Subject: [FFML] [fanfic] [Utena] Ma Vie et Roses #5 1/4
From: Scott Jamison
Date: 11/16/2000, 8:08 PM
To: ffml@fanfic.com

Note:  This chapter has spoilers for events in the TV series up to

and including Episode 9.  Comments, criticism and MSTs are welcome,

but please see the Authors' Notes.



     Dear Mom and Dad,



     Hope you are well!  Sorry I haven't written in a bit, just let

time slip away from me, but things are a bit slow right now, so...

     Life here at Ohtori Academy is just one surprise after another. 

I certainly wasn't expecting to have my brain switched with Juri! 

Being in a girl's body was definitely a new experience, and

downright scary at times.

     As I mentioned in my last letter, Nanami took "credit" for the

mixup, so she and her friends went on a quick trip to look for the

antidote.  Those of us affected by the exploding curry (also

including Anthy and Utena) went back to Higashi-kan for supper.

     That went off well, in that nothing exploded.

     After dinner, I found that Juri had brought some of her things

over and moved into my room!  She's kinda particular about what her

body sleeps in, I gotta admit I wasn't too happy to learn she's the

frilly nightgown type.  (You know, I still have no idea where she

lives?)  I did my best not to exploit the situation, though I was

awfully tempted.

     Saturday after classes, I practiced with my crossbow a bit,

though it's not clear how much being Juri affected my aim.  I seem

to be pretty good at it.

     Then I sort of stumbled into trying to save Utena from what I

thought was an assault.  Seems this fellow named Saionji, who was

the "Victor of the Duel" before Utena, still has a big crush on

Anthy.  He'd mistaken Utena for Anthy, understandable under the

circumstances, and hustled her off into a storage room.

     His rather clumsy attempts at showing his devotion made Utena

scream, which is when I burst in.  Turns out he was just trying to

give "Anthy" the exchange diary they'd been trading messages in.  I

don't think I did Juri's standing in Saionji's eyes any good.

     After that was mostly straightened out, Juri and I went on a

walking tour of the town.  Some really weird architecture here, and

I'll have to get some photos to show you.  Highlights of the trip

were a manga store and a video arcade.  Juri's really good at

fighting games!

     Later, I discussed Saionji and the diary with Utena.  Not sure

how much good I did.

     Sunday morning, it was off to church.  I met Utena's buddy

Wakaba there.  She sure is perky!  I filled her in on what was

happening, and after church we went in search of Utena...

     But I ran into Touga first.  I am suspecting that his "playboy"

rep is at least somewhat justified.  It sure seemed like he was

about to come on to me!

     Fortunately, he was interrupted by Nanami calling with the news

that she'd managed to corral some "Phantom Spice."  This got everyone

involved congregating towards the school gate.

     I ran into Utena on the way; she'd just handed Saionji back

his diary.  I'm not sure what she wrote, but he wasn't at all happy

about it...

     There was quite a crowd there to greet Nanami as she emerged

from the car with the incredibly fragile spice container.  Including

Chuchu, who tossed a banana peel in her path.  Naturally, I attempted

to prevent her from stepping on it.  Instead we crashed into each

other, the container smashed, and the Phantom Spice scattered to the

four winds.  The Phantom Spice there wouldn't be more of for decades,

if then.

     I was only somewhat distracted from my despair by the arrival

of my lost luggage.  Inter-dimensional transport is no different from

regular air travel in that respect, it seems.  Thanks for the

cookies, even if they were ground to dust in transit...

      It was then that several clues combined to make us realize

that Nanami had never actually managed to tamper with Anthy's curry

recipe in the first place--she just thought she did!  Which meant

that it was in fact the regular curry that had done this.

     Coincidentally, Anthy had prepared her special recipe again for

supper, and the resulting explosion put all the previously affected

back into their normal bodies.  Saionji, on the other hand, did

switch with Chuchu for a while.

     With things back to approximately normal, nothing too outrageous

happened in the next few days, allowing me to catch up on my

reading....



                        MA VIE ET ROSES

                         Chapter Five

                   Unmei ga Aru to iu Shiro

               "The Castle Said to Hold Destiny"

             by Scott Johnson and Scott K. Jamison

     (All characters and settings except Skyler Sands and the state

of Minnesota are the creation of Saito Chiho and Be Papas. 

Publishing rights to "Shoujo Kakumei Utena" are held by Shogakukan

and Terebi Tokyo in Japan, and Central Park Media and Viz Comics in

the United States.  No challenge to these rights is intended.)

 

     "Fancy meeting you here."

     The Student Council annex to the Ohtori Academy Library was an

understated place.  Varnished wood and old steel handles graced the

row upon row and stack upon stack of filing cabinets, stretching

from the floor almost to the ceiling.  The few that were open were

filled with tidy folders of paper and neat newspaper files, and it

was in front of one of these that Skyler was sitting, halfway up a

rolling

staircase meant to give access to the higher drawers, with a stack

of papers on his knee.

     He looked down at the unexpected voice.  "Juri-san.  Hi.  I

just came here to do some research...."

     "So I see.  Why here, though?"

     "Seemed like the best place to do a bit of research on the

Student Council--there were a few things I was curious about.  And

the librarians didn't seem to mind me coming in here."

      "Doubtless they've started associating you with the Council. 

It's not that unexpected--you do wear the same ring and uniform,

associate with Council members, and of course are said to be sleeping

with one."

      Skyler looked at her in shock.  "What?"

     "You have to expect this sort of rumor when a girl spends a

weekend in a boy's room.  You've thoroughly ruined our reputations,

you know."  Though she was contemplating one of the filing cabinets

with a typically inscrutable expression, Juri seemed in fact quietly

amused by the discussion.

     "Yes, I suppose people might think along those lines.  No doubt

somewhere there's a poor fellow or two wondering, `What on Earth

does she see in him?'  I know I've wondered that often enough about

others."

     "Mm."  She turned to look more fully at the cabinets.  "You're

not worried, then?"

     "Not so much that I'm going to rush right out shouting `I didn't

have sex with her!  Really!'  That never works anyway.  And no insane

people have popped out of the woodwork insisting I give you up so

they can have a chance."

      "Yet."  Juri looked up.  "So, what have you been prying into?"

      "A lot of things, really.  I started out just trying to find

out about the duels and their history, but there doesn't seem to be

much concrete information about them.  Plenty of cryptic hints,

veiled references...enough that I'm pretty sure most of them have

to do with duels, but I can't be totally confident."  Skyler turned a

page.  "And the funny thing is that they're not always in reference

to the Student Council."

     "Oh?"

     "Yeah.  Like this private student club back in the Thirties,

sort of a `Future Leaders of Japan' thing.  And article in the school

paper mentions their `nature walks' in the school's `private and

restricted forest preserve' which they somehow wrangled access to. 

Or back in the Sixties, there was a big research seminar about `the

nature and attainment of eternity,' whatever that means.  They were

known for their weird experiments, or maybe art projects, all around

campus--including the forest, which was still officially off-limits

to everyone else."  He turned another page.  "Of course, that was

before their lab building burned to the ground."

     "Really?"

     Skyler nodded.  "Officially it was ruled an accident, but the

tone of the articles makes me think they were covering up arson. 

There seem to have been quite a few `accidents' in the school's

history, actually.  The old fencing hall burned down about fifteen

years ago...the foundation supports on one of the dorms gave way

during a minor earthquake in the Fifties...."

     "Two kitchens exploded last week...."  Juri hid a smile.

     "Heh.  Yeah, that too."  Skyler rubbed the back of his head,

ruffling his hair slightly.  "But even the founding of the school

came from a disaster.  The old palace of the Ohtori daimyo used to

stand on this hill until a tsunami hit the city, partway through the

Meiji era.  Devastated everything seawards of the hill, and the

palace was right at the crest of the wave.  Washed away completely,

except for the one stand of forest that had been protected by the

right set of walls."

     Juri nodded.  "...and then Ohtori Ankou returned to Japan along

with the rest of the Iwakura Mission, and decided to adapt and

improve Western educational methods, to raise a new generation of

students who might `shake the world to its foundations.'

Coincidentally, of course, walling off the forest as a shrine to

whatever kami might have saved it."

     "I take it you've been studying this a bit as well."

     Juri shrugged.  "Certain parts.  I think we're interested in

the same thing, albeit for different reasons."

     "I remember my greeting card saying something about a `tragedy'

occurring if I didn't seek the `Power to Revolutionize the World!' 

I wonder if it meant this sort of disaster."

      Juri looked down in thought, running her fingers through a

file.  "It might.  Though it would be a rather crude technique

given a force that can suspend a castle in the sky."

      "Perhaps those were unsuccessful attempts to control the Power.

The next logical step, I suppose, is to find a survivor of one of

the previous groups."

     "Hmm."  Juri gave it some thought.  "It's...rather curious,

actually."  She met his gaze.  "I can only think of one member of

last year's Student Council who's still attending Ohtori."

     "Really?  Who?"

     "Our dear President, Kiryuu Touga."  She frowned. 

"Interesting."

     "That would explain his knowing more about what's going on than

the rest of us, yes...actually, I was thinking of finding someone a

bit more removed from the situation, who doesn't need to keep his

or her aces hidden."

     "If they exist."

     "Yeah..."  He flipped through the file again.  "so far I haven't

seen any names I recognize...maybe I ought to get my hands on an

alumni directory."

     "An useful tool."

      He sighed and flipped the folder shut.  "Anyway, it'll have to

wait.  I think I'm overdue a breath of fresh air."

      "Mm."

     He stretched a bit as he slipped the folder back into the drawer

and slid it shut.  A thought struck him.  "By the way, do you know

where Saionji-san is likely to be this time of day?"

     "The kendo dojo, most likely.  Why?"

     "I'd sort of like to talk with him.  We got off on the wrong

foot earlier, technically, and he hasn't really met me as myself. 

He may be a jerk, but I'd like to at least give him a chance to prove

otherwise first."



     Skyler had not managed to get his schedule arranged so that he

could formally introduce himself to Saionji since the latter had

returned to his own body, and it was looking less likely that he

would today either.  The kendo captain was facing off against Touga

in a sparring match.

     The dojo was dimly lit, casting shadows and reflections across

the dark, burnished wooden floor and walls.  Sharp `clacks' rose

above the noise of the crowd every few moments as the kendo team

tossed their bamboo practice swords back into the racks on the way

to the showers, punctuating the cheers of the assembled girls with

staccato sound.

     At the center of the room, on the practice floor, the two

antagonists stood, clothed in only hakama and gi, without the

elaborate padding formal kendo matches used.  Saionji stood in a

tense stance, sword raised above his head with the point back,

poised for a crushing downward blow.  His wavy green hair had been

tied into a high ponytail, doubtless to keep it out of his eyes.  His

gaze was fixed on his opponent, watching for any action, and movement

that would prompt him to strike.

     Touga stood in a pose that spoke more of grace and control, his

sword extended low and in front of him.  The loose hair flowing down

the side of his face didn't seem to impair him in the slightest, as

he regarded Saionji with a gaze that was much calmer, but no less

focused.

     Skyler was glad he was relatively tall, as the immediate area

was packed with onlookers, mostly female students.  Each of the

contenders had a definite faction, and there were knots of girls

who seemed equally enamored of both.  Only Utena, who'd just stepped

in the door, looked less than enraptured.  Skyler made his way over

to

her.

     "Can you believe this?" Utena murmured as Skyler walked up. 

"It's embarrassing."

     [The match?  No, she must mean the girls.]  "Only because you're

a disinterested party.  Fannishness is not embarrassing until you've

stopped thinking like a fan."

     "Guess so."  She frowned as a particularly obnoxious pair of

giggling girls called out their cheers.

     "Hooray!  Hooray!  Touga-sama!"

     "Get him!  Get him, Saionji-sempai!"

     "Quiet!"  Utena's voice rang out above the din, silencing

everyone in an instant.  "They're starting."

     Skyler wondered how she could tell.  The two of them hadn't

moved, hadn't even so much as blinked ever since he'd arrived.  There

was tension in the air, yes, and it was mounting, but the Duelists

had yet to--

     And then Touga softly, deliberately lowered and closed his eyes.

     Saionji was in motion within an eye-blink, a battle cry rolling

from his lungs and roaring out his throat.  His shinnai descended,

just as Touga's eyes flicked open.

     And then it was all over.

     A cheer went up from dozens of throats at once as Skyler

blinked.  Saionji's sword was less than an inch from Touga's head,

but Touga had dropped to a crouch extending forwards, dodging the

blow and gently pressing his sword into Saionji's abdomen.

     "Heh...he's pretty good."  Utena seemed grudgingly impressed. 

"He's not just some playboy after all," she murmured.

     [Definitely well above my level of fencing ability.]  Skyler

maneuvered to avoid being run over by marauding fangirls.  He was a

little disappointed when they simply clustered around the edge of the

room and screamed their cheers, not daring to step on to the battle

ground.

     "Touga-sempai!  You're the greatest!"

     "Ooh, I feel faint!"

     "Sempai, you're my prince!"

     The last one sent a ripple of surprise through Utena. 

"Prince..." she murmured.  Her gaze softened as she looked down at

her ring.

     "Figure of speech, I'm sure," whispered Skyler.

     "Maybe so."  She shrugged.

     Out on the dojo floor Saionji straightened, lowering his sword

to his side.  He fixed Touga with a look of pure venom.

     "Oi, oi."  Touga smiled as he lowered his shinnai and relaxed.

"Why the grim look...my dear friend?"

     Saionji narrowed his eyes.  "Who are you calling `dear

friend'?" he spat.

     "How heartless."  Touga didn't seem too deeply wounded.  "Aren't

you my one and only true friend?"

     "Enough!"  Saionji turned away.  "I'll not be defeated by the

likes of you."  With that he stalked away.  The crowd was eating it

up.

     Skyler frowned.  That hadn't made much sense.  Obviously he'd

come in after the movie started on that quarrel.  In any case, he'd

have to figure it out later--Touga had turned to leave as well, and

the crowd was starting to thin.

     Then he had another thought.  [If Touga was able to defeat

Saionji so easily, how is it that Saionji was the Victor of the Duel

when Utena arrived?  Who'd he fight for the job?  Have to ask Juri

when I get the chance...

     [Oh, and I was going to introduce myself...no, he looks way too

angry at the moment.  No hurry, then.  We're bound to run into each

other eventually.]  



     As they walked to the main building, Skyler took a moment to

admire Ohtori's white marble finish.  

     "This place sure has pretty buildings."

     "Huh?"  Utena looked up at him.  "Yeah, you're right.  You get

used to it after a while, and some of it's kinda weird, but it's

probably the best-looking school I've ever been to."

     "Gunntown High looked like a big stone fortress up on a hill. 

They made it with sandstone from the local quarry.  Kind of

foreboding-looking, but it had its charms."

     "Aorashi wasn't much better.  Nothing really bad, just..so

normal you could choke.  Clock tower, three floors, tiny sports

field, and that was it.  Normal teachers, normal students, normal

life....  If there's one thing you can say for Ohtori, it's that it

ain't normal."     

     "But if everything and everyone is unusual, then `unusual'

becomes `normal,' doesn't it?"  Skyler hummed a few bars of the

Twilight Zone theme.

     "I guess.  I know I'm getting kinda numb to it all.  It hasn't

even been, what, a week?  And already I'm having trouble believing

in that whole body swap business."  She looked down at her ring, then

across the sports fields.

     "If you get too skeptical, you could always ask Himemiya-san

to whip up another batch of that curry.  But I'm sure something just

as strange will come along soon."

     "That's kinda what I mean."  She kicked a stone, knocking it

skittering down the steps to the playing fields.  "It's just one

thing after another...and it gets so you don't know what's weird

and what ain't."

     "I personally lost the ability to distinguish reality from

fantasy the moment I arrived," said Skyler, mostly joking.

     "Yeah...."  The humor was lost on Utena.  "It's like...aw heck."

 A smile forced its way onto her face.  "No sense getting upset about

it.  It's an adventure, that's for sure."  She paused in an archway

leading back into a courtyard.  "I'm gonna go check on what

Himemiya's up to.  You coming?"

     "No, I have a study session.  Catch up with you later."



    The day's classes passed uneventfully, and Skyler was on his way

out of the school when he saw the shadow play girls setting up for

another production.  Eiko and Biiko were sorting out plates, sticks

and some plates attached to the ends of sticks, while their quiet

friend was working joints of simple shadow puppets of a wizard and

a pixie of some kind.

     "Konnichiwa," Skyler said brightly as he approached.

     Biiko turned to look, and got an angry expression.  "You! 

You've got nerve, coming around here."

     Skyler was taken aback.  "Excuse me?  What's wrong?"

     "When we asked for your help last time, you acted like you

didn't even know us, remember?"  This was Eiko.

     "Last time...?"  It clicked.  "Oh, it must have been on the

weekend?  I was definitely not myself that day."

     "Oh, really?"  Biiko wasn't buying it.  "And just who were you

then?  Hmm?"

     "Arisugawa-san."

     "Biiko, calm down," Eiko said placatingly.  "It's not that big

a deal."

     "It is, it is!  If he's gonna snub us and then laugh it off by

saying he didn't feel good, that's not a nice thing!"  Then Biiko

realized what Skyler had actually said.  "Come again?"

     "I was Arisugawa-san, and she was me.  Our minds were switched

by exploding curry."

     Even Eiko looked a little dubious.  "I have to admire your

ability to say that with a straight face."

     "Like I said, nuts," added Biiko.

     "It's true!" Skyler protested.  "Admittedly, explaining it all

to you would take a while, and you probably still wouldn't believe

me afterwards..."

     "Try us," Eiko said, picking up one of the plates-on-a-stick

and spinning it idly, fixing Skyler with an expectant gaze.  "I'm

kinda curious."

     Skyler gave them an abbreviated version of the weekend's events,

sticking to the bare bones of what had happened.  The girls listened

with varying degrees of acceptance.  Eiko was surprised and a bit

skeptical, Biiko had a `yeah, really' look on her face, and the

third, [Shiiza-san, wasn't it?] was watching him wide-eyed, perhaps

not believing the story, but certainly fascinated.

     "Right," Biiko finally said.  "So you swapped bodies with a

beautiful girl and then did absolutely nothing with her bod.  And

you out-shot William Tell without even trying.  Oh, and this all

happened thanks to some magical curry some girl cooked you.  Just

what

planet were you from again?"

     "I didn't say.  It would have been disrespectful of

Arisugawa-san to use her body in untoward ways, and as for the

crossbow incident, I'm sure you could find a witness or two."

     "Uh-huh."

     "Oh, come on, Biiko!  It's kinda neat how this is coming

together.  He's a cute American guy from realms beyond who's been

having mystic visions of our shadow plays and who gained great

archery skills while in a girl's body thanks to magical curry.  He's

almost as weird as *we* are now!"

     At the word "cute," Skyler still had to repress an urge to look

behind himself to see who she was talking about.  "And just how

weird are you, if I may ask?" 

     "Well..." Eiko's eyes darted back and forth, as if to verify

the four of them were alone.  "You *really* want to know the truth?" 

At Skyler's nod she laid an arm across his shoulders and leaned in

closer.  In a conspiratorial whisper, she said, "The truth is we're

really aliens from the planet Kashira, here to learn about this

planet and report symbolically.  My dad's really the director of

this whole operation, who we report to via radio waves."

     "Eiko!" Biiko shouted, scandalized.

     Eiko shrugged.  "Hey, he asked."

     [Well, it isn't any less likely than my story.]  "Interesting.

I'll have to hear more about your homeworld sometime.  But I'm

keeping you from your work...."

     For a moment, all three girls just blinked.  Then Eiko grinned,

shaking her head.  "Oh, no you don't.  You're not getting off that

easy,Mr.`I was too busy to help you because I was trapped in someone

else's body.'  We've got a role for you this time."

     Biiko nodded.  "That's right, that's right.  We're gonna need

a real prince on a white horse for this one.  And a Santa Claus.  And

someone to help Shiiko with the props."  The pony-tailed third girl

just looked abashed.

     "Sure!  What needs moving?"  [I'd look more Santa Claus in my

real world body.  But I don't think I should mention that....]

     "Here.  Take this."  Eiko tossed the threadbare remnants of a

Santa Claus outfit at him--just the beard, the cap, and enough of

the cloth and fur trim to make a convincing, if thin, outline.

     "And this."  Biiko handed off a cardboard pantomime horse, with

shoulder straps to keep it supported.  A cardboard crown landed on

his head.

     "And don't forget these."  A handful of the plates on sticks,

wobbling slightly.

     "Oh, and now we've got someone to work the UFO."  A little

model UFO that resembled nothing so much as the top of the school's

central tower, attached to a fishing rod and reel.

     "Anything we're forgetting?"

     "Not that I can think of.  You two ready?"

     Shiiza, who had taken up a handful of the plates, nodded, all

business.

     [Right then...]  Skyler got it all in hand, mostly.  "Ready

when you are, Mr. DeMille."

     "DeMille?"  Eiko blinked at him.  She turned to Shiiza with a

puzzled look, but was encouraged by the quieter girl's smile and

nod.  "Well, whatever.  Lights!"

     Shiiko snapped on the floodlight, casting Eiko and Biiko's

shadows on the wall, magnified to at least twice their actual size.

     "Props!"  Eiko grabbed a pair of the plates-on-sticks and

began spinning them in either hand.  In silhouette she truly appeared

to be balancing them by dexterity alone.

     "And..."

 

     "Oh!  A UFO!"

     "Where?  Where, where, where...where?"  Biiko shaded her eyes

and craned all about, then leaned back a bit with hands on her hips. 

"Oh, for crying out loud, it's just a shooting star."

     "No, really!"  Eiko wobbled slightly, then lunged forward on

one foot to keep the plates in balance.  "It was a UFO!  It was sort

of wobbling--I mean, flying zig-zag!"

     Biiko whipped out another plate, spinning its stick casually

between her fingers.  "Fine, it was a zig-zagging shooting star. 

There's no such thing as UFOs!"  With a flick of the wrist, she

tossed her plate towards Eiko.

     "Eek!"

     Skyler would have missed it if he'd blinked.  Somehow Shiiza

had darted forward, low to the ground, caught the plate, and set it

to

balance, spinning, on one of Eiko's feet.  She'd then darted back

out of the pool of light, barely leaving a shadow for a moment.  Eiko

really was struggling to balance the plates now, though she seemed

to handle it well.

     [Obviously it's time the UFO put in an actual appearance.] 

Skyler maneuvered it so the shadow floated directly behind Biiko.

     "Ah!  See!  There it is again!"

     "Where?  Where?"  Biiko whipped around, shading her eyes with

one hand and poising the other on her hip.  At the same time,

prompted by a nudge from Shiiza, Skyler wobbled the UFO around

behind her again.

     "Mou!  It's just a weather balloon!"  Biiko looked with scorn

at the helium balloon Shiiza had just released to float up through

the

spotlight.

     "But...but...."

     "Face it, just face it:  there's no way UFOs could exist."

     Eiko sighed.  "Ever since I was in kindergarten..."

     Shiiza nudged Skyler again.  She had braced herself behind a

cardboard chimney, preparing to shove it into the spotlight, even

as Eiko and Biiko sprung out.

     Skyler realized this was his cue to don the Santa outfit.  He

scrambled to get into it in the handful of seconds he had, aided by

quick discreet tugs of the costume by Shiiza's fast hands.  In far

less time than he thought possible, he was passably attired, though

the plates on sticks rolled away when he set them down.

     "What happened then?"

     "...they told me Santa Claus didn't exist."

     Shiiza made her move, and Skyler made his.  In moments, he was

alone in the spotlight, one foot on the chimney, with the sack on

his shoulder.  His shadow loomed above him on the wall, larger than

life, a thin but imposing Santa Claus caught in the act, looking into

the distance.

     He stepped behind the chimney, waving as he sank down to make

it look like the traditional Santa entrance.

     "Bzzt!"  Eiko and Biiko each raised an arm across the field of

the spotlight, crossing them to cast a shadowed X across the

ephemeral saint.

      "But it's all right," Eiko said as Skyler sank down out of

view.  "I understand now."

     "Understand what?"

     "That Wizards..."

     Shiiza held up a shadow puppet on a stick that looked much

like a superdeformed Gandalf, then, with a twist and some sleight of

hand, replaced it with one of a pixie.  Her eyes met Skyler's for a

moment, and she nodded toward the pantomime horse off to one side.

     "And fairies..." 

     Skyler quickly doffed the Santa suit and put on the crown and

horse.

     "And princes on white horses..." 

     Skyler "rode" back into the spotlight.  the girls kneeled before

him, flourishing their arms dramatically.  "And true-hearted

friends," they chorused.

     "Exist only in fairy tales," Eiko concluded.

     She grabbed the sticks again, and Shiiza balanced even more on

her feet and even elbows before moving on to Biiko.  "It's okay.  I

understand now," Eiko said with wistful finality.  "But please,

plase, won't you let me keep UFOs?"

     "Y'know, this is harder than it looks," Biiko murmured, wobbling

to keep her plates balanced.  the one on her nose began to topple...

     Skyler, mindful of the last time he'd charged a girl, slid the

Santa fur under the spotlight, to approximately where the plate would

fall, if it did.

     It did.

     "Hey, no fair!  You don't exist!"

     The rest of the plates missed.

     As the last of the crashing came to a close, Shiiko nudged a

music box, winding down a hauntingly familiar plunkety tune Skyler

hadn't even realized he was hearing.  Biiko and Eiko relaxed, and

Eiko walked over to switch off the spotlight as Shiiko grabbed a

broom and dustpan.

     Biiko gave Skyler a critical look.  "Not too shabby for a

rookie, DeMille.  But next time try loosening up a little more.  You

barely did a thing out there."

     "Been a long time since I did improv."  He started gathering up

the non-broken props.

     "You'll do better next time," Eiko assured him.  "Just stop

thinking things through so much and go on impulse!  You always look

like you're planning half a dozen things before you actually do

anything, and you can't afford to hesitate like that when you're

performing."

     Skyler and Shiiko deposited the last of the props in an

oversized wooden chest.

     "I suppose not.  Art isn't quite the same as life, you can make

a mistake or two without harm."

     "Pfft.  Come on.  If you can't make mistakes in life you can't

do anything," Biiko retorted.  "You've gotta risk being wrong if you

want to do anything right, right?"

   









__________________________________________________

Do You Yahoo!?

Yahoo! Calendar - Get organized for the holidays!

http://calendar.yahoo.com/





-- .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List---. | Administrators - ffml-admins@fanfic.com | | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@fanfic.com | | Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject | `---http://www.fanfic.com/FFML-FAQ.txt ---'