Utena, Revolutionary Girl Fan Fiction ❯ The Only Girl for Me ❯ Where it all Truly Began ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3 - Where It All Truly Began

 

Where it all began was not Ohtori Academy. It was nowhere that anyone would have thought it all began. It all began in a small church near Saionji's childhood home. Touga and Saionji had already been involved in kendo even at such a young age. They had been going back to Saionji's after a hard practice when they noticed a funeral procession. Saionji hadn't cared too much about it but Touga wanted to go inside the church. Being the leader of the two boys, Saionji gave in to Touga's desires and they went. That's where he first saw her. She was crying for the funeral was for her parents. It was a blow to the young girl that cut too deep; she had decided to give up on everything because nothing was eternal. Touga was too young to know what to do then, and so it began.

 

It was then that End of the World dug his talons into all three of them. From that moment on, the destiny of Touga, Utena and Saionji became intertwined. It was so easy to look back at that moment as the day everything was decided. It was the day he decided he wanted to be like End of the World. It was the day that Saionji had been convinced that Touga knew of something eternal and wished to possess it himself. And it was the day that Utena decided to become like a prince she perceived End of the World to be.

 

Saionji had insisted on coming with him back to this church, even though he had no idea what was going on. Touga found it amusing that only Anthy, End of the World and him had any memory of such an important girl. Casual discussion with Saionji on the way to the church had revealed that Saionji hadn't even remembered the duels that the Student Council had preformed for years. In his mind he and Anthy used to be a couple and she had left him for being abusive. As a result he had now decided to never hit a woman again and to redeem himself in Anthy's eyes. Saionji had always believed that he truly loved Anthy, even when his memories were intact. Now that fantasy had become truth thanks to the revolution of the world that Utena caused.

 

The church was as elegant as ever and as empty as the first time they had ever come there. Its stain glass windows, accented by the beautiful stonework, created an ambiance of worship that had to be admired at the least. They walked side by side but in silence, Touga did not know what to do here and Saionji had no idea why they needed to come her. They walked up to the altar of the church and Touga looked back at the pews from the raised level.

 

“What are we doing here anyways, Touga?” Saionji asked, finally breaking the silence.

 

“Do you remember ever coming here before, Saionji?” Touga responded, asking a question to answer a question.

 

“Yes of course. Back when we were kids, we saw a funeral procession and you just had to go see what was inside the church.”

 

“Do you remember what was inside the church?” Touga queried.

 

“A girl, she had lost her parents and you wanted to help her out,” Saionji chuckled after that, “You were the chivalrous playboy even back then.”

 

“Do you remember how I helped her? Or if I even did?”

 

“What is with all these questions, Touga?” Saionji asked enraged, “This all seems like a big waste of time.”

 

“Then you don't remember?”

 

Saionji was quiet; he wasn't going to admit a weakness to Touga, even if they were friends. To admit to such a weakness was not something Saionji ever felt comfortable with doing. Instead he asked again, “What are we doing here, Touga?”

 

“You're the one who said to never question Anthy,” Touga grinned as he answered his friend, “Or else I would have asked her why I had to come here.”

 

“Oh come off it Touga,” Saionji replied, not at all amused by Touga's taunting, “You must have some idea why we are here.”

 

Now it was Touga's turn to have no response. He honestly didn't know what was so important about this place. All it did was reveal that deep down inside all he really cared about was power. It was here where he witness real power, real manipulation. Seeing it made Touga hungry for it for the rest of his life. And as much as Touga liked to think he had become a better man, part of him still lust over power.

 

“I'm leaving!” Saionji barked out and began to head back to the doors of the church.

 

“No wait!” Touga called out after him suddenly having a revelation about what a church is good for, “I have something I need to tell you first.”

 

Saionji stopped, “What Touga? I'm getting sick of these games.”

 

“You were never my friend. Not since the day we first came here,” Touga casually announced.

 

“What!?” Saionji demanded from him. A rage was boiling in him at the revelation that Touga had just made.

 

“After the last time we were here, I did nothing but use you in the name of my own selfish desires. I manipulated you and used you because you were convenient to use,” Touga told him, his tone still as casual as if discussing the weather.

 

“Touga,” Saionji said his anger palatable in his voice, “You have to be joking.”

“Afraid not,” Touga added, “In fact do you remember that exchange diary you kept with Anthy? The one you gave me to keep when you were suspended from the Academy? I burned it, I didn't care to keep your precious keepsake around so I burned it.”

 

That seemed to be the final straw for Saionji's rage. He charged at Touga with a fury he had never witnessed in his friend except for one other time. The time that he had tried to kill Utena on the dueling field and Touga leapt in front of the blow. Saionji moved so fast as he charged Touga that Touga could hardly get out of the way. He crashed to the ground as the force of Saionji's body came into contact with him.

As Touga attempted to get back to his feet he noticed something he hadn't noticed before. Saionji had brought a sword. Touga rolled to the side just in time to miss the killing blow meant for his chest. This wasn't like the last time he could tell. Earlier when he and Saionji had fought Saionji seemed to be being careful about not making killing strikes. This time however, he was out for blood.

 

Touga was grateful that he had spent time practicing combat. He was grateful that he had been training in martial arts since he was eight-years-old. For if he hadn't been practicing, if he had never been trained, he'd been dead by now, struck down by Saionji's blade. Unfortunately, with out a weapon of his own he was merely prolonging the inevitable. Saionji was too good a swordsman, even enraged as he was, to dodge forever or find an opening big enough to strike when he was purely aggressive as he was.

 

His only chance to hurt him without a weapon would to be to make a sacrifice lunge. Take a sword stroke but strike him back as well. But if he did that he had a feeling his first strike would be his last strike.

 

Instead Touga tried to keep ahead of his friend's blows. Each strike a killing stroke, each dodge another second of life. It seemed almost dance like between the two. Unfortunately the tune they danced to was quick to run out. Saionji's blade stabbed straight, cutting deep into Touga's chest. Touga coughed harshly as the blade penetrated him completely. He felt it odd that it hadn't started to hurt yet. Saionji pulled the blade back out still in a rage and with the blade's removal, Touga collapsed to the ground.

 

* * *

 

L-ko, K-ko and J-ko continued their sadistic and voyeuristic pleasure of watching these new events unfold. They had all mutually decided that Drama Club was the best club in Ohtori Academy because of the fringe benefits you get for being a member. Not many would see what they see with the clarity that they see it.

 

J-ko started first this time, while K-ko lay on the ground holding a single flower up, suggesting that she was supposed to be dead. J-ko looked at K-ko's body and said in a mournful cry, “Oh for shame! My best friend has gone and died and it's all my fault!”

 

L-ko picked now to enter the scene herself and inspected the scene, “How was it all you're fault?” she asked J-ko seriously.

 

J-ko began to mime out crying, “Can't you tell, she told me all her deepest secrets and I killed her for it.”

 

“Why did you do that?” L-ko asked again tilting her head to the side.

 

“Because, I didn't like the secrets she told me. They were all lies!” J-ko shouted she seemed more upset than mournful now. “She shouldn't have told me them if they were all lies!”

 

“If they were all lies why would she tell you them all?” L-ko continued to query as question marks appeared in the shadows over her head.

 

“Well… because… Oh no! They were all true. I was the one who was lying!” J-ko announced mournful once again.

 

K-ko suddenly popped her head up and said, “It's okay my friend, you didn't even really kill me. I was just laying down.”

 

“Oh joy! Now I know the truth and we can be friends again!” J-ko proclaimed.

 

“I'm afraid not,” K-ko said seriously as she stood up, “I told you I don't like liars, so I can't be friends with you any more.”

 

“But what if I gave you these flowers. They are your favorite kind.” J-ko now revealed a bouquet of flowers and presented them to K-ko.

K-ko considered the gift carefully and said, “Why it was just what I needed, how did you know?”

 

L-ko responded before J-ko could, “She didn't I bought them and gave them to her for you.”

 

K-ko looked back and forth between to the two of them, “Oh how wonderful, it'll be just what I need for later,” she responded with happiness in her singsong voice. She took them and held them up like it was a weapon.

 

“Of course, now you can find your happiness!” J-ko said, “I bet you know just where to go!”

All three finished their mystery play with the gleeful words, “Do you know? Do you know? Do you need to know?”

 

* * *

Touga didn't know where he was anymore; there was no light, no darkness, just him. And there was also something else. Something he couldn't quite recognize but it smelled so familiar, he could feel it moving closer and closer to him but he didn't know what it was. He wasn't afraid though, there was no fear her.

 

A hand touched his chest and he felt pain, he had only felt pain like this one other time. It wasn't a searing hot pain it was like something was being pulled out of him. It was then that he heard a voice, her voice, Utena's voice. It was whispering he could barely make it out. “Rose of nobility! Please come forth!”

 

Touga felt as though something had been pulled out of him. His eyes began to flutter as light came back. He looked at his chest and found no wound or blood from where Saionji stuck him. All he found was a golden sword, in his hand. It reminded him of the duels, when Saionji had pulled a similar sword from Touga's chest. It was the sword of his heart and soul. Yet it wasn't the same. It had the same length and style, except it now had a hand guard similar to the Sword of Dios or Utena's sword. He only had a second to realize he was armed again before an angry Saionji attacked again.

 

Touga raised his own sword to parry off the blow that Saionji struck with. He fought himself back to his feet. He parried blow after blow as Saionji struck harder and harder with each strike. Touga had never fought Saionji when he was so enraged and never imagined that his friend could be so brutal in his attacks. But Touga wasn't going to kill Saionji, even if that was Saionji's intention for him. To disarm and restrain him would be more than sufficient.

 

And for Touga, few things are more certain than a sword duel. For him fighting for something important, namely his life, makes him virtually unstoppable. Thought and contemplation becomes action for him. He continued to parry these impossibly strong blows looking for the perfect opening; just a slight miscalculated stance or strike for Saionji would be all that was needed to happen.

 

So when Saionji overstepped an overhead thrust, Touga quickly capitalized on it. He struck Saionji's blade to the side in a parry and the dropped down and kicked Saionji's legs out from underneath him. Saionji's sword flew into the air the point coming down as it sailed to the floor. It was heading directly for Saionji's head, something that was realized as Saionji's face took on a look of absolute terror until a sword stroke from Touga knocked the blade off course and it crashed into the stone floor of the church.

 

Touga put his foot on Saionji's chest and said, “I'm not going to kill you. Even though that is what you just had planned for me. You weren't my friend then, but you are now,” Touga told him as Saionji's rage turned terror had begun to subside as well.

 

Touga held his hand down to help Saionji up. Saionji looked at it for a moment before accepting it, “What I want to know is where that sword came from,” Saionji remarked back.

 

Touga looked at the sword as it gleamed in his hand. “That's a good question,” he lied to his friend, “But I plan on putting it to good use.”

 

As they walked out together Touga looked at his chest where Saionji had struck and found no blood or wound. He realized that something that was supposed to happen had done just that. He looked back to the altar of the church and thought for a moment he saw a girl standing there. When he focused his eyes in that direction he saw no one.