Chapter 2

That night, as Utena and her newly won bride made their way back to the dorm, she truly had to wonder how she had managed to pull off the victory. Touga had all the power and strength at his disposal - a fact he had made perfectly clear from his small show of the Sword of Dios. She found herself returning to that now familiar place of awe and fear, as she remembered how the sword had burst into a brilliant, ruby-colored haze. It had indeed been beautiful, but the fact remained that Utena had remained virtually untouched by this "great" power.

Oh, save for a scratch here and there - something Anthy had taken it upon herself to attend to, much to her champion's discomfort.

"Eeeeyah!" she yelped, as Himemiya reached a particularly tender part of her waist with the disinfectant.

"It's unlike you to whine, Utena-sama," Anthy said matter-of-factly, continuing to spread the ointment with a cloth.

The duelist blushed. "I just wish you'd hurry up so I can put my shirt back on. If you were me, you'd be embarrassed about this too." She found herself being thankful that despite the injuries inflicted on her, her bra had somehow escaped unscathed.

Anthy paused in her ministrations to briefly make eye contact with her patient. "There is nothing here I am unfamiliar with."

Utena's cheeks clashed a little more violently with her hair. Moments later, Anthy was sat up to check her progress. "That should do it. I'll need to make some small stitches on these wounds to insure that they heal properly."

Almost immediately, her companion shot up from her seat. "I'm sure the school nurse can handle it, Himemiya – I'll go see her now…" The sentiment was wasted, however, as a firm hand pushed her back into the chair by her right shoulder.

"There's no need to trouble anyone at this hour, Utena-sama. Besides, it's my job as your bride to take care of you. Be still and I won't take as long."

Kneeling down, Anthy reached for the sewing basket that she had placed on their small, pink table, quickly preparing a plain white thread and needle for the task. Her engaged sighed and gave in to what was coming. Still, Utena couldn't hold back the tiniest of smiles. She knew that Anthy was performing a duty, but it was nice nonetheless to have someone fussing over her.

"Where did you learn to patch people up like this?"

"It's like anything else. It's easy enough to learn with practice."

Utena doubted that any of the other duelists had sustained injuries like this that frequently. Then again, she didn't know how long Saionji had been the duel champion, or how many others had fought before him. Or even how long Anthy had been the Rose Bride. Those were questions for another day.

"Himemiya," she asked aloud, "Why didn't you tell me before about what you could do with the sword?" She held her breath to keep from crying out at a particularly delicate insertion of the needle.

Unfazed, Anthy finished working on a gash by Utena's right rib, and scooted around the duelist to start on one in her left arm. "You never asked, Utena-sama. I know you don't like talking about the duels to begin with."

Utena let out the breath she had been holding in and closed her eyes. "Maybe I should just make it a point to be better informed, huh?"

Anthy just smiled. Before long she was finished sewing up the deeper wounds, and quietly putting her materials away.

Anyone else would have been filled with questions about the battle – specifically, how the champion of said battle had summoned up the strength to win despite downright ridiculous odds. Any other girl would have screamed at Utena for giving in to misplaced personal feelings, for letting cruel, uncaring hands have her.

As she stood to go wash her hands, the Rose Bride found her left wrist caught in a gentle grip. Looking down somewhat suspiciously, her dark green eyes found the tender expression of Ohtori's current duel champion.

"Himemiya," Utena began, almost whispering, "I was an idiot to believe what Touga was feeding me. I failed you when you needed me the most... and I'm really sorry."

To her surprise, Anthy's eyes seemed to soften a bit. "You wanted so much to believe he was your Prince of years gone by. I understand."

Utena blushed. "Thanks to my big mouth, everyone seems to know about that."

"Don't worry Utena-sama, you haven't hurt me. And I am engaged to you now."

Rubbing her left temple in a semi-frustrated gesture, Utena looked down at the floor.

"There's just one thing. When you told me that you hated being the Rose Bride, well…I understand that you were only saying what I wanted you to say. I thought I knew what you needed, without thinking I was giving you some kind of command. I won't do that anymore. From now on, you're free to do whatever you want – whether it's spending time with Chuchu and me, or making new friends."

Their resident eating machine paused in his exploration of Anthy's sewing materials to emphasize this point with an appropriate "Chu".

Before Anthy could reply, with a possible reiteration of her role in life, Utena quietly took her hand and smiled her best smile. "Before anything else, I consider you my friend."

The Rose Bride's eyes widened in what seemed like surprise. "Utena-sama...are we 'friends'?"

The duelist gently squeezed the tanned hand of her engaged.

They looked at each other for a moment, silently coming to an understanding. For his part, Chuchu popped up beside their joined hands and placed both of his smaller ones on top, closing his eyes.

"CHU!" he declared, with a saucy grin.

Early the next morning, the cozy dorm was bustling with activity and conversation, courtesy of one Shinohara Wakaba. While Anthy was busy making beds and folding up clean shirts, Utena sat at their small table, working anew on mathematical equations. After what had happened on the last test, she was making it a point to consult with Miki whenever she had questions, and keeping an eye on Anthy's schoolwork too. She had even summoned up the motivation to work on a Sunday, as gorgeous as this one was.

"…I mean, can you believe that they actually tried to make the audience think that they were cousins? Frankly, I'd have a lot of things to ask myself if I was as close to my cousin as they seem to be…"

Wakaba's usually flighty speech pattern had brought Utena back from figuring out how line GX could possibly be equal to segment T.

"Hey, it's done! Your uniform's as good as new for you to wear!" Cheerfully tying off the end of her string and snipping off what was left in the needle, Wakaba held up the jacket for her best friend to look over.

The duelist smiled. "That looks great. Thank you, Wakaba."

Before she knew it, a gasping petition for air replaced her smile, as Wakaba put her in an excited, affectionate choke hold.

"You're so welcome! Anything for my beloved Utena! Come on, come on, let's see if it looks alright!"

After being mercifully released, Utena accepted her uniform back, and easily slipped it over the white track-shirt she had been wearing. Finding it absent of any tears, she carefully rearranged her hair over the collar.

"Chu!" was the monkey-mouse's approving comment, as he gave Utena a "thumbs up". He then returned to skipping rope with a noodle from his breakfast plate.

Giggling, the duelist looked over in Anthy's direction to check on her progress. She now seemed to be organizing their shelf space and sorting their clothing by color and season. "You sure you don't want to take a break, Himemiya? I'm nearly done here – we could all take a walk or something."

The Rose Bride paused in her labors to wipe a small bead of sweat from her brow. "I am nearly done as well, Utena-sama. We can go on that walk, if you like."

Utena found herself rolling her eyes. "Only if you really feel like coming along."

Anthy smiled. "Of course. It'll give me a chance to stop by the Rose Garden before the sun is high and hot."

Her engaged turned to their visitor. "Are you up for it, Wakaba?"

The girl blushed. "Actually, I've already got plans for today. I, uh, need to head into town to get some shopping done…"

Before Utena could ask if she wanted company, Wakaba had given her a goodbye hug and skipped over to the door.

"I'll see you both later!" she called, and with a wave to Anthy and Chuchu she was gone.

"Strange," Utena murmured, but thought nothing more of her friend's sudden urgency to leave.

"Shall we go, Utena-sama?" It seemed that the duelist would only have one companion, since Chuchu had settled down for an after-breakfast snooze on Anthy's pillow.


It was a little-known fact that Touga's participation in the Kendo Club was minimal. In reality, he served as a kind of advisor to the group, as well as being Saionji's regular sparring partner. The famous rivalry between the two probably had something to do with this arrangement, despite the fact that they were said to have been the best of friends for over 10 years.

With Saionji's recent expulsion from the Academy, it seemed that the Kendo club was not only without a Captain, but that the rest of its members were too shocked and disheartened in the sport to continue with their practices. Most people had assumed that the amazing Student Council President was sure to take over, but rumors had already begun circulating that Kiryuu Touga himself would not be seen around the campus anytime soon. For undoubtedly serious and personal reasons, his younger sister Nanami had taken over the direction of the Student Council. Consequently, she had no time or interest in heading the Kendo Club, leaving the school with no volunteers to fill the position.

None, that is, except for Masamori Ruisu.

He was about a year younger than Saionji and Touga, with a shock of white-blonde hair in a short, slightly spiked style. Standing in the shadows of the Kendo Hall, his keen, light-brown eyes looked over the practice swords neatly sheathed in their holding racks. He wondered if the response from the Student Council would arrive today. The letter would either honor or dismiss his request to assume the role of Kendo Club Captain - it was his fondest wish of late, but also his greatest source of stress.

Was he anywhere close to being able to fill Saionji's shoes? Would his teammates accept the situation and return to training?

Even if they did, he would still have to get them ready for a huge tournament in Kyoto within a month's time. It was something that lay ever at the forefront of his thoughts.

At least if he wasn't made Captain, he wouldn't have to think about that particular competition or any other anytime soon.


A large glass tank sat in the middle of a pitch-black room, somewhere within the winding corridors of Nemuro Hall. Two young men leaned over it transfixed by the black, luminous water inside and the perfect black rose floating on the surface. The tallest man wore an odd version of the Ohtori school uniform - a dark blue color, with red seams and pockets, and a pair of white pants that gave him a sort of military bearing. His hair was straight, reaching no farther than his shoulders, and it was a light rosy color. His eyes were a dark, brooding brown, making him look as though he were preoccupied with someplace far beyond the here and now.

His companion, on the other hand, was his complete opposite. His large, green eyes shone with curiosity, and even innocence. He stood a few inches shorter than the first man, with noticeably darker skin and coiffed violet hair. His uniform closely resembled that of a duelist, with the same hanging cuff-links and streaming decorations, but it was a dark cranberry color that would have just seemed gaudy on anyone else.

"Our first duelist has been defeated," said the taller man. "Setbacks are going to be expected until we can find someone strong enough to defeat the Rose Bride's champion."

"Yes, Sempai," agreed his associate. "The Chairman's daughter was merely a possibility among the number available to us." He fingered the petals of the flower they gazed upon with tenderness. "Our black rose will soon choose the next contender."

Mikage Souji looked up and smiled at the boy. "You are correct - and you are most captivating when your confidence is so high. That is why the role of the Rose Bride will suit you…quite well."

Still focusing on the mysterious flower in his hand, Chiba Mamiya smiled, but said nothing more.