The feedback that I recieved on the first chapter was just absolutely stupendous! I love all of your opinions on my new story. Because of that, I proudly present chapter two. I hope I don't let any of you down!

To my guest reviewers: Thank you all for all that you've said. I appreciate you guys reviewing!

Guest 1- Thanks and thanks for reviewing!

Platina GF- I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reviewing to this story and to my other ones as well! You're a pretty cool person :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Mai HiME.

"No matter how much time passes, no matter what takes place in the interim, there are some things we can never assign to oblivion, memories we can never rub away."
― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

The drive to Kyoto was a blur of lights for Natsuki and Shizuru. It wasn't because they were swerving past cars and other vehicles at about 80 miles per hour, although that also contributed to the fact, it mostly had to do with the adreneline coursing through both their veins at the thought of arriving too late to talk to both their precious person. That wasn't something Natsuki would ever allow to happen.

The blunette pulled at her throttle to move even faster as the sun began to rise in the east. Although she was exhausted, their time was dwindling much faster than she had anticipated. If they wanted more time to arrive to see Yoshi-oji before he leaves them, then they would need to move so much faster then they were already moving.

Shizuru held on even tighter as she felt the mechanical beast beneath her surge forward. The twenty year old was never a big fan of fast moving vehicles, thanks to that one evening with her middle school friends, but at the moment, Shizuru couldn't help but thank Natsuki for driving as if the goddess Izanami(1) herself was on their tail. 'Her will is still as strong as ever..' the crimson eyed woman thought referring back to her memories of the younger woman. Natsuki was a very stubborn and driven child that received Shizuru's respects when she saved the younger child from being harassed by her abnormal eyes. After being ganged up and beaten by a bunch of older boys, the young Natsuki never stayed down. She kept standing up over and over again until she had beaten the bullies. That was the day that she met Natsuki and learned never to let anyone's opinions affect her.

Shizuru smiled underneath the helmet's tinted visor at such an old memory. It was so long ago, but she never forgot about the day she met her best friend. Shizuru chuckled softly bringing herself back into the present. The past had always been an important part of her, but she needed to be out of her head and back to reality. Sighing softly, she began to relive what had happened just earlier that morning. She can still recall when she had knocked upon the white door. The unmoveable object that seperated her from her childhood friend. What proceeded to occur afterwards were moments that she will cherish forever. After all, it wasn't everyday that she got to be reaquainted with the woman that had stolen her heart years ago.

Flashback

A seven year old Shizuru frowned as she stood in front of a dumbstrucked Natsuki.

"W-what do you mean you're moving? Y-y-you can't just go all of a sudden! What about our picnic to the park?!" Natsuki asked as she dropped the picnic basket in her hand. It was supposed to be warm that Saturday and the two friends had organized a picnic to the park. It wasn't warm anymore. Not with the depressing news that Shizuru had told her.

Shizuru fiddled with her fingers. How she wished she didn't have to leave her Ku-chan. "Oto-chan got a new position with his job... We.. we have to go to a new place.." the crimson eyed girl whispered as she stared at the ground, unable to meet the sadness that was brewing in the emerald eyes of her best friend. Holding her tears back, Shizuru began to curl and uncurl her fist.

Natsuki could feel the tears peeking from her eyes. Vi-chan... Vi-chan was leaving! Leaving her all alone.. Natsuki moved towards Shizuru with her arms wide open. Tackling the girl to the ground, the emerald eyed girl began to uncharacteristically cry into the other girl's shirt.

"Y-you- can't go! You just can't! I don't want you to leave!" Natsuki sputtered as clumbs of tears began to roll down her cheeks and onto her friend's shirt. Gripping Shizuru's shirt tighter, Natsuki stuffed her face into her friend's chest wishing that what Shizuru had told her had to be a lie or a joke.

Shizuru, seeing her tough friend breaking down, broke down with her. Hugging the other girl's body closer, she began to wail. "Natsuki! Natsuki! I don't want to leave Natsuki!" The waterworks continued, neither letting up or letting go of each other.

That was how Yoshi-oji had found them. Two girls on the ground, asleep, with traces of dried tears on both their faces. Picking up the girls very gently, Hideyoshi moved them to the couch. Setting them down next to each other, the chestnut haired man looked down at his daughter and her best friend with symphathy. 'I'm so so sorry... Shi-chan. Nat-kun. I promise to do everything I can to see you back together.' Hideyoshi brought his hand to rub the tears that had threathened to leave his eyes. He didn't have a choice.. He had to move to Kyoto because of the higher position his employer had offered him.. It was better for his growing daughter. Walking with his head down, the middle aged man resumed the long process of packing for a city move.

Natsuki was the first to stir as the afternoon sun shined through the living room windom, hitting her face. She couldn't remember why she was taking a nap or why her nose felt stuffy. Maybe she caught a cold? Or mayb- ... Shizuru. The memory of them crying together came back to Natsuki with a sense of doom. Shizuru was moving. Her best friend was leaving her.

The emerald eyed girl suddenly gripped the sleeping girl, that had curled up into her warm body, closer to her. Natsuki brought her face into the slight curly curls of her friend as she began to treasure every moment that was between now and the Viola family's departure. 'I want to be with Vi-chan until she leaves. At least let me have that, Kami-sama.' Natsuki wasn't a very religious person, but she needed someone to pray to. Someone that would hear her plea for more time.

Shizuru woke up to the feeling of someone holding her very tightly. Opening her eyes, Shizuru met the sad gaze of her best friend. "Hey."

"Hi."

Shizuru brought her hand up to wipe away the stray tear that had managed to sneak out from emerald eyes. "I-I'm..." For some reason, Shizuru couldn't say it.

Natsuki smiled sadly "Sorry. I know, Vi-chan. I am too..."

The two continue to lay there as if they wanted time to freeze. Time to stop.

"Look, I don't want to be sad anymore." Natsuki started as she sat up from her spot. "I want to be happy before you leave... So, when you go, you'll be happy too. I don't want Shizuru to be sad when she leaves.."

Shizuru followed her example. The two sat there, their folded legs tucked to their chest. "Ara, then we should play. Play all the games that we made up. Watch the movies that we wanted to watch." Shizuru turned to face Natsuki, a small smile on her face. "We can do it here in the living room. We can even have our picnic here too."

That brought a smile onto Natsuki's face. With some glee, she jumped off the couch and ran towards the dropped picnic basket. "Yosh! We can do all that before you go!" Grabbing the food from inside the basket, Natsuki went back and sat next to Shizuru again. Natsuki handed her best friend her orange juice box and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while she began to eat her ham and cheese sandwich with some apple juice. They turned the tv on to their favorite channel and watched their favorite animes for the rest of the night.

The next morning, the two woke up to the sight of a bare living room. The tv was gone, the furniture packed, everything else was in boxes that had already been moved into the rental van. All that was left were the two sleeping bags that the girls had laid out the night before.

Yoshi-oji was smiling sadly down at them as two pairs of eyes blinked dazedly. "Wake up my princess and her knight. It's...it's time to go."

Natsuki felt the tears start to rear its ugly head again as she heard the chestnut haired man's words. She couldn't though. She couldn't cry now or else Vi-chan would cry too. Then Vi-chan would leave sad. Natsuki quickly wiped away the tears as she stood up. Sporting a full on grin, the young girl held her hand out to her other. Shizuru took it gratefully and the two faced Hideyoshi.

Natsuki rubbed the back of her head sheepishly as she tried to act normally to the situation. "Hehe, sorry for sleeping on the ground, Yoshi-oji. I forgot how much you hate it when we sleep on hard ground."

Yoshi-oji just laughed lightly. "It's fine. I'll allow it just this once. How about we grab some breakfast before Shi-chan's stomach growls again?"

Shizuru was so caught up in what her father had said before that she didn't notice the growling that her stomach was giving. She giggled as her two role models moved towards the kitchen.

The three ate a hearty breakfast, filled with smiles and laughs, each invoked by Natsuki or Yoshi-oji. The two had tried to make breakfast that morning as normal as they could, but both couldn't shake the nagging feeling of it being their last breakfast together. They ignored it, though, behind Natsuki's smiles and Hidehoshi's grins.

"Man, I'm stuffed." Hideyoshi said as he patted his bloated belly. "That sure was delicious."

Natsuki laughed as she nudged the middle aged man. "Quit bragging, Yoshi-oji. You cooked it!"

Yoshi-oji replied by nudging the little girl. Natsuki retaliated with a nudge back. Hideyoshi glared playfully to narrowed eyes. Oh, it was on. Next thing you know, the two were having a nudging contest. The two went at it for a while before Hideyoshi horribly lost by falling off his chair.

Natsuki began to laugh as she watched Yoshi-oji crawl towards his chair in a dramatic matter. Hideyoshi joined in as well after he gave up on crawling to sit himself again. This was as close to normalcy as it could get.

"Why?" Shizuru asked as she stared at the two jokesters with sad eyes. Throughtout the whole morning, Shizuru had barely spoken a word. Hideyoshi and Natsuki had practically ignored her as the two were too busy trying to act as if everything was normal. "Why are you both laughing and smiling?"

Crimson eyes turned towards brown as she stared at her father. "We're about to move away, oto-chan... How can you just smile as if everything is fine and normal!"

Yoshi-oji just looked down, the smile on his face diminishing as every second past.

Shizuru turned towards her best friend. "Natsuki... me and oto-chan.. we're leaving. How can you laugh when... when.." The seven year old brought her hands to her face and burst into tears. How could they treat today as if it was a normal day? Shizuru didn't know. She.. just couldn't handle it.

Natsuki wrapped her hands around the crying girl. She always dreaded it when the young crimson eyed girl cried. It always made her want to.. to.. The six year old grabbed her best friend into a hug. "Shhh. It's okay, Vi-chan. It's okay. I-I I just didn't want you to leave this place sad. I don't like it when you're sad. Not one bit. So please, please, stop crying Vi-chan." Natsuki wiped the remaining tears off Shizuru's face and smiled. A sad smile, but a smile nonetheless.

Shizuru sniffed as she held her friend close. It was almost time to go. These last few moments were going to be engraved in Shizuru's mind forever. She was going to remember this hug. This feeling of warmth. She was going to remember the way Natsuki smelled of pine trees and how her best friend loved mayo. She was going to remember how bright the other girl's smile is when they're at the park. She was going to remember as much as she possible can about who Natsuki Kruger was to her. Shizuru felt her heart beat faster as those thoughts came crashing down.. What? (2)

Natsuki let go when she no longer could hear the sniveling coming from the older girl. Smiling, Natsuki dragged Shizuru out of the kitchen, through the living room, and out the door. There, in front of them, was the car that was going to take Shizuru out of Natsuki's life.

The two kids watched as Yoshi-oji walked past them and next to the car. There, he opened the back door for his little girl. He then stood to the side, waiting.

Shizuru turned towards her best friend and hugged her for the last time. "I'll miss you, Natsuki. I- I really wish I could stay here... with you."

Natsuki hugged her back, squeezing the other girl even tighter. "Same here, Shizuru. But you have to go with Yoshi-oji. Who else will take care of him?"

Shizuru laughed lightly, but kept a hold of her best friend. She didn't want to let go.. No, she couldn't let go. Natsuki felt the same way. But eventually, the two had to separate.

Shizuru smiled one last time as she turned her back. She had to walk away now. She had to go before she starts crying again.

But just as she was entering the car, she heard someone scream her name. "SHIZURU!" Shizuru turned around just in time for a kiss to be placed on her cheek. The older girl blushed.

Natsuki grinned a bit wolfishly, a light blush spreading across her own cheeks. "I love you, Vi-chan."

Shizuru kissed Natsuki's cheek just as Yoshi-oji started the engine. This time, Natsuki's face turned a unbearably bright color of red. One that Shizuru has never seen before. "I love you too, my Ku-chan." The crimson eyed girl whispered into the other's ear. She quickly entered the car before Natsuki had a chance to say anything.

It wasn't long before the car backed out of the driveway and onto the street. Waving to the girl standing by her house, Shizuru couldn't help but think that one day, one day, she'll see her Ku-chan again.

Flashback end (Damn, that was one heck of a flashback)

Shizuru snapped out of her daze as she felt the purring of the mechanical beast disappear. "Ara.." she whispered as she took off her helmet. Honey locks began to descend back to the mid of her back.

Natsuki slid off her bike smoothly and unhooked her helmet. Taking it off, the emerald eyed beauty threw her companion a small smile. "Sorry, but we need gas. I'll be fast. I promise." With those words, she began to pump gas into her bike.

Shizuru just nodded and decided to stretch her legs. "I'm going to go in to use the restroom. Would you like anything, Natsuki?"

Natsuki just shook her head, denying the offer. "I'm fine."

"Alright. Don't miss me too much" Shizuru set her assigned helmet on her seat and walked towards the gas station, missing the blush that had instantly spread across the other woman's face. Entering the small establishment, she emmediately noticed what the tiny station lacked. A restroom. Sighing, Shizuru just bought herself some tea (AN: Some gas stations actually sell tea) and black coffee for the emerald eyed biker outside. The crimson eyed beauty payed for her purchases and left the small gas station.

Walking towards her friend, Shizuru couldn't help but gap at the woman before her. It seemed that Natsuki had finished putting gas into her Ducati and was now currently leaning against her bike in a rather... alluring matter. Shizuru inwardly drooled as her heart began to beat faster. 'Ara, so this is how love fels like...' the crimson eyed thought dreamily. Ever since the first time that her heart had beaten so erratically, the day she had left, Shizuru had been trying to figure out what it meant. It wasn't until she was sixteen years old did she realize that she was in love with her missing childhood friend. Her cute, cuddly, best friend. Even though yesterday was the first time that Shizuru had seen her friend in kami knows how long, she couldn't help but think that this was the woman that she had grown to love. Of course, Natsuki had changed, it had been about thirteen years, but Shizuru could still see the little girl that her younger self had fallen in love with.

"Here, Natsuki. You've been driving for too long. You should really drink this." Shizuru said as she handed her friend coffee. Natsuki accepted it, after much consideration, and chugged in down in one go. The emerald eyed woman sighed as she felt the hot liquid slide down her throat.

"How'd you know I like black coffee? You a mind reader or something?" asked Natsuki as she threw her styrofoam cup into a nearby trash can. Giving the other the international sighn of 'let's go', the emerald eyed woman straddled her bike again.

"Ara, last I checked, I was not." answered Shizuru with a slight smile. She had accurately guessed the type of coffee Natsuki liked. One point for Shizuru. Putting her helmet back on, the crimson eyed beauty wrapped her arms around her best friend's thin waist again. Shizuru watched as the other woman's face began to turn red again. She smirked.

Natsuki gave a small nervous chuckle. "I still don't believe you. After all, how could you have known that I love eating mayo, working with motorcycles, and drinking black coffee? I mean, the mayo and the motorcycles were a given, but what about the coffee? You must have some real voodoo mojo that you're hiding, woman." Putting her helmet back on, Natsuki didn't get to hear Shizuru laugh. Turning her ignition on, Natsuki pulled the bike out of the gas station and back on the road towards Kyoto, heir situation more bright and hopeful.

1: Izanami is the goddess of creation and death in Japanese folklore.

2: As most of you noticed, this is where Shizuru's feeling for Natsuki began.

Wow, pretty long flashback, ne? Thanks to all who reviewed on my last chapter. I hope I didn't disappoint with this one.

REVIEW guys. Because reviews to me is like tea for Shizuru and mayo for Natsuki. It's every author's addiction.