Utena, Revolutionary Girl Fan Fiction ❯ Vulnerability ❯ Engagement ( Chapter 12 )

A/N: Sorry about my absence. I’ve been lost in reading fanfiction, trying to gather ideas and I think I have some. I’m going to be making a sequel to this, probably not very long though. It’s going to be about Shiori.

It will be femmeslash for all those yuri/shoujo-ai fans out there, but it will have the pairing of Juri and Saionji.

Vulnerability

Chapter 12: Engagement

By: Hinoto Nobukaze

Today was the day.

The day of the duel.

Juri walked through the dorms, trying to find Saionji, since Utena had challenged not only one, but both of them to a duel. She went straight to his dorm, expecting to find him there.

She knocked on the door and received a quaint. “Come in.”

The orange haired woman walked into the room silently.

“You know that you don’t have to come back here anymore.” The green haired man pointed to the calendar.

Juri looked at the calendar and it wasn’t a lie. Today was the last day of the week. She closed her eyes and was silent for a few moments. Asking for his help wasn’t something that came naturally to her.

She noticed the amethyst eyes staring at her. “Is this about the duel you were challenged to?” He asked.

“She didn’t state a name you know. She could have challenged you to a duel for all we know.”

“She was looking at you.” He looked to the table, away from Juri with a disgruntled look on his face. “Besides, she-“ He cut himself off from admitting something shameful to Juri, then said something else to quickly cover it up. “I thought you were just going to just leave.”

“Would you quit being such an ass and just tell me what you were going to say. It’s about Tenjou, isn’t it?”

Saionji winced. He didn’t like admitting his losses to Utena, but he knew he wasn’t the only one as he looked at Juri and narrowed his eyes.

“What?” She replied simply.

“You lost to her as well.”

“I won’t lose this time, and your going to help me.” The orange haired duelist said sternly.

“What?” Saionji questioned.

“I need your help.” She told the green haired man.

“I’m not going to let you and Tenjou make a fool of me.” He glared.

“Why do you think everyone’s out to get you?” Juri asked. “I don’t care about Tenjou any more then you do. Why would I ask you to help me, and then turn the tables?”

“Because it’s the perfect self-centered plan.” Saionji replied, “And it has been done before.”

“It’s different this time.”

“How?”

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this but…”

“What the hell do you want? You’ve been annoying me with your constant babbling about losses in duels.”

“Saionji, let’s not make this difficult. You remember me calling you an unrelenting ass? ” She sat at the table. “You’re acting like one.”

“Fuck you.”

“Look, I’m tired of fighting with you.” She saw his rose signet ring laying on the tabletop. A distance from the ring, she saw Saionji’s hand, lying upon the table, beside of the infamous green book.

She grabbed his hand firmly, and slid the ring on his finger.

“What the hell do you want? I don’t think you’d come all this way to force me to wear this damn ring again. I already told you that I gave up on the duels.” He stared Juri straight in the eyes.

She stared back and replied sternly. “I need you.”

“For what? The duel?”

A hand grasp his shoulder and pulled him in, until they were nose to nose, Juri smiled a small smile and said lowly. “I need you to help me duel Tenjou.”

The green haired man’s face drew a blank expression for the shortest of times, and then he frowned and shoved her back to regain his personal space. “Forget it. Just because we’ve been getting along better then we did before doesn’t mean that you can take advantage of me like Touga and End of the World does.”

“You’ve said that before.” The curly haired duelist’s face regained its frown and serious demeanor.

“I mean it.” He growled. “I’m not going to lose to Tenjou again. You will not make a fool of me again.”

She sighed. He had told her that before too.

“Look, it’s not like that either. I’m perfectly aware that we’re both pawns. You’re not the only victim here.” She leaned in, regaining her space as she rested her hands on his shoulders from across the table.

“You’re admitting your place? How unbefitting of you, Juri.” He closed his eyes and smiled a warm yet victorious smile as he felt something running through his hair. It was Juri’s hands.

“Guess you opened my eyes through that.”

“What?”

“I must admit. It was wrong of me to treat you like I have in the past. “ She swallowed her pride for this moment, yet a part of her was still insisting that she had said too much,

Amethyst eyes narrowed as an incriminating look crossed Saionji’s face. “What are you up to?”

“Ugh. There you go again with your assuming.”

“Like I said, my reasoning in that argument still stands. Because you always are.”

“Well I’m not! “ It was rare to see the leopard loose that cool of hers, and amethyst eyes slightly widened and he kept it in him not to back down from that retort. They were close enough together, and Juri’s hand went back to holding his, but it was gently this time.

“Juri…” He replied softly, the sound even foreign to his own ears as he saw the desperate look within the depths of azure orbs.

She looked down, a sorrowful expression eminent on her face. “I need you. Please Saionji.”

These actions and feeling emitted from Arisugawa seemed foreign to him. Never before had he seen such things from the reputed fencing captain. He had remembered the points in which they had gotten along and he had often wondered about the true meaning of some of her statements.

But, truth be told, Juri didn’t even know.

How familiar was this moment? Over the course of the week, their friendship went from Seitokai members, acting rough, rude and sarcastic, to duelists put against each other in End of the World’s game, to dorm mates, and now dueling partners and dare she admit it, friends…And perhaps…Something more…

Saionji had a hold on her, and she didn’t know why she needed him, but she did. It seemed that the green haired man was the seductive enchanter who had cast a spell so whimsically and slyly on her.

Damn him for that.

Saionji didn’t know if she was planning something or not, but he chose to believe the fact that Juri was the misunderstood individual in his dorm room, telling him the things that she’d tell no one else.

The dark secrets that were shared between the two should-be princes.

“I’ll do this for you, Juri but I won’t be your pawn. Swear that to me at least.” He replied.

“You won’t be my pawn Saionji.” She looked back up at him.

‘You will be my Rose Bride.’ Juri thought to no one but herself.

TBC

Preview for chapter 13:

Saionji and Juri face off against Utena, but in the process of dueling, do Saionji and Juri discover things about themselves, and their relationship as well?

A/N: I pray that was in character. Though they are friends I don’t define their relationship as anything but it has been, except for making Saionji a bit nicer towards Juri and vice versa. I’m praying within the next two chapters, I can make them work.

Please R&R and tell me about it.