wanderingstar - Akio's Secret Weapon

   I was in some sort of small indoor place, somewhere at Ohtori. Arched roofs, columns, that kind of thing, but cozy-sized. It was a series of small rooms with open doorways. I think one part of it was a stable. The Nanami-cow was glaring at me from across the room, plotting my destruction. I was either playing the part of Utena, or riding behind her eyes. I have a vague sense of Anthy in the corner of my (Utena) mind, though I'm not sure if she was actually present. I had a feeling of wanting to protect her from Nanami. Akio was there, dressed in white (though not the prince uniform) and standing a foot or two behind my left shoulder. The Nanami-cow started her charge and I braced myself for the impact. As I did I heard Akio say he was going to have to use his secret weapon to stop her from hurting me. He sounded gently sad and regretful that he was forced to do this, but the 'me' part of Utena didn't believe it.

I started to turn my head to see what he was doing, although I was pretty certain his 'secret weapon' was him undressing. I caught a glimpse of him, a dark V of bare throat and chest as he took off his white shirt, and I whipped my head back around to face forward. Somehow I knew I wouldn't survive looking at him with my willpower or sanity intact. Even facing away from him I could feel the growing heat of his nakedness, like sitting with my back to a fire. My knees were weak and I almost gave in and turned around to look, but I steeled myself and watched the effect it had on Nanami instead. Those big bovine eyes of hers widened and then glazed over; she faltered in her charge and then fell onto her side quite abruptly. The scene shifted and Nanami, still a cow, was resting peacefully on a red blanket near a pile of straw. Akio was smiling [smug and sexy-as-hell] and buttoning his shirt, murmuring something about her being just fine after a little nap. I couldn't quite look him in the eye. I stood there blushing and about to say 'thank you' when I woke up. I was thinking, still half-asleep, that the disaster I had avoided by not looking at Akio was greater than the danger posed by the Nanami-cow. I had done the right thing, but I woke up wishing that I had looked. ^_^