Author's Note - Oh my goodness so much editing had to be done on this chapter lol. Certainly more than I initially expected =p
Hope you all enjoy the finished result! ^.^


"Nao! Mikoto! I'm back," Shizuru called out, as she pushed on the door that led into her run-down apartment. The door always stuck in the same place, and it took a considerable amount of effort on Shizuru's part to muscle the door open. Finally she was able to get the door open enough for her to squeeze herself through, and she quickly entered the apartment and slammed the door back shut behind her.

The single bulb hanging from the ceiling was flickering on and off as usual. Shizuru wandered slowly into the small room, pulling her tattered coat from her small frame, and laying it across the back of the lone rickety chair in the apartment. She placed the violin case holding her precious violin against the wall by the door.

Shizuru glanced around the sorry-looking room, and took in the bare broken-legged table the chair was facing. The fourth leg of the table was actually a small stack of books, that Nao had 'borrowed' from the local library. Nao's reasoning was that they wouldn't even miss them, and the three young girls could get a lot more 'mileage' out of them, than any other random reader or the stuffy old librarian.

Shizuru knew she should have objected but she really couldn't find it within herself to do so, as Nao was right that they could use the books more than someone else at the time. The semi-sturdiness of their lone table in the room attested to that fact.

"Nao? Mikoto?" Shizuru called out again, softer this time as she made her way into the one other room in the small apartment. The bedroom wasn't much larger than the bathroom, but it was large enough for the three girls to have a small mattress laid out on the floor, that the three of them usually all slept on cuddled close together for warmth. Especially during the past winter months when all they had for a cover was a half-torn sheet, that that they always valiantly tried to spread across all three of their bodies, with limited success.

It was in here, their tiny bedroom laying on the small mattress, that Shizuru finally found her small 'family'.

Nao was laid out on her back, snoring lightly with one arm thrown to the side, and the other resting lightly on her stomach. Mikoto was blissfully sleeping on Nao's shoulder, a small smile on her face as she dreamed whatever dreams brought a brief moment of happiness, to the young girl's otherwise troubled life.

Shizuru moved quietly over to the sleeping pair, and stooped down to stare fondly at them. She then reached out with her finger, and gently poked Nao's cheek. Nao snorted lightly in her sleep at the brief contact, and Shizuru giggled softly before she reached forward and poked Nao again.

This time Nao's lime-green eyes snapped wide open, and her hand came up and quickly grasped Shizuru's hand. Nao glared up into Shizuru's eyes that were dancing with teasing amusement, before the red-haired girl let out a breath of exasperation, and slowly sat up. She ended up dislodging Mikoto who tumbled off of Nao's shoulder with a mild cry. Nao then stretched her arms over her head in a long, lazy stretch that would have made a cat proud with her feline-like grace.

"Fine way to wake someone up, Shizuru. You got a reason for doing so?" Nao asked, as she slowly rose to her feet and then reached her hand down for Mikoto to take, so that she could help the smaller girl to her feet. Once she was fully standing, Mikoto immediately scampered over to Shizuru's side.

Shizuru laughed softly as Mikoto wrapped her arms around her in a long, tight hug. Shizuru then grinned at Nao, as she reached into the pocket of one of only two pairs of faded old jeans she owned, and pulled out the still-crisp one-hundred dollar bill. Both Nao and Mikoto's eyes opened wide, and Mikoto began jumping around their small room in joy. The bill meant that they could finally afford to buy some ramen cup noodles! They'd basically been living on dry crackers, stale bread, and tap water for weeks now. Now they could finally afford to treat themselves a bit.

Nao and Shizuru grinned at one another, as they watched the golden-eyed girl bouncing happily around their small room. They knew exactly what she was thinking about, and were both happy to see the young girl they both considered a sister so excited. Even though Mikoto was fourteen, the same age as Nao, both Shizuru and Nao considered her the 'younger one'. Shizuru having recently just turned 16, was the 'older' sister of their small trio. And she had just made her two younger siblings very happy, which made the honey-brunette herself pretty happy as well.

"Well, tell us how you managed to score so much cash at once. I know you're really good at playing your violin, but it's never netted us this much money at once before," Nao said, as she began moving towards their small living room area. Her half-tattered jacket was out there, and she knew their next order of business was going to be to visit the local grocery store.

Once she was in their small living room area, Nao picked up her jacket and quickly tugged it on. It was getting a bit small for her, but it was the only jacket she had and she treasured it dearly.

"This very nice and sweet girl gave it to me. Her name was...Natsuki," Shizuru answered in a slightly wistful tone, as she followed Nao out of their bedroom, with Mikoto trailing behind like a happy puppy.

Nao paused in buttoning up the few buttons left on her jacket, as she turned around to give Shizuru an inquisitive stare, while her eyebrow slowly crept upwards.

"First a hundred-dollar bill, then a stranger you seem to know on a first name basis? Is there something you think you should perhaps tell us, Shizuru?" Nao asked as she placed her hand on her hip, and eyed the older girl of their group.

Mikoto looked first at Nao, then at Shizuru, then back at Nao as she sensed the sudden small tension between her two favourite people. Mikoto reached out, and wrapped her small hand around Shizuru's, causing the chestnut-haired girl to smile down softly at her. Mikoto returned the smile, and waited patiently beside Shizuru for the tension between the two other members of her small family to dissipate.

"I ah...I may have...kind of...sort of...told her...Natsuki, that is...my real name and that I live alone with two other people..." Shizuru trailed off softly, as she gave Nao an apologetic smile.

Nao stared at Shizuru in stunned disbelief, before she sputtered incoherently for a few seconds, then exploded.

"You did what! Are you trying to get us found out by Child Services, and thrown back into that hellish foster care system! What were you thinking, Shizuru! Please tell me you didn't reveal anymore information than that to this...this...Natsuki person?" Nao exclaimed with a deep scowl, at the one person she could usually count on to be the 'responsible' one. That Shizuru had disclosed such personal information about herself and vaguely about her and Mikoto as well, was simply mind-boggling to the redhead.

Shizuru bowed her head in shame at her own irresponsible actions, and she felt Mikoto gently squeeze her hand in comfort. Shizuru knew that Mikoto understood everything that was going on and being said around her. The sometimes-feral girl was not a big talker, which was a holdover from some past trauma in a foster home she was unfortunate to be in, before Shizuru and Nao had gotten her out, and they'd all fled together. But Mikoto was a very intelligent girl, and it often pained Shizuru's heart that she could only do so much for the two girls she had willingly taken under her wing.

They should be in school living happy, carefree lives at this point in their lives. Not worrying about being forced back into foster care, and living a hairsbreadth away from being on the streets, Shizuru thought mournfully to herself, not registering it at all in her own mind, that she herself should be living just as carefree as her younger 'sisters'. Shizuru had had to grow up way too early, way too fast, to truly think of herself as a child anymore. She considered herself the supposed 'grownup' of their small group, yet she had just messed up greatly as any young child would do.

"I apologize, Nao...and I'm sorry to you as well, Mikoto as this also concerns you and your well-being. I messed up. I won't go back to that street corner ever again, so that Natsu...so that that girl won't ever be able to find me again. I'll disappear. I'm good at that after all," Shizuru said in a small, quiet voice as she continued to look shamefully down at the ground.

Nao let out a long, deep sigh before she slowly walked over to stand before Shizuru. She then reached forward and placed her finger under Shizuru's chin, gently tilting the chestnut-haired girl's face back up. Once Shizuru's tear-filled ruby-red eyes came up and met Nao's forest-green ones, Nao gave Shizuru a slightly-crooked grin.

"Hey, no crying now. What's done is done. We'll just have to be a bit more careful from now on. And something good came of your meeting this...Natsuki chick. She gave you some serious cash for what I'm assuming, was her enjoying your excellent violin playing. We'll actually be able to eat something more than dry, nasty crackers and stale bread. So it's all good," Nao said with a soft smile, as she raised her hand to wipe away the few stray tears, that had managed to make their way down Shizuru's face.

"Yes...yes, you're right, Nao. We at least have that to look forward to for a little while," Shizuru said, as she returned Nao's soft smile.

Mikoto hummed happily, as she was pleased that things had been resolved within her small family, and she began excitedly tugging Shizuru towards the front door. The dark-haired girl also grabbed hold of Nao's hand, and also began tugging her towards the door.

Shizuru laughed softly, finally fully releasing the tension she had been feeling for the past few minutes.

Nao grumbled softly but good-naturedly, and allowed herself to be pulled towards the door. There with all their combined effort, they were able to quickly open the usually stubborn door and slip out into the bright, sunny day to head towards the grocery store.

~o~o~o~

"It's been a whole week since I last saw her. She promised me she'd be back the very next day, but I haven't seen her since! Where...where is she..." Natsuki muttered miserably as she rested her forehead on the picnic table, situated outside under a huge towering tree on the Academy's beautifully-manicured grounds.

Natsuki felt someone pat her shoulder in sympathy, which just caused her to moan louder.

"Cheer up, pal. I'm sure that this girl of yours...this 'Shizuru' chick...you two will run into each other again somewhere, somehow. If it's meant to be, ya know destiny and all that jazz, you two will meet each other again," Natsuki's close friend Chie said philosophically, as she lightly sucked on a cherry lollipop.

"Agreed, Natsuki. So quit moping about and cheer up. You've been like this for days now. I don't even really understand what caught your attention and interest so much with this girl," Natsuki's other close friend Mai said, as she lightly tucked a strand of fiery-orange hair behind her ear.

Natsuki sighed deeply, and looked down at her hands as she played idly with her fingers.

"I don't know what it is about her actually. I've seen her playing that violin of hers on the street corner for weeks now, and a week ago I just suddenly got this urge to go out and meet her in person. There's just something about her that intrigues me. I don't...I don't really know how else to better explain it than that," Natsuki answered, as frustration with herself and her inability to properly explain her feelings leaked into her voice.

Natsuki then felt a soft, warm hand cover her fidgeting fingers, and she looked up into Mai's softly-smiling face.

"It's alright, Natsuki. You've actually explained your feelings quite well, on how and why you feel something for this lost girl. And if you want, Chie and I will do everything within our power to help you find her, if you want to look for her. Right, Chie?" Mai asked her light-grey haired friend.

Chie replied with a wink, and a thumbs up sign.

Natsuki felt a swell of gratitude and affection for her friends, and she nodded head in agreement and renewed determination.

"You guys are right. I will find Shizuru again. I will."

I want to see you again, Shizuru. Let me find you again. Please...

~o~o~o~

"Well, it's been a full week since we've been able to eat decently, and if we continue to manage the money as well as we have, we can finish out the rest of this month fairly well," Nao said as she, Shizuru, and Mikoto stood before an open-air fruit stand admiring all the ripe, juicy fruit they saw before them.

Shizuru nodded absentmindedly, as most of her attention was being drawn to the street corner she had abandoned a week earlier. The fruit stand was located just down the street from the corner, but Mikoto had been insistent on coming here as she really wanted to be treated to a plump, juicy apple.

Shizuru had been very hesitant to come back here, but she also wanted to indulge Mikoto, as the young girl rarely ever asked for anything. Nao and Mikoto were too young to actually have jobs of their own, and it would be too suspicious for either of them to try to find work, as any employer would want some form of parental permission if they were to hire an underage child.

So that left Shizuru as the one trying to scrape together enough funds to keep them all off of the streets. She was old enough to get jobs 'under-the-table' where employers didn't really ask for identification or parental permission. They just wanted someone to wash the dishes in their restaurants, take out the trash at the clubs, or sweep floors at a center. Simple jobs that paid very little, but allowed the three girls to keep a roof over their heads, and a bit of food in their bellies.

The only bit of true pleasure Shizuru found in her life besides being with her small family, was when she would play her violin on a street corner. Her violin was a present from her mother before she passed away, when Shizuru was still a child. It was the only possession that she'd held onto throughout the many foster homes she'd passed through. She taught herself how to play it by ear and when she did, it brought her a sense of peace and tranquility, that she was sorely lacking in her everyday life.

So now here she stood, just a couple of blocks away from the street corner that she had met her, and it was making her feel fairly anxious.

"Hey! Hey you! What are you doing! Put that apple down you little thief!"

Shizuru immediately shook herself out of her wandering thoughts, and finally focused in on what was going on around her.

What she saw made her blood run cold.

Mikoto, having grown impatient with Shizuru not having already bought her the apple she wanted, had taken one from the apple section of the fruit stand, and was already almost finished eating it. The store owner was purple-faced and shouting, that he was going to call the police on the three of them. Mikoto looked scared and then panicked; dropping the mostly finished apple before taking off running down the street, in the direction of the street corner that had been distracting Shizuru so much, she had missed all the events that had triggered this mess.

Nao called after Mikoto, and quickly began running after the dark-haired girl. Shizuru didn't waste any time and quickly took off in pursuit as well, quickly outpacing Nao which didn't really surprise the redhead, as she knew that Shizuru was deceptively very physically fit.

"Mikoto, wait! Stop! It's okay, it was just a mistake. We'll go back and explain, and pay the store owner! Mikoto!" Shizuru cried out desperately as Mikoto swiftly approached the street corner, too terrified of being caught and sent back to those foster homes to stop and listen to Shizuru.

Shizuru put on another burst of speed, and quickly began catching up to Mikoto.

What happened in the next few seconds would haunt Shizuru for the rest of her life.

Mikoto dashed out into the middle of traffic, not paying any attention to the changing street lights.

Shizuru saw the dark car approaching the distraught, young girl...she heard the screech of brakes, as the driver tried to stop the car...she smelt the burnt rubber of the tires as they failed to stop the car in time. And she felt the bone-shattering pain of impact as she jumped through the air, shoved Mikoto out of the way of the car, and took the full-brunt hit of the car.

Shizuru thought to herself, as she felt her body flying through the air, then come crashing down hard on the pavement below, that it really was true what they said about not feeling any pain when you believe you were dying.

Shizuru lay on the pavement, the sounds of shouts, screams, and running feet muffled in her ears. She tried to draw breath into her lungs, and each breath rattled around shallowly between the broken ribs in her chest.

Am I going to die here like this? Nao...Mikoto...I'm so...sorry...

Then a voice she had thought she would never hear again, and that sounded so sweet through the ringing in her ears, penetrated the cloudy fog that was threatening to overcome her.

"Nat...su...ki..." Shizuru labored out softly, as her eyes tried to focus in on the beautiful visage of the girl, who was crying desperately over her. Natsuki was saying something about her being so horribly sorry for her driver hitting her with her limo, and for Shizuru to please not die.

She looks just like an Angel, Shizuru thought to herself as a small smile crossed her lips, and her eyelids slowly began to close.

Don't worry Natsuki, I won't die here...I can't leave Nao and Mikoto on their own...I have to live...I have to live...I have to be there for them...for them...and for...you...Natsuki...

Shizuru then closed her eyes...and surrendered to oblivion.


AN - So...thoughts? Enjoyed, yes? No? Please let me know~ ^.^

~ Yuri