Noir

By spheeris1

Pairing: Utena/Anthy for now…

Warnings/notes: See 'Teaser' & 'Ichi'

~~~

Utena ignores the note on the desk of her secretary. The note written by this little wisp of a girl, her hair the color of dusk in a country sky, her nails pointy and candy-apple red. The note says 'I quit. Your pay sucks.'

Signed with a comical 'xxoo' and a smudged kiss of claret.

That girl was always late. She never made coffee. She never put up the files.

Utena always knew she would quit.

They always quit, in the end…they always give up just as things are getting good.

Just as things get interesting…

…no one can be found…

And Utena called the 'princess'.

And the 'princess' cried even though she claimed to hate the dead man.

She cried and cried and cried. As if her life was over, as if the very thing that made her rise up every morning had been ripped away.

'They finally got to him…the finally got him from me…they took him from me…' The 'princess' sobbed down the line. Utena didn't want to hear anymore, but the words reached her ears anyway.

'They killed him…they killed my brother.'

~

You follow them because you need to know.

You follow them because it is your job.

But you tell yourself these lies to make it easier, to not feel so out of control of the situation.

And what you see…what you think you see…

Have you lost your mind? What kind of game is this? Who are these people?

A man thought buried is standing alive.

A man thought pointless is wielding power.

A woman thought childish is painfully adult.

A woman thought innocent is completely evil.

Everyone is not as they seem.

Even you…even you…

~

A ring of silver in an envelope. A name vaguely familiar. He was in corporate takeovers and Wall Street intrigue. He was wealthy. He was handsome. He never married but had oh so many lovers…

And a devoted sister.

And secrets…oh so many secrets…

Kiryuu Touga.

Floating in the river. Missing for weeks. Frantic sister, claiming that he was a lover and she was the jilted 'better' half.

Oh so many secrets…

Utena toys with the ring, spinning it on her desktop.

Sliding it back and forth on a pencil.

Letting the light catch on the silver…still so clean, no muck caught in the grooves of the nice little rose design. Utena can even see the faint color of pink.

She holds it closer to the lamp and studies it.

It is beautiful.

And one of those 'easy' choices come up…Utena never claimed to be perfect.

She pockets the ring.

~

'You can stay here…if you're scared. I don't mind.' You say, trying to sound confident and sure. But you feel it pull at your gut, the want and the desire. Having her so close to you…having her here…it is a temptation.

Are you testing yourself? To make sure, just to really make sure, that you won't do anything to cause more trouble than you can afford…?

'Thank you.' She answers quietly, moving to your bedroom as if she owns it.

And you think maybe she does. Maybe she does own that room, that bed…maybe she owns you

Or maybe you just want her to.

Maybe it has been too long since you've felt this way. Maybe it has been way too long since you've let anyone in.

'Stay with me…' She whispers into your ear.

And dear God, you are falling so fast…inhaling the sweet scent of her hair and her skin. You are on fire at her touch. You are brought to life with her kiss.

She is the beginning, the middle and the end. She is everything.

~

'Everyone and no one has a place here'

Utena sits at the bar and nurses a beer. She watches the bums come in off the street and try to pass off bottle-tops as change. She watches a couple police officers walk in and take a booth. And she re-reads the sign over the doorway-- 'everyone and no one has a place here'.

'Tenjou Utena?'

Utena turns around on her stool, her hand drifting down to her side. Never know who might be behind you…

Eyes do a slight double-take. The morgue attendant. All pale and thin. Looking spooked…or he is on something.

Most of them are on something. Drugs to stay awake. Drugs to go to sleep. Drugs to keep the demons away.

'Yea?' Utena answers, turning away again and back to her barely touched drink.

'I need your help. Only you can help me.'

Utena has heard this all before.

'My sister is gone. I can't find her…she was supposed to come home…no one has seen her…'

Cue the tears. Cue the trembling lip.

'I can pay you some…I don't have much.'

Blah, blah, blah.

'I'm not taking any new cases right now. Sorry.'

And a picture is thrust down onto the sticky bar. A bit dated perhaps. A little worse for wear…but Utena knows that face.

She knows this girl. The girl that quit today, at her office. The girl that Utena knew would eventually quit.

'Only you can find her. Please.' The morgue attendant whispers brokenly.

And that bad taste comes back to Utena's mouth.

~~~

TBC