Author's Note: So I was definitely planning on having this done two weeks ago. Unfortunately, I met a very large, very painful writer's block, and my muse deserted me. I would like to think this was to encourage me to get serious about apartment hunting. Now that that's done, my muse came back and gave me a dream that nearly made me get up at two in the morning to finish writing this chapter.

So, uh, have a chapter. I need to go job-hunting next, so uh...hopefully my muse will reward me with another chapter when that's done.

Kagayaku Means to Shine
Anime: Shoujo Kakumei Utena
Primary Pairing: Utena x Anshii
Rating: PG-13
Written: 3-20 August 2006
Chapter Sixteen

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"No."

"But-"

"I said no."

"But I only-"

"I am not going to change my mind. The answer is no, and it is not going to change."

"You have to-"

"I would not suggest that you not behave like that, particularly if you are planning to ask her yourself."

"Sometimes, I dislike you just a bit."

"Sometimes I dislike you also, Touga. Now ask her yourself."

Click, went the phone as Juri closed it. She sighed and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, staring blankly at the phone, almost daring it to ring again. 'Well, that was...unexpected.'

Glancing down at the calendar on her desk, she took up a pen and made a small notation on that date's box, the first character of Touga's surname. Looking back over the other dates so marked, she frowned. 'There is definitely a pattern forming here. And it definitely has to do with the children. Well,' she sighed once more, 'Speculating in a vacuum does me no good. I think I need to talk to Utena as well.'

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Utena was, at that very moment, telling a bedtime story to a pair of enraptured children. Unlike most children, they didn't often hear tales of princes and princesses. Instead, their parents told them traditional fairytales, samurai stories, translations of Aesop's fables and Dr. Seuss...and a few stories made up on the spot for demanding children who rarely wanted to hear the same tale twice. That night, she was telling the old story of Momotaro, the boy born from a giant peach, and his triumph over the ogres.

"How happy the old man and woman were when they saw their son return safely from Ogre Island! They were very rich now with all the treasure that Momotaro had brought, and they all lived together very, very happily. The end!"

"I want to grow up and fight ogres too," Nishiki said, looking somewhat sleepily up at Utena, "And bring home lots of treasure for Papa and Mama."

Nishiko would have demanded to go along on this pretend, someday adventure...if she hadn't already fallen asleep, clutching a plush white rabbit nearly as big as she was.

Utena just smiled and brushed a lock of purple hair back behind Nishiki's ear, "I'm sure you'd be great at it, too. Now sleep, so you can grow up big and strong enough to beat loads of ogres."

"Kay...goodnight, Papa."

"Goodnight, love."

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As Utena stepped back into her own suite living room, Anshii looked up from her desk and gestured the pink-haired girl over to her. In her other hand was the telephone, and she was frowning slightly.

"Touga," she mouthed once Utena was close enough, and then giggled and swatted at her champion when the young woman pretended to swoon at the mere mention of the former playboy's name.

"What does he want, anyway," Utena asked as she settled down beside her mate, one arm around the smaller girl's waist, "And why is he bothering us so late in the evening?"

Anshii simply shrugged and pressed the button for speaker phone. Suddenly, Touga's voice rang out into the cozy room, mid-sentence.

"...and so I was hoping to speak to Tenjou-kun myself and ask for her permission, though of course I would prefer to have your consent as well, An-, um, Himemiya-san."

Utena stifled a giggle behind her hand. Touga sounded very little like his old super-confident playboy self. In fact, he sounded almost...nervous. 'Who knew that Touga rambles when he's nervous?'

"Yes, of course," Anshii said soothingly, "You may simply ask Utena, I will be glad to abide by whatever decision she makes."

"Thank you," Touga said, sounding a bit uncertain, "Is...is Tenjou-kun around, perhaps?"

"Right here, Kiryuu," Utena said, and wished she could have seen the look on Touga's face, "What did you want to ask?"

There was a moment of dead silence before Touga spoke again.

"I...I'm sorry, it was just a bit of a shock to hear you again. I've been a bit of a coward about contacting you, actually. I asked Arisugawa-kun to do it for me just today, and she told me to do it myself, so...well, here I am."

Another beat of silence.

"Oh yes, my question. Well, you see...I've been in contact with Arisugawa-kun ever since my graduation, and when I found out that she'd contacted you again...well, and then that she was living with you...I thought perhaps that I should contact you, and..."

"Let me guess. You wanna come and visit us. Or maybe live with us. This is getting to be a theme."

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Quite Some Time Later...

It was an idyllic Sunday morning, and sunlight streamed gently through a window into a well-appointed bedroom and onto the bed therein, causing the two sleeping figures to curl closer together, straight and wavy hair tumbling together across the pillows. Sun or no sun, Sunday morning was for sleeping in, and they intended to do just that.

'Intended' being the operative word.

Knock, knock, knock, said the front door of their suite.

Two pairs of eyes opened and met. Then, in silent agreement, they immediately closed again.

Knock, knock, knock.

Muscles tensed as the pair tried their level best to stay asleep.

Knock knock!

"Wake up, it's our birthday!" A young voice, muffled by the two intervening doors.

Knock knock knock knock!

"It's our birthdaaaaay! Wake uuuuuuuup!" Another young voice, obviously shouting very loudly to make it so clearly into the bedroom.

Twin groans rose from the bed as they made one last - very futile - attempt to go back to sleep. Pulling the covers up over their heads, they froze at the sound of a door opening.

"You forgot to lock it, didn't you," came a soft hiss.

"It's not my fault, you were distracting me!"

"Shh!"

They fell silent just as a pair of pajama-clad children came barreling into the room and leapt onto the bed with them, shouting and bouncing and generally making nuisances of themselves.

"We're six today!" they screamed in unison, and hugged each other, "So wake up, wake up, wake up!"

"Alright, alright," came a cry of defeat from under the blankets, "Just let us get dressed and we'll be right down, okay?"

There were more happy shrieks from the children and an unhappy grumble from the other side of the bed, and then they were left alone. And promptly attempted to go back to sleep, only to be stopped by a small head peeking in through the doorway.

"Uncle Touga? Uncle Saionji? We'll be back in a half an hour, and if you're not up we're gonna geeeeeet yooooooouuuuu!"

The door shut on a pair of tortured groans.

END CH.16

(I can hear the shouts of outrage from here.)