As Utena walked to class, she found it strange that she didn't see anyone that she had known before. No Wakaba. No Juri. No Touga. She hadn't really expected to see the duelists, with the exception of Miki; she had no idea how long she had been gone, but it wouldn't have been strange if the older Duelists had graduated. But she hadn't seen Miki or the others still had years to go, and she doubted they would refrain from speaking with her if they had seen her.

The day that she answered the call, Akio walked her through campus on the way to the student council meeting. They didn't exchange a word the entire time, but even so, she understood. She wouldn't see her friends anymore. They had escaped Ohtori. Almost everyone did. She was still in its grasp. In his grasp.

Utena sighed quietly and sat down in her seat. The teacher began to talk about something or another and she tuned him out, her mind drifting to the thought of the upcoming duel.

She had been introduced to the duelists the night before, and she wondered which one would take her place.

The first duelist was Yusaki. Her black hair was compressed into a ponytail in the back of her head, but a gaggle of curls had escaped and surrounded her face. Utena thought that she looked a little like Himemiya, with her skin only a shade lighter. The small resemblance was buried beneath her personality. Her eyes were wide as they flittered between Akio and Utena, as if unable to decide who she wanted to speak to first.

"So, who gets her first?" Another duelist asked. His midnight blue hair brushed his eyes as he straightened up, hand under his chin. His name came to her suddenly, and she wondered if it was magic that let her know. Koyasu. Yusaki opened her mouth to answer, but Koyasu interrupted, waving her away. "I get the point of dueling to win the Power to Revolutionize the world, but how do we begin if no one had her first?"

Akio snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. His throat rested above her head, and she felt him speak as he answered. "I will pick one of you randomly, and that person shall be engaged to her first."

"That's biased!" Kawakami exclaimed, her glasses sliding to the edge of her nose as she moved forward. "Whoever has the Rose bride first will be more likely to win because they have the Sword of Dios fir-."

"Sword of the Rose." Utena corrected, the words flowing out of her mouth before she could stop them. Akio tensed behind her, and she regretted saying it, even though it was the correct name for it; Dios had lived and died and passed, and it was no longer his sword that she kept inside of her. While Anthy's name worked well enough the first time, it was also the incorrect title.

"Same thing." Kawakami pushed her glasses back up sullenly. Her cheeks were nearly as red as her hair.

Akio shook his head. "She's right. If you do not know it's name, then it won't come for you when you call it." He smiled warmly and the red haired girl frowned. "Kami, what you say is true, but Utena will do nothing but watch the first fight. She is naught but a spectator."

Kami nodded, pleased with the answer, at the same time that Sasaki called the elevator. He waited by the door, and tapped his foot as the others turned to face him.

"You're leaving?" Yusaki asked, a tinge of disappointment audible in her voice. That tone was familiar, almost the same as Nanami's when she begged for Touga's attention; It was the same underlying tone that Juri tried to hide as she talked about Shiori; It was the sound of hidden love.

Utena wondered how that would come into play later in the duels, as both Juri and Nanami's devotion had ultimately ended up hurting them.

The young man was the tallest of the bunch, and as he turned back to the group, Utena gasped. His face was the first familiar one that she had seen, but even so, he was different. Tsuwabuki. He had grown out of his childish frame, and his blond hair had grown out to his shoulders. His elementary school uniform had been replaced by the standard duelist uniform, although it was the same color as his old uniform was. Turquoise.

"I know how the duels go. I just wanted to see her. To make sure that the Rose Bride was real." He said as the elevator opened. He met Utena's eyes for a moment, and then the door closed and his disappeared.

Utena wondered if his appearance meant that she would see the others; if he hadn't escaped, then what were the chances that anyone else had? The student council exchanged a few more words, then left, leaving Utena alone with Akio.

"Let's look at the stars tonight. They're just as beautiful as before you left. Perhaps more so." He said, towing her over to the railing. Her dress flapped in the breeze as he dipped her, and pressed a kiss to her mouth.

She wanted to push him away, to run into the waiting elevator and run back to her dorm, but she couldn't. Instead, she found herself leaning into the kiss, and arching her back into his grip. She wondered if he could feel her beating heart pressed against his chest, and if he could tell of it's origin; whether from fear or arousal, she herself could not tell.

OoOoOoO

The real world was an exhausting place. You had to work, sleep and then start the cycle again, occasionally stopping to eat. Anthy preferred it to her brother's domain. Here, she fell asleep every night in relative ease, weighed down with the exhaustion that came from working ten hours in a tea shop, and from the additional five that she spent searching for her after work. If only she had Utena safe beside her. She would be completely content then.

Anthy put the broom and mop back into the storage closet and locked up the shop. She had been working there since she had left, and found the job to be pleasant. It was simple work, and was mostly accomplishable with the help of her magic, but after she had rescued Utena she had had to use it less often. Her cleaning became less thorough and her tea a little less sweet. She wondered if anyone noticed.

She walked back to her apartment amongst the sounds of the city's transition from day to night. A siren rang out to the sky and she thought about Utena again. More specifically, her rescue. Nearly a month had passed since she had seen her last, and it was making her nervous. She had left Ohtori so long ago, and doubted that she could return; she had yet to actually try. If she returned, could she leave again? The question launched an avalanche, and the mountain of questions tumbled inside of her. Had the duels started yet? Where was she sleeping? Were the swords still hurting, or had Akio's presence numbed them?

She paused in her quiet frenzy. In the alley between her apartment complex and the bodega beside it grew a vine. Sharp thorns sprouted from it, leading to the roof of the building. From it, a single purple rose grew. As she stared at the impossible flower, it bloomed, and it's heady scent blew towards her.

Well if that wasn't an invitation, she didn't know what was.

OoOoOoO

Wakaba walked past the gaggle of girls in the living room, and went straight to her bedroom. She tossed her purse onto the floor and fell face first into the warmth of the blanket. The day had been terrible. Her boss had called her in on her day off because the store had an unexpected rush day. When she arrived, she'd had to reorganize all of the shelved clothes and had spent two hours helping an indecisive grandmother pick out clothes for her grandchildren. The day had ended with her having to go to an evening orientation for incoming college students, and the events had left her dead tired.

Her roommate knocked on the door before slamming it open. "You got a letter." She tossed the envelope at her and slammed the door shut. The sound of the girls giggling recommenced. Wakaba groaned and sat up, snatching the envelope up from the carpet where it had landed. Immediately, she knew that it wasn't her bi monthly letter from her parents. The paper was too thick, too expensive feeling. She had only received anything like it from Ohtori, when she was told that she had been accepted.

She sat up and leaned against the headboard as the tore open the envelope. She had no idea what it could be. After she had graduated early, she hadn't had any contact with anyone from Ohtori. Utena had disappeared, and Anthy had left a week or so later. The student council had slowly become less tight-knit, and eventually, the older ones graduated. She hadn't talked to them or thought of them since her own graduation, but as she opened the letter, her mind drifted back to when she had written that love letter to Saionji, and then to that month when he had stayed with her.

Green hair, prettier and longer than hers. An absolutely gorgeous body. And antipathy towards her. Her heart throbbed and she pushed away the memories. She pushed her thumb under the flap and peeled the wax seal away. Three pink flower petals fell from the envelope, but she didn't pay attention. There were only five words typed on the paper: Will you duel for her?

OoOoOoO

Juri walked off of the set, her gown bunched up in her fists. The blue fabric was wet, and she would have to change gowns again for the second shoot, but she didn't mind; the money that it would earn her was worth the discomfort. She stepped into her trailer and closed the door lightly behind her before pulling the gown off and hanging it by the door. She sneezed.

The shoot had been overly long, and since it was a water shoot, she had had to be wet the entire time. It figured that she would catch a cold. She toweled off and pulled on her robe as someone knocked on the door.

"Coming." She called, as she tied the sash and opened the door. One of the interns stood outside, eyes averted from her gaze. He held out a letter, and it shook as his hand did. It seemed that a lot of interns were intimidated by her, though she was never rude towards them; perhaps it was her aloofness, she thought as she picked up the letter. Silently, she dropped the wet dress into his awaiting arms, then closed the door.

She almost threw it on the coffee table, to be reviewed later when she wasn't dead tired but something about it was strange. The envelope was not signed, and the only identifier as to who it came from was the rose signet pressed into the wax. The same rose that was on the duelist ring that she still wore.

That rose still haunted her sometimes.

She tore it open, too anxious to peel away the wax seal gingerly. The top corner of the envelope was torn, but the picture on it was still visible. A picture of a pink haired girl, fourteen and smiling brightly, stared back at her. Shaking, she pulled out the letter.

It was a torn scrap of paper, perhaps from a disposable menu, or a napkin. On it were five words, hastily scrawled: Will you duel for her?

OoOoOoO

Miki's fingers hurt.

After his father had called him back home, he had focused on his music more and more. His new wife was a strange woman who was not exactly mean, but still colder than he had expected her to be. It was easier to ignore what was wrong with their family if he drowned it out with music.

He had outgrown the Sunlit Garden, and changed it into something new; something that he wasn't exactly done with yet. He took another drink of his water, as Kozue strolled in, a new man on her arm. She smirked at him as she passed and the man placed an envelope on the piano.

"It appears that you've still got business with Ohtori. Perhaps you'll bring me along?" And then the pair disappeared into the next room.

He placed the empty glass back on the table and sat down on the bench. Ohtori? He hadn't heard that name in a long time. In fact, he hadn't thought of the place unless Kozue brought it up, which was becoming an increasingly more rare occurrence. He picked up the envelope, and with sore fingers pulled the wax seal from the paper. He put it on his knee and unfolded the paper.

A torn corner of math homework fell from it; it was just the corner, where one wrote their name and half of a math problem. Only the last few letters were legible: enjou. He dropped the scrap and read the message, printed perfectly in a forced style, as if one had practiced for hours to make it perfect: Will you duel for her?

OoOoOoO

Saionji brushed the young woman aside, and grabbed his glass, downing it in one gulp before slamming it back down. He didn't spare her a second glance as he left the bar. He was barely legal, but he still loved the taste of it. The young woman pouted sourly, before finding someone new to flirt with.

She had looked fine, at first glance. Perhaps a bit familiar, somewhat reminiscent of a girl Juri had hung around back at Ohtori. Shanae maybe, no, Shiori. Besides her familiarity, she had begun with a spew of compliments, and after his recent failure at the Kendo qualifiers, it was welcome praise. He had listened.

And then she had begun about Ohtori. About the Chairman. About a new revolution, because the first had not revolutionized the world completely. He'd had enough of the gab, and after downing his drink, he left.

Stepping out onto the sidewalk, he pulled his jacket tighter. A gust of wind pushed him back, throwing his hair into his face, and thrusting paper over his eyes. He pulled it off, and just as he was about to let it go, he noticed the seal. Ohtori.

He turned heel and reentered the bar. Sliding into an empty booth, he pulled it open, tearing the paper beneath the seal. Inside was a folded note of familiar stationary. The exchange diary. He gingerly opened it. Inside was a drawn picture of Utena, one that Anthy had made. To the side was a caricature of him and Anthy holding hands. Written underneath were five words: Will you duel for her?

OoOoOoO

Nanami was struggling to stay awake. She still had two pages of math work to do, and seeing how she was out of lackeys to do it for her. To be honest, she hadn't had any lackeys since she had left Ohtori and transferred to the prestigious Lankmere Academy. She lifted her hand from the page, the answer obvious in her mind.

Her eyes fell closed and she jerked awake, a line of ink across the page. She growled and sat up straighter. She attempted the problem again, numbers running through her mind lazily. She raised her pen again.

"Miss. Nanami?" A maid had paused above her, a letter deposited on her math book. "You have a letter. Perhaps it is one from your brother, eh?" The maid didn't wait for a response, and went back to her chores.

Nanami glanced at the letter. She doubted her brother would send her anything; she hadn't heard from him in nearly a year. Still, she hoped. She picked up the envelope, and flipped it over. Stamped on the thick parchment was a rose seal, the same one that she and her brother had worn when they dueled.

Suddenly, she wasn't sleepy anymore.

Carefully she brought it to the kitchen sink, all the while holding it as if it were a dangerous snake that could attack at any moment; for all she knew, it could. With one hand, she turned on the faucet. With the other, she thrust the paper underneath it. She waited until it was soaked and then ripped it apart. Or, at least tried to. No matter how hard she tried, the paper wouldn't tear. After getting wet, it dried almost instantly. It was as if the letter was immortal.

Nanami growled and threw it back on the table. It landed on her math book. Maybe if she opened it first, it would die.

She tore away the rose seal and crumbled the wax in her hand until it was an unidentifiable red lump. She spread out the letter without looking at it, until her hand touched upon a strange figurine. She lifted it away from the paper, and turned around before looking at it. It was an origami bed, partially crumpled from the mail service. She turned it over in her hand as it slowly dawned on her. The only time that she had even seen this bed was when she had stayed with Utena and Anthy and… the Chairman.

So this was something about Utena, she mused as she placed the figure on the table. Perhaps it wasn't as dangerous as she had originally thought. Carefully, she turned around and read the note. It was crumpled too, and the ink was smeared, but she understood the message easily enough: Will you fight for her?

OoOoOoO

Touga stared impassively at the man. He did not move, and continued to hold out the letter, now slightly crumpled from it's fall onto the floor. He stared at it's seal: the rose was partially ruined now, but nonetheless it was a familiar sign. Not just because of the duels, but also because he had been chasing that sign since he had graduated. It had led him across the world, and then to India, which appeared to be where Ends of the world and the Rose Bride had all come from.

He had seen the symbol so many times in paintings, murals, sculptures. All of which depicted a prince on a shining steed, rescuing a princess from a dragon, a tower, or a witch. It was the witch that intrigued him the most. Sometimes he would find her face on a princess, and other times she would be the attacker. Either way, in every picture she was there and played one of the two roles. All except for one.

That mural was the one that he was standing in front of now. The colors were impossibly unfaded, and the image was too intricate for a simple cave painting. Behind the regal figure of the prince was a mural of roses, a sword impaled through each one. He stared at the viewer with no remorse, and on the end of his sword was a younger prince, his white suit stained red, and face black with anonymity.

What he didn't understand was how a village man had found him there, and managed to deliver a letter that reeked of Ends of the world to him. The man still had not moved, except to thrust the letter at him once more.

Touga picked it up carefully, and the man silently left.

The paper was unsigned, and the envelope was stamped with the rose seal. He ran his thumb underneath it and opened it carefully. Soft, pink rose petals fluttered to the ground, a scrap of a dress slipping beside them. They were the same color pink that Utena's dueling Rose had been. He picked them up carefully before reading the simple message: Will you duel for her?