(A/N: And we're back with the next chapter. As you can tell by the title, the Student Council members will be making an appearance. On that note, I just want to make something clear. Some dialogue you may find controversial, but just know that I am trying to keep everyone in character and that their thoughts and feelings do not necessarily reflect my own. That's true for all characters really, I'm always trying to keep everyone in character, so please keep that in mind. I'll also be explaining two plot points in the Author's Note at the end, so if anyone reads these things, I'd suggest taking look at that one for an explanation that I'll get into at the end of this chapter. But for now onto the next installment. But before that, I want to say thanks to the person who gave me the shipping name for Juri and Shiori, which is Juriori. Yeah, I know, you'd think I'd know the ship name for my favorite yuri couple, but I only ever heard it referred to as Juri/Shiori. So thanks for that. Now, lets get to the chapter.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 3: The Student Council
Shiori watched as Juri walked away until she was out of sight. Once she was gone, her knees seemed to give out, and she found herself sliding down the length of the wall onto her rear. The last several minutes seemed to be speeding through her head as the full impact of what had just happened hit her.
Dear God, what had she done? She'd just agreed to be Juri's girlfriend. Her girlfriend. As in the two of them were now a couple. Going dates, spending quality time together, holding hands, snuggling, kissing, and… other things. That last thought caused Shiori to blush, and her hands went up to cover her heated cheeks.
She hadn't expected this. She'd just wanted her best friend back, and instead she had gotten a girlfriend. She hadn't seen that coming. She'd been prepared to do whatever she had to in order to be friends with Juri again, but she certainly hadn't seen this ultimatum coming. She still couldn't believe she had agreed to this.
It was true though, it wasn't fair to Juri for Shiori to insist on mending their friendship after everything she had done to her, especially in light of Juri's feelings for her. For Juri to do so, she would only be setting herself up for more heartache by being around Shiori and not being able to have her. In light of everything, she figured Juri's ultimatum of them giving being a couple a chance seemed pretty fair. If it didn't work out, then it didn't work out, no real harm done.
That had been a little out of character for Juri though. Or maybe she was just being bold since it had been Shiori herself who had ruined things between them and was now the one to come crawling back. So asking that the two of them try dating wasn't that unreasonable.
But still, Juri's girlfriend. She couldn't believe it. But she had been the one to agree. It wasn't like Juri forced her. She could have just said no if she wanted to. But to do so would mean losing Juri for good, and that was something Shiori didn't think she could bear. Without Juri, it felt like an essential piece of something was missing from her life, something she couldn't bear to be without, something that made her feel complete. So she had agreed, despite her hesitation.
Feeling her heart racing, Shiori's hand came up to cover her chest. She could indeed feel the rapid beating of her heart. But why was she so nervous? She'd dated before, first Andou, and then, more recently, Ruka, so it wasn't like her nervousness stemmed from inexperience. So why was she feeling this way?
Was it because she would be dating another girl? While she knew that there were those who were intolerant of same sex couples, they never bothered Shiori. However, she never considered dating another girl herself. That could be a cause for her being nervous, but she didn't think that was the case. No, something was telling her that it was because she would be dating Juri specifically.
"What am I doing?" she wondered out loud.
Getting up, she dusted herself off. Looking in the direction Juri had walked off in, she wondered how she should react the next time she saw the orange-haired girl. Should she treat her any different from when they were friends, or should she be all open and lovey-dovey? No, she should just act natural, just as she did when she started dating Ruka and Andou when she was with them. Nothing should really change between her and Juri now that they were going to be a couple, should it?
Her hands suddenly slapped against her cheeks. Of course things were going to change. There was a clear difference between being friends and being lovers, from what their relationship meant to what they did together. By agreeing to Juri's terms, she was crossing that threshold, and that prospect terrified her.
She told herself it shouldn't. Worst case scenario, a relationship didn't work out and they would end things, then go back to being just friends; that was what Juri had said, that they had to give having a relationship a try if she wanted them to be friends again. But that posed the question, what if a romantic relationship did work out between them? That's what really had Shiori nervous.
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The sound of Miki Kaoru hitting the button on his stopwatch brought Juri out of her thoughts. She'd been getting lost in them a lot since her interaction with Shiori. And many of those thoughts had her wondering what the hell she had been thinking.
She still couldn't believe she had done what she did, giving Shiori that ultimatum. It was so unlike her. She didn't usually act on spur of the moments, yet this time she had acted on impulse, going for what it was she truly wanted, with no real concern for the consequences.
Maybe that's why she had done it, because there were no real consequences. She had never acted on her feelings for Shiori before because she had been afraid to lose her. So after having decided to cut Shiori out of her life, it wouldn't have mattered if she would have lost her by acting on her feelings, because she had already walked away, thus giving her nothing to lose. This had made her bold towards Shiori, allowing her to put her offer on the table.
Part of her was telling her that this was a mistake. She'd finally found the will power to walk away from Shiori. This was clearly backtracking, and it could very well cause her to lose her resolve. But at the same time, it might be exactly what she needed. Because despite managing to finally let Shiori go, there was still that longing for her, and the hope that somehow, someway, there could still be something between them. What she had told Shiori was true, until she knew for sure that a relationship wouldn't work out, even if she did let Shiori go, she would always wonder 'what if'.
Running a hand over her face, she let out a small, humorless laugh. She felt pathetic resorting to this. Maybe she was pathetic. But as strong as she always seemed to be, she was always weak when it came to Shiori.
But she had agreed! Shiori had agreed to go out with her! This felt like a dream come true. For as long as Juri could remember, Shiori had been the one thing she truly wanted, but could never have. And now she had her. True it wasn't the way she had envisioned it, but it was a start, it was a chance. And from here, they would see where things would go.
"What's so funny?" asked Kyouichi Saionji in response to the laugh that had escaped her.
She glanced at the green-haired Student Council Vice-President. "Nothing, just thinking."
She looked around the room at the other members of the Student Council. Along with Miki and Kyouichi, there was also Touga Kiryuu, the Student Council President, and his little sister, Nanami, who were present. While Nanami had stepped down from her temporary position on the Student Council, she did occasionally sit in at their meetings. Not that they had as many meetings anymore now that End Of The World was no longer hosting the Dueling Game and sending out letters to them.
Of course, they still had regular meetings that one would expect Student Council members to have. The unorthodox activities of the Dueling Game aside, they did have actual duties to the school. This was nothing more than a normal meeting, although not much was really going on outside of the five of them simply hanging out.
Amongst the other members, and unofficial member if she still counted Nanami, Juri could really only call Miki her friend. The other three were more acquaintances rather than friends. She was friendly with them, and the bond they shared from what they went through in the Dueling Game was undeniable, but she couldn't say she was particularly close to them.
Miki gave her a curious look as he looked up from the latest melody he was writing. "Did something happen, Juri? It seems like you've got a lot on your mind today."
Was it that obvious? She was usually better at masking her thoughts and emotions. "I suppose you could say that."
"Care to share?" Touga asked.
He sounded genuinely interested, and even Kyouichi seemed to have his curiosity piqued, no doubt both wondering what had managed to penetrate the stoic front she usually put up. Or maybe there was more to it than that. Ever since the Dueling Game had come to an end, all five of them had been… different. Humbled, she supposed was the best way to put it. After being defeated and having their chance to revolutionize the world lost to them, they had all mellowed out.
Touga was no longer so egotistical and seemed to have cast aside a lot of his pride, not to mention he no longer seemed interested in playing games with people, even though he was still very much the school playboy. Kyouichi had deflated his head a lot too and was no longer so mean or insufferable to be around, and he didn't seem to get as angry as much or as often as he did before. Nanami was, well, she was still Nanami, but she was less bratty and didn't act so entitled all the time, nor did she go out of her way to be mean to others anymore, at least not too much.
Really, the only one who hadn't really changed was Miki. He had grown as a person, for sure, but he had always been a kind-hearted and caring individual. Perhaps that had been why Juri considered him a friend while she was more hesitant to say the same of the other three. But with this new attitude of theirs, and with End Of The World no longer influencing them, perhaps, in time, she would be able to call them actual friends.
As for Juri herself, well, she had changed too. She was less stoic and cold, and the kindness she displayed was now more sincere rather than just a way to keep up appearances. She certainly found herself smiling a lot more and being happier, and no longer was she so cynical and judgmental. Yes, it seemed that the Dueling Game, particularly the people involved with it, had changed them for the better.
But then there was Touga's question. Should she tell them about her and Shiori? True, she had said that the two of them could keep their relationship a secret until Shiori was ready to tell people, but the members of the Student Council were different. They already knew about her love for the violet-haired girl, and while she may not exactly be friends with all of them, she knew that they knew how to keep a secret. And besides, it might be good for her to have some people to talk to about her situation.
Letting out a sigh, she sat back in her seat. "There's been a… change in my relationship with Shiori."
Touga raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Oh? How so?"
She decided to just come right out and say it. "We decided to try giving being a couple a chance."
There, she said it, and now she glanced at each of them to see their reaction. The three boys all looked surprised. Nanami did as well, but then a look of mild disgust crossed her face.
"That's gross," she said, turning up her nose.
"Nanami," Touga lightly scolded, giving her a disapproving look. "That's rude. There's nothing wrong with two girls loving each other, just like there's nothing wrong with two boys loving each other."
But Nanami just stubbornly harrumphed and crossed her arms, turning away. "That's gross too. It's weird that two people of the same sex would date each other."
"It's not weird, Nanami, just different," Miki told her. "Don't be intolerant."
The blonde girl just waved this off. "I'm not. If you want to date another girl, feel free, I really don't care. It's your life, you can do whatever you want with it. But I'm still free to think it's gross. I'm sure there are things you find gross too." Then her expression darkened. "Besides, I've seen a lot worse. The kinds of things I've seen the chairman get up to with his sister, now that I can't tolerate. But if you're into other girls, that's your business, don't let my opinion stop you."
Juri just stared at her. Nanami was such an enigma at times. Well, she supposed the girl was entitled to her own opinion. While she may find same sex relationships gross, she at least didn't seem to disapprove of them or be against them the way Juri knew some people were. But now she was wondering what exactly it was Nanami had seen the chairman and Anthy doing together that had disgusted her; there were actually quite a number of questionable things about Akio Ohtori.
From over in his corner, Kyouichi swung his kendo stick. "I suppose congratulations are in order then."
"Yes," Miki agreed, giving her a smile. "I'm glad that things are finally working out for the two of you." But then a frown crossed his face and he gave the orange-haired girl a curious look. "So then why do you seem so… melancholic? I would have thought that you'd be happy about this. You've loved her for so long."
A sigh escaped Juri as she leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands. "I suppose it's the way we got together. It wasn't exactly… orthodox."
Nanami scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Juri made a mumbling noise before deciding to just confess. "I gave her an ultimatum. She wanted to mend our friendship, I wanted to sever all ties with her."
Miki looked surprised by this. "Sever all ties? But why? I thought you loved her."
"I do," Juri insisted. "And that's the problem. It was too painful to be around her, but I didn't have the strength to walk away from her before now. So I told her, if she wanted us to be friends, then she had to try going out with me first."
She glanced at them to determine their reactions and possible judgment. Miki was staring at her in shock while both Touga and Kyouichi had looks on their faces that were harder to read, though they too seemed perplexed. Only Nanami seemed to not care.
"Juri, that's…" Miki began, seemingly trying to find the right word, "unexpected of you."
"I agree," said Kyouichi. "I wouldn't expect you to do something like that."
"Indeed," Touga agreed. "Even I have never used such underhanded tactics."
Juri cut her eyes at him. "As if you need to, Mr. Playboy. All you need to do is flash a girl a smile and she's liable to fall into bed with you. You've never had to struggle with winning a girl over."
The red-haired boy frowned at that, now appearing thoughtful. "I suppose you make a point. However, you are wrong about that last part. I do know what it's like to struggle with love." A resigned look crossed his face as he leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. "Especially since the girl I really love appears to be immune to my charms, but was blinded by another's, despite my warnings to her."
Juri raised an eyebrow, having no idea what he meant by that, but then decided that Touga's love life was none of her concern. "In any case, it's not like I'm forcing her to do anything. If she doesn't want to date me, she doesn't have to."
Miki frowned in apparent disapproval. "But then she'll lose you as a friend."
Juri internally winced at that. What he said was true. But why was it fair that she had to suffer because of what Shiori wanted? Didn't she deserve a chance to be happy too? Was asking for a chance for her love to bear fruit if she was going to continue to put her heart at risk really so bad?
From over where she was sitting, Nanami harrumphed. "Well, I don't see anything wrong with it. There's something she wants and there's something you want. This way you both get what you want. At the end of the day, isn't this basically just some kind of transaction? Like you said, you're not forcing her to do anything. Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't do this once she first found out how you felt; I certainly would have. So I say good for you. I hope it works out."
Juri blinked at the younger girl's words. Just a few minutes ago she was saying that two girls being romantically involved with each other was gross, now she was supporting what she did and was wishing her luck that it all worked out? Just what exactly went on in Nanami's head? Juri didn't think she'd ever figure her out.
Looking back and forth between the two girls, Miki sighed and leaned back into his seat. "Just be careful. I don't want to see you get hurt."
Juri gave him an appreciative smile. "I think all of us have been hurt enough. It's time for things to start working out for us now that…"
She trailed off, but they all knew what she was going to say; now that the Dueling Game was over and they didn't need to deal with End Of The World anymore. The man had been a blight on their lives for the longest time, but one they had put up with for the prize at the end of the tournament. Touga in particular had been a primary victim of the man's manipulation, likely because he had been the primary candidate to win the Dueling Game before the one who had become the actual champion had entered the fray. For some strange reason though, Juri couldn't remember who that person was.
Touga cleared his throat. "In any case, since we're bringing up the Dueling Game, since it was essentially… inconclusive, considering there was no revolution that occurred, perhaps we should find a way to address the student body."
Kyouichi went back to swinging his kendo stick. "What do you mean?"
Miki clicked his stopwatch. "Surely you must have heard the rumors going around. There's a lot of talk regarding the Dueling Game spreading around the school, including Anthy Himemiya's involvement with it and why she left."
A scowl crossed the green-haired boy's face at Anthy's name and he aggressively swung his kendo stick. "No, I haven't. What talk? And wasn't the tournament supposed to be primarily kept secret?"
"It was," Touga replied with a nod. "But no secret as big as this can ever truly remain unknown. Some information will eventually get out and rumors will spread. The Shadow Girls in particular are feeding those rumors."
Kyouichi raised an eyebrow. "Shadow Girls? You mean those girls in the drama club that are constantly reenacting gossip around the school with shadow theater?"
Touga nodded again. "Indeed. And it's got a lot of students talking. Throw in Anthy's involvement in it and why she left, the death of Ruka Tsuchiya, and whatever is going on with the chairman, and it's gotten a lot of students talking."
Juri just shrugged. "So let them talk. The Dueling Game is over, so it doesn't matter anymore. Rumors will be rumors. They'll die down eventually."
Miki clicked his stopwatch again. "It's not whether the rumors will die down or not that's the problem. You know how gossip can become exaggerated and embellished. And with our involvement in the Dueling Game, students are beginning to question us."
Touga was once more nodding along with what Miki was saying. "And the things being discussed range from questioning our competence as members of the Student Council to making some pretty dark and outrageous claims and accusations."
Juri frowned, but truth be told, some of those rumors may hit a little close to the mark. The Student Council wasn't exactly innocent and had done some pretty shady and questionable things, even if it had been due to End Of The World working behind the scenes and manipulating everyone. But still, such rumors would reflect badly on them and could make it difficult for them to do their Student Council duties, and that was probably the best-case scenario.
"And it's not just us," Miki continued. "Talk has been centering around anyone involved with the Dueling Game. I don't want my sister to suffer from rumors involving us."
Juri's eyebrows rose. People were talking about Kozue? That meant that they were probably talking about Shiori too. She already knew that there was gossip regarding her and Ruka due to their public breakup, but she hadn't known that the students were talking about her involvement with the Dueling Game; she usually tried to stay away from such gossip.
"So we need to find a way to put a stop to such rumors," she stated plainly. "The best way to stop people from talking about something is to give them something else to talk about."
Kyouichi scoffed. "Easier said than done. It's going to take a pretty juicy story to get the students to stop talking about possible shady business the Student Council may be doing. And even if they do, there's no guarantee that they won't start talking about it again later."
A second scoff came from Nanami. "Why don't you guys just use the rumors to your advantage? Turn them around in your favor."
All heads turned to her as she arrogantly took a sip of her tea. "What do you mean?" Miki asked.
With a roll of her eyes, she set down her teacup. "Do I have to spell it out for you? If these rumors are about the Dueling Game, just have a tournament of your own. Make it a school event even. All of us can participate, and you can say that anyone tied to the rumors were helping you prepare for it." She glanced at Juri. "I mean, you are the captain of the fencing team, aren't you?"
The orange-haired girl blinked. "Um, yes, I am."
Nanami smugly flipped her hair back. "Well, there you go. Make an announcement at the next meeting. Tell them all the secrecy was because you were trying to make it a surprise school event, but you needed to get the chairman's permission first or something. Then you can just claim that all the rumors are just that."
She nonchalantly went back to sipping her tea. The Student Council members just stared at her for a few seconds, then glanced at each other with interest. Nanami, as troublesome as she was, certainly knew how to turn situations around in her favor.
"An interesting idea," Touga remarked, folding his hands in front of him. "At the very least it would answer their questions of what the Dueling Game is if we tell them that it was just in preparation for this."
"And it would serve as a good distraction," Juri pointed out.
Kyouichi harrumphed. "Just one problem. How exactly are we supposed to hold the tournament if we can't gain access to the dueling arena? In case you've forgotten, those doors haven't opened since the day the champion went to meet End Of The World." He held up his hand, upon which a ring with a rose crest sat on his finger. "All these rings seem to be good for now are decoration."
Juri glanced at her own ring. He was right, they no longer reacted to the door that led to the dueling arena. In fact, she was wondering why any of them were still wearing theirs. Old habits, she supposed.
Slipping the ring off her finger and placing it in her pocket, she glanced back at her fellow Student Council members. "Do you suppose we could use the courtyard? The students could gather around to watch."
Touga nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, either the courtyard or the gym. We'll probably need to get permission for the event, but I'm sure we can pull it off."
Miki smiled. "It's decided then. A dueling tournament it is. We can even use the same rules as the Dueling Game. Good idea, Nanami."
Smirking, the young blonde held her chin up high. "Well, obviously. All my ideas are good ideas."
Kyouichi let out a humorless snort, but Juri couldn't help but smile in amusement. Nanami didn't always have the best ideas, and what ideas she did have were usually for the purpose of raising her status and popularity or bringing others down, but Juri gave credit where credit was due. Besides, Nanami had matured since her defeat in the Dueling Game.
"Speaking of the Dueling Game…" Touga said carefully, bringing Juri out of her thoughts, "does the name Utena Tenjou ring any bells for any of you?"
Juri frowned in thought. "Utena Tenjou?"
She thought about the name. She didn't think she had ever heard it before, but there was something familiar about it. She couldn't put her finger on why though. Maybe it was someone she had met once and had forgotten about, or she simply heard about her from somewhere and never actually met her. But while she couldn't put a face to the name, for some reason, the color pink was coming to mind.
"Who's that?" Miki asked curiously. "The name's familiar. Where have I heard it from?"
"Well, I certainly never heard of her," Nanami grumbled irritably.
"Can't say I have either?" Kyouichi admitted. He gave Touga a questioning look. "Why, who is she?"
The red-haired boy looked resigned, but not surprised. "I see. So you've all forgotten her too. It really seems that everyone has."
Now Juri was the one giving him a curious look. She'd never seen Touga look or sound like that before, looking regretful and sounding so longing. If she didn't know any better, she'd say that the school playboy really was in love.
Apparently, she wasn't the only one to reach this conclusion, as Kyouichi smirked at him. "Ah, I see. She's the girl you were talking about, the one you fell for."
Right on cue, Nanami slammed her palms flat on the table and stood up. "No! My big brother doesn't fall for girls! Girls fall for him, not the other way around! He's too good for any of them!"
A sigh escaped Miki. "Nanami, you've got to stop being so possessive of your brother before it starts to cause resentment."
Juri raised an eyebrow at this, wondering if, perhaps, he was speaking from personal experience; she knew how possessive Kozue was of him. Fortunately, possessiveness was never something she and her own sister shared. Not outside of the normal and expected amount of sibling possessiveness anyway.
Rather than dwell on that subject, she returned her attention to Touga. "So who's Utena Tenjou? The name sounds familiar to me too, but I can't remember why."
A humorless chuckle escaped Touga. "As seems to be the case with everyone in the school." He rubbed his eyes before letting out a sigh. "Utena Tenjou was the champion of the Dueling Game. I don't know what happened when she went to meet End Of The World, but she apparently disappeared from this world, and everyone has forgotten about her, save for the chairman, Anthy, and myself." He gave Juri and Miki a sad look. "The two of you were friends with her, so I hoped that you might remember her." He then turned to Nanami and Kyouichi. "And you two since we're all on the Student Council and so were deeply involved in the Dueling Game."
Juri's brow furrowed and she thought harder, thinking back over the past several months, back to when Kyouichi had first lost the Rose Bride. But no, she was getting nothing, the name Utena Tenjou meant nothing to her, despite its familiarity.
In regards to the Dueling Game champion, Juri knew that someone new had entered the tournament and won the Rose Bride from Kyouichi. That person had been regularly involved in the tournament after that, winning every time, except for the one time they had lost to Touga. Juri herself had dueled against them, twice, and had even interacted with them outside of the Dueling Game, she remembered that much, and now that Touga mentioned, it, she also recalled being friends with them. But for the life of her, she just couldn't remember who they were.
Was it because that person, this Utena Tenjou, had disappeared from the world, as Touga had put it? Not died, but was simply gone, whatever that meant. Was this a result of her meeting End Of The World? Juri had no idea what would happen with the champion, but it was obvious that the promise that they would revolutionize the world hadn't happened.
"So why do you remember?" Kyouichi asked, bringing Juri out of her thoughts. She glanced at the red-haired boy curiously. That was a fair question, and she was interested to know why too. Why did Touga remember this Utena, but they didn't?
"Hmm," Touga muttered thoughtfully. "Perhaps because I was more deeply involved with the Dueling Game than anyone else, the same way End Of The World and the Rose Bride were." But then a regretful smile crossed his face. "Or perhaps it's because I'm so in love with her that I couldn't possibly forget her and the way she changed my life."
Kyouichi scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Really? You're going to go with something that cheesy for an explanation?"
"But it's true. In fact, I was even willing to put myself on End Of The World's chopping block for her once I discovered what would become of the champion once they won the Dueling Game. They would have become his puppet, just a tool to be used and then discarded. I was willing to take her place."
He let out a sigh and pressed a hand to his forehead. "Unfortunately, I handled the situation all wrong. I didn't think she would believe what I had to say over the chairman's lies and influence over her, so I tried to win the Rose Bride from her to turn End Of The World's attention to me and tried to make her become my woman so she would no longer involve herself with him. But it seems I underestimated how deep he already had his hooks in her. After she defeated me, she refused to heed my warnings and thought that I was trying to deceive her again."
Miki clicked his stopwatch and gave him a look of disapproval. "Well, I can't exactly blame her for thinking that if that was the method you used to try and help her. And your playboy reputation probably didn't do you any favors."
A humorless smile crossed Touga's face. "Yes, I suppose that's true too. But looking back, I think the biggest mistake I made was thinking that I needed to be her prince and save her rather than trust that she could save herself. I should have supported and trusted her instead of trying to control the situation. Doing so seemed to be what broke her trust in me that I was able to build up, and my methods seemed to cost me the affections from her that I was able to gain before challenging her."
A wave of sympathy hit Juri. Seeing Touga look and sound so remorseful, it made her see him in a new light. Perhaps she had judged him too harshly because of his past. Maybe the same was true of Kyouichi and Nanami as well. They were all different people now, maybe she shouldn't judge them so much for their pasts.
"So this Utena," she said, bringing the conversation back to the topic at hand, "was she the person Anthy left to go find?"
Touga nodded. "She is. Anthy plans to find a way to bring her back to this world, and I intend to do what I can to help her do that here."
"How noble," Kyouichi remarked sarcastically.
"And what happens to the world revolution when she does return?" Miki asked, raising an interesting question.
Touga was silent for a long time. "I don't know. Maybe nothing, maybe something. Did she obtain the power of Dios? I don't know. If she did, there's no telling if she would ever use it; she never wanted it to begin with. She just wanted to save Anthy from her fate as the Rose Bride. And perhaps that's why she beat us; she was far more noble than we were."
Kyouichi made a sound of disgust. "You really do sound like a love sick fool."
Touga chuckled. "Perhaps because I am. And when she does return, I do hope I'll get the chance to sincerely win her heart."
There was a crash as Nanami stood up so fast and so aggressively that she knocked over her chair. "That's enough! I can't stand to hear you talk about some girl like this, big brother! I hate anyone that changes you from the person you are or tries to take you for themselves! This Utena Tenjou person, I'll never forgive her for doing this to you!"
With that, she angrily stormed away, leaving the other four of them alone. Touga let out another sigh and Juri couldn't blame him; his sister was a real handful at times, and her brother complex really got out of hand. She knew that Nanami hated the idea of anyone taking her brother's attention away from her, which was why, while she tolerated his flings, she would always lash out at any girls who aimed for anything more serious with him, including her own friends, or perhaps flunkies would be a better word for the three girls who always followed her around.
Kyouichi glanced at Touga curiously and with a frown of disapproval. "Don't you think you should tell her the truth? That the two of you are adopted but actually are brother and sister?"
This piqued Juri's curiosity. While she didn't know the details, she had heard the talk going around the school that Touga and Nanami might not be blood-related siblings. The adoption part, that was news to her though. But Touga and Kyouichi, while rivals, were also best friends, of sorts, so she supposed it made sense that he would share certain things with him and not anyone else. But still, why allow Nanami to think they weren't blood-related when they actually were?
She got her answer a moment later as the red-haired boy crossed his arms and hummed thoughtfully. "I'm not sure. I plan to one day, but not right now. I think it's good for her to continue believing that we're not related for now. You know what she was like before. There's no doubt that she's matured quite a bit ever since she came to believe we weren't really siblings. While I admit that I initially allowed her to think this for the Dueling Game's purposes, it has been very humbling for her. I think it might it be best to let her think this for a while longer."
Juri frowned in disapproval, but then reluctantly admitted that he had a point. Nanami's behavior had improved, and she was no longer as snobbish or entitled as she was before; though she still was quite a bit. That attention seemed to mostly stem from her brother complex. She, along with most of the school, held Touga in very high regards, seeing him as the perfect prince charming who ranked above everyone else.
Thus, as his sister, Nanami thought the same of herself. All the other girls were just nobodies vying for her brother's attention, but she was special, having that special sibling bond with him that made her stand out and separated her from all the other girls. It was also partly why she couldn't stand the thought of him falling for any girls; she didn't want to be replaced in his heart by someone else. As his sister, she was special to him, and she didn't want another girl to become special than him and take her place.
But finding out that they weren't related, she felt like she had lost what made her special to him, reducing her to just another face in the crowd. This was apparently just a big misunderstanding though, and that the ones Nanami and Touga had no blood-relation to were their parents, not each other. But yes, while it did indeed seem mean to allow her to continue thinking this, Touga was right, it did appear to be good for Nanami's arrogance and behavior.
"I still think you should tell her," Miki commented. "While the shock of it may have worn off, she's still sad thinking that you're not related."
Touga gave him a curious look. "And what of your own sister? I don't mean to be rude, but she seems to have quite the brother complex herself. Are you saying you wouldn't want her to get over it? Even if it's painful, would it not be good for her?"
Frowning, Miki looked away. "Perhaps. But I don't think I could hurt Kozue like that, or allow her to go on hurting if I knew she was in pain while I have the power to stop it. That's why I think you should tell her, even if she does go back to her arrogant ways. She's still young after all, she'll mature in time."
Touga seemed to consider this before letting out a sigh. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Maybe it is time I corrected the misunderstanding."
For some reason, Juri found her thoughts returning to her and Shiori. There had been a lot of misunderstandings between the two of them as well. They had led to lots of problems and brought forth feelings of resentment, poisoning their relationship and making it rather toxic. But now, with everything out in the open, there did seem to be a deeper understanding for each other.
Like with Nanami, Juri too had been humbled. No longer acting so stoic and in control of herself, Juri felt like she could be herself and find comfort in the smaller things in life. She no longer cared about keeping up appearances the way she once did, and she found it to be very freeing. And Shiori too seemed to be seeing her in a new light now that Juri no longer seemed to be on such a high pedestal.
Had that ultimately been the problem all along? Was a simple lack of communication really the cause of all their plights? It seemed so simple, but also seemed to be the cause of most, if not all, of their issues. Whether they hadn't been honest with each other or themselves, causing them to act based on assumption and misguided notions, even their own, it almost seemed like it could have all been avoided if they had just spoken honestly to each other.
Sitting back, Juri contemplated all of this. If she and Shiori were really going to give having a relationship a try, then she had a lot to think about. Because now that Juri finally had her, she didn't want to let her go.
(A/N: Alright, so we got a lot from the Student Council. This story may be about Juri and Shiori, but they'll be major supporting characters too with their own arcs going on in the background, kind of like what the original series did with them; that was something I really liked. A few things I wanted to point out though. First is the character Andou who was mentioned a few times, I should have brought this up in the first chapter, but Andou was the boy Shiori "stole" from Juri when they were younger before she went overseas. The series never gave us a name for him, so I came up with one because he's going to be referenced at different points in time throughout the story, and I had to call him something. And he second thing is Utena's vanishing and Touga being the only one who remembers her. This is actually something that occurred in the manga. While the anime vilified him more, in the original manga, he became Utena's ally and was the only one who remembered her and intended to do what he could at Ohtori Academy to help Anthy bring her back. So I'm running with that for this story, as Utena will be referenced at several points in this story too, but due to everyone forgetting her, even after being reminded, Touga being the one to remember her will help with that. So those were the two big points I wanted to explain. As for the rest of what happened in this chapter, it was mostly setting the stage for what's to come, basically Juri's relationship with Shiori and the cover up of the Dueling Game with a dueling tournament. So if you're eager to see where things go, stay tuned for more.)