Peach Blossoms

By: DarkBlue Mint

Disclaimer: No thanks, too much work.

Notes: The title comes from one of my favorites... let's say this if you use that and guess my favorite anime and character; I'll post another fic as soon as I get the answer; let's sweeten the deal I'll write a fic of a series of the winner choice, as long as I have seen the series and I like the pairing. (If no one guesses I'll post more fics anyway but this way is more entertaining). Forgive the grammar (if someone wants to correct the grammar you are more than welcome).

The kendo practice was taking longer than other days. Although some of the members thought that the extended battle had something to do with the meeting in two weeks the rest of them could notice that it was more of a fight than training. Takeda Masashi could notice this in the two kendoka currently combating; when most people didn't give much credit to Takeda as a normal guy he was an incredible knowledgeable kendoka; so it wasn't hard for him to see that one of the fighters had a killing aura that was disrespectful for the art. Still it took him a total of ten minutes to stop the fight; the forms of both contenders were to be admired.

At the beginning he had been happy with Minagi Mikoto; the small girl had taken easily to the shinai and the bokken, not having any trouble in using either of them at practice, not only that, she had been quick in understanding the rules of the art. He was sure that with her joining, and Tate Yuuichi coming back to the club, Fuuka Gakuen had chances of winning the regionals. How was he to know that the younger sister of the Fuku-Kaicho and the lost sheep of the club were at the moment in a love triangle? (If rumors were correct it was more of a Y; with three different people in love with the same girl).

"Minagi-san!" He screamed with all the strength that being the captain gave him. "Stop this right now or this will be your last time in here!"

The dark haired girl stopped immediately. Tate was fast in bowing and running to the changing rooms; he didn't want to give reason to start a second fight, the only reason why he hadn't ended up hurt had been experience. Even though Mikoto had used swords since she was little, she was practically unfamiliar with the armor and the shinai used in kendo; his knowledge of the weights of the armor and the forms of the shinai had let him survive the "training".

"Come with me Minagi-san. The rest of you go change, practice is over for the day." At his quick orders the kohai started to clean the room with the help of the manager Munakata Shiho, while the senpai went to change. Takeda guided Mikoto outside by way of one of the side doors; it wouldn't do to have their conversation interrupted by someone leaving the gym. "What was that?"

"Training." The answer wasn't accompanied by the smile that he used to see in the dark haired girl before; it seemed as if the triangle was hurting her more than the rumors let on.

"That wasn't training! You were trying to maul Tate-san." He was used to this small chats, it wasn't the first time that two members of the club used training to fight for a girl, and Takeda had the speech memorized. "I welcomed you to the club because your brother is my friend. What you just did it's not only lack of respect to the art of Kendo but also lack of respect to Kanzaki-san."

Mikoto opinion on her brother had changed in all this but she still held him in high regard. The idea of disrespect him in any way actually hurt her, almost as much as the situation that they all found themselves in. Everything was easier before when all she had to do was obey her grandfather and train with Miroku; why had she left? She preferred to stay in the small island that way she would have never been a pawn in the Carnival, she would have never meet Tokiha Mai, she would have never grown up and know about this pain.

"You don't understand." Tried to explain the former HiME in form of apology, but Takeda had heard those words before. All said by kendoka with their heads down, and regretting their action.

"I do understand." Sighed Takeda, while remembering a girl with dark head that held his heart (and his hormones). "I'm in a lost situation not that different from yours; but you don't see me trying to solve my problems by grabbing a shinai and fighting my rival, don't you? Kendo is about the way of the sword, so people think it's for fighting, but it's actually about grounding oneself." Hoping that the young girl had understood him Takeda went to the changing rooms. "I hope today is a lesson. Next time you will meditate and practice some kata, it's going to take me sometime to trust you in a fight."

After he left Mikoto searched the sky for a while, hoping that the cloud give her some answer, minutes later she went to change. Her day was going to get worse.

--

During the carnival the friendship between Shiho and Mikoto had been tentative. After that Shiho became the manager of the kendo club, the girls had started to have more contact with each other and the friendship had blossomed. This actually created an interesting dynamic, as Mikoto's other friend was one Yuuki Nao; so while Shiho acted as the voice of reason Nao acted as the voice of temptation, Mikoto was in the middle and preferred to ignore them when they started fighting about what she had to do.

Munakata Shiho had found herself in the triangle for a while, after some time she noticed that she wasn't even considered a contender, so she had decided to keep regarding Tate as her oniichan and forget any romantic notions with him; thanks to the carnival she had learnt her lesson. The majority of the student actually admired her; she was the only one who had chances to come unscathed by the romantic drama surrounding Tokiha-san.

At the moment the redhead with the peculiar hairdo was waiting for Mikoto by the doors of the gym. Normally it was the other way around; Mikoto was fast in taking care of her equipment whilst Shiho had to see after the uniforms and swords of all the members. Today, as Mikoto had been chastised by Takeda and she took her time when changing, Shiho had been faster.

"You didn't have to wait for me." Mikoto's voice shocked the redhead, not because it had come as a surprise but because the kendoka sounded defeated.

"He didn't kick you out of the team did he? Cause if he did I will give him a taste of Octopus Kung Fu." Shiho's words worked and the dark haired girl showed a smile.

"Nope. He just gave me a warning." Mikoto adjusted her bokken on her shoulder, never had the wooden sword been as heavy as today.

"I don't understand why he didn't give oniichan a talking to. He was fighting too." Shiho complained while both girls started to walk towards the entrance of Fuuka Gakuen.

"He didn't start the fight, and he mostly defended himself. It was my fault." The dark haired girl noticed the absence of their third member. "Where's Nao?"

"Nao-chan called and said that she will meet us in Lindem Baum." Shiho sighed, the golden eyes looked almost happy if it wasn't by the small circle of sadness that surrounded them (the drama was claiming the first victim). "Apparently Yukariko-san needed to talk to her about something."

--

"She kicked you out?" Shiho's flabbergasted scream brought all the eyes of the restaurant to their table; Nao decided to curse the day that she started to have friends. When the younger redhead noticed that their private conversation wasn't anymore she kept quiet, after some time the patrons decided to go back to their own conversations. "Sorry, she kicked you out?"

"Tch! Always so loud." At seeing the octopus head starting to loose her patience she decided that talking was a safer bet (why had she listened to her mother she really didn't needed friends; but, alas, it was already too late). "She didn't kick me out. Yukariko-san said that if Miyu and I really wanted to join the congregation and wanted to do the training she would give us her support. But she was sure that neither of the two is cut for the sisterhood."

"I'll say." Shiho went back to her ice-cream whereas Nao appreciated the new silence. Mikoto kept quiet she mostly used their time at Lindem Baum to watch Mai work; as Mai had been occupied on another section of the restaurant she hadn't noticed them yet, so Mikoto had simply concentrated on the cup of tea on her hands.

Nao and Miyu had started to work as Sisters on the church mostly out of necessity. Miyu was an android created by SEARRS, so it had took some time to create papers for her and Alyssa and stop the SEARRS Corporation of trying to take any of them and use them for experiments; Nao, instead, had her mother in rehabilitation after her miraculous recovery, so she needed someplace to be in the meantime. Who better to take in such misfits than a pregnant nun?

In the end, after she was released from the hospital, it had been decided that Alyssa and Miyu be put under the care of Yuuki-san; after some papers had been fabricated and some funds from the Kanzahana scholarship had been diverted, the foursome had moved to a nice house so there was no need for Sister Nao and Sister Miyu to torment the students.

"Miyu was talking about getting a job here, so I don't think she's going to go to any training." Commented Nao taking a drink of milk tea (the setback of having a mother: she had been forced to give up coffee). "I don't know what to do."

"Maybe you could join a club? You could join Kuga-san in the athletics club." At Nao's disparaging look Shiho gave a sheepish smile, it was so funny to rile the older redhead. "If you really want to do something, my grandfather is looking for someone to help at the temple the days that I'm on the kendo club."

"Maybe... It doesn't sound like such a bad--." Nao was at the moment the only eye witness at the unfolding scene, Mikoto and Shiho were in front of her, so she wasn't surprised when a happy squeal interrupted her.

"A date?" Higurashi Akane's voice sounded cheerful. And Nao prayed for all the gods she knew that the noticed who was sitting at her table. "I can't believe that Tate finally asked you."

"Yes, yesterday after work. Then he kissed me, it was so romantic." The sound of glass breaking disturbed Mai's words.

The redhead closed her eyes in pain when she noticed from whom the noise had come. Mikoto's right hand was clenched, were before there had been a cup now there were shards, and tea and blood seeped from her hand. The dark haired girl stood up fast and without sparing a look to anyone run away from the restaurant. Shiho didn't know if give chase to Mikoto or to stop Nao who had a murderous look in her eyes.

"You idiot!" Nao let her finger rest on the pool of blood and tea on the table. "You stupid, unfeeling, IDIOT!"

With those last words Nao tossed the droops of blood and tea from her fingers against Mai' face, without staying for an answer the redhead gave chase to Mikoto, Shiho not far from her. Mai didn't move she let her own tears wash the blood from Mikoto's wound. Seconds later and for reason's she couldn't comprehend her legs gave out and she found herself crying as the time when she believed her brother lost forever.

--

By the time both redheads found to Mikoto the girl was on the forest; the hand kept bleeding and she appeared more and more shattered by the second. She was walking from side to side and was grasping her shirt with the bloodied hand; the left side was filled with blood it practically looked as if the girl was bleeding from her heart (it was probably true).

"Mikoto..." Before Nao could say anything a scream resounded on the school forest.

"It's so unfair, so completely unfair! It doesn't matter what Ani-ue and I..." Mikoto covered her eyes with her left hand. "It doesn't matter what I do... It's always him. I killed for her; I killed HIM for her, always to protect her. What did he do?" The eyes were uncovered, tears flowed freely from them and the haunted look cut through Nao and Shiho like a knife. "He didn't do anything! He played with Shiho-chan's feelings, he played with her feelings. Always weak and undecided. While I was strong I always knew that I loved her, Reito-- the Obsidian Lord used that; not my love for my Ani-ue but my love for her. And I lost? I lost."

The last word was barely audible; Mikoto let herself fall against one of the trees. The always happy cat girl was broken; finally the triangle had claimed the first victim. Forest green met orange brown; for a moment the look held, until Shiho rolled her eyes like saying "some day you would have to learn to hug people". The redhead with the peculiar hairdo sat near Mikoto and brought her to her arms. It was going to take their combined efforts and almost an hour before they could convince the kendoka to see a doctor.

Next Chapter: (Surprise! is a chaptered fict... did you really think it would end like that?) Mikoto finds out the extent of her injuries. Natsuki gets jealous. Shizuru shows up (Whee! ShizNat). Unless someone complains too loud Nao kisses Shiho (or maybe she will in chapter three). And Mai does some thinking.

It will be up in two weeks, with a couple of unrelated one-shots in between... unless Phoenix Wright and Apollo Justice create a new writer's block.