Here and Nao: Natsuki’s Predicament
Nao looked up at the panting Natsuki holding a half-rotten board.
She had gotten in over her head with one of her “dates” and had no HiME powers to back herself up. She resorted to the natural standby, screaming her head off and thrashing like a wildcat. Then, suddenly there was a loud ‘thump’ and the perv fell to the ground. She looked up and saw Natsuki had come to her aid. The dark-haired girl had never looked…so hot before! Nao felt her pulse race and her heart flutter. ‘What the hell? The first person to get me all hot and bothered is biker dyke?’ She took a second look at the other girl’s outfit, tight in all the right places. ‘Yep.’
“Are you all right?” Natsuki said, while offering her hand in typical action hero standard.
Nao blushed, but managed to keep her attitude. She stood up and wiped of the back of her uniform skirt. “I’m fine. I was getting ready to kick his ass anyway.” She kicked the unconscious bastard after emptying his wallet.
The older girl smirked. “Right...” She added in a sarcastic tone. “Are you going to stay out or do you want a ride home?” There was a surprising amount of care in those luminous green eyes.
Nao shrugged. “There’s nothing else to do here, so I guess I could let you take me home.” She added in a suggestive tone. Natsuki’s face turned red. ‘Now I can see why Shizuru enjoys this so much... Cute! ...Oh my goddess, I’ve lost my mind.’
Gentlemanly, Natsuki waited for her to walk beside her and escorted her to the waiting blue Ducati. Then, she passed Nao the spare helmet, which smelled like tea. ‘Obviously Shizuru’s.’ Which made her question: “Where’s Fujino?”
She didn’t realize that she had asked it aloud until the girl answered: “She’s helping to organize something at Fuuka University with Haruka. Knowing her, it’s going to take a while.” She sighed before muttering. “I hope she doesn’t keep Shizuru out too late. You know how she can go on and on.”
Nao chuckled. Then, a strange thought occurred to her. “How about I buy you dinner?” Nao blurted out before she realized it.
Natsuki looked shocked. She recovered nicely. “I guess it’d be okay, since I saved your butt and all.”
However, Nao was much too clever to let her keep the upper hand. “So you’ve been checking out my butt, haven’t you? Perhaps we should skip dinner and move directly to the fun part?”
Natsuki went bright red under the helmet. “Um… I… I’m…with Shizuru…”
The redhead sighed dramatically. “I know. I guess you break a lot of girls’ hearts this way.” She got on the bike. “Dinner’s still on me though.”
As they rode off, Nao still couldn’t get over the feeling of wrapping her arms around someone she might actually like. ‘She’s hot too, and so much fun to tease. Guys just get all perverted, but she responds with those cute blushes.’ She groaned internally. ‘You’re not a little girl Nao, you’re a teenager. Right… I guess that means I can still flirt.’ She grinned evilly as she tightened her grip and pressed her body against the girl in front of her. Natsuki barely flinched, but was obviously tense. ‘This is too much fun.’
-----
The unusual pair arrived at the Lindbaum diner near closing time. Natsuki wondered if Mai would still be at work. She noticed the other redhead still serving a few customers. ‘She’s too darn dependable; of course she’d be closing up!’
Nao didn’t give her much time to think about finding another place, simply coaxing her off the bike with a tug on her arm. Internally, she was celebrating. ‘Finally, I’ll have an audience to tease her in front of!’ She turned to check out the dark-haired girl, her jaw dropped. As Natsuki pulled off her helmet, her silky dark locks fell in a wave. Nao felt the universe go into slow-motion as Natsuki ran a hand through her hair.
“Is something wrong?” Nao was staring at her. She wondered if Nao had imbibed some alcohol or something illegal.
“Nothing!” was the hasty reply. ‘Damn it! I’m like a freakin’ school girl! Why can’t we be hostile like we used to be?’ A voice in her head answered: “Because she cares about you.” That sent her into a major blush, because she knew it was true.
The doorbell rang out into the quiet diner. “Welcome to Lindbaum!” Mai announced. “Hi, Natsuki and… Nao?” There were a lot of questions on the voluptuous girl’s mind. She directed an accusing eyebrow to Natsuki.
The biker girl responded quickly to the accusation, waving her hands anxiously. “I found her wandering the streets, so I offered to take her home. She got hungry, so I brought her here.”
Mai seemed to buy it so she led them to a booth and took their orders.
Nao noticed Natsuki’s anxiety about being accused of infidelity. She caught Mai’s attention when she brought out their drinks. “Kuga’s being a good girl. Remember, I’m the one who’s bad.” She ended with a purr that left no doubt who the seductress was. Mai gave her blushing friend a look of sympathy and returned to the kitchen.
Natsuki waited until the redhead was out of range and said: “Thanks, Yuuki. Mai’s one of my friends, and I’d hate for her to think I was cheating.”
“I meant what I said about being the bad girl…” Nao said as she ran her now shoeless foot up the biker girl’s calf. She thoroughly enjoyed the shiver she caused. “Do you think I’m bad?”
Natsuki sputtered for a minute. “You’re not bad; you’re just too horny for your own good.” She was examining the table like a forensic scientist on a homicide.
“Well, you’re the one who made me that way…” Nao said, surprising herself. Natsuki gaped in shock. She didn’t have a response to that.
Fortunately, Mai delivered the food, which made for an excellent distraction.
----
Nao paid for the meal, but was too cheap to leave a tip. Natsuki threw down some money and left the diner quickly. The redhead smirked at Mai, before following her prey out to the motorcycle. The girl handed her the helmet, before donning her own.
As Nao got on the bike and wrapped her hands around Natsuki’s waist, she got an idea. ‘Why the heck not?’ She hands slid upward until…
“Hey! Watch the hands, Nao!” Natsuki scolded.
Nao chuckled and laid her head down on Kuga’s shoulders. The ride home was peaceful… mostly.
----
Natsuki dropped her off near the dorm. As Nao removed her helmet, she took one of her more seductive poses. “What, no goodnight kiss? It’s a shame after such a wonderful evening.”
Natsuki blushed under the visor. “Sorry.” Nao improvised and leaned over to lay a kiss on the helmet’s visor, leaving a nearly-transparent lip mark. Natsuki looked completely flabbergasted. “Um… Bye.” The blue-haired girl mumbled before speeding off to the apartment she shared with Shizuru.
----
Shizuru was waiting for Natsuki patiently, reading her textbook. She wasn’t too worried about her girlfriend. Natsuki was tough. To her surprise, her cell phone began to ring. She noticed that it wasn’t Natsuki on the caller id.
“Hello, Mai. So, how do I have the pleasure of talking with you?” Her voice was sweet, as she was enjoying being a part of Natsuki’s growing social circle.
Mai was instantly in gossip mode. “Your girlfriend dropped by tonight.”
“Really? Did she eat something unhealthy?”
“No, she had company.”
“Who was it?” Shizuru wasn’t quick to jealousy. She knew that Natsuki would have a decent reason to bring someone with. She smiled at the thought of Natsuki feeding a hungry child, or a group of them.
“Nao.”
Shizuru’s fantasy popped. “What was going on? Were they fighting?”
“No, they weren’t trying to kill each other. If I’m not imagining things, I’d swear she was flirting with her like you do. Natsuki was behaving like a perfect gentleman. A blushing, distracted gentleman.”
“Really? That’s interesting.” Shizuru began to ponder the situation. “Thank you, Mai.”
“Is everything going to be all right?” Mai sounded concerned and slightly guilty.
“Thank you for your concern, but I’m sure Natsuki will have a reasonable explanation.”
----
Natsuki came in the door a few minutes later. Shizuru was seated on the couch sipping her tea. “Did Natsuki have anything interesting happen to her today?”
Natsuki felt a tremor of guilt. At first, she wanted to make up something, but she wanted a good relationship with Shizuru. So honesty it was… “I rescued Nao from one of her victims earlier and offered her a ride home. Instead, she decided to be generous and pay for a meal. Then, I dropped her off.”
Her brunette girlfriend patted the seat beside her gently. Natsuki sat down next to her looking repentant. “Did she flirt with you?”
Natsuki nodded shyly. “But I told her that I was with you.”
“What if you weren’t with me?”
Natsuki blushed. “I don’t know. She’s not horrible to be around… and she’s kind of cute when she’s not trying to kill me…” Then, she looked at Shizuru’s hand, which had just taken her own. “However, I don’t know what kind of person I would be without you. I’m sure I’d have hurt her too.”
“You’re such a sweet girl!” Shizuru said with a smile, patting her on the head like a dog. Natsuki pouted. “And so cute!” The former president promptly glomphed her and began to ease her worries.
----
Nao sighed as she sat awake in her bed that night. ‘Looks like I’ve finally caught the lesbian virus that’s been going around…’ She heard Aoi giggle in her sleep. 'I wonder who I caught it from...' She thought sarcastically. The image of Natsuki rescuing her appeared again in her head and she shivered. ‘I guess I don’t mind, but there’s no way that it would work out anyway, right? She’s all ready deeply involved with Shizuru.’ She rolled over to face the wall. ‘Could there be room in her heart for one more? It’s hopeless...’ She sighed. Sleep did not come easy.
----
Nao wasn’t sure why she was heading to class. She really hated history in the morning. ‘Why do they put the most boring subject so damn early in the morning?’ She tried to tell herself that it wasn’t the fact that she knew Natsuki would be at school. Shizuru had clearly made attendance a priority for her girlfriend.
Nao growled at a first year eyeing her. The poor guy ran off to cry. ‘I’ve still got it, even without my claws.’ She laughed the rest of the way to class.
---
At lunchtime, Nao decided to hunt down Natsuki. ‘What better time to catch her off guard?’ She grinned evilly. She knew about the secret spot where her prey usually had lunch with her girlfriend.
The redhead head was surprised to only meet Shizuru. ‘Apparently, the gig is up.’ “Hello, Fujino.”
“Good afternoon, Ms. Yuuki.”
There was no threat to her voice, which confused Nao. ‘Why isn’t she trying to tear my head off for flirting with her girlfriend?’ She wasn’t sure what to say. ‘“Hey, your girlfriend makes me frisky?” wouldn’t work…’
“I understand that you like Natsuki the way I do…” Shizuru prompted.
Nao scowled and crossed her arms. She turned her head, before muttering, “Yeah, I might… I can see why you like her.”
The tea-woman laughed softly. “I really don’t have a problem with it. I can’t always be around her, because of school business and I know you’d keep an excellent eye on her.” She dropped her voice conspiratorially. “Besides, if I hadn’t caught her earlier, you might have had a chance, according to Natsuki.”
Nao blushed deeply as her heart pounded. She was perplexed. “But why give me a chance? She’s all yours! I figured you wouldn’t want to share.”
“Natsuki has taught me a lot of things since I’ve met her. One thing is that if you truly love someone, don’t let go. I know what it’s like to find my special someone. It makes me really happy that Natsuki’s so beautiful that she could draw someone else into her heart.”
“Thanks Fujino…” Nao sat down beside her.
Shizuru assumed a business-like tone. “Now, I didn’t say there wouldn’t be conditions. As her girlfriend, I still want to protect her heart. I know that if you really love her, you’ll be willing to change some things for her.”
Nao nodded. “What kind of changes?”
“Besides attending school regularly, there can be no more of these “date robberies.” It would be terrible for Natsuki if you got hurt or arrested. She might blame herself for not being there for you.”
Nao internally agreed, “But how am I supposed to pay for my mother’s medical bills?”
Shizuru smiled. “You’ll get a real job, of course.”
“With minimum wage the way it is, that’ll take a hundred years to pay it off!”
“Not if you’re the personal assistant to a wealthy heiress.” There was a devious smirk.
Nao returned it. “I like how you think, Fujino.” She took a sultry tone. “What are my duties, my lady?”
“Why helping me take care of Natsuki, of course!” If Natsuki had heard the pair of devious laughs that followed, she would have cold chills for a week, not to mention a permanent blush.
----
Natsuki returned to her shared apartment after school with a new economy-size jar of mayonnaise. ‘I’ve got to hide this before Shizuru gets home.’ She felt a sudden cold chill before she opened the door. ‘I’d better hurry.’ She was confused to see an extra pair of shoes at the door and a cardboard box sitting on the floor. ‘What’s going on?’
It was no surprise to see Shizuru with tea, but today she was not alone. “Nao?! What are you doing here?”
The redhead nonchalantly looks at the blue-haired girl. “Fujino’s hiring me to keep you in line. It’ll be a lot easier to do my job if I live here.” She shared a sly glance with her Kyoto counterpart.
Natsuki was flabbergasted. ‘I’ve got nowhere to run from the two of them!’ “Don’t I get any say in this?”
“Nope!” was the simultaneous reply.
Nao took on a sly look. “You know, some of your private collection fits me very well… Wanna see?” She playfully toyed with the edge of her skirt.
Shizuru walked up to face Natsuki. “You don’t mind, do you?” Natsuki, embarrassed and nervous, shook her head. “Good.” Her girlfriend proceeded to kiss her senseless, then stepping behind her and embracing her.
When Natsuki managed to open her eyes, she noticed that Nao’s face was inches away from her own. Before she could stutter or blush, the redhead leaned up and kissed her warmly. As she pulled away, Natsuki was still speechless. Shizuru leaned over and pecked Nao on the lips and they shared that devious grin again.
Nao laughed. “I get to tie her up for a third time. Are you going to rescue her again, Fujino?”
Shizuru chuckled. “No, I think we should use this opportunity to show Natsuki the depth of our affections.”
If Natsuki wasn’t so tough, she would have fainted.
-----
(Later)
In between her two girlfriends, Natsuki decided to ask. “How is this going to work out in the future? Isn’t polygamy illegal?”
Shizuru smiled before kissing Natsuki’s cheek. “We figured that out earlier over tea.”
Nao smirked. “Shizuru will be your wife and I’ll be your mistress!”
And they lived happily yuri-ly after. At least, until Chie told Mikoto about Mai’s hidden candy…. And Yukino accidentally shrunk Haruka’s shirts. The resulting couples also lived quite happily.
----
It is said that you can find more than one love in a lifetime. Who says that the two won’t find you?
End
Omake (free of charge – thanks to Chloe-chan)
Natsuki entered the apartment. She was surprised to see an additional pair of shoes and a cardboard box at the door. “Shizuru? Are you home?”
She proceeded carefully through the apartment, listening to see if her girlfriend were merely hiding. The biker girl decided to change into something more comfortable before her other half made it home. ‘I’ll put on those jeans that Shizuru loves so much.’
She opened up the door and gasped. On the bed were Shizuru…and Nao! Both were outfitted in lingerie. Shizuru was fitted in her favorite “Natsuki hunter” set up while Nao had filched something from Kuga’s own collection.
Her jaw dropped and she felt steam pour out her ears.
“Aren’t you ready to relax, Natsuki?” Shizuru said, with her usual smile.
“We’ll make you so relaxed that you’ll never want to leave.” Nao said with a seductive grin.
Natsuki fainted.
Nao pouted. “I wanted her to struggle. She’ll be too boring now.”
Shizuru smile. “Nao dear, she’ll struggle after she wakes up. We’ve got an opportunity to surprise her again!”
Omake end