[KnM][RGU][MH] Revolutions
Revolutions – Chapter 7 (The Beach Episode)
A Kannazuki no Miko, Revolutionary Girl Utena and Mai Hime X-Over Fanfic
By Jen-chan
jen-chan
January 28, 2013 –Feb 3, 2013
Word Count: 8,400
NOTES: The characters from Kannazuki no Miko (KnM), Revolutionary Girl Utena (RGU), and Mai Hime (MH) that appear in this fanfic do not belong to the author and are being used without permission from their owners, who include TNK for KnM, J.C. Staff for RGU, and Bandai for MH.
The main story takes place a few weeks after Mai Hime, about 15-16 years after the end of RGU, and about 15-16 years after the end of KnM.
More Author's notes follow at the end. Comments and Criticisms are greatly appreciated!
Shortly after her last exam let out, Chikane phoned home. It was the last day of the spring semester, and she would be off for summer vacation for the next six weeks. As she had promised her mother that she'd be home for the holidays, Chikane did not relish having to make this phone call, changing the plans. Still, she had to face the music sooner or later.
"Hey, Chikane!" Utena's happy voice could be heard over the line after a couple of rings.
"Hi, Okaa-sama," Chikane replied, smiling fondly upon hearing the unbridled joy in her mother's voice. "Sorry it took me so long to call."
"That's alright, I understand you're a busy girl." Despite her saying so, Chikane could tell that her mother would have enjoyed more frequent calls from her. "Did you just finish your last exam?"
"That I did," Chikane replied.
"Great! So you must be on break now, right? When are you coming home? I've got a bunch of grading to do, but I can meet you at the station tomorrow anytime after 2 pm. Will that work?"
"Sorry, Okaa-sama," Chikane's brow furrowed apologetically, the action carrying the regret into her voice. "But, I was hoping to stay at Fuuka for a few more days..."
"Oh." Utena was obviously crestfallen and Chikane wanted to kick herself for causing her mother such disappointment. "Why? Did something happen?"
Chikane sighed. "Well, there's a couple of things, actually," she admitted. "Firstly, there's a few things I need to finish up for the student council. We're holding an event called the Kazahana Scholarship Fund Benefit Gala either towards the end of summer vacation and I've got a few proposals to get through from various business groups related to it. There's a couple of meetings that I should attend too, so I was hoping to get through that before I came home. That should only take a couple more days, but, well, actually, a few of my friends were planning a short vacation to the beach next weekend, and I was hoping to join them..."
"Oh!" And suddenly, Utena's voice perked up. "That sounds like fun! Geez, Chikane, you don't have to sound so sorry! I get it – sure, go ahead! It's important to have time to hang out with your friends. Did you bring your swimsuit?"
"I did," Chikane replied, feeling somewhat relieved that her mother was fine with this. She had suspected she would be, as the woman had been concerned during Chikane's youth about her lack of real friends, but she also knew her mother missed her keenly. "But, that's, uh, not what I'm apologetic about..."
Now Utena sounded curious. "Oh? What's wrong?"
"I'm afraid I haven't seen Chu Chu in a while."
"Oh, that's no big deal," Utena laughed. "You know she disappears for days at a time. She'll show up again when she's hungry."
"But, Okaa-sama, it's been over two weeks."
"... really?" Now Utena sounded a little worried. "Hmm... that is on the longer side..."
"Yes," Chikane replied, frowning. Much like her mother's initial reaction, she hadn't been fazed at all when the marmoset had disappeared. That was completely normal. She had only realized that the family pet had been gone unusually long when she realized that one of the packages of snacks she kept around for her had actually passed its expiry date. Shortly after that, she started leaving all sorts of Chu Chu's favourite foods out to try to entice the mouse-sized monkey back, but the only thing she'd succeeded in attracting were several stray cats, much to Natsuki's exasperation, and Mikoto's delight, when she thought her feline friends were suddenly buddy-buddy with her human ones.
Chikane nodded, though her mother couldn't see the action. "I also feel as though she's been disappearing for longer and longer durations, more and more often as well. I was hoping to spend the next few days looking for her."
"That might not be a bad idea," Utena finally agreed. "But, don't worry too much, alright? Chu Chu is nigh indestructible after all. Remember when she was staring down that frog from the balcony for three days straight? She didn't move for food or rain or even pigeons! I'm sure she'll be alright."
"I hope so too," Chikane replied, still feeling somewhat uneasy.
"Anyway," Utena switched gears. "Hey, so I was wondering. Has my surprise shown up yet? You haven't said anything."
"Your surprise?" Chikane lifted an eyebrow. "No, I don't think I've received anything like that. Did you send it through the mail?"
"If I told you that, it wouldn't be much of a surprise now, would it?" Utena laughed. "Well, never mind! I can tell by your reaction that she must not have shown up yet. Don't worry, you'll know when she arrives! Hopefully it'll happen before you come back home for break. And you'd better call me when it does happen, okay?"
Chikane couldn't help but laugh, finding her mother's joy infectious. "'She'?" She asked.
"Ah! I've said too much!"
The ferry was running a little late, much to Juri's annoyance. She was not a woman who liked waiting on the best of days. She frowned as she looked at her watch. Eventually, the boat docked and the passengers started to disembark. She waited for what seemed like forever, her eyes scanning over every face for the one she was looking for. When the ebb of people slowed to a bare trickle and she still hadn't spied her guest, Juri began to worry.
Suddenly, without warning or provocation, warm arms encircled around her neck from behind and Juri could feel the weight of someone leaning into her back in an embrace.
"Juri-chan!"
And then that sweet, high voice playfully singing out the syllables of her name made all the waiting in the world worth it. Feeling a smile come onto her face, Juri turned around and saw that Kurusugawa Himeko had made it off the ferry without her noticing, and had actually crept up behind her and even managed to surprise her with a hug. The warmest of smiles graced the bottom half of Himeko's face, and her amethyst eyes sparkled brilliantly in the morning sun. Her tawny hair had been cut to shoulder length, half tied back with a bow that made her seem younger than she really was.
"Himeko, you made it," Juri greeted warmly, moving her arms around the smaller woman's waist and pulling her close to give her a tight hug. Her tickled lips sought and found Himeko's smiling own and she gave the other woman a long kiss, her heart celebrating with skips at once more being able to taste such sweetness. Once upon a time, such a warm, open, public, embrace would have been beyond Juri's capabilities; it was for the sake of winning and keeping this sparkling gem in her life that Juri had finally been able to present herself to the world for who she really was.
When they parted, Himeko had a bit of a blush on her cheeks, the kind that always made Juri want to see more of. She took one of Himeko's hands in her own while lifting the backpack that Himeko had put on the ground onto her own shoulder. "Is that all your luggage?"
The photographer nodded happily. "That's me."
Juri's eyes danced as she led Himeko towards where the car was parked. "You always travel so light. Sometimes I think you mean to disappear on me in the middle of the night." She chuckled.
She understood why the photographer did this though; Himeko was constantly travelling, off to new and exotic locales, and a decade of near constant travel had diminished any desire she had for material goods. With no family and no home to tie her down, after finishing community college, the photographer had liquidated what meager assets she had, bought a decent camera, and then went where the work was, or wherever interested her. Himeko's passport had been stamped through more countries than even Juri's own (which was saying something), and she often went abroad with nothing more than said passport, her camera, a laptop and the clothes on her back. Indeed, she had once told Juri, that for a couple of years, that was all she had to her name. It wasn't until only relatively recently that Himeko had finally started to get more stuff – mostly decent clothes – though those tended to stay in Juri's closets. Or on her floor.
"Well, I still can't promise that I won't do that. Again." the photographer teased. "Oh, come on, Juri-chan, don't be mad." She gave Juri a quick apologetic peck on the check when the red headed woman frowned.
"Hmm." Juri replied in noncommittally. She looked away from the other woman, not wanting Himeko to see the cloudiness in her eyes as she stifled a sigh. Two years together, and Himeko was still flighty as a bird, ready to leap into the wind and let it blow her where it may. She didn't want the photographer to know how much that bothered her. She didn't want her to know just how much she'd missed her, the last few months. After all, Himeko had promised to come visit back in the middle of May, but due to a surprise, last minute engagement, the photographer had gone running around Europe instead, and now, weeks later, when she'd finally arrived in Fuuka, it was already July.
"So where are we off to?"
"Let's drop off your things – little though they are – at my place first," Juri suggested. "I'm still in the visiting professor's residences on campus. If you want, we could take a walk around there first? It might actually be pretty lively. The kids just got out of classes yesterday."
"Sure!" Himeko replied. "I've heard that Fuuka's got a beautiful campus. Maybe I'll get some good shots."
Juri smiled. Though she had made the suggestion, she somewhat doubted that they'd make it very far out of her apartment. Since Himeko could get up and go with a moment's notice, Juri wanted to treasure every moment she had with her.
Natsuki smiled as Shizuru finally came out of her apartment tower, wearing a matching smile, as well as a summer cardigan and a pair of shorts. She was carrying a large beach bag over one shoulder. Under the cardigan, Natsuki could see the purple floral pattern of the swimsuit Shizuru had on underneath.
"Sorry I'm late," Shizuru said, as she went up to the other girl and then gave her a quick peck on the lips.
Natsuki couldn't help but blush, though she was pleased. She still wasn't used to thinking of Shizuru as... as her girlfriend yet, so public displays of affection still made her blush (though she suspected that would continue happening regardless). "That's okay," Natsuki replied, idly scratching a red cheek as she handed Shizuru her helmet. "Everyone else has gone on ahead to the beach on the bus, so we can take our time." She looked down at Shizuru's outfit a little worriedly. "Are you sure you don't want to wear the full leathers?"
Shizuru made a face. "It's too hot, Natsuki. I'm surprised you can stand to wear your full gear in this weather."
"The wind actually gets pretty cold," Natsuki insisted.
"Then I'll just have to hug you more tightly I guess." Shizuru winked.
Natsuki blushed again. Taking Shizuru's bag, she put it into one of the saddlebags on her motorcycle, and hopped on. Shizuru was about to put her helmet on when her eyes lifted in recognition. "Ara, if it isn't Arisugawa-sensei. Good afternoon."
Turning to look where Shizuru was looking, Natsuki could see the flame haired instructor walking up to them, holding the hand of another woman with hair very similar in shade to Shizuru's own. Natsuki almost boggled at the sight. Though Shizuru had told Natsuki about the instructor's known preference, she'd never expected to actually see such an open admission of a relationship between two adult women. It also took Natsuki a moment to figure out why the teacher looked so different from usual, before she realized it was because she'd never seen the normally serious woman with such an expression of fondness on her countenance before. And judging by the way the instructor's fingers were interlaced with the woman beside hers, Natsuki could guess who the cause of the good mood was.
The teenager couldn't help but feel weirdly... happy, staring at the intertwined hands of the older pair. Subconsciously, she found herself turning her eyes back onto Shizuru beside her, and wondering what the older girl would look like in another ten years, what they'd look like.
The thought stirred butterflies in her stomach.
"Good afternoon, Fujino," Juri replied, coming to a stop just in front of the two students. She looked over at Natsuki and smirked. "You too, Kuga-kun." She looked at Natsuki's biking leathers. "Good to see there are some safety guidelines that you are willing to follow."
"Only the ones that make sense to." Natsuki smirked back. She had had a close run-in with the instructor only last week. The visiting professor's residences were on the top most floors of the tower that Shizuru lived in, and Natsuki had found herself unexpectedly sharing an elevator with the instructor a little after midnight on a school night after losing track of time at Shizuru's.
It had been a rather awkward ride down, both of them silent. It was only when the elevator doors opened on the ground floor, and Natsuki had thought she'd gotten off scot free, had Juri finally said, "you know, next time you want to stay out late, I'd recommend not doing it while wearing the high school student's uniform. I can't actually let it slide if you're being that blatantly obvious about breaking curfew."
Natsuki had then spent the next week helping out in the fencing club, which, while not the worst detention possible, wasn't all that fun for her either.
Juri's smirk developed a little bit of an edge. "But I could have sworn that high school students weren't allowed to ride motorcycles to school either."
The biker groaned. Oh great. Not this again. Settling in for a possibly long and drawn out argument about her personal rights and freedoms, Natsuki was pleasantly surprised when she didn't have to.
"Oh, Juri-chan, don't be so strict," the woman with tawny colored hair said to the instructor. "It's summer vacation after all. She's not technically in school at the moment."
The flame haired instructor raised an eyebrow and looked like she didn't want to agree, but in the end, simply sighed. "I suppose a warning would do."
... wow. She is completely whipped.
Looking over at the woman who had saved her from lecture or detention or worse, Natsuki grinned at her and decided that she liked her. The tawny haired woman simply smiled kindly back at her.
"Ara, Arisugawa-sensei is far too kind," Shizuru's highly amused voice entered the conversation. "Come along now, Natsuki. We should get going. We're already late." She tilted her head downward to the instructor and her companion politely. "Have a good day, Arisugawa-sensei."
Taking the hint, Natsuki put her helmet on, and waited for Shizuru to do the same before they roared off.
It felt marvelous having Shizuru's arms wrapped around her waist, but mindful of the other girl's state of dress, and knowing that road rash would be the best outcome in case of accident, Natsuki was very careful to keep her attention on the road as she drove the both of them down to the beach.
When they got there, they could see that Fuuka's beaches were jammed packed with people young and old, all decked out in summer wear skimpy and fun. Parking the bike, Natsuki and Shizuru wandered about the sand for a little while, until they came across their group of friends, sitting under a pair of umbrellas in a prime piece of sandy real estate on the beach.
"Natsuki!" Mikoto shouted happily at the top of her lungs. "Over here!" The wild child was wearing her blue one piece, her goggles dangling about her neck. Beside her stood Chikane, wearing sunglasses and a white button up shirt (though currently unbuttoned), over top of a navy and white thin stripped bikini. She had pulled her voluptuous blue-black hair back into a ponytail. With them were Tate and Mai, and Takumi and Akira, all seated under the umbrellas. Mai was in her yellow-green bikini, while Tate and Takumi were in swim trunks. Akira was in a magenta one piece underneath a dark green hoodie, and looking a little uncomfortable.
"Hey, you made it!" Mai grinned happily when Natsuki and Shizuru came by and set up their own towels beside them.
"Of course we made it," Natsuki replied, giving Tate and Takumi a hooded stare. Both gentlemen hastily excused themselves to go get some drinks, and Akira decided to join them. Only then, did Natsuki finally start to unzip out of her biking leathers to reveal the strapless blue-green two-piece she was wearing underneath. Shizuru also took off her cardigan and wiggled out of her shorts to reveal her purple, flower pattern one-piece. "Why wouldn't we?"
Mai rolled her eyes. "Well, you two were held up at Shizuru's place for so long, I thought you might have decided to just spend the whole day there."
"That would have been nice too," Shizuru chuckled, looking over at Natsuki. The younger girl did not miss the mischievous look in her girlfriend's eyes, which caused her to color instinctively.
"Stop insinuating weird things," Natsuki muttered, folding her own racing leathers into a nice pile and laying it down on the towel to act as a pillow. She laid down on it with her hands behind her head. Looking up at the clear blue sky, Natuski felt strangely... at peace. The last time she'd gone to the beach had been in the midst of the Festival, and her mission that night had crowded her mind with gloomy thoughts.
To actually be at the beach with friends having a good time...
It feels nice. Really… nice.
Idly, she let her eyes wander over to Shizuru, and she couldn't help but appreciate the curve of her girlfriend's bosom. It was funny, Natsuki decided. Though Shizuru's swimwear was the most conservative, Natsuki also found it the most provocative, somehow. Natsuki looked over at her friends. Even when compared to Mai, whose breasts were barely contained by her bikini top, or Chikane, whose cleavage was also quite prominent through her unbuttoned collared shirt, somehow, Natsuki thought Shizuru had the most allure out of all of them.
Chikane smiled wryly at her roommate when she noticed her looking. "Natsuki-sempai, is it wise to appreciate others' bodies so openly when Shizuru-sempai is right here?"
Mai and Shizuru both laughed and almost said in unison, "she's just jealous."
Natsuki slapped a hand over her face. Why am I always the butt of all boob jokes?
Mikoto didn't help when she clapped a hand on Natsuki's shoulder in camaraderie. "It's okay, Natsuki." She said firmly. "Ours will grow."
Natsuki sweatdropped. "... sure, Mikoto." She finally settled for saying. "Sure." She harrumphed and looked up at the sky again when she heard Mai laugh.
Presently, Shizuru's smiling face came into her field of vision, her hand holding onto a plastic squeeze bottle. "Let me put sun block on you?" She asked.
The perfectly innocent request still brought a blush to Natsuki's cheeks, and she realized with resignation that it wasn't just her friends insinuating weird things; her own brain was perfectly capable of doing the same too. While she liked the idea of Shizuru's hands on her, she wasn't sure how she liked the idea of this happening in front of all their friends. Still, she didn't want to burn...
Nodding, Natsuki flipped over onto her front, and rested her head on her arms. Head turned to the side, she found herself looking at Chikane, who had sat down and was reading a book, even as Shizuru's warm hands started to work the lotion onto her shoulders. "What's with the shirt?" Natsuki asked Chikane.
"Hmm?" Looking over at her roommate first, Chikane then looked down at her own attire. "Oh. I burn easily." She said simply.
"Hmm. Maybe Shizuru should put sun block on you too-waaargh!" Instinctively jerking up when she felt the clasp of her bikini top open, Natsuki then quickly flattened her front to the ground. Whipping her head over to stare at Shizuru incredulously, her emerald eyes wide with embarrassment, she cried, "what are you doing?!"
"You don't want tan lines, do you?" Shizuru asked innocently, though her ruby red eyes twinkled with anything but innocence.
Well, no, she didn't, but still...!
Then Shizuru turned her smile over onto Chikane. "Shall I do your back too, Chikane-san?"
Chikane coughed politely into her fist and turned her attention back onto her book. "No thank you, Sempai. I'll... take my chances."
Just then, Natsuki felt the wholly disturbing and morbid sensation of something pulling her undone bikini top out from under her. Before she could stop it, she spied a familiar purple-grey monkey speeding away from her, 'chu!'ing happily and holding an equally familiar blue-green bikini top in her paw. Natsuki's eyes widened in mortification.
Oh no.
"Chu Chu!" Chikane gasped, pulling her sunglasses from her face when she spied her family pet. "There you are!" Getting up, she tried to follow the monkey mouse, somehow managing to still be graceful while scrambling, with Mikoto right behind her.
The two girls ran right past Tate, Takumi and Akira, coming back with a few small bags of snacks and drinks. When they returned to the umbrellas, they were greeted by the sight of Mai rolling on the ground, laughing and laughing and laughing, while Natsuki was sputtering obscenities at her best friend, her beach towel awkwardly clasped to her obviously otherwise bare upper torso, while Shizuru looked on, an expression of bliss-tinged amusement on her face.
As much as she was loathed to, even Suzushiro Haruka had to admit to herself, she just wasn't the life of the party. The summer bash to end all summer bashes she'd been hoping to throw at the Suzushiro family's Vacation Villa Number 25 was deader than a doornail and Haruka was beside herself with frustration. Dozens and dozens, maybe even hundreds of invites had gone out, and there was going to be enough food from the number one caterer on the island to feed an army. She even had a popular DJ coming in the evening... and the seven classmates who had arrived so far had all looked around, hung out for a few minutes, and then made excuses to leave.
"I can't believe this!" Haruka cried out loud, tugging on her hair in frustration. "What do I have to do to get people to show up to one of my brashes?!"
"Bashes, Haruka-chan..." Yukino said quietly, though she didn't answer her best friend's question. She didn't have to. Her expression said it all, really.
Last year had been Haruka's most successful party ever, the one she had held to thank the volunteers of the founders day festival. And even Haruka had known that the only reason the villa had been rocking was because of Shizuru and Reito's adoring fans.
The two friends were standing on the impressive open air balcony of the villa, clad in bathing suits, and overlooking the beach jammed pack with people in direct contrast to the isolation of the villa. Haruka smashed her forehead against the railing in frustration. It was luckily a very well made safety barrier.
"Mikoto said she was going to the beach today, with Mai-san and Natsuki-san," Yukino said softly, also leaning against the balcony beside her oldest friend. "They're probably out there right now. And if Natsuki-san's there, then..."
Haruka smashed her forehead against the railing a few more times (it really was a high quality piece of work to hold up to the abuse!) Finally allowing the splitting headache she'd given herself to drown out the bitterness of defeat in her heart, she growled out. "Fine. Just get those bubuzuke-onna's over here, and let all the guests know that they're going to be here tonight too."
Yukino sighed and whipped out her phone while Haruka went back inside to get a cold compress for her head.
That did the trick.
Over the course of the afternoon and early evening, a steady stream of excited and happy young people began to trickle into Villa number 25, a great many of them card carrying members of the Hime-sama fan club, with an even greater number more holding onto the Fujino card. And though the current and former presidents had not yet arrived, there were enough people around to really give the place a sense of life and fun, especially since most everyone had been at the beach anyway, and was still thus dressed. Haruka's mood improved greatly as folks began to relax and have fun, even with her.
A little after dinner time, Shizuru finally showed up with Natsuki, as did Chikane and the rest of their friends, everyone still clad in beachwear. Shizuru had put on a flowy and transparent pirate-shirt on over her purple one-piece. Chikane was still wearing the unbuttoned collared shirt over her swimsuit, though she'd pushed her sunglasses up into her hair. Both their legs were unadorned (save for flip flop sandals and a fancy anklet around one of Shizuru's ankles) and seemed to stretch up and up forever. The sight of their idols wearing what they were wearing, and walking into the party beside one another threatened to blow the roof right off of the villa. The fun, excited, frenetic energy in the place tripled...
... and then quadrupled again, when Shizuru leaned over and whispered something into Chikane's ear. The current president listened attentively to her predecessor, and then tilted her head to the side, looking back at the older girl with a curious expression on her face. The collective minds of the Fujino and Hime-sama fan clubs completely lost it when Shizuru followed this up by reaching out and fondly brushing a lock of hair out of Chikane's eyes and tucking it behind one her ears. In response, Chikane smiled back at the older girl, and maybe it was the lighting, but many pairs of eyes would afterwards swear that she blushed.
The fangirlish screaming was almost ear splitting, and Haruka thought she might go deaf from the squeals of glee. At the same time, Haruka could also feel her heart clench in jealousy. Oh! Why didn't people fawn over her every little motion and action?! Dammitall! And here she was, looking oh so gorgeous and sexy in her own provocative white strapless two-piece too!
To add salt to her wounds, despite this being her party, Haruka couldn't even make it pass all the bodies clamoring around Shizuru to give her an earful for taking her spotlight! Instead, she found herself standing a little bit away, beside the baby grand piano and Kuga Natsuki instead, a strange expression on the high school student's face.
The former truant looked like she didn't know if she should be amused or perturbed, and one of her eyebrows was twitching furiously as she gazed on from afar at the former and current student council presidents. Her arms were folded across her chest, and it was obvious to Haruka that Natsuki wasn't aware that the purpley-red aura of displeasure flickering around her ominously was preventing a sizable group of girls from approaching her, adoration (and a little fear) in their eyes.
Haruka harrumped. "The nerve of that woman!" She muttered to herself as she crossed her own arms under her bountiful chest.
Apparently too wrapped up in her own ire to understand the nature of the indomitable blond's, Natsuki simply gave Haruka an irritated look out of the corner of her eye. "They're just hamming up the service for the fans..." Natsuki muttered with a snort.
"Fan service?" Haruka frowned, not quite understanding.
It was then that the former and current Student Council Presidents located their host with their eyes, and with polite apology, left their legion of adoring fans to come over to talk to Haruka and Natsuki (that they came to her mollified Haruka somewhat, and greatly improved her mood).
"Thank you for the invite, Suzushiro-san," Shizuru smiled easily. "This is a lovely party."
Haruka couldn't help but beam. "Yes, it is, isn't it?"
Shizuru then looked over at Natsuki, and smiled. "Thank you."
Natsuki frowned. "For what?"
"For winning me a bet against Chikane-san."
"What were you betting on?"
"That your reaction would be more 'jealous harrumph' than 'squeal of pleasure'."
Haruka didn't quite understand why Natsuki threw a punch at the tawny haired girl.
The party continued on into the night, and Haruka managed to have herself some fun.
It wasn't until a couple hours later, when she was beginning to wonder where the DJ was, did the next obstacle of the night present itself to her. One of Haruka's servants walked up to her, a frown on his face.
"Ojou-sama," he said delicately. "May I have a word?"
"Hmm?" Haruka went to him. "Yes, what is it?"
"Ojou-sama, I'm afraid we've just gotten a call from Suzuhara-san..."
The DJ? Haruka frowned. "What did he say? Go on, spit it out."
"I'm afraid he's been detained by local law enforcement for suspicious activities, and does not know if he will be able to arrive for tonight's performance."
"WHAT?!" Haruka thundered, causing everyone in the vicinity to look directly at her, startled. She swallowed, and hastily lowered her voice. "What the hell!" Haruka hissed in a stage whisper. "I paid him a good advance to make sure he got his ass over here! What are the charges?"
"I believe they found a small amount of MDMA on him."
"Oh good grief." Haruka smacked her face with a palm. It wasn't unexpected at all that one of the most sought after DJ's in Tokyo's rave scene had ecstasy with him, but Haruka had had her people specifically tell his people not to bring that crap to Fuuka. What sort of a scandal would it have caused if Suzushiro Haruka, former Executive Director of Fuuka High School, in charge of upholding student morality, was found to be throwing a party with rampant drug usage?! Oh, the shame! She could never live it down!
The servant continued. "He is wondering if we would be willing to post bail for-"
"He can rot in jail for all I care!" Haruka snapped. Again, the people all around her stared at her with sweatdrops around their head, and she hastily lowered her voice. "Yukino!" Haruka hissed, waving her hand madly at her best friend. "Yukino!"
The Vice President of Fuuka High came quickly over to her best friend. "What is it, Haruka-chan?"
Haruka told her.
Yukino looked troubled. "Oh. Well, I'm glad he got caught then. It could have been trouble if he actually came here with it."
"I know, it's serendipitiduda alright," Haruka waved away that part.
"... Serendipitous?"
"Whatever. But what are we supposed to do about the entertainment for tonight? The DJ's supposed to start in 10 minutes!" She waved at the room of at least a hundred people, all laughing and joking, and some of them already dancing to the background music. Of course, it never even occurred to Haruka to start something late. If the show was supposed to begin at 9:00pm, then 9:01 pm was simply unacceptable.
Yukino whipped out her phone. "I'll try to get a replacement. In the meanwhile..." Her eyes scanned across the room, and of course, they landed on the largest knot of people in one corner of it. She looked back at Haruka and cringed.
Haruka groaned. "Dammitall, why does this always happen to me!?" Stalking over to that corner of the room where Shizuru and Chikane were socializing with a wide circle of people, she almost had to bodily push herself through the crowd to get to the two popular girls and their friends. Glowering mightily at the crowd, she managed to disburse most of it, leaving only the two girls and their friends – Natsuki, Mai, Mikoto, and Tate.
"Fujino, I'm calling in that favor." Haruka said to the tawny haired girl. "I need you to entertain the guests."
Shizuru looked confused. "Favor, Suzushiro-san? What favor are you referring to?"
Haruka frowned. "Don't act dumb, Fujino."
But Shizuru only continued to frown.
Unexpectedly, Himemiya Chikane coughed into her fist beside the tawny haired girl, getting everyone's attention. She gave Shizuru a significant look. "I'd suggest that you comply with Suzushiro-sempai's request, Shizuru-sempai." She said quietly.
And now the frown on Shizuru's face took on a bit of an amused upturn. "Oh? And why is that, Chikane-san?"
Chikane looked sheepish for some reason. "Well, you did say that you owed Suzushiro-sempai one for going all the way to India to get that particular brand of curry you liked so much. Indeed, I believe you told her you'd grant her one favor to do whatever it was she asked of you..."
Shizuru raised an eyebrow. "Did I now?"
"Yes, you did!" Haruka exasperated. It had been a triumphant day for her, that. She wasn't about to let the bubuzuke-onna claim ignorance! "And now I'm calling it in. Fujino, help me out. My DJ is... indisposed. I need you to entertain the crowd until the backup plan arrives."
The tawny haired girl sighed. "Very well, Suzushiro-san, but what do you propose I do? A song and monkey dance?"
Chu Chu, sitting on Mikoto's head and stuffing a banana into her face, looked over at Haruka and Shizuru and gave a small 'chu?' of inquiry.
Both university students stared at the marmoset for a moment silently, before Shizuru sighed, and Haruka smacked a palm against her face again.
"Well I don't know!" She scanned across the room, and then her eyes fell upon the baby grand piano that they were standing beside. While the Stein was usually nothing more than a decoration, as none of the Suzushiro family could be called musical, of course, it was in fine repair and well tuned. "Wait a second, you play the piano, don't you?"
Shizuru shook her head. "Actually, I do not..." she trailed off and looked over at Chikane.
The significance of that look was not missed by any of the circle of friends, and soon, everyone was looking over at Chikane.
The young student council president frowned. "I'm sorry, but I don't know if I'm-"
She was cut off when Mai grabbed her hand excitedly. "Chikane-san, I've heard you play before! You're marvelous Why don't you let everyone listen?"
Chikane's eyes crinkled. "Actually, I'd rather-"
But Haruka, having found her lifeline, wasn't about to let go of it. Grabbing Chikane's hand, she announced in her thunderous voice, "hey, everyone! We've got a special treat tonight! Student Council President Himemiya Chikane is going to play the piano for us!"
The crowd hushed over as Chikane found herself the centre of attention she really didn't want to be. Looking over at Shizuru, the older girl had an apologetic expression on her face, and Chikane realized that in the face of so much peer and public pressure backstopped with the immovable mountain that was Suzushiro Haruka's stubbornness, there were moods that even the mighty Fujino could not necessarily sway.
Frowning, Chikane slowly lowered herself onto the piano bench, and stared at the keys.
Once upon a time, a lifetime ago, such a performance would have been water off of a duck's back. She had performed in front of an entire school, in front of all of Mahoroba, really, and not been fazed. She had entertained her father's business associates at a moment's notice, some of the world's most powerful men, and not even felt her pulse quicken.
But that had been a lifetime ago when the finest of piano teachers had drilled her from toddlerhood, and the musical notation of Mozart and Beethoven had long been memorized and was easily re-callable by her muscles at a moment's notice.
In this lifetime, her repertoire was infinitely more private and personal, and consisted entirely of her own emotions moving her fingers instinctively across the keys, and not even Chikane herself ever really knew what she was playing or how it would ultimately turn out until she was finished.
The songs were always about Himeko, in some way. A thousand different chords and an infinite combination of notes, and her heart only ever seemed to have one thing to say.
I'm sorry. I miss you. Wait for me. I love you.
Himeko.
Chikane looked up, and gave her friends one last look, imploring them for rescue, but alas, they only looked on at her with excitement and expectation. Except for Shizuru. The older girl's brow was furrowed, and her eyes were begging forgiveness for being unable to stop this.
Chikane took a deep breath, and put her fingers on the keys. A second pair of ghostly, brown hands seemed to appear on the keys beside her. Seeing them caused Chikane to lift her eyebrows in surprise, and she looked beside her to see the ghostly image of the dark woman with long purple hair beside her, eyes obscured. She hadn't seen her ghost in a while, Chikane realized, though it was not entirely unexpected for her to appear here. She often appeared to help guide the requiems out of Chikane's heart, through her fingers, and onto the keys.
I guess you have something you want to say tonight, then, do you? Chikane thought, though, of course, her ghost didn't answer her.
So she played, and a silence fell over everyone in the room. It was a perfect chamber for acoustics, the high vaulted ceilings bouncing the notes back again and again, and Chikane played a set of three songs, each distinct in their own way, but all of them indisputably unsettling and heartbreaking and coming from the bottom most depths of her heart and her soul.
By the time she was done, the entire room was dead silent. Many of the young people had tears in their eyes, many more staring at her openly. No one was quite sure how to respond to that... that rawness.
It certainly hadn't been what anyone was expecting. No one had ever expected the prim, proper and opaque student council president to bare herself in such a display.
Shizuru recovered first.
She clapped.
And the sound finally broke that heavy stillness in the air, and pretty soon, everyone started to clap, and then there was even a wolf whistle, and some scattered cheering.
Chikane didn't really hear any of that. She was looking at the ghost who was still beside her, wondering why she was still there.
Then, the purple haired mirage got up, and slowly walked away from the piano. She stopped, and looked back at Chikane, and Chikane could see the time in her ancient green eyes. When she turned and continued out the doors that lead to the garden, Chikane knew she was supposed to follow.
Wordlessly, she got up from the piano and went after the ghost outside, oblivious to the thunderous applause that was being given to her.
She didn't hear her roommate, when Natsuki called out to her, "oi, Chikane? Where are you going?"
She didn't hear her predecessor, when Shizuru gently held Natsuki's wrist to stop her from following, and said, "I think she wants a little time to herself."
She didn't hear her host, when one of Haruka's servants informed his mistress that a replacement DJ had been located and would be at Villa 25 shortly, and Haruka gave a happy cry of, "excellent!" and then raised her voice to tell all her guests of the fact.
Lost in a world all her own, Chikane followed the melancholy apparition out of the house, then out of the garden, and then further and further away from the lights and the laughter of her friends.
Chu Chu was the only one who followed her.
It was strange, Chikane thought, that no one had stopped her. She'd been walking for a while now, alone, along the beaches that were so full of people just that afternoon, now almost completely devoid of even a single soul, save for the odd straggler, or the lone couple, here and there. She didn't pay them any attention, nor did they to her.
She'd lost track of her ghost for a while now, and yet, she still felt compelled to walk, and for the life of her, she was not sure why. The night was warm, the full moon was high in the sky, and the gentle winds seem to encourage her along, blowing at her back.
Chu Chu had given up trying to walk behind her, and had climbed onto her shoulder. She was quivering and quiet, the odd 'chu' she made plainly plaintive. That should have been another hint to tell Chikane to turn back.
And yet, Chikane continued to walk, until the sand became gravel and then rock, and the ocean began to meet the edge of land in a series of rocky outcrops tough on feet. The moonlight played with the craggy cliff side that now loomed on one side of her, creating enormous gaps of blackness that could have just been shadow, or something far deeper.
And then she came to a stop.
Chikane should have known better than to enter the cave. Really, she did. Horror movies started this way, all the time. But she also couldn't help but be inexplicably drawn to the dark opening. It seemed to be whispering her name – not Chikane, but a name even older than that – in seductive invitation.
... Aaaaaanthy... Aaaaaaanthy. Come here, Aaaaanthy...
The winds blowing across the gaping maw seemed to whisper.
Chikane froze. Even as she stared at the cave, hints of a swirling, dark, malevolent energy began to develop at its mouth, slowly rotating, slowly spiraling, drawing her in.
Everything else in the world seemed to fade away, as Chikane's heart began to pound inside her head, even as she prayed to the gods, all eight hundred million of them, to please, please, don't let that swirling maw of darkness be what she thought it was, what she already instinctively knew it was, what it could only be.
Her past. Her future. Her deal with the devil, now back for her soul.
Chu Chu leapt off her shoulder to hide behind her ankle, shivering and keening piteously, huddled against her skin. Chikane couldn't even feel her pet's presence at all. She couldn't feel the monkey's fur suddenly stand on end, as her shaking got worse, and she actually bared her teeth at the gaping darkness.
She could hear footsteps coming out from the cave, clean, and crisp, as though polished shoes were walking on polished tile rather than sandy dribble.
And then, Chikane thought she could hear the unexpected, ghostly giggling of shadows...
Did you hear? Did you hear? Have you heard what's new? The Prince is back, has been for a while, but there's going to be a new Demon too!
It was the phone call that was every parent's worst nightmare.
"Oi, Tenjou? Your daughter's school is on the line."
Utena looked up from her desk in the teacher's office to see the vice principle looking at her with a bit of a worried frown on his face. Instant dread formed at the pit of her stomach and Utena got up. Walking quickly over to the phone, she put it up to her ear. "Hello?"
"Tenjou-san?"
Utena recognized the high, feather-like voice of Director Himeno instantly, the woman who had interviewed her when she'd gone out to Fuuka earlier in the year for a job interview. "Director Himeno? Did something-"
"I'm afraid there's been an accident with Chikane-san."
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
… Oh, Kannazuki no Miko's episode 7. How you hurt me so with your foreboding foreshadowing. -_-;;I'm trying to do you justice here with Revolution's own episode 7, but I am not sure if I have succeeded there...
I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who's taken the time to leave a review. Thank you very much! Your comments really put a goofy grin on my face that stays there for hours and keeps me high for days. Several of you have wondered why there aren't more reviews, so, um, I kinda thought it might be good to let ya'll know that the review rate per view statistics are actually about right for my stories, so I'm not discouraged, and will keep plugging away. As some of you have pointed out, this fic does require not just reader familiarity but reader fondness for not just Mai Hime, but Kannazuki no Miko and Utena too, and those fandoms are much less active than MH, so I get it. I'm quite blown away that folks not familiar with the other two series would even bother to give this fic a chance, and would like to thank you very much once more for doing so!
Thanks again!
Cheers,
jen-chan
jen-chan-shaw. livejournal. com
OMAKE I: False Advertising – Only 89% Pantless.
[A LAWYER is sitting down in a non-descript room with the AUTHOR. The AUTHOR appears somewhat distraught.]
AUTHOR: Okay, what did I do now?
LAWYER: I'm afraid that The Swords of Humanity I Mean Fandom's Hate has sought legal action and is now suing you for false advertisement. In the previous chapter, you had Fujino Shizuru announce that Himemiya Chikane was going to do the entire next chapter pantless, and I'm afraid that out of 7,338 words actually relating to 'story' in this chapter, that is, sans notes and omake, Chikane was actually pantless in only 6,499 of those words, or 89% of the time. 11% deficit is far too material a miss, so I'm afraid you will be taken to court.
AUTHOR: [Sputtering wildly] What?! But, um, uh, who says she wasn't pantless when she was in that first scene phoning Utena?! She could have been pantless!
LAWYER: Well, you did say she phoned home after getting out of her last exam, so we presume she would still have been on school grounds when she made the call, as she does have a cellphone. Unless you are suggesting she wrote her exams without pants as well?
AUTHOR: ... yes! Uh, yes! That is exactly what I'm saying!
CHIKANE: [Shows up in the room and smacks the AUTHOR upside the head with a mighty halisen]. The hell I would have!
OMAKE II: Yet Another Mai-Hime Style Preview of Next Episode
[TOMOYO'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.]
TOMOYO: Next time, on Revolutions, a Kannazuki no Miko, Revolutionary Girl Utena and Mai Hime X-over, I show up!
JURI: [Raises eyebrow] Why would you show up? Didn't the author say in one of her first notes that you were going to be a minor character of little significance?
TOMOYO: Ouch, Juri-chan. That's mean! How can you call one of your oldest friends 'of little significance'?
JURI: Well, this is supposed to be a KnM, Utena and Mai Hime cross over. The author said nothing about Card Capture Sakura. I'm just saying, Tomoyo.
TOMOYO: Hmm, well, I suppose the readers will just have to find out for themselves how I fit in. So please, stay tuned for the next chapter of Revolutions, Chapter 8 – 'First Contact, Blue-Green Eyes'!