(A/N: Alright, here we go. After a cliffhanger ending, which I'm sure left you all with many questions as to what is going on, we have the next chapter, where all of those questions will be answered. And not just questions for this story, but for unresolved plot points and unanswered questions from the actual series. Hey, I tried to make it work with what they gave us and from what I was able to research and determine, and these seemed like the most likely answers. You'll see what I mean, so let's get to it.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 19: Return To The Arena
Prior to her interest in other girls becoming known, Juri had become used to finding love letters in her locker. It was almost expected really. After all, she was smart, talented, pretty, rich, popular, and held several titles and positions in the school. So naturally, there would be those who would end up crushing on her and wanted to put their feelings into writing, if not ask to meet her so they could confess to her directly.
Juri always respectfully declined such confessions of love, knowing the pain of requited love herself. So when she saw another letter in her locker, she had thought that it was just another case of someone wanting to confess their love to her again. However, the kind of letter she saw gave her pause. Who exactly wrote out their feelings or desire to confess their feelings on a black letter? So it became clear very quickly that the letter in question was not a love letter.
But then what was it? What occasion called for a black letter? In this instance, black felt so… morbid. Not only that, but it was difficult to write on in the first place since one couldn't just use a normal pen or pencil if they even wanted the writing to be readable, meaning someone had really gone out of their way for this. So it was with a piqued curiosity that Juri opened the letter and began reading.
What started out as curiosity very quickly gave way to righteous, blinding fury. The letter wasn't so much a ransom note as it was a kidnapping note, simply informing Juri that Shiori had been taken, and if she wanted to see her again that she was to meet them alone in the dueling arena where the duels for the old Dueling Game for possession of the Rose Bride once took place. It was signed only by The Forgotten Ones.
Juri had absolutely no idea who these Forgotten Ones were, but whoever they were, they had included the engagement ring she had given Shiori in the letter as proof that they had her. Juri had just been relieved that Shiori's actual finger hadn't been included with it like the old cliché, but that relief had once again quickly been replaced by rage at the thought of someone having abducted Shiori.
How dare anyone take her fiancée! Anger and worry tore at Juri as she furiously shredded the letter in her hands before immediately setting out for the dueling arena, a million possibilities going through her head.
Who would take Shiori? Why? For what purpose? There hadn't been a ransom demand, so it couldn't have been about money. And why meet at the old dueling arena? Juri hadn't even known it was still accessible; all previous attempts to return there once the Dueling Game had ended had been met with the doors being firmly sealed shut. But if this kidnapper wanted to meet there, then clearly there must be a way in. But again, why there of all places?
Juri really didn't care, but she wanted to know what to expect. Whoever took Shiori could be dangerous, and Juri was sick with worry for her and their child. She was going to make this kidnapper pay dearly for crossing her. But she wasn't going to put her beloved at risk, so she had come alone to the dueling arena like the letter had demanded, slipping on the dueling ring that granted access to it.
Upon placing her hand on the door, she felt the familiar drop of water splash against her finger as it dripped against the insignia on the ring. That had stopped happening once the Dueling Game ended, but it seemed it was working again. And then, just like before, she was able to pull open the door, granting her access to the spiral staircase that led up to the dueling arena beneath the upside-down floating castle in the sky where, supposedly, eternity dwelled, along with the power to perform miracles. It had been what everyone involved with the Dueling Game had been fighting for.
Juri truly had no idea how this place worked. There seemed to be some kind of magical presence here, almost as if this place was some kind of pocket dimension that existed outside of reality. Truthfully, Juri had stopped thinking about it and had simply considered it as something beyond her understanding. But she no longer had any interest in this place or what it had to offer. There was only one thing here that she wanted, and it already belonged to her, she was just here to get it back, and make whoever had taken it pay.
Much to her relief. She found exactly what she sought right away. Much to her anger, she saw that Shiori was tied up. The dueling arena had changed, as it was prone to do. There were numerous outlines of bodies all across the floor, and a familiar looking car was protruding from it as well at the other side of the arena, as if it were growing out of the ground. Shiori was tied to this car, the ropes wrapped around it and her.
Shiori's eyes widened the moment she spotted her. "Juri!"
Relief slammed into Juri at the sight of her. She was alright. Aside from being bound, she seemed to be unharmed, and Juri rushed over to her. But as she approached, several voices suddenly called out to her at once. "That's close enough."
Juri skidded to a halt. Despite hearing numerous voices, they all seemed to be coming from the same place. Much to her surprise though, she saw Akio Ohtori step out from behind the car Shiori was tied to, his car actually, she now realized.
Juri's eyes narrowed in recognition and confusion. "Mr. Chairman?"
A smirk grazed his face as he stood between her and Shiori. "Not quite, but we suppose it will be sufficient for now."
Juri blinked, caught off guard by his voice. She had thought that many people had been speaking at once, but all the voices seemed to be coming from him, though his own voice was dominantly heard amongst all the others. But then she took a second look at him. He looked… horrible, sickly even. His clothes were disheveled and his appearance unkept. He seemed to have lost some weight since the last time she had seen him. Dark circles were present under his eyes, as if he hadn't been sleeping well, and his eyes themselves were glazed over and had a far-away look to them. Overall, he was a far cry from the composed and regal person she remembered.
"What happened to you?" she found herself asking, but then shook her head as she decided that she didn't care. "And what have you done to Shiori? Why did you kidnap her? Why bring us here? Isn't the Dueling Game over? What is going on?"
Akio let out a chuckle, a strange sound with how many voices seemed to be coming from him at once. "Why? Obviously because I knew you would come, Miss Arisugawa. The noble Juri, so quick and eager to play the role of the prince to save her princess. But it is us who you will be saving."
Juri raised an eyebrow at his terminology. "'Us'?"
"He's crazy!" Shiori shouted. "He's completely out of his mind!"
"Yes, 'us'," Akio repeated in his many voices, completely ignoring Shiori. "You may not fully understand the situation, but we think it's safe to assume that you can tell that we're not exactly Akio Ohtori."
Actually, she was wondering more about his state of mind. Shiori's claim of him being crazy certainly seemed to have merit. "If you're not him, then who are you?"
Another chuckle, this one more mocking, as if he knew something she didn't. "That's hard to say. We have so many names. And we mean that literally, not that we are simply known by many names. And we're not using the royal 'we' either, but 'we' as in there being many of us."
That answered absolutely nothing and just left Juri all the more confused. But as long as he kept talking, it gave her time to figure a way out of this. "So who is 'us' then?"
Akio's smirk just widened. He glanced down at the outlines of people on the floor and motioned to one with his foot. "Do you know what these are?"
Juri glanced at the outlines. "I'm guessing they aren't mere floor art."
"Indeed. They represent something." He appeared thoughtful for a moment. "How about another question? Do you know about the tragedy that befell this school? The one regarding a fire."
"Fire?" Juri's brow furrowed in thought. "Yes, I do recall hearing about a fire that happened many years ago where a lot of students died. The building was rebuilt as the Nemuro Memorial Hall."
Akio nodded. "One hundred students to be exact. All with bright futures ahead of them."
"What's that have to do with me or Juri!?" Shiori demanded as she struggled against her bindings."
Akio glanced at her. "Careful, my dear. You don't want to get yourself too worked up; it's not good for the baby." He smirked as Shiori immediately stopped her struggles. "Better. But as for your question, you have more to do with it than you know. Perhaps you'll recall several months ago when you attended a Mikage Seminar where you went for some counseling about your friend, Juri, here. Oops, did I say friend? I mean lover now."
Fiancée, Juri wanted to correct, but held her tongue as she glanced at Shiori, who looked like she was trying to remember.
"Yes…" the violet-haired girl said hesitantly. "I did go there…. That was just after I found her locket." She turned to Juri. "I was confused and didn't know what to do. I went there to try and work out my feelings. And then… I don't really remember what happened while I was there or after that… I think I fought with someone though… No, I dueled them… Or was that just a dream? I think I took something from you too, Juri."
The orange-haired girl inhaled. Shiori might be having trouble remembering, but she remembered it just fine. Back then, Shiori had revealed that she had the locket with her picture in it. And then she had taken something from her, a sword that had manifested from Juri's very being. Her own memory had then become foggy after that.
Akio chuckled. "It's no surprise that you don't remember much of it. You weren't really yourself per say. But tell me, do you at least recall speaking to Souji Mikage?"
"Mikage?" Shiori repeated, and then looked confused for a few moments. "Yes, now that you mention it, he was the one I spoke to at the Mikage Seminar." Her eyes widened. "Oh, I guess the name makes sense now."
Anger and resentment filled Akio's face. "Yes, I suppose it would, wouldn't it? Well, allow us to let you in on a little-known fact. It was actually Mikage, formerly known as Professor Nemuro, who was the one who set the fire that killed all those students."
This earned him shocked gasps from both Juri and Shiori. They exchanged bewildered looks before turning back to Akio, and Juri shook her head.
"That's not possible," she told him. "That fire happened so long ago. Even if Mikage was the one who started it, he should be ancient."
Shiori nodded in agreement. "She's right. I saw Mikage, he can't be more than eighteen or nineteen."
This just made Akio chuckle again. "Come now, you girls are smarter than this. You know by now that there are magical and mysterious things about this school. The events centering around that fire are one of them. They allowed Mikage to live unchanging off his memories. Trapped in time, you could say, as long as he remained in this school. That little bubble of his ended once he left, along with his life once his true age caught up to him." He patted his chest. "He is now in here with the rest of us."
"Rest of us?" Juri found herself repeating.
"It's true," Akio replied, only this time, along with his own voice, only the voice of Souji Mikage spoke along with him. "I am here. And I intend to make up for what I've done."
Juri stared at the chairman, her eyes wide, her heart pounding. With this revelation, the whole purpose of Akio's monologue was beginning the make sense. "Then The Forgotten Ones, you're saying that you're…?"
The smile on Akio's face stretched until it was nearly ear-to-ear and seemed to become more sinister. "The spirits of the students who were killed in the fire," he said, speaking in many voices once more. "Yes, we are them. The ones whose lives were taken as a result of Mikage's actions."
He was possessed, Juri realized. If all this was true, then Akio Ohtori was being possessed by the souls of all those students, plus Mikage apparently. The need to back away came over her, but she stood her ground. She didn't know what to expect from this kidnapping, but it hadn't been this. Magic, murder, restless spirits, possession. What next?
Taking a few deep breaths, she tried to remain calm. Her eyes darted to Shiori, then back to Akio, or Mikage and the other ghosts who were controlling him, or whatever was going on. "Ok, so you've taken over the chairman's body. I can determine that much for myself. But you still haven't explained how any of this is related to us."
Akio, or whoever he was, cocked his head to the side, almost in amusement. "So impatient. We were getting to that." Then, as if he didn't have a care in the world, he began leisurely pacing back and forth. "While it's true that Mikage set the fire, he was not truly the one responsible for our deaths. He, like the rest of us, was a victim as well. Used and manipulated like a puppet without fully being aware of the extent of his actions. A tool used and discarded by the same man who used so many others for his own gain." He paused in his pacing and sneered at Juri. "Any idea who?"
Juri's eyes narrowed as another piece of the puzzle was dropped into her lap. "The chairman."
"Bingo. Akio Ohtori, or End Of The World, as you probably know him better as. The master of seducing, manipulation, and controlling others, able to force his will upon others and convince them to do what he wants, even of it's something the person would never do. He was the one who manipulated Mikage into setting that fire, and carrying out the Black Rose portion of the Dueling Game." He motioned to his body. "Why else do you think we took over his body?"
"I don't really care," Juri snapped impatiently. "This has nothing to do with us. How does any of this relate to me or Shiori? You still haven't explained that."
Akio, as she decided to think of him for simplicity's sake, just sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "You really do need to learn to be patient. We certainly were for this time to come. But very well, we'll get to the point. You see, Mr. Ohtori used the Black Rose portion of his Dueling Game to build up the champion's character. He needed to mold them into the most ideal candidate in order to take their sword in the hopes that it would become one that could cut through the Rose Gate and allow him to regain the power of Dios."
Juri's fists clenched. "The power to perform miracles."
"Precisely. All of us were just pawns in his game. He could care less what happened to us, but we went along with his ploy in order to gain the one thing we craved above all else."
"And that is?" Shiori demanded, also wanting him to get to the point.
Akio glanced at her. "What is it that all the living possess that the dead don't have?"
He looked back at Juri for answer, an she immediately knew what it was. "Life."
"Indeed," Akio replied. "Our lives were stolen from us. Even Mikage's was not his own, trapped in a living limbo. But as restless spirits who had yet to move on, we were given the chance to gain life once more."
Yes, Juri could understand. Who wouldn't want a chance to come back to life after having your own so unfairly taken? Even though those spirits had played right into Akio's hands, they were willing to go along with it for that chance. She supposed she couldn't really blame them for that.
But still, these answers also led to more questions. "And how exactly does that work?"
Akio's smile returned. "We're glad you asked. You see, those who were chosen to become Black Rose duelists weren't just meant to challenge the current champion, but also the other contestants; after all, one of them might win possession of the Rose Bride from the current champion. But in order to get them to do what Akio wanted them to do, he relied on us, the students who had been forgotten, poor lost souls who had become nothing more than random faces lost to a tragedy."
He glanced at Shiori again and snickered. "The point of the Mikage Seminar was to have students in distress come to him. Mikage would then take advantage of them while they were mentally weak and emotionally vulnerable. It's what allowed us to take them over. The weaker the person's will and mental state becomes, the greater the possession, the more we're able to take control of the person."
Juri nodded in understanding, even as her stomach coiled in disgust. "So Mikage tore down their mental walls when they were vulnerable, allowing you to take over."
"Indeed. But only one of us per person. It wouldn't do to have more than one of us inhabit a body at a time for our goal." He placed a hand over his chest. "With the chairman, it's the exception, we're all in here at once, but it's for a different purpose. And it took so long for us to take him over this way because we had to wait for his mental state to deteriorate enough for all of us to enter him rather than just one, and for us to take complete control rather than just influence him. I'm sure you can see the difference between this full possession and a mere…" his eyes darted to Shiori, "influence."
A horrified gasp escaped Juri as she too looked at Shiori. Things started making more sense. Shiori's especially cruel behavior when she became a Back Rose duelist, the whole reason she became one in the first place, the gaps in her memory during that time.
A snarl escaped the orange-haired girl as she returned her attention to Akio. "What the hell did you do to Shiori back then!?"
This time, Akio openly laughed. "Nothing permanent, we assure you, and nothing that is no longer in effect and hasn't been since her Black Rose duel. She was just taken over by one of us in her mentally weakened state. But as we mentioned, it wasn't a full possession at the time, just enough to get the one possessing her to do what they wanted while making her think her will and actions were her own."
"I…" Shiori blinked, looking confused. "I don't… remember any of that. The last thing I recall from back then was Mikage telling me that my only choice was to revolutionize the world. After that… there's just broken fragments." She thought harder. "I think I remember dueling with someone, but I can't recall anything that happened… I…" She shook her head. "I just can't remember."
"That's because it wasn't you," Akio explained. "Not really. Or not completely you we should say. The one inside you was primarily in control, influencing you and making you carry out their will to act as they wanted you to. You were to defeat the champion and kill the Rose Bride."
A look of horror crossed Shiori's face. "What? K-Kill? No, I could never kill anyone!"
A cold laugh escaped Akio. "Perhaps you couldn't, but the one controlling you could certainly make you, and you wouldn't even have been aware of your actions, or that your thoughts weren't your own."
Juri shook her head. Something wasn't adding up. If Akio was really the one behind the Black Rose portion of the Dueling Game, then why have the Black Rose duelists fight to kill the Rose Bride? He needed her in order to regain the power of Dios.
"And how exactly does having the Rose Bride killed benefit the chairman?" she demanded, trying to remain calm.
This just made Akio scowl. "Don't be naïve. Do you really think he would have actually allowed that to happen? Not that we knew it at the time either, but that was just the incentive given to Mikage to get him involved. He foolishly believed that by killing the Rose Bride that the power of eternity that she possessed could be given to someone Mikage wanted to save, someone who was already, unbeknownst by him, long dead. And not dead like us, but dead and gone, having already departed this world."
Well, that made more sense. That had been around the time Akio had started making his presence known. "I see," Juri replied. "So he manipulated him into believing he could transfer the Rose Bride's power to someone who was already a lost cause, but he wouldn't have actually allowed her to be killed. He was just using Mikage to manipulate others into furthering the Dueling Game."
She glanced at Shiori and then him again. "That explains Mikage's role and why he was involved. But what about all of you? What did you get out of all of this? Why help the one who orchestrated your deaths? And what about the spirit that possessed Shiori? Took her over. Whatever."
Akio cocked his head to the side. "We already explained that. Haven't you figured it out? Life. We would get a new life. Whichever one us defeated the champion would have won the right to completely take over the one they were inhabiting. Full possession and full control of them, not mere influence. They would have been able to live a full life in their host's body."
But then a sigh escaped him, and he almost looked remorseful. "Unfortunately for us, none of us were able to defeat the champion. And when a duel was lost, our bodies were cast into the incinerator. The complete destruction of our bodies drove us out of our hosts. Our bodies are our last link to the living world. Without them, there's nothing bonding our souls to this realm, and we're forced to accept release and crossover whether we want to or not, no matter how restless we are."
A feeling of relief overcame Juri as she glanced at Shiori again. "Then the spirit that was in her is gone?"
Akio closed his eyes, still looking regretful. "Yes, as it was for all those who lost their duels. They departed when their bodies were destroyed. The same thing happened to all six of us that challenged the champion." He thumped his chest. "Only ninety-four of the original one-hundred of us remain. The other six have moved on. If you include Mikage, there are currently ninety-five of us residing in this body with the chairman, he's just not in control right now. We suppose you could say that the lights are on for him, but no one is home. Or, more to the point, he's been reduced to a passenger instead of the driver in his own body."
This ironic twist brought a smile to Juri's face. "How poetic. The one who enjoyed controlling people like puppets ended up becoming one himself."
Akio smiled in amusement. "Agreed. As we said, it took some time for him to fall into a mental state weak enough for us all to take control, but losing your sole purpose in life will do that. And now he will help us regain the lives we have lost because of him."
"How?" Shiori asked, rejoining the conversation. "You were only granted access to possessing students during a certain portion of the Dueling Game, but that's over now. The Dueling Game is permanently over." She glanced at Juri. "Isn't it?"
Juri nodded. "Anthy Himemiya left the school. She abandoned her title and duty as the Rose Bride to find the champion who disappeared from this world. There can't be a Dueling Game without a Rose bride."
"This is not about the tournament," Akio spat. "This is about us. About us gaining new lives for the ones that were taken from us." He pointed at Juri. "And you are the key for us to achieve this."
Suddenly feeling threatened, Juri got in a defensive position. "What are you talking about? What do you want with me?"
Akio chuckled. "You're the most skilled duelist in the entire school, Juri Arisugawa. You're globally ranked. We need that skill of yours."
"For what?"
"We explained that already. In order to truly obtain new lives, we must win them in a duel. But with the Dueling Game over, we had to improvise. We weren't just going to give up or remain in limbo. No, we want the lives that were promised to us."
A light growl escaped Juri. "Is that why you took Shiori? You want to possess her again?"
Shiori suddenly looked terrified, but much to her relief, Akio just scoffed and shook his head. "No, not her. We've lost the right to take over her life when the one who inhabited her was defeated by the champion. But you, Juri," his blank, glazed over eyes now shined with hunger, "we can still win your life. Bringing your girlfriend here was just a way to get you here to face us. And once we defeat you in a duel, your life will belong to us, and we will take you over. And from there, all of us will gain new lives."
Juri harrumphed. "You all must have died before learning to count. You said there's ninety-five of you in there, well, I'm only one. How exactly are you all going to gain your own lives? Do you plan to share my body? Trade off every day for a different one of you to be in the driver's seat?"
An amused smile crossed Akio's face. "Initially. But the same rules apply. Once we have your body, one by one, we'll challenge a different student in the school. And with you being the best duelist around, we're sure to win all our duels thanks to your skills. We'll challenge student after student until each one of us has won a new body and a new life."
Juri suddenly felt sick. Now everything made sense. These spirits wanted her, the best duelist in the school, in order to win the lives of other students. It was such a dark and twisted plan, or perhaps one born of desperation from the lost souls who'd had their lives unfairly cut short. Was their desire for life so great that they would truly steal those lives from others? Apparently so. After all, that had been their goal all throughout the Black Rose portion of the Dueling Game, they'd just been unsuccessful.
"What will happen?" Shiori demanded. "To the students you defeat, the ones whose lives you take over. What happens to them?"
Akio was silent for a moment before speaking. "They won't die, if that's what you're asking. They'll just… go to sleep, we suppose is the best way to put it. Whichever one of us takes over will be in full control of them."
"And what?" Juri snapped. "You just live out the rest of their life for them, pretending to be them?"
Akio shrugged nonchalantly. "At first. We'll need to pretend to be them to avoid suspicion. Fortunately, we'll have access to their memories, so it shouldn't be hard to pretend to actually be them. Eventually though, we'll be able to live as we see fit. True, the face we see in the mirror won't be our own, nor will our homes or families, but at least we'll have life. We'll be able to have a future, futures that were taken from us when our lives were."
"And what about the students whose lives you take over!?" Juri shouted, suddenly furious for a whole new reason. "You're fine sacrificing them!? You say that your lives were stolen, and I truly sympathize with you for that, but now you're going to steal the lives of others just so you can have them for yourselves! Have you no care for the students whose lives you plan on stealing, or for their families and friends who will suddenly have a stranger inhabiting their loved ones' bodies!?"
Once again, Akio was silent for a few moments before giving her a serious look. "The affairs of the living do not matter to the dead. As restless earthbound spirits caught in limbo, all we can feel are the last emotions we felt as the flames took us, fear, anger, despair, and, most of all, the desire to live. We will have our new lives, Juri Arisugawa, and you will help us win them. We're betting everything on this duel with you."
Juri just scoffed and dropped her stance as she realized that she wasn't in any danger since they needed her. "Well, sorry to disappoint you, but that won't be happening. Setting aside the fact that I would never allow you to steal the lives of others, let alone help you do that, however involuntary, I don't fancy the idea of being possessed myself."
Anger flashed in Akio's eyes. "You will help us!"
Smirking, Juri shook her head. "No, I don't think I will. You said it yourself, you can only truly take over someone by winning a duel. If I refuse to duel you, then you can't win my life."
A frustrated growl escaped Akio. "Oh, you will duel us, Miss Arisugawa." He moved closer to Shiori. "Your little girlfriend here wasn't just meant to be a way to get you here, but a way to make you fight."
He brought his hands up to his chest and closed his eyes. A light began to flicker over his heart, growing brighter and brighter until Juri had to shade her eyes. As Akio leaned back, the hilt of a sword suddenly emerged from his chest. His arm stretched up to grab it, and he pulled the full length of it out. The flashing light faded as he stood upright and swiped the sword through the air.
"We may have lost the right to take over the life of your girlfriend, but that just means that she's disposable to us." He pointed the end of the sword at Shiori, resting the tip against her neck. Shiori tensed up as Juri let out a cry of protest, and Akio sneered at her. "If you don't accept a duel with us, then we'll just kill her. And don't forget," he moved the tip of the sword lower until it was pointed at her stomach, "if she dies, the little life inside her will die too."
"No, don't!" Shiori shouted as she struggled against her bindings. "Not my baby! Please, not my baby!"
Fury twisted Juri's face and her nails dug so deeply into her palms that she nearly drew blood. "You bastard."
Akio glared at her. "Don't judge us. You don't know what it's like to be killed. You don't know what it's like to be stuck in limbo all this time, watching and waiting to have a second chance at life, all while other students carelessly live out their own lives freely, desperately craving one of your own."
Juri grit her teeth in frustration and worry. She didn't care what these souls had gone through, there was no way to justify their actions. "It doesn't have to be that way. If you're stuck being earthbound, then I can set you free. You said that if your bodies are destroyed that there will be nothing holding your souls here and you'll be able to move on. Just tell me where they are and I'll see it done, then you can all go in peace."
She wasn't dead, so she had no idea how these spirits felt, but she hoped that her offer would be acceptable. But those hopes were quickly dashed when she saw Akio scowl at her. "And why should we? Why should we give up our chance at life after we were killed? Out of compassion for the lives of the ones we'll take over? No, we already told you that the matters of the living do not matter to the dead. So no, we won't just 'go in peace', as you put it, not when we can have new lives. And if you don't agree to a duel, then the girl you love will have her life taken."
He was serious, Juri could tell. He was really going to kill Shiori if she didn't agree to this crazy duel. Or at least ninety-four of the spirits were willing to kill her, but maybe there was one in there that she could still appeal to.
Taking a deep calming breath, she gave Akio a pleading look. "Souji Mikage, if you're really in there, then I beg you, please don't let them do this. You must know it's wrong. You're already responsible for the lost lives of all these students, are you really going to steal the lives of more?"
Several seconds passed where Akio just stared at her blankly, and when he spoke next, only Mikage's voice spoke alongside the chairman's came from his mouth. "I was the one who wronged these students, even if I was manipulated and deceived by Mr. Ohtori. I did a horrible thing for an already doomed cause, but I can still do what I can for the students whose lives I took, and I will do what I can for them, no matter the consequences."
Juri felt her last hope die with Mikage's resolve being voiced. There really was no choice, she was going to have to risk possession to save Shiori, because losing her was not an option to her, nor was losing their child. But as skilled of a duelist as she was, she didn't know if she was good enough to defeat Akio Ohtori. Could she really defeat End Of The World himself, the orchestrator of the Dueling Game?
A smirk spread across the chairman's face as the numerous voices spoke once more. "Well, there you go. You have no other options, and no one is coming to help you. So, what's it going to be? Will we be having a duel or an execution?"
Juri's eyes now burned with fury as she glared at him. "If you hurt her, I'll kill you."
Akio just scoffed. "Good to know, but we're already dead, so you can't exactly pull that off. Now, what's your decision?"
A growl escaped Juri as she allowed her fear and anger to take hold for just a few brief moments before regaining her composure. Taking a deep breath, she let it out in a long, slow rush and stood up straight, giving him a challenging look.
"Very well," she replied firmly. "I accept your challenge."
(A/N: And we've now set the stage for the climax. As I said, I noted how in the show, a lot of left unexplained and incomplete regarding the events of the Black Rose Saga, from the Black Rose duelists Mikage manipulated to the remaining coffins, to the motives and explanations to those involved, to how it related to the Dueling Game as a whole, and more. So I decided to explore and expand on that a bit and give some explanations to things that were either only implied or never explained. If it was hard to follow, basically, Akio was having the spirits of the 100 dead students possess living students while they were emotionally vulnerable to challenge Utena to help shape her into the perfect candidate. The dead students went along with this because if they defeated Utena, they would be able to take over the lives of the living students they were possessing, but when Utena defeated them, their bodies were cast into the incinerator, driving their spirits out of the possessed students. But with the series only having 6 duels, that left 94 spirits remaining. So I decided to use them as the villains for this story by having them take over Akio's body so they can win possession of Juri's body and use her to challenge and defeat others so they could take over the lives of those she defeats, and the spirit of Mikage is helping them to make up for being manipulated by Akio into killing them. Hope that clears everything up. Things will be wrapping up soon in the next couple of chapters, so stay tuned.)