Noir
By spheeris1
Pairing: Utena/Anthy [others implied]
Warnings/notes: See 'Teaser' & 'Ichi'
~~~
'What happens now?' Miki asked as the sun drifted out of sight and the clearness of the heavens above opened wide, much like the cavernous mouth of a whale.
'I don't know really…we go to another world, another time…we may not even be the same people for all I know…' Kozue answered.
She was not worried, though the steps to come were unknown and the path in shadows.
Kozue felt like someone had given her the keys to a fast car.
And she felt like driving forever, to let the wind caress her and reshape her.
Miki shifted by her side, looking over with a small grin.
'We'll still be together, Kozue.'
She raised an eyebrow over at him and he laughed.
'That fate was never wrong, my sister…never ever wrong…'
~
'You've always hated waiting.' Touga said, startling Saionji as he sat and read one of Akio's books about stars. Saionji slammed the pages shut.
'Why can you not stay dead and buried, Kiryuu?'
It was not meant to be answered, Touga knew that. But he would attempt to reply anyway--if only to annoy his somewhat dead 'friend'.
'Because I am the only one who can be here and there at the same time.'
Saionji laughed, but not from mirth. His violet eyes burned with an agony Touga wished not to see…
'And the riddles, always the same with you…No wonder Akio liked you. You two are much the same---double talking bastards who think they own the world.'
Touga continued to lean against the wall comfortably.
'And you wish to be one of us.'
Saionji picked up the teapot and hurled it at an empty wall.
Was this his eternity? To be tormented by his shortcomings? To be mocked by the lips of a dead man? To submit his will to greater power for he had no chance at harnessing his own power?
'When it is my time…' Saionji whispered, threading his fingers and breathing hot air into his palms.
'…I will break free from this prison…'
~
Juri stared at the ceiling.
A fan was slowing turning above her. The curtains billowed with a gentle breeze.
She did not rise.
Not all day, not all yesterday.
The sheets were tangled about her, spider-webs sticking to her damp skin…partly from activity, partly from nightmares…even Juri's desire was tainted by her pain.
Her desire is pain.
Such tangible thoughts are common in the aftermath of consumption, in the afterglow of giving in and letting go and falling to your impulses.
Juri desires this pain, this twisting of her soul and this breaking of her heart.
All notions of martyrdom fell away just as simply as Shiori stripped down that skirt and untied that scarf.
It was that easy.
Just that easy.
Somewhere in the distance, Juri heard bells ringing…
…and the sound cut deeper than any two-bit prince's blade…
~
She was climbing a tree.
Thick branches and dewy leaves of green.
And the sun was hot, too hot for such an endeavor…but she climbed nonetheless.
Atop was salvation.
Below the wolves.
And she could hear it so faintly, the heartbroken whimper…the mewling and crying of a tragedy…
She was climbing a tree.
She fell once or twice, her legs scraped--tiny red scratches, criss-crossing.
And that hand she was expecting to help her up, it never came. Somehow she had forgotten that her entire world had drown.
Dead in a river.
Washed ashore like a rubber tire.
She was climbing a tree.
It snapped and cracked. It slowly careened to the ground.
And she did not scream.
She did not scream this time. She let it fall.
Only she could save herself now.
Only she knew the way out.
Nanami sat up in bed and found a white rose resting on the pillow beside her.
She got dressed in a deliberate manner and looked herself over in the mirror.
Her body ached…all night long, she tried to reach something, somewhere…
And now was her test.
Her brother is gone. Juri is gone.
Nanami touches her reflection on the glass, a cold comfort to her thoughts.
'We are no longer children.' She whispers before going out the door, down the hall, down the steps, into the lobby, out into the courtyard and toward the forest.
It was time to climb.
~
Akio watched Anthy move around the room with nervous energy, flicking the sword to and fro.
A duelist and their misgivings.
Anthy slid a glance toward him and Akio smiled.
They could share thoughts like others could share candy.
Some were kept too private, which always kept their game alive.
But now…Akio sensed that Anthy was too open.
One is never that easy to read.
'Why are you on edge?' Akio asked.
'I am not.'
Akio chuckled and sat down next to a silent Utena. He looked at her, in a pink dress and hands folded and hair bound…beautifully fucked up is what he would call it.
Like having sex after wrecking a car.
Or piercing your body to lick the blood.
Anthy suddenly jerked Utena up and pulled her away. Akio noted just how cold his sister's eyes had become.
'Or like creating a world in which to play with people.' Anthy said before leaving the room, Utena right behind her.
Akio leaned his head back and crossed his arms.
'Too open…much too open…' He murmured before flicking the lights off and turning the castle back on.
~
'Did you enjoy it? Because I sure did…' The other you says with a grin.
You choose not to answer, feeling odd…feeling embarrassed that everyone saw what happened…though everyone here is you.
Pieces of you anyway.
And you did enjoy it, even if it was not real. At least not for you.
It was real for a part of you.
It was something to build on.
'Think it'll happen again or not?' The other you muses aloud.
You wish the other you would shut up.
The screen flickers back to life and you see the arena once more.
Not one of you places a bet now.
'Ooh, this should be interesting…don't you think?' The other you says happily, sipping on another beer.
How are you not getting drunk? Where is this alcohol coming from? Who is paying for all of this?
'I do like a nice blonde…though I think we all agree on purple hair down here…'
A nice round of chuckles ripple over the crowd.
The crowd of you.
And you watch the screen, rapt with morbid fascination at these things that concern you--but that you cannot control.
Nothing is in your control anymore.
~~~
TBC
