Disclaimer - I don't own the characters of Mai Hime. They are owned by Sunrise.

Author's Note - I wrote this story ages ago and had it saved under another account. I'm consolidating my accounts now, and this will be the first story that I port over. Some of you may recognize it. Some this will be a brand-new story to you. Hope you all enjoy it either way, both older and new readers alike~ =3

~What Money Can't Buy~

Natsuki saw her standing on the street corner every day. She had an old, battered looking violin that she always tucked lovingly under her chin whenever she played. Her fingers always played such beautiful and amazing music. The small cup the girl had placed down in front of her, had a stray coin or dollar placed into it as she played her heart out on the city streets.

She was a beautiful looking person. Heart-shaped face, thick flowing chestnut locks, impish lips, and her most startling feature were a pair of ruby-red eyes that made you feel like you were drowning in her gaze.

Every day that Natsuki drove past this street corner in her family limo on the way to Fuuka Private Academy, she saw this girl playing. She looked about her own age, Natsuki always thought to herself. Maybe perhaps a year older, so Natsuki wondered why she wasn't in school as well.

Natsuki decided to find out for herself one day. She asked her driver to pull over at the curb the next day, despite his protestations, and she spent a few enjoyable minutes listening to the girl's music. Natsuki then walked forward once the girl had finished playing her song, and place a hundred dollar bill into the cup.

The honey-haired girl's eyebrows rose high up on her forehead, and an inquisitive look came into her ruby-red eyes.

"If you are propositioning me with such a large amount, the answer is no," a beautiful, lilting voice flowed from the girl's lips to Natsuki's ears. Natsuki nearly swooned at it...until she fully registered what the girl had just said. Natsuki's whole face instantly flamed red, and she sputtered angrily as she tried to find her tongue to answer.

"I am not trying to p-p-proposition you! I just wanted to show my appreciation for your wonderful music. Now I'm beginning to regret trying to do that," Natsuki half-growled as she turned around, and began to angrily make her way back over to her waiting limo.

She didn't get too far though, as she felt a gentle hand rest on her arm, and she looked back over her shoulder into apologetic crimson-red eyes.

"I am truly very sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. It's just...I've had something like this happen to me before...more than once. It's usually a man who drops a large bill into my cup, and offers to take me someplace...private. So I wrongfully assumed you wanted the same from me as well. Again I am deeply sorry," here the oaken-haired girl bowed deeply towards Natsuki, her violin held tightly against her chest.

Natsuki looked around nervously as she noticed a small crowd had gathered, and were watching the other girl bowing down to her. This kind of attention made Natsuki nervous, as she did not need her father finding out about girls bowing down to her on street corners, when she was supposed to be on her way to school.

"I-It's okay. You don't need to bow down to me. It was an honest mistake. You can get back up now," Natsuki said as she continued to look nervously around. Thankfully people seemed to lose interest, and began moving back along to whatever they were doing before.

Natsuki let out a light sigh of relief, as the chestnut-haired girl straightened back up and gave her a soft, hesitant smile.

"Okay, if you're sure it's really alright," the girl replied as she moved back over to the cup, and bent over slightly to pick it up. Her ruby-red eyes seemed to then light up like a Christmas tree, as she held the crisp bill firmly in her hand.

"I'll be able to eat for a whole month on this," the said in light awe, as she quickly pocketed the money into her slightly-tattered jacket pocket.

Natsuki shuffled nervously and shyly back and forth on her feet, before she looked at the other girl and asked her the question that had prompted her into stopping in the first place.

"Why don't you go to school? You're about the same age as me, perhaps a year older, yet you're out here all day. I see you in the mornings when I go to school, at midday when my driver picks me up from school to take me elsewhere for lunch, and at the end of the school day when I'm headed back home. Where...do you live?" Natsuki asked softly, not really wanting to ask such a personal question, but being completely unable to stop herself from doing so. There was just something about the girl before her that steadily tugged at her interests.

The crimson-eyed girl looked shamefully to the side, as she continued to clutch her violin to her chest, in what Natsuki was coming to realize as a self-protective stance.

"It's not much really...just a small dingy apartment. I share it with two roommates, and we all do what we can to get by. We don't really have anyone else to look out for us, so we do it for ourselves...and I really don't know why I'm telling you all of this. It could mean serious trouble for us, if anyone ever knew where we were or what we're doing. I've got to go," the honey-haired girl responded as she quickly turned around, gathered up her violin case, and made to dash away down the street.

"Wait!" Natsuki exclaimed as she reached forward, and clasped her hand around the other girl's delicate wrist.

"At least tell me your name," Natsuki begged softly, as she looked deeply into the other girl's eyes.

The girl looked searchingly at Natsuki's face for a few seconds, before she seemed to come to an internal decision, and nodded her head lightly.

"It's Shizuru. Shizuru Fujino. And your name is?" Shizuru asked, with a curious tilt of her head.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I should have said my own name first. It's Natsuki. Natsuki Kuga," Natsuki answered with a slightly-crooked grin as she let go of Shizuru's hand.

"Natsuki..." Shizuru seemed to taste Natsuki's name across her tongue, as she gently rolled Natsuki's name in that delightful accent that made Natsuki's toes curl in pleasure. Then before Natsuki could blink, Shizuru was off and running down the street. Natsuki stepped forward with her arm raised towards Shizuru's back, as the chestnut-haired girl began vanishing into the crowd.

"Shizuru, wait! Will you be back here again tomorrow?" Natsuki called out anxiously.

Shizuru paused briefly, and looked back over her shoulder to give Natsuki a small smile as she called back her answer.

"Yes!"

Natsuki never saw Shizuru at that street corner again.