Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-Hime/Otome…

A/N: oh, not proofread or anything...again

Shizuru heard two soft knocks on her door before it slid open. "Shitsureshimasu."

Ah, almost forgot to take my glasses off… Natsuki thought absentmindedly to herself as she tucked her glasses into the pocket of her scrubs before entering, her beautiful visage walking into view as Shizuru turned to face her visitor. The question of exactly why she was to take her glasses before entering Fujino-san's room still lingered in the back of her mind, yet it had begun to fade as of late with the passing of each day.

The brunette was situated on the windowsill as, Natsuki had come to understand, was her proclivity.

"Good Afternoon, Fujino-san. How are you feeling today?" Natsuki greeted politely yet warmly as she stepped into the room.

"Ara, Kuu-kun~ punctual as always. Other than a general lack of excitement, I suppose this day has treated me quite well."

Natsuki glanced downwards to see a pair of light purple slippers lined up neatly on the floor next to the windowsill.

"It's nice to see you're doing well." Natsuki set down Shizuru's chart and roll of bandages on a small table next to her bed.

Shizuru took notice of the file chart in mild curiosity. "A full check-up today?"

Natsuki paused in her preparation to answer the question. "Ah, hai. Sagisawa-sensei wanted me to do a general check-up for myself; I hope it's not too much of an inconvenience."

Shizuru silently eased herself down from the windowsill, obediently walking over to the bed and sitting on the side, hands holding onto the edge of the bed as she watched the blunette, tilting her head to one side in a relaxed position.

"I don't mind. Wouldn't want Kuu-kun to find anything wrong with me though, ne~?" She playfully murmured as she swung her dangling legs languidly. She waited for the smidge of embarrassment she found she liked to tease out of the medical student.

"Well if we find anything, we'll be able to address it in a stress-free and prompt manner, Fujino-san." Natsuki replied warmly as she finished her preparations and walked over to Shizuru, applying some hand sanitizer and rubbing her hands together before placing them onto the brunette's neck.

Ah…she's properly choosing of her words…though it is a shame I wasn't able to see her embarrassed expression…but this mature side is also attractive~ Shizuru thought to herself quietly.

Shizuru shivered slightly at the medical student's cooler hands.

"Ah, I apologize for my cold hands. I'm just checking your lymph nodes." Shizuru watched Natsuki's thoughtful gaze as she softly felt around her neck and head.

And then the hands were gone. "Alright, Fujino-san, if I could have you please roll up your sleeve slightly for a blood pressure reading."

Shizuru found the calm and collected working side of the blunette charming, letting herself become entranced as she watched the blunette diligently went about checking her general health.

Shizuru leaned forward ever so slightly on the edge of the bed as she watched the blunette update her patient chart with the results of her latest check-up.

"Is there anything wrong with me, Kuu-kun-sensei?"

Natsuki smiled as she finished scrawling on the chart, closing the file folder and setting it down.

"Not that I can see; you are a very healthy young woman."

Shizuru grinned. "Young woman, huh…"

Natsuki picked up the roll of bandages. "Well then, now that that's taken care of, would you mind if I changed your bandages for the day, Fujino-san?"

"Why of course not, Kuu-kun-sensei~! By all means, please proceed." Shizuru playfully joked as she sat up prim and proper for the proceedings.

"O te yawaraka ni." [Please go easy on me/please don't be too strict with me]

Shizuru saw a beginning of a small grin on the medical student's expression as she leaned over to undo the bandages.

Behind her closed eyelids, Shizuru gazed at the pale complexion, pale pink lips, dark midnight blue strands, and bright jade-green eyes as they concentrated on the bluenette's current task.

Ah…such a nice view~

A smile unconsciously broke across Shizuru's lips, drawing the medical student's attention to them for a brief moment.

"Is something the matter, Fujino-san? Is the bandage caught anywhere?" Natsuki slowed her fingers, meticulously checking for any caught hair.

"Ah no. I was appreciating the view. Please continue."

Natsuki quickened her pace slightly, still convinced that she had unintentionally pulled on hair. Shizuru's enigmatic comment tugged at her, but she had come to accept such comments as commonplace occurrence.

She stepped back for a moment to unravel the roll of fresh bandages.

"Well then, I will be putting on the fresh bandages, Fujino-san." Natsuki stated politely as she leaned in once again, starting to wrap the new cotton around her closed eyes and head.

Shizuru sat there quietly, her hands folded in her lap as observed the medical student work. She lost herself in the woman's comforting presence, reveling calmly in the ensuing silence.

"…And we should be all finished there. Does it feel uncomfortable anywhere?" Natsuki stated as she withdrew, examining her handiwork as she awaited Shizuru's input.

Shizuru reached up a hand to gently feel around the bandage. "It feels very comfortable; it's almost as if I wasn't wearing a bandage around my head."

Natsuki smiled as she gathered and rolled the old bandages up, setting them onto the table next to the patient file as she cleaned up.

"I am glad you find it comfortable."

Natsuki carefully gathered all of her things in her arms as she prepared to leave.

"Is there anything else you need assistance with this afternoon, Fujino-san?"

Shizuru gripped the edge of the bed tightly, heart pounding ever so slightly as she asked a question she'd been dying to ask for a while.

"…Kuu-kun no namae…" [Kuu-kun's (first) name…]

A brief paused ensued as Natsuki thought about the question.

Shizuru felt disappointment start to fill the pit of her stomach as her spirits dropped. She probably doesn't want to tell me…

First name, huh…Well it's not like I can't tell her…I mean she addresses Youko-sensei as 'Youko-sensei' so it should be okay…Ah! I'll tell her that…for now.

"…If it so pleases you, you may address me as 'Nat-kun'; I seem to hear that a lot…is that alright?"

Shizuru's heart skipped in excitement having gotten an answer. Okay, so it wasn't exactly what she had asked for, yet it was.

"Nat-kun, huh~" Shizuru smiled as she spoke it softly. Looks like we have a bit of an ice princess, hmm~? Well, it's a start at least…

"Ookini, Nat-kun~."

Natsuki smiled in return.

"You're very welcome, Fujino-san. Well then, I will see you tomorrow afternoon. I hope you have a pleasant evening."

And the blunette left, sliding the door closed behind her.

Shizuru leaned back on one arm, extending the other into the air, looking at her slender fingers.

"…Nat-kun, huh~"

A/N:

Konbanwa, YH-desu~ *bows* yaay another chapter…this one is kind of shorter and not much happens, so in case anyone is confused (or not) there's been a little bit of a time skip, not too far, maybe like a week or so since Natsuki has been cut loose on Shizuru as in Youko has kind of stepped back and let Natsuki handle everything concerning Shizuru's bandages, general health etc. So Natsuki is a little protective of giving her first name…I thought it'd be kind of weird for Shizuru to be like 'what's your name' and for Natsuki to give it to her, since the patient-doctor relationship is kind of formal in this fanfic in this universe/setting. I think it'd change their dynamic suddenly if they started addressing each other by first name so soon into their relationship, not to mention that there's no real plot forwarding content in this chapter…ish. I'm planning a big-ish event that will serve as the catalyst for them speaking on a first-name basis…as well as filling more of my bad string theory ideas and their families' backstories possibly? Oh and to answer one reviewer's comment on gakuen alice…it's not really like that per se, I realize with the 'nullification' designation you think 'ah, mikan-chan' but the idea for Youko-sensei's string wasn't exactly like that, it was more based on necessity for the scene between the three of them, Youko, Shizuru, and Natsuki to go the way it did….

As always, thank you so much for all of the reviews! Please read and/or review more! Hope you enjoyed your stay!

Matta ne!

-YH