Note: Mai-Hime is an anime that was done by the studio Sunrise.

Natsuki Kuga was a young woman. She was a kind, caring person, but she had a lot of flaws. She was often late for class, forgot to turn assignments in, and she had quite a few arguments with her teachers. Because of that, most colleges would reject her, or they'd let her join and give her a chance before kicking her out.

Natsuki didn't make these types of mistakes for fun or to drive her superiors crazy. Her mind was often in the clouds, and she often felt like something was missing in her life. She tried to be optimistic, but overall, she wasn't a very cheerful person. She often looked gloomy, and she didn't really know how to loosen up and enjoy herself.

One morning, Natsuki was laying down on her bed. She didn't have much going, so she just stared at her cellphone and looked at random things.

Suddenly, Natsuki's parents came into the room. Natsuki put her phone and got off of her bed. She faced her parents and asked, "What's up?"

Both of Natsuki's parents looked happy, while the mom said, "We have good news. We found a new college for you to attend."

Natsuki shyly replied, "I don't know if that's such a good idea. After all, I wasn't exactly beloved at the other colleges I tried out. Both the teachers and the students didn't like me."

Natsuki's mom tried to make Natsuki feel better, by saying, "Don't worry about that, Natsuki. This college is very nice and open-minded. They know nobody's perfect, so they don't unrealistically high expectations of people."

Natsuki's dad replied, "In other words, they think all people are mediocre, so you have nothing to worry about."

Natsuki's mom angrily nudged the dad and responded, "That wasn't the best way of wording things."

Natsuki thought about it. Although her experiences at the other colleges, didn't work out, she wanted to be open-minded and to give this college a fair shot. However, that didn't mean she was thrilled about taking this offer. She casually said, "I guess I can go to this new college."

Natsuki's mom replied, "That's the spirit."

Natsuki's dad said, "No offense, but that's not the spirit I was hoping for. I was wanting a more passionate, excited spirit."

Natsuki replied, "I'm sorry I'm not dancing around my bedroom or anything, but considering how many colleges have rejected me, it's hard to get excited about going to do another one."

Natsuki's dad responded, "Actually, you should be excited. Would you like to know why?" Natsuki nodded. The dad said, "This college charges far less than the other colleges, which means I get to save money!" The dad was so thrilled about saving money, that he started dancing around Natsuki's bedroom.

Natsuki's mom was amused by her husband's dancing, but she had more important things to focus on. She faced her daughter and said, "The college is only ten miles away from our house, so we'll be able to drop you off and pick you up. At the other colleges, you had to stay at a dorm, so this gives a chance to see you more. That should be why your dad's excited, but he's more interested in saving me."

Natsuki's dad defensively replied, "Hey, I'm glad we'll get to see our daughter more. However, the big thing to be excited about is saving money! Woo-hoo!" He started jumping around the room, while being filled with excitement. The mom rolled her eyes, while Natsuki facepalmed.

A week later, it was time for Natsuki's first day, at the new college. At the other colleges, she was required to wear a school uniform, but this college didn't have that rule, so she wore a purple shirt and pink pants. Her hair was neatly combed and she had a tiny bit of makeup on.

Natsuki's parents gave her a ride to the college. Natsuki felt bad about her previous failures and she wanted to avoid making the same mistakes. She faced her parents and said, "I know I've been a bit of a punk in the past and I'm sorry about that. I don't really know why I acted like that. I just felt lost and lonely. I know you guys love me and want the best for me, so I'm going to work hard and try to succeed."

Natsuki's parents looked concerned about her. The mom whispered, "I think she could use some advice or encouraging words."

The dad calmly whispered back, "I'll handle it." He faced Natsuki and said, "Before you go to this new college, there's an important thing I should remind you about. I know I bring this subject up a lot, but it's essential that I do so, so you don't forget this important life-lesson."

Natsuki tried to take her dad seriously, while asking, "What is it?"

The dad said, "At the school, they'll probably be students who seem friendly and good intentions. However, they buy really expensive things, like the newest type of cellphone or perfume. It's important that you don't become a part of their chaotic, dangerously-expensive shopping sprees."

Natsuki replied, "Dad, you acted like you were going to give me some kind of life-lesson, but you're just giving me another speech about money."

The dad responded, "Money is a top-level of importance, if I do say so myself. Although family and friends are important, it's seriously debatable if they're more important than money."

The mom frowned at the dad and asked, "Are you done, with giving our daughter crummy advice?"

The dad nervously smiled and answered, "More or less."

The mom looked back at Natsuki and said, "I hope that you have a wonderful day. Stay safe and have lots of fun."

Natsuki replied, "School's not exactly a playground, but I'll try to enjoy myself."

The dad paused and said, "By the way, if the vending machine charges a dollar for a soda, go ahead. However, if they charge more than that, don't bother. We need to protest overpriced items."

Natsuki sighed and replied, "Whatever." She waved goodbye to her parents and started heading into the college.

Natsuki's mom noticed that the car barely had any gas left, so she said, "There's a gas station across the street. Should we go there?"

The dad replied, "It depends on how much they charge for gas." The mom angrily sighed.

Natsuki looked around the school and saw that the students looked happier and seemed to be having more fun, than the students at her previous colleges. However, that didn't mean everything was better. She saw several students running around the hallways, while bumping into people and walls. She even saw a few students dancing on the lockers, which was a very surprising sight.

Haruka took a long look at Natsuki. After examining her, she folded her arms and said, "You have a lot to work on."

Natsuki raised an eyebrow and said, "Excuse me?"

Haruka had a serious look on her face, while saying, "Your outfit's bland and not fancy enough, your hair could use a few more minutes of combing, and you tons of makeup."

Reito Kanzaki overheard Haruka, so he walked by and said, "Sheesh, how about giving the new girl a proper greeting?"

Haruka folded her arms and asked, "A proper greeting? How could I give her that honor, if she's going to look so plain and give off such mediocre vibes?" She pushed some students out of her way, while walking away.

Reito looked at Natsuki. He tried to make things a bit more peaceful, by saying, "I'm sorry about Haruka. Believe it or not, she means well, but she gets stressed-out. Frankly, I think she takes the school and the Student Council too seriously." He stuck out his hand and said, "I'm Reito."

Natsuki shook hands with him, while replying, "I'm Natsuki."

Reito said, "It's nice to meet you."

Natsuki replied, "Likewise, Reito. So, are you also a member of the Student Council?"

Reito had a smug smile on his face, while saying, "Indeed I am. In fact, I'm the Vice-President. Despite that, I'm basically the one in charge."

Shizuru Fujino walked up to them and said, "You can keep thinking that, but it sure isn't true."

Reito replied, "Fair enough. This is Shizuru Fujino, the President of the Student Council." He jokingly whispered, "I'm planning on taking the leadership position from her."

Shizuru nudged him and jokingly responded back, "Don't make me vote you out of office."

Natsuki shook hands with Shizuru, while saying, "I'm Natsuki. It's nice to meet you."

Shizuru smiled and replied, "Indeed it is. Is it just me or do my classmates keep getting cuter and cuter?" Natsuki wasn't sure how to answer that.

Reito looked back at Natsuki and said, "Don't take Shizuru seriously. She teases everybody. She's even jokingly flirted with me. Can't say I blame her, since every girl's fighting over me."

Natsuki said, "Wow, you sure love yourself, don't you?" Reito blushed with embarrassment, because Natsuki had exposed his self-obsessed behavior.

Shizuru said, "It's about time somebody pointed out his ego."

Reito proudly replied, "I have an amazing ego."

Natsuki responded, "If you say so."

Shizuru jokingly pushed Reito away and said, "Natsuki, you are going to love this college."

Natsuki replied, "I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I'm not sure if I'm going to be successful here."

Shizuru looked concerned about Natsuki, while asking, "Why do you think that?"

Natsuki played with her hair, while saying, "I haven't been successful at my other colleges. I often failed to assignments correctly or argued with my teachers. To be honest, I'm surprised my parents sent me to another college. I thought I had become a hopeless case."

Shizuru put her arm around Natsuki and replied, "Nobody's a hopeless case, unless they've completely given up. Have you given up?"

Natsuki casually answered, "I guess not."

Shizuru replied, "Natsuki, when I look at you, I see a pretty girl. However, I see something more important than just looks."

Natsuki looked confused, while asking, "What do you see in me?"

Shizuru answered, "Potential." She paused before saying, "It's hard to explain, but I have this feeling in my heart, that you're going to do great things and be something special. You can call me overly-sentimental, but I think you're going to really shine here. I may of just met you, but I believe in you."

Natsuki was pleasantly surprised by Shizuru's compliments. She said, "Thank you, Ms. Fujino."

Shizuru asked, "Ms. Fujino? Come on, Natsuki. I'm your friend, not your teacher."

Natsuki asked, "Friend? We just met each other."

Shizuru replied, "Despite that, we're already friends. It's probably because you're amazing."

Natsuki smiled and responded, "Nah, all credit goes to you." Natsuki and Shizuru high-fived each other. Natsuki said, "I better get to my first class. I'll see you around."

Shizuru smiled and replied, "Have a terrific first-day. I look forward to seeing you again."

Natsuki responded, "You too." Natsuki started walking to class, while already being in a better mood.

Natsuki arrived at her first class, which was math. Although it was Natsuki's first day at the college, it wasn't the first day for the other students. Because of that, Natsuki wasn't given an easy assignment. She looked down at her assignment and saw that she had to finish twenty math problems, before class was over. She angrily sighed and started getting to work.

Natsuki's presence caught the attention of Yuuichi Tate. Yuuichi was a well-intentioned, but gullible and immature guy who often got poor grades and accidentally angered a lot of people. He was impressed by how pretty Natsuki was and he was hoping he could get her attention. He noticed that Natsuki was sitting next to the pencil sharpener, so he got up and started sharpening his pencil. He looked at her and said, "Hi, I'm Yuuichi."

Natsuki whispered, "I'm Natsuki." Natsuki didn't pay much attention to Yuuichi, because she was busy on her assignment.

Yuuichi wasn't paying attention to his pencil, while looking at Natsuki and said, "I heard that you're the new girl. I've gone to this college for a few months, maybe longer. I struggle to remember stuff like that. Anyways, I might be able to give you a tour of the college. That way, you'd know this place better than I ever could. I don't even know this teacher's name."

The teacher looked at Yuuichi and said, "You need to sit down, Mr. Tate."

Yuuichi replied, "But I was sharpening my pencil."

The teacher folded his arms and responded, "Take a closer look at it." Yuuichi looked down and saw that he had accidentally destroyed the pencil, because of how long he had the pencil in the pencil sharpener for. He nervously laughed and walked back to his desk.

A few classes later, it was lunchtime. Natsuki spent a few minutes trying to find the cafeteria. After finding it, she went to an empty table and sat down. Her parents had packed her a lunch, so she opened up her lunchbox and started eating it. She purposely sat at the empty table, because she was worried about fitting in. She thought it would be better to avoid people, so she wouldn't have to worry about not fitting in and getting rejected.

Yuuichi went into the cafeteria. He saw that Natsuki was sitting by herself. He was excited about that, because he thought this would be a great time to talk to her. He considered sitting close to her, but he was worried about making her feel uncomfortable, so he sat on the other end of the table. He took a close at Natsuki. She was looking at her cellphone, while eating her lunch. Yuuichi was hoping he could strike-up a nice conversation. He said, "Cellphones are pretty cool, aren't they?"

Natsuki answered, "I guess so."

Yuuichi replied, "I accidentally threw my phone away, a few weeks ago. I was trying to throw my can of soda away, which I did. However, my cellphone was in the can, so I accidentally threw it in the garbage can." Yuuichi thought about what he was saying and he ashamed of himself. He was hanging out with the prettiest girl in the college and his attempt to impress her, was talking about the garbage can. He facepalmed, while walking to a different table.

Reito noticed that Natsuki was eating by herself, so he said, "Hi, Ms. Kuga. You look quite nice. In order to make things even nicer, how about joining me and my friends for lunch?"

Natsuki answered, "No, thank you."

Reito walked back to his table. He looked at Shizuru and said, "I tried to invite the new girl here, but she rejected my offer."

Shizuru nudged Reito and said, "You probably worded yourself poorly, didn't you?"

Reito smiled and replied, "I have a very eloquent way of speaking."

Shizuru said, "I'll talk to her and have lunch with her."

Reito replied, "No offense, but I don't think it's going to work."

Shizuru asked, "Why not?"

Reito answered, "Natsuki seems very distant. She also seems like somebody that doesn't want friends."

Shizuru replied, "Everybody wants friends."

Reito said, "Not Haruka." He looked at Haruka and asked, "Do you want friends?"

Haruka frowned and said, "Friendship sucks."

Reito had a smug smile on his face, while saying, "I was right and you were wrong."

Shizuru looked amused, while saying, "You may be clever, but you're wrong about Natsuki not wanting friends."

Shizuru walked to Natsuki's table and sat table. Natsuki was paying so little attention, to the things going on around her, that she didn't even notice Shizuru was there. There was a strong amount of silence, for a few awkward minutes, before Shizuru made her presence known. She gently said, "Hi, Natsuki."

Natsuki briefly felt a feeling of fear, because she didn't know anybody was there. After realizing it was Shizuru, she started calming down. In fact, she was glad to see Shizuru again. So far, she was the only classmate that Natsuki felt comfortable around. Natsuki said, "Hi Shizuru. I'm sorry for not realizing you were there."

Shizuru calmly replied, "It's alright. How are you doing?"

Natsuki casually answered, "I'm okay."

Shizuru asked, "Have you been enjoying the school?"

Natsuki answered, "Well, I've only been here for a few hours. Because of that, it's hard to have a definitive answer on the subject."

Shizuru was amused, by Natsuki's overly-fancy way of speaking. She said, "You have quite the eloquent vocabulary, don't you? I find it very charming. You seem like a very charming person, in general."

Natsuki replied, "I don't know why you would say such a peculiar thing, but it's a compelling compliment. You have a prim and proper way of addressing me and I'm in great appreciation, over the significance of your compliments." After finishing speaking, Natsuki thought about what she just said and was surprised by how she was speaking. She was used to speaking in such a casual way, but around Shizuru, she was using more complex words than usual. Natsuki wondered why she was doing that? Was she trying to impress Shizuru, without realizing it?

Shizuru said, "So, how old are you?"

Natsuki answered, "I recently turned twenty."

Shizuru smiled and said, "I turned twenty, less than a month ago." She started sitting closer to Natsuki, while saying, "We were born so close to each other. Perhaps it was destiny."

Natsuki had a confused look on her face, while asking, "Destiny?"

Shizuru answered, "We were born so close to each other, because we were destined to cross-paths and meet up with each other."

Natsuki felt weirded-out, while saying, "I don't think that's the case."

Shizuru nervously laughed and replied, "You'll have to forgive me. I have a habit of saying absurd things. I'm probably making you want to be less social, aren't I?"

Natsuki said, "I wouldn't say that. You are the first person here, that I've had a real conversation with. I don't know why, but I don't feel uncomfortable or weird when I'm around you."

Shizuru replied, "Maybe it's because I'm so weird, that you get to feel like the normal one."

Natsuki shook her head and said, "I don't think you're weird. If anything, I think you're charming."

Shizuru felt incredibly flattered, while asking, "Really?" Natsuki nodded. Shizuru said, "Thank you. That means a lot to me."

Natsuki replied, "That's what friends are for."

Shizuru said, "Aww, you called me your friend."

Natsuki replied, "Well, you already said we were."

Shizuru responded, "True, but you seemed quick to reject any other friends."

Natsuki felt a bit of guilt, while saying, "Yeah, I probably should have been more friendly."

Shizuru put her arm around Natsuki and replied, "It's okay. You'll have plenty of chances, to charm the others and make new friends. I see lots of potential in you."

Natsuki responded, "Thank you."

Shizuru asked, "Where do you live?"

Natsuki answered, "About ten miles from here. What about you?"

Shizuru said, "I live at one of the dorms. My roommate is very chill, so if you ever wanted to have a sleepover, we could have one."

Natsuki raised an eyebrow and asked, "A sleepover? We just met. You're really rushing our friendship, aren't you?"

Shizuru grinned and answered, "I'm known for rushing into things. I often try to make fast-friends, which leads to people trying to avoid you."

Natsuki said, "Wow, we really are opposites, aren't we? I try to avoid people, in fear of getting rejected and you try to make friendships with you, which leads to people avoiding you."

Shizuru replied, "That's fair. However, I believe that's why we were destined to meet."

Natsuki looked confused, while asking, "What do you mean?"

Shizuru answered, "Think about it. You're a shy girl who needs friends and I'm an overly friendly girl who wants more friends. I believe the universe wants us to be near each other."

Natsuki said, "I don't mind being near you."

Shizuru smiled and replied, "I'm glad to hear that."

After lunch was over, Shizuru walked back to Reito. Reito was surprised that Shizuru was able to have lunch with Natsuki without Natsuki ever asking her to leave. He asked, "What's up with Natsuki?"

Shizuru answered, "She and I already good friends."

An hour later, Natsuki was in study hall. Yuuichi was in the same class, so he was hoping he'd get to spend time with her. He figured he should rush through his homework, so he'd have plenty of time for Natsuki. He quickly wrote down answers, on his math assignment. Several of his answers were wrong and didn't make sense, but he didn't care about that.

After finishing his assignment, Yuuichi walked up to Natsuki and sat at the desk, that was next to hers. He saw that she was working on the math assignment, so he asked, "Do you want some help with that?"

Natsuki said, "I'm almost done, but there's one problem I don't know how to solve."

Yuuichi tried to look like he knew what he was talking about, while saying, "I already finished my assignment, so if you have any questions, you can ask me about them." Yuuichi was hoping that Natsuki wouldn't ask for math-related advice, but his dream didn't come true.

Natsuki showed an overly complicated math problem to him and said, "I wasn't sure what the answer was, so I guessed."

Yuuichi replied, "The answer's probably between eight-hundred and nine-hundred-thousand."

Natsuki said, "My guess was seven-thousand."

Yuuichi felt about embarrassed about his ridiculously inaccurate answer, while saying, "That seems like a solid guess."

Natsuki lightly smiled and replied, "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but you don't know much about math, do you know?"

Yuuichi responded, "Not really. To be honest, I'm barely passing the class."

Natsuki asked, "Really?"

Yuuichi answered, "Last year, I got sixty-two-percent, so I barely passed. This quarter, my current grade is forty-eight percent, so I'm not doing so great. If I don't figure something out, I might fail the class."

Natsuki replied, "I can help you with that. I've never been an expert at math, but a few bits of tutoring might help you."

Yuuichi smiled and responded, "That sounds great." He was excited about getting to spend more time with Natsuki. He asked, "Are you free, after-school?"

Natsuki answered, "I'm sorry, but my parents are picking me up. However, I can have them pick me up later, sometime in the future."

Yuuichi smiled and replied, "That sounds great." After class was over, Yuuichi went into the hallway and did a victory dance.

After school was over, Natsuki was about to leave, but Shizuru ran up to her and asked, "Were you going to leave without saying goodbye to me?"

Natsuki answered, "I'm sorry. It wasn't something I thought of."

Shizuru asked, "How was your first day at this college?"

Natsuki said, "Better than my first days at other colleges."

Shizuru smiled and asked, "Was there anything specific that made this first day better than the others?"

Natsuki answered, "This day was better, mostly because of you." Shizuru felt her heart warming up. Natsuki said, "Getting to meet you was a real treat."

Shizuru hugged Natsuki and replied, "I'm so glad to hear that. I'm excited, to see you tomorrow and spend more time with you."

Natsuki smiled and responded, "That does sound nice." She waved goodbye, went outside, and went into her family's car.

Natsuki's mom asked, "How was your first day?"

Natsuki said, "Better than I thought it would ever be."

The mom asked, "Why is that?"

Natsuki smiled and said, "Because of a special friend."

The dad said, "That's nice and all, but did your friend pressure you into buying any expensive stuff?" Natsuki was usually annoyed when her dad obsessed over money, but this time, she was in too good of a mood.