A/N: My submission for chapter 3. Had a blast with them today...we normally don't meet late in the week, but father's day last week jumbled up our seclude a bit, and a few people are going on vacation in the middle of the week, so we're switching up the days we meet for the summer. That's both a good and a bad thing, but in any case, on with the fiction.

I do not own Mai HiME/Mai Otome.


Chapter 3

Natsuki had reluctantly taken the vial with care, before returning home with Anh's careful instructions, and words of warning, ones not to be taken lightly.

She found herself pondering about it for no small amount of time, but the truth was harder to accept than she might like. The nature of being a werewolf, and subsequently, the linage that feel over her was a heavy weight. The bloodline she carried was a very precious thing. Humans wouldn't understand, and that's why it angered Natsuki so, to be considered an infectious beast...to be seen as a creature that needed to be slain, instead of well respected, and left to be alone...it was all she ever truly wanted. She knew however, this was a delicate problem.

Her rage would not serve her well...her vexation, while warranted, was not shroud of protection...it would not be that way for Shizuru either, if the human woman stepped into an inhuman world. What would she know about it anyway? Natsuki thought for the countless time, toiling over every detail she could. She just thinks we're monsters anyway. Horrible monsters...that's all. It wouldn't due for the woman to assume the drink could be viral...it would be even less wise to force her down a dangerous road, filled with a sense of inexplicable tenacity.

After all, being a new werewolf as an adult, was far different than being born into the role, and Natsuki knew that. The fact of the matter was, being a werewolf was a natural occurrence, and humans would never simply become one of them...even with this gift, things would no be so easy. Shizuru would be left open, and at the mercy of Natsuki's hands. But Am I strong enough to help her? Natsuki couldn't give it a voice. Can I put my rage aside? She doubted it.

It was later that day, when she found herself pacing in circles. Damn that woman! She relented, both in her mind, and in her breath as she paced up and down her long, narrow hallway. It separated her bedroom from her living space. Damn it! Every third set, a floor board would groan at her, dismaying the fact she even stood upon it at all. This is a fine mess...a fine damn mess... It was her favorite invective, and it was all that came to mind. Emerald eyes couldn't help themselves, glinting at the woman, who found herself seated on the daybed in the corner. "I should kill you." Natsuki sighed. She didn't have any desire to stain her hands with blood. "It would make my life a lot easier."

Natsuki also knew it was what her father would have done...if he were still alive. If I could only be that strong. Father, what gave you that strength? Was it merely your anger, or something more?

"Death will await for me, if I am sent back to be among my family anyway." Shizuru told her, looking down at the rope that had been affixed to her ankle. Natsuki had been regretful about even that, and Shizuru made her feel even worse by not even trying to fight it. Instead, Shizuru had told Natsuki that it should be tighter. "If you want to kill me, I don't have any complaints, so long as you make it quick." She won't. Shizuru thought to herself. She talks big, but she can't, I can see it in her eyes.

Natsuki had considered it, she wouldn't deny it. "I've never had to kill anyone." She growled. "Not anyone like you, anyway." It wasn't provoked, it wasn't warranted, and in the end, Natsuki could only think of one thing. It wouldn't be self defense...I won't kill in cold blood...I can't. Natsuki crouched down into the floor, sitting down in the corner, feeling the weight of her options. "Do you realize, that we aren't monsters by our own choice?" It was often the opposite. "It's not like we want to be doing the stuff that we do."

"I doubt that." Shizuru was beginning to understand however, that there was more to this woman than met the eye. "Humans can be deranged too, I don't fault either side."

"Then why the hell were you gallivanting around town on one of the dangerous nights of the year!?" Natsuki hollered at her. "Out to a movie?" It was liquid, and filled with venom. "I don't believe you're innocent." Natsuki told the woman of fawn tresses, an utterance of malicious bite in her tone. "Hell, you're probably a killer!"

"Cold words, for a person who set fire to an entire building." Shizuru shot back coldly. "Want to tell me why my friend had to die?"

"You were in the way!" Natsuki howled. "Any idiot that gets involved it trying to hunt werewolves, deserves to die." Taking the nearest thing she could find, a wooden carving that sat on a low coffee table, she threw it clear across the room. "You don't even care what the hell happened to me! You never even asked me why the hell I might hate you so much." Natsuki spat, standing on edge. "No, you've never thought about it before. Humans don't care about blood, honor, or even loyalty. They don't give a damn about any of it!"

"You wolves aren't any better." Shizuru told her, outraged that she'd nearly been hit by Natsuki's rage. "You are monsters, and you don't even try to understand our side of it." Oh, she was furious. "You stand there, ranting and raving, as if you are a powerful entity, but truly, your cowardice is beyond your foresight." Shizuru breathed hotly. "Humans are weak, we can't simply defend ourselves by being alone. We love, we care, because we aren't like you..."

"You kill off your own kind!" Natsuki snarled back. "You humans do sick, perverse things, that we would never think of to do. Yeah, we get a little violent, but we'd never hurt family." That was the one thing she shouldn't say, she knew, but it came forth, a butter undertow. "Your own family would want to harm you, and that's something a werewolf could never do!"

Two could play at that game, and Shizuru intended on it. "How many humans do you think are killed by your kind? How many humans do you believe suffer, because one full moon doesn't go according to plan?" She was livid, and her eyes began narrowing into slits. "How many women are carried away like me, and for what? So that a werewolf's libido can get a good scratch? That's all we are to you. Toys!"

"That's not my fault." Natsuki sighed. "I don't tell them to go crazy." It hurt to be angry, and it hurt to see the pained look in eyes that were already so troubled. She's faking it. Natsuki's mind wanted to believe it, but her heart knew otherwise. Humans don't care about their own kind...family...blood...it means nothing. She clenched her fists, trying to fight away the war in her mind. "I'm not the one responsible for Nao's dick. I've got my own to worry things to worry about, especially on the four moons." The fight in the middle of the air was enough of a problem, without bringing her vexation into it.

Someone needed to relent, and simply give up the fight. Natsuki knew she had to be the one to do it, had to repent, at least a little, owing Shizuru at least that much. "I was looking for a friend." Natsuki finally told Shizuru, with a voice strained with repressed spite. "A very important one."

"You set a building on fire..." Shizuru stood still, shocked. "Looking for a friend?" It didn't make sense to her, as her world turned upside down even more than before.

"Have you ever thought about what people with your affiliation do with werewolves? Ever thought about where we're taken, once you catch us?" Natsuki asked, hands on her hips, watching the searching look in crimson eyes. It was clear the woman hadn't any idea. "You kill some of us, and sometimes, more power to you, because some werewolves deserve it...but not all of us." She wondered if Shizuru had ever thought of the truth. "Other humans treat is like a prize, and why not? We make great lab rats." Natsuki snarled. "You think I'm clueless, but the answer is that I understand more than you."

That wasn't true either...Natsuki knew a great deal, but she wasn't a prophet. She never claimed to be a saint, and she'd fallen deeper down that rabbit hole. She hated the daggers she seemed to spit in every single reply. She cursed herself, for every frown she was the cause of, and every time Shizuru looked as if she wanted to cry, Natsuki felt her heart ache...felt her own fury melt...and she hadn't any clue what to do about it.

Even as she sat at the table, speaking with Nao, she couldn't keep her mind off of Shizuru.

"We aren't going to be able to search for a while." Nao explained casually. "Mai's probably okay, but it's been ten years, Natsuki. It might just be time to put the past behind you." It hurt to say it, to even admit that they'd need to stop again. They'd brought this exact conversation to the table several times already. A decade wasn't exactly a gigantic leap for a werewolf, but that didn't mean it was a short span by any means. Ten years, was still ten years, and so much could change without anyone noticing it. "She's gotten out of worse scrapes than that one, anyway. Who's to say she hasn't found someone, and maybe even started a family by now?"

"How many companies are left?" Natsuki asked then, agreeing that they would have to hold off, at least for a little while.

"Two more, but we can't be worried about that. We've gotta stay on the down low, for at least a few months." Nao warned Natsuki, knowing that there were other things that should be taken care of. "If we get caught, and Mai is still out there someplace, it won't do her any good." Lime green eyes could see beyond the concern for a friend, especially if the little bottle on the table was any indication. "So, are you going to give that to the human?"

Natsuki had a temper, a bad one, and she knew it. That wasn't exactly something she tried to keep a tight lock on, at least not when humans were concerned, but she felt guilty. She didn't even know why it occurred to her to feel such a pull, such a want to treat the blasted woman in the basement so nicely...to make amends. Natsuki even felt horrible about locking the door, but the truth was, she needed time to think, and she needed clarity to do that. So, without understanding her own, bitter remorse, she sat utterly dejected at her kitchen table. "I'm not sure that I can. She brings out bad reactions in me, Nao...I don't like it."

"You mean, she makes you feel like more than just a stone cold bastard." Nao hit the nail right on the head. "Never thought I'd see the day, a human earning your mercy. That's kind of a crock, you know?" The blue vial of liquid sat between Natsuki, and the redheaded troublemaker that had invited this mess in the first place. There was something about it, and it conjured deep memories.

Something unearthly about the tincture, that made Nao think back to a time when she was just a child. Fretting for her very life, huddled against her mother in a sea of broken glass. A few very angry adult men, who, for whatever reason, hated them. Nao also remembered faintly in the back of her mind, gunfire, and snarls...the barks and howls of a fully transformed werewolf, a dog like creature, that was no longer human. "You've never liked that side of yourself." Nao however, loved that side of Natsuki, untamed, brave, and completely at the call of what she truly was.

"My father was not a deranged monster." Natsuki muttered then. "My mother was as gentle as any mother could possibly be, human or otherwise." She shook her head, and leaned heavily on her arms. "I don't want to transform like that ever again." Natsuki remembered it. Finding Nao, as just a child, frightened, and alone with only her mother to protect her. Natsuki could still smell the blood, if she thought back hard enough, and the reek of foul play...she hated that the most, but back in those days, Natsuki was brash, angry, and hadn't had a firm grasp of just what she was...of whose daughter she truly was. "Being a werewolf is more complicated than Shizuru understands...hell, even I don't understand it all the time, and I was born into it."

"That stuff does strange things to a person's mind." Nao agreed, but even more than that, she was interested in the magic that was purely a mystery. "It was worth it though." Why were they so majestic, so free from something that otherwise bound them? The werewolves. Were they truly mythical, or merely a beast masked as humans for safety? Nao never knew, never really got an answer. "I'll bet, Shizuru will like the feeling it will give, the rush is amazing."

"You just like having powers." Natsuki knew though, Nao liked feeling the power. To know she wasn't as defenseless as her mother once was. They were both saved from the streets, from hunger, and from danger, because they had found safety within Anh's guidance. "I wouldn't say having her partner killed accidentally, is exactly being merciful." Never mind the fact that I've been treating her worse than a flea. "She's just a human, she doesn't understand it. Our lives are more complicated that just feeling impulsive, and she thinks I'm a complete asshole, I'll bet." Can't say I don't earn the title. Natsuki couldn't help but feel conflicted. "Every time I try to be nice to her, she says things and it just..." Natsuki shook her head. "I hate humans."

"You don't hate me." Nao shrugged. "I was a human too, at one point."

"Yeah, years ago..." Natsuki would never forget it. "That's different though." In so many ways, Nao's story a sad one indeed. "You were worthy of it...you and your mom deserved a second chance." Natsuki said then, a bit offhandedly. "You were already like us in spirit anyway." In a lot of ways, they were just like Shizuru, in a wrong place, at the wrong time.

"You don't really hate her." Nao laughed then. "That's why you're so beat up about this! Did you rut with her yet?"

"No, but you did." Natsuki wouldn't forget that for a long time, and her glower let that much be known. "I'm not that stupid." Natsuki told her pointedly. "I wouldn't rut with a human if it's the last thing I do."

"You'd rut with her if she were a werewolf?" Nao dared to push buttons endlessly, but that one tripped a wire.

It was a big one, too.

Natsuki didn't say anything, merely sighing at the truth that she'd rather not admit, as she picked up the vial, and walked into the confines of her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

It was a question Natsuki didn't have an answer for.

It bothered her that Nao could say that so easily, so quickly, and not be phased by it...but, she also knew why Nao was able to do that. She liked humans, she didn't blame them for everything in the world. Tragedy wasn't because of the humans, and Natsuki knew that, but, even if she understood things clearly...emotions were not so easy to contain. They were not simply something she could cast aside.

Her contempt for them was twofold.

They'd killed her parents, and they'd come after a friend of hers, capturing her...and Natsuki hadn't any idea where that friend was. Still, Mai was a gentle soul, a loving one...she wouldn't wish more suffering, never simply because of her misfortune. Mai wasn't like that, Natsuki knew. Her heart felt weighed down by everything, and she couldn't help but swallow the lump in her throat, as she finally settled herself in for what she was about to do.

"The choice is yours." Natsuki began, an air of caution in every word. "If you drink this, you'll become a werewolf." Natsuki told Shizuru as they sat in the basement on a dreary afternoon. "You won't have any control over how powerful you become, and you will undergo changes." She explained it as best as she could, and it was lacking. She was born into this life, and it was all she knew. She eyed the grains in the table carefully, a soft sigh wishing to escape her lips, as she mentally resigned herself to the task. "I can't say for sure, if this option will save your life, or not. There are some werewolves that go mad, because of their powers, and their fixations." Natsuki went on to say. "There's no telling if you'll turn into that or not, over time."

Shizuru felt her heart race, and she dared not touch the substance that was sitting in the beautifully carved glass bottle. She knew that it contained the answer to her problems. Yet, it would only likely gift her more trouble later. She let her eyes drift to the woman of midnight tresses. "What kind of changes?" She murmured in question, feeling herself want to take it back, but also wishing beyond belief to hear the answer. What fate would await me?

"I'm not entirely sure." Natsuki could feel the fear, she could smell Shizuru's apprehension. "You'll have stronger senses." Natsuki started with things she knew to be factual. "You'll see better, hear better...even taste things you never thought possible. Your sense of touch will be greater...your sense of smell grows without question." Natsuki swallowed then, and averted her eyes, as a soft blush danced across her face. "The four moons will become your calling, and you'll react as every other werewolf does, both in your mind, and on your body." That was one part she didn't want to think about. "Even without the moons, we still have urges often, especially when we know there's a dominant aura in the area."

"What she means, is that you'll feel like a bitch in heat." Nao offered, taking pity on Natsuki. "The way this stuff works, I've no idea. I only know that it helps to have someone with more power than you around." She had been leaning on the exposed brick, watching the exchange as she tossed around a little rubber ball. "Every full moon, you'll react to a dominate aura." Finally, she chucked it, letting the ball smash into wall on the other side, waiting for it to return to her. "Other than some weird stuff like that, life's pretty average."

"Don't get her wrong though." Natsuki said quietly. "You should know how humans think of us." Natsuki brought her eyes to peer up at Shizuru, and under the table, hiding her hands from view, she clutched into the fabric of her denim jeans. "Either way, Nao was a little girl when she drank that stuff, I don't know how different it'll be for you."

"If I do this..." Shizuru was nervous, yes, but she also felt the aching pull. She wanted to stop being so fearful, of being thrown aside. I can't go home. She wanted to stop remembering the night that was filled in flames. Staying here isn't guaranteed. She wanted, even more than that, to close her eyes and feel safe. There isn't anywhere else a person like me could go. She was out of options, and losing time. The most uncanny thing that bothered her, the thing that even made her consider drinking something that was so questionable, is that it seemed welcomed. "You will help me through it, Natsuki?"

"I don't exactly have a choice." Not one I would consider, anyway. Natsuki mentally added. There wasn't a whole lot she could say to this woman. "As much as I think I hate you, there isn't many other alternatives." At least, not if she wanted to have some measure of mercy. "I don't know how much help I'll be though." Natsuki finally settled on saying that. What now? Crimson eyes seemed to calm, and the fearful scent ebbed just a little. "In the end, the choice is yours. I can't make it for you."

"You've begun to wonder if you hate me or not?" Shizuru smiled softly at that. "Can I take that to mean, you're willing to be on friendly terms?"

"We'll see." Natsuki growled, already kicking herself for opening her big mouth. Idiot woman... "I'm not going to make any promises." Not to your face, anyway. "If you're going to drink it, do it." It was an order, and she crossed her arms for good measure. "Either that, or just go away. I don't care which."

With a moment to consider what was being placed in front of her. She knew, deep down, that there was only one path she could take. Only one hope that may end up fruitful. She partook the small glass container, and gently lifted the plug from the top. A deep scent, of which Shizuru couldn't possibly begin to interpret, wafted thickly in the air. Natsuki recognized it instantly. She bit back a snarl, and grasped Shizuru's wrist "Let me sniff that." She growled darkly. What the hell? The scent hit her nose strongly and she shuttered a bit. "Nao, is this what I think it is?" It smells like Anh.

"Purified rain water, and blood." Nao nodded, as she watched Natsuki slowly let go of Shizuru, confused. "Yeah, it's Anh's." It wasn't commonly shared, but, Nao knew. She knew because she had sipped upon it as well, when she was little. "Werewolves who are strong, can release the mating pheromone in more than just their paws when fully transformed. More importantly, that elixir is made with it, but it has been purified."

"Nullifying the mating rituals effects." Natsuki nodded, approving. "I see." She was interested, the scent alluring, and it was something she wanted to test for herself. She had partly wished to partake of Anh's attentions due to an instinctual need to find a stronger, protective mate. I'd better warn her about that, too. "One more thing, Shizuru." Natsuki said then. "Understand, you will need to learn to find the differences between instincts, and your actual mind. One is you, the other is merely your senses gathering information, remember to keep them separate at all times."

"It's easier said than done." Nao added carefully. "Your instincts will tell you to do stuff sometimes, don't disregard them, but don't follow them blindly, either."

"I'll do my best." It was the only thing Shizuru could offer, and she tentatively lifted the potent smelling substance to her lips. It was sour, quite a bit tart, and it left an aftertaste purely metallic. She frowned in disgust. "That was awful." She told them both, quite dismayed at the lingering truth of what she'd just done.

"Now, we wait..." Nao told them, as she took a seat.

...

Wait for how long?

It was the question they all wondered, but the seconds had slipped into hours, and there wasn't anything overtly noticeable. Nothing that would make their hearts cry out in unison, at any rate. Once evening rolled around, Nao left, as she normally did, to slip into the shadows of the alleyways. Natsuki and Shizuru tried to pass the time by watching the television, but the empty glow didn't keep them comforted. Eventually, Shizuru found herself cooking a meal, if only to save her own sanity, and starve off the restlessness she felt.

The entire time, she could feel the emerald eyes upon her, watching for anything, and everything.

Natsuki was so observant, and yet, very skittish about that fact. Immediately the woman of midnight tresses would avert her burning gaze, a soft blush on her face, telling of the tale. Then she would go back to watching whatever flickered across the screen, until her eyes wandered back into the kitchen, and upon the form of the woman who occupied the space. A low sound would often protrude beyond thin lips. It was not entirely happy, and yet, not entirely discontented either...a soft, muted whine, perhaps the most fitting description, and even that lacked the audacity to explain the scrutiny.

Shizuru didn't know what to make of it, not even when they shared the table, and company of one another. Natsuki was obscure and hot tempered, and yet, she was also quite aloof. It was because of this, that Shizuru was surprised to find concern swirling in places she'd never thought she'd find it.

"What about now?" Natsuki asked that evening over dinner, another meaty meal at her delight. A large beef burger was just the cure for what ailed her. Worries, and plenty of them, were not her forte. "Feel different yet?" She was on edge, and felt her guard rising slowly. It was several hours since Shizuru has tasted the blood of one of the strongest werewolves around. Natsuki could smell, not a change, but a heat. A warmth, that seemed to wash over Shizuru, though, Natsuki hadn't made that fact known.

"No, I'm afraid not." Shizuru said simply, with a shake of her head. "It may take while."

"That, or you're nose blind." Natsuki told her, sniffing the air more avidly that usual. "And tone deaf." She muttered, more to herself, as she'd come to a conclusion. "You really don't hear anything yet?" Natsuki could hear it, something only for her ears, and for those of others of her kind. "We communicate with sounds that go above the normal range of human ears." She could hear the whistle sound, the call of wolves, calling to one another, since howling was a very dangerous thing to do in the city. It was the nearest thing they could use. "Can you hear anything at all, something that you don't recognize?"

"If I did, I would tell you." Shizuru told Natsuki then, as she partook of a dinner salad, something Natsuki was not fond of sharing in. "It may simply take a few days before it kicks in." She pulled a few strands of her hair away from her face, noticing that Natsuki kept sniffing the air. Outwardly she knew she looked calm, and truthfully, she felt at least a little at ease, thanks to Natsuki's questions. She couldn't help however, the sensation of uncertainty. It coiled around her heart, and she couldn't stop it. She'd be lying if she told anyone that she wasn't just a little nervous. "Why do you keep doing that?"

Natsuki thought about keeping quiet, but instead she tossed the answer out into the open, as if it had been a worthless amusement at best. "You're starting to smell different." She kept her eyes averted, least Shizuru see the fascination in the orbs of emerald eyes as they clouded over, trying to place just exactly what it could mean. "It's nothing, don't worry about it." Why is her scent so filled with heat? Natsuki couldn't figure it out, unsure of what to make of it.

Instead, she got up, and escaped into the main room. Why an I so drawn to that warmth? Natsuki questioned ominously. She set up the daybed with a few new sheets and blankets, sighing to herself every few moments. It must be some sort of defensive means. It was the only conclusion she could come up with. But then why am I so attracted to it? Natsuki shook her head, trying to clear the questions that kept forming, until finally she couldn't take it anymore. She didn't know why the pull was there, calling her like a gentle waft, that was so enticing.

Natsuki had only encountered such a feeling once in her life, and it was when she had been young. The adults around her had simply laughed back then, when she'd taken an interest as to why it seemed to just be there, without any real reason. She's changing...this has to be the start of it. That thought made her worry her lip, pulling it between the tips of her teeth.