(A/N: Phew boy, things are coming along. We've had a long and dramatic journey regarding Juri and Shiori's relationship, and a lot has been thrown at them. But we're not quite done yet. We've got one final challenge for them to face. There are a few other events in the series that were left unresolved, and they made for the perfect climax to everything. Any guesses as to what it is? The chapter title should give you a hint. So if you're ready, read on.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 18: Fallen Prince, Rising Dead
Akio Ohtori was a wreck. No, worse than a wreck, his life had become an utter catastrophe. After everything that had happened, he'd completely fallen to ruin. And worst of all, it had been of his own doing. Well, mostly.
If only his past admirers could see him now. Him, formerly known as the great hero, Prince Dios, now reduced to such a miserable pitiful state. Ever since his sister had left and any chance of regaining his power was lost to him, he had spiraled out of control, falling into a deep depression, with alcohol being his only source of comfort.
Utena Tenjou, it had been all that girl's fault. She had ruined everything. Why hadn't he just killed her? No, he knew why, because there had been no point, and she might have still been useful to him in the future; he didn't make a habit of disposing of useful tools. But how was he to know that she would have been able to free his sister?
His sister, Anthy. The one person he truly loved. She had been the key to everything. And the cause. Way back then, he had been known as Prince Dios, wielding the power to perform miracles that he had used to save the world, gaining the love and respect of the people. Those had been the good old days, the days he'd longed for once more. If only Fate hadn't decided to deliver him a cruel hand.
His power had been meant to serve the people, not himself, so he couldn't perform miracles for his benefit. That was why when he'd gotten sick, he hadn't been able to cure himself with his power. But the people had still needed him to be their prince, flocking to his and Anthy's home, calling for him and his power. But as sick as he was, he hadn't been able to heed their calls, which had only made them more frantic.
And then Anthy, simple-minded, innocent Anthy, his beloved sister, she had foolishly tried to remedy the situation. What had she been thinking, taking his power for herself so he wouldn't force himself to heed the people's calls in his sickly weakened state like she knew he would? That power belonged to the prince, so as the princess, she couldn't use it herself. She'd known that though, and so had tried to disperse the desperate crowd by telling them that she had taken their prince for herself. What exactly did she expect would happen next?
Of course they would brand her as a witch. She had done the unforgivable in taking their prince. She'd invited all the world's wrath and hatred upon herself. Hatred that manifested in the form of countless swords, cursing her and tearing her very soul from her body, leaving her as little more than an empty shell, a mere husk of the person she once was.
Though he knew it hadn't been her intent, how exactly did she expect him to react to discovering what had happened to her, the person he loved the most, the one he was forbidden from loving? Even if he could love her as a woman, he still wouldn't have been able to, for as the prince, his love was reserved for the people of the world. But how could he love them after what they had done to her? Because of them, his beloved sister was now trapped in a prison of eternal suffering. No longer could he look at the world or its people the same way he once had.
Was it any wonder he had fallen from grace? He lost nobility, everything that had once made him a prince, to the point of quite literally splitting in two from the person he once was to the one he was now. The remnants of Prince Dios, the man he used to be, now resided in the castle of illusion he had created where eternity dwelled. The truth of that eternity being the suffering his sister would be forced to undergo forever, a role she freely took upon herself for the sake of him. And he had been reduced to mere Akio Ohtori.
But even things that were eternal could come to an end. There was a way to free his sister from her prison and end her suffering. She had to find someone who she could truly believe in as her prince. That person would then be able to free her and obtain the power Dios that was once his and be able to revolutionize the world. But alas, that person could not be him, for he was her brother, and a brother and sister could not be such things to each other. Its very nature was taboo, and as such, he could never be her prince, and so he could never free her and regain his power himself.
That was why he had started the Dueling Game. He'd had the shell of the person his sister had been reduced to become the Rose Bride, chosen candidates to fulfill the role of her prince, and manipulated them and anyone else involved throughout the tournament. The plan had been to mold the champion into becoming someone Anthy could view as her prince, and then take the nobility they possessed in their heart as it manifested into the form of a sword, then use that sword to cut through the Rose Gate to where the real Anthy dwelled, along with the power of Dios.
But even then, he would not be able to free her, because he still couldn't be her prince. But he could take back the power of Dios from her. It was originally his, and so rightfully belonged to him, and he wouldn't let anyone else have it, not even if it meant that they could free his sister for him. After all, she willingly chose this role for herself, and continued to do so out of love for him. So while he couldn't free her, he could regain his noble status and power, and he would use anyone and everyone however he needed to in order to do so, even if that meant sacrificing others.
And yet each and every attempt ended in failure, even with all the rule changes he made to mold the perfect champion. He'd hosted many Dueling Games over the centuries, his and Anthy's eternal youth really being all the power they had left in their current state. He'd taken on the alias of End Of The World, promising the students of this school eternity and the power to revolutionize the world and perform miracles if they won the Dueling Game, a task accomplished by winning possession of the Rose Bride in a duel and being the champion at the end of the tournament. And with Anthy lacking a will of her own, she played her role and followed his every order with little thought and without question, no matter what it was.
But still he faced failure. Again and again, the swords he took from the champions failed to cut through the Rose Gate. And so he tried again and again, amending his plans as he tried to produce the perfect candidate, but every single one of them had let him down. But he would keep trying. No matter what it cost, he would find a way to regain the power of Dios.
And then there had been her, Utena Tenjou. A wild card in his latest Dueling Game, but one with great potential. Even Dios himself seemed to favor her and think that she might be the one. So Akio had focused his attention on her, much to the displeasure of his counterpart, and she had made it all the way to the end of the tournament.
Like so many others, he'd played her like a fiddle. Seducing and manipulating her and those around her, he'd even gotten her to fall in love with him, enough to almost make her turn her back on her philosophies and who she was as a person. She'd ultimately rejected him and her love for him though when she found out who he really was, what he had done, and what he planned to do.
He couldn't exactly blame her for that though once she saw through his deception, but it didn't matter, he'd gotten what he needed from her, taking her sword from her after literally having Anthy stab her in the back and leave her for dead.
But once again, he faced failure. Her sword had failed to cut through the Rose Gate as well. But then, much to his surprise, Utena herself had attempted to open the Rose Gate herself, and with her bare hands at that, even as she bled out. He'd initially laughed off her foolish attempt, wondering how long it would before she gave up or simply collapsed.
She hadn't. And to his utter astonishment, she actually managed to get through the Rose Gate and had begun to open the coffin to where Anthy's real self dwelled within her coffin. And for the first time since he could remember, he had felt afraid, afraid that she would succeed in saving his sister and taking the power of Dios.
But she hadn't. In her attempt to save Anthy, she had invited all the world's hatred upon herself, taking his sister's punishment for herself as the dueling arena had crumbled around them. And so Utena Tenjou had disappeared from the world, along from the memories of all but a select few people, him naturally being be of them.
At the time, he'd chalked the whole situation off as a close call, but ultimately another failure. He'd even begun making plans for a new Dueling Game and began seeking out new candidates. But then the unthinkable had happened. Anthy had left him. He'd been too blind to see it, but Utena had managed to free the real Anthy from her prison, even though she hadn't obtained the power of Dios.
Free of his influence, and with her soul and true self restored, Anthy had turned her back on him and left Ohtori Academy to go out and find Utena, claiming that it was her turn to save her now. It was then that Akio had realized that he had lost everything. Without his sister, he could no longer regain the power of Dios, it was truly lost to him.
That was the reason for his current state of affairs. He'd once lived for the people of the world, but that part of him was gone since he lost his nobility and he and Dios had split into two beings. After that, all he had left, his sole purpose for living, had been to regain the power he once had and go back to being the prince he once was. But with Anthy gone, that was impossible. He'd lost his very reason for living.
As a result, he'd spiraled out of control, falling into a state of utter depression, sinking deeper and deeper into despair. He spent most of his time getting drunk, barely ate or slept, neglected his duties as chairman, and merely wallowed in misery as he lamented all that he lost.
As if all that wasn't enough, his past misdeeds had begun to catch up with him. His fiancée had broken off their engagement when she found proof of his numerous affairs, many of which were with the students. Not that that mattered much, he had no love for the woman, she had just been a means to an end, but the position being with her brought him had been beneficial.
And now he had received word that he was being let go as chairman. But what did that matter? Nothing mattered anymore. All this did was give him another reason to get drunk. He had no purpose, no reason to live, and not for the first time, his thoughts had turned suicidal. It was something he had been considering more and more. He didn't care about anything anymore, and even looking at the stars had lost its appeal. He already felt dead inside anyway and had lost his reason to go on, so why not just make it official?
Currently, he was sitting at his desk, his face down on the wooden texture, his lavender hair spilled out around him, and his hand wrapped around a half empty bottle of alcohol. He hadn't showered or changed his clothes in days, he hadn't so much as left his office, merely passing out from drunkenness, finding no will or motivation to do anything other than drown out his sorrows.
Usually he was more aware of his surroundings, but he was currently so far into the bottle and so lost in depression that he didn't even notice the presence that had entered the room until he got the sensation of someone walking over his grave, setting his hairs on end. Letting out a groan, he forced himself to lift his head.
His vision was blurry from intoxication and the room seemed to be spinning, and he blinked a few times to clear his vision. The blurry figure of a person began to come into focus. Strangely, the person seemed to be transparent, and he rubbed his eyes to try and clear his vision further. Whoever the person was, he could make out that they had pink hair.
"Utena?" he asked, his speech slurred.
It was the familiar voice of a man that responded. "Wrong pink-haired person, but another one you've wronged all the same."
It was definitely a voice he recognized, but it was hard to think straight. He rubbed his eyes again and the person came more into focus, allowing him to identify the individual. "Ah, Souji Mikage. It's been a long time." He looked him up and down. "You're a little see-through."
It was true, the man before him was indeed transparent, his eyes hadn't been playing tricks on him. But the former host of the Black Rose portion of the Dueling Game didn't seem bothered by this fact. "That tends to happen when you end up as a spirit. Or did the all-knowing Akio Ohtori not know that I died?"
A humorless smirk crept up the chairman's face. "I'm well aware of your demise. I had to arrange to have your body removed. But that's what happened when you live for so long bound to a place that kept you locked in time and then leave that place. Time catches up with you."
Mikage's eyes narrowed hatefully. "It happened the moment I stepped off Ohtori Academy grounds. All the years I had been unaffected by the flow of time hit me all at once. Could you possibly comprehend how painful it was to suddenly age so many years in just a few brief seconds? Agonizing. And yet I was dead before I even hit the ground."
Akio just shrugged nonchalantly. "You'd stayed here long past your life expectancy. Naturally you would die once those years hit you and brought you to your actual age." He brought the bottle to his mouth and took a long drink. "What surprises me is that you would stick around after kicking the bucket. I would have thought you would want to move on and be with your precious Tokiko and Mamiya after bring stuck here for so long."
Mikage's nostrils flared and he angrily stormed over to Akio, slamming his hands on the desk; they didn't make a sound. "And do you really think I could ever be at peace after what you made me do?" he glared at the chairman. "Do you have any sympathy for the things you've done?"
Another smirk made its way up Akio's face and he shrugged again. "I've done many things you would think I should feel sympathy for, but I've long since lost the ability to feel sympathy for others."
This only seemed to anger Mikage further, but Akio truly couldn't care less. He knew why the man was so upset though. Many years ago, he had been a professor at the school. He'd been in love with a woman named Tokiko Chida, whose little brother, Mamiya, had been terminally ill. Mikage had been desperate to save the boy, and Akio had used that to his advantage. He'd used his power of persuasion and manipulation to get Mikage to burn down the research building, resulting in the deaths of a hundred students.
This had all been for Akio's own gain, to use these events for the Dueling Game. He'd continued to manipulate Mikage over the years, messing with his memories into thinking that Mamiya was still alive and that everything he did with the Black Rose duels was to save him, giving Anthy the illusion of being the boy and having her play the role to continue the deception.
Utena had managed to get him to see through the deception and realize what was really going on. He'd left the school shortly after that, where time had caught up with him, resulting in his death. It hadn't mattered to Akio though, Mikage had already served his purpose.
Lifting the bottle, he took another swig, then gave the pink-haired man a frown. "What do you want, Mikage? If there's something keeping you bound to this world and you've chose to linger in it, that's your choice, but why are you here in my office?"
Scoffing, Mikage pulled back. "As I said, I can't be at peace, not yet, not in light of all I've done while in your thrall." He gave him a hard look. "Not until I've made things right."
Now it was Akio's turn to scoff, only his sounded more amused. "You mean saving that Mamiya brat? I thought you came to realize that he was already dead. Wasn't that why you left? You can't help him."
Mikage's fists clenched. "You're right, I can't. But there are others among the dead that I can help."
The hair on the back of Akio's neck suddenly stood on end again, and he once more felt as if someone were walking over his grave. This time though, the feeling was much greater, and it sent a shiver down his spine. A few moments later, more transparent figures began to appear around Mikage. Dozens and dozens of them, all relatively the same age, all wearing Ohtori Academy school uniforms, and all just as transparent as him.
There had to be nearly a hundred of them, and Akio's eyes went from one to the other, a feeling of unease coming over him, which was quickly washed away by his intoxication. "Who are your friends?"
Mikage scowled. "Do you not recognize them?" He held out his arms, as if to present them. "They are those that remain of the one-hundred students who died in the fire that you made me set."
Akio blinked to focus his vision as he looked back at the spirits. The names and faces of them were unknown to him. He hadn't cared to know who had fell prey to his schemes. They were all just pawns to him, disposable pieces in his game to be used and then cast aside once they had served their purpose.
"And what of it?" he asked uncaringly. "Are they all here for a big reunion party? Well, here you go. Cheers."
He raised the bottle before throwing it back and downing the rest of it. He slammed it down on the table, using it to help hold himself up and let out a hiccup as he swayed in his seat.
Mikage just continued to glare at him. "This is no reunion party. They want what was promised to them."
Letting out another hiccup, the chairman wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Oh, and what would that be? I don't recall."
Eyes flashing angrily at how little Akio seemed to care for their predicament, Mikage pointed at him accusingly. "You promised them new lives! Lives for the ones lost in the fire you manipulated me into starting. Lives they could obtain from the other students if they won the Black Rose duels!"
Akio blinked a few times and seemed to be trying to remember. Then a look of recollection crossed his face. "Oh, right those. Well, my friend, I'm afraid you're all out of luck. The Dueling Game is over, and without Anthy, there's no chance of there being any others. So it looks like none of us are getting what we want? So why don't you all just scurry off to the afterlife and leave me to my empty one."
He felt woozy and his extended arm dropped down onto his desk. The bottle rolled out of his hand and fell to the floor, shattering. Akio was too drunk to even notice though and none of the spirits seemed to care, all their attention was on Akio.
"They can't," Mikage told him. "They're all just as restless as I am. And until I help them, I can't be at peace either."
"Well then, we're all screwed," the chairman grumbled. "Because all of our goals are out of our reach. So if you lot can't find peace, then go haunt the school or something, because your presence is a nuisance to me."
A flash of anger flew across Mikage's face. And the other spirits looked equally as irked. "So sorry if our deaths that you orchestrated are an inconvenience to you, but this is no longer about what you want."
At these words, the other spirits began moving in, circling around Akio and his desk, and then slowly closing in on him. Suddenly more alert, he began looking around at all the spirits that surrounded him.
"What is this?" he demanded, now feeling uneasy. "What are you doing?"
"Your goal may be lost to you, but ours is not," Mikage told him as he too began moving in. "The path to that goal through the Dueling Game may no longer be an option, but we will find another way. And as the one responsible for our plight, you will help us, Akio Ohtori, whether you want it or not."
A feeling of fear broke through Akio's intoxication as the spirits closed around him, and they all reached out for him. A few moments later, his cry was heard all throughout the observatory.
(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)
Shiori didn't think it was possible to be this happy. It was strange since she never saw her life taking this path. Her and Juri, openly in love and engaged to be married, and her pregnant by the only man she had ever truly loved. No, she truly never saw her life going down this path.
Yet at the same time, she wouldn't change anything that had happened. True, there had been a great deal of drama, hurt, heartbreak, and other unpleasant experiences, but those things had ultimately led her to where she was now.
Holding up her hand, a smile made its way across her face as she looked at the ring Juri had given her. A ring that symbolized their love and that they belonged to each other. The sight of it glittering in the morning sun nearly caused happy tears to fill her eyes, and she hugged her hand to her heart.
It had been such a hard path to get here, but she was truly glad that Fate had brought her down this road. Of course, she still wondered what her parents would think and say when she and Juri finally told them everything. She couldn't exactly see them being happy with her. Unmarried and pregnant by a man who was now dead that had used and discarded her, and now engaged to another woman, and all why she was still so young and still in school. No, she couldn't see them reacting well to any of that at all, even if Juri's family was rich and influential.
But Shiori didn't care. Well, ok, yes, she did care what they thought, they were her parents after all, but as long as she had Juri by her side, she felt as if they could get through anything. She truly believed that they were meant to be, that their love was written in the stars. That may sound cheesy, but she didn't think the way she felt and the love they shared could be anything less than destiny.
If only she had learned of Juri's feelings sooner. Perhaps she would have been able to recognize and acknowledge her own feelings sooner. Then maybe they could have skipped over all the drama and heartbreak and gotten together that much sooner.
She hesitated at her line of thinking, and her hands slowly moved down to her stomach. She may have been late in showing her pregnancy, but now it was quickly becoming apparent, her stomach growing at a rapid pace, catching up in its lateness. And as she stroked her growing belly, she acknowledged that if she and Juri had gotten together sooner that her future son never would have been conceived.
So perhaps it was all for the best that all that drama happened. She may be young and this pregnancy may be happening at an inconvenient time in her life, but she wouldn't change anything. She already loved this child fiercely, and she knew that Juri did too. The orange-haired girl loved it as if it were her own flesh and blood child, and Shiori smiled at how Juri had chosen to logic loop in order to claim that she was the reason Shiori had ended up pregnant, because Ruka had slept with her because of Juri, which made her responsible for the baby's conception.
Shiori decided that she would look at it that way too. Ruka was nothing more than a sperm donor while Juri was, figuratively, the "father", being the cause for her pregnancy. She giggled at the logic loop, finding it cute. Regardless, what was true was that Juri would indeed be just as much of a mother to this child as she was. Blood ties were not the only thing that made people family. Juri would truly be a parent to this child, in every way that really mattered.
It was funny though. Neither she nor Juri had given any thought to having children, which made sense considering that they were still both teenagers. Somewhere down the line though, they probably would have decided to either adopt or do intracervical insemination. But it seemed that Fate had other plans and decided to give them a little bundle of joy earlier than either of them expected.
Shiori had been scared and unsure when she first learned that she was pregnant, but that was no longer the case. And any concerns she had about Juri in regards to the baby were long gone. She was already fawning over it, stroking and kissing her growing belly when they were in bed together and even speaking to the baby lovingly. She was reading up on pregnancy and childcare in preparation for when it came, just like any eager, expecting parents would be. Shiori would even go as far as to say that Juri was nesting, as if she were the one who was pregnant. It was both funny and sweet at the same time.
A small frown crossed her face as she thought about what the other students would say about her once her pregnancy became known. She was still able to just barely keep it hidden for now, making it look like she had just gained weight, as she had originally thought was happening, but it would eventually become apparent that it was a baby in her stomach, not fat. And when that news got out…
She shuddered. The gossip was going to fly once people found out. She would probably be called names like whore or slut, even though she was hardly the one in school who'd taken a lover. They would probably say that Juri was only with her out of pity and that Shiori was only burdening her. That wasn't going to be fun. Juri said that she would protect her, just as she had with the other bullies who had come after her when their relationship had first become known.
But Juri couldn't be there for her all the time, and she needed to be able to stick up for herself, especially if she was going to be a mother. Not that she couldn't, but facing harassment wasn't exactly something she was looking forward to. It would all be worth it though. Her and Juri's love, this family that they were building together, it was worth going through any amount of torment. They had already been through so much together to get to where they were now, and neither one of them were willing to give it up. They would get through whatever life threw at them, together.
Letting out a sigh, she continued her way down the hall, becoming aware of a person standing at the end of it. She didn't think anything of it, but as she got closer, her eyes widened as she recognized him to be the chairman. She hadn't seen him since he had taken her and Ruka for a ride in his car several months ago. He looked… not well.
Coming to a stop in front of him, she gave him a look of concern as he stared at the ceiling with his eyes closed. "Um, Mr. Ohtori, are you ok?"
He didn't answer, but after a few seconds of silence, he slowly lowered his head until he was facing her. His eyes snapped open, and she saw that they were glazed over and glassy. A sense of unease came over her and she took a step back.
"Is… everything alright?" she asked uneasily.
A sinister grin spread across Akio's face.
(A/N: Ok, so this is happening. As much as I enjoyed writing out Juri and Shiori's love story, I realized that the story was missing something, and that was a villain. Not that all stories need a villain, but they usually add a little extra something to things. And the unresolved plot points regrading both Akio, Mikage, and the remaining 100 dead students provide the perfect opportunity for that. Now I get to have a villain for the story and close the door on that unfinished business. I know what happened this chapter may be a little confusing, but don't worry, everything will be explained next chapter, and I'll also be answering some questions the Black Rose Saga left unanswered. We're approaching the climatic final arc of this story, so stayed tuned for it.)