The setting sun cast long shadows through the windows of
the planetarium tower, creating zebra-stripes of warm orange
light over the couches and coffee table between. A cup of tea,
resting on a rose-enameled platter sat half in the light, its contents
growing cool. On the opposite couch, Anthy sat on her brother's
lap, her violet hair free of its curls and cascading over
the white material of the seat. Akio twined his fingers in it,
watching the sun play off its ripples like a purple stream. Anthy
rested her cheek on her onii-sama's deep red, unbuttoned silk shirt,
the sun causing her to squint slightly. His face was mostly
obscured in shadow, and as he tilted it down to kiss Anthy's
forehead it emerged into color.
"Did you miss me this week, Anshi?"
"Hai, onii-sama."
Akio shifted, his fingers never leaving the purple pool of her
tresses. Of all her traits, it was her hair that seemed to entrance
him the most.
"Is the Victor treating you well?"
"Of course, onii-sama."
It was the designated answer. There was no doubt of
Akio's awareness that Saionji did not treat his sister with the
respect that the Rose Bride deserved, but that was the way with
all of the Champions. With his other hand, Akio traced the line
of his sister's jaw.
"Soon now, Anshi."
She lifted her chin to meet his eyes, as green and deep and
mysterious as hers. He smiled gently.
"I have nearly all of the Seitokai now. The child who believes
you to be his 'shining thing'; the strangely cold woman who
longs for your power so she can attain the
miracle that will allow her to love. I even have the Seitokaichou
under my spell. He wishes for the power to revolutionize the world,
yet he can barely comprehend what that means. Stupid man."
Anthy held her brother's gaze. "I thought you liked Touga-sempai."
Akio chuckled. "I do." His eyes moved to the telescope that loomed
above them, breaking the connection. "The only ones left to conquer
are Tsuchiya Ruka and the one Engaged." He returned his
gaze to her, cupping her cheek in his palm. "Then, imouto-chan, all
of the duelists will be in place. They will continue vying for
your power, and when the duel named Revolution comes, the chosen
one will open the Rose Gates and your pain will be gone. Forever."
Anthy smiled at him. She is beautiful, her brother thought. So beautiful.
"And, together, we will return to what we were... before." Her
voice was even more beautiful than her face.
"Yes, Anshi. Together."
The moment of heavenly anticipation passed quickly, and the matters
still at hand presented themselves. "Ruka will submit easily.
I already know his weakness-- he loves Juri, and will
do anything to obtain the power of miracles for her. He already
believes, as she does, that you possess that power. The Champion
Duelist, however, I have yet to understand. What does Saionji
want, Anshi?"
Anthy was quiet for a moment, studying the buttons of her brother's
shirt.
"He wants to defeat Touga-sempai."
"There must be something more than that. He must have a reason
for his jealousy. There must be something, Anshi."
Anthy tilted her head, meeting Akio's eyes once more. "He wants
to be loved. He wants a friend."
"Touga is his friend."
"He wants true friendship, like when he and Touga were young.
He believes that if he attains these things, he will triumph over Touga.
He wants..."
Her brother took her hand, twisting their fingers together. "He
wants eternity."
Shutters slammed down over the planetarium windows, throwing
the Rose Bride and her Prince into darkness.
* * *
Saionji Kyouichi's dorm room was decorated like a kendo
practice dojo, the regulation bunkbeds shoved into a corner and various
dueling equipment strewn around the floor. He stood in the center,
his dark green hair pulled into a ponytail and clad in his hakama and
keiko-gi.
Saionji held a katana in both hands, slicing it downwards at
various intervals.
Where is she?
It was not odd that Anthy would disappear for a while on
Saturday nights, but she usually returned before it got very
late. He didn't like not knowing where she was. Besides,
that blasted creature of hers was hungry
and beginning to cry. The sound of the door startled him and he turned to see
the purple-haired girl, looking as immaculate and neatly-dressed
as always. She shut the door behind her, smiling in her serene
way.
"I'm home, Saionji-sama."
"Anshi, where have you been?" His voice was harsh, and he dropped
the sword on the floor, approaching her. He softened, almost
imperceptibly. "I was worried."
"Please forgive me, Saionji-sama." Anthy looked up at him
imploringly.
"I suppose." Of course he forgave her. How could he not? She was
the only one who truly cared about him. He had realized that
when he won her from the last Victor of the Duels. Anthy
had promised to love him forever then.
He turned away from her. "That thing is hungry,
Anshi. It's been whimpering all evening."
The note of irritability in his voice was no surprise to her. She hurried
across the room to where Chu-Chu was jumping up and down on the table.
"Oh, Chu-Chu. I'm so sorry!"
Behind her, Saionji snorted. He could not understand
what she saw in the little mutant. He picked up the katana
and continued in his training as Anthy got her "friend" dinner.
* * *
There weren't many places that Saionji enjoyed besides the kendo
room, but the Rose Garden was one of the few. He supposed he liked
it because Anthy was there. The moment he walked through the
wrought-iron and glass doors, he could smell her. She always
smelled of roses. The sun beat down, magnified through the glass,
and reflected sharply off Anthy's metal watering can. She looked
so happy here, tending to the roses. Saionji couldn't understand
why she did not act this happy anywhere else.
The girl turned to water a rose bush near the
door and saw her fianc�. "Oh! Saionji-sama!" She smiled
happily, closing her eyes. "I didn't see you there."
"Ohayo, Anshi." He smiled softly back, gazing at the roses. Red,
green, light blue, dark blue, pale orange, yellow,
white. Every color he could possibly imagine, one for
every duelist in the Seitokai. Yet the Rose Bride herself
did not have a color.
Anthy picked a green rose, holding the stem carefully in
both hands. She held it out to him and he took it silently, regarding
the flower with a subdued expression. Green roses. He didn't want
to ever have to duel again. Not the way they had been
dueling recently, anyway. He enjoyed his kendo matches with
Touga -- he would never admit to it, but he did. These duels, however,
were a different matter. Dueling again might mean losing her,
and he was not willing to risk that. However, it was not up to him.
Of course he did not have doubts
about his talent in swordplay, but possibly, if Touga...
He cut the thought off abruptly.
"Anshi, what is your rose color?"
The girl looked up at him, her expression somewhere between startled
and confused.
"Why, I don't know, Saionji-sama. I am the Rose Bride. I have never
dueled."
Saionji reached out and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "I think...
purple. Do you have any purple roses, Anshi?"
To his surprise, she pulled away, clasping her hands close to her
chest. "I... don't think so."
Saionji frowned. Why...? He grabbed her wrist and pulled
her nearer, causing her watering can to clatter to the stone floor.
The sun had gone behind a cloud.
She could see the past, she could see the... future...
Anthy shut her eyes.
Purple roses... She shook her head. Sometimes... she
could see the future. It only came in flashes, bursts of emotion.
Anthy hated emotion.
She suddenly realized that Saionji had her by both wrists now, and
was shaking her. She could hear his voice distantly, as if through
a fog.
"Anshi? Anshi!"
He looked angry, and concerned. Probably angry about being concerned.
Anthy's deep green eyes contracted and she stared at him blankly.
"Saionji...sama?"
From behind them, the gate into the Rose Garden slammed. Saionji
released one wrist and whirled on the intruder. A tall, pale man
with a pale blue forelock of hair stood just inside the
garden, framed by the iron bars.
His uniform identified him as another member of the Student Council. He
yanked a blue rose from its bush and held it out to Saionji, smirking.
Saionji was in no mood for subtleties. "What do you want?"
Tsuchiya Ruka grinned wider. "I challenge you to a duel, Champion."
He threw the rose at Saionji's feet, the petals making a soft but
clearly audible sound on the stones. Ruka promptly turned his
back on the pair and exited the Garden.
Saionji scowled, releasing his grip on Anthy. Why did everything
have to be so damned complicated? There was no doubt in his mind
that he would defeat Ruka easily, but every duel brought them
closer to the vaguely outlined end that Touga had implied would
eventually come. And for a reason he did not understand, Saionji
dreaded it.
He turned to look at Anthy, who was standing with her hands
clasped demurely, her head bowed. Her usual reaction to anything
that involved the duels. Saionji sighed.
"Come, Anshi."
* * *
In the darkened shadows of the Seitokai meeting area, the sand
of a thousand hourglasses slithered and rushed through their
containers' narrow openings. They were of every size imaginable,
ranging from a centimeter high to almost a yard. The glasses occupied
shelves, floor, chairs, and even the Council's playing card table. Kiryuu
Touga stood amongst them, leaning casually against a pillar, his
hands in his pockets. He gazed out at Ohtori's campus between
the folds of heavy, dark curtains that cut off all light except that
from the rose window.
"You want her to be happy, don't you?"
Ruka visibly started and glanced at the Seitokaichou irritably.
"What are you talking about?"
"She doesn't love you, Tsuchiya-san. You know that."
Ruka's gaze was positively venomous.
Touga smirked to himself and continued. "If you truly care
for her, you will do what will make her happiest."
"Oh? And what's that?" Sarcasm tinted Ruka's voice.
"You will obtain for her the power of miracles. Only then she will
be able to admit her feelings to the one she does love."
The other sat forward in his chair. He hadn't been expecting an
answer like that. "But Juri despises miracles. She doesn't believe
in them. She told me so herself."
Touga laughed. Stupid man. "You don't understand anything. Juri
will only be happy when she lets herself admit what she feels. The
Rose Bride's power can allow her to do that." He tipped
his chair back, balancing it on two legs. Ruka frowned.
"So all this talk about the 'power to revolutionize the world' is
simply the power of miracles? The power that will allow Juri
to accept her love?"
Touga tapped a fingernail on the table, not replying. With a look
of determination, his companion rose and entered the elevator.
Touga picked one of the smaller hourglasses up between thumb
and forefinger. The ruse was so simple. But he did not understand
Akio's purpose in leading Ruka to believe what he had, only
weeks ago, lead Juri to believe.
No matter. It was not for him to debate. When Akio asked him to
pass something on to one of the Seitokai, he complied.
The elevator made a loud clang as it arrived at the top floor, and
Touga pushed himself off of the pillar to greet his guest. Saionji
stopped abruptly as he stepped on one of the
hourglasses.
"I'm not even going to ask."
Touga smiled. "It's usually better that way."
Finding his way through the forest of time-keepers, Saionji
cleared a chair and sat. "You asked me up here for a reason, I
assume."
Touga regarded his friend coolly. "You are, of course, aware
that a challenge has been made."
Saionji snorted. "Certainly. But it will be no trouble."
The Seitokaichou took a seat across from the other. "I'm sure it
won't."
Folding his arms across his chest, Saionji frowned. "I know you
didn't invite me here simply to make sure that I knew of the duel, Touga."
"You're right, of course," Touga replied. "I invited you
here to ask you something -- what is it that you want?"
Saionji's brow furrowed. "What do I... want?"
"From the duels, I mean. From the Rose Bride."
By this time, Saionji was beginning to get a little suspicious. Touga
rarely engaged in personal conversations. At least, not with him.
"I don't want anything from the Rose Bride. I want
the Rose Bride herself. And I have her. So, you could say, I
have everything I want."
Touga leaned back, his face obscured by shadow. "You don't mean
that. In your heart, you don't mean that."
"You don't know my heart." His words were harsh, spiteful. On
the far side of the balcony, an hourglass shattered on the floor.
Still shrouded in darkness, Touga chuckled. "I know more than
you think, Saionji."
The vice president stood, sending a dozen more glasses to the
floor as he moved past the table. The elevator doors clattered
shut behind him.
Touga watched him go, his smirk gone. Kneeling down, he gathered
the shards of glass and wood into his palm.
* * *
Inside the elevator, Saionji slammed his hand into the wall. How
dare he presume...?! The iron-barred cage he stood in clunked
noisily as it descended. Stuffing his fists into his pockets,
Saionji leaned his back against the wall, dangerously angry. He
was an idiot, he told himself. Actually believing that Touga
wanted to talk to him for some other reason than to mock him. What
a fool he was. And a bigger fool for letting Touga's words
bother him so much.
* * *
The cold, familiar droplet of water splashed against Saionji's
finger and the noise of rock grating against itself came from
deep within the Rose Gates. Waterfalls opened behind him, cascading
into the black pools outside the arena forest. In a moment, the
awesome display was over and Saionji began his ascent.
The green duelist was not in a good mood. He glowered
at the stairs as he reached the top, wondering why they couldn't hold
these duels anywhere normal. But that was a ridiculous
wish. Nothing about these duels was normal, and Saionji had
come to accept that. But he still liked to gripe about it.
The Rose Bride stood at the top of the steps, her hands folded
over her crimson dress, the tassels on her shoulders
waving in the breeze. She smiled as she saw him.
"Welcome, Saionji-sama. Tsuchiya-sempai has already arrived."
Saionji's eyes moved to Ruka, who was standing a dozen
yards across the arena, tapping his fencing foil on the ground
impatiently. "Let's get this started, Champion."
Saionji nodded. "Anshi." She moved first to him, tucking
a green rose in his breast pocket. She smiled at him again.
"Good luck, Saionji-sama."
His eyes softened slightly and he barely smiled. The Rose
Bride then turned and went to Ruka, fastening a dark blue
rose to his fuku. "If this rose is cut from your chest, you
lose the duel."
Ruka snorted. "I know."
On the other side of the arena, Saionji's fists clenched. "Don't
talk to her like that."
"You talk to her like that."
Saionji was about to snarl a retort when Anthy positioned
herself between them. Her dress rippled in an unseen wind as
a luminescence grew around her hands.
"O roses of the noble castle
Power of Dios that slumbers within me
Hearken unto thy master and reveal to us..."
Saionji placed a hand on the small of her back, allowing
her spine to arch as the hilt of a blade emerged from
her chest. The bizarre wind caught his hair,
whipping it around them as he drew the shining sword of Dios
from his Bride.
"... the power to revolutionize the world!"
And so, the duel began. Their blades locked, and Saionji grudgingly
marveled that his opponent could keep so steady under the
amazing power of the sword of Dios. Anthy stood to the side,
her hands clasped once again, blankly watching the proceedings.
Throwing the weight of Ruka's rapier off his sword, Saionji lunged
out with a leg and kicked the other squarely in the stomach, throwing
him back a few feet. Coughing, Ruka resumed an en guarde position.
"Be careful with me, Saionji. I'm ill."
Saionji ignored him. Being ill had never stopped Ruka from winning
duels before. This time Ruka attacked first, and Saionji swiveled to
protect his rose. He caught Ruka in a swift slice upward, their blades
locking again.
Between the two blades, Ruka smiled infuriatingly. "I will
win your Bride from you, Saionji. And her power will free
the one I love."
Saionji jerked his sword upward, throwing Ruka back. "What?"
Ruka paused, shaking his head in disgusted pity at the other's
thick-headedness. "The Bride can
obtain the power of miracles. I need her power to make the one
I care for happy."
They clashed again, Saionji forcing Ruka to move backwards by
the sheer power of his fury.
"The Bride is mine! And she will always be mine!"
Digging his heel into the stone, Ruka pounced toward his opponent,
and they met with a clash of steel and a flurry of flower petals.
Ruka stumbled, catching himself on the stone wall and turning to
see Saionji rest the blade of the sword of Dios on his shoulder.
His green rose was unharmed. Ruka felt his breast pocket, his
fingers meeting a mutilated stem.
The duel was over.
* * *
One foot propped on the stone wall of the balcony,
Touga lowered his binoculars. "Well. We
all saw that coming, didn't we?" He laid a hand on the wall to
keep his balance as Akio leaned against his back. The Dean
regarded the clouds above them, smiling to himself.
"Quite."
The red-haired duelist glanced over his shoulder. Akio's head
was rested against his, and Touga could smell him.
"I assume Ruka is out of the running now."
Akio was silent for a moment. "No... we may still have
some use for him."
* * *
With another fit of coughing, Ruka halted at the top of
the stairs.
"Next time, I will not be so careless."
With that, he started down the steps to the forest below. Saionji
smirked. The duel had been a lot easier than expected. The sword
of Dios melted away, returning to his Bride's body. He turned to
her.
"Come, Anshi."
She had her back to him, the blood-red skirts billowing
in the breeze. Her head was tilted slightly upwards. Saionji
moved to her side. "Anshi?"
She was smiling, her green eyes turned toward the lighted
castle that floated above them, spinning slowly.
"Someday, I'd like to go to that castle."
He frowned. This was abnormal. Surreally so.
"Something eternal dwells there."
Saionji stared at her, his pupils contracting.
Something eternal...
"... What...?"
Anthy turned to him, smiling again and closing her eyes.
Something eternal...
... How did she know?
In a rush, it came back to him. A girl with sunset-pink
hair, lying in a coffin of roses, and begging to be left
alone. A young girl whose parents had just been killed,
and who now was unable to believe that anything eternal
existed. A girl who had been shown some intangible thing,
some amazing, live-saving thing that brought her out of her
depression and into the daylight.
How did she know that this abstract power was the
thing he had been searching for, hunting for, ever
since that day? And how had she so easily put a name
to that which he had been unable to?
Something eternal...
It was frightening how clear it all was, now. Someone
had shown that girl something eternal, and proved to her
that there was a reason to live. Touga had shown that girl
the very thing that Saionji would spend the rest of his
life searching for. And that impalpable thing resided
in the castle above where they stood.
But how did Anthy know?
He realized that she was still watching him, blinking innocently.
"Daijobu desu ka?"
"Hai..." he murmured distractedly. "I'm fine..." Suddenly
he had her by the shoulders, pulling her to face him. Anthy
cringed slightly, expecting to be slapped. When the blow
did not come, she opened her eyes slowly.
"I swear to you, you and I will go to that castle together!
Together, we will gain eternity! I will obtain eternity for
you, Anshi!"
Anthy held her breath.
The mad light drained from his eyes and he released her,
turning toward the stairs. Anthy watched him, surprised
--as always-- by his sudden flashes of loyalty towards her.
Smiling softly, she followed him.
* * *
On to Part Two
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