Passing the Baton

Right, let's get a few things out of the way before we get into the story proper.

First, this is based on the mangaverse. Those of you screaming bloody murder in the back can sit down – as far as I can tell, the negative reaction to the manga stems largely from the fact that Natsuki falls for Yuuichi and thus can't be with her One True Love Shizuru, and the fact that Yuuichi actually does something once in a while (and this is bad, how?).

Neither should be an issue here beyond referential stuff, because this takes place after all the crap's blown over, so since Natsuki is barely mentioned in this story, you can imagine she's off snogging Shizuru. Or better yet, one could go read the hundreds upon hundreds (literally!) of stories featuring the two. In fact, if you want, I'm willing to bet you could fit this into anime-continuity without much trouble at all, aside from a couple of the references.

Secondly, one of my biggest beefs with fanfiction writing concern the idea that if you pick one side in a pairing-wars debate, the third wheel must be vilified in your story, never mind the fact that canonically they'd die for each other (and considering what we've seen happen in all the Mai-HiME 'verses, I'm thinking that this does apply here). If your love of a particular pairing requires you to screw over canon so much that a character becomes nigh-unrecognizable beyond his/her name, then maybe something's gone wrong somewhere. Just a thought.

So. This is a MaixYuuichi fic, if one is concerned primarily with pairings (although one half of said pairing doesn't actually show up till pretty late in the story). Those of you who are willing to continue reading, I hope you enjoy what I've written.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"Mai?" The question was prefaced by a soft tapping on the door.

Ordinarily, Mikoto would have simply ignored the knocking on the door – she knew for a fact that her closest friend would be back very soon, and anyone who wasn't willing to wait a couple minutes for her probably wasn't important enough to bother dealing with anyway.

Besides, she was busy with a jigsaw puzzle..

But in this case she recognized the voice as someone she would have filed under the classification of 'friend', and with a grunt of annoyance she heaved herself up from the sofa to open the door to their dormitory.

"Oh – ah, Mikoto." Yuuichi Tate gave a tiny smile as he laid eyes upon her. "Where's Mai?"

Mai. Silently, Mikoto registered the fact that somewhere along the line he'd stopped using her family name and started referring to her by her personal name.

She shrugged. "Mai went out grocery shopping. It usually takes her about forty-five minutes, so she should be back soon." Soon as in ten minutes or so.

"Oh… okay, then. You don't mind if I wait here?"

"No." Why should she? Unless he went out her way to bother her, in which case she could simply whack him on the head with Miroku.

At the thought of her Element, her gaze strayed over to the sword, lying by her side as always, its blade razor sharp.

Always good to have it with her, after all.

…

No good. Mikoto's frown deepened. There were several pieces that simply didn't appear to fit anywhere, and holes that didn't have any corresponding pieces to stick in. Folding her arms, she sat back. This was a pretty old jigsaw puzzle that she'd dug up from some musty corners of the chests in the storage room…

She saw Yuuichi settling himself down on the couch, one arm cradling a brightly wrapped package.

"What's that you've got there?" She questioned. "Is that food?"

At that, the kendo student chuckled. "Nah. It's just… a little gift for Mai."

Silently, Mikoto pondered the implications of what he'd just said. Firstly was the issue that she hadn't the faintest idea what Yuuichi could give Mai that would be of any worth – especially if it wasn't food. Secondly was the fact that the way he held said 'gift' indicated that he was being very, very careful with it.

Mikoto then realized that she was still frowning, although the unsettling feeling didn't have much to do with the jigsaw puzzle anymore.

Had she been in possession of the skill known as 'tact', she might have tried to worm her way slowly into asking about the current situation between the two of them, but for better or for worse, she didn't have much in the way of such upbringing.

So…

"Hey, do you like Mai?"

This was one of those times, Yuuichi Tate reflected, that you knew that that there was indeed a correct answer to the question, but said answer was unfortunately sealed off to you, leaving you floundering in the darkness.

Well, the most tried-and-true of tactics was to buy some time…

"What – uh, why bring this up now?"

Thunk!

The tip of Miroku embedded itself in the wall next to him. Of course, 'tried-and-true' tactics tended to work on people who well relatively well-integrated into proper society… a subset which Mikoto usually did not fall under.

"Answer the question."

There were always those times when people said 'Honesty was the best policy', but he could remember a distinct incident not too long ago when honesty had resulted in him being brutalized to within an inch of his life by someone he considered a younger sister.

Still, the situation didn't wasn't really comparable (he hoped), so with a nod of his head, he affirmed Mikoto's guess.

"Yes, I do."

He wasn't exactly sure if he'd expected Mikoto to fold her arms (leaving the sword still firmly stuck in the wall) and lean back against the wall, face set in an expression of deep contemplation. He supposed he should be grateful that she hadn't decided to lop his head off then and there, but… well, he'd just never expected her to seriously contemplate anything.

Yes, yes, it was probably a biased assumption on his part, but he couldn't shake the feeling of an undercurrent of hostility from the first time they'd met – having her nearly cut off the fingers from his right hand probably wasn't a way to forge a deep and abiding friendship.

Still, recently she'd come to accept him as part of the circle of people that comprised the Anti-Orphan Squad – or at least he believed so. She had been more accepting of his spending more time with Mai, but-

"What about Natsuki?

Silently, he revised his opinion of Mikoto's attentiveness up a notch. Not that it had ever been very well-hidden, but somehow the little tyke had picked up on the ice queen's behaviour towards him from the day they first met.

"She found someone else." He paused for a moment. "I'm happy for her." There wasn't much else to say, really. He still had the letter she'd written him, a rather wordy epistle thanking him for everything they'd been through, and for being 'the perfect little slave'. She was probably out with her right now…

If anything, Mikoto's frown got worse. "Shiho?"

Was she deliberately going down the list? Yuuichi sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "She's like…" What was the best way to describe the relationship between the two of them? "Like how you are with Mai." He finally finished.

The HiME tilted her head to the side. "…You cook for her?" She finally ventured.

"…Kinda like how you are with Mai." He revised.

"Hrmph." A dissatisfied snort. What now?

Drumming his fingers against the armrest of the sofa, he finally sighed. "Is there anything wrong?"

"Things were easier before you got here." On a scale of one to ten on the 'Uh-oh', meter, this probably rated a seven, inching towards eight.

"Mai spent more time with me back then. Nowadays, she's always going out. And whenever I ask her about it, it always involves you." Nine. Definitely a nine.

"And whenever she comes back, she always has that weird smile on her face that never goes away." Mikoto's voice grew softer. "She never smiled like that for me." Aaaand… ten.

"M – Mikoto…"

She gazed up at him. "You're not strong. You don't have an Element. If Mai got into trouble, could you protect her?"

Yuuichi Tate closed his eyes. This wasn't the first time the question had been asked – all the other previous times, however, it had been an internal affair. The truth of the matter boiled down to the plain, simple fact that Mai was the one with the supernatural abilities – and while he could contribute via being the 'Key' to their 'CHILD', he couldn't really do much else beyond his skills with kendo.

As he pondered the matter, he let his mind drift back to the time when Mai had exhausted herself with her daily duties. He remembered staring down at her shivering, flushed form, and most of all, he remembered the feeling. That he would do anything, anything at all, to relieve her of her burden.

Returning to the present, he hesitated once more, trying to pick his words carefully.

"I know I'm not as strong as you, or Mai… or any of the HiMEs, really. But that doesn't change anything. If anything or anyone threatens Mai, I… I'll stop it. I'll find a way to make it so that she won't suffer." His teeth clenched with determination. "I will protect her."

"Stupid."

Much like a dash of cold water to the face, he reflected. Mikoto stood up, rubbing the back of her head with a frown. "It doesn't matter how determined you are if you don't have the strength." Reaching over, she plucked Miroku out of the wall. "Next time, you'll come train with me. Bring your bamboo sword."

"Er… okay?"

Mikoto was silent for a long while, gazing down at her broadsword. Finally, she spoke up in a low voice again. "Mai cares about you. She likes you too, you know… I don't understand why, but that's the way it is." Her gaze hardened. "Don't ever let her cry, understand?"

Yuuichi nodded slowly. "Got it."

For the first time since he had entered the room, Mikoto smiled. "You promise?"

"Promise."

"Good." Their conversation was broken off as the handle in the door turned, and Mai stepped inside, arms filled with several bags full of food.

"Mikoto, I'm ba- Oh! Yuuichi!" She broke into a wide smile as she saw him standing up and coming forward to greet her. "I didn't know you were going to be here."

"Mai, you know what today is?" Even as he spoke, he could see her face wrinkling with confusion.

"Today…? Hm, the new term just started, but- Oh!" She clapped one hand to her mouth. "We met exactly one year ago, didn't we?"

"Hey, you remembered!" He broke into a grin. "Anyway, I got you something, just as a… I dunno, commemorative gift. Here." He handed the flat-top box to Mai.

Hesitantly, she prised the lid open – and then her eyes widened as she let out a gasp of delight. "Oh! It's beautiful!" As she drew the necklace out into the light, the gems glittering brightly.

"I'm glad you like it. Here, let me try to put it on…" As Yuuichi circled around to string the metal chain around Mai's neck, Mikoto shook her head and let her smile widen. Her stomach was rumbling again, but something in her told her that waiting for that extra few moments would be well worth it.

Especially if it got Mai to smile again.

Story End

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