Utena, Revolutionary Girl Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of Two Princes ❯ Dreamers Take Shape in Lithe Colors: Red and Blue ( Chapter 3 )

Title: A Tale of Two Princes

Chapter 3: Dreamers Take Shape in Lithe Colors: Red and Blue

Rating: PG-13

Poetry is mine

Shoujo-ai Content

Utena and its character do not belong to me. I am just borrowing.

 

He had situated himself on a bench that sat under the shade of a large willow tree. The tree's thin branches dipped down into the water of the pond, causing to surface to ripple with the slight movement of the breeze. The pond was one of the largest on the campus, and one he greatly preferred for the activity that collected around it. It was large enough for one or two students to venture out into its depths in small row boats, and the children of the Ohtori grammar school flocked to that location as it was the best site for launching newly built model sailboats, or remote control ships.

 

He was engaging himself in a book of poetry as a distraction from the calculus exam he should have been studying for. He supposed if he wanted, he could have gone to a tutor for some help, but there was something in his pride that refused to allow him to seek help, even from Miki who he knew to be quite the genius in mathematics.

 

The days were getting hotter and as such he found more reason to pull his hair back into a loose ponytail and wear tight t-shirts, as he would drape his uniform jacket over his arm when he walked or the back of a chair when he sat. The teachers of the school seemed to be overly accepting of his disregard for the school uniform regulations and he found it pitiful that his blatant indifference for them should go unpunished.

 

His deep blue eyes drifted from the pages of his book to the outlying form of a female student standing just to the left of his peripheral view. The shape of the uniform was that of a regular student and he found himself slightly disappointed that it was not Juri coming to chat, or better yet, offer up any new found information concerning the dreams. Really, more than anything, he wanted to pry a little more into the panther's dealings with Kozue Kaoru.

 

Setting the book aside he looked over to greet the student that appeared to be waiting for his attentions. He wondered if she had a letter to give him, and then immediately recognizing the girl smiled warmly in greeting.

 

"Good afternoon, Miss Keiko," he stated cordially and motioned for her sit.

 

The girl was one of Nanami's friends and also, much to his regret, one of the many girls he had previously dated. He had paid her attention in order to make his sister jealous (to get her to duel) and his actions were completely lacking in chivalry. He was a terrible brother, he admitted that much, but he was trying to make things better. And his sister seemed to be understanding of his faults, and happily she was no longer idealizing him quite as much as she used to. On some level it was a blessed relief, and on others it was a cut to his ego...but he supposed he deserved that. He needed cuts to his pride on occasion lest he forget how to be humble. (Somewhere, he had a feeling that either Juri or the prince was suddenly having a chuckle for no reason that they could gather.)

 

The girl inched forward tentatively and eventually took the seat that was offered. Her brown eyes focused on the water and seemed to make a further point to show that she was far too young for him to ever have even kissed. If he had never changed he supposed he would not have felt like such a heel, but he had and he did.

 

"Mr. Kiryuu, um... That is to say-"

 

He quickly interrupted her to help calm her nerves, "Please, there is no need for formalities; you have been my sister's friend for a long time now, and given our past...Do call me, Touga."

 

She let out a sigh and seemed to shrink in her place. Then she shook her head, "I'm sorry, I-I should not have come to bother you."

 

He shook his head, "Nonsense. You have never been a bother, and obviously you have something you would like to discuss."

 

She trembled and it took him back. He was aware of many things when it came to girls, or at least he believed he knew many things, but the display of fear and fragility that had nothing to do with a want for lustful comforting made him think before he immediately sprung into a "princely" action. With slight hesitation he placed a hand on her shoulder and she shook more, beginning to weep.

 

"Tell me what it is, Keiko. Do not fear it, just speak, and I shall listen."

 

She crumbled and he quickly moved to hold her closer. The embrace seemed to calm her enough that she could speak, though she did so amid gulping sobs. As she progressed in her tale his eyes grew wider with concern and shock.

 

She spoke of dreams...nightmares so terrible they were beginning haunt her during waking hours.

 

They dream of dark confessionals, of receiving a new heart

They dream of going deeper and tearing us apart

They toss in their sleep as the images come

They wake in a sweat at the things they have done

A duel in which they yearn for the blood

Of a bride and prince deeply in love

In the end it is their feelings, emotions that run deep

Secrets they have held that they can no longer keep

 

"Did she actually faint when she finished," Juri's eyebrow quirked as the question left her mouth.

 

They had assembled in the old meeting place of the student council. It was more out of necessity than want that they did so. There was no other place on the campus that was concealed and secluded enough to have the discussion.

 

Touga was leaning back into his chair; legs crossed and hand to his brow in something akin to anguish but less severe. He gave a mild nod in reply and tried not to take too great offense when the lithe fencer shrugged.

 

"Tell me, was Kozue's account anything like that," he asked sharply.

 

"It was worse." She had whispered that reply so that it was nearly lost to the wind.

 

He looked over at her wanting to say something more, but could not find the proper words to express his feelings.

 

Juri shifted in her seat, leaning into the arm of the chair before sitting up right again eyes narrowing, "They were used, Touga. That much is very clear to me. They were used."

 

"In duels that no one has any memory of?"

 

"How else to explain it? All the accounts go in a similar vein. Oh," her voice rose in exclamation and then she continued, "Do you remember Kanae Ohtori?"

 

He waved his hand in dismissal, "Only vaguely."

 

"She was engaged to him."

 

He sat upright then.

 

"I knew that would catch your attention," Juri stated with a grin that quickly faded away as she continued, "They placed her in the care doctors the other day."

 

"Dreams?"

 

"Suicide attempt, but apparently she was screeching uncontrollably about a prince...about black roses."

 

"Do you actually have a secret underground network of spies working for you," he asked with a sly grin, "because honestly every time you mange to pull information like this up I have to wonder."

 

She rolled her eyes and let a huff of irritation escape her lips before replying, "As much as it would be nice to have a staff, I'm entirely lacking in the funds necessary to keep an operation of that size and stature up. I just have a way with people."

 

"And information."

 

"That as well, but, all that aside... What would you like to do?"

 

He shrugged and then offered, "I think we need to wait for more information to come our way."

 

She frowned, "Would you consider having the remaining members of the Student Council come in to help?"

 

"No. I do not think we should trouble them."

 

She new that was the answer she would receive. She did not think it was the correct reaction but understood why he was reticent to allow it. He had his sister to look over after all, and she too did not wish to drag Miki back into such strange events. However, she had to put the question out there, because eventually she was certain they would need the others help. For the moment the refusal could be accepted, but quite soon she was sure she would be forced into pressing the point.

 

She gave a nod and the matter was left at that.

 

"Are you at all at ease with telling me what Kozue shared with you," Touga asked after a brief bit of silence.

 

She shook her head and then proceeded to tell him. He listened intently and at the end felt nearly as awful as he had after Keiko relayed her dreams to him. It was a dark thing, the dreams. They seemed to come from a haunted place.

 

Juri rose from her seat and proceeded to walk back towards the elevator. Before she reached the door she paused and said, "We should prepare ourselves. I have no doubt that the other students will be making themselves known to us very soon. I don't know why I have this feeling, but I'm almost positive... These dreams...the people they affect.... They want to be told. They are eager to be confessed and remembered."

 

She padded away and soon after the sound of the elevator going down caught in his ears. From where he sat he could see the over bearing height of the chairman's tower and it cast its shadow long across the campus. He sneered and stood up.

 

"I refuse to let you win. Together we will defeat you for good," he said soberly and then quickly took his leave.

 

Oh all together blind

We seek for better times

And wishes that turned sour

We vanquish by the hour

After all could we fall

Could we crawl

So blindly back into your game

But we already know your name

And it isn't so easy

It isn't so easy

We're turned on to your scheme

And we won't let you kill our dreams

All together blind

You'll find us disinclined

To ever, ever look your way again

 

Exiting the building Touga found himself almost immediately in the midst of an awkward exchange between Juri and another female student he took care to recognize as Miki's sister. He was thankful to be far enough away so as not to hear the exact words that were being said, but part of him felt a tad intrusive for even observing.

 

He pulled himself back into the shadow of the building to view more carefully. He did not like to pry, but he was curiously worried about the connection the young women shared. It was more a distrust for the blue haired girl, the twin that was most definitely darker than her brother. It was hard not to miss that difference.

 

Everything about Kozue was a shade or two darker than her brother, from the hair, down to the color of the yes. And the eyes were where it really hit home, because her eyes were deep, and Miki's were shallowed with bright innocence.

 

It wasn't the girl's obvious darkness that worried him. It wasn't the overt fact that Kozue Kaoru had taken a few short trips around a good portion of the male population in the school, or that he had been among the numbers. It was that he knew the girl had kept sinister company, and he worried about how close she had actually been with the chairman. He wondered if she still knew a thing or two about the chairman that others might not.

 

He shook his head. She had the nightmares to. Juri had laid all those dreams out for consumption, and she was right...Kozue's dreams were far worse than Keiko's. He pondered for a moment that the severity came from the closeness the student shared with the individual they had dreamt about.

 

In Keiko's dreams she had stolen a sword from his chest, but she did not know him that well. But Kozue had dreamt of stealing from her brother, and she obviously knew him very well, even if they were a bit estranged.

 

He made an effort to remember the theory so that he could discuss it later with Juri.

 

In the distance the two young women moved closer together as they spoke. The body language was bizarrely strained as if they feared contact. As if they dreaded each other and could only come so close without wilting away from the other's possible touch. They both wore serious expressions, which was surprising in itself because Kozue (to his general knowledge) always seemed to have a smirk tucked away in the corner of her mouth that diminished and grew as she spoke. The strained space between the two closed sharply as Juri planted a hand on the wicked girl's shoulder.

 

He decided it was best to leave when he noted Kozue's reaction to that touch. He slipped out of the shadows and walked purposefully in the opposite direction of the conversation. It would take him longer to get to the mansion like dorm he shared with his sister, but that hardly mattered to him.

 

He wished he was a better judge of scenes like that. Part of him insisted that the two were lovers, but then one could never be sure about someone like Juri.

 

The long walk back to his dorm was pleasant. Even more so was the sight of the fencing captain, arms crossed and waiting from him near his door.

 

He grinned. Of course she knew he had been watching, of course she would see him take the long way back to his dorm. They shared a knack for that kind of detail. It came from playing games in the shadows of the school. It came from being a duelist.

 

"Are you here to chide me," he asked pleasantly.

 

She shook her head, "You weren't exactly eavesdropping now were you. You were just watching, and like most boys probably got the signals all wrong."

 

"Do give me some credit, Juri. I'm sure I've spent enough time with both you and Miss Kaoru to learn exactly what signals you're sending out"', he replied glibly, hopping his little barb would be taken lightly.

 

"Believe me... you have the wrong idea."

 

"Then you are just mere acquaintances?"

 

She stiffened and then relaxed. Her eyes remained calm, though he could decipher a hint of agitation.

 

Why can't you just tell me, Juri, he thought to himself. What is it that you are hiding and why bother? It is no mystery to me where your tastes run. Just get it off your chest...

 

"We're... friends of a sort."

 

He chuckled, "What 'sort'? You should know better than to leave things to my vivid imagination."

 

She shut her eyes and stepped forward. She looked up at him as if she were deciding at that very moment, friend or not, how much she really wanted to trust him with. After a second she pushed away and shook her head.

 

"I'm not sure I could wrap the concept around that eager male brain of yours."

 

"Try me."

 

She spun around, and stepped back toward him, "Have you ever loved someone, who loved someone else, and then that someone else ends up loving you?"

 

He blinked as the question contorted in his mind. She watched him try and connect the pieces and then shook her head patting him kindly on the shoulder.

 

"I didn't think so," she walked away again. "Thank God your life never gets quite as complicated as mine."

 

He shouted after her, "I will thank God that I do not make my life so complex."

 

She smirked as she walked on, raising her hand to wave.

 

Touga took a beat to watch her saunter off and then stepped inside. There was some mail on the table in the foyer. One of the envelopes caught his eye and made his heart begin to race. It was small, lavender, and had a deep red wax seal containing the Ohtori signet.

 

He looked from the envelope and up into the eyes of his sister.

 

"Don't open it," she pleaded and then dashed off in the direction of her room.

 

Her cries caught in his ears. He wanted to run after her. He wanted to tell her it would be alright, but instead he stayed where he was. He picked up the envelope and began to open it.

 

To be continued....