Story: The Rose Prince (chapter 2)

Authors: Tache

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Chapter 2

Title: A New Challenge

Chapter 2: A New Challenge

Utena woke up the next morning with a smile on her face. Anthy still slept beside her in the early hours of that morning. Utena only just wished that she could have had the courage the previous night to tell Anthy how she felt. She ran a hand through Anthy’s hair. ‘Oh Anthy, how I wish you knew my feeling. I long to hold you in my arms in such a deep and meaningful way. How long will it be before I can express my true feelings for you?’ With that though, Utena leaned in to place a kiss on Anthy’s forehead.

A smile brushed over Anthy’s lips as she felt Utena’s lips on her forehead, yet she did not open her eyes. ‘Oh my prince, how I wish you would open up to me. I long to feel your lips on mine.’ When she felt Utena back away, she then opened her eyes and turned to the prince with a smile. “Morning, Utena.” She greeted. Utena blushed.

‘Did she notice I kissed her? What does she think of me now?’ “Morning, Hime, I mean Anthy.” She slipped up a bit on the name. Calling Anthy by her name was still quite new to her after all, though it felt really good to say it. She turned to Chu-Chu who still slept at the end of the bed, with a huge snot-bubble coming out of his nose. Utena smiled at this. It was nice to be in such a familiar atmosphere again, this time away from Ohtori. Suddenly, the snot-bubble popped and splattered all over Chu-Chu, who then woke up. Utena laughed at this as Anthy sat up to help her friend.

“Oh no, Utena, he got it all over your bed!” Anthy cried as she grabbed a cloth to clean Chu-Chu and the bed up with. Utena continued to laugh.

“Don’t worry about it, Anthy. My bed sheets needed to be washed anyways.” Utena said as she got up and started to stretch. A knock then came from Utena’s bedroom door. Utena walked over and opened it, revealing Yurika.

“Utena, don’t forget that you have school today.” Yurika reminded her niece. Utena sighed at this.

“Yes, Aunt Yurika.” She said.

“I called the school a few minutes ago, and the say Anthy can enroll there today and start classes.” Yurika said. Anthy smiled when she heard this.

‘Now I can spend the day with Utena.’ She thought. “Thank you for doing that, Tenjou-san.” She said with a bow. Yurika smiled back at her.

“It was no problem, Anthy. I know you’ve been around long enough not to need school anymore, but I figured you’d rather spend the day with Utena then with me.” Yurika explained. Anthy nodded at her.

“Yes, I would. Thank you again, Tenjou-san.” Anthy said.

“Your welcome. Now you two should get ready for school. You wouldn’t want to be late.” With that Yurika shut the door and left.

“It was nice of my aunt to do that.” Utena said as she walked over to her closet to retrieve her trademark black jacket and red shorts. Anthy nodded in response.

“Yes, your aunt is very nice.” She said. Utena started to get dressed in her uniform. “I see your still wearing that uniform, even to your new school. How did you convince the guidance counselor to let you wear it?” Utena grinned at this.

“Well the guidance counselor was on my heels about my uniform for the first few weeks, but she eventually gave up when she saw I wasn’t going to change my uniform for her. She still does occasionally bug me about it though.” Utena explained with a smile. She then looked at Anthy with a thoughtful look. “What about you? What will you wear today? Policy does say transfer students will wear their old uniform the first day, but did you even bring your Ohtori uniform with you?” Anthy giggled.

“No, I left it back at Ohtori with my glasses, brother, and Rose Bride identity.” Anthy said. Utena smiled at this.

“Ya, I was wondering why you weren’t wearing glasses anymore. You look really good without them I must say.” Utena commented.

“Thank you for your compliment, Utena.” Anthy said.

“No problem.” Utena told her. She then thought for a moment and walked over to her closet and pulled out a girl’s uniform for her new school. It was the standard sailor uniform with a red scarf and blue skirt. She walked it over to Anthy.

“Here, they gave me this on my first day, though I never wore it as you may have guessed. It may be a bit big on you, but it will do for the day.” Anthy giggled at Utena’s explanation. She took the uniform from Utena with a smile.

“Thank you, Utena. I’ll take good care of it.” Anthy told Utena.

“Ah, don’t worry about taking good care of it. I’m never going to wear it. Besides, you remember what happened to my Ohtori girl’s uniform and I didn’t even shed a tear over it.” Utena said remembering the time she had lost that duel to Touga and had worn a girl’s uniform as a result. How she had re-challenged him in that uniform and had it torn to shreds in the duel. When they had gotten back to there dorm after that, Utena had changed into her pajamas. Anthy had taken the uniform and threw it in the trash, seeing that it was beyond repair. Anthy smiled as she remembered this too.

‘I just hope Utena doesn’t lose anymore duels and turn back into that week girl I saw that day.’ She then began to change into the uniform. When she was finished, she walked towards the door. Utena’s eyes followed her.

“You’re not going to put your hair up today?” She asked as she noticed Anthy’s long hair swaying at her back.

“Yes, I like it better this way, don’t you?” Anthy asked Utena with a grin. Utena nodded.

“Ya, it looks sexy like that.” Utena said then blushed. ‘Did I really just say that?’ Anthy grinned.

‘She does notice me.’ “Besides, having my hair up was just part of my Rose Bride identity anyways. I’m not eager to go back to that.” Anthy explained and opened the door. “Now lets go. We would want to be late for school.” With that, they left.

The two walked to school, side by side. Utena turned to face Anthy, last night’s conversation in her head. ‘Will I really have to fight more duel sin the future? If so how long will I have till it happens?’ Then something important struck her. “Hey Anthy?” Anthy turned to face her.

“Yes Utena?” Anthy answered her.

“You said that duels are fought with Heart Swords, right?” Utena asked. Anthy nodded in confirmation. “Well remember what happened to my Heart Sword during the duel of Revolution. Akio broke it slamming it against the gate, remember?” Anthy nodded again.

“Yes it did, but don’t worry. It’s been three months since that happened. That should have been enough time for it to repair itself.” Anthy said. Utena gasped at this.

“Heart Swords can repair themselves?” Utena asked in amazement.

“Yes, while it is rare that they brake in the first place. Though if you try to use them like Akio did, they can break. It has happened a few times in the past and they’ve always repaired themselves after a few months.” Anthy explained. Utena nodded and the two continued walking. They arrived within a few minutes. They entered the school and Utena led Anthy towards the office.

“Wow, what a nice school this is. It’s so much nicer then Ohtori.” Anthy commented as Utena led her through the halls.

“It isn’t that spectacular.” Utena said as they reached the office. Utena led Anthy over to the receptionist, who looked up at them.

“May I help you two?” She asked. Utena nodded.

“Yes, we’re here to enroll my friend here.” Utena said and gestured over to Anthy. The receptionist looked at Anthy.

“Is she a foreign exchange student?” She asked.

“No, she’s transferring here from Ohtori Academy.” Utena explained.

“But she is foreign, isn’t she?” The receptionist asked. Utena turned to Anthy, wondering this herself.

“I was born in Japan, but my mom was Indian.” Anthy explained. The receptionist nodded and handed Anthy some paper work.

“Just fill these out and you can start class today. I see your already wearing our school’s uniform.” The receptionist said. Utena nodded.

“Yeah, she lost her Ohtori uniform and since I wasn’t going to wear it, I gave her the uniform you gave me my first day. Though I think she is going to need a uniform in her size, mines a bit big on her.” Utena explained as Anthy filled out her forms. The receptionist glared at her.

“Oh yes, I remember you now, Tenjou Utena, the girl who defies school rules by wearing a boy’s uniform.” The receptionist said. Anthy giggled while filling out her forms.

“Well the school rules say nothing against girls wearing boy’s uniforms. It just says students are required to wear uniform.” Utena said in her defense.

“But it still is not proper for girls to dress in boy’s clothes.” The receptionist argued back. Anthy put down her pen as she finished filling out the forms and handed them to the receptionist.

“You should leave Utena alone about her uniform. She is a prince so that uniform is appropriate for her.” Anthy told the receptionist, who just blinked.

“A prince? How is she a prince?” She asked. Anthy smiled at her.

“Don’t ask how. The story would just confuse you even more. All you need to know is that she is a prince.” Anthy said. “Now what classes do I have?” The receptionist turned to her computer.

“I’ll just put you in Utena’s class. Being with a friend might make it easier for you.” The receptionist explained as she printed out a slip and handed it to Anthy. “Just give this to your homeroom teacher.” Anthy nodded and took the slip. “Now you two should get to class.”

“Yes ma’am.” Utena said and led Anthy towards her class. When they got to class, Utena turned to Anthy. “You should probably wait out here for the teacher to arrive. Do you want me to wait with you?”

“Yes, if that isn’t a problem for you.” Anthy replied.

“It won’t be a problem.” Utena said. Anthy nodded. The two waited for a few minutes before the teacher finally arrived.

“Tenjou-san, what are you doing out here? And who is this?” The teacher asked. Utena bowed to the teacher.

“Sensei, this is Himemiya Anthy, a friend of mine who just transferred to this school. She’ll be joining this class today.” Utena explained. Anthy held out her slip to the teacher.

“The receptionist told me to give this to you.” Anthy said. The teacher took it and looked it over.

“Very well. Tenjou-san, go in and take your seat. I’ll be in there to start class in a few minutes.” The teacher said. Utena nodded and headed in the class. The teacher turned back to Anthy.

“I’ll call you in when I’m ready for you.” She said and went in the class herself. All the students turned their attention to her. “All rise.” She said as she went through the morning procedures. Once they were done, she addressed the class. “Students, we have a new student joining us today.” With that she motioned for Anthy to enter. All the boys drooled at the sight of Anthy. It made Utena want to get up and punch them.

‘How dare they drool that way at my girl? Well she’s not mine, but still.’ She thought as Anthy stood in front of the class and bowed.

“Hello everyone. My name is Himemiya Anthy. I just transferred here today from Ohtori Academy. I like animals and making Utena happy.” She said as she introduced herself. Utena blushed at being mentioned.

“Well I’m sure we will all make Himemiya-san feel welcome.” The teacher said and turned to Anthy. “Himemiya-san, you can take a seat at the empty desk in front of Tenjou-san.” Anthy nodded and headed over to the desk in front of Utena. Anthy winked at her before sitting down. Utena blushed as she realized what a great view of Anthy’s luscious hair she had.

Across the room, a boy with medium length green hair named Daisuke eyed Utena with a smile. ‘At last it seems Tenjou-kun has found someone worthy.’ He turned to his girlfriend, Rumiko, who nodded back at him.

At lunch, Utena sat with Anthy under a tree. The two were chatting while they ate. They were having much fun until Utena noticed Daisuke walking over to them. Her eyes narrowed. She had a bad feeling about this.

“Tenjou-kun, it seems you have finally found someone.” He said with a grin. Utena nodded at him.

“I know Anthy from Ohtori. We were roommates there.” Utena said.

“Really, you two must be close then. I challenge you, Tenjou-kun.” Daisuke said. Anthy’s eyes narrowed as she realized what this was about. Utena just blinked.

“Challenge me to what?” She asked naïve as ever. Daisuke laughed at her, holding up his left hand to show her is Rose Signet. Utena gasped. “So you’re a duelist?”

“Yes, and I challenge you to a duel after school at the dueling arena in the park. Don’t be late.” With that, Daisuke left.

After school, Utena and Anthy headed over to the park and started to look around for the entrance to the dueling arena.

“What would the entrance look like?” Utena asked.

“Probably similar to the one at Ohtori.” Anthy said the spotted a gate with a rose over top of it. “There.” She pointed it out to Utena. Utena walked over to it and put her ringed hand in the handle. The gate then opened as the two walked through. Utena gasped as she was changed into her dueling uniform instantly. She turned to Anthy. She was not wearing her Rose Bride dress, but I different dress that was white and red with a slit in the legs (think of her movie dress). The two walked over to the arena which was on the ground, a good thing since Utena was in no mood for climbing steps. Daisuke and Rumiko were already in the dueling arena.

“At last, you’ve arrived.” Daisuke said as the two entered the arena. “Now let’s get this duel started.” With that he drew Rumiko in close to him so she could draw his Heart Sword.

“Yes, let’s get this over with.” Utena said as she drew Anthy in. Anthy placed a hand over her heart and a bright light shown. She drew her hand back and Utena’s Heart Sword emerged, in one piece. “Grant us the power to bring the world revolution.” They both cried as the sword was drawn. Daisuke and Rumiko did the same. Bells rang in the distance, signaling the start of the duel. The two duelists turned to face each other. Daisuke then noticed Utena’s sword and gasped.

“Your Heart Sword, it can’t be.” He gasped. Utena looked confused. “It’s in the shape of the Prince’s Sword. Only the one who possesses the power of the Rose Prince will have their Heart Sword take that shape.” He then started to laugh. “Which means if I win, I’ll gain the ultimate power!” With that he charged and started attacking. Utena blocked, parried, and dodged all his strikes.

“Whoa, calm down. You’re just trying to cut my rose off, not kill me.” Utena commented as she continued with her defense.

“Do you think it matters to me what happens to you once I have the power?” Daisuke screamed and sliced trying to cut Utena in half. Utena leaped in the air and did a back flip towards Anthy. She landed in a kneeled position in front of Anthy and held her blade out to Anthy. Anthy touched the blade, charging it up. A flash of light filled the arena as Dios’s spirit which was currently residing in Utena’s Rose Signet took over her body. With a mighty scream, Utena leaped into the air at Daisuke.

“What is going on?” Daisuke screamed as Utena flashed by him, taking off his rose. The bells rang as his rose petals floated around him. “No way. I couldn’t have lost. Not like that.” He muttered. Utena walked back over to Anthy.

“Anthy, let’s go home.” She said. With that, the two left the arena.

That night, Utena smiled as she climbed into bed next to Anthy. Chu-Chu was already asleep with a snot bubble coming out of his nose. Anthy smiled at Utena.

“That was a good duel today, Utena. I’m really proud of you.” She said. Utena sighed.

“But now that Daisuke knows I’m the Rose Prince, will he challenge me again? Will he tell more duelists?” Utena asked. Anthy shook her head.

“I don’t know, Utena. For now, you should get some sleep.” Anthy told her. Utena nodded.

“Yes, I should.” Utena said. ‘Should I tell her how I feel tonight? How would she react?’ “Anthy.”

“Yes Utena.” Anthy responded. Utena hesitated. She was still unsure if she wanted to tell Anthy just yet.

“Goodnight.” She ended up saying.

“Goodnight Utena.” Anthy said. ‘Darn and here I was hoping she would confess undying love for me. Oh well, maybe tomorrow night she will.’

To Be Continued…

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