Utena thought a lot that first night Anthy was gone. Last time she had lost a duel, she had lost all will and almost all her self respect. She had been reduced to wearing a girl's sailor fuku, even. But she had lost to Touga, and he hadn't treated Anthy right at all. He had all but ignored Anthy, leaving her to go make out or have sex with whoever. Utena didn't get the feeling that Heime would mistreat her, though. The real thing that had gotten to her last time was that she had felt lied to, betrayed even, by Anthy. But she knew Anthy had never betrayed her.
Utena sighed, turning over under her covers. She missed Anthy. She wasn't used to sleeping alone anymore, not after she and Anthy had started to share the top bunk. She wasn't sure if she should duel Heime again right away. She decided to wait. She would wait and see if Anthy wasbetter off with Heime. She loved Anthy. Lover her with all her heart, and if Anthy was better off and happier with Heime, then so be it.
"Good night, Himemiya. Sweet dreams." Utena closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
-------------------------
"So you have won the Rose Bride," said Akio.
Heime was sitting fully clothed in a chair, looking at Akio lie half naked on his bed.
"Yes," she replied. "It was too easy. Utena was far too confident in herself. She needs to learn how to use a sword."
Akio rose a delicately manicured eyebrow. "You sound as if you are friends with her," he said, propping himself up on an elbow.
"No," she said. "I feel sorry for her. To fight so hard to protect Anthy, then lose her so suddenly. She's in love with Anthy, you know."
"Is she, now?"
"Uh-huh. And Anthy loves her back."
"Impossible. The Rose Bride knows no real emotion. She is just a doll with no heart."
"Funny how you talk about your sister like that, Akio."
She eyed him carefully, checking him for telltale signs of nervousness or fear. She saw none.
"I've already told you, the Rose Bride is not my sister. I have no family."
A small, twisted smile formed on Heime's pale lips. "Wrong answer. See, Anthy told me that her dear brother, the chairman of the honorary Ohtori Academy, was Akio Ohtori himself. And that you're engaged to Kanae Ohtori, the daughter of the old head chairman, that's why you have a different name than Anthy. You lied to me, Akio. You should know by now that I hate being lied to or played with."
Akio smirked. "You seemed to like being played with perfectly fine, Heime."
In a flash, Heime was atop him, straddling him and squeezing her hands around his neck.
"Don't you dare speak to me like that again!"
She squeezed harder, bur only laughed as best he could with what little air he could get.
"If I die, so does Anthy."
Heime'e grip loosened. "Why? Why would she die if I killed you?"
"Because," he said. "I have control over her. I could kill her with a thought. We are connected, she and I. Before my dying breath I could send the signal to shut off her brain, and she would just fall and lay there like the worthless puppet she is...Just remember that if you try this again."
Heime got off him. "Fine. You win. But I won't be your puppet anymore. The power of Dios isn't for me. It never was. It was for you. After you had it, you would've gotten rid of me and Anthy. I won't let you play me anymore, and I won't let you hurt Anthy."
As she left, she heard Akio murmur, "Ah..ever the noble prince..."
Heime walked back to the dorm, sneaking back in and undressing down to her shirt again. She crawled back into bed with Anthy, and the dark haired girl stirred and opened one beautiful green eye, glazed with sleep.
"Miss Heime," she mumbled.
"Shh...shh,now. Go back to slee. Tomarrow is a big day, and we have a lot to do in the morning."
Anthy nodded and rolled over, falling back to sleep.
In the morning, Anthy woke up to the smell of bacon and sausage wafting in from the kitchen. She looked up and saw that the icicles were gone from the ceiling. When she went out to the front area, the falling snow was gone too. Hm, she thought. Guess she doesn't want them around all the time.
She opened the kitchen door and saw Heime making bacon, sausage, eggs, pancakes, and using a juicer to get orange juice.
"Oh, my! Miss Heime, let me finish making your breakfast. You shouldn't have to prepare your every meal now that i'm here to serve you."
Heime shook her head. "Nuh-uh. You sit your ass down. This is your breakfast. I've already told you a hundred times, you aren't gonna serve me. Tenjou may have let you have your way, but I won't."
Anthy sighed and went back to their room to get dressed. Then the doorbell rang and she went to answer it. She hadn't had time to put her hair up, so it hung loose, spilling down her back in love waves.
She answered the door and her eyes widened to see Utena and Wakaba standing there. "Miss Utena, Wakaba, what are you doing here?"
Utena grinned. "Heime invited us over for breakfast. Like my new uniform, Anthy? Wakaba insisted I change it since this looks better with my hair than the black one."
Anthy looked Utena over as they entered the main hall. She now wore an alternating black and white uniform jacket and pants with the same style, except reversed, black on the outside area of the legs, and white on the in.Plus a hat. A really nice black one that looked almost military, except instead of a military insignea, it had the rose seal on it. Not to mention new shiny black shoes. (Movie version of her uniform)
"It looks very nice, Miss Utena. Did Wakaba take you shopping?"
"Yes, and it took her forever to dissuade her from getting the alternate choice for this uniform. Took me an hour to convince her that this one was better looking on me"
Heime walked into the room. "What was the alternative?"
Utena blushed. "A pink uniform with a green trim." (Manga uniform until Utena gets the black one from Dios)
Anthy stopped and stood there for a moment, trying to picture Utena in such a uniform, then broke out into a giggle fit.
"Woah..." Wakaba said, looking at Anthy as if it was her first time seeing her.
"Woah is right..." Utena said.
"Forgive me, Miss Utena," Anthy said, still giggling. "It's just that you would look so silly in a pink uniform!"
Anthy gasped for air and wiped a tear from her eye. Heime grinned at her, a mix of happiness and some sort of pride in her eyes.
"C'mon. Breakfast is ready."
They went into the dining hall where Utena and Wakaba sat next to eachother. Anthy pulled a chair out for Heime, but she just shook her head and pushed Anthy into the seat by her shoulders. Anthy tried to stand back up but Heime just shook her head, putting a hand to the top of Anthy's head and pushing her back into the chair.
"Nuh uh. Sit. I'll serve breakfast. Be right back."
Heime disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Anthy, Utena, and Wakaba alone at the table.
"So how is it here, Himemiya? Is Heime as nice as she seems?" Utena asked.
"Yeah," said Wakaba."She seemed kinda mean, at first. We met her a few days ago, right? She was so cold..."
Anthy smiled. "Well, i've only been here for one day, but Miss Heime is very nice. She's a painter, you know."
"Really?" Utena asked. "A painter? What does she paint?"
"Everything," said Heime as she came in with two steaming trays balanced on her palms. She set them down and Utena and Wakaba's eyebrows shot up.
Wow," said Wakaba. "I didn't know you could cook!"
Heime grinned and shrugged girls. Girls from Thailand have to learn how to cook at a really early age."
"Thailand? You're from Thailand?" asked Utena.
"Yeah. My father was a great swordsman and my mother taught young children, mainly boys, how to read. I'm one of the few girls I knew who could read and write perfectly from my home town, and only my sister could beat me in a fair swordfight from what father taught us."
"Wow," whispered Utena. "That's some history..."
"Yeah, I guess. Now eat up, the grub's gettin' cold!
"YEAH!" Utena and Wakaba cried, grabbing pancakes onto their plates along with almost everything else there to offer.
Heime laughed and rolled some sauseges onto her plate, also grabbing some eggs and orange juice.They ate for a few minutes before they noticed that Anthy was gone.
"Hey," Utena said. "Where's Himemiya?" She looked around, half expecting to see her getting more food from the kitchen.
"She must have gotten the door. I heard someone knock a few minutes back.Why isn't she back yet?" Heime said.
She stood up. "I'll go check on her. You two keep on eating."
She went to the front door and found it wide open. She went outside to look for Anthy, only to hear her scream from far away.
"Anthy!"
Heime began running, pumping her arms as she went. She heard rushing footsteps from behind, and looked back to see Utena following after. Heime looked down to see blood splatters on the ground. Worried that the blood might be Anthy's, Heime ran faster and soon came into sight of a green haired teen carrying Anthy over his shoulder.
Utena caught up with Heime, running beside her now.
"HIMEMIYA!"
The green haired guy looked back...and it wasn't Saionji. It was a girl. Heime put on a burst of speed and grabbed the scruff of the light green boy's uniform jacket that the girl was wearing. She dropped Anthy, and Utena caught her.
"Lemme go! Lemme go! Or feel the wrath of Kuonichi Saionji!"
Okay...so it was a Saionji
"Why did you take Anthy!" Heime roared. Kuonichi flinched.
"Big Brother told me to! He said that neither of you whores deserve the Rose Bride! That she truly loves him!"
Utena and Anthy exchanged a 'that's Saionji for you' look while Heime ground her teeth at the girl.
"You have a lot of nerve to go about kidnapping my friend in the middle of breakfast. Now i'm gonna be a nice little girl and take you home with us. Now before I do that, I want you to tell me who's blood this is on the ground."
Kuonichi worried her lower lip through her teeth a bit before sighing. "It's mine. The Bride bit me."
Heime growled and slapped Kuonichi. To Anthy, the growl sounded like that of a lion.
"She has a name! Anthy. Anthy Himemiya. You will address her properly!"
Kuonichi nodded and touched her cheek.
Heime released the girl and crossed her arms. "Where did she bite you?"
Kuonichi turned her head and showed her ear, which was badly bleeding. Heime turned to Anthy, eyebrows raised.
"You pulled a Tyson on her?"
Anthy was standing now and tilted her head. "A what?"
"Nevermind."
Heime turned back to Kuonichi with a small smile on her lips.
"If Anthy bit you, you'll need shots. No idea what kind of infectious diseases she has- GAH!"
Anthy had whapped Heime on the back of the head, much to the surprise of Utena. Heime rubbed her head and glared at Anthy, who just stood there with an innocent smile on her face and her hands behind her back. Kuonichi tried to stifle a giggle behind her hand but failed. Heime sighed and gestured for Kuonichi to follow her.
"C'mon, let's go finish breakfast. Have you eaten yet, Kuonichi?"
Surprised by the question, Kuonichi hesitated. These were the monsters that had stolen Anthy Himemiya from her big brother? But no, Kyouichi had been wrong about things before, like whether Touga wore boxers or briefs. Maybe this was just his jealousy taking over again.
"No, I haven't."
Heime smiled. "Let's get you some breakfast,then."
They walked back to the dorm, and Heime introduced Kuonichi to Wakaba, who seemed to take a liking to the green haired girl right away. Not surprising, she was a Saionji, after all. Except she was a girl and had short hair.
Anthy fixed Kuonichi's ear and Heime served her some breakfast. This time, though, Kuonichi sat next to Wakaba.