Disclaimer: I do not own OHSHC; Studio Bones and Bisco Hatori own it. I do not lay claim to the original idea of the Ouran Elementals; many thanks to Star-of-Seraph for her permission to use them. However, I do own this whole storyline and everything non-canonical.
Musical Accompaniment: Inama Nushif, by Brian Tyler on the Children of Dune soundtrack. Though all the songs I've suggested previously are just that – suggestions – I heartily encourage you to go onto youtube (yes, it's possible to hear this one online) to find this song. It's a perfect accompaniment to this chapter, and it begins with them starting the ceremony.
Inama Nushif has lyrics, and (to me) adding those lyrics in the song can be very helpful for lining up song and story. I didn't do it here because adding in lyrics breaks the story's flow. However, I'm going to post this chapter up in my livejournal account tonight (please see my profile page for the link) for anyone who's interested in the placement of lyrics.
Author's Notes: I'd like to extend my gratitude to huamulan03. I'd also like to dedicate this chapter in her honor; she's been wonderfully supportive and helpful for the last two months. :bows: Thank you for all your timely, thoughtful concrit and unrestrained praise.
Chapter 11
The Third Elemancy Room looked so barren without any furniture, almost devoid of personality. But as the members started filing in, uncanny warmth emanated from the walls, the floor, the windows; it was like the room took on a life of its own when all Host Club members were present.
More likely that it's reacting to having seven Elementals ready to perform a Circle ceremony, Haruhi thought matter-of-factly. All around, the Host Club was adding the finishing touches to the ceremonial setting; from locking the doors to drawing circles on the beautifully tiled floor. Things had to be perfect.
"I can't believe you did that," Tamaki grumbled as he closed the window curtains, preventing people from seeing inside. "You should have called us, and we would have-"
"Please stop talking about it," Haruhi said, not bothering to hide her annoyance. "What's done is done, and now we know how to forge a Circle. And if you make another mention about how I could have been seriously hurt or killed or whatever, I will walk out the door."
It had been almost a week since her encounter at Vivid Lain, but the guys were still going on and on about it. Maybe not to the extent that Tamaki was, but all of them showed various signs of disapproval or concern or whatnot whenever she walked by.
They are just so sensitive about the littlest things.
Still, they wouldn't be here now, safe within the confines of the Third Elemancy Room, without her well-earned knowledge. It was mid-afternoon on a Saturday, and all of the clubs had ended over an hour ago. By Kyouya and Tamaki's reckoning, there was no one left on campus except a few over-achieving students and dedicated administrators. They needed privacy, and not just to protect their secret. A Circle ceremony was a multi-faceted endeavor; each step, though minor, had multiple meanings behind it. Some of the meanings were shallow, done more to ease the ceremony and the forging, but many were deep-rooted in the very core of elemancy. If anyone interrupted them at an inopportune time, it could throw the whole ceremony – and the Elementals – into deadly chaos.
Mori finished drawing a perfect circle on the floor; sketched in chalk, it boasted a 7 foot radius. At its heart was a smaller circle, just big enough for a person to stand within its confines. Evenly spaced along the outer circle's perimeter were six more smaller circles; again, marking the placement of a person, and measured so that no one stood too close or too far from the Elemental beside them.
Haruhi took off her jacket and tie, and folded them neatly in the corner of the room. Amaya warned her that the ceremony could last as long as two hours depending on how much time it took to prepare, and Haruhi wanted to be as comfortable as possible. The boys followed her lead and tossed their own jackets to the side before gathering in the center of the room.
A buzz of nervousness began building in the center of Haruhi's stomach as she looked at the innocuous chalk circle. She hadn't slept too well last night – she'd put it down to anxiety over the upcoming ceremony, which was silly since they'd practiced the motions so much – and now she twitched and fidgeted like a child.
I shouldn't be this edgy. I know what's coming up. We practiced the ritual over and over, went over every step, memorized it inside and out. Everything is going to be fine. Just… fine.
But Haruhi couldn't deny the truth that, deep inside, terror clung at the base of her skull. It begged her not to forge a Circle because she was too young, because too much could go wrong, because there were so many risks and not enough certainties.
"I feel like it's rather late to make this offer, but I'm going to say it anyway," Tamaki said slowly, and for once there was no posturing or confidence in his attitude. Frankly, he sounded just as terrified as Haruhi felt. "If anyone wants to back out, we can still call off the ceremony."
Haruhi saw the bead of sweat running down the back of Kyouya's neck and the tightening of Mori's jaw and knew she wasn't the only one afraid. But for them, her kindred-to-be, she would be strong.
She pushed her fears to the side and softly said, "It's now or never. Kaoru?"
The redhead jumped a little when she spoke his name, but he nearly ran to the small centered circle. He faced the north wall and the curtained-off windows, and little spark of yellow elemancy shot into the air over his head.
It had begun.
'Lightning stands in the middle of the Circle,' and Haruhi could hear Amaya's words in her head, guiding them along. 'The other six elements have counterparts, but Lightning doesn't. It's the element of change and connection, allowing powers to pass freely between all Elementals, and forms the heart of your Circle. Everything is built around the person in the center, called the core.'
Tamaki and Kyouya were next, taking their respective places in front of and behind Kaoru. Tamaki faced the other two Elementals, his back to the windows, as the duo stared straight at him.
'Light stands in front of Lightning; Dark behind Lightning. These are the easiest Elementals to align, since you can set them along the north-south poles.'
There were two open circles at Kaoru's left, two at his right.
'Fire and Earth stand to Lightning's left, with Fire closer to Light and Earth closer to Dark.'
Hikaru stood to Tamaki's right while Mori stood to Kyouya's left. Haruhi could almost feel invisible switches being thrown as they stepped into place, as it had when she first agreed to forge a Circle.
'Completing just one side of the Circle makes it easier to gauge your spacing. You'll know if you're doing it right if their elemancy begins harmonizing, but it's faint so you'll have to pay attention. After that, Wind and Water will stand to Lightning's right. Wind's closer to Light and Water's closer to Dark.'
Just two spaces left, and Huni and Haruhi took to their circles with practiced synchronization. At her place, she could almost feel the elemancy in the air; almost see a seven-colored swirl of energy floating around and over them.
'When it's all said and done, Wind and Earth should be facing each other with Lightning between them, and the same for Fire and Water. If your elemancy starts harmonizing, than you can begin the ceremony proper.'
Haruhi knew it was now or never. She closed her eyes and began focusing, drawing elemancy from all –
"Wait!"
And the energy in the air shattered, and everyone made some kind of frustrated sound at the interruption.
"This had better be important," Kyouya growled through his teeth.
"It is," Kaoru said, and he looked at Haruhi. "This isn't right. I'm not in the right place."
"What do you mean?" she demanded, too frustrated by the break in her concentration to reign in her temper. "I remember everything that Amaya-san said, and she-"
"It's not about what she said; it's about what's right for us. I shouldn't be the core."
"What? Of course you should – you're Lightning!" Haruhi said impatiently.
"Haruhi, you should stand as our core."
The very air seemed to still, and the six members were slowly looking from Kaoru to Haruhi.
Finally, Huni said, "It makes sense. Haru-chan belongs there, 'cause she's our heart."
Herstomach gave a lurch at the implication. "Uh… I don't think I should do that. I mean, it's not what Amaya-san said."
"She didn't say it was bad, did she?" Huni asked.
"No… but she didn't say it was okay to mess with the positions."
"Let me stand across from my brother," Kaoru said, gracing her with a sweet, beseeching smile. "Identical twins, alike but opposite. I can't think of a better reason for the two of us to face one another."
"And Water is the element between Lightning and Fire, you know," Hikaru added, almost to himself.
Haruhi looked around for help, from Kyouya or Mori or, hell, even Tamaki, but none of them were arguing the point. Kaoru came to her, hand outstretched, and Haruhi instinctively stepped forward and took it. He turned and guided her to the center before taking his place at her discarded circle.
"Much better," the twins said in tandem satisfaction, and Haruhi could feel the subtle shift of powers, as if one instrument in an orchestra was finally tuned to the rest.
Tamaki's smile – a brilliant, affectionate look – showed his agreement, and he said, "Now we may commence."
They took a few minutes to breathe and relax, allowing the elemancy to build back up. When everyone looked sufficiently calmed, though Haruhi could feel her insides shaking with anticipation (I didn't practice this but I guess I don't have a choice), she began the ceremony.
Haruhi channeled a small thread of Water elemancy from her heart towards Tamaki, as if reaching a hand to him. Cobalt energy gently touched him in the center of his chest, and though he stiffened and inhaled sharply, he said nothing. She only had a moment to brace herself when a small kiss of Light elemancy returned the favor. She gasped in astonishment – so that's what Light feels like, the way moonlight smells and music from a piano looks – and saw their elemancy connection was now a fusion of blue and white energy.
'The first step in the Circle's creation is for the core to bind to all its kindred. Lightning reaches out to Light first, and then travels clockwise across the circle. Imagine that the core becomes the hub of a wheel, and the spokes are his elemancy.'
Haruhi turned in place, reaching out to Huni next while keeping the first connection open and alive. When he reached back to her, she was prepared for the slight backlash, accepting it rather than momentarily fighting the connection. This time, the touch of heaven against her heart almost lifted her from the ground; light and dark blue elemancy blending like lovers between them. With Kaoru, she could dream in shades of thunder and sing with a voice like lightning as yellow and blue magic intertwined. Kyouya brought the warmth of shadows and the brilliance of midnight, his violet light gently but boldly caressing her blue one. Mori gave her the weight of the world in her eyes, letting their elemancy dance in greens and blues until they were almost indistinguishable. In Hikaru's embrace were fireworks and newly born stars and red and blue elemancy bearing her up to a brilliant finish.
Haruhi had never felt so aware of the world.
'It is the core's family name that's used to christen the Circle.'
Circle Fujioka, Haruhi thought, and hoped that it wasn't arrogance that made her chest hum with the rightness of such a title.
Tamaki was next, stretching out in the same clockwise order to his fellow Elementals. White light melded with five new colors – Light and Dark elemancy meeting over Haruhi's head – and at the end of it she saw Tamaki slowly mouth something that could have been a prayer.
'Then the other Elementals reach out to one another. Again, travel clockwise around the circle, just to make sure no one is left unconnected. If even one bond is missing, the imbalance will ruin the ceremony.'
Haruhi watched the room begin to fill with color, the physical manifestation of an Elemental's power bouncing off the walls with fervent energy. The look on everyone's face was that of silent wonder and elation as they, too, reached out for one another. When it was finished and the bonds of elemancy held them together, Haruhi pushed the next step – the most dangerous one.
'From here on out, everything becomes internalized and you'll be drawn into the Void, which is where all elemancy originates from. I can only tell you what's going to happen, but it won't really prepare you from what's coming. Just open yourself as wide as you can to elemancy… and pray.'
Closing her eyes and clenching her fists, Haruhi completely gave herself over to the ceremony and the darkness. Then she gasped – echoed by the boys around her – as her soul was seized from her body and flung into the Void.
She thought she understood elemancy. She thought she understood what it meant to control water; to let it move within and without, and feel it as an integral part of herself.
She knew nothing before this moment.
Sensation/thoughts/emotions, things that had nothing and everything to do with her being flooded into her. Shades of blue that no human eye could conceive danced all around as she was swept into the very essence of Water. Without warning, light that shone from diamonds made of timeless oceans suddenly shot into her. She screamed as Water filled her to the breaking point, shattering every cell in her body only to rebuild her in the image of its power. It was death; it was life.
Energy flowed through-around-over-under her, and Haruhi could do nothing but ride out the tidal wave of emotions and pure sensuality. Every nerve ending tingled with delight, a feeling of mind-blowing ecstasy that was so overwhelming it plunged through painful and came out rapturous. She wondered if it were possible for the mind-heart-body-soul to become perfectly melded into one entity; the things running through were so much more than a single sensation that she couldn't believe she'd ever been anything but Water.
And then, if such a thing was possible, the world became bigger as six new, beautiful colors joined her. She could feel these six new entities of mind-heart-soul reach out and touch her, and she reached back with a passionate, loving longing. She didn't realize that she had been unwhole before this moment, believing that all she needed to be was Water, but now she knew better. She brushed the edges of her spirit against the new elements, recognizing them as familiar as her own self, and was overjoyed when they reached back.
She didn't know how long they stayed there, floating within the depths of the Void like angels in the heavens, and she couldn't bring herself to care.
'There's one thing you have to remember, more than anything else. Do not – I repeat – do not stay in the Void too long. If you do, you'll be absorbed into it; the Void devours elemancy, but because your soul's still connected to your elemancy, it'll be eaten too and you'll die.'
In the back of her mind, her insignificant Haruhi-ness, she felt something change. The Water-light pulled at her, not like a river flowing down to the sea, but like gravity dragging her from the clouds to the earth. In very farthest distance, she could see a tiny pinprick hole where all the elemancy was being drained away. Part of her didn't want to resist, loving the feel of being Water and knowing that she was power in its purest, most perfect form.
But she was Fujioka Haruhi, and she had more to do before she could return to the birthplace of elemancy. She pulled herself out, becoming more Haruhi and less Water, when she realized that she was alone. Turning back, she saw the six elemancy-lights being drained into the blackness of the Void, and that the six beings she knew and loved were going to be lost forever to her.
She screamed a wordless warning, pain resonating in her head and heart as she willed the other six to understand her fear, but they did not respond. In pure desperation, she threw herself – her elemancy – at them, believing if her thoughts couldn't reach them, then maybe her magic could. She felt her heart break into six little slivers, and she sent them spiraling towards the center of each element. There was no way something so small and irrelevant could ever touch such vast, eternal beings, but she had to try because they meant the world to her and she couldn't let them die here and she wouldn't leave without them.
And then there was motion as those beings of elemancy flew towards her, wildly pulling themselves away from their own sources to join her, and she laughed in jubilant release. She let herself hurtle towards the earth and reality, looking back and watching her companions come closer. She saw each of the others carrying a six-colored star in their chests and, as if to pay her back, each one sent a little bit of elemancy ribboning into her heart. The shards weren't her – wouldn't ever be her – but were so much a part of her now that they fit where she had given up a bit of herself to save them.
She was whole.
She felt herself being brought away from the light, down and out until she felt herself hit something with the force of a celestial sledgehammer. Someone made a great gasping sound – oh hell, was that me? – and she felt the haze begin to drop from her eyes. Color-more-than-blue returned to the world, and Haruhi blinked in surprise. She was lying on her back, looking at the ceiling and its fancy chandelier. Her fingers twitched almost convulsively, and she was gasping for breath. She wanted to sleep, to dream, to die but she shook so badly that her body wouldn't allow the release. She felt like she'd run around the world, flew to the sun and back… and then had the most glorious sexual encounter she'd never had in her life. She tingled with wonderful, magnificent energy.
Do the guys feel like this? Haruhi thought with a slightly indulgent smile.
From all directions, she became aware of sounds; groaning and cursing and exhaustion.
Oh… guess not.
"God-dammit," Hikaru moaned somewhere over her left shoulder. "God-fucking-dammit, what the hell happened?"
"I… I don't know," Kyouya said, breathing harshly near her right arm. If her heart wasn't already beating like a hummingbird's wings, Haruhi would have been terrified by his admission of ignorance.
"Is everyone all right?" Tamaki asked, almost too softly to be heard.
"Just great," Kaoru said. She tilted her head to the right and looked down to him. He struggled to his hands and knees before they gave out and he collapsed with a dull thud and a curse.
"No elemancy," Huni gasped, and he sounded close to crying. "We don't have any elemancy."
Mori's only response was a grunt of concurrence.
Haruhi let out a relieved sigh that everyone was fine. Until that moment, she hadn't realized how afraid she was for the other Elementals; that maybe she survived and they didn't. But no, her kindred were alive and whole, even if they were a little fatigued.
Then the full implications flowed through her. My kindred! My God, it really worked. We're alive, we're a Circle. We're a Circle! Mother, we did it!
The quiet thrill that came over her (now that she knew they were all right) was enough to make the shaking stop and her muscles relax. She was close to passing out – had actually lost all sense of the world around her – when fingers brushed against her hand, as shaky as her own. "Haruhi?" Tamaki breathed. "Haruhi, are you okay?"
Yes, she tried to say, but her voice was dead. She turned and looked at him, and saw he was literally flat on his stomach, reaching out as far as he could. His eyes were dull violet, barely a color, and he was white as a sheet. Yet when her eyes met his, he smiled in genuine joy.
"Is she okay?" Hikaru asked nervously.
Haruhi weakly nodded, and Tamaki said, "About as good as we are."
"Then we're good," Kaoru said without a trace of sarcasm in his voice.
Mori said, "A full Circle," and that was enough.
They laid together for what could have days – what Kyouya later noted as being just over an hour since they began – letting the sounds of their breathing and heartbeats fill the room. Haruhi, ironically enough, was the first to move. She slid up on her arms, and was glad to note that although she was still worn out, she felt better; more conscious. A vain swirl of her finger in the direction of the fountain proved that her elemancy was dead – not even the tattoo would light up – but it didn't worry her.
She knew it would come back with a vengeance, and that thought gave her the strength to stand.
Looking around, none of the other Elementals were able to follow. In fact, they all looked at her with weary esteem as she staggered across the room. She made it to the preparation room, kneeling down just once to catch her breath, and barely had the energy to bring a pitcher of water and a few cups back to the Circle. By that time, all were sitting up; all appreciated her effort and drank the pitcher dry in only one round.
"So… now what?" Haruhi asked, gracelessly propping herself against the wall. "What do we do now that we're a Circle?"
Everyone turned to Tamaki, and he looked too tired to front or bluster. "I… hadn't thought that far ahead."
Hikaru sighed. "Of course. So aren't we supposed to be psychically connected or something?"
"Theoretically, but if our elemancy is gone, then all aspects of magic will most likely be unresponsive," Kyouya said, taking off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "And, quite frankly, there's nothing we as a Circle can, or should, do right now. All the additional responsibilities that come with being a Circle require us to announce our status, and that's not going to happen anytime soon."
"Not that I'm particularly upset by our forced lack of action," Kaoru said, "but what about Amaya-san? She – and, most likely, the rest of her Circle – knows about us."
"I'll just tell her that it worked and not bother her again," Haruhi said with a shrug. "I don't like that she knows, but the less we talk about it, the less trouble either of us can get into."
They nodded and fell into a weary silence, and the last of Amaya's words echoed in Haruhi's mind.
'If everything works out and you're alive, then you'll be drained of elemancy for about 12 to 18 hours. A good night's sleep will help you regain energy more quickly, and by the time you wake up your powers will have returned and the empathic connection will be alive. It might surprise the hell outta you, but it's doesn't take too long to get used to.'
Haruhi made the suggestion aloud. "We should all go home. It's been a really long day, and I, for one, could use the extra rest."
By the glazed looks in everyone's eyes, they too were on the verge of a second collapse. After a few well-placed phone calls, they went to work. With everyone helping, they haphazardly threw buckets of water on the floor and mopped away as much of the pattern as they could, smearing it into an indistinguishable mess. Kyouya assured them that the janitorial staff would take care of the rest.
They grabbed their things and helped each other stagger down the stairs to the parking lot, where five limos were patiently waiting for their charges.
"See you tomorrow," Haruhi said with a half-hearted wave.
"Wait," and Mori gently grabbed her arm. "Let me give you a ride home."
She had been secretly dreading the bus and train ride back, and was so tired that she didn't bother to argue; surprisingly, neither did the twins or Tamaki – a huge warning sign as to their fatigue. Mori helped her into the car, and after mumbling out her address, Haruhi drifted into an unstable nap against his shoulder. They made it back to her house, and in a fit of sleep-deprived exhaustion, she gave him a quick hug before swaying up to her apartment.
She yanked off her shoes, threw her uniform helter-skelter around the room, and, with the last of her strength, flung the futon on the floor.
Then she collapsed bonelessly to the ground and knew no more.
Author's Notes (09/10/07): I'm so excited to be posting this chapter up; I apologize for taking such a long time, but I wanted to make sure it was as polished as I could get it. :waves to Sam: This is one of my favorite chapters because of all of imagery, and I really wish I was wealthy so I could hire a team of artists to animate this chapter for me.
With any God-given luck, I'll be posting next Monday. My office/lab-mates are going to a conference next week and, if the stars align correctly, I may be joining them. If I'm going, then Chapter 12 posting will be pushed back another week. If not, then this is the place to be next week!
Big thank-yous to everyone who's keeping up with me thus far. Hope you enjoyed the ride thus far – things are about to get a little more complicated, a little more fun, and a lot more exciting.