Utena, Revolutionary Girl Fan Fiction ❯ Elle M'A Donné de Faux Miracles ❯ We Wear the Mask ( Chapter 1 )

I do not own Revolutionary Girl Utena, or any of the characters that are involved in it. Shoujo Kakumei Utena - la fillette revolutionnaire -" is a copyrighted work. (C) Be-PaPas, Chiho Saito / Shogakukan, Shokaku Iinkai, TV Tokyo. All references and poetry that I did not create belong to their respective owners. All original characters, poetry, and song lyrics that belong to me should not be used without express permission and notification. Thank you.

 

Author's Note: I can't thank those of you who were kind enough to stop by and comment enough. It means so much to me to get feedback. I'll do my best to get more on the ball about finishing up all the little stories I have floating around. I should have more free time now. Again, thank you all for your support, you've made a little Pyro very happy! ^-^v

 

We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,--
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be overwise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
          We wear the mask.

Paul Laurence Dunbar, “We Wear the Mask”

 

Chapter One- We Wear the Mask

 

It was morning, and sunlight was beginning to filter through the window, making a small square of light fall on the vaugue form of a person burrowed deep under the warmth of bed covers. An annoyingly loud alarm clock was beeping electronically on the bedside table, and a pale hand snaked its way out from under the covers, and fumbled about on the desk. After slapping nothing but wood for a minute, it finally managed to land on the button that shut of that horrendous noise. There was a pause of silence, and then it was broken as Juri groaned, and rolled over onto her side.

 

She sighed, and then seeing as there was no use in delaying the inevitable, she pushed away the sheets covering her face and blinked in the dim sunlight. Sitting up, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stepped gingerly onto the floor. Standing up, and stretching her athletic body, listening to the sound of bones and joints popping into place after a night of tossing and turning. She looked at the clock, and then headed for her walk-in closet to pull out a fresh uniform for the day. Slipping on a bra, and then stepping into the white folds of cloth, she stood in front of the mirror connected to her vanity table and checked her appearance.

 

There were slight bags under her eyes, and her hair was a froth of tangled tangerine curls. All in all, she looked absolutely horrid, and Juri would be damned before allowing herself to step out into public looking as she did. She picked up her hairbrush from the vanity top, and made her hair more presentable, and then with a quick touch of make-up, she was ready to go. Picking up her school bag and key, she stepped outside, locked her door, and headed for the cafeteria.

 

Gazing at the early students, already getting their breakfast and chatting noisily, she spotted Miki sitting at the student council's usual table. She smiled slightly at the sight of him already with a text book open, reading through it with a look of pure concentration. As she made her way over to him, she watched him brush a stray strand of blue hair from his eyes, and his lips move slightly at a particularly interesting formula. Chuckling, she sat down across from him and tapped a manicured nail on the top of his book, getting his attention.

 

“Why hello Miki, already getting an early start I see?” She gave the barest of smiles as his face lit up when he saw who it was. “Ah, Juri-senpai! Good Morning!” His innocent robin's egg blue eyes twinkled merrily as he turned the book slightly so she could see. The book's spine declared the words `Trignometry', something several grades beyond what his class mates were learning.

 

“I looking through my math book, and I was really impressed with this formula! Why who knew that you could…” And so he went on for a minute, speaking of the difficult calculations and numeric expressions that had snagged his interest. Juri listened vaugely, nodding now and then, but not really listening. Miki soon finished his explanation and turned to look at her. He frowned slightly in amusement at seeing his fellow duelist looking somewhat out of sorts, practically unheard of for Juri Arisugawa.

 

“Really now Juri-senpai, you need to go get breakfast. You don't seem to be looking well this morning.” As he spoke, his eyes narrowed suspiciously and the frown wasn't amused anymore. If anything, he seemed to be looking stern. Juri smiled slightly again in amusement replying, “Now Miki, don't frown so. It'll give you wrinkles. I didn't sleep well last night. But if you insist, I will go order some toast and fruit.”

 

“And orange juice! You need your vitamin C if you aren't feeling well.” He called out, clicking his stop watch. That frown was back again, and this time her smile did widen, “I think playing the piano suits you better than playing Mother Hen.” Miki looked digruntled at the comment, but it didn't last long. By the time she was back with her purchases, he was already smiling. As she nibbled at the toast and bowl of assorted fruit, he pulled out his clipboard and began writing out information on the fencing sign-up sheets.

 

Today the fencing team were being tested on a number of drills they had been working on, with Juri (with the help of her partner Miki) judging their speed and fluidity. Lately the team had been growing somewhat lax, and she intended to get them back to the grindstone. When he was done making notations, he handed her the clipboard for her approval. Scanning the lists of names, and the people they were partnered with, she gave a nod of agreement and tucked it into her bag. Miki checked his watch before standing up and taking up his bag.

 

“The bell is about to ring, so I'm going to head on to class. I'll see you at fencing practice later, senpai!” He gave a wave and headed toward his building. Juri finished the last of her breakfast and deposited the garbage in a nearby trash can. Picking up her school bag, she began making her way leisurely to class. As she walked, various girls called out to her, and several of her fencing members as well. Giving a cool nod of greeting, she continued on, but nearly stopped when she saw a group of girls heading past her.

 

They were chatting loudly, giggling about some gossip or another, but what had struck her was one girl walking with them. Shiori Takatsuki was currently relating a past experience with a boyfriend as she was coming up on Juri. Juri forced herself to continue walking, as if she were completely unconcerned, and they nodded to each other as they passed. Shiori went right on with telling her story, not even pausing as she continued the other way, and Juri didn't even so much as slow down. However, if anyone had been watching, they would have noticed a slight clench of Juri's fist as she headed inside her building.

 

Already Arisugawa knew, the day was not going to get any better.