A/N: Be warned! Remember, Nao is mean and resentful in this fic. Same with Haruka and Yukino (but not as bad as Nao). A tad of angst but well... it all works out, and you've all probably gotten used to the bits of drama/angst in this fic by now. Next one should be more on the fluff since I tend to alternate.

Technical Note: At the moment there is no chapter 10. When I get the chance I'm going to re-upload the previous chapters and label the prologue as 1 and move it from there so it's not as confusing.

kikyo4ever: Yup! Updates should be coming faster now!

koalarap:Ooo! Lingerie designer that's a good one!

Thanks to Kugerfan18, kikyo4ever, pri815, koalarap, my heart is an icebox, reviewerskye, nolens volens, chum-sa, and everyone else who read!

--0--

Chapter 11: "Cycle: Future and Past"

"Graah!!" Natsuki roared throughout the small apartment, tossing yet another balled up paper across the room. Shizuru merely leaned to the side as it flew by and took a sip of her tea. She continued to watch the blunette fume for another minute before sitting down next to her.

"Need some help?" she asked rhetorically, it was quite obvious Natsuki was having difficulties.

The younger girl just sat there and sighed, falling over onto her girlfriend's lap. It was nearly three in the morning and she had still not even started her election speech for tomorrow. To be fair, she had tried to start, but could not get past the opening statements before becoming too frustrated and giving up. Shizuru pet the side of her head with her hand that was still warm from the tea. She forced herself to stay up with Natsuki to be of any help to her during the night, even if it was something as simple as making sure she ate properly.

"...Maybe I should just drop out of it... Clearly I'm not suited for it if I can't even write one speech..."

"Now that's not true Natsuki, you've stayed up this late trying to make it perfect. That shows dedication and striving for the best you can be, both are necessary qualities."

Natsuki sighed, it was true, but she was at the peak of her pessimism right now. Not only did she lack the alert mind to even stay awake much longer, but was starting to focus on all the things against her right now. Most importantly, her competition. There were three others trying to get the prestigious position. One boy and one girl whom she'd only met in passing, both of which had a fair chance, but also were not one of the two favourites. One favourite being the ever popular ice princess, and the other was the intelligent Yukino. Despite only being "discovered" by the student population after announcing she'd be running for president, she had already gained the respect of many. She was also known for running the Executive Committee but since she was not as "extravagant" as Haruka it hadn't been too much of a burden.

"Really... she's so much better for it than me..." Natsuki muttered to herself, though Shizuru heard as well and knew who she was speaking of.

"Do you really think I'd let you put this much effort into this if I didn't think you had a real chance of making it?"

Natsuki sighed.

"Not intentionally, but you're a tad biased in don't you think?" she chuckled as she sat back up, rubbing her eyes and focusing on a new blank sheet of paper. She felt arms snake around her waist as Shizuru drew herself closer, resting her head on Natsuki's shoulder and looking at the paper as well.

"It isn't because I love you that I think you'll win, but that many of the traits you have that made me love you also make you suitable for it."

Natsuki smiled, that was what she needed. A new confidence boost to get her through the night got her starting on her newest draft. She managed to lean over the coffee table and write while still giving Shizuru room to hold her; which also benefited the quality of her speech.

With a confident grin, Natsuki held up the paper and read over her opening paragraph. After reading through it, the girls nodded to each other and the blunette continued on. She wrote for a little while longer before slowly drifting her gaze from side to side.

"Natsuki?"

"Just... five minutes..." she yawned before falling onto the arm of the couch.

Shizuru smiled proudly her tenacity to get so far.

It must really mean a lot to you... to push yourself this hard.

She moved away and draped a light blanket over Natsuki's shoulders then picked up the papers on the coffee table. As much as she wanted to, Shizuru knew better than to write the speech for Natsuki. The ice princess would be quite upset and take it as a sign of weakness if it was done for her. The girl was so used to doing things for herself, she hated letting anyone do things for her. The only person capable of doing such things was Mai with her cleaning of Natsuki's apartment; and only because Mai's resolve to take care of someone was stronger than Natsuki's to be self-sufficient.

Shizuru chuckled a bit as she proofread it, that was harmless enough, and something she was sure the others would be doing as well. The language was as she expected. Aside from the opening paragraph which was tailored to be perfect, the rest was blunt and choppy; or better said: short and sweet. The tawny-haired girl shuffled into their room for a moment before bringing her laptop out to the living room. She climbed back onto the sofa with her feet tucked beneath her and the device rested on the side of her bent legs and the arm of the couch.

While Natsuki napped, Shizuru went though the speech; typing it up nicely as well as fixing up the diction. It was now close to four in the morning and the sky outside the living room window was starting to get light tint of blue. The typed version of the speech was done and saved before Shizuru placed it back on the table and admired the work. She found it funny that Natsuki asked only for five more minutes. The poor girl must have been too tired to even realize she finished the whole thing before passing out.

Speaking of passing out, the second Shizuru leaned back into the furniture her own lack of sleep caught up with her. Quickly, her eyes shut and she fell onto Natsuki, who was so deeply asleep she didn't even notice. Unfortunately neither had set an alarm.

--0--

Mai paced around the grounds where the election was being held. One of the fields had been lined with plain folding chairs in front of a stage where the candidates were gathering. The redhead grit her teeth and looked at the clock on her phone. There was still time for Natsuki to arrive and not be late, oh how she hoped for her to be at least on time.

"Mai! Where's Natsuki-baka?" Mikoto asked, popping up out of nowhere with a chocolate covered banana in hand.

"No word yet, if she's not here soon I'll call her, there's still ti-"

"Would all candidates please take their seats on stage," Fumi's voice came over the PA system.

The two girls' expressions whitened almost immediately. In an instant Mai already had her phone to her ear while pointing Mikoto in Midori's direction. The young girl knew what to do and rushed over to the teacher. She had to stall the event.

"Hey Miko-chin where'd you get that chocolate covered banana?"

And her train of thought was, shall we say, derailed. As those two were having a rather unstressed conversation about where the food stands were placed, Mai was frantically growing more and more annoyed with the ringing on the phone.

--0--

What's that buzzing noise? Meh... too sleepy to care...

It continued, much to the sleepy girl's dismay.

Seriously... I can't stand it... Oh it's my phone... whatever it is it can wait... Argh! It's not stopping...

Natsuki tried to shut her eyes tighter but the sound of her cell phone vibrating on her desk in her bedroom was enough to wake her.

"It's bright... Why am I sleeping on the couch?" she paused for a moment as her vision cleared and she saw the scattered papers everywhere. Her breath got stuck in her throat and she blinked into reality.

"Oh my God! Shizuru get up!" she screamed, startling the older girl awake before falling further onto the couch since what used to be Natsuki became empty space.

It took her a moment to regain her bearings, but when she got them Shizuru was nearly as panicked as the blunette.

"I'm so sorry Natsuki! It's my fault I didn't wake you up!"

The younger girl was already in her room throwing on her uniform and reaching for the phone but managed to call back to her girlfriend.

"Don't worry about an apology, just help me write the speech while we rush!" her attention was caught elsewhere, "Hey Mai?" she was met with a scream, "Yes, I know I'm a moron!" more yelling on the other end of the line, "What!? No we were not having sex!" she held the phone between her ear and shoulder while rushing into the bathroom to brush her teeth, "What's the status?" she mumbled through the toothpaste.

While she took care of that Shizuru hooked her computer up to the printer in their room and dressed herself as the speech was put onto paper. It wasn't as formal as she had planned, but well... none of this so far was as formal as they had planned. Once her jeans and shirt were on she rushed into the kitchen, yelling to Natsuki along the way.

"Your speech is printing."

"Wha?" she mumbled with her toothbrush hanging out of her mouth when she jutted her head from the room. The blunette finished with haste and told Mai she would be there as soon as possible, they would have to find a way to stall them or at least not get herself disqualified.

Natsuki followed Shizuru into the kitchen and took over the toast cooking while the older girl took her turn to clean up. As soon as they popped up, Natsuki stuffed her face with the food and hurried to the foyer-like area to get into her shoes and strap her helmet on.

"What was that you said about my speech?" she asked Shizuru as she came out tossing her bag over her shoulder.

"It's printed."

"Printed?"

"Yeah," she quickly got it from the room and handed it to Natsuki while getting her own shoes on, "I did some editing on it, just read that and you'll do fine. You finished it last night."

The blunette smiled beneath her helmet and carefully stuck the papers into her inner jacket pocket.

"Thanks! Don't you need to eat?"

"I'll get something there, let's go!"

Natsuki barely had time to lock the door behind them with Shizuru pulling her down the stairs towards the outside. She didn't know when the latter became the more excited of them, but overall this day was so surprising she didn't pay much attention. The couple eagerly leaped onto the Ducati and sped off towards Fuuka Gakuen.

--0--

At the academy Mai finally made her way to Fumi herself since Mikoto and Midori had dropped out of sight. They discussed it briefly before coming to the compromise that Natsuki's speech would be held until the end of the others, but if she did not make it by then she would be disqualified. To a friend of the girl it sounded harsh in words, but in reality Mai knew she would make it. Natsuki hadn't racked up the record number of speeding tickets for nothing.

Still fidgeting, the redhead set out on her new quest: find the drunken teacher and nekogirl.

--0--

"Damn it!" Natsuki cursed as she inched her bike along slowly in the lunchtime traffic. She looked down at her watch and glared ahead, "Stay close. What I'm about to do is dangerous, but I can pull it off."

"You aren't going to-?"

Before Shizuru could even finish Natsuki revved her engine and started moving through the other cars along the lane division line. The two girls curled in to avoid being caught on the side of cars as they sped through. This way it wasn't long before they reached the turn off to get to the school. They could hear the applause of the crowd after the third person had finished speaking.

"Aww man this is gonna be close!" Natsuki called back as they drove up the front walkway of the academy.

Meanwhile the crowd sat in wait for the last girl to arrive. Just as Mai was about to give up hope, everyone turned in the direction of a rumbling noise. They watched the motorcycle screech to a halt at the side of the seating section where Shizuru dismounted and took the chair saved for her with the rest of Natsuki's friends. The blunette herself then drove a few metres ahead, stopping right next to the stairs that led to the stage. She heaved while removing her helmet and practically jumping all the stairs to get to the podium.

Her entrance had surely got a lot of attention. Everyone's eyes were glued to her as she took her place and unfolded the papers from her jacket pocket. Up until now Natsuki hadn't had the time to feel nervous, but suddenly it all hit her. So many people were in this school, everyone of them paying attention to her, waiting to hear what she had to say. The blunette started to stutter and fumble with her words but just as quickly her eyes found the ruby ones that calmed her. Seeing Shizuru watch her happily quelled Natsuki's inner chaos.

With a deep breath she stood confidently and spoke to the students.

--0--

That went better than I thought... In fact... I think I did pretty well... Natsuki thought to herself with a smile as Fumi led her and the other participants to their individual stations.

The student council election process was actually quite the event. The classes were cancelled so that the students could spend the day listening to the speeches, voting, and asking unique questions to each of the candidates. It also ensured that with staff counting the votes throughout the day, the results would be in after dinner time and announced soon afterwards.

Natsuki groaned at the fact that she'd have to spend the next few hours sitting by herself answering any inquiries. She was never good at that but would bear with it for a limited time if it meant being a step closer to her goal. The girl sat in the chair behind a desk and leaned back, resting her head in her hands and waited. It wasn't long before the lines started forming. Natsuki was actually surprised at how many genuine questions there were, considering she raced in on a motorcycle with the schools most beloved ex-Kaichou with her.

Maybe they didn't see her... Shizuru can be discreet when she wants to...

The navy-haired girl's mind started to wander. She wondered what Shizuru was doing right now. It wasn't as if she could waltz around on her own without getting mobbed, and there was still only so attached she could be to Mai and the other younger girls.

I hope Reito came, he can keep her company, that would be nice...

"Kuga?"

"Eh?" the girl was knocked out of her reverie by the boy in front of her, "Oh, hey Tate. Just pretend you're asking me a question if someone walks by, I need some normal conversation."

The boy laughed, "Haha fine, Tokiha just asked me to see how you were doing while she went to vote, she should stop by after she's done. With this crowd they won't notice she's already voted."

"Yeah, it sure is packed, and it's gonna stay like this until night."

"Yup."

"Hey! Hurry up!" an angry voice from behind yelled.

The caramel-haired boy turned and offered an apology to the student before looking back at Natsuki.

"Gomen! I guess I can't stay longer, see you around," he said while waving and walking away.

Natsuki waved back and went on to the next few students. Even though she tried to pay attention to their questions, her thoughts kept drifting to Shizuru. A few questions later, the blunette glanced to the side and saw the sandy-haired girl sitting on a bunch nearby, she was writing something. Natsuki smiled and continued to watch her contently. However her expression grew serious near instantly when she saw a streak of flaming red hair move towards her beloved.

Damn her! Natsuki cursed, glaring at Nao. She looked up at the current student and apologized for interrupting but there was something she needed to take care of. The student just stared dumbfounded at the "Back in 5 mins." sign placed on the desk and waited.

--0--

While still looking at her notebook, Shizuru gave a mirthless chuckle to the girl who approached her.

"Whatever could Yuuki-san have to say to me?"

"Can't even look at me can you?"

The crimson-eyed girl smirked and folded her book over before placing it in her bag and looking into lime green with a glimmer of ferocity.

"Better?" she asked rhetorically, "Now tell me, what do have to say?"

"Who cares!" Natsuki almost roared from the side as she ran forward, "Just get out of here Nao."

"Oooh Kuga yelled at me, I'm so scared," the redhead replied sarcastically, "I just wanted to congratulate her on how good her speech writing is. There's no way an idiot like you could have wrote something like that, it must be good to have someone like her on hand."

"Oh go to hell! Quit wasting our time. I get it, you don't like us, what more is there to do?"

"It isn't you I have the problem with really, only as much as I always did you know, after you tore out my eye. But it's still that one I hate with a passion."

Natsuki bared her teeth and clenched her fist.

"Watch it, anyone who's got a problem with Shizuru has a problem with me too."

"Oh you think you can get violent on me?" Nao pointed at the blunette's hands and smirked, she really didn't know her limits, "Think you're tough just because you're dating a murderer?"

Shizuru's eyes widened as a shiver ran through her spine. Natsuki on the other hand snapped in a different way. She ignored the rest of the world and grabbed hold of Nao's collar, then without hesitation she threw her punch clean across her face.

"She's not a murderer!"

"Ugh!" Nao groaned as she was forced to the ground from the hit.

"Natsuki!" Shizuru cried, but to deaf ears.

The jade-eyed girl was furious, even with the incoming stares from people around her. She took a few steps forward and looked down on the redhead coldly. The unfortunate turn of events soon got worse. Natsuki's judgement was clouded enough for her to forget that fighting back is just what she'd want, and that if she did the blame would shift to her for continuing the fight. Alas, she spoke anyway.

"You wanna play rough and bring up the past? You're so damn selfish."

"Shut the hell up you bitch!" Nao screamed as she rose to strike at Natsuki.

A verbal fight twisted into an all out brawl between the two enraged girls. Though it didn't last long before Shizuru managed to get a hold on Natsuki to keep her back while Mai and Mikoto appeared to grab Nao.

"Stop it both of you!" Midori yelled as she ran towards them through the crowd of surrounding students, "Seriously!"

Natsuki was still shaking in Shizuru's arms, leering at Nao who struggled against the other two.

"Alright alright!" she barked, shaking them off, "Whatever! You're all messed up! Acting like it never happened and you're all friends again! It makes me sick!"

The girls watched her go, making sure that she did in fact leave, and Natsuki loosened her tension, Shizuru let her go for a second before turning the blunette around and hugging her tightly.

"I am thankful that you would fight for my sake... but please Natsuki, don't be so brash in the future."

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, "I just can't stand her and the way she treats you."

"Nao-chan still hasn't been able to adjust like we have," Midori interjected, "I'm not saying she was right, but I can see how she has her point of view."

"I know... and I guess I shouldn't have punched her but man... Why does she have to constantly bring it up?"

"Misery loves company basically... she's jealous that we moved on and she's still hurting..."

Natsuki scoffed. Even though she knew it was probably true, she couldn't excuse anyone who said such cold things about Shizuru so blatantly. A flash blinded her eyes. They were now surrounded by a very large growing crowd taking pictures. A fight between one of the more popular members of the student body and a would-be president on the day of the election was definitely something to see. Cameras were going off everywhere with people demanding answers.

"Allow me to explain?" Shizuru asked, causing the many groups to quiet down and listen.

The other four wondered how she would handle this, though something told them she had a plan to kill two birds with one stone.

"In truth, what happened is simple. Yuuki-san called me a murderer and Natsuki here acted in my defense."

Who would have thought that the truth could grant her wish? Not only was Natsuki completely forgiven by the students for her actions, she was actually praised for protecting Shizuru. The blunette was taken by surprise when the crowd ran off to the voting booths right away to show their support. Eventually everyone broke off again. Midori went back to "supervising," Mai and Mikoto went to take part in the festivities, Natsuki had to go back to her station and Shizuru continued her writing. Soon the "scuffle" between Natsuki and Nao was forgotten, even if her words still stung the hearts of the couple.

They dealt with it as they usually would whenever their distorted past came up, which seemed to be more and more often these days with everyone being in close quarters again. But the day was still long ahead of them, and no matter what was said, they all intended to enjoy it.

--0--

After a much needed meal with Shizuru and her friends, it was time for Natsuki to return to the stage. The totals had been reached, and the results were going to be revealed soon. Everyone took their seats and waited anxiously for Fumi to arrive with the envelope. The blunette fidgeted in her chair, trying to not to hyperventilate as the moment of truth drew closer and closer.

The pink-haired woman finally arrived, walking up the the podium and carefully opening the paper.

"This year's student council president is..." she read the name once to herself before announcing to the crowd, "Kuga Natsuki!"

The students all shouted and clapped for the stunned blunette. Everyone was against her today, how had she won? She showed up late and read a speech she didn't even remember finishing, didn't pay attention to her question answering, and punched out another student. Natsuki stood up and followed Fumi's gestures to speak to them all. Again she looked out into the mass of people for her most important people. She smiled.

Right... I had Shizuru with me... I owe so much to you...

Meanwhile the other candidates were sitting here frustrated with their loss. Most of all was Yukino, who knew that as soon as Natsuki won, Haruka would immediately turn it into a competition of sorts and relate it to her own loss to Shizuru in the past.

"Now Kuga-san," the Director spoke, "Of course, you are to choose your own Vice President from the runner ups."

Natsuki gulped. She had totally forgotten about that part, and moreover she didn't hear any of the speeches. In most of the previous elections she'd seen a pattern of friend pairs becoming president and vice president, but now she had to choose. The blunette sighed heavily.

This isn't the past, it's the future... I'm not Nao, I've already been made president, so I have to act like one and choose the best.

"Who do you wish?" Fumi asked.

"...Yukino," Natsuki replied to everyone's surprise.

The brunette in question was certain that as soon as Natsuki won she wouldn't even be considered for the position of her second in command. Haruka was much the same. She gaped at first, but soon found herself applauding Yukino with the rest as she took her place next to Natsuki on stage.

--0--

Omake:

Nao: Notori... come here a sec?

Notori: (gullible as frak) -smiling- Yeeeeaaasss??

Nao: -smack- You made me such a whore!

Natsuki: Well...

Nao: Shut up!

Notori: Sorry, but this is fan FICTION... And I really couldn't see a HiME-verse where everyone got along perfectly after... So I just changed the ending! Eheheh...

Nao: You suck...

Notori: I mean, it's still mostly romantic comedy stuff, but it's kinda pointless to have it after the Carnival without any mention of it. Your pasts won't dictate what you do in your lives from now on, but you aren't gonna forget them either.

All: Yeah I guess that's fair...

Notori: Anyways on a side note, wanna know what I learned today?

Natsuki: What?

Notori: "Shizushizu" means "sweaty atmosphere" -giggles pervertedly-

Natsuki: O-O! I'm doomed...