Disclaimer: I don't own Mai HiME.

A/N: I've made art for this! I'll put the link at the bottom for you to check out.

IV - One Girl, Many Cats

A new day, a new plan. Is what Shizuru told herself upon waking. It was a decent hour, with enough time to get the sleep she needed without further throwing off her circadian rhythm. While she did notice Natsuki had already left the room, it didn't stress her. The muffled sounds of play and banter coming from down below reassured her that the girl was most likely simply having a good time with her friends - not purposely avoiding her as she had let herself worry.

No. It was my fault. She sat up with a sigh. I'm the one who's been hiding.

While she hadn't the slightest idea what Natsuki meant last night by them having a 'hell of a day' today, Shizuru opted for her new swimsuit covered by a long, loose-fitting zip-up shirt. She had seen others dressed similarly over the past few days, and so made the assumption that whatever activities they would have would, in some way, be beach related.

Upon leaving the bedroom, she made an instinctive glance around the first floor for Natsuki, but she wasn't there. In fact, Shizuru quickly realized that these were all the younger HiMEs. A faint smile formed on her lips when she saw that, despite the girl's obvious weariness, Akira was also among them - sketching something from the single chair, even with Mikoto lazily hanging off the back of it. The pair exchanged a split-second look of understanding, then went back to their own activities.

Although the others had all finished eating their breakfast, Shizuru was pleased to see that the remains of a feast for twelve was still warm in the kitchen. They must have slept in as well. She giggled a bit at her analytical brain. We're on vacation. Of course they would. As she filled her plate, Shizuru couldn't shirk the feeling that she was being watched. She gave a quick look to her left, where the others were sitting, but they were all engaged in conversation with each other. And although she deemed herself paranoid for the slightest of moments, Shizuru's attention was immediately pulled to to her right side by a sudden tugging on her sleeve.

"Ah- Mikoto-chan," she looked down at the girl, whose hair barely reached chest-level even at their tallest points. Shizuru smiled at her, "You startled me."

Mikoto blinked silently at her, then - with pure, childlike innocence - asked: "Will you play with us today?"

Shizuru's smile became more strained by the embarrassment she felt. It was difficult to remember that Mikoto was the same age as the other middle-schoolers, especially at times like this when her needs were so simple. Eventually, Shizuru chuckled softly and nodded, "I will."

Mikoto shone a bright grin at her, then went to piling what was left of the breakfast spread onto her plate - which clearly had already been filled at least once before. And, to Shizuru's surprise, she followed close behind toward the dining table and sat herself down right next to her. And the fact that her focus was primarily on her food - not forcing conversation - made it seem all the more natural an occurrence. However, childish honesty came with as much a price as a benefit.

"Do you like Natsuki?"

The bluntness of the question caused Shizuru to audibly choke on her drink, eyes wide and back stiff - even as the younger girl patted it to ease her breathing. A ruby eye looked to her side, nervously, then over to where the others sat out of earshot. With solemnity aiding her shift back to a more poised posture, she gave Mikoto her honest reply.

"Yes, but..." she tried her best to smile at the innocent stare while coming up with a way to say this that the girl would understand. Yet she did not want to lie, either, "It has to be kept a secret. Do you understand?"

There was a moment of silent pause. It worried her, at first, that Mikoto might run around the camp telling everyone. But it was not long before she gave her a curt, and unnervingly serious, nod. That was close. Shizuru let out a sigh of relief, and turned back to her food only to be startled out of her whirling thoughts by the back door slamming open.

In trudged a sopping wet Mai and Natsuki, with a pristine and dry Midori in tow. The older woman beamed at them, in blatant disregard for their deadpan gazes. "That zipline wasn't gonna test itself! Thanks girls!"

"You're welcome." The duo mumbled in unison, each grabbing a towel off the nearby rack to get as much water off as they could.

Midori ignored their groans and moved to address the remaining HiMEs inside the cabin. "We're meeting on the beach in ten minutes! Don't let their hard work go to waste, okay?"

As the teacher took her leave, those sitting in the living room area all began to collect themselves for heading outside. At the same time, Shizuru stood up from the dining room table, picking up both her and Mikoto's dishes to take back to the sink. And although there was no need for it, the younger girl continued to follow close behind.

An amused snort came from the other side of the serving pass. "Uh oh, Mai, it looks like you're being replaced." Natsuki laughed only as long as it took the redhead to reply.

"I could say the same for you." Mai gave her a light-hearted jab in the side.

Shizuru laughed with them, placing the dishes atop the pile of others, but nearly dropped them when - out of nowhere - her free arm was completely wrapped around by the girl at her side.

"That's right, Natsuki!" Mikoto stuck her tongue out at her. "We have secrets and we can't tell you!"

"Oh do you now?" Natsuki folded her arms over her chest, narrowing her eyes at Mikoto first, then to Shizuru. "What have you been telling her?"

It seemed almost against her will, the way Shizuru leaned into Mikoto's clinging with an airy, smug look on her face. "How mean, Natsuki. You think I'd fill this innocent child's head with lies?" She looked down, ginning at Mikoto, "You don't need to be jealous just because I've made a new friend."

"I'm not jealous!" Natsuki's pout said otherwise, but she covered it by shooting Mikoto a firm stare. "You. Don't cause trouble for her, got it?"

"No!" came the impish reply.

"Yes." Mai interjected, immediately causing Mikoto's demeanor to shift from rambunctious to obedient.

"Yes…" Mikoto lowered her head and let go of the arm in her hold.

"Let's go," Natsuki rolled her eyes and led the way back outside, exasperated sarcasm laden in her voice, "For today we have fun thrust upon us!"


They were not the last ones to join the group on the beach, which left enough space for them to gather under one of two massive umbrellas. The others were engaged in enough idle chatter to ignore any arrivals, leaving them to sit in peace. Natsuki went down first - more vocal about her exhaustion with being forced to set up the day's activities - followed by Mai. Mikoto took to jumping around in the sand nearby, amused by the way it shifted beneath her feet.

Shizuru opted to stand, taking a moment to relax under the warm rays of sunlight. Given the morning heat, she gave little thought to unzipping her shirt to allow the sea breeze to cool her skin, which had already begun to sweat from the brief time it was clothed. She gently tossed it onto the towel next to her, and in doing so revealed the lean curves of her abdominal muscles and the crest of her hips. Yet she was oblivious to the stare she was receiving until she heard a half-choke, half-cough from below.

Shizuru looked down to see Natsuki, deep red in the face, trying to formulate words; while Mai merely snickered behind her hand.

"Wh-what are you wearing?" Natsuki stammered.

Shizuru raised an eyebrow. "Swimwear?"

Natsuki hid her gulp, too distracted to notice she was being laughed at by her friend. "Didn't you have a one-piece before?"

Shizuru chuckled at her, equally heedless of the situation - and more confused at Natsuki's reaction than anything. "I had to back then - my mark was on my stomach." She pointed to the area on her left side where it had been. Then she narrowed her eyes at the girl, "You should have been more careful."

Natsuki crossed her arms in a pout, prying her eyes away from the lithe, barely clothed body looming over her. "Whatever! No talking about the past!"

"Yes, yes," Shizuru smiled innocently.

"Alright, everyone!" Midori clapped her hands while walking through the crowd up to the water's edge. "It's taken us a while, but this place is finally geared up like a proper summer camp! Our first game:" she announced, standing in front of a portable chalkboard which was currently covered by her mantle. "Is not just about strength or speed, but you need your wits!" And, with a flourish, she unveiled the sign reading: Treasure Hunt.

The crowd of girls murmured curiously amongst each other.

"Each step begins with a riddle. If you and your teammate can't figure it out, you can either forfeit, or press your luck and choose a random direction to go in. If that happens, your speed and strength may just well end up carrying you in the wrong direction."

"How do we know who wins?" Nao asked, already determined to beat anyone at anything in a competition.

"We'll only know once every team is back." Midori answered, lifting a small bag from under her cloak. "Once you're out there, the riddles connect to each other in a web, but everyone gets their own starting riddle from this bag. Whoever brings back the most items is the winner."

"Which, I'm sure," Natsuki followed, "Is just as convoluted as it sounds."

"Hey…" the teacher whined - although she did not deny it either.

Still, there was a positive response all around and one by one, the girls walked up in pairs to get one of six folded papers from the bag. Shizuru took one for herself, but when she turned around to return to Natsuki out of sheer habit, Mikoto was once again standing right behind her. She stared down in confused silence, but couldn't fight the girl's contagious grin. "I suppose I did make you a promise."

"Mm!" Mikoto nodded vigorously, grabbing the older girl by the arm.

"What did you promise her?" Natsuki asked, sidling up to the unexpected duo.

"That she would play with us today!" Mikoto answered for her, although Shizuru's clearer explanation followed quickly.

"Mikoto-chan wants to make sure I stick to my word, it seems." She cocked her head to the side in a teasing manner. "You won't be too lonely without me, will you?"

"Hmph!" Natsuki huffed, smirking broadly. "I'll be fine with Mai. You're the one who just got herself into an afternoon of herding cats."

Shizuru held her ground, poised and confident. "She's one cat. I'm sure I'll manage."


One girl. Shizuru corrected her past self while wiping the sweat from her brow after climbing over a fallen tree nearly an hour later. But… many cats. At this point, she wasn't sure if she should consider her teammate an advantage or a handicap. Sure, Mikoto was fast and capable of traversing the forest canopy - a skill that and gotten them a treasure tied to a high branch on more than one occasion. But Shizuru tired more quickly, especially under the stress of not only trying to solve the riddles with intellect, but making sure her teammate stayed out of any real danger.

She counted the strips of paper and knick knacks they had collected over the course of their treasure hunt. It seemed like a lot for only an hour into the game, but there was no way to be sure until they returned to compare with the other teams. "The other teams…" she mused aloud, but came back to attention at the sound of twigs crunching underfoot. Crimson eyes blinked and the girl came to a swift halt. We haven't crossed paths with anyone in twenty minutes!

"Mikoto-chan!" Shizuru called up to the leaves. After some rustling, the girl appeared above her - still perched on a branch, but attentive and curious. "Have you seen anyone else from up there?"

"Nope!" Mikoto shook her head, then smiled. "We must be winning!"

"The riddles connect to each other in a web." Shizuru recalled, then looked back the way they had come. In order to keep the hunt contained in one area… If we haven't been crossing anyone it means… "We're outside the web."

"Hm?" Mikoto cocked her head to the side.

"We aren't winning," Shizuru tried to smile, although it became increasingly nervous the more she thought - not only about being lost herself, but also losing Mikoto while in her care. "We're… lost." She groaned, sitting herself down on another fallen log to rest her legs and feet. Her smile faded as the anxiety took over. The things people would say if they didn't return soon. Having to explain the situation to them. What would happen if-

"Noooooo!" Mikoto's whine cut off her spiralling thoughts. "Then we'll miss the fireworks!"

"... Fireworks?" Shizuru turned to the girl, who now dangled her legs off the branch but whose expression seemed even more crestfallen than her own at the prospect of not having fireworks. A fear which, in its simplicity, did seem far worse than being lost at this moment. Furthermore, at the mention of it, she recalled the day of their arrival when she and Fumi had brought in the luggage and supplies. "I… don't think we brought fireworks."

"What?!" Mikoto looked on the verge of tears for a split second before scrunching her her face in a glare at nothing in particular. "How could they plan a beach trip without fireworks?"

"Indeed." Shizuru chuckled, sharing the girl's sentiment - even if it was buried under the stress of being lost at the moment. She closed her eyes for a moment - initially to collect her thoughts, but the focus alerted her to something of far greater value. She heard, at not to far a distance, the sound of cars. Her eyes shot open and she looked in the direction of the sound, then, a few seconds later, another vehicle had gone by, confirming it. We're near the road! "Mikoto-chan, follow me."

It wasn't long before they reached the forest's edge. Shizuru sighed with relief at the sight of civilization again, although Mikoto landing next to her covered in twigs and mud was a blatant reminder of just how far they had inadvertently wandered. "Can you tell which way the cabin is?" She asked, pulling a few stray leaves from the messy black hair.

Mikoto looked around, her focused eyes giving the impression she was actively searching her memory for the correct direction. So much so that, when she finally pointed somewhere, Shizuru thought she was witnessing a miracle of survival skills.

The elder girl beamed with excitement for a second, only to be smacked deadpan when she saw that Mikoto was, in fact, pointing to a convenience store with a massive inflatable ice cream ad in it's gravel parking lot. And before she could do anything about it, Mikoto was already running towards it, smiling and laughing.

Shizuru followed hastily, finding relief upon entering the air conditioned establishment. She then felt what was quickly becoming a familiar tugging on her sleeve. And - as she predicted - she looked down to see Mikoto staring at her, then over to where the frozen snacks were kept, and back again with an increasingly desperate and hopeful gaze. "What would Mai say?"

Mikoto considered it. "Mai would say… 'Only one thing!'", after a moment's thought, the realization seemed to dawn on her only just then. "Ah! But Mai isn't here! So-"

"One thing." Shizuru shot her a stern look.

"Aww…" Mikoto made a few futile attempts to persuade her honorary caregiver for the day, but it was no use and she accepted the inevitability that she was to only choose one thing.

In the meantime, Shizuru walked up to the counter and began discussing directions with the shopkeeper. She was pleased to find out that they had not gone far at all - it only felt that way because they had been crisscrossing their path for the majority of the hunt. She followed the hand drawn map as it was explained to her, then thanked the man for his help and put it in her pocket just in time for a massive pile of snacks to be dropped in front of her.

Shizuru turned to a grinning Mikoto. "What happened to 'just one'?."

"I did get just one!" she answered with a childish pout before counting off each item. "Mai likes strawberry, so I got one for her. Nao and Midori like chocolate, so I got one chocolate for each of them. Sister likes…"

Shizuru followed along as the girl listed off each and every one of them, along with their favourite flavours - sometimes multiple, but, as promised, she only took one. She thought of everyone. A smile crept onto her face. She gets along with everyone.

"I got an extra matcha for you. Everyone says you like tea?" Mikoto ended, but with an inquisitive stare which implied it was more of a question to be answered.

Shizuru felt warmth - happiness - spread out from her chest. Her smile grew wider and, even if it only were to happen once - here and now - she let out an innocent laugh of pure joy. "Thank you." She finally said, once again patting the girl on the head, "You're right, this is my favourite flavour."

"Yay!" Mikoto then, suddenly, jumped at her, wrapping her arms around herinan excited and tight embrace.

I'm... part of everyone too. Shizuru reminded herself, much like Natsuki had done the day before they left. Her laugh turned from joy to dumbfounded - directed at herself - until it died down completely. "Thank you, Mikoto-chan." She said again, "I'm glad we ended up taking this detour. Even if it means we won't win the treasure hunt."

Mikoto nodded, happily taking a bite out of her ice cream. But as they were about to pay for the snacks and leave, Shizuru nudged her on the shoulder.

"Aren't we forgetting something?" She grinned, then nodded over to where the seasonal fireworks for sale were displayed. Before she knew it, Mikoto had bounded over to them and began collecting as many as she could carry. All the while, The shopkeeper tallied the prices along with the ice creams. Once everything had been piled into a bag, Shizuru paid the man, thanked him again for the directions, and the two exited the shop.


Back at the beach, the groups had all been gathered around Midori to tally their winnings. It was only for fun at this point, there was both a clear winner and clear runner up who had returned half a stride too late.

"They're the only team not back yet." Natsuki muttered aloud, practically glaring at the forest's edge while drumming her fingers on the back of her forearm.

"Mikoto's a proud feline who listens to no one," Nao interjected snarkily, "Not an easily trained dog."

"Shut it!" the ebony-haired girl turned, narrowing her eyes at her. "You think just because you won by a split second today you're gonna talk down to me the rest of the trip?"

"Hmph. I'd rather not talk to you at all."

"Then start now." Natsuki huffed again and went back to watching the trees for any sign of movement.

Yet the unlikely pair did not return via the woods, but along the gravel path which descended from the driveway. Their smiles and laughter - despite being dead last - commanded the curious attention of the others. Mikoto had climbed up onto Shizuru's shoulders, but her small frame was easily carried. Each was still eating their ice cream, and in Shizuru's other hand, she carried the bag of treats and fireworks.

"We got a bit distracted." She said sheepishly upon arriving, and then knelt down to allow Mikoto to hop onto the sand. "Hopefully this makes up for it?" Shizuru held out the bag, and Mikoto took it from her then went off to hand out the snacks they brought back.

Natsuki sighed with relief. "And here I thought you got lost chasing her in the woods."

"That happened too." Shizuru replied, but with not the slightest hint of annoyance. In fact, she seemed rather grateful for it. She observed Mikoto's generous delivery of gifts - and her slight bout of envy bloomed into inspiration. "I can see why everyone gets along with her."

Natsuki smiled, following her gaze toward the others for a moment before sneaking a glance beside her. "This is the first time I've seen you really happy in a while. So, are you finally glad you came?"

"Yes," Shizuru answered, laughing a little. "It took a while, I admit. This is new for me, and it feels strange. But you were right."

"Hm?"

Shizuru closed her eyes peacefully. "I think… I might actually belong here."


A/N: It's honestly very strange writing things a) solely from one person's perspective, and b) Shizuru specifically. I've always used Natsuki to write her growth, so this is a challenge for me! But it also makes things weird. This whole story could be written over and over for each character going through this vacation, I just chose to focus on her POV because I felt like it. My point is, personally I'm finding it weird to not touch on what the "background" characters are doing - but just know that even if they aren't even mentioned by name, everyone is present and doing stuff and having their own little story.

Chapter art on twitter: /notori0922/status/1032388930597879808