A/N: Well as far as I know people still read my stories. This was a little story I was writing as a different point of view of life for these characters.

A day at a time

A New chapter

It had been some time since I had thought about my incredible verbal battles with Natsuki. I had become sullen about all of it. I could not risk ever letting my rage go. I could not risk letting go of the leash on the demon's throat. I had to become a frail fragile woman. My actions and body language had to become more hidden than what I could hide. I had to reinvent myself or was it that I was killing myself to save something greater?

I had to save my heart from its rotted side. I had to die to be reborn. It was cliche but most things in life actually turn out that way. So, yes I can say we fought and fought and fought. Natsuki would scream and yell on those days the pain was the worst. She would take any method to dull the pain. She had all these medicines which mess with her once perfect mind. She'd find various things to occupy herself with, and even distraction plus the mini pharmacy could not last. I believed at times she gave that damn pain the power it needed over her. The constant fear of this pain loomed so greatly. It vastly distorted any reason she had even to the point of stealing her sleep.

"Mai, I get angry at her. I get so angry, but it's wrong of me." I said despairingly.

Mai sighed over the phone line. "Stop guilt tripping yourself. You're only human...now." I heard keys drop to table in the background.

"Did you just get off work? Should I let you go" I asked in a worried tone. I was becoming anxious all the time. I had noticed I reacted the same way to anyone. I felt like I was being conditioned. I was always, I am, always on egg shells.

"Woah, calm down. I'm not Natsuki." Mai sighed again. "And that sigh does not mean I'm angry with you so chill out." Mai shuffled about on her end not saying much as I sat holding my phone in silence calming myself down.

"You're right Mai. I haven't been sleeping much so I'm super sensitive to everything. Plus my hormones are acting crazy." I said and quickly realized how tired and stressed I was. The moment the words slipped from my lips Mai must have grasped the phone tightly and pressed hard against her face as if that was the only way to get closer to me.

"You what? Your hormones are why? What's up with the hormones? You're too young to have menopause...which means...but...no. No. No! That's impossible! How in the hell!" Mai's voice had an indescribable excitement to it, and all I could do was smile.

"Shizuru, what have you been up to without Natsuki?" Mai jokingly said.

"Nothing, because this did involve Natsuki." I said very proudly.

"Huh? Now wait just a moment there. I've been flashed by this lady. She is a lady...I mean woman; female. And no joke set aside...she did this? And by this I'm assuming is pregnant? Right? Or have you really gone menopausal?"