All With Good Intentions (part 11 of 11)
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Author's Note: Ok, so I FINALLY finished this fic...but not quite. I tried to lay the groundwork for a sequel which has been banging around in my head for some time now. Irritating muse. Drives me nuts. Anyway...especial thanks go to my wife for putting up with me every time I get a notion to write. I totally turn into a one-track minded dork when an idea comes and she's put up with it all. I love you, dear! Thanks to my most excellent beta, Seravy, because she puts up with my pugnacious, stubborn argumentativeness and comes out a winner almost every time. She's a rare gem. And last but not least, a warm thanks to all of the readers who stuck it out with me and put up with my lack of updates. I wouldn't be able to do this without you.
Especial thanks to EUGENE for the art that inspired this fic. Please PLEASE go to her site and support her work. She is talented beyond all measure. And to Jango-Joe because she and her art are so awesome, and I mean REALLY awesome.
Cheers!
UNEXPECTED REVELATIONS
Steam poured out of the partially opened bathroom door as Natsuki, clad only in an oversized nightshirt sprawled on a divan by the massive window of their hotel room staring balefully across the city. She watched the ebb and flow of people from the view overlooking both the JR Kyoto and Shinkansen Kyoto Stations. Having arrived in the city only two hours before Shizuru’s plane had touched down, she barely had enough time to rush to the Hotel Granvia Kyoto, intimidate the manager into giving them one of the best rooms they had available, and sped off to Kansai International. To be honest, she felt exhausted; but Shizuru was home and that alone was enough to keep her warm for a while.
She had to admit, it was pretty brazen of her to just poach the astonished woman from under the noses of her servant and bodyguards; but she felt she had no other choice. If she hadn’t acted quickly, Shizuru would have faded into the shadows like she did after the HiME fiasco. Natsuki chuckled to herself at the recollection of her friend’s reaction when they reached the hotel.
Two very wet, bedraggled women staggered off Natsuki’s bike almost an hour later. Shizuru’s stood in regal silence as her coat and business attire dripped puddles of cold rain onto the pristine floor of the hotel lobby. Natsuki managed to look a bit sheepish under the damp kaichou’s glacial gaze as she led the way to her room. When they were safely behind closed doors, the only words Shizuru spoke after several long, uncomfortable moments were “You could have just asked me, you know.”
Natsuki had the good grace to blush at the admonition. “For some reason, that never crossed my mind.”
“Yes,” Shizuru drawled. “I can well imagine.” She removed her sodden coat and hung it on a nearby coat rack. Natsuki could not help but notice how her damp silk blouse clung to her skin, revealing far more cleavage than she was comfortable with at that moment. A slow flush crept into her cheeks and she quickly looked away. She didn’t even notice Shizuru was speaking to her until she heard her name being called.
“Natsuki?”
“Hmmm?” The biker girl replied distractedly.
“I am waiting for you to explain,” Shizuru intoned.
Natsuki mulled over the request for a minute or two before responding. “I don’t even know if I can. Everything seems to have happened so fast.” She wandered over to the lush bed and flopped down. “One minute, I was standing in my flat, phone in hand, about to call you. The next thing I know, I’m on my bike, heading for Kyoto, hoping that I get to you in time.”
“In time for what?” Shizuru queried, her expression was one of mild confusion.
“To catch you before you disappeared from my life,” Natsuki responded in a half-whisper. The expression on her face became a mask of determination as her eyebrows furrowed and a slight frown formed pulled at the corners of her mouth. “I don’t know if I could live with myself if I let you go. It happened once. I won’t let it happen again.”
Shizuru’s misted over as she tried to maintain her composure. “It would have been better if you had not come,” she replied dully.
“Why?” Natsuki cried as she sat up so fast she almost lost her balance. Her lips quavered as she struggled to get herself under control. “Even when you knew how much I missed you, you didn’t even call me to let me know you were coming home!”
Shizuru just shook her head, stripped off most of her clothing and headed toward the bathroom, clearly signaling her intention to take a bath. She wanted to be alone so that she could think but Natsuki’s firm grip latched tightly around her arm, preventing her from taking another step. She tried to pull away but it only served to provoke the younger woman into grabbing her other arm, forcing them to face each other.
“Look at me!”
Shizuru could see the hurt in Natsuki’s deep green eyes. However, instead of feeling guilt as she had expected, sudden anger seethed from within. From the day they met, her heart and soul had been enslaved by this stunning, willful girl. To be further restrained when she finally had the courage to end this obsession and free them both almost drove her past the breaking point.
"Natsuki..." Her previously unspoken thoughts flowed from between clenched teeth like steam, slow and inexorable. "Had it not occurred to you that I did so purposely or that I might be weary of playing this charade?"
The moment the words left Shizuru’s mouth, she felt the grip around her arms slacken as she stared unflinchingly into the eyes that haunted her dreams. A myriad of emotions played across them like a movie reel: shock, denial and finally, understanding. Through Natsuki’s loosened grip, she could feel the younger girl shaking as lips that she knew were softer than rose petals quivered with the need to speak.
“Are you tired of me?” whispered Natsuki, her voice soft and feeble without its usual determined strength.
A part of Shizuru was really tempted to simply lie and end this sweet pain but in doing so, the one person that gave her life any meaning would disappear with it. She could feel her heart dying just thinking of it. Fatigue drug its claws through her chest, her whole body ached from the long journey. Inconsistent thoughts swam in her fogged mind as she searched hard for a lucid reply.
“Never,” was Shizuru’s weary answer. “But I’m tired of pretending that we could be friends. I can no longer settle for just a part of you.”
And there it was. The truth finally came to light. Shizuru felt ashamed owning up to her weakness and remorse for exposing Natsuki to this aberration. She had tried to drown this ugliness in a sea of work and with forced separation only to realize how much it had become a part of her, like a fragment of her soul. Sinking heavily onto the bed, Shizuru held head in her hands and tried to steel herself for the rejection that was sure to come.
Natsuki sat down beside her after a few long moments and pulled her into a tight embrace. “Neither can I.” The older woman leaned back, searching Natsuki’s eyes for any hint of deception, any indication that she was being less than truthful.
“Why are you doing this to me?” the lovely kaichou demanded, confused at this unexpected admission.
“Because I love you,” Natsuki replied, drawing Shizuru back into her arms. “You were right when you called this a charade,” she murmured in her ear. “And I’m tired of just pretending that this is enough.”
A deep sigh escaped her chest as Natsuki’s thoughts flowed through the sieve that was her brain. There were so many things she wanted to do for Shizuru, to do with her. But try as she might, she found it hard to put these desires into words.
“I just really want to be a part of your life.”
“Since when do you know what you want?” came Shizuru’s mildly sarcastic reply.
Natsuki bristled at the remonstration. “Will you just listen for once?”
A hurt look flashed in Shizuru’s dark eyes, causing Natsuki to curse her careless tongue. “You just have to answer one thing. Do you still love me?”
The young CEO merely stared at her, paralysed with indecision and fear.
“It’s not a difficult question,” Natsuki said with a wry smile. “I love you. Do… you…love…me?”
Shizuru considered what Natsuki was saying. Though they were merely words, they felt so real, so tangible, free of the usual illusions and double meanings that often accompanied them. Those deep emerald eyes gazed at her without hesitation, clearing a path for them towards a future that held so much promise that it caught her breath.
“Of course,” she nodded slowly.
“Then, let me love you the way you deserve to be loved.”
For the first time since the HiME incident, Shizuru was completely speechless. Her greatest wish was finally coming true. No words came to her; she merely gaped at the woman across from her with incredulity.
“Wow, if I had known that’s all it would take to catch you off guard, I’d have do—“ Natsuki never got to finish the sentence for she suddenly found a pair of soft lips covering her own. It was gentle at first, tentative and slow. Just as the kiss was building up towards something more passionate, Shizuru pulled away. Natsuki blinked rapidly and groaned at the loss of contact.
“Wha-what’s wrong?” she stammered as she tried to catch her breath.
Shizuru gave the biker girl a speculative look. “I am wondering if you really understand what you would have to sacrifice to be with me. What I would have to sacrifice to be with you.” She softly stroked Natsuki’s cheek, her eyes filled with worry and sadness.
“We both have gone through enough, don’t you think? Don’t worry. I’ve got a lot of making up to do. You won’t be able to get rid of me that easily.”
“That is good to know but we still have much to discuss.”
“I know…and we have all of the time in the world to discuss them so…less talk, more kissing.”
Shizuru rolled her eyes and giggled helplessly. “Well, if you insist.”
The pair spent the next few hours getting reacquainted, chatting and dozing, each wrapped in the other’s arms, enjoying the closeness they shared. Eventually, Shizuru relinquished her hold on Natsuki to take the bath she started to when they first arrived.
The erstwhile HiME was still in the chair, pensive and distracted, when Shizuru finished bathing. She leaned on the doorjamb of the bathroom, clad in only a towel, her eyes looked almost iridescent in the dim light of the room. The dark-haired woman sighed and ran her fingers through her unruly mane of hair. She decided that if a picture was worth a thousand words, Fujino Shizuru was a masterpiece. She was form and function, mood and beauty. Natsuki wondered at her own idiocy in holding out for so long.
“What are you thinking?” Shizuru asked in a quiet voice.
“Oh it’s nothing really. I’m just realising how much of an idiot I am for almost losing you.”
“You wouldn’t have lost me. We just may not have been quite so close anymore. It would’ve been better for the both of us.” The brunette crossed the room to lounge on the arm of Natsuki’s chair.
“Maybe,” Natsuki conceded. “Maybe not. But I’m not about to make the same mistake twice.”
A faint blush tinged her cheeks as she tugged on the towel, dragging Shizuru down for a gentle kiss.
Down on the streets below, Fujino Akihito stood on the steps of Shinkansen station, dressed impeccably in black and took a drag from the Turkish cigarette dangling from his mouth. A youngish looking street tough bumped into him from behind, seemingly by accident. The man turned to glare at him. “Watch where you’re standing, pops.”
“Did you get enough pictures?” Akihito murmured, his eyes moving back and forth to make sure they weren’t being watched.
“More than enough. I may even waive my usual fee. They put on quite a show,” the young man smirked.
Before he knew it, Akihito had him by the collar and punched him in the gut in one swift moment. He dropped to his knees, coughing and retching.
“While I may covet her position, she is still the head of our family. I’ll not tolerate disrespect from you. Know your place. Understood?”
He didn’t wait for the man to reply; he dropped the cigarette on the ground, crushing it with his heel. “I want those in my hands by morning.” The hired investigator nodded painfully in response. Akihito briefly glanced up towards the women’s hotel room window, flipped up the collar of his coat against the chill air and disappeared into the foggy, rain-slick evening.
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