Arena of Rebirth You stand in a circular depression in a grassy field. The area is fenced in by rose bushes; one half of the circle is bushes that bear roses all of a deep purple, while the other half consists of varied colors of roses. The two halves of the circle are separated by stone archways standing like silent witnesses and marking the only ways in or out of this circular space. On the stone floor, the outline of a stylized rose is engraved. Kiryuu Nanami gazes around, an annoyed, impatient look on her face.. "Where's this duellist? And what a -crappy- arena. These Shinsei duellists have no taste." Kiryuu Touga is standing some distance behind Nanami..arms crossed behind his back as he stands waiting to observe and oversee the match. A figure steps through the gateway on the opposing side of the circle. "You're one to speak of taste, Kiryuu Nanami." Kiryuu Nanami turns somewhat, violet-grey eyes meeting the figure, lids narrowing.. "And who're you to talk?" Kondo Hikana moves into the light. "The one who you must fight." Kondo Hikana gazes behind Nanami. "I see your brother is here as well..." Kiryuu Touga ahhhhs...tilts his head back, commenting, "So you are a so called Shinsei Duellist? I am here to oversee the Duel and report it's final results." Kondo Hikana nods. "I am Kondo Hikana, a duellist of the Phoenix." Kiryuu Nanami. o O ( Feh. She doesn't look so tough.. ) Kiryuu Touga nods...uncrossing his arms...and idly tosses a rose to Kondo, "Then prepare yourself..." not a 'bride' so simply throws it to her..expecting her to don her own fate. Not given the respect of an official 'Doning of the Rose' Kiryuu Nanami shrugs. "Great. Let's get this over with, then.." she states, raising her dagger and shortsword, sliding one foot back, positioning herself in a basic defensive stance. Kondo Hikana looks at Nanami with an expression of disgust, for some reason. "Well, if you're the only opponent I have..." She idly tosses aside the rose Touga tossed her, and plucks a purple rose from bushes on the Shinsei half of the circle, then pins to to her own pocket. Kiryuu Touga smirks...wanders before Nanami..leans over and fastens a rose upon her uniform..whispers, "Do make certain to give Ootori justice Nanami.." smirks at Kondo's own gesture ....before walking out of the circle calmly. Kondo Hikana turns back to face Nanami, and holds up one of her weapons - a stiletto with serrated edges. She turns it so the sun reflects off the blade. "For rebirth..." A ray of sunshine seems to strike the exact center of the rose engraving. o/~ The river of life... Water begins quickly to run down along the engraving of the rose, tracing the design out against the dry stones. o/~ Flowing, enveloping... The water overruns the tracery, and quickly flows to cover the entire stone circle to a depth of about an inch, hiding the rose tracery from view. The sunbeam in the center continues to glint on the water. o/~ Regressing, back to birth... The glint spreads out into a glow...tracing the rose emblem again, making it visible through the waters that cover the stone circle... ...as you suddenly sink through the water! You hold your breath... o/~ Descending, into darkness... You suddenly pass out of the water and into a new realm. Gazing upward into the darkness, you can see rings of light expanding out and dimming, like ripples on water...and then nothing. o/~ The darkness of the womb... Gazing below you, the platform on which you stand is only dimly visible by the light of the glowing rose tracery in it. All else around you is dark...not an evil dark, but a dark filled with unborn possibilities. o/~ The warmth of promised life... Down below you, far in the distance, a large purple rose, its petals tightly furled, becomes visible. o/~ The anticipation of birth... Slowly, the rose begins to unfurl its petals and take on a dim light of its own. o/~ Die to be reborn... As the petals finally unfurl entirely, you can see that within the center of the flower lies a castle, silent and asleep. o/~ Die to be reborn... Finally, the platform comes to a stop and slowly hangs suspended in the darkness, directly above the rose. A few dim lights come to life within the castle below. o/~ Die to be reborn... Let the duellists be joined, to decide for Revolution or Rebirth... You stand on an almost invisible platform; the only way you can truly tell it is there is from the dim purple glow emanating from the lines that form a stylized rose. Stretching out in all directions except below, you see nothing; only the warm, pregnant darkness of the womb, promising rebirth. If you gaze downward, you see a huge glowing purple rose, its petals unfurled as if a waiting embrace. Within the center of the rose, sheltered by the petals, is a castle that seems to slumber. Only dimly light, as if waiting the coming of a new day, the castle seems to bear silent witness to the duel. Kondo Hikana moves into a fighting stance, holding her stilettos at the ready. "Now, prepare for rebirth, Kiryuu Nanami." She immediately charges towards her opponent. Kiryuu Nanami takes only a moment to examine her new surroundings, lips parting slightly in vague awe.. but the sensation vanishes, the duel beginning. The revolutionary duellist falls back into her defensive position, but does not move... watching as the girl charges, timing her movements carefully. Kondo Hikana seems to come in towards Nanami's rose - a rather amateurish move, to try to take out the rose right away. Surely any experienced duellist would know that any other experienced duellist would be ready to block such an attack. Kondo Hikana changes directions when she's close to Nanami, aiming for the arm instead, hoping to injure with the jagged edges of her stilettos. Clearly, this girl fights dirty, similar to Nanami. Kiryuu Nanami was expecting some sort of move different to the one this girl seemed to be performing.. knowing that any sane duellist would never try such a futile move so early. Raising her arms, both of her blades clash with the stilettos, deflecting them only inches from her arm. Rotation on her heel, she tries to catch the girl off balance,attempting to circle around her for an attack from behind.. Kondo Hikana sees the attack coming and just barely ducks under it, coming in for a low attack towards Nanami's legs. As she does, she says, "You may be a selfish brat, but perhaps you have some skill after all..." Kiryuu Nanami leaps away just in time, one of the blades -just- hitting Nanami's leggings, a small rip appearing in the black fabric. She falls back, into a defensive posture again.. not wanting to counter that attack. She has to re-evaluate this opponent, having never faces someone so vicious.. so cruel.. and so familiar. She asks, as she raises her blades, her voice filled with anger. "Selfish brat? Selfish BRAT? How dare you talk to me like that! You don't even KNOW me!" Kondo Hikana leaps back, coming to her feet. "Oh, don't I know you? You've had everything I ever wanted - everything I never had - and yet you want more. I was an only child, and my parents were never home...I used to dream of having an older brother to be with me. You HAVE an older brother, and yet you would keep him entirely to yourself. You have everything you need to be happy, but you choose to want more, and so you're unhappy." Her eyes narrow. "I hate you and all you stand for. Oh, I know you well. You _are_ a spoiled brat, Kiryuu Nanami." She spins one of her stilettos, and suddenly pushes forward, thrusting it towards Nanami. "Now defend yourself!" Kiryuu Nanami becomes -quite- enraged at the comments this duellist is making.. She knows not to let her opponents psych her... but this girl's comments are cutting deep. Not having time to respond, she raises her dagger arm, deflecting the forward thrust. At the same time, she swings her shortsword in a low arc, trying to knock the rose from the girl's breast.. and hoping to cut some flesh in the process. Kondo Hikana holds up one stiletto, blocking the dagger, and twists it slightly so the dagger locks into one of the serrations, and yanks to move Nanami's own arm and dagger to shield her rose. She gives Nanami a small, feral grin. "Check!" Then she swipes the other stiletto at Nanami's cheek. "Let's mark that face you're so proud of... perhaps then your dear, beloved brother will ignore you even more, hrm?" Kiryuu Nanami's eyes widen.. finding herself in a rather serious dilemma. Quckly, her mind works, having less than a second to react to this. If this continues, her face will be cut, and her arms slashed by her own blade. Unlock the dagger, perhaps? No.. her arm would be saved, but her face... her wonderful, perfect face would be scarred terribly. Pull away? Not enough time. No.. Nanami must sacrifice something to get out of this one. Her fingers suddenly break their deathgrip on the hilt of her shortsword, letting it fall to the ground. Then, she leans back, grinning as her locked dagger aids her. Missing the slash of the stiletto, her face is saved, for now. Raising a foot, she pushes outward, aiming her heel for the girl's groin, and *YANKS* her dagger forward, and, in turn, pulling Hikana into the kick. Kiryuu Nanami plans to seriously disorient this girl for a moment.. unlock her dagger, and retrieve her shortsword. That's the plan.. but will it work? Kondo Hikana seems somewhat surprised by this tactic, but dodges slightly and takes the kick on her upper leg instead of her groin - painful, but not debilitating. Her eyes narrow as she kicks the shortsword aside and lunges forwards towards Nanami; the blade now aimed at Nanami's neck. Kiryuu Nanami bites her lip.. flinching as the blade approaches. She yanks her dagger free from the stilleto, her foot returning to the platform. Not caring seriously about the duel rose, for the moment, her objective is to retrieve her sword.. and she tries to do just that. She ducks, dodging the blade, the serrated edge severring a few blonde locks, but nothing more. She punches forward.. not really as an attack, but to push Hikana away from her.. and then she bolts, heading for her sword, leaning down to grasps the weapon's hilt without stopping. Kondo Hikana whirls around to get her bearings on Nanami, a wild look in her eyes. "If you won't be reborn, then I'll be born again as you; I'll take that which you've had that I never did, which you apparently consider so valueless!" She charges towards Nanami, the blades crossed and ready for an outgoing slash. Kiryuu Nanami is able to sweep her sword into her hand, raising it, still running. Then, with an agile leap, she twists in the air, turning to face her opponent once more, crossing her own blades, preparing to use the same tactic... "Shut UP! I'm sick of your pointless whining. I'll shut your mouth for you!" Kondo Hikana says, "Pointless whining? I'm not the one who constantly complains that her brother no longer is aware of her." Her blades meet Nanami's in a clash of steel, as the force locks them against each other for a moment. She gazes at Nanami - the anger and hatred in her deep green eyes has a depth that is truly frightening. "You realize you only drive him further from you. You'd like to blame others, but everything wrong with your life is your own fault. And you're miserable...because you know it's true." She smiles wickedly and thrusts her blades apart, pushing the two apart again, and slicing towards Nanami's rose again. Kiryuu Nanami's eyes are alight with rage.. a rage so strong it almost.. or perhaps.. equally matches the anger and hatred in Hikana's. This duel is no longer about roses. This duel is no longer about revolution. This duel is no longer about rebirth.. at least for Nanami. Only one thing crosses Nanami's mind. Her opponents death. No one can talk to her like that! How dare they! Perhaps, somewhere, deep inside her, Nanami's knows that Hikana's words are true. She does push away her brother every day.. she makes her own life miserable.. and, being lonely in this constant state, tries to make others miserable as well, subconsciously wanting companions... But this part of Nanami has been buried.. and Hikana's words are barely enough to even provoke its resurfacing. But, it is enough to surface another sensation in Nanami... She goes mad. In an almost amazing display of strength, speed, and viciousness, she clashes her dagger with the stiletto, knocking it aside quickly, clearing the path.. before she lunges forward, knocking herself against Hikana.. her arms flailing wildly.. stabbing... slashing.. punching... scratch.. whatever damage she can inflict upon the girl. Kondo Hikana blinks for a moment under the ferocity of the attack, before reflexes and adrenaline kick in. Not even noticing the numerous scratches and small injuries she's picking up, she responds in kind. Her stilettos flailing out in search of any target to stab or slice, knees moving to hit any sensitive areas. The anger and hatred in her eyes burns so bright it has consumed all rationality - all that matters is destroying this thing in front of her - this thing which represents all that is wrong w ith the world. It will die, and it will die in pain. Kondo Hikana kicks out at Nanami's knee with the full force of an adrenaline craze behind it. At the same time, one stiletto heads towards Nanami's stomach, while the other strikes out at her eyes. Kiryuu Nanami, in her mania, has still not lost her almost instinctive senses as a duellist. In a flurry of motion, she knocks the stiletto from her eyes, letting her graze her head. Her braid, in turn, comes undone, blonde bangs spilling over the violet-grey orbs that were so recently endangered. She then twists her body hoping to dodge the blade and the kick. She dodges the kick, letting the foot sink painlessly into the the side of her hip.. but the sword connects.. cutting through her side, the serrated edge slicing her side.. barely.. but enough to open a rather nasty flesh wound.. Kiryuu Nanami doesn't want to be the only one with a nice, plesant gash on her body. As she's left Hikana somewhat unbalanced... she takes this opportunity to perform one attack. A simple forward thrust with her shortsword, aimed at her opponent's stomach... Kondo Hikana is still somewhat off-balance from her last thrust, and takes the gash across her midsection. Not enough to be life-threatening, but it certainly dyes her purple duelling jacket a deep red. Ignoring the pain, or perhaps just unaware of it within the haze of rage, she levels one of her blades directly at Nanami's heart, and with a battle cry charges directly at her opponent...no matter the cost, Nanami will DIE...nothing else matters anymore. When you come right down to it, Kondo Hikana and Kiryuu Nanami are alike in battle. Both are obviously vicious, dirty fighters.. letting nothing come in the way of victory. Both have a strong will, and follow their causes, whether it be rebirth, or revolution.. But Hikana and Nanami forget these causes. Both seem to allow emotions.. pure, raw, carnal emotions, such as hatred.. anger.. rage.. to guide them in battle. Not just guide them, but consume them as well.. which is what has happened now.. and, with those carnal emotions raging through her at this very moment, she drives her dagger forward.. aiming for Hikana's heart.. her life is meaningless. As long as Hikana dies, nothing else matters. A single moment, frozen in time as the two duellists collide, both swords aimed true at the heart of the opponent. Each rose, pierced through the center by the blade of an enemy. Each girl stands there for a moment, transfixed on the endpoint of the other's blade... ...then the moment passes, and the two girls sink back, injured. Yet as each pulls away from the other... the roses cling to the blades that pierced them, pulling each flower away from the breast on which it sits. For when neither side has changed and neither has learned, there can be no true victor. Both girls sink to the floor of the arena... Bells begin to chime, growing in volume... All around you goes dim and black... And you find yourself back in the park where you started. Kondo Hikana clutches her breast and stomach weakly where she lies on the arena floor, trying to staunch the bleeding. She gazes dimly over at Nanami. The hate is still in her eyes, but now there's the beginnings of something else...not respect, not yet...but perhaps a bit of understanding, and perhaps even kinship. Kiryuu Nanami lies on the cold platform, holding her side, the pain finally becoming noticable. She gazes back at Hikana, their eyes meeting, and locking, for a long moment. She bore no hatred for this girl when the duel began.. but, with the words spoken, she now has a rather unique disgust for this girl, and for the name of 'Rebirth'.. but, like Hikana, there is something there... something born from those terrible emotions.. as Nanami finds someone who could, perhaps, be a kindred spirit.. Kondo Hikana finally closes her eyes. The berzerker rage has left her, and the pain has flooded in and overwhelmed her... gratefully, she slips into the waiting embrace of unconsciousness. Kiryuu Nanami whispers, softly.. calling.. she's still awake, but she, too, is drifting into a deep sleep.. "O..ni..sama..." Nanami can make out in her blurring vision a tall figure ..prince- like...standing over her...a familiar gentle voice intoning, "...you did well ..Nanami.." Kiryuu Nanami smiles.. and clings to those words as she allows her body to rest, for now.. "Arigatou.." she murmurs, and Kiryuu Nanami falls asleep. Kondo Hikana has no such prince to take her in his arms and comfort her in her pain; she's alone in the world, just as she always has been. And just how she always will... Kiryuu Touga watches his sister fade off to a deep sleep..nods solemnly...before kneeling down...gathering her limp form in his arms...idly brushing aside a few strands of her bangs...the shadows clinging to their forms in the circle.. he spares the other duelist a glance...with a smirk he decides that the Shinsei can attend to their own..if she should pass on .... then it isn't his fault..and besides..it would be one less potential threat to Ootori..and he wouldn't precisely cry a river. Nanami however...he looks down to again..and turns to carry her from the arena...giving her the attention she needs...and returning her to the fold of the Ootori Duelists...Revolution and Rebirth taking a mark of defeat apiece. As his echoing footfalls receed into the distance. Kaoru Miki slowly steps out of the shadows after Touga has left, and gathers up Hikana. Quietly, he shakes his head as he proceeds to take her to the infirmary. . o ( So much anger, so much hatred. Is this really the way...? ) Kaoru Miki walks out of the arena, carrying Hikana, as his shadow stretches long in the evening sun... but another day will come, and with it another chance to win rebirth. ** Castle of Illusion You stand inside a massive hall of crystal and stone, peppered with staircases that would give Escher nightmares, and giant statues. There are also apparently many, many rooms here, marked by arched doorways in a kind of spongy, organic layout- as if over time, the space became more and more crowded as more and more rooms were hastily put into the original architecture. The last thing you saw.. the last thing you remember.. was an endless burning light.. a light of tremendous brilliance that suffused all your senses. Vaguely within that light you saw shapes.. Utena being enclosed within glowing wings... a brief sight of human arms... then.. nothing. The very last sensation you would have had was of complete darkness and a feeling of being pulled... now.. you find yourself on a cold, hard, slick surface of some type. Kei presses one hand to her forehead, blinking to try to bring her eyes into focus. "What...?" At first, as you come out of the black, it's all fuzz and light.. light of vague colors; pale blues, pinks, yellows.. and it all hurts. Eventually your vision clears and you see yourself on a glasslike floor. A strange crystal 'tree' apparently is growing out of the floor a few feet from you... and you can see a faint glitter a little past that. Kei looks around, pushing herself up to a sitting position. "Where...where am I?" Your voice echoes off the walls and back at you, acquiring a kind of crystal tinge in its return. Kei slowly gets to her feet, moving to examine the materials of her surroundings more precisely. . o ( The last thing I remember, I was at the arena with Ten'jou-san... ) WHOA. You can't figure out why, but as you stand there's this momentary sensation of... DIZZINESS, powerful and overwhelming. Your brain seems to think that it's going to fall... UPWARD. As you look about, you see that what you first interpreted as a 'tree' is an fact a crystal chandelier, poking up out of the floor and utterly motionless. Kei stares for a moment, and tries to regain her balance before she continues to look around. When she can stand without feeling dizzy, she looks around again to see if the rest of the area is similarly upside-down. It seems like some of it is and some of it isn't. You can see from your current position that your sword is lying a few feet away from you, on the other side of the chandelier. Beyond that is a reversed archway, leading into a dimmer chamber. Kei looks around to see if anything other than the chandelier is present. Kei goes and quickly reclaims her sword - the only thing left of her oniisan - and then heads for the archway to see what lies beyond. It's kind of weird to walk through that dizzying feeling, but you manage it, stepping carefully over the slight jutting out of the reversed archway. Beyond is a room that.. at first.. simply hurts your brain to try and look at. There are twosided staircases that curl around themselves and move at strange angles, almost flowing and living, like an Escher painting come to life. Archways, some upside down, some right side up, cram the walls at irregular locations, like the holes of swiss cheese; and there ar e two massive white marble statues, both currently 'reversed' from your view point, of a prince and a princess. Kei walks over to look at the statues, moving slowly so as not to upset her balance from the bizarre perspective. Well, details are a little hard to make out. The prince.. almost looks familiar to you... but you don't know why. Something about the set of the eyes, the set of the nose. The same with the princess statue; they both look like people that you might once h ave known, in the past, and forgotten over time. They remind you of your brother, any friends you might have had... they make you think they're people you SHOULD know, their names JUST on the tip of your tongue. Kei gazes at the statues thoughtfully for a moment, and then turns to continue on her quest through the strange hallways...her sword held at the ready. You wander for a bit, through many rooms, up and down the strange staircases. In many rooms, you find richly colored stained glass windows; in many more, you find statues of beautiful, sleeping people, mostly men, but very rarely a woman or two. Each room leaves you with a deep and pervading sense of sadness and loss. Perhaps at the lowest point, when you feel your heart sinking low within you, you come into another room.. and this one is different than the others. This one inexplicably contains a narrow polished wooden coffin, marked with the signet you recognize as the Ootori symbol; it hangs inverted in the air here, about six feet between the floor and the ceiling (as you perceive them from your position.) You can't tell if the room is upside down or right-side up; it's sheer and blank save the coffin. Kei reaches up to see if she can touch the coffin, to see how 'firm' it's supported in the air. You can touch it, but just barely, your fingers can brush along its bottommost point. It feels very solidly suspended, however it's being held- and you can't see how it might be. Kei tries to pry it open along the bottom edge, to see what - or who - is inside. Your fingers just aren't enough. The coffin is wedged too tightly closed... though, as you get nearer, you think, for a moment, you hear something, maybe a cry, maybe a soft sob, maybe it's all your imagination. Kei looks at the coffin again for a moment. After a pause, she slowly and carefully tries to put her blade into the crack along the edge - not quite tip-first, so as not to break it. Hoping to loosen it enough to open the coffin slightly... Maybe it's something about the sword, but the coffin opens, a crack, with a *hiss* so loud you expect steam to come pouring out of the opening... then it quakes in its position in the air... wobbles DANGEROUSLY... and you'd better get out of the way, because it comes CRASHING to the ground with a BANG like someone firing a cannon next to your head. Kei leaps back, the reflexes of a duellist kicking in. Kei slowly approaches the coffin to move the lid aside, to see what lies within. The coffin lands on its flat head point, then *THUMPS* onto the floor with the casing now pointed up. (It didn't land on its back, fortunately.) The cover is open just that inch or so more now from the impact, just enough to stick your fingers in and try to wedge it. It takes a lot of strength; you find yourself almost drenched with sweat from the sheer effort, and your feet almost slide back along the floor; would, if you weren't wearing those rubber-soled sneakers. But finally the damn thing moves.. and what's inside...? Utena, lying quietly half-buried in a huge overgrowth of tangled white roses filling the coffin completely. Kei stares. "T-ten'jou-san...?" Utena's hands are lying loosely across her breast; half of her body is covered by the roses, and her hands are bare; the signet ring is missing. There's a strangely transparent, surreal sheen, as if you could see through her. Kei reaches down slowly to touch Utena's hand...checking for warmth or a pulse, or maybe to see if Utena is just an illusion. "Ten'jou-san...?" Utena's hand seems... well, it solidifies as you touch it, but for a moment you were sure your hand passed below and through her skin. There is a pulse, if you're looking for it, but her skin is cold. Kei quickly tries to lift Utena out of the coffin, brushing aside all the roses. She lays the cold, unconscious Victor on the floor of the room, and takes off her duellist's jacket, revealing a simple lightweight sleeveless white silk shirt. She wraps the purple duelling coat around Utena, trying to warm the other girl up. The roses resist your attempt to release Utena; their thorns and vines cling to her, making your task a difficult one. Though you manage to get her free, the roses twist and hiss angrily inside the coffin, their ghostly white flowers all turning toward the direction of Utena. But as soon as Utena is free of the roses, the color returns to her skin; her lips open, and she makes a soft sound. Kei gets a look of relief in her eyes as Utena seems to recover slightly. She sits on the floor next to where she laid the Victor, knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. She shivers slightly in the cold air while she waits for Utena to come to fully. . o ( Perhaps giving her my jacket was not the best of ideas. ) The roses continue to hiss and snarl at you angrily, rustling leaves starting to curl out of the edges of the coffin, overflow. UH-oh. Utena stirs again, and her eyes eventually flutter open... but her eyes seem dull and unfocused. "... where...?" A hideously methodical *click*, *click*, *click noise can be heard, echoing through the corridors of the empty castle, like the hands of a clock moving in a silent, dusty room. The perceptive may notice a flash of red and violet, merely a speck on the horizon, but nearing at a pace that seems to defy the laws of physics, while remaining agonizingly slow and processional. Kei gazes over at the roses, and moves closer to Utena. "Ten'jou-san, we have to move. The flora wants to eat you." Utena, startled, looks at you, as if she can't remember who you are. You can see the struggle going on behind her eyes; she turns those deep blue orbs toward the rustling coffin and blanches. She doesn't know what THAT is either, and she doesn't like the way it's making those SOUNDS at her. Utena sits up slowly, groaning; her body's been still and quiescent for at least a week now, not to mention held upside down; she experiences the same drastic head-spinning dizziness from the inverted rooms and stumbles, her hand reaching into the empty air for something to grab onto. Himemiya Anshi is just suddenly behind Kei...in a rather disturbing fashion, as if she had always been there, and would always be there. Her face is drawn and calm, and quiet, as she looks to Utena. Without even recognizing Kei, she simply says, softly, "Utena-sama..." Kei takes Utena's arm...now that the roses are no longer clinging to her, the pink-haired girl is rather too heavy to be carried simply...and starts to help the Victor to her feet. She starts in shock, however, as the dark-skinned girl appears next to her. "Who...?" Utena stares at the dark-skinned girl in red, a name surfacing to her lips as if from a great depth. Wherever she's been.. it was somewhere REAL far away, and it's taking her time to return. "... hi.. memiya..." Utena leans on Kei, mainly because she's there to be leaned on. Kei gazes at the dark-skinned girl for a moment. . o ( Himemiya... this is the one who Miki-sempai spoke of. ) Himemiya Anshi is ignoring Kei, though the girl may have the idea in her mind, that the Bride is not doing it out of harshness or anger, merely out of necessity. A small, tan hand reaches out to Utena. "Hai, Utena-sama...take my hand..." The roses continue to overflow the coffin in the background, and start curling their vines along the floor. Kei tries to help Utena stand up, and gestures at Anshi. "I don't know where you came from, but help me move her. Those..." She indicates the angrily rustling roses which are slowly creeping out of the coffin, "Seem to have developed a taste for Ten'jou-san..." Utena looks at Himemiya dizzily... "..." Utena looks at the girl she's leaning on, to. "... who are you..?" Himemiya Anshi glances at Utena, then shakes her head at Kei. She closes her eyes, holding both hands to her chest, saying in an willowy tone which reverberates through the palace like a gunshot with each syllable, golden light reflecting in otherwise silvery mirrored corridors..."O roses of the noble castle...o power of Dios that sleeps within me...!" This is odd. Nothing happens. Kei glances at Utena. "I'm Yamaguchi Kei. We met in the infirmary; I was your roommate for a night." For a moment, she bends to pick up the purple duelling jacket which fell to the floor from where it had been wrapped around Utena. For the first time in a long time, Anshi's face is drawn with worry...and then a form of quiet, intense hatred...the hatred of slave to master, the hatred of king to usurper. Her voice is clear as a bell in the silence, as she looks at the ceiling, addressing...? "Selfish, Oniisama! Selfish and cruel!" Utena feels something tap her on the ankle; pales for a moment and stumbles forward instinctively, bringing Kei with her. "... hai.." The name still doesn't MEAN anything to her... but she accepts the sentiment behind the eyes. Mumbling something of an apology. Is that a short, sharp laugh you hear, Himemiya? Kei gazes over at Anshi in a questioning manner, but is distracted by being pulled forward by Utena. "Ten'jou-san...please, we have to get out of this room." She tries to lead Utena towards the doorway, gazing back at Anshi to see if the other girl follows...hoping she does, but knowing she has to help the one who can barely walk, not the one who's perfectly capable of it. Kei also keeps her attention on the roses. Utena follows/leans on Kei numbly, her head hanging loosely forward on her neck, pink hair lifeless about her face. The roses continue to pursue, adding a note of desperation to the need to move AWAY from them. Himemiya Anshi's jade eyes take a distinctly pained cast on them, sparkling in the dim light...poor Kei, she must feel ignored, as the Bride gathers her skirts, and quietly walks to the coffin, looking at it as one looks at a small, broken statue...her face is quietly numb, her eyes hooded...but she is quite the shield, between the roses, and the Victor. Her arms stretch wide, in the traditional pose...of the martyr. Whereever the roses touch the Bride's body, they wither and die with small, eerie screams that are almost human... almost feminine. Kei stares for a moment, then curses under her breath. With a strength born of adrenaline, she nearly lifts Utena and carries her just into the next room. Placing Utena on the floor and dropping her duelling jacket next to the Victor, she whirls aroud, sword at the ready, prepared to charge back in and try to cut the roses away from the dark-skinned girl... but instead she finds herself frozen in place, watching in amazement as the roses die merely by touching Anshi. Kei . o O ( What...? ) Oh, they die, en masse and horribly, each withering with disturbingly *human* screams. Himemiya Anshi bites her lip calmly, eyes wetting slightly at the feminine screams, but she doesn't care...that bit of nostalgia, trying to break her will? Is her own brother that cruel? But for her Prince, she would gladly take the Swords of Hate, no matter their form, as she presses toward the coffin, arms spread wide. "Selfish! But no matter...fate has made me sefless. Fate has made me the martyr...did you see this? Did you plan this?" Utena murmurs, "... Himemiya... " from the floor again... eyes so *empty*. Where is she, where has Utena gone? The roses, lesser in number but more fierce in intent, surge and leap out of the coffin, bursting, withering and dying in a great wave of flora... that seems to go on and on.. but then the last of them die, and there is no more coming to replace them; only piles of ash and lingering screams. Like a reward, perhaps a bitter one considering what you had to go through to get to it, Utena's folded jacket, bundled socks, and shoes all sit at the bottom of the now completely empty coffin. Himemiya Anshi is surrounded by dying flowers, each emitting a small, girlish death-knell, as she wades through them, enveloped by the roses of death and despair...she quietly takes her prize from the coffin, and turns to Kei, linen and shoes folded delicately in her hands. Her face is drawn, and calm, and a very, very ancient pain plays across her young, tan features. "Let us go." In your mind: "It's not that simple, Anshi." Akio's voice. You can't carry Utena from the castle without her signet; I have bound her by the law of Illusion. And only the prince's signet may release her. You're simply too late." Anshi whispers to Akio, bitter and harsh. "And if I choose to stay? When your Shinsei toys come battering down the door, where are the Victor and Bride? Together, in the castle which never existed?" Kei nods quietly. "H-hai." She replaces her sword in a scabbard and steps back into the other room. She quickly picks up her duellist jacket and slings it on, but doesn't bother to button it up. Then she moves to help the Victor up again. "Ten'jou-san, let's go...it's over." Akio's UTTERLY humorless and deathly serious response: "I can *make* you obey me. Both of you." comes to Anshi. Anshi whispers to Akio's mind, smartly disobedient and dispassionate for once, "Then why haven't you? Are we more fun to toy with, this way?" Akio chuckles, "What is life without its petty amusements...*dear* Sister. You may come and go to the castle as you like, of course, but Utena will remain. Take Kei with you if you like."" to Anshi. Akio rumbles, "Utena is *mine*. Her life and her fate belong to me. You are not enough to change that." to Anshi. Kei gazes at the statues in the room the three girls now stand in. "So sad...who are all these people? All these statues seem almost regretful..." Utena huddles quietly into herself, head buried in her folded arms. Himemiya Anshi does not follow. She instead stands, silently, next to the coffin...a look of silent, resigned thought upon her face as she bites her lip and looks at Kei. "You will go. The Victor, and her Bride, shall remain." .oO( Do you know, Oniisama? Fate is stronger than the Prince...it is the only thing that can bind him. Thinking you can master even that...you are sadly mistaken. And for all my misplaced love, I will pity you. ) Akio lowly whispers, "If you seal yourself with Utena, I will destroy the castle with you inside it. There are other Brides and other Victors to be found. You are NOT unique." to Anshi. For the first time in her life, Anshi is very, very sure of herself. "No you won't." she replies to Akio. Kei moves over closer to Utena, and then gazes back at Anshi. "What? Are you insane...? Those things," she indicates the ashes of the roses, "tried to kill her. Perhaps you're willing to leave her here, but I'm not!" Himemiya Anshi shakes her head at Kei. "It is ordained...I'm so sorry, for you. Even though we've never met, in many ways, we were destined to meet as well." She speaks in riddles, her voice echoy and cryptic, her black shoes clicking across the floor as her skirts rustle; she drifts across the floor at you directly. Utena says, "... himemiya..." Utena brings her head up. "Don't." Kei looks up, and now you see the collar pins on her unbuttoned duelling jacket. Glistening gold circles with 'Shin Sei' inscribed in them. Quietly, but with a great deal of emotion in her voice, she replies. "I don't believe in ordination. If I followed the path fate had ordained for me, I would have died long since." Kei says, "Rebirth is choice; fate has nothing to do with it." Himemiya Anshi's tone is calm, quiet, but not-unsympathetic...indeed, her voice is leaden with sympathy. "In some ways, Kei-san...you may already have." Kei shakes her head. "I won't give up. I don't know what this was about, but Ten'jou-san is going home." She tries to help the pink-haired girl, urging her to move towards the door on the opposite side of the room. This is hard because she's also clutching the sword she's been carrying this whole time as if it were a talisman - as if her life depended on it. Utena lets Kei drag her along, but.. without her signet.. without the power of the prince.. what IS there for her to live for? To leave the illusion for? Akio knew her well, when he brought her here. Himemiya Anshi shakes her head calmly. "You cannot...this Castle, this place, that girl...there are laws here. There is Balance, in the cosmic sense...do not let your senses decieve you." She drifts along after Kei, skirts rustling on the marble ffloor. Utena drops back, her weight simply becoming too heavy for Kei to bear. She looks up, weakly, tries to smile. A momentary clarity, a flash of her old (true?) self in her eyes. "...go..." Kei turns back to Anshi for a moment. "When we were both in the infirmary, Ten'jou-san and I spoke of many things. I told her of my brother, who was like a samurai in my mind. He always wished to help others and had a sense of honor - even if he was told something could not be done, he would do it if it were right. That is how he died. I would dishonor his memory - and his sword, which I carry - if I were to do any less." Utena says, "... just go..." Kei looks at Utena. "No." She shakes her head. "I don't understand what's happened here, but I know that this place is not right. None of us belong here." She gestures at the statues. "This is a place of the dead...none of the living belong here." Utena says, ".. I do..." Himemiya Anshi regards Kei with a look of inherent sisterhood, maybe a slight smile twitching her lips, though it is cursed by the thoughts in her heart. .oO( She is so alike...I bet you found it amusing, oniisama. I bet you salivated with the sheer hunger. ) She comes to stand very, very close to Kei, enough so that the warmth of the tan girl's body is thick in the air. "You are more correct than you can ever know." Utena . o O ( .. so soon... Dios...? ) Kei looks down at Utena. "Ten'jou-san, don't say that. In the infirmary, you told me that it was important to live - when we spoke of the time that it took me to recover from my brother's death." She pauses, then continues, her voice a harsh whisper. "So LIVE! This is a place of the dead, you don't belong here until you're dead, and I don't believe you're really ready to die! Not the Ten'jou Utena I met, who was so full of life and wished to escape the infirmary bed she was in. Not the Ten'jou Utena who snuck down to the Shinsei arena to try to stop the duels, to make sure that no one was hurt." Kei shakes her head. "That Ten'jou Utena would never give up on life." "To the Victor," Anshi says calmly, "go the spoils." Utena quietly stands, a kind of fading, dying dignity in her eyes, and moves away from both of your... whispering, ".. she never lived... she was a dream... just another dream..." Kei turns to face Utena. "Ten'jou...don't do this. Remember your prince? The one you told me of? Would he want you to give up like this...to quietly lay down and surrender in this place of the dead? It's not your time to die yet!" Utena pauses, one bare foot on the floor, the other paused mid-step. "I'm no longer the one... you are." Utena turns back. Sad, proud, dying, beautiful. "Take Himemiya as your Bride and go. It's no longer my time... I can see that. I wasn't strong enough... Lucifer defeated me." Utena says, "To the victor.. go the spoils." Kei stares at the other girl in disbelief. "What are you trying to say...?" Utena puts her hand to her head. ".... I don't know.." Utena shakes her head. "I can't leave here." She finally seems to speak with something approximating her own voice, her own tone. "I'm still in the coffin... and he's still got my life in his hand.." Kei asks, "Who does? This 'Lucifer'?" Utena nods. Kei moves closer to Utena, taking the other girl's hands in her own... "Tell me what I can do to help you," she says fiercely. "I want to help you, but I don't know how I can." Utena laughs softly... "You've become me..." Utena says, "It's my turn, Kei. This place is where the change happens... where it always happens... I wanted to become the prince... and I have.. and this is what my reward will be.. to join him here.. with all the others who passed on..." Kei shakes her head. "No..." but she doesn't sound convinced. There's too much going on that she doesn't understand. She came here seeking rebirth, but this wasn't how she expected to find it. Kei gazes at the statues. In a hesitant tone, she asks, "These...?" One of the statues is Dios. The other.. its features are blurred at the moment, a rough hunk of stone unfinished, but slowly it's beginning to take a recognizable shape. Utena nods. Utena says, "All of the princes... all of the princesses are here.. since the beginning..." Kei looks at Utena desperately. "You don't have to die, Ten'jou-san... death can just be the first part of rebirth!" Utena says, "There can ONLY BE ONE PRINCE, Kei." Utena says, "Only one of us can leave.... and I'm already bound to stay." Utena says, "It's alright. I realize this is what I was looking for.. all that time.. I wanted to become a prince and reach this place.. *gesturing* To be with all of these warm people that came before me.." Kei glances around at the statues - in this room, and those visible through the doorways into other rooms. Yes, their expressions are warm and caring, but there's an aura of sadness about each. "But they're all so sad, Ten'jou-san..." Utena moves lightly to the Dios statue, brushes her hand along its beautiful, inverted features. "It's hard to let go.. very hard.." her voice drops to an almost whisper- it'd be inaudible anywhere else but here. "All of us wanted to do more.. but we simply couldn't save everyone.." Kei shakes her head. "No...everyone can be saved. But it can't be done by one person, Ten'jou-san. Don't give up yet!" Utena says, "It's all right." Utena says, "I failed, Kei.. I let Lucifer beat me.. he made me and he has unmade me, too. The only way I can leave here now.. is with the signet and power of the prince, and I no longer have either of those things. You do." Utena says, "I won't ask you to die for me. So you should leave here, and take Himemiya with you as your Bride. I won't be dead.. because I'll be alive inside you... as the prince that came before you." Kei bites her lip for a moment, then speaks again. "Then...if I hold the only way out, Ten'jou-san, take it. I don't know how to be a prince! I don't know how to be YOU..." Utena says, "You already are.. it's not something you know.. it's something that you are.. the something shining in your soul is there, and the miracle and the eternity." Utena says, "Never before since all this began have there been two Princes in the world. It can't be done.." Kei remains silent, unable to find a response. By the very fact that she won't let Utena go - that she's still trying to save the other girl - she proves Utena's argument that she is a Prince at heart. Kei says quietly, "How do you know it can't be done? There are no impossible things, only things that have not yet been done." Utena exclaims, "Because there are RULES to this game!" Utena's voice is suddenly flared, bitter. "There is one prince, one demon, and one princess who is also the witch." Utena says, "That's the way it's always been.. the living history of that is here a thousasnd times over in this castle." Kei exclaims, "Then maybe it's time the fairy tale was rewritten!" Utena says, "If there were two princes in the world.. everything would be unbalanced..." Utena says, "It's you or me... and I don't want to take your life for mine." Kei looks down, sighing. "But I don't want you to sacrifice yours for mine, either! It's my fault you're here to begin with - we were taken from the Shinsei arena." Kei looks up at Utena again. "I wouldn't be a true Prince if I could just let someone else throw away their life for me." Utena turns and walks back toward you, gently touching your cheek. "You have to. There can't be NO princes in the world, either." Utena's eyes dart down toward the floor, and to the sword that lies there. The thought in her eyes is plain and evident; end the debate, and force the conversion. Kei closes her eyes and nods quietly. "Hai... I know that..." A tear runs slowly down one cheek. Kei wipes the tears from her cheek, and turns to Utena again. "Still, I don't understand... you fight for revolution, but you're unwilling to change the rules. How does that revolutionize anything? Saying there can be only one Prince, because it's never been done before is hardly revolutionizing anything..." Utena sighs. She has no good answer for that. She slips around Kei and picks up the long sword lying on the floor, glancing at it, testing its weight. "I never really believed in revolution." A soft voice. Kei gazes at her brother's sword, in the other girl's hands, and sighs. "Though I tried...I've never truly believed in rebirth either." She looks up, and her eyes meet Utena's. "Only in being true to yourself." Utena's blue eyes lock into Kei's green; she moves forward softly, sharply, suddenly. A strange, small smile forming on her face... Kei seems to read Utena's intent, and stands ready, waiting silently...her face touched by an odd smile that provides a mirror to the other girl's. Utena slips one arm almost tenderly about Kei's waist and pulls the other girl close to herself, tightly holding her; flipping the sword in her wrist so that the point doubles back along the length of her arm. She smiles softly. "Sekai o.. kakumei suru tame ni.." It doesn't matter what you call it. Revolution, Rebirth... it's time to actually CHANGE something. She lifts her arm, holding the sword, over her head, and with a quick downward stab of the blade punches it cleanly through Kei... and through the Shinsei Duellist the silver blade pierces Utena's body as well... transfixing them both on the same sword... leaving no heir to the legacy of the Rose Prince. Leaving both to be reborn in the prince's name.... There is a rumble, a scream, a cry that shakes the heavens as the castle rocks to its foundations... as the latest and most recent statue that was forming crumbles into dust and disappears... Kei's Shinsei signet ring glows purple, its phoenix a fire-red.. and both Kei and Utena vanish from the castle, their bodies locked together along the length of the sword.. which clatters to the ground behind them. The two girls appear, face down and lying side by side, on the floor of the Ootori arena. Kei's Shinsei ring crumbles into ash and falls from her finger; in his Tower, Akio cries out in pain and OUTRAGE as Utena's signet does the same. All of the rest of the Duellist rings shatter as well; Shinsei, Ootori, all bursting apart and crumbling to nothing. The true revolution of the world has finally turned a notch for the first time since the ancient beginnings of the Duel Game, and, like a phoenix, all must rise again from the ashes. For the first time, a true challenge has been issued, a line in the sand drawn against the Ends of the Earth... [Utena logo- "to be continued"]