Utena slowly tilted her hand this way and that so that the sunlight
played
on the surface of her Rose Signet. She studied it thoughtfully, a small
shiver of discomfort running down her spine for a reason she couldn't
quite
place.
"Ooh, that's so pretty..!" Wakaba cried, suddenly pushing herself up
onto
her arms. "..That rose pattern.." she breathed dreamily. She stared
down at
her friend's ring almost as though it had never existed before. "Say,
that's
our school emblem, isn't it?" Her voice chirped with excited curiosity.
"Sure looks like it." Utena stared up at the signet blankly,
wondering why
Wakaba suddenly had such great interest in an object which she had
always
ignored before.
"Who'd you get it from?"
"A prince on a white horse." Utena's gaze slid through the signet
into a
memory that had recently been haunting her more frequently than ever
before.
" 'This ring should guide thee to me.' "
Wakaba worried her brow. "What's that about?"
Tired blue eyes drifted shut as Utena slowly let her hand droop down
to
rest against her forehead. "I think someone said that to me when he
gave me
the ring, but I was real' little then, so I don't remember too well."
Her
eyes fluttered open again, peering upward at the uncommonly majestic
sky.
"I know what you mean." Wakaba closed her own eyes and folded her
arms
across her chest as if to shelter her own memories. "When I was a
little
girl, my mama said to me, 'You're the princess of the Onion Kingdom!'
and I
actually believed her."
"So your head's always been shaped like that, hunh?"
Wakaba thwapped her shoulder almost hard enough to hurt. "Don't be
mean."
Utena chuckled. "Oh, relax. Besides, I think it's kinda cute."
"...Really?"
"Sure. Why not?"
Wakaba studied her friend for a long moment, then giggled happily and
threw her arms around her reclining form as well as she could.
"Ah!" Blood rushed warmly to Utena's face as she found herself quite
suddenly pinned to the side of the hill by Wakaba's not entirely
unpleasent
weight against her body. "H-hey..."
"Utena-samaaaaaa!" Wakaba cried gleefully, squeezing her tightly.
"W-wakaba, p-people are looking!" Utena squirmed, feeling more
awkward
than she would have believed possible. As Wakaba's delighted giggles
tickled
against her ear, Utena struggled as much as she could bring herself to,
feeling a strange sort of panic rising in her, her skin prickling hotly
from
the touch of her friend's, her heart beating far faster than she
thought was
necessary.
**************
(Stop laughing.)
Akio threw his head back and roared.
(Really. Quit it.)
"Oh, *honestly*, Dios," Akio snickered.
(It's very mean for you to laugh at her.)
This sent Akio into fresh gales of hysterical laughter.
(It's really *not* funny. The poor girl's confused; you could at
least
have the decency not to laugh at her.)
"What difference could it possibly make? In her simple little mind,
I'm a
dashing, noble prince, and there's no way for this image of hers to be
ruined as long as she doesn't *know* how I really feel about her. Who's
going to tell her? *You*?"
(Couldn't you at least *practice* being kind to her?)
"No need to worry about *that*. I think I've got it all down pretty
well
by now. Don't you think?" A dangerous smile spread across his face at
Dios'
silence.
**************
Low, excited murmurs filled the hall, punctuated by the occasional
loud
hoot of laughter. Boys crowded together around the bulletin board like
flies
on a kill, more joining the swarm at every moment.
"I wonder what that's about..." Wakaba paused to peer curiously at
the
gathering. She and Utena searched through the crowd, trying to catch a
glimpse of the object which attracted them all so. The boys continued
to
chuckle rudely to themselves, leering and snickering.
"What's going on here?" Utena wondered aloud.
"Someone's love letter got posted here," a nameless voice answered
from
the swarm.
"Love letter?"
As if in response to her words, a dark-haired boy leaned in close to
the
posted papers and prepared to read from them. "Hmmm, let's see..." He
began
to read aloud with a falsely dreamy tone, clearly taunting the writer:
" 'So
then I was dancing with you in my dreams, Saionji-san. You were smiling
so
gently.." The boys buzzed hungrily, eagerly; nobody noticed as Utena
began
to muscle her way through them. " 'You must think I'm such an idiot.'
Heh!
I'll say!" he laughed, his voice sharp and unpleasent.
"You guys are the idiots!" Utena yelled, reaching to tear the pages
down,
accidentally leaving pieces clinging to the tacks. "This is such a
tasteless
thing to do," she scolded the shocked on-lookers as she removed all the
painful little scraps from the board.
"Hey, if it's up there, anybody would read it," the boy who had been
reading aloud protested.
Utena turned to glare venomously at him. "Nice guys wouldn't read
this-"
she began, but her reproach was halted when, as she ran her angered
stare
over the rest of the crowd, she caught sight of her friend's face. The
anger
dropped from her eyes; it felt as though the bottom of her stomach had
fallen loose.
Wakaba stared back, the gentle amber eyes that were always so full of
warmth and good humour suddenly filled with such desperate sorrow and
hopelessness that they were almost unrecognizable. One tear ran slowly
down
the side of her face like blood from a fresh wound.
"Wakaba..." Utena stood as though cemented to the ground for a moment
after her friend tore off, stunned motionless. Quickly, she restored
herself
and took off after her, the crowd parting to make way. "Wakaba!" She
followed her hysterical companion outside, running until at last
Wakaba's
legs could take her no further away and she was forced to collapse
against a
tree. Utena stopped a short distance away, still clasping the papers in
one
hand, and stared as her friend curled herself nearly into a fetal
position
against the tree's sturdy trunk.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid," Wakaba groaned between gulping, heaving
breaths.
Utena averted her gaze to the letter in her hand, eyes drifting over
words
that she never knew her friend would ever write. Parts had been smudged
by
her hand, but the intentions of the letter were all too clear, as was
the
significance of its abandonment by its recipient. A painful twinge
erupted
somewhere in Utena's chest but was quickly stifled by the conflicting
waves
of sympathy for her friend and fury at the one who had hurt her.
"Wakaba.."
Utena hesitated, still trying to establish in her mind the connection
between letter and writer. "*You* sent this letter to Saionji?"
Wakaba nodded her head, still sobbing painfully.
Fury rose in a hot, nauseating swell. 'That Saionji jerk is not
getting
away with this,' she swore to herself as Wakaba swiped helplessly at
her
tears, making the sounds of an injured animal. Her hand shook,
crumpling the
papers it held; seizing hold of her rage, Utena forced herself to
loosen her
grip and folded the pages. She slipped them into a pocket and
approached her
friend gently. "Come on, Wakaba-chan." She kept her voice soft and
soothing
as she offered her hand. "Let's go back to the dorm, okay?"
"Noooo... I.. I can't go..." Wakaba whimpered.
"Yes, you can. We'll go the long way, so we don't have to pass them.
Okay?
And I'll make you some tea, and you'll feel loads better." Utena knelt
beside her friend and rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. "C'mon, it'll
be
alright."
"N-no, it won't.." Wakaba mumbled half-heartedly.
"Sure it will. I'll *make* it alright." Utena smiled as Wakaba lifted
her
head to meet her eyes.
"Really?"
"I won't let you down. C'mon." Utena wrapped her arm around Wakaba
and
pulled her to her feet. Wakaba smiled shakily.
"You don't really have to help me--"
"It's no problem. And anyway, I don't want you running off again."
Utena
grinned and Wakaba attempted to mimic her. Together, they slowly made
their
way to the dorm which they still shared as they awaited the new dorm
assignments, neatly avoiding contact with anyone else. By the time they
reached their room, Wakaba's spirits were much higher, but still shaky
despite all of Utena's attempts. "Here, you sit and relax, and I'll
make the
tea."
"You don't--"
"It's fine; I already told you I don't mind."
"I can do it--"
"It's under control; you just sit and relax." Utena threw a glance
over
her shoulder and Wakaba chewed her lip for a moment before sitting
down.
"That's better. I won't be a moment." When she returned with the
steaming
tea, Wakaba was still looking pale and shaken. Utena eyed her
sympathetically and handed her one of her favourite rose tea cups. "Go
on,
drink it," she pressed gently as Wakaba just stared at it blankly,
cradling
it in the palms of her hands. "It'll make you feel better. Nice and
warm."
Wakaba sipped it and smiled weakly.
"Is it any good?"
"It's fine..." She took another delicate sip and sighed with her
entire
body. "I... I think I'm just going to go take a nap, though."
Utena cocked an eyebrow.
"I'm all tired out from crying and all.." Wakaba took a small gulp
and set
the cup down. "Sorry. I'm just... tired.."
"Oh... Okay."
Wakaba gave her a weak hug. "Thanks anyway."
"Yeah... Yeah. It's alright; I've got something to do anyway. So go
on,
have a good rest and I'll see you later."
"Will you wake me up in time for the next class?"
"Oh. Uh, yeah, sure."
As Utena slipped out of the building and into the glaring light of
midday,
the hostility that had lain dormant began once again to rise. She
played
over in her mind the information that Wakaba had given her about
Saionji,
trying to figure out what would be the most likely place to find him.
"Tenjou Utena-san!"
Utena stopped sharply, mere inches away from smacking head-on into
her
least favourite faculty member. "Oh! Uhh.." She backed away quickly
until
there was a more comfortable distance between them.
"Why aren't you in class?" Utena could not see her eyes through her
tinted
glasses, but she had the distinct impression that she was looking her
over
with a penetrating glare.
"I-I haven't got a class right now." Utena's tongue stumbled as she
reached for a way to make the encounter benefit her and tried to
swallow her
rage at the same time. "Actually, I'm... Yes. I'm looking for a
student, and
I was wondering if maybe you could help me."
"Oh?" Her tone was strained and bitter.
"Yeah... The, uh, Vice-President of the Student Council, Kyuoichi
Saionji.
D'you know where he would be now?" Utena fought to keep the disgust
from her
voice as she said his name.
The teacher sniffed suspiciously. "What do you need to find him for?"
"Oh, uh, he asked me to come find him when I had a free period. He
said
that he, uhm, wanted me to do something for him."
"What?"
"He didn't say."
Again Utena faced her masked stare, trying to look as if she weren't
planning on tearing the man apart when she found him. "Check in the
kendo
training room," she spat at last. "The Captains of athletic clubs
usually
practice during their free periods."
"Where is--"
"Over there." The teacher thrust out an arm. "Now, *if* you'll excuse
me.." she snapped as she pushed past.
" 'Over there'," Utena grumbled. "*Very* helpful." She struck off in
the
direction the teacher had indicated and began peering in windows. When,
several minutes later, she at last caught a glimpse of green waves,
anger
surged in her stomach and she flung the door open.
"Who's there??" called a rough, deep voice.
"Kyouichi Saionji, aren't you?"
The young man slung his bokken over one shoulder and studied her
darkly.
"Who wants to know?"
Utena pulled the letter from her pocket and held it out so that the
sunlight glanced off it brightly. "This was for you."
"Brave, aren't you," he chuckled, "giving me your letter in person.."
"I didn't write it," Utena replied, barely controlled rage apparent
in her
voice.
"Oh? Then what--" Saionji began, now looking over the extended papers
with
interest.
Utena withdrew them and folded them with angrily shaking hands.
"You've
already had your chance to read it, but apparently you thought it was
more
amusing to post it for everyone else to read, not caring whether you
hurt a
decent girl's feelings."
"I never..." Saionji frowned and closed his eyes. "So it's a letter
that
I've already received?"
"Received and disposed of, yes."
"Hmmm... I think I know which you're referring to.. But I only tossed
it.
I never posted it."
Utena glared at him bitterly, clenching her hands at her sides. "Then
how
do you suppose it ended up on a bulletin board for half the student
body to
oogle," she demanded, her voice tight with rage.
"How should I know? Someone probably picked the letter out of the
trash
and posted it on their own."
"Why did you throw it away in such a public place?"
Saionji lifted the bokken from his shoulder. "What I do with my
letters is
my own business." His tone perked slightly and his eyes opened. "But,
now
that I think of it, if that sort of stupid, no, silly letter has amused
anyone, then all the better." Utena's face darkened in response to his
words
as he raised the bokken over his head and chopped it down swiftly. "Was
that
all you wanted to talk about?"
"No." Acting on an angry impulse, Utena grabbed a bokken out of the
rack
beside her. Saionji made an interested noise and glanced over his
shoulder
at her as she held it out in a threatening manner. "You're the Captain
of
the Kendo Club, right? You've got a duel with me today after school!"
"What do you..." His eyes suddenly lit with fresh amusement. "So
that's
it." He closed his eyes and leered. "You're the next Challenger."
"What do you mean by that?" Utena asked, torn between anger and
confusion,
not noticing as her arm drifted to her side.
"All right, then." His leer broadened as he ran his gaze over her.
"I'll
meet you after classes at the Duel Arena in the Forest at the rear of
the
school."
"Forest? The one that's off-limits?"
He nodded slowly.
"Uh, fine. Right; good. After classes, then."
"I'll be looking forward to it."
Utena dropped the bokken back into the rack and headed for the door,
feeling slightly numb. Her heart beating awkwardly against her ribcage,
Utena wondered if maybe there were consequences for her actions that
she had
not foreseen.
NEXT
Illusions of a Prince Part 10 
