This is a fanfiction by Doughnut Gunso.
“Shirosakura?” asked Hinagiku, puzzled. “But I thought it was destroyed.”
“Well, yes and no,” said Isumi. “It was broken – dead, you might say – during your battle against Kurotsubaki, but I have explained the situation clearly to you here.”
There was a short pause.
“Em… Saginomiya-san?” began Hinagiku, uncertain if she was being rude. “Please do not use hyperlinks in your dialogue. You see, I don’t have the device to click on them…”
“Ah, I apologise,” answered Isumi, who remained calm – in fact, Hinagiku had the feeling that Isumi sounded triumphant. “I have been building up my iPower lately, and I am glad that you recognise my hyperlink. That means I have successfully created one.”
“Oh yeah, congratulations,” said Hinagiku dully, as she was not that eager in congratulating Isumi. “So can you please make your explanation again?”
“Of course,” replied Isumi. “As I said before, Shirosakura has not gone. Instead, it has been living inside you, feeding on your sense of justice to return to full form and power. When you face another situation which requires you to do justice with it, it will come back to life again.”
“Oh yes, now I remember,” said Hinagiku. “So, are you saying that it has come back to life?”
“Not yet, but very close,” said Isumi. “You have done quite a lot of heroics lately, Student Council President. Your latest actions have driven Shirosakura to grow significantly. It is almost ready to be reborn.”
“Wait a minute,” Hinagiku interrupted, as she had something to ask. “What makes you think that Shirosakura is ready to be reborn?”
“It has protected you from being crushed by King Midas,” said Isumi simply. “That was the power within you that repelled his grip. Now, what you need to do is to complete its revival, and unleash its power to open the Garden Gate again. This is the only way for us to leave this place.”
“And how do I complete its revival?”
“You have to show your determination, Student Council President,” said Isumi. “You have to summon Shirosakura as you used to do so, but also show your determination to use the sword to do justice. If your determination could be delivered to Shirosakura, it would respond to your summons, and materialise once again in your hands.”
“That’s it?” asked Hinagiku, who sounded relieved. “That would be easy!”
She held out her hand, took a deep breath, focused her mind, and then shouted: “ARRRRRRRGGGGG!!!”
A small lightning bolt shot out of Hinagiku’s hands. Isumi sensed the presence of high-level energy, and she turned sharply to Hinagiku to see more closely. A moment later, the bolt disappeared as Hinagiku was knocked back onto the ground.
“Did she fail?” asked Sakuya, who had no idea what had happened.
“Yes, she failed,” replied Isumi, who suddenly looked very serious. “It appears that she is not determined enough.”
“W – what?” asked Hinagiku, who was slightly panting. Apparently she had taken some hard efforts in order to summon Shirosakura. “What do you mean, I am not determined enough?”
“It seems that we have to find out about it,” said Isumi.
“Come to think of it,” said Sakuya, who began scratching her head, “why does everyone think that they could show their determination through shouting?”
*
Most people were not aware about it, but the other Student Council members were still locked in the guest room right next to Hinagiku’s office. They had no access to the outside world – the windows were all magically concealed by King Midas. It meant that they had no idea what had happened, especially that their President was defeated by their kidnapper.
Meanwhile, they had suffered quite an ordeal themselves, and it was depressing enough that Miki, Risa, Izumi and Masumi were all crying. Chiharu tried extremely hard to contain herself, but her eyes were wet and red. Sharna had her eyes closed, and went into absolute silence. Only Fumi was her usual hyperactive and outspoken self.
“Ah! Sharna-chan! Sharna-chan!” she shouted. “Why isn’t everyone coming to save Fumi yet? Fumi has been trapped here for so long!”
Sharna did not answer her, nor did any other girl.
“And all of you, enough of this!” Fumi shouted again as she paced around the room. “Stop crying already! You are all annoying Fumi!”
“Leave them alone, they are all very upset,” said Chiharu for the first time since she was locked here. “And I thought you escaped.”
“I did!” shouted Fumi. Chiharu was relieved that at least she had started talking about herself, instead of the others. “But I didn’t go very far before someone grabbed me from behind! Whoever did that to me better hope that Fumi would never find out who he is, because I am going to turn him into ashes.”
“No, you are not,” said Chiharu, the corner of her mouth twitching. She found it amazing that she had a laugh to fight back, despite the dark mood they were in. Chiharu looked around the room and was even more impressed: the other girls had stopped crying, while Sharna began watching them in mild interest. Perhaps there was something really special about this girl, Hibino Fumi…
Suddenly, they heard a loud bang at the door. The girls turned and saw that the door was shaking. It certainly meant that someone was trying to knock the door down. And then… “CRASH!!!”
The door fell apart, and the girls saw – through very dim light – a young man in butler uniform walking towards them.
“H – Hayata-kun?” asked Izumi uncertainly as she stood up, her heart beating very fast. “Or are you Kotetsu-kun?”
“I am neither,” replied the young man calmly. “My name is Machina, and I am Athena’s butler.”
“Athena?” asked Miki, as she stood up as well. “Do you mean…”
“Yes, it is me,” there came a voice from behind Machina, and in came a young woman with red eyes and blonde curly hair. It was, of course, Tennousu Athena. “Is everybody all right?”
“Y – yes, we are, Chairperson,” replied Miki, who was in awe of Athena’s beauty and elegance. “T – thanks for coming for us.”
“Only thank me when you are safe,” said Athena calmly. “We have an issue here. I know that you would all want to leave this place as soon as possible, but it is currently… chaotic outside. You might not believe me, but it is actually safer to stay here, so…”
“Sorry for interrupting, but we are not staying here, Chairperson,” said Chiharu firmly. “If it really is chaotic outside, we would want to do whatever we can to help.”
“Don’t be silly!” exclaimed Athena. “It is not some small-scale demonstration. It is a war we are talking about here! I can’t allow you to go out and fight them!”
“We are not fighting them head on, of course,” said Chiharu, who began to smile. “But if we need a defence line, we as the Student Council could help with organising one – with the army, of course.”
Athena did not speak immediately, but took Chiharu’s offer into consideration.
“The school campus is safe,” she said finally. “But you have to be very careful, as you don’t have a bodyguard…”
“HINA!!!” there came a very loud voice from Hinagiku’s office. The students all recognised that it belonged to Yukiji, Hinagiku’s elder sister. “I have run out of money, so lend me some more!”
As Yukiji entered the guest room, the students all frowned. She had a very red face, her breath smelt of alcohol, and she couldn’t stand up straight. She was holding a can of beer in her right hand, and she kept pouring herself with the content of the can. Clearly, she was drunk.
“Well,” began Athena, trying to sound casual, “you have got your bodyguard.”
“Em… Chairperson?” asked Chiharu, uncertainly. “I mean no offence, but couldn’t you or your butler stay with us?”
Athena shook her head. “We have to do our part for the war, so we cannot stay with you.”
“I – is that so?” asked Miki, sounding depressed.
“Yes, it is,” replied Athena. She then walked towards Yukiji. “Not to worry, I will make sure she has a clear enough mind to keep you safe in the campus.”
“By the way, do you have any news about Hina, Chairperson?” asked Miki. “Is she all right?”
Athena closed her eyes for a moment. “Well,” she said as she began enchanting Yukiji, “just do you own job.”
*
“So you are saying that I wasn’t able to revive Shirosakura because I was not determined enough?” asked Hinagiku in utter disbelief. “No way!”
“But the fact is that you were still one step away from summoning Shirosakura,” said Isumi. “If you couldn’t summon it, then it means that you are not determined enough.”
“B – but I had my mind completely focused on summoning Shirosakura, I swear!” protested Hinagiku, who suddenly sounded like a little child. “Something must have gone wrong here!”
Isumi took some serious consideration for a moment. “Well,” she said finally, “it could be about your subconsciousness.”
“My… subconsciousness?” asked Hinagiku. She had basic ideas on the definition of “subconsciousness”, but she never really believed in it. Rather, she had considered it “superstitious” and did not take it very seriously. Yet, recently she had started thinking that, if she could summon swords out of thin air, there should be nothing that was “superstitious” at all.
“Yes, Student Council President,” said Isumi, who had no idea what Hinagiku thought about subconsciousness. “Even if you were consciously determined enough, there could be something in your subconsciousness – something that you are not aware of – that stops you from being as determined as you thought.”
“Fine,” said Hinagiku, with an air suggesting that she was forced to accept defeat. “So how do I get rid of it?”
“We have to undergo a thorough assessment of your mind, in order to find out the cause of your lack in determination.”
“A – a thorough assessment?” repeated Hinagiku uncertainly. She wasn’t even sure if Isumi was qualified to make such assessment.
“Not to worry, it is not as scientific as you might expect, but I am sure that it is very practical. First I would want you to try summoning Shirosakura again.”
Hinagiku nodded. There was no point to argue, anyway.
“When the Student Council President is focusing her mind, I would like Sakuya to start asking her questions, starting with ‘Why do you want to summon Shirosakura?’. Student Council President, you must answer her questions – better without thinking. Then, Sakuya should question the Student Council President further based on the answers she gives, until we find out what is wrong with her determination.”
Sakuya gasped. “It sounds difficult, Isumi-san!” she exclaimed.
“Not to worry,” said Isumi confidently as she patted Sakuya on her shoulder. “I am sure that you can do it. So…” she turned to Hinagiku again. “Let’s begin, shall we?”
Hinagiku nodded, and she began holding out her hand and focusing her mind. “AARRRRGGG!!!” Lightning bolts started dancing in her hands again.
Sakuya took a deep breath – she was clearly nervous. “Okay, so… why do you want to summon Shirosakura?”
“It is because I want to get out of this place with it!” answered Hinagiku, who thought that the whole thing was stupid.
Is her motive wrong? “So… why do you want to get out of here?”
“It is because I want to defeat that King Midas!”
Is her hatred of King Midas not justified? “Why do you want to defeat him? Are you seeking revenge?”
“No! By the looks of it he is going to hurt my friends, so I have to go and save them!”
Has she not decided whom she is trying to save? “What friends are you talking about?”
“Hayate-kun and Nagi, of course!”
Has she not made clear to herself why she wants to save Nagi? “Why do you want to save them?”
“I care about them, and I want them to be happy!”
Oh, I really can’t find what’s wrong with her mind. “Well…”
“But what about you, Student Council President?” asked Isumi, interrupting the conversation. “Are you happy with saving them?”
“What…” Hinagiku began, but she hesitated. She did not know why, but she had no answer to that question. The lightning bolts disappeared, and Hinagiku was knocked back onto the ground. Again.
Isumi covered her mouth with a sleeve. “So I guess we know what is going wrong here,” she said.
Hayate Report 