"Behind a veil of riches and reason, lies a mystery hidden from view, killing all that get in its way."
- Movie trailer announcer guy, Brotherhood of the Wolf
NAGI HAD BEGUN HIS SCHEME TO SET THE HIME AGAINST EACH OTHER, BUT MASHIRO STILL HAD A SCHEME OF HER OWN TO STOP HIM IN HIS TRACKS.
She was lying in her luxurious bed staring blankly up at the ceiling. Decades of remorse hung over her head. Would they believe her when she told them this didn't have to be their fate? Would they listen to her when she offered a more peaceful way out? What if they doubted her more than Nagi? She could stop this massacre before it started, but it all depended on her allowing Nagi and his black king to think she was still on their side.
Crashing thunder caused the whole bedroom to rattle. The midnight storm was getting worse, with flashes of lighting that seemed to punctuate each moment when Mashiro started to second guess her own thoughts. Outside of her fairy tale bedroom, the steeple of the school church stood up against the bright silver glow of the full moon, casting the shadow of a long black crucifix through her window. The only thing that glowed as brightly as the moon was the twinkling red HiME star just beside it.
A violent gust of wind blew the ornate balcony doors out of their hinges. Standing just outside her room, against a blinding flash of lightning, was the outline of a four-legged Child creeping low to the ground. It uttered a low, mechanical growl through its gleaming jaws. Its metal armor glowed dimly in the storm, colored like the boundary of an eclipse.
The beast's paws made the sound of rattling chains as it prowled into Mashiro's room. As it brushed through the rain-soaked curtains decorating the door frame, she could see it leave something ragged and pink in its path.
Fumi was dead. She had been mauled so quickly between the lightning strikes that she didn't even have time to scream. And with Fumi dead, Mashiro realized her own artificial body had lost its only source of power. She was paralyzed in her bed and could only watch as Death slowly loomed toward her. Her painful memories of the previous tournament made her recognize the beast in an instant, and she knew what its presence meant.
How could she have been so wrong? She thought she knew what Obsidian Lord was plotting. She thought Nagi had been reckless enough to put all of his cards on the table. Instead, they had been one step ahead of her from the beginning. Now, seeing the truth lingering before her terrified eyes as it bared its iron fangs, she couldn't believe she had been so foolish not to suspect it sooner.
The beast crouched low like a wolf hunting a rabbit, and lunged straight for her bed.
