10.

Rift

Nao held Saiyuri, bouncing her to comfort her. Shizuru was staring ahead, her eyes narrow and cold. Nao had only seen Shizuru like this once before, and it had almost meant her death.

"She hates hospitals," Shizuru's voice was flat, That, more than anything, made Nao's blood run like ice water.

Nao thought about saying something, but she could think of no words that would comfort her. She was relieved when she saw Mai entering the main entrance of the hospital.

"Where is she?" Mai asked them. She froze when she saw Shizuru's eyes, flat and empty, half-lidded, and not seeming to see anything, but at the same time, seeing through everything.

"She's in the operating room," Shizuru's tone was empty, "I should have made her sell that awful machine ages ago."

"From what I heard, the accident was because of a drunk driver," Mai said, "Motorcycle or car, she could still have been…"

Shizuru turned to face Mai, her expression seething, "What do you know about it?"

Saiyuri started crying.

"Fujino, stop it!" Nao snapped, "Mai is here because she's your friend. She's Natsuki's friend. And you're scaring Saiyuri! So just…stop it!"

Shizuru looked at Nao, and it seemed as if she was just now seeing her, and she saw Saiyuri, crying.

Shizuru's gaze softened, and she reached out for her daughter, lifting her and holding her tenderly, "I'm sorry."

"Look, Shizuru, I know you're worried," Mai said, "But Natsuki is strong. She's survived worse."

"I can vouch for that," Nao said, looking away.

"What's everyone looking so down for?" Everyone turned at the sound of the familiar voice, to see Natsuki in a wheelchair, a crutch laying across her lap.

"Natsuki!?"

"Mama, hurt?"

"The wheelchair is just because they have some stupid policy that I'm not allowed to walk out of here on my own," Natsuki gave them a wry smile, "There's a hairline fracture in my left leg, so that's going to smart a bit, but I'm pretty much in one piece."

Mai took Saiyuri so that Shizuru could embrace Natsuki, and she buried her face in Natsuki's chest, crying, "Idiot. You could have been killed."

"The 'idiot' is the guy who was driving three sheets to the wind," Natsuki growled, "He totally trashed my bike"

"Natsuki…"

"Sorry to make you guys worry. Someone help me to the car. I'm not used to this crutch, yet. But I've got to use it and this stupid boot for the next six weeks."

"I'll help," Nao said as Natsuki was wheeled to the door. She helped Natsuki to her feet, then put herself under her arm on the side with her bad leg. They marched like that to a waiting car.

"Natsuki, are you…?"

She smiled, though it was strained, "I'm fine, Shizuru. There's a bit of road rash, and they prescribed some ointments and antibiotics to prevent infections. They also prescribed some pain killers, but we can just skip those."

"Jeez, Kuga, are you a glutton for punishment," Nao blinked.

"No. I just know that those things will wipe me out, and I need to keep my mind sharp. So, no pain killers."

"Mai, Nao, forgive my earlier rudeness," Shizuru bowed.

"It's not like we don't understand," Mai said, "I'll check in on you guys, tomorrow."

Once they were home, and Saiyuri reassured that her Mama would be fine, they tucked her in bed, and then Shizuru and Natsuki sat in the living room.

"Please don't strain yourself, Natsuki. You need to heal."

"I promise. I know in the past that would have been followed by me doing something dubious the very next day, but I'm not that person, anymore. I'll let Nao tackle the difficult chores."

"Natsuki…your bike…"

"Oh, that? Well, it's trashed. I'm lucky the guy only clipped the rear end. Still, it's probably a complete loss. I'll have to look think about a replacement after I heal."

"A replacement?" Shizuru looked at her incredulously, "You could have been killed on that thing, and you want to get a new one?"

"It's not the bike's fault that I had a close call with a drunk," Natsuki said, her eyes narrowing.

"Natsuki, you have a family that loves you. That bike was a relic from your vengeance quest. It has no place in our lives, now. I don't want to lose you, and Saiyuri certainly doesn't!""

"You're wrong, Shizuru. It wasn't part of my vengeance quest. I could have gotten to the bar to get info from Yamada a dozen different ways.

"That bike was…it was a connection to my Dad. I got the same kind he used. I rode it because it made me feel free. It was the freedom of the open air and the open road."

"I don't want you riding it, anymore!" Shizuru was getting visibly angry, "We could have lost you, today!"

"And if I'd been in a car, I still could have been hit by a drunk driver. If I'd been in a cab, or a bus, I could still have been in an accident. You're blaming the motorcycle, but it's not the cause of this!"

"Promise me you won't ride it!"

Natsuki was glowering, now, "You're being unreasonable, Shizuru."

Natsuki stood up, balancing her weight on her crutch.

"This conversation isn't over!" Shizuru said hotly.

"Yes, it is. I've had a very bad day, Shizuru. I was hit by a drunk driver. I busted my leg. My bike is trashed. And my wife is being unreasonable. Now, I'm incredibly tired, unbelievably sore, and angry as hell. So, before either of us says anything we regret, I'm going to go lay down in the guest bedroom. Let me know when you want to talk about this rationally."

Natsuki shut the door behind her. Shizuru considered going after her, but she was in a dark mood of her own. She hadn't felt this hurt and angry since…

She shook her head. No! This wasn't like that time. This was different.

Shizuru stormed into her room, and threw herself into bed, huffing angrily, "Stubborn child!"

888888

Nao wondered if she'd wandered into a deep freeze when she reached the house the next morning. Kuga was sitting on the sofa, her face set in her patented Death Glare.

Shizuru had the most sour expression on her face that Nao had ever seen. She handed Saiyuri off to her, "I'm heading to class. Call me if you have trouble with either of the children, today."

"Did…you two have a fight?" Nao cringed.

"Don't worry about it. I'm afraid that Saiyuri and I are going to have to rely on you a bit more, for a bit."

"Well, we can't very well have you hobbling around all over the house," Nao said. "Saiyuri, keep your Mama company for a bit. But don't touch her leg. It's got an ouchie."

Nao slipped off, ostensibly to start the laundry, but she took a moment to pull out her phone. She loved the new smartphones. So many more features than her old flip phone. She sent a text to Mai.

"Fujino and Kuga fighting! SOS! I'll talk to Kuga. You deal with Fujino!"

888888

Mai sighed, reading the text, "Why do I have to talk to Shizuru? I can't handle her. Natsuki's easy. I know how she thinks."

She thought about that a moment, "Yeah. I do know how Natsuki thinks."

She found Shizuru between classes, "Hey, can we talk?"

Shizuru gave her a slight nod, "Of course. We're friends."

"You look miserable, Shizuru."

"Since you don't usually come looking for me on campus, I'm going to guess that Yuuki-san told you that Natsuki and I are fighting."

"She did. She's worried. Heck, I'm worried. You two fighting isn't something we like seeing. And if precedent is anything to go by, it can lead to smashed buildings and …" Mai trailed off. She'd almost said, "and double suicides", but had decided that raising that subject now would probably be a bad idea, "…lots of property damage."

"Ara, that is a most telling pause, Mai," Shizuru gave her a sad smile, "However, your point is taken."

"So…what's the fight about?"

"Her motorcycle," Shizuru sighed.

"Oh."

"She's being too stubborn. She could have been killed. But she's already talking about replacing that dreadful machine!"

Mai nodded, "Well, stubborn and Natsuki go hand in hand. But c'mon, isn't that one of the things you love most about her? It's what makes it so much fun when you tease her, right? That stubborn insistence of hers to stick to her guns…so to speak."

"This is different. Why is she so insistent to cling to that dangerous thing?" Shizuru wiped at her eyes.

"Shizuru, would you say that Natsuki is still the same girl you met all those years ago?" Mai asked.

Shizuru looked thoughtful, "Well, not exactly. After all, she's become a mother. And she's more open with her feelings than she used to be."

Look who's talking, Mai thought, but didn't say aloud, "Right. In fact, Natsuki has changed a lot. She cares about other people. She's more considerate of others. But, in some ways, she's still the same. She's easily embarrassed. She's tough as nails. And she still eats way too much mayonnaise. And she happens to like riding her motorcycle. She told me once that it helps her clear out her head when it gets too cluttered. I've only ridden on it with her once, when I first got my HiME powers and we had to rescue Takumi from an Orphan. I was more worried about my brother at the time, so I didn't notice then, but I realized later, she handled it pretty well. I mean, we were offroad, but at no point was her driving a cause for concern."

"I suppose so. I've ridden with her on it, before as well. But at the time, we were both just high school students. We weren't wed, and we certainly weren't parents. I will concede that she drove safely, as I never felt in danger as a passenger. But that was a different time…"

"Look, Natsuki has changed a lot over the years. I know. You know it, too. And so many of those changes were for you, y'know," Mai pointed out, "And since you changed with her, those changes worked out for both of you. But, there are still some things about Natsuki that will forever be Natsuki. Asking her to give them up…well, it would be like asking her to give up being herself."

Shizuru looked at her, "But…the danger…"

"Life's full of danger. And as far as riding motorcycles go, I guess it is dangerous, but the danger isn't from how she handles her bike. She's a bit wild, kind of reckless, and her face doesn't hide anything she's thinking. And even if she's more comfortable putting herself in the care of others, these days, she's still knows how to take care of herself. You telling her to ditch the bike…she probably sees it as you saying you don't trust her."

Shizuru stared at her wide-eyed, then smiled, "I see. She's lucky to have such understanding friends as you."

888888

"Boy, can you sulk," Nao said to Natsuki after Saiyuri had been laid down for her nap.

"I'm in a very bad mood, right now, Nao," Natsuki's glare was menacing.

"And I'm on your side. I mean, just because you almost got clobbered out there, why should she get all bent out of shape bout it."

Natsuki paused, "She's just worried, is all. But she's being unreasonable. It's not like the accident was my fault."

"I get that. Someone hurts you on the playground, and suddenly you're not allowed to use the monkey bars. Hardly fair. But then again, people can't help but worry about the people they love."

"I suppose not," Natsuki sighed, "But this wasn't my doing, so why do I have to give up my stuff?"

"You know what the real problem is? It's that Fujino is scared and doesn't know how to handle it."

Natsuki scoffed, "Shizuru? Scared?"

"You think that's so strange? I seem to have a much better memory than you about these things, I guess," Nao smirked.

"My memory is fine, Nao."

"Then your interpretation of events needs work. 'Cause Fujino was more scared than all of us, in those days. She was just really good at hiding it.

"She was scared of herself, most of all, back then. Scared that she was a deviant. Scared that you'd find out and hate her. Scared that everyone saw through her. Scared that you'd die in the Festival. That girl was a mass of frayed nerves. She just hid it behind a serene smile, a tea cup, and a soft voice. Until Kikukawa outed her, and she cracked. Then, all of that fear turned into a murderous rampage.

"The one thing Fujino never learned how to handle well was being afraid. She was like that again, last night. When she heard you were in an accident," Nao shivered, "She was scary. I'm here to tell."

"So, what? Because Shizuru is worried about nothing, I have to give up my bike?"

"She's not worried about nothing. She's worried because you got hurt, and to her, it's proof of her worst fears coming to pass. The thing that scares her the most is losing you, after all."

Natsuki sighed, "Yeah, I get that."

"Do you? Well, I don't think you have to give up your bike. But I do think that the two of you need to talk. But instead of being so pig-headed, you should try to understand her feelings, if you want to change her mind about this. But consider this, Kuga, is losing Fujino worth keeping the bike?"

Natsuki looked out the window, saying nothing.

888888

It was the late afternoon when Shizuru returned home.

"Nao, could you give Natsuki and I a moment of time alone?"

"Sure. You two play nice."

Natsuki crossed her arms, "You wanted to say something?"

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry I laid into you last night. You were tired and injured, and it was not the best time to express my concerns. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well," Natsuki uncrossed her arms and walked over to Shizuru, "I'm sorry I can get bull-headed when I'm upset."

"You had reason to be upset. I was being unfair," Shizuru lowered her eyes, "The Natsuki I fell in love with loves mayonnaise, and puppies, and motorcycles. And I can't ask you not to be you."

"Well, you were worried. I get that. But the accident wasn't because I was being reckless. I take my safety on that bike seriously, you know. I've only ever been in two accidents. And one of them was more of an ambush than an accident. You scolded our housekeeper pretty severely about it, as I recall."

"Ara, I do remember. Still, I can't help but worry."

"Look, you drive on enough roads, your chances of meeting something dangerous eventually goes up. It could be an overturned truck, or a wild animal, or, in my case, a drunk driver. But the proper response to an accident isn't to respond with fear. It's to pick yourself up, acknowledge that sometimes things happen outside of your control, and keep living life on your terms."

"And that is the Natsuki I admire," Shizuru smiled, and she leaned forward and kissed her, "I won't object to you replacing your bike."

"And I promise, I won't take your concerns lightly. I wear my helmet, my riding clothes, and I always follow the posted speed limits and keep alert. So, something like this won't repeat itself."

They leaned in and kissed.

"Ara, our first fight. And I do believe there is a prescribed method of acknowledging that one has made up with their lover, is there not?"

Natsuki looked sheepish, "Yeah, about that…I'm afraid I'm still going to have to use the guest bed. Or the sofa. For awhile."

Shizuru looked crestfallen, "But…why? We made up!"

"It's just…this leg is killing me. The slightest bump is a fresh song of pain up and down my whole body. So…"

"Oh. My poor Natsuki. Well, in that case, I'm going to have to beg you to at least fill the prescription for the pain killers."

"But…"

"I can't stand to see my Natsuki in pain. So, even if you do have to sleep alone to protect your leg, it would ease my mind if you had some measure of comfort."

"Fine…But no trying to use my drugged stupor to get spoilers on my novel."

"Ikezu."

They laughed, and Shizuru embraced Natsuki, though, knowing now that Natsuki's leg was still paining her, she took great care to be gentle.

"Let's go show Saiyuri that we're getting along again. I think she was upset, this morning."

"Well, we can't have that. Lead the way, Natsuki."