Mai Otome Fan Fiction ❯ Yearbook ❯ Chapter 4: Over The Hills And Through The Woods ( Chapter 4 )

Over The Hills And Through The Woods

(Sprites' Forest)

“Aye I don't know what I should do.” A young red head said as she walked through the woods. She stopped and looked down at a box in her hands opening it and looking down at a ring with a ruby set in it. She reached up and touched her left ear feeling an earring that matched the ring. “I agreed to be the second column but the Tate family had been so nice to me since coming to Windbloom and even paid for my schooling. Mai you baka how could you say yes to both of them?” She shook her head then closed the box before looking around and shivering. It was a cold night and she hadn't brought a coat. She only wore her pearl uniforms a light blouse and a short skirt. “I should head back.” She said looking around finally realizing how deep she had wandered into the woods. “Hey where am I?” Mai moved to take another step but paused feeling the ground shift beneath her then found herself flung into the air and hanging upside down. “Ah what the heck?” Mai said looking seeing that she was hanging in a net. “A trap? Help! Please someone help me!” She shouted hoping she could call whatever hunter set this trap.

She heard a strange rumbling sound and looked around seeing something come bouncing out of the bushes. She couldn't tell what it looked like thinking at first that it was some kind of wild cat. As it got closer she could have sworn its eyes were glowing red and was glad she wasn't on the ground praying that this creature wouldn't see her. She heard the rumbling sound again coming from the creature. It seemed to alternate from crawling on all fours to bouncing around on two. Mai wasn't sure but she almost thought it could be a person. It sniffed around the area seeing the disturbed dirt then sniffing over to a box. The creature picked something up and started look at it. The moonlight caught whatever it was holding reflected off it. Mai looked from the object to the box then back to the object. “My Meister ring!” Mai whispered as the creature held the ring to its mouth and popped it in. “No!” Mai shouted reaching out as far as she could. The creature ignored her chewing on the ring before swallowing. “Principal Kruger is going to kill me.” Mai said leaning her head on the netting.

This got the creature's attention as it crawled over to her sitting up on its hind legs making Mai realize that it really was a person. It was a girl with long black hair pulled into two braids but was still spiky on the top. The girl sniffed at Mai and cocked her head to the side. “Not food.”

“Food? No I'm not food.” Mai shouted fearing that this girl was a cannibal.

“Supposed to be food,” The girl said.

“Ano….” Mai said reaching into her pocket pulling a candy bar out. She held it out for the girl who just sniffed it. “It's food.” Mai said pulling the wrapper out taking a bite then holding it out again.

The girl sniffed it then grabbed it sitting on the ground quickly eating it letting out a big sigh then jumped up looking at Mai. “More.” The girl said.

“I don't have anymore.” Mai said thinking about how this girl had just eaten her Meister ring. She was going to be in so much trouble. She would just have to drag this girl back to Garderobe maybe there was something Director Kveta could do. “Can you get me down?”

The girl looked at her strangely sniffing her every so often. “Not food. Not supposed to be here.” She said.

“Mai,” She said pointing to herself, “That's my name. Do you have a name?”

“Mai not supposed to be in net.” The girl said.

“I was walking I got lost and stuck in your net.” Mai said then pointed at the girl. “Who are you?”

“Mikoto,” The girl said.

“Mikoto, could you cut me down?” Mai asked tugging on the netting her head starting to hurt because she had been upside down so long.

“Cut Mai down?” Mikoto asked looking up at Mai who nodded. Without any warning and without Mai really seeing Mikoto jumped up flashing a knife and cutting the rope holding the net in the air. Mai came crashing to the ground not getting much of a chance to do anything but rub her head as Mikoto grabbed the netting and pulling Mai behind it.

“Owe hey I can walk you don't have to drag me!” Mai said getting ignored until they reached a cabin and Mikoto finally let her out. “Where are we?” Mai asked looking around at the cabin.

“Home,” Mikoto said smiling as several cats came running out of the cabin jumping on her.

“Mai's home,” Mikoto said rubbing her cheek against a black kitten with a small white slash on its forehead.

“Ano… I live in Windbloom but my home is…” Mai said as Mikoto cut her off.

“Mai live here.” Mikoto said pointing to the building.

“No I don't look I need to go back to the city.” Mai said smacking her hand on her forehead.

“Mai stay here.” Mikoto repeated. “Mai belongs here.”

“Why do I belong here?” Mai said sitting on the steps.

“Mai is Mikoto's Otome.” Mikoto said, “Mai has to go where her master says.”

“What? You aren't my master I'm going to be a column….or the Tate's Otome… I don't know which but I'm not your Otome. Just because you ate my ring doesn't make you my master. It doesn't work that way.” Mai said.

“Mikoto is Mai's master.” Mikoto said again her stomach rumbling as she started swaying then fell over asleep.

“Huh?” Mai said standing then poking Mikoto with the toe of her shoe, “Hey! Wake up!” Mai shouted poking her again. “I could carry her back to Garderobe but I don't know the way.” She sighed then lifted the smaller girl up carrying her inside and laying her on a bed. She looked around the cabin for anything like a map but there was nothing.

Mai sat down at a table and dropped her head onto it wishing she had never gone on this walk. How did she end up here? It was almost three years since she ran away from Zipang and her duties as a princess. She couldn't stay she may have been the oldest Tohika and heir to the throne but there was no way she could have been Shogun. Takumi was better suited for it then she was. She had spent several months traveling across Earl until she ended up in Windbloom. A noble family had taken her in as their own, they had said she could go to any of the universities and they would support her. Being from Zipang a land with no Otome she knew very little of them but it had always interested her. After passing the entrance exam she enrolled letting the campus think she was just another girl from Windbloom. Her secret last most of her coral year but she was surprised when they found out she was a run away princess that they let her stay at the school.

Mai sat up and looked down hearing her own stomach growl. “Maybe she has something to eat.” Mai said looking around finding the kitchen in the next room over. She started going through the cabinets finding some packaged ramen some spices and a pot to cook it in. Cooking had always been a hobby of hers and a good thing it was as last year as a coral it seemed like she was always cooking for Natsuki and Carla her two roommates. This year even though she wasn't her roommate Natsuki still came by twice a week for ramen.

When she had finished cooking she dished a bowl for herself and set it on the table walking back to the sink to wash her hands. As Mai turned around she jumped seeing Mikoto devouring the bowl of ramen she had just completed the turn when Mikoto held the bowl up saying, “More.”

“You ate it that fast?” Mai said taking the bowl and refilling it. She handed it to Mikoto then got another sitting down across from Mikoto breaking her chop sticks and saying, “Itadakimasu.” When she looked up ready to eat the ramen the whole bowl was gone and Mikoto was happily eating it. “Hey that was mine.” Mai said but didn't get an answer so she stood up getting another bowl for herself being sure to hold onto it this time by the time she finished Mikoto was fast asleep again. She carefully stood and quietly walked to the door glancing back at Mikoto to make sure she didn't wake her up then started running. After running through the woods for a while Mai saw a cabin up ahead. “Maybe I can ask for directions there.” She said running towards the cabin. She stopped in front of the cabin panting then looked up seeing the black kitten on the steps. “Did I get turned around?” Mai said looking through the window seeing Mikoto passed out on the table. She shook her head then started running away from the cabin again until she saw another cabin. But as she got closer she realized once again that it was still the same cabin. “No way I ran straight!” She tried this again several times picking a different direction each time still ending up at Mikoto's cabin. “Ah! This is impossible!” She said taking off one last time but instead she felt like she ran into a brick wall. She looked up from the ground seeing it was a woman with short light blue hair. “Ano?” The woman stared at her then turned and walked to the door. “Hey wait! How do I get out of here?” Mai asked.

The woman barely turned to her said, “The same way you came in” then walked into the house.

“The same way I came in but I don't know.” Mai said then followed her inside. “Can't you show me the way?”

“Miyu!” Mikoto said jumping up from the table hugging the woman.

“Mikoto,” Miyu said letting the girl hug her then just nodded.

“Okay enough reunions I want to know where this place is and how to get out of here.” Mai said stepping between the two of them her arms crossed before her. “Well?”

“This place is the Black Valley the home of the Aswad until it disappeared during the Twelve Kingdom war.” Miyu said taking a seat at the table.

“It's Mai's home.” Mikoto said.

“I don't live here.” Mai said glaring at Mikoto then turning back to Miyu to continue.

“The sanctuary of lost technology, the Otome technology was made here. Though now the valley is sealed away between dimensions by the Harmonium used in the Twelve Kingdom War.” Miyu said though Mai just looked confused. “The Harmonium reverses the power to materialize higher order matter and thus is able to break down everything and absorb it even dimensions.”

“Uhmmm ok how do I get out of here?” Mai asked.

“Mai can't leave Mai belongs here.” Mikoto said squatting on the bench of the table. “Mai is Mikoto's Otome.”

“I'm not your Otome we didn't make a contract!” Mai said.

“If Mikoto wasn't your master she could not certify you could she?” Miyu asked.

“A Meister level Otome can only be certified by her master or Fumi-sama.” Mai said.

“Mikoto,” Miyu said looking to the young girl.

Mikoto jumped off the bench leaping into Mai's arms knocking her over and kissing her ear. “Hey owe get off me!” Mai said feeling her ear grow warm. Across the GEM flashed, `M.T Connected Unknown.' Mai could feel the nano-machines inside her activating like they always did right before she materialized. Mikoto crawled off her sitting on the ground looking up as Mai stood then shouted. “Materialize!” Her robe formed before her then appeared on her. She looked down at her robe. This was the first time she had called her robe prior to it she had been wearing a pearl robe. “How? How is this possible?”

“Mikoto is the Crystal Princess an Otome born to this world with high restrictions in order to maintain this world. With the power to materialize higher order matter, type two. She is the prototype of type two, the last of the remaining genuine materializers.” Miyu said.

“Mai is Mikoto's servant.” Mikoto said nodding then her eyes drifted to several of the cats as they played with a small ball of yarn batting it back and forth. Mikoto crawled across the floor joining them.

Mai sent her robe away then sat down on the bench next to Miyu watching Mikoto. “I'm stuck here aren't I?” Mai asked.

“Fire Striing Ruby you are where you should be.” Miyu said standing then leaving without another word.

Mai sat watching Mikoto for a while the younger girl getting herself and the kittens tangled up in the yarn. “I guess this answers my question of whether to be a column or the Tate's Otome.” Mai laughed then walked over to Mikoto trying to untangle the yarn.

The end….