Love Hina: Once Again
Thirty Six
Utena back exploded in agony as blades rained down from nowhere. The suffering of an immortal... the guilt... endless pain... all of it crushed her. (Anthy looking at her blamkly.) Yet somehow she chose to rise, defying despair. (Anthy's eyes widen faintly, in hope...) She reached out, past the barriers of humanity, of mortality... and claimed the power of Dios.
"AGH!" Utena gasped as she came awake, the memories of that final day in the arena fading away like ghosts.
"Utena-sama," Anthy came awake as well, looking at Utena in alarm. Blood splattered the pink haired woman's back, but the wounds themselves were closing on their own. Shimmering pink light danced around her, then faded.
"Sorry I woke you," Utena groaned, apparently unaware of the power dancing around her, "it was just a nightmare."
"More than that," Anthy murmured, then shook herself.
"Hmm?" Utena started.
"It's fine," Anthy smiled. "Are you alright?"
The blood splattered on the bed and on Utena's back were all gone, as if it never happened. But the scars still showed on Utena's back... and Anthy feared they would never go away.
"It's okay," Utena smiled weakly.
"How about I make us some tea, then we can lay down again," Anthy suggested to her gently as she stroked Utena's arm comfortingly.
"Please," Utena agreed, remembering the times they had shared tea at Ohtori.
Anthy hummed as she made a herbal blend that was supposed to encourage sleep. She also added a shot of vodka to both, just in case. Then she got out some biscuits, too, and they sat together at the small table in their room.
Utena drank her tea, the two relaxing together. "I do wish I could remember the dreams," she admitted quietly.
'No you really don't,' Anthy thought to herself.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Tennyo and Mutsumi are going to the Masaki Shrine," Kanako noted in the morning at the breakfast table, "they should be back in a few days."
"Well, Mutsumi's meeting the parents? Good for her," Kitsune smiled.
"I hope things go well," Ema offered. The younger woman frowned, "There are some very odd urban myths about that shrine."
"Oh?" Kanako had to ask.
"The UFO sightings out there are off the charts," Ema said excitedly.
"It'll be fine," Motoko said calmly.
Rei and Ami were sitting together, eating breakfast. Rei addressed Kitsune, "Any Phantom Quest Corp jobs coming up?"
"Not that I know of," Kitsune admitted, "admittedly, things can come up."
"Well, we're going to be away a few days too, visiting friends," Ami told them.
"And her mother," Rei added, nodding to Ami.
"She's a Doctor, isn't she? You're gonna get grilled," Kitsune teased.
"Kitsune," Kanako scolded gently.
As she carried more food in Shinobu asked, "Are we opening the cafe as usual?"
"I'm thinking just half days," Kitsune admitted, "we all know most of the teen aged boys come in to see Mutsumi."
"And why," Kanako sighed, looking at her mostly flat chest.
Shinobu also pouted, as did Su, Ema and Sara.
Utena and Anthy came into the dining room a little later. Utena looked a bit ragged, honestly, and Anthy had a kind of... pinched look on her face.
"Morning," Kitsune nodded a bit carefully.
"We didn't miss breakfast, did we?" Anthy asked.
"I saved a plate for each of you," Shinobu said briskly.
"Thank you very much," Utena smiled at her as she confessed, "I didn't sleep well, last night."
"Your welcome," Shinobu dished up the food. She didn't mention the muffled cry that had woken her... if she didn't want to say, it wasn't her business.
The others caught the up on Tennyo and Mutsumi being out of town, as well as the cafe news. "Well, this will give me time to catch up on my fortune telling," Anthy noted.
"I'll just sit in the hot springs and soak," Utena said mildly.
(Kanako was fairly certain Utena had money, and quite a lot. She casually paid whatever expenses came up, and wore tailored clothes. She wondered where the funds had come from, but decided it wasn't her business.)
Everyone finished up breakfast, then headed their seperate ways.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The hot springs town near the Hinata Inn was a slightly odd little place. Sometimes a fog from the springs would sweep over the town, enfolding everything in mist and making you feel like you were in a fantasy story.
That afternoon, after school, Ema Maeda sighed as she looked at an entry for her supernatural website. It was HARD to come up with new content!
"Working on writing?" Motoko asked as she walked up to where Ema was sitting, the tall, dignified samurai type smiling wryly.
"Trying to write a new entry for my blog," Ema admitted.
"You've been to the demon haunted shrine, right?" Motoko asked curiously.
"Yeah, I even met Inu Yasha. A few people who replied thought the pics I posted were faked," Ema pouted.
Motoko thought about it before admitting, "Well, I suppose someone might think the dog ears and fangs weren't real."
"Hmmm," Ema sighed.
"Maybe do a youtube video on how shrine maidens seal away supernatural forces?" Motoko suggested. "You could ask Rei or Kagome to demonstrate."
Ema blinked, then hopped up to her feet. "That's a great idea!" she said as she hurried off, "Excuse me!"
Motoko watched her hurry off, amused.
Back in her room, Motoko was sitting at her home computer. She had finished up all her class work, first, and now was facing a much fore daunting task: writing up another story to try to sell to a Tokyo magazine.
A faint blush coloured Motoko's cheeks. She had looked into the website that Kitsune's friend worked for... Honey Chop. It had been eye opening. She had clearly lived a very sheltered life, based on the new things she had learned.
Even more disturbing, she had stumbled over a photo shoot with the medium they had met, Misaki Saiki. It wasn't full on nudity, but it was bondage play and very strongly erotic. And she was pretty sure the woman with her was Kitsune's friend, Shizue.
If both women visited again, Motoko wasn't sure she could look either in the eye...
"Argh," Motoko grunted to herself.
With a sigh she started writing up a scene. Hopefully just starting something might get her unblocked...
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Misaki Saiki finished putting in her report. Copies would go to her father, certain higher ups in Japan's government, and her usual partner in crime.
"HEADLESS HORSEWOMAN?!" he yelped, barging in to the office they shared.
"I KNEW that was going to catch your eye," Misaki noted mildly.
Soichiro was her official partner, which mostly amounted to him being her driver. He was also, frankly, a coward. Not that she could really blame him, as he couldn't do anything about the supernatural stuff they ran into.
"I mean, the ghosts are bad enough," the office worker looking man sighed, "but actual supernatural entities?"
"And the super strong guy," Misaki added mildly.
Soichiro kind of collapsed into his chair, "Yeah." He put his head in his hands as he muttered, "You realize we're utterly unequipped to deal with this?"
Misaki sighed softly. Up until recently, all their agency had been dealing with was ghosts and restless spirits. They basically had no way to deal with physical entities, besides just attempting to reason with them. Luckily, so far all the actual 'physical manifestations' had been dealt with by Tokyo's various magical girls.
Which was embarrassing on various levels, but...
Thoughtfully Misaki took out a business card that Kitsune had given her. "Well, I do know one possibility," she mused.
To be continued...
Notes: Canonly, Utena inherited from her dead parents, though one assumes the funds were managed by her Aunt until she became an adult. At some point I need to decide if she's still in contact with her Aunt or not...
I'm not planning on having Ghost Talkers Daydream as a regular crossover, but I may do bits off and on.
Thirty Seven
"You're telling me the house was transported from the Tokyo suburbs to here via alien tractor beam?" Mutsumi summarized, looking over at her girlfriend in surprise.
"Yup," Tennyo Masaki agreed, the silver white haired woman looking amused as they drove up in her rental car.
"How did you explain...?" Mutsumi had to ask as they parked.
"We don't have any nearby neighbors so... we just said we built it here," Tennyo just shrugged cheerfully.
Almost as soon as they parked a black haired young man hurried out, "Big sister!" he called, hugging Tennyo warmly.
"Tenchi!" Tennyo hugged him.
Tenchi pulled back, "It's nice to have you home."
"Tenchi, meet my betrothed, Mutsumi Otohime," Tennyo introduced her.
"It's an honor, ma'am," Tenchi bowed slightly, "welcome to our home."
"Thank you," Mutsumi smiled at him warmly.
As they walked up to the house together Tennyo asked Tenchi mildly, "Uhm, who's in residence right now?"
"Father, grandfather and I," Tenchi said as he ticked off names on his fingers, "Washu, Mihoshi, Rea and Kiyone II."
"Ryoko, Ayeka, Minagi and Sasami are away?" Tennyo asked.
"They're in Tokyo, as I understand it. Which is still close enough for them to randomly turn up," Tenchi observed.
"Ha, point," Tennyo agreed.
"Welcome home!" Nobuyuki declared as they came in, hugging Tennyo.
"Nobuyuki," Tennyo smiled, "this is my fiance, Mutsumi."
"Nicely done, Tennyo! You've brought home a beauty!" Nobuyuki cried.
"Watch the hands," Mutsumi warned as he was about to grope her.
"Sharp, too," Nobuyuki noted.
"Let's go see Katsuhito," Tennyo said, calmly leading Mutsumi by him.
The man was visibly old, Mutsumi could tell, but there was also an odd feeling of vitality around him. She almost expected him to jump up and do laps, or something.
"Miss Mutsumi. It's nice to met you," the old man smiled.
"Mutsumi, this is Katsuhito Masaki. Also known as Yosho of Jurai," Tennyo introduced him.
"She knows about...?" Katsuhito looked curious.
"The Inn got attacked by forces sent by Jurai," Tennyo said, "I kind of HAD to explain."
"Ah," Katsuhito nodded, "well, welcome to our home, young lady."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Back at the Hinata Inn, the Hinata Cafe was doing OK business. There were several visitors having something to drink, and Shinobu and Ema were handling things well.
'You really notice when Mutsumi isn't here,' Kitsune mused ruefully.
Utena came in, her long pink hair flowing down her back. She looked tired, and kind of just fell into a chair.
"Are you all right, Utena?" Shinobu asked, concerned.
"I'm fine," Utena smiled faintly, "I could really use a coffee, though."
"Coming right up," Shinobu hurried off.
After Utena got her coffee, Kitsune decided to take a break and join her. Utena looked at her, smiling wryly, "Checking on me?"
"You do look somewhat more ragged than normal," Kitsune noted.
"Ha," Utena tiredly drank. "There was a magical girl in trouble, I sort of felt obligated to help. Turns out the monster was a life drainer... it zapped me a good one."
"You okay?" Kitsune had to ask.
"Just very tired," Utena admitted. She saw the slight fron Kitsune was concealing and added, "They were kids. It wouldn't have been a Phantom Quest Corp job anyway."
Kitsune winced, "Sorry. Reflex."
"Besides, even you wouldn't hit up school girls for our fees," Utena added.
In another part of the country, Tomoyo was reviewing her video camera footage. She had gotten some nice shots of Sakura, and that odd pink haired woman who helped out.
"I wonder if I should have told her who we were?" the heiress mused, then decided to concentrate on ordering materials for Sakura's next costume. It would be several thousand yen.. not enough to put a dent in her allowance.
Back at the Cafe Kitsune added, "Maybe get a meal from Shinobu and relax in the hot springs?"
"Probably a good idea," Utena agreed as she finished her drink. "Hopefully Mutsumi and Tennyo are having a quieter day."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"WHERE IS MUTSUMI?" Tennyo demanded.
"I think Washu grabbed her for something," Rea noted mildly.
"Oh for crying out loud," Tennyo ran for the door to the underground annex.
The huge chamber was a pocket dimension connected to the house. It was filled with mad science inventions, crackling electricity... and Mutsumi, sitting in a high tech chair.
"Fascinating!" Washu exclaimed.
"This tickles," Mutsumi wiggled.
"Damn it Washu! My girlfriend is NOT a test subject," Tennyo growled as she unstrapped Mutsumi.
"Don't tell me you never play Doctor?" Washu teased and Tennyo blushed.
"It wasn't THAT bad," Mutsumi added as she was gently helped down.
"You're all right?" Tennyo asked.
"Really, it just tickled a bit," Mutsumi reassured her.
"I swear, my family drives me nuts..," Tennyo sighed.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Out on the lawn, Motoko was practicing her sword swings.
"Hmm," Kanako murmured as she watched from her office.
Motoko had stripped down to just a t-shirt and pants. She could see the muscles glisten, her hair flowing as she moved... she was both equally powerful and graceful.
Realizing she was ogling her, Kanako turned away and went back to her paperwork. They were getting a steady stream of temporary visitors from renting out the empty rooms. The hot springs were a good tourist draw...
The slim, dark haired university student descended the stairs, then stopped in the office to check out. "I enjoyed my visit," Mei Misaki said, an eyepatch covering her left eye.
Kanako didn't know what Mei's issues were, but apparently she had mild esp abilities. She had been here to consult with certain elder priests and, interestingly, Anthy. "Did everything work out well?" she asked.
"Reasonably," Mei said mildly, then picked up her luggage. She put an envelope on Kanako's desk, "I included a tip for Miss Shinobu. She took care of me very well."
"I'll pass that on," Kanako promised. "Please come again."
'Quiet girl,' Kanako thought as she went back to work. On the other hand, quiet was nice.
"Afternoon," Motoko greeted her as she strode in. She was still just in her t-shirt and pants...
Kanako FIRMLY made herself not look, and concentrated on her work. "Afternoon," she said briskly. "How are you today?"
Motoko smiled slightly, "I think I got the blood pumping. I'm going to change and head out to the hot springs."
"See you later, then," Kanako replied. She found herself sneaking a look as she went by. DAMN was she in good shape...
"A-hem," a amused voice said.
"Eeep," Kanako turned to see Kitsune looking at her, smirking.
"Did Utena make it in?" Kitsuna asked. "She was looking kind of raggedy earlier."
"Yes, she ate a snack, then went out to the springs," Kanako noted.
"Okay, I'm going to change and then go out and check on her," Kitsune said.
'She's not going to say anything,' Kanako thought, relieved.
As Kitsune walked off she added, "Naughty, naughty."
Kanako sighed.
To be continued...
Notes: Yes, Utena saved Cardcaptor Sakura from a Sailor Moon power draining critter. Basically.
And yes, that was Mei Misaki from the anime Another.
Thirty Eight
"You can do WEDDINGS?" Mutsumi looked interested.
"I have the official licences," Katsuhito admitted, smiling.
"Hmmm...," Mutsumi murmured.
"Hey," Rea, Tennyo's step-mother started.
"Not right now," Tennyo said, "We'd want everyone from the Hinata Inn here, your parents, plus Keitaro, Naru and the others."
"I guess I got carried away," Mutsumi admitted.
"Well, if you decide to elope..," Katsuhito grinned.
"Stop encouraging them," Tenchi ordered, but the older man just laughed.
"I'm looking forward to helping cook for your wedding," Rea noted, hugging both women. She had hit it off well with Mutsumi, and had already been close to Tennyo.
"Thank you for coming to visit," Katsuhito said as he walked them to their car later. "It's been nice to meet you, Mutsumi. Plus, you made Tennyo visit."
"Grandfather...," Tennyo sighed.
Mutsumi giggled. "You've been very welcoming, thank you."
"Come by again!" Tenchi waved as they left.
They went inside, then Tennyo went looking for someone. "What?" Washu asked, the short redhead studying something in her lab.
"Why did you haul Mutsumi down here?" Tenchi asked.
Washu beamed cheerfully, waving at the screens. "She has a very unique probability field around her," she explained.
Tenchi tilted his head, "Which means?"
"In individual cases she tends to be unlucky, but long term things will turn out well," Washu cheerfully explained.
"Oh," Tenchi blinked. "Hopefully it won't bite them in the ass, then..."
"Either way, it should be interesting," Washu grinned.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Ema Maeda blinked, looking at the email she had gotten. She decided immediately to pass the buck, and went looking for Kitsune.
"Huh?" Kitsune blinked, having finished a shift at the Hinata Inn.
"I got an apparently official order to take my website down," Ema said rather flatly, "from the Japanese Government."
"Da fuck?" Kitsune looked at the message.
"Yeah. It's for the official Phantom Quest Corp site I created...," Ema added.
"Don't do anything," Kitsune decided quickly. "I have Misaki Saiki's number... she works for these guys."
"Thank you," Ema sighed as Kitsune got her phone out and dialed.
"Life Preservation Group?" Kitsune confirmed when the phone was picked up. "Could I speak with Miss Saiki?" She listened a moment, "Okay, do that."
"Hmm?" Ema asked.
"She's out on a job, but they'll ask her to call me," Kitsune reassured her.
Ema puffed out a breath. "I wonder why...?" she asked.
"I'll try to find out," Kitsune added.
"Everything ok?" Shinobu asked. The two of them were running the Hinata Cafe, since without Mutsumi there business was slow.
"Just something odd coming up," Kitsune shrugged.
"... is it okay to let Motoko write over in the corner there?" Shinobu had to ask.
Motoko was camped out over in the corner, typing on her laptop and ordering tea. She was consulting notes, typing, and frowning intensely. None of the other customers wanted to go near her.
"Well, she's buying tea," Kitsune shrugged. "And it's not like we're busy."
"Okay," Shinobu shrugged.
They served tables, cleaned, and cooked up snacks for the few food items they served. Finally, Kitsune gave into temptation and went over to Motoko.
"Hmm. Heaving bossoms. Yes or no?" Motoko muttered.
"How's the writing going?" Kitsune asked.
"ACK," Motoko yelped.
Kitsune read She gently slid her fingers into the other woman's molten core, then...
Motoko slammed the laptop cover down.
"Aww," Kitsune pouted, "it was getting good."
"I'll never live this down," Motoko sighed.
"New story?" Kitsune asked.
"Yes," Motoko admitted, "for your friend at Honey Chop."
"Oh!" Kisune grinned. She paused, "She wants you to sex it up, huh?"
Motoko blushed, "Yes..."
Kitsune though about suggesting a 'show and tell' thing, but she was pretty sure Motoko would just die of embarassment. "If you want someone to read it over, let me know," she offered.
"I'll think about it," Motoko muttered.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Rei Hino blinked as she saw two familiar figures coming up the stairs to the Inn. "Haruka? Michiru?" she asked.
"Yo!" Haruka Tenoh waved cheerfully.
"Afternoon," Michiru smiled warmly.
"What are you doing here?" Rei had to ask.
"Well, Juri and Setsuna volunteered to watch Hotaru a few days," Michiru smiled, "so we decided to take a mini-vacation."
"And Usagi and the others gushed about the hot springs," Haruka added.
"They would," Rei laughed. "Come on, I'll take you to the office."
"Welcome," the black clad young woman smiled.
"We've GOT to introduce her to Hotaru," Haruka noted.
"Hush," Mishiru poked her.
"I'm Kanako Urashima, welcome to the Hinata Inn," she said warmly.
"Welcome!" her cat added.
Kanako just carried on, "What rooms would you like?"
"One room, do you have king sized beds?" Michiru smiled.
"I'm sure we have something," Kanako promised. She checked the register, then gave them the keys to the 'Honeymoon' suite.
"Thank you," Haruka paid, then they walked off with Rei.
"Does the cat ACTUALLY talk?" Michiru whispered.
"She says it's throwing her voice..." Rei shrugged.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Kitsune's phone rang. "Hey, Misaki," she started.
"I found out what the issue is," Misaki replied tersely. She sounded nervous, oddly.
Kitsune frowned, "Yeah?"
"You need to take down the videos of Utena-san," Misaki explained.
"Huh?" Kitsune blinked. "Why?"
"I don't know," Misaki admitted, "but it's tied to a decree from the Emperor of Japan himself. And no, I don't know why he even cares."
"WHAT," Kitsune managed.
"Sorry," Misaki added, "I am NOT digging into this. Way above my pay grade."
"Ok, yeah, fair enough," Kitsune recovered. "Thank you for the information."
"You're welcome," then Misaki hung up.
Kitsune looked at her phone blankly a moment. Once again she was left wondering what was going on with Utena...?
To be continued...
Notes: Mutsumi and Keitaro have a similar sort of luck. Things go wrong, but it ultimately sorta works out for them. Or at least that's how I'm writing it.
Thirty Nine
"Pull the Utena videos?" Ema blinked, the young woman sitting on the steps leading up to the inn itself.
"Yeah," Kitsune nodded. She added quietly, "And no, I don't know why. Some government secrets thing."
Ema didn't look terribly pleased about it, but still nodded. "Okay, I shouldn't have any problems," she said.
Koala Su jumped in, "We could digitally edit her out! Easy peasy!"
Ema shook her head as she explained, "I don't want anyone thinking we edited content on my site. People won't trust my content otherwise."
"Aww," Su noted.
"Where have you been the past few days?" Kitsune asked her.
Su shrugged casually, "Working in my lab."
"Please don't blow up the inn or something," Kitsune reminded her.
"Yes ma'am," Su mock saluted.
"Is that a serious concern?" Ema asked as Su scampered off.
"I don't want to take the chance," Kitsune shrugged.
Ema blinked, "Ah."
As they were talking, they saw a smiling Rei Hino and Ami Mizuno coming up the steps, holding hands romantically.
"Hey," Kitsune waved, "back from Tokyo?"
"Hello," Ami said, "yes, it's good to be back."
"How did the mother-in-law visit go?" Kitsune teased.
Rei rolled her eyes. "Dr Mizuno is as scary as ever," she said wryly.
"Rei," Ami scolded.
Kitsune just chuckled.
Up in the inn itself, Kanako was doing the accounts. Everyone had paid their rent, and the books were ballanced. Construction was continuing over where the old annex, and progress was being made. Everything was well in hand.
'I'm bored,' Kanako found herself thinking.
With a sigh Kanako got up from her desk, straightening her black dress. "Going to snoop around?" her cat asked.
Kanako just ignored that.
The halls were neat and tidy, and everything seemed fine, Kanako walked into the common area, and saw Motoko fidgeting as she tried to relax on the couch. That degree of nervousness was out of character for her.
"Afternoon, Motoko," Kanako smiled faintly.
"Ah," Motoko seemed startled a little. "Hello," she answered.
"Is something wrong?" Kanako asked directly.
Motoko hesitated then smiled in a wry sort of way. "I submitted a new story, and am waiting to hear back from the editor," she admitted.
"Wildrose?" Kanako asked.
Motoko blushed faintly, "Actually an adult magazine named Honey Chop."
"If it helps, I read the story you published in Wildrose. I thought it was well done." Kanako offered calmly.
"The... subject matter didn't bother you?" Motoko asked.
"We have three lesbian couples in residence," Kanako noted dryly.
"Ha! Point...," Motoko smiled.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The car arrived in the nearby city, where a slim woman with boyishly short hair emerged. She looked around thoughtfully, taking in the foggy, hot springs town, while dressed in a stylish woman's business suit.
Looking a little nervous Chiho Tenjou flipped open her phone, calling up the private investigator that she hired.
"Rin Asogi investigations," the cheerful voice answered.
"This is Chiho," she answered. "Are you sure she's here?" she asked.
"She is," Rin reassured her, "we confirmed she is staying at the Hinata Inn. Though gods knows it was hard to do."
Chiho nodded. According to Rin, someone had gone to unusual lengths to remove information about Utena from the internet. The only reason Rin had found out that Utena was here was from her appearing in a series of online videos. And interestingly, those videos had disappeared from the site in the past few days.
Rin asked, "Have you determined how you want to approach her?"
"I'm still thinking about it," Chiho admitted. "Is that ... strange women still hanging around her?" she asked frostily.
"Anthy Himemiya, yes," Rin confirmed. "I still haven't fully figured out her background yet." she added seriously.
"Oh?" Chiho asked.
Rin continued, "Her background just literally appears at one point. My computer expert thinks it's hacking..."
Something in her tone made Chiho ask, "But you think?"
"I have seen some very weird shit over the years," Rin said calmly. "I think it was magic... and you should me extremely careful."
"I'll take that under advisement," Chiho said. "Thank you for your help."
The Hinata Inn was on top of a VERY large hill. Chiho was thankful she had kept in shape, but even then she was panting slightly as she reached the top.
"Argh," Chiho took a drink from a bottle of water.
A woman with startling white hair was doing sword drills in front of the Inn. She saw Chiho and gave her a sympathetic look, "That hill is a doozy. Are you all right?" she asked.
"Yes, thank you," Chiho smiled. "Is there a main office for the Inn?" she asked.
The woman nodded, "Go in the front door, down the hall, it'll be on your left."
"Thank you," Chiho nodded.
Chiho went inside, and easily found the office. A black haired and clothed young woman looked up and smiled, "Welcome to the Hinata Inn. I'm Kanako."
"Actually, I'm here looking for one of your residents. Utena Tenjou?" Chiho asked.
Kanako frowned at her, "I do not usually give out such information to strangers."
"I'm not exactly a stranger," Chiho smiled wryly, "I'm her aunt."
Kanako's expression didn't twitch as she said, "Excuse me a moment." She left, and Chiho held her breath nervously a few minutes.
There was the sound of running feet, then Utena ran down the hall towards her. "Auntie?!"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Well, that was a surprise," Tennyo noted, several of the residents sitting in the common room.
"What, you expected that Utena had just appeared out of nowhere?" Kitsune teased.
"You know what I mean," Tennyo shrugged.
"I get it," Kitsune conceded.
"Utena's never mentioned any relatives," Shinobu mused, "I had just thought she was on bad terms with them."
"She's said she was an orphan," Kitsune nodded.
"I felt it was rude to pry," Motoko offered. "Now I wonder if that was a good decision."
"Anyway, it's not our business unless Utena, for whatever reason, chooses to ask us," Shinobu told them seriously.
"You've got a point," Tennyo admitted.
Not that long afterwards Utena and Chiho descended the stairs. Both women looked uncomfortable, but Utena had a tentative smile on her face.
"I hope we'll stay in touch," Chiho said. She sighed, "You have no idea how frightened I was by your disappearing after joining that Academy."
"I didn't know," Utena said. She smiled, "I promise to call."
"Thank you," Chiho hugged her awkwardly.
"Safe travels," Utena murmured, hugging her back, then watching her go. She turned, then realized several Inn residents had been watching.
"Everything okay?" Kitsuna asked.
"It went fine," Utena had an odd look on her face. "I just found out that... after a certain point in my life, to everyone I know I apparently completely disappeared."
To be continued...
Notes: In the manga version of Revolutionary Girl Utena, Utena canonly has a aunt who took her in after her parents' death. As I can't remember her name, I decided to name her Chiho after the manga creator Chiho Saito.
Forty
"What? I can't even eat people?" the huge female Oni complained.
"Sorry," Kitsune said as she and the other Phantom Quest Corps members faced her.
They had been called out to the small, tourist town due to monster sightings. Someone large, or something, was frightening tourists trying to visit an old, abandoned shrine. For their usual fee, Kitsune agreed to investigate.
Rei Hino had charms at the ready as the black haired miko kept a wary eye out. The shrine itself was churning with mystical energy and restless spirits. In her opinion it was at LEAST as dangerous as the oni herself.
Motoko Aoyama was holding her sword at her side, ready but hopefully not provocative. The one was nearly eight feet tall, was was incredibly muscled. AND was carrying a spiked, metal wrapped war club that looked like it could squish someone flat.
"This had been my home for centuries," the oni added irritably.
"And no one's arguing that," Kitsune said as calmly as she could manage, "but human laws change. And you'll come to harm if you go after people."
"Oh really?" the oni said dangerously.
'Oh, please don't provoke her,' Motoko thought worriedly, getting ready to jump in if Kitsune needed saving.
"Uhm, Miss... what do we call you anyway?" Utena asked.
The oni frowned at her, "Ryo."
"Miss Ryo," Utena said. "The town wants to use the temple to draw in visitors. Why not help with that?"
"Eh?" Ryo asked.
"You could live up here openly," Kitsune said excitedly, "people would come out to see you. The town could even encourage folks to bring you tribute like food and such. You could just laze about instead of hunting."
"Seriously?" Ryo looked faintly intrigued.
"We'll have to talk to the town, but I don't see why not," Kitsune nodded.
Rei added quickly, "You'd have to promise not to hurt anyone."
Ryo nodded, frowning.
The group headed down the mountain, then visited the small town's city council, explaining what they found. The reactions were predictable.
"THERE'S A ACTUAL ONI UP THERE?!"
"Calm down, everyone, please," Tadamichi Kyousuke ordered. The mayor looked at Kitsune, "Seriously? A oni?"
"Yes sir," Kitsune said. She held up a digital camera, "My employee, Ema, got a few shots."
Ema Maeda, the young lady in back, had hung back in case something had gone badly wrong. And had gotten a few shots while waiting.
"She's HUGE," Kimidori Nagato noted, awed. The one photo was wide angled enough to really give a sense of how tall she was compaired to everyone else.
"Have you... dealt with her?" Hiroyuki Toshino asked, the older man frowning.
"We actually had an alternate proposal to make," Kitsune answered, and explained their idea.
"That's brilliant," Tadamichi blinked.
"If legally dangerous," Kimidori added. "We'd have to take steps to protect us from liability."
"As far as we know, this Ryo hasn't hurt anyone, correct?" Hiroyuki noted. "And you have to admit she'd be a hell of a tourist draw."
"I should point out," Kitsune added, "I am not going up there and killing an intelligent being that's just trying to survive and hasn't hurt anyone."
"I don't blame you," Tadamichi agreed. "We'll send someone up to talk to her, and try to work this plan out," he resolved.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Well, that was a thing," Utena sighed as the van trundled away.
"Thanks for coming along," Kitsune noted. "That was a really good idea."
"Hmm," Utena shrugged, sitting in the back with Motoko and Rei.
"I was wondering something," Ema said after a moment, "and it's perfectly okay if you don't want to say..."
"Would I have killed the oni," Motoko said.
"Yes," Ema said, "that."
"If she attacked us," Motoko shrugged, "or I thought our lives were actually in danger? Yes. Not in cold blood though."
"That," Utena nodded.
"Mind you, one of these days we're going to run into a sweet, personable monster that kills people," Kitsune sighed. "Though thankfully that's not today."
"Sealing it might be an option," Rei noted. "Though honestly I'm not sure I'd want to try it with someone THAT strong."
"Agreed," Motoko nodded.
(Rei Hino was, of course, secretly the magical girl Sailor Mars. If they had run into an entity of enough danger, she'd likely call in Sailor Moon and the others, secret identity be damned. Luckily that hadn't happened yet...)
Changing the subject Kitsune noted, "Anyone mind if we hit a grocery on the way home? Shinobu left us a shopping list."
Utena chuckled, "Grocery shopping sounds relaxing after that."
No one in the van commented that Utena had come along without her partner, Anthy...
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Anthy Himemiya did not like fighting with Utena.
They had had an argument after Utena's aunt had left.
(Curse the woman and her damn tenacity! How could someone piece together so few clues and figure out where Utena was?! It was MOST annoying.)
In another part of Japan, Rin Asogi, the private investigator who actually found Utena, loudly sneezed.
"Getting a cold?" her partner Mimi asked.
"No, someone must be talking about me," Rin sighed and went back to work.
Back at the Hinata Inn...
Utena had asked pointed questions about why her Aunt couldn't find her, and Anthy had felt obligated to tell her. Part of it had been Akio Ohtori, who had wanted no one interfering when he had her in his clutches. Using some magic, and some political and economic leverage, he had hidden all the Ohtori students.
But after they escaped the academy, and his power was mostly broken, Anthy had taken steps to conceal them both.
And finding that out had made Utena rather upset.
Anthy sighed to herself. What Utena had not understood was that Akio had had allies out in the real world. Men and women who owed him, and who might be willing to carry out his last wishes. Like, say, avenging himself on the last Duelist.
A knock on her door startled Anthy from her brooding. "Yes?" she called.
Shinobu looked inside apologetically, "Sorry to bother you. Kitsune called, they're held up and won't be back until later tonight."
"Ah," Anthy nodded, "thank you for telling me."
Shinobu hesitated, "Uhm, are you and Utena fighting?"
Anthy fought back a flush, realizing the other residents probably heard a bit. "Sort of," she admitted, "she's not happy that I don't trust her Aunt's intentions."
"Really?" Shinobu asked, "Why?"
Anthy decided that some of the truth would work. "Utena inherited a... substantial amount of money from her parents," she said, "and her Aunt lost control over that when Utena turned eighteen. I think she tracked Utena down for her wealth."
"Oh, that's terrible," Shinobu murmured, frowning sadly.
Once again, Anthy was stuck by what a sweet little girl Shinobu was. "Well, hopefully I'm wrong," Anthy said.
Changing the subject Shinobu noted, "I'm going to serve dinner as usual, then put aside some for Kitsune and the others. You can come eat, or wait if you want."
"Thank you for cooking dinner," Anthy smiled, everyone having learned she was awful at it.
"You're welcome," Shinobu waved as she left.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"She's after Utena's money?" Mutsumi frowned, helping Shinobu out in the kitchen.
"Shh! Don't tell anyone," Shinobu said.
"We should ask someone to look into this Chiho Tenjou," Mutsumi noted. "If she has money troubles, etc, it should be out there."
"I think Ami is fairly tech literate," Shinobu mused. "Maybe we could ask her after dinner."
"Sounds like a plan," Mutsumi agreed.
To be continued...
Notes: How powerful Anthy and Akio actually are is pretty unclear in canon for Revolutionary Girl Utena. Their backstory is very vague too.
Heroic Prince Dios tries to save the world, breaks himself trying. His sister Anthy tries to protect him, gets wounded badly. The two things end Dios, causing him to fall from grace and he loses his powers and becomes Akio.
My own headcanon is that this all happened WAY back in prehistory when the fall of the Moon Kingdom happened in Sailor Moon. (Both series shared directors.) Dios basically fell facing Beryl's armies and demons attacking on Earth...