Mai HiME: My Mai's Christmas.

This is my entry for the fanfic contest on DeviantART. This is my first Mai HiME Fanfic. I do not own Mai HiME, the manga or the anime. This follows the anime universe, not the manga. Please remember to Read & Review.

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Mai HiME: My Mai's Christmas

Snow fell as Mai Tokiha stood by the stove making breakfast for her and her roommate, Mikoto Minagi. It was Christmas Eve, half passed noon; the small feral girl slept in whenever she could. She hummed Christmas jingles while she cooked; Christmas was her favorite time of year, seconded only by Halloween. Mikoto slept soundly in Mai's bed, cradling Mai's pillow, rubbing her head against it. The small feral girl found comfort in nuzzling Mai's chest, which Mai had switched with the pillow in order to not disturb the small girl. Mai guessed the soft, warm feeling made her feel safe, compared to the cold, hard surface she used to sleep in when she was a little kid.

Mai made bacon and eggs, decorating the food in a Christmas style. She placed candy canes next to the food, knowing Mikoto would love the minty sweets. This was Mikoto's first actual Christmas, and Mai wanted to make it special; for a person to never celebrate Christmas was a terrifying thought for Mai. She placed all the food on the table, and went to wake up Mikoto.

She saw Mikoto nuzzling the pillow, muttering about Mai's delicious ramen. "Hey Mikoto." Mai whispered, nudging her softly. "Mikoto, breakfast's ready." Not waking up, Mai decided to go about it in her regular way. Grabbing the bed sheet, she pulled as hard as she could; Mikoto flew into the air, landing on the floor with a thud.

"Ow!" Mikoto said. "Mai! Why did you-" She stopped talking once she smelled the air; she could smell food. Mai's food. She then realized what time it was. "IT'S BREAKFAST TIME!" She yelled, jumping up, her over sized shirt going up with her. Mai groaned when she saw that Mikoto was wearing only her large t-shirt, and nothing else.

Mikoto ran for the food, but was stopped by Mai. "Mikoto!" Mai told her. "What are you doing?! I told you, you have to wear underwear!"
Mikoto looked at her, tears in her eyes; she hated it when Mai got mad. "But Mai!" She cried. "I hate wearing those! They feel weird!"

"Just put some on!" Mai said, walking over to her dresser. She opened it, and grabbed a pair of panties. She handed them to Mikoto, who looked at with disgust. "Now put these on."
"Okay." Mikoto said, defeated. She put them on. "Can I eat Mai's food now?"
"Yes." Mai laughed. They walked to the table where they ate, and began to eat.

Mai ate slowly while Mikoto stuffed her mouth; Mai had tried to teach Mikoto some manners, but they never stuck. She looked over at the Christmas tree stand she had bought; she wanted to put up a tree, just like she had every other year, but the school wouldn't permit trees in dorms, as they were considered a fire hazard. She sighed.
Mikoto stopped eating and looked at Mai. "What's wrong Mai?" She asked. She followed her gaze, and saw the empty stand. "Oh, the tree."
"Yeah." Mai said. "I had one every year until now; it's just not gonna be the same."
Mai resumed eating, though Mikoto still looked at the stand; she didn't understand why a tree was needed for Christmas, but Mai wanted one, and that was enough for Mikoto to want one too. "What do Christmas trees look like?" Mikoto asked. "Are they special?"
"They are special." Mai looked at Mikoto. "They're beautiful. You get Christmas lights and rope them around the tree. You hang candy canes on the branches. Then put up ornaments, things that are special to you. And finally, you put a star on the very top. It's beautiful." She trailed off. Mai then remembered the most important part. "Then, when you're done, you put all of your presents underneath the tree."

"Oh." Mikoto tried to picture one in her mind; things that were special to them, candy canes, lights, a star, and presents. "Why can't we get one again?"
"Because they're considered a fire hazard." Mai said. "Christmas is tomorrow, and we have no tree. How depressing."
Mikoto looked at the saddened Mai, and suddenly lost her appetite. She put her food back on the table and got up. "Mikoto." She looked Mai. "You didn't finish your breakfast. You didn't even eat half of it! Are you feeling okay?" Mai stood up and felt Mikoto's forehead. "You don't have a fever."
"I'm okay Mai." Mikoto told her. "I just .. ate too fast." She walked to her dresser and pulled out her winter clothing; a heavy red Fuka Academy coat, a pair of blue sweats, and a heavy hat.

"Where're you going?" Mai asked her.

"I'm going to get your present." Mikoto told her.
"Wait." Mai said. "I thought you already bought my present."
"Uh.." Mikoto thought for a moment. "I meant I'm going to get your present from .. Nao. I left it with her. So you wouldn't peek."
"Oh. Well, alright. Just be back soon; I want you to watch my Christmas movies with me; you'll love them. 'Frosty the Snowman', 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer'. My favorite is 'The Year Without a Santa Claus'."
"I will." Mikoto remembered Mai telling her about Santa, saying they were supposed to leave cookies and milk for him on Christmas Eve. She didn't want anything from Santa; she only asked for Mai to cook for her.
Mikoto opened the door and left, leaving Mai alone. Mai cleaned up the dishes left over from breakfast, putting them in the sink and washing them. After drying the dishes and putting them away, Mai went to the fridge and opened it. She bent down and took out a large turkey; she was planning on sending Mikoto out later so she could cook the turkey as surprise, but now was good too.

Mai wanted Mikoto's Christmas to be special, and she thought that having a big, fat turkey was the best way to make her Christmas perfect.

Mai sat on her couch waiting for Mikoto, dressed in a beautiful outfit. It had six hours since Mikoto left, the turkey was done, everything was set up for the Christmas dinner she was planning to have with Mikoto and their friends. She wondered where everyone was, why the hadn't shown up. She was worried at first, thinking something had happened to Mikoto, but when she called Nao, she had said that they were together.

"Mikoto." Mai muttered frustratingly. She planned for this night for weeks, and now it was getting ruined. She had also planned on giving Mikoto a special gift tonight, one she knew she would never forget; Natsuki helped her pick it out. "You are so eating tofu for the next week." The feral girl hated tofu more than anything. Mai formed a sadistic smile. "Maybe with some spicy curry mixed in."

Mai heard the door opening, and turned her head to see Natsuki, her best friend, coming. "Natsuki." Mai said, getting up. "I'm glad you made it!" She walked over and hugged her.

"Get dressed." Natsuki told her. "We gotta go." She went to Mai's dresser and opened it. "Where are your sweats?"
"What?" Mai asked. "Why? Where're we going?"

"Out." She said simply. She then smiled. "C'mon; everyone's waiting."
"Waiting?" Mai said. "What-"

"Just c'mon." Natsuki told her. "Get dressed, and let's go." Deciding to play along, Mai got some winter clothes and dressed in the bathroom.

Mai walked out of her dorm room with Natsuki. She wondered where they were going. Did the others think they had different plans? She didn't know, and she knew she wasn't going to get anything out of Natsuki.

"So," Natsuki asked, "did the outfit fit?"
"Oh. Yeah, it did; thanks for helping me pick it out."
"No problem." Natsuki looked back at Mai. "I knew that one would fit you best."

"Yeah." Mai said, blushing a bit. "So, what did you get Shizuru?"
"Same thing you got Mikoto." Natsuki replied. "Except it's blue."

"She'd love it if it were polka dotted." Mai laughed.

The two walked more until Mai saw a bright light coming from the forest surrounding Fuka Academy. "What is that?" She asked.

"Mikoto's gift to you." Natsuki replied. "Took a while to set up."

"Mikoto's gift?" Mai looked at Natsuki, then back to the light. "What is it?"
"You'll see." Natsuki laughed. The two walked closer to the light, and Mai's eyes widened one she saw what it was. It was a Christmas tree, adorned with lights, candy canes, and several ornaments. Mai felt tears beginning to form.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS, MAI TOKIHA!" She all of a sudden heard several people shout. She looked around to see all of her friends; Chie and Aoi, Shiho and Tate, Yukino and Haruka, Shizuru and Reito, Nao and Midori, Akane and Kazuya. But she didn't see Mikoto.

"MAI!" Mai heard; it was Mikoto's voice, but she didn't see her. "OVER HERE!" She then saw Mikoto come out from behind the tree, holding a big gold star in her hands. Mikoto ran over to her. "Here." She said, placing the star in Mai's hands. "You can put the star on top."

Mai looked at Mikoto; that was why she had left, to get her a Christmas tree. "Thank you Mikoto." Mai said, failing to hold back her tears. "Thank you!" She walked over to the tree with Mikoto. She was about to put it on, when she stopped.

"Mai?" Mikoto asked. "Aren't you going to put it on?"
Mai looked at her. "We'll do it together." Mai told her, putting the star in Mikoto's hands so they were both holding it. "On three."
"Okay!" Mikoto said. "One."
"Two."
"Three!" They said in unison, placing the star on top. "MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

Mai and Mikoto returned to their dorm late at night; everyone had decided to stay outside and spend Christmas with the tree they had all decorated. Eventually they went back inside, into the building where the HiME Festival ended, where Fumi, Mashiro's caretaker and successor, had organized a Christmas party. She hadn't planned on going, but it was too much fun to pass.

Mai looked at the untouched food that lay on the big table she had set up; turkey, mashed and baked potatoes, stuffing, everything for a perfect Christmas dinner. But she didn't mind. Mikoto had given her the best Christmas she could have asked for. Mai then remembered her gift for Mikoto. Mai looked to see Mikoto sitting on the bed, trying to kick her boots off, and Mai, taking the opportunity, snuck off to get her present.

Mai went to the bathroom and locked the door. She went to the vent and opened it; she wanted to keep the present a complete surprise, and the vent was the best place she could think of to hide it. She took a small white box out of the vent, unwrapped and plain. She placed it on the shelf and removed the top. Inside was a see-through, Christmas themed nightie; the chest area was red while everything else was a transparent white. 'Oh.' Mai thought. 'She will love this.' Mai undressed and put the nightie on.

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Did you like it? I wrote this couple because I honestly think the couple should have been canon. There are several moments in the anime that suggest, or at least to me, that they are both attracted to each other and have romantic feelings for each other. The manga also had some moments, though not as many.

Please remember to Read & Review.
Just a quick note; the characters aren't canonically paired in either the manga or the anime. I just think this is how the series should've paired the two.