Utena, Revolutionary Girl Fan Fiction ❯ The Other Side Of The Picture ❯ Bleeding Confusion ( Chapter 3 )

A/N: Well, here I am with chapter 3. This fic is the best thing I’ve ever done! Oh, I love your reviews! Thank you SO much! There are more Shadow Girls, more tension, mixed emotions and more Saionji. Don’t you know the world needs more of the green haired wonder?

Big thanks to my beta reader! She’s great, and as always, be sure to check out her stuff! Her pen name is Oneesan no Miroku Houshi!

As you know, I put song lyrics in each chapter; I’ll do that at the front of every chapter. There is a lot of direct things from Unspoken Heart in here, but I did have permission from Oneesan no Miroku Houshi to use them, so please don’t spread falsehoods about plagiarism.

Now, read, enjoy and review!  

The Other Side of the Picture

Chapter 3: Bleeding Confusion  

Why am I searching? What is it I want?

The answer surely is somewhere ahead.

My heart will go on the moving world.

Hiding my yet unseen strength

Hikari e – One piece

In the bedroom of the orange rose, Juri sat on her bed, looking at the opened locket with a look of utter confusion.

She seemed almost in a trance-like state as she stared at the golden locket in her hand.

“What’s wrong with me?” The orange haired young woman threw down her fists atop of her feathery, sophisticated bed, her fists sinking into the soft material.

She looked at her dresser; two pictures remained a top the wooden exterior. One was of Shiori, the other of the new found one she held close to her heart. Below Shiori’s depiction, there was a smaller picture of the previous occupant of the locket.

‘Why did I change this picture anyway…I mean. Shiori is my childhood friend…’ She gazed at the minute picture. ‘Why did I take this out?’

The girl gazed at her locket. ‘And put this one in. Especially when I never thought I’d have any sort of attraction towards someone like this…It’s not likely of me to fall for someone of this status.’

“This is all too puzzling.”

Back at the kendo hall, Saionji stood outside, gazing up at the sky, an inquisitive look plastered to his features.

‘Why can’t I stop thinking about that damn locket...It’s not of my concern…I mean, why do I care who she loves? So what if it’s not Shiori.’ He clenched his fist. ‘What’s in that damn locket mean nothing to me, right?’

He drug a hand down his countenance. ‘Perhaps a walk would help ease my mind.’

The green rose duelist began to amble slowly and offhandedly down the side walk, with his shinai swung over his shoulder.

Juri took a shower and changed into some casual wear; a brown coat, white turtleneck, and blue jeans. She looked out of her dorm room window.

“Hmmmm….The sky seems gray.” She stated the obvious.

The girl looked to her umbrella leaned up against the wall. The orange haired woman picked it up and held it erect with a graceful hand.

“Might as well take you, my friend. It’s my luck it’ll start raining. “She looked out of the window. ‘After all, those dark clouds seem to be hanging over me particularly low lately.’

Juri walked along, her umbrella hanging loosely at her side. No one seemed to be in attendance. It was after school, and she had figured that everyone knew of the precipitation clouds, seeing how they were obvious, and decided to stay indoors. She walked over to the place the student council had always held their meetings. It seemed unoccupied without Touga, Miki, Anthy and Saionji present. It was simply a bunch of empty ashen furniture on a flat plain.

A single crystalline raindrop hit her cheek, the splash causing her to instinctively shut that eye.

With a swift rustle then a poof, a black umbrella opened in the rain. The rain began to fall at a stable pace. She stood there, pondering her still unsettled feelings to herself as the rain could be heard steadily hitting the ground at a rapid, yet calming pace.

After standing in peace for what seemed like an eternity. The duelist finally advanced towards the edge of the building. Because of the angle, every now and then, the rain would hit her face, leaving a cold tingle to her skin. A gentle breeze blew as a lock of orange hair blew into her view point.

As she unhurriedly moved it away, and could see a solitary figure advancing down the empty sidewalk below. Seeing who it was, she narrowed her eyes.

Down below, Saionji was walking to his dorm, trying to get out of the rain. ‘Damn rain.’ He mutually swore. His evergreen locks were plastered to his face, wet and silky due to the rain. ‘I’m getting soaked out here, my luck I’ll catch a cold over this.’

High above, remaining unnoticed. Juri remained unspoken watching him from above, as a hawk would its prey.

‘How I loathe him.’ She thought to herself.

She began to exploit on that previous thought, wondering if she truly did loathe him. ‘I know he’s got some type of secret hidden within his heart. The little things that make people like us so cold and sarcastic. Sometimes, when we have a Seitokai meeting, when he stands beside me I can feel the inner turmoil and sheer sadness radiating through his form. I hate that silent sense of understanding we share.’

Juri narrowed her eyes. ‘Like hell I’m letting him get close to me…especially not now.’

There was a long silence as Juri stared down at him, nothing but the rain could be heard from his height.

‘Yet…’

‘I still feel sympathy for that damned bastard.’

Down below, Saionji had stopped and looked around for a sign of existence below and found none.

Juri seemed intrigued. ‘He knows there’s no one down there, not on a cold, rainy day like this. Who’s he trying to kid?’

Suddenly, as if Saionji had changed in attitude, he slumped over in the rain, letting the arctic droplets thrash against him.

Alone.

Just as she was.

‘I bet he feels alone in this world too.’ Azure eyes softened at the crumpled form below.

She tilted her head down and narrowed her eyes, trying to interpret into Saionji’s feelings. Since his hair was pulled back. The orange haired woman could see his face clearly. His expression was one of misery and melancholy. She clenched a wet fist.

‘Stop looking like that! That look that seems to say you’ve been through hell! Tell me that you hate me! No matter how much we make sarcastic remarks. I wish that you’d tell me how much you hated me, so perhaps I can forget about these feelings.’ She closed her eyes. ‘I hate you, and yet…’

Her gaze softened more as she began to think of how she wished to ease Saionji’s pain, by whatever means necessary. Juri then later on found herself countering those thoughts as her eyes widened.

‘Where the hell did that come from?’ She intrigued herself. ‘Damn you Kyouichi for making me feel this way!’

The orange haired young woman let out a sigh. This was utterly confusing! She permitted out a small laugh to herself at the thought of Saionji’s face if he ever knew she’d been thinking of him in that fashion.

The orange haired girl blinked a bit and looked around dumbfounded at her surroundings. She was at the bottom of Ohtori Academy.

‘How in the hell did that happen?’ She asked herself psychologically.

The orange rose duelist looked in front of herself to see the kendoist standing there. She approached to drooping flower as if she were just casually walking past it. In haste, she could see Saionji frantically trying to regain his composure.

‘I knew it. Never one to show your innermost weakness, right Kyouichi?’ She thought slyly to herself as she let a crafty smile creep onto her face. ‘Heh, neither do I.’

The leopard narrowed her eyes as she walked straight past his figure; his eyes piercing hers, both exchanging glares as they passed. Saionji twisted to go, but his sandal hit a patch of water, causing him to slip. As he did, the sound of an umbrella falling against a hard surface could be heard.

They both froze there, her arms wrapped around him, not letting him fall; suspended like a snapshot of a dip in the tango. The look on Saionji’s face was one of surprise.

Their shadows are reflected onto the same non-descript wall of Ohtori Academy, which was occupied by the shadow playgirls, A-ko and B-ko.

B-ko was sitting cross-legged with a crystal ball mounted on a table, and A-ko was sitting across from her, looking into the crystal ball.

B-ko was the first to speak. “There comes a time in your future, young one that you must learn to understand yourself. You must take the chances that are worth taking, though you hesitate at first.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” A-ko asked, confused by B-ko’s previous statement.

“You’ll know in good time.” The other figure spoke, before a giant puff of smoke consumed her and she was gone.

“WAIT!” A-ko yelled. “Oooh!” She arose and stomped a foot. “Why do things always have to be so obscure to me?”

She looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well, since I don’t know what this means now, I’ll follow my intuition and natural defenses.”

“What the hell are you doing?” The emerald haired kendoist asked below her.

“Damn it.” Was his incoherent reply.

“Why didn’t you let me fall?” He asked.

“Wouldn’t want you to give Anthy something else to clean.” She shot, her defenses kicking into high as she still held his wet form below her.

He glared and narrowed his eyes. “Excuse me for slipping in the rain!”

“Heaven forbid you break your precious shinai, or thank me for that matter.” Juri retaliated.

“I’d thank you, if you were worth my time.” Saionji shot back.

‘If you only knew.’

“Don’t make me lessen the Seitokai by a member again.” Juri replied.

“Spare me.” He dead panned. “I don’t have time to waste on people like you.”

She put a hand on her hip in anger as he stood upright. He was really getting irritating. “You’re not worth the “time” you speak of.”

‘God how I hate you…For more then you’ll ever know.’

Then she decided to add something more. “You know, at least I’m worth something.”

The female duelist turned and walked away nonchalantly, not bothering to look back at Saionji’s expression as she did, but all the same, she was wondering what he was thinking.

‘Why all of a sudden do I care about him?’ She asked herself. ‘Why did I feel the urge to kiss him? I’d never feel that way towards any man. So…How is he different?’

TBC

Preview for chapter 4:

Can the heart within find it’s answers…or will it remain confused in the darkness?

A/N: Yeah, I made this chapter longer this time. Sorry for not posting sooner. If you didn’t completely understand this, read ‘The Unspoken Heart’ by Oneesan no Miroku Houshi. Juri’s feelings are explained more there, since this is based off of her one shot, all rights to this idea belong to her, I was in NO WAY trying to plagiarize her stuff, especially since she’s my beta reader.

Please R&R!