Kei walks slowly along one of the garden paths in the afternoon light.  To
herself, she mutters, "Could this school assign any MORE homework?  At
least I haven't had anyone pop out of the shadows asking me to duel them
again..." 

Kei shakes her head, as memories of the one person to do just that float
through her consciousness.  . o ( I wonder where Torin-sempai is... ) 

A hand crosses your path.. a hand bearing a red rose. Followed by a body
that steps into your line of sight.. followed by a wry smile of a handsome
face of a certain blond man... "Don't tempt fate with those words, Kei." 
He hands you the rose. "You're lucky no one was around to hear them but
me." 
 
Torin says, "Word hasn't gotten around that you're the Victor of the Duel
yet. But when it does, you'll be challenged by all the people that gave up
challenging me. So you'd be wise to keep it to yourself." 

Kei glances up in surprise and smiles as she sees Torin, but the smile
fades at his next words.  "Not that I want to duel all of them, mind you,
but doesn't that sort of destroy the meaning of the role of Victor?"  An
honest question, spoken from the innocence of the young girl's heart. 

Torin waggles a finger. "A title is meaningless if you don't have to fight
to maintain it." 

Kei asks, "Then doesn't hiding from the challenges make that title
meaningless?" 

Torin looks around tightly, fearing reprisal.. a similar look to the one
you've seen flickering over Anshi's face at times.. as if fearful the
world will fall on him with knives if he says too much. He puts a finger
over your lips and grabs your wrist, tugging you off the beaten path, and
into the quiet hedges neatly arranged into a kind of maze off toward the
left side. Only after he's convinced he's out of sight of the immediately
prying eyes does he sigh with a wry little laugh. "A wise Victor does not
either seek or avoid combat." 

Torin says, "Caution, my dear Kei. Caution is vital in this game." 

Kei says, "I wish I knew the RULES of the game..." 

Torin comments with a mild sideways glance. "There aren't any. The Victor
makes them up. But there are.. constants. Things that don't change." 
Torin says, "The duels. The balance of shadow. The Bride. These things
don't change." 

Kei says, "Then if they don't change, tell me about them."  She looks up
at her sempai, and her Second.  "Please, Torin-sempai... if I'm part of
this, I need to know." 

Torin hmms... straightens up some, looking around. "I could of course
interpret that as a direct order from my liege and Victor. But then the
blame is not mine for the telling." He comments to no one in particular,
as if needing to carefully justify his actions in the balance of the
world. 

Kei looks somewhat confused by this, but listens. 

Torin sighs. "We'll do it like this. You'll ask, and I'll answer what I
can. It will probably be less than you want to hear, but..." He pauses.
Footsteps pass by. He waits, before resuming in a moment... ".. It's
genuinely all I can say." 

Torin regains his flippant, bemused smile. "Call it a game. And ask your
questions carefully." 

Kei pauses, but then nods.  "All right.  What do you mean when you say
Himemiya is the Bride of the Rose?" 

Torin says, "Just that." He brushes a hand through his blonde, gleaming
hair, stepping closer to you, speaking in a whisper. One does not reveal
secrets without risk. "The Bride of the Rose is a doll without heart. She
had a heart once, but it was taken from her. Now she has none, and feels
no pain or loss. It's not that she isn't human.. she can be hurt. But it's
not that she's really... all here, either." 

Kei looks shocked.  "That's horrible!  Who would force her into such a
role?" 

Torin ahs. "That's too complicated to answer easily. In many ways, she
forces herself. And in many ways, the Victor also forces her."  Torin
adds, "As long as the Victor exists, the Bride can't be free. But without
the Victor, the Bride can NEVER be free."

Kei shakes her head.  "I'm not sure I understand.  As the Victor, can't I
just set her free?" 

The hedges shiver. Torin pauses, his head lifting to listen to something
in the sky, in the wind... a frown for a moment. He takes your arm and
moves you to a different part of the maze... deeper in. "No. The Bride and
the Victor are codependent." Torin says, "Neither can exist or be free
without the other." A little sweat stands on his brow... he looks around
carefully with his cornflower blue eyes.

Kei nods.  "All right, then.  As the Victor, what do I need to do to free
Himemiya?...and myself." 

Torin waggles his finger. "I'm breaking enough rules as it is. Don't ask
me to put my head on a spike for you as well. I can tell you... to follow
your noble heart. The INSTINCTS of your being, of your blood. The Victor
is not an accidental title. It falls to certain people of destiny." 

Kei looks thoughtful.  Mostly to herself, she comments, "...certain
people. I wonder... is that why the shadow figure said I'd done better
before?" 

Torin pointedly says nothing.  

Torin . o O ( She's seen the shadow figure... already?  ) 

Kei notices, but likewise doesn't comment.  "All right.  If you can't tell
me much, and I just need to 'follow my noble heart', at least tell me
this. Who are the other players in this game?  Who do I need to be aware
of?"

Torin mms. "Me. The one you call the shadow figure. The bird-like man,
Kataki. Others. The Student Council. And anyone bearing the signet." 
Torin dares to whisper additionally, "And Anshi. Anshi most of all." 

There's no retributory crack of lightning and thunder, but the hedges
walling you in rustle slightly. 

Kei pauses, about to say that she thought Anshi was a pawn in this, but
holds her tongue as the hedges rustle.  "And of them, whom can I trust
besides you?" 

Torin leans forward and rests his hands on your shoulders. His lips seek
yours, quietly, and quite shamelessly. He holds you a moment... then draws
back. "None of us." A sadness touching the cornflower eyes, sadness deep
and vast. 

Kei simply stands there blushing silently, her gaze caught up in Torin's
own. 

Torin says, "Trust in nothing. Trust in no one but your own noble heart. 
Your own instincts will save you."

Kei says quietly, "...not even you, my Second?" 

Torin closes his eyes. "Not even me. As the former Victor of three years,
I'm -telling- you this." 

Kei pauses, and nods quietly... but deep in her eyes, you can see her
implicit trust of her second.  A trust based not from the head, but from
her noble heart... a weakness which the shadow may someday exploit. 

Assuming he hasn't already set this up. Assuming he wasn't in charge of
everything from the beginning... as he makes a notation on his chart.. and
smiles with the rapacious glee of a predator. Now seeing something to be
worked... an inroad. Dear, dear one ... always providing him with a back
door... 

Torin strokes his thumb along Kei's cheek. "You need to go to class.
Things can't change for this. We can't meet very often. I'll be able to
see you less now." 

Kei bites her lower lip, gazing at Torin.  "But you're my Second...
doesn't that mean your role is to support me as the Victor?" 

Torin sighs wryly. "It is, Kei. Victor of the Duel. What you ask I will
obey implicitly. Anything that you ask. But too much of a good thing...
like wine and chocolate and a beautiful girl... is dangerous here." 

Torin puts his hands in his pockets, resisting the urge to touch your
cheek again. 

Kei pauses, about to speak again, and then simply nods quietly.  "I... 
guess I understand." 

Torin nods, and winks at you. "That's my girl. Now... the Seitokaichou
needs to get back to his office and get back to work. I'm backed up in
papers..." He looks around a moment.. then passes you a sheaf of folded
ones. A letter? No, too thick... "You may want to look into these." And
starts to stride off whistling a casual tune, hands firmly in pockets.. 

Kei watches Torin depart quietly, and then slowly looks down to see what
the papers she was handed are. 

Transfer papers. New students coming in... Pictures, names... 

Kei glances through, trying to find a common thread that Torin might want
her to see... what is there about these students that makes them important
to this game? 

There's one thing.. their dates of transfer are all the same DAY. Ordered
by ... by...? It's smudged on the copy. 

It's the day after you became the Victor. 

Kei notices the similarity of the dates, and also the smudged name. 
"...the first day after the duel with Torin..."  Her eyes widen slightly,
as she realizes what this implies.  "Since the king on one side of the
chessboard has changed, one of the players is replacing all the other
pieces as well..." 

More or less, you judge that to be the case... They're scattered around
the campus, in residences suited to their genders... seems a moderately
even mix. Looking at the faces, there's no commonality in just their
appearance or their eyes.. the histories range from excellent academic
performance to near juvenile offenders.. 

Of course Torin could be overreacting. And surely Ootori as a huge school
must receive transfer students constantly... right? As it encompasses all
grades... Why just these? Is it because they're all coming into the same
grade as you on that auspicious da te? 

But they all look.. familiar somehow. 

Kei sighs, folding the papers back up.  "So, now I know who the pieces
are. I just wish I knew who the PLAYERS were.  And am I one... or merely
another piece on the board?" 

Kei walks quietly to her next class, Philosophy.  Kei's never been very
big on that subject, but as she approaches the classroom, she reflects
perhaps she should start.  There's something very philosophical about this
whole game... 

Off to Philosophy you go, then... at least the teacher is young, with a
strange, almost feminine appearance, shoulder-length straight pale pink
hair and glasses; as you walk in, he's written his name on the board in
white chalk. Souji Mikage. He sits behind the desk with a bemused and
relatively patient smile, waiting for the students to filter in and get
settled... 

Kei sits down at her desk, trying to look somewhat attentive, as opposed
to the 'bored out of my skull' expression most of the boys are wearing (or
the 'kakoiiiiiiiii!' starry-eyed expression of several of the girls in the
class). 

Souji-sensei sees that the class has arrived. He puts a mark in a book he
was reading while waiting, stands and approaches the blackboard. In deft
strokes he writes out, chalk tapping against the greenish grey
wallsurface... "How the 'real world' at last became a myth". Turning to
the class.

"In your desks," he begins, "You will find no books, no study guides, and
no exam papers. Philosophy is not about dead and buried men and their
dusty books. Philosophy is about the living study of thought, of thoughts
that have remained relatively unchanged in the course of human
development."

Kei blinks, and gazes up.  This teacher has a markedly different approach
to philosophy.. this class might just be interesting! 

Souji-sensei says, "For hundreds of years, because mankind has remained
essentially an unchanged animal, the same thoughts have been repeated
almost to the point where tried and true 'wisdoms' take the place of real,
intellectual thought. The only thing that I ask or expect of you in this
class is that you learn to THINK. Philosophy as a collection of dead men
on dusty shelves will not help you in the world outside this school. But
learning to THINK... to be rational, to be logical, to see the wisdom in
the words of the 'boring old men' of the past... that is as always the
true goal of the game that is philosophy." 

He ahems. "That being said...  we will have discussions. And your grade
will come not from test scores, but from my opinion and judgement of your
thinking skills." He grins at the groans of the class. "This means you
have to pay attention. And impress me."

Kei blinks.  This class sounds like it'll be a challenge... but more
importantly, it sounds like it might be INTERESTING.  She gets out her
notebook, and pays attention to this rather different teacher. 

Souji-sensei turns back to his desk and fetches the book he was reading
from when the students arrived. Making a simplified version of his words
along the board as he speaks. "I think we'll get started right away with
something relatively harmless. Neitzsche's "How the 'real world' became a
myth." Book in one hand, chalk in the other.... Clears his throat. 

Souji-sensei says, "Or.. the history of an error." 

Souji-sensei says, "Point one. The real world, attainable to the wise, the
pious and the virtuous, he dwells in it it- he IS it. This is a
transcription of the proposition, "i, Plato, am Truth." 

Kei scribbles notes down. 

Souji-sensei says, "Point two. The real world, unattainable for the
moment, but promised to the wise, the pious, the virtuous man (and the
sinner that repents)... the idea has progressed, become more
incomprehensible." 

Souji-sensei says, "Point three. The real world, unattainable,
undemonstratable, cannot be promised, but when thought of, merely a
consolation prize, a duty and an imperative. The idea has grown whiskers
and become pale." 

Souji-sensei asks, "Point four. The real world- unattainable? Unattained
at any rate. And if unattained also unknown. Consequently there is no
consolation, no redemption, no duty; how could we have a duty to something
we don't know?" 

Kei blinks.  . o ( I wonder... ) 

Souji-sensei exclaims, "Point five. The 'real world' - an idea no longer
of any use... not even a duty any longer- an idea grown useless,
superfluous... consequently a refuted idea. Let us abolish it!" 

Souji-sensei says, "And finally...." He draws a line under the last. "We
have abolished the real world.. what world is left? the apparent world
perhaps? but no! With the real world, we have *also abolished the apparent
world!*" 

Souji-sensei denotes the six point in shorthand on the board. "So. This is
our topic of discussion for the day. Is Nietzsche correct? Is there a
distinction between the real and apparent world? Is there a connection
between the two? Is there value in holding to the concept of an unseen
world? He believed there was not." 

Kei . o O ( My head hurts... ) 

The rest of the class, blinking and staring, tend to follow your lead
there, Kei... 

Souji-sensei smiles. "Any questions..? Or shall I flunk you all at once?" 

Kei pauses, and then raises her hand. 

Souji-sensei focuses on the raised hand. "Yes, Kei." 

Kei blinks, mildly surprised that the teacher already knows her name, and
then tries for her question.  "If the real world and the apparent world
aren't the same thing, wouldn't it be better to try to return to the real
world instead of merely the apparent one?" 

Souji-sensei smiles, walking over to his desk and sitting along the
corner. "An interesting question," he says. "And well phrased as well."
Warming to you. "But what makes you think there's a distinction between
the real and apparent worlds? It's interesting that in your statement you
automatically make clear an assumption of division. Care to tell me upon
what you base that division?" 

Kei pauses.  "I don't know... just a sense of that being the way things
are.  That the apparent world can only be aspects of the 'real' world, or
else there would be no distinction between them."  She blushes slightly. 
"I'm sorry, I guess that sounds silly." 

Souji-sensei says, "It's not silly, it just requires more proof than a
feeling... you have to be willing, young lady, to back what you believe
and feel with consistent proof.. even if it's only in circumstantial
evidence to yourself. Have you experienced something that would be taken
as proof of an unseen or apparent world in opposition to the real one?" 

Kei pauses.  Something about the arena that Torin brought her to and
duelled her at... but that's not something she can speak of in class. 
"I... I'd have to think about it.  I know there's something, but it may be
circumstantial and not easily brought to mind." 

Someone else, a boy, raises his hand. "Do you mean unseen world like
ghosts and stuff?" Mikage nods. "Psychic, spiritual and 'unexplainable'
phenomena all seem to be placed by most people into a 'real world' that is
not seen by all. Humans are curiously rather united in that... everyone
believes in a division of worlds into the 'spiritual' and the 'mundane'.
The mundane is the 'apparent' world, but the spiritual is felt by a vast
majority, inside their hearts, to be the 'real' one." 

Kei suppresses a slight flinch, as that comment strikes home. 

Souji-sensei hms at Kei, nodding. And then comments... "There is an
alternate philosophical standpoint to all this, of course." He goes over
to the board again and draws a yin/yang symbol. "That of the eastern
philosophy that says that the real and apparent worlds are in fact the
same, and can be united by effort and sacrifice." 

Kei raises her hand again. 

Souji-sensei smiles to Kei. "Go ahead." 

Kei says, "If the Eastern belief is true, then the two are in essence the
same, but kept apart by some means?  And that separation can be removed to
merge the two, creating a new world?"  She pauses.  "No, that's not
right... not creating a new one.  More like revising or revolutionizing an
existing one..." 

Souji-sensei mms. "Revolutionizing the world. An interesting use of term,
Kei." He returns to the board, and draws a circular arrow around the
yin/yang symbol. "You realize that the implication of a revolution is that
of a cycle that returns to its point of origin. So I ask of you.. is it
possible to make progress in a revolutionary cycle? Or does the same
pattern.. like the great thoughts... merely repeat itself over and over,
again and again, in different voices and phrasings?" 

Kei pauses.  . o ( "You have done better before." )  She glances up at the
teacher.  "Perhaps... but maybe it also has to go around and around a
number of times before it has the momentum to break free from the cycle." 

Souji-sensei fixes you in the eyes. "Prove that." 

Kei opens her mouth, and then subsides.  "I can't." 

Souji-sensei nods. "You can't. There's no opposition to a truly focused
mind, to create a transformation within a world in a single lifetime. But
if we..." He writes 'revolution' on the board... "assume this revolution
concept of yours... Many other things come implicitly along with it.
Decay... backsliding.. attrition.. as well as development. One could
easily say this model of yours is merely the same model that has always
been in operation, from the beginning of recorded human knowledge... to
this point, couldn't one?" 

Kei nods.  "I suppose so... I hadn't thought of it that way." 

The bell rings, and Mikage looks up, chuckling softly. "That's why you're
here." The rest of the class is grateful to FLEE, mumbling enmasse about
their heads hurting... 

Kei pauses as she walks out, turning back to gaze curiously at her new
teacher. 

Souji-sensei smiles. "Well done. If this afternoon is any indication,
you'll be the only one to pass this class." He picks up another of the
books- old ones- from the stack on his desk, tucking it under an arm
before approaching the blackboard to wipe away what was written on it. 

Kei blushes.  "I was never interested in philosophy before." 

Souji-sensei nods. "I'm sure you weren't. No one is until you explain the
underlying meanings." 

Kei makes a face.  "My previous teachers would disagree." 

Souji-sensei says, "It's actually fascinating to think that the great
minds were preserved in their words, far beyond their years. That's
eternal, and the great immortality.. and anyone can gain that eternality
with effort of their minds alone..." He hms, and shrugs a bit. "It's
really all a matter of perspective." 

Souji-sensei grins wryly. "I suppose you can say my goal is to become a
great eternal, like the 'dusty old men'. To create something lasting."
 
Kei nods.  "I can sort of understand." 

Kei smiles.  "Well, you've given me some things to think about.  Maybe I
understand the game a little more now." 

Kei . o O ( Oh, dear.  Did I just *say* that? ) 

Souji-sensei puts his book away and chuckles, leaning against the desk. 
"That's my purpose." Seeming to take no particular offense at the comment; 
he did refer to philosophy as a game in his opening remarks, after all.
"Just see that you continue to think next class." 

Kei nods and smiles as she walks out.  "I don't think I can afford to
stop," she comments to herself.  "Not if I want to survive this." 

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the campus, a tall figure bends over his desk,
examining a sheaf of papers.  "The players are gathered. The game shall
begin again."  A quiet, feral smile.  "... you're close to the power,
but you're unprepared.  This time, the power of rebirth will be mine." The
figure pushes the papers back into a neat stack... 

...the camera closes in on the papers, revealing the transfer records Kei
held... and one more.  Torin's student records. 

The shadowy figure smiles quietly again.  "And you, Seitokaichou..."

[ Shoujo Kakumei Kei ... to be continued ]