So, basically here it is. This is the project I've been working on for months and months. I finally finished typing the last chapter a few minutes ago. You guys don't know how good it feels to be done finally! Now, it may not be extremely long, 13 Chapters, about 1000 words-ish each, but to be fair I didn't spend every waking minute working on this. Not beta'd, sorry, but I've spent enough hours obsessing over it, I think I caught most of the errors. If not, inform me, and I'll fix them. For those of you who just want to read it and don't care at all about why it's 13 chapters long or the specific reasons for the titles or any of that silly stuff; just skip the next paragraph, it'll bore you. D

If you're reading this paragraph, I thank you for caring! So, this fic, Coming Home, was inspired by an album of all things! That album is Coming Home by A New Found Glory (NFG). It was released in 2006, and I highly recommend it. Anyway, listening to it as I rode my bike to and from school last year, it occurred to me that several of the songs brought the ShizNat to my mind. xD So I developed this story, each chapter containing a little part of the song, and bearing its title. Now, I had a terrible time trying to decide how to write it, questions like, "Who's POV should it be?" and, "Should it be written as a songfic or not?" tortured my mind every night as I tried to sleep. Finally I decided on this format. It is all 3rd person from Shizuru's POV, if that makes any sense. And I did not write it as a songfic, because to be honest, I find most songfics (except mine xD) to be tedious, and didn't want to put anyone through the pain of reading 13 of them. So each song may have only a small part in the emotion of the chapter, or it may be evident in the entire chapter, depending. Now, I am boring myself, so here we go!

Disclaimer: Yeah, I own Mai HiME. And everyone eats rainbows and poops butterflies. (That was SARCASM by the way.)

Shizuru woke in a cold sweat. Her room was dark, and the night was cool. She opened her eyes and tried to look over at the small alarm clock whose red numbers were the only light in the room. They were blurry. Puzzled, she slid her hand up to her face. She found it to be wet; she had been crying in her sleep. Carefully wiping her eyes on the sheets, she blinked a few times. Her gaze once more falling upon the digital numbers, but this time she could clearly read them.

3:07 AM

Blearily rising to her feet, she slipped down the hall to the last door. It was the one room in her apartment she was not allowed inside. She placed her hand on the cool wood and sighed. She loved living with Natsuki; she could go into any room in the house and smell the sweet scent of the girl she loved. But she was not allowed in the one room that would probably retain the scent forever. She sighed once more as the memory of the day she asked Natsuki to live with her washed over her.

It was some time after graduation, the two friends were sitting on the grass under a large tree, and Natsuki was complaining about living with Mai and Mikoto. She had been living with them since her apartment had been wrecked.

"I mean, it's just not right! Mai is a freak! She won't let me eat more than a spoonful of mayo a day, and all those vegetables! I mean…" Natsuki continued ranting as Shizuru watched her. Though Natsuki could not return her feelings, she did not resent Shizuru for them; however, it sometimes made their friendship awkward.

"Natsuki could live with me if she likes," Shizuru said it softly, and Natsuki's ranting died in her throat. Shizuru continued before Natsuki could think of anything to say, "I have a spare bedroom, and that way, even though I'll be at University, we can still spend time together, I'd hate to lose our friendship because neither of us has time to go see the other."

Natsuki paused thinking carefully. "Maybe, I'll have to think about it." Natsuki awkwardly rushed away.

It was late that evening, Shizuru was sitting in an armchair in her apartment. She was reading a book and her reading glasses sat slightly crooked on the bridge of her nose. She heard someone knock at her door. She set her book down on the table, along with her glasses, and went to see who was calling upon her so late. Shizuru was quite surprised to see Natsuki standing there, looking anxious, with a suitcase under her left arm and a duffel bag strapped across her other shoulder. Shizuru felt her hands shaking as she undid the dead bolt and opened her door.

Natsuki looked apologetic, "I'm sorry Shizuru, I would have given you more notice, but, it was the last straw, Mikoto…" She trailed off as Shizuru smiled and stepped to the side to let her in.

Once inside Natsuki glanced around, then turned back and asked Shizuru not to close the door yet. "Shizuru, before I can live with you," Natsuki seemed to be steeling herself, "Shizuru, we need some rules."

"Like what Natsuki?" Shizuru asked, apprehension building inside her.

"Shizuru, you can't come into my room, ever."

Shizuru was puzzled at this, this was Natsuki was worried about? She smiled, "It is a small price to pay for having you as a roommate."

"And…" Natsuki gulped slightly, "well, this isn't a rule, rather a request…"

"Yes, Natsuki?" Shizuru asked warmly.

"Please don't harass my boyfriend…"

Shizuru felt her whole body tense, and her face dropped into a hurt grimace for a moment before she could cover it up. This time her smile was sad, "I would never do that to you Natsuki, never."

Natsuki looked sad too, "I'm sorry Shizuru," She whispered quietly, and as she hauled her bags toward her room, as she reached her door, she spoke even more softly, and Shizuru very nearly didn't hear her, "You'll never know how sorry I am."

Now, Shizuru stood with her hand against the very door Natsuki had slipped into that night. It had been nearly four years since then, but it seemed like only just moments ago to Shizuru. She had never seen or heard any mention of a boyfriend after that and she understood it had only been meant to warn her not to try anything. Now, she leaned against the wall, and slowly slid to the floor. Today had been the day Natsuki had finally graduated, and that afternoon, she had given Shizuru a mighty shock.

As they walked back to their apartment, Natsuki was fiddling with her hard earned diploma. "Shizuru, I'm leaving," Natsuki refused to look up and meet Shizuru's confused gaze, "I'm…I'm going to get on my bike and ride away, I don't know where I'll go, but I…" She seemed to struggle with the right words, "I just need to get away, reflect on my life."

Shizuru asked the one question that surged to the top of the heaps of queries that came to her mind, "Will you come back?" She saw Natsuki wince at the question.

After a moment of silent steps, Natsuki stopped and looked her in the eye, "I don't know." She hesitated, then said, "Probably not, at least, not for a long time."

Shizuru was screaming inside, but on the surface, her face was calm and she gave a weak smile, "Natsuki will have to send me some postcards of her adventure."

"Shizuru," Natsuki looked at her with a sad, pleading look, begging Shizuru to understand and forgive her.

"I'm sorry Natsuki, I just realized, I have a job interview with Reito, silly me, I nearly forgot in all the excitement, I've got to run or I'll be late." Shizuru spoke rapidly, turning and dashing up the street. She heard Natsuki call after her but she kept going.

When she turned the corner, she found herself on a lonely street. The tears she could no longer hold back began pouring down her face, and she felt nearly as helpless as she had the in moment during the Carnival before she snapped. Shizuru realized that if she couldn't get a grip on herself her world would shatter again.

She began repressing her emotions, like she had taught herself growing up with a mother who would not accept weakness and a father who was loving; but never at home. When she returned she told Natsuki she'd gotten the job, and pretended to be very pleased. Reito had actually called that morning; the job was hers, but she hadn't said anything because it was supposed to be Natsuki's shining day.

Now, curled up, leaning against the wall next to Natsuki's room, Shizuru felt the tears returning. She couldn't stand the thought of Natsuki leaving. Natsuki was asleep behind that thin wall. Shizuru thought about opening the door to her room and just getting a look at the sleeping girl, one last time, but no, she had promised never to go into Natsuki's room. That was a trust she would not betray. She slowly rose to her feet, and kissed the door. She took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of her love into her and held it as long as she could. She wasn't sure she would be able to survive without the smell; it was as important to her as oxygen; necessary to life itself. Slowly, she slipped back to her cold room, and her fitful sleep.