Disclaimer: I do not own Mai Hime

AN: I am sure everyone was wondering where I disappeared to, my computer is completely messed up and I hate typing on a tablet. Luckily a friend allowed me to use her laptop to write. Unfortunately, I do not get to see my friend often enough to really do some serious writing. As I have read the reviews and PMs, I wanted to clear something up. Natsuki is not a Funari but a male. Despite what some readers feel, I purposely wrote with Natsuki as a male. Thank you for your support and reviews. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Onto the chapter...


"Natsuki!" Youko called out from her office. Natsuki finished up the last of his orange juice before heading into her office. "Have a seat." Natsuki gave Youko a suspicious look.

"What is going on?" Youko couldn't help the small smile from Natsuki's response. He never did enjoy beating around the bush. Straightforward, that was his nature.

"I know how much you hate to take on new clients, but I –"

"No." Was the interrupted yet simple reply, Youko expected this so she closed the door and took a deep sigh. Massaging her temples from the oncoming headache she knew was coming, Youko headed over to her desk and sat down. She steepled her fingers together with a contemplated look on her face.

"Natsuki, this is not up for debate. I have already set an appointment for this evening."

Natsuki clenched his teeth in frustration, "Why me?" Most people would have misunderstood the question, but Youko had worked with Natsuki for years. She understood him a little more than most but not by much.

"Because this particular client requires a more discreet masseuse and I know out of all my employees, you are the only one who does not gossip or talk about any of your clients. In fact, you remain impersonal to your coworkers."

"What is your point?" Natsuki held back the urge to roll his eyes. His arms crossed and he leaned back against the wall.

"My point is that I know you will exercise the proper restraints when protecting this particular client's identity."

"We had celebrities of all types before. What makes this one different?"

"It doesn't, the client just requests for the utmost privacy." Youko leaned back in her chair and placed her hands on her stomach.

"And, how do you suppose we are to keep this particular client's identity a secret with all the clientele around?" He reasoned.

"It will be held after hours and only the two of us knows about it."

"What time?" His voice had gotten deeper telling Youko he was annoyed and frustrated.

Youko ran her fingers through her hair, "Eight."

"Are you going to tell me the name of this client?" He clenched his teeth. 'The sadistic bitch is doing this to me on purpose. She could have assigned anyone to this person, yet she picks me because it had been awhile since I last had a new client.'

A smile slowly made its way on her face like the Grinch when the idea of stealing Christmas forms. Natsuki swallowed hard. "All you need to know is that the client expects the utmost secrecy and I expect you to be courteous to our client. Understood?" Youko's eyes hardened that made Natsuki pause for a moment. He nodded.


Music poured through his ear buds as he increased the speed to the treadmill. With ten pound wrist weights, he kept up his pace for another ten minutes only to decrease the speed to a fast pace walk for ten minutes. He kept that up for a full thirty minutes before heading to the weights. Hard rock music pounded in his ears as he let out his frustrations through his daily workout. Finishing up the rest of his reps, he headed straight for the locker room to shower and change.

Checking the clock, he noticed he still had a couple more hours before his last session for the day. He headed for his office to finish up the paperwork he accumulated from the day. He always enjoyed paperwork. Like people get a massage to relax, paperwork relaxed him. His iPod playing Pandora, he lost himself in his work. He was so caught up in his music; he violently started when a hand touched his shoulder. He jumped high enough that he fell out of his chair. Eyes wide open, he glared up at whoever surprised and disturbed his peace.

It was a very handsome man. He looked to be in his early to mid-twenties. Thick head of jet black hair and rich amber colored eyes. A wide smile that seemed to show off every tooth in his mouth, "I apologize, I tried knocking but I received no answer. I noticed light from underneath the door so I let myself in. Are you all right?" The man held out his hand to help Natsuki up. Instead of taking the offered hand, Natsuki got himself all the while maintaining his glare. Natsuki stopped his iPod then turned his full attention to the stranger.

The young man seemed to be about the same height as Natsuki. "Are you my new client?" Natsuki bluntly asked. The young man kept his smile on his face while he straightened himself.

"Forgive me; it was rude not to introduce myself.' He bowed slightly, "My name is Reito Kanazaki. I assume you are Natsuki?" Natsuki was not sure how the guy was able to keep smiling so much without getting sore. From his point of view, the guy bleaches his teeth. Natsuki imagined that Reito saves on energy at home for all the brightness his teeth emit.

"And, I can assume you are my new client?" Natsuki crossed his arms in annoyance.

Reito chuckled lightly, "No, I am not your new client. I work for your client. I came here to confirm the appointment."

"Would I still be here if the appointment did not stand?' Natsuki impatiently challenged, "Because of your client's need for secrecy, I have to start staying longer disrupting any sort of life I had outside."

Reito's smile did not change but the slight change in his tone let Natsuki know that he was not impressed with Natsuki's outburst. But Natsuki being Natsuki could not give a shit about what others thought. He challenged Reito's eyes showing no hesitation or weakness. "My client is well aware of the inconvenience it puts upon you, but the privacy of the client is a must."

"Who the Hell is this client that is getting even my own boss to bend over backwards for? Are they a politician or movie star?" Natsuki's patience was completely out and he never gave a damn about courtesy. Reito was about to respond when a soft voice cut through. It was an accent he heard before but could not put his finger on it. From the soft tone, he could tell it was female. From what the mysterious voice said, she was his client. 'Okay, I finally have a gender confirmation.'

"It's quite all right, Reito. We have inconvenienced Natsuki with our demands. It is understandable." The woman entered the room and to Natsuki's surprise was much younger than her voice led her to believe. Natsuki judged from the voice that the woman was an older and mature woman instead the woman who appeared seemed no older than Reito. She had to be one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Natsuki may not have been aware of the attention he gets from females and a lot of other things that regard the opposite genders but he does know how to appreciate beauty from them.

The young woman stood maybe a foot shorter than Reito and himself. She had long wavy sandy brown hair and her eyes seemed to be a rusty brown color. Natsuki could tell that she was extremely thin like a supermodel and judging from her posture, she either had to be one or came from an old traditional family. She had very sharp and defined features that scream out perfection. Her eyes looked exhausted not physically but emotionally. He could tell that she was close to her breaking point. 'What is going on?'

Being in his profession, Natsuki learned to read people and knowing how to properly take away their stress. This girl seemed to be one of the more extreme cases he had ever seen. The closer he looked; he noticed that makeup concealed a lot more to the untrained eye. Her cheeks were gaunt and her eyes sunken in. He judged that maybe the overly thin body was not because she did it as a fashion statement but from lack of appetite caused by stress and worry. "I apologize for any problems I may have caused, but I appreciate you taking on my case." The woman bowed.

"Have you even been to a masseuse before?" Natsuki inquired; he needed to know how he was supposed to proceed.

"I tried once, but it didn't work for me."

"Then why are you here?" His voice deepened with a clear message of anger.

"It's personal." Reito spoke up. The young woman glanced at Reito then bit her lower lip. Natsuki usually hated to intervene on people's lives because he honestly never cared, and he hated when people did it to him.

"I don't give a shit about your personal problems, but I also hate being jerked around. If you are doing this to waste my time, then I drop you as my client. I don't care who you are and how much money you may have; my time is valuable to me!" He was feeling his temper rising.

"Is it a normal thing for you to make a quick assumption and pass harsh judgments on people when you do not know the full story?" Reito shot back; his own voice had steel in it. His smile was no longer on his face and his hand clenched. The woman laid her hand on his clenched hand that Natsuki noticed he relaxed a little.

"A full story you, yourself, admitted not wanting to tell me so I have no other choice but to make harsh judgments on what little I do know." Natsuki's hackles were rising. He was tired, hungry, and interrupted from his stress-free paperwork.

"Like Reito mentioned, my reasons are personal, but I assure you, this is not a waste of your time." The woman countered. Her calm, quiet voice cut through the tension and it seemed to help ease the high tension building. Natsuki scratched his stubble on his face.

"I don't have all night; either we do it now or never." He headed for the connecting room and opened the door. Both Reito and the woman exchanged a look before she nodded to him. Reito took a deep breath before giving Natsuki a warning look. Natsuki was not the least bit intimidated. "As much as I enjoy us glaring in each other's eyes, I was not joking about my time being valuable." Reito looked like he had a lot of things to say but chose to keep his mouth shut.

"Call me when you're done." Reito faced the woman before leaving. Natsuki didn't even bother watching Reito leave; he was just ready to get this session over. The woman entered the room, but she seemed frazzled.

Natsuki closed the door behind them and started setting up the room, "Do you have a certain preference?" The woman merely shook her head. "All right, do you want the lights on or off?"

"Off."

"Would you prefer to be nude or clothed?" Natsuki noticed that she was nervous as Hell. "Are you okay?" He softened his voice to not scare her further. She had her back facing him while looking around his room. She kept a distance between them whenever he moved. "Do you happen to have a name?" She seemed to have frozen by the question. She slowly turned around to look at him with wide eyes. From her reaction, she seemed surprised.

"You don't know who I am?"

Natsuki rolled his eyes, "I know nothing about you other than bad taste in men." Her eyes widen slightly more before she let out a chuckle. Natsuki believe he may have witnessed a rare occurrence. The small smile changed her face a great deal. She looked even younger and even more beautiful, something Natsuki pegged as impossible.

"Reito is a good friend.' Her face resumed its neutral state, "I am aware that the massage is better if I am nude, but I prefer not to undress."

"It is true; clothes prevent the full effect of a massage because of the bulky material, but if you prefer to wear clothes that is fine too. I will admit, I would recommend you wear nothing or your underwear if you have to. A massage will help you relax but it will not work if you don't do it properly." He went into professional mode.

"You prefer me without clothes?" The tone stayed the same yet Natsuki could detect the tease. Raising an eyebrow, he headed to the bed and spread a clean sheet over it.

"It's a professional opinion. Like I mentioned earlier, it is up to you.' He smoothed the creases before heading to another table and placed his iPod in it playing some light jazz, "Okay, get on the table. You will have to take off the jacket and socks and shoes along with any jewelry you are wearing."

"I thought you said it was up to me what I wore." She started taking off her jacket.

Natsuki had begun washing his hands, "It is, but there are limitations. There is no point in having a massage if what I do holds no effect.' He dried his hands and turned around, "Lay face down on the table and let me know when you're comfortable." She did as she was asked. "Is there anywhere you want me to pay particular attention to or sensitive areas you want me to avoid?"

"Just only touch my back and shoulders." Her voice was muffled. Natsuki could tell even under her thin long sleeved shirt, she was nervous. Her entire body was a giant mass of tension.

"Okay, I'm going to start by first moving your hair to the side. Then I will go to your shoulders and neck before rubbing your back. Anytime you feel uncomfortable or in pain, let me know immediately, okay?" She nodded slowly. With great care, he bundled her hair, which felt like holding a handful of down feathers, and moved it to one side. The relaxing sound of light jazz playing over the speakers added to the ambiance. When he placed both hands on her shoulders, he could feel the tension increasing. "Calm down, the more you tense the more it will be discomforting almost painful."

"Sorry…I just don't like people touching me." Her voice betrayed her feelings. She sounded scared.

"Did you want me to stop?"

"NO!" The loud outburst surprised both of them. "I need this, please." She turned slightly around to look at him. Her eyes pleaded.

'Why?' He wanted to voice but kept himself from asking. "Okay, turn around and remember to relax." She once again lay fully down before taking several deep breaths. "Are you ready?"

"Yes." Was her reply, he once again placed his hands on her shoulders and felt her skin jump slightly. In slow, easy movements, he had begun to help ease some of the tension from her body.


"I will see you next week same time and day?" Natsuki looked at his lesson planner.

"I believe she is free; if not, I will call and reschedule." Reito was looking at his PDF. After penciling in the appointment, Natsuki looked to the woman.

"Good night." He was ready to head home and sleep. His hunger was no longer an issue. He just wanted to sleep.

"Thank you, Natsuki." The woman said with a little discomfort. Natsuki could imagine the ordeal draining on her. He could tell through the entire session, she was still having a difficult time trying to allow him to touch her. He opened the door to his office to let them out. Reito left first then the woman. "Shizuru." She suddenly voiced out.

"What?" He was knocked out of his daydreams of falling into bed when she spoke.

"You asked for my name. My name is Shizuru." She held out her hand.

A bit surprised by the sudden introduction, he shook her hand, "Good night, Shizuru. See you next week."