"Sometimes the memories are worth the pain"

A/N: A short chapter. I'm sorry for the late update. I was on vacation. Oh the sea...Anyway, enjoy!

Beta: Akira Sasaki

Disclaimer: I don't own Mai HiME.

Chapter 10 - Appointments

Natsuki was nervously checking her mailbox every minute. But of course, nothing happened. She knew that she had to get some things done. She turned her head towards the kitchen.

Ughh... I hate doing chores.

After another 20 minutes of pretending to be busy searching some things on the internet, she had to admit that there was no way around cleaning. She started in the living room, then the bedroom, and finally the kitchen. While cleaning the kitchen she noticed that Nao had not eaten something for breakfast at all. No wonder she has such a striking figure... Mhh... I guess I wasn't very nice before she left.. But I will make it up to her tomorrow somehow. She wrote Nao a short message.

'Sorry for this morning. Are you free tomorrow?' The answer came quite late but it was a positive one.

Beep.

'Yes.'

Natsuki didn't really know what to do to make it up to her. But she decided that a ride would do.

'Let's go for a ride. I'll pick you up at 6 p.m.'

Beep.

'Okay. I'm curious about where you're taking me.'

Natsuki was a bit shocked because she hadn't thought of any special place by now. But she would just follow her feelings tomorrow. That's the way she always drives when she wants to relax for a little.

On the next morning the first thing Natsuki did was switching on her laptop. She was slightly angered by now because Shizuru hadn't replied yet. But when she opened her mailbox she found an E-Mail without words but a huge attachment from Shizuru. It was a plane ticket. She had a baffled look on her face. But her brain gave her a silent slap. That's what you wanted you idiot. You wanted to visit her and tell her about your feelings. So go, print it out and get ready for Friday. When Natsuki had the ticket printed out for taking a closer look she suddenly realized that the ticket wasn't for next Friday but for today instead. Oh shit! Quick, quick, quick! I need to gather all my things and get myself ready. I only have a few hours left. Damn it, no more time to prepare my speech. As if Shizuru would have known! Maybe she does... No, Natsuki! She thinks you hate her. So go and make her happy for once.

Natsuki needed over two hours to get all her things done and after looking at her luggage, she knew that she would have to pay a fine for excess baggage. Stupid lingerie! Must weight so much. Anyway... I need options. A look on the clock told her that she was really late. Shit, I need to hurry. Do I have everything? Oh right, I will send Mai a message that I'll be away for a while visiting Shizuru. And with this she closed the door and followed her heart.

Meanwhile in Germany two certain girls had finally a rather loud argument about crucial matters.

"Please, only for a few days." Shizuru claimed as politely as possible giving the rather urgent circumstances.

"The hell will I do. I am not your personal slave. You can't just push me away just because you're little precious one is coming for a visit."

"Don't you dare speaking of Natsuki such a way."

"Oh, I'm sorry if I hit a weak spot there! I live here too! And I'm not going to leave just because it's her." The anger was underlined with a spur of sarcasm, making the mixture of emotion even deadlier.

"Fine. Then stay. I will leave!"

After the raging storm came a thick veil of silence. Shizuru knew that she was harsh. But she didn't want Natsuki to meet Sandra. She will gather one and one. She will know that it is no normal friendship and she will assume the wrong things. Shizuru was abruptly torn out of her thoughts when she heard the other girl's light sobbing. Sandra had already started to pack her things and Shizuru suddenly felt really bad about her behavior.

Oh no, I didn't want to make her cry. It's completely selfish of me to talk to her like that...

"Sandra, I'm sorry. You can, of course, stay here."

"Fuck you, Shizuru! You know very well that I'm in love with you and you don't care a fucking bit about me! You only worry about your Natsuki, even though she doesn't care for you!"

The words hit Shizuru like a train.

She is right. I left because I couldn't endure being near her anymore. She will never be able to love me and I still fuck up all relationships because of those false hopes. I can't simply forget all of this just because she is coming to visit me. We're friends. That's what she wanted anyway. So, it should be okay to meet Sandra. I already told Natsuki about her. No big deal. Maybe she'll be happy for me... Hopefully not...

Shizuru grabbed Sandra's hand before she could leave and whispered in her ear.

"It's okay with me if you stay. But only if it's okay for you." A deep breath gave the taller girl goose bumps "You are important to me. You should know that by now." The last words were spoken with a tenderness Sandra could never resist. Sandra looked deep into the crimson eyes and set her bag aside.

While Natsuki is lightly snoring in the plane towards Germany, a pink-haired girl is standing on a corner at an outlying street staring at the setting sun. Natsuki, you will come, right?

A/N: And now I have to write again. So I don't know yet what will happen next.