"Well this is... interesting," Utena said
diplomatically, looking around the old warehouse
dubiously. She and Juri were there because of an
errand Juri needed to run, standing in the middle of
the large, mostly empty building. Thick cobwebs
dripped from the corners, a cold cement floor
stretching out all around them, and a sagging set of
rickety stairs went up one side to abandoned offices
on the second floor.
"It's a wreck," Juri corrected Utena wryly, her
orange hair falling in waves down her back as she
studied the space thoughtfully.
"Well, yes," Utena agreed, smiling. Her pink hair and
her black clothes suited her well, giving her a almost
noble bearing even in such shabby surroundings. "Is
this where you were planning to put your bar?" she
asked disbelievingly.
"I've got some pretty substantial renovations in
mind," Juri agreed, looking around with a gleam in her
eyes.
"Juri-san," the black haired woman came inside, her
cellphone at her ear even as she nodded to the two of
them. "I've talked to the Realtor and pointed out the
poor location and state of disrepair the building is
in," she said briskly as she folded the device away,
"I suspect we can get several thousand dollars knocked
off the price at least."
"Tenjou Utena," Juri smiled wryly, "I'd like you to
meet Tendo Nabiki, my right hand woman on this
project."
Nabiki shook hands firmly, her eyes inquisitive as
she studied Utena with a false sort of casualness.
"Nice to meet you," she said cheerfully, "are you
Juri's latest fling?"
Utena blinked at her in surprise, blushing faintly as
she answered, "No."
"Too bad, Juri could do worse," Nabiki said
admiringly.
"Nabiki!" Juri growled out.
Nabiki just chuckled wickedly and said, "I'll keep on
negotiating with the owner." As she walked off Nabiki
flipped her phone open and dialed smoothly, looking
the model of a business woman dressed in her casual
suit.
"Sorry," Juri said to Utena wryly, "Nabiki remembers
me from when I was a bit younger and quite a bit
wilder."
"I don't seem to remember that at Ohtori," Utena said
curiously.
Juri shrugged, blushing faintly, too. "I decided to
let myself go a bit after I graduated," she confessed,
"do some of the things I hadn't before."
Utena looked thoughtful, "Me, too."
Juri, Utena and Nabiki headed out of the building,
Nabiki returning the keys to the battered old
warehouse to the Realtor's assistant, staying to talk
to her softly. After they got into the car Juri smiled
slightly, "So what wild things did you do after
graduation?" She shook her head, "It occurs to me I
don't know much about what you did then."
"Nothing terribly great," Utena said, "mostly I just
tried to help people." A sudden smile as a memory
occurred to her, "Though there was one time...."
"Oh?" Juri grinned.
***************
\
Mano Yohko walked to class, smiling as the girl
dressed in a simple school uniform smiling as she and
her friends talked together. "Oh my god, did you see
that guy?" Chigako murmured to the others, her eyes
twinkling.
Yohko looked around, her long brown hair falling in
twin streams, the loops on top of her head bouncing
slightly. He stood on the sidewalk, looking around
with a faint frown, short pink hair falling into his
eyes. The black clothes that he wore hugged the slim
body tightly, black pants, white shirt and black
jacket while his manner was casual yet radiating a
strange energy.
"No way he's a high school student," Yohko murmured
softly, several of the girls around them nodding their
agreement.
"There's something about him," Azusa said softly, the
black haired younger woman looking on with a frown.
Yohko looked at her fellow devil hunter curiously,
"What do you mean?"
"I can sense something," Azusa shrugged helplessly
before looking up at Yohko, "but what exactly I'm not
sure."
"That's not helpful," Yohko sighed, but as they
neared the school gate she could begin to pick up
something from him, too. There was an aura of purpose
around the pink haired figure, and nobility, combined
with a strange power.
"Mano Yohko?" he looked up and Yohko could almost
feel herself falling into the blues eyes that she had
ever seen.
"Yes?" Yohko asked weakly.
"My name is Tenjou Utena," he smiled slightly as he
continued apologetically, "I'm sorry to bother you at
school...."
"No, no," Yohko felt herself blush as she stammered,
"it's all right."
Utena smiled back at her gently, "I was wondering if
I could talk to you after classes? It's somewhat
important."
"I'd like that," Yohko murmured, hearts in her eyes.
"See you then," Utena waved, walking off gracefully.
"Oh my god," Chigako exclaimed once they were far
enough away, "did you just let yourself be picked up
by a strange man?!"
"Shh!" Azusa hissed at her then she looked up at
Yohko to softly, "Do you think it's... devil hunter
business?"
Yohko hesitated, looking back thoughtfully where
Utena had walked away, "To be honest, I just don't
know."
Racing through her day's classes Yohko was eager to
see the mysterious young man once again, silently
wondering what her grandmother had sent him to her
for. She got a certain amount of teasing from her
classmates, of course, but she bore it silently. Yohko
knew that the girls were all just jealous of her good
fortune.
Waving good-bye to Azusa and her friends Yohko all
but ran through the school's gates, feeling a flash of
pure disappointment when she didn't see him waiting
there. Then she heard a low rumbling and he came
around the corner perched in the saddle of a black
motorcycle. The pipes and steel all gleamed silver
while the rest was deepest midnight, highlighted by a
pink trim.
"I hope you don't mind," Utena said as he removed his
helmet, his pure blue eyes crinkled with amusement,
"but I got to town on this."
"Wow," Yohko managed, just knowing that a mob of
school girls behind her were just dying of envy and
not really caring. Well, not much. "It's wonderful,"
she looked up to meet those impossibly blue eyes
again.
Casually Utena tossed a second helmet over to Yohko
then firmly patted the seat behind him. "Would you
like to ride with me, then?" he asked gently.
"Please," Yohko grinned, carefully pulling the helmet
on over her hair and then climbing on. As they drove
off. engine purring, she thought, 'If this is a demon
attack, please let him wait at least until the ride's
done.'
They moved through the city, then up into the hills
beyond, trees rising up around them. "The road's a bit
twisty up here," Utena said, "be sure to hold on."
'Oooh,' Yohko smiled as she let her arms wrap around
him. She snuggled close, letting her arms tighten a
little around his chest and felt... curves that really
shouldn't have been there. Her hands drifted a little,
confirming her discovery, then Yohko sighed to
herself, 'I knew someone as cute as this couldn't be a
guy.'
They eased to the side of the road a few moments
later, Utena removing her helm and running a hand
through her short pink hair. "When I talked to your
grandmother she mentioned there might be youma up
here," she said, "a strong one."
Yohko looked over at Utena in surprise, wondering
both why her grandma would even trust this woman or
how she knew about the monsters.... Her hand
tightened, the hereditary amulet of the devil hunter's
gleaming there as she said, "If there is a demon, you
could be in danger."
Utena just smiled back faintly, if possible looking
even more handsome there on the hill, sunlight
gleaming on her face. "I've had some experience with
oddness," she said simply, casually leaning against
the bike.
There was something in her voice, a barely healed
sense of pain and regret, something that made Yohko
want to press the young woman. Changing the subject
she asked curiously, "Why were you visiting my
grandmother?"
Utena sighed softly, clearly listening to the sounds
of the woods as she said, "Looking for training,
honestly. I have certain talents that I'd like to
tame."
"Part of the oddness you mentioned..." Yohko stopped,
frowning as she felt a ominous presence. She
stiffened, starting her transformation even as she
said, "It's coming!" Her clothes dissolved, a wave of
red light forming into the simple red dress, a
stylized yin-yang symbol appearing on her chest.
Trees broke, a muffled roar as the beast forcefully
broke through the brush, his misshapen head looking
around him wildly. A bulky, dark gray body shoved the
plants aside as he glared with beady red eyes, finding
the two women waiting for him. "Tasty morsels," he
growled, his heavy tusks distorting his speech.
"I am Devil Hunter Yohko," she cried out as began to
make her speech... when a rush of power stopped her.
Utena shimmered, light dancing around her as she
narrowed her eyes. Raising her hand she cried out,
"For the Revolution of the World!" Her clothes
shifted, bearing a resemblance to a schoolboy's
uniform edged in pink, even as a sword exploded from
her chest, the ornate blade dropping into her hand
smoothly.
"Wow," Yohko murmured, eyes wide.
Utena had a grave intensity as she faced the demon
and said, "The world doesn't need things like you any
longer." She gave Yohko a look, "Ready?"
"Yes!" Yohko cried as she charged forward, her Soul
Sword at the ready.
The creature went for Utena as she charged it head
on, raising her blade to stop the first blow, She
braced a palm against the flat of the blade, her legs
buckling from the strain but she refused to give any
ground.
"Die, little gnat," it growled out, frustration
marring it's face. Raising a massive fist it swung
down again, trying to squish her, but she dodged
smoothly.
Yohko swiftly struck in the opening that his attack
left, first whipping her blade across his face them
striking between his ribs when he reflexedly went to
guard his face. With a wet sound her blade found his
heart but the beast bucked in a final convulsive
gesture, throwing her away violently to slam up
against a tree.
A few moments later Yohko felt herself awaken, surges
of pain slowly fading away. Utena knelt beside her, a
faint pink glow shining from her hands to wash over
Yohko's aching body. "You fight," Yohko croaked, "and
heal, too?"
Utena flashed a charming smile, "Part of why I wanted
to talk to your grandmother about training." Gently
she tugged Yohko to her feet, ignoring the now
dissolving form of the demon nearby. "You all right?"
she asked.
"I am now," Yohko sighed happily.
***************
"So what happened?" Juri asked as they pulled to a
stop in front of the apartment building in Shinjuku
that Juri lived in.
"I stayed a few weeks learning from grandma," Utena
smiled fondly in memory, "picking up what I could from
their skills."
"From the sound of your story," Juri noted, "Yohko
was quite impressed with you." She smiled, "Think she
had a crush on you?"
"No, we were just friends," Utena shook her head.
'Yup, clueless.' Juri thought. Even with what she
suspected was an edited account from Utena she figured
that Yohko had crushed on Utena fairly badly. Dropping
the topic she asked, "Did
you have any more interesting adventures while
traveling?"
"A few," Utena conceded as they got out, heading into
the building to talk some more, "maybe I'll tell you
about them some time."
To be continued...
Author's Notes: Yes, Yohko is very straight in the
Devil Hunter Yohko anime series, falling in love with
any number of cute bishonen in the six episode series.
Therefore I figured the only way she might crush on
Utena would be mistaking her for a boy... Utena's look
in this episode is pretty much TV series uniform
combined with the Utena movie haircut.
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