[KnM][RGU][MH] Revolutions
Revolutions – Chapter 18 – Deeper
A Kannazuki no Miko, Revolutionary Girl Utena and Mai Hime X-Over Fanfic
April 4, 2013 – September 30, 2014, MORE THAN A WHOLE YEAR GOOD GRIEF. (Massively re-written so many times I've lost count) -_-;;
Word Count: 11,400
More Author's notes follow at the end. Comments and Criticisms are greatly appreciated!
Poking her head around the edge of the door to the main meeting area in the shrine, Himeko finally saw the girl who had arrived earlier that day after numerous delays – the girl who was to be the Lunar Priestess, her partner.
She was facing away from her, addressing the Head Priest of Oogami Shrine in quiet conversation.
The first thing Himeko noticed was that the other girl was already wearing the ceremonial garb of the Lunar Priestess, her long blue-black hair unbound and flowing freely down her back, and the familiarity of her image, even from behind, prompted Himeko's heart to squeeze inexplicably in her chest.
'There you are,' Himeko thought, though she wasn't sure why she would think such a thing. She just felt like she'd been waiting for the other girl for a very long time – much longer than even the few days she herself had already been living at Oogami Shrine, awaiting the Lunar Priestess's arrival.
The Head Priest noticed Himeko and smiled at her, nodding. His actions prompted the Lunar Priestess to turn around, and when she did so, her blue-green eyes locked onto Himeko's amnethyst own, and the squeezing in Himeko's heart grew even stronger – almost unbearably so. Her soft pink lips opened ever so slightly, (perhaps in recognition, or so Himeko hoped), and she wore an expression of surprise on her beautiful, flawless face, which quickly morphed into shy delight.
She was exactly as Himeko thought she would be.
At the head priest's prompting, Himeko shuffled into the room, and walked up to the other girl, bowing demurely when she reached her, feeling suddenly bashful.
"Welcome to Oogami Shrine, Lunar Priestess. I've been waiting for you." Himeko said softly, smiling and blushing faintly. "My name is Tokiha, of Shimotsuke. Tokiha no Himeko. I am the Solar Priestess."
The other girl appeared stunned for a moment, before she returned the smile, a little unsurely. "I am from Shimotsuke as well," she said, her voice marvellously dulcet. "My name is Kugamiya no Chikane."
At the mention of her name, Himeko felt as though a bell had been rung, somewhere in the back of her head, the bottom of her heart, or perhaps deep in the recesses of her soul's memory.
Chikane.
Chikane-chan.
Of course. Who else could she possibly have been, but Chikane-chan?
Opening her eyes as the last wisps of a happy dream left her, for the first time in weeks, Himeko woke up in the morning feeling like something other than positively terrible.
It didn't really make sense to her (especially given all the drinking she'd done the night before – she *should* have had the mother of all hangovers), but she wasn't about to look that gift horse in the mouth. So, Himeko simply continued to lie on her back in the futon, and stare up at the ceiling that wasn't altogether familiar to her, and marvel that, for the first time in a long time, the world seemed like it might be a decent place to live in after all.
As a child, Himeko had been absolutely terrified of the dark, and it wasn't the normal fear that most children experienced, but a deep, almost irrational phobia of being trapped, alone, in the dark. During the few years when she lived with her relatives, after her parents had passed on, her most important treasure (besides the sea-shell pendant her father had made for her), was a nightlight – one that Souma had stolen from his own home to give to her. Her relatives hadn't approved of her needing a nightlight – especially since she was already in her early teens by then – so she had been careful to keep it hidden from them.
She had only stopped needing the nightlight during her mid-teen years – after she started rooming with Mako-chan. It was then that she had realized it wasn't necessarily the darkness that she feared, so much as the illusion of being absolutely alone created by the darkness. After she started rooming with Mako-chan, and could hear the sounds of the other girl softly snoring on the upper bunk, she had focused on that instead, on the knowledge that there was someone else there, that she wasn't alone, and that was what finally cured her of her need for a nightlight.
After graduating from high school, and now possessing a better understanding of the nature of her phobia(s), Himeko combated her irrational fears by sleeping with windows slightly open, with curtains never tightly drawn, allowing herself to be lulled to sleep with nighttime sounds and lights.
She slept the best when the moon was full and high in the sky, as though it were shining down on her, though, for some reason, the full moon always made her feel inexplicably melancholy as well (especially, in recent years, if she had also been sharing Juri's bed that night).
Since leaving Fuuka, waking up in the morning had become a bit of a personal hell for Himeko. Her guilt and confusion had caused her to withdraw from the world, so she had taken to tightly shutting all the windows and curtains, creating an artificial solitude – which only served to flare up her old phobias. Once that got so bad that she couldn't take it anymore, she'd leave her hotel and wander through the streets, trying to take comfort in the solitude offered by anonymity; it was also very easy to feel absolutely alone in a bustling crowd after all. After that wore off, she'd go back to the hotel room, and after that city stopped dulling her senses, she'd run to the next place, and so forth, a vicious cycle of running without movement where it mattered most.
But, in any case, there was none of that contradicting, paralytic depression this morning – for the first time in weeks, Himeko opened her eyes, and felt… light. Warm. Hopeful. The sun was coming in through the curtains, and it made her smile.
I need to thank Natsuki-chan... Himeko thought to herself. For telling me so much about Chikane-chan...
Because that conversation, the previous night, was finally what had done it. They had talked late into the night, about Himemiya Chikane. Natsuki had indulged Himeko's request, and spoken at quite some length about Chikane-chan. While Himeko had gotten the impression that Natsuki hadn't told her everything, none the less, Natsuki had told her quite a bit.
Most importantly, she had let Himeko know that what she felt for Chikane-chan, was likely reciprocated.
"She checks your website, like, every day," Natsuki had said, a fond smirk on her face. "I used to make fun of her, thinking she was looking at porn, and hey, given some of your fashion shoots, how can you blame me, right? It took me a while, but I finally figured out it wasn't the lingerie models but YOU she was looking up..."
And Himeko had been pleased and confused and all sorts of flustered.
Maybe Natsuki-chan can tell me more about Chikane-chan today, if she isn't too busy with her school research...
As she thought this, Himeko moved to get up, and felt an unexpected weight against her arm. Surprised, she turned to look at what was against her and that surprise went up a (million) notch(es) when her vision focused on a headful of long blue-black hair.
For a moment – a brief, beautiful, wonderful moment – Himeko thought a miracle had happened, that somehow, Chikane-chan was at her side, and she could have just about died from happiness, but then the face that belonged to the headful of long blue-black hair came into view as the person beside her stirred in her sleep – partially awakened by Himeko's own movements, probably – and snuggled up further against her arm.
Himeko realized that it wasn't Chikane-chan beside her: it was Kuga Natsuki-chan.
The tawny haired woman's heart suddenly stopped beating, leapt up into her throat and lodged itself there.
That was when she remembered that she was at Oogami Shrine, in a guest room that she was sharing with Kuga Natsuki, Yuuki Nao, and Sugiura Midori. The three hadn't had a place to go last night – hadn't actually had the foresight to book a hotel when they came into town – and Makoto had gotten on so well with Midori, she had invited the teacher and her students to stay at the shrine.
Himeko, herself, hadn't seen a problem with sharing her guest accommodations, since she herself was also a guest, and besides, in her globetrotting adventures during her youth, had shared accommodations with many others before in youth hostels and the like.
It was just that none of her fellow travellers had ever kicked off their blankets and rolled off their futon in the middle of the night to snuggle up against her – like Natsuki had. The teenager was fast asleep against her side, her head nestled against her shoulder.
At least the teenager was on top of the covers, rather than under. Still, that knowledge didn't stop Himeko's eyes from getting really, really big. A family of sweatdrops immigrated to the back of her head and threatened to take up permanent residence.
To make matters worse, at that exact moment, there was a soft knock on the sliding shouji door, and Makoto poked her head in.
"Hey, 'morning," Makoto said in a soft whisper, "I was just gonna check up on you before I went to work. You had a lot to drink last night and I... um..." Makoto trailed off and the expression on her face took on the distinct look of incredulity as she took in the sight of Himeko sweating bullets, her eyes deformed into panicked black blots on her face, with a very high-school aged girl snuggled up against her side.
"I-It's not what it looks like!" Himeko squeaked out softly, trying desperately not to wake the blue-black haired girl by her side even as she tried to shuffle her way out from under the covers to escape.
Makoto didn't look like she particularly believed her friend. "Uh-huh. Sure, Himeko. Sure."
Twin tears threatened to warble down Himeko's face. "Mako-chan! Help me!"
At that exact moment, without any warning or proposition, Midori suddenly bolted upright into a sitting position on her own futon on the far end of the room. "Wha-?" She slurred. "Izz'it morning already?"
Both Makoto and Himeko looked over at Midori, the sweatdrops on the back of their heads ballooning in size – the history teacher had had an impressive amount to drink the previous night as well.
Makoto blinked a couple of times, and then said, in perfectly calm and even tones, "no, it's not, Midori-san. It's still night time. Go back to sleep."
"Oh. Okay." Midori yawned, and then fell backwards back into her futon and back to sleep.
"..." Makoto stared at this display and started to snort uncontrollably. "Oh my god, I can't believe that worked!"
"Mako-chan!" Himeko all but begged. "Pleeease!"
Somehow, between the two of them, they managed to roll Natsuki – she who slept like a rock – away from Himeko, and back into her own futon, without waking the teenager up (nor the other teenager or teacher in the room for that matter), and Himeko was able to free herself to complete her morning ablutions.
(Unbeknownst to Makoto and Himeko, after being rolled back into her own futon, Natsuki had stayed there for all of three minutes. After losing her primary source of warmth in the night – namely Himeko – the teenager then rolled the other way in her sleep and ended up snuggling up against the warm body on the other side of her – Nao. This made for a… memorable wake up between the two teenagers later on in the morning.)
After that, Himeko sat at the kitchen table with the Oogami's – Makoto, Souma, Tsubasa and Kazuki for morning breakfast.
Makoto was recounting the morning's events to Souma, laughing the entire time.
"Seriously, Himeko," Makoto chuckled, even as she sipped at her morning coffee. "You sure like'm young. Are you sure you're not turning into some sort of perv?"
Himeko buried her face in her hands. "Mako-chan, please!"
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I couldn't resist!" Makoto laughed.
"So what are you going to be up to today, Himeko?" Souma asked, obviously trying his best not to think of potentially illegal shenanigans happening in his very own home.
At this question, the tawny haired photographer grew thoughtful. "I'm... I'm not sure." She said truthfully.
Or rather, she knew what she had to do – she just didn't know if she had the strength to yet.
The family she was staying with was silent for a moment, casting each other meaningful glances.
Curiously, it was Kazuki who piped up. "I don't know if you have any interest, Kurusugawa-kun, but Sugiura-kun and her students were going to be joining Yukihito and I for a seminar on local folklore this morning. You are welcome to join us if you'd like?"
Himeko raised her eyebrows in surprise – it was an unusual offer, but one made in kindness. "Thank you, Kazuki-san, I may take you up on your offer." She didn't have any interested in local folklore, but, it was probably better than sitting and stewing.
Makoto raised an eyebrow. "Really? You're gonna go to this seminar?"
Himeko shrugged helplessly. "Well, why not? I really have nothing better to do..."
Makoto wrinkled her nose before a light bulb clicked on over her head. "Oh hey, wait a moment! Souma, we haven't used those Spa World vouchers yet, have we?"
"The ones we won at the supermarket? No, we haven't used them yet." Souma paused. "Aren't those going to expire soon?"
"Perfect!" Leaving the dinner table, Makoto rummaged through one of the drawers in the kitchen before coming back with an envelope. "Here you go, Himeko! We won a four person overnight trip to the hotsprings a while back. Why don't you use them? Souma and I could join you after work tonight for dinner there."
"Oh, don't waste that on me, Mako-chan," Himeko put her hands up in refusal. "Why don't you wait until the weekend, so you guys can enjoy it fully?"
"Nah, the weekends are crazy busy there anyway, so we probably weren't going to use these anyway. And hot springs aren't good for pregnancies." Makoto laughed. "You can ask Midori, Nao-chan and Natsuki-chan to join you if you don't want to waste the other vouchers. I'm sure the girls at least would enjoy the trip after a riveting morning of folklore." The brunette cast her brother-in-law a playful grin, who only smiled back at her.
"But Mako-chan," Himeko tried to interject, "I don't know if-"
"Just take it," Makoto insisted. "Tomorrow's your birthday after all, isn't it? Think of this as an early birthday present."
Coffee just wasn't going to cut it this morning. After what happened last night, Juri was sure she was going to need a drink instead, but finishing the second bottle of wine she had cracked into last night was only going to guarantee that the day go far more worse than it had to.
She sat on the couch in the living room area of her hotel suite and stared at her phone, which she had placed on the coffee table in front of her, and tried to decide whether to call Detective Arima or Miki, or Touga, or heck, even Saionji or Nanami.
After all, did they not deserve to know who had passed out on her last night and who was still currently sleeping in her bed?
The short answer was, yes, they did, and yet, on the other hand, they had already gotten closure for the death of this nameless girl – especially Touga. It irked Juri somehow, the idea of having to call him up and say, 'hey, you know that impassioned speech I made yesterday about getting over yourself and moving on? Well maybe you shouldn't quite yet.'
But as she sat there pondering her predicament, the soft click of the bedroom door opening caught her attention and she looked up to see that the pink haired teenager who should have been dead had woken up and was peering sheepishly at her.
"Um, good morning, Juri-sempai," the girl said awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head.
"Who are you?" Juri replied flatly, probably a bit more rudely than she really had to, but she hadn't gotten a very good sleep on the lumpy couch last night after drinking a bottle and a half of pinot (really, the Imperial Hotel's beds were of much better quality than their sofas), so she could probably be forgiven for being on the cranky side.
The teenager looked surprised for a moment. "I'm Utena, Sempai. Tenjou Utena." She paused, and looked uncertain for a moment. "Do you... not remember me?"
Tenjou Utena. TENJOU UTENA. TENJOU UTENA. The name reverberated again and again in Juri's skull, threatening to split it (even more than it was already trying to do to itself). Suddenly, all those gaps in her head, all those memories of a pink haired girl with her face blacked out in shadows so that she could have been anyone - were filled in with triumphant detail and color.
Juri remembered Utena.
"Tenjou," Juri whispered, shaking her head.
"Tenjou... yes, of course," Juri murmured softly to herself.
Suddenly, things seemed so much clearer. "Tenjou... Utena..."
Utena cracked a small, unsure smile.
Juri returned it. For a moment, all she wanted to do was get up, walk over, and throw her arms around the girl in a hug, and she found herself on her feet and on her way before she could control herself, but then she remembered something else, and stopped a few feet short.
"You're supposed to be dead."
Utena's face crinkled, as though she were pained. She balled her fists. "Stop saying that, Sempai. I'm... I'm right here." She seemed, suddenly, very upset - more upset than Juri would have thought a simple statement delivered deadpan could make anyone. "I'm not dead! I'm not!"
"But you are!" Juri insisted. "Tenjou, I was questioned by the police yesterday - we all were - and we all saw the pictures, and we all knew it was you. The detective even said we could go down to the morgue and confirm it if we had to, but we didn't need to! A girl died at our school 16 years ago, and they just recovered the body a couple of weeks ago. That body, was yours." Juri could easily remember the wisps of long pink hair around the decomposed skeleton in the photographs that Detective Arima had shown her.
Utena's fists began to shake. She opened her mouth to say something, but Juri interrupted her.
"... and yet," Juri's voice was now soft and delicate with awe, "how can you be? Because here you are, standing right in front of me." She took those last few steps towards the girl, reached out, and took a few strands of her pink hair gently - Utena's eyes widened at the familiar action - and watched those strands slip through her fingers.
Juri looked deep into Utena's eyes, and there was pain in her voice, and wonder. "It's been sixteen... almost seventeen years," she whispered. "The last I saw you, you... you were going off to your last duel. You said goodbye to Miki and I, and you walked away. You haven't changed a day."
Utena swallowed, the expression on her face complicated, like she wasn't sure what to do.
And then Juri remembered herself, remembered her manners, and she smiled a sad, aching smile. "Tell me everything, Utena. Tell me everything that's happened to you."
For a moment, Utena seemed lost, like she wasn't sure what to do. But then she smiled, brilliantly, and nodded.
Juri let the girl (the woman?) go clean her face while she went down to the hotel lobby to grab some breakfast, which she brought back up to the hotel suite.
As she stood in the short line to pay for her food, Juri was struck by a sense of completely disbelief.
'What is this world coming to...?' She thought to herself as she stared at the sandwich she held, as though the roast beef held the keys to the universe's very secrets. She had half a mind to drop everything, go to her car, drive away, and never come back.
And yet, somehow, she found herself paying for her food, and headed back up the elevator to her hotel room.
By the time Juri went back, Utena had taken a quick shower and changed out of what she had been wearing yesterday (which Juri had put her to sleep in), and into a t-shirt and blue jeans. In these clothes, she looked even more like a teenager, and Juri couldn't help but ask, "how old are you now, exactly?"
Utena smirked, as though she got this question a lot. "I was in grade 8 when you were in the 10th, Sempai." She said wryly, even as she accepted the breakfast sandwich that Juri had gotten her.
"You can't be 30. That's not fair."
Juri only became mollified when the pink haired woman replied, "Sempai, you look amazing. And besides, you could have passed for 30 in high school, so I could say that you haven't aged a day either."
And then they laughed.
Then, over the next few hours, Utena caught Juri up on her life, and Juri could scarely believe her ears.
"You... have a daughter? A 15 year old daughter?"
Utena nodded. "She'll be 16 tomorrow."
Juri did some math in her head and when she came to her conclusion, she raised an arched eyebrow at the pink haired woman while Utena looked distinctly uncomfortable.
"Oh, wow, Tenjou." Juri said softly. "Is she... Touga's?"
The look Utena gave Juri was so affronted, Juri had to smile, but that smile disappeared when Utena's expression grew sad. Rather than answering Juri's unspoken follow up question however, Utena simply reached into her pocket, dug out her wallet, and showed Juri a picture, and the girl in the picture prompted all questions surrounding the father of Utena's baby to fly right out of her brain.
Juri stood up so fast she knocked her chair over. "No." She said flatly. "No. SHE is NOT your daughter."
Utena looked at her, supremely confused. "Sempai, what are you-"
"Hime-Fucking-miya Chikane is NOT your daughter." Juri repeated flatly, absolutely refusing to believe the bullshit the world was trying to feed to her. "She is NOT."
And now Utena looked very angry. "Hey, watch your mouth, Juri. Where do you get off on calling my-"
And then several things clicked in Juri's head all at once, and her mouth dropped open. "Akio." Juri whispered.
Himemiya Chikane's birth name, as Juri had seen on her student records, was Himemiya Anthy. The 'Anthy' part made sense to Juri; while she wasn't exactly sure of the nature of the relationship between Utena and Anthy, it was clear they had been very close. It did not surprise her one bit that the pink haired woman would have named her daughter after the purple haired woman.
But for Utena to name her child a 'Himemiya' rather than a 'Tenjou'... There were several possible explanations for this. Perhaps Utena really had named her child, first and last name, after the mysterious dark skinned woman, and the hospital hadn't known and simply thought that the father was a Himemiya.
Or, perhaps, the father really *was* a Himemiya... and Ohtori Akio, Juri realized, had only been an 'Ohtori' because he was to marry into that family. He should have otherwise had the same name as his unmarried sister...
"Akio's the father." Juri blurted.
Utena's eyes widened and she instantly clammed up. A look of acute frustration came onto her face and it looked like she wanted to run right out of Juri's hotel room. Before she could however, Juri's cell phone started to vibrate.
The sound surprised both women in the room and they started, staring at the vibrating cellphone.
For a moment, Juri wasn't quite sure what to do, so she picked up the phone to see who was calling...
And Juri started to laugh - almost hysterically - when she saw that it was Himeko.
Utena stared at Juri like she'd grown a second head. "S-Sempai? Are you alright?" She asked slowly.
"YES!" Juri laughed, completely unhinged. "Of course I'm alright! Himemiya Chikane! It's! Always! Gotta! Be! Her!" With a cry, Juri threw her phone against the wall where it broke upon impact with a loud smashing sound.
Instantly, Juri regretted her harsh actions, but it was too late to take it back. Her phone was ruined, and Utena was looking at her like she was a total crazy person - she probably was.
Wordlessly, Juri stalked past Utena into the kitchen area in the hotel suite, and went for her fridge. She was going to need that second bottle of wine after all. She didn't bother with a glass this time, taking a swig right from the bottle after uncorking it.
Utena looked at Juri from where she had gotten up from her seat, a worried, very peculiar expression on her face. "Juri?" She asked. "Um, I can, uh, leave, you know. Sorry to, um, be bothering you and all..."
Juri rubbed her forehead, even as she went back to the chairs and sat down heavily. "No, no, no." She murmured. "Don't go, please." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. That was... that was bad. Sorry." She gave a bark of incredulous laughter. "It's just that that timing was really, really bad. I'm fine. I'm..."
Utena sat down beside Juri and gave her a sympathetic smile. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Juri opened and closed her mouth a few times, and then, before she knew it, she started telling Utena everything about Himeko. She told her about how they met, and how madly and how quickly she'd fallen for the lovely photographer, how certain she had been that she was the one that Himeko had been waiting for, how long and how hard she had worked, to convince Himeko that she was the one.
She talked about how good it had been, the last two years, when Himeko had finally believed her. She told her how happy she'd been.
She told her how heartbreaking the last month had been, how difficult it had been to be walked out on in the middle of the night, but how she was finally, *finally* starting to get over it.
And when Juri had to explain to Utena why she had reacted the way she had when the pink haired woman had shown her a picture of her daughter, things got... awkward to say the least.
Utena seemed acutely embarrassed, like she didn't know what to say, but Juri didn't throw it in Utena's face, didn't tell her how she'd raised a home-wrecker.
"I... I'm sorry," Utena said, clearly not knowing what quite to do in this situation. "I... I didn't..."
"You don't have anything to apologize for," Juri replied flatly, "unless you somehow have the ability to control fate."
Utena didn't respond to that comment. Instead, her brow furrowed.
Juri frowned. "What? What is it?"
Suddenly, Utena asked, a very strange, far off expression on her face, "Sempai, where is Himeko-san now?"
"What?" Juri frowned. "I don't know." She pointed to the mess that was the remains of her phone on the far side of the room. "I didn't exactly have the chance to ask her, as you witnessed."
"Sempai..." And Utena seemed to be staring at something very, very far away. "Juri, you... you should call her back..." she said very slowly. "You should call her back right now."
Juri blinked. "What?"
And Utena suddenly snapped her head over and stared at Juri. "Now. Call her!" She commanded. "Call her right now! Get her out of there, Sempai. Get her out of there right now!"
Now it was Juri's turn to look at Utena like she was crazy but she did as she was told and went for the hotel phone as she couldn't exactly make any calls on her own phone right now.
Picking up the receiver, Juri dialed Himeko's number, cursing her suddenly inadequate and clumsy fingers, and it took a while but she could hear the phone ring.
Her heart squeezing in her chest, Juri couldn't quite understand the feeling of urgency that was suddenly gripping her, but as the phone rang and rang, the tension in her chest seemed to get tighter and tighter.
But Himeko... didn't pick up. The pangs of disappointment at reaching Himeko's voicemail were all too familiar; Juri had lost track of the times she'd reached that mailbox, and she deflated. She couldn't even gather the wits to leave a message, instead, simply putting the receiver back down.
As she did so, Juri turned around to look at Utena, who's expression had grown quite ashen.
"What's going on?" Juri asked quietly. "What's wrong?"
"Sempai," Utena said slowly. "You said the detective would let you see... see the body if you wanted to, right?"
Juri had a sinking feeling. "Yes?"
"... can you please take me there?"
Having not decided whether to take up Makoto & Souma's generosity or not, Himeko found herself wandering around Oogami Shrine after breakfast by herself. She was happy for the solitude – the shrine was beautiful this time of year, with the leaves turning brilliant shades of gold, orange and red.
She walked the grounds, smiling as certain places twigged memories of her childhood with Souma and Mako-chan. Here was where Souma had broken an arm while they had been playing, shortly after he had been adopted by the Oogami. There was where she and Makoto would use to sit and do homework together after school, while Souma practiced karate. Eventually, Himeko found her way to her favorite place on the shrine – a secluded area, on a rock, beside a koi fish pond. The fish had grown impressively fat over the years; she could remember when the Oogami had first put the pond in, and when the fish had been but babies. As she sat down to look at the fish, Himeko was suddenly hit with a profound regret in her heart – she should have returned to Mahoroba from the start.
Do you want to remember?
The mysterious text she had received while travelling aimlessly drifted back into her thoughts – as it often did. There had been no follow up to the message, and she did not know who had sent it to her. She hadn't really been able to admit to herself what the message had meant, but she did know what her answer was to the question:
Yes. She did. So much so that it hurt.
At first, she thought the question had to do with her photo album, which she had discovered missing at the same time as she had received the message. It had been a prized possession, second in importance only to the seashell pendant that still hung around her neck, a physical keepsake in support of her past, because she never could remember when she had taken all those photos, nor why, only that she had.
She had been devastated to find the album missing, and in her frenzy, had started revisiting every place she'd ever been to, to see if she had forgotten it there, even though she had already known she hadn't. It had taken her a while to come to terms with the fact that the album was gone, and the only way to recapture what was kept in there, was to return to the place the pictures had been taken.
I should have gone home. I shouldn't have run.
But it had taken her weeks, to come to terms with where 'home' actually was.
Home wasn't actually a physical place after all, but with loved ones.
Home hadn't actually been Mahoroba, but with her parents, before they'd died, then with Souma-kun and Mako-chan.
Home had been with Juri, for a while.
And now, sitting in this place full of memories of when it had been home, Himeko realized that home could hopefully be with... with Chikane-chan.
And thinking of Chikane caused Himeko's heart to lurch about capriciously in her heart.
Warm. Safe. Desired. Affectionate. That was what Juri had made her feel, and how she had felt – *still* felt, to some degree – for Juri. How could she have known that having such positive feelings didn't necessarily equate to love?
It hadn't been until she had laid eyes on Himemiya Chikane, and felt her stomach twist with yearning, and need, and possession, did it finally become perfectly clear to her what she had been searching for, for as long as she could remember.
She hadn't known what love was – how could she? But Juri had never made her feel like... like this before.
'Love... Love is not only beautiful. It is also pain, and hardship and fear...'
Himeko finally knew where she had to go, and she knew what she had to do first, before she went.
Taking a deep breath, Himeko pulled out her phone. With trembling hands, she punched in a number and finally, after so many weeks of failed attempts, hit the 'dial' button. Her arm trembled as she held the phone to her ear.
Time seemed to stand still for a while as Himeko waited, not quite breathing as sudden anxiety beset upon her. The phone rung... and rung... and finally rung out.
Juri had not picked up.
Releasing the breath she hadn't known she had been holding, Himeko looked down at her phone forlornly, before putting it in her pocket.
You ignored her calls for weeks. Why should she pick yours up now?
Still, the disappointment felt draining, especially since she'd been building herself up to make the call all morning, and Himeko closed her eyes, taking a few long, deep breathes.
When she opened her eyes again, Himeko felt a little calmer, the zen of her surroundings heavily helping her sooth her spirits.
Presently, her gaze fell upon a stone path between some of the trees, just on the other side of the koi pond, and Himeko blinked. Had that always been there? The path blended into its surroundings quite well, so it probably had been there for some time, though Himeko couldn't quite seem to remember it from her youth. Wracking her brains some more, finally, Himeko was able to remember: it had been closed off when she was still a child. She had once asked Kazuki-san where that went, and Souma's older adopted brother at the time had simply told her that that area of the shrine was very old, not safe, so off limits.
Evidently, over the last few years, they must have re-opened the path, for there was nothing barring visitors from walking up it now.
Wanting a little bit more time to herself before returning to the shrine, Himeko made her way towards the path, which led her further and further into the forests that surrounded Oogami Shrine. The path was beautiful, dotted with the brilliant crimson of falling momiji leaves, tranquil and silent save for the odd sound of nature here and there, and Himeko found herself at peace as she continued her walk.
But as she continued, the strangest feeling of deja vu started to come over her; she couldn't shake the feeling that she had been down this path before. There was an elevation to her steps, so Himeko supposed she was starting up the small mountain that Oogami Shrine was built into the base of, and at one point, there was a clearing in the trees, and Himeko could see the roofs of the buildings that made up the main compound of the shrine, a little ways in the distance.
I... I have been here before... Himeko marvelled, as she took in the view, the familiarity of that exact image quite maddening. And if memory served her correctly (though, for the life of her, she could not quite remember where that memory had come from, as she was quite sure neither she nor Souma had disobeyed Kazuki when they were children), there should be a torii gate marking the opening into the mountain, just a little further ahead...
And, sure enough, a few minutes later, the ancient torii gate came into view, along with the opening. Several large boulders were stationed artfully around the mouth of the opening, very old but well maintained and cared-for paper wards strung up around them.
Himeko stared at the mouth.
Why did it feel so... familiar?
A sudden wind blew softly through her hair, and upon the wind, Himeko could have sworn she could hear soft, seductive words whisper slowly in her ear.
... Do you want to remember...?
Blinking, Himeko quickly turned around, but could see no one around her.
Had it actually been a voice? Or was it just the memory of that mysterious message again, playing tricks with her?
Either way, somehow, Himeko found her feet taking steps in front of her, as though her legs remembered the way, as though she'd walked these steps a hundred times before, and before she knew it, she had entered into the opening, and was on a path made of stone steps carved into the mountain.
Once inside, it took a few moments for Himeko's eyes to adjust to the dimness, and she could see that the stone stairs have been maintained as part of the Shrine: there were recent broom-sweeping marks on the steps, the dust having been brushed away.
Soon, she was at the top of the steps, and there was another torii gate here, marking the entrance to a descent sized cavern. While the gate itself was easily visible from the light of several very large lit candles surrounding it, the area beyond it wasn't very brightly lit. Luckily, there were several lanterns left on a table beside the gate. When Himeko picked one up, she didn't notice any dust on the items; someone had been using these recently.
Choosing one of the lanterns, and lighting it, Himeko found herself walking on past the torii gate and it wasn't until a little while after that did her brain seem to catch up with her body, and she thought to herself, what are you doing? Why are you coming in here?
And for the life of her, Himeko didn't know.
She had never liked caves - the darkness, the enclosure, the forebodingness... while she was no longer as fearful as she once had been as a child, caves still generally represented all those phobias that had plagued her youth.
But this one, for some reason, didn't make her feel those old fears at all. Instead, this cave felt strangely familiar.
Then, at the far end of the cavern, Himeko saw it: a mikoshi, once magnificent but now dilapidated, with six stone swords embedded deep into the ground in front of it.
A chill went down Himeko's spine, and she almost dropped her lantern.
'This...! This is...!
The air suddenly seemed thick with presence as Himeko struggled with the errant memory.
Did you hear? Did you hear? Have you heard the news?
Excited, giggling chatter suddenly seemed to hiss, like a sudden wind, all around her, though Himeko could see no one and nothing, except for strange shadows coming from the designs on her lantern, somehow seeming to dance across the walls of the cave.
Himeko's eyes widened. She opened her mouth to try to speak, but the air was so suddenly thick, that she found her words suffocating in her throat.
She's here! She's here! She's finally here! Why did it take her so long to get here? She's totally late!
Nu-UH! She's totally on time! Well, according to Him, anyway! He didn't want her here until everyone else was in their place; that's why He kept her running!
Oooh! But how did you know that? He never tell us anything! He hates us!
What? He doesn't hate us! Who could hate us? We're awesome!
"Who's there?" Himeko finally managed to call out.
"Ah, I didn't think we were open for visitors yet."
At the sound of the unexpected voice, Himeko whirled around, and abruptly, the thickness in the air dissipated with a sharp suddenness that disoriented her.
Blinking rapidly a few times, Himeko saw a man wearing the white and light blue of a Shinto Priest uniform standing under the torii gate holding a lantern similar to her own, smiling amusedly at her.
He was absolutely beautiful, with caramel skin and lavender hair so light it almost seemed white, and Himeko found herself a little dumb struck looking at him. His voice, tinged with mirth, was deep and utterly captivating.
"You know," he said, that easy amusement never dropping from his eyes, or his lips, "you really should have waited until I got the lights turned on in here; it can be quite dangerous for visitors not familiar with the terrain." He reached out and flicked a switch on one of the pillars of the torii gate, and Himeko found herself suddenly blinded as warm lights flickered on around the cave, bathing it in a warm, orange glow.
After the spots cleared from her eyes, Himeko blinked a few times, feeling strangely unsettled by the brightness now illuminating the cavern.
"Now then, my dear," said the priest, as he continued to gaze at Himeko with that cloy amusement still playing across his lips, "how can I help you? What could cause a pretty woman such as yourself to wander into a dark and dusty place like this?"
Himeko could only blink silently at the man with her mouth slightly open before she gave a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "I'm sorry," she apologized, "I didn't mean to intrude. I was just..." Himeko trailed off, as she continued to take in her surroundings.
The ease with which she was able to see thanks to conventional, man-made electrical lights in this place just didn't feel... right. She couldn't help but feel that this cavern should always be somewhat shrouded in darkness, that the gods that rested here were doing just that - resting - and should not be disturbed. That only the flickering dancing light of a fire, lit with an offering of sacred wood accompanied by the solemnity of prayer, was appropriate for this place.
The priest only continued to smile kindly, even as he took a few steps towards her. "You were just...?"
"I was just..." Himeko murmured, though her mind seemed, suddenly, very, very far away from her body, "... trying to..."
REMEMBER.
And Himeko's eyes widened as an image flashed in her mind.
She was dressed in a red and white priestess's uniform – she was the Solar Priestess – and she was praying as she walked solemnly around the fire in the middle of the cave. On the other side of the fire was another girl – not just a girl! Chikane-chan! – in purple and white – the Lunar Priestess – performing her duties with equal solemnity.
And as quickly as it came, the image was gone.
Himeko reeled, taking a step back, feeling dizzy.
DEEPER.
Another image came before her. She was alone this time, wearing the purple uniform – she had to find out what happened to Chikane-chan! She had to! The air was crackling with energy, whipping around her, drawing her blood, punishing her impudence for daring to disturb the gods.
GO DEEPER.
The lantern that Himeko held slipped from her hand and clattered noisily to the ground; she didn't even realize she'd dropped it, as image after image assaulted her. With a small cry, Himeko dropped to her knees, holding her head. It felt like it wanted to explode with all the scenes flashing through...
GO DEEPER.
... the brave and mighty Susanou no Mikoto... the country of Izumo... falls on the river of sunlight...
Rooted to the spot, cowering close to the floor, Himeko couldn't move, and she couldn't cry out.
All she could do, was remember.
GO DEEPER.
*BRRRRIIIIING!*
And then, suddenly, there came a very loud and very shrill ring of a telephone, which suddenly cut through the assaulting imagery, snapping Himeko out of... whatever that had been.
With a jolt of surprise, Himeko jumped, and suddenly, the miasma of memories and images that had been assaulting her completely disappeared, dissipated, with no evidence that it had ever been there save for a heart that was beating itself crazy. Himeko herself hadn't even been on her knees – she was still standing upright, still holding onto the lantern she thought she had dropped.
Gasping for breath and blinking rapidly, Himeko turned to look at the priest who was still standing beside her, an equal look of surprise on his face.
The priest did not look beautiful anymore. Any beauty on his face quickly morphed into a look of pure malice that scared Himeko to the pit of her soul.
She had to get out there.
*BRRRRIIIIING!*
Without another word, Himeko turned and ran. She ran and she ran and she didn't stop running until she had left the cave entirely, standing on the side of the mountain with the morning sun shining down on her.
Himeko gasped for breath for a few minutes, hands on her knees from the exertion of running so hard and unexpectedly, before weakly fumbling for her phone. It didn't make much sense to her - this loud and obnoxious ringtone definitely wasn't her usual ring, and the thing had rung much more loudly than she would have thought possible. She had missed the call, of course, and she frowned in confusion when she spied the number she had missed.
She didn't recognize it - the ID simply said, 'Room 702 - Imperial Hotel'.
Himeko blinked, dumbfounded.
That feeling of incredulousness blossomed into a feeling of out and out panic, when she turned to look behind her at the cave she'd run out of.
A shudder ran up Himeko's spine. She did not want to go back there.
She hurried back to Oogami Shrine.
"What are you doing?" Natsuki hissed under her breath when she caught Nao slipping out of Kazuki's study.
After spending a full morning trapped in a hell made of dusty old books, and boring old people who were awkwardly trying to flirt with each other as they talked endlessly about age old monsters and gods, Nao decided she had had enough of this crap and made a bid for freedom.
"Escaping." The redhead replied quite plainly.
"You can't!" Natsuki hissed, "we're supposed to be-"
"Stop me," Nao threatened, "and I will tell Fujino who I found spooning me when I woke up this morning."
Natsuki turned bright pink. "That was an accide-!" But before she could finish, Nao had shut the door behind her already.
Exhaling heavily, Natsuki rubbed her face and turned back to face Kazuki and Midori, who were so engrossed in each other, they still hadn't noticed that Nao had left.
This... was going to be a very long afternoon.
A few minutes after Nao had made her escape, Natsuki started to plot her own.
It wasn't that she was bored, really... well, actually, okay, she was pretty damn bored. Her method of research had always involved a lot more footwork and investigating and a lot less sitting around looking at books so old and dusty they made her sneeze.
But more so than boredom, her restlessness was caused more by worry about Shizuru, and the rest of her friends back at Fuuka. She had sent her girlfriend a message yesterday to let her know they'd made it to Mahoroba, and after her breakthrough last night with Himeko, Natsuki had sent a second text to Shizuru to talk about it. Her girlfriend had replied (thank god she had at least replied, else Natsuki would have *really* worried herself to death), but the message had been short and unsatisfying.
'I am glad that Natsuki has arrived safely. Things are getting a little complicated right now, and I will call when I get a chance.'
Natsuki had then sent a message to Mai to ask how things were going back at Fuuka, but the redhead's reply hadn't really eased her worrying – campus had been inundated with orphans, and while she and Akira were dealing with them as best they could, it was frustrating as two of the heaviest hitters on the team hadn't been seen in a while - Shizuru, nor Minagi Mikoto, the mysterious campus cat-girl who was usually pretty handy in a fight. The only thing that was keeping Natsuki from hopping on her bike and going back to Fuuka was the fact that she herself was fine – their connection to each other as the other's Most Important Person meant that if anything really bad *had* happened to Shizuru, then Natsuki herself would soon know about it – in a very dramatic fashion.
All this worry had put Natsuki in a little bit of a restless mood that had made her quite unproductive all morning with the books.
On top of that, it was just brutal having to bear witness to Midori flirt so shamelessly with Kazuki. The woman was hanging onto the head priest's every word, rather than doing her own research, and was laughing waaaaay too long and loudly every time he tried to make a joke. It was just painful.
Finally, Natsuki just stood up, put down the book she was looking at, and coughed really, really loudly. She finally managed to catch Midori's attention, who blinked at her confusedly. "What's up, Natsuki-chan?"
"I need to take a break." Natsuki said. From you. "I'll be back in a bit."
Leaving the room, Natsuki tried to cool her head as she walked around the living quarters of the shrine, and then eventually ventured out into the shrine proper. There were a couple different priests and priestesses – part-time college aged students employed at the shrine to assist visitors, but otherwise, no one else. Souma and Makoto were both at work, while Tsubasa was at school.
She couldn't help but think that they were wasting their time with the books.
The answer was with Himeko-san; Natsuki was sure of this. She just needed to figure out how.
Natsuki was just beginning to wonder where Himeko was when she spotted the tawny haired woman going back to the residential building. She frowned when she noticed the anxious expression the other woman was wearing.
"Hey," Natsuki greeted. "Is something wrong?"
The tawny haired woman looked up at the teenager, evidently surprised. "Oh! Natsuki-chan." Upon seeing the teenager, Natsuki got the distinct impression that the woman seemed, somehow, to become relieved. "Nothing's wrong. I just... well, I just had a bit of a weird morning. A really weird morning." She paused. "Um, do you know where Kazuki-san is?"
Natsuki nodded. "Yeah. He and Midori are, uh, researching each other's materials right now."
"Could you take me to him, please?" Himeko asked, that anxious expression returning to her face. "Please. I... I have some questions I really want to ask."
Natsuki stiffled the groan she felt.
But I just escaped!
But seeing the concerned expression on Himeko's face, Natsuki nodded, and brought the tawny haired woman back to Kazuki's study.
Midori was in heaven. Absolute, heaven. She was at the top of her game - academically and romantically - and she knew she had Kazuki hooked in his head and hopefully, in his heart too (or even just his loins).
"Intriguing," Kazuki murmured, as he stared at the cover of the book, and after giving Midori a questioning look for permission, ran his hand carefully down over the top of it, feeing the aged leather under his fingertips. He had such a look of fascination on his face – and that look was just so damn HOT – Midori felt her heart skip around in her chest a little bit.
Slowly, Kazuki paged through the book, scanning each page with wonderment. Curiously, he kept coming back to the cover of the book, as though he recognized something about it.
"Now this is fascinating." Kazuki breathed. "Sugiura-kun, you mentioned this is the only volume you have?"
Midori could barely keep her excitement in. She could tell that he was coming to the same conclusion she had after spending several days with the book. "Yes, it's the only one I have."
Kazuki looked Midori square in the eye, professional excitement clearly glimmering in his own. "The narrative setup of these first few pages; doesn't this feel like it's actually continuing on from a previous volume?"
The redheaded researcher was almost ready to explode with excitement. "Yes! That's what I thought too! You haven't gotten there yet, but after a while, it starts to mention the Orochi incident, and the Solar and Lunar Priestesses, and –" the look on Kazuki's face suddenly birthed an epiphany on Midori's own. "Kazuki-san... by chance do you have the first volume?"
At this question, Kazuki's smile widened. "You know, I believe I do." Standing up, he went over to the other side of his office and pulled out several scrolls, which he brought over and unrolled in front of Midori on the table. "These are the scrolls which describe the Legend of Ame no Murakumo. I had always felt that the story didn't quite seem finished somehow, though I never imagined that it would continue in another book," as he said this, Midori could detect a hint of pride in his voice. She cocked her head to the side with interest, urging him to continue.
Kazuki blushed a little, and cleared his thoat. "You know, it is said, that Oogami Shrine once played a very important role in the Legend of Ame no Murakumo."
Midori batted her eyelashes. "Oh?"
"Yes." The green haired man grinned. "It is said that the descendants of this shrine have the responsibility to guide the Solar and Lunar Priestesses. When Orochi is to ravage the earth, Oogami Shrine must find the maidens who are to be the priestesses, and provide them guidance." Kazuki chuckled. "In my youth, I even believed that it would fall to me, as the timing in the legends suggested that Orochi was to return in my generation. Oh, how I trained and studied. I memorized all of the rituals that were to be taught to the priestesses for the summoning of Ame no Murakumo. I pulled their uniforms from storage and painstakingly restored them, so that the priestesses could don their robes, and know pride. I was so absorbed in my studies, I barely did anything else." He laughed. "I'm afraid I made such a dour older brother for poor Souma. Luckily Yukihito was also here."
Midori laughed. She could completely understand the thrill of being caught up in the stuff of legends. "So what happened?"
The green haired priest raised an eyebrow. "What could happen? The foretold October came and went, and while I waited on that morning for a sign of the rebirth of Orochi - an eclipse, or some other sort of catastrophe - nothing happened that morning. It was a beautiful morning, where no evil came to pass. The only person who's world may have ended that day was poor Souma, who tried to ask out Kurusugawa-san, and was rejected." Kazuki laughed. "I remember that we were both very disappointed that day, sitting on the veranda, each nursing hot cocoa."
"Oh, Kazuki," Midori grinned. "That's precious! So what happened, did you get the dates wrong? Was it the next year or something?"
The look Kazuki gave her back was decidedly quizzical.
The auburn-haired teacher's smile faltered somewhat. "What? Were you off by a decade or something?"
"Sugiura-kun," Kazuki said, the smile on his face growing a bit too gentle for her liking, as though he were speaking to a child for a moment. "Whatever do you mean? The Legend of Ame no Murakumo is just that, a legend. It... doesn't actually happen. The magical incarnation of despair does not actually get summoned to ravage humanity, and require the god of swordsman to reseal. It's... just a metaphor for evil in the world..."
At this, Midori crinkled her brow. "Uh, no, Kazuki-san." She said. "The Legend of Ame no Murakumo has got to be true - it's tied up too tightly with Fuuka's Legend of the Hime Star Festival for it not to be."
For a moment, Kazuki had a bewildered look on his face, as though he had completely misjudged Midori, and the auburn haired teacher had a very strong sinking feeling in the bottom of her stomach.
"Sugiura-kun," Kazuki said gently again, further antagonizing Midori, who suddenly felt like she wanted to scream. "You do know that none of this can be-"
Before she could stop herself, and wonder whether this was a good idea or not, Midori found herself wordlessly reaching to the side, and summoned her element - a golden battle labrys with a red handle, from out of thin air.
For a moment, she regretted her rash actions, but that regret quickly dissipated as Kazuki's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.
'God damn, he even looks fine with his mouth hanging open like a fool!'
Kazuki's eyes continued to bulge. "!"
Midori smiled sweetly, and dematerialized her element. "You were saying, Oogami-sensei?"
Kazuki started to hyperventilate. "Did...! Did you just...! Did you just...!"
Midori grinned. Okay - so it had been a good idea to show him her element! She should have done it sooner!
The green haired priest started to babble. "But! But that means...!" And then he lurched down onto the table and started pouring over the text on his scrolls in panic. There was definitely a sort of manic disbelief in his eyes as he read and read and then jerked his head back up to stare at her dumbfounded, "but how could I have missed the destruction of the entire world?!" He cried.
"You dolt!" Midori cried, grabbing a halisen from out of nowhere and wholloping Kazuki across the back of his head. "If the world was reset and time was re-written, then of course it would have seemed like the whole ordeal never happened in the first place! But the calendars and the almanacs, they're never wrong about these sorts of things – it's only ever the interpretation that gets messed up! Yamata no Orochi ravaged the earth approximately 16 years ago – and the Lunar and Solar Priestesses must have been successful in defeating him by summoning Ame no Murakumo. That's why you don't remember it! That's why everything has seemed so normal to you! And you! Yes you! You beautiful, gorgeous, sexy, clueless man! You probably were the one that guided them to do that!" And with no further warning, Midori grabbed the front of Kazuki's gi and pulled him up to kiss him silly.
When she unhanded him with a loud 'smack!' there was a very stunned expression on his face, even as she blushed so brightly and deeply, the melanin cells in Natsuki's face would have been impressed.
"Oh, wow."
Both Kazuki and Midori turned and saw that Natsuki had opened the door to the study, and had Himeko behind her. They had both just witness Midori lay the biggest and wettest of all smackeroos on Kazuki. The high schooler and the photographer were both blushing furiously, wondering just what they had walked in on.
The two academics suddenly leapt apart, completely flustered and sweatdropping profusely.
"Oh! Natsuki-chan! You're back early!" Midori laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head, even as Kazuki struggled to straighten up his gi. "We were just, um, figuring stuff out!"
Dammit, Kuga! You are going to get extra hard quizzes next semester for this!
"Uh huh. Sure."
"It is true," Kazuki replied, coughing politely into his fist, though his ears still burned. And then he smiled, enthusiastically, as he gazed over at Midori fondly. "I'm afraid I just... I just had my eyes opened to see the truth that had been staring me in the face for a very long time now, and it was Sugiura... it was Midori-kun here who finally allowed me to see this." He shook his head ruefully. "I can't believe it! That the Lunar and Solar Priestess were actually real! And successful! That they would have been able to defeat and reseal Orochi, and undo his evil!"
Natsuki's eyes widened, she gave Midori a look that was much more appreciative now. "Oogami-sensei," Natuski suddenly said, stepping forward. "What... what exactly does it mean, for these priestesses to 'undo this evil'? What would have happened to the Lunar and Solar Priestess after this?"
Kazuki considered this, stroking his chin in thought. "I'm afraid it's not so clear cut after this," he admitted. "Yukihito and I once took quite a perilous journey to recover the missing bits of the legend. At one point, we had to scale up a sheer, vertical rock face to access a remote shrine to get that information!"
"Perilous journey?" Midori beamed. Oh, how she loved a good, perilous journey! "Do tell!"
"Um, maybe tell the details later," Natsuki interrupted, earning her teacher's ire. "But what did you find out?"
"The Legend turns tragic at this point, I'm afraid. One Priestess must sacrifice her life in order to undo the evil. The energy from her soul is what is used to turn back the clock, as it were, to undo Orochi's destruction. I suppose, and this is purely conjecture here, that it would be as though that Priestess had never been born in the first place."
"That... that sounds horrible." Came a stricken voice.
At this point, Midori realized that Natsuki wasn't alone, and that Kurusugawa Himeko had come with her.
Everyone turned to look at Himeko, who had a horrified expression on her face. "That's not right at all." She repeated. When she noticed that everyone was looking at her, she blushed, and quieted.
There was an awkward silence in the room, before Natsuki continued, "Sensei," she said slowly. "Is there... is there a chance that the priestess who died might have been reborn?"
"Well, yes. Orochi comes back every 300 years or so, so the Priestess would have to come back."
"No," Midori interupted, realizing what Natsuki was driving at. "That's not... what we were getting at."
Kazuki looked intrigued. "Oh?"
"Well, you see," and Midori tried to look as interesting and mysterious and as sexually alluring as possible as she did this, reeling Kazuki in, "we have reason to believe that the Lunar Priestess was reborn, shortly after her death. And, well, Sensei, would there be any reason for her to, oh, not have humanity's best interests at heart anymore?"
Kazuki raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Well, hear me out," Midori said, "think about it. I mean, I'm not sure how happy how many people would be to, you know, sacrifice themselves for the sake of humanity again and again..."
Actually, I have a pretty good feeling that 13 out of 13 girls put in a pretty darn similar situation last year were all pretty damned pissed off.
The head priest of Oogami Shrine considered this. "Hmm... this I am not sure, but I can look into it. I'm afraid I am not so familiar with that part of the legend. Yukihito has the better notes. I will enquire with him about it."
Midori stared at Kazuki like he was an amazing rock-star of some sort. "If you wouldn't mind, Sensei! That would be amazing!"
Kazuki looked back at Midori and smiled winsomely. "Of course not, Sugiura-kun. Anything for you."
The auburn-haired teacher grinned. "Anything?"
"Sensei..." Natsuki suddenly said, interrupting Midori before she could capitalize on Kazuki's offer.
'Dammit all, Natsuki-chan! You suck!'
But Natsuki missed Midori's glare entirely and continued on, her voice unsure, as though she was just on the edge of a potential epiphany. "What would happen to the Solar Priestess? The one who didn't die?"
Kazuki raised an eyebrow and considered this. "Well," he said slowly. "I suppose... she would probably have lived. And, since Orochi's evil was undone, like everyone else, she probably would not remember her part in saving the world, since, from her point of view, it was as though the world never needed saving in the first place..."
Natsuki was silent as she considered this. Then, she slowly turned to look at Himeko.
The movement of Natsuki's eyes prompted Kazuki and Midori to look at the tawny haired woman as well, and with all the attention suddenly focused on her, Himeko swallowed nervously and said, "oh! Um, sorry to interrupt, Kazuki-san, but I was... I was wandering around the shrine grounds, and went to the back part, past the koi pond," she admitted. "I went up the path that led inside the mountain..."
Kazuki frowned. "Kurusuagawa-kun," he said. "That part of the shrine is off limits because it is very old and dangerous from a lack of maintenance. You should not have been back there."
Himeko swallowed sheepishly. "Yes, I know, but, I did and there was a very strange priest in there. He had dark skin and lavender hair and he... he really scared me, Kazuki-san. Who is he?"
The head priest of Oogami Shrine's frown deepened. "We do not have any staff who work in that area at all, and certainly none who match your description."
Himeko shook her head. "But... but he was there. He turned on the lights and everything."
Kazuki raised an eyebrow. "Lights? There are no lights back there; there's no electricity back there. We clean in there periodically, but we have otherwise made no other changes for 300 years. It is the most sacred part of this shrine, and no one is allowed back there save for myself, as the head priest, because..."
Midori frowned. "What's wrong, Kazuki-sensei? What's back there?"
Kazuki was very solemn as he turned to regard Midori. "That cavern is the Revival Platform for Ame no Murakumo. It is where the Solar and Lunar Priestesses perform the necessary rituals to call forth the God of Swordsmen."
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Of the three chapters I'm releasing today, this one was the hardest to get right in my head, but the easiest to get out on paper once it was more or less done in my head, and it didn't require as much re-writing as Chapter 17 or 19, so it wasn't as soul crushing.
The part that did require the most re-writing was the 'go deeper' bit, which was heavily influenced by the Black Rose Saga of Utena, and specifically, Mikage Souji's whispers as the victim of the week would ride down the elevator of despair. At one point in time, rather than Himeko walking down into the mikoshi area, I had her riding down in an elevator whilst Akio told her to 'go deeper', but for the life of me, I just couldn't make the dialog work without counter-acting the positive head space she had managed to get into in the first part of this chapter... Le-sigh.
Cheers,
jen-chan
jen-chan-shaw. livejournal. com
OMAKE I: I Apologize For This Sorry Excuse of an Omake!
[In a darkened room with nothing save for a single spot-light, a non-descript woman stands looking sheepishly at the camera.]
AUTHOR: Um. [Spreads hands open in front of herself helplessly] I'm sorry, but I... I don't have omake this time around. My head is blank. I've been really, really trying, and I just can't quite seem to get my head into the right space to write something funny.
HARUKA: [From off stage] Oh, for the love of-! [Runs on stage and transforms into a cow with a *poof!* HARUKOW then throws a banana cream pie into her own face, and holds up a sign in her other hoof that says, 'JUST MOVE ONTO THE NEXT CHAPTER BEFORE MUSE-CHAN TAKES OFF AGAIN!']
AUTHOR: [Speechless] Um... o... okay then. Please stay tuned for the next chapter of Revolutions, Chapter 19 - The Hotspring Episode. Finally.