Disclaimer: I do not own anything copyrighted by Chito Saito and Be-Papas, characters, Ohtori Academy, but I do own Varari, Yamato, Midori, Riki, Izumo, H-ko, I-ko, and the new descent sequence into the underground Duel Arena. Hope you like it! BTW, for a duel theme . . .I guess a good song is Voice. It's the first opening of Yu-Gi-Oh: Duel Monsters. It seems to fit and I listened to it over and over while writing the duel, but of course I don't own this song either. Heh, enjoy!
The hand of the timer swung back and forth in the traditional and hypnotic motion. The music room was slightly darker than normal, but the cause could be traced back to the dark storm clouds in the skies over Ohtori Academy. The keys of the grand piano released their manipulated melody into the air as two sets of fingers guided them to play the desired piece with few mistakes.
Anthy Himemiya was the one playing the musical score that afternoon. With no classes to end the day and having time to spare before the fated confrontation, she had decided to go back to the old past time of hers. Chu-Chu of course, had decided to tag along too and soon found himself hypnotized by the timer. His head swayed back and forth with the arm as it ticked away.
Suddenly she stopped playing the piano, her fingers suspended in mid-air over the ivory keys. Anthy leaned forward, eyes closed tightly as her forehead landed upon the piano to emit an out of tune sound. Motion left her frozen except for the ability to open her eyes once again. She stared at the piano keys with a blank expression.
"To duel Yamato Airou . . .to save Varari Nobara . . .Utena did the same when she was against Saionji when I was the Rose Bride . . .and though it was to avenge Wakaba's feelings, it also became to free me from Saionji. Even when she wanted to make me normal again, it was a true wish . . .though I exploited that through my duties as a Rose Bride, only acting like I wanted to as well because I was to follow her wishes. I wonder though . . .would my actions now grant forgiveness from her?"
"Himemiya-san?"
The familiar voice snapped Anthy out of her process of thoughts. She lifted her head from the keyboard and turned toward the right side of her to see Miki Kaoru's concerned expression. He too wore the standard Ohtori Academy male's uniform. Anthy blinked from embarrassment, remembering that he was helping her with the new song. She blushed faintly and looked back down at the piano keys.
"I'm sorry Miki." She continued to frown, moving her hands back to rest on the ivory. "I'll start playing the song again."
"N–no, you don't need to do that." Miki raised his thumb to his mouth, gently biting down on the nail as he too stared down at the keys of the large mass of wood and string. "I won't force you to play when it's obvious your heart isn't completely into it today."
"What do you mean?" She didn't quite understand exactly what Miki was trying to tell her.
"I can tell something is bothering you, Himemiya-san."
He removed his hand from his face and slowly extended it across the gap between them. Resting on her shoulder, Anthy's eyes slightly widened at the action, but then her features returned to normal. She had always known he had feelings for her. Nodding in agreement, she raised her own hand to rest on top of his.
"There is something bothering me . . .and with this new sense of freedom that I've been granted it sort of makes things more confusing. But I can tell you this, and you will then understand why I can't tell anyone else."
"So . . .what is it?"
Anthy released a nervous sigh, lowering her gaze so she wouldn't need to make eye contact while she prepared herself to speak the worlds that could bring about many horrible memories. She knew however, that he was a trustworthy and understanding person, which put her more at ease.
"The Duels have started again . . ."
"What?!"
"It's true . . ." She breathed in again, then removed her hand and clasped it together with her other on top of her lap. The Blue Rose Ring could be seen completely. "Yesterday, I found this ring in my locker, along with a note. The duels are starting again, and I've been made a duelist now."
"But why would you accept the ring?!" Miki removed his hand and immediately rose from the piano bench. He waved the arm in front of him in a swinging action. "Why allow yourself to be caught up on this new mind game?!"
"I don't know . . ." Despite the reaction from him, Anthy managed to stay calm. "Not at first . . .but then I saw Yamato Airou and he was hurting that new girl named Varari Nobara. I don't mean like how Saionji slapped me occasionally . . .I mean full force hitting, kicking . . .as if she was a punching bag. I then found out he's the current champion . . .and Varari is the new Rose Bride. So . . .I challenged him to a duel this evening."
Miki remained frozen in shocked, not only from the fact that there was now a new Student Council dueling over an innocent girl just to acquire some meaningless power, but the fact that Anthy was planning to duel Yamato Airou was just too much. Immediately grabbing his school case, he picked up all of his books and music sheets and stuffed them inside.
"Miki?" Anthy rose too, her hand pressed against her heart as her other hung downward beside her. Chu-Chu looked over, wondering what was going on.
"I . .I just remembered something important I have to do. I'm sorry about having to cut the lesson short today . . ."
"But . . ."
Anthy stepped forward to stop him, but already he was closing his case and walking toward the door. She frowned at his actions, mentally scolding herself for telling him about the new wave of dueling activities. Before exiting through the door frame however, Miki stopped and turned his head to look back once more.
"See you tomorrow, Himemiya-san . . ."
He left, closing the classroom door behind him and leaving Anthy standing alone in the dark music room. She frowned, looking out the window toward the sunset shadows which fell upon the ever so familiar dueling forest. Chu-Chu, sitting on top of the timer, frowned as both his ears and tail drooped from depression.
"Chuuuu . . ."
The forest was a place which brought forth endless memories as Anthy and Chu-Chu stood at the bottom of the flight of stairs leading within. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest and the little monkey had perched himself upon the top of her head. Within her heart she could feel the fear building up, the very fear that had kept her away from the blood-stained grounds for so long.
"This is it . . .so why can't I step forward? Why can't I ascend these stairs and enter the arena?"
Suddenly, a pair of hands shot out toward her from behind. Before she knew what was going on, they grabbed both shoulders and forced her to turn around. Anthy cried out, but stopped when she looked into the face of the one who surprised her: Saionji. His expression revealed displeasure as he looked hard at her surprised face.
"Anthy! What the hell do you think you're planning to?!"
"Something that needs to be done . . .Saionji-sempai . . ."
Looking away as she spoke the necessary words, she frowned and her gaze dropped down to stare at the pavement. However, Saionji didn't like that, and he immediately grabbed her face and leaned in close to look directly into her eyes.
"No it doesn't! No one needs to fight these stupid duels any longer, especially any of us that had the unfortunate pleasure of being caught up in those horrible duels last year!"
"Saionji . . .you're hurting me!"
"WALK AWAY FROM THE FOREST NOW!"
"I CAN'T!"
He immediately released her face, then brought the hand back to land a well placed slap on her left cheek. She cried out and stumbled back, grabbing her face for only an instant. Saionji watched her, but suddenly found himself caught off guard when she stepped forward, and repeated the action he inflicted onto his own face. He stumbled back and fell to the ground, eyes widened as far as they were capable of doing.
"You . . .you hit me . . ."
Anthy's eyes seemed to widen as well, watching Saionji's reaction to the sudden attack. She never knew she had it in her, to be able to stand up for herself in a situation she had allowed herself to be put through the year before. But then she reminded herself, that was then, and it's no longer goof for her to live in the past. Her hands dropped to both sides of her body, and she closed her eyes.
"I'm sorry that I struck you, and you're right Saionji, no one needs to fight these duels any longer . . .but there is some higher power who thinks they needed to be started again." She sat down at the bottom of the grand staircase which led to the dueling forest, and clasped her hands together on top of her lap. "There's a new set of duelists, and an innocent girl who's been thrown into the role of the Rose Bride . . .a girl has been made an empty shell who has no emotions or will of her own. I know how she feels . . .and when I was made a duelist in this new and sadistic game, and when I saw Varari being abused by Yamato, I knew I needed to help her. This is what Utena would have wanted. Please Saionji-sempai, allow me to follow my heart, allow me to purge all the sins I've inflicted."
His heart was touched, something that the Ex-Rose Bride had never been able to do in the past. He felt the emotions within her voice for the first time and to him, they were warm and friendly. He had never known Anthy to want to do anything more than what she was requesting, or even by her own will. No one was ordering her to fight the duels, but she was willing to duel to help another lost soul. All of what she said sank in, and he finally understood.
"Anthy . . ."
A hand extended forward and gently held the chin of her face, lifting it up slowly so the two sets of eyes could meet. Anthy was amazed at what she saw when her eyes met Saionji's; a newborn sincerity, pure understanding and warmth that she was unable to detect long ago. Chu-Chu's eyes were releasing rivers of tears at what he considered to be a tender scene. She felt her heart racing as they stared at each other, but Saionji just chuckled as he released her face and stood up once again.
"Go rescue the Rose Bride then. Do it for yourself, and the rest of us . . .and especially for your prince. She would be proud of you."
"Thank you, Saionji-sempai."
"Please, call me Saionji-kun. It's all I can say for now as an apology for treating you and Chu-Chu as I did . . ."
Anthy suddenly gasped at the mention of Chu-Chu, realizing that he could not enter the duelists arena if the rules were the same as when she was involved the year before. She stood up from the stairs, hands still clasped together as she looked into Saionji's face again. "I have a request for you. Can you please watch over Chu-Chu until I return?"
"Anything for you, Anthy. Good luck in winning the duel, and take this."
A smile appeared on the violet duelist's face as he handed her a samurai's sword, thankful he would fulfill the request and aid her in such an important way. Chu-Chu understood what was asked, and he immediately jumped off of Anthy's left shoulder to land on Saionji's. He let out a small squeak, his own way of wishing his master the best of luck. She nodded to show she understood, turning around again and beginning her ascend to the new dueling arena. Saionji and Chu-Chu watched her until she disappeared from their range of sight, causing him to frown and cross his arms.
"I hope she'll be okay . . .what do you think Chu-Chu?"
The little monkey released a loud squeal while flailing his arms up and down. In that way, it seemed he was telling Saionji not to doubt her determination. He chuckled for a moment before his faced morphed into a serious expression.
"You're right, we should trust Anthy . . ."
Anthy remembered the path to the gondola very well, for walking along it as many times as she had before allowed her to memorize the way. However, she noticed that there were many differences which she could clearly see. Countless roses, both in bloom and still attempting to blossom, lined the pathway in many different colors. The tall spiraling staircase appeared into view immediately after passing the last of the roses and though it brought back horrific memories, she knew she had to press on. She needed to free Varari from Yamato's abusive hold. She continued to walk until she reached the gondola, stepping inside to begin her ascent into the sky arena. However, a surprise was brought forth to her when the mechanism activated and began descending instead of rising.
"What?" Anthy found herself within a spiral of confusion. She was heading in the wrong direction to get to the duelists arena. "Where am I going?!"
The descent continued, and realizing she could do nothing to change the course of the gondola, Anthy simply leaned back against the circular walls, clutched Saionji's blade and watched the lights pass by her. She suddenly began seeing different displays which brought back even more memories to her. A framed image of Saionji appeared, but it's display was seemingly haunting when she noticed two samurai sword's crossed over the picture to form an X. Sitting on top of the frame was a turquoise rose.
"These must be reminders of the duels of last year . . .but who is going to all this trouble?"
Another framed picture appeared before her, this time with two fencing blades crossed in front. She could see the picture was Miki, and even if she hadn't she had realized it represented him when she saw a light blue rose resting on the top. No sooner had it disappeared, she saw the same display for Juri, only with two raipers and an orange rose. Nanami's seemed the most different, for the weapons crossed were a scimitar and dagger with the yellow rose. Touga's was exactly like Saionji's only the rose was red. Mikage appeared as well, with the black rose resting upon the frame and his sword style crossed in front. Ruka's was a cross between Miki and Juri with the sword style, but he had a dark blue rose. Akio's picture brought back disguisting memories of his cruelty and lack of emotion, seeing the sword's crossed over an empty frame full of white rose petals. Finally, Utena's display appeared, with the rusted Sword of Dios piercing a pink rose where her heart would be. It was quite the sadistic appearance to Anthy.
"Disguisting . . ." She crossed her arms in front of herself and attempted to hold back her tears of painful sorrow. "Why did they have to do that to Utena?"
A jolt suddenly caused Anthy to cry out and stumble forward, for the gondola had reached its mysterious destination. She would have slammed into the gates which led outward but they unexpectedly whisked open and she fell out and onto the marble floor. Lifelessness overtook her for mere moments before she lifted her face slowly to study the foreign surroundings.
"Where am I?"
It seemed mysterious in its appearance, and while some things seemed familiar others were completely strange to her. Before her was a pathway to an arena completely surrounded by water which seemingly glowed and illuminated the setting. Seven pillars surrounded the blue rose design upon the floor, each represented by a color of the rainbow. Anthy climbed to her feet and removed the sword from the ground beside her. She gulped to prepare herself mentally, for she was now in a world she could not escape until the final victory. Anthy walked down the small set of stairs and along the illuminated path toward the center of the room where she could see the arena. More memories of the past returned to her as she saw all of their old duelist uniforms floating upon the water on both sides, appearing in the same order as the portraits during the descent. At the end of the path she saw both her old gown and Utena's black uniform upon the path, which she stepped over gracefully. She entered the arena, where she saw Yamato Airou waiting for her.
"It's about time you got here." His grin widened on his face, while the iris and pupils in both eyes shrank. He seemed sinisterly diabolical to her. "For a while I thought the Ex-Rose Bride was going to lose her will and chicken out. I figured you didn't want to act human."
"I'm here aren't I? Let's get started."
"Well, since you've already been involved in this, I have no need to explain this to you." Turning to a darkened section of the arena, Yamato swung at the air and pointed a finger toward the darkness. "Rose Bride! Prepare us to duel!"
Stepping out of the darkness in her long white dress, Varari Nobara's hair waved back and forth as she walked toward the two duelists before her and carried an orange and purple rose. Her dress dragged along the ground and her face was completely blank of any expression and void of all emotion. She stepped toward Anthy first, carefully sliding the stem of the purple rose into the jacket pocket. Varari reached out suddenly and grasped her hand next, lifting it upward and gently pressing her lips against the palm before releasing it. Turning on her heel, she walked toward and stopped in front of Yamato before sliding the orange roses stem into his jacket pocket. Before she could lift and kiss the palm of his hand though, Yamato lashed out and grabbed the collar of her dress. He pressed a hard and violent kiss against Varari's lips before throwing her aside. He glared at her and walked over again, lashing out once more and forcing her onto her feet.
"You truly are pathetic. Summon the sword, bitch!"
"Yes . . .Master Yamato." It seemed as if Varari was acting out Anthy's role in spades, not attempting to defend herself or retaliate against the duelists's aggressive inflictions. "Your wish is my command."
Her empty eyes became hidden away by her eyelids and her hands extended forward. A small sphere of energy appeared, floating above both palms in the shape of a glowing white rose. Anthy watched, captivated but horrified all at once to see a new power which she was certain the new group of duelists would be after. But was it the same as before? Was it the power of Dios or is it a new force?
"Noble petals upon this white rose, I beseech thee to answer my prayer. I call upon the dispelled, the new and the old, bring forth the new power . . .Taune . . ."
The energy rose suddenly began releasing a more bright illumination, which flew out of out of Varari's open hands and up into the air above her. It circled around for but a few moments before soaring downward and behind. It remained motionless for a moment as the Rose Bride seemed to prepare to embrace a future pain . . .or at least that was what Anthy thought it looked like. The energy came back to life and shot forward, striking Varari in the back and forcing her eyes open. She released a shrill cry as the handle of a sword appeared from her now lifeless body. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and her body slumped to the ground where she laid upon her back. Yamato grinned at the sight of the fallen bride and the now floating blade above her body. He stepped forward, lashing out his violent hands and grasping the handle tightly.
"Grant me the ability to force upon this world, revolution!"
No sooner had the display ended, Anthy was immediately forced to defend herself when she was suddenly attacked by the thrust of Yamato's sword. She cried out and leapt back to dodge, bringing up her sword and removing the sheath which covered it. Tossing it aside, she immediately gripped the handle with both hands just as Yamato charged again. He swung at her, and Anthy swung back out of a sudden inspiration of instinct. Both metals collided and locked, the sounds echoing outward to fill the arena. Each duelist poured all of their strength into their weapons as they remained frozen in place.
"So it seems you picked up a little bit of swordplay from watching all of the duels from the previous year!" His voice sent chills down her spine and he knew how much he was frightening her. It only seemed to fuel his desire to fight more. "Why don't you just stop right now? The dueling arena is no place for a woman with no will. The sword is no object for a witch to wield!"
"I am no witch! I am Anthy Himemiya, and I will become what Utena Tenjou attempted to do; become a prince and protect the Rose Bride so when I get the power to bring revolution, I CAN ESCAPE TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD!"
Yamato was not impressed with her little speech it appeared. Without any signs of warning, Yamato pushed his fist forward and slammed it into Anthy's stomach, forcing her to accidentally let go of her sword and stumble back. As she clutched her now hurting gut, Yamato charged again and rammed her body back. She stumbled again and fell to the floor, keeping a hand draped across her stomach. One eye closed and she kept the other locked on Yamato as he advanced toward her, now holding both swords.
"I'm going to enjoy beating you, just as I enjoy beating all my opponents." He licked his lips in anticipation, which seemed to frighten Anthy even more. "And when I win, you'll wish you were never involved in this!"
The only thing she could think of doing was slowly backing away from Yamato as fast as she could, slowly moving across the floor of the arena. He continued to advance and she continued to back away, unaware that her space of retreat was slowly getting smaller and smaller. Her hand suddenly went past the floor, forcing Anthy to panic and cry out. She realized she had reached the edge of the arena and now she was completely boxed in by her opponent. Yamato couldn't help but laugh maniacally at her misjudgment.
"You hopeless bitch! You allowed yourself to be boxed in!" He sneered and laughed once more before pointing the tips of both blades right in front of Anthy. There was only a few inches between her face and the weapons in front of her, causing her eyes to widen. "How do you hope to do that when you cannot hope to defend yourself in this duel!?"
The waters surrounding the arena suddenly illuminated to the point where it could nearly blind a normal human being, causing both Yamato and Anthy to shield their eyes and cry out. Waves began to crash against the rocky walls and under the platform, sending spray upward and at the two duelists. Anthy realized the light around her was beginning to dim, allowing her to remove her tanned hands from her face. The first thing that her eyes landed on would have been enough to possibly scare her to death.
" . . .Utena?"
A transparent body levitated above the bewildered Anthy Himemiya, revealing a warm smile upon the face which was half hidden way by shadows. Long and wavy rose colored hair floated in all directions as if the body was indeed underwater. The body was indeed female, wrapped within a black duelists uniform with red shorts and socks, and white shoes. Her arms were extended outward as if to embrace the next person she saw. Anthy seemed mesmerized by the sight.
"Utena? Is it you?"
The figure did not respond, nor did it deny the name. Anthy seemed puzzled, but suddenly felt a brand new energy filling her body as the spirit descended and merged with her. She felt herself lose control of her movements while the blinding light faded away completely. The arena returned to normal, and the water's immediately calmed down.
"What is this feeling inside of me?" Despite losing control over her body, Anthy was still mentally aware of everything going on around her. Her now blue eyes shifted back to Yamato, who was still gripping his face from the sting that the light inflicted upon his own eyes. "He's distracted. I have to use this opportunity or I cannot win!"
Anthy's body raced forward and toward Yamato, suddenly dropping the ground and onto her back. She leaned back and brought her foot upward to collide with his hand which was holding her own sword, causing it to be hurled up into the air. He cried out at the sudden attack, and he was now the one which stumbled back in shock. The sword descended rapidly toward the ground, but the hand of Anthy immediately lashed out and grabbed the handle before charging forward again.
Thrust, parry, thrust, jab . . .she was beginning to make an important comeback as she forced Yamato backwards and across the arena floor. He was in complete denial of the unfolding events as he made all efforts to block as many of her advances as he could.
"NO!" His thoughts raced rapidly through his head. Complete confusion engulfed his senses and he was trying as hard as he could to understand the reality of what was happening, but it proved to be useless. "HOW CAN I BE LOSING TO AN EX-ROSE BRIDE?!"
Yamato suddenly found himself falling backwards, realizing he had tripped over his own feet from walking backwards too long and attempting to concentrate on defense at the same time. His eyes widened with true fear as Anthy stood over him, sword poised to finish the job. She raised the sword above her head and brought it downward, slicing through the rose upon his chest. Orange petals seemingly exploded outward and scattered all around Yamato, followed by a horrified scream of agony. He rested upon his knees and fell forward onto the arena floor, slamming his fists down over and over.
"HOW COULD I LOSE!? IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"
Anthy's eyes suddenly returned to their normal color of green and she stumbled back slightly from the shock of regaining control over her body. She released a gasp of fatigue, despite not controlling the actions she was able to feel the effects of them. Watching the sword disappear from Yamato's hands, Anthy suddenly looked over to Varari's body as it slowly pushed up and off the floor. When she was upon her feet, the new Rose Bride clasped her hands together in front of her and smiled toward the violet haired duelist. Anthy, still in shock, raised her hand and placed it over her heart and the rose upon her uniform. She cast her face downward toward the ring finger while pondering over what happened.
"Did this all just happen? Did I actually see her? Did I actually just win? Am I . . . am I the champion now? Me? An ex-Rose Bride?" She looked upward again, seeing the waters reflecting the beautiful castle upon the walls of the arena. She didn't feel any surprise or shock, but in a way, she was suddenly calm. "It's all started now, I'm on my way to ridding us all of the sins we unknowingly committed. I'm now walking the road of a duelist . . ."
She smiled and removed the rose from her uniform, inhaling the scent of it's many petals. Walking over to the edge of the arena where she found herself trapped before, she looked down at the waters which continued to reflect the mysterious castle. Taking the rose, she gently tossed it forward and onto the waves before turning around and walking away.
"Thank you Utena . . .I'll complete your dream now . . .and become a real prince so I can see you again on the outside world . . ."
There we have it! Whatcha think? Anthy beating Yamato proves that this story is only gonna get more exciting with future duels and various other conflicts. And of course remember, Varari isn't your ordinary Rose Bride and you'll see exactly what I mean next time. Please leave a review, and remember the super deformed M.I.S.T. people are still gonna get those who won't review! ^-^ See ya next time!