“I whole-heartedly agree!”
After a minute or two, the two by the flowers chose to simply ignore the people by the bushes.
“Natsuki…” Shizuru’s voice drawled out in a sensuous tone as she looked up to her promised future wife.
The lone wolf on campus looked out over the garden hidden away in the thick tree-life surrounding the campus. Her stern expression seemed to be set in stone; her arms folded under her chest. The aura she admitted was one that seemed to demand respect. Her sharp, green eyes gave a side-ways glance to the brunette sitting on the grass next to her. “What’re you doing here?” She asked bluntly, coldly. They hadn’t been out here long.
“Natsuki…” The first year drew out again in the same tone of voice. She slowly reached out her hand and grasped Kuga’s skirt, tugging on it lightly like a child trying to get a parent’s attention. “Come sit with me, Natsuki.”
“I’ll get grass stains on my uniform,” Came the curt response.
“Then I’ll just have to come up to Natsuki,” The albino’s voice was tied with mischief. The first year slowly lifted her body, brushing of the grass from her skirt after she got up. She walked behind the second-year student and wrapped her arms around the blunette’s waist. She pressed her body close, making sure the older girl felt every inch of her body. The small smirk on Fujino’s face grew a little as she listened to Kuga’s breath hitching.
Kuga frowned, “Let go.” She commanded tersely. Her glare was directed ahead of them both; she seemed to be willing the blush off her face.
“No.” A giggle, followed by two arms tightening around Natsuki’s waist. Shizuru was inwardly elated that she had grown taller than her childhood friend.
Emerald eyes shifted back to the head resting on her left shoulder, “Haven’t you been taught to listen to upperclassmen?”
“Yes I have, Natsuki-sempai,” Shizuru closed her eyes, making no move to give up the comfortable position she was in. However, she did move her cheek so it pressed against Natsuki’s. Her smile grew pleasant as she sighed contently, feeling her companion’s face burn up, “Ara, Natsuki seems to enjoy the intimacy more than she projects.”
“Anyone would be with someone this close,” Natsuki’s gruff voice involuntarily grew quieter as she looked away. She tried not to show how uncomfortable she was by keeping her ‘cool’ attitude.
“Bad Natsuki. You should be more truthful. Here, I’ll help,” Shizuru lifted one of her arms to Kuga’s face and gently pushed the blunette’s head so it faced the left. Shizuru’s lips connected with Natsuki for a chaste kiss.
Green eyes shot open.
Once the stunned Natsuki got a hold of herself she broke free of Fujino’s grasp, stopped a good yard or two away. She brought her left hand to her face, cupping her mouth while her right arm wrapped across her torso, as if protecting it. Kuga sent the sharpest glare she could at the brunette, even though the crimson deep, full-face blush negated the effects. She tried desperately to regain her collected demeanor.
Shizuru could only chuckle mirthfully at the attempted scowl. Her hands were linked behind her back.
“W-WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!” A nearby flock of birds scattered.
“That’s called a kiss, Natsuki,” Shizuru replied cheekily. Ever the level-headed one.
“You know what I mean!” Natsuki hadn’t shown this much emotion in a long time, especially emotions directed at any one person.
“Ara, I figured I’d be kissing you plenty once we were married, so why not start early?” Another tongue-in-cheek reply.
Natsuki blinked at the answer before forcing herself to calm down considerably. She brought her hands down to her side when her blush had almost fully disappeared. Kuga looked up at the taller, first year student evenly, looking straight into red eyes, “Is that the reason you followed me here? Because of that promise I made?”
“Yes.”
Natsuki frowned, her gaze lowering to the ground. She clenched her fist, wishing that there was some way she could change the past. Being with her would only hurt Shizuru in the end. She was sure of it.
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“What’s wrong?”
Teary, red eyes looked up at the person who stopped right in front of her, “My daddy wants me to marry somebody I don’t want to.” She followed the news up with a few sniffles and hics.
The six year old Natsuki looked down at the five year old Shizuru who was crying in the middle of a grassy field. “Uh…” She desperately looked around, then spotted the flower in her hand. “Ah!” She grinned, causing the brunette to tilt her head curiously. Kuga puffed out her chest, a broad and cocky beam on her face, “Then I’ll marry you instead!” She announced giving the small flower to the previously crying girl.
Natsuki smiled as Shizuru’s mood seemed to lighten up. There! She thought, I’ve done my job!
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How stupid of me… Natsuki frown, scolding herself. She looked back up at the first year with determination in her eyes. “You should forget that promise was ever made.”
Almost as soon as the words exited Natsuki’s mouth, Shizuru had responded with an equally determined, “No.”
“Why not?”
Shizuru’s expression grew nostalgic, “This promise is one of the only things keeping me going, Natsuki. When things get rough, I just think back to that time and tell myself that I have to go on in order to see that promised fulfilled.”
Natsuki outwardly flinched, knowing exactly what Shizuru was talking about. Her father…
“B-but how do you know that being with me won’t just make your life worse?” Natsuki blurted out, fighting a loosing battle. How many times had she fought words with Shizuru and inevitably lost?
An understanding and calm smile spread across Fujino’s face, “Silly Natsuki, I just do.”
Natsuki frowned at the response. She was silent for a bit before shaking her head; she started to walk away, back toward the main school yard. She came to a halt about twenty feet away from the brunette and without turning her head back: “… You coming, Shizuru?”
“Hai!” The albino chirped, jogging lightly before she caught up to the blunette’s right side, clasping the second year’s hand in her own.
“Don’t grab my hand,” The Ice Princess quipped, pulling her hand free of Shizuru’s grasp and stuffing both her hands into her pockets.
“That’s okay,” Shizuru said, her smile never faltering. “I’ll wait for Natsuki to warm up to me.”
“Oi…”