Disclaimer: Mai-HiME does not belong to me.
A/N: This will either be a one-shot or a Shizuru-centric continuation of the anime. I haven't decided what to do with it yet. In any case, please tell me what you think, and don't be surprised if I add more chapters. Also, I'd like to thank Kin756894 for editing this for me.
Prologue
He sat with her in the train station and lightly held her hand. Her medium-sized luggage bag was propped up against the armrest of the bench, a smaller bag containing her personal computer strapped to the top of it. In her lap was a mahogany-colored purse which matched her pleated skirt.
She'd taken days to decide what to keep and what to throw away, but the packing itself only took about an hour. It was strange to think of it, but this was all she had. After she left with these few belongings, there would be nothing left in this town that was hers.
They heard the sound of the approaching train long before it rounded the corner at the end of the tunnel. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and she closed her eyes and leaned her head against his shoulder, allowing herself to draw comfort from his warmth.
To anyone else, it may have looked like a farewell between lovers. To them, this was her new beginning. And with every beginning came an end.
This was the last time they would see each other. There would be no emotional parting or teary promise to stay in touch. The events of the past few months have made her sick of emotions and teary promises. Even if she said it, she wouldn't have followed through with it. That was the thing about small towns like Fuuka; it was just about impossible to stay in touch with someone without staying in touch with everyone. And then she'd just fall back into the same old pattern. Putting her life on hold. Staying up at night with nothing but guilt and shame keeping her company, even as she checked her cell phone obsessively, her heart rising into her throat each time she looked only to plummet into her stomach when there was nothing. Feeling the sting of disappointment despite the fact that had there been a call, a text, anything, her ring-tone would have sounded and she surely would heard it. But that was just her - always trying to make something out of nothing.
She was tired of it. Tired of nursing a dream that simply could not be, tired of her aching heart, tired of herself, tired of her.
There was a time she could have worked this all through. Wrote a poem. Cried it all out. Talked to her, talked to somebody. She had never believed in escapism, and she still didn't, really. But now that her hands were stained with the blood of hundreds and the fearful glances of people that could have been her friends weighed heavily on her conscience, there was nothing for her to do but leave. She needed to know how it felt to breathe again without being suffocated by the shadows of Fuuka. Only then could she reevaluate her life. Only then could she truly move on.
So she was leaving for college in Tokyo, and the former Obsidian Lord was the only one here to see her off. As her fellow passengers started boarding the train, she let go of his hand. He stood and watched as she collected her belongings. He followed her to the back of the line. Only then did she meet his eyes.
"So this is goodbye," he said, handsome smile firmly in place but sounding so much like a shy schoolboy that she couldn't repress a coy smile.
"I'm sure Kanzaki-san will have many fond memories of me to keep him company."
"And so I will," he chuckled, already missing her lighthearted teasing, somewhat dismayed at the lump in his throat.
She saw the sadness in his expression and gave him a gentle smile, one of the few genuine smiles he'd ever seen from her. The kind of smile that made him wonder what it'd be like if they had just one less thing in common.
Before she boarded, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
"Take care of yourself, Reito."
As the train started moving, she gave him a wave through the window of her seat. It wasn't long before they were swallowed by the darkness of the tunnel, and a few seconds later, the Fuuka Station was no more.
Left in the privacy of her thoughts, she stared at the familiar landscape speeding past her window, and finally allowed herself to think of everything she was leaving behind.
The Academy. Her schoolmates. The battles of the Carnival.
And a dark-haired girl named Kuga Natsuki.
Long after Reito left the station and drove home in the pouring rain, a lone tear slid silently down her cheek.
"Yes," she whispered, "this is goodbye."