Sonoda Keiko: Obedience

"One can do all kinds of forbidden things and laugh them away, or one can confess them and that is that; they need no longer concern one. Why shouldn't you commit these little foolishnesses like other students? What is so terrible about that?" -- "Narcissus and Goldmund", Hermann Hesse.

Tarot Card: Queen of Rods
Quote: "I'm happy only being with you, Nanami-sama."
Name Meaning: Child (Stalk) of the Rice Garden

One of the usually indistinguishable trio that serves Nanami night and day, Keiko actually shows that the binding holding Nanami's followers to her is as thin and fragile as rice paper. For a few moments she dares to express her individuality, and is all but crushed for doing so. Pity the fragile insect whose wings are torn off at the moment of birth.

Her Story

Keiko gets the center stage for only a very short time- one episode, to be precise- although she appears in a sort of background way in several others. She was the last of Nanami's followers to join the group, and along with Aiko and Yuuko form the henchgirl part of Nanami's little armada of personal drones. It is Keiko along with the other two girls who carry out much of Nanami's petty little vengeance schemes.

As a result of her ubiquitous anonymity, she's not all that well developed. Utena doesn't even know who she is except as a 'one of those three girls that hang around Nanami'. Only Himemiya (who has suffered the abuse of all three girls) seems to know which one is which. Only for a moment does Keiko show any hint of an individual self with an independent drive. The catalyst for this brief flame of independence is Touga, Nanami's elegant and distant-star brother. Keiko, having admired Touga from afar almost from the beginning, wishes for a chance to be with him. However, Nanami is always in the way...

Much like Wakaba's sentiment during her Black Rose days, Keiko feels herself to be utterly below Touga- "only the princess from the secret world may meet the prince", as she puts it. Yet, she hopes for a chance, however slim, that she could gain Touga's attention...

Things go bad for Keiko once Nanami finds out that Keiko actually has some desire toward Touga. Nanami's legendary possessive/jealous streak flares up and she in effect 'fires' Keiko, even going so far as to banish her utterly from all of her clubs and social activities. Aiko and Yuuko pretend Keiko doesn't exist, at Nanami's behest.

Completely scorned and abandoned, Keiko falls into the darkness of the Black Rose, but her personality, just barely developed, is hardly strong enough to hold up for long against the Victor- or against Nanami's overbearing manner- and after her defeat, that eggshell persona is completely cracked.

Thus, Keiko becomes 'one of the girls' once more...

Who might she have become if she had been strong enough to hold onto herself?