Dueling Hearts

Yu-Gi-Oh!/Revolutionary Girl: Utena crossover

I do not own any rights to Yu-Gi-Oh! or Revolutionary Girl: Utena. I wish I did, but I don't.

Chapter 1: Starting Over

Tenjou Utena sighed as she smoothed the lapels of her new uniform. It had been six months since her duel with End of the World. Six months of recovery and rehabilitation from the wounds inflicted on her by Himemiya Anthy and Akio-san. Her name and reputation were worth less than nothing, now. This she knew without ever setting foot back on the campus. She had no need. Utena had far too good an understanding of how Akio-san and his pet student council worked to believe anything else.

And so, the young duelist left Ohtori Academy behind her. She would miss Wakaba. She would try very hard to not miss Himemiya. The others… her feelings for everyone else she left behind were very mixed. Miki was such a sweet boy, and his music could move a stone to tears. She hoped he found some peace in his rocky relationship with his sister. Kozue was… complicated, and her obsession—sometimes positive, sometimes negative—with her twin brother was unnerving. It was also a terrible burden on any friendship Utena had had with Miki.

Saionji had far too little respect for the feelings of others. He was self-centered to a degree that almost gave Touga a run for his yen. Yet despite his mistreatment of the Rose Bride, he had ultimately proven himself not a total bastard. After all, who didn't want just a glimpse of something eternal?

Touga. The student council president never knew when to let her go. He had persisted in his pursuit of her after she made it apparent that she wasn't interested. The ridiculous fiascos with Nanami that followed were a blot on the good memories Utena had from Ohtori. Yet Utena couldn't help but remember her last meeting with Touga at the dueling arena. Could he have meant everything that he had said? Could it all have been an unfortunate result of his first true taste of love? His love of her, Tenjou Utena? She would probably never know.

Juri-san was perhaps even more complicated than Touga. There had always been an odd feeling of comfort and discomfort around the fencing team captain. For some reason, Utena could not resist the feeling that had circumstances been different—had there been no duels, no End of the World, no Rose Bride, no Shiori—their relationship would have been a lot… closer.

Thoughts of Akio-san and Himemiya were attached to the most complicated of all her feelings, but she tried not to think of them. Now, especially, on her first day at a new school was not a time to think of them.

When the bell rang, it caught Utena by surprise. Her first day, and she was late!

"Shimatta!" she cursed as she ran into the school.

Yugi was bored. He looked around while he waited for homeroom to start, but nothing very interesting was going on. Jounochi was asleep on his desk. Honda and Otogi were both writing love letters to Shizuka. Bakura was reading. And Kaiba was typing furiously on his laptop, probably working on some project for his company. Yugi let out a low sigh.

/Mou hitori no boku?/ he called out hopefully through his link with the spirit of the millennium puzzle, but all he got back was a sleepy grumble, followed by silence. His yami didn't really like mornings very much.

Resigning himself to boredom, Yugi decided that staring out the window was as good a way to occupy his time as anything else. He was surprised when he turned his head to gaze out at the front of the school's campus. There was a girl out there with pink hair, and she was… wearing a boy's uniform? He blinked, but the sight didn't change. She had long pink hair, which would have seemed kind of weird, except that he felt he wasn't really in a position to judge. She looked young, but he knew from personal experience that might be deceptive. She was obviously new. Her uniform looked pristine in the way that only a uniform being worn for the first time can look. Plus, she was looking at the school like she wasn't sure what to think.

When the bell rang for homeroom, Yugi grinned to see the girl jump and sprint for the front door. He didn't know why she was in such a hurry now. She was already late.

He was surprised a few minutes later to see the classroom door open while Matsuda-sensei was taking roll. He was even more surprised to see the principal enter, leading the pink-haired girl. She gazed defiantly around the classroom as though challenging someone to say something about her or her clothes.

The principal spoke softly with Matsuda-sensei, indicating the girl with a hand gesture. Matsuda-sensei seemed upset, probably about the uniform. The principal cut him off in mid-sentence with a terse whisper, then turned to leave.

"It's highly irregular, sir," Matsuda-sensei said as the principal was exiting the room.

"I am aware of that, but circumstances dictate the situation. Good day, Matsuda." And with that, the principal was gone, shutting the door behind him. The room stilled into an awkward silence for a brief moment, until Matsuda-sensei recalled himself.

Clearing his throat, he addressed the class. "Students, meet Tenjou Utena. Tenjou is a transfer student this year. Normally, she would be joining the freshman class, as she has only just completed her middle school work. However, due to the advanced curriculum at Ohtori Academy and her high scores on the placement exams, she has been placed in the junior class instead. I trust you will all make her feel welcome."

Turning to Tenjou, Matsuda-sensei indicated the seat across from Yugi. "You will be seated next to Mutou, as that is the only available desk. In the future, I will also expect you to arrive before the homeroom bell."

Blushing now, Tenjou made her way to the seat next to Yugi.

When Matsuda-sensei had finished taking roll, Yugi turned to speak with her. "Pleased to meet you, Tenjou-san. I'm Yugi."

She smiled, and Yugi immediately liked her. "Well, if I'm to call you Yugi, then you must call me Utena. Alright?"

"Sure, Utena-san!" Yugi agreed. "Can I ask you something?"

"I don't see why not," Utena answered.

"Why did you transfer to Domino? I've heard that Ohtori Academy is one of the best schools in all of Japan. It must be, if the middle school curriculum prepared you to enter junior year here. So why did you leave?"

"Erm… well, I kind of got on the wrong side of the chairman. Nothing he could technically expel me for, but I was strongly encouraged to go somewhere else this year."

Just then, the bell rang for first period.

"Ano… could you help me find my class, Yugi?" Utena asked, glad for an excuse to cut the previous conversation short.

"No problem, Utena-san!" he answered, happily leading the way.

End of the first chapter of my first fanfic. Please R&R!