"Are we really supposed to be here?" Chibiusa asked quietly as she leaned against the theater door.

"Oh don't you worry about it, Chibiusa. It's certainly not a scandal!" Lilie laughed.

"When you put it like that, I'm having trouble believing it isn't," Chibiusa stared at her with uncertainty.

"Oh don't let her get to you," Pike clarified. "Mr. Cat said it was fine to watch. He said we could learn more about ballet, and I don't see why art students would be allowed in either. You've drawn them all a few times, right?"

"We have," Malon nodded. "I would like to see them in action again."

"And if Mr. Cat threatens us to marry us, we'll just sneak out," Duck nodded assuredly.

Somewhere backstage, Mr. Cat's ear twitched.

The group of girls quietly entered the empty theater. Already on stage the practice had begun. They were rehearsing the later acts of the ballet rendition of Princess Kaguya with Fakir and Illia dancing on stage. Duck nestled in her chair, still wanting to be the one dancing with Fakir.

Illia was so graceful. Her reach during her arabesques and releves seemed impossibly long, but Illia had long limbs that looked perfect in ballet. Duck wanted to be jealous, but she still recalled Fakir saying he wanted to dance with her as her like they did at the Lake.

As she watched them dance, Duck recalled Mr. Cat mentioning how important practice was as she saw the teacher stand up and stop the music. He instructed them with a few directions and the pair began the dance where they'd left off.

"Wow look at them," Lilie gushed. "I bet you're all super jealous that Fakir is dancing with Illia and not you~" She wrapped an arm around Duck, practically strangling her as she pulled Duck's face.

"I'm really okay with it, Lilie," Duck protested, attempting to wriggle free of her friend's grasp. "I... I can't breathe please let me go."

"Oh Duck, it's okay, you don't have to suffer pining for Fakir alone," Lilie squeezed her even tighter.

"Quiet back there!" Mr. Cat hissed. "Or I'll have you M-M-M-M-MAAAAARRRRYYYYY-"

"Can we start that pas de deux from the top again?" Fakir interrupted.

"Of course, Mr. Fakir," Mr. Cat's attention quickly darted back to the stage. "Then we'll work on the Moon Court's entrance."

Chibiusa could see the flourish of the curtains on the side as the pas de deux continued and the pair stopped at the opposite edge of the stage. They both opened their arms, as if inviting someone to join them. And sure enough, a procession did. Several dancers dressed in long white tutus appeared. Their dresses were accented with crystals and golden rings. Chibiusa nearly gasped. They were similar to what her mama wore, a style that she heard was popular during the Moon Kingdom's reign.

She clasped a hand over her mouth, not wanting to invoke Mr. Cat's threats.

The moon dancers paused, all motioning towards the curtain, but no one came.

Mr. Cat folded his arms, growling a bit. "Mr. Helios, that's your queue."

Rose petals burst out of side stage, blown by what sounded like a fan the size of a jet engine. The petals covered the stage and the gathered dancers and a very annoyed Mr. Cat. Out in the flurry of petals danced a very awkward Femio with some assortment of crescent moons plastered across his face in blues and blacks. He was wearing an ornate coat with lace and pearlized beads that greatly contrasted his messy face paint and lack of tights.

"MISTER FEMIO!" Mr. Cat hissed.

Femio turned, leaning backwards dramatically as the rose petals continued to float around him. "It's art, Mr. Cat."

"You're not even in this ballet!" Mr. Cat hissed some more. "Why are you wearing his costume? Where is Mr. Helios?!"

Chibiusa stared at the stage, appalled. She wasn't sure which was worse, Femio's terribly cliche entrance or the fact that he might've jumped Helios to get the outfit. "Wh-... What is this guy?"

"That's Femio...He calls himself a Prince..." Duck explained poorly.

"R... right..." Chibiusa wasn't sure she understood, nor did she understand whatever Femio was doing on stage.

"Mr. Femio!" Mr. Cat hissed again.

"I must be in this ballet," Femio continued to ignore the hissing as he leaned backwards over one of the Moon Court dancers, pulling a rose from somewhere as the rose petals continued to blow in from the side of the stage. "You see, Mr. Cat, I want to dance for my princess."

"Mr. Femio!" Mr. Cat continued to hiss as he leapt onto the stage.

"My heart," Femio continued, doing some manner of awkward knee-bent twirl across the stage until he nearly tripped on Fakir. "It's been enslaved by Princess Tutu."

"QUAAAA!" Duck clamped a hand over her mouth as she tried to disappear into the seat. When she'd last met him, she danced against Princess Kraehe to save his heart, though in the end, his heart didn't need saving. Femio had fallen in love with both Kraehe and Tutu. And now with Kraehe no longer in the story, that left Tutu to be the object of his attention.

That was the last thing Duck really wanted.

"That's ridiculous," Fakir stated sharply as he attempted to dissuade Femio. "Princess Tutu is a storybook character."

"Oh that's where you're wrong!" Femio protested. "I've seen her, and she's glorious. She has stolen my heart! I am enslaved by her beauty!"

Fakir didn't look at all impressed by Femio's overly dramatized words. "Get off the stage, Femio." His attention shifted as the fan suddenly shut off, Helios emerging from behind it. He was covered in rose petals, wearing only his tights and a loose shirt open in the front. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No, I'm quite alright," Helios shook his head. "It seems he took the outfit, and we've been trying to search for it for some time."

Chibiusa thought she was going to melt right through the seat. Helios was wearing an open shirt. It felt scandalous to even look. Feeling her face turn beat red, she covered her eyes with her hands, of course peeking out between the fingers.

"Mr. Femio, need I remind you that you are suspended?" Mr. Cat hissed, baring his teeth.

"You cannot suspend my love for Princess Tutu," Femio completely derailed the threat. "A prince should be with his princess, after all!"

Mr. Cat growled, chasing the dancer off the stage. "MISTER FEMIO!"

...

"I'm so embarrasseeddddd..." Duck whined, trying to hide her head in her hands.

"I do not understand this Femio person," Helios admitted. "Why is he so obsessed with Princess Tutu that he would steal my costume?"

"Oh man," Duck buried her face in her hands even more. "Back when this story first spun, Princess Kraehe attempted to steal his heart. Tutu went to stop her, but in the end, Femio confessed his love for both of us and Kraehe couldn't steal his heart. I guess with Kraehe now back to Rue and in her storybook now, Femio's directing his attention at Tutu instead."

"Where has he been this whole time since the story restarted?" Chibiusa wondered.

"Suspension, maybe," Fakir shrugged. "I haven't really seen him on campus lately."

"Could he be part of a story?" Chibiusa wondered.

"He's always like that," Duck admitted. "I think he might actually live in this town without the story spinning."

Chibiusa had attempted to open her mouth to speak but was quite rudely interrupted by a mouth full of rose petals. She looked thoroughly unimpressed. At least Tuxedo Mask knew how to appropriately use roses instead of whatever this was as someone in a suit was waving a fan across a basket of rose petals while Femio stood poised with a rose in the sun.

She spit out the rose petals, staring. "Are you following us?"

"I cannot help be enamored by your beauty as well, dear Duck," he leaned backwards dramatically, placing his hand over his heart as he reached over Chibiusa and extended several roses to Duck.

"QUAAAAA!" Duck clamped her hand over her mouth. She knew this story. This wasn't her first encounter with Femio after all. "Oh goodness that scared me."

"Woe is me," Femio placed a hand over his head. "To be caught in between two beautiful ladies! How is a prince to choose?"

"You should go back to that fantasy of dating a storybook character," Fakir said sharply.

"I think he may be hallucinating," Chibiusa wrinkled her nose at him.

"Maybe he's having an affair," Diana suggested, popping out of Chibiusa's backpack.

"You're not helping," Fakir fussed.

"Woe is me!" Femio repeated. "To think, an affair of the heart! I am so stricken by Princess Tutu and her love for me but there is also the beloved and awkward Duck, who may understand my truest form of art!"

"I really don't understand it," Duck protested.

"And I'm pretty sure you have this all wrong in your head," Fakir frowned sharply. He felt like he should be offended that Femio was going after Duck, but there was no way Femio was winning over anyone's heart, no matter Femio's delusions or how many rose petals his servant actually fanned at them.

"Do you not understand the love that can be conveyed through dance?" Femio protested. "The dance of Princess Tutu was nothing short of beautiful!"

"I'm pretty sure this is all in your head," Fakir frowned some more. "Why don't you go bother someone else? I'm pretty sure Duck doesn't want your attention."

"I really don't," Duck agreed.

"Do not worry, fair princess!" Femio seemed to not be listening. "I shall return when your heart understands its true feelings, but then I shall be trapped in the dilemma of who to choose! The princess or the duck? Both are so dashing!" He seemed to twirl off with his legs bent awkwardly before taking a poor attempt at a grand jete down the sidewalk. His servant or assistant or whatever followed behind him, fanning the rose petals as he moved.

"I do not believe I understand him at all," Helios commented.

"I don't think anyone actually does," Fakir shook his head.

Duck fumbled with her bag for a moment. "Say, Fakir."

"Hm?" Fakir hadn't turned to look at her yet, still watching Femio dance with poor form in the distance. Strangely even though he had passed a few girls, he seemed to not pay them any mind.

"I hear the Fire Festival is coming around again. Do you think we could dance together this time?" Duck asked.

Fakir stirred from watching Femio do weird things in the distance. He hadn't thought about the festival for some time, and last time, it was such a mess. Mytho didn't have much of a heart, and Fakir was still fighting against Tutu's existence. He even felt Duck was a hindrance then. "Has a year already passed?"

"Seems so, at least for whatever story's controlling this town. I saw a poster on the bulletin board this morning," Duck nodded.

"I saw that poster in the art building," Chibiusa recalled. "What's this festival about?"

"It's really cool!" Duck suddenly became excited about it, completely forgetting Femio. "It's where you dress up in traditional clothing and dance around the fire! It's said if you dance with someone you love, you'll be together forever! There's also apples involved."

"That does sound like quite the lovely festival," Helios commented, before turning to Chibiusa. "Maiden, would you do me the honor of dancing with you at the festival?"

Chibiusa was pretty sure she turned as red as an apple for a moment. "Of course!" she replied, trying to pretend her heart wasn't fluttering. "Though I really don't know how to dance. Mama and Papa dance all the time, but I never really learned. Fakir, do you think you could write-"

"-It'll mean more if you learn how to do it," Fakir quickly countered her.

Chibiusa fumbled nervously with her bag. "Well um. Do you think you could teach me?" She nervously glanced at Helios before staring back up at Fakir hopefully.

"I could teach you how to dance!" Femio practically leapt out of the bushes at the opportunity.

"QUAAAAA-!" Duck clamped a hand over her mouth.

Femio caught him by the back of the collar. "No one wants that from you, Femio. Go fantasize about your fake relationships with storybook characters. Besides, I'm teaching her."

"So harsh, Fakir," Femio arched his back dramatically with Fakir still holding the back of his collar. He stuck a leg out while his servant or assistant or whatever fanned rose petals at him.

"Whatever," Fakir released his collar, letting the weird student fall to the ground with a melodramatic collapse. He spun on his heels, shoving his hands into his pockets. "It's lunch time. Let's get some food."

Duck nodded several times, feeling her stomach rumble. With a hop and a skip, Duck took off after him.

Helios offered his hand to Chibiusa as the two stepped over the dramatic pile of a dancer. "Nice to meet you, Femio," he offered a friendly greeting as the two followed the other pair to the cafeteria.

Femio flipped himself over to his back, holding a hand over his forehead. "Oh be still, my beating heart! I shall be entrapped in this dilemma of love forever!" In a sharp yet somehow awkward motion, he took to his feet, striding off in some sort of bowlegged releve walk.

...

Author's notes:

Femio is always a joy to have around! I had to include him somehow of course. Is he here for some greater reason? Who knows with this guy.