"Oh look over there, it's Duck and Fakir!" Lilie pointed across the courtyard towards the hill near the fountain. Sure enough, Duck and Fakir were seated on the hill with Chibiusa next to them. "Oh is that Duck's roommate? Oh how scandalous!"

"How is that even scandalous?" Pike frowned.

"It could be a menage trois!" Lilie simply made up the story as she saw fit. Placing a hand on her face, she seemed to revel in the supposed scandal. "Oh poor Duck! Bested by her roommate!"

"I don't think that's it," Pike shook her head, grabbing Lilie by the sleeve. "Let's go. We have homework to do."

Fakir closed the notebook, tucking the quill in the pages. "So let me get this straight, you're from outside this town from another country?"

Chibiusa had busied herself with doodling in a notebook. She wasn't really used to working with quills but at least this place seemed to have ordinary wooden pencils. The place didn't seem to understand comics but she was drawing them anyway, detailing the oddities of her first day in class at Gold Crown Academy. "Mhm. It's called Tokyo. Momo's from there too, but she doesn't seem to remember."

"But you're also from the moon, like in the story," Duck pointed out.

"I was born on Earth but Mama was from the Moon," Chibiusa nodded. It was a bit more complicated than that. Usagi was reincarnated on Earth after being a princess of the Moon Kingdom. Then eventually, Usagi ascended with Mamoru and the two became the Queen and King of the future Earth but also the Moon Kingdom had been restored. But that was too complicated to describe, so she just decided it was easier to say Mama was from the Moon.

"And yet, somehow this world sought to bring you here as if you were Princess Kaguya," Fakir noted.

"Any idea why yet, Fakir?" Duck leaned against him. "Are there other Spinners?"

Chibiusa still was trying to figure out all the terms. It was like being told to read the middle of the story and skipping the beginning. "Spinners are the ones who write the stories that control this place, right?"

"That's right," Fakir nodded. "If there's one here, we'll need to find a way to counteract them. Normally they're in control, but sometimes they can be intertwined into the story itself. But first, we'll need to know what they're after and how you're tied into all this, Chibiusa. There must be a reason why this story started again after we finally had ended it."

"Whatever it is, I'll be ready," Chibiusa nodded assuredly. Surely her sailor powers still worked, even in a storybook world. After all, magic was pretty prevalent in legends and myths. It made sense, at least in her mind. "We'll figure this out together."

"Until then, the best we can do is play along and see how this story unfolds," Fakir suggested.

Duck knit her brow a bit. She was worried about Mytho and Rue's story. If stories were coming back to life, would they be pulled from their book as well? They had finally found happiness. The Raven had fallen, Mytho had his heart back, Rue was no longer Kraehe. It was better they stayed in the book, happy with their ending.

She was also worried that she wouldn't be able to help as Princess Tutu anymore. She was only Tutu due to the heart shard that Drosselmeyer had given her.

But Chibiusa's determination was infectious, and she did have Fakir at her side now. Perhaps this wouldn't be too ultimately bad.

...

Chibiusa was unnerved, glancing beside her. Art classes from several grades had been combined into one for a large drawing symposium. To one side was Momoko. But the other side was one of those animal people. It was only her second day here, so everything felt very strange and foreign. And she wouldn't have been so unnerved if the animal she'd merged with had been anything but a crocodile.

She tried to turn her attention to the teachers in the front of the art studio.

"Today, we have special guests for our art symposium," announced the teacher. Miss Kitter was a tall black cat with brilliant green eyes. She sported a pair of wire-framed glasses and a flowy yellow spring dress. She was drawing teacher for Chibiusa's grade and was a very kind person, if not at first unnerving that a giant cat was teaching an art class. "Our focus today is on movement and flow of the art, so I've invited a few guests to come pose for us. Mr. Cat, if you would."

Chibiusa peered around her easel, watching the brown cat in a green shirt enter the room. So this was Mr. Cat that Duck had told her about yesterday, the one that threatened to marry everyone.

Mr. Cat's ears twitched. "Was someone thinking about m-m-m-m-marria-"

"Mr. Cat!" Miss Kitter hissed.

"Mmrrrrrrrrrrr," Mr. Cat growled, conceding. "I have the pleasure of introducing one of our top ballet students and that other one. Not sure why you chose her."

"I'm not sure why either..." came the meek voice from behind the door.

"In any case," Mr. Cat cleared his throat, "here are Fakir and Duck to pose for you today.

Duck offered a rather nervous wave, practically clinging to Fakir.

"Don't be nervous," Fakir told her quietly. "Just remember the dance in the lake."

That was right, the dance in the lake. It was the time when she'd accepted who and what she was and understood her feelings for Fakir. It was also the time where she'd danced so gracefully as if she had gained Tutu's dancing skills suddenly. Or perhaps it was because she'd had such a great partner.

As the crowd of artists clapped to welcome them, Duck noticed Chibiusa sitting in the second row. Duck vigorously shook her head. Don't be nervous, Duck! she chided herself. She had both Chibiusa and Fakir to support her right now. And she was dressed in a beautiful baby blue tutu with gold accents that complimented Fakir's deep blue attire.

"You'll have five minutes to sketch each pose before the dancers change positions," Miss Kitter explained. "The dancers can choose whatever pose they desire each time they change, but make sure it's something you both can hold for five minutes."

Duck swallowed hard. She wasn't that good, and she wasn't even on pointe yet. Why exactly did Miss Kitter choose her again?

Fakir took her by the waist. "Let's start easy," he whispered to her. "Releve in fifth position and lean into me."

Chibiusa marveled as Duck stood on her toes, raising her arms above her head in the shape of an egg. Fakir held her by the waist, supporting her as she leaned slightly into him. Those two were truly amazing, Chibiusa noted as she quickly sketched the pose they held, adding movement into Duck's tutu as she worked. She'd have to show the pair her sketches later.

"Five minutes, change pose," Miss Kitter announced.

"Do an arabesque," Fakir told her quietly.

"I-I'm not sure I can hold it for five minutes," Duck admitted nervously.

"Just hold it as long as you can," Fakir told her, placing one hand on her stomach and the other underneath her extended leg. "Remember, we're doing this together. Remember we've danced together before. Just think of the lake."

"R-right," Duck attempted to reassure herself. She had danced beautifully there in that lake, even if it had started off as a dance of sorrow. But in that moment, she felt close to Fakir, she felt certain of herself, she felt more like Tutu. She wanted to be a good dancer like Tutu and like Rue.

"Your roommate is so pretty," Momoko gushed to Chibiusa.

"She really is," Chibiusa agreed. "Look at how graceful she looks."

But Duck didn't feel so graceful. Her supporting leg felt like it was burning. Please let the five minutes be up already!

Chibiusa continued to scribble at the paper until her charcoal stick suddenly broke. "Oh no, it broke, and I'm not done with the sketch yet!"

"Here," the crocodile girl leaned over, offering her a stick of charcoal. "I have extras, so use this. Try not to bore too hard into the paper. It makes it easier to get the fine lines and keeps your charcoal from breaking."

Chibiusa stared for a moment then smiled. "Thanks!" This crocodile girl wasn't so scary. She was actually pretty nice. She turned back to the paper, continuing to sketch as quickly and as delicately as she could. The crocodile girl's tips really did help.

"Five minutes, change pose!" Miss Kitter announced.

Fakir leaned into her again. "You trust me, right?"

Duck stared over her shoulder at him. "Well that's kind of a silly question, Fakir, of course I trust you I mean we've been through some much and all and-"

"Tuck up your supporting leg," he interrupted her. "We're doing a fish dive." He wrapped his arm around her waist, bending his front leg as she leaned over it. He guided her further forward as he leaned as well, lifting her off the ground and completely supporting her with his leg and arm. "Just keep your back arched and you won't fall."

"R-r-right..." she was admittedly nervous. She hadn't done too much pair work outside of when she danced as Tutu. However, Duck was still determined to be a good dancer. She had to do her best, not only for herself but for Fakir. If she didn't do this right, it would put a lot of strain on him and he wouldn't be able to hold her. She peered towards the doorway, keeping her focus on something not moving, and she notice Mr. Cat staring in shock.

Chibiusa quickly flipped to the next page, flipping the paper on the easel sideways so she could get the whole pose in. Ballet sure was pretty. She'd barely seen much of it, but everything about it was so graceful and the pair made it look so effortless.

But Duck didn't feel like it was effortless. Think of the Pas de Deux at the lake. She glanced over her shoulder at Fakir, who seemed to be holding the position as if he were simply standing. Of course, Fakir is really good at this, holding this pose like it's nothing. I want to be a good dancer like him and Rue and Mytho. I want to be a good partner for him, so I'll hold this pose as best I can so he doesn't feel strained.

In truth, it was like the dance at the lake. It felt effortless, even though he could tell that she was feeling a little strained. These poses weren't exactly meant to be held for so long, but it was fun to try. In truth, he had missed dancing since the story ended. He missed dancing with Duck, even if she was a little shaky and unstable when she did it. But that dance at the lake, that was when she felt like she wasn't holding back. Perhaps they'd dance like that again.

"Five minutes, final pose!" Miss Kitter announced.

"Let's finish this off grand," Fakir proposed, pulling Duck upright so she could unbend her supporting leg and return to arabesque. "Let's do a Romeo and Juliet lift."

"I-I-I've never done one before..." Duck stammered. "At least not as Duck..."

"Arch your back and pull both legs up like you're doing a swan dive," Fakir instructed. "Hold very still and I'll do the rest." He knelt down in front of her as she leaned forward, placing both hands on her belly and lifting her up over him as he knelt.

She held herself as still as possible, seeing Mr. Cat nearly collapse in the corner from surprise. She could hear a few gasps in the classroom. Was it possible that she was capable of becoming a great dancer as she'd always wanted? Perhaps Tutu really was just another side of her, a very graceful beautiful side that really wasn't Duck, but maybe the two didn't have to be so different.

...

Duck nearly collapsed on the walkway outside the art building.

"Oh my wonderful and graceful little duck!" Lilie plucked Duck off the sidewalk and pulling her into an unnecessarily tight hug. "You looked so amazing today! Pike and I were watching you through the window, totally not stalkerish or anything at all! Soon you'll be out of that probationary class and into pointe with us!"

"I... I can't breathe..." Duck gasped.

"You really did look amazing, both of you!" Chibiusa complimented. "I'll have to share all my sketches with you!" she indicated the large sketchpad tucked under her arms. "I was so into it I accidentally broke my charcoal twice." She laughed at herself a bit, embarrassed.

"You just need to not bore down so hard," the crocodile girl informed her. "I'm Crocodette, by the way. Same grade as Fakir here." She offered a polite wave.

"QUAAAA-" but the Lilie squeezed the wind out of Duck before she could say more.

Another girl approached. She had short dusty hair and large wire-framed glasses, reminding Chibiusa of Ami when she wore her glasses and was being studious. "Oh hello, Duck, it's good to see you again."

"Oh hi, Malen!" Duck wriggled her way out of Lilie's grip. "It's good to see you again too! I hope our dance was inspiring since I know you like to draw ballet and all but I mean it was mostly Fakir doing all the work and stuff."

"Idiot," Fakir scoffed. "It's a partnership."

"Can't you draw anything else?! Idiot!" The group turned to see a girl with two buns on the side of her head that looked like mouse ears harassing a boy with deep blue hair holding a sketchpad.

"Well that's not very nice," Duck pushed her lips out angrily.

"That's Shobolan and Artis," Crocodette filled the group in. "They're both artists and dating, but I've never seen them act like this."

"I haven't either," Malen shook her head. "Normally they're so kind to each other, encouraging each other to become better artists. Their art is beautiful."

"But lately all Shobolan does is shout at him, and all Artis wants to do is draw cats," Crocodette added. "It's really strange. Artis has always liked cats, but he's never drawn them so obsessively and Shobolan was always really friendly before."

A sudden change? Duck listened to the description. It almost sounds like a heart shard, but those have all been returned to the prince. Maybe Fakir is right. Something is going on here. People don't just change so much so fast.

"That's heartbreaking," Chibiusa frowned.

"It really is. Now it seems that all Shobolan wants to do is shatter Artis's dreams of becoming a painter," Crocodette added.

The crocodile girl's words struck hard with Chibiusa. She wanted to be the protector of people's dreams as Chibi Moon, but the sailor guardians had fought that battle against Nehellenia and won, returning people's dreams to them. She knit her eyebrows as she watched Shobolan shove Artis off towards the dorms. Could there be someone after people's dreams? Or was she overthinking this?

She glanced over to Duck and Fakir. They looked worried. Perhaps she wasn't so far off. Something was going on here, and she'd soon likely have to fight. She clutched her brooch. The other guardians weren't here. She'd have to fight alone, but to protect her new friends, she'd do everything she could to stop whatever evil threat had surfaced.

...

Author's ramblings

Lilie's attempts to make everything a scandal is my favorite.

All the moves Duck and Fakir use are real ballet moves. My favorite is definitely the fish dive. I found it while looking up holds. I thought it would have a more elegant name but it is legitimately called a fish dive. And it looks like a fish diving.