Duel of the Thorns
Chapter Four: Shi wo Shinushinaide
The moment Utena reaches the bottom of the stairs, she finds that Kizumi's body, and the pool of blood beneath it, have vanished. No trace of Kizumi, or the Thorn's corruption remains. It has all disappeared, like waking from a dream. Nothing remains. All that there is, is a memory whose reality is questionable. Only a memory, the only proof of Kizumi's existence, the powers he possessed, the meeting that they had, and the words he had spoken. In a single and unexpected gesture, the young prince plunged to his doom from atop a black and twisted spire, yet even his death seems to be but an illusion. The boy...the man the boy had become...the girl that is a prince...the foreboding fate that still lingers around the corner. Kizumi Togemura may have killed himself, yet his death is fleeting. The sense of dread that he had instilled into her concerning the Thorn Duelists still lingers in her chest. Would the final duel over the fate of the world really be prevented by the death of her would-be oppenent, or would another simply rise and take his place?
A shadow stands atop of a tree overlooking the arena. "Oh foresake me not, deny me not, spare me not. The blood flows and flows, yet the breath of life does not fade. Dear and precious prince, take no pity upon this wretched beast. Draw your sword and strike me down. Cut me up and divide my parts and scatter them to the ends of the earth! Oh prince, be swift in thy task! Hesitate not, for this is what must be done! Oh prince with such a gentle heart, glide down from thy heavenly palace and pierce this frozen over heart and bring it rest!"
Utena Tenjou and Anthy Himemiya return to their home. Anthy, carries on as normal, two young women whom none would suspect would could ever be involved in a conspiracy about illegal school duels and the fate of the world. However, Utena's thoughts are unable to focus on the present. Her life should have been normal. Her only concerns should have been teaching her classes. Her days as a duelist should have been over. Yet Kizumi Togemura's words...and his death...weigh heavily on her mind. Thoughts such as 'why did he warn me', and 'why did he kill himself', and 'what purpose those all this serve', and 'what good could come out of this' fill Utena's mind.
That night, Utena rests uneasily. Her dreams take her back to the days when she herself was a student, drawn into these strange duels. Scattered throughout her dreams are fragments of the many questions that now weigh heavily on her mind. The memories become corrupted by the thoughts of the recent past. She watches as the Rose Duels of her memories become corrupted by the Thorn Duels. Even times when she had fought against the Black Roses, the Thorns seem to appear and take over, covering everything in darkness, blood, and destruction. Kizumi frequently appears, either watching from the sideline, or dying by either coming between the two duelists and being run through by one or by falling to his death between the two. In one instance, Kizumi replaced Touga by interposing himself between Utena and Saionji.
Eventually, Utena's dreams turn to thoughts of the future. Her dreams are filled with images of the Thorn Duels and all the things Kizumi had warned her about. Her dreams induce scenarios of what could be, and what might come. Before finally waking up, she faces the Thorn Prince in the final duel, a duel to the death. She runs Kizumi through, who intentially runs onto her sword. He coughs, blood spilling forth from his mouth. Utena pulls the sword out of his body, his wound gushing out a fountain of blood. She steps back as the Thorn Prince falls on his hands and knees, blood pouring out of his body and spewing out of his mouth. He struggles to keep himself from falling down, as an unnatural amount of blood oozes out of his body. He looks up at Utena with sad eyes, his tears replaced by streams of blood. He painful coughs once more, a geyser of blood exploding out of it, and then collapses. Utena breathes a sigh of relief as she turns to walk away. Kizumi screams out in pain, though he should be dead. He struggles to his feet, blood continuously pouring out from his body, so that he appears to be no more than a blood drenched zombie. He turns to look at Utena with blood covered eyes. "Do not...run...away. I...am...not...dead. I...cannot...die. If you...kill me...I will...only...live...more. I...can die...without...dying. I...cannot...die." Utena turns around in shock, as Kizumi's body twists and contorts, slowly and painfully being transformed into a completely different being. Utena finds herself face to face with a hideous, blood covered demon, whose only human feature is the Thorn Prince's beautiful face and hair.
The school day proceeds as normally as usually. However, throughout all of her classes, Utena Tenjou remains on edge, her thoughts often lingering on the horrific nightmare she endured. The entire school seems to be unaware of her plight, and the potential danger that they might face. The new transfer student, Kizumi Togemura, appears to be nowhere around. It seems to Utena, that the events of the previous evening did indeed occur, or that, perhaps, there never was a Kizumi Togemura. If so, then why would she be so unnerved?
A young man sits isolated under the shade of a tree, unseen and unnoticed. His shadowed form is small and tiny. He twirls a flower in his hands. "To die without dying...such a cruel fate. How long will this sick cycle of pain and tears continue? There is no escape. One cannot flee from fate. All has been determined. Free will is without meaning. The hearts of men lead only to destruction, and not even a single pure heart, filled with love and sadness greater than all the hate in all the world, can avert it. This cannot be averted."
The unseen youth is approach by another, a man with long flowing hair who carries himself in a regal manner of a prince whom saves damsels in distress. He smoothly walks beside the other young man and stands cooly beside him. "She's beautiful, is she not?" The sitting man drops his flower as he turns to look at the stranger who had approached him. The flower rolls out of the shadow, revealing itself to be a white rose with black thorns. Blood trickles off of the flower. "I have no interest in women.", the shorter informs standing up to confront the intruder. The handsome prince smirks confidantly at the younger prince. He approaches him gently and wraps an arm around him. "And what of me, little prince, what do you think of me?"
The younger prince grabs the other's arm and jerks it off of him. His eyes sharpen as he stares down the smooth talking stranger. "You...don't exist. I think nothing of you. You are nothing to me. I do not know who you are, but I do not like you. I don't like the way you look. I don't like the way you speak. I don't like the way you act. You shouldn't be here...and you shouldn't be able to see me. You shouldn't even know who I am...who I really am. It doesn't matter. I know what I must do." "So, will you really fight her?" "It is an inevitable and inescapable destiny. I will fight her...and fate will decide. Until then...my existence will continue to persist. Until that final battle takes place, I cannot escape. I cannot die. Until then...death will be but an illusion for me."
