Worn out from another long shift, but this time without the debilitating fatigue from before, Mai bade the manager farewell, taking the time today to being extra polite as it was the manager's wife this time so she didn't feel the need to hurry out before being accosted by the pig. Speaking of whom, it was his wife that was taking care of the shop today as he apparently had disappeared on her and no one knew where he was. She muttered throughout the day about "that whore".

By now, Mai had resolutely pushed the other events of the day into the recesses of her mind where they may not disturb her. She had already settled on a rationalization of either a prank or a misunderstanding, and she had politely but firmly asked logical thought to leave the room. And so there she was, all better, nothing to get in her way; if it did turn out to a stalker of some sort, she'd just beat him up and move on.

"Mai!"

Looking up at the familiar voice, she saw Natsuki leaning on a street lamp post, arms crossed in her classic tough-girl demeanor.

Brightening up, Mai approached the other girl cheerfully. "Natsuki! Did you come to pick me up?"

"Yeah," Natsuki replied, nonchalantly tossing her luxuriant black hair with one hand as she fell in beside her. "Not that I'm all that concerned about you, understand."

"Ohhh? What happened to 'you're my friend!' from earlier?" Mai needled in return.

"Shut up," was the reply. "But seriously, Mai, are you okay?"

Look down, Mai almost spilled her guts. Almost. But she reminded herself that this was her problem and that Natsuki didn't need to get involved. Knowing her, Natsuki probably wouldn't rest until the mystery was solved. If she didn't want to deal with it herself, she had no right to get others involved.

"I'm fine. It was just overwork…"

"That's why I keep telling you to take a break," Natsuki chided irritably. "Tate says the same thing, doesn't he?"

"Mm…" Mai affirmed, looking down. "A-ha-ha, I guess I kind of overdid it afterall…!"

Natsuki sighed. "Well, as long as you're okay…say…"

Mai looked up quizzically. Natsuki looked like she was having trouble phrasing what she had to say next.

"It was you," Mai put in before the other girl could say anything, "—that got Fujino-san to help me out, wasn't it?"

Natsuki blinked and looked at her in surprise. "Ah…you knew?"

"It was obvious. Even though we were both HiMEs we were still pretty much just strangers. Why would someone like the President take so much interest in me so suddenly?"

Natsuki sighed. "I guess my relationship with Shizuru is hardly a secret anymore…"

"Say," Mai asked, her interest piqued. "How far have you two…um…gone?"

Natsuki stopped dead in her tracks. "W-what!" she cried, face burning up. "We're just friends! Friends!"

"Really? But Fujino-san seems kind of stuck on you…"

"Don't sound so disappointed," Natsuki hissed back, regaining her composure. "Although I love her as a friend who's done a lot for me, I have no interest in romance. Besides how would you feel if another girl came on to you?"

Mai grinned wickedly and slid her an evil look sideways. "Hmm…well, if it was Fujino-san…kyaa! What would I doooo!" she squealed dramatically, clasping her face in both hands.

Natsuki looked away. "Baka…"

They continued to walk together in silence. Suddenly Natsuki asked. "But seriously, what do you think of Shizuru?"

Mai frowned and remembered the only bright spot from the day, when Fujino stepped in between her and the adults, and spoke only to her, as if Mai was the only person in the room who mattered. And she remembered her warm voice, always gracious, always concerned. Always seemed alerted to her hardships at work and at school, never ignoring her, but at the same time never expecting anything in return.

"Hmm…how can I say this," she said, struggling with putting her feelings into words. "That person is so incredible it's ridiculous to think of her as being 'friends' with such a commoner like me – but at the same time she makes you feel special. Like you matter. Sorry if that doesn't make sense," she finished sheepishly.

Natsuki didn't say anything and just look down broodingly.

"Natsuki?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes. That's true – she is incredible, isn't she," she finally responded, but Mai could detect a hint of stress in her voice.

As the two rounded a street corner, something ran into Mai at high speed, attaching itself to her midsection. "Maiii!"

"Mikoto…" she responded in exasperation as the girl snuggled in close.

"Tokiha," said another familiar voice.

"Tate too?" she said, looking up, suddenly feeling a surge of annoyance.

"We were coming to pick you up but it looks like Kuga got to you first," he explained.

Mai sniffed arrogantly and stuck her nose up at him. "Humph! That's because you're useless," she lashed him, feeling strangely antagonistic.

"Gah!" he exclaimed to her attack. "What's your problem, Tokiha?"

"Nothing," she responded. "But for some reason I feel like I got a bad deal," she said, looking directly at him.

"What's that supposed to mean!" he demanded, now agitated.

As the two broke out into one of their minor scuffles, Natsuki decided to take her leave.


On the lonely way back to her apartment, Natsuki replayed Mai's words in her mind again and again. She makes you feel special. She knew what Mai meant very well; Shizuru could look at her in that way that said that nothing else in the world mattered but her. No matter what Natsuki would demand, Shizuru would give it. If there was trouble, Shizuru knew about it automatically without her having to say anything.

But only to Natsuki. All her generosity, kindness, and attention were devoted to her alone. Only she would feel that special. Or at least that's what she always thought up until now.

And it made her sick.

Is this how weak I am? she thought to herself in self-pity. In the end am I just a kid who wants the attention of a grown-up? Besides that, what right did she have to care about who Shizuru liked or didn't like? Why am I getting angry? she asked herself as she struggled to stop grinding her teeth. She was the one who couldn't return those feelings; who was she to get angry when those feelings went somewhere else? Was it that she was just spoiled by Shizuru's affection for all these years?

Good for Mai, she tried to tell herself. That girl is truly special and is suffering under a burden a lot heavier than mine. She tried to tell herself that Mai deserved the feelings of someone like Shizuru more than herself. She told herself that Mai was one of her best friends and that it wasn't as if she would lose Shizuru as one of those friends—

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden noise. It was an incoming call on her cell. Blinking out of her state of deep thought, Natsuki answered it. "It's me."

"Kuga Natsuki-san? This is Fumi."

"Chairman!"

"If possible, do you think I can see you sometime this evening in regards to an important matter?"

Natsuki was momentarily stunned. "Err…alright, I'll come by right now, is that okay?"

"That's fine, I'll be waiting for you," the woman on the other end said and then the line went dead.

Natsuki heard a distant rumble of thunder and looked to see the afternoon sky ominously overcast.

"Rain…"


Suzushiro Haruka slammed a hand down on the tabletop.

"What exactly do you plan to do about this!" she demanded.

Shizuru, in her capacity of the Council President, was simply required to sit there and pay attention to this noisy girl. Her shouting often jarred Shizuru out of a pleasant day-dream, the latest one involving her, Natsuki and a public bath. For that reason she preferred Kikukawa-san a great deal more.

If she wasn't so committed to keeping her life as quiet and steady as possible in order to stay close to Natsuki, she would have liked very much to kill her. That thought made her envision how Suzushiro would die. Each step and movement ending with an upwards slash across her chest appeared before her mind's eye. She could even see the crimson splash of blood and which direction the spray would go and how it would decorate the wall and ceiling.

Shizuru rapidly squashed the image. She knew it wasn't her own. That the vision came even without her Element summoned was a sign that she was more agitated than she wanted to believe. She needed to let some steam off.

Using her tea cup to hide a frown, Shizuru avoided looking at the other girl while she continued to demand a response.

"Well!"

"Did you know," Shizuru said after successfully composing herself, "—that even between people who don't like one another, sex still feels good?"

Shizuru watched closely as Suzushiro blinked once and then twice before her face went red with embarrassed rage which was followed by outraged gasping after words. "I—you---you---!"

Shizuru stood up. Technically there were several matters that still needed the Council's attention. But she didn't care about them anyway and her patience had run thin. She didn't even bother with basic politeness as she made her exit around the sputtering Vice-President who had now crossed her arms protectively over her chest. Shizuru stopped herself from leering down at her. No she wouldn't kill her; after all, it was precisely her uptight workaholic nature that made Shizuru's life easier and was the reason why she tolerated the girl's presence at all.

Closing the door behind her, she reflected that it really was too bad for Suzushiro Haruka. Now that she had Mai, there was no longer any reason to keep that noisy girl in the Council. And Mai's "assets" were far superior. Yes.

So wrapped up in her vision for the future, Shizuru failed to notice the dark clouds gathering outside through the hallway windows.