Harada Chie loved solving puzzles. From elementary 400 piece jigsaws to a 10,000 piece monstrosity with only one color; blue, she loved the satisfaction of watching the picture come together. However, this current puzzle eluded her. Pieces were missing from the box and what pieces she had seemed to be from different puzzles altogether. "Tokiha Mai," Chie mused as she brushed her short, dark hair before her washroom mirror. "Tate Yuuichi; he doesn't seem to be the type who'd hurt a girl..." "What was that?" Came a call from the dorm room's kitchenette. Chie replaced the brush and put on her black-rimmed glasses before exiting. A girl of her approximate age with long, dark-brown hair was bustling about the kitchenette wearing a Fuuka Gakuen uniform and a pink, ruffled apron with the legend "Kiss the Cook." Chie, always trusting the written word did so, eliciting a smile and giggle from her roommate Senou Aoi. "It's almost ready so please sit down," Aoi said. "You're in a good mood this morning," Chie said as she pulled up a cushion and sat at the low table. Breakfast things had already been set out; steamed rice, pickled daikon AND umeboshi, tamagoyaki and even Chie's favorite, miso soup with tofu. "Maybe I thought I'd do something nice for you," Aoi replied as she set down the grilled fish. "Whatever I did to deserve this, remind me to keep doing it," Chie mused. "I will," Aoi sat across from her. "Tonight." "Itadakimasu," Chie picked up her chopsticks and took a bite, noticing her love's look of anticipation. She allowed the moment to drag out watching the expression turn into trepidation. "Oishii," she finally said. "Thank goodness," Aoi breathed, deflating with relief. "You have an exam coming up?" the bespectacled girl asked as she ate. "Yes. Sorry for using you as a guinea pig," Aoi said with out much shame. "So what about Tate Yuuichi?" "It's just he doesn't seem the type to hurt a girl," Chie said as she dug into the pickles. "But given the evidence and Mai's appearance Sunday night, it looks bad." "Akane-chan said she saw the two of them at the same restaurant she and Kazu-kun went to. So they were definitely on a date that night," the long-haired girl said. Chie mulled over this while sipping her tea. It was no secret Kuga Natsuki had become good friends with Mai. But the only reason she hadn't already hunted Yuuichi down and fed him his own gonads was that she didn't believe it herself. So what was the true story? "Mai-san is different too," she said aloud. "She walks around looking depressed." "But isn't Mai the type of person who'd keep smiling no matter what was bothering her?" Aoi asked. "She used to be. But since that disturbance last year she's been better at showing her emotions," Chie answered. "Have you had any luck talking to Mikoto-chan yet?" "She's still avoiding me," Aoi replied crestfallen. "I sent her a text message yesterday asking her to join me for lunch but she never showed up." "It's not like Mikoto-chan to pass up free food," Chie said slowly. "She could know something about all this." "I...don't think so," Aoi said quietly. She looked down at her hands and clutched at her apron. Chie reached out and took her hand into her own. Aoi gathered some resolve and plunged on. "Mikoto-chan's class had a study hall that afternoon," Aoi began. "I was running some papers out to the lacrosse coach when I saw them behind the girls' gym." "Them?" Chie prompted. "Yes, Mikoto-chan and my old roommate, Yuuki Nao-chan." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Devout Christians routinely confessed their sins for absolution. Neither devout nor even Christian, Tokiha Mai had never felt more like confessing. Sister Yukariko had once explained some of it to her. At the time it seemed like an interesting study of religion, however Mai never thought she'd be a participant. The small, country chapel on the Fuuka Gakuen grounds was unlike the gothic European monstrosities she'd seen in books but it still intimidated her. High, stained-glass windows colored the room in reds, blues and greens. She came forward past the rows of pews where the faithful prayed. Yuuki Nao, the formerly prickly redhead was standing beside the altar where she had finished her cleaning for the day. "Father Callahan is visiting the sick right now," she said. "Is there anything I can do?" "Only the priest can hear my confession, right?" Mai said, disappointment in her voice. "In a formal confession, yes." Nao replied. "However I can still listen to your problems. What's said here stays here." Mai stood there considering her options. The high school counselor seemed like a good idea now. But she had an alarming habit of bringing the other parties involved to "talk it out," and Mai had absolutely no wish to confront anyone. But Nao was, for want of a better term morally bankrupt. Her activities with men were notorious at Fuuka. That put her in no position to pass judgment. *It might be safe to talk to her.* Nao ushered her into a side room whose walls were lined with high shelves of dusty religious texts. A large, mahogany table in the center of the room held several leather-bound tomes with Latin names. The room had no windows and was lit with two shaded lamps. Seated at the table, Nao allowed her green eyes to pierce Mai's blue, reveling in the older girl's discomfort. Her eyes held an almost haunted quality. "It started at the HiME Festival," Mai began," but it really began last week." Nao tried not to tune her out as she knew the story but not from this angle. She remembered seeing Mikoto that morning a smile like unfiltered sunlight on her face. Hung-over and grouchy, Nao wanted nothing more than to wipe that look off her classmate. Yet, when Mikoto relayed what Mai had done the previous night she was dumbfounded. This didn't sound like little-miss-perfect Tokiha Mai at all. The redhead still couldn't fathom why she'd not blasted the girl's dreams right then and there. Instead she'd given a gentle warning about expecting too much from something as nebulous as love. "I didn't know what to do next," Mai continued. "I wanted to talk to Mikoto about it but I couldn't take the look in her eyes. I mean, I'm not that way...I don't feel like that about other girls. It's just that when I looked at Mikoto...when we're together..." "Forbidden fruit," Nao said with a smile. "Humans always yearn for the thing they shouldn't have. It's the basis of our sinful nature. But there's something you're not telling me. A simple kiss couldn't be the only thing." "Y-yes," the older girl replied anxiously. "That day I told Mikoto to come back to our room at 8:00 to talk. After that I called Yuuichi." Mai looked at the table, drops of her tears began to collect on the dark surface. "How much did she see?" Although she knew the story well Nao, felt her hands clenching, fingernails biting into her palms. "I just wanted to set her free!" Mai cried. "I thought if I could do that things would go back to normal. That Mikoto would understand that it was just a stupid mistake!" Mai finally broke down sobbing pitifully. "You let her see the two of you together," Nao supplied and Mai could only nod. "The look on her face," Mai sobbed. "She wasn't even angry. I actually saw what it looks like when someone's heart breaks." As Mai doubled over with grief, Nao stood, rounded the table and gently pulled the older girl's head into an embrace. "Your sins are heavy but all is not lost," she said quietly. "There is something you can do to atone." "What's that?" Mai's voice held the slightest trace of fragile hope. However, the expression on her confessor's face would have frozen her to the core had she seen it. Yuuki Nao smiled and answered: "Penance."
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