Bara no Scarlet
Chapter Seven
Challenge
"There was only one person to arrive at the school within the past week." Mariko began the meeting promptly and with little fanfare. She tossed her head, red ponytail swishing back and forth. "Her name is Anshii Himemiya. She is Chairman Akio Himemiya's sister, and none other than the former Rose Bride."
"Former Rose Bride? Can she Duel?" Izumi echoed.
"She has a ring. Perhaps End of the World is testing us. We must hold our resolve and not let this catch us unaware." Keuske replied, motioning to the current Rose Bride to fill his tea.
Ayomi reached out and took the teacup delicately, inspecting it for cracks or damage before moving to fill it with the tea that only the Rose Council drank. It was made from the very petals of the Rose of Dios, harvested just after the prime of the blossom. The result was a very subtle and extremely fragrant dark red tea.
She was just putting the teacup back on the saucer when the door to the Council room was unceremoniously thrown open to reveal a woman in a scarlet dueling uniform with long violet hair.
Anshii walked into the Council room looking far more brave than she felt. Truth be told, she'd almost rather been back in the grip of the swords than to be walking into a Council meeting to deliver her challenge.
Almost.
Izumi rose to his feet smoothly, a false smile plastering itself on his face. "Why… Anshii Himemiya. What a pleasure to have the former Rose Bride pay us a visit. Whatever can we do for you?"
She didn't need her abilities to see who the current Champion was. He had rested his hand on the small of Ayomi's back the moment he'd seen Anshii. With a firmness that she knew Utena would be proud of, she squared her shoulders and looked at the black-haired student. "I challenge you to a Duel within the Laws of the Rose Seal. Tonight, in the Dueling Arena."
Ayomi dropped the teapot, the ceramic shattering on impact with the floor, tea spilling into a puddle that was ominously reminiscent of blood. Keuske simply nodded to Anshii, ignoring the Rose Bride's efforts to clean the splash of tea off of his pants leg.
"Very well, Anshii Himemiya. I will be awaiting your arrival." He nodded almost cordially. "Until this evening, then."
She recognized the dismissal, but wouldn't give him the honor. "I look forward to the Duel." She turned her gaze to the Rose Bride, who was starting to collect the fragments of ceramic. "Be careful; those edges will be sharp."
Blue eyes blinked curiously to Anshii, and Ayomi merely nodded before returning to her task.
When Anshii left the chamber, she had the strangest feeling that Akio had watched the entire event.
Juri met Anshii outside the Rose Tower. "You're going to have difficulty beating him. We'll have to go over a few more things before the Duel… and you have to relax. You can't fight with your hands shaking like that."
Anshii looked at her hands, only just noticing how badly they were shaking, and suddenly realizing that her entire body was trembling. "I… didn't know I was shaking like this. All of a sudden I'm nervous, and I can't understand why."
They walked down the hallway towards Juri's office and the practice hall beyond. "It's the first time you've been a participant in a Duel. You know what is riding on your win."
"And I also know what happens if I lose," Anshii's voice was rueful. "I'll have to challenge again."
Juri pushed open the doors to the practice hall. "Well, let's get you warmed up and rework some of your lessons so that you don't have to reissue that challenge."
An hour later, Anshii was not a happy camper to say the least. They'd gone through several lessons, and only once had Anshii managed to come close to where Juri had indicated she'd worn the rose.
Juri hung her towel around her neck and looked at Anshii. "You need to relax. You're so busy thinking about what you're going to do that you get behind your thoughts. You have to think ahead of your opponent's sword, or you'll lose momentum and falter."
Anshii shook her head. "I just can't get used to the sword. Not after…" her voice trailed off, and she flushed.
A gentle hand rested on Anshii's shoulder for a moment. "It's in the past, Anshii. Let it go or it will destroy both you and Utena."
Anshii looked to Juri for a moment and nodded slowly. "I'm trying. But if I hadn't…"
Juri shook her head moving her hand to run her fingers through now-unruly curls. "It is always easy to fall back on the word 'if.' But 'if' is intangible. You did it, it happened, and now you are back to fix what went wrong. Focus on that. Focus on getting her back." She glanced over at the clock on the wall above the door to her office. "You'd better go shower and get ready. Don't forget the sword."
Anshii nodded and hurried out of the practice hall, clutching the sword that Juri had lent her. Miki met Juri at the door to her office. "Think she has a chance, Juri?"
Juri shook her head. "I don't know. She has to stop blaming herself first." She shook her head slowly, sighing. "You know, Miki… the last time I lent one of my swords out, Utena broke it trying to reclaim Anshii."
Miki eyed Juri. "Did you loan it to her on purpose?"
Juri's lips curled slightly. "Perhaps." There are no such things as miracles…