The setting sun cast long shadows through the windows of
the planetarium tower, creating zebra-stripes of warm orange
light over the couches and coffee table between. A cup of tea,
resting on a rose-enameled platter sat half in the light, its contents
growing cool. On the opposite couch, Anthy sat on her brother's
lap, her violet hair free of its curls and cascading over
the white material of the seat. Akio twined his fingers in it,
watching the sun play off its ripples like a purple stream. Anthy
rested her cheek on her onii-sama's deep red, unbuttoned silk shirt,
the sun causing her to squint slightly. His face was mostly
obscured in shadow, and as he tilted it down to kiss Anthy's
forehead it emerged into color.
"Did you miss me this week, Anshi?"
"Hai, onii-sama."
Akio shifted, his fingers never leaving the purple pool of her tresses. Of all her traits, it was her hair that seemed to entrance him the most.
"Is the Victor treating you well?"
"Of course, onii-sama."
It was the designated answer. There was no doubt of Akio's awareness that Saionji did not treat his sister with the respect that the Rose Bride deserved, but that was the way with all of the Champions. With his other hand, Akio traced the line of his sister's jaw.
"Soon now, Anshi."
She lifted her chin to meet his eyes, as green and deep and mysterious as hers. He smiled gently.
"I have nearly all of the Seitokai now. The child who believes you to be his 'shining thing'; the strangely cold woman who longs for your power so she can attain the miracle that will allow her to love. I even have the Seitokaichou under my spell. He wishes for the power to revolutionize the world, yet he can barely comprehend what that means. Stupid man."
Anthy held her brother's gaze. "I thought you liked Touga-sempai."
Akio chuckled. "I do." His eyes moved to the telescope that loomed above them, breaking the connection. "The only ones left to conquer are Tsuchiya Ruka and the one Engaged." He returned his gaze to her, cupping her cheek in his palm. "Then, imouto-chan, all of the duelists will be in place. They will continue vying for your power, and when the duel named Revolution comes, the chosen one will open the Rose Gates and your pain will be gone. Forever."
Anthy smiled at him. She is beautiful, her brother thought. So beautiful.
"And, together, we will return to what we were... before." Her voice was even more beautiful than her face.
"Yes, Anshi. Together."
The moment of heavenly anticipation passed quickly, and the matters still at hand presented themselves. "Ruka will submit easily. I already know his weakness-- he loves Juri, and will do anything to obtain the power of miracles for her. He already believes, as she does, that you possess that power. The Champion Duelist, however, I have yet to understand. What does Saionji want, Anshi?"
Anthy was quiet for a moment, studying the buttons of her brother's shirt.
"He wants to defeat Touga-sempai."
"There must be something more than that. He must have a reason for his jealousy. There must be something, Anshi."
Anthy tilted her head, meeting Akio's eyes once more. "He wants to be loved. He wants a friend."
"Touga is his friend."
"He wants true friendship, like when he and Touga were young. He believes that if he attains these things, he will triumph over Touga. He wants..."
Her brother took her hand, twisting their fingers together. "He wants eternity."
Shutters slammed down over the planetarium windows, throwing the Rose Bride and her Prince into darkness.
* * *
Saionji Kyouichi's dorm room was decorated like a kendo practice dojo, the regulation bunkbeds shoved into a corner and various dueling equipment strewn around the floor. He stood in the center, his dark green hair pulled into a ponytail and clad in his hakama and keiko-gi. Saionji held a katana in both hands, slicing it downwards at various intervals.
Where is she?
It was not odd that Anthy would disappear for a while on Saturday nights, but she usually returned before it got very late. He didn't like not knowing where she was. Besides, that blasted creature of hers was hungry and beginning to cry. The sound of the door startled him and he turned to see the purple-haired girl, looking as immaculate and neatly-dressed as always. She shut the door behind her, smiling in her serene way.
"I'm home, Saionji-sama."
"Anshi, where have you been?" His voice was harsh, and he dropped the sword on the floor, approaching her. He softened, almost imperceptibly. "I was worried."
"Please forgive me, Saionji-sama." Anthy looked up at him imploringly.
"I suppose." Of course he forgave her. How could he not? She was the only one who truly cared about him. He had realized that when he won her from the last Victor of the Duels. Anthy had promised to love him forever then.
He turned away from her. "That thing is hungry, Anshi. It's been whimpering all evening." The note of irritability in his voice was no surprise to her. She hurried across the room to where Chu-Chu was jumping up and down on the table.
"Oh, Chu-Chu. I'm so sorry!"
Behind her, Saionji snorted. He could not understand what she saw in the little mutant. He picked up the katana and continued in his training as Anthy got her "friend" dinner.
* * *
There weren't many places that Saionji enjoyed besides the kendo room, but the Rose Garden was one of the few. He supposed he liked it because Anthy was there. The moment he walked through the wrought-iron and glass doors, he could smell her. She always smelled of roses. The sun beat down, magnified through the glass, and reflected sharply off Anthy's metal watering can. She looked so happy here, tending to the roses. Saionji couldn't understand why she did not act this happy anywhere else.
The girl turned to water a rose bush near the door and saw her fiancé. "Oh! Saionji-sama!" She smiled happily, closing her eyes. "I didn't see you there."
"Ohayo, Anshi." He smiled softly back, gazing at the roses. Red, green, light blue, dark blue, pale orange, yellow, white. Every color he could possibly imagine, one for every duelist in the Seitokai. Yet the Rose Bride herself did not have a color.
Anthy picked a green rose, holding the stem carefully in both hands. She held it out to him and he took it silently, regarding the flower with a subdued expression. Green roses. He didn't want to ever have to duel again. Not the way they had been dueling recently, anyway. He enjoyed his kendo matches with Touga -- he would never admit to it, but he did. These duels, however, were a different matter. Dueling again might mean losing her, and he was not willing to risk that. However, it was not up to him. Of course he did not have doubts about his talent in swordplay, but possibly, if Touga...
He cut the thought off abruptly.
"Anshi, what is your rose color?"
The girl looked up at him, her expression somewhere between startled and confused.
"Why, I don't know, Saionji-sama. I am the Rose Bride. I have never dueled."
Saionji reached out and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "I think... purple. Do you have any purple roses, Anshi?"
To his surprise, she pulled away, clasping her hands close to her chest. "I... don't think so."
Saionji frowned. Why...? He grabbed her wrist and pulled her nearer, causing her watering can to clatter to the stone floor.
The sun had gone behind a cloud.
She could see the past, she could see the... future...
Anthy shut her eyes.
Purple roses... She shook her head. Sometimes... she could see the future. It only came in flashes, bursts of emotion.
Anthy hated emotion.
She suddenly realized that Saionji had her by both wrists now, and was shaking her. She could hear his voice distantly, as if through a fog.
"Anshi? Anshi!"
He looked angry, and concerned. Probably angry about being concerned. Anthy's deep green eyes contracted and she stared at him blankly.
"Saionji...sama?"
From behind them, the gate into the Rose Garden slammed. Saionji released one wrist and whirled on the intruder. A tall, pale man with a pale blue forelock of hair stood just inside the garden, framed by the iron bars. His uniform identified him as another member of the Student Council. He yanked a blue rose from its bush and held it out to Saionji, smirking.
Saionji was in no mood for subtleties. "What do you want?"
Tsuchiya Ruka grinned wider. "I challenge you to a duel, Champion." He threw the rose at Saionji's feet, the petals making a soft but clearly audible sound on the stones. Ruka promptly turned his back on the pair and exited the Garden.
Saionji scowled, releasing his grip on Anthy. Why did everything have to be so damned complicated? There was no doubt in his mind that he would defeat Ruka easily, but every duel brought them closer to the vaguely outlined end that Touga had implied would eventually come. And for a reason he did not understand, Saionji dreaded it.
He turned to look at Anthy, who was standing with her hands clasped demurely, her head bowed. Her usual reaction to anything that involved the duels. Saionji sighed.
"Come, Anshi."
* * *
In the darkened shadows of the Seitokai meeting area, the sand of a thousand hourglasses slithered and rushed through their containers' narrow openings. They were of every size imaginable, ranging from a centimeter high to almost a yard. The glasses occupied shelves, floor, chairs, and even the Council's playing card table. Kiryuu Touga stood amongst them, leaning casually against a pillar, his hands in his pockets. He gazed out at Ohtori's campus between the folds of heavy, dark curtains that cut off all light except that from the rose window.
"You want her to be happy, don't you?"
Ruka visibly started and glanced at the Seitokaichou irritably. "What are you talking about?"
"She doesn't love you, Tsuchiya-san. You know that."
Ruka's gaze was positively venomous.
Touga smirked to himself and continued. "If you truly care for her, you will do what will make her happiest."
"Oh? And what's that?" Sarcasm tinted Ruka's voice.
"You will obtain for her the power of miracles. Only then she will be able to admit her feelings to the one she does love."
The other sat forward in his chair. He hadn't been expecting an answer like that. "But Juri despises miracles. She doesn't believe in them. She told me so herself."
Touga laughed. Stupid man. "You don't understand anything. Juri will only be happy when she lets herself admit what she feels. The Rose Bride's power can allow her to do that." He tipped his chair back, balancing it on two legs. Ruka frowned.
"So all this talk about the 'power to revolutionize the world' is simply the power of miracles? The power that will allow Juri to accept her love?"
Touga tapped a fingernail on the table, not replying. With a look of determination, his companion rose and entered the elevator.
Touga picked one of the smaller hourglasses up between thumb and forefinger. The ruse was so simple. But he did not understand Akio's purpose in leading Ruka to believe what he had, only weeks ago, lead Juri to believe.
No matter. It was not for him to debate. When Akio asked him to pass something on to one of the Seitokai, he complied.
The elevator made a loud clang as it arrived at the top floor, and Touga pushed himself off of the pillar to greet his guest. Saionji stopped abruptly as he stepped on one of the hourglasses.
"I'm not even going to ask."
Touga smiled. "It's usually better that way."
Finding his way through the forest of time-keepers, Saionji cleared a chair and sat. "You asked me up here for a reason, I assume."
Touga regarded his friend coolly. "You are, of course, aware that a challenge has been made."
Saionji snorted. "Certainly. But it will be no trouble."
The Seitokaichou took a seat across from the other. "I'm sure it won't."
Folding his arms across his chest, Saionji frowned. "I know you didn't invite me here simply to make sure that I knew of the duel, Touga."
"You're right, of course," Touga replied. "I invited you here to ask you something -- what is it that you want?"
Saionji's brow furrowed. "What do I... want?"
"From the duels, I mean. From the Rose Bride."
By this time, Saionji was beginning to get a little suspicious. Touga rarely engaged in personal conversations. At least, not with him.
"I don't want anything from the Rose Bride. I want the Rose Bride herself. And I have her. So, you could say, I have everything I want."
Touga leaned back, his face obscured by shadow. "You don't mean that. In your heart, you don't mean that."
"You don't know my heart." His words were harsh, spiteful. On the far side of the balcony, an hourglass shattered on the floor.
Still shrouded in darkness, Touga chuckled. "I know more than you think, Saionji."
The vice president stood, sending a dozen more glasses to the floor as he moved past the table. The elevator doors clattered shut behind him.
Touga watched him go, his smirk gone. Kneeling down, he gathered the shards of glass and wood into his palm.
* * *
Inside the elevator, Saionji slammed his hand into the wall. How dare he presume...?! The iron-barred cage he stood in clunked noisily as it descended. Stuffing his fists into his pockets, Saionji leaned his back against the wall, dangerously angry. He was an idiot, he told himself. Actually believing that Touga wanted to talk to him for some other reason than to mock him. What a fool he was. And a bigger fool for letting Touga's words bother him so much.
* * *
The cold, familiar droplet of water splashed against Saionji's finger and the noise of rock grating against itself came from deep within the Rose Gates. Waterfalls opened behind him, cascading into the black pools outside the arena forest. In a moment, the awesome display was over and Saionji began his ascent.
The green duelist was not in a good mood. He glowered at the stairs as he reached the top, wondering why they couldn't hold these duels anywhere normal. But that was a ridiculous wish. Nothing about these duels was normal, and Saionji had come to accept that. But he still liked to gripe about it.
The Rose Bride stood at the top of the steps, her hands folded over her crimson dress, the tassels on her shoulders waving in the breeze. She smiled as she saw him.
"Welcome, Saionji-sama. Tsuchiya-sempai has already arrived."
Saionji's eyes moved to Ruka, who was standing a dozen yards across the arena, tapping his fencing foil on the ground impatiently. "Let's get this started, Champion."
Saionji nodded. "Anshi." She moved first to him, tucking a green rose in his breast pocket. She smiled at him again.
"Good luck, Saionji-sama."
His eyes softened slightly and he barely smiled. The Rose Bride then turned and went to Ruka, fastening a dark blue rose to his fuku. "If this rose is cut from your chest, you lose the duel."
Ruka snorted. "I know."
On the other side of the arena, Saionji's fists clenched. "Don't talk to her like that."
"You talk to her like that."
Saionji was about to snarl a retort when Anthy positioned herself between them. Her dress rippled in an unseen wind as a luminescence grew around her hands.
"O roses of the noble castle
Power of Dios that slumbers within me
Hearken unto thy master and reveal to us..."
Saionji placed a hand on the small of her back, allowing her spine to arch as the hilt of a blade emerged from her chest. The bizarre wind caught his hair, whipping it around them as he drew the shining sword of Dios from his Bride.
"... the power to revolutionize the world!"
And so, the duel began. Their blades locked, and Saionji grudgingly marveled that his opponent could keep so steady under the amazing power of the sword of Dios. Anthy stood to the side, her hands clasped once again, blankly watching the proceedings.
Throwing the weight of Ruka's rapier off his sword, Saionji lunged out with a leg and kicked the other squarely in the stomach, throwing him back a few feet. Coughing, Ruka resumed an en guarde position.
"Be careful with me, Saionji. I'm ill."
Saionji ignored him. Being ill had never stopped Ruka from winning duels before. This time Ruka attacked first, and Saionji swiveled to protect his rose. He caught Ruka in a swift slice upward, their blades locking again.
Between the two blades, Ruka smiled infuriatingly. "I will win your Bride from you, Saionji. And her power will free the one I love."
Saionji jerked his sword upward, throwing Ruka back. "What?"
Ruka paused, shaking his head in disgusted pity at the other's thick-headedness. "The Bride can obtain the power of miracles. I need her power to make the one I care for happy."
They clashed again, Saionji forcing Ruka to move backwards by the sheer power of his fury.
"The Bride is mine! And she will always be mine!"
Digging his heel into the stone, Ruka pounced toward his opponent, and they met with a clash of steel and a flurry of flower petals. Ruka stumbled, catching himself on the stone wall and turning to see Saionji rest the blade of the sword of Dios on his shoulder. His green rose was unharmed. Ruka felt his breast pocket, his fingers meeting a mutilated stem.
The duel was over.
* * *
One foot propped on the stone wall of the balcony, Touga lowered his binoculars. "Well. We all saw that coming, didn't we?" He laid a hand on the wall to keep his balance as Akio leaned against his back. The Dean regarded the clouds above them, smiling to himself.
"Quite."
The red-haired duelist glanced over his shoulder. Akio's head was rested against his, and Touga could smell him. "I assume Ruka is out of the running now."
Akio was silent for a moment. "No... we may still have some use for him."
* * *
With another fit of coughing, Ruka halted at the top of the stairs.
"Next time, I will not be so careless."
With that, he started down the steps to the forest below. Saionji smirked. The duel had been a lot easier than expected. The sword of Dios melted away, returning to his Bride's body. He turned to her.
"Come, Anshi."
She had her back to him, the blood-red skirts billowing in the breeze. Her head was tilted slightly upwards. Saionji moved to her side. "Anshi?"
She was smiling, her green eyes turned toward the lighted castle that floated above them, spinning slowly.
"Someday, I'd like to go to that castle."
He frowned. This was abnormal. Surreally so.
"Something eternal dwells there."
Saionji stared at her, his pupils contracting.
Something eternal...
"... What...?"
Anthy turned to him, smiling again and closing her eyes.
Something eternal...
... How did she know?
In a rush, it came back to him. A girl with sunset-pink hair, lying in a coffin of roses, and begging to be left alone. A young girl whose parents had just been killed, and who now was unable to believe that anything eternal existed. A girl who had been shown some intangible thing, some amazing, live-saving thing that brought her out of her depression and into the daylight.
How did she know that this abstract power was the thing he had been searching for, hunting for, ever since that day? And how had she so easily put a name to that which he had been unable to?
Something eternal...
It was frightening how clear it all was, now. Someone had shown that girl something eternal, and proved to her that there was a reason to live. Touga had shown that girl the very thing that Saionji would spend the rest of his life searching for. And that impalpable thing resided in the castle above where they stood.
But how did Anthy know?
He realized that she was still watching him, blinking innocently. "Daijobu desu ka?"
"Hai..." he murmured distractedly. "I'm fine..." Suddenly he had her by the shoulders, pulling her to face him. Anthy cringed slightly, expecting to be slapped. When the blow did not come, she opened her eyes slowly.
"I swear to you, you and I will go to that castle together! Together, we will gain eternity! I will obtain eternity for you, Anshi!"
Anthy held her breath.
The mad light drained from his eyes and he released her, turning toward the stairs. Anthy watched him, surprised --as always-- by his sudden flashes of loyalty towards her. Smiling softly, she followed him.
* * *
"Did you miss me this week, Anshi?"
"Hai, onii-sama."
Akio shifted, his fingers never leaving the purple pool of her tresses. Of all her traits, it was her hair that seemed to entrance him the most.
"Is the Victor treating you well?"
"Of course, onii-sama."
It was the designated answer. There was no doubt of Akio's awareness that Saionji did not treat his sister with the respect that the Rose Bride deserved, but that was the way with all of the Champions. With his other hand, Akio traced the line of his sister's jaw.
"Soon now, Anshi."
She lifted her chin to meet his eyes, as green and deep and mysterious as hers. He smiled gently.
"I have nearly all of the Seitokai now. The child who believes you to be his 'shining thing'; the strangely cold woman who longs for your power so she can attain the miracle that will allow her to love. I even have the Seitokaichou under my spell. He wishes for the power to revolutionize the world, yet he can barely comprehend what that means. Stupid man."
Anthy held her brother's gaze. "I thought you liked Touga-sempai."
Akio chuckled. "I do." His eyes moved to the telescope that loomed above them, breaking the connection. "The only ones left to conquer are Tsuchiya Ruka and the one Engaged." He returned his gaze to her, cupping her cheek in his palm. "Then, imouto-chan, all of the duelists will be in place. They will continue vying for your power, and when the duel named Revolution comes, the chosen one will open the Rose Gates and your pain will be gone. Forever."
Anthy smiled at him. She is beautiful, her brother thought. So beautiful.
"And, together, we will return to what we were... before." Her voice was even more beautiful than her face.
"Yes, Anshi. Together."
The moment of heavenly anticipation passed quickly, and the matters still at hand presented themselves. "Ruka will submit easily. I already know his weakness-- he loves Juri, and will do anything to obtain the power of miracles for her. He already believes, as she does, that you possess that power. The Champion Duelist, however, I have yet to understand. What does Saionji want, Anshi?"
Anthy was quiet for a moment, studying the buttons of her brother's shirt.
"He wants to defeat Touga-sempai."
"There must be something more than that. He must have a reason for his jealousy. There must be something, Anshi."
Anthy tilted her head, meeting Akio's eyes once more. "He wants to be loved. He wants a friend."
"Touga is his friend."
"He wants true friendship, like when he and Touga were young. He believes that if he attains these things, he will triumph over Touga. He wants..."
Her brother took her hand, twisting their fingers together. "He wants eternity."
Shutters slammed down over the planetarium windows, throwing the Rose Bride and her Prince into darkness.
Saionji Kyouichi's dorm room was decorated like a kendo practice dojo, the regulation bunkbeds shoved into a corner and various dueling equipment strewn around the floor. He stood in the center, his dark green hair pulled into a ponytail and clad in his hakama and keiko-gi. Saionji held a katana in both hands, slicing it downwards at various intervals.
Where is she?
It was not odd that Anthy would disappear for a while on Saturday nights, but she usually returned before it got very late. He didn't like not knowing where she was. Besides, that blasted creature of hers was hungry and beginning to cry. The sound of the door startled him and he turned to see the purple-haired girl, looking as immaculate and neatly-dressed as always. She shut the door behind her, smiling in her serene way.
"I'm home, Saionji-sama."
"Anshi, where have you been?" His voice was harsh, and he dropped the sword on the floor, approaching her. He softened, almost imperceptibly. "I was worried."
"Please forgive me, Saionji-sama." Anthy looked up at him imploringly.
"I suppose." Of course he forgave her. How could he not? She was the only one who truly cared about him. He had realized that when he won her from the last Victor of the Duels. Anthy had promised to love him forever then.
He turned away from her. "That thing is hungry, Anshi. It's been whimpering all evening." The note of irritability in his voice was no surprise to her. She hurried across the room to where Chu-Chu was jumping up and down on the table.
"Oh, Chu-Chu. I'm so sorry!"
Behind her, Saionji snorted. He could not understand what she saw in the little mutant. He picked up the katana and continued in his training as Anthy got her "friend" dinner.
There weren't many places that Saionji enjoyed besides the kendo room, but the Rose Garden was one of the few. He supposed he liked it because Anthy was there. The moment he walked through the wrought-iron and glass doors, he could smell her. She always smelled of roses. The sun beat down, magnified through the glass, and reflected sharply off Anthy's metal watering can. She looked so happy here, tending to the roses. Saionji couldn't understand why she did not act this happy anywhere else.
The girl turned to water a rose bush near the door and saw her fiancé. "Oh! Saionji-sama!" She smiled happily, closing her eyes. "I didn't see you there."
"Ohayo, Anshi." He smiled softly back, gazing at the roses. Red, green, light blue, dark blue, pale orange, yellow, white. Every color he could possibly imagine, one for every duelist in the Seitokai. Yet the Rose Bride herself did not have a color.
Anthy picked a green rose, holding the stem carefully in both hands. She held it out to him and he took it silently, regarding the flower with a subdued expression. Green roses. He didn't want to ever have to duel again. Not the way they had been dueling recently, anyway. He enjoyed his kendo matches with Touga -- he would never admit to it, but he did. These duels, however, were a different matter. Dueling again might mean losing her, and he was not willing to risk that. However, it was not up to him. Of course he did not have doubts about his talent in swordplay, but possibly, if Touga...
He cut the thought off abruptly.
"Anshi, what is your rose color?"
The girl looked up at him, her expression somewhere between startled and confused.
"Why, I don't know, Saionji-sama. I am the Rose Bride. I have never dueled."
Saionji reached out and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "I think... purple. Do you have any purple roses, Anshi?"
To his surprise, she pulled away, clasping her hands close to her chest. "I... don't think so."
Saionji frowned. Why...? He grabbed her wrist and pulled her nearer, causing her watering can to clatter to the stone floor.
The sun had gone behind a cloud.
She could see the past, she could see the... future...
Anthy shut her eyes.
Purple roses... She shook her head. Sometimes... she could see the future. It only came in flashes, bursts of emotion.
Anthy hated emotion.
She suddenly realized that Saionji had her by both wrists now, and was shaking her. She could hear his voice distantly, as if through a fog.
"Anshi? Anshi!"
He looked angry, and concerned. Probably angry about being concerned. Anthy's deep green eyes contracted and she stared at him blankly.
"Saionji...sama?"
From behind them, the gate into the Rose Garden slammed. Saionji released one wrist and whirled on the intruder. A tall, pale man with a pale blue forelock of hair stood just inside the garden, framed by the iron bars. His uniform identified him as another member of the Student Council. He yanked a blue rose from its bush and held it out to Saionji, smirking.
Saionji was in no mood for subtleties. "What do you want?"
Tsuchiya Ruka grinned wider. "I challenge you to a duel, Champion." He threw the rose at Saionji's feet, the petals making a soft but clearly audible sound on the stones. Ruka promptly turned his back on the pair and exited the Garden.
Saionji scowled, releasing his grip on Anthy. Why did everything have to be so damned complicated? There was no doubt in his mind that he would defeat Ruka easily, but every duel brought them closer to the vaguely outlined end that Touga had implied would eventually come. And for a reason he did not understand, Saionji dreaded it.
He turned to look at Anthy, who was standing with her hands clasped demurely, her head bowed. Her usual reaction to anything that involved the duels. Saionji sighed.
"Come, Anshi."
In the darkened shadows of the Seitokai meeting area, the sand of a thousand hourglasses slithered and rushed through their containers' narrow openings. They were of every size imaginable, ranging from a centimeter high to almost a yard. The glasses occupied shelves, floor, chairs, and even the Council's playing card table. Kiryuu Touga stood amongst them, leaning casually against a pillar, his hands in his pockets. He gazed out at Ohtori's campus between the folds of heavy, dark curtains that cut off all light except that from the rose window.
"You want her to be happy, don't you?"
Ruka visibly started and glanced at the Seitokaichou irritably. "What are you talking about?"
"She doesn't love you, Tsuchiya-san. You know that."
Ruka's gaze was positively venomous.
Touga smirked to himself and continued. "If you truly care for her, you will do what will make her happiest."
"Oh? And what's that?" Sarcasm tinted Ruka's voice.
"You will obtain for her the power of miracles. Only then she will be able to admit her feelings to the one she does love."
The other sat forward in his chair. He hadn't been expecting an answer like that. "But Juri despises miracles. She doesn't believe in them. She told me so herself."
Touga laughed. Stupid man. "You don't understand anything. Juri will only be happy when she lets herself admit what she feels. The Rose Bride's power can allow her to do that." He tipped his chair back, balancing it on two legs. Ruka frowned.
"So all this talk about the 'power to revolutionize the world' is simply the power of miracles? The power that will allow Juri to accept her love?"
Touga tapped a fingernail on the table, not replying. With a look of determination, his companion rose and entered the elevator.
Touga picked one of the smaller hourglasses up between thumb and forefinger. The ruse was so simple. But he did not understand Akio's purpose in leading Ruka to believe what he had, only weeks ago, lead Juri to believe.
No matter. It was not for him to debate. When Akio asked him to pass something on to one of the Seitokai, he complied.
The elevator made a loud clang as it arrived at the top floor, and Touga pushed himself off of the pillar to greet his guest. Saionji stopped abruptly as he stepped on one of the hourglasses.
"I'm not even going to ask."
Touga smiled. "It's usually better that way."
Finding his way through the forest of time-keepers, Saionji cleared a chair and sat. "You asked me up here for a reason, I assume."
Touga regarded his friend coolly. "You are, of course, aware that a challenge has been made."
Saionji snorted. "Certainly. But it will be no trouble."
The Seitokaichou took a seat across from the other. "I'm sure it won't."
Folding his arms across his chest, Saionji frowned. "I know you didn't invite me here simply to make sure that I knew of the duel, Touga."
"You're right, of course," Touga replied. "I invited you here to ask you something -- what is it that you want?"
Saionji's brow furrowed. "What do I... want?"
"From the duels, I mean. From the Rose Bride."
By this time, Saionji was beginning to get a little suspicious. Touga rarely engaged in personal conversations. At least, not with him.
"I don't want anything from the Rose Bride. I want the Rose Bride herself. And I have her. So, you could say, I have everything I want."
Touga leaned back, his face obscured by shadow. "You don't mean that. In your heart, you don't mean that."
"You don't know my heart." His words were harsh, spiteful. On the far side of the balcony, an hourglass shattered on the floor.
Still shrouded in darkness, Touga chuckled. "I know more than you think, Saionji."
The vice president stood, sending a dozen more glasses to the floor as he moved past the table. The elevator doors clattered shut behind him.
Touga watched him go, his smirk gone. Kneeling down, he gathered the shards of glass and wood into his palm.
Inside the elevator, Saionji slammed his hand into the wall. How dare he presume...?! The iron-barred cage he stood in clunked noisily as it descended. Stuffing his fists into his pockets, Saionji leaned his back against the wall, dangerously angry. He was an idiot, he told himself. Actually believing that Touga wanted to talk to him for some other reason than to mock him. What a fool he was. And a bigger fool for letting Touga's words bother him so much.
The cold, familiar droplet of water splashed against Saionji's finger and the noise of rock grating against itself came from deep within the Rose Gates. Waterfalls opened behind him, cascading into the black pools outside the arena forest. In a moment, the awesome display was over and Saionji began his ascent.
The green duelist was not in a good mood. He glowered at the stairs as he reached the top, wondering why they couldn't hold these duels anywhere normal. But that was a ridiculous wish. Nothing about these duels was normal, and Saionji had come to accept that. But he still liked to gripe about it.
The Rose Bride stood at the top of the steps, her hands folded over her crimson dress, the tassels on her shoulders waving in the breeze. She smiled as she saw him.
"Welcome, Saionji-sama. Tsuchiya-sempai has already arrived."
Saionji's eyes moved to Ruka, who was standing a dozen yards across the arena, tapping his fencing foil on the ground impatiently. "Let's get this started, Champion."
Saionji nodded. "Anshi." She moved first to him, tucking a green rose in his breast pocket. She smiled at him again.
"Good luck, Saionji-sama."
His eyes softened slightly and he barely smiled. The Rose Bride then turned and went to Ruka, fastening a dark blue rose to his fuku. "If this rose is cut from your chest, you lose the duel."
Ruka snorted. "I know."
On the other side of the arena, Saionji's fists clenched. "Don't talk to her like that."
"You talk to her like that."
Saionji was about to snarl a retort when Anthy positioned herself between them. Her dress rippled in an unseen wind as a luminescence grew around her hands.
"O roses of the noble castle
Power of Dios that slumbers within me
Hearken unto thy master and reveal to us..."
Saionji placed a hand on the small of her back, allowing her spine to arch as the hilt of a blade emerged from her chest. The bizarre wind caught his hair, whipping it around them as he drew the shining sword of Dios from his Bride.
"... the power to revolutionize the world!"
And so, the duel began. Their blades locked, and Saionji grudgingly marveled that his opponent could keep so steady under the amazing power of the sword of Dios. Anthy stood to the side, her hands clasped once again, blankly watching the proceedings.
Throwing the weight of Ruka's rapier off his sword, Saionji lunged out with a leg and kicked the other squarely in the stomach, throwing him back a few feet. Coughing, Ruka resumed an en guarde position.
"Be careful with me, Saionji. I'm ill."
Saionji ignored him. Being ill had never stopped Ruka from winning duels before. This time Ruka attacked first, and Saionji swiveled to protect his rose. He caught Ruka in a swift slice upward, their blades locking again.
Between the two blades, Ruka smiled infuriatingly. "I will win your Bride from you, Saionji. And her power will free the one I love."
Saionji jerked his sword upward, throwing Ruka back. "What?"
Ruka paused, shaking his head in disgusted pity at the other's thick-headedness. "The Bride can obtain the power of miracles. I need her power to make the one I care for happy."
They clashed again, Saionji forcing Ruka to move backwards by the sheer power of his fury.
"The Bride is mine! And she will always be mine!"
Digging his heel into the stone, Ruka pounced toward his opponent, and they met with a clash of steel and a flurry of flower petals. Ruka stumbled, catching himself on the stone wall and turning to see Saionji rest the blade of the sword of Dios on his shoulder. His green rose was unharmed. Ruka felt his breast pocket, his fingers meeting a mutilated stem.
The duel was over.
One foot propped on the stone wall of the balcony, Touga lowered his binoculars. "Well. We all saw that coming, didn't we?" He laid a hand on the wall to keep his balance as Akio leaned against his back. The Dean regarded the clouds above them, smiling to himself.
"Quite."
The red-haired duelist glanced over his shoulder. Akio's head was rested against his, and Touga could smell him. "I assume Ruka is out of the running now."
Akio was silent for a moment. "No... we may still have some use for him."
With another fit of coughing, Ruka halted at the top of the stairs.
"Next time, I will not be so careless."
With that, he started down the steps to the forest below. Saionji smirked. The duel had been a lot easier than expected. The sword of Dios melted away, returning to his Bride's body. He turned to her.
"Come, Anshi."
She had her back to him, the blood-red skirts billowing in the breeze. Her head was tilted slightly upwards. Saionji moved to her side. "Anshi?"
She was smiling, her green eyes turned toward the lighted castle that floated above them, spinning slowly.
"Someday, I'd like to go to that castle."
He frowned. This was abnormal. Surreally so.
"Something eternal dwells there."
Saionji stared at her, his pupils contracting.
Something eternal...
"... What...?"
Anthy turned to him, smiling again and closing her eyes.
Something eternal...
... How did she know?
In a rush, it came back to him. A girl with sunset-pink hair, lying in a coffin of roses, and begging to be left alone. A young girl whose parents had just been killed, and who now was unable to believe that anything eternal existed. A girl who had been shown some intangible thing, some amazing, live-saving thing that brought her out of her depression and into the daylight.
How did she know that this abstract power was the thing he had been searching for, hunting for, ever since that day? And how had she so easily put a name to that which he had been unable to?
Something eternal...
It was frightening how clear it all was, now. Someone had shown that girl something eternal, and proved to her that there was a reason to live. Touga had shown that girl the very thing that Saionji would spend the rest of his life searching for. And that impalpable thing resided in the castle above where they stood.
But how did Anthy know?
He realized that she was still watching him, blinking innocently. "Daijobu desu ka?"
"Hai..." he murmured distractedly. "I'm fine..." Suddenly he had her by the shoulders, pulling her to face him. Anthy cringed slightly, expecting to be slapped. When the blow did not come, she opened her eyes slowly.
"I swear to you, you and I will go to that castle together! Together, we will gain eternity! I will obtain eternity for you, Anshi!"
Anthy held her breath.
The mad light drained from his eyes and he released her, turning toward the stairs. Anthy watched him, surprised --as always-- by his sudden flashes of loyalty towards her. Smiling softly, she followed him.