Nehm' Träume für bare Münze
Schwelgen in Phantasien
Hab mich in Dir gefangen,
Weiß nicht, wie mir geschieht.
Ich wärm' mich an Deiner Stimme,
leg' mich zur Ruhe in Deinem Arm.
Halt mich nur ein bißchen
Daß ich schlafen kann.
Halt Mich, Herbert Grönemeyer
( You've made my dreams seem like real life
Every one comes true
Reality's unfocused
I've lost myself in you
Warm me with tender whispers
Now enfold me in your arms
Hold me, these sweet moments
Just until sleep comes )
Author's note:
Again an idea I got during some vacations. Guess then I simply have
too much time to think, too much music to listen to and too much
nature to look at ^-^.
The song above is "Halt Mich" by Herbert Grönemeyer. It's one of the
most touching love songs he ever wrote. This story won't be a lemon,
but a sweet love story. I prefer more to develop things, not to rush
them ^-^. Okay, to all guys out there who don't like the idea of Utena
and Anthy being a couple, don't read this. To all other persons, just
enjoy ^-^.
To Laura-chan - hai, it's an illness, but a nice one ^-^.
To Adri-chan - This is my next story (Utena) ^-^. Hehehe
If anyone has curry receipts or seal rings just write to me. I don't
take every duel, but answer every letter. I promise ^-^.
No matter what will follow next, but I guess the best time in my life
had been my school time. Especially the big summer vacations...
sigh... so much free time. So much time to go swimming. So much time
to get sunburned. And so much time to make total nonsense.
^-^.
------------------------------------------------------------
Prologue: A special time
"And the little duck said to the big, evil..."
Whatever the evil was, she didn't listen to her teacher's voice any
longer. It was hot outside the school building. The sun was shinning
from a cloudless sky and inside the building it was as hot as it
surely was in hell. She groaned and tried to get some fresh air with
her book. An old book that had seen better days. And surely better
school bags. Hers was always a chaos and that was a real
understatement. Mostly she put all things she needed and the things
she didn't need into the black bag and fought for some minutes to
close it so that she could carry it around. The book survived several
attacks by a broken milk bottle and by a smashed banana. It even
survived the crash from the opened window when she didn't pay
attention. But the summer's heat seemed to be enough for it. Or was it
her desperate search for fresh air? Some sheets fell out and flew
silently to the ground. But she didn't care about it. She only rolled
her eyes as the girl sitting next to her bowed and picked them up.
"You lost the ending of the story, Tenjoh-san." Whispered the smaller
girl and concentrated again on the text. Pink eyes looked confused at
the sheets and then at the girl.
"That's not your seriousness, Anthy, is it? This story is stupid!" she
sighed and ducked as the teacher looked warning over to her. She often
disturbed the lessons. Especially during the past weeks. When the
summer got hotter and the stories they read in Japanese literature
more and more boring.
"Do you think so?" answered the smaller girl and stroke some strands
of violet hairs behind her ears. "A little ducky fighting against an
evil fox, Tenjoh-san?"
Tenjoh-san!
The girl groaned again and threw her pink hairs on her back.
"My name is Utena, Anthy!" she whispered a little bit too loud because
the teacher coughed. So she grinned at the old woman, ducked again and
put quickly the lost pages into the book. They were now at the wrong
place, but Utena didn't care about it.
"Hai, Tenjoh-san." Answered Anthy without looking up and turned
carefully another page. Her book looked brand-new and the stories they
already read had a nice, neat cross in the corner.
She can't mean it!
This story is BORING!
Utena sighed again and opened another button of her special uniform.
The boy's uniform. But because there was no rule forbidden her to wear
it, the teachers - especially the headmistress - had to accept it. She
felt the sweat running down her back and made a face. This was one of
those days she almost regretted to chose that uniform. But only
almost. Because once she had worn the girl's uniform, too. Only for
one day, but she had looked stupid. Really, really stupid. And she
hated to look stupid. Some teachers would call her stupid, for example
their Japanese literature teacher right now, but that wasn't a stupid
look on her face, it was a bored one. A very, very, very bored one.
"The brave duck..."
Where the hell are we? In the kindergarten?
Utena laid her head on her arms and stared over to Anthy whose eyes
followed the lines the teacher was reading aloud.
We are reading a story about a bloody ducky and a poor fox who will
still be hungry at the end of the story!
Utena knew that it was a fable. Some old men wrote it and they used
animals to describe typical human behaviours. Nevertheless it was
boring and not very useful. Utena's stomach growled silently and she
knew that she was the fox. But she was not as stupid as the poor
animal. She would go to the cafeteria the next break to get something
to eat. She wouldn't hunt an innocent ducky, but an innocent sandwich.
With a lot of cheese. "So the little duck ran..."
Utena closed her eyes and opened them again as someone kicked her leg.
She raised one eyebrow but Anthy stared concentrated down on the text.
So Utena let herself sink again into the pleasant darkness. Then
another kick. She sat upright and glanced over to Anthy. She was the
only one who could reach her without moving. Shortly she looked into
purple eyes that seemed to sparkle. An almost smiling mouth formed a
simple sentence:
>You shouldn't sleep!<
With that Anthy turned away again.
"And then the big fox almost caught the duck and..."
Anthy...
Utena took a deep breath and tried again to get some fresh air with
her old book and looked outside the still closed window. She tried to
open it in the break, but some pupils complaint that they would catch
a cold, because the door was opened, too. So it stayed closed and
Utena felt like an egg boiling in damn hot water.
Shortly she glanced at her watch and sighed even deeper.
Ten more minutes...
She stared again outside the window and rested her head now on the
palm of her right hand.
In ten minutes I am hard boiled and ready to get served...
The pink haired girl grinned at that thought and watched the tree
standing still outside the building. No wind was there. Not even the
slightest breeze. It was a damn hot summer and it didn't seem to get
any colder during the next weeks.
Next weeks...
Utena closed her eyes again for some moments and the grin on her face
grew wider. Only this last week. Just one more day. Friday. Not an
important day. She would get her report and the teachers would say
some more words at least they thought to be important and then she was
free. FREE!!!!
Utena's lips almost touched behind her ears.
Free for eight wonderful weeks. For two beautiful months. For so many
days she didn't want to count, because that would have given them a
limit. And she wanted to be free - unlimited!
Free from this strange school. Free from the crazy school council she
would never be able to understand. Free from those silly duels she
didn't want to fight but had to. Free from the insane duellists. Utena
was very sure that they had to be insane, because they really thought
that there was someone called "End of the world". They even received
letters from that person! And one look into Saionji's exchange diary
eliminated every doubt.
Poor Anthy, I am sure she doesn't even want to write it!
Anthy...
Utena opened her eyes shortly before the violet haired girl kicked her
leg again. There was now a real smile visible on the bronze face.
Purple eyes sparkled and Anthy looked amused. In a happy way Utena
hadn't seen a lot before. Especially not during the first time when
she... no, she wouldn't say the word "won", she hated that word...
when she met Anthy during a duel some months ago. But as the weeks
passed and Anthy didn't have to go back to one of those insane
persons, she got more and more open. Yet she didn't laugh, but often
she smiled and Utena was sure that all the smaller girl needed, was
time. Time and a little bit peace. Utena was patient. Well, at least
she could be patient when she knew she had to, but the other duellists
weren't. They all were blind and didn't see the girl behind Anthy. The
girl who wanted so badly to be normal.
Saionji Kyochi beat her. For that she would beat him back. One day.
Kaoru Micki didn't want the girl, he only wanted her music. Still
Utena didn't understand that. Her aunt often told her that genius are
complicated and one didn't have to understand them. Micki was a genius
with his piano, so that was okay. At least he didn't want to hurt
Anthy. But only to see a thing in her...
Kiryu Nanami tried to humiliate Anthy. One day the ignorant girl would
pay for that.
Kiryu Toga...
Utena shook her head, still watching Anthy reading the boring story.
Toga is an asshole!
The only person Utena liked somehow was Arisugawa Juri. The young
woman with the hard expression on her face but the sad look in her
deep eyes. There was more behind Juri's rough behaviour, Utena was
sure. She only couldn't find out what it was. But whatever happened to
Juri, it let die her believe in miracles. Utena knew that miracles
were important. Almost as important as dreams. As her dream about
being a prince and protecting a beautiful princess. Utena didn't know
a lot about Juri, but she knew that everyone needed something to
believe in. To dream of. A secret wish that might come true. One
day...
The pink haired girl glanced again at her watch and the grin on her
face brightened up. All duellists were forgotten. Just like her doubts
how long she would still be able to face and to win all those fights.
All that counted now was the clock. Just two more minutes!
Utena counted silently the seconds and moved slightly in the rhythm of
the clock.
Just one more minute and fifty seconds!
Then this day would be over. Then the school would be over for this
year. Then this term would be over. Because getting the reports didn't
count.
Just one more minute and forty seconds!
Then the best weeks of the years would begin: Summer vacations. Utena
already knew what she would do. Of course she knew it. She would do
the same she had done every summer: Relaxing, driving her aunt crazy
and eating tons of ice cream.
Just one more minute and thirty seconds!
"Tenjoh-san..." whispered Anthy as the teacher suddenly stopped to
read and came slowly over to them.
"Hey, I wasn't very loud."
"No, you didn't snore this time."
"This time? I never snore!" Utena's grin faded and desperation filled
her face. "I don't snore, Anthy, do I?" Frantically she searched in
her old book for the right pages, but couldn't find them an all the
chaos.
The rabbit and the raven...
The old cow and the little mouse...
Utena hesitated for a moment and her eyes grew wide.
Moment! A cow and a mouse? What's THAT for a story? Ah, right, the cow
steps on the mouse by mistake and the mouse... amazing that the mouse
survived it!
The teacher's coughing beside her brought her back into reality. She
tried to cover the book with her hands to hide the bad conditions
behind.
"So, can you tell me what will happen to the duck when the fox reaches
it?"
He will have a delicious supper?
But somehow Utena had the feeling that her teacher didn't want that to
hear that answer.
"The duck will spread its wings and fly away and the fox will be so
angry that he dies." Answered Anthy in her typical calm voice. The
teacher looked confused for a moment, then she nodded.
"Hai, right... but..."
At that moment the bell rang.
Thanks to all gods and goddess!
Utena closed the book and searched for a small place in her
overcrowded bag.
Thanks to Anthy...
She turned again towards the smaller girl who already held her bag in
her hands. But she didn't rose to leave the class room as quickly as
the other pupils around them. Instead she still sat there, obviously
waiting for her.
"Arigato." Mumbled the pink haired girl and earned again one of those
soft smiles.
"No problem, Tenjoh-san."
"Anthy..." Utena rose from her chair and almost fell over as she
lifted her bag to her back.
"Hai?" Again another soft smile Utena didn't want to lose. Especially
not to those insane bakas. Suddenly a thought hit the pink haired girl
and the smile returned on her face. She stroke her strands out of her
sweaty face and looked again at her watch. Two in the afternoon. A
simply wonderful time.
"Let's get something to eat and go to the swimming pool." She said and
hurried towards the door. In the case that the teacher wanted to see
her messed literature book. "I've got to talk to you."
"As you please, Tenjoh-san."
No Tenjoh-san!
No >as you please<!
You are a normal girl, Anthy! A normal girl.
My best friend!
Since Wakaba moved away with her family just two weeks ago Anthy was
indeed Utena's best friend. Okay, the other girls and even some brave
boys wanted to talk to her and to be someone they called friends, but
right now Anthy was the only one Utena could talk to about almost
everything. Not only about school, but also about things that worried
her or that kept her thinking. Sometimes there were even moments when
they understood each other without many words. Sometimes a look was
enough and they both laughed. Or at least Utena laughed while Anthy
smiled that soft smile. That shy smile that would surely turn into a
happy laughter. One day. Surely!
The pink haired girl took a deep breath, then she cheered up and ran
outside.
One day she will stop this stupid behaviour as >Rose Bride< and start
calling me Utena.
"Don't talk that much, hurry up, Anthy!"
"Right, to eat something and to get into the water."
Utena made a face and raised her arms.
"Is it really so bad? I took a shower in the morning, really."
Anthy's shy giggle told her that it was the best idea she ever had
that just formed in her mind.
She simply needs to get out of that crazy atmosphere here.
***
Utena laid lazy on the grass near the swimming pool and let the sun
dry her still wet bikini. Pupils laughed around her and she heard them
jumping into the nice cool water. The last year the school really
built a swimming pool for its pupils and the boys and girls enjoyed
the hot days with it. It was not as big as the one in the near city,
but it was cheaper and you didn't have to take care for old grannies
and grandpas who were blind and deaf, but could shout still very loud
when someone splashed them with water.
"Chuchu, not!" Anthy's voice was shocked and there was the sound of a
little animal eating a biscuit or something else sweet the smaller
girl mostly ate for lunch. Or at least brought to school for lunch.
During the last time it got kind of a tradition that Utena gave her
some of the sandwiches she bought in the cafeteria.
"Chuchu!"
"Is he eating your lunch again, Anthy?"
"Hai, and then he'll be sick the whole evening, Tenjoh-san!" Anthy
moved on the blanket and something jumped over Utena's stomach. She
raised her sunglasses and gasped hard for breath as someone taller
landed on her stomach as well. Chuchu made a face and jumped away.
Holding the biscuit still tight in his little paws.
"Chuchu!"
"Anthy..." Utena tried to sit up, but the violet haired girl still
laid across her. Only seeing her pet, no, her best friend as she
called the evil animal. Without caring for the taller girl she
stretched her arms but Chuchu only showed a little, brown tongue,
turned around and started noisily to eat the sweet food.
"Anthy... please... breathe..."
"Oh..." Purple eyes grew wide and the next moment Anthy sat back. To
watch how Utena's face turned from a dark red to its normal colour
again.
"That's much better..." panted the taller girl and finally sat
upright. "I knew it, the last sandwich was one too much..."
"Gomen nasai..." Anthy bowed before her and looked suddenly really
guilty. Utena took another deep breath and her pink eyes were a shade
darker as she watched her best friend.
"No problem, Anthy." Utena laid her right hand under Anthy's gin and
forced her to look up. "Hey, I guess I wouldn't have done it better.
You know how clumsy I can be. And hunting Chuchu, that's hard. I know
that." They both stared at each other and started to smile at the very
same second.
Both remembered too well how Chuchu splashed Utena's uniform with
chocolate milk and how they both haunted him through the whole room.
Over the beds, over the table. Knocking over the chairs of their
desks, knocking over the rest of the chocolate milk and doing the
worst they could do - opening Utena's wardrobe where she put all
things she didn't need right now, but what might be useful later on.
Everything seemed to be useful later on for her, so her wardrobe was
always full and to open it was like letting a bomb explode. "Hey, you
beauty."
A shadow stepped next to their blanket and covered the sun from their
point of view.
Beauty?
Not beauties?
Utena looked up and squinted. She didn't have to see that person. She
already recognized his voice. Why does he always ignore Anthy? She's a
person! Not a thing one can own!
Nevertheless Utena kept silent. She argued a lot with the other
duellists over that topic and especially with him. She won the duel,
but this fight she lost. They simply didn't want to understand. Or
weren't they able to? Simply because of those silly letters? Of a
silly ring bending them to a stranger? To a crazy prophecy? Even Anthy
believed in that destiny. Maybe she still believed. But Utena was
determined to change this. Anthy was a nice person. A really good
friend. She didn't deserve the way they treated her. Especially that
stupid, arrogant guy called...
"Toga. What's up this time?" Utena didn't make the effort to hide the
antipathy in her voice. She didn't want to see him right now. She
wanted to talk to Anthy about her fantastic idea and now there stood
this guy, grinning at her. Destroying all her good mood!
"I want to duel with you." He explained and knelt down next to them on
the blanket. Without asking he took one of Anthy's biscuit and bit
into it.
"No." Answered Utena simply and covered her sparkling eyes again with
her sunglasses.
"No?" Toga frowned and the half eaten biscuit escaped his hands. It
fell unseen in the grass. Not even Chuchu wanted to eat it.
"No! It's summer vacations, now, Toga. No more duelling for the next
two months!" Utena rose and looked down at him. Her damp hairs fitted
on her back and she crossed her arms before her chest. Warning she
glanced down at him. Shortly she moved her right hand to silent Anthy
who wanted to protest. "I am sure that you and the others want to go
on vacations, right? I am sure that you and your sister want to visit
your family or go swimming or whatever you want to do in your FREE
time!"
"But it is your duty to duel..."
"Of course it is your duty, Toga. During the school term. School is
over now." She interrupted him and her left foot knocked on the
blanket in impatience.
"Tomorrow..."
"Tomorrow we will get our reports. That never counted. Besides right
after school I won't be here any longer to duel with you. Because I
want to have some vacations and to visit my aunt. I haven't seen her
since Christmas and I care a lot for her!"
"Then I'll declare this as your giving up as duellist and as my duty
I'll take Anthy as my Rose Bride." Said Toga and grinned evil. Purple
eyes grew wide and Anthy looked as if she wanted to say something. As
if she really wanted to contradict. But after some seconds of fight
she lowered her head and stared at her fingers in her lap. Under her
bronze skin she was suddenly very pale.
"Do as you please, Tenjoh-san..." she whispered and Utena took a deep
breath. She didn't want to shout at her best friend to ask, no, to BEG
her to stop saying such nonsense. Instead she concentrated all her
anger on the still grinning young man who stroke his red strands with
an elegant motion out of his face. His blue eyes sparkled and he
seemed to be sure to have her in the typical trap again. The way he
had always caught her. Especially during the weeks when she really
believed that he was her prince.
A nice prince!
He never cared for me! Only for himself!
An ignorant prince! A arrogant prince! A spoiled prince!
A prince Utena never wanted to be. For her a prince was kind.
Understanding. And loving. And, in her case, sometimes a little bit
impatient.
"Anthy won't be here, either." She declared with a clear, loud voice.
"She'll be on vacations, too. With me!"
Toga's chin dropped.
Anthy's eyes grew even wider.
Chuchu's food fell unseen on the blanket.
***
She had done the worst thing she could do. She had known it. She had
been warned. Hell, she had been the one who created it. The most evil
thing on earth. And now she did it. She really did it. Again. She
opened it: Her wardrobe.
"I am sure that it is here somewhere." Utena's voice was muffled as
she knelt in all the chaos that now covered the whole room. Anthy had
put her washing bowl aside half an hour ago and watched her now in
silence from the top of the two beds. There was the safest place right
now, because whenever Utena found something she needed for her
vacations, she threw it through half of the room to the other side of
the table. Without looking up.
"Are you sure, Tenjoh-san?" asked Anthy after a long time she watched
Chuchu sleeping on her lap. The little pet ate too much this afternoon
and couldn't move any longer. So the brown devil decided that the best
he could do was to fled into dreamland. To escape Anthy's concerned
looks.
"Nani?" Utena looked out of the wardrobe with something that seemed to
be a big swimming ball on her head. It was out of air. "I just found
the tent!" She pulled something out of the chaos and the whole
mountain moved and crashed next to Utena who grinned guilty. "I've
never been very good in keeping order." She admitted and pulled the
tent completely free. At least it was still in its bag so that there
were surely no holes were the rain could drop into and wake her in the
middle of the night.
"Why do you want to take me with you? It's your free time, Tenjoh-san?
Maybe Toga is right and..." Anthy raised surprised her eyebrows as
Utena freed herself from a fishing rod that now caught her this time,
not a carp. "I don't want to hear anything of that silly Toga- or
duellist- stuff, is that clear? The coming two months we'll be away
from that stupid school and those damn duels! I want to enjoy it and I
am sure that you want to enjoy that time when you don't have to be
that silly Rose Bride, too!"
"But I am the Rose Bride!" protested Anthy weakly and stroke over
brown fur in her lap. Chuchu purred, but kept sleeping. "And I simply
can't go away. What if it happens right now?"
"Don't worry, the end of the world waited for the past millions of
years. It is able to wait those two months as well." Utena's voice was
sarcastic and Anthy gulped.
You never understood...
She lowered her head and stared again at Chuchu. She didn't know how
to explain it. It was so hard. Especially for Utena who had an
explanation for everything. Mostly a very simple explanations: For her
all duellists were bakas. That someone was behind, hidden in the
shadows and laughing about their silly behaviours. Surely a pervert
who wrote those letters and wanted to know how far he could get with
it.
No, you would never understand.
Because those letters were real. There was no pervert behind. Only a
power. And the duellists weren't bakas. At least, not all of them
Anthy had to admit after she thought shortly at the exchange diary.
Although I want you to understand it. Then you'd be able to understand
me... at least a little bit...
"But if..."
Utena rolled her eyes and Anthy knew that it could be dangerous when
the pink haired girl rolled her eyes. And when she took a deep breath.
And when she clenched her fists. The way she did right now.
"There's no >if<, Anthy. You'll go with me on vacations, okay?"
"Tenjoh-san..."
"And stop calling me >Tenjoh-san<, Anthy! I am not a teacher! I am
your friend! You know what that is, Anthy? F-R-I-E-N-D? Friend!"
"But..."
"You are the Rose Bride, right?" Utena used the voice she always used
when she lost patience. Anthy gulped and kept stroking Chuchu. Utena
often used that voice towards the other duellist, except Miki and
Juri. Or towards the headmistress. Or towards boys who wanted Utena as
their girlfriend. With a short answer she declared them that she liked
the way her life was right now. Or at least her love life was right
now: Being a single. But she hardly uses that voice when she's talking
to me...
"Hai..." answered Anthy very silent and gulped again.
"Fine. And you are always talking that you do whatever I tell you. So,
listen now, Anthy, I want you to go on vacations. To relax. To throw
that exchange diary away for some weeks. To take away that sword for a
while. To stop those duels for this summer, okay? I want you to be a
normal girl!"
"But..."
"No more crazy duels, no more insane duellists who only try to hurt
you. Who only see a thing in you, not the person you really are."
Utena's voice got quieter and as Anthy raised her head she saw an
expression in the other girl's face she hadn't seen there before. "I
want you to eat as much ice cream as you can, to watch the stars in
the middle of the night and to splash me with water. I want you to get
to know how it is to catch a fish and to roast it over an open fire. I
want you to have fun, Anthy. This is a special time. It's summer time!
I want you to spend it with me! Not with those bakas! Maybe you only
listen to me when I order all this to you, but it would be an honour
for me if you'd do this voluntarily."
Anthy stopped stroking Chuchu who protested silently and smiled softly
at the taller girl still looking up to her. Wild Utena looked suddenly
not that wild at all. She looked understanding and friendly.
"But there's still a problem."
"What problem?" Utena stepped back and of course she stumbled over a
volleyball that laid on the carpet. She lost balance and crashed again
into the chaos mountain next to her wardrobe. "You still don't want
to? Or do you want to visit your parents? Did you have other plans?"
Suddenly a very unsure expression appeared on Utena's face surely no
one would ever expect there. Someone she normally shout at or ran
over.
"I have nothing for camping." Explained Anthy and pointed over to her
neat, well ordered wardrobe. It only contained her school uniforms and
a huge balloon octopus.
Utena spread her arms and the typical grin returned to her face.
"I have enough for the both of us."
***
Anthy looked sceptically down at herself. Her school uniform laid now
on her desk and what she wore felt strange. It was a dark green
sweatshirt with a hood. It was too wide and the sleeves almost covered
her whole arms, not only her elbows. It was one of Utena's shirts.
Utena was as thin as she, but she was almost one head taller. As Anthy
put the hood over her head she almost drown in it. The pink haired
girl glanced shortly up and laughed.
"You look cute, Anthy." Then she concentrated again on the jeans. Blue
jeans that covered Anthy's foot completely. First they tried cut jeans
which went over Anthy's knees and decided that they would take them,
too.
Cute?
Anthy frowned and watched how Utena simply folded the ends until Anthy
could move again. The shoes were more a problem. Utena searched as
long as she found some older boots of her. They looked really like
Utena's boots: Dirty, worn and yellowed. But they were dry and fitted.
"I knew why I kept them!" said Utena with triumph in her voice and
stood up. Sceptically she observed her victim and smiled finally
satisfied.
"My pullovers will fit, I am sure. Yap, that's better now."
"But it feels strange." Anthy raised her arms and the hood slide even
deeper into her face. She corrected her glasses and tried to make some
steps without stumbling over Utena's wardrobe chaos.
"We want to go camping. It's very hard to camp with your school
uniform. Especially with your red dress."
Suddenly Utena stood right beside her and put the hood back. "Don't
worry, Anthy, maybe not even your grandmother would recognize you
right now, but you look cute." Utena smiled tenderly. Then she swirled
around and grabbed some other clothes. "Besides I'll look the same
strange." She giggled and held a black T-shirt up. In pink letters was
written on the front: Satan is stupid.
"And I am able to get my things dirty without feeling so guilty!"
Anthy raised her eyebrows asking and pointed at the shirt.
"Oh, it's not mine, but I like it." Grinned Utena and blushed
slightly. "It belonged Kei. Our neighbour's boy. We went camping a lot
when I was younger." The pink haired girl sat down on a basketball and
stared for a long time at the T-shirt. "He always had such dark
clothes and listened to strange music. But it was real fun being on
vacations with him. That's why I still have everything for two
persons." Utena shrugged her shoulders and put the T-shirt away. She
didn't want to admit that she missed him. The same she missed Wakaba.
"He got a girlfriend last year and got a job after he left school. He
has no time any longer for me."
Anthy bowed to fix her shoelace and bit on her lower lip.
"Has he been your boyfriend?"
She saw from the corner of her eyes how Utena shook her head.
He wanted, but I didn't want to.
"Nope, but he was the best kinda big brother you could imagine."
And what am I? Kinda little sister?
No, I am the Rose Bride...
Anthy rose and observed the chaos for a moment. Then she put her hands
in her hips and a determined expression appeared on her face.
"Better we should tidy up the room and pack our bags."
"Packing the bags sounds right." Now Utena grinned again. "The rest
can wait."
Anthy opened her mouth, but closed it again as Utena pulled out two
back bags and started to fill them.
"We need to get some food, the bus tickets and I need to call up my
aunt."Aunt?
"You want to visit your aunt? Your family?" Anthy felt suddenly very
unsure and pulled the sleeves of the sweatshirt over her freezing
hands. The cloth had the nice scent of a wild girl with sparkling
eyes. Anthy didn't have any family at all. At least she couldn't
remember of ever having parents. She spent all her life in the school
and for her it was the first opportunity to leave it. To spent a
summer not alone and in silence, drinking tea while her Rose Groom
waited for the next duel. The longer she thought about that idea, the
more she liked it.
"Hai." Utena grabbed another shirt and tried to pull it into the
rucksack. Anthy came over to her, still stumbling because she wasn't
used to such heavy boots. Not yet. But for Utena she was willing to
learn it quickly. "But don't worry, my aunt is a really nice person."
Utena watched how Anthy took the shirt out of the rucksack and folded
it with a lot of patience and skill. "I am sure that she'll love you,
Anthy."
Utena blushed slightly as Anthy gave her one of those soft smiles.
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