A/N: It's that time again, for a story from the heart.

I do not own Mai HiME/Mai Otome.

A special thank you is in order for Ms Kanzaki, who's going to work on this project as a beta...

"Talking."
Thinking.

Rigged!
Chapter 1
(Shizuru POV)

Life is not perfect.

That is a lesson learned at a young age, perhaps when a frozen treat falls off the cone on a hot summer's day, a simple truth. A person may encounter such a thing whilst sitting on a park bench. Is that person waiting, or feeding the birds? Little does it really matter, such person may leave, just as lonely as when they came. Even so, that person would still return the next day. That kind of devotion is unwavering, and everyone kindles some form of it. Apparent or not, the fact remains a subtle waft in every life, common occurrences are merely that...chance meetings are still only a fluke of nature.

And...if there is such a thing as fate, I've yet to meet it.

Still, even with the imperfection that life is, I quite like it. The abstract beauty is something I enjoy. Maybe I'm just sentimental, and the wind chimes singing in the distance, is a melody only I make of it. Perhaps, to everyone else, the haphazard tinkling of the breeze is little more than racket. I would be willing to accept that. Still, I feel as if some people just have a cloud hanging over them, even at birth. These people, they're not at fault..they aren't to blame. Lashing out may simply be a cry for help. A shout for all who may be willing to listen, just like the chimes.

A beating heart is such a way, I believe. Forever changing, the tune never exactly the same.

I'm alright with that. I don't mind if a cloud hangs over my head. It could rain on me all day, and I would dance. I've always been such a person, I recall. As a child I would dance barefoot in the sprinkles, when it thundered, I was entranced by the sounds that rattled the earth. Even the lightning, though I was told it was dangerous, made me want to reach out and touch it. I suppose, when one thinks about that, it makes sense I've found misfortune to be a gentle thing. Think on it. Fire while hot, won't burn you when treated with care. An icicle won't stab you, if the tip is blunted between two fingers. A knife can cut away the ties that bind you, it is the beholder that makes it a weapon.

This world is filled with unfortunate things, yet even still, it is a fortunate place to be.

I fully believe that. I entirely have faith, that a person can be tempered if given time and chance. I believe a human that is angry, is like a storm. There is reason and recourse. Destructive though it may be, like a monsoon that wreaks havoc on all in its path, a healing breath is all that's required. The scars left on the land, a grizzly reminder, merely beg for renewal. Just as such, haphazard people seek something they have not yet found. I think, fractured hearts like that are beautiful, just like a morning storm.

It isn't so terrifying, as long as you know the sun will shine again.

…

If anyone would have told me this would be my life, I think, I would have laughed. Her thought was merely a soft droplet in the pool of her mind. Then again, I could manage to do much worse. Sometimes, in the quiet time, what little of it she had to herself, she would amuse that. I wonder, is this what it means to be a parent, or, do I simply feel moved by a situation I can't change? Her powerless endeavor was currently refusing to greet the day, the teen hadn't slept well the night before. It isn't as if I have any true attachment to the girl, nor she to me...at that point, can she even benefit from my guidance?

Her answer wasn't to be gifted, the air dead around her.

It was early in the morning, the sun peaking out of the muddy clouds. It seemed to wish to color the sky in happier tones. "Pink skies at night, a sailor's delight. Pink skies in the mornin' sailors take warning." Even as she said that from the kitchen table, idly sipping on her tea, the old adage was foretelling. You always welcome foreboding, don't you? She couldn't help but look across the table, a lazy figure whose face, pressed into the wood, made no sound. "Nao, wake up already." A gentle, but firm voice was easily ignored. "Nao, it's impolite to sleep at the table." She told the dozing teen again, running her fingers through the short fiery tresses.

"Nuunh." The sound was a low grumble as Nao rolled over onto her other cheek, batting the hand away.

A low chuckle made Shizuru realize things were far different than it had been a few years ago. It was something she knew, she tracked Nao's progress every week, and talked with the probation officer every few days. Even so, the girl wasn't exactly polite. In fact, she was still quite vicious when she wanted to be. Well, at least she no longer tries to pick a fight with me. She would ignore the pet peeve for now. The table wasn't meant for sleep. "Nao, we're due in the shop soon." She told the young teen again, grabbing her by the shoulder to jostle her only slightly. "You have to wake up now."

"Damn it." Nao muttered, picking up her head. With lime green eyes unfocused and fixed into a scowl, she had no intention of waking up just yet. "Jesus, can't get any sleep around here, can ya?" She pushed Shizuru's hand away again, but this time she also got up to go get ready. "What's next, one of Haruka's stupid lectures?"

"Nao!" Shizuru called, following down the hall. "You will not take vain in public, how many times must I repeat myself?" The girl was already up the stairs ducking away from the reprimand. "Some people find that to be horribly offensive." Leaning heavily on the wooden bannister, looking up at the second floor, Nao was not within her sight. "If you don't straighten up, today's going to be long and arduous."

"Funny thing for a lesbian to say." Nao shouted from her room. "You ain't public either!"

Oh, so she wants to play games today! Shizuru marched up the stairs, a stern gleam in her crimson eyes. She leaned into Nao's doorway a deep frown on her face. "Well, you shouldn't say that kind of thing out loud. Think of it all you want, but don't go announcing it." Shizuru told her, uncaring that the girl was parading around in her underwear. "Haruka's the least of your worries." Due to Nao's belligerence, the girl didn't have a door she could lock, only a sheet that covered the frame. "You live with me, in my house, under my roof." She furrowed her brows, feeling as if something was off kilter. "You're not getting sick, are you?" Suddenly agitation, mild though it was, turned to worry.

Nao was in a bad mood...worse than usual. "I'm fine, just leave me alone." Defeated, tired, and more than just a little crabby.

Well, something's not right. Shizuru thought to herself as she looked over at the calendar that sat at Nao's bedside. Ah, just as I thought...you can't hide things that easily anymore. It was an anniversary day, a bad one at that. She let the concern show in her eyes, a meek feeling niggling the back of her mind. "Nao, you can't keep getting angry every year." She doesn't deserve this, but the world doesn't deserve her unruly behavior, either. "Sooner or later, you'll have to accept things the way they are."

"You're not my mom, so don't tell me what to do." Nao pushed passed Shizuru as she took her clothes in hand, storming off to go shower.

Shizuru stood there, the morning a hard one to deal with. That's entirely the issue, isn't it? She sighed, Nao wasn't a bad girl...troubled, and walking down a destructive path, but she wasn't the only one to blame for her actions. I'll let your temper slide for today, but I can't always be so easy on you...someone's got to look out for you, even if I'm not your mother. There were so many things Shizuru wanted to say, and not any possible way to say them. With little else she could do, she shook her head, dismissing the entire event for now.

She had to get ready for work.

Pattering into her bedroom, she took a look at her closet, realizing Nao's colorful ranting wasn't exactly untrue. So what if I look stereotypical? Shizuru asked herself, once again yanked down into her own mental reverie. It isn't as if I'd wear my good garments to work. Still, the fact that the first thing she pulled out was a baggy plaid shirt. It didn't do much to ease the sentiment. Even if I am interested in women, it isn't as if I've ever acted on the desire. Then she smiled, shaking her head. Am I obvious, or merely guilty because of her preconceived notions? Shizuru decided it best to ward the thought away with a vengeance. It doesn't matter now does it? She laughed at herself, pulling her hair back into a tight ponytail for the day. When she's right, she's right...I most assuredly wouldn't deny it.

…

It wasn't as if she was unhappy, she had a decent life.

Drat! She couldn't particularly complain about her situation, at least not easily.Of all the times for the wind to kick up. Sure, she assumed there were days, like today, that seemed to drag on endlessly. Fruitless to build a card house, it's nonsensical anyway, I suppose. Days when she would just sit around with the garage open, trying to keep cool. Not that I have anything better to do, either. Admittedly, that very notion was an often failing ambition. It wasn't as if that was a travesty. It isn't as if I could actually be constructive, Chie finished the paper work. Just a fact.

A long suffering sigh escaped her lips as she glanced around the dull room. Surely, she could act like some of her other coworkers. If she really wanted to pass the time, a momentary lapse in good sense wouldn't hurt her. They had come up with colorful ways to keep busy, and Shizuru knew that if she had wanted, she could do the same. Somehow though, I doubt Midori would take humor in any more gags. The motor oil Nao spilled earlier was trouble enough. A wet sounding, muted slap greeted her. What on earth? She looked around, but found nothing to hint at what was going on, proceeding to gather up her cards and try again. Another sound was followed by snickering.

There were only so many times a person could spin around in a chair before it became dizzying. The other, apparently amusing idea, -flinging spit balls at the ceiling fans- just didn't appeal to her. "Nao, stop that!" Another audible splat hit the cleaning. "Chie..." Shizuru's voice a vocal warning. "Don't encourage it." Idly, she was waiting for the phone to ring, or perhaps, a passerby in need of help. Even a lost soul in need of directions would have been a godsend on this rather dull afternoon.

"Can't we just close up?" Nao sighed. "My ass hurts."

"Well, then perhaps you should get off of it? Find something positive to do." Shizuru replied dryly as she gazed upon the clock. "It's only ten in the morning. We have two hours before we can give up."

"It isn't like it matters anyway." Nao replied, drumming the pen she was holding. "The boss is totally out of it, who cares what we do?"

Shizuru gazed behind her, Midori was indeed asleep at her desk. "I care." Still, it was hard to argue with Nao's logic. There was literally nothing to do. "People will get the wrong idea about us. If we just close early every day, they'll think we're unreliable."

"Hardly anyone has come by here, nimrod." Nao was tired, bored, and sweaty. A very bad combination for all involved on a day like today. "I just want to go home and sleep."

"A few more hours." Shizuru told her again, trying to be encouraging. "Then we can go home." That idea didn't appeal to her, knowing Nao would resort to loitering around, being antisocial. At least here, she can harass Midori...if she wakes up, that is.

"We've gotten three cars in the past four days. Everyone goes into the city." Nao ranted, sending another wad of wet paper flying towards the ceiling. "We don't need to be here."

"It makes sense. The gear there is shiny and new." Chie finally chimed in, bored, and without anything else to do on the computer. "Grand openings always offer new sales, and this town isn't very big. The city can offer competitive prices." Chie shrugged. "I wouldn't worry about it. Sooner or later, they'll come crawling back." In fact, Chie was counting on that happening very soon. "They may have the new equipment, but we've been here for years. We've been raised into this line of work. We were born for it."

"You just like the fact that you can play around on the internet all day." Shizuru had to agree though, this job was their very lifeblood. "When was the last time you even changed a tire?"

"Hey, it's bad enough I've gotta tow people around." Chie wasn't really bothered by it, one way or the other. "Besides, when was the last time you fixed one of Nao's clerical errors?"

"Touche." Shizuru could at least agree to that. It was the one thing everyone hated. Nao was a great up and coming mechanic, but highly unfit for any sort of paperwork. It didn't help that she couldn't read very much at all. "You girls are made for this, but not me. Still, I promised my father I would look after his passions, and he did love the industry." Shizuru told them wistfully. "Although, I hate just sitting around, feeling as if there's nothing that could be done."

"Well, there really isn't." Chie looked around in search of something, coming up short. "You've done everything there is to do."

"I know." Shizuru replied, glancing back at the clock. "I'd do anything to get junk heap right about now."

"Same here." Such an admission was a lot, coming from the laziest one of the bunch. "Either that, or to see tits for brains take off that top of hers." Nao mumbled under her breath as she looked to the place that had just opened down the street. "I'm telling ya 'Zuru, That one chick is made to be sitting on tables, not waiting on them." With an appraising eye, Nao couldn't help but admire the busty girl as she went about greeting the new customers.

"Can you please be civil...just for once?" Though she was nagging, she partly had to agree, even if not outwardly. That's one way to put it. Shizuru thought as she looked outside. "They're all very pretty, but really, it's just your average little eatery, Nao." She had been watching the festivities for the past few days as well. Not to mention, they're far too old for her. "I don't see why you're so transfixed by a few cute girls."

"Cute?! I want what you're smoking." Nao laughed, pointing vigorously at another waitress. "They're porn stars in maid outfits!"

Logic told her that today, despite her greatest efforts, she just wouldn't win. "Nao, that's an apron." Shizuru tried the keep the smirk of her face, but even that was a failing endeavor. "There's nothing remotely sexual about it. Get your mind out of the gutter."

"Hey, at least she's got good taste." Chie argued she came to stand by Shizuru. "Her name is Aoi. She's pretty cool, actually. In fact, I'd wager that she has the goods in the right places."

"The way the two of you talk!" So, you goad her more! The woman of fawn tresses was unsure of just who to blame anymore. "You make it sound as if red lights should be shining out of their front door." She was met with two very perverse grins, and for not the first time today, she cursed her boredom. "If you had your way, those poor girls would greet everyone on the hood of a car, legs spread." Shizuru sighed shaking her head.

"There's an idea!" Nao smirked as she snapped her fingers. "We should see how they taste."

"Nao, really, that's quite enough." God, she's insufferable today...Shizuru found her resolve, but only after rolling her eyes. "Maybe, if you're good, we can eat dinner there another day." Just wait another year or two first.

…

A long day in the shop with nothing to do dragged on, they closed in the middle of the afternoon. Freedom from work gifted reprieve, something Nao didn't need copious amounts of, least she get into trouble.

Shizuru watched from the swing that overlooked the front yard. It was a seat for two, painted white. The poor old thing needed a new coat. It was something else to muse about, rather than the strapping young man that was giving her the eye from next door. I'm too young for you, boy...best get your eyes back on the race. True she was beautiful, but it bothered her when people thought of her only as a lady. It was a mistake better not to be made around these parts...the young ones tried too, regardless of what their parents told them. Nao's gonna pass you up again, if you keep that up, boy.

Everyone who knows her, knew she could hold her own. She didn't much care for having someone tell her she couldn't do something, especially if it was only because of her gender. Even so, she wasn't exactly an average bumpkin either. It made her difficult to approach, her parents were land owners, a lot of money lined their pockets. Her father's investments in the automobile industry only further addled the small community. Due to that alone, most people with half their salt stood clear of Shizuru. They knew better, and it helped that she stuck mostly to herself.

Truth be told, Shizuru had no need for the money. Working was a hobby, a way to pass the time...

When there wasn't a job at hand, she was bored. Horribly so, and even though she wasn't exactly a social butterfly, she wasn't a shut-in either. She enjoyed keeping an eye on the girls from the nearby city. It was a pet project, of sorts. They made an uncanny name for themselves, little hoodlums that they were. Leather jacking, hot rod riding, beer drinking city girls. Those were the types of children that Shizuru normally dealt with, and normally only for a short time. They haven't a clue just who it is they're messin' with, now do they? She wondered that as she saw the redhead popping wheelies with her motorbike. "Nao, cut that out!" The redhead was a special case.

Shizuru sat out on her deck, pondering the events, and Nao's situation. It bothered her that Nao's anger still ran so deep, and even so, she couldn't fault the girl. I would likely react the same, if someone I cherished were abused in such a fashion. Even if she could accept that, she knew Nao wasn't innocent either. In her lap, she held a file that had been given to her, Nao's history from the delinquency center. Nao's relatives include her mother her aunt, and a distant uncle. The mother's in a coma, the aunt has been charged with neglect, and her uncle wants nothing to do with her. To make matters considerably worse, Nao's father is nonexistent in her life. When she considered that, things began to make sense.

Taken into custody originally for petty theft and constantly running away, they found her life with her aunt to be unsuitable for any child. She turned the page, a list of minor charges added up. Put into the system at the age of twelve. Shizuru had more time than she wanted at her disposal, and that gave her time to think. It's been two years since then. She could remember the call she'd gotten. A friend of hers was a probation officer, and when Shizuru had been told of kid in need of a foster home, Shizuru dived right in.I really should call Haruka and accept her request for the other girl...it might help Nao to have a friend her own age, maybe even just so that she knows she's not alone. There were plenty of boys who lived in the area, but no girls Nao's age.

She pulled out her cellphone, a trinket that wasn't really something she used often. The number wasn't saved in the contacts list, it was one she knew by heart. Dialing it came easy, waiting for the ruckus on the other end was the thing she dreaded most. "What happened this time!" The bellowing voice was so loud, Shizuru yanked her phone away from her ear swiftly, avoiding most of the shout.

"A lovely afternoon to you too, Haruka." Shizuru said placidly, knowing that it was just Haruka's way. "Perhaps I should retract the statement? It sounds as if you've had quite a day." Her blond friend had always been boisterous.

"Never mind that!" The woman on the other end of the phone dismissed her. "What did Yuuki do this time?" Her voice made it known, she assumed the worst.

"This call has very little to do with Nao." She closed her eyes, licking her lips to steady herself one last time. "This is about the girl you called about last week. You say she needs some help?"

"Yeah, more or less." Haruka was relaxed, at ease with her good friend, and even though Shizuru could hear the haphazard clicking of the keyboard, she knew better than to think it was Haruka typing. She wasn't good with computers. "Let's see here." Haruka grumbled, looking for the person in question. "God, I hate when Yukino's on patrol, leaves me to fiddle with this thing..." After a bit more clicking, and no small amount of grumbling, Haruka's voice perked up. "Ah, found it!" She nearly clapped in praise for herself. "Let's see, a girl with the family name of Kuga. She's been in the system for years, transferred here just last week."

"Sounds interesting." Shizuru told Haruka kindly. "What type of history does she have?"

"Damn thing!" A large and audible crash was heard, followed by Haruka's deep sigh. "Shizuru, you know that I'm useless with computers unless Yukino is around..."

"Then just tell me what you know." Shizuru urged the woman. "Anything you know at all will do.".

"She's a teenager with a bad attitude!" Haruka shouted, as if it had been obvious. "What's there to tell? The girl's like Nao...a pain in my ass, and driving me nuts!"

"What kind of bad attitude, Haruka?" Shizuru asked her then. "I need to know what I would be dealing with."

"I don't know all that much, it isn't my case. It's Yukino's." Haruka told her then, brushing off the entire thing. "Apparently you're looking at the same kind of thing. Bad home life, Kuga has no family. She's got a lot of problems about it. Records say her mom died in some sort of accident. They found Kuga with the body at the time they declared the mother's death...it's a big mess, and it's only gone downhill the older she gets...Shizuru, do you want the little troublemaker or not?"

Haruka was used to this, it was her job, and she saw things every day that Shizuru couldn't even dream up. Nao's story had been sickening enough, and Shizuru had felt torn for a long time. Now she was hearing another story, another broken home. It happened every day, and someone was always the victim. Of course she would be withdrawn about it, that would be the only way to cope in her line of work. Her eyes cut to the street. It had been hard at first, Nao wasn't an easy nut to crack, but now she was opening up slowly. If anything, that gave Shizuru hope. "Bring Kuga by, Haruka...I'll watch over her."

"Gotcha." Haruka told her. "The processing will be done by the weekend." She paused, as if thinking about something. "Her personal name is Natsuki." Then she hung up.