Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing this story. I wrote this almost two months ago but I had some things happen in my personal life as well as professional that required me to be away for a while. Nothing major but I needed some time to deal with them and put focus on the situations.

Anyways, I have found Shizuru difficult to channel but for some reason it sort of hit me to try and I began to read the unpublished chapter I wrote and I guess I'm ready to put it out there.

I'd like to thank Stumpy Mike for reviewing and the great conversations throughout the process.

I do not own or license Mai HiME or Mai Otome- All rights belong to Sunrise.

Crimson eyes stared at the ceiling preparing herself for the day. She didn't need to look at the clock on her nightstand next to her large platform bed in her bedroom. She was naturally an early riser and during the weekdays she woke up minutes before 4:30 am which she inherited from her mother who also was what the West likes to term "morning person." When she stayed with her parents in Kyoto she could walk the gardens and watch the sunrise from her family's temple, appreciating the serenity of silence. During her troubling pregnancy the foreboding silence was a discomfort- a premonition that became reality and the eternal guilt all these many years weighed on Shizuru.

Shizuru learned at an early age that the Fujino name meant something to the upper establishments in her country. Their family had power for six generations and a deep history filled with turmoil, shrewdness and greed in multiple forms. Her father and her grandfather before him were different and strived exhaustedly at times to overcome and learn from the past. It wasn't important to them how higher society regarded their family, it was important to that they made a positive mark on the world and for the many that worked for them.

There are layers of guilt that she carried were slightly lifted during her day with Natsuki. Some of her realization was the selfishness of her struggles compared to the beautiful bikers. Shizuru couldn't deny that the intensity of their cliff-side conversation and their kiss that proceeded it, rocked her to the inner core. Shock. Warmth. Vulnerable. Seductive. Hope. The emotions and trust each of them revealed was the one of the most eye-wakening experiences since the conversation with Reito after the birth of Kouta. While they haven't spoken of it since that day she bemused it remained with Natsuki just as equally and more conversations would continue in the future.

Future. Hope. Could she really believe in it? She saw similar reactions cascading in Natsuki's emerald eyes and they progressed to a deep forest green when they pulled themselves away. One thing she was willing to admit was she wanted to be closer to her and felt that Natsuki wanted the same but she struggled with understanding her feelings. Truth be told, she also had similar resistances however Natsuki had methods of breaking down her mask unintentionally.

Patience.

Shizuru adjusted her thoughts and removed the duvet and decided it was time to greet the day. She swung her legs gracefully to meet the carpet that laid beneath her bed. She grabbed her cell phone that was on the night stand and punched in the security code. The first notification she reviewed was a missed text message.

She reviewed it and smiled when she noticed the sender. She opened the message and read it: Sweet dreams Shizuru. She was sorry she missed it since her phone was set to Sleep Mode around nine o'clocko' clock that evening.

They were not as sweet as I would like but my dark dreams are beginning to see light. She wouldn't impose all of her worries on Natsuki however, the other woman has the natural ability to get her to open up.

Good morning Natsuki. I hope you slept well and have a good morning. Shizuru didn't include her curiosity inquiring what the woman on the other end wore when she slept. Oh the blush that would ensue after it and it would only provoke her desire to continue the teasing of the beautiful woman. She grinned mischievously while hitting the send indicator. She closed out the application and went to her work email. Her thumb scrolled quickly through the multitude of emails she received while she was sleeping and made mental notes of which ones to respond to when she settled in her office that morning. Since the company was global, emails were a constant and she had to make sure she was able to separate her work life and personal life. She already put in an average of 12 hours a day but it was expected since she would be the next CEO of the Fujino Private Corporation when her father retired in five years.

Shizuru pushed herself out of bed and walked out of her bedroom in the direction of the kitchen and stood in front of a small espresso machine she had custom made and imported from Italy that was in a cabinet close to the counter. She wanted something small like a one cup coffee maker but the quality of a state art espresso maker in a café'. Impressions from others was she was strictly a tea drinker but it was just another aspect of her calculated image she portrayed. Like celebrities, outsiders liked to fit Shizuru into a simple box and assume that even the small things do not add up to complex and sometimes complicated person.

In-fact, Shizuru did enjoy her teas but she started every single morning with a shot of first class espresso. If she had any grogginess from the night's sleep the strong substance would force it off to the side. One of the benefits to the small machine is that it is quiet so it does not disturb anyone that is sleeping at 4:30 in the morning. Not that Arika would wake up from the East side of the apartment, she had slept through a few earthquakes earth quakes and air alarms. Kouta wasn't as deep of a sleeper but the machine didn't wake him from his sound slumbers.

Shizuru clutched the clear glass cup and breathed in the scent of the dark drink, the ritual blew away the morning weariness and she sipped the shot. Similar to every morning, she walked to the east side of the living space. She opened the door that lead to a stairway to the roof of the apartment complex. Her family owned the building and afforded them to have a private rooftop which Shizuru transformed as her personal solitude. No one unless given permission, including Kouta, was allowed in the space. Shizuru firmly believed and passed on the belief to her son that everyone was allowed to have a space that is theirs from the world outside. Her son, while still very young, had his own and the same access was granted when permitted.

She opened the door and the crisp dewy air struck her body and gave her goosebumps while she walked to the glass boxed room on the roof. Shizuru could see the shadows brought by the morning moon light and the sun's rays peeking through the Eastern morning clouds. Even with the miles of lights in the city, she could still see the light emanating from the moon. The city never rested but she could hear the early signs of life and traffic on top of the multistoried building.

Shizuru stood drinking the last sip while taking in the sight until the cold concrete beneath her bare feet became a little unbearable. She walked the few meters to the destination of the glass room that over a quarter of the building. The room was a 25th birthday gift from her mother and father and she cherished their thoughtfulness and understanding of what many pieces that kept Shizuru together. The room was temperature controlled and the direction the sun rose there was a small table that held a few candles and an antique incenseincent holder. It was given to her by her grandfather when she was a young child.

Her collection of naginata's were perfectly upright against the glass and appeared to suspend in midair because the materials for the holder were as clear as the glass it was floating on. Next to her naginatanaginata's was a flawlessly pressed black and white hakama and kendogi sprawled on the takami that laid wall to wall. Ritualistically, she placed her empty cup down on the floor by the entrance and put on the garb beginning with her right foot into the hakama covering the athletic undergarments she was wearing.

Once clothed, Shizuru bowed down on a mat that laid towards the rising sun as a sign of respect to the Goddess in the skies. She didn't follow a particular religion, she had developed her own sense of the world and spirituality throughout her life. She was well read on the various religions around the world. Similar to the ancestors, she formed her values and treasured the Earth they were born into and believed there was merit to the years upon years of stories and beliefs. Were they ruled by convictions or a higher power playing puppet master throughout humanity? She wasn't sure. She believed in balance of life and to honor those that came before her so she did her best to honor the past.

Shizuru had her eyes closed in solitude and sensed the sun rise above the city skyline. She opened her eyes, stood up on her feet and stretched her back and muscles. Strolling towards her naginatanaginata's she picked up the lightest of her collection. She had practiced the art since she was a child and her mother was her first instructor. It was one of her fondest memories with her mother, every morning she taught her everything she knew and when the time came that she surpassed her mother's skillset, her parents paid for a private instructor. When Shizuru left Kyoto for university and on her own in Tokyo she developed her own routine that integrated modern exercise techniques with the old fashioned fighting art form. She began every morning practice with a stretching routine with the lightest of her naginatanaginata's and increased the weight every ten minutes.

With her first strike to her left, perfect form and her legs bent in a perfect 90 degree angle, her focus was officially on her physical routine. Her mind cleared of the outside noises and in tune with her body's need to begin the day…

The perspired Shizuru wiped off the beads of sweat after she put down her heaviest and final naginata. She grasped the bottle of water she had placed next to her empty espresso cup and took several large gulps to rehydrate her body. The extra hard workout had created condensation around the windows and prevented her from seeing the sun's rise above the clear sky. She walked out and closed the door and took sight of the well-lit city, it didn't go unnoticed her array of flowers and plants along the edges of the rooftop. The urban garden served two purposes- privacy as well as her other love of gardening. She did notice that she had some tending to do, her schedule had not permitted time for her to weed and prune the various potted trees. She would rectify the predicament soon.

Shizuru made her way back down to the apartment and while she didn't need to look at the clock, it was getting closer to the time that she had to wake up the children. She always let Arika sleep in during the mornings since the student was usually up in her room late most evenings studying and doing homework. Shizuru also utilized the time to spend with Kouta since her work schedule usually prevented her from having a lot of quality time with him during the afternoons and evenings.

She walked into her master bathroom and turned on the shower, testing the water to feel the temperature through her fingers. She disrobed and glanced in the mirror and saw she had a bruise forming on her left arm from a misplaced strike of her final naginata. She had stuck too forcefully and the physics of the movement caused the weapon to circle around and strike her arm. It was one of many injuries she had accumulated throughout her life while mastering the art as well as incorporating her fitness routines. Although this particular workout was even more intense than usual, she couldn't get as grounded as she usually did.

She stepped into the shower and let the multiple shower heads spray across her body, she closed her eyes and let the main head's sprays clean off the sweat off the sweat off her face. She could taste the saltiness when she licked her upper lip. She turned around so her back and allowed her hair to be soaked. Well-manicured fingers brushed her abdomen and she could feel her muscles ripple down to her torso. It happened frequently when she had an intense workout, she wasn't too surprised to feel it this time around.

Her focus shifted in and out of her routine and a certain blue-haired woman entered her mind and it wasn't unwelcomed.

Desire. Shizuru finally put a word to the feelings and that wasn't as welcoming.

Desire to kiss her again. The woman moved her fingers to her lips and felt the tingles of their experiences.

To hug her. She crossed her arms around her body, behind held up by her memory of their most recent act.

To know her.

To be there for her.

To trust her, for her to trust me.

The thoughts almost caused her to collapse on the shower floor. She braced herself on the tiled wall to prevent her legs from giving out on her. Shizuru wasn't immune to ignoring her desires in the past, but they were mostly physical and detached. She had acted on her needs and while there weren't many, she didn't live in denial of her experiences with other woman and her lone experience which created Kouta. There was always something missing and she wasn't naïve to what it was either because it was her choice.

Realizations continued to pound her emotional barrier. Since she met Natsuki she knew she was different and the more she got to know her the more she wanted to know her. Perhaps she held her breath for too long, preventing her from fully actualizing the impacts the other person had on her in such a short time. The layers of desire only grew deeper with every consciousness. She was scaring herself and maybe that's why she kept it in as much as she could. The cliff-side conversation was an important step for each of them and Shizuru respected Natsuki's past. But it caused a crack in her own controlled psyche- she did something she almost never has done in front of anyone. She told a story and one that was a deep piece of the puzzle that formed Shizuru's existence thus far. She also did it willingly.

I wanted to be seen.

I wanted to help her. A new and genuine feeling that formed instantly the day they met.

Instead, she helped me. Something also new that she was able to acknowledge but kept the feelings away as much as she could. Vulnerability wasn't in her make-up…until Natsuki.

I miss her when she's not around.

That's what culminated all of the feelings that cascaded through her. Shizuru liked who she was around Natsuki and was fearful at the same time. Natsuki exposed her façade from the moment they met. She was fairly certain Natsuki hasn't realized this yet but it wouldn't take long for the biker to see it, she was more intuitive than she gave herself credit for.

Hope.

Shizuru collected her emotions and tried her best to wash them off. She realized she had to speed things up given the amount of time her thoughts distracted her from her usual mornings. She shampooed her hair with a lavender scented shampoo and rinsed it off quickly. She conditioned her hair and while it set she squeezed the body wash onto a luffa making sure to scrub the sweat off her body. After simultaneously rising the conditioner and soap from her body she turned off the shower and toweled off the drips of water.

She walked to the sink and cleaned the mirror off with her towel before putting on her robe and brushed her teeth. She glanced at the mirror once more and she decided to at least remedy something that she thought about during her shower.

Shizuru walked to her nightstand, grabbed her cellphone and pushed the video function under Natsuki's contact information. She looked at the time and it read 5:55 am, she hoped Natsuki would already be awake.

After a few rings the screen transitioned from black to a white ceiling and she heard Natsuki grumble "stupid phone," which amused Shizuru. Natsuki didn't seem as up to date with the communication technologies as she was. Natsuki's face came into view of the camera awkwardly. "Oi! Don't you dare say anything," Natsuki glared at Shizuru.

"Ano?" Shizuru feigned her cluelessness. She's going to make this too easy for me.

"You know damn well, I see the amusement in your eyes," Natsuki exasperated already by the teasing and trying to contain a blush. "Is everything okay with Aya?" Natsuki asked clearly deterring the conversation away from further teasing.

Shizuru contained her enjoyment slightly but made sure she still revealed some of it. She did however have to mask her desires to take hold of Natsuki through the phone, she could see the beads of sweat and her strands of hair that escaped her ponytail. She was alluring to say the very least. "Yes, of course. I just got out of the shower and wanted to say good morning in person." Shizuru intentionally dropping the shower part in order to illicit a response and it didn't fail, Natsuki turned bright red. Natsuki is beautiful when she blushes.

"Umm…Shi…never mind. It's too early for me to control your teases and so I'll wave the white flag for now."

Deciding to spare the biker from further embarrassment, Shizuru moved the conversation forward so that she didn't slip further in her newly appreciated sweating Natsuki. "You gave up too easily Natsuki," she smiled.

"You had an unfair advantage, I just finished my run but haven't had my first cup of coffee yet. For such an impressive hotel they really have some horrible tasting brew. I didn't bring any money on my run so I have to wait until I get to the office," Natsuki was wiping off the sweat from her face.

Shizuru added to her internal list of observations and information about Natsuki, she was a runner and coffee helps with the morning grumpiness. Cute and sexy nonetheless. She of course didn't say that out loud. "Well I will leave you to getting ready, I…" She wasn't sure how to finish the statement without exposing the real reason.

"I wanted to see you too Shizuru."

Shizuru was physically taken aback by the honesty and she struggled to hide it and place her mask back on. Natsuki was understanding her but her natural need to preserve herself was trying to win. "I did," Shizuru couldn't contain her own blush as it happened more times around Natsuki than anyone else that she had encountered.

"Shizuru."

Shizuru looked back at Natsuki and could see her emerald orbs soften and it caused a skipped beat of her heart. "Yes?"

"I'll see you soon. Have a good day today and please tell Aya and Kouta the same. We'll make sure we talk later."

The way Natsuki said they would talk later wasn't lost on Shizuru, there was more meaning behind it. Natsuki saved her from admitting more and there was a time for them to talk about them further, now wasn't it and she was grateful for Natsuki's abilities to read in between the lines even when there were times she didn't mean too.

"Have a good day too Natsuki. And yes…we will." Shizuru saw Natsuki wave slowly taking her que to end the video feed.

Shizuru felt better than she had all morning and it was because of Natsuki. Of course she would prefer seeing her in person but the short conversation was meaningful and helpful. Her new mission was getting dressed since it was almost time for Kouta to wake up. She walked to her closet and pulled out pieces that would she would wear that day. Her style was more influenced by Western Europe than the States. Her visits to England to see her Aunt throughout her life played a big reason and she missed her. She and her aunt had visited some of the best boutiques the country had to offer and during her travels and observing various cultures she created her wardrobe based on those influences as well as her Japanese heritage.

She took off her robe and quickly covered her naked body with a matching emerald bra and underwear set. Shizuru removed the dress from the protective covering and stepped into the navy blue dress, pulled it up and zipped the side zipper. The dress tapered slightly at the knees and she added a printed scarf and pearl earrings to accessorize her outfit. Her bare arms were exposed showing off her understated muscles but she made sure to grasp the matching jacket that went with the spring styled outfit. She secretly loved shoes and had a massive collection of everything from heels to boots. Today, Shizuru chose a pair of emerald heelsheals off the wall covered shelves and had held them with her two fingers as she strolled to her dresser to place a wide jade bracelet on her left wrist. Afterwards she walked into the bathroom and placed her shoes on the counter as she looked once again at the mirror placing the final touches of natural gloss over her lips. Her hair dried naturally and she brushed the waves which straightened them out a little and brushed her bangs down to their usual placement.

Effortlessly she transformed into Fujino Shizuru, heir to the Fujino Empire and it was time to get going. This was where she was confident and she was ready to take on the world and a meeting she had been anticipating for weeks. But first she had to get two little creatures ready for their day.

Shizuru walked in her house slippers with her heels and jacket in hand and placed them on the chair near the entryway that lead to the exit door. She walked to Kouta's door that was opened a crack to let in some light. Since Aya wasn't familiar with their home, she put night lights in the hallway outlets just in case she woke up to use the restroom or as she suspected into Kouta's room.

As the light from the hallway shined through while she opened the door, her suspicions were confirmed when she saw the young Kuga in Kouta's bed. She was curled up next to him holding onto a stuffed wolf she brought from home. Poor Kouta once again had lost most his bed and covers to the girl but when he looked at his mother when he noticed her at the door, didn't indicate he minded. Shizuru was lost in the sweetness of the two of them for a moment, taking a mental picture of it.

She tread into the bedroom and opened the blinds shining the morning light into the bedroom. She saw Aya put the pillow over her head in disagreement with the actions. Shizuru giggled at her this since she was warned by Natsuki that Aya was not a morning person. Kouta was like her and woke up early almost every day unless he wasn't feeling well. She turned around and nodded to her son and he nodded back and got out of bed and out of the bedroom to the restroom to freshen up.

Shizuru bent over and started rubbing Aya's back with a little shake to get the little Kuga's to uncover her face from the pillow. "Aya, it's time to wake up," she said quietly.

"Shi…" Aya took a moment to yawn, "Shi-chan…a little longer," she continued sleepily.

"I wish you could but you have to go to school today."

"Aww…but I'm tired Shi-chan," Aya did something unexpected and moved closer to Shizuru and laid her head on her lap.

Shizuru's heart warmed considerably at the gesture and she rubbed her head gently, "Aya, why don't we get up and I'll make breakfast." Just like Natsuki, Aya had quickly managed to borrow into her heart. She was bright, adorable and she observed the brother-sister relationship developing with Kouta.

Aya's emerald eyes that reminded so much of Natsuki's looked at Shizuru's while she rubbed the sleep away, "Okay."

Shizuru saw Kouta in his pajamas standing in the doorway with a toothbrush in the corner of his mouth. His honey-colored hair was sticking up in various directions, "Aya when we get home we can feed Kiyohime."

That got Aya's attention and she quickly moved off of Shizuru's lap, her hair also in serious need of brushing. "What does he eat?"

"A mouse."

"Cool!" Aya responded excitedly and jumped out of bed.

Shizuru winked at Kouta and he smiled thoughtfully at his mother and followed Aya to the bathroom. With Kouta's asthma it wasn't ideal to have a furry pet due to dander and saliva which could trigger attacks. Her son desperately wanted a pet and being the traditional boy he liked reptiles and amphibians therefore she got him Kiyohime as a gift. A large heated terrarium was stationed lengthwise in his bedroom. Shizuru was oddly fond of the snake and it didn't bother or make her squirm like she imagined most mothers would react.

Similar to most children, they have short term interests and ask for everything involving it. Shizuru didn't mind since Kouta mostly requested books so he could learn as much about amphibians, reptiles and has added marine life thanks to the visit to the aquarium. Adjacent to the terrarium was an expansive bookshelf, and had every book the young boy received in his lifetime. Shizuru probably spoiled him a bit but she said denied one request to have a game system and television in his room. She didn't care if all of his peers had them, she really didn't like television or video games but she gave in but the deal was to have both in the shared living space.

When she could hear the water running from the faucet in the bathroom which was next to her son's bedroom and heard them talking over the drizzle of water. Shizuru straightened out her skirt and exited the bedroom and to the bathroom where she could hear more talking than getting prepared for the day. She smiled once again when she saw Aya was wearing more toothpaste around her little lips than was probably in her mouth. It was another thing she noticed about herself…she was felt lighter with Aya's presence. She had to stifle the smile in order for her to get them going, "Aya. Kouta. Please get dressed when you're finished."

"Okay Shi-chan!" Aya wiped her mouth with a towel.

"I'm almost done, I'll get dressed next," Kouta said after rinsing his mouth out with water.

"Thank you both. Aya your uniform is in the other room and we have to brush your hair after you get dressed." Shizuru looked at Aya's messy bed head and her saw her green orbs go dark with apprehension.

"Aww, do I have too? Can I wear a hat? Pleaasseee Shi-chan," Aya begged adorably.

Shizuru expected this reaction from Aya but was prepared, "I have some magic spray."

"You do?"

"Yes and I'll do my best so it won't hurt," Shizuru smiled trying to reassure the young Kuga.

"Promise?" Aya asked quirking her eyebrow.

Shizuru did her best not to laugh out loud at Aya, she definitely mimicked Natsuki's mannerisms to the best of her abilities. Too adorable for words. "I promise," Shizuru held out her pinky which was something she and Kouta did to solidify it their assurances. Aya pulled out her little pinky and latched onto Shizuru's and gave a toothy grin shaking eagerly.

Shortly after their promise Aya skipped out of the bathroom and Shizuru walked over to Kouta and kissed him on his head and one arm hugged him. "You're a good son you know that?" She made sure to look directly at him feeling the need to voice it to him since some of his usual attention was given to their guest.

"Thanks Mom," understanding Shizuru's reasons and he hugged her back. "Aya is a lot of fun…even if she takes up my whole bed!"

"I'll make it up to you," she smirked but didn't break the contact.

"Can I have a TV in my room?" He looked up at his mom.

"Not a chance," she squeezed one last time and walked out the bathroom.

"Darn it."

A few minutes later the kids were dressed in their school uniforms and had their backpacks next to the stools they were sitting on waiting for Shizuru to serve their breakfast at the large island in the middle of the kitchen. Shizuru could see Kouta's white short sleeved button down with a red and white tie and assumed like every morning he neglected to tuck it in until he was ready to put on the black emblem crested blazer.

Arika typically prepared his lunch the night before and she grabbed both children's lunches from the refrigerator as well as the soy milk and fruit bowl. She poured a glass for each of them and put the fruit between them before making the tamagoyaki. Shizuru enjoyed cooking their eggs while the three of them were engrossed in animated conversation about their trip a couple days ago to the aquarium. She stifled a laugh when she got a good look at Aya and Kouta arguing over the first piece of toast, it was hard to take them seriously when their hair still wasn't brushed.

She settled the mini argument between the two of them and while they ate their toast she blended her vegetable, fruit and protein smoothie. Shizuru laughed out loud at Aya's look of utter disgust at her drinking the "green booger juice." Which she emphasized with a number of gagging sounds which encouraged Kouta to follow along with the antics despite him seeing his mother drink the smoothie for years. Sometimes she would even make him one at his request. The things kids say.

After finishing their breakfast, Shizuru sat Aya down so she could brush her hair which Aya was still hoping she could wear a hat instead. She sprayed the "magic spray" in her hair which was just a children's formulated detangle spray. It was magic to Aya since it didn't hurt her when Shizuru brushed out the rat's nest resulting from her tossing and turning while she slept. Shizuru's mother used a similar product when she was a child and would make sure she put the spray in Aya's bag when Natsuki came home.

"All done Aya," she said handing the brush to Kouta so he could brush down his own wild strainsstrands.

"Wow that didn't hurt. Thanks Shi-chan!" Aya turned around and hugged Shizuru happily and ran off to get her backpack.

"You're welcome. It was a pinky promise after all," Shizuru grinned at Aya while she grabbed her jacket and shoes off of the chair she placed them on earlier that morning. "Kouta please let Jack know we'll be ready in a few minutes."

"You're not driving us?" He asked.

"Not today, I will be going with you to get dropped off at school. I have a meeting first thing in the morning with Reito."

"You're not going to the office?" Kouta asked tucking in his shirt recognizing his mother was breaking her usual routine.

"Not until later, I have to meet some people outside of the office with Reito before I go in," Shizuru responded putting on her matching jacket next she gripped her leather Prada briefcase from a hall closet. "I probably won't be home until after dinner," she made sure she glanced at Aya so she could include her in the plans.

"Okay. Can you tell Reito I say hi?" Kouta asked.

"You know I will," Shizuru responded. "Aya, Arika will pick you up with Jack and then they'll take you to pick up Kouta at his school. Is that okay?"

"Yup! Umm…Shi-chan?" Aya glanced up questioningly at Shizuru.

"Yes?" Shizuru had a feeling she knew what the little one's question was going to be.

"Can I talk to Momma tonight?" Aya asked visibly missing her mother.

"Yes of course. We'll talk to her when I get home," Shizuru replied comfortingly.

"Yay! And…"

Shizuru knew the second question that would follow, "Kouta and you can go swimming after dinner."

"Yessss! Thanks Shi-chan!" Aya's emotions flipped in seconds and she ran to the door and caused Shizuru to yet again chuckle.

Aya exited the car and waved goodbye to Shizuru before she joined her group of friends at the front entrance of her school. They dropped Kouta off first since his academy was closer to the office and it started a little earlier than Aya's school. Shizuru smiled genuinely and responded by waving back and waited to see her enter the school building before giving attention to her phone, "We can leave Jack. Please drive to Reito's apartment," she politely advised her driver while sending a text.

The drive to her friend and colleague's apartment took about twenty minutes given the heavy traffic due to the morning commuters. With her nose still in her phone responding to emails she heard the opening of the car door and felt the weight of a passenger sit down next to her, "Good morning," she acknowledged when she felt the car start moving.

"Good morning. It's a beautiful day," her travel partner replied.

"Mmm…it is," Shizuru responded once more distractedly replying to the last email from Haruka. She put her phone down to adjust her attention to her companion. "I replied to Haruka's email regarding the research into the startup company merger in California. She must not be enjoying the delicate cuisine of North America since she made mention of terrible cow between a bunion."

Reito smirked at Haruka's choice of words, "It doesn't sound tempting," he smirked.

Shizuru's mind drifted for a moment thinking about how Natsuki would probably enjoy the hamburger and she smiled faintly which she doubted would go unnoticed by her lifelong friend. "Indeed. Before I neglect to ask, how is your lovely wife?"

Reito recognized the swift change in subject as he was used to this with Shizuru's ability to deflect anything personal even with him. Her question unlike the past was out of genuine curiosity, "She is doing well and working long hours of course. She is very much looking forward to Saturday and meeting Kuga-san. How is Aya-chan?"

She glared at Reito and his self-satisfaction was evident in her reaction. It went well with his perfectly knotted orange patterned tie, black suit and designer overcoat. "Aya-chan is having fun, she is energetic and misses her mother but her and Kouta are getting along. And what has my dear friend said of this Kuga-san?"

"She's different," Reito's tone softened as he gazed to his left but not shifting his body's position.

A series of the morning's emotions and thoughtsthought's flowed through Shizuru rapidly at Reito's declaration. His perception on target and not entirely surprising to Shizuru however it was uncomfortable that he was able to see this before she could fully comprehend it herself. "She is," she whispered but wouldn't make direct eye contact because she wasn't ready to have this conversation with him.

Seemingly satisfied with Shizuru's confession, "I believe Kikukawa-san is suspicious of the assignment given since we could have had someone in the US provide the research and attend the deal. It's not a very large merger," not subtlety redirecting the conversation.

Shizuru smirked, "Kikukawa-san isn't the only one that is perceptive." She looked at Reito and he had a similar smile on his face. It always annoyed Haruka since she constantly thought they had a secret language.

"Where are we meeting Harada-san and Senoh-san?"

"M & C Café' here in Marunouchi."

"Far enough away from the offices. I don't expect us to be disrupted," Reito said reviewing his phone since he was the only one aware of the research project that the Natsuki's support team had accepted.

"Mm. Jack please let us off here," Shizuru lowered the privacy window when she looked out the window to see that they had been stuck in stop and go traffic. "We will make better time walking the two blocks," she said to Reito grabbing her briefcase and shimmying her jacket on before exiting the car.

"I'll be ready to pick you up when you are finished," Jack said politely pulling over.

"Thank you Jack," she smiled warmly at him and he tipped his hat thank you like he did her whole life.

Reito and Shizuru strolled through the masses walking on the wide sidewalks that stretched beside the numerous office complexes. They swayed their bodies doing their best to not knock shoulders with the other pedestrians and when they approached their meeting place, they both saw Chie and Aoi walking from the opposite direction. Harada-san was wearing a purple and black plaid button down shirt with the top buttons unfastened and black cuffed pants and matching jacket. Shizuru took notice of a brown satchel that clung closely from her right shoulder. Senoh-san was fit in equally with the young professional environment by wearing a blue and white printed knee length skirt and flowy white blouse with flats and simple stud earrings. An interesting dichotomy of approachable versus mischievousness- probably why they were so excellent at what they did for a living Shizuru concluded.

"Good morning Reito-san…Shizuru-san," Chie welcomed informally.

"The same to you Harada-san and to you Senoh-san," Reito nodded respectfully standing in front of the entrance of their meeting place.

"Should we go in? I hear the Kamiaricha is very good here," Aoi offered. It confirmed Shizuru's instincts that their research expanded at beyond business as that was one of her favorite teas.

The suggestion confirmed Shizuru's instincts that their research expanded at beyond business as that was one of her favorite teas. "Yes, let's go in."

Reito held the door for the three women while they walked into the establishment. The crowds had dwindled most likely due to the time of morning since most of the professionals that were in the area had most likely started their workday. It was a cafeteria service location that had a wraparound order station that offered coffee, tea and pastries. Shizuru eyed a booth in a corner away from the other patrons and took the lead in making way to where they would begin their conversation.

She sat down patting her dress under her legs and Aoi did the same sitting across from Shizuru. Reito and Chie stood standing, "I'll get us something to drink."

"I'll join you," Chie agreed. "Do you want the usual?" she adjusted her attention to Aoi and saw her gesture in acceptance.

Shizuru already placed her mask of professionalism before they encountered the two researchers and placed the well trained smile to the woman in front of her. "You look lovely Senoh-san. Zara spring piece looks nice on you."

"L.K. Bennett looks beautiful on you Fujino-san, I'm not surprised that you are wearing something that is not out to the public yet," Aoi smiled, evidently not surprised at Shizuru's knowledge of designer wear.

"Thank you," Shizuru accepted the compliment but did feel the need to admit that she had her fashionable connections. "How is everything going with our project? Do you have all of the support you need?"

"Well but I'm sure Natsuki has informed you of that as well Fujino-san."

Shizuru didn't react to the comment and the perceptiveness of the woman in front of her. "I'm not asking Kuga-san since she is not here," Shizuru regarded Aoi's statement off limits and saw the other woman concede.

"We have everything we need and everything is going as planned. Suzushiro-san has provided us all of the records needed and we should begin production soon."

"That's good to know," Shizuru said while noticing their other companions with two cups in each hand approach their table. The two of them sat down, the two sides divided and she was prepared as she could be for the conversation.

Chie removed two folders from her satchel, one red and the other green. The red one was noticeably thicker than the other one. "Let's get down to it Shizuru-san. You employed us to research your CFO in the UK due to some irregularities and many stop-gaps in your own attempts for research of business dealings in Europe." Chie handed the red folder to Shizuru first.

Shizuru opened the folder and saw papers secured and many stamps of classified information across each page. "I'm concerned with the paper trail you are leaving," she looked up at Chie and Aoi.

"We are not going to give you this information digitally that can be traced back to us if anything were to happen," Chie glared back pushing up her glasses. "We agreed to do it our way and we had a deal we would destroy anything that ties you or us to this research."

"Proceed," Reito interjected.

"Your CFO for UK Operations has covered his tracks well but nothing is foolproof and your instincts were spot on in researching further into his dealings," Aoi continued the conversation. "FPC has established for many decades in avoiding deals in weapon creation and contractors."

"Correct but this is public knowledge," Shizuru responded returning her attention to the documents in front of her and sliding them closer to Reito so he could also review.

"We understand however someone within the company is trying to profit off of the conflicts around the world. They're doing very well with covering all tracks of the dealings," Chie continued.

"Which is why I hired the two of you. I saw evidence of such however I could not get anyone to confide in me, especially him." Shizuru still looking over the documents, turning the pages of classified information.

"John Smith," Chie pressed on. "There were a lot of firewalls while doing the research and you can review the green folder but that has several offshoreoff shore bank account transactions in the past year and a half."

"We change our passwords every 24 hours and some sectors every 12. Do I want to know how you infiltrated the servers?" Shizuru asked but didn't expect an answer.

"We have our ways. 'God, mom and password' didn't work so we had to think bigger," Chie looked at Aoi and her amused eyes. "What?"

"Not the time for sarcasm," Aoi addressed her attention to Reito and Shizuru. "John Smith wasn't too clever with his password resets but you do use up to 15 characters per password. It's all about algorithms…"

"And being in contact with the best hacker in Tokyo," Chie admitted nonchalantly. She glanced at Shizuru and felt her orbs piercing through her forehead. "Don't worry we have used him many times and I doubt someone that goes by the title Obsidian Lord is going to do much on the outside. His apartment gives us the creeps…but he's good. You'll get the bill later," Chie shrugged turning her attention to her half cup of coffee.

"How has he been able to cover it up? There has to be Fujino Private Corporation money going into all of this," Reito asked not bothering to react to everything. He was reviewing the green folder filled with millions of financial transactions.

"He is," Aoi answered. "There are several encrypted emails that we were able to get into which is how they bypassed all of the Fujino big brother servers. We are guessing he is using state of the art laptops or even burner laptops and phones to erase all of the communications. We're still doing some additional research however they are camouflaging the activity under 'First District.'"

"The names involved are some very seedy individuals and ties to very dirty factions around the globe. I wish I could say weapon dealings was the worst but from what we can tell it's not even the tip of the iceburg," Chie elaborated further.

"'First District'?" Shizuru moved her attention to Chie and Aoi and noticed their body language shift slightly appearing apprehensive. "What is it?"

Aoi and Chie looked at each other and back to Reito and Shizuru. Aoi sipped her coffee and cleared her throat lightly, "We're in territory where there are more questions arising and…"

"We generally have no problems crossing the line of what might be acceptable for our work, we stumbled on something we both feel you need to look at before we proceed further," Chie finished Aoi's hesitation.

Shizuru was genuinely perplexed but she didn't reveal it. The information thus far runs deep and not entirely surprising given that the hook nosed American alarmed her insides like a stomach flu. He was creepy and underhanded what she needed to find out exactly what he was doing and if it was illegal before taking her next steps. She was rehashing mentally all of the background information they provided she and Reito and nothing stood out to have these two waver.

Reito seemingly reading her thoughts and next question asked, "Why are you hesitating?"

Chie pulled out a third folder cautiously from her satchel. This one was blue and thicker than the green file, "This is a folder that includes several personnel that have ties to a foundation we dug up." Chie explained while handing it over to Shizuru.

"What makes it different than the red file?" Shizuru inquired holding in between her fingers. Everything in her mind and body was permeating an overwhelming sense of unease. She maintained her well trained composure in front of the others.

"Just go to the purple tab in the middle of the packet," Aoi stated straightforwardly.

Shizuru nodded and unconsciously moved her body to shield the folder as she slowly opened it. She found the purple tab hanging to the right and flipped the sheets of paper and scanned the documents on the lookout for keywords or names. When she overturned the first sheet her had to control everything in her mind and body to avoid revealing a reaction.

Saeko Kuga—Biomolecular Engineer

Shizuru was dumbstruck when she read over carefully the personnel information and studied the black and white Xeroxed photo included on the analyses.

Education: Graduate of The University of Tokyo, Masters in Chemistry from the National University of Singapore & PhD in Applied Physics from Oxford.

Lead Researcher: Project Orphan

Shizuru wasn't comfortable reading further since Natsuki didn't reveal her mother's name however there was no mistaking the resemblance between the two. This was Natsuki's mother.

She slammed the folder shut and for the first time removing her mask, "This file is going to be destroyed. And there will be no talk of what you discovered in that file," Shizuru glared threateningly at the partners in front of them and handed the file to Reito.

"We thought you would say so," Chie responded stirring her spoon unnecessarily while her head was lowered and gazed at Shizuru.

"If there is backlash from either of you…"

"Fujino-san," Aoi stopped Shizuru from finishing her threat. "We have been forthright with you and we have no intentions of hurting her."

"We like Natsuki but we were paid to investigate troubling issues with your company. I cannot help that we fell into this information. When we found it we looked further but there are a lot of dead ends that we haven't had the time to look into," Chie persisted.

"We understand," Reito said reading the information slowly.

"No, I don't think you do understand," Aoi responded back to the two of them.

"What do you mean?" Shizuru was getting tired by the shades of information being tossed at them.

"Shizuru-san the dated information gap is almost twenty years old. Data blackout starts twenty years ago on the dot from…"

"Natsuki's mother's date of death," Shizuru whispered in disbelief remembering the DOA stamped death and time from the file. "She did die correct?"

"Yes- further in there is a coroner report. What we find really suspicious is a lot of information is blacked out or erased," Chie commented quietly.

"The government is involved," Reito said decisively.

"That's what we're thinking. The person that can give you answers is your father because it is his company. I think that we can investigate further but that would mean us hiding more information from Natsuki. For the sake of our working relationship with her and to avoid creating discomfort we think it'sits best we step away," Aoi concluded.

"Besides we don't want anyone knocking on our door. We especially don't need you over our heads distrusting that we'll do something to hurt Natsuki," Chie admitted.

"Chie!" Aoi slapped her too honest partner.

"What?! You see the way Shizuru-san looks at her too! I'd rather fight off a den of lions than deal with her abilities to make me disappear with a snap of a finger," Chie rubbed the spot where she was smacked.

"We should go," Aoi rubbed between her eyes to wear off her girlfriend's inability to keep her observations to herself. "Do you need anything else from us? We really should be heading back, we do have a call with Natsuki and some of the Wuhan team in an hour."

"No, thank you for the information," Reito answered for he and Shizuru.

"See you Saturday," Chie said getting up from the table and taking Aoi's hand to help her up. They left the two of them alone not bothering to ask for the documentation which would be destroyed immediately.

"What are you going to do?" Reito asked.

"Talk to my father," Shizuru said with certainty. If her father had answers to Natsuki's past he would have to answer them. Not for her. For Natsuki.

Reito smiled at Shizuru's reaction, "When are you going to do it?"

Shizuru looked at him grabbing the folders and placing them in her briefcase. "I'll call him but I'll discuss it with him in a couple weeks in person. I don't trust any other means of communication at the moment," she said with more certainty standing up from their table.

"Are you going to talk to her?" Reito's tone was uncharacteristically timid.

"It's not my story to tell but I will make sure she hears it," Shizuru responded boldly. "I will be there for Natsuki no matter what."

"Natsuki-san really is different," Reito grinned.

"She's more than that Reito," Shizuru gazed at him. He wouldn't be her best friend if he wasn't already aware of the meaning behind it.

Hopefully you'll get to see a different side of Shizuru. I'll continue to write but it might be a few weeks before I can publish again.

Comments please but no flaming.

As I mentioned before, still plan on having a full story (thus far) edit in the near-ish future.