Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME.
A/N: Well, I would like to give a great thanks to "lostinafeeling. You have made a really good point in your review. Now then, since I've gotten into the mood to start writing again, I went ahead and started a new story. Please, feel free to read it and tell me what you think. Anyway, I think it's about time we went ahead and started this little show.
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Silence in the Mist
Recollection pt.2
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Michael sat in his leather chair, tapping his right index finger to his chin while his elbow rested on the arm of the chair. The man thought over everything Natsuki had just told him.
"Well?" Natsuki asked as she leaned inward. Her expression was a mild and puzzled one. "Strange music, blood on the floor, and a small child."
Silence wafted over Natsuki; the woman began to shiver in anticipation. "Hmmm…" Michael closed his eyes, then drew in a deep breath. "A hallway, a dead body, predicted death."
Natsuki's eyes wondered around the room, searching for nothing in particular. He patients was wearing thin. Then, Michaels eyes slowly cracked open, causing Natsuki to focus on him.
"So, do you know what all of this means?" Natsuki questioned as she leaned in closer. "Well." Michael drew in another long breath. "I haven't the slightest idea." The man said as he got up from the chair. "All that time for nothing, huh?" Natsuki thought as she shot the man a glare.
Michael walked over to the large rectangular window that was planted behind his desk. He watched over the city like a gargoyle, pondering exactly what all of this could mean. "You told me that you had a strange vision when you activated a supposedly "broken" music box at an antique shop." Michael approached Natsuki with his music box in his left hand.
Natsuki gave a nod in response. "Well then. I say we have a little test." Michael said, stopping short a few feet away from the woman.
"What kind of "test"?" Natsuki asked as she looked into the man's brown eyes. A smirk crept across his face, causing a nervous chill to run up Natsuki's spine. "I'd like you to lay on you back and close your eyes."
Natsuki was a little skeptical about his expression. "What are you planning?" She asked, cocking her right eyebrow. "Come on, trust me. It's not like we're playing docto-…" Michael quickly paused as his glance shifted to the corner of his eyes, then back to Natsuki. "On second thought, I guess we are."
Natsuki winced at the thought. After a moment of silence, Natsuki complied with the man's wishes. After closing her eyes, she heard the winding of an object. "What are you doing?" Natsuki asked, turning her head in the direction of the sound. "Just a little something." Michael said as he finished winding the music box that laid in his hand.
He rested the music box on Natsuki's abdomen and stepped back. A nostalgic tune rang in Natsuki's ears. "This…" Natsuki's eye lids stressed, causing them to twitch. The melody played through he head, as if water was streaming through her brain.
"It's the melody that is Ensei." Michaels voice fused with that of the music.
Natsuki's eyes flashed open, then her upper torso shot up causing the music box to fall onto the ground. "NO! STOP!" The woman buried her head in her knees while she clasped the sides of her head. "Ah. Now we're getting somewhere." Michael smiled as he watched the girl tremble.
"Alright. This sequence of the test is over." Michael picked the music box up off the ground and took the key out causing the music to stop.
"Natsuki, I'm going to need you to relax. Please, lay back down. We're not finished." Michael said as he rested his right hand on her left shoulder. Natsuki flung her left arm towards the man, catching his chin with her elbow.
"No. We're done here, damn it! I don't know what that was, and I don't want to know!" Natsuki jumped up off the sofa and dashed toward the door, only to be stopped by Michael who jumped in front of her.
"You're not going anywhere." Michael gently shoved the girl who was still in her sprint, causing her to fall on her buttocks. Natsuki shot the man a glare, only to receive a glare that was even more scary then Shizuru's. "We're going to get to the bottom of this, whether you like it or not." Michael locked the door and approached Natsuki.
Natsuki braced herself for the worst. Michael slowly reached out with his right hand, offering to help the woman up. "Now then. I believe we still have an appointment to finish." Michael said as he gave the woman a weak smile.
Natsuki looked at the man, then over to her left at the ground. "Fine." She sighed as she took a hold of Michaels hand. After helping her up, Michael walked Natsuki back over to the sofa and sat her down. "Now then," Michael started as he sat down in his leather chair ad clasped his hands together. "What exactly did you see?"
Natsuki drew in a deep breath. "Alright. Well…"
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Natsuki stood in a pitch black room. Soft sobs were heard throughout the room; the sobs of a child. "Who's there?" Natsuki asked as she stared out into the ever lasting darkness. Then, a child appeared in front of her. This child had no characteristics. It was like a doll with not clothes, makeup or hair.
This child held a music box up in it's hands as it played the sad melody of Ensei. "Why did you do it?" The child asked while tears of blood streamed down from where it's eyes should have been. "Did what? I don't understand."
"You know exactly what you did." The child responded with a rough sob. "Tell me, why!?" The child faded in closer to the woman. "Hey, stay back. I don't want any trouble, okay." Natsuki began to back away, but it felt as though she was walking on thin air. "Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?" The child repeated as it drew nearer and nearer to Natsuki.
"Stay back!" Natsuki demanded, swatting her left hand in the direction of the child. Then something tripped the girl making her collapse onto her back. She landed with a grunt.
After regaining her composure, Natsuki looked around her and saw many of the same child around her. The woman looked to her left. "Why?" Then to her right. "Why?".
Panic began to engulf the woman. "Stop it! Get away!" Natsuki shielded herself behind her arms in protest. Then, Natsuki noticed a little girl in front of here that was not like the other. This one had bluish black hair that was tied into two separate bunches. The little girls back was turned to Natsuki, while she was crouched down.
The other children had seemed to vanish into thin air. "Hey," Natsuki quickly got back onto her feet. A- are you one of them? She slowly approached the little girl. As she examined her, she noticed she was crouching over a pool of blood. "Oh no!" Natsuki thought.
"Hey, are you okay!? Did those things hurt you?" Natsuki crouched down at the girls side and shook her left shoulder. Slowly, the little girl turned her head to Natsuki. "What the?" Natsuki looked down and saw the little girl was holding a kitchen knife that was covered in blood. She looked back and saw the horrified expression that was plastered on the little girls face.
Natsuki wanted to say something, but for some reason, she wasn't able to form words. The little girl looked out into the darkness in front of them. Natsuki followed her gaze onto a figure that laid on the floor. Natsuki's eyes widened as she stared at the figure. "No… It can't be." Tears streamed down her face as she fell back onto her rear.
"Why did you do it?" The little girl questioned, not looking back at the woman. Natsuki clutched the sides of her skull and with a deep breath, she let out a scream of terror that echoed throughout the darkness.
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An eerie atmosphere lingered in the room; both Natsuki and Michael sat quietly. With the clearing of his throat, Michael broke the uncomfortable silence.
"Well, that sounds like the second time you had an encounter with that child." Michael leaned back in his chair while he thought over everything. "All of that in such short amount of time. Truly remarkable, the human brain that is." The man combed over.
Natsuki ran her left hand up her right arm. "Everything seems even more out of place then before." The woman drew a breath, then shakily exhaled. "Do you have any idea who that child was?" Michael asked with a simple tone of voice. Natsuki looked up at Michael, then down to the floor. "Yeah."
Michael gave the girl a skeptical look, then smiled. "Good. Then you should know exactly what's going on, no?"
The question buzzed around in Natsuki's head like a bee was trapped in her skull. "I feel like…" Natsuki paused for a short while. "I feel kind of like I'm supposed to be remembering something important, and it revolves around that music box." Natsuki bit down onto her right thumb nail and tightly shut her eye lids.
"But what is it?" Natsuki hissed. "Hey, Natsuki. That's enough. You don't need to force it." Michael leaned over and touched her right shoulder. "Just give it some time. You'll remember eventually."
Natsuki glanced over at Michael, then chuckled. "Yeah, I guess your right."
Just then, there was a loud beeping noise coming from Michael's wrist. "Oh, I guess that's the bell. Time's up, you can go home now." Michael got up from the chair then walked over to his desk. Natsuki got up from the sofa and stretched her back out.
"Here." Natsuki looked over and saw Michael holding out his music box towards her. "Take it. You never know, maybe you'll be able to figure out everything if you listen to this for awhile." Natsuki stared at the object, then looked back up to Michael. "You sure?"
Michael just nodded in response. "I don't really need it anyway. Just make sure you don't brake it on me." After that, Natsuki took the music box and the winding key from Michael and headed for the door. "Oh, and Natsuki," Natsuki heard Michael call her as she gripped the knob of the door. "Yeah?" She asked as she turned back towards the man.
"Don't go losing yourself. I know how those nasty dreams can effect people." Michael gave the woman a "matter-of-fact" look. Natsuki just gave Michael a simple nod and walked out the door. "Be careful." Michael turned started back towards his desk.
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Natsuki arrived at her apartment door after thirty minutes of waiting in traffic and gave a loud groan of exhaustion. "Who knew being examined could drain this much energy."
Natsuki unlocked the door and walked in, closing the door behind her. After taking her shoes off, she walked into the living room and collapsed onto the couch. "Gah." Natsuki felt something stick her in her left side. She remembered that she stuck the music box and it's key the left pocket of her hoody.
Taking the objects out of her hoody, Natsuki sat up strait and set the music box onto the coffee table the stood in front of the couch. "The melody of Ensei. It sounds so familiar, yet I don't remember where I originally heard it from." Natsuki stared at the box. "Think, damn you." Natsuki furrowed her brow and massaged her temples with her index and middle fingers.
After a few minutes of thinking, Natsuki gave up. She kept coming up with blanks every time she tried. Leaning back into the couch, Natsuki stared at the ceiling. "What am I gonna do? So many thoughts, not enough answers." Natsuki hid her face in the palms of her hands. "That little girl. The bloody knife. Did I-…" Just then, Natsuki heard someone come in through the door.
"Shizuru?" Natsuki watched as Shizuru fumbled with her shoes, trying to get them off. The chestnut headed woman glanced over towards Natsuki. "Ah, you're done already? I thought I would be off work and home before you were done." Shizuru finished removing her shoes then walked over to Natsuki.
After sitting down on the sofa, Shizuru's sight focused on the music box that laid on the table in front of them. "What's this?" Shizuru asked as she reached out for the item. "It's a music box that the doctor gave me. It's supposed to help me solve this little problem of mine." Natsuki answered as she watched Shizuru examine the relic.
"Hmm? How is that?" Shizuru asked with a puzzled look, still examining the box.
Natsuki sat there silent for a moment looking towards the ground, not quite sure how to answer her question correctly. "Well, I think the melody of that music box is tied to my past somehow. The only problem is that I-" Natsuki was interrupted when she heard something collide with the hardwood floor.
"Oi, Shizuru! Careful." Natsuki shot a demanding glare over to her girl friend. "Shizuru held her hands up in a defensive and playful manner. "Sorry, Natsuki."
"That thing has to return to it's owner in one piece. God only knows how much it's worth." Natsuki lectured Shizuru as she reached down and picked the box up off of the floor. "Here." Natsuki looked over and noticed Shizuru holding the winding key to the music box. "Why don't you wined it up? I'm curious to hear this little melody." Shizuru finished with a warm smile.
Natsuki sighed, but then took the key from Shizuru's hand. "Fine, but don't expect it to be anything special." Natsuki said with a distasteful tone.
After winding the box, Natsuki sat it down on the table and let the tune flow throughout the living room. Shizuru closed her eyes and listened closely to the sad melody, while Natsuki sat and watched the key slowly turn in it's hole.
"I don't get it." Natsuki thought out loud. "Don't get what?" Shizuru asked, looking over at Natsuki. "Oh, nothing, it's just that," Natsuki paused as she prepared her explanation. "You remember when we were at that antique shop? You know, the one that Nao works at." Natsuki looked over at Shizuru.
"Oh, yes. I remember quite clearly. Nao-han has become quite responsible, neh?" Shizuru let out a small giggle. "This isn't about Nao, Shizuru." Natsuki said then looked back over at the box. "When we were there, I went down into a room that had all of these unpolished antiques. There, I found a music box that played the exact same melody as this one."
Shizuru cocked her left brow in interest. "After hearing the melody, something strange happened. The room began to warp and deteriorate. Then, something felt like it was trying to force itself out of me. Oh god, what was it!?" Natsuki pulled at a few locks of hair on the sides of her head in frustration. "Natsuki, calm down." Shizuru reached over and gently gripped the other woman's right shoulder.
Natsuki looked over at Shizuru's concerned expression, then drew in a deep breath. "You're right, I'm sorry." Natsuki relaxed herself, then focused her sight down towards her lap. "It's almost as if it were a blur. It was there, clear as day, yet I can't clearly remember what it was. Like I was trying to remember something very important, and I feel it has something to do with this melody." Natsuki glanced over towards the music box once more.
Natsuki sighed, then leaned back further into the couch. She arched her head back over the couch and rested the backside of her left hand onto her forehead. "The scary part is that the music box was supposedly broken, yet I heard that song so clearly."
Natsuki felt a pair of hands gently grasp her right hand, then glanced over at Shizuru. "Natsuki, you've been going through a lot lately. Try not to strain yourself to hard on this matter. When the time comes, you'll remember." Shizuru leaned in and planted her lips firmly on Natsuki's. After a few moments, they broke apart.
Natsuki grasped Shizuru's hands with her own, enjoying the warm sensation that they delivered. "Yeah, that's what Michael said." The woman chuckled.
"Oh, and what about the good doctor? What did the two of you learn in your study session?" Shizuru moved in closer. "Well, it's kind of a long story, but here it goes."
About a half and hour past by while Natsuki continued to explain what happened at Michael's office. "Hmm, I see." Shizuru remarked as she looked in the other direction. "So, that little girl is you, right?" Shizuru asked quizzically. Natsuki nodded in response to the woman's question. "At least, I think it is. When I saw her face, she looked like me when I was really young."
Natsuki looked over to a bookcase the sat in the corner to their left. On one of the shelves, there was a picture. In this picture was Natsuki's mother, her dog Duran, and herself. "And from the sounds of it, you must have done something terrible to someone." Shizuru said with a hesitant voice. "Mhmm." Natsuki nodded without even turning back to the other woman.
An uncomfortable silence feel upon both of the woman. Minutes passed by as they just sat in the silence. "Well, it really doesn't matter to me either way, really." Shizuru said, breaking the silence. Natsuki was taken aback slightly by Shizuru's sudden choice of words. "I mean, even if you did murder someone, it really doesn't matter to me. You're no different in my eyes, Natsuki." Shizuru gave a reassuring smile to Natsuki.
Natsuki looked over at the other woman, then chuckled. "Thanks, Shizuru." Natsuki wrapped her arms around Shizuru, drawing both the woman closer. They both savored the warmth of one another's body, enjoying every last second. It was times like these that Shizuru really didn't want to let go of Natsuki.
Suddenly, there was a loud grumbling noise. Both the girls broke free from the hug. "I, uh, didn't really have any lunch yet." Natsuki said, scratching the back of her head. Both of the woman looked over to a clock that hung from the wall next to the bookcase. The clock read "4:38 PM".
"It's already THAT late?" Natsuki asked with a furrowed brow. "I guess time flies when your solving problems, neh?" Shizuru said with a hum. "I think I'll whip us up an early dinner." Shizuru got up from the couch and waked into their kitchenette. Natsuki watched as Shizuru began pulling out utensils and cook ware.
Natsuki's expression saddened. She looked out of the corner off her eye at the music box. The woman didn't even realize it stopped. "But, if it's true, then who?" Natsuki asked herself as she looked over at the picture on the bookcase.
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A/N: Hit the breaks! You're at a cliff. I hope this chapter answered a question or two, as well as create a few. Please, tell me what you think. Anyway, I would also like to apologize for not updating sooner. It's just that the whole writing spirit died out on me there for awhile. But I'm back and kicking! I'll get on the next chapter right away!.
P.S. I would also like to apologize if there are any grammar/spelling errors that I missed. I guess I'll get a beta reader here before I start updating everything else. I would also like to poiont out that I have revised the summary for this story. If you wish, could you possibly tell me if this sounds like an interesting summary? I'm not very good at writing them. :P