Here it is at last!  Comments, including the ever popular MST style, are
welcome, but please read the Authors' Notes first.  Ta muchly!

Spoiler Warning:  This chapter gives away events in Shoujo Kakumei Utena
up to and including Episode 8.

Previous chapters can be found at
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/5990 .

        Dear Mom and Dad,

        Despite appearances, this is indeed still your son Skyler.  Talk
about walking a mile in someone else's shoes!  But I'm getting ahead of
myself.
        Life here at Ohtori Academy is certainly full of surprises!  While
talking to some girls who do guerilla shadow plays, I got a strange
feeling something was happening out in the woods.
        The forest near the Academy is normally off-limits, but my rose
signet ring acted as a key to open a gate in the wall.  The gate is a
marvel of hydraulic engineering, folding itself up into a huge stone rose.
        Inside were three towers, two bell towers flanking one that turned
out to be an open-air dueling arena.  It seems that Juri Arisugawa (my
student guide) had challenged Utena Tenjou (my next-door neighbor) to a
duel!  The first one to cut off the other's rose wins.  Anthy Himemiya
(the "Rose Bride" and Utena's roommate) acted as referee.
        I was up in one of the bell towers observing.  At first, I thought
Utena was unarmed, but she pulled "the Sword of Dios" right out of Anthy's
body!  I still haven't figured out how they did that.  The fight went
poorly for Utena at first, Juri's a much better fencer, but a beam of
light with what looked like a man inside came down from the Castle of
Illusion (a huge castle that hangs upside-down in mid-air over the
arena!) and merged with Utena.
        Utena started doing a lot better, and then something really weird
happened.  I started seeing pictures from Juri's thoughts!  Meanwhile,
Juri managed to knock the sword up from Utena's hand, but by an amazing
coincidence that sword came down again in just the right spot to impale
Juri's rose.
        Later, I talked to Juri about what I saw (a painful love triangle
in her past) and her philosophy of life ("Miracles don't exist!")  She
really needs a friend.
        I don't think I've mentioned before that part of my exchange
student responsibilities is assisting the teaching staff every so often.
In this case, I was asked to watch over a cooking class in the absence of
their regular instructor.  Juri came with to show the way.  It turned out
the class included Anthy and Utena, as well as a girl named Wakaba
Shinohara, who used to be Utena's roommate before Anthy.  She's very
energetic, given to body-tackling her friends.
        Everything went okay until we tried Anthy and Utena's curry.
There was an explosion, and I woke up in the infirmary.  However...well,
this is the point where it goes from unbelievable to downright impossible,
I woke up in Juri's body.  Yes, yes, I know, but would I say something
that ridiculous if it wasn't true?
        Naturally, Juri wound up in my body, and Utena and Anthy switched
minds with each other.  All very confusing, but our voices swapped as
well, making it easier to tell who was who.
        After that, most of the day went quietly as I tried to adjust to
being in a girl's body, but there was a fencing club meeting that Juri
had to attend, since she's the captain.  I can fence now! Though I'm not
sure if it's me, or being in Juri's body.
        Then we found out someone was selling pictures of the
mind-switched people in the cafeteria.  Utena accused Touga Kiryuu (the
Student Council president) of being behind our troubles, but his little
sister Nanami claimed responsibility instead.  Seems Touga wasn't too
thrilled about her little prank, so Nanami and some of her friends are
off to India to look for billion-strength Phantom Curry Spice in the hope
it will reverse the effect.
        In their absence, life goes on....

                         MA VIE ET ROSES
                by Scott Johnson and Scott K. Jamison

      (All characters and settings except Skyler Sands and the state of
Minnesota are the creation of Saito Chiho and BePapas.  Publishing rights
to "Shoujo Kakumei Utena" are held by Shogakukan and Terebi Tokyo in
Japan, and Central Park Media in the United States.  No challenge to
these rights is intended.)

      Chapter Three:  Maboroshi no Watashi ("My Phantom Self")

          o/~Have another, Have another, go ahead and have a
          second or a third; Sure 'tis good for heart and soul, go and
          have another bowl; You know my dishes better than my word!~\o

     Skyler chewed another bit of fruit as he once again checked the
recipe for Peach Cobbler in "Western Cooking Made E-Z."  While he was
normally confident in his cooking skills, after the surprises of the last
few days, it was best to follow the instructions *exactly.*
     Utena leaned over the stove and lifted the lid of a boiling pot,
immediately steaming up her glasses.  "Ack!  How does she cook in these
things?"
     "You learn to tilt the lid away from you."
     "Oh.  Right."  She returned to stirring her udon, sipping the broth
for a moment to check the taste.
     His reflection in one of the pans caught Skyler's eye.  With the
militaristic-looking jacket covered by one of Anthy's spare aprons, he
looked not exactly more female (Juri could hardly be mistaken for
otherwise), but more traditionally feminine.  He shuddered.  He could
probably stand being in Juri's body a little bit longer, but eventually it
was going to do some severe damage to his self-image.
     He sighed, and returned to the somewhat bawdy (and rather
disturbing) lyrics of "Polly Oliver's Problem."
     Anthy had offered to help in the kitchen, but Utena had been firm in
reminding her that this was her night off, regardless of which body she
was in.  So she and Juri were sitting in the lobby making conversation.
Although from what Skyler had seen, it was going to be rough sledding
between Juri's aloofness, and Anthy's refusal to initiate any line of
talk.
     [Place in oven for 30 minutes and...]  Skyler set the timer.  [On to
the salad.  Just chopping veggies, shouldn't be too hard.]
     "So," he asked, "who's the caped guy?"
     Utena looked up from her hesitant search of the spice rack.  "Huh?"
     "The one from the duel this morning.  The one who came down in a
beam of light from the `Castle of Illusion' and merged with your body, at
which point you suddenly turned from mouse to cat."
     "Oh, right."  She plucked out a vial of something and straightened.
"Actually, I wish I knew.  It's only happened to me twice now.  First
time, it was when I was about to lose--Saionji had me down and ready to
make the last cut, and then..."  She gazed at her hands distantly.  "My
ring just started glowing.  I felt...warm.  Comforted, somehow.  I could
smell roses..."  She shook her head slightly, snapping out of her
reverie.  "And then I was standing, and I just felt so *focused.*  I
didn't even think, I just moved...and when I came out of it, I'd not
only sliced off his rose, but cut his sword in half."
     "That sounds impressive."
     "You're telling me."  She shook her head.  "This time I managed to
catch a glimpse of that figure as it was coming down, but I couldn't
really see it too well.  A guy in a cape?"
     "Yes."  Skyler frowned in recall.  "A white uniform, and darkish
skin, I think, though it was very fast."
     Utena nodded, deep in thought.  "I wonder..."  She glanced up at
Skyler.  "It could have something to do with that 'Power to Revolutionize
the World' everyone's always talking about, I guess.  Or maybe whoever
Himemiya means by 'the Power of Dios.'  Or..."  She shook her head.
"Nah. It's silly."
     "Not necessarily..."
     "Well..."  She looked away, blushing a bit.  "When I was just a kid,
just after my parents died and I was just sort of feeling lost...there
was this prince."
     "A prince?  This does sound interesting."
     "Well, maybe not literally...I just remember a man on a white
horse comforting me, wiping away my tears, that sort of thing...and
saying we'd meet again."  She laughed slightly.  "To tell the truth, if
it weren't for this ring, I might've thought it was all just a dream."
    "You got your ring from him?  Must have been a big surprise when you
found out it suddenly had another meaning."
     "I'll say.  I still wonder what it all means.  Maybe the prince had
something to do with this place.  Or it could just be some weird sort of
destiny."  She shook her head.  "I tried asking Touga just what the deal
was, but...I dunno.  I still don't know what to make of him.  He's way
too smug about all this...like he thinks he's the only one who knows
what's going on.  I really don't know about him..."
     She glanced up to meet Skyler's gaze at the same moment the udon
boiled over.
     One quick, if flustered, save of the food later, Utena leaned back
against a cabinet, wiping her forehead.  "Sorry.  Must've gotten
distracted."  She slumped a little.  "I hate this."
     "You *did* volunteer to cook, ne?"
     "No, it's not that.  I just hate waiting around doing nothing like
this.  I mean, I'm in trouble, and so are some friends, and all I can
figure out to do about it is wait around for Nanami, of all people, to
ride in rescuing me.  I feel like I ought to be *doing* something, not
just sitting around cooking and waiting to be saved."
     "Ah.  You're the two-fisted type, then?"  [No big surprise,]
thought Skyler.
     "Sorta, yeah.  It's more that I can't stand just playing the part of
some princess hanging around in a tower until her prince comes and
rescues her."  She half-smiled.  "I'm more the type to be the prince
riding in to the rescue.  That's why this is driving me so nuts."
     "Well, there are a couple of other approaches that come to mind.  We
don't absolutely *know* it was the Phantom Spice, so we could try exposing
ourselves to another explosion.  Or we could see if any of the teachers is
secretly a mad scientist who has a spare mind-switching device in the
basement.  Or, for the truly action-oriented, there's the tried but true
method of running at each other full-tilt for a headbutt."
     Utena looked dubious.  "You read a lot of manga, don't you?"
     "Yes."  Skyler moved on to the carrots.  "We'll probably be able to
come up with better plans after a decent meal.  The body Arisugawa-san's
in hasn't eaten since last night."
     "Yeah, good point.  I don't think any of us had much breakfast,
after all that happened, and we hadda skip lunch, of course.  Maybe we'd
better make a little extra stuff..."  Her stomach grumbled slightly.
"Make that a lot."

     "It's ready!"  Skyler walked into the lounge, drying his hands on a
dish towel.  "It's all set up in the dining room, so whenever..."  He
trailed off.  "Where's Arisugawa-san?"
     Anthy smiled back up at him from where she was playing cards with
Chuchu.  "Arisugawa-sempai said she was going back to her room to pick up
a few things.  I hope it's not a problem."
     "I don't think so, we should be able to keep everything warm for a
few minutes."  [Okay, Juri has a room.  Probably wants a change of
clothes, I suppose.  I don't think she's going to be too happy when she
finds out I don't have any.  Unless my "luggage" finally showed....]

     "Looks like there's going to be a couple of minutes delay," he said,
popping back into the kitchen as Utena rummaged through the silverware
drawer.  Arisugawa-san's gone out to grab a few things from her room."
     "Really?  I thought it was kinda quiet out there," Utena commented,
pulling out another fork.
     "Well, with the two of them, that's not exactly a sign.  You have to
admit neither of them's all that talkative."
     "Yeah.  Anyway, it's sort of a lucky break--gives me a chance to
finish setting the table."  She peered at the silverware.  "I always
forget, does the knife go to the left of the spoon or the right?"
     "Left."  He picked up a basket of sliced bread and brought it out to
the dining room.  "Not bad, anyway," he added as he scrutinized the setup.
"I mean, it's not a Himemiya-level banquet, but I think we managed pretty
well for ourselves."
     "I hope so," Utena replied as she set out the silverware.  "Just as
long as everyone's happy."
     Skyler turned as he heard the front door close.  "Looks like we're
about to find out.  Pass me the napkins, would you?"

     Fortunately, the dinner seemed acceptable, though it was still a far
cry from Anthy's usual fare.  On the other hand, none of the food
exploded either, so perhaps it was for the best.
     [Good, I can still cook.  Won't know about driving unless someone
foolishly lets me use their car....]
     Skyler was the first to open the conversation, turning to Juri.
"The Student Council seems to be really important here.  They have their
own archive, their own rose garden...at Gunntown High, our Student
Council was lucky to get to choose the homecoming decoration colors.
Just how much autonomy does the administration let you have?"
      Juri raised an eyebrow.  "Let us have?"  She seemed...amused, for
some reason.
     Utena smiled.  "Way I hear it, it's more the other way around.
Seems like everyone at this school gives ground to the Student Council--
teachers included."
     Skyler blinked.  "Seriously?"
     Utena nodded.  "I mean, most of the teachers aren't used to people
standing up to them anyway--I've stared them down so much it's gotten
so they don't even bother hassling me about my uniform any more--but
it's like a whole new level where the Student Council's concerned."
     "Really?"  [Okay, that may explain Kyoto-sensei turning into a
sweaty mess when Juri just looked at him funny.]
     "In part, it's due to the fact that we are in many ways the school's
elite," Juri commented.  "Kiryuu Touga comes from a wealthy family, and
is a shrewd negotiator and quite popular with the young ladies."
     "The school's biggest playboy, you mean," Utena muttered.
     "Saionji is captain of the kendou club and only slightly less
popular," Juri continued, ignoring the interruption.  "Miki is quite
possibly the most academically gifted individual in the school, including
the professors.  I am captain of the fencing team.  We each have a good
deal of sway with certain segments of the school's population.  If we
ever had cause to draw together against the faculty..."  She shrugged
eloquently.  "It would be noticeable."
     "Hmm...back home, the only Student Council member with any real
power was the treasurer.  It was more a popularity contest, and a chance
to get that all-important 'student leadership' credit in your college
applications."  Skyler took a moment to actually eat.
     "Yeah, my old schools were mostly like that, too," Utena agreed.
"Mostly the council decided on dance decorations and that sort of thing.
Not like here at all."
     "You were perhaps expecting anything about Ohtori to be normal?"
Juri asked.
     "I probably shouldn't have," acknowledged Skyler.  "More salad?"
Juri nodded as he dished up another portion.
     "I gotta admit, this place gets weirder by the minute," Utena
sighed.  "I mean, even just counting today..."
     Skyler nodded.  "We've definitely jumped a few notches on the
surrealism scale.  Still, I guess we all just adapt well.  This sort of
thing could send some people running for the hills."
     "You get used to it after a while, I guess," Utena replied.  "Heck,
it's even kinda handy a little."  She smirked.  "I don't think Nanami's
pals are gonna be picking on Himemiya so much any more."
     "Oh?"  Juri raised an eyebrow.
     "Let's just say slapping someone around isn't so much fun when they
slap back."  Utena grinned.
     "Were they still at that?" asked Skyler a bit irritatedly.  [Yeesh.
Keiko and crew certainly aren't doing much to improve my opinion of them.]
     "Happens to Himemiya a lot, really.  Miki and Nanami've both caught
them in the act, and part of the reason I got into the whole duel thing
in the first place was to stop that jerk Saionji doing the same thing."
Utena shook her head in disgust.
     Anthy bowed her head.  "I'm really sorry to be such a bother."
     Utena slumped back frustratedly.  "Mou, Himemiya, I keep on telling
you you don't have to apologize for stuff like that!  It's not your
fault, really."
     "Really?"  Juri gazed out the window, contemplating.  "Some would say
that appearing meek and submissive is an invitation for others to test
and exploit that," she added conversationally.
     "And kicking puppies is good healthy fun.  `She makes a good target'
isn't a very good excuse for hitting someone.  Not that some people
really need an excuse."  Skyler briefly remembered painful incidents in
his own past.
    "I wasn't endorsing it.  But there are people out there who think that
way.  Better to be prepared than to ignore reality."
      "Guess I'm just glad to be able to be doing something," Utena
shrugged, eager to steer the topic back to where it had come from.
"Sitting around waiting to be rescued isn't exactly the role I was born
to."
     "Life rarely lets us play the role we want, Tenjou, no matter how
much we long for it," Juri said evenly, not looking at her.  "You may
find accepting that helps."
     "Sometimes you can improve your odds by accepting a larger
definition of the role.  How's that go, `They also serve who only stand
and wait'?"  Skyler gestured with his fork.  "And sometimes what you need
in life sneaks in while you're concentrating on something else."
     "As you say.  But many find that a hard lesson to learn."
     "Lord knows I'm still having problems with it."

     As Skyler started to clear the table, Anthy began piling dishes on
her side.  "I can do the washing up," she suggested mildly.
     Utena looked relieved for a moment, then tried to hide it.  "Well, I
kind of should, after all, I got a lot of this stuff dirty..."
     "Oh, I don't mind," replied Anthy, somehow managing her blissful
smile on what was normally Utena's face.
     The other girl was obviously feeling torn, so Skyler said, "If it
makes you happy, you can help me.  Tenjou-san could probably use the
extra study time."
     "Really?  I mean, if it's okay with you..."
     "It's no problem at all, Tenjou-san.  Trust me, I've done worse
loads than this."
     "Please, just 'Utena' is fine.  I've never bothered too much with
the whole 'san' and 'kun' and whatever business.  And thanks.  I do have
a lot of homework..."
     "Okay, Utena.  And y'all can call me Skyler, if you like."
     Utena grinned.  "Deal."

     Not surprisingly, Anthy (without ever being the least bit pushy
about it) was soon doing most of the work, with Skyler struggling to keep
up.  Chuchu seemed used to its mistress', no, wait, "friend's"
concentration level and amused itself with some soap bubbles.
     Skyler decided it was worth another try to get some info from the
quiet girl.  "So, when did you learn you could pull a sword out of your
torso?"
     "Oh, a long time ago."  Anthy gently put aside a dish and reached
for another to dry.  "I was so young I can barely remember."
     "Is it hereditary?  It's a very neat trick."
     She simply shrugged as Chuchu stuck his head out of the sink, frothy
bubbles clinging to his head and giving him the look of a near-simian
Santa Claus.  "It is a mystery, isn't it?"
     "You mean you don't actually know?"
     She smiled.  "Should I?"  She sounded simply curious, not concerned
at all.
     "It might be healthier to...."  [Wouldn't her parents have indicated
one way or another?  Unless she's an orphan too.]
     "I don't really worry about it.  It's what I've always done, and no
one really seems to mind."
     "Oh.  Okay..."  Skyler decided further pushing would be pointless.
At least until he got more supporting clues.
     "Chu-uuuu."  He scrubbed a plate as he idly watched Chuchu float
through the air in a soap bubble.  [There's something about her...
Either she knows a lot more than she's letting on and is an incredible
actress, or she's the most incredibly serene and passive person I've ever
seen, and that includes Kasumi.]
     "Are you liking Ohtori so far, Sands-sempai?" Anthy smiled.
     "Well, other than the obvious?  I think so.  There's certainly lots
of surprises, and I enjoy making new friends.  Even the little
personality mixup isn't so awful, if I just try to see the bright side."
     "I'm glad," she smiled.  "It's so nice having you around.  If
there's anything I can do to help you, just ask Utena-sama, and I'm sure
she'll say it's okay."
     "Chu-uuuuu."  Chuchu floated back the other way, having swallowed
the bubble without making it deflate.
     Skyler boggled slightly.  Every so often, he'd be reminded that this
was a cartoon reality, even if most things seemed to obey the laws of
physics.  "How'd you meet Chuchu?"
     "Oh, we've been friends a long time."  She held out a finger for
Chuchu to land on, and he let out a long gasp of air, deflating as he
clung to her hand.  "It seems so long ago, now."  She smiled as Chuchu
scampered up to her shoulder, and returned to washing dishes.

     Skyler sat down gratefully on the lower bunk as Juri glanced up from
the book she was reading.  She seemed to have started making herself at
home--there was a sports bag open on the desk, and he could just make out
some clothes packed inside.
    "A rather austere room you have here.  Pleasant, in its way."
    "Not really my choice, I'm afraid.  However I really got here,
personal possessions weren't part of the deal."
     Skyler took his English book off of the shelf.  "Anyway, I'd better
get started studying some English.  If I don't start working on it
there'll be some awkward situations coming up, I'm sure, and I wouldn't
want to drag your grades down if Nanami doesn't show up soon."
     "As you like.  I'll be sure to watch for your more blatant errors,"
she said, returning her gaze to the book.
     Skyler began the day's homework, starting with the pronunciation
guide.  He *should* know all this, but somehow it always seemed
tantalizingly just out of his memory's grasp.  Once in a while he'd
stumble across one phrase or another that bubbled up out of his
subconscious, as part of a quote or a catchphrase he'd heard a lot, but
when he looked away and tried to bring it to mind again, it was gone.  An
incredibly frustrating experience, to say the least.
     "Future tense, not present," Juri said without looking up from her
book.  Skyler jumped slightly, startled, as he realized he'd been
murmuring to himself.  "And be more careful of your pronouns.  English
requires them more frequently."
     "Ah...thanks," he replied with embarrassment.  The offending
sentence was slowly corrected, and Skyler gave the page one more scan.
He thought it *looked* correct.  "Uff da mega," he sighed.  He looked up,
rubbing his temples.  "By the way, do you know if there's an archery
range anywhere at Ohtori?"
     "The kyudou club generally meets in the gym or just outside, setting
up targets as appropriate.  I'll show you tomorrow."  Juri's eyes flicked
momentarily to the crossbow on the desk.
     "Thanks."
     Skyler quickly finished the other homework, then set it aside to
stretch.  He noticed that he was getting awfully tired.  [Well, Juri
exerted herself a lot this morning, and it has been an awfully long day.]
He glanced over at his guest to see how she was doing.
     Juri met his gaze as she placed a bookmark in her book.  "Tired?"
     "Just a bit.  I'm thinking of getting some sleep soon."
     She nodded and stood, placing the book to one side on the desk.
"Tomorrow's a Saturday, so there's little chance of any awkward
situations in class.  I'd appreciate you trying not to make too much of a
spectacle of yourself if anything arises, though."  She began undoing her
shirt casually.  "Perhaps with a good night's sleep we'll be able to
think on all that's happened more clearly."
     "I sure hope so."  [Well, now I know what day it is...that means I
arrived on a Wednesday.  `Wednesday's child has far to go.']  "You want
top bunk or lower?"
     "Whichever you aren't using," she replied, slipping off her shoes
and removing her pants, leaving her in boxers and undershirt.  The sheer
casualness of it was slightly disconcerting to Skyler--it wasn't as if
he hadn't seen himself undressing before, or even other guys, in gym and
the service, but there was still something vaguely surreal about seeing
it from the outside.  Not to mention the fact that, on some level, his
brain kept reminding him it was Juri who was actually disrobing before
him.
     "Um, right, you have lower bunk then."  Skyler took off his shoes,
then swung himself to the upper bunk.  He briefly thought about getting
undressed, then decided to just unbutton the shirt a little.  [After all,
I slept fully clothed last night, no harm done.]
     "There's a nightgown in the bag," Juri commented as she slid into
the lower bunk.  "I do hope you weren't planning on getting my uniform
wrinkled."
     "Umm, no."  Skyler swung down from the bunk, and approached the bag,
much like one approaches a dog one is not sure is friendly.
     If Juri had been a less reserved person, she might have been palming
her face.
     "You'll need to deal with this at some point," Juri noted.  "I
wouldn't enjoy gaining a reputation for not taking showers, for instance,
for however long this lasts.  As it is, you're fortunate you stayed
relatively clean in fencing."
     "Shower.  Right.  Good idea."  Skyler looked into the bag, pulled
out the nightgown, then snagged the towel from the closet.  "Be back
shortly."

     "Well," a noticeably redder Skyler commented as he brushed out his
hair at the wooden desk, "as long as I kept looking straight ahead of me
and didn't actually think about what I was doing, I was more or less able
to avoid nosebleeds."
     From the bed, Juri regarded him with amusement.  "It's always
interesting to see cultural differences in action, isn't it?"
     "What do you mean?" Skyler asked as he turned towards her, tugging
his nightgown closed a bit more--it was rather thinner than he'd like,
completely aside from the fact that it was a bit frilly.
     "I can't say for sure, of course, but I think you're taking this
rather harder than most people would.  I'd heard America was rather of a
split mind on such things as nudity, of course, but..."
     "I was raised to have a lot of body modesty.  I've gotten used to
nudity and sexual images in the media, it's pretty much inescapable
(especially if you like anime), but it's different in person.  Like the
difference between seeing snow on TV, and having it fall on you, like one
fellow from Miami Beach I knew."
     Juri nodded, rolling onto her back.  "And to be fair, the new body
doubtless intensifies the matter.  Today certainly has been an...
experience."
     "It has indeed.  Ready for lights out?"
     "Yes."
     Skyler flipped the switch, then realized that climbing up to the
upper bunk would be a little...trickier...in the nightgown.  [Oh, modesty
be damned,] he thought, and scrambled up.
     [God, thank you for helping me get through this day, and give me
strength to carry on if this doesn't reverse overnight.  But *please*
could you get me out before "that time of the month"?  Much appreciated.]

     *Thunk*
     Skyler lowered the crossbow and looked towards the arrow sticking
out of the bull's-eye, just a few finger widths from each of the other
three. He let out a low whistle.  "Wow.  Haven't gotten a shot grouping
like that in a long time.  Especially not on my first try with a new
weapon."
     Juri nodded.  "You have a knack, it seems."
     He groaned slightly, brushing a lock of hair out of his eye.  "Seems
I'm discovering a lot of new knacks lately.  I'm just waiting for the
other shoe to drop."
      "It will happen in its own time, if it does at all," Juri shrugged.
"I'd call the present more important just now."
     Skyler glanced around.  The kyudou club, dressed in the archery
outfits that always looked so curiously medieval to Skyler, were watching
from the sidelines, half in admiration for his (or rather Juri's)
prowess, half in scorn for using a crossbow rather than a 'real' bow.
Back towards the gym, a small group of...'fangirls' was the best word he
could think of for them...were watching, cheering, and giggling as they
watched 'Juri' practice and 'Skyler' aid 'her.'
     Unfortunately, at least from his perspective, Skyler was in even
less of a position than usual to take advantage of the female attention,
so he did his best to imitate Juri's cool exterior.  It had taken him
some time that morning to achieve that, having woken up half-screaming,
half giggling.  Juri had taken it somewhat better, if dourly--the fact
it hadn't been a dream didn't seem to thrill her, and being awakened by
his hysterics hadn't helped.
     He returned his attention to the field, checking to make sure no one
was shooting at the moment, then went downrange to retrieve his bolts.
[Best to just reuse a few, I think.]
     "More practice, then?" Juri asked as he returned.
     "It's probably best if I get as good with this thing as possible.  I
don't plan to get involved with this duel game, and I'll do my best to
avoid it, but with the way things are going, I wouldn't put money on
being able to avoid it forever.  One way or another, I might get sucked
in--and if I'm going to be aiming for a target the size of a rose, pinned
to a human body, and a moving target at that, I don't want to leave much
to chance.  I can't tug back an arrow if I see it's going to go through
someone's heart."
     Juri nodded.  "Sensible.  Skill is never a poor replacement for
luck."  She watched as an arrow hit home on the target.  "It does seem
unlikely you'll stay out of the arena forever.  Miki and I once tried...
but in the end, we were both drawn in."  She shook her head.  "Once one
has seen the castle...turning away is all but impossible."
     "You mentioned rules, once.  Is there a rulebook I could consult?"
     She shook her head.  "There aren't many rules, if you can even call
them that.  The Victor must accept all challenges.  The duels are one on
one.  The first to have their rose scattered, loses.  Whoever is the
Victor may do as he wills with the Bride.  That's all.  Nothing else
would seem to be disallowed."
     "I was *wondering* why a crossbow would be allowed."
    "There seems to be nothing explicit against it.  I'll admit it comes
as a slight surprise, though."
     "Must be some sort of time limit, I suppose, or are we all expected
to be doing this for life?"
     She shrugged.  "No one knows yet.  Supposedly someday the Castle
will descend to the Arena and grant the Victor of the Duel the Power to
Revolutionize the World.  Supposedly.  There's been no indication of
when, of course, and the barest hints what this 'power' might be."
     "Depends on how long we keep our patron amused, I guess."
     "Entirely possible."
     "How many known contestants are there, anyway?"
     "You've met all but one, I believe.  The four of us on the Student
Council, Tenjou, and yourself.  You'll likely run across Saionji sooner
or later."  *Thunk*  Skyler walked to the target to retrieve the arrows,
which he'd clustered in a triangle.
     "So, what are your plans for the rest of the afternoon?  I don't
want you to neglect the rest of your life just because you've gotten
stuck with me."
     "Generally I go into the town on Saturdays.  It's a good day for
shopping, and there are other amusements there if you like.  Bookshops,
restaurants, sporting facilities...whatever strikes one's fancy."
        *Thunk*  Another triangle.  Skyler reached into the case for a
few more arrows.
     "Hmm...my `sponsor' also didn't include cash in the list of things
to come with me...wait, it just occurred to me that there might be an
account for me at the bursar's office.  Unlikely, but it's worth looking
into."  [Wonder how long it's going to be before someone wants me to do
the apple trick?]
     "A possibility.  Though between Himemiya cooking for you and
lodgings and clothes being provided, there's little you need money for as
such, aside from recreation."  *Thunk*  Another triangle, interlocked
with the first to form an equilateral hexagon around the center of the
bull's-eye.  Juri gazed at it in thought.
     "I doubt I'll be improving on that today.  I did want to check out a
shop called Manga Jungle, just to confirm some suspicions."
     She nodded.  "I know where that is.  I have a few errands around
that area in any case."  *Thunk*  Another arrow, dead center in the
bull's-eye.  He pulled out one final arrow and loaded it in.  As he did
so, he caught a glimpse of motion out of the corner of his eye--Utena and
Anthy, walking by the side of one of the buildings.  He waved for a
moment, and they waved back as they walked in.
     "Sounds like a plan."  He took careful aim, and
     *CRACK*  The central arrow split neatly down the middle, scattering
wisps of fletching everywhere.
     The giggling girls watching from afar burst into cheers at this,
much to the consternation of the watching kyudou club members.  Juri
simply nodded once.
     "Very nice.  Shall we go?"
     "Right after I fetch the bolts.  Neat, but a trick I shouldn't
repeat too often."
     Skyler manfully resisted grinning and waving at the girls, after all
that would be breaking character.
     As they left, he said, "That felt good, if not quite right."
     "Hmm?"
     "I really haven't had people cheering for me before.  It's very
gratifying.  But it's not precisely me they're cheering, is it?"
     She shrugged.  "It's your skill, though.  And I doubt you've made
only friends."  She gestured towards where the kyudou team was practicing,
rattled enough to miss more than half their shots.  A couple of them
looked over at the pair with dour or exhausted looks.
     "Uh-oh.  Well, if bad feelings persist, I think I can smooth over
things a bit later.  `A soft answer turns away anger' or however it
goes."  He snapped the crossbow's case closed and picked it up.  "I
suppose I should be more relaxed about it.  I'm young, healthy and
extremely good-looking at the moment.  That can't be all bad."
     Either the flattery inherent in the statement went right by Juri, or
she pointedly ignored it.  "You'll find down sides to it.  With 'my'
newfound approachability, I'd not be surprised if a boy or two worked up
the nerve to ask you out.  Not, I think, something you'd fancy?"
     "No, but it shouldn't be too hard to turn them down."  [Girls never
had any trouble doing it to me, after all.]  "And I did say not *all*
bad, which implies some hitches."
     Juri nodded.  "Yes."
     They turned a corner, quieter now.  Music echoed in Skyler's head as
he mused upon the day.  [o/~For the taste on the tongue of stolen sweets,
you must pay the price.  Tangle with Don Juan an--~\o]
     "Good afternoon, sempai!" Anthy smiled.
     "Himemiya-san!  Hi," Skyler replied, stopping his progress down the
open walkway.  "What are you doing all alone out here?"
     "Saionji-sempai wanted to speak to her in private.  He wanted to
prove his love for me again."
     Skyler blinked.  "Prove... his love?"  Something sounded slightly
wrong about that.
     The temporarily pink-haired girl nodded.  "He didn't want me to come
with them, so I didn't."  She smiled, radiant in the sunlight and
shadows, just as Skyler and Juri's ears picked out a somewhat muffled
female 'kyaaa!'   "Is that all right, do you think?"
     Skyler didn't reply, having already taken off in the direction of
the shriek.  There was only one door it could have come from.

     Skyler burst through the door into what looked like a disused PE
equipment storage room.  Stacks of hurdles, low gymnastics steps, and
other equipment blocked the light from the windows, sending the room into
a dusty dimness.  In the center of the room, a tall young man with wavy
green hair, strikingly handsome in his way, stood with his Student
Council uniform's shirt half-unbuttoned, and a book of some sort in his
hand.  Backed up against a stack of steps, Utena looked over at Skyler
with an expression that was half relief, half disbelieving bemusement.
     The green-haired young man looked over at Skyler with annoyed
disdain.  "Arisugawa.  Why are you of all people bursting in upon my
private affairs now?"
     Skyler took a moment to think.  [He doesn't know about the switches,
or it hasn't connected yet.  Book, unbuttoned shirt...Utena must've
thought he was pulling something else out.]
     Aloud, "If her scream carries, it's not private."  Before the man,
presumably the much-mentioned Saionji, could reply, Skyler turned to
Utena.
     "Is the threat to read love poetry truly that awful?"
     "I didn't...it's just...he was saying...and then..." Utena stammered
with a finger pointed at Saionji's half-bared chest, obviously trying to
regain her mental footing.
     "It is none of your business what we do with our exchange diary,"
Saionji scowled at Skyler.  "A man and a woman in love expressing it to
each other, even secretly...not even your loveless heart could find fault
with that."
     [Oh, an exchange diary...like in Marmalade Boy.]
     "Hearts can change, or at least minds can.  But I seem to have
misjudged the situation."  Skyler turned to Utena again.  "You'll be all
right then?"  He said it as if expecting that "Anthy" would be.
     "Well...yeah, I guess," Utena concurred.  "I just didn't expect...!"
     Saionji nodded with satisfaction.  "Then there is nothing to object
to.  I..."  He broke off, features darkening, as he looked through the
doorway.  "Of course.  I should have known."
      Skyler turned to see Juri and Anthy entering the room, to be met,
particularly in Anthy's case, with Saionji's glare.
     "I should have known it was your influence that confused my love so
and moved Arisugawa against me," he said to 'Utena.'  "But our love is
strong enough to overcome your dark trickery."  He turned to Utena,
pressing the exchange diary into her hands.
     "Take this, my love," he said, grasping her hands and looking
soulfully into her eyes.  "And know we shall be together again someday."
     [This dialogue sounds awfully familiar for some reason.]  Noticing
that Saionji was preparing to leave, Skyler discreetly moved so he
wouldn't be directly in the green-haired boy's path.
     Saionji buttoned up his shirt and strode dignifiedly from the room,
not even sparing a glance at Skyler, either the mind or the body.
     "`What we have here is a failure to communicate.'  Remind me not to
try witty banter on him again."  Skyler scratched his chin, or at least
his current chin.
      "Are you all right, Utena-sama?" Anthy asked cheerfully.  Utena
seemed to snap out of her stunned reverie.
     "Huh?  Yeah, I guess.  Just I'd been hoping not to have to deal with
that jerk like this."  She looked at the book curiously. "I didn't know
you two kept an exchange diary."
     "Saionji-sempai asked me to start when I was his Bride, and you
never asked me to stop, Utena-sama.  So I've kept on doing it," she
smiled.
     Skyler was naturally curious about the thick green volume, but
reminded himself firmly that it was, after all, private.  "Since the
emergency's over, I'll be seeing you folks later, okay?"
     Utena blinked and glanced over to him.  "Oh, sure, sempai.  Sorry to
get you worried.  I just didn't think..."  She shrugged.
     "He was pulling out something relatively harmless?  Wouldn't have
been my first guess either."
     "Yeah.  Anyway, have fun!"
     Juri, leaning against the wall, nodded as he exited.  "Your heroic
urges are satisfied, I take it?"
     "One of these days, I'll do the `white knight' thing...and someone
will actually be impressed, after which I'll faint in surprise."  Skyler
smiled ruefully.
     "You'll have a long wait.  There seems to be a surplus of 'princes
on white horses' these days."
     "Which rather makes up for the shortage of them back home, I guess."
     Juri gave a half-shrug.  "Perhaps."  For some reason, the thought
didn't seem to precisely appeal to her.

     Skyler had to admit, the city was beautiful in the daylight.  Some
of the architecture was the modern glass-and-steel-skyscraper style, but
far more of it was the same white pseudo-classical style used for the
Academy itself, and there were a few buildings in styles he couldn't even
begin to identify--a sportswear shop built much like the sharply-angled
prow of a sinking ship, a police station with a blue spire that reminded
him of nothing so much as a British policeman's helmet, and more.
     "I like this town," Skyler commented.  "So far I've seen a
bookstore, a theater, a concert hall, two teahouses..."
     "Three, in fact."  Juri glanced to the side of the street.  "And,
for other tastes, a stadium, a video arcade, a bowling alley..."
     "Bowling?" Skyler raised an eyebrow.  "Doesn't sound like something
you'd notice."
     "Just being thorough.  I have no way to know your preferred
hobbies."
     "Well, I'm not very good at bowling, or video games...the last time
I checked, anyway.  But I still like to do them every so often."
      She nodded.  "In any case, we're here."  She turned and walked into
the narrow doorway of Manga Jungle, and Skyler followed.
      Skyler's first impression was that it wasn't much of a store--he'd
lived in larger bedrooms.  The cashier's counter and a central display of
new magazines took up most of the floor space, though the walls were
shelved ceiling-to-floor with tankoubons of various sorts.  There was a
broad variety, but not nearly as much as he'd have expected.  [Kind of
disappointing, really.  A place like this in the homeland of anime...wait
a sec...are those stairs?]
     He looked at a sign on the wall near the back.  [Second floor, older
series...Third floor, audio and video...Fourth floor, merchandise and
American comics...okay, I'm a bit more impressed now.]
     "Irrashaimase!" the girl behind the counter smiled.
     "Hi!"  Skyler smiled back.  He scanned the room again to get his
bearings.  "Different arrangement, this.  I'm used to larger single-story
places."
     "Even outside the larger cities, land isn't cheap," Juri replied.
"Often four stories of building on a small lot are many times cheaper
than a single story four times as large."  She ran a finger down a row of
tankoubon and picked one out.
     "That makes sense."  Skyler looked at the new issues section first,
mostly to find out the month and week.  [Late May?  Makes sense, I
guess... it feels a bit like spring.]  He glanced at the covers, looking
for something to jump out at him, but while a few names--Shounen Sunday,
Nakayoshi, Shounen Jump -- were recognizable, he didn't catch any
familiar titles trumpeted among the eye-catching cover art.
     There were a lot of series he didn't recognize in the tankoubon
section, too, but that didn't really signify anything, as he'd never seen
more than a fraction of the available material in American stores.  The
usual suspects were there, of course.  Takahashi, Takeuchi, Tezuka was
missing but was probably in the older series section upstairs...
     Skyler scanned the Takahashi titles for volumes of _Ranma 1/2,_ but
came up empty-handed.  [A bunch of Inu-Yasha, but no Ranma?  Hmm.  Maybe
it's upstairs too.]  He considered, looking over the shelves.  [When did
Ranma end, anyway?  Early '96, wasn't it?  Looking at it that way, I
guess it does count as an older series over here...  Weird to think of it
like that, though.]
     He browsed through the titles.  [It also doesn't leave me with a lot
of familiar stuff here.  Considering the lag time between Japanese and
American fandoms, I'm lucky to recognize as many of the names as I do.]
     "See anything you like?" Juri asked, replacing her volume and
selecting another seemingly at random.
     "Most of these are new to me...do you know which artist does `Wild
Half'?"  He'd seen that in Shounen Jump the last time Dreamhaven had
gotten in a few issues.  As far as he knew, it was still running.
     "No.  I can't say I follow these things closely."  She set the manga
aside.  "You could try finding it in an anthology, I suppose."
     "I'm mostly familiar with the titles that got turned into anime over
the last decade or so.  Mostly I like SF and comedy, but I've enjoyed a
variety of stuff.  Used to get ribbed because I liked some of the girls'
shows.  This was back before Sailor Moon made the crossover, of course."
     A small frown turned down the corners of her mouth.  "Has it?  I
hadn't heard."
     [Not a fan, obviously.]  "No reason you would have.  I guess the
special effects and short skirts are what brought in the American boys.
Have I mentioned how grateful I am your uniform comes with trousers?"
     "I'd guessed."  While her face was still determinedly neutral as she
browsed, he could hear a bit of amusement in her voice--or was it
contempt?  [Something's rubbing that girl the wrong way.  Or it could be
she's just unsympathetic--I'll bet she's had to wear skirts before.]
     "Still, it's a fairly good story, when you get right down to it,
beyond all the glitz and short skirts."
     She shook her head.  "That show...struck a poor note with me when I
was young.  A combination of too-aggressive marketing and an infuriatingly
naive heroine, I suppose," she responded mildly.
     "Un.  So, what sort of thing do you like?"
     "In anime?  Very little.  I prefer that which provokes thought, and
there's little enough of that in any medium."  She scanned the titles
along the wall with a critical eye, then turned towards the door.
      Skyler blinked, looking up from the tankoubon he was holding.
"Leaving so soon?"
      "Come find me when you're ready to return.  I'll be across the
street, two doors down."  And with that, she was gone.

     Skyler got an idea.  [As surreal as Ohtori is, it's worth a
shot....]  He asked the counter woman, "Excuse me, but is there a manga
with `Utena' in the title?  Maybe the word `Revolution' too?  Don't know
the creator..."
     "Hmm... I don't know," she said, glancing down at a few papers in
front of her.  "Do you know the magazine it first appeared in?
Or--wait!"  She shuffled through the pile.  "Here's something.  We do have a
few volumes of Hiwatari Saki's 'Mirai no Utena' upstairs.  Could that be it?"
     "Could be."  ['The Future Utena?'  Doesn't sound like it, but...]
"Thanks."
     Skyler went up the stairs to the next cramped room, where many more
of the titles looked familiar.  [Lessee...should be right about here.
'Akuma-kun,' 'Please Save My Earth,' ah, here it is.]  He pulled a volume
off the shelf.  [Offhand, I'd say this isn't it.]  He flipped through the
pages.  [No Ohtori, no Duelists, and the style's completely unfamiliar.
Not bad, really, but it's not this show.  Guess it was just an off
chance.]
     Skyler put back the comic and started looking for the traditional
otaku favorites.  [Now, over here...aha!  Ranma at last.]  He picked up
one of the later volumes and flipped through it on a whim.  [Ah, Akari
and Ryouga's lake date.  And the ever-elusive Konatsu, and...is that
Ukyou?]  He looked through her appearances with surprise.  [You know, I
never realized just how distinctive a Kansai accent really was.  Fairly
nice, actually, if a bit rough.  And it sure adds texture, at least--
gives her her own voice.]
     It really did make a difference, being able to read the language,
though the storyline didn't seem to have changed any from the volume he
had at home.  [Thinking about accents, I wonder what sort I have?  Do I
sound American, or like a generic TV announcer?]   "Testing, testing," he
murmured curiously.  "Check one, check two.  And now here's Skyler Sands
with the news."  [Sounds pretty much like textbook Tokyo Standard
dialect.  Then again, if I'm getting the pronunciations off a bit, I
might not be able to tell.  At least there's nothing blatantly foreign
about it.]
     He moved on to another manga whose protagonist he could identify
with at the moment, Futaba-kun Change!  [So that's the plotline, eh?]  He
flipped a few pages.  [Just a little ecchi in parts...  but still,
interesting.  I doubt Juri would take well to having her body used as an
idol singer....]
     The next half-hour was whiled away pleasantly enough, reading and
making interesting discoveries.  It was fascinating how many more
characters than he'd expected had non-standard dialects or characteristic
speech patterns--everything from the expected-but-still-odd roughness of
Ranma's conversation to the surprising not-quite-Kansai country accent
attributed to Mizuhara Makoto.
     [I'll definitely have to come back some time when I have money.]
Skyler looked longingly at the staircase up to even more goodies, but
decided he should save something for later.
     He nodded to the sales clerk on his way out, hands visible to show
he wasn't buying anything, and stepped out into the street.  The bright
sun made him blink.  [Now, lessee, across street and two doors down is...
Hmm.  Either an arcade or some sort of restaurant, depending on the
direction.  Would have helped if she'd specified.]  He looked at the
gleaming glass front of the arcade, then at the burnished wood facade of
the tea house, echoing faintly with what sounded like Bach to Skyler's
untrained ears.  [Let's see, if I were Juri...no, wait, I *am* Juri right
now.  Okay, if she were...no, I mean, if we...oh, heck with it.  I'll just
try the arcade.  Even if it's crowded, the uniform is distinctive enough
I should be able to spot if she's there.]
     He also remembered she'd specifically mentioned it, so Juri might be
a semi-regular customer.
     "Arisugawa-kun!  Good to see you!"
     [Guess I was spot on there.]
     Skyler nodded to the man behind the counter, trying to keep Juri's
impassive expression on his face.  The man just smiled.  "We've finally
got word on that new fighter you were asking about.  Rumor has it the
release date is going to be mid-next month.  I'll keep you posted."
     "Thank you," Skyler murmured as he made his way into the forest of
machines.  [So, where would she be?]  He glanced around at the flocking
teens, most in Ohtori uniforms.  [Knowing her, she'd be in the middle of
a crowd of gawkers she couldn't care less about.  Maybe over there...]
     He gently made his way through a cluster of students gathered around
a fighting game, which wasn't too hard once the students recognized him,
and was confronted with the sight of himself playing a Street
Fighter-esque game with ease and flair.
     "Wow!" he heard one girl whispering to another as Juri executed a
dazzling combo.  "He's almost as good as Juri-sempai!"
     "I know, I know!  D'you think she's gonna challenge him?"
     "Maybe.  I haven't seen... There she is!"
     [Oops.  Failed to take her celebrity into account...hope the crowd
isn't *too* thirsty for blood.]  He tried to edge his way towards Juri
without attracting too much attention -- a futile effort, he knew, but he
tried.
     "You seem to have something of a fan club," he murmured as Juri
finished off the computer's character.
     Juri nodded disinterestedly.  "You'll doubtless have something of a
reputation when this is done.  Do you indulge?"
     "Not very well, to the best of my knowledge.  Mind you, I've been
wrong about these things before...."
     She frowned slightly.  "If you want to challenge me, do it soon.  I
plan to make this my last game."  This last came in a voice just loud
enough for the crowd to hear, sending a ripple of surprised and excited
whispers through the spectators.
     "What the hey?  Let's go for it.  I might last a round or two."
     Juri nodded and handed Skyler a hundred-yen piece, which he fitted
into the slot on the empty side of the machine.  There were surprised
mutters from the crowd, which both the players ignored.
     The character selection screen came up, and Skyler scanned it.
[Hmm, cutesy schoolgirl, over-muscled he-man, deformed monstrosity...no
matter who I pick, it's psychologically suspect.  Ah well, random choice
it is.]  He shut his eyes, jiggled the joystick a couple of times, and
hit the select button.  [And my choice is...a cybernetic angel?  Well,
not entirely inappropriate.  Better than some, certainly.]
     He watched as the screen shifted to a ruined cathedral.  Among the
toppled pillars, a dour, dark-haired youth in a vaguely military, vaguely
scholastic uniform unfolded himself from a crouch and looked to the sky.
     *Kimaru*, the voice of the computer intoned.
     The scene twisted to a gap in the roof of the cathedral as a beam of
golden light shone down from the heavens.  Down the beam rode a tall,
blond, smirking man of metal, spreading wings that drew the golden light
into them--wings of wires and steel.
     *Metatron.*
     Skyler took a moment to study the lists of moves posted on the
console.  Nothing too out of the ordinary in the controls at least.
Hopefully Juri would give him a few moments to get his bearings.
      *Round One!  Go!*
      ...or not.

     Kimaru was *fast*.  He was on Metatron immediately with a jab, kick,
and jab followed by a 'Knuckle Bomber' punch, scoring "first blood" and
"four combo" points. Fortunately, Metatron seemed able to take the
damage.  Skyler finally managed to make it do a wing buffet to knock the
other character away, and followed up with a "Holy Lance" (ranged energy
attack).
     After that, the round was a little more even, as Skyler discovered
his hand/eye coordination was definitely improved.  But his lack of
experience with the game showed quickly, as he misjudged Metatron's range
for attacks twice, allowing Kimaru to get in close again and do a neat
looking legsweep followed by a suplex that reduced Metatron's health to
zero.
     *Kimaru wins.*
     Was that the hint of a smile on Juri's face?
     Round two went better for Skyler, as he knew a bit more about the
characters' strengths now.  Metatron was slower, but stronger and had
superior leaping ability (no doubt due to the wings), with a decent
reach, while Kimaru was faster and good at combination moves, but more
physically fragile.
     He was able to figure out a fairly good strategy, and was rewarded
by seeing Kimaru fall to the "Seeker Feather" (missiles from the wings)
attack.
     *Metatron wins.*
     The crowd was obviously hanging on every move now, though Skyler
blocked out the words to concentrate on the game.  As the scene reset, a
pink goldfish swam across the screen behind the characters, seemingly in
midair.  [That looks awfully familiar.]
     [Let's try to take her off-guard,] he thought as the round began.
He quickly launched into a flying charge, energy gathering around
Metatron's wings as he shot towards Kimaru's position.  [She's not even
moving...]
     *WHAM*
     Metatron bounced off the edge of the screen.  [What the...]  Juri
had done *something* as Metatron was about to hit, and Kimaru had grabbed
Metatron, swung around with the momentum, and let Metatron's own force
slam him into the wall.
     She'd been in a good position to hit him when he was down, but she'd
done nothing more.  Metatron's health was down a little, but not enough
to hurt more than Skyler's pride.  [Pretty sneaky.  Let's try a Razor
Wing...]
     *WHAM*
     Metatron bounced off of the opposite wall, collapsing to the ground
this time.  [That was painful.]  This time, though, Juri didn't stop.  A
jab, a kick, another jab as Kimaru's hand gathered the energy for a
Knuckle Bomber.
     But she stopped.  The Knuckle Bomber flared into nothingness mere
pixels away from Metatron's face as Kimaru pulled the punch.
     *Mercy Stop.*  Kimaru's Will Meter (this game's super move power
source) rose dramatically, as did the background chatter.  Obviously the
enthralled onlookers were surprised 'Skyler' had been able to pull the
move off.
     The kid gloves were off now, on both sides.  Juri was clearly in her
element now, and though Skyler was getting reasonably good, he was on the
defensive most of the time.  Not all of the time--a few solid hits sent
Kimaru reeling--but he wasn't sure it would make a difference.
     [Wait.  There.]  Juri was setting up another combo, he could tell--
an aerial pattern he'd seen before.  But he'd seen the weakness last time
--if he could get a hit in at just the right angle from beneath....
     His Will Meter was full.  It was time to go for it.
     The screen flashed and crackled with lightning as Metatron raised
his hands to the sky as if in supplication.  Radiant energy cascaded down
in a pillar around Metatron, its pure light and thrashing thunder
disintegrating all around it.  (Skyler felt the destruction of the rubble
on the ground was a nice touch.)  The voice of the machine rang out
again, with extra depth and power: *Divine Wrath.*  A wave of electricity
swept across the ground as four arcs of force shot out and upwards, one
directly on a collision course with the arcing Kimaru.
     One of the watchers yelled "Finish him!"  The hollow sound of a
juice can hitting a head immediately followed.
     And then the screen flashed again.  *No Justice.*  Kimaru stopped in
the air for a moment, unfolding into a pose of strength as the arc of
holy wrath brushed past, only a pixel away.  Then Kimaru darted down,
foot extended, towards Metatron's position, connecting through the energy
field with a kick to the jaw.  The holy light dissipated as Kimaru
launched a fast, furious, and brutal combination.
     *Kimaru wins.  Total Victory.*
     Almost the entire arcade burst out into applause as Kimaru turned
his back, looking down as the wind ruffled his hair.

     Skyler stretched as he stepped out into the light.  "Ah! That was
invigorating.  Good game."
     Juri nodded as she set forth.  "You play well.  It's been a while
since I had a decent challenge."
     "Glad to oblige."  Skyler let his gaze wander over the skyline,
taking in the beautiful, rambling clutter of buildings and spires.  "So,
where to now?  You got any more shopping to do?"
     "Not at all.  There's other business to be dealt with."
     "Other business?"
     "Student Council business.  It seems the President wants a word with
you...."

     Skyler stepped slowly into the empty elevator.  It was an
old-fashioned  manual model, he noticed, with hand-closed ironwork gates
and a full-length window in the back, looking out over campus and the
city beyond.  [Nice...but I have to wonder just what I'm getting myself
into.] He moved to the back, resting a hand against the window as he
looked into the blue sky beyond.  Somewhere in the distance, he heard a
student practicing the organ as he watched a flock of doves fly over the
sparkling water of the ocean.  The door clattered behind him as Juri
pulled it closed and the elevator's motor started.
     "If the chicken does not break the egg's shell, it will die without
hatching."
     Skyler jumped in surprise.  [Who said that?]  He looked to his
right, where Juri was leaning against the wall, arms crossed.  It hadn't
sounded like her....
     "We are the chicken.  The world is the egg."
     He turned to the left.  Miki was standing there, one hand against
the wall, looking out the window in perfect silence.
     "If we do not break the world's shell, we will die without being
born."
     Skyler turned all the way towards the front of the elevator.  There
stood Touga, looking past him into the distant sky.  He spoke once more.
"Break the world's shell..."
     There was a rumbling and clattering as the elevator rose into
darkness and the doors opened.  Three voices said as one, "...in order to
Revolutionize the World!"
     Skyler took half a step back as his eyes adjusted.  He could just
make out a vast unlit room, taking up an entire floor of the central
tower, lined with hanging red drapes.  At the other end, an archway stood
under a huge stained-glass window, crafted in the shape of a rose signet.
Silhouetted in the archway, against the blue sky, he could just make out
the shape of a small table, with three figures seated around it, intent
on something on the surface.
     Touga looked across the room at him and smiled.  "Come in."
     [Wait a minute.  Weren't they all just in the elevator with me a
moment ago?  How'd they get over there so fast?]  Skyler took a quick
look down at the floor to verify it was solid, and to clear his head.
The floor reflected enough light to assure him, so he raised his face and
walked over to the table.
     The balcony was huge--larger than Skyler's room, or in fact his
entire apartment in the old world.  Steps divided the edge from a raised
entry section, and the white floor was inlaid with a pale rose design.
Across the campus, the forest of the duels was clearly visible past the
sporting fields, directly in a line of sight with the archway. Juri,
Touga, and Miki sat around a table with cards arrayed in a ten by ten
square, with a fourth chair lying vacant.
     [Tarot?  If it is, it's a complex layout.]
     "So," Touga said, "the time comes that we meet formally at last.
You've been quite the curiosity, you know."  He flipped over two cards,
revealing solid colors on the other side--one red, one violet.  He
flipped them back face down.
     [Oh, Concentration of some sort.]
     "So I've noticed.  Pleased to meet you."
     "It's been quite a shock," Miki commented.  "We didn't even expect
there to be another Duelist outside the Student Council when
Tenjou-sempai arrived, much less two.  And now this business with
Juri-san..."  He flipped up two cards--orange and orange.  He slid them
over to his side of the table.
     "Definitely a shock to the system.  It's giving me a new perspective
on things, but it's forced perspective."
     "What those two are getting at in their oblique ways," Juri said,
"is that they want to know all about you.  Who you are, what your aims
are, why you are so significant to the Ends of the World..."  Orange and
violet.  No match.
     "That's a matter in some question."  Skyler let his eyes slide over
to Juri for a moment.  "But I can tell you what I am supposed to be."
     [Violet there...and there, I think.  Now, how to say this?]  "I'm
Skyler Sands, an American from Gunntown, Minnesota. According to the
welcome packet I got, I'm an exchange student enrolled in the first year
of high school here.  Precisely how I got here is unclear, as I don't
remember the trip itself.  It's possible my memories have been tampered
with, or that I'm simply not of sound mind."  He remembered another thing
anime characters often mentioned in introductions.  "And my blood type is
B-positive."
     Miki clicked his stopwatch, eyes widening slightly at what he saw on
it.  "But why are you a Duelist?  What do you really want, here?"
     "The simplest answer to the first, is:  because I've been equipped
for it.  I woke up with the uniform and signet ring already issued to me.
Someone wants me in the competition, and I don't think they'd take no for
an answer.
     "As for the second, what I want most right now is information."
Skyler paused for the obvious Prisoner rejoinder, but no one obliged him.
"I still don't fully understand the meaning of `The Power to
Revolutionize the World', `The Bride of the Rose' or even the `Ends of
the World.'  And the card in my welcome packet merely hinted at some sort
of tragedy occurring if I didn't participate.  Didn't tell me to whom, or
what kind of tragedy."
     "I see."  Touga bowed his head slightly in thought.  "So, it remains
a mystery to you too..."  Pink and red.  No match.
     "Me too?  You mean..."
     "Yes," Juri nodded.  "We were never told what this is about.  The
Ends of the World send instructions and information.  The Bride of the
Rose obeys her master.  The Power to Revolutionize the World will change
everything for one of us.  And that is what we know."  Pink and pink.
Match.
     "So why are you fighting the duels if you don't even know what it's
all about?"
     Touga laughed.  "Coincidence.  And fate, perhaps...."
     Miki added, "Occasionally we fight the duels because the letters say
so.  But more often one of us is driven to fight for personal reasons
when the letters say we should anyway...."  Brown and brown.  Match.
     "Then it's likely I'll be dueling soon, one way or another."  Skyler
thought for a moment.  "I can think of at least three hot buttons that
could induce me to challenge Tenjou-san; and if not, I suspect I'd have
to fight anyway, in order to allow the game to end."    White and black.
No match.
     "Such honesty," Touga smiled.  "Truly the best course.  Those of us
who have tried to avoid the duels have generally fought again within
days."  Miki blushed slightly at this, while Juri looked off towards the
horizon.  "What sort of 'hot buttons?'"  Blue and orange.  No match.
     Skyler raised an eyebrow.  "Rather a personal question, don't you
think?"
     "Yes, it is," Touga grinned.  "Call me curious."
     "Och, laddie, ye dinna ken that one o' them is as plain as the nose
on my face?" the bodyswapped man deadpanned.
     There was a long moment of silence.  Miki blinked at him, eyes wide.
Juri rested her face in her palm.
     Touga laughed.  Not a mocking laugh, or the polite laugh of someone
who gets the joke, but the full-throated sound of one who's been struck
by something bizarre in the best of ways, momentarily overwhelmed by the
absurdity of life.
     "Sorry, sorry," he managed, brushing his long red hair out of his
face as he brought himself under control.  "I just never thought I'd be
faced with Juri of all people talking with, what was it, an Irish
accent?" He rubbed the back of a finger beneath his eye.  "The image is
rather bizarre."
     "Scots, actually.  But you take my meaning, yes?"  Skyler saw
everyone nod.  "The only problem with that is figuring out precisely who
to challenge.  As for the others, well, I choose to keep some secrets, at
least for the moment."
     Juri nodded.  "But I do wonder--have you planned what to aim for
after our little crisis is over?  You don't seem the type to quietly
attend school as a normal student for life."
     Touga nodded.  "It would rather miss the point, wouldn't it?"
Purple and purple.  Match.
     "Well, one of my goals is to find out what, precisely, I'm doing
here.  If I can discover what my role is supposed to be, I can decide if
I want to accept it or try to change the script.  And quite frankly, I'd
like to know more about the rules and goals of the Duel.  As shown by
Tenjou-san and myself, we don't even know how many pieces are on the board."
     "One more."
     "Eh?"  Juri and Miki's heads both whipped around at Touga's
statement.
     "There's one Duelist yet to enter play," Touga smiled.  Yellow and
yellow.  Match.
     "How do you know?" Miki asked.  "Is it the Ends of the World?"
     "Now, now, Mikki.  The President must have his secrets, no?  It's a
matter of face, so to speak."  He laughed slightly at this.
     "Well, then, that's one question down."  Skyler wondered if it was
someone he'd already met, or another interloper like himself.  He glanced
around the table.  "Say, isn't there someone missing?"
     "Our esteemed Vice-President has been sulking since his loss of the
Bride of the Rose.  He's rather petty in that way."  Red and green.  No
match.
     "A curious way to talk about your oldest friend," Juri commented.
Green and green.  Match.
     "It's simple truth," Touga grinned, not quite smirking.
     "Perhaps it's for the best; I hope that things will be back to
something approximating normal before we're formally introduced."
     "We'll be waiting a while, I take it," Juri replied dryly.
     "At least back in our usual bodies."
     "Around here, normalcy is a rare prize.  Your returning to normal
might not even bring us close," Touga replied.  Red and red.  Match.
There were only a few cards left in play now.
     "Perhaps the next development will not be quite so disconcerting."
Skyler selected orange and, oops, pink.  No match.
     "I hope so," Miki murmured.  Red and yellow.  No match.
     "So how did all of you get your rings?  Tenjou-san claims hers came
from a prince, and mine was just there when I woke up on campus."
     "The Ends of the World."  Juri stared down at the table, eyes
half-lidded, hand cupping her chin.  "Directly or through intermediaries,
it all traces back to the Ends of the World."  Purple and orange.  No match.
     "Then finding out more about said `Ends' is a goal I'll have to take
up, if I want to understand what's going on...."
    "Hmf."  Touga smiled.  "Something to occupy your time, at least.  A
rather lengthy quest, if I'm any judge."
     "It's a start, anyway."
     "But then, who can say what the future will hold?" Touga asked.  Red
and red.  Match.
     "So disingenuous, after all you've said," Juri replied.  Yellow and
yellow.  Match.
     "Isn't it?" Touga smiled.  Orange and orange.  Match.  Only two
left, now.
     Skyler frowned at the table.  [That one's pink, I'm pretty sure.
But shouldn't that one be purple?  Or am I remembering it wrong?]  He
reached out to flip them up.
     White and white, each with the seal of the rose in the middle and
the word 'Joker' running down the side.  Match.
     Skyler blinked at the table for a moment.  The sound of the elevator
doors clattering closed spurred him into turning, just in time to see the
elevator start its descent.  A cool breeze whipped across the balcony as
somewhere in the distance, he heard an organ finish its recital.  He was
alone.
     "`People come and go so quickly around here.'"  [For someone who
doesn't believe in miracles, Juri is just as good at doing unexplained
things as anyone else around here.]   Skyler stood up and stretched.
[Wonder if I can see the Dueling Arena from here?]  He walked across the
balcony, down the steps to a larger terrace area.  As he walked across
towards the edge, he saw the school stretching out below him--the track
and athletic fields directly ahead, the gym and smaller buildings
flanking it to the sides, and directly beyond...
     The forest.  The school grounds widened around it, changing the
shape from a simple oblong to something approaching a keyhole, and the
ground sloping up around it placed it on a pedestal from the rest of the
school.  White walls hemmed in the dome of trees, and paths around the
sides descended towards destinations hidden by the slope of the hill.
The forest itself didn't look so large from this distance and height,
though it was quite large enough.  Perhaps more importantly, the arc of
the treetops was unbroken--no staircase spiraled out from among them, and
no inverted castle hung above.
     [That's odd.  I can understand the "Castle of Illusion" vanishing
when it isn't needed, but the Arena itself looked solid enough.  And I
*touched* one of the bell towers.  A natural optical trick?  Cloaking
device?  Magical concealment?  It isn't just an SEP field, since I'm
aware the Arena exists and actively looking for it.
     [Just another question to look for answers for, I guess.  I should
look to see if there's an elevator next time I'm up there.]
     He leaned his hand on the railing slightly, then drew back.
Glancing down, he confirmed that yes, indeed, it was really quite a long
way to the ground.  [Ah...I think I'll be heading down now...]
     He did a quick check of the room on his way out for scraps of paper
or other clues.  [You never know, after all.]  Unfortunately, the balcony
was completely bare, and the inside of the tower only slightly less so--
the red curtains pulled to either side of the door and stained-glass
window were the only ornamentation.  Something nagged at him about that,
but he couldn't place it.  Only after he'd recalled the elevator and
started his descent did it hit him.
     [Where the heck did the table go?]

     "I'm home!"
     "Welcome home!" Anthy called out cheerfully from the kitchen.
"Dinner is almost ready.  Utena-sama is in the dining room already if
you'd like some company."
     "Thanks," Skyler called back.  "Where's Arisugawa-san?"
     "She's not home yet."  Anthy stuck her head out of the kitchen door.
"I do hope she's back in time...  I've made enough for her."
     "How was your day?  Must have been confusing for you."
     "Oh, it was fine."  The cheerily vague tone could have meant a
hundred things, but did not invite further prying.
     "Ah.  I'll just go wash up then."

     "You're looking cheerful tonight.  Something bothering you?"
     Utena glanced up.  "Oh--hi, sempai.  It's just this whole business
with the diary.  Kinda puts me in an awkward spot."
     "I would suppose so.  It wasn't a side of Saionji-san you were
expecting to see, right?  I know I wasn't expecting that from the gossip
I've heard (even though I should know better.)"
     "Yeah.  And Himemiya, too.  And...well, it feels like I've been
spying on them or something.  I mean, sure, Saionji had it coming, but
still...and now I've got this diary on my hands and no idea what to do
about it."
     "Would you like to discuss your options?  Talking about the choices
sometimes reveals the answer all by itself."
     Utena shrugged.  "Might as well.  It's not like I'm getting anywhere
just worrying about it.  Haven't even decided whether to look at it or
not, really."
     "It might be useful to, but you should remember that Himemiya-san
was bound to follow Saionji-san's orders when the diary was started, so
she may well have told him only what he wanted to hear.  And certainly
you should ask her permission to read it.  In tricky etiquette
situations, the formalities count."
     "You can say that again.  One thing that bugs me, though--why was he
acting like she still wrote in it all the time?  I mean, sure he probably
made her do it back when she was still under his thumb and everything,
but why now?"
     "Perhaps she saw no reason to change. After all, you never said she
shouldn't."
     She groaned.  "That's it.  That's gotta be it.  And now if I even
ask her to go easy on it, she'll probably dump it just 'cause I'm asking
her.  What does it take to get her to just do what she wants?"
     "Her wanting it badly enough, I suppose.  That does it for most
people."
     "Yeah, but how bad is bad?  I mean, you'd think she'd want to have a
life of her own, or at least keep from getting slapped around all the
time.  But she didn't even stand up to Saionji when he was bossing her
around and hitting her all the time."  She shook her head.  "I still
don't get her.  Or him.  I mean, he says he loves her."
     "He thinks he loves her.  Whether he actually loves *Anthy*, or the
perfect Rose Bride in his head is another matter.  Some people see
striking their loved ones to punish them for errors, or just to keep
control over them, as perfectly justifiable.
      "It wasn't so long ago, at least in America, that it was completely
legal for a man to beat his wife and children, as long as he didn't cross
certain lines.  Others might have considered the man a brute, and done
kindnesses for the wife when he wasn't looking, but no one interfered
except a few crusaders.
      "It was only when women stood up and made it clear that they no
longer found this acceptable that things changed.  And change is always
uneven.  Saionji-san may come from a home where violence was still
considered the way to control one's loved ones.  He may well have been
beaten himself.  Not that that's an excuse, but it may be an explanation."
     "Jeez."  She looked down at the table.  "Now I feel even more
mixed-up.  Bad enough the guy's a jerk--now I almost feel sorry for him."
     "Well, like I said, it's no excuse.  And we don't even know if I'm
right about what he's been through.  Still, if we can get an idea where
he's coming from, we may be able to deal with him better than if we just
automatically assume he's irredeemable scum.  I don't know him very well,
but I'd wager he's not *all* bad."
     She snorted slightly.  "Not according to his legions of fans, that's
for sure.  Frankly, I don't get it.  He's good at kendou and kinda cute,
but that's about it...."
     "I've noticed that a certain amount of arrogance attracts many
women.  They want a good provider and someone to protect them, and being
obviously self-confident makes a fellow look like he'll be that type."
Skyler paused.  "Of course, too much arrogance, and you lose women as
fast as you attract them.  Being taken care of is one thing, being
controlled is another."
     "Yeah...but I mean, wanting a prince to watch out for you is one
thing, but if they really think a guy like *him* is gonna watch out for
them...you've gotta wonder if they've ever even talked to him."
     "Probably, many of his fans haven't, beyond group situations.  How
many of your fan club have you sat down and had heart to heart talks
with?  And he probably has a better line of talk when he's trying to
favorably impress a lady.  Most fellows do."
     "Don't think I've ever seen him trying to impress anyone but
Himemiya, actually.   And we all know how he impressed her...."
     "If Saionji-san is really as hung up on his Rose Bride as he seems,
he probably has been actively avoiding relationships with other women."
Skyler considered.  "And it's possible that he was much kinder at other
times you didn't see.  A lot of people with abusive behaviors do have
better sides; it's how they get into relationships at all."
     "You don't know the half of it."  Utena frowned.  "I've seen him
treat girls who actually try to open up to him like garbage--publicly
humiliating them.  That's sorta how I got into my first duel.  Someone
had to stand up to him for that sort of thing."
     "Ouch.  So, exactly how did you get into that first duel?"
     "Well...it's kinda a long story."  She glanced toward the kitchen,
then shrugged.  "Basically, I came across this bunch of guys making fun
of some love letter to Saionji that'd gotten put on a bulletin board.
And to make it worse, I realized it was from...well, a friend of mine.
And when I tried to chew him out about it he actually had the nerve to
act smug."  She looked down at the table, gently rubbing the fingers of
her left hand.
     "I ended up challenging him to a kendou duel, seeing as we were in
the right place and all.  Naturally, he got it wrong--thought I was
challenging him to a real Duel.  So he told me to meet him in the forest
after school, and, well...you know where it went from there."
     "More or less.  That was awfully...childish behavior, yes.  Almost
as if he were trying to provoke a fight with someone.  I mean, normally
you'd have to hate a person to act so cruelly...."  Skyler felt a pang in
his chest as he remembered a bit of cruelty inflicted on him.  [But that
was long ago.  It doesn't matter anymore.]
     "I think probably he just ain't used to having people stand up to
him, so he thinks he can do anything he wants.  He's one of the big names
around here, after all, and stuck-up to boot."
     "That's a fairly safe presumption, I think.  And judging by today's
performance, Saionji-san isn't very good at picking up subtle hints."
     "'Bout as subtle as a brick, that guy."  She sighed and rested her
chin in her hand.  "So, what now?"
     "That's up to Himemiya-san, ne?  It's her diary, so she should be
the one to decide how to proceed.  I do suppose you'll have to be careful
how you phrase the question, Utena.  Wouldn't want to give her an order
by implication."
     Utena half-laughed.  "Hard not to, really.  Sometimes I wonder if
she's capable of doing anything other than what I ask...and the rest of
the time, I just wonder what the heck she's doing.  She's a mystery..."
     "Sorry to keep you waiting!"   Anthy bustled in from the kitchen
with a tray in her hands.  "Dinner is ready!"
     "Great!" Skyler rubbed his hands together in anticipation.  Time for
another excellent meal of...
     Shaved ice?
     Four bowls of shaved ice, with pink, lavender, dark purple, and
orange syrup on them.  She set one bowl each in front of Skyler and
Utena, and one at an empty place, then set the dark purple bowl down and
sat in front of it. "Ittadakimasu!"
     [That's...interesting.  Color-coded ice.  Well, at least the
weather's warm enough to make it tasty.]
     While Skyler said a quick silent grace, Anthy, Utena and Chu-chu dug
in to their bowls.  The first and third sharing, of course.  Skyler took
a small sample, found it a tasty grape variant, and began eating.
     After a few minutes, Juri arrived and sat down.  She cocked an
eyebrow at the offered meal, looking a little less than enthused.  But
she started eating anyways.

     "You're not done with the homework yet?" asked Juri, noting Skyler
still scratching away in his notebook.
     "Well, I still need to do more English drill, just to start catching
up, but at the moment I'm writing home.  It's what a real exchange
student would do."
     "Do tell," she replied dryly.
     "What will be really scary is if I actually get a reply."
     She paused, then nodded.  "Of course.  Which reminds me..."  She
opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.
     "Where are you headed?"
     "To make a phone call."
     [I suppose Juri does have parents or a family somewhere.  Not
everyone here is an orphan, surely.  Good thing her voice stayed with
her, so she can make phone calls.  Hope this doesn't last long enough
that I have to interact with her folks.]
      Skyler brought his letter up to the present, and signed with a
flourish.  [I'll have to ask about the student mail system.]
      He turned the page and began a new topic.  "Who is this `Ends of
the Earth' person anyway?"  [Assuming it's a person and not a committee,
of course.]
      [Speculations:  "Sekai no Hate" must have easy access to the campus
and its surroundings.  He/she/they has access to considerable resources,
possibly magical or highly advanced technology.]  Skyler paused to
sharpen his pencil.  [Ends likes playing games.  Secretive, but with a
strong flamboyant streak.  May or may not have actually brought me here,
if not then certainly knew of it in advance enough to take advantage of
my visit.  Ends is probably older, possibly in a position of power within
the school.  Ends cannot be considered to be "on my side."
     [Touga claims to have been trying to figure this out for a while,
and clearly has found some answers, at least enough to puzzle out some of
End's plans.  But how much does Touga actually know?]  "Hmm..."  [Touga,
I and the unnamed Duelist yet to come are the ones who have not fought
Utena.  Could the unnamed one be the Ends itself?  A "final boss"?]
     Lost in thought, Skyler began to doodle a flower in the margins.
[Oh, great, now *I'm* doing roses.  So many of them here, and so many
colors.  Whatever happened to just plain red?]
      o/~ O, red is the rose that in yonder garden grows,
          and fair is the lily of the valley;
          Clear is the water that from the brook does flow,
          but my true love is fairer than any~\o
     Juri raised an eyebrow, re-entering the room.  "A true love?"
     Skyler coughed embarrassedly.  "Just a song that came to mind.  I've
developed the habit of bursting into song every now and then, that's all.
No true loves, girlfriends, wives, arranged fiancees or forbidden loves
here, alas."
     "Ah."  Juri nodded, walking over towards the bed.
     A thought struck Skyler, spurred by his earlier thoughts and current
extemporization.  "Since it is just barely possible you might have to
interact with my family, I should tell you a little about them..."
     "As you like.  It seems unlikely, though."
     "Maybe.  But better safe than sorry."  Juri shrugged and nodded.
Skyler continued, "My parents are both alive, if memory serves me, and I have
one each younger sister and brother.  And you?"
     "Two parents.  An elder sister in college.  She and I keep in touch
as often as we can."
     "And your parents?"
     She shrugged.  "I've never been the dutiful daughter they dreamed
of.  We...are not close, as a rule."
     "Ah.  I've had a better relationship with my parents than a lot of
my friends, but I'll admit things got much less tense since I moved out."
     "Distance saves the difficulties of living with another.  That alone
eases many tensions."  She slid into the lower bunk.  "At the least, it
makes a clean break easier."
     "And new beginnings, too.  Even if mine seems a little off course at
the moment."
     "Yes."  A pause.  "You've been taking this remarkably well, you
know."
     Skyler mused on that for a moment.  "Part of that, I guess, is that
I was almost...how can I put this...expecting something like this to
happen.  Once I fell down the rabbit hole, anything is possible.  And
I've seen way too many silly cartoons for my own good."
      "Mm."  A nod, with a clear implication of 'as expected.'
     "Another part is that, I suspect, your `Ice Queen' image has
shielded me from certain of the more embarrassing parts of being in a
female body.  No fellows have been brave enough yet, despite my `new
attitude', to risk being shot down..."
      "Mm."  Another nod.
     "And your being a relatively good sport about it yourself has
definitely helped."
     "Yes."  Her voice was thoughtful as she rolled to face him.  "I have
been taking it unusually well, haven't I?"
     "What do you mean?"
     She shook her head slightly.  "I've experienced...odd things in my
life.  So have you.  So have Tenjou and Himemiya."  She rolled on her
back.  "But one would think that something this odd might provoke more
extreme reactions from at least one of us.  Curious that it hasn't."
     Skyler gave it some thought.  "It's possible we all share some
strength of character that makes us better able to deal with the
impossible."  [The Ends of the Earth must have *some* criterion for
choosing the pawns it does, after all.]  "Or perhaps we're all just in
really deep denial.  I've been hanging on to the notion that this is
temporary like a life preserver, myself."
     "Mm."  The answer didn't seem to satisfy Juri somehow.  After a long
moment's thought, she rolled onto her back again.
     "Going to sleep, then?"
     "Yes.  I'd recommend you do so, as well.  Should this end soon, I'd
rather not be fatigued."  She rolled onto her other side, facing away
from him.  "Mind that sleep is all you do, of course."
     [She's grinning over there.  I just know it.]  Skyler tried to
ignore the thoughts triggered by her words, and the feel of cloth against
his skin.  Especially against parts of his skin he didn't want to think
about too hard.  [Lord, help me be a gentleman...]

    o/~Sekai no tomo to te o tsunagi
       Jyujika no moto ni tatsu warera
       Kami no mikuni o me ate toshi,
       Shu Yesu no michi o susumiyukan.~\o

     The last words of the hymn echoed into silence.  After a moment, the
congregation sat back down, and the minister moved into the final section
of his sermon.  Skyler listened politely as the service ended, and stood,
stretching a bit, as the crowd began to filter out.
     The church wasn't a large one, but even so, the congregation had
been smaller than Skyler might have expected.  It was a cross section of
society--quite a few older folks, a few salarymen and office ladies, even
a handful of students from the Academy.  He scanned the departing crowd
for faces he'd recognize...
     "Sempai!  I never thought I'd see *you* here!"
     ...and turned to see Wakaba rushing up to him.  [So much for
anonymity.]  This morning, he'd looked at Juri's face in the mirror and
realized he just didn't have the energy to make even the half-hearted
effort he'd made yesterday at rebuilding Juri's tight ringlets, and
simply tied his hair back.  He'd hoped it might help avoid recognition
and the resulting mistaken identity confusion, but the uniform remained
something of a giveaway.
     "Good morning, Shinohara-san, wasn't it?"
     "That's me!"
     The girl was cute, Skyler had to admit, in a hyperenergetic sort of
way.  Her brown hair was pulled up into a very high, short ponytail that
looked a little like the top of an uncut onion.  One stray cowlick popped
out right above her brown eyes and two more curled out in front of her
ears, framing the tapered oval of her face.  Her small, slight frame was
still in her school uniform, like several of the other students he'd seen
--probably the best clothes they had.
     Skyler smiled.  Perkiness was something he liked in a girl, in
moderation.  "Lovely weather today."
     "Un!  This is really amazing, seeing you here!  I mean, well, you
know what everyone says about you, and I didn't think anyone on the
Student Council ever came here at all."
     "It was...a bit of a surprise for me as well."  As he'd rather
expected, Juri had declined his invitation to join him.  More properly,
she'd blinked at him, frowned, and fallen asleep again.  Juri was
apparently not a morning person.
     "Oh, you've got to come back again!  I mean, not a lot of people
come here, but it's always great to get new friends. There's a guest
singer coming in a couple of weeks, I hear she's really good!"  Wakaba
was practically bouncing.  No, strike that, she *was* bouncing--a bit
understatedly, but bouncing nonetheless.
     "You may be seeing me again, or perhaps not.  It depends on
circumstances.  Though I'm sure *someone* will be coming."
     Skyler looked up at the church building.  "Do you know anything
about the architecture?"
     "Huh?"  Wakaba looked around the church as if seeing it for the
first time.  "Not really.  I mean, it's pretty even for how old it is,
but I'm not an expert on construction or anything."
     The church certainly was pretty, Skyler had to admit.  The plain
white walls rose up to a vaulted ceiling, with a few thin stained glass
windows high up and one large circular one on each end, over the door and
the altar.  But the age was showing in some places--scuffs on the pews,
wear on the floor, a spiderweb of cracks on the rear wall that no money
had ever been found to plaster over.
     [Have to see if they would like some help around the place.  Maybe
some sanding and new polish would be nice.]
     "It's just so neat having someone new here--especially someone like
you!"  Wakaba leaned up against the wall near the web of cracks.  "I
mean, it's not like I usually get a chance to talk to any upperclassmen,
or members of the Student Council."  She smiled mischievously.  "Maybe I
should try more often now that Utena-sama's spending a lot of her time
with you."
     "That situation may change again, and I can't say I'll always be
available.  It has been nice, getting to know her.  So, what's your
favorite subject?"
     "Oh, I dunno.   I'm pretty good at cooking most of the time, and I
sorta like literature.  How about you?"
     "I...have a variety of interests.  At the moment, I'm just trying to
get by in all my classes."
      Wakaba giggled at this.  "Jeez.  I didn't realize you were so
modest, sempai."
     "Hm?"
     "It's just...I mean, c'mon.  When was the last time you or the rest
of the Student Council had to worry about grades?  I mean, not only are
you some of the smartest people in school, but what teacher'd dare to
flunk you?  You're the *Student Council.*"
     "Despite what we may think at times, the Student Council isn't the
end-all and be-all of life at Ohtori.  And I haven't been myself, the
last couple of days."
     "Really?"  She leaned forward onto the back of a pew, meeting
Skyler's gaze with an anticipatory smile.  "So, what's it *really* like
being a member of the Student Council?  I mean, you hear all these rumors
about what you four get up to, but nobody really knows for sure.  And
why'd you all start hanging around with Utena-sama?  I mean, she's neat
and all, but none of you ever really worked with any underclassmen but
Miki-kun.  And what's the real scoop on that cute American guy you're
always hanging around these days?  People are talking about you two...."
Wakaba raised an eyebrow and winked with a conspiratorial grin.
     Skyler coughed into his (or rather, Juri's) hand to hide his
embarrassment.  "As for the inner workings of the Student Council, I
don't think I should discuss that.  Especially when it comes to Tenjou.
I'm sure she'll tell you about it when she's ready to.  Sands...it's a
student guide job, but things have become a little...complicated there.
Adjustment to a new school can be quite harrowing."
     Wakaba's grin just widened.  "Complicated...I'll bet."  She nudged
him with an elbow.  "And after all those rumors about you, too...so just
how 'complicated' have you guys gotten, eh?  Eh?"
     Skyler tried to suppress a rising redness in his cheeks.  "Since I
don't know what the rumors are, I can neither confirm nor deny them.  I
can say that our relationship isn't romantic, at least at the present
time.  This may or may not change in the near future.  The situation, is,
well, complicated and I don't know how it'll shake out yet."  [Thank you,
military obfuscation.]
     "Sure, sure, say no more, right?"
     [...for nothing, apparently.]
     "Don't worry about anything.  Whether in love or in studies or in
hearing the latest news, Shinohara Wakaba stands always ready to help a
new friend along the way!  I'll be the soul of discretion, and if there's
anything you ever need, leave it to me, right sempai?"
     Despite himself, Skyler couldn't help a chuckle.  "I must admit I'm
curious what you've heard.  No doubt it's quite exaggerated."
     "Well...you know, just the usual rumors that get around...."  Wakaba
averted her gaze, poking at imaginary pieces of dust on the pew.  "You
know, that you got dumped by a guy, or something bad happened in your
family, or you just hate boys, or a friend backstabbed you or something
--I mean, when you act all standoffish, people start guessing and
blabbing.  And now everyone's saying you and your friend and Himemiya and
Utena-sama are acting...and, well, sounding...so weird, and you can bet
people are buzzing about that...."
     "Oh.  Well, yes, our behavior has been a bit outre, I admit.  But
things should be back to something approximating normal soon."  [I hope.]
     "Really..."  Wakaba fixed Skyler with a curious gaze.  "Just what's
been going on, anyway?  I mean, if it's not personal or anything like
that....  I've just been worried about Utena-sama."
     "You really want to know?"
     Wakaba nodded.
     Skyler took a deep breath to stall while he considered.  "Okay, but
you have to promise not to talk about this with anyone except those
directly affected."
     "Oh sure, no problem, my lips are sealed, soul of discretion, that's
me!"
     "Remember, I'm going to hold you to that.  You know how I said I
wasn't myself lately?"
     "Yes..."
     "Well, that's quite literally true.  I may look like Arisugawa-san,
but I'm actually Skyler Sands.  The exchange student."
     Wakaba's eyes widened.  "Uso!"
     "It's the truth," Skyler continued.  "And she's me.  Somehow, we
think it was the explosion, we woke up in each other's bodies.  Though
for some reason our voices stayed with our personalities."
     The younger girl looked a bit dubious.  "You're funning me, aren't
you?"
     "No, I'm not.  You'll just have to trust me on that."
     "Weeell, it would explain why you two have been acting so strange
lately.  And why your voice has gone all weird.  But it sounds like
something out of a late-night horror film..."  Wakaba suddenly looked back
at Skyler again.  "But that would mean that Utena-sama and Himemiya--
and...whoa."
     "Precisely."
     "Wow..."  Wakaba blinked a few times, staring into the distance, as
she tried to come to terms with the new information.  "That's just...
well...so *weird*....  But when you think about it, it's kinda cool,
too..."  A slow brightness began to creep across her face.  "I mean,
things have always been kinda weird around here, but you never think
something like this would really happen outside of stories, not in real
life....  Oh, wow, that means I've been sitting here talking to you and
not sempai about you...I mean, not...oh, you know what I mean!  Oh, wow,
I've just gotta talk to Utena-sama and see if it's really the same for
her.  This is just so neat, I can't believe it, I mean, it's all really
happening!"
     Almost as if she wasn't really in control of her body, Wakaba was
walking towards the exit, still babbling away.
     [I'd better follow her, just in case damage control is necessary.]
Skyler quickly moved after the younger girl, but not quite quickly
enough.
     "Bye, sempai!" and she was gone.
     [I wonder if she's trying out for track?] thought Skyler as he
hurried after the rapidly disappearing speck on the sidewalk.
     He caught up to Wakaba at Higashi-kan, seeing that she was looking
disappointed.
     "No one's home!  Ah!  Of course!  She's--"
     Skyler didn't quite catch the last part, but the girl was headed in
the direction of campus.  So off he went again.  [And now I'm chasing the
White Rabbit.  Curiouser and curiouser....]
     Once among the buildings, Skyler lost her.  [Maybe she went this way...]
     "Oof!"
     Skyler pulled himself back to his feet.  "Sorry about that.  I
should have been watching where I was going..."
     The girl was already almost around the corner.  Skyler just had time
to catch a glimpse of her short blue hair and Ohtori girls' uniform.
[...short blue hair?  No, it can't be.  But she looked a lot like...]
     "Ah, Sands-kun.  Good morning."
     Skyler turned as Touga emerged from the same doorway the girl had,
smiling contently at him.  He buttoned his collar as he continued, "I
trust you've been...adjusting well?"
     [No jumping to conclusions, now.  Remember yesterday.]  Aloud, "As
well as can be expected.  I'm rather hoping I don't have to get *too*
adjusted.  Any word from your sister yet?"
     "Nothing yet, I'm afraid.  She promised to call me as soon as she
returned, but that could be now or next week.  Or..."  He turned
slightly, looking towards the blue sky.  "I suppose it will be a relief
for you to return to normal...though you have certainly shaken things up
while it lasts."
     "I'm not surprised.  *I'm* shaken up, after all."
     Touga laughed.  "I'd be shocked if you weren't.  To end up in a
rather attractive girl's body...." He gently cupped a lock of Juri's hair
in his hand, looking at it curiously.  "The disorientation alone must be
rather disturbing.  You have my sympathies."
     "Um, thanks."  Skyler brushed the hand away, a bit awkwardly.  "I've
managed to adapt pretty well so far, though.  Even gotten to know
Arisugawa-san a bit better in the process, which is a plus."
     Touga laughed again.  "I'm sure it must be," he said with a gleam in
his eye.  "And you must know by now that the school is talking about the
foreign boy good enough to beat Juri-kun at her own games, and how she's
been seen emerging from his dorm in the mornings."  A raised eyebrow and
smirk made it clear exactly what he thought of that part of the rumors.
"For that matter, Himemiya's athleticism and Tenjou-kun's domesticity have
been making the rounds of gossip."  He turned to look out over the sports
fields, brushing a wisp of hair from his eyes. "Certainly things won't be
boring for you for a while, however it turns out."
     "Especially when my skill levels go back down, afterwards.  That
should be fun trying to explain."
     "I'm sure.  As will the reason the two of you have moved apart."  He
chuckled.  "That is, assuming you plan to...."
     "We haven't discussed that, and it'd mostly be her decision anyway,
since she has someplace else she can go.  Arisugawa-san isn't the worst
roommate I've ever had, by a long shot."
     "Oh, so?  You two have been...getting along well, then?"  He raised
an eyebrow.  "It's nice to see Juri-kun making new friends...it's such a
rare thing, you know."
     Skyler shrugged.  "Friendship is the more precious for rarity."
     "True, true.  She's really quite a fine person underneath, with a
good mind, but I think too often she's been left alone contemplating her
own 'dark reflections' on the world."  Skyler noted the odd snatch of
English again.  "I do think knowing someone with a more...idealistic
viewpoint might well do her good."
     "Won't argue with you there."  [Now what was I doing?  Oh yes,
following Wakaba, who was looking for Utena....  No screams or shrieks
yet, I hope that's a good sign.]  "You wouldn't happen to have any idea
where Tenjou-san would be this time of day, would you?"
     "Mm?  No, not really.  Especially under the circumstances.  You
might try the athletic fields, or the rose garden..."
     *Ring*
     "Ah, one moment please."
     Touga pulled out a cellular phone from his pocket and flipped it
open.  [There's that rose design again,] Skyler noted curiously.  [The
rings, the school logo, now the mouthpiece of his phone...definitely a
recurring theme.]
     "It's me....  Oh, really?...You have?...How soon?...I understand.
Well done, Nanami.... Yes, I'll be waiting for you."  He flipped the
phone closed.  "It seems my sister has set a new land speed record for
touring India.  She's returned already...with a supply of the spice.
She'll be here in less than half an hour."
     "Yay!  Okay, now it's a bit more urgent to find everyone.  Umm...I
think I'll try the rose garden, it seems likely either Tenjou-san or
Himemiya-san will be there, from what I've heard.  Where should we meet
your sister?"
     "Near the front gates...she said she's chartered a car.  I suppose
I'll go looking for the others, then.  Doubtless it shouldn't be too hard
to find Juri-kun and your body...the combination stands out," he smiled.

     Sure enough, Anthy, no wait, Utena in Anthy's body, was in the glass
building.  But so was someone else, and Skyler's footsteps slowed.  That
sure looked like...
     Saionji.  Yes, it was him.  The glass muffled their voices too much
for Skyler to make out, but it sure looked like Utena was--naw, she
couldn't be *flirting* with him, could she?   But she was grinning way
too chipperly for anything else, and the way she was holding out his
exchange diary....  Skyler resisted the impulse to put his ear up to the
wall.
     Truth to tell, Saionji looked a little surprised, too, but happy
about this turn of events.  Utena brought out the exchange diary, said a
few words, and began slowly stepping backwards towards the door, one hand
covering her mouth as she seemed to fight the urge to laugh.
     Saionji looked dreamy for a moment, on the verge of tears of joy,
even, then flipped open the book. Skyler wasn't quite sure what that
facial expression on the green-haired boy was, but he was betting it was
shock.
     "I see you decided to give it back to him."
     Utena turned to look at Skyler through the open door.  "Well,
Himemiya didn't mind me reading it, and his little rants were just
begging to be livened up a little," she said with an irrepressible and
cheerfully vengeful smile.
     "Oh.  That bad, huh?"
     "Worse.  The guy's really off in his own little world."
     Skyler nodded sympathetically  "Oh, Kiryuu-san sent word she found
the spice, and is on her way back.  We're supposed to rendezvous over at
the front gates."
     Utena blinked.  "You're kidding, right?  Already?"  A more natural
smile of relief spread across her face.  "All right!  C'mon, let's go!  I
can't wait to get back to my normal self.  Things have been too weird
around here..."
     "U-TE-NA!"
     Skyler just barely had the presence of mind to get out of the way as
Wakaba made a flying tackle onto Utena's back, wrapping her in a hug with
all four limbs.
     "...then again, things are getting back to normal already."

     It was quite the entourage that made its way to the gates as the
limousine pulled up--Skyler, Utena, and Wakaba, along with Touga, Anthy,
Juri, and Miki, who seemed to have been together when the news broke.
Even Chu-Chu was there, sitting on a low stone rail off to one side,
chewing on a banana.
     "Oniisama!"
     Nanami looked radiant as she stepped out of the limousine.  A small
part of that might have been from her shockingly deep tan, but the larger
part doubtless sprung from the container in her hands--a ceramic bowl
shaped like an Arabian oil lamp, decorated with simple patterns and
doubtless containing the object of her quest.  For that matter, the sight
of it brought a certain relief to Utena, Juri and Skyler as well.
     "Very nice tan she's got.  Gives her a California look," said
Skyler. Utena blinked at him.  "Hey, I'm a red-blooded guy, right?"
     "At the moment, no," Juri noted, smiling slightly.
     Touga smiled.  "Well done, Nanami."
     Nanami's eyes quivered with tears of joy.  "Oniisama!"  She rushed
forwards towards him, towards his waiting arms.  Skyler could almost see
the pastel backgrounds, the fluttering rose petals, the crystal tears
floating in the air, the banana peel in her path...
     Banana peel?
     Skyler was in motion almost before he could think.  He could see
Chu-Chu, empty-handed, out of the corner of his eye, and his brain was
rushing through the exact sequence of events he knew would follow.
Banana peel plus running person plus fragile object plus fictional
setting always equals....
     Nanami turned slightly as she noticed him charging towards her, joy
turning to slight confusion as she tried to understand why she was being
charged by a strange foreign boy in a haughty girl's body.  Her faltering
stride took her one step short of the peel, then one step beyond,
clearing it effortlessly...
     Just as Skyler crashed into her.
     Skyler heard more than saw the next few moments, as his head bounced
off the pavement.  The shattering of the porcelain container.  The
rushing of wind as the spice blew away, stinging his eyes as it passed.
The trumpeting of elephants...
     Okay, maybe he'd hit his head rather too hard.
     His vision cleared slightly as he saw Nanami on her hands and knees,
staring in shock and despair at the shards of porcelain.  "No..." she
whispered.
     "Nanami!" Touga's voice rung out.  "The spice?"
     "That was all...." her voice quavered.  "That was the last batch.
They said they won't be finished refining more spice that powerful for
another two hundred years...."
     Skyler briefly considered faking unconsciousness.  Then the full
horror  of the situation hit him and he starting hitting his head against
the  pavement again.  "I can't believe I did that!  Aargh!"  His
self-flagellation was quickly joined by Nanami flailing her fists against
him ineffectually.
     "This is your fault!  You...you...baka! Baka baka baka...."  Her
voice was choked with tears and frustration.
     "Ahem."
     Skyler and Nanami paused as the voice cut through their immediate
emotion.  Looking up, they saw Juri adjusting the glasses on her face,
looking down at them.
     "Spice or no spice, I'd appreciate it if you stopped abusing my
body," she said coolly.  "It has some sentimental importance, you know."
     "Go easy on him, Nanami," Touga added, picking up the banana peel.
"He didn't realize what he was doing."
     "Observer Effect.  The very presence of the observer changes the
event  being observed.  Not that quantum mechanics is much comfort right
now."  Intellectualizing his mistake helped Skyler to calm down.
     He sat up.  "Any ideas?  Anyone?"
     There was a long silence.  Then Nanami began hitting him again.
     "Nanami.  That's not going to help, you know," Touga gently chided.
     "So what!"  She glared at Skyler through her tears, not letting up a
bit.  "This is all your fault!  After everything I went through...
getting lost...elephants...falling off cliffs... nearly drowning
elephants...ELEPHANTS!  And you ruin everything and then just sit there
babbling about quantum physics..."
     "Elephants?  Then I wasn't just hearing things?  Oh, and could you
please stop hitting me?"
     Touga gently caught Nanami's fist in his hand.  "That's enough,
Nanami," he said softly.
     She trembled for a moment, then turned and buried her face in his
chest, crying.  "Oniisama...."
     Touga looked around at the rest of the group, hugging his sister to
him with one arm. "I don't think we can accomplish much more now.
Perhaps we should gather at Higashi-kan in a few hours to see if we might
be able to salvage something...."
     "Oh, good!" Anthy smiled.  "I can make dinner!"
     Utena just looked sidelong at her.  "Um, this is a bit more
serious," she murmured.
     [One of these days, I really have to skip the heroics.]  Skyler got
up  and brushed himself off.
     One of Nanami's trio--Keiko, wasn't it?--tapped him on the
shoulder.  "Say, if we're done with all the leaping around and making
fools of ourselves, where do you want these?"  She gestured back to where
the other two were unloading luggage from the limousine--not just their
backpacks, but several suitcases and a trunk, as well.  He blinked for a
moment.  [That suitcase there looks awfully familiar....]
     Admittedly, the large brown suitcase could have belonged to any
number of people, but the battered gray instrument case Yuuko was setting
out was unlikely to be a coincidence, and he doubted anyone else in Japan
would be receiving a green military duffle bag stenciled in white with
the name "Sands, Skyler G."
     "That's mine, but where--how?"
     Keiko shrugged.  "These were on the flight with us, and the airport
people asked us to bring them over.  Said something about someone here
calling about it."
     [But who here would be calling?]  "Thank you."  There was a plastic
envelope attached to the duffle bag with a letter inside.  It had the
stylized bird logo of Japan Air Lines [At last, something without a rose
symbol] and said:
          "Honored Customer:
          "We apologize for the misrouting of your luggage.  Please be
 assured that this anomalous circumstance in no way represents the normal
operating procedures of Japan Air Lines.  We sincerely hope that you have
not been overly inconvenienced by this error."

     There were several more paragraphs, which amounted to "It wasn't our
fault, really," and:

          "As a token of our apology, please accept the enclosed
           coupon, worth Y5000 toward the cost of your next JAL flight.
                                  "Sincerely yours,
                                  "Furada Dan,
                                  "Customer Service Representative."

     [Riight.  Someone must have decided that the "one set of clothes"
gag was wearing thin.]  Skyler swung the duffle bag on to his back,
picked up a case with each hand--and nearly fell over.  [Ow.  Nanami may
hit like a girl, but it still aches.]
     "And what about the rest of them?"  Keiko pointed to the other
suitcases and trunk, which also turned out to have tags addressed to
Skyler.
     [I don't even own a trunk!]  "Looks like I'll have to make more than
one trip.  From what Kiryuu-san was saying, you folks have had a pretty
rough couple of days, so I won't trouble you further.  I do want to hear
about the elephants some time."
     Keiko shivered.  "Elephants.  Do *not* talk to me about elephants.
If I never see one again it'll be too soon."
     She sighed as she saw Tsuwabuki hoist one of Skyler's larger bags,
staggering slightly at the weight.  "Let's just get this over with.  I
don't want to be stuck out here all day watching you lift this stuff."
     "Would you care to give me some assistance, Arisugawa-san?  After
all, these clothes are likely to fit you better just now...."
     "As you like," she nodded.  She took one end of the trunk, as Yuuko
took the other, and the group began to make their way off campus and down
the hill.
     "Stupid airlines," Yuuko muttered to herself as she shifted her
grip.  "Stupid animals, stupid spice, stupid us for grabbing that weird
crock instead of the can, stupid rose girl for not noticing it...."
     [Since I don't remember packing these bags, I have to wonder just
what's inside them.  Could be--what did she just say?]
     Some scenes played themselves back in Skyler's mind.
     [Yuuko brushing past him on her way out of the classroom, behind the
others/Anthy bringing a covered bowl of spices out of the cupboard/Keiko
showing him an inventory sheet showing a can and a lamp-like crock/Nanami
holding a crock  as she came out of the car/split-screen of Anthy with
bowl and Nanami with crock--
     [But that would mean...better ask--I've forgotten her family name,
oh  well--]  "Excuse me, Yuuko-san, but when, exactly did you switch the
containers?"
     "Huh?  Oh, I dunno...I think it wasn't much before the class.  That's
right, I bumped into you, didn't I?"
     "Did you touch anything else in the cupboard?"
     "Don't think so.  Just slipped in, put that urn in the cupboard
where that rose-girl's nametag was, and slipped out.  I didn't want
anyone to notice....  Nanami-sama thought it'd be a better prank if no one
knew.  Course we didn't expect this.  Why?"
     "Just a niggling thought.  I'll have to check with Himemiya-san on
something...."
     "Whatever."
     Skyler glanced over at Juri.  She was looking back at him, a curious
expression on her face to match his own, appropriately enough.  [She
smells something, too....]
     The caravan made its way fairly quietly to Higashi-kan, and the
luggage got up to Skyler's room (though not without the banging of some
shins and elbows against the trunk or the walls, much to the chagrin of
the victims).
     "Thanks, everybody," he said, waving.  "Ow...."
     "Well?" asked Juri as he closed the door.
     "I'm pretty sure the gray case has my alto sax, and probably clean
underwear and socks are in the duffel bag.  Beyond that, I couldn't say.
But first, I'm going to lie down for a bit."
     Juri looked at him in mild exasperation.  "I see."  She rested one
hand against the windowsill for a moment, looking out to the ground
below, then turned.  "Goodbye, then."
     "Hm?  Where're you going?"
     "I'd suppose you know.  Of course, I'd also suppose you're not as
fatigued as you think."
     "Huh?"
     "I know my body, Sands.  That was a workout, but not a terrible one.
I'd thought you'd notice."  She opened the door.  "If you can catch your
breath, feel free to join me."
     Skyler blinked.  "Oh, right.  Actually, it was more emotional
exhaustion than anything else, but that should come first.  After you."
He got up off the duffle bag and followed.

     Skyler glanced over to the kitchen as he walked down the main
staircase.  He could just see Anthy through the doorway, working with a
small glass bowl on the counter--a lot like the one he'd seen her with
in the cooking classroom, if he remembered correctly.  Keiko, Aiko, and
Yuuko were lounging around the doorway.  Or rather, they had been
lounging--now they were looking at each other with something very like
surprise.
     "But...if she made the spice before that class..." Yuuko murmured.
     "And you put the spice in just before class..." Aiko added.
     "Then that would mean..." Keiko concluded.
     The three of them shared a stunned look for a moment, then turned
and bolted for the front door right as Juri stepped outside.

     "It's still here."
     The classroom was still a mess.  Construction crews had partially
repaired the outside wall, and the bulk of the rubble and debris had been
swept up, but broken tables and cabinets still littered the once-pristine
kitchen.  It was from one of these cabinets that Yuuko gently lifted an
earthenware vessel just like the one Skyler had seen smashed in front of
the school.
     Yuuko nodded, gingerly tugging on the lid.  "And it's still sealed,
too.  She *couldn't* have used it, even without noticing."
     "So," Juri murmured, "if the spice was not the cause, then the real
source must lie with..."
     "Either the explosion itself, or Himemiya-san's recipe."  Skyler
stayed  well away from Yuuko, not wanting another accident.
     "So we never needed to go to all that trouble?"
     "`The guilty flee where no man pursueth', or in this case, boast."
     Everyone just looked at Skyler for a moment.  Then Keiko slumped
down at one of the tables, burying her head in her arms.  "Please,
somebody just let me wake up...." she murmured.   Aiko and Yuuko
collapsed into nearby chairs with matching groans.
     "My legs ache, my whole *body* aches, I think I caught something
falling in that river, I've got blisters on my hands, bruises in places I
didn't know I had, my best uniform's torn to shreds, a guy's quoting
scripture at me, and the spice was right here the whole time...." Yuuko
moaned.
     "I can't even imagine how Nanami's going to feel."  Aiko shivered
slightly.
     Juri stepped over to the hole in the wall, looking out curiously
upon the ground below.
     "If it's any comfort, ladies, I'm very grateful for your efforts on
our behalf."  Irritated with their previous behavior as Skyler was, he
still felt sorry for the trio.
     "Gee, that makes it all worth it," Keiko sighed.  She shook her
head.  "Sorry.  For what it's worth, it wasn't personal, none of this--
the spice, the photos, the...it's just, well..."
     "When Nanami-sama gets upset with someone, you'd better stay out of
the blast radius," Yuuko explained.  "Probably goes for us, too, if we
had half a brain."
     "I wonder if Himemiya-san remembers exactly what she put in that
recipe?"
     "She ought to," Aiko said.  "She was cooking it when...we...left?"
     "We'd better get back there right now!"
     Keiko sighed, picking up the crock, and stood, stretching out the
kinks in her legs.  "Fine.  But this time...we walk."

     By the time Skyler walked into the dining room in Higashi-kan, the
gathering was in full swing, as it were.  Utena was collapsed at the
table, face to the tablecloth in an obvious display of despair.  Touga
was there, looking stolidly contemplative, and Nanami next to him,
looking somewhat miserable in her own way.  Miki looked on with sympathy,
and Chu-Chu sternly.  Anthy, of course, was placid as ever as she placed
plates of curry before everyone.
     "Now, now, everyone.  Don't look so sad."  She set a plate in front
of Utena, who sat up without a noticeable change in her demeanor.  "Have
some of my special curry and I'm sure you'll feel much better."
     "I'm not really in the mood for curry," Utena said without much
spirit.
     "Nanami-sama!"  Keiko was first into the room, as a look of
irritation spread across Nanami's face.
     "What is it?  You're annoying me!" Nanami snapped.
      "I really think you should hear this before you try the curry.  It
might improve your mood."  Skyler pointed to the crock Keiko was
carrying.
     Jaws dropped around the table.  "That's...!" Utena managed.
     "The phantom spice!" Nanami gasped.  "But how?"
     "We found it sitting in the kitchen, unopened," Aiko replied, a
mournful tone in her voice.
     "It looks like it was never used in the curry," Keiko added.
     "I'm so sorry, Nanami-sama," Yuuko concluded penitently.
     "But..."  Utena furrowed her brow in confusion.  "If it wasn't the
spice that did this..."
     "Then it must have been..." Nanami added, eyes widening.
     The two of them turned to gape at Himemiya.  "Anthy's cooking?!"
     "This is amazing, Himemiya-sempai!"  Miki seemed more excited than
anything else.  "It's an entirely new invention--curry that not only
explodes, but swaps the minds and personalities of people!"
     Smiling and blushing, Anthy cupped her hand to her cheek.  "Oh, my,
I'm so embarrassed."
     [The boy really has it bad for Anthy, he does.  But he has a point.
If she can duplicate the recipe, there are a number of uses....]  "What
I'd suggest is--"
     *Tap tap tap*
     Skyler blinked.  Swiveling his head to look out the large windowed
doors leading out onto the patio, he saw none other than Saionji standing
there, the diary in his hand and a dour look on his face.
     "Saionji?" Utena blinked.
     "Anthy.  What is the meaning of this?"  He held the diary to the
door.  "Since when have you written such such shameless things?"  His
eyes flickered to Anthy's face, and a frown crossed his features.  "Of
course.  It's all because you've been living with that vulgar, wretched
Tenjou Utena, isn't it?  She's been torturing you, forcing you to live in
such dismal surroundings, in such unfit company.  It all makes sense now."
     [`Unfit company'?  Now wait just a minute....]
     Utena was looking considerably less than impressed.  "Hey..."
     "But fear not, Anthy.  I shall overlook this, and guide you back.
Begin again.  Use a new page to write your confessions of love to me."
He opened the door and stepped through, moving to press the diary into
Utena's hands as Anthy stood up and walked into the kitchen.
     "Saionji-sempai, I think you should wait on that just a little--"
     The green-haired Duelist glared at Skyler.  "Arisugawa, I do not
recall  asking your opinion."
     "But--"
     "Well, then."  Anthy quickly returned from the kitchen, a plate of
curry in her hands.  A dozen alarm bells went off in Skyler's head.
"First tell me how you like this curry, though."
     "Hmf.  Very well."
     [No.  He wouldn't.  *She* wouldn't.  It...]  Any further thought was
lost as Saionji placed a spoonful of curry in his mouth at the exact same
moment Chu-Chu stole a bite from the other side of the plate.
     It was a lot like it had been last time, Skyler reflected as he flew
through the air.  Only less of a burning mouth.  Oh, and no elephants.

     "And so the shock of the explosion returned you all to normal?"
     Juri nodded, looking out past the trees at the sunset.  Twenty-four
hours now with no relapse, much to everyone's relief.  "So it seems."
     "Amazing...."  Miki murmured.  He clicked his stopwatch once,
glancing at it.
     "I'm just glad it's over," Skyler commented.  "No offense, Juri-san,
but it's good to be out of your body."
     "My sentiments exactly," she nodded.
     The sun dipped ever lower, casting a red haze across the campus, the
trees, the three students, and the figure in the tree.
     "Which leaves us with only one problem," Miki said.
     In the tree, the figure reached out for the bunch of bananas
dangling from a branch.  He leaned back with simian grace and balance,
peeling his prize while keeping a firm grip on the tree with his feet.
     "Chu."
     And with every sign of quiet enjoyment, Saionji Kyoichi began to eat.

Next time, on Ma Vie et Roses:

[Skyler on a rolling stairway against a wall of filing cabinets, looking
through them as he talks with Juri, below.]

SKYLER: With things as back to normal as they ever get at Ohtori, perhaps
        it's time to start figuring out just what's going on here.

JURI:   Perhaps.  It may be more difficult than you imagine.

[Saionji and Touga, in kendou outfits, facing off in the middle of a
training hall.  Skyler, Utena and a bunch of cheering girls look on.]

SKYLER: It always is.  Just trying to figure out the people around me can be
        more than frustrating.  There's those who know more than they're
        telling...

[Shadow Play Girl Biko whispering conspiratorially into a stunned/bemused
Skyler's ear.]

SKYLER: ...and then there's those who are telling *way* too much for comfort.

BIKO:   Gee, I wonder who?

[Skyler, Saionji, and Utena, weapons in hand, rushing through the gates
to the Arena.]

UTENA:  Never mind all that.  We've got a problem here!

[The Castle of Illusion fading to a silhouette as the blue sky turns a
washed-out yellow and the Arena begins to shake.]

SKYLER: *gulp* You can say that again...

[Anthy, in full Rose Bride outfit, curled up on a bed of white roses, her
hands clasped and her eyes closed.]

SKYLER: Next time, on Ma Vie Et Roses:    Don't
        miss it!

ANTHY: Zettai Unmei: Mokushiroku.

                                Glossary

Anime:  Japanese animation.  _Shoujo Kakumei Utena_ is an anime show,
originally broadcast on Terebi Tokyo.

Baka:  "Idiot" or "crazy."  Can be anything from a light reprimand to a
deadly insult, depending on context.

Ecchi:  "Risque."  Slangy.

Higashi-kan:  East Hall.  The dormitory where Utena and Anthy (and for
this story, Skyler) live.

Idol:  Pop star, usually chosen more for attractive appearance than
talent.

Irrashimase:  "Welcome!"

Ittadakimasu:  "Let's eat!"

Kendou: Japanese sport swordfighting.  Sometimes considered the Japanese
equivalent of fencing.

Kun:  Suffix for names.  Generally used by superiors to their charges
(teachers to students, managers to employees, etc.) or by young men among
themselves.

Kyudou: Japanese sport archery.

Manga:  Japanese comics.  The manga version of _Shoujo Kakumei Utena_ was
published in the anthology _Ciao Flower Comics_.

Mou: General expression of frustration or exasperation.  Roughly
equivalent to 'sheesh' or 'jeez'.

Ne:  A sentence-ending particle meaning, roughly, "okay?" or "Right?"

Oniisama:  An extremely respectful way to say "older brother."  May
substitute for the actual name.

Otaku:  An obsessed fan of a particular subject.  While most used in the
U.S. to refer to anime fans, in Japan, any over-enthusiastic hobbyist can
be so labeled.  Skyler is one.

"Polly Oliver's Problem": A folk song about a woman who poisons her
husband.  Charming, really.

Prisoner:  A British TV series starring Patrick McGoohan.  The exchange
referred to is,
        "What do you want?"
        "We want...information."
        "You shan't get it!"
        "By hook or by crook, we will."

Sama:  Suffix for names.  A term of extreme respect, sometimes bordering
on the obsequious depending on the context and tone.

San:  Suffix for names.  Generally considered the "default" suffix, it
can be used to address anyone from a complete stranger to a fairly close
friend.

"Sekai no Tomo":  The verse quoted here roughly translates:
        "Here, O God, your servants gather, hand we link in hand;
        Looking towards our Savior's cross, joined in love we stand.
        As we seek the realm of God, we unite to pray:
        Jesus, Savior, guide our steps, for you are the Way."
Written by Yamaguchi Tokuo.

Sempai:  Refers to one more senior than the speaker (usually in school,
though sometimes in a place of business.)  Often used as a name suffix.

Sensei:  Teacher.  Often used as a name suffix.

SEP field:  "Somebody Else's Problem."  Works by convincing the onlooker
that whatever is being seen isn't important enough to pay attention to.

Shoujo manga:  Japanese girls' comics, which _Shoujo Kakumei Utena_ is
generally in the style of.

Tankoubon:  A collected volume of a particular manga series.  About the
size of a short paperback.

Uff da mega:  Minnesotan slang, derived from the Norwegian.  Roughly,
"Man, that's tough/heavy."

Un:  Informal "yes."

Uso:  "Lie!" or "That's not true!"

Zettai Unmei Mokushiroku:  Literally, this translates as "Absolute
Destiny:  Apocalypse."  Among other things, it is the name of the song
played as Utena climbs to the Duel Arena, and is said by Anthy at the end
of each "Next Episode" segment.

Authors' Notes:

Scott K. Jamison:  Whew!  Skyler's glad to be out of that fix!  Sorry, all
you folks who were hoping for more citrus content.  Don't forget,
comments are extremely welcome, but "spoiler" comments dealing with parts
of the series that haven't appeared yet in this story, (frex:  "Nanami
couldn't possibly do that, because in episode 20, we find out that--")
should be sent directly to Mr. Johnson to avoid giving me (or readers who
haven't seen the series) more clues than I'm supposed to have.

Scott K. Johnson:  And another chapter away.  Some interesting situations
are coming up, including a few more deviations from canon, and some
interesting hints of the future--but not *too* many. >:-)  Those of you
who know the series, be ready for a few interesting moments...and those
of you who don't, get ready for the ride.
     Oh, and read the bit about spoiler comments up above.  Take it to
heart, or we'll have to set Chu-Chu on you.  Really.  Although moments
where you bust out laughing at comments SKJAM put in perfectly innocently
are quite all right.
     Some might be surprised at the appearance of Wakaba in a Christian
church.  It was mostly spurred by thoughts that Skyler would be going to
church anyway, and it would be most interesting if he met someone
significant there, preferably someone he hadn't interacted with a lot.
Immediately a scene from Saionji's episode in the second story arc sprung
to mind -- Wakaba's 'I was, um, praying!  Yeah, that's it!" bit.  It
obviously wasn't meant seriously, but it gave me an idea of her being
there, and she really did fit well as another viewpoint to interact with.
I do hope it worked well....

Comments, everyone! SKJAM! http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/5990 for
previous chapters