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 -.

Disclaimer: La filétte revolutionaire Utena belongs to Chiho Saito and surely some big firms. The story however is mine.

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: aprileaglefreenet.de. 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.

-.

Just one summer

(by April Eagle)

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.

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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.

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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."

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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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