A/N: Been a while!

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Strawberry Panic: New Year

Episode Four

"The White Princess"

So what if I'm not as cool as Amane? It's never bothered me how she was always better at sports, how she was always smarter than me. It never bothered me that Mother and Father obviously favored her over me. The older child; the one who should have been born a boy to carry on the family name. She was graceful like a woman, strong like a man, not beautiful exactly, but definately considered handsome. Never uncomfortable in her own skin, she still managed to radiate a feminine quality even though she's considered by many to be the "Prince" of Spica.

How.

Terribly.

Ironic.

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Tohru found her sister quite by accident. She bumped into Amane as she stormed from the library in a blind rage, somehow managing to find her way back to the Family Fair. Ramming straight into the tall woman, she stumbled for the third time that day and found herself staring up into the red eyes of the eldest Ohtori child.

Amane was angry. "There you are!" she said, pulling her sister up to her feet. "We've been looking all over for you, Tohru."

"Amane," Tohru said, deadpan. "I'm sorry I inconvinienced you in any way. Do Mother or Father require my prescence?"

Amane blew one strand of blue hair out of her face, reigning in her temper. "...No," she had to admit, but didn't say anything after that. A blond girl, much shorter than Amane and even Tohru, took advantage of the silence and stepped in, bowing nervously to Tohru.

"Ah, ah, um, you're T-Tohru?" she asked, stumbling on the name. Was it too forward of her to start calling Amane's sister by her first name without even introducing herself? She blushed, bowing deeper. "I'm Konohana Hikari. Your sister and myself are the Etoile of the school. I'm pleased to meet you at last, and if you're transferring to this school I'll be sure to do all in my power as Etoile to make you comfortable, Ohtori-san."

"The pleasure is all mine, Konohana-san. Please, call me Tohru."

Hikari beamed, glad that they were getting along. "In that case, Tohru-chan, you can call me Hikari! And if you don't mind me saying, you look just like Amane-sempai. You have the same air of... grace."

She flushed again. "I- I mean, you're very similar."

Tohru had to smirk humorlessly at that. "That's very kind of you to say, Hikari-san," she said.

A black haired girl who was hanging around behind them gave Tohru a nod of acknowledgement. "Yo," she said, leaning on Hikari's shoulder. She hugged the small girl fondly. "Nanto Yaya. Hikari-chan used to be my room mate before she became Etoile. I'm the lead singer in the Choir. Interested in joining? We're always looking for new talent."

"Thank you, but no thanks Nanto-san." Tohru glanced at Amane out of the corner of her eye. "As I'm sure my sister has told you, I plan on transferring to Miator."

"A mistake if there ever was one," Yaya said, bluntly. "Listen, Tohru. Miator is cool and all, but Spica is the way to go if you want a real future."

"Yaya-chan!" Hikari elbowed her friend. "If she wants to go to Miator, that's her decision. Lots of our friends go to Miator, remember? Like Nagisa-chan?"

"But you gotta admit, Nagisa-sempai really isn't the sharpest tool in the box..."

The next thing Yaya knew, strong hands were holding her shoulders from behind and a familiar voice was speaking. "Excuse me, Nanto-san... I don't think I heard you correctly. WHO isn't the sharpest tool in the box?"

Yaya squeaked and whirled around to see the most beautiful woman Tohru had ever seen standing there, a red head at her side. It was Nagisa and Shizuma, of course, but Tohru couldnt know that. Nagisa winced, aplogizing silently to Yaya from behind Shizuma.

"Etoile-sa- I mean, Hanazono-san?! I didn't know you were back!"

The former Etoile carelessly flipped her long silver hair out of her face. "I came to visit Nagisa-chan on Family Day, of course. That's not illegal, is it? After all, if I'm not considered her family, I'm not sure who is."

"How wonderful! I was afraid no one would visit Nagisa-chan this year, what with her parents off in some foreign country!" Hikari clapped her hands together joyfully. "This here is Ohtori Tohru, Amane's little sister. She'll be going to your school soon, Nagisa-chan."

"Maybe we'll be room mates?" Tohru said, bowing in greeting to Nagisa.

Everyone but Shizuma and Tohru burst out laughing at that. Shizuma looked upset; Tohru was confused.

"Not likely," Yaya said, her voice dry. "Not unless you're willing to fight for it."

"I kind of already have a room mate," Nagisa finished, smiling weakly.

"Speaking of which, I think I see her right now." Amane squinted over the crowds, seeing a familiar bluenette making its way towards her. "Tell her I said hi. Tohru, I need to speak with you privately for a moment."

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They stood outside the church: little sibling, big sister. Amane leaned against the stone wall, her arms crossed and her eyes closed.

"You realize the risk in this, don't you Tohru?" she asked, her voice soft.

Tohru stood with her hands clasped in front of her, her face unreadable from behind her dark sunglasses. The younger Ohtori smiled, a thin smile that said nothing.

"This isn't a joke."

"Do I look amused, older sister?"

Amane clenched her jaws. "As Etoile, I can pull the strings to get you into Miator. But no one can learn of your secret, understand?"

Tohru's expression became cold. "I think it's you who doesn't understand, older sister. While you've been safe here at Spica, surrounded by people who adore you, I've been in a public school back home, getting thrashed on a daily basis because I'm..." she lifted her hands, making finger quotations. "...'Gay.' I bet the only reason our parents want me in this school is because they'll hope I'll fall for a girl and be normal."

Amane frowned. "You really think that's why they're allowing it?"

"Think about it." All of a sudden, Tohru's voice had changed. Normally sweet and high, it deepened into a lower pitch...

..the unmistakable voice of a young boy.

Tohru continued in his real voice, tucking his long blue hair behind one ear. "They're desperate for me to act like the gender I was born into," he said, bitter. "It's a half-baked plan, honestly. The girls here would like me because they think I really am a girl. Already, some girl from Spica was tripping over herself trying to impress me. You would think I was the "White Prince" of Spica, the way she was acting."

Amane had to laugh at that. "As if you could ever be a Prince."

Tohru adopted her female voice again, rapidly making the switch to the gender he wished he could be. "Of course not, older sister," she said. "I would be insulted. If anything, I'm a Princess."

"...I'll get you into Miator, if you really think you can manage it."

"Oh, I can manage it." Tohru smiled. "And who knows? Maybe I'll fit into this lesbian environment better than anyone thought..."

The last rays of the setting sun flickered over the mountains in the distance. The red glow diminished, and then disapeared entirely, leaving the two siblings to navigate their way back home in darkness.

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"..."

"..."

"..."

"...! Ah...! Ah...!"

"Hehe..."

"Ahh... ahhh!!"

"Remon-chan, I think she's going to..."

"Don't stop her!"

"AAAHHHH CHOOOOOO!!!"

Kizuna's eyes slammed shut as she sneezed violently into a napkin. Remon cheered, jumping into her chair and waving her arms around. "Hah hah hah! I am the winner of the Family Day Staring Contest!"

Chikaru raised one eyebrow. "I suppose it counts as a technical win," she said, making a mark under Remon's name on the chalkboard. "We'll continue this tomorrow."

End of Family Fair.

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Remon: This is unprecedented in the history of the Strawberry Dorms! A guy? In OUR dorms? What are his parents thinking, sending him to Miator!

Kizuna: Only time will tell what happens next, in the penultimate chapter of Strawberry Panic: New Year!