Noir
By spheeris1
Pairing: Utena/Anthy [others implied]
Warnings/notes: See 'Teaser' & 'Ichi'
~~~
'You know something, Anthy-sama…………
Juri felt the sky open up and, when she expected rain, she was blessed with sun.
Forgiving sun, life-giving sun.
The kind that breaks over the darkness, pierces the clouds and illuminates the entire universe with warmth.
And for once, in so very long, those tendrils of heat washed over her body.
Juri was alive.
The locked was shattered.
The rose was gone.
And she was…alive…
To the right, Shiori watched in muted fascination--her reason for fighting, her reason for losing her mind, her reason for hating and doubting--that 'reason' had become a bird of gold.
It was flying away.
For good.
Shiori clutched her chest as if her heart might constrict and explode, rendering her body useless and her mind vacant. She staggered back as if cut loose from a dock.
'It's over…' She muttered, watching Juri rise up and watching Juri close her eyes, head leaning back.
White petals danced over the surface of the arena, tripping and floating toward Shiori's feet.
She picked up one and cradled it in her palm--that's when she felt Juri's eyes on her.
Pinning her, examining her, questioning her.
And Shiori had no answers.
~
…it sometimes feels as if the long, long days here………
Anthy stood at the top and looked down.
How she loved her ledge…the one that could have saved them all years ago, lifetimes ago…
But it was not nighttime now. And Utena could not save her from jumping.
All the secrets were revealed that time, all the lies became truth and back again.
No, this was different--this time, it was early dawn.
The sun was barely awake.
The moon still a faint disc in the sky.
And best of all--no stars.
Anthy looked back at Utena, the girl caressing the two dueling roses.
It was sickening, to see her Prince this way.
Docile. Timid. Lifeless.
But no win is without sacrifice, Anthy knew this…she knew it and played by the rules, Anthy plays to win.
A final win.
The ultimate end.
'Dios…if you can still hear me, wherever you may be, is this what it felt like to have the world resting on your shoulders?' Anthy asked aloud.
But the answer was blown away with the wind.
Juri's voice broke her reverie.
'I want to leave.' The panther stated and Anthy could not help but smile.
'I know.' She replied.
~
…are perhaps cursed to forever………
Saionji left Akio's room and walked the halls, ran his fingers over the walls. He found a room with a piano--gathering dust. He found a room with fencing trophies--cobwebs covering them.
All these rooms…they hold something precious to us all.
Saionji dropped to his knees helplessly in an abandoned kendo room.
Akio owns a part of us all.
'It does not have to be that way.' A voice echoed. Saionji did not look up from staring at his clutched hands.
'Touga…are you free?' Saionji asked in a whisper.
Silence greeted him.
And that was the only answer--none of us are free. Not from Akio, not from this ring, not from our pasts.
Saionji stood up and walked back out, into the planetarium. Shiori was still frozen upon the couch.
He knelt by her and felt her forehead. Cool to the touch. Like the dead.
Sometimes, when Akio kissed him, Saionji forgot that he was on borrowed time.
Only gaining eternity would give him life once more.
Only reaching the castle would give him true peace of mind.
Then he looks at this plum-haired girl, a fine example of what this place can do to someone, and Saionji wonders at his own logic.
'Chasing ideals, chasing butterflies…how foolish I have become…' Saionji mutters.
That's when Shiori awakes, bolting up as if spring loaded. Her eyes dart around and focus on Saionji.
'Are you alright?' He asks softly.
'She is leaving…she is leaving…I must get to her…she cannot leave without me!' Shiori rambled off, ending with a desperate plea.
Then she ran from the tower, toward the forest…
Saionji watched her until her image disappeared.
~
…and ever, to move backwards instead of forwards………
Juri stood at the gate long after that red car was gone, long after the sun had set and night took over with its black reign.
And she watched the clouds move over the moon.
Watched the heavens shift with ease…how easily they cut across the sky, how simply they flow along with time…
Many emotions have lived inside Juri's heart--determination, anger, compassion, fear and love.
Yes, love…the most troublesome of them all.
The kind of love Juri knows is the very kind that can rule your world.
Possession, obsession, hidden feelings and desires.
The kind you keep in a locket, sheltered from prying eyes.
The kind that can hurt you over and over, yet you still go back to it.
Juri thought that was love.
But that is all it is now--a thought.
A dream, a miracle that cannot come true…at least not with Shiori.
Juri could see the girl in her mind, as she was when they first met…
A delicate child but oh so beautiful compared to any other, small and sweet and fragile…and Juri so wanted to protect her innocence.
Instead, between the two of them, it was ruined.
And now…Juri saw another path, one that could save them.
In order to be free, one must want to be free.
And Juri wanted to be free now, wanted outside of this stupid gate and back into the real world…a world with hope and possibilities…a world with…with…
'Nanami.' Juri said softly, her lips involuntarily curving into a grin.
~
…and memories to be running within that maze of time.' Utena finished.
And Anthy merely smiled at her, knowing all too well what Utena spoke of…
~~~
TBC
