The street behind the Fujino residence was quiet and empty when Natsuki arrived. While not entirely dark due to the street lamps intermittently spaced along the sidewalk, there were still enough shadowy areas around for her to stay concealed. She parked her bike at a distance before making her way to the gate. Now it was just a waiting game: someone would have to leave or enter the gate in order for her to have a chance to slip through. At this time of night, it was more likely that someone would be leaving the house, having finished their work for the day. So Natsuki waited. It was nearly an hour before her ears detected the sound of an engine approaching, and she was chilled to the bone from the frigid night air. The gate began to open, and she readied herself. A small, compact car exited, and luckily turned in the opposite direction of Natsuki when it got onto the street. Also fortunately for Natsuki, the gate was somewhat slow to shut, and she was able to dash inside before it closed. Now inside the grounds, she stayed close to the wall in the shadows as she scoped out her surroundings. From her position she could see the back of the mansion. There were several doors along the back of the house, one of them less conspicuous than the others and probably used by the staff. A few guards were patrolling the yard, but they were at a fair distance from her. The fact that the land between Natsuki and the house was mostly wooded enabled her to sneak up to the back wall without being detected. Crouching down behinds some bushes, she crept up to the door. Trying the handle, she was surprised to find it unlocked. Whoever had left most recently must have forgotten to lock up. They probably weren't accustomed to break-ins very often, if ever, so such a slip-up wasn't to be entirely unexpected. Once she'd slipped inside, Natsuki noted that she was in some sort of locker room/lounge for the various employees who worked at the estate. There were couches and chairs, as well as bathrooms and changing rooms. Several garment racks lined the wall, with various uniforms hanging from them. Natsuki looked down at her current attire; the black leather bodysuit she wore when riding her motorcycle wasn't exactly the most low profile type of clothing to wear while walking through the interior of a house. She eyed the maid uniforms on the rack, letting out a sigh as she picked out one that looked to be her size and went into a changing room. She emerged from the room, fully dressed in her new ensemble, and looked at herself in a mirror. The dress was black with white lace trim and short, puffy sleeves. The neck was scooped and the short skirt rested atop a poofed white petticoat. A white pinafore tied around her waist and she wore long white gloves that went just past her elbows. The look was completed by black stockings and black heels. The women who work here actually wear this? She wondered to herself, blushing at her appearance. There wasn't time to linger, so Natsuki went to the door that led to the rest of the house. She peeped her head out, looking down the hall both ways and saw that the coast was clear. So far it had been fairly easy for her to get in, but she knew that she was bound to come across someone before too long. She quickly made her way down the hallway, being careful to stay as quiet as she possibly could. Though she didn't really know where she was going, she knew she had to head up to the second floor where Shizuru's bedroom was. For now, that was where she was assuming Shizuru was being kept. Natsuki passed a closed door, behind which she could hear the clanking and clattering of dishes and pots and pans. The kitchen. She realized with excitement that the dining room must be fairly close; she knew how to get to Shizuru's room from there. She hurried her pace. A woman's voice behind her halted her steps, "Hey you! Stop right there!" Natsuki turned around. The door to the kitchen had opened and a woman also dressed in a maid's uniform was leaning out of it. "I need you to help me, so come here," the woman said to her. She thinks I work here, whew, I'm glad I decided to change clothes, Natsuki thought to herself as she walked over to the woman. Natsuki noticed she was looking at her strangely and she began to get nervous. "Eh? I've never seen you before. What's your name?" the woman asked. "Uh, I'm Ku...gawa. Kugawa Nat...sume. I'm new here," Natsuki stuttered. "Kugawa Natsume huh? Well, I heard we were going to get someone new, but I didn't know they were already hired. Anyway, come in here Kugawa-san, I need you to help me carry some things." Woah, that was a close one. Relieved that the woman had bought her story, she followed her into the kitchen. Several trays were laid out on the counter with what appeared to be someone's dinner. "Alright, grab one of these trays and help me take it upstairs," she told Natsuki. Complying, Natsuki took one and followed the other maid. "Who are we taking this to?" she asked her curiously. "Oh, well the ojou-sama's been confined to her room lately, so we've been having to take her meals up to her." We're going to Shizuru's room! What luck! Hmmm, maybe I should get some more information from this woman. "Why is she being confined to her room?" Natsuki asked innocently. "You mean you haven't heard about it yet? I thought everyone knew. Anyway, one of the maids was passing by the ojou-sama's room last night and heard some noises inside. I guess she stopped and listened some more—turns out the ojou was having sex with her friend. And what's more, it was her female friend." Natsuki nearly dropped her tray, her face was bright red. "Hey! Be careful with that, we'd have some big trouble on our hands if you dropped it." "Uh, yeah, sorry. I'll be more careful." "Please do. Where was I? Oh yeah, so the maid told the head maid, and then the head maid told Mr. Fujino. I guess he was pretty angry about it and he told the ojou that she couldn't see or talk to her friend any more and he's been keeping her shut up in her room since then. Apparently he took away her phone too. Things have been pretty tense around here. Not to mention the ojou isn't happy about the current arrangements at all. She's tried to force her way out of her room several times, and has been giving the guards a hell of a time." "Guards?" asked Natsuki, the anger evident in her voice. "Yes, the guards. Hey, are you ok?" "Yeah, I'm fine," Natsuki replied, trying to sound cheery. The other woman seemed satisfied and they continued down the hall. By now they were on the second floor and heading for Shizuru's bedroom. As they neared it, Natsuki could see two men standing in front of the door with weary looks on their faces. "We're here to bring the ojou-sama her dinner," said the woman to the two guards. "Alright, go ahead inside, but be careful—she's being extremely difficult," one of them said. He unlocked the door and let them in. When they entered, Shizuru was sitting off to the right side of the room in her armchair with her head leaned back and her eyes closed. Her hand was holding her forehead as if she had a headache. "Just set it on the table and leave," she said, without opening her eyes. "Yes ma'am," said the other woman as she went to the table to set down her tray. "As you wish, ma'am," said Natsuki, watching as Shizuru's eyes snapped open at the sound of her voice. Their eyes met and time seemed to stand still. Natsuki saw Shizuru mouth her name silently, her face wearing a shocked expression. The trance was broken when the maid cleared her throat and said, "Kugawa-san...the tray please?" Natsuki tore her gaze from Shizuru and took her tray over to the table as well. "Please enjoy your dinner miss, we'll be leaving now," said the maid. "Wait," Shizuru said. "I'd like the girl with you to stay here, I wish to talk with her." "I'm sorry ma'am, but we really must go. We aren't allowed-" "Let her stay, or I will be very, very displeased," said Shizuru in a quiet, yet intimidating tone. "Yes ma'am," said the other maid nervously, giving Natsuki a look that said 'be careful' as she walked to the door. The door shut, and the woman's voice could be heard as she explained to the guards why 'Kugawa-san' was still in the room. She was soon forgotten, however, as Shizuru and Natsuki went to each other. "I knew you'd come," whispered Shizuru into the other girl's neck as they embraced. She pulled back and let her eyes roam over Natsuki's uniform-clad body. "Ara? Natsuki-chan looks so adorable, is this for me?" "Shizuru," Natsuki pleaded, "this is no time for joking, we need to get out of here, and fast." She walked over to the window and looked down—they were definitely too high to exit that way. That left only one other way: back out the door and past the guards. "Alright Shizuru," she said, "I have a plan..."
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