Foreword: Now, I made a go at a fusion of these two before, but I don't fit into the madhouse that is Ohtori Academy nearly as well as one of my rivals… So I'm sending her there to see how she fares. This is, by the way, beyond the sections that Software Sculptors has brought across thus far, but bear with it. There won't be any significant spoilers (heck, there ain't much to spoil — it's that confusing, if you ask me).

"Onii-sama!"

An index finger, feminine and delicate, nail painted black as it was held in the firm grip of a masculine hand, pressed down upon the page.

Her fingerprint. Briefly, she considered smearing it so that the print would be unrecognizable. But she rejected that as futile. It wasn't as if the records department checked the individual loops and whorls of each print. What mattered was that an imprint was there, and not whose it really was or how it got put there.

Under duress and under protest, that's how she was going. But she was going. The Catholic reform school had done her no good, so she was being shipped away. "It is for your own good, sister," were his very words, deep and terrible, like the very abyss itself.

No, it wasn't! He was just shoving her out of the way so he could pursue that awful red-haired witch! And he was ruining her chances at her dear Ranma-sama! She beat on his chest with her fists, but her brother stood firm, impassive. Finally, his hand reached out and grabbed her wrists.

"That hurt, you know." His voice was flat and lifeless, as if to suggest just the opposite of his words. His words held a dangerous edge, though… a suggestion that he could quite easily return the favor as she squirmed in his grip.

"Grrr… Let me go, brother!"

"No. Not until I see you off to your new school. Then, believe me, I will be glad to let go of you… permanently. I have had it with your interference."

"And I have had it with yours! What makes you think you have any right to do this to me?"

"Because…" and he brought his face within inches of hers. She could bite his nose off, if she dared, from this distance. "Mother is dead, Father is a gibbering imbecile, and you…" he pulled away, drawing himself to his full height and assuming a disdainful countenance, "are dangerously close to imitating one of our parents, I know not which. This should prevent that, or at least stave it off. What Saint Hebereke failed to do, Ohtori should accomplish. They know how to keep students in line down there."

"Oh, and you have no need of being kept in line. You are a shining pillar of sanity, the glory of the Kuno clan," she fairly spat at him, still struggling in his grip.

He tilted his face slightly, so that he was looking at her, but clearly looking down at her. "I am the closest the Kuno name has for now. And that is why I can do this, sister. And that is why I shall…"

Kodachi Kuno continued to writhe in her brother's grip as they walked out of the vaulted admissions office. The white-haired young man behind the desk had not so much as glanced as the squabbling pair, devoting his attention completely to his computer.

But as the door slammed behind them, Mikage Souji allowed himself a slight smile…

The way before him had been prepared…

Chapter 1

In the depths of Nemuro Memorial Hall at Ohtori Academy, a dim blue light flickered on, breaking the Stygian darkness. The light fell from somewhere above, but from no visible source. The one-meter-by-two-meter space the light fell upon was occupied by a large glass tank, barely half full of water.

In the middle of the water stood a single black rosebud.

A dark-skinned face looked down upon the rosebud, and slowly broke into a smile.

She stood alone in the middle of the room. It was her room, for as long as she could stand it here. It was empty aside from the few articles of furniture it came with, and they were still swathed in sheets yet.

Tatewaki-oniisama had already left, taking the car with him. She was effectively marooned here at Ohtori Academy. How could he do such a thing?

An embarrassment, that's what he said she was. An interference. Couldn't he see she was trying to rescue him from that awful, low-born, low-bred pigtailed wench?

And this was his gratitude, abandoning her countless prefectures from Tokyo and home. Oh, it was a pretty enough place… it certainly held her class of people… why, it was even co-educational! But for all the boys here, there would be no Ranma-sama. And that made all the difference.

A tear ran down her cheek and splashed onto the wood floor. She did not notice the pattern the impact had made.

The stain was like a blossoming rose…

"U-ten-a!"

The pink-haired girl froze. She knew what was coming, and had to brace herself for it before…

*Whoomph* Too late. Utena staggered slightly under Wakaba's weight, before steadying herself enough to turn and look at her friend. "Is this really necessary, Wakaba?"

"Hn? But of course it is! I've got to show the world how much I love my Utena-sama!" Wakaba's embrace was like a death grip, and Utena found herself wondering if there still wasn't a better way for Wakaba to express her affection. Or at least a safer one…

Finally, after all of thirty seconds, Wakaba let go of her friend and dropped to the floor. Utena took the opportunity to take a deep gulp of air before sighing heavily.

"Really, Utena-sama, you need to drink more milk! Look at you, you're all stooped over!"

"Gee… I wonder how that happened." Utena stretched herself up to her full height.

If Wakaba noticed the mild sarcasm in the question — or if she even noticed the question at all — she gave no indication of it. "Ne, ne, did you hear about the new girl on the gymnastics team?"

"Gymnastics team?" Was this another dig about her sore back?

"Oh yeah… She just transferred in from Tokyo, would you believe, and she's really good. They say she's very competitive, too… we'll be a cinch to win regionals this year, maybe even a shot at the nationals!"

"Is that so…?"

Graceful hands, still polished black at the tips, gripped the beam tightly. Directly above them, arms rigid and unmoving as stone, Kodachi slowly scissored her legs out into a perfect split, then returned to a vertical handstand. Her back arched as she brought her feet to bear on edge of the beam. Upon regaining her footing, she spun around and concentrated on her dismount.

*tup*tup*tup*pm* A handspring at full gallop, and then she pushed off with her hands, willing herself to spin as she somersaulted off the beam.

*pbsh* She landed, toes first, in a slightly crouched position, before springing to a full victory stance. Her trademark laugh, which terrified Heberekens and opponents alike back home, was drowned out by the applause of her new classmates.

"Well done, Miss Kuno." The coach walked up to her, shaking his head. "I don't know if there's anything more I can teach you. Where did you say you transferred from? Saint…?"

"Hebereke."

"Riight," The man rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "They must have one hell of a program up there."

Kodachi very nearly blushed. "Well, they had one of the best teams in Tokyo…" But then I left…

"Perhaps, after school, you could show us more of your skills. I think you have a lot to teach the other girls, and if they can learn, we may be able to do Ohtori proud at regionals… don't you think?" That last was addressed to the girls sitting around the balance beam, awe in their faces, and a respectful murmur went up in affirmation.

Kodachi beamed at the welcome she was getting from these girls. She hated to admit that her brother could ever possibly be right, but just maybe he wasn't as wrong as she first thought.

"Sempai… look."

Face illuminated from beneath by the mysterious glow of the hydroponic tank, Mikage Souji arched an eyebrow. "Where did that one come from? I thought we were down to one…"

The dark-skinned youth looked up from the black rosebud floating in the tank. "You should know, sempai. You know who comes and goes in Ohtori better than anyone. Surely you've met her."

"A new Duelist?"

"But of course."

"You know that Tenjou has fought each of the Council at least twice now, and beaten them all." The youth arched an eyebrow at Mikage's statement, but the older student continued. "Oh, come now, Mamiya. Don't tell me that the Duelists we recruited were anything more than shadows of the Council members whose soul-swords they wielded. The time has come to find someone with unfamiliar skills…"

"And catch Tenjou Utena off guard, ne? Very clever, sempai…" Mamiya resumed staring at the rosebud, "…if it works."

A petal peeled itself from the rosebud, and landed gently on the water's surface. The two boys blinked at the fallen petal before turning to face each other with somewhat worried expressions.

"You want me to lead a gymnastics seminar? I'd… be happy to, sensei…" Kodachi's smile both widened and grew slightly crooked. Why had she chosen those words? Was she really, actually happy?

She felt a slight twinge, as though her insides were being pricked by thorns. Her smile metamorphosed into a wince, and then a grimace.

"Ah… could we schedule it for possibly next week, though, instead?"

Deep in the bowels of Nemuro Memorial Hall, the outer petals began peeling away from the bud… but they remained clutching to the base of the flower.

The rose was about to bloom.

The two boys looked at each other once again, and grinned.

"OHH-HOHOHOHOHO!!" Kodachi bounded out of the gymnasium, exultant despite her earlier pain. A spray of black roses followed in her wake. Fortunately, she had been the last to leave, so there were no other students to alarm with her antics — not that that was ever a concern before.

She had found a niche for herself here, in only a few short days. It was nice to have a unique skill…

Speaking of which, she recalled there being a greenhouse somewhere in the quad, according to the brochures. It would behoove her to pay the place a visit, and add her own… special touches… to it.

To be continued.

Webmaster: Larry F
Last revision: May 21, 2007