Rosebuds, Chapter 10

Kirika opened her eyes slowly and turned her head to the right. Mireille was standing in front of the window, the soft breeze rippling through her hair. She could hear the chirping of birds and the soft hum of traffic down below them. All this swept through her mind as she remembered their task for the day, which now seemed heinous.

"You're awake."

It was more of a statement than a question, and the Corsican blonde didn't even turn as she issued the words from her mouth.

"Un."

Mireille turned from the window and closed the window with a soft clunk, closing out the sounds of nature. Her expression was one of gentle concern. "Are you ready?"

"Un." Kirika climbed out of bed, feeling strangely energized, and crossed the room to where her school uniform lay on the table. Mireille was already dressed and by the looks of it, had been up for awhile already.

"I made tea. Sorry it won't be nearly as good as yours," she apologized, then began rattling off directions. "I'm going to park on the car in the parking lot of your apartment. About fifteen minutes before class is due to start, you can start walking towards the school. I'll wait a couple more minutes before heading to the back of the school. And once the bell rings, we'll start."

"Okay." Kirika's voice was muffled as she pulled the top over her head. Her bag contained a notebook and some paper and pens to hide the gun and to puff up the bag a bit. For Mireille, there was no choice but to carry her Walther in her hand. She had been hoping desperately that they could get in some target practice, as neither had handled a gun in five years, but that had been impossible. It was a miracle that they were each carrying the same gun that they had used before, however.

Fully attired now, Kirika turned to look at Mireille. The Corsican blonde was tucking magazines into her pockets. Kirika's were already stored in her bag. She closed her eyes, trying to remember every nook and cranny of Tsubaki High School.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Mireille asked in concern, trying to force another magazine into her pocket. The edge of the fabric tore and she gave up.

"Yes," insisted Kirika.

Mireille shrugged and put a loose-fitting jacket on to hide the bulges in her pockets. "Come on, let's go."

= = = = = = =

Five minutes later they were parked in an inconspicuous space behind the apartment building. Kirika seemed composed and perfectly ready to do what was needed; Mireille, on the other hand, kept checking her watch and feeling the bulges in her pockets to make sure no magazines had fallen out. The jacket was still on for now, but she intended to abandon it as soon as she entered the school.

"Just a few minutes left." She lowered her arm again. Kirika had no reaction to this statement. Mireille leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. "Japanese schools do start early. You can go ahead if you want."

She didn't open her eyes. Only the slam of a car door alerted her to the fact that Kirika was on her way. Slowly she watched Kirika walk off towards the school. There was nothing disturbing about her appearance-she looked exactly like a student. How she would convince a teacher to let her join the class was a potential problem, but Mireille was sure that Kirika would be able to solve that. She checked her watch again. Kirika was a tiny little figure in the distance by now.

When her partner was out of site, Mireille tucked her gun into the biggest pocket of the jacket and nonchalantly walked down the street. She placed a popular Japanese magazine on a nearby bench, then took the long way around, circling to the back of the school until she found the door she was looking for.

It wasn't a door by which people commonly entered and exited, she realized. The door was dark blue and windowless, therefore keeping her from seeing what was inside. She would have to hope for the best. Mireille sat down behind a fold in the wall and kept her gun ready.

Kirika walked quietly over to the students and joined them, though not speaking to any of them. She exchanged smiles with a few that seemed overly friendly, but quickly moved on, choosing instead to stand by herself by the door. She didn't have a watch but there were at least a good ten minutes until the bell would ring.

Just eleven minutes left, thought Mireille, checking her watch again.

Kirika kept her expression carefully blank, avoiding the glances of the other students. Tsubaki High School was a famous one, with several thousand students, so it was no surprise to notice a student that one had never seen before. In her small build and matching uniform, Kirika was simply assumed to be one of them.

Eight minutes. . .

Kirika was tapped on the shoulder. One of the girls, much to her despair, had brought over her friends and was now introducing them. She put on a cheery smile and exchanged polite greetings with each of them, telling them her name was Nagamine but not really listening to what any of them were saying.

"I hope the visitor is interesting," one of the girls said, suddenly catching Kirika's attention. "Sen'sei said he's quite a famous biologist."

Mireille checked her watch again. Five minutes left.

"So, Nagamine, what's your favorite subject?" asked one of the girls interestedly.

"Mathematics," said Kirika, saying the first thing that came to mind, then quickly added, "although I like biology too. I'm hoping to learn a lot from our visitor today."

One of the other girls made a face. "I don't like it at all, but my family says it's very important. Everyone in my family has been a doctor and they're expecting me to be one too."

"Ayanami," laughed the first girl. "You dislike anything that involves studying."

"Hai," she replied, and they all laughed.

Two minutes left. . . Mireille looked at her watch, wishing the hand would move quickly. She was getting tired of sitting outside and fraying her nerves, worrying about what was behind that door.

"Where do we go first today?" asked Ayanami. "Do we go to class, or to the auditorium?"

"The auditorium, I believe," answered a tall brunette. "I can't wait!"

The bell rang, a loud noise overhead that made Kirika cringe. At once all conversations ceased and the students began filing silently into the school. As they were the closest to the door, Kirika and her new "friends" were among the first to enter.

"You must sit with us," said the tall brunette girl, coming to Kirika's left side. "By the way, my name is Shiori."

"My name is Nagamine," said Kirika, although her mind was focused solely on how she would get out of this auditorium, "and thank you for the offer."

Mireille was still outside, biding her time. She wanted the students settled in class before she launched her attack. She was hoping to take as few lives as possible.

Kirika was led into a large auditorium with movie theater-like seats that she didn't remember visiting before. Fortunately, the girls took up a long row of seats and Kirika took the second to last seat. Shiori sat between her and the aisle. The exit was not far from the row, either.

"I don't like our seats," she heard Ayanami saying. "I can't see anything."

"It doesn't matter since you're not going to pay attention anyway," reminded another girl, and the girls giggled. A teacher walking by shot them a glare.'

The lights dimmed and a man walked onto the stage, greeted by much applause. He gave a few words by way of introduction, then launched into his long speech about his research and years of hard work. Kirika tuned him out and focused on Mireille. If all had gone well, she should be inside the school already. Her bag rested in her lap, the gun well within reach.

Five minutes had passed since the bell had run. Mireille tossed off her jacket, pulled out her gun, and threw the door open.

A ear-piercing alarm went off and Mireille gasped in shock, her eyes taking in the sight of the storage room. She heard footsteps coming her way and knew that there was only one choice: to run and shoot her way out. She reached behind her, thinking to escape the way she had come, but to her surprise the door was locked. The footsteps were getting louder.

Mireille ran towards the other door and slammed into somebody, knocking him over. She fired two quick gunshots, silencing him, then ran out into the open school. The alarm continued to ring. Why hadn't this been on the blueprints? she thought furiously.

She heard more footsteps and leaned against a corner, waiting for them to show themselves. Mireille swung her gun around the corner, ready to fire a shot, then realized that her gun was pointed towards no one at all-it was pointed towards a camera.

She stared in shock. The little red light flashed lazily.

The alarm sent a wave of panic through the students in the auditorium, many of which jumped and were now using various objects to cover their ears. The famous biologist tried to continue delivering his speech, but no one was listening. Teachers jumped up and began running for the exits. Kirika jumped to her feet, pulled out her Beretta, and fired nine gunshots in succession. She scrambled out from her seat, taking her bag with her, and tripped over Shiori. The brunette promptly screamed. Most students were hiding, crouching in the tight spots under the chairs.

But Kirika wasn't interested in killing any of them. She turned and ran out of the auditorium.

Author's Note: This is my first attempt at trying to recreate some of the action that we saw so much in the series. . . and as for the girls' names, I don't know anything about Japanese names, so I borrowed Ayanami from Evangelion, Shiori from Utena, and Nagamine from Hoshi no Koe (Voices of a Distant Star). I don't own either of those either : )