DISCLAIMER: Obviously I don't own Mai-HiME, or else that show would be ShizNat every episode, with your occasional NatNao (yes, I like that pairing too). And as for this story, its future is unclear, but I promise you it would be a fulfilling read and great for me to write as well. It's AU and OOC. Probably some OCs in the mix (not for main roles, just for extra characters). Let me know what you think, and look forward to more updates of WHVSV? :)

Not So Typical

"NEXT!"

A brunette woman stood from her chair at the sound of the coarse voice, letting go exasperatedly of a breath she'd been holding for a while. For months maybe.

She smiled her way passed the few patrons sitting in the waiting room, only then remembering that this building wasn't a place where one should be smiling at all. It didn't matter though, as she had already made her way into the back room, seating herself in front of the voice's owner. She was met by an older woman, possibly in her thirties, her presence equally dreary as the room outside her office which was decorated in all white walls, with no windows, and dim lighting on top of that. The brunette refocused her attention, trying her best not to let the building's tense aura seep into her skin.

Well, this is what I asked for…

"Hello ma'am. My name is Shizu–"

"I know who you are." The woman cut off Shizuru's introduction, causing the brunette to awkwardly retract her hand. She found herself smiling off the ordeal again. I can't help it… this place needs all the smiles it can get.

"You're here for the internship?"

"Y-Yes…" the girl stammered, a mixture of nerves and anxiousness seeping into her veins.

"Under Officer Namudo?"

"Yes!"

"Well I'm sorry, he's in the process of being transferred to another district, so you're going to have to wait for another–"

Wait, what?

"Wait? I'm sorry ma'am, but I can't–"

"–So just schedule a new appointment or contact one of the other officers in the following months."

"But wait, can't you just –"

"NEXT."

Shizuru, now standing stock-still, couldn't believe what was happening. She already waited for months. She already contacted an officer. She had already been accepted into this internship she had been dreaming about – she had been telling all her friends and family about. And now… she's being pushed aside?

Newly found thoughts went rampant inside the girl's body, her once freely hanging hands molding into fists, her knuckles turning a shade whiter.

"Ma'am, I already told you waiting is not an option! This is the last opportunity I have for this," Shizuru admitted.

"Well that sounds like a personal problem, and I'm sure you know that we deal with enough of those here already. Please take your leave," the woman, still seated comfortably, began shifting the papers on her desk, not even attempting to meet the scarlet eyes glaring upon her. Only when Shizuru had felt something brush past her back had the woman looked up, now doting a smile.

"Ah, Mr. Iro! How's your son doing?" She chimed, enveloping the rugged man's hands within her own, shaking them feverishly like one would a long lost friend. Shizuru moved out of the man's way, but could not move more than a few feet from the older woman's desk. She wouldn't allow herself to.

She couldn't allow herself to.

"It's nice to see you after so long, Midori. You know, Kai's doing well again. Well, not well but better than before. He really misses you. Why don't you come over for dinner?" The man asks just as he takes his seat, now making Shizuru feel even more an intruder on the two's conversation.

"Hey, hey!" The brunette, feeling slightly ridiculous, approached the woman. She placed her hands on the edge of her desk. "I was not finished talking with you! I already told you that–"

"I apologize, Iro-san," the woman directed towards the man who just nodded and sank further into the cotton-matted chair, which creaked at his every move. "Now Ms. Fujino, if you do not leave right now, I will be forced to call security to have you removed."

"Ara, have me removed?" The brunette repeated with a finger pressing into her chest, releasing an incredulous laugh. She just couldn't believe this. "Do I even look like a threat to you? Did you read my portfolio? Did anything in there scream 'threat'?"

"Whoa, what's going on in here?" A bright voice infiltrated the room, causing the brunette to turn around in curiosity. The redhead teetered into the room, cautiously looking around at first. Her light eyes met Shizuru's, who returned a blank stare. The cheery intruder then looked towards the older office woman who wore an expression short of a snarl. The girl's lips formed a crescent. "Really, you should start drinking coffee in the morning. It would definitely tone down your personality." The woman giggled before placing two steaming cups Shizuru had failed to initially notice her carry in on the birch desk, the cardboard protectors slowly sliding down the containers. "One for you, and one for Iro-san!" She bubbled over once she said the man's name, going past Shizuru to pull him into a bear hug; Shizuru wasn't sure whether he was enjoying it or just appreciating the gesture.

"Huh-um," the brunette cleared her throat. I'm still here…

"Oh, I'm sorry!" The redhead walked around the chairs, facing Shizuru with an outstretched palm. "From the arguing I heard earlier, I take it you're in a meeting with Sugiura-san?"

"Uh, yes," Shizuru slowly outstretched her arm, meeting the redhead's hand halfway.

"More like had a meeting with me. I already told her she'd have to come back in a couple of months, but she won't listen. Why don't you take her before Haruka comes in here and chews off both our asses? You know how she is about complaints…" She muttered the end, earning a chuckle from the other two in the small, insipid room.

"Don't need to tell me twice!"

Hallway after hallway after hallway, it seemed to Shizuru, was all she explored in this building other than the waiting room, the one office, and the occasional elevator. She had become accustomed to the rhythmic click of the other woman's heels, only looking up when the noise stopped or became irregular in pattern. The silence that engulfed them was not unwelcomed, as it provided Shizuru time to dwell upon life outside this building. What should I make for dinner tonight… maybe pasta.

"So what drew you to this decision?"

"Huh?" What drew me to choose pasta?

"You know, to pick a branch of criminal justice like this one. There's so many less hands on, less disturbing fields than child protective services," the heels stop and a slender finger presses an up-arrow button. Shizuru's heart stammered a little less, though her embarrassment over wondering if the redhead could read minds lingered. Before she could answer, the elevator doors dinged open.

"I guess you could say it's a passion sort of thing," Shizuru finally spoke. "Being able to put a voice to an untold, hidden story… helping another find their own voice to speak out against violence… they're very important qualities." God, I feel like such a hypocrite.

"You know, I remember being in the same position as you years back. Walking in here, I only thought 'what the hell have I gotten myself into?'. Oh, and I was always afraid to interview the parents and children too," the redhead smiled to herself. "Boy, has that changed."

Shizuru wanted to ask something more, but the heels had already starting going again, and the silence was back. Soon enough the two reached an office, Shizuru reading the plaque next to the door.

'Tokiha Mai (CS)'

'CS'? What's…

Before the thought could be finished, Shizuru's attention was completely misdirected towards the blindingly baby-blue walls behind the door Mai just opened, contrasting completely with the bare décor the rest of the building seemed to embellish. Once Mai's body was consumed whole into the space, Shizuru stood at the door frame, her eyes almost felt attacked since first entering the building. On every wall there was a poster or picture of a sort, some of cartoon characters, popular bands that the brunette recognized, or even of actual children. Elsewhere were action figures, dolls, and puzzles upon puzzles neatly stacked on shelves. A cozy couch rested in a corner, an equally relaxing, shaggy rug could be found under it. Across the way was a glass coffee table and a single seat. Shizuru could only imagine what kinds of tales were told in that section of the room. She peered to her right, only to find more of the same casual items on the walls and smaller shelves. But instead of a couch, coffee table and additional seat, she found a rather worn chair and desk, a small Dell laptop left open on its surface.

"Whoa," the girl unconsciously uttered, earning a small snicker from the redhead who was already well within the room.

"Surprised?" Shizuru fell from her evanescent state, quirking a brow at, what seemed to her, the redhead's sudden outburst or boast. Receiving no response from the latter, Shizuru pointed a finger towards her own body. Me? Surprised? The girl thought, a sense of déjà vu washing over her.

Mai grinned at the gesture, returning with one of her own. She pointed her nose up in the air and let her mouth hang agape, making 'oohs' and 'ahs'. When the realization hit the brunette, her eyes grew in diameter, if only for a moment. It's just that… she didn't look like that while eyeballing the room, did she? She returned her attention to the redhead, who seemed to take the act to the next level, fake examining things in the room, stumbling around to each new item in succession.

"Ara, okay, I was surprised," Shizuru waved her hand, coaxing the girl to stop since she got the message now. "It's just that every other place in this building is so plain, so this room – your office – it really stood out to me." Mai nodded her head, taking a look at the room along with the intern.

"Yeah, well there's a reason for that," she walked over to her desk, opening the drawer and pulling out a peppermint. She motioned towards the brunette.

"Oh, uh, no thanks," Shizuru declined, watching the redhead shrug her shoulders and throw back the mint into her mouth.

"As I was saying, there's a reason why some areas of this place looks like it does." Mai walked from her desk and to the main seating area in the room. She sat in the chair, Shizuru closing the door behind her before walking over as well to seat herself in the only other vacant spot. "Did you see the two letters next to my name?" Shizuru thought back to the 'CS' she briefly pondered on.

"Yeah, what does that stand for?"

"Child Specialist. I'm the one who interviews the children," Mai sighs, propping her feet on the coffee table and leaning her head back. Shizuru wasn't uncomfortable, but just unfamiliar with a stranger behaving so… 'laid back' in front of her.

"I take it you're not exactly… satisfied? I mean, you did say earlier that children weren't exactly your forte."

"No, no! That's not it at all. I'm pretty good at my job, seeing that I earned this position in the first place. Sometimes being the child specialist just means your job's harder than everyone else's. You know, not only is it hard to get a child to confess to abuse, because you never know what they were told was the consequence of that, but just accepting the fact that such horrible things could be done to a child is heart wrenching as well."

Shizuru simply listened, understanding the opposite's words fairly well. She had thought she might want to be working with kids more so than doing the research, but Shizuru had constantly changed her mind. It felt like most things in her life she wasn't sure about, which is why she needed this internship. Something to convince her and her parents that she could find a steady future in this profession. But she never once mentioned to Officer Namudo her interest in helping kids, because, as usual, she wasn't sure. She had just told the man that whatever was fine. He accepted that answer, and told her to visit the office on the first of September. During the four month gap between that final conversation and this day, Shizuru had never once thought the man's lack of checking in on her was because he wouldn't be working here any longer. Speaking of…

"Officer Namudo, the one who I interviewed for the internship with, what happened to him?"

"Oh, Namudo-san? I guess I need to finish explaining something else about the rooms first," Mai said while repositioning herself. "While there are only a few rooms like mine, most of the others are plain, undecorated, or simply unfinished. And that's because any one of us could be moved in an instant."

"What do you mean?"

"We go where the cases are," Mai stated matter-of-factly.

Makes sense…

"So…,"

"The girl that Namudo's investigation revolved around died."

Shizuru's heart stopped. The familiarity and heaviness burdened upon those four letters burned her soul, reminding her how serious this profession was – yet another reason why her parents coerced against becoming involved.

Mai, who was now sitting Indian-style in the comfy leather seat, watched the brunette's eyes and expressions, timing when she thought it'd be best to continue.

"Before he finished gathering the last piece of evidence to have the girl's parents arrested, she committed suicide. He blamed himself for it till the day he packed his last box. He said he needed to find a new area to work, that his office only reminded him of her…"

Wow. That sucks.

Shizuru inwardly cringed at her choice of words, but she didn't know what such a thing felt like. Do I want to know? The girl questioned internally; once again she wasn't sure. But she had to remind herself that that's why she was here. To prove her parents wrong. To prove herself right.

I… I just won't let anyone I work with die. The brunette sat for a delayed amount of time, thinking about what exactly that meant. What it meant to not allow someone to die. Mai shifted awkwardly in her seat.

"Wow, looks like I totally messed up the mood in here. Sorry," the redhead rocked out of the chair after a few seconds, walking on the balls of her heels towards her desk. Unknown to Shizuru, she briefly typed something up, turning to face the girl after only another moment. "Ready to go visit Haruka?"

"Ara, Haruka..?"

"Yep. My boss."

Shizuru massaged her fingers into her palm, aware of the accumulating perspiration.

Crap, why now?

The two women mimicked their positions while walking in the halls earlier, one of them leading the way while the other was a shadow. Shizuru looked up from the floor to the brown folder in the redhead's hands, half wondering what were its contents and half paying attention to the light humming produced by the girl's vocal chords.

"Her room's in the next corridor," Mai sing-songed, her statement feeling like a challenge to Shizuru's hands which decided to sweat some more. The two arrived in a very well furnished hall, the sound of the redhead's heels almost becoming more appealing due to the shift in scenery. The environment was no longer plain, releasing a feel of excellence – almost saying that at this office, you were in the right hands. The maple door with a gold plated name directly on it further guaranteed this assurance.

"Brace yourself," Mai smiled, and Shizuru returned the expression, just not as enthusiastically.

The heavy door slowly opened, revealing luscious emerald walls and complementing hard wood floors. Bookcases filled with pages amongst pages, awards piled on top of awards, and a countless number of pictures is what struck Shizuru first, the impact much more sensitive than the effect of Mai's office. Maybe that Midori lady's mad because she got stuck with a crappy set up.

"Suzushiro-san, the intern," Mai's happy-go-lucky charm that slightly escaped her back in her office was back in full force now, her voice confident and firm.

"She can come in. Did you bring her resume?"

"Yes, I have it here," Mai lifted the folder that she had been clutching since leaving her office.

So that's what's in there?

"Ms. Fujino, it's nice to meet you," the booming voice echoed in the vast area, the room seeming a little too large for a simple office. I take it that she's not just Mai's boss…

The brunette went to take a bow, but the blonde's hand hanging in the air suggested a different greeting.

Shoot.

Shizuru managed the largest smile of her life, hoping that maybe a ridiculous expression would keep the woman from noticing the wet towel of a hand she's shaking. The brunette wasn't sure if it worked or not, but if it didn't, the blonde surely didn't make it obvious. She just sat behind her desk again, opened the folder Mai handed over and began reviewing its contents.

Silence loomed in the room. Shizuru sat tapping her foot gently against the luxury flooring, watching the woman sweep at her short blonde fringe every once in a while. What is she looking at so closely? Shizuru had seen her father, a prominent business man, examine charts and briefings before, a small grin on his face as if he was enjoying the task; never had she seen one examine a short document emotionlessly for almost thirty minutes. Shizuru looked to the grandfather clock towards one corner of the room just to check her timing.

Thirty-one minutes and counting.

She retracted her gaze only to have it fall upon the redhead sitting across from her. The woman was playing with her fingers.

What have I gotten myself into?

"Fujino," the sudden call of her name forced the girl to spring in her seat.

"Y-Yes!"

"I would like it if you could wait outside please."

The walk was killing her.

Why won't she say anything?

It had been about five minutes since Mai had closed the office door behind her, maybe another fifty since the two entered. Shizuru had practically broken her thumbs with the way she aggressively fiddled them, her mind conjuring every possible thing the two could be in there discussing. So when the redhead came out the office, she expected the bright woman to say something, anything. But the only thing she provided initially was a look. A look that Shizuru couldn't decipher even if she tried.

Come on, say something!

"Tokiha-san." The woman began walking faster. What the...? "Tokiha-san, could you please tell me–"

Without any warning, the redhead turned back and placed a finger in the middle of the brunette's lips, causing the latter to back away. "Wait, it's not something we'd want to talk about out here," the woman gestured to the other offices lining the halls. Shizuru didn't know if she should be happy or more concerned than before – happy that Mai hadn't said her internship needed to be cancelled or postponed, or even more terrified that she'd tell her to leave once they reached her office or something worse. Slowly nodding her head in understanding, the brunette gulped. A rock had formed in her stomach, the rhythmic clicks of heels now only haunting her mind.

Before she knew it, her senses battled against bold baby blue walls, her nose met with a minty scent, only to draw her eyes to Mai behind her ordinary desk again. Shizuru strode in, shutting the door and letting her back rest against it. Mai had begun to type erratically on the laptop's key pad, not a single finger falling out of pace. Shizuru's arms folded, keeping her from abusing her thumbs.

"…Come here." Mai said out of character. Shizuru's heart missed a beat, becoming irregular. She stepped behind Mai, her eyes falling upon the screen.

Child Profile…

"If you were wondering, no, you're not fired. Actually, you've been kind of hired in a way. This is certainly not a job we'd give an intern, but due to past problems, Haruka made a decision." Shizuru tuned in on Mai's words while reading over the page. Her eyes danced, capturing and double-taking the information. "She instructed me to work with you on this one, to act in Officer Namudo's place sort of. She gave us a case that plenty in this building have tried to deal with, but this one, this girl is not the typical patient…"

Once Shizuru's eyes consumed the last word, they traced themselves to a picture. Under the picture, she read the caption.

Kuga Natsuki.

A/N: Trying something new after an inspiration. I have no idea where this could be headed, but sometimes an author needs a break from writing the same plot. WHVSV? will still be updated, hopefully within the near future. In the meantime, please tell me what you think about this, and whether or not you'd want it on or not on demand. Thanks!

– Ocha-chan