked Natsuki’s other breast before capturing it into her mouth, sucking and swirling her tongue around the nipple.

Giving a shaky moan, Natsuki bit her bottom lip as she arched her back further into Nao. Eyes darting around nervously, she closed them as she felt Nao's tongue around her nipple, her nails digging into the flame haired girl's back.

Nao continued her ministrations with her mouth as she slowly moved her hand southwards and unzipped the skirt that her girlfriend was wearing.

Natsuki bit her lip harder at the ministrations, one hand sliding into Nao's hair as the other clutched the girl's back more desperately. “N-Nao...” Her voice was shaky when she moaned her girlfriend's name.

“Hm? Yes, puppy?” was the redhead’s sultry reply.

Natsuki swallowed hard, still very shy as she threaded her fingers around locks of Nao's red hair. “I...I love you...” Natsuki whispered softly, turning her head to the side in embarrassment.

“I love puppy too,” Nao replied, resuming her previous activities. “Lift your hips.”

Doing as she was told, Natsuki's face flushed as she bit her lip again. Nao slid Natsuki’s skirt and underwear off, discarding them carelessly onto the floor a few feet away. Then, she brought her hand back to trail up her girlfriend’s thigh, but never reaching the place where Natsuki wanted her to touch the most.

“Nao..” Natsuki trailed off as she felt the cold air hit her heated skin and she bit her tongue slightly. Not wanting to embarrass herself further by asking for anything, Natsuki merely looked up at the flame haired girl.

“Yes, Natsuki?” the redhead asked as she moved her fingers to dance dangerously close to her girlfriend’s opening.

Biting her tongue again, Natsuki blushed. “Please?” She asked with a slight smile, hoping Nao wouldn't embarrass her further.

“Hm? Please what?” Nao replied, barely containing her smirk.

Growling lightly from frustration, Natsuki gave in to the other girl. “Please touch me.” She whispered as she looked into jade eyes.

“I am touching you, puppy,” Nao smugly replied.

Eyes glaring with irritation, Natsuki took a breath. “Inside.” She whispered then looked to the side with an angry little pout.

Nao let out an amused chuckle before answering her girlfriend’s wish. She traced the blunette’s folds, feeling the slick cum as it coated her fingers before inserting two fingers slowly. “What next, my cute little puppy?”

At the intrusion, Natsuki let out a slow shaky breath and shut her eyes, arching up slightly. “If you don't know what to do next, neither of us is getting screwed.” She muttered.

Nao let out a laugh, amused at her girlfriend’s choice of words. “Well, I have an idea... but you know your body more than me, right?”

Natsuki let her head fall back to the floor, eyebrows creased in annoyance. “Would you just Komugiraffe do it already?”

“And by ‘it’, you mean this, right?” Nao replied as she began to slide her fingers in and out of her girlfriend.

Natsuki let out a moan as she kept her head to the floor, arching up to meet the thrusts of Nao's fingers. “That's mu-ah...much better.” She whispered frantically.

“Ah, so that is what puppy wants,” Nao smirked as she moved faster.

Swallowing hard, Natsuki tightened her hold on Nao's flaming hair. Her breathing came faster and she let out another small moan. Nao descended herself to resume giving Natsuki’s breasts attention as she continues to pump in and out of the blunette.

Her moans becoming louder and stretching out, Natsuki began to buck her hips to meet Nao's fingers, pulling the girl's hair slightly.

Nao flicked and licked the older girl’s nipple, biting down lightly every so often. She curled her fingers slightly as she began to thrust harder and deeper, eliciting more moans from her girlfriend.

A thin sheen of sweat steadily covered Natsuki as the girl bit her lip hard, detaching from it when a moan ripped from her throat. Feeling pressure in her lower stomach, Natsuki shifted slightly as she clenched her eyes shut.

At this point, her hand is coated with Natsuki’s cum. Feeling that her girlfriend was close, Nao thrusted her fingers deeper in her girlfriend as fast as she could.

In between the moans and panted breathing, Natsuki managed to make out Nao's name as she came. Hitting her head back on the floor, Natsuki gripped Nao's hair tightly. Vision blurry, the last thing Natsuki remembered before passing out was Nao grinning slyly down at her.


Through her half-dazed mind, Natsuki registered her hospital door opening.

“Shizuru?” She asked sleepily, eyes opening and vision blurred.

“No, I'm not your little whore.” Came a sadistic voice, and before Natsuki's vision could clear, she felt a hand around her throat squeezing.

Coughing, Natsuki grasped the arm choking her with both of her own, eyes tearing up. “Na-” She choked out as she recognized flaming red hair. More pressure upon her throat, she heard a sickening crack before it went black.


Bolting up in her bed, Natsuki flinched and groaned in pain when her ribs protested. Looking around, Natsuki quickly calmed down when she realized she was alone. Laying back down, she held onto her ribs with one hand as she forced her breathing to come back down to normal.

The hospital door opened, and Natsuki jumped slightly, then relaxed when her carrot haired friend entered the room.

“Natsuki!” Mai rushed to her side and hugged the older girl's head to her chest. “Are you okay?”

“I would be if I wasn't suffocating in your bosom.” Natsuki replied, being released.

Mai smiled sheepishly before sitting down and setting her bag on the floor. “Sorry. Is there anything I can get you?” The redhead asked, looking at her friend's bandages.

“Maybe some water?” Natsuki asked, her eyes pleading.

“So cute.” Mai pecked Natsuki's forehead before reaching into her bag. Getting a bottle of water, the redhead helped the older girl drink it.

“So...” Mai trailed off after setting the bottle down. “Nao really hurt you this time.” Her voice was a whisper as she looked into Natsuki's eyes.

Natsuki avoided her gaze, but answered. “Yeah.”

Silence enveloped the room, and Mai stood to sit on the bed, pulling Natsuki slightly into her lap without hurting her, hugging the older girl's head to her chest.

Petting Natsuki's hair, Mai spoke again. “So I guess that break up didn't go so well.”

“What gave it away, the wonderful smile on my face when you spoke her name, or my broken ribs?” Natsuki deadpanned.

Mai gave a slight giggle, then positioned herself so that she was on her side on the bed and Natsuki was brought under her chin. “Go back to sleep Natsuki, it's still very early.” She spoke softly while petting the porcelain girl's raven hair.

“What about you?” Natsuki asked sleepily, eyes closed.

Mai leaned down to peck her forehead, giggling lightly. “I'll still be here when you wake up.” At that, the redhead began to sing softly, falling asleep quickly after Natsuki did.

Oh how your Natsuki reminds me of so many friends of mine. Thinking they can change someone they think they're close to. Nao abuse was harsh, thought strangely attractive. Guess it was her words (and the tantalizing lemon...), they hold nothing back. The reader and Natsuki feel at peace when Shizuru offers her comfort. I love those tender moments.

Awaiting to see what happens next to "Puppy" and "Zuzu". :3

“Get away, you wretched woman! Leave at once and never come back,” a brown-haired woman shouted within the padded room.

“Nee-san,” another brunette whispered.

“Do you not hear me, you witch? I said leave! Your presence taints my mind! Go!”

The crazed woman advanced towards the other as a menacing growl escaped her throat. She tried to lift her hand, but soon realized that it was bounded by the white jacket she was wearing. Instead, she opted to kick the other woman.

The other woman watched the advancement, her crimson orbs intently focused on what the crazed patient might do next. When a leg swung out in her direction, she quickly dodged the attack with a simple side-step.

“You evil wench! How dare you mock me? Do I look to be -- ”

“Ara, it seems nee-san has gotten cranky again. I will be back tomorrow,” the crimson-eyed girl said before disappearing through the door.


In the slightly uncomfortable hospital bed, one of the two occupants awoke. Rubbing a violet eye, the girl looked down at her injured friend with a warm smile. Gently untangling herself from the raven haired girl, she exited the bed, landing with a soft pad of her shoes.

“I'm sorry Natsuki, but I have to leave nao.” She whispered, leaning over and pressing a kiss to the girl's porcelain forehead. Gathering her bag, she walked to the door and opened it, jumping back slightly when she saw another woman standing there.

“Ara?” the other woman gasped out in surprise.

Mai smiled, laughing softly. “You scared me.” She spoke, then tilted her head to the side. “Are you the girl who called me about Natsuki last night?” She asked.

“Ara, Tokiha-san?” Shizuru asked as the girl’s voice sounded familiar.

Nodding, Mai smiled at Shizuru. “I don't think I got your name, Tokiha Mai.” She bowed slightly.

Returning the bow, the crimson-eyed girl introduced her. “Ara, forgive me. My name is Viola Shizuru.”

“Nice to meet you, Viola-san. I'm sorry, but I have to go before I'm late for classes. Tell Natsuki I'm sorry when she wakes up, okay?” Mai asked, moving back so Shizuru could enter the room.

“It was nice to meet you too. I will tell Natsuki,” the older girl replied, stepping to the side so that the redhead could pass through.

“See you around.” Mai spoke, walking out and leaving.

The older girl waved her goodbye as Natsuki’s roommate disappeared through the door. Glancing around the room, crimson eyes found that Natsuki was only sleeping on half on the hospital bed. And the other half was dented as if someone else was sleeping there until just recently.

“Must’ve been the nice redhead. I wonder if it’ll be weird if I took that spot nao,” the brunette thought. “It probably will...”

Grabbing a nearby chair, Shizuru set the furniture by Natsuki’s bed and made herself comfortable. She allowed herself to doze off in a sitting position, with her head resting at the crook of her elbow as she leaned slightly towards the right.

Shifting in bed, Natsuki's brows furrowed as she grasped the sheets, rolling her head to the side. Her dreams were filled with the smell of vodka, hoarse screaming and pain. Grimacing, one hand clutched up at her neck and covered her scar as she slept.

Drifting back to a deep sleep, Natsuki relaxed.

“Where are they taking mommy?” A small Natsuki asked, grasping at her father's hand.

“Heaven.” He replied, his voice gruff as he watched his wife's coffin be carried. Natsuki stayed quiet, watching as the coffin disappeared over a hill by people she had never met before.

Small tears escaped the sleeping blunette’s eyes.

“I miss mommy!” the little girl wailed. “I want mommy back!”

“Shut up, you miserable bitch.” Her drunken father roared, coming into her room and reaching into his pocket.

Natsuki gave a short cry, sitting up and gripping her neck. She groaned, laying back down and clutching her ribs miserably.


“Win that, nee-san! Win that!” a small excited girl cried as she pointed at a large stuffed snake.

“A snake, Shiz. Seriously?” replied a slightly older girl.

Shaky crimson eyes started to grow moist as they looked into amber, causing the older sibling to release a heavy sigh.

“Fine, I win that damn snake. Geezus, Shiz. Stop doing that! You’re the devil, you know that, Viola Shizuru?” the older girl said, smirking at the indignant look her sister was giving her. “Oi, ojii-san!”

The man behind the counter looked over at the small, rude girl that called out to him, grunting an annoyed sound as he acknowledge her. He swiped the money she slammed onto the counter and handed her the rifle. “You got 5 shots. Score at least 4 to win a prize.”

“Go, Ha-nee! You can do it,” little Shizuru cheered.

“Mou, Shi-chan. At least say Hazu-nee if you’re too lazy to say Hazuki-nee!” the older girl replied, glaring at her younger sister before focusing on the game in front of her.

Hazuki missed two shots, so there were no prizes. Shizuru was obviously disappointed by this, but she sulked to herself as much as possible.

“Ne, Shi-chan! Let’s go there!” Hazuki said, pulling the younger girl along.

“Go wher--” Shizuru was cut off when a large ferris wheel came into view. “I don’t wanna.”

“Eh? Why not?”

“It looks scary,” Shizuru replied, trying to back away from the ride.

“Nonsense! I’m here,” Hazuki countered. “Two please,” she said to the man before dragging her sister onto the seat. “Hey, don’t worry. I’m here.”

Crimson orbs hid themselves behind eyelids when the younger brunette felt herself elevating. She clutched onto her sister tightly, hoping and wishing that the ride would end soon.

“Ne, Shizuru. Don’t you feel like you’re on top of the world when the ferris wheel reaches the top?”

The tenderness in her sister’s voice caught the younger girl by surprise. What cause her to open her eyes, however, was the hint of sadness that Shizuru couldn’t explain. “Nee... san?”

“I love carnivals, you know that. But I love the ferris wheel best because when I am up here, I feel free... and relaxed,” Hazuki said, a small smile on her lips. “See? Everyone’s out there having fun. And when I’m up here, I can see that. And I can believe that.”

“I don’t... really know what nee-san is ranting about. But if nee-san loves the Ferris wheel this much, then I will too!” Shizuru innocently replied. “See? I opened my eyes. And I will ride it with my eyes opened as much as nee-san wants. And I will ride it every time I go to a carnival.”


Shizuru felt herself falling and quickly caught herself. Her eyes darted around the room and soon realized that she was in Natsuki’s hospital room. Letting out a small sigh, she leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. ‘I hate that dream.’

Grasping her ribs with one hand, Natsuki's other gripped at her neck as she whined in her sleep.

The brunette looked over the bedridden girl and frowned slightly. She reached out to grab the hand that was gripping her Natsuki’s neck and softly pried it off. ‘Natsuki must be having a nightmare.’

The hand Shizuru had taken tightened around the brunette's, clutching desperately as Natsuki shifted in the bed, the sheets falling to her waist.

Deciding to wake the younger girl, Shizuru placed her other hand on her shoulder and shook slightly. “Wake up, Natsuki.”

Natsuki's eyes shot open, and she grimaced as she ripped her hand away from Shizuru's and grasped desperately at her neck, calming when she felt the lightly bumpy skin and no blood. “Sorry Mai.” She murmured as she placed her hands on her ribs.

“Ara? I didn’t think Tokiha-san and I look anything alike,” the brunette teased.

“Shizuru?” Natsuki's sleepy voice asked as she brought a hand up to rub her eyes. “When did you get here?” She asked, lowering her hand and sitting up lightly.

“A while, actually. I heard all about Natsuki’s love for me. It was very cute,” she replied. “Mai apologizes for leaving, as she had a class to attend.”

“My love, what?” Natsuki bolted up a bit, before realizing Shizuru was just teasing her. “Funny.” She made a face, then relaxed as she propped her pillows against the wall, leaning on them. Threading a hand into her hair, she shook her head a bit. “I'm feeling better than yesterday.” She murmured to Shizuru.

“That’s always good. Natsuki heals rather fast, doesn’t she?”

Smirking, Natsuki nodded. “I have to, with what my life throws at me.” She spoke, stretching a bit.

“Silly Natsuki. Instead of letting what life throws at you hit it’s mark, just side-step it. No impact. No injuries.”

Laughing softly at that, Natsuki looked at Shizuru. “I'll try to remember that next time,” she promised.

The door to her room opened, a doctor and nurse coming in with pleasant smiles. “Ah, you have a visitor.” The doctor spoke, smiling to Shizuru. “How lucky you are to have such a beautiful girl visit you so early in the morning.” He spoke to Natsuki, who blushed lightly.

“Ara, ookini,” Shizuru replied, giving the doctor a polite smile.

“Not at all.” The kind doctor spoke as he sat opposite of Shizuru. “nao, let's take a look at those ribs.” Natsuki lay back down, and the blanket was pushed down to her waist once more as the doctor lightly pressed upon her ribs, making the blunette wince and softly cry out.

“Shh, nao.” The doctor spoke softly, beginning to unravel the bandages.

“Doctor, if I may ask, how much longer does Natsuki have to stay here?” Shizuru asked.

Waiting a bit to respond as he took it the purple and blue bruises on Natsuki's abdomen, he looked to Shizuru.

“By the look of these, maybe another day at most to make sure the ribs do not shift any further.” He told Shizuru, then looked to Natsuki. “I know you want to get out of here fast and take your friend somewhere fun, but it looks like just another day to wait.” He smiled kindly at the girl in the bed.

Taking a bit of lotion from the nurse, the doctor warmed it between his hands before gently rubbing it over the bruising, shushing the murmurs and whimpers of pain Natsuki let out. Once that was over, Natsuki gained new bandages and was soon wrapped up once more.

“You might need a little exercise, whole day stuck in bed doesn't feel good after a while.” Standing, the doctor replaced Natsuki's morphine bag, and hung it on a wheeled IV stand.

Natsuki held a hand out for the doctor, the nurses also helping her sit up and stand. “You'll feel a bit of pain, but the morphine is dripping.” He spoke.

Nodding, Natsuki looked to Shizuru and gave a small smile. “Will you walk with me?” She asked.

“Of course, Natsuki,” Shizuru smiled. “I have to make sure I’m there to pick you up if you fall.”

“Shizuru!” Natsuki squeaked at the tease, blushing when the nurses giggled.

“Just hold onto the stand and you may walk along the hospital halls, or outside if you'd like.” The doctor smiled to them both.

“Thank you, doctor,” the brunette replied as she watched them take their leave.

Clutching the thin IV stand, Natsuki wheeled it over to Shizuru. “I feel old with this thing.” She spoke, smiling as her other hand idly ran up her side softly.

“Ara, as long as Natsuki hasn’t turned into an old man,” Shizuru teased. “Otherwise, I might have to re-think about this walk we’ll be going on.”

Giving a soft giggle, Natsuki spoke. “You are a wicked lady.” She grinned, then located her shoes, slipping them on.

Turning to face the blue-haired girl, Shizuru grinned. “Ara, wicked? Oh no, Natsuki hasn’t seen me wicked yet.”

“Oh?” Natsuki looked back to Shizuru, then smirked. “Ooh, nao I kind of want to.” She teased.

The brunette’s lips curved into a smirk as her eyes twinkled mischievously. “Is Natsuki sure about that? There’s no turning back...”

“Why turn back when I want to keep going forward?” Natsuki asked as she came back over to Shizuru, walking a bit stiffly.

“Ara, that was only an obligatory disclaimer, Nat-su-ki,” Shizuru replied as she sauntered over to the patient until she was only a breath away from the girl. “If Natsuki wants to see me wicked, first she must pay a price.”

“A price.” Natsuki repeated, her eyes gazing into Shizuru's before her vision drifted to the woman's plump lips. “And what might that be?” She asked.

“It can be anything... ranging from a few words to following me to the end of the world. But I won’t tell you what the price is unless you agree to pay it. And in the event that you cannot pay your price...” Shizuru trailed off, grinning darkly at the younger girl.

Grinning wide, Natsuki tapped her chin in thought. “Following you to the end of the world...” She mused, then winked at the older girl. “I think I could do that.”

“Ara, I never said that was your price. Your price could very well be, ‘drop out of college’. You never know with me,” the brunette replied, smirk still in place.

“Well, well.” Continuing to muse for a bit, Natsuki spoke. “I agree to your price, whatever it may be.” She looked back into Shizuru's eyes.

Holding back a giggle and replacing it with a chuckle, Shizuru spoke. “Ara, are you sure?”

“Mhm.” Natsuki gave a nod, smiling.

“Ara, then when Natsuki recovers, she will get a tattoo here,” Shizuru trailed her finger lightly across Natsuki’s lower abdomen, “and it will say ‘Shizuru <3’. It should be in size 38 Corsiva font, bolded,” Shizuru said, and then moved to place her lips by the shell of the younger girl’s ear before whispering hotly, “and Natsuki will wear low-ride jeans for the week after she gets inked.”

Giving a soft gulp at the request, and the accented voice in her ear, Natsuki looked around the room nervously. “A...alright.”

“Ara,” Shizuru said as she backed away. “Well then, the transaction will be finalized after you have paid your price.”

Crossing her arms in slight embarrassment, Natsuki gave a nod. Clasping her IV stand again, she spoke. “Let's go for that walk.”

“Of course. Is Natsuki alright? Her cheeks are slightly pink,” the older girl asked.

“Quiet, you.” Natsuki spoke back, blushing a bit more as she led Shizuru out of the hospital room.


“Is Natsuki ready to leave then?” Shizuru asked as she waited for the blue-haired girl by the door.

Rubbing her bandages, Natsuki pulled on another shirt and pocketed her pills into her jeans, slipping her converses on.

“Yeah.” She spoke, then grasped the scarf Shizuru had given her. “You sure you don't want this back?” She asked, holding it out with a small blush.

“I’m sure, Natsuki. nao let’s go before my friends grow tired of waiting. Haruka is not a very patient person,” the older girl replied.

“Alright, bossy.” Natsuki teased, looping the scarf around her neck and nuzzling it. Opening the door for Shizuru, she smiled. “You're really going to make me get that tattoo, aren't you?” she asked.

Giving off a small laugh, Shizuru walked through the door, purposely leaving Natsuki’s question unanswered.

Blowing a puff of air out, Natsuki followed the older girl, placing her hands into her pockets.

“It’s about time you got out of that hospital, bubuzuke!” Haruka yelled when she spotted the two girls exiting the hospital’s double doors.

“Ara, kanin na, Haruka,” Shizuru replied when she approached their car. She opened the door to the backseat for Natsuki to slip in.

Holding the roof of the car, Natsuki gently slid in and nodded to Shizuru, smiling. After Natsuki was safely in the car, the brunette closed the door and turned to her blonde-haired friend.

“She lives at the Hemling Apartments, building C. Just drop us both off there. I’ll walk home, so don’t worry about me,” Shizuru informed.

“You sure? We can always come back for you after Reito and I are done with some meetings,” the blonde-haired girl asked.

“I’m sure,” the brunette replied and she swiveled to the other side of the car and took a seat next to Natsuki.

She watched as the blonde did the same, sitting in the passenger seat next to Reito. The drive back to Natsuki’s apartment was quiet, albeit some questions regarding the youngest girl’s health.

“Ara, thank you Reito, Haruka. If anything comes up, I’ll call you. Otherwise, I’ll be fine on my own tonight,” Shizuru said as she exited the car.

Exiting the car as well after giving her thanks to both passengers, Natsuki straightened her scarf and regarded Shizuru as she stepped onto the curb. “Would you like to come in?” She asked.

“Sure, Natsuki,” Shizuru replied. “Is Tokiha-san home today?”

Checking her watch, Natsuki hummed. “She should be in class.” She confirmed, walking up to her door and taking her key out. Before she could slide it in, it opened to reveal the flame-haired Nao. Backing up in surprise, Natsuki's grip on her key tightened.

“Natsuki?” Shizuru asked before peeking into the apartment to see the woman that she recognized as Natsuki’s tormentor. “Don’t worry, Natsuki,” Shizuru whispered. “I’m here.”

“What are you doing here?” Natsuki asked angrily, glaring as her brows furrowed.

“My, just waiting for my lover.” Nao purred, the tossed the raven haired girl her military coat.

Catching it, Natsuki slipped her key back into her pocket and took Shizuru around the waist, bringing her into her side. “You're not my lover.” She glared at the redheaded girl.

“Oh, you do move fast, little puppy.” Nao teased, coming closer. “But you just come crawling back to me, you always do.” She smirked.

Gritting her teeth, Natsuki moved a bit farther away, taking Shizuru with her as she backed from Nao. “Get the hell out of here.” She growled to the younger girl.

“Hm, alright. I'll be at my apartment.” Nao blew a kiss to Natsuki and began to walk away.

“Yuuki-san,” Shizuru called out when the Nao was standing at the door.

“Mm, yes?” Nao asked, turning to face them again.

“What are you doing?” Natsuki whispered to Shizuru.

Ignoring Natsuki, Shizuru turned to face the redhead, "Please make your presence scarce to Natsuki and I. We don't enjoy your company."

Giving a wicked laugh, Nao spoke to Shizuru. “I don't think I'll do that, actually.” She came closer to the two of them, smirking. “She'll only disappoint you.” She whispered to Shizuru, turning and walking away as she laughed.

Shizuru sighed to herself before turning to smile at her friend, "Well, that was worth a try."

Natsuki glared at Nao's retreating back, then turned to Shizuru. “Let's just go inside.”

Rubbing her hand up and down Natsuki's back, Shizuru spoke, "There, there Natsuki. No need to be all glare-y nao."

“I fucking hate her.” Natsuki glared again, and took Shizuru's hand, leading her into the apartment.

"Ara, so I am Natsuki's lover nao? When did that happen?" Shizuru teased.

“Around the time you made me promise to get your name tattooed on me.” Natsuki smiled, closing the door after them and leading Shizuru to the couch, sitting down.

“But my name isn’t tattooed on you yet,” Shizuru countered.

“But it will be, to see your wicked ways.” Natsuki smirked, lightly tugging on Shizuru's hands to make her sit as well.

"Ah, yes... my wicked, wicked ways," the brunette responded.

“Indeed, nao bring your wicked self over here.” Natsuki grinned, patting her leg.

Sitting down next to her emerald-eyed friend, Shizuru smirked. “Ara? But I am not wicked yet. This is me being innocent.”

“Aw, come on.” Natsuki whined softly with a smile as she rested her head against the back of the couch, looking to Shizuru.

“Ara? Come on where?” Shizuru teased.

“Onto my lap.” Natsuki teased back, smile widening.

“Oh my,” Shizuru replied, looking away as if she was abashed. “However should I answer to that?”

“I say you'd better answer that while on my lap.” Natsuki smirked.

Turning to face the other girl, the brunette placed a wide grin onto her lips before answering, “No.” Then, she proceeded to stick her tongue out.

Pouting, Natsuki moved closer, eliminating the space between the two on the couch. “Mean.” She spoke, then came to lick the other girl's tongue.

“Indeed I am,” Shizuru said as she slowly inched closer to the other girl. Realizing what she was doing, the older girl abruptly stopped her advancement and moved back before standing from the couch. “So, when does Tokiha-san get back from class?” she asked, hoping for a topic change.

A bit sad, Natsuki checked her watch again. “Soon.” She spoke, standing and taking her coat into her room, taking Shizuru's scarf off. Staring at the scarf, she smiled sadly. During her years in the orphanage, she had never received a gift from anyone. Placing the scarf down, Natsuki came back out and sat onto the couch once more, drumming her fingers on her leg.

Shizuru sat patiently, resting comfortably against the couch as she watched the blue-haired girl move about the apartment. After the girl was back beside her, Shizuru decided to break the silence. “So Natsuki. Tell me something about yourself I don’t already know.”

Looking to the ruby eyed woman, Natsuki drummed her fingers more. “Ah...well...” She hummed, not quite sure what to say. “Why don't you just ask me something?”

“Ara, where’s the fun in that? Surprise me with something I probably wouldn’t think to ask,” the red-eyed woman replied, bringing her legs onto the couch and tucking her ankles under the thighs.

“Legs turn me on.” Natsuki blurted out before turning an impressive shade of red.

“Ara...” Shizuru inhaled, before letting a sly grin grace her features. “Legs turn you on?”

Pressing a hand to her wrapped stomach before shifting nervously on the couch, the raven haired girl nodded slowly.

“What else?” Shizuru pushed, as she slowly began to lean towards the other woman.

“Uh...” Taking her hand from her stomach, Natsuki rubbed her palms against her jeans. “Well... your... your eyes are... nice.” The younger girl turned her gaze away, embarrassed.

“Nice?” Shizuru asked, allowing her voice to drop a notch while making it slightly sultry. She hovered over the blunette a little, placing one hand on the couch by her head and the other on the armrest at Natsuki’s side, successfully trapping the younger girl. “Just... nice?”

Swallowing thickly as she looked up at the older woman, Natsuki flushed more. “Sexy...alluring...arousing...” She murmured softly, staring into the deep crimson orbs.

Shizuru gave a light chuckled. She heard the jingling of keys in the back of her mind and figured that Natsuki’s redheaded roommate will be walking in at any moment, but she didn’t care. She continued to stare down at her prey and gave the woman a coy smile. “Arousing, you say?”

“Ah...y-yes.” Natsuki gave a light shiver, blushing more as she shrunk under Shizuru's gaze.

“So what does that make you want to do right nao?” the older woman asked as she descended about an inch or two.

Trying to swallow down her heart, the emerald-eyed girl gripped onto the couch by Shizuru's hand. “K-kiss you...” She murmured softly, pulse quickening.

“So what’s stopping you?” Shizuru asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Sliding her hand up the woman's arm, Natsuki leaned up and brushed their lips together. When Shizuru felt warm lips on hers, she reflexively closed her eyes and began kissing back. It was all instinctual to her from there. Her hand closest to the younger girl moved to caress her cheek before cupping under her chin to pull the younger woman closer.

Lightly gripping the brunette's shoulder, Natsuki tilted her head back as she parted her lips. Massaging Shizuru's lips with hers, the ivory skinned teen quickly became nervous, teeth biting down onto the woman's bottom lip.

Suddenly, Shizuru realized what she was doing and stopped herself. She slowly pulled away from the younger girl and cursed herself for letting her desires get the best of her. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She wasn’t supposed to make a move on the other girl. She was supposed to be good. To be a friend. To be... just a friend.

Confused, Natsuki blushed hard. “I didn't mean to bite you.” She whispered, rubbing her palms onto her jeans nervously.

Sitting down again, this time making sure to keep some distance, Shizuru gave a barely noticeable sigh. “It’s not... it’s not that, Natsuki.”

“Is something wrong?” The girl turned her gaze onto the chestnut haired woman, looking at her from under her bangs as if she had just been scolded.

The brunette paused for a little while, wondering how she should reply; wondering what she should she reply with. What answer can she give Natsuki when she, herself, wasn’t sure she had the answers? Shizuru was tempted to just voice whatever she was thinking as she thought it, but stopped herself. That would have been a bad idea. She might ruin things... ruin things with her words like she did in the past.

Despite the fact that Shizuru was well-hydrated, she felt her mouth go dry. “Ara... I...”

The door opened. Natsuki jumped as Mai walked in. “I can feel the sexual tension in here.” The carrot-haired girl teased, coming in further as she shut the door. “Nice to see you again, Viola-san.” She greeted with a small bow.

“Ara, good afternoon, Mai-san. How was class?” Shizuru replied, thankful that the redhead walked in when she did.

“Interesting.” Mai smiled, dropping her stuff off into her room before coming back out. “Did I interrupt something? Natsuki's blushing pretty hard.” The flaxen haired girl smirked, Natsuki looking away with a scowl.

“Ara, well, that seems to happen often around me,” Shizuru replied as she turned to glance at the blunette. Then she placed a thoughtful finger to her chin and turned her attention back to Mai. “I wonder why...”

The busty girl winked at Shizuru, before getting Natsuki a bottle of water as she watched the girl reach for her pills. Nodding to Mai in thanks, the blunette quickly downed two.

The brunette ascended her from seat and began walking towards the exit. “Since you are back nao, Mai, I’ll be taking my leave.”

“Ah...bye, Shizuru.” Natsuki gave an unsure smile. Bidding the older woman off as well, Mai smiled cheerfully.

Turning back to smile at the blue-haired girl, Shizuru replied. “I’ll talk to you later then, Natsuki. Call me if you need anything, ok?”

“I will.” Natsuki tried to stand to see Shizuru out, but her ribs protesting and she gave a weak wave instead.

Returning the wave, Shizuru turned to Mai and bid her goodbye before walking through the door. As soon as she was safely in the halls, she gave a small sigh of relief. Taking a deep breath before glancing back at the door she just walked out of, she thought silently to herself, ‘Maybe I should keep my distance with her...’

Her walk home felt short, even though she took the long way and walked relatively slow compared to usual.


Mai had left her alone in the living room, and Natsuki sighed softly. She had a feeling Shizuru wasn't the kind of girl who just did these things to tease, but the older woman didn't seem to want to admit it.

“Maybe she just doesn't like me?” The raven haired girl deeply contemplated, troubled. “Then...why would she make me break up with Nao...for my health?” She regarded her bandaged stomach and gave a half nod.

But...if Shizuru didn't like her, why did she kiss her, and allow herself to be kissed? “Hot women are confusing.” Natsuki murmured to herself, laying back onto her couch carefully as she gripped her ribs.

Sighing, the ivory skinned girl turned her head towards the door, watching the snow fall from the window.


When the brunette arrived home, she pulled out her cellphone to give her blonde friend an obligatory call. She stared at her screen blankly for a few seconds before pressing the call button, sighing as she did so. She really didn’t feel like talking to anyone, but she knew that if she didn’t call Haruka, the woman would call her later in the night, yelling her ears off.

“Jello?” the person on the other side answered.

“Ara, good evening Haruka. I’ve arrived safely back to my dorm. How were your meetings?” Shizuru asked, more out of politeness than interest.

“Everything went smoothly, bubuzuke. Much better than last time,” the blonde replied.

“I’m glad. I suspect a long and arduous lecture motivated them to be more efficient with their time,” the brunette smiled despite knowing that her friend cannot see her.

“Hm. I have to go nao, bubuzuke. I have an appointment to keep. Later,” Haruka said, before quickly hanging up.

Shizuru was surprised that she didn’t even wait to hear a response, but didn’t particularly care at the moment either. She carelessly tossed her phone onto her bed, before tossing herself onto the mattress, burying her face into her pillow.

‘What am I doing with Natsuki?’ she asked herself. ‘She must be so confused about my actions right nao.’

Remembering how she seduced the younger woman to kiss her, Shizuru groaned loudly to herself. ‘But she was so cute, it was hard to resist. Where did your self-control go, Viola?’