by STELLALUNA (stellaluna_42@utena.zzn.com) Version 2.0 ---- In the dark, two people sat. These two were not like most others. Some might say that they possessed some trait that would strike one as faintly sinister, perhaps something that let others know that they were powerful and mysterious. Others might say that they were merely of foreign and exotic descent. In any case, they bore a 'sign' that made others fear and despise them and, at the same time, respect and stand transfixed by them. Together, they sat in the dark watching a false image of the heavens. One of them was a small female. Her demeanor was calm and proper, yet there was the slightest hint of sadness in her eyes, which she hid behind a mask of glass. She kept her hair tightly constricted in rolls, like a crown, about her head. The other, the male, was quite the opposite. His hair, lighter in shade than the girl's, grew free and wild like a lion's mane. His posture was loose and untamed, and there was gleam in his eye, which both seduced and sent a warning of danger at the same time. He was free. She was a slave. Man. Woman. Together, the Son of Dawn and the Goddess of Flowers have reigned at the top of the world for an eternity. Never dying. Never changing. An Eternal Yin and Yang of the Apocalypse. "It seems it is time to begin again." "Hai, Onii-sama." ---- SHOUJO GEN'IN TANE PROLOGUE What the Budding Roses in Spring Whispered to Our Hearts ---- A boy and a girl sat on a train, half-dozing. They were on their way to begin high school at the illustrious Ohtori Academy -- a center of learning where all the students were free, had a love of learning, and, above all, did not fight. The boy disinterestedly glanced over a magazine, his eyes half- lidded. The girl listened to the only classical station she could pick up on her portable transistor radio. A heavy, brooding piano piece emanated from the small speaker in her ear. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. This kind of music always made her feel a little bit nostalgic. -- "Papa, papa!" she cried merrily through the house. She passed several rooms, not finding the person she sought. Not in the bedroom, not in the bath. He was neither in the kitchen, nor in the living room, but there she stopped and looked lovingly at a photograph. It was of a pretty woman in a kimono. Flowing locks of long dark hair framed her smiling face. A vase of red roses stood next to the frame. "Guess what, Mama," the girl addressed the image, "I've decided to learn kendo, and I'm going to grow up to be as strong as Papa." "Well, that's good to hear, Tane-chan," said the smiling man who was suddenly standing behind her. "Papa!" she exclaimed, hugging him, "I've decided that I want to learn kendo." After a pause she asked, "Do you think Mama would mind?" "I think she would've been very proud of you, though the neighbors might say different," he said, picking a rose and handing it to her. "I'm glad you made this decision. There's someone I'd like you to meet." The two walked hand-in-hand to the largest room of the house. The girl took a sniff of the rose's fragrance as they walked. The room they entered was bare except for a rack of swords, both steel and wooden; the names of the master and his students; a small shrine; and a boy kneeling on the dojo's hardwood floor. He seemed to be about the same age as the girl. He was dressed in a gi and blue hakama, which offset his wayward red hair. The girl's father introduced him, "This is Kaidou Tsuta, one of my newest students. He needs someone his own age to practice with. I was kind of hoping you wanted the job, Tane." Tane smiled. Turning to the boy, he said, "Tsuta-kun, this is my daughter, Tane. She will be learning kendo with you. Will you please be her sparing partner?" "Hai," said the boy as he stood. He walked over to the girl and bowed. "Hajimemashite. It's nice to meet you," he said smiling. "It's nice to meet you, too," replied the girl, also bowing. "Will you be my friend?" "Okay," said the boy, still smiling. The girl held the rose out to him and said, "I want you to have this, then." "Arigatou, Tane," he said and accepted the gift. The two new friends smiled. A tall man with long hair and small circular spectacles poked his head in the door and began screaming something in English. -- Tane awoke with a start. She looked down, and she realized that she must have accidentally moved the tuner of her radio with her thumb. Settling back down from her rude awakening, she put her hand on Tsuta's and squeezed it. "Nervous?" Tsuta asked, opening his eyes. "Just a little." "Me too," he said, and sighed wistfully. Tane looked at him as if to ask what's wrong. "Oh, I just have this feeling that something big is going to happen at this new school, something that will change...I don't know...everything." "Really? Me too." The two old friends smiled. -- In the dead of night, four young men met in the dark. The tallest of them spoke, "I trust you all know why we are here tonight." The other three nodded and made sounds of affirmation. "Very well. It will do us well to remember that the contract is not active until classes are in session." He handed a small box to each person. Each young man opened his own box, and each took a small object out from it. "Victor status remains the same as at the end of our inauguration last term." The flash of passing headlights nearby revealed the objects to be circular in shape. "In case your powers of recall fail you, I shall now update you on our current status." The headlights passed a second time. The objects were forged of a white metal, possibly silver. "Current number of members, four. Number of Duels thus far, zero." The headlights passed again as he said this. Their light revealed a smirk of wry amusement on his lips. "Current Victor, me." The lights passed yet again. The objects were rings. The car passed again, again, again, each time with increasing frequency, each time revealing more and more of the objects' details. "As Student Council President, I hereby declare the Duels open." In unison, the four slipped the rings onto the third finger of their left hands. The car stopped to a screeching halt, shining its blinding lights upon four left hands. Upon each of these hands was a ring, and on each of these rings was an engraving of a stylized rose. The rose signet. "For the Revolution of the World!" ---- Author's notes: I have big plans for this as a series, and I actually have it fully thought out. The idea behind this fic is that Akio has been manipulating people to his own ends for a long, long time. In other words, there have been countless duelists over the centuries who have been trying to bring Revolution. This got me thinking. What about the duelists that came before the ones seen in SKU? This, plus some of the thoughts I remember having when I first watched the 1st tape, sort of swirled around in my head until I realized: I wanted to tell the story of the first female Duelist, well, at least the first one at Ohtori. ^_^v I hope I'm making sense.... Anyway, this story takes place soon after Ohtori has gone co-ed (more about this later on in the series). "GEN'IN" means "cause or orgin". I hope you enjoyed it, & thank you for reading!! ---- (My apologies to Hermann Hesse for taking some bits from his description of Cain.) Shoujo Kakumei Utena belongs to Be-papas, Chiho Saito, and Software Sculptors. All original characters are mine.