Author's notes

Thank you all for your great reviews:)
Don't worry about the next... You'll see ;)

Of course, I thank my beta-reader Sayosi too for her help :)

So... Here's the update!

Legend:
Thoughts

Disclaimer: Yes, I own Mai-HiME. I like torturing the fans by not including any ShizNat interaction in the anime. Of course, it's false.


Time To Grow Up : chapter 9.

九 Breakdown, part 1.

That's it. I have to be strong. I can't believe I won't see her until…

"When will you come back to Japan?" inquired Natsuki almost indifferently.

"I do not know yet", simply replied Shizuru.

You don't know! What will I do during this time? Have you even thought about me? … Okay… Calm down… It's not her fault. Not her fault.

Even if she was hurt, Natsuki tried to joke, "Will you be here for my birthday? Don't forget, I want a present". Why did I say that? I don't care about the present. I want you by my side… Tell her! Tell her you'll miss her.

"Maybe, I am not sure. Anyway, I can send your present via the mail, right?"

"Ah, yes of course." She'll abandon me. All those I love abandon me. Why? No, don't cry. Be strong. You have to overcome this. Her absence will not last too long, right?

From this moment, everything occurred quickly. It was time to board. The two girls hadn't seen time elapsing.

Natsuki was seeing her friend leaving by the doors, the latter uttered, "And don't forget, Natsuki, whatever will happen, I will always love you".

I don't understand, you say you love me, but you leave. What do you want from me? The blue-haired girl waved her hand and headed to the exit.

Tell her! Tell her what you are feeling!

I have my pride!

Tell her!

No, I can't, I don't have the right.

Will you support her leaving?

No…

So tell her!

She suddenly turned back. "Shizuru, I…" But it was too late. The doors were closed.


Four days passed since the departure of Shizuru.

Natsuki had been locked up in her room during all this time. She didn't want to go out, she didn't want to move, she didn't want to live anymore.

Moreover, she wanted to be alone. She didn't give any news to Mai. That was why the latter called the lonely girl several times on her cell phone. Natsuki was so upset that she violently threw her phone against the door.

She was lying there, on her bed in the darkness. She didn't understand why she was feeling so bad, so sad, so empty. Her green eyes were starring at the ceiling. She couldn't bring her regrets to an end.

Everything had happened too quickly. She didn't have the time to realise. She would have done something, told something special, but Shizuru left too fast. Her absence made Natsuki understand how much she cared for the Kyoto girl. Nonetheless, it was too late. Shizuru was far away.

The seventeen-year-old girl was obviously in low spirits. However, she held a grudge against her friend. Indeed, she didn't get any news from Shizuru.

Why did she not call me? I don't matter to her anymore!

Suddenly, the blue-haired girl started to panic. She thought that maybe a problem occurred. That was the reason why Shizuru was unable to contact her.

Natsuki commenced to envisage the worst scenarios. She was imagining a hostage takeover and Shizuru trying to negotiate with the kidnappers. Unfortunately, they didn't listen to her. And then…

Natsuki shook her head. She didn't have to think about that.

At that time, someone rang at her apartment. Natsuki dashed to the door, managing to stumble on a shoe that was lying there.

Dammit!

She took the shoe and threw it to the other side of the room. She finally managed to reach the door. Before opening it, she couldn't refrain herself from raising a big idiotic smile. However, as soon as the door was opened, her smile was replaced by a scowl. The unexpected visitor was delighted to be welcomed by such a manifestation of joy.

"I'm fine, thank you. It's very nice of you to ask", exclaimed Mai ironically. She inspected her friend's place. "Mou… Natsuki, when will you stop living like that? It's a real mess in here!"

Natsuki didn't even deign to answer; she got back in her bed.

As soon as she was in Natsuki's room, Mai opened the blinds, which induced a snarl from the occupant.

"What are you doing! Go home and leave me alone!" Saying these words, she hid under the sheets.

"Come on, Natsuki! Do you plan to stay here until she comes back?"

At first, Natsuki didn't react, and afterwards she suddenly thought, I never told her about that!

"How…how did you know that?" Natsuki raised her head out her bed.

"Given that you didn't want to talk to me, I had to conduct my own investigation."

"You asked Kanzaki, huh?"

"Err… Yes."

Natsuki sighed. "Ok, thank you for coming, don't forget to lock the door when you will leave", she said with an exasperated tone while burying herself under the blankets.

The red-haired girl was looking at her friend. She wished to help her but she didn't know how. Natsuki once again became the wild beast she used to be, and only one person had succeeded in taming the animal, only one person was able to do that. Nonetheless, she had to try. It was not good for Natsuki to stay alone.

She ordered firmly, "Ok. So, Natsuki, hurry up or we will be late for school".

As an answer, the blue-haired girl turned to the other side.

"I won't repeat it. Go get dressed and be quick." Mai started to lose her temper.

All the while Natsuki had already lost her temper. "Are you deaf? I told you to leave me alone!"

"Ok, as you want." Mai pulled her friend out of the bed by the sleeve. "If you don't want to get dressed, you'll go to school in pyjamas…"

Natsuki fell on the ground but immediately stood up. She flew into a passion. "You damned moron! What the hell are you trying to do! Do you wanna die?"

Clenching her fists, the furious girl retained herself from being violent. Mai was indeed her friend, but she wanted to be alone. She didn't want to see anybody. She didn't need anybody, except…

More calmly, Natsuki attempted to convince her friend, "Why do you not simply leave me alone? Is it too complicated? Can't you understand?"

"Actually, I don't. Why are you acting this way? It isn't like you will never see her again."

At the hearing of these words, Natsuki's heart was pinched. She abruptly felt dizzy and had to sit down on the edge of her bed. She looked so distraught.

"Natsuki?" inquired the worried girl sitting next to her.

"I don't know when she will come back." The young in disarray acridly sneered, "I'm too stupid, I should have stopped her. I should have told her".

"Told what?"

"…Nothing…" Anyways, it's too late…

"Come on, Natsuki, her absence will not last that long. I'm sure that she'll come back soon." I hope. Fujino-san, why did you not inform her about your return?

"Aa…" Natsuki would like to believe her friend, yet at the back of her mind she knew it to be false.

"Plus, do you believe that staying here is the solution? What would Fujino-san say if she saw you like that?"

"Ara ara, are you still seeking to ditch classes? Perhaps you hope to stay in high school all your life? Mou… You do not want to go to the university with me." Imagining what her Kyoto friend could say, Natsuki faintly smiled to herself.

Seeing Natsuki less sullen, Mai asked, "So…Will you finally get dressed? …Or maybe you prefer that I change your clothes myself?"

The other girl grumbled, "No way!" She took her clothes and moved to the bathroom. Then, she suddenly turned to Mai, pointing the floor. "And stay here!"

After exiting her bedroom, she slammed the door shut.


Meanwhile, in Paris, France, Shizuru was going to meet her supervisor. Indeed, being able to speak both Japanese and English and having good knowledge in French allowed her to do a training course in a travel agency… According to her university.

/From here, which is in English in the text is in English in reality… Except when it is written in another language./

A man in his forties went to her, stretching out his hand, "Konnichewwa. I am Pierre Dupont. I will be your boss during this stage."

Paying attention to his strong and awful French accent, Shizuru couldn't keep herself from thinking, What the...? Who is this character?

She raised a smile, "Nice to meet you.", and appended without the slight trace of accent, "Vous savez, vous pouvez me parler en français". /You know, you can talk to me in French/

The French guy seemed delighted. "Oh, parfait! But I know it will be more easy if I speak English."

If I still hear him speaking English, I feel that I will become insane. Without leaving her smile, she said, "Oh, thank you, you are too nice".


Working here was a wise choice for Shizuru. Since Paris is a very tourist city, she could speak English most of the time. Moreover, during her days off, she could improve in French. Of course, she was there for this purpose.

However, her French wasn't perfect yet, she lacked little vocabulary. She realised it that Saturday morning… She was in town centre looking for something…

She addressed a passer-by first in English, "Good morning, Madam. Please excuse me, but do you know where I can buy a teapot?"

Oh, sacrilege! Yes, Shizuru had forgotten her teapot. That was why she was unable to prepare her precious drink during all the week.

The passer-by was looking at Shizuru eyes wide open, as if Shizuru was an alien from another planet. Visibly, this passer-by, who was an old woman, didn't speak English. She strove for some English words, "Err… I… sorry. No speak English."

Shizuru apologized immediately and carried on in French, "Oh, veuillez m'excuser. Pouvez-vous m'indiquer s'il vous plait où je pourrais acheter un…" /Oh, please excuse-me. Could you tell me please where I can buy a…/

All of a sudden, Shizuru stopped talking. She was looking for a word, but didn't find it, and unfortunately, she forgot her dictionary.

What's happened to you, Fujino? You are really forgetful lately…

For this reason, she tried to make the woman guess by gestures, but who could make someone guess the word 'teapot' that way?

"… quelque chose pour le thé." /Something for tea/

"Des sachets de thé?"

Teabags? "Hum… non… quelque chose pour préparer le thé." /Hum… No… Something to prepare tea/

"Une bouilloire ?"

What? Teabags, a kettle? My God, how do they prepare tea in this country? "Non…"

If she could do it, she would have stomped the ground in impatience. Nonetheless, she didn't react in such a way, it would be impolite.

"Non, ce n'est pas exactement cela." /No… it's not exactly the same./

"Ah…"

She would like to ask another passer-by but there was nobody else, plus, it would be…impolite. Me and my good manners!

At last, the older woman had a flash. "Hum… Ah! Une théière?" she exclaimed, wielding her finger.

A tayer? What's that? "Excusez-moi?" /Excuse-me/

The old woman led Shizuru by the arm to a small shop, which was a few meters from where they were. Shizuru didn't notice it, since it didn't look like a shop.

The passer-by pulled Shizuru in the building to a department where there were a lot of… teapots. Japanese ones, of course.

Shizuru bowed and gratefully thanked the old woman. The latter smiled and headed to the exit.

Yes, except some misadventures, everything was going well… Actually, it seemed to be going well…

Shizuru couldn't lie to herself, these repetitive omissions were the proof. She was not doing fine…

End of chapter 9


'stage' means in French training period.

This chapter is a little bit more different than the others... How did you find it?

Feel free to comment ;)