POV Mari
I feel as weak as a newborn deer. My head is pounding, and all my muscles have turned into tofu. Even opening my eyes hurts, but I wish to see what is happening around me and ignore the pain. My vision clears slowly, and I recognize my family holding my hands.
'I'm in … the game room? …. So it wasn't a nightmare. …Damn it all.'
I'd scream and hit things if I could, but right now I'm barely able to tighten my grip and let them know that I'm awake.
"Chiyo: sis! sis! stupid, stupid big sister!"
"A.K: daughter. my strong and stupid … daughter. i will call Haruka to give you a… checkup."
Chiyo and Father exclaim quietly in happiness at my return to the land of the living. I see his tears start rolling down before he rushes out of the room.
I try to regain control over my body to give Chiyo a hug and show that I'm going to be fine. My voice is not waking up, so I give a smile instead.
It didn't work. Chiyo burst into tears and is doing her best to squash me like a toothpaste tube.
'Gods. When was the last time you have clung to me like this? Haaa..we have lost…so many… You have almost lost me… I'm sorry…'
"Mari: `mmmkuh `kuh `kuh… Chi..yo. I'm. ok."
"Chiyo: Of course you are, you're my big sister, you must always be a OK."
We stay glued together for another minute, shedding tears for too many reasons to count.
"A.K: Chiyo, please, let the healer take a look at Mari."
Father hugs both of us and gently pulls Chiyo back, allowing me to be freed.
"Haruka: The healing took a lot out of you all, but you've made it to the other side. I'll just get a feel for your condition …. Hhmmm… mm… Exhausted and .. a headache? I'm not going to pretend to be a brain surgeon, so I'm not touching that part of you and exhaustion will need time to recover from. I'll make sure to run a few screenings each day to make sure that the poison is completely gone."
Haruka runs her glowing hands over every inch of my body, trying to discover any traces of that deadly poison. My mind catches onto something else…
'…Us all?' I try to convey my question with my eyes and a few grunts.
"Haruka: … `Sigh. I've done what I could for the most severe cases, but we were already out of mana and time, a pair didn't make it through the healing. There are nine patients recovering. … …."
She doesn't say it out loud, but I understand that the patients consist only out of my little warriors. There are no human patients that needed extensive healing. Father also shakes his head, confirming my unreliable memories.
'He died…for me. They all have… . I'm tired…soo damn tired.'
I'm kept company while I rest and eventually fall asleep.
… .. .
'No music this time.' I wake up slowly and without any stupid song playing in the background. My body feels much better and has the energy to actually move…and move for the ladies room I must.
I leave Chiyo sleeping on a chair by my bedside and rush to relieve myself, regretting not having done so before falling asleep. Once I'm properly refreshed, I check on my condition.
'I don't feel any lasting complications anywhere. A bit sluggish and tired, but nothing too serious. Mana…feels half empty and responds poorly.'
I sigh in relief and return to my bed, spending some 10 minutes thinking back to yesterday's events. It's not productive to my recovery, to dwell on it right now, but I owe it to them, to keep those memories with me for as long as I can. .. .
'Haaaa..This is enough for moping around. I have work to do… and I need to check on Meiko. Hopefully, I'm worried for nothing, but she has a tendency to take everything personally…Haaa. Right, time to get this day started.'
I shake Chiyo awake from her uncomfortable position.
"Mari: Good morning Chiyo. How are you feeling? High temperature? A runny nose?"
"Chiyo: … … Not funny sis! You've had us worried to death! Dad looks to have aged by ten years! And…and…and…fuuuu. Good to have you back with us, don't do that ever, ever, ever again!"
This time I'm not reduced to a toothpaste tube and can hug her back. We stay like this for a bit and I ask questions about the happenings around here while I was out cold.
Most of the girls returned to the dormitory after a good chunk of the shock wore off, only Meiko adamantly refused to leave and Juliana needed a few hours to show her face at home. Father was sent to sleep in the adjacent room, after also refusing to leave. Haruka has come and gone to confirm that I'm stable and that the poison is completely erased from my body.
'Almost 24 hours have passed, this really took me to the knife's edge. … I need to tend to the fallen and help the others if I can.'
First things first, I look for Meiko.
'…? Where did she go off to?' I was sure that she would be waiting nearby or training in the gym, but we can't find her anywhere in the building. As a last resort I check the tablet and look through the dungeon maps… finding her on the second floor… .
"Mari: I think she went looking for a sturdier punching bag. The normal ones in the club room tend to break from taking her serious punches."
"Chiyo: Is she alright with going alone? Those big potato monsters didn't look like pushovers."
"Mari: I'd be worried if she went to the floors below, but the second one is relatively safe even for noncombatants. The monster there are either slow moving, or the stinky onyans. I imagine that she is pummeling everything into the ground barehanded to relieve stress."
"Caw CAWCAW"
My recovered warriors also expressed strong desire to vent their grief. Chiyo can't use the secondary portals, and I don't feel confident enough to walk us safely all the way down. Left with little choice, I've sent them off to join Meiko, but insisted that they all come back in an hour.
I'm famished and not feeling like eating at the same time. In desperate need to regain my strength faster, I need force the food down regardless.
"A.K: Daughters, there you are. … Mari… I have prepared a.. resting place."
Father comes from outside to find us having tea and sandwiches.
'I was wondering where you were running off to… .'
I'm lead outside, to a freshly planted patch of hydrangeas, an empty hole and another basket of flowers ready to be planted. I judge the arrangement to be slightly off and ask for a few fixes. I keep myself together for now, distracted by little things. … .
I haven't asked, but everyone has gathered to pay their respects and send off the departed. The comrades that risked their lives scouting and supporting us. The ones who chose to fight to the bitter end.
I can't help it but shed tears reliving that nightmare, while sharing a few words with those around me.
We all require time to recover after this. Time to let the fresh wounds heal. Time to dull the memories. Time to think about our future.
…. … .. .
For some reason an alarm sound off as we are working in the USC room.
"Meiko: Lady Mari? Do you require anything done? Please allow me to fulfill your task."
It has been two days, and I'm fully recovered by now. Meiko… Meiko has become more extreme in everything. Any task is tackled with reckless abandon, no compromises are made and the results are harshly judged. She also has started devoting more time to stricter training of both body and mind.
'There was no sound from you for the past three days. Why now?'
"Mari: … It's not a reminder, no… ."
'Is it mocking me again? Hmm? It never sounded an alarm at a wrong time.'
I'll have to wait and see if anything changes, for now, we have work to do.
"Mari: Only three more days before the start of the second semester. Meiko, how are the preparations looking out to be?"
"Meiko: On our side of the preparations, I can confirm that there are no problems. All the teachers have provided their lesson plans for the first week, and the ceremony will be held without incident. Kate says that around 95% of the clubs have submitted the necessary documents and we will be handing out supplies in short order."
'Haa… It will be hectic once all the students start clambering for things they forgot to include in their requests. There is more new equipment in our inventory from the last time, so hopefully it will be enough for everyone.'
I don't have to worry about the teachers.. much. Only that Risa has frightened a few of them and we needed Haruka to calm them down. I doubt that there will be any students missing without prior notice, so the official ceremony will be a breeze.
"Mari: I'd like to doublecheck the supplies, to make doubly sure that we have everything in order for the rush of activity that will follow the ceremony."
"Meiko: I will see to it by the evening!"
Yet another calm before the storm, we can only wait for things to get moving and do our best to contain the chaos.
Hurt Incantation【covered by Anna】
'Again. What do you want? Why choose these songs? Why now? Is it the lyrics? …I need to check this with Kate and Anna'
"Mari: Meiko, can you try finding Anna and bringing her here for a moment?"
I invite Kate and Anna gets here soon after. We compare notes, concluding that it really has never played an alarm at a wrong time. Neither has it played the same song for all three tables at the same time.
'Is this wishful thinking? Am I simply looking for any straws to grasp?'
SLIDE INTO THE VOID | Control Song feat. Cami-Cat
Another song played as we were discussing and the tablet broke down into mana, vanishing completely.
"Mari: We can bring him back."
I get looks of not understanding and questioning my sanity after hearing my conclusion that I've come to.
"Mari: I know. He died. But.. he wasn't completely.. a human. Think back to everything that we know of him. How he has come to be here. How he was..made to be."
I give them a minute to think it over and come to their own conclusions.
"Kate: … The cage allowed only a short leash for a reason.."
"Anna: That is messed up, even for aliens. Is there no rest even in death?"
"Mari: If he was really bound to the HQ on a soul level and the leash pulled it back once the body died… If you think back to the first song's lyrics…"
"Kate: He's in hell. An artificially created hell."
`CRACK!
I look at Meiko and find the table with a dent under her clenched fists.
"Meiko: What can we do?"
"Mari: … I'll first acknowledge that this is also likely to be not the case at all. I..I will try nonetheless. The next system upgrade only needs two more months worth of EP, I'll perform at the festival and submit it. That will cut down the waiting time down to one month and maybe unlock a function to get him back, if not… Then it's likely that I'm wrong and being manipulated by those things."
We know close to nothing about the subject of souls, and this may be a malevolent ploy of some sort. Our wounds are still raw, and we should be untrusting of this whole thing if we think with a sober mind.
"Meiko: I will follow you with all my heart, Lady Mari. If there is a chance, I'll clench it and won't let go."
"Anna: I've already done it once. I'm willing to give this madness a go."
"Yumi: Let's kick ass!" "Tai: Shine a spotlight and it will be done."
"Kate: … … I'll meditate on this. I'm not saying no, give me a few hours to think things through."
"Hana: If they want a show, they will get one hell of a show."
"Risa: …Ok."
It's almost unanimously decided that we will give it a try. There really shouldn't be a major downside to this, even if it turns out to be pointless.
Ideas are thrown around, plans are made and scrapped, we find ourselves too restrained by time and our duties.
'This problem needs a change of the playing field. I need to talk to the academy's Headmistress.'
We could just try recording some things on our own, but there were promises of negative consequences for failing to upload entertaining material. It's safer to use the known format that has already worked before.
The time is approaching early evening, so I rush towards the Headmistress in her office.
`Knock `Knock.
"HM: You may enter."
I politely open the door and bow in greeting. The headmistress is looking at me with sharp eyes, despite her advanced age but in favour to her harsh temperament towards everyone.
"HM: Ah, young Miss Kurihara, what brings you here today?"
I'm not even offered a seat before she starts asking questions. The old lady has little patience for pleasantries.
"Mari: The aboveground and the underground student councils wish to submit a proposal for approval Headmistress."
Her eyes drill into mine and she looks unhappy with my purpose for being here. I haven't brought up the details, but she looks to have understood it already.
"HM: You girls want to participate in the festival. Those damn vouchers have been pecking at me for weeks, tch. Come, sit down girl."
I'm finally allowed to properly come in and sit down in front of the old but lively Headmistress.
"HM: You girls are stirring up things too much. The students are running around like a bunch of impressionable children. The staff are becoming lazy and spineless critters. The parents, a bunch of privileged know it all's. If I've had the energy, I'd be setting an example to follow."
'..This might take longer than usual. Someone must have been getting on her bad side.'
"HM: The young Takenomiya girl has good people under her, but is lacking in finesse to correctly utilize her advantages. Tch, not to mention that the young teachers are not what a teacher used to be. I've checked on the Bettou girl when she was training, she has strong spirit, but so did we back when I was teaching. I should be sticking those cowards into military school to toughen them up, otherwise they shame our academy by teaching here."
'…I may miss dinner today.'
I'm taken for a long journey across all the aspects of the academy that the Headmistress finds inadequate. She makes sure that I'm listening by involving me into her musings and demands lengthy discussions.
.. .
"HM: Alright, that's enough for today. Now, young girl. I'm going to tell you little something, just between the two of us. I know that your father was looking for ways to take my position a few years back, obviously he didn't get anywhere and I'd smack him like a child if he tried playing dirty. He started going on the offensive again as of late. I can push a few people around and cut him off for a year or two, or… or I can give a silent nod."
I'm surprised to hear her say that. This obviously is leading to somewhere, and I wait patiently for her to continue.
"HM: If you have listened well, you've no doubt understood that I lack in physical strength to deal with a lot of things that I would like to improve upon. Then there are your groups of ,hehe~, "legends". I've been getting calls and emails all week asking if your groups are performing and if they could bring more relatives to see the festival. Haaaa… There is too much excitement happening for this old, frail lady and I doubt that it will get any easier in the coming years."
"Mari: You wish to find a successor to your station on your own terms and have someone keep an eye on things from the inside."
I'm given the first ever grandmotherly smile from the Headmistress.
"HM: I've waited for too long, thinking that I'll be in good enough condition to do it later. Later never came, a good candidate never showed up, I didn't stay young forever. Time, the cruel mistress… . Your request is granted if you find enough personnel to cover for this mess, expect double the normal attendance of parents and other visitors. I'll be watching you more closely, satisfy my standards and I'll sit down to talk with your old man. If the fool thinks that this job is easy, then he will go bald long before I do."
'I can already imagine a 10 pages long list of conditions she probably has started working on since some years ago. I'm doubting that this will be any easier than a hostile takeover. For now…Yes, it's a start.'
I need to iron out details for another hour and agree to come back tomorrow for a longer talk. Dinner time has long passed by the time I've managed make it back to my room, but Meiko was waiting for me with a packed dinner.
"Mari: The Lv gap between us feels more like a chasm. The old woman is as intimidating as on our first day of enrollment."
"Meiko: The Headmistress has that uncanny pressure to her. I can easily imagine her slapping us around regardless of our improvements. I dare not wish to have seen her in the prime of her time."
"Mari: She has given us the green light, though it has taken around three hours for her to actually say it. Anyway, we have to deal with a mountain of work in short order."
"Meiko: I'll cut down on my training hours. This must be done, for one reason or another."
'Yes, it should benefit us regardless of our success with our main goal. …We haven't talked about what to do if I'm just being delusional. Mm.. better let the last embers of hope die out before we start moving on.'
