"It sucks being the footnote in someone else's love story."

Disclaimer: Still don't own Mai HiME.

Chapter 25 – Sacrifices

After Nagi and his army had disappeared, Mashiro had ordered the girls to find shelter at her mansion on the campus grounds. They needed a place to rest, a place to realize what was happening, and they especially needed some time to recover. But as much as the childlike-director wanted to provide any of that, she couldn't afford to let them rest for too long. She needed to prepare them, to make them understand how crucial the next and probably last battle will be. She couldn't let Nagi win. It was her duty to save the world from existing only to his liking. She could see the desperation in the eyes of the girls, and some of them weren't even in the best condition to fight, but they had to. If anything, she would make them. The space between wrong and right was too tight to let anymore HiME drift to the dark side. She knew that all of them had desires, and she knew that giving them back the memories of their past lives was a powerful trump card which Nagi had played out very well. The tension between some of the HiME was much more powerful than Mashiro had thought. Until now, she hadn't considered the strength of willpower of their hearts, but after all, this world was created by a simple wish of a heart.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Mashiro was a bit startled when the voice of Midori ripped her out of her thoughts. She looked at the young teacher with sad but fierce eyes.

"Fight and win," was the only thing she said before her gaze fell back on the world behind the window of the conference hall. Now that Fumi was gone the emptiness of the huge room seemed to eat away any positive thought.

"So you really want to make these girls fight against their friends and classmates?" Midori's voice was enraged, but the girl in the wheelchair remained silent. "You want me to kill my students?" She walked over and grabbed the director by the shoulders. "Say something!"

"How are Mai-san and Nao-san are doing?" She said emotionless.

Midori was astounded that the director asked her something like that instead of answering the questions, but decided that it was more than nothing at all. "Mai is hurt pretty badly. I doubt she'll be able to fight anytime soon." Mashiro just nodded while she kept staring out the window. "And Nao has a deep cut. We stitched her up as good as we could, but I bet it hurts like hell." Mashiro closed her eyes and sighed as she leaned back."You know that she can't take on Fujino." Midori said insistently.

"I'd like to talk to all of you in a bit. I think you should know some things before you have to face the Dark Ones again."

"We won't!"

"Please, just hear me out." Mashiro cut the Midori off. "We all have to fight our own demons sooner or later." Her voice wasn't desperate or anything. It was in an odd way very intense.

"Fine." For the first time Midori saw something like desperation in the eyes of the girl. Now that she was sitting in front of her in the silver wheel-chair without her cheerful maid around, she was nothing more than a serious little girl that tried to save the world from breaking down. As much as Midori hated the thought of fighting the others, she had to admit that the director had a point. "I'll bring them here."

"Thank you, Sugiura-sensei."

"I'm not a teacher anymore," she said as she walked away, not bothering to turn around again.

The HiME sat down on the floor in the big conference hall. It must have already been past midnight, but nobody bothered with such trivial things like time anymore. After all it was one of the things that had lost all its meaning anyway when they got their memories back.

"Mai's still unconscious," Midori explained their number as the five HiME walked in. They sat down on the floor since there were no chairs in the room at all.

"I see," Mashiro replied while turning around her wheel-chair to face the girls. "I think I owe you an explanation." The silence was hanging heavy above their heads. Everyone seemed to be either still shocked about the recent events or wrapped up in their memories. She inhaled deeply before she started to talk in a calm voice. "You all got your memory of your past lives back. I wish I could have spared you all of these feelings, but Nagi is far more powerful in this world than I had thought. When Kuga-san had made the contract with him, he earned half of her power too."

"So, it's her fault that Yukino is one of them?" Haruka said, pointing her finger at Natsuki.

"How dare you insult Natsuki with such nonsense!" Nao spat back at the enraged girl.

"It isn't. Nobody's at fault." Mashiro commented, silencing them both. "We have to stop Nagi from getting any more powerful. Right now, he has Fujino-san as his strongest weapon. Her love for Kuga-san is a mighty force that will help him become even stronger. Right now, she's acting on her own. Kiyohime had sent her mind into chaos. It is not yet controlled by Nagi for her desire is still too strong to be controlled." When Shizuru's name was mentioned along with the blunt statement of the girl being madly in love with her, Natsuki clenched her teeth.

It's all my fault. I was the one who created all of that. I was selfish enough to drag them all into that again and now I have to kill Shizuru... again... And for what? To save this sick world? "No..." she didn't notice that she had whispered the word silently to herself. Nobody else seemed to have heard it. Only when Nao laid an arm around her shoulders, she realized that a tear had forced its way outside.

"Don't worry, Natsuki. We'll make it alright. It's not your fault." Nao looked at her as if nothing had happened between them, and she was amazed how strong her younger friend seemed to be after all the things she had done to her.

"We have to destroy his army, and we have to contain Shizuru's power long enough for taking on Nagi himself."

"How do we do this?"

"Each one of you is a sort of catalyst. If you fall, the star will increase its pace. If you win the star will lose power and so will Nagi as its operator. He has not yet earned the full power of the Obsidian Lord. He needs the other half for getting what he wants."

"And by other half you mean?" Midori asked with puzzled eyes.

"He needs Kuga-san." Mashiro's voice was full of certainty.

"No way!" Nao's eyes got wide in shock while Natsuki remained silent, staring at the ground as if she didn't listen at all.

"What now? First you want to make us kill our friends, and now we have to protect the one who's at fault?" Haruka's words were full of spite.

"She's right." The husky voice of Natsuki silenced them all. All eyes were upon her as she stood up with her hands clenched to fists. "I'll go and fight that bastard alone."

"I'm coming with you," Nao instantly responded. She tried to stand up next to Natsuki, but flinched as her wound pinned her down to ground.

"It's not that easy Kuga-san," Mashiro tossed in. "His power grew thanks to Fujino-san's passion."

"I will stop them both." No one dared to speak a word. "There has to be another way instead of killing everybody. If we kill Nagi, we can win this fight, right?"

"There is a chance. But I don't know for sure. I wouldn't place my luck on it." Mashiro said, making clear that she didn't support the idea at all.

"I will." Although Natsuki felt like breaking down, she knew she had to be strong. It was all she could do. She didn't have anything to lose anymore.

"Don't be so foolish to think that you can just go there and fight them with a brave heart. It's not something you can do alone."

"She doesn't have to. We'll fight with her." Midori's voice was serious.

"You can't make me fight for that idiot!" Haruka was still enraged.

"No, I can't. If you can bear the sight of Yukino being possessed by that evil brat it's fine with me." The sharp words of the young teacher sunk into the blonde and silenced her for a second.

"Fine. I'm in... But only for the sake of Yukino," she finally responded with a pout.

"Kuga-san..." The voice of the girl in the wheelchair became even more serious. "Shizuru is his strongest weapon. He knows that quite well. He knows your history too. He will use her against you. I doubt that you be able to accomplish everything you wish for." Mashiro flashed a short, but meaningful glance at Nao before she went on. "You can't save her and kill him.

"I know...," Natsuki whispered, trying to hold back the tears. Her body was shaking, but she didn't allow herself to cry in front of the others.

"So, the decision is made. We'll fight that sneaky little rat together without killing the possessed." Midori sounded like a true leader, and the rest of the group just nodded in silent agreement. "Mikoto." She turned towards the little girl. "Mai won't be able to fight. You have to be strong for both of you." Mikoto's eyes were fiery and sad at the same time. She nodded and the young teacher wondered if she had put too much weight on the shoulders of the little one.

"You should rest for a bit. The battle will be here soon enough..." Mashiro said, unable to hide the worry in her voice. One after another left the conference room. Natsuki had stormed out first, closely followed by Haruka, Midori and Mikoto. Only Nao remained. The short glance from before had glued her to the spot. She felt like she should be here right now.

"You should get some rest too, Yuuki-san. Sugiura-sensei told me that your wound had required stitches."

"Natsuki won't get out of this alive, will she?" Nao asked, already knowing the answer. When the director said nothing, she went on. "I mean, is there a chance to save her?" The eyes of Mashiro told her that the girl knew more than she had told the others. "Tell me," Nao insisted.

"Things like this are never without sacrifices. No one is to blame for giving in to their wishes, and when Natsuki made the contract she couldn't have known what would happen, and neither did the other girls when they lost the battle of willpower."

"There has to be a way..." Tears were silently running down Nao's cheeks.

"How much are you willing to sacrifice in order to save her, Yuuki-san?" Mashiro suddenly said with piercing eyes.

"Everything." She didn't need to think about an answer. She never was sure about anything before.

"I see." The girl in the wheelchair inhaled. "I don't know if it's coincidence or fate that Fujino-san of all the Dark Ones is your direct enemy. It better be fate because otherwise I might be putting your life on the line."

"Fine with me!" Nao's fierce gaze left no room for doubt.

"If you can get close enough to keep her eyes closed for a while, I might be able to bring her sanity back. Fujino-san is stronger than her Child, and as soon as she has the control over Kiyohime back there is a good chance that we can beat Nagi without having Natsuki sacrifice herself and to withstand Nagi's manipulating power. The stronger Childs are on our side. His only big weapon is Kiyohime. We have Hephaestus and Kagutsuchi. They are a mighty force compared to his army."

"But Mai's injured. She can't fight."

"I've told you... Nothing is ever without a sacrifice. My power isn't endless. I can bring Fujino-san back if you are able to keep her eyes closed for a while and I can shield you from his power." She paused and looked outside the window. "Or I can bring back Mai."

"Instead of shielding me..." The words slipped out of Nao's mouth without realizing the true meaning behind them.

"It's up to you to decide."

"But didn't you just tell me that Kagutsuchi is one of the most powerful Childs?" The moment she said the words the truth hit her. "You're basically telling me that Mai is much more needed in that battle than me."

"I'm sorry." Mashiro voice had become very low under the weight of the statement. "This carnival isn't like the last ones. It isn't about the affection for your dearest ones. I'm sure Julia would be far bigger then..." Nao gulped but said nothing and so Mashiro went on, "the world Nagi has created with the stolen power is merely a copy of the ones you remember. It isn't a new creation. It's a sloppy duplicate with certain... flaws."

"Okay. I'm in." I will do whatever it takes to protect her. Even if it means to save that bitch.

"I will try to shield your mind as good as I can. But it might not work. He's very strong."

"It's okay. It's better that way anyway..." Nao paused. "I can see it in her eyes. She needs Shizuru... At this rate she won't make it without her."

"Are you really sure about that? It is very likely to happen that you will have to switch places with Fujino, which means that you will fight your friends or even kill them."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"Fine. Don't talk about this to anybody. Just let them rest. They need their sleep. We'll leave in about two hours. I have to make some preparations first. Things have become a bit complicated since Fumi switched sides." The voice of the childlike director seemed never to falter. It was always calm and steady, and although Nao knew that tonight might be the last in her life, it gave her hope.

"Hah! Tell me about complicated...," she said with a bitter smile before limping out of the conference room.

A/N: Sims 3 update: My super plan that Shizuru and Nao battle for Natsuki's love in the new big house didn't work at all -.- the first thing that happened was Shizuru and Nao making out while Natsuki was busy playing with Duran all the time. Geez, she's such a loner. No wonder Shizuru and Nao slowly fall in love. I need to take some pictures to show you guys the madness^^Time flies by as I am writing the remaining chapters of this story.