Disclaimer: I don't own Mai HiME.
A/N: I don't always write post-Carnival fics. But when I do, I retcon the last episode. XD This fic isn't finished being written, and we all know my track record. So please be kind if it takes time for me to update and forgive me if this never ends up being finished. But it's Shizuru's birthday so I took it as a sign to bite the bullet and upload it anyway!
I - The Golden Rule
Shizuru sighed as she walked through the empty halls of her, now-former, high school. The graduation ceremony had ended only moments ago, and while everyone else was greeting their friends and family, she was here. With nothing around but the air of nostalgia, she returned to the student council room to see to any business that may have been left unfinished.
The door slid open easily, but the silence made it seem all the more jarring on her ears. She went to sit at her desk, out of habit, but when she looked around the empty room, it all became too clear that there was nothing left to do here.
My work is done, I suppose. Shizuru thought, drumming her fingers on the wood before leaning back and rolling her head to the side to stare out the window. The cherry blossom tree rustled in the wind, dancing light over the pink petals in a relaxing, hypnotizing, pattern. Having been in solitude from the moment she picked up her diploma, the sudden ring from her skirt pocket surprised her out of her trance.
It was a single notification of a text message, which read simply - and amusingly: "Meet me in the garden for a good time." Followed by an array of different winking face emojis. That got a bemused chuckle out of her, but she was still more or less confused at the fact she was contacted at all. While the number which wrote to her was unknown, she realized that it was sent to precisely eleven others, including herself and Natsuki. She put the pieces together.
Any and all playfulness evaporated from her long exhale. After a moment's pause, thinking over her options, she finally stood up. "... I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"
The walk to the garden was a familiar one. It brought back an array of memories, but one would always stand out above the others. We met here… Shizuru thought to herself, stepping out of the forest path to see the gazebo in the distance with the other HiMEs gathered around it. Her legs froze for a split second, then she felt the need to hide behind a tree before she would be seen by any of them. Especially her.
She shut her eyes while her fingertips gently clawed at the bark. What if she doesn't want to see me? We haven't spent much time together - any - time together since then. Scarlet eyes opened with a soft gaze on the forest floor. I can't imagine why any of them would want me there… Unfortunately, in order to step back on the path and return the way she came, Shizuru was - for a few brief seconds - hidden only from the knees down by a flower bed.
"Oooooi! Over here!"
She flinched, turning slowly to see the woman who she only knew as Sugiura-sensei waving her over emphatically. And why is she in a cape? In any case, there was nowhere to hide now. Feigning misdirection, Shizuru waved back with practiced politeness and made her way towards the group. There was something overbearingly intimidating about having eleven pairs of eyes staring at you when you were completely unable to read the intent behind them. Furthermore…
Shizuru made her best attempt to smile at Natsuki, who smiled back and gave a short wave, but remained standing directly left of the stone steps. That was enough of a hint to stay at the back of the group, which just so happened to be nearest to Fumi. She blinked in surprise at the realization, having had no true suspicion that the woman had been a HiME as well. Yet, in the end, aside from Natsuki and Yukino, it was actually Fumi with which she had spent the most time. At the very least it isn't as uncomfortable as it could be.
"Ahem!" Midori cleared her throat, taking center stage and extending her arms dramatically. "Now that we're all in attendance-"
"Hmph, and look who's last to show again." Nao mumbled under her breath, but was immediately cut off by a clump of dirt being whipped at her, courtesy of Natsuki. "Why you-!"
"I slipped."
"Stop it, both of you." Mai got in between them, then looked up to the woman on stage. "Continue, Midori-chan."
Midori gave her a nod of thanks. "As I was about to say: Before we get to the good stuff, I would like to implement The Golden Rule," Her playful tone took an immediate shift to deadly serious. "No dredging up the past."
Yukariko raised her hand. "Actually, the golden rule is "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.'"
Midori gave her a knowing smirk. "Am I wrong in assuming that, in this case, those are one in the same?"
One by one, everyone gave slow, solemn nods. It would no doubt be difficult, but everyone saw at least some ways in which it could be beneficial.
Even Nao, who remained a stick in the mud for most of Midori's antics, begrudgingly sighed and shifted her weight back onto her heel. "So, what's the 'good stuff' then?"
Midori grinned wide. "It appears that, after recent calculations, the now-dismantled First District has a total of…" She trailed off in thought.
"Roughly five point five billion yen." Yukino chimed in.
Jaws dropped among the group as Midori continued. "That much unclaimed, legitimate funds. Now, naturally, the majority of that will go back into the academy and city to cover the costs of rebuilding all that got destroyed. But, I took the liberty of arranging…" Midori unfurled a cartoonish, hand drawn sign with a map and pictures of a massive cabin in the woods along the beach. "The HiME Sentai Celebration Get Away Because We Saved The World And Deserve It!"
Natsuki rolled her eyes, "You couldn't come up with anything shorter?"
"Of course not!" Midori pointed emphatically, then crossed her arms over her chest. "This is the perfect time to do it. Fumi was just promoted to headmaster, the third years are graduating, and we saved the world you guys!"
"Yay!" Mai and Mikoto cheered with excitement in an attempt to rally the others, but a silence overcame them.
This… was not something that Shizuru had been expecting. And the silence wasn't helping. More than anything, being the only third year among them, she felt a bit too under the spotlight with that mention. She slowly raised her hand.
"Yes? Kaichou-san?" Midori was eager to answer any question from anyone.
"Ah- I've already graduated. Shizuru is fine."
Midori chuckled to herself, "Right. Well, what is it?"
She tried to muffle the sigh which fell from her lips, avoiding unintentional glances around the group. "I…" a lie formulated in a few seconds, "I think my parents would like me to return home. I don't think I'll be able to join you."
Nao and Yukino gave curious, but narrowed stares back at her. Mai's dropped smile was a subtler disappointment, while Midori's was far more expressive in dismay - after all, getting twelve people together for a social function was tough enough, and she worked hard on this. The rest were oblivious to the situation and took it at face value.
Except Natsuki. Against her better judgement, she felt her brow furrowing into a disapproving glare which pierced right through Shizuru's story. The interruption had no need of words between them.
"Well that sucks!" Midori finally said, throwing up her arms in frustration. "But if you have to, you have to."
The former president tilted her head in a polite bow. "Forgive me, but I also could not stay long now either - I hadn't expected this to be the purpose of this meeting." She offered a practiced smile. "Thank you - for the invitation."
Midori gave her a wave as she turned to leave, but her attention was caught by movement from her left.
"Give me a minute." Natsuki said, not even looking back. Her eyes remained locked on Shizuru's fleeting figure.
"Ah- Natsuki-chan! Oh… well now we've lost her too."
Nao couldn't hold back a snort. For which she got a stern, disapproving-motherly look from Mai. However, the former was never one to back down from a challenge. "Oh, sorry." She said sarcastically.
A handful of the girls looked around at each other curiously before Akane spoke up. She was in the unique position of knowing nothing of the Carnival's events, which left her as a rather unbiased party. "What is it, Nao-chan?"
The redhead made a zipper motion across her lips followed by an intentionally exaggerated flicking the invisible key away.
With a sigh, Yukino picked up the conversation, though with a far better ability of adhering to the newly implemented Golden Rule. "I think she means to say that… Some wounds are still fresh." She barely sidestepped it.
Midori groaned, setting her hands on her hips and shutting her eyes a moment. As much as she wished it, their traumas could not be erased. She thought of those still standing before her. Miko-chin was under the control of the Obsidian Lord. Shiho-chan's power was directly linked to her worst nightmare. Sister, well… she didn't want to think about it. But for them... She breathed in deep, knowing that how she truly felt in her heart was right. But first she had to find the words.
It was Mai who stood up beside her, "We… We're standing here today because we got a second chance. The ones we love got a second chance." She slowly but surely made eye contact with each and every one of them. "And… I don't think it's foolish to give others a second chance, when it's what we want for ourselves."
Meanwhile, Natsuki had been following Shizuru for quite some time - though the latter hadn't acknowledged her presence. Finally, she halted halfway down the hill leading to the academy - not wanting to ascend the entire thing after this confrontation. "You do know I'm here right!?" She called.
Shizuru turned around, sadly looking over her shoulder. "But I do not know why."
Natsuki frowned. "Why won't you come with us?"
"I told you. My parents-"
"Remember who you're talking to, alright." Natsuki cut her off with narrowed eyes. "I know they're not exactly you're favourite people."
You're being troublesome. Shizuru sighed. "Regardless, until I start university and move into the dorms, I'll have to live with them. It will only be a couple months, I'll survive."
"Or you could stay with me?" Before she knew it, Natsuki had offered the invitation as easily as it had ever been in the past. When the words left her mouth, and seeing how stunned Shizuru was upon hearing them, she stiffened her posture and looked away. "I mean- you know. Moving back to Kyoto only to return here would be a hassle, plus-"
"I appreciate the offer, but," Shizuru raised a hand to halt the girl's stammering, smiling gently - but with solemn distance in her gaze, "You don't need to force yourself."
Natsuki shut her eyes with a sigh. "I'm not forcing myself, I…" She shook her head, then faced the girl across from her. "Look. I miss you."
Heat rose in Shizuru's cheeks, but she forced her smile away.
"And I think this might be good for us. You know… if we can't talk about the past, maybe we can talk about where we are now." She shoved a palm into her forehead, combing through the nearest navy locks. "We've been friends too long to just never talk to each other again after you graduate."
"I'm sorry," Shizuru looked down. "I worried about how you would react if I approached you. Your friendship was - is - a privilege. One which I took advantage of. I didn't exactly feel entitled to it again."
"I'm sorry too, for not reaching out to you sooner. I knew why you were avoiding me but then I did nothing to fix it - and I do want to fix it." Natsuki groaned, dropping her shoulders while leaning her head back. "But it's not as if they have counselling for people caught in a cosmic battle royale."
Shizuru chuckled mirthlessly at that. "I suppose not."
"And besides, I," now Natsuki blushed, though she turned away to hide it as best she could. "I think- I mean it'd be weird if- I guess what I'm trying to say is… If we're all going… you should be there too."
It was upon hearing those words that an unfamiliar emotion struck Shizuru's heart. It wasn't love, but was close to it. It wasn't yearning, or desire, but just shy of craving. It was in that moment, it occurred to her that she had always been alone. "Are you saying… you think I belong there?"
Natsuki looked back at her, curious at how those words sounded more like a pondering to herself, only out loud. "Is that what you're afraid of? Not fitting in?"
Shizuru looked away. "To put it mildly."
Natsuki folded her arms across her chest. "This is a 'let's bury the hatchet and restart our lives' kind of trip. The whole point is to not be judgmental."
"Still…"
"Then look at it this way," Natsuki huffed, "It's all thanks to you that I learned how to even make friends - now look what you've done! Look at all the weirdos you made me be friends with - a half-cat, a cape-wearing teacher! You have to live with the consequences of your actions and be friends with them too!"
"I get it! I get it!" Shizuru was laughing heartily now, "So, what you're saying is-"
"Is that you're going to fit right in. I don't know if it's fate or not - or if you could ever say it was worth it - but in any case... We HiMEs became a family in one way or another, and so... it wouldn't be right if you weren't a part of it." Natsuki reached her hand out.
"Natsuki-chan's back!" Midori smiled, covering her brow like a visor while looking out. "... Alone?"
Natsuki's approach was swift, nearly a run as she made her way through the crowd of girls to center stage of the gazebo. She took a deep breath, then looked out at all of them. "One! We will all stick to the golden rule: no bringing up the past." She raised her fingers to count off each point. "Two! There will be no passive aggressive actions, or snarky comments. And not just about the past." She looked to Nao and Yukino - the only two other than Mai who were aware of what she was referencing. "Three!" This was the one which weighed heaviest on her heart. She sighed, then looked out at them with a smile. "Just… be nice, okay? Treat her like a normal person."
There were some mumbles around the group, but the general consensus was positive - encouraged by those at the front. Nao snorted in defeat, shrugging. "Whatever."
Yukino raised a hand, to which Natsuki offered her a moment to speak. "I said before, while you were gone, that some wounds are still fresh. This is true… But…" She looked closely at Natsuki. "I believe it is true for us all."
Natsuki relaxed into a smile at that. "Thank you." She then waved her arm at the path which she had come.
Shizuru stepped out from behind a tree, rejoining the group with a hint of embarrassment. "I've reconsidered my plans to go home. If you'll still have me."
Midori leapt back onto the stage. "Excellent! We leave in twenty-four hours!"
