Minato sighed delicately as she rolled along the sheets of her
moderately comfortable bed. She just could not believe the way things
had been going for her. It was like something out a romance comic. She
and Natsumi went out the night before, had the evening of a lifetime,
and then...then they kissed...
The moment that memory returned to Minato’s mind, the blonde haired
girl clutched her teddy bear to her chest and sighed helplessly.
{Oh, Natsumi’s so amazing...and she felt the same way about me...she
loves me. I have to be the luckiest girl in all of Japan...}
As crazy as it sounded, Minato did feel that way. She felt very lucky
for being able to take Natsumi into her arms. Nothing else seemed to
matter to Minato when she was Natsumi. All that mattered was that they
were together now.
However...
Minato frowned when she remembered the situation for what it was. No
matter how happy she was to be Natsumi’s girlfriend, there where
complications to consider.
Namely, the Cross Blade Lancer-Spring Breeze Assassin war. That was
the real obstacle. Neither Minato nor Natsumi were officially a member
of any of the gangs in Tomeishuu High. But because they were connected
to the two leaders of the most powerful gangs in school, Minato and
Natsumi were automatically divided.
Minato really couldn’t stand it. Why should she have to suffer just
because Rinako and Ayane can’t stand each other? It wasn’t fair. And
naturally, Natsumi felt the same way. Although Natsumi was more than
willing to tell everyone about the two of them. It was Minato who was
really holding back. But for obvious reasons. Minato knew her sister
better than anyone. If she told Rinako that she was in love with
Natsumi, Rinako would probably go nuts. And Minato didn’t want that.
She never wanted her sister to be upset with her.
And so, that was the nature of Minato’s dilemma.
**********
Natsumi whistled happily to herself, as she folded away her clothing.
Nothing could match the happiness she felt right now. Things were just
so great. She and Minato had a wonderful evening, they got a chance to
chat, get to know each other a little better...then it led to their
kiss.
The priestess of the Yakume shrine blushed furiously with the sweet
memory of Minato’s lips against her own. She had always thought that
Minato would be a good kisser, and needless to say, Natsumi was more
than correct. But the situation was still complicated. Natsumi had to
hide her feelings from everyone, simply because Ayane and Rinako have
their little feud. If Natsumi had her way, she would have told the
whole world by now. But Minato...she was reluctant to tell her Rinako
for fear of what she might say. Natsumi really couldn’t give a damn
about what Rinako thought about their relationship, but she did not
want to upset Minato either. So our shrine girl was stuck.
Not top mention that, but Natsumi still had her mission to deal with.
Aerolust was still at large, Natsumi had not located the Seal Child
yet and she suspected that it would come after Ayane at some point.
The black-haired girl felt guilty about that. Ayane was in real danger
but Natsumi could not say anything about Aerolust or the mission. Her
father had expressly warned her about that.
But, just like Minato, Natsumi did not let these problems get her
down. To know that Minato loved her was more than enough. And so,
Natsumi put away the dress she had worn last night and brought out her
school uniform with a cheery smile. Everything just looked wonderful
when you are in love.
Quickly Natsumi peeled off her nightgown and slipped into her auburn
coloured school dress. Then, just as Natsumi was about to pick up her
book bag, a knock came at the door.
“Come in.” Natsumi said.
The door clicked open, and the Spring Breeze Assassin leader, Ayane
stepped into Natsumi’s room. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see
Ayane but Natsumi had to admit, she wished that Minato were the one
who came through that door.
Natsumi tried not to show this, however. “Hi...Ayane.”
Ayane let a small grin creep onto her face, and leaned back on the far
wall, staring at an anxious Natsumi. The attention more than bothered
her.
“Well...what is it?” Natsumi asked.
Ayane grinned again. “Where were you last night?”
Natsumi almost choked on her own air. How the hell did Ayane know
about...? “What are you talking about?” Natsumi asked defensively.
“Izumi tells me that you snuck out last night, and didn’t come back
until curfew was long finished. So where were you going?”
A bead of sweat trickled down Natsumi’s cheek. It wasn’t like she was
hiding or anything...well; she was, technically, but...
{Arrh, dang it.} Natsumi thought privately. {Why the heck did Izumi
have to stick her nose into this? And whose business is it anyway? I
can go wherever I please. I’m not some little baby who needs to hold
mommy’s hand for protection! I can do what I-}
Natsumi’s thoughts were cut off by the demanding look in Ayane’s
bright gold eyes. “Well? I am waiting.”
Natsumi rolled her eyes and looked away. “I just went out, okay? It’s
no big deal I just...needed some air.”
Ayane was not convinced. “That’s not the way Izumi tells it.”
“Well you can tell Izumi to stay out of my business!” Natsumi yelled.
Ayane was a little thrown by Natsumi’s reaction. They were just
curious was all. Natsumi’s anger died down a little and she realized
that she had just jumped down her friend’s throat unfairly. Although
Ayane was one of the main reasons why Natsumi couldn’t make her
relationship with Minato public, that didn’t give her a right to snap
at Ayane.
“I’m...sorry, Ayane. I-I didn’t mean to snap at you like that.”
Natsumi said apologetically.
Ayane shook her head. “No. It’s okay. Everyone has their own secrets.
And for what it’s worth...I would like to thank you.”
The shrine girl was confused. “For what?”
Ayane walked over to Natsumi, her long time friend, and rested a hand
upon her shoulder. Natsumi was the one person that Ayane felt she
could count on. Not even Izumi had that much sway in Ayane’s mind.
That was something to be proud of, even if Natsumi didn’t really
understand it.
“I asked you to stay away from Minato and you did it for me.” Ayane
smiled. “I am thankful that you respected my wishes. You are the one
person I can trust more than anyone else. And for that I thank you my
friend.”
Natsumi looked away from Ayane and tried her best to fake a smile.
This just seemed to get more difficult by the second. But what was
worse...was that Natsumi actually felt like she had betrayed Ayane.
Nobody else knew Ayane the way she did. The white-haired fighter may
have had a strong heart, but it was also remarkably fragile. Ayane had
been let down many times in her life...would she be able to take
another disappointment?
Natsumi let her voice drift. “...Thanks...Ayane...”
**********
Minato scribbled in her diary, humming a romantic tune and smiling a
deep smile. Fortunately for Minato, she didn’t have any classes until
after lunchtime; therefore she had the morning to herself. So rather
than ‘waste’ her time studying like Mishizu would have done, Minato
whipped out her old diary and started afresh. Everything felt like a
new beginning now that Natsumi was in her life.
Minato lay down on her bed in her dorm room, took out a pencil from
her drawer, and started jotting down little facts and titbits from
last night. It was silly, but Minato could not stop thinking about it.
Still, it was going to be hard for her and Natsumi to see each other
from now on. In some ways Minato resented the CBL-SBA war because of
the restrictions it placed on her relationship with Natsumi. But at
the same time, the blonde had hated this war for a long time.
It wasn’t healthy for Rinako. Day by day, Minato felt like her sister
was becoming more and more obsessed with bring about the defeat of the
Spring Breeze Assassins. But it wasn’t really the SBA she was angry
with. It was mostly Ayane. Rinako’s anger towards Ayane was the
driving force behind all of her passion. But Minato had absolutely no
idea why Rinako hated Ayane so much.
Minato looked over to Rinako’s bed, her older sister was stirring from
her sleep. Classes started in about an hour’s time, so they had to get
ready soon.
“Hey, Rinako!” Yelled Minato. “You better wake up! Classes will start
in a while. And you want something to eat right?”
Rinako gritted her teeth and rolled over in her bed, doing her best to
block out Minato’s comments. She had been up all night training for
the next dual of control with Ayane. And with Rinako’s strict training
regiment, nothing would stop her from defeating the Spring Breeze
Assassin leader. But the strain on her body wasn’t going any either.
Rinako shut her eyes again. “I’m tired, Minato...just let me rest a
little while longer.”
Minato was willing to do that. If Rinako were that tired, then Minato
wouldn’t bother her. It was times like these that reminded Minato of
how much she cared about her sister. Minato wanted to do nothing to
upset her. But Minato’s relationship with Natsumi...
**********
Half an hour later, Rinako managed to haul herself from bed and get
her uniform on. Normally she would have gotten something to eat in the
main hall, but Rinako wasn’t all that hungry. Other things had been
bothering her lately. For one thing, Minato had been acting overly
cheery and happy. If Rinako’s guess was right, then Minato had to have
some sort of secret crush. Minato had been sneaking around a lot these
past two weeks. Rinako had caught a glimpse of Minato tiptoeing out of
the dorms last night, but she didn’t want to say anything to stop
Minato. Minato was entitled to her own life. But Rinako could not help
but wonder who it was that had Minato in a tizzy.
Also, Mishizu had been acting very...distant recently. Rinako had
tried to talk to her about it, but Mishizu only said that she was fine
and that Rinako should not worry about her. Ironic, but Rinako
couldn’t stop worrying. Never before had Rinako seen such a look
of...hurt in Mishizu’s eyes. The musician was always a quiet person,
but she had never been distant or isolated. And the real problem was
that Rinako could not understand *why* Mishizu had become so distanced
and withdrawn. It couldn’t be schoolwork; Mishizu was a grade-A
student, and one of the few people that Principal Yagami seemed to
take a shine to. And Rinako was sure that it wasn’t a guy, Mishizu had
never really been interested in men. But one thing did stand out in
Rinako’s head.
Izumi.
Rinako knew more than anyone that Izumi focused more of her attention
on Mishizu than anyone else in the CBL. Plus, Rinako had heard that
Izumi was bothering Mishizu two weeks ago. Even then Rinako was
threatening to sort out Izumi once and for all, but Mishizu just told
her to stay out of it. Rinako had been trying her best to do that, but
it wasn’t enough anymore.
Izumi was going to pay for hassling Mishizu.
Rinako decided to skip her first class to track down Izumi. Rinako
knew that the Wakabashi-girl didn’t have any classes until the second
period, which was perfect for Rinako. The Cross Blade Lancer’s leader
was going to find answers even if she had to beat them out of Izumi.
After cleaning up her bed and Minato’s (Minato had classes first
period so she didn’t have the time) Rinako strolled out of her dorm
room and made her way out of the dorm halls into the courtyard, then
down to the southern block. The workshops were down that side of
Tomeishuu, and Izumi always hung around in that area when waiting for
a class.
Rinako walked along the pathway to the hidden area behind the
workshops, and looked over to the massive bike shed across from her.
Izumi sat on the bench by the side of the bike shed silently, on her
own. Rinako was surprised that Izumi was on her own, this was free
territory; neither the Cross Blade Lancers nor the Spring Breeze
Assassins had control over this area of school. But whatever. Rinako
couldn’t give a damn about what happened to Izumi either way.
Now that the time was right and no other SBA’s were in sight, the
older Ikatsuji sister walked over to the large bike shed to confront a
silent Izumi.
Izumi herself was not in a good mood. Her feelings for Mishizu had
been getting the better of her. But Mishizu wasn’t giving her the time
of day. Not only that, but Mishizu was the enemy. What would the gang
think if they found out that she was in love with a Cross Blade
Lancer? Soon Izumi felt a shadow being cast over her and looked up. It
was Rinako. Izumi chuckled to herself a little. She never liked
Rinako, not even in the least. Not just because she was a CBL, but
because Mishizu was hopelessly in love with her. And while Mishizu had
her beautiful eyes and her caring heart locked on Rinako, there was no
room for anyone else.
I.e. Izumi.
And what made this situation even worse, was that Rinako had no clue
about how Mishizu felt about her.
{What a twisted love triangle.} Thought Izumi. (I love Mishizu,
Mishizu loves Rinako, and Rinako loves her stupid boy-toy, Keiji.
Kami-sama must be laughing his ass off.}
Izumi looked up at Rinako with thin eyes. “What do you want?”
Rinako’s stare was equally vicious. “I think you know the answer to
that question. I want you to tell me what the hell you did to Mishizu
and I want to know why.”
“I haven’t done anything to your lackey.” Snarled Izumi. “And even if
I had, why the hell should you care? It’s not like you really give a
damn about Mishizu anyway.”
Rinako couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Scum like you is
preaching to me about my best friend? I see some of that goddamn
Ayane’s bitchy qualities must have rubbed off on you, eh?”
Izumi looked away. “What do you want from me? Are you looking for a
fight? I may not be in the mood but I swear I’ll kick your ass if need
be.”
Rinako smirked, feeling a little bit of cocky anxiety seeping into
her. The idea of a decent fight was appealing to her, but that was not
what she was here for.
“Your life is safe.” Rinako quipped arrogantly. “I just wanted to let
you know that if you mess with Mishizu, you’re messing with me.”
Izumi’s eyes narrowed as she looked back at Rinako. “You can’t just
push me away from her. You don’t have that right.”
“Mishizu doesn’t want anything to do with you!” Screamed Rinako. “Why
can’t you get that through your thick skull? What is it with you? You
don’t like Mishizu but you’re always chasing her around. She hates
you!”
Izumi looked downwards, struggling to hold back tears. “That’s not
true.”
“The hell it isn’t.” Rinako said. “Mishizu doesn’t want to be stalked
by slime like you.”
Angrily, Izumi’s head jerked up to stare hard at Rinako. In an instant
her body rose up to stand, throwing harsh looks of contempt at her
adversary.
“You don’t know the first thing about Mishizu!” Izumi yelled.
Rinako clenched her fists. “Oh, and I suppose you do, eh? Someone she
can’t stand? You’re telling me that you know Mishizu better than I do,
even though she’s your enemy and my best friend? Now I know you’re
crazy...”
That was it. Izumi didn’t want to have to say this, she was worried
about Mishizu too, and saying this might put more strain on Mishizu as
well. But Rinako was asking for it.
“You wanna know why Mishizu’s been acting so strange lately, eh?”
Izumi scathed darkly. “Well it’s all down to you, Rinako!”
Rinako pushed back her anger with shock. “...What?”
“You’re the one causing her the pain, because you’re too damn
self-centred to give a crap about anyone else. So if I were you, I’d
keep my accusations to myself!”
Izumi stormed away, leaving behind a shocked Rinako. She was the one
who was making Mishizu so distant? It didn’t make sense to Rinako. And
so she came to the conclusion that this was another one of Izumi’s
petty little games. Rinako dashed over to Izumi was stomping way in
anger.
Rinako grabbed her wrist. “Hold on! You’re not going anywhere!”
Izumi tugged her wrist back sharply and faced Rinako. “Get away from
me!”
“I don’t care...what did you mean by that? How am I responsible for
Mishizu’s sadness? Are you lying to me?”
Izumi was incredulous. This girl was the leader of the Cross Blade
Lancers and Mishizu’s best friend. Yet she couldn’t even see that
Mishizu was in love with her. Izumi didn’t understand why Mishizu
liked this woman so much.
“You are so damn blind.” Izumi said sharply. “You can’t see it, can
you? And you’re Ayane’s greatest rival? Heh...what a joke!”
Rinako gritted her teeth. “Answer the question.”
Izumi crossed her arms, smiling condescendingly at Rinako. “Why should
I?”
Rinako did not relish the idea of starting a battle here, this place
was deserted but anyone could pop in here at any time. But Izumi was
asking for this, and she had been for a while. First she haunts
Mishizu like a prowler, and then she has the nerve to blame Rinako for
it. Rinako couldn’t take Izumi’s arrogance any longer.
Viciously, Rinako grabbed Izumi by the collar, and brought up her
tightly clenched fist. “I’ve had it with you, Izumi!”
“Hold it right there!”
Both Izumi and Mishizu looked over to see the headmaster of Tomeishuu
High, Principal Daisuke Yagami, walking over to them with a strict
face of annoyance plastered on his face.
Rinako quickly relinquished her grip on Izumi’s collar as Principal
Yagami walked over to the two of them. “Miss Ikatsuji and Miss
Wakabashi...” The principle said firmly. “What is going on here?”
Rinako tried her best to seem innocent. The last thing she need right
now was a detention during the weekend. “Nothing sir. Izumi and I were
just having a little chat.”
Principle Yagami looked at Izumi for conformation. “Is that true?”
Izumi nodded, staring at Rinako from the corner of her eyes. “Yes it
is true sir. We just had a little conversation that got a
bit...heated. Nothing to worry about.”
Principle Yagami didn’t buy that, but if they both said it was
nothing, then there was little he could do about it. “I see. Fine.
Then get back to your classes.”
Izumi smirked just as she walked away. “No probs, sir.”
“And last time I checked, you were not exempt from that rule, Miss
Ikatsuji. Get moving.”
Rinako nodded, throwing harsh looks in Izumi’s direction. “Yes sir.”
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