Part 5: The Will of a Rose
Kyoko looked all around her. She was in that Dueling Arena again... She recognized everything immediately. Suddenly, chaos swept all around her. Her mind was filled with pitch black, and a pain seared through her head. Then, she heard a voice.
"No! Give me your hand!"
"What are you doing? You don't know what will happen! You-"
"Anthy!!!! Give me your hand!"
The voices were so real, and so close... And the voice of the girl telling Anthy to take her hand... It must have been Utena. Right then, a sudden image of a girl that looked almost exactly like herself flashed in Kyoko's head. With that, a red line blazed through her line of vision, along with a horrible intense ripping in her mind. She screamed, and then fainted.
"Kyoko! Kyoko! C'mon, wake up! Are you all right?!" Kyoko heard an urgent voice. The owner of this voice was shaking her, as well. Opening her eyes slowly, she saw the worried face of Keisuke peering at her intently. Realizing that he was holding her, she quickly slipped out of his hold. Trying to scowl (but failing since her head hurt so much), Kyoko dusted herself off and snapped, "I'm fine." Keisuke grinned ruefully and murmured, "Ha, guess you are fine, then. You're back to normal." Clenching her fists, Kyoko inquired suspiciously, "What do you mean? I'm not always a bitch like this."
"Yeah, right." Keisuke laughed lightly. "Of course you aren't." Kyoko succeeded in making an angry face this time. Not that it appeared threatening, of course. In fact, Keisuke grinned again. Does he have to grin so much? It's nauseating, Kyoko said to herself.
"Quit bickering! Let's start!" Megumi snarled menacingly. She clapped her hands twice, and Yuriko appeared almost magically, bearing a set of dangerous-looking stilettos. "Here. Take them, miss Kyoko. I do hope that you will not faint once again during this trial. Then, we might reconsider your joining," the older girl mocked. Kyoko returned Megumi's sneer and walked over to inspect the weapons.
Lying on a square silk handkerchief were five slender stilettos. Each of them had a blade of high-quality steel that was nearly eight inches long. The handle on each was about two to three inches long, thin, and of a black metal engraved with rose carvings. Maneuvering them professionally in her right hand, Kyoko inspected them. No defects. She looked up at Megumi and asked, "What's the target?" With a gloating sort of smirk, the cold female pointed to a sword planted firmly in the floor of the stone platform. "Score all five stilettos in a perfectly straight line on the handle of that sword," she laughed, "Let's see you, miss Kyoko. Let's see your aim."
"Miss Megumi, please! I doubt anybody would be able to do that," Ryunosuke gasped, shocked. "Don't try to give miss Kyoko a task that she can't do." Megumi whirled furiously upon the boy and laughed triumphantly, "If she can't do it, then she isn't worthy. So, MISS Kyoko, do you accept my challenge? You can always forfeit, but that would result in condescendence for you. What do you say?" She turned to Kyoko. Kyoko smirked inwardly. Megumi didn't know what she could do. "Sure," she smiled sweetly. After thanking Yuriko, she picked up all five stilettos and held them in expert positions in her right hand. She got ready to fling them against her target.
With a triumphant smile plastered on her face, Kyoko put her hands on her hips and admired the best knife throwing that she had done in five seconds' time. Every single stiletto was lined up perfectly, and not one was out of place. The entire Student Council blinked nonstop for about a minute, and then Keisuke gave a cheer and clapped. Ryunosuke clapped along, too. After a while, Taketo did the same. Tomoko and Megumi stood there, unsmiling. Tomoko seemed bored, while Megumi was furious.
"Count yourself in," Taketo turned to Kyoko and told her with a tiny grin. "That's the best knife throwing I have ever seen." Kyoko laughed it off and replied back, "That's the best you've seen? Then, you haven't seen much." Even more furious now, Megumi stepped forward and snarled, "Don't speak like that to Taketo. Besides, if we are to place you in, we have to make sure that your archery is as good as you say it is. Yuriko! Where's that bow? Hurry it up!" I didn't even say that I was good at archery, you bitch, Kyoko thought angrily.
"Give it up, Megumi! You don't make all the rules, anyway. I just want this over with. Just let her join, jeez." Tomoko yawned while inspecting her nails. Kyoko almost smiled at the girl's bored appearance. Here she was, throwing knives, while SHE was fiddling with her hair and nails. Didn't she care about ANYTHING? What kind of LIFE did she lead?!
"Shut up!" Megumi rounded on Tomoko with a fierce growl. Wild animal, Kyoko thought. At this point, Yuriko once again entered the Dueling Arena platform with a black bow in her hand and a quiver of twenty matching arrows. Both were slender, sleek, and of high quality.
"Don't just stand there, Yuriko. Give them to her." Megumi commanded harshly. "Anyway, YOUR job, MISS Kyoko, is to fire all twenty arrows against the entrance of the Dueling Arena. See that arched entry? You must fire your arrows against that so they form the exact shape. I wish you BEST of luck." Right after saying this, she laughed wickedly.
"Of course she's going to make it, you pissed off beast," Kyoko heard Keisuke say. "She's blessed by Dios. Dios will help whoever is to free him." Dios? Now, who in the world was that? Of course, she, once again, did not have time to ponder this, because Megumi barked, "Ready! Set, go!"
"Shit," Kyoko muttered under her breath as she fired the arrows quickly. Megumi's voice was so unnerving that her first arrow missed the target completely. Upon seeing this, Megumi smiled. Although Taketo was the President, Megumi held the actual reins of power. Everyone was so freaked out by her that they just let her take control. Or so she thought.
"Ha! You call this proficient in archery? You missed the target completely on your first arrow!" Megumi laughed harshly, "Why, I guess you won't be able to join, then. Isn't that right, Taketo?" She turned to face Taketo. Yes, he would bend to her will. Because he loved her.
But this time, the President of the Student Council surprised her completely. Not even looking at Megumi, he announced, "Miss Kyoko Yamada, you are in." Megumi opened her mouth in an astonished gape, and then quickly closed it up. Storming over to Taketo, she snapped, "What do you think you are doing? This girl - she's not FIT; she's not GOOD ENOUGH to be in the Student Council!!!!! I-I-I don't understand!!!" Turning over to face Megumi, Taketo said with a slight tremor, "Are you the President? No, I am. I make the final decisions." Furious that she had been defied, the secretary of the Ohtori Student Council pointed a long, slender finger at Kyoko. Near to the point of screaming, she snarled, "I challenge you to a duel, Yamada. Right now. Right here. Give it all you've got, little miss pink-hair. I'll take back what's mine!"
Nobody spoke for a minute. Then, Taketo broke the ice.
"Megumi, this is very irrational. First of all, duels don't take place in the morning. You know why. Second, you must wait your turn. Your duel will one day come. Now, settle down and we will be leaving for our classes soon. If a duel takes place, wouldn't it cause you to be late?" He tried to reason with Megumi, but to no avail. Hearing Taketo's words, she stomped over to Kyoko, held her face tightly in her icy hands, and hissed, for Kyoko's ears only, "I'll be taking it back... Just you wait, Yamada!" And then, she left. Kyoko was still looking at the back of Megumi with furrowed brows. "I'll be taking it back... Just you wait!" There was something more to Megumi's hatred of Kyoko than her already sour personality... what was it?
* * * * *
That night, Taketo sat with Ryunosuke and Keisuke at the study of his elegant home. All three of them sat with creased eyebrows, pondering about the new, pink-haired member of the Student Council. Finally, Ryunosuke spoke up. "What in the world was miss Megumi talking about when she told miss Kyoko she was taking back what was hers? And Taketo, would you please explain why you let miss Kyoko join against miss Megumi's will? You know how angry she will get. And, she's an excellent fencer."
"The two girls will have to resolve that themselves," Keisuke answered with a laugh, "But I think, after the duel, we won't ever find out what Megumi truly wanted, because she will be gone from the school."
"What do you mean, Keisuke?" Ryunosuke inquired cautiously. If Megumi were to get wind of this, most likely the evil girl would slit not only Keisuke's throat, but also his.
"Don't you see? Megumi will have left the school in rage and defeat. Kyoko will defeat her, and all of us. She possesses the will" Keisuke was stopped by a poisoned dart that flew through an open window. With a strangled sort of choke, he fell forward from his chair and landed in Ryunosuke's lap.
Ryunosuke gasped with horror. "Murder? Megumi? Was it her?" He asked a baffled Taketo. Taketo leaned forward and examined the dart lodged in Keisuke's shoulder blade. Testing it on his own finger, he sniffed it. "Poison," He muttered, "but not fatal. If we get him to rest and sleep a bit, he should be all right."
Shaking his head, Ryunosuke sighed, "Oh Taketo, what has become of the Student Council? How could Megumi do such a thing?"
"How do you know that it is Megumi?" Slitting his eyes, Taketo asked Ryunosuke the question through clenched teeth. "What if it's"
Before he could say it, he, too, slumped over, an identical dart to Keisuke's lodged in his shoulder.
Kyoko looked all around her. She was in that Dueling Arena again... She recognized everything immediately. Suddenly, chaos swept all around her. Her mind was filled with pitch black, and a pain seared through her head. Then, she heard a voice.
"No! Give me your hand!"
"What are you doing? You don't know what will happen! You-"
"Anthy!!!! Give me your hand!"
The voices were so real, and so close... And the voice of the girl telling Anthy to take her hand... It must have been Utena. Right then, a sudden image of a girl that looked almost exactly like herself flashed in Kyoko's head. With that, a red line blazed through her line of vision, along with a horrible intense ripping in her mind. She screamed, and then fainted.
"Kyoko! Kyoko! C'mon, wake up! Are you all right?!" Kyoko heard an urgent voice. The owner of this voice was shaking her, as well. Opening her eyes slowly, she saw the worried face of Keisuke peering at her intently. Realizing that he was holding her, she quickly slipped out of his hold. Trying to scowl (but failing since her head hurt so much), Kyoko dusted herself off and snapped, "I'm fine." Keisuke grinned ruefully and murmured, "Ha, guess you are fine, then. You're back to normal." Clenching her fists, Kyoko inquired suspiciously, "What do you mean? I'm not always a bitch like this."
"Yeah, right." Keisuke laughed lightly. "Of course you aren't." Kyoko succeeded in making an angry face this time. Not that it appeared threatening, of course. In fact, Keisuke grinned again. Does he have to grin so much? It's nauseating, Kyoko said to herself.
"Quit bickering! Let's start!" Megumi snarled menacingly. She clapped her hands twice, and Yuriko appeared almost magically, bearing a set of dangerous-looking stilettos. "Here. Take them, miss Kyoko. I do hope that you will not faint once again during this trial. Then, we might reconsider your joining," the older girl mocked. Kyoko returned Megumi's sneer and walked over to inspect the weapons.
Lying on a square silk handkerchief were five slender stilettos. Each of them had a blade of high-quality steel that was nearly eight inches long. The handle on each was about two to three inches long, thin, and of a black metal engraved with rose carvings. Maneuvering them professionally in her right hand, Kyoko inspected them. No defects. She looked up at Megumi and asked, "What's the target?" With a gloating sort of smirk, the cold female pointed to a sword planted firmly in the floor of the stone platform. "Score all five stilettos in a perfectly straight line on the handle of that sword," she laughed, "Let's see you, miss Kyoko. Let's see your aim."
"Miss Megumi, please! I doubt anybody would be able to do that," Ryunosuke gasped, shocked. "Don't try to give miss Kyoko a task that she can't do." Megumi whirled furiously upon the boy and laughed triumphantly, "If she can't do it, then she isn't worthy. So, MISS Kyoko, do you accept my challenge? You can always forfeit, but that would result in condescendence for you. What do you say?" She turned to Kyoko. Kyoko smirked inwardly. Megumi didn't know what she could do. "Sure," she smiled sweetly. After thanking Yuriko, she picked up all five stilettos and held them in expert positions in her right hand. She got ready to fling them against her target.
With a triumphant smile plastered on her face, Kyoko put her hands on her hips and admired the best knife throwing that she had done in five seconds' time. Every single stiletto was lined up perfectly, and not one was out of place. The entire Student Council blinked nonstop for about a minute, and then Keisuke gave a cheer and clapped. Ryunosuke clapped along, too. After a while, Taketo did the same. Tomoko and Megumi stood there, unsmiling. Tomoko seemed bored, while Megumi was furious.
"Count yourself in," Taketo turned to Kyoko and told her with a tiny grin. "That's the best knife throwing I have ever seen." Kyoko laughed it off and replied back, "That's the best you've seen? Then, you haven't seen much." Even more furious now, Megumi stepped forward and snarled, "Don't speak like that to Taketo. Besides, if we are to place you in, we have to make sure that your archery is as good as you say it is. Yuriko! Where's that bow? Hurry it up!" I didn't even say that I was good at archery, you bitch, Kyoko thought angrily.
"Give it up, Megumi! You don't make all the rules, anyway. I just want this over with. Just let her join, jeez." Tomoko yawned while inspecting her nails. Kyoko almost smiled at the girl's bored appearance. Here she was, throwing knives, while SHE was fiddling with her hair and nails. Didn't she care about ANYTHING? What kind of LIFE did she lead?!
"Shut up!" Megumi rounded on Tomoko with a fierce growl. Wild animal, Kyoko thought. At this point, Yuriko once again entered the Dueling Arena platform with a black bow in her hand and a quiver of twenty matching arrows. Both were slender, sleek, and of high quality.
"Don't just stand there, Yuriko. Give them to her." Megumi commanded harshly. "Anyway, YOUR job, MISS Kyoko, is to fire all twenty arrows against the entrance of the Dueling Arena. See that arched entry? You must fire your arrows against that so they form the exact shape. I wish you BEST of luck." Right after saying this, she laughed wickedly.
"Of course she's going to make it, you pissed off beast," Kyoko heard Keisuke say. "She's blessed by Dios. Dios will help whoever is to free him." Dios? Now, who in the world was that? Of course, she, once again, did not have time to ponder this, because Megumi barked, "Ready! Set, go!"
"Shit," Kyoko muttered under her breath as she fired the arrows quickly. Megumi's voice was so unnerving that her first arrow missed the target completely. Upon seeing this, Megumi smiled. Although Taketo was the President, Megumi held the actual reins of power. Everyone was so freaked out by her that they just let her take control. Or so she thought.
"Ha! You call this proficient in archery? You missed the target completely on your first arrow!" Megumi laughed harshly, "Why, I guess you won't be able to join, then. Isn't that right, Taketo?" She turned to face Taketo. Yes, he would bend to her will. Because he loved her.
But this time, the President of the Student Council surprised her completely. Not even looking at Megumi, he announced, "Miss Kyoko Yamada, you are in." Megumi opened her mouth in an astonished gape, and then quickly closed it up. Storming over to Taketo, she snapped, "What do you think you are doing? This girl - she's not FIT; she's not GOOD ENOUGH to be in the Student Council!!!!! I-I-I don't understand!!!" Turning over to face Megumi, Taketo said with a slight tremor, "Are you the President? No, I am. I make the final decisions." Furious that she had been defied, the secretary of the Ohtori Student Council pointed a long, slender finger at Kyoko. Near to the point of screaming, she snarled, "I challenge you to a duel, Yamada. Right now. Right here. Give it all you've got, little miss pink-hair. I'll take back what's mine!"
Nobody spoke for a minute. Then, Taketo broke the ice.
"Megumi, this is very irrational. First of all, duels don't take place in the morning. You know why. Second, you must wait your turn. Your duel will one day come. Now, settle down and we will be leaving for our classes soon. If a duel takes place, wouldn't it cause you to be late?" He tried to reason with Megumi, but to no avail. Hearing Taketo's words, she stomped over to Kyoko, held her face tightly in her icy hands, and hissed, for Kyoko's ears only, "I'll be taking it back... Just you wait, Yamada!" And then, she left. Kyoko was still looking at the back of Megumi with furrowed brows. "I'll be taking it back... Just you wait!" There was something more to Megumi's hatred of Kyoko than her already sour personality... what was it?
* * * * *
That night, Taketo sat with Ryunosuke and Keisuke at the study of his elegant home. All three of them sat with creased eyebrows, pondering about the new, pink-haired member of the Student Council. Finally, Ryunosuke spoke up. "What in the world was miss Megumi talking about when she told miss Kyoko she was taking back what was hers? And Taketo, would you please explain why you let miss Kyoko join against miss Megumi's will? You know how angry she will get. And, she's an excellent fencer."
"The two girls will have to resolve that themselves," Keisuke answered with a laugh, "But I think, after the duel, we won't ever find out what Megumi truly wanted, because she will be gone from the school."
"What do you mean, Keisuke?" Ryunosuke inquired cautiously. If Megumi were to get wind of this, most likely the evil girl would slit not only Keisuke's throat, but also his.
"Don't you see? Megumi will have left the school in rage and defeat. Kyoko will defeat her, and all of us. She possesses the will" Keisuke was stopped by a poisoned dart that flew through an open window. With a strangled sort of choke, he fell forward from his chair and landed in Ryunosuke's lap.
Ryunosuke gasped with horror. "Murder? Megumi? Was it her?" He asked a baffled Taketo. Taketo leaned forward and examined the dart lodged in Keisuke's shoulder blade. Testing it on his own finger, he sniffed it. "Poison," He muttered, "but not fatal. If we get him to rest and sleep a bit, he should be all right."
Shaking his head, Ryunosuke sighed, "Oh Taketo, what has become of the Student Council? How could Megumi do such a thing?"
"How do you know that it is Megumi?" Slitting his eyes, Taketo asked Ryunosuke the question through clenched teeth. "What if it's"
Before he could say it, he, too, slumped over, an identical dart to Keisuke's lodged in his shoulder.
