It took me a shameful amount of time to start, but eventually I was turning the repercussions over in my head. "Gyargh... Searrs and their 'Golden fucking Millenium' know Natsuki, Mai, and Nao, now... Nagi-yarou does if he didn't already... God, what a tangled fucking mess."
"Hmm," she agreed, turning a page. "And that's not even considering the new players who will deal themselves into the game now that it's become a matter of public knowledge."
I groaned. "Oh, lord, you're right... CIA, KGB, MI6, hey! What the hell to do... Everything's gonna get more complicated, isn't it?"
"Considerably. I'm not sure if you're aware, but even in the few hours you've been sedated there have already been SDF troops moving into the city... Searrs isn't present, so far as I've been able to find - I suppose because they'd rather not have their rock flipped over just yet."
That put a melody into my head. "Cruella de Ville - Cruella de Ville - If she doesn't scare you, no evil thing will," I sang in English, then switched back to Japanese. "Right, great, so now how the hell are we supposed to get ahold of Midori or the others we're missing, let alone talk to the Director... and after that there's fucking' Nagi, and Lord Glass-Ass after him? Christ."
"I wasn't aware that you spoke English," she said, then went on. "Regardless, you needn't worry. Sugiura-sensei is the only HiME remaining uncontacted... save, of course, for Alyssa Searrs. Although the change in Mai-san's status makes it unlikely that she will be able to initiate that contact as planned, Akane-san has been employed at that restaraunt for some time. If the difference in public events changes Sugiura-sensei's plans, we can likely contact her through Sagisawa-sensei - although that will likely require revealing certain information.
"Aside from the three you mentioned, I am known to Searrs, and Shiho-chan and Mikoto will be fairly obvious in light of their involvement in yesterday's incident. Akira-kun's clan has been contacted, and have indicated their willingness to provide us with access to their records of the previous Festivals. Shiho-chan and Akira-kun are investigating the possibility of gaining access to the shrine cave you remembered without destroying it, and will be able to guard it from intruders. Akane-san and Yukino-san are resting and will prepared to alternate shifts with them. Sister Yukariko was quite distraught at the version of events presented in your account, and has gone into seclusion to pray for guidance." I couldn't quite suppress my reaction to the thought of such an action, and she raised an eyebrow. "You dissaprove of Christianity?"
"I dissaprove of religion, period, though I'll grant that Christianity annoys me more than most. You might call me a militant agnostic - I know I don't know, and anyone who says they do is either lying or deluded." I shook my head. "Blech. I'm ranting. Sorry."
She didn't quite laugh, but the note her smile took on gave the same impression. "The final bit of pressing news is that Miyu has been destroyed."
Uhhh... Okay. "She's dead? That's... I'm not sure. No anti-Child sword with freaky-fast wielder, good. No big-ass gateway cracking suicide cannon, bad... Are we certain it was total, not just her body?"
"Akane-san said that her Child was... quite thorough. She was unwilling to risk Kazuya-san by letting the danger persist."
"Akane what?!" I mean, seriously, she had just off and whacked somebody? Since when was the 'nice girl' willing to do something like that?
"Oh, yes - she's a quite skilled martial artist."
"Huh." I shook my head as I tried to assimilate that, then paused and laughed when I realized she'd hit every possible response I could have thought of. "I guess that's it, then."
She nodded, and I laughed. "Maybe you should be in charge - you've done a better job than I could've with all this."
That made her head snap up, and her expression was noticably shocked. After a moment, she found her voice, and protested, "I hardly think I would be the best choice."
"Beauty, brains, and modest to boot! Natsuki's a lucky girl..." However mocking the words might look now, or have sounded at the time, I was quite serious.
And, evidently she recognized it, since, shockingly, she started to blush, if just slightly. While I was busy boggling, though, she took a moment to collect herself and shook her head at me. "No - any qualifications aside, none of the others would be willing to place the neccessary amount of trust in me... and quite rightly, in fact. While your worse fears about my mental state are unfounded, I do take considerable medication, which would make me even more vulnerable to any... disturbances the Festival or another agency might create.
"You are quite correct about the need for a trustworthy central authority, however, and at the moment I believe that only you or Sugiura-sensei present viable alternatives."
Midori made sense - as both the oldest, likely the most clear-sighted and arguably the most mature, she was the logical candidate, but... "ME?! I'm not even a HiME!"
"Exactly."
"Huh?"
Y'know, I think I might've figured out what was giving me such fits of writer's block - I've been rewatching the series as I was writing this, and getting into the deeper parts may well be interfering with my ability to work with the fluffier opening bits.
Ja, -n
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"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."