Blooming Wisteria
By DrummondType2
1 . Initialization
Side A:
"She may have been picked up by a ferry," Yamada told her.
Her eyes narrowed, "I see. Get my in as close as you can."
She sighed. She'd tried to approach the girl being escorted to Fuuka the night before, taking out the tires of the District One limo. But then the girl had attacked her with an obsidian claymore, and she was forced to deploy her CHILD to drive her back, causing the girl to fall off of the bridge into the water below.
The speedboat reached the ferry.
"Yamada," She put on her motorcycle helmet, "Jam their frequencies and get in front of them. Slow them down. I'll handle the rest."
"Got it," Yamada nodded.
She strolled out of the cabin of the boat, onto the deck, and took a running leap. She drew a deep breath whispered a name.
"Kiyohime."
A great serpentine head rose from the water, then another, and another. She landed on the central head, and it carried her up to the top of the ferry. She boarded the ship quietly, and, despite the size of her CHILD, rather stealthily.
She was met with a mild conundrum when she spotted the Student Council Gopher, Yuuichi Tate, aboard the ship, talking to a redhead that she wasn't familiar with, but who was wearing the Fuuka Academy uniform.
She reasoned that she was less likely to be recognized by the unfamiliar girl, and so struck Yuuichi from behind, rendering him unconscious. She felt bad about it. He was a reliable young man, and she'd employed his services quite frequently, but she decided that it would a greater risk if she left him standing.
She quickly gripped the redheaded girl in a restraining hold, pinning her arm behind her back.
"You picked up the girl with the sword," she spoke tersely, "Where is she?"
The redhead guided her, albeit reluctantly, to the ship's infirmary.
"What do you want with me?" The redhead demanded.
She inhaled a bit, then pushed the redhead's head down to keep her clear, and summoned her Element, a crimson naginata. She struck the door with the pommel end of the weapon, then went in, blade out, looking for the girl.
She almost didn't dodge in time, but a gasp from the redhead alerted her to the girl's presence above her, clinging to the ceiling. The swing of the girl's sword dropped all three young women, the redhead included, into the parking deck of the ship.
She found the girl lying on the deck, and put the tip of her blade to her forehead.
"Don't even think about it. You've caused me enough trouble."
Her helmet split cleanly down the middle, falling away. Damn, but the girl's claymore was sharp! Her dark hair tumbled around her shoulders, and her silver grey eyes narrowed. Touko Nanami was having a very rough night, and she was determined to put an end to it right now.
"Those people are only using you for their own objective! Why don't you understand that?" Touko said in frustration, "I can't let any more of them congregate on Fuuka territory! The HiME!"
She barely dodged a kick by the girl, who then swung her sword around, cleaving through several trucks and cars. Touko had only just managed to duck under the effective range of the blade.
"I guess I'm wasting my breath, then. Fine. But you brought this on yourself. Kiyohime!"
The massive hydra erupted into the hold of the ship, her serpentine heads surrounding the girl. She lashed out with her sword, again.
The ship began taking on water.
"Kiyohime, we're leaving," she turned to walk away. If the girl drowned, it was her own fault for not listening.
Alarms blared and the ship was clearly listing. Kiyohime must have punctured a bulkhead, entering the vessel. Still, it couldn't be helped. She had to get herself off of the ship. District One couldn't be allowed to have their way. She would make them pay for what they did to Mio.
She leapt from the sinking ferry, landing on Kiyohime's heads, and returned to Yamada's boat. If she hurried, she could return to the dorms and get a bit of a rest before she had to sit in on the Student Council Meeting the next morning.
Side B:
Natsuki was laying at her desk. It had been a month since she'd started at Tohmi Higashi, and it had been a melancholic month at that. She was feeling listless, with nothing she actually wanted to do. Also, she had that confession from Takeda to consider.
"Come on, Natsuki," Akari sighed, "You've got to pick a club. Recruitment ends soon."
"Clubs aren't really my thing, though," Natsuki stretched.
"But, you're so athletic! I mean, you could join us at the Basketball club. Or try softball again?"
"Or, I could just study and focus on schoolwork," Natsuki suggested, though even she felt that to be a bit lackluster.
"Kuga! Natsuki Kuga!" A teacher called, "If you're having trouble deciding on a club, then might I suggest Student Council?"
Natsuki scoffed, "Sounds dull."
"Not at all. Our Student Council is quite busy," the teacher beamed, "And I'm sure it would look good on a college application, too."
Natsuki sighed. She didn't really have any good reason not to, other than a lack of interest. But still, she had to do something, or her father would get on her case about her apparent lack of drive, again.
"May I observe a meeting and decide then?" Natsuki mused.
"Sure. I think you'll really enjoy it."
Which is how Natuski found herself, after classes, wandering the back of the school, looking for this elusive Student Council Room. She was sure she was lost, which was something that ill suited her, when she heard voices.
"…go out with me, Fujino?"
Natsuki rolled her eyes. Yet another reminder of her dangling issue with Takeda. And what was it with guys springing confessions on people all the time? People put too much time and energy into romance, as far as Natsuki was concerned. Take her parents, for example. Genichiro Kuga had cheated on her mother and her mother had died in a horrible car crash, too upset at the revelation to focus on the road ahead of her, and nearly taking Natsuki with her. If that was what love did to people, thanks but no thanks.
"Ara, ara," a feminine voice replied, "I am sorry, but no. I mean no offense to you. I appreciate your feelings. However, I simply have no intention of going out with anyone, at this time."
Natsuki saw the guy nod slightly, and leave. The girl, however, caught her interest. She spoke with a delicate Kyoto-ben, and she had flowing tawny hair and crimson eyes.
"You handled that diplomatically," Natsuki said, coming out from behind the building, "Don't worry, I wasn't eavesdropping, or anything. I'm trying to find the Student Council Room."
The girl was slightly taller than her own 160 centimeters. Maybe three centimeters, at the most, but it was noticeable. She smiled a serene smile, and motioned behind Natsuki, "Ara, but it is over there. It is a bit out of the way, I must confess. I was heading in that direction myself. My name is Shizuru. Shizuru Fujino. And you must be Natsuki Kuga? I was told to expect you."
"Yeah," Natsuki nodded, "I was supposed to sit in on a meeting, see if I wanted to join the Student Council."
Shizuru's smile grew slightly, "Ara, but I hope Natsuki will stay. She would brighten the room tremendously."
Natsuki blushed at the obvious compliment, before realizing that Shizuru had just used yobisute. It wasn't that Natsuki much cared for social protocols herself, but she had to wonder if the lack of honorifics was meant to convey a sort of friendship, or if the girl was trying to subtly insult her. She frowned.
"Oh, but Natsuki can't make an expression like that. It simply doesn't suit her, at all."
"Idiot," Natsuki sighed, but she smiled a bit.
They reached the Student Council Room, well removed from the rest of the school.
"It used to be a calligraphy classroom," Shizuru noted, "Alas, we no longer have that class, so the room stands empty. I suppose it's to our benefit, but it's sad to lose the traditional arts, doesn't Natsuki agree?"
"Uh…yeah. Listen, Fujino, I…"
"Natsuki doesn't need to be so, formal. She can simply call me 'Shizuru'," The girl's smile was infectious.
"Shizuru-sa…"
Shizuru shook her head, "Just 'Shizuru'. No formalities between friends, after all."
"It's best to merely humor her, Kuga-san," another young woman's voice spoke up. Natsuki turned to see another girl with light brown hair, tied in a waterfall braid, and with mild green eyes, joining them. She was equal in height to Shizuru, and wore a frowning expression on her face, "Shizuru has a rather languid personality and a somewhat lackadaisical managerial style. She's also likely to be our next student body president, and her grades are the top of the school. Always."
"Mou, Sayaka-han is so cold to me," Shizuru mock pouted, "And yet, for all of her complaints, she remains my trusted compatriot."
Sayaka sighed, then bowed to Natsuki, "Sayaka Saeki. At your service, Kuga-san. If you value your freedom, and your free time, you'll run, now. Before Shizuru goads you into doing her share of the work on top of your own."
"Ikezu," Shizuru pouted.
Natsuki gave a short laugh, "Okay, okay, enough with the boke and tsukkomi routine. I'm glad to meet both of you, Saeki-san, Shizuru."
"Well," Sayaka smiled, "I'd heard rumors of a rather straightforward and earnest young woman in our freshman class. I'm pleased to meet someone like you. Perhaps you'll be just the person to help keep Fujino in line."
"Actually," Shizuru frowned a moment, "Natsuki, I heard you were the same age as us, but you're in a class behind. I don't mean to be impolite, but it wasn't due to academic difficulties, was it?"
Natsuki shook her head, "No. It was…a medical issue. But it was a one off thing, so, I'm good for whatever you need."
"Well, then," Shizuru smiled, "Shall we give Natsuki the guided tour, Sayaka-han?"
"You're incorrigible," Sayaka sighed, but she smiled, "You'll learn, Kuga-san, that I prefer straightforward people. Please don't let Fujino's bad habits rub off on you."
"I reiterate," Shizuru pouted at her again, "Ikezu!"
"Yes, yes. Don't you have some reports to foist off on someone else?" Sayaka grinned.
Side A:
Touko was heading to the Student Council Room directly from the dorms when a small commotion caught her attention. She found a large section of ground torn up, concrete crumbled, earth tossed up, and a crop circle in the middle of the campus, with two girls laying prone in the middle. Touko recognized them both immediately, in no small part due to the large black sword next to them. One was the dark haired girl with the twin braids who had given her so much trouble the night before. The other was her reluctantly helpful redhead. She sighed. She was going to have to clean up this mess, too. And it would likely mean that she couldn't meet Yuu for lunch. Spending time with the peach-haired girl was typically the highlight of her otherwise dreary day.
She patted Haruka Suzushiro, her trusted head of the Executive Committee, on the shoulder, "It seems we've got a bit of work cut out for us, Suzushiro-san. Learn what you can, and I'll meet you in the Student Council Room, so we can discuss this latest development."
"You can count on me, Nanami-sama," Haruka bowed respectfully.
A/N: So, as you can see, I'm trying something a little different here. I wanted to try a crossover with Bloom Into You and Mai-HiME, but rather than mix characters from one setting into another, I thought, what if I swapped the Shizuru and Natsuki with Yuu and Touko. I'm afraid I didn't have much for Yuu to do in this chapter, but don't worry, she'll be putting in an appearance in the next one. Then I realized that Shizuru, with her Brilliant But Lazy management style, was just the sort of person that Sayaka was irritated by, while Touko, with her diligent work ethic and studying habits, would get along famously with Haruka, so, expect some unique story changes coming up.
