Sorry for the insanely long delay on this chapter. I'm in the process of going back through the story (mostly the older Shades stuff) and adding to it and editing it. My homepage link goes to a full collection of both of the stories with all the edits, for your reading pleasure (currently under construction, but up soon). This chapter is something of a cliffhanger, so hopefully the next one will come quickly. Reviews always help.

------

The sun was fully over the horizon before Shiho had made it back to her dormitory. She pulled an envelope down from where it was taped on the entrance to her room. Her name was written on the front in a careful script. She considered it carefully, looking around. The dorm around her was beginning to wake; a girl two years her junior wandered sleepily past her, towards the cafeteria for breakfast. After she was gone, Shiho ripped the envelope open. Inside was a plane ticket, as well as directions to the resort Yukino and Haruka were staying at and 15,000 yen roughly 125 US dollars for assorted costs. Fumi, or one of her assistants, had been busy.

But the free money did little to assuage her anger. It was so unfair that those two were going to see Yuuichi-nii-chan while she was off to see two girls she barely knew. She brooded silently, glaring at another underclassmen girl wandering by, who yawned at her in response. She wanted to lash out at the girl's back after she passed, but didn't. Brooding was what she did best... she had a lot of practice.

She entered her dark room, scowing at the directions and seething. The sun may have had risen while she was underground listening to Fumi drone on, but she had the blinds on her window drawn tightly shut, so the room was left mostly black. She was so engrossed in her own emotions that it took her a long moment to realize that she wasn't alone in her room. In the dark, a form sat in a chair facing her. Two braids of ebony framed a shadowed face, emphasizing the liquid yellow eyes which shone in the darkness like embers.

Shiho tried to say something, but her breath caught in her throat. She swallowed to try and tried to recover her breath, and the figure just sat and waited. Finally, she managed to speak. "Mi... Mikoto?" she ventured.

The girl in front of her shifted, and a gentle metallic scraping sound reached her ears. She raised her arms, revealing an object the darkness had hidden until now. It was her signature claymore, the massive sword that the girl had slain Yatagarasu with back during the Festival. Mikoto put both hands around the handle, and stood the sword up straight, propping her chin against the hilt as those unblinking orbs regarded Shiho in silence.

The octopus-haired girl tried to think. She hadn't seen Mikoto in nearly a year and a half. The feral girl had dropped out of school a few weeks into her senior year, once Mai had graduated. Without Mai, there was little to keep her there, it seemed. She and Mikoto had never gotten along very well, true, but she didn't think she'd offended Mikoto enough for something like this to occur. She had been smart enough to keep most of her homicidal intentions towards Mai to herself, after all. She forced herself to speak, although her voice was a squeak instead of the strong demand she had intended. "Are you here to kill me?"

"No." Mikoto replied succinctly. "I'm here because... I want to make a deal with you."

"Oh." Shiho said, trying to keep the relief out of her voice. "What kind of deal?" Shiho asked carefully.

"How does breaking up Yuuichi and Mai sound?"

Shiho stared at her for a long moment before allowing an evil smile to creep on to her face.

-----

Natsuki listened to the deep thrumming of the jet engines just outside the small plastic porthole. It was a strange feeling, to be hurtling through the clouds at three hundred miles per hour, twenty thousand feet above the ground. Natsuki rarely went on airplane trips, and now she was on her second one in as many days. This one was much longer, but at least she wasn't alone this time. She and Nao were together on the Fuuka Academy's private jet, with only the pilots to keep them company. Even Nao had been asleep for most of the trip so far. She gently scratched Nao's head, who was curled up over the other two seats and using her lap as a pillow. The redhead was sleeping fitfully, making occasional jerks and sounds as she fought off what Natsuki could only assume were bad dreams. A gentle kiss or scratching her neck was enough to make her calm for a while, but if Natsuki stopped for even a moment, she would start up again.

The older girl looked mournfully down at the redhead as her chest rose and fell in sleep. She and Nao had always been different than other couples that they had met, for more reasons than just being the same gender. They had never gone through a puppy love phase, they never sent each others flowers, and they weren't prone to kissing in public. Nao had a romantic side to her, but she preferred to keep it private, which was more than fine with Natsuki. They had heard other couples talk about how they could read each others minds, constantly complete each others sentences. She and Nao had never been like that either, and it was doubtful they ever would. She had a deep connection with Nao, but long ago she had resigned herself to never truly understanding her. She loved and respected the younger girl, but Nao would always remain a mystery.

It was at times like this, though, that Natsuki desperately wished she could peer into the younger girl's mind. There had been so much trauma recently; Kaori's relapse, her own harsh words at Nao for running away, and the revelations that Fumi had given them... it was enough to make a person start to lose their sanity. They had apologized to one another after the fight, and the make up sex had been incredible, but Natsuki couldn't help but wonder if Nao was really coping yet. If left to her own devices, the redhead would bottle up all of her feelings and compress them until she exploded. It was usually left to Natsuki to pry those feels from her and give her a more gentle release, to keep her sane. She tussled the mussed red hair, contemplating.

As if on cue, Nao opened her eyes. "Good morning." she said with a crooked smile, staring into Natsuki's expression.

"Morning?" Natsuki smiled back. "Well, who knows. Maybe in the part of the world that we're flying over, its morning. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt."

Nao made no move to get up, preferring instead to snuggle her head more deeply into Natsuki's lap. "Have you slept at all?"

"Not really. I don't sleep well on planes. How about you? Did you have sweet dreams?"

Nao grimaced in response. "Was it that obvious?"

"You twitch a lot when you're having nightmares." Natsuki grinned, masking her concern.

There was a long sigh from the redhead. "I... I keep thinking about Mama."

Natsuki considered her response. "I know. That's why we're traveling... in order to help Fumi help her, the only way we can help."

The younger girl's eyes narrowed. "Don't talk to me like I'm some child in need of comforting. I know exactly why we're traveling. Its to go track down Sister Yukariko and haul her back to Japan." Nao spit the word 'Sister' like it was a poison. The two of them had never really gotten along very well, owing to some bad blood that had developed during Nao's extremely short stint as a nun herself.

Natsuki kept her mouth shut, choking back her good intentions. Anything else that she said now would only inflame the redhead, so she just let Nao's temper run its course. The redhead wrinkled her nose, thinking about the past and grimacing.

After a long moment, she relaxed back into Natsuki's lap, her expression almost pensive. "So why do you think Fumi gave us guns and no one else?" The change in subject was offered almost as if it were an apology.

"Well, we're going into a country where they aren't so highly restricted..." Natsuki observed. "Plus our job is likely to last the longest, so we're in the greatest danger."

"Plus, Shiho is going on a commercial flight, so she'll be getting searched..." Nao considered, helping to answer her own question.

"And really, would you trust that girl with anything more deadly than a butter knife?" Natsuki grinned.

The joke provoked a small smile out of Nao, but then she shivered, showing a rare moment of vulnerability. She slipped back to the topic occupying her thoughts. "It's all still like a dream, you know? I'm still half convinced that if I were to go home, Mama would just there waiting for me at the airport with a big smile and say 'Welcome home, Nao-chan!'. It's hard to believe that she's really..."

It was hard for Natsuki to watch so much pain. She was an 'action' sort of person, and being stuck here on the airplane, waiting to be able to do anything, was difficult. She leaned down, pressing her lips against the redhead's. They stayed connected, pressing against each other as they kissed, their movements slow and sensual. Finally, Natsuki broke off to taking a deep breath, keeping her forehead pressed against Nao's. "That's why we're traveling. To save..."

"I know." Nao closed her eyes and gave Natsuki a quick peck back. "You sound like a broken record. I love it when you play the dashing prince, coming to kiss all my worries away..." The sarcasm dripping off her voice would have been enough to turn the statement into an insult for anyone else, but a small tugging at the corners of her mouth let Natsuki know the statement was wrapped in a grain of truth. "But I'll be okay. I promise."

"Good. I'm holding you to that." Natsuki returned evenly, her heart warm. They stayed resting against each other for a long moment.

Nao eventually grew restless. "Now..." the redhead looked around conspiratorially. "I want to join the Mile High Club. Come on."

Natsuki blushed deeply, her breath catching in her chest. "Wait, what? No, wai..."

But Nao was already on her feet, dragging her towards the restroom. "Scardy cat..." she winked.

And it didn't take much convincing before Natsuki's objections faded away.

-----

It was the second to last church on her list for the day: an stone abandoned building on the outskirts of southern Prague. She and Nao had been searching churches for nearly two days now, hoping that their one and only lead from Fumi would pay off. Unfortunately, Prague was filled with churches, those both frequently used and well kept, and others left to die like this one, so there was nothing to do but keep searching. At first, they had stayed together, but after a few hours on the first day, they had split up to make the searching go faster. It was a lonely and thankless task, and it had frayed Natsuki's nerves to their extremes.

This church was no different than the previous three, except maybe in the depth of its disrepair. The stone floor was slick with water which dripped from the leaky roof like a faucet because of the recent rains, and a greenish sheen of mold covered half of the surface of the rotting wooden pews. The air was laden with the scent of decomposition. Natsuki walked down the dank rows of seats, holding her sleeve up over her mouth. 'Ugh. Is this really a place that Yukariko would hide in? She would have to be pretty desperate...'

The waning red sun, burning its way below the horizon, painted crimson streaks through the shattered stained glass windows. The lead framing for the patterns was mostly intact, but rocks or storms had taken out all but the smallest sections of colored glass. The fragments that lay amongst the ruins of pews and the gutted alter cracked under her feet as she walked, making her wince at the noise. Everything of value seemed to have been pulled out of the place of worship... even the handles had been ripped off the doors. Keeping her footfalls soft as to not make noise, she make a quick circuit around the confessionals and what looked like a small living quarters for a priest. Again, anything and everything had been taken, leaving only debris sodden by the recent rain. But there was no sign of recent human inhabitation... only shadows of the past.

Only one door was left that was unexplored, but it lead to a dark staircase down. It wasn't terribly a inviting entryway. Still, if she left it unexplored, then what was the purpose of this whole search? No point in dragging themselves around to all the churches in this god forsaken city, if they didn't intend to ensure Yukariko wasn't in each one before moving on. With a sigh, she descended into the clammy darkness. Her feet slid on the moist stone, and she nearly tumbled down the stairs, but she caught herself again on a rusty metal protrusion on the wall. It had once been a fixture for a candle, but now there was only a thin layer of melted wax running down over the corroded lip. She took her hand off, brushing away the brown metal fragments, checking if the sharp edges broke the skin. In the dim light afforded by the doorway, she couldn't see any blood, so she continued down the stairs.

The room looked to be a storage area of some sort, though it hadn't been in use more recently than the rest of the church. Rotting barrels and white canvas sacks stood about, stacked in long rows. She made her way down the row, searching for something suspicious that might indicate Yukariko had been here recently.

Her pocket vibrated violently, and she nearly fell backwards, her heart hammering in her chest from the shock. She scrambled, trying to pry her cellphone out before it began to ring, but a few notes of the default ring tone escaped into the previously silent air. She leaned against the wall, panting, cupping the phone in her lowered hands, listening for a reaction within the building. There was nothing but the slow steady drip of water above her.

She glared down at the phone angrily. It was a gift from Fumi, identical to the one Nao had as well, courtesy of Fuuka Gakuen. They were going to need a way to keep in contact with each other, the Director had noted, and both of them had left their phones in their apartment in Hokkaido. The small, sleek black surface of the phone was impassive before her glare.

To her knowledge, only two people in the world knew this number: Nao, and Fumi. Considering her familiarity with both of them, and the bad timing of the call, she decided to forgo a traditional greeting in favor of a disgruntled "What?" whispered into the speaker.

"Ara... did I catch Natsuki-chan at a bad time?"

"Shi... Shizuru?" Natsuki gasped, catching herself before her volume rose too loud. "How do you know this number?"

"You thought you could escape me by traveling halfway around the world?" the Kyoto born woman asked airily before explaining. "Fumi gave me your number, as well as plane tickets in, so I could help in the search."

"Oh. Then... you've heard about Kaori."

"Since before you did, if I understand the sequence of events correctly, Natsuki-chan. You do remember I came to Hokkaido to visit her, right? Unfortunately, I loaned my plane to you, so I was stranded. I stayed with Kaori's sleeping form for more than a day. Speaking of which..." Natsuki could hear the smile in her voice. "I have some good news for you. Nao-san will be overjoyed."

Natsuki's voice caught with hope. "Kaori is going to be okay?"

"Better. Midori and Fumi already managed to figure out a way to fix the magic temporarily, at least for specific people. Kaori is already awake at Fuuka, waiting for us to finish finding Yukariko. I'll explain in more detail when we meet."

"You're already here?" Natsuki asked, her head spinning.

"I just arrived in Prague a few minutes ago, and I'm still picking up my luggage." Shizuru's voice was lighthearted. "Why don't you let me know where I can find you?"

"Okay." Natsuki pulled her map out of her pocket, folding it out onto the stairs, where there was enough light to read. "Um..." She struggled to remember how to pronounce the foreign letters. "It's a small church, on the west side of the Vltava river. It's called the Frantisek Palacky Building. Just say that to a cab driver and you'll end up here."

Shizuru repeated Natsuki's approximation of the unfamiliar words. "I'll see you soon then. You might want to call Nao and have her join us as well. I wouldn't want her feeling jealous at us being alone..." she teased.

Natsuki heard glass crunch above. She shushed Shizuru with a sharp noise, and pulled the map up off the stone stairs, drawing back into the shadows.

"Natsuki?" The humor was instantly gone from Shizuru's voice. "What's wrong?"

"Shhh!" The raven haired girl cut her off more harshly, while trying to remain quiet. "Someone's here..." she whispered.

"I'll be there as soon as I can." Shizuru said, but stayed on the phone, keeping the line active.

A feminine silhouette appeared in the door above, walking down the steps slowly. The setting red sun bathed around her darkened form like a halo, giving her a menacing look. A pair of crimson eyes shone from the silhouette, searching the storeroom with an unnatural glow.

Natsuki stayed in her hiding place, uncertain of what to make of this new development. There was an aura of danger from the unknown person, a level of menace that frightened Natsuki. She resolved to leave, not wanting to get into a fight without understanding the circumstances behind what was going on. She knew the figure looked familiar, but in the low light, she couldn't tell who it was. The figure fortunately turned away from her position, slow steady footsteps receding down opposite side of the the storeroom's length. When Natsuki was certain she was at a safe distance, she sprinted from her spot, climbing the stairs three at a time and running towards the door.

She hadn't made it much farther past the top of the steps before the figure slammed into her back, taking her off her feet and knocking the cellphone from her hands, sending it skittering across the wet stone floor. Natsuki turned to face her attacker in the above ground light.

The face of Miyu, android and creation of Father Glear, returned a hard glance. At least that explains how she closed the gap between us so fast... damn girl is fast enough to cut bullets in mid flight. More thoughts and questions spiraled through Natsuki's mind, but fighting instincts had already kicked in, letting her fight with a clear mind. She kicked up, dodging a blow that shattered stone floor below her, and smashed her elbow into Miyu's face. The blow would have fell a real person, but Miyu didn't seem phased beyond staggering backwards a bit.

They exchanged a few more blows, with Natsuki managing to deflect the worst of Miyu's strikes, before they tumbled and fell together, rolling and hitting each other. Natsuki knew she was suffering the worse out of the two of them, since Miyu was incapable of feeling pain.

She tried to separate herself from the android to get her gun clear. She rose again, seeing the red eyed machine still lying on the ground, and drew the silver pistol from under her coat. When she fired the first shot, the bullet had barely left the barrel before Miyu was up, seeming to blur through the air, dodging and smashed into Natsuki. The gun clattered to the side, and Natsuki felt herself being dragged and thrown, tossed as though she were a rag doll. She collided heavily against the wooden pews, and the rotten wood exploded and gave way under the force of her impact. The next row back cracked as well, but held.

She lay along the length of the seat, covered in water and splinters, her body in pain, trying to clear her ringing head. Miyu grabbed her by the front of her shirt, picking her up and pressing her against the stone wall, holding her aloft. "Answer my questions, and I'll let you live." she stated evenly.

Natsuki coughed, savagely kicking the android in the knee several times, but when Miyu didn't even appear to feel the impacts, she decided to save her energy. "What?"

"Someone has discovered a way to recreate the bonds between Valkyrie and the Suishou no Hime. How are they doing it?" Miyu's red eyes glowed.

Natsuki shook her head with a smile. Is that what Shizuru was talking about? Whatever Midori and Fumi discovered pissed off someone pretty powerful... But out loud, she said something different. "I don't know what you're talking about. But even if I did, do you really think I'd tell you?"

"Wrong answer." Miyu said dispassionately. "I'm afraid I have no choice... if you won't answer me, I'll have to get answers from the other Valkyrie here in this city."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Natsuki scowled.

"You think I don't know? The Valkyrie Yuuki Nao traveled with you here. Her well being is important to you, is it not? Perhaps you'll be more willing to give answers if it's her life that will be ended if your answers are not satisfactory."

Natsuki's mind flared white, the threat against Nao creating a surge of fury within her like nothing she had experienced in a long time burning away all other thoughts. She wedged her knee up against Miyu's chest and kicked outwards with all her strength, sending the indomitable android stumbling backwards. Without stopping to think, she landed on her feet, rushed forward and grabbed the still flailing manufactured girl's arm, and twisted.

Time slowed, like a single moment when everything becomes clear. The emotions overflowing out of Natsuki's mind became a nearly tangible force, fueling the rebirth of something inside her long buried. She heard a sharp sound, almost like a chime, and a flash of light burst from her chest. Power surged out from her like a living wave, searing everything near them.

Ignoring everything, Natsuki pulled with all of her might, feeling the resistance of Miyu's arm. On some level, she knew that this single moment in time was lasting for much longer than it should have, but she was lost in her efforts, pushing herself beyond her limits. She felt the arm slowly give way, individual cables and joints snapping, and with a final horrid wrenching sensation, time itself restarted.

Miyu was hurled by the momentum into the wall which Natsuki herself had been pressed against a moment ago, her red eyes wide with surprise. Her arm was torn off at the shoulder, and the gaping hole where it had once been joined to her body was pulsing golden fluids like a lifeblood. Those crimson eyes dimmed, turning black, and the blue haired figure slumped down and collapsed.

Natsuki was still holding the severed arm. She sat heavily on an unbroken pew, her breath heaving. She blinked sweat out of her eyes from the fight, still struggling to comprehend what had happened. That single moment, when time had frozen... it had felt familiar, just the same as when she had first awoken as a HiME. The implications sickened her.

She stood unsteadily, wiping away the sweat from her forehead. She walked over to Miyu's fallen body, where it lay twitching with darkened eyes. Then she looked down at the arm, the pale faux skin still imprinted with deep grooves, marks from where her fingers had clamped down as she had pulled. It made subtle clicking and whirring noises, searching for signals that were no longer coming. Natsuki felt like vomiting.

The hand jerked upwards, clamping around her throat.

It took a moment to register for Natsuki, but when it did, she recoiled backwards, stumbling and tripping over the destroyed pews behind her. She fell heavily onto her side, feeling splinters of wood stab into her side. She opened her mouth to shout, but the hand was closing off her windpipe, crushing her throat. She tried to wedge her fingers under the fingers choking off her air, but the grip was too tight. She began to panic, clawing at the severed limb's fingers, but no precious oxygen could reach her.

Reactivating, Miyu rose unsteadily, her red eyes wavering. "I had not realized you retained your powers, Valkyrie. I underestimated you." She walked past Natsuki, casually shoving her down against the stone again with her good arm before retrieving the cellphone from where it lay in the isle.

Natsuki lay sitting at the foot of the wall, her vision quickly dimming from the lack of air. Miyu stood over her with a blank expression, holding the cellphone, watching her struggles. The raven haired girl could make out Shizuru's frantic yells over the still active connection, just before the call ended.

Miyu dialed a long series of numbers, holding the phone up to her ear. "Reporting in." she stated mechanically. "This one refused to tell me anything. Also, it seems the Valkyrie's powers are returning. You should move quickly, if you intend for your plans to succeed." Miyu listened to the voice on the other end, and her facial expression twitched. "But..." She was cut off by a sharp reprimand from the other side of the phone. "Very well. I require hearing Ojou-sama's voice before that feature can be unlocked." There was a long silence, presumably while the person giving the orders gave the phone over to Arisa. Finally, Miyu smiled slightly. "Understood, Ojou-sama. Option Seventeen unlocked." She hesitated. "I hope they are treating you well." She nodded at the response. "Good. We'll be back home as soon as I can manage it. " Miyu ended her call, dropping the phone to the floor.

It would be an exaggeration to say that Miyu didn't display emotions. If by nature or design, over the years she had manifested subtle approximations of certain human expressions. And at this moment, she looked apprehensive, perhaps even remorseful. Natsuki could barely see her face, through the haze of suffocation. "I... regret that this has come to pass." Miyu intoned. The severed hand released its pressure around her throat, allowing her to try and suck oxygen into her lungs. But her throat was damaged from the crushing grip, and every breath was an agony, the pain burning at her.

Miyu knelt next to Natsuki's slumped form, ignoring her choking noises, talking to her with a quiet voice. "Memory is a precious thing. The Valkyrie known as Midori allowed me to keep mine and continue to protect Ojou-sama, when she could have destroyed it and made me into a mindless tool. For this gift, I will forever be in the Valkyrie's debt." She bowed her head. "But I cannot violate the orders given to me." Miyu tilted her head oddly. "Perhaps if you could give me the answers I seek?"

Natsuki's world was a haze of pain, and she was still struggling to stay conscious. 'I told you already. Even if I knew, I wouldn't do it...' she wanted to say defiantly, but instead she only sucked in another breath with difficulty. Each gasp of air down her damaged windpipe was a searing blade. She felt hot tears on her cheeks, uncontrollably released from the lancing pain.

"I see. I have damaged you beyond the ability to communicate. Then... this is the only way." Miyu's good arm shifted and morphed, transforming into a long set of intertwining spirals of metal, drawing together into a single point. The spirals began to glow with golden energy, pulsing with a dangerous light. The android bowed her head, bringing the new apparatus to bear. "There will be no pain." she said dully, her eyes narrowed.

Natsuki tried to shrink back away from the burrowing lances of energy, but the ephemeral tendrils wrapped themselves around her head, holding her still. They snaked around her tighter and tighter, the golden energy seeped into her skin, feeling like a thousand tiny worms as it worked its way down. And as it poured into her mind, she began to scream.

-----

Nao was ready to murder someone. Natsuki had been late for their rendezvous, and wasn't picking up her phone. Something was wrong... something had happened. The worst part was, Nao had no way to respond. She didn't know what to do. She had checked the last few churches that Natsuki was supposed to check out, but there was nothing. Now Nao was pacing around in an alleyway, in the recently restarted torrential rains coming from the darkened sky, trying to decide what to do.

"Good evening, Princess Nao."

Nao drew her gun out of her coat in a fluid motion, pointed directly at the face of the person who had entered her alley. She stared at him, his long nose and rain-matted blond hair looking just as out of place here as she did. "Who the hell are you?"

He laughed, a long hearty chuckle. His bodyguards, two men in long trench coats with darkened glasses, both tensed at the sight of her gun, but he waved them both off, and they retreated out to the street, leaving the two of them alone. He smiled at her, although the expression was more disturbing than anything else. "My name is John Smith... and I'm not someone you need to be pointing that gun at. I've come here to help you, Princess Nao."

His words didn't encourage her to lower her gun even a millimeter. "Why are you calling me that?"

"Because that's what you are, are you not? A princess of the Red Star?" He spread his empty hands before him.

She narrowed her eyes, looking at him carefully down the rain splattered sight of her gun with her one good eye. "How do you know that?"

"I know a great deal of things. I know who your friends are, who your enemies are... better than you do."

She smirked. "I'll be the judge of that. Who do you think my friends are?"

"Myself, for one. I can offer you and your fellow Princesses an alternative to simply dancing on the Obsidian Lord's strings once again, if only you have the courage to embrace it this time." His voice was haughty. "You're also friends with Princess Natsuki, are you not?"

"You might say that..." she allowed.

"She is in grave danger."

Nao tensed at these words, and she clicked off the safety to her gun, pushing it forward menacingly. "If you're threatening her..."

He held his hands up innocently, his lips curling up with disgusting relish. "I am not the one who causes this danger. It's the fault of another, I'm afraid. I propose... a trade of information."

"I've got another proposition for you." Nao spat at him. "How about you tell me where Natsuki is, and I don't kill you right here and now"

John Smith looked unperturbed. "I'm the only one who knows where your Natsuki is, and if you don't mind me observing... time is of the essence here."

Nao bit her lip, feeling the rain sluice down her skin and sog her hair. "Fine. What's your question."

He looked at her evenly. "How did Director Fumi manage to reassert the bonds between the Crystal Princess and the rest of the Princesses?"

She shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about." she answered honestly.

He regarded her with an inquisitive look, and then finally nodded. "That is unfortunate. But I will uphold my end of the bargain." He began to withdraw his hand from his pocket, causing Nao to tense her grip on the trigger, but he proffered the envelope as a gesture of peace. "Inside you will find an address of a hotel not too far from here, as well as a key to the room they are in."

Nao snatched it from his hands, glancing at it. "They? Who's with her."

He grinned. "Princess Fujino Shizuru."

The redhead looked at him long and hard. "What the hell would Shizuru be doing here? She's back in Japan, and probably doesn't even know what's going on."

He was enjoying this, she realized as he spoke to her. "I'm afraid that's why I say I know who your enemies are better than you do."

Nao sucked in her breath, but let it out slowly. "I know what game you're playing, and its not going to work. Shizuru and I certainly have our differences, but its been a long time since the Festival. We've learned to deal with each other, and I don't count her as an enemy anymore." She left out her feelings about Shizuru's relationship with her mother, not wanting to put those to air with a stranger, or out loud at all, really. "And if there's one thing I believe, its that she would never let anyone harm Natsuki. So go try and sew your seeds of distrust somewhere else, John Smith."

He laughed. "You sound so certain, little Princess. What if I told you that she had made a deal with some very powerful people to lead Natsuki into a trap? One that would end with her memory being wiped. And even now, Shizuru is rewriting history with her long lost love."

Nao stared, uncertain of how to respond. "Shizuru... she's over that."

John Smith lowered his eyes, his expression intense. "Love is never something that is gotten over, I'm afraid. That's just human nature. And if you don't want to lose everything, you'll need to go point that gun at someone else, and make things right."

Nao lowered her gun slowly, her mind whirling with possibilities and terror. She wanted to think that Shizuru would never do anything like that, but... what if he was right?

"Don't take my word for it. Go and see, Princess Nao. The address is in the envelope." He turned and walked away, waving her goodbye casually as he left.

She stood in the pouring rain for a long time, not even noticing the drenching sheets of water. She unfolded the envelope, recognizing the street from her traversals of the city before. It was a close, a building she remembered passing. Lower and lower her mind spiraled, warring with itself, until something snapped. She had to know. Her hand tightening against the grip of the gun, and she broke into a dead run.