Author's Note:
I think most Shiznat fans have their own idea of what happened between Shizuru and Natsuki after the carnival and heading up to the epilogue of the last episode. Here's my take on their story. Hopefully I've remained true to their characters.

And thank you to MahouLVH for pushing me to actually put this up instead of hiding it in my bottom desk drawer.

Rebirth: Chapter 1

Aftermath

Fujino Shizuru was glad that the HiME festival was over. It hadn't been that many days ago, but in some ways that felt like a different lifetime. That was an apt analogy, she thought, as she and several of their circle had been reborn, or at least that seemed like the word to use for those who had reappeared after disappearing in a sparkling green cloud.

In some ways she was glad the festival was over and she was no longer a HiME, that she no longer possessed that awesome destructive power. She remembered her madness, the demon that rejection and despair had turned her into. She remembered her final battle with Natsuki, how she had misjudged Natsuki and how at the end Natsuki had held her and forgiven her. Yet she still worried if Natsuki truly forgave her, and if she really did care for her.

Shizuru had asked Haruka to oversee the immediate repairs to the school-grounds. She didn't have the energy to run here and there making sure that all of the little pieces were done correctly. Haruka, with Yukino's able support, had the energy, attentiveness and drive to do this well. Shizuru herself handled most of the higher level negotiations where diplomacy was more important than energy. It also worked well to let Haruka work with the Suzushiro Construction Company, which her father ran and which everyone agreed was the company to do the repairs.

More than that, seeing Haruka and Yukino was a bit much for Shizuru. She couldn't shake the feelings of guilt she had about killing Diana, whom Yukino summoned, and Haruka, her dearest friend. In some ways it was easier to see Haruka, with her straightforward, though rough, manner than Yukino. Maybe that was because she herself knew how much more painful it was to be deprived of your loved one or to see them in pain than it was to suffer yourself. After all, both Haruka and herself had been reborn in the same way. Most of all she still couldn't find the courage to apologize to Yukino for her actions, even though the rules of the HiME festival as well as her love for Natsuki demanded them.

It was far easier to simply avoid Nao for similar reasons: there was nothing in her duties which required their paths cross. Shizuru also realized she had yet to forgive Nao for what she had done to Natsuki, and she needed to do that as much as to apologize.

Natsuki was a different question. While at the end Natsuki had kissed her and said that it was all right, Shizuru still harbored doubts. Most of all she still doubted herself, whether she was forgivable. She wanted to see Natsuki, to be with her, to talk to her, but she feared Natsuki might repent of her decision.

So Shizuru didn't completely withdraw from the world; she kept her eyes open and continued to watch. She knew that Natsuki was now staying with Mai and Mikoto. After the damage that Shizuru and Nao had done to her room, she certainly couldn't stay there, so Mai had invited her to share her place along with Mikoto. Natsuki also seemed to be attending classes regularly and getting on with life in her own independent style.

Shizuru had rented an apartment for herself, since the dorms had been damaged in addition to Natsuki's apartment. In some ways this was just moving out quicker than she expected: she'd need to do this once she graduated and entered college anyway. She didn't have much time to look and a lot of people were looking for new housing given the recent damage to the area, so it wasn't surprising that the apartment she found might not have been her first choice given other circumstances: it was a western style one. Instead of the familiar tatami mats and sliding screens, it had carpet, a sofa, table and western bed among the furnishings. Shizuru was more adaptable than some people thought, and she could comfortably live in a place like this.

She also arranged for the mysterious Yamada-san to ``find'' Natsuki's bike and repair it for her again. Since Natsuki had sacrificed her bike in their last battle, which Shizuru now saw had been her salvation, she felt she should do what she could to fix this ``treasured toy'' of Natsuki's.