Disclaimer: Mai-HiME. I'm pretty sure it belongs to someone else.

The harsh knocking echoed along the hallway. It caterwauled and rebounded off the empty walls, assailing Natsuki's ears from every angle. The knocking was very insistent, almost demanding, and this visibly compromised Natsuki's composure. By the time the slender young woman had reached the door, a deep sense of irritation had transformed her casual stride into a dark stalk, and an observer would certainly hesitate to suggest she was in any fit mood to receive guests.

It didn't help that Shizuru's uncle did not resemble his niece even in the slightest - either in temperament or looks. This gentleman practically strode over Natsuki as she opened the heavy front door; he didn't even allow time for the customary formalities. A mouse-like woman followed timidly behind, currying close to the wall with her head down and her eyes avoiding any contact.

Naturally, Natsuki objected strongly to a pair of complete strangers forcing entrance into her new house, and was about to make this displeasure clearly felt. Fortunately for everyone, however, Shizuru chose this instant to appear from the kitchen. Her gentle hand on Natsuki's bare arm, coupled with a still glance, served to (mostly) reassure her bristling, suspicious, young friend.

The threat of incipient violence was thus defused, and Shizuru's attention was free to turn towards her two unexpected guests.

"Uncle Edward," Shizuru said serenely, "and Aunt Mitsuko. How unexpected."

"Shizuru." The man said tersely, totally ignoring Natsuki. "We need to talk."

The aunt said nothing; she just pressed herself closer into the wall. Shizuru glanced at her briefly, face remarkably bland, before turning back to her uncle.

"If it is to be on the same topic as Uncle and I have discussed previously, then there would seem to be no point." A trace of steel underlay that soft voice, compassionate but unyielding.

Along the uncle's jaw, muscles tensed and jumped. His fists clenched, and his posture hunched - the very picture of a man ready to attack.

Over Shizuru's shoulder, Natsuki's expression turned to unforgiving winter…

…and the uncle took a fumbling, hasty step back. "I just think we should talk." He mumbled, holding up his hands in a conciliatory fashion.

Shizuru inclined her head gracefully, seemingly unaware of the byplay. "Very well then. The drawing room should suffice." Without waiting for a response, she gracefully turned and silently moved down the wide corridor.

Natsuki waited for the disagreeable visitors to follow first before trailing along behind, both territorial and unhappy. The sunlight through the windows didn't seem to shine as brightly with these new guests; the comfortable comradeship of the previous night had been replaced with some new weight, unnamed but uneasy.

Shizuru's Uncle Edward was a slightly built man in a well-fitting, but worn suit. Age had speckled grey through balding, coarse, black hair; otherwise he looked fit and well-fed. His posture fairly vibrated with tension; it sang from his body and emphasised lines of strain around his eyes.

In contrast to the dark-haired and gawky-looking uncle, the aunt looked like her niece; the blood relationship was obvious. It was a pale resemblance however; familiar red eyes lay dull and feeble in a stranger's face. That glorious chestnut hair lay mirrored as limp brown; even Shizuru's innate grace had been transformed into a kind of scampering, baseless anxiety.

Natsuki was not impressed. A trial-run gifted none of the intensity or sly humour of the successor.

While Natsuki had been covertly evaluating the aunt (and finding her wanting) the party had entered the drawing room. The uncle had overcome his nerves enough to begin openly assessing her in return, and was seemingly coming to a mutual low conclusion.

"Who's the maid?" He demanded curtly. "And where did you find the money?"

Natsuki was shocked. This statement plumbed unprecedented new levels of poor behaviour. By the time she had recovered herself enough to realise she should be angry, she found herself beaten to the quick.

"Natsuki is not a maid." Shizuru stated with an icy finality. "She is a friend."

There was a pregnant pause.

Then the uncle looked to have swallowed his tongue, and even the unassertive Mitsuko looked a trifle scandalised. Natsuki was puzzled, before a sudden thought made her start. She was abruptly aware of what she was still wearing; the dry clothes lent to her during the previous night. Their mismatched styles and rumpled condition spoke mutely of having been borrowed and thrown on in some haste.

Shizuru's relatives had clearly drawn the wrong conclusion.

A deep, paralysing embarrassment spread through her. Her mind went blank of any further statement that wouldn't simply make the situation worse.

Luckily for Natsuki, Shizuru took pity on her.

"A friend who was caught out in last night's rain." Shizuru elaborated, sounding faintly exasperated. "She has accepted my invitation to stay for a time as my guest."

The uncle and aunt started breathing again.

"She can't stay in my house." The uncle declared flatly.

Shizuru's cool look grew slightly frostier, but her tone remained mild. "Uncle Edward should remember this is my house. The terms of the will are very clear. If this was truly Uncle's house, it would have been sold along with father's furniture some time ago."

Natsuki took a moment to marvel at how an implication so insulting could be delivered so civilly.

Uncle Edward just looked ready to explode.

"Shizuru…" came a tentative female voice, slicing through the thick tension; the aunt had raised her hand like she was asking a question of a governess. Three sets of eyes swivelled to her. She immediately shrank down like she wanted to melt into the floorboards. "Umm… Shizuru… should think about… about what…" The aunt trailed off into inaudibility.

Shizuru eyed her with no change of expression. "I assume that Aunt Mitsuko is attempting to refer to the apparition."

The aunt squeaked, and nodded timidly. In the silence immediately following, Natsuki's soft huff of derision sounded far louder than she had intended.

The uncle, clearly seeking a new vector on which to vent his temper, turned to her with his eyes blazing. "Good god woman!" He cried. "Do you think this a joke? Except for my idiot niece…"

The younger girl lost all her patience.

"Be quiet." Natsuki growled. "Shizuru is not an idiot - and the idea of you calling her that is laughable. As for your ghost… bah! It is hardly worth speaking of."

Uncle Edward stared at the irate young lady as if she had suddenly sprouted horns; his expression was one of utter confusion. Natsuki was seized by a sudden giddy rush of contrariness. She smiled widely, showing off all of her white teeth. "It was pathetic really;" Natsuki declaimed loudly, her eyes glinting; "it only floated about the stairs, making silly noises, and then moaning about doing even that much. The next haunted house you buy, Shizuru, you must make sure you get a ghost with a better work ethic."

Shizuru's lips twitched. "My – I shall take care to remember Natsuki's advice." She murmured. Meanwhile, a gentle hand had wandered back to rest on Natsuki's arm again; both a reassuring gesture and one clearly seeking reassurance.

Natsuki's expression softened considerably; it was hard to hold on to a vile temper with such a companion. "It'd take more than a silly ghost to tempt a Kruger to abandon a friend." She stated with finality, tone brooking no argument. It was unclear as to whom Natsuki was primarily addressing: the Uncle, Shizuru, or herself.

During this entire dialogue, the aunt had been very still, and remained so in the following quiet - but the uncle had no such self-control. He recovered himself quickly, along with his poor manners. His cheeks were flushed with emotion, and the set of his shoulders spoke mutely of his anger.

"You poor fool." He managed to grind out. "We're the only people willing to buy this dump! You need us, Shizuru, you need our money, and when you come begging we won't…"

Natsuki stepped forward then, cutting him off mid-sneer, her figure projecting sudden power. Her voice was very cold and very quiet. "I think you should go."

"No." The lanky man suddenly looked a lot more dangerous. "I haven't finished."

A small, deft movement placed Natsuki between him and Shizuru. "You really want to go." The words were almost, but not quite, a snarl. This time, Shizuru made no move to soften the threat.

The uncle and aunt left.

Natsuki saw them to the door.

When the now tense, edgy young woman returned, she was in the mood for neither subtly nor games. Shizuru was still standing motionless, her hands clasped gently on the back of the chair, seemingly engrossed in the reflection of the large mirror.

"No offence Shizuru, but your relatives are a piece of work." Natsuki opined sourly and without preamble. "Why does your Uncle want this house so badly anyway?"

Shizuru sighed, taking the brutally direct conversation in stride, her fingers running over the smooth fabric of the seat. "Uncle Edward is perhaps a trifle fond of cards."

Natsuki frowned. "Ahh?"

Shizuru seemed to realise insinuations would get her nowhere today. The corners of her mouth twitched again before she elaborated. "He thinks that my Aunt's fortune is hidden in the house somewhere."

Natsuki blinked, forgetting to scowl. "Ahh! I see! So…"

"Yes. By the terms of the will, the owner of the house is entitled to the use of all its original contents. This explains why, in the absence of other furnishings, Natsuki and I are able to sleep under blankets, and block out the chill with curtains. My aunt was a miser with very few possessions… but what possessions she did acquire during her life remain in this house."

The younger woman nodded. "So if you sell the house to him, and the treasure is hidden here somewhere…"

"Natsuki is correct. The treasure would belong entirely to him."

Natsuki glanced around, as if a fortune might suddenly appear in plain sight. "Is it?"

There was a pause.

"My – Natsuki is vague today. Is what?"

Natsuki huffed slightly. "Is there treasure hidden in the house?"

There was a second pause.

"Perhaps." Shizuru's smile remained perfect, but her eyes grew weary. The younger woman growled softly.

"Don't get silly ideas Shizuru – of course we want to find it."

Shizuru's expression flicked, as if this had not been the answer she had been expecting. "Ah?"

Natsuki maintained eye-contact. "Shizuru… you need money. You're thin and stressed, you're sleeping on a chair, and your relatives are hounding you. Now would be a great time for you to unexpectedly come into a large sum of money, recover your father's possessions, and then move to a healthier climate."

There was a silence. Natsuki waited expectantly.

There was further silence. Natsuki had suddenly had enough of silence.

"So?" demanded the irritated, husky alto. "Did you aunt give you any clues?"

The elder woman appeared thoughtful. "No, not really."

And then Shizuru smiled again, her genuine smile, as bright as noon; upon seeing it Natsuki forgot to be annoyed about the struggle for information. Warmth spread throughout the younger girl, prompting a crooked grin of her own. It was like being outside in sunshine.

"What kind of healthier clime?" Shizuru said, softly.

"Hmm?" This was a thought thoroughly different from any which Natsuki had been entertaining, and it threw her slightly. "I'm sorry?"

"To what kinds of climate would Natsuki recommend I retire?"

The younger girl blinked. "Well…" she trailed thoughtfully, "I am rather fond of Northamptonshire."

Shizuru's smile softened into fond indulgence. "Of course. A pleasant place."

On impulse, Natsuki reached out and very gently laid a hand on Shizuru's shoulder. "It is. Let's go there together then, and I'll show it to you."

For some reason, as she watched Shizuru's smile continue to burn steadily, this idea of fulfilling this simple suggestion felt very right to Natsuki Kruger.

AN: Cripes, the AN for this chapter is looooooong. Sorry team.

PLEASE NOTE: BunnyJoker is awesome. So is Black Mephistopheles. They are fine, fine people and it is impossible to them the credit which is their due.

1) 'To be beaten to the quick' I am informed has the same meaning as 'to be beaten to the punch.'

2) 'To be found wanting' means whatever strength of character is required to pass a test, the person in question doesn't have enough. Basically Natsuki doesn't think much of Shizuru's aunt.

I wrote this little snippet thing for a reviewer (Alexissa2), who very kindly reviewed chapter five… the text of which I then promptly lost. I rediscovered it after a couple of days but still felt guilty at the belated nature of the response. Hopefully, Miss Alexissa2, you are still reading, and this makes you smile.

As an aside: yes. You've probably noticed by now that dialogue… it is perhaps not my strongest suit. Reviews with suggestions, criticisms, or comments are gratefully received!

Finally: lambing season is nearly upon us. This time of year is simultaneously awe-inspiring and yuk, but mostly it is time consuming. I am, however, holding myself to roughly an update every three days, so feel free to pelt me with tomatoes if I am dragging my feet.

OUTAKE:

Natsuki: "Let's recap shall we? We've got a ghost roaming our house, you're tighter with information than the SIS, and your weird relatives have shown up wanting money. Do you really have a plan for how to resolve this, or are you just making it up as you go along?"

Shizuru ((calmly)): "Of course I have a plan."

Natsuki: "…ok? So? What is the plan?"

Shizuru: ((Thoughtfully)) "… let's make out."

Natsuki: "What the … yeah? Ok."

Crosswood comes racing in, waving the script, and yelling unintelligibly. She throws a bucket of cold water over the two. The water steams slightly.

Crosswood: "What are you doing?"

Shizuru: "My – the author is slow today. I would have thought what we were doing was obvious."

Crosswood: "But… but…!"

Natsuki cracks her knuckles threateningly. "Back off, shorty; you're writing this romance stuff far too slowly. We're taking matters into our OWN hands."

Shizuru: ((purrs)) "My - Natsuki is so unintentionally dirty today."

Natuski blushes and looks ready to destroy the nearest handy target. The author hesitates to take on a known badass. She backs away slowly, carefully, stalling long enough for Shizuru to become impatient.

As the two young ladies promptly forget all about her (having found more interesting things to occupy their attention) Crosswood gives up on the omake. The only thing she can do is turn off the annoying and slightly pointless narra…

END