A/N: So, I've been sitting on this first chapter for a while, because I was unsure if I really wanted to post this thing up or not...but now that I've started getting back into this story a bit, I really wanna play with it. A tiny bit OOC, and a lot of AU, we're about to have some fun with this puppy... (Or at least I hope so!) Uhh, yeah... futa warning, just by the way.

I Do not own Mai HiME/ Mai Otome.

Chapter 1

She closed her eyes, her body rocking to the drum beat that pulsed through the dark room. It memorized her, and she couldn't help sighing as her partner caressed her hips, guiding her motion, uncaring that the eyes others were on her. People always watched her, and she tilted her head back, unrestrained as she let those hands dip lower, pulling her closer. A shuttering gasp escaping her lips as as the person she didn't even know, a hookup from merely hours ago, nibbled the nape of her neck. Cheep wine flavored each lustful kiss, and knowing hands cupped her breasts suggestively. It was followed by a murmur in her ear, one only for her, and, that night...just like every night, she found the arms of someone who would gift her pleasure. She didn't wait, didn't hesitate, as she followed her momentary lover away from bordello that gave her a simple roof, when nowhere else would.

Uncaring where she might end up, she begged to be taken, to be used.

Smoke slipped from her lips as she moaned, rocking to the hardness that seemed to guide her, thrusting into her without inhibition. This person, so beautiful, that emerald orbs couldn't help but shimmer in delight. Every single breath she released seemed to make those orbs darken more with need. His lips were pale, and soft. Even though he refused to undress, taking her against the wall of his dwellings, he was incredibly gentle with her. This man, was unlike she'd ever met before, and she couldn't help but lose herself in the raw, unbridled passion, her breath becoming shallow as quiet moans could not be held by shackles of her mind. When she could do nothing else but get carried away to bliss by this man, she let her fingers tangle in long midnight tresses that trailed down his back like a waterfall.

Finally, when she was spent, disheveled and lacking in any grace, he kissed her lips, and carried her to bed. So gentle, so kind...so beautiful.

A mystery though he was, she couldn't bring herself to care. She pulled him into an embrace, begging this man not to leave her, she wondered why she even cared. Was it because he was the first to be gentle? Perhaps it was...but the reason didn't matter to her. She wanted him to stay there, to hold her...he could do whatever he wanted, as long as he didn't leave.

…

The thick drapes were drawn, blocking the sun from entering the room, even in daylight, it was as dark as pitch. The only light that came, sparked from the corner of the room. A cigarette lit and perched upon soft lips, one that had made dear sweet love to her not long ago. Her body burned at that, as she sat up, taking in the look on his shadowed features. The flickering candle only lighting the way for a short distance.

"Good, you're awake." His soft chuckle was something that warmed Shizuru's heart, but it was not as low as she might have expected it to be...at lest, not for a man of his age. He was no child, after all, and clearly, he was a man of taste. "I was worried, finding such a person as you in a brothel." Still, it seemed of passing intrust to him, as he presented her the dress that had fallen freely from her form, as reckless abandon took over her very soul. "Are you hungry at all?"

"No, I'm afraid not." She would have to decline, and shyly, she took her dress from his hand. He was built tall and thin, not at all robust, but surely strong. "I'm sorry, but I fear I do not remembered your name."

"You didn't ask, young harlot." Perhaps the mirth glimmering in his eyes was enough of a hint, but even if it wasn't, she could see that his words were not meant to be harsh. "Although, I suppose I do owe you a bit of formality, at least." With careful steps, he put out his favorite brand of tobacco and neared her. "This might come as a bit of a shock, but I am of the Kruger family. Illegitimate, of course...I don't actually share their last name, but they are accountable for me."

"Leave the poor concubine alone..." It was an exasperated sigh that broke through the room. "You're no better than her, dirty blood doesn't suit royalty." Purely a statement of truth, a short young male with with fiery red hair, came into view. "Her name is Natsuki, but she's a Kuga. Don't listen to the tripe she spews, you'd be better off drinking Virulent water."

"You're a woman?" Shizuru was confused as that. with baited breath she sat back a little in bed, pulling the sheets just a bit closer to her, covering her bosom with the soft silk. "I apologize."

"Of all the slander you spit, yet you can't even keep a pronoun correct?" Natsuki nearly bellowed, looking at her companion's direction. Softly she shook her head, looking back at the fearful woman in the bed. "Nao didn't meant to give you a fright. You see, the Kuga family is illegitimate, because of what we are. I am neither fully male or female. It's a curse, I'm afraid." Still, Natsuki had done well to conceal such a thing until her companion blew her cover. "Nao shares the same burden, I regret to say."

"I do not understand." Shizuru replied, she was sure Natsuki was a soft spoken gentleman. This person before her was unlike a woman, but, there were no attributes to define Natsuki's truest character. "I admit, you do not look as a woman would. I thought surely you were a man."

"It seemed as if you brought a dolt to bed." Nao's humor in the situation was untamed at her laughter. "We must be off soon, Natsuki. Don't wait long. Our horses won't make it to the next town by nightfall if we dawdle about."

"Yes, I know." Natsuki nodded, knowing well she would have to hurry. "My dear, I will wait outside for you to dress, but I implore you to hurry. I can't linger here in shadows of this old home any longer. I do not belong, after all. This extravagance doesn't suit me." With power in her stride, she turned and left the room, just as she said she would.

Shizuru wasted not a bit of time donning her dress of simple cloth. It had great difficulty covering her breasts, the rip that it had sustained from several nights in the brothel was growing larger, and soon, she would be without modesty. With an unsteady hand, she open the door, looking at the person dressed in simple, tanned leathers. "I'm sorry, if I upset you...I just never thought that a person such as-" A few fingers quieted her, a little frown on Natsuki's face, let her know just how deeply the shock had cut.

"It isn't any fault of your own." The melancholy was evident, but so too, was the gentle waft of understanding. "Listen to me, harlot, I will only say this once." Natsuki licked her lips, and closed her eyes. "I wish to be a woman...completely, utterly a woman. There is only one place that will allow me to do that. I must thank you for your kindness. Last night was wonderful...it shall not be forgotten." She slipped a few copper coins into Shizuru's hand, and then turned away. "I do hope, soon you will be free from your debts."

They walked down the hallways, ones decorated in the finest of luxuries. It was sad that no one lived here any longer. This place was merely for the ghosts of the past now. Natsuki felt a pang in her heart, knowing this was her parents had lived, and died. Even with the cobwebs that dotted the ceilings, and the bats that slept in the cellar, Natsuki couldn't help but love this place...she hated to admit it, but it was no longer her home.

"My name is Shizuru." The woman of crimson eyes, whispered. "I too, will hold last night with fondness." As if that would be all of the gratitude in the world, she hoped Natsuki could understand her plea.

Natsuki paused, and turned to look at the woman who held such a captivating way about her. Not only in her beauty, but even in the depths of her eyes, the uncertainty of her voice. "Well met, Shizuru." It was the first time anyone normal had accepted her, and Natsuki didn't know what to think about that, but she knew she had to be on her way shortly. "Tell me, why monger a body such as yours? What fines do you owe?"

"With regrets, I must inform you, I do not owe any payments." If it were that easy, she would have escaped from here long ago. "I am merely tool for hire, that is all."

"You are not a slave." Natsuki said then. "No king of this land would mistreat one such as you." This woman was purely that, a beautiful, free, woman. "You are not at all a vagabond, so why stay in a place such as this?" If Shizuru were simply a slave, Natsuki could have put an end to it at whim, this had been her home, once, after all. "The Black Valley is no place for you to be."

"I'm afraid I have no where else to go." Shizuru said then, knowing well that this place was unsafe. Still, it was her only sanctuary. "Even if land is drenched in decay, it is all I know. You are not the only one with a sickness, Natsuki."

"No, perhaps I'm not." Natsuki could agree to that. The Black Valley was covered in illness. The curse had ravaged the land, killing off most, and disfiguring others. It was not a dark sorcery that had done this, but rather the whispers of a war long gone. "However, I refuse to think there is no more to life than this squalor. I know there must be something better out there." Poison drenched many lands, and could spread like a wildfire.

"How can you know that?" Shizuru said then, taken away yet again by the whims of this person. "These lands are dying, Natsuki. There's nothing left to them."

"From the droughts of dry lands, to the joyous castle towns...I've seen a great many things." Natsuki could not put into words that places she'd been. "I promise you, there is much to discover, before you begin to claim that the lands are dying." Still, for all that she'd seen, she still needed to continue her search. "There must be something, anything at all, to fix this madness."

"You speak so willfully." Yet, Shizuru could not believe her ears. "I almost wish I could believe you." It was the talk of such a magical thing, it would be impossible. "You should begin on your journey. I only wish you luck, that you find whatever it is, that you're looking for. Travel safe, Natsuki."

"I will do so." Natsuki nodded then, it was time to part ways. Natsuki knew that, and yet, now that she was standing outside of the dilapidated outer shell of the castle, she almost wished that her lodgings were as grand as she remembered her grandfather speaking about. He was right though, this place had stood proudly decades ago, and beautiful though it was, this town awaited death. with no leader to follow, no one to protect them, many dangers lurked in the shadows. "Shizuru, live well."

That was why Natsuki had to go, to search for cure for her people...these were her lands, and she intended to save them.

So, that was chapter 1, what do you all think, worth continuing to post up, or should I just keep this one to myself?