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Disclaimer: I do not own Mai-HiME.

A/N: I would like to thank all of those who read and reviewed my story. I am glad that all of you enjoyed it. Hopefully you will find this chapter just as (or possibly more) enjoyable.

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Silence in the Mist

Chapter 02 - The beginning

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Shizuru made Natsuki promise that she would go with her to shop for a present for her grandmother's birthday. Both of the woman walked down a heavily crowded sidewalk in the heart of Fuuka city. It was around high noon, but if you were there, you honestly wouldn't be able to tell. The sky was clouded as a shroud of mist covered the city.

"So, where exactly are you hauling me, Shizuru?" Natsuki asked with an impatient tone. Natsuki honestly couldn't stand going gift shopping, especially in the heart of the bustling city. This time of the year was especially bad considering that Christmas was a couple weeks off. A lot of the stores were having huge sales that everyone just had to attend.

"Oh, Natsuki. It's not that bad. Just loosen up a little. We'll be done shortly." Shizuru replied as she looked over to her at at Natsuki. "That's fine, but it doesn't exactly answer my-" Natsuki was cut off as she noticed Shizuru stopped walking along with her. "Oi, Shizuru. What is it?" Natsuki questioned as she looked back towards her.

Shizuru appeared to be starring right at an antique shop. "Ara! Natsuki, look at all these beautiful pieces." Shizuru said as she eyeballed many of the tea sets that layed in one of the display windows. There was am old Japanese tea set along with all of the pieces to it, like a few small plates for finger foods. Then there was a silver tea set that looked to be imported from the UK.

There was another one, but it didn't seem very special. It looked to be standard ceramic tea set.

"Oi, Natsuki! Let's go look!" Shizuru said with a excited tone. "Oh, no! I'm not going 'tea-tool' shopping with you again. Not after what happened last time." Natsuki said waving her right hand back and forth in a denying fashion. "Oh, come on Natsuki. It wasn't that bad. Our account was only a few hundred yen under."

"Hundred? Try of a few ten-thousand. It took me forever to pay all of that off. And worst yet, you lost those sets in some 'unforeseen' accident." Natsuki crossed her arms over her chest and turned. "You can go, but I'm leaving."

Natsuki heard slight whimpering noises behind her and stopped. "All I wanted… Was to have a wonderful day out with you, *sniff*, but I guess that's a little to much to ask for."

Natsuki hated it when Shizuru resorted to this tactic. It always made her feel as though she just kicked an innocent puppy. Her right eyes twitched a little. "Alright! We can go. Just don't go splurging on anything expensive." Natsuki stated as she walked back towards Shizuru. "Ah. I knew my Natsuki would change her mind, and while we're here, we can get my grandmother a nice gift." Shizuru chuckled.

The ring of a bell was heard throughout a medium sized antique shop. Shizuru and Natsuki took a few steps into it. "Ah. It's even more beautiful then I imagined." Shizuru exclaimed as she gazed at the many tea sets off to their right. "Hmm. Should have figured." It seemed that Natsuki was on her own for Shizuru was shedding her affection onto the tea sets.

Natsuki walked down a small row of shelves down the middle of the shop. Each shelf had it's own particular set of antiques. On one shelf, there was old brass plates and pots. On another, there were pretty old looking vases.

Natsuki continued her trail until she stumbled upon a staircase. It laid at the back of the store which seemed a little to dark. Apparently, the store owner never considered in putting light in, so most of the light came from the outside through the big display windows in the front.

Natsuki was about to go back up to the front when she heard something mysterious coming from the bottom of the stairs. It sounded kind of like a scream. "What the hell?" Natsuki starred down the staircase. It was a little to dark to see clearly. Natsuki began to walk down the steps of the stairs.

Once she reached the middle of the staircase, she heard the scream once more. Now, the woman was determined as she began walked faster down the stairs. "Someone must be in trouble." The woman thought to herself.

The staircase seemed to go on forever. Soon, she started hearing strange clanking sounds, like metal knocking together.

Natsuki sighed a breathe of relief, for she finally made it down the steps. The room she was in appeared to be an extention of the shop. There were many table line up against the walls with random things scattered on them. In the center of the room, there were rows of shelves that contained flasks, urns and such.

Natsuki walked down the right side of the room, browsing through the many things that laid on the tables. Natsuki finally reached the end of the room. The woman failed to see anyone. The room was devoid of life. The woman just sighed. "Guess it must have been my imagination."

Natsuki started back towards the staircase until she began to hear music. It sounded like it was from a music box. The cobalt headed woman turned towards one of the tables that was against the back wall and saw a rusted box with withered décor. The music was coming from that box. It was small, roughly around seven by seven inches.

Natsuki walked over to the music box, picked it up and held it to her ear and closed her eyes. "This song… Why do I-" Natsuki was interrupted by another voice. "Find something you like, little missy?"

An old man stood a few feet behind the woman. He was a homely looking man. He wore glasses, a brown attire and a strange looking red scarf. His hands were safely tucked into his pant's pockets. "Oh, hello. I, um… I'm just browsing. I'm looking for a present for my spouses grandmother." Natsuki said as she placed the music box back onto the table.

"Hmm. Well, you won't find much down here. A lot of these things have yet to be cleaned up, you see." The old man said as he walked over next to Natsuki and picked up a dirty looking pendant with his right hand.

"Oh. I'm sorry. Where are my manners." The old man said and turned to Natsuki. "My name is Hiro, Hiro Yamanaka. I am the owner of this shop, you see?" Yamanaka asked, then placed the pendant back down onto the table.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kuga Natsuki." Natsuki said as she bowed her head slightly, then raised it. "I have a quick question. Is there anyone else down here by any chance? I heard someone screaming, so I-" Natsuki was once again cut off by the old man, this time, by is histeric laughter.

"So, you heard that, hmm? I'm sorry. You see, I was merely in the back room shaping up one of my new pieces that just arrived the other day, and apparently, today is not my day." The old man took his left hand out of his pocket and showed it to Natsuki. It was wrapped tightly in bandages. "I never was really good with a hammer. That's usually my sons job." The man laughed once more.

Natsuki chuckled, then looked back down at the music box. "What is it? Do you see something you like?" Natsuki shook her head. "No, it's just… that music box. It sounded so familiar."

The old man chuckled once more. "Ah. This old thing. Yes, I got this months ago from some strange man. He never told me his name or anything. He just said that he no longer needed this thing, and so he passed it onto me for free." Yamanaka grunted. "I find it a little baffling that you would find the music familiar, considering the fact that this thing is broken."

Natsuki looked over at the man wit ha furrowed brow. "Broken? What are you talking about? I just heard it playing a few moments ago." Natsuki exclaimed. "Well, like I said, that seems a little to unbelievable. I've opened this thing up and many of the components are wither missing or broken, disabling it's ability to play." Yamanaka chuckled, then picked the music box up. "You see." Yamanaka twisted the keys that rested in the slot on the right of the box. After he finished twisting it, Natsuki froze. There was something very wrong, but Natsuki couldn't tell what it was.

Her vision focused on the Music box alone. The song was playing, ad everything around her seemed to stop. Then, something even worse began to happen. The pain on the walls began to peel right off as rust quickly replaced it. The soft carpet which Natsuki stood on slowly became brittle and flaky.

Natsuki heard screams in the distance, but could turn to see who was screaming. It sounded like a little girl and her vision began to blur. Then, Natsuki felt something warm and thick covering her hand. The woman raised them up to her face and her eyes widened to find that they were covered in blood. "No… Stop. Please, just stop…" Natsuki moved her lips, but no words came out.

"STOOOP!!!" Natsuki screamed as she forced herself backwards onto the floor. The woman clasped her hands on the sides of her. Sweat dripped down her face as she panted heavily. "Oh my! Kuga-san, are you alright." Yamanaka asked in deep concern as he dropped the music box on the floor then approached Natsuki in an attempt to assist her.

Natsuki quickly looked around the room and saw that everything was back to normal. The woman looked up and saw the old man looming over her; his hand extended to help here up.

"Are you alright?" Yamanaka asked with a concerned look on his face. "H- Hai… I'm fine. I just… need to go. Excuse me." The woman quickly got up and dashed for the staircase. Natsuki didn't know why, but she felt as though she was going to breakout into tears, she wanted to get out so badly.

Natsuki dashed up the staircase as fast as she could. As soon as she got to the first floor, she knocked into someone. "I'm sorry. Please, Excuse-" Natsuki looked over to find Shizuru laying on the ground rubbing her head. "Shizuru!" Natsuki kelt down to help the other woman up. "Are you all right?" Natsuki asked the older woman.

"Me? I should be asking you that. What were you screaming for? As soon as I heard you, I came rushing over to find you." Shizuru stated as she got up to her feet. "Oh. That was…" Natsuki felt that she shouldn't be telling Shizuru about it, in fear she might seem crazy.

"It was nothing. I just saw a mouse down there, that's all." Natsuki said as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Are you sure? You look all pale and sweaty. Do you have a fever?" Shizuru reached up and felt Natsuki's forehead. "No, I'm fine. Besides, it really doesn't matter now anyway…" Natsuki chuckled as she looked to the ground. The woman didn't even want to remember what just happened down in that room.

"Oi, Fujino! You gonna pay for these or not?" The voice of a familiar redhead reached the ears of both the women. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, Natsuki…" Shizuru looked over to Natsuki and smiled.

"N- Nao! What are you doing here?" Natsuki questioned as she walked up to the front counter. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that I'm trying to pay off my tuition for college." Nao said as she fiddled around with a necklace that hung gracefully from her neck.

Nao had changed quite a bit, on the outside anyway. Her hair extended down to her back and she also had a couple hairpins holding up the locks of hair on the right side of her head. The woman was also wearing slim reading glasses that she was apparently using to read a magazine that laid on the counter. Nao was also wearing a pink tank top with a black skirt that reached down to her knees.

"You went to college? Heh, that's kind of surprising." Natsuki chuckled. "Yeah, well I guess it's no surprise to hear that you're working down in a gutter in that tacky little garage you call a repair shop." Nao retorted and laughed. "Hey! I actually enjoy my job of working on motorcycles! Lay off!" Natsuki punched the counter. "Like you have anything to brag about. You're just a lowly cashier." Natsuki grinned in victory.

"With good reason." Nao simply stated. "Mama!" A little redheaded girl came running in from the front door of the store. "Hey there." Nao walked out from behind the counter and wrapped her arms around the little girl; the woman hoisted the little girl up into her arms.

"Naomi, these are mama's old friends. Say hi." The little girl looked over at the two , blushed a little, then buried her face into her mother's shoulder. The child's hair was about the same length as Nao's hair was during the carnival. Her eyes were also green as her mothers. Nao just chuckled.

"Come on, why don't you go see grandpa Hiro. I know that he's been working on something especially for you." Nao gave a wink to her child. Naomi's face lit up like a Christmas tree on Christmas eve. Naomi then proceeded towards on of the doors on the other side of the shop.

"Nao… You?" Natsuki was shocked. "Yeah… she just turned five last week." Nao walked back behind the counter and sat in the bar stool set up right behind the counter. The redhead rest her elbows on the counter, clasped her hands together, then rested her chin on her hands.

"I… went a little overboard as some might say." Nao looked down at the counter. "My life was spiraling around me. I was just sixteen when I left the academy. I got mixed up with the wrong type of people, and that's when I met him. He was always so cold, so tough. He was the type of guy that would probably beat the crap out of you for just looking at him the wrong way, yet, for some reason, I fell in love with him."

Natsuki just stood there for she could not believe that Nao actually found someone like that. The woman was baffled.

"A few months later, I found out I was pregnant, and then, he was no where to be found. I was so scared. I left the academy, I had to work on my own to keep that shake of an apartment, and on top of that, I had a child on the way. I thought my life was over, well, I thought anyway. About six months afterwards, he showed up. At first, I hated him. He left me with everything on my shoulders. I despised him for doing that, but he wouldn't go away. Then, it just happened all over again. Three months later, little Naomi came into my world. At first, I was a little scared. Even though my husband came back, he was fighting just to hold down a job, but he assured me everything would be okay, and surprisingly, it was. He got accepted into a big business firm. Now he's pulling enough to keep us afloat as well as letting me go to college. Well, I also help pitch in by working here."

Nao got off of the bar stool and walked over to the other end of the counter. The woman tok a few Styrofoam cups and poured some coffee into each of them from the coffee maker that sat at the end of the counter. Nao put the cups on a small tray then walked back over to the other two and set it bacl down on the counter.

"Now then, where was I? Oh yeah. About three years later, a miracle accrued. My mother finally woke up." Nao gave a big smile, then took a sip from her cup of coffee. "Wow. How is she doing now, Nao?" Natsuki asked as she picked her cup of coffee up from the tray. "Well, she's fine, actually. She's working at that hospital as a nurse, now. It's amazing, really. After all of that, I thought my life would turn out to be a total bust, but now…" Nao watched as the steam rose from her coffee. "It's actually working out. Heh, I still remember the look on my mothers face when she saw Naomi." Nao laughed.

Shizuru reached over and picked her cup up off the tray, then took a sip. "So, Nao-han, how has everything been going for you lately?" Nao looked up at the ceiling and exhaled a deep breath. "Oh, well… Slow, I guess you could say. Kenji's been doing some heavy work at the office, and I'm stuck here, preparing to handle the holiday rush." Nao said as she put on a light smile.

"Kenji, huh? Definitely sounds like a street punk." Natsuki commented as sighed. "Seriously. I would have never predicted that you would actually fall for a guy. Especially since your so biased towards them."

"Natsuki! That's such a mean thing to say." Shizuru said and gave Natsuki a light shove. "No, she's right. I never actually pictured myself settling down. Well, not with a guy, and definitely not at THIS age." Nao lend down on the counter and sighed. "But… all I know is that I love him. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't stop thinking about him. Sure, his head is as thick as a rock, but…"

Nao just sighed once more and scratched her head. "Anyway, are you gonna buy these things or not?" Nao said looking over at the items on the one end of the counter. Natsuki looked over and say three tea set that looked quite expensive.

"Shizuru…" Natsuki looked over at her spouse. Shizuru just stuck her tongue out in a playful manner. "I'm sorry, Natsuki."

The entire conversation actually took Natsuki's mind off of the incident that took place before. Well, maybe not entirely. The sounds of a little girl screaming still rung out in her ears, as well as the music from that damned music box.

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Natsuki stood in the shower. Her recollection of the entire incident was as clear as day, yet it still felt like she was missing a vital piece to the puzzle that she was trying to solve. "Why did I have that hallucination?" Natsuki asked herself. The woman rested her head against the blue tilled wall while the hot water soaked her down.

"These dreams… That place… Those images… That music… Why is this all happening now? Why did I have to go into that damned store in the first place!" Natsuki punch the wall of her shower, ultimately busting one of her knuckles as well as cracking one of the tiles.

All Natsuki knew was that something was missing. She didn't know what, or why, but she did know that she had to find out exactly what it was, or things could become even worse for her, and possibly, even for Shizuru.

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Shizuru sat at the table in the dinning room of their apartment. The table and chairs were all antique wood pieces that her mother gave her when she graduated from Fuuka university. Shizuru held her cell phone to her ear, listening as it ringed. In front of her laid a card for a very special therapist.

One that was ideal for these very kinds of problems. Finally, someone on the other side of the line picked up. "Hello! Dr. Richfield's office. How my I help you?" A feminine yet grainy voice asked.

"Yes. My name is Fujino Shizuru. I… am in need of your services." Shizuru hesitantly said. "Natsuki's going to kill me for this, that I am sure of." The woman thought to herself.

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A/N: And one more cliff for you guys to hang onto. Heh, reading over this, I feel I accomplished something. What, I have no clue, but definitely something. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please remember to drop me a review, and if possible, go ahead and try and guess what this story is really about, you know, to liven things up a little. Peace.