Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME. That's right. No one can blame me for what happened in the manga.

The warning

Mai crossed the street, went upstairs and when she was in front of the right apartment, she knocked on the door. It was almost midday and up until that moment there was no sign of Shizuru. She knocked for several minutes, but no answer. All along she has been worried about Shizuru, from the minute she was informed about Natsuki up until now. The woman's expression at the funeral was one of such misery that Mai didn't know how long it would take Shizuru to recover herself or if she would recover her loss at all.

Truth is the strawberry-blonde woman wasn't very aware of what really happened during the Carnival, however she knew this: Shizuru was Natsuki's most important person, as Natsuki was Shizuru's and that they both had died together. In reality, Mai only knew that both of them had some issues to resolve but it was unclear to her what it really was. The pair never mentioned what those issues were and she just knew that it took them some time to at last come together in a full bloomed relationship.

How far Shizuru would go for Natsuki? Mai was very worried. She knew the woman was very much in love with the blue haired girl and it scared her because she didn't know how to handle this kind of situation. Natsuki had warned the violet-eyed woman what Shizuru would try to do. Suicide. Just to think of it nauseated her. Would she have the courage? As much as she wanted Mai couldn't bring herself to doubt Natsuki. After all, she knew Shizuru best.

The former kaichou seemed to be very composed and well-mannered no doubt, but Mai believed that was a mask she had adopted for herself, after all Shizuru was part of a traditional family and she had an idea of the education the girls from these kind of families went through. You just had to observe the woman and put the pieces together: tea ceremony, flower arrangements, calligraphy and naginata fighting style. Even her Kyoto accent was a sign of what her family could be like. (¹)

Mai thought Shizuru was the kind of woman who distances herself from other people and because of that she also thought only Natsuki knew the Kyoto woman real personality. Maybe Shizuru's closer friends including Reito have also gotten to know her better lately but she was not sure about that.

All the same Natsuki had asked her in the ambulance to make Shizuru promise she would live and to keep an eye on her. She herself promised she would and as it looked it was not enough to keep an eye on Shizuru.

Back to the apartment door, it had been quite a long time she was knocking on the door and no one answered. It was in the least strange and only served to rise Mai's worry. That was when she started to call out the widow too.

"Shizuru. Are you in there? Shizuru" but nothing.

"Shizuru!" Mai called louder and yet there was no reply.

Lastly Mai thumped on the door with her fists and called the woman another time. Nothing.

The young woman decided. She was going to open the door with Natsuki's keys. Somehow it remained with her during the whole ordeal. She pulled the key from her pocket and inserted it in the key hole. She turned the key and opened the door softly. Excusing herself with a "Coming" she entered the home and called for Shizuru again.

"Shizuru…" Her shoes were there in the entrance. She only needed to know if she was okay.

She had just reached the middle of the living room when she stepped on broken glass and then she saw the state of the apartment, which made her utter "Oh my God." The wall was stained with what seemed to be red wine and the bottle which contained said drink was scattered on great part of the floor, the armchair was turned and there was a cup on its side on the center table. She realized that moment the smell of alcohol was very strong in that room. The strawberry-blonde woman was glad she was wearing a pair of slippers otherwise she surely would have hurt her feet with the broken glass.

She went to Shizuru's bedroom and there was the woman, laying on the bed and still wearing the black clothes from the funeral, the covers all about the floor. The sun was on her face and she was stirring from sleep in a drunken stupor. In fact she was looking to the door when Mai came closer, seeming to have been awakened about a minute ago. Duran was also on the bed, beside Shizuru, guarding her it looked like, but he soon recognized Mai and his tail started do move from one side to another. Shizuru passed her hand on her eyes, her movements slow, maybe trying to clean her sight and to take a better look at the incomer. As she tried to raise from bed she furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes, her hand on her head.

Mai instantly was beside her. "Shizuru, are you okay? What happened here?" She asked in a low tone helping the woman to sit down. When Shizuru opened her mouth to speak Mai smelled the woman breath of alcohol, which was very strong.

"Yeah, I think so…. Ouch... My head… is aching." She stated lowly too, very thankful the woman was talking in a low voice. Her head was already throbbing a lot. Mai disappeared through the door and soon returned with a cup of water and an aspirin.

"Take this. At least your headache will go away." She sat down beside Shizuru. The woman took the aspirin and drank the water. She looked down and held her head, almost as if she wanted to hide her face in the palm of her hand.

Silence between them, for there was nothing Mai could say in that moment. There never is. No word of comfort. She remained silent for some more time until she suggested.

"Why don't you lay down a little more, while your headache go away?" She knew there was much more than a head ache there. There must be an indescribable pain. Shizuru complied and laid again for a while, Duran still there surveying the situation. His snout sniffing Shizuru's countenance, then he licked her cheeky softly and laid his head besides hers. She smiled briefly and scratched his head between his ears.

Mai stood up and went to the living room again. She looked at the mess and decided she was going to clean it. She found a broom and a plastic shovel in the service area and went back to the living room to do her work. She unturned the armchair and started to sweep the floor in a meticulous manner until every piece of glass was together. As soon as she was done with the sweeping she used the shovel to put the shards in the bin. She got the discarded cup and placed it in the sink. After that she went to the bathroom and turned on the bathtub tap and let water fill it. As the tub was full she turned the tap off and went to Shizuru's room, sitting beside the immovable woman to say.

"Shizuru, isn't it better for you to take a bath? The tub is ready and you haven't changed since yesterday." She waited patiently for the crimson eyed woman to respond, but she didn't move a muscle. "Come one, please? Have you had anything to eat?" Shizuru just shook her head indicating what Mai had already guessed. She hasn't eaten at all either. Maybe since when they were in the hospital. It would make at least two days. She couldn't continue like this.

"Shizuru, please." She put her hand on Shizuru's back softly and shook her very lightly. There were tears on the older woman's face. "Please, Shizuru…" Mai's voice was very tender now. "Natsuki wouldn't like to see you like this, please."

Shizuru breathed very heavily. The mention of Natsuki's name seemed to be enough for her to at least sit. Slowly, she sat up and she looked at Mai.

"Thank you, Mai" she thanked her and felt she didn't need to use the woman's surname or use honorifics. After all she was Natsuki's friends and was there to help her and neither Mai was using any of them, showing she wanted to be near Shizuru. She was glad she had a friend like that. In addition to Mai's presence there was Duran. In a strange way he seemed to understand her grief for all the time he was near her and she didn't even feed the poor dog. When she sat the animal's head shot up very attentive to what his now only owner was going to do. Shizuru scratched his head right between his ears and said silently. "Thank you, Duran."

She turned to Mai and started while Mai regarded her intently to see how she was. "Mai, I'm sorry for all the trouble I've been giving you. I want to thank you very much for all your efforts and to be here."

"There's nothing to apologize or to thank me about, Shizuru, after all you're my friend. I'm worried about you."

"I know…" she looked at her feet silently for a few minutes. She wasn't trying to fake any smile or to convince the woman she was okay. She wasn't and Mai knew it.

"Maybe you should take a bath now, before the water gets cold." She prodded gently again.

"I think you are right. I'll go now." She stated standing up and going to the bathroom. She entered the room, stripped carefully from her clothes and entered the tub. The Kyoto born woman sat there quietly looking at nothing for a long while. Her composure long gone. She naturally has always kept her façade of the calm and collected woman but now it was completely gone. She wasn't able to keep that mask in front of Mai. Her wounds run too deep into her heart and she was hurting. There in the solitude of the bathroom, amongst the cold tiles, Shizuru couldn't hold her tears. She just embraced her legs to her chest and sobbed openly, without restraints.

Outside Mai heard Shizuru's muffled sobs and it broke her heart to see how broken Shizuru was. The more reason for her to be there and offer her shoulder even if it would barely appease her misery.

While Shizuru cried her heart out, Mai fed Duran, cleaned what she could from the living room wall, separated some fresh and comfortable clothes for Shizuru and lastly she prepared her a meal. She made two bowls of ramen, because she decided she was going to have lunch there and keep Shizuru's company. Then she waited. She sat on the sofa in the living room and waited patiently. Duran appeared sometimes, sat down by the armchair, stood up and walked away and came back. After some time, about an hour, the sobs stopped. Mai watched the time as to ascertain the woman was okay. She waited about five minutes. Then she stood up, intending to check up on the chestnut haired woman but as soon as she stood up the bathroom door opened. She sat down again to let Shizuru take her time dressing. Mai had to wait only for ten minutes for Shizuru to be ready. When the woman appeared she was dressed in Mai's choice of clothes. A white t-shirt with a V-neck and a beige skirt.

"I'm sorry for the long wait." Shizuru apologized. "And thank you for cleaning my living room. You shouldn't have, Mai."

"Don't worry, Shizuru. Come on. Let's eat something. I took the liberty to prepare a meal for both of us. I think you must be very hungry." Said Mai standing up and leading the way to the dining room.

Shizuru mouthed a "Thank you" and followed Mai's lead. She gave a pair of hashi to Shizuru and sat across her. She put a bowl right in front of her and started to eat from it.

They sat in silence, Mai not wanting to disturb Shizuru and Shizuru not really wanting to talk. Besides, what was there to talk at all? There were no words of comfort Mai could offer, nor any comment Shizuru could make. Silence was the best solution. They could hear only the sounds of each other eat their noodles.

After a while in the silence, Mai decided to ask about something that had caught her attention earlier.

"Shizuru." Mai called softly. The other woman looked at her. "Yes?"

"May I ask something?" interrogated Mai.

"Yes. What is it?" came the simple reply.

"What happened to your neck?" was the question, not out of curiosity, but out of worry. Mai knew Shizuru was in her apartment all the time she herself and Reito had left her there up to that moment. Mai suddenly became afraid Shizuru would attempt something against her life.

"My neck?" The woman was puzzled.

"Yes, there's a red spot on your neck." informed Mai.

Surprised, Shizuru placed her hand on her neck and immediately she was reminded of her dream, as if that spot was still warm. She remembered the dream very vividly as it seemed to have been imprinted in her mind. She stood up and excused herself. She went to the bathroom to look at the mirror and was surprised to see a red mark there. She was speechless, her brows went up in disbelief. It must have been a coincidence. She touched it again, rubbed it softly. How would that have happened? She tried to remember last night unsuccessfully. She knew she had gotten very drunk, but nothing more came to mind. Everything else was such a blur, she couldn't remember not even how she had got to her room, but for some reason she remembered everything, every detail, every sensation (²), every word from that dream.

"Why?" without realizing she said out loud, and she had not seen Mai behind her or when she appeared in the bathroom door. She just realized that when she heard the woman's voice asking.

"Is something wrong?" asked Mai.

"I… don't remember how this happened" responded Shizuru still looking at the mark in the mirror.

"Shizuru, can I ask what you remember from last night?" she asked cautiously.

"Not much… Only that I drunk and nothing much after that. I just… remember… that I… dreamt about Natsuki.

"You dreamed about her? Really?" It was Mai's turn to raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"Yes, but I don't remember it very well either." She lied.

"I understand. It's just that I'm worried about you. You could have hurt yourself with all those shards!

"I'm sorry, Mai, to have worried you…"

"Don't apologize. I just want you to know you can talk to me or Reito if you ever need. You're not alone, Shizuru." The younger woman told the older one, sincerity and worry showing on her face.

"Thank you, Mai. Hm… Let's finish our meal, shall we?" Shizuru thanked and reminded Mai about their meal, not wanting to dwell in the current subject of the dream.

"Yes, you are right. Let's go back" and both of them went back to the dining room that was adjoined with the living room and finished their meals in silence.

That day Mai only went to her house much later, with the sky already darkening.

The woman sat on the couch of her living room feeling tired because of all the tension and sadness that Natsuki's death brought up. The biker didn't deserve that, but who could tell or know the time for a person to live or die? Now that it had happened there was nothing they could do about it. The only thing they could do was to go on living, but she was still very worried about Shizuru. She was unsure if the woman would be able to go on like that or if she would try to do something to herself.

She promised Natsuki before she died, but she was even more worried after last night. The door to her own apartment opened softly and Reito entered.

"Hey." He said sitting beside her.

"Hey. Good evening." She was kissed softly and briefly on the lips.

"How were things with Shizuru?" he asked holding Mai's hand. He was worried about his friend as much as Mai was, but unfortunately he couldn't spend some time with her because he was summoned to work on an emergency case at work.

"I'm still worried about Shizuru. She is going to need help, Reito. Not only from us. I think it's better to convince her to have professional help. Her situation is not to be ignored." She told him with obvious preoccupation in her voice.

"I see." Reito was considering the situation.

"She got drunk last night and broke a bottle of wine, I assume by throwing it in the wall. Her armchair was turned too…."

"Then it is better to observe how she will do in the next days."

"But it's not just that. She had a red mark on her neck too. I'm worried she might try something against her life. You knew her best back in high school. Do you think she would try something?" Asked Mai apprehensively.

Reito sighed worried. "For Natsuki… yes. She didn't let it show, but knowing her and knowing about the events of the HiME festival, I'm sure she would… She destroyed the First District alone because of Natsuki…" he looked at Mai's upset face and embraced her. "Sorry for bringing it up and remind you of that." He knew she didn't like to remember that horrid festival.

"Don't worry about that. I'm really worried about Shizuru." She tranquilized him. "She said she didn't remember what happened last night after she was drunk." Continued the woman.

"Yes, it really is to worry because she isn't fond of drinking." He reasoned.

"I know. I hope she won't make a habit out of that. She also mentioned she dreamed about Natsuki, but she said she didn't remember her dream." She hoped and informed Reito about the dream.

"She did too?" asked Reito surprised. "This morning you said you dreamed with her. It must be because of what happened recently." He was thinking it must have happened by chance.

Mai on the other hand was baffled because she didn't have a mere dream about the blue haired girl.

Mai was sitting on her living room. Everything was dark, not a single light on in her house. Just the light of the moon coming through the window. She was crying over her friend's death. Somehow she thought it was her fault Natsuki didn't make it. If she had been faster attending to Natsuki. If she had been more demanding about help. Maybe the girl would still be here. She still couldn't believe the girl died. She was so young. One minute she was exhaling healthy and the next she was taken away from them brutally, stupidly. She still couldn't contain herself.

She was hiding her face with both her hands when a blinding light shone making her realize it, even with eyes closed and both hands covering her orbs. Her house was completely lit, a light so blind she had trouble to see at first against the light until her eyes adjusted to it. She just perceived the frame of a person. Her eyes were getting accustomed slowly and when she could see perfectly again she almost didn't believe herself. Natsuki was standing there in front of her, smiling to the woman. She seemed to be shining.

"Mai!"

"Natsuki?" Was the only thing the astonished girl could say at the moment. She regained herself a little just to ask. "How?"

"Don't worry about that." She kept smiling to the woman. "Mai, you don't have to feel at fault. You did everything you could. You couldn't prevent what happened. So please, don't go thinking you are to blame."

"Natsuki…" Some tears leaked from her eyes.

"I want to ask something of you." For the first time Natsuki looked a little more serious since her appearance.

Mai tried to protest, but due to the constriction in her throat she just managed one word. "But…"

In addition to her temporary inability, Natsuki also interrupted her.

"Shhhh. There's no need for that. Please, hear me out."

Mai complied and nodded to indicate she was listening.

"Help Shizuru. She will need all the help you can offer her. She might try something she shouldn't, because she is very passionate. Please, take care of her. She is feeling very lost now that I'm no longer beside her and it makes me afraid for her. Afraid of what she might try to do. She needs to live and only with the help of her friends she will be able to go on."

"But how do you know that Natsuki?" Mai had calmed herself down a bit to ask.

"I know Shizuru very well. That's what she might try to do if she's not helped. Please, Mai. I'm asking specifically you because I have always considered you as my best friend. I could always count on you and I never was disappointed, not even once. Promise me, please."

Mai regarded Natsuki. Even though she sometimes had a cold exterior, she always knew Natsuki was a sweet and caring girl. She couldn't deny what her best friend wanted and principally not now.

"Yes, Natsuki. I promise, I'm going to do my best." Mai promised with a smile. She couldn't help it. Natsuki immediately smiled at Mai's response.

"Thank you, Mai." Natsuki embraced the woman. "Thank you very much."

Mai felt a warmth emanating from her friend and engulfing her. Something very comforting and healing. Then she felt a gentle breeze.

"Mai, I need to go. Take care, Mai. Thank you very much.

In the blink of an eye a very strong light engulfed them both and blinded her. When the light disappeared Natsuki was gone.

She was left in her living room blinking. She was trying to take in what happened and closed her eyes for a minute. Then she heard a voice calling her. She realized it was Reito's. When she opened her eyes, Reito's face was hovering over hers. She was in her room, laying on her bed with a cover draped over to her chest.

She sat up, saw the man beside her in his pajamas and passed her hand through her hair, realizing what has just happened.

"It was a dream." She said softly, but Reito heard her.

"What did you dream about?" asked the man curiously.

After that Mai briefly explained she dreamt about Natsuki, but didn't go into details.

Mai was deep in thought, but Reito caught her attention when he said.

"I think I'll call Haruka and ask for her help, since she and Shizuru are co-workers." He suggested, getting up.

"I think it's a good idea. I'll call Nao, Chie and the other to help too." She complimented Reito's idea.

As they decided what to do, they both proceeded to call their friends.

Another chapter done. So what do you think guys? How are you liking the story?

Please review and let me know.

And that's right. Mai is with Reito. At least I think it's a better choice than Tate. xD

A/N: ¹ - Respectively chadou, ikebana, shodou (Japanese calligraphy), naginatajutsu are very traditional practices of the Japanese Culture. Nowadays I believe most Japanese people like to distance themselves from tradition, so it's easy to assume that Shizuru comes from a very traditional family. I also mentioned Shizuru's Kyoto-ben because I read once in an article that this accent was considered very chic in the region of Kantou, where the city of Tokyo is located. It is thought to be very womanish too throughout Japan.

² - A included sensation because sometimes there are dreams which seem to make you feel afraid or happy among other feelings. For example, when I was younger I often had dreams in which I fell from a high cliff and it would give me the willies.