Chapter 5

The Deadly Night

For Juri, the party had been what she expected, a short walk in the small world of those who fancied themselves. Sure, she didn't mind social gatherings, but they were mostly popularity contests. They were always the same in the end, and if she came out smelling like a rose from every one, what was the problem?

Having left the party for an evening walk, she found herself wandering down a quiet road into the streets near the academy. Nightsong filled the air with the faint chirp of late crickets and the distant sound of lone vehicles cruising empty highways.

As she walked, her gaze trailed up at the stars, billions of brilliant stars, each one as old as time itself. For so long, she had wanted, longed for an eternal something, or proof that no such thing could be, so that she might stop wishing for it. Now, all she wanted was to keep going, to live a normal life away from the lies of the world.

"Isn't eternal peace something eternal as well?" A familiar voice rippled in her mind. Juri stopped dead in her tracks.

For a moment, she stood perfectly still, not daring to move. Her eyes widened, her heart pounded, her breath came in gasps. Slowly, she turned around, her eyes trailing up to the luminous figure standing before her.

He was tall, his hair a soft blue, cut short with a shock of light blue running through the right bang, the school uniform he wore a flawless white. Though he was transparent, it would have made no difference to Juri. He was as real to her as when she had last seen him, before he died two years ago.

"Ruka, you can't be here, you're dead." Her voice quavered with emotion at the sight of the spectral man.

"Come now, Juri, you don't think I watch over you in death, even as in life? I love you, Juri, and shall not let a trivial thing like being dead stop me."

"But, but that's impossible, you can't actually be here! It doesn't make sense!" Her knees quavered, but she held herself up. The apparition of her dead love smiled warmly.

"Nothing is impossible here, Juri. Ever since the seal was cracked, little flows of Eternity, the wonders of this world locked away by science, have been escaping." He walked slowly up to her trembling form, brushing his hand against her cheek.

Juri, overcome by emotion, fell into Ruka's arms and cried upon his shirt. It didn't matter anymore that she couldn't understand what was going on. She didn't need to understand, the warmth of his presence was enough for her.

"Why, why, did you have to die? I know now what you did for me, but now I have no one. Ever since Shiori left, I've been alone." She felt a burning shame for her secrets, but she couldn't keep them buried any longer. Telling a man who would speak to no one else, that she wasn't even confident he was real at all, made a strange sense to her.

"Proud and lonely. My dear Juri, that your heart burns with unrequited love, and you have none to turn to, it saddens me. Yet you are too proud to show it, to reveal the real Juri under the mask." He brushed a tear from her cheek, a warm, sad smile on his face. "Someday, you will find what your heart desires, but if you close the door to your heart, you may find yourself alone again."

A gust of wind blew strongly, pulling him away like sand upon a dune. As he vanished, Juri dropped to her knees, tears streaming heavily from her cheeks. She didn't believe in ghosts, she never wanted to believe in miracles anymore, but no matter how much she tried, she couldn't stop believing.

***

Utena walked back towards the East Dorm, her thoughts troubled by Touga's words. Could what he said be true? Was Ohtori Academy really all that he made it out to be? Could Eternity really be grasped here? Was it worth the terrible price that people had payed trying to find it? No, this place was like any other, just a place. Eternity could be found anywhere. No prize was worth the price of the lives given to gain it. It only made sense, right?

A shiver ran down her spine as feet tapped rapidly in the night. She turned, just in time to see the masked assailant come at her. He swept down with a heavy sword, narrowly missing the nimble girl. Utena recovered her balance, facing her attacker. He lunged again, driving the razor sharp point at her heart. She twisted again, but this time her foot caught, allowing the blade to skim across the front of her jacket, leaving a long slash.

She fell heavily as he flew past her, tripping over her legs. He pushed himself to his knees, just in time to receive a hefty blow to the back of his head. Seeing her assailant rise from the kick as well, Utena pulled herself up, running as hard as she could to get away.

"Help, somebody help!" She yelled, but no answer was forthcoming. The night seemed to swallow her cry whole, as if the air itself refused to give her plea passage. The sight of the woods brought relief to her, and she dashed in, hoping to lose her pursuer within.

The man was relentless, however, chasing her into the darkened wood, the heavy blade still in his hands. Mindlessly, he plowed after her, chasing his prey like a pack of dogs after a fox. He would not let her escape, no matter how far she ran.

***

High in the tower, he watched as the figures disappeared into the woods. He would have to admonish her for her foolishness. He lit a lone candle upon the coffee table in front of him. The flame guttered, blowing out as a stiff, chill breeze blew in.

His darkly dressed companion stood watching him from a distance, her hands folded tightly around her book bag. She began to quiver as he turned his lovely dark face towards her trembling body. A snake sat atop a bird cage, its eyes locked with the little yellow canary within.

She found herself drawn to him as he beckoned, unable and unwilling to escape his alluring call. Desperate, trembling, she crouched on the floor before him, too afraid to look up. The cage sat empty, the snake happily wrapped around the top.

"Why did you do that?" He asked, his voice sultry and tender.

"I was wrong." Hers was small, barely audible.

"You've been a naughty girl." His tone unchanged.

"Yes." Her voice grew smaller.

"What will I do about it?"

There was no answer, there didn't need to be. She knew he would punish her for her choices, but she would take it. She always took it. Even now, she wanted nothing but his approval, his acknowledgement that she had done well. He wouldn't give it to her, not for messing up this badly. He would punish her for her choices, and she would like it. She wanted anything he would give her, even his scorn.

He ruffled her hair softly with one big dusky hand. His eyes watching her in her shame. She didn't know it, but she had done very well. He smiled secretly to himself, making a mental note to reward her later for her unwitting obedience. For now, however, he would let her think that she had broken the rules, that she had angered him. It would be a good lesson for her, a lesson not to forget who her master was. There had to be no doubt, and he would make sure of it.

***

Nemo didn't care about the darkness, or the fact he could no longer see. He had all he needed in front of him, and no forest would keep him from finding the hope he sought. Pressing onward, his walk became brisk, then a run, then a sprint. He could feel the bestial nature rising in his blood, driving him onward.

He shook his head, letting drops of sweat flicker into the night, trying to regain control. I am not an animal, I have to keep control. His mind raced as he continued deeper into the woods, the struggle between the darkness within his mind, the snarling mask, and the noble heart that fought to suppress it.

Suddenly the trees broke into a wide clearing, filled with a floor of stone tiles over the hard ground. Sitting in the middle of this opening, there stood a vanity, with a large mirror facing him.

As he approached the vanity, he could see a small white ring sitting upon it. Set on the ring was the crest of the school, the Rose Seal. As he picked it up, the wind grew strong, fluttering in the branches. Faintly, it carried with it the rattle of chains and the heavy click of a lock. Nemo's eyes grew tense and he dropped the ring back onto the vanity.

From within it, his reflection glared at him. Then it spoke! "What are you doing!?" The noble, unmasked face he wore demanded from within.

"I don't want to be enslaved." He replied, the face of a wolf replacing his own.

"Look at you," the mirror image taunted, "you're a wild beast, unwilling to rein yourself in. That's the reason you hurt people, you're unwilling to give up your freedom, the freedom to be nothing more than a beast!"

The wolf faced boy smiled at his noble reflection. "I may love my freedom, but I am also noble. I have not lost my need to be free of myself, nor my quest that binds me. But to put a chain upon my neck and to heel upon a master's whim is not going to free me of my burden, just put me in the power of someone else."

"Very well, if you are not willing to free yourself of that mask, then I'll free you myself!" The mirror image drew a long, nimble rapier and, rising up, pushed through the mirror to face his bestial self.

Drawing back in alarm, the wolf faced Nemo reached for something that would serve as a weapon. His hand fumbled until it found a rack of swords sitting on the edge of the tiled stones. He gripped the first that came to his hand, a scimitar with an old blade, pitted and rusted with age. Uncaring, he approached his opponent, sweeping the vicious blade at his mirrored self.

The handsome reflection dodged back, avoiding the heavy attacks, flicking back with the rapier, inflicting small, precise cuts upon his foe. Stung and maddened by his smiling reflection, Nemo lunged again, this time ferocity lending him strength and speed, his attacks slashing lethally towards his foe.

The reflection wasn't quick enough and went down as the scimitar shattered his shoulder. Nemo stood over his fallen opponent, staring coldly down at his injured reflection upon the ground.

A mocking laugh arose from the wounded man as he stood again, his shoulder uninjured as he faced the bewildered Nemo. "Hahahahaha! You didn't really think you had won, did you? No, you can't defeat me, because I am a part of you, the part worth keeping! You are the waste that remains of my pure self."

The wolf looked confused for a moment, but only a moment. His mouth falling agape with realization, it turned to a grin. Not an angry or feral grin, but one of his true face, the noble smile of his heart coming to peace with his savage instinct. It was the reflection's turn to look alarmed.

"No, you are not me." He whispered. "If I was indeed only the wolf, I would have come upon you as soon as you fell, slaughtering you like an animal. My nature has not changed, and a noble heart still beats within me."

"So you may see through the trap, but you still can't kill me!" The apparition attacked again, battling him fiercely. The rapier was gone, replaced by a mighty cleaver that rose and fell, each time threatening to shatter the rusted blade.

Snap! The old sword finally gave way, breaking under the deadly attack. Nemo dashed away, trying to escape his assailant. The reflection pursued him, laughing mockingly as he slashed at his fleeing foe.

"Nemo, catch!" Nemo dove out, grabbing hold of the katana that sailed out through the darkness. He rolled and blocked the attack that threatened to end his life.

"Saionji, what are you doing here!?" Nemo struggled, throwing his mirror image off with a sharp kick to the gut.

"Never mind that now! How do we kill this thing!?" Saionji hurried over, unarmed but willing.

"I'm not sure, he seems to be a reflection of me."

"A reflection? The mirror on the vanity! Break it!" Saionji responded. Nemo nodded, whirling the blade about, slamming the sword into the mirror.

"No!" The image screamed, just as the glass and wood shattered under the impact of the strong blade. Just as the mirror had, the image splintered into a million fragments that rained upon the stone ground.

Nemo turned to Saionji, returning the katana that had saved his life back to its owner. "I owe you a great deal of thanks for that."

"You know, Nemo, there are some bonds that are worth making." Saionji grinned.

"Maybe you're right." Nemo replied.

***

Utena hid in the thick brush of the woods, awaiting her assailant. She had a hefty branch broken from a nearby tree, and was crouching in fearful anticipation of the armed man that had chased her here. A crack of twigs alerted her to the approach of a tall figure approaching through the growth of the nighttime forest.

"Hiyaaa!" Utena cried out as she struck him sharply across the head with the branch, snapping it in two with the force of the blow.

"Uhhhn." With an anguished grunt, the man fell to the ground, finally unconscious. Before she knew what was happening, however, another figure had jumped upon her back, wrestling to pin her.

She fell across the ground, writhing heavily to escape her new attacker. He was too strong to get off, locking a firm arm underneath her chin and around her waist, forcing Utena down. Losing her breath, Utena twisted sharply, slamming her attacker into a tree with her back. A gasp from the man told her she had knocked the wind out of him. Using the moment, she pushed free, scrambling away, and regaining her feet as the man rose.

A pesky cloud moved aside, allowing moonlight to filter into the trees, revealing the identity of the newcomer. Nemo stood there, legs spread in a fighting stance, but the sweat upon his brow and the huffs of air told her he was already tired.

"Why did you attack us?" He demanded, his voice a whispering growl.

"Attack you? I thought you were chasing me!"

"Why would we be chasing you? We were just trying to get out of the woods, when you came out of nowhere and knocked Saionji out!" Nemo snarled angrily.

"Saionji?" Utena looked over at the unconscious man lying in the dirt. Embarrassment crossed her face, as she put her hands in front of her. "Uh, I think there has been some kind of mistake! I didn't know who it was."

Nemo lowered his guard as she turned to help Saionji. Together, they dragged him out of the woods, their eyes trailing around, ending with each other. Nemo squinted, still unsure of this girl, but Utena only smiled, a smile that began to melt a cold heart.