Memory
Act One
Scene One
(Open to a medium sized room with bunk beds on the right wall. A door is on the far wall; a desk sits on the left side against the back wall. It has books on it. A closet is on the left side in front of the desk. The top bed is occupied and some pink hair has fallen off the side.)
(The door opens and a girl, Anthy Himemiya, in a sailor shirt and green skirt uniform stands there. She has glasses and purple hair. A small mouse looking monkey sits on her shoulder munching on a cracker.)
Anthy: (she has a very mousy voice) Miss Utena? It's time to wake up.
Utena: (some muffled talking, then she sits up, she is wearing purple pajamas that have a button up top) Anthy, it's too early to wake up. Can't I sleep in for once?
Anthy: It's time to go. The Duels are today.
Utena: (confused) Duels? I haven't been challenged.
Anthy: You must fight for me, the Rose Bride.
Utena: But the Duels are over, Anthy. You know that.
Anthy: The last scene hasn't been set yet. You have one more challenge to overcome. The Duel called Memory. Come now, you must fight.
Utena: (still confused) But, Anthy, you're free. I set you free. I remember.
Anthy: That is your Duel. Fight for me. But more importantly, fight for you. Fight for your memory. Get dressed. The way before you has been prepared.
(Utena, still confused, hops out of the bed and puts on her dueling outfit. She walks to Anthy and they walk out the door.)
(Fade out.)
Act Two
Scene One
(Fade in to a large circular platform with a red fence around it. Five people are lined up on one side with Utena on the other. Anthy stands between them. Behind the five people are six desks. Nine roses are laid out before her. One green, one blue, one orange, one yellow, one red, one purple, one pink, one black, and one white.)
Anthy: (She is now in a military style red dress. She bends down and picks up the white rose. She holds it up.) This is the Duelist's Rose. Only one of you will wear this. (She sets it back down next to the others.) If the rose is cut from your chest, then you lose the Duel. (She then picks up the green one.) Kyouichi Saionji, step before me.
Saionji: Anthy, please, I love you, we were meant to be together.
Anthy: (Places the green rose in his breast pocket. She looks to the line of people.) You all must take your places.
(They sit down in the desks and watch patiently. Utena looks confused and watches the procession. Saionji goes back to his spot.)
Narrator: The Envious Pretender. He wants to be the prince, but can one so selfish truly win another's heart?
Saionji: I will defeat this...girl. She isn't even one of the Student Council. (He draws his sword and prepares himself.)
Anthy: (She picks up the pink rose.) Utena Tenjou, step before me.
Utena: (She walks forward and stands in front of Anthy) Anthy, why are you doing this? What is this?
Anthy: Take your place, Prince. The Duel is to begin.
(Utena steps back in front of Saionji and Anthy steps in front of her. She places her hand on Utena's chest and pulls the Soul Sword from it. Anthy kisses the tip and gives it to Utena. She takes it and Anthy goes back to her place and Saionji attacks Utena.)
Saionji: You are just a girl, you could never defeat me.
Utena: (Pushes him back off of her.) I've defeated you twice before, I can do it again! (She attacks him and cuts his arm.)
Saionji: This time your prince isn't going to come and save you. It's just you and me. (He attacks her again and they trade blows.)
(Utena kicks him and that causes him to drop his sword. She quickly cuts the rose from his chest.)
Utena: Looks like I'm the winner without my prince, Saionji.
(A flash of light, then Saionji is gone. On his desk is a closed red journal.)
Utena: Anthy, please explain what is going on...I don't understand.
Narrator: Utena, the Broken Prince, regains a piece of her past. A vision of Anthy, the Witch, stabbing her in the back.
(Utena looks at Anthy and then to the ground.)
Utena: Anthy? (mumbling) You wanted to be a normal girl, with friends...you told me that, isn't that what you told me?
Anthy: (She picks up the blue rose.) Miki Kaoru, step before me. (She places it in his breast pocket. He returns to his spot.)
Narrator: The Innocent. He wants to be the prince, but can one so naïve truly win another's heart?
Miki: I will defeat you, Utena Tenjou. I must free Anthy. (He draws a scimitar.) Yah! (He strikes at Utena with alarming speed.)
Utena: Miki, I think the piano suits you much better. (She blocks his blow.)
Juri: (The girl in the orange uniform) I agree.
Miki: I will win, I will do it for Anthy. She wants to be free of you, of the Rose Bride.
Utena: You don't understand do you? (She strikes at him, barely missing his rose.) She wants to be the Rose Bride. I saved her, she chose to stay instead of coming with me.
Miki: (He strikes back cutting her uniform on her arm.) She needs me to save her, I am the only one who understands her. Only me!
Utena: (She shakes her head and cuts the rose from his chest.) I am sorry, Miki. You didn't deserve this.
(A light flashes and Miki is gone. On his desk is a stopwatch.)
Narrator: Utena receives another memory. Anthy gives Akio, her brother, the Hollow King, Utena's Soul Sword so that he may change the world. The Witch has betrayed her Broken Prince.
Utena: Anthy, how could you...how could you do that?
Anthy: (She picks up the orange rose.) Juri Arisugawa, step before me. (She places it in her breast pocket. She returns to her spot.)
Narrator: The Lost Princess. She wants to be the prince, but can one who does not believe in miracles truly win another's heart?
Utena: (Tiredly) I don't think I can do this much longer.
Juri: I will prove there are no such things as miracles. (She draws a fencing sword.) I will defeat you Utena Tenjou! (She strikes at Utena and almost takes off her rose with one shot.)
Utena: (Confused and upset) Juri, please! You know and understand me, why must we fight? (She doesn't fight back but she does defend herself.)
Juri: There are no miracles. (Tears form in her eyes, but she still fights Utena. She strikes again and again.)
Anthy: They are stuck in a time loop. Break them free, Utena. Save them from Akio's world. Help them.
Utena: (Confused) What? What do you mean? I already fought for revolution...I lost...I lost...(She falls to the ground and Juri stands over her.)
Juri: There are no such things as miracles.
(Utena reaches up with her sword and cuts the rose from her chest.)
Utena: I am the miracle. (Her arm falls back to the ground tiredly.)
(A light flashes and Juri is gone. On her desk is a locket.)
Narrator: The rose covered doors. The third memory Utena receives. She has been cut horribly, and will die, but yet she goes on.
Utena: What is this?
Anthy: (She picks up the yellow rose.) Nanami Kiryuu, step before me. (She places it in her breast pocket. She returns to her spot.)
Narrator: The Jealous Child. She wants to be the prince, but can one who only loves her brother truly win another's heart?
Nanami: I will defeat you for my big brother, I will show you. (She holds a dagger and a sword. She strikes at Utena with her dagger, cutting off part of her hair.)
Utena: You, Nanami, truly do not belong here. You weren't ready when we fought the first time, and you aren't ready now. (Utena cuts off her rose with ease and Nanami smiles.)
Nanami: Save him for me, Utena. You're a better protector than I.
(A light flashes and Nanami is gone. On her desk is a cat collar. Touga stands up and walks over to Utena.)
Narrator: The fourth memory. The rose doors open not for Akio, but for Utena.
Utena: But I didn't want to revolutionize the world, all I wanted was for Anthy to be free.
Touga: I guess it's my turn next. I was the only who you lost to, remember that Utena and come at me again.
Utena: (Nods) The first one to not threaten me.
Anthy: (She picks up the red rose.) Touga Kiryuu, step before me. (She places it in his breast pocket. He returns to his spot.)
Narrator: The Great Imitator. He wants to be the prince, but can one so untruthful truly win another's heart?
Touga: For Revolution, I come at you Utena Tenjou. (He draws a sword.) Defend yourself if you can! (He strikes at her repeatedly and she blocks every blow.) You have gotten better, Utena.
Utena: I've been practicing. (She strikes at him and cuts off one petal of his rose.)
Touga: Yes, I can tell. I won't go easy on you this time. (He lunges at her and knocks the sword from her hand.) I'm sorry Utena, but your time has passed. (He lifts his sword.)
Utena: (whisper) Not yet! (She grabs her sword and cuts off his rose as his sword swishes by her head.) I'm sorry Touga, but your time has come.
(Touga looks down and sighs as the rose petals blow in the wind. He bends down and kisses her on the cheek.)
Touga: You know, I always loved you.
(A light flashes and Touga is gone. On his desk is a rose signet ring.)
Narrator: The fifth memory. She is a child again and so is Anthy. Swords come flying at Anthy, but Utena steps in her place and takes them.
Utena: I saved you...
Anthy: (She steps in front of Utena.) You have passed the first battle. Prepare yourself for the next.
Utena: Anthy! I don't understand. All these memories, all these things...did they really happen? Did you really do that to me? Anthy?
(Anthy walks back to her place as a man with long white/purple hair steps in front of the six desks.)
Akio: Utena, my princess, come and stay with me forever. Give up this battle and stay with me.
(Utena's clothes change from the uniform to a white and purple version of Anthy's dress.)
Akio: Be my Bride, Utena. You are strong, and have fought for far too long. Rest and stay with me.
Utena: No. Anthy must be free. She must be free of you and what you did to her. What she did for you. (She looks over to Anthy.) Come on Anthy, let's go home...
(Akio goes over to Anthy and she places the purple rose in his breast pocket.)
Anthy: Good luck, my brother.
Utena: (She looks at Anthy.) What? What is this?
Anthy: (Looks back to Utena.) He is my Prince.
Utena: No, no he isn't! He used you! You don't understand.
Akio: But she does. She understands more than you could imagine. (He draws his sword, it looks just like Utena's Soul Sword, except black.) Come now, princess, since you choose not to save yourself, you must fight.
Utena: Gladly! (She attacks him, but he easily dodges her clumsy blow. He pushes her down to the ground.)
Akio: I didn't realize it would be so easy. Anthy, come to me.
(Anthy walks over and stands over Utena. She draws a dagger.)
Anthy: Yes, my brother.
Akio: (He puts a hand on her shoulder.) Do it, for me, your prince.
(Anthy nods and plunges the dagger into Akio's heart.)
Anthy: You were never my prince, brother. You used me and betrayed me when it suited you.
Akio: But how? How did this happen? (He falls to his knees.) How did you do this Anthy?
Utena: Because she's finally free. And now you can wear the black rose, the one saved for the dead. (She stands up. She picks up the black rose and replaces the purple one.) This is what you've earned Akio. You are a Hollow King.
(Utena takes Anthy's hand and they begin to walk off toward the stairs off the platform.)
Akio: Sister...wait, what about me?
Anthy: (She turns around.) You will get your revolution. Your world will die and your puppets will be allowed to be in the free world.
Utena: They will finally learn what it is to really live. (She turns and looks at Akio.) This place will fall away. And so will you.
(A spotlight falls on Akio as he dies. A light flashes, then he is gone. A black rose is on the last desk.)
Act Three
Scene One
(Anthy is gone and Utena is standing by the desks. She is standing in front of the first one, Saionji's.)
Utena: (She opens the red journal and finds pictures and writing in it.) "We will be married happily ever after." (She flips back to the last page.) "Utena was the victor after all, and the one I wanted to save. She freed me from this false world." Saionji...you were... (She moves to the next desk with the stopwatch. It has 3.25 seconds on it.) What did your stopwatch mean, Miki? (She moves to Juri's desk. She picks up the locket and opens it. A picture of Utena is in it.) You finally believed in miracles. You believed in me...(A tear falls on the floor. She puts the locket around her neck. She moves on to the next desk, Nanami's. She picks up the cat collar.) "Big Brother, I love you, always." Nanami...you were just a child...(She moves to Touga's desk with the signet ring on it. A piece of paper is under it. She picks it up.) "Utena, I knew you could do it. I'll see you at the ball. Love, Touga." Why? Why did this happen? (She puts on the signet ring and moves to the last desk, Akio's. She stares at the black rose.) Akio, why did you do this to Anthy...why did you do this to me?
(Anthy walks back up the stairs and looks at Utena.)
Anthy: Utena, you won. This is the end of all of this. As soon as you accept it, this world will fall away. Come on.
(Now another desk is beside Akio's. It has a picture frame turned upside down on it. Utena goes to it and picks it up. It's a picture of Anthy, Wakaba, her best friend, and her all laughing together. Another tear slides down her cheek.)
Utena: Was this it? (She turns to Anthy.) This is what you stabbed me in the back for, Anthy? This was what you did...this...this...I just don't understand...I don't know what's going on. (She begins to cry.) Who did I save? What did I do? Nothing! I made no difference! Nothing matters!
(A man with short white/purple hair in a white uniform and a white cape pulls Utena to her feet.)
Dios: You saved them. (He gestures to the desks.) You saved them from this world and all its lies. You saved me. (He smiles at her.) Little one, growing up under such deep sorrow, never lose that strength and nobility. You are a Prince. And you are the Champion. (He walks over to the last rose, the white one. He picks it up and replaces the pink one with it.) You earned this. You saved even me, your prince. Go to the outside world, it is harder, but you can live it. Never lose that strength and nobility, even when you are grown. (He begins to walk backwards into the darkness.) Never lose that strength, my Noble Prince. (He disappears.)
(Utena walks over to Anthy.)
Utena: It will all fade away?
Anthy: (nods) It will.
Utena: (Her eyebrows furrow, then she realizes what she did. A look of sadness and shock are on her face.) What have I done?