The Way We Are (part 16 of 20)

La Danse des Vagues

It was always at the same place, but never for the exact same reason…

It was always the same emptiness, and that never changed.

I stood on the edge of that cliff, staring out at the seemingly endless ocean as the sun kissed the earth on the horizon. There was a light breeze as there usually was around a large body of water, and it took the liberty to play with my hair and cool my features as I silently remained stationary. My hold on the light bouquet in my hands relaxed, and as I gazed down, I watched it flutter towards the cerulean abyss below, but averted my eyes before I could witness it being consumed.

“Mother…”

White lilies had always been her favorite flowers. I guess I’ll never know why she loved them so much, but I can remember there always being a vase full of them at home and at her office. Every now and then it was dad who would bring them home, the two of them exchanging a kiss before chatting away about their day. Occasionally he would buy them for me to take to her at work, and when I would arrive, mother and I would go through the same procedure as she would with father. Maybe that’s what they were to her…love…simple and unconditional. But that love had faded over time. It became tired and worn, and after that day, the day that brought me to this very spot where I now stood, it disappeared from my life.

Coming to this place wasn’t a daily or weekly occurrence. It was never anything planned or thought about. I would come simply when I felt that I needed to. If I had a particularly bad day, or if I had a good day. If I was depressed, or if I was happy. If I needed someone to talk to, or if I just felt like telling mom what I had been up to lately. And sometimes it was to refocus…to reassure myself none of this was just a bad dream and that everything I was fighting for wasn’t in vain.

Today was different though. I was about to delve into something I particularly didn’t want to get into. It was all Yamada’s fault. He had given me the initiative to return to that place after all these years, and I think I had come to my mother’s watery grave to make sure it was okay with her to do so…and to apologize in advance.

The First District Research Facility…I had gone there several times as a child so it’s location wasn’t anything unknown to me. To be perfectly honest, I was afraid to go there…to dig up those memories of my mother...of a time in my life when I actually felt normal and content and I didn’t have to worry about HiME or revenge…But to not investigate that place, it would be passing up an open opportunity to find more clues to lead me to my goal, so when Yamada happened to mention it, I felt like it was the last push I needed to finally venture inside, despite whether I was emotionally ready to or not.

I wasn’t reckless enough to jump in head first, mind you. Vaguely recalling that I had seen the man at that very building before, I had gone to Sakomizu after school one day to question him about the facility. He had proceeded to warn me not to investigate the place, arguing it was dangerous and whatnot, and I of course had stubbornly ignored his protests, and by the end of it all I had received his phone number and a promise that he would look into the level of security surrounding the run-down laboratory. Having won that small victory, my conscious was eased, if even by just the tiniest bit, about the whole situation.

After that it was simply a waiting game. It was the end of the first term of my freshman year, which meant exams were about to begin. I actually took the time to study and attend class and felt that I had done pretty decent on the tests even though I had enough on my mind already. With those out of the way, I could solely direct my attention back to the previous matter at hand, another mission that started right at this very moment.

I said my quiet goodbye, and finally releasing myself from my statuary state, I turned back towards the road, stepped over the side rail, and straddled my Ducati once again.

I drove for several minutes, only the steady rumbling of my bike and the sound of my own breathing inside of my helmet to keep me company as I traced the last path my mother and I ever traveled together. It didn’t take me long to reach the first entry gate, and once there, it became quite evident that they had securely sealed the place off. I slowed to a stop on the road looking over the vacant building, and once I had removed my helmet, I immediately fetched my phone.

“It’s me.”

“Ah!? Yes, the security system is active,” Sakomizu began, making sure to keep his voice low, “So, you see…there’s nothing left there. Why would you want to go there?”

“You have no reason to know,” I snapped before promptly hanging up.

“If I weren’t out of moves…who would want to come here?” I whispered to the wind, my thoughts slipping to my mother, but I was quickly shaken out of my daze when the sound of a speeding car burned my ears.

I jerked my head up and watched as the sporty looking red and black vehicle whipped around the corner up ahead and proceeded to zoom right past me. I couldn’t shake the feeling that it looked oddly familiar, but I didn’t have the time to bother with such a useless question, so instead I slipped my helmet back on and started the engine of my bike again.

All the entrances to the facility are blocked and laced with alarms no doubt...The ocean is the only option now. I guess the next step is to find the closest beach and decide what to do from there.

Walking my bike in a U-turn, I backtracked to the main road to begin my search for a possible entry point to my destination.

“Hello, Fujino-san!”

“Did you have a pleasant ride here?”

“Let me take your bag for you!”

I had only just arrived at the Suzushiro villa, and it had already begun. It was the beginning of the summer break, and the first event that was taking place was a weekend beach getaway for all of those who had helped in organizing the School Anniversary Celebration. Being the student council president, that of course included me, but it also involved my “fan club” that had adamantly volunteered their time when the announcement that additional outside help would be needed had first been made a week before the festival began.

And now here a select few of those girls stood before me, clearly having been awaiting my arrival so they could immediately latch onto me and remain that way for the remainder of the trip. To say that their presence was a total bother wouldn’t be entirely true. I have to admit that at times I did enjoy the attention, but in the end, that’s all it was…attention. Of course, if you asked any of them, they would probably profess their childish love for me, or something ridiculous like that, and maybe some of them really did, but they didn’t loveme, they loved the perfect little student council president named Fujino Shizuru. They couldn’t love me because I never showed my true self to anyone…except for maybe Natsuki…or at least I would try to at times, but I was afraid of showing that side of myself to her sometimes, especially the part of me that secretly admired her from afar…the part of me that longed for her...

Natsuki…I hadn’t seen or talked to her since the night of the anniversary celebration. It was understandable, exams did tend to be a busy time for most students, herself included, but I had hoped to receive a surprise late night visit from the girl requesting my aid in her studying, and was disappointed when it never came.

But now wasn’t the time for that. It was summer vacation, a time to relax, especially considering the fact that I would really only have a week before I would have to get back to taking care of student council business.

Smiling, I handed my bag over to the spiky auburn-haired girl in front of me, “Ookini.”

The girl quietly squealed as I forfeited my belongings to her, and I nearly laughed at the idea of someone being so overly thrilled to perform simple manual labor such as this.

“Well then,” I continued, “shall we go get changed and head on to the beach?”

Needless to say, there wasn’t a single protest.

After entering the mansion and having one of the kind butlers escort me to the room I would be occupying for the weekend, fortunately to myself under Haruka-san’s authority apparently, I would have to be sure to thank her later, I quickly changed. I took a moment to enjoy my solitary peace before venturing back outside to the front entrance where my harem patiently waited. They were at my side the moment I was noticed.

“Are you ready, Fujino-san? We’ve already prepared a bag of items you might need—“

“—And we have an umbrella for you to use—“

“—And a towel—“

“Ara, ara…how thoughtful of you all…” I commented and received a few gleeful looks in response. “If we have everything, then let us be on our way.”

My little entourage attacked the doors trying to be the first one to hold it open for me to pass.

Really, this is too comical…

“F-Fujino-san? Sh-Shall we take a car?” one of the shyer girls piped up.

“Walking is fine,” I answered, and no sooner had the words left my mouth, the poor underclassman quickly became the target of many heated glares.

It only took us a few minutes to reach the sandy beach, the ocean consuming my senses in full…or at least it did before the screaming began. I continued walking and was taken aback when I laid eyes on the giant fish rapidly approaching the shore.

“Mai! Dinner!” the thing exclaimed in a familiar voice, and when I followed the eye line of the overgrown ara, I saw that there was in fact one Tokiha Mai standing atop the lifeguard stand to my right.

I took the girls bewildered silence as my cue to jump in, “Big fish, is it not?”

“Kaicho-san…?” the busty redhead questioned almost as equally perplexed as before.

“How energetic you are,” I added, turning my attention to Mikoto who had revealed herself underneath the belly of the monster fish.

Once the scene had died down, but not before Haruka could prove to the world that she was indeed a blonde, I trekked a little ways away from my previous position and claimed the empty spot as my own. The girls immediately busied themselves with setting up my spot to lay out as I snuck down to the ocean and let the cool water wash over my legs. When my absence was discovered, which didn’t take very long, I reluctantly returned to my awaiting towel, and after somehow managing to dry my own legs off, I lied down on my stomach to start working on a much-needed tan.

I had just undone the tie to my bathing suit and settled down into a comfortable position when the arguing began.

“No, I’m doing it!”

“No, I want to, too!”

I peeked a single eye open as I gazed over my shoulder, “Come on now, don’t fight over it.”

They paused for a second to flash apologetic faces at me before the tug of war resumed.

At this rate, I’ll never get any sunscreen…

“How about,” I interrupted again, “one of you do it today, and the other can tomorrow, ne?”

The one with short dark hair, I believed her name to be Rina, made a final pull and won the bottle, “I’m first then.”

“It’s settled,” I was quick to chime in before any more protests could be made.

The other girl who had been battling merely huffed her understanding and backed down.

It wasn’t long before a pair of hands began slowly messaging the cool lotion onto my back and I closed my eyes at the soothing sensation. An image formed in my mind, and I couldn’t hold back the smile that formed on my lips, but at the same time my brain continued to question…

Is it wrong of me to imagine that Natsuki is the one doing this?

Mmm…A little further than I thought…I guess swimming is out of the question. I’m sure there’s a boat rental around here somewhere—!

The sound of a sharp intake a breath from above startled me, and I jerked my head in the direction to seek out the source at once. Of course, when my eyes landed on a particularly persistent kendo captain, I immediately released a startled scream and wrapped my arms around my partially exposed torso.

“W-Why are you here?!”

Takeda continued to stare down at me completely dumbfounded, “I was…Since the tournament is closing in, I thought I’d train my mentality.”

“Then get out of here!” I commanded, hugging myself even tighter.

“Y-You too, why are you…?”

As the male began to mumble his words, I noticed the slight flushing of his cheeks, and following his lingering gaze, I immediately knew what he was staring at.

Instantly I crouched to the ground, trying to find some kind of cover in the shadows, “None of your business!”

“It is! It is too!” Takeda suddenly protested, seeming to regain his determination, “Because I…”

Before he could finish, I heard a crumbling noise, and the next thing I knew, the kendo captain was on top of me. My eyes widened and I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even say anything at all when he finally realized where he was. Our petrified staring contest was only shattered when the sound of a concerned voice rang out from above us.

“Are you all right?”

Oh god! Not you! Not now!

“I heard…”

Yep. It was Mai. Staring down at a very real Masashi Takeda suggestively atop an equally real me. I wanted to hurl.

Mai stopped for a moment, her mind obviously trying to process what she was seeing, before she flinched and bolted, “Sorry for interrupting!”

Surprisingly, Takeda was the first to speak, “No, this is—!”

I took the open space he had created to strike. Planting my palms on the ground by my head, I pulled my knees to my chest and sprung. Feet met chest, and in the blink of an eye, the male was flat on his back. As he rubbed the back of his unquestionably aching head, I grabbed the wooden sword of his and rose from my kneeling position.

“Why you…” I seethed, fists shaking with rage, “You perverted bastard!”

“N-No—“ he began to stammer, but his pleas failed to reach my fury-induced deaf ears as I reared back and struck him with as much force as I could muster, snapping the frail weapon in half in the process.

His body went limp after that, clearly unconscious from the blow I had just served. My eye twitched as I threw the now useless sword onto the ground beside him, wishing that it had been a real one rather than just wood. I did get a little satisfaction from the red whelp that had already begun to form on his dumb face though.

“Mai…” I uttered through clenched teeth before dead sprinting back up to the road, and to my luck the girl hadn’t gone very far at all.

“Hey!” I called out to her as I continued to run in her direction.

“Natsuki…S-Sorry about—!“

Grabbing the girl by her jacket, I looked her dead in her violet eyes, “Look! You didn’t see what you thought you saw, got it? That idiot fell on top of me. That’s all.”

“O-Okay,” Mai nodded in understanding, and I released my grip on her. After she had straightened herself out and taken a step back, she spoke again, “But…what are you doing here anyway?”

“…There’s a First District building nearby. I’m going to check it out,” I answered and started walking towards my motorcycle.

Mai was quick to follow, “Eh? You serious?”

“I don’t joke around about this stuff,” I retorted, stripping out of my biker suit now that there were no leering male eyes to observe me.

“Can I come?”

Hoping to avoid a dispute, I sighed, “As long as you don’t get in my way.”

I opened the back storage compartment on my Ducati and retrieved a small black tote bag, replacing it with my suit before closing the top. I flung the light carrier over my shoulder before storming off back towards the beach.

“Um…forgive me for asking, but what happened to Takeda-san?”

“Take a look for yourself,” I coldly stated, motioning behind me with my thumb.

Mai obviously saw the male lying on the ground even as we trekked in the opposite direction, “Are you sure you can leave him like that?”

“Why would I care about him?”

“But that sure surprised me. You looked like you had no interest in guys, so I was starting to think other things about you...”

I froze, “Don’t even joke like that! I have things to take care of…I have no time for relationships.”

“Oooh…It must be nice to be simple like that.”

Slightly intrigued by her last comment, I decided to turn the questions her way, “What, you’re having problems with Kanzaki?”

“No, not like that…” the girl began before actually letting my words sink in, “Wait, why Reito-san?!”

“It’s a rumor all over the school,” I replied, not even attempting to hold back an amused smirk.

We remained silent for the rest of the hike down the shore until we approached the small rental shack, and I promptly jumped up onto the wooden planks of the walkway.

“This place is closed, you know,” Mai tentatively informed me.

“Yep.”

The girl crawled up and followed me as I wandered down to the small dock that housed a few small rowboats and crouched down beside the one closest to the end. I sat my bag down beside me as I fished out a tool to pick the lock holding the boat to its current residence before setting to work.

“What are you doing? You can’t just take one!”

“No one else is using it right now,” I remarked as I continued fiddling with the device. It wasn’t long before it softly clicked and opened. I smirked triumphantly before placing my utensil back into the black bag and carefully crawling into the boat.

Plopping down on one of the seats, I threw my bag behind me and took the rows into my hands. Mai just continued to look at me from her place on the dock.

“I’m not waiting forever.”

“…Fine…” the busty girl finally complied with a dissatisfied shake of her head.

Once she was securely inside, I began the monotonous action of propelling us towards the distant coastline. The girl across from me kept quiet, her arms crossed over her chest accompanied by a small pout.

Eventually she calmed down, but that still didn’t cease her whining, “Taking a rental boat without permission…You know this is a crime.”

“If you have a problem with it, then don’t tag along.”

“But if it’s related to First District stuff, I want to know too.”

“I thought you weren’t getting involved with the battles of HiMEs,” I honestly remarked, half a question, half a statement.

“Yeah, but…I see it even if I pretend not to, so…”

I nearly smiled at the comment.

Don’t we all…

“Say, Kuga-san…” she continued.

“Natsuki is fine.”

“Then call me Mai, as well. Why are you fighting, Natsuki?”

I paused in my rowing, allowing her question to fully sink in as I debated on telling her the whole truth, “I’m…”

I wasn’t given the time to continue, however, as an arm reached over the side of the boat, it’s fingers twitching as if it were searching for something.

Mai and I both screamed in horror as we grabbed onto each other and tried to put as much distance between the stray appendage and ourselves. More movement, and a head surfaced, eyes gleaming in the moonlight. Our grips tightened as we nearly cried out again. But then the goggles—Wait…goggles?

“No fair, playing without me,” pouted the annoyed dark-haired HiME.

“Mikoto…” Mai barely managed.

Once my heart had started beating again, I harrumphed and pushed the redhead away, “Honestly…”

After helping the younger girl into the boat, we continued onward, and after a few minutes, I ceased my paddling and massaged my shoulders for a second before reaching behind me and grabbing my bag, making sure if was securely fitted to me.

“Alright, we disembark here since it seems to be the shortest climb.”

Mikoto was the first to abandon ship, springing from the small vessel and nearly capsizing it in the process. I followed a little more gracefully, and once Mai had discarded her white jacket, she too entered the water.

Once we had clambered up the short rock wall, it didn’t take us long to jog closer to the abandoned facility.

“What was this place?” the violet-eyed girl asked.

“One of the branches of the First District. It’s a research lab for the power to manipulate higher-order matter.” I paused for a moment to retrieve a pair of night vision goggles from my bag, and began adjusting them to my head before I continued, “Listen, the security system is still active. Follow my footsteps exactly.”

“Got it—Eh!”

Turning, I nearly smacked myself on the forehead when I saw Mikoto off in the distance, and thanks to the goggles, the numerous red trip lasers she was standing right in the middle of.

“Mai, let’s go!” the girl called out, waving her hand like this was some kind of trip to an amusement park or something.

It didn’t take long for the alarms to start blaring.

Ah, fuck it. Who wants to be James Bond anyway?

Returning the goggles to my bag, I motioned Mai onward, Mikoto following us after we had caught up to her. As I ran, I materialized one of my guns, making quick work of the chain link fence that blocked our path.

“Even if the alarm goes off, it will take some time for them to arrive,” I told the two girls as they pulled open the glass double doors. “Tell me if you find any documents, computers, or any sort of data disks. We’ll leave in ten minutes,” I instructed.

“Mmh.”

“Got it,” Mai replied right before we branched off in different directions.

In a way, I was glad to have the others with me in this place. Not only would it make the search that much quicker, but it also meant that I wouldn’t have to be here alone. Even though we might not all be together right now, I knew they were close, and for some reason, I found an odd sense of comfort in that fact.

As I climbed up the stairs, I already knew where I was headed. It was like I didn’t even have to think. My feet knew the way on their own, and I let them take over. As I approached the top, I slowed to a walk, and gazing through the metal railing that lined the stairs from the hallway, I could clearly see the door I was looking for.

The nametag looked the same as I remembered, although it felt a little awkward to be eye-level with the thing. Had it really been that long since I had been here? I had only barely surpassed the door handle before, and now…

I gripped the cold steel of the handle, my hand lingering before applying the force needed to open the door, and in doing so, a rush of memories flooded my mind. Memories…of that last day…

Reaching up, I pushed the heavy door ajar, peeking inside to be met with my mothers back and the rapid clicking of her typing on the keyboard of her computer. The creaking of the door alerted her of my presence, and she immediately swiveled around in her chair to address her intruder. When she saw that it was me, her expression softened.

“Natsuki-chan, did you come to pick me up? Are you alone?”

“Nope, Duran’s here too.”

Upon hearing his name, my companion stuck his head in the door, woofing his hello to mom.

She chuckled at the sight, “I’m almost finished here. Just give me a few minutes and then we can go home, okay?”

“Mmh, okay.”

Mom smiled again, returning to her computer.

“I was wondering where this was! Here, Duran!”

Picking up the yellow wiener dog chew toy off of the center table, I tossed it at the brown mess of fur beside me, and Duran instantly began gnawing at the thing. I giggled as I plopped down on the floor beside him, tugging on the toy that he stubbornly refused to let go of.

We continued our little game of tug-of-war until a startled gasp came from my mother. The abrupt noise even made Duran jump as he let go of the toy, causing me to jerk backwards. Mother stood, her rolling chair slamming into the table behind her. She whipped around and in an instant was around the center table. Bending at the waist, she forcefully took a hold of my wrist and yanked me up, causing me to drop the chew toy in the process.

“Mommy…?”

“We have to go, Natsuki. Duran, come.”

It took me a moment to catch my footing, but when I did we were already out the door, Duran close behind.

That was the last I had seen of this room, and now here I stood in the entryway, ten years later, taking it all in for probably the last time.

It wasn’t quite the way I had remembered it. Mom’s desk with her now wrecked computer was still in the back right corner and the large square table still dominated the center of the room. The tall bookshelf that once lined the right wall had disappeared, and the desk parallel to my mother’s had been cleaned of the mountain of notebooks that at one time had hidden its surface. What bothered me the most, however, was that the whole place looked like it had been turned upside down, as if someone had been rummaging through the office in search of something…

“Mother…” I whispered, my gaze falling to the floor.

And that’s when I saw it. Duran’s chew toy. After all these years it was still here. I kneeled down and took the small plush in my hand, poking at one of its awkward little legs, remember all the good times I had playing with my dog. Inspecting the thing, I could tell that it was still as disgusting looking as it had been back then, but in closer observation, I caught a number on the collar. Curious, I turned the yellow toy over. My smile vanished.

There’s more…What…what is this? A…code…?

Had I not noticed this before? How could I? I was only seven at the time, even if I had seen if, I would never have thought anything of it. Now that I was thinking about it, this particular toy did always have a strange tendency to disappear, hadn’t it? And how had it gotten in mom’s office? Had I brought it here on a previous visit?

I couldn’t remember. Dammit, I couldn’t remember, and so I did the only thing I could do; I slipped the small toy into my bag, and taking one last look around the room, I headed back out the door for the final time.

I was just about to start the fourth chapter when I heard a light knocking on my door. I stood, setting the book down where I had previously sat before making my way to the door.

“Reito-san?”

“I didn’t wake you, did I?”

“No, I was just reading. What’s the matter? You look worried…”

“Well, you see, I haven’t seen Mai-san since dinner this evening. I foolishly told Mikoto-chan of this, and now she is nowhere to be found either…”

“Mmh,” I muttered, lightly placing a single finger on my chin.

Those two again…

“It’s getting pretty dark outside, so I was planning to go out and look for them. I’ve already informed Sagisawa-sensei and Sugiura-sensei, and we’re going to drive around the area. Would you mind coming, too? The more eyes we have, the better chance we have of locating them.”

“Of course, just let me grab my jacket.”

After obtaining the article, Reito and I made our way downstairs where our two superiors were waiting.

“You guys ready?” Midori questioned as we approached.

“I think so,” Reito responded.

Yoko was the next to speak, “We’ll just take my car if that’s okay with everyone.”

Our little patrol walked outside, and once we had piled into Sagisawa-sensei’s vehicle, we slowly pulled out of the driveway. No sooner had we left the Suzushiro residence, I spotted something I hadn’t expected to see.

That’s…

“Natsuki?”

Reito turned to me before looking back out the window, “That is her motorcycle, isn’t it? I didn’t know she was here.”

“Me either…”

“I wonder if she’s with the other two?” Yoko-sensei pondered out loud.

“Most likely,” Midori replied, the confidence in her tone nagging at me slightly.

Choosing to remain silent for the time being, the four of us drove off into the night in search of the three girls.

“How was it, Mai?”

“No, luck. Everything was destroyed,” came the disappointed reply.

Deciding to keep my own discovery a secret, I pressed on, “Okay, we’re going back.”

No sooner had the words left my mouth, the younger girl glanced back over her shoulder towards the entrance, “Someone’s coming.”

After securely concealing ourselves behind the stairwell, sure enough, I too saw the dark silhouette of a person standing between the open glass doors, shining a flashlight to scope the area.

“I know you guys are there. You’re charged with trespassing…”

“It’s a cop,” Mai stated the obvious.

I was quick to summon my element…and Mai was just a hasty to cover it up.

“What are you thinking about doing with that?!” she harshly whispered, sounding much like a mother in the process.

“We can’t be arrested,” I shot back through gritted teeth.

“Even so…”

“They’re from the First District. You saw it too. We can’t be sure if that cop’s real or not,” I logically argued.

The redhead wasn’t about to be easily defeated, “But what are you going to do if he is real?”

“Come out, now!” the man ordered.

By now even Mikoto was on the edge of lashing out, but of course Mai took care of that with just a gentle touch of the hand, “No, Mikoto.”

I watched through wide eyes as the girl slowly began to walk out from our hiding place and began to reprimand her, but by then it was already too late.

We surrendered ourselves silently and peacefully, but I refused to hide my glares towards the busty redhead beside me. The officer and his partner, whom he had called over once locating the “disturbance”, proceeded to inspect my bag, and would have taken a look at Mikoto’s case if the girl hadn’t started growling at him like a wild animal. Needless to say, he gave up after that.

After the two law enforcements had successfully marched us outside and to their vehicle, one of them opened the back door and ordered us inside. Mikoto was the first to bound inside, the look on her face one of pure excitement due to her naivety of the situation. Mai slid into the middle, and I took the window seat beside her. Once the cop had closed the door behind us, I promptly crossed my arms with a ‘humph’.

“So, what are you planning to do?” I asked the girl next to me after we had begun moving, hoping that the engine would cover my voice for the most part. “At this rate, we’re going to get criminal records.”

Mai plastered a sheepish look on her face, “Hopefully we’ll get off easy.”

“How are we going to get out of this easily?”

“It’s a drive, so have fun!” Mikoto added a little too cheerily for my current mood.

“No, umm…” the older girl started, but obviously didn’t know how to explain what we had gotten ourselves into.

“Seriously,” I sighed, turning my attention to the scenery flashing by, “This place is—!”

Suddenly we braked to a halt, the force of the action jerking my body forward. Peering around the seat in front of me, I tried to locate what had forced us to stop so abruptly. All I could really make out was a large, red…Sakomizu!?

The officer on the passenger’s side didn’t waste any time in leaving the car to inspect the body lying in the middle of the road, but not too long after he had shook the man, the cop fell over. I knew what had happened at once.

“Don’t breathe until I tell you to.”

Springing to life, Sakomizu shot a gas-emitting bullet into the car, and the unsuspecting cop up front was almost immediately lulled into a deep sleep. The afro-sensei, adorned in a blue libre mask, walked over to the side of the car and tapped on the window, signaling to us that I was okay to exit the vehicle. We did so at once, all three of us taking in the fresh air once we had stepped away from the toxic trap.

I helped Sakomizu place the two unconscious cops into the back of the patrol vehicle in silence, but once we had finished, I immediately spoke up.

“That was pretty sloppy on your part.”

“Please, give me a break. Everyone is being touchy after that recent incident.”

“Recent incident?”

“It’s a personal problem,” the man instantly tried to cover.

I knew better, but I let it slide for now. “Are they ordinary cops?”

“Well, I thought the security for that place would be sufficiently covered by regular cops, but when I did some research just in case, I sure panicked.”

“Sakomizu-sensei?” Mai questioned, talking for the first time since we exited the cop car.

“N-No, I’m not!”

“But…”

“Afro,” Mikoto pointed out.

The man in question was quick to retreat behind the nearby vehicle, “I have some cleaning up to do so…”

“Why did you pick this place?” I interrogated before he could get away.

“It has a great view, so it’s best for ambushing.”

I smirked, “Liar.”

Our sensei-turned-savior pulled away, and turning back towards the ocean, I was consumed in the reliving of that night when my life had abruptly changed for the worse. It’s amazing how so much was taken from me so quickly…Not only had my mother and best friend died in that instant, but so had my innocence. The scar on my wrist ached at the memory.

“Natsuki?”

“Destroying the First District. Their plans and the entire organization. That is my reason for fighting. For that cause, I’ll do anything.”

I faced Mai and was met with an equally serious gaze. We were both silent, a wave of understanding seeming to pass between us before it was disrupted by an odd rumbling noise. The two of us glanced over at the younger girl standing behind us.

“Mai…” Mikoto began before contorting her face into an expression of pure misery, “Hungry.”

Soft laughter erupted from us both, and I welcomed the change in atmosphere with open arms.

“Oh!”

“What’s wrong?”

“How are we getting home?”

“Mmm…well, we could summon our Childs…”

The redhead immediately scowled.

“…Or not…Start walking, I guess?”

“Isn’t it a bit far?”

I sighed in agitation, “Well, what do you propose then?”

“Hmm…Maybe we can flag down a passing car?”

“Who knows how long that’ll take…”

“I’m sure someone is bound to drive by sooner or later.”

“Fine. But who’s going to do it?”

“What?”

“Flag down the car.”

The girl pondered for a moment, before shrugging with a nervous grin, “Rock, paper, scissors?”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“It’s not like we have a coin to flip.”

“…Alright, let’s do it. All three at once.”

“What? Mikoto can’t do it.”

“Why not?”

“What if some creep pulls up?”

“Oh, so it’s okay if it’s you or me.”

“Well…yeah…I mean no! I mean…eh…It’ll be safer this way?”

I stared at her for a moment before giving in, “Fine, let’s get this over with.”

In unison, we counted, “One, two, three!”

“Ha! I win!” Mai exclaimed with a pump of her fist.

“Wha?! No way, that doesn’t count. You waited until you saw what I was doing!”

“Nice try. We did it at the same time, Natsuki.”

Dammit!

“Um…Best two out of three?”

The girl just pointed towards the road, “Stop being a sore loser and get out there.”

Defeated, I shyly turned towards the road and peered down its empty lanes.

“Are we really doing this?”

“You lost at Janken. No complaints,” Mai reminded me as she leaned back against the guardrail, Mikoto perched behind her using the busty girl to keep her balance as she kept a lookout for any upcoming vehicles.

“A car’s coming!”

That certainly was fast…

Straightening in posture, I held out my hand, thumb pointing towards the sky in classical hitchhiking fashion.

“No, be more sexy,” Mai protested, “You’re wasting your femininity.”

I twitched at her words before relentlessly taking her advice.

I can do this…I can do this…God this is so ridiculous!

Exposing my derrière to the open road, I pulled out the sexiest once-in-a-lifetime pose a Kuga could possibly muster. I even added a sexy voice for added effect, “Hey, give us a ride.”

To my utter joy, the car skidded to a quick stop.

Score!

“All right!” Mai cheered before realizing who our rescuers had turned out to be.

It was the car from earlier this evening…I knew it had looked familiar, but this…this was too much…

“Kuga-san, you’re…” Sagisawa-sensei mumbled as she stepped out of the car.

“Nice job!” Midori cooed from her seat as she halfway hung out the window.

Reito’s childish laughter was the next to reach my ears, “We came searching for you three, but…”

“That sure was worth it,” Shizuru added, taking on her “oh my” expression.

I snapped to attention as my face inevitably turned beet red before I sank down onto my knees and released a cry of dismay.

I sat there motionless for a moment, lips quivering, my face still on fire, until I felt a warm hand rest on my shoulder. I turned my eyes up to see Mai peering down at me.

“Come on Natsuki…worse things have happened, right?”

I shook my head with a little whimper as she and Mikoto practically dragged me to my feet again. Even as we stumbled towards the car, my head still hung in beyond-embarrassed humiliation.

Once we had all crammed into the car, Reito on the far left side, Mai in the middle with Mikoto on her lap, followed by Shizuru, and then myself behind the drivers seat smothered against the door, we took off back towards the original starting point of our little adventure.

For once, the closeness of Natsuki and I was something I wasn’t full-heartedly enjoying since it was more painful than anything else. We were skewed in such a way that the younger girl’s shoulder was behind my own, half of her back pressed against the door in an attempt to create more room for the rest of us, as our legs clashed in the small space behind the drivers seat. It had certainly been a good idea to shave last night, I decided.

I halfway glanced over at my friend who continued to silently and forlornly stare out the window. I tilted my head so I could whisper into her ear.

“Do you want my jacket?”

A quiet grunt was my only reply from the sulking girl who continued to gaze out at the passing scenery.

My attempt at being nice having failed, I tried Plan B, “You shouldn’t be so upset…but Natsuki certainly did look cute like that.”

This time she only glared at me out of the corner of her eye without a word or a blush.

Strike two. If it hadn’t been clear before, it was quite obvious now that Natsuki was indeed quite upset about the whole ordeal. I sighed quietly as I tried to think of some way to comfort the girl even just a little.

Deciding to risk it, I softly laid my hand on her thigh, my fingers resting on her knee. Natsuki immediately snapped her head to look me in the eyes, and I softened my gaze, a small apologetic smile gracing my features. The raven-haired girl pushed out a raspy breath, flashing a sincere, though minuscule, smile at me afterwards before slipping back into her cold demeanor and returning to her previous activity.

Having received all that I needed, even if it had come and gone in an instant, I pulled back and placed my hand in my lap again, leaving Natsuki alone for the remainder of the ride back to the Suzushiro villa.

Upon arriving at the mansion, everyone hastily dispersed into the house except for one individual in particular, and I was quick to follow her.

“Natsuki, wait!”

Rather than meeting emerald orbs, I just continued to see dark tresses. When the girl did finally stop, it was because she had reached her motorcycle and hastily begun to slip into her dark grey biker suit.

“Where are you going?” I tried again.

“Home.”

“Is that such a good idea? It’s already pretty late…”

“I’ll be fine.”

“There are still plenty of rooms at the villa. You could stay in mine since I have a room to myself—“

“No thanks, I just want to get back.”

I watched as Natsuki leaned against the bike’s sturdy body as she removed her sandals to trade them with her usual riding boots.

“Can I come with you then?”

“What?”

My lack of response caused her to finally look up at me, “This is supposed to be a vacation for you, isn’t it? You should enjoy it while it lasts.”

I’d enjoy it much more if you were with me…

“I really wish you’d stay…it would be much safer for you to drive back in the morning.”

“There will be less people on the road now,” Natsuki contended, straddling her bike while pulling on her gloves.

Again I didn’t speak, and after she had taken her helmet into her hands, Natsuki sighed, “I can handle myself, Shizuru…”

The helmet was secured on, shielding her face from me in the darkness.

“So don’t worry about me,” came the muffled conclusion before the silence of the night was shattered by the bike’s engine roaring to life.

Saying that doesn’t help, you know…

As much as I desperately wanted to call out to Natsuki…to make her stop…to make her stay here with me, I held my tongue even as I watched her speed off into the distance.

Closing my eyes, I opened the mental link with my Child.

Kiyohime.

It’s a strange sensation, indirectly communicating with a creature such as my Kiyohime, for there are no words involved. More or less, it’s like a wave of feelings, emotions and concepts are being passed back and forth between our minds. Mental images, as I quickly discovered, were the key to getting one’s point across.

I could feel the rush of the Child’s thoughts begin to merge with my own, and I had to fight to keep them separate, but in that instant, I knew she was listening.

Natsuki.

The hydra flashed a distorted image of my friend into my mind almost immediately. My Child had been swift in learning who Natsuki was…and what she meant to me, since every time the girls name was mentioned, the creature also sent a wave of nearly overwhelming adoration with her image.

At the reply, I responded with approval.

Follow. Protect.

Confusion. Fear? Danger?

After reassuring her that I, myself, was okay and under no threat, I repeated my order.

Compliance.

Breaking the connection, I opened my eyes again, and praying that my request would be enough, I walked back through the gates of the Suzushiro villa.