Utena, Revolutionary Girl Fan Fiction ❯ Elle M'A Donné de Faux Miracles ❯ On the Prowl ( Chapter 3 )

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 Note:Okay, I'm finally back with the latest installment of this particular series I'm working on. It's been awhile. I really want to try and complete all the loose ends I have lying around, but because there are so many, it's taking time. I also want to say thanks again to all those people who really made my day by leaving comments and advice. I couldn't have done it without you all, please keep firing them at me!

 

O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,

Alone and palely loitering?

The sedge has withered from the lake,

And no birds sing.

 

O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,

So haggard and woe-begone?

The squirrel's granary is full,

And the harvest done.

 

I see a lilly on thy brow

With anguish moist and fever dew,

And on thy cheek a fading rose

Fast withereth too.

 

John Keats, “La Belle Dame Sans Merci”

 

Chapter Three: On the Prowl

 

In the days that followed, Juri Arisugawa became a harsher person to deal with, especially for those who were members of the fencing club. Her gazes were even more icy than normal, and she had no tolerance for imperfection. Every practice, she would viciously lunge in for the touche, ending the match faster than Tenjou usually rebuffed Touga's advances. But it was after she sent a girl away in tears for not having checked her stance properly that Miki politely asked if she would go for a break. Giving a curt nod, and leaving him to continue the rest of the practice one afternoon, Juri wandered back toward her office, opening up the collar to her jacket as she did so.

 

The afternoon sun was coming in through the high windows of the fencing hall, lighting everything with a soft orange glow. Shaking her tangerine curls, and sitting down behind her desk, she picked up a clean white hand towel and mopped her face.

 

The main reason for her irritability lately was that neither she nor Miki had been able to glean anything about where these oddball duelists had gotten their rings…and how they were able to pull swords out of the chests of council members. As it was, they were keeping a close eye out for each other, although neither would tell the other that. And it would also seem that Shiori and Kozue had no recollection of the previous events. Things had returned to normal…at least outwardly.

 

Inwardly, Juri was a mess.

 

She had been having trouble sleeping at night, and was spending more and more time at the fountain lost in thought. She hadn't told Miki (and certainly not that arrogant cow Nanami) but there was more to her attack than just `a childhood friend' pulling a sword from her breast. There was also the event with the locket.

 

Earlier, before Shiori's visit, Juri had thrown her locket far into the lake. As she sat back in her desk chair, she could still see that shining rose shaped trinket sailing out into the middle of the lake, splashing and quickly sinking from view.

 

So how had it ended up in Shiori's hand? And for that matter, Juri couldn't fathom how she had known she had thrown it away. She hadn't seen Shiori at all that day, and she had kept her collar up. It should have been impossible that the maroon haired girl could have ended up with it. And looked inside…That was really what was at the heart of her pain. That Shiori had looked inside and had seen it's contents…seen her own picture staring back at her, something the older fencer had been trying to conceal for so long. And had smiled up at her so coldly, with such twisted triumph…

 

And now she doesn't even `remember'…but how could she possibly forget?

 

Juri had always lived in fear of the girl's rejection…had always been too timid to truly confess what she felt. And she had also been concerned how the girl would be viewed by others if it got out. Would Shiori be picked on? Shamed? Juri felt shameful every day she bore her secret in silence, but at least her inner disgrace wouldn't spread to the other girl. She would spare her that at the very least. It was really all she could do.

 

She must have fallen asleep for a short time, sitting back in her leather cushioned seat, because when her eyelids fluttered open to the sound of a slight cough, Juri found a girl standing in her office. And of course, with the luck she had been having lately, it of course was the one girl she had been trying to avoid.

 

“Hello Juri-senpai…”

 

Juri groaned mentally, but even so, her heart skipped a beat. Why was it that just the presence of this girl could make her throat constrict and her chest tighten? Why couldn't she just be normal?

 

Juri immediately sat up straight at her desk, and folded her hands over a stack of documents she had reviewed the previous day.

 

“Good afternoon Shiori. Might I help you with something?”

 

That's right Juri, just keep acting normal…don't let anything slip. Show you have at least a little dignity, even after you've been caught sleeping on the job.

 

Shiori wrung her hands over her pleated skirt, and nervously brushed back a stray lock of hair. It looked as though she had hurried to get here. What could be the matter?

 

“Ah, yes…I noticed on the bulletine board that the fencing team is accepting new members again. I was…hoping to maybe try out…”

 

Juri's eyes widened before she could stop herself, and already she was mentally swearing up a storm.

 

No way! Absolutely not! She didn't even like fencing when she was last here at Ohtori! Having her around will only create problems. She probably has had no formal training, a total liability. Besides, Shiori is one of the people we are supposed to be investigating! This can't happen…I won't let it. Not going to happen…

 

“Well, Shiori…it would, ah…really depend upon your prior fencing experience. Such as if you've taken any lessons before this point.”

 

There…now she has a polite and acceptable way of backing out.

 

“I've been taking it for a couple years now, at my old school.”

 

Damn…but that still doesn't mean she'll make the team. Try-outs will determine whether or not she'll make the cut, and from what Miki has told me, there are quite a few interesting prospects.

 

“I see…well then, here is a flyer with all of the information you will need. The Try-outs are tomorrow after classes. If you are interested, I will see you then.” Unable to help herself despite her mental arguments with her better judgement, she couldn't help but remark quietly, “…I thought you didn't like fencing.”

 

Shiori for the first time looked Juri straight in the eye, with a wry and just a slightly bitter smile. “A lot of things have changed since then.”

 

Yes they have…more than you know.

 

Shiori eventually left, and Juri remained seated behind her desk, feeling tired. Miki came in, saying that the fencers had been dismissed, and had left for their dorms. He looked concernedly at Juri, but she shook her head and gave a soft, small, smile. He gave a smile in return, feeling reassured, and left as well, bidding her a pleasant evening.

 

Juri listened to the doors outside her office close behind him, and switched on the desk lamp, deciding to finish what paperwork remained to be taken care of before the Try-Outs the next day. As she worked, her fingertips played idly with the thin gold chain around her neck. When she had finished, and it had indeed grown later, the council member stood, switched off the light, and locked up behind her.

 

She stopped at the cafeteria, still open for those students who ate all of their meals on Ohtori grounds, and purchased a sandwhich and a sealed juice can. She wasn't feeling very hungry…in fact she never really was hungry. Some days it seemed she just went on pure determination alone.

 

Unwrapping her sandwich as she walked away, but not stopping at any of the tables that were nearly empty, she kept on walking through the rows. The sky had faded into a pale purple-bluish hue that signified it was on the cusp of night, but still not quite ready to relinquish it's golden sun. Leisurely walking across the grounds, and not really caring at that point what people thought of her prowling about while eating, she made her way on the outskirts of the covered halls and past the gleaming classroom buildings.

 

She made her way to the fountain that had gradually become one of the few safe havens she enjoyed resting. But she halted as she noticed a pair of students partially hidden by the spray of water. A male and a female…making out no doubt. Such vulgar public displays turned her off, so she turned away, not even bothering to rebuke them. She just wasn't in the mood.

 

She walked to the edge of the woods that hid the dueling arena's gate from view. But she didn't go in. The omnious set of stairs, and the shining upside-down castle didn't exactly offer solace or comfort. They made one feel…insignificant…burdened…

 

So she kept walking, tossing her sandwich wrapping into a trash bin as she walked on. On a whim, she made her way by the music room. From within, she could hear the faint tinklings of the piano. An all too familiar song, one who's ghostly quality floated across this portion of the campus. Miki was haunted too, just as she was. Only his past didn't lie locked within a golden cage around his neck. Instead, it remained inside a song he could never finish.

 

Pausing to listen to a few bars, the song gradually changed into a different, more lighter classical piece. But it was still unfamiliar to the orange curled woman. No doubt it was another he had composed himself. That brought a proud smile to the silent duelist's lips. She had always felt somewhat protective of the blue haired prodigy. His innocence was…rare…and his friendship was onf of the few she truly treasured.

 

But the panther still felt the need to continue moving and exploring. So she made her way inside the building, but instead of heading down the hall to the music room, she went up the flights of stairs, and opened the door to the roof. Night had finally fallen over the quiet campus, most students already away in their dorm rooms, as curfew was nearly up. Being able to stay out as she liked was one of the few perks Juri enjoyed from her council position. The sky was opened up to her like a magnificent canopy of twinkling stars and a glowing crecent moon that hung from the velvet darkness. She rarely stayed out to enjoy such simple pleasures, and she enjoyed the cool air on her face.

 

Taking a seat on the large overhanging ledge, and popping open the top of her canned juice, Juri quietly marveled at the scene arrayed in front of her. It helped her to clear her mind, and brush away the nagging doubts and questions that had cluttered it lately. She went to take a sip once more from her can, her jacket completely unbuttoned and flapping in the breeze, revealing a aquamarine cut off tank top underneath. That was when the scent of cloves reached her nose. Turning her head, she saw a female figure resting against the side of the building, next to the door that led to the stairs. The clouds drifted away from the moon, and for a moment Juri thought it was Miki standing there.

 

But of course, with that sly smirk, it could only be his sister.

 

Kozue gazed back at her without so much as a nod of acknowledgement. Juri felt that headache coming back. Juri turned away, where normally she would have walked over and sent the girl packing for her dorm. She was after curfew after all. But once again, she felt no desire to involve herself. This once, she felt like being only an observer, not an uppity hall moniter.

 

She set her can down on the ledge next to her, and wrapped her arms around her knees. The curly haired woman stayed that way for a while, until Kozue seated herself next to the fencer, offering her a cigarette. Juri's eyes narrowed, but she shook her head. The cigarette was shook back into it's pack with a flick of a slender wrist. Miki's twin was the first to speak.

 

“Don't often see you around here, Arisugawa…what brings you this way so late at night? I saw you prowling about outside the window. I became….curious.”

 

Juri didn't rise to the bait. She said nothing for a moment, but then replied, “I felt like a walk is all.”

 

Kozue grinned. “That so? You see pretty thoughtful sitting there. Something bugging you?”

 

“And you seem pretty talkative tonight. Something `bugging' you?”

Kozue smirked, and gave a nod of acknowledgment at the return. They stayed sitting that way for a little while, with Kozue swinging her legs off the side of the building, and Juri sitting there composed. Glancing at her from the corner of her eye, Kozue intoned, “Hmmm…sure you don't want that cigarette?”

 

And Juri suddenly did. She was tired…so damn tired of the daily hassles and headaches. Tired of the duels. She stretched out a hand without looking over, and a slender cylinder was placed within her fingertips. She popped the cig between her lips and took the lighter from the younger girl, lighting the end with a practiced ease. Handing the plastic torch back, and inhaling deeply, Juri removed the cigarette with her right hand, balancing her body with her left. She exhaled a pale stream into the night, and felt her tension leave her in that breath.

 

The two women continued sitting, listening to the faint piano music drifting up from below.

“Yeah…much better.”