Mai-HiME Fan Fiction ❯ Tea Leaves, Coffee Beans, and a Touch of Mint. ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM!

A pair of piercing green eyes snapped open, then narrowed in annoyance. Who the hell could that be? Shaking remnants of sleep from her head, Yuuki Nao forced herself out of her bed and made her way angrily toward the door. She grabbed the knob and cracked the door open, yelling to whoever it was,

“Look, what the hell is your problem? You trying to knock down my door, idiot? Get lost.”

Unfortunately for Nao, this was the wrong answer to give the woman outside. She soon found herself sprawled on the floor as the door was roughly forced open and a rather irate Suzushiro Haruka entered. After she failed to find Yukino at either their shared dormitory or at the nurse’s office, Haruka had decided to take a more proactive approach to finding her partner than merely waiting, and no sassy little redhead was going to brush her off like that now. Yukino… Haruka was still unsure exactly what had occurred before. Yukino had just… left. This was something Haruka had never dealt with before, ever since they had met as children they had always been together, if given a choice in the matter. To have her just up and leave…. Haruka didn’t know what had happened, or where Yukino was, but she knew she had to find her and make sure she was okay.

“Yuuki Nao-san, I have some questions for you. Executive business.” Haruka folded her arms, waiting impatiently for Nao to get off the floor.

“Are you crazy? Get out of my room! I haven‘t done anything!” Nao rose, and tried to push Haruka out the herself, for all the good it did her. Haruka could be unyielding in more than her morals, and was rapidly losing what patience she had held onto. She grabbed Nao by the front of the shirt and pushed her back a few steps.

“I seriously doubt that, student, given your history. But I’m not here for you, today, I’m looking for Yukino.” Nao was unnerved by the woman’s behavior- even Haruka wasn’t usually this forceful- but covered her unease with a wicked grin and her usual attitude; a mean little thought sparked a scathing response.

“What’s the matter Suzushiro? Your favorite little pet run off? I’m not surprised, given how you treat her.” Nao’s derisive laugh drilled into Haruka’s skull.

“I would protect Yukino with my life!” Haruka shouted furiously, “What do you mean how I-- no. I’m not going to play your little games, you won’t bait me this day.” She finished haughtily, thinking she had outsmarted the girl, “Have you seen Yukino?” Haruka finished, advancing a step towards Nao to add emphasis to her words and discourage further back-talk. Nao turned away, flipping her hand impudently towards the woman looming towards her. Apparently Haruka was even more hard-headed that she had suspected, if she didn’t know what Nao had been not-so-subtly hinting at. Nao hadn’t seen Yukino though, and felt no reason to hide the fact. She decided to use an old expedient that she felt was sure to send Haruka on her way just a bit quicker.

“I‘ve been in here asleep all day, resting from my… activities last night. Would you like to hear about them, Suzushiro?” She asked, putting on an innocent look. This was an outright lie, of course, as Nao had never been truly involved in any such “activities”. Haruka, however, like most of the students, tended to believe the popular rumors regarding the girl’s late-night antics. Not that Nao did much to quell such suspicions; she still found herself enjoying the night life more than students were strictly supposed to, even if that no longer included terrifying and robbing every male she could lay her claws on. Old habits were hard to drop. Besides, such a reputation had come in handy when she wished to scare off those who imagined themselves as so much more moral than herself.

Haruka snorted, “I’m not Yukariko-san, and you won‘t scare me with your unwholesome lifestyle, Yuuki. Speaking of her, what does she think about your continuing these activities? Aren’t you supposed to be under her tutelage now?” Haruka bit her tongue, realizing that Nao had indeed managed to bait her, despite her efforts. Nao flashed that wicked grin once more, starting to enjoy her little fabrication, and decided to see how far she could push the other woman.

“Well, according to Yukariko, I must confess all of my sins before they can be forgiven, and I still haven’t been able to do that,. The priests can only take so much every day. I figure that as long as I’m going to be getting forgiveness anyway, I might as well get plenty of sinning done in the meantime. Of course, that just gives me more sins to confess, but that‘s not my fault, I would confess them all at one time, if anybody would let me.” She put that fake innocent look on her face again, before laughing her wicked laugh once more. Just being around this girl was harshly grating on Haruka’s nerves, and it wasn’t helping her find Yukino. She made a decision to wrap this up quickly, not realizing this was exactly what Nao wanted.

“If such matters were under my jurisdiction…. But that doesn’t matter right now. So you say you haven’t seen Yukino today.” Haruka tapped her foot impatiently, “Do you at least perhaps know someone who might have been more alert today, and of more use than yourself?”

“Why don’t you go talk to goody little Mai next door, and leave me alone. You can bet that little miss proper behavior didn’t stay out last night.”

“Thank you for your assistance, student.” Haruka said stiffly. She would have to have a talk about this little tart with Yukariko, but had more important things to do now. She stalked towards the door, Nao already forgotten.

Nao rolled her eyes. Finally, that damn woman was gone, now she could-

BANG!

Nao winced as Haruka slammed the door hard enough to loosen a screw from one of the hinges. She hissed in annoyance, as she now had a headache too. She walked back over too her bed and fell down face first. She needed to be at the church soon, and wanted to catch up on her sleep... redemption was a tiring business.

Meanwhile, Haruka was crossing over toward Mai’s and Mikoto’s dorm room. She knocked a bit more softly this time, but still hard enough to demand the immediate attention of the occupants. Haruka heard the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps, and then the door opened, Mai popping her head out.

“What‘s the idea, banging on a door like…” Her voice faded as she realized who it was, “Director? What’s wrong?” She looked about, and wondered where Yukino was. They were rarely seen without the other nearby.

“Tokiha-san, I wanted to know if--” She was cut off by the sudden sound of Mai’s cell phone. Mai gave Haruka a quick apologetic glance before answering her phone.

“Hello, Mai speaking. Kai-, what? Okay, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, er… no problem. I think I deserve an explanation for this later though… No, not maybe. I’ll be there later, I have to go now,” Mai put up her phone, “Honestly, I can’t believe-” She cut herself short as she remembered her guest standing impatiently at the door. “Oh, yes, sorry Suzushiro-san. I guess you’re here about Yukino-chan?” Mai said, trying to make it sound as if she was remembering something from earlier.

“Yes! Do you know something Tokiha-san?” Haruka eagerly forced her way into the room, staring piercingly at Mai, “Have you seen her recently?” Mai was taken aback. She had seen Haruka when she got into her righteous moods before, but she couldn’t recall ever seeing her this feverishly energetic before. She debated telling her the truth of Shizuru’s phone call, thinking that this looked like trouble, but she decided to trust the student council president a little further.

“Oh, yes. She stopped here a while ago looking slightly ill, and said she felt faint, so I let her lie down for a while. She left a time ago, looking better. You must have just missed her on your way over.” Mai repeated the story Shizuru had told her, hoping that it didn’t sound too phony. Haruka let out a sigh of relief, composing herself.

“So Yukino is alright then. Thank you, Tokiha-san. I hope it wasn’t any trouble.”

Mai forced a smile, “No trouble at all, Director; Mikoto was happy to see her. She should have arrived back at the dorm by now, you can probably find her there.” Mai turned to go inside, but stopped, something somewhat odd occurring to her, “Eh, Suzushiro-san, If you were so worried, why didn’t you just call Yukino-san? She does have a cell phone.” Haruka grimaced and sighed in exasperation.

“I know that, Tokiha-san. She left it in the council room along with her laptop.” Again she was reminded of how odd Yukino’s sudden departure had been. Besides other things, Yukino was never so careless as to leave her computer and cell phone lying around just anywhere.

“Oh, okay then.” Mai said, surprised. She knew how deliberate and careful Yukino was as well. This was sounding more and more unusual, not to mention suspicious, by the second. Shizuru had better have a good explanation ready. Shaking her head, she went inside, closing the door behind her.

Haruka started back towards the dorm room she and Yukino shared, feeling much more at ease. Yukino is okay. Haruka didn’t even want to think about anything harming Yukino, ever. She quickened her pace with that thought, wanting to make sure she didn’t miss Yukino again. She needn’t have worried though, as Yukino was just arriving when Haruka reached their room.

“Yukino! There you are, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Haruka walked up and laid her hands lightly on Yukino's shoulders, looking into her eyes. She couldn't quite place it, but something still wrong with her young friend. Yukino looked shaken, disturbed by something. It was possible that this was caused by her sudden illness, but given her other recent behavior, Haruka doubted it. “Are you sure that you’re okay? You left so quickly, and look like something’s still bothering you. What happened?” Yukino averted her gaze, she hadn’t been looking forward to this part. She hoped that she looked sick, as she was trying to, rather that guilty, which was how she felt.

“Yes, Haruka-chan, I’m okay. I just didn’t feel well, and thought I might be sick. Mai-san kindly let me stop at her room for a while, when I wasn‘t sure I could make it back here. I didn’t mean to make you worry.” Yukino’s voice was steady, but she still seemed… off, distracted by something, at least to Haruka’s mind.

Yukino’s gaze remained averted, unable to look Haruka squarely while speaking an untruth to her. Haruka looked searchingly at her friend for a moment longer, but wasn’t able to pin down what was causing her unease, and so moved on to something else that had occurred to her.

“Hey, Yukino.” The girl looked up questioningly, “According to Tokiha-san, that was quite a while ago, why are you only now getting back here?” Haruka frowned, she needed to make sure nothing was wrong with Yukino, and inconsistencies like this worried her. She didn’t have to be concerned though, as Yukino answered readily enough.

“Oh, that. I went to the nurse’s afterwards, to make sure it was nothing serious. I was told it was likely something I had eaten, and since I felt all right now she didn’t think I needed anything but rest. We must have just missed one another in our trips.” More lies, Yukino thought. What was even worse was how easily they were springing to her lips; she certainly didn’t want this to become a habit.

“Okay then, as long as you’re alright. Oh, and Yukino, I almost forgot, your things are still in the council room.” Yukino almost panicked, her heart pumping faster, before she realized Haruka meant during her first, not her second, departure from the council room. Haruka continued, oblivious to Yukino’s reaction, “We need to go back and get them. Actually, do you want to stay here and rest? I can go get them for you.” Yukino smiled gratefully at Haruka’s concern, but shook her head.

“Thank you, Haruka-chan, but I feel well enough to go retrieve them. Don’t worry about me.” Haruka wouldn’t be dissuaded that easily, however, and was determined to at least accompany Yukino back, in case she should have some form of relapse. So together, they headed back to the council room, side by side. Haruka abandoned her usual leading position, wanting to keep her eye on her comrade. As they were arriving, the council President was just exiting the room. She glanced up at the pair heading towards her, and smiled warmly.

“Greetings Suzushiro-san, Kikukawa-san. What brings you back here?” She asked smoothly.

“Ah, Shizuru-san, I left my things in the room. Can you open the door so I can get them please?” Yukino felt odd, talking to Shizuru now as if nothing had happened. Shizuru seemed to be taking everything is stride though, so Yukino felt a bit more confident.

“Of course, Kikukawa-san, just let me unlock the door.” Shizuru turned toward this task, but was stopped by Haruka’s voice,

“Working late, eh, President? Anything you'd like me to do?” Haruka tried to sound officious, though inside she was rather pleased, thinking that Shizuru had finally run into some problem that required actual effort on her part to fix.

“Yes, Suzushiro-san, I was working late, but it’s a personal problem. Nothing I want you to concern yourself with, it’s actually rather embarrassing. Thank you for your offer though, I’ll keep it in mind.” She finished unlocking the door.

“There we are, go and get your things.” Shizuru held the door open and moved to the side, motioning Yukino in. Yukino hurried inside, grabbed her laptop and phone, and quickly exited.

“Thank you, Shizuru-san. We’ll see you tomorrow then.” Yukino gave a quick bow, before hurrying back over to Haruka’s side.

“Goodbye Suzushiro-san, Kikukawa-san. Until then.” Shizuru locked the door once more and walked down the hall, opposite the way the other two had come. Haruka managed to wait until Shizuru had gone out of earshot, then had to ask Yukino about something that had bothered her about that encounter.

“Say, Yukino, since when have you and Fujino been on such familiar terms?” Haruka frowned, looking questionably at the girl walking next to her. Yukino mentally kicked herself for her lapse. Now she would have to think of yet another lie.

“Er, we aren’t really, Haruka-chan. Was I familiar with her? I must have just had a momentary lapse, my trouble concentrating lately, you remember.” Which wasn‘t a total lie, her recent trouble concentrating was what had led to her and Shizuru becoming a bit more familiar now. Of course, Haruka took that statement a little differently.

“Oh yes, that. I’ve been wanting to talk to you about that too, Yukino. Are you sure there’s nothing I can help you with, no problems you’ve been having?”

“No, Haruka-chan. I don’t have any problems I need help with, really.” At least not one that you can help with, not when you sort of are the problem. Her evasive answer was enough to satisfy Haruka, though, which brought a fresh wave of guilt at how much Haruka trusted her, and Yukino attempted to change the subject.

“Haruka-chan, what do we need to go do now, after the meeting.?”

Haruka thought for a moment before answering, “Eh, nothing really, Yukino. It’s getting close to lunch though, do you feel hungry at all?”

Yukino smiled, “Yes Haruka-chan. I’m feeling better now, I think I could manage a little lunch. Did you have somewhere in mind?” If there was anything she knew about Haruka-chan, it was that there was never “Eh, nothing” to do, Haruka always had something she thought she should be doing, even if it was only walking around scowling as a preventative measure against wrong-doing. Yukino had never felt such an odd mix of pleasure and pain. She was touched that Haruka was so concerned about her, and wanted her companion to relax, but couldn’t forget the fact that the concern had been caused by a lie. These lies seem to be adding up quickly, I‘ll have to make it up to her somehow.. But for now she focused on the present, as Haruka was answering her question.

“No, why don’t you pick today, you’re the one whose stomach we need to be careful with.” Haruka turned the question back around, worry still etched in the features of her face.

Yukino groaned inwardly. Will it never end? She started looking forward very much to tomorrow, when Haruka would hopefully have forgotten this little episode, Until then… Yukino knew there was only one thing that would help assuage Haruka’s concerns., though she dreaded to say it. She almost started laughing, after all she had been through today, this was still enough to worry her? It seemed ludicrous to be so apprehensive about so little a problem. Nonetheless, she still didn’t want to say it, but knew she had no choice.

“Well, then, Haruka-chan, why don’t we just go inside and fix up something ourselves, does that sound alright?”

Watching Haruka’s body quickly relax, Yukino knew she had made the right decision, whatever the consequences would be later. She hoped fervently there was something easy to cook back in their dorm, she had more faith in her ability to stomach food from even the most grimy diner than she did Haruka’s cooking.

They reached the dorm together soon, and walked inside. Haruka immediately made Yukino sit down, afraid that their trip back to the council room could have over-exerted her. Yukino smiled, Haruka never had, and probably never would, managed to do anything half-way; full speed ahead was her only setting. Yukino knew she would barely be able to lift a finger around Haruka for the next hour or so, if not the whole day. I just hope she doesn't try to feed me... though that idea has some possibilities... Yukino decided that while Haruka was in the kitchen she was safe with her thoughts for a while, and let them drift over those possibilities. It was a great sight more pleasant than the gloomy thoughts she had been thinking for a while. Meanwhile, Haruka had been rummaging through the kitchen, seeing what they had available. Cooking had never been her strong point, but there had to be something here that she could make easily enough.

Salads? No, last time she had tried to make salads they had a faint but unmistakable taste of char about them. Neither Yukino or Haruka had ever been able to find out why, but the memory stood clear in both their minds as testament to the fact that Haruka could indeed burn a salad. Haruka’s pride wouldn’t let her even try that again. She found some ingredients she thought she might be able to make some ramen out of, but then remembered she still hadn’t repaid Yukino for burning her pajama’s the last time, when she needed something to smother the flames. She definitely didn’t want to bake anything, the last time she had tried her hand at baking…. No, that was somewhere she didn’t want to go again. Working her way through their repertoire she came across a small box. It's that Sushi we brought home from that restaurant a day or so ago, wonder if it's still good?. She looked at it. It still looked okay, there was nothing growing on it at any rate, and it smelled… non-poisonous. It meant she didn’t have to worry about cooking, so she decided to run the idea past Yukino. She sprang up and turned around, yelling into the bedroom,

“Hey Yukino, how about that leftover from the sushi place we went to a couple nights ago? You know, the one that had that authentic old turntable?” She listened, but was perplexed when she didn’t get an answer. She hurried into the bedroom, where she had made Yukino sit down to rest, and was relieved to see her stretched out on the bed, merely dozing.

Honestly. Oh well, I guess not everybody can be made of the same stuff as Suzushiro Haruka. She was glad that her friend seemed to be feeling well, however. In fact, she looked more peaceful in sleep than she had for a long time. Haruka had thought it was perhaps stress from concentrating on the upcoming end -of-year exams, on top of Yukino’s executive duties, that was making her partner’s sleep so fitful as of late. Whatever it was, it seemed to have left her alone for the time being. Haruka walked over to the side of the bed, planning on nudging Yukino’s shoulder to rouse her, but then hesitated. Yukino just looked far too peaceful to disturb. She reached a hand down and brushed a lock of unruly hair out of Yukino’s eyes. Her hair was as rebellious as ever, if a bit longer than usual. She didn’t know if Yukino was planning on growing it out a bit, or just hadn’t noticed how long it was now, but she determined to let Yukino knew that she liked her short hair later. Later, because now she just couldn’t bring herself to wake her sleeping friend. I’ll just let her sleep for a few more minutes. Haruka settled herself into a nearby chair. Just a few more minutes, while she took a quick rest herself. Not falling asleep, of course, but just resting her eyes for a bit. Just a bit while she let Yukino enjoy her sleep, just a bit...

Yukino’s eyelids jumped open in alarm as she heard a loud, unidentifiable growling sound jar her out of her peaceful doze. She looked about quickly, trying to find the source, before realizing that it was coming out of… Haruka. Yukino smiled. Haruka always insisted on having the lights out before she would come out of the bathroom and go to bed, and Yukino had found out why long ago, though she let Haruka continue to think it was a secret. Yukino had found the nasal strips in the back of the medicine cabinet one day, and realized that Haruka didn’t want her to know that she snored. Yukino had gone cheerfully along letting Haruka have her little secret, but now realized that it had meant something else. Because of this little vanity of Haruka’s, Yukino realized that she had never had the chance to see Haruka asleep lately. Between the lights-out request and Haruka always managing to wake up before her, it had been... a year or more since she had seen her closest friend sleeping. As she listened to Haruka’s grunting and rumbling, she found it oddly comforting. Here was Suzushiro Haruka-chan at her least guarded, her most vulnerable. Yukino took this rare opportunity to study her love‘s face without fear of discovery, but didn‘t entirely like what she found. Yukino saw worry and stress in every curve and angle of that face, and for once hoped that this concern was over her and her “illness”, as she didn’t want to think that Haruka slept such troubled sleep all the time, even if it would explain her sudden snoring problem. She knew that Haruka was worked hard, but had always hoped that her partner was able to find some release at times, even if only in sleep. Yukino rose and quietly walked over too her sleeping loved one. She brushed back lock of blonde hair that had fallen into her beautiful face, not knowing that Haruka had made such a similar gesture not so long ago, on her own sleeping form. She ran her fingers down Haruka’s soft cheek, guiltily wondering what it would be like to cup that cheek tenderly in her hand, and look deeply into Haruka’s soft violet eyes, drown in those eyes as they shone with love… Her fingers made their way towards Haruka’s lips, following the arc of her almost permanent frown. She leaned closer, wondering what those lips would feel like on her own, what they would taste like… She lowered her head. Would it be so bad, just to see, just this once? Halfway towards Haruka‘s face, Yukino froze. What am I doing? She snatched her hand away from Haruka's face. Yukino stared at that hand in horror. She recalled a similar scene, from not so long ago. Yukino felt sick to her stomach, she had allowed herself a chance at loving Haruka-chan again, and this was what she did with it? She had told Shizuru that she understood, but she had also thought that such an understanding would provide her some amount of immunity from temptations like this. What would Haruka have thought if she had woken up, if she ever found out about what Yukino had almost done? Yukino imagined those eyes she remembered, with their shock and repulsion clearly displayed, only focused on her this time, accusing and betrayed. Yukino backed away, slowly and silently as she had come, and laid back down on the bed. What would Haruka have said? What would she have done? What would it have meant for us…? As hard as she tried to quiet them, to return to the peaceful rest of a moment ago, these questions coursed tirelessly through her mind, and afforded her only the most restless of slumber.