So it's been a long time... Yeah. I've been putting this chapter together piecemeal for a few weeks now, so hopefully it makes some sense together.
You know I don't like to make grand revisions after I've already written something... Anyway, I know I said more action would be in this chapter, and maybe there is a little, but I guess next one will be fun?
Thanks for all your comments, and keep em coming.
And lol @ the leader discussion.
Yay for an interesting thread! Oh, and JFC, the Kappa Airi I was thinking of was more like this, starting at about 1:30
:
Chapter 5 – School DazeAiri stumbled down the hallway with her arms full of the books she didn’t bother putting back into her bag after the last class of the day, which just finished. Chisato and Risako tailed her, trying to keep up, though Risako seemed to be torn between staying with Airi and running off to find Miyabi wherever she might be. The other students she passed either just stared at her wide-eyed or smiled proudly in her direction, but she was used to either reaction by now and hardly even noticed anymore.
“You know, getting upset isn’t going to help anything…” Chisato said, now and again bursting into a short jog in order to keep up with her. She looked like she could keep running like that forever. “We could try having another talk with Takahashi-san… or Gaki-san.”
Yeah, like that would help. She’d tried that before, and despite the two schoolmistresses nodding and seeming to understand everything she was saying, nothing had changed in the slightest.
“Just think of it as the nice thing it is!” Risako exclaimed in a ‘why-are-you-being-so-dumb’ voice. “I mean, despite us living in the tower, we still are hardly able to even get any sleep at night.”
“Yeah, like
you not getting any sleep has anything to do with what we’re talking about,” Chisato remarked with furrowed eyebrows, looking askance back at the other girl. Risako blushed and looked as if she wanted to say something, but seemed unable to open her mouth again.
Airi pushed her way out the front door of the classroom building and began to head across the fountain plaza, where many students congregated in groups below the Star of Seishin, as the large window in the Headmistresses’ building had come to be known. As usual she drew most eyes, and some of the new girls even gave short bows.
Seishin had been fully re-opened for just a few short days, after what turned out to be a rather short few weeks of preparation and enrollment of new students. Many continuing students were unable to return for one reason or another… aside from those that had died… so about half the population consisted of students whose eyes were always shaped like saucers whenever they caught sight of her.
Ai and Risa, despite their optimistic thinking, had been amazed at the quality – and haste – of the applications they received, and now the school was full of many of the brightest – and thus also wealthiest – girls in the country. It was to a point that some of the girls who were there before already felt disgruntled at how inadequate they thought themselves in comparison. That even included to some extent Chisato, but in her case at least schoolwork was hardly the primary thing on her mind.
Airi stopped near one of the benches encircling the fountain – newly added even since they’d arrived – and the area cleared out quickly as she decided to take a seat and not return directly to the tower as she’d taken to doing with respect to how the other students acted toward her. The students that cleared out didn’t seem to know what to do with themselves seeing her just sitting in their midst like that, some not even sure whether to go or stay, ending with them standing awkwardly in one place. Others alternated between staring and attempting to bow.
Airi did her best to ignore them. Chisato and Risako were surprised at her decision as well for a second, but ended up sitting to either side of her.
“It’s just not fair…” Airi said, still holding the books tightly to her chest. “Why should you guys get to do all the homework!?”
“Well… um…” Risako said, seeming unsure of how to go on.
“You can always do work on your own,” Chisato suggested. “I know you’ve already been doing that a bit.”
“Yeah,” Airi agreed, “But if I don’t get graded it’s like I did it for nothing. I mean, it’s not like I don’t have other things I could be doing…”
Chisato gave her a cockeyed glance. “…That’s exactly why they’re treating you like this. Everyone knows who you are and what you do. Shit, that delegation from the Emperor is coming today even.”
“I know,” Airi said with a dark glower. “But that’s not the reason. I know that even if it wasn’t for that stuff, they still wouldn’t let me do any regular schoolwork. It’s like they believe I’m different from them somehow.”
“Well,” Risako said, frowning at her, “You are.”
Chisato shot the girl a warning glare. “She’s right though,” she admitted. “They expect something different from you than from everyone else. So it’s not a matter of whether you have those other responsibilities or not, because that’s just the way things are.”
“Responsibilities,” Airi repeated in a dark voice, and Chisato seemed to mentally kick herself for saying the wrong thing. “It’s not like I asked for any of it.” The other two girls stayed quiet, as this topic had already come up among them many times before, and they both knew it was something Airi was quite touchy about.
“Airin!” someone called over to them, and Airi looked up at the crowds of girls in the plaza, which seemed to be growing for some reason, probably just because it was the end of the class day. A smaller group of just a few girls separated themselves from the others and advanced toward Airi and her friends. The other students peered at the new arrivals in amazement, impressed that they seemed to know her so well.
Chinami looked self-consciously at those others as she approached, Yurina walking quietly at her side. Chinami seemed bright as always, but Yurina was one of those girls who were taking it really hard with all the exceptional new students, so seemed to be frowning a lot as if she was under some self-imposed stress. Airi knew the teachers didn’t put ones like her down because of it though – if anything, because of her previous relationship to Airi and her friends, they treated her better than the others, who many thought of as just here for the reputation of attending school at the same place as the “sacred ones”, as the media had seemed to settle on calling them.
“It’s nice to see you out here,” Chinami said through her token smile. “We haven’t been able to get a hold of you hardly at all since everyone arrived.”
“I know…” Airi apologized.
“It’s been tough,” Chisato explained further, linking a supportive arm with Airi.
“I can imagine…” Chinami said, scrutinizing the three momentarily before glancing back at the students surrounding them.
“How’s everyone doing?” Risako asked, looking a bit uncomfortable.
“They’re all right. It’s like school’s pretty much back to normal,” Chinami responded. “There’s still maybe a little tension, but everyone’s getting used to working together again.”
“That’s good,” Airi stated, feeling more and more useless by the minute. By the discomfort from the two girls to each side of her, she had a feeling her friends felt similarly. Living in the tower themselves, they were nearly as detached from the lives of the rest of the students as she was.
“I wouldn’t say I’m all right,” Yurina said in a somewhat pouty voice. “I have to work hours and hours each day just to try and keep up with all the new girls…”
Chinami patted her shoulder absently. “I keep telling you that you work too hard. If you take it easier the teachers will understand.”
“But I don’t want them to treat me differently,” the younger girl responded in a tight voice.
Airi found herself staring off into space. She apparently wasn’t alone in her desires, although in her case, no matter what she did she couldn’t help it.
Apparently not catching Yurina’s meaning, Chinami went back to her original subject. “It’s definitely not as exciting as things were before, but I think a lot of people are secretly happy about that, despite their complaints of things being boring sometimes.”
“Boring?” Airi asked, finally looking fully up into the eyes of the other girls and noticing more and more students were gathering at a distance to watch them. “They think it’s too boring not to be in danger of their lives all the time? Too boring that girls aren’t dying left and right? Too boring that they don’t have to worry about their friends being captured and have who knows what done with afterward? They’re thinking it’s too
boring?!”
Lost in her words, she at first didn’t even feel the hands of Chisato and Risako on either arm trying to pull her back. She had somehow stood and advanced toward the other girls, who were now stepping back themselves with slightly frightened looks in their eyes, Yurina absently reaching up to her shoulder as if by reflex.
Trying to compose herself, Airi looked beyond Chinami and Yurina to see two smaller girls – Kanon, and another who she believed was named Akari. The two of them looked much more frightened than their older friends before them.
She glanced to either side at Chisato and Risako, who were still tugging futilely at her arms, before she allowed them to pull her back down onto the bench. “I’m sorry,” she said, now looking past everyone into the trees stretching up toward the blue sky behind them. “But I wish everyone could just be happy with things having returned back to… normal. I think we’ve had enough excitement for our lifetimes, don’t you?”
Chinami looked back at her skeptically, with just a slight trace of fear still left. She was obviously more composed than the others; their fear still shown strongly on their faces. “Sure, Suzuki-san,” she said, looking Airi in the eyes. “We’ve all had plenty of excitement.” Yurina seemed to absently finger her shoulder, which Airi knew to be scarred. She’d almost forgotten the girl had been run through with a sword herself – Reina’s work. She sighed. Herself and Reina and Miyabi. Despite the others’ experience, none had been through quite what the three of them had… and Ai and Maimi of course. As usual, the thought of Maimi brought her even more discomfort, and her eyes drifted to the two younger girls again.
“Hey,” she said to them, and the two looked around as if they didn’t think she was actually talking to them. “Where’s Yuuka? …and… Ayaka…” she added after a quick thought and remembering the girl’s name.
“They went off to dinner already,” Kanon responded, managing as usual to somehow keep more composed than her friends. “They didn’t expect there would be any… excitement out here,” she finished, glancing at the staring crowd around them.
“Osuzu…” Chisato urged. “We should probably get back to the tower… You need to get ready for the Emperor’s delegation. They’ll be here soon.”
Airi kept her eyes on Kanon and Akari, who seemed to become smaller and smaller under her gaze. She and Maimi still hadn’t talked much in the busy time of their school preparation, Airi still unsure of what might be going on between her and Yuuka, though she at least hadn’t seen the younger girl inside the tower. She knew that she’d likely never learn anything without actually talking to Maimi, but it was hard for some reason. Chisato was still having the same problem with Reina too. Her two “sisters” had been pretty much keeping to themselves lately too. Well, aside from Risako staying with Miyabi. None of them seemed to know what to do with their lives here anymore.
“Hello! You’re here already!” came a quiet but somehow commanding voice from beyond the crowd, and it parted to let two girls in, the Star of Seishin glowing into the just dawning eve from the light within it seemingly above their heads.
Ai and Risa were both dressed in shirt, precisely tied ribbon and jacket above knee-length skirts, looking professionally befitting of their stations. Airi heard Chisato groan from beside her. “So much for getting ready…” her friend muttered. Since moving in with her, Chisato seemed to take it as her responsibility to take care of Airi and make sure she presented an image befitting… whatever it was her friend thought of her.
Upon reaching them, Ai glanced at the surrounding girls and cleared her throat. “Don’t you all have some place to be? I know classes are done for the day, but do I need to tell the teachers to assign more homework? If you have the time to just stand around here staring at other students…”
The crowd began dispersing quickly at the words from their headmistress, and Chinami and the others also gave short bows of their head before going off too. Most still stole glances back at the high-profile group as they left, though. Everyone knew who was coming to the school this evening. Airi stared after the two youngest girls she’d just addressed, and apparently frightened half out of their wits.
“That wasn’t necessary…” she said, feeling a pout of her own coming on.
“Sorry,” Ai responded with a smirk. “Making sure students are doing what they should be doing is part of my job. We’re trying to look like we’re making the best effort possible after all, despite how many applications we might have received.”
Airi rose, her friends getting to their feet along with her. “Well thanks, though I’m not sure if I hardly even notice all the stares anymore.”
“Speak for yourself,” Chisato mumbled, clinging closely at her arm.
She started walking toward the path to the tower, but Ai raised a hand in a gesture for her to stop. “The Emperor’s delegation will be here any minute. That’s the other reason I wanted to disperse the crowd. We can’t have them blocking the street, after all.”
“Oh,” Airi said, and she felt Chisato sigh again. “Do you want us to head inside already?”
“That’d probably be best,” Risa responded, gesturing them toward the door beneath the star. “We have a conference room set up if you’d like to get settled there.”
“I’ll meet you back in the tower…” Chisato said at her side, finally releasing her arm. Risako nodded a similar farewell before walking with Chisato toward the path Airi had been headed to. Before they reached it, two other girls appeared from among the trees, and Risako ran up to give one of them a hug and a greeting kiss. Airi decided that they were apparently Miyabi and Reina arriving for the meeting as well. At least she hoped that was who they were, especially with Chisato slowing her steps in contrast to Risako, as if reluctant to reach the two arrivals.
“It’s nice to see them getting along so well, don’t you think, Airin?” Ai said, the two girls stepping up next to her hand-in-hand to watch the others as well. Ai gave her a sideways glance and went on, “I worry about you guys sometimes, that you might be getting too lonely. At least those two have each other. And you have your friends too. It’s Reina that I’m mostly worried about. She seems to be getting more… unstable lately.”
Airi knew what she meant. Since Erina fled the tower the day after they arrived here – to much ensuing gossip from around the school – she’d kept to herself more than the others, and whenever Airi did happen to see her, the girl seemed to be rather moody. She thought it was in good part due to Ai-chan that the clouds that had been almost omnipresent didn’t manage to drop forth much rain. She also didn’t really blame Chisato for not having talked with her yet.
The older girl had also apparently tried getting closer to Miyabi again, although even that was quite hard with Risako at her side nearly all the time.
Eventually, after the one extricated herself from Risako, who subsequently continued on down the path with Chisato, the two new arrivals made their way up to the headmistresses and Airi. “Good evening,” Risa said brightly, and Miyabi returned a smiling nod, though Reina just mumbled something unintelligible. Airi felt a drop of rain on her cheek. Apparently Reina was winning the battle at the moment.
Airi, for her part of the greeting, couldn’t help but stare at the others. Aside from Ai and Risa’s impressive looks, Miyabi had dressed in very nice black seifuku, even though black was not the school color all the other students here wore. Her red ribbon was tied neatly to the side of her neck, and her jacket seemed almost formal, despite how it flapped around since the girl hadn’t apparently bothered to button it. Airi figured Risako must have had some influence on the outfit, because she couldn’t imagine Miyabi would dress up like that otherwise. The chain hanging from the left side of her waist was the only thing aside from the black color that indicated her delinquent past, something she usually still reveled in portraying.
Reina meanwhile wore similar black seifuku, although her shirt was untucked from her skirt above stockings that were uneven just below her knees. Still, it was the nicest Airi had seen her look as well. She then looked down disapprovingly at herself. She was just in the normal seifuku of the other students, which also looked a bit worn from the activities of the day. Well, she didn’t have the time to change it now.
All five girls looked toward the road as they heard a sound as if from a motor, and they saw motorcycles appear from the enclosing woods ahead of what appeared a train of dark vehicles. “Would you three like to head inside?” Ai said, fussing over straightening her own dress again until Risa took her hand and pulled it firmly to her side. “We need to greet them, or we’d head in with you too. You know where the room is, right? It’s second floor just below the Star.”
Reina, without saying anything, just nodded and began strolling over to the building. Miyabi raised an eyebrow at Airi, who stuffed her books in her bag before walking with her in the same direction. “Nice bag,” Miyabi said, and Airi didn’t need to see the girl’s smirk to note the sarcasm in her voice.
“Yes,” Airi responded in her own annoyed voice. “Students who actually go to class are known to carry them.”
Miyabi stretched, giving a look over her shoulder at the oncoming procession. “I don’t know why you bother. I did actually show up the first day, but Yamada-sensei just stared at me the whole time as if I was nuts. Not to mention the other students…”
“Yes, well,” Airi said. “Some of us actually want to learn.”
Miyabi gave her a sidelong glance as they walked, nearing the door Reina had disappeared into. “Do you know how fast our galaxy spins around its center?” she asked suddenly.
“Um…” Airi responded, caught off guard by the girl’s question. Well if that wasn’t random…
“Nearly a million kilometers per hour,” Miyabi continued, and gave her another glance. “That was just updated based on recent data.” Airi blinked as they walked through the tall wooden doors, unsure what to say. “Do you know how many separate terrorist cells are operating within Pakistan’s borders currently?” she asked again.
This time Airi just shook her head very slowly.
“Seventeen,” she answered herself again. “But their leadership is holed up snugly within caves in the areas north of Kashmir.”
Airi stopped at that, though her current emotion was torn between amazement and horror. Seeing her do so, Miyabi stopped beside her, gazing at her with a small smile as if awaiting a response. “How…?” Airi began to ask, but then realized it was a stupid question.
“We’re different, Airi,” Miyabi told her, reaching to clutch at her forearm. “When will you get around to accepting that? We aren’t meant for the same things as everyone else… things like school.”
“B-but…” Airi protested, “You’re the only one that… that
knows things like that. The powers we have are completely different. I still need to learn things from school the regular way.” She reached up with her hand to Miyabi’s shoulder. “By the way, I didn’t even imagine you could know things like that before, things about terrorists and such. You should talk to the envoy about it today, and maybe they could do something with the information!”
“I know much more than that,” Miyabi said sagely. “Though I’m not sure how much anyone would be willing to listen to me about it. They’re more interested in listening to you. And to what else you said…”
Suddenly Airi felt the girl’s own free hand on her waist, and air rushed around her as she was spun around. The next thing she knew the breath was knocked out as she was slammed back against the reinforced stone wall. However, she wasn’t even able to catch a breath before she saw a form approach in her suddenly blurry vision and punch her in the stomach, causing her to lose even more breath and almost vomit.
What was going on!? No one had been able to beat her like this since…
Before she could continue that thought though, she was spun around again and thrown back against the opposite wall, where she slid hard to the floor on her rear. She was now dizzy and feeling almost delirious, but again was able to make out the shape of someone coming toward her in a menacingly confident gait.
“N-no…” she managed to breathe out, hardly able to support any voice. She saw an arm draw back as if for another punch, but before it could swing toward her, time became hers.
Everything slowed down to where it was almost frozen before her eyes. The person before her was thrusting her fist forward, but it was as if it was moving through a molasses, and didn’t seem as if it would ever arrive. Instinctively though, in Airi’s currently altered frame of mind, she knew it would, and she knew she had to act to prevent herself getting hurt any more. She still didn’t know why this was happening, but all rational thought had fled at the assault, and all she could do now was react.
As the fist ever so slowly closed the distance to her, she closed her eyes, letting the Sun fill her mind with its brilliance. When she opened them, its luminescence cast everything in stark relief, and the person in front of her was drawn in a smooth, solid outline before her eyes. Then she let loose the power building within her.
Her assailant was thrust backward with immeasurable force, so hard that she crashed completely through the stone and the wood of the wall opposite before coming to rest in a pile of rubble beyond. Time returned to normal, and Airi rose to her feet, the Sun having given her strength. She strode across the hall and stepped through the hole, instinct guiding her feet through the debris, feeling nothing inside but the white hot intensity of the desire to sear her enemy into nothingness once and for all.
However, when she reached the prone figure lying awkwardly in the rubble, she paused and blinked. The face was familiar to her. Then her memory crashed back into her mind.
“Miya!” she cried, and knelt down to grasp the girl’s wrist, fearing the worst. How could she have done such a thing?! However, she couldn’t get a read on a pulse before the wrist slid out of her grip. Surprised, she looked up into the girl’s face, Miyabi’s eyes blinking a big groggily as if waking up from a deep sleep.
“See?” Miyabi asked weakly, lifting herself slowly from the mess. Airi’s eyes widened. She was amazed the girl could even move after what she’d just done, much less look like she was in no pain at all. Miyabi rolled her neck and stretched as if she’d just been a bit stiff. Holding a hand to the back of her neck as she continued stretching it, she cast an eye on Airi. “You can take care of yourself just fine as you are now. There’s no need for something as simple as school.”
“Miya!” Airi cried again, this time in desperate relief, and she leaned forward to hug the girl tightly around the waist.
“Careful…” Miyabi warned. “I don’t think anything’s broken, but do you really want to push it? You could have killed me, you know,” she said in a teasing voice.
“…I’m not even going to ask what happened here,” came a voice from behind Airi, and she turned to see Reina through the hole in the wall. The girl had both eyebrows raised, and looked like she was also tapping her foot slowly, her arms crossed in front of her.
Suddenly Airi realized how tightly she was hugging Miyabi, and she turned her face toward her again only to jerk it suddenly back a bit, as it had been nearly touching the other girl’s own. For her part, Miyabi was giving her a crooked smile, and Airi felt the girl’s arms tighten around her, one even sliding slowly down her back…
“If you don’t quit it, I’m going to tell Rii-chan you two were making out after having thoroughly beaten each other up,” Reina continued. “It’s fun to imagine what she might think of
that.”
Suddenly Airi pulled back from Miyabi as if she was hugging a ravenous bear… one whose paw had nearly made it down to a part of her that had only been touched before by… well… the bear in question. She blushed furiously.
“Oh c’mon,” Miyabi said in a disarming voice. “You wouldn’t do that to our poor Airi here. Her friend would never forgive her. As for me, well, I’m sure she’d expect nothing less.” The grin had now spread across nearly her whole face.
“You guys just love torturing me, don’t you?” Airi pouted, having realized the game that was now going on, although still a bit terrified about Risako finding out about the encounter. She looked nervously back at Miyabi. Was she really that desperate? When she’d hugged Miyabi like that… when Miyabi had nearly felt her up like that… she could almost say she was
enjoying it.
“It’s our favorite sport,” Miyabi replied chidingly.
“I can say it’s brightened up my day more than anything has for a good while,” Reina said herself, a smile even beginning to creep its way onto her features.
“What on
earth have you guys been doing here?!” came another scandalized voice from back down the hall, and Reina turned to look at its source, which was blocked from Airi’s and Miyabi’s sight by the wall in front of them. Suddenly Risa appeared on the other side of the hole, her eyes wide as she took in the whole scene.
Reina, still smiling, backed away out of sight down the hall opposite Risa. Seeing the new arrival, Airi jumped quickly to her feet and nearly ran back through the hole. She moaned when she saw Ai coming toward them, leading a black-suited delegation of somehow anxious-looking men behind her.
“What’s going on, Gaki-san?” Ai asked. “Suzuki-san?” Upon hearing the last name, as well as getting close enough to recognize the face, the men stopped suddenly and fell into deep bows. Airi colored a bit more.
Ai continued walking forward though and peered with Risa through the hole, where Miyabi was just now coming to her feet, brushing dust off her jacket and skirt. “We thought we’d do some redecorating for our guests,” Miyabi said, still grinning, and popped into the hall, her grin widening when she noticed all the men almost frozen stiff still in a bow toward Airi.
Airi, frozen in her embarrassment as well, didn’t even notice at first when Miyabi came to her side and linked an arm with hers. When she finally looked up, Ai and Risa were both giving her very odd looks, but the men at least finally straightened once more.
“I think they’re expecting you to say something,” Miyabi whispered into her ear.
Seeing that apparently everyone was all right, but casting occasional frowns toward the blasted wall, Ai and Risa turned back to their guests as well. “Please, follow us down the hall,” Ai said. “I apologize for the condition of the wall…”
As they all walked toward the conference room, Reina a ways in the lead, Miyabi leaned toward Airi’s ear again. For her part, Airi still felt herself nearly incapable of speech. “I get the feeling this is going to be a most interesting meeting,” Miyabi said. The grin was still there, but this time Airi thought the girl might have actually sounded serious.
Topic: The Sword and the Dove [12: Voyage] (Update 12/30) (Read 40901 times)