One more pop of the neck and Utena was ready. The one thing that could end this Prince’s drawn-out school day without failure...besides Himemiya’s blood-pumping note...was basketball. The other members of the team all gathered on the court preparing for practice. Four males of one team dressed identically in black shorts and a light blue practice jersey; one girl dressed in skintight, red shorts and a light ashen-purple, formfitting, tank top. The "opposing" team wore black shorts and red jerseys. The coach stepped in the center, a basketball resting in one hand. "Okay...blue side header: Tenjou; red side header...hmm..." Thumbing through his team rosters, he noticed the name scribbled in pen under all the typed ones. "Ah...that new kid. Okay...red side header: Shintaro." Utena’s sky-blue eyes quickly began darting around the court in search of the infamous new kid. "Dammit...that jerk gets in the student council and made the team already!?" The normally calm exterior of the pink-headed victor darkened at the thought of someone like that guy on her favorite sport team. The imaginary "cloud of misfortune" formed over Utena’s carnation colored head. "Tenjou! Center court, now!" The deep voice of the coach brought the slightly angered duelist back to reality and she sprinted to center court at the boom of the command. "Yes, yes! Sorry." Utena planted her rubber-soled feet on the floor and prepared for the game. The coach went in between the hotheaded Utena and the big-mouthed Keingo. "Nice to see we could pay attention to practice, Tenjou-kun." Keingo whispered sarcastically. "You can dress like a basketball player, but do you got any game?" "Shut-up. I’m gonna wipe this floor with your egotistical face. You're on my court, now." "Oh? Well, aren't we confident." Keingo muttered with a smirk. "Please, go easy on me, Tenjou-kun. I'd hate to be embarrassed during my first practice." At that time, the ball went in the air at the face-off, Keingo’s legs taking him in the air a split second before his distracted rival’s, though, Utena’s smaller frame came up quicker. The ivory-white hand of the prince reached out to knock the airborne ball back to her team, but a larger hand came in contact right below Utena’s neck and forcefully pushed her back as the ball was batted to Keingo’s side. Utena, on the other hand, came down hard on the back of her neck and lied motionless for a moment. "Baka, Tenjou-kun!" The egotistical boy mocked Utena’s fall as the whistle sounded to pause the game, the coach going to the fallen player’s side. "Tenjou! Are you all right? Tenjou!" The coach’s hand lightly slapped the reddened cheek of his female player, hoping to get a response. "Unnn...itaiiii..." Utena managed to mumble through gritted teeth. "Are you gonna be okay, Tenjou?" "Yes, hi, coach...I...I guess I must have slipped." "Well, be more careful. A blow to the neck from a fall like that can really mess ya up, and I need ya in good health for the championship game." The coach said sternly while offering the humiliated athlete a hand. Utena stood, pain shooting through her neck like lightning. Out of the corner of her glazed eyes, Keingo could be seen, striding over toward her like a wild animal out to claim his prey. "Hey, no hard feelings there, eh, Tenjou-kun?" The smirking boy offered his hand to his rival in mock apology, but Utena slapped it away and went back to the game. "Ooo...feisty little girl, aren't ya. Failures like that aren't tolerated in sports, ya know. Better get your act together, there, Tenjou-kun...or is that...Tenjou-chan? Helpless little girls shouldn't be playing sports with the big guys." Utena’s jewel-blue eyes flashed with anger at the demeaning denotation. "You have no authority to talk to me like that! Just get off that trip of yours and play the damn game...fairly!" "All right, team...game on!" The whistle sounded again and the game went on. Near the end of practice, the team played like it were a real game, or at least Utena and Keingo did. Both rivals playing as if their very lives depended on who won, even though no score was being kept. The practice clock ticked through it’s final minute as the quick and agile duelist raced for the basket at breakneck speed. "This game’s mine..." she thought victoriously. The goal of her win was within her reach as she leaped up and...got shoved back onto her rear. "Goal tending, Shintaro!" The couch shouted after the sound of his whistle. A smirk spread on his features as he picked up the ball and watched Utena angrily rise to her feet, pride obviously tainted. "Hey, Tenjou-kun! Heads up!" He threw the ball towards the backside of his rival, as she turned, she took the ball to the face, falling back once again, colors flashing in her eyes as it hit her, hard. "Oops! Sorry about that, Tenjou-kun. I thought you were quicker than that!" The utterly humiliated victor placed a hand over her eye as the other touched gently to her lips. Her small pink tongue ran over the bitter taste of her blood. Pain...the whole game was full of pain. Utena’s pride felt as if it had been severed, along with the cut lip, bruised back-neck, and developing black eye to add to the injuries. The girls that filled the basketball court gasped, cried out, and screamed at the sight of their beloved Tenjou Utena-sama lying on the hardwood floors in a daze. "All right, team. That's enough for today. Hit the showers." The coach sighed and dismissed the team. "Tenjou, go get some rest. I think you're just having a bad day." The team cleared the floor in a small crowd. "Oh you think?" Utena muttered sarcastically. "Utenaaaa-samaaaa!" The concerned cry of Wakaba rang out over the gasps and shouts of the other girls as she pushed her way through the crowded sideline and onto the court to side with her injured friend. "Utena-sama...are you all right? Do you need help?" "No, Wakaba-chan. I’m fine, just...a few pains. Nothing to get to excited about." The cut in the prince’s lip was slowly spilling forth her crimson colored blood and it dripped down her chin. "Ah! Utena-sama! You're bleeding! Here..." The small, chestnut-headed girl pulled her scarf off her uniform and held it to Utena’s mouth. "Un...thanks, Wakaba-chan." A blush crossed the young girl’s cheeks. She felt good being able to be the one to help her popular best friend. Shyly, she nuzzled her nose into the pink-haired girl’s bare neck, but stopped suddenly. "What the hell is going on here!? This wasn't a game, it was a fight!" "What's the matter, Wakaba-chan?" "Who did this to you!?" Wakaba’s face showed visible anger and she must have really been mad to swear. "Did what?" Utena was a little startled, but kept it hidden. "Your neck! The back of your neck is badly bruised! Did you fall? Did someone hit you?" Wakaba was a little more than concerned and it was etched all over her face, practically in stone. "Oh, well, I had an accident at the face-off. I got...pushed." The anger wasn't visible in the Oji’s face, but Wakaba could sense it. "Who?" The Prince was silent for a moment, but before she could answer... "Oh, don't be so worried, young lady. Tenjou-kun is quite strong. She doesn't need your help." ...Utena cringed as she watched her cheating, mouthy, egotistical rival place his hand on her best friend’s tiny shoulder. "Don't you touch her!" The enraged prince slapped the boy’s hand away from Wakaba as she positioned herself between the two. Though the pain burned in her neck and face, she wouldn't let her cruel rival see her weakness. "Utena-sama...what's wrong?" Wakaba was visibly confused. "What'd he do?" "He’s a sarcastic, egotistical, cheating, blowhard. Stay away from him, Wakaba." "Shouldn't...Wakaba-san, is it? Yeah, shouldn't she be the one to judge me, Tenjou-kun?" Keingo was amused by this spectacle. "By the way...how's your face? I didn't think I threw the ball that hard...either that or you're just really slow." The features on Utena’s face twisted angrily as she stood up quickly and balled her fists. "Utena-sama! C’mon, let's just get out of here. It’s not worth it." The clenched teeth of the angry prince released and her tense shoulders relaxed. She knew she couldn't fight this jerk...as much as she'd love to...but what would the student body, who idolized her so, think of her if she were punished by the council members for fighting with a council member? With a sigh, the mentally victorious girl turned her back to the boy and walked away with Wakaba, her own arm placed around the Victor's waist comfortingly. "Hmmph! Hey, Tenjou-kun! Why you gotta break that poor girl’s heart!? You obviously got many girlfriends...the whole female student body!? Or am I mistaken!? That purple headed girl sure seems attached to you, too! Whatta shame!" Keingo laughed out loud and headed for the boy’s showers, chanting ‘Playboy’ over and over. "For your information, Himemiya-san is Utena-sama’s steady!" "Wakaba! No!" She quickly clasped a ringed hand over her friend’s mouth to silence her. Fortunately, it appeared he didn't hear her. "What's wrong?" "That's the last thing I want him to know. That jerk will do anything to humiliate someone, it seems." "Oh, sorry about that, Utena-sama. I guess I wasn't thinking about what I was saying because I was so mad at him." "Don't worry about it. I just don't want him doing something to hurt Himemiya. I love her so much that I’m afraid I'd do something to get back at him, then I'd get expelled for fighting with a councilman...and...and..." "...you'd lose Himemiya-san. I understand." "Thanks, Wakaba-chan." The emotionally beaten prince flashed a small smile to her best friend and placed the scarf back on her lip. Wakaba’s cheeks stained with a blush, then offered her tiny hand to the Oji. "C’mon, Utena-sama, let's go get some ice for your eye before it gets any blacker." "Eh? I have a black eye? Oh, Himemiya’s just going to love that." The prince’s pink tresses curtained her face as she placed one ivory tone hand over her discolored eye. "Don't worry, Utena-sama. I’m sure Himemiya-san has a miracle cure for something like this. She always did before, didn't she?" "Hmmm, you're right. Okay, let's get moving then. The last thing I need now is a stupid black eye." Utena reached out and took the hand of the young girl. Not to far off, steam filled the boy’s locker room as a wicked grin twisted Shintaro Keingo’s features. "So, that purple-haired girl is Tenjou-kun’s steady, which obviously makes her...Kettou no Shioushia..." He glanced at his Bara no Kokuin and smiled fiendishly. "Perhaps I’ll find myself a new girl to serve me after all. Guess it’s time to challenge the Victor to a duel." Shinohara Wakaba helped her best friend as much as she thought was necessary, though Utena often waved it off, not wanting to appear weak in the adorable eyes of the one who idolized her so much. The duo stood in the elevator, going up to the tower dorm room that the Victor and her Bride shared. "Aww...my neck is so sore. I can’t believe I fell for that cheap shot," Utena thought with disappointment. Her ringed hand came up to rub the bruise that had developed there, but she found the effort useless as she winced in pain every time she attempted to touch it. "Ne, Utena-sama...we're here." "Eh? Oh, we are." "Hurry up! Not much longer and you'll be better again." With a nod, Utena followed her cheerful friend. The chestnut-haired girl bounced down the hallway and reached the large dormitory doors. "Just go on in, Wakaba." "Okay, but hurry up!" "Yes, yes. I’m hurrying..." The pink-haired Victor reached the door after Wakaba had passed through it, a feeling of remorse clawed at her emotions. "Hey! Himemiya! I’m home!" "Ah, how was practice, Utena-sama?" "It was..." Utena started slowly. "...a disaster!! That new guy was so mean to Utena-sama! He pushed her down and threw a basketball at her and made her lip bleed and bruised her neck and he made fun of her and called her a ‘playboy’ and..." "Wakaba-chan! Breathe!" The prince’s hand covered the rambling girl’s mouth. "Utena-sama...is all this true? Did you fight with him?" "No, No...we were practicing and he basically did what he could to cheat. I was a little slow, though. I didn't think fast and I caught the ball with my face." A humiliated blush burned the Victor's face as she unbuttoned her black jacket and threw it on her bed. "Wakaba informed me that I have quite a bruise on my neck..." "Utena-sama, did he strike you!?" "No, I told you, he cheated. At the face-off, he pushed me and I landed on my neck." "I’ll go get some ice for your eye, Utena!" Wakaba exited the room quickly, her small ponytail bouncing against her head. Anthy waited until she was gone before she spoke again. "Why didn't your coach do anything about this?" "I...I don't know. I suppose he may have missed it. It’s no big deal." The features on Anthy's face faltered at her Victor's reply. "You were distracted, weren't you?" The prince was hesitant, but a worried glance from Anthy forced Utena to merely nod and cast her cobalt eyes downward in humiliation. "I see. Please be careful. I have a very bad feeling about this boy." "I will, Himemiya. Until then, I think I need to lie down...I have such a headache." "All right...would you like me to rub your shoulders, first, Utena-sama?" "Well...okay. Be gentle, though. I’m really tender there, right now." The emerald-eyed princess nodded and took her prince by the shoulders, seating her on the bed. Her slender, tanned hands remained on the Oji’s shoulders as she, too, seated herself on the bed, behind Utena, and began to gently rub the pain. "Oh, Does it hurt?" "Ah...no, of course not. It feels really good." Utena craned her neck forward, letting her carnation locks hide her face. The healing touch of Anthy's hands worked their way toward the purple and blue bruise that plagued the lower-back of the prince’s slender neck. "Ah! Ouch! Please, stop it!" The prince’s eyes shut tight as she arched her back to escape the pain. "Ah...I am sorry. You have a knot in it. It won't hurt as much if you let me knead it out." "...but...it hurts." Utena’s face turned to look pleadingly at the gentle eyes of the Bride. The pitiful look of a pained child was all Anthy could see beneath her Victor's usually strong exterior. "It'll only hurt for a little while...I promise I’ll be as gentle as I can, but I don't want you to hurt even more if it stays there." Defeated by fact, the childlike expression of Utena softened a little as she nodded. "I’ll stop for a moment if it hurts too much, okay?" "Y...yeah..." Tenjou Utena braced for contact as her Bride's hands softly touched the large, purple spot and began to carefully knead it. "Unn...Owww..." Desperately, she tried not to pull away from the agonizing pain. A sorrowful frown changed Anthy's expression as she heard the tiny gasps and choked-back cries from the prince. "Sorry about that, Utena-sama. If it hurts that much, I’ll stop." "It’s okay...I’m being childish. It does hurt, but go ahead and finish it..." Anthy proceeded to work out the painful knot, but could sense more relief in the Victor's voice. A smile curled the corners of the Hanayome’s lips, her mind in thought. Slowly, her face came to the side of the Prince’s neck, her breath danced over it softly. "Does it still hurt?" "A little...please don't stop...it’s feeling better." Only, Utena wasn't speaking of the bruise as much as the warm feeling of Anthy's soft breath on her bare neck. Each one sent a chill throughout the Shioushia’s body. Next, a soft pair of lips touched her jaw-line and moved up to the top of her ear. A kiss, a breath, a rub of the neck, and a sigh from the Victor. The pattern was followed many times over, neither girl noticing the moonlight they were being bathed in as the night rose over Ohtori Gakuen. The pain began to go unnoticed, but the bruise remained beneath Anthy's gentle touch. A soft sigh escaped Utena’s slightly parted lips as the relief flooded her body. Oh, Kamisama, how it felt good. "Utena-sama...I could work your shoulders easier if your shirt's straps weren't in the way. Do you mind?" Utena’s eyes opened quickly as she felt herself unconsciously nodding...and Anthy's hands lifting the ash-purple tank top over her head. The ocean colored eyes of Utena went down to reveal her own nudity, save for her red shorts. The blush on the bridge of her nose and cheeks matched those shorts identically. "Hey, hey...Hi...Himemiya..." Her tongue tripped over her words, making her stutter shyly. Nothing was said from the Bride, only her hands coming back to rub the Prince’s shoulders once more. "Ahh...Kamisama...such soft hands." The slender, ivory backside of Utena could be witnessed even in the shadows of the moonlight. The Bara no Hanayome could practically feel her hands begging to trace the outline of that curvaceous back. Himemiya Anthy felt a strange courageousness as her left hand began to travel down the center and all the way to the small of the Prince’s back. Such soft skin, made of the finest ivory-colored silk. "...so soft, Utena-sama...so smooth..." The Bride pushed the Victor onto her stomach in the bed, taking her hair and moving it away from the bare back. What a sight to behold for a young girl such as Himemiya Anthy...bold, brave, romantically intoxicated, Himemiya Anthy. She brought her lips to the back of Utena’s neck and kissed it. In suit, she kissed each shoulder blade. The Prince didn't move, just released relaxed sighs. The Hanayome’s cheek brushed against the silky texture of Utena’s slender back, a sigh of her own escaping her lips. "...Himemiya..." Utena breathed through a sigh. Oh yes, it was Himemiya. The Prince could take it no longer as she pushed herself onto her forearms and turned over. The slight chill in the air striking her front, making the sight just as pleasurable for the Bride. Tenjou Utena lied on her back, a pillow behind her head, and carnation tresses spilling about it. She pulled the Bride into her embrace and took one of her hands in her own, bringing it to her lips and kissing each individual fingertip. Before too long, Anthy's lips came to Utena’s face and traced her jaw-line until they met the pink haired Oji’s lips in a soft, yet desirable, kiss. The young Victor's tongue traced the outline of the Bride's slowly, her own just pausing briefly to savor the tingling feeling. As Utena’s tongue left Anthy's mouth, the Bride let her own glide up her protector's face, agonizingly slow, until it reached the horrid, developing black eye. The Princess's lips then came down upon it gently, kissing away the pain. "Fear not, Utena-sama...I promise I will make everything better. No more pain." "Yes, Himemiya...nor will their be anymore with you." The young lovers who tried fate and played the game of revolution found this to be an inseparable bond. How could anything, or anyone, so cruel come between them? Another kiss shared, another embrace held, and the night proceeded. Touch after heart-stopping touch did nothing but pleasure the senses of the Prince and her Princess. The hands of the Hanayome gripping ivory tightly as crimson lips kissed their way down Utena’s neck, stopping to let her tongue trace the Oji’s collarbone. The tongue soon replaced with lips that traveled down further, just above the sensitive Victor's breast. Emerald-green locked with cobalt-blue, questioningly. Utena merely nodded once, giving the Bride her much anticipated permission. Anthy's lips continued to kiss down, down, in the path of a perfectly shaped breast. "I...I can’t...I can’t go on, Utena-sama. I’m...just too afraid." The Prince sat up suddenly as her Bride pulled away, closing her eyes. "Why...what's wrong?" Utena took Anthy's smaller frame in her arms and held her there. The disappointment not as painful as the fact of knowing her princess was afraid. "Just...bad memories. I’m really, truly, sorry." The Princess looked away in shame. Despite the confessions of affection, poor Himemiya Anthy could not fight the demons of her past. Oh, how she wished she could, but sometimes, fear just outdoes bravery...and one too many times in the Hanayome’s mind. "It’s all right, Himemiya. I’ll never pressure you into such things. I promise. We'll work this out together though, okay?" The Prince tipped the shamed Bride's head up at the chin and placed a small kiss on her forehead. "I’ll try, Utena-sama. Oh, how I want to, but I just can’t. It’s so hard." "I know, I know. Don't worry, I’m here for you." The Kettou no Shioushia lied back down, taking the Bride down in her embrace, kissing her once again on each closed eye, and staying awake until the Princess fell fast asleep in her arms. "Oyasumi nasai...Boku na Bara no Hanayome." Before long, the Kettou no Shioushia, too, was asleep. Their romantic escapade had begun and ended in the privacy of their own room...except for the figure standing behind the door to the dorm, peeking through the small crack. "I never would have imagined you could be so bold, Anthy. Too bold, perhaps." Ohtori Akio turned, silently closing the door and returning to his own room. "Though, I worry not, for it'll only be a matter of time before Shintaro challenges Utena. If he defeats her, the power of Dios will surely follow. She won't turn the power over, but with some persuasion, Keingo definitely will. His victory will also be mine. I can break the spirit of Tenjou, make her mine, and then gain the power of World Revolution from her." ------------------------------------------------------------ Author’s useless babble: Okay, okay, okay...I read back through this and can’t believe that I’M the one who wrote it. I’m like...."what happens next!?" and it’s like...oh yeah...my fic. I'm a dork...Heh! This was actually put out a lot faster then anticipated. It’s been done for ages, but I needed to edit, sooo, now that I’m done editing this chapter, I put it up. Thanks to all who have given this lost fic a chance.
Back to Hana no Nai Bara Index - Back to Revolutionary Girl Utena Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction