Disclaimer:
Not mine! This is a translation of a Chinese ShizNat fic from yamibo. For author details, please refer to the 1st page. Thanks.

Summary:
ShizNat. Post MyHime with some surprises.

When Natsuki meets Shizuru

Chapter 16 - Undercurrents: Part 2b

Authored by submerged

Translated by glowie

-x-x-x-x- Mai-HiME Universe -x-x-x-x-

"Shizuru! Watch out!"

Natsuki screamed and bolted upright in her bed, gasping for breath, her eyes wide open with their pupils dilated as their owner tried to gather herself from the rude awakening. Her sweat-drenched body trembled uncontrollably as she slowly worked off the aftershocks of what must have been a lifelike nightmare.

The calming effects of the moonlight glow that graced through the bedroom window managed to calm her somewhat, and through their soft illumination she could vaguely make out that she was alone; the presence that she had grown familiar with was nowhere in sight.

"It was just a dream!" She kept telling herself, but despite the efforts she couldn't shake away the unease within her. "What could have caused me to dream about Shizuru being attacked by slaves?"

'Is this unrest due to her absence or is it real… No! I would not allow myself to entertain such preposterous thoughts! Shizuru is the strongest Otome; certainly no slave could be a threat to her.'

'But the situation at home is certainly worrying; many nations have been eying Artai hungrily ever since Nagi's downfall. Coupling that with the recent reports that indicate the possibility of a new power arising from the ashes, the possibility of things turning sour is very likely. Damn! What "perfect" timing to be missing!' she silently cursed.

Sighing helplessly, Natsuki's shoulders slumped dejectedly. Finding herself thirsty, she made her way towards the living room - in search of the needed refreshment.

Upon entering the living room, Natsuki was surprised to see Shizuru sleeping on the table. Her brows kneaded in displeasure as she approached the girl deep in slumber. The digital clock that hanged silently on the wall showed it was well past 3 in the morning and Shizuru's still-opened laptop had long gone into stand-by mode.

Gently, Natsuki closed the computer - careful not to disturb the worn-out girl. She then proceeded to wrap her right arm across Shizuru's back and she hooked her left arm – gingerly but firmly – under Shizuru's knee before lifting the ex-Kaichou as she stood up to her full height.

Under close observation, Natsuki noticed she wasn't the only one having unpleasant dreams. Tremors shook Shizuru's body and her disturbed brows knitted tightly, marring her usual graceful face. Her bottom lip was pale with streaks of red – a result of her incessant biting.

By the time they reached the bedroom, Shizuru's breathing had deepened and her features softened – most likely due to Natsuki's presence.

With utmost care, Natsuki gently placed the sleeping girl unto the bed and put a blanket over her. She felt a slight tug at her shirt as she was straightening up; steadfastly holding onto her shirt was Shizuru's tightly clenched fist.

Her walls reducing to rubbles at the sight, the defeated Gakuencho relented and lay down beside her, opting to keep silent vigil over the now-peaceful sleeper. Gone without a trace was Natsuki's earlier unrest as she gazed contentedly at Shizuru's newfound peace.

"Good night," she whispered before enfolding Shizuru's still cold hands within her own. 'I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I can't bear to be apart from her, either.'

"Kuga..."

"Kuga!"

"Natsuki Kuga!" At the 3rd and final warning, a textbook of substantial weight was introduced abruptly and loudly to Natsuki's head.

"Daydreaming in my class? The exams are just around the corner!"

Rubbing her head sheepishly, emeralds filled with untold grievance glared grudgingly at the perky red-headed teacher, 'should I be blamed if I've yet to get used to the surname "Kuga"?'

However, the indignant look was short-lived and the very same emeralds quickly looked down guiltily. The Gakuencho knew very well she wasn't innocent of the charge.

*** Flashback – earlier this morning ***

Waking up, Natsuki was surprised to find a lavish breakfast waiting for her on the dining table with a chirpy Shizuru humming happily as she fussed over her bento.

"You were so tired yesterday, you should rest more!" she complained, clearly upset at the ex-Kaichou's willfulness.

"Ara! I'm alright. I was totally re-energized after 'Natsuki' so boldly carried me to bed and held me close all night!" Her face full of smiles, Shizuru gladly shared the reason for her elated mood.

Natsuki was momentarily caught up in the display of blissful happiness and her heart skipped a beat at the mesmerizing scene. If it were possible, Shizuru's smile widened further after scoring the first blush of the day.

"Err... erm... Yes! As I was saying… you should take better care of yourself!" The stuttering Gakuencho managed to get out sheepishly before sticking her face inches above her breakfast, wasting no time in shoveling said distraction into her mouth.

"Awww… 'Natsuki' is still so shy" Shizuru practically cooed, loving every second of Natsuki's cute expressions.

"Shizuru..." The raven-haired headmistress pouted her lips and whined.

The tease mistress finally decided to give the blushing princess a break – of course, we all know that's because she wouldn't want the latter to be late for school.

"Fine... You better hurry if you don't want to be late, I'll be sending you to school once you're done."

"Huh? Don't bother yourself over it; I'm sure I can get there by myself just fine."

"Natsuki feels that I'm a bother to her?" Shizuru wailed dramatically like a kicked puppy.

"No! Of course not! I'll never think that of you! - It's just that you seemed really busy for the past few days, I don't want to be a burden, that's all."

"Ara… Thank goodness, I'm glad Natsuki doesn't think that of me." The Gakuencho could only watch in silent awe at Shizuru's ability to change her demeanor so quickly. (#1)

"Natsuki needn't be worried about me. I need to go back to the company anyway; it's just along the way."

At her mentioning of the company, images of Shizuru's uncle resurfaced in the Gakuencho's mind. It was obvious from what she could gather from Natsuki-chan's investigations, he was definitely up to no good.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

"Oh!" Thinking it best to keep Natsuki-chan's investigation from Shizuru for now, lest she worry, the headmistress scrambled for a believable excuse.

"What else? I was thinking of ways to convince you not to push yourself too hard." Willing her eyes to calmly look away, Natsuki managed to hide her earlier distress.

As promised, Shizuru drove Natsuki to school after breakfast. At the destination, the ex-Kaichou was unwilling to depart and kept her eyes on Natsuki. Her lingering gaze tugged at Natsuki's heart and the Gakuencho felt the need to reassure the overprotective girl, "Don't worry, it's only for awhile. I promise I'll take good care of 'Natsuki-chan' ok?"

"Ara! In that case, I'll leave 'Natsuki-chan' in your care then." Finally she relented and returned to her car; albeit for each step she took, she would glance back three times.

*** End Flashback ***

'Well... I guess I can't really blame her, especially after what happened to Natsuki-chan.'

For the past few days, Shizuru was never away from her for more than a few hours. She didn't know if it was because Shizuru was really such a worrier… or was it her inability to ease Shizuru's worry?

While these thoughts were filling her mind, her gaze found itself wandering forlornly out the classroom window. Knowing she herself was injured when 'Shizuru' wasn't by her side, 'Will 'she' be blaming herself for what happened? Please don't blame yourself, Shizuru. It was entirely my fault to begin with.'

"Whap!" Another resounding hit landed squarely on her head.

"Fond of daydreaming now aren't we? Come up this instant and answer this question!" Chalk in hand, a glaring Midori pointed angrily towards the questions she had written on the whiteboard.

Thanking Shizuru inwardly for having gone through those very questions a few days ago, the headmistress managed to save herself from further embarrassment in front of the class. Although she had the brains, she was still hugely unfamiliar with the history of this world.

Coming to her rescue, the school bell decided to pitch in and sang its shrilling cries.

"Class dismissed!" True to her boisterous nature, before anyone could protest Midori had already stormed out of the class like a gust of wind.

"Natsuki! It's time for lunch!" The main subject of the "conversation" quickly betraying its owner as a blur jumped in through the classroom window. "Hurry! We shouldn't keep the bentos and Mai waiting!" Before she could respond, Natsuki found herself being literally dragged out of the classroom by the enthusiastic food lover.

"Mikoto! Wait! I have to take out my bento first! Or do you want to share Mai's bento with me? "

"Mai's bento is mine!" Natsuki's ruse effectively stopped Mikoto dead in her tracks and she released the other girl from her grip almost immediately. She watched her warily – watching in baited breath as Natsuki rummaged within her schoolbag for said item. It wasn't until she saw Natsuki's own share of lunch did she relax once again before dragging said girl to the target destination.

"Seriously... need you be THAT worried?" Even the rarely-joking headmistress couldn't help but tease the bottomless pit. "Relax okay? My own share is here now; Mai's bento is all yours." As if to prove her point, Natsuki paraded her bento box in front of Mikoto in an uncharacteristic show of jest.

"Natsuki! Over here!" Mai's voice rang across the field.

Opting to ditch the slowpoke, Mikoto made short work of the remaining distance to join with Mai and her bentos.

It seemed Mai wasn't alone - most of the HiME team was there. Nao, Youko as well as Midori who had hit her head twice earlier in class were there too.

Finding her spot, she went ahead and sat in their midst.

"Natsuki, you've yet to fully recover so please look after yourself carefully." Words of motherly concern flowed almost instantly from Mai before she even had the chance to settle down.

"Puleezz! The mutt is as sturdy as it can get! They are resilient creatures after all." A seemingly uncaring Nao continued, "If there's anything broken, it's that brain of hers... Impossible as it is, I think she's actually dumber now." She couldn't beat down the urge for another jab, looking at Natsuki's confused face.

Finally, after being exposed to the "reference" yet again, something within the Gakuencho's brain finally clicked and she finally made the connection between "mutt" and herself.

"Ahh... you don't have to worry that tiny brain of yours over that Nao, I can never be dumb even if I wanted to; not with Shizuru around." Learning quickly she responded to the taunt.

"…"

Surprisingly, Natsuki's return wasn't repudiated. Instead Nao was awfully quite - mumbling weakly… almost whining, "Dumb mutt... you..."

Not reading the cause of the younger girl's uncharacteristic display, Natsuki opted to clear the awkwardness and proceeded to open her bento box.

The sumptuous array of mouth-watering food that managed to find their way – neatly tucked to boot – within the lunch box successfully commanded everyone's attention.

"Wow! Talk about packed! You're one lucky dog!" The forever "17 year old" gave her a hard slap in the back; most likely to convey how envious she was at the other's fortune.

The barely-recovered headmistress could only nod her head in total agreement.

"Erm... but I think it's a bit too much for me. Mikoto, Do you want some?" Not wanting to waste Shizuru's efforts, Natsuki naturally sought the help of the bottomless pit.

"Err... No thanks... I'm okay. " A pale faced Mikoto replied while clutching fearfully unto her keeper. Previous experiences, still fresh in memory of being "educated" by a displeased Shizuru after she had "depleted" Natsuki's lunch came to mind.

In the end, Natsuki shared a quarter of her bento with the rest while she herself finished up the rest. As she was contemplating on how both of the Shizurus were admirable cooks, her mind started to reminiscence the many times that they had spent having lunch together.

"Hrmph! Just typical of that dumb mutt to wander off into space even when eating", Nao's jab successfully brought Natsuki back to earth only to find the two of them alone.

"Huh? Where's the rest"

"Duh! They left long ago. If it weren't for the fact that you've just recovered, I would have dumped you as well." Her body language however showed no signs of leaving.

"Oh! Erm... Thanks, Nao."

"You..." biting back what she originally wanted to say, "Let's go already! Lunch time is almost over."

"By the way Nao, do you know this place?" Taking out the address for the bar she found in Natsuki's hiding place, she enquires of the location from Nao.

"Stupid Mutt! Did you have a concussion or something? How could you have forgotten the bar that you often frequent?"

"Here... " Despite her hard-to-approach outlook, the spitfire patiently gave the directions to the bar in question.

"You owe me one! You hear?"

"Indeed I do!" Natsuki smiled in agreement; making a note inwardly to return the favor to 'Nao' when she returned.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Wary of Natsuki's eager compliance, a cautious Nao questioned.

"Now, now... you're reading too deep between the lines." The headmistress replied with a mysterious mirth.

With the ringing of the bell signaling the end of the last class, Natsuki swiftly gathered her things and prepared to head home.

Already lying in wait at the school gates was the familiar figure of the ex-Kaichou. As her seeking eyes caught a glimpse of the dark-haired beauty, she wasted no time in approaching said girl and reached for Natsuki's schoolbag. The headmistress wanted to decline the offer but eventually gave up upon Shizuru's insistence.

"Shizuru, you needn't trouble yourself. I am capable of going back home by myself you know," grumbled the Gakuencho – obviously displeased at being fussed around like a kid.

"But I can't help it if I miss 'Natsuki' so much!" A somewhat hurtful Shizuru whined.

Of course, Shizuru refrained from sharing the real reason for her clinginess. An unknown dread had been nagging at her throughout the day and she couldn't concentrate on anything at all apart from worrying about Natsuki. She needed to witness for herself that Natsuki was safe and sound.

"Ohh... ermm..." A red-faced Natsuki looked shyly to the side.

"Oh! That was so cute!" Despite the abundance of witnesses around them, Shizuru couldn't stop herself but to pounce on the unsuspecting recipient of a full body hug.

"Argh! Let… Let go! Shizuru! People are watching!" Her first instinct was to push her away but somehow she just didn't have the strength to do it.

Surprised at the lack of resistance, Shizuru freed Natsuki from the hug and asked worriedly, "Natsuki? Are you alright?" Noticing that Natsuki's blush was much warmer than usual, she reached out her hand to feel her forehead.

"Natsuki! You're running a high fever again!"

"Huh? Fever? No wonder I feel weak." By the time Natsuki managed to make the connection, Shizuru had already draped her coat over Natsuki.

"We need to go to the hospital."

Natsuki readily agreed since she felt bad that she didn't take good care of Natsuki's body despite her promise.

After hailing a cab, Shizuru helped Natsuki towards the car. The patient who thought that the brunette was overreacting decided to keep her comments to herself since she didn't want to upset her worrisome partner any further.

"Natsuki!" Panic surged through Shizuru when she felt Natsuki starting to sway unsteadily.

The headmistress tried to turn towards the source of the voice only to find everything in a disorientating haze. She was totally unprepared for the sharp pain that followed and she gripped her chest and writhed in agony – it felt as if she was pierced by the assassin all over again. Her legs started to give way and she desperately reached out for something to steady herself. She didn't know what happened next because everything went black in the next instant.

Notes:

Ahh… thousand apologies. It seems many readers were having a hard time getting back to the story due to my long absence. As greatpumpkin81 accurately pointed out… I was still talking about the Summer Olympics (!) before I went "MIA". *blush*

To make up for the shortness of the previous chapter, I've uploaded the continuation as soon as I could. Hope you all like it.

Before I go off, I have a favor to ask of you. If you could spare the time, please check out the poll I'm having in my profile. It's pretty much self-explainary. Basically, I want to gauge the feasibility of translating a ShizNat crackfic that I've recently found. It's most likely a one-shot so I don't think you need to worry that it'll have a huge impact on this story. Plus... I have to admit, I'm itching to do some other story to keep my interest up. Thanks in advance!

Lastly, I would like to thank Leebot for taking the trouble to beta for me and the patient readers who stayed with story despite the unpredictable updates. :P

To make sense of these insertions, please refer to their original location within the text above. The author originally placed these within the text body but I've moved them out here to avoid upsetting the flow.

- Start of Author's Insertion #1 -

Author: What's there to be amazed about? Your ability at tomato-fying yourself is pretty impressive as well. I know because I've timed it.
Natsuki: …
Author: Oops! Did I speak that out loud? Ahahaha…. Gotta run!

- End of Author's Insertion #1 –