Mai-HiME Fan Fiction ❯ Tea Leaves, Coffee Beans, and a Touch of Mint. ❯ Chapter 9 ( Chapter 9 )

-Yukino

"If it's not one thing it's another..."

The note with Yukino's precise, careful handwriting was unceremoniously dumped into the waste bin as Haruka set about her morning routine. Wanting to speak to a teacher Haruka could understand, but did she have to miss the meeting? was way to get reorganized after an absence. For that very reason, it also struck her as being quite unlike the meek girl. Yukino, who's calling card in the past may well have been the presence of Suzushiro Haruka, slipping out in the dead of morning? It wasn't strange enough to be cause for concern though, right? Unless...Is she avoiding me? considered the notion for only a moment before dismissing it. Yukino had quite clearly stated her intentions regarding her mysterious problem, and that is all there was to it. Academics comes first for students. Quite responsible of her, really. Nothing I can do about it in any case. punctuated her rumination with a satisfied no, though she felt generally irritated for the remainder of the morning, to the general dismay of the student body.

Yukino was entirely unaware of the trouble her actions would soon be visiting on the campus, though, as she plodded through the academy's many intersecting paths. Truthfully, she on going to see her English teacher, to ask him about a peculiar point of grammar she'd had trouble while researching for an essay the previous week... but even she knew that was just an excuse. As if to belie the point, she continued to put one foot in front of the other with no destination. then, right? I'll do it... today? She focused on the statement, trying to will it into something reinforcing, rather than questioning. Why today? She had not a single idea why, but it seemed pointless to wait any longer. just going to keep getting further away if I wait. She couldn't continue as she had with her distant, one-sided yearning, that was clear. Even more clear was that she also could not merely "forget," or abandon her feelings, not without trying. She would quit without giving her all; Haruka would expect no less of her. Haruka would less

I've been living all this time on borrowed strength; Haruka-chan's strength. Yukino knew that, but also knew that she was a better person for Haruka's friendship. I've become braver and truer to my self, I know I have! But it's all been on loan. Watch me, Haruka-chan! I think today I can do it. I'm going to find you and tell you I love you. Things are different now, I’m different now, because of you.

And it really was different. Yukino thought of Haruka and, instead of seeing angry, accusing eyes, she saw that pure plea for trust, that gentle coaxing for the honesty they had always shared. She was still afraid of rejection, still faced the turmoil of not knowing what to say or when or how, or what to do if her world came crashing down around her ears, but that sort of worrying certainly had not helped her up until now. She was left with only one option: she would charge ahead with all the single-minded confidence of assured success ahead of her, like someone she knew, and see what happened.

BONG!

The solid, bronze tone of the clock tower's bell interrupted her epiphany and reminded her that it was time for class. While she guiltily remembered that other considerations awaited her attentions today--class, council work, and the like--Yukino was now confident that, even if she had to wait until the end of the day, she finish what she had resolved to do. Feeling tonnes lighter, she startled a couple necking in the bushes as she let loose an uncharacteristic whoop of joy, just to hear the sound of her own determination.

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"The Kendo Club?"

"Yes, Suzushiro-san, the Kendo Club," Shizuru paused sipping her tea to calmly repeat herself. "In brief, it would appear that some individual forced entry to their dojo this past Monday evening." Setting her teacup down, Shizuru opened a drawer in her desk, pulled out a manila folder and pushed it slightly forward towards Haruka. considerate, thought to herself as she retrieved her cup, very nice some people are, no? Ah, my Natsuki, you were saved a rather troublesome task.

"These documents reflect the statements given by those members that witnessed the state of the facility upon discovery, as well as the results of preliminary questioning that the Executive Team members undertook as per your regulations." Shizuru peppered her speech with all the manner of words that she knew would help lull Haruka into a sense of authoritarian familiarity. The girl across the desk opened the folder and scanned through the papers.

"This happened sometime between last night and this morning?" She finally asked.

"Correct. There is, unfortunately, no more-precise time frame available."

"There was nothing stolen?" Haruka asked, wanting to verify her cursory scan of the document.

"Nothing."

"All due respect, Miss President, but why has this been given to such a high-priority concern? Such actions are immoral for certain, but this level of focus is a bit much for some mud and wall scrawling. In fact, if this was so important, why wasn't I informed earlier, when it was first discovered?" Haruka didn't mention that she was also almost disappointed that there hadn't been a more threatening form of uncontrollable criminal activity in the absence of her lawful bulwark.

"Ah, you see, Haruka-san, it's not so much the perpetrators who are causing concern, but instead the 'victims,'" Reito spoke up for the first time, perhaps sensing Haruka's burgeoning irritation and believing that interaction with himself rather than the President might help calm her. "Captain Takeda informed us that some members of the Kendo Society appear a little prideful, and have their own, very vocal ideas regarding 'justice' for the responsible party. Needless to say, these ideas are not the type academy would endorse, nor anything most parents would be pleased to hear of."

"Right, right," Haruka muttered. She was mildly surprised to hear of such restraint from Takeda. Then again, he had had his run-ins with the Executives before, and was a person that cautious of running afoul of her again. "We don't need a bunch of pumped-up vigilantes who carry their brains in their silly sticks running around messing things up." Haruka added, in her own thoroughly direct manner, to Reito's delicate discourse. "Names," she barked tersely.

"They should be included in the report," he said, gesturing to the folder in her hand. She thrust her hand behind her, apparently to an empty seat.

"Yukino, I need you to arrange a..." She progressed that far before she grasped the fact that nobody had taken the folder from her, then another few silent moments before remembering that there was nobody in the seat in which Yukino customarily placed herself. The other two shared a glance unbeknownst to her as Haruka turned to the empty desk for a moment.

"Ahem. That is, Reito-san, would you get passes out to those competitors that they may be excused from class prior to the lunch period, with instructions to come see me?" The lightest touch of redness on her cheeks and the sudden, stiff politeness to her tone were the only signs of Haruka's discomfiture, but that was enough for the two in the room who, apart from Yukino, were the only people who could lay any sort of claim to knowing Haruka well.

"My pleasure," Reito responded graciously. Glancing at his watch, he straightened from his reclining position against a table.

"I do believe we are done here, then, and I am sure that you're eager to get started," Shizuru said with a cheery smile. "Unless you have anything further to bring forward, Suzushiro-san?"

"Nothing." She answered distractedly, already contemplating the myriad things she planned to make her future captives aware of.

"Then let us be off." The Student Council President paused, "Oh, but when you do see Kikukawa-san next, might you please let her know that I wish to speak with her?" Shizuru said, as though an afterthought to the rest of the mornings' exchange.

"Sure thing," Haruka said immediately, and frowned. Her mind firmly wrenched away from thoughts of her suspects, to the still-nagging ones regarding her partner. it, cursed inwardly, sure that there was something deserving cursing. She stepped out the door hurriedly, suddenly unwilling to be in company longer than she had to be. She was halted by a touch on her shoulder a few paces down the hallway.

"Reito-san?"

"Haruka-san, I don't mean to delay you. I just wanted to, ah, talk to you; as a friend."

"About what?" Haruka said bluntly, putting hands impatiently on her hips.

"Specifically, this last weekend. Did anything, er... happen? To you?" Reito knew Shizuru well enough to know that something was in the works with the Executive partners', "errand," but Haruka wasn't showing any of the usual signs of having fallen for one of those machinations. She had been far too calm—-as calm as Haruka ever could be--while Reito had on more than one occasion seen her rendered to a near-inarticulate state by Shizuru and her manipulations. Shizuru always managed to be leave clues for Haruka to know she has been intentionally outmaneuvered. There would be no fun in it for her, otherwise.

"I found out that the Bubuzuke woman would make a terrible travel agent," Haruka muttered, mostly to herself. This gave Reito even more doubts. Haruka not offer such light comments on the President's antics, and there been antics, though Reito felt doubts beginning to form.

"Other than that, everything went... it went, that's what it did," Haruka dropped her eyes, and Reito now had to somehow work out the Gordian Knot of a bashful Haruka before he could even think to unravel the rest of this mystery. "I think the time off did Yukino some good," Haruka spoke again, finishing her statement with the beginnings of a warm smile, but just as suddenly as this seldom-seen side of Haruka had surfaced, Reito watched it slide back beneath the waves her usual manner. She turned around abruptly and bid farewell in a more business-like manner: "Thanks for your concern, Reito-san, but we're doing fine. If you want the specifics, you can ask Fujino what happened, I told her all about it yesterday."


"I'm glad to hear," Reito finally said, raising his hands in surrender with a disarming grin. "I'll see you later then."

"Right. Goodbye, Reito-san."

He could only stand and watch the Executive Director walk off, a small but supposedly constant part of his world flipped over on end and rolling away.

"Perhaps I was premature when I said she would be 'cheerful,'" a murmur floated softly from behind him. Shizuru stood behind him, following the departing girl with an appraising eye.

"So, is the real Haruka-san still in Osaka somewhere?" Reito inquired with a forced chuckle.

"However," She continued, ignoring his question, "I would still say that your gentlemanly attentions are not needed. I repeat, Kanzaki-san, what kind of person do you take me for?" Her light chime-like laugh did little to clear the mood of the thoroughly confused young man as she walked away, leaving him baffled in the first-floor hallway.

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"Yukino-san!"

"Mmph, hi Mai-shan." Yukino replied from her desk, immobile and smothered by her friend's enthusiastic hug.

"It's so good to see you again. I was worried."

"Worried?" Yukino echoed, surprised. Mai nodded, looking sheepish now that Yukino had returned perfectly fine. A tad defensively, Mai filled her in on all of the mystery and speculation that had managed to follow her departure. Yukino was taken aback, she hadn't thought that so many people would really pay attention, aside from breathing a sigh of relief that Master Sergeant Haruka was away for a while. She also could hardly believe that Shizuru had not concocted some cover story for them, but who knows what might have been going on in that woman's head? Yukino had given up trying to figure that one out. She shunted those thoughts away as she listened to Mai list a few of the more wild rumors. Yukino smiled, she could not help it, knowing that the truth could have stood with them more than easily.

"Thanks for your concern, but Harada-san was right. Just a few... interesting happenings." Yukino couldn't quite bring herself to say "coincidences," it felt too much like a lie.

"See? Told you Mai-kun," Chie, who had been silent during Mai's rendition, said.

"Okay, okay, you were right, but I couldn't help but worry a little bit. Who knows what could have happened to her?"

"Oh, I get the feeling that she wouldn't have objected to a thing that could have happened." Aoi replied glibly, drawing both Mai and Yukino's eyes to her. Aoi seemed oblivious to their stares, and Mai shrugged and turned away. Yukino's eyes lingered just a little bit longer, her patience rewarded when Aoi locked their eyes and winked, ever so slyly.

"Right, Yukino's certainly a capable girl," Chie added. "Especially with the Director there and all, even if something did come up they could handle it. Hey Yukino, what do you say? Were you Suzushiro-san? Were you able to Yukino blinked, but shook her head. The weirdness of the past few days must suddenly be catching up with her, she decided. has me jumping at shadows, doesn't she? I'm better than this.

"Ah...of course, we were able to take care of the few minor difficulties that came up," Yukino answered guardedly, looking between one far-too-knowledgeable grin to the other. A few minutes later as the tardy instructor brushed into the room and started class, much to Yukino's relief. She took the chance to rest her eyes and try to rationalize away her paranoia.

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Haruka thumbed through the files on the three boys she was about to meet with. She was waiting, already far longer than she should have had to, for them to arrive. The files were already worn and abused at the corners, a telling sign of how many times she'd been through them. The activity kept her mind alert and occupied, and now she could be pretty sure that she hadn't missed anything important. Fingers twitching impatiently, she grabbed at the folder, but the the door was thrown open as her hand closed over it. She turned sharply toward those who entered, the warning spark in her gaze going either unnoticed or unheeded. hold in esteem human courtesans," indeed! They need to look through their code again. Haruka frowned, too, at their dress: the three entered garbed in their padded uniforms, sticks, chestplates, and all. The only missing element was the face masks that may have served to ensure their fool, empty heads didn't float away, but the dolts probably thought they looked more dashing this way, or something. They knelt in the middle of the floor, ignoring the provided chairs.

"What, have you been in uniform all day?" She snapped, getting the conversation off to a cordial beginning.

"No, we have practice during lunch, and didn't want this little appointment to inconvenience us too much." So that explained why they were so late, crossing campus to their dorms to change. nerve! Practice? Everybody else manages to get changed Do they think this can intimidate me? oriented on the boy in the middleWatanabe, she identified by the picture in the report, she could not recall having had any need to see him before, surprisingly--who had spoken up.

"Do you know why you've been brought here today?" She asked, a dangerous gleam in her eyes. The tardiness, inappropriate dress, and flippant attitude were all things that Haruka had to deal with on a daily basis, but today she felt her temper rising all the quicker. She did not feel threatened of course--never, not Suzushiro Haruka!--but the three of them before her, arranged closely in their camaraderie, seemed to highlight the lack of personage in Haruka's own company, setting thoughts and feelings she had no business worrying about now to roiling in the back of her mind.

"What, did you lose our statements or something? Doesn't matter anyway, we'll have this finished before you can get your team off their lazy asses." Haruka's mind blanked on all her other concerns and she gaped for a long moment at the sheer this boy, hardly believing she had not had to deal with him before today. really gotten out of hand without us here.

"No!" She answered, voice rising sharply. "I just wanted a follow-up interrogation, to make sure you didn't time. there this morning." She said, deliberately using the words "interrogation," and, "lie." She definitely did not want them used to considering themselves the untouchable victims in this case.

"Of course you weren't there this morning, probably had more important things to do. Powder your nose or something? And what do you mean by interr--" He began to reply scathingly, an indignant expression settled arrogantly across his brow. She slammed her hand startlingly hard into the desk and he twitched in surprise, silencing.

"Just a few questions, She gritted her teeth, but refused to rise to the bait of his insults, not wanting to give Yukino reason to calm her down and bring her attention back to their purpose here.

"So, your dojo was the victim of some vandalism. Any idea why?"

"None," he started, surly as only a teenage boy just taken down a peg could be. "Just some idiot that thought, wrongly, they could get away with it."

"Of course they were 'wrong' if they think they can pull one over on me. Just answer the questions, I don't need your comments. Did any members recently have a confrontation with another student? Somebody try out for the team and not pass? Think carefully before you answer, don't underestimate how much the Executive arm knows! If I catch you in a lie..." Haruka narrowed her eyes, playing this bluff for all it was worth. Really, that would have been a good thing to look up before calling these three. It was not like her to have missed something so obvious, she always seemed to have every relevant scrap of information on hand, in the past...

Daiki took a deep breath before he answered, but there was not a trace of dishonesty about him as he said, "No."

Haruka blinked, getting her head back in her duty. "Good. Okay, the door. There was no sign of forced entry. Could this have been an inside job?"

"No! Director, there's no way that one of our--"

"Of course, of course," she waved his objection away, "But I didn't ask for your opinion. Just answer the question: are all of the keys are accounted for?"

"Yes."

"All right. Good job finally figuring out how 'questions' and 'answers' work, by the way," Haruka added with a touch of annoyed sarcasm. "That's about all for the crime."

The boys started to rise.

"That does mean we're done here. Sit!" The two on the sides (the word "cronies" sprung to mind) looked to their leader, who shrugged and knelt back down.

"Now I need to ask you about something else, a wrong that hasn't happened yet. Do you all know what a vigilante is?" She saw Daiki's eyes tighten perceptively, but he and the others did not offer an answer. Haruka decided to help them.

"That would be some foolish person who, without access to all of the information, resources, experience, training, and discipline that the proper authorities do, thinks that he can go out and take the law into his own hands. In most cases, that ends up very badly for this person, one way or another. You wouldn't think that anybody you know would be so stupid as to attempt this dangerous practice, would you?" While in the midst of her explanation, she rose from her desk and circled it, so that she ended up directly in front of her guests at the end. Folding her arms and leaning back against the desk, she awaited the response that the boy's growing tension marked as inevitable.

"It's not stupid!" He shouted, leaping to his feet, "Somebody insulted our honor, the honor of our dojo, and the honor of our captain! Nobody but us has any claim to the person who defiled our ground, we can't trust you to yell your way through it." thatwas easy, Haruka thought with a touch of gratification, getting a confession was rarely so simple. Then, Daiki did himself a great disservice as he continued,

"If you were any good at your job, you would have been working on this when the rest of your team was. Where the hell were you when this was going on, in some cushy meeting, or were you still all cuddled up in bed?" He spat the words. This was the last straw for Haruka.

"What!? You consume to tell need to be doing? You think that this school revolves around you and your ridiculous sport? You think your silly 'honor' has anything to do with this? This is an insult to that the vandals would pull this stunt. Your captain agrees with me; he's certainly not supporting you foolishness. He would be the one running around waving his stick if he thought this was a good idea. You do anything else in this rain of thought, and he's going to find out about it. If that doesn't dissuade you, vigilantism is and would be coming after next. This is and if you get in you'll find out firsthand why wrongdoers not crossSuzushiro Haruka!" The last statement was hurled into the young man's face with as much force or more than the finger jabbed into his padded chest, enough force to bow him backward slightly. He had the misfortune to receive the brunt of her attention, but the other two had been forced to draw back slightly from her wildly sweeping gestures as well. She straightened up and folded her arms.

"After we're done here I'll be going to have a look at your little playhouse for myself, and my partner and I will have this wrapped up in no time. That is, unless we also have to keep an eye on a bunch of surly children who don't know how to do what they're told!" She fixed each of them with a glare.

Haruka was never the quietest person, and her voice had escalated true to form by the end of her speech. Her guests, who had started out sneering and indignant, had progressed through rage, nervousness, doubt, and finally a disgruntled acceptance tinged with worry. She turned and stomped back behind the desk. They took that to mean, correctly this time, that they were dismissed. As Daiki walked out the door and into safety, however, he just had to offer his opinions once more.

"Fine! We'll have a good laugh watching you try to figure this out! Come get us when you need somebody who can get something done."

"Sure, I'll get one of you when we need a thick skull to break through the vandal's door!" Haruka called after him. As soon as they left she sat back down, hard, and fumed for a minute. Then a smile broke through her thundercloud demeanor, though it broke more like a ferocious lightning bolt than a ray of sunshine. God, felt good. They didn't have the guts to go up against me, they didn't. reached a hand to the corner of her desk.

"So, Yukino, you ready to go..." She trailed off when her hand met nothing but air and polished wood. my coff...? Oh. Yukino was, that was the real question, she was reminded. The thunderclouds faded to a light drizzle, and she sighed, feeling suddenly lonely. Haruka did not really like the feeling, nor the severe unfamiliarity of it. She rose and walked back to the council room next door, but the coffee pot was empty as well. As she should have known, as Yukino was the only one who ever made any, and she the only one who drank any. Irritated now, and not feeling like brewing it herself, she decided to take one last look through her report before heading over to the dojo. Upon not finding it, she quickly remembered that she had left it on the desk in the other room, but that didn't help her feel any less frazzled. She mentally slapped herself for not asking Reito to get a message out to Yukino, and added another slap for not doing so herself. She had never let her partner know things in such a way; Yukino was always there to know about the plans, and always there to keep a hot drink ready, and to oversee the little details, and sure to pick up anything she left behind...

Haruka sighed again, and it felt like all the energy she'd found after getting back to work was gone... like Yukinoshe shook her head furiously. Yukino wasn't gone, she was probably just out to lunch right now, given the time. see her later at the after-school council meeting. also debated going to get Yukino now, but could not see how to get past the little detail of not knowing where she was. By the time Haruka found her, it would probably already be time for the next class, so Haruka started out toward the crime scene alone.

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"The Kendo dojo?" Yukino repeated, puzzled. Aoi nodded an affirmative.

"Yes. You said you missed the council stuff this morning, so I thought I'd let you know. It looks like Suzushiro-san is doing some kind of investigation there right now."

"Thank you , Senou-san. I think I'd better go see her." Yukino had been thinking and stewing and rehearsing in every quiet moment that she'd had that day and, though not what she would call "fully prepared," it seemed that it was time to see Haruka again.

"Right. She could definitely use your help investigating; that's what I thought."

"What?" Yukino looked baffled for a moment, "Oh, yes, of course, investigation. That's why I need to get over there." Yukino amended, too quickly. Aoi smiled, and though it looked nothing more than an innocent expression of amusement, Yukino felt uneasy with it directed toward her. She had not forgotten Chie and Aoi's peculiar behavior from earlier. It was disconcerting to be the focus of those two.

"Better get over there, then." Yukino added unnecessarily, and hurried off. She turned her mind away from her two classmates as she walked, though could not help but wonder, too late, from whence Aoi's very specific knowledge had come. Her nerves had been jarring her since midday, and she felt she would be no more confident, likely less so, if she waited to see Haruka later today. She quickened, trying to outpace her uncertainties and reservations. She flowed through the throng of lunch-going students, making her way to the dojo as specified. As she passed the tennis courts, her heart leaped in her chest as she noticed the Kendo competitors practicing outside on a large spare mat.

There would be nobody else at the building. only likes to use the whole team for operations when that many people are needed. This building isn't so large that she will feel the need to drag out the cavalry. She always has preferred to do as much as she could with just the two of us. Yukino did wonder what might have happened to run the club outside, but that was secondary in her mind. She came up to the building, which looked sound on the outside, and entered.

Shortly thereafter, Haruka arrived.

"The area looks fine on the extortion, it appears that the defacing was all interior." She said to the air, as if expecting it to take careful note. She looked closely at the lock on her way in, noting that there were no fresh scratch-marks on the edges of the keyhole, as might have happened with an inexperienced or hasty lock picking. She strode in, and looked about. She first needed to find--

"Yukino?"

The young girl, standing in the center of the large training mat and gazing around at the floor and walls, looked up slowly. Yukino, take it easy, told herself.

"Haruka-chan," She said conversationally, "somebody sure doesn't like the Kendo Club." The muddy shoe prints all over the floor and mat, rude drawings on the wall, and unflattering nicknames sketched on the nameplates were testament to that.

"I can't imagine why." Haruka muttered darkly, her conversation with the specimens of the club all-too fresh in mind.

"They don't seem to mind Takeda-san though, isn't that interesting?" Yukino continued in that same oddly dispassionate tone, absent even the curiosity with which she always pursued investigations. Haruka not have though anything odd about the way she spoke, there was not anything that unusual about it in itself, not for a girl who freely admitted that her mind was occupied by a private difficulty. It was Yukino's countenance, something in her eyes, that captured more of Haruka's concern. She looked briefly to the side to follow Yukino's gaze, and noted somewhere in the back of her mind that, yes, his nameplate had escaped the attentions of the vandals. The only thing she was thinking about then, though, was Yukino. Her partner's professed troubles, her disappearance today... and for that matter, her mysterious here where Haruka could not have begun to expect seeing her.

"Uh, sure, that is odd. But how did you know I was going to be here?" That question among the others managed to win the race to her tongue.

"Senou-san told me about the investigation."

Haruka nodded. Senou and that other girl, Harada Chie, they certainly were well-informed, she thought dourly. Haruka and her partner stood, neither taking a step in any direction, unspeaking, nor even making a show of looking around in an investigative fashion. Haruka looked closer and found that despite her inexpressiveness and stillness, Yukino let off and aura of restlessness. Given time, Haruka thought Yukino would pluck up the courage to speak what was on her mind, but Haruka never felt she had enough time as it was. She took a few steps closer into the room.

"Your shoes, Haruka-chan." Yukino spoke up suddenly. Haruka froze with her foot poised just above the mat. She looked down and found Yukino's shoes neatly placed at the edge of the training area.

"Ah, thanks, Yukino." Haruka bent down to tug off her shoes. can show some respect for this playpen, even if those boys couldn't manage the same to me. She stepped onto the mat now and directed her attention to Yukino. She opened her mouth once, shut it slowly, not sure what to say, then simply spoke what came to her lips as it came, all in a rush.

"Say, before we get started with the investigation, do you have anything else on your mind? No worries about putting a damper on our 'vacation' now. Nobody here but us, and the building isn't going to go anywhere." Haruka said it all quickly, but in that perceptively softer, compassionate tone Yukino heard only rarely. Yukino looked thoughtful.

She took a few steps of her own, bringing her face-to-face and scant inches from Haruka, close enough to feel uncomfortable to any but friends as close as they. She steeled her mind and started to draw upon all her careful rehearsing but discovered, to her chagrin, that she could not recall a thing. Everything from earlier in the day felt like it were years ago, another time, a long-forgotten time to the was so much more real, the who was standing before her, chest rising and falling lightly, with a few stray golden strands hanging before her face. Yukino could have groaned with disappointment, she had hoped that she would not feel like this again, that she could just talk straightforwardly this time. Stoic and strong and standing upright, that is what she had imagined.

Yukino looked up at the concerned but softly encouraging violet eyes and all disappointment in herself fled her mind. She saw somewhat there that told her what to do with the kind of doubtless assurance the likes of with Yukino only had felt before. What Haruka wanted right now was easy to see through those windows, the desire to know what was on Yukino's mind and in her heart. Yukino could not deny that request. She looked into those eyes, with that broad, furrowed brow atop, and let her vision linger over Haruka's strong features. Her gaze fell down and traced paths around Haruka's mouth and lips: pursed, expectant, waiting. Yukino's arms moved of their own volition. She placed her hands on Haruka's shoulders, her fingertips brushing the silky blond tresses undulating down Haruka's neck. She rose up only just slightly on her toes. Haruka always seemed so larger-than-life, but she really wasn't much taller than Yukino herself. Her face drew closer to Haruka's now-perplexed expression, but Yukino closed her eyes to that, blocking out everything but the feeling of her lips meeting Haruka's as she had dreamed so often. Haruka stiffened, and Yukino felt hands come up and grasp her upper arms with a painful tightness. Yukino managed to feel fatally foolish for just a second, but she pushed that aside, determined to get as much out of this kiss as she could, absolutely sure that those strong hands on her arms would be pushing her away any second, and would be then keeping her away for every long, lonely second of her life afterwards.

Haruka tried to piece together her suddenly fractured thoughts. She had entertained no idea of what was coming as Yukino's face had inched closer to hers, not until the intention had become crystal clear. She stiffened up, and her hands rose to grasp Yukino's arms in a strong grip. She could have sworn that she had originally been moving to push Yukino away in surprise, but there was something very... vulnerable-feeling in the arms she grasped. The light weight of her friend's hands laying on her shoulders was in some way pacifying. There was also something else, a sudden shallowness of breath, a rush of hot feeling through her body that sapped her resistance. So, Haruka did not push away. She did not do anything for a few long moments, she just took in the warmth and feeling of Yukino with the same rapt attention that she had prepared to listen to her words.

Yukino took a long time to realize this, she was so focused on remembering every sensation of what she thought to be her last moments ever this close to Haruka. She only noticed her expectations of abrupt resistance going unfulfilled when Haruka gently disengaged with a turn of her head. Haruka's eyes were closed, and her face expressionless; the only clue Yukino had to her feelings was a slight, painful discomfort as Haruka tightened her grip, but Yukino could not have said whether it was an intentional act or not.

Haruka was not harboring any far-fetched illusions of Yukino pulling some outlandish prank, or trying to make some extravagant point of discussion through her actions. The truth of that kiss, of the sound of Yukino's heavy breath, they left no room for the flights of fancy a pressured mind might otherwise concoct. It was no blankness of thought, though, so much as a clamoring, indecipherable conflict in Haruka's mind that kept her from expressing anything. Her usual reaction to sudden pressure: that loud, lashing, irrational anger she was so known for, clashed with the almost innate protectiveness and caring that she felt for her only real friend.

"Yukino." She was finally able to say, firmly, with the barest hint of gruffness on the tail end of the word. She spoke with the same tone of voice as she used when doing her utmost to be formal, forceful, serious and officious. It came naturally to her.

"Haruka-chan!" Yukino started anxiously, "I'm..." What am I, sorry? calmed herself, resigned to being responsible for what she had done. "I need to talk to you." Haruka's eyes finally opened now, but Yukino was disconcerted by how she seemed to be avoiding looking at her.

"There's more to say?" Haruka replied, her mouth setting into a thin line as her senses came more fully under her control. She didn't mean her words to sound that harsh, but to Yukino, the thinness to those lips looked far too grim. Haruka released her grip on Yukino's arms.

"I... I have plenty more I could say, Haruka-chan." Yukino answered cautiously. Gaining momentum, and feeling a strange irritation with Haruka's response so far, she continued, "Are you telling me that you can't think of something yourself?" Yukino finished, the slightly accusatory tone she used fully intentional. She did not know of any struggles Haruka might be having with her own emotions, all Yukino saw was her temperamental friend hiding behind this unnaturally quiet front. She would have expected many things from Haruka; betrayal or anger, shock and confusion, but this officious calm was an unknown.

"Yukino, what could you possibly think that...." Haruka began to reply in that same tone, but paused, not entirely sure how to continue. Yukino did not notice the pause in the sudden flaring of her own temper and interjection.

"Thinking? What did I think about, Haruka-chan? Do you suppose I just sat down to lunch sometime last week and 'Oh, I think it would be nice to fall in love with Haruka-chan, why don't I do that? I'll put it on my schedule this week.'" Haruka blinked as Yukino finished, showing her first real reaction at her soft-spoken partner's outburst, and took a step back. she say l.. lo....

"No, Yukino, I didn't; I mean, I don't mean..." Haruka finally looked squarely at her now, and her voice had more than a hint of emotion in it now. it, Haruka-chan.Yukino silently encouraged, even now. Though Haruka's eyes were narrowed in defensive annoyance, Yukino was relieved just to be able to look her in they eye. Now she could see those flashing eyes, could know of the liveliness behind Haruka's odd calm. Yukino took in all of this in the moment it took Haruka to find her words. "Look Yukino, we're partners. We've known each other nearly our entire lives, as long as remember."

"So? This isn't anything I don't know." Yukino's lip adopted an unfamiliar defiant turn at the corner. If Haruka wasn't going to lead the way, Yukino resolved that drag her older friend along until she got a true, honest, unbridled reaction to the truth that finally shone openly between them.

"Yukino..." A note of plea edged just perceptively into Haruka's voice. "It's just that, for two--"

"Don't!" Yukino interrupted vehemently. Then, more calmly, "Don't, Haruka-chan, please. I want to talk about you and I, not 'two females.' If you want to go that route, I'm fully prepared to argue. Love doesn't seem to care who I am or who you are. That's something that can be different among people, but it's not different for love, not for what If that it's wrong to 'indulge,' if that's what you and that's the language you want to use, then by all means continue. But you better know that is your and not any rule I ever read, and you better know that it's you and I that we're speaking of, not 'two females.'" Yukino managed to surprise herself now, she hadn't known that she was carrying such pent-up resentment over those words, or that she would ever hurl it into Haruka's face like that. This was not quite how she had pictured her confession going...

"No!" Haruka yelped reflexively, "I don't—-you're not, I wasn't..." I was, wasn't I? Shouldn't I be...? was the very statement she was about to go through with. Once again, Yukino gave her no time to dwell on that or to form a response.

"Haruka-chan, go ahead. Say what you want to say." Yukino kept going despite her unease with her own actions, feeling fearlessly belligerent. She had nothing left to lose now, and she felt firsthand all the freedom that entailed. "We never got a chance to talk about this before, did we? Never talked about boys, or who we're going to marry someday, everything little girls talk about. Should we make up for lost time? You already know who I 'like', how about you?"

"Yukino, stop! Would you let me get a word in!?" Haruka burst out.

"I believe I just invited you to! Just a few words, however you want to arrange them; give me some kind of answer!"

"To what question!? You just come over and expect me to what, casually consider the fact that my partner, my friend me like..." She did not finish, teeth clenched and unable to speak any more.

"No, Haruka-chan! You don't get it, I don't want you to 'casually consider' anything. As you said, it's just you and me here, right? Don't don't worry about what Haruka would think here! You don't have to worry about what the students would think about you, and not Fujino either! I want to hear what Haruka-chan wants to say," Yukino's voice softened, losing a great deal of its fiery edge. "Just Haruka-chan."

Haruka looked blank, then, "What the hell does that hippie have to do with this?" She spluttered finally, at loss to respond to Yukino's words and latching onto the first familiar subject she could catch on to.

Yukino ground her teeth with frustrations. "Do I have to say it? Isn't that why you're always working so hard, trying to be her equal, trying to get her to recognize you; sound familiar? I believe I mentioned this before. I always admired that drive of yours, even when it shot you ahead of me. But you don't need to think about any standards out now. Be me, and live up to what standards you make for yourself. I'll only accept it then, if those standards say that I am... that we, that we can't..." Yukino couldn't even voice that ever more likely possibility.

"Yukino, what the hell are you talking about? You think I'm giving any fool thoughts to that damn woman right now, or anything else? What the hell?" Yukino shook her head incredulously, Haruka was still stuck on that?

"Then what did you start thinking about, Haruka-chan? Propriety? Regulations? I'd never thought of you as cold, but you sure ripped that notion from me right now. As much as you let so many people without hesitation, you couldn't manage that kind of honesty for me right now? I wonder, where else might you be so reserved, how much you keep in? I know you, Haruka-chan, you're more than a talking list of rules, more than an automated dispenser of righteous justice. You also hold a lot inside, don't you?" Yukino's eyes burned through Haruka, their fire fueled by years of worry and heartsickness and ignited by Haruka's irreverent responses, "I'm starting to see. You've been wrong, but you never admit it; nothing ever said or done that might show some perceived 'weakness' for you. How often do you try to pick and choose what you're feeling, to try and match up to standards that others hold? You must feels right and what feels wrong in your heart. Why can't you trust that over something you've just seen with your eyes or heard with your ears? You never look before leaping into a flying fist, but always hesitate to jump into caring arms. Why can't you show the same recklessness in both? I'm close enough to have seen so much of you, Haruka-chan, so many things that you don't want anybody else to see, and none of them have made me love you any less. Can't you just answer me now, without looking through the rule book first?"

"I wasn't thinking about anything but you right now! I don't have hide, or.. or, you said... and... and why you've been so out of sorts lately? why I've spent so much time wondering what I did that you can't trust me? Wondering why the hell you won't let me in? why I've spent nights laying awake so worried about you?" Haruka jumped erratically to another subject, shying away from thinking about all Yukino had said, shying away from the sharp pains somewhere inside her. not true, I am being honest, I always am... right?

Yukino felt a sting from what sounded like an accusing trivialization of what she felt, but she shoved it aside. "Yes, ǡis' why." She answered hotly. "I was scared, Haruka-chan. I love you, and I didn't want to lose what I had of you. But Sh--somebody, helped remind me of what you really meant to me. I won't lie to you any more, no matter what happens to me for it." She stopped, and her features softened to something Haruka found more comfortably familiar to see on Yukino's face, "You... you were that worried?" Yukino had not intended to calm, but the last sentence Haruka had spoken made its way through her jumbled thoughts.

"Yes, Yukino, of course I was! I... I say that I love you too, but just not..." Thankful that Yukino had not pressed all the points of honesty and emotional restraint that Haruka did not think she could answer, Haruka despaired as she discovered she could hardly find the words for anything at all, yet.

"But not what?" Yukino jumped in again, the temper she never knew she had sparking anew.

"Let me talk, Yukino!" Haruka exclaimed; adding in the ensuing silence, "I never thought I'd that, let alone twice in one sitting."

"Now then, I..." Haruka blinked. All that trouble to get herself speaking room, and her mind still refused to tell her what it is she wanted to say. I... thought circled endlessly through her mind, finally metamorphosing into a question that only she could answer. is it that I am?

She took the space she had given herself and started to think. What was she, in this respect? Waiting to be a proper bride to a proper groom? That seemed the correct thing. She pictured the scene in her mind. It was all there, everything that she could think she expected of herself. But somehow, viewing the scene, it looked like nothing more than an interesting photograph. Static, still, fabricated from chemicals and filtered light, just an image that could mean nothing true or honest, nothing Yukino was right, they had never discussed anything like that. This was not anything she had ever considered at all, really, except in mostly vague and irrelevant ways.

"So thoughtful again, Haruka-chan?" Yukino said softly, though a mild rebuke kept a palpable presence in her tone. She felt that was patience enough, "Is there really something so wrong, so 'improper' about trusting your heart to speak the truth right now? Don't worry about me, just be honest like always. I'll make it easy on you." Yukino, on sudden impetus, took a half-step forward and planted another, shorter kiss on Haruka's unresponsive lips before she could react. Haruka looked startled.

"Tell the truth, Haruka-chan."

The seconds ticked by. Haruka at last slipped entirely out of her startled surprise, down into a helpless frustration with herself and Yukino and everything in the world that had turned her down such a fearsomely unfamiliar path. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. As she exhaled, she tried to think of the action smoothing over her inner struggles, a perception that came out physically in calming features. She opened her eyes.

"You were wrong." There was a sharp intake of breath from Yukino.

"That's all I needed, then, was an answer, Haruka-chan." Yukino said in a rush, doing her best not to sound as though she'd just been devastated. Haruka was caught off guard. She heard the sudden irregularity in her friend's breath, and realized that perhaps that she needed to be more specific, and fast.

"No! Well, that is, not 'yes', exactly, but... that's not what I meant!" Yukino looked back at her, perplexed.

"You were definitely wrong about how I was thinking. Whatever else was going on in there, I wasn't trying to be dishonest, and the Bubuzuke Woman was nowhere to be seen." She tapped her forehead, "You were all over the place."

"Haruka-ch--" Yukino began, her threatening tears vanishing, giving way to a streak of irritation now that it seemed that Haruka still did get it This was not what she wanted to hear about. Haruka interrupted her.

"I'm just doing what you told me. I you need to know this, I feel that I need to tell you that you took that notion a little too far. How could you ever think that I might think more of that woman, more of than I do of best friend? Maybe some time I even admired that damn woman, but after that huge mess a number of months ago--even our trip this weekend; she's hardly infallible. I'm past that. I don't need to try be her equal, because together you and I are so much more than her anyway. The only standard I've been trying to live up to... is yours." Haruka looked slightly uncomfortable saying all of this, looking sheepish and flushing lightly.

"Haruka-chan..." Yukino was torn between elation at hearing something like this from her beloved, and an impending sense of desolation at what Haruka had

"Wait, Yukino. Now I need to ask you something, about what You didn't just sit down last week and feel like this, you said. So, well, when?" Yukino blinked, and rubbed the back of her neck.

"As long as little girls can feel like this; as far back as I can remember," She answered the unexpected as truthfully as she could, she could barely remember a time when she was not aware at all of how she felt, even back when she would not admit it, she could look back and know what the feeling had been.

"Well then, the Yukino I knew all that time is the same one I see right here in front of me, isn't she?" Haruka said decisively. "I never thought badly of her or what she believed before, and I don't see that anything has changed to make me start now. So, if I could do a little seductive reasoning--"

"Deductive, Haruka-chan." Yukino corrected, having to hide a highly inappropriate giggle at this particular failing of vocabulary.

"—Deductive, deductive reasoning." Haruka blushed furiously. all the times! I can't believe wrong, and obviously somebody had to have been, then it must... have been me." Haruka took a steadying breath. Despite the situation, she still found she hated saying that. "Now then, when somebody is wrong, they end up hurting somebody else, there are certain things that have to be considered beyond any mere matters of rules and punishment. So I have to ask now: Can you forgive me, Yukino?"

"Yes, Haruka-chan." Yukino felt the words come easily to her, "You didn't mean to hurt me, it's not something you wanted or could know about. But, then, you and I--" Haruka did not make her finish the question.

"I'm not going to start lying now, Yukino. I don't an answer right now." Haruka took on a pleading tone, "This is important, right? I've only just nowable to even consider... you and I, like this. Could I have some time to at least get used to the idea?"


Yukino frowned inwardly, something sounding off about the way Haruka said that. Suddenly, it came to her, that Haruka was really her, and waiting for an answer, not just expecting it to go her way.

"I... have time, I can be patient," Yukino answered cautiously. "But... I do hope that you can bring the subject up quicker than I managed to." Yukino offered a hesitant smile.

"Well, I won't have to confront anybody like Suzushiro Haruka and her rule book, will I?" Haruka answered in somber parody of her usual manner, a bitterly rueful laugh following. "Thanks, Yukino." She added with genuine gratitude. They stood awkwardly for the span of a minute, then Haruka exhaled heavily. "I think I need to sit down for a minute." She promptly arranged herself down on the mat, Yukino setting down close by.

"Should we get back to this investigation, Haruka-chan?" Yukino hesitantly said after another minute in which Haruka merely sat still, looking to be lost in thought.

"Huh? Oh, right, this place." She looked around, obviously distracted. She shook her head, trying to clear it the best she could. "It looks pretty open and shut to me, Yukino. Defacement, but no sign or report of theft, nor destruction of any notably valuable property. The photographs for the record and any more detailed examination can be readily handled by functionaries. We have more important things to do." took care of those boys, at any rate, and I... really don't want to be here right now.

"Shall I organize a small squad and give them an agenda, then, Haruka-chan?" Yukino supplied, settling into comfortable routine, almost amused at the mundane turn of conversation. Yukino did her best to force back a marvelously giddy feeling, afraid she might start crying her happiness to the sky and never stop. She could not say that her dreams had come true, but dreams and reality hardly ever coincided anyway--had she really been yelling so fiercely a moment ago? At She decided that what she had just won was more than enough for the moment.

"Sounds good, have them get here at..." Haruka pulled out her phone, "Seventeen-hundred hours. Also, assign as many members to the assignment as you can without them tripping over one another. That should make enough of a scene to keep that Watanabe boy peacefully surly. Erm, it also looks like lunch is over, Yukino...?" Haruka left an unspoken invitation in the air.

"Really? Well... Haruka-chan, you did say that you needed some time, and we really should be attending our classes after what we missed."

"Oh, of course. Ah, I was to suggest using Executive authority to get us out of class." Haruka returned unconvincingly, not even totally sure why she had even thought of such a thing, other than it felt... strange, to go to class right now. Only, class did not have anything to do with it.

"Oh, Haruka-chan!" Yukino cried, for lack of anything to clearer convey what she felt and what she thought she might be seeing, and threw herself into a cheerful embrace at Haruka. Though surprised, Haruka returned it lightly, with an awkward lack of grace that somehow made Yukino feel all the happier.

"I'll walk you to your class, though." Haruka continued after Yukino had let go, in a tone that brooked no argument. Even temporarily, Haruka did not want to part quite yet, and Yukino had no issue with that. "It's on the way to my class, anyway." Yukino did her best to hide the full extent of her smile, not bothering to correct Haruka on that account. She watched out for Haruka's vocabulary, not her geographical knowledge, and she had the feeling that Haruka would have been more irritated than usual at a correction.

"Thank you, Haruka-chan." She reached over and took Haruka's hand, not caring in her elation that it might be risky to push at Haruka's stunted awareness of her partner's feelings. "We have a little bit of time, too; no need to rush." Yukino kissed Haruka on the cheek, and started walking to the door. She linked their fingers together in clear indication of her unwillingness to relinquish it. Haruka, holding her free hand to her cheek in a mild sense of... something, came to the easy conclusion that while extricating her hand might be difficult and unpleasant, walking with her partner like this was neither of those things. She rushed a few steps to walk alongside Yukino rather than be towed. She didn't quite smile, but she came close.

*********************************************************** ***********************

"Hey, didn't you lock the door after them?" Chie raised a brow at her partner, but Aoi could only manage a moment of looking abashed before her eyes turned to Yukino and Haruka, and she shrugged.

"Guess I didn't? I thought I did, but isn't that cute! Just look at them." Aoi squealed, but quietly. She and Chie were watching, hidden, from the side of the building as the Executives exited.

Chie frowned. The plan had been to get them locked in together for a while for maximum chance of a, "happening." But, given how they were leaving now, Chie supposed it was probably something good, anyway. "Ah, innocent young love. Knew we just had to get them together for some alone time and we'd get a shot." Chie said airily. "I wonder what other footage we might have inside, but I'm catching this for sure." Chie drew her cell phone from her pocket. She flipped it up, and took careful aim. Just as she was about to capture the moment, however, a hand reached over her shoulder and flipped the phone back down.

"Now now, Harada-san, could we perhaps keep this lovely scene so innocent for a while longer?" Though the cheery voice that sounded from behind her was friendly as could be, it sent shivers down her spine. She hardly needed to turn around to know who it was, but she felt it would be more polite, and that was always a Good Thing to be with this person.

"Oh, of course Miss President. We can certainly do that. Right, Aoi?" Chie looked and saw Aoi nodding very firmly, the hand of one Kuga Natsuki placed lightly on her shoulder.

"See, Natsuki, I knew they would be amenable." Shizuru said conversationally to her companion. She turned back to fix Chie with a gaze. "But you know what, Harada-san? It appears that you help those two, and you were just about my request now, so I think you deserve something for being such model students; it would be a pleasure if you would join Natsuki and I for tea. It's nearly that time, you see, and my family only yesterday sent me a package. A new tea is certainly always so much better to sample in company."

Nice for who? Chie thought. She allowed one last glance at the retreating couple just passing out of visual range, then stood. I may have lost this small opportunity, but this isn't over yet. She offered a hand to help Aoi rise, and they both made some show of dusting off their skirts while their minds worked furiously. Aoi tried first.

"That's very kind of you, Miss President, but a good deed is its own reward. We don't want to impose upon you, you understand." She took Chie's hand and tugged in the opposite direction of their ambushers, but Natsuki smoothly cut them off.

"We insist." She said flatly, with such a hard look her face that one might believe her otherwise beautiful features sculpted from flesh-toned marble. The pair looked at those unforgiving green eyes, at one another, and then finally back at the President, who didn't look as though she'd moved an inch in response to their attempted escape. Her ruby eyes spoke clearly that they really had no other options to weigh.

"Eh heh, he... so, how about that tea?" Chie said, a note of strain in her voice.

"Ah, I'm so glad you could join use after all. Ah, and before I forget-- don't worry, I will reimburse you for the film I borrowed from that excellent camera I found inside the Kendo facility. I hoped you wouldn't mind my use of it. There were no competitions going on in the near future anyway, and I assumed that's what you had that camera set up for, correct?" Shizuru watched the faces before her fall noticeably.

"Ha... right, we're big fans, Fujino-san." Aoi struggled to sound unconcerned.

"Now then, the tea. I really do think you'll enjoy it. It's this particularly fine cut of the most recent planting at the Tukdah estate, my mother said it was recommended by a business associate with supposedly fine taste. I'm sure it will be nicely soothing for you two, busy as you've been." Shizuru turned and started to walk away, while behind them Natsuki stood firmly in her role as the Rock to Fujino Shizuru's Hard Place. Following, then was their only real option. 'Oh crap, I'm trapped by the serpent,' had suddenly, unexpectedly become the tone of the day.