Ana ---------------------------------------- Another Man's Treasure ---------------------------------------- Disclaimer: Shoujo Kakumei Utena and its characters are the property of Chiho Saito, Shogakukan, et al. ---------------------------------------- The sun is flaming as it recedes behind the horizon, and the post-coital smell of sweat and skin renders the air heavy. You lie draped beside me, twining a lock of my hair around your finger, caressing the verdant tresses. The satisfied comfort displayed in your form is contrasted only by the shading of your eyes: a quiet hunger, patient and excited and proud. Cortez stumbling upon the Aztecs. Pizzaro discovering the Incas. A conqueror looking upon his newly acquired territory, captured but yet to be harvested. I suppose that is exactly what I am to you. You win, Touga. Yet another victory. First you had my friendship. Then you took my pride. Then my hatred. Then my dignity. Then my body. And now you have my heart. This is one victory, Touga, that I will not begrudge you. You have taken everything--all that I know, all that I have, all that I am. But this final conquest will elicit no resentment from me. One man’s trash, they say, is another man’s treasure. What do I care if you have my heart? You have merely taken something that I was going to throw away. Take it, enjoy it, use it to your will. It matters as little as if you had conquered an old pair of my shoes. I do not need it and I do not use it, and I am happy to pass the burden onto someone, anyone, who may relieve me of it. I understand how you view this. You feel triumphant. You feel that you have gained something that was dear to me; that you have gathered more power for yourself, while sucking me dry of mine. How wrong you are. This battle was never fought, the alleged victory never took place. Dear to me? My heart, your newest possession, is the least valuable thing that you have ever taken from me. It was useless--an encumbrance that earned only trivial thought, never anything more than a curse or a complaint of inconvenience. So how have you benefited? What have you taken from me, exactly? My control? My independence? Have you found yourself another willing pawn? Everyone has always been your pawn, Touga. I am no exception. There can be no loss of control or freedom if I never had either. Now I have simply passed my heart, the most miserably burdensome organ in my body, onto you. I do not have to deal with responsibility for my emotions anymore. Thank you for pulling the weight onto your own shoulders. Soon, you will realize how pitiful its value is, and you will discard it. And when you do, Touga, I will laugh, because at last, you will be following me. You will have delighted in mere hand-me-downs, trash that I would have left to rot in a garbage can had you not suddenly claimed it as your own. So smile, Touga. Enjoy your false treasure. Explore its recessed and caverns, break it apart and recontruct it again, adjust it and tailor it to suit your desires. Play with it, Touga. When it begins to bore you and you realize its worthlessness, abandon it for the next shiny trinket that catched your eye. Having seen how useless it truly is, you will toss it aside as you would any toy you have broken, and not spare it a second thought. And I will be content that I beat you to it. ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------