Disclaimer: see earlier chapters
A/N: first off, I apologise to those who have been waiting for this chapter. It took me awhile to figure out what t o focus on, and then my real life interrupted my writing... and my thanks to the people who were sticking with the story so far, for their patience . Chapter nine is on the way, but there's no guarantee it will be up anytime soon... on with the story now.
Eight
Night Visions
Miki
Pretty strange how things turn out. Juri said she had come to enroll Alexand in the school, but I am not so sure. Her broken sword is not mended yet, so I know that she is not the Duelist. Alex is.
Then again, I begin to think we had placed too much trust in Alex. What with white hair and unusual lavender eyes, he sort of reminds me of Akio, and I hesitate to ask. Juri is not the sort of person to fall under Akio's command - even though we all were in there.
Ironically, the one who was the weakest had saved us all then. Oh, no, I'm not talking about Utena. Even Utena was not easily swayed, but she fell. Anthy, on the other hand, had changed the most of us - from the quiet and too obedient Rose Bride into a Duellist.
The ruins of Nemuro Hall are quiet as I wander through them, trying to remember. A hundred students have died in here one night, and it's funny how nobody seems to remember that. I admit that I have also forgotten about it beginnig grade seevn, but I am beginning to remember.
My soft chuckle echoes through the empty ruins as I stop at the end of the Hall,looking into the darkness. Just as I thought, a bush of black roses has found its way up through the stone and concrete. One rose is missing, and I smile, thinking about our newest Duelist, for Amy had recently escaped the clutches of the Black Roses. Her eyes became bright and clear the second we had stepped out of the new Arena and the black Rose Signet she received had tranaformed into the clear, sapphire blue of her eyes. I smirk as I think of the Black Rose unlucky enough to face their former ally. Amy was certainly an interesting person. I was going to have to watch out for her - and for the rest of them.
I turn to leave the Nemuro Hall, and stop, glancing at the single bush of roses. Signs of life stir throughout the empty building once again, and I feel myself shivering, even through the night is still warm.
Something was coming, I just know it. And Juri's return and Alex's appearance have everything to do with it all.
Amy
I pause before the Nemuro Memorial Hall after I notice a lone figure standing at its end. At first, I believe it to be a shadow, but then Miki lightly steps out of the dark, joining me in the troublesome light of the school lanterns.
'I would not go in there if I were you,' he told me casually, as if he were warning me to pick up my umbrella because it might rain. 'The shadows of the past are alive tonight.'
I smile lightly.
'It's okay. I am free.'
Miki glances at me with a quiestion dancing in his eyes, and a small smile, equal to mine, tugging at his lips.
'Are you really, Amy? Or are you not?' He pauses slightly, grinning in the night. 'We'll see about that.'
'Whyt all the mystery, Miki?' I ask him quietly. 'What are the shadows hiding?'
He just shrugs, his arm resting uneasily on the hilt of his sword.
'I don't know, but I think we will find it out soon enough.'
I nod briefly.
'So, did you manage that perfect picture yet?'
I start at the sudden change of topic and casually look his way. He is looking straight ahead, striding fast. I find myself skipping in order to keep up with his long strides, but I do not mind. Even though Miki had tactfully changed the topic around that dreary place I can feel magic in the air this night. Perhaps, he is right, after all.
'N...No.' I gasp out. 'But I think I will, eventually.'
He smiles at me lightly.
'Be careful what you wish for, Amy. In here, it just might come true.'
I try to puzzle over his words, but give up eventually. This is very strange, and I really try not to think much about what happened since I was quite free from that place. I was betwixt and between at times, not quite me and yet myself completely. Now, though, that feeling seems to temporarily disappear.
As I return to my room, leaving Miki to himself, I sigh and examine the clear blue ring on my hand. IT was black a few days ago, but it cleared as soon as the sword flew out of my hand and the rose away from me. I still think that I was hallucinating about all of it, that it was a dream - but exiting that dark cave with the others was no dream. Apparently I blanked out. There are stil blank places in my mind, and those are not blank anymore - they are filled with music I now recognize. But where have I heard it before?
I sigh again and bury my head in my hands. Everything is so confusing that it's hard to figure out. But maybe, just maybe, I can do that. But then again, do I really want to find out who I am?
I put away the sketchbook and pencil after giving up for the night. My hands are slightly sore, both from handling the pencil and the unfamiliar until today weight of the foil in them. Was it only a week since the school began? I probably lost a track of time.
I close my eyes, almost immediately dropping into another abyss of a dream.
With a startled gasp, I am wide awake, as if I was not dreaming at all. I tiredly brush my long hair away from my sweaty face and try to remember it, but nothing comes to mind, my mind is blank. Strange, I can almost swear that there is smething at the very back of my mind, just waiting to be awake as myself, but it is out o my reach. All I can remember is Miki's sword glittering with power in the darkness, sliding out of my chest, and somebody grasping the handle in a burst of light. Then, the figure had raised the sword, while I sank to the ground, feeling again powerless and bound.
I frown into the darkness and uneasily glance at the clock. It is only past two, the darkest hour of night, but I realise that I cannot sleep. It is quite useless now. Instead, I'm dressng up and moving towards Nemuro Hall.
I gasp, as the flames lick the sky. The Hall is alive with screams, and there are shadows leaping around the empty walls. Seemingly, I am in another dream.
Am I sleepwalking? I have no power nor will to prove it. I am drifting, drifting through time around the old building that was once filled with life. Someone had left only timbers from the Hall once, but it was rebuilt along with the Shadows.
A very real scream pulls me out of my reverie, and I wheel around with a start, my hand on my foil, and my mind as sharp as my foil's edge.
The ground is empty, but the dark hall is ablaze in flames. A strange-loking young woman in old-fashioned school uniform stands right behind me, her black eyes reflecting fright and dancing flames. The girl's right hand is clutching my rose, the one of deep sapphire blue, and another hand is half-raised to her mouth, unsuccessfuly trying to stifle herself from screaming. Her emerald hair are loose and bound by the crown of gold on her head. Her gown - now I realise that it is no uniform that the girl wears but a gown - is of same colour as her hair, with gold epolettes attached to her shoulders.
I frown in confusion, and stare at the girl. She looks like someone I know, but at the same time I do not know her at all.
The girl points her shaking hand at me, still clutching the sapphire rose, her eyes wide with fright and fear.
'Murderer! You are their murderer!' She says in a shaky voice. 'You - you - just burned the Hall to the ground! Nobody - nobody will get out of there alive! You killed them all!'
general POV
If anyone would have stood at the site of the Nemuro Memorial Hall, they would have seen an amazing sight. They wouldd have seen the Hall blazing with fire, and the silhouettes of two girls, one dressed in gown and another in the standart Student Council uniform. Waves of long hair streamed around the girls, one real and one from the past long forgotten, and as the real flames burst around and inside the Hall, the imaginary girl disappeared, and the real one collapsed on the ground, her vision darkening as the night outside...
A/N: Well, there you have it...chapter nine incmoming, but am not sure when. thanks for reading