A/N: This takes place after the side-story "Natsuki's Navel Victory", which it is not necessary to read for continuity.

8.

It had been a month since graduation. Natsuki was nearly done with all of her special assignments to move on to Second Year, and Shizuru had already started classes at Fuuka University.

Natsuki decided to take a break from her studies to take care of some personal issues. She was donning her riding gear as Shizuru came in from her classes.

"You're heading out?" Shizuru blinked.

"It's been awhile. Thought I'd visit Dad. He's been doing treatments at the hospital next town over. It's three hours round trip, so it's gonna be dark when I get back."

"Do you want me to come with?" Shizuru asked.

Natsuki looked thoughtful, "If it's not going to interfere with your schoolwork, then I wouldn't mind the company."

"Then I'm glad I picked this up," Shizuru pulled out a set of riding clothes from her closet, grey and purple in color.

"I'm surprised you got that," Natsuki said.

"Well, I've ridden with you before, in just my school uniform. But for prolonged rides, an outfit like this would be better for overall safety, yes?"

"I can't argue with that. Well, hurry and change. We're burning daylight."

888888

"Dad?" Natsuki looked at him with concern as she entered his hospital room, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he smiled, "They say the treatment is working and the cancer is in remission. It's just that, unfortunately, so's my hair."

He looked pale, and there were tubes and wires, and indeed, every trace of hair had vanished from his head.

"Shouldn't you girls be working hard on your studies?" Genichiro Kuga grinned.

"I'm just about wrapped up with my extra work," Natsuki replied, "Though it hardly seems fair that I have to do make-up work for fighting an ancient evil conspiracy and the so-called godlike being running it. It seems like that should be worth extra credit or something."

Genichiro laughed, "Sorry. That's counted as extracurricular activities. No course credits. And you, Fujino?"

"I'm leaps and bounds ahead of the coursework," Shizuru reassured him.

"See, Shizuru hates to work hard. So she gets it all out of the way quietly in the beginning, and then presents herself to everyone as calmly drinking tea, and everyone things she's just taking it easy and somehow pulls out mysterious victories," Natsuki grinned.

"Ara, when did you notice?"

"Living with you has let me have a window into all of your secrets, lover-girl."

"I shall have to find new ways to make Natsuki believe I am amazing, then," Shizuru fixed her with her serene smile.

"Teach her to cook, and I'll be impressed," Genichiro replied. Shortly after their return to Japan, Natsuki had tried her hand at a victory dinner, the results of which were that everyone who survived the attempts considered it a victory, "You've inherited your mother's skills in the kitchen, Natsuki."

"Yeah, yeah," Natsuki grumbled.

"Ara, I'm afraid that I'm only moderately functional in a kitchen, myself," Shizuru informed him, "I can manage, to be sure, but I'm hardly qualified to teach."

"What about that one matronly girl you two know. Tokiha?"

"Oh, no," Natsuki held up her hands defensively, "I am not going to Mai for cooking lessons. She may not look like it, but that girl can be scary."

"So, any messages from Alyssa?" Genichiro asked.

"Yeah, your adoptive daughter sends her regards. She also says that Dr. West seems to have sold off his stake in Project Otome, and is working on another project for a company called Tricell."

"Well, I'm sure she can handle dealing with him, in due time. Unfortunately, Fujino-san, it would appear that your prediction about research into materialization will be borne out. Eventually, they'll learn how to replicate the ability in ordinary people, and it will likely become a brand new trade in the military weapons industry."

Natsuki sighed. She remembered the battery of tests that she'd been subjected to during her return to Japan.

"The good news is that I've isolated and removed the microchips they injected you with the track you," the doctor Alyssa had brought in had informed her, "But the cocktail they've injected you with seems to be a unique blend of nano-machines and retroviruses. The nano-machines seem to be absorbing ambient energy, like sunlight, heat, electrical energy, and storing it in micro-capacitors. When you want to materialize an object, they use that stored power."

"And the viruses?" Natsuki asked.

"They seem to be designed to modify your body to accept the nano-machines without treating them as a foreign invader, so they don't trigger an immune response.

"But here's the really strange thing. The nano-machines themselves seem to be dependent on X-chromosomes. I even ran a test using a blood sample from your father. Since he's a direct genetic relative, it tracks that some of your abilities come from his DNA. However, the minute the nano-machines interact with a Y-chromosome, they break down."

"Is that by design?" Natsuki had asked at the time."No. It seems that materialization is sort of like color-blindness. It depends on the X-chromosome. In this case, two X-chromosomes of compatible nature allow materialization, while a Y-chromosome will not."

"And all of this means?"

"Well, if you absolutely want to be ride of the effects of West's injections, you can wait to see if the nano-machine collectives die off, or you can get a blood transfusion from a man and it'll wipe them out completely."

Natsuki didn't like the sound of that, "Is there any other way?"

"Well, one other way," The doctor looked at her over the rims of her glasses, "But given what Miss Searrs told me about your relationship status, I doubt you'd find it more palatable."

Natsuki had taken a moment to consider the meaning of her words, then grimaced, "Oh. No. No, definitely not."

"Bottom line, naturally occurring HiME can, provided a power source, continue to materialize. Artificially created HiME, such as Project Otome was proposing, will lose their powers if they ever have relations with men."

"So, if I, say, got a blood transfusion from my Dad, I'd lose the nanomachines, but a power unit like the others wore would allow me to keep doing the whole materialization thing?"

"Essentially, yes. And given that only twelve HiME are born every three hundred years, the chance is that naturally occurring ones will be readily available for the outward power source is virtually nil. More likely, they would have to pursue making artificial HiME."

Natsuki scoffed, "The this Project Otome is probably dead in the water. I can't see a bunch of close-minded old men thinking they want their whole new military strategy resting in the hands of a bunch of virginal girls."

"Well," Natsuki said to her Dad, "At the very least, they've got obstacles to overcome before its feasible."

"So, are you two doing alright?" Genichiro asked, "I'm guessing I don't have to ask if I'm expecting grandchildren anytime soon."

"Well, not from us, certainly," Shizuru smiled.

"Oi, can we not discuss our love life with my Dad?"

"It's fine," Genichiro laid back in his bed, "You two are young. Now's the time for living life to the fullest, so when you get to be my age, you can look back on everything with fond memories. Just always be sure to make time for each other. Things might have been different for Saeko and me if the both of us had done things differently."

Natsuki didn't say anything. She'd become closer to her father since his return, but the issue of his infidelity to her mother was still a sore spot for her. But even she wasn't callous enough to rip into a man lying in a hospital bed.

"Listen, I know you two came to visit me, and I appreciate it. But these medications really wipe me out, and I'm afraid I'm going to drift off at any time, now. I get out of here, tomorrow, and I'll be resuming treatments in Fuuka, so, we can talk more regularly. Why don't you go get yourselves something to eat, and then see if you can't get home before it gets dark."

"Okay, Dad. You…you be well, okay."

"And Natsuki? The problems with your Mom and me aren't genetic. So don't keep quiet with your girlfriend. It's important to talk things out, okay."

She smiled, "Ok. Get some rest."

888888

The drive home was quiet, save for the thrumming of the motorcycle's engine.

The two girls walked wordlessly into their shared apartment, and Shizuru sighed.

"I'm going to take a shower," She announced.

Natsuki walked over to her, and wrapped her arms around her, "Hey, before you do, can you just…hold me for a bit?"

They sat on the bed together.

"It was hard, seeing him like that, yes?"

"Yeah."

"Would you like to shower together, perhaps?"

Natsuki gave Shizuru a smile, tired, but affectionate, "Sure."

Natsuki reached over, "Let me help you with the zipper."

She helped shed Shizuru of her riding clothes, and Shizuru returned the favor.

Suddenly, Natsuki pulled Shizuru into a deep kiss, and then laid back in the bed, pulling Shizuru on top of her.

"Natsuki?" Shizuru didn't notice the blush in Natsuki's cheeks, because she was all too aware of the flush in her own face.

"I need to feel like I'm alive," Natsuki replied softly, "I'm tired, and seeing him like that is just so sad, and I just need something…warm and loving right now."

"Are you sure? I know that you're…timid about such things."

Natsuki said nothing, only pulled Shizuru into a kiss. Shizuru managed to reach over and turn off the lights. The room fell into darkness, and the only sounds were the beating of hearts and the drawing of breath.