A/N: Hello! After receiving so many compliments, I truly feel guilty for updating so late. Though I'm afraid that I'll need to slow down on this fic a bit, since I need to rush and catch the train labled 'Real Life'. I'd rather write this stories than reports, but... You know how it is. Which isn't to say that I'm abandoning Jump Drive! No! I've decided I'd finish it, just as my previous multi-chaptered story. Sure, it was three years after starting it, but still!
Thank you for the encouragement and comments! I've taken the liberty of not writing PMs with teary confessions of how much I love you, because I think you don't need that much cheesiness in your lives. I don't have anything besides words of gratitude towards you readers. *fireworks* Of course, if you've addressed something, I'll take the time and explain properly, if possible.
About the chapter; the action's back again (no kidding) and I hope it's not hard to follow. And, oh, we have other boiling issues! Whatever could they be?
You can either overlook or scream in rage at me for any typos and other mistakes. Ah, and another thing. I was having this as a thought (unrelated to the current story), and I felt compelled to inform my narrow audience of something. Many people in the HiME-fandom find Natsuki's obsession with mayonnaise irrational. It's not! Japanese mayo is one of the few joys in the life of a person living alone! Especially if they can't cook! If you haven't tried this godly substance, don't criticise mayolers for adding it to almost anything - it's the only thing that can make food edible sometimes. Rant over, sorry.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome.
Luck was on their side in only one aspect and it was the fact that there were nearly no currently occupied houses in the area the attack occurred. Most of the buildings were holiday villas or rental property, thus there weren't lives endangered when the group of three Orphans struck the area. Except for the lives of the HiME intercepting them, that is.
Natsuki could see them clearly and with detail from afar – they were that big. All three of them looked like the Orphans she had come to know all too well, no sign of those new types they had encountered at Fuuka and Kyoto. This almost managed to put her at ease, since she at least knew what to expect from such big opponents. Then it dawned on her that her beloved partner wasn't by her side, so their straight dash towards the mayhem hadn't been a good idea. Judging by the looks on her two companions' faces, the same thought had just struck them too.
They skidded to a halt and exchanged worried glances. It didn't seem any of them had a plan on how to counter the threat. Which was getting closer to their position. And so was somebody else. Among the dust lifted in the air Natsuki managed to make out a human silhouette running towards them. She observed from behind her guns' sights how the Wang girl was sprinting with all her might, doing her best not to get caught-up in the debris flung around by the monsters. Soon not only parts of villas were her problem though: the Orphans had realized that she had managed to get away and were beginning to focus on landing their attacks on her.
Natsuki didn't waste more time and started shooting her ice bullets at the heads of the deformed creatures. She couldn't even determine to what living forms they were similar; the Orphans kept growing weirder and weirder after her every encounter with them.
The creatures cried in annoyance at her feeble attacks and for a moment forgot about their exhausted target. The vacation houses were huddled on one side of the road Nina was being chased down, while trees were on the lake's. A simple plan formed in Natsuki's head.
"Nao! Take the right side, I'll take the left! Use the trees as leverage. Try to slow down those freaks with your sadist toys, or something," she dashed to the cover of the houses, sliding to a halt behind a wall, her back planting to it. "Midori, you're up at the front! I'll suport you from here."
With nothing more than a nod, Midori sprinted towards Nina, her labrys held in front of her, its motor buzzing for battle. Head-on charges were the Hero of Justice's specialty.
Nao stretched her arm and a couple of red wires shot out of the arm plates, wrapping themselves around the branches of a tall tree. She pulled herself in the crown and flung herself in a swift advance towards the Orphans.
Natsuki continued to shower the Orphans with ice bullets from her twin guns. She was aware that a few shots with either of her other firearms would drain her to the point of rendering her useless. While confidently advancing forward, she kept the Orphans busy enough, providing Wang with the chance to gain distance and at the same time helping Midori advance without being hindered much.
Even if the trees were still naked, Natsuki couldn't follow Nao's form. The only proof that Nao was there were the wires flashing red before disappearing and reappearing somewhere else. For somebody who hadn't seen action in some time, she was doing a very good job.
As was Midori, who had now passed Nina and jumped at the head of the Orphan at the front. Her first attack bounced off its platings and the monster opened its teethed mouth, a screech coming out of it. She used the opportunity to sink her blade into inner side of the Orphan's gaping mouth, thus pivoting herself around its head and ending up on the six-legged creature's back. The labrys was spinning above her head already, her eyes focused on the back of the Orphan's stumpy neck. The outcome was already clear.
The insect-like monster Natsuki was fixed on taking down buckled and finally crashed in a house next to it, as a series of bullets had managed to break off one of the blades, serving as legs. From the corner of her eye she saw Nina run past her at last, reaching the back of the small squad. She wanted to ask her a few questions immediately, but it was more important to completely dispose of the Orphan, which was already lifting its huge body from the rubble. Now entirely out of cover, Natsuki kept walking forward, unrelentingly shooting at the enemy.
The explosion from the Orphan Midori had taken care of blew her hair in her face and filled her nose with the burning smell of carnage. An image of the falling apart building of Fuuka Academy's church flashed before her eyes and the cold fingers of panic closed around her neck. Her firing let up for a brief moment, allowing the Orphan to jump at her.
Her legs moved on their own and if not for the pure force of her survival instinct, she would've been in the place of the hole in the road where the blades had struck. Biting her lip to the point of blood dripping down her chin, she unleashed another barrage of ice bullets at the Orphan. Seeing that at long last she had managed to breach its scales, she fired a few finishing rounds before diving for cover.
She lifted herself from behind the fallen beams and her eyes searched for Nao. The last Orphan had no time to react as red wires were already wrapped around its thin legs. Since the slim towering creature had no more than two of the limbs, it toppled forward. In a flash Nao latched onto its back, sinking with surgical precision her claws into both sides of its unprotected neck. It hadn't even touched the ground before it was dead.
The air trembled with the disposal of the final threat and after confirming that there weren't more Orphans close to their position, Natsuki turned towards Wang. The girl was looking at the team of three while still panting, but as all of them got closer she straightened up and her expression changed.
"Thank you, I owe you my life," she bowed stiffly, her sweaty bangs falling over her eyes.
"Don't thank us yet, Searrs," Natsuki narrowed her eyes. Nina lifted her head and regarded her with calm, behind which hostility could be easily sensed. It seemed that the feeling of mistrust was mutual.
"Are there more Orphans coming, Miss Stalker?" Nao leaned forward, hands on her hips. Nina shook her head, lips sealed, this provoking a victorious smirk. "Good. Now we can all be on our way."
She spun on her heels and started towards the town, but was stopped by a hand gripping her elbow. Natsuki pulled her around and stared at her, as did Midori.
"You're coming with us," Natsuki stated firmly, her gaze unwavering. Nao lifted her brow.
"Oh? Do you think I came here for recreation, Kuga?" She pulled herself free. "I'm here to hunt down the last of the criminals who ripped my family apart."
"What?" Midori threw a look at Nina, who looked away. Apparently she had failed to submit a report with such information, which could either mean she was helping Nao out, or that she had also been in the dark. Natsuki assumed the latter, knowing that underestimating Nao's abilities would be a mistake; a mistake a person who was a stranger to Nao was prone to make.
"The bastards were released from prison ahead of the term set," acidic words slowly crept out of Nao's mouth. "I already disposed of two of them. The last remaining one is in a prison in the North. Until he's dead, I could care less about the rest of the world."
"This is not up for discussion," Natsuki grit her teeth. Didn't Nao understand that now wasn't the time to be consumed in the want for revenge?
"No, it's not," Nao bristled up. "I'm doing this. And you're either helping me, or..."
Her sharp claws flashed and next thing Natsuki knew, they were millimetres away from her eyes. She stayed glued to her spot, her hands still holding tightly one of her guns.
"Or you're going to kill me here?" She asked with a steely voice. "If you kill me, the chances we find the reason behind this invasion will become slimmer. Do you hate humanity that much?"
"You think that after I helped saving it the last time I came to love it?" Nao didn't move, her eyes fixed on Natsuki. "That I'd gladly throw my life away for the people who abandoned me and let free the criminals that ruined my life? Don't make me laugh!"
"Nao-chan..." Midori took a step forward. "There are plenty of good people who are worth protecting."
"You're spouting your naïve stories again, teach!" Nao's burning eyes shifted towards her. "I spent the last two years looking for those bastards! One I found in Tokyo, the second – in Sapporo. The third one committed a petty crime and was sent again to prison, one north from here. So now that we're finished with saving China-girl's ass, I'm headed there."
She lowered her claws and moved back a little. Natsuki slowly released the breath she was holding ever since the realization that all the time she had been at Nao's side in Tokyo, she hadn't noticed anything.
Nao turned to look at Nina.
"Tell Searrs thanks for the new toys," she smirked. "They'll come in handy. Though using this kinda drains me more than just physically..."
"That's because they don't use the power of the Star, but your own reserve," Natsuki holstered her gun. "You need to be careful not to over-use the weapons. How do you plan on offing that guy?"
"What's it to you?"
"I'm lending you a hand."
"Nacchan!" Midori gasped from behind her.
"Tell me where that prison is," Natsuki continued.
If the smoke in the distance wasn't a sign that Natsuki and Midori had found Nao, Mai didn't know what was. They had heard for sure the three explosions, even if they were riding inside the Orion and were a good distance away from where the smoke was rising from. Youko gunned the engine harder now that they had a clearly set location.
Upon arriving at the scene they were, unsurprisingly, greeted by the sight of the road suddenly becoming pot-holed, burning houses, and rooted out trees on the lake's side. There was evidence of Orphan activity, namely a few sturdy-looking limbs and a piece of a head, laying in a pool of purplish liquid. And in the middle of it all stood four figures.
The Orion pulled to a stop and all the passengers rushed to the smaller group. Their anxiety was caused by the scene unfolding in front of them – Nina was holding Midori from behind, while the latter was shouting at the remaining two. Natsuki and Nao both wore unreadable masks, not moved at all by their ex-teacher's outburst.
"I will not allow such blatant abuse of power!" Midori screamed, struggling to free herself from the secure hold Nina had her in. "This is war! It's bigger than any of us! Natsuki, please, see reason!"
She panted and looked pleadingly at the the two. Their attention shifted towards the newcomers.
Mai reached the arguing three first, Shizuru and Haruka right behind her. Their arrival caused a bit of a disturbance, judging by the reactions of their comrades.
"Natsuki, what's going on?" Mai was fast to get to business.
"How'd you get here? Did you find a ferry?" Natsuki asked with unhidden hope, ignoring her question. Mai struggled between frowning and grinning.
"No, regretfully," Shizuru shook her head. "We came by other means," she held her hand up, seeing the intent of another question, "which we'll discuss later."
Natsuki gave up on inquiring any further and turned to Mai. "There's been a slight change of plans."
"What?" Mai had the feeling she wouldn't like the reason behind that. She asked anyway. This made Midori renew her struggle and pull successfully away from the distracted Wang Nina.
"Mai-chan, talk them out of it!"
"Out of what?"
"Midori," Natsuki fixed the archaeologist with a hard look Mai had come to recognize as one which demanded submission. "We need everybody ready and focused for this mission. If even one of us HiME has doubts or doesn't feel like giving her all, this could endanger all of us."
"A petty revenge is no reason..."
Nao was on Midori before anybody could do anything. She wasn't able to push the taller woman to the ground, but her claws closed threateningly around the other's neck.
"Nao!"
"I dare you say that again," Nao hissed.
"Enough!"
The single command was pronounced with such intensity that Nao almost jumped back from Midori, who in turn snapped her head to stare wide-eyed at Shizuru.
"Thank you," Shizuru's posture relaxed a bit and her usual smile returned to her lips. "I know that the last days have been hard on all of us. For now, let us talk about what happened after we got separated."
Mai was grateful they had avoided another episode of infighting. She glanced at Tomoe, who was slightingly observing them from a distance. It didn't escape her that neither Nina, nor Tomoe seemed happy to see each other, even if they were fellow Searrs agents. On the contrary, they looked as if they would prefer to be anywhere else than here.
It was then that Mai fully realized that they were facing an enemy way more frightening and dangerous than the Orphans and the ones like the Obsidian Lord.
"Are you two insane?"
Due to three long years of constant abuse of her ears Shizuru managed not to cringe at Haruka's booming voice. The ones on the receiving end, however, didn't have Shizuru's experience, though they covered their discomfort quite well behind a veil of tedium.
"You're as annoying as ever, Suzushiro," Nao proceeded with unfastening her claws. As soon as she pulled them off her hands, the steel strings retracted back in the main plate. She let them rest in her lap and looked up at Haruka, who was ready to jump at her from the seat in front.
"You want to infiltrate a prison?!" Haruka didn't give up. "Even I understand how dire the situation is. You are aware what is going on, right?"
"I gave her a full briefing while we were searching for Nina," Natsuki answered in Nao's stead. She was sitting in the isle between the two seats, her back resting on the bike. "You can be assured that she may as well know a lot more than you do, Suzushiro."
"And you!" Haruka had now fully turned, managing to elbow Mai in the shoulder, who on her turn squished Nina to the window. Shizuru managed to lean out of the way in time. "How can you agree to something so outrageous?"
Natsuki regarded her silently.
"Honestly, the one thing I cannot agree with here was dragging in the rest of us," Shizuru spoke at last looking at Natsuki's reflection in the window. Green eyes returned the attention. "You keep acting without the consent of the others."
Tomoe, who was sitting right of Natsuki and behind Shizuru, couldn't miss the opportunity to carp at the Ice HiME.
"It seems Kuga-san self-appointed herself as something like a leader of our group," she sighed animatedly. "That's no good. We should choose somebody who at least doesn't have suicidal tendencies and anger management issues."
"Do you want an ice shard jammed up your ass, Marguerite?" Natsuki snapped back, provoking a 'told you so' smirk on her adversary's face.
"Anyway," she coughed in her fist, the red fading from her cheeks, "I don't remember saying that all of us have to take part in this. Only Nao and I will go – the faster this is over, the better. We'll meet up with you at another port. While we're at the prison, you make sure to secure a way for us to travel to the mainland."
As nobody could actually argue against on a basis different than a moral one, they kept silent. Shizuru noticed Midori gritting her teeth, her clenched fists shaking, however she also gazed forward mutely. Youko put a hand on her shoulder and the two exchanged a brief moment of word-less discussion.
Natsuki, what are you trying to accomplish here? Who are you doing this for? Shizuru closed her eyes in thought. Natsuki had always been spontaneous and acted more on emotion than reason. So what was the emotion that was driving her this time?
"Returning to the other topic," Midori spoke after a few minutes, "it seems your group was also caught by surprise by the citizens, who behaved as if nothing was wrong."
"Yes," Shizuru confirmed, her mind clicking back to the events earlier that day. "Though after what you told us about that boy and the population of that small town it has started making sense. It seems that the Orphans can manipulate people's minds."
"Not the Orphans," Midori was quick to correct her. "The Obsidians."
Shizuru chose not to ask about the name the archaeologist had assigned the creatures. They did need a way to call them, after all.
"Yes, them," she nodded. "It is still a frightening thought. About how many people do you think they can control?"
"Not that big of a number," Natsuki joined them. "It seemed that only the higher-ups in that first town were the ones being controlled, along with that boy. And from what you told us, the citizens you came across when you... um, came out from the tunnels didn't behave out of the ordinary. Right?"
"The people at the maintenance station didn't, no," Mai crossed her arms. "Though I find it unusual that they didn't send the authorities after us after the confusion we left behind."
"Hmm... that confirms that a large number cannot be controlled at once, I guess," Midori started imputing the new information in her tablet. "We need to report this to Searrs."
"Wait, what about Touya?" Nao spoke up.
"Yes," Nina also looked bothered at them. "When I followed Yuuki-san yesterday all of the people we passed kept surveying her and paid no attention to me whatsoever."
"Feeling ignored, Wang?" Unsurprisingly, the taunt came from Tomoe. Nina didn't turn around.
"Not the point. At one moment it was as if I didn't exist and in the next I was also forced to flee, because they forcefully kept me from following Yuuki-san," she went on. "I managed to hide for a while, but then those Orphans attacked. It was as if they knew exactly where I was..."
"Probably you were seen by somebody..." Natsuki mused and growled in agitation. "This is frustrating... Hey, when Kanzaki was controlled didn't he have some sort of pendant around his neck?"
"Yes, he did," Mai's eyes widened in realization. "And so did Mikoto."
"Midori!" Natsuki didn't need to say more. The woman was already working on the unspoken request.
"I can't reach Searrs HQ," she hit the panel. "Signal's completely gone now. I can't even reach Yukino through that secure channel."
"Dammit," Natsuki cursed. "We'll need to trust the ones left in Fuuka to deal with the situation. We can't even warn them... Youko, how long till we reach that road fork?"
"Not so fast!" Youko stood with her hands on her hips behind Natsuki, who had just unloaded the bike from the Orion.
"What?" She regarded the doctor wearily. Shizuru watched the exchange from afar.
"Before you go, I need to perform a check-up. That's why you took me along in the first place!"
"Uh, right..." Natsuki rubbed her neck. "Why don't you start from Nao and China-girl? Neither Midori nor I sustained any injuries this time."
After a brief silence Youko conceded with a nod. "But you're next."
"That sounds like a threat, doc."
"Because it is," with a last scrutinizing look Youko turned around and went to tend to Nina and Nao, both of which didn't seem to appreciate the attention.
Figuring it was her only chance to catch Natsuki alone, Shizuru approached her quietly. Her friend was engrossed in checking the bike's condition and didn't notice her at first.
"Natsuki," Shizuru's voice made her turn around, a bit startled.
"Yeah?"
Shizuru kept looking at her with a smile, but that didn't seem to put Natsuki at ease. In fact, it made her even more guarded than before.
Should have known better, Shizuru inwardly sighed and let her expression fall. This managed to pique Natsuki's interest.
"What's wrong, Shizuru?" Her green gaze never failed in sucking Shizuru in a violent whirlpool of clashing emotions.
"I," Shizuru cleared her throat, "I found this in my pocket."
She held out the bottle with Natsuki's medications. It was snatched away with such speed that she could barely see Natsuki's hand move, let alone react. When she tried meeting her eyes, she found Natsuki looking everywhere else but at her. She smiled; she was glad that at least that this part of her hadn't changed.
"Natsuki?"
"I'm fine."
"For the sake of all that we have behind our backs, I think you can at least show me some respect by not lying to me."
"I-," Natsuki hesitantly met her gaze, "Do you know what these are for?"
"Mai-san told me."
"Then this means that you don't need to ask me that question," she cracked a bitter smile. "Don't worry, I won't put us in danger because of this, I promise."
"This is not something that can be controlled by will, Natsuki."
"I know," she hesitated for a bit before continuing. "You're so strong, Shizuru. I truly admire you."
Not being able to reply, Shizuru kept watching her. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for what she was about to say. Right now she couldn't afford to be distracted by Natsuki's unintentional reference to the Carnival.
"I've been thinking, Natsuki," she began. "About everything that's happened between the two of us."
Natsuki stiffened and even though she tried to hide it, it was written all over her face that she would prefer to be in the company of an Orphan horde than with Shizuru. Instead of running away or saying she didn't want to hear it, however, she simply shakily motioned for her to continue.
"I am not sure this is the right time, but seeing that after today we will most likely have less and less opportunities to talk... Natsuki, I want to get a few facts straight. After you told me that you wanted us to part ways forever, for a few weeks I didn't know whether I was still breathing. Then I started feeling confused, humiliated, and after that – angry. I didn't know what I had done wrong; not after everything around us started to look up. I was insecure and scared that you would leave me, but instead you seemed to want for us to become closer.
"And then, after the attack from Searrs you suddenly..." Shizuru paused for a moment. This wasn't going as smooth as she had pictured it inside her head. "I'm not going to lie to you – after the last couple of years spent apart from you, I resented the mere thought of ever seeing you again. But that only lasted until a few days ago."
Maybe it was impossible for her to recite all that she had been through in a smooth speech. Maybe the fact that she was concentrating more on not breaking down, rather than on her words, was a sign she needed to stop there. And maybe talking to Natsuki was a bad idea.
Nevertheless...
"First, I thought that the spontaneous joy that sprang in me simply by knowing you were nearby was due to the extreme fatigue and stress. But during the time we were on the road I had a lot of time to think; about the new threat, our affiliation with Searrs, where I stood in this mess, and about you. After hearing your reasons for pushing all your friends away I could begin to explain to myself your behaviour from back then. This does not mean I agree with the way you and Mai-san tried to resolve the issue."
"Shizuru, get to the point, please," Natsuki's low voice barely reached her ears.
She's shutting me out again.
"Alright then. I will. We can't keep this up. We've been dancing around each other for far too long," Shizuru's ears were buzzing, and her heart was pounding against her chest so hard that it felt like it wanted to burst out and leave her standing there, like the empty shell she had become. "If we survive all of this, will you want me in your life, even as a friend? Where are we right now?"
At last, she had asked. Now wasn't the time to be sensitive about the glaring issue. Not when they could die tomorrow. For a moment the joy that she had gotten the load off her chest and the anguish she had relived while recalling the past five years clashed like two waves. The emotions rose together and at the time of their peak, cancelled each other before they fell in her heart's ocean with a rumble. Shizuru watched with bated breath how Natsuki's lips moved to form an answer.
"Where are we? We are right here, you and I," she extended her hand forward. "If you reach out too, we'll even be able to touch. And if we do, I will probably pull you in.
"Unlike you, Shizuru, I can't say I did a lot of thinking. Thinking about the past two years hurts too much and I certainly cannot think my way out of this recent shit-storm. I tried and look where it got us. Maybe your question should be 'where will we be'. Should we drift apart, stay like this, or get closer? That's up for us to decide – I won't make it one-sided this time around. As for my wish, I can't word it properly. Not just yet. I'll show you when I feel I'm... when I feel we're ready.
"And now, before I say something more embarrassing," Natsuki scratched her pinkish cheek as she looked behind Shizuru, "I need to get my daily check-up before the hunt scheduled for dinner."
Mikoto's hands trembled with the exertion of just holding her sword. After the fifth Orphan she had slain, it had become heavier than ever. She was panting, gasping for a breath of fresh air, but all that filled her lungs was ash, smoke, and the unmistakable smell the Orphans carried around with themselves. Mikoto didn't know whether the other HiME could sense it. The stench of rotting organic flesh, mixed with the metallic reminder of the other substance of which the monsters were composed from.
She hated that smell. That is why she always tried to get rid of the Orphans as quickly as possible. Maybe for the others it seemed like she was strong and was disposing the monsters with ease. In fact, she was in such a hurry to end them that she put her all in her every strike. Never saving her energy, never thinking of the next wave that could be coming. And she usually didn't need to – she hadn't faced that many Orphans on her own before.
Another truth about why she pushed herself so much to drop those creatures was that she was absolutely terrified of them. They weren't like animals – they didn't kill to feed themselves. The Orphans simply killed for an unknown reason. Much like humans, she had come to understand. And out of every living form on the planet, the humans were the most dangerous. Combining that desire to murder with the body of a death-machine and you got an Orphan.
And now, Mikoto was being surrounded by more than she cared to count. Sweat was dipping in her eyes, her ears were pounding, and her knees were shaking. At least she had managed to assist the Searrs agents with helping the civilians get away. However, now she was left all alone in Fuuka Airport's cargo warehouse, with only the Orphans to keep her company. But like hell was she going to give up. Her brother and Mai would be so sad if she were to go down in such a place. And Natsuki and Nao would laugh at how weak she was, probably thinking that it was for the better for her to go this early if that's what it took to end her.
The grip around her sword tightened and she jumped at the nearest Orphan, slicing at its gaping mouth. She missed and the blade struck the ground, making a hole in it. Her speed saved her when she jumped out of the way of another attack. Her comm device buzzed.
"Mikoto-chan, Akane-san and Fumi-san are en route to aid you! They'll be there shortly!" Yukino's voice assured her that she was not forgotten, but Mikoto barely heard it. What was ringing in her ears was another sound, which she had thought she would never hear again. It wasn't a voice, but it did speak to her in a language she understood.
Kill them all, it repeated again and again. Destroy everything!
And she did, or at least she tried. By the time Akane and Fumi had come, Mikoto had already cut down three more Orphans. Had she not been knocked out a second later by the explosion from her last victim, she would have jumped at the other two HiME as well.