This is a story based on Revolutionary Girl Utena. The characters are all from the anime except for Airen, who is my own creation and is based on myself. This takes place after the end of the Black Rose Saga. It has a few similarities with the remainder of the series, but I will not reveal any of the anime or manga conclusions, so consider it a sort of amateur alternate ending. The Utena characters I use have certain similarities with people I know, so parts of my story come from real life. I do use certain aspects of the anime’s symbolism, and for those of you who know how the anime ended, it should be easy to spot what came from the original story. For the rest of you, if you don’t want to spoil the story, it’s better for you not to read it..
Thank you for reading my fanfic.
Rouresu Airen
Touga stared at the seal. A silver rose. It was familiar, someplace in his memory, he’d seen a silver rose. He waited several minutes, thinking of where he’d seen it, but no matter how hard he tried, it eluded him. Finally, he opened the letter. Pulling out the paper inside, he read it to himself.
Dear Mr. Touga Kiryuu,
Are you really who you think you are?
The only signature was a silver rose. It was a short message, but what did it mean? Who would send such a letter? It was not "End of the World", his letters were always marked by the red rose seal. The only answer he could come up with was too impossible to be true…wasn’t it?
Utena dreamed of Touga. They were in the dueling arena, dancing as they had done that night. She was dressed in the Rose Bride’s gown and he wore a dueling uniform. Suddenly, Akio appeared and pulled the Sword of Dios from her chest. The ground beneath them broke, but none of them fell, they walked on the air, as if the floor were still there. Below them, Anthy lay in a coffin, but beside her, there was a second coffin. The lid was closed. Who was inside? She clawed at the floor of air trying to free Anthy, but it was solid to her touch and would not break. Akio laughed at her as her fingers bled. She was joined by Touga, who placed his hands on the floor of air. There was a flash. She woke up, sweating and disoriented. She couldn’t sleep for hours, her mind was too disturbed and she spent the rest of the night turning over each detail of the dream in her mind. The most disturbing question of all: Who was in the other coffin?
Many sleepless hours later, morning came. Juri dressed unconsciously, her mind occupied with Miki, the letter, and her upcoming duel. Being the captain of the fencing team, she didn’t doubt her ability to win the duel, but she wondered what would be gained from it. The letter disturbed her a great deal. She thought the final duel between Utena and Touga had ended her involvement with "End of the World" and she didn’t expect to receive any more letters. The only thing that could take her mind off both of those problems was Miki. She was sure she loved him. The dance began as a means of escape, but what it turned into was much more diverting. She always felt distant from him before, but at the ball, he made her feel like she was very special. She wanted more from him and she wanted to give so much more. She took out her locket. The golden rose glittered in the light. Opening it, she looked into the eyes of the one inside. Eyes that now seemed very alive. Beautiful blue eyes framed by short blue hair.
Akio parked in front of Airen’s house. He waited for her to come out, watching every exit. He was very occupied with this task, so to feel a hand on his shoulder when he didn’t expect it startled him. He whirled around to see Airen standing beside his car, dressed in a girl’s uniform. This uniform was different from the ones other girls wore, however. It was similarly styled, but instead of a white shirt with a green collar and skirt, she has a white shirt with a red collar and skirt. Her tie was similar to the red ones on the normal uniform, but it was black..
"Good morning, Mr. Ohtori. What brings you here?" she asked with her strange little smile.
"Good morning, Miss Oberon. It wasn’t very nice of you to sneak up on me like that. Not many people can do that." In his mind, he knew no one had ever done it, until now.
"Were you waiting here for someone?"
"As a matter of fact, I was waiting for you. Would you like a ride to school?" Akio gestured to the seat next to him.
"School? Was that the destination you had in mind?" Akio looked at her sharply. This girl wasn’t fooled easily. How did she know him so well? When she wasn’t answered, she opened the car door, "Well, Mr. Ohtori, I’d love a ride to school." The manner she spoke gave him the impression she was laughing at him. He started the car and pulled onto the road. He stopped in front of the school, but instead of letting her out, he took Airen’s hand.
"Would you like to go for a drive? I’d like to show you something." He played with her rose seal, but she did not act shy, as most girls did.
"I do not know. It might be something I do not wish to see." Her tone implied that she knew what he meant by the invitation. He looked at her in surprise. Pulling her hand away, she stopped smiling and looked serious, "I don’t need you to see the "End of the World", Mr. Ohtori," Opening the car door she got out and stood facing him, "I will bring the world revolution my own way." She turned and walked away, leaving him sitting alone.
Juri looked at the sky. It was not long until sunset. She stood at the dueling arena gate, waiting for her challenger. She wore her orange dueling uniform.
"Juri, what are you doing here?" Juri turned abruptly to see Touga.
"Are you the one who challenged me?" she demanded. Touga looked perplexed.
"Challenged you? Of course not, no one can challenge you to a duel unless you have the Rose Bride." He said incredulously. A voice interrupted him.
"That’s not precisely true, Student Council President Kiryuu. Duels can be fought by anyone, for anything, as you are about to see." Airen stepped out from the gate, approaching Juri. A girl in a light blue dueling uniform followed behind her. The girl had her head down, hiding her face. Airen gestured to her and the girl looked up. "This is your challenger, Miss Juri."
"Kozue!" Touga knew Miki’s sister well. They had been very intimate on several occasions. Why she was dueling Juri was a complete mystery to him. Airen’s presence was inexplicable, as was the way she was dressed. She wore a black version of Anthy’s Rose Bride costume.
"Why is Kozue dueling Juri?" he demanded. Airen looked at him in a very odd way.
"It is not my duel, so perhaps you should ask the challenger. My only role here is as mediator, you may remain as a witness, but do not interfere." She walked to the center of the dueling arena and held her arms out in front of her, her fingertips pointing up and her palms forward. Spreading her hands apart and down, she formed a circle of light, as Anthy did when calling the Sword of Dios.
"By the seal of the Silver Rose, I call to the spirit of nobility, break the chains of Dios, grant the power to bind the prince and bring the world revolution!"
Instead of a sword, Airen’s magic formed a coffin, which was anchored above her head. The lid was closed, but as Airen adorned each of the girls with a rose matching their clothing, the lid faded to transparency. Juri gasped as she saw the huddled form of Miki lying in the coffin, surrounded by silver roses. Kozue made no sound, and her expression did not change. She glared at Juri.
"Juri Arisugawa! I challenge you for my brother!" This made Juri turn away from the coffin, her face was blank, but her eyes were venomous slits.
"Miki is not an object to claim."
"He was mine and you stole him from me!" Kozue held her sword out to point at Juri, "And I do not intend to let you keep him." Airen stepped forward.
"The rules are simple. The first to have their rose removed from their breast, loses. Unlike the duels for the Rose Bride, Silver Rose challenges cannot be made more than once. This is the only duel you may fight for the same prince. The one who loses, loses their prince for good. The power of the silver rose binds the prince to the winner."
"Miki is a prince?" Airen smiled at Juri.
"He is for the ones who battle for him." Juri considered her answer, then smiled. She understood perfectly.
"I accept your challenge, Kozue."
