Miyuki sighed as her eyes scanned the listings on the bulletin board. Posted for all to see were available residences in the area but unfortunately for Miyuki they were all out of her price range.

After what happened on Mid Childa, Miyuki had decided to move back to Earth to start over. While the option of returning to the Midori-ya was still open, Miyuki was against it. Doing so would feel like she was crawling back with her tail between her legs after a failed venture and her pride wouldn't allow for that.

Besides, being around her happily married brother and sister-in-law would only serve as an unpleasant reminder.

So she was determined to find a place of her own and move on with her life using her own two feet. Right now what she needed was a roof over her head and then to find some employment. However a major obstacle was the fact that most of Miyuki's funds were in Mid Childan currency, making them worthless on her home planet.

Sighing again, she wondered if she'd be sleeping on a park bench that night when she heard some one call out to her.

"Hey, isn't that Miyuki?"

Miyuki turned to see a girl with brown hair that feel past her shoulders and familiar green eyes.

"Nami!" Miyuki smiled, happy to run into her old friend. Her high school chum had been one of the few people she regretted leaving behind when she moved to another world.

"Glad to see you still remember me." Nami chuckled. "It's been awhile, hasn't it? When did you get back? Last I heard you moved to some distant country."

"Err, yeah, something like that." Miyuki forced a laugh, remembering the cover story for her absence. "But after… some stuff… I decided to come back here."

"Oh?" Nami raised an eyebrow after catching the hesitation in her friend's voice, but she decided not to press just yet. "Well since it's been so long, we got quite a bit of catching up to do. Why don't you come over to my place and we'll chat?"

Miyuki weighed her options but saw no real reason to refuse. She knew she wouldn't find lodging for the night, so being indoors for a bit would be nice. Plus, she had missed the company of her friend and wanted to spend some time with her.

"Sure, let's go."

It had been ages since Miyuki last stepped foot on the grounds of the Kanzaki shrine, but she was a bit delighted to see that it hadn't changed at all.

"It's been like this for centuries, so I doubt it's going to change any time soon." Nami grinned when Miyuki voiced her thoughts.

After heading inside, Miyuki sat at a table while Nami went to go get refreshments for her guest. Looking around the room idly, Miyuki felt something brush up against her leg. Looking down she saw a fox rubbing up against her.

"Hey there, Kuon." Miyuki smiled, scratching behind the animal's ears. "Haven't seen you in awhile either." The fox leapt into her lap and made itself comfortable.

"Looks like she also hasn't forgotten you." Nami smiled as she returned with a tray.

"I guess not. She…" Miyuki paused as she saw the bottle and tiny cups Nami was carrying. "Sake? I was expecting tea."

"Well…" Nami sat and poured the liquid into a cup before passing it to Miyuki. "It looked like you could use this more."

"Heh," Miyuki scoffed as she accepted the cup. "Is it that obvious?"

"Do you want to talk about it, or do you just want to get drunk and forget about it?" Nami asked, pouring her own cup.

"… Might as well." Miyuki decide, downing her cup and asking for more. "Telling you about it is probably better than holding it in."

"So, what happened over there?" Nami poured her another cup.

"Where to start?" Miyuki wondered. "Well, in the first place I moved so I could be closer to Nanoha. She was expecting so I wanted to be there to help."

"Really? Nanoha? I had no idea."

"Sorry for not telling you, but yeah, Nanoha's now with two people who love her and they have three wonderful children together. I'll make sure you get invited to the wedding."

"Thanks." Nami said, taking a sip of her own drink.

"Anyways, I wanted to be there for her, mostly because I felt guilty for leaving her alone when she was little. I wanted to make up for that so I packed up and moved with my parents." Miyuki chuckled derisively. "I guess that was a bit reckless of me, just dropping my life here and moving there."

"You did it because you love your sister, right? I don't see anything wrong with that."

"Thanks, Nami. But still, it got to a point where Nanoha was okay on her own and didn't really need my help all that much. She still asked for it, of course, but I think it was more to give me something to do. Other than being with her, I really had no life of my own there."

"But that changed when I was given a job by one of Nanoha's friends." Miyuki sipped. "Her name's Shamal and she's a doctor. I worked as her receptionist at her clinic and I ended up moving into the apartment above it. So I had a job and my own place, but it still wasn't enough. I got closer to Shamal, though, and it became clear she was interested in me romantically."

"You always were the popular one." Nami noted.

"Sometimes unfortunately." Miyuki snorted. "There was this one patient who kept flirting with me and wouldn't take no for an answer. Shamal eventually blew up at him and chased him away. I guess I have strong pheromones or something…" Downing another cup, Miyuki glanced at the other girl. "You don't have the urge to jump me, do you?"

Nami shrugged a shoulder. "I'm straight."

"I guess shrine maidens are supposed to remain pure anyways."

"Hey, just because I'm the head priestess here doesn't mean I'm still a virgin." Nami huffed. "Anyways, so what went on with this Shamal woman?"

"There were a few bumps along the way, but eventually we started dating." Miyuki explained. "It was her first relationship so she was inexperienced and unsure of herself, but we managed… for awhile, anyways."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." Miyuki drank again. "Well, I suppose something that started in a hospital room wasn't exactly blessed to begin with."

"Injured? Her or you?"

"Me," Miyuki said. "A bodyguard job that had some… unexpected outcomes."

"You're still doing that?" Nami stared. Miyuki shrugged.

"So anyway, Shamal's a good woman, so I decided to go out with her. It was nice at first, and we even started living together. I liked being with her and the sex was pretty good too."

"Sounds like a keeper to me." Nami noted.

"I thought so too, but the longer we were together, the more problems came up." Miyuki held out her cup. "Let me tell you, it's not a good idea to date your doctor. The outcomes of my last job had a few lasting effects, so Shamal would always fuss over me to make sure I was fine and I didn't do anything to make my condition worse. Initially I thought it was sweet and it showed just how much she cared about me. She came with me when I went training and I liked doing that stuff with her."

"But even after those lasting effects where gone, Shamal never stopped." Miyuki sighed. "She came with me everywhere, and when she didn't she'd always question where I went and what I was doing. If I admitted to something she didn't like, she'd go off and start lecturing me about how I need to take better care of myself."

"She wasn't too far off base," Nami pointed out. "Especially if a bunch of stuff happened to you."

"I know," Miyuki admitted. "But even so, it was too much. It was just my normal training regimen. I've been following it for so many years now so I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing. What's more, every time another person made a pass at me, Shamal would snap at them and chase them off. It all eventually got on my nerves. I'm a grown woman, damn it! I can take care of myself! It's like she didn't trust me to handle things at all!"

"Now, now." Nami tried to calm her friend down. It seemed the alcohol was starting to affect her. If Miyuki had low tolerance or if it was just the placebo effect, Nami didn't know.

"She was suffocating me! I couldn't do a single thing without her watching me like a hawk! She treated me like some kind of child! I wanted a lover, not a mother! I already have two of those!"

"Did you talk to her about it?"

"Of course I did." Miyuki slumped back. "I told her to stop fussing over me so much, but it just wasn't possible for her. She's just that kind of person; she is a doctor after all. Nothing really wrong with that, but it felt like she was just restraining me. It wasn't right to ask her to change who she is either. That's basically what she had been trying to do to me, getting me to take it easier, and I hated it. I guess we're just two people who weren't meant to be together."

"I see." Was all Nami said.

"Or maybe I'm just an idiot." Miyuki laid her head on the table. "Maybe I shouldn't have broken up with her. She cared about me so much, maybe I should have done what she wanted…"

"The way I see it," Nami sipped her drink. "You had to choose between your relationship and your freedom. You just picked your freedom. I find no fault in your choice."

"Really?"

"Yeah. If Shamal couldn't accept your need for freedom, you just have to find some one who will. I'm sure there's one person out there who will accept all of you as is."

"Finding them is the problem."

"Heh, too true."

"Well, it's not like this is my first break up." Miyuki sat up straight again with a mirthless grin. "I just have to put it behind me. Besides, I have to wonder how seriously I was taking it in the first place. It's possible I was so desperate for my own life there that I just hooked up with the first available nice person in order to add to that life."

"So what are you going to do now?" Nami asked.

"I planned on returning to my life here." Miyuki answered. "But I don't want to just go back to the café. I want to find my own place and a job so I don't have to rely on anyone."

"That would explain where I found you."

"Uh huh. But just my luck there's nothing suitable for me. Looks like I'll be sleeping on the street tonight."

"Of course you won't." Nami shook her head. "You're going to stay here."

"I can't do that. I said I don't want to rely on anyone…"

"Be realistic, Miyuki." Nami sighed. "I know you can take care of yourself, but sometimes you do need to accept help from others."

"I don't want to be a leech…"

"And you won't be." Nami smirked. "You know how big our grounds are, and some one needs to clean them. Work at the shrine and in return you can stay, at least until you can find something elsewhere. How does that sound?"

"…" Miyuki considered it before smiling at her friend. "Sure, sounds like a good arrangement to me."

"Well then," Nami smiled back, holding up her cup. "Let's take good care of each other."

"Yeah." Miyuki tapped her cup against Nami's before they both took a swig. "So… You sure my pheromones won't make you jump me, right?"

Nami laughed. "I told you I'm straight."

X-X-X

Across the far reaches of space on the planet of Mid Childa, Shamal sat alone in the bedroom of the otherwise empty apartment. It was only a few days ago that she would cuddle happily under the sheets with her lover, but tonight it felt so cold.

"Shamal?"

Shamal looked up, having not noticed her mistress entering the apartment.

"Hayate…"

The brunette went over and sat besides the other woman on the bed. "How are you doing?" She asked despite knowing the answer.

"Hurt… and confused…" Shamal muttered. "I don't understand how this happened… We were so happy, and then… I don't get it."

"Well," Hayate put her arm around the doctor's shoulders and pulled her in. "Sometimes things just fall apart like this."

"But why?" Shamal asked weakly. "I cared about her so much…"

"From what I understand, you cared about her too much."

"Can you really care about some one too much?" Shamal looked up.

"When it gets to the point where the other person is troubled by it, yes." Hayate said.

"But I just wanted what was best for her." Shamal said, sounding like she was trying to convince Hayate of that fact. "Her body had been hurt so much. I just wanted to make sure she took care of herself, but she said I was suffocating her…"

"She wanted some space, right?"

"Yes, I tried to give it to her, but… I was so worried; I didn't want anything else to happen to her. I don't get how that was wrong…"

"Well, think of it this way," Hayate started. "You know how much I care about you and the others, but how would you feel if I kept telling you what you could and couldn't do, if I strictly monitored your actions, and otherwise tried to exert complete control over you?"

"… That's like what our previous masters did…"

"Right? But I respect your desire to go off and do your own things. I allow you that freedom and I trust you to be able to take care of yourself. I think that's what Miyuki wanted. She wanted you to allow her to do her own thing without you always trying to keep her safe."

"I still don't see…"

"No, wanting her to be safe isn't a bad thing, but…" Hayate paused for the words. "But there can be too much of a good thing. You just kept the leash too short…"

"I… I see…" Shamal sounded defeated. "Is it too late to fix it?"

"I think so, yes." Hayate said sadly. "Miyuki's already gone back to Earth and she might not be interested in getting back together with you."

"So in the end I'm not fit to be in a relationship after all…" Shamal started crying. "I really tried my hardest, I really wanted to be with Miyuki but… Now I won't be able to be with anyone else…"

"Don't be silly, Shamal." Hayate grabbed the older woman's shoulders and held her at arm's length. "You can't think like that. Yes, this relationship didn't work out, but there will be others. You made some mistakes, but if you keep them in mind for next time, you can avoid making them again."

"… Really?" Shamal sniffed.

"I guarantee it." Hayate smiled. "Give it time, and once you're ready I'm sure you'll find some one else."

"If you say so…" Shamal wiped at her eyes. "… Would… Would it be all right if I moved back in with you? I don't want to be alone…"

"Of course." Hayate brushed aside a stray hair. "We're family, after all."

Nami is Miyuki's best friend from Triangle Heart and one of the sub-heroines.

Well, it's never been a secret that I don't care for the Miyuki/Shamal storyline in Day in the Life. The idea of the pairing itself seems farfetched, but to their credit Nanya and RB did develop it decently enough, rather than them meeting and magically falling in love or something. But still, as it went on it basically became "Miyuki gets injured and Shamal worries herself sick over it" repeated several times. I felt something different needed to happen, and considering the way Shamal acts towards Miyuki, I figured a break up was a possible outcome for the reasons explored in the fic.

The idea of having Miyuki run into Nami and chat like that was inspired by an episode of the Kimi ga Nozomu Eien Next Season OVA that had a similar set up. I thought it was really well done so I used it here.

Please note that while I did get Nanya's permission to write this, it's not intended to be anything official. What he plans to do with the pairing remains to be seen.