Disclaimer: -slumps her shoulder and walks away- I own nothing...nothing...

Readers and reviewers: You all have my respect.

And now for what you've all been waiting for... THE END... -chuckles- NOT FOR A LONG WHILE YET... okay... on wards to the story...

Shizuru stirred awake when she felt something hit her face. Groaning in pain she touched the liquid, not really knowing what it was exactly, her only thought was "Ara.." Shizuru blinked a few times allowing her eyes to adjust their focus in the dimly lit room due to the weather's overcast, realizing it was only water.

Shizuru had a terrible headache and couldn't understand why or the possible reason behind it. When she placed her hands upon her temple attempting to soothe the pain away, she halted feeling something along her forehead. As if that was the trigger everything that recently happened came flooding back to her mind. She sat up only to pull upon the sheet in an attempt to cover her body, after she felt the gusty wind mixed with the dampness of the falling rain, causing her to slightly shiver. She peeled back the blankets dumbstruck as to why she was practically nude, when suddenly another thought pushed her shock of nudity away.

Shizuru quickly glanced around the room when her heart dropped at the sight of Natsuki. Natsuki was slumped over lying on her side stripped down to only her bra and panty save the bandages upon her wound, covered in blood a few feet away from her. Ignoring the pain in her head Shizuru reacted in haste making her way over towards Natsuki's side taking the sheet along with her.

Immediately when Shizuru touched Natsuki's hand and felt the freezing cold upon them, her first thought was that Natsuki was dead. However as Shizuru reached out, her heart feeling a slight sting, to grab the younger girl by the shoulders, Natsuki grunted in pain.

Not realizing she had held her breath Shizuru exhaled it in relief as she took her place beside Natsuki. Carefully Shizuru gently moved Natsuki so that Natsuki's upper body was partially in front of her own, with Natsuki's head softly resting on her body, before she covered them both with the sheet.

Shizuru held onto Natsuki as though she were the only life line Natsuki had left in the world when Natsuki softly uttered a few words, "Mom….warm."

Shizuru smiled not realizing the pain that was lingering in her heart had vanished, simply replaced by reassurance. Shizuru with her free hand used it to comb through Natsuki's slightly tangled up dampened hair, causing Natsuki to sigh contently.

Shizuru sighed before she softly stated to no one in particular, "What was Natsuki thinking and what am I going to do with Natsuki?"

Natsuki shifted in her sleep as though trying to get comfortable causing her own self to grunt in pain, but that wasn't what Shizuru heard. No, what Shizuru heard was a familiar noise of two metal objects clashing against one another. Shizuru slightly uncovered Natsuki noticing the necklace and a ring. She had been too preoccupied with Natsuki's well being that she hadn't realized it was there until Natsuki moved causing the two items to hit one another.

With her free hand she held up the necklace so that she could cover Natsuki back up, in an attempt to keep them both warm with their body heat and the blanket. She knew immediately what one emblem held and signified, but when she saw the emblem upon the ring so many of her unsought questions were suddenly answered.

Placing the necklace upon the sheet she looked down at Natsuki who had rolled her head towards Shizuru's body as a source of warmth. Shizuru was suddenly overwhelmed with so many emotions. Little did Shizuru realize she was in...tears?

Natsuki was in a state of blissfulness when she tasted something salty on her lips. She slowly stirred upon feeling something wet sliding down her face. Unsure whether she was dreaming or not she pried her eyes opened with much effort to find Shizuru crying. At first she was confused even in utter shock, but her mind slowly dwindling back into slumber lead her only to one possible answer, 'Must be dreaming cause Shizuru never cries.'

Suddenly acting on pure instinct to comfort her charge, even if she had concluded that it was but a dream in her mind, Natsuki raised her unwounded hand to the side of Shizuru's face gently cupping her cheek she smiled weakly, "Shizuru you're okay, I'm not going anywhere, promised gramps I'd be there for you."

Shizuru gasped when she felt Natsuki's tender hand upon her face and heard her voice. The only thing that came out of Shizuru's mouth was, "Natsuki."

Shizuru's answer from Natsuki came as a surprise when Natsuki's hand slipped from her face. Quickly acting Shizuru caught it holding it to her chest embracing Natsuki tighter in sense glad to know where her grandpa's ring resided. Shizuru only eased up when Natsuki grunted from pain. Not releasing the power of her embrace she relaxed her grip muttering, "I should've realized you were the Natsuki gramps wanted me to meet. I'm sorry for not trusting you sooner, Natsuki."

xxxxxxx

She slammed the door to his work room open while in anger shouting, "You never told me she was going to get hurt Takeda."

"Please, calm down…" Takeda was unable to finish his sentence when the woman smacked her hands upon his desk causing him to sit up.

"She's your sister. You'd kill your own sister." The furious lady stated.

Takeda remained composed, "Yes if it gets me to my goal."

"But what about our deal," She asked in a tone of disbelief.

"Things have changed," Takeda answered.

Takeda watched as the woman before him paced back and forth when she finally stopped to say, "You know Takeda if she dies, I'll talk."

Takeda stood up furious by the remark, "You will do no such thing."

The woman acted as though she wasn't threatened by him, but she wasn't sure what he was capable of yet so she continued, "Pray then, that your sister is alive."

"You forget your place and the reason why you are here." Takeda stated coldly.

She was pissed but she remained composed, "I need my space to think, but you should know Takeda that if she dies I won't be the only one looking to kill the killer, which will eventually lead back to you."

Takeda watched as the woman left slamming the door behind her. He slumped back into his chair picking up the phone he dialed a familiar number.

The person on the other line picked up, "Hello."

"We might have a problem," Takeda stated without greeting.

The voice on the other line scolded, "Takeda, why do you go around recruiting people you can't seem to keep on a leash. You need to have more authority over your employees or do I need to find someone else who can handle this job."

"I'll handle things but I'll have to wait till everything blows over depending on whether my sister is dead or not." Takeda responded to the comment a bit angered by the threat he just received.

"Whatever you do it's your responsibility not mine. We agreed that you'd be the one to deal with your sister and in return I would allow you half owner of everything. If that is all I'm hanging up," The voice on the other line stated before the line was disconnected.

Takeda looked at the phone then placed it back into its proper holding place. He needed answers pertaining to the current situation so he stood up walking towards the door he grabbed his coat noticing the sudden down pour. He shook his head in disappointment realizing his destination was home, the last place he needed to be.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Shizuru stirred feeling oddly comfortable and warm as though she was sleeping in a bed, 'Must be dreaming' she told herself recalling her fits of light slumber and wake, but the light was starting to irritate her so she slowly opened her eyes.

The whole surrounding was new to her, but what caught her attention was the simple fact that she wasn't holding Natsuki anymore as she stated, "Ara…" a bit confused.

Yohko upon hearing Shizuru walked towards her bed, "How are you feeling Shizuru?"

Shizuru looked around to identify where the familiar voice was coming from when she noticed Yohko checking her vital signs, she answered oddly, "Ara I must be dreaming if Yohko is here."

Yohko softly chuckled to herself, "You're not dreaming Shizuru. Actually Chie and Aoi found you two after pinpointing Natsuki's location. It was a good thing they found you two when they did because you two where reaching the point of hypothermia."

"Ara…" was all she could say still trying to grasp all the information she had received, while another part of her kept telling her she was dreaming.

Yohko decided to take things slower after noticing Shizuru's reaction, "What was the last thing you remembered before waking up here?"

Shizuru explained to Yohko what little she could recall, before she gasped having briefly forgotten about the one person she was concerned for, "Natsuki."

Yohko pointed towards another bed causing Shizuru to turn her attention in that direction, when she noticed Natsuki upon it, "So I'm not dreaming."

Yohko smiled, "No you're not, Shizuru."

Regaining her senses Shizuru worriedly asked, "Yohko, How is Natsuki?"

Yohko reassured Shizuru, Natsuki would be fine before asking, "Did you remove the bullets by chance, I only realized they weren't there when I removed the bandages to take care of the job with the proper equipments."

Shizuru slightly relaxed glad to know that Natsuki would be fine after some much needed rest, as she responded shaking her head, "Natsuki handled her wounds and mine by herself."

"Skilled as always, defiant too probably pushed herself to her limits," the comment caused Shizuru and Yohko to look at the new guest, who upon realizing her presence was known, closed the door behind her.

Shizuru was suddenly interested in getting information so she asked, "Nao, how long have I been out?"

"About a day since they found you two, freezing your asses off," Nao casually replied.

"Ara, they…" Shizuru commented when a voice from behind Nao exclaimed, "That would be us."

Shizuru watched as two new people entered the room introducing themselves as Chie and Aoi friends of Natsuki.

Curious Shizuru asked, "How exactly did you find us?"

Chie turned towards Nao, "You should answer that, for I will not take the credit or the punishment when a certain someone finds out."

Nao slightly shook her head over the notion that everyone was making such a big deal out of something so trivial and scoffed, "I asked them to put a tracking device on Natsuki's pendant because that's practically the only thing on her all the time."

Shizuru raised her eyebrow amused, "Ara, Natsuki's going to kill a certain someone."

Nao shrugged while everyone chuckled, but a sudden cry of agony caused everyone to divert their attention towards the noise.

Nao sighed, for the information of Natsuki's distress while she slumbered was nothing new to her, "She was never one for sleeping peacefully."

Chie slightly shook her head worriedly but agreed with Nao, "More like she was never one who could sleep without nightmares."

Aoi added to the comment pondering out loud, "Maybe she just needs someone to hold her while she sleeps."

Everyone turned to look at Aoi and expression of bewilderment upon their faces, when Yohko stated, "Could it be that simple."

They turned their attention back towards Natsuki who was slightly twitching every few seconds, when Nao honestly answered, "I wouldn't know, never thought of it before." And oddly enough everyone thought the exact same thing that was voiced by Nao.

Yohko continued with her medical explanation of the possibilities, but no one was listening because Shizuru's movements caught their attention. Yohko paused with her terminologies and theories when she noticed the lack of attention. Yohko turned around to see what the matter was when she caught sight of Shizuru carefully sliding into the bed in which Natsuki was currently sleeping upon.

Shizuru gently slide one hand underneath Natsuki's waist pulling the younger girl closer to her, careful not to arouse or cause Natsuki any pain. She then used her free hand to gently remove the fallen strands of hair on Natsuki's face before placing it protectively across Natsuki's shoulder and softly whispered, "We're all here for you, Natsuki."

Shizuru paused for a moment before adding, "Natsuki should know I'm here."

Everyone in the room watched in anticipation their breaths caught in their throats as Shizuru did this. They all stood there in awe amazed when they noticed Natsuki's ragged breathing calm down and her twitching had slowly diminished till it completely stopped. Everyone was quiet as though a sudden noise or movement would shatter the tranquility that was within the room at that moment.

They watched the scene unfold so passively then were quickly dumbstruck when Natsuki suddenly snuggled into Shizuru who gasped unprepared by the action, "Ara…"

Nao was going to make a sly remark when Natsuki softly muttered, "Mom… love… you."

The room being as quiet as it was, those few words spoken by Natsuki was heard by them all, causing Nao to slightly chuckle before remarking, "She thinks you're her mom oh how I'm going to give Natsuki a hard time when she wakes up after this. The pup's never going to live this one down."

Shizuru ignoring the argument that had suddenly erupted from Nao's comment softly whispered in Natsuki's ear, "I know your mom loves you too my Natsuki."

Natsuki was in a dream like state but she felt so calm, peaceful, warm and loved that she wanted to know why. She stirred but only slightly enough to open her eyes. She caught sight of crimson eyes staring at her before the overwhelming peacefulness engulfed her again after she managed to stutter, "Shi…zu…ru."

Shizuru's heart fluttered when she heard Natsuki say her name, she couldn't help her self and placed a kissed on Natsuki's forehead while smiling.

The gesture did not go unnoticed by a certain individual, when Nao proclaimed, "You have my blessings child."

Everyone stared at her in disbelief while Nao simply shrugged exclaiming, "What! It's not like the pup has anyone to…"

She was startled when Shizuru interrupted, "Ara…Nao is forgetting that the pup has all of us."

Nao stood there speechless causing Chie to chuckle, "Your loss Nao, but she's right we're her family."

Then turning towards Shizuru she stated, "And Nao's right as well Shizuru you have our blessings. Not just anyone…," she paused for a moment before rephrasing her statement, "Okay, make that no one, can calm her down so quickly. Believe you me when I say we've all tried and we've been around her longer then you have so we know."

Aoi nodded, "We're all just looking out for her and she seems to have something for you even if she doesn't or won't admit to it. Usually she'll do what's best when she realizes the circumstances. She's just stubborn or too dense to realize things so just give her some time."

Nao being Nao just had to add, "The question is, what you are going to do Shizuru, now that you know what the possibilities are between the two of you?"

Yohko realizing this was turning into an interrogation cleared her throat, "Okay that's enough now. The patients need their rest."

Yohko shooed them out when Nao stated casually, "Fujino the pup's 23rd birthday is in a few months, just thought you'd like to know."

When everyone was gone Yohko calmly said, "Shizuru."

Shizuru spoke up knowing what Yohko was hinting at, "I think I've fallen for her Yohko."

Yohko smiled, "With love you don't think you show it the only way that you can," when she remembered a certain person she added, "What of Anh?"

Shizuru's mind was already made up, she had wondered if there was anything to salvage from her relationship with Anh being that Anh was the only one she'd ever truly let into her heart. She'd forgiven Anh for cheating on her, but a part of her realized the hurt would always remain even if things were mended. For some reason their current actions just seemed to make things worse for her. Shizuru was betting it was the same with Anh so she calmly answered Yohko, "I'll tell Anh. I don't want to hurt Anh, but it's the right thing to do."

Yohko relaxed but had to ask, "And Natsuki?"

"Ara…" Shizuru stated knowing full well how Natsuki might react, "Even if things don't go as planned I'll still cherish these feelings I have for Natsuki and if they become more I'll hold them dear, because Natsuki will still be protecting me. I believe Natsuki promised my grandfather that much."

Yohko arched an eyebrow in surprise not expecting to hear that last remark coming from Shizuru, "So you know."

"The ring gave it away Yohko. Grandfather's ring was a part of him and for him to have given it away only means that he trusted the person whole heartedly to have done so. I can't ask for more of a blessing then that when it comes to grandfather. Sometimes I wonder what he was thinking when he gave the ring away to Natsuki. Natsuki is a rather interesting individual if I do say so myself. I think I'm beginning to see what grandfather saw in her, Yohko." Shizuru calmly replied as her attention focused upon the person currently being discussed about.

Yohko simply nodded in understanding, not really wanting to go into depth when it concerned Shizuru and her emotions on certain topics so she left the conversation where it was.

Shizuru's expression softened when she noticed a small smile on Natsuki's face, her mind thought 'Natsuki you look so beautiful when you're sleeping so calmly. You should smile more often and no matter what I'm not leaving your side. Whether you like it or not you're stuck with me, Natsuki.'

Shizuru didn't realize that Yohko had left her alone with Natsuki, and she simply allowed her mind to wander in her own thoughts. As the minutes ticked away she somehow found the peaceful calm of their beating hearts soothing and yawned, slowly succumbing to the exhaustion of their previous incident. After a few minutes Shizuru fell into a light slumber her hold upon Natsuki never loosened.

Nao popped her head back into the room and chuckled upon noticing the two slumbering individuals, inwardly thinking, 'What is up with these lovers in denial. I must say the pup looks rather happy with Fujino. What do you think old man? You okay with her falling for a woman…yeah I know your only wish is for her happiness. Well she's happy from what I can tell…worry not I gave you my word and I intend to keep it, even with these rather new developments…now I just have to let old man Yamada know of these…' Nao was unable to finish her thoughts when she was suddenly yanked by the collar from behind, the door slowly swinging shut.

The scolding and argument outside the room was unheard by the two patients inside of the room and quickly faded away, as the person making all the ruckus was slowly taken from the vicinity. Nao was relieved of her duties until further notice, being that the protector was already with her charge.

To be continued...

Author's Note: I just wanted to wish Natsuki a belated Happy Birthday... it says on wikipedia that her birthday was august 15th.

-looks around- I hoped you all enjoyed how it ended...yes it is finished...done... -laughs- kidding there is more to come... oh lots more...lots...lots more... just be patient... and I'm not done with the ring yet... it has many more secrets to reveal... but that will have to wait... as Natsuki and Shizuru become more comfortable around one another.

Till my next chapter... peace be with you. :)