A/N:
Hello everyone, Author here. Here is the continuation to Fireproof. Thank you for your patience.
Mai-Hime belongs to Sunrise.
Prologue: Welcome
She went through the motions: slow, methodical. A brief twitch of the seatbelt buckle and she was free. She stretched her arms above her head lazily before bringing her hand to the back of her neck. In a few minutes she would be exiting the airplane, small carry-on bag in tow. She shouldered the backpack and waited in line patiently, following the crowd milling out at a snail's pace. Immigration was bypassed by the possession of a Japanese passport—instead a polite greeting reached her ears.
"Welcome home."
She offered the woman who spoke a tight-lipped smile and a small dip of her head, acknowledging the greeting. As she turned, the smile fell immediately.
Two years. Two years and half a world away.
She had done so many things. She had started attending classes at a University in Germany, majoring in mechanical engineering. Her German had grown from the essential statements to something much more passable in the span of two years, which wasn't too much of a surprise considering her educational problems stemmed more from absence rather than lack of scholastic talent. She had changed physically, her features more defined, her gait much more relaxed. After all, there was no reason to be uptight. She would only be here for a few weeks, a month at most. Just enough time to get reacquainted, but not enough to throw roots back down.
Not enough to face everything.
She skipped the bag carousel that the rest of her plane-mates crowded towards, feeling thankful that she had the foresight to pack lightly. Instead she took a turn and walked through the corridor that lead out to the "Welcome Area" of the airport, where she would soon be surrounded by chattering individuals holding all manners of signs.
She didn't need a sign to let her know where her ride would be. Her eyes scanned the crowd carefully before settling on a lone female who was staring back at her. Auburn hair cropped short was all the indication she needed. Violet eyes blinked once, clearing in recognition and another emotion that she wasn't too sure of. But that disappeared in favor of lighting up as a smile bloomed on the woman's lips and a hand shot up in a wave.
"Natsuki-chan!"
The woman trotted over, stopping in front of her. She smiled, this one not as forced.
"Mai."
A pair of arms wrapped around Natsuki, drawing her close. She closed her eyes and responded in kind.
"Welcome back."
Mai's voice was muffled in the folds of Natsuki's shirt, but she caught the words. Despite the happiness in her voice and the sincerity behind her words, Natsuki couldn't help but feel a little saddened as she hugged her best friend.
Welcome back.
They walked together, Mai chattering about this and that, Natsuki nodding her head at the right intervals. Only Mai was here. Only Mai knew, after all. She didn't want to have it any other way. And Mai, despite her curiosity and burning desire to ask questions, had refrained from asking anything when Natsuki had suddenly phoned her out of the blue a month before. It wasn't easy, but two years were long enough to lay a few things to rest. Natsuki was more than content to let them go.
"I know you probably have some jet lag, but would you like to do anything tonight?"
Natsuki thought on it as they left the airport terminals for the connected subway station. After purchasing their tickets they made their way to the correct hub.
"I think I'll be fine enough to do something tonight." Natsuki hummed to herself for a moment before continuing. "Have something in mind?"
"Oh, I don't know..." Mai fidgeted for a second. "Reito-san's out of town for the week for a business meeting so it's just me at the moment. I had plans with a few friends from work but I had put them off for a while. I figure maybe tonight would be a good night to unwind."
"That's fine, it'd be good to go out." Natsuki rubbed the back of her neck. "It's been a while since I've gone out to go have fun, after all."
"That's great! Then it's settled. You'll have fun, Natsuki-chan."
Natsuki raised an eyebrow in response but nodded. Further conversation was brushed aside by the arrival of their intended train. As they boarded and awaited their destination, Natsuki leaned into the bar next to the seat Mai had taken. They waited in a companionable silence as Natsuki listened to conversations go on all around her in her native tongue for the first time in two years. She closed her eyes, letting the sounds wash over her.
Welcome back.
Their trip was shorter than Natsuki had anticipated, but Mai was pulling at her sleeve and motioning towards the transfer line that they needed to take. Only one more train to take, then they would be at Mai's apartment. She dutifully followed her friend through the maze of people and brightly-colored lines that indicated the various train lines intersecting the station. Mai handed her a ticket and they made their way through turnstiles and escalators, finally arriving at their next train.
As they sat down next to each other, Natsuki hugged her backpack with a familiar gnawing sensation settling into the pit of her stomach. In a short while they would be at Mai's place, but that wasn't what was bothering her. In a short while they would be uncomfortably close to a place that Natsuki was all too bothered with. Mai noticed her friend's sudden shift of mood and she laid a placating hand on Natsuki's shoulder. This gesture seemed to calm Natsuki down and she offered Mai a soft smile before turning back.
"You're nervous, I know that," Mai began softly. She could feel Natsuki's shoulder tense. "Eventually..."
"Yes, I know," Natsuki said with a sigh. "And I owe you an explanation as well, I know that."
"But we both know that it will come on its own time," Mai said, her voice gentle. "So it's fine."
Mai almost believed it herself. Natsuki wanted to say that it wasn't. It was terribly not fine. But there she was, nodding her head at Mai's words. The gnawing sensation refused to disappear but she could ignore it for now. She had been very good at ignoring it, spending the better part of two years practicing at it. Now it remained to be seen if all of her practicing would measure up now that she was about to face the reason for all of the gnawing feelings that ate her up.
"Yeah. It's fine."
Her words sounded horribly out of place but Mai simply nodded her head and gave Natsuki's shoulder another reassuring squeeze.
"Things have a way of working themselves out," Mai said as she let go of Natsuki.
Natsuki snorted.
"You don't need to convince me of things that will probably not happen."
"I don't, but it's true. Whether you like it or not is up to you, though."
Now Natsuki understood the hidden emotion behind Mai, the extra glint that appeared in her eyes as she looked up at Natsuki for the first time in two years. Even Mai could feel angry, she reasoned with herself. Even her best friend could feel betrayed by what she had done, even if Mai was the last person she wanted to make angry by her actions. Granted, it wasn't as bad as Natsuki had initially thought it would be. But she knew that no amount of history could erase that fact that she had picked up and left with no warning other than a hastily-scrawled letter sent to the one person she knew she would hurt the most with the news of her leaving.
The gnawing sensation came back at full force. Natsuki squashed the feeling down and cleared her throat.
"You told me Nao was living in Tokyo now, too."
Mai nodded absently.
"Yes, she's attending University."
At Natsuki's raised brow she smiled.
"Don't look so surprised. She's by no means dumb."
"No, no she isn't."
Natsuki let her statement idle as she stared off into space. Mai wondered if she should take her chances, but the words died on her tongue as a chime sounded off from the train's speakers. Their stop was coming up.
"Well, that's us," Mai announced, grasping onto a handle above her and hoisting herself up.
Natsuki mirrored her actions and waited as the train made a stop.
Welcome back.
Somehow those words had taken a bit of a mocking tone.
AN: Thank you for reading.