Touga looked up from the badly exhausted Saionji, taking in Juri
and Wakaba thoughtfully. They stood together, talking happily, the
shorter brown haired girl nearly bouncing with joy. 'I wonder if Shiori
ever expected that?' the redhead man wondered.
Reminded of the purple haired vixen he looked over, smiling to
himself slightly. Sitting side by side Shiori and Nanami talked eagerly,
clearly enjoying each other's company. 'I didn't think my sister had it
in her,' he mused. They were an odd couple, his intense blonde sister
and the sultry seducer, but an oddly fitting one as well.
"My brother's watching us," Nanami noted to Shiori softly.
Shiori looked up, then dismissed him with a glance. 'Not that he
was bad,' she thought as she turned her gaze back to Nanami, 'but he
wasn't great, anyway.' She gave Nanami a smile, "I'm almost looking
forward to seeing Juri trounce him."
"We'll see," Nanami said, "he has beaten her before."
Shiori looked over to where Juri and Wakaba stood, "Maybe, but I
think Juri wasn't fighting for someone then."
Nanami didn't look away from Shiori's face as she firmly agreed,
"That can make all the difference."
Shiori felt herself blushing, though she wasn't quite sure why.
Juri sat on a bench, drinking from a bottle of water as Wakaba
sat beside her. "Thank you for what you did," Wakaba said softly, the
brown haired girl looking at her caringly.
Juri flashed Wakaba a smile, "It was my pleasure." A bit more
seriously the orange haired woman said, "He hurt you, not once but
twice. Paying him back was worth it."
Wakaba bent forward a bit, laying her head on Juri's shoulder.
"Would it bother you if I admitted seeing you do that to him felt pretty
good?" she said softly.
Juri laughed quietly, the vibration shaking Wakaba slightly.
"You're human," she said, "just like everyone else. Besides, Saionji was
an ass."
Wakaba snickered at that.
"Now there's just Touga," Juri murmured. She looked down at
Wakaba, "I should warn you, he's beaten me before." She didn't mention
the duels to her, though Juri knew she would have to eventually. It was
too great of a secret to keep from someone... you loved.
"You mean in the Duels?" Wakaba looked up at her to ask. She
smiled gently and squeezed her arm, "I believe in you, Juri."
Juri blinked in surprise, trying to absorb the first thing that
Wakaba had said, "You know about the Duels?"
"There were always rumors around the campus," Wakaba said
softly, "and those signet rings are a bit of a clue."
Juri looked at her signet, gleaming in the hall's light. "You've
got a point," she admitted softly. She took Wakaba's hand, "I'll win
this for you."
Looking up at the clock Juri began to walk over to her place,
only to be stopped by Wakaba. She undid the scarf from her uniform,
tying it around Juri's arm, "For luck."
"Thanks," Juri smiled, moving over to wait for Anthy.
Anthy approached the tall duelist with the two roses in hand,
dressed in her usual school girl's uniform. An fresh orange rose was put
into Juri's pocket, the scent swirling around them as the girl smiled up
at her slightly, "Good luck." She paused a second before adding, "And
Utena said you should go kick his ass.
Juri laughed suddenly, looking over to see a grinning Utena
giving her a thumbs up. "Thanks," Juri chuckled.
Touga watched as Anthy walked to him, his red rose glowing
softly in the light. He gaze Anthy a respectful nod, but his focus was
on Juri.
Together they walked over to the squared off dueling arena, a
large open space for them to move about in. Touga raised his sword
gracefully, giving Juri a confident smile, his eyes dropping to the
cloth tied around Juri's arm.
"I hope you weren't hurt in the last match," Touga purred.
Juri ignored him, centering herself with a steady breath.
"Fighters, take your positions," the referee called out. Juri
and Touga each walked to their place, their eyes meeting in a searching
moment. "Ready," the referee paused for a moment before loudly
declaring, "fight!"
Touga stood statue still, his guard nearly perfect as they stood
there silently, ignoring the call to battle. A whisper of a smile teased
his face, but his eyes were hard as stone, focused entirely on the
moment.
'This is going to end fast,' Juri realized, 'the first move will
be it.' She studied him, searching for the opening, the tiny moment of
weakness that could spell victory. Seconds dragged on to a minute, then
Juri saw it!
Her orange hair streamed behind her like a banner as Juri shot
across the arena, sword swinging up as she moved. Touga tried to put his
sword between the blade and his rose, there was a sound like a bell
ringing, metal breaking, and as the larger piece of Touga's sword flew
into the distance as the rose petals blew around them...
"And I thought only Utena did that," Touga managed, gazing down
in honest shock at the broken hilt of his blade.
"JURI!!!" Wakaba hit her with a flying hug, sending the taller
girl crashing down to the floor of the arena. "I knew you could do it!"
she squealed happily.
"Congratulations," Touga managed as the entire arena descended
into bedlam, the young women cheering for Juri.
"Thanks," Juri wasn't really paying attention, holding Wakaba as
she got back to her feet. "We won," she said quietly.
"There goes my revenge scheme," Shiori said, but she didn't
sound too disappointed as the stands around them emptied of students
heading towards the victor.
"So what are you going to do now?" Nanami asked.
Shiori gave Utena and Anthy a chance to rush down to the
celebration before admitting to Nanami, "I'm not sure."
"I think we were going to go have a talk," Nanami rose, offering
the other girl her hand, "why don't we do that?"
Shiori took the hand, letting Nanami pull her up to her feet.
"I'd like that," Shiori smiled, meeting Nanami's eyes happily.
Epilogue: Everything After.
Juri grinned as she climbed behind the wheel of their honeymoon
roadster, looking over at Wakaba adoringly. The duels, the tournament,
they were all in the distant past now, though the consequences were
still being felt.
Shiori stood on the steps watching them go, her eyes shining
with happiness. Standing beside her Nanami held that delicate hand, the
matching bracelets they always wore gleaming. They had come together
sometime after the tourney, an unusual couple to say the least. Nanami
lost her followers for awhile, but she regained her standing eventually.
Utena and Anthy moved forward, a blushing Utena still holding
the flowers with a odd smile. Wakaba still had moments when she showed
jealousy about that, but Juri couldn't blame her. She still had moments
about Shiori.
"Ready?" Wakaba asked with a smile, leaning forward to kiss
Juri.
"Always," Juri whispered back, starting up the car. They pulled
out onto the road, Juri smiling to herself, 'Not that I'd trade Wakaba
for anything.' She looked at she smiling lover, 'Not for anything in the
world.'
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