Hello. This is my first fanfiction here, so please, treat me kindly. It involves one Natsuki and, as you can probably guess, a certain, ruby-eyed Shizuru. Separate they are interesting. The meeting of the two? Much more so. For the purposes of this story, I call it- their collision -Interlace. There's romance, dark elements, angst, and even some action. You'll have to read to find out just how much. Hope it pleases.

*I don't own Mai Hime, or any subsequent characters from the series/anime. Anything else, however, is mine, including any OOC-ness/OCs in general. Let the fun and games begin.

-Prologue-

Slight Dilemma

Kuga Natsuki was many things. Stubborn, unfortunately, just happened to be one of them.

"I'm not going."

The bold declaration, professed by the sullen, azure haired teenager herself, was met with a weary sigh from her companion in the driver's seat. They'd had this conversation countless times before, Yamada noted wearily, and if it weren't for the headache he could feel descending upon him with a ferocious intensity, he'd be impressed by her pure tenacity. As it was, he simply grew irritated.

"You don't have a choice," he told her bluntly, running the fingers of one hand through his tight curls pensively (a nervous habit he'd picked up ages ago) while he used the other to steer. "You're going."

He wasn't surprised in the least when his statement was greeted with vehement protests. This was Natsuki they were talking about.

Protesting anything and everything was in her nature.

"But I hate school!" the teen cried out, slamming a fist down onto the leather seat beside her. The contact was muffled by the softness of the material, but still conveyed the young girl's (in her mind, justified) rage. "Its for the mindless and the weak! I hate it!"

Who needs it anyway? She inwardly sneered, teeth grinding together as she clamped her jaw shut. Dammit, I can learn more in the real world than some stuffy classroom. Fuck this!

Emerald eyes flashed as they shot Yamada a dark look through the review mirror, though Yamada, having raised the girl as his own for close to three years now, was hardly fazed by the famous Kuga death glare. It had looked more ominous on her father, perhaps because the malicious intent behind it had been real.

His fingers clenched involuntarily around the steering wheel as memories abruptly seized him in their relentless grip, but it only lasted for a moment before he caught himself and forcibly relaxed. Slowly he exhaled through his nose, once again barely repressing the urge to sigh. It had been a long day and at this rate, it looked like it was only going to get longer.

"Its required, and you will go," he informed the young girl, allowing a thread of steel to enter his voice, one that said in no uncertain terms 'I mean business.' His brown eyes, facing forward, hardened imperceptibly. "Even if I have to drag you there myself, kicking and screaming."

When he was greeted with nothing but silence, Yamada chanced another glance in the mirror. Natsuki was still scowling, her thin arms crossed in obvious anger over her chest and her eyebrows furrowed as she glared menacingly at the floor of the car. He pinched the bridge of his nose and tried again.

"Natsuki."

It took her a moment but she looked up at him, resentment burning brightly in her vibrant gaze. It almost made Yamada smile. She was a spitfire, his Natsuki. No one could deny that.

He shifted in his seat and addressed her again.

"I'm sorry."

Green eyes widened in something akin to shock. Clearly an apology had not been expected.

Then again, Natsuki would know all about unapologetic cruelty, wouldn't she?

Forcing the thought away, Yamada returned his gaze to the road before continuing. "I know you don't like school."

Or people, for that matter.

"I know that... structure, we'll say, is hard for you."

And listening to anyone who tells you to do anything.

"But its important. Its necessary. Natsuki," he told her earnestly, "I wouldn't make you do it if it wasn't."

And he wouldn't. He was all too aware of her past and her feelings toward authority figures. He would let her avoid school altogether if he thought it would help her. But it wouldn't. And they needed to face that, sooner rather than later.

"Tsuki," he pressed, using his pet name for her, "you know I love you as if you were my own."

Again Natsuki didn't say anything, but Yamada could have sworn, casting her another quick look, that he saw something around her eyes soften; something fall behind that hard mask of perpetual adolescent anger, and it gave him the strength to move on.

"We need to do this," he said quietly. "You need to do this. I know it sucks-" his tone, as he said this, was flippant, all too obvious in its attempt to elicit a smile, but Natsuki's face remained carefully blank and he pressed on, regardless "-but I'm trying to do what's best for you. For both of us," he amended. "I need to leave and find out... well, all I can."

He was careful not to say more than that, knowing it would only set both him and Natsuki off down a dark path of recollection (which they certainly didn't need) so he skimmed over the details and added, "And you need to keep your head down. Blend in."

Anticipating her argument, he cut her off before she could begin. "I'm not saying you have to listen to what everyone says. You know I've always wanted you to be yourself. But just... try to get along with people, okay? It might not be as bad as you think."

A little bit of normal in your life for once... I don't think it could hurt. "I'll be back before you know it but until then, do your best to keep out of trouble. Okay kid?"

It was quiet for a long, tense moment. Natsuki sat almost unnaturally still in the backseat, silently mulling over all that had been said, while Yamada continuously glanced back at her in a nervous manner, thick fingers returning to his mess of a hairdo. In his eyes this was the big test. If Natsuki agreed, she was ready, (possibly, he silently acknowledged) to be on her own- and not cause trouble. If not, it would seriously screw up Yamada's plans for finding him.

Yamada shuddered slightly in disgust and anger, but again pushed his emotions aside. Now was not the time for them. Instead, he waited as patiently as he could for Natsuki's reply, though he felt unnecessarily antsy as he did, thick fingers fidgeting and sweat coating his palms in a slick sheen. Finally, after several, strained heartbeats on Yamada's part, Natsuki shrugged.

"Okay," she agreed, throwing her back against her seat with an overly dramatic, exasperated sigh. "I'll try."

She emphasized this last little bit, but it was the first word that passed her lips, that okay, that Yamada paid attention too. In response, a small grin of relief broke over her guardian's features.

Thank you God, he thought feverishly, sending a quick prayer to an unearthly presence he wasn't all too sure he believed in. Thank you!

He cast his misgivings aside- whatever trepiditions and internal anxieties he might be facing -in favor of being thankful for this small, but no less important, step Natsuki had taken. As if to reward her (though she was too preoccupied with her thoughts to be aware of his own) he sent her a wink through the review mirror. "That's all I ask."

Okay, so that's the end of the short (not very revealing) prologue. Looks like Natsuki's going to school. Can you guess where?

Reviews are appreciated- they let me know I should continue. Thanks, hope you liked.