Disclaimer:
I don't own Mai Hime/Otome.
Chapter 10:
Yukito Kikukawa couldn't breathe. Dark green vines held him in place, suspended just above the roof of his bedroom. He tried to open his mouth, but it was as if he had no control of his body. He looked up again at the giant plant-like creature. The plant, though seemingly trying to suffocate the teenage boy, was trying to tell him something. Something he should already know.
"Help me." the creature called out to him.
Yukito had no idea what this thing was, or what it wanted with him. He continued to try and struggle out of it's grasp. Bad idea. The vines tightened and what seemed to be the head of the plant, looked him directly in the eye.
"Please, help me." the plant repeated itself.
He wanted to call back to it. How could he help? What did it mean? Then the plant looked at him, whispering a single name into his ear. For a few moments the name rang clearly through his head, as if remembering an old friend. Then as quickly as he had remembered, the important name left his thoughts once more.
"Wait! Please wait!" he yelled to the now disappearing plant. "I don't understand! I don't remember! I know this is important and yet I can't remember!" he cried out.
"Wake up." the plant said.
"What?" Yukito asked.
"Wake up." the plant repeated, this time a little louder.
"But I--"
WAKE UP YUKITO!" yelled Takeda loudly, yelling into his roomate's ear.
"GAHHH!" yelped Yukito as he awoke suddenly, snapping up from his bed.
The first thing he saw when his eyes adjusted to the light was his dorm mate Takeda Masashi. He wondered if his nightmare was over or just beginning. Takeda was not the type of person anyone wanted to wake up to in the morning. Yukito then heard giggling in the corner of his room and looked over to see Nao Yuuki, his current girlfriend.
"Nao-chan, what the heck are you doing in the boys dorms?" he asked, slightly annoyed, but also happy to see her.
"Waiting on you slowpoke." the redhead teased. "Yuki-kun, you look so cute when you just wake up."
"Yeah Yuki-kun, you're just soooooo CUTE." Takeda mimicked, clasping his hands together and batting his eyelashes.
"You do that surprisingly well." Yukito commented, looking for his school uniform.
"Yukito hurry up. I don't want to be late again. You know how hard assed the Student Council Enforcers are." Nao warned, eyes darting from side to side.
"What?" asked Takeda. "The great and wondrous Nao is afraid of the Student Council?" he finished. "Oh how times have changed."
Nao rolled her eyes as she began to sift through the various articles of clothing, fast food containers, magazines and Kendo crap that was on the floor.
"Here it is." she said, lifting up the crumpled uniform.
"It looks like shit." commented Takeda.
Yukito looked at Takeda and sighed. How the hell had he ended up with this imbecile as his dorm mate. Fate had not been smiling down upon him that day. He had known Takeda since they were kids, and the Kendo captain's IQ seemed to fall a few notches every year.
At that moment the door flew open and banged against the back of the wall. The door then swung back and detached from it's hinges, dropping to the floor. All three people in the room stared at the blond in the door way as they surveyed the damage she had just done.
"Holy crap, take it easy SHE-MAN!" Nao commented and motioned to the door.
"Yeah yeah, whatever." the blond grunted, then blushed. "I guess I don't know my own strength."
"Well you should by now. After all the bloodied bodies and broken bones you've left in your wake." Takeda said under his breath.
"What was that Masashi-san?" Haruka yelled.
"Uhh nothing." Takeda said, quickly closing his mouth.
"That's what I thought." Haruka grinned, crossing her arms.
Haruka Suzushiro was the resident self-proclaimed vigilante of Fuuka Academy. Haruka always made it her business to stick up for the little guy. Her methods, though questionable, usually got the job done. Yukito had met Haruka when he was eight years old, during the summer. She was unlike any girl he had ever met. There was something about her that commanded attention. The two, although very opposite, had become good friends. Haruka hated authority and was always pushing the boundaries. Today was no different.
"Hurry up Yukito." Haruka called to him. "The fuzz is on their way right now." she said, referring to the Student Council Enforcers.
"Well it would be nice if you all could let a guy change in peace." Yukito reasoned, all of a sudden aware that he was only in his boxer shorts.
"No time for that!" Haruka yelled, as the Enforcers rounded the corner. "Run for it guys!" she warned, jetting out of the room.
Takeda, Nao, and finally Yukito, as he got his pants and shirt on, followed her lead.
"Hey delinquents! Stop where you are!" yelled an angry voice.
Yukito began to run faster, then stopped when he suddenly realized he had forgotten his glasses. He didn't want to go back, but he was blind as a bat without them. As Nao ran past, she grabbed his hand, gracing his palm with a pair of dark-rimmed spectacles.
"I knew you'd forget." she smiled.
"Thank you." he said.
"Oh crap I forgot my lu--" he started, but didn't have to finish as Nao thrust a brown paper bag into his other hand.
"What would you do without me?" she teased.
"I don't know." he said truthfully, reaching out to hug her.
"Hey you two, save that for later!" yelled Haruka. "Were not in the clear yet."
"I think we should give them a sacrifice." Nao said, an evil smile playing on her lips.
"Sacrifice?" asked Takeda.
Haruka and Yukito caught on right away, as Nao stuck her foot out tripping Takeda.
"Hey, what the--" he said, as he fell down, landing right into the Enforcers clutches.
"All day detention!" exclaimed the Senior Enforcer.
"You'll pay for the entire tardy group." added the Secretary Enforcer.
Yukito, Nao, and Haruka all laughed hysterically, as they made their way up the steps and into the school. It was then that they heard the all too familiar sound of students screaming. The screams were coming from the gymnasium. It could only mean one thing.
Orphans.
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"Let me help you." begged Yukito, as he watched Haruka draw her ball and chain type mace.
"No, it's too dangerous." Haruka said, pushing Yukito behind the bleachers.
"Just stay here unless we need you." Nao added, twin metal claws poised for action.
Yukito sighed as he watched the two most important people in his life go into battle. The two Himes immediately began to attack the orphan, as he continued to watch from the sidelines. He wondered if Tate went through this problem with Mai and Natsuki.
Yukito and Tate were both KEYS. A KEY was someone who was able to draw forth the ultimate power of a Hime, thus enabling that Hime to summon her CHILD. A CHILD was much like an orphan, except that a Hime could control it and use it's powers. Yukito often felt helpless when Haruka and Nao would make him hide somewhere close to the battle. He wanted them to use him. He wanted to help them in whatever way he could. The orphans were becoming stronger and it was getting harder and harder to defeat them with the power of an element alone.
"Damn them for being so stubborn." he cursed, watching Haruka's mace strike the orphan.
Yukito closed his eyes and remembered the first time he had met Haruka Suzushiro.
Flashback Yukito Age 8
Yukito ran out of his room, flying through the house and down the stairs, flinging himself on the couch.
"So can I mom? Can I?" he asked, excitedly.
"Well I don't see why not." Yukito's mother said, looking to his father for approval.
"Of course you can go son." his dad said. "Just make sure you're home for supper."
"ALL RIGHT!" exclaimed the excited young boy, as he began to run towards the front door.
Yukito's mother grabbed his arm.
"Now wait a minute young man. Did you comb your hair today?" his mother asked, running her hand through his thick messy hair.
"Awww mom stop it." he said, trying to break free. "It's supposed to look like that." he added.
"A new hairstyle?" asked his father, also amused by the way his son's hair was standing on end.
"It just goes this way." he said, clearly annoyed.
Yukito's mother let go of her son, ruffling his hair once more before letting him go on his way. Not wasting another second, the anxious eight year old was out the door, stopping only to call out goodbye before slamming the front door shut.
"Kids these days." commented his father.
"I hope he brushed his teeth." his mother mused.
Yukito could feel the warm sun on his face as soon as he got out the door. It was a very hot day. As soon as he got to the end of his driveway he was stopped by an all too familiar face.
"Hi Yuki-kun." waved Nao, red stroller in tow.
"Nao-chan." he said, checking to make sure none of his friends were watching. "What are you doing here?" he asked the younger redhead.
"I came to see you silly." Nao smiled, reaching into her stroller and producing a small baby doll.
Yukito made a face. "What is that?" he asked, although he knew what it was.
"It's OUR baby!" Nao said, handing him the doll.
"Ewww yuck!" he said, dropping the doll on the sidewalk.
"Hey! Be careful. Are you trying to kill Tomoe?" Nao asked, picking the doll up and brushing her off.
"Tomoe?" he asked.
"Yeah that's our baby's name. Tomoe Marguerite. Do you like it?" Nao asked, taking his hand.
"It's a weird name." he answered.
"Well she's a weird baby." replied Nao.
"Nao-chan go home. I have important things to do today." Yukito said, afraid the guys would show up at any moment.
"But I want you to play house with Tomoe and me. Are you going to abandon your baby?" Nao asked, pouting.
"It's not MY baby." Yukito spat out.
Nao knew how to get to Yukito and so she pretended to cry. "WAHHHHH Yukito doesn't want to be my baby's daddy." she shouted loudly. "Well fine then, you'll be paying child support through the nose."
"Baby's daddy?" he wondered out loud. "Child support?"
Nao stopped crying for a moment, only to shrug before clarifying.
"Baby's daddy is what the women on T.V. say when they go to see Mr. Maury. My mama watches his show in the morning. I'm not sure what child support means, but mama is always yelling about it when daddy calls." the girl finished and began to fake cry again.
"WAAAAAHHHHH you hate us! Right Tomoe? Daddy hates us!" she continued.
"Acck! No no I don't hate you. I'm just really busy today." he said, trying to calm the younger girl down.
Nao's father had left her mother when she was only five years old. Nao's mother had originally taken on extra jobs to make ends meet, but eventually she had succumbed to the temptation of alcohol and was now a messed up drunk. Nao and her mother were next door neighbors to the Kikukawa family, and Nao had spent many nights with them when her mother failed to come home from whatever bar she had crawled to. Nao had become smarter than her seven years of age, as she was constantly left alone all day, unsupervised. Yukito didn't quite understand what Nao's mother's problem was, but he had to admit he had enjoyed her company in the past. She had a very active imagination, and playing with her was never dull.
At that moment Tate and Takeda rode up on their bikes.
"C'mon Yukito hurry up, Reito will be mad if were late." Tate said.
"Yeah or are you too busy playing house with your GIRLFRIEND?" Takeda asked, grinning as he looked from Yukito to Nao.
Kazuya came running up, huffing and puffing behind them.
"You need to get a bike." observed Tate.
"Let's double up." suggested Takeda, noticing Yukito was without his bike as well.
Kazuya and Yukito looked at each other and each jumped on the back of the other two boy's bikes.
"See ya Nao." Yukito said, as the boys sped off to their destination.
"Whatever." Nao called out after the boys. "Tomoe and I don't need you anyways. I'll go find someone else to be her daddy"
Yukito rolled his eyes as Takeda snickered.
"I can't wait to see Reito's place." said Kazuya, changing the subject.
"It's huge." commented Tate, pedaling faster.
Reito Kanzaki was god. Well at least to these four younger boys he was. He was ten years old and the oldest boy on the block. Reito and his family always had the coolest toys. The Kanzaki family was large and so was their home. Tate called it a mansion.
The four boys stood in awe outside the front gates of their friend's house. It didn't disappoint, as it was huge. Yukito looked across the street at a moving van that had just pulled up into the neighbors driveway. A family was moving into the home, and a young blond girl was standing outside with her arms crossed.
"I don't want to live here daddy!" she yelled at her father, who was engrossed in moving boxes, thus ignoring his daughter.
"You'll love it honey." he said, going through the motions.
"No I won't! I miss my friends. Daddy! Are you listening to me?" the blond haired girl tugged on her daddy's sleeve, only to be put off once again by her father.
"Haruka why don't you go and play sweetheart? I'm sure there's some fun girls in the neighborhood for you to play with." he said, once again counting boxes.
"But daddy, girls are so BORING." Haruka said, rolling her eyes. "All they wanna do is play with dolls and skip rope. You know how I HATE dolls." she said.
"Please Haruka." said her father, patience finally running thin. "Please go play."
Haruka crossed her arms and started to storm off, but not before glancing over at the four boys in Reito's driveway. Yukito had been staring at the blond girl intently and blushed a little when he realized she had caught him. A large smile appeared on the girl's face and then she stuck out her tongue, and ran in the other direction.
"What's her problem?" asked Takeda.
"Who knows. Girls are crazy." added Tate.
Yukito just nodded his head. He would never admit that the image of the blond girl was now burned deeply into his mind. At that moment Reito came out to greet them.
"Are you guys ready to see it?" he exclaimed excitedly.
"Of course!" yelled Tate.
Reito led the gang to the backyard and point behind the pool.
"What do you guys think?" he asked.
There before them stood a large clubhouse. It was not just any clubhouse though. When you thought of treehouses or clubhouses you usually imagined wooden planks, nails and rickety steps. This clubhouse was far from that. It was two stories high and could probably fit a small family inside. The best part was the inside was completely air conditioned.
"Awesome!" said Takeda.
"Holy crap." Kazuya mustered.
"Whoa." was all Yukito could say, as he followed his friend inside.
Reito's mother was a wonderful cook and she had baked cookies and cakes for the boys to munch on while they played. When Reito was sure his mother wouldn't be bothering them anymore he pulled out his older brother's playboy magazines.
Takeda's nose sprayed violently as she unfolded Miss January.
"Hey watch it!" said Reito. "No blood on the furniture."
"Aww I hate girls." said Tate, turning away. "They're too annoying."
"But these aren't girls Tate." Reito said, handing him a magazine. "These are WOMEN."
Tate reluctantly took the magazine. If Reito said it was cool, then it probably was. The light haired boy flipped through the pages, and settled on a page with a large busted orange haired girl.
"Whoa. I'd love to touch those." he said, suddenly interested.
Yukito shook his head. He had yet to look at the magazines, but he thought he had better just go along with it so he didn't look like a wimp. He gingerly opened the magazine and was just about to take a peek when a loud knocking sound was heard at the door.
"AAAAAAH!" the boys screamed in unison, except Reito who quickly collected the magazines and threw them under the cushion of his chair.
"Who dares disrupt our secret club?" he bellowed, motioning for the other boys to be quiet.
"Hey anyone in there?" yelled a female voice, not belonging to an adult.
The younger boys gave a sigh of relief and Reito went to the door to answer it. Standing outside was the blond girl from earlier in the day. She looked the boys over and introduced herself.
"I'm Haruka Suzushiro. I just moved to the Fuuka district and I want to join your club." she said hands on her hips.
The boys looked at each other and they all began to laugh.
"In case you hadn't noticed this is a BOYS only club." said Takeda.
"Yeah no girls allowed." repeated Tate.
"Girls always want to play house." said Kazuya.
"And try to make us be their baby's daddies." added Yukito.
Haruka looked at Yukito and laughed.
"That's funny coming from someone your age." she quipped. "I bet you don't even know what that means." she challenged.
"I do so!" Yukito argued back.
Through it all Reito had kept out of it. He was an extremely friendly person and enjoyed having company of all types. He had no problem with Haruka hanging out there, but he decided to play the devil's advocate anyways.
"Now, now, let's give Haruka-san a chance to join our club." he said, smiling at the blond.
"What?" gasped Takeda.
"But Reito--" Tate whined.
"No buts, it's only fair isn't it?" Reito grinned.
"Great." smiled Haruka. "So what do I have to do?" she asked.
Takeda, having seen too much flesh in those magazines, suddenly had an idea. His nose began to drip just thinking about it.
"I know what she can do." he said, smiling from ear to ear.
The other boys watched as he made his way up to the older girl and whispered into her ear. Tate, Kazuya and Yukito had no idea what he was saying, while Reito looked on rather amusedly. The boys watched Haruka's face change and her eyebrow begin to twitch as she balled her fists up.
"YOU WANT ME TO WHAT?" she growled, pulling back her right arm and following through.
The boys watched as Takeda flew across the room, landing onto a coffee table. The coffee table then broke from his weight, leaving him in a pile of dust and wood. He groaned loudly.
"Oh WOW!"
"That was--"
"TOTALLY AWESOME!" the three younger boys cried in unison.
Reito smiled and held out his hand to Haruka.
"Haruka Suzushiro." he said. "Welcome to the club."
Haruka grinned and made the V sign for victory.
"Oh wait. I forgot to ask." she said, suddenly remembering. "Can the little redhead who followed me up here join too." she said.
"Little redhead?" asked Yukito, almost afraid to ask.
"Awww man. Not her. She's crazy." Tate said shivering.
Takeda was still in a pile on the floor.
"But she looked so sad." commented Haruka.
Reito looked at Yukito, knowing very well that Nao spent a lot of time with Yukito.
"C'mon guys. The more the merrier right?" Reito said.
"Yeah we need someone to do the housework anyways." added Kazuya.
"Girls don't just do housework." Haruka corrected them.
"What do they do?" asked Yukito.
"Cry and tattle-tale." answered Takeda, who had now gotten up and was limping over to them.
"You're just sore that a girl beat you up." Yukito teased. "I thought you were going to be the Kendo champion of the world one day."
"She didn't beat me!" Takeda growled. "I wasn't ready!"
The rest of the boys and Haruka laughed as Reito went to the door to fetch Nao. Nao was sitting outside the front steps with her doll in tow. As Reito led her inside, her face immediately lit up as she saw Yukito.
"Look Tomoe it's daddy!" she held the doll up high.
Yukito winced as everyone in the room laughed at him.
"I told you before. I'm not her daddy." he shouted at the younger girl.
"Your just in denial." Nao said and dropped the doll.
The doll looked very scary as it was now missing an eye and had a few chunks missing from it's hair.
"What happened to her?" asked Haruka.
Nao shrugged and looked down at poor Tomoe. "She has ass shoes." the girl said simply.
"Ass shoes?" asked Haruka, repeating what Nao had said, before breaking out into a fit of laughter.
Tate, Takeda and Kazuya didn't get it, but they thought the word "ass" was funny so they laughed too. Reito even began to laugh as he winked at Haruka.
"I think you mean ISSUES Nao-chan." Yukito corrected her.
"THAT'S WHAT I SAID!" fumed Nao, as everyone continued to laugh.
End Flashback
Yukito shook his head, as if trying to savor past memories. Ever since he had begun having those horrible nightmares, he had started to lose bits and pieces of his memory. It was as if history had changed itself, or even as if his memories weren't real to begin with. It scared him to think he may lose the memories of that wonderful summer.
"You're too slow Nao." said Haruka, dodging an attack.
"Well at least I'm not too fat." Nao said, biting back. "I really think you need to lay off the mayo. Your ass is blocking my view." the redhead laughed.
"That wasn't even funny. And leave my precious mayo out of it!" Haruka complained, deflecting the orphan.
Nao attacked head on and then turned to Haruka. "Better pay attention, or you'll end up dead."
"You'll die before I do." said Haruka, getting annoyed with her young partner.
"Meh." Nao said, shrugging her shoulders.
Yukito couldn't take it anymore. They had been fighting for only minutes but it had seemed like hours. He jumped out from behind the bleachers and quickly made his way to the girls.
"Use me." he said, teeth clenched.
"But--" started Nao.
"USE ME!" he shouted, wrapping his left arm around Nao and his right arm around Haruka. "NOW!" he yelled.
"JULIA!" shouted Nao, as her giant spider like CHILD appeared in front of them.
"KOUMOKUTEN!" echoed Haruka, her marine type, fish-like CHILD materialized beside Julia.
"Julia." Nao commanded. "Web of deceit."
The three teenagers watched as Julia attacked the orphan in the head, causing it to become extremely irritated and lash out. The quick spider then jumped into the air, attaching a web to a nearby roof and then entangling the orphan's flailing limbs.
"Finish him off Haruka." Nao said.
"Right." acknowledged Haruka as she called forth Koumokuten.
"Ray of light." she yelled, as a beam suddenly flew out from Koumokuten's mouth, ripping the orphan into pieces.
The three friends watched as the orphan was defeated and they were now victorious.
"Good job everyone." said Yukito, checking to make sure neither girl was hurt.
"Your fight's not over yet." yelled a calm voice from behind them.
Yukito turned around to see the Student Enforcers standing side by side.
"What do you want?" sneered Haruka. "We don't have time for your stupid detentions."
"Were not here about detention." said the orange haired girl, looking over at her blue haired partner.
"Then what do you want?" asked Nao, also annoyed.
"To fight of course. Let's settle this once and for all." grinned Mai sadistically.
Natsuki just nodded.
Mai Tokiha was the Executive Director for the Student Council Enforcers. Natsuki Kuga was her Secretary/Treasurer. The two girls were rarely seen apart, as where Mai went, Natsuki always seemed to follow. Although Mai preferred to talk more then Natsuki, Natsuki was no slouch, and was often the brains behind the two girls' schemes.
"But you don't even have your KEY?" Yukito pointed out, wondering where Tate was.
"Yes we do." Mai's smile grew larger.
"But I don't see Tate." Yukito said, suddenly feeling an uneasiness in his stomach.
"Oh you mean slave-kun?" said the usually stoic Natsuki. "We didn't need him, so we disposed of him." she said, pretending to wipe her hands.
"B-But how? And why?" asked Nao.
Mai grabbed Natsuki and held her close to her chest. "Tate was never the KEY." she said simply as her lips moved to capture Natsuki's.
The blue haired girl blushed slightly but returned the kiss. Yukito, Nao and Haruka watched in disbelief, their jaws dropped to the floor, as the two girls continued to kiss.
"Now my love, let's show them what real power is." said Mai, as her fire elements began to spin.
Natsuki drew her guns and pointed them directly at Yukito.
"Why waste time with you pathetic Himes, when I could just kill your KEY instead." she said, shooting her guns in Yukito's direction.
Nao was up like a shot, pushing Yukito out of the way. As Yukito rolled out of danger, Nao's leg was hit with the bullet instead.
"OHH SHIT." Nao cried out, as Yukito scrambled to get back to her.
"Nao-chan! Nao-chan! Are you okay?" he asked, worried.
"Ugh" Nao replied, breathing heavily. "I'll be fine. I just need to rest." she said closing her eyes tightly.
Yukito scooped her up into his arms and held her as he pleaded with Mai and Natsuki.
"Please don't do this. Why are you fighting each other?" he asked.
"You guys are pathetic." said Mai, turning to Natsuki. "Your teamwork is sloppy."
Haruka was livid by this time. She was trying to control her rampant anger, but it was becoming harder and harder to do so.
"The perfect offense!" yelled Mai.
"The perfect defense!" echoed Natsuki.
"Kagutsuchi!"
"Duran!"
"Prepare to meet your defeat." warned Mai.
Yukito jumped in front of the injured Nao, as the blood from her injury circled around his own feet. Haruka was right by his side.
"I know our odds look bad Haruka-chan." Yukito said through clenched teeth. "But I'll do whatever I can to help you."
Haruka smiled at her best friend. From the time she had met Yukito and the rest of the guys, he had always been her favorite. She wasn't sure why she had liked him so much, but she guessed it was because he didn't seem as immature as the rest of his friends.
"I'm with you." she said, taking his hand.
"Enough of this." said Mai. "The laws of Fuuka Academy shall be beaten into you." she said.
A drop of sweat appeared by Natsuki's head as she whispered to Mai. "I think that's sorta beside the point Mai-chan."
"Oh. Well I suppose your right Natsuki-chan." said Mai, forgetting her role as Enforcer and once again focusing on the task at hand.
"Duran--Load silver cart--"
Natsuki was interrupted as another person joined the fray.
"Ara, two against one doesn't seem like a fair fight now does it Mai-san? Natsuki-san?" a voice with a heavy Kyoto accent rang out.
Haruka looked up and saw Shizuru Fujino standing beside Yukito and herself.
"Well if it isn't our beloved Kaichou-sama." Mai hissed. "So glad you could join us. Saves us the trouble of looking for you later." she finished.
"You should stay out of this." Haruka said to Shizuru. "This doesn't concern you."
"When Haruka is in trouble, I am concerned." said Shizuru softly, looking into Haruka's eyes.
Haruka blushed. She had always had a small crush on the brunette, but was too damn stubborn to admit it.
Haruka was about to say something else when Shizuru suddenly took her into her arms. "I will protect my Haruka." she whispered as she kissed the side of Haruka's face and called forth her own CHILD.
"KIYOHIME!"
Haruka wasn't used to this sort of attention and was completely lost for a moment.
"Kagutsuchi--FIRE!" yelled Mai.
"Duran—Load silver cartridge." joined Natsuki.
The Student Council Enforcers were done with games. But before either one of them could strike, Kiyohime was upon them, thrashing her many angry heads and confusing the poor CHILDS.
"Kiyohime—Ultimate Destruction!" Shizuru commanded.
Everyone watched as the extremely large Kiyohime, powered by Shizuru's deep affection for Haruka, attacked Duran and Kagutsuchi full on. Duran managed to jump out of the way, but the fire bird was not so lucky and Kiyohime defeated Kagustsuchi.
Natsuki looked to Mai in horror and Mai did the same.
"Mai-chan." breathed Natsuki as she felt herself begin to fade into thin air. "I love you." she said, wrapping her arms around Mai. "We can finally be at peace."
Mai was also fading fast, but she managed to hang onto Natsuki as they shared their final kiss. "Yes, that's what I want. Peace with Natsuki." she smiled lovingly.
Yukito watched in horror as the two girls faded to nothing in front of him. Where their bodies had just been, there was now nothing but cold, hard ground.
"You killed them!" Yukito cried angrily, turning to Shizuru. "How could you?"
"I would do anything to protect Haruka." Shizuru said simply, her eyes burning with fire.
"Shizuru--" started Haruka.
"I'm sorry Haruka." Shizuru said, looking sadly at Nao. "But there can only be one Hime that is left standing. I will make sure that it is you." she finished, pointing her naginata in Nao's direction.
"No you can't!" Haruka cried out. "If you harm her, Yukito will die." she pleaded.
"I'm sorry. I must protect you." Shizuru repeated, raising her weapon.
Haruka jumped in front of her two friends. "I won't allow you to hurt them." she seethed. "No matter what your reason is, or how I feel about you, I can't let you hurt my friends."
"Koumokuten!" yelled Haruka to her CHILD.
"Haruka-chan stop!" yelled Yukito. "You can't attack her. If you defeat her CHILD, then you'll be the one to die." he said holding her arm.
"And if you die, then Yukito will die." added Nao, as she tried to move her leg.
Shizuru looked at Haruka. "I never wanted it to come down to this." she said.
"It doesn't have to!" Haruka exclaimed.
Shizuru shook her head, and as she was about to call upon Kiyohime once more, Haruka made a move. She walked up to Shizuru and looked into those alluring crimson red eyes.
"Shizuru. Thank you for caring about me. If things were different, I could see myself loving you very much." she said softly, as Shizuru's face changed and she fell into the blond woman's arms.
"Please forgive me." Shizuru said as Haruka leaned in and planted a kiss on the brunette's lips.
"Koumokuten--Ray of Light." Haruka said sadly, hugging Shizuru to her.
As Shizuru realized what was happening, a small smile played upon her lips. "I am content." she said, as Haruka's CHILD defeated Kiyohime, and the two girls disappeared before Yukito's eyes.
"HARUKA!" he yelled, pounding his fists against the ground. "WHY? HOW?" he cried angrily.
"She switched KEYS." said Nao, understanding the sacrifice Haruka had made for them.
"How is that even possible?" asked Yukito.
"For Haruka, anything was possible. You know that." Nao said, as she rested on his shoulder.
"Nao-chan! We have to get out of here. I can't lose you." Yukito said frantically, the realization of what was happening finally hitting him.
Even as he said that he felt as though they were being watched.
"Julia." said Nao slowly. "Get us away from here."
The large spider grabbed the two teenagers and promptly put them on her back. Julia used her webs to navigate away from the school, as Nao rested on Yukito.
Yukito looked down at the injured Nao. She had risked her own life for him. He had always taken her for granted, assumed she would always be there., and now that the possibility of her leaving him was all too true, he hugged her tightly.
Yukito's head began to throb and his eyes rolled to the back of his head.
"Yukito are you okay?" asked Nao, looking over at her boyfriend.
As Yukito focused his eyes, he found himself once again in his worst nightmare. The giant green plant flashed before his eyes. Once again the message was clear, but only for a moment. He clenched his fists as a single name came up from his throat and danced on his lips.
"Diana..." he breathed softly.
Nao looked at him, confused.
"DIANA!" he shouted.
And once again the world faded to black.
End Chapter 10
Tomoe finally doesn't die Omake
Tomoe: Finally! A story where I don't die!
Nao: But you were freaky doll?
Tomoe: Only a minor detail.
Nao: Well either way you get to wear diapers.
Tomoe: (Sighing) Will I ever live that down?
Nao: Um nope.
Author: (To Tomoe) I read alot of stories in the past few days where you met an untimely demise, and my heart went out to you.
Tomoe: All i ever did was love Shizuru. Most of you fangirls out there in fanfiction land should be seeing it my way. Many of you want to marry Shizuru yourselves. So why do you hate me so?
Author: Blame the ShizNat nation!
Yukino: (Ahem) I have a complaint.
Author: What else is new?
Yukino: Friends with Tate? Takeda? Reito and well I guess Kazuya is bearable. But still!
Shizuru: AUTHOR-SAMA! (Naginata poised and raring to go) Please explain why there's no ShizNat in this universe!
Natsuki: Cool. I get to kiss Mai. I wonder if I got to feel her up too...
Mai: I'm sure you did. I'm pretty easy. My clothes practically fall off when Mikoto's sleeping with me.
Shizuru: (eyeing Natsuki) Natsuki doesn't need to encourage the busty one.
Natsuki: Oi Shizuru. You got it on with your OWN busty gal didn't you?
Haruka: (Back from the dead after reading her kiss scene with Shizuru) So...well...this is..slightly...awkward...
Shizuru: (looking back) Yeah...um...well...ara...I'll call you?
Haruka: (Looking at Shizuru and blushing) Right...yeah...okay ..well...have a good night...
Shizuru (grinning) BOOTY CALL!
End Omake
A/N:
Some of you probably got finished reading this chapter and are going FTW? LOL For that I apologize. To answer a few questions that may be on some reader's minds, I will give a quick background of the Mai Hime manga. In the manga, Tate is a key to both Mai and Natsuki. In my story I chose to parallel that to Yukino/Yukito. I thought it would be cool, if this is the result of Yukino's choice, to change personalities and pairs around a bit, but not altogether. Keeps it interesting, while illustrating the effects of her choice. As for the CHILD names and attacks, I used some of them from the English version of the manga, while others I had to make up. Please don't flame me if they are incorrect, as I know the English version has a lot of errors, or at least a lot of parts that may not have translated correctly.
Hope everyone continues to read/review and enjoy.
Thanx!
ShotgunNeko