The sun shines down from a clear blue sky on the grounds of a place more like a church or a castle than a school- though that is, indeed, what this place is. Ootori Gakuen, ornate towers and high walls agleam, a fairytale castle, glitters at the beginning of a new era, though the day seems no different than any other... students wander by, birds sing in the air...A pretty girl with long brown hair crosses the trim grass, feeling the sun on her face... Kei is standing on the lawn near the kendo clubhouse, and moving through sword kata. She moves slowly, using the kata as a meditative state, a way of quiet relaxation and reflection. Just as her brother taught her... A nervous little *cough* sounds from the entranceway of the clubhouse, the source veiled in the shadow of the doorway. Kei quietly and smoothly ends one kata, sweeping the blade of her practice bokken down to the relaxed position. She bows briefly to her imaginary opponent, and then turns towards the clubhouse curiously. Shyly, a girl makes her way across the lawn toward you, drifting like a snowflake, slow, graceful, but timid and uncertain moments. She wears the normal girl's uniform, seagreen skirt and cape, and her hair is tightly coiffed into a strange singular curl reaching about the back of her head; light plays off her glasses, making her eye color hard to determine. Dark brown skin glows faintly in the sun as she steps nearer. Kei moves towards the girl, placing the practice bokken on a rack left outside the door of the clubhouse. She tosses her head unconsciously, brushing a few strands of her shoulder-length brown hair that escaped her ponytail out of her eyes. She smiles and nods at the stranger. Violet-haired girl says in a soft, honey-toned voice, "Gomen nasai... I was asked to direct this letter to you." She extends her hand; within, a white envelope, sealed with a blot of red wax at the back. Kei nods. "Thank you..." She reaches out and takes the envelope, turning it over to glance at the wax seal... The seal seems to be that of a stylized rose- the school's omnipresent crest. It's almost medieval... meanwhile, the violet-haired girl bows her head and quickly turns away, leaving you to read the letter in private. Kei blinks at the girl's departure, and then quietly turns back to the letter. After a moment's pause, she breaks the seal on the back and opens the envelope. Inside, a simple, cream-colored piece of paper, with coolly perfect black lettering.. looks typed, not handwritten. "You are admired. There is a present within your locker." No signature. No name. No NOTHING that could give a hint to this note's origin. Kei blinks. A love letter? Or something else? Pensively, she folks up the letter and places it in her pocket as she moves into the kendo clubhouse to change out of her practice clothes. Hard to tell WHAT the letter wants, really. But when you open your locker inside the clubhouse to get your normal uniform back... There is, atop the neatly folded clothing, a single, white, longstemmed rose, and another wax-sealed envelope underneath... Kei blinks, but decides she'll play along. She takes the envelope from under the rose, and breaks the seal, removing the contents... As you slide the envelope from the rose, a note on the back of the envelope reads -somewhat ominously- "First, the rose." Same plain, impersonal lettering. Kei blinks. "Fine, we'll do it your way..." She looks at the rose again, picking it up to examine it more closely. You pick up the rose, and notice... within the half-opened bud of the flower.. there is a hint of metal- gold. That's NOT exactly normal for roses, is it? Kei gently pries the rose petals open... What the heck is a RING doing there? When you pry it from the petals, you find it to be a heavy golden signet, inlaid with a curious, complicated array of deep purple forming a circular pattern; a bird with ornately formed 'wings'. Kei blinks at the ring, holding it thoughtfully in one hand. After a moment's pause, she turns back to the envelope and removes the letter the rest of the way. The letter, unfolded, says simply, "The park to the north. I will meet you there." No signature, as before... but this time.. the paper is effused with a scent... strongly wooden, and into your hand fall a few brown pine needles that were folded in with the letter... "The ring is the key." Kei blinks, transported back in memory by the scent. . o ( Kenichi-niisan... ) Kei gazes at the ring for a moment, and then places it on her finger. Slowly, she turns to go to the stone archways in the park... unsure how they could be 'locked' or how this ring could be the 'key'... Kei walks into the park, glancing about. "The letter said to come here..." She walks to the stone circle in the center of the park, glancing through one of the stone archways. "Empty... this must be someone's idea of a joke." Ah... but as you step into the center of the circle.. the golden signet with its purple stone.. begins to glow, and a soft sound, like a drop of water falling into a deep and perfect well, rings out... a single clear droplet coming from nowhere, above, and landing along the surface of the golden ring... A ray of sunshine seems to strike the exact center of the rose engraving in the stones below. 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 huge 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... Kei gasps and looks around in shock. "What...?" As you stand, surrounded in the warm darkness of this timeless, formless place, a sound rings across the void... footsteps. And like the lead actor of a play, a handsome young man appears... with long, vaguely curled golden hair, and clear, pale blue eyes is spotlighted. He wears an ornate uniform, purple slacks, with a black upper jacket sealed by a row of golden buttons down the front of his chest; in his hand, he carries an ebon-sheathed katana. "You got my letter, then...?" A gentle, kind-looking smile, even as he tosses the weapon toward you briskly. Kei catches the katana almost reflexively. "Where is this place...?" She gestures around. "It's... impossible." Torin grins mildly, gesturing with a hand in the air, a quick snap of the fingers. "This is Ootori Gakuen, Yamaguchi Kei. You'll learn that nothing's impossible here." Another sound follows his gesture, that of a low, rustling silken whisper, gliding along the floor.. and the third player appears.. the girl who delivered the letter to you, now wearing a crimson gown, similar in some ways to the styled cut of the young man's uniform; her skirt is flared, and fans out victorian style around her feet, making her drift like a beautiful ghost... In her hand, she clasps two roses, black, and white. The black rose is slid into the breast pocket of the young man's jacket; the white... she approaches you, and slips it into your breast pocket, wordlessly. Kei glances at the rose in confusion. "What's all this about?" Torin smiles, reaching his hand to the dark-skinned girl, who slips her fingers into his loosely. "Didn't the letter say it all?" he smirks. "I admired you. And I wanted to see what you were made of. So you are here to duel with me." Kei blinks. "If you wanted to test my skills, why not just issue a challenge at the kendo hall? As opposed to bringing me here..." She gestures into the black void beyond the platform. "...wherever HERE is..." Torin smiles again. "That's for me to know. And you to find out." Somehow, even though his words are taunting, the tone is warm, almost playful. "Bride of the Rose. Show our young ladyfriend your power." Kei interrupts. "I assume, then, that if this challenge had to be issued outside the kendo hall, the rules will NOT be those I'm used to." Kei has decided that she's either crazy, or the victim of some freshman hazing ritual, and will play along for the momen. Torin looks momentarily annoyed, and rests a hand on his hip, blowing back a hanging bang of cornflaxen blonde from over his nose. "All right, I'll humor you this once. The rules of this contest are quite simple. Your target is the rose placed on your opponent's chest. The first to destroy that rose by their skill of the sword, and scatter its petals, is the winner. At that point, the winner of the duel may take their opponent as a servant, if they so desire." He smiles. "I, as the Victor of the Duel of Ootori Gakuen, intend to have you as my second, Yamaguchi Kei. That is why I have summoned you here, to this Arena. If you are strong enough with your sword, perhaps you can beat me. But I doubt that, because I've been the Victor here for three years undefeated." He grins, and shifts his position slightly, smirking. "It's at the point where I must issue my own challenges to complete strangers to have any kind of REAL Duel..." Kei narrows her eyes. "You mean that the loser gives up their freedom? Some duel... I suppose if I just refused, I'd forfeit the match and end up as your second anyway." Torin grins brightly. "Good girl. So you may as well give it your all... though, there are plenty of girls who would LOVE to be in your position." *flip* Kei sighs. "And where is your sword? Or are you so confident of your victory that you don't even need a blade?" Torin snaps his fingers once again, his only answer. And once more the dark girl in her crimson dress moves forward. She falls to her knees before his feet, but she is facing outward, toward you; her eyes close, her head with its tight violet coiffure tilts up, and she lifts her hands toward the sky, as if in supplication to God. Then, astonishingly, something.. shifts... reality swirling around her in a rainbow of color.. and from her breast, with a sound like a distant thunder roll, a... hilt. Yes, a SWORD HILT, appears from her breast, and slowly this hilt rises from her, inch by inch revealing a long, silver, naked blade that gleams with violet edged reflection from the castle below... the girl seems unharmed, and eldritch powers flow toward her, as if gravity alters in her presence... the young man whose name you don't even KNOW grasps the ornate gold and black hilt with its huge emerald, and holds it aloft... "The power of a world reborn!" Kei stares, frozen in shock. . o ( This is NOT happening... ) Torin SWEEPS the blade through the air; the weapon sings melodiously as he lowers it toward the girl's head. "Bless the blade, Bride." Kei remains watching in shock. The 'Bride' tilts her body back, leaning on one hand on the darkly glowing floor; her lips brush along the bottom of the blade, and her 'kiss' embues the weapon with an ominous glow the color of lambent blood... Torin smirks, then steps aside. "Isn't this a beautiful sword, don't you think?" Kei blinks and nods, the spell of the moment broken. "Yes..." Torin murmurs, grinning brightly, "Glad you like it. It's the key to your heart.." and he DIVES forward suddenly, a thrust of sheer power, with the weapon tracing a ray of faded crimson through the night-colored Arena! Kei leaps back, acting on pure instinct, and unsheathes the sword she had been tossed earlier. She draws without finesse, but with skill - the sword doesn't make a sound as it slides smoothly out of the scabbard. As she regains her footing, she tosses the scabbard aside and swings the katana to block the blade. This is mildly awkward - katanas were never designed for actual blade-to-blade combat; they're designed more for duels under budo, where the blades don't often meet. Still, she's surprisingly strong for her size and manages to use her balance to push the sword aside as she then leaps to Torin's side. She's remaining on the defensive until she can judge his style. The darkskinned girl remains quietly sitting on the floor nearby, her head bowed, lilac light veiling any view of her eyes as her glasses bounce and reflect the warm colors from the castle below. Torin, meanwhile, smiles with pleasure at your reaction, and continues to press you, with the magic sword singing and howling at each movement through the air; you feel superheated waves press and whirl past your ears, the atoms of the air excited by the blade. He pushes you HARD, and lays down a relentless series of attacking horizontal slashs, using his greater size and striking power to hammer down on your katana again and again... Kei finds herself nearly forced to the arena floor. She grits her teeth as she uses all her strength to hold back Torin's blade. Through her grimace, she mutters, "If this is the way you want to play..." She suddenly twists out from under your blade, allowing it to continue unhindered to the arena floor. Meanwhile, she comes up within your reach - far too close for you to attack without backing off first - and reaches for your rose. Torin smiles slightly as you react so quickly, and ... something unexpected, his response. He stands there, he throws his arms wide... and he lets you grab hold of the rose... cornflower-blue eyes, clear and bemused, fixed tightly in yours... he WANTED you to do this, it seems... but even as your fingers brush over the impossibly dark petals of the black rose along his chest, the girl on the floor gasps suddenly, her head jerking up.. "Torin-sama!" she cries anxiously, a real note of concern in her voice... "You mustn't!" Kei flinches, surprised by the girl's sudden outcry, glancing over almost involuntarily. Torin glances back over his shoulder. His free hand twitches, the ingrained desire of a three-year Victor to take the moment and seize the opponent's rose for his own.. but then, he smiles, an almost angelic, beautiful smile. "The key to your heart," he murmurs once more, and remains still, expectant, watching Kei. Kei looks at Torin hesitantly for a moment, then removes his duel rose and hands it to him. Quietly, she says, "There. I played your little game." She turns and retrieves the scabbard from where it lies, noiselessly slipping the sword back into its scabbard and glancing up as a sound suddenly begins... Torin smiles, and lifts the black rose to his nose, inhaling the dark aroma, before letting it fall... at the feet of the red-clad girl. "Just a moment." As the sound of church bells tolls the end of the duel, the darkness grows into a blinding light. As the light fades, the three figures are standing once more in the stone rng in the park. The dark-skinned girl jerks to her feet, her red gown faded to the simple Ootori schoolgirl's uniform. She stares at Torin in utter dismay, speechless. Kei turns back to Torin expectantly, hoping for an explanation or at least a dismissal. Whatever kind of weird freshman hazing this was, she just wants to get back to her normal routine. Torin speaks softly. "You have defeated me, the Victor of the Duel, in noble combat. Therefore.. certain priviledges are now given to you." He bows lowly, regally, and grins. "One of them, being myself. I volunteer to become your second. And think carefully before you say 'no', Yamaguchi Kei. The future before you is an uneven path. You will need a guide." He glances toward the dark girl piercingly, strangely, for a moment. "I can be that guide." Something hard to resist about the OFFER from such a handsome young man... The other girl nibbles on a brown lip nervously. Kei blinks. "Wait a minute. I already played your game; you mean there's more to this?" Torin holds aloft his hand, bearing an identical signet to yours on the ring finger of his slender left hand. "There is so much you do not know..." but the girl interrupts... just with a simple clearing of her throat. Then she speaks, her voice deferential and mild. "Do you accept his service, Ketto no Shourisha?" Kei pauses and eyes Torin suspiciously for a moment. "You threw the fight. I've been set up, haven't I?" Torin laughs. "I was hoping it'd be a bit *less* obvious. But yes." Torin sweeps toward you, and takes up your hand. "Don't say no." He kisses the signet. Kei snorts. "It could hardly have been more obvious. Maybe I could've bought that you were startled and not ready for that last move, but after I was distracted..." She shakes her head. "No, you had a fairly good window in which you could've grabbed my rose, or disarmed me, or even just moved out of my reach." Kei blinks, and turns slightly red. "I..." She shakes her head. "I don't know what to say. I'm not even sure what you're asking me to DO, except that I apparently have the option of taking you as a 'second'." She sighs. "I feel like I've been cast in a play where everyone but me has the script." Kei grimaces. "And apparently I have the lead role." Torin merely comments, a twinkle in his eye answering your sardonicism, "To the Victor go the spoils.." Tone, mocking and yet friendly, doing NOTHING to dissuade you of the feeling you voice... The violet-haired girl simply watches quietly. Kei sighs again. "Fine. For the moment, I accept your offer, at least until I figure out what's going on and how to get untangled from all this." Torin smiles brightly. "Great! We'll have our things to your dorm room within two hours." Whirling on a foot, he gestures to Anshi. "Come along..." The girl shakes her head. "A moment, Torin... sempai." A noticable hesitation in her voice at the break of suffix. She looks shaken, truthfully.,.. Kei gapes, then sputters. "W-wait, you never said anything about this!" She looks down. "Besides, I'm only a freshman. I can barely fit ONE person into my dorm." Torin winks. "Then it'll be cozy." Torin walks off before you can protest further, waving a hand. Kei flinches back, face reddening and eyes slightly wide. Not quite sure how to respond to THAT one. Kei watches Torin leave silently for a moment. Then she sighs, shoulders slumping. "I should've stayed in Sendai. Oh, sure, my parents hated me, and the school was a mess, and the teachers were idiots... but at least I didn't end up with in an episode of Duelling for Dormmates..." Anshi closes her eyes briefly. Savoring the time that she had.. Torin was a fair and good master, and her fright is immense at the thought of being engaged to a new, unknown quantity.. yet, as the Bara no Hanayome, it is her fate... Her voice rises in a soft lilt. "You are the Victor of the Duel. As such, you are now my master. I am the Bride of the Rose, and from this moment forth..." a slight pause again. "...I am the flower that belongs only to you." She bows deeply, but the light still hides her eyes behind her round glass lenses.. Kei turns in surprise. "I'm your WHAT?" Anshi repeats calmly, "My master." She can't help but wonder... what exactly Torin was THINKING.. what he knows... Kei shakes her head. "I don't know how the rules of this game work, but no one should 'belong' to anyone else. You're a person, not a duelling trophy." The Victor's words then give Anshi pause, and she blinks at the girl. "I am the Bride of the Rose," she replies lowly. "I am not a person." Kei just stares. Such a statement goes against EVERYTHING she's lived for. She spent her whole life fighting against being 'just a girl' - just something to be married off to get out of her parents' hair. Kei shakes her head, but then after a moment of silence speaks. "I won't be your master... no one should be forced to serve someone else." She smiles. "But if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to be your friend..." She blushes. "Since I'm new here, I don't have many yet." Kei. o ( Though I've apparently just tripled the population of my dorm room. ) Anshi says, "It is difficult for all of us at such times, Victor of the Duel. But I am your flower now, and I will stand by your side." The words... the words. Those words that hurt so to hear. Now she understands Torin's action. This girl... the next... She does her best not to hear those words, to drown them out of her mind by the ritual of devotion. "As you will, so I will be." Kei smiles wanly. It looks like that answer is the best she'll get. Kei asks, "Shall we go back to the campus...?" Anshi says, "Hai, Yamaguchi-sama." with a small but sincerely attempted smile, the Bride bows her head, folding her hands in her lap, and following a respectful two paces behind Kei. Kei walks back to the campus, lost in her thoughts. . o ( What HAVE I gotten myself into...? ) As Kei and Anshi walk onto the campus grounds, they pass the observatory tower. From high above, a figure backs away from a small telescope at one window. "Ah... the Victor has made her present incarnation known. It begins again." He smiles, a small feral smile, and a dark hand closes the shades to the observatory room. [ Shoujo Kakumei Kei - 'To Be Continued' ]