Authors: Irina67 & Sick Pimp Mighty Beta: Corona Series: Mai HiME Pairings: Tomoe and half the girl's dorm, Shizuru and the other half Haruka-chan and Yukino, Chie and Aoi, Mai and ?
Chapter 2 – Temple of Dreams
One year ago
The light coming through the window makes my eyes hurt. I roll over in my bed and try to hide my face in the pillow. I have no idea what time it is but judging by the bird's annoying singing and the noise from our next door neighbours, one of whom appears to be screaming something about tea drinking snakes, it is too early for a normal human to get up, yet my ears catch a sound in the room. So she's actually here.
The feeling of the sheet on my naked body is so nice! I smile as I stretch on the bed, remembering last night.
"Sleeping beauty!"
A soft voice so close to my ear. My smile becomes wider as I feel her warm breath on my skin. Disappointment follows my excitement when I stop feeling her close to me and I decide to turn around so I could look at her.
"Tomoe, what happened to your hair?"
Her hair, it looks so nice. It is dark brown and long, nothing like her usual horrible hairstyles that make my eyes hurt. Her hair was different last night, purple spikes I think it was, when she came back to our room and woke me up.
"That's my natural hair. Don't you like it? I must have been too exhausted from all the night's activities, that when I fell asleep my hair returned to its natural state."
"Oh really? Didn't you say that the only reason why you could use this spell, was because it's so weak that the higher order matter and the spell don't affect each other and you only need to concentrate on a hairstyle?"
"I guess I was wrong then."
Nice try Tomoe. As if this was going to fool me. The only time that spell requires concentration is when you perform it and you only need to concentrate on the colour and hairstyle for a moment, but I play along for now, if only to admire her some more, because the hair is not the only thing that is different about her. She is wearing that maid uniform again. She also adds a sad face to the whole show. I know what her goal is. She found out my weakness and she exploits it mercilessly, but I'm still not going to make it easy for her.
"Ah poor Tomoe! Let me give you a hug for all your troubles."
I sit up and the sheet drops just enough so she has a good view of my breasts without revealing too much. She notices it because I see the spark in her eyes. She's in my arms in a second. She even starts to sob as she rubs her face into my chest. If I didn't know her I would think she was genuinely sad.
"So you had a fun night then?"
"Yea of course, don't you remember? You were part of it. Or are you saying you didn't have fun?"
"I would never even imply something like that."
"And from the sounds our neighbours made they had fun too."
"Yes justice certainly was served in that room last night."
"Huh?"
"I heard various shouts of justice this and that, I thought they were practising for a political play, but now that 'justice fist' I heard actually makes sense."
Just then someone knocks at the door. Tomoe gets up and goes to answer it. It is one of the girls from the room down the corridor. So that's where she was.
"Tomoe onee-sama, you forgot this in my room last night."
Tome takes the piece of clothing and bends down to whisper something in the girl's ear. The girl turns bright red, nods and retreats quickly. Tomoe closes the door, throws the whatever-it-was in her corner then walks back to sit next to me.
"So that's where you were last night. Doesn't she have a roommate, that blonde one? Where was she?"
"Oh, that one. She isn't a natural blond, but she changed rooms. Do you remember Ayuki and Miyuki?"
"The twins from art class? Of course."
"They are her new roommates and you know their hair colour we kept wondering about? Yes, it is actually their natural colour."
If I hadn't known Tomoe for as long as I have, I would be surprised to hear that she spent the night with three girls, but the only thing that surprises me is that it took her so long to find out about the twins hair colour.
"I see now why Tomoe onee-sama is so exhausted." I say mockingly and start to laugh. What is it with Tomoe and her obsession with that onee-sama? I'm lucky she hasn't started calling me onee-sama, but for now she only wants the younger girls to call her like that.
"Ah, don't think only because you were last it meant less to me. You know you're my favourite."
"I'm sure I am."
Along with half the girl's dorm.
"Don't be all gloomy like that Shizuru. Today is your final exam!"
"Yes but before that I have to attend Sawada-sensei's class "Orphans the full story", just thinking about it puts me back to sleep."
"Then it's a good thing it's still much too early for class. Let your maid tuck you back in and help you fall asleep."
I feel Tomoe's fingers on both of my shoulders as she pushes me down, making me lie on the bed. Her face shows lust but I guess my own face shows the same. Tomoe is a girl like no other I've ever known. I've always admired her passion for life, her dare to take what she wants.
Now as I see her in these clothes, her long hair falling on her shoulders I am astonished. She was always good looking, even with those terrible hairstyles, but I never imagined she could look quite so attractive. I know I decided to torture her a little for trying to trick me like that, to make her wait for what she wants but even I can't hold back anymore.
The sheet is tossed to the floor and she climbs on top of me. I hear her whisper my name before her lips touch mine, her hands moving on my body. For a moment she separates herself from me in an attempt to take off her clothes but I sit up on the bed and stop her.
"That's my job."
With slow motions I undress her and I smile when I notice her irritated look. She could very easily tear apart the uniform just to make the undressing procedure finish faster, but I have no such intentions.
When I finally remove the last piece, she sits there naked. I try to take a look at her perfect body but just when my eyes reach her she pushes me backwards onto the bed pinning me under her.
"Tomoe if you're too tired we can stop." I tease her.
"It's strange but I don't feel tired anymore."
"That's wonderful!"
I kiss her neck thinking that having Tomoe as my roommate is indeed wonderful. Tomoe, such a clever girl. She knows what others want and she gives them just what they need. How could anyone resist her? I can't that's for sure.
- - - - - -
"...and that's the reason why Orphans appear in our world. Whenever an Orphan is defeated it goes back to its home dimension, where it spends a certain amount of time until it is able to come back to our world.
The Child comes from the same dimension as the Orphan. In essence they are the same being, but one difference is that a Child binds itself to a HiME and can be controlled by her. Like the Orphan the Child will go back to its dimension when it is defeated and only will be able to be summoned again after a certain time has passed, depending on various factors like health, type and so on, I will go into the details later and also show you how you can calculate the exact timeframe it will need.
Now the other difference is that a HiME can only summon her Child when an Orphan is present. The reason for..."
I stopped listening to Sawada-sensei. This was an interesting story when I heard it the first time, but during our time here we already heard it countless times. Taking a look around class I'm not the only one thinking like this. Some students are playing games behind their books while others are reading something. In the back of the room Tomoe is leaning with her head against the wall. Her red dreadlocks are in her face covering the fact that she is actually asleep. He hasn't even finished half the speech yet.
I sigh and look out of the window. Tonight is the annual Seaslug festival. I wonder what I shall wear. I must look perfect for the king and queen will be present. If only it were lunch already and this boring class was over.
- - - - - - -
The lesson finally ended and Tomoe and I are walking towards the lunch hall. As usual Sawada-sensei took his time finishing and lunch break already started a while ago.
"Tomoe onee-sama!"
I turn my head and I see a cute girl looking at Tomoe with admiration.
"I hope I didn't make you wait for too long."
Another date?! She can't be serious! Tomoe smiles and a blush appears on the girl's face.
"Shall we go?"
"Yes onee-sama!"
The girl answers excited and I look irritated at Tomoe.
"Catch you later Shizuru. Keep a chair free for me at your table."
After saying that she walks away from me. I sigh and I just hope she won't keep me waiting for too long.
I start walking again, thinking of a punishment for Tomoe if she keeps me waiting for too long, that I didn't notice the bunch of girls coming towards me.
"Shizuru!"
The sound of my name returns me back to reality and I turn my head to look at them.
"Good afternoon."
I smile at them and the whole group starts to blush. I think these girls keep me under observation or something, because as soon as I leave a room they find me, no matter where I go. If that wasn't weird enough Tomoe once told me they run some sort of secret fanclub with my name. Coming to think of it I wouldn't be surprised if Tomoe were their source of information, but I must admit I like the attention and they are all such cute young girls.
"Would you like to have lunch with us?"
"Sure, why not?"
I follow them to the table while a couple of the girls run off to get the food. The hall is very crowded and unlike the dorms that are divided, all three schools have lunch here.
The HiME temple is actually the smallest school, not many girls have the ability to materialize higher order matter and the ones who don't, attend the Searrs Academy, where they are trained into using magic. Searrs started out trying to find a way to neutralize higher order matter thinking that way they could also defeat the Orphans. Unfortunately Orphans and Elements are different and it had no effect on them. The magic they practise is based on that and makes it impossible to use by a HiME, but all girls who aren't HiME can learn it.
The third school is the A-Leet, named after the former elite guard squad of the king which founded the school. Only boys attend it since they can't be HiME or use magic. Nevertheless all three schools work very close together and if it weren't for the different uniforms and divided dorms it would be like one school, lately even the dorms have started to mix.
"Shizuru, you're here too!"
I smile before I take a look at her face. When my eyes finally reach her I notice that she's not alone as always. Both of them are wearing the white uniform with the blue skirt and sailor collar of the Searrs Academy.
"Chie, Aoi! What a pleasure to see you here! Come sit with us!"
I don't know what my fangirls have in mind but I notice some of them frowning after I invite the two girls to our table. Chie sits next to me and Aoi takes the place next to her. We eat silently and after we finish the girls leave except for Chie and Aoi. Chie speaks first.
"I see your girls never leave you alone."
"I'm such a lonely girl. I need some company from time to time."
"So the big time has come, eh?" Chie asks me while Aoi smiles widely.
"So you've heard? Why am I not surprised that you know about my exam today? Seems like you're putting all those theoretical classes to practical use. If you continue like this, next year you will be officially spying on someone instead of gathering school gossip."
"Only if she doesn't fail the practical magic part, like she is dangerously close to."
"And whose fault is that for always diverting my attention to other practical uses of my time instead of improving my magic?"
"Should I leave you ladies alone?"
"Alone? I would expect you to join at an opportunity like this not leave. You must be thinking about your exam. Do you know who your opponent is gonna be?"
"No they haven't told me which teacher it's going to be."
Chie seems amused, which is odd. I was prepared to face Midori-sensei, despite the fact that she and Youko-sensei appear to be the most air headed and their love for alcohol makes them hard to take serious, Midori-sensei is the best instructor at the Temple. Something else must be going on and I'd expect Chie to know. There's nothing happening in this school that Chie doesn't know. She's been my source of information for quite some time.
"I just found out this morning, and it was not easy to get this information. You're not the only one having your final exam today, so they decided to let you fight each other. The others are Haruka Suzushiro, Yukino Kikukawa and your roommate."
"Tomoe? You are joking? She didn't tell me that she has her final exam today, but who is this Haruka? I know Yukino she lives next door to us with some loud girl.
Aoi laughs and I look at them in question. I'm definitely forgetting something here.
"That loud girl, that's the great Haruka." Aoi says in-between laughs.
"I see. I remember having some classes with her, she didn't seem that special so it's no surprise I didn't recall her, Yukino on the other hand has great potential, I also don't know how I could defeat an invisible opponent."
"Your most likely opponent will be Haruka. I have Haruka and Yukino in my advanced espionage class and you are her favourite topic of discussion."
"Hm she has that huge cumbersome weapon, she will be no problem, but I must be prepared for Yukino."
"Don't underestimate Haruka, she's quite tough. Also Yukino won't use her Element in a fair fight, she considers that cheating."
Cheating eh? There is no such thing as long as it's done with elegance. Before I can continue that thought Tomoe appears with a huge smile covering her face. She is positively aglow. I can't help but let out a small laugh at this sight.
She comes to our table and all eyes are on her.
"I'm so hungry! You've finished eating already?"
She sits down with her tray that's been loaded with lots of food and starts eating fast.
"You shouldn't eat that much, you won't feel good and you wouldn't want to feel sick during your exam, would you?"
As if my words reminded her of something she had already forgotten she stopped her eating and looked at me in puzzlement and then suddenly in understanding.
"That was today? I hope it won't take too long I have plans for later."
I just look at Tomoe in disbelief. Chie and Aoi are speechless which is quite an achievement in itself. I know that Tomoe doesn't care about the Temple at all, but forgetting her final exam is quite unexpected, and now she continues to eat like nothing just happened.
"Mai!"
Aoi shouts a girl's name and the girl looks towards our direction. She's a pretty girl, that wears the orange uniform and brown skirt of the HiME Temple, she also has bright orange hair, that Tomoe will copy in her own unique way I'm sure. I've heard of her, despite being a relatively new student she is already quite known for her extraordinary talent and also her extreme stubbornness when it comes to rules concerning the HiME and their behaviour. She approaches our table and Chie introduces her.
"Shizuru this is Mai. It's a shame you're having your final exam today, I would love to see a practice battle between you two."
"Ara ara, you make it sound like I'm going to disappear after today. I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities later."
Mai smiles and takes my hand.
"Shizuru it's a pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine."
A great pleasure indeed. I look at her intensely, feeling sorry that I didn't get to know her sooner. There is no way she hasn't noticed that she's the object of my interest because she blushes a little and she tries to look away from me. So she's shy too? Wonderful!
"Please take a seat."
Mai sits opposite of me, my eyes never leaving her. I smile not only because I'm trying to charm her but also because Tomoe is looking at me with a grin on her face. Well she knows what my intention is.
"So you're having your final exam today."
"Yes."
"Good luck with it!"
"Thank you."
"Don't worry Shizuru, we believe in you!"
Chie's words make me more confident. I believe that I can defeat Haruka no matter how tough she is. Tomoe on the other hand doesn't seem to care about the exam. She's just finished eating and now she stares at a girl passing by.
"Tomoe, you haven't heard about the changes at our exams yet."
At the sound of her name she looks at me.
"We are not fighting the teachers but Yukino and her loud roommate."
"Haruka?"
Tomoe doesn't seem worried.
"You know them?"
"Of course!"
That's not a surprise. Tomoe seems to know every single girl in the school and she dated most of them. I wonder if she had some time with Mai. I must ask her later. I notice her watching Aoi intensely. This girl has no limits. Not even Chie's deadly look stops her. Aoi must be one of the few girls that has escaped Tomoe.
"Yukino is a capable HiME. Her ability to become invisible is quite impressive. I don't know much about Haruka's HiME abilities unfortunately, I only know her as the enforcer of truth and justice."
We all start to laugh. Mai is referring to her first meeting with Haruka. It was on her first day too. Haruka was making a big deal about Mai's immoral behaviour in public or something like that. She made the mistake of kissing someone in public and she didn't button up the first two buttons of her uniform. Like she is wearing it now, to my pleasure. Soon the lunch break will be over and we should slowly get ready for the exam.
"I'm so sorry but we have to leave your pleasant company."
My eyes fall on Mai as I say those words.
"We have to prepare for the exam."
"Of course. Good luck to both of you!"
"Thank you. We'll see each other later."
Tomoe stands up and follows me back to our room.
"So are you interested in Mai now?"
I smile as I remember the pretty girl.
"I haven't talked to her before. I was just nice."
"Really?"
"Yes, but it's never too late to get to know her better. Did you go on a date with her?"
"Nah, she's not my type."
"I didn't know Tomoe had a type! You've taken almost every girl in the school."
"They were my type."
I laugh as I watch her lie down.
I check myself in the mirror and adjust my uniform while Tomoe stretches her body on the bed.
"You know we should make our way to the hall, it wouldn't make a good impression if we were late."
"Already? I thought that you had other things on your mind when you brought me here."
"Maybe later."
I open the door and stand there waiting on my roommate.
"Are you coming?"
"Yeah."
She stands up and follows me unwillingly.
-
As we enter the trainings hall I see the teachers gathered together
talking quite intensely. We walk further into the hall and a bit to
the side I notice our opponents.
Haruka seems ready for a fight. I didn't agree with Chie about Haruka being a difficult opponent but from her expression I know that she is really determined to win and maybe this fight will be more of a challenge than I thought. She stares at me with hate in her eyes and then whispers something in Yukino's ear. Yukino seems calmer than her partner. She smiles shyly and blushes a bit and even if I don't know these girls that well, just one single look at them is enough to tell me that they're completely different from each other.
Suddenly Midori materializes her Element and screams something I can't
understand. Fumi and Yukariko also materialize their Element and Youko
and Ishigami wisely back off. No one is moving yet, I take a look at
Tomoe and even she seems interested to see what's going to happen next.
From behind Fumi, Mashiro walks towards Midori. She tells her something
and Midori just nods and dematerializes her Element. After seeing that,
Youko goes to Midori and slaps the back of her head before she walks off
again. Midori just looks after Youko and then runs after her and I see
them arguing at the other side of the hall. Yukariko and Ishigami also
walk in the direction of Youko and Midori and Mashiro calls us to her.
"All four of you have your final exam today and as I am sure you have
already heard we decided to do something different today. Instead
fighting one of the teachers you will fight each other. Of course all
the same rules as always apply. Remember you are HiME and as such you
must look and act like one as well."
Tomoe looks extremely bored by now.
"The first two will be Yukino and Tomoe. Please try not to kill each other. Good luck to both of you."
With that she and Fumi walk a bit to the side and Haruka and I follow them. Chie was right. I really ended up having that loud blond as my opponent. When I thought that I could be fighting Yukino I wasn't sure how I could defeat her, but now that she is fighting Tomoe and her suicide style of fighting, not only feel I bad for her but I'm also concerned for her life. Yukino is an excellent fighter with a perfect technique. Tomoe doesn't seem to have a technique and it's very hard to adjust to her style, if one can call it a style, but there is also still the fact that Yukino can use her Element to turn invisible and although sometimes I feel like Tomoe can sense girls, still she will have trouble with that.
Yukino takes her Sai and goes into fighting stance; her Element only generates that field so she uses Sai to fight. Tomoe gets ready and... takes out a white handkerchief?
"I give up."
She turns around and walks towards Mashiro and me. Yukino looks after her unsure what to do. Mashiro looks like she expected something like this, even though it isn't obvious from her face.
"Congratulations Yukino, now that you passed this exam, always behave according to your position."
Yukino just nods and walks towards Haruka, who looks like lightning struck her. Not because Yukino won but because Tomoe quit. Haruka is not only the loudest person I've ever known but the most competitive too; quitting must be something that's unknown to her. Tomoe on the other hand looks like she doesn't have a care in the world and grins my way.
"Looks like I lost. I guess I wasn't good enough to be a prefect role model for all those younger students yet and I was so looking forward to all those new responsibilities. Good luck Shizuru."
"Yes I can see how sad you are."
And with that I walk to the 'arena' with Mashiro and Haruka. Looks like she calmed down from the shock of seeing someone quitting, although she still doesn't look any friendlier. This girl has serious anger management problems. I really wonder what Yukino sees in a girl like her.
"Again I like to remind you this is not a fight to the death, so no killing blows or accidental blows to the head or anything of the like! Good luck to both of you."
We both materialize our Elements. My beautiful Naginata is in my palm. I take my first look at Haruka's weapon. If I were a manga character I would have a huge sweatdrop on my head now. I knew she had that huge inelegant weapon but this thing is beyond words. She is holding a huge mace that's bigger than her. Fighting with that thing must be really troublesome and doesn't leave much room for style and elegance.
"Fujino!!"
She screams my name and comes at me swinging her mace. She is more agile with that thing then I expected but I still block her attack easily and immediately launch a counter attack, which she parries. Her speed with that weapon is impressive and for a while the only sounds that can be heard are our weapons colliding. Her last blows had so much force that I stagger back a bit, thinking she has me she follows and goes for the finishing blow but also leaves herself wide open. I quickly use my weapon to sweep her of the ground, before she can do anything I point the blade in front of her face. After a few seconds she realizes that she lost and her face starts to turn as red as my blade in front of it. Mashiro and all the others are now coming to us and I dematerialize my weapon. I would help her up but I fear she will bite my hand off. Yukino has no such fears as she rushes to her side and quickly helps her up.
"Congratulations Shizuru, now that you passed this exam always behave according to your position. Now if you excuse me I must leave to prepare for the festival."
Mashiro and Fumi leave the hall just in time it seems. Haruka looks ready to explode, her face is even redder and she seems ready for another fight.
"Fujino this is not over! Nobody wins against Haruka! Yukino, let's go!"
And without another word she marches towards the exit of the hall, Yukino quickly bows and hurries after her.
Tomoe waits until the other teachers congratulate me and then also comes.
"Nicely done Shizuru, with this title even more girls will now battle for your attention."
"Ara ara, do I sense fear in Tomoe's voice?
"Only concern for your well being of course. I wouldn't want you to exhaust yourself. Especially now that you represent the Temple and all."
"How thoughtful of you."
"And because I'm so thoughtful I suggest we quickly go back to our room and get some rest before the festival."
Tomoe takes my hand and leads me towards the the exit and then to the dorm. As we reach the room's door she opens it and pulls me inside. Tomoe looks like resting is not on her mind. I guess after that fight a bit of relaxation is in order and there is still plenty of time to get ready for the festival. So why not spend it doing something productive.
"Shizuru let me give you your graduation gift."
And she starts taking off her clothes.
-------
Tomoe's hair is all over the pillow as she's lying on the bed next to me. I can't believe how much energy this girl has. She didn't give up because she was tired, that's for sure.
"Tomoe why didn't you fight?"
I don't know why I'm even asking. I guess I need to hear it from her, although I already know the answer.
"I really don't care if I graduate or not. I'm only here because of you anyway. The only person that should graduate is you and I'm glad that you managed to defeat that angry blond."
"Angry indeed, I'm surprised she hasn't crashed through the wall yet. She's been screaming for a while now. She wasn't easy to defeat you know."
"I saw that. For a moment I was actually worried there. I'm sure she'll be like a wild animal in a cage now that her greatest rival defeated her."
"Greatest rival? Are you kidding? I don't even know her and I've already forgotten her name again."
"Trust me when I tell you that she knows you very well and considers you her greatest rival."
"If you say so. I'm just lucky I'm not in that room right now. Yukino must be deaf already."
She starts laughing and I smile at her and get up to prepare for tonight's festival. I just have the perfect purple dress and I should also do something with my hair. I'm taking a look at Tomoe's hair. Maybe something less drastic would be in order.
"Tomoe have you seen the king and the queen before?"
"Hmm I have seen them once but it was from far away. They didn't use to take walks where I used to live."
I just nod and leave to take a shower. When I get back Tomoe disappears to take a shower, by the time she returns I'm already dressed and I'm starting get my hair ready. Tomoe is sitting on her bed and watching me take care of my hair. Now I stand in front of her with a satisfactory smile on my face.
"How do I look?"
"Astonishing! You'll be the most beautiful girl in there, believe me."
Tomoe likes to flatter me but she seems sincere this time. I take a look of myself at the mirror and I am very pleased with my appearance. Purple suits me after all.
"The noise next door has quieted down, meaning they already left, so I think we should leave soon or else we'll miss the king and queen's arrival. Come on hurry up!"
Tomoe stands up and starts dressing.
"Give me five minutes."
"Here how about you take this lovely dress here?"
She just gives me a look and takes one of her plaided skirts and a black tiny shirt that's too short to be considered a shirt or even clothing. I sigh. I refuse to give up on her. That's when I notice the colour of her skirt.
"Are you planning to change your hairstyle?"
"Nope."
"But your hair is red and your skirt is green!" You can't go like that! Those two colours don't match!"
"Yeah I know I'm committing a sin against fashion, but that's not the only sin I'm planning to commit tonight. So let's go."
She puts on her boots and doesn't even bother to tie her laces properly as she stands up and waits by the door. I was also going to comment that her hair and my dress clash but I fear what she will come up with. Last time I tried to get her to change her hair she ended up having purple hair that looked like tiny snakes, asking me if that was more to my liking. Better if I don't complain and just nod and go.
The festival takes place in a huge hall, much bigger than the trainings hall where we fought before. It looks like most students are here already. It's crowded with people from all schools, but mostly HiME since this is the Temple's most important festival, but I'm sure Mashiro will hold a speech about its importance again. Just like every year. The hall is beautifully decorated, everything is perfectly prepared for the arrival of the royal pair.
"That purple bubuzuke snake!"
That loud girl passes in front of me hissing those words and continuing with more harsh words I can't understand, Yukino following her like always. What is her problem now?
A loud laugh makes me turn around and face a Tomoe who is laughing so hard! I give her an irritated look and turn my back to her.
"I'm sorry Shizuru but it's so funny! She is so obsessed with you. I think you made an enemy today."
"Have I? Oh well nothing I can do about it, perhaps I can find Mai and tell her about my troubles since you find them amusing."
She starts to laugh even harder now. Ah, I'm such a lonely girl.
"Can I have your attention please?"
Mashiro speaks and all the noise in the hall disappears as they all stop talking waiting to hear what she has to say.
"We have gathered here today to celebrate the Annual Seaslug Festival. This year's festival though is more special than the others. The king and the queen are here to celebrate with us."
Just like I predicted Mashiro keeps talking about how important this day is and I stop paying attention to what she says. I hear these words every year and I wonder why she keeps repeating herself every time we have this festival.
"I hereby present you his majesty King Sakomizu XIV and Queen Saeko of Afro Disiac!"
Finally! The moment that I have been waiting for the whole day arrives and I watch the royal pair walk towards the centre of the great hall. The King looks nothing like I expected him to. He seems like a nice person at first glance but the centre of my interest is not him.
The Queen is standing next to him. She's astonishing. Her wonderful clothes show that she's a woman who knows of style. The Queen's appearance captures my look, her long dark blue hair and the grace with which she is moving. I find it difficult to remove my eyes from her. I wonder if I can get closer to a person like that.
She seems to notice my intense gaze since I'm quite close to her and she makes an attempt to fix her glasses on her nose. When her eyes meet mine I give her one of my most charming smiles and I get a smile from her. She blushes a little and her eyes move away from me.
"Careful, your fangirls will explode if you keep up like that."
Tomoe whispers into my ear and points to my fanclub and I almost laugh. I stare at them and some of them look like they are about to cry. I smile and wave shortly at them which has an immediate effect as they all start to blush.
"There the world is safe once again."
"Serious Shizuru I don't think this is a good idea."
"Ara ara, I didn't know that Tomoe is jealous."
"Me? Jealous? Of course not! I'm just trying to prevent you from committing treason or whatever an affair with the queen would be called."
"I don't think there is a reason to worry, Tomoe. It's called an affair because no one knows about it."
I never failed in getting what I wanted so far in my life. What does it matter if she's a queen? I keep looking at her and I notice that she gives me quick glances, trying not to make it seem as if she's interested in me.
The king finished speaking now and it's her turn to speak. Her sweet voice reaches my ears, it fills the hall and suddenly...
BANG!
Some kind of explosion resounds somewhere inside the hall and I turn quickly to try find the sourc. A huge hole is visible in one of the walls of the large room and something white... Is that snow?
The temperature of the rooms drops instantly and a girl with long blue hair enters the room on an iceslide. Behind her, holding on tightly, is a smaller cute girl holding a huge sword. They spread chaos and panic as the quickly slide through the room, taking out teachers and security alike and evading the others.
The girls are too fast for them and the blue haired girl's expression is one of amusement, it looks like she's enjoying this chaos she is creating.
The smaller girl is still holding on tightly to her and also blocking the couple of attacks that actually reach them. They are coming towards us now leaving the ones chasing them far behind in the snow and ice on the ground. They pass in front of me and I notice that I'm not the only one that's not chasing them; Tomoe is standing next to me as well and looking intrigued. I can't take my eyes off that blue haired girl. She has something that attracts me so much, that makes me want to look at her forever. The world doesn't exist around me anymore, just her amused face as she slides closer to the royal pair.
"Hello daddy!"
"Natsuki!"
My eyes open wide in an instance as I notice the resemblance now. Mother and daughter they are exactly the same! The one is like a copy of the other! Why didn't I notice that before? She's their daughter! That girl that he called Natsuki, the same girl that has amazed me since the first moment she entered the room is the princess!
She stops so close to me and creates an ice dagger in her palm which she throws directly towards the king! I never realised when I jumped and moved the king out of the way. She stares at me with an unreadable expression and then slides away.
I watch her disappear through the hole that they created in the wall, that small girl still behind her and all the ones who were chasing them follow them. My world loses its colour the same moment that I cannot lay my eyes on her. All I can think of is that there is no way that I will let her get away from me. The HiME Temple, the King and the amazing Queen that stand a few meters away from me have no meaning.
They congratulate me for saving King Sakomizu. Mashiro starts speaking, saying something about how useful a capable HiME like me will be for the Temple and for the world's safety. The words fly past my ears, I don't pay attention. A question doesn't leave my mind. Where is that girl now?
I don't intend to stay here anymore. I leave the great hall where the Festival is being held, or rather what's left of it, and walk back to my room. I throw myself on the bed right after I pass the door. As I close my eyes I picture in my mind her face with that amused expression as she was spreading the panic in the hall.
I don't know how much time has passed as I lie here on my bed. Tomoe hasn't appeared yet and the complete silence helps me calm down and fall asleep after a while.
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The first morning that I wake up being a full HiME and not a student should be a little different. At least that's what I think as I open my eyes. I dreamt of her and the dream seemed so long as if it lasted for the whole night.
"Natsuki."
I check Tomoe's bed and I find it untouched. She spent the night out again. I don't know if I should say goodbye to her or to any of the people that matter to me. Maybe it's better if they know nothing.
I have made up my mind. This is a decision I made before she even exited the hall on her iceslide. I will find her wherever she is; follow her to the edge of the world if I have to. I quickly shower and get dressed having decided to take nothing with me except some of my favourite dresses, not that HiME own much anyway.
On my way out I slip a piece of paper under Chie and Aoi's door, telling them that I have left. I have no clue where I'm heading to. I know nothing about them but I have the feeling that I will find them in the end.
"Shizuru?"
A familiar voice.
"Tomoe!"
"Shizuru what are you doing? What's that bag you're carrying?"
I cannot fool Tomoe so I decide to say the truth.
"I'm leaving. I'm going after the girls that attacked us yesterday."
"What the hell is this? Leaving without even letting me know about it! When did you plan on telling me Shizuru? Or should I expect a goodbye note on my bed when I get back to the room?"
Tomoe is irritated and I feel a little surprised seeing her like this.
"I didn't want to drag you into this. That's why I didn't say anything."
"And you think I care about all this? I don't give a damn about the HiME Temple or anything associated with it! I already told you I'm only here because of you, so you're stuck with me. Even if it means leaving the Temple with all the cute and available girls so be it!"
"I'm shocked! I never would have thought that there is something more important to you than your girls."
"Funny. So do you know where to find them?"
"I have no clue where they might be."
I laugh a little but she just looks at me.
"Lucky you have me around then. I spent last night asking around about your dear ice princess and what do you know she is quite famous, but finding the ship she is from was quite a problem."
I can't believe what I'm hearing.
"You found her!"
"Follow me."
She walks ahead of me and I follow her satisfied. Tomoe leads me away from the town and towards a small bay that's hidden behind a forest. She stops and looks back at me.
"Shizuru that's her ship, the Obsidian Lord. I think you'll find whatever you're looking for on that ship."
I didn't think I would be meeting Natsuki again so soon, yet now she's so close! I can't wait to see her beautiful face! I look ahead at the ship and smile.
To be continued
