Shoujo Kakumei Utena belongs to Be-Papas, etc. This fanfic is based on the ending of the Black Rose arc. It's kinda weird. Don't ask me about its meaning.

Afterwards

He was going to miss his emerald eyes.

Black rose petals look a bit like ashes, don't they? Fragile and ethereal, they never last for too long. You can offer eternity to a delicate flower that you love - but will your little rose accept it?

Because an immortal flower is not a flower anymore.

Because everything that blooms must fade away sooner or later.

The sky was slowly turning crimson. He stared at the clouds - a gorgeous mix of magnificent shades of golden and red that resembled fire, the flame that destroyed the Memorial Hall in distant past - did it truly happen, or was it just another illusion created by his confused mind? He sighed. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. It was beyond his understanding.

He held eternity in his hands. No matter what others would say, he hunted it down, grasped it like a butterfly - and it turned out be useless. He erased that from his mind, but eternity was simply a toy that couldn't change anything. Because Mamiya refused to accept it. Because those images of Mamiya begging for immortality were not real - because the true Mamiya disappeared in the Memorial Hall, faded away in flames. Because unlike him, Mamiya knew that a flower could not, and should not, live forever.

He was unusually wise for a child. He knew something that others could never understand, including Professor Nemuro himself. Mamiya was a mere human and he feared death, but he was stronger than his desperate lover – instead of joining Professor Nemuro in his quest for eternity, he left the world for the sake of being able to remain a rose. A noble rose that treasured its beauty and wouldn't trade it for anything else.

In a sense, Mamiya was very proud – and deserved respect. He was a prince of his own secluded world; it's a pity that Professor Nemuro was the first and the last person to realize that. He let out another sigh, visualizing his young lover's angelic face – his true face, not the one Akio forced him to see. He could remember it clearly now, and nobody would deceive him. It was a painful memory, but at least it was not a fraud.

Or was it?

He chuckled; a bitter smile formed on his lips. His entire life was a fraud, did small details matter now? His never-ending youth was empty and sense-deprived because his dreams of eternity clouded his vision. Because he didn't have Mamiya's wisdom and never managed to overcome his fears. For the first time in his endless life, Professor Nemuro felt almost ashamed.

He gazed at the clouds – they were purple now. The campus was quiet, and nobody would care about Mikage Souji's – no, Professor Nemuro's departure. After all, he was just an imaginary living body, an illusion that was neither dead nor alive. He was no longer a part of their world, and according to Akio's words, he could graduate from the Academy now. Perhaps he was right. His part in the play was over. Could it be just another step towards the ultimate battle for the miraculous power? Maybe. To him, it was no longer important. It was time for him to find a new reality outside the Ohtori Academy.

Yes, outside. Mamiya was probably waiting for him somewhere far away, and it was time to search for him, regardless of how hard it was going to be. Professor Nemuro closed his eyes and smiled again, and his face softened a bit. The burning clouds enveloped him. It was a start of a long new journey – because Mamiya's new world was somewhere far, far away.

He was going to miss his emerald eyes.

Nonexistent boy's nonexistent eyes.