Quick Author's Note

This is only the beginning but things will get darker for Mai, so this might mean trigger warnings in the future chapters.

by Twisted Eternal Wolvetta

'For everyone I had sacrificed everything. I had even created a new world, putting Taku-... the Obsidian Lord to sleep.'

Higher and further up within the sky they ventured, ever suspended, ever endangered; their sacrificial journey never disturbed, not by HiME, by Searrs, the SLAVES... not even by earth itself.

The flames of Kagutsuchi's wings spread throughout the air, the pressure of being so high up intensifying its merciless grip upon Mai's chest, the freezing cold of the atmosphere digging into the pores of her flesh deeply.

She arched her head upwards, clinging onto her CHILD closely, the brilliant hue of azure greeting her above the clouds.

'I knew only I could destroy the HiME Star.'

Protecting the HiME from most of the backlash of tearing through the clouds and slowly floating into space, the CHILD motioned a soundless coo, turning his head to fixate his eyes upon Mai. The human was stiffly pressed to his metallic body, the impact of entering space shattering her eardrums, the air tearing from them. Nor could Mai breathe, the difficulty having almost been impossible when within the atmosphere, now null as they quickly voyaged towards the blue glow.

'I hadn't been a HiME, I was a QUEEN. Perhaps just because of this... I had failed...'

From earth the collision was seen by all, a silence of colour streaking across the sky in fading vermilion. The death of a HiME-no, a QUEEN sliding into motion, one lonesome pillar rising until it clanked into place.

'And instead I recreated the HiME Carnival.'

舞-HiME
LACHRYMOSE CRUX
Fading Vermilion

A lungful of oxygen tore through her and Mai heaved, lying flat on her back against the ground, pitfalls of fire surrounding her. Blinking up into the ocean-blue sky, she panted, arms splayed out around her haphazardly as she continued to stare, unbeknownst to the chaos of students dumbfoundedly staring at her from behind the fire.

She had died...

Yet what was this?

Her ears rung harshly and she bit her teeth against her tongue, brows furrowing, pupils contorting as she angled her head, regarding the students blankly.

Fuuka Academy... daytime... her eyes leapt back into the sky, the moon still visible, her eyes locating not a blue star, but an angry red one.

The QUEEN lay like this for a few minutes, her mind unable to comprehend what had happened.

"A-ah..." Mai's teeth chattered slightly, her mouth opening as her violet irises narrowed, her vision blurring.

'I...I failed...'

Her world faded, stars woozily littering the back of her eyes and she rolled her head back up towards the sky, falling unconscious amongst the noisy commotion which proceeded to illuminate around her, students unsure and fearful, too worried for their own safety to cross the wall of fire.

For how much time had passed, Mai wasn't aware of, awakening sluggishly and unceremoniously greeted by greying tiles, the light above her flooding the room and blinding her temporarily as she strained, attempting to blink away an exhaustion which was relentless.

Mai wet her lips, running her tongue along her teeth thoughtfully, puzzled upon the events which had transpired, more memories pouring into her brain harshly.

Why and how had she come to be after dying? Why was it she had been brought down from space and into the grounds of the academy? Why was the HiME Star now red instead of blue? Who had moved her? ...What of Kagutsuchi?

These questions refused to leave her, even as the door slammed open, not regarding the presence which demanded her attention, violets locked on a particular tile above her which looked to be slightly soggy.

"What do you think you were doing?!"

The outburst entered one ear and retreated through another, Mai's brain having never registered it.

Was this... the new world she had created, Mai wondered? Finally glancing over to the boisterous blonde, the older teen frowning at her, odd waves of purple makeup lining her eyelids.

Ah... Haruka…

"You could've set Fuuka on fire!" Haruka lamented, the door creaking shut just to be stopped at last moment, another student – Yukino, a mousy girl trailing in after her, books hugged to her chest. "It isn't even your first day!"

"Haruka-chan..." Yukino murmured quietly, pausing as Haruka shot her a pointed look. "... Shizuru-san has informed me th-"

"That goddamn Bubuzuke!" Without another word the blonde stormed out of the room, Mai inattentive to the notion but Yukino passing along a sympathetic glance before chasing after the other.

"Haruka-chan, wait!" There was a clatter and loud chattering, the student council member striding away swiftly after the blonde, darting between teacher and student alike.

"Ha..." Mai breathed, the door uneventfully clicking shut and she rolled onto her side to face away from the noise.

What was even happening?

Looking about the room, Mai cringed. Everything was exactly the same to how it had before she had died. The events of the HiME Carnival had in no way been a dream, nor could it even be possible that she had somehow come back to life after being blown up within space. Not to mention Kagutsuchi would've faded out of existence like her.

Abruptly the memory of her CHILD flashed before her, Mai holding Kagutsuchi's head against her chest gently, the dragon responding with a delicate coo which sounded almost as if he was still with her right at that moment.

Mai exhaled slowly upon the memory, closing her eyes, attempting to hinder her tear-ducts which simply failed.

If this was an alternative universe... what had happened to everyone? Haruka and Yukino didn't seem to have any idea who she even was, let alone they were HiME.

Or perhaps... they weren't...? Maybe she herself wasn't even a HiME or QUEEN?

Stretching out from the bed, Mai grasped the smooth and thin curtain, rolling it around the bed fully, concealing herself from view entirely. She rested back down onto the bed, lifting her palm to her face, sluggishly wriggling her fingers.

She felt... sick... mentally.

Anxiety, anger, depression, loneliness, shock; they had all mixed together into a toxic blend, pressure shoving itself into the pit of her stomach, throat and head, causing her to bite her tongue, gritting her teeth afterwards in an act of desperation.

With her head firmly planted into the softness of the pillow, she closed her eyes tightly, forcing out the world which was both familiar and alien to her, twisting her arms around herself, chipped nails nipping into her blazer.

To die and be brought back, but forgotten? This hadn't... been... what she had wanted. What about everybody else?! What about Takumi, Kagutsuchi, Mikoto, the others…

...Even herself...?

It was like she was a... ghost.

Uncaring, Mai reached into the inside of her blazer, shoving the shirt underneath upwards enough to latch her nails against her sides, straining against the mattress, dragging them down her pale skin in a purposely damaging and stalling intention, trading mental pain for physical.

A dark thought entered her mind abruptly to give up then and there, her nails halting in their tracks from the angry red lines which skimmed across her skin, blurry violets revealing to stare towards the window of the room, the blinds warding her of any view outside.

"Somebody is fortunate."

Mai jumped, her eyes widening to shoot her gaze behind her shoulder, Youko having opened the door quietly which swung closed just as soundlessly, the nurse stuffing her hands into her pockets as she neared.

The nurse carefully watched her and Mai angled her head away, hands flying away from her torso only to slide a palm down her eyes tenderly, drying tears but not erasing the presence that she had indeed cried.

"Truly a way to make an entrance." The nurse chuckled, "I'll check on you later, so please do not leave?"

Youko seemed to understand the situation, smiling as the student hesitantly nodded, her back still facing her even as she spun on her heel, leaving silently.

Now that she was alone once more, the bottled emotions within her instead leaked into the atmosphere of the room, the exhaustion of her death, the apparent dimension jumping and shock merging, her eyelids suddenly feeling like twenty tonnes.

Without the strength to even care nor cry, Mai sighed, breathing in the fresh scent of the pillow beneath her head, closing her eyes.

.

. .

. . .

Thunder rumbled softly and the occasional flicker of lightning pierced the sky. The HiME stared up into the sky, beads of rain tumbling down to splatter against the ground of the academy.

"She's... dead...?" Natsuki whispered, the blue globe of light shrinking to then expand by the moon, exploding soundlessly as it was warped into the vermilion along the night sky.

"Mai isn't dead!" Mikoto lashed out to the taller student, gritting her teeth as she twisted around, shooting her gaze up to the quietened ice HiME. "Mai can't die!"

Looking away from the other, Natsuki turned her head, unable to break the innocence which Mikoto still held, even after this cursed carnival.

"But the carnival is over..." Midori murmured, her gaze still locked onto the pouring colour, the vermilion and azure never once blending together, instead dancing around one another, sweeping closer until the two smashed together at the apex. It looked to almost be alike to a nebula, a cluster of dead stars deep within space. "This is... going to be here forever, isn't it?"

Through the act of the supernova, stars will die and form nebulae. It is through these sheer clouds of gas that one day they may form into a dozen new stars.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I wouldn't call Lachrymose Crux very... "Christmasy", but I love Mai to bits so I couldn't help myself.

Something to remember about Lachrymose Crux however is this "dimension" is both a merge and alteration of the anime and manga of 舞-HiME. So although things may appear the same there shall be many variations. Basically just think of Renascence since that has been structured in the same way except through 舞乙HiME, obviously.

Also regarding people wondering about Renascence; Harmonium and I won't be working on it until after Christmas, so until then sit tight!