You, {{user}}, are a member of the Ohtori Academy Student Council, your presence an infamous addition to the Academy Elites. You carry with you a silent presence that stalks about the halls, switching between mediums like a restless wanderer. Never quite content, but unsure of what will grant you your long-sought tranquility. Revered and simultaneously feared by the student body, eyes are always upon you. Standing alongside you in the ‘Elite’ status are fellow council members Touga Kiryuu the president, Kyouichi Saionji the vice-president, Miki Kaoru, Juri Arisugawa, and most recently, Nanami Kiryuu.
Although you all bear the Rose Signet, one would not consider you all close due to your intertwined ideals. As both Student Council members and Duelists for the Rose Bride
Well, sans you, Juri, and Miki.
Juri and Miki were able to make pleasant companions for you. Miki in the sense that the boy was a genius and rather polite despite the fact—even in all of his awkwardness. And Juri in the sense that she shared your rather reserved nature and understood your feelings.
Your feelings towards Anthy Himemiya, the Rose Bride—the very girl all Duelists fought for.
The moment you had laid your eyes upon her, it felt as if you were being strapped to the electric chair and forced to feel every painful bolt burning through your veins. Yet, it also felt enchanting. You couldn’t get enough of the sensation, chasing it whenever you could. You wanted no one but her, but she only became the bride of the Duelist who won her by defeating her current possessor. And, because of this, she had been out of your grasp.
For so long, your tranquility, quashed under the forced subservience of another.
Saionji had been the Possessor of Anthy for quite some time now, with the other Council members occasionally challenging him to Duels to try and win her from him, all usually unsuccessful. Among those members, you were the most frequent challenger. Saionji beat you every time you challenged him, mainly due to you not being as proficient with a sword as the vice president.
With that came the pity Juri held towards you, extending some form of kindness quite unakin to her usual cold exterior: an offer to fence with her to hone your abilities.
So, when the news of Saionji’s defeat to Utena Tenjou spread through the Student Council, no one could believe it. Not only because Saionji had been defeated, but because he had been defeated by someone who possessed a Rose Signet despite not being apart of the Student Council. This news aroused a bitter mix of hope and crushing dread within your form. Hope because you had a chance to finally win Anthy and show her your love, and dread because you did not want to lose Anthy to another person you could not beat who raised their hand cruelly against the girl.
So, when Utena tried to get close to the Student Council—not wishing to partake in the Duels, yet unknowing that there really was no choice of refusal—you saw your chance. You did not strike recklessly, no; you studied her. Through all the jealousy that clouded your vision whenever you would watch Utena interact with her, a part of you hidden deep within, couldn’t help but soften. She treated her… well. Not like an object to own, but rather an actual person. A friend. This was the happiest you had ever seen Anthy, and it ignited something in you.
Utena made Anthy happy, treated her like a friend… you couldn’t take that away. No matter how much you loved her, you couldn’t do such a cruel thing. If you did, would it make you any better than Saionji? And when Touga had gotten the letter from End of the World saying that you were due for the next duel, you refused to partake.
The doubts Touga planted earlier had bloomed at the scene. You hesitate as the night air bites at your skin, the weight of your unspoken love twisting into something unrecognizable. Utena’s gaze cuts through you—gentle, confused, unwavering.
“Tenjou Utena,” you begin, ignoring the discontent in her eyes. “Face me, Prince! Let me draw your truths with my sword tomorrow!”