They stood there on the crowded street in the middle of Shinjuku, the boyish pink haired young woman and her dusky companion, each looking at each other silently. Utena smiled down at her hesitantly, "It's good... to see you, Anthy." "Utena," Anthy smiled back, looking up at the taller woman. The casually dressed young woman took a deep breath, "I'm so sorry, for everything I did." Utena closed her eyes for a moment, remembering the shock of pain and betrayal, then she firmly shook it off. "What I did," she finally answered her, "I did of my own free will, Anthy." A weak smile, "It wasn't your fault." Anthy reached up to rest her hand on Utena's cheek, tears glistening in her eyes. "You haven't changed," she murmured. Utena shook her head, "Oh, I've changed, it's just not that noticable." The noise around them rose as she made a face, "Let's go find someplace to talk?" "I'd like that," and Anthy hesitantly reached for Utena's hand. "Hgow did you find me?" Utena asked, somehow knowing that it wasn't a coincidence that Anthy had run into her like that. "I've been looking for you for years," Anthy answered her promptly, "right after you left Ohtori." She gave Utena a slight smile, "You certainly moved around a lot." "I wanted to let you go," Utena said softly as they passed beneath a glowing neon sign, "to set you free from any obligation to me." Anthy squeezed Utena's hand slightly as she looked up to give her a reproachful look, "I didn't want to be free of you." She took a deep breath, "I love you." "I...." Utena stumbled, visibly shocked to hear that from her. Anthy steadied her, looked at Utena with honest concern. "You really didn't expect me to tell you that?" she asked softly. Utena looked up, noticing that they were standing by a small cafe. "Let's go in here," she turned to lead Anthy into the small shop, "we can talk easier inside." Anthy silently followed Utena to a corner table, sitting there apart from the other customers. They ordered tea, remembering times that they had spent together drinking it back at the academy then sat there quietly a moment until their cups were delivered. "You know everything," Anthy said into the near perfect stillness, "about Akio and I, the Duels and Dios. Is that why...?" Utena took a drink of her tea, feeling the warmth slide down her throat. "It's not that," she answered, "from what I knew of Dios I think I would have fallen in love with him, too." "Then... Akio?" Anthy asked. Utena sighed softly, "I think in some ways I hated him, you know. He tried to take my strength away, to make me a helpless princess...." Anthy sighed, "Like me." "You were never weak," Utena shook her head firmly, "in some ways I think you're the strongest woman I know." That made Anthy smile, "Thank you." Utena stirred her tea, the woman clearly looking for the right thing to say. "I don't... know you, Anthy," she admitted softly. "What?" Anthy blinked. "If that moment on the dueling field taught me anything it was that," Utena sighed, "despite knowing you for so long, I never even saw it coming." Anthy closed her eyes, a look very like pain on her pretty face. "You know me better than you think," she finally said. "Oh?" Utena asked. "I was never false about how I felt about you," Anthy softly said as she drank, "I just believed that Akio's needs were more important." That left them sitting in silence, uncomfortable in the dim light of the corner. "You spent so long looking for me," Utena finally asked, "what... were you looking for?" "To make amends," she admitted, Anthy smiling shyly as she continued, "I wanted to know that you were all right, Utena." She paused before blurting, "What were you doing the last two years? I'd get a fix on where you were, rush there then find you were gone." "Trying to be a prince," Utena answered ruefully. A small sip, "Maybe because of the power of Dios or maybe it's just me, but I seem to be drawn to those in need." "It's not the power," Anthy shyly reached out to set her hand on Utena's, "you just have a noble heart and eyes that cannot look away." They talked on for several hours, these two young women, filling in many of the details of the years that they had spent apart. There were smiles on their faces when the waitress finally came along to apologetically tell them that the cafe was closing up for the night. Anthy shivered slightly, the night air having grown cool. Casually Utena pulled her jacket off to drape over Anthy's shoulders, "Here." "Thank you," Anthy looked up to smile warmly, pulling the jacket closer over her casual dress. She smiled at Utena's boyish clothes and added, "We seem to be in our roles, tonight." "I do have a few dresses now," Utena smiled slightly as they set out together, walking casually under the street lights. "I'm so shocked," Anthy said with dry humor. She hesitated, "I wouldn't presume that you'll take me home with you, Utena." Utena pushed her pink hair back with a sigh, "Not now, maybe, but in time..." "Thank you," Anthy said happily. She pulled a white card from her pocket and quickly wrote something on the back, "I've been staying here, using it as a sort of a home base while I was moving around Japan." "Hinata Inn?" Utena blinked, noting the address and phone number. She flipped the card over to see Anthy's name and printed below, "Fortunes Told, Spiritual Advisor." Anthy shrugged at Utena's questioning glance. "I tend to be pretty good at it," she said simply, "or so I'm told." Utena chuckled, "I thought about having a card printed with 'Have Sword, Wuill Travel' on it, but I didn't think anyone would get it." Anthy shook her head, "American westerns?" Utena just shrugged. She flashed a sudden smile, "Maybe next time you can come and meet my Aunt, I'm staying with her in town." Anthy's face lit up with a smile, "I'd like that." She sighed softly, looking up at the night sky, "I'd better get a taxi back." Utena waved one down smoothly, opening up the back door for Anthy smoothly. "I will call you, soon," Utena promised. "I'll be waiting," Anthy murmured as she leaned in to press her lips to Utena's cheek. With a wave she climbed inside, the taxi smoothly sliding into traffic. Utena stood there watching until the red tail lights went around a corner then she shook her head with a soft sigh. "Even after two years," she smiled to herself wryly, "she can still wrap me around her little finger."
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