Seiya ran so furiously, she didn't have time for words as she pulled Yaten into the cave after her. By the time they reached it they were thoroughly soaked but Seiya paid little attention. The cave grew exponentially darker as they ran through it. Seiya couldn't help but notice that they were descending. A steady flow of water streamed around their feet, growing steeper as they went through it. When they were up to their calves Yaten stopped.
"It's flooding! We need to go back!" Yaten tried to turn around abruptly but Seiya still had a tight grip on her arm and the sudden motion sent both girls to the ground.
"We can't go back! If we try to find another one we'll get washed away in the current, or the wind will tear us apart. We don't have a choice—we need to get to higher ground."
"How do you know it won't keep getting lower?" It was a legitimate question, and suddenly Seiya knew the answer.
"Hello!!!" She called towards the direction they had been moving. The sound bounced back at her. "There's either a wall or a cliff," she concluded. "Either way, it doesn't keep going down. Come on, it's our only chance." She pulled Yaten to her feet and they trudged on.
They were waist deep when they nearly ran into the rocky cliff. From what they could feel, it rose sharply in front of them. They didn't know what awaited them at the top, but anything seemed better than drowning.
Seiya started climbing blindly when she heard Yaten cry out. "What is it?" she asked.
"My foot's stuck!" said Yaten, who sounded like she was struggling.
Seiya leapt down, causing a splash when she landed.
"What are you doing?" Yaten asked incredulously.
"Saving your life," Seiya said before taking a deep breath and going under. She found Yaten's ankle and felt where her foot was trapped. She attempted to pull it free but did not succeed. Finally her lungs demanded breath and she surfaced.
"What are you thinking!?" Yaten screamed at her.
"I'm not leaving you here," Seiya answered determinedly, spitting out water between words.
"Look, you've got no one to impress so stop trying to play hero. Just leave me here and go up that cliff by yourself."
"You're wrong if you think that's what this is about." Once more she ducked under the water, groping at the rocks wildly as she attempted to free her. After a minute she came up for air again.
"I don't understand why you're doing this!" Yaten said with frustration. She sniffled and Seiya wasn't sure if it was from the water or if she was actually crying. "You can still save yourself if you just go." She sounded more desperate now. "Otherwise we'll both drown here."
"I'm not going to let you drown alone. Here." She knelt so that the water was up to her neck. "Push down on my shoulders as hard as you can. I'm going to push up. Hopefully it'll be enough force to free you."
Yaten didn't say anything for a time. Seiya tilted her head to keep it about the water level. "Come on, if we work together we can do this. Then we can both climb up to safety, okay?"
Yaten answered by putting her hands on Seiya's shoulders as instructed. She pressed down and Seiya pushed up. After a grunt from Yaten and a huge effort on both parts her foot came free.
"Come on," Seiya said, wasting no time. They climbed hastily up the cliff and after what seemed like an endless ascent they emerged onto a flat, dry area. Seiya collapsed onto it and Yaten sank down to her knees a few feet away from her. The rushing of water below them seemed less daunting from their position. Seiya tried to put it out of her thoughts and figure out what to do next.
------
Yaten desperately attempted to control her panting. She didn't want Seiya to know how tired or afraid she was. Water brought back so many painful memories, and that was almost worse than the present situation. She closed her eyes and attempted to calm the maelstrom of emotions whirling inside her.
A hand grabbed for her and she pulled back so suddenly that she fell onto her wounded ankle. She let out a cry of pain and scampered away until she felt a wall against her back. Tucking her legs to her body closely, she sat shivering both from the cold and fear.
"I'm sorry," Seiya said, sounding like she truly was. "I didn't mean to hurt you." Yaten gave no verbal response. She leaned her forehead onto her knees and began to cry silently. After a time Seiya asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Yaten answered unconvincingly, her voice shaky. She heard movement in front of her and opened her eyes, looking in Seiya's direction. Seiya gasped audibly.
"Your eyes—they're glowing!"
Yaten frowned and stared at the girl. On a hunch she lifted up her hand and waved it next to her but Seiya never took her eyes off Yaten's. "You can't see," Yaten said softly as the realization struck her.
"See? It's pitch black in here." Seiya sounded somewhat offended.
Yaten shifted positions and rose to her feet. With small steps she made her way to the dark-haired girl. Seiya drew back as if expecting an attack. When she was barely two feet away she stopped and kneeled in front of her.
Knowing that she had the advantage left Yaten feeling a little empowered. She reached out and let her hand hover over Seiya's cheek. Feeling bold, she traced the nape of the girl's neck down to the collar of her shirt. Her top was soaked and the thin material clung to her skin. Yaten could see the shape of her breasts as clearly as if Seiya had been wearing nothing. A new feeling began to fill her and she withdrew her hand guiltily.
"Do you still have your pack?" she asked, attempting to distract herself. Seiya slid her backpack off her shoulders and emptied its contents in the space between them. Seiya felt through the items and pulled out a thin silver object roughly the size of a pencil. She flicked something on its side several times and cursed.
"Damn, we needed that to start a fire," she explained. Yaten took a look around. She got up and walked over to the wall where she had been sitting. She pressed herself against it and began sniffing.
"What are you doing?" asked Seiya from where she sat.
"Looking for something," Yaten answered vaguely as she moved along it slowly. At last she found what her nose told her was there—fragments of flint jutting out of the wall. She ran a finger along its surface and tasted it to verify. When she was certain she leaned her weight onto it and broke it off with a grunt.
"Is that steel?" she asked, sitting in front of Seiya again.
"What, you mean the lighter? No, I don't think it is, but"—she pulled something from her back pocket—"will this work?"
Yaten took the pocket knife out of her hand and opened it. "It should."
"We still need something to light," Seiya pointed out. Yaten opened up her own pack and pulled out a circle of rope. She set it to the side and held the blade towards it, striking the blade with the flint. It took several sparks before one caught, and in a few moments a slow fire was burning.
Seiya held up a hand to shield her eyes. She squinted and looked towards the small blaze. "You had rope this entire time?" she asked in disbelief. "That could have been useful when we were climbing down that cliff," she said with a note of contempt.
"Clearly it's useful now," Yaten said, to which she received no objection. "What are you doing?" she asked, startled as she noticed Seiya beginning to pull off her shirt.
"I'm getting dry," Seiya stated casually and finished pulling it over her head. Yaten immediately turned her head away. Her heart rate jumped and now her ankle wasn't the only thing throbbing.
"What?" Seiya asked innocently. "No need to be modest. We're both girls."
Yaten turned her back on Seiya completely, facing the wall. "On my planet, people aren't so shameless." She nearly spat the last word, hoping her animosity would conceal her real feelings.
"Look, I respect your planet's culture but I don't intend to waste this fire." Yaten could hear her strip off her shorts and toss them aside. She sat frozen in place, not in the least because of the cold. Seiya continued, "If you want to sit there and freeze to death then I'm not going to stop you."
Yaten didn't answer. She was incredibly cold, but she had no intention of taking off her clothes in front of Seiya. The very thought of it planted an unsettling feeling in her stomach.
She stared ahead blankly and tried in vain to purge her mind of the image of the naked girl behind her.
------
"Taiki?"
Taiki stepped back from her father's desk, her hand over her mouth doing little to conceal the look of horror on her face. Her father got up and walked around to where she stood. He held her arms to support her. Taiki shook her head but no words issued from her. The man shook his daughter gently. "Taiki, answer me hon."
With an effort she dropped her hand and made an attempt at regaining her composure. When she spoke, her mouth felt parched and her voice was low. "You want me to tell you if I'm alright, after what you just told me… Does it even matter?"
"Taiki, listen, I understand how you're feeling. I entrusted you with this knowledge confidentially, and if anyone were to find out—"
"Are you serious!?" she practically screamed, breaking away from him. "All you care about is you damn job? I can't believe you. My best friend's life is in danger!"
At that moment the door to his office swung open. Kakyuu stepped inside and froze when she saw Taiki. She looked back and forth between the two of them and then calmly shut the door.
"You told her?" she asked Corin, and her quiescent voice was marked with subtle anger.
"You knew?!" Taiki made a move towards her but her dad held her wrist. She broke away easily and stepped in front of the Headmistress. "If you knew then why did you let her into the school?"
Kakyuu frowned as she looked up at the taller girl. "I'm afraid you don't understand the circumstances."
"I don't care about circumstances!" Taiki shot back.
"Taiki, if she stayed on that planet she was going to be executed."
"Then she should have been!!" Taiki screamed, whirling to face her father. "Yaten Shita deserves to die!"
"That's enough!" shouted Kakyuu, her voice carrying over the others. Addressing Corin, she said, "I don't know what compelled you to violate the law and nearly worry your daughter to death in the process, but you are out of line."
"So now you're getting mad at him? It was your mistake—"
Kakyuu threw up her hand and the motion silenced the student. "One more word out of you and you'll be suspended. Now I suggest you return to your dorm and wait out the storm there."
Taiki's jaw was clenched so tightly that she couldn't open her mouth for a response. Furiously she stomped past the Headmistress and exited the control room, slamming the door with all of her strength on the way out.
She took the elevator down to the dorms and headed to the one she shared with Seiya. The conversation with her father replayed in her mind. It stilled seemed like a bad dream, one that she hoped desperately to awaken from. Everything made sense now, in a way. Yaten's mysterious transfer in the middle of the school year, her antisocial behavior… The only thing she couldn't understand was why. Why did Kakyuu bring her into the school, knowing full well what she had done? She couldn't help but feel betrayed by both the Headmistress and her father.
Taiki's hand hesitated on the id pad outside of her room. True to her word, Kakyuu wouldn't hesitate to suspend her after the ordeal in the control room, but she couldn't just abandon her best friend.
She turned and walked back down the hallway from where she had come. Some things were just more important than not getting suspended.
