Note: Mai-Hime is an anime that was done by the studio Sunrise.
One morning, Natsuki's mom gave her a ride to college. After saying her goodbyes, Natsuki was going to walk into the school. However, she saw that Shizuru was standing outside. It seemed like she had been waiting for Natsuki. Natsuki walked up to her and said, "Hi, Shizuru."
Shizuru replied, "Hi, Natsuki. How are you feeling?"
Natsuki calmly responded, "No need to worry. My cold went away. I feel healthy."
Shizuru asked, "Was yesterday a rough day?"
Natsuki answered, "It kind of was. However, the hardest part wasn't the illness. Missing a day with you, is what brought me down. After we had such a nice time, the day before, I was excited to see you again. That's why yesterday was a disappointment."
Shizuru was honored that Natsuki missed her. She said, "I missed you, as much as you missed me."
Natsuki smiled and replied, "I'm glad I got better, so quickly, because I get to spend more time with you." She and Shizuru started holding hands with each other, while blushing at each other.
One of the bells rang. Natsuki, Shizuru, and the other students only had five-minutes before class started. Natsuki said, "We better get to class. Do you want a goodbye hug?"
Shizuru shook her head and replied, "I want something greater." She started reaching in for a kiss. She kissed Natsuki on the lips. Natsuki was surprised, but after a brief moment of confusion, everything felt right. Natsuki thought she and Shizuru loved each other as best friends, but in that moment, she felt their love was stronger than friendship.
Later, Natsuki was in math class with Yuuichi. Yuuichi didn't see Natsuki the previous day, because she was sick. He missed her a lot and was relieved she returned to school. During the class, Yuuichi sat in the desk that was next to Natsuki's desk. He looked at her and said, "Hi."
Natsuki replied, "Hi, Yuuichi. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to tutor you, yesterday."
Yuuichi responded, "No big deal. I actually finished yesterday's assignment."
Natsuki said, "I'm glad to hear that. How did you do that?"
Yuuichi replied, "I haven't gotten the assignment back yet." He had a proud look on his face, while saying, "I don't want to seem like a bragger or anything, but I think I did pretty good. I've been feeling great vibes."
Natsuki patted Yuuichi's shoulder and responded, "I'm glad to hear that."
The teacher walked up to Yuuichi. He had finished grading Yuuichi's assignment, so he gave it back to him. Yuuichi asked, "How did I do?"
The teacher answered, "You got a D."
Yuuichi chuckled and said, "It seems like I didn't do as good as I thought I had."
Natsuki was concerned about Yuuichi's spirit being broken. She had a concerned look on her face, while saying, "I know your grades aren't the best, but if you keep putting effort into studying, I'm sure your grades will keep improving."
Yuuichi grinned and said, "My grades are already improving."
Natsuki raised an eyebrow and asked, "Really?"
Yuuichi said, "Yeah, I'm used to failing my assignments, so this is an upgrade. Your lessons and tutoring are helping me." He hugged her. The teacher didn't allow hugging, but he was busy, so he didn't notice Natsuki and Yuuichi's hug.
Being hugged by Yuuichi felt different for Natsuki, than being by Shizuru. Shizuru's hugs had a comforting, heartwarming, if somewhat awkward, type of feeling. Yuuichi's hug felt nice, but casual, which Natsuki was okay with. In her heart, she knew Yuuichi was a friend and someone she cared about, but not in a romantic way. She just hoped Yuuichi felt the same way.
A few hours later, it was lunchtime. Natsuki sat at one of the tables and looked at her cellphone. She still felt awkward, so she hoped Shizuru wouldn't visit her, until she had her feelings sorted out.
Reito saw that Shizuru was sitting by him and his other friends. He looked a bit confused, while asking, "How come you're not sitting with Natsuki? Hasn't she become one of your closest friends?"
Shizuru nervously smiled and said, "You have no idea."
Reito could tell something was up, but he didn't know what it was. He asked, "What's going on?"
Shizuru answered, "Natsuki and I had a bit of an awkward morning."
Reito knew Shizuru well, so he said, "I'm guessing you're the one, who made things awkward."
Shizuru replied, "More or less."
Reito said, "Well, why don't you go and talk to her about it?"
Shizuru replied, "I would, but even I'm feeling a bit uncomfortable."
Reito looked surprised, while asking, "Really? You're like the least-shy person I know. If you have a feeling, you usually scream it in my ear."
Shizuru said, "You know what? I am going to talk to her." She got up and walked to Natsuki's table. She sat by Natsuki, with a friendly smile on her face, while saying, "Hi Natsuki."
Natsuki put her phone down and shyly replied, "Hi Shizuru."
Shizuru said, "It's good to see you."
Natsuki replied, "I feel the same." She took a pause, before asking, "What's up?"
Shizuru said, "I think you know what's going on. I'm assuming you remember the way I said goodbye to you, this morning."
Natsuki replied, "Yes, you kissed me."
Shizuru blushed and responded, "I sure did." She took a long pause, before saying, "I'm hoping you're not mad at me."
Although Natsuki had a lot of confused emotions in her head, she knew she wasn't mad at Shizuru. She shook her head and said, "I'm not mad. However, I'm sure you can understand why that moment weirded me out."
Shizuru replied, "Yes. In fact, it also felt weird for me, but it was something I knew I wanted to do."
Natsuki asked, "Why?"
Shizuru tried to think about a delicate way of wording it. After an awkward moment of silence, she decided to give Natsuki an honest and straightforward answer. She said, "I love you."
Natsuki replied, "I love you too. We've already said that to each other."
Shizuru responded, "Yes, but I'm not talking about a friendship type of love. Natsuki, I'm in love with you."
Natsuki had a shocked look on her face, although she secretly had assumed that. She asked, "In love?"
Shizuru answered, "Yes, a romantic type of love. I know this may be a surprising turn of events. Also, I've had several failed relationships, so I'm probably not the best person to date. However, I had to tell you my real feelings."
A strong blush came upon Natsuki's face. She felt so much anxiety that she could hardly breathe. She said, "This is quite the news. There's a lot I have to think about."
Shizuru had a concerned look on her face, while asking, "Are you okay?"
Natsuki got up and said, "I'm sorry, but I need to be alone, for a while. I'm going to go and do some thinking. I'll see you, after-school and Yuuichi's tutoring session." She left the cafeteria. Shizuru respected Natsuki's privacy, so she didn't follow her, but she was deeply concerned about her.
Natsuki went into the restroom. She went into one of the stalls and stood around, while feeling lost in thought. After a few minutes, she remembered that her mom was on her lunch-break. Natsuki was allowed to call her during that time, so she got out her cellphone and gave her a call.
Natsuki's mom said, "Hi Natsuki. What's going on?"
Natsuki had an anxious tone of voice, while saying, "I'm sorry for calling, but there's an important problem, that's making me feel uneasy."
The mom was very worried about her daughter, while asking, "What's going on?"
Natsuki trusted her mom, so she decided to be honest with her. She gulped and said, "There's a friend, who I've had a close relationship with. She's been really helpful and has brightened up my days. I feel special feelings of happiness, when I'm around her. On the day I was sick, the roughest part of the day was not being with her."
The mom replied, "Aww, it sounds like you two have a wonderful friendship. If anything, this sounds like a good thing, rather than a problem."
Natsuki responded, "I know, but this morning, she kissed me."
The mom casually said, "That was sweet of her."
Natsuki's mom didn't seem to understand the kiss, so Natsuki explained, "It wasn't a kiss on the cheek. She kissed me, on the lips. She has a crush on me."
The mom was surprised to hear that, but she didn't seem to have a problem with that. She said, "I see. May I ask how you feel about her?"
Natsuki took a long pause, before saying, "That's the reason I feel so nervous. I don't know how to feel. I've never been in that kind of relationship. I'm not used to this kind of stuff. At the risk of sounding clueless, I don't know what to do."
Natsuki's mom could tell Natsuki was really scared, so she tried to be very understanding and calm. She said, "Natsuki, this might seem like a confusing situation, but it has an easy resolution."
Natsuki felt surprised, while asking, "Really? What is it?"
The mom said, "I have an important question and I need you to be honest."
Natsuki replied, "Okay."
The mom said, "Do you love your friend?"
Natsuki answered, "Yes."
The mom asked, "What kind of love?"
Natsuki answered, "It's a special type of love. She gives me happy feelings, that I've never felt before and her love is an irreplaceable treasure, for my heart."
The mom smiled and said, "Natsuki, I think you're in love."
Natsuki replied, "Yes, I think the same thing." Natsuki was thankful for her mother's help. She couldn't deny the truth. She loved Shizuru.
After school, Natsuki and Yuuichi went to the library, so Natsuki could tutor him. As usual, Yuuichi wasn't the best of listeners and he got a few problems wrong. However, he was making progress, thanks to Natsuki's teachings and advice.
After Yuuichi finished another math assignment, he handed it to Natsuki, so she could grade it. Yuuichi asked, "How did I do?" He started looking proud of himself, while saying, "I think I did a good job."
After grading the assignment, Natsuki said, "You got fourteen, out of twenty, problems right." Yuuichi was so happy, that he started dancing around the library. The librarian shook her fist at him and was prepared to throw books at him.
In order to keep things from getting chaotic, Natsuki gently said, "Yuuichi, please stop dancing."
Yuuichi calmed down and replied, "Okay then. I'm sorry, if I was acting like a dumb bragger. I'm infamous, for not acting that mature."
Natsuki responded, "It's okay. You still have some stuff to work on, but you've been making lot of improvements. I'm really proud of you."
Yuuichi replied, "Thank you, but you deserve a lot of the credit. You've been a tremendous mentor."
Natsuki responded, "Thank you. That means a lot to me." Natsuki and Yuuichi started packing-up their stuff.
Yuuichi looked at Natsuki and said, "You've been so nice to me that you deserve a reward. I should take you to dinner or something."
Natsuki nervously asked, "Are you trying to ask me out?"
Yuuichi also started getting nervous, while saying, "I might be. You're really pretty, so it's been hard to not flirt with you."
Natsuki replied, "Yuuichi, I really appreciate the offer. You're a nice, cool guy, but I'm afraid we can't date. I've gotten a crush on somebody else."
Yuuichi responded, "Okay then. This is disappointing news, but I understand."
Natsuki said, "But we can still be friends and I can still tutor you."
Yuuichi smiled and replied, "Sounds good."
Natsuki walked outside and saw that Shizuru had been waiting for her. Natsuki started walking to her. She had a guilty look on her face, while saying, "I'm sorry about trying to avoid you. I had a lot of uncomfortable, scary feelings, so I needed to think things through."
Shizuru calmly responded, "I understand. Things have been changing and a lot of new feelings have been rising."
Natsuki decided to not hide her true feelings. She was ready to share how she felt. She said, "Shizuru, the last few days have been the best school days that I've ever had and that's because of you. I used to dread school, but you made it exciting, for me."
Shizuru grinned and replied, "I'm glad to hear that."
Natsuki and Shizuru started holding hands, while staring into each other's eyes. Natsuki said, "Shizuru, I'm not mad you kissed me. I was scared about it, but not anymore. In fact, I'm glad you did it."
Shizuru asked, "Really?"
Natsuki said, "Yes and that's because I love you. In fact, I'm in love with you."
Shizuru felt like the happiest girl in the world, while asking, "Are you sure about that?"
Natsuki asked, "Do you doubt me?"
Shizuru smirked and answered, "Maybe a little."
Natsuki smirked back and replied, "Then allow me to prove it." She kissed Shizuru on the lips.
After the kiss was over, Shizuru said, "Seems like you proved it. You really do love me. I can hardly believe it."
Natsuki replied, "I've had crushes on other people, but I never asked them out or kissed them."
Shizuru asked, "Why not?"
Natsuki answered, "I was too scared and filled with shyness. However, when I met you, I was so happy that I couldn't care less about my fears. I was too busy being happy. Everybody's got to have happiness and you've given me more heartwarming feelings than I could have ever imagined."
Shizuru replied, "You do the same for me." She kissed Natsuki.
Natsuki smiled. She didn't have to be afraid anymore, because she knew her true feelings. She was happier than ever before. She started heading home, while feeling the most passionate type of happiness in her heart.
