Utena, Revolutionary Girl Fan Fiction ❯ War of the Roses ❯ A Matter of Rings ( Chapter 1 )

War of the Roses

Chapter I: A Matter of Rings

Disclaimer: I do not own Revolutionary Girl Utena, the works of Alexander Dumas, or anything else I draw names, quotes, etc. from. They are the property of their respective copyright owners…though quite a few of them should be public domain by now.

'Class, we have a new student joining us this semester. He has just arrived from France, so I hope you will overlook any mistakes he makes with our language. I'll let him introduce himself.' The teacher stepped aside and gestured for the new student to enter. A cane's measured click preceded the young man.

'Good morning. I am Edouard de la Fère; pleased to meet you,' he said in a quiet voice. His Japanese was roughly accented, but the words came smoothly. He bowed to the class with his cane tucked under his arm. He wore a crisp military uniform of an old design; its stark black was relieved only by a pair of red aiguillettes at his right shoulder, red stripes down the sleeves and pants, and gold braid at the cuffs. A single gold pip embossed with a rapier shone on the high, stiff collar. The cane appeared to be ebony with an iron-shod tip and black leather-bound grip. Knee-high boots with rolled tops completed the appearance of a courtier from another era. What caught the eyes of the students in the front rows, however, was the ring he wore on the middle finger of his right hand: a red stone carved with a large-petaled flower set on a broad silver band.

The man wearing this ring was equally remarkable. Flowing hair the color of so-called 'black' tea stopped short of his shoulders, framing a clean-shaven face with prominent cheekbones. Piercing hazel eyes and thin lips gave this long oval face a somewhat grim aspect, an impression only enhanced by the Frenchman's dress and stiff carriage. A natural pallor and high, straight nose combined with his fine, long-fingered hands to lend de la Fère a nobility of countenance that few could ignore. The effect was marred only by his height: fully half of his classmates were tall enough to look down into his eyes.

The teacher cleared his throat and pointed to an empty desk beside the windows to his right. 'Please take your seat, Mr. de la Fère. Welcome to high school, everyone. I am Asako Genjo [1], your homeroom teacher this year. As tenth graders, you are beginning what may be the final stage of our education [2]. One of you may even sit on the Student Council someday. I hope you make the most of your final years at Ohtori Academy.'

De la Fère noted a fierce and eager gleam in the eyes of a few around him-and not a few glances at his ring-when the teacher mentioned the Student Council. Asako continued, 'Now, we will be studying trigonometry this semester. Please open your books to chapter one and we will begin.'

Sines, cosines, and tangents spun through de la Fère's head until his brain ceased struggling to understand the numbers involved and instead blindly copied down formulae. He barely noticed when the relatively young math teacher was replaced by a leather-faced old man. The new teacher's blue eyes marked him as a foreigner, though such indicators were unreliable at best at Ohtori. He introduced himself in a dry rasp, 'Good morning, students. I am Luigi Vampa [3], and I shall be your instructor in European History this year. We shall study the period from the Renaissance through the events of this century. We begin in Italy in 1300…'

The old Italian's voice restored life to de la Fère's eyes. He took notes and asked questions with more animation than he had displayed thus far. After a protracted digression on the feasibility of unifying Italy at that time [4], Vampa apologized to the class and invited the Frenchman to continue the discussion in his office. The bell rang as the student bowed acceptance.

The next class was chemistry, taught by a stern-faced, heavy-set man who introduced himself as Shiba Yoma [5]. He delivered a dry lecture on atomic theory that de la Fère paid only half a mind to. The other half puzzled over his classmates' reaction to his ring. If he had been wearing it on his ringer finger, he would have dismissed it as curiosity, since marriage at his age was extremely rare. However, he noted that several other students also wore rings, mostly plain gold or silver bands, which made the attention paid to his own all the more curious.

As soon as the door closed behind the chemistry teacher at the end of the period, the students pulled lacquered lunch boxes from their bags and gathered around friends' desks. De la Fère and a few other students left to eat elsewhere.

The young Frenchman made his way to an open lawn he had seen on his way to class. He drew a large black cloak from his bag and laid it on the ground as a sort of picnic blanket. An insulated pocket of the same bag yielded a Thermos of clam chowder, a pair of croissants stuffed with ham and cheese, and a bottle of water. He was just finishing the last of his soups when a second student approached. The newcomer wore the standard Ohtori boys' uniform: a teal high-necked jacket and pants of the same colour with black trim on both. Thick round glasses flashed in the sun as he handed a small white envelope to the Frenchman. The missive was sealed by a disk of red wax marked with a rose. The spidery script ran thus:

Your presence is requested at the Student Council meeting at 4:30 this afternoon in the Rose Garden.

Kiryuu Touga

President

'Tell Monsieur le President that I shall be there at the appointed time.' De la Fère slipped the paper into his bag and resumed his meal as the other student turned to leave. 'Wait! I forgot to ask you: where is the Rose Garden?'

'Have you seen a small greenhouse on campus? The one that's hard to see into?' De la Fère nodded. The messenger continued, 'That's the Rose Garden.'

******************

The Rose Garden was indeed a small greenhouse, though its interior was somewhat larger than one would have expected from outside. The walls were lined with waist-high rose bushes blooming in every conceivable colour, even blue and green. An oval wrought-iron table stood in the center of the Garden. Its top was a dense weave of roses and leaves, while its single leg was wrought in the form of three twining thornless stems. Of the four seats facing the door, three were taken: the one on the far left (as one entered) held a hard-faced green haired youth. Beside him was a blue-eyed red-haired boy of the same age. On the far right sat a much younger blue-haired boy with large innocent eyes. All three wore red-and-gold trimmed white jackets cut in roughly the same style as De la Fère's; the elder boys had fringeless, rectangular red and gold epaulettes. The youngest had simple gold-bordered red straps over his shoulders. Each wore pants the same colour as his hair and a looped cord at his shoulder to match.

'You better have a good reason for calling us like this, Touga. If this is one of your jokes…'the door opened to admit the dangling threat as well as the young woman who had uttered it. Rich orange curls framed her stern blue-eyed face, with its sharp, low-bridged nose and strong chin. Her jacket bore fringed round epaulettes in contrast to her colleagues' squared ones. Tight-fitting orange pants completed her garb. Like the other four, she wore a silver ring set with a red stone engraved with a rose.

The youth she addressed brushed his long, flowing red hair from his face before replying lazily, 'It seems End of the World has a longer reach than we thought, Juri. A student informed me today that a Duelist has just arrived from France.'

Juri raised an eyebrow at this intelligence, but said nothing as she took her seat at Touga's left. As she did so, the door opened to admit the young man Touga had alluded to. He bowed deeply to the seated Council and inquired of the red-haired boy facing the door, 'President Kiryuu, I presume? I would like to know why I have been summoned here this afternoon.'

The President rose and beckoned to a teal-uniformed student standing beside a bush of cream-coloured roses. De la Fère recognized him as the messenger who had interrupted his meal earlier. 'Is he the one?' At the messenger's nod, Touga dismissed him 'Thank you; you may go now, Hachi. I will answer your question in a moment, but we are still waiting for someone who will be very interested in what we have to discuss. Allow me to introduce you to the rest of the Council in the meantime. To my right is Vice-President Saionji Kyouichi….' Proud green eyes glared through long wavy locks at the purported Duelist.

'To my left is Arisugawa Juri, Captain of the fencing club….' This was the acid-tongued lady in white and orange.

'And finally, Kaoru Miki, an accomplished pianist and fencer despite his youth.' Miki was the youngest member of the Council, being only in the seventh grade. De la Fère gave a polite bow as each was named.

'Ah! The final party to our discussion has arrived. Allow me to present Tenjou Utena.' The new arrival was a blue-eyed girl an inch or two shorter than de la Fère. Light pink hair rested on the shoulder of her high-collared dark navy jacket. Wide white cuffs, red trim, and brass buttons adorned this garment that flared over tight red shorts. She stood beside de la Fère, as curious as he was at his presence at a meeting of the Student Council. 'Now, you know who we are. Please introduce yourself.'

The black-clad young man bowed again to the council. 'I am Edouard de la Fère. And I ask again: why have I been summoned?'

A faint smile pulled at Touga's lips at the name; Juri unconsciously mirrored him. Saionji demanded, 'What's so funny about that name?'

Touga whispered the reason into his friend's ear. Instantly, the green-haired youth sneered and asked, 'So when do you plan to challenge Ms. Tenjou for the Rose Bride, Count?'

'Monsieur le Vice-President, you are mistaken. My family has never had any title of nobility, much less that of Count. In any event, I would be no more than Viscount since my father is still alive. As for the Rose Bride, I do not duel for any reason besides an insult to my honour,' the Frenchman responded coolly, though not without some strain in his voice.

'So, I see that Tenjou's reputation has gotten as far as France, then, as you fear to duel her.'

'There is no cowardice in living by the dictates of honour. I duel no one, Monsieur Saionji, who gives me no offence. Moreover, no honourable man would claim a bride from another by force of arms.'

'So the coward hides behind "honour!"''

'Enough!' cried Touga. The two men grudgingly yielded to his authority as he declared, 'You are a Duelist of the Rose Seal, are you not? Then you will duel for the Rose Bride with End of the World instructs you to.'

'Rose Seal?' De la Fère blinked in confusion.

'That ring on your finger. It is carved with a rose, isn't it?' Saionji asked sarcastically. The Frenchman laughed.

'Ah, your witness must be mistaken, Monsieur le President. My sigil is a gardenia, not a rose.' Saying this, he pulled off the ring and set it on the table for examination.

'This does appear different from our rings, but I cannot say definitively that it is not a Rose,' Touga declared after several minutes of hushed debate. His eyes fell on a hitherto silent, and thus overlooked, auditor. He called imperiously, 'Himemiya, you're the expert on roses. Tell us what you think of this.

'By the way, this is Himemiya Anthy, the Rose Bride. She is currently engaged to Ms. Tenjou.'

A dark-skinned girl in the standard Ohtori girls' uniform-puffy-shouldered white shirt, green kerchief, and teal miniskirt-took the ring from Touga and stated after a glance, 'This is not a Rose Seal. He is not a Duelist chosen by End of the World.'

She returned the ring to de la Fère and took her place by Utena's side, her dark violet hair and dark skin forming an odd contrast to the other girl's pink locks and pallor. A dark dot stood in the center of her forehead, leading de la Fère to think she was Indian. The Frenchman replaced the ring on his finger and bowed to the council. 'With your leave, Monsieur le President, I believe that is all you want of me?'

Touga made a gesture of dismissal, and the other man turned to leave. However, Saionji called him back with a haughty command. 'Wait, "Count!" I would like to know why you call yourself "de la Fère."'

The other man stiffened and turned slowly, gripping his cane with white knuckles. He delivered his reply in a voice colder than the Ninth Ring and as pitiless [6]. 'I was born with this name, Monsieur, as was every child born to my family for fifteen generations and more.'

Touga laid a hand on his friend's arm in an attempt to restrain him, but Saionji shook him off, intent on provoking the gaijin [7]. 'Bah! I say you're nothing more than a bastard who has laid claim to a fictional name because he has no father to give him a real one.'

De la Fère made no answer in words, but silently pulled a jacket from his pocket and slapped the green-haired youth. 'I may not be a Duelist of the Rose Seal, but I shall not endure such an insult from any living man or woman. I challenge you to a duel, Saionji Kyouichi!'

Saionji stared at the glove in shock. He looked to Touga for support, but the President merely shrugged, as if to say that the situation was beyond his control and that his friend had brought it on himself. Saionji flushed and snatched up the glove, face contorted horribly. 'I accept your challenge, and I shall make you regret issuing it.'

De la Fère bowed coolly, his face an unreadable mask. 'As the challenged party, you have the right to name the weapons to be used as well as the time and place.'

'I name swords.' Saionji lifted his sheathed katana from where it had rested under the table. 'W will duel in this garden as soon as you return with a sword. You will return, won't you?' Without allowing his opponent to answer, he continued, 'We shall duel by the Laws of the Rose Seal: the first to lose his rose loses the duel. Himemiya, prepare us!'

The dark girl silently plucked a green rose and fixed it to the Vice-president's breast pocket. She hesitated a moment before choosing a vermilion bloom for the Frenchman. When she was done, the green-haired youth asked, 'Aren't you going to find a sword?'

'I am armed well enough for a contest such as this. I do not need to draw blood, after all.' De la Fère tapped his cane against the toe of his boot and assumed a fencer's stance.

Both duelists took up positions at opposite sides of the Garden. The others watched from the table, with Utena taking Saionji's seat. Saionji threw aside his scabbard and flew at the Frenchman with sword held high for a killing blow. De la Fère stepped to one side to let him pass, cane held low to trip his foe. Saionji slid face first into a particularly thorny bush of pink roses. He rose to his feet with his rose intact, his face a demonic mask.

He rushed his opponent, slashing wildly at his abdomen. Folded steel met black wood with a deadened ring. The two stood locked together for several seconds, neither one willing to retreat. At length, Saionji pulled his sword out of the cane and retreated a step. The Frenchman took the offensive, feinting at his opponent's rose. Saionji moved to parry, but the cane's iron tip shifted in mid-lunge to thrust into his diaphragm. As he collapsed, gasping for air, de la Fère casually flipped the rose off his chest. He declared coldly as he wiped his face with a handkerchief, 'If we ever have occasion to duel again, Monsieur le Vice-President, it will be for blood.'

He bowed to the council once more, then turned on his heel and departed. Utena and Himemiya followed him out, but left without a word to him. Juri came out as he stood outside the Garden pondering the shortest path to his rooms. 'Did you come to avenge your friend?' he asked.

'No,' she snapped. 'The fool deserved what he got. I just wanted to ask if you were from Orléans'

De la Fère's head snapped around to peer intently at the young woman. He replied warily, 'I am. Why do you ask?'

'I have a friend who is convalescing at a hospital there. He mentioned a fencing school in the city that shares your name.'

The Frenchman smiled with the glow of familial pride. 'My family has run that school for almost as long as we've had our name.' He frowned in concentration for a moment. 'Is your friend named Tsuchiya Ruka?' She nodded. 'A student of that name showed up at the school a few months before I left. My father says he's as good as some fencers who've been training for decades.'

'May I ask why you're in Japan?'

De la Fère coughed into his hand. 'My uncle came here with a few students of his to open a school in Kyoto. My parents thought it would do me good to travel. They've enrolled me at Ohtori because of its reputation for swordsmanship.' Throughout the interview, the Frenchman had been toying with his cane in the manner of one seeking some excuse to leave, yet was unwilling to end the conversation abruptly.

'As Touga said, I'm Captain of the fencing team. We meet in the East gym every afternoon.'

'I will be there tomorrow, Mademoiselle Arisugawa; or should I say, Mon Capitaine? If you will excuse me now, I must see to my quarters. I arrived only last night and I have not had time to properly unpack.' With this, he bowed deeply to Juri and left.

Notes: The websites I post my fics on refuse to recognize superscripts, so I'm forced to resort to numbering my notes with brackets I hope they don't interrupt the flow of the story too much.

1) Asako Genjo is the title of a card from the Legend of the Five Rings (Lo5R) card game. More specifically, a personality card, which represents a person in the world of Lo5R. It's set in a pseudo-Feudal Japan where clans battle with the forces of darkness (and each other). Titles of personality cards from this game will provide the majority of my non-canon Japanese names. They follow the Japanese convention of placing the surname first, as will I in the case of Japanese characters. Whether the names are gibberish or not is another matter entirely.

2) According to a Japanese acquaintance of my family (and what I've read on the matter), high school starts in 10th grade in that country. Just as in the States, some do not continue on to college for one reason or another.

3) Luigi Vampa is the name of a bandit who plays a minor role in Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo.

4) Italy was not a unified country until about 1860.

5) Shiba Yoma is another personality from the Lo5R game. He's one of my favourite units in my deck.

6) According the Dante's Divine Comedy (the part more commonly known as the Inferno), the Ninth and lowest Ring of Hell contained the frozen river Cocytus, which imprisoned traitors and Satan himself. The Archfiend chews on Judas Iscariot, Brutus, and Cassius (the ones who assassinated Julius Caesar) with each of his three mouths.

7) Gaijin is the Japanese word for foreigner. It's a bit more loaded than the English equivalent from what I understand.

General: There is a reason behind my choice of de la Fère as a name (and Orléans as his native city), though revealing them would spoil a couple of significant plot points from The Three Musketeers. However, I can say that Edouard is the name of M. de Villefort's son from The Count of Monte Cristo and has no relation to the rest of his name. I would say that Juri and Touga are probably well enough acquainted with the details of M. Dumas' novel to recognize the name. I would also like to assert that a gardenia could conceivably be mistaken for a rose, particularly if carved on some small surface (such as a ring) and only seen from a fair distance.

For reference, Monsieur (abbreviated M.) is used towards men. Madame (Mme) is used for married women. Mademoiselle (Mlle) is used for unmarried women. Or so I've been informed by my friends who take French (and my copy of The Count of Monte Cristo). It is not unusual to use M. with a title when the person one addresses has one (e.g. M. le Comte)…and Mlle may also be used with a first name (e.g. Mlle Valentine). De la Fère uses this because he is French and is a little too stiff-necked to lay aside his own usages for the universal 'san,' for which I've substituted the English Mr., Ms., or Mrs., when it comes up in dialogue. As for the question of how de la Fère speaks Japanese, please remember that this is Ohtori…rhyme and reason have little place here.

Please leave all comments, corrections, or flames in the Review Box. Lengthy or personal remarks should be addressed to reapermech@hotmail.com