Hello, readers! Let me start by saying Happy New Year!

Next, I'll move on to an apology. I'm sorry I didn't update in such a long time, but I was in the dreaded by all "Author's block". *brrr* But thanks to a very close friend of mine (on this site she goes by the username Akai-neechan; she's not in this fandom though) I'm now out of that dump and my ideas are flowing again. Well, more like steadily dipping, but it's a start. I always have a chapter or two prepared before I post, but it's getting harder to write when I need to think of appropriate ways to tie-up loose ends.

Thank you all for the reviews! If you find any inconsistencies or something else that bothers you, don't be shy and ask away.

As a form of apology this chapter is a little tiny bit longer than the last one. There's also something small for you to dwell on at the end, so look forward to that as well! Chapter, as per ancient tradition, hasn't been proof-read by another person, so expect some bumpy sentences. I hope they don't ruin the overall experience.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome!

They had reached a decision. It was the best one they could come up with under the current circumstances, Shizuru thought. And the task to fulfill the plan fell on her shoulders. It was simple – be close to Natsuki at all times and, depending on the situation, inconspicuously give her further instructions on how to act. And all the while keeping this agenda a secret from her.

It was a given that Shizuru had been chosen. She was closest to Natsuki, knew her best of them all, and, given their background, it wasn't suspicious if she were to spend every waking second next to her. While she searched in the already secured areas in the facility, her mind drifted back to the discussion that had ended a few minutes prior.

"Nao-chan, you said you were buried in a pile of corpses, while Mai-chan and Youko were held prisoners." Midori said out of the blue, right after they had resolved the issue with the presently absent HiME.

Nao regarded the older woman with unhidden dislike before she nodded slowly. It seemed she really didn't want to be reminded of that experience, if one were to judge by the change in her expression.

"And that's because the Obsidians wanted only Mai-chan?'

"Yeah. They thought Kuga and me dead."

"I see. But you weren't."

"Clearly!" Nao irately crossed her hands. "Where're you getting at?"

But instead of Midori, it was Fumi that spoke next.

"Orphans feed on the energy of strong feelings, especially if they belong to HiME. That is why they thrived at Fuuka Academy. They knew where we were and sought us out."

Shizuru quickly understood where they were going with that reasoning and it looked like she wasn't alone in her realization.

"We still have some powers, but without the Hime star to amplify them, the Orphans don't know who or where exactly the HiME are." Midori continued with the explanation. "This means we can't be tracked or picked out from inside a crowd, for example. That is to say that we're somewhat safe at the moment."

From the Orphans. Searrs knows exactly where we are.

The empty halls stretched on and on.

The earlier conclusion made them aware of an important advantage, Shizuru kept on thinking while walking. There was at least something that actually was working in their favour. It was one thing for another – if the Star returned they gained their full powers back, but would be hunted down and swarmed in a matter of minutes. Also, their most important person would most likely be put in danger. She slightly scoffed.

Where had Natsuki gone?

Mai lovingly stroke Takumi's short hair, still having trouble believing that he was right there, in front of her, safe and sound. They were reunited at last. Of course, a lot of credit went to Akira for keeping her brother safe all this time; she had to thank her later. There were tons of things she wanted to ask him, but he pulled away and smiled.

He had grown, she noticed. Her little brother was tad bit taller than her and his face was more mature than she remembered. And as he smiled at her, there was no doubt any more left that he wasn't the boy she needed to look after. The transition, she mused while she returned the gesture of kindness, wasn't sudden – Takumi had made it clear he didn't need to be pampered long ago, but Mai had kept taking care of him whenever possible. But now, having to look at him only once, she was sure he didn't need her fretting over him anymore.

She watched him lovingly as he spoke to her. His words were sweet and apologetic, she could tell, but she wasn't really listening. Pride filled her chest.

It took her some time to realize that Takumi was now at the other end of the room, conversing with Akira and Youko. Then her gaze trailed over to the other two significant male figures in her life – Tate and Reito. Both of them were openly looking at her.

"Mai."

It was Yuuichi who dared to approach her first. Much like Takumi, he had also changed and grown out of his boyish appearance. A part of her regretted their break-up right then and there, after he called her name. The roughness with which he did it, his headstrong, yet hesitant approach were the very traits of his with which she had fallen in love in the first place.

"Hey." She greeted in return and, out of habit, glanced behind his shoulder in search for Shiho. It was a surprise that the younger girl wasn't anywhere near (or rather not in clinging distance) of her so-called bigger brother.

"Things're pretty crazy, huh?"

"Yeah," she replied, suddenly feeling the need to stare at her feet. "Listen, Yuuichi, I'm sorry you got dragged again in this. You don't deserve it."

And it was why I pushed you away all those times...

She still found it overwhelming to deal with the guilt of putting the life of her most beloved – or anyone else's for the matter – on the line. And Yuuichi was always the type to want to help, to jump head-first into trouble even if there was a safer way around it. His recklessness was another part of his character that she loved and hated at the same time. Simply put, he was too much controversy in one place for her to handle.

"Don't say anything further." He raised his hand. "In fact, I'm glad I'm here. I can do all I can to help both you and Shiho like this. Much better than sitting in some bunker, waiting it all out. This is... I feel useful here."

"You'll die here."

"No, I won't."

She raised her glazed-over eyes to meet his confident stare.

"'Cause you guys are going to save the world before that happens. You always do. I have your back."

Swooping the whole building had proved an impossible task for a single person. So Natsuki settled with securing just the wing that she and the other HiME were hiding at for the moment. A couple of times. And then she figured that her efforts were pointless and she was just tiring herself. She leaned on a wall and slumped to the cold tiled floor.

This Searrs base looked exactly the same as all the ones she had visited until then. Then the thought that there was only one Searrs facility she had been to and didn't wreck came to her mind and she smiled. She enjoyed the fact that she had, albeit unwillingly in most cases, done so much damage to the bastards' secret labs. It had always been her style to make guerrilla hit-and-run strikes against her enemies. The same went for her vendetta against The First District in the past.

Slowly she pulled the glove off her hand and inspected the artifact shard in her palm. It didn't hurt anymore and neither did it emit the eerie light it had before. For now it was just like any piece of alien rock, if she had seen any. She wondered what would happen if she managed to break it, with the help of a HiME weapon perhaps, and finally be free of this curse. It wasn't only now that she had contemplated the idea; once she had even come close to shooting her own hand with one of her guns, but at the last moment, just before she squeezed the trigger, something stopped her. Whether it was her own fear, or maybe curiosity, she didn't know.

She allowed her body to relax. If only she could sleep, but her mind was lucid and racing. It wouldn't let her rest. The nostalgic feeling of eagerness to jump into another fight filled her chest, though she was well aware that her body couldn't handle it yet. The new HiME weapons consumed her energy with every shot she made. Did Searrs know about this side-effect?

Soft, ghost-like footsteps reached her ears. They didn't alarm her. That pace, both hurried and at the same time even, could belong to only one person. It was funny how well she knew and adored that person, yet how hard she had tried to push her away.

No more.

"Natsuki."

"Shizuru. Are you guys ready with the plan?"

"You know I can't tell you that."

She could picture the faint smile on Shizuru's face, just from hearing her mellow voice. It was the way she ended her sentences when she smiled – the pitch rose a bit and there was always that unspoken continuation, usually a tease or a jest. Natsuki waited for it.

"Did Natsuki enjoy her little walk, while we all sweated in that tiny room?"

"I would've rather been together with you."

"So Natsuki's saying she wanted to sweat together with us?"

There it was. But Natsuki didn't regret falling for it this time. Though her cheeks did heat up a tiny bit.

"Shizuru..." She lazily looked up at her companion. "You know what I meant."

Shizuru didn't reply. Instead, she asked:

"Why are you sitting on the ground?"

"As good a place as any." Natsuki swept away a bit of dust with the edge of the burnt not-so-white-anymore coat she had still to take off. "Care to join me?"

As a wordless response Shizuru quietly took on her offer and lowered herself to the ground.

"You'll have to forgive me for the, uh, smell." The Ice Princess tried to nonchalantly apologize. "You know, corpses, Orphans, a lot of running. Ugh, I want a bath."

A light-hearted chuckle wasn't the response she expected, but was nevertheless a welcomed one.

"We are after all in Rome. I say this is a perfect opportunity to go to a Roman bathhouse."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Natsuki mentally patted herself on the back for not stuttering. Shizuru shamelessly turned to lock eyes with her and her lips pulled a bit higher than before.

That insufferable woman!

They stood like that until one of them couldn't stand the burning ruby gaze of the other any longer.

"Say, Shizuru," Natsuki spoke to the floor, growing nervous all of a sudden. "I really, really missed you. You can't imagine how glad I am to see you're okay."

"No, you're wrong."

"Huh?"

"Not only can I imagine, but... Natsuki, we all thought your group... I thought... I can't… bring the words to my lips… The Portal's collapse and-"

A person of the class of Fujino Shizuru rarely searched for words or made long pauses, unless there was a deep reason behind the inability to eloquently construct the perfect sentence. So without second thought Natsuki reached out and took Shizuru's hand in her own.

"Sorry for putting you through that. We didn't have much time to get back to you guys. Circumstances… got in the way."

Shizuru leaned a bit closer, so now their shoulders were touching. They were still holding hands.

Is that what they call 'one step at a time'?

"I understand. But this whole week..."

Natsuki tensed.

A week? That long? Could it be that time flows differently here and there…?

"It was nerve-wrecking, to say the least," Shizuru continued and the newly-born questions faded. "I thought that I was used to losing you, but instead..."

A lump formed in Natsuki's throat and her heart clenched. Again, her poor decision from three years ago came back, smashing her in the face, pummeling her to the ground, and kicking the air out of her. Arrogantly she had assumed that pushing Shizuru away was the right decision and that their pain was going to be worth it in the end. Not only had she been wrong, she had awfully hurt both of them.

"Shizuru, please. I'm not going anywhere, not this time." She struggled to take a deep breath. "I never want to be separated from you ever again. I only want you to be safe and happy."

"Natsuki has to understand that this goes for both of us." Shizuru leaned even closer, her breath warmly tickling at the other's neck. "Until the Obsidians are gone, I'm not leaving your side."

A small smile tugged at the corners of Natsuki's lips and for the first time she thought that for all the suffering that this war brought, it had something good to it.

"How can I argue with that?"

"I'm sure you'll find a way, but for now… Just for now, let's stay like this."

Nao scratched at the bandage that Youko had just wrapped around her head and got her hand slapped immediately. She glared at the offender.

"Stop touching it. The fact that it's not a big wound doesn't make it any less serious," the doctor scolded her.

"It's not like my brain's going to leak out from a small hole in my head. Besides, this is barely a scratch!" Nao argued back, feeling as though she was being chided by one of her teachers again. They never let her do what she wanted.

"Nao-san, that 'scratch' came from a bullet that managed to bring you to the ground and should be treated with the caution that any head injury deserves. Let me do what little I can."

A huff later the argument was broken and an unspoken truce was established. After another examining look, Youko left Nao and went up to Midori. The two old friends finally had a chance to greet each other properly. Exhaustion was pushed aside by a joyous embrace and the exchange of genuine smiles. It was as if the years disappeared and both friends were their younger selves again, making silly remarks and sporting until then unseen by Nao goofy behaviour.

She wondered with a bit of hidden jealousy whether had she lived her life differently, she would've created such a strong connection with somebody. Her life was void of friendship or love, not counting the relationship she had with the other HiME. There the situation was somewhat complicated. Not friends, nor comrades, they were enemies-turned-allies, still ready to turn on one another if the situation changed. Now was the time to consider where she stood, should another rift rise between the HiME. She had to carefully plan whose side to take in case of an inner conflict. This time she knew she couldn't survive alone.

Until now she had fought alone, not seeking the help of anybody, seeing the HiME team idea Midori had as downright idiotic. Conflict was in their blood, whether they liked to admit it or not – there was no way a long-term partnership between the HiME could exist. They were already pushing the boundaries of their shaky union. The earlier discussion had shown her that much. After hearing all that talk, she was willing to think that there were even some of them who would return to Searrs if they had the chance.

Being lied to, apparently, was something with which they had no problems, as long as it brought peace back. Nao herself still wasn't sure. Moral ambiguity didn't bother her – the world was a cruel place, with no place in it for the clear division between good and evil. She wasn't much for picking sides. Her loyalties lay with nobody and she didn't feel obliged to anybody. The monstrous experiments Searrs did and the fact that they were willing to go the extra length, to make that step over the line in order to accomplish their goal was commendable. The HiME were hesitant and were more or less just a bunch of fugitives, now vulnerable like never before.

But then again, Nao hated to be used.

She sent a sideways glance towards Tokiha and Kanzaki. The two were in the middle of a serious conversation and were trying to keep it as private as they could in a room full of people. They were fairly close to her so, naturally, Nao leaned in and nonchalantly began eaves-dropping. And just when they were getting to the good part, in stormed Kuga, Fujino, and Okuzaki. Nao hadn't noticed when the female ninja had disappeared from her guard duty.

"Where's the fire?" Nao asked, unable to leave out the irritation in her voice.

It was a bit offensive that nobody bothered to glare at her. She had hoped to at least provoke an angry retort from Natsuki. After all, it was the little things in life that brought it sweetness.

"There's a group of Searrs soldiers at our doorstep. They wish to… speak to us." Natsuki's eyes carefully scanned all of them.

Nao wasn't the only one who frowned at the news.

"Talk?"

"Yes."

"With all of us? Not happening. That's obviously a trap."

"Exactly what we thought." Fujino nodded and proceeded in a persuasive tone. "That is why I suggest two or three of us meet with their commanding officer, and see what he has to say. Preferably in a neutral zone."

"You guys are too quick to trust," Shiho folded her arms, reproach etched on her face. She turned to Akira. "Okuzaki-san, you don't support this 'peaceful'meeting, do you?"

"Actually," the kunoichi coughed in her fist, "they didn't seem hostile. I sensed no ill intentions. I think talking to them is worth a shot, if what they say is true."

"Which is what exactly?"

"They're defectors that don't agree with Searrs's high brass. They wish to help us."

As she lay on her stomach in the bushes, watching intently the four people through the scope of a sniper rifle, Natsuki felt as if they were in a tale from the history books. That was because the two groups had agreed to meet to 'negotiate' in the middle of a clearing in the forest surrounding the Serpens. Each group had elected two representatives; in the HiMEs' case those were Fumi and Midori – one ex-Searrs and one ex-First District agent. There had been little to no dispute that those two were their best bet (next to Shizuru and Reito) to lead the talks.

As for Natsuki herself, she and Akira were making sure that there was no funny business and that both Midori and Fumi were safe.

"Is Midori bouncing?"

Natsuki almost jumped at the sound of Nao's voice. She tapped the earpiece (one of the few they had managed to salvage from the base in such short notice) and tried to reply as quietly as possible.

"Why?"

"She's a history geek: it must be Christmas for her!"

What?

Her silence prompted Nao to continue her explanation. Perhaps she was bored and annoyed that she was left behind.

"It's like two armies negotiating a peace treaty, in, let's say, feudal China during the Warring States thing. Remember, it was on her history test? She must be feeling like one of those great generals, with this military set-up and all. So I guessed that there was some bouncing."

The corners of her mouth twitched. She needed to be cautious, since the probability of the opposing party's scouts to be near was high and she risked to betray her position, along with the fact that they had deliberately broken the deal to send only two people. Though neither she nor Akira were practically taking part in the negotiations.

But despite herself, she did respond.

"You know, I too was thinking she was enjoying it. Funny, huh?"

"Ew, Kuga."

The radio signal went silent.

Well that shut her up.

The smile that had tugged on the corners of her mouth disappeared when she saw movement through her scope. Her finger remained off the trigger, since both sides seemed to have come to an agreement and there wasn't any obvious trouble. After a brief exchange, the two elder HiME began to make their way back.

When she saw Midori stumble and fall on the ground with a look of shock on her face, she almost took a shot at the Searrs negotiators. It was only luck that saved their lives – a gust of wind had rustled the buses and thus obstructed her vision for a couple of seconds. Then the leaves stopped dancing and she could confirm the position of her targets, but she realized that there was no need to eliminate anybody.

Midori was on her feet, and bowing repeatedly in apology (and probably embarrassment) to both Fumi and the other party. Her silly grin set Natsuki's heart at ease and she let her finger slide away from the trigger. She sighed and closed her eyes.

I'm getting maybe a little bit too trigger-happy.

Still, it wasn't as if she was going to make two precision shots from this distance – she wasn't that good, and on top of that, this wasn't her personal weapon.

She lay in cover for a bit longer, until she got confirmation that Fumi and Midori had safely returned. After that she silently retreated.

One moment they had barely any idea how they would survive this and now they were discussing flank missions and picket duty. Mai contributed the change to the military-trained task force officers now sitting at the same table with her and a couple of other HiME. And Arika – she seemed to be well acquainted with the commander of their newly found allies and refused to leave his side.

"Wait till Nina-chan hears about this!" She had joyfully exclaimed the second she had loosened her hug.

He didn't mind the attention from the girl and treated her in a father-like way. That, while heart-warming to witness, prompted suspicion among the HiME.

However, right now the additional force was welcome if not only to help them hold the Serpens, but also to let the tired girls have a rest. It was no secret they were near their limits and it would only take no more than a half-dozen experts, like for example the Otome pilots, to take them down. Now guard duty was given to Sergay Wang's men – thirty-five or so in strength.

The commander himself was tall and blonde, strong in the shoulders. He looked a little bit like Yuuichi, but there was one big difference except age between the two. Wang was a soldier. One could tell by the way he talked, stood, and negotiated. When Fumi and Midori had assured the others he could be trusted (at least for the moment) they didn't believe them. But now Mai was sure – the man hated Searrs and what the organization had become. From a hired ex-military adviser he had been turned into a ruthless executioner and that he hadn't been able to stand. So he took his most close brothers in arms and fled.

Either way, he was willing to feed them information on Searrs, as long as the HiME promised to help him put an end to their game. And to do that they first needed to stop the other menace – the Obsidians. According to him, unsurprisingly Searrs was also racing towards the alien enemy, in hopes to enslave, rather than destroy them.

"Searrs may stand behind every powerful country in the world and they may have been around for longer than they are willing to openly admit, but they can't possibly control beings like those." Wang clenched his jaw. "The Obsidians have to be destroyed! Or in the end we will be the ones enslaved, if there are any of us left."

"Oh, there will be, Commander. Only we won't be entirely us. You must know what happens to humans they capture alive." Midori grimly pointed out.

Mai winced at the memory of those creatures they had fought in Japan and in the North. Not only were the mere images of the humanoid Orphans nightmare inducing, but they also had to cope with the knowledge that those abominations were once people.

"Commander Wang, something caught my attention." Fumi's voice pulled Mai out of remembrance. "If I may?"

"Go ahead, Ms Himeno."

"Thank you. You said that Searrs stands behind almost all influential countries. That statement has many flaws, but let's take it as a truth for now. If Searrs is coordinating the world's response to the Orphan threat, then that means that they are also in possession of innumerable resources."

It wasn't that Mai hadn't thought about it, but hearing it spoken made it all the more terrifying. They were fighting against the world; no wonder their success rate until now was minimal. But why had they helped them in the first place? Were the HiME 'plan B', in case the domination over the Obsidians failed?

"That by itself is frightening," Fumi continued, "but there is something else. What about all the civilians? How can we be sure that Searrs is indeed keeping them safe and not 'feeding' a large part of those people to the Obsidians, so that they can honour their part of the deal?"

Wang was silently contemplating for a couple of moments. All HiME who were present shifted uncomfortably in their respective spots and waited.

"The group," Wang spoke at last, "that wishes to control the Obsidians doesn't have all of Searrs supporting it. They are a majority in the high brass, but there is one person who pulls the strings behind that plot, while the others follow blindly."

"Smith?" Arika lifted a brow, searching for confirmation.

"I don't know if that's even his real name, Arika." The blonde man shook his head and sighed. "But no matter. Whoever he is, he is one manipulative son of a… uh, pardon. He managed to get a lot of good people to work for his project and he wasn't even that high in the hierarchy. He needs to be stopped!"

"So you're saying that there are still people in Searrs who think he's wrong?" Mai ventured to speak for the first time and felt immediately all eyes on her. "Then there's hope they can help us! It's not just us against the Obsidians."

"Miss, Smith is ultimately against the Obsidians, but his choice of action can be interpreted otherwise. And while there are other fractions within Searrs that oppose him, it's safe to say that they won't be of any use."

"How so?" Arika gasped. "They haven't been… eliminated, right?"

"No. They're scattered around the world and I'm pretty sure they've got their hands full with running around and helping refugees. Well, they are helping in a way, it's just not the help we need here."

Mai leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.

This is more horrible than I imagined.

Searrs knew exactly where the HiME were – that's why Wang had been sent. But he played his commanding officers by switching sides without them noticing. It was only a matter of time though. When no news of success was sent back, along with Mai and the others as captives, other teams would be sent after them. Once again the circumstances were pressing for swift action.

"Smith wanted us here in the end for a reason. What was it?" Midori bluntly asked, never one for subtleties. "You must know, right? After all, you had all that info about the higher-ups."

"I don't understand all that magical mojo, but it seems something's up at the Vatican. Whatever's happening, it's going down soon."

Bonus I

Young Michael never liked his classmates. All of them were so sickeningly carefree. Not one of them had any big ambitions for the future and they didn't care. How irresponsible.

However, in the good spirit of group school education, Michael never acted on his feelings towards his fellow students. He was polite and forthcoming. His grades were top-notch and his parents were always pleased with him. To add to his reputation were the numerous prizes he had won on debate competitions and his certificates from programs aiming to polish up gifted youth into capable leaders.

Despite all that he was dissatisfied with life. He didn't long for a friend or an intimate relationship. What he earned for was power to make a difference. Everything that was wrong with the world he could see and knew how to fix it. Only if he could; only if those maggots gripping the power to change would loosen up their hold long enough for him to latch onto it! Then, his town, next his country, and finally the world would be arranged just the way they should be and by him none the less.

So he started looking for a way to weave his way into the system. But it wasn't easy. His search stretched all through his last year of high-school and into two and a half years of college. And when he thought that he had reached a dead end and started considering going further into politics, as his major would suggest, he was contacted by a woman.

She had waited for him outside of his university, leaning on a black car. Just from a couple of words Michael could tell that she was no ordinary person. Their first exchange was brief, but the woman had made it clear this wasn't going to be the last he heard from her. It wasn't.

That was Michael's first step into the halls of Searrs – a world where ambition was everything and achieving power was everybody's goal.