Seinen Kakumei Utena
Utena and Penguindrum characters belong to their various owners.
WARNING: Parts of this work contain depictions of transphobia, controversial shoujo fantasy trans situation that in no way reflects real life trans people, and misogynic magic attack leading to forced masculinization.
Part Twenty-One: Empty Movement III
" . . . and then, I batted my eyes and told her it was my first time, but she just laughed."
"Saying it's your first time while batting your eyes is pretty shameless."
"Heh, what'd you know? Older women love that stuff. Anyway, had you really managed to make me look sixteen with the last procedure, that CEO cougar would've never even suspected I was lying. Damn, the old whore better continue to back me on winning the big one at the Music Awards . . ."
"Are you sure that your having been in the spotlight for almost a decade does not also play a factor in giving away your adult age, Seen-sama?"
"Whatever." Leggy, androgynous flame stretched out indolently upon the clinic bed, the top male idol singer of Japan has his eyes trained upon the injection needle held in the doctor's hand. "The upcoming concert at the Big Egg will be televised live: you make sure I got no bad angles left after this, Dr. Sanetoshi."
"How electrifying," commented Sanetoshi, smilingly observing the undisguised hunger showing though the idol's already flawless face as he readied the needle . . .
*. . . dong . . .dong . . . dong . . .*
The ring tone –- sounding like the peals of heavy bells –- interrupted the 'doctor'. Signaling for Sanetoshi to stop, Seen produced his smart phone –- the wallpaper of which showed a tail-less baby red alligator with an umbilical cord still attached - and clucked his tongue at the caller ID.
"Would it kill you to leave me alone on my downtime . . ." His sentence then trailed off as his eyes widened in surprise. "What? Sonoda has been . . . ?"
" . . . so yes, you'll have to show up for the press conference. There will be people from the police station there, but they'll know to go along with your act . . . yes, check your script at the inbox. Did I plan it beforehand? What do you think? Then, the van will be ready to pick you up in twenty minutes. Yes, yes, the stylists are ready at the studio . . . You say you're on holiday? You know what they say: no rest for the wicked. Now go break a leg . . .Onion-kun."
Terminating the call amidst the obscenities hurling at him from the other end of the line (to think even someone this banal can be a prince in this era), Akio leaned backwards against the car seat, and glanced up at the vast darkness blanketing the heights above.
No stars, real or fake, shone for him.
Exhaling softly, he then lowered his gaze downwards and upon the pile of crashed cars –- some convertibles, others sport cars - his vehicle was currently perched precariously upon.
Reaching into the compartment, he produced a glossy pamphlet, where the words 'Song of the Fallen Kingdom LIVE' could be seen printed in stylized letters. Turning the page, he skimmed over the colorful publicity stills all featuring 'Seen' in various objectifying states of undress, before focusing on the first line of text under 'Contents':
Opening: That which could not be told until now – the (true) Tale of the Rose.
"Say, Hoshimi-chan . . ." murmured the Fallen Prince, his seemingly devilish tone betrayed by more than a hint of melancholy . . . and loneliness. "Would you care for a bedtime story?" As if in reply, the car system flashed the words 'SLEEP MODE', the sight of which did not deter him from speaking on. "There once was a boy who wanted to change his world, and his sister wanted to change him . . ."
" . . . she then said to me: 'From now on, you will make a sanctuary of my heart; and I, in turn, shall become you.'
"But what does 'making a sanctuary of a heart' truly entails?
"The Witch took my physical form, yes; and my mortality too. Bound under her spell, which held me tighter than any earthly vessel could, I became something like a ghost in a memory, or a file in a disk: ever accessible . . . ever contained.
"My situation had not changed much since; not even after you've supposedly rescued me from the Witch during the Fate Change that graduated the Professor from Ohtori."
Eyes on Hoshimi, currently watering the roses in the hothouse with her back to him, Chida Mamiya took a measured sip from his teacup before speaking on.
"Ne, Ohtori-chan . . ."
"Yes?" asked his 'little girlfriend' - still looking twelve within the sanctuary of her own heart –- without turning around.
"Just how old are we right now, really?"
"Do you still care about what's real, even now?"
Mamiya's silence met her non-reply. Putting down her watering pot, Hoshimi slowly straightened up, prior to turning around to properly face her watchful captive –- her prince.
"Don't worry," she said, her indulgent, motherly smile contrasting her child's guise to eerie effects. "Very soon, you and I shall meet again in the real world, for real. And, when that happens . . . "
". . . we'll shine together."
Eyes on the framed black and white picture from atop cupboard top, Anthy slowly, painstakingly went over the visual details associated with the ten-year-old item: the innocence shining through fourteen year old Utena's wide blue eyes, the veiled shadows lurking within her own, the projector looming large in the background, and him –- whose towering figure she failed to completely cut out from the already heavily chopped photo . . .
It was not like she could just throw it away because her brother's headless body still was in it: that was the only photo taken of her and Utena together, after all.
"And through it all, you've remained the same like always."
Her brother's words from earlier on, skewered towards the perspective that served him best, nonetheless managed to nail the truth.
Indeed, she had transferred her affections from her manipulative brother over to easily-manipulated Utena. But how much had she, herself, really changed throughout the past decade, a visibly aged appearance –- one that she could reverse again at will –- not withstanding?
She was no longer the Rose Bride, because Utena did not want her to be so . . . just how different was that from being the Bride because her brother wanted her to be?
Utena was, of course, infinitely better as a person than Akio could ever hope to be; not even Dios could rival her when it came to courage and nobility. And yet . . .
". . . that I feel her wounds, her suffering, with my own body . . ."
That part of her brother's statement, at least, was -
The sounds of sharp, brisk knocking from the door knocked off her disconcerting train of thought. Composing her expression, Anthy got up and open the suite's door to reveal a fierce-eyed Kozue, with Shiori standing behind her in a (mock?) demure stance.
"You, care to come with us?"
" . . . will you burn at the stake for the sake of the world?"
Tsuchiya's question for the girl, so calmly raised, sent the Takakura brothers into fits of rage.
"Bastard . . . ! What the hell are you talking about?!"
"Himari had already been through more than enough-"
"What do you mean by 'the world', Tsuchiya-san?" asked Himari, the raptness in her quiet voice chilling her loved ones into silence. In spite of his masked state, a subtle shift in the fencer's posture (how on earth did he stand/hover just over the moving pavement?) signaled his being impressed by the courage shown.
"Whatever you see with those eyes of yours . . . that's your world."
"Whatever I see . . . is my world . . .?"
"Your world is but a stretch of scenery enveloping you, seamless as an egg's shell." Tsuchiya 's tailcoat train, vast and fluttery to begin with, started further enlarging as it flowed over the van. "Within this scenery exists the things that you like, and those that you don't. To protect the things that you like, and erase what you don't . . . such is your wish." Like curtains, the vast ripples of red lining rapidly blocked off all views outside the car windows, engulfing everything under crimson-shaded darkness. "Your brothers harbored the same wish, and it gave them the conviction to remold the elements of their world into as they saw fit. The price they paid for this colossal task is as you can see." The regressed boys, whose child-shaped silhouettes remained sharply visible in spite of the lack of illumination, were visibly downcast. "And, as your can also see, the world remained imperfect even after they paid the price. This is because the sacrifice your brothers had made is only enough to change bits of the scenery –- they had not managed to fix the true brokenness cracking through the core of this world. Only a revolution can fix the whole of the world, and liberate all those within it from their many sufferings." The murky space was then pierced through by a spotlight spearing down upon Himari –- one that gave her focus while further obscuring the others. The glow from the beam revealed how the van and the highway no longer existed, and they all were inside this "cocoon" made up of red fabrics streaming out from around the fencer's lanky figure. "Out of all the Children of Fate, you're the only one capable of giving adequate sacrifice to bring about World Revolution."
"World Revolution . . ." whispered Shouma, hovering just beyond the spotlight on his sister.
Beside him, Kanba's child-shaped frame grew taut with tension. "Just like those people we've met at Chida-san's place; the Duelists . . ."
"If I sacrifice myself, would this change my brothers back to normal?" asked Himari, large eyes glimmering with wetness from where she basked under the light. "Would Ringo-chan's parents get back together? Would Kan-chan's sister and little brother be free of their curse?" Even shaded, Masako could be seen arching a brow in surprise at having herself and he brother included in her perceived rival's well-wishing.
"Himari-chan! Stop!" exclaimed Ringo from beside her - right outside the spotlight - alarmed. "You don't know what you're saying-"
"I know!" Himari turned towards her friend in teary anguish. "Ringo-chan, I remember everything now, including how you got burned by magic trying to even save us, even though our parents caused your sister's death!"
"Himari-chan . . . !"
"I . . . I'm someone who should have died already! If anyone should get sacrificed here, then it should've been me!"
Before the others could have stopped her, Himari had already rushed forward to prostrate herself in front of Tsuchiya.
"Please, Tsuchiya-san; please tell me how to make things right for everyone! For this, I'm willing to do anything! I'm willing to accept my natural fate: I'm willing to die from my illness! So please . . . " And the frantically pleading girl trailed off at hearing the fencer's amused chuckles.
"Girl, do you really think all it takes is something so simple as dying to revolutionize the world?"
". . . what?"
"True sacrifice involves the enduring of a punishment for the sake of a greater good. You should know just as well as I do that there is no punishment greater than life itself."
"What the . . . ?" Masako spoke up, baffled by the statement. "Are you saying that this girl only has to live on to save Kanba and everyone?" Tsuchiya tilted his chin in her direction.
"Masako-chan, you've lived your childhood both in fear of your grandfather and in craving of your own father and brother . . . was that not a punishing enough life for the child that you were? And, when you offered yourself up to devour the venomous fish in your little brother's stead, were you not doing so in part because life was unbearable for you?"
"I . . . ! I was . . ."
"Masako . . ." murmured Kanba, who watched with heavy eyes the shift of his twin's expression from enraged defensiveness to one of shocked realization.
"Ringo-chan," continued Tsuchiya, now addressing the other girl, "when you triggered the Diary's spell to change fate knowing you will get burned, were you not also hoping to flee from the hurt you felt over your Father's remarriage?" Eyes wide, Ringo slowly touched her face as if to sooth the sting of an abrupt slap.
"Oginome-san . . ." Fists clenched, Shouma turned to snarl at Tsuchiya. "That's enough! Why are you antagonizing us like this?"
"I understand," said Himari, whose prior hysteria appeared to have cooled down. "I've known since the beginning that living is a kind of punishment. Burning a corpse at the stake accomplishes nothing: only a living person can suffer from the scorching flames." She now faced the fencer with calm determination. "Tsuchiya-san, I'm willing to burn." Her loved ones all looked poised to protest, but were silenced by a determined wave of her hand.
"Not all fires are equal," cautioned Tsuchiya, taking in the exchange. "Some burn at the flesh, others burn at the spirit. Some burn for a moment, and leave you with scars to last a lifetime; others keep burning at you throughout your lifetime. I ask you one final time: are you truly willing to sacrifice yourself in this manner for the revolution of the world?"
"I am," insisted Himari.
"Incredible . . ." exhaled Tsuchiya, rather audibly. "Such single-minded determination I am seeing from you all, that makes even self-sacrifice seem a mere task undeserving of second thoughts, of hesitation . . . is this a quality of adolescence, of youth?" A note of genuine wonder had seeped into his otherwise haughty voice. "Was I too, like this? No . . . back then, there were always numerous conflicting thoughts and intentions plaguing my mind when I had to act, and the same was true for most of those others seeking Revolution. I suppose kids have really become a lot more transparently simple than in my day . . . although that's not necessarily a bad thing. Now then . . ." Pulling on a section of his impossibly large coat's train, he sent forth a tsunami of red lining rippling at the Children of Fate, engulfing them before they could have reacted. By the time the fabrics receded out of view, neither the fencer nor Himari were anywhere in sight. Even as the girls were struggling to regain their bearing, the Takakura brothers were already scampering wildly about in search of their sister –- looking like a pair of child's shadows flashing around to the human eye.
"Himari?!"
"Where'd that guy take her?!"
"Tsuchiya-kun took Himemiya's familiar, along with the penguin robots," murmured Tokiko to this pink-haired, stoic-faced man suddenly present amongst their company. "That must be the 'accomplice' he spoke of earlier on . . . just what could the boy be planning?"
"So where are we now?" asked Masako, glaring at their surroundings warily. "Looks like some homely apartment here . . ."
Ringo, on the other hand, blinked in bafflement at where she found herself. "This is . . . "
*Click . . .*
"Ringo, you're back early!" The front door opened from the outside to reveal a harried Oginome Eriko struggling with some sizable bags of groceries. "Come, help me get these ins-" And the bags fell off her limp fingers to splat down upon the floor, as she got a good look at the peculiar group –- specifically, the gamine with the beauty mark.
"Cousin . . . Tokiko?" asked the middle aged woman, her voice trembling with disbelief.
Her cousin –- looking younger than her by at least two decades –- faced her with something akin to guilt and regret. "It's been a long time, Eriko-chan."
End Part Twenty-One
Notes: Yes, the red alligator featured on Seen's smartphone's wallpaper is Keroppon from the Utena Movie. Please C&C ;-)