[KnM][RGU][MH] Revolutions
Revolutions – Chapter 23 (Mai Kannazuki no Revolution: A Denouement)
A Kannazuki no Miko, Revolutionary Girl Utena and Mai Hime X-Over Fanfic
March 10, 2013 – April 30, 2013 and October 7, 2014 - October 10, 2014
Word Count: Approx 13,700
Revolutions: Plural of revolution (rev-uh-loo-shuh n) (noun)
(1) An overthrow or sudden, complete change in something
(2) A single turn of the same damn cycle
The world would never quite be able to figure out exactly what had happened that fateful October 1st, when wounds opened up all over the world and monsters, seemingly from the pits of hell itself, poured out like rivers, causing profound chaos and destruction.
But while scientists still couldn't quite explain exactly how the event, dubbed the Day the Skies Split, came to pass, even a hundred years later, historians can generally agree that that day was the start of The Revolution, The 2nd Renaissance, or the Beginning of the Golden Age. Because it was on that day, in the face of utter chaos and destruction, that humanity pulled together, forgot their own individual pains, set aside their grievances, and helped each other, looked out for each other, so thoroughly on the micro, individual level that this resulted in humanity saving itself, and then some, on the macro global level.
It was as though the desires of Greed, that which had been the driving motivation for humanity's developments and accomplishments for so long, had suddenly been replaced by another force, long dormant in men's hearts: the aspiration to do good. To help those who could not help themselves. To be a Prince.
When monsters started raining out of the clouds, those with powers and resources to protect themselves, did so, but also turned their powers and resources to protect those who could not help themselves, and they did so without discrimination, and they did so without regret, and they did so without thinking, often at great cost to themselves. Friends helping friends. Neighbours helping neighbours. Strangers helping strangers.
Captains of industry and world leaders, in demonstrations of generosity unprecedented, unheard of, and indeed, and almost unfathomable, worked together to contend with the monsters, care for the people and rebuild the world.
The Searss Foundation was one such pillar of strength. The worldwide organization, immensely rich and powerful, on the cutting edge of technology, with ties to the offices of Presidents and Prime Ministers in almost every single country on the planet, performed a miracle:
Its mysterious child heiress, Alyssa Searss, who had just replaced her grandfather as the head of the organization a few scant months before the start of the Revolution, ordered the organization out from the shadows from where it had generally operated for centuries, and into city streets, where they openly worked with military and police forces to beat back the monsters, care for the wounded, and restore public order.
This in itself wasn't the miracle – that came after:
In the aftermath of the terrible day, instead of letting pain, and fear, and grief win, somehow, humanity collectively did not become debilitated with sorrow, and instead, found the strength in its heart to forgive, and focus on the healing and rebuilding, and to not wallow in the sadness, laying blame.
Like a phoenix rising from ashes, this began the 2nd Renaissance.
Profitability and power was no longer the driving force behind the engines of industry. Spearheaded by such organizations as Searss, the need to just *do good*, became a key force in the way the world was run, politically, and economically.
The world was fundamentally changed, and a new era of hope and optimism began for humanity that stretched on for centuries.
Memoirs and stories passed down through the children and grandchildren of the people who lived through the beginning of the Revolution, all told of a strangely similar emotion, spirit and tone that was felt worldwide, and the feeling was described best by a writer, who became anonymous with time:
"When everything felt hopeless, and I wanted to give up, and stop caring, stop trying, somewhere in my heart, I could feel someone encouraging me to keep going on."
This sentiment was felt worldwide, it seemed, as everyone found just a little bit of strength coming from their hearts, to keep going, to keep helping. That someone was cheering you on.
Inspiration, that illusive creature, had returned to the peoples' hearts, chasing out the darkness of hatred that would have lurked there.
For approximately three hours, giant holes and tears appeared in the skies and monsters and other objects fell from them, crushing those unfortunate enough to be underneath. After that, the holes and tears closed up, as mysteriously as they had appeared, trapping all those monsters and objects on the earth.
The most aggressive of the monsters, the ones that caused the vast majority of the death and destruction, were ultimately dealt with, dissolving into green sparkles of energy when they ultimately expired.
The majority of the monsters however, were much smaller, and a great number of them simply disappeared. They seemed as confused to be on the earth as the people were to see them, and they fled, hiding all over the world, but in particular, drawn to cities. For weeks, humanity couldn't quite understand what had happened to them all – the sheer number of them should have wreaked havoc on ecosystems and environments worldwide, and yet, it didn't appear that these monsters actually needed to eat anything physical for sustenance. Somehow, to the surprise of scientists all over the world, they appeared to be surviving off the emotional energy emitted by humanity, and when this was discovered, it opened up a whole new realm of study as a potential new fuel source that humanity itself could use.
Over time, humanity came to accept the existence of these monsters in their world. For the most part, they were harmless, though every once in a while, they could do something to be deemed a public nuisance, and even rarer still, could grow aggressive. But for every one of these instances, there were more examples of the monsters actually doing something good. A few weeks after the Day the Skies Split, it was discovered that some monsters experienced bonds of affinity with certain people, and even became protectors and companions for them!
(For whatever reason, these monsters seemed to statistically prefer young women in their teens, leading many to call them 'Furry Magical Girl Animal Mascots').
There were many, many tales, many examples of heroic deeds and courage coming out of the Revolution.
But this chapter will not be about those heroes.
This chapter will be for a group of friends, in Fuuka City, on Fuuka Island, off the coast of Honshuu, the only ones who really knew what happened the Day the Sky Split.
Chikane didn't look up when someone knocked on the door the first time, the second time, nor the third. She didn't look up when that someone simply opened the door and entered. She didn't look up when that someone called her name, "oi, Chikane," tentatively at first, and then repeated it with stronger conviction.
She only looked up, away from Himeko, lying comatose on the hospital bed, when that someone bodily pulled her up from her chair, shook her, and then slapped her, hard, across the face. For a moment, Chikane saw stars, her vision swimming, before she managed to blink, and her eyes finally focused on the anxious, blue-black haired girl who had first struck her, and was now supporting her with her hands tightly gripping her shoulders.
For a moment, Chikane wasn't quite sure what to say. There was nothing inside her, just an empty, hollow feeling that had swallowed all her words. Even as she opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, blinking slowly, the only sounds that finally managed to tumble out of her lips were, "...Na... tsu... ?"
"Snap out of it," Natsuki commanded, as forcefully as she could, though her voice was too audibly tinged with concern to be truly harsh. "You can't just sit here anymore. Come on, let's go." Her grip on Chikane's shoulders shifted to her upper arm, as the older girl forcibly pulled Chikane out of her chair.
Suddenly, that emptiness inside Chikane's body seemed to burst with overwhelming feelings of panic and... and anger.
How… How dare she. How dare she try to take her away from Himeko, when Himeko still hung so perilously between life and death! Just who did this girl think she was?!
"No! NO!" With a scream, Chikane wrenched her arm free from Natsuki's grip and scrambled back for the chair she'd been sitting in, going so far as to grab the back of the chair and swing it in front of her, brandishing it towards the other girl as menacingly as she could muster. The legs on the chair trembled in the peripheral of her vision; it was shaking, Chikane realized, because she hadn't the strength to keep it steady in her grip.
She had become weak. Frail.
Natsuki stared back at her, a look of incredulity on her face, that quickly morphed into concern, and then pity. "Chikane..." She whispered.
"I can't go, Natsuki-sempai. I can't. What if Himeko wakes up while I'm away? What if she thinks I've abandoned her? What if she wakes up, and I'm not here, and... and... she thinks I'm on the other side?" She was babbling, Chikane knew. On some level, she knew she wasn't being reasonable or rational, but on all other levels, she just couldn't care. "What if she goes to the other side thinking that's where I've gone? What if she... what if she..."
What if she died?
It was the one thought that Chikane had steadfastly been fighting against for the last few days – the one thought that had endlessly circled her mind, that she had desperately tried to keep from entering her heart, an all-consuming defensive battle that had resulted in her inability to do anything save sit at Himeko's bedside, clutching her hand. She hadn't really slept or ate anything of substance in all that time.
The climactic battle that had released her from Orochi's Destiny had come at a terrible cost: Himeko's injuries, wrought by the Swords of Humanity's Hate, were grave and multiple. The Hime had rushed everyone requiring medical attention to the nearest facilities at inhuman, CHILD-assisted speeds, and Himeko had then undergone a brutal marathon of a surgery involving, amongst other things, finding a genetically related organ donor.
The doctors still didn't know if she was going to make it.
The chair clattered to the ground noisily as the strength left Chikane's arms, and before she knew it, Natsuki had wrapped her arms around her into a tight hug.
The embrace – a first between the two of them since the battle – finally broke down the rest of Chikane's composure and she cried. She cried and cried and cried until all strength left her body and Natsuki simply held her tightly, sinking to the ground with her, holding her until the tears stopped.
When Chikane finalized stopped crying, Natsuki gave her a small smile, a little bit of moisture collecting at the corner of her own green eyes. "What was the promise Himeko-san made to you?" She asked.
Chikane swallowed weakly. "She promised that she'd find me."
"So she'll find you." Natsuki affirmed with quiet confidence. "And you are here, in the land of the living. So, Himeko will live. Now, if we don't get some food into you, then maybe your fears won't be unfounded. Come on, can you get up?"
It took Chikane a couple of tries, and in the end, she had to use her roommate as a bit of a walking stick. Shuffling to the door, Chikane turned to give Himeko one last look, her heart flip-flopping in her chest, before she allowed Natsuki to take her away from the room.
They didn't get very far before Chikane asked, softly, "... how is Mai-san?"
A smile came onto Natsuki's face. "She's doing fine. They're going to discharge her in a couple of days. Do you want to see her?"
Chikane nodded. "Yes, I would like that very much. I... I haven't even thanked her yet." She wasn't sure if there was a way to ever fully thank Mai for the donation she had given to Himeko, but she knew that the absolutely nothing she had done so far wasn't appropriate.
Natsuki led Chikane to the wing Mai was staying in, and a few feet away from her door, they could hear laughter coming out of the room.
"... Kagutsuchi, stop that!" Mai's amused voice could be heard as Natsuki and Chikane entered into the room where the redhead was lying semi-upright in bed. A white, flying, green-eyed kitten wearing a red belly warmer and a golden bell around its neck was flittering about Mai's face while her brother Takumi sat in the chair beside her, peeling an apple.
At the foot of Mai's bed, a silver and blue wolf-like dog the size of a German Sheppard perked up his ears and started to pant happily. He raised from the floor and walked over to Natsuki, pushing his nose into her hand.
It was Duran's movements that alerted everyone else into the room to the new arrivals, and Mai's chuckling died down as she looked over at Chikane and Natsuki.
"Hey, look who the dog dragged in," Mai laughed softly. "Chikane-san, you look worse than I do!"
Chikane gave Mai a weak smile and then came into the room to sit in the chair opposite Takumi. Natsuki moved further into the room to lean against the window sill. As she did so, Kagutsuchi quickly flittered over to her, sniffing at her suspiciously before flattening his ears to his head and hissing a little bit.
"Kagutsuchi, stop that," Mai ordered. "Chikane-san is a friend."
The flying white kitten didn't quite seem to buy it but ultimately did leave Chikane alone to go sit back on the bed at Mai's side and began to clean his private parts.
"Mai-san, I... I'm sorry I haven't been by sooner," Chikane began, apologizing awkwardly, and not quite able to lift her eyes to meet Mai's own. "I've been... preoccupied."
"That's alright, I understand," Mai replied kindly. She gently grasped Chikane's hand. "So? How is Himeko-san doing?"
"Her condition remains unchanged," Chikane confirmed softly, "though the doctors say her body doesn't appear to be rejecting your donation at all..."
"That's good," Mai laughed, a little awkwardly. "I'd be a little put-out if they went through all that trouble of finding me a match for my cousin only to find out I'm not." She gave Takumi a wry smile. "I've had enough disappointment about not being a correct match for family for one lifetime, thank you very much."
Takumi grinned back, able to laugh now after the ordeal of his heart troubles had worked out. "Nee-san, it's not like you had a spare heart you could have given me."
"True, I guess." Mai rubbed the back of her head. "But it was a good thing the medical system still had all my information on file from those tests; who'd have thought we'd still have family left, Takumi! I'd forgotten that Dad had an older sister, and never even knew that that sister had a daughter!"
"Himeko once told me her parents died when she was very young, and because the families didn't approve of their union, they didn't really keep in contact," Chikane said softly. "I'm sure, had she known of you, she would have tried to contact you after your parents passed on."
"Well, we have lots of time for catching up now at least." Mai laughed.
Chikane's smile softened. "I hope so."
Then Chikane felt Mai squeeze her hand again.
"We will," Mai insisted, and Chikane thought she could catch a hint of apology in the redhead's purple eyes, so similar in shade to Himeko's own.
And Chikane thought she could understand where that apology was coming from.
They never did figure out whether the wish-granting mechanisms of the Hime Star had been operational or not, whether the messed-up nature of this cycle of the festival had fast-forwarded the Star to wish-granting stage, or if it had simply broken the thing all together.
But if the star really had been ready to grant a wish... then the Hime would have had the chance to reset the world as they saw fit. They could have wished for a better future - one in which all their troubles could have melted away, and where everyone could have been happy, and healthy, at least, until the next cycle of the Hime Festival.
But instead, they had not. Instead, they had fought for the end of the Festival, refusing to make any wish at all. And humanity now had to sleep in the bed it had made.
Which, actually, wasn't turning out to be a bad decision at all. The news reports over the last several days, since that faithful October 1st - the Day the Skies Split - had been wondrously positive, filled with stories of heroism and hope and love. It was as though the gods had put humanity on a bicycle for the first time, and had finally let go of the bike and humanity... humanity had rode boldly forward, wobbly, but upright, and exhilarated at the freedom.
And Chikane realized this was for the best - how could humanity learn, after all, if it had a cosmic reset every 300 years?
It was still a difficult decision to accept, however, while Himeko's life still hung in the balance.
What happens now? Chikane wondered, doubt creeping into her heart. She and Himeko were no longer bound by destiny. With Orochi destroyed by the Prince, the personification of Despair would never walk the earth again. There was no longer a need for the Solar and Lunar Priestess to summon Ame no Murakumo...
Did that mean then, that this life, was it? That she may never find Himeko again, after this revolution of life and death?
But then she felt a warm hand on her shoulder, and Chikane turned to see that Natsuki had put her hand on her and was smiling. For a moment, it was not Kuga Natsuki smiling at her, but Shimotsuke no Kugamiya no Natsuki, her sister from when she was Shimotsuke no Kugamiya no Chikane, offering her a koto.
No. The bonds made on this planet are not so easily broken while off of it.
She'd always find Himeko again. Always.
Just like how Himeko would always find her again.
Chikane just hoped her beloved wouldn't take too long to do it.
A few more days later, Chikane looked up when she heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?" She called, even as she went to it, and opened it. Her eyes widened when she saw the flame haired woman on the other side: Juri had come to visit.
Juri's eyes were cloudy, and conflicted, but she managed to hold Chikane's gaze well enough. She swallowed, and Chikane could feel the discomfort roiling off of her, but managed to nod her head in greeting, if curtly. "Himemiya."
Chikane could feel her own insides tighten with anxiety. She squashed the feeling down, refusing to let the older woman witness her weakness. "Hello, Arisugawa-sensei."
They stood awkwardly for a moment, before, Juri's eyes flicked past Chikane's to the sleeping woman on the bed.
It took Chikane a while to decide to remember her manners, and she reluctantly opened the door fully, allowing Juri to come in. "You want to see Himeko."
But Juri didn't come inside right away. Instead, she stayed at the door of the room, her jaw locked as she gazed upon the sleeping woman, and Chikane could see the open heart-break in Juri's eyes, and for a moment, even she felt a bit bad for the flame-haired woman.
"Actually," Juri finally said, turning her attention away from Himeko, and looking at Chikane again, blue-green eyes capturing blue-green eyes, and Chikane was surprised at just how similar their eyes really were. "I... I came here to see you. There's someone who needs to see you downstairs." And then, Juri's eyes flicked back to where Himeko was, and she swallowed again. "But... if it's alright...?"
Chikane nodded. "Yes, of course."
And Juri walked slowly into the room, as though she wasn't sure it was really such a good idea to be here after all, but then she seemed to find her resolve, and she walked purposefully to Himeko's side, sliding into the chair by her head - the one Chikane herself had just been occupying. Juri held a hard-cover book in her hands, and she placed this down on the table beside Himeko, her arm trembling a little bit.
The book was immediately familiar to Chikane, and it only took her a moment to remember it; it wasn't a book at all, but rather, Himeko's photo album.
Not looking at Chikane at all, her gaze solely on Himeko's face, Juri lifted a hand to gently brush the hair out of Himeko's eyes - (and Chikane couldn't help but feel her heart lurch dangerously in her chest at the familiar action), tucking the errant lock of hair the opposite way Chikane would have, behind Himeko's far ear.
And then, Juri reached down, and picked up Himeko's hand between her own, giving it a squeeze. She held onto Himeko's hand for a few lingering moments, before she got up, slowly leaned over Himeko's body, and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead.
And then she slowly, reluctantly left Himeko's bedside, and walked back over to the door. She stopped in front of Chikane, and her blue-green eyes were ablaze with emotion - with grief, with worry, with anger- though the rest of her face remained an expressionless mask - so similar to the one Chikane herself knew to wear, to protect herself with.
"You will protect her." Juri commanded. "You will provide for her. You will cherish her. And you will never, ever, let whatever put her in that bed happen to her ever again, do you hear me? Or I will run you through myself."
Chikane's eyes flashed with indignation and anger... but seeing the pain in Juri's eyes sapped the angry words from her lips, and Chikane could only take a single, slow, deep breath. "I'd even give you the rapier to do so myself."
"Good." And then, Juri turned to the door. "Now come downstairs. There's a police detective who needs to speak with you about your mother."
Chikane's eyes widened as she slowly, almost dumbly followed Juri out of Himeko's room and down into the cafeteria of Fuuka General Hospital.
There, waiting for her, was a harried looking man in a trench coat. The man looked up as Juri and Chikane approached, and got up to greet them.
"Himemiya Anthy?" He asked.
Chikane could only nod, still shocked.
"My name is Detective Arima Souichirou." His eye flicked over to the flame-haired woman who stood beside Chikane, her expression unreadable. "Has Arisugawa-san told you why I'm here to see you?"
Chikane shook her head, though, mid-shake, she stopped, her eyebrows furrowed. "This is about my mother?"
Arima's expression was one of sadness. He nodded. "I'm afraid so." He said softly, motioning for Chikane to take a seat on the bench. She did so and he sat down beside her. After a moment, Juri sat down on the other side of Chikane, though she still continued to look distinctly uncomfortable. "I'm afraid your mother... your mother isn't who you think she was. "
Chikane's eyes crinkled, and she cocked her head to the side in confusion.
Arima sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "The case file is going to say that your mother, Tenjou Utena, was a fraud. Tenjou Utena was a 14 year old middle school student who died 16 years ago at Ohtori Academy in an accident. Your mother has been using this identify for the last 16 years of her life, and when Tenjou Utena's body recently resurfaced, your mother disappeared. Has she contacted you, or do you know where she may be right now?"
Chikane stared at the man, blue-green eyes impossibly wide, as though he was an alien with two heads. Even Juri, sitting on the other side of Chikane, turned to give the detective an eyebrow-cocked look that suggested he was on very, very bad drugs.
The detective sighed. "I take your incredulous silence to mean 'no'. Like I said, that's just what the case file is going to say because, let's face it, no one is ever going to believe what really happened, even if the events from the Day the Sky Split should have been a giant wake-up call that the world doesn't work the way we normal people think it should. Here's what really happened, Himemiya-kun. I met your mother. I met Tenjou Utena, and somehow, this kid who should have been dead for 16 years, who's freakin' body we unearthed, was standing right in front of me one minute, staring at her own corpse and the next minute... poof! Gone! And then, two days later, the world falls apart, and I am at home trying to dig out the debris that has my wife and child trapped inside our burning home, and there is no way in hell I can get rid of that massive block of concrete to save them, and who should show up in my head but Tenjou Utena, telling me to keep digging, to keep lifting, to keep fighting!"
By the end of the story, Detective Arima was clearly distraught, but he managed to calm himself, soothing back his hair. "Yukino." He whispered. "My wife, Yukino. My daughter, Sakura. They... they would be dead right now, if Tenjou Utena hadn't... hadn't...!"
The policeman couldn't hold it in for any longer, and he remained silent, his eyes shut tightly, his hands clasped in front of him.
Chikane stared at him, at his back, and realized what he had come to tell her.
She felt a hand touch her other shoulder, and slowly, still dazed, she turned to stare at Juri, and there was sadness in Juri's eyes, and condolence.
Her mother was gone.
The next few minutes were a bit of a blur to Chikane. Both the detective and Juri said some more words to her that she responded to, though, for the life of her, she could not quite figure out what it was she was saying to them, even as she said the words.
Eventually, they left, and slowly, Chikane walked back to Himeko's room, the detective's news quietly churning through her mind.
It was a very strange sensation. She felt like she wasn't really herself, in some ways. It was almost like she was walking beside herself, staring at herself, and wondering why she wasn't feeling more grief; why she hadn't broken down completely.
(The detective had taken it as a sign that she was in shock, and Juri did too, to some degree.)
But as Chikane walked back to Himeko's room, and sat down on the chair beside Himeko's bed, she realized that it wasn't because she was in shock.
Rather, she just didn't believe what the detective had said.
How could her mother be gone, when she could feel her all around her?
And as she came to this understanding, Chikane's eyes fell on the photo album that Juri had left behind, had put on the table beside Himeko.
She stared at the photo album, then stared at Himeko, then stared back at the photo album. Slowly, with trembling hands, Chikane picked up the album, and opened the front cover.
There they were, Himemiya Chikane and Kurusugawa Himeko, dressed in the burgundy uniform of Ototachibana Academy, holding hands and smiling for the camera.
The nostalgia that suddenly assaulted Chikane was almost overwhelming. She almost dropped the book.
It hurt to look through it.
Picture after picture was like a knife stabbing into Chikane's heart.
They were pictures of a magical innocence, of a frail happiness, when they were but normal, silly school girls enjoying the warmth of each other's friendship just on the cusp of blooming into something more.
They were pictures of a time when all was right, but which could never have existed, but which clearly, did.
"Himeko," Chikane finally whispered, after remembering that the doctors had suggested that hearing her voice may help her beloved to navigate out of her coma. Shifting her chair, Chikane propped the photo album up to face Himeko's sleeping face. "Look at this one." Chikane pointed to a picture of her looking surprised over her shoulder while whisking something white and fluffy. "Do you remember this one? You were teaching me how to make lemon meringue that day. I'd never really set foot in the kitchen, never really had any reason to before that, but you said baking was fun, so we decided to give it a try. We made such a mess! Otoha-san as really annoyed, even though she tried to pretend that she wasn't..." Oh! How easily such details were coming back to her!
Flipping the page, Chikane's heart swelled as she pointed at another picture. She was hugging Himeko from behind in the picture, winking while Himeko looked a little surprised. "How about this one? Do you remember this one, Himeko? This was just after you bought the tripod, so you could be in your own pictures. This was our first picture together, in the rose garden." Chikane swallowed back a lump. "I don't know if you noticed how my heart was pounding when I pulled you against me..."
Chikane flipped another page. "And this one... this one was..."
Her voice trailed off as she looked away from the album, to Himeko's still peacefully sleeping face. Chikane's heart started to squeeze again, and she bit her lip. Lowering her head, Chikane fought against the tears, but to no avail; they streamed silently down the sides of her face.
"... please, Himeko, open your eyes. Please... just... just open your eyes..."
But Himeko did not.
And Chikane continued to weep quietly.
Shizuru let her lips trail down Natsuki's throat, relishing every kiss, every nibble, every suckle.
They hadn't been apart that long, really, only a couple of days, but somehow, it had felt like something closer to a year and a half of being apart, and Shizuru was eager to be experience the wonder that was Kuga Natsuki once again.
Natsuki sighed, as Shizuru's lips continued to meander down her throat, over her breasts, down her tummy, her lower abdomen, lower still, until she moaned where Shizuru had stayed to linger. She kneaded her hands through Shizuru's hair encouragingly, feeling those soft strands sliding through her fingers, until one of Shizuru's ministrations caused that moan to turn into a gasp of delight as she involuntarily dug her fingers into Shizuru's scalp.
The reaction was all Shizuru really needed to continue, and continue she did, sending Natsuki higher and higher still, keeping her there tortuously and aching for time indeterminable, until she finally let her lover fall headlong over the other side, spending with a tremendous shudder that ripped through her whole body and left her shivering.
Natsuki blinked languidly, not quite sure which planet she was on at the moment, gazing up at her girlfriend's fondly sparking crimson eyes, who had now come back up, and was now lying fully on top of her, letting her weight press down, tethering the blue-black girl back to earth.
"Wow..." Natsuki breathed, even as Shizuru continued to nuzzle at her neck, nibbling at that spot just under her ear. "Shizuru, that was amAAAAH!" Suddenly Natsuki bolted upright, almost flinging Shizuru right off of her, even as she continued to shout, "BAD DURAN! BAD DOG! Get your nose away from there! Off the bed!"
The blue-grey German Sheppard-like dog whined piteously, but complied with his master's wishes. Banished to the floor, he put his head on his paws and continued to whine, even as a purple six headed hydra shuffled along the floor of the dorm room and approached him, flopping on the floor beside him. One of the hydra's snake like heads peered into the dog's eyes with empathy and nuzzled against him: Neither Childs could quite understand why their masters didn't quite like it when they tried to get in on the snuggling action.
'But teh sentr ov attenshun iz up thar!' Duran seemed to say to Kiyohime with his expressive eyes. 'I wanna c wut teh hooj deal iz all bout!'
Kiyohime could only give a hydra's version of a shrug. 'Maybe next tiem? Kagutsuchi says his hooman doesnt liek it when he triez 2 remind her dat he iz teh sentre ov teh univers eithr...'
Satisfied that her Child was back on the floor with his nose not awkwardly poking where it ought not to be, Natsuki snuggled herself back into Shizuru's arms, even as her tawny-haired lover had a small laugh at her expense. Natsuki simply gave Shizuru a hooded eyed look, and rearranged herself into the cook of Shizuru's shoulder, exhaling noisily.
They shared the silence comfortably, even as Natsuki idly drew her finger in a small motion in the middle of Shizuru's chest, where once, in her worst of nightmares, an errant throwing star had pierced through her.
Shizuru did not miss the significance of Natsuki's motion, correctly guessing the anxiety that was still plaguing her love, even days after the Day the Skies Split. Shizuru took Natsuki's hand and squeezed it, bringing Natsuki's fingers to her lips to kiss them. "Natsuki shouldn't worry," Shizuru soothed gently. "I am here in her arms, and I am not going anywhere. Everything did ultimately work out as we had hoped."
Natsuki frowned. "But you came this close to dying, Shizuru..."
"But I ultimately didn't, now, did I?" Shizuru smiled sheepishly. "Between your actions and Chikane-san's own, how could I have gone anywhere?"
The blue-black haired girl's frown deepened. "That's some high stakes gambling!"
And Shizuru could not deny that. "Perhaps," she considered. "The stakes may have been high, but I will gamble on Natsuki coming through for me every time." She sighed. "And I hope Chikane-san's similar bet was not placed incorrectly..."
Natsuki didn't quite follow her girlfriend's line of thinking right away, and cocked her head to the side. Shizuru returned Natsuki's look wordlessly, meaningfully, and Natsuki's eyes lifted in understanding. "Oh." She suddenly said, a slow epiphany dawning on her. "You mean, her gamble that Himeko would ultimately save her?" At her girlfriend's nod, Natsuki couldn't help but look away, resting her head into Shizuru's shoulder again, resolution in her eyes. "Well, don't you worry about that one. She'll wake up. Just you wait."
Detective Arima's appearance into Chikane's life finally brought with it a plethora of unpleasant realities that she had thus far been able to stave off, with the rest of the world caught up in the aftermath of the Day the Skies Split as it was.
Eventually, all the dots were connected, and it was discovered that, at least, in the eyes of bureaucratic paperwork (the kind with copious amounts of staples and red tape and not a lick of common sense), Himemiya Chikane was a minor without parent, guardian or extended family. She was effectively homeless, as her mother had not paid the October rent on their small apartment when it had become due on the first of the month, and who had been effectively expelled from the high school she had been boarding at for massive property damage.
A social worker was assigned to Chikane's case post haste, and when the man showed up at Fuuka general hospital, She. Was. Not. Pleased.
Still, the man was a credit to his profession, and several things were put into motion, and in the middle of October, Chikane found herself in Tokyo, having been pulled away practically kicking and screaming (well, actually, there was none of that, really - the just turned 16-year old was the paradigm of maturity - but the glares and words she had given her social worker were ones he was sure would haunt him to his grave) from Himeko's bedside.
It had been her friends, Fujino Shizuru and Kuga Natsuki, who had convinced her that it probably was for the best that she comply with the system's recommendations, and return to Tokyo to help settle her mother's affairs for at least a couple of days. Shizuru and Natsuki went with Chikane, unwilling to let their friend be alone during the tumultuous time, while Mai promised to keep her eye on Himeko.
And there, after opening the front door to the small apartment that was her childhood (this childhood anyway) home, Chikane was force to finally confront the reality of her situation thunderously - the epiphany hitting her in the chest like a bolt of lightning.
Though in her heart of hearts, she knew her mother was still out there - she could still feel her mother's presence, all around her - the woman the rest of the world knew her mother to be - Tenjou Utena - was gone.
"Ara, is this Chikane-san's home?" Shizuru asked, peeking over the blue-black haired girl's shoulder, even as Natsuki did the same on Chikane's other side. "It's cute!"
Chikane didn't answer. She just continued to stand there, staring into the room.
"It's not that big," Natsuki observed, trying to remain as objective and as cool as she could, though her heart was twisting in her own chest. She was having a little bit of difficulty containing her own emotions: she remembered how hard it had been when her own mother had died, the first time she had gone back to the home the two of them had shared, to pick up her own things...
"This won't take long at all, Chikane. We'll get you back to Fuuka and Himeko's side in no time -ah!"
At that moment, the keys had tumbled out of Chikane's grip entirely, falling to the floor with a clatter. A smattering of tears joined the keys shortly thereafter, streaming steadily from Chikane's eyes silently as she stared at the empty, empty, empty apartment.
Shizuru and Natuski rushed Chikane inside quickly, and held onto her tightly as she wept, her whole body shaking with the effort it took to contain her sobs.
Natsuki hugged Chikane's head to her chest, her arms wrapped around Chikane's neck, resting her own chin on top of Chikane's hair. "It's okay," she soothed, repeatedly. "You're not alone, Chikane. Just know that. You're not alone. You're not alone..."
Eventually, the emotion passed. Eventually, Chikane stopped shaking. Eventually, she was able to take a deep shuttering breath, compose herself, and wipe the tears from her eyes. "Thank you, Shizuru-sempai," Chikane said softly, accepting the kleenex the tawny-haired girl handed her. "Thank you, Natsuki-sempai."
They packed in silence, the older two girls respectful of their younger friend's privacy.
It didn't take too long - just a few hours. Utena and Chikane didn't really have very much in the way of material possessions.
They were almost done when there was an unexpected knock on the door.
Natsuki and Shizuru looked at each other, then at Chikane, and from the look of surprise on Chikane's face, they could tell she had no idea who that person could be.
Natsuki got up and opened the door. "Yes?"
A tall, lean, good looking man stood at the door, wearing white pants and a blue blazer jacket. His hair was a soft ocean blue, as were his eyes. He had one of those baby-faces that allowed him to pass himself off as anywhere from late adolescence to mid twenties when in fact he was closer to thirty.
"Hello, I'm looking for Himemiya Chikane?" He said, his voice soft and a little feminine. "My name is Kaoru Miki. An acquaintance of ours, Arisugawa Juri, told me this was her address?"
Natsuki blinked and raised an eyebrow. Opening the door further, she looked over at Chikane, who got up and made her way to the door, Shizuru following behind her.
"I'm sorry," Chikane said softly, her brow crinkled in confusion. "I'm Chikane, but, I'm not sure Arisugawa-sensei has ever mentioned you...?"
It was actually Shizuru who seemed to connect the dots the fastest. "Kaoru Miki," she said, an eyebrow raising as she placed the name. "You are the prodigal pianist with the Tokyo Philharmonic, aren't you?"
Miki looked over at Shizuru, a little surprised to have been so easily recognized, and smiled a little embarrassedly. "Ah, yes, that would be me, though I am not with the Philharmonic any more. I'm at the Conservatoire de Paris right now, and just happened to be back in Tokyo." Miki turned his attention back onto Chikane. "I heard that you would be here today, Himemiya-kun. I was hoping to talk to you about some of your music that Juri-san shared with me." Miki looked at Natsuki and Shizuru, and then looked into the empty apartment, before looking back at Chikane. "Might you be free for a discussion? There's a coffee shop just downstairs? Your friends could join us if you would like?"
And so the three girls followed the prodigal pianist down to the shop where they ordered some drinks and sat down at a table.
And Miki got right to the point of why he was there:
He was very impressed with Chikane's music. She had a talent in her that only came along once in a generation, and it would be his greatest honor to take her on as a student, and to have a hand in guiding through the music world, a talent that hadn't been heard in the last half century.
Chikane stared back at the ocean-blue haired man, a frown on her face, not quite able to bring herself to believe the incredible offer he'd just given her. Her eyes darted over to Natsuki and Shizuru, who also stared back at her dumbfounded, before they went back to the blue-haired man. Her frown intensified.
Kaoru Miki just continued to smile as politely as possible, though there was a hint of discomfort on his face due to her intense scrutiny. He tapped his thumbs together in this lap, patiently waiting.
Finally, Chikane exhaled a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "I'll think about it, Kaoru-sensei." She finally said. "This isn't a decision I can make lightly. I wish to consult some council."
Miki nodded. "Of course, I understand, Chikane-kun. Take your time. I'll be in Japan until the end of the week, but if you can't make a decision by then, that's alright too. This is my personal assistant's number, she can put you through to me no matter where I am." The brilliant pianist stood up to go, and the three girls also got up politely.
Just before he left however, he caught Chikane's gaze one more time, and he said, the authenticity of his sorrow unmistakable, "I'm very sorry to hear about your mother, Himemiya-kun. I... I knew her in middle school. We went to Ohtori Academy together, and she was a grade ahead of me. Tenjou-sempai was... was a remarkable person. Brilliant. Shining. I have much to thank her for, and I had hoped to be able to meet her again one day. I'm very sorry for your loss."
And then he had gone, leaving Chikane with Shizuru and Natsuki to ponder his offer in the coffee shop.
"Wow." Natsuki breathed. "A week. That's... that's not a lot of time, Chikane." She looked at her friend. "What are you doing to do?"
Chikane looked lost. "I... I don't know," she said, quite honestly.
"It sounds like the opportunity of a lifetime," Shizuru replied softly, though the tone in her voice was complicated as well. "Kaoru Miki is... he is one of the most respected pianists in the world. That he should come to you personally..."
The three were quiet for a while longer, and Chikane stared into her coffee, her mind reeling.
"Chikane..." Natsuki finally said, "Chikane, this... this might be exactly what you need. Fumi couldn't get your expulsion from Fuuka reversed, and your social worker said they were going to have to put you in a group home in Tokyo if you didn't get a legal guardian soon. This guy could be exactly who you need, and Tokyo isn't that far away from Fuuka."
"But it's not Tokyo where she would be studying," Shizuru gently corrected her lover, giving Natsuki's hand a squeeze. "He is with the Conservatoire de Paris now. It's Europe's oldest conservatory."
Natsuki frowned. "But Chikane can't go to Europe! Tokyo's only a couple hours train ride away, but Paris! Paris is so far away!"
"I know." Chikane sighed. "Far too far away." She shook her head. "It may be the opportunity of a lifetime, but I... I can't leave Himeko while she's still bedridden. If he wants me that badly, really wants me that badly, he'll just have to wait for me."
But even as Chikane said this aloud, her heart remained far, far more complicated. She could hear Juri's words to her, the promise she had made, yes, to the flame-haired woman, but more importantly, to Himeko and to herself:
'You will protect her. You will provide for her. You will cherish her. And you will never, ever, let whatever put her in that bed happen to her ever again.'
And Chikane despaired, for just a moment, about how a 16 year old about to be expelled from school, without a home or a dollar to her name, was supposed to be able to accomplish that.
Once upon a time, in a place neither here nor there, there was a shimmering meadow filled with beautiful, yellow flowers. Off to the side of the meadow, was a river, a great, wide river, known to most as the Styx, that boundary between this life and the next.
In the middle of the meadow, just off of the River Styx, there sat a single, white coffin. The coffin was open, its heavy white lid resting on its side. Save for a bed of white roses inside, the coffin was empty. Sitting beside the coffin, with her back leaning against the coffin's side, and gazing out at the River Styx, was a woman dressed in ceremonial red and white robes, her long tawny-hair held back at the base of her neck by a thick paper tie: the Solar Priestess.
The Solar Priestess had been sitting in the meadow, on the cusp of life and death for... well, she wasn't sure how long. But the environs were lovely, much nicer than the dark ocean of blackness she was most accustomed with, so she couldn't complain.
Presently, a small purple-grey monkey the size of a mouse waddled up to the Solar Priestess, stopping just at her toes, and gave her a small 'chu?' of enquiry.
The Solar Priestess blinked at the monkey, and cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Kurusugawa Himeko-sama?" She repeated the monkey mouse's question. The name did strike a bell in her head, but for the life of her, she couldn't quite recall from where. So she simply shook her head. When she spoke, her language and speaking patterns were old. "Mine regrets," she replied, "but the whereabouts of this Kurusugawa Himeko-sama thy seeketh is unbeknownst to me."
Chu-Chu gave a small, sad 'chu' of resignation, and turned to go, except that three pairs of feet appeared behind her, and the person one of those pairs of feet belonged to bent down to scoop her up. This person was small in stature, and wore a gold and grey school girl uniform. Her black hair was short, save for two braids of it falling just in front of her ears: the Witch.
"There you are, Chu-suke!" the Witch said, putting the monkey-mouse back on her head. "I was worried about you!"
Beside the Witch stood a dark skinned, ageless girl wearing a white and sea-green sailor-style school uniform, her purple hair bound up into a stylized bun around her head. She didn't wear glasses (though those wouldn't have looked out of place perched on her nose), and she had a soft, slightly melancholy expression on her face: the former Witch.
And the girl in the black boy's style uniform and red booty shorts who was standing beside the former Witch crouched down onto one knee, so that she was on the same level as the Solar Priestess. Her sparkling, ocean blue eyes looked straight into the Solar Priestess's clouded amethyst ones, those kind blue eyes framed by a full head of long, light pink hair: the Prince.
The Solar Priestess gazed into those wondrous, wondrous eyes, and after a moment, recognition lighted, and she gave a small gasp of surprise. "Ame no Murakumo-sama!" She quickly moved out of her untidy position into a formal seiza, and bowed her head to the ground in respect.
"No, no, that's alright, you don't have to do that." The Prince stopped the Solar Priestess, putting a kind hand on her shoulder to right her, motioning for the Celestial Miko to remain upright in seiza. She smiled, a tired, but satisfied smile on her face. "There you are! We've been looking all over the place for you. What are you doing here?"
The Solar Priestess's eyes crinkled in confusion. "I... I am waiting, my Lady." She said. "For the next return of Yamata no Orochi. For mine soul to be reborn." A lump appeared in the Solar Priestess's throat. "So that I may reunite with... with Chikane-chan..."
The Prince shook her head. "You're not dead, Kurusugawa-san. You don't have to wait for rebirth - you are still alive."
But the Solar Priestess remained confused. "Kurusugawa-san? A thousand apologies, but, I know not of whom thy speaks. Mine name is Himeko, yes, but I am of Yamato. Yamato no Himeko, my Lady. Thine Priestess of the sun."
"Remember a little less deeply," the Prince suggested softly, reaching out to tuck a lock of the Solar Priestess's hair behind an ear. "And, um, forwards."
And as the back of the Prince's fingers brushed against the Solar Priestess's temple's, those amethyst eyes widened in sudden epiphany, and she intuitively understood exactly what her Prince was instructing her to do. The cloudiness dispelled from her eyes as the Solar Priestess remembered who she really was, and as she did so, her long tawny hair began to shorten, until it hung to just about her shoulder blades, the thick paper tie that had been holding it back moving of its own accord and twisting into a bow closer to the top of her head that kept her hair from her face - the way she now styled her hair.
"Oh," the Solar Priestess, Kurusugawa Himeko, whispered, her speaking patterns quickly reverting to the present day, even as tears gathered at the corner of her eyes. "Oh! Chikane-chan!" And then she bolted upright in alarm. "Chikane-chan! Chikane-chan! I have to get back to Chikane-chan!" She started to run towards the river in blind panic.
The Prince quickly caught Himeko's hand and pulled her back, a sweatdrop appearing over the top of her pink head. "Aaah, no, not that way! That's not the right way!"
"Which way is the right way?!" Himeko cried.
The Prince laughed. "Just concentrate, Kurusgawa-san. Concentrate, close your eyes, and wake up. Take good care of my baby girl, alright? Tell her I love her."
Himeko looked at the Prince like she had no idea what the other woman was saying, (how does closing one's eyes help one to wake up anyway?), but still, she did as was suggested.
And the last thing Himeko could hear, before she woke up, was the Prince's words not to her, "you too, Mikoto. We'll chat again soon, but you should be with Mai-san while you still can."
The hospital was dark, visiting hours long since over. Chikane shouldn't have been able to stay in the room, but the hospital staff knew her story well enough and felt badly for her.
The single lamp in the room caused the shadows to dance on the walls, a bit wildly, a bit like giggling, giddy school girls.
'Did you hear? Did you hear?'
The shadows seemed to say, though Chikane couldn't really hear them. 'Have you heard the news?'
Chikane took a deep breathe, and leaned forward in her chair, her hands clasped in her lap, hair obscuring her eyes as she wrestled with the heavy thoughts in her head, all swirling around a decision she didn't know if she had the strength to make - which was why she was back here, by Himeko's side, of course. Her beloved had always been her source of strength, after all.
"Himeko," Chikane whispered, aloud, though she could not quite bear to look at the sleeping form. "Himeko, I... I know you can hear me. I know you can hear me because you are alive, and you're just... you're just making your way back to me. And I... I need to let you know something, Himeko. I've made a choice, and I... I hope you will forgive me for it."
The shadows wrestled fitfully. 'Don't leave! Don't go! Catch the next train, or you'll regret it!'
And then they seemed to melt away, entirely, the powers that sustained them largely spent, as the drama that they craved to document was largely concluded.
'Ha ha! That's what you think! The stories never ever really end! We'll see you around next time!'
And then, the shadows were gone, leaving Chikane alone with Himeko.
Still, Chikane didn't look up, speaking to herself, almost as much as she was speaking to her sleeping beloved. "I... I always believed in you, Himeko. From the moment I came back into this world, a baby. Even when... even when I thought I had lost you to someone else, on some level, I still... I still thought you'd come back for me. Because you're you. And I'm me. Somewhere along the way, though, I got lost, and, if it weren't for our friends, I might have gotten so lost, even you wouldn't have been able to find me, but... but I didn't."
Chikane swallowed. "Do you remember, Himeko? What I said in Take no Yamikazuchi's heart? You said that it would be alright. That we'd make it through this together. And I believed you. I said, 'yes. We will. We absolutely will.' And I knew that even if I became Orochi, even if I became Despair itself... you'd find me. And you did! So forgive me, Himeko. Forgive me for doubting you, these last couple of weeks. You will come find me. I know you will."
Chikane smiled, weakly, to herself. "I have an opportunity, Himeko. For us. I have the opportunity to study music at a very prestigious conservatory, under a very good teacher. His name is Kaoru Miki, Himeko, and I... I think you'd like him. I've spoken with him a few times now over the last couple of weeks, and he is very kind, and very patient. The doors that would open if he were to train me, Himeko, they're doors that would otherwise never, ever be offered to me again. It's the chance of a lifetime, Himeko..."
And here, Chikane swallowed, the lump (always that lump!) appearing in her throat, as she finally looked up at Himeko's sleeping form, and gently took Himeko's hand.
"But Himeko, this school, it's very far away. If I want to study with Kaoru-sensei, then I'd have to go to his school, and that means... that means I'd have to go to France. It's half the world away, Himeko..."
Chikane took Himeko's hand, and kissed it, holding it to her forehead, closing her eyes. "So please, please, Himeko. Forgive me, because I have to go away for a little bit. Only a little while. I have to go away because... because I believe in a future for us, together. And I want that future to be a good one. If I choose to stay here, Himeko, by your side, then it is because I believe that you are not going to wake up. That you are going to die, and so I would spend the rest of our time together, here, by your side, but I don't believe that, Himeko. I don't. You are going to wake up, and we are going to spend the rest of our lives together not over days or weeks, but over decades. And I... I want to be good to you over those decades, Himeko. I want to be wonderful to you over those decades."
And Chikane swallowed again, fighting back the tears.
"So I'll be right back, Himeko," Chikane whispered. "I'll be right back, and I'll be someone you will be proud of. Ittekimasu."
Ittekimasu. I'll be right back.
And Chikane gave Himeko's hand one last kiss, before she got up and slowly put that hand back on the bed, and turned to leave. And just as Chikane was about to turn away, she heard the voice she had been aching to hear for weeks now.
"... Itterashai."
Itterashai. Return safely.
Jerking her head, Chikane's eyes widened in shock as she gazed into Himeko's tired, but open amethyst ones.
Himeko gave Chikane's hand a squeeze, a soft, weak squeeze, but a squeeze none the less. "I'll wait for you." Himeko promised, her voice so soft, and yet the promise in them, so strong. "I'd wait forever for you..."
"... Himeko...!" Chikane whispered, too scared to say the name any louder, for fear it would ruin this what could only be a dream.
Himeko smiled, weakly. "Chikane-chan."
"Himeko! Himeko!" Tears welling up in the corner of her eyes, Chikane threw herself forward, and pulled her beloved into a tight hug.
And then her mouth found Himeko's own, and they kissed, and they kissed, and they kissed...
Neither of them heard the excited giggling of the shadows that had already faded off into nothing.
'Haha! Fiiiiinally!'
(An indeterminate about of time later, Chikane remembered her priorities, and quickly called for the doctors and nurses, who admonished her for waiting this long to advise them that their patient had finally awoken.)
"Mai!" Mikoto called as she traipsed back into the dorm room she shared with the redhead like she hadn't been missing for the last several weeks at all, Chu-chu sitting on top of her head, equally non-fussed. "Mai, I'm home! I'm hungry!"
Mai whirled around from the stove where she had been cooking like she'd heard a ghost. "MIKOTO!" She bellowed, dropping her ladle back into her pot, and running over to the front door, grabbing the small wild-child into a fierce hug which quickly turned into one of anger as she throttled the girl back in forth. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" She hollered.
Mikoto blinked. "I told you I was going to help look for Himeko with Chu-suke."
"That was WEEKS ago!" Mai cried, sweatdrops of exasperation liberally decorating the back of her head.
Mikoto looked very confused. "No it wasn't, that was just this afternoon." She looked up at the monkey mouse sitting on top of her head. "Wasn't it, Chu-suke?"
The monkey mouse simply cocked her head to the side, even as she stuffed a banana she had pulled from out of nowhere into her mouth. 'Pray tell, Miss Mikoto? What is this 'afternoon' you speaketh of?'
Mai stared at Mikoto again like she was an alien, and finally just threw up her hands. "Mou! I give up, Mikoto! Sometimes, I think you were raised by wild cats! Hold on a sec, the ramen is almost done."
Turning around, Mai walked away from Mikoto, back to the stove.
As Mai walked away, Mikoto couldn't help but feel her heart lurch a little bit in her heart with worry - just what had Mai meant, she had been gone for weeks? She couldn't have been gone that long! She would have noticed the time passing, wouldn't she?
Mikoto stared at Mai's back. And as she looked at it, curiously, Mai's Fuuka Academy school uniform faded away and instead, she was wearing what looked like orange and white, metallic battle armor, with chunky glowing wrist guards and a wide metal belt. 'A... Gardenrobe otome R.O.B.E,' Mikoto realized languidly, though she had no idea what that was, or how she had even come to know the term...
The entire Fuuka dorm room fell away, replaced by the endless forests of Cat God Mountain ('Cat God Mountain? How had she known what *that* was?). Looking down, Mikoto realized that she herself wasn't wearing the Fuuka uniform either, but was wearing black and dark grey monk's robes, and holding onto a golden staff with rings at the top...
Blinking, Mikoto looked back up over at Mai, who had turned back around and was looking at her inquisitively, and Mikoto's heart started to squeeze unbearably...
... as though it hadn't been hours since she'd last seen Mai... as though it hadn't even been weeks since she'd last seen Mai... but centuries since Mai's soul had been reborn to her...
And then Mai opened her mouth and spoke, "Mikoto?"
And as Mai said her name, Mikoto blinked, and the world snapped back into place like it should have.
She was back in the real world, at Fuuka Academy, and the girl in front of her Tokiha Mai.
Mai came back to Mikoto, frowning. "Hey, Mikoto?" She said gently, come back to the small girl and placing a hand on her head. "What's wrong?"
Mikoto... couldn't quite answer Mai. She couldn't explain why tears had just come to the corners of her eyes. Instead, she furiously wiped those things away, and forced a smile onto her face. "Nothing! I just want some of Mai's ramen! Mai's ramen is the best!"
On paper, Tenjou Utena had been a fraud, a woman who had taken a dead girl's identify and used it for 16 years before disappearing on the Day the Skies Split, presumed dead.
No one believed what had been put on paper. Absolutely no one.
And on the day of Tenjou Utena's funeral, so many people showed up to pay their respects, they couldn't fit everyone inside the building the service was being conducted in and had to hastily open up the entire cemetery and bring out loud speakers so that everyone could hear.
It wasn't just friends and acquaintances from a time long past who had come either, though they were all there - Arisugawa Juri with Daidouji Tomoyo. Kiryuu Touga with Ohtori Kanae. Saionji Kyouichi and Wakaba. Tsuwabuki Mitsuru and Nanami. Kaoru Miki - but everyone from the high school Utena had taught at for the last eight years as well - all the staff, faculty and students, and then every single student who had graduated in those eight years, everyone who's life Utena had touched and influenced, always for the better, had shown up to pay their respects.
Chikane was humbled, deeply, deeply humbled, and moved, as she stood in front of the crowd that was so massive, it made the service seem like some sort of state funeral. They had hastily put a podium in front of her, with a microphone, so that everyone could hear Tenjou Utena's daughter give her eulogy.
At Chikane's side, tightly holding onto Chikane's hand, was Kurusugwaa Himeko, there to give the girl strength. In truth, they had to give strength to each other, really. Chikane needed the emotional support, but she was actually physically supporting Himeko, as the tawny haired woman had not yet fully completed her rehabilitation, and could not walk or even stand easily without assistance.
In the front row of the service was Chikane's friends, all there to give her support as well - Kuga Natsuki, Fujino Shizuru, Tokiha Mai, Tate Yuuichi and Minagi Mikoto. Given how tightly packed the place was, someone probably could have slid into the empty space on the bench beside Mikoto, but no one had felt really comfortable doing so.
Himeko gave Chikane's hand a squeeze, and Chikane knew it was time.
"Thank you for coming, everyone," Chikane began, her voice low and soft. "My mother... my mother would have been deeply honored, and humbled to see all of you today. But, let's face it, it is we, who are humbled, and honored, to have known Tenjou Utena.
"My mother was... well, there's no other words to put it. My mother was a Prince. She was one of those very few souls in the world put here on this earth for the sole purpose of making it a better place. And oh, how she did so. With her efforts. With her actions. With her simple presence.
"You are all here today, literally hundreds of you, because my mother touched it in some way, and made it better. For some of you... she even saved your life. Literally pushing you out of the way of oncoming traffic, or even pulling you out of a burning building, or giving you that shoulder to lean on when you most needed it, when everyone else had given up on you, and you had no one else to turn to, nowhere else to go.
"But know this, everyone, please. What she gave to you is not without a price, for having been the recipient of her presence, of her hope, of her love... you must know, that she has charged you with a similar mission. If you want to honor Tenjou Utena, then you must go forth into this world, and do good. It doesn't have to be in her name - she doesn't need that. But each and every one of you must rise, and do what you must, in these times of healing and rebuilding, and do as she would have, do what she continues to do right now, by being in hearts and minds: Good.
"Go out there, and be the Prince that someone else needs you to be. That is how best we can honor Okaa-sama's memory."
And then, Chikane gave a bow, and she turned to look at Himeko, who could only smile proudly at her, as they slowly made their way away from the podium.
Everyone was moved. There wasn't a single dry eye in the house, except for one.
Mikoto was very confused. She leaned over and whispered into Mai's ear. "I don't understand, Mai." She said softly. "Why is Hime talking like Utena is gone?" Mikoto pointed her thumb at the empty seat beside her. "She's right-"
"Shh, Mikoto." Mai shushed. "I'll explain later."
Mikoto frowned. She stared at the empty space beside her and shrugged helplessly.
The pink and purple haired girls sitting beside her, the ones only she could see, simply laughed, and mouthed, 'it's okay. Don't worry about it.'
After the funeral, there was a reception, though not everyone stayed very long for that, as clearly, no one had anticipated so many people would need to be fed.
Arisugawa Juri and Daidouji Tomoyo were among those who had decided to leave relatively early on, having carpooled together for the occasion. While Tomoyo had wanted to stay, to at least be able to share a few words with Himeko, whom she hadn't seen in so long, the dark haired designer knew things were still pretty awkward between Juri and Himeko, and didn't want to put either women through that, so was quick to agree when Juri asked if they could go.
The car ride away was quiet, Juri driving, while Tomoyo was in the passenger seat, no music on.
Tomoyo had been careful to look after her old friend, knowing how much it hurt the flame haired woman still to be in the presence of Himemiya Chikane and Kurusugawa Himeko. She had actually been quite proud of how well Juri had handled herself through the entire affair.
... actually, pride wasn't quite the right word for it, but Tomoyo wasn't quite sure she could articulate what it was that she was currently feeling towards her old friend.
As the ride continued, and Tomoyo gauged Juri's mood correctly to be quite mellow, she asked softly, "how are you feeling, Juri-chan?"
Juri frowned a little bit, but then seemed to relax again, cocking her head to the side as she thought about it. "I'm... I'm okay." She finally managed to admit. "I'm okay."
'Hmm.'
Piqued, Tomoyo decided to push just a liiiiittle bit more. "Himemiya-san did a fine job with Tenjou-san's eulogy, didn't she?"
Juri was silent for a moment longer, before she said, her voice soft, and authentic. "Yes. Yes, she did."
The drive continued a bit more, until, finally, Tomoyo couldn't help herself and finally just asked. "So... why did you do it, Juri-chan? Why did you introduce Himemiya Chikane to Miki-kun? And ask him to take her under his wing?"
Juri didn't answer Tomoyo right away. They drove in silence for a few more minutes. When Juri finally spoke, there was peace in her voice, a sort of peace that Tomoyo hadn't heard, well, ever, from the flame-haired woman. "If I had to lose Himeko to anyone," Juri finally said quietly. "I would not be able to stand it if that person could not take care of her at least as well as I could."
And Tomoyo stared at Juri, as though looking at her for the very first time. But, because Juri's attention was mostly on the road, she missed the significance of the long, lingering look that her old friend was casting her way. It was a significant look, a look of appraisal, and surprise, and wonder.
A look of intrigue.
They continued driving in silence until they reached their destination – Tomoyo's house. Juri parked the car, and turned to look at her passenger.
"Do you want to come inside for some coffee?" Tomoyo asked.
Juri thought about it, and shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I have to get-"
Tomoyo leaned over and gave Juri a kiss at that sensitive spot along her jawline, just under her ear.
"Do you want to come inside for some coffee?" The dark grey haired designer repeated, meaningfully.
Juri blinked a couple of times. And then her eyes widened. "Uh..." She said, at the absolute height of her intelligence and eloquence. "... huh?"
Tomoyo simply gave her a (sultry) smile and got out of the car.
After a moment, Juri undid her seatbelt, fumbling with the lock for just a moment.
*A FEW MONTHS LATER*
In the middle of a busy intersection in downtown Fuuka, Chikane waited patiently for the light to turn.
The weather was unseasonably hot, and the sun was shining brilliantly. She wore a simple, white, one-piece dress, and a yellow hair band. Dangling from her throat was Himeko's pink seashell pendant, hanging from a delicate silver necklace. Chikane had stood in this exact location, wearing exactly the same clothing (except for the necklace, which hadn't arrived into her possession yet), once before, but the girl was far too anxious and distracted to remember this (which was actually probably for the best, considering how poorly that day had gone).
Chikane frowned and looked down at her wrist for the time. Her flight had been delayed, so she was running late. She was supposed to have met Himeko at the hospital almost an hour ago. While she had sent her tawny-haired beloved a couple of apologetic messages already, and Himeko had assured her it was fine to take her time, still, Chikane could not help but feel a bit frustrated.
It was a little ironic that she was so focused on the time that she missed the light actually turning green, until everyone else had started walking. Only then had Chikane quickly looked up and hurried across the street...
... until happily sparkling amethyst eyes caught and held her blue-green own, stopping her right in the middle of the street in her tracks.
Chikane's eyes widened and her mouth dropped a little bit, with surprise, and happiness, so much happiness, as she took in the sight of the beautiful woman in front of her.
Himeko had pulled her shoulder length hair back with a white ribbon, and she wore a sleeveless blue top and a white pleated tennis skirt. She was smiling, a shy but pleased smile, even as her eyes continued to twinkle with shameless pleasure. She stopped too, a few feet shy of her beloved.
Soon, everyone else had cleared the way, leaving only Chikane and Himeko in the intersection, smiling brilliantly, if shyly at each other.
Himeko spoke first. "Okaeri, Chikane-chan. Welcome home!"
Chikane could only continued to stare, her mouth still open, marveling at Himeko's beauty, and good health, and fine temperament. And then, she replied, a little belatedly, "Tadaima, Himeko. I'm home."
And then, Himeko hurried across those last few steps, her arms out stretched, until she met Chikane, and wrapped her arms around her the blue-black haired girl's shoulders, even as Chikane's own arms sought out Himeko's slender waist, and they held each other close, refusing to let go, for a glorious, glorious 30 seconds, until the driver in the only car stuck waiting in the intersection for them to finish had to stick his head out his window and say, awkwardly, even as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "ano... would you two mind taking that onto the sidewalk?"
For a moment, Chikane thought to shoot him a glare (which, once upon a time, in a very similar situation, would have smashed his car back into the driver behind him and cause a 4 car pile-up), but her mood was far too marvelous to sustain such a negative expression, and she instead let Himeko gave an embarrassed 'oh! I'm sorry!', and then take her beloved's hand, and lead her to the other side of the intersection and to the rest of their lives together.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
*Takes a deep breath*
IT IS DONE.
*Falls over*
...
I'm going to be honest with you guys here, for a few months, I despaired that I'd actually get to finish this fic. It's been a looong time coming, as the original idea that was the basic premise of this fic (that is, a X-over where Chikane is Utena and Akio's daughter) is ten years old, and first came to me in Dec 2004, when KnM's initial run first ended. I had tried to write that story, called Prince, and it didn't work out - I just wasn't mature enough to get the ideas out the way I wanted to.
Then I tried to do a series of crack fics where Chikane, Shizuru, Juri and Tomoyo went to University together, called 'Four Muses', and that didn't work out either, because it was just fluff with no plot, and oh, how Muse-chan's plot bunnies were already multiplying!
I was finally able to write this fic I've been wanting to write for a decade, when I realized the solution to my problems was to turn it into a 3-way crossover with Mai Hime in Dec 2012, and to mimic a season of anime (a 12 episoder that somehow became a 24 episoder, lol) to help me keep my pacing decent, and that, as they say, is that!
This is the longest piece of work I have ever written, at just about 240,000 words, and I gotta say... I'm pretty happy with it. :) There are things I would like to fix, eventually, like I never did describe St. Vlas or Kiyohime as an Orochi neck - as pointed out by Zero - thank you! - and I really should have shown the first fight between Mikoto and Chikane in 'Phone Calls from the Edge', rather than skipping through it - thank you, Dezo, and of course, all those embarrassing spelling errors, lol!
Thank you for those of you who stuck with me through this fic, despite that long, terrible, over 1 year silence between 'Immortality's Price' and 'Bonds across time'. I couldn't resist lampshading that year in the Shiznat scene in this chapter, and I hope that made some of you smirk. That Shiznat scene, incidentally, I'm quite sure was already done by DezoPenguin in Duran and Kiyohime's Omake Theater, though I didn't realize that at the time that I wrote it. =P Sorry Dezo! And thank you! This fic is 1000x better for your valuable input and commentary!
Thank you again for those of you who took the time to leave a review, or a favorite or a follow! You have no idea how much joy your words have brought me, how happy I am to know that folks out there have enjoyed this yarn (and didn't find a KnM, MH, RGU X-over too weird to read). I am deeply humbled by how much time some of you have spent on those reviews, how deep your thoughts. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you!
And of course, thank you to my darling guubear. :)
There's only the epilogue left, and it is going to be short and not-too-important, though I think I'm probably going to make an announcement at the end of it. Maybe. Still debating, lol. It will probably be released within the week (if I can wait that long! And if I can get out of this jury-duty that suddenly showed up from nowhere.)
... Oh. Omake? Okay, maybe just the one won't hurt.
Cheers,
jen-chan
jen-chan-shaw. livejournal. com
OMAKE I: Okay! I lied! Here is an omake!
[MAI is in her hospital bed chatting to TAKUMI when NATSUKI brings CHIKANE in.]
CHIKANE: [Sheepish] Hi, Mai-san. I'm sorry I didn't come to visit sooner. I was moping over Himeko being in a coma. Thank you for donating that body part to her so that at least she's just in a coma, and not dead.
MAI: No problem, I'm happy to help.
NATSUKI: Hey, what did you donate to her anyway?
MAI: [Scratches cheek] Actually, I'm not really sure myself either, the script didn't really say, did it? Hmm... I'm assuming, based on where Himeko-san was riding in Ame no Murakumo, versus where the Swords burst from, that they stabbed upwards from under her? So it was probably something in the lower half of her torso?
CHIKANE: Ah, so, like, part of a liver, maybe? Kidneys?
MAI: Maybe. [Laughs] Ah well, it's not like this is a medical drama fic, right? As long as it's something I can spare, there's no problem, right?
[The SURGEON who performed the procedure walks in holding a clipboard.]
SURGEON: Ah, there you are, Tokiha-san! How are you doing today?
MAI: Very well, thank you, Doctor. Say, Doctor, do you remember what it was that I donated to Himeko-san?
SURGEON: Hmm, says here, it was a testicle.
NATSUKI: !
CHIKANE: !?
MAI: O_o;;;
SURGEON: [Sweatdrops] Uh... that can't be good. I better make sure my malpractice insurance premiums are paid up to date. [Scurries away.]