Bara no Scarlet
Chapter 21
Darkness
It was with great reluctance that Anshii finally donned the uniform and bid Ayomi farewell until they'd meet on the dueling platform.
She hadn't been challenged before.
When she arrived at the Rose Gate, something was different. It seemed darker, as if there were some evil tinge to the area that needed purging. The gates swung open without a sound, and Anshii stepped through.
Through the trees she walked, noting the unearthly chill that wafted through the area, starting at every whispered sound and half-seen image. She felt like she'd fallen into a haunted house designed to spook and unsettle her. Her eyes widened. That was it, wasn't it? Someone's will was being imposed here, someone with a very bad intent.
"Himemiya. about Nanami."
Touga's voice echoed in her memory.
"She's gotten it into her head that Ayomi is Utena, and if she kills her, then you will be punished and I will be freed from her memory."
Has Nanami done this? Am I dueling Nanami for Ayomi's life? A chill shot through Anshii as she approached the spiral staircase. Looking up towards the platform, she saw only darkness, an almost complete isolation from the world. She stepped onto the first step, willing some light into the world. She was the Light's Guardian, wasn't she? Wasn't she the one who had started it all?
Power pulsed away from her, offsetting the darkness with the brilliance of her own thought. Old powers began to tingle at re-use, and felt a confidence settle around her shoulders. She saw this for what it was now, a ploy by Akio. A counter-plot was forming in her mind as she climbed the stairs, pushing the darkness away with her own light. She couldn't burn the darkness away, but she was strong enough to offset it.
Ayomi met her at the top of the stairs, a nervous figure in white. "This darkness. the castle does not answer my call."
"The castle doesn't answer because this darkness chokes it." A voice cut through the darkness, and Anshii identified it immediately. Cloaked in darkness, Nanami stood in the center of the dueling platform, arms folded across her chest with a smirk on her face. "You are powerless to defeat me without the castle. Feel free, however, to try. The end result will be the same; I will kill Ayomi."
Anshii's eyes narrowed, and she stepped in front of Ayomi and threw her right hand up in front of her. "You can try to obliterate it all. You can try to block the light." She raised her hand, wrist up, fingers tilted down. Powers came to call, just as they had so many years ago. She could feel the castle responding, she could feel the Sword of Dios echo the pulse.
Anshii stepped back, catching Ayomi in her left arm, feeling the weight of the girl fall backwards as the Sword of Dios responded to the call. Anshii drew it forth, the brilliance of the blade cutting away the darkness, spilling light over the dueling platform. "But the Light of Dios is not an ordinary light. It cannot be choked." She advanced on Nanami, Ayomi straightening her skirt as she watched Anshii take the initiative. "It cannot be stifled. You cannot destroy his light."
Nanami stepped back, not expecting the initial attack. She had thought that Anshii would have been intimidated. She gathered her wits and drew her sword, defending against Anshii's swift incoming attacks, looking for a way in. If she could only unsettle her. "Try as you might, you cannot make her into Utena. Just as you can never be a Prince. And when she is dead, Touga will be mine!"
Anshii felt a rush of anger, but suddenly, the castle burst into fiery life above them, burning away the darkness, Dios falling towards her, arms outstretched. Anshii lifted her arms to him, felt him embrace her, but nothing else was needed.
The darkness shattered, taking Nanami's ring and rose along with it.
Ayomi and Anshii walked up to the blonde girl who lay on the floor of the platform and looked at her. "Miss Anshii. we should take her back home. She doesn't belong in this."
For a moment, Anshii was tempted to leave her there, but good sense won out, and she nodded. "Help me carry her back?"
A dark hand put the empty glass down, ice chinking together in the silence. His little sister was becoming stronger, and that could be a problem. Nanami had written him, wanting to destroy his sister, and he had indulged the flighty sister of Touga Kiryuu. He hadn't expected Anshii to have recovered that much of her own powers. He'd simply have to tread more carefully.
He turned, looking at the sleeping figure. "She is much like Utena, isn't she? But that's why you loved them both so much."
Dios didn't answer. He never moved when Akio was there. Not since that day when Dios had gotten up and walked away.
Akio snorted. "Suit yourself. She won't win. You will cease to exist entirely, and I will be the one to take the power." He turned and walked away from Dios, footsteps echoing long after he was out of sight.
A small smile cracked across pale lips.
Dear readers, you'll notice that yours truly screwed up. I fixed it (
It was with great reluctance that Anshii finally donned the uniform and bid Ayomi farewell until they'd meet on the dueling platform.
She hadn't been challenged before.
When she arrived at the Rose Gate, something was different. It seemed darker, as if there were some evil tinge to the area that needed purging. The gates swung open without a sound, and Anshii stepped through.
Through the trees she walked, noting the unearthly chill that wafted through the area, starting at every whispered sound and half-seen image. She felt like she'd fallen into a haunted house designed to spook and unsettle her. Her eyes widened. That was it, wasn't it? Someone's will was being imposed here, someone with a very bad intent.
"Himemiya. about Nanami."
Touga's voice echoed in her memory.
"She's gotten it into her head that Ayomi is Utena, and if she kills her, then you will be punished and I will be freed from her memory."
Has Nanami done this? Am I dueling Nanami for Ayomi's life? A chill shot through Anshii as she approached the spiral staircase. Looking up towards the platform, she saw only darkness, an almost complete isolation from the world. She stepped onto the first step, willing some light into the world. She was the Light's Guardian, wasn't she? Wasn't she the one who had started it all?
Power pulsed away from her, offsetting the darkness with the brilliance of her own thought. Old powers began to tingle at re-use, and felt a confidence settle around her shoulders. She saw this for what it was now, a ploy by Akio. A counter-plot was forming in her mind as she climbed the stairs, pushing the darkness away with her own light. She couldn't burn the darkness away, but she was strong enough to offset it.
Ayomi met her at the top of the stairs, a nervous figure in white. "This darkness. the castle does not answer my call."
"The castle doesn't answer because this darkness chokes it." A voice cut through the darkness, and Anshii identified it immediately. Cloaked in darkness, Nanami stood in the center of the dueling platform, arms folded across her chest with a smirk on her face. "You are powerless to defeat me without the castle. Feel free, however, to try. The end result will be the same; I will kill Ayomi."
Anshii's eyes narrowed, and she stepped in front of Ayomi and threw her right hand up in front of her. "You can try to obliterate it all. You can try to block the light." She raised her hand, wrist up, fingers tilted down. Powers came to call, just as they had so many years ago. She could feel the castle responding, she could feel the Sword of Dios echo the pulse.
Anshii stepped back, catching Ayomi in her left arm, feeling the weight of the girl fall backwards as the Sword of Dios responded to the call. Anshii drew it forth, the brilliance of the blade cutting away the darkness, spilling light over the dueling platform. "But the Light of Dios is not an ordinary light. It cannot be choked." She advanced on Nanami, Ayomi straightening her skirt as she watched Anshii take the initiative. "It cannot be stifled. You cannot destroy his light."
Nanami stepped back, not expecting the initial attack. She had thought that Anshii would have been intimidated. She gathered her wits and drew her sword, defending against Anshii's swift incoming attacks, looking for a way in. If she could only unsettle her. "Try as you might, you cannot make her into Utena. Just as you can never be a Prince. And when she is dead, Touga will be mine!"
Anshii felt a rush of anger, but suddenly, the castle burst into fiery life above them, burning away the darkness, Dios falling towards her, arms outstretched. Anshii lifted her arms to him, felt him embrace her, but nothing else was needed.
The darkness shattered, taking Nanami's ring and rose along with it.
Ayomi and Anshii walked up to the blonde girl who lay on the floor of the platform and looked at her. "Miss Anshii. we should take her back home. She doesn't belong in this."
For a moment, Anshii was tempted to leave her there, but good sense won out, and she nodded. "Help me carry her back?"
A dark hand put the empty glass down, ice chinking together in the silence. His little sister was becoming stronger, and that could be a problem. Nanami had written him, wanting to destroy his sister, and he had indulged the flighty sister of Touga Kiryuu. He hadn't expected Anshii to have recovered that much of her own powers. He'd simply have to tread more carefully.
He turned, looking at the sleeping figure. "She is much like Utena, isn't she? But that's why you loved them both so much."
Dios didn't answer. He never moved when Akio was there. Not since that day when Dios had gotten up and walked away.
Akio snorted. "Suit yourself. She won't win. You will cease to exist entirely, and I will be the one to take the power." He turned and walked away from Dios, footsteps echoing long after he was out of sight.
A small smile cracked across pale lips.
Dear readers, you'll notice that yours truly screwed up. I fixed it (