In the Darkness

A Mai Otome ShizNat Story

Chapter 14

"Please wake up" Was the whisper.

Natsuki was on the floor, on her knees. Her Emerald eyes were tightly closed, and both of her hands were holding onto one of the brunette's hands.

"Please, p-please wake up"

They had arrived at Garderobe an hour and a half ago. The moment she had landed with Shizuru in her arms, the moment her feet had touched the ground, she had immediately rushed to medical bay where Youko waited for them, the Healing Chamber was on and ready for her.

It had only taken Natsuki five minutes to arrive at the Academy since the place where the bomb had detonated, the place where Shizuru had lost consciousness, wasn't very far; not when the form of transportation was flying.

She had gently laid the brunette on the Healing Chamber, had quickly gotten rid of her bloody, yellow-honey dress, and had removed her white sandals, leaving her only in her lacy, white undergarments.

She had impatiently stood next to the Chamber, both of her hands on the glass the whole time, not wanting to part from her, waiting for it to do its job in healing the brunette's internal wounds. Waiting for it to repair her broken blood vessels, and whatever else had gotten injured in the impact as well, both internally and externally.

She had hoped that when the twenty minutes had passed and the Chamber opened once again, that the brunette would already be awake, anger in full force, ready to yell at her for putting her in there in the first place.

But no, Shizuru didn't wake up. She had been unconscious, unresponsive all this time. And Natsuki, she was a total mess, a nervous wreck.

"I-I'm not as strong as you think I am, Shizuru…" Natsuki voiced through trembling lips. Her head dipped lower, her forehead touching the brunette's soft hand. "While you were missing, I wasn't strong, I-I was lost, so lost… I was someone you wouldn't recognize, someone you wouldn't have been proud of..."

Yes, those two years that the brunette had been missing Natsuki could barely recognize herself. Those were the hardest two years of her life.

She was missing her lover, her confidant and best friend. And with every passing day that there wasn't any news from her, she fell deeper and deeper into the hands of depression, the hands of despair. She could barely get out of bed, could barely do her job. She was only able to do it because she had a lot of help and support from her colleagues and friends. And more than once she thought of renouncing her position as a Column, because she couldn't focus, because she wasn't giving it her all; her heart and mind wasn't in it at all, not anymore.

She couldn't think of anything else other than Shizuru. Was always wondering where Shizuru was, if she was okay, if she was unharmed. Whether she was dead or alive. The lack of news was slowly weakening her, slowly killing her. She was only able to survive those two, long years because she still held hope that the brunette would one day come back to her. That the brunette would come back and lighten her world with that sweet, playful smile of hers.

"I can't lose you again, Shizuru. I-I can't" Natsuki's tears were freely falling now. The salty liquid was running down her cheeks and landing one by one on the brunette's hand. "I won't be able to handle it, not again. So I need you to be okay, I need you to wake up" And she begged again, these words that had become her mantra since Shizuru had become unconscious, "P-Please, please wake up… I love you, I need you… Please, Shizuru, p-please wake up"

About two minutes later, Youko entered the room and joined the silently sobbing blunette. She walked over to her and stood a few steps behind her, giving her time, waiting for her to compose herself. It broke her heart seeing her like this.

She had gone over to the lab to grab an IV bag, along with the Nanomachine serum. She had told Natsuki that the Nanomachines could help with Shizuru's comatose state, that it could help her regain consciousness.

The Healing Chamber had done its job in healing the brunette's internal wounds. But she has yet to wake up. She wasn't responding to any of the stimuli tests, wasn't responding to pain, light or sound. It wasn't one hundred percent certain that the Nanomachines would work, but the possibilities of a positive outcome were very high.

The Nanomachines were powerful, very powerful. They were Shizuru's best option and only hope.

"Natsuki…"

"Hai" Natsuki whispered her reply, not bothering to turn around or raise her head.

"Have you made a decision?" And after a short pause, "What would you like me to do? We can't wait much longer"

The Gakuenchou let out a shaky, long breath, torn with the current choice she had to make:

Should she give the go ahead to administer the Nanomachines into Shizuru's bloodstream or not? Should she do it or wait for Shizuru to wake up on her own?

She knew that Shizuru wouldn't approve of this, of using the Nanomachines, of injecting her, of the needles. She just knew it. But the longer they waited, the longer Shizuru remained like this, remained in this unconscious, comatose state, the higher the possibility that long-term impairment may occur in her brain, more so since this was caused by trauma, was caused by being hit on the head.

"Hai, please prepare the Nanomachine solution, Youko" Natsuki finally answered, her voice sounding hoarser than usual because of all the crying she had done.

She would have to deal with Shizuru's wrath if, no, when she awakes. She had to be positive, she had to believe that Shizuru would wake up.

If Shizuru wanted to break up with her and never talk to her again, never see her again because of this, then fine, she was okay with that, she could learn to live with it.

But Shizuru dying?

No, not okay.

Shizuru possibly remaining in this comatose state for the rest of her life?

No, not okay.

This had to be done. They couldn't wait for her to wake up on her own. The stakes were high, it had to be this way.

"This is for the best, Natsuki… I'm sure Shizuru-san will understand" Youko sympathetically added before walking away, before heading to her desk to prepare the IV bag with the Nanomachine serum.

She, like Natsuki, knew how much Shizuru hated being around needles, hated being poked around, hated being in here in general.

Youko was sure that this was because of a traumatic event, a severely distressful event hidden in the brunette's mind. Shizuru never opened up, never talked about her time away, never said if she was starting to remember about those days or not. And she had stopped asking her, not wanting to press, not wanting to stress her out even more about it.

She was sure that Shizuru would open up to her eventually. Sooner rather than later, hopefully, so that they could figure out where the hell she had been and if anything had been done to her to make her like this. If her amnesia, if the lack of Nanomachines in her body, were done to her on purpose.

Natsuki had mentioned to her this morning that Shizuru remembered the morning she disappeared, that she remembered seeing a blackhole, a portal of some sort.

And Youko found herself asking if this portal was man-made or not. If it was manufactured or if it was just one of those mysteries that popped out of nowhere every so often, appeared out of nowhere when the conditions were just right.

Youko knew that portals usually worked one way, especially man-made ones. She couldn't will it to open. The opening, the door, was on the other side, and whomever was on the other side controlled it and had the advantage. Only they could open it.

She had investigated that area, that desert, extensively. Had done all imaginable tests and found nothing. Science itself couldn't explain the whys, science itself couldn't give her the answers she was seeking. There weren't any anomalies, anything that could explain why the portal always opened there of all places, and if it appeared on it's own.

The only thing Youko could think of was that perhaps that desert had similar attributes to where the opening, where door was, if the portal was man-made, that is. Similar attributes to where the brunette had been. Nothing else could explain it.

All they could do was wait for the portal to open again. And hope that it stayed open long enough for them to walk inside it and put an end to this, prevent it from happening again.

Meanwhile,

Planet Earth

Shizuru quietly, slowly walked the dark aisles of the large, poorly lit underground facility. She was taking in her surroundings, trying to open any door she could find as she walked. This place was huge, was a maze, for all she knew she was walking around in circles. Everything looked exactly the same.

She noticed that she couldn't walk fast, couldn't react fast enough. Noticed that she couldn't smell, feel, or talk. She was easily exposed, tactless, mute, and numb.

…Am I dreaming?... Was the thought that kept repeating in her head, …This must be a dream, this can't be real…

She had been in this place, in this body for over an hour now, almost two, and she couldn't comprehend how or why. This didn't make any sense to her. It just didn't. This was totally incredulous, insane even.

"Wait up, Miracle!"

Shizuru stopped walking for she had heard a sudden shout, and then heard hasty steps approaching her. She hadn't encountered anyone in this place yet, so she didn't know what to do. And on top of that, there was nowhere to hide. All the doors in this hallway were locked.

She then decided to start walking again, to act as normal as she possibly could. And as she was about to take a step forward, whomever was approaching her, came to full view, coming to a complete halt a few steps in front of her.

Shizuru stood completely still again, eyeing the small intruder. It was a little girl, a beautiful little girl. And she was staring at her, well, at him, rather curiously with those beautiful, bright, pink eyes.

…Radiation?... Shizuru thought, for those eyes had a very strange, haunting glow.

"Ah, there you are!" The girl's father caught up to her, totally out of breath. "I told you many times not to go running off like that, Miracle. It's too dark and you could get hurt" And after he said this, he looked up at her and their eyes met.

"Oh, Ichiro-kun, strange seeing you so far away from the lab" The man awkwardly greeted. "Did you or your father need anything?"

But Shizuru couldn't reply, couldn't talk. She remained silent and watched as the man and his daughter walked closer, approached her.

"Your eyes are red, Ichiro-kun…" The man acknowledged, "Are you feeling alright? Another experiment gone wrong?" It was the only explanation he could think of as to why his eyes weren't the usual, bright blue.

And all Shizuru could do was slowly nod her head yes.

Her Ruby eyes then fell on the quiet, little girl. She was holding onto her father's leg with one hand, the other was in her mouth, generously sucking her thumb.

Shizuru raised her hand, her fingers slowly waving 'hello' to her, and then watched as the little girl smiled and mimicked her actions, waving in return.

"Huh, she likes you…" The man noticed, eyebrows arching in surprise. "She usually doesn't interact with anyone"

And upon hearing this, Shizuru tried to smile at her, to soften her features and be friendly, not to seem too scary, but she couldn't. Emotion was another thing she couldn't do, couldn't express, couldn't show while in this body.

Ruby eyes then watched as the little girl tapped on her father's leg. Watched as she removed her thumb from her mouth, and slowly moved her hands, communicating with him through sign language. …Ara~ I see… It seemed like the little girl couldn't talk, had lost her voice from early on.

"Okay, one second" The man replied to her. Then, faced Ichiro's direction again. "We've gotta go… Have some rest, Ichiro-kun, your eyes are unnaturally red"

And with that, the man and his daughter walked away, the little girl waving and staring at her, well, him, as they left.

…Kawaii… Shizuru slowly waved goodbye as well. …I wonder if the radiation took her voice… And once they were out of sight, she stood there and remained unmoving, staring ahead.

She noticed that her movements were becoming slower, much slower than before, and noticed there was a faint, ringing sound in her ears, the faint sound becoming louder and louder as the seconds ticked by.

And her vision, her vision started to blur, everything in front of her was starting to become a soft, off-white.

"Son? What are you doing here?"

A voice came from behind her, and her heart instantly raised by that sound, by that voice. She recognized that mature, manly voice. It was unmistakable, it haunted her sleep almost every night.

"I asked you to rest tonight…"

She wished she had full control of this body still, wished she could turn around. If she did, she could end him right there. Could grab his neck and strangle him until his head was detached from his miserable shoulders.

She wanted his blood.

She wanted him dead.

He was the one who tortured her, who broke her, who did this to her.

"Son?"

And Ichiro slowly blinked, slowly recouped control of his actions, of his senses, of his body. His bright, blue eyes slowly taking in his new surroundings.

…How… did I get here?... He asked himself, perplexed, for this was not the hallway that lead to his bedroom.

He doesn't remember walking there, doesn't remember how he got there at all.

…Could it be-... But he shook that thought away. There was no way for someone to have gotten into his head, no way he could've been possessed. He had been wide awake! The only person who could possibly do that was the brunette, for the undetectable, neon-yellow serum was also coursing through her veins.

There was no way though, she was in another planet, she was many lightyears away. And she didn't have access to the helmet that allowed them to connect to each other's minds. Without the helmet, there was no way to connect. It just wasn't possible.

And it was also unheard of, for the one who was being controlled to suddenly switch and be the one in control. It has never happened before.

…I've been working hard, I just need to rest… So yes, he dismissed the silly, very implausible thought.

"Is something the matter, son?" The father questioned once he had reached him, for Ichiro had stayed unusually quiet for too long.

"No, father…" Ichiro softly replied, blue eyes now staring at his father's hazel ones. "I just got lost in thought, that's all"

Same time,

Garderobe

"Nn…" A small groan escaped Shizuru's lips as she slowly regained consciousness, as she came back to her senses.

She gently raised to a sitting position on the bed, "Nnn" softly groaning, a hand going for her closed eyes, shielding them from the uncomfortable, fluorescent lights. Not to mention she had a massive headache, her head was throbbing, pulsing in pain.

…Was it all a dream?... Was the thought. She was puzzled, confused as to what had just happened, what she had just experienced, …But it seemed so real. And those people, that little girl, there's no way I could've made her up… It was so confusing, so alarming, …What is happening to me? What did they do to me?...

First the voices, now this? What was this anyway? Was she hallucinating? She didn't know what to make out of it.

"Shizuru?"

She then heard that voice, that soft yet husky voice that she loved and adored. And then, suddenly, what had happened prior to blacking out came back to her,

the men,

the gun,

the fight,

the bomb.

Her heart instantly raised in alarm, in fear.

"N-Natsuki!" She quickly reached out for the blunette who was kneeling next to her. "Natsuki!" Her hands raised, desperately touching her lover's arms, her neck, her face. Ruby eyes looking at her, inspecting her, making sure she was indeed okay.

"A-Are you harmed, are you hurt?" She anxiously asked the love of her life, her reason to breathe, purpose to live. She loved this woman with all her soul. There weren't words that could properly explain or express the strong feelings she held for her. Natsuki was everything to her, meant everything to her.

Natsuki nodded, quickly assuring her, "Don't worry, Shizuru, I'm okay… Lay back on the bed, please" She tried to contain her tears, her emotions. She felt such a sense of relief that Shizuru had opened her eyes, that she seemed to be okay, seemed alert and fine. "I-I'm glad you're finally awake. You were unconscious for almost two hours, we didn't know-"

And Shizuru cut her off by sealing her lips with hers, by desperately kissing her. "I-I love you, Kruger, Natsuki" She told her between kisses. "I-I love you" It was the first time she had willingly, consciously said those words. She wasn't sure what was preventing her from saying them before, why she had hesitated in the past. "I love you so much" But not anymore, "I love you" she couldn't stop saying them now.

The thought of losing her, it must've hit a nerve, must've struck deep within somehow. Or perhaps, since her memory was improving every day, she was remembering just how much she really felt for her, how deep she felt for her. How she couldn't live without her.

"And I love you, Shizuru"

She heard the blunette whisper and she smiled because of this, all the while caressing her moist cheeks.

But then, she suddenly stopped, for she felt something pinching her right arm, nipping her veins. Her eyes widened when she saw an IV drip there, when she saw the needle penetrating her skin.

"W-What is this?"

"Shizuru, let me explain…"

"W-What have you done?" Her panic raising, her left hand going for the needle, about to yank it out of her body herself,

"Shizuru, stop!" But Natsuki quickly grabbed her hands, preventing her from doing this. "Shizuru, stop it!" She wished the brunette would just calm down. "I'll take care of it, just wait… just relax. Breathe" She could see that the brunette was hyperventilating, her chest quickly falling and rising in distress. She wasn't listening, she couldn't keep still.

"I'll take care of it, just don't move" She repeated, tried to calm her. And when Shizuru stopped moving, after she had calmed down just enough "See?" she went ahead and carefully removed the needle from her arm.

She quickly put it away, put it on the nearby table and covered it with a white napkin. "It's gone… It's okay, Shizuru"

And Shizuru's hands were shaking, her body trembling. Her Ruby eyes were on the napkin, the napkin that was covering the needle.

And then, those eyes of hers followed the cord that was attached to the needle, and it led her to the IV bag, and the IV bag was still full, it had a bright, red liquid inside.

"Prepare the machine, my son, we'll do a Blood Wash and remove them from her bloodstream"

"Blood wash…" Shizuru whispered as she tried to control her breathing. She had said it so softly only she could hear this.

"How long do you think I'll take to distort her memories?"

"I'm not sure, father… Her mind is too complex, it might take six months, a year at most?"

"I see, I'll start working on the machine, then. We haven't used it in so long"

"In the Darkness, father?"

"Yes, my son"

"In the Darkness…" Shizuru whispered again, entranced by her vision. Her eyes weren't blinking, her eyes never leaving the IV bag. Her shaking had stopped, and her breathing was normal again. Panic, poof, gone.

In her vision, as the father and son talked, she had been strapped down on a bed. The young man was standing next to her, a syringe in his hands, about to start injecting a neon-yellow serum in her veins.

…That must be what caused the amnesia… Shizuru thought, unable to get the image out of her head.

"Is something wrong, Shizuru?" The blunette asked. She had been sitting on the bed next to her, and she didn't like the far away expression on her face. She seemed void of all emotion, she looked so empty, so lost. As if she wasn't there at all.

"Shizuru, look at me" Her hand went for the brunette's cheek and lovingly caressed her there. "Come back to me, don't leave me…"

And within seconds, Shizuru did, she softly smiled at her and leaned into the gesture, and then she moved forward and placed the softest of kisses on the blunette's lips.

And then, a moment later,

"Oh, finally awake"

Shizuru and Natsuki parted from their kiss and faced the direction of the approaching visitor, giving her their attention.

"Ara, Ara, lip-locking and without clothes on, things are going to get steamy soon, eh?" Nao snickered, noticing the brunette's current state of dress. "The name of that Chamber should be changed to Chamber of Love"

No one could hear this though for she had muttered it and was still quite a distance away.

"It's been a while, Juliet-san" Shizuru smilingly greeted in a sing-song way. "You were greatly missed in Garderobe" She hadn't seen the insolent Column in a couple of days. Was she out on a mission? She didn't say goodbye to her before she left. How rude of her…

"I wish I could say the same" And Nao, instead of glaring at Shizuru for calling her by that name, glared at Natsuki in annoyance, as if Shizuru's doing was all the Gakuenchou's fault.

She always took out all of Shizuru's doings on Natsuki. Always. She had to take it out on someone since she didn't want to mess with Shizuru. And Natsuki was her partner and was always so easy to annoy. It brought her pure joy.

"Word around Garderobe is you two are playing house now, how sweet" She continued in her sweetest, mocking voice, now standing in front of the couple with her hands behind her neck.

"N-Nani?" And Natsuki, her face, it lit up like a Christmas lightbulb in an instant, wondering how this news had gotten out so fast. It was only last night she had asked the woman to move in with her. And to her knowledge, only Mai knew. Mai had been the only person she had told.

How on Earl news spread so fast in this place was beyond Natsuki's comprehension.

"Fufu, Juliet-san heard right" Was Shizuru's joyful reply, "Does she want to play house with us? We can't wait to start a family…" Her hand went for Nao's face, caressing her now very, very blushing cheek. "Do you want to be our baby girl, Juliet-san? We'll take good care of you"

Nao's right eye uncontrollably twitched, speechless for a few seconds, "Y-You-?!" Her lips couldn't stop trembling, her eyes just couldn't stop twitching, she was totally caught off guard by this.

Plus, the touching, Shizuru never dared touch her before, not even when she was a student.

Nao pursed her lips and took a step back, and then another and another, and wordlessly left medical bay with very heated cheeks, blushing in annoyance, and a million curse words in her mind.

"Fufu"

And as Shizuru giggled, all Natsuki could do was sigh. She watched as Nao walked away, knowing the young Column was going to give her a hard time about this at some point. Tease her relentless with her sly comments and remarks.

About five minutes after Nao's departure, Youko showed up. She examined Shizuru, examined her motor skills and such, making sure she had gotten out of her comatose state alright. Shizuru passed all the exams so she let her return to her quarters that same night.

During the examination, however, Youko did make conversation with Shizuru and asked her a few things. Asked her if while she was in her comatose state, if she could hear them when they talked to her, or if she had any dreams. Because while Shizuru was like this, Youko did monitor her brain activity, and noticed that a section of her brain that should've been asleep seemed active, seemed very alert. Youko thought that perhaps Shizuru was conscious but couldn't communicate.

Shizuru had warily replied yes to the dreaming question, because it had to be a dream, right? But she didn't elaborate on what she saw, she kept that to herself.

And after the examination, after Youko had okay'ed her to go, she had picked up her belongings, worn a robe, and had gone straight to her quarters with Natsuki by her side. She had taken a long, warm shower, which helped her relax, helped her think and calm her mind.

"Kannin na for worrying you, Natsuki" Shizuru sincerely apologized to the blunette. She was sitting in front of the vanity, already in her sleepwear, and was now gently and very cautiously brushing her hair for her cranium still hurt a little bit.

She could see what the blunette was doing from her reflection in the mirror. She was sitting by the edge of the bed, one leg crossed over the other, facing her. She was already in her sleepwear as well for they had showered together, and had a towel on her wet head, rubbing it to towel dry her hair.

"I'm just glad you're okay" Was the husky reply.

"Where you able to find out anything about the attempt on your life?"

Natsuki stopped what she was doing and let out a soft sigh. Honestly, she hadn't had the time to think about it. All of her thoughts and energy since the attempt were on Shizuru and her wellbeing.

"No, not yet" She answered, "I will contact the authorities tomorrow morning and find out where they have taken the man that attacked us" adding, "if he survived that explosion" She then watched as Shizuru placed the brush on the vanity and started walking towards her.

"Is this the reason you didn't want me to attend the summit with you? Did you think this would've happened then?" The brunette asked as she straddled her lover's hips, her hands going for the white towel, continuing to dry her cobalt hair for her.

The day of the summit, Natsuki had asked her to stay in the hotel room, had asked her not to join her in the conference. She didn't tell her why, just asked her to stay indoors and to watch it from the television, that it would be aired around the hotel for those who couldn't make it inside. The room was large, very large, but it couldn't accommodate everyone.

Natsuki nodded her reply, her hands now on the brunette's thighs. Her fingers were drawing small, imaginary circles there. "I was expecting some sort of retaliation that day, some opposition, which there was… but no, I was not expecting an attempt on my life. Someone in their right mind wouldn't do that, not in a room filled with diplomats and Otomes" She spoke her mind.

"Is this really worth pursuing, Natsuki?" Came the serious question.

"It is" Was the soft, honest answer. "The Nations are at peace, it is the perfect time to start pursuing this, to amend the laws… I know change won't happen today, or tomorrow, but someday, someday the world will be a safe place and it will not need Otomes anymore"

"I'm behind you, Natsuki, no matter what you decide to do…" Kyoto-ben was sincere with her. She stopped drying her hair and placed the damped towel aside on the bed. "but someone tried to kill you today because of this" Her hands now on Natsuki's neck, her thumbs caressing her cheeks. "If they would've succeeded, I-"

"But they didn't" Natsuki whispered, interrupted as she pulled her closer, their noses were now touching. She went ahead and kissed the brunette's cheek as she talked to her. "You saw right through the ambush, you protected me" And then added, "Promise me you won't do that again, don't risk your life for me, Shizuru"

"I can't promise Natsuki such a thing" Shizuru tilted her head back and closed her eyes, biting her lower lip in the process. Natsuki's tip of her nose was tickling, touching her cheek, going down to her neck. She could feel her warm breath there, could feel her lips grazing that delicate, sensitive area.

"How are you feeling, Shizuru?" Natsuki could feel Shizuru's breasts perking up in arousal. She didn't mean to do this, to get so close, to touch her like this. Didn't mean to start this, to start what would ultimately lead them to making love. Not when there were so many things on their minds. So many worries, many things that needed to be resolved.

"Mm~" And Shizuru could only moan in response at first, "If Natsuki stops now I will be the one who'll take her life" Kyoto-ben warned her, feeling Natsuki's hands traveling up her waist, going higher and higher, until they grazed the side, grazed the curve of her very perky breasts.

"Natsuki…" Her heart was raising now, her breaths becoming more elaborate, shorter and quicker. She was hot. So, so hot. The throbbing in between her thighs now impossible to ignore.

"Make love to me..." She whispered to her, her hands pulling Natsuki away from her neck to guide her to her lips. "Make me yours" Their eyes meeting. Their mouths touching but not kissing, not yet.

"I'll be very gentle tonight, I promise…"

And with that reply, their lips met, engaging in a long, soft, amorous kiss. Sleepwear being discarded as the kiss progressed, as the kiss intensified with every stroke of the tongue.

And once the clothes were off, Natsuki gently lay Shizuru on the bed and settled herself in between her warm, delicious legs, spreading them for her.

She placed kisses all over the brunette's naked body, showing her appreciation, love and devotion through the touch.

And when Shizuru was ready, when she was ready for the rocking motion, for the swing of hips that drove her completely wild, she complied right away, didn't wait for her to beg.

She pressed her body against her, she ground against her so gently, so slowly, her Emerald eyes never leaving the brunette's beautiful, blushing face, not until after she came.

About an Hour Later…

"Natsuki?" Shizuru let out in hushed Kyoto-ben, "Are you awake?" She wanted to make sure the blunette was deep asleep before she left the bed.

Their love making sessions never took long. Natsuki knew just where and how to touch her, how to make her feel good. Once she was in the mood, once she was aroused, in five minutes tops she came. Which was nice because then they could go for seconds or thirds if they weren't too tired.

"Natsuki?" Shizuru tried again, her voice a little louder, testing her. And to be completely sure she poked on her cheek a couple of times to see if she stirred.

Shizuru then gently left the bed and walked over to the closet, opening it once she had arrived there. She hadn't moved any of her belongings yet, so the closet was basically empty, it only had the few items she purchased today.

She reached for her purse, glad she had left it in the car and not taken it with her to the Planetarium. Otherwise, she would've lost the books because of the incident that happened afterwards.

She opened her purse and reached for the books, taking out the one titled, Dark Tech: Successes and Failures of Technology Throughout Time.

She contemplated for a moment if she should take these to her old room, if she should read there, but then thought that if Natsuki awoke and didn't find her there she would worry and search for her.

So, she decided to read there, read in bed. She wasn't going to take long anyway, not tonight. She was just curious about something, about something she remembered a couple of hours ago.

She opened the book and flipped the pages, going all the way to the end, searching for the Index page. She went for the B's and looked up Blood Wash.

And an eyebrow instantly raised, because honestly, she didn't think she'd find it there, but she did. It looked like her luck was finally turning around.

She went to the indicated page, and she silently read what it entailed, not once, but two times to make sure she understood correctly.

Basically, from her understanding, it was like the water purifying concept, the water filtering process. The book said that the process varied depending on the equipment used, but that overall it had the same outcome. The blood comes out of the arm, goes through a filtering process, storing the targeted particles aside, and then goes back into the body through the other arm. It said that Blood Washing, depending on how updated the equipment was, could take anywhere from a day to up to a week, the blood going through the cycle a few times. It also said that it was classified as Successful Technology, because it helped save many lives in times of disease and plague.

…So this is how the Nanomachines went missing from my body… Shizuru thought in realization.

Youko had asked her a few weeks ago if she remembered being injured while away, if she remembered loosing a lot of blood, but Shizuru couldn't answer, she didn't know.

But now she knows.

…What could they possibly want with it?… Came the thought.

She then went back to the Index page, looking for the next word, looking for In the Darkness.

And then she paused, she swallowed when she had found it there.

Yes, swallowed.

Not because she had found the word, no, that wasn't it, but because she just realized something about this technology, about this book. Realized something crucial, something very important.

This book, this technology, was written and put together by her own ancestors. If she found the technology in this book, it could only mean one thing:

"Was I on Earth?"

- 0 -

Thanks for Reading!

And Thanks for the Reviews/Comments

I was going to post this next Wednesday, but since it's ready and it continues where the previous chapter left off, I decided to go ahead and post today, since the previous chapter is still fresh on your minds. So, you guys have two chapters from me this week :)

ShizNatForever: You wanted Shizuru and Nao to exchange words one more time before the fic was over? Here it is :) hope it was to your satisfaction.

I browsed the Mai Hime fandom today, and not many authors are writing in English (Mostly Spanish Fics) What's happening? LOL Where are the writers? I haven't read FanFiction in years. And while I'm writing I try to get away from it, because then everything gets all jumbled and messy in my head, and I'm trying to be as original as I can. I can't wait to read what other writers have come up with once I'm done with this story though, I've got years of reading to do.

Speaking of which, we're almost at the end guys!

Let me know what you guys think! Criticism, negative or positive is always welcomed :) It makes the Author think

"For the love of ShizNat"