Darkness.

Just... darkness. No voices, no cold breeze, no harsh words, no seducer.

Himemiya... Himemiya! ... Are you running away? ... Snap out of it! ... Himemiya! ... Take my hand! ... Shine... Himemiya...

"... wake up. Miss? Can you hear me? You have to wake up. Are you alright?"

There was a ray of light, and a flash of warm color. An angelic face framed by an orange mane of curls. And the bluest eyes she had ever seen since...

"Utena," she whispered.

A frown appeared on the angel's face, and it almost felt like punishment for doing something wrong.

" What...? How...?" Even with a tinge of confusion Juri's sweet, low humming voice was alluring.

Tentatively, Anthy looked around. She lay on a bed in a scarcely decorated room. But, from all she knew, this was no...

Screeching tires and eyes widened with horror. A thud, a surge of searing pain, darkness.

... hospital.

"Where am I?" she asked, mirroring some of Juri's confusion.

"In my apartment."

"B-but why?"

"You ran into my car, do you remember? I... I slowed down but I couldn't stop in time and hit you. You bumped your head on the hood and lost your consciousness. You seemed unharmed otherwise, so we decided to take you home with us. You didn't have any bags or documents with you and we figured you might not appreciate being taken to a hospital. So... how do you... " The gentle voice stopped. She turned her head to the door for a moment, then looked back at her. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Fine," she whsipered. "Just... just my head..."

Juri smiled sympathetically. "Feeling dizzy?"

Anthy nodded lightly.

"Any pain, anywhere?"

Carefully, she shook her head. There was no pain at all, just a little dizziness, and that might as well be the hunger...

"What's your name, Miss?"

Anthy stared at the older woman. She didn't remember her? Or was that some kind of test?

"Himemiya. Himemiya Anthy."

Juri took her hand and smiled brightly. "Pleased to meet you, Himemiya Anthy-san. I'm Arisugawa Juri, but please call me Juri. And I'm sorry for the circumstances..."

Anthy lowered her eyes. "But Juri-sama, it was not your fault..."

"Oh please, ..." Juri was about to protest, but there was some jingling sound outside the door, accompanied with some mild curses.

"Juri? Juri! Help me! Open the door!"