Disclaimer: I don't own Utena. I'm not making any money off this. Don't sue me.

EMPTY MOTION

PRELUDE

The man stared hard at the girl laying in the hospital bed. She was writhing in pain, clenching her hands into fists and inhaling short, sharp breaths. He almost felt sorry for her. Studying her face, she could not have been more than fifteen. How sad it was to see someone so young bearing such pain. The man's pity lasted only for a moment. He had a reason to be here. He had a reason to see this girl. If he played his cards right, this girl was going to become very useful to him.

"How long has she been here, Doctor Honda?" he asked, turning to look at the demure woman standing to him.

"A year. Her condition never changes. Her injuries have healed, but she's always in pain. She had no identification when she was brought in. We could not find any records of anyone matching her description anywhere. You say you're family?"

"I am. She's my dear younger sister," the man affirmed.

"Do you have any proof?"

The man smiled broadly and reached into his pocket, pulling out a thin leather wallet. He opened it up and showed the woman a series of photos. The first of these showed the man and the girl standing together with their arms around each other's shoulders. They both looked a little younger. "This was taken last year," the man said. He showed the doctor another photo, faded with worn edges. This showed the man and the girl as children. He then pulled something out of the pocket of his wallet. It was an Ohtori Academy student's ID with the girl's picture on it.

"Taken before her accident," the man said. Doctor Honda read the name.

"Kikuizumi..." she said, carefully reading the surname that was listed first. "Kikuizumi...Rin..."

The man nodded. "I hope that will be sufficient proof. I had given up hope that I would ever find my dear sister."

"Wait a moment," Doctor Honda said, "I need proof that you are who you say you are."

The man smiled again, and pulled another ID card out of his wallet. He showed it to the doctor. Her eyes widened. Then she nodded. "Very well. I don't think that she'll be leaving for a while, though. Not until her condition improves. I'll let Administration know that we have located a family member, in any case."

"She'll be much better now that her dear brother is here," the man purred. "Could you leave us for a moment, please?"

Doctor Honda nodded and left the room.

The man took a seat next to the girl. "Do you remember me?"

The girl's blue eyes rolled wildly in her head. When the pain subsided enough for her to look at the man, there was a faint gleam of recognition there.

"You'd like to leave this awful place, wouldn't you?"

Her response was to cry out in pain. She nodded, after a moment.

"I can take that pain away from you. You'll never have to feel pain again if you don't want to."

She stopped, her thin body still rigid, her delicate hands still clutching the sheets on her bed. Her eyes were wide and full of tears. The man could tell that the girl wanted nothing more than to be free.

He leaned close and whispered in the girl's ear. Then he sat up straight again and looked at her. "What do you think? Do we have a deal?"

The girl's lips parted, and she spoke her first words in a year or more in a voice made hoarse by disuse.

"Yes."

TWENTY YEARS LATER

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who longed to be a princess. She was very sad because in her heart of hearts she knew that she could never be a princess. Then, one day, a prince rescued her and told her that he would return to her and make her a princess, if she would keep her virtuous spirit. The princess was so impressed by the prince that she went out into the world to find him.

But was this really such a good idea?

Akio Ohtori leaned back at his desk and looked from the paperwork in his hand to the quiet girl sitting across from him. According to the paperwork, she was fifteen and would be entering her first year of high school. He looked from the paperwork to the girl. She was petite, with small, delicate hands folded neatly in her lap. Her black hair was cut short and parted on the side, but it did nothing to take away from the aura of femininity that she had about her. Her large, brown eyes were fixed on him.She was biting her lip, clearly nervous. Akio surmised that she must have been waiting for him to say something.

What's her name again? he thought, quickly scanning the paperwork. He checked the top. Ah. There. Then he smiled at the girl.

"So...you're...Hikari Hanamiya?"

She nodded.

"Pleasure to meet you. What brings you to Ohtori Academy? Why do you want to transfer here?"

Her eyes darted across the room. She looked everywhere but at Akio.

"This will sound crazy, Mr. Chairman. But...I received this postcard from this school on my birthday."

Hikari opened up her purse and showed Akio the postcard. He gingerly took it from her and silently read it.

Claim your destiny.

He read it again, then inspected it closely.

"This is one of ours," he finally said. Hikari smiled. "We do send postcards like these to prospective students all over the country." Hikari opened her mouth to speak, but said nothing.

"But," Akio continued, "Your transcripts show a...lack of dedication to your studies. This school is highly competitive, Miss Hanamiya. A lackadasical attitude toward your studies will not be tolerated here."

Hikari's face fell. "Mr. Chairman, please...please understand that during that period in time in which my grades slipped, I was...I was going through a rough time. I can't explain what drew me to this school, but...I feel like I need to go here. Mr. Chairman...I would do anything to be a student here!"

Anything? Akio had to work to conceal his smile.

Akio leaned forward in his seat. "Now, now, Miss Hanamiya...there's no need for theatrics." He folded his arms and looked her straight in the eye. Hikari shrank under his gaze.

"I'm willing to compromise. Let's see...I'll let you enroll, Miss Hanamiya, but I will be placing you on academic probation."

"Academic probation?" Hikari asked, a note of confusion in her voice.

"Meaning that I will be monitoring your performance for the first half-term. If you should fail to meet the standards set by this school, you will have to leave."

Hikari nodded.

"You will also be ineligible to participate in any extracurricular activities until you are removed from academic probation."

Hikari nodded again.

"So, what do you think of those terms? Do we have a deal?"

"Yes!" Hikari smiled. She then stood up. "Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman! I won't let you down!"

No, I don't think you will, Akio thought as he stood up and walked around to the other side of the desk. Out loud, he said, "I'm sure you'll do wonderfully here, Miss Hanamiya, once you get your priorities in order." He shook her hand. "Have a wonderful day. See you when school starts back up."

"Good-bye!" Hikari chirped. Then she left the office, closing the door behind her.

Akio sat back down and pulled a chess piece out of his drawer. A pawn.

I wonder how this new pawn is going to affect the game to come?