11Kanae woke up on the couch in the Chairman's office, strewn out across Akio's lap like a blanket. She was wearing her regular clothes, but her body was still in immense pain. There was no sign that she had just been impaled by flying swords. "Does it hurt?" he asked.
"No, I'm fine," she said.
It was a lie. Even though she could still feel each and every one of those swords digging into her body, she didn't want to mention it. It was a lie. Even though Kanae could still feel all the swords digging into her, she didn't want to say anything about it. That would just be one more thing for Akio to use against her. She didn't know whether this was reality or another dream. All that she knew was that she couldn't trust Akio. Either he was responsible for all of this, or he would tell her she was insane for thinking it all up. He might have even tried to do both, just to manipulate her.
"Good," Akio said.
He put one hand on the back of her neck and tilted her into an upright position. Then, he placed his other hand onto her chest. Kanae wasn't sure what he was trying to do, but there was nothing that could have prepared her for what happened next. She felt her chest cavity pulsate with energy when she should have been feeling her own heartbeat. It felt like the swords that she was carrying in her body were shifting, so one of them could escape into the world.
The hilt of the sword lethargically forced itself up through her chest, like an animal digging out of its burrow after hibernating all winter. There was no blood, just twinkling lights. But that didn't do anything to minimize the pain. Akio held onto the hilt, but he didn't pull on it until it was completely free from her body. Once he did, the pain intensified as the blade slid through Kanae's skin. But, it was all over so quickly enough.
"You'll get better at that with time," Akio said, standing up to inspect the sword.
It looked extremely similar to the one that Kanae had used when she dueled against Utena Tenjou. It had angular guard and white, lily-shaped pommel on the end. However, instead of being gold like it had been before, the hilt of the sword was black.
"I'll get better?" Kanae asked.
She hadn't done anything at all. Akio had pulled the sword out of her entirely on his own, without even asking for her permission first.
"I didn't do anything," Kanae said.
"Maybe that was the problem," Akio said.
"You know, I think that you might just be right about that Akio," Kanae said.
"It looks like you're already improving to me," Akio said.
"Oh, you weren't talking about what you just did with the sword, were you?" Kanae asked.
She was putting in some effort to hide her frustration, but not as much as she usually did when she was talking to her fiancé.
"I was, in part," Akio began,. "You see, now that you're the Rose Bride-"
"What does that mean exactly?" Kanae interrupted. "Are we married now in your eyes? Because I don't care what you just did with that sword. I want to have a wedding."
Kanae could tell if Akio was angry with her or just confused. He was always so hard to read.
"I don't know what you're talking about Kanae. We got married last week," Akio said. "I can show you some of the pictures."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of polaroid photographs. Kanae's dress was a ball gown with lace sleeves. There was an archway covered in oversized white roses. Akio looked devilishly handsome in his tuxedo. They had arrived at the ceremony in a horse-drawn carriage. It was everything that Kanae had ever wanted. No, somehow, it was even more picturesque than that. But there was one little detail that made Kanae sure that none of it was real.
"Where's your sister?" Kanae asked.
"You didn't want her there," Akio said.
"I don't remember saying that," Kanae said. "But I do remember everything you did to me. Some of it with her, but some of it on your own as well."
Akio pushed Kanae off of his lap and got up off the couch.
"If you want to leave, do it now. I don't care," Akio said.
He pointed at the door, but Kanae stayed sitting down.
"I know you don't. You never have," Kanae said. "But I care. I always did. And now, you finally want me. But I don't want you."
"Then leave. I'm telling you to leave," Akio said.
"You can't do that Akio. This tower is mine. It belongs to my family. And while I know that I can't do anything to force you out of it, you can't do anything to force me out of it either. That's why you chose me for this role. Not some other ghost from your past. You needed me to keep yourself tethered to this place. Without me, you can't be Akio Ohtori. At least, not without your sister around you can't. Isn't that right?"
Akio didn't answer. Kanae wasn't sure if she liked that or not. Admittedly, she enjoyed being the one who got to do all of the talking for a change. But she wasn't sure if she wanted to keep that up for the rest of her existence. Eventually, she would get bored, or she would run out of things to say. She decided to wait until Akio spoke first.
"So if you're not going to leave, what are you going to do?" Akio asked.
Kanae Ohtori was going to finally fight back against the man who had turned her into the shadow of a person that she currently was. Kanae had freed her mind from that attic. But she knew that the world she existed in was still confining her, just like that illusion had. She felt in every tiny movement, in the way that the swords sunk deeper into her nerves every time she shifted her weight.
Kanae was in far too much pain to kill Akio herself, but she was going to finish the job she started when she had first stepped into the dueling arena. Kanae was going to get her revenge. She knew that if she searched hard enough, she could find someone that she could convince to do her bidding. After all, Ohtori Academy was full of people like that. People longing to be seen, to be heard, to be special.
For years, maybe even centuries, Akio and Anthy had pitted them against each other as the End of the World and the Rose Bride. But now, Anthy was gone. Despite what Akio wanted Kanae to be, there was no more Rose Bride. When Anthy left the school, she had burned that image of the delicate red flower, leaving only a charred husk in its place.
Kanae was the black rose bride, somehow simultaneously part of the masses and the elite. She was going to use that power to bring Akio and the system that enabled him down, even if it brought her down along with him. She had nothing to lose. She was pretty sure that she was dead, after all. Yet, she had never felt more alive.
"I'm going to do exactly what I always promised you I would, Akio," Kanae said. "I'm going to be the wife that you truly deserve."
"Best of luck with that, my bride."
Kanae could tell if he had sensed the malice in her voice or not. His tone of voice was devoid of any emotion, but his words made Kanae suspicious. If he hadn't been able to tell that she was subtly threatening him, he probably wouldn't have responded like that.
However, there was no way for Kanae to ask him about any of that. Immediately after he finished speaking, he turned his back on Kanae and walked out the door. But, for the first time in her whole life, Kanae was happy to see him go.
