Thicker Than Water
1.Snowfall and Sisters
By DrummondType2
When Shizuru started attending Fuuka University, she moved into a house owned by her family. She invited me to live with her when my lease was set to expire, and honestly, I couldn't think of a good reason not to.
It was late December, and I was well into my second year at Fuuka High School. We were just a few days away from our holiday break, and also just a couple of days away from Shizuru's next birthday.
I found Shizuru in the sitting room, pouring over a textbook from her college courses, and I brought her a mug of hot tea. I had hoped to make her cocoa, as it was more seasonable. But Shizuru Fujino lives on tea. I'm fairly sure if you administered a blood test, it would come back 90 percent Oolong.
I'd gotten better in the kitchen since my days as a rebellious delinquent. I know, most of my friends don't think I can cook at all. But I lived on my own for a good many years. I can cook. Not like Mai, mind you, but I'm not some dim-witted anime heroine whose kitchen disasters would send the hero of our story to the hospital. And no, the cake from the little contest that Midori set up doesn't count. Mikoto and Nao both had hands on that cake, and at least one Orphan was involved, too. I plead outside interference on that incident.
Point being, while I wasn't going to win any awards for my cooking, it was edible, and it was palatable. And I'd made great improvements now that I didn't have to spend a small fortune on informants and clandestine activities.
Shizuru accepted her tea with a smile and a quiet nod, before pouring over her textbooks again.
"Do you want some soft music?" I offer.
She shakes her head, "No, but I appreciate the offer. If Natsuki would be so kind as to make dinner, I promise to do the dishes."
I was just about to head back to the kitchen when there was a knock at the door. A glance through the peephole revealed that Miyu Greer and Alyssa Searrs were at our doorstep.
Puzzled, I opened the door, not knowing what to expect. I'd not heard from either of them since the Carnival, and now they were both here, at the house I shared with Shizuru.
"Miss Kuga," Miyu addressed me, using the terminology she'd become accustomed to in America, "There is a matter of some importance that we need to discuss with you. May we come in?"
The last time someone from Searrs had wanted to discuss something "important" with me, it had been that John Smith bastard, with his story of Mom trying to sell me to the Searrs Foundation. Sakomizu-sensei had later suggested that she was merely trying to get me somewhere safe, and that Searrs had offered the best protection against District One that she could find.
But it was cold outside, and my choices, as dictated by civility, were to either let the two of them in to discuss things, or to deny them entry and close the door. Given Miyu's capabilities, if they were there as assassins against a pair of now powerless HiME, they needn't have announced themselves. That was what I told myself, as I stepped aside and motioned for them to come in.
"Ara, company? Shall I make tea?" Shizuru rose, bowing slightly to our guests.
"Let's hear what they have to say, first, Shizuru," I said, "They may not be welcome guests, depending on what they have to say."
I motioned for the two of them to take a seat on the sofa, next to Shizuru, and I took a chair opposite them.
"So," I looked at them, "Why do you need to speak with me?"
Alyssa smiled that strange, confident smile of hers, "Well, Natsuki Kuga, I would like you to become my legal guardian."
That gave even Shizuru pause.
"Miss Alyssa," Miyu turned to her, "It seems that Miss Kuga is unaware of certain details."
"I expected that she would be unaware of the current situation, but I thought that she knew the most critical piece of information," Alyssa said, then, turning to me, "You did have a meeting with John Smith some fourteen months ago, yes?"
"I did. There was nothing he told me about the two of you, though, other than to ask if I knew where Miyu had gotten off to. He also told me that Mom sold me to the Searrs Foundation right before District One killed her. That was the last words I heard from that troublesome man."
Alyssa frowned, "I see. I suppose with my demise at the time, I was of no importance to him.
"Miyu, do you have the files?"
"Right here, Miss Alyssa," Miyu produced a thick manila folder, "These are the relevant documents."
She opened the folder and handed me the document on the very top. It was a birth certificate for Alyssa. I looked at it, and felt myself grow dizzy.
"Your…mother…was…" My mouth went dry.
"Saeko Kuga, just as it says," Alyssa nodded.
Shizuru glanced worriedly between Alyssa and myself, as I handed to document back to Miyu Greer with a trembling hand.
"The rest of the documents will bear that out," Miyu said, "There are documents for the procurement of the late Dr. Kuga's egg cells, as well as DNA tests that conclusively prove Dr. Kuga's maternity of Miss Alyssa."
"Then," Shizuru looked at them, "What you are saying is that you and Natsuki are, biologically at any rate, half-sisters."
"Yes. I was not born in a conventional sense, but the Searrs Foundation felt it necessary to have documents to conceal the nature of the research they were conducting. They needed their own Valkyrie for the Carnival, and to that end, they tried to first procure you.
"As to Smith telling you that our Mother sold you to them, it was not technically the truth. My father, Byron Searrs, offered Mother a position in the company and the means to protect you if she would create an anti-materialization weapon for Searrs. She was paid upon the receipt of that weapon's design schematics, which were then incorporated into Miyu's systems."
"The power that broke the columns," Shizuru nodded.
"Yes," Miyu confirmed, "Mashiro Kazahana was secretly in contact with Byron Searrs to provide crucial details of how materialization worked. In addition, Dr. Kuga provided genetic material for the Searrs Foundation to study materialization further. In truth, it was to create Miss Alyssa, but Dr. Kuga was not told this."
"But she had to have suspected," I sighed, "Alright, so, if you ran a DNA test, it would show that you and I are, genetically, sisters with a common mother, right? So why are you asking me to be your legal guardian? Isn't your pet android there sufficient?"
Miyu's eyes narrowed dangerously, "Are you insulting Miss Alyssa?"
"Wait, Miyu," Alyssa raised her hand, then looked at me, "Byron Searrs died during the storming of Fuuka Academy some fifteen months ago. He was not resurrected by Mashiro Kazahana. Nor do I have any other living relatives, save for you."
"And since you're a U.S. citizen and a minor, the laws state that you have to…what? Have a legal guardian or become a ward of the state?"
"Worse," Miyu said, "If a living blood relative does not step forward to take custody of Miss Alyssa, then the executive conservator of her estate becomes John Smith."
"But," Alyssa smiled sweetly at me, "Even if not a citizen of the U.S., a blood relative takes precedence over Smith. And we have just conclusively demonstrated to the court that you are a blood relative. If you agree to be my legal guardian, I can get out from under Smith. Especially since you are now eighteen years old and can assume the legal responsibility for me."
I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to ward off a headache, without much success.
"Whoa. Hold on. You just told me, in the span of ten minutes, that you're my half-sister by way of science experiment, and then said that you need me to be your guardian in order to give John Smith the boot. That's an awful lot to drop on someone all at once."
"So, you refuse?" Miyu asked, her tone menacingly icy.
Alyssa sighed, and for once, she actually looked properly like a scared eleven year old child, "I am no longer a Valkyrie, or HiME if you want to use the term that District One preferred. The Searrs Foundation has little use for me, but all the controlling shares of the company are mine by right, and John Smith is prohibited from selling them. They must be held in my name until I reach the age of majority. The conservatorship allows him to spend money on my wellness, upkeep, and education, as well as a small, specified stipend to pay him for his efforts."
"Small stipend?" I raised an eyebrow.
"$10,000 a month," Miyu said.
"Ara, but that is not a small stipend," Shizuru said.
"It is for Smith. But the account is worth billions. And the added caveat is that if anything should happen to me," Alyssa trailed off.
"No," I said, "Let me guess. If you somehow kick the bucket before turning eighteen, Smith gets it all."
"Precisely."
"And your combat droid there can't handle it?"
"I cannot serve as Miss Alyssa's legal guardian," Miyu said, "John Smith made sure the court was aware of my status as a non-human entity. I am, strictly speaking, property of the Searrs Foundation. I am assigned as a defensive unit to protect Miss Alyssa, but I am not thought of as a person. And Smith has access to my schematics. He knows how to shut me down."
"And then he would only need to make it seem as though both you and Alyssa perished in an accident," Shizuru nodded.
I stood up, then walked to the large windows overlooking the back garden. Everything was covered in snow. Miyu somehow joined me without me ever hearing a sound.
"I would handle all of the actual duties of a caretaker, Miss Kuga. You would have no noticeable increase in work to yourself, and would receive $10,000 a month just to sign a paper saying you were Miss Alyssa's legal guardian."
I looked at her, "That's vulgar. You'd ask me to lie, to say I was responsible for my little sister, and take money to look the other way?"
"Then you won't?" Is it possible for an android to look depressed? Because Miyu Greer certainly managed.
"Ara, but that is not what Natsuki said," Shizuru chuckled, "Natsuki said that she would not take money to declare herself Alyssa's guardian, and then just foist her off on someone else. She did not say that she would not be Alyssa's guardian."
I crossed my arms, closed my eyes, and smiled, turning to face Alyssa, "Exactly. If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it right."
"Natsuki is kind, after all," Shizuru said.
"Shizuru, this isn't my home, so I have to ask, are you okay with taking in two more people?"
Alyssa looked at me with a strange, hopeful expression, then at Shizuru.
"Well, I was hoping to have a few years of peaceful bliss living with my cute girlfriend before we started talking about adopting," Shizuru grinned, "But how can I resist taking in Natsuki's adorable, troublesome, troubled little sister and her boon companion?"
There was a soft smile on Miyu's face, "That is acceptable."
"Shizuru," I looked at her with a grin, "Loan me your pen. Thanks. Now, where do I sign?"
After I finished, Miyu gathered up the papers, "Thank you, Miss Kuga. I will take these to the courthouse and have them filed, right away. There will be a hearing on the 24th of this month, which you will need to attend. John Smith will attempt to disqualify you as a conservator based on your history as a delinquent who skipped class. However, as you have been diligent with your studies since then, it should be a non issue."
"I actually have medical records that I can bring in," Natsuki smirked, "I had a guy who treated me for the injuries I was receiving from my Orphan battles. I'll just tell the court that my absences were due to being bullied by an upperclassman who is no longer there at the school, and that I was having a rough time of it. My attendance is perfect, now, and I'm in the top ten percentile of my class rankings. I also receive a monthly payment from my father, estranged as we are, for my own upkeep, and am the sole heir to the Kuga fortune when he passes, as well as having a part time job servicing motorbike engines."
"Excellent," Miyu said, "At this point, there hearing is a mere formality. Since Alyssa has Japanese heritage, is currently residing in Japan, and a living relative in Japan seeking custody, it will have to be handled in a Japanese court. I will return later with Miss Alyssa's belongings. In the meanwhile, you and she should become better acquainted. May I suggest a visit to the back garden. Miss Alyssa enjoys the snow."
After Miyu left, I decided that since I had agreed to this, I might as well take her advice.
"Are you up for going outside?" I asked her.
"Of course," She said, "I grew up in weather like this."
We're in the garden, and Shizuru pretends to return to her studies, as if I don't know that those loving crimson eyes are watching us through the window. It's fine. She's giving us space to learn about each other, but she's still concerned about my well-being. She wouldn't be Shizuru, otherwise.
The silence between us is palpable. I mean, setting aside the fact that there's a seven year age difference between us, and the fact that we didn't grow up together, there's also the fact that the first time we were formally introduced, I was basically holding a (magically created) gun on her and she had her combat droid knock me out and tie me up to use as bait for Mai and Mikoto. And she blew up a bridge. I mean, seriously. Where were we supposed to begin.
"You're shivering," Alyssa observed, "You know, we don't have to stay out here if you don't want to."
"Miyu seemed to think you'd like this," I replied gently, "I can endure the cold for a bit, if it makes you feel at home."
"Mother named you well," Alyssa gave a short laugh, "You really are a summer princess."
"Despite my Element using ice and having a combat wolf with ice cannons?" I smirked.
"You also stunted his growth by refusing to admit your love for your girlfriend," Alyssa said with a smirk that could be the mirror of my own, "I'm told that when you finally accepted it, he could have flattened the Academy."
"I wasn't exactly what people would call warm and cuddly in those days," I conceded, "But that was before I gained a new perspective on life. Listen, if my being in a relationship with Shizuru is going to be a problem for you…"
"Hardly," Alyssa said, "I wouldn't have approached you with this, if it were. I would have simply moved the pieces of the board to eliminate Smith before he could eliminate me."
"Of course," I nodded. Others might have thought her cold for saying something like that, but it wasn't all that far removed from my own attitude when I was up against District One. It would have been hypocritical of me to expect her to simply bide her time and wait for Smith to try and bump her off.
"I'm envious of you, you know," She said after a moment.
"Oh?" I blinked, "What do I have that would make my little sister envious?"
"Memories of her," Alyssa, how is it that you can smile so cheerfully while sounding like you're on the verge of tears? "Of Mother."
"Mom," I said, "She preferred Mom. But you were raised pretty formal, so I guess that's to be expected."
"Would you…tell me about her?" Alyssa looked at me.
"I'll make you a deal. You tell me why Miyu wanted me to freeze my butt off, and I'll tell you about Mom."
Alyssa smiled that smug, superior smile of hers, "You're honestly so hopeless. You don't know why she would want you to take a young girl outside to a snowy back garden?"
I tried not to sound bitter, "I stopped being a child on the night of July 20th, 1995.* At the age of seven years old, an ambush by District One took Mom from me, and I spent my eight birthday comatose in a hospital with no one to watch over me. Dad had run off to Europe with his mistress. I spent a year in the hospital, mostly comatose, but partly learning to walk again. I vowed, from that time forward, that I was going to get revenge on the people who took her away from me."
She looked at me, her face unreadable, the smiled approvingly, "Yes. I see. That was the depth of the love she inspired in you. So that was who Mother…Mom…was. It also explains some of your arrested development."
"If you're going to be rude…"
She held up a hand, "I'm merely teasing you. Isn't that what younger sisters are for?"
"Brat," but I said it affectionately.
"Well, you haven't quite told me everything about our Mom," she sighed, "But I can show you what Miyu wanted of us. Though, I would have preferred if it were her here now."
She began to pack snow into a ball, and began to roll it. I caught on after a moment, and helped her push as the snowball got bigger. Once it was the size of a jackfruit, we started a second snowball, slightly smaller, and put it on top.
"Why don't you go ask Shizuru if she has any carrots in the kitchen," I said, "And I'll go dig out an old scarf and some buttons."
I found the items in question, and then returned to the yard, to find Shizuru in her winter coat, standing with Alyssa, holding a carrot.
"Sisters playing in the snow. How adorable!" Shizuru's cheeks were red, but unfortunately, that was more likely due to the cold weather than to her blushing.
"Does she do things like that, a lot?" Alyssa looked at me warily.
I shrugged, "Eh. It sort of grows on you after a bit."
"Natsuki, Alyssa, ikezu!" Shizuru mock pouted.
"Now that," I replied to my new little sister, "That she does a lot."
"Mou!" Shizuru turned redder. Heh. Victory. Having a little sister to team up with might prove helpful, after all.
"Natsuki-oneesan, you shouldn't be cruel to your lovely girlfriend," Alyssa said, smiling slyly.
Oh, well played, little brat. Fine. So having a sister isn't a distinct advantage, after all.
"Let's just finish this snowman and go in," I sigh, "I need some cocoa."
"Ara, but tea is better for Natsuki," Shizuru said.
"I wouldn't mind cocoa," Alyssa said, "It's such a pleasant drink for a cold day."
We went inside. I had agreed to be Alyssa's sister and guardian. There were going to be changes to our lives, and I wasn't sure what was to come, but I found myself looking forward to it. I smiled, looking back at the snowman.
"…and I will show Alyssa where her room will be. It's across the house from the room I share with Natsuki, but we can put Miyu right next to you…Ara, Natsuki, are you coming?"
I turned back to the house, "Yeah. Hey, let's make a hot pot tonight. It's perfect for this weather."
And we went inside, to our home.
Mai-HiME aired originally from 2004-5. Taking that as the time when the series is set, Natsuki would have been born on August 15th (her given birthday), 1987. Meaning that she would have been seven years old still on July 20th, 1995. Since the episode that shows Natsuki tossing flowers into the ocean in memory of her mother was set at the beginning of summer vacation, and was heavily implied to be the anniversary of the accident, I use that as rationale for the date given.