A Second Rebirth - - - - - Warmth. That was all she felt. A comforting and soothing warmth that threatened to usher her back into slumber, as opposed from the sweltering heat that had prevented her from getting any sleep the night before. The night before. Flashes of blood and flesh invaded her mind, again recalling every action she had taken that had allow her to escape. No longer safe in her mind's eye, she escaped to her surroundings. Icy green orbs opened up to reveal a more peaceful world. She heard nature. In the city, she had never heard life. Birds chirped. A creek babbled. Trees groaned as they moved in the wind. Soft breathing and a heartbeat from the person next to her. All she saw was Shizuru's pale skin and her familiar kimono. In Natsuki's distress, she had allowed herself to fall asleep at Shizuru's side, her nose now resting gently against the other woman's neck and collar as she felt herself cradled in the elder girl's arms. Still in a state between consciousness and sleep, she simply stared at Shizuru's throat for quite some time. Should she pull away? She became more and more aware of the arms circling her torso, as well as to the rhythmic breaths brushing against her from every one of Shizuru's exhales. No, Natsuki concluded. She did not need to pull away. It felt good. She felt... safe, after what had happened. Not that she needed protection. But Shizuru, only lightly resting, noted her change in breathing and slight movement. Mahogany eyes fluttered open, staring down at her. Natsuki stared right back, neither woman saying a word to each other, both concerned as to how the other would react to the close proximity. Shizuru brought a hand up, brushing a dark lock of hair away from Natsuki's face. She let it linger on her cheek, never retreating, but never pushing any closer than that. "How are you?" Shizuru asked. The words were simple, like what a friend would ask casually. The tone, however, was far more caring, full of concern and worry. Natsuki shut her eyes again, content with lying there in all of that wonderful warmth. Her reply was equally as simple, yet just as meaningful at the same time. "I'm alive." They lay like that for quite some time before Natsuki stirred again, lifting her head to take a quick look around. Traditional Japanese home, as always. The doors were still all shut, Shizuru no doubt having remained at her side for the entire morning. She set her head back down, pressing it against Shizuru for a great while after. Shizuru was the first to stir, pulling back slightly, intent on standing up. "Would you like me to make you some lunch? I have enough food here for the both of us to last a while." Lunch? Natsuki sat up as Shizuru stood, putting a head to her head. She took a deep breath and yawned. "What time is it?" "A little after noon. You arrived at around five in the morning. I didn't want to wake you until you were ready to get up on your own. I hope you got enough sleep," Shizuru said. She turned herself towards the kitchen, retreating. "I have nikujaga left over from last night. Would that be all right?" Natsuki nodded quickly. "Y-yes, that will be fine. Thank you." How could she turn down such aid? She tossed back the blankets covering her and drew her knees up towards her chest, staying there for several moments, letting her mind take it all in. She idly looked down at a hand. The blood was gone, wiped tenderly away by her companion, though she could still picture where every drop had been the night before. She looked so normal, as if the killings had never taken place. Someone could look at her and think nothing of her possibly having killed another human being. That alone unnerved her. She scratched away a little hint of red that remained on her fingernail before putting her hands back down and getting out of bed. With Shizuru busy heating the meal, she stepped outside, inhaling some of the freshest air she'd ever encountered. A well manicured garden was next to the stairs, Shizuru no doubt working with it every day. Natsuki dropped down each stair and landed her feet on the ground. Barefoot, she took a few paces forward. Nothing had moved since the night before. Her gloves and helmet were perhaps three feet away. Her guns and holsters were a bit further away. She reclaimed them first, turning the safeties back on. She gathered up every item quietly, almost as if in a trance, and returned to the house, neatly piling them up next to the door. She sat and watched everything around the dwelling. The natural clearing it was in wasn't much larger than the house itself before it turned into woods. The rays from the sun danced through branches, raining down in golden segments before they finally reached the forest floor. Every once and a while, a bird would take flight somewhere. Vaguely, she thought she saw a deer in the distance as she peered between the endless amount of trees. Everything that had happened the night before seemed like a distant nightmare. A gentle hand fell on her shoulder after a while, and she turned to look up at Shizuru, who offered her yet another warm and caring smile. "It's ready, if you're hungry." Natsuki followed her along willingly, sitting herself down at the table already set with food and drink. They didn't say much of anything beyond the polite phrases associated with etiquette. It was quite good for leftovers, she admitted. As Shizuru placed a potato into her mouth, Natsuki looked up, her body still gripped by fatigue and shock. Regardless, it had to be said. She didn't want to take anything more from her. "Thank you, Shizuru," Natsuki said. "For everything. I won't leech off you longer than I have to. I'll call Mai and see if I can't stay at her place long enough for me to invest in a new apartment." "Were you attacked where someone could have heard the shots and blame you for bodies left behind?" Shizuru wisely and cautiously asked. Natsuki put a piece of meat back down in the bowl, sighing. "It was my apartment. Yeah, I heard people going crazy out in the hall. I guess going back to town would be stupid, huh? The cops'll probably try to take me in." "You can stay here for as long as you like, Natsuki." Shizuru said after a moment of contemplation. Really, there wasn't much chance of the biker ever returning to Fuuka, or even using her name again if she was indeed going to be blamed for the firefight. Searrs would keep things quiet, but if there was to be blame, it wasn't going fall on those faceless goons. Natsuki looked up, hesitant to answer. Seeing that, Shizuru continued, with her voice taking on that comforting tone again. "It would make me happy if you stayed." Would it now? What an amazing change a near death experience had on Shizuru. Natsuki didn't say anything for a moment or two, wondering if the Kyoto woman truly meant it. More often than not she did. Shizuru seldom lied. She only spoke in half truths if she was avoiding something. Not having detected that, Natsuki relented. She could stay with Shizuru for the time being. She'd get an apartment of her own in Kyoto soon enough. Although... "I suppose I might have to change my name as well, won't I, Sayo-san?" Natsuki asked. Shizuru rose both eyebrows in curiosity. "What do you think I should call myself from now on?" Shizuru pondered it for a moment, and said, "Esmerelda." After a moment, Natsuki cracked a smile and uttered a very small laugh at the absurdity of it all. From there stemmed a pointless and juvenile session of bickering and joking. She resumed eating her meal, feeling very much, for some reason she could not yet understand, like she and Shizuru were fourteen and fifteen again respectively. It was wonderful. - - - Life with Shizuru was an adventure, to say the least. Especially since they were in the middle of nowhere and didn't have to concern themselves with more traditional manners or behavior. It was kind of like camping. Natsuki had almost gone crazy without her television or PlayStation, but was rapidly getting used to life without electronics now that she was moving away from having withdrawals. It was actually kind of nice. There weren't many worries out there. It brought out the youthful side in both of them. She'd gone into Fuuka just long enough to grab some of her things, as gathered together by Mai and Mikoto. She was essentially settled, and quite glad to hear that no one else had been targeted yet. They were all planning on moving about, though school kept them grounded for the moment. Only time would tell what Searrs had in store, she supposed. As expected, no one heard much about a shootout in the apartment complex, but Kuga Natsuki was wanted by the police for questioning, just like the deceased Fujino Shizuru had been. She didn't doubt that Searrs had ties with the police department itself. She stepped out of the house after grabbing her leather jacket, the weather finally back to normal. Once she had made it down the steps, she paused, seeing such a silly display that she wasn't sure if she wasn't just having a weird daydream. Shizuru was hanging from the branch of a pine tree, quite content with being there, her body rocking back and forth and she moved herself further from the ground. She paused, however, seeing Natsuki staring at her. "Why are you climbing a tree?" "Ara, I like it." She said it as if she were a twelve year old playing make believe, or something of the sort. "And because it's here." She swung a leg up onto the branch and pulled herself up, resting on her belly, using the tree as natural furniture. She rested her chin on her folded arms, her legs holding her in place. She looked like some leopard resting in the savanna, or waiting for something to pounce on. Shizuru smiled down at her as she approached, a toothy and beautiful smile that very few people saw. Natsuki found herself smiling as well, though only softly. She really had taken that for granted, hadn't she? That she was the only one who was ever allowed to see through Shizuru's carefully guarded fake persona? She walked forward towards the tree. It was not because they were all each other had. Natsuki had others close to her. It remained, however, that Shizuru was the only one she felt she had any kind of real bond with. She was the only one who had really gone out of her way to protect and care for Natsuki. To have never voiced her gratitude or feelings simply because she had been uncomfortable with the words... no wonder Shizuru had felt used. Natsuki stood in front of the tree trunk, staring up at her companion, who had lost her kimono for a more durable pair of jeans and a normal shirt, no longer looking like a rich Kyoto lady, but rather like a normal teenager. Natsuki smirked. "You're such a child sometimes, you know?" Shizuru laughed slightly, thinking up some kind of return comment. To build off the quasi-insult, she countered with the very proper, "I know you are, but what am I?" A very calm smile in the wake of Shizuru's girlish one. Words were not voiced, though she had been tempted to say it aloud. You're mine. - - - A week later. "Shizuru, this is boring." "Then go home and stop bitching, little woman." That warranted a glare. A big one. She sat up and shot the heated look over to Shizuru, who she was most certainly not the nagging wife of, but it didn't do a whole lot of good. She wasn't paying any attention, rendering the glare a useless weapon. Rather, Shizuru was lying back on the grass as if she were going to take a nap, her bangs covering her eyes from view. She had her arms folded behind her head, using them as a pillow. Two fishing poles were dug into the ground below, waiting for something to catch. "I don't see why you can't just drive into town and buy fish." Natsuki had only been camping once in her life, and still wasn't quite used to the whole outdoor living nonsense. But Mowgli-Ru seemed quite comfortable in such an environment. Shizuru twitched her lips down into a disappointed frown. "Where would the challenge in that be? Really, now, this is much more satisfactory." "We've been here for an hour. You and Tanya used to do this every summer?" Natsuki asked, stunned. The niece and aunt duo had gone out here camping several times, but Natsuki had declined every invitation because, well, camping sounded boring. Fishing certainly was. "Satisfactory would be driving to town, quickly buying food, and returning to do more productive things here. Would it not?" "You might find it entertaining if you actually tried speaking without complaining," Shizuru suggested. "You can have a great many insightful discussions while you're waiting for a fish to bite. I discovered this early on in life." "What did you and Tanya talk about when you were fishing, then?" Shizuru released a clearly fake schoolgirl laugh. "Why, we talked about cute boys at school and shoes, of course. What else could we possibly discuss?" "If you want me to speak to you, you'll have to stop being an intolerable smartass for five minutes," Natsuki replied. She pulled a clump of grass from the ground and tossed at her. The blades landed perfectly on Shizuru's face, who spat out what had landed in her mouth as if she were gagging on some kind of poison. Shizuru made a growling sound of annoyance as she flung the last bits of grass off her face. "You're a mean spirited woman. Perhaps you just have a form of ADD where sitting still for five minutes is an impossibility. Maybe when you grow up this will be fun for you, Natsuki-chan." "Oh, for the love of..." Natsuki grumbled. "Don't tempt me into giving you a beating. You're already on my hit list for kicking the crap out of me in junior high. I want my mp3 player back, by the way." "Mp3 player? What mp3 pla... oh, that." Shizuru's face morphed into a devious smirk as the memories flooded back to her. "Oh, I still have that, yes. It's in the house somewhere. I won't tell you where. It'll give you a project. Don't worry, all your happy western pop is still on there. Duran Duran, Madonna, Depeche Mode..." "Shizuru, I'm warning you." "...Wham, Ah-ha, Blondie..." That did it. Natsuki stood up, brushing her clothes free of loose grass. She marched right over to Shizuru, who was scrambling to her feet. She knew that look well enough. With that taunting little smirk still on the Kyoto woman's face, she backed up a few feet as Natsuki approached, entirely amused and wondering if the biker was really going to go through with a threat for a change. Both lowered themselves just slightly, preparing and readying for a strike. Natsuki finally charged forward, and knowing that Shizuru was going to try and pull some of that ninja shit on her that had done her in the first time, she leaned right into her, both trying to push each other off their feet. Natsuki planted a leg behind Shizuru to finally trip her, and the Kyoto woman toppled over after another well timed shoved. She started to get back up, but Natsuki pinned her, using all her weight to keep Shizuru's shoulders planted against the ground. It worked for about five seconds, before Shizuru brought a hand up, grabbing hold of Natsuki's nose, utterly confusing the girl. It made sense when Shizuru began to twist. Natsuki let go and backed away, right before being slammed to the ground herself. A final counter by Natsuki pinned Shizuru once again, Natsuki sitting atop her, sure to keep her face back a few feet should she try that underhanded move again. "Tell me you're sorry for stealing my mp3 player." Shizuru was silent. Natsuki moved over her face and threatened to release spit onto it, acting like the idiot child she presently felt like. Shizuru squirmed beneath and relented. "Fine! I'm sorry you got your sorry butt kicked." "No, no, that's not what I said." Shizuru grimaced but gave in again. "I'm sorry I stole your mp3 player." "Now say that there's nothing wrong with listening to that kind of music," Natsuki demanded, never letting up. She put more weight on Shizuru's shoulders. "So you do admit to listening to it. Do you admit that you named your Child after Duran Dur--" she was cut off by Natsuki mimicking the noise of someone preparing to release a loogie. "Okay! There's nothing wrong with listening to such horrible – wonderful – music!" Natsuki gave her a wide smile, free from the guilts of the past. "That's more like it. Now, what is the location of the missing mp3 player? This is very important, Shizuru." "Dantooine. It's on Dantooine." "Don't be a nerd." Shizuru frowned and squirmed against her foe once again. It wasn't doing much good this time around. She was trying her best to ignore the fact that Natsuki was essentially straddling her. "Ara, ara, but then you wouldn't have anything to do when we return home. Meaning that I have to listen to more of your bitching. So you go find it yourself, woman." Natsuki smirked again, feeling quite victorious, and only then became aware of just what kind of position they were in. Okay, slightly embarrassing. Though, still, she couldn't help but stare down at the other girl and marvel with how she suddenly seemed so damn beautiful. Perhaps those months without contact had only served to force Natsuki to appreciate her more. Damn, she was staring now, and Shizuru was looking back up at her, still a tad breathless from the fight. Natsuki opened her mouth to say something, her hands only resting against Shizuru's shoulders as opposed to the iron grip she had on earlier. It was then that both fishing poles began to shake back and forth. The spun their heads around to look at them both, jaws dropping. Natsuki mumbled in disbelief. "Oh my god." "Fish." Natsuki crawled off Shizuru and scrambled back towards her pole, grabbing it just as it was pulled from its place on the bank. Shizuru was right behind, just barely getting to her feet before she reached her own pole. Both began to reel in and pull against whatever it was they were warring with. At long last, it was over! Shizuru was the first to get hers back, revealing a fairly large trout of some kind. She smiled proudly as it flopped back and forth. Natsuki grumbled and continued her own fight against a more formidable creature. She pulled and reeled until something finally came up from the water! Natsuki blinked in disbelief, and then swore in realization. She'd been fighting with a teddy bear thrown into the creek from upstream, water logged and weighed down, no doubt having been caught on a log beneath the water for quite some time. "Ara, it's cute!" "Shut up." - - - She'd been living there a month when she finally finished changing her name – but not to Esmerelda. It was then that she felt safe enough to head into Kyoto in search of a source of money. She landed a job at a bike repair shop, a rival store to the one she'd been working at in Fuuka, just to make sure she wouldn't run into anyone familiar. A slight increase in crime in those days allowed for street racing. She entered a few to earn a quick bonus. At last, she had enough to find an apartment. It was just a matter of finding one, now. Shizuru hadn't said anything either way when Natsuki started to circle ads in papers. She didn't want Natsuki to go, but at the same time, she knew full well that it would be problematic if it continued. She'd get used to it and they would be back to the same nonsense drama as before. That all felt healed. She didn't want to restart it. So she kept silent and enjoyed what time they had left. Natsuki hadn't found the mp3 player, but had acquired a dried and cleaned teddy bear, which Shizuru had put in her closet to commemorate her first glorious fishing trip. She hated the thing and its beady little eyes, but hadn't gotten around to destroying it yet. She figured it would make a good target for future firearm practice. Shizuru had gotten an internship at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which provided additional income. The girl had gotten back into classes at Kyoto U, most of them online so she wouldn't have to see anyone. To not entirely restart her degree, she forged documents that indicated she had completed a host of courses at another university, pretending to be a transfer student. When the two came home from work, they tended to take a long hike through the woods to pass the time. They were heading home from a quick walk, the skies above bathed in pink and orange hues as the sun set behind them. Most of the trees, aside from the ones that were able to survive the cold winter, were in bloom. It was beautiful. Natsuki didn't really want to leave it all behind. She felt very much at home there. She turned back a bit to look at Shizuru while she walked, who was a few paces behind. The pair smiled silently at each other. Yeah, home. The way things were supposed to be. It felt right. "Would you mind if I stayed another month? I'm having trouble finding a suitable apartment," Natsuki said, offering a false reason. Why she felt the need to use one was beyond her. Some lingering fear of her own emotions, perhaps. She tried to say it as casually as possible. Shizuru looked almost pleased, but hid it well. "I said that you could stay here as long as you wanted to. I'm not going to take that back any time soon. Of course you can stay." The house grew close. As they entered the clearing and made their way up and into the house, Natsuki smiled at her. "I'm glad you don't hate me for the asshole I had been to you, and that you haven't gotten sick of my company. I'm sorry. I always took you for granted. Everything you did – befriending me, letting me into your family, becoming kaichou just for my sake, your help in Carnival matters even if you pretended not to know what it was I was doing – I appreciated you for all of it. I'm sorry I can't say these things when it matters." Shizuru stopped walking and locked her own eyes on hers. Natsuki held her breath, wondering if she'd made an idiot of herself again. Shizuru's lips curved into a smile. "Natsuki is a such a sap." She glared. She wasn't supposed to get that kind of reaction! With a frustrated sigh, she looked away. Incorrigible little jerk. "See why I don't say anything to you? All you do is tau--" "I love you too, Natsuki," Shizuru interrupted with a smile, having read between Natsuki's previous lines, causing her to freeze in her tracks, even though it had been the lighter and more casual word for the emotion that was uttered. She was just glad that she didn't blush. There was nagging in the back of her mind. You know what? It was time to shut that little bitchy voice up once and for all. She followed Shizuru into one of the other rooms, where the Kyoto woman was lighting a small oil lantern to provide light as the sun sank further down into the horizon. She watched the orange glow bounce off Shizuru face, adding layers of shadow and warmth across her already beautiful features. She looked almost surprised to see Natsuki standing there still. Natsuki opened her mouth, faltered once, and finally just bit the bullet. "I don't want to leave," she stammered. "Ara? I said you could stay here. There's no rush," Shizuru replied casually, not quite getting what Natsuki was heading towards. She placed the box of matches back where they had come from, running a hand through her hair. Natsuki snatched up the other woman's hand and turned her around to face her, her lungs having ceased to function, never releasing her grip on the other girl. She didn't want Shizuru to date anyone else. She didn't want to leave. She didn't want to move on. Shizuru was just hers, damn it. "No. I mean, I don't want to get an apartment. I like it here," Natsuki explained. She ran her thumb over Shizuru's palm, and mahogany eyes widened slightly at the sign of affection. "For the first time in a year, I'm actually happy. I can't really picture myself being content anywhere else. Despite how many times I used to call you an idiot, I missed the old you. I don't want to lose that again, and..." "Natsuki...?" The biker had been stammering to try and continue with the rant she had going on in her head. She paused in that endeavor, however, and shut her mouth just long enough to gain composure for her next action. This time, with genuine affection and tenderness as opposed to simply letting Shizuru have her way, Natsuki brought her lips up and met Shizuru's. Light at first, because she had no idea what she was doing – but this was as good as time as any to learn. She could think of no better teacher. She slid her arms around Shizuru's waist, one staying while the other moved up her spine until it came to rest near her shoulder blade, occasionally tangling in her hair. The kiss didn't stay light and innocent for very long. Shizuru returned the embrace, holding Natsuki's upper body, and, after seeing that Natsuki's interest was genuine this time, moved inward until their frames were pressed roughly against one another. Mouths mutually parted and tongues met. Natsuki's hands clung to her companion's kimono as her body began to shiver despite rapidly warming. It was only made worse when Shizuru's fingers began to drift up and down Natsuki's back, the light touches nothing less than electric. At some point, Natsuki took a large step backward, pushing Shizuru along with her, pinning the Kyoto woman against the wooden closet that was behind her. Shizuru's arms snaked around her neck and the back of her head and Natsuki sighed, just a little. The room was a living area by day, but at nightfall, it transformed into Natsuki's sleeping area. With one hand, her mouth still against Shizuru's neck, she cracked open the door to the large closet far enough to where she could grab her futon and toss it to the floor, a sheet accidentally going with it. No matter, that was fine too. Shizuru seemed quite surprised by the action, and further surprised when she felt Natsuki pulling at her kimono's obi. "Ara, how far are you intending to...?" She separated her mouth from flesh just long enough to interrupt with an answer. "Guess." If Natsuki weren't busy, she would have taken the time to laugh at how timid and almost frightened Shizuru suddenly became. Her face flushed. She looked lost and stunned, though she certainly wasn't fool enough to reject any advances. As the obi hit the floor, Shizuru tightened her hold on Natsuki, her arms around her lower back. "A-are you sure?" The biker removed her lips from the side of the other woman's face, pulling close enough to where their noses touched, mouths only barely separate from each other. Natsuki was on a mission. These little distractions weren't helping. "Shut up already. You talk too much." Order received and executed. Though feeling uncharacteristically shy, Shizuru surrendered. A tongue found its way into her mouth again, perhaps Natsuki's way of making sure there wouldn't be any further talking. Her hands were further down, untying the kimono itself. The strings finally undone, Natsuki pushed the robe back, and the burgundy cloth fell and piled on the floor, leaving Shizuru merely in her undergarments, a noted blush having spread through her body, only worsening when she was left in such a state. Blushes were sexy, Natsuki finally admitted. Imagine that. Natsuki's hands began to caress the other woman's bare stomach, finding herself quite pleased that Shizuru's breathing was accelerating further at the gesture. The Kyoto woman was busy pulling Natsuki's t-shirt overhead, the biker clearly overdressed in comparison. Things had to be evened out. The article of clothing was tossed some odd feet away. Shizuru pulled back just enough to where she could lower herself down to meet the bottom of Natsuki's neck. There, she let her tongue roam, eventually locking her lips and teeth onto her collarbone, generating a minor yet pleading whine from the biker. She slid her mouth the side as her fingers quickly did away with the bra clasp. Straps were pushed aside, and that article of clothing followed the one removed moments before. And, in a similar fashion, Natsuki did the same, Shizuru's joining hers after an expert toss. Shizuru's arms tightened around Natsuki, pulling her as close as humanly possible, fingers slowly and agonizingly moving in patterns across the biker's back. It was Shizuru who made the first move to the futon, pushing Natsuki and herself back off the linen closet. Natsuki understood and lowered herself down, pulling Shizuru with her. Before Shizuru could force her to lie down, Natsuki once again took control. Shizuru was the one who ended falling back, Natsuki pinning her, planting kisses along her neck, collar and chest. Though Shizuru hadn't been keen on losing dominance, as evidenced by a frustrated groan, she allowed it. She brought either leg up on each side of the biker's body, and Natsuki's hands instantly began to slide from Shizuru's knees up towards her thighs and hips, all while her lips and tongue attended to the upper half of her body. Shizuru moaned and bit her lower lip as Natsuki continued. She let her own hands rest on Natsuki's back, nails sinking in every now and again. Before she entirely lost it, and before Natsuki could go for the last article of clothing, Shizuru regained control long enough to roll over again, returning the same favors and going for the button to Natsuki's jeans, doing away with them quickly enough. The younger girl's body arched slightly as Shizuru's fangs found their way to her chest and remained there. The Kyoto woman let her nails tenderly scratch down Natsuki's sides before reaching that last piece of cloth, which, before Natsuki could protest (not that she would at that point), was thrown off to the side somewhere. Natsuki did not like surrendering in any way, shape or form. Shizuru's lips sank from Natsuki's neck, to her chest and to her stomach, their ultimate destination fairly obvious. She didn't like being without control, but admittedly had little enough experience to where she let the great sensei demonstrate. Just this once, anyway. Shizuru's actions, once she had reached her destination, were deliberately slow, merely to torment the younger woman. Though lost in her own world, Natsuki took note of every little thing Shizuru did. A hand joined the woman's tongue, and though she was trying to put it off for as long as possible, Natsuki lost contact with the world as her body lost itself in pleasure and icy heat. She released a yelp of ecstasy while her body shuddered. She fell back, panting, regaining her composure as Shizuru crawled back up to hold her. There they stayed until Natsuki's body had recovered, at which point Shizuru found herself the subject of attention. Teeth bit down on her collar as Natsuki's hand slowly made its way up her thighs before tossing away the pair of red underwear that had remained on for far too long. The hand returned a moment later. At first contact, Shizuru jumped a bit before rocking in time with every stroke and caress. Groans escaped her throat as it continued, and when it looked like she was getting closer, Natsuki slid down her torso and down between her legs, tongue darting out at just the spots Shizuru had hit earlier until the pleading and whimpers emitted by the elder girl became louder and more incoherent. Shizuru's body arched and shook, the Kyoto woman shouting out her companion's name as she lost herself for several long and wonderful moments before falling back to Earth. Her body was gripped by a few quick aftershocks, and Natsuki rested her head against Shizuru's inner thigh, kissing it once or twice before moving up once again. There, she fell into place beside Shizuru, who was in the process of regaining strength, unable to properly move just yet. And at that, Natsuki smirked, just a bit. She lay a hand on Shizuru's stomach and kissed her cheek tenderly, Shizuru turning to face her long enough for a proper kiss to be exchanged as Natsuki caressed her bare stomach. A few minutes of silence passed, neither wishing to speak because that would only ruin things. Shizuru rested her head against Natsuki's shoulder temporarily. She intended to do more after another moment or two. She noted Natsuki's smirk and rolled her crimson eyes. Great. Now she had to deal with an ego for the rest of the week. That was just what she needed. The smirk did eventually dissipate, replaced by a quite serious look. Natsuki pressed her lips against the side of Shizuru's face once again, lips barely leaving just long enough to breath out a somewhat husky, "Aishiteru." No tears, no giggling for joy. Shizuru just smiled lazily and shut her eyes again. "I know." Natsuki frowned. That was it? She brought a hand up and shoved Shizuru's head to the side, grumbling in protest. No way had she spend the entire last year figuring that out only to get 'I know' as the response! She was only refusing to say it in order to spite her. Her voice became one of demand. "Say it, brat." "Ara." She laughed slightly, shoving Natsuki back. "I mean it!" "I know you meant it. It was very touching. Natsuki is a sweet girl." Shizuru yelped as Natsuki bit her on the nose. "Ara, but she's feral too, unfortunately." "Say it." "Make me." At that, the smirk returned, which caused Shizuru to again roll her eyes. At least, until she saw that Natsuki was indeed set on following through with Shizuru's little dare. An hour later, the both of them sweat laden and happily fatigued, Shizuru relented. "Ara, ara. I had figured you would do that if I kept quiet. Aishiteru, Natsuki. You're a good little sexual pawn. Thank you." Dammit. - - - AN: askkksljf. Friends don't let their virgin friends write sex scenes, okay?! Stop me from doing this in the future. You get the above nonsense. But noooo. I know what you people really want when you read all these emo ShizNat fics. The pr0n. Yeah, we all know it so let's stop with the denial! So THERE. ...aakkkflgm. No more 3 AM smut writing for me. One more chapter. Probably a short one. In Natsuki's head: "Girlfriend has been exhausted!" - Final Fantasy victory fanfare - "+559 exp gained! Level up! New abilities mastered!"
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