The Circle of Three [CONCLUSION: 28: Ascension]

[rokun]

Wow, so many responses on both my stories! Thank you everyone, I feel so loved!

Can't analyze a whole lot huh? Well, now it's time for a little diversion from the normal fare. Hopefully I can establish a bit of lore in this world to make it more interesting. Some "new" characters come in who'll hopefully help a few things make a bit more sense. Since it's mostly informational I'm not sure how much analysis can be done, but there's a lot in here! A lot of little things... Anyway. Thank you all again, and I hope you enjoy!



Chapter 10 – The Trinity

Two thousand years ago…

“It’s almost complete,” a medium-sized woman pronounced, appearing quite stately with her hair that was beginning to turn a faded white and long grey-green v-necked robes over her skirt and short jacket. She looked down from the summit of a hill onto a large two-floored wooden structure whose roof was still being thatched together.

Two other women flanked her, both of them in their own robes that looked as if they belonged in a court rather than the wilderness of eastern Kyushu. One, with long silky hair below her crescent crown, stared off beyond the laboriously constructed structure as if peering into another world altogether. The other, her grey-green spring robes touched with white, looked on at the construction with pursed lips.

“Himiko is worried,” the long-haired one said suddenly, and the other two, through the years well-attuned to their sister’s visions, turned to her attentively.

“A supposed imperial line has been discovered, and there is a movement to revolt and bring Japan under a new rule,” she continued, eyes glazed as she saw far beyond the distant peaks and valleys.

“Imperial line,” the woman in white trim spat. “Somebody thinks they’ve found the great yet cowardly progeny of Amaterasu once again. I fail to see why this should be taken any more seriously than the other dozens of claimants in even the past century that I’ve existed on this heathen world.”

“Calm yourself, Aya,” the eldest said, laying her arm on the petulant woman’s shoulder. “Let us be patient and at least hear our sister out. Have you else to say, Gocchin?”

“It is Abe of the True Blood they’ve found,” the third woman stated, and silence fell among all three.

“Then it is our time to move,” the eldest said grimly. She turned to the south and west and looked toward the horizon. Clouds that had been floating scattered throughout the sky all day rapidly grew darker and seemed to converge in that direction, and even from the pinnacle they stood on many leagues away, they saw flashes of lightning strike within the now foreboding developing storm.

She then turned back to Maki Goto, who had lost the look of her scrying-dream, and now seemed to be awaiting her word. “Kansai is now under the cover of storm, free to be made into your playground,” she informed her sister. Although the three women were not related by direct filial bonds, they did share ancestry from centuries prior. Now, having found each other, they shared an affinity that Yuko Nakazawa felt if was not sisterly, nothing could be.

“Thank you, my sister,” Maki said soberly. “I shall return.” Then, within a blur of shadow, the woman vanished.

“I worry about her…” Aya said from Yuko’s other side. “I wonder if there’s any passion left in her sometimes.”

Yuko began walking with her carefully down the side of the slope toward the nearly completed building that was to be their school for exceptional girls. “There’s very little cheer to be drawn from constantly dwelling within the human mind, whether it’s your own or somebody else’s,” she explained to her sister. “Besides, I don’t think anyone can be cheerful on her way to an assassination. Even a necessary one.”

Aya nodded as they picked their way along the bottom slope of the hill, but was distracted by a man rushing up toward them and bowing sharply. “Great Ones,” he began, avoiding their eyes. “We are nearly finished with the trusses of the east wing. However, we’re unable to build it around your requested star symbol to its front. We just don’t have the engineering capability. I’m afraid we may have to do without it.” The man seemed very hesitant to speak, and hearing his problem, Yuko learned why.

“We must have that symbol, foreman,” she explained firmly. “The School of Soul and Stars after all must have a star identifying it somewhere.” The man darted his eyes around nervously. Even the workers on the project doubted the wisdom of building a “school” at all, much less in a largely uninhabited area such as this. “Unless you’d like to offer your soul for it instead,” she said, lowering her eyes and giving the man a grim smile.

“What seems to be the trouble?” Aya asked, taking a step toward the structure and peering at it.

The foreman seemed thankful for the distraction from Yuko’s offer. “The stone you’ve had us use for the entryway,” he said quickly. “It’s impossible to weld it to the surrounding thatch. It’s too heavy.”

“Is that all?” Aya asked. “There.” She pointed at a gaping hole just above what looked like a wide doorframe. “Is that the spot?”

“Yes, Matsuura-sama,” the man responded. Aya kept her arm outstretched, two fingers pointed toward the construction, and the sleeve of her robe billowing out below her arm. Men who were working on it and happened to glance over and see the two women arrive scattered, knowing by now there were better places to be when a sorceress’s attention was directed somewhere such as Aya’s was now.

Yuko could see the heavy dark-polished wooden star lying on the ground before the doorframe, and it rose from its bed, the air below it coagulating into what looked like a thin platform. It seemed too thin to support the star’s bulk, but Yuko knew since it was ice made from water in the air and controlled by her sister, there was little chance of that.

The platform raised the star, and more ice appeared in front of it so the star could be tilted forward and fitted into the gap above the doorframe. Held still by ice that now surrounded each side of the wall, the inside began to glow red as the star was fused by extreme heat to the supporting stone. The red glow grew until the ice started to visibly melt as well, and within seconds all the ice was gone, leaving a stone and blackwood structure that hardly even appeared to have a seam.

Aya lowered her arm and looked again at the foreman, who stared in awe at the act she’d just performed. “Will that suffice, Fukuda?” she asked, deigning using the man’s name. Yuko’s youngest sister was quite an enigma. She could be the most violent of them all, but at other times her politeness outdid any Yuko or likely even Maki was capable of.

Fukuda nodded. “Yes… with that in place we may be finished by the end of the week. He looked now between the two women, this time not lowering his eyes. “If I may… be so bold…” he began, tilting his neck slightly in a bow while making sure his eyes never left theirs.

“You may,” Yuko said, curious to hear what matter instilled such rare courage in him.

“If I may ask, your graces, how will you be selecting students for your school? I have a daughter,” he said, picking at the sleeve of his coat. “Many of the other men do as well. We hope for a better life for them than the hard one we lead. You’ve said…” he hesitated. “You’ve said this school will be the best in the land, and offer opportunities for young women far beyond what they might normally encounter.”

Aya furrowed her eyebrows at the man’s presumptiveness, but Yuko actually smiled. “So you wish your daughter to be one of the inaugural class? I think I’ve seen her before. Kanon I believe is her name, correct?” The man nodded gratefully. Yuko kept smiling. “She seems very bright and has much life in her. Of course we’ll have to meet the girls of your men, but we just might be able to work something out. Your efforts in Seishin’s construction should not go unrewarded, after all.”

The man’s face brightened as if he couldn’t believe his ears. He’d felt honor-bound to make the request, but obviously believed the likeliness of it being accepted was quite low. “Yuko!” Aya complained. “We can’t go inviting every girl in any random village to the school!”

“Fukuda’s daughter is not every girl,” Yuko explained patiently. “How many foremans do we have doing such good work for us? How many workers do we even have? Trust me, there will still be plenty of room for all.”

“I cannot begin to thank you, Nakazawa-sama,” the foreman said, bowing over and over again.

“No,” Yuko said with a bemused smile. “You can’t.”

Then however, the mood was spoiled by a darkening of the clearing, and a mass of shadows appeared not far from the two women. The foreman, not used to such things as Yuko and Aya were, gave a yell and ran off, and many of the other workers who remained visible ducked for cover too. However, the shadows dissipated quickly to reveal the figure of Maki Goto, a scarf over her mouth. She pulled it aside as she walked up to the other two women, whose faces had become set as stone.

“Has the deed been done?” Yuko inquired.

“Yes,” Maki replied. “Abe is dead. However, we have a larger problem.”

“What kind of problem?” Aya snapped.

The older girl did not respond in kind; only considered her calmly. “Himiko has rallied an army of mystics,” she said emotionlessly. “Alone, each of course would be vermin beneath our feet, but with the numbers she has gathered…” She looked earnestly at both of her sisters, with a passion Yuko hadn’t seen her show in decades. “Apparently she now considers us a liability. Her battle against the insurgents has not gone well, and she needs a scapegoat. Who better than those who could potentially usurp her power themselves if they had a change of heart?”

“Our hearts do not change,” Aya growled, anger broiling in her visage. “That is an insult to our honor! How does she expect to defeat the imperials? With the backing of the line of Amaterasu, they could rally support undreamed of in Japan’s history.”

Yuko sighed. “It is still a short history, my sister,” she sympathized. “This troubled land has seen great armies rise and fall, and shall see the rise and fall of even greater. Tell me though, Gocchin. With Abe dead, who have the insurgents to rally around?”

“The line continues,” Maki responded. “It is now hidden even from those who claim its grace… even to me.” She looked at each of her sisters in turn, but the effect was not lost on them. “With Abe’s death Amaterasu’s line will no longer see power over others, but the rallying cry still rings out. The faith of the people is strong.”

All the women were silent as their sister’s words sunk in, until Yuko finally broke it. “Yet we no longer can have influence over it,” she said quietly.

“Our time cannot be over!” Aya cried. “We have worked for too long! We are true heirs!”

“We are the reflection,” Yuko admitted, shaking her head slowly and suddenly feeling very tired. “Nothing more than shadow. The dark underbelly of a consummate radiance.”

A long moment passed again in silence. “I refuse to believe that.” Aya said, steeled with determination.

Yuko considered her quietly. “As do I, sister,” she said. “But we must pick our battles. This is one we cannot win as we are now.” She looked up to Maki, whose face looked on clouded in shadow. “There is a ritual. Do you know of what I speak?” Maki nodded. “Then guide is in the preparation. An army, even of mystics, will take time to arrive. Perhaps we shall give the School of the Soul and Stars an opening even grander than we envisioned.” For once, a rare smile appeared on her darkest sister’s face. She could tell though that it held little mirth.

Several days later…

“We welcome you,” Yuko Nakazawa’s voice intoned in the large vaulted hall of the newly completed Seishin Girl’s Academy. “You embark on a new era in the history of Japan; no, in the history of the world. Never before in the vast East has someone sought to establish a center of learning and of storing our vast knowledge. Some of you are the daughters of nobles.” She nodded at a well-dressed section of students who looked haughtily and self-importantly around the hall. “Some of you are the daughters of no more than common laborers.” She smiled at a much more ragged bunch of girls on the other side of the room who stared around themselves in expressions of awe and wonder.

“True talent and ability comes in all shapes, sizes… and dress.” The noble daughters looked as if their worlds were coming crashing down around them. Did wealth and authority not guarantee success? Some of them would find it very hard at this school. So would some of the peasant daughters. That was something Yuko made sure would be seen to.

“You will learn to the limits of your abilities…” She looked around, trying to capture eyes in each one of the young faces. “And then beyond.” Then the corners of her mouth turned up into a smile. “Welcome to your future,” she said with her arms outstretched, and the students, no matter what their station, suddenly seemed filled with elation and started talking and celebrating among themselves.

Yuko stepped down from the platform and up to her sisters. Aya was casting an appraising eye out to the crowd of youngsters. “Are you sure you didn’t go overboard?” she asked Maki. “They seem a little… too excited…”

Maki shrugged. “Feelings of pleasure aren’t my forte,” she said once again. Yuko wondered how many times they’d heard this over the years. “But I do enjoy the intrusion. It’s incredible how readily people accept fear and pain, yet resist joy as if it were a disease best avoided at all costs.”

“…You’re rather terrifying, you know that?” Aya asked, and her sister looked at her.

“If you two are done playing around…” Yuko said with half a grin. “Have House leaders been chosen?”

“Yes,” Maki said, and gestured for them to follow her. “This way.”

They walked through the paneled halls, Yuko still marveling at the craftsmanship and plain feel of the place. She couldn’t be prouder if she’d designed a castle for the Queen herself. Eventually they reached a room, and upon entering found girls awaiting them that were among the oldest they’d invited.

“Sisters,” Maki said formally. “May I introduce to you Mari Yaguchi, Kei Yasuda, and Sayaka Ichii.” As she said each name, one of the girls bowed. Yaguchi was short, but carried herself with a stately air. She was obviously a daughter of the court. Yasuda however wore a jacket and skirt that reeked of the earth, even though the otherwise clean garments were probably the best she owned. Ichii was difficult to identify. Her coat was cut medium-length, and her skirt hemmed skillfully, but it still would be far-fetched to be presentable in court. A merchant’s daughter, perhaps.

“Welcome to Seishin,” Yuko said, smiling at each in turn. “You three have been selected to the first ruling student council. After the Headmaster, you will have charge over the other students.”

“What about you?” Mari asked curiously. “Surely you’ll take a lead role in the school’s running.”

Yuko just smiled without giving a response. “You’ve been given these positions because of your experience as well as your potential…” she said, walking around them until her and her sisters formed a triangle a few paces from each. “However, we will give you something more to assist in your leadership over the other students.”

The girls looked on at the three renowned sorceresses, apparently feeling slightly afraid at their current situation. Yuko was about to begin the first incantation when Maki suddenly spoke out in a loud and clear voice.

“The School with doors spread wide shall last for ages to come,” she intoned. Yuko held her breath. Not now! What else could possibly disrupt their plan?!

However, the woman continued, her prophecy becoming stronger as it was related. “For millennia it shall stand, and on a certain day in the dawn of the Third Age, the sky will run red as if stained by the gods themselves. So shall this prophecy be fulfilled, and our Destiny be set on its road to fruition.”

As she finished, she fell back, her eyes closed as if recovering from a blow. Everyone in the room was focused on her; Aya and Yuko with their jaws tight, and the young girls with their mouths hanging wide.

“Leave us!” Aya said to the girls, and they scurried out of the room. She then hurried to their sister and wrapped an arm around her to help her stay on her feet. Yuko hurried to her other side.

“So it’s true!” Aya said excitedly. “We will attain our destiny! The Third Age…” She looked curiously at Yuko, who shook her head.

“I can’t say what it might mean any more than you. Gocchin, do you remember what you just said?”

Maki raised groggy eyes to the other women and shook her head. “No…” she said wearily. “The past minute is dark to me.”

Yuko nodded her head understandingly, but the woman’s eyes unfocused again. “The army is nearing…” she said. “We must perform the ritual.”

“But you’re weak,” Yuko said.

Maki lifted her weight off her sisters and stood on her feet, if a trifle unsteadily. “No. We must do it now.” Yuko and Aya looked at each other and nodded.

A few minutes later they had taken their triangular positions again around the center of the room, although this time minus the young girls. Maki had explained to them they didn’t need to be present, to which Aya complained why they asked them there to begin with. Maki ignored her again.

“I will go first,” Yuko said, and met the eyes of her sisters for approval, not as if it would have mattered if she didn’t receive it. She closed her eyes and attempted to relax in order to come into contact with her spirit.

“To those who have accepted the mantle of time,” she intoned, her voice echoing off the stone-reinforced walls. “We bestow our blessing.” She paused a specific amount of time before continuing.

“No more than students of Seishin you may be, but more than students you may become. I, Nakazawa of the Tempest, give you my strength.”

Immediately after she spoke the last word, she convulsed as if a primeval force ripped through her, and she felt like a part of her was torn apart and separated from her. Her eyes flew open and she stared at living shadow in front of her. It appeared in the form of a bear, and seemed to regard her for a moment with glowing red eyes until suddenly it dispersed into the air. At the same time, they heard a distant scream from another part of the school. Yuko fell to her knees, but looked quickly at Aya, who stared at her with wide eyes.

“Continue!” she commanded. “The flow of spirit must not be interrupted!”

The woman came to herself once more and, lifting her chin, closed her own eyes. “To those who have accepted the mantle of time…”

After Aya performed the ritual her soul split into the shadowy form of a red-eyed tiger, which dissipated to a scream from afar just as Yuko’s had, and Maki began the third and final repetition.

“I, Goto of the Moon, give you my strength,” she finished, and shadows formed in front of her in the shape of a gigantic wolf. It considered her just as the other two daemons had, but did not dissipate quickly as with their own. Instead, with an otherworldly guttural growl, it leapt at its summoner, who screamed while her sisters jumped to her rescue.

“Gocchin!” Yuko shouted, but it was too late. The beast had ripped out her throat and slashed claws black as night at her midsection before dissolving into nothingness and eliciting another scream from far-off.

Yuko caught her sister in her arms, and along with Aya when she arrived, held her fast. Maki no longer had any breath, but was able to choke out her last words. “For the future…” Then she gurgled and was still.

…

After observing the funeral pyre for their sister, the remaining two ancient sorceresses prepared for a journey to meet the advancing army. The three girls they had selected as the first Trinity of Seishin were just awakening to their abilities, but Yuko and Aya warned them to keep them secret or else the Queen, or even the imperial line, might find them out and destroy the school.

“The school is everything,” they instructed them. “We’ve bestowed our knowledge to it, and your mission is to learn it the best you can while acquiring new information and skills as the world changes around you. This is our promise to you: If you are loyal to the school and to the knowledge and wisdom it stands for, Seishin will make your name eternal. This is a wondrous day for the women of Japan.”

They weren’t sure if the students listened, but the sorceresses had no choice but to entrust their destiny into their hands. Their sister’s last prophecy ensured that they would be loyal. At least that’s what Yuko Nakazawa and Aya Matsuura held to their hearts as they met the advancing army with heads held high; the army that they knew to be their doom.

Back in 2007…

Maimi and Saki stared at the pages of the book they held in front of them, while Ai looked on from the side. She didn’t see what the big deal was; it was only a book after all, no matter if it did have strange glowing red ink…

Ai Takahashi had much more important things to worry about. Such as the small matter of Maimi opening her big mouth and insinuating that perhaps she and Risa were no longer just friends.

That had been a very awkward encounter, and the few days since, Risa seemed to avoid her. Hating herself for it, she wanted to come to Maimi for advice, but for some reason the girl goes and almost has her arm burned off in the middle of a freak solar eclipse, and now the two other Heads of Seishin couldn’t be pried away from that book if their lives depended on it.

“Seriously you two, what is so interesting in there?” she asked.

Both girls raised their heads to look at her as if she was an idiot. She was not, thank you very much! For that matter, she was even older than them! They should be the ones showing her respect!

“It’s a chronicle of the first Circle of Seishin,” Saki explained as if to a child. “Written nearly two thousand years ago.”

Ai yawned. “And… that applies to us exactly how?”

“I thought you were a good student!” Maimi said, and coming to her feet, she carried the book over to Ai and dropped it in her lap. Ai noticed it was at the page with the red text. The girl had been acting with a very short fuse ever since she retrieved that book – well, shorter than usual – and Ai just did her best to try and ignore it. That was the only thing that seemed to work when she got like this. However, this seemed to be different for some reason.

“Yeah?” she asked, looking at the pages. “Third age… yadda yadda yadda… prophecy… yadda yadda yadda. So what?”

“So what?!” Maimi asked incredulously. “Didn’t you see what happened today?”

“Yeah,” Ai responded. “It was really cool. I hear astronomers all over the world are rushing to try to figure out what happened. It apparently wasn’t predicted by anyone. I guess we don’t really know everything yet.”

“But someone did predict it!” Maimi howled. “Look!” she pointed vaguely toward the red text. “In the Third Age the sky will turn red… This was related by Seishin’s founders to the first Circle!”

“Trinity,” Saki corrected, and backed away slightly at the glare she received in return. However, apparently used to the girl’s fits by now, she recovered quickly and walked up to them, kneeling down to peer at the book too.

“You see, the Third Age,” she said. “A certain day at its dawn… The Third Age probably refers to the new millennium.” Ai cocked an eyebrow to the girl. “It had to be something we’d be able to understand in the Third Age!” she explained quickly, though Ai was still skeptical. “And we’re still at its beginning. Do you know how rare an eclipse that bathes the earth in light that red is? Especially one that was completely unpredicted and happened to occur right over Seishin.”

“Ok,” Ai said, deciding she’d play along. “Say this supposed prophecy was talking about today. What’s the point?”

Saki and Maimi looked at each other, both girls appearing to try and keep the other patient. “It resumes the destiny of the founders…” Saki explained further, looking at Ai to see if she now comprehended any more, which she definitely didn’t.

“And this destiny is…?” Ai asked. That didn’t seem to be illustrated anywhere that she could see.

“To rule,” Maimi said simply.

Ai stared at her, but a second later suddenly burst out laughing. “Rule?” she asked. “I suppose we rule Seishin. What else could we do? Rule the woods outside?”

Saki leaned forward and rapped her knuckles on Ai’s head. The assaulted girl gave a yelp and rubbed the spot tenderly. That girl’s bony fingers hurt!

“I think they mean to rule the world,” Maimi said slowly amid Ai’s dying laughter. “Or at least Japan.”

Ai stared at the girl again. “You can’t be serious!” The two other heads looked at each other. “And stop doing that!” She reached out and pulled the two girls apart. They blinked as if surprised at her assertiveness.

“Ai-chan…” Maimi said, though she appeared now to be rapidly losing patience. “These powers we have… these things we can do… They’re not normal. Who’s to say they don’t serve some greater purpose? I know I’ve always wondered why we’ve had to hold ourselves up in this building and be careful not to let the secret out.” She looked up at Saki, who nodded in agreement that she felt the same. “Now we know!”

“A ‘greater purpose’?” Ai asked, disbelief now clouding her features as she realized the other Circle members were completely serious. “How is ruling the world a ‘greater purpose’? Even ruling Japan! There’s nothing great about that! It’s about the most selfish thing someone could do!”

“But…” Maimi began. “What if we’re really better than them? You know how incredibly hard it is to get to the positions the three of us hold now, much less be able to do the things we do. What if we’re meant to show everyone the way?”

Ai quickly rose to her feet, the book falling from her. Saki grabbed it though, and the other two girls rose with her, looking at her expectantly. “You two are really serious, aren’t you?” she asked. “You want to try to take over the world?”

“Maybe just Japan,” Saki offered innocently.

Ai broke out in a nervous laugh. “’Maybe just Japan’?” she repeated. “Right.” Her eyes darted to the door. “Um… I need to go find Gaki-san. We’re supposed to meet to do some group work for Murasaki-sensei’s English class.” Then she headed for the exit.

“We need you to be able to do this!” Maimi pleaded, and Ai came to a stop, lowering her head slightly to give half a look back over her shoulder. “You may be new to your powers, but you’ll find that you want to put them to use for the greater good. I know you will.”

Ai continued staring for a minute silently, turning the girl’s words over in her head. The two of them were insane. That’s all there was to it. She thought then of what she could do, of how it felt when she slipped herself inside of the storm, of the rush when she became angry and her thoughts took shape… of when one of those shapes threw another girl hard across a room.

Insane… she thought to herself as she left the room without a backward glance. She was going to go and find Gaki-san. And then kiss her like Maimi had instructed her to. Then she’d wake up and realize this had all been a dream.

[g4rfield]

  I can't wait to read the next chapter for some TakaGaki kisses!!!   

Can't analyze a whole lot huh?

I detect some....slight disappointment..... 

Two thousand years ago…

I'm thinking...wow! Yuko sure is OLD!!  oh well a not funny joke, just disregard it.

Abe of the True Blood...hmmmm... could it be she's the ancestor of the Skulls? She was killed and so far she's the only other power mentioned, so Airi could be from her ancestry line. Interesting....

“Gocchin!” Yuko shouted, but it was too laote. The beast had ripped out her throat and slashed claws black as night at her midsection before dissolving into nothingness and eliciting another scream from far-off.

  That's....a rather violent death don't you think? Poor Gocchin.

Insane… she thought to herself as she left the room without a backward glance. She was going to go and find Gaki-san. And then kiss her like Maimi had instructed her to. Then she’d wake up and realize this had all been a dream.

Yes!! I want some smooches next chapter. I wonder what happened with Miya x Airi after the 'incident'. 

I begin to think that I was right after all. The powers must be affecting their sanity. The fact that the shadows left the previous masters to be with the next predecessor prove that they ARE being possessed to a certain extent, so I won't be surprised when the red glowing effect is actually a sign that the power is getting a better hold on its host.

Ai-chan wasn't completely not affected either as I recall....cuz she's new. Hmmmm.....

[rndmnwierd]

Haha! Back story chapter, just as I thought. Okay, the Circle's powers are finally understood, though Maki's death was kind of odd. But the Skulls'? I feel like the answer is right in front of me...


TakaGaki!

[JFC]

Two thousand years ago…

Ooooooooooooooooooooo...we gonna see the original trinity of the girls that the houses were named after?

“Himiko is worried,” the long-haired one said suddenly, and the other two, through the years well-attuned to their sister’s visions, turned to her attentively.

Hmmm...who's Himiko?

“A supposed imperial line has been discovered, and there is a movement to revolt and bring Japan under a new rule,” she continued, eyes glazed as she saw far beyond the distant peaks and valleys.

“Imperial line,” the woman in white trim spat. “Somebody thinks they’ve found the great yet cowardly progeny of Amaterasu once again. I fail to see why this should be taken any more seriously than the other dozens of claimants in even the past century that I’ve existed on this heathen world.”

So then, these three were part of some group that was ruling Japan prior to the establishment of the Japanese royal family, but were overthrown/deposed?  Could Himiko have been their leader?

“It is Abe of the True Blood they’ve found,” the third woman stated, and silence fell among all three.

Abe? Nacchi's ancestor? Is he/she the one from the Imperial family (or as Aya put it, the progeny of Amaterasu)?

“Then it is our time to move,” the eldest said grimly.

...

“Kansai is now under the cover of storm, free to be made into your playground,” she informed her sister.

...

“I worry about her…” Aya said from Yuko’s other side. “I wonder if there’s any passion left in her sometimes.”

Yuko began walking with her carefully down the side of the slope toward the nearly completed building that was to be their school for exceptional girls. “There’s very little cheer to be drawn from constantly dwelling within the human mind, whether it’s your own or somebody else’s,” she explained to her sister. “Besides, I don’t think anyone can be cheerful on her way to an assassination. Even a necessary one.”

Assassination? Who are they going to kill, and for what reason?

Aya nodded as they picked their way along the bottom slope of the hill, but was distracted by a man rushing up toward them and bowing sharply. “Great Ones,” he began, avoiding their eyes. “We are nearly finished with the trusses of the east wing. However, we’re unable to build it around your requested star symbol to its front.

Oh crud, probably don't want to be pissing them off right now.

“If I may… be so bold…” he began, tilting his neck slightly in a bow while making sure his eyes never left theirs.

“You may,” Yuko said, curious to hear what matter instilled such rare courage in him.

“If I may ask, your graces, how will you be selecting students for your school? I have a daughter,” he said, picking at the sleeve of his coat. “Many of the other men do as well. We hope for a better life for them than the hard one we lead. You’ve said…” he hesitated. “You’ve said this school will be the best in the land, and offer opportunities for young women far beyond what they might normally encounter.”

Makes sense...from a father's viewpoint.

the shadows dissipated quickly to reveal the figure of Maki Goto, a scarf over her mouth. She pulled it aside as she walked up to the other two women, whose faces had become set as stone.

“Has the deed been done?” Yuko inquired.

“Yes,” Maki replied. “Abe is dead.

So she killed Abe. Still no idea as to why she did it.

“Himiko has rallied an army of mystics,” she said emotionlessly. “Alone, each of course would be vermin beneath our feet, but with the numbers she has gathered…” She looked earnestly at both of her sisters, with a passion Yuko hadn’t seen her show in decades. “Apparently she now considers us a liability. Her battle against the insurgents has not gone well, and she needs a scapegoat. Who better than those who could potentially usurp her power themselves if they had a change of heart?”

Ah, so the three of them (Yuko, Maki, and Aya) work for Himiko, who's probably the one who's currently ruling the land, and who is the one who'll actually by overthrown by this insurrection.

But by the sounds of it though, Himiko needed their power to get the power and position she now has. To turn on them like this isn't the smartest thing to do if she really wants to keep that power.

Tell me though, Gocchin. With Abe dead, who have the insurgents to rally around?”

“The line continues,” Maki responded. “It is now hidden even from those who claim its grace… even to me.” She looked at each of her sisters in turn, but the effect was not lost on them. “With Abe’s death Amaterasu’s line will no longer see power over others, but the rallying cry still rings out. The faith of the people is strong.”

In other words, Abe's become a martyr, and as such, has probably now become more powerful/influencial compared to when he/she was alive. After all, it wasn't the actual man that they had to fear, but the ideals which he/she stood for. Killing a person is easy, but an ideal? Not so much.

“Our time cannot be over!” Aya cried. “We have worked for too long! We are true heirs!”

“We are the reflection,” Yuko admitted, shaking her head slowly and suddenly feeling very tired. “Nothing more than shadow. The dark underbelly of a consummate radiance.”

A reflection? So then...it's not their place to rule, but instead they stand in place for the one that does?

“There is a ritual. Do you know of what I speak?” Maki nodded. “Then guide is in the preparation. An army, even of mystics, will take time to arrive. Perhaps we shall give the School of the Soul and Stars an opening even grander than we envisioned."

So then the true purpose of building the school was to give the three of them a fallback position? Somewhere where they could lie in wait for a time when they could re-emerge en force?

“Have House leaders been chosen?”

“Yes,” Maki said, and gestured for them to follow her. “This way.”

They walked through the paneled halls, Yuko still marveling at the craftsmanship and plain feel of the place. She couldn’t be prouder if she’d designed a castle for the Queen herself. Eventually they reached a room, and upon entering found girls awaiting them that were among the oldest they’d invited.

The first Circle?

Yuko was about to begin the first incantation when Maki suddenly spoke out in a loud and clear voice.

“The School with doors spread wide shall last for ages to come,” she intoned. Yuko held her breath. Not now! What else could possibly disrupt their plan?!

I take it Maki isn't entirely in control of herself right now?

“For millennia it shall stand, and on a certain day in the dawn of the Third Age, the sky will run red as if stained by the gods themselves. So shall this prophecy be fulfilled, and our Destiny be set on its road to fruition.”

The sky running red? Shit, that's where we are now. That means it's the dawn of The Third Age (whatever the hell that means).

“So it’s true!” Aya said excitedly. “We will attain our destiny! The Third Age…”

The question is though...WHAT is that destiny that they are supposed to attain? 

“The army is nearing…” she said. “We must perform the ritual.”

“But you’re weak,” Yuko said.

Maki lifted her weight off her sisters and stood on her feet, if a trifle unsteadily. “No. We must do it now.” Yuko and Aya looked at each other and nodded.

A few minutes later they had taken their triangular positions again around the center of the room, although this time minus the young girls. Maki had explained to them they didn’t need to be present, to which Aya complained why they asked them there to begin with.

Well, the process would probably be easier for them if the others were there. It would also give them the ability to do things like better explain to the girls what had happened/what was done to them and to inform and train them on what they need to know and be able to do in certain situations.

“I, Goto of the Moon, give you my strength,” she finished, and shadows formed in front of her in the shape of a gigantic wolf. It considered her just as the other two daemons had, but did not dissipate quickly as with their own. Instead, with an otherworldly guttural growl, it leapt at its summoner, who screamed while her sisters jumped to her rescue.

“Gocchin!” Yuko shouted, but it was too late. The beast had ripped out her throat and slashed claws black as night at her midsection before dissolving into nothingness and eliciting another scream from far-off.

Oh shit...the wolf.   Seems safe to say that the house of Goto has another issue to deal with. But then...that means that the wolf that attacked Miyabi was...

The three girls they had selected as the first Trinity of Seishin were just awakening to their abilities, but Yuko and Aya warned them to keep them secret or else the Queen, or even the imperial line, might find them out and destroy the school.

“The school is everything,” they instructed them. “We’ve bestowed our knowledge to it, and your mission is to learn it the best you can while acquiring new information and skills as the world changes around you. This is our promise to you: If you are loyal to the school and to the knowledge and wisdom it stands for, Seishin will make your name eternal. This is a wondrous day for the women of Japan.”

So then the purpose of the school is to train/educate girls to be the best of the best, and out of ALL of them, the best of THEIR ranks would attain the positions of House leaders, and thus have these powers bestowed upon them in anticipation of the time when the original trinity's goal's could be realized!  Yuko, Maki and Aya couldn't achieve them themselves, so they built the school so that someday, someone could.



Back in 2007…

Maimi and Saki stared at the pages of the book they held in front of them, while Ai looked on from the side. She didn’t see what the big deal was; it was only a book after all, no matter if it did have strange glowing red ink…

...

and now the two other Heads of Seishin couldn’t be pried away from that book if their lives depended on it.

“Seriously you two, what is so interesting in there?” she asked.

...

“It’s a chronicle of the first Circle of Seishin,” Saki explained as if to a child. “Written nearly two thousand years ago.”

Really? There must not be many records of this type from past Circles.  Even if there are, this one is particularly special, as it's the one that would (in theory) have the most accurate records of what the original Trinity wanted to happen and how they wanted it done. If they're lucky, it could possibly have information that could tell them what to do given recent events.

“Didn’t you see what happened today?”

“Yeah,” Ai responded. “It was really cool. I hear astronomers all over the world are rushing to try to figure out what happened. It apparently wasn’t predicted by anyone. I guess we don’t really know everything yet.”

Heh, Aichan's skepticism is probably part of the reason why The Circle likes to appoint it's members while they're still young and emotionally "malleable". 

“It resumes the destiny of the founders…” Saki explained further, looking at Ai to see if she now comprehended any more, which she definitely didn’t.

“And this destiny is…?” Ai asked. That didn’t seem to be illustrated anywhere that she could see.

“To rule,” Maimi said simply.

Sunnovabitch.

“These powers we have… these things we can do… They’re not normal. Who’s to say they don’t serve some greater purpose? I know I’ve always wondered why we’ve had to hold ourselves up in this building and be careful not to let the secret out.” She looked up at Saki, who nodded in agreement that she felt the same. “Now we know!”

“A ‘greater purpose’?” Ai asked, disbelief now clouding her features as she realized the other Circle members were completely serious. “How is ruling the world a ‘greater purpose’? Even ruling Japan! There’s nothing great about that! It’s about the most selfish thing someone could do!”

“But…” Maimi began. “What if we’re really better than them? You know how incredibly hard it is to get to the positions the three of us hold now, much less be able to do the things we do. What if we’re meant to show everyone the way?”

I hate to play this card again, but it looks like we've simply got another case of "absolute power corrupting absolutely". It could be that in this case, that's LITERALLY what's happening. Maimi and Captain have had their powers longer and have been following The Circle's propaganda longer than Aichan has, and they're certainly behaving...oddly, to say the least. Aichan's the new one in the group, so she's still got a mind of her own.

“We need you to be able to do this!” Maimi pleaded, and Ai came to a stop, lowering her head slightly to give half a look back over her shoulder. “You may be new to your powers, but you’ll find that you want to put them to use for the greater good. I know you will.”

And of course, the Circle will decide what is "the greater good", right? 

She was going to go and find Gaki-san. And then kiss her like Maimi had instructed her to.

Probably the most normal thing that's happened to her today.


...


Could it be then, that The Skulls are descended from the mystics that were part of that army that descended upon the school when it was originally built?  It would certainly explain how Reina and the others also have powers like The Circle does.

Question is, when the shit starts to fly...what will Aichan do?

[Grisours]

Wow, I really love the stories that you write, and this one isn't any different...

really cool to see some insight on the Circle's history, but I'm still curious to hear about the Skull's... and like everyone else mentioned, who is this Abe? The Abe Natsumi or some ancestor? Because gocchin killing nacchi sounds really cruel... 
and other thing I'm curious about: what happened with Airi and Miyabi (and takagaki), obviously! 

[mode107]

You're updating is on a roll 

“Gocchin!” Yuko shouted, but it was too late. The beast had ripped out her throat and slashed claws black as night at her midsection before dissolving into nothingness and eliciting another scream from far-off.

Woah, violent much? lol

Nice back story(and long too),I'm still curious about The Skulls though, even if they were not mentioned here(unless I missed something), did the skulls always have that 'badass' persona to them?

damn, Maimi and the circle ruling Japan, or the whole world? Possible begininng of the antagonist Maimi?! but I do have to admit, it does kinda creep me out a little..

[Loser87]

jebus...
Talk about power hungry man...
Honestly I see Takahashi doing something at the very end that'll destroy the circle's plan but...
We won't know until the very end..

Once again Update!
...On the Berry Beautiful one too!

[rokun]

I wanted to respond a little to people, as well as provide you with something for the time being since I'm forcing myself not to actually write in order to study for my finals... (my first one of which is tomorrow!!! ) That doesn't mean I can't make notes on the next chapter though... which I've done. If it goes according to plan, it should be pretty fun and awesome! Anyway, like I said, for the time being here's a bit more extracurricular explanation of some of the history I've stolen and created for those who might be interested in such things.

You've probably noticed random references to Japan's ancient mythology and history so far in the story, and this chapter was loosely based on the legend that in the wee years B.C. to A.D. Chinese travelers coming to the Japanese island(s) reported that the region was ruled by a queen named Himiko. Japan wasn't yet ruled and consolidated by the line of divine emperors that lasted through most of more recent Japanese history until MacArthur made Hirohito rescind his divinity after WWII.

My additions to real life legend of the events in the last chapter occurred during the waning years of Himiko's reign. She was trying to hang onto power, aided in part by the three sorceresses, against a rebellion of people led by the standard of what most Japanese believed to be the house with a divine right to rule - the descendants of Izanagi, and more specifically his daughter Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess. As the sorceresses found in this chapter, Abe (yes, Natsumi) was that figure. She wasn't necessarily a leader or general, but rather the theological divine figure they were fighting for.

The sorceresses likely had a different heritage than that of Nacchi's, although they also still claimed it to be divine. Because of this competing claim to divinity, and perhaps something else as yet unknown, they were in opposition to Nacchi's house and thus by default on the same side as Himiko (against the insurgents). That's why Maki went off to kill Nacchi - to try to chop off the head of the rebellion. After Maki does the deed the pure divine line disappears from sight - as you read, even to Maki's scrying. That's where that story ended for the time being.

As Maki learned though, Himiko feared that the sorceresses would themselves claim the right to rule and eventually betray and overthrow her, and so turned on them before they could have that "change of heart". That's why her army advanced on the school. However, I'll leave it up to you for the moment to guess what the intentions of the sorceresses really were.

Back to Nacchi's story. Her martyrdom actually only strengthened the numbers of the insurgence. Coupled with her betrayal of the sorceresses (who charged Himiko's army to their deaths at the end to uphold their honor), as you can imagine things didn't go very well for the defense of her crown. No longer aided by her most powerful allies Himiko's army was defeated by the insurgents, and an emperor was named and took power. This emperor claimed to be of Amaterasu's divine line, and that's how it went down into history and legend. However, with the pure divine line supposedly hidden after Nacchi's death according to Maki's prophecy, the likeliness of the line of emperors being what they claimed is slim...

Wow! That's a lot of stuff, and I imagine might be confusing (it was confusing to write!), but does give a somewhat concise overview of the history and legend.

One more thing I wanted to talk about. Some of you mentioned the violence at a point or two in this chapter... It's not the first time that happened. Remember Miya and the wolf? Those scenes are going to happen in this story. When I first began drafting it I was actually envisioning a horror, and although it didn't completely turn out that way, I still want it to have certain elements of that genre and be creepy and even actually horrific in parts. It's that whole darkness thing I like having in my stories.

Thanks again for all your support!!!

[meowz]

Like everybody else I'm curious to know how the skulls came about and where they fit into history Ah the suspense...

After reading something about Japanese mythology, I just realized a similarity between three of the gods and the three houses. Izanagi begot Amaterasu(sun goddess), Tsukuyomi(moon god) and Susanoo(tempest god) after returning from the underworld. Izanagi's story was also mentioned in your prologue too so I was wondering if there was any connection here...you know, Matsuura of the sun, Goto of the moon and Nakazawa of the tempest?
Were the three sorceresses themselves descended from the three gods? After all, you mentioned that "they did share ancestry from centuries prior"...

Edit: Ah, oh oops, I didn't read your previous post up there Oh well, I guess that's where you got the background of the sun, moon and tempest thing from. It's all starting to come together really nicely now I must say.

[Yukari]

i NEED a new chapter please 

in what moment the skulls were created?? 

what happen with airixmiya? 

[glcorps2002]

It's time to throw my hat into this ring!

The Skulls are probably from Abe's blood line. That's all I can think of at the moment but there will be more soon.

[rokun]

Hey! People are still responding yay! Lol. I haven't posted anything this week because I've been way overstressed with finals, but my last one is coming up within the hour, and after that I just have a few more hours of work and I'm DONE!!! 

I have a feeling I'm gonna feel like writing in order to relax tonight (and since I've been putting this next chapter on hold all week even though I have it mostly planned out), so hopefully I can have something up over the weekend. Keep your fingers crossed though because I can never really tell!

I'm so happy to see so much interest in this, although now I'm feeling the pressure to meet all your expectations... >.>

Happy Holidays!

[rokun]

Well, I ended up not having a whole lot of time this weekend, but still managed to complete a little something for you all. I don't want to say much, so for now here you go. Another calm before the (perhaps literal) storm? Then again, a lot of things about this aren't exactly "calm"...


Chapter 11 – Kisses and Consequences

As Ai stormed into House Nakazawa, students studying and socializing in the front lounge swiveled their heads to watch her pass. She caught some of their looks out of the corners of her eyes; these girls definitely looked differently at her since she’d become a Circle member. Instead of hardly even registering her presence like they had before, now they looked her way as if expecting something, though she had not a clue what.

Just past halfway through the lounge to the stairs, she stopped in her tracks, still very well aware of all of the youthful eyes on her, although she fixed her own ahead of her and up near the border of the wall and ceiling.

“Why do all of you look at me like that now?” she asked in a somewhat quiet but actually authoritative voice. She dropped her gaze and met those of some of her house members, whose expressions didn’t change. “What’s made me so different from the Ai Takahashi so many of you hardly even knew?”

“You’re in the Circle now,” one of the girls responded, and Ai looked toward a couch near a fireplace to find the one who spoke. She shrank slightly under her gaze, but her eyes were still wide as if she was constantly surprised by everything. She knew the girl; she was a sixth year and so one that had been with Ai at Seishin the longest aside from the other seventh years, of whom she thought none were here. Those in their final year before university were usually locked in their rooms or the library studying, or else socializing in some club or other.

“That’s true, Kamei…” Ai said, considering the girl. “That still doesn’t mean I’m a different person.”

“But you kind of are…” another girl said from next to Eri. Ai knew her too – Sayumi, another sixth year. Those two seemed to be together all the time, not much different from how she and… the reminder of her mission and how she must still be dreaming came back to her.

“Maybe I am…” she admitted. If this was a dream, who knows what kind of personality she could appear to have… right?

“Yes!” another girl said, and Ai shifted her eyes to her to see a change in expression as if a light bulb just went off in her head. “I know what it is now! It seems like you’re becoming more and more like Yoshizawa-san! She used to tear through here all the time like she was angry at something, and we just hoped it wasn’t one of us. That’s why we always paid attention to her, because if it was she was just about to let us know it.” Ai blinked at the girl, a fifth year by the name of Erina. At Ai’s frown the girl almost ducked as if afraid she was going to attack her. “Before this year I don’t think I ever even saw you do anything but smile at everyone…”

Ai stared at the intent girl for a moment. She was right. She was Ai Takahashi – the cute one, the nice one… but never the argumentative one. Convinced even more now that this was a dream, she started walking again, conscious of the eyes still following her. “…Shouldn’t you all be studying?” she asked without looking at any of them. In her perfect dream world they would all be studying, and no one would have strange powers that threw people across rooms. Well, nothing was ever perfect.

Traveling up stairs and down a hallway, she found her room and walked inside to find Risa sitting cross-legged on her bed with a book open in her lap. The girl looked up at Ai’s entrance, and smiled when she saw it was her long-time friend. “Hi Ai-chan!” she said as Ai walked swiftly toward her bed. “I wondered where you…”

She stopped talking though as Ai mounted her bed and crawled over it toward her. It took her just a fraction of a second to close in on her prey, and Risa was about to give a startled cry when Ai brushed the book off her lap and leaned in toward her. The girl tried to lean back in surprise at the motion, but since Ai had pinned her legs down with her weight couldn’t move fast enough before Ai’s mouth came into contact with her own.

Ai’s forward progress combined with Risa’s motion backwards resulted in Risa falling back onto the bed and Ai pressing down on top of her, kissing her vehemently while her hands lightly held onto her shoulders.

Risa initially kissed her back, confirming within Ai’s mind that this really was a dream, and Ai just enjoyed this feeling as if realizing it was something she’d wanted to do for a long time. Once she woke up she’d have to analyze why she felt such a rush from the fantasy of kissing her best friend, but for now she was happy with the feelings the act stirred within her.

After letting herself go in such a way, she drew her hands down her friend’s shoulders to her sides to hold her beneath her, and deepening the kiss, also pressed down against her, even bending her knee to draw her leg up to rub against Risa’s.

However, once she really began to get into it, she began to feel a little resistance beneath her, and soon the girl managed to push her up enough so that their kiss broke. After finding her eyes, Risa looked into them in shock, causing Ai to freeze in anything else she was doing.

“Ai-chan!” Risa cried, in what was a slightly breathless voice. “What…” She swallowed. “What are you doing?”

Ai continued staring at her. “Kissing you,” she said dumbly. This was not supposed to be part of her dream.

Her blunt response elicited a blush and lowering of the eyes from the other girl. “I… I know that…” she stuttered. “But… why?” she asked, and looked back searchingly into her molester’s eyes. “You’re my best friend…”

Ai finally began to embrace reality. The girl’s expression was nothing she could have imagined. This was definitely not a dream. “Nii-chan…” she said, rising slightly and pulling back to hug her knees to her. Risa got up quickly and reached an arm over to her, but Ai shied away. “I… I’m sorry…”

“There’s no need for that,” Risa said quickly, still plainly quite embarrassed at the situation. “It’s just… surprising.” She looked back into Ai’s face. “I never knew you felt that way about me…”

“I didn’t…” Ai began, shaking her head. Was her world completely devolving into insanity now? She slid quickly off the bed and headed for the door.

“Ai-chan!” Risa cried after her, but she was already outside of the room and headed down the hall.

“What have I done?!” she asked herself. “I’ve just made out with my best friend, that’s what I’ve done,” she answered herself. Risa would surely never speak to her again. How could she be such an idiot! Of course it wasn’t a dream! Didn’t she even know reality anymore when she saw it?

That brought her back to the reason she thought it was all a dream to begin with – Maimi and Saki reading that book and talking about taking over the world. Or perhaps just Japan. That was ridiculous! Or was it?

She found herself at the end of the hall, and walked down some stairs randomly until they let out into a side corridor on the ground floor. She went down it, neither really paying attention to where she was walking nor really caring.

They all had these powers; that was a fact. She could do something with the weather. She could toss people across rooms. Saki could play with people’s minds and do other things that Ai knew little about yet the little she did know completely creeped her out. Maimi could do… something. That was right – she threw a fireball at Reina. Were they some type of gods now? Surely only gods or demons could do things like that… and there was no way it could be the latter.

“All right, Ai,” she told herself. “Think through this logically…”

She tried to do so, although it was very hard seeing that this was a very illogical situation that was completely irrational compared to anything she’d ever before had experience with.

“These powers we have… these things we can do… They’re not normal. Who’s to say they don’t serve some greater purpose?”

Maimi’s words came back to her, and she evaluated their truth. If they were really some type of higher beings, what’s to say they weren’t intended to lead everyone and show them the way? They already led the school – they were chosen for a reason. Plus, Circle members always obtained important positions in companies after graduation.

For that matter, what about the whole idea that they were chosen? Have all Circle members had this power? Maimi and Saki said Yoshizawa-san had abilities. Why had none of the ones that came before them tried to do anything other than lead the school?

The sky will run red as if stained by the gods themselves.

The phrase from the book suddenly burst into her mind, and she stopped in her tracks. That’s why the other two heads were so interested in that book. They’d had years to come to grips with their power and what it meant, and so they immediately knew the significance of the passage… and of the sun just happening to turn red today. She finally understood.

She hadn’t noticed before, but suddenly Ai realized she wasn’t alone in the dimly lit hallway. Was she in the basement somewhere? She looked up to find a girl looking back at her. Miyabi Natsuyaki considered her stonily, her face shadowy in the hall’s poor light.

“What are you doing here?” Ai asked, her mind still full with the thoughts she’d just been having.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Natsuyaki responded evenly.

Ai looked around before furrowing her eyebrows at the Skull. “This is my House. That means it’s not yours. I know your little hideout is in here, but that doesn’t mean you have free rein to wander around it as you please.”

“Are you going to lay down the law then?” Natsuyaki asked quietly, and Ai noticed her fists clench at her sides. If the girl was looking for a fight, she had not found Ai in a forgiving mood.

“I wasn’t aware I needed to,” she responded. “Good girls of Seishin don’t trespass where they don’t belong, and especially don’t wander dimly lit halls alone. They could get hurt.”

“Is that a threat?” Natsuyaki asked. The girl seemed ready, but hardly worried at whatever Ai could do.

“No,” Ai said, drawing within herself. “But this is.”

With that, not completely knowing what she was doing, she felt for the air around her, and began to notice a breeze stir up from around her feet. The breeze quickly turned into a small whirlwind that she encased herself within. Natsuyaki’s eyes widened at the sight, since the current picked up dust that now encircled her, but didn’t make any move as if to run.

“I think you know what I can do…” Ai said, fighting to keep control of the wind. Out of the corner of her eye she also caught flashes from the corners of the walls as if sparks were leaping from wall to ceiling and back. “If you don’t leave right now, I might need to teach you a lesson.” She spoke through rage that was quickly boiling up inside of her. The girl was being completely insubordinate! How dare she talk to her like that! She was a leader of this school!

“Give it your best shot!” Natsuyaki suddenly shouted.

At the infuriating girl’s challenge, Ai felt something powerful rise within her. She would not be spoken to like that! A thought of Risa flashed across her mind, and the idea of losing her friend because of her own stupidity made her anger flare even higher. She kept trying to tell herself Risa was her friend and would forgive her, but at the moment something within her wouldn’t let her believe that.

“Fine!” she screamed at the fourth year, and she lashed out at the girl. She didn’t move, and still didn’t know exactly what it was she did, but upon throwing her arms out in front of her, lightning flared from her hands toward the girl as the two faced off within the hall where electricity was now also crackling all along its walls – even putting out some of the few and far-between lights lining them. Despite that, it was actually brighter than before with all the energy she was putting out herself.

The blinding flash from her hands faded and she blinked in horror, expecting to see the girl fried in front of her, but instead Natsuyaki still just stood facing her, her face a measure of concentration, but absolutely none the worse for wear.

“Is that all you’ve got?!” the girl yelled at her. “If so, that’s not going to do the job!”

Then, before Ai could summon any more of the lightning that was still crackling violently along the walls, the girl jumped at her, and they both went down in a tangle of fists and boots.

Ai had never been in a fight before, but somehow she knew what to do. With reflexes as quick as the lightning she summoned, she blocked the girl’s blows and even was able to launch some of her own the other way. The two rolled around on the dusty floor amid the lightshow dancing along the walls, but neither gained the upper hand until Natsuyaki managed to roll atop her and slammed her to the floor, staring down at her while breathing hard.

“You crazy bitch!” she yelled, and began lifting Ai and slamming her repeatedly against the floor. “What are you trying to do, kill me?!” Ai was becoming a little disoriented as the back of her head began to throb after hitting the floor time and time again.

“I like her, all right?” she yelled into Ai’s face, and Ai wondered if she couldn’t make out the girl’s meaning because of her quickly fading consciousness, or if the girl really wasn’t making any sense. “So what if she kissed me first! I still wanted to kiss her, after all!”

However, the girl wasn’t able to continue with her tirade because at that moment she was jerked off from atop Ai as if blasted away by something, and flew down the hall where she skidded along the floor a meter or two before becoming still.

“Ai-chan!” she heard Saki say from behind her, and then she felt hands around her head helping her up. The smaller girl pulled her to the wall and leaned her against it, looking carefully into her face. “Are you all right?”

“I wanted to kiss her…” Ai repeated her attacker’s last words, as vague visions of being beaten up and then much more pleasant ones of Risa swam across her mind.

“You wanted to kiss her…” another voice said from somewhere to Ai’s side. However, this one had a dangerous tone to it that even in Ai’s current state made her insides freeze. “You Skull…” the voice said. “You filth…!” Then, as Ai saw Maimi come into her view in front of her as she advanced upon the other fallen girl, Saki rose to quickly attempt to restrain her.

“Don’t even try stop me this time!” Maimi barked at the girl. “You know she’s already no good! And then she goes and… she goes…” She turned a glare of death back down the hall.

“…Shimizu?” came a voice from that direction. “Yajima?”

“Don’t do something you’ll regret…” Saki advised the Matsuura girl. “We’re still unsure of what they can do… If we’re to go through with our plan we need to know our adversaries…”

“You’re right,” Ai said, rising unsteadily to her feet as she regained her bearings somewhat. Then she looked down the hall to see Natsuyaki rising slowly to her own feet, and narrowed her eyes as she looked at the girl’s wrists.

The girl jerked and began quickly sliding up the hall, her arms raised above her head as if she was being dragged by them. She shuffled her feet in an attempt to gain her footing, but she was moving too fast, and soon came to a halt right in front of the three Circle members, two of whom looked at the girl’s sudden presence with wide eyes of surprise. Upon reaching them, Natsuyaki’s arms lifted further into the air as if pulled upward by an unseen force, her feet rising from the floor and dangling a few centimeters above it as she stretched tall before them.

Ai looked at the other two Circle members, who shifted their stares of surprise to her. She smiled in smug satisfaction. “You’re right,” she repeated. “We do need to know anything they might have learned. And what better way to do that than to ‘talk’ to one of them?”

She smiled up at the futilely struggling Natsuyaki. Apparently whatever magical defenses the girl could summon didn’t work when she was already chained, like Ai had done to her with binds made of solid air. Or else her own injury from the fight and being thrown down the hall affected her ability.

“Well look at what we have here…” Maimi said, grinning at the realization of what was going on. She stepped up to Natsuyaki and seemed to consider her a moment. Then, with a quick thrust of her arm she slugged the girl in the mouth, sending her head lolling against her shoulder and making her lip begin to swell and bleed. This time, neither Saki nor Ai made a move to stop her aggression against their new captive.

…

“You kissed Miyabi Natsuyaki?!” Risako squawked, and Airi noticed the tenor of her voice wasn’t much short of awe. “But… she’s a Skull!” She disbelievingly looked between her two friends as they sat across from each other in the dining hall.

“Apparently we are too,” Airi said in a tight voice, playing with her noodles.

“Yeah,” Chisato said, smiling ear to ear at someone new hearing their story. “You’re actually the odd one out now, Rii-chan!”

Airi scooped some noodles up into her eagerly awaiting mouth. For some reason, she was very hungry this noontide. After spending a bit more awkward time with the Skulls, where Reina and Koharu teased her and yet treated her with an odd amount of respect, she and Chisato had gone off to find their friend, which had ended up in the three of them having lunch together. It was a bit late, so not many other girls were in the hall.

This was something Airi was glad of, since she didn’t yet want the whole school to know of her new, er, club. After all, it wasn’t like she’d just been welcomed into the chess club. Still, when glancing around the room, she thought she caught shifty glances from some of the girls that remained as if they were trying to watch her without being noticed. Then again, she might just be paranoid. Making a girl scream and kissing another one all in one morning might have had that effect in her…

She looked up from her soba to see Risako gawking at her as if she was some kind of idol. “What?” she asked.

“You kissed Miyabi Natsuyaki!” the girl repeated.

“You already said that…” Airi said, and she heard Chisato giggling from beside her.

“But she’s like one of the most dangerous and sexy girls in the school!” Risako cried in a restrained whisper as if she was saying something scandalous, and also sounded as if she thought Airi was being dense in understanding something. Then, apparently fully realizing what she’d just said, she had the good sense to blush. Dangerous? Airi thought. Sexy? Really! She tried very hard not to think of how she felt herself when the girl’s lips had been on hers, as if refusing to believe it happened for the moment.

“I mean…” Risako said, still in her blush. “It’s true a lot of people hate her, but most girls would kill to be recognized by her, much less kiss her.” The girl mouthed that word a few more times, as if it was something strange that should be given special attention.

“Hello?!” Airi said, and reached over to rap the girl on the head with her knuckles. “What about that eclipse thing that happened, and what I did to Maimi. Er… Yajima-san.”

“Give it up…” Chisato murmured out of the corner of her mouth. The girl had been trying to get her to admit that she was really on a first-name basis with such prominent girls in the school, but Airi was trying to resist the best she could.

“I know, I know…” Risako said. “But you didn’t kiss her, did you?”

“Well…” Airi said, and she blushed again. “She had asked me on a date where…” She blushed even deeper, but wanted desperately to get it out. “Where there very likely would have been kissing at the least going on!” she finished in a flurry, and now she had both girls staring at her.

“Right…” Risako snorted suddenly, and Chisato joined her in giggling.

Airi’s eyes flew wide open at her friends’… offensive!!!... responses. “It’s true!!” she insisted, and banged her fists on the table for emphasis. When the giggling didn’t diminish, she cast around her mind for a way to make them believe. “It’s happened before!” she said, and she apparently got their attention at least somewhat.

“What has?” Chisato asked.

“We made out!” she lied. “Last year! In the bath!”

She suddenly wondered if she’d gone too far, and knew she was right by the other girls’ suddenly serious expressions.

“It isn’t nice to lie, you know,” Chisato advised.

“Especially to your best friends,” Risako offered earnestly as well.

Airi looked between them, and then dropped her head to the table just beside her noodles, completely given up. Chisato patted her shoulder. “It’s really cool that you kissed Miyabi though,” she said.

“Miyabi…” she noticed Risako mouth out of the corner of her eye while looking like she was startled at her own boldness. The girl just couldn’t seem to get over the fact that they were both Skulls now and that the other Skulls were now their friends, despite their uber-coolness factor around the school.

“Yeah…” Airi said, resigned, her head still lying on the table. “At least I am dating her…” Risako was staring at her wide-eyed again.

“Erm…” Chisato said, and she reached up to scratch at the back of her neck. “Are you… sure… that you’re dating?” she asked.

“Why?” Airi asked, pulling her head up and looking curiously at the other Matsuura girl. “I kissed her, didn’t I?”

“But…” Chisato said tentatively. “Did you guys say anything else? Like did she ask you out?”

“Well… no,” Airi said. “But we kissed. Surely that means she’s my g… my girlfriend…” She choked on that word, and she wasn’t the only one. Risako spluttered into a coughing fit as she’d just swallowed some noodles, and Chisato cleared her throat nervously.

“Osuzu…” the girl said, giving Risako a cautious eye as if to make sure she didn’t need any assistance. The girl held up her hand to say she was all right, although still couldn’t seem to stop coughing. “I think Miyabi kisses a lot of people…”

Airi stared at her. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“Well, I heard from Koharu-chan…” Chisato said nervously. “She and Reina…”

“What…” Airi said, her face suddenly darkening. She didn’t like where this was going at all.

“N-nothing!” Chisato defended, raising her hands as if to hold off her friend. “It’s nothing!”

“Chisa—“ Airi began, her voice dangerous, but she was interrupted by the two girls just named running into the dining hall toward them.

“Okacchan! Airi!” Koharu gasped, since she was the first to arrive. “You have to come! Miyakko’s—“

“She’s gone,” Reina said upon arriving too, frowning at the younger girl, who now looked abashed at her presumptiveness. “We looked everywhere for her, but all we noticed was something odd about one of the basement passages in Nakazawa we use sometimes to get around with nobody noticing. It was like the place was destroyed… and there were signs of struggle…”

Airi and Chisato stared at the new arrivals, while Risako just gaped at them all. Suddenly noticing the looks, which weren’t the only ones by the way since basically the whole hall was most definitely looking at the five of them now all pretense of shiftiness, imagined or not, dropped, Reina focused her attention on Risako. “Who’s the add-on?” she asked. Risako squeaked something unintelligible in response. “Nevermind. Bring her too if you need. Although kami-sama knows we need more of you brats.”

“Um…” Chisato said. “Bring her where?”

“To look for Miya,” Reina responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Did you kiss her?” Airi asked suddenly, and the eyes of all the other girls shifted to her.

“What?” Reina asked, apparently trying to be patient with her, but having a hard time of it.

“Miyabi,” Airi responded. “Did you kiss her?” She got up to face the girl, not even noticing the rest of the girls in the dining hall giving her odd looks.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Reina asked, clearly in disbelief that Airi would have brought up such a subject right now.

Airi looked into her eyes. Incredulity was in them, but there was something else too. She was hiding something… Knowing that this wasn’t the important thing right now, as well as feeling like she already had received her answer, she decided to drop it.

“So you’re asking us to come help you find Miyabi?” she asked calmly. “What do you think we’ll be able to do that you couldn’t?”

“It’s not that…” Reina said, looking around at them all.

“The Skulls stick together,” Koharu said, her face quite intense as well right now. “If something happens to one of us, it happens to all of us, so we all work together to help make things right again.”

“Well said…” Reina said approvingly, though she didn’t look at the girl. Airi would have expected Koharu to beam at the comment, but her determination didn’t waver. “So are you two going to help or not?” she said with an air of finality. For some reason Airi felt this was a critical point in determining the future of… something.

“I never said I’d join the Skulls…” Airi said, now noticing the looks of the other girls around the room focused almost exclusively on her. Word would be around the whole school by dinnertime that the Skulls had a new member, and strangely enough one that didn’t appear to be cowed whatsoever when talking to their leader. Everyone knew that was unusual in the Skulls, except of course for the slightly unusual case of Miyabi, but there were long-established reasons behind that. “But if Miyabi’s in trouble…” Reina looked somewhat taken aback at the dangerous look Airi gave her. Good. “Then I’ll help her.”

“Of course I’m in,” Chisato said, and then gave Airi a peculiar nervous glance. “Though maybe not for the same reasons as Osuzu…”

“Do you have any idea where she might be?” Airi asked.

In response, the faces of both of the Skulls in front of her darkened. “I have my ideas…” Reina said. Airi regarded her curiously. The look on her face was not good at all. What could those ideas be to trouble her so?

“Tell me we’re going to storm the Ivory Tower…” Koharu said in a voice that was nearly pleading. Airi’s eyes widened, and she heard Risako gurgle slightly from across her. Giving the girl a glance, Airi saw her eyes roll slightly up into her head to make her look like she was about to faint.

“You think the Circle has her?” Chisato gasped.

Reina and Koharu didn’t respond, but the rest of them already knew the answer to her question. Except for Risako of course, who once again looked completely lost. “What makes you think that?” Airi asked.

Reina and Koharu looked at each other. “You might know a little of this, Airi,” Reina said. Airi felt weird at the girl using her first name. “But Miya and I are rather… unusual. Have you ever wondered why nobody ever fights back against us when we bully them?”

Airi grimaced. The girl’s words were not a good reminder of the negative traits she likely would now be associated with as a member of their little club. “Not really,” she said flatly. “Mostly I wonder what sort of horrible people would do things like that to other girls.”

“Give it a rest…” Reina said, and looked very seriously into Airi’s face. The Skull leader’s earnest look captured Airi’s attention. From what she knew lately, these sure didn’t seem like the girls she’d always heard so much about.

“The strong prey on the weak,” Reina continued. “That’s the way the world works.” Airi’s face darkened again, despite the girl’s seeming sincerity. “Kami-sama knows that’s how this school works. And besides,” she added. “I’ve come to wonder if that wasn’t all training for a higher purpose…”

She seemed to go off into thought for a moment, but at a soft jab in her shoulder from Koharu came back to herself and refocused on Airi. “Anyway,” she said. “Nobody fights not just because they might be scared, but because they can’t…” She paused a second as if her words were supposed to have some effect on Airi she didn’t notice. “Even the ones who are supposedly the most athletic and such,” she explained. “We’re just too strong for them.”

She gave a glance at Koharu, who held her face tight, but nodded despite her reluctance. “Take Koharu here,” Reina continued in a softer voice, so that only the girls right around her could hear. “She acts tough, and with the Skulls name behind her people let her be tough. But if anyone had any courage, they could maybe challenge her back.” Her expression became grim. “Not so with Miyakko.”

Airi considered her carefully. “So you’re stronger than the other girls. Big deal. Like you said, the strong prey on the weak.”

Reina shook her head though almost before Airi finished talking. “It’s a bit strange though… I mean, we take advantage of it, but there’s really no reason we should be stronger. After all, do you seriously see us in the gym often? And then…” She stared hard into Airi’s face this time. “There are the other things we can do.”

“Other things?” Airi asked, deciding to indulge the girl. She glanced over at Chisato, who had a serious look of her own. Was there something she hadn’t told her? Looking back at Reina, she hoped she’d finally get some answers.

“Well…” Reina said. “For one, I can apparently heal just by touching someone. You remember what happened with Miya out in the woods, right?” Airi nodded, swallowing at the memory that as time went on and she became closer to the Goto girl seemed to become more poignant. At the time though, she’d just chalked it up as that she wasn’t hurt as badly as it had looked, and Reina knew some first aid. Experiences since then though had changed her mind on that a bit…

“I can also affect the weather.” Airi blinked at her, and she noticed Risako walk up from around the table to her side as well, casting them looks between one of awe at Airi due to how she was speaking to the Skulls to effectively more curious ones at the Skulls themselves.

“The weather?” Airi asked. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, I don’t really know how to control it yet…” Reina admitted grudgingly, “But it kind of follows my moods. Like, if I get angry, it gets stormy. If I’m happy it gets sunnier. Those kinds of things.”

Those kinds of things were crazy was what they were, at least as far as Airi was concerned, but the girl went on. “Miya can do things too. She seems to be able to stop other people’s powers for example.” Airi thought back to when they were in the room with Maimi. Right after she’d kissed her. She blushed again, though it quickly turned into light anger as she remembered Miyabi was missing now. She had done something to make it cooler in there. It seemed like Maimi was doing something to the air. She looked into Reina’s eyes again. Could she actually be telling the truth? As far as she could tell, the girl was being honest.

“She also seems to be able to, er, disappear and then pop up somewhere else right away,” Reina continued.

Airi furrowed her eyebrows at her. “Like… teleporting?” she asked, and Reina quickly nodded, seemingly happy with Airi’s understanding.

“Yes, that’s it. Although she doesn’t seem to have much control over that either. The one time she did it she was very dizzy and even fell out of a tree…”

She fell out of a tree? Airi thought. If she was going to date the girl, she definitely needed to learn a bit more about her. If she was going to date the girl… Had she already decided that was what she wanted, despite whatever might have happened with Reina? Then she thought of Maimi. How did she manage to get herself mixed in with two of the most well-known girls at the school? She was just Airi Suzuki. She was just a second year. And Reina Tanaka is looking at me like she’s almost pleading for my help for some reason… she thought. What was really going on?

“And then there’s you…” Reina said slowly.

“Me?” Airi asked, her train of thought disrupted.

Reina nodded slowly, and the other girls’ faces became blank. At least, those of all but Risako, who was now looking at her curiously. She looked back at her friend. She’d known the girl for probably half of her life at this point, but now she was being viewed as if the girl had never seen her before.

“You had something to do with what happened outside earlier, didn’t you?” her friend asked. Airi blinked at her.

“What are you talking about? Were you out there too?”

Risako shook her head. “No, I wasn’t. But Airin, I knew there was always something different about you. Now that… they… talk about this stuff,” she said, giving Reina a slightly anxious glance still, but the girl just nodded as if for her to continue. “Whenever we play around, I can never beat you in anything. You’ve always been the strongest of the two of us.”

“I’ve noticed that too…” Chisato chimed in, looking at Airi as well.

“Then there were other things…” Risako said, and now seemed to hesitate a little before going on. “Sometimes you’d look up at the Sun. You’d look up at it and just stare at it for minutes on end. I don’t even know if you realized what you were doing, because when I started talking to you after a little bit you just acted like nothing was going on, but something was strange. Anytime I even try looking into the Sun for a second I feel like I’m blinded, but it doesn’t seem to affect you at all…”

She looked nervously toward Reina again. “I don’t know if this really has anything to do with what you’re talking about,” she said. “But since something happened to the Sun when you were out this morning, and since it sounds like you did something strange, I thought I’d mention it…”

Reina actually smiled at her, and Risako lowered her head in a soft blush. “Actually…” the Skull said, looking like she’d just come to a remarkable realization. She now seemed like she couldn’t take her eyes off Airi. “I think it might have everything to do with it…”

However, instead of continuing with the subject she looked around at the girls surrounding her. “But now’s not the time to talk about things like that. The point is, it would take someone very exceptional to even be able to harass Miya, much less do anything to her. And I can think of only a few people who might fall into that category… which means we need to find her. Since we’re headed to the Ivory Tower you’d better be prepared. Come on.” Then she turned, and along with Koharu started walking for the doors.

Chisato started after her, and at a look back Airi began following too. “C’mon Rii-chan,” she said, pulling their other friend along with her. Squeaks of protest issued from the girl’s throat, but true to what she was just explaining, she couldn’t pry herself from Airi’s grasp.

“What am I going to do!” she whined, sounding almost terrified.

“You’re my friend,” Airi explained. “I need someone around who isn’t crazy.” Chisato gave her a frown since they were now catching up close to her. “Yes, you’re crazy too. Honestly…” she said, and they exited the dining hall to the watchful eyes of the small groups of other Seishin girls who still remained there.

[maiZe]

Stuck in the house for the day due to a crazy snowstorm outside and seeing a new chapter just made my day!

Ahh! Such a hectic chapter!

Poor Risa. She's probably all confused about Ai's behaviour. I'm worried about Ai, though 'cause her confusion and anger are causing her to abuse the powers that she's still trying to sort out. I was very surprised and upset to see her  capture Miyabi and have the idea to 'talk' with her.

Three vs. one?!? Poor Miya. I was a little sad to see no Miya/Airi interaction this chapter, but that's okay, I can wait. Miya's so torn about the kiss though. Hopefully it won't take her long to get over the fact that she didn't initiate this foray into a new part of their relationship.

Maimi needs to learn to accept rejection. Get over it, Maimi. Airi chose Miya. It's not Miya's fault she's so fabulous.

I'm glad to see Risako seems to be taking all of this very well. She's surprised, but doesn't seem to be put off that her two friends are now Skulls.

I'm also glad that Airi hasn't completely shut herself off the the possibility of a relationship with Miyabi even though she's upset about Miya and Reina. Though her and Miya will probably be having a talk about that soon.

“C’mon Rii-chan,” she said, pulling their other friend along with her. Squeaks of protest issued from the girl’s throat, but true to what she was just explaining, she couldn’t pry herself from Airi’s grasp.

“What am I going to do!” she whined, sounding almost terrified.

“You’re my friend,” Airi explained. “I need someone around who isn’t crazy.” Chisato gave her a frown since they were now catching up close to her. “Yes, you’re crazy too. Honestly…” she said, and they exited the dining hall to the watchful eyes of the small groups of other Seishin girls who still remained there.

This just made me LOL. 

Can't wait for the next chapter!! I hope nothing too drastic has happened to Miya yet, and that she Skulls kick the Circle's butt for taking Miya!

[mode107]

Woah,I didn't think Ai was serious about the kissing part in the last chaper, awkward moments to come 

*Gasp* You mentioned Erina!

I still can't get over that fact that Maimi is becoming the "evil" one. I still like the concept of that though.

“Well look at what we have here…” Maimi said, grinning at the realization of what was going on. She stepped up to Natsuyaki and seemed to consider her a moment. Then, with a quick thrust of her arm she slugged the girl in the mouth, sending her head lolling against her shoulder and making her lip begin to swell and bleed.

I must say, that I loved that part 

[Grisours]

I just love it when there's a new chapter here... I swear it makes my day soooooo much better!

when I was reading I noticed you mentioned Erina, which is so very nice... (and kamei and sayumi too, I guess)

at the beggining I was thinking "what the hell, Ai-chan is crazy" but when she kissed gaki-san I stopped thinking that... I hope gaki-san forgives her (if there's anything to forgive! =D) so they can be together...

I also hope that the Skulls find miyabi soon... that bit with the Circle and Maimi beating her looked scary enough... and is Maimi really jealous? because I thought she only pursued Airi to know what were her powers, but now I'm thinking that maybe she really likes her... dunno...
and Airi is so naive, thinking that miya is her girlfriend just cause they kissed! (well, I hope she is, I like them together!)... and although Risako looks kinda "innocent" when compared to the Skulls, she did help them... I wonder if she's also going to join them...
as you can see I'm really looking forward to next chapter! keep it up! 

[rndmnwierd]

I can't wait for the next chapter, the set up in this one was almost unbearable. I feel bad for Ai though, it seems like she's losing herself too quickly to realize how she's changing, and then the whole thing with Risa. Mmm.

[Loser87]

wow that was mad OD...

lol But anyway let's speak in english now and not slang, that was one heck of a read!
I'd say I'm satisfied with this chapter and I suddenly had a jump start in my brain on whats gonna' happen next...
I mean as in the far future and stuff...=T

But I'm not too sure so i'll keep it to myself.

You should update soon because i wanna see what Maimi's gonna do and what will happen when the skulls come in to save miya!
Oh yeah..P.S...Update the other chapter too!

YAHH YAHH!! >=D 

[JFC]

As Ai stormed into House Nakazawa, students studying and socializing in the front lounge swiveled their heads to watch her pass. She caught some of their looks out of the corners of her eyes; these girls definitely looked differently at her since she’d become a Circle member. Instead of hardly even registering her presence like they had before, now they looked her way as if expecting something, though she had not a clue what.

Maybe they're waiting to see if her behaviour starts becoming a little "off", like it has for Maimi and Captain?

“What’s made me so different from the Ai Takahashi so many of you hardly even knew?”

“You’re in the Circle now,”

...

“That’s true, Kamei…” Ai said, considering the girl. “That still doesn’t mean I’m a different person.”

“But you kind of are…” another girl said from next to Eri. Ai knew her too – Sayumi, another sixth year.

...

“I know what it is now!

...

Ai blinked at the girl, a fifth year by the name of Erina. At Ai’s frown the girl almost ducked as if afraid she was going to attack her. “Before this year I don’t think I ever even saw you do anything but smile at everyone…”

Ai stared at the intent girl for a moment. She was right. She was Ai Takahashi – the cute one, the nice one… but never the argumentative one.

Interesting way to look at it. If Aichan had been elevated to The Circle earlier, would the other house members be so surprised by her current behaviour/demeanor?  It could just be that this change is so odd for them since they've always "known" and seen Aichan in a different way.  It's no one's fault, really. Aichan has probably had this side to her all along, it's just that she's never had to use it before.

Traveling up stairs and down a hallway, she found her room and walked inside to find Risa sitting cross-legged on her bed with a book open in her lap. The girl looked up at Ai’s entrance, and smiled when she saw it was her long-time friend. “Hi Ai-chan!” she said as Ai walked swiftly toward her bed. “I wondered where you…”

She stopped talking though as Ai mounted her bed and crawled over it toward her. It took her just a fraction of a second to close in on her prey, and Risa was about to give a startled cry when Ai brushed the book off her lap and leaned in toward her. The girl tried to lean back in surprise at the motion, but since Ai had pinned her legs down with her weight couldn’t move fast enough before Ai’s mouth came into contact with her own.

Ai’s forward progress combined with Risa’s motion backwards resulted in Risa falling back onto the bed and Ai pressing down on top of her, kissing her vehemently while her hands lightly held onto her shoulders.

...

GO AICHAN!!!

“Ai-chan!” Risa cried, in what was a slightly breathless voice. “What…” She swallowed. “What are you doing?”

Ai continued staring at her. “Kissing you,” she said dumbly. This was not supposed to be part of her dream.

Like, DUH!   

Her blunt response elicited a blush and lowering of the eyes from the other girl. “I… I know that…” she stuttered. “But… why?” she asked, and looked back searchingly into her molester’s eyes. “You’re my best friend…”

Uh...oh.

Ai finally began to embrace reality. The girl’s expression was nothing she could have imagined. This was definitely not a dream. “Nii-chan…” she said, rising slightly and pulling back to hug her knees to her. Risa got up quickly and reached an arm over to her, but Ai shied away. “I… I’m sorry…”

“There’s no need for that,” Risa said quickly, still plainly quite embarrassed at the situation. “It’s just… surprising.” She looked back into Ai’s face. “I never knew you felt that way about me…”

“I didn’t…” Ai began, shaking her head. Was her world completely devolving into insanity now? She slid quickly off the bed and headed for the door.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Maimi’s words came back to her, and she evaluated their truth. If they were really some type of higher beings, what’s to say they weren’t intended to lead everyone and show them the way? They already led the school – they were chosen for a reason. Plus, Circle members always obtained important positions in companies after graduation.

...

The sky will run red as if stained by the gods themselves.

The phrase from the book suddenly burst into her mind, and she stopped in her tracks. That’s why the other two heads were so interested in that book. They’d had years to come to grips with their power and what it meant, and so they immediately knew the significance of the passage… and of the sun just happening to turn red today. She finally understood.

Oh no...please don't tell me Aichan's starting to think like how Maimi and Captain are?

She hadn’t noticed before, but suddenly Ai realized she wasn’t alone in the dimly lit hallway. Was she in the basement somewhere? She looked up to find a girl looking at her. Miyabi Natsuyaki considered her stonily, her face shadowy in the hall’s poor light.

“What are you doing here?” Ai asked, her mind still full with the thoughts she’d just been having.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Natsuyaki responded evenly.

Uh-oh. This could turn ugly.

“I think you know what I can do…” Ai said, fighting to keep control of the wind. Out of the corner of her eye she also caught flashes from the corners of the walls as if sparks were leaping from wall to ceiling and back. “If you don’t leave right now, I might need to teach you a lesson.” She spoke through rage that was quickly boiling up inside of her. The girl was being completely insubordinate! How dare she talk to her like that! She was a leader of this school!

...

Ai had never been in a fight before, but somehow she knew what to do.

Okay, I gotta ask, where's CAPTAIN, and just how strong is she? This is all a bit to coincidental to NOT be suspicious, IMO.

“I like her, all right?” she yelled into Ai’s face, and Ai wondered if she couldn’t make out the girl’s meaning because of her quickly fading consciousness, or if the girl really wasn’t making any sense. “So what if she kissed me first! I still wanted to kiss her, after all!”

Holy shit, she admitted that she likes Airi!

If Maimi or Captain found out about that, they'd likely flip!

“Ai-chan!” she heard Saki say from behind her, and then she felt hands around her head helping her up. The smaller girl pulled her to the wall and leaned her against it, looking carefully into her face. “Are you all right?”

Fuck, I KNEW she couldn't be too far away.

“You wanted to kiss her…” another voice said from somewhere to Ai’s side. However, this one had a dangerous tone to it that even in Ai’s current state made her insides freeze. “You Skull…” the voice said. “You filth…!” Then, as Ai saw Maimi come into her view in front of her as she advanced upon the other fallen girl, Saki rose to quickly attempt to restrain her.

“Don’t even try stop me this time!” Maimi barked at the girl. “You know she’s already no good! And then she goes and… she goes…” She turned a glare of death back down the hall.

Oh yeah..."ugly" doesn't begin to describe how bad this could get now.

“You’re right,” Ai said, rising unsteadily to her feet as she regained her bearings somewhat. Then she looked down the hall to see Natsuyaki rising slowly to her own feet, and narrowed her eyes as she looked at the girl’s wrists.

The girl jerked and began quickly sliding up the hall, her arms raised above her head as if she was being dragged by them. She shuffled her feet in an attempt to gain her footing, but she was moving too fast, and soon came to a halt right in front of the three Circle members, two of whom looked at the girl’s sudden presence with wide eyes of surprise. Upon reaching them, Natsuyaki’s arms lifted further into the air as if pulled upward by an unseen force, her feet rising from the floor and dangling a few centimeters above it as she stretched tall before them.

Ai looked at the other two Circle members, who shifted their stares of surprise to her. She smiled in smug satisfaction. “You’re right,” she repeated. “We do need to know anything they might have learned. And what better way to do that than to ‘talk’ to one of them?”

Aichan...

“You kissed Miyabi Natsuyaki?!” Risako squawked, and Airi noticed the tenor of her voice wasn’t much short of awe. “But… she’s a Skull!” She disbelievingly looked between her two friends as they sat across from each other in the dining hall.

“Apparently we are too,” Airi said in a tight voice, playing with her noodles.

“Yeah,” Chisato said, smiling ear to ear at someone new hearing their story. “You’re actually the odd one out now, Rii-chan!”

Poor Socko almost sounds jealous. 

She looked up from her soba to see Risako gawking at her as if she was some kind of idol. “What?” she asked.

“You kissed Miyabi Natsuyaki!” the girl repeated.

“You already said that…” Airi said, and she heard Chisato giggling from beside her.

“Hello?!” Airi said, and reached over to rap the girl on the head with her knuckles. “What about that eclipse thing that happened, and what I did to Maimi. Er… Yajima-san.”

...

“I know, I know…” Risako said. “But you didn’t kiss her, did you?”

They're teenage girls, of course they're going to pay more attention to who's swapping spit instead of who just got beat up. 

“Osuzu…” the girl said, giving Risako a cautious eye as if to make sure she didn’t need any assistance. The girl held up her hand to say she was all right, although still couldn’t seem to stop coughing. “I think Miyabi kisses a lot of people…”

Airi stared at her. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“Well, I heard from Koharu-chan…” Chisato said nervously. “She and Reina…”

“What…” Airi said, her face suddenly darkening. She didn’t like where this was going at all.

“N-nothing!” Chisato defended, raising her hands as if to hold off her friend. “It’s nothing!”

Uh-oh...

“Okacchan! Airi!” Koharu gasped, since she was the first to arrive. “You have to come! Miyakko’s—“

“She’s gone,” Reina said upon arriving too, frowning at the younger girl, who now looked abashed at her presumptiveness. “We looked everywhere for her, but all we noticed was something odd about one of the basement passages in Nakazawa we use sometimes to get around with nobody noticing. It was like the place was destroyed… and there were signs of struggle…”

Time for a search party!

“Did you kiss her?” Airi asked suddenly, and the eyes of all the other girls shifted to her.

“What?” Reina asked, apparently trying to be patient with her, but having a hard time of it.

“Miyabi,” Airi responded. “Did you kiss her?” She got up to face the girl, not even noticing the rest of the girls in the dining hall giving her odd looks.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Reina asked, clearly in disbelief that Airi would have brought up such a subject right now.

Indeed. This is not the time to be worrying about this. What they DO need to focus on is finding out where Miyabi is and determining if she's okay. 

“The Skulls stick together,” Koharu said, her face quite intense as well right now. “If something happens to one of us, it happens to all of us, so we all work together to help make things right again.”

“Well said…” Reina said approvingly,

...

“I never said I’d join the Skulls…” Airi said,

...

“But if Miyabi’s in trouble…” Reina looked somewhat taken aback at the dangerous look Airi gave her. Good. “Then I’ll help her.”

Incidentally, this would be a good thing for Airi to help out with. When they find her...she can then ask Miyabi herself and find out exactly where her head is.

“Do you have any idea where she might be?” Airi asked.

In response, the faces of both of the Skulls in front of her darkened. “I have my ideas…” Reina said. Airi regarded her curiously. The look on her face was not good at all. What could those ideas be to trouble her so?

“Tell me we’re going to storm the Ivory Tower…” Koharu said in a voice that was nearly pleading. Airi’s eyes widened, and she heard Risako gurgle slightly from across her. Giving the girl a glance, Airi saw her eyes roll slightly up into her head to make her look like she was about to faint.

“You think the Circle has her?” Chisato gasped.

Well, if they had all seen the looks of that hallway like how Reina and Koharu had seen them, it would definitely make sense.

“What makes you think that?” Airi asked.

Reina and Koharu looked at each other. “You might know a little of this, Airi,” Reina said. Airi felt weird at the girl using her first name. “But Miya and I are rather… unusual. Have you ever wondered why nobody ever fights back against us when we bully them?”

Oh geez...Airi doesn't know about how they all have powers, does she?

“And then there’s you…” Reina said slowly.

“Me?” Airi asked, her train of thought disrupted.

So now Reina's going to tell Airi that she has powers too? Is that the best thing to be doing?

“C’mon Rii-chan,” she said, pulling their other friend along with her. Squeaks of protest issued from the girl’s throat, but true to what she was just explaining, she couldn’t pry herself from Airi’s grasp.

“What am I going to do!” she whined, sounding almost terrified.

“You’re my friend,” Airi explained. “I need someone around who isn’t crazy.” Chisato gave her a frown since they were now catching up close to her. “Yes, you’re crazy too. Honestly…” she said

[mae-chan]

“You wanted to kiss her…” another voice said from somewhere to Ai’s side. However, this one had a dangerous tone to it that even in Ai’s current state made her insides freeze. “You Skull…” the voice said. “You filth…!” Then, as Ai saw Maimi come into her view in front of her as she advanced upon the other fallen girl, Saki rose to quickly attempt to restrain her.

“Don’t even try stop me this time!” Maimi barked at the girl. “You know she’s already no good! And then she goes and… she goes…” She turned a glare of death back down the hall.

Somehow, I think Maimi must have thought that Miya wanted to kiss Ai-chan, and right after stealing Airi away from her and kissing her too