#guest: stroganettes

[ofauris-archived]

EVENT 006: Return

“Kazanari Shoko. Born August 13th, 2027...” The offical looked over her identification card. “Why aren't you in school?”

Melanie shook her head. “Graduated early.” She pulled out the other card that she had in her bag, handing it to him. “From Lydian.”

“Your parents?”

“Kazanari Genjuro.”

The official sighed. “Stay out of trouble.” He handed her back her cards before leaving. Melanie put them away before heading towards one of the buildings and going inside, taking a deep breath as she sat on one of the chairs. The official would, obviously, tell the Genjuro of this world about a girl calling herself Shoko who claimed to be his daughter.

It reminded her of when she first met Genjuro, oddly enough.

-

“So, you're the foreign survivor. The girl you saved, Tachibana Hibiki, is doing well.” A man with spiky red hair and golden eyes sat by her bedside. His pink tie was in his pocket, and his sleeves were rolled up. Melanie stared at him, unsure of why he was here.

“If.. you're here just to tell me that, I... already know.” Melanie said, looking at her hands. “Her... parents were here earlier.”

They'd yelled at her thanked her for letting their daughter get hurt saving Hibiki from the Noise. Melanie gave a strained smile to him after a moment. She didn't really want to, but it felt like she'd get in trouble if she didn't pretend she was okay. Most people who came to visit her had yelled at her for suffering, so why would this man be any different?

Japanese was hard to understand, she only knew a few words.

But this man was speaking to her in English. There was a slight accent, for certain, but he was able to talk to her.

“I see. Do you have any family?”

“No, sir.” Not there, at least. In another world, maybe.

“Hmm...” He stood, walking to the window. “Then, we'll have to make some arrangements.”

“....A...arrangements?”

“I'll be formally adopting you.”

-

Formal adoption of a foreigner without a family in the world. That was what Genjuro had done, even after learning that she had a family in another world. He said it was for security in case she ended up back there, so she had something to fall back on. Which, she'd been grateful for but...

This wasn't the world where she was Genjuro's adoptive kid or Tsubasa's cousin. This was a world where she hadn't been before. Melanie wondered if the official would come back after Genjuro said something. If so, she'd be in trouble. After finishing her drink she'd ordered after a few minutes of being in the cafe, she left and headed towards... Well, she didn't know, exactly, but she was going somewhere.

“Excuse me.”

The voice caused her to pause, and then look behind her. There was Miku, someone she was afraid of seeing for failing to save Hibiki. It'd been her fault Hibiki died, and--

“Y-yes?” Melanie asked, nervous. “Is there something you need, miss...?”

“You almost walked while it was red.” Miku pointed towards the crosswalk light, which was red. Melanie laughed a little nervously before backing up a bit.

“Oops, I guess I was too wrapped up in what's for dinner tonight that I wasn't paying attention!” At that point, the light turned green and Melanie noted that. “I gotta get home! Bye-bye!”

And she left Miku with more questions than she had at first.

-

“She says her name is Kazanari Shoko, and that she's your daughter.” The official said. Unbeknownst to Melanie, he worked for S.O.N.G and was a part of the intelligence network for the organization. “I was able to photograph her identification. It seems to be real.”

He showed Genjuro the photo of the identification card, and Genjuro sighed. Though this girl was possibly a relative of theirs, to call herself his daughter with no actual relation... It seemed there was someone out there doing that for some sort of fame. After all, his niece, Tsubasa, was an international idol... So perhaps it was attempting to capitalize on that success.

“Do you know where she is now?” He asked, handing the tablet back to the official. He shook his head. “Thank you for informing me, I'll take care of this.”

“Commander!” But Genjuro was already headed off to the surface, to go look for the girl and ask her a few questions about her identification. Surely, it looked real but...

He couldn't be too careful.

-

Melanie stared at the sky itself, the bright blue encompassing the world. Looking at the bracelet on her wrist, the Elekleid she'd gotten from Starlit, she didn't know how to go back to a world that she knew condemned her for letting Hibiki die like that. Closing her eyes, she sat there on the bench. Thinking on it, she had to figure out what enemy she was going to be fighting. Back when she was living in Japan for those three years she'd been gone from her homeworld, she'd fought Finé, Carol and the Autoscorers, Saint-Germain, Prelati and Cagliostro...

And then Noble Red and Shem-Ha, who had taken over Hibiki's body until she was purged from her.

But if this world was a copy of the one she'd left behind, then...

“This is an emergency alert from S.O.N.G. Noise have been detected in the area. All civilians are to evacuate to the nearest shelter immediately.” The siren blared as the voice came over the speakers. Noise, huh? Standing up, Melanie took a few steps forward. She'd fight them, alright.

She'd fight them for Hibiki.

“Elekleid. Switch on.” The bracelet expanded and the armour pieces all settled in on her body as she called upon the relic left to her. Taking a battle stance, she charged in and started cutting up the Noise that had started to form. But that was when she heard Chris' voice, activating the Ichaival relic. Looking up, Melanie noticed the quick flash of two lights. It set in stone what enemy this would be.

“Noble Red...” Melanie murmured, before continuing to cut through Noise. Chris' song filled her ears, as did the music coming from her Symphogear. Hearing one of the Noise behind her, Melanie wasn't quick enough to turn around and attack it, so she prepared to defend herself when it turned to carbon.

Behind the Noise was Hibiki.

Melanie's eyes widened upon seeing her.

“H-”

-

“HIBIKIIIIII!!!”

Her scream passed her lips as she watched Hibiki vanish right in front of her eyes. The flames grew higher, and the world around her blurred. Tears started to fall from her eyes as her hand grasped at nothing but air. Just gone. Vanished.

The giant continued to walk, as if ignoring her, leaving her alive. The last time she’d survived something like this, it had been Kanade who died protecting her and Hibiki.

-

“You're Hibiki...” Melanie said. Hibiki was about to respond when she noticed Chris in trouble and went to save her. Melanie took the chance to get out of there, instead of sticking around for questioning. Cutting through the Noise as she went, she felt tears brimming in her eyes. She couldn't stick around here. She had to leave, immediately. Even though she'd only been here for a week, she just couldn't take seeing Hibiki again.

It hurt, more than she could even come to explain.

Using Elekleid, she left almost immediately. Knowing she couldn't face Hibiki, no matter if it was the Hibiki she knew or not, Melanie would just leave before she could see her die too. She didn't want people dying in front of her again... Kanade, Hibiki, Starlit...

Upon arriving in the next world, she recognized where she was. She'd left here when she'd gotten Elekleid. The buildings were still in ruins but... there were people around. Luckily, she'd been behind a container and had peeked out to see where she had ended up. But her vision wavered as she stumbled out from behind the container after turning off Elekleid. Ah, her energy was low again... Elekleid really enjoyed using up more of her energy than she really had for travelling the multiverse.

“Melanie...?”

It was Miku, again. But the Miku she knew, not the one she'd met not too long ago. Melanie stood straight and gave a forced smile. “Hey, Miku! I've got some things I need to do so I can't stick around! Bye!”

A quick exit was easier than explaining why she was there and Hibiki wasn't.

-

“You can't keep running like this.”

It'd been two weeks since Melanie had run from Miku. It was like Chris had done way back then, run until she finally joined the Gear users and assisted in saving the world from Finé's want to bring down the moon. Melanie kept her knees to her chest as she heard the footsteps walk over to her and then a grunt as they sat down next to her. A bag rustled, meaning they'd brought something with them. She just took a glance over before looking back at her knees.

“I can.” Melanie responded. “Why are you here, anyway? Isn't the pressing matter the destruction of a part of the city because of me?”

Genjuro sighed. “Although it is a pressing matter, it's being handled by the other divisions. We don't oversee reconstructing destroyed areas, we try to prevent it.” Try was the keyword there, but Melanie shook her head a little at his explanation. If she hadn't been there, then Hibiki would still be alive. Starlit would still be alive.

They'd all be better off.

“I see.. And what about Hibiki...? Don't you guys hate me for not saving her?” Melanie asked, a frown on her face.

Genjuro looked puzzled at what she said. “Why are you asking that again? It wasn't your fault that she ended up in a coma, Melanie.” He put a hand on her head gently. “She's showing signs of improvement, so she should be waking up soon.”

Wait... what?

“Hibiki's in a coma? But-- But she died, I saw her disappear right in front of me!” Melanie stood up, looking at Genjuro as if he had told her that her pet cat had died. “She can't be alive...”

“Come with me, I'll show you.”

-

The hospital smelled sterile, and Melanie hated that smell. She'd spent months in here rehabilitating after the Zwei Wing incident, and it had really not been a good time. Parents came to berate her for surviving, Hibiki's parents had been distraught and took their anger out on her (though her grandmother had been sympathetic and apologized for their actions and had spent time with her before seeing Hibiki), and she'd been the one everyone had pinned the murders of the people who had died on.

“Your hands are stained with their blood!”

“You should've died instead of my sister! My sister was going to become a doctor! So why don't you repent and kill yourself?!”

“It's because of you that everyone's dead!”

Melanie winced, a whimper escaping her as she held her head. Right... She had been responsible for everything, hadn't she? The attack on the Zwei Wing concert, Hibiki's coma, the people dead... It had all been because of her. Genjuro stopped and looked back before turning around to walk up to her.

“The past?” He asked, concern lacing his voice.

“Mm...” Melanie could only nod and glance up. Her eyes were filling with tears yet again, and she whimpered slightly. “...It's my fault she's like this, Genjuro...”

“No, it's not. You tried to save her.” Genjuro said, shaking his head a little. “Let's go see her, her room isn't too far now.”

Melanie just gave a nod and the two of them walked to Hibiki's hospital room. As they approached, the door opened and two people came out. Ah, Hibiki's parents. Melanie looked for some place to hide, knowing she was in for another lecture about how it was her fault Hibiki was like she was. In a coma, never to wake again..

Singing of a Blitzer detected. Unlocking final lock.

The voice had gone through her head almost immediately, causing her to wince again. Final lock? What did that mean? She didn't really know, nor did she understand what was going on. The entire world around her faded to black, as if she'd passed out.

“This was to stop Tesla.. Song brought us together, so it should be what stops him from doing this..”

She felt her bracelet shift just a little, which caused her to come back to reality. There was a ringing in her ears, and she looked up at the person before her. Hibiki's dad, anger contorting his face as he yelled. Genjuro stepped in, saying something that she couldn't understand but... Hibiki's dad turned his attention to him and away from her.

“Hibiki...” Melanie murmured, before backing up and blinking away tears. “I'm sorry.”

And she ran from the confrontation, unwilling to go through it just to see Hibiki.

-

The hospital roof.

It was quieter up here, where she could think and not have to listen to the yelling. Not have to confront Hibiki's parents and explain it hadn't been her fault, she was trying to get Hibiki out of there. She hadn't expected to be pierced by a fragment of Kanade's Gungnir, or for Hibiki to hit her head on the rock as she tried to run and tripped over her injured leg.

She hadn't expected any of it..

“I'm sorry, Hibiki...” Melanie pulled her knees to her chest. The Hibiki she'd been talking to all these years... who had she been? And why had she disappeared like that? It made no sense. Melanie couldn't make heads or tails of it, and just sat there staring into the distance.

And then, a song abruptly disturbed her thoughts. She heard the music, and the lyrics. Standing up, Melanie looked around. Where was it coming from?

“Unlocking final lock.” She heard, before looking at Elekleid. The bracelet's crystals turned a little before righting themselves. “Elekleid special ability, Symphonic Drive, unlocked.”

Symphonic Drive?

A special ability buried deep within Elekleid, which allows it to fuse with a Symphogear. A voice said. Melanie looked around, but there was no one there. But the song she heard was powerful, though strained... as if the singer was in combat. It encouraged her to sing along, and so...

She did.

Slowly but surely, her wavering voice sang along to the lyrics that she heard. The song was filled with hope. Maybe that was what she was missing herself. Hope... and the dream she'd had so long ago, to become a singer. It'd been a stupid dream berated by her foster parents, but this gave her the hope to go on and try to become one anyway.

She didn't know how long she was standing there, singing, but it felt like eternity. She was enjoying singing. Before, she only sang because the Symphogear had required it to access all of its abilities. But now? The song came naturally, and the other song had long since faded.

The door behind her opened, and she caught herself mid-chorus. Nervously laughing, she looked behind her. There was Genjuro, with Hibiki's parents.....

And Hibiki. On crutches, but smiling widely.

“You're okay!” Hibiki said, using her crutches to move forward. “You didn't bleed out! I'm so happy...”

Melanie felt her eyes fill with tears, and she turned and ran at Hibiki, hugging her tight and making her lose her grip on her crutches. Crying, as Hibiki pat her on the back.

“Heiki, hecchara! Don't cry, it's okay. I'm awake now.”

“Hibikiiiii....”

-

The sun blazed bright in the sky and Melanie stood in an abandoned apartment lot. Everyone in S.O.N.G was there, along with Hibiki, Miku and their friends.

“So... I'm going now.” Melanie said, rubbing the back of her neck. “I'm taking Gungnir with me again, so....”

“It's yours, after all.” One of the S.O.N.G officials said. “Elfnein is working on a replacement Gungnir. It turns out Hibiki and Miku can use both Shenshoujing and Gungnir interchangably, so we'll be able to have backup. These three volunteered to help out.”

“Don't forget to visit!” Yumi said.

“Hey, dummy! Don't get into any trouble!”

“It was an honour working with you.”

Everyone was saying their goodbyes, and Melanie felt like she wanted to stay... but from the echo of the voice she heard, she would be going to check up on her world and see if it was still dead. It probably was, but..

“Melanie! Wait!” Hibiki ran up to her and paused in front of her before thrusting forward a present. “Miku said your birthday came and passed, so I got you something! Open it before you power on Elekleid and head off!”

Melanie looked confused, but opened it. It was a small box, and opening it showed a pair of hairclips. The same that Hibiki wore. She grinned and pointed to her hair, and Melanie pulled a lock of her hair to look at it. The colour had changed the day Hibiki woke up, to a shade matching hers. As if she'd become whole, instead of being... who she'd been up until then.

“I wanted you to take something of mine with you, so why not my favourite hairpins? I got another pair, so it's okay!” Hibiki grinned widely. “Make sure to come back and visit us!”

Melanie laughed, tears streaming down her face as she put the hairclips in her hair. “Of course, Hibiki.”

Elekleid, Switch On.

-

Walking out of the portal, Melanie deactivated Elekleid and noticed birds flying by. Confusion filled her face. Hadn't her world been dead? But here it was, alive and with people milling back and forth as if nothing had happened. Biting her lower lip, Melanie headed off towards her house and grabbed the spare key, hastily trying to unlock the door. Her hand shook as she did so, and she slammed open the door when she got there.

Empty.

The TV was still on, though.

“Ah...” Melanie's eyes filled with tears as she stepped into the house. “I knew it was too good to be true...”

“You said it.” A voice said from behind her. “The piece of shit laptop was really shitty. Like, for $900? It'd been just the screen. I really hate Craigslist.”

Melanie looked behind her to see Noah with a Best Buy bag in his hand and his car keys in the other. As she started to cry in relief that Noah was here, he didn't hesitate to put his keys and bag down before running over to her, putting his hands on her shoulders before hugging her tight. Melanie cried into his chest, happy to see him alive and well.

“I'm... I'm home, Noah..”

“Welcome home, Melanie.”