A/N: Hello everyone! As some of you may know, I wrote (and am still currently working on) A New Light, a Mai Otome based trilogy. This story, however, takes place in the Mai Hime world, so many things have changed. I apologize for the wait on the Mai Otome stories, though. I have hit a hard writing block in regards to that series and thought that writing something fresh might help it. As I said, this is based of the Mai Hime series. Though the mention of Natsuki's and Shizuru's past won't be in the first book too much, it will be in the second. I hope that you find this enjoyable!

She never slows down, she doesn't know why

But she knows that when she's all alone

Feels like it's all coming down

Chapter One: The Fateful Meeting

She never slows down…

"Oomph!"

Aishu had never forgotten that day. It stuck in her mind regardless of her attempts to lock it away. While most people would find the event simple and uninteresting, it was different for her. Quite different.

"Ouch! Watch where you're going!"

"I'm sorry! Are you all right?"

The girl had no idea why the woman had apologized for the accident. It really wasn't her fault. She was the one running after all; running from the hell hole that was her "home". Well, more like her temporary placement. In being an orphan, Aishu never had a real home. Instead, she had a reputation of spending more time bouncing in and out of homes rather than staying in one. What was the point after all? They were all the same…all happy and hopeful in the beginning, the adults thinking that they could change the life of one little girl. Well, perhaps they could, but not this little girl. She knew the tricks and pity that every adult hid behind their smiling faces and told herself to never fall for it. She had no interest in family and in no way, shape, or form wanted or needed one. At least that is what she kept constantly telling herself. Maybe once upon a time she wanted one, but those days of faith and hope were long gone. She learned quickly that the only person in the world she could rely on was herself.

"Here, take my hand."

"I'm fine! Get away from me."

The older woman was trying to help, but the young brunette was not having it. She hated accepting help and hated when people attempted to do so.

"Are you sure you're ok? Aww, oh no, you're bleeding…"

Aishu looked down and saw that she indeed did scrape her hand from hitting the cement pavement. It stung a little, but it really wasn't that big a deal.

"Here, let me at least clean it up a little."

"No way, I don't need you to-"

But before she could continue her argument, the chestnut haired female grabbed Aishu's hand and began dabbing the scrape with a white handkerchief that she had pulled from her pocket. Aishu tried pulling her hand back, but the woman, despite her tall and slender figure, had quite a good grip.

"What is she doing?" Aishu asked herself. "I told her no…"

"There. It's all clean. I actually have a Band-Aid I can put over it. Hold on one second…"

"No, look lady, I really don't need-"

But yet again, she didn't listen, the woman placing her handkerchief back in her pocket and pulling out a Band-Aid from her black purse.

"What…are you so accident prone that you need to carry those things on you?" Aishu asked, trying to be smart.

"Not me, no. I actually carry them more for my wife. She tends to be a little reckless."

There was an amusing yet soft gaze in those crimson eyes when she mentioned her wife. Aishu thought it was a little odd, but chose to ignore it.

"So, what's your name?"

"What's it to you?" Aishu snapped back. She hated any kind of conversing, especially with adults.

"Just curious." She replied, not even angry at how the child was acting. "Mine is Shizuru."

The woman then placed the Band-Aid on the cut, doing so in a gentle manner.

"Aishu…" the girl suddenly found herself saying, actually a bit surprised at herself for answering. "Aishu Hinamori."

"Ara, Aishu. What a cute name." She then tossed the Band-Aid wrapper into her coat pocket. "There, good as new!"

Aishu pulled her hand away immediately, wiping some dirt from away from her black skirt before finally stuffing them into her blue sweatshirt pocket.

"Whatever. I told you not to help me. I take it you are one who doesn't know how to listen well."

Shizuru simply smiled at this, sticking her hands in her own long, tan jacket pockets as well.

"Tell me, where were you off to?"

The girl was a little taken aback by this question. She wasn't used to this kind of attention and it was making her slightly uncomfortable.

"None of your business. Now, if you don't mind, I need to go. Try not to run any more children over, okay?"

Shizuru giggled again at this statement, a highly amused gaze locking with the young girls chocolate brown one.

"Very well, I shall do my best. Have a good day then, Aishu, and do try to be safe."

And with that, she turned and left, Aishu doing the same without replying. However, it was the young girl who ended up stopping in her tracks a few steps in, glancing back at the woman once more. For the first time in a long time, thanks to the odd actions of Shizuru, Aishu felt her heart stir with an old yearning she used to carry. How long had it been since an adult took care of her like that. While most people would consider that to be nothing but a simple kind gesture, Aishu found it to be a little more as she was new to it.

"She didn't even know me…" Aishu said to herself. "Yet she helped me anyways. Hmph. Weirdo. Who cares anyways…"

And with that, she turned and finally took off, this time not bothering to look back. Now normally, she would disregard and forget any conversation she had with an adult, not really caring what they had to say and forgetting the adult in general if she could. This one, however, she couldn't shake. She was nice no matter how the girl had acted and it wasn't normal. And then to end the conversation the way she did…

"Have a good day then, Aishu, and do try to be safe."

Why would she care if she had a good day or not? What did it matter if she was safe?

"Have a good day, Aishu…Aishu…"

"Aishu!"

The newly turned eleven year old stirred from her thoughts, shaking away the memory of that fateful event. Why was it fateful you ask?

"It's funny that you had actually met her prior to her visiting the orphanage!"

Aishu sighed as her social worker, Mari, spoke, throwing her feet up on the dashboard of the woman's car. Mari, of course, swatted at the girl's shoes while driving, Aishu silently cursing as she brought them back down.

"Her and her wife Natsuki seemed like really nice people."

Aishu simply shrugged her shoulders at this, her mind travelling back to that day. It had been a visiting day for those who were wishing to foster a child, a day she always dreaded. Normally, she would end up hiding somewhere where no one could find her, but on that particular afternoon she had been downstairs looking for a particular book she wanted to read before going into hiding. However, she never got a chance to find it because that was when she ran into that familiar face. She was just as shocked to see Shizuru as Shizuru was to see her, but nonetheless the woman seemed quite happy on the second meeting. She met Natsuki that day as well, a blunette woman who looked completely different than her counterpart. While Shizuru was a bit dressed up, wearing a violet skirt and a white blouse, Natsuki was sporting a white sweatshirt with a black skirt, a style Aishu herself often wore.

Upon encountering them, she tried to get away, but Shizuru wouldn't have it. Aishu instead found herself cornered while Shizuru constantly asked questions. Natsuki was inquisitive as well, but not as much. Shizuru even questioned on how her hand was doing, Aishu finding it weird that the woman remembered. Eventually, however, and much to her relief, they left. Funnily enough though, her heart had that strange stirring again. No one ever really took the time to get to know her, so why did they? Why were they different? It was a little too much for her to think about at the time, so in the end she simply disregarded it, pushing it and them out of her mind. What she didn't know was that the visit was far from the last time she would meet those two.

"They seemed really excited to take you in, too."

Aishu simply sighed again, keeping her eyes on the busy Tokyo streets.

"I don't care."

Mari's face faltered a bit when she heard this.

"Well you better start caring. One of these days you are going to have to realize that not every adult in the world is out there to hurt you."

"Bull…" Aishu said back, only eliciting a sigh from the older red-haired woman.

"Look Aishu, whether you like it or not, you are staying with them until the new year, so you better smarten up and try to look at this positively."

Until the new year…that made the news even worse when she first heard about this. That day seemed so far off. Spring break was just two weeks from finishing. When it was done, she would have to start at a new school for the semester, get through summer vacation, go back again, and then spend the winter holidays with them up until her departure date. It was going to take forever, unless of course she decided to drive them crazy enough to the point they didn't want her anymore. She sure as hell would try.

"And please don't try to purposely cause trouble." Mari said as if she were reading the young girls thoughts. "Come on, this family is willing and more than happy to take you in for a time. Just try and give it a chance, Aishu…just try."

The girl, however, just let those words slip through one ear and out the other. Why would she bother to give it a chance? It's not like anything was going to work out. It never did. She had given chances multiple times in the past, but they always blew up in her face in the end. Why would this time be any different? This experience was going to turn out just like the others, with her not really cared for in the end. It was all going to be the same. It always would be.

Or…would it?