Utena took a clearly nervous Tsuwabuki aside, her expression grave. She sat the smaller man down and simply asked, "What happened?" "We got suckered," Tsuwabuki sighed tiredly. He pushed his short brown hair back from his face, "We were out on patrol, when we first saw the bandit force. It was a small unit, and I thought we could take them." "So you left your position to go engage them," a carefully neutral Utena prompted him, and he nodded ruefully. "They tried to break away from fighting almost as soon as we met them," Tsuwabuki said, "and I started to realize that something was wrong. I released the hawk, and turned to see the bandit forces combining. We went after them and managed to hit the group from behind just as they broke through to the caravan." "You got damn lucky," Utena murmured. She smiled down at him grimly, "If they had been just a bit smarter, they would have stayed to wipe out your scouting force first, and then launched an attack on us." If Tsuwabuki could have gotten much paler, he would have. "You might not have gotten any warning then," he said softly. "You made a mistake," Utena said grimly, "not only putting yourself and your comrades in danger, but the Princess as well." Tsuwabuki gulped, then he nodded miserably. "But you recovered, sent the message back to us and managed to help," Utena noted. A slight smile, "The only reason I'll forgive you is that no one on our side died." A short pause, "Don't ever screw up like that again." With that, she strode away. The bodies had been stacked together to one side of the road, and Utena noted with some approval that Juri had begun to prepare the party to move out. Juri looked up to meet Utena's gaze, "What do you want to do with them?" She nodded to the bodies. "If I was back with the mercenaries, I'd leave them there as a feast for the carrion birds," Utena smiled bleakly, "and as a warning to anyone else." She took a deep breath, "But I doubt the princess would approve." "True," Juri admitted. Not far away from them Anthy was being assisted back up into her carriage by her personal maid, Wakaba, and the young noblewoman looked awfully pale. She noticed Utena's gaze on her and smiled at Utena wanly. "Burn the bodies," Utena said, "right before we move out again. We'll get a few miles between us and them, then camp for the night." Shiori came up to them, holding up the black rose pendant before asking, "Do you want me to keep this, or leave it here?" "Keep it," Juri nodded, "we don't have anything else to identify there men, and it's unusual enough that it might be useful to trace." They moved out, and Utena hung back a moment to put the torch to the improvised funeral pyres. "May whatever gods you worshipped take in your souls," she said, tossing the torch up on to one of the pyres. "You've done that before?" Anthy asked as Utena settled into her place beside her carriage. Utena nodded, "A few times. We don't always know, even with our own soldiers, what faiths they might have followed." Quietly Anthy said, "This was almost a game until now, a summer stroll." Utena reached out, gently holding Anthy's hand in her own. "I will always protect you, I promise," Utena vowed. They traveled for about an hour before setting up camp for the night. The guards stationed all around the camp were more attentive tonight, and conversation around the campfires was much more subdued. Tsuwabuki sighed softly, picking at his meal. "What's wrong?" Keiko asked him softly. "Juri didn't put me on guard duty tonight," Tsuwabuki sighed, "I guess she and Utena don't trust me anymore." An odd little smile was on Keiko's face, and he asked softly, "What?" "Everyone who fought against the bandits isn't on guard, you'll notice," Keiko pointed out. She spooned up some stew, "Shiori tells me that's how Utena usually works, resting her fighters so that they'll be ready when she needs them." Tsuwabuki sat up straighter, "You think so?" Keiko nodded, "Makes sense to me." It was quiet around the Princess' fire. Juri and Shiori sat together, Miki, then Utena and Anthy, and finally Wakaba. The couples sat close together, drawing some comfort from the presence of the body beside them. Shiori smiled slightly, pointing at Utena with her spoon, "Did you know that I once pursued this woman for months and she didn't even notice?" Utena met Shiori's gaze, glad that she was trying to relieve the tension a bit. She blushed slightly, "It wasn't my fault!" "What happened?" Anthy asked Shiori curiously. She had wanted to know a bit more about Utena's past, and thought this might give her some insight, "We were in the middle of a pretty miserable campaign in Karse when I first really noticed Utena. I was helping with triage in the medics tent when this soldier gruffly ordered a healer to help his friend, now, and then he threatened her with a sword," Shiori said. Anthy noticed Utena get redder, and began to guess who the 'man' was. "So I threw a sleeping spell at him, and was surprised to see it didn't work. Then someone noticed that it was Commander Tarma, and the medics jumped to it. The man staggered to a corner, wiped the mud off his face," Shiori paused dramatically, "and I was struck by the brightest blue eyes I'd ever seen." Wakaba nodded, and Anthy smiled as she murmured, "I know what you mean." Utena didn't blush any brighter, but she did look down into her bowl to avoid the amused gazes of her companions. "You were wearing the Sword of Dios, that's why the spell failed?" Juri asked. Utena kept her face down, and nodded. "I eventually found out it was a woman, a newly promoted lieutenant named Tenjou Utena," Shiori smiled. She sipped her drink, "And then and there I made the foolish decision that she'd be my next romantic conquest." "What happened?" Juri asked curiously. Shiori shrugged. "I tried everything. Feminine wiles, food, scanty clothing, a few unexpected midnight visits," she ticked them off on her fingers, "and none of it worked." Wakaba looked over at the mage, who was clearly a very attractive woman, then over to Utena. "Why...?" she trailed off. Utena shrugged, "I'd just gotten promoted, and was still trying to figure out how to do the job." She smiled sheepishly, "I really didn't notice her too much. I guess I thought that she only wanted to be friends." A beat of silence, then quiet laughter around the circle. The conversation moved along a bit better after that, and not long after they retired to their beds. "Did you really not notice her?" Anthy asked her quietly, feeling warm and safe in the circle of Utena's arms. "Hate to say it, but yes," Utena smiled. "I'm just glad that she got distracted by a girl named Usagi," she added. A moment of silence, "Are you all right?" "About what happened today?" Anthy asked softly. She felt Utena's nod and quietly said, "No, not really. But I will be." "Good enough," Utena held her close.
Back to The Road to the Capital Index - Back to Revolutionary Girl Utena Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction