Utena, Revolutionary Girl Fan Fiction ❯ Tears of Love Part II: Pretty and Cruel ❯ Falling Down ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter II: Temptation of the Devil

I awake with a start, my body jolting forward from its formerly peaceful slumber. As my breath returns and my heartbeat slows to normal, I wipe my now sweating forehead and sleepily say aloud, "More dreams… for once I really wish you would just leave me alone, Shiori." I stand up and stretch my arms, feeling some of the kinks in my shoulders pop, results of a rough night of tossing and turning. After letting out a rather loud yawn, something I rarely do even when alone, I walk over to the door and open it. I rest my head against the doorframe and sigh as my eyes take in all the splendor of the rising sun. Rays of red and orange sunlight break through the darkness of the previous evening, illuminating the sky. I close my eyes as a warm morning breeze softly caresses my face, then continues through my hair, brushing it back from my eyes gently. Eyes still closed, I drop my right arm down to my side, hand open. As the wind blows against my palm, I close it slightly, my fingers grasping the air for just a second before it is released and blows away, leaving me. I let my open hand remain still for a moment before I clench it into a fist. I look away from the sun now, my head turned to the ground as I slide down the doorframe to the floor. As my hair falls down around my already tearing eyes, an unrelentless feeling of longing washes over me, one that I have long denied, and I find myself unable to do anything except give in to it, words leaving my lips that I thought I would never hear myself say, "Shiori… without you, all I am is alone…"

I wait a few seconds after pushing the doorbell and as the door opens, I am greeted with a smile. "Jury! Hi, it's good to see you, um won't you come in?" Utena Tenjou smiles as she steps away from the doorway, giving me room to enter. I step inside and she closes the door behind me. "It's really good to see you again, how have you been?" She inquires, walking me down the hallway towards the living room area. "Ok, sorry to just drop in like this, but I have some news I think you and Anthy would both like to know." Looking a little puzzled for a moment, she then smiles and invites me to sit down while she goes to get Anthy. After sitting down, I examine the room around me, realizing that this is actually my first time here. It's a nice little room, very clean, and quite quaint. As my eyes search through the room, they focus in on a picture frame sitting on the table in front of me. Inside the frame is a picture of Anthy and Utena, embraced in a hug and looking very happy. I stare at that picture for a few seconds until Utena returns with Anthy at her side. At Anthy's presence I immediately stand from my chair. Anthy smiles her usual smile and greets me, "Hello Ms. Jury, it's nice to see you again! I hope you've been well." I look down and blush a little, trying to hide my awkwardness, "I've been fine, thanks. You seem to be doing well too. Again, I'm sorry for just dropping in like this," I clear my throat and force away the redness from my face, replacing it with seriousness, "but I have some news I think you both should know." Utena takes Anthy's hand and they both sit down on the couch adjacent from me. I clear my throat once again and relate the events of the previous day. After I am finished, they look at each other then look at me. Utena is the first to speak, "Well, that sounds like good news, and I Anthy and I are both very grateful for you're willingness to release her from her duties, but that last thing Touga said kind of confuses me. I'm not sure what he meant, but Jury, please be careful. Believe me, that Touga always has something planned." As the words leave her mouth, I look up from the floor and into her eyes. I have seen many emotions in those blue eyes; fear, anger, but most memorably determination. Today they are bright, filled with the presence of her lover Anthy by her side. My eyes then drift down to Utena's right hand, clasping Anthy's tightly, and I can't help but feel awkward. Then, suddenly, my feelings of awkwardness turn to jealousy and I quickly stand and look away, "I thank you for your time. I must be going to the meeting now." I turn and head towards the door. As I am about to pass through the door, Utena calls out to me, "You know that you are always welcome here, Jury," She says in her usual, tender voice. Without turning, I slow down for long enough to reply, "Thank you," in a soft voice and then I go out the door. As I turn onto the sidewalk I feel my feelings of jealousy grow, my hands now balled into fists, my eyes gazing towards the darkening sky. "Damn you, Utena Tenjou…" I seethe, "Love comes so easily to you, even without the power of Dios…" Seemingly agreeing with my mood, the darkening sky grows even darker as light droplets of rain begin to fall. And as I step onto the elevator leading to the Student Council meeting roof, I feel my stomach fill with a deep feeling of dread.

As the elevator reaches the top level, I exit and hurry over to the meeting area. As usual, Touga is leaning against the wall. "Sorry I'm late," I quickly say to him as I slide into my seat next to Miki. "It's alright, now that you're here we can get down to business. Our main order of the day is the current absence of a Rose Bride, a problem which I believe I have solved." As the words slide from Touga's tongue, his hand casually waves towards the darkness behind him. I gaze into the darkness as the person hiding within comes slowly into view. But before anything, I notice the first thing I always notice about this particular girl: her deep violet hair. Shiori's violet hair. A sudden flashback of my most realistic dream yet bursts into my mind and I swear I can almost hear Shiori's mocking triumphant words, laughing at me. I am reminded immediately of my first reunion with Shiori not more than a month ago. This time I am not as pleased. "I believe you all know Ms. Shiori Takatsuki. She will be replacing Anthy Himemiya as the current Rose Bride." I glare at him deeply. "What is this, Touga?" I say to him, my voice tinted with strong anger. He merely smiles his usual smile at me, "What is what, Ms. Arisugawa? I am merely filling the space that you left when you decided to let Anthy go. There MUST be a Rose Bride, you know, that is End Of The World's rules, not mine. Now take your dear Bride home, that's an order from the head of the student council." I scoff at him, clearing showing my disrespect for his position above me, but I know I must obey. If this is indeed an order from End Of The World, then I have no choice. I look again into the eyes of my new Bride, those same violet eyes that I once gazed into with such longing and desire. Shiori then smiles and bows, saying "I am your bride now, Ms. Jury, I will do whatever you instruct me to." I blush instinctively, for a second almost forgetting all the pain and sorrow that Shiori has caused me. It doesn't last long. I stand and look sternly into my bride's smiling face, "Good. Then let's go." I then turn and head towards the elevator, Shiori following close behind.

As we walk silently towards my dorm, I notice that the darkening sky has lightened up a bit, allowing some sunshine to peek through the dark clouds. I am deep in my thoughts, my feelings a swirl of confusion, anger, and even love. Suddenly, Shiori's voice cuts through my thoughts, "You seem troubled, Ms. Jury?" My face remains unchanged, though a little bit of anger and sarcasm seep out through my voice, "I am fine, "Rose Bride", thank you for your concern." I don't see it, but I swear I can feel Shiori grin at she replies, "Well, if there's anything I can do to help, Ms. Jury, I'd be more than happy to." I decide to let her last remark hang in the air as we continue walking, silently, towards my dorm.

I unlock the door and enter my dorm. I slide off the jacket of my student council uniform and rest it on the back of the chair sitting in front of my desk. Shiori then enters behind me, looking over the room with concern, saying "Well, it seems to be a bit dusty, Ms. Jury. Shall I clean it for you?" My anger and frustration having reached its peak, I turn and grab Shiori by the shoulders, pushing her back into the wall. "Cut the act, "Rose Bride," I say to her harshly, "the only reason I am agreeing to this is so that Anthy can have her freedom. Don't get the wrong idea." Shiori doesn't even flinch. She just looks up into my eyes and grins, "Oh? And here I thought you loved me, Ms. Jury." I let go of her shoulders and turn away, my anger and frustration having left me. "Let's just get some rest…" With that, I crawl into my bed and pull the covers up around my shoulders, resting my head softly on my pillow. Just as my eyes begin to close, I feel a tug pulling my sheet. I turn over and find myself staring into deep, dark violet eyes. "What are you doing, Shiori?" I say to her, a bit startled. Instead of smiling her usual wicked smile, Shiori's face remains completely serious as she replies, "I am getting some rest, as you instructed me to." Shiori's body suddenly being so close to mine forces me to blush, but I find myself suddenly too tired and weary to argue anymore. "Fine then," I reply, "Goodnight." I turn back over, my face still rather hot from blushing, and close my eyes. As I feel myself begin to slip into the vastness of a deep sleep, I feel Shiori's lips softly press against my ear and I barely hear her quietly whisper, with a slight tinge of seductiveness, "Goodnight, Ms. Jury…"