"Violation" Natsuki watched the chestnut haired woman next to her with mild amusement. They were still downtown. The quick outing meant to simply acquire new phones turned up being an extended stay in the city. It was a rarity for Shizuru to stay in public for very long, and Natsuki simply let the woman do as she liked, not wanting to push her in any particular direction. It was a way for her to heal. Which meant that if Shizuru wanted to drag her around on a 'date,' then so be it. Immediately after getting their phones, the pair went to Natsuki's favorite lingerie shop. Shizuru insisted she was buying Natsuki's undergarments for her own enjoyment. Ah, how... confused the shop owner had been during their stay there. It made Natsuki smirk. After that, they'd wandered around the rest of the shopping arcade until it was time for dinner. Shizuru had been uncharacteristically merciful. She allowed Natsuki to go to a fast food restaurant and pick whatever she liked. She held her breath as Natsuki returned, but was pleasantly surprised. Natsuki had a bag of her own food, but she handed Shizuru a salad. Thank goodness fast food companies were forced to actually have healthy food on the menu. Natsuki took a long sip of her soda and then opened her bag of food, taking out a large cheeseburger... overloaded with mayonnaise. She took a bite and the goop dropped off from the bun and back into the bag due to the pressure from her teeth. Shizuru scrunched up her face and sighed. "Natsuki, you are truly a disgusting creature." "I think you like it." She took another bite, a trail of ketchup and mayonnaise left of the side of her mouth. It remained there for some time as Natsuki shoved some fries into her mouth, and Shizuru found her eyes darting around to see if anyone was watching. Whether that was because she wanted an audience or privacy was unknown. She scooted closer to Natsuki as they say on the small bench in the shopping arcade, and smiled. Before Natsuki even noticed, she flicked her tongue across the edge of Natsuki's mouth, removing the mayonnaise and ketchup. Shizuru refused to make a face, despite the mayonnaise being absolutely disgusting. It was on Natsuki- it was acceptable. The biker sat up straight, tense as could be, looking around as a blush crept onto her face. Two young children were watching, and pointed and giggled. She turned to glare at the other woman, a blush still on her face. Victory on Shizuru's part! "S-Shizuru, what are you doing? Not in public!" "Ara! Natsuki had mayonnaise on her face. Was I just supposed to let you walk around looking like that all day?" Shizuru protested. "Every time I try to be a courteous girlfriend I get this kind of reaction." "That's because 'courteous' somehow involves use of tongue in public." Natsuki tore into the burger with her fangs again, glaring at the other woman and leaning back and out of range. Shizuru made a face and then resumed eating her salad. "You never complain about tongue use anywhere else." "Shizuru!" Some things never changed, no matter how close you got to a person. For that, Shizuru was very glad. There weren't many things that could get her to smile like that. It was her victory smile that only appeared after getting Natsuki to blush or act flustered. Life would be incomplete without such reactions. It had been one of the reasons that Shizuru found herself taken with her in the first place. And so, she found herself laughing at the biker next to her, to that woman's chagrin. Shizuru brought a hand to her face to try and cover the mirth up. The ringing of a cellphone interrupted them, and Natsuki was grateful for the distraction. It was her old phone, of course. She removed it from her pocket and received the call, waving at Shizuru to stop with that infernal laughter. She didn't know the number, so she used her fake name. "Kitahara here." "Natsuki! It's Yukino. There's an Otome attacking a military outpost thirty two miles east of Kyoto, off the main highway. You'll see road markers. Gotta go. Call the others." And with that, the phone call was over. Natsuki stared at the device for a moment before dialing another number. Shizuru gave her a concerned look. "Otome attack," Natsuki said to her simply. She began talking into the phone next, looking away and down to the ground. They were simply too far out, as she had mentioned earlier, to be of any use. They were in the city, but their weaponry was at home. By the time they got their guns and bardiche and then drove back to the scene of the action, they'd miss everything. And so, she had to pass leadership to another particular HiME. "Hello?" Came the answer from the other end of the phone. "Midori! There's an Otome at a military outpost thirty two miles east of the city. It's off the main highway. I can't get to my weapons in time to support you in battle. You need to get out there as soon as possible. I'll call the others," Natsuki informed. "I'll see if I can't hang around the perimeter of the base in case I need to act as a distraction." "Ah... okay! Never fear, Midori's here," the elder woman said. With that, the redhead hung up and Natsuki began dialing another number. "Ara, what a way to ruin our date," Shizuru complained. Natsuki gave her a dry smirk as the next person picked up their phone. - - - Midori, the great defender of justice, was surrounded. By eight year olds. In a museum. The second she hung up the phone, she also hung her head in defeat. Now what was she going to do? So, while she pointed the children towards a mastodon skeleton, and after they were awed by it, she slowly and carefully stepped back and away from the group, edging towards the door. Now, she wasn't so reckless as to leave the little ones alone, so she tugged on the arm of a co-worker, still slinking away. "Naomi," she whispered. The other woman was changing a plate next to a display to update the information. "What?" "Naomi, I gotta go!" "You know where the bathroom is." "No!" Midori hissed. "I have to leave! Emergency. Take over my shift, will ya?" "Dammit, Midori, not again!" Naomi moaned. "You owe me big time, do you understand?" "Perfectly! Bye, I love you lots! Seriously! You're the best." Midori escaped through a door that led to the back of the museum, where the staff hangout was and where they kept displays that would be put out in the near future. Skeletons, artifacts and ancient texts littered the walls, and Midori quickly scampered back to the exit, pulling her truck keys from her pocket. Then she paused. Aw, crap. She probably wouldn't have time to go get her axe, would she? She looked around. Well... the museum did have many working weapons from the feudal era and later. But did she dare? Yes, she would dare. She would double dog dare. She would – oh, shiny. She grabbed a katana and wakizashi from a shelf and pulled the blades out. Were they still sharp? She poked her finger on the tip. A drop of blood slid down the weapon. Ah, beautiful! She quickly looked around to make sure no one else was seeing her in action. No one in sight, she pulled her best ninja exit off and vanished out the door, katana and wakizashi in hand. She climbed into her truck and started it up, speeding away with the weapons resting on the floor below. Her lips curled into a smile and she headed out to the outpost in question, anxious to face off with those HiME Ranger spinoffs yet again. What would be an appropriate term for them? Ah, yes, VR HiMEs. Perfect. She was driving towards the main east-west freeway's closest onramp, tapping her fingers against the wheel impatiently as she weaved in an out of traffic. Ignoring various honking horns – who cared what the peons thought of her driving – she eventually pulled up to the final light before the onramp. She smiled widely, showing her teeth and revving her engine. Soon as that light turned green, she'd show that even Natsuki couldn't have beaten her in any kind of street rac- Midori heard a loud thud from behind and her vehicle lurched to accommodate a sudden new weight. She blinked her eyes and kept them wide. Surely that had been her overactive imagination. Yes, there was no monster in the back of her truck. No Otome sneaking up on her. If she just kept looking forward and didn't gaze into the mirrors, it would be all right. But curiosity got the better of her. With a tense face she slowly turned her head around and looked towards the bed of her truck. "Hi." Midori yelped, even after seeing who it was. She slammed the rear window open so she could properly yell at the waving smartass for her behavior. "Nao, what the hell are you doing?! Does it rain smartasses on Thursdays?" "Only if you say 'I do believe in Nao' five times," Nao replied, leaning against the cab and looking back towards the other woman. "Just bumming a ride, Great Teacher Midori." "How did you...? Were you just hanging out here hoping I would show up?" Midori asked. She slid the window open further. "Get in here." Nao pointed forward. "Green light, teacher." Midori turned back around and blinked again. So it was. With a mildly irritated face, Midori instructed the brawler to hang on to something. A wise idea. Midori gunned it and sped onto the freeway, going at least ten miles an hour over the speed limit. Nao instantly regretted her choice to stay on the truck bed. Her hair was getting tossed around like crazy. So, while the vehicle was moving down the freeway, she leaned forward and slid through the small window, her frame just petite enough to fit through. Unceremoniously hitting her head on the dash, she twisted around so that she was sitting in the passenger's seat, forcing Midori to duck as she swung her legs back and down. "Watch it," Midori said after nearly being kicked in the face, shooting the former student a glare. "Your idea." Nao adjusted the combat gloves on her hands, making sure everything was in working order. She looked at the radio, then back to Midori. She turned up Midori's music, drowning out the silence - mainly so they wouldn't have to talk. In silence they drove on, taking about twenty minutes to get to the outpost with how fast Midori was moving. The police already had the road locked down. A wall of cop cars prevented them from driving up to the outpost's main entrance. Midori stopped the truck and parked it, sitting back and looking around. Her eyes drifted up to the trees, and it was there she saw a most unusual figure. A small woman holding a giant Claymore, perched precariously in a tree with fairly weak looking branches, silhouetted by the setting sun. "Well, teacher, what do we do?" Nao asked, also looking for a way in. Not pointing out what was sure to be Mikoto, she simply turned to Nao and said, "This may be a stupid question, but how good are you at flirting with police?" Nao smirked. Unfortunately, they didn't get the chance to see her skills in action. - - - As Midori's red pickup pulled up towards the police line, a certain lieutenant charged with maintaining the blockade was torn. Should she stop them? Or should she let them through and do as Yukino had asked. Lord, if she got in trouble, she'd never let them hear the end of it. Akane was standing next to her, giving her a particular kind of inquisitive look, shuffling her feet as she wondered what she should do. With a long and hefty sigh, she finally conceded as the truck loomed closer and closer. "Lt. Sakuragi, what do we do?" Akane asked, using Haruka's false surname now that they were in public. The blonde turned around, ordered one of the cop cars to drive out of the way, and then idly waved the truck through her well established blockade. Much to the shock of several of her fellow officers. Haruka had a very innocent look on her face, while Akane simply looked confused. "Don't worry about it. We saw nothing. Nothing at all." Akane paused. "Understood, Lieutenant." And so, the two of them saw nothing as Midori pulled her truck through the line, neither occupant of the vehicle giving the officers a passing glance, just in case. "Yes, we saw nothing," Haruka concluded. - - - "So, why didn't you flirt, Nao?" Midori asked cheerfully as the truck passed the police barricade. Nao sighed and gave her a defeated look, but chose not to answer that particular question. The day she started to hit on Suzushiro Haruka was the day she'd shove a surgical tool through her own neck and then make love to a cabbage. Or some other such nonsense. About a quarter mile beyond the police line lie the inner perimeter of the military outpost. Midori parked her vehicle and the pair exited. The area was very desolate. Not a single soul was in sight. There seemed to be no movement around the actual outpost buildings. A few small fires had sprung up, bathing the area in an orange glow, and save for scattered and random gunshots, there was dead silence. It felt very much like a ghost town. Had one Otome done all this? Or did she have support that Yukino hadn't spotted. Direct communication with the logistics officer was bound to be impossible if she was at work, unfortunately, leaving them without eyes in the sky to watch over them. Nao heard rustling next to her. Thinking it was an enemy, she slipped into a fighting stance, but was entirely unprepared to see a lanky woman with a giant Scottish claymore land right next to her with a loud thump. The redhead jumped back several feet out of shock, gloves held up just in case. A certain guardian of Mai's stood up and gave Nao a crooked smile, the sword resting against her shoulder, still bruised from her last outing with Searrs and the Otome. At least this time, she was armed. "Oh, yeah, Mikoto's here." "Thank you, teacher," Nao replied sarcastically. Mikoto seemed all too eager to get in there, not even willing to properly greet the other two. "Let's go!" "No one else showed?" Midori asked. Mikoto shook her head. Nao scoffed. "Typical. I don't suppose Starsky and Hutch back there are going to help us, either." "Three against one isn't bad!" Midori was started to get as anxious as Mikoto seemed. If Akane and Haruka were stuck maintaining the police line, then so be it. She was sure the three of them could manage. So, pointing her katana at the buildings down the hill from where they stood, she said, "Rangers... engage!" Nao gave her an irritated look, but was compelled to follow behind as Mikoto and Midori ran down towards the installation below. The teacher must have been very happy to be able to say her line and not have Kuga steal it, or something like that. Midori was on point, apparently, as they reached the first building within the miniscule military complex, the trio slipping through the open gate in the stone wall with no difficulty or resistance. There was still no sign of either JSDF soldiers or the Otome as they ran down a makeshift street built for tanks and armored vehicles. Midori halted as she neared the corner of a barracks building, forcing the others to wait behind her, hugging the wall. Midori peered around the corner, checking to see if the coast was clear. As Midori was about to break free from her cover and continuing heading towards the main building, she paused as she saw movement. Nao complained about the wannabe 'Solid Snake' holding them up, but Midori held up a hand to shush her. Surprisingly, it worked. Two soldiers were racing towards the main building as well, guns in hand and armor tightly hugging their bodies. So obsessed with their objective were they that they simply ran past the trio of HiMEs without so much as looking in their direction to make sure they were safe. "Follow the panicked soldiers," Midori suggested. Mikoto and Nao nodded. So, after the soldiers had gotten a safe distance away, the HiMEs followed behind, attempting to stay low and out of the way. The soldiers entered the building through a side door and Midori could see through a window that they were ascending the stairs and heading to the upper story of the building. Midori entered an opposing door and then quietly began to ascend a different staircase, taking great caution to make sure that her footsteps were silent as could be. Thankfully, the other two did as well. There were several loud thumps and cracks coming from the floor above, and Midori tightened her grip on her dual blades, ready for anything to jump out at her. At least from the front. When she heard a click from behind and a loud, masculine voice, she couldn't help but spin around like some monster had sprung up behind her. What was Nao doing in the back, anyway? Staring at the ceiling? She was going to be have to taught that whoever was in the rearguard was tasked with watching out for surprise attacks. "Halt!" A single male soldier shouted, perhaps thinking that the three were his targets. Maybe the JSDF hadn't been clear with their orders and he was assuming that there were three or four renegade women attempting to attack the outpost. "Surrender your weapons! Now!" Mikoto nearly growled and looked as if she was about to strike. Nao did not seem eager to comply as well, speaking up for the both of them. "I'll give you my weapons. Blades first, into the neck." Midori's face contorted into a worried expression. Making an enemy of the JSDF as well as Searrs was not a wise decision. But before she could ward off Nao and Mikoto, the soldier had a mysterious change of heart. He lowered his gun and put a hand to his headset, obviously getting some kind of radio message. "Yes, Lt. Ishiguro. Going to support the others. Using extreme caution." The three HiMEs collectively released their held breaths. Thank goodness that Yukino could issue orders. Perhaps she wasn't as entirely disconnected from them as they thought. The soldiers were carrying video recorders in their helmets, after all. Maybe she was linked to them from her terminal, watching every move the troops made. The soldier ushered them to the side and proceeded upstairs, training his gun on the door in front of him. His teammates had entered minutes before. If Yukino told him to use extreme caution, then perhaps the Otome was in there? He kicked the door open and unpinned a flash bang. Before he could throw it, however, an arrow sliced through his flesh and impaled him on the opposing wall due to its amazing velocity. Midori widened her eyes. The flash bang. She turned to the others and said in as low as voice as possible, "Cover your eyes!" They did so, and the flash bang exploded, sending blinding white light all over the open area. Midori turned back, her vision only slightly effected due to her quick actions. But her voice had surely tipped off the Otome to her presence there. It was likely that the Otome was standing right there, weapon in hand, ready to pounce on them the moment the HiME stepped into the doorway. Not a good situation at all. There was a hall that led to another door that opened into the main room, but it looked like a string of windows allowed anyone inside to see out into the hall. Their position on the staircase, unfortunately, prevented them from seeing in, the angle to extreme. "You two sneak to the other door. Crawl over there. When I storm in through this one, follow me," Midori instructed in a whisper. Nao and Mikoto seemed willing enough. Crawling on their bellies, as if traversing a battlefield full of barbed wire, Nao and Mikoto slithered their way to the other door, staying below the windows. When out of sight, they stood and then hugged the wall, Mikoto ready to burst through the door at a moment's notice. Midori approached the entrance the soldier had died trying to enter, taking that burden upon herself. She kept her blades down, hoping that they wouldn't reflect any light and tip off the Otome. Listening for movement, Midori only heard the typing of a keyboard, frantic and hasty. The Otome must have gone back to doing whatever it was she was assigned to do. Using her katana to her advantage, she gently pushed the blade in front of the window, hoping the interior would reflect. It did. The Otome was typing into a terminal, facing the direction where Nao and Mikoto would be entering from. Her robe was no longer materialized. She withdrew the blade quickly, to make sure that her position wasn't going to be given away. Midori returned to the doorway and stood, holding her breath. Ready, steady... go! Midori held her weapons out and stormed in without a word or a battle cry, slashing both blades in opposing directions, aimed right at Lapis' neck. The Otome was only in uniform, without her weapon or robe. She must have been using her powers in short bursts. The tall blonde woman had jumped out of the way, Midori returning her blades to a proper position to strike again. At the same time, Nao and Mikoto kicked the other door in and at last, they had a non-materialized Otome cornered! She held a small disc in her hands, but she pocketed it quickly. "All right, you," Midori stated, leveling one of her blades at Lapis, the other resting at her side, "stand down and don't do anything funny. For as much hell as you've given us, I think it's time you felt what it's like to be on the receiving end. Hands up." Lapis said nothing. Hands up? Thank goodness for Midori's ignorance. The Otome slowly brought her hands towards her head, acting like she was going to cooperate, to the surprise of the trio of HiMEs. The Emulator still had enough energy to allow for another materialization. It could support her longer on solo missions. Hopefully she was in range. As she was about to put her hands behind her head, Lapis tapped her earring with one hand and was then bathed in light. With the HiME's distracted by the sudden luminescence, Lapis sprang forward with her bow in hand, and hit Midori in the head with the bottom of the weapon, knocking the teacher to the ground and leaving a mild wound on her pale skin. Midori struggled to stand again, putting a hand to her head. Retrieving it again, she saw a small amount of blood on her fingers, and she grunted in pain as she attempted to get on her feet. Mikoto and Nao, however, wasted no time in going after her. The tip of Mikoto's claymore scraping along the ground, the feral woman was fast enough to keep up and then some. Both Lapis and Mikoto behind her leapt down the staircase in two great leaps, not bothering with the actual steps. Lapis was out the door, swinging off to the side. Her objective was not to fight this time. But it seemed Mikoto was going to leave her little option. Lapis was fast, but there was something otherworldly about Mikoto's own speed and endurance. Within moments after sprinting out the door, Lapis was forced to roll out of the way of a wild and dangerous diagonal strike from the other woman's sword. Lapis instantly returned to her feet and blocked another hit with the bottom of her bow, pushing up against Mikoto's blade with as much strength as she could muster. Both broke at the same time, and Lapis fired two arrows at the HiME in front of her. Mikoto evaded the first and blocked the other with her own weapon. She charged in again and performed a mighty spin swing, forcing Lapis to duck to avoid being decapitated. Lapis countered by pumping a hand up into the air and sending an uppercut into Mikoto's stomach. The other woman fell to the ground, wheezing. Lapis found herself in an embrace. But it wasn't a kind one. Like a python, arms were wrapping around her arms and neck from behind, choking her and holding her in place. Gloved hands clamped down with such ferocity that the mere hold felt painful. A familiar and hated voice whispered into her ear, "Once again picking on powerless women, I see." "Yuuki!" Lapis hissed. She didn't know why she'd come to hate that brawler so much over such a short time. She was technically supposed to be impartial towards all the HiMEs. But there was something about Nao that made her blood simply boil. "The one and only." - - - Midori, at long last, finally stumbled to her feet, her head still alight with fiery pain. Although tempted to scamper off after the others right off the bat, she found herself hobbling toward the computer terminal Lapis had been using. Peering at the screen, she read a few key words before realizing just what Lapis had been up to. Oh dear. This wasn't good. Lapis had been accessing the JSDF personnel database, and lo and behold, there was Yukino's fake name and profile on the screen. The Otome must have found some clue out there in the wide and wild internet. Wait, Lapis had a disc with her. Yukino's personal data? Crap. Grabbing up her blades, Midori ran back down the stairs, heading out before Lapis could get away with the disc. If the others hadn't thought to get that disc back, then Yukino was in some serious trouble. Midori's legs carried her down the stairs and back outside, and she looked around to find the others. No sign that way. No sign the other. She ran down the small street and looked down another path. Ah ha! There they were. Lapis was locked in a hold, Mikoto holding a sword to her neck. Perfect. Midori ran at the three of them, holding an arm out. "Mikoto, she has a disc with Yukino's information on it! Get it back!" Mikoto stopped and blinked. But that was in a pocket... beneath the robe, wasn't it? "You want me to take off her clothes?" Nao, Midori and especially Lapis gave Mikoto a shocked and appalled look. Well, it was a situation, that was for sure. The robe looked like it had no pockets, so what were they to do. As the HiMEs pondered how exactly to go about this little predicament, Lapis struggled under Nao's grip. The Emulator was going to overload if she kept this going on for too long! So, calming herself down, Lapis remembered some basic martial arts throws taught to her by her instructor at Searrs. She moved to toss Nao over her hip by leaning forward and twisting. Knowing the move, Nao tried to compensate, but she could not manage to do so. Lapis twisted out of the hold and then hit Nao in the gut with the end of her bow. Finishing the brawler off, Lapis kicked her back, and then immediately fired at Mikoto to back her up. Midori attempted to rush forward with both her katana and wakizashi, but found herself ducking for cover as Lapis fired twice at her. That done, and HiMEs out of her way, Lapis deactivated her robe, allowing the Emulator time to recover. As she did so, she continue to sprint for the extraction point. "Crap," Midori bemoaned. She began to run after her, but her still dizzy head made the progress slow. Mikoto and Nao stood a better chance, but still weren't quite able to catch up with her again. It looked as if Lapis was going to be able to slip through their fingers with Yukino's data, when the familiar roar of a motorcycle deafened them. Natsuki put her bike into a skid, Shizuru still hanging on tightly to avoid being thrown off, and positioned the bike right in front of the fleeing Lapis. The Otome came to an immediate halt, so not to run into the vehicle. She turned to the left and ran that way as Shizuru reached for her. As Lapis continued her escape, Natsuki gunned it again, Shizuru bringing her hands back to her waist. Natsuki pulled up alongside her again and attempted to kick at Lapis, pulling something right out of Road Rash. "Stop!" Lapis froze until Natsuki darted ahead, unable to break in time, and then sprinted off to the right, back the way she was originally running. Natsuki swore under her breath and spun the bike around, feeling a little edgy about having Shizuru there with her. On that train of thought, she stopped the bike and decided now was a good time for Shizuru to link up with the others. "Shizuru, off for now." The Kyoto woman complied without complaint, hopping off the bike. An instant later, Natsuki took off again, tires screeching until the bike kicked into motion. Shizuru watched her go, the other HiMEs coming over and watching Natsuki take off, all too winded and/or dizzy to keep going. Lapis sprinted down a final stretch of road and then dove into a waiting APC. Natsuki stopped her bike, certainly not able to take that on. The vehicle, already running, began to move and then race away from the scene, out into the woods down a dirt road littered with branches and debris. Natsuki sped after, at first, but then stopped again, eying the road. "Fuck." Her bike was meant for the street. It wouldn't make it through the same terrain an APC could. She drove back to the others, pulling out her cellphone and using the map function to see where it might possibly be going. Giving up after seeing nothing, she pulled a daring move and called Yukino's work number. There was no answer. But chances were that she was already on the case, anyway. Hopefully she would call back as soon as possible. Maybe she could even pin their base of operations down. With a sigh, Natsuki dismounted and pulled up her visor. "What'd she want?" Natsuki demanded. "Stole Yukino's personnel data from the JSDF database. The fake identity she's been using," Midori explained, her head still aching. Natsuki redialed Yukino's number using her new phone. Nothing. That was going to get her nowhere. Well. Now what could be done? She supposed she would just have to wait for Yukino to get back to her with information about where the vehicle went, if it was possible to track. The Otome escaped with the disc. The HiME Rangers failed their mission. Damn it all, Natsuki did not take defeat well. She practically stomped back to her bike and got back on. Shizuru followed, taking the non-verbal hints that it was time to go. "Well, Red Ranger, what now?" Nao asked. Natsuki sighed. "We go home and get out of here before the military and police catch us. I'll call you all later after I get in contact with Yukino. Attempt to email her, if you want to try. She'll probably be busy all night, though." "That's it?" Nao did not look happy. "We aren't doing any more?" "Can you catch that APC on foot? My bike can't go through there. By the time you get to Midori's truck, it'll be long gone," Natsuki countered. She put her visor down. "Just go home for now. I highly doubt they'll assault Kyoto's main base. Too risky." "How anticlimactic," Midori complained. Then she smiled. "Know what this is? Two-part episode!" "Shut up," Nao grumbled, already hiking back up towards the truck. "But they're the most dramatic," Midori added, following behind. Mikoto swung her claymore onto her shoulder and shrugged before walking back off towards the forest, always more at home out there than in the city. She did not associate well with other people. She as more in tune with nature. She stared at incoming lights and vehicles. Police or JSDF? In either case, she wasn't going to stick around to find out. "Bye, Natsuki! Bye, Shizuru-sama!" The feral woman disappeared in the trees beyond the outpost with little difficulty, leaving behind the couple. Once Shizuru was situated on the bike and hanging on properly, Natsuki revved the bike and raced up back towards the entrance and police barricade at full speed, the bike just thin enough to slip through a small gap between two cars. Natsuki did not notice Shizuru waving to a certain blonde and her assistant. Suzushiro Haruka was not pleased by the display, both hands closing into fists at her side. "Kaichou-sama, you arrogant twat!" Haruka screamed after her. - - - Natsuki was sitting behind her and Shizuru's house, looking up at the stars after dinner. Shizuru was inside doing the dishes. It was her turn. Well, it wasn't, but Natsuki had conned her into doing them anyway. Every once and a while, Natsuki outwitted the witty woman. She pulled out her phone, dialing a number she had memorized only in her head, for fear of someone discovering it saved onto her phone. Looking back to the house to make sure Shizuru was not listening, she hopped up and walked to the far side of the clearing their home stood in. The phone rang time and time again, and Natsuki was almost convinced that the other person was not going to pick up. But, on the final ring, they did. The voice was a gruff man, one she'd known for a while. "Yeah?" "I need you to look into something for me." For as much as she cut off ties after the Carnival, she still had some of her old contacts. "The Otome. You heard of 'em?" "Maybe." "I want you to get me details on both them and how their materialization works, along with any supplemental information you can manage," Natsuki ordered. "I don't do these things out of the goodness of my own heart." Natsuki shrugged. "Will the regular price be sufficient?" He laughed. "I don't think you realize just how classified that project is. It's risky to stick my nose where it doesn't really belong. I want an extra seven hundred." "Dammit, man, are you trying to throw me into bankruptcy?" "Oh, get over yourself. I know you're banging that rich-ass MHI girl. I'm sure you can manage. I won't do it for any less. We have a deal or not?" Natsuki grumbled something vulgar, but eventually replied, "Yeah, fine. Call me when you have the job done." "Thank you for your business, Kuga-san." The line went dead. Natsuki snapped her phone shut and placed it back in her jacket pocket. Damn that man – he was getting braver and braver as of late. But she was willing to cooperate for now. At least with the recent developments. But that much money? She could manage, but bills aside, she might have to ask Shizuru for more money. Lord, that was always a fun experience. Endless torture and getting Natsuki to beg for it. She paused. For the money. Yes. She shook her head and walked back toward the house, still not happy with Yukino's lack of contact. Perhaps by morning. She only worked nights. "Natsuki?" She heard Shizuru calling for her from inside. She ascended up the stairs and slid the door open, closing it behind her after she entered. Sliding off her shoes, she followed Shizuru's voice to the living area, where the other woman was sitting with two cups of tea. Natsuki sat, obeying a silent wish, and gulped hers down in a less than ladylike manner. Shizuru, of course, took her time with the drink. A few magazines with apartment and house listings were scattered on the floor, a few opened and one or two ads circled with a red marker. So, Shizuru had been pushing forward with getting an apartment after all. "Was that Yukino on the phone?" Shizuru asked between sips. Too early to play the 'I want money' game. She covered it up for now. "No, it was the real estate agent I talked with earlier today." "Ah, before we went to the lingerie shop?" "Yeah. Just was asking for financial details." Hopefully her ability to lie was good enough to escape this little situation before it began. She'd build up the courage to ask about money soon enough. After her contact had gotten everything done, of course. No need to rush things. "You're looking, then?" Shizuru glanced down to the magazines. "A bit. Homes in the fairly secluded parts of town. I wouldn't mind living closer to my family, but that may be suspicious. Many genuinely think I am no longer among the living. Only my aunt and her children are really aware of what I've been up to." Natsuki shrugged. "If you want to live closer to them, then that's fine. I certainly don't mind." In all honesty, Shizuru's aunt had been sort of a surrogate mother to Natsuki after the two girls had become friends. It was rare for Natsuki to respect adults, or vice versa. Shizuru's aunt was just quirky enough to associate well with teenagers while still having enough fortitude to put them in their place when acting up. She was simply a very nice, funny lady. Certainly one to be admired. It was no wonder Shizuru had clung so close to her after the death of her father. Her mother had died in childbirth. In reality, she was the only family Shizuru had left. "Ara, Natsuki wants to be a part of the family, then?" Shizuru asked with a smile. "You may call her your aunt too, if you'd like!" Natsuki sighed. Leave it to Shizuru to be like that. "I am not going to call her my aunt. I am not related to her." "But we're practically married." "Oi!" Natsuki crawled to the other side of the table and parked herself there. One did not bring up that comparison around Natsuki. Dating was frightening enough. She didn't need to hear that. She looked away and buried her face in one of the magazines, all while Shizuru stifled a growing urge to laugh. "Natsuki does not want me as her wife." "I don't want to play this game again, Shizuru," Natsuki warned. "I mean it." "Let me guess. 'Or else!' Is that a correct assumption?" Shizuru inquired, playing with a strand of her brown hair. "Fujino wins the prize." "What is that prize, exactly?" Shizuru tilted an eyebrow skyward, obviously thinking of something naughty. Natsuki looked up, paused for a half second, then retorted with, "Silence." "Clearly the prize isn't worth it. I'll have to settle with 'or else.' So, why do you not want to be a part of my family, Natsuki?" Shizuru asked, pushing her luck. Five minutes and a minor altercation later, Shizuru's mouth was duct taped shut and her hands were bound to a nearby desk with rope. And at first, she was elated. How clever Natsuki was getting with foreplay. But then... Natsuki went out for a bike ride. With Shizuru still bound, gagged and trapped. That was all right. Shizuru was a patient woman. This was fine. But then ten minutes turned into a half an hour. And that turned into an hour. And Shizuru began to worry. Honestly. A HiME preventing another HiME from fighting during a time of danger. What if one of those delicate yet powerful Otome stormed into the house with Shizuru in that condition? Shizuru blinked. Whatever would happen would be entirely Natsuki's fault, and that was the story she was going to stick to. Indeed. Lord almighty, were her hands asleep. Damn Natsuki. Next Episode: Domo arigato, Ms. Roboto. Haruka is entrusted with a vital Otome device, Natsuki tries her hand at mothering, and Nao is temporarily demoted from smartass to dumbass. Episode 5: "Distance." Will be listening to that Styx song the whole time I write it, too. Just have to.
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