He stood in the blackened remains of what was once a rather grand home. In what was once a grand drawing room, he stopped and kneeled. He crossed himself and proceeded to make a prayer for those poor souls that had died there. After a long while, he stood and moved to the mantle at one end; the only structure still standing. He rustled through the wreckage till he pulled out an ancient chair that's just sturdy enough for him to stand on. After a long time he pulls it off; a giant, ornately decorated metal cross. It was covered in soot and dingy from dust. Other than that, it did not look like it had suffered under the flames that had destroyed the rest of the house or the years that had past since then with so much as a scratch. It looked too big to be lifted by human hands, yet he lifts it without any problem. He heard the sound of feet crunching charred wood and turns. There is a rather meek looking priest standing there. "Um, sir; should you be doing this? I mean, father Katsuhito did tell you to not come here again." "I have a reason to be here, Amagasaki." He said it as he lifted the cross high enough for the small man to see. "Oh sir, you shouldn't have that! Father Katsuhito would be most upset. He specifically told you not to come here to get THAT. Think of all he did for you after he found you... here." He merely turned his head, very slowly. Finally his eyes met the small man and they locked. The weaker cringed as he was forced to look in the eyes of the most dangerous person he ever had the opportunity to meet." You read the letter too. You know what I have to do; but you're too crippled with fear of father Katsuhito to actually do anything to help me out. I have a chance to save the world. "The a-affairs of the world are not ours." "Coward! You would be perfectly content to sit in your little monastery and let the world fall apart around you. You don't care about the fates of these people. You're happy just as long as you are safe. Pathetic excuse of a man." He gestured with the cross. "Look around you. This is what happens to those like you. This is what happens to people who ever have to cross paths with the Saint Killer." He walked off into the night. As he did, he dropped two things onto the charred floor. One was an invitation to join the duels of Ohtori; the other was a photograph. In it were two very aristocratic looking people and one child. The child looked amazingly similar to the figure moving away. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Shoujo Kakumei Utena: Kakumei no Bara Return to the Glorious Rose Covered Battlefield The birds were singing and the sun was shining. It was the perfect day to start school. In the distance, departing ships were setting sail after depositing their cargo of students onto this Shirobara Island. Not even Utena could feel the trepidation that had been plaguing her for the past few weeks. Anthy hummed happily besides her. She was wearing her old school uniform; they would receive this school's girls uniform today. Though Utena had no doubt as to Anthy's alteration to this new uniform. She also knew that no matter what, she would wear her uniform; the uniform Anthy had sewn for her. She ran her hands down the rose colored material and sighed. "You could have gone with the white you know." "The pink looks better on you." "HA! You admit it. It is pink." "Utena, I'm starting to think you don't like it." As Anthy said it, tears started welling up in her eyes. Utena panicked. "No, no it's not that. I like it I really do, but are you sure that the teachers are gonna be okay with it?" Anthy's tears dried up instantly. She had Utena wrapped around her finger. She reveled in the power she had over her husband, but managed to keep her normal calm exterior. "Don't worry about that. I am the chairman's sister. I'm sure I can arrange something." Utena merely groaned and walked on +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ They met Miki on a traffic overpass on the way to school. He was walking with Kozue. The twins had arrived on the island not long after them. Utena had not known how to react to Kozue pressing so tightly around Miki's arm, but had taken it in stride anyway. The couple sped up to meet the twins. "Oii, Miki-kun; wait up." "Eh? Oh Utena-san, Himemiya-san." "It's Tenjou-san now Miki-kun." The smaller boy scratched his head. He still wasn't used to calling her by Utena's family name. He was barely adjusting to the fact that they were married; to each other no less. "Sorry, it'll take me a while to get used to calling you that." "How about just calling me Anthy? You and I are close friends. I would consider it an honor if you would refer to me by name." "I-I can't do that. I mean you're older than me and you are... you are...you know. She merely giggled and kissed him on the cheek. "I was the Rose Bride; now I'm just another student, like you." "I'm not just another student." "No, I suppose you aren't." Anthy smiled and leaned back. She caught Kozue's eye as she glared at her. The girl's hungry, animal like eyes shone with something dark; almost threatening Anthy to stay away from her brother. Anthy fixed her with a stare of her own. Her eyes glittered with something almost evil. Kozue was taken aback. She closed her eyes and wagged a finger at her. "You are different." "I've been through many changed since we last met Kozue-chan." Anthy smiled again and sidled up alongside Utena. The group was so engrossed in their exchange that they barely noticed the slight rise of a rather small sound. Utena was the first to notice. She stuck her thumb in her ear to stop the ringing. "Oii, anyone else hear some sort of weird-" "Ringing;" Miki finished for her. "Actually it sounds more like...." Anthy couldn't quite place it. "Squealing." Kozue finished, calmly. She knew the sound well. "It sounds like girlish squealing." "Oh no." Utena stated. She just realized what was going on. Her eyes screwed shut and her entire body locked up. Anthy took a step back and motioned for Miki and Kozue to follow suit. "Utena-sama." Wakaba squealed as she burst through the crowd and flung herself at Utena's back. They impacted hard, and it took everything she had to keep from falling over. "ImissedyouImissedyouImissedyouImissedyouImissedyouImissedyouImissed you!" She cried as she nuzzled into Utena's shoulder blades. Her arms and legs were wrapped around and locked. Utena was trying to pry her legs from around her waist. She looked over to Anthy, who only smiled and cocked her head. "Help me." "Nope, I think you owe it to her as her friend to handle this yourself." Utena sighed and turned her head, careful not to butt heads with Wakaba. "Wakaba, please get off of me." "No, not until we get to school. I haven't hugged you in so many months. I know you missed me. We're best friend and best friends don't go missing for months and don't say anything about it. Even when I got home, you didn't so much as hug me." "You ever wonder why?" Utena muttered under her breath, trying to keep her balance with the other girl on her back. "You're heavy ya'know." Utena chanced pleading with her wife for assistance, but found none. Sighing, defeated, she merely hitched her shoulders and started walking. Wakaba sighed happily and snuggled into Utena's back. There were certain advantages to using guilt. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "If a chick does not hatch from its egg, it will die without ever being born." "However; if it is born too early, it will die from exposure to the world." "A hen must then protect the egg to ensure that the chick is protected till it can truly be born." "We are the hens." "The world is the chick." "For the Protection of the World." They sat around in the newly built student council room. Each of them placed a different colored rose inside of a rather plain vase. Three roses sat inside. On the table sat a ring. It looked like the average rose signet, save the black stone in the center. "One of us is missing." Declared an attractive green haired woman in a kimono. She was at least three years younger than the others, placing her at Utena's age. Her tone almost demanded an explanation. How could someone be so rude as to be late to a student council meeting? "Ah yes, the black rose. Don't worry Kamari, he will be along shortly. His journey will take a while more. Do not worry; his absence will not delay us in any way." The woman merely sniffed and leaned back. She remained the perfect vision of refinement and femininity; all straight back and squared shoulders. The silver one's eyes then fixed on the other end of the table where another young man in navy blue sat. His long hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, he didn't even have bangs. "Tianquing, how do you feel about the situation?" "I don't really care about any of this. All I want to know is if this tournament will start soon. My sword itches for a fight." "Ah, ever ready to fight." "The sooner we start, the sooner I can win and get what I want." "Oh," The silver one said with mocking wide eyes. "And what exactly is it that you want?" All received was a glare through Tianquing's eye brows. "That, Saito... is none of your concern." Finally Tianquing got up from the table and moved to the door. He didn't look back as he spoke. "If that's all the business we have to discuss then I'll be going." "But it's not all the business we have to discuss." Saito said, leaning against the desk. He enjoyed watching Tianquing stop dead in his tracks. His head turned and he looked over his shoulder. "Oh?" He asked, confused. "Yes, we still have one more matter to attend to." He said as he lifted some papers from the table. "We still have to plan the school's inaugural ball. This is one of our roles as the student council." His smile grew as he watched Tianquing wilt. He fixed Saito with a dull gaze. "You're not serious, are you?" Saito merely shrugged and watched as the angry one fell flat on his face. Kamari giggled behind her hand. She hand't had this much fun in ages. She was going to enjoy this tournament and maybe earn some respect for her family; an old samurai clan. And thus for the next hour, three people argued over the arrangements for a school dance. In the distance an alarm could be heard going off, announcing a coming train. Even further in the distance the train could be seen picking up speed as it left the station. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Utena and Anthy sat down to lunch. The cafeteria looked almost completely like the one at the other campus, the only difference being the large glass panes keeping the weather outside. Anthy stared at the small parcel on the desk in front of her while Utena nursed a can of soda. She turned to see Anthy idling with her ring. "Aw c'mon hime, how bad can the uniform possibly be?" All Anthy did was move her chair back and gesture at the uniform she was currently wearing. Utena noted it with one part understanding and the other part approval. She noted the way the skirt rode up just a bit, exposing more of Anthy's thighs. She was starting to stare and was working very hard to resist the urge to drool. Anthy did not miss Utena's gaze and felt her cheeks burn. She decided to play a little game with her love. She moved to fix the skirt, but instead moved it further up. She grew smug as she saw Utena shift further to the end of her seat. She leaned over, pretending to look for something and spread her thighs, giving Utena a nice view. "Would you two mind now doing that, it's disturbing" Miki said from his seat, next To Anthy, he was trying to avert his eyes to the scene, but it just interested him too much. In his lap, Kozue wrapped her arms around him and glared at Anthy more. "Yes quite, we don't need you too rutting on the table now," Juri said as she took a sip of her coffee. She saw the two them stiffen and shoot back to their normal positions, blushing a very interesting shade of red. A ghost of a smirk flitted across her face and she took the time to notice Sakaya adjusting her uniform. The red collar and skirt of the uniform were definitely different, and the gloves were a curiosity all to themselves; opera length with buckles at the top. Tight leggings ran from ankle to underneath the skirts, preventing the cold weather from getting inside. "Anyway, the outfit isn't so bad, at least it covers more." She pointed to the side where other girls were wearing their uniforms. Juri was right, it did cover more, but it was like some sick fetish, covering everything but hiding nothing. Anthy merely looked and blinked. "Now that I look at it; it is rather cute," she exclaimed and everyone else fell over. Utena struggled to the table first. "You can take her out of the school, remove the ties that bind, and show her brother for the insensitive prick that he is; but you can't take the weirdness out of her." Miki and Juri only nodded. Anthy only continued to smile, her eyes closed and her hands clasped under her chin. Sakaya and Kozue merely fidgeted with their outfits. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Touga walked the corridors of the building, getting acquainted with his new environment. Stopping in front of the door with Vice-Chairperson printed on it, he took a moment to adjust his uniform before entering. "eh-hem; I was told that you wanted to see me Ma'am." "Ah yes, Kiryuu-kun; its good to see you! Come inside. Take a seat." Touga happily complied, taking the offered seat and looking around ,surveying the structured disorder of this woman's office, so unlike her brother's. "May I ask Ma'am-" "Please, call me Kami." "I'm sorry, but I don't have quiten enough respect for you yet to refer to you as such." "Don't be a smartass, it doesn't suit you." "I apologize." "Anyway; I called you in here because we're both in a bit of a bind. You with having left your father's company so abruptly, and me with not having any form of an assistant right now." "Just what are you getting at." "Tell me Kiryuu-kun, how would you like to work in education?" +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Anthy was walking to her second to last period of the day. She was walking with a girl from her class. They chatted amiably, about each other's history; well the girl's history and bit's and pieces rearranged to maintain the illusion that Anthy was an average high school student. The amiable conversation stopped suddenly as Anthy's acquaintance was smacked harshly in the face by a shadow. Anthy watched in horror as the girl flew across to the other end of the hallway. He took two steps back from her assailant, but it was too late. The figure leapt up from the shadows and grabbed her. She felt a cloth cover her mouth and soon she was breathing chloroform. The world spun around her and she saw black. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Utena walked to her last period class of the day. Her anticipation to get out was growing. The remembered another fact that made her speed up more. She had her last class with Anthy. As she got to the classroom she noticed something odd. There was a pretty big crowd forming around the door and hushed murmurs greeted her ears. She turned to one of the students who looked to be explaining to some people and motioned for him to explain. "It's pretty bad; someone killed one of the teachers and wrecked the classroom." Utena's eyes snapped open. What if Anthy were in there when it happened. She pushed her way to the front of the crowd. A few police were mulling about, casting glances at a letter on the door. Utena rushed past them and grabbed the letter off of the door. She just knew that it was for her. They always were. "Hey, you can't come in here, that's evidence!" Utena spun around and presented the letter to him. She also held up her identification card. "D'ya see who this letter is addressed to? It's for Tenjou Utena. D'ya see whose name is on this card; it's Tenjou Utena! It's mine; so I'd suggest you back off!" The crazed look in Utena's eye was enough to get the officers to back off. She ripped open the envelope and pulled out the paper. There are some people who say it's not nearly as bad as you can imagine it to be. These are the same people who believe that things can't actually get any worse when it does happen... ...Those people are assholes. The letter was simple enough to follow. Someone had Anthy and they wanted Utena to meet them in the greenhouse by the fountain. It wasn't even signed. That was inconsiderate. Utena crumpled the paper in her hands and dropped it as she started walking towards her locker. She was going to need her sword if she was going to fight. The officers watched her drop the letter. They saw her drop it and spared a glance at it. They had to ask her questions about what it said. When they looked up again, she was gone. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The school's new greenhouse was enormous. It was an entire building, shaped like a silo. Vines and other plants sat in pots, just having been planted. In the center was a beautiful fountain. If anyone had looked down at it from the ceiling they would have seen a rose crest. None of this was noticed as Utena rushed into the building, screaming Anthy's name. "Anthy! Hime, where are you?!?" "Utena-sama!" Anthy didn't call her Utena-sama unless she was really scared these days. As Utena neared the fountain, she saw something that made her blood run cold. "Hello, my dear Utena-chan." Ayani purred from where she stood. She was wearing a pale yellow duelist's outfit, and had Anthy handcuffed at her side. She was maintaining control with a firm grasp on Anthy's long hair. "Ayani!" "Utena, please save me!" Anthy's cry was punctuated as Ayani pulled hard on Anthy's hair. The smaller girl screamed and followed her hair. "Shut up cunt!" "Ayani, what the hell is this?" Utena said it as she readied her sword to attack. She was stopped as Ayani started laughing. "What in god's name is that? Are you going to hit me with your stick?" Utena's temper sparked higher and she took a step to attack. "No, not just yet Utena." Ayani lifted her hand and revealed a rose signet. "Like it? I got it in the mail. It came with a letter telling me to wear the outfit and lure you here. It also said to do this." She punctuated the remark by putting her ring in one of the twelve pillars surrounding the fountain. There was an enormous rush of water as the edges of the fountain sprayed into the air. A rose gate rose up from the depths of the fountain and opened for Ayani. She stepped backwards into it and dragged Anthy with her. Utena ran to stop them from getting in when the doors slammed shut in her face. She impacted fists first. She tried to put her ring to the door, but realized that she wasn't wearing one. She looked down at her naked finger with a feeling of impotence. Panic rose in her and she started pounding on the door. "Let me in! Let me in! Let me in! Let me in! Please let me in!" Utena started sobbing as she banged her head against it on the last tries, sobbing. Her tears ran unchecked as she begged the gate to let her enter. Then a miracle happened that not even Juri could dispute. A single drop flew from the gate. It fell to Utena's chest and splattered. Suddenly, a holy light built within Utena's breast in the shape of a rose signet. A beam of light connected the key mechanism on the gate to Utena's chest and a small bubble emerged from her breast. Then the light dissipated and a small gold ring fell from where the bubble had been. Utena's tearful eyes spied the ring as it hit the floor. It was a beautiful gold ring with a pink rose signet in the center. Hope had been restored to her. She immediately snatched up the ring and started to slide on the finger. As she did a figure somewhere, sleeping on an egg stirred. Its stone eyes started opening. It was responding to its new prince. As the ring slid further on, its eyes opened further. When the ring was all the way on, its eyes opened completely and their eerie green glow signaled something. The gates flew open and the resulting wind pushed Utena back. When the wind had passed, she looked inside. There was darkness on the other end of the gate. "That can't be, there shouldn't be anything behind that gate but the water fountain." Deny it as she might, Utena saw a dark chamber behind the rose gate and she intended to enter it. "It's only an illusion created by Akio. I can handle this." It was all she had to comfort herself as she stepped into the darkness. She looked around as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. It was a small round chamber; with a rose emblem in the center. Utena walked onto the emblem and waited. As she expected the disk started rising very fast. She felt heavy as it rose higher and higher into the sky. Then day broke. She slammed to a stop in the arena. It was bright out, contrasting painfully to the pitch black of the chamber. She looked around to see the arena. It looked exactly the same as she remembered it. Exactly the same except for the young ladies standing on the far edge of the stadium. "Ayani, let Anthy go!" Ayani smirked at the comment. "No, I think not. I won't just let her go." "What?!" "I won't just let her go. Of course, you could duel me for her." "I won't duel you for her. The police are waiting for you down there. When they get up here-" "They won't get up here! Or have you forgotten? Only qualified persons are allowed in here. It said so in the letter." Ayani lifted her ring and laughed. Utena gritted her teeth. She had no choice, she had to do it. She started unsheathing her bokken. As it came out, Ayani's smile grew, until she looked insane. When it was finally out, the bell started ringing. It was time to start the duel. She released Anthy and pushed her on. "Do your job ‘rose bride,' get the roses." Anthy complied and went to prepare them. She placed Ayani's rose on her chest and walked over to Utena. "Please be careful." She placed Utena's rose on her chest and leaned against her. Utena tilted her head up and looked in her eyes. "Don't worry, I won't leave you." And she kissed her. When Utena looked up, she was smiling; Ayani was fuming though. She started rushing Utena right away. "Prepare to die!" Utena saw the rush and threw Anthy to the side. She picked up her sword and prepared to intercept the blow. Ayani swung and Utena blocked. Thankfully, her sword didn't break. They backed off and advanced again. Again their swords clashed and again Utena's bokken didn't break. "Hey, this thing is full of surprises. It's more than just some cheap hunk of wood." Utena's confidence grew as the worth of her sword was proven. "Go Utena!" Anthy cheered from the sidelines. She stopped for a second, this moment felt very familiar. Now it was Utena's chance to attack. She dashed and took several shots at Ayani's sword. Ayani backed off and tried a thrust. Utena dodged and tried to thrust through the break In Ayani's defenses. She backed off and swung her sword around. He rage had been steadily growing since the beginning of the fight. Now she was raging. She hefted he sword, preparing to use a death swing. Anthy's eyes widened; you were not supposed to strike to kill. They dashed again and Utena managed to block her attack at just the last second. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw chunks of wood go flying up. However, she couldn't stop since Ayani was still pushing. She pushed back hoping to hold it off till she could think of an alternative. Then something amazing happened. With a final push, she managed to push Ayani back; and saw the edge of Ayani's sword go flying. It had been sliced clean off. Utena looked down, shocked. In the sword, beneath the chunks that had been broken off, was a metal blade. Ayani couldn't take it; she was going to lose Utena again. She looked down and glared at Anthy. It would be that girl that Utena would go home with. It would be that girl who got to hear Utena tell her that she loved her. She couldn't allow it. That girl had to die. With what was left of her blade, she decided on a new strategy. She ran at the Rose Bride with an insane cry. Utena saw the attack and reacted. She threw herself in front of Anthy and dashed again. She had no choice but to strike with everything she had. She felt a familiar rush as a power she had though long since extinguished came into her body, feeling more right and more hers than ever before. She did not notice the slight glow her body took as it vanished from normal time. Anthy barely saw what happened. She saw Utena jump in front of her and then there was a blur. The next thing she new Ayani was flying across the arena. There was a large slice across the front of her uniform and the pieces of her rose were flying around. She looked a few feet in the other direction and saw Utena crouched, the sword thrown to her side. Utena was tired, she had thrown everything she had into that final slash and couldn't even bring herself to stand. Her body was quivering with exhaustion. She was gripping the sword so tightly she was sure that her hand was broken. She looked to the sword and saw cracks start to form all around the length of the sword. She loosened her hand and the sword shattered. Thousands of wooden chunks flew everywhere and something fell out. From the remains of the bokken fell a beautiful katana blade. It stabbed itself into the ground before the two girls. On its handle was inscribed the words "Bara no Ken." "Anthy, what is this?" "I don't know, but I think this is the real surprise that your aunt mentioned." "A sword." "Indeed." Ayani only groaned from where she lay, unconscious. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The police took Ayani away, handcuffed. She had confessed to everything, and Anthy's testimony was enough to start things along. As she was driven away in a squad car, Anthy was having her statements taken by the police. "Are you sure that you don't want us to take you to a hospital." A young officer said as he noted the shivering Anthy. She had Utena's uniform jacket wrapped around her shoulders and she leaned against her beloved. "No, it's all right. I have sustained no injury and I'd rather just go home. It's been a long day for me." She yawned the last part out and put more of her weight on Utena, who had a strange wrapped package in her other hand. She waved her hand and a strange glazed expression came upon the officers face. "Okay, have a nice day now." The officer gave up and walked back to the others. As he was walking away, Utena addressed Anthy. "What are you, a Jedi?" "Maybe; like I said, I just want to go home. We can rest and maybe have a look at that sword." Utena looked down at the package in her hand. "Yeah, maybe we should." In the distance, a ships horn was blaring that it was coming into port. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ In the chairman's tower, Akio and Kanae sat in a movie theater, watching the proceeding on a movie screen. He munched absently on a bag of popcorn. "This was quite a show, Akio-sama." "Indeed dear wife; it was a fine show." "When do you think we should start transmitting to the rest of the school?" "I think we should start at the qualifying round." Kami's voice piped in from the back of the theater. The shadows parted and she was revealed, with her feet propped on the chair in front of her. "Indeed dear sister, starting with the qualifiers is a fine idea. It will give the students a chance to garner support." "It will be a fine show." They sat there, contemplating their next move. They sat there, long after the projector had shut off and cast them into darkness. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Preview of Next Episode: Kami: I'm sure you have lots of questions as to what's going on. Don't worry I'll answer them all. Utena: You can answer my questions? Who are you anyway? What's going on? Why did Ayani have a ring? Who's behind this? Kami: Don't worry, all will be revealed in time. You just need to wait a little longer Anthy: How much longer? Kami: Only about a week more. Utena: A WEEK?!?! Kami: We still have to wait for one more person to arrive. Then we can start it. Utena: Start what?!?! Kami: Only a week more. Utena: Why me? Next time on Shoujo Kakumei Utena: Kakuei no Bara. Tournament Start; The Ladder to the Chairman's Wing. Anthy: It's the Absolute Destiny Apocalypse. Notes: The new duelists are almost all here. I'm having fun coming up with the characters. I'm having a bit of trouble coming up with the layout for the duels, but it should get easier with time. Tell me what you guys think of them. I'm going to add on some explanations as to who each character is and what you should know. Chiho Saito: Silver hair- Silver ring – He's the student council president. A zealous scientist who analyses every situation. Tianquing Han: Navy Blue hair – Navy Blue ring – He's the vice president of the student council with a warrior's spirit. He comes off as violent and angry. He is obsessed with honor and will duel to fulfill is honor. Kamari: Green hair – Green ring – She's the student council secretary. She is also an honor driven soul. She is a firm believer in the old traditions ingrained in her by her family. Her hair is Sayonji's color, but Touga's shape. She has a love of kendo that can rival Sayonji's
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