NOTE 9/22/2002: This chapter has been edited! Yay! (Changes may not appear huge, but Cutter is still happy with them.)
--------
And here's Chapter Two, with a little more action.
All notes, warnings, disclaimers, etc. from Chapter One apply.
After [Rose and Release]
Chapter Two: No Rose of Such Virtue
The scream tears from my throat--your name, of course, all I have ever screamed is your name--and for a moment it is as if I have gone deaf.
No, that's not right; it's as if I am hearing the loudest sound I have ever heard. The loudest sound in the universe.
What is it. . .?
There's never been anything like it. It's. . . .
And then I know.
The swords have stopped whispering.
And suddenly, it all comes together. There's a flash--the glint off of steel as all of the Million all turn, at once, within my body. This is the worst pain I have ever felt in my life.
But that doesn't matter now, because somehow I know that everything has snapped into place. All the swords are positioned so that I can see their handles, really see all of them, and it is if I am truly seeing the weapons, each weapon, all weapons, for the first time. Clarity. If I open my eyes now--really open them--I will be able to see everything in the universe.
I look at the handle of the first sword I my eyes come across.
Amitié.
There it is, printed in bold, clear letters.
Amitié.
The swords have names.
Of course.
What does this mean? If my eyes stay open, I will understand. Even if the letters are foreign, the words unspeakable. Amitié--
Friendship.
//If something ever bothers you, come to me first. That's the kind of friends I want us to be.//
Friendship shouldn't be something that hurts me.
The first sword is friendship. What does that mean? If my eyes stay open, I will understand.
The first sword. . . .
But that doesn't make any sense. The first sword was protection--Himemiya was attacked for protecting the Rose Prince. Or maybe it was her love for the Rose Prince, or her jealousy of all the princesses of the world. Himemiya doesn't have any friends.
//I know, except for you, Chuchu.//
. . .and me.
Friendship.
//That's insane! I'm not about to fight a duel for no reason. Yesterday, I only fought for my friend, Wakaba.//
The first sword is friendship. . .well, I suppose friendship was the first thing I fought for. . . . And then, with Himemiya, I guess I thought that I wanted our friendship to come first. . .but that means. . . .
That means. . .
. . .that means. . .
These aren't Himemiya's swords.
They're mine.
What does this mean?
I have to keep my eyes open.
Why shouldn't they be the same? Are the Million Swords different because they're aimed at me? Does the world hate me, too, then? Is the hate the world has for me different than the hate the world has for Himemiya?
I make the excruciating effort it takes to look down, and I see that I am bleeding.
Got to. . .keep my eyes open. . . .
Is the hatred of others so different? The hatred other people have for me? For her?
//Anthy wished it all for herself.//
I. . . .
I understand.
It wasn't ever the world's hatred, Himemiya. It was yours. It was yours all along.
Instead of hating the Prince, instead of taking up your sword and stabbing back at the world.
Instead, you hated yourself all along.
Even though. . .even though I. . . .
//Don't look so miserable. You've tried so hard until now, you needn't blame yourself.//
All right. If these are my swords, then I can do anything I want with them. I can see them for what they are.
I look at the names around me.
Amitié. Choix. Raison. Amour. Adoration. Conviction. Soi. Friendship, Choice, Reason, Love, Adoration, Conviction, Self.
It's as if I hear a voice--no. It's as if I hear many voices--
"You have already won these duels."
What?
Yes, I understand. It's. . .my friends.
I lift my hands--it's slow, torturous, like a thousand stabs of pain with every movement--and grasp the handle of the first sword, of Amitié.
"Utena, you've already won this duel."
Wakaba's voice.
Already won? If I've already won, then--these are my swords. I can do anything I want with them. I don't have to use them to hurt myself. I have already won.
I pull.
The sword comes out.
So. That's Chapter Two. ^_^
CREDITS: The same as last chapter.
Comments or reviews, anyone? Criticize me and help me become a better author!
~~Cutter
--------
And here's Chapter Two, with a little more action.
All notes, warnings, disclaimers, etc. from Chapter One apply.
After [Rose and Release]
Chapter Two: No Rose of Such Virtue
The scream tears from my throat--your name, of course, all I have ever screamed is your name--and for a moment it is as if I have gone deaf.
No, that's not right; it's as if I am hearing the loudest sound I have ever heard. The loudest sound in the universe.
What is it. . .?
There's never been anything like it. It's. . . .
And then I know.
The swords have stopped whispering.
__
_ / /|
|\\ \/_/
\_\| / __
\/_/__\ .-=='/~\
____,__/__,_____,______)/ /{~}}}
-,------,----,-----,---,\'-' {{~}}
jgs '-==.\}/
And suddenly, it all comes together. There's a flash--the glint off of steel as all of the Million all turn, at once, within my body. This is the worst pain I have ever felt in my life.
But that doesn't matter now, because somehow I know that everything has snapped into place. All the swords are positioned so that I can see their handles, really see all of them, and it is if I am truly seeing the weapons, each weapon, all weapons, for the first time. Clarity. If I open my eyes now--really open them--I will be able to see everything in the universe.
I look at the handle of the first sword I my eyes come across.
Amitié.
There it is, printed in bold, clear letters.
Amitié.
The swords have names.
__
_ / /|
|\\ \/_/
\_\| / __
\/_/__\ .-=='/~\
____,__/__,_____,______)/ /{~}}}
-,------,----,-----,---,\'-' {{~}}
jgs '-==.\}/
Of course.
What does this mean? If my eyes stay open, I will understand. Even if the letters are foreign, the words unspeakable. Amitié--
Friendship.
//If something ever bothers you, come to me first. That's the kind of friends I want us to be.//
Friendship shouldn't be something that hurts me.
The first sword is friendship. What does that mean? If my eyes stay open, I will understand.
The first sword. . . .
But that doesn't make any sense. The first sword was protection--Himemiya was attacked for protecting the Rose Prince. Or maybe it was her love for the Rose Prince, or her jealousy of all the princesses of the world. Himemiya doesn't have any friends.
//I know, except for you, Chuchu.//
. . .and me.
Friendship.
//That's insane! I'm not about to fight a duel for no reason. Yesterday, I only fought for my friend, Wakaba.//
The first sword is friendship. . .well, I suppose friendship was the first thing I fought for. . . . And then, with Himemiya, I guess I thought that I wanted our friendship to come first. . .but that means. . . .
That means. . .
. . .that means. . .
These aren't Himemiya's swords.
They're mine.
__
_ / |
| \ \/_/
\_\| / __
\/_/__\ .--='/~\
____,__/__,_____,______)/ /{~}}}
-,-----,--\--,-----,---,\'-' {{~}}
jgs __/\_ '--=.\}/
/_/ |\\
\/
What does this mean?
I have to keep my eyes open.
Why shouldn't they be the same? Are the Million Swords different because they're aimed at me? Does the world hate me, too, then? Is the hate the world has for me different than the hate the world has for Himemiya?
I make the excruciating effort it takes to look down, and I see that I am bleeding.
Got to. . .keep my eyes open. . . .
Is the hatred of others so different? The hatred other people have for me? For her?
//Anthy wished it all for herself.//
I. . . .
I understand.
It wasn't ever the world's hatred, Himemiya. It was yours. It was yours all along.
Instead of hating the Prince, instead of taking up your sword and stabbing back at the world.
Instead, you hated yourself all along.
Even though. . .even though I. . . .
//Don't look so miserable. You've tried so hard until now, you needn't blame yourself.//
All right. If these are my swords, then I can do anything I want with them. I can see them for what they are.
I look at the names around me.
Amitié. Choix. Raison. Amour. Adoration. Conviction. Soi. Friendship, Choice, Reason, Love, Adoration, Conviction, Self.
It's as if I hear a voice--no. It's as if I hear many voices--
"You have already won these duels."
What?
Yes, I understand. It's. . .my friends.
I lift my hands--it's slow, torturous, like a thousand stabs of pain with every movement--and grasp the handle of the first sword, of Amitié.
"Utena, you've already won this duel."
Wakaba's voice.
Already won? If I've already won, then--these are my swords. I can do anything I want with them. I don't have to use them to hurt myself. I have already won.
I pull.
The sword comes out.
__
_ / |
| \ \/_/
\_\| / __
\/_/__\ .--='/~\
____,__/__,_____,______)/ /{~}}}
-,-----,--\--,-----,---,\'-' {{~}}
jgs __/\_ '--=.\}/
/_/ |\\
\/
So. That's Chapter Two. ^_^
CREDITS: The same as last chapter.
Comments or reviews, anyone? Criticize me and help me become a better author!
~~Cutter