Moving Forward
Only a select group of people remembered the three month struggle against the Life Fibers. For the rest of the world, it was like waking from a dream that lasted years. There months had vanished from collective memory, and, when the dust of panic and confusion had finally settled a month later, the true power of the REVOCS conglomerate was revealed. Anti-Monopoly laws ensured that the organization was immediately broken into two separate parts. One half remained under REVOCS' control and the other half was broken up into the original companies that were brought together to form that half of the conglomerate.
Like its creator, the Honnoji Academy changed a great deal as well. It was no longer a training ground for young soldiers who would wield Goku Uniforms. While it remained a brutal dictatorship under Satsuki's iron fist, emphasis was now being placed on academic achievement instead of martial prowess. The starred uniforms remained the same, but they no longer granted any special abilities. Instead, they referred to a student's standing in the school, based on a composite score of scholastic success. Achievement in different areas would grant students access to these starred uniforms, which offered little in return beyond prestige and respect.
Satsuki Kiryuin, following her mother's suicide, took her place as leader of the organization. The burden of steering what remained of her mother's company fell squarely on her young shoulders. She remained Student Council President, rebuilding a rebranded REVOCS after what was officially labeled, "Ragyo's Disappearance". Thanks to the Life Fibers dulling everyone's minds, nobody knew that her mother was solely responsible for the attack of the clothing. Due to this, she was able to maintain control of her organization. In the face of the struggle that her company now faced, she became committed to making the most fashionable and affordable clothes she could. Despite, or because of, her madness, Nui Harime was an incredible designer. The company would suffer without her and Satsuki knew it.
The Elite Four, members of the student council and lords of the school, kept their positions of power beneath Satsuki, who left the actual control of the school in their hands. Her position as the leader of REVOCS afforded her little time for the administration of the academy. Mako, who was now dating Gamaboori, also joined the Elite Four. At Ryuko's behest, and some pushing from Gamaboori, Satsuki allowed her to become the Leader of No-Star affairs. It was now her duty to see that No-Star students, those who are average and below, are given the opportunity and motivation to succeed in an environment as rigorous as the one Satsuki created.
Ryuko was given the title of Student Council Vice President, if only because of nepotism. Her position gave her executive authority second only to Satsuki herself. Despite this authority, she often would only act as an extension of Satsuki's will on the Student Council if she herself was unable to attend meetings due to matters with the REVOCS corporation that demand her attention. Other times, it would often be misused. Not in a malicious sense, of course. Ryuko had a tendency to do what she thought should be right, regardless if it was against the rules or not, sometimes earning the irritation of the other elites; Gamaboori in particular. Despite not seeing eye to eye on this, they were able to remain close friends. It seemed like averting the end of the world really brought people together.
"How the facts of life have changed…", Satsuki mused to herself as she looked out the window of her private helicopter to the sprawling cityscape below.
She had just ended yet another intolerable meeting with government sanctioned anti-monopoly investigators. It was an utter mess. All of REVOCS was being audited. Half her assets had been seized, and worse yet, there were talks of investigating her private property. Fortunately, due to the mind altering properties of the Life Fibers, nobody knew how Ragyo was able to build her massive empire. She was certain that the inquiries would pass and no further punishments would be levied.
With a soft sigh, she leaned back, long ebony locks falling around her face as she crossed her right leg over the left leg. She wore a stone facade, as always, but truth be told, she was utterly exhausted. A designer woman's pantsuit clung to her every curve. Where her mother preferred elegance, Satsuki felt that a firmer, more powerful and intimidating appearance was necessary when it came to facing the powers of the world. Her suit was entirely white, save the blue tie she wore around her neck and the shining golden buttons that decorated its wrists and the front of the jacket. It was of peerless quality and fit, pulled straight from REVOCS' most exclusive executive line. It burned Satsuki to think that both she and her mother agreed she looked best in white. She refused to allow that corpse to control her life, though. Especially in death.
She closed her eyes, leaning back against the plus seat of the helicopter, losing herself in the hypnotic, deafening thrumming of the blades above her head. Her new responsibilities as the leader of the REVOCS corporation were burying her. In the past month, she'd had no time to function as the Honnoji Student Council President. Her time with her sister was painfully brief, and heavy bags were beginning to grow under her eyes. Lack of sleep was going to bury her.
Her thoughts turned to her sister, then, as her eyes cracked opened just enough to stare at the dwindling lights below, eyes falling on the dark abyss that was the unlit ocean. She couldn't suppress the flutter in her heart that came with the thought of seeing Ryuko. It astounded her how quickly the tomboy with a red shock of hair found her place in the bottom of Satsuki's heart. A thin smile creeped across her lips. The young tomboy was probably still awake now, even when she should have been asleep at least an hour ago to be awake in time for the Student Council meeting tomorrow. She pictured her wearing the pajamas Satsuki had gifted to her, nestled in a thick blanket, barely illuminated by the glowing screen in front of her, enraptured by the screen in front of her.
Satsuki paused to reflect. What was it about this girl that charmed her so? Even before she knew of their shared blood, Ryuko had intrigued her. Her soft smile split into a full grin, just for a moment as she remembered how Ryuko burst into her academy, scissor blade drawn, demanding to face Satsuki. The conviction was intriguing, but that alone wasn't enough to hold Satsuki's interest. She'd seen conviction from blustering fools before. She'd all but dismissed her when she turned and fled after her first battle. She'd mistaken will to survive as cowardice. But Ryuko returned. Then she fled, only to return and flee again and again. Just like Satsuki would have, in the face of such an impossible foe.
"Honestly…", she mused, "I should have seen it sooner."
Her thoughts were interrupted when her pilot twisted his head back to look at her over his shoulder, "We're about ten minutes out, Lady Kiryuin!"
She gestured for him to return to his duties, nodding in acknowledgement. It was good to be going home again.
Ryuko was predictable at times.
True to how Satsuki imagined her, she was curled up in her comforter atop her bed, deep within the Kiryuin Mansion. Her crimson and gold pajamas barely visible beneath the bulk of the thick blanket. Her face, illuminated by the flashing light of the TV screen, was twisted into grim determination as she frantically mashed at the buttons on her controller! She was desperate to not only fell the monstrous foe before her, but to also keep herself from destroying the controller with her monstrous strength! A low, animalistic, growl pulled itself from the back of her throat as her eyes lit with fiery determination, mashing faster and faster! Yes! This was it! After countless nights of trying!
She cackled triumphantly as her victory drew near, her foe's health bar dropping to almost nothing, "Yes! YES! I, RYUKO KIRYUIN-MATOI, AM VIC-"
Her voice hitched, eyes widening in horror as her thumb pierced the controller in her grip, snapping it neatly in two. In that instant, her foe turned on her now helpless character, utterly annihilating her.
She sighed, voice thick with bitter frustration as she dejectedly tossed the controller into the pile of its broken peers at the base of the television. She stood from her warm, cozy, cocoon to retrieve another one, only to be interrupted just as the thick blanket fell from her shoulders.
"You know, I can probably have the manufacturer make a custom one for you. That way you won't go through three of them in a night."
Ryuko whipped her head around, frustrations forgotten as her eyes widened in delight, "SATSUKI!"
Her older sister stood in the doorway, half her suit already gone, leaving her in only her white socks, slacks, and untucked button down shirt. A soft smile graced her face, hard eyes full of warmth and strength.
In a burst of speed that was almost too fast for the human eye to follow, Ryuko was upon her. Her sister flinched back at the sudden attack, but was far too slow to evade being engulfed in Ryuko's bone crushing hug. Ryuko ignored her sister's cough as she lifted her up off the ground, spinning her, "Satsukiiiii!"
Satsuki grit her teeth, lips still twisted into a smile, even as she struggled to breath, "How… very… Mako, of you, Ryuko…"
Ryuko's lips twisted into a wry grin as she set her sister down, "So she's rubbed off on me a bit! That's okay, right?"
Her sister let out a knowing chuckle, turning her head to pull a stray lock of hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. Her grin transformed into that oh-so-superior smile that Ryuko had become intimately familiar with.
"As your older sister, I hoped you'd find better influences in your life."
Ryuko put her hands on her hips, lips curling into a challenging grin, "Oh? Like you, maybe?"
Satsuki raised an eyebrow, brushing past her sister and taking a seat on the edge of her bed, "Of course. Only the best for my dear sister, after all."
She crossed her legs, fingers entwining as she clasped onto her knee, like she were once again on the throne of the student council, lording over her fortress academy. Satsuki tilted her head to the side, like she knew something that Satsuki didn't, "I'd say I wasn't expecting you to be up this late, but I know you well enough by now. Don't you have a student council meeting you need to be up for tomorrow?"
Ryuko faltered at the mention of sleep.
Satsuki had not been present for four nights in a row. Three of those nights, Ryuko had woken in the dark hours of the morning, crying and covered in sweat with nobody to comfort her. The confusion and hurt she felt when she woke wasn't the worst thing, though. It was the need she felt. Every morning, she felt so horribly naked. It was like the feeling of missing a phone in your pocket, but it covered her entire being. The sensation faded with time, but she loathed it all the same. She was beginning to dread the idea of going to sleep again.
Her sister, ever observant, noticed her hesitation.
"You're my voice on the council, now. You know I can't be there very often to mediate my friends'… discussions. And you know Mako will hardly be impartial, considering her relationship with Gamagoori."
Ryuko nearly sighed in relief when Satsuki misattributed her sleeplessness to nerves about the meeting in the morning. Truth be told, she actually enjoy council meetings if they weren't so early in the morning. Supreme power suited her. She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, doing her best to play the role of the nervous younger sister.
"It's just a lot of responsibility, Sats! Everyone expects me to be… well, you. You left big shoes to fill."
Satsuki's smile softened.
"I'm sure you'll do fine, little sister. I trust whatever decision you deem to be the best."
Ryuko's cheeks reddened at the endearing phrase. She was still getting used to the idea of using terms like little and big sister in her relationship with Satsuki.
Satsuki stood, then, crossing the distance between herself in the blink of an eye. Startled, Ryuko went to take a half step back, but was held in place by her sister's firm grip on her shoulder. The girl's eyes were sharp, mouth held in a grim line, "Ryuko, know that I support you with the full power of the REVOCS conglomerate and the power of the Kiryuin family name. Any who stand in your way will be utterly crushed and scattered like dust in the wind. We are wolves in a world filled with pigs. Am I made clear?"
Ryuko was stunned by the force of her sister's conviction, made weak and powerless before its might. She could only nod dumbly in response. This was not the turn she'd expected this conversation to take.
Satsuki relented, her grim frown turning up into a soft smile and her hard eyes softening. She eased her stunned sister into a gentle hug before turning away, beginning to make the walk down the hall to her bedroom. Before Ryuko could open her mouth to speak, her sister's voice rang out, "I'm going to bed. I expect you to be in your own shortly. I'll know if you stay up any longer."
Ryuko sighed as dread to pool in her stomach. She resigned herself to another night of torment, pausing to turn off her game before crawling into bed. Anxiety pooled in her gut with every step she took, toes curling into the luxurious carpet beneath her feet. She steeled herself as she pulled the covers over her supine form, clenching her hand into a fist around the blanket.
She was Ryuko Kiryuin-Matoi! She was the strongest person on the planet! She refused to hide from something as silly as bad dreams!
It was not long before exhaustion from the past few nights overtook her. Even as her consciousness faded, she would've sworn she could hear her mother's laughter ringing in her ears.
AN: Thank you all for the kind reviews of on the prologue. I hope you enjoyed the newest addition to the story. And yes, that IS a huge block of exposition that could have been organically explained through the narrative in this chapter. That would have required a bunch more work that I don't have the motivation to do, though.
So enjoy what you get.
Also, screw the OVA.