DISCLAIMER: Mai Otome and its characters are Sunrise property.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Italics will represent memories or periods of thought.
Our Legacy ch45
Underground Bunker, known as Founder Base,
There were too many people in the room talking all at once and the now blue-grey haired Natsuki was losing her patience. The twenty odd people that they had saved along the way were in the dorm section of the bunker closest to the transport area. Shizuru had started out sitting quietly watching with her, but emotional exhaustion had put her to sleep. Irina had escorted Ahn and Yukino to Kaede and Shiori's empty room to get some sleep. Both women looked as if they hadn't slept in days.
Natsuki nearly beat Nao senseless upon finding out that her daughter was not here at the base. Where she was didn't matter at this point? Natsuki wanted to spend time with her daughter in comfort, talking about the things she had seen and the people they lost along the way. With that option gone Natsuki snapped as usual giving Nao the blame. The girls just wouldn't stop talking and Natsuki's eyebrow started twitching uncontrollably.
"OK, DAMMIT, ALL OF YOU. SIT THE HELL DOWN AND SHUT UP. GO AHEAD AND MAKE A COMMENT HALLARD AND I'LL KICK YOUR SMART MOUTH LITTLE ASS."
The room went deathly quiet as Natsuki roared over them all from her seat causing Shizuru to jump. Natsuki pulled Shizuru into a quick kiss and apologized before asking Irina to take Shizuru to the room they were sharing.
"I'll do it, Irina, stay with the girls. Don't worry, Kruger, I won't try to molest her," Nao said as Natsuki glared at her even though Shizuru was already almost out the door.
"I asked Irina because you need to be here, too. Hurry it up and the conversation will wait," Natsuki replied dismissively avoiding Nao's comment. All these years later and they still couldn't play nicely together.
Nao caught up with Shizuru in the hallway and put a steadying arm around her waist. Shizuru seemed as hollow as Ahn and Yukino. Her brown hair had twice as much grey as Natsuki's hair had, leaving very little color to it. Shizuru looked at Nao and smiled sadly but warmly.
"I can get to the room without you, dear. I am not some child that needs guidance or protection," Shizuru said smiling with no malice in her voice.
"The old dog barks and everyone's supposed to just play along with her. You have got some kind of saintly patience to put up with that all these years," Nao replied with a mischievous wink.
"I seem to recall you putting her in that state most of the time. If I had to have patience with anyone it was you, thank the Founder, Katsumi calmed you down a little," Shizuru said as Nao led her into the room. Nao had given her room to them since she spent more nights in Irina's room anyway.
"Is that supposed to be some kind of joke? Wasn't it you who told Natsuki and I quote 'The next time she wants to have a child we lock her in isolation until she gives birth'?" Nao asked laughing as she remembered the last month of her pregnancy.
"I don't recall being so foul during my last month for Shiori," Shizuru replied as Nao folded back the bedcovers for Shizuru.
"Selective memory will do that to you every time. I seem to recall you breaking Natsuki's fingers during delivery," Nao said as Shizuru lay down and tried to get comfortable.
"Go back to Natsuki, Nao, as I seem to be tempted to remind you of your wandering hands and the accompanying mood swings," Shizuru said closing her eyes and turning to face the wall.
Nao smiled as she closed the door and left Shizuru to fall asleep once more, "Remind me all you want. I'm not the only one who enjoyed those wandering hands."
Ahn and Yukino were sleeping on Kaede's and Shiori's bed, while the whirlwind of activity went on around them. Yukino was sleeping so fitfully that Ahn had been unable to go to sleep. As soon as Natsuki roared down the hall, Yukino jumped up though barely alert. Yukino realized that she hadn't been dreaming and laid back down starting to cry once again. Ahn pulled Yukino to her and stroked her hair sharing the pain and loss they both felt so deeply.
I would rather have seen them die in flames or in the wash out back in Aries. Their disappearance is so much worse, to hope they will come back is too painful when we are like this. To be left behind in uncertainty is so much crueler an existence. We should never have left Zipang, on that Yukino was right. If not for these moments I doubt either of us would ever sleep again.
"Now that you had your chance to cop a feel, take a seat and shut up along with the pups," Natsuki said as the door opened upon Nao's return.
"I didn't touch Shizuru for your information and stop ordering me around. Whether or not you designed this base matters not, I run it, I'm in charge or had you forgotten?" Nao asked standing confrontationally in front of Natsuki.
"I'm only going to tell this story once, Nao, so I am asking you to take a seat, please?" Natsuki replied not looking at Nao and barely restraining her overwhelmed emotions.
Nao leaned over and whispered something in Natsuki's ear that caused her to smile briefly. As Nao turned to go take a seat next to Irina, Natsuki slapped her backside with a strong stinging hand and an even bigger smile as Nao let out a short cry of pain.
"Ok well now that we are all present again let's start at the beginning. When we left Garderobe that day we separated into three groups promising to meet up in Aries. Haruka's group arrived first, in order to set a camp for the rest of us. They would set up shop in the last remaining military installation and then head out to search for survivors. My group and Midori's group went towards Florence and Remus following a time line for a rendezvous in Aries…"
Natsuki paused thinking of the devastation and the ruined lives they had encountered along the way.
"As you know Queen Mashiro and her people remained in Windbloom trying to keep one last hope alive. One last bastion where we could fall back and start over once the fighting was over and the…I don't know what happened to them. The last transmission to come from them…"
Mitsuko shifted uncomfortably in her seat remembering the last words she had heard from Windbloom's Meister's as the last weapons rained from the sky and destroyed everything around them.
"I've seen so much in the past six months that I can't reasonably explain. The fighting between nations devastated this planet so badly that I am surprised we were able to find anyone at all. We've stayed alive only because we've stayed on the go. I've seen places come and go in the distance like mirages and heard sounds of life in the middle of deserted terrain.
Florence died a slow death, people dead in the streets, no one to bury the dead or care for the last of the dying. We all remember when the disease had started to claim lives and the futile attempt to find a cure in the archives. The water there is still poisoned, probably will be forever.
Cardair suffered similarly even though King Kraz-xeku tried to help those that they could. The last of Florence's military and that of Artai teamed up and brought down Cardair before moving on towards Romulus and Remus. If they would not surrender, they would be destroyed, first by air-strike missiles, then by ground troops if there was anything left to destroy afterwards."
"Natsuki, is it true that the missiles carried the disease?" Nao asked thinking of all the strong Otome from those regions.
"The payloads differed with each volley, some carried the wasting disease, some carried the nanomachines neutralizers and others carried various degrees of destructive capabilities. We've seen them capable of efficiently removing a single building down to its foundation and then others that could destroy half a city like some angry child's building blocks. You girls never got to see those little bastards and I'm glad for that much at least. I know you want to know about your parents, but I'm going to ask you to be patient…Eternal Recurring Jasper… Meister Steinberg, where the Hell are you going?"
Grace turned to look at Natsuki with tears in her eyes. So much of Maria Graceburt had been reborn in her daughter. Natsuki saw shadows of her former teacher and friend in that moment that she couldn't speak again. Grace wiped away her tears and replied, "To make tea and to cry in peace."
Chiyako stood up to join her, but Grace put a hand on Chiyako's shoulder stopping her. Grace leaned over and kissed her quickly before heading to the kitchen behind them. Chiyako shifted and slouched a little in her seat next to Mitsuko and brushed away the starting of her own tears. Mitsuko took her younger sister's hand and held it tightly knowing this was the only comfort she could give her.
"Since I know she can still hear me I'm going to continue. Along the way we did encounter small pockets of survivors, stopping long enough to get them vehicles and separate the wounded and dying from those who could help either with the searching or caring for the wounded. This made our journey to the rendezvous a little longer and more difficult than originally anticipated. On the last leg of the trip to Aries we meet up with Midori's group and the only surviving commercial transport we've seen in this entire time. The smaller vehicles were then manned by volunteers, in order to double back in search of more survivors while the rest boarded the large transport.
It was in Aries that things became strange, well…beyond normal. We met up with Haruka's group and set up shop temporarily. The last search grid that we covered in Aries cost us a transport and four friends. First of all, I don't know what happened to the transport except to say that it disappeared into the side of a mountain. It wasn't destroyed and the mountain wasn't some hidden base, if those are any of the questions you are harboring. It just disappeared; the last words from your mother, Chie, were about some large facility appearing in front of them and going in to check on it.
We never saw anything but mountainside, even as the transport disappeared in front of our eyes. Both of your parents, along with Youko and Yukariko were on that transport. To this day we have not seen or heard from them since, I'm sorry girls I can't tell you more than that."
Grace had barely been able to set the tea service down as Natsuki spoke those last words. She dropped where she stood and laid her head in her hands on the table's edge. No one spoke as those words set in. Nao just stared at Natsuki biting back the words she wanted to scream knowing the tears that would follow them.
"Midori will be heading back to Aries after making sure that the Aswad will be capable of caring for the large transport along with their own. She sends her love to you and promises that she will not give up until she knows what happened to the transport. Haruka's group moved on towards Zipang as we headed for Annam. As much as it pained me to do so we had to leave Aries. As you know, Cara, your uncle became King after your grandfather died. Ahn wanted nothing to do with him once he showed signs of allegiance with Artai.
I'm happy to say that she didn't have to see what had become of Annam because of it. From what we could tell King Nguyen the second and his family and followers were double crossed by their allies in the end. We lost Shiho Huit and Carla Bellini in Annam because they preceded us in their arrival and were present for the last attacks."
"Spiral…" Nao barely choked out the word. It was just another blow to her and it was becoming difficult to hear anymore of Natsuki's story. In a way, over the years, all of these people had become more than just friends, they were family.
"Laura Bianchi is working with Midori as well as Queen Akane and King Takumi. Everyone has suffered losses along the way and none are willing to stop until everything is settled finally. There are few areas left that remain contamination free and they are heading to those areas ahead of us.
As for the rest of Haruka's group, all we know is that Ahn and Yukino saw them disappear into a building that they discovered. They didn't tell us too much about the circumstances surrounding that building, considering it was nowhere to be seen once we found them. Megumi, Keiko, I'm sorry but both of your parents were with Haruka and Sarah at the time. Cara, your mother is going to need you…"
The mood in the room was so disheartening that no one said a word as Natsuki got up to leave. As the door closed behind her the girls all slowly composed their emotions enough to head out to their rooms, leaving Nao and Irina alone. Irina pushed the tea she had been drinking away, knocking it over in the process. For a moment they watched as the last of her cup spread out across the table. Irina sat back and reached to put her arms around Nao just as Nao got up and up-ended the table and started lashing out blindly in tears.
"Nao, don't do this to yourself. It could've been you in their place," Irina said barely above a whisper.
"Don't say anymore, Irina. If you harbor any kind of feelings for me, just leave…" Nao said as she dropped hard to the floor amongst the scattered chairs and overturned table.
"Nao, I…"
"Just go, please…"
Irina left the room as asked, but got no further than that. Irina leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor, emotions reigning free, "Why did I have to fall for you?"