Return of the Victor
Chapter 2
Rating PG-13 (strong language and innuendo)
By Mercy_Angel_09
Disclaimers:
I do not, will not, cannot, own Shoujo Kakumei Utena. Sadly, other, bigger companies do.
Author's Notes:
It's time to see what Akio is up to. Now this really should be interesting . . . .
She pulled into a parking spot and was about to fish out change for a parking meter when she remembered that the town had no parking meters. This wasn't the outside world after all. She had returned to Akio's world.
Nothing had changed since she had left. Nothing. The cobbled streets were still the same, the air still held the salty breeze from the nearby ocean, and all of the buildings remained pristine white. Putting on her sunhat, she braced herself for the upcoming shocks to her system.
Wandering onto the campus, she noted that the uniforms were still the same. Holding her chin high, she walked around and eventually wound up in her old dorm. It took some doing on her part, but she managed to open the door and find her old room. The name plaque still read "Utena Tenjou" and "Anthy Himemiya." So Akio hadn't taken them down after all. Perhaps after Anthy had left, he had stopped using this dorm completely. That seemed the logical answer, since ten years of dust covered the building.
She left the building to gather more dust as she made her way to the main part of the school. Noticing that some of the students were giving her strange looks, she pretended to be checking class sizes and the campus, as though she wanted to enter a child into the school.
It was by chance that she managed to find the entrance that was marked as the headmaster's quarters. Perhaps she could give him a surprise. She had to be last person that he thought that he'd ever see again, perhaps next to Anthy.
She rapped on the door lightly and waited for an answer. It was about thirty seconds before she received an answer. "Come in."
She opened the door and faced him down, a sort of gleaming triumph in her eyes at the sight of the shock and surprise in his. This was one of the few things that he couldn't control, and he would just have to get used to it.
"Utena?" he choked out.
"Yes Akio. It's me," she answered as she closed the door behind her and stood before his desk. "Obviously you didn't see this coming."
"No, I didn't. I thought that you'd never return."
"You thought wrong. Takiko returned, didn't she?"
"That never happened."
Utena shrugged. "If you say so." She wandered over to a wall that now contained pictures. Upon closer inspection, they were class pictures of the graduating classes from years past and a few personal photos. There were a few of himself and Kanae, one of himself and Anthy, and much to her surprise, one of herself, himself, and Anthy. Why that was hanging there with the others was beyond Utena at that particular moment.
"So, I assume that you and Kanae have finally wed?"
"It was shortly after you and Anthy left."
"Any children?"
"No."
"Obviously you haven't been very busy."
"And what were you implying with that?"
Utena turned and smiled wryly at him. "Oh, nothing. You know, I was just wondering what you'd do once your whore left you."
That statement had somehow managed to penetrate Akio's cool demeanor. His eyes flashed dangerously. "I don't know where you come off with cheek like that, but I don't appreciate it."
"You don't appreciate the fact that you couldn't control me."
"I was able to control you. I managed to bring you here to participate in the duels, didn't I?"
"So you did. But you didn't count on my independence. I would have returned for Anthy if she hadn't have come to me."
"You say that, but that's because you didn't have to come and fetch her."
"She was nothing more than the Rose Bride to you. And yet she was willing to do anything for you. And she did some pretty disgusting things for you Akio."
"She did them of her free will."
"She did them because she thought that was what her prince wanted her to do!"
"That's what you think."
"Akio, Anthy isn't the same person she was when I met her. She's gone though some pretty amazing changes since she left here. How long did you hold her here anyway? She says that while she was here, she was timeless!"
"So she was, and as am I. And you would have been too, if you had cooperated with me."
"Well I didn't, did I?"
"I could have made you a princess."
"And made Anthy suffer at my expense? I'm not like you Akio. People are living, breathing beings. They have feelings and emotions, and here's something that I'm sure never would have occurred to you, a free will."
"It was your free will that had you cast away from this school, Miss Tenjou."
"So? Do you really think that I care? I don't know if you noticed or not, but I did cause the revolution. And do you know how I did it?"
Akio merely looked at her.
"Because I actually gave a damn about the other duelists and Anthy. You could have cared less about what happened to your sister, but there was something deep within you, something that wanted to break free. Dios is free now Akio, he doesn't need you anymore. That's why the Rose Bride was able to leave you."
"Are you finished?"
"Yes."
"Well, then I trust that you'll be on your way?"
Utena looked around the observatory office. The projector still took up the center of the room, and she could see the shutters that would slam down at Akio's command. "Yes, I'm done with you forever, Akio Ohtori. I've closed the book on this chapter of my life."
Akio gave her a devilish grin. "Is that so? So why do you wear the mark of the rose around your neck?"
Utena inhaled sharply. She wore the chain that held her signet in place under her blouse, so how did he know? Then she remembered that Akio knew everything about everyone who came onto the campus. "What if I do? I did have a prince, Akio. But he wasn't you."
Akio snorted. "Obviously. This is good-bye forever Miss Tenjou. Once you leave Ohtori, you leave for good."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "That was what I was counting on."
Ohh! Diss! You go Utena!
I wasn't sure how Utena would really react to seeing Akio again, so I did the best that I could. I figure that once Utena left Ohtori, certain aspects that would have been fuzzy for her while she was there (for instance, the entire thing with the Black Rose that supposedly "never happenend") became clearer as the distance allowed her a fuller view of the whole thing. I'm also assuming that she kept her Rose Signet as a reminder of the past, and of her attachment to Anthy, and more importantly to Touga. (Had to get that in there somewhere . . .)
Like I said before, I'm looking for ideas since I'm not entirely sure which direction I want this to go. All I know is that she's going to meet up with all of the other duelists (and possibly Wakaba for the hell of it) and sort of reminise. If you thought that the memory lane trip with Akio was fun, wait till she starts talking to Nanami. (Moo! Moo!)
Anyway, if you have ideas let me know and if you want to be a pre-reader (to catch mistakes I might make) contact me as well.
Ja,
Mercy_Angel_09