Utena, Revolutionary Girl Fan Fiction ❯ The Most Unexpected thing... ❯ Chapter 9 (Final) ( Chapter 9 )

Revolutionary Girl Utena: The most unexpected thing...

Part Nine

Touga looked up from the badly exhausted Saionji, taking in Juri and Wakaba thoughtfully. They stood together, talking happily, the shorter brown haired girl nearly bouncing with joy. 'I wonder if Shiori ever expected that?' the redhead man wondered.

Reminded of the purple haired vixen he looked over, smiling to himself slightly. Sitting side by side Shiori and Nanami talked eagerly, clearly enjoying each other's company. 'I didn't think my sister had it in her,' he mused. They were an odd couple, his intense blonde sister and the sultry seducer, but an oddly fitting one as well.

"My brother's watching us," Nanami noted to Shiori softly.

Shiori looked up, then dismissed him with a glance. 'Not that he was bad,' she thought as she turned her gaze back to Nanami, 'but he wasn't great, anyway.' She gave Nanami a smile, "I'm almost looking forward to seeing Juri trounce him."

"We'll see," Nanami said, "he has beaten her before."

Shiori looked over to where Juri and Wakaba stood, "Maybe, but I think Juri wasn't fighting for someone then."

Nanami didn't look away from Shiori's face as she firmly agreed, "That can make all the difference."

Shiori felt herself blushing, though she wasn't quite sure why.

Juri sat on a bench, drinking from a bottle of water as Wakaba sat beside her. "Thank you for what you did," Wakaba said softly, the brown haired girl looking at her caringly.

Juri flashed Wakaba a smile, "It was my pleasure." A bit more seriously the orange haired woman said, "He hurt you, not once but twice. Paying him back was worth it."

Wakaba bent forward a bit, laying her head on Juri's shoulder. "Would it bother you if I admitted seeing you do that to him felt pretty good?" she said softly.

Juri laughed quietly, the vibration shaking Wakaba slightly. "You're human," she said, "just like everyone else. Besides, Saionji was an ass."

Wakaba snickered at that.

"Now there's just Touga," Juri murmured. She looked down at Wakaba, "I should warn you, he's beaten me before." She didn't mention the duels to her, though Juri knew she would have to eventually. It was too great of a secret to keep from someone... you loved.

"You mean in the Duels?" Wakaba looked up at her to ask. She smiled gently and squeezed her arm, "I believe in you, Juri."

Juri blinked in surprise, trying to absorb the first thing that Wakaba had said, "You know about the Duels?"

"There were always rumors around the campus," Wakaba said softly, "and those signet rings are a bit of a clue."

Juri looked at her signet, gleaming in the hall's light. "You've got a point," she admitted softly. She took Wakaba's hand, "I'll win this for you."

Looking up at the clock Juri began to walk over to her place, only to be stopped by Wakaba. She undid the scarf from her uniform, tying it around Juri's arm, "For luck."

"Thanks," Juri smiled, moving over to wait for Anthy.

Anthy approached the tall duelist with the two roses in hand, dressed in her usual school girl's uniform. An fresh orange rose was put into Juri's pocket, the scent swirling around them as the girl smiled up at her slightly, "Good luck." She paused a second before adding, "And Utena said you should go kick his ass.

Juri laughed suddenly, looking over to see a grinning Utena giving her a thumbs up. "Thanks," Juri chuckled.

Touga watched as Anthy walked to him, his red rose glowing softly in the light. He gaze Anthy a respectful nod, but his focus was on Juri.

Together they walked over to the squared off dueling arena, a large open space for them to move about in. Touga raised his sword gracefully, giving Juri a confident smile, his eyes dropping to the cloth tied around Juri's arm.

"I hope you weren't hurt in the last match," Touga purred.

Juri ignored him, centering herself with a steady breath.

"Fighters, take your positions," the referee called out. Juri and Touga each walked to their place, their eyes meeting in a searching moment. "Ready," the referee paused for a moment before loudly declaring, "fight!"

Touga stood statue still, his guard nearly perfect as they stood there silently, ignoring the call to battle. A whisper of a smile teased his face, but his eyes were hard as stone, focused entirely on the moment.

'This is going to end fast,' Juri realized, 'the first move will be it.' She studied him, searching for the opening, the tiny moment of weakness that could spell victory. Seconds dragged on to a minute, then Juri saw it!

Her orange hair streamed behind her like a banner as Juri shot across the arena, sword swinging up as she moved. Touga tried to put his sword between the blade and his rose, there was a sound like a bell ringing, metal breaking, and as the larger piece of Touga's sword flew into the distance as the rose petals blew around them...

"And I thought only Utena did that," Touga managed, gazing down in honest shock at the broken hilt of his blade.

"JURI!!!" Wakaba hit her with a flying hug, sending the taller girl crashing down to the floor of the arena. "I knew you could do it!" she squealed happily.

"Congratulations," Touga managed as the entire arena descended into bedlam, the young women cheering for Juri.

"Thanks," Juri wasn't really paying attention, holding Wakaba as she got back to her feet. "We won," she said quietly.

"There goes my revenge scheme," Shiori said, but she didn't sound too disappointed as the stands around them emptied of students heading towards the victor.

"So what are you going to do now?" Nanami asked.

Shiori gave Utena and Anthy a chance to rush down to the celebration before admitting to Nanami, "I'm not sure."

"I think we were going to go have a talk," Nanami rose, offering the other girl her hand, "why don't we do that?"

Shiori took the hand, letting Nanami pull her up to her feet. "I'd like that," Shiori smiled, meeting Nanami's eyes happily.

Epilogue: Everything After.

Juri grinned as she climbed behind the wheel of their honeymoon roadster, looking over at Wakaba adoringly. The duels, the tournament, they were all in the distant past now, though the consequences were still being felt.

Shiori stood on the steps watching them go, her eyes shining with happiness. Standing beside her Nanami held that delicate hand, the matching bracelets they always wore gleaming. They had come together sometime after the tourney, an unusual couple to say the least. Nanami lost her followers for awhile, but she regained her standing eventually.

Utena and Anthy moved forward, a blushing Utena still holding the flowers with a odd smile. Wakaba still had moments when she showed jealousy about that, but Juri couldn't blame her. She still had moments about Shiori.

"Ready?" Wakaba asked with a smile, leaning forward to kiss Juri.

"Always," Juri whispered back, starting up the car. They pulled out onto the road, Juri smiling to herself, 'Not that I'd trade Wakaba for anything.' She looked at she smiling lover, 'Not for anything in the world.'

The End