Utena, Revolutionary Girl Fan Fiction ❯ Utena: A New Life At The Academy ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

I looked up and smiled. "I'm sure."

She kissed me gently on the cheek. "Well, off with you, you cruel girl." She wasn't my real mother. She loved me just the same.

The bus to the academy was waiting. I hated flowers but something about the scent drew me closer to this school of the rose… the scent of the letters I had been receiving for the past 7 months.

I gave her a hug and with my rose-colored bag in hand was on my way.

The bus was white…kind of reminded me of white roses…

I put my elbow up on the window after I found my seat and stared out at the passing scenery.

She looked hurt when I got on the bus. I made sure that I watched her so I could wave to her. Her little girl was growing up.

The bus came to a stop to let a couple more girls get on. There were very few boys on this trip. Why?! The bus began to move. I never paid attention to the faces as they boarded. I was in the middle of thinking if I was special enough to go to this school. I'd heard rumors about hauntings and incest and…suddenly, I just wanted the bus to blow a couple tires and stop.

Just as I started to get on my knees and pray, the bus hit a large stone. A body crashed against me.

"OOOooh…sorry!”

I pried open my eyes and looked at the object that had bumped me. Whoever it was was leaning in such a way that she covered my eyes. Everything was dark…well…maybe a dark blonde color. Her hair was covering my face.

She managed to get up. "I'm sorry. It looks like I'll be sitting next to you for the rest of the trip."

"Uhmm…it's okay." I muttered as I got up from the floor of the bus.

She was beautiful. She had long blonde hair. The yellowist I had seen in my entire thirteen years of life. She had blue eyes that would make anyone envious…including me with my mutt hazel eyes.

"I just got on and that rude driver didn't want to stop and wait for me to get seated." She huffed.

Her skin was pale…almost like mine. I quickly shut my eyes and turned my head to look out the bus window again.

"Did you receive a letter to the Ohtori Academy?" Why was I so harsh sounding when I said this?

"Hmph. As if!”

I offended her.

"I'm going to the academy because my brother is the student council president there."

"Oh."

She looked at me. "Do you know who I am?"

"Uhm." This really would take some deep thought. "You're the sister of the student council president."

She looked like she wanted to beat me for a minute. Suddenly three girls and three guys appeared before me.

"SHE'S THE SISTER OF THE STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT!” They sang.

I looked around at the faces and suddenly it was just the two of us alone again, in our seat.

"What just happened?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing."

"JUST NOTHING!” They sang again and disappeared.

"Why are you going to the academy?" she asked.

I looked at her. "Because I got several letters."

"SHE GOT…SHE GOT…SEVERAL LETTERS!”

"SHUT UP YOU IDIOTS!” The blonde girl yelled as she delivered a hammer fist to each of the members of her singing section. "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO SING FOR ME ONLY!”

As soon as they received their bruising, they fell back into their seats. If you listened hard enough, you could hear the muffled tones of “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

"Don't mind them." She said as she dusted off her hands. "Even the most popular of girls has groupies."

I looked at her for a minute. "Oh. Okay."

The smile on her face seemed evil and yet well meaning somehow.

As we traveled, I got to see a lush countryside with fields of tall green grass and happy cows living off the land. I could see the ocean not far away too. It was so beautiful. My partner didn't seem to be enjoying herself that much. She kept gazing at a picture with a golden frame. I kept thinking that she was looking at a picture of her boyfriend or maybe family. I envied her. I had a picture of my brother but it was so old and crusty…I was only a baby than…*sigh*.

"My brother is so handsome. He made sure all the student council members were as handsome and beautiful as he is."

I looked at the blonde girl for a minute. Something just made me want to strangle her. I did take in the fact that she was quite pretty.

Long golden hair with a professional looking braid wrapped lovingly around the rest of her hair. Shining blue eyes as blue as the ocean. Her school uniform as plain as it was seemed to lose a battle as it failed miserably to make her look like the rest of the busload of children.

Here I sat with my thirty-six inches of naturally purple hair. I had bleached my hair blue in a streak because I couldn't stand the solid color of my usually boring hair. I sported a red jacket with a black pair of pants. I was a decorated member of the Omashi School in Amsterdam. It was a middle school that prided itself on putting out show fighters.

My teachers told me it requested by someone in the Ohtori Academy I transfer to Japan and attend their school. The timing seemed so strange. That's when those letters started showing up. It was also just a couple days after my…never mind.

"You know what?" she suddenly asked me.

I looked at her. I could tell that my expression was that of anger but she ignored it.

"You look like someone I know. He's an old friend of my brother and is…never mind…it can't be. My brother says he doesn't have any relatives. I already asked."

She seemed so snobbish. The urge to strangle her was becoming greater.

The cruel ride had ended with the screeching of hydraulic breaks. "Do you have any bags?" she asked me.

"Just a few." I said thinking that she would offer to help me carry them.

"I always travel heavy for this kind of trip, too. That's why I have friends to help me."

Ooooh! Do not let me kill her! I could feel my blood pressure rise.

"My name's Nanami Kiryuu." She extended her hand to me.

I took it, slowly looking for pressure points to jab that would maybe kill her and look like an accidental death.

"Tschi, Uwe." I said as I told her my name. It was different from my brother's last name.

"I suspect that we might meet again." She looked so happy I didn't have the heart to kill her now.

Nanami's cheering section pushed past us as soon as the bus doors opened. Each of them had several bags in tow.

"They work fast." I said stupefied.

She just smiled and nodded at me.

I followed her down the bus steps. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you later." She said.

I was about to reply when my wandering eyes caught a glint of the most brilliant red I had ever seen. But, red what? Suddenly, the area filled with schoolgirls screaming and chanting. What was this ruckus for? They all seemed to flock in one location…the area where I saw that red thing. Before I could ask my schoolmate anything she was off and running too. "Big brother!” She was shouting. I smiled. I was happy to know that someone else had family at this academy as well.

I looked over at the carrier section of the bus. Maybe my bags can wait for a little bit. I had planned to run after Nanami but…

"Ow! You big jerk!” A tall object seized my left arm.

The object was a man. He let me go after I struggled a couple times in vain to get loose.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked.

It was kind of hard to see the face of this person. I freely admit the sun was shining behind his face so I couldn’t see all that well. I was being blinded every time I took a glance.

"I wanna go over there!” I shouted and stomped my foot.

"Now, now." This person said. "Is that anyway to talk to your older brother?"

I shook my head and put a hand over my eyes. Sure enough. "Saionji!” I blurted out. I was overjoyed. I rammed my head into his chest and wrapped my arms around him. He was quite tall. Well, I was quite tall…for a thirteen year old.

He was wearing a black leather jacket and a pair of jeans. I was surprised that I smelled roses rather than the leather. His arms felt so nice around me. "It's good to see you after all these years." He whispered.

"We really need to talk." I whispered back as I looked up at him. He smiled and nodded his head. "We will."

More screaming girls approached. This time they circled me and my brother. "Saionji with a girl? Who is she?"

"Why are they so shocked? Where's that girl that was in those pictures you sent me?"

I felt like I had spit in his face. He frowned at me. I thought he would have punched me.

"This is my baby sister Uwe." That tone sounded so proud all of a sudden.

The crowd was silent. "Uwe? Sister?" All those girls were slack jawed. It was kind of funny.

"Do you have any bags?" My brother asked me as he ran his hands through my hair. Next I heard "Bags?! Does she have any bags?"

"Uhm. They're in the bus. They all have red and black labels and they have the Omashi school seal on them" I was confused but decided to play along.

"Red and black?! Red and Black! Like lady Utena!” The crowd cheered, "There's another Prince!”

I watched as all the girls ran to the carrier and pulled my bags out. They all seemed so happy for some reason.

"Uhm…who's Utena?" I asked him. Again, he scowled at me.

I looked down at the ground. For the short time I was around him, this is one of the ways I remembered him. He was usually angry at something.

He let go of me and I was finally able to notice that the girls had my bags collected.

My brother put his hands on my shoulders. I could feel his chin resting against my head. "Did you pack enough bags?"

I felt myself blushing. He squatted down and wrapped my arms around his neck. It had been a long time since he had given me a piggyback ride. I rested my head against his. His green hair smelled so entrancing. It was so beautiful. It was naturally wavy just like his mothers. My hair was straight and purple just like my mothers.

Saionji's fan club circled us as we began to head toward the dorms. I was surprised to see all the huge white buildings. While walking I noticed a huge tower. It seemed to stretch far above the rest of the buildings. I was awe struck. Everything was so clean…and so…white.

The buildings looked so old but were kept in amazing shape. It reminded me of all those pictures I saw of Ancient Greece in the history books back at my old school.

"Welcome to the Ohtori Academy." I heard his voice below me. He sounded so happy to see me. The feeling was more than mutual. I saw a sign over my left shoulder. It said "dorms".

"Aren't we supposed to go the other way?" I asked as the sign passed by in the opposite direction.

"Saionji-sama's important!" One of the girls said.

"He's Vice President of the student council!” Another one chided in.

He is, is he. I thought to myself. I smiled. I guess he is. Saionji stopped below me and broke my train of thought. The girls kept walking in a hurried pace. What was going on? His head lifted up. He was looking at something…or someone.

"Hello, Saionji." I looked over my brother's head, left and right and didn't see anyone. He lowered his head.

Oh, it must be someone directly in front of him. I pushed his green hair out of my way and looked down. Needless to say, I was shocked to find a pink haired guy staring at me. He wore dark sunglasses and a purple suit. His dress style reminded me of a picture I saw taken in the 1950s.

I felt chills run up my spine. "Is this your little sister?" He asked. The tone of his voice suggested that he really didn't care who I was.

"Yep. This is my brat sister." Saionji answered with a half laugh.

"Hey!” I shouted as I beat the back of his head.

"Uwe, this is Mikage. He's a child prodigy." My brother's voice suddenly seemed devoid of humor.

Mikage smiled at me. It seemed somewhat forced, his smile did. "A pleasure to meet you."

"Same here." I said slowly.

Without any further words, Mikage tipped his glasses for a final stare and walked away. "Who was he?" I said in a private irritated tone.

"He's a professor here. He keeps to himself quite a bit."

"Oh." I hugged my brother's shoulders tighter. The girls were waiting for us. They had stopped outside of a large…uhmmm…maybe HUGE white house. "Here we are!” they all shouted in unison. Everyone at this academy seemed to love to sing.

It had so many pillars! Windows were everywhere! I suddenly wondered if I would become an idol to the males at this school like he did with the females. Would I get any privacy with so many windows?

All my bags were set down inside the main hall.

"Nice meeting you lady Uwe!” They said as they bowed their heads and turned to leave.

I watched them as they departed and turned to look at my brother. He was busily opening my suitcases. "Do you really need all this fighting gear?" He asked as he poked at one of my opened bags.

"I'm supposed to be a teacher here, right?"

He shook his head at me and rolled his eyes. "Okay."

There was an enormous spiraling staircase in the foyer. The hallways seemed to reach out forever. I suddenly wondered if there was anyone else living here with us. We moved my baggage into a room that he had set aside for me. It was huge! There was a king size canopy bed with rose colored draping, a huge walk in closet, and an attached bathroom. I stared for so long as I tried to take in the entire view. All the outer walls were made of glass so I could see the outside. Just when I was about to worry about people looking in at me and the early morning sunlight blinding me before I was ready to wake up, I noticed huge heavy curtains.

That's cool! I thought to myself.

"We'll catch up when you get stuff settled in." he winked at me and put a finger to his eye.

I nodded stupidly and set to work. I pulled out so many uniforms and protective gear. Just than my eyes came across something. There was a small table next to the bed. On it was a picture with a golden frame. It was a photograph taken of Saionji and I. I was so young than. I had to be about two or so. We looked so happy together. There were no adults in the picture. Maybe it was just as well.

In about eight minutes, I was on my feet. I ran out of my room and hooked a sharp left. Another set of stairs was in front of me. I looked both ways and slid down the banister. My mother would have had a fit if she had seen me doing this. I probably slid down about two floors…It was so much fun! I hopped off when it looked like the end of the road was approaching and took a right. I had absolutely no idea where I was going but it was a blast to explore! My home where I lived with my real mother was a tiny brown single story cottage in the United States. There wasn't any room to run around like a wild child. I ended up in a kitchen. I say "a" kitchen because it was so small, and I could have sworn that I saw another room with a stove a couple doors back. My hair was trailing behind me as I skipped around. A left seemed to be the way to go now.

"La-La-La-La-La!” I chanted.

"That's as far as you go."

"What?!" I yelped in pain as my hair was yanked by the ends. The shock of my forward motion halted abruptly caused me to fall on my backside. I rubbed my butt. "What is your problem?!" I yelled at my brother.

He stood in the doorway with his arms crossed. He was wearing a peach colored long sleeved shirt and a pair of blue jeans. "You'll have plenty of time to make a fool of yourself later." He said as he turned to leave.

"Big jerk!” I hissed.

He didn't stop walking. He just waved a hand at me from over his shoulder.

I quickly got to my feet and ran after him.

When I was able to catch up to him, he stopped at a large closed door. Wouldn't you know it…it was white too. He pushed the door open. As the door swung open, I noticed the back of a large white "U" shaped couch. There was a fireplace made of white stones in front of the couch.

My jaw dropped as I began to take in my surroundings. Saionji just walked around the side of the couch and sat down in the center. I don't know how long I was standing there for. My trance was suddenly broken, when I heard the sound of fingers snapping. "Earth to Uwe!" My brother said in a mocking voice.

I shook my head, vaulted over the side of the couch, and plopped down next to him.

"You know…" he began.

"I know, I know. Most people walk around." I finished his sentence for him.

The smile that graced his lips was so moving. He put an arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer. "It's good to have you here."

I stared at the fireplace again from my seat. There was a huge picture hanging above it. "Who is that?" It was a painting of my brother dressed in a white suit and some dark skinned girl with glasses and purple hair. They looked so happy. I thought back and suddenly remembered seeing that picture before only smaller. I had received that same picture before…only smaller…after dad died.

Big brother lowered his head. "She was my fiancée." He paused and looked at me. "Her name is Himemiya…Anthy."

"Oh…” I didn't know what else to say. I was happy when I felt him pull me closer. "What happened to her?"

He sighed. "So we have no family anymore."

I blinked. He just blatantly changed the subject. I let it go. Whoever she was he did not want to talk about her. "Dad died about seven months ago and my mom's been dead for three years now."

"It looks like your step mother took care of you. I'm sorry I ran out. I…"

I put a finger to his lips. The last time I had seen him was when I had just turned seven. Our father had just remarried my mother. He hated our father for his own reasons. I suppose.

"I sent those letters to get you away from that woman. I pleaded with the President and the Chairman to get you moved out here as soon as possible…as soon as I heard dad died."

That was it. He used to claim that my mother was abusive. I thought about it a little more. I was starting to get angry. I had never had any problems with her. He left me…out of selfishness? I took in a deep breath and lay back on the couch. My head rested square in his lap. I folded my hands behind my head. I didn't want to open up any wounds this evening. It was the first time I had been this close to him in years.

"I remember when you yelled at me for poking you with my training sword." He laughed. "You poked me more than once!" I remembered watching him take Kendo lessons. I would always make fun of him for wearing those strange masks and pants. I was young than.

"So now, you're a martial artist? Have you taken up swordsmanship yet?"

"Why?" I learned to use smaller weapons. I cut myself too many times with long edged weapons.

He looked back at the picture. "No reason."

My jaw dropped. Whoever this Anthy girl was, she was royally pissing me off. What does school work hold for you?" I wanted so desperately to get off my thoughts of her.

"I have a Kendo class tomorrow. So I'll be a little late."

"‘Kay, I don't start teaching until Thursday. Would it be okay if I sat in on your class?"

He was petting my forehead. Suddenly he looked afraid. "You want to what?"

I jumped to my feet fearing that he would dump me onto the floor. "Your Kendo class…Can I watch?"

"NO!” he barked. It was weird how his left eye began to twitch. It looked like someone had thrown lemon juice into it for a second. The right corner of his mouth was twitching too.

"You okay?!"

"FINE…uhm…I’m fine.” I had never seen him like this before.

"Are you sure?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

He stretched his arms out and let out a huge yawn. "I guess it's time for bed. G ' night, Uwe." With that, he turned and left the room.

I glanced back at the picture one more time. He looked so happy. I loved to see my brother happy. I was always concerned with seeing him happy. Even when I was away from him. I made it a priority to at least dream he was never unhappy or angry. I had appointed myself his protector.

"Phhhphf…" I put my back to the painting and all that happened this evening and made my way back to my room. Surprisingly it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

I passed Saionji's room and peeked inside. He was at a desk writing in some kind of book. I smiled to myself. "Good night." I whispered.

Once inside my room I let my uniform drop. I went into the attached bathroom and took a short hot shower. I wasn't exactly sure what I would be doing in the morning. I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around me. The search for nightclothes was not nearly as impossible as I thought it would be. Surprisingly my brother's cheering section had set out some of their favorite outfits. Note to self: Pay better attention to baggage

A green nightgown was laid out. It was silk…it was his mother's…I wondered to myself if they knew about the value of it or if they just loved it because of it was a lighter shade of his hair color. I put it on and climbed into bed. At least he was being treated like royalty here.

"She doesn't like me."

"Don't worry about it, Sayo!”

"They're talking about sending me away!”

"No, no! They can't! I'll protect you, not matter what!”

I always dreamt like this. They'd been this way for so many years. I never woke up because of them. Hearing the voices over and over again. They started after he disappeared. So, this is where you went, Saionji.

Morning came and I crawled out of bed. I showered and put on my Omashi dress uniform. It was a short sleeved, double-breasted, black blazer with matching pants. Omashi prided itself on appearance. Since I was a show fighter, I was no exception. I turned to head out of my room and noticed a letter and some drawings taped to my door.

School started early at this place I gathered. I was hungry so I decided to eat in the small kitchen that I encountered before I left on my journey. I noticed breakfast sitting on a tiny table so I sat down. He must have left it for me. Judging by its appearance and the fact that it was cold, it must have been sitting there for a couple hours.

I pulled the letter out and read it.

Uwe,

I called for you a number of times and you never answered. You sleep heavy!

Left for morning class. Breakfast on table. Here's a map of this dorm since you get lost easy and a map of the campus.

Saionji

That was nice of him. I was just about to look at the map when I realized that there was more to the letter. It continued:

The Kendo room has been marked! You are NOT to go anywhere near it!!! It's for your own good!!!

I shook my head. I could feel my eyes roll back in their sockets, too. Big Jerk!

"Ah, well." I sighed. Slowly I ran my finger along the map in search of the kendo room. I did not have to look very hard. The whole kendo room was circled in red. It also had a few dozen NO's and BAD's written on it too. He even went so far as to draw in a stick figure of himself pointing away from it.

"Good Grief!” I spat. "I hope you realize that I'm extremely curious now."

With map in tow, I successfully managed to find my way out of the dorm house. It was refreshing to see all the sunlight and feel the warmth around me. There were so many uniforms running around, playing, and talking to one another. So many smiles and study groups…so many friends…

I looked down at my shiny black shoes. My uniform made me stick out like a sore thumb. My teaching days did not start here until Thursday and my own classes didn't start until next week. I had hoped that I would be able to meet some people.

"Hello."

I almost jumped out of my skin. I spun around. It was that guy from yesterday. The one that Saionji introduced me to.

"Would you like to join me for a walk…Miss Kyouchi?" he asked.

"Oh. It's not Kyouchi. My last name is Tschi. We have the same father but different mothers. You can call me Uwe." I smiled.

"Very well. I prefer people to call me by Mikage." He wrapped his arm around mine and we were off on our walk.

Something about his looks seemed different. I ran my eyes up and down him. "You look different."

He wasn't wearing glasses and instead of that purple suit, he was wearing a black uniform top with red trim and tan pants. He looked so handsome. His attire reminded me of all those storybook princes my mother told me about in fairy tales.

"Hmm." He purred. "I have a seminar to teach later today for the Student Council."

"Oh."

"Your brother will be attending." His voice was so appealing. It was deep. It seemed so old for someone with his looks. I blushed. He was so attractive.

"That's right…" I trailed. "He is the Vice President of the student council…" I was becoming jealous.

Mikage offered a sweet smile and squeezed my captured elbow against his side. I was having a hard time believing that this same person was the one that gave me chills when I first arrived. "I'm sure you'll be part of it soon." The smile disappeared.

We had walked for several minutes without saying anything to each other. "This is the building where I conduct my seminars. I also conduct…wellness…sessions with students that are having a hard time with school stress and outside issues…like friends or family."

I looked at the building he was talking about. It looked like it was about three stories tall and it seemed kind of "slim" for an actual building. It put me in mind of a house from a horror movie I saw during my brief stay in the US. I almost expected to see someone sitting in a rocking chair gazing out at me. Just then, I noticed movement in one of the black windows. I shook my head. It seemed like some kind of cliché all of a sudden.

"You'll hear some horror stories about this building later. One hundred students did lose their lives here. They were all trapped inside and burned to death."

"Okay." Now I was staring to get the chills again.

He looked at me and gave me a childish smile. "That was decades ago. I just like to teach here because it's a good conversation starter for my wellness sessions."

He gently nudged me to continue our strange walk.

A few feet away, I saw an object with the most brilliant pink in it. It was a girl with long pink hair. She was sitting with…

Mikage and I were about ten feet away. There was another girl next to the pink haired one. It was the girl that my brother was engaged to. She looked up before her friend did. It was strange. It was almost as if she could sense us.

"You're Himemiya." I said as I pointed to the purple haired girl with glasses.

"Yes." Her voice seemed so distant and unemotional.

"This is Anthy." The pink haired girl said. "I'm Utena." She held her hand out to me.

This was the girl so many admired. She seemed friendly enough. I accepted her hand. "I'm Uwe."

Utena had the most beautiful blue eyes. They could put the bluest of oceans to shame; I was willing to bet.

"This is Mikage." I felt somewhat silly introducing him. The girls and my walking companion had been at this school longer than I had. He just nodded at them.

"I know who you are." Himemiya said. Her gaze focused on me.

"You do?!" Utena asked.

"Yes." Anthy nodded and smiled.

"Who is she?" her friend asked.

Anthy's eyes closed. It was cute to see this type of smile. She cocked her head to the side. "I can't tell you, Lady Utena. I promised not to tell. I didn't expect to see you so soon. Nice to meet you." She sang.

"Lady?" I questioned and looked at the pink haired girl. "Such a formal title."

Utena winced. "I know." She said as she began to scratch the back of her head. "I've been trying to get her to call me just 'Utena'. Are you new here?"

"I just got here yesterday. I transferred here from the Omashi School. I'll be teaching Martial Arts classes and I'll be taking regular classes too."

"Sounds like you've got a full plate! I don't think I could ever keep up with a schedule like that!”

"Miss Utena is in all the athletics clubs. She's their star player." I never figured out how someone could go on smiling like Anthy could.

"Maybe you'd like to stop by sometime. My classes will be starting soon."

"I'd like that." Utena nodded. She suddenly looked around. "How rude of me! Would you like to sit with me and Anthy?"

I looked at my companion. Mikage tilted his head. "It's up to you."

I never got a chance to say or do anything. The four of us were interrupted by four more girls. "You're that girl from the bus." One girl said.

"Isn't that right, Miss Nanami?!" Another shouted.

Nanami? I studied the faces of the three girls. There she was. The blonde girl with the Student Council brother. "That's right." she nodded. "You deserve to be with us." She grabbed my free arm and pulled Mikage and I away from Utena and Anthy.

"I'm sorry. Maybe next time!” I shouted as the two girls began to vanish in the distance.

"Bye, bye!” Anthy waved as Utena scowled. "That Nanami girl!”

Mikage stopped. I suddenly felt like I was going to be ripped in half by Nanami and her steady pace. "Is something wrong?" I asked him.

"I need to leave you now. It's almost time for my interview. I look forward to seeing you at the seminar, Miss Nanami." That stopped her.

"Oh, Mr. Mikage it's always a pleasure!” Nanami smiled.

He turned to me. "Miss Tschi, if you have any problems feel free to bring them to me. You won't need an appointment since you have family on the Student Council. My door will be open to you." With those words, he walked off leaving me Nanami and her friends.

"He's a little strange,” said one girl.

"He's real smart too." The second girl pointed out.

"Not my type." Interrupted the third.

"You have a relative here?!" Nanami barked. She dropped my arm and wiggled a finger at me.

I was taken aback by this sudden change of attitude. "Yes. My brother."

"Who's your brother?" The four chanted with their hands on their hips.

"Could it be Miki?" They asked.

Miki?

"It's not Juri!”

Juri?

"It's not my brother!”

"Of course not Miss Nanami!”

I was going to have to ask Nanami about her brother's name, one of these days.

Nanami put a finger to her lips and shut her right eye. "It can't be Sai…"

"My brother is Saionji. He's my older brother." I said and gave her a huge smile.

Everyone was in shock. It was funny. Their jaws were wide open as they stood there staring at me.

After a couple seconds, one of Nanami’s friends broke the silence. "You poor girl."

"That's why no one else knows around this school, huh?"

Uwe keep your cool. I kept telling myself. I wasn't really sure if they knew how offensive they were being.

I wanted to say something so bad, or at least throw a couple punches but I was caught in the middle of a stampede. Every girl and a flock of guys suddenly headed towards us. I was beginning to hate getting caught up in human typhoons.

"It's a duel!"

"They're going at it again!”

"Who?"

"Touga and Saionji!”

"They're waiting in the Kendo room!”

"Who's going to win this time?"

All these people were heading to the room my brother had instructed me to stay away from. I could not resist the temptation. I had to find out about that Touga person who was going to be fighting my brother.

"Big Brother!” Nanami squealed as she grabbed my arm again. "Come on!”

Who was I to argue?

I was surprised to see that my brother didn't paint the outside of the room itself red or put up any anti-Uwe signs. As expected, there were people everywhere. Getting through the crowd was easy. Nanami's crew had pushed their way through. It rather looked like the parting of the Red Sea, when they were done. Utena and Anthy were there also. Anthy waved while Utena just looked on. I had a feeling that she was as curious as I was about what was going on.

The kendo room was dark with the exception of a path of light that illuminated the two combatants. My brother had his hair tied back in a ponytail and was wearing his hakama. The other man had his back to me. His hair was long and…

I found myself having flashbacks. I remembered the stampede of girls swarming to that brilliant red hair. I suddenly wanted to see more. I didn't want to risk being caught by Saionji though. I could not ever recall disobeying him before. I couldn't see why he would want to keep me away from here though. What did he think he was protecting me from?

Saionji's opponent slowly raised his head. Next thing I knew he was looking right at me. His face was so majestic. I was trembling. He smiled at me. How did he know I was here? Did he know who I was?

I could feel myself start to blush. Was Saionji watching? No. My brother was looking over at Anthy.

"Hit him hard Big Brother!” Nanami shouted.

"Beat him Touga!” shouted a couple guys behind me.

That was Touga? The Touga that was Nanami's big brother? The Touga who was the Student Council President?

Touga turned his attention back to Saionji. That smile never left his face. The two moved to position themselves and sized each other up. In a flash, it was over. My brother went high while the President went low. It was over so quickly. I didn't have enough time to blink. Saionji's sword had stopped just above Touga's head. Touga's sword had stopped an inch from my brother's stomach.

"Good job, Big Brother!” Nanami yelled and started to jump up and down.

Saionji looked angry. It was true. Our family was full of competitive hotheads. He spat some words at Nanami's brother. I couldn't hear them over the roar of the crowd. Touga had said something back but I did not have time to stick around. Saionji was surveying the crowd and I did not want to get caught by him just yet. I bolted out of there as fast as I could. Utena and Anthy had left too. They were up the hall a ways.

I couldn't believe the type of day I was having. Saionji and I both had friends. I ended up walking home. They seemed to be so evenly matched.

Saionji had always loved Kendo. He was the one that got me interested in the martial arts to begin with. I wanted to be strong just like him. At my old academy, there was more of an emphasis on schoolwork and fighting. Kendo didn't really have a place at that school so I never had any experience with it. I was happy that my brother had found his niche and could share it with someone like the President.

I skipped into my little kitchen and suddenly realized that I never cleaned up my mess from earlier.

"Eeew…" I scraped the plates off into the trash and set about washing them. I looked at a wall clock. It was rather late in the day. Saionji would be home soon. I was starving. All that excitement had caused me to forget about eating.

I ran into the living area and stretched out on the couch. I didn't feel like sparring or running kata.

"Uwe, I'm home!”

"Saionji!” I vaulted over the couch to greet him. He gave me a tight hug.

"How was your day?"

"I got to meet some new people. I like that Utena girl she seems nice enough…"

He was wincing again.

"…and Anthy is such a pretty girl."

He was smiling now.

"Mikage took me on a walk earlier too."

Saionji dropped his arms. "Mikage…"

"Yeah. He said he had a seminar to teach but he would be willing to help me if I ever had any problems."

"Don't get too excited about him, Uwe." His voice was so emotionless now. "He's not someone you should be too close to."

"Why?"

He turned and started to walk around the couch. "Did you meet anyone else?"

I smiled and hugged myself. "Just so!” I shouted.

He looked at me. He looked so shocked. "I saw Touga's little sister, Nanami, and her friends. We…"

I didn't even notice him walking around the couch. He was standing right in front of me scowling. "Uwe, what did you say?"

"I saw Nanami and her friends…"

He was not buying it. "The other name. Where did you hear that name?"

"I heard it from Nanami. She said it was her brother's name and she told me that he was the Student Council President."

He sat down. "You didn't go to the Kendo room did you?"

"Nope." I lied. I stretched out on the couch and rested my head on his lap. "Who's Touga? Why do you seem to hate him?"

"I don't really hate him." He started to rub my shoulder. "He's been my friend for a long time. I met him after…well…"

He never told me about Touga before. I had been around him while he and Touga had been friends, I supposed, and he had never mentioned it to anyone. The first time I heard that name was from Nanami.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked. "Why keep him a secret for so long?"

I sat up.

"Uwe, I just didn't want you to get hurt. Touga Kiryuu has the reputation of being a playboy. He likes to play around with girls. I just didn't want him to get his hands on you."

"Oh." My stomach started to growl.

"Have you eaten anything?"

I shook my head.

Saionji cooked up a quick dinner, which was a welcome thing, and I went off to bed. Again, I passed Saionji's open bedroom door and again he was writing in the little book. I was determined to find out what it was he was writing about.

I waited until I saw the light in his room go out. Controlling my breathing and taking great care so as not to make the floor creak below me, I walked into his room. I opened up a random page of his book. There was enough moonlight coming through the window that allowed me to read. It had a passage written by Anthy in it. What was he doing with Anthy's book? I flipped another page. It did not occur to me what I had until I saw a passage written by Saionji himself. I had in my hands an exchange diary. He was so passionate in his writing to her. "Aww, big brother's in love."

"Yes he is."

Eep!

"Go back to bed!”

I could feel him standing over me. I kissed him on the cheek and ran out. It was cute to know he was that interested in Anthy. What bothered me was her writing. It seemed so empty. I didn't want to hurt his feelings so I decided not to tell him what I thought.

The morning started out the same. Saionji was off to class long before I woke up. The only difference this time was no good morning letter and no notice to stay away from the Kendo room. I decided to wear the outfit I was going to teach in. It consisted of short-sleeved navy blue jacket and a matching pair of tight fitting shorts. I gathered my hair and put a red and gold hair band around it. He made breakfast again…When was he going to learn about my habit of sleeping in. I emptied the cold contents of the plates and ran out to begin my last day of freedom.

Mikage was nowhere in sight, as I left the dorm house. I was developing a little bit of a crush on him. I walked on in my dress uniform. Did this place always have such nice sunny weather? Since I first came here, it was sunny and warm.

Utena and Anthy were at the same location that I had noticed them when I was with Mikage. There was a brown haired girl with a ponytail with them. Utena motioned for me to join them.

"Uwe, come sit with us!”

"Alright!” I knelt down beside the new girl. She had the biggest brown eyes and was rather plain compared to Anthy, Utena and myself. I found her to be rather…cute.

The brown haired girl was glaring at me. "Wakaba, what's wrong?" asked Utena.

She looked at Utena and than back at me. Her eyes were rather shifty looking all of a sudden. "You're supposed to be my Prince, Utena. Don't tell me you've ditched me for that girl?!"

Ditched? Was she in love with Utena? It didn't matter to me. I had heard somewhere…maybe it was from one of my favorite anime…"You can't help who you fall in love with." I for one wasn't sure who I was in love with yet.

I felt the urge to reveal my complete identity to the group. I took a deep breath. I looked into Wakaba's eyes. "My name is Uwe Tschi. I'm the little sister of the Student Council's Vice President…"

"Lord Saionji?!" She screamed.

The sound of her wailing was killing my ears. Yet another female fan of my brother. "That is so cool!” She clasped her hands together over her heart. "Pleased to meet you!” She grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously. I was amazed that she hadn't snapped my wrist.

"Uwe is teaching martial arts classes here at the academy." Said Utena

"You fight?" She was extremely curious.

"I was one of the top show fighters at my old school." I nodded.

"Will your brother be going to? You don't really look like him y'know?"

"I take more after my mother." I blushed. "But he really is my older brother."

Wakaba's eyes grew wider. "Wait a minute!” She covered my face with her hand. "You've got his chin!”

I just stood there dazed as she removed her hand. She was happy and cute so I decided to stay quiet. Utena and Anthy seemed to be getting a laugh too. I was beginning to like this school. I noticed something moving around Anthy's shoe.

It was gray and it had large mouse-like ears. I moved in closer. "Uhm…Anthy. What is that?" I poked it in the forehead.

"That's Chu-chu." Utena said.

"He's my best friend." Anthy smiled.

"Chu-chu is always around Anthy." Wakaba smirked.

"Chu-chu, this is Uwe. She's Saionji's little sister."

The little creature eyed me suspiciously and sniffed the air. "Chu!" it said and stuck a tiny hand out to me. I looked at Anthy curiously. What did it want?

She nodded at me. "I think Chu-chu is happy to meet you."

I stuck a finger out. The little creature grabbed my finger and shook it up and down. I guess this was its equivalent to a handshake. "Pleased to meet you."

"Chu!" It said in reply.

"I never saw you in any of the pictures my brother sent me."

The creature dropped my finger and stuck its tongue out. I blinked for a second.

"Saionji and Chu-chu don't like each other, Lady Uwe."

Lady Uwe? "It's just Uwe." I politely corrected Anthy. She smiled and nodded at me.

I just smiled for a second and thought to myself…What did my brother see in her again? She seems kind of air headed.

"Utena and Wakaba got to their feet while Anthy collected Chu-chu. We'd better get to class." Said Utena.

"Okay than. I'll see you later."

The girls left. I decided to walk down one of the long hallways inside the school. I was fascinated by the architecture. So many pillars.

As I walked, I saw a shadow of a man standing by one of the columns. He was looking out a window. There was no one else around. He was rather tall and he looked to be older than the rest of the students. I was extremely nervous so I just kept walking. I got about twenty feet away when I heard someone yell. "Excuse me miss!"

I jumped and looked behind me. The man had left. Was he one of the ghosts that some kids at my old school had mentioned? I turned back and was about to continue forward when my face struck something. I bumped rather hard. I found myself stumbling backwards. Great job, Uwe, this is a really good way to meet people. I suddenly realized I had run into someone's chest. I was unable to keep my balance and fell on my ass. A hand came into view.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you."

I accepted the hand up. The vision before me was beautiful. A warm smiling man with long red hair greeted me. He was dressed all in white with the exception of two pinstripes on one sleeve. I could not help but blush and stare.

"Uhm…" really good, Uwe, surprise him with your wit. Words were failing me. What could I do or say. I shook off part of my nervousness. "Kiryuu…Touga…You…You're Nanami's older brother."

He nodded. "Yes. I am Touga. I saw you in the audience yesterday. You're new here."

"Uh." I scratched the back of my head. "Yeah. I'm Uwe. I'm going to be an instructor here." I was getting better at words.

"That's not all." He winked at me.

I looked left and looked right furiously. What did he mean by that?

"You look familiar somehow."

"Uhh…I do?"

"I could never forget such a pretty face." He started to lean closer to me. He still had a hold of my hand, which pressed firmly against his chest. I was starting to tremble. What was going on?

"Touga!"

I was relieved. Saionji was heading toward Touga and me at full tilt. He was dressed rather elegantly. I assumed that he was wearing his student council uniform. "I can't leave you alone for five minutes!" He hissed and grabbed my hand from Touga. I was not sure whom he was talking about.

"Why Saionji? Such a reaction…" The Student Council President ran a hand through his hair and put his other hand to his hip. "Who is she?" He winked at me again.

"This is my little sister. She's from the Omashi Academy in Amsterdam. She just transferred here a couple days ago." My brother sounded rather defensive.

"You kept such a lovely creature hidden from me for all these years."

"You're the one with the playboy reputation here. I'm not going to let her become like all the others." Barked my brother.

"Is that how you talk to your only friend?" There was a mocking tone to his voice.

"Bah. Friendship? Let's go, Uwe. I found out where your classes are going to be held."

"My classes?" My eyes were still fixed on the Student Council President. Saionji was almost dragging me.

"We'll meet again, Uwe." He was so handsome. He blew me a kiss before he put his hands in his pockets and watched my brother haul me away.

I was having a hard time keeping up with his maddened pace. You never told him about me?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because."

That did it. Time to put the brakes on. I stomped my feet down and wriggled my way out. "Why?!" I demanded. "I can protect myself. I'm a big girl!" I suddenly felt like a two year old arguing with an adult.

My brother put a hand to my forehead and pushed back a couple strands of hair. "You're my baby sister and I don't want to see you hurt. I told you all this before." He paused and scratched his head. "Besides, if you get pissed off and hit him you stand a good chance of getting the both of us expelled."

That was an awkward way of looking at it. I looked into his eyes and shrugged.

I don't remember how long we had walked. I was amazed at how large my classroom was, when we finally got there. It wasn't much different from the Kendo area. It was lit a little better though. There was more of my gear too. I whistled as I looked around. I was standing in the center of heaven. There were stools lining the walls. A huge chalkboard was on a wall just a couple inches from one of three large windows. It felt good to have someone experience this with me.

"Show me what you've got."

"Huh?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Since I got here, Saionji had never showed any interest in my abilities.

"Let's spar a little"

"Don't you have any classes?"

"They're done for the day. Come on!" He took up a fighting stance.

"Okay." I said.

I threw a couple punches to get things going. My form was looking beautiful. He countered with a couple kicks and some punches of his own. I had no idea how long we were playing. He was pretty good. He moved so smoothly. He stopped suddenly. I almost ended up hitting him.

"What?" I was getting concerned. He pointed to something behind me. There were so many students lined up watching us fight. The room erupted in cheers and whistles. All I could do to hide my embarrassment was bow and wave. I was pretty sweaty and so was Saionji.

"Hey Saionji!" Someone shouted. "Who's that?"

He had that proud look on his face. "This is my little sister, Uwe. She's going to be instructing this class tomorrow.

I heard so many mumbles and inside conversations. I wasn't used to being seen by so many people.

"Where do we sign up?" A couple students inquired. All other questions were different variations of that one.

I was so excited. I saw Touga standing in the doorway. He waved to me before he walked out. I kind of wished Mikage had been there to see me. I turned my attention back to my crowd. "I have enrollment slips posted out in front of the chairman's office for those interested in signing up. I'm going to be teaching classes three times a day morning afternoon and evening. I hope to see you all there."

My brother and I waited until everyone left before we headed for home. I was looking forward to so many people knowing who I was.

I was a little disappointed that Utena and her friends weren't there. I had to accept that there were still classes going on and Mikage had his seminars to teach. At least my brother had shown interest. I wasn't quite sure if his friend showing up was such a good idea.

Upon getting home, I just kissed my brother on the cheek and said goodnight. I was in a hurry to get rested up for my first day of being an instructor. I forgot to check in on Saionji to see if he was writing again.

In the morning, I was ready to go. I was actually up before my brother. I gathered up some of my favorite exotic weapons and made sure to push open Saionji's door. "Wake up!” I shouted. As I ran down the stairs, I heard him moan and a pillow came flying out. I wasn't affected in the least. I had all my teaching schedules figured out. I ran into my kitchen and noticed three envelopes on my tiny table. One was for me. The second was for my brother and I and the third one was just marked EOTW in fancy writing.

"We've got mail too!” I found it a little odd to get mail this early in the morning. Than it dawned on me. Saionji went to bed around the same time I did. The doors were locked, and we were the only ones that lived in this dorm house. How did the letters get here? I looked at the one marked EOTW and tried to figure out what was in it.

"What do you mean 'mail'?" Saionji had made his way down the stairs. I giggled shamelessly at him. He was barefoot and bare-chested. He only had white pajama bottoms on. He stretched and yawned. As I tried to hide my blushing.

"You've got something from an EOTW? Who or what is that?"

He snatched the envelope out of my hand. "Did you open it?"

"No." I was so confused. "Why?"

"What are those?" He was pointing at the other letters. "Open them!"

I was beginning to get scared. "Okay." I picked up the envelope addressed to me and opened it. It was from Mikage. I remembered Saionji's reaction when I first mentioned my walk with the pink haired professor. "It's concerning my classes. It's my latest schedule." I lied to him. I hoped that he wouldn't ask me about what was really written. I just folded the letter and pushed it into my jacket pocket. I decided that I would read it later.

Saionji was noticeably calming down. "What's the other one?"

I was wondering that myself. I opened up the envelope for the both of us. It was an invitation to go to a party. "It's from…" The invitation had a little picture of the Student Council President on it. It was a picture of him winking.

"It's an invitation to Touga's birthday party, isn't it?" He sat down at the table and buried his head in his arms.

What was so wrong with going to a birthday party? "I think it's a nice gesture." I said happily.

"Than you can go if you want." He snorted at me.

"Fine, I will. It's tomorrow. I've only got two classes scheduled for the day before and after the party."

"I'm going to go get cleaned up. We still have a couple hours before we need to be anywhere."

I nodded to him as he left. He had the EOTW thing with him. I opened up my letter and read it.

Uwe,

I'm sorry that I wasn't able to see you before your classes started. I wanted to wish you luck with them as well as warn you about some events that will be transpiring in the days to come. I have the feeling you will need someone to reach out to and would like to re-extend my invitation to you. My schedule has become a little hectic as of late so I will not be as visible.

Sohji Mikage

"Sohji." I whispered. "That's a nice, dignified name." I couldn't help but wonder what he meant. I looked at the invitation from Touga and smiled. I was definitely going to be there.

Hours later Saionji and I were off to school. He was in his student council uniform and I was in my Omashi jacket and shorts. When we were outside my classroom, he kissed me on the forehead and wished me luck before he went to his own classes. I practiced my Kata as I waited for my new students. I still had a few minutes.

One by one, they entered. Utena's friend, Wakaba, was there. I smiled and gave her a small wave. In this class, I gave a small history lesson of the Martial Arts and took measurements for gear that they would need as well as uniforms.

It was a half hour class. The students were so nice and attentive. I could have sworn that I had seen three of the male members of Nanami's cheering section there. They seemed to mirror each other exactly with their actions. They seemed perfectly synchronized. The other two classes flew right by as well. I had a couple repeating students from the morning and afternoon classes that decided to show for the evening class too.

The evening of the party arrived and I was a happy Uwe. I had rummaged through all my clothes and found the perfect dress to wear. I pulled out a dress that would have made my brother have a heart attack. It was a small halter dress with a deep "v" plunging neckline and a short skirt. I put it on with a pair of flat shoes and ran out. I wasn't going to wait and see if Saionji would come along. I wanted to mingle.

One of Nanami's friends answered the door and smiled. "Welcome." She said.

The party was quite spectacular. Everyone was there except for Mikage and Saionji. Utena and Anthy approached me. Anthy handed me a drink. The dress she wore looked like it was made out of a curtain. Where was Nanami?

"What do you think of the school?" asked Utena. She was such a friendly girl.

"I'm still trying to get used to it." I answered.

"Where's Lord Saionji?"

I took a sip of my drink. Lord? Lady? I was happy that she asked about Saionji anyway.

"He was invited too." I took another sip.

Utena smiled at me and poked at my shoulder. "I never thought I'd see you in a dress."

That was funny. Neither would my brother. "You look great."

"Thanks." I searched the room until my eyes finally came to rest on the birthday boy.

Touga Kiryuu was seated in a fancy chair in between two other members of the student council.

"Uhm, Utena who are those people?" I assumed, by the uniforms, they were part of the student council. One of them was around my age and the other one, a girl, looked to be a bit older. She had strawberry blonde hair with the loveliest curls. I was almost willing to bet she was a model or had some modeling experience. I was willing to flush any chances of my ever getting to know Touga down the drain.

Utena looked over at where I was pointing. "The boy with the blue hair is Miki. He's a bit of a genius. He's a great piano player and he's part of the fencing team. The girl on the other side of Touga is Juri. She's the captain of the fencing team. They're both on the student council."

"Oh." I suddenly remembered there was something I needed to do. I left Utena and Anthy and went to where Touga sat.

I bowed to him. "Happy birthday, Mister President. I'm sorry, I wasn’t able to bring a gift but I thought a birthday greeting would be good. My brother said that he'll be a little late but he wishes you a happy birthday too."

He leaned forward a little bit and smiled at me, much like he did when he was in the Kendo studio dueling my brother. "Thank you. You're too cute."

I couldn't help myself. I broke out blushing. Miki had nodded at me and Juri had a nasty scowl. What was their problem? I bowed again and excused myself. He was so handsome. "Who is her brother?" I heard Juri ask.

"Don't you know?" Touga answered, "She is Saionji's little sister."

I didn't bother to look at the shock in their faces. I could only imagine.

Time passed and I noticed Anthy, Touga and Utena go outside. I stayed inside with the other guests while I watched. Nanami was outside too. They all seemed to be in the middle of some kind of argument. The next thing I know Touga is saying something to Utena and is placing a ring on Nanami's finger at the same time. I couldn’t get a good look at the ring but I was curious. My brother wore a ring on his finger but I just assumed it was just his engagement ring. Yet something else I needed to ask him about.

I left the party with the rest of the guests. I was anxious to get back to bed.

I didn't know it yet but I was going to learn a great deal about my brother. I was going to learn first hand about his temper and how much he cared for Anthy.

My classes went by quickly. I taught my students a few self-defense maneuvers before giving them a lecture about kata. I partnered up with Wakaba that day for a little sparring lesson. She was a fun girl. We worked on takedowns together…unfortunately; she was the one that was usually falling down.

I went home and saw Saionji with a letter in his hand. He looked so happy.

"What's up?" I asked.

He quickly stuffed his letter in his pocket. "I've just received some good news." He messed up my hair and turned to leave the kitchen.

"Good news, huh? Like what?"

He just looked back at me. "You'll see."

What kind of answer was that?!

About an hour had passed and I heard a phone ringing. It was coming from the living room. I hollered for my brother but I got no answer from him. I ran into the room and found the phone.

"Hello."

There was silence for a couple seconds and than someone spoke. "Is Saionji there?" The voice was deep and quite attractive.

"I yelled for him but I didn't get an answer so he might be asleep."

"He's on his way to the forest behind the academy. You may want to go to him." The voice said.

"That place is supposed to be off limits. That's what he told me anyway?" The person on the other end hung up.

I called out for my brother one more time and ran out into the darkness. I had to stop him before he got in trouble. What was he doing out here anyway? I paused for a couple seconds. Did this have something to do with the letter he was reading? Did it have something to do with that EOTW?

I don't know how long I ran. I was almost out of breath and about to just head home when I caught a glimpse of my brother. Anthy was there too.

The two of them were standing next to some giant statue. It looked like a huge statue of a dove. I ran over to them to get a better view. The huge sculpture lifted up to reveal some kind of doorway.

I watched as my brother grabbed Anthy by the wrist. She yelled in pain. Anthy was yelling something about not being allowed there. I also caught something about duels. I can't remember how many times he hit her. He was so gentle to me. I couldn't believe that this was how he was acting. I couldn't stand it anymore.

As soon as I got close enough, I tapped him on the shoulder. "What the hell do you think you're doing to her?" I shouted.

He spun around. It was obvious he was shocked.

I grabbed Anthy's free arm and flung her behind me. I heard her feet scamper as she struggled to keep her balance. I honestly didn't care too much for that girl but no one deserved to be treated the way he was treating her.

"Get away from here!” I yelled to her while still keeping an eye on my brother.

"Uwe?!" His voice sounded strange. There was anger burning in his eyes. I stood my ground as bravely as I could.

Suddenly he did something I never thought he would do to his own flesh and blood. He punched me. I backpedaled and accidentally knocked Anthy down as I tried to stay on my feet.

I put a hand to my face. It hurt real bad. "I don't know what's going on but I do know that this is not how you tell someone you love them!”

He was walking toward me. No one hits me and gets away with it, no matter whom they are! I crouched low and drove the palms of my hands into his hips. He was driven back a few inches. I didn't give him a chance to recover. I delivered a left hook that connected with his face, knocking him unconscious. He hit the ground hard.

I was in awe that I had the ability to take someone down like that. Unfortunately, the guilt of hitting someone that I loved and vowed to protect was already eating away at me. I could feel tears start to form.

"Go on! Get of here!” I shouted to Anthy. I put a hand to my throbbing cheek.

She looked at me with puzzlement and concern. She had her arms outstretched. She was the last person I wanted to come near me.

I waved her back. "Go!”

She turned and started to run through the doorway in the statue. I had expected her to run the other way. I was beyond caring about her. I couldn't believe that my own brother would hit me. I couldn't control the tears anymore. I noticed Utena running this way. I didn't feel like standing around chit chatting. I didn't even bother to try to figure out what she was doing out here at this hour anyway. Maybe she could help Saionji when he came to.

I ran home and flung myself on the couch. The tears just kept pouring out. All I could think about was Saionji and how much I must have hurt him. I was younger and smaller than him but I always felt that I had a special power. I had the ability to keep him from harm…

That power had suddenly vanished. It was replaced by wet spots on my wrists and damp spaces on the couch where my tears had run over. I held back the torrent and managed to raise my head. The image that confronted me said it all. It was the reason why my brother, who despite years of separation was still held close to my heart, acted the way he did towards me. It was that damn purple haired girl.

I glared at that portrait before I decided to go into the kitchen and get a glass of juice. The only clean glass I could find was a long stemmed wine glass. I never bothered to question the presence of the glass, seeing as how Saionji and I were both underage. I found some cranberry juice and poured it into the elegant vessel. Maybe this would calm me down.

I pretended I was someone else just then, someone older and taller. I walked back to the white living room thinking everything was fine. There was that wicked tormenting face staring back at me, with her arms wrapped around my brother. I was just about to take a drink when a new emotion came over me. "You evil wench!” I shouted as I hurled the glass at the painting.

The cranberry juice splattered all over the portrait as the glass shattered on impact.

The next morning I did my best to keep motivated. I had run past Saionji's door without bothering to check in on him. I slowly walked down the staircase and was about to enter my kitchen when I noticed that the door was slightly closed. I cocked my head to the side and slowly pushed it open.

Sitting at my little table was my brother. His head was in his hands. That lovely green hair was covering his face and hands. This sight was disturbing to me. "Big brother…are you okay?"

He didn't look up. His head just moved a little. This wasn't like him at all…

I suddenly had flashbacks of the night the day before he had told me…

"I need to leave here."

"You need to what?" I was not hearing this.

"I need to leave for awhile." He lifted his head. Those violet eyes looked so depressed. "If it's about last night, it's okay. We both…"

He shook his head and got up from the table.

He walked over to me and just stood there. There was something very wrong going through his mind.

"…Overstepped our bounds…" I was stuck again. Even when he was sad, Saionji was still very handsome.

He gave a small smile and ran his hands through the blue streak in my hair. "I'll never understand why you did this."

Besides the fact he wasn’t wearing his student council uniform, I noticed there were a couple bags stationed behind the door. "What were you planning to do with those?"

He looked at the bags and than back at me as if he had almost forgotten about them. His smile vanished. "I told you I have to leave."

"Let me come with you." I pleaded. I knew I couldn't leave the school due to the scheduling. I really did want to learn more about this place.

Saionji hurled a backpack over his shoulder. The sleeve of his uniform poked out through an opening. I began to realize that wherever he was going, it was probably going to be a permanent move.

"Something else happened last night, didn't it?" I was extremely concerned now. I could feel myself wanting to cry. I threw my arms around him and pushed my face into his chest. The bag dropped from its high position and fell to the floor. My brother wrapped his arms around my shoulders and held me tightly to him. "I've been expelled, Uwe. That's why I need to leave."

If he was not crying, I certainly was. The horrible events of what happened last night had definitely carried over.

"I waited here for you because I wanted to tell you that I am still very sorry for hitting you."

I begged and pleaded with him until he finally gave in and let me walk with him to the gates of the academy. I felt it was the least I could do for him since I failed so miserably at being his protector.

"I'll try and get you reinstated here!" I said while trying to keep myself from crying anymore. I didn't know how but I would try my hardest to get some help.

"Don't worry about it. You just keep up in classes." He was just staring ahead with a wounded expression…kind of like those dogs with the sad eyes and floppy ears.

We were just about to the main staircase in front of the gates when I noticed someone standing at the top of the steps. It was Touga Kiryuu. I suddenly felt good about the chance of Saionji being reinstated. If anyone could help, it was going to be him. He was a friend of Saionji's, wasn't he?

"I'll bet he's here to bring you some good news!" I couldn't see Touga's face against the brightness of the sun shining behind him. I was sure my brother's friend had heard about the news and was smiling about being able to tell him he'd been spared. That was my guess anyway.

Saionji looked at me and gave me a small smile. "I don't think that's what he's here for." He rubbed my forehead. "You stay here, okay. I still do not want you near him. I have to talk to him alone. No matter what happens, I want you to behave and do everything you can to keep your nose clean. Stay away from Mikage!"

Stunned at his last words to me, I watched him continue on his course with Touga. I crossed my fingers. "You'll see!” I shouted.

He waved a hand at me without looking back. I watched the two walk to the bottom of the stairs. They seemed to be talking to each other. Why wasn't Saionji walking back this way? In my impatience, I saw Saionji hand something to Touga. It looked like a book. What could it have been? It immediately remembered the exchange diary Saionji kept. The one he shared with Anthy Himemiya. It couldn't be. As I pondered this new development, Saionji left his friend behind, walked through the gateway, and disappeared from the academy and out of my life.

Touga ran a hand through his hair and motioned for me. Saionji was long gone so I figured I wouldn't be seen approaching the Student Council President. I ran over to him as fast as I could.

"Where'd he go? He's coming back, right?"

Touga looked down at the book, still clutched in his hand. He looked so grim as he shook his head at me. "I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do. It's up to the Headmaster…not me."

"What do you mean? Aren't you the president of the student council? Aren't you Saionji's best friend?"

His eyes closed. Than it hit me. Before he could say anything, I got a good look at Touga. He was in his white uniform, but something was very different about his appearance. The white jacket with the stripes was only half on him. His left arm was through its sleeve while the right arm was…oh my…

I looked up into Touga's face. "What happened to you?!" His right arm was in sling and there were bandages wrapped around it and the upper part of his chest.

The redhead could not look me in the face directly. "I will try my best to get your brother cleared."

Cleared? I had the bad feeling that my brother, the one I had vowed to protect, was responsible for Touga being in the condition he was in. NO!

I looked outside the gates for some kind of glimpse of Saionji than back at Touga. He had the strangest look on his face for this kind of situation. I was starting to feel like my heart was breaking. I ran back to the dorm house, leaving Touga standing alone.

For several hours, I cried this time. I lay on the white couch of the sterile room tucked in the fetal position. I tried to ponder the events of last night. The more I thought about it the more I began to hate everyone associated with this forsaken school. I hated Anthy for being weak and luring my brother into this. I hated Utena for just showing up that night and being a friend of Anthy's. I hated Touga for not stepping forward and saving my brother. I was beginning to hate Saionji for getting me involved in this without any consideration for my feelings. Above all else, I was beginning to hate myself. I was seeing myself as being weak and a failure above all else. If I had stayed with him that night, and done everything he wanted me to, none of this would have ever happened. I would be lying with the back of my head in his lap this very evening.

Whether it was a spasm in my neck from crying so hard or some sort of weird calling, I looked again at the juice stained picture above the fireplace. There it was. That smiling face of my brother. Even though I hated her, I figured that I should hold onto Saionji and Anthy's exchange diary. Either the plan would be me keeping it safe for his return…or…I would give it to Anthy, if he didn't come back to the Ohtori Academy, in the hopes she would love my brother enough and care for a memento.

The only problem I could foresee was my timing. I needed to find a time that I could visit with Touga and get the book back I was sure that after suffering injuries like the ones he had, the student council president would still be hospitalized. I decided that it would be best if I tried tomorrow night.

I heaved a sigh and wrapped my arms around my chest. I didn't feel like going up stairs to bed. I just wanted to stay in the white room with my smiling juice covered brother and his fiancé.

I awoke the next morning to the sound of a harsh banging. I had fallen asleep on the couch. I ran to the main door and was greeted by someone shouting my name.

"Uwe! Uwe! It's time for class! You're going to be late!” The banging erupted again.

I could not take it anymore. Out of pure frustration, I flung the door open which left me open to a closed fist hitting me on the top of the head. "Ow!" My eyes squinted and I put my hands to my throbbing forehead. "Be more careful, dammit!”

"I…I…I'm sorry!”

My eyes flew open. Wakaba, Utena and Anthy were at my door. "Pay attention next time!” I spat.

Wakaba's face went red with humiliation. "I am really, really sorry!"

"We didn't see you for the roll call and decided to check in on you. We were worried about you." Utena took over.

"Why would you people worry about me?" I was feeling dirty and extremely angry. "Can't you just leave me alone?!" I was just about to slam the door on them when Anthy started to speak.

"Utena-sama was worried about you when she heard your brother had been expelled."

"How did you all find out?"

Wakaba embraced herself. "The school board announced during the morning homeroom and a note was posted outside the Kendo hall."

"We were worried about you since he is your brother and all. We thought you might have done something drastic to yourself,” said Utena.

"GO AWAY" I shouted and slammed the door shut.

After eating a small meal and taking a bath, I retired to the living room and ran some Kata. At fifty-two moves "Breaking Through The Enemy's Giant Fortress", one of the most difficult Kata I learned during my childhood, was a relaxing get away from my stress.

This was going to be the bight that I was going to visit Touga. I knew about the school's policy. Truthfully, after expelling Saionji, I was not in the mood to care. I ran up to my room and put on the dress that I wore to Touga's birthday party. If for some reason I were to be expelled, I didn’t want to humiliate the Omashi Academy by wearing one of their uniforms.

The sun was starting to go down and the sky was going from a brilliant pink to a comforting purple. The walk to Touga's dorm house was a long one. I was glad that I decided to where flat shoes. I wondered if Nanami would be there. Of course, she would. She was Touga's sister.

I was amazed by the size of the mansion. It seemed to be larger than the house my brother and I were sharing. The designers of this academy must have loved the Greek style. Much like my new home there seemed to be an infinite number of windows.

My hand was ready to knock on the door but my mind was not. What would I say? "Uhm…hi?!" That seemed to be one of my brilliant lines. I did not want to sound like a child anymore.

"One…"

"Huh?"

"Two…"

I stood on the huge porch trying to figure out who was counting. It was a man's voice. I followed the sound to the back of the large house.

"Oh, my…" I had found where the counting was coming from.

The Student Council President appeared to practicing his kendo exercises. He held the wooden sword high above his head and than would step forward and swing it down so the hilt would be pointed sword his stomach. I was instantly reminded of the time he defeated my brother in their practice session. At this point…ahem…Touga's skills weren't the only thing I was noticing. I caught myself hiding behind a corner of the house staring at his half-naked body. While he was practicing in the cool air, Touga stood barefoot in the grass with nothing on except for a pair of pants and the bandages wrapped around his chest and upper arm. I watched as he swung the practice sword, causing his muscles in his back and arms to tighten and than relax.

"Is there someone there?" he asked seemingly to the air.

I had not even noticed that he stopped. He was now walking towards me. It was up to me to show myself and think of something intelligent to say.

I stepped out of my hiding place and waved a hand. "Uhm…hi!" I smacked my forehead with the palm of my right hand. I wished I could have hit myself with that practice sword right then and there.

"It's Uwe, isn't it?" He smiled at me and picked up some of my hair with his good hand. He lowered his head and ran the strands under his nose. "That is truly a lovely scent. You must use the same shampoo as your brother."

"Uh? Yeah. Since he's out, he left his hair care products out for the…" What was I thinking? I was not here for pleasantries. I was here to get back my brother's exchange diary.

"Touga…sir, I…" There was a strange pressure on my shoulder. He had dropped my hair and was now touching my skin. I suddenly began to feel like one of the characters from an anime…you know the ones that have the giant sweat drop above their head. That's the way I felt. I smacked his hand out of the way. Secretly I wished it were his other hand I had knocked away. "I'm here for my brother's exchange diary, sir."

He was a little shocked at my demand but he quickly regained his sultry smile. "I see." He nodded. "Well, then. Come this way." He picked student council jacket up off the ground and slung it over his shoulder and than we walked to the house together.

"Is Nanami around?" I asked in a small voice. I was trying in vain to keep from staring at his exposed upper body.

He opened the door. "She's asleep now. I am afraid she would not be much for conversation had she been awake. She's been having a hard time with schoolwork lately. It's been making her somewhat bitter."

"I can understand that. That's how I've been feeling too."

We were inside the massive house and I was beginning to feel that we were walking aimlessly through hallway after hallway.

"Ah, here we are!" he said at last.

I heaved a sigh of relief, as my feet had begun to hurt.

We were at a type of office. There were so many bookcases. It almost put me in mind of the white living room that my brother and I had spent so much time in…only with more color and a large brown desk…

Touga sat down behind his desk and motioned for me to do the same. With folded hands placed "lovingly" underneath his chin, he asked me "So what do you want with this little journal?"

At first, I was staring at him with starry eyes and hanging on his every seductive movement. The question that he posed was almost enough to knock me from my chair.

"Is his expulsion weighing down on you that much?" he continued.

I felt trapped. What could I have said? I could feel my jaw drop at his words. "I know," my eyes were wide open. "It's my fault, sir. I hit him in the first place and than I left him behind. I should have brought him home instead of…"

Touga shook his head a little. "Don't blame yourself. I'm sure you know your brother better than any of us."

I happened to look to his left and noticed a wire wastepaper basket. Resting above so many pieces of crumpled up paper was a little green book. I pretended not to notice the diary.

"I don't know where he went or what happened. I just want to be able to hold onto anything that belongs to him right now. Mr. President."

Touga frowned and rose from his seat. His hair began to fall in front of his face as he bent down to pick up the diary from the trashcan. "It's not a problem."

I never even bothered to ask what Saionji's journal was doing in such a place anyway. He handed the book to me. "I'm sure you will take care of it."

Touga's beautiful eyes were peering through those strands of red hair and burning a hole right into my heart. I was blushing so hard I could feel myself starting to sweat. "I uh…I will…"

He leaned forward and quietly backed me into a chair. The pressure of the seat against the back of my knees forced me to sit in the wooden chair. With the good hand on an arm of the chair and the other hand rubbing my chin he began to kiss me. It felt like I couldn't move. His eyes closed. The lovely red hair of his was falling over us like a shroud. My mouth refused to give into him but he kept up his strange assault. How could someone throw themselves around like this? He didn't even know me!

The book! I could feel the book in my lap. I turned my head to the side causing him to lightly bump his head into the back of my chair.

"I…uh…I need to get going, sir."

He stood up and gracefully swept his hair from his face. He was so handsome. He extended his hand to me in an offer to help me up.

"I'm okay. I can help myself up. Thank you sir."

"If you need anything else don't hesitate to ask me. Would you like some help finding your way out?"

I stood there slack jawed. Suddenly I began to vigorously shake my head at him. "No, sir. I'll be fine. I can do it myself." I bowed to him and grabbed the book. I looked back at him as I exited the room. He smiled at me and sat down at the desk. He obviously wiped his hands clean of me and was ready to move onto his next interruption.

I exited the room and left the house. It was a miracle that I found my way out on my own. I looked to the left and than to the right of me. I didn't want anyone to see what I was going to do next. I stood with my back flat against the outside wall and wrapped my arms around me. Pressing Saionji's exchange diary to my chest I dropped to my knees. My thoughts were clouded by images of Touga and my brother especially. My legs could not support the weight of how dirty I was feeling. My breathing was so heavy and my clothes were feeling tight. I looked over at one of the wings of the house and saw a lighted window. There was someone looking back at me. I had the feeling it was Nanami. I didn't want her to get any wrong ideas. It was strange. The only men that I really seemed to want in my life were Mikage and my brother. I wasn't quite sure what I thought about Touga. I waved at the lit window and mustered up enough strength to head home.

It was chilly in Vice President's dorm so I lit a fire. I was dressed in the nightgown that belonged to Saionji's mother and ready to settle down with some reading. I opened up the journal and began my journey into Saionji's world. The first pages seemed to contain so much love in them. I blushed while reading my brother's passionate statements to his fiancé. I stared at the ceiling for a couple seconds. I wondered if Mikage was a prince like my brother. I continued to read. My brother had drawn his stick figures in the diary. There were three images. One reminded me of Utena and the other pictures were my brother and Anthy together. Utena appeared to have been struck down by Saionji in some kind of duel. He may not have been the best artist in the world but for some reason I took note of the clothing that they were wearing. Utena and Saionji each wore a rose with their hair color in it. Anthy was dressed in the red number that could also be seen in the painting above the fireplace. I giggled a little. Saionji really had a hatred for Utena. It was almost like looking at a comic book…or the Sunday comics. Gleefully I turned the page.

The passage that greeted my eyes was less than thrilling. It was an open attack targeting my brother. I won't even bother to repeat what it said. After all the entries of Anthy telling my brother how much she loved him and would want to see him again…how much she wanted to be his bride, I stumbled upon a page of nothing but slander. His heart must have been crushed. How could she do something like that to him?! I suddenly saw an image in my head of Saionji standing in some kind of garden reading this same entry. I could almost feel the book drop from his hands. I jumped up from my seat on the couch.

"I respected you Himemiya Anthy! My brother loved you! How can you say such things?!" I threw the diary at the portrait with such ferocity that it knocked the large picture crooked. The book landed right in front of the fireplace.

"That's a good idea." I smiled as picked up the book and tossed it into the crackling fire. "You will never get a chance to come near him ever again. I AM his protector!”

The next couple weeks were, to be honest, kind of strange. More and more people seemed to be interested in Mikage's seminar. The Student Council President, Touga Kiryuu, had disappeared and the "acting" Chairman of the Ohtori Academy had suddenly become visible. The academy received a couple new transfer students too. One of them…I think her name was Shiori, seemed to know Juri pretty well. The other one used to go to school with Wakaba. It was amazing how fast word of mouth spread through this school nowadays. Nanami had even attracted the attention of one of the freshmen.

I stopped at my hallway locker to get my books when I noticed a letter with a black rose emblem taped to the front.

Uwe,

So much has happened in the past few days and I am sorry that it has taken me so long to respond to you in your time of need. My seminars have changed direction recently and I would very much enjoy your company. I have heard talk about your hardships and feel guilty for your suffering. I believe that I might have some valuable information concerning your brother and how I might, possibly, be able to get him reinstated as the Vice President of the Student Council. Please feel free to stop by. Bring this message with you and leave it at the front desk. You will not need an appointment as I have been expecting you.

Sohji

I looked around me. I guess I had picked a good day to go back to school.

My first class was a home economics class. We were learning how to make curry. A couple weeks ago, a class dealt with this kind of cooking. I heard that the results ended up in disaster. It didn't bother me at all. It seemed to mean nothing to Wakaba either, she was also part of this class. That girl seemed to be quite thrilled to be cooking. I couldn't believe the energy that she seemed to have gained. We shared quite a bit of classes that week. When it came to my martial arts class, I was expecting nothing less than an all out massacre. Wakaba's overly happy attitude and vulnerability left her open to everyone's advances in my class. She got picked on all the time so I would pair myself up with her often. Today's class was a sparring class. I was feeling "frisky" so I decided to allow throws. The last thing I ever expected was to be caught up in a throw…especially one that involved me and Wakaba. Her attack was so quick. I hardly knew I was being forced down until I felt the padded wall against my back and than the hardness of the leaf colored mats below me. Mental note: talk to chairman about investing in softer floor mats

The air was knocked out of my lungs, leaving me gasping for air. I learned to fall the same time I learned how to throw a punch. I considered myself an expert. It was a picture perfect fall but the impact against the wall was not expected. Wakaba and another student grabbed me by the shoulders and escorted me to the infirmary. "Sensei, are you okay?" I felt bad because I never got a chance to ask this pupil's name. He transferred to the Omashi a couple days later.

"Uwe, I am so sorry,” cried Wakaba.

I licked my teeth in an attempt to make sure they were all there and none of them was wiggling. "You're fine!” I coughed.

At the nurse’s station, I told the two to leave and tell everyone to go to study hall. Before Wakaba left, I grabbed her by the arm. "Where did that strength come from? Your throws have gotten so much better!"

She smiled at me and patted my shoulder. "I don't know!" she said innocently.

I dismissed her. I was glad to see her happy but because of this I was starting to feel miserable. While she was picking up on some kind of good fortune, my luck was rotting away. I was injured, my class had been cut short, my brother was missing, rumors about what happened to him had been flying around, and the Student Council President was missing. What else could happen?

The nurse checked me over one last time and released me. She told me, on my way out, to just go home. She had also hinted to me that it might be a good idea to visit Wakaba and thank her for helping me out. The nurse told me where she lived so I was on my way.

It was quite a walk. For the first time in a long time, I was able to travel through the gates of the Ohtori Academy and visit the "outside" world. I was getting a lot better with following directions. I wandered the streets with some idea of where I needed to be. I took an alleyway and found the of campus dormitory.

It looked like a skyscraper. It was several stories tall. Obviously, many people lived there. Just like the rest of the buildings on campus, this one was white. It didn't have that ancient Greek look to it like the others did. It looked a bit more modern.

A group of girls was standing at the entrance giggling and talking to each other. I approached them. Maybe they would tell me if Wakaba was home.

"Yeah. She just got here about a half hour ago. We were just going to visit her. Do you wanna come along?" said one of the members of the group.

"Sure. I need to thank her." I said. I just wanted to make this as quick a trip as possible.

The closer we got to her dorm, the more I began to learn about Wakaba and her new happiness. "Really, is that so?"

"Yes, and she even gave a lecture in the gym."

"She stood out in front of all those people?"

"Yes. Our own Wakaba! Isn't that great?!" was just some of the conversation I overheard.

By now, the group was a couple feet from Wakaba's door when a conversation could be heard coming from inside her room. Everyone stopped.

"What's the problem?" I asked, trying to hide my impatience.

They were all so quiet. Their faces were nothing but utter confusion.

"I'm sorry." A masculine voice said.

"Whose voice was that?" someone asked.

"I don't know. It sounded like a guy."

"Wakaba with someone other than Utena?"

I was beginning to see the strangeness in that thought myself. There was something about that guy's voice though. My heart began to flutter. It was a little muffled through the wall but it sounded very familiar. Before I could react, one of the group members began knocking on Wakaba's door.

There was the sound of some kind of commotion and than the door opened slowly. Wakaba had the door only open a little bit and she seemed rather uneasy.

"Are you okay? We heard you talking with somebody."

Wakaba's answers were evasive and hurried. She was making everyone just as uneasy.

I moved to the doorway to get a closer look. That only made her close the door a little bit more.

I gave up when one of the girls invited her to go somewhere. I became caught up in my own pity and decided I would thank her for helping me during school the next day.

I knew she had been talking to someone. From what I was able to see in her room, it looked like she was alone. Maybe I was missing my brother more than I thought. Maybe it was just my imagination playing tricks on me. It couldn't have been his voice that I had heard. Could it?

I decided to talk with Mikage about the feelings of loneliness and hurt I had been experiencing during my brother's absence. Wakaba's "shiftiness" the day before definitely left its mark on me.

To my surprise, and delight, the handsome prodigy was standing at the door to his building waiting. I tried to perk myself up by imaging that he was there awaiting my arrival. No matter how silly it seemed, I was falling in love with the pink haired professor.

I looked at his handsome frame. No glasses. He looked so regal. His attire reminded me of the dress uniforms worn by the American Marine Corp. I could have sworn that there was a slight smile on his face. Was that smile for me? His hands were behind his back as if he were hiding something. He was almost standing at perfect attention. I was beginning to feel the urge to hit myself. Uwe, you twit! I assaulted myself. You're staring! SNAP OUT OF IT!

I jolted my brain out of its catatonic state with a rigorous head shaking.

"Uwe. Is something wrong?" His head cocked to the side and his voice did have a hint of concern to it but his hands were still behind his back and the smile never left his face.

Rather than wow him with a clever excuse to cover up how lovesick I was feeling, I shook my head again.

"I'm okay, Professor."

"Please call me Mikage."

"Oh, that's…" I could almost feel my cheeks begin to warm with embarrassment.

"Are you sure?" His concern for me was becoming intoxicating.

"Actually, I'm fine…really…"

After blinking at me for a few seconds, he shrugged his shoulders. "I was actually on my way to look for you but you found me instead."

"Really?" This was too good to be true.

He stood directly in front of me now. He was so close I could smell that familiar rose scent as if it were right beneath my nose. He took one of my hands in his and placed something in my palm.

It looked like a leaf. It was shiny and brown. I remembered woodworking was one of my brother’s favorite hobbies. My mind shifted. I turned it over in my hand a couple times. It was a nice looking hairclip. I wondered if it were a gift for me. A gift he had purchased or made by himself.

"I was wondering if you could give this to Anthy Himemiya for me. Would you mind?"

He wrapped his hands around mine. I felt my attitude darken. My heart was beginning to break.

"Would you tell her that it's a gift from me? I would be very appreciative!"

Yet another man I was losing to that silly girl. My conscience couldn't take it anymore. It was screaming for me to tell him how I really felt.

"I remembered our walk together after we first met. I assumed that you had become a close friend of hers. I'm too shy to give it to her myself."

My disappointed eyes began to focus on the ground beneath his polished black shoes. "I'll bring it to her." I said half-heartedly.

"You okay?"

"I was just wondering if there was anyway we could ta…"

A "ding" sound came from the building behind him. His smile vanished. "Uwe…uh…look, I have to get going. It was nice to finally meet up with you again."

"Same here." I murmured.

"I have an appointment to prepare for. I'd like to see you tomorrow, if at all possible."

"Sure."

He thanked me and left me to stand on the stone steps alone. What did Himemiya have that I didn't?

I searched the school grounds but was not able to spot her. Just then, the youngest of the Student Council members passed me. I fought with myself to try to remember the blue haired boy's name. "Miki…?"

He looked at me. "Yes?"

"Uhm…you wouldn't happen to know where I could find Anthy Himemiya, would you?

He gave me a big smile. "Yes. Actually, I do! I was just with her. She's in the rehearsal room playing the piano." He clicked something in his hand and brought it to his face. It was a stopwatch. "She should still be there."

I thanked him and walked away. It became clear to me that Anthy had a closer relationship with the men I was interested in.

I buried my pride and tried to think positively. At the very least, I was running an errand for Mikage. Who wouldn't be envious of that? Yes, in the span of days, maybe hours I had moved from Omashi fighting tiger to Ohtori gopher girl. For the first time in a long time, I felt my head sink. I could no longer keep my spirit up. I was so focused on trying to figure out why I decided to attend the academy in the first place. I ended up paying more attention to the white marble floors than I did the presence of others around me.

I was about to meet one of the most influential people ever to grace the Omashi Academy and the Ohtori Academy.

My eyes were still shoe gazing when I heard a voice not to far away. "You must be Miss Tschi."

My train of thought was quickly interrupted. I hadn't realized that the voice came from directly in front of me. I had not lifted my head in time to halt my collision course. I began to believe that it was my goal here to see how badly I could embarrass myself in a short amount of time. Strangely enough, I felt hands on my shoulders instead of the perplexed body of a student or faculty member. What a pleasant twist of fate, I mused as I lifted my head.

"You seem a little distraught. Is something the matter?" The man's voice was very soothing. It was an older voice than any of the ones I'd heard at this school. It was also quite deep. I turned my face to the right to redirect the focus of the person touching me. I noticed that the man had dark skin and was wearing a pink ring with a rose emblem on it…the crest of the Ohtori Academy.

"It's an honor to meet you. I am sorry that it has taken me so long to greet you. I've been away attending business meetings all over the country. My name is Akio Ohtori."

Now I knew I was in trouble. "Ohtori?" I looked at him and immediately studied his face. His skin was dark like Anthy's and his long hair was about the same shade as hers as well. He was at least a head taller than my brother. He was so clean cut. His black pants were pressed to perfection and his rose-colored shirt was absolutely wrinkle free. Even his black shoes were without scuffmarks. He definitely fit the image of my expectations.

"I'm sorry, sir." I offered up my quickest apology.

"I have heard nothing but good from the likes of the Omashi faculty and your brother of course."

I bowed to him. "Thank you, sir."

"No problem." He grinned. "Is there anything I might be able to help you with."

I remembered poor Saionji. My thoughts flooded with images of him wandering through the streets alone and dirty with no food or shelter. The feeling of my heart breaking every time I walked passed his room on the way to bed or to school was unbearable. I wanted Saionji back in my arms and under my protection. I was screaming on the inside for him to return to the academy and to me. My eyes drifted to the acting chairman's shoes. "No, sir." I lied.

There was silence between us. I looked up into his eyes. He looked genuinely shocked and somewhat oblivious. His lips parted in an “o” shape. He put his surprise behind him quickly and bounced back with a warm smile. "I have a meeting to attend. If you have any problems or concerns feel free to bring them to me. You will learn where to find me."

I thanked him as he left me. I was rolling his words around in my head. What did he mean by "learn how to find me?"

I had almost forgotten about my "mission" when I felt the metal backing of the hairpin pressing into my sweating hands.

The piano room was easy enough to find. I followed the beautiful sounds of the "Sunlit Garden" to it. I opened the door and went inside. Anthy was seated at the piano. I had entered undetected. I tried to think of the best way to carry out my task of presenting her with Mikage's gift.

I walked up to the piano and leaned against the side closest to her.

"Hello, Lady Uwe!" she chided, not taking her eyes off the sheet music.

I let her welcome slide off me. "Professor Mikage wanted me to give this to you. He would appreciate it if you would wear it." I wanted to choke on my own words. I held the pin out to her and let her take it from me.

She slowly put it in her hair. Her smile was like poison to me. "It's beautiful. Don't you think?"

It felt like she was innocently slapping me in the face for rescuing her from my brother. I never forgot the details of that night. The piano room was feeling extremely warm. I couldn't tell if it was just the room itself or my blood boiling. I looked out the window at the orange light of the setting sun than I turned my attention back to Anthy. I felt my left hand begin to tighten into a fist. She wanted to play; I was willing to play along. My closed fist sailed though the air and connected with her cheek. The power behind the blow knocked her right off the piano stool.

"Enjoy your gift. That was for taking my brother from me and insulting him." I spat as I ran my hands through my hair. Maybe this was the reason why my brother acted the way he did. I walked out of the room not even caring about what would become of me.

I skipped any classes I had for that day and went home. Instead of retiring to the living room, I went upstairs into Saionji's room. I had put on his mother's nightgown and was lying down on his bed. I had my crusty picture of the two of us in my hands. "You need to come back." I said to the picture. I rolled onto my back and put my arms out to the sides. What did Mikage want to see me for? He was smitten with Himemiya…wasn't he?

I awoke from my sleep and took my shower. I wandered into my room and picked out an outfit to where to my wellness session with Mikage. In a way, I had been preparing for this day. In the back of my head, I was regarding this as my big day with him. Even if he was trying to pursue Anthy as more than an acquaintance, I still had some feelings for him. Maybe this visit would help me find a way to his heart or help me forget about him.

I searched the walk in closet and came across my Omashi dress blues. I couldn't decide on anything else to wear so I dug my black cami off its hanger and put it on with my navy blue pleated pants with the white pinstripe down the sides of the legs. I put on the matching jacket too. The uniform was very similar to the garments of the Ohtori Student Council. I didn't feel like lacing up my boyish looking dress shoes so I put on my slip on flats. I tied my hair back with a black ribbon and was off to meet the professor.

I stood outside of Mikage's building for several minutes. I was hoping that this would be worth the visit. I had no idea what to expect. I had heard of wellness sessions before but I always regarded them as a place for weakness to breed.

"I see you decided to come. I'm glad."

A wind blew between us. The ends of my hair flew straight ahead of my face. I used my right hand to pull them out of my vision. "I couldn't miss it."

Mikage took my arm in his and escorted me to the door. "I want you to remember to relax and be yourself. Everything will be fine and I'm sure you will feel much better when this is over." He pulled the door open and let me enter ahead of him.

He took a clipboard from a receptionist counter and handed it to me. If you would just fill out the information to your best ability and return it to the counter. When you've done that follow the signs."

I looked around. All I saw was two rows of chairs. There had to be at least a hundred of them. "What signs?" I looked back to where Mikage was. There was no one around. He had disappeared. I shook my head and than looked at the clipboard. "Fill it out, huh?"

I sat down on a chair and began to fill out the questionnaire. The questions that were asked seemed rather simple. What is your name? What is your class designation? What school are you from? How old are you? I filled everything out and returned the clipboard. The place seemed empty but I kept having the feeling someone else was here with me. There was something about the building that made me think there were hundreds of people here. I looked at one of the walls behind the row of chairs across from me. There were pictures hanging. There was one of some blonde girl and another that looked kind of like Wakaba. I wasn't sure who they were. Both girls were wearing a strange uniform and had swords in there hands. I could not speak for the other girl but I knew Wakaba was not a sword fighter!

Another picture caught my eye. It was of a boy. For some reason I was reminded of Anthy. He was wearing a red suit with a green…feather?! He even had a red dot on his forehead…just like her. He seemed kind of sickly and pale. Maybe it was her. I didn't care. I heard a strange rustling sound behind me and quickly turned around.

No one was there. I went over to my chair and was about sit down when I noticed a sign. There were several of them. Each chair had a sign with a finger pointing on it. I followed the signs to a door with a tag on it. I turned the tag to the side that said "in use" and closed the door behind me.

All kinds of feelings were washing over me as I sat down in a chair. The room looked somewhat gray. There was a picture of a butterfly to my left. It reminded me of a monarch butterfly with all its orange and black coloring.

"Begin." A voice told me.

I looked ahead and saw a two-way mirror ahead of me. This type of interview was becoming very creepy to me.

"Okay." I whispered. "Tschi, Uwe. Freshman Class and Junior Instructor…transfer."

I put a hand in my pocket and started to fish for something. I ended up digging out the photo of my brother and I. I set it on my lap and stared at it for a minute. Feelings of relief began to flood through me. The relief of seeing Saionji after so many years, partnered with the fact that he had friends, made me remember the joy I felt when I first arrived at the Ohtori Academy.

"It's no secret that Saionji Kyouchi is my older brother. This is the first time in a number of years that I've been able to see him. I was sent away after…" I could not continue. It was going to be emotionally painful if I stayed in this place.

Just then, I heard Mikage's voice. "Deeper…Go Deeper." It was soothing to me somehow. The room seemed to be moving, though. It felt like an elevator ascending to the next floor.

"I was sent away after he disappeared. He ran away because I was too young…to naïve to protect him. He found a new life and left me behind. After a few years, he found me. I was brought to this school. While we were apart I heard so many good things from him, I couldn't wait for us to be reunited!" I laughed. "You know he was supposed to be married! He sent me so many pictures of the two of them. I really didn't care much for her…I was happy to see that he was happy." I put my hands to my head. I could almost feel a migraine coming on. "Than when I finally arrived at this school…I learned that she had dumped him. She left him for a girl!" I shouted. "Just like that! She even went so far as to insult him in a diary that they kept together. It's not just about my brother…it's about you…" I crumpled the picture in my right hand and stared vacantly at my knees. The elevator seemed to being going up at a faster pace. "Mikage, I developed feelings for you the first day I met you." I took a deep breath. "Somehow, she found out. She's out to ruin everything I've worked for…anything that's important to me!” I jumped out of my chair and threw it at the two-way mirror. "I hate Anthy Himemiya! I hate that witch!” The speed of the elevator was increasing dramatically. I could not stand anymore as the room came to sudden stop.

I sat cross-legged on the ground. I could only mumble, "I hate you Himemiya!" repeatedly. I heard a "ding" and than the rush of a door opening behind me. I did not care. I had either humiliated myself or struck some other chord with my interviewer.

"I understand. Your only choice is to revolutionize the world." I heard Mikage's voice behind me and the unmistakable sound of men's dress shoes coming toward me. I felt a hand on my shoulder and broke into tears. "The path you must take has been prepared for you."

I stood up and faced him. He removed his hand and walked out of the interview room. He was so elegant. I followed him.

This new room was quite different. It looked like a mausoleum. There were shoes lined up around the room. It had to be at least a hundred pairs…and at least a hundred bodies. "What is this place?" I asked. Mikage had his back to me. An image of one hundred boys flew into my head. They were all looking up at me!

"My black rose has chosen you!" I spun on my heels. Coming out of the interview room was the figure from one of the pictures. The boy with the red suit came to life and was stalking his way toward me. He was holding a black rose. I was horrified. I started to back away. I didn't want to be any closer to the coffins but I had no choice. I was hoping that my prince, Mikage, would save me.

Without realizing where I was backing, I bumped into the professor. I raised my hands in a defense posture. I wasn't going to go down without a fight. The boy in front of me stopped and folded his arms. He shook his head at me.

Just as I began to wonder about his change in expression Mikage seized my right hand. He than wrapped his other hand over my left arm, pinning it back against my stomach. I looked down at my left arm, and tried to pull it out from underneath his strong grip. That's when I noticed the ring. Just like the Acting Chairman, Mikage had a ring with the school seal on it. The Ohtori prodigy had me pressed tightly against him. I was immobilized. I watched in horror as the other raised the black rose above me. I closed my eyes. I didn't know what was going to happen but I could tell that it wasn't going to be pleasant. The boy put his hand on my chest and stabbed me through the heart with the stem of the rose. I shrieked in pain as so many evil images penetrated my body.

I woke up the next morning in a cold sweat. I had experienced nightmares before but there were those that made me want to stay awake and never go back to sleep. I got out of bed and stripped down. I needed a shower to help me wash away my fears.

I let the water splash against my face. I loved the heat. It seemed rather calming to me. The interview had proven to be extremely interesting. I knew it was the so-called rose bride driving me insane. That Himemiya girl made it so that every girl could take him from me. She was going to pay too for taking my beloved away from me.

"Uwe, are you home?"

"I'm in the shower."

Saionji came around the corner. I could see his green silhouette against the mottled glass of the shower stall.

"Where have you been…?" This was not my usual tone of voice.

His disfigured image still stood so proud. What were these feelings all of a sudden? His noble chin. As if to question myself, I looked down at the ring that had been given to me. I had no idea where it came from. I didn't even bother to question its sudden appearance. It had a rose insignia in it, almost like the one that the chairman wore. The blackness in it…were my feelings being reflected in that dark ring?

"It's a long story. I'll tell you when you get out…” he said to me.

I couldn't take it anymore. I slowly pushed open the door to the shower and stepped out. My purple hair was so dark and long it hid every part of my nakedness that could be called Uwe the girl. The blue streak in the center of my head just continued to paint its line down the back of my skull.

He was a breathtaking sight. I must have been quite a sight myself. His green wavy hair hung around that pale princely face. His lips smiled happily at me. He was wearing his white student council uniform. I loved how the pants and left jacket cuff were the color of his hair.

I stepped towards him. "I love you, my brother." Was all I could say. I slowly started to undo the buttons of his white jacket. I watched his naked skin reveal itself to me.

"I love you also…but…" His happy expression had changed to the unmistakable look of fear.

The trailing off of his voice was pissing me off. I looked into his eyes while I unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. I exhaled and licked my lower lip. He was definitely surprised by what I was doing.

"It doesn't matter now!” I whispered to myself. I put my hands flat against his bare chest and licked his lower lip.

What was I doing? He took a half step back.

"Saionji." I whispered as I pressed myself against him and kissed him full on the lips.

I took a couple steps back to get a full view of what I had done to him. The look of fear was still present. His hand quickly thrashed out and grabbed my wrist. Fear was turning to anger.

Why was I not afraid?

He noticed the ring I was wearing and his jaw dropped. "Uwe!" he shouted. He was getting ready to hit me.

I felt an evil smile cross my face as I reached out with my free hand and pressed the pressure point on his wrist that would allow me to escape his grasp.

Suddenly, a white light began to shine on his chest. This was it. This was going to be the act that would grant me the power to revolutionize the world and save my brother from harm.

Everything in the bathroom went black, making the glow more brilliant. He let out a blood-curdling scream and his back arched away from me as the light gave way to a long black katana.

I held his back with one hand and pulled the sword from his chest with the other. He was silent as I laid him down on the floor. His eyes closed and he looked so peaceful.

"That's it my brother. No one will ever hurt you again." I said as I went into the bedroom. There was a box on the king size canopy bed. It was a flat square cardboard box with a black rose insignia. I set Saionji's sword down on the bed and opened my package. A card read:

To The Loving Baby Sister

I tossed the card and took out the other contents of the box.

A tan, tight fitting dress uniform was glaring up at me. There were tall black leather boots folded neatly on top of it. I smiled. "Duels require formal wear." I said to myself.

"You won't fail, will you?"

I spun around on my heels. Suddenly, I was myself again. "You?!"

The head of the Black Rose was standing in the doorway. "How did you get in here?" I wrapped my arms around my chest.

His clothing was different from the last couple of times I saw him and he wasn't wearing his glasses. He approached me ever so slowly and looked into the bathroom at my brothers limp form.

"The Black Rose knows everything." Mikage said to me gently. "I see nothing but you're ability to protect your prince."