For disclaimers, please see part I.

Author's Nothes:
I've been asked a few times if this story is going to be an angsty one, and no, that's certainly not where I intend for it to go. My plan for this fanfic is basically for it to be an old-fashioned 'getting the girls together' romance. For now, I'm focusing on them redeveloping their friendship and hopefully making the way that happens seem believeable to you readers.

But since this is Shizuru "The Mask" Fujino and Natsuki "Not Too Good With The Mushy" Kuga we're talking about, I can't say that there won't be a few intermittent bursts of angst along the way. I will, however, try to keep it to a minimum. I hope you'll enjoy and continue reading regardless.

Thanks for sticking around this far.

A Million Reasons; part IV

Weathering the Storm

"How are you settling in?"

"Well, the first week was the hardest." Natsuki gave her scroll wheel a few lazy flicks and directed her voice towards the phone on her desk. "Fujino-san did give me some idea of what to expect, but you don't really know until you actually try it, y'know?"

"Indeed." There was a note of idle bemusement in Akiko's voice. "But you're starting to find your way around?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Not that it had been easy. So far, it had been all she could do to keep up with the whirlwind of activity at the office, not to mention take care of her schoolwork on the side. She hadn't had much, if any, use for her knowledge of biotechnology yet, but had instead tried to find her footing in this odd new world of business relationships, deals, negotiations and public perception.

But she was getting better at it. "Be glad you get to run around the labs downstairs, Nee-chan," she told her sister wryly. "All the stilted politeness up here is making my head hurt."

A light, familiar laugh rang out from the direction of the phone's speaker. "Poor Imouto," the older woman's voice teased. "Well, perhaps you should come over for dinner tonight, then. Both my daughter and my husband are pouting and missing their playmate, and I can pretty much guarantee that the only stilted politeness you'll get from us will be of the sarcastic kind."

"Sounds good to me," she chuckled. "I miss them, too." Especially since the tornado that had made up the last few weeks of her life had left her very little time to spend with her family. "I'll be over once I've gone home to change."

"You have clothes at our house," Akiko noted dryly. "Just come straight over. We certainly wouldn't mind."

"You're trying to sucker me into another cooking lesson, huh?"

"Basically."

Natsuki considered the idea, and shrugged. "Alright, sure. Lucky for you that I don't mind your lessons."

"More like lucky for your stomach," came the mischievous reply.

She blew a raspberry in the general direction of the phone.

"Good to know that you're listening to your inner child." To say that her older sister sounded amused would be an understatement. "See you tonight, Natsuki."

"Yup." There was a small click as the call disconnected, and she rested her chin in the palm of her hand as she turned her attention back to the document on the screen in front of her. "See you then," she muttered to the empty room, and lost herself in her work once more.

"Kuga-san?"

"Hm?" She looked up from behind the monitor and studied the woman in the now open door to the outer office that she shared with the CEO. "Yes, Yamuri-san?"

Shizuru's secretary crossed over to her and handed her a small stack of papers, neatly stapled together in one corner. "Ojou-sama ask that you review these," she explained. "She's meeting with the representatives from Naromi Tech at two, and would like your input before then."

Natsuki took the file and leafed through it, skimming over the contents. Five hours, lunch and transit time included, was very little notice to give her for a potential contract of that size, but then again, that meeting wasn't supposed to have taken place for another two weeks. "They moved it up, huh?"

"Yes." Kina sighed and shook her head. "Which means that ojou-sama's schedule for today has been blown clear out of the water."

The young woman chuckled wryly. That had pretty much been par for the course during the past few weeks. Not only was the building and the division itself brand new, but so was the woman who was responsible for it. And everyone and their grandmother wanted some of her time, it seemed. "Do you get paid enough to deal with all this chaos, Yamuri-san?"

After she'd been officially hired, it had taken a few days of her and Kina gingerly feeling each other out, but she felt confident now that the two of them had decided to like each other.

The secretary gave her a dry look. "Not nearly, Kuga-san. But I'm hoping it will calm down within the next couple of months."

"You're an optimist, aren't you?"

"Helplessly so." Kina chuckled and gave a little wave as she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Natsuki leaned back in her chair and folded her arms, letting her gaze flit about idly as she chewed her lower lip. Her office wasn't as large as Shizuru's by any stretch of the imagination, but it was still quite spacious. Probably more than need be, since it was highly unlikely that she'd need, say, the conference table that sat neatly on the carpet a few feet off to her left. The few times that she had been in a meeting so far had been either in Shizuru's office or in one of the conference rooms downstairs.

Maybe it was just a standard addition to all the offices in the building, she considered, even if that idea seemed pretty inefficient. Why waste space and money on furniture that wasn't needed? Not that the company couldn't afford it, but she was basically an intern, for Pete's sake. What did she need to hold meetings for?

What was that saying? Don't look a gift horse in the mouth? Could be that it's just a perk of working under the CEO, y'know.

She shook her head and and turned the chair 180 degrees, gazing out through the massive windows and easily spotting the university campus off in the distance. No matter what, it was a nice office. She hadn't even expected to get one of her own since she wasn't a full-time employee, but she certainly wasn't planning on complaining.

Yeah. She sighed and bowed her head, her brow furrowing. Nice office, nice view, nice wages... Working for Fujino-san could be worse.

Of course, her job would be a lot nicer if she was working for Shizuru rather than Fujino-san, but that... wasn't the case.

And whose fault is that, 'Kuga-han'? she wryly prodded at herself. Christ, the second that the woman started to be a little more than passing-acquaintance-friendly, you freaked out. You'd think that you'd learned your lesson about that.

She turned the chair back around and reclaimed the file from its place on her desk, flipping over to the second page and studying the words printed there without any of them really registering.

"Natsu...ki."

"NO!"

She pulled off her glasses and rubbed at the bridge of her nose as she pushed the memory away. "Shit. I just keep making a mess of this stuff, don't I?"

What was it, she wondered as she fingered the corner of one sheet of paper, that made it so different when Shizuru teased her? As opposed to Mai, for instance? Was that old betrayal really bothering her that much all these years later? So much so that she couldn't even take a simple joke without her temper flaring up?

Talk about inefficient.

She considered the idea, and realized that no... that wasn't it. But then what was?

She gave the door to the outer office a glance, and snorted. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on her. The woman who was most likely the best possible help in finding the answer to that question was just two doors away, but chances were less than slim that she could make herself ask for help after that interview. Professionally, it had been a roaring success. Personally, not so much.

And as much as she felt like an ass right now, she knew that she'd feel like an even bigger one if she was to apologize to Shizuru without being able to give the older woman a reason for her reaction. So...

Alright. She slid off her shoes beneath the desk and propped her hosed feet up on top of it, leaning back and tapping her folded glasses against her chin. Think, damn you. What the hell crawled up your butt and died? Even if it's a subconscious choice, you're pushing her away, and there's a reason for it.

What was it Mai had said back then? She frowned as she tried to remember. "Anger... masks an emotion we're too afraid to face... yeah, that was it." Her teeth worried at her lip for a few seconds. "Okay, so there's something about her that I'm worried about... so far, so good."

Green eyes stared pensively at the wall.

"Worried..." she muttered, mulling over the choice of words and knowing that even if it wasn't a conscious thing, she rarely used the wrong one for the context. Was it possible to 'worry' about something that had happened in the past? Probably not. "So it's about something she might do... not something she's already done... hm..."

The watch on her wrist ticked softly, every click of the slim hand seeming loud in the stillness of the office.

Romantic advances? The thought alone made her blush. No... that's not it, either. Certainly not now.

While Natsuki was by no means an expert in matters of the heart, she was pretty sure that you had to be on a first-name basis with someone before you could make any moves of that nature and not get slapped... well, apart from maybe asking said person out. So that couldn't be what she was worried about Shizuru doing.

Her computer beeped softly just as her eyes widened, then closed tightly as the proverbial pieces fell into place. "God..." She clapped a hand against her forehead and groaned. "Idiot!" Another few whaps. "Stupid... ignorant... idiot!" A heavy breath whooshed out between her teeth as she straightened in her seat, her feet landing on the floor with a thump.

"I am such a fucking moron sometimes," she muttered disdainfully, pulling a notepad out from a drawer and finding a pen. "Honestly..." The dark head shook as she bent over the file, peering at the page with a determined air. "Alright, what have we got here?"

The strengthening sunlight of the late morning streamed in through the large windows and illuminated the office, some of them traveling over the professional-looking woman that stood in front of one of the massive panes and gazed out at the expanse of buildings, trees and ocean outside, hands clasped loosely behind her back.

She really should be preparing for that meeting, Shizuru privately acknowledged as she followed the progress of a large ferry that was nothing more than an oddly shaped, white dot on the blue water from this distance. After all, it would only be a few more hours before she had to drive across town for it, and as it was, she'd really have to push herself in order to go through everything that she needed to beforehand.

Of course, if her assistant would only bring that file back, the worst of it would be taken care of.

A sigh. Ara, Shizuru... that's hardly fair, she mentally scolded herself. You do have a copy of your own. And you don't really need Natsuki's input on it quite that badly, do you?

She shrugged out of her blazer and turned, draping the garment over the back of the desk chair and straightening her shirt with a few tugs as she crossed over to the small counter that had been installed the previous week, complete with a faucet, sink and an electric kettle.

That, she was certain, had raised a few eyebrows somewhere. While the company was very easy-going in regards to what it allowed its employees to have in their offices, what basically amounted to a tea-brewing station was probably a first. But as she had said when she'd discussed the addition with her immediate supervisor - who also happened to be her father - it would save her a lot of time. There were hardly any offices in this part of the building, and as such, the closest kitchen was a five minute walk away.

Her making that trek, short through it was, whenever she wanted a cup of tea, would no doubt add up quickly. Her father had agreed. Once he'd finished laughing.

Shizuru chuckled at the memory as she turned on the faucet and filled the kettle with a fresh supply of water. Well, she'd always been perceived as somewhat of an eccentric by those around her. And since that little bit of mystique had served her well in the past, she really saw no reason to make an effort to change it.

She set down the kettle and turned it on, keen ears keeping careful track of the sounds coming from it as she rinsed out the nearby teapot, then selected a bag of tea and dropped a few spoonfuls of the fragrant leaves into the pot. The kettle started to hiss softly, and she closed up the bag as she watched the temperature indicator on the appliance climb up to 75 degrees Celsius.

The bag was put away, and at 82 degrees, she turned off the kettle and filled the teapot with the steaming water before setting the lid back on. It would need a few minutes to steep, she knew, so she took the pot with her as she walked over to the other side of the room, setting it down on the low table before seating herself on the nearest couch and picking up a stack of papers.

Her eyes ran over the first page six times without actually picking anything up, and she leaned back against the cushions with a sigh. I hate this.

Twenty-one days and two hours ago, she had watched Natsuki walk back into her life and been elated. Twenty-one days, one hour and fifteen minutes ago, she had been utterly terrified that she'd lose contact with the young woman all over again because of an ill-timed joke. And twenty-one days, one hour and thirteen minutes ago, what had seemed to be the reappearance of their friendship had been reduced to a polite working relationship.

Ara, ara... She rested the papers in her lap and folded her hands on top of them. Yes, Natsuki's reaction to her teasing had been a little over the top, but an argument always had to have more than one participant. And people always reacted more strongly when faced with something they weren't prepared for, so Shizuru knew that she carried part of the blame herself... since she'd hit the woman with a personal tease when Natsuki was expecting a professional interview.

And the younger woman had made a good point, she considered. Natsuki wasn't a child anymore, and would have to have been hurt on some level when Shizuru had basically made fun of the work she'd done to get to where she was.

Honestly, Shizuru... She mentally shook her head at herself. A 'good little schoolgirl'? She's grown so much that it makes you ache with pride just to see the way she carries herself now, and that's what you reduce her to? Why didn't you offer her a pacifier and a bottle while you were at it?

She had realized her error the second Natsuki had slapped her hand, and she had felt so helpless as she'd watched the young woman walk away. It had only been by the barest of margins that she'd managed to keep her voice calm when there had been no reaction to her calls, and only a quick stroke of inspiration had made her alter her way of addressing her old friend.

"Kuga-han!"

God, how she'd hated letting that word pass her lips. It was so cold... impersonal... professional. But it had made Natsuki stop. So she'd kept using it, and for whatever reason, Natsuki had not corrected her, but instead started addressing her in the same manner.

Their relationship was proper. Polite. Efficient.

Stilted. Wary. Uncomfortable.

And she really wished that they could go back three weeks and do that godforsaken interview over again. Perhaps then they'd be able to spend time together over lunch instead of having to rely on business matters. And perhaps then she'd feel comfortable enough to simply ask the young woman to come over to her office and work with her, rather than have Yamuri-han send over files she didn't really need help with and wait for Natsuki to bring them back.

She pulled back her sleeve and glanced at her watch, giving her reflection in the glass a disgusted look. "You, Fujino Shizuru, are a coward."

A knock at the door interrupted her musings, and she straightened reflexively and set the papers aside, instead picking up the teapot – which had probably been allowed to steep for a little too long by now – and set about pouring herself a cup. "Come."

"Fujino-san, a moment?"

She recognized the voice and raised her gaze as Natsuki poked her head in, and somehow managed to keep the twinge off of her face at the formal title. "Of course. Please come in."

Coward, coward, coward, her mind nagged at her as she watched her assistant stride across the room and sit down a respectful distance away. You could have invited her to use your first name, even had a decent opening for it, but nooo... Wouldn't want to rock the boat, would we?

She swallowed a sigh. "May I offer you a cup of tea?" she asked, and, at the other woman's nod, took another cup from the small collection she kept on the table and filled it, then set it down in front of Natsuki and put the teapot away once more. "What may I assist you with, Kuga-han?"

The green eyes briefly met her own while Natsuki's lips tightened, and she spent a moment wondering if maybe the younger woman felt as uncomfortable about the situation as she did. Then the contact was broken as Natsuki looked down to put on her glasses, and turned a few pages in the file she'd brought in with her.

"It concerns the file you sent over," she said. "The overview of the Naromi contract." The papers rustled as she turned a few more pages. "I realize that I don't have much experience in this yet, but it seems to me that we should renegotiate before we sign anything on this deal."

"Really?" Shizuru folded her hands around her cup and took a cautious sip, noting with some displeasure that the taste of the tea was, indeed, a little off. "Why is that?"

"Well..." Natsuki picked up her own cup and took a sip, then paused and sent her a curious glance before setting the tea back down. "I honestly don't think their offer is good enough, if you'll forgive my bluntness. And somebody really put their foot in it if the contract made it this far without anyone sounding the alarm, because according to the information we have in the company database, they're trying to hire out their people to us for three times the wage that they currently pay them."

"Excuse me?"

"Here..." Natsuki set a single sheet of paper down on the table between them and leaned closer, her finger tracing a few lines. "This is what they said their standard hourly wage for their lab technicians was when the negotiations started a few months ago... a little over a thousand yen." Another sheet was laid down. "And now they're offering to have the same lab techs do work for us at 3500 yen per hour, per head. In our building, using our materials." A third page. "And for some reason, nobody flagged this paragraph... where it says that their techs will be paid the standard wage of those thousand yen."

The younger woman straightened and turned her head to gaze at her. "I'm not gonna speculate on whether or not this is a typo on Naromi Tech's part or if they're trying to pull a fast one and hope that no one notices that they'll be pocketing the extra funds." A shrug. "Could be either one. But I will say that I think we need to go over this deal again. Thoroughly."

"I think I shall have to agree with you," Shizuru mused, picking up the papers and reading them more closely. "At the very least, I believe we need to ask Naromi Tech exactly what those extra 2500 yen per hour are for, if not wages for the technicians."

"Mm."

"I suppose I need to cancel my meeting this afternoon, then." She met the green eyes and smiled a little. "Good catch, Kuga-han. Well done."

"Natsuki."

She blinked. "Pardon?"

A sigh. "My name is Natsuki. You've been calling me that since I was in junior high." Her assistant studied her folded hands. "I... miss hearing it. And I'm sorry... for yelling at you. I was just... I..."

"Natsuki..." She hesitantly reached out a hand and let it come to rest on the younger woman's arm. "You don't need to exp--"

"Yes, I do." Natsuki cut her off firmly, her eyes closing even as her voice softened. "Just... please just listen, alright?"

"Alright." Shizuru nodded, which, she realized, was pointless, as the woman could hardly see her from behind her eyelids. For a moment she wondered if she should remove her hand, but it was covered by one of Natsuki's own before she got the chance.

"Don't take this the wrong way," her assistant said, her head bowed. "But I am so incredibly scared of you. Not," she hastily continued as she undoubtedly felt Shizuru flinch. "Not because of what happened during the Carnival. That was years ago, we both screwed up, end of story. I'm over it, and I'll forgive you a thousand times over if you need me to."

"...ookini." She felt the younger woman's fingers curl around hers in a light squeeze, and folded her own hand to return it. "But then..."

"Hn." The dark head nodded. "I was wondering that myself. Shizuru... when you first left, I was angry at everyone. Constantly." Natsuki rested her chin on her free hand and glanced out of the window. "I didn't even really think about it until I said something stupid and made Mai cry. She told me that when you're angry, you're basically using that anger as a shield against something you're afraid to admit."

"That sounds reasonable," the executive agreed softly, glancing down at their joined hands and idly wondering at how comfortable the other woman seemed to be with the physical contact. "Did you find out what you were afraid to admit back then?"

A dry chuckle. "That I was hurting. I didn't understand how you could claim to be in... in love with me... and then leave without a word."

"Kanin--"

"Don't. I said I was over it."

Shizuru swallowed, but nodded. "Very well. Go on."

"Thank you." There was a brief pause. "I figured out that I was hurting, and while I don't think I ever really stopped missing you, I got to a point where I didn't think about it all that much. Until about six weeks ago."

"My letter."

Natsuki nodded. "Your letter. And the spiel on the news about you coming back, which was what really made it sink in, I guess." The younger woman gave her a wan smile. "And I'm glad you're back. Very much. But at the same time, I'm absolutely terrified that you're gonna pull another disappearing act and I'm gonna have to start all over again."

"I won't," the executive promised.

Her assistant grunted. "Logically, I know that. It's gonna take a little while for the rest of me to catch up, though."

The silence stretched between them again. At least, Shizuru noted as she idly enjoyed the feeling of the warm hand in her own, it was a comfortable silence this time.

"Y'know," Natsuki spoke up again. "I'm also kinda pissed at you for calling me a little schoolgirl." There was a glint of amusement in her eyes as she wagged a finger at the older woman. "Low blow, Fujino."

She bowed her head. "I realize that now, yes." Shame at her earlier inconsideration warred with a tentative sort of joy at the other woman's apparent forgiveness. "I hope Natsuki will accept my apologies for that. I certainly didn't mean to belittle her in any way."

"Hey, hey..." Her assistant's tone had changed to one of worry, and she heard the rustle that meant that Natsuki was turning in her seat to better face her as the hand that still held her own now tightened its grasp a fraction. "I was just kidding. Really, Shizuru... it's f--"

"No." Now it was her turn to interrupt, though she took care to keep her voice soft. "Natsuki has had her say. Let me have mine, please."

"... alright. Go on."

For a few seconds, the only sound in the large room was the soft whirring of the executive's computer.

"You remember," she then spoke up. "What my reaction was when I first saw you."

She heard a small sound of amusement. "You fell on your ass. I couldn't forget that sight if I tried."

"I was rather relieved that the chair didn't simply roll out from underneath me," she admitted as she felt a small smile curl her mouth. "That would have been... decidedly embarrassing."

A low chuckle.

"But I wonder if you know why I 'fell on my ass', as you put it."

Another period of silence, wherein she turned her head to see Natsuki gazing pensively at the table in front of them, her brow furrowed lightly in thought.

"Surprise?" The green eyes met hers once more. "I'm pretty sure you weren't expecting me to be the one to walk in."

"Ara... no, I certainly wasn't," she conceded with a dip of her head. "But that wasn't the only cause for my reaction."

"Hm." A pause. "Then no... I don't know."

"Do you know, then..." She bent her head to look at their interlocked hands, which were resting between them on the surface of the couch. "That while I still saw the girl I knew in the woman that entered my office that morning... if I had projected onto that woman all the dreams I held for the girl, they would simply have slid right off?" She shook her head with a sense of amazement, and looked up into a pair of somewhat befuddled looking emerald eyes. "Those dreams, grand though they most assuredly were, simply did not measure up to reality."

"I..." She watched Natsuki's lips move soundlessly for a few seconds.

"You were still... my Natsuki." She hesitated slightly in her use of the possessive, and was heartened when her assistant blushed faintly but otherwise didn't comment. "And yet so much more."

The dark head lowered in embarrassment, but she placed a finger under the younger woman's chin and gently raised it back up so she could meet her eyes. "You have gone so much farther than I ever could have prayed you would, Natsuki. Which I hope you know is quite an achievement to your credit."

A smile, small and somewhat shy, but pleased. "Yeah... I guess I know that."

She let her hand settle on top of the one she was already holding, cradling it warmly. "And I am very... very honored to say that I know you."

"... thank you."

"Ojou-sama?"

The sound of her secretary's voice coming from the intercom on her desk made the executive turn her head, and she gave the hand in her own another light squeeze before releasing it and rising to her feet. The brief distance to the desk was covered easily enough, and she bent over the surface of it to press the button needed. "Yes, Yamuri-han?"

"Kojuuro-san wishes to meet with you as soon as you are able," the older woman related, naming the Vice President of Sales for the division. "He's waiting in Conference Two and would prefer if you could head down there now."

"Very well." She rested one hand on her mouse and closed down a few windows. "In the meantime, Yamuri-han, please send a copy of the Naromi overview to the financial department for review. Leave a note for them to pay particular attention to..." A glance over to the couches, where Natsuki obligingly held up three different finger combinations. "... pages three, fifteen and thirty-two." A pause. "And cancel my meeting with Naromi Tech this afternoon. Tell them that I'm irrevocably detained as I need to train my new assistant."

She heard the scoff from the assistant in question, and didn't quite manage to bite back her grin.

"Certainly."

She couldn't really blame Natsuki for scoffing at the cause she'd given for canceling the meeting, she idly decided as the intercom clicked off, as it had been both an excuse and an outright lie on her part. Natsuki had, after all, needed remarkably little training.

While Shizuru would, with a small twinge of shame, admit that she hadn't hired the younger woman for all the right reasons, she was quite certain by now that she had nevertheless found the best person for the job. The keen intelligence that had sparked so restlessly behind those familiar eyes all those years ago had matured and sharpened with age, and now showed an aptitude for both retention, comprehension and autodidactism that was nothing short of astounding. A brilliant mind for many things, not the least of which was business matters.

And it easily matched, the executive knew, the no less brilliant mind that lurked behind her own eyes.

Even during the past weeks, the two of them had been what she supposed Natsuki would call a 'hell of a team'. And now that the storm seemed to have blown over, she had a definite feeling that the work they did was only going to improve further.

"Ara, ara." She claimed her suit jacket from where it rested over the back of her chair and slid it on. "It seems that my schedule for the day has altered significantly yet again."

A snort from the woman on the couch. "What else is new?"

"Indeed," she conceded wryly, buttoning the front of the jacket and tugging the garment properly into place as she crossed over to the door. "But it is still, at least, a meeting." She reached for the handle, then reconsidered and instead turned to face the small collection of couches. "Would Natsuki care to join it?"

The dark head tilted at her question, and she watched the green eyes flicker briefly, knowing that the younger woman was most likely running through her mental worklist and deciding whether she could spare the time or not.

She probably couldn't, Shizuru realized with a vague sense of regret. After all, who would know better what tasks Natsuki had to do than the one who had assigned them to her in the first place?

"Sure." Her assistant rose and strode over to her, adjusting her own blazer as she walked. "Worst that can happen is that I learn something new, right?"

The executive felt her lips twitch as she remembered that last time the Sales VP and her friend - creatures equally prone to hotheadedness - had been in the same room. "Well..."

"Actually..." Pale lips shaped a crooked grin as the door was pulled open. "Don't answer that."

Perhaps Natsuki had recalled the same moment, Shizuru considered with a mental chuckle as she let the other woman precede her into the outer office. "As you wish."

Up until now, whenever the two of them had left the office together to either go home, to lunch or a meeting, Shizuru had been the one in front, with her assistant a few steps behind. Whether the young woman had done so out of polite deference to her or out of simple discomfort, she didn't know.

But this time, Shizuru was pleased to note...

This time, Natsuki walked beside her.