Author's Note: So, first fanfic... yay? To be completely honest, I've been wrestling with myself over whether I should post this or not. Not entirely happy with how it's written, and I personally feel it has much to be desired. I'm tired now and my judgement is horribly impaired, which might be why I decided to post something I feel is sub-par. Need some opinions on whether or not I should continue. If it seems like people don't think it's a complete waste of a read, I'll proof what I have so far and put it up. If not, sorry for the literature litter! Advanced warning: this is self-proofed, and not the most elaborate proof read at that. If you feel like you've seen something in this before, you probably have. I have so many story lines from other stories and such running through my head that sometimes I find it difficult to separate the original stuff from what's already been done. While we're on originality, I'll admit that the Immortal system is based heavily on the HiME system, with my own little twists. Anyway, on with what you're here for, and please, remember to give an opinion about if I should continue! Oh, and I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive my appalling grammar.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sunrise, Mai Hime/Otome, or any of the characters in this story.

Chapter 1

"Mai, up top!"

An orange-haired girl snapped her gaze upwards to see a shadow bearing down on her from above. She readied her ring-bearing arms for the incoming blow, but at the cost of losing her concentration on the ground. Another shadow, in the form of a grotesque panther, slunk towards her on silent paws. Mai and the falling shadow clashed violently in a flash of fire, leaving her distracted and open to the shadow behind her. The form bunched up for a spring, but was cut short when something slammed into its head. The force pushed through the shadow, and caused it to fall to the ground. As if it were mere water in the summer heat, the shadow evaporated.

Natsuki took her aim from the quickly-disappearing shadow and turned to look at the progression of her companions. Mai was just finishing off the shadow Mikoto had warned her of, while the silver-claymore-wielding girl was cutting another shadow in half, length wise. Satisfied her allies were in good shape, the raven-haired gunslinger spun on her heel to take in the situation behind her. She turned just in time to see another shadow, on all fours, mid-jump towards her. Not having time to bring her weapons to bear, the girl found herself on her back, with a great weight crushing the air from her lungs. The shadow let out a growl as it went to snap at her face with it's maw. Natsuki snapped her head to the side, away from the bite, and got away with nothing but a thin slice down her jaw from snagging a tooth. Ignoring the pain, the gunslinger brought her pistols to bear on the monster's chest and quickly fired a few rounds off before it could ready a second attack. The monster roared and slumped, adding further weight to what already crushed down on her. Natsuki gritted her teeth and waited for the weight to dissipate as the shadow slowly disappeared.

That was the state Mai found her in a moment later. What really irked the raven-haired girl was that Mai was giggling as she approached. "Are you okay?" The girl asked, concern and mirth somehow present at her voice at the same time.

Black specks floated into the air around Natsuki, distorting her view of Mai to her side. She felt the weight on her lessen enough to sit up, and she was soon standing. "Shouldn't you be doing something right now?" She asked, ignoring her orange-haired ally's question.

"Mikoto's finishing up the last of them," Mai supplied as she looked to her spiky-haired companion just as she killed off the last shadow.

Natsuki turned her gaze to the swordswoman in question, and saw that the situation was indeed under control. The gunslinger scanned the area quickly. Her eyes found no hostiles, but she did see a group of students, gawking from a safe distance. Natsuki groaned inwardly. "Then get rid of the fan club. They aren't even supposed to be here." She said as she willed away her black pistols, similar in form to two Beretta 92s.

"Why don't you?" Mai asked, pouting. She wasn't fond of crowd control.

"I won't be held responsible for any injuries that occur if I do."

Mai ignored the comment and smiled at the approaching form of Mikoto to the side. "Good job, Mikoto." She said, causing the smallest of the three to beam with pride as her claymore dissipated from her grip. "How bout I make you some ramen tonight for a job well done?" Mai offered.

"Yeah! I love Mai's ramen!" The young girl said happily as she latched herself to her friend's arm.

The orange-haired teenager smiled and turned to look at Natsuki, who had turned her gaze from the crowd and was again scanning the area around them. "We'll see you in class then, Natsuki?"

"Don't count on it," the gunslinger grumbled, not even turning to look at Mai as she did.

Mai just smiled and began pulling Mikoto away. "I can always make you some ramen too, remember that."

Mai didn't get a reply, though she wasn't expecting one anyway.

Natsuki continued to scan the area around her. She stood at the edge of the forest that surrounded Fuuka High School, staring into the line of trees intently. The trees were a great cover for more of those shadow creatures, and she didn't want to leave even a single one behind. She focused a few moments, trying to detect any anomaly in the seemingly peaceful forest that the monsters had come from. She knew something was off, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She glanced over her shoulder to see the Mai and Mikoto had made their way to the students and were sending them away.

'Thank the gods for small miracles,' she thought as she looked back to the forest. No matter how long she stared she couldn't get this strange sensation off her skin. Natsuki, never one to leave her curiosity unsatisfied, stole a final glance at the people behind her to make sure she wasn't being watched and snuck into the line of trees.

She made her way past trees, deeper into the forest, until she felt her skin prickle. There was definitely something in here. Did they miss a shadow or was there someone in here? 'Maybe I should head back and get some help,' she thought as she tried to detect what had pulled her into the forest. 'But… if something really is out here I can't run off like a wuss. Gotta clean up the mess.' With that she willed her guns into her hands and slowed her breathing to allow herself better concentration.

Many believed that a person holds a sixth sense: a sort of unexplainable knowledge of their surroundings. Natsuki knew better than to believe in some silly extra sense. She knew that this 'sixth sense' was truly a combination of her senses, sorted out by her basic survival instincts. She saw now that the bushes about her no longer shook and rustled slightly with the flight of smaller animals; she heard the perfect silence that accompanied a complete lack of life; she smelled the stale scent of the air; she tasted the blandness of the breeze; she felt the area about her completely stilled. A forest, usually filled with life, was never so still and lifeless. Something was here, and it had been here a long time.

She was more than expecting what happened next. A shadow, with arms, legs, and head like a monkey and a body and horns like a deer, jumped down from a nearby tree at her side, straight for her. A quick step backwards had the human-sized shadow flying past her. Her weapons were up and she fired off a few bullets along the path of the creature. Not a single one hit. The creature had hit the ground and leapt toward her faster than she thought possible, so fast it was a blur.

The gunslinger hadn't expected the kind of speed that she was suddenly faced with, and took a sharp hook of the antler into her left arm as she tried to dodge sideways. The cruel point tore into her arm and pulled out just as forcefully, causing her to let out a scream of surprise and pain. The force of the attack had her spinning around with the shadow, so she was facing it when it literally jumped onto the trunk of a tree and propelled itself back at the gunslinger with tremendous force. Natsuki saw those dangerous antlers leading the attack, and knew the choice was to kill it and take a hit to the gut or avoid getting disemboweled; she had to make it in less than a split second. She decided she liked having her intestines in her body.

Natsuki dove off to the side in a roll, and came back up shooting. Unfortunately, she had no real time to aim, for the monster was almost immediately upon her when she came back up, and the bullets missed completely. 'It's too fast to hit,' she thought furiously as she dove into a backwards roll. She didn't realize her tactical mistake until her back hit the trunk of a tree.

Unable to move back further, her gut wrenched. The shadow was already bearing down on her sitting form and she couldn't move away fast enough. Without thinking, the guns dropped from her grasp and with unnaturally sharp coordination she grabbed the antlers as they stabbed for her. The force from the attack was intense, but the gunslinger was strong, and it ended with Natsuki's back slamming into the tree trunk, her arms struggling to hold the killing weapons at bay, and the monster furiously trying to pry its horns from its enemy's grasp.

The two wrestled for many moments; Natsuki was quickly tiring, but the shadow was still going on strong. She noted her gun laying next to her in the grass, and a desperate plan formed in her head. Natsuki raised her right foot to hook into the tangle of thrashing antlers with great difficulty, but after a short struggle she was successful. She dropped her right hand from it's defensive position, allowing the leg to take on its burden, and grabbed her gun. It was in her grasp in a second, but in that time the monster had used her unbalanced pose to throw her back off the tree, and she was now on the ground, her foot still hooked into the mass of antlers while her body was shaken about without her consent.

Her head was thrown hard into the side of the tree as she was thrown from side to side, causing her hand's hold to falter for a moment. It was a moment too long, for the antler was ripped from her hand's grasp. Suddenly, the sharp horns were throwing her trapped leg about painfully, and Natsuki felt like it was about to be torn apart. She steeled herself, and began firing her gun at the thrashing but otherwise immobile shadow. One of the rounds finally hit the monster, for it lurched a moment. Taking this opportunity, the gunslinger situated herself to better shoot, and fired round after round into the shadow's head. Her firing continued long after the shadow had begun to disappear, until it was at last gone.

Her formerly trapped leg came free with the monster's disintegration, so she slowly sat up and leaned her back against the tree that her head had bashed into. She accessed the damage and tried hard to suppress a wince. The arm that had been hit was deeply torn down the bicep, the foot and leg that had been holding the antlers at bay were battered and cut from many snags from the tips of the horns, and her head throbbed painfully. She reached a hand to the side of her face where she'd struck the tree and it came back wet, sticky, and stained.

'Damn it,' the gunslinger thought bitterly. 'I do not need this. Who knows if there's more of these crazy things in here.' She tried to sense anymore threats, but the pain was too prevalent for her to concentrate properly. Slowly, tenderly, she stood up, nursing her wounded leg. The injured limb supported her weight, but it was a painful feat, and blood flowed more freely from her wounds. It was going to be a long trip back.

"Natsuki!" A soft voice tore through the trees.

The call had Natsuki frozen on the spot. 'Was that Mai?'

"Natsuki!" Came the call again, a bit louder this time. She must've been getting closer. "Natsuki where are you?" It was definitely Mai.

"Mai!" Natsuki's hoarse voice called back. She coughed at the sudden irritation. 'When'd my throat get so dry?'

"Natsuki!" Mai sounded relieved, and Natsuki could now hear her running through the forest.

To the gunslinger's surprise, the first person she saw wasn't actually Mai, it was Mikoto. The cat-like girl made a beeline for her and was soon standing before her, accessing her wounded ally. Mai was in sight in a minute.

"Natsuki got hit," Mikoto observed vaguely.

"Thanks for the update Captain Obvious," Natsuki growled.

"What are you doing on your feet!" Mai yelped as she moved to her companion's side.

"I was walking," was Natsuki's sarcastic reply.

Mai immediately moved to the gunslinger's side and helped her stand, throwing an arm around her. "Now's not the time to be an ass, Natsuki. We need to get you back to school."

"Get off me," the gunslinger demanded.

"I can have Mikoto knock you out instead," Mai threatened.

Needless to say, Natsuki gave up then without further complaint.

"I know they can get a little…" a long pause.

"Overzealous?"

"Yes, thanks. But really, Ms. President, they don't mean to." A redheaded woman said as she walked alongside a straight-backed brunette.

"I know, and I agree. That's why I'm here. I find it in everyone's best interests to reach a agreement that is in favor of yourself and your team. I don't believe in punishing those that put their lives on the line for the destruction of a few meager buildings." The chestnut-haired Student Council President explained.

Midori, the redhead, breathed a sigh of relief. "At least we have one ally in the Student Council. I really appreciate your understanding in this situation."

"Of course, Ms. Sugiura." The pair rounded a corner and continued walking through the school hallways. "Was there anything else you wished to discuss?"

"Nope, that'll be it," Midori stopped in front of a door and opened it a bit. "Thanks, Ms. Fujino."

Before Shizuru could reply in kind, The voice of Youko rang out from inside the room Midori stopped in front of. "Midori? Get in here!"

Midori took her gaze from the light brunette and turned them to the dark brunette at the excited and slightly agitated tone she'd adopted. "What's wrong, Youko?" Midori asked, moving into the room without waiting for Shizuru to say anything.

Shizuru stood by the doorway, not quite looking in, not sure what she should do. Perhaps she should go and leave the two to their business.

"Your kid bit off more then she could chew," Youko's voice sounded from inside the nurse's office.

"Natsuki…" Midori said slowly, surprise absent from her tone.

Shizuru's heart skipped a beat. 'Natsuki? Is she okay?' Before she could stop herself, Shizuru was in the doorway and peering into the room.

"Don't sound so concerned," Natsuki growled from a prone position on a cot as Youko worked to patch her up. Shizuru had to stop herself from flinching at a particularly nasty gash on the girl's arm.

"What did you do?" Midori questioned as she came alongside the raven-haired girl and looked down at her like a parent would at a mischievous child.

"I didn't do anything wrong!" The gunslinger protested angrily. "I was just making sure the area was clear after an attack over by the forest."

"Without telling Mai or Mikoto," Youko supplied. The glare that Natsuki shot the doctor didn't look appreciative.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to run off on your own?" Midori asked. She shook her head at her subordinate.

"I had no idea that I was walking into a fight." Lie.

Midori, of course, wasn't aware it was a lie. "You're going to drive me to an early grave, Nat…" the redhead paused and slowly raised her head. Natsuki noted that her leader had a strange look on her face and watched as the teacher ever so slowly looked over her shoulder. Midori's light-green, panicked eyes locked with Shizuru's dark-red ones. "I'm so sorry, Ms. Fujino. I didn't… umm…"

Shizuru flashed the teacher a serene smile to put her at ease. "It's not a problem at all. Your team's health is of great importance after all." The Student Council President's eyes turned and locked with dark-green orbs of a certain gunslinger that was gazing at her intently. The conflicted looked on Natsuki's face was utterly adorable in the brunette's opinion.

'Shizuru! How long has she been standing there? Crap, she knows I screwed up!' Natsuki wanted to groan, but she suppressed the urge. She really didn't want Shizuru to see her like this, beaten up with her tail between her legs.

"Ah, yes… don't worry, this won't happen again. Right, Nat?" Midori elbowed her injured student lightly.

"I wasn't my fault," the girl stubbornly insisted. She hissed in pain when a sudden sting went up her leg. She looked down to see Youko applying rubbing alcohol into a wound. The doctor shot the dark-haired girl a look that spoke volumes. Youko had, after all, finished cleaning her cuts long ago.

Midori let out an exasperated sigh and made to speak, but a melodious Kyoto-ben beat her to it. "I should leave you to your conversation, I suppose," the brunette said. She took a step back to leave the room, but stopped and looked Natsuki dead in the eyes. "And thank you for your efforts today, Ms. Kuga."

"Ah… yeah. No problem…" Natsuki said slowly, blinking at the girl as she retreated from the room.

Midori and Youko called goodbyes to Shizuru, which she returned. The redhead moved to close the door to the office when she was sure the President was gone. No sooner was the portal closed then Midori turned on her heel and screamed at Natsuki.

"Could you pick a much worse day to be a big shot?"

"I was under the impression today was as good as any other day to get impaled," the student growled back. "Ow!" A glare went to Youko, who only smirked back.

"Ugh… you don't understand, Nat. Just try to be good for awhile, okay?" Midori was practically pleading.

"What's so special about today?" The teenager questioned, making no promises.

"The Student Council is having a field day with some recent… damages we've been causing. That's why I came in with Fujino."

"If you want good behavior from me I need something better then that," Natsuki pushed.

"I don't understand what I see in you!" Midori cried out. "Fine! Remember that big fight last week where Akane found her Mortal?"

'Thank the gods she did,' Natsuki thought as she nodded.

"Well the building you guys practically leveled isn't helping my political position in the Academy, to be frank," the redhead explained. "Ever since then Suzushiro's been regulating us like no other. She's been at odds with most of our girls lately. As unreligious as she seems, she's probably praying for something to tag on us as we speak. I just don't need you to give her a reason to throw us out or anything."

Natsuki's stomach twisted uncomfortably. 'So was Shizuru after some dirt? Crap, my injuries don't look very good on us, huh?' Natsuki shifted uncomfortably, but stayed laying on the cot. "What does Shizuru have to do with this?"

"She's the only thing stopping Suzushiro from marching down here and drop-kicking our collective asses into next week," Midori explained.

Natsuki smiled and sighed. 'Of course she'd be helping us out. What was I thinking? She'd never turn on me.' Guilt took over the gunslinger, but it was forgotten as Youko moved to clean the gash on her arm that was already on the mend. "Shit that stings!"