Here Comes the Neighborhood (And they brought Bundt Cake!)
(Disclaimer: Kannazuki no Miko or Destiny of the Shrine Maiden is copyrighted and owned by the manga team Kaishaku, Kadokawa, Shounen Ace, TNK and is currently licensed to Sentai Filmworks. Please support the official release.)
"Are you going to be okay here?" Himeko asked, on top of a ladder while hanging the last photo together. "I thought you would miss your parent's mansion."
The newlyweds of Chikane Himemiya and her new bride, Himeko Himemiya, had moved out of Chikane's childhood home of Mahoroba Village and into a new two story townhouse in a quiet suburban neighborhood. The cul de sac seemed like something out of a sitcom with its sunlit days, to its noises of lawn mowers cutting grass and right down to its white picket fences.
"I prefer it here," Chikane said, wearing her pink button up blouse with jeans. "It's cozier and closer to you."
"It's just that you're so used to it that I thought you wouldn't like it here," Himeko said, still trying to adjust the framed portrait of their wedding day while in a white blouse with black skirt. "I don't want you to settle for my sake."
"Himeko, don't you realize that home is where you are?" Chikane shook her head. "Whether it's the Lunar Shrine or this house, I'm fine with anything."
Chikane had referred to the fact that the two girls were former Priestesses of Kannazuki, the Godless Month. The seemingly unrelated girls, Chikane, the rich heiress talented in sports and academics, and Himeko, the shy wallflower disregarded by everyone, were actually bound together in a never ending cycle of sacrifice and rebirth. Chikane, realizing what was required to summon Ame no Murakumo, tricked Himeko into killing her and thought she would never see the blonde kind girl in this lifetime. Thankfully, Chikane was reincarnated into this lifetime where she and Himeko were free from their fate.
"It's just that you've given up so much already," Himeko said, adjusting the picture of her and Chikane in bridal gowns. "I don't want you to- AAAAAAAH!"
Himeko, as was expected of her clumsy nature, fell backwards and was headed towards the ground in mid-air.
"Himeko!" Chikane cried out, running towards her. With breakneck speed only someone with top physical skills could possess, Chikane sprinted and threw her hands forward, praying she wouldn't miss.
"Oof!" With ease, Chikane caught Himeko in her arms, with the blue haired princess' one arm under Himeko's legs and the other one behind her back.
"Thank you, Chikane-chan," Himeko sighed while she wrapped her arms around Chikane's neck.
"You're surprisingly light," Chikane smiled.
*DING-DONG*
Himeko and Chikane turned to their white door, surprised they were getting visitors.
"I thought your parents weren't coming until the end of the week," Himeko whispered.
"Do you think it's Oogami-san and Saotome-san?" Chikane asked, gently placing Himeko on her feet.
"It can't be," Himeko shook her head. "They're still babysitting their new addition to the family."
By 'new addition', Himeko was referring to the fact that Makoto had given birth to a bouncing baby boy, Soujiro. Despite Souma and Makoto already being married one full year before Chikane and Himeko, Chikane still referred to Makoto as Saotome-san since she didn't feel comfortable addressing her as Oogami or her first name. Makoto said she didn't mind.
Chikane opened the door with Himeko standing quietly behind her.
"Hello," Chikane said, revealing 6 women standing in their doorway on the bright sunlit day. "Can we help you?"
"We just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood," A dark skinned girl with purple hair and thick glasses smiled.
"Well, most of us did," A short haired dirty blonde in a white button up shirt and khakis said. "Some of us needed to be bribed."
"Natsuki's just a little shy around strangers," A honey haired, scarlet eyed woman in a beige uniform said. "I just need to give the right incentive."
"Shizuru!" The Blue haired emerald eyed girl said. "Not in public and not in front of strangers!"
"Why don't we introduce ourselves first?" Chikane asked, seeing that there was more than enough possibility this conversation would be quickly derailed.
"Name's Haruka Tenou," The short haired dirty blonde in the boy's uniform smiled.
"I'm Michiru Kaiou," The girl with shoulder length teal hair color bowed politely.
"My name is Shizuru Fujino," the Honey haired, scarlet eyed woman nodded.
"I'm Natsuki Kuga," The blue haired, green eyed girl with her arms crossed in a biker's uniform grunted.
"I'm Utena Tenjou," The pink haired, blue eyed girl in a basketball jersey and shorts smiled.
"And I'm Anthy Himemiya," The tanned purple haired girl bowed politely.
"Himemiya?" Himeko whispered to herself before turning to face Chikane.
"We're not related," Chikane shook her head. "It's just a coincidence."
"I see…" Himeko nodded, still looking a bit confused. "Oh, I almost forgot! I'm Himeko Kurusugawa- I mean, Himemiya!"
"Himeko's a little shy around strangers," Chikane smiled. "I'm Chikane Himemiya, her wife."
"Wife?" Michiru chuckled. "How brave of you! I know a certain someone who isn't willing to commit."
"Not this again…" Haruka rolled her eyes.
"Ara, ara," Shizuru smiled. "We can't fault our better halves for taking their time."
"Shizuru…" Natsuki seethed, looking less than pleased.
"It's not often we meet girls like us in this neighborhood," Anthy smiled.
"Girls like us?" Himeko held her chin in thought. "You mean women living in houses?"
"No, dear!" Chikane giggled. "These women are like you and I."
It took a moment for Himeko to realize what Chikane was saying before she went red with embarrassment.
"Oh!" Himeko's amethyst eyes widened in realization.
"Welcome to the Neighborhood!" Haruka smiled. "We decided to get you a housewarming present!"
Anthy turned around and pulled out a bright yellow cake with no frosting on it.
"Oh, what is that?" Himeko asked, taking the cake and the platter from Anthy.
"It's Lemon Bundt Cake," Michiru said. "We hope you liked it and that the quality isn't too dry."
"Especially for the amount of money we got it from the grocery store," Natsuki sighed.
"Hush, Natsuki," Shizuru teasingly scolded. "You weren't supposed to let our new neighbors know that."
"I was just brewing a fresh pot of tea," Chikane said. "Would you care to join us?"
"We really shouldn't in case Duran and Kiyohime get into a fight again," Natsuki said.
"Are Duran and Kiyohime your children?" Himeko asked.
"In a manner of speaking…" Shizuru teased. Chikane got the feeling that she knew more than she was letting on.
"They're our pets," Natsuki clarified. "Duran's my dog and Kiyohime's her serpent."
"We'll make it quick!" Chikane said, running over to turn off the boiling teapot.
In an instant, all 8 women were seated on folding chairs with the tea and cake all served on fancy tea cups and saucers on a makeshift table of moving boxes. It wasn't long before the women were trading stories about one another. Haruka had managed to get to the end of her story.
"At one point, we were so afraid of people finding out about the two of us, that we told people our names were Amara and Michelle!" Haruka said.
"Michelle?" Natsuki asked. "Why would you change your first name but not your last?"
"That wasn't the scandalous part," Michiru said. "Because of Haruka's tall tales, the other girls got it into their minds that she and I were cousins."
"Cousins?" Utena asked. "What kind of female cousins hold each other's hands and gaze lovingly at each other in public?"
"Don't ask me!" Haruka shook her head. "Besides, Michelle here gave those girls some BS story about how she had her first kiss with Brad, the cutest guy in the school."
"You do sort of look like a Brad," Anthy added.
"It's just so great that we don't have to worry about fighting anymore, at least for the most part," Haruka said.
"Those days of fighting and battle can really do a number on the shoulders," Utena said, rubbing her back. "These days, I'm just fine shooting hoops."
"No more sacrifices!" Natsuki sighed while sipping her tea.
"Sacrifices," Chikane thought. Just then, dozens of memories had flashed through her mind. How she longed for Himeko. How she wanted to make Himeko happy. How she forced herself on to Himeko. And the hundreds, if not thousands of times of them sacrificing one another. She sighed, wondering if their endless cycle would go on like this.
"Chikane-san, what's wrong?" Shizuru asked, noticing Chikane's long silence.
"Chikane-chan sometimes gets worried that I blame her for protecting me," Himeko said. "She did everything it took to save me, even at the cost of everything else."
"Doing whatever it takes to accomplish your goal," Haruka sighed, while putting her teacup down. "I know what that's like."
"You're so driven to reach your goal everything else becomes secondary," Michiru sighed.
"It's scary when I think about it," Chikane said, feeling ashamed. "At the time, it just felt like there were no good options. And sometimes I wonder if I was weak enough in the first place to make it so there were no options."
"That's not true," Himeko touched Chikane's shoulder. "You're the bravest and strongest and kindest person I've ever met, Chikane-chan. You care so much for me that you were willing to sacrifice your morals just to see me safe. I'll always love you for that."
Chikane smiled while the other six women gave audible 'd'awws' in the background.
"You forgive so easily, Himeko-san," Shizuru said.
"It's what I love about her," Chikane smiled. "I've done so many bad things, but she just makes excuses for me all the time. Sometimes, I wonder what I did to have someone so kind in my life."
Himeko beamed back.
"Nowadays, I just have to worry about Himeko tripping and hurting herself," Chikane chuckled.
"I'm a bit of a klutz!" Himeko laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head. "I guess that label doesn't come off so easily."
"It's weird how we're still placed in these boxes or labels even today," Haruka took a sip of her tea. "Like everyone assumes I'm a guy because I like racing cars and I dress in these clothes. And even when they find out I'm a girl, they assume I wear the pants in the relationship."
"But you are wearing pants…" Himeko blinked, not understanding the reference.
"It's an expression, dear," Chikane whispered. "It means being the dominant one in the relationship."
"Oh!" Himeko gasped, finally understanding the meaning.
"How wrong they are," Michiru took a sip of her tea.
"Don't kiss and tell," Haruka chided.
"If I were to Kiss and Tell, Natsuki would die of embarrassment," Shizuru stirred her tea with a tiny spoon.
"Shizuru!" Natsuki said. Seeing the blood rush to Kuga's face reminded Chikane of how Himeko still reacted to certain mentions of particular phrases.
"Ikezu," Shizuru chuckled.
The entire group gave a hearty laugh. When it settled down, Natsuki spoke up.
"It's so strange that years ago, people used to give us looks when we went out in public," Natsuki looked towards Shizuru. "Nowadays, people don't even bat an eyelash."
"I used to feel so dirty about my feelings," Shizuru added to the conversation. "I felt as though there was this unspoken forbiddenness telling me I couldn't be with the person I loved."
Chikane felt a stone sink in her stomach. Those hidden feelings. That fear of unrequited affection. That terror that someone she felt so much about would not or could not return that love Chikane had. She knew it all too well and, to this day, she was afraid of it.
"Chikane-chan…" She heard an angelic voice whisper, before a gentle hand was placed on her's. Himeko always knew when Chikane was upset and she always comforted her whenever the blue haired billionaire felt pangs of guilt over what she did in their past lives.
"Good thing your other half knows how to make you feel better," Haruka smiled.
"And good that they always seem to be able to find us, even when we get separated!" Utena smiled, seeing Anthy grin at her.
"Don't I know it?" Chikane smiled, lacing her fingers with Himeko's.
"We are a couple of trend setters after all," Natsuki sat back with one of her legs lifted up on her lap.
"Excuse me," Utena cleared her throat. "I believe Anthy and I set that particular trend up first."
"Don't forget Michiru and me!" Haruka cried out. "We had our moment in the spotlight too."
"I don't think it matters who started it first," Himeko said. "I think it's important to keep up the tradition so the future generations can look to us for inspiration.
The other seven women paused to look at Himeko.
"Did I say something silly again?" Himeko blushed so furiously, Chikane thought she would pass out from all the blood rushing to her face.
"No, I think you made an excellent point," Anthy smiled.
"To Love Winning!" Natsuki raised her tea cup as though it were a toast of alcohol.
"To Love Winning!" The Other women raised their tea cups in unison.
(A/N: For those who don't get the joke, in early North American Dubs, Haruka and Michiru were renamed Amara and Michelle and rebranded as cousins. However, all the handholding, long glances and sexual tension was still there so it would be an inside joke for years about how 'cousins' were actually lesbians).
(A/N 2: Okay, from the top.
Utena and Anthy from Revolutionary Girl Utena is copyrighted to Be-Papas, Viz Media, J.C. Staff and Nozomi Entertainment.
Shizuru Fujino and Natsuki Kuga are copyrighted and licensed to Funimation Entertainment and Sunrise Studios.
Haruka and Michiru from Sailor Moon are copyrighted and licensed to Viz Media, Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha.
People always loved these crossovers between the Mai Hime and Kannazuki no Miko universe since Shizuru and Chikane were the 'go to' lesbian icons back in 2004. But I always liked the idea of Haruka, Michiru, Anthy and Utena coming in, as well Anthy and Chikane sharing the last name.
It was strange to me when I realized with stuff like Bloom Into You and Citrus getting attention that Kannazuki kind got lost in the corner. I then realized that Yuri anime tends to get forgotten easily and we need to keep it remembered through fanart and fanfiction.
Then again, if Son Goku, Naruto, Monkey D. Luffy, Jotaro Kujo, Yugi Moto, Ryo Saeba, Kenshiro, Himura Kenshin, Ichigo Kurosaki, Gon Freecss, Izuku "Deku" Midoriya, Asta, Dai, Pegasus Seiya, Light Yagami and Yusuke Urameshi can get cameos in the latest arena fighter Bandai Namco and Spike Chunsoft vomited up, maybe the yuri legends of anime past can have a chance.
Yes, I'm still upset on how crappy Jump Force turned out.
No, I'm not planning to shut up about it anytime soon)