Episode 28: Whispers in the Dark

Tsukiya Ruka returns to school after a long absence, makes Jury jealous, and with the girl Jury loves as his second, duels against Utena.

This is a summary of episode 28 of the anime series Revolutionary Girl Utena.  You are welcome to link to it, but not to repost it elsewhere.  For more information, and other episode summaries, see the index.

Jury performs her usual duties as captain of the fencing club - sparring with the other members and quickly defeating them one after another.  A mysterious tall person, face concealed by the fencing mask, displaces Miki from the line to fight Jury; they're closely matched, but he's slightly better, and wins.  He takes off his mask and is revealed to be Tsuchiya Ruka - captain of the fencing club until he left school and Jury assumed the job.  She seems ready to step aside for him again now.

As the student council is discussing him, Ruka shows up, wearing a student council uniform and a rose signet ring.  He announces that End of the World is displeased with them for being such cowards; however, he's not about to challenge Utena himself when he's just recovered from being ill.  Instead, he's going to "indulge in some normal school life" - which turns out to consist of giving fencing tutorials featuring a lot of close physical contact between himself and the novices.  A large number of girls immediately join the fencing club.

In the locker room, Ruka catches Shiori lovingly stroking the nameplate of his locker.  He comments that she must have been the one who polished his sword (fnarr, fnarr) every day while he was away.  The two begin dating.  Jury is upset.  She takes Ruka aside, to a solitary place by the water that apparently carries a lot of memories for both of them, and cautions him to keep his hands off Shiori.  He refuses.  Later, Jury is watching Ruka and Shiori kissing in the moonlight; he looks up, sees her, and smiles, and she thinks to herself that he knows everything.  She takes Shiori aside and warns her to have nothing to do with Ruka, but that doesn't work either.

Then one night Shiori goes to meet Ruka for more smooches, but Touga is there instead.  He says Ruka sent him to show her a fantastic place; he makes his usual comment about hearing the sound that races through the End of the World, and Akio and Ruka appear in the red sports car.  The next day, Shiori accompanies Ruka to the rose garden, where he challenges Utena.

Shiori is with Ruka in the arena, wearing a maroon Rose Bride gown, and the duel proceeds according to the formula of episodes 25 and 26.  Ruka is skillful and presses her hard, but with the Power of Dios, Utena defeats him; and the car, which had been racing sideways around the arena with Shiori riding in it, crashes into a battlement.  Ruka comments that he lost because his Bride was inadequate; when Shiori protests that no, she really loves him, after all she polished his sword every day, he comments that that wasn't his sword, and her performance was amusing.  Later Jury castigates him, saying she told him to keep his hands off Shiori, what on Earth was he thinking...  but he refuses to answer.

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