[KnM][RGU][MH] Revolutions
Revolutions – Chapter 10 (Life Goes On)
A Kannazuki no Miko, Revolutionary Girl Utena and Mai Hime X-Over Fanfic
February 9, 2013 – February 18, 2013
Word Count: 9,200
More Author's notes follow at the end. Comments and Criticisms are greatly appreciated!
*FIVE WEEKS EARLIER*
There is such a loud roaring in your head and it has been going on for so long, you are almost numb to it and it is only because of this numbness that you finally attempt to open your eyes.
It takes you a few tries, but when you finally get them open, you can see your mother staring at you in absolute horror, as though she doesn't recognize you at all. You blink a few times in confusion, trying to get your eyes to focus, for what they are seeing cannot be right; the expression on your mother's face is distinctly hostile. You've never seen such harmful intent on her countenance before.
Wordlessly, she pulls her hand back, and your vision focuses on those pointed fingers.
It just doesn't make sense at all.
As you look back at her, you swallow, and try to speak, your throat still hoarse from so much screaming. "... okaa-sama?"
Your voice does the trick. She blinks, and then blinks again, and again. Slowly, she lowers her raised hands, and you notice that they are shaking.
When that happens, that roaring sound gradually appears to dim, and if you concentrate, you realize you can hear things beyond that sound – your mother's voice for example.
"Chikane?" She is saying, tiny voice trembling. "Baby girl?" Her eyes blink, and then crinkle, and then tears of relief well up and threaten to spill from their corners. "Oh, thank god!" Throwing herself downwards, she hugs you fiercely. "Oh, thank god, thank god, thank god! You're alright!"
You don't quite have the heart to tell her that if she was thanking a single god out of the 800 million you know to exist for your supposed well being, then she may have thanked that god a little too soon.
Something loud and malicious gives a bark of harsh laughter and insists that that god does not exist, and even if he did, he would not be looking out for you anymore. HE – I – YOU are your only ally now.
You squint and grit your teeth as you try to sort through the jumbled thoughts in your head.
You are fairly certain that some of these thoughts are not your own.
Eventually, your mother releases you. "You're grounded until you're thirty!" She cries. "What the hell were you thinking?"
It takes a while for her words to make sense in your head, and you realize that she is joking. Swallowing down the dizziness you feel, even as you try to push that... that NOISE out of your mind, you fake a smile for her. "Okaa-sama, isn't that a bit unreasonable? I mean, how about you ground me until you turn thirty? "
"You don't get to negotiate your own punishment when you make me worry like that!" She frowns. "Chikane, what happened to you? Your eyes..."
You frown. "What do you mean?" You ask, even as the noise returns, sounding like something crossed between maniacal laughter and shouting.
She hands you a hand mirror and you stare at yourself, eyes wide with shock.
Everything goes silent for a moment, but that is not a mercy.
As you stare in the mirror, you can see what you – no, not YOU, but another – oh god, who's in here?! – have become.
You are broken. Hideously broken. There is a large break stretching through you, reminding you constantly of your humiliating failure at the hands of those damnable – no! What? That's not you! That is NOT you! Who are you? Get OUT of here! OUT!
Suddenly, rage and wrath the intensity of which you've never felt before, at least, not in this lifetime, overcomes you. Unable to restrain yourself, you fling the mirror at the wall, and it breaks into tiny pieces.
The air echoes with the sound of glass breaking, and then echoes again with horrified silence.
The puny, insignificant woman - YOUR MOTHER! THAT IS YOUR MOTHER! - stares at you in horror. "C-Chikane...!"
"I'm sorry." You say, clenching your fists, even as you desperately wrestle with whoever it is in the back of your head. Oh gods, are you ever sorry.
He, she, it, they, are trying to force their way into the front of your mind, into your body, your hands and your arms and your legs and your heart.
Your mother is squeezing your hands and you don't realize how hard you are squeezing back.
"Chikane, what happened?" She pleads with you for the truth.
But you cannot tell her. You cannot tell anyone.
No one can know what you've done.
No one can know what you've become.
At least, not until you've seen this through to the end, and those damnable Hime pay with their lives, and the lives of their most important people, and everyone else for that matter –GET OUT!
You grit your teeth.
Strength, you pray. Please, someone, anyone, give me strength!
And of course, there is only one who has ever been able to give you the power to do what has to be done.
Himeko.
Her name galvanizes you, and with a mighty push, against a defiant roar, you somehow manage to shove whoever that is down, away, out. Down down down down down.
It takes supreme effort, and you are shaking again, but suddenly, there is stillness in your head, silence.
But not peace.
The sudden lack of noise in your head leaves you feeling almost empty, and nauseous. The room spins.
" Chikane? Oi! Chikane!"
There is so much worry in your mother's voice it hurts.
Breathing deeply, you close your eyes, and ask your mother a question you have never asked before, knowing how much it would hurt her.
"Who was he?'
She is stunned. "What?"
"Father." You say softly. "Who was he?"
She can only continue to stare at you.
And suddenly, you feel pain in your hand, and you realize that now she is the one grasping your hand so hard her nails are drawing blood.
You have never seen such hatred in her eyes before, not even before, when she raised her hand against you, as she demands, "what does Akio have to do with this?"
'Akio', you think.
So, that is his name.
"Natsuki-sempai," Chikane finally said, in low, dangerous tones. "Is there something you want to tell me?"
Natsuki held her roommate's stare, even as her heart pounded away in her ears. "Only if there's something you want to tell me." She finally replied.
Arrows and pistols remained leveled at their respective faces for what felt like eternity.
And then finally, Chikane took a deep breath, and very slowly lowered her arms, her eyes not leaving Natsuki's at all. Seeing this, Natsuki also mirrored the motion, though she kept her fingers on the triggers. When their weapons were at least pointed to the ground, Natsuki waited for Chikane's light-based bow and arrow to dematerialized before she finally released her own elements.
Only then did they both release simultaneous sighs. Chikane hesitantly pushed her legs over the side of her bed in a proper sitting position, and rubbed her face warily.
Natsuki, her own legs feeling like jelly, weakly plopped herself down onto the edge of her own bed.
"Are you one of the 'Hime'?" Chikane finally asked.
Natsuki frowned. "What do you know about the Hime?"
"I know Shizuru-sempai and Director Himeno did a very good job wiping away almost all mention of them and Yukino-sempai's tried very hard to bury anything that occasionally resurfaces," the student council president said, "... but they couldn't get rid of everything."
The biker was stunned. "You mean you've known everything all along?" She blurted.
Chikane's expression was suspiciously neutral. "No. Not everything, not even close to everything. I just know that there was a series of incidents last year involving students and what I presume to be monsters, straight out of children's fairy tales, that caused most of the property damage." The tone in her voice was the tone of someone who would have once thought the words coming out of her mouth to be absolutely ridiculous, but no longer.
"I don't know who all the Hime are, for example, but if you are one," she thought about it, "then I suppose Shizuru-sempai is one also? And perhaps... Suzushiro-sempai?"
Natsuki shook her head. "No, Haruka wasn't." She paused. "Isn't."
"Hmm." Chikane considered this.
And Natsuki couldn't help but wonder if it had been a bad idea to tell her roommate this. She thought back to the initial suspicions they had with each other, when they had first met. She remembered how quickly they'd become friends, after they'd tentatively reached out and shared their hearts with each other, how much time they had wasted before taking those first steps towards trust.
Natsuki swallowed. She didn't want to go backwards. "Then... are you a Hime too? A 14th Hime?" Her eyes went wide. "Are you with Searrs?"
Her roommate's features twisted into confusion. "Searrs?" Chikane shook her head. "No, I don't know anything about them. And, no, I am not a Hime myself."
"Then what are you?" Natsuki pressed. She had not forgotten the mark she had seen on Chikane's back.
Chikane was silent for a long time. Natsuki got the distinct impression she was wrestling greatly with herself. Finally, the younger girl sighed. "It's a bit of a long story. I am the Lunar Priestess. I died 15 years ago."
Somehow, Natsuki got the impression that her roommate had just told her something incredibly personal and important. But those words had absolutely no meaning to Natsuki at all, who could only stare back at her roommate in complete incomprehension. "So... you're a ghost too?" She tried, suddenly remembering the purple haired woman she hadn't seen in a while.
Chikane's face did a weird scrunch up, as if to say, 'are you serious?' but she didn't actually respond with such sass. Instead, she shook her head firmly. "No. I was... reborn."
Nasuki stared at Chikane like she had two heads, her own mind trying to process the significance of those words. "Reborn? What the-? Hang on, start from the beginning!" Her mind was going a thousand questions a second, even as she tried to rearrange her thoughts into some semblance of order.
Unfortunately, before she could start with the next of a billion questions, Chikane suddenly grabbed at her head. All of the questions fled from Natsuki's mouth and she hurried over to her roommate. "Chikane?"
Chikane continued to shake, and Natsuki could tell the other girl was holding in a scream. "It's... nothing." The girl finally gasped out. "Just a... just a headache." She gritted her teeth. "Please, Natsuki-sempai, can we talk later? I... do not feel well."
"Uh, yeah, sure." Natsuki helped the younger girl into bed. She watched as Chikane continued to shiver under the covers for a long time, before finally, mercifully, exhaustion claimed her and she finally fell asleep.
Walking over back to her own bed, Natsuki sat down, and leaned against the wall, watching her roommate sleep.
Rest did not come to her that night.
The Obsidian Lord is very, very angry with you.
There is a very sharp, pulsating, burning sensation just behind your eyes – all eight sets of them – and you can't seem to get away from it all. Even if you open your eyes, you can't seem to see anything; just a plain of burning hot white. He is screaming so loud, you can barely make out the words.
You try to run, to escape, but alas, your body, your necks, are still bound to the ground, sealed under powerful spells and mighty chains and you cannot get away.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! TELLING THEM THE TRUTH?! TELLING THEM ABOUT THE PAST?! YOU ARE TO DESTROY THE HIME – ALL OF THEM! THEY ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS! THEY CANNOT HELP YOU! ONLY I CAN! ACCEPT ME! ACCEPT ME NOW, AND USE MY POWER TO BREAK YOUR BONDS! WE SHALL DESTROY THEM ALL AND CLAIM THIS WORLD AS OUR OWN, TO RE-WRITE IT AS WE SEE FIT! IT IS THE ONLY WAY YOU WILL GET YOUR HEART'S DESIRE!
You try desperately to get away from him, anywhere for relief, for release, but you are bound, and he attacks, and it hurts. It feels as though he is running you through, over and over again, as though he stabs and cuts at you with a hundred thousand blades, and just when you think you can take no more, you feel a pull, a hard pull, on your shoulder (shoulder? You don't have shoulders any more, do you?).
Suddenly, you find yourself falling, falling, and falling and, somehow, within your mind-scape, you find yourself human again – one head and two arms, rather than eight and none, and it stuns you so much you aren't quite sure what to do with yourself.
And then you see it.
A coffin, an open coffin, filled with white roses.
Sanctuary.
A woman – that woman – with cascading waves of purple hair and unreadable, ancient eyes, stands just beside it, and stares imploringly at you. Her eyes cast down at the coffin, and then look back up at you again.
It can only be an invitation.
You look up, and above you, upside-down, you can see the pitiful form for an eight-headed monster, bound and chained, and writhing in agony as an endless cascade of giant, glowing, red eyes flash, appearing and disappearing only to reappear again, all over it, sending gouts of inky green blood spraying with each apparition.
He has not yet noticed that you have managed to free a small piece of yourself from him.
You look back over at the coffin, at the woman, the one who has been with you for so much of your life.
Slowly, you take one hesitant step towards the box, and then another, before you lower yourself into its confines, curling up into a fetal position.
A moment later, the woman closes the lid.
It blocks out the noise of the Obsidian Lord completely.
But it blocks out everything else too.
The text at 6:30 in the morning told Shizuru that something had happened between her girlfriend and her roommate. The look on Natsuki's face at 7:15 am told Shizuru that that 'something' was not good.
"You don't look like you slept at all," Shizuru said, putting a hand on Natsuki's face and letting her thumb gently massage at the bags under the younger girl's eyes.
"I don't think I did," Natsuki admitted, stifling a yawn poorly.
"What happened?" Shizuru asked, feeling the worry start to build up in the pit of her stomach.
"Let's get to Fumi's. I think it might be best to explain once, with everyone there."
Shizuru nodded. It had been a difficult request to fulfill when she had received Natsuki's text earlier that morning, 'can we get everyone together, ASAP?' As many of the Hime as Shizuru could notify were meeting at Director Himeno (formerly, Director Kazahana)'s residence for a breakfast meeting.
When they got there, Fumi was seated at the table already, as was Yukino, Midori, and surprisingly, Nao. The expression on the red haired novice nun's face, and the way she was nursing her coffee cup, suggested that it wasn't an extremely early morning for her so much as an extremely late night. Shizuru and Natsuki sat down, and servants served them tea and coffee respectively upon their request.
Mai, Mikoto and Akira had yet to come, and Shizuru let the others know that they may not show up, as they had not responded to her messages that morning.
"So, what brings us all together this morning, Kuga-san?" Fumi asked in her high, feathery voice, even as she sipped at her coffee.
Natsuki rubbed her face, and looked like she wasn't quite sure how she was supposed to say what was on her mind. It wasn't until Shizuru gave her hand a squeeze under the table did the biker finally sigh and spit out what was on her mind. "It's Chikane. She's wrapped up in this somehow."
The other girls and women around the table held expressions of surprise, while Shizuru pursed her lips together a little. As soon as she had seen those alien eyes on their friend's face yesterday, she had dreaded the worst. It had taken almost all of her self control last night not to constantly text Natsuki to make sure her girlfriend was alright (the last thing she wanted to be was overbearing), but seeing Natsuki's state this morning made her wish that she'd listened to her instincts.
"What makes you say this?" Fumi asked, brow furrowing.
"I had a dream about her."
Now the silence at the table turned awkward, as several sweatdrops appeared over several heads.
Nao rolled her eyes and stood up. "Oh, praise the lord, it all makes sense now." She said flatly. "I can't believe I am not in bed right now because you were dreaming about your roommate, Kuga. Let me guess. Was she mostly naked in this one?"
Natsuki turned bright red. "She had a swimsuit on!"
Yukino looked uncomfortable while Shizuru stifled a smile when Natsuki shot her a glare.
"But that's beside the point," Natsuki hurried on. "Because after I had a dream, I woke up, and she was pointing a bluey-greeny glowing energy bow and arrow thingy in my face."
Now Shizuru's eyes widened. "... and why was she doing this?" She asked softly, feeling a grave disquiet in her heart.
The look on Shizuru's face must told Natsuki what lines she was thinking along, because the biker suddenly explained further, "um, it was self defense!" She said quickly. "Because, well, I, uh, might have been pointing my elements at her too..."
Now this news prompted much more reaction from the other girls.
"What?" Midori asked, even while Yukino frowned intensely, and Nao stood up again, saying, "you can summon your elements now?"
Natsuki nodded and then pulled her derringer pistols from thin air to demonstrate. This prompted the other five women at the table to try too, but to no avail.
"I haven't been able to summon Duran though," Natsuki advised, before launching into the tale of what happened yesterday to everyone quickly. She talked about Chikane's unusual eyes, and about the mark on Chikane's back. She talked about what the other girl had said about being the Lunar Priestess, and dying 15 years ago. She told them what she could remember of the dream, though those memories were fragmented and there was not much sense that she could make of them.
"There were shadows," Natsuki said, hesitantly. "They were telling me a story. Something about the sun and the moon."
"... shadows?" Fumi raised an eyebrow. "Mashiro-sama once spoke of shadows that speak in riddles and laughter. They are observers of the universe, spirits who chronicle fates and destinies." She looked at Natsuki incredulously. "You were able to hear them, Natsuki-san?"
Natsuki nodded hesitantly. "I think so, but..." she grit her teeth. "I can't remember all of the details."
Fumi frowned. "A pity."
The silence that stretched on was uncomfortable. Shizuru rubbed Natsuki's back; it was obvious to her the younger girl was upset at herself for not being able to fully remember, or decipher, potentially important clues.
Finally, Fumi looked at Midori. "Sugiura-sensei, this 'Lunar Priestess'. wasn't she mentioned in Nagi's book?" The Director had given Midori the leather volume – the one Nagi had passed to her when he and Mashiro had left this world – at the beginning of summer, when everyone's marks had returned, so that the teacher could study it for clues Fumi may have missed.
Midori nodded. "Yes, I think so, once, but only briefly." She frowned intensely. "You know, I've been thinking about this for a while now, Fumi. Are you sure there was only one volume?"
Fumi nodded back. "Yes, as far back as I can remember, Nagi only ever had the one volume."
"Hmm..." Midori thought about this. "That's weird. The way the narrative structure in the book is setup, I could have sworn it was the second half of a two volume set. It refers back a few times to something about the incident of Ame no Murakumo, and something about the Miko of the Sun and the Moon. I'm afraid it's not a story I'm familiar with, although, now that I think about it, I think one of my colleagues might be." Midori's lips twitched as she recalled said colleague. "Morimoto Yukihito. Yuki-chan. He lives in the town of Mahoroba."
Fumi frowned. "Hmm... might you investigate this a little further then, Sugiura-sensei?"
Midori nodded. "Of course. I was going to anyway."
The group was silent for a while longer, when Shizuru finally asked, "Natsuki, where is Chikane-san now?"
"She's still asleep," Natsuki replied, and worry came to her face. "I tried to wake her up to come to this, but she won't come to. She's been... moaning quite a bit. I kinda want to get back to her."
Yukino frowned. "If Chikane-san is not doing well, should I count her out of the Kazahana Scholarship Benefit Gala tonight?"
Shizuru also frowned. Ah yes, the gala is tonight, isn't it? She looked over at Natsuki. We still have to go dress shopping...
The gala was why Chikane had come back early to Fuuka in the first place, after all. She had put in a lot of work prior to leaving on summer vacation, and throughout the break as well, being in text contact to make sure things were still going according to plan. The Benefit Gala was a fundraiser event in which many of Fuuka Acadamy's most successful alumni donated money towards the endowment that funded the Kazahana Scholarship. As a recipient of the scholarship herself, Chikane had been keen to help ensure the continuation of the scholarship for future beneficiaries.
"That is probably most wise," Fumi confirmed. "Will that be alright, Yukino-san?"
Yukino nodded. "Yes, I think so. We should be fine."
Fumi looked over at Natsuki. "In the meanwhile, please let us know if Chikane-san is feeling better, Natsuki-san?"
Natsuki nodded. "Sure."
The meeting at Fumi's residence thus concluded, Shizuru and Natsuki went back towards the dorms, almost being run over by Mai and Mikoto (Chu Chu sitting on Mikoto's head, and hanging onto the catgirl's braids for dear life).
"Oh! Did we miss it?" Mai asked, her tone obviously frazzled. "I'm sorry, the alarm didn't go off!"
They quickly caught the other two girls up on the meeting, and Mai and Mikoto decided to follow Shizuru and Natsuki back to Natsuki's room.
Curiously, as they approached the dorm room, Chu Chu became more and more agitated, 'chu!'ing distressingly, and tangling herself up in Mikoto's hair in anxiety.
Mikoto frowned. "What's the matter, Chu-suke?" She asked, pulling the small monkey out of her hair. "Aren't you happy to see your master?"
The small monkey-mouse flailed around her arms wildly, doing some sort of elaborate performance dance. Mikoto simply stared at her. "Someone else? What do you mean Hime is someone else now?"
Frustrated, the monkey mouse gave up trying to explain and instead tried to escape by massively inhaling, becoming a round spherical helium ball with ears to float away on wind currents. It was a poor plan of escape, as Mikoto simply held onto the monkey's tail, like she was a small balloon.
Shizuru couldn't help but feel slightly disturbed at this display – that monkey definitely defied all laws of physics and biology. "Has she been like this all summer long, Mikoto?" She asked.
The black-haired wild child shook her head.
Frowning, Natsuki opened the door to their dorm room, and quietly, the friends walked in.
Chu Chu suddenly deflated and would have gone blubbering about the room if Mikoto hadn't had such a tight grip on her tail. Keening piteously, she curled up into a tiny ball, covering her face with her ears and shivering in Mikoto's hands.
Chikane was still curled up in bed. Her eyebrows were knitted tightly together, and there was an expression of obvious discomfort on her face.
Shizuru couldn't help but feel her heart pang with sympathy for the girl, and from the expression on Natsuki's, Mai's and Mikoto's faces, it was obvious the other girls felt poorly too.
Mai put a hand on Chikane's forehead, and put her other hand on her own forehead. "No fever," she murmured, frowning.
"Oi, Hime?" Mikoto gently pushed at Chikane's shoulder. "Hime? Are you okay?"
Chikane only seemed to cringe, and curled up a little tighter.
Seeing this, Mikoto looked over at Mai, an expression of acute discomfort on her face. "What's wrong with Hime?" Mikoto asked. "Is she hurt? Should we get Youko-sensei?"
"That might not be a bad idea," Mai murmured. "Wait here, I'll go get her." She disappeared out the door.
Mikoto looked back at the resting girl.
Chu Chu lifted one ear to peak out at the situation. When the monkey mouse saw her owner in bed, she stopped shivering and gave a 'chu' of concern. Jumping off of Mikoto's palm onto the bed, the monkey walked over to Chikane's face, and put her paws on Chikane's cheek.
"Chu?"
Suddenly, Chikane's eyes snapped wide open, and Chu Chu's terrified, fur-standing-on-end reflection could be seen in the depths of those yellow eyes. The monkey gave a 'CHUUU!' of terror and sprang away from her owner, landing on Mikoto's face.
Chikane swallowed. Weakly, she got up and peered at her visitors. "Mi... Mikoto?" She asked softly, wincing, and not looking directly at them.
"Hime! What happened to you?" Mikoto cried, pulling Chu Chu from her face.
"I'm... alright." Chikane responded slowly, looking anything but. "I've just... got a really bad headache right now." She gave her classmate a smile that was meant to be reassuring, but didn't quite do the trick. "Have you been looking after Chu Chu for me?"
Mikoto nodded. "Yes. Chu-suke's been worried about you too, but," she frowned at the monkey, "stop it, Chu-suke! You're not making any sense!"
Chikane frowned weakly at her pet, and it was obvious to the other girls in the room she was barely holding herself together. "I'm sorry, Mikoto, but... could you... look after Chu Chu for... the next little bit? I just... I really want to lie down..."
Mikoto could only nod, amber eyes brimming with concern.
"Sorry, Sempai," Chikane looked over momentarily at Natsuki and Shizuru, "would you mind leaving now? I'm... I'm fine, really, but... I would appreciate it if I could have some... rest..."
Shizuru traded a worried look with Natsuki, but they complied with their friend's request.
When Mai returned with Sagisawa Youko, Natsuki let the school nurse into the room. A few minutes later, Youko came out of the room, frowning.
"It probably is just a migraine," Youko confirmed. "She should be fine if she can sleep it off. Why don't the rest of you leave her be. I'll check in on her periodically."
It was obvious to Shizuru that Natsuki didn't really want to go. Frowning, she wrapped her fingers around Natsuki's own. The motion seemed to stir Natsuki out of her brooding, and they finally left the area, respecting their friend's wishes.
It was fairly obvious to Natsuki that both Shizuru and Mai were trying to keep her spirits up by distracting her. When Shizuru had hesitantly mentioned that Natsuki had promised her they'd go dress shopping today, Natsuki had frowned and asked, "is that really still important right now?" She had regretted her words upon seeing the disappointment on Shizuru's face, and hastily agreed to go on the long planned shopping trip, which had already been delayed several times through the summer.
Natsuki knew it was in her nature to brood and obsesses, and she'd spent most of the summer doing so.
But even in the face of supernatural-tinged uncertainty, it was hard to deny life its day to day particularities. She had already spent years of her life solely focused on the Hime Star to the detriment of everything else, to the point where she'd been hopelessly blind to the kindness and affection she was receiving, and the consequences of that had been almost disastrous.
She wasn't about to repeat history.
But that didn't make standing in the high end dress shop in the magenta getup in front of a multitude of brightly lit mirrors that reflected every possible side of her any more comfortable, especially while Shizuru, Mai, and Tate were sitting on the waiting chairs and looking at her with snickers in their eyes.
All three of them were trying various creative tactics to stifle chuckles – Shizuru behind a hand, Mai holding her breath, while Tate was tightly grasping his knees. Only Mikoto, sitting beside Mai holding onto an ice cream cone (while Chu Chu sat on her head, eating her own treat in miniature duplication) was able to look at her without laughing.
"It's... bold," Shizuru said.
"It, uh, flatters your skin tone." Mai tried.
"Uh, yeah." Tate wisely followed the safest possible strategy for any guy in such a situation by agreeing with anything coming out of Mai's mouth.
"Your boobs aren't big enough for it." Mikoto said easily. "That would look way better on Mai."
Tate sweatdropped and looked at the ceiling.
Natsuki's left eyebrow twitched and she glared at the sales associate that had assured her she'd look 'absolutely maaahvellous!' "Well, if that's the case, then why don't we have Mai try it on?" This was her third dress already, and she was getting pretty sick of being the sole form of entertainment for her friends.
Mai put her hands up in resignation. "Hey, I'm not the date of a Fuuka alumni who shelled out a ridiculous amount of money for a plate at a fancy, black-tie benefit gala, remember? I'm going as a current student of Fuuka, so I'm supposed to be in my school uniform only, so the 'customers' feel all warm and fuzzy and nostalgic about their own school days..."
Natsuki frowned. She knew Mai had complicated feelings about this. On the one hand, many of their friends and classmates had been sighing in frustration at not being able to dress up pretty for the formal event, and Mai had been one of them. On the other hand, she also realized that it was probably a blessing in disguise; it wasn't like Mai could really afford a fancy new dress anyway.
Tate looked over at his girlfriend, and there was a strange look in his brown eyes. "Hey, if you want to, why don't you try something on anyway?" He suggested.
Mai gave him a sour look.
He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "I mean, there's no harm in trying, right?"
"No, but there is harm in falling in love with something I can't afford," Mai muttered.
But then Mikoto looked over at Mai excitedly and said, "I wanna see Mai in that dress!" and the redhead's rubber arm was sufficiently twisted.
Getting up, Mai went over to the dressing room beside the one Natsuki had been using, and they switched, with Mai in the magenta dress while Natsuki moved onto the next one (an uninspiring yellow affair with faaar too many bows and ruffles).
The two friends stared at each other, and then they both pointed and laughed at each other.
"Oh, my, god, this is horrible!" Mai said, looking at herself in the mirror. "Cleavage can't save this dress! I look like a prostitute!"
Tate, demonstrating unusual wisdom today, said nothing at all, while the sales associate tried not to cry.
The two friends spent the next thirty five minutes in a variety of different dresses – long dresses, short dresses, strapless dress, ruffled dresses, mermaid dresses, sequenced dresses... the list went on and on.
By the end of it, Tate had swirls in his eyes and was sweating bullets from having to constantly dodge so many landmines, and even Shizuru was having trouble coming up with silver linings.
It was actually Mikoto who was most helpful with her brutally honest observations.
"That one makes you look fat."
"That one looks like it will fall right off."
"I think I saw Nao wear that once."
"Oh! I like that one – it reminds me of grandpa!"
"Hey, Chu Chu could totally camouflage into that one!"
"Is your butt supposed to stick out like that?"
At one dress, Mikoto's eyes lit up in delight, and Natsuki thought she might have found a winner, until the wild child said, "you look like a marshmallow melted all over a banana! Mai! Mai! Can we go for a sundae after this?"
Twin tears meandered down both Natsuki and Mai's faces as their collective self confidence took the most vicious of beatings.
Finally, Shizuru spoke up. "Natsuki? Mai-san? How about you try these ones." She handed a dark navy dress to Natsuki, and a golden-bronze one to Mai.
Mai habitually went for the price tag and nearly jumped. "This could feed Mikoto for the next semester!"
Tate's eyebrow twitched as he looked over at Shizuru with misgivings for a brief moment, and then looked back at Mai. "Just try it on." He said.
Hesitantly, both girls went back into the dressing rooms. While they were in there, Shizuru motioned for the sales associate to come by and whispered into her ear. The sales person nodded and then went away. She came back with a few peers, carrying various things in their arms and entered into Mai and Natsuki's dressing rooms to the surprise of the occupants.
Tate frowned at Shizuru. "What did you ask for?" He asked.
A sales associate came by and handed Shizuru a cup of tea, which she took with a grateful nod of the head. She looked at Tate out of the corner of her eyes, even as she lifted the cup to her lips, and simply said, "how much longer do you want to stay here?"
Wisely, he did not question her further, simply murmuring thanks when another sales associate came to give him tea, Mikoto some juice, and Chu Chu some milk.
A few minutes later, there came the light tapping sound of high heels against the hard wood floor, and both Shizuru and Tate looked up to see Natsuki and Mai standing before them transformed.
Three of their faces were stunned; one of them smiled in appreciation.
Natsuki was wearing a dramatic, dark navy, spaghetti strapped gown that seemed to have a trail of little crystals shimmering down one side of her dress like the milky-way. It was slim, and hugged her in all the right places, accentuating her lean but feminine form. The upper back was mostly bare (her Hime mark just barely covered), save for where the straps criss-crossed a couple of times. The entire dress was held up by those straps, tied in a bow at her back. The dress did not allow for a bra. She had accentuating accessories on - tasteful necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Her heels were at least 3 inches high, putting her at a slight height premium to Shizuru.
Mai's dress was golden-bronze, and the top was corset style, completely with boning and decorative bronze hardware in the front in the shape of stylized hooks, holding the corset-style top firmly in place while highlighting Mai's cleavage tastefully. The dress shimmered endlessly, shifting in color between gold and bronze. Her waist was cinched dramatically, and the bottom of the dress flowed down to the ground in a flourish, ending in a small train.
She wore a golden necklace with a large green gemstone around her neck and matching earrings.
Both Natsuki and Mai looked like they were blushing a bit, obviously not used to such finery. Their self confidence was so obviously and painfully fragile at that moment that neither Shizuru or Tate were quite sure what to say in order to ensure their respective loved ones just how absolutely gorgeous they looked.
Mikoto opened her mouth first, eyes wide and mesmerized. "You guys look like the stars at night."
Neither Tate nor Shizuru could come up with a better compliment.
Tate insisted on buying Mai the dress, his words awkward, but earnest. 'Maybe you can't wear it tonight, but you'll get to wear it eventually, right? Isn't there supposed to be a formal dance around Christmas or something like that?' Mai resisted, but in the end, gave her boyfriend a tight hug, a long kiss, and a megawatt grin he couldn't help but return, rubbing the back of his head.
Mai didn't catch him when he inconspicuously leaned over and asked Shizuru if she could always be present next time they had to go clothes shopping.
Just as they were about to head back to the dorms on campus, Natsuki received a surprising text from Chikane.
'I'm sorry to worry you all. I'm just going to stay in bed, I think. Please, enjoy yourselves at the gala. Take pictures; I want stories.'
The message was exactly what Natsuki needed, exactly when she needed it. They checked in on Chikane, and found her still asleep, but much more peacefully now, so Natsuki went over to Shizuru's apartment instead to get ready for the gala.
Natsuki couldn't help but feel a bit nervous as she looked at herself in Shizuru's full length mirror. She could barely recognize the pretty (sexy) young woman frowning in the mirror back at her.
Natsuki had always known she could be pretty (sexy) if she wanted to be; she just found very few occasions where she wanted to be.
The image in the mirror didn't look like a girl; she looked like a beautiful (sexy) young woman, and Natsuki found some very strange, girlish thoughts swirling inside her head she hadn't known she was capable of. It was a curious, but somewhat perturbing sensation, and not one Natsuki could decide if she liked or not. She had heard someone say once, that the only dress worth putting on was the one that would make others want to take it off of you, and while that fun, flirty philosophy had been largely meaningless to her before, right now, as she looked at herself in the mirror, it was like a whole other world of possibilities she hadn't been aware of was open to her, and Natsuki couldn't help but feel like this dress definitely fit the bill...
... certainly, she could already imagine a certain pair of hands slipping the straps off of her shoulders right now – could imagine the simultaneous coolness and heat generated in the act of discarding clothing and as these thoughts went through her head (and body), she found her gaze shifting away from herself and towards Shizuru's form in the background.
Natsuki's breath caught in her throat.
Shizuru was faced away from her, wearing only flesh colored underwear at the moment. Shizuru's skin was pale and smooth, and Natsuki couldn't help but find her eyes lingering around the curve of her girlfriend's hips and bottom – especially when Shizuru bent over and stepped into her dress.
Coloring, Natsuki quickly turned her eyes away, but found herself unable to keep them away for very long. She watched as the dress went up Shizuru's legs, past that bottom with a wiggle, and up to the middle of her back.
The dress was white, strapless, and bone white in color. The tone reminded Natsuki a little bit of when Shizuru was still in high school, and wore the student council president's blazer, except that the blazer didn't exactly make Natsuki's skin flush and her body warm and her thoughts go all in one direction quite like... like this.
It was baffling, really. Though she'd just seen her girlfriend virtually naked, somehow, now that the dress was actually on, Natsuki couldn't help but think about the gorgeous curves underneath and as she imagined this, her mind was somehow leaving Shizuru even more exposed than she already was before...
Shizuru's dress is worth putting on too.
Natsuki's heart (was that her heart?) began to beat a little more insistently.
Shizuru was dazzling.
Achingly so.
Achingly – in many different body parts – so.
Shizuru caught Natsuki looking at her in the mirror, and winked playfully, even as she put in an earring.
Natsuki quickly turned away, feeling her cheeks burned. Trust Shizuru to catch her when her thoughts were so... so embarrassing.
Turned away as she was, she didn't notice Shizuru approach her until she felt Shizuru's fingers touch her hand to turn it palm up and deposit a care-worn box into it.
Giving her girlfriend a curious look, Natsuki opened the box and found inside a seemingly innocuous, silvery-white hairpiece in the shape of a stunted lightning bolt, or possibly an anvil. Picking it up, Natsuki was surprised that the ornament was quite a bit heavier than it looked.
"What's this?" Natsuki asked, holding the item in her palm.
Shizuru smiled, affixing the decoration into Natuski's hair, just above her left ear. "This was my grandmother's. Careful, it's made of white gold, so it's a little on the soft side. They don't make hair pieces like this anymore."
As Natsuki looked at herself in the mirror, Shizuru flicked on a small switch on the bottom of the hair piece, and Natsuki was surprised when the top portion of the hair clip expand up into a stylized lightning bolt.
Looking at herself in the mirror, Natsuki decided that she really liked the ornament, not the least of which because it was a gift from Shizuru, and apparently an heirloom at that.
Shizuru smiled proudly. "Ara, doesn't it look like it was made for you?"
Natsuki's eyebrows crinkled self-consciously – there was no mistaking the tone in her girlfriend's voice; she meant for her to keep the ornament. "Are you sure you should be giving this to me? I mean, wasn't this a present to you?"
Shizuru smiled. "My grandmother was a very sharp woman. She recognized my preference long before anyone else did in my family, maybe even before I did. She gave that to me to give to my beloved, and well, who else could that belong to but you?"
Natsuki felt her heart skip beats in her chest at her girlfriend's easy admission. "Shizuru..."
"Is it not to Natsuki's taste? Would you have preferred a ring instead?" Shizuru teased, ruby eyes sparkling. "I didn't think Natsuki would demand one of those so quickly."
"What? Oh, god, no way!" Natsuki cried, her heart suddenly racing around even more than it already was. "Shizuru, we can't even legally drink yet!"
And here, the girl from Kyoto laughed. "That's why that's just a hair piece, Natsuki. More will come in due time." Shizuru smiled, even as she played with the hair clip, and pushed the extendable part back down. She moved her hand down to Natsuki's chin, and tilted her head up to give her a chaste peck on the lips.
The innocuous touch of their lips sent a shiver traversing down Natsuki's back with far more intensity than it ought to have.
"Forgive my indulgence, Natsuki," Shizuru said, not sounding very apologetic at all. "I just like seeing my family's things on you."
Those words, and the words Shizuru hadn't said, but Natsuki had heard none the less, hit her with a stronger impact that she would have suspected.
I like seeing my things on you. You belong to me, after all.
And Natsuki looked away from her girlfriend, feeling suddenly very flattered and also suddenly very... nervous. Shizuru had claimed ownership over her once before, during the festival, and that declaration had left Natsuki far more unsettled, and distraught at the time.
She felt Shizuru's fingers gently take her own, and when she looked back into those ruby depths, Natsuki could see there was a little bit of worry in Shizuru's eyes.
"What's on your mind?" Shizuru asked simply.
Natsuki swallowed, not quite sure how to phrase her feelings, and suddenly thankful that Shizuru was always so patient with her. "... I had fun today." Natsuki finally admitted.
Shizuru chuckled kindly. "Why do you say that like it's a bad thing?"
"Well, with everything going on..." Natsuki sighed, looking away, that gently pulsating ache inside her ever present. "I guess I just felt like I shouldn't be feeling this way, you know? Like... like it's wrong to be enjoying ourselves when we don't know what's going to happen next."
Then Natsuki felt Shizuru give her fingers a squeeze, even as her other hand gently took Natsuki's chin again and lifted it up so that their gazes met once more.
"Life goes on, Natsuki." Shizuru said softly. "You are absolutely right to worry. Things are tumultuous right now. Isn't that all the more reason to celebrate what we have and to enjoy it while we can?"
Her girlfriend's words resounded loudly in her head, causing the butterflies in her stomach to all take flight. Natsuki couldn't help but give her girlfriend a shy smile as those butterflies wantonly flapped their wings all over her body. At that particular moment, she couldn't help but feel a little bit overwhelmed with feelings of love, of wonder, of affection...
... of desire...
You belong to me, after all.
As I belong to you.
Shizuru gave Natsuki a fond peck on the forehead, and while she was so close to her, Natsuki could almost taste the delicate smell of Shizuru's perfume, weaving delightful intoxication through her senses.
All those butterflies rushed downwards.
When Shizuru went back to the vanity to put in her other earring, Natsuki's eyes followed her silently. She thought back to the beginning of summer, to that night when the Hime Star had blinked back into existence in the sky and it seemed like horrible things were going to happen again.
The Hime Star had rudely interrupted them that night.
But it wouldn't tonight.
Not if Kuga Natsuki had anything to say about it.
"Shizuru?" She asked, softly, feeling her heart pounding everywhere, but especially there.
Her girlfriend turned back to look at her curiously.
Cheeks warm, Natsuki slowly reached behind her back and gave one of the straps that held her fragile dress up a pull. Obediently, the bow came undone, and the dress tumbled down to the ground, leaving Natsuki clad in naught but her jewelry and her panties.
Shizuru's eyes widened, and Natsuki couldn't help but feel very pleased that her form had taken the words right out of her girlfriend's mouth.
Blushing horribly, but summoning up her courage even as she did so, Natsuki covered the four steps between them (careful not to trip on her discarded dress), until she stood in front of her girlfriend, and kissed her on the mouth firmly.
Shizuru was still so stunned she wasn't able to respond right away.
She was able to rectify that soon enough, when Natsuki moved her hands up to cradle Shizuru's cheeks, and Shizuru pulled Natsuki closer towards her, the front of their bodies coming to rest against each other. Shizuru let her (slightly shaking) fingertips gently brush down Natsuki's back, from her shoulder blades to her hips, delighting when the sensation prompted Natsuki to shudder and tremble against her.
A few moments later, Shizuru's own dress fell silently to the floor.
They were a little late to the gala.
They didn't particularly care.
The End of the World frowned.
The Obsidian Lord was going to ruin everything with his impatience.
Sitting in his daughter's room, he watched as she continued to wage war against the aggressor in her mind, as she'd been doing for most of the day, an expression of suffering on her face as the fractured and broken god of ambition and greed continued to berate and attack her from within her own mind-scape, screaming in rage and fury at her for her continued refusal to allow him into her fully, to allow him access to her body, as Kanzaki Reito had once allowed.
The Obsidian Lord had only let up when the End of the World himself had appeared, finally allowing Chikane to pass out from the assault, and know oblivion.
She is stubborn! Projected the Obsidian Lord directly into the End of the World's mind, communicating without needing words to do so. Why will she not listen to me?!
He ignored the broken god as he grabbed his daughter's cellphone, and flipped it open to send a message to Kuga Natsuki.
Ohtori! Raged the Obsidian Lord.
Who'd listen to someone as obviously unhinged as you? The End of the World quipped back, feeling his own patience ending, even as he snapped the phone shut and put it back down on his daughter'd desk.
Get it through what remains of your mind, Obsidian. She cannot be forced nor needs she be. She is the new incarnation of despair, the new Orochi. She will come around herself – it is her nature to. If you continue to try to force yourself on her the way that you have been, then our partnership will end and I will grind you to powder under my heel myself. Do I make myself clear?
You haven't the power to! The Obsidian roared, causing Chikane's brow to knit in pain again.
Are you so sure of that?
The Obsidian Lord considered his words, and glowered balefully.
After a moment, the End of the World could feel the cracked god of ambition snarl and step down, seething, but quiet, and dormant.
... If she tries to reach out to the Hime again, I will not be so merciful.
The End of the World sighed.
He looked at the clock. There was still time.
Taking a hand out of his pocket, he brushed the back of his hand almost tenderly across the sleeping girl's forehead.
"Wake up," he said softly, liquidly, letting his words slowly seep into her dreams. "Wake up. You are going to be late. Everyone is waiting for you at the benefit. They are depending on you. You don't want to let them down, do you?"
Chikane stirred.
He smiled.
She was almost there.
He lowered his lips to the tip of her ear.
"She will be there. She is waiting for you."
Chikane's brow crinkled. He could her eyes moving quickly under her eyelids.
By the time she opened them however, he was already gone.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
... okay, I'll admit it. I like fancy dresses. I really, really like fancy dresses. I will spend a ridiculous amount of time describing dresses to the point where pacing issues develop. I can't help myself, I'm sorry. -_-;;
The quote is from Francoise Sagan, and is actually "a dress makes no sense unless it inspires men to want to take it off you."
…I also really like Kruger's design from Mai Otome, so I think the hairclip may stay for a while...
Many thanks once again, to those of you who've left reviews! Um, I guess I really don't feel all that comfortable using the review function (or these notes) to respond too much, so um, please check your PM's (if you have them)!
The next chapter should be up next Saturday (barring massive disaster)!
Cheers,
jen-chan
jen-chan-shaw. livejournal. com
OMAKE I: Why They Don't Make Hairpieces Like That Anymore
[SHIZURU puts the hairpiece into NATSUKI's hair carefully.]
SHIZURU: This was my grandmother's. She was headmistress at an all girl's school back in Kyoto called Garderobe Academy. They don't make hair pieces like this anymore.
NATSUKI: How come they don't make hair pieces like this anymore? It's pretty.
SHIZURU: I'm not sure, really. I think it's pretty too.
[FLICKS the hairpiece and the top of it suddenly extends upwards with a 'shiiink!' sound like a switch knife. Unfortunately, SHIZURU was a little to close the thing, as she was trying to find the switch. The pointy end of the hairpiece stabs SHIZURU right in the eye.]
SHIZURU: AAAH!
NATSUKI: AAAH!
SHIZURU: AAAH!
[Cue AMBULANCE.]
OMAKE II: Once more, A Mai-Hime Style Preview Of Next Episode
[MIKOTO's voice can be heard doing the voice over for a series of fast paced clips edited together very confusingly and with deliberate misrepresentation so brazen the producers should be ashamed of themselves.]
MIKOTO: Next time, on Revolutions, a Kannazuki no Miko, Revolutionary Girl Utena and Mai Hime X-over... hey! [Sees CHIKANE hiccuping with really, really red eyes as she tries to console herself by licking at an ice cream cone.] No fair getting ice cream by yourself, Hime! I want ice cream too! Where did you get it?
CHIKANE: [Sniffles] The gala's finally starting. They've got a pretty decent spread.
MIKOTO: Woohoo! Ice cream! [Tosses the script over her shoulder and runs off.]
CHIKANE: ... [Hesitantly picks up the script] ... Please stay tuned for the next chapter of Revolutions, Chapter 11 – 'Gala Revelations' [Continues to sniffle as she licks at her ice cream].
JURI: [Eyes are bloodshot as she stumbles onto the scene absolutely wasted, holding onto an open bottle of wine], oh, *hick* grow up, Himemiya! Shtop makin' it sheem like YOU'RE the only one getting' the short end of the sshtick!
CHIKANE: [Looks at JURI's wine bottle. Looks at her ice cream. Looks at JURI's wine bottle. Tosses the ice cream over her shoulder and starts chugging the wine.]