Chapter 3: And With Strange Aeons

I do not know how long I slept, but I do remember that I had such haunting dreams. There were dreams of eerie creatures. There was a spidery being lurking in dark alleyways. There was something like a squid, hidden in the shadows of the woods around the campus, only the ends of its tentacles were tipped with gleaming yellow eyes, and it made a serpentine sound as it slithered and wriggled its way towards me. I remember seeing blood red eyes staring hungrily at Natsuki Kuga, and bright red lips parting to reveal a set of sharpened teeth as their owner closed her mouth over Miss Kuga's throat.

And I heard a deep male voice whispering to me from the mists, "That is not dead, which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons, even Death may die."

That voice, it was oddly soothing and terrifying at once. It sent a thrill through me, and tormented me in my dreams.

But the final dream was of my late mother. She was lying in a hospital bed, reaching out to stroke my face. Even then, still alive but exiting this world, her flesh was ice cold. She stared at me pleadingly, "Mai, you must take care of Takumi. It's up to you, now."

I woke slowly, my vision momentarily clouded by the tears in my eyes. I was seated in a chair, leaning over Takumi. Someone had draped a blanket over me, and the bed was clearly the bed from the school's infirmary.

"I see you're awake," the gentle voice of Yohko Sagisawa spoke to me, "He's alright. Though, what were the two of you doing in the woods so late at night?"

Would she have believed me if I had told her about the creatures I had seen the night before? I had two witnesses, Mikoto Minagi and Natsuki Kuga. But would either of them support my account? It was all so unreal. Was my recollection a memory of things which had happened, or the shadowed fog of a fever dream produced by a troubled mind? It had felt too real. No, it had been real. Even then, in my heart, I could feel Katgutsuchi slumbering, waiting to come to my call.

Before I could offer a reply, Reito Kanzaki and Yuuichi Tate entered the infirmary.

"The official explanation for the destruction on the back hill last night is damage caused by lightning from that thunderstorm we had," Mr. Kanzaki said, his voice smooth and confident, "You two were most fortunate that Miss Kuga found you while retrieving her motorcycle from the clearing and brought you here with the aid of Miss Minagi."

"I…would thank them," I said, "Where might I find them?"

"Well, as far as Miss Kuga goes," Mr. Tate scratched the back of his head, "Who can say for sure. She comes and goes as she pleases, and rarely turns up for her classes. However, she maintains her grades, and she is on a Kazahana scholarship, so none of the faculty complain overly much."

"Miss Minagi is a recent orphan. Her sole family, her late grandfather, he passed recently. There are strong ties between the MInagis and the Kazahanas, and so Miss Mashiro Kazahana graciously took her in as her ward. She's at the mansion on the western side of the campus, right now," Reito explained.

"In fact," Mr. Tate said, "Miss Kazahana likes to introduce herself to her scholarship recipients herself, and so she has asked us to bring you to her home so that proper introductions can be made. I've been appointed as your escort. Vice-President Kanzaki is supposed to help aid your brother to his rooms, as Miss Sagisawa says he's had too much excitement to be able to conduct an interview right now."

I nodded to Mr. Kanzaki, "Thank you, on Takumi's behalf."

He gave me a gracious smile, "It's no problem at all. As a member of the Student Council, it's my duty to see to the well-being of our students."

Yuuichi Tate thus escorted me to the stately mansion at the far end of the campus.

"Things were certainly taking a turn for the bizarre before your arrival," Mr. Tate said light-heartedly, "But they've certainly gotten stranger since your arrival. Maybe you're possessed."

"You saw?" I called in alarm.

He paused, blinking, and I immediately tried to retract my statement, but Mr. Tate saw it as grounds for his peculiar sense of humor.

"Well, if you are possessed, I know a place that can perform exorcisms. I'm on good terms with them. I could get you a discount."

I balked at his suggestion.

When we arrived at the mansion, I was greeted by Mikoto leaping enthusiastically into my arms. It would not be unreasonable to refer to her as a wildcat, for all her mannerisms resembled a rather independent feline.

And then I saw Miss Mashiro Kazahana, as well as her attendant and maid, Fumi Himeno. Miss Kazahana was seated in a wheelchair, but that was not the most surprising thing about my mysterious benefactor. Indeed, I was far more startled by her youth, for Miss Kazahana was younger, at least in appearance, than her ward, Mikoto Minagi. She had graceful, soft features, including long lavender colored hair, and eyes like seafoam. She reminded me more of a child's porcelain doll than a person. But there was also a strange weariness to her. Not in her features. Her smile was not forced, nor were there lines of worry or wrinkles of distress on her face. And yet, her entire aura was one of a person who was ancient beyond belief, and a grave weariness. I did not suspect she could surprise me any further than she already had. However, she was to immediately prove me wrong.

"Welcome to my home, Mai-Hime."

"How do you…?"

"Please, come inside, and we'll talk," she gestured.

I was escorted into her library, which had huge bay windows that overlooked the campus.

"Please, sit," Fumi gestured to a large chair.

I did as I was instructed.

"I'm aware that you have questions," Miss Kazahana said to me.

"Yes, starting with the obvious one. What is a Hime?"

"You are a Hime. As you know, it is the word for 'princess'. And you are of noble blood, Mai-Hime. You are one of the descendants of the original Battle Princesses. Blood marks your destiny, as does the crimson red birthmark on your body. You have one, yes?"

I did. A red mark on my bosom that was a red dot surrounded by a semi-circle, with a sharp tail extending from the top where the circle was open.

"It is the representation of the Hime Star, the red star by the moon, which only the Hime and the servants of the star can see. You saw Mikoto's mark, yes?"

I had. It was on her upper arm. I'd seen it when performing resuscitation on her aboard the ship on a day that now seemed like a lifetime ago, though it hadn't even been a full week.

"That mark, and your power, is the proof that you are a Hime. A Princess of war. You had an encounter with the Orphaned Shoggoth last night. They are creatures that come from another world. They were created by a race referred to in the Kitab al-Azif as The Great Old Ones, and they came to our world from someplace beyond our experience. The book was written by a man named Abdul Alhazred. The motto for our school comes from the Greek translation of the Kitab al-Azif, known as the Necronomicon, or Book of the Dead.

"'That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons, even Death may die.' That was the words that Alhazred wrote of the beings that slumber in this world, and they will return one day. It is the duty of the Hime to stop that from happening.

"It is for that purpose that your have your Element, and your Child."

I looked at her, my heart sinking.

"You brought us here to fight monstrosities! That's cruel! I am already responsible for the well-being of my brother."

She shook her head, "The choice to fight, or not, is yours. I will not revoke your scholarship. But the destiny of this world may well rest on you being able to stop the Orphans before they can awake the Old Ones. Please, consider what I have said. In the end, the decision must be yours.

"In the meanwhile, Mikoto Minagi needs to learn to socialize more. Her grandfather kept her rather isolated. So, I will assign her as your roommate, as she seems to have taken a liking to you, and it may aid in her socialization. And if I can help in any other way, such as aiding your brother…"

I gave her a wounded, angry look, and she sighed.

"I apologize. That was…rude of me."

I left the mansion with Mikoto, a grave weight now on my heart. How could I fight beings from before the dawn of time? How could I risk my life when it would leave Takumi alone in the world?

I slept uneasily that night, a dreamless slumber finally claiming me. And in the sky overhead, the red star continued to shine, decreeing a bloody fate for all of us.