DISCLAIMER: I do not own SKU or "The Boy With the Thorn in his Side."
A/N: Remembered this song and decided on doing a throwback because why not?
Act 3-Scene 2
Mikage sat back in his chair, looking at his computer. Somehow he had ended up lost in the music he used to listen to when he was a young, teenage professor. He was about to leave this place, but he wanted to keep at last some memories.
"Who's that?" Mamiya asked curiously, setting a teacup down by Mikage's monitor. "An English Band?"
"'The Boy With the Thorn in His Side'," Mikage replied, naming the song. "By the Smiths."
"I didn't know you listened to music in English." Mamiya smiled. "But I guess it makes sense. You do have a thorn stuck in your side."
"Mamiya-kun!"
"A black rose thorn!"
"Enough of that. I need to finish my work."
"Alright, alright." As Mamiya walked back to his room, Mikage wished to himself that the boy would still keep some of that boyishness no matter what happened. It wasn't likely. Mikage went back to work, setting up for the professors that would soon replace him. He began to murmur the song to himself as he typed.
"The boy with the thorn in his side
Behind the hatred there lies
A murderous desire for love."
He hit the enter button, sending out all the emails that would let the hopefuls know their new position. Mikage knew love's destruction. Its terrible beauty. He also knew passion's danger. He couldn't quite tell the prospective new professors that, though.
"How can they look into my eyes
And still they don't believe me
How can they see me swing those swords
And still they don't believe me
And if they don't believe me now
Will they ever believe me?
And if they don't believe me now
Will they ever believe me?"
Shaking his head, Mikage turned off all the lights in his office. Now to put to final rest all of the other Black Rose Duelists. He went to the crematory and solemnly began the burning of a hundred passions. They were so familiar, just like reflections of himself. Once he was done, and the elevator was also shut down, he continued singing to himself.
"The boy with the thorn in his side
Behind the hatred there lies
A plundering desire for love"
Love and passion had costed Mikage. Too high a price in the eyes of some. But he felt strangely human. They would never understand, the desperate logic, the animal aggression. Not even the Ends of the World would. He was not human.
"How can they see the love in our eyes
And still they don't believe us
And after all this time
They don't want to believe us
And if they don't believe us now
Will they ever believe us?"
Mikage reached Mamiya's door and knocked. The boy opened it up, looking fresh-faced and determined.
"Are you still singing that melodramatic song?" he snorted.
"It's not melodramatic. Ohtori is melodramatic. This song is real."
As they walked side by side to the ends of the world, Mikage whispered the last few lines. He could almost imagine Tokiko walking with them. A single tear dripped down his cold cheek.
"And when you want to live
How do you start?
Where do you go?
Who do you need to know?"
