On the last evening ferry to Fūka Island (local time: 10:47 PM)…
"So you really ARE some sort of android, aren't you?"
Miyu blinked before she gazed knowingly on her current companion. Both Academy students were standing on the weather deck of the ferry transporting people on the last run of the day to Fūka Island from Fukuyama, a small seaport town halfway along the southern coast of Honshū from Hiroshima to Okayama. "That is correct. My proper designation is 'Multiple Intelligential Yggdrasil Unit.' The initials of that phrase in English spell out my given name, 'Miyu.' Father Joseph is my creator."
Suzushiro Haruka hummed, and then she nodded. "What would your name mean in Japanese?"
"'Extreme gentleness,'" Miyu translated. "The first kanji would normally be read 'shin' in on'yomi reading and 'fukai' in kun'yomi reading. The second kanji would be read as either 'u' in go'on'yomi reading or 'yū' in kan'on'yomi. 'Yasashii' in kun'yomi reading." She then pulled out a small pad of Stick-It Notes, then with a pencil, sketched out the kanji 深優 before showing that to Haruka.
The blonde heiress of the Suzushiro business group nodded. "It fits you."
The combat android looked surprised. "Why did you conclude that?"
A chuckle. "I've seen you with that blonde American exchange student in the elementary years," Haruka stated. "You're cold and impersonal to anyone else you meet, yet with Alyssa-chan, you're the perfect big sister figure to her." Her grey eyes then narrowed. "So why is it an android that clearly hasn't been built with Avalonian technology is pretending to be the daughter of the local parish priest?"
Miyu sighed. "It is good that you are so suspicious, Sempai. It will do you well in the immediate future." She then gazed out at the calm waters of the Inland Sea as the ferry began to make its final turn to line up with the Fūka village dock, now about a half-kilometre away. "Have you wondered about other possible reasons for all the mysterious occurrences that have struck the Academy in the last year or so? Especially after Tokiha Mai and Minagi Mikoto began attending classes?"
A vein on Haruka's forehead twitched. "So it WAS them…!"
"No," Miyu affirmed. "They are as much victims of what is happening here as others currently attending the Academy. Including Yukino-san."
Silence.
"Yukino?!" Haruka yelped, her eyes wide. "What?! What's happened to her?!"
Miyu gazed at her. "Are you prepared to accept what I am about to tell you, Sempai?"
More silence.
"Bad?" Haruka asked before she gulped.
"It depends on how one might interpret this situation."
Still more silence.
"Okay, tell me," Haruka bade.
Miyu nodded before she began…
In the still waters of the Inland Sea close to the shores of Fūka Island, something buried in the sand deep below the water level stirred, shifting the silt that had been resting on it over the years and centuries since it had last escaped the realm of the Obsidian Lord and found a maiden to bond with. In the many years since the bridge between the realm of Earth and the realm of the Obsidian Lord first formed, there had been times it had sensed out potential candidates to bond with, yet none had possessed the specific spark within her soul to accept it as her Child. Yet now…
As the last of the silt was shaken free, Kōmokuten allowed the surrounding salt water to lift its body clear of the underlying ground and ascend slowly to the surface.
Later…
"Eh?!"
Miyu turned to gaze with concern at Haruka. "Is there a problem, Sempai?"
The blonde blinked for a second before she reached for her back. "I dunno. All of a sudden, I felt a slight pain in my back. I don't think I stretched a muscle…"
The android blinked as her processors began to rapidly run through what she had just heard, and then her eyebrow arched. "Sempai, when is your birthday?"
Haruka jolted, and then she gazed at the other woman. "The third of August. Why?" Miyu's eyes narrowed. "A Leo. Sempai, did you ever notice a strange mark on Yukino-san's body, resembling a circle with a tail sticking up, that surrounding a dot?"
A nod. "Yeah, on her right arm, right about here!" Haruka said as she pointed to a place on her arm, just below the elbow on the line of the radius.
Miyu hummed. "And Yukino-san's birthday?"
"Eighth of March. In Western astrology, she's a Pisces."
The android then blinked. "Curious."
"What?"
"In Western iatromathematics, the domination of Pisces normally influences one's feet and lymphatic system," Miyu explained. "Unless…" She then gazed on Haruka, her eyebrow arching. "When exactly was Yukino-san born?"
"What does THAT have to do with it?!" Haruka demanded.
"We need to determine her rising sign," Miyu stated. "Could you send her an SMS and ask? A HiME mark at that location would demand that she be a Gemini, not a Pisces."
Haruka blinked, and then she pulled out her cell phone, flipping it open as she quickly typed out her message before sending it out. As they waited for a reply, she then gazed on the android. "So why would Yukino's time of birth factor into where that stupid mark goes? And what would that have to do with my back?"
"You may consult with a professional Western astrologer to confirm this, but most likely, your rising sign is also Leo. Iatromathematics is Western medical astrology; it would help an astrologer determine what problem areas of your body you might experience sometime in your life. Given what I just explained to you about what HiME are and what they confront at this time, the chances are there…"
"That I'm like Yukina, Shizuru, Tokiha and all the others, right?!"
"Correct."
"But you said there can only be TWELVE HiMEs, Miyu!"
"That is also correct, but the Foundation's scientists believe that it is theoretically possible for other women to become HiME as well. How was Ojō-sama so empowered? I cannot answer that as I was never told as to how she gained her ability to control Artemis. Atop that, all Avalonians I and Akane have spoken to can see the HiME Star close to the Moon." Both women glanced up to gaze on the red beacon of light in the night sky close to Earth's lone satellite. "So it may be possible…"
"That I can summon one of these 'Childs.' Like the thing that burned that trench in the mountain behind the Academy campus several weeks ago."
A nod. "That was Kagutsuchi, Tokiha Mai's Child. She had just unsealed him when an Orphan came out to threaten the life of her brother."
Haruka jolted, and then she sighed. "Well, defending Takumi-kun is one thing…" Her cell phone rang. "Suzushiro!" she answered it, and then she sighed. "Yeah, I'm back, Yukino. Has anything Orphan-related happened since I left?!"
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH?!" the panicked voice of Kikukawa Yukino cried out over the phone. "Haruka-chan…?!"
A sigh. "Yukino, I've known the story of the people that made you an Avalonian for the last four years; my family's been helping get the Uchū Jieitai set up ever since they started to come here." Haruka ignored the croak of shock from her best friend. "Look, never mind about that; we'll talk about it later. What time of day were you born?"
"Um…about 10:30 in the morning," Yukino replied.
"Ten-thirty AM," Haruka parroted to Miyu, and then she added, "In Kanazawa up in Ishikawa, to be exact. Does that explain why her mark's on her arm?"
A nod. "Correct. Yukino-san's rising sign would be Gemini. In iatromathematics, Gemini influences the arms, hands, shoulders, lungs, the nervous system and the brain. And given Yukino-san's versatility in serving as secretary to the Student's Council, not to mention her willingness to correct your misspelling of certain words…"
Haruka jolted. "You just HAD to mention that, did you?!" she snarled.
Miyu ignored her. "It does explain why her HiME mark is on her arm, not close to her lower legs or on her feet." She then turned to un-tuck her companion's shirt, which made Haruka yelp in shock as her cheeks suddenly flamed. "Ah," the android then mused on seeing a familiar red mark on the right side of the older woman's thoracic vertebrae. "And that proves what has just happened to you, Sempai. Your own HiME powers may soon activate. As to what sort of Child you will possess…"
Haruka just gaped at her.
The Fūka Academy residence wing…
In her private room at the Academy, Yukino was white-faced and wide-eyed as her brain nearly began to crash at what she had just overheard.
"Haruka-chan…an Avalonian…a HiME…Haruka-chan…?"
Moaning, she then fell back in a dead faint onto her bed.
The Academy, Student's Council room (local time: 12:11 AM)…
"Greer, if that's a joke, it's NOT funny!"
Miyu turned to gaze in veiled amusement at Kuga Natsuki. "Natsuki-san, what would be the logic of my lying about what has now befallen Haruka-sempai? I saw the mark, virtually opposite on her body as to where YOUR mark is located on YOUR body. YOU have ALL seen the mark on Haruka-sempai's body. And she felt the mark form as soon as she closed to within close range to the Island, returning back to us…"
"After she crossed over," Harada Chie stated.
"Correct, Chie-san."
The people in the room — most of the elder HiME students plus a small grouping of non-HiME Avalonians along with Tate Yūichi, childhood friend and quasi-big brother figure to one of the younger HiMEs, Munakata Shiho — exchanged looks. "So if she has the mark, what happens now?" Yūichi asked. "Just park Sempai in front of the next Orphan that come along and hope she develops her elements and her Child comes to save her?"
Haruka jerked, though Yukino — everyone simply could NOT ignore the bespectacled girl's red cheeks as she held her friend's hand — was quick to calm her down. "Well, perhaps not something so drastic as that, Yūichi-kun," Fujino Shizuru stated before she sipped her tea. "Much that Mai-san and Takumi-kun WERE both Avalonians when they came here, they certainly weren't prepared for the Orphan that came along to attack him." She then gave Natsuki a knowing look. "You certainly didn't help on that, Natsuki."
"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry, alright!" Natsuki snarled. "I didn't even sense that either Tokiha or her brother WERE Avalonians that night! What the hell was I supposed to do, Shizuru?! Have the poor girl risk her brother's LIFE by letting her stay here?!"
Everyone shuddered on hearing that. "Well, it was pretty much good intentions on Natsuki-san's part," Senō Aoi noted as she gazed on Natsuki.
Natsuki flashed Chie's bond-mate a grateful look. "So what DO we do?!" Higurashi Akane asked as she held Miyu's hand. "Now that Miyu's back, her father is going to probably get her to start sniffing around more to try to track us all down."
"Akane, there is no need to fear."
Eyes locked on the android. "Are you protected?" Natsuki asked.
A nod. "The advantages of being sentient, Natsuki-san. There are times I believe my 'father' has no idea what he put into me when I was first activated. I've been able to manipulate the ambient mystical energy that surrounds Fūka Island to help close off certain sectors of my memory from outside scanning. Thus, my relationship with Akane is quite safe, plus my knowledge concerning all of you and what you are."
"Well, thank the heavens for that!" Chie noted. "It would be a total tragedy if such a lovely couple as you two were forced apart because of your dad, Miyu-chan!"
Akane blushed as Miyu gave the gossip queen of Fūka an amused look while everyone else laughed. At that moment, a knock was heard at the door. Everyone turned as the door slid open, revealing an overweight man with his hair styled in an afro and a moustache and goatee surrounding his mouth. "Sakomizu-sensei," Shizuru said as she smiled at Sakomizu Kaiji, who was Tokiha Takumi's and Okuzaki Akira's homeroom teacher; he normally taught biology to all the middle and high school students. "Come in, please. Would you like some tea? You seem bothered about something."
Kaiji chuckled as he closed the door, and then nodded as Aoi reached over to tap a control on the panel beside the door to re-activate very advanced anti-listening shields that had been installed in this room sometime ago. This would ensure that whatever listening devices the field agents of First Division had planted here would not record what was said within these walls. Then again, from what Kaiji — who, while he was an agent for First Division, saw his FIRST duty to his students, especially the HiME living at the Academy — knew, the elders that ran the Division didn't really care too much about the ordinary day-to-day goings on at Fūka; the only thing that would really concern them is any news of the Obsidian Lord's return. "Sorry to disturb you all, people," he said before smiling at Haruka. "Haruka-kun. Congrat-…!"
His voice then caught on seeing what was now showing on the blonde girl's back; the just-returned senior high school student had stripped out of her shirt and jacket, leaving only her sports bra behind. As Kaiji gaped at the sight of someone he KNEW was NOT one of the Princesses of the HiME Star WITH the HiME mark on her body, he then felt Natsuki's hand on his shoulder. "It's true, Sensei," the lone rider of the HiMEs stated. "She hasn't had a chance to develop her elements, much less meet a potential Child, but that mark's pretty much the same as all of ours."
Kaiji blinked, and then he breathed out. "Damn…!" He then caught himself before he gazed at his late friend's daughter. "But how?! You all said there can only be TWELVE HiMEs! I know how Alyssa-chan got her powers, but…"
People shook their heads. "We don't know," Shizuru stated. "I doubt even Nagi-kun could answer this one. All we have to do is, unfortunately, wait."
He nodded. "The next Orphan incident. Right." He gave Haruka a look. "I don't envy the next few days for you, Haruka-kun." Kaiji then took a deep breath. "But I'm sadly not here for that." His eyes fixed on Miyu. "I have some bad news for you, Miyu-kun."
"And that news is?" Miyu asked.
"Someone's put a contract out on your father."
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
And then…
Miyu's eyebrow arched. "Indeed?"
"What does that mean, Sensei?" Akane asked.
Miyu gripped her lover's hand. "It means, Akane, that someone has decided that my father no longer deserves to live and has now offered a contract for money to see him assassinated," she calmly replied. Ignoring Akane's wide eyes and dropped jaw, she then gazed on the biology teacher. "Sensei, did you learn who made such a request?"
Kaiji sighed. "It was Moroboshi Negako-sama. And she contacted Noir to do it."
"Oh, hell…!"
Eyes locked on Natsuki. "Who or what is Noir?!" Yūichi then asked.
"The deadliest pair of assassins ever to walk the planet," Natsuki replied. "They're the field agents of a secret society named les Soldats; that's French for 'the Soldiers.' An organisation that Searrs' people have fought on and off for some centuries, in fact." She had learned this from her late mother, Kuga Saeko, before she had been put to death by agents of the First Division for reasons she (nor Kaiji) knew. "I think they'd even give Negako-san a very good fight. So if they're involved…"
"No doubt, Negako-sama wishes to draw the Foundation out and destroy it."
Eyes locked on Miyu. "You seem to be taking this very well, Miyu-kun," Kaiji noted.
The android closed her eyes, and then she turned to walk to the window to gaze on the darkened campus grounds beyond. "Sakomizu-sensei, if my father ever treated me with even the barest hint of acknowledging that I was more than just a machine shaped as a teenage girl, I might actually be concerned enough to go to Negako-sama and plead for my father's life. I doubt I, with all my skill and weapons, could defeat the likes of Mireille Bouquet or Yūmura Kirika and survive to speak of the tale afterward." A sigh. "Whatever feelings I might have felt for my father died the instant I was able to learn that the Foundation is prepared, if required, to have Ojō-sama terminated if she fails to defeat the other HiMEs and destroy their Childs." She squeezed her eyes closed, and then she tensed as Akane walked up to grasp her hand. "Alyssa is my LIFE, Sensei! And she is as human as all of you! If my creator treated me like a mere machine, I can understand it!" Her teeth seemed to spark as her left hand began to shake. "But NOT Alyssa!" she spat out as certain programs turned over in her mind. "NEVER Alyssa!"
Everyone jolted on seeing her arm transform into her Mythril sword. "Hey, Miyu! Calm down, girl!" Yūichi called out as the others all tensed. "Relax! Negako-sensei's got it already covered! Just let it happen and it'll be all cool, okay?!"
Miyu blinked, and then she tilted her left arm up to stare with surprise at the sword that now protruded from below her elbow joint. Blinking again, she then sighed as she willed the sword back into her arm and deactivated her combat systems. "I apologise."
"I don't blame you for feeling that way, Miyu," Shizuru stated. "Akane, why don't you take Miyu to your room and go to bed. I doubt her 'father' will expect her to come by his private laboratory under the church until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest."
Akane nodded, and then she moved to guide Miyu out of the room, Aoi standing up to deactivate the anti-listening shields on the room, reactivating them once more as soon as the couple was done. As she took her seat, Chie smirked. "You wanna know something, guys? The day she crosses over, Akane-chan's gonna have her hands full."
Laughter filled the room. "So what should I do?" Haruka then asked.
"Yukino, you can use Diana to keep an eye on Haruka, can you?" Shizuru asked.
"Of course," Yukino stated as she gave the older woman a look that clearly said Do you honestly think I'm THAT stupid?! Remember who you're talking to!
"Alright, then. If something does happen to Haruka, text us ALL immediately so we can be there," the student council president then said. "When exactly is Mai…?"
Someone's cell phone then beeped. "Mine!" Chie called out as she pulled out the flip phone from her skirt, and then she opened it to gaze at the incoming text message. She then blinked in confusion for a moment before sitting back in her chair. "Okay…!"
"What?!" Natsuki demanded.
"It's from Mai-chan," Chie reported. "She's coming back tonight with Akira, Takumi-kun and Mikoto-chan…and they're flying back on KAGUTSUCHI!"
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
And then…
"I'll alert everyone on the A-List, Shizuru!" Chie stated.
"I'm going out to take a look!" Natsuki said as she ran out the door.
"I'll get the kendō team up and out on the grounds!" Yūichi added as he followed her.
As people streamed out of the room, Yukino sighed before she drew out her cell phone to send a quick text message to Sugiura Midori to alert her as to what was happening. She then blinked on sensing someone standing before her. Looking up into Haruka's grey eyes, Yukino blinked, and then she bowed her eyes in shame. "I'm so sorry…" she breathed out. "How on Earth was I supposed to tell you about this, Haruka?"
Haruka blinked. "Do you love me?"
A nod. "Hai."
"Do you want to bond with me, Yukino? Marry me if we never find a nice guy to be the father of our children if things turn out that way?"
A nod, along with a deep sniff. "H-hai…"
"Then NEVER do that to me again," Haruka said.
Yukino blinked, and then she looked up into the older woman's eyes before she stood up to gently draw Haruka into her arms. "I saved myself for you," she whispered.
Haruka's eyebrow arched. "Really?"
"Hai. Even if you weren't a sister, I knew it would always be you."
A smile. "Tonight?"
Yukino hummed. "Well, I doubt that we'll be getting much sleep tonight."
A sigh. "True." Haruka then grumbled, "Stupid aliens…!"
Yukino giggled. "Shall we go?"
Haruka nodded as she offered her arm to her would-be bond-mate. Yukino took it as they headed out of the room while we now…
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(Posted Mon, 31 Jan 2011 02:43)
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