Off in the distance, a lone man could be seen pushing a dull red lawnmower across a huge expanse of bright green grass. The sweet smell of grass clippings floated through a gentle breeze to a hill far away, pleasing to the girl who lay on the grassy knoll. Here the laborer had yet to go about his work, so the grass was lush and long underneath her, tickling the calves that extended past short khakis and the smooth, round arms crossed beneath her head, poking out from the loose sleeves of a brilliant summery t-shirt. The sun shone in the sky in a rare display of moderation; it was bright and clear, but with only a delicious warmth bathing the land below, rather than any sweltering heat. Relaxing, she let the heat seep into her body, filling aching muscles with a fatigue-melting warmth. A small, effortless smile prettied her lips and marked light dimples in her cheeks. Mai had used most of the week's break taking extra shifts at the Linden Baum, the restaurant she worked at. It was only the repeated cajoling of her brother and his girlfriend, and the bright, hopeful look in her roommate's eyes at the thought of an outing, that made her relent and take a day off. The soreness she'd developed in her feet, ankles, and calves from all the extra hours on her legs might have had something to do with it as well.
The beautiful day that had greeted her outing only seemed to serve as confirmation of the rightness of her course. The world itself seemed to support her decision to take a day off, so who was she to argue? Her usual idea of a fun day in the park didn't usually involve napping on the lawn, but she wasn't going to argue with that, either. She just hoped Mikoto was having fun.
In some way, Mai's hope was fulfilled, though she might have wished it done in a quieter fashion. As she half-dozed, she suddenly heard a piercing yell in a voice that was only too familiar to her. Here eyes snapped open instantly, worry flashing in her lavender eyes, and she bolted up. All in disarray, her red hair swung around her face and she glanced around for the source of her concern. She looked down the hill, and near the base where the gentle slope flattened out, she saw Mikoto leaping through the air with a ferocious draw to her lips. It was directed, to her surprise and horror, at Akira standing calmly beneath her. Before Mai could gather enough of her wits to cry out or anything else, she saw Akira coolly slip past Mikoto's airborne form and punch her solidly in the thigh. Surprise and some small amount of pain registered in Mikoto's eyes and she fell to the grass with what Mai felt to be a horribly hard-sounding thud! Even so, it looked like she somehow managed to keep her head, and swept her good leg to take an equally surprised Akira's out from under her. Mikoto rolled over and looked to jump back up, but it became immediately apparent that Akira's hit had cramped up her thigh, and she couldn't do much more than sit herself up for a few long seconds. Long enough seconds for Mai to get herself together and finally intervene.
"M-Mikoto! Akira, Mikoto, what are you doing!?" She levered herself to her feet and started down the hill in a skipping, hopping gait that was fast as she could manage downhill. Akira, rising, turned to face her, looking slightly chagrined, but Mikoto regarded her with bright, happy eyes and a grin to match. Mikoto's attitude gave her a pause, and in that time her brother, surprised by her sudden leap up and run down to the pair, caught up to her and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"No, sis, it's okay. They were just playing," he said. Mai turned incredulously to him.
"Playing? Takumi, are you blind?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously then. "Wait, did you just watch these two go at it?"
"You think I could stop her?" Takumi noted plaintively, glancing at his girlfriend."
"He's my boyfriend, not my mother, Mai-san." Akira chipped in, but Mai fixed them both with flat looks and they fell silent, realizing that they should perhaps have explained before giving in to quips. Mikoto managed to lever herself up now, and hopped with only a little residual limp towards Mai.
"Mai!" She began, her usual simple greeting. Even she could see that something was bothering Mai, and tried to reassure her that everything was fine. "I'm sure having fun, I'm glad you decided to take a day off." She tossed her arms around her favorite person and, as she couldn't recall having done so for at least an hour, indulged in a thorough nuzzling of Mai's chest. Much of Mai's ire faded away at this point, and a warm smile spread across her lips again. Mikoto had that effect on her, now and again. Instead, she fixed a look of mild irritation at her brother's girlfriend.
"What is going on here, then?"
"We were sparring." Akira said simply. Mai looked hard, but couldn't sense any duplicity here.
"Calm down, sis," Takumi entreated again, soothingly.
Mai started. "Oh, sure. Well, jeez, you scared me!" She said defensively, "How was I supposed to know?"
Akira shrugged, and it was Mikoto who spoke up again. "It's okay, Mai." With that easy declaration, Mai gave up. Mikoto let go of her, too, and turned to Akira.
"You're strong," she noted. Akira allowed a little smile.
"And you're nothing if unpredictable, Mikoto-san. Have you actually had and unarmed training?"
Mikoto frowned in thought. "A little bit, but..." Mai noticed Mikoto's hands rise to the front her her, curling into fists and twisting in the air as if holding something. She wondered if Mikoto herself knew that she was doing it.
Akira noticed the motion as well, and nodded understandingly. "It probably wasn't much. Why bother, when you have a sword that can be called to hand at a moment's notice?" Mikoto's eyes brightened; she nodded vigorously.
"You've got enough talent for this, though." Akira admitted grudgingly. "Although, if I wasn't rusty, I don't think you'd ever have landed that hit." Mai, though she still disapproved of what had transpired, had to hide a grin at Akira's disgruntled tone. She obviously had a bit of pride in her own skills, and probably felt she'd just made a fool of herself. Mikoto just grinned broadly in answer and took a drink from a water bottle that lay to the side. She hefted Akira's as well, and offered it to her. Akira looked surprised for a moment, then laughed ruefully, accepting.
"The way you act, I'm almost surprised you didn't apologize for tripping me."
"Apologize?" Mikoto echoed, looking at her blankly, "For what? We can just do it again. That was only round one," she said in a matter-of-fact sort of way.
"Round one? Out of how many?" Akira questioned.
"Do you feel like stopping yet?"
"No."
"Round one out of not enough yet, then," Mikoto answered promptly.
Mai exchanged a startled look with Takumi, and she sighed. "This is going to give me gray hair, I just know it."
Takumi hid his own grin, "It's okay, sis. They'll be fine, let them have their fun."
Mai turned on her heel, making her way back up the slope. She grumbled the whole way up, "Why can't they have fun like normal people? Go throw a frisbee, or eat some ice-cream, or something." She lay back on the grass and looked up to the sky, watching wispy trails of clouds streaking their way to the horizon and trying not to hear the intermittent thuds of what she hoped were arms and legs making contact, rather than heads and other places neither of them needed to be knocking on. The occasional shout by either of them continued to startle her, especially the familiar one of Mikoto, but she was mostly able to live with them after a little while.
"Is a little normality too much to ask?" She asked plaintively to Takumi, who had sat back back down beside her, knees drawn up to his chest and arms looped loosely around them. He shrugged helplessly, not sure how to answer that. He didn't have to, though, as another voice came from behind them to answer, though Mai might have preferred that it not.
"Are you calling yourself normal, mama Mai?" The statement was accompanied by a snort of derision. Mai knew the voice well, so much so that she didn't bother to face her to reply.
"More normal than a first-year who's more occupied with knowing every man in the city by their given name than coming to class." There was no love lost between Yuuki Nao and Tokiha Mai. To Mai's thought, these scars were too deep for any amount of cosmic patching to fix.
"Come now, you really think I go to that much trouble? You don't need to know a man's name to call him on the phone. I just mark them down as Moron 3-K and Idiot 4-B and Pervert 2-V and such. Much simpler that way; any chance you want to know what designation your hubby with the sideburns got?" Mai whirled her face to Nao's wicked grin."
"Shut your mouth, you harlot!" Mai levered herself up on her elbows and whirled her head about to face Nao. "Go away and leave decent people alone!" Nao certainly wasn't decent, to Mai's eye. She was wearing jeans that seemed impossibly tight, and rode sinfully low on her slender hips, while it seemed unbelievable that a blouse could be unbuttoned that far without actually showing anything--though that might change were Nao to lean forward any further than twenty degrees or so. Mai looked at her, eyes blazing furiously. There was no way Tate would ever do something like that, she though angrily.
"Decency! Ha, that's a good one. That's what you'd like everybody to think, isn't it? Goody, kind mama Mai, nobody sees what kind of twisted memories you've got locked up inside." Nao's eyes turned cold and malicious. "Once a killer, always a killer."
"You don't know what you're talking about!" Mai spat back lamely, the words burning into her. Nao pressed her advantage, her smile staying fixed firmly in place.
"What's this?" She said, feigning surprise. "Got your little pet fighting for your amusement? Or is this just a little exercise to make her... tender, for later, saving your pretty little hands the work? Even I'm not that twisted." She gave her an expression of mock horror.
"Yuuki-san, that's enough!" Takumi yelled, eyes hard.
"What are you on about? I wasn't talking to you, brat. If you wanna send your boyfriend out to fight and keep tough, that's no business of mine. Takumi flushed darkly.
"Nao--" Mai started, but the sound of Nao's phone in her bag interrupted. She flipped it open and read whatever message she'd received.
"Guess we'll have to continue our chat later, chums. My wallet just arrived for lunch. Ciao." She made a gesture akin to a friendly wave, but with a feeling more similar to flicking something repulsive off of her fingers, and sauntered away.
"Never would be too soon, you vile girl," Mai muttered, and saw that even her easy-going brother nodded his agreement, a distasteful twist to his lips. Trying to shove her mind from the unpleasant encounter, Mai found her eyes drawn back over to the fighting--sparring, she corrected herself--at the bottom of the hill. Nao's intrusion chanced to be somewhat unfortunate for the both of them as well, because it was only then with Mai watching that Akira accidentally landed a solid kick to the side of Mikoto's head, and Mikoto crumpled. Mai yelped, but Akira was instantly over to her, helping her up with a strong hand. Mai was there almost as quickly, having jumped up and gone down, again. She shoved Akira out of the way so she could have a look at her roommate.
"Mikoto!" She whirled angrily to Akira again, too, but was stopped when Mikoto blinked a few times and held out a pacifying hand.
"No, Mai. It's okay." Mikoto turned to look at the girl who'd so handily laid her out. "You didn't even hit as hard as you could, right?" Akira shook her head, though Mai could be heard to mutter rather loudly,
"Looked hard enough to me..."
"That was really neat, how you made me open like that." Mikoto said brightly. "I didn't even notice how I'd gotten my heel out of position, pivoting around that thrust of yours. All I had to do was drop my guard to block those punches, and I couldn't have done a thing to prevent your kick." Mikoto spoke with a warm admiration for the events that had led to her being kicked in the head, and Akira smiled at her spirit.
"I really was only ever good at fighting with Miroku," Mikoto continued, frowning. "Do you think you could teach me how you fight? That would be fun!"
The thunderclouds in Mai's face said that she didn't agree in the slightest with this assessment, but before she could voice an objection Akira had acquiesced.
"Uh, sure. I'm not sure if I'd be a good teacher, but I'll try. Should be easier than trying to convince Taku-chi that he should learn to defend himself." She jerked a thumb at the boyfriend in question.
"A-Akira-chan!" Takumi stammered, flushing, and Mai giggled.
"Taku-chi?" She asked him teasingly, and he turned away, stamping his way back up the hill again. Akira rolled her eyes, but smiled tenderly.
"Better go cheer him up. Mikoto-san, I'll leave it to you to convince Mai-san that we won't kill one another." Mai, still slightly amused at this girl's interaction with her brother, watched her go up the hill. She sat down and through and arm around Takumi's shoulder, almost more like a buddy than a girlfriend, but then she leaned to his ear in a slightly more intimate fashion. Mai couldn't know what she whispered, but soon he was cracking up and laughing, and she kissed him on the cheek. Mai had to smother a sudden flaring of jealous sisterly protectiveness, then felt happy for her little brother. Then she smothered that happiness, and turned a stern, unyielding face to the girl she still held in her arms. Mikoto had been quiet for all of this, not having too much trouble in just sitting and being held by Mai for a little while.
"Now look here, Mikot... Miko..." Mikoto was looking up at her with the biggest, most limpid golden eyes, and her lower lip trembling, and her shoulders slumped down in the most dejected way. She didn't say a single word to interrupt Mai, but she didn't have to. "Mik... Mi..." Mai futilely tried once more, then sighed. "Fine! Have fun, but don't you expect me to feed you when you break both your arms, or something. Mai crossed her arms beneath her breasts and huffed, turning away and refusing to look at Mikoto any more. That didn't stop Mikoto from leaping at her and enjoying a good nuzzle, though, as Mai should have known the girl would do. Mai tried to retain her disapproving air, but soon relented and hugged Mikoto back, giving her a kiss atop her head and saying softly,
"Just be careful. Don't scare me like that again, Mikoto." Granted, Mai knew that Mikoto had been through situations far worse than what she'd witnessed, without receiving any injury worse than a hunger pang, but she still worried about her.
"How adorable," Mai heard a wry but kind voice behind her, and craned her neck around to see Akira. Mikoto's face popped up over Mai's shoulder, too.
"You're back," Mikoto said happily, "Can I start learning now?"
"If it's okay with your moth--"
"Don't say it," Mai said, eyes narrow. Mikoto disengaged herself from Mai and leapfrogged over her caretaker to land in front of Akira. Mai tried to smile her benediction to the both of them, but it came across as a bit sickly. She walked back up to Takumi, and sat watching the two of them below. Akira had insisted they start with the basics, and Mai watched them go slowly and carefully through the motions.
"I suppose this looks safe enough," Mai remarked. She lay back down and tried to relax again, and enjoy this marvelous last Spring day before school started again, the day that she'd felt so sure was a gift to her from the world for all her hard work. It didn't take long now for the soft breeze, cool grass, and warm sun to weave a spell through her mind and encourage her eyes to close, falling into a light doze again. When next she became aware of her surroundings, it was at a gentle call from Takumi. Not to her, but to the others. She noticed that the warmth and light seemed less prominent, and wondered what time it was. She wasn't quite ready to relinquish the relaxation she'd found yet, though, so she kept her eyes shut and tried to fall back into a doze.
"Hey you two, why don't you take a break? You've been going at it for hours," Takumi reminded them conscientiously, and Mai didn't have any trouble imagining Mikoto and Akira losing track of time down there. Mai heard them approach, surprised to hear them laughing like they'd been friends for years.
"You're doing well," Akira said. Mai heard a thump nearby that sounded like the tomboy flopping down unceremoniously. It was followed by a similar thump, closer to Mai herself, that must have been Mikoto. Her suspicion was verified when a small weight suddenly settled itself at atop one of her breasts, and a smaller one--shaped rather like a little hand--settled on her other.
"So what have you been up to this whole time, man of mine?" Akira said, addressing Takumi now.
"I've been happy watching you enjoy yourself, Akira-chan."
"You're either really lazy, or trying to be sweet," Akira said sardonically, but with a note of affection.
"Trying to be?" Takumi objected in mock protest.
"Of course, nobody says sappy things like that any more." There was a pause, and Mai couldn't help but peek a little, to see Takumi quirking an eyebrow up at his girlfriend. Mai suppressed a giggle, apparently Takumi wasn't quite as susceptible to Akira's teasing as he had once been. "At least nobody besides my boyfriend," Akira amended, smiling. "Just my luck." She leaned closer to Takumi, and poked her head up to look over at Mai. Mai tried to shut close the little crack in her eyes before she was found out, and since Akira didn't say anything she thought she'd succeeded. Akira laughed, and for a moment Mai thought that she'd been discovered, but that was cleared up when Akira spluttered,
"I guess I'm finished practicing with Mikoto-san." Mai listened, and Mikoto's breath was coming in the regular draws of sleep. Takumi laughed as well, and Mai noticed that he did so a little more quietly, trying not to disturb either of them.
"She just went to sleep with you over here?" Akira asked.
"Leave her alone," Takumi admonished gently. "She works hard, you know, with her job and school."
"And Mikoto-san," Akira through in.
"And Mikoto-san," Takumi agreed, then continued thoughtfully. "You know, I think maybe we should do something nice for her, then. To thank her for everything."
"Sure," Akira said. "She's been good to most of us, if a little meddling. I can accept that in trade for a hot meal, though."
"She's usually good for that," Takumi said, and the little annoyance Mai had felt at "meddling" washed away.
"So what does she like to do, karaoke? Let's take her out some time, you and me. She can bring Tate, have a double-date or something." Mai felt herself becoming excited already at the mention of it, she loved to go sing.
"That's a great idea, Akira-chan!" Takumi said enthusiastically. "I'm sure she would love that."
"Great," Akira said dryly. "Now you know what I would love?"
"Huh? What's that?"
"For you to shut up." Mai didn't need her eyes open to know what came after that, though she was able to hear a little bit of it. What surprised her, though, was feeling Mikoto suddenly rise up off of her, and move to the busy couple. Mai debated whether to pretend to suddenly wake up, or continue her subterfuge.
"Why do you do that?" Mikoto suddenly asked, and Mai groaned inside, decided to keep pretending to avoid this situation. Besides, maybe Akira and Takumi could teach Mikoto a life lesson and save her some trouble.
"Er, you have seen people doing this before, right, Mikoto-chan?" Takumi said haltingly.
"Yup!" Mikoto answered brightly, "Yukino and Haruka and Chie and Aoi--"
"Enough, that's really enough!" Akira said now, "We don't need to know which girls around here have been locking lips with their boyfriends," she grumbled.
"Boyfriends?" Mikoto said questioningly, and Mai felt a sudden suspicion, but then Takumi was rolling the conversation along.
"Er, yes. This is something you do with people you love. Or just really like, I suppose. That's pretty much it." Mai heard Mikoto make a wondering little noise, and crawl back over towards her. Mai assumed that she was going to hunker back down to continue her rest now that her curiosity had been satisfied. What Mai did not consider, however, was suddenly feeling a pair of lips press down on her own. Her breath stopped in her throat and her muscles tightened.
"I really, really love Mai!" Mikoto announced to the other two. "Thanks for teaching me that."
There was a moment's silence, in which Mai tried to calm down and regulate her breathing. Suddenly jumping up didn't seem like the best idea. Perhaps she could just try to pretend that hadn't happened and go about life as usual.
"Yeah, Taku-chi here is a real good teacher," Akira spoke, voice dripping with sarcasm. "But, ah, why don't you ask Mai-san about it some more later, she might know a few important details, too."
"Okay," Mikoto agreed. "Can you show me some more now, Akira?"
"N-no!" The ninja girl yelped, initially mistaking her meaning, but hastily backtracked before Mikoto's feelings were hurt. "Oh! Sparring, sure, we can do that. Go ahead and get ready." Mai heard Mikoto rise, and her footsteps pounding down the hill.
Akira started to rise, but stopped at Takumi's chuckle. "What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing really. But I think that makes Mikoto-chan the proud owner of my sister's first two kisses."
"What about Tate?" Akira said automatically.
"I'm not sure if they've actually managed that yet," Takumi said. "At least I haven't seen it. Mikoto has some early ones, at least." Mai, listening in, knew that Takumi had gotten the truth of it the first time. She and Tate hadn't spent nearly as much time together as they might have hoped since the end of the year.
"And one of those is your fault now," Akira pointed out. "Better hope Mai-san doesn't catch on to that part, eh?"
"Ah," Takumi considered. "Yes, I don't think I want her to find out that part."
Mai chose that moment to yawn exaggeratedly. "Don't want who to find out what, Takumi?" She asked sleepily, fixing him with sweet eyes.
"N-nothing, sis." He said, voice rising half an octave. Akira laughed loudly, also looking slightly startled, and clapped Takumi on the back hard enough to make him cough before she loped down the hill to join Mikoto, making her escape. A mean thought crossed Mai's mind, then, and she smacked her lips.
"That's odd. I swear I suddenly taste something fishy, but it was Mikoto that had the fish earlier. Isn't that strange, Takumi?"
Takumi laughed weakly.