Author: Man the dust has been piling up on me, argh, get the cobwebs off me! Phew, how long was I asleep for? It's been far too long since I've updated 'Oneechan' and I'm sorry I kept you readers in suspense for too long. Thank you to those who reviewed, the purpose for Nina in this story will be revealed. Nothing else to say, but enjoy chapter 15!

Disclaimer: I do not own Mai HiME or Lucky Channel, all I own are two guinea pigs.

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Chapter 15

"She's..." Natsuki paused momentarily, raising Mai's curiosity. Natsuki could barely believe who she saw in front of her as her eyes blinked repeatedly in disbelief. "My cousin"

"Cousin?" Mai's eye wondered hastily between the two girls, pondering at the possible common traits the two had.

"Natsuki...?" Nina muttered as she slowly approached the cobalt haired girl staring at her with surprised jade eyes.

"Nina…" Natsuki mimicked the girl's actions as she approached Nina. The two stopped in their tracks, no more than a foot apart as a silent, cold atmosphere drew around them.

Nina's nose twitched slightly before she broke the silence. "You still smell like a wet dog" an awkward silence fell upon her words as the cold atmosphere around them drifted away leaving a rather dumbfounded Mai standing in the distance with a confused look.

"You're one to talk, you've still reek of peppermint" pegging her nose with her fingers, Natsuki threw a smirk at Nina who was already ahead as the two locked down with a stare. "Nina!"

"Natsuki!" Nina screamed in joy as she embraced the cobalt haired girl in a hug in which Natsuki did the same. They smiled in joy as the tightly embraced each other before parting away. "I haven't seen you in years, where have you been?"

"Haha, well I got adopted, so here I am" Natsuki laughed happily, smiling sheepishly before the dazzled blunette.

"Wow, people actually adopted you?" Nina stared in amazement, eyes wondering up and down the other blunette's body.

"And what's that supposed to mean!?" shaking her fist at Nina, Natsuki took a step forward with a killer look in her eye, were it not for Mai's quick actions in restraining Natsuki, Nina would be meeting an unfortunate ending.

"Haha, glad to see you haven't changed" resting her hand on the now calm blunette's shoulder, Nina smiled warmly as she stared into Natsuki eyes with a playful look.

"Well how about you Sergay, what's been happening with you in the last few years?" breaking away from Mai's restraints, Natsuki casually flicked away the few strands of cobalt hair giving off a 'cool' atmosphere from her.

"That's Nina, Duran. Yeah things happened, but I'm doing well" flickering a glint of annoyance in her eyes, Nina smirked at the sight of Natsuki looking so cool and calm.

"Um..." breaking away the interaction between the two cobalt haired girls, Mai stood nervously watching as both pairs of eyes soon came upon her.

"Oh sorry Mai, I forgot you were there" Natsuki sheepishly laughed as she turned to Mai. "Mai this is Nina, Nina this is-" Natsuki was cut short as she was pushed aside by Nina who rushed over towards Mai with a dreamy look painted on her face.

"Mai, such a beautiful name" kneeling down on one knee, Nina took hold Mai's hand as she brought it up to her face, resting a soft tender kiss against it. "My name is Nina; it's a pleasure to meet one as beautiful as you"

Natsuki sat on the ground with her jaw half open whilst her emerald eyes saw Mai to be standing there, blushing furiously to the point Natsuki thought she could see steam coming out from her ears.

Ni-Nina? What on earth are you do- wait, is she hitting on Mai?

"Baka!" quick to be back on her feet, Natsuki landed a solid smack against the blunette's head sending the girl collapsing onto the ground leaving Mai stunned and confused as to what was happening.

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"So…" recovering from the previous incident, Mai's amethyst eyes wondered from across Natsuki who was walking beside her over towards Nina who also recovered, minus the rather large lump sitting on her head. "You're Natsuki's cousin, as in blood related cousin?"

"Hai. Our mothers were sisters" Nina replied, referring to her and Natsuki in which she smiled warmly at Mai.

"Wait a minute, does that mean Natsuki has a family, apart from the Fujino's?" slightly confused at the predicament, Mai watched the small nod coming from Natsuki noticing an unusual feeling in her eyes. "So how come you didn't go to live with your cousin, Natsuki?"

"I don't know…" shrugging her shoulders, Natsuki's eyes gave a small glimpse of sadness as her emerald eyes wondered over towards her cousin for answers.

"Um, I'll tell you another time" Nina avoided the question as she wanted the reunion with Natsuki to be a happy one so she shifted her attention towards Natsuki and Mai's uniforms. "Anyway, you two both go to Fuka Academy too?"

"Pretty much, I take it this is your first day then Nina?" Natsuki hadn't noticed before until Nina mentioned her uniform, Natsuki saw Nina happily wearing the Fuka school uniform as well.

"Hey, you're wearing our uniform too" Mai added, her eyes wondering up and down Nina's uniform. Mai found Nina to be making the Fuka uniform rather good looking as her orange blazer was buttoned up neatly with the crimson dyed necktie folded and well balanced around her collar and the ends of her dark, brown skirt just falling above her knees gave off a rather nice appearance to her.

Nina blushed lightly as she could see Mai's eyes wondering up and down her body. "Yeah, I just transferred here today so looks like we'll be going to school together. Who would've guessed I'd run into Duran though?" Nina snickered at mentioning Duran again as she was met with a light punch to her shoulder from the older irritated blunette.

"Duran? Sergay? What are you two talking about?" Mai asked out of the blue, earning two pairs of eyes staring blankly at her.

"They're our nicknames from when we were younger. Natsuki was Duran after her stuffed toy dog" Nina pointed out, much to Natsuki's annoyance of the mentioning of her favourite childhood toy being brought into conversation. "And Sergay-"

"Because of her personality when it comes to women" Natsuki cut off the blunette, taking the small delight from watching her cousin pulling a pouting face.

"Personality?"

"Remember how Nina 'introduced' herself to you? It's like a split personality of herself in which she acts like a charming gentleman. I blame it for her watching to many foreign TV shows" Natsuki replied, shaking her head to side to side of an image of Nina dressed into a tuxedo.

"I'll have you know, Sergay is a charming and handsome man around women, even if he is a character. I wish I could be like him one day" Nina's eyes turned into a dreamy glance as she stared into the distance, lost in her own little world.

"Like I said, you haven't changed"

-0-0-

The morning classes seemed to just pass by for Natsuki as she stood outside her locker. She said her farewells to Nina who met up with her new classmates earlier that day whilst she just went about her daily school schedule.

Another day, another excuse to be miserable. Why is it that things can't be more enjoyable?

"K-Kuga-san?"

"Hm?" looking over her shoulder, Natsuki was met by a certain mousy brunette girl, standing before her rather nervously. "Yukino? What's wrong?

"It's... about my sister" holding back the tears from her eyes, Yukino clenched her skirt tightly as she brought her gaze up towards Natsuki.

"Stop. We should go somewhere else" leading the brunette away, the pair kept silent until they arrived by the Student Council's storage room as the place was empty around it. "So, what's up?" Natsuki allowed the girl to continue where she left off.

"You see..."

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"Yukino, tell me the tooth" closing the door shut behind them, Haruka circled around the room as her gaze never left her sister sitting quietly on her bed.

"T-truth, about what?" Yukino asked nervously, her legs began to tremble as Haruka became more and more annoyed at her.

"Kuga isn't the one you love, is she?" the words shot like ice from Haruka's tongue; watching as Yukino froze in fear. "So who is it?"

"I... I don't know what you mean" Yukino's lip began to tremble as she knew she couldn't hold off Haruka's questions.

"Sisters don't keep secrets from each other, so tell me, who is it really?" stopping in her tracks, Haruka stared down at Yukino with fierce amethyst eyes.

"I..." cowering back from the look of rage burning in Haruka's eyes, Yukino averted her gaze away as she couldn't bear t look Haruka in the eye. "It's..."

"Why is it so hard, you make it sound like it's-"

"You..." cutting off Haruka, Yukino felt her world falling into despair as she muttered that word. Bracing herself for the worst, Yukino closed her eyes tightly as she waited for Haruka's endless yelling to come. But it never did. Opening her eyes slowly, expecting to meet a look of disgust and hatred, Yukino was surprised as she found Haruka standing before her, lost in confusion.

Haruka's mouth was still gaped, her eyes trembling not in fear but rather in shock. Finally coming to her senses, Haruka fell silent as she turned away from Yukino. Before she could gather her thoughts, Haruka hurried out of the room slamming the door behind her.

-0-0-

"I see..." was all Natsuki could say. In truth, she didn't know how to approach this situation; she didn't know the right words to comfort Yukino as she herself was in her shoes at the moment.

"I could see it in her eyes. She was disgusted with me" her words fell hollow as they as it seem all happiness had been drained away from Yukino. "She refuses to talk to me, look at me or even be near me. Why…?" tears began to form around her eyes as cheeks began to fluster. "Why is love so cruel?!" bursting into tears, Yukino fell open Natsuki as she buried herself within the blunette's shoulder, letting out all the pent up sadness in her.

Natsuki just stood there with an emotionless look as she wrapped her arms around Yukino to comfort her. Patting the girl on the back to calm her down, Natsuki held the girl close as a tear slowly descended down her cheek.

'Why is love so cruel?' I wish I knew Yukino, I wish I honestly knew…

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Natsuki missed a class or two from her incident with Yukino but the girl was able to bail Natsuki out of detention as repayment for comforting her. Natsuki smiled at the thought of Yukino.

It's funny, we're two completely different people and yet, we're almost the same. We both love someone who is out of reach for us but we won't let it stop us. We may get hurt and our hearts broken by them, but we'll never stop fighting… never stop…

The smile was short lived as sadness began to drown her heart. Natsuki's minds wondered around her thoughts as her feet wondered the halls of Fuka. Hearing an all too familiar annoying voice, Natsuki simply stretched her fist out landing a solid blow at a certain black haired guy, leaving him on the ground clenching his stomach in pain.

Shizuru refuses to believe I even exist around her. Why does she have to be so pathetic? What, just because I have feelings for her, she has to act all different towards me? I have feelings too!

A rush of anger flooded her mind as Natsuki slammed her fist at a nearby locker, letting out a loud bang to fill the halls, drawing a quick silence among the nearby students. A curved imprint around where her fist impacted against the metal locker door could be seen as she just continued on; ignoring the stares and murmurs she passed.

"Yo, Natsuki!"

Hearing her name being called out, Natsuki lifted her head out of her thoughts to notice a familiar cobalt haired girl waiting for her in the distance. Smiling weakly, Natsuki hid away her pain as she caught up to Nina. "Hey…"

"Want to walk home together?" Nina smiled enthusiastically only to notice Natsuki wasn't looking to be herself.

"Sure, I guess…" was all Natsuki could say as she walked alongside her cousin. Leaving the school grounds, Natsuki's jade eyes took one last glance up high at one of the school windows as she knew who would be sitting behind that window.

Shizuru…

"So how was your first day?" Natsuki asked as she tried to take her mind off a certain chestnut haired girl.

"It was pretty good, shame I'm not in you and Mai's class though, then I could be closer to her" Nina replied as her eyes went all dreamy as though she was imagining something or someone before her.

Natsuki casually gave a light slap against the back of Nina's head who just growled at Natsuki in turn. "Cut it out Sergay" Natsuki lightly chuckled to the childish reply from Nina as she poked her tongue out.

"You're lucky Natsuki, Mai seems like a really nice girl. I think she has a crush on you" Nina watched cousin go bright red as a playful smile grew along Nina's lips. "Ooooooohhh, does Natsuki have a crush on Mai too?" Nina's cheek swelled up in awe as she stared at Natsuki with expecting eyes.

"No, it's not like that, it's just… nevermind" ignoring her cousin's ramblings, Natsuki fell silent as she hung her head low to avoid meeting eyes with her cousin.

"Hey, is everything alright?" Nina asked as she playfully hit Natsuki's arm. "You seem distracted"

"I'm fine, really" Natsuki tried her best to keep her mask in place to avoid suspicion from Nina.

"I may not have seen you in twelve years Natsuki, but you're still easy to read" Nina smirked rather proudly as she watched Natsuki's mask slowly begin to crack "Is Natsuki having problems?"

"Hai…"

"School problems?"

"Sort of…"

"Home problems?

"Sort of…"

"Home and school problems huh? Hm, falling behind in school work?"

"No"

"Then what is it? Love problems?" Nina knew she had hit her mark when Natsuki stopped in her tracks and fell silent. "What's going on Natsuki?"

Natsuki's eyes wondered over towards the park nearby as her feet led her and Nina along path. Finding a bench to rest her feet, Natsuki issued for Nina to have a seat as she rested her bag beside her. "A lot of things have happened since we last saw each other. Life went on, things happened, horrible things but good things as well"

"Where are you getting at?" Nina asked, slightly confused as to what Natsuki was talking about.

"Well, you see…" and so Natsuki told Nina everything that had happened to her in the last ten years, but more importantly she told her of what has been going on recently. Taking a breather as she finished, Natsuki turned her eyes to find the sun was setting in the distance.

"Wow," was all Nina could say after hearing all that. "So, Shizuru, your 'sister' is the girl you like and she hates you?" Nina asked, her head still trying to process all the information she heard.

"Hate… I don't know," was all Natsuki could say about it. She fell silent as she questioned herself as to what she should do. "What should I do Nina?" Natsuki pleaded her cousin with her emerald eyes reflecting the sadness of her emotions.

"I don't know to be honest. I can't say I've been in your shoes before so it's hard for me to say if this will work" Nina shook her head as she pondered as to what she should say. "I guess the only thing you can do about this, is to talk to Fujino-san in person and confront her about your feelings for her"

Natsuki just kept her head hung low as her eyes centred her gaze onto the ground. "I thought you would say that," talking to Shizuru in person was the last thing she wanted to do but she knew things weren't going to get any easier if she just sat around and mope. "I don't honestly think I can bring myself to do that"

"You give up too easy Duran. If you really love her, then you got to see it through no matter what. If she likes you too, then that's good but if not, make things right with her, she is your sister after all" smiling warmly towards her cousin, Nina saw a small smile itching at the sides of her lips but it wasn't ready to budge.

"It sounds easier to do when you're not the one who has to face her," Natsuki sighed to herself as she hung her head back resting it over the top of the bench. "I wish we weren't sisters sometimes. Things would be better, it wouldn't be so wrong to confess my feelings to her let alone be with her"

"If life was easy, then where would the fun be in that?" Natsuki turned her head at Nina giving the blunette a questioning look. "The reason life is so enjoyable is that every day is something new. Sure there are challenges and obstacles that try to stop us but if you overcome them, what can you see waiting for you in the distance?"

"…You've been watching that show again haven't you?" an awkward silence fell upon the pair before Natsuki and Nina burst out in laughter.

"Ahah, ha, ha, ha! Old habits die hard Natsuki," Nina replied as she calmed herself down. Noticing her cousin laughing with a smile, she couldn't help but smile too. "So you know what you're going to do Natsuki?"

"Hai" Natsuki replied with an honest smile as she turned her eyes to catch the last few minutes of the sun setting.

I must tell her

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Natsuki could feel her blood flowing around her body at a faster pace as she raised her hand towards the door. Curling it into a ball, Natsuki took a deep breath as she knocked three times against the door. A moment's silence passed as Natsuki's heart beat for its life.

"Come in"

She felt her heart stop at sound of the angelic Kyoto-ben voice on the other side of the door. She felt herself melting at hearing her sister's voice as it felt like it had been forever since she heard such a sweeter melody. Sighing to herself at what must be done, Natsuki slowly turned the door handle as she opened the door. The bright light shining through the windows blinded Natsuki for an instant before her eyes adjusted to the scene before her.

Shizuru sat there no more than a few feet from Natsuki behind her desk as her eyes were focused on the paperwork before her. It seemed Shizuru hadn't taken any notice of Natsuki's presence as she expectedly waited for the unknown person to speak. Finding no voice from the person, Shizuru's crimson eyes looked up from her work as they widened slightly at the sight of her sister standing by the door. "Natsuki…?"

"Shizuru…" Natsuki could see her sister was feeling uncomfortable with her presence as she started to gather her things together.

"I'm kind of busy at the moment, could you-?" Shizuru's trembling voice was cut short by the sound of the door being locked. Noticing Natsuki's handiwork behind her, Shizuru swallowed hard as there was something in Natsuki's saddened jaded eyes that she feared most.

"Onee-chan…" stepping away from the door, Natsuki kept her gaze firm and steady as she took a step towards Shizuru.

"Natsuki?"

"We need to talk…"

TBC…

Omake:

Skeletons with traces of cobalt hair and honey chestnut hair sit on the set with cobwebs around them.

Natsuki: Damnit, who left the science props in here? (Puts away the fake skeletons)

Shizuru: My, my, it's so dusty in here (cleans up the set)

Natsuki: So, are we still doing the show though?

Shizuru: I don't think so; this story has been on hiatus for so long that the directors have already moved on to a better project

Natsuki: So why are we here then?

Shizuru: Someone's gotta fill in the empty space before the author's sappy, apology-

(Fanfare)

Shizuru: Natsuki's underwear! (Quickly gets in her seat) Hiya HiME's! Welcome back after a long and boring break, I'm your ever so loveable host, Fujino Shizuru

Natsuki: Hey, who stole my bra- (Looks on Shizuru's head to find her jet black, laced bra happily sitting on her head) give that back! (steals the bra back before disappearing off stage)

Shizuru: Awe, meanie. Well, it's great to be back with you fans; it's been so long since we've seen you all and it's great to be back. I wonder what exciting thing we're going to do today.

Natsuki: Shizuru, the show was cancelled for being on hiatus for so long, we've got nothing.

Shizuru:….. hm (begins to think) I know, how about the adventures of HALE! (Shizuru runs off backstage)

Natsuki: HALE?

Shizuru: Highly Advanced Leek Equipment (Shizuru comes out dressed in a black latex corset and a black mask over her eyes, fishnet stockings running down her legs and black high heels) the hero of justice and kinkiness, HALE! (Holds up a leek into the air in a triumphant pose)

Natsuki: That's wrong on so many levels, literally. Shizuru, what are you doing with that leek? (Watches as Shizuru slowly approaches Natsuki with the leek)

Shizuru: Hero of justice and kinkiness…. (Starts to drool as she points the end of the leek towards Natsuki)

Natsuki: The Masked Mayo! (gets dressed into her masked mayo costume) Mayo guns attack (squirts Shizuru with two bottles of mayonnaise)

Shizuru: Mmm (licks a bit of mayonnaise) this would go great with some leek (smiles evilly) oh, I can't wait too-

(fanfare)

Shizuru: Awe, is that all the time we have? Well HiME followers it was great seeing you again, we'll see you next time, byee! (Watches as the sign drops down) Now, where was I? (tackles Natsuki onto the ground behind the desk

Natsuki: Noooooooo!

End of Omake

Author: for those who do not know who the Masked Mayo is, it's a character I came up for Natsuki in one of my fics, look it up when you can. I apologise again for the lack of updating and the epic annoying cliff-hanger for the chapter, I hope to get the next chapter up as soon as possible, presuming the readers haven't killed me yet. As too why Nina is very OOC, I like the idea of Nina being more casual instead of being tsundere like Natsuki, plus I'm pretty sure deep down Nina is an etiquette freak hence her 'Sergay' personality.

Also, I've made so changes to the past chapters of the story, for instance I've made it so Haruka and Yukino are step sisters rather than twins. I hope reality won't be draining so much of my energy to write though, guess I'll just have to wait and see. Thank you so much for reading and don't forget to review!