[KnM][RGU][MH] Revolutions

Revolutions – Chapter 11 (Gala Revelations)

A Kannazuki no Miko, Revolutionary Girl Utena and Mai Hime X-Over Fanfic

February 9, 2013 – February 23, 2013

Word Count: 9,200

More Author's notes follow at the end. Comments and Criticisms are greatly appreciated!

WARNING: There's, um, a part of a scene in here that miiiight skirt towards an M rating in some folks' minds. Just wanted to give a heads up.


Himeko stared at the color pencil portrait of the smiling, brown haired boy in the junior high uniform and felt her heart ache. It was very obvious to her that the artist was absolutely head over heels in love with the person in the portrait. She could feel it from the work – anyone could.

When she had first walked into the banquet room, holding hands with Juri, Himeko could not help but feel properly impressed. Ototachibana Acadamy, where she'd gone to school in Mahoroba, was a fine, fancy school by any standard, but Fuuka Acadamy had been done up to the nines in preparation for the Kazahana Scholarship Benefit Gala. The banquet tables were all decorated with the finest of pale gold linens and accenting white table runners, while all the chairs had beautiful floral patterned covers and real lilies, infusing the large, high ceiling room with a pleasant, fragrant, but not overpowering smell. Each table had been decorated with a different centre piece, made by a different student, and ranged from the adorably awkward paper mache elementary student pieces, to sophisticated pottery sculptures from the seniors in the 12th grade, some of whom, if Himeko was any judge, had a promising career in the arts awaiting them.

Himeko had not quite recovered from her shock yesterday at the intersection. When she had finally met up with Juri, her girlfriend had taken one look at her and asked her what was wrong.

Himeko had not been able to answer her, but a cup of warm tea later, and at least she had been able to stop shivering. Terrible as she was at lying, she was somewhat glad that she just hadn't been able to articulate the gamut of emotions running through her at all, and eventually, Juri had let her be.

She then spent the last day cooped up in Juri's (theirs? She had been there six weeks now – not the longest stretch they'd lived together, but one of the longer ones) apartment, sitting on the couch and staring, unseeing, out the window, with her legs pulled up to her chest. She had taken her old photo album out, though she had not been able to bring herself to open it.

Her body may have been in Fuuka, but her mind had been thousands of miles away.

She was very glad that the Kazahana Scholarship Benefit Gala was tonight; hopefully, it would distract her enough to get out of her funk.

There were white banners streaming from the ceiling, backlit by pastel blue and purple lights, and a couple large throws with Fuuka's school crest on them had been hung from the walls, interspersed between more student works of art.

It was one of these works of art that Himeko was looking at right now.

As Himeko continued to feel her heart ache at the picture, she felt Juri squeeze her hand.

"What's wrong?" Her lover asked, that crinkle in her brow again.

The tawny haired photographer finally pulled her attention away from the portrait on the wall. "It's nothing, Juri-chan. Sorry. I was just, um, really impressed by the quality of that drawing. It's really good. Did a student really draw that?"

"It looks like it," Juri replied, looking at the name attached to the frame. "Tokiha Takumi, by Okuzaki Akira, Middle School, 3rd year. Ah. Tokiha-kun is one of the Kazahana Scholarship students from last year. I believe his sister is going to speak tonight." Juri smiled faintly. "The Tokiha siblings are a prime example of scholarship money well spent, I think."

"Tokiha?" Himeko echoed, eyebrows raised.

Juri nodded. "Yes." She paused, looking at Himeko inquisitively. "Is something...?"

Himeko forced her on smile onto her face. "No. It's nothing. My mother's maiden name was Tokiha, that's all." She had heard Juri talk about the Kazahana Scholarship before. It was a pity that whomever had been managing that endowment fund had done such a poor job of it that they had to solicit further donations in order to keep the thing afloat. "Do you think the Benefit Gala will be successful?" She asked Juri, eager to turn the conversation other topics besides her feelings.

Her lover nodded. "I do. I think most of the tickets sold, so they should be able to cover the cost of the event in spades, and have enough left over to put into the fund. Quite a few of Fuuka's alumni are well to do." Juri winked. "And there are some white knights who aren't necessarily alumni but invested in the well being of the school too."

The smile on Himeko's face became sincere.

The Benefit Gala was a very interesting affair, and Himeko regretted not having her camera with her. It was a black tie event, so all of Fuuka's alumni were dressed in finery, and seated at tables of ten. Each table also had two current Fuuka Students, some of them recipients of the Kazahana Scholarship, and the students were in their school uniforms to identify them.

Squeezing her hand, Juri took Himeko away from the portrait and introduced her to some of the other faculty members, as well as the other members of Fuuka's Board of Directors. She also talked to a few of the current university students (also dressed in finery, as they were alumni of Fuuka's primary and secondary schooling) too, though not very many of the current middle or high school students. Having found fencing instructors over the summer, Juri had cut back on her own direct contact with the younger students, and now most of her time was spent with university students.

Himeko decided she really liked Sugiura Midori-sensei, one of the high school history teachers, and was surprised to learn that they had a common acquaintance in Morimoto Yukihito.

"Oh, you're from Mahoroba too, Kurusugawa-san?" Midori's eyes lit up with interest. "Tell me, are you very familiar with any of the local folklore? Anything about the legend of Ame no Murakumo?"

"I can't say that I am," Himeko admitted, laughing weakly. "I wasn't a very good student, I'm afraid, although, I seem to recall that that is the patron deity of our largest shrine, I think. Oogami Shrine."

"I wasn't a very good student either," Midori laughed, "though don't let mine know that! Still, I'd love to have a chat with you sometime about the town. It's fascinating, really! There's almost as much legend in that town as there is in Fuuka, and THAT'S really saying something! Is it true there's a cult that worships Yamata no Orochi?"

Himeko put up her hands weakly. "If there is, I'm afraid I really don't know anything about that."

At that moment, Juri came back to Himeko's side, even as Midori left it, having spent a few minutes looking for someone.

"I just heard. She's not feeling well, so she's not going to be here tonight," Juri said. "Damn. And I was sure that this was an event she'd be at too."

"Oh. You mean, Himemiya Chikane?" Himeko asked. It had surprised Himeko greatly when she'd found out that the daughter of Mako-chan's friend, whom Himeko was supposed to give an autographed print to, was the Student Council President of Fuuka High school, and also the same student that Juri had had her eye on all spring semester long to join the fencing club.

What a ridiculously small world this is!

Himeko had even brought the print she had gotten from the girl's mother, Tenjou Utena, via Mako-chan, with her tonight. It was a small print, and fit in her purse, so Himeko had brought it along when Juri had mentioned that Himemiya Chikane was likely to be at this event.

Funny. Small as this world is, yes somehow, I seem to just keep missing her!

Eventually, dinner began and Himeko and Juri took their seats. Several other alumni came to their table, and Himeko was a little surprised when she realized that two of the chairs at their table were empty, but not for too much longer. Part way into the dinner, the two missing attendees showed up, and Himeko realized that she recognized the two girls from when she had met them when she'd first gotten to Fuuka – Kuga Natsuki and Fujino Shizuru.

"Well, well, well," Juri laughed, when Natsuki and Shizuru sat down. "Don't you clean up prettily, Kuga-kun. But I thought the students were supposed to be in their uniforms tonight?"

Natsuki blushed. The teenager had swept her long, blue-black hair into a sophisticated up-do – slightly mussed – and was wearing a dramatic, navy gown with a trail of little crystals down one side. She had a simple silver necklace around her neck, and a bangle around one wrist. She was also wearing a silver hair piece, tucked just above her left ear, that extended up a few inches, somewhat like a stylized horn. Her cheeks were rosy, and she seemed a little out of breath from rushing to the gala. It was very obvious she was breaking hearts left, right and centre tonight. "I'm not here as a student," she replied, somewhat awkwardly. "I'm here as Shizuru's... date. She's alumni." She continued to blush.

"And I was not about to pass up on an opportunity to put Natsuki in a pretty dress." Shizuru replied with a happy smile on her own face. The former student council president's dress was a strapless bone white affair with matching bone white shorty blazer top. Suspiciously, her hair was a little mussed as well, and she also seemed a little out of breathe for some reason.

Actually, that reason was pretty obvious, even to someone as oblivious as Himeko normally was; Natsuki had a couple of rather obvious hickies around her throat, and it was pretty obvious Shizuru had put her hand on Natsuki's thigh under the table.

"You both look very beautiful tonight," Himeko said kindly, and meaning it, though she had a hard time looking at Natsuki; the student's coloring and fine bone structure reminded her quite a bit of the girl from the intersection.

Thinking of that girl made Himeko's heart lurch around a bit in her chest.

"You do too, Kurusugawa-san," Shizuru replied, nodding appreciatively at Himeko's wine red dress. She winked at Juri. "Arisugawa-sensei might need to be careful tonight."

"No more or less than you, Fujino." Juri answered, her smile showing a lot of (suddenly pointy) teeth.

Dinner continued and it was delicious as everyone chatted and dined.

Eventually, it was time for the speeches.

Soon, everyone's attention was on the girl at the podium on the stage. She was wearing Fuuka High School's uniform with the golden blazer. Her short auburn hair was neatly styled. She looked out at the audience with sparkling, purple eyes. For those who could not see the stage in the back, her image was broadcasted by a video camera up onto the large screen behind her.

Himeko was surprised to see those purples eyes. They looked very familiar to her. In fact, many things about the girl on the stage seemed familiar to her.

"H-Hello," she began, a little nervously. "My name is Tokiha Mai. I'm a 2nd year at Fuuka High School and I've been asked to tell you all a little bit about myself and my brother Takumi, and, um, I'm not very good with speeches." She rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. "To be perfectly honest with you, I'm not quite sure why they've asked me to do this, when there are other Kazahana Scholarship recipients who are more eloquent than I, but, well, please bear with me." She took a deep breath.

"Last year, my brother Takumi and I were fortunate enough to receive Kazahana Scholarships to come to Fuuka. It's the scholarship that saved our lives, and I am very grateful for it. It's just my brother and I left, unfortunately. Our mother passed away several years ago, and our father followed shortly thereafter. I don't mean to stand up here and give you all an unbelievable sob story, but things were getting pretty bad for us. Our parents had a life insurance policy, but Takumi had a weak heart, so most of that was being saved for the surgery. I wasn't even planning on going to high school at all; I barely managed to pass the third year of middle school because I was holding down three part-time jobs on top of school. Luckily, we had some good social workers looking out for us, and Takumi's grades are a lot better than mine, so when we heard about the scholarship, we thought, well, what could we lose by applying? I didn't actually expect to get it, but then we got the letter in the mail and..." and here, a shy smile came onto Mai's face, "... and then everything changed for us. It's been like... like getting a second chance at life, and I am thankful for this every single day."

The girl took another deep breath, and appeared to look for someone out in the audience. Suddenly, an excited girl's voice broke through the silence with an enthusiastic and echoing, "Maaai! We love you!" before her voice was cut off with a hiss of, "Mikoto! Shhhh!"

The camera panned over in the crowd to whoever had spoken, and everyone could see a small, black haired girl in Fuuka's school uniform being wrestled back into her seat by an embarrassed young man with two-toned brown and yellow hair.

The audience chuckled at this display of affection, and the girl on the stage laughed weakly, turning a little pink in the cheeks at the encouragement, though she was smiling and her eyes twinkled in the direction of the shouting.

Mai continued. "Now, I'm sure you've all heard of the... stranger things that happened last year, and I gotta admit, when buildings started getting smashed apart, I wasn't sure if it really was such a great idea to move to Fuuka, but when it's all said and done, I wouldn't change that for the world. We have met life changing teachers here," the camera panned over to Sugiura Midori-sensei, " best friends for life," the camera panned over to Himeko's own table, to highlight Kuga Natsuki and Fujino Shizuru sitting across from them, and smiling, "and even our most important people." And now the camera followed her infinitely fond gaze back to her own table where the black haired girl and the two-tone haired boy were grinning back at her. "Takumi's recently had his final surgery, and he's doing great now. We've both been given a chance at new futures here, brighter futures, and it would not have been possible without the Kazahana Scholarship. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you." And with that, Mai stepped away from the podium, and gave a deep bow.

The audience clapped enthusiastically for her, with some tables, filled mostly with her friends, giving her a standing ovation.

Himeko couldn't help but smile grandly, her heart full, and warm, as she applauded the heartfelt speech made. She didn't know who Tokiha Mai was referring to, when she had said that other scholarship recipients were more eloquent than she was; Himeko thought the redhead had done a splendid job indeed, and had likely secured better futures for many more Kazahana Scholarship recipients to come.


After Mai's speech, there were a couple more, and then the dancing began. Several other professors and administrators came up to chat with Juri, so Himeko excused herself to step outside into the garden. She had heard that Fuuka had an impressive rose garden, and if there was one thing Himeko could not resist, it was a good rose garden.

Said garden was immaculately well cared for, lined with very large hedges dotted with multicolored roses, and it took Himeko a little while to realize that it was actually a bit of a rose maze. She couldn't help but feel the ache of nostalgia as she walked through it, reminded of her own secret rose garden at Ototachibana Academy, when she was still a student. Back then, no one had known about the little gap in the rose bushes were a small student chasing a puppy could push through and find herself a safe little sanctuary. Himeko had spent many a lunch period in there, by herself. Sometimes she wished she'd brought someone into the garden with her, but at the time, that had felt distinctly sacrilegious.

The night air was warm, and nice, the full humidity of summer now passed.

As Himeko rounded a corner, her eyes went wide as she found herself in the middle of the maze, where a gazebo with a water fountain was.

Sitting under the gazebo, on the edge of the water fountain, was the girl from the crosswalk.

Himeko froze.

The moonlight was playing lovingly with the girl's long blue-black hair, causing it to shimmer. Her eyes were down cast as she was looking solemnly at her own reflection in the water in the fountain, as though she was studying her own image for traces of imperfection. From this angle and distance, Himeko could not quite see her eyes. She was dressed in Fuuka High's school uniform, but the bone-white color of the jacket told Himeko that this girl had to be the school's student council president, which meant she could only be one person.

Himemiya Chikane.

Himeko's heart clenched, unbearably so, and she suddenly felt dizzy.

... this girl is...! This girl is...!

And then the girl in question, Himemiya Chikane, noticed Himeko's presence, and looked over at her, and all semblance of coherent thought fled from Himeko's mind.

Stunned, Himeko realized that the girl's eyes were different from what she remembered at the intersection. Rather than being alien and malevolent and inhuman and yellow, they were now a murky, muted green, and they were wide with surprise, and filled with that same heart breaking recognition as the last time.

They stared at each other.

Something in the back of Himeko's mind told her to run again, but this time, this time, in the rose garden that reminded her so much of run-away shiba-inu puppies, Himeko was able to squash down that instinct.

She swallowed nervously, and offered the girl a shy smile.

The smile was returned, equally shyly.

"That blazer... you must be Chikane… I mean, Himemiya-san, right? Fuuka's student council president?" Himeko fixed her flub a little belatedly. Although the girl was a child half her age, and it would have been perfectly within Himeko's social standing to address her junior informally, somehow, she didn't know if that was… right.

Even if 'Chikane-chan' DID taste as natural on her tongue as spring water did.

"You can call me Chikane, if you'd like, Kurusugawa-san," the girl replied, her smile growing a little.

Now Himeko's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "How do you know my... oh!" And then it clicked in her head. This girl knew her from her work!

That's right; she's the daughter of one of Mako-chan's friends...

Somehow, despite being reminded of it, the generational difference still didn't quite seem to make any sense in Himeko's mind and she couldn't help but feel suddenly pleased and flattered. "Actually, I would like that very much. Thank you, Chikane-chan." She laughed. "Please, feel free to call me Himeko as well." She played with her hair self consciously. "I'm not sure why, but, somehow, that just feels right, doesn't it?"

The girl's eyes widened some more and she looked like she couldn't believe this was happening. "If that is alright," she said slowly, as though she were afraid the offer would be rescinded.

"... Himeko..."

The way the girl tasted her name, so delicately, so carefully, as though it would melt away to nothing on her tongue, sent tremors of... something... (provocation? excitement? yearning?) down Himeko's back, and she couldn't help but wonder why she felt so... so overwhelmed with all sorts of every possible emotion.

What is wrong with me? Why is my heart pounding like this?

But she couldn't rightly ask the child in front of her that question, so instead, she forced a laugh, and said, more than a little awkwardly, "am I being a little strange? Sorry. I just feel like we've met before."

The girl's brow crinkled a little. "We have met before." She finally confirmed.

"Oh." And suddenly, Himeko felt uncertain. "Do you mean yesterday, at the intersection?"

Chikane's face seemed to want to say 'no', but the word that ultimately came out of her mouth was a very reluctant, "... yes."

And now Himeko's own brow crinkled. She rubbed the back of her head. Her heart started to ache again. "About that. I'm... I'm really sorry. I don't know what came over me."

Chikane smiled. "That's alright. It was my eyes." She said with a rueful laugh. "That's been happening quite frequently to me of late." She could see the question on Himeko's face and she explained, "oh, I'm wearing some color contacts right now. That seems to help."

"Oh." Himeko's brow crinkled. "Do you mean your eyes aren't normally, um, like that?" Her heart skipped a few beats. "Did something happen recently?"

Chikane suddenly looked pained, and looked away.

The silence between them became awkward, and Himeko wanted to kick herself.

But then, Chikane looked back at her, and gave her a weak smile, and Himeko felt her heart skip around some more. They spoke at the same time.

"May I sit with you?"

"Do you want to sit down?"

And there was silence again, before they both chuckled and Himeko blushed before going to sit down at the fountain under the gazebo beside the student council president.

Their hands accidentally brushed as Himeko sat down, and she couldn't help but jump at the contact, almost tipping herself into the fountain in her surprise. "Oh!"

The girl quickly reached out and steadied her before she could fall in, and Himeko clung instinctively to her.

All thoughts flew from Himeko's mind as she froze again, staring up at the girl who was looking back at her with equally wide eyes.

Snippets of memories or possibly dreams flashed through Himeko's mind's eye in rapid succession.

Chikane wears Ototachibana's burgundy uniform. Every other student coming to school bids her good morning, and she says the same to them, politely, but it isn't until her eyes meet Himeko's own does the smile on the face of the highest born girl of Mahoroba finally reach her eyes.

Chikane laughs fondly with her. Himeko blushes happily as she turns the manga she is reading around and shows Chikane the spread she finds so beautiful that it has moved her to tears. Chikane looks at the image, and can't help but crinkle her eyes a little, as she nods and says, yes, the story of the unrequited lovers move her as well.

Chikane catches her as she falls. Had someone pushed her? Had she simply tripped? She doesn't know, and that hardly matters as she is about to tumble very, very hard down a very, very long flight of stairs, until strong hands reach out and grab one of her arms, pulling her up and holding her tightly and whispering softly, that everything would be alright.

Himeko suddenly felt very, very dizzy and short of breath. She started to shake.

What... what was that? Himeko thought, desperately. How can I be dreaming, when I am awake? How can I remember something that couldn't possibly have happened?

The girl continued to stare at her, eyes wide with wonderment, even as she held onto her. Himeko was dimly aware of how warm she was, and that temperature seemed to be rising, as the girl swallowed, and then, slowly, reluctantly, with a bright blush across her cheeks, looked away.

"..."

Himeko blinked. Hastily, she removed herself from the girl's arms, massively sweatdropping.

W-what is WRONG with me?! Himeko cried internally, turning away from the girl and holding onto the sides of her head while her eyes shrank into tiny black blots on her face and a whole family of sweat drops did the jig on top of her head.

And then she heard the girl beside her laugh, and it was such a familiar laugh that Himeko's heart threatened to break, even as she looked back at the other girl.

Chikane smiled weakly, fondly, at her. "You're still as klutzy as ever, aren't you?" She finally said. "It's good to know that some things never change."

Himeko stared at the girl in wonderment. "Why do you say that," she asked in a very tiny voice, "like you've known me forever?"

But even as she asked this question, somewhere in the deepest corners of her heart, Himeko already knew the answer:

It was because, obviously, she did.

Chikane didn't actually answer her verbally.

The heartbreak on her face did it for her.

Dimly, idly, Himeko realized that they'd both been silent for a while, simply looking at each other, and it was very obvious to her that the look of longing in the girl's eyes were reflected in her own.

Where do I know you from? Himeko wanted to ask, so much, and yet found the words lodged in her throat. Why do I feel like... like this? Why does it feel like... like I'm finally meeting you?

With a very strange, almost out of body sense of detachment, Himeko found herself reaching out, compelled by something inside her and maybe by something ageless and formless and fundamental to the universe all around her, to put a hand on the side of Chikane's face. And as she did so, she could see the girl's eyes widen in surprise, and then, suddenly, somehow, shift.

Even as Himeko watched, mesmerized, the crack in the girl's right iris faded into nothingness, and the almond, slightly reptilian shape of her left pupil shrank and widen in the middle to become a normal, human, spherical pupil.

And before she knew it, Himeko was gazing deeply into HER eyes, those maddeningly, maddeningly familiar eyes, slightly greener than what she remembered (because of the contacts), but most definitely, without a shred of doubt, the eyes she had been searching for all her life, the eyes that had always haunted her dreams, even as she slept in the arms of another.

Chikane pulls away from her, shaking her head, refusing to hear her. 'You can't love me', she says, 'you can't. I've hurt you and done such, such horrible things. No, I killed you. I killed you! A person like me shouldn't love you, shouldn't be loved by you! I shouldn't be forgiven. I... I'm-!' She continues to say these things, to insist on these things, until Himeko silences her with a kiss.

Chikane fakes a smile for the camera, their last together. Himeko looks shyly up at her, and then pulls her arm into a tight snuggle. Chikane is surprised, so surprised, and so very, very happy.

Chikane holds onto her hand, as tightly as she can, even as the winds of destiny pick her up like she is but a leaf and pulls her away. 'Look for me!' She cries, screaming her name in anguish, 'Himeko! Find me!'

That ache that had been dully throbbing in her chest upon seeing the girl for the first time intensified a hundred fold, and Himeko thought she might die from it.

"… how is this possible?" Himeko breathed, in wonder, even as she continued to gaze into those eyes, and could see the awe in her own eyes reflected in those pools.

Chikane visibly swallowed again, and closed her eyes, but when she opened them, they were still the ones Himeko had been searching for so long and hard, across the world over a decade for, and Himeko realized that the girl was feeling exactly the same way she was at that moment.

And then Chikane leaned forward, and that tiny, tiny piece of Himeko's higher mental faculties that was screaming in alarm all this time in the back of her head, trying to force some sense into her, was abruptly silenced.

What are you doing? It had wanted to ask, though it was already obvious to both of them what was going to happen.

The real question was whether she was going to do anything to stop it.

And as Chikane's face came closer to hers, and she closed her eyes, and pressed her lips against Himeko's own, the older woman realized the answer was: not at all.

After a stunned moment, Himeko closed her eyes too, and returned the kiss, feeling her heart soar in triumph, straight to the moon.

She didn't know how long she stayed there.

She didn't even know what she had done until she pulled away.

Her hands were cupped around the younger girl's face, even as the girl's arms were circled around her own waist and they rested their foreheads against one another's. Himeko thought she could feel a shudder go through Chikane's body.

Stop! The back of her brain tried to form words of resistance, of reason, of logic. What are you doing? What in the world do you think you're doing?! You're with someone already, and, OH MY GOD how old is-

And then they were kissing again, and it was magic and fireworks and destiny, and it was hungry passion and pent up desire that defied the ages and all 800 million gods, and it was everything Himeko had always thought it would be and Himeko's brain, and all forms of higher reasoning, just could not stop her heart, and her soul, and her body, from responding back, completely drowned and destroyed by lifetimes of yearning for this triumphant reunion and-

"... oh my god..."

- and then something terrible happened.

"What are you doing?"

The words were harsh and blunt and spoken in the most horrified and shocked tones Himeko had ever heard.

Jumping back as though she was burned, Himeko whipped her head up and could see a woman with flame colored hair and blue-green eyes wearing a dark suit staring at her with devastation and revulsion and pain clear in her eyes, and all over her features.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl and Himeko stared back at the woman who was looking at her with such flabbergasted disbelief. Blue-green eyes (but not quite the right blue-green) stared uncomprehendingly back into Himeko's own, before flicking away to look at the girl in her arms, and then flicking back to Himeko's again.

Slowly, the woman's face began to turn very, very red, as she became very, very angry.

It wasn't until the woman closed those eyes and wordlessly turned on her heel to stalk away, did it finally click in Himeko's head who that woman was, and why she looked so destroyed.

Himeko's heart felt like it was in free fall.

...ju...ri... ?

Himeko's mouth opened and closed a few times, but no words came out.

... Juri...?

Himeko's eyes widened.

... Juri-chan!

And then her heart hit her stomach and the world sped up again.

Oh. My. God. JURI-CHAN!

"Wait, JURI-CHAN!"

Oh no, oh no oh no oh no!

Hastily getting up off the fountain, Himeko tried to run after her girlfriend, her lover, her partner, but found herself stopped by a grip so strong and tight on her wrist that it hurt. She gave a cry of pain as she was abruptly stopped.

Staring at her wrist first and then looking up at the one who held it so fiercely, she was horrified to see that Chikane's eyes no longer looked normal, at all. Desperately, she tried to wrench her grasp free. "Let GO!" She cried. "Please, let me go!"

Chikane looked confused for a moment, like she didn't comprehend at all the words coming out of Himeko's mouth, like she couldn't quite figure out why they weren't still kissing, and it wasn't until Himeko gave a second cry of pain at that impossibly strong, inhuman hold, did something finally seem to click on Chikane's face.

With an expression of horror and disbelief, she hastily let go.

The suddenness of that release prompted Himeko to fall over with an 'oof!'

Scrambling to pick herself up, waving away the girl's attempt to help her, she gave Chikane a look that was part-apologetic but mostly-terrified, before bolting away, leaving the girl standing in the garden alone, a horrified expression on her face as well.

Chikane stared after Himeko.

A few moments later, she ran after her.


After dinner, with a plate of dessert consisting of chocolate covered fruit in front of her, Natsuki found herself sitting at her table by herself, as all the others had left to do some dancing, and Shizuru had been reluctantly pulled away to do some important networking and hobnobbing (though she had promised she'd be back soon). Natsuki didn't mind being by herself, of course.

It wasn't exactly like she was all there herself either, as evidenced by the goofy grin on her face.

"Na-Tsu-Ki!" Hearing her name sung out playfully, Natsuki looked up and could see Mai and Tate standing behind her, holding hands, and grinning happily at her. Mikoto hung off of Mai's other arm.

Natsuki smiled. "Good speech, Mai. You didn't even make a complete fool of yourself!"

"I'm glad you caught it," Mai laughed. "I saw you and Shizuru-san coming in late. What held you up?"

Natsuki colored and looked away.

Mai raised an eyebrow. "O-ho?" She gave Tate a look.

Tate sighed. "Hey, Mikoto, let's go get you some ice cream, okay?"

The wild child's eyes lit up and she scampered off with Tate in tow.

Mai planted herself down in the chair beside Natsuki excitedly. "I knew it!" She all but crowed. "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! Tell me everything! Oh my god, what was it like? What happened?"

Natsuki's eyebrow twitched. "What?" She bluffed, huffing. "I don't know what you're talking about, and I'm not telling you anything."

Mai giggled. "Oh, come on, don't be like that, Natsuki! I told you about mine! You're not being fair. How was it? What was it like? Was it Shizuru-san's first time too?"

Natsuki almost threw her hands up in the air. "God! You've been hanging around Harada and Senoh way too much! How could you possibly know that we... that we..." And here Natsuki trailed off, slapping a hand to her face as she realized she'd just confirmed to the redhead everything that she'd wanted to know.

Mai couldn't help but laugh. "It's the straps on the back of your dress, Natsuki. You totally missed a loop and that's not something Shizuru would have missed unless she was pretty distracted too. That and there's nail scratches all down your back too. And, of course, the hickies on your neck."

"WHAT?!" Horrified, Natsuki tried to twist around, and almost fell out of her chair from her hastiness. She full body blushed.

"Shhh! Don't bring attention to it!" Mai tried to stifle her laughter, even as she rubbed the tears of laughter from the corner of her eyes.

Natsuki was mortified. "Mai, give me your jacket!" She hissed.

"Not until you give me the details!"

Natsuki hung her head. "God, why do you even care so much?"

"Because we're friends," Mai laughed. "And friends care about each other!"

"Some friend you are!" Natsuki cried, still horrified.

It was then that she felt a jacket being plopped onto her shoulders. Looking at the bone white shorty-jacket now on her shoulders, Natsuki and Mai then both looked up and could see that Shizuru had returned and put her jacket overtop of Natsuki's shoulders. Her ruby eyes twinkled endlessly with fondness.

The butterflies that had taken up permanent residence in Natsuki's tummy all decided to flap their wings at the same time. She smiled up at Shizuru and tugged the jacket a little more tightly around her shoulders. "Shizuru."

"Ara, Mai-san, I'm fairly certain that my Natsuki is not the type who would kiss and tell," Shizuru smiled teasingly, sitting down in the chair beside her girlfriend and helping herself to a peice of chocolate covered fruit. "So please stop trying to corrupt her."

But Mai wasn't backing down. The redhead smiled. "She might not be, but I think you might be, Shizuru-san," she said with a laugh, even as she grinned at Natsuki, lilac eyes twinkling.

Huh. Natsuki thought idly. Kurusugawa Himeko's got really similar eyes to Mai...

"Oh? And what makes you say this?" Shizuru asked, raising a delicate, tawny colored eyebrow.

"Well, why did you wait until after parading Natsuki around all night so that everyone could see her - and her back - before offering your jacket to her?" Mai asked, grinning smugly.

Natsuki blinked, and whipped her head over to stare in flabbergast at Shizuru, who's eyes suddenly seemed to be twinkling more with mischief than fondness as she popped another piece of fruit into her mouth.


You shouldn't be here.

You know you shouldn't be here.

You know that absolutely no good can come from you being here.

And yet, here you are, your lips still burning from Himeko's kiss and your arms still smoldering with the heat of her body, and your heart has firmly taken over all of your reason for you know she is thinking about you too, damn the world and everyone else in it.

The top story of the residential tower at Fuuka University is all dark. No one is home, or if they are, they are asleep. You wait patiently for one of the lights to flicker on, as you know that unit's occupants are on their way up the elevators. Eventually, the light flickers on.

From this angle, on the ground, you cannot hope to see what is happening up there, and you desperately, desperately wish to.

At your subconscious command, one of your servants appear, rising up out of the ground at your feet, impossibly silent for his monstrous size, and invisible to human eyes, for that is your unspoken desire. You are on his shoulder, and as he rises up, so do you, until you are level with the occupants of the lone unit in the residential tower with the lights still on. You do not grasp the significance of his appearing at your bidding; your heart beats, your mind thinks, your lungs breath for only one reason right now.

Himeko.

She does not see you; no one does.

The window of the apartment unit is a large one, and takes up almost the entire wall. It is a sophisticated, nice apartment. In the foreground is the living room, with stylish leather chairs and a coffee table. In the background is the kitchen, lined with tall, mahogany cabinets and separated from the living room by a granite topped island.

Himeko walks into the unit first, silently. She stops in the middle of the living room. She is beautiful, in her lovely, wine red evening gown (you hadn't had a chance to compliment her on it earlier) but her eyes are puffy and swollen.

Behind her, Juri closes the front door with shaking hands. She takes her blazer off and puts it in the closet unsteadily. Walking into the kitchen, she takes two wine glasses out of the cupboard and pulls a bottle out of the wine rack. She fills each goblet up a third of the way, but they stay on the counter, further untouched. She leans her hip against the counter, her arms limp at her sides, dead. Her head is bowed so her bangs obscure her eyes. She faces Himeko but Himeko does not face her.

You cannot hear what the two women in the apartment unit are saying to each other. You can see them, the tenseness in their bodies, even the movement of their lips, but you do not have words.

Not that you need them to appreciate what is happening.

Juri says something to Himeko.

Himeko does not respond.

They do not move, for a long time.

Juri says something else to Himeko.

Himeko still does not respond.

Juri is shouting now. She's raised her head and her eyes are wet but ablaze, with fury, with humiliation, and she slams the counter so hard that the wine goblets jump and the liquid inside sloshes. She keeps shouting, her lips flapping open and shut so fiercely it is obvious that her words are being spat out and that they are not kind.

Himeko's face falls apart and she crumples to the floor. She holds herself tightly, trembling, trembling so much. Her bangs obscure her eyes but do not stop the tears from falling freely from them.

Your heart breaks as you see this but you are not the one to comfort her at the moment.

The sorrow and regret on Juri's face is acute and powerful. Hastily, she moves towards Himeko and falls to the ground behind her, wrapping her arms around her and crushing her tightly to her chest.

Himeko is openly weeping now. Her arms are not around Juri's body, she's still holding onto herself, but she's buried her face into the crook of Juri's neck, and Juri holds Himeko tightly in place against her.

Himeko doesn't stop shaking, doesn't stop crying.

Juri tilts her head down, and pushes her face urgently against Himeko's, tilting the smaller woman's head upwards. And then she kisses her. Himeko tries to turn away, but Juri will not let her go, and eventually, Himeko responds to Juri's mouth, though she is mostly still sobbing.

They continue to kiss, and your heart continues to break as you watch them, and you wish that either you could turn away or they would just stop, but you cannot and your servant does not move either, which means that on some level, you don't really want to leave.

So the only ones who can do anything are them, but when they do stop, it is only so that Juri can stand up, scoop Himeko into a bridal carry and move the both of them into the bedroom.

Your eyes widen first with surprise, and then with horror, when you realize that the bedroom also has wall to wall, floor to ceiling windows, and despite that room being enshroud with darkness, and despite the Venetian blinds being turned mostly closed,

You.

Can.

Still.

See.

Them.

Juri puts Himeko down on the edge of the bed but her mouth is still hungrily kissing Himeko's, and Himeko is responding back now, holding Juri's face to her own, both hands entangled in fine flame-colored curls. Juri pulls the straps of Himeko's dress off of her shoulders, and they slip off easily enough to Himeko's waist, leaving Himeko topless; she isn't wearing anything underneath. A further pull and a tug, and the dress is down past Himeko's bottom, and then her knees, and then her ankles. Juri throws the dress to the far corner of the room without looking.

Himeko's fingers are fumbling with Juri's buttons, and eventually, she gives up and just tries to rip the dress shirt off, but doesn't quite have the strength for it; Juri helps her. Then off go the pants and any underwear and soon they are both bare, and Himeko pulls Juri down onto sitting on the edge of the bed, and then crawls onto Juri's lap to straddle her thighs.

Their mouths are still frenzied, still hungry, but Juri has moved her arms back to support both their weight, as Himeko is pushing herself fully up against Juri, her fingers still buried in the mass of curled orange red hair as their bodies grind together.

When Himeko tilts her head up, exposing her neck, her mouth is slightly agape and her eyes are glazed and Juri leans forward to sample the perspiration on Himeko's skin, even as Himeko pulls the other woman's head against her breasts.

And then Himeko cries out as she spends and you can't do this anymore.

Take no Yamikazuchi disappears, taking you with him, and you have no idea where you could be heading, not that it really matters anymore to you anyway.

You have no idea how much time passes.

The room you appear in is dark, and there are no windows to the outside. Despite this, you have no problem recognizing where you are. Everything is clear to you anyway, darkness no longer a detriment to your vision. You are in the music room, where you have often spent much of your time.

You are seated at the grand piano.

Funny, you think. Take no Yamikazuchi must really be your loyal servant if he knows that music is how you've come to comfort yourself, even though, of the eight, he was not the one originally meant for you.

With trembling fingers, you uncover the piano keys, and stare at the black and white.

You have to get it out.

The roiling, creeping, crawling madness in the back of your mind, in the bottom of your heart, in the darkest recesses of your soul.

You have to get it out.

You start to play.

Music fills the room, and echoes loudly in your ears, and you play, and you play, and you realize, with horror, that you do not feel better. The music does not sound entirely right. The music does not sound entirely like your own, or at least, not the requiems you have composed for the last 15 years. Certainly, the melancholy is still there, but it is tinged with... something disagreeable.

And you wonder where you've heard this piece before and then realize with horror that it sounds suspiciously similar to the piece that you played, THAT night, in another life, in a time that was overwritten, and so never did happen (and yet, of course, it still did), when you took Himeko against her will and tried to make her hate you.

Your fingers leap off the keys as though they were hot coals.

And then you see them in your mind's eye at the same time that you see yourself.

Lips crushing together.

...(Terrified screaming)

Fingers tangled in long fine locks.

...(I'm sorry! Whatever I did, I'm sorry!)

Pulling clothing with feverish urgency from limbs and discarding it on the floor.

...(Please, Chikane-chan, please! I-)

Bodies together as one.

...(A vicious slap)

Her mouth, open with the ecstatic cry of release.

...(Break, breaking, broken)

You bury your head in your hands and squeeze your eyes close to stop the tears.

It doesn't work. It isn't enough.

Shivering and shaking, you raise your fists up, and slam your fists down against the piano keys, only it's not quite your fists that smash down, but Take no Yamikazuchi's, and his monstrous fists completely obliterate the instrument. With a loud, distressing, ugly sound of wood smashing and wiring snapping, the entire piano is completely smashed in and goes crashing down onto the floor, just somehow narrowly missing your feet. The force is so great that even the nearest window blows out, sending glass flying outwards.

You crumple off of the piano bench, curl yourself into a tiny ball with your head buried in your knees, and sob tears of bitterness and anguish. On your back, the mark of Orochi, cradled by the crescent mark of the Lunar Priestess, glows a malevolent dark purple.

You cry and you cry and you cry for a very long time.

You don't know how much time passes until you are calm again.

A pair of white shoes appear at the corner of your vision.

You don't have to look up to know the man who is half responsible for your current existence is there.

He crouches down beside you, and takes your chin gently in his fingers, tilting your vision up.

His green eyes are unreadable.

And he asks you,

"Now are you willing to listen?"


As the first of the sun's rays began to shine over the edge of the horizon, Juri stirred and rolled over, draping her arm over Himeko's body to hug her close.

Or at least, she would have, if Himeko were still there.

Eyes snapping open when her arm met the coldness of mattress rather than the warmth of a body, Juri bolted upright. "Himeko?" She asked, all drowsiness instantly banished from her system.

She was alone in the bed.

A deep sense of panic began to form in the bottom of Juri's stomach as she got up and bolted for the ensuite, and then out into the kitchen and living room, stopping only to throw on a bathrobe to cover her naked form.

Himeko was nowhere to be seen.

Juri's heart dropped into her stomach.

Hastily, she tore back into the bedroom, and flung open the closet doors.

Himeko's luggage was gone.

Juri stared at the space where the baggage used to be. Wordlessly, she got up, and shuffled, half dead, out of the bedroom.

Looking about the living room, she absently noted that Himeko's laptop and camera equipment had all gone too. That was no longer a surprise, given everything else.

What was a surprise, was the necklace, her cellphone, and the note on the countertop. With trembling hands, Juri picked the necklace up, and realized it was the intricate, platinum necklace she had given to Himeko when they'd first started dating, to replace the old one that held Himeko's all important seashell pendant.

The seashell was gone.

Juri looked at the note. There were three words on it.

Juri closed her eyes.

Suddenly, her phone began to ring. Juri contemplated just throwing the thing against the wall, but stopped when she saw Tomoyo's name noted as the caller.

Wordlessly, she answered the call and put the phone to her ear. She didn't say anything.

"... are you okay?" Tomoyo's hesitant, confused voice came over the line.

Juri couldn't really bring herself to say anything. She just swallowed down the lump in her throat, and that noise was the only indication that Tomoyo got that she was still there.

The woman continued, her voice sorrowful. "... I got a weird message from Himeko-chan. She asked me to... oh, god, Juri-chan, what happened?"

Still, Juri remained silent, until finally, she was able to spit out three words:

"Himemiya. Himemiya. Chikane."


AUTHOR'S NOTES:

This part was written a long time ago. And then I re-watched Utena's, "The Prince Who Runs Through the Night" -_-;;

... I'm sorry.

Truly.

That will be about as heavy as it will get.

(I hope. -_-;;)

This marks the half-way part of the fic, thematically. Similar to the original Mai Hime series, the second half of the story will be pretty plotty, but I think the ongoing story structure will require some chapters to be mostly fluffy here and there (and I think I'm still missing a hotspring episode to complete the underwear-beach-hotspring fanservice trifecta).

The next chapter will be out next Saturday (and then things will get a bit dicey with work again, but, hopefully, not too too bad).

Cheers,

jen-chan

jen-chan-shaw. livejournal. com


OMAKE I: Dancing

[During the gala, a bunch of students and alumni are having a great time, dancing the night away. Suddenly, the music becomes dramatic, and two sudden spotlight shine down on two participants in the middle of the dance floor. It is NANAMOO and HARUKOW, on their hind legs with their front legs in flamenco dance formation, wearing full evening dress, and both biting onto long-stemmed roses in their mouths.]

NANAMOO: Moooou!

HARUKOW: [Claps her front hooves together. Eats her rose.] Mooou!

MAI: [Sweatdrops] Oh, for chrissake, even the cows get to dress up! What good is it to get a fancy dress last chapter, if I don't actually get to wear it?!


OMAKE II: And again, A Mai-Hime Style Preview Of Next Episode

[FUMI'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.]

FUMI: Next time, on Revolutions, a Kannazuki no Miko, Revolutionary Girl Utena and Mai Hime X-over... [looks over the script] Oh dear. I believe there's going to be violence. [She looks over at CHIKANE and JURI who have both drunken themselves into depressed stupors and are on the brink of passing out on the floor.] Hmm. Well, hopefully, Chikane-san can sober up relatively quickly, or I don't think it's going to be much of a fight.

CHIKANE: [Slurring] I dunno if itz' gonna be muchuva fight nnnyway. *Hick* Author no good... mecha fight scenes... [Looks somewhat ill.] Uuuugh...

FUMI: [Sweatdrops] Uh, please don't make a mess on the floor; I'm the closest thing to a maid character trope this fic has, since Otoha-san isn't around. Anyway, please stay tuned for the next chapter of Revolutions, Chapter 12 – 'Mothers and Childs'...

JURI: [Grumps] I like... original... title of... of chapter better... 'Kick Her While She's Down.' [Glares at CHIKANE] You! Staaay down. [Mutters] Down.

CHIKANE: ... [Passes out.]