Here's chapter 2. Thanks for all the encouraging reviews. Enjoy.
Chapter 2: Wishes
"What happened?"
The question demanded an answer. And the one who the question was being directed to knew better than to try to avoid answering.
"Please sit down, Kuga-san"
Natsuki stared hard at the wheelchair bound girl in front of her. The maid was nowhere in sight. "I'm fine. Answer the question."
The Director of Fuuka smiled before gesturing towards the chair again. "This might take a while. Please."
Natsuki shifted her attention to the chair Mashiro was gesturing to and reluctantly walked towards it and sat, all the while keeping her eyes on the other. The table between them held two cups of hot tea but neither paid attention to them.
Mashiro relaxed in her chair before leveling her eyes with Natsuki's. "I'm sorry, Kuga-san. I don't know what has happened to Fujino-san. What has befallen her was not my doing."
"You don't know? You're the one who brought us back!" Natsuki spat.
Mashiro kept her calm. "That is true. Perhaps the resurrection caused the memory loss. But, I do not believe my own words."
Natsuki drew back. "What do you mean?"
"Fujino-san's memory loss is selective. The only memories she's forgotten is that of you, isn't that right, Kuga-san?" Mashiro asked.
'Who are you?'
Natsuki felt her teeth grit as she swallowed. She turned away sharply, forcing air into her lungs. "Aah…"
Mashiro quickly noticed Natsuki's reaction and looked down. "I'm sorry, that was unkind. But, it is because Fujino-san's memory loss is so selective that I think it could not have been caused by the resurrection directly."
Natsuki was silent a while but soon turned to face Mashiro again. However, her eyes no longer looked at the other. "Then, what did?"
Mashiro reached for tea and picked it up. She took a sip and smiled approvingly at its taste before returning the cup to its original position. "Kuga-san, the power surrounding yours and Fujino-san's resurrection was particularly different than everyone else, this you must understand. You were a HiME and at the same time Fujino-san's most important person. This applies to Fujino-san as well as she was a HiME and your most important person. When both of you died, it was because you were each others most important person. But in that same sense, you were both fallen HiME's. So when you two were brought back, there are two forces involved. The power to bring back fallen HiME's, like Sister Yukariko and the power to bring back the HiME's most important persons, like everyone else."
Natsuki leaned back on her chair, feeling glad that she decided to sit down. She understood what had been told to her but she couldn't see how it connected to anything, much less Shizuru's memory. "Will she regain her memories?"
Mashiro slowly shook her head. "I don't know"
Natsuki closed her eyes. "If what happened to Shizuru is caused by all that power, then why didn't anything happen to me?"
"How sure are you nothing did?"
Natsuki was taken aback. "What?"
"Fujino-san doesn't know that she doesn't remember you, isn't that right? Likewise, if you had forgotten something as well, you wouldn't know," Mashiro explained.
Natsuki gulped, unsure what to say. As much as she wanted to believe she came back in one piece, the pint sized Director had a point.
Mashiro smiled small, mentally waving off what she had just said. "Perhaps, in the midst of all that power, Fujino-san had been wishing for something. Perhaps you were too. Perhaps it's possible for a wish to be granted."
"A wish?"
The smaller girl reached for her tea again. "What was your wish, Kuga-san? Maybe, that is what you should figure out first."
This chapter is a bit boring and a drag but I felt that it's crucial in its own way. I did say in chapter 1 that this story would only pick up pace from chapter 3 or 4. So forgive me for this lack of interesting events chapter and please wait for the next! Also, this fic is quite difficult to write for me so updates will probably be a bit slow. I am actually still writing chapter 4. Anyway, till next chap then!
