[KnM][RGU][MH] Revolutions
Revolutions – Chapter 15 (Oogami Shrine)
A Kannazuki no Miko, Revolutionary Girl Utena and Mai Hime X-Over Fanfic
March 12, 2013 – March 25, 2013, Updates through April 20, 2013.
Word Count: 10,900
More Author's notes follow at the end. Comments and Criticisms are greatly appreciated!
"Himeko! Over here!"
Hearing the familiar voice call her name, Himeko looked over and saw Oogami Makoto waving at her as she stepped through the security gates at the airport. Her old roommte was wearing a lighter fall jacket that fell to her thighs, unbuttoned, and through the open coat, Himeko could see evidence of the early stages of pregnancy around her best friend's tummy.
Smiling weakly at Makoto, and wishing that they weren't meeting under these circumstances, none the less, Himeko shifted the traveler's backpack on her shoulder, and walked over to her friend. "Mako-chan..." she said softly.
"Where the hell have you been the last month?!" Makoto demanded, even as she pulled Himeko into a fierce hug that threatened to cut off all circulation. Himeko made a sort-of-gurgling sound as she weakly patted at one of Makoto's hands to please let air flow down her trachea.
"Nope!" Makoto replied. "Not letting go. What if you run away again, just as soon as I let go, hmm? You can just suffocate for all I care. At least I'll know where you are that way, assuming that your unmarked grave isn't so inconspicuous that I forget where I buried you." And yet, even as the brunette said this, she reluctantly let the tawny haired woman go, though she was careful to keep an iron grip on Himeko's hand.
"I'm sorry for worrying everyone, Mako-chan," Himeko said sheepishly as she swallowed a few times to kick start her respiratory system. "I just... I just didn't know what to do. So I ran. And when that didn't help, I just... ran to the next place. I thought, maybe, if I just had some time to think, some time away, it would help." She sighed. "But it didn't. Not really..."
The excuses sounded pretty pathetic even in Himeko's own ears, but, unfortunately, they were as close to the truth as anything could be.
Makoto stared at Himeko with hooded eyes. Then she thrust her hand out in front of Himeko's nose, palm up. "Passport. Now."
Sweatdropping, Himeko reached into her jacket pocket and brought out the old and worn travel document, which Makoto quickly thumbed through, eyebrows raised. "... Seoul, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Thailand, Hokkaido. What the hell?!" Makoto cried. "Geez, Himeko, when you run, you RUN! Either you've got frequent flyer miles spilling out of all your orifices, or you make waaaay too much money, Ms Hot-Shot-Photo-Shot!"
Himeko made a face and rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. "Mako-chan, please..."
Seeing the pain in Himeko's eyes, finally, Makoto sighed. "You are going to tell us EVERYTHING in the car ride. We couldn't find parking, so Souma is circling around. And just so we're perfectly clear about something..." Very calmly, Makoto held the passport up in front of Himeko's nose again, and with precise deliberateness, ripped the thing clean in two, right down the middle.
"AAAH!" Himeko cried, frantically grabbing the remains of her passport and staring at the torn document helplessly. "Mako-chan! What are you doing?!"
"... No more running away without a forwarding address," Makoto said crisply, taking Himeko's hand again, and pulling her towards the exit of the airport. "You are going to be staying with us until you get whatever's happened sorted out okay?"
They made it out of the airport and into Souma's car. Mahoroba was too small a town to have its own airport, so they were going to spend the next three hours driving back to the coastal town from the closest regional airport.
"Himeko," Oogami Souma said, relief evident in his brown eyes when the tawny haired photographer got into the back seat. "Thank god you're alright."
Himeko gave her oldest friend a weak smile. "I'm sorry to make you worry, Souma-kun. I'm sorry to make you both worry..."
Soon they were on the road. The old friends were silent for a while, before Makoto finally gave a loud sigh. "Alright, Himeko, spill-"
"Congratulations on the pregnancy," Himeko quickly interrupted, not eager to acknowledge the giant pink elephant in the car just yet. "How far along are you?"
"Hmm? Oh." Makoto looked down at her slightly protrude tummy and put a hand on it. "Oh, hmm... wow many weeks HAS it been now?" Absently, the brunette reached out with her other hand and took her husband's to give it a squeeze as she did some math in her head. "Ah. I do believe it's been 8 weeks of daily barfing, with about 30 more to come." Despite the sarcasm in her voice, there was fondness in her eyes.
Himeko winced. "Oh. Is morning sickness supposed to last that long? Was it that bad with Tsubasa-chan?"
"No and yes." Both Souma and Makoto said at the same time, and then chuckled like there was some sort of hidden joke between them, or perhaps a comedy routine.
Himeko couldn't help but smile. She felt greatly indebted to her oldest and best friends, and, of course, guilty as well. Despite their own busy lives, still, they had reached out to her, and had invited (demanded) that she stay with them. Himeko couldn't help but sigh. What was wrong with her that at almost 32 years of age (in the next week), she still couldn't quite seem to keep her feet planted on the solid ground under her? (She suspected Mako-chan would have made some sort of crack about her feet resting on airplanes floors far too often.)
"Planned?"
Makoto laughed. "Uh, sort of."
Souma smiled. "We always wanted Tsubasa to have a sibling eventually, but we were a little surprised when it happened."
"That's nice," Himeko said, smiling softly. "Being an only child can get pretty lonely."
"Yeah," Makoto agreed softly. There was a pause in the conversation, but she didn't let it last for long. She cut straight to the point, calling out that pink elephant Himeko had been trying to hide.
"Okay, enough about us, Himeko. I'm going to have baby brain for the next 7 or so months, and it's only going to get worse so before that happens, spill. What happened?"
Himeko cringed. She looked out the window as she tried to gather her thoughts. She owed her friends the truth – that much, she knew for sure, even if they weren't going out of their way and housing her for the next little while (which they were).
The car was awkwardly silent for a little while, before Himeko was finally able to speak, her voice soft, and hesitant. She knew this probably wasn't the most delicate way she could put this, considering Souma's feelings towards her once upon a time, but she just wasn't sure how else she could explain it.
"... do you guys remember, in high school, when I said... when I said that I was sure that there was somebody special out there, just for me?"
Souma nodded easily. He flicked his eyes up into the rear view mirror to catch Himeko's own, and Himeko was very (very) relieved that there was no angst in his eyes, just simple memory. It had taken him a long time to do it, but he had finally made peace with her rejection of his advances in their first year of high school. It had been pretty brutal for him for a long time after his confession, and the worst part was, Himeko hadn't even known just how tough she had made it for him by continuing to be a part of his life.
Luckily, however, Makoto had gotten to know him throughout high school and into college, and eventually had been able to slap some sense into him, and Souma had finally moved on to date, fall in love with, and marry her. After the wedding, they had become even better friends than before.
Makoto sat up a little straighter, and slowly turned around to look at Himeko from the front passenger seat, her aqua colored eyes wide. "I remember. Why are you bringing this up now? Are you trying to say what I think you're trying to say?"
Himeko closed her eyes. "... I found her." She affirmed softly, as guilt threatened to overwhelm her. She clenched her hands into fists, twisting at the fabric of her long jacket. "... She wasn't Juri-chan."
There was stunned silence in the car as Makoto continued to stare at Himeko, who couldn't meet her eyes, before the married woman turned back to face the front of the car. "... Ouch." She finally said. There was sympathy in her voice, but Himeko wasn't quite sure who for.
Souma looked away from the rear view mirror, and turned his attention back on the road.
The car was silent again.
It was Souma who spoke first. "... so... you've split from Arisugawa?"
Himeko nodded silently.
"Via post-it note?" Makoto said, somewhat flatly. She didn't turn back to look at her old roommate, and Himeko could tell that her old friend was angry with her – not that she'd broken up with Juri, but the manner in which she'd done it. "Geez, Himeko. I never would have thought you could be such... such an asshole."
Himeko cringed. She deserved that. And worse.
"Makoto..." Souma said softly, his tone distinctly uncomfortable.
"No, seriously! Himeko!" Finally, Makoto turned back to look her old friend in the eye, clearly distraught. "Himeko, when did you become such a coward? You're like, the bravest woman I know! What happened to the girl who stood up and walked out of her abusive relatives' home when she was in high school? What happened to the woman who put herself through college with no help, and then, when everyone else was still trying to figure out what to do with their lives, sold everything she owned and packed her bags to go flying off all around the world? Himeko, how could you just-"
"How could I tell Juri-chan that I'm in love with a 15 year old?"
Souma almost swerved onto oncoming traffic. Makoto frantically grabbed the holy-shit handle bar above the passenger side window.
The married couple both cried out at the same time, "what?!"
Himeko buried her head in her hands.
Weeks. Weeks she'd tried to come to terms with what her heart was trying to tell her. Weeks she'd thought about it, endlessly, too scared and guilty to admit it, to even say it out loud. This was the first time she'd been able to utter those words: She was in love with a 15 year old.
They sounded just as ridiculous as she'd feared they would.
"Hi-Himeko..." Souma said, uncomfortable and out of his element, and clearly trying to find some way to understand the situation from a direction he was more familiar with, "you, uh, know that sexual relations with a minor is a crime in every municipal jurisdiction in Japan, right?"
"Shut up, Honey!" Makoto answered quickly. "Strike that from your memory! It didn't happen! She didn't say that!" But now she turned to look back at the tawny haired woman in the back seat, her eyes crinkled with disbelief. "But... seriously, Himeko, did you..." Makoto looked at her husband, chief of police at Mahoroba's First Precinct, and quickly leaned over to cover his ears.
The car swerved a little, and Souma gave his wife a look that clearly said he thought she was crazy, but didn't stop her.
Makoto gave Himeko a very serious face. "Himeko, did you..." she lowered her voice conspiratorially, "... sleep with a teenager?"
Himeko turned bright pink and buried her face in her hands. This conversation was going exactly the way she had desperately wished it wouldn't. "No, Mako-chan, no!" She said, shaking her head emphatically. "I just met her! I was in her company for all of 30 minutes! I didn't...! I mean, we kissed. I met her, and I... I don't know what came over me. I just... I just knew it was her. And she knew it was me. And we kissed. That was all. I didn't...! I haven't...! No!"
"Huh." Blinking a few times, Makoto considered this, before unhanding her husband's ears, and settling herself back into her own seat. "You know, Himeko, considering some of the scandals out there and how these situations normally go, that's, uh, almost a letdown."
Now Souma gave his wife a look that clearly said he knew she was crazy.
Luckily, Makoto didn't catch his look and she simply frowned. "But, Himeko, if you just met her, then how-?"
"I just knew!" Himeko replied, not needing to hear the rest of Makoto's question to be able to answer it. She could remember a conversation she had with Juri, years ago. The conversation. The one that had changed her life. The one she had been – and still was, actually – so grateful to Juri for, she'd mistaken deep affection, and even deeper gratitude, for love.
"How could you know, when you've met this person? This, 'someone special, just for you'? You've never gone on a date before, never even let yourself go on one. So how could you know who it is you're looking for, what you like? How can you be sure you haven't already met them?"
How Himeko wished, desperately wished, that she could have had the foresight, and the faith, to say, at the time, to avoid causing so much heartache and grief to everyone now involved in this horrible mess:
I'll just know.
On some level, Sugiura Midori realized that it was probably inappropriate for her to be feeling this jazzed and pumped about the current quagmire that the Hime found themselves in. It was a serious situation, after all, with potentially sombre implications for all of them, but this was why mythology and history had always fascinated her, and why she had gone into the field of archaeology really. To not only be studying the details of stories and legends that had survived the passage of time for hundreds and thousands of years, but to actually be a part of the latest iteration of it!
To participate actively in the stuff of legends...!
Honestly, if not for the whole losing-the-most-important-person-to-you, and cutting-down-your-friends-and-allies thing, Midori would have been over the moon to find herself a Hime, and a part of the Red Star Festival, and, even now, with Gakutenoh back at her beck and call, the history teacher found herself somewhat giddy from the excitement of it all.
It didn't hurt that the situation had brought her back into the company of Morimoto Yukihito either! When she had been a first year freshmen at University, he was just about to complete his masters level thesis on the legend of Yamata no Orochi. And, if Midori had to be honest, watching the gorgeous, at-the-time 30 something year old entertain a bunch of wet-behind-the-ears freshmen to the point where they were eating out of the palm of his hand, had a faaar larger impact on her career choice than she cared to admit.
She'd only been a little heartbroken when she found out they shared similar tastes in men – older, academic, and completely oblivious to the sexual charisma that they generated – but then that heart break somehow morphed into a great friendship (copious amounts of alcohol consumption may or may not have been involved; only Sagisawa Youko could confirm for sure), despite the difference in years.
When they finally pulled up to Oogami Shrine, and Midori met Oogami Kazuki, single, 45, lightning struck her square in the face (and loins), and the history teacher found herself falling head over heels in love (or maybe just lust) with the handsome head priest of the shrine sporting the full head of long, deep green hair, just lightly starting to sprinkle with grey.
"Sensei," Morimoto Yukihito said, smiling at the man who had mentored him so much in his youth, and whose family he would happily call his own. "Please, allow me to introduce you to the colleague I was talking to you about. This is-"
"Hi! My name is Midori!" Midori accidentally cut Yukihito off in her enthusiasm to get to know Oogami Kazuki. She smiled winsomely (a little too winsomely) at him. "Sugiura Midori!"
Kazuki smiled at her politely, exchanging an amused look with Yukihito who rolled his eyes. "Nice to meet you, Sugiura-san. My name is Oogami Kazuki. Yukihito told me all about your interest in the legend of Ame no Murakumo. Please. Welcome to Oogami shrine. It's not very often that I have the opportunity to entertain scholars of folklore and mythology such as yourself."
Midori found herself completely lost for words, and all she could do with grin goofily up at the tall man, before Nao face-palmed beside her, and Natsuki elbowed her in the side. "Oh, right! This is Yuuki Nao-chan, and Kuga Natsuki-chan. They're my students and will be helping me with my research."
The head priest of the shrine smiled politely at the two girls who bowed their heads back. "Oh dear," he said with a laugh. "I must be getting old, because you two seem far too young to be university students."
Midori sweatdropped. "Oh, um, they're not in university yet. They're still in high school." She rubbed the back of her head nervously as she laughed. "Um, they're, uh, really cheap child labour?"
Nao and Natsuki looked at Midori like the teacher was out of her mind. Yukihito laughed. "Oh, Midori-chan," he muttered under his breath. "You haven't changed at all, have you?"
"... and we're also really interested in the legend." Nao said flatly. "Really interested. Because it's so super interesting." She sneezed and shivered. Though she'd dried off a little bit at the gas station, and warmed up a little bit in Morimoto Yukihito's car, she was still acutely uncomfortable, having not had the foresight to pack rain gear (like Midori) or wear full riding leather she could just take off (like Natsuki).
For her part, Natsuki just looked pained, shaking her head and muttering under her breath.
But something about his visitors must have tickled Kazuki's amusement, for he simply laughed and said, "well, if that's the case, then please, by all means. I am always glad to help educate young keen minds. Please, this way."
"Actually," Nao interrupted bluntly, the irritation clear in her voice. "Hi, sorry. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I'm still pretty much drenched to the bone from driving up here in the rain. If I had nuts, they'd have frozen off. See these tits? HOW CAN YOU MISS THEM I'M SO FREAKING COLD! What the hell do I have to do to use a shower around here?!"
Both Natsuki and Midori looked at Nao with eyes wide with horror, wondering on which planet this girl was raised to think displaying such rudeness would score her sympathy and a hot shower from a stranger.
But, luckily for Nao, Kazuki just laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, of course, we can help you out with that first."
"Oh my god!" Sagisawa Youko cried, when Chikane brought a hobbling Shizuru into the nurse's office. "What the hell happened?!"
"It's not as bad as it looks," the tawny haired former student council president said as nonchalantly as a cucumber, even as she eased herself into the chair and propped her leg up, making a face.
"What, did you just decide to stick a hot fire poker through your leg?" Youko muttered, kneeling down to examine the nasty burn/puncture wound on Shizuru's thigh.
"Clearly, sensei," Shizuru said with a weak smile, wincing as Youko applied pressure to the wound. "My leg is a far more appropriate place for such a tool to rest than a fireplace, is it not?"
"It was an arrow." Chikane said softly, guilt clear on her features. "An accident due to my own clumsiness."
The school nurse didn't seem to believe the (other) former student council president. "Was the arrow head on fire or something?" She only began to change her mind when the blue-black haired girl answered, with no irony in her voice whatsoever, "yes."
The school nurse stared at the tenth grader, who wasn't able to hold her gaze for long. "..."
Youko did what she could for Shizuru but in the end, decided that it wasn't enough. "You two, stay here. I'm going to call up the paramedics. We should get you to Fuuka General Hospital. God, why do the two of you together always seem to result in the weirdest of accidents?"
Neither girls answered the nurse as she left to make the phone call. After she left, Shizuru looked over at Chikane, who had taken up a position near the window and was looking out of it.
"At least she didn't notice your stomach." Shizuru said.
Chikane turned around to meet Shizuru's eyes first, before flicking them downwards. She unbuttoned the blazer she was wearing to reveal the blood stained shirt with the clean cut across her abdomen. Though the shirt was torn and blood soaked, Chikane's skin underneath was unblemished, already healed. "Thank you for letting me borrow your jacket." Chikane said softly.
"Please dry clean it before you return it." Shizuru replied wryly. She grimaced as she moved her leg and felt sparks of pain lance up from her wound. She sighed enviously. "That's a very convenient ability you've picked up."
"You could have it too," Chikane answered, a somewhat pensive lilt to her voice. She smiled somewhat wanly. "Though, I don't think you would be willing to pay the price for it."
"You mean my relationship with Natsuki in return for the ability to heal my own wounds by becoming a disciple of the latest incarnation of despair?" Shizuru laughed somewhat hollowly. "You're right. I would never forfeit that for something so paltry in return. After all, who ever heard of the power of despair ever being able to heal anything?"
Chikane was silent for a moment, before she spoke, uncertainly. "I may have lied to you, Shizuru-sempai." She finally admitted.
Shizuru raised an eyebrow. "Ara?"
Chikane turned away from Shizuru, looking out the window again. Wondering what had captured her attention so, Shizuru also peered out the window, and could see that the nurse's office overlooked one of the many flower gardens that adorned Fuuka Academy's campus.
There was a familiar maid-uniform clad woman with short pink hair tending awkwardly to the flowers. Even from here, Shizuru could tell that the eyes on the woman were dead and soulless and her motions clumsy and inelegant. Shizuru looked up at Chikane and could see that the younger girl's attention was fully upon the creepy groundskeeper. Shizuru could never understand why, out of the entire groundskeeping staff, that particular woman was allowed to wear a maid's uniform, rather than the regular uniform of denim overalls that was more suited to the line of work the woman was employed to do. "Why are you looking at Groundskeeper Himeno like that?" Shizuru asked.
"Director Himeno." Chikane corrected.
"Hmm?"
"Not Groundskeeper Himeno; Director Himeno." Chikane repeated. Her eyes were filled with regret. "Though, of course, you do not remember her as such."
Shizuru frowned at Chikane's cryptic words until something finally clicked. Shizuru raised her tawny colored eyebrows in surprise. "... you already have a disciple, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Someone agreed to become your servant willingly?" Shizuru breathed, not quite wanting to comprehend what manner of circumstances could lead anyone to making the choice to become a disciple of despair.
"She was not given a choice." Chikane said, regret and sorrow clear in her voice. She put her hand on the window pane pensively. "I needed her. Director Himeno's Child was Suishouhime, who houses the soul of Kazahana Mashiro. I have need for Mashiro-san." Chikane closed her eyes, and grit her teeth. "The Obsidian Lord's attention has been diverted from me for now. He holds no soul in more contempt than he does Kazahana Mashiro, and I can't let him know of my plans."
Shizuru's frown deepened.
The girls remained silent for a long time, before Shizuru finally asked, softly, "... and what are your plans for Natsuki and I?" She said. "What lie have you told me?"
Chikane continued to watch the woman in the flower garden. Fumi's actions were so dead and mechanical it was painfully clear the woman was broken.
"In truth," Chikane said, "I do not know what will happen should I attempt to turn Kiyohime into one of my necks. You may lose Natsuki-sempai, you may not. Kiyohime is the representation of your love for Natsuki-sempai, so, if she is corrupted into a neck of Orochi, the very foundations that make up the basis from which your love springs, never happen in the first place. You never meet Natsuk-sempai in the first place, so you never come to love her. Just as Himeno Fumi never met Kazahana Mashiro..."
Shizuru frowned. "Yes. This you've explained to me already, Chikane-san."
Finally, Chikane turned to regard Shizuru curiously. "But your situation with Natsuki-sempai is a little different from Fumi-san's. Your most important person is also a Hime herself, and Natsuki-sempai's child is a representation of her love for you. Even if I do corrupt Kiyohime, it is not that Natsuki-sempai's child will automatically become my servant as well. If anything, I suspect that Natsuki-sempai will fight back, and resist the unwinding of time. So, from one direction, even though time will be re-written, such that you never met Natsuki-sempai, from the other direction, Natsuki-sempai will still have met, and come to love, you. It is a paradox, and I am not sure which side will win out over the other."
Shizuru stared at Chikane wordlessly, and felt her heart tie itself quietly into a very strange and convoluted ball of knots equal parts apprehension and hope.
Chikane looked down at Shizuru's leg, at the wound that she had caused when she had misfired her arrow in a bluff that Shizuru had not fully fallen for. "That injury is light." Chikane said softly. "And so, you do not need my power to heal yourself..."
Chikane trailed off, but Shizuru could very loudly hear the implication of what the younger girl hadn't disclosed.
Shizuru swallowed, looking down at her leg, and putting a tentative hand close to the wound. It stung. "I sincerely hope," Shizuru said very softly, "that your plans for me do not include a situation in the near future where I must bet my life against my faith in Natsuki's love for me."
Chikane closed her eyes, and turned to look out the window again. "You know that that is not a promise that I can be held to, Shizuru-sempai."
The Obsidian Lord snarled, as best he could, for an entity without a body or a face or a mouth or lips. In the mindscape of Himemiya Chikane, the current incarnation of despair, he was in his true form, that of a giant, yellow eye encased in a deep purple shell with red veins and a large crack through the case that split him in two diagonally. He faced a massive eight headed dragon-like beast, seven out of eight long necks wrapped in prayer wards and massive chains. The lone freed neck of the eight was lifted up, glowering at him, hissing and spitting. She opened her snake-like jaws to snap razor sharp teeth at him.
'STAY AWAY FROM US!' Snapped the first head of Orochi, sounding equal parts like Kazahana Mashiro and Himeno Fumi. 'LEAVE, OBSIDIAN. YOU CANNOT CONTROL OUR MASTER. SHE IS TOO STRONG FOR YOU. LEAVE OUR MINDSCAPE NOW, BEFORE WE FINISH WHAT WE STARTED AND BREAK YOU INTO A MILLION TINY PIECES!'
A cascade of giant glowing red eyes suddenly flashed all over the mostly bound and chained body of the beast, cutting into the representation of despair's flesh, and sending gouts of inky green blood spraying as they passed as though the beast were being carpet bombed. All eight heads howled in pain, writhing under the assault, causing the giant chains that kept them bound to cut deeper into their shared flesh, only causing them more pain.
The lone freed neck snarled, and opened her mouth to spit bolts of lightning at Obsidian, who grunted in discomfort when the lightning bolts hit him head on.
'YOU WILL SUBMIT TO ME, SUISHOUHIME!' Obsidian roared, 'YOU AND YOUR MISTRESS BOTH!'
But though he said this, worriedly, in the back of his mind, for the first time since he had agreed to this joint enterprise with the End of the World, Obsidian began to wonder if he really would be able to exact his revenge the way he had wished too, the way he'd been promised.
He had not expected the Lunar Priestess to (apparently) embrace the new destiny thrust upon her in this manner; to take her new mantle as the incarnation of despair, and actually, actively, seek disciples to aid her in her goals. Worst still, Obsidian had come to realize, was that he was no longer sure what those goals even were, for somehow, the Lunar Priestess was managing to actively hide a part of her mind from him. Where once he had been privy to all of her thoughts (ugh, what disgusting, devotional drivel those had been, love-Himeko-this, and not-good-enough-for-her-that), for the last couple of weeks, just after the first night the Lunar Priestess had subconsciously called upon Take no Yamikazuchi, those feelings, those all-encompassing, life driving desires, had been suspiciously silent.
Not all was as it appeared to be. He wasn't even sure if her goal was still to have her wishes granted upon the Red Star by manipulating the winner of the festival, and destroying the Hime in the process, as he had planned.
And while Obsidian had been pleased, ecstatic even, when Chikane forced Suishouhime to become her servant, and had come to embrace her logic, that death was not the worst punishment, that compared to soul-crushing despair, oblivion was a mercy, he had not expected that Suishouhime, as a neck of the new Orochi, would be freed from her chains, and would start taking out that fury, that despair, on him.
And if he was having as much trouble as he already was with one neck loose, Obsidian shuddered to think about how poorly he would fair if all eight necks were to break free, as, he suspected, might soon come to be, as Kannazuki, the godless month, approached.
The End of the World had not been in further contact with him either.
No, Obsidian realized, even as he fought back against the screaming Suishouhime, things were not going according to plan at all, and he would likely have to take matters into his own hands.
The sun began to set.
Two girls approached the woman who was still working in the garden, over watering some of the flowers to the point where it was certain they would not survive, even as their neighbours died of thirst. One of the girls was supporting the other, who had to make use of a crutch.
"Director Himeno," Chikane said softly, even as she left Shizuru's side and approached the woman killing the fauna. Shizuru watched their interactions with keen, but silent eyes.
Fumi didn't acknowledge her new master. She simply continued to drown the flowers.
"... Fumi-san, please." Chikane repeated herself.
Finally, Fumi turned around and met the girl's eyes with barely restrained cold fury in her own. "What do you want?" She asked coldly.
Chikane frowned, guilt gliding momentarily through her eyes before she steeled herself, and held her head high in command. "Suishouhime is suffering." She advised crisply. "Summon her, please. Obsidian's attacks are brutal, and while she is fighting back, there is only so much she can do without allies. Please, summon her, and bring her out onto this plain of existence, however temporarily, so that she may at least be rid of him for a little while."
Fumi only continued to glare at Chikane.
"... Orphans have been sighted, Fumi-san." Chikane said. "They will damage the school, and harm its students, and its staff. Though they may not remember you as such, you remember who you once were. You have a responsibility and a duty to this school, and all who find shelter here, do you not? Or would you allow Kazahana Mashiro's legacy to become so tarnished?"
Fumi's jaw tightened as she continued to lock icy glares with Chikane. After a while, she flicked her eyes over to Shizuru's and the ruby-eyed girl was surprised to see such intensity in the groundskeeper she had only ever known as half-dead.
Wordlessly, Fumi turned around, and continued to water the flowers.
The blue-black haired girl continued to watch the would-have-been-Director for a few more moments, before turning and going back to Shizuru to help her along. "Come on, let's go."
Shizuru was silent for a long time, as they made their way slowly across campus. It wasn't until they were well away, out of earshot but within line of sight of the garden, did Shizuru stop and asked, "why did you have me witness that?"
Chikane was silent. She looked back at the garden, and Shizuru followed her gaze to look back.
Fumi was leaping away from them, her jumps impossibly long and tall, holding a scythe in her hands.
The high school and university student watched as the woman bounded away. Shizuru frowned. "Should we not go with her?" She asked. "Is she not going to fight the orphan?"
Chikane shook her head. "She is, but I suspect that Mai-san and the others will also be there, and, I am not so sure my presence will be welcome. There is also another matter that I am hoping we can get to. I apologize, but it may be a bit difficult for you."
The tawny-haired girl looked at her younger companion curiously. "And what might this be?"
"It is about the First District. I wish to get in contact with what remains of that organization."
Shizuru's eyes widened.
"Once upon a time," Oogami Kazuki began.
"Oh, great. I just love where this is going." Nao grumped.
"Be quiet, Nao-chan!" Midori admonished her student, whapping her upside the head with a handy halisen from out of nowhere. "Come on, how can you not like a story that begins with 'once upon a time'? All the best stories begin with 'once upon a time'!"
Nao rubbed the back of her head sorely and gave Midori a sour look.
"Can you not at least be civil and polite to the guy who gave you a shower and a change of clothes?" Natsuki muttered, face palming.
Nao still grumped, and turned her attention back onto Kazuki. "May Jesus bless you, for the shower."
Natsuki almost slammed her head against the table they were all seated at in disbelief. "Really?! Nao?! Really? How the hell did you get the church to accept you? I swear every other word that comes out of your mouth is a blasphemy or a sacrilege!"
"Oh, what do you care, Kuga!" Nao snapped back. "Just shut up. I didn't make it through the postulancy, okay?"
Natsuki stared at Nao in confusion. It was clear she didn't quite understand what Nao was necessarily talking about, but she could tell that the red head was miffed. "... I'm sorry to hear about that." Natsuki muttered softly.
"Yeah, whatever. Don't worry about that." Nao said. She looked up at Kazuki. "Come on, let's keep going."
Midori looked at her student in sympathy, and rubbed her back. The red head simply gave a gurgle of disapproval.
Kazuki blinked, not quite sure if he was supposed to go on or not, but then Midori smiled enthusiastically at him, and he smiled weakly back.
"Once upon a time," he repeated, "the earth was ravaged by the Eight Headed Demon of Despair, Yamata no Orochi. He descended onto the earth during the month of Kannazuki, the godless month, when all the gods left their shrines and congregated at Izumo Taisha. "
"What year was this?" Midori interrupted. "The month is clear, the tenth month, Kannazuki, is October, which would have been closer to November under the lunar calendar until 1873, but okay, sure. More importantly, about what year are we talking about?"
Kazuki stared at Midori, and laughed weakly. "There's a reason why we start the story with 'once upon a time, Sugiura-kun." He looked over meaningfully at Yukihito.
Yukihito laughed. "Sorry, sensei, the cat is out of the bag. Midori-chan knows a lot more than most scholars, certainly more than the average academic, and she's already voraciously eaten through all of my research papers and published journal articles, so I don't think a vague answer will cut it for her."
"Is that so?" The green haired researcher cocked an eyebrow up and looked at Midori with more appraisal. "I suppose, if you want to get down into the nitty gritty details right away, then I would say that the earliest indication I have of Yamata no Orochi walking the earth was in the 14th centry, BCE." Kazuki paused. "I presume you are aware of the cycle of Orochi? That he returns to the earth roughly once every 300 years?"
Midori nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, very much so. According to my research, the legend of Yamata no Orochi and Ame no Murakumo is tightly linked to the legend of the Hime Star festival. Every 300 years, Orochi breaks free from his bonds, and ravages the earth. The Solar and Lunar Priestess then perform rituals to summon Ame no Murakumo to defeat Orochi and undo his evil. Upon Orochi's sealing, the Red Star of Wishes, the Hime Star, appears in the sky, and thus begins the Hime Star Festival, in which 12 maidens are chosen to battle one another. The victor is granted a single wish, to remake the world as she sees fit, and peace is then returned to man once again, at least, until 300 years pass, and humanity has broken the world so much that Orochi is set free once more to begin the cycle anew."
Both Yukihito and Kazuki stared at Midori like she was on drugs or something. "Hime Star Festival..." Yukihito muttered. "What are you talking about, Midori? This is the first time I've heard of this."
Midori raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? You guys are supposed to be the experts on Ame no Murakumo, and you haven't even heard about the Hime Star Festival? What about the Obsidian Lord? Ring any bells?"
Both Yukihito and Kazuki shook their heads awkwardly.
Midori frowned. "Weird." She brought out her backpack, and from it, she fished out a single, old, leather tomb. Nagi's book. "I guess neither of you have seen this before?"
Surprisingly, both men's eyes did widen in recognition. "Actually," Kazuki murmured, surprised. "Actually, yes. I have seen this before, once. Many years ago." He made a face as he tried to think back to it. "... hmm… about 15 or 16 years ago, I believe. We had an unusual visitor to the shrine. She had the most striking green eyes, and pale lavender hair. She used a wheelchair."
Midori's eyes widened at the same time Nao and Natsuki's did too. "That's Kazahana Mashiro! One of Fuuka Academy's Director's! Well, one of our former directors anyway. She disappeared a few months back. Dammit!" Midori sighed. "I was defending the Balkan ruins from grave robbers at the time, so I was away from Fuuka. I have no idea what happened, and the new Directors are mostly useless. Dammit, why did Arisugawa have to quit? She was like, the only not-useless one on the Board!"
"Defending the Balkan...?" Kazuki trailed off as he looked over at Yukihito in confusion.
Yukihito laughed. "Oh yeah, she's not exaggerating, sensei. Saw the pictures myself."
Kazuki blinked and then turned his attention back to stare at Midori as though seeing her for the very first time. Blinking his eyes a few times, a small, hopeful smile spread on his face. "Um, Sugiura-sensei," he said, a little nervously. "Would you and your students like to stay for dinner?"
Midori beamed, while Natsuki raised an eyebrow and Nao rolled her eyes.
"Yes!"
"No."
"What's for dinner?"
Midori glared at Natsuki and Nao, before giving Kazuki another smile. "Excuse me for a moment." She grabbed her students' ears and dragged them out of the room and into the hallway.
Once outside and assured that she was out of Kazuki's earshot, she looked at Natsuki and Nao and clapped her hands together in front of her nose in the universal pose for 'I need a favor'. "You guys! Please! Look at him! Have you ever SEEN a man be so good looking while so gentlemanly and intelligent? Ohmigod, I need this! I need to stay for dinner!"
"Midori," Natsuki exasperated, rubbing her temple as though she were having the mother of all headaches. "Can we please concentrate on what is important and at stake here? We came here to get information! This is not a social visit! This is life and death and who knows what's happening to Shizuru right n-!"
"Answers." Nao interrupted flatly. "To all of your quizzes for the next semester."
"Nao-chan!" Midori gasped, pretending to be far more scandalized than she actually was. "Are you trying to black mail me?! Why, I could lose my teaching license if the board finds out I'm helping a student cheat! And this favour is worth, at most, maybe three quizzes worth of answers!"
Nao shrugged. "Five quizzes, and it's a deal. And I'm fairly certain you don't have a teaching license, Midori-chan. You were waiting tables until last year. How you got a job at Fuuka is beyond me."
Midori pulled at her hair in exasperation. "Argh! Fine! It's a deal. We're staying for dinner!"
"Midori! Nao!' Natsuki cried, unable to believe her ears. "Are you serious? What about-"
"Oh, for the love of... Kuga, zip it." Nao rolled her eyes again. "Just because you're getting plenty doesn't mean everyone else is, so just shut up and let the woman have a booty call, if it gets that far. 1000 yen says it doesn't go anywhere because, you know, HE'S A PRIEST, for crying out loud!"
If looks could kill, both Midori and Natsuki would have murdered Nao.
A few minutes later found the Oogami dinner table packed to the gills with four more people over for dinner than normal – Midori, Natsuki, Nao and Himeko. Yukihito, alas, had to go home.
Natsuki and Midori stared across the dinner table at Himeko who stared back at them, all of them holding bowls of rice in one hand and chopsticks in the other.
"Wait. I know you. What are you doing here?" They all practically said some semblance of those words in some semblance of that combination, all at roughly the same time.
Makoto blinked as she looked at Himeko, then blinked again and looked over at Midori, before blinking a third time and looking back at Himeko, all the while bringing a mouthful of rice to her lips. She opened her mouth mechanically to put said rice in, and then slowly started to chew, even as she blinked over at Midori once more, then back at Himeko, then back at Midori again. She swallowed, put her chopsticks down, and reached over to offer Midori her hand. "Hi. My name is Oogami Makoto. I live here. Who are you?"
"Oh. Sorry, Makoto, Souma." Kazuki returned to the table holding some more side dishes which he put down in the centre of the table. "I invited Sugiura Midori-sensei here, and her students, Kuga Natsuki and Yuuki Nao, to dinner. They came all the way from Fuuka Island to study about the legend of Ame no Murakumo, and I thought, for their troubles, the least I could do was invite them to dinner. Sugiura-san, this is Oogami Souma and Oogami Makoto, my brother and sister in law. That is their son, my nephew, Tsubasa-kun. And this is Kurusugawa Himeko-san, their guest." Kazuki smiled at Himeko. "It is good to see you again, Kurusugawa-kun. We don't see you very often anymore. Still jet-setting around the world with Arigusawa-san?"
Himeko's face suddenly fell, and she cast her eyes down at the table. She didn't say anything, but it was abundantly obvious to everyone at the table that Kazuki had hit upon something he shouldn't have.
The head priest of Oogami shrine sweatdropped and looked over at his brother and sister-in law, wondering what had happened. Souma only shook his head, while Makoto winced.
"Aaah, Fuuka Island, you said?" Makoto laughed awkwardly, trying to change the conversation. "Hey, talk about a totally small world! That's where Himeko spent the summer and never-mind let's not talk about that right now, aaaah nom nom nom..."Watching Himeko's face fall further and further, Makoto wisely shut up and just started shoveling rice into her mouth.
Despite how awkwardly dinner had started, by the end of the meal, Midori and Makoto decided that they were sisters from different mothers.
"Seriously!" Makoto laughed. "Shaving cream, all over the place!"
"Oh my god, if I ever complain that PE teachers had sacks full of fermenting potatoes for brains ever again, shoot me!" Midori laughed, clinking her cup of sake against Makoto's tea cup. She deeply wished the other woman wasn't pregnant. They would have really cut loose otherwise.
Makoto grinned. "And if I ever say history teachers are all stuffy shirted walking tombs of decomposing boredom, you can do the same to me!"
Then, at the same time, they said, "but we can both agree that math teachers are the worst of the lot!"
And then they broke down into hysterical laughter at some teaching inside joke that absolutely no one else at the table understood.
"Oookay, Midori," Nao said eyeing the quickly emptying sake bottle. "I think you might have had a little too much to drink..."
"Hmm? No I haven't." Midori picked up the bottle and blinked. "Oh, wow, seriously, have I had this much? I could have sworn it was way less than that."
"You didn't drink most of that," Souma replied wryly, looking over at his first childhood friend. At the corner of the table, there were three empty sake bottles beside Himeko, and she was currently nursing another cup, though she didn't seem all that drunk.
At the moment, Himeko was staring with quiet intensity over at Natsuki, though she wasn't saying anything. For her part, the teenager kept shifting uncomfortably under the gaze, even as she absently entertained young Tsubasa, but every time she tried to catch the older woman staring at her, Himeko would look away.
After a few more moments of this, Himeko took a deep breath and excused herself from the table. "I'm just going to be outside, for some air," she said.
Makoto looked up at her friend, worry marring the otherwise festive expression on her face momentarily. "Are you going to be okay?"
Himeko nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm not going far. You ripped up my passport, remember?" And then she smiled weakly when Makoto frowned at her. "Sorry, that was a bad joke. But I'm fine. You know that's not a lot of alcohol for me. Who would have thought I'd have the strongest constitution out of all of us, hmm, Mako-chan?" Giving her best friend a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder, Himeko left the dinner table.
A moment later, Natsuki got up too, putting Tsubasa-chan into Nao's lap. The little boy complained a little bit until he looked up and saw Nao. Then a blush came to his cheeks and he behaved. "Nao, play with him," Natsuki said, even as she hurried after Himeko. "Wait, Kurusugawa-san, may I join you?"
Himeko looked surprised. "If you'd like. I'm just going outside to sit on the veranda."
As they left the dining room, Natsuki could hear Nao say in super dry tones to the little boy in her lap, "what are you staring at?"
The child simply giggled and said, "a pretty girl?"
Nao laughed. "A pretty girl, huh? I bet you say that to anyone who lets you sit on her lap without charging a fee for it."
The boy blinked. "Huh?"
Wandering outside, Himeko and Natsuki made it onto the veranda, shutting the sliding shoji door behind them. Himeko leaned on one of the pillars that support the roof over top of the veranda, while Natsuki went to sit against the other one.
They were silent for a while, both looking up at the crescent moon in the sky. The night air was cool – it was late September already, and the trees were starting to change color.
Natsuki spoke first. "Kurusugawa-san," she said hesitantly.
"You can call me Himeko, if you'd like, Natsuki-chan." Himeko smiled a little sadly at the teenager.
"Then, Himeko," Natsuki said, a little awkwardly. She thought back to the first time she'd met the tawny haired woman, at the beginning of summer, coming up to the apartment tower Shizuru lived in, holding Arigusawa-sensei's hand. Natsuki had been strangely happy, to see the older pair of women be so publicly affectionate. So publicly happy. At the time, she hadn't realized why she'd been happy, but now, it was abundantly clear to her; she had thought, at the time, that perhaps she had found a role model for herself and Shizuru.
"I know it's none of my business, but... did something happen between you and Arisugawa-sensei?" Natsuki asked hesitantly. It wasn't an appropriate question, Natsuki knew, to ask a virtual stranger, and yet, something in the older woman's eyes sparked of familiarity.
Himeko's face instantly looked pained and she closed her eyes. Natsuki wanted to kick herself a little bit for clearly causing the other woman pain. Anyone else would have told her to mind her own business, but the tawny hair woman did not. It took her a while, but when Himeko finally opened her eyes, she admitted, very softly, "we broke up."
They were silent after that, and Natsuki warred internally with herself as to whether or not she should press for more. Instinct honed over years of investigating the first district told her that she should press, that there was something of importance here, and so, even though Natsuki knew she was overstepping her bounds, she asked, "... may I ask what happened? It's just... you both seemed so happy at the gala..."
Himeko considered Natsuki's words for a moment before she chuckled a bit sardonically. "That was a bit of a rough night for us, actually." She said, somewhat weakly.
Then Natsuki watched as Himeko's face went through a few awkward contortions, and it became clear to Natsuki that the older woman had absolutely no poker face whatsoever, and was struggling to determine how much she was comfortable with disclosing. The older woman studied Natsuki intensely for a few moments, and there was such heartbreak in those lilac depths that Natsuki couldn't help but wonder what it was on her own face that was causing the other woman such pain.
In the end, maybe it was something familiar about Natsuki's face, or maybe it was the (copious) amounts of alcohol she had had during dinner, or maybe it was the cool, crisp winter night, but, finally, Himeko sighed and the words tumbled off her tongue.
"I... messed up. There was someone else. She just... walked into my life, just the day before the gala, actually, and somehow, the world turned completely upside down. I knew what I was doing was wrong. I knew I was already in a relationship, and I knew she was... she was young. Too young. Still a student. So I knew it was wrong, all wrong, and on so many levels." Himeko took a deep, obviously pained breath. "Just like I also knew that she was the one. And I couldn't stay with Juri-chan knowing all that."
Himeko fell silent after that and looked away.
Natsuki felt her own heart tie into complicated knots.
On the one hand, she was a little stunned that the other woman had just actually told her all that, although, maybe that was understandable. It was obvious that Himeko had been holding this all in for the last month, and it had been eating her up from the inside out. Sometimes, things one couldn't say to even one's closest friends could be disclosed to perfect strangers instead.
On the other hand, Natsuki wasn't sure how she felt about the contents of the confession. Her first thought, of course, was of Shizuru, and of how she could not dream of being unfaithful to her girlfriend. And then, Natsuki wondered, what if she'd been with someone else already, and then met Shizuru? What would she have done then?
They were both silent for a while after that, before Natsuki said softly, "Himeko?"
The tawny haired woman looked back at the blue-haired girl, and was surprised to see the earnestness in those green depths.
"You're not a bad person." Natsuki said. And it actually surprised Natsuki a little bit how absolutely certain she was of her own assessment.
Himeko was caught completely off guard by Natsuki's words and it showed on her face. And then, Himeko laughed, a small, tired, sad laugh, and tears threatened to spill from the corners of her eyes but she was able to hold them in, only needing to close her eyes for a few moments to do so.
When she finally opened them again, Natsuki could see that those lilac depths remained complicated, but now, gratitude had entered into the mix, and that warmed her own heart a little.
"Thank you, Natsuki-chan. I'm sorry if I was acting weird during dinner," Himeko said softly. "This is going to sound a little creepy, and I apologize for that too, but it's just that you... you actually look a lot like her."
Natsuki laughed a little too. "No offense, but that does sound a little creepy."
"I know!" Himeko couldn't help but bury her face in her hands, even as her shoulders shook a little bit with laughter. "I was thinking to myself all evening; what's the matter with me?! But, truly, the resemblance between you and Chikane-chan is uncanny!"
"Wait, Chikane?!" Natsuki's eyes widened as a light bulb clicked on over top of her head. "Are you talking about Himemiya Chikane?" And then, a second light bulb clicked on. Natsuki practically leaped to her feet. "Wait, you're THE Kurugusawa Himeko, aren't you? The photographer? The one that Chikane practically cyber stalks?!"
Himeko was stunned. "Excuse me? How do you know so much about... about Chikane-chan?" Her brow wrinkled. "I know she is student council president, so it's not surprising that you know of her, but..."
"She's my roommate!" Natsuki blurted. "She's my roommate, and she's one of my closest friends! My god! Are you...!" Natsuki's eyes widened as a third light bulb and a fourth and a billion more light bulbs clicked on as puzzle pieces started to fall into place.
Now Himeko was looking at Natsuki with concern clear in her eyes. "Am I…? Am I 'what'? Natsuki-chan? What are you talking about? Did something happen to Chikane-chan?"
Natsuki stared at the tawny haired woman in front of her, her mind racing. She wasn't sure what to do. She wasn't sure how much to say. She wasn't sure what the significance was of the connection between Kurusugawa Himeko and Himemiya Chikane, but, somehow, Natsuki couldn't help but think that she was onto something huge and important, and, oh gods, she was going to mess this up, somehow, wasn't she? If she wasn't carefully, she'd lose whatever clue it was that she'd stumbled upon, because that's what ALWAYS happened to her.
Natsuki opened and closed her mouth a few times, before taking a deep breath, and trying to calm herself. "Chikane's been... pretty upset lately. She's... she's not like herself." She finally settled for saying. She needed to regroup and talk to Midori first, and maybe even Nao.
Now Himeko looked very concerned. "In what way? Please, Natsuki-chan, is she hurt? Is she alright? How has she been acting differently? How..." and here, Himeko's eyes widened a little as an epiphany seemed to dawn on her. "Please, Natsuki-chan. Please. I know this sounds very weird, but... could you tell me about her? About Chikane-chan? I feel like I've known her all my life, like she's always been a part of it, but, in actuality, I know almost nothing about her."
Natsuki stared at Himeko, and wondered just how much she should say. Truth be told, in any other circumstance, she would have been a little weirded out by how interested this older woman was in her younger friend, but, knowing now what she did of the other woman, she realized that she still thought Kurusugawa Himeko was a good person.
"Well, for starters," Natsuki began, "her real name is Anthy. Himemiya Anthy. But, she goes by 'Chikane', for some reason. She's an only child, and she loves her mom very much. She's got a pet monkey, her name is Chu Chu, and I swear, that monkey is seriously weird, obsessed with underwear, and nigh indestructible..."
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Sorry folks, but work is absolutely killing me. -_-;; Between that and the local anime convention that I help to run, I don't think I'll be able to release the next chapter of Revolutions until the weekend of May 10-12. I'm looking at my notes and I think Revolutions will probably shake out somewhere between 21-22 chapters, which, with luck, should be completed over the next 3-4 months. FIGHT-O!
Thank you very much to all of you for your support! Dezo, Jet, MissGardenia, Radiant Beam – I can't begin to express how awesome you all are! The commentary and depth of analysis in your reviews is amazing and humbling and drives me to spend that extra bit of time and effort to hopefully not F things up.
Ifuritka, JstLurkin, Romanica, shiznats, zen, red9taildfox, FurFurKanga, devilhamster, amy-kun, ShadowCub, Drunken Vickster and anon reviewers – thank you! It means a lot to me every time you leave a note here or at SA or LJ to let me know you're still reading (and hopefully still enjoying, for all the abuse I put you through. ^_^)
And of course, guubear, I love you and could not have even made it even this far without you. ^_^
Cheers,
jen-chan
jen-chan-shaw. livejournal. com
OMAKE I: AutoMooobiles
[SHIZURU & NATSUKI are idly talking to each other when, without warning, GIANT CARWASH OF DESTINY pops out of the ground under their feet and swallows them whole.]
SHIZURU: Ara?!
NATSUKI: Not again!
[GIANT CARWASH OF DESTINY then spits out a navy-blue, sparkly DUCATI MOTORCYCLE and a champagne colored MERCEDES BENZ with ruby colored upholstery.]
SHIZURU-BENZ: O_O *Honk?!*
NATSUKI-CYCLE: *Beep Beep!* -_-;
[CUT to a scene of MIDORI in a classroom teaching where MAI, MIKOTO & NAO are sitting in the front row getting remedial lessons.]
MAI: Hey, why am I in the same class as Mikoto & Nao? They're one grade behind meeeeek!
[GIANT CARWASH OF DESTINY suddenly slams in through the wall and ingests MIDORI, MAI, MIKOTO & NAO and then spits out 4 more vehicles: An auburn CHARIOT, a white JETLINER with green windows and a sword through the nose cone, a bright yellow CONSTRUCTION VEHICLE with a front end loader and black racing strips, and a screaming lime green DODGE VIPER.]
MIDO-RIOT: *Ring Ring* ._. ?
MAI-LINER: O_o! [Makes a *swooshing* sound like air going through turbines]
MIKOTRUCK: XD! XD! XD! [makes a clown car *booppa-booppa* sound, followed by the *eeep! eeep! eeep!* sound of heavy machinery backing up.]
VIPER-NAO: DX! DX! DX! [A hesitant *va-vroom*] O_O! [A more confident *Va-VROOM*] XD! XD! XD! [A very noisy *VA! VA! VRRRRRRROOOOM!*]
MIDO-RIOT / MAI-LINER / MIKOTRUCK: [All look at VIPER-NAO with sweatdrops on their windshields.]
[The CAMERA view suddenly switches to the GIANT CARWASH OF DESTINY's POV, and it is creeping along the floor of a hallway. Suddenly, YUKINO and HARUKA's ankles come into view and the CAMERA-VIEW seems to speed up as GIANT CARWASH OF DESTINY rushes the two girls and gulps them down to the sound of shrieking and screaming.
[The GIANT CARWASH OF DESTINY suddenly turns green, as though feeling very sick and then spits out two forms with an audible *Patooie!* sound.]
YUKINO: [Still a human but covered in a viscous, unidentified, clear liquid.] Eeeew! What the heck!? Haruka, are you o-! [Cuts off in surprise.]
[HARUKOW is also covered in the same viscous, unidentified, clear liquid. Her brown hide is completely ruffled up with the blonde hair on her head sporting a cowlick so magnificent it makes YUKINO's hair seem positively sensible.]
HARUKOW: [Glares balefully at the GIANT CARWASH OF DESTINY and harrumphs indignantly.] Mooou!
OMAKE II: Kidnapped! By Shadowy Aliens! (Please blame this omake on Romanica! XD!)
[NATSUKI and SHIZURU are sitting under the gazebo in the rose garden at FUUKA academy, making out and sharing a quiet moment when the FREAKY SHADOW-GIRL MUSIC stars to play. A really old-school flying saucer-like space ship suddenly crashes onto the roof of the gazebo and C-KO and her pet CHIMPANZE fall out and land on the ground in front of NATSUKI and SHIZURU.]
NATSUKI: What the hell?! [Starts worriedly looking around for GIANT CARWASHES OF DESTINY again.]
C-KO: Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Most Popular Couple in Mai Hime Fandom is Kidnapped By Aliens! Lack of Shiznat in Fic Incites Riot!
SHIZURU: Yes! I concur! I have definitely not had enough smut with Natsuki in this fic! I don't care that there's, like, a gazillion different characters from Mai Hime, Kannazuki no Miko and Revolutionary Girl Utena all demanding screen time! Give me my sexy times with Natsuki!
CHIMPANZE: Uugyu! [Suddenly throws a net over NATSUKI and SHIZURU and drags them up into the spaceship with C-KO in tow.]
NATSUKI / SHIZURU: Gaah!
[Spaceship flies away.]
OMAKE III: With Feeling, A Mai Hime Style Preview
[UTENA'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.]
UTENA: Next time, on Revolutions, a Kannazuki no Miko, Revolutionary Girl Utena and Mai Hime X-over, we get some specifics as to how I became an unwed, orphaned, teenaged mother. [Blinks and re-reads the script] The specifics of how... [Looks up confusedly at THE CAMERA] Wait. You're not talking about where babies come from, are you?
[CAMERA sweatdrops and shakes from side to side.]
UTENA: Oh thank god. Because that would be really really weird.
HIMEKO: [Pops up beside UTENA] Um, I think that's code for more mythology weaving between the three series. Like, how Chikane-chan ended up as your daughter...
UTENA: [Looks at HIMEKO and eyebrow twitches dangerously]... and why my baby girl is going to end up dating someone older than her mother?!
HIMEKO: [Sweatdrops profusely] Oh, dear. [Looks down at her feet. Can't quite meet UTENA's glaring eyes.]
UTENA: [Growls] Okay, Kurusugawa, you and I are going to have a bit of a chat. [Glares at the camera] In the meantime, stay tuned for the next chapter of Revolutions, Chapter 16 – 'Immortality's Price'.