Mercurial > moonlitnights
comparison old/stories/anna.txt @ 2:fc00894c1d4a moonlitnights
[svn r3] moved all the bad stuff to 'old'
| author | rlm |
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| date | Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:53:12 -0500 |
| parents | |
| children |
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| 1 Hello! ^-^ This is a story about Anna Respighi from Battle | |
| 2 Athletess, easily one of my favorite characters from anything. ^-^ | |
| 3 This takes place after the OAV episode where they discover that Anna | |
| 4 is a boy, though it borrows several elements from the tv series, such | |
| 5 as Anna’s lapses into insanity, what happened to her sister, etc. Oh, | |
| 6 and as far as Anna’s roommates names go, I’m not trying to force in | |
| 7 English sounding characters into a Japanese series. The characters | |
| 8 from Battle Athletess are from all over the place, so their | |
| 9 nationalities reflect that. I was simply trying to do the same with | |
| 10 the boys. I really hope you enjoy it. ^-^ If you have the chance, | |
| 11 please e-mail me any feedback you may have. Thanks! ^-^ | |
| 12 | |
| 13 | |
| 14 One Dance Left | |
| 15 by Amazoness Duo | |
| 16 amazonessduo@hotmail.com | |
| 17 | |
| 18 | |
| 19 Looking out the window into the dark emptiness of space, Anna | |
| 20 Respighi had to wonder which was truly emptier, space or herself. She | |
| 21 felt like a brittle shell, having long ago spent the last of her | |
| 22 tears. Her carefully trained athletic body felt weak now, unable to | |
| 23 perform the simplest of tasks like closing the window she was staring | |
| 24 out of. But she didn’t have the will to close it even if she could | |
| 25 muster the strength. Her life felt like it had ended. They were | |
| 26 shipping her off already. They hadn’t listened to her pleas, her | |
| 27 frenzied explanations. They hadn’t cared at all that they would be | |
| 28 taking her away from her only two friends in the entire galaxy. The | |
| 29 headmaster had been all too eager to get rid of her, seeing her as | |
| 30 unfitting alongside his all female students. No matter how much she | |
| 31 cried, how much she tried to dissuade them, her arguments fell on | |
| 32 deaf ears. And now she found herself hurtling away from what she had | |
| 33 come to see as her home, from the two girls that had been closer to | |
| 34 her than mere teammates, from all the hopes and dreams that her | |
| 35 mother had instilled in her from the time that she was a child. | |
| 36 Why hadn’t she listened to her mother? Why hadn’t she been more | |
| 37 careful? Because Akari had told her it would be all right. Because | |
| 38 she said that everyone did it. Shy, introverted Anna had been all too | |
| 39 willing to go along with her friend’s words, not wanting to seem | |
| 40 awkward. The look of shock on Akari’s face was still painfully | |
| 41 emblazoned in her mind. She felt such bitter betrayal at that sight. | |
| 42 Everyone had run away from her, crumbling what little self-esteem she | |
| 43 had managed to garner in her time at the University Satellite. She | |
| 44 had run to Akari for help, but even Akari had reacted terribly to | |
| 45 seeing her. It was a bathing area. She was supposed to go in naked. | |
| 46 Akari had told her so. So why had everyone ran away as if they were | |
| 47 frightened of her? It had hurt Anna so much to see that. Like she was | |
| 48 some sort of monster. Even Akari... | |
| 49 The problem for the lonely yet gorgeous blue haired girl was that | |
| 50 she wasn’t a girl at all. At least not physically. But she hadn’t | |
| 51 known that. Her entire life had been led as a girl. She had always | |
| 52 been raised as one by her mother along with her twin sister. Her | |
| 53 childhood had been one of lace and ribbons, dolls and cooking, all | |
| 54 interspersed with intense training by her mother. Her mother’s dream | |
| 55 was that one of her little girls would one day become the Cosmo | |
| 56 Beauty. That had been a source of rivalry between the twin sisters. | |
| 57 Both wanted nothing more than to please their mother, to win for her, | |
| 58 to fulfill her dreams. Whenever one would achieve in sports and | |
| 59 athletics, they would be praised endlessly, given all the warm | |
| 60 attention their mother could muster. So they had both fought | |
| 61 tirelessly to win their mother’s attention. Until one day back on the | |
| 62 earth training school, their usually friendly rivalry had turned | |
| 63 tragic. Anna had heard her mother telling her more outgoing sister | |
| 64 that the last event to decide which of them, equally matched thus | |
| 65 far, would be going to the University Satellite. Anna's twin, Ellene, | |
| 66 was better at tennis than Anna was and her mother had told her to | |
| 67 win when Ellene began to consider whether or not she should | |
| 68 use her advantage. Anna had been devastated. Ellene would win, | |
| 69 she would receive all of her mother’s praise and attention and her | |
| 70 mother already knew it. She was nothing. She would forever be in her | |
| 71 sister’s shadow, never able to get her mother to truly see her. | |
| 72 Something inside Anna had snapped that day. She wouldn’t let anyone | |
| 73 stand in her way. No one would stop her. Not even her own twin. When | |
| 74 the sisters faced each other that fateful day, that darkness inside | |
| 75 Anna lashed out, and in the end, her sister lay in a coma, making | |
| 76 Anna the winner by default. Yet even then, tasting the madness that | |
| 77 had overcome her, Anna still didn’t have her mother’s attention. Her | |
| 78 mother had left to the hospital with her comatose twin. She hadn’t | |
| 79 been there when Anna had left for space, though Anna had waited till | |
| 80 the last possible second before boarding so that her mother might see | |
| 81 her off. | |
| 82 All of this Anna knew to some extent, though she still didn’t | |
| 83 understand the full implications. Her mind had glossed over how badly | |
| 84 her sister had been hurt, had tried to make up for the fact that her | |
| 85 mother wasn’t there to see her victories and her losses. But what she | |
| 86 hadn’t known was something that had been with her for the entirety of | |
| 87 her life. They had told her there, in the headmaster’s room, not | |
| 88 caring at all for the pain it caused her. She was a boy. That was why | |
| 89 the girl’s in the bathroom had been lacking something of their | |
| 90 anatomy. Or rather, why she had something different. They had | |
| 91 explained to her that her mother had so wanted her daughter to be the | |
| 92 Cosmo Beauty that she had raised Anna as a girl as well, hoping that | |
| 93 one of her twin children would make it that far. This had torn apart | |
| 94 Anna’s small world. A boy? How could she be a boy? She had always | |
| 95 been a girl, had in fact been more feminine than her twin sister. Yet | |
| 96 they didn’t listen to her as she tried to explain this simple fact to | |
| 97 them. They wouldn’t listen to her as she tried unsuccessfully to tell | |
| 98 them that she was, in fact, a female, and that she belonged at the | |
| 99 University Satellite. That damned perverted headmaster had sent her | |
| 100 away, telling her that her athletic record would make her an | |
| 101 excellent student at the boy’s satellite. She had been aghast, unable | |
| 102 to utter a word to the headmaster as he sent her off to pack her | |
| 103 bags. But her mind screamed clearly into the abyss. She didn’t belong | |
| 104 at the boys’ school because she wasn’t a boy. | |
| 105 The blue haired girl had been in a state of shock as she had been | |
| 106 escorted to a shuttle to be shipped off to a boys’ school that she | |
| 107 knew nothing about nor cared to be at. She had grown up wanting to be | |
| 108 the Cosmo Beauty, not whatever the best boy athlete was supposed to | |
| 109 be. How could she get her mother to look at her if she couldn’t even | |
| 110 compete for the prestigious Cosmo Beauty title? Her sister had beaten | |
| 111 her again. She couldn’t even attempt her mother’s dreams now. Her | |
| 112 heart clenched up as the familiar feelings of worthlessness and | |
| 113 despair overtook her once more. But she had no more tears to cry. She | |
| 114 had been crying ever since she had gotten on the shuttle. No more | |
| 115 Kris and her odd yet always comforting ways. No more Akari and her | |
| 116 energetic spirit. Her only two friends, ripped from her without even | |
| 117 so much as a goodbye. But did Akari even care? The girl with the | |
| 118 rabbit eared hair had been just as disturbed by Anna being a boy as | |
| 119 everyone else there. No, Akari probably didn’t care. And Kris | |
| 120 wouldn’t mind as long as she was with Akari. So she was truly all | |
| 121 alone. In a place that she didn’t want to be. Surrounded by boys that | |
| 122 she didn’t understand. It had always been just the three of them, her | |
| 123 mother, her sister, and herself. | |
| 124 Anna burst into tears again, finding that she hadn’t cried all of | |
| 125 her tears after all. | |
| 126 | |
| 127 Taking her few bags with her off of the shuttle, Anna slowly walked | |
| 128 down the steps. She had changed out of her girls’ uniform when they | |
| 129 had told her she wasn’t allowed to take it with. She had protested | |
| 130 strenuously, but they wouldn’t let her take it with. The last symbol | |
| 131 of her mother’s dream had been ripped from her clenched fingers. The | |
| 132 woman who had pried it from her fingers had stared at her oddly for | |
| 133 the longest time as she finally walked away, muttering something | |
| 134 about how crazy ‘he’ was. The blue haired girl had barely had the | |
| 135 strength to change into a short, pleated skirt and a button up blouse | |
| 136 with a small tied ribbon before they had taken her off to the shuttle | |
| 137 bay. | |
| 138 Brushing back some blue green hair from her eyes, Anna looked | |
| 139 around the expansive shuttle port. She got several odd looks from | |
| 140 some of the staff servicing the shuttles and the rest of the | |
| 141 equipment, but she tried to ignore it. She just wanted to find out | |
| 142 where her room was so she could hide. ‘Roommates,’ an inner voice | |
| 143 added quickly, ruining even the small solace that idea had held. She | |
| 144 lowered her head miserably as a man approached. | |
| 145 “Anna Respighi?” he asked quizzically, as he looked at the notepad | |
| 146 he held. He looked up at the girl in front of him and down at the | |
| 147 notepad once more. This was certainly awkward. He had thought the boy | |
| 148 merely had a strange name when he’d first received the report that a | |
| 149 new student was being flown in from the girls’ university, presumably | |
| 150 having been sent there by mistake. But upon seeing the new student, | |
| 151 he sure thought the boy looked like a girl as well. | |
| 152 Anna nodded shyly, not looking up as she held her bags tightly. She | |
| 153 could feel the rough material cutting into her palms. Her vision | |
| 154 blurred momentarily, causing her to blink furiously in an attempt to | |
| 155 banish the tears. “Hai...” she said quietly. | |
| 156 The man looked at the new student one last time before turning. | |
| 157 ‘Well, this has to be the strangest student I’ve met yet,’ he thought | |
| 158 to himself. Aloud, he said, “Please come this way. I’ll show you to | |
| 159 your room. We’ll send by some uniforms in a bit after you have a | |
| 160 chance to get settled.” He started walking out the door and down the | |
| 161 hallway, listening for the footsteps to signify that he was being | |
| 162 followed. He nodded in satisfaction as soft footsteps rang out behind | |
| 163 his own. “I took a look at your statistics. It sounds like you’ll be | |
| 164 giving quite a few boys around here a run for their money,” he said | |
| 165 with a smile. | |
| 166 Rubbing her eyes with her palm, Anna took in a shuddering breath | |
| 167 and held it for a moment. “I don’t want to be here...” she whispered | |
| 168 hopelessly. “I... Thank you..” she replied, louder this time. Her | |
| 169 mother had always taught her to be polite. Even if she was shy, she | |
| 170 could still retain that at least. | |
| 171 The two stopped in front of a room very similar to the rooms back | |
| 172 at the female University. A placard was placed near the door, | |
| 173 signifying the occupants. Stahl Ivon, Emmerich Dave, Respighi Anna, | |
| 174 it read in sharp letters. Just looking at it made Anna feel homesick, | |
| 175 remembering a similar placard when she had first found her room at | |
| 176 the girls’ University. And finding it had been no easy task. She | |
| 177 shuddered in remembrance of Mylandah Walder. But Kris had come and | |
| 178 saved both her and Akari. And shortly thereafter she had found out | |
| 179 that they were all roommates. She choked back a sob, her two friends | |
| 180 smiling faces returning unbidden to her mind. Whoever occupied this | |
| 181 room, she didn’t know. And she didn’t want to know. She wanted to be | |
| 182 back with her friends, to be striving for her mother’s dream once | |
| 183 more. | |
| 184 “Good luck, kiddo,” the man said casually as he walked down the | |
| 185 hallway, waving at Anna with his notepad before disappearing into the | |
| 186 maze of corridors. | |
| 187 Anna slumped against the door, sliding down to her knees. The cold | |
| 188 metal seeped into her bare legs as she collapsed onto them. Her bags | |
| 189 fell next to her, standing sentinel in front of the door. A weak sob | |
| 190 escaped her trembling lips as she sat there in a rising storm of | |
| 191 grief. It battered continually at her heart, it’s winds tearing apart | |
| 192 her sail, the waves crashing down around the bow. She was drowning in | |
| 193 agony. Some of the boys walking down the hallway stared at her oddly, | |
| 194 but said nothing, whispering amongst themselves as they gawked at the | |
| 195 new boy. The pretty new boy. Their stares burned her flesh, like the | |
| 196 eyes of hunting jackals or sinister demons. This got her to her feet, | |
| 197 grabbing her bags with shaking hands. Part of her just wanted to | |
| 198 leave the bags, to just get inside and get away from these frightful | |
| 199 beasts. But she knew that all of her pictures and important keepsakes | |
| 200 were inside. She had to take them with. | |
| 201 The door took an eternity to open. Even with 50th century | |
| 202 technology, it was far too slow for Anna. She scraped her arm against | |
| 203 the metal as she pulled herself inside before it was fully open. The | |
| 204 door closed quickly behind her. In the darkness of her new room, her | |
| 205 knees threatened to give out. She so wanted to collapse where she | |
| 206 stood, to wrap the darkness around her like a blanket and try to cry | |
| 207 herself to sleep. ‘Roommates,’ that persistent and sometimes | |
| 208 frightening inner voice repeated. Anna simply nodded, dragging her | |
| 209 bags further into the small dorm. | |
| 210 “Oh, so you’re the new guy? Nice to meet you?” A boy startled the | |
| 211 girl with the sea green hair as he popped up from the couch. He had | |
| 212 messy blond hair and glasses and his right hand was still clutching a | |
| 213 book he had been reading. How he had gotten up to this prestigious | |
| 214 sports university was anyone’s guess. “My name’s Dave. Dave | |
| 215 Emmerich.” He paused as he noticed her skirt and the red ribbon in | |
| 216 her hair. He pulled his glasses up and rubbed at his eyes for a | |
| 217 moment before pulling them back down. There must have been a mistake, | |
| 218 because the boy they were supposed to send in to room with him | |
| 219 couldn’t be this shy looking girl. Of course, there weren’t any girls | |
| 220 around the boys’ University, so seeing one was always a very, very | |
| 221 welcome surprise. Many of the boys’ had started up relationships with | |
| 222 other boys while they were segregated up here in space, as he had | |
| 223 heard happened oftentimes at the girl’s University as well. But that | |
| 224 didn’t mean he wasn’t pleased to see a female member of the species | |
| 225 in his room. In his room. Wow... He quickly ran his fingers through | |
| 226 his blond hair, hoping that he had it in some semblance of order. “I | |
| 227 really hope you haven’t gotten the wrong room, ma’am. I’d be happy to | |
| 228 help you with whatever you could possibly need. Books, directions... | |
| 229 ummm... anything at all.” He nodded quickly, laughing nervously. How | |
| 230 long had it been since he had seen a girl? Two, three months? And | |
| 231 that had just been his sister when he had been about to get shipped | |
| 232 off to the University. | |
| 233 “She’s a boy, you moron,” another voice interrupted, causing Anna | |
| 234 to drop her bags in fright. A silver haired boy with sharp, angular | |
| 235 features stepped out of the shadows. He was soaked with sweat, | |
| 236 obviously having chosen to train in his limited free time. “Either | |
| 237 that or she’s flat as hell.” | |
| 238 “She looks curvy enough to me,” Dave replied conversationally, | |
| 239 adjusting his glasses. His face burned in embarrassment seconds later | |
| 240 as he realized the subject of their discussion was still present. “I | |
| 241 mean... err... Not that I’d be looking or anything..” he supplied | |
| 242 lamely. “Anyway, this is Ivon Stahl. But you can call him Shard. No | |
| 243 one else does, but hey, maybe we can start a nickname for him.” | |
| 244 Ivon sighed, brushing sweat from his brow as he walked past Anna. | |
| 245 “You don’t really think they’d send a girl here, do you, Dave? You’ve | |
| 246 been out in space too long. Those genius brain cells of yours are | |
| 247 starting to misfire.” Grabbing something to drink from the small | |
| 248 kitchen area they had, he turned to take a look at the cute new | |
| 249 arrival. “So you’re a crossdresser?” he asked mildly. | |
| 250 “I’m not a crossdresser!!!” Anna screamed angrily. Her fists | |
| 251 clenched as she turned towards the silver haired boy. The voice | |
| 252 inside of her was trying desperately to break through what few | |
| 253 barricades Anna had against it. Rage, humiliation, and agonizing pain | |
| 254 accompanied the boy’s words as they echoed again and again in her | |
| 255 mind. That was so degrading, that she was just dressing up in these | |
| 256 clothes, that she was anything like the two boys in the room. It was | |
| 257 like she was just some performer, wearing this for thrills, not | |
| 258 because they were what she felt comfortable in, what she had always | |
| 259 worn. Tears threatened to spill down her lovely cheeks once more, but | |
| 260 this time they were tinged with red hot hatred. Hatred for the | |
| 261 headmaster, for all those that had sent her away from her mother’s | |
| 262 dream and her only friends. Hatred for this boy who would so | |
| 263 callously disregard her as obviously not a woman. Hatred for herself | |
| 264 for not being able to achieve her mother’s attention. She barely | |
| 265 noticed the blood dripping down to the floor from her cut palms. Her | |
| 266 fingernails dug deeply into her flesh. | |
| 267 “Calm down, man. Geez. I’m just wondering what’s up with the | |
| 268 feminine clothes. Hey, if it’s a fashion statement from the | |
| 269 Biginners, then that’s good for you.” Ivon put his hand on Anna’s | |
| 270 shoulder, trying to calm the obviously agitated boy down. He | |
| 271 immediately wished that he hadn’t. Pain shot through his wrist as | |
| 272 Anna moved with blinding speed, twisting his wrist as she yanked his | |
| 273 hand away from her. | |
| 274 “I AM NOT A CROSSDRESSER!” Anna shouted, holding the silver haired | |
| 275 boy’s hand in a death grip as her body shook. The pain, the anger all | |
| 276 ate at her, pushing forward in a frenzied path towards freedom. Anna | |
| 277 was usually a very calm, shy, introverted girl. She was very sweet | |
| 278 and kind, though she always had trouble with people because of her | |
| 279 shyness. But she could also be very volatile. Sometimes all of that | |
| 280 pain and anger she held inside was just too much for her and she | |
| 281 lashed out in a psychotic, maniacal rage. That had brought about her | |
| 282 sister’s extended hospital visit and the coma she was in after the | |
| 283 stress of competing with her sister and the knowledge that she | |
| 284 wouldn’t be able to get her mother’s approval had become too much. | |
| 285 Now Anna was very close to breaking. She had lost her only two | |
| 286 friends, had been yanked away from her only chance at finally getting | |
| 287 her mother’s attention, had been told that she wasn’t even a girl, | |
| 288 and now she was in some strange place all alone with someone telling | |
| 289 her that she was only a boy in drag. And inside, that angry voice, | |
| 290 that pained, psychotic voice cried out, drowning out Anna’s usually | |
| 291 soft spoken and quiet words. She finally let go of the boy’s hand | |
| 292 just short of breaking it. Grabbing her bags, she stormed back to her | |
| 293 room, dragging her bags with her. | |
| 294 Ivon collapsed in pain, clutching his wrist as he fell to the | |
| 295 floor. His wrist was smeared with the blood from Anna’s palms. | |
| 296 “Fuck... What the hell...” He tried to catch his breath as he watched | |
| 297 Anna disappear into the free room, the door swishing shut behind her. | |
| 298 | |
| 299 Several hours later, Anna’s hand shook as she punched in the | |
| 300 numbers to call her house back on earth. She needed to speak to her | |
| 301 mother. She needed to know that things would be all right. She | |
| 302 couldn’t handle it here. She didn’t want to be here at all. This was | |
| 303 a boys’ school and she certainly didn’t belong here. The poor, | |
| 304 frightened girl needed her mother. It had taken her forever to work | |
| 305 up the courage to hurry out of her room to find a communications | |
| 306 system that would let her call Earth. Her two roommates had avoided | |
| 307 her for some reason, though she couldn’t quite recall why. But it | |
| 308 hardly seemed to matter. She wasn’t good with people. Of course they | |
| 309 wouldn’t like her. And she was too shy to try and get to know them. | |
| 310 Which is why she had been so thrilled to find that she, Kris, and | |
| 311 Akari really had been a team, that they had grown to be friends. Her | |
| 312 only friends. Fresh pain washed over her heart, but she pushed it | |
| 313 down deep inside of her, unknowingly feeding the pain and anguish | |
| 314 within her, as the communications request was sent. | |
| 315 “Mama!” Anna said happily, smiling into the communications screen. | |
| 316 “I’m so sorry! I.. I wanted to talk to you, but they wouldn’t let | |
| 317 me...” The blue green haired girl sniffled as she wiped at her eyes. | |
| 318 “Mama, they sent me away.. They sent me to the boys’ University... | |
| 319 I’m not a boy, mama... I’m not..” Tears trickled wetly down her | |
| 320 cheeks as she began to cry weakly, leaning against the communications | |
| 321 system. | |
| 322 “Of course you aren’t, honey,” her mother’s voice stated softly. | |
| 323 “You’re my little girl. You’ve always been my little girl. I love | |
| 324 you, Anna.” The older woman smiled her motherly smile, placing her | |
| 325 hand on the screen directly where Anna’s was placed miles and miles | |
| 326 away. | |
| 327 “I know... I love you, too, mama... I just... I don’t know what to | |
| 328 do... I can’t win the Cosmo Beauty here.. I don’t want to be here... | |
| 329 I hate this place...” She looked around hatefully at the walls that | |
| 330 surrounded her. She wiped tears away from her blue eyes with her | |
| 331 fingertips. “I want to come home..” she whispered painfully. It was a | |
| 332 relief to finally see her mother, to hear her voice, but the anguish | |
| 333 of the last few hours still weighed heavily on her, dragging her | |
| 334 deeper and deeper into the abyss. | |
| 335 “I’m sorry, honey. You can’t come home yet. Not yet. There’s still | |
| 336 more that you have to do. You still have to become the Cosmo Beauty,” | |
| 337 her mother’s voice replied, as if she were speaking directly to | |
| 338 Anna’s heart instead of through the communications system. | |
| 339 “But.. Mama, I can’t... I can’t become the Cosmo Beauty from | |
| 340 here... They won’t let me back to the girls’ University because they | |
| 341 all think I’m a boy...” Anna shook her head, tears sparkling through | |
| 342 the air as she tried to focus past the despair. When she opened her | |
| 343 blue eyes, she could see several crystalline teardrops on the screen | |
| 344 in front of her. She took a deep, shuddering breath as she watched | |
| 345 her mother. | |
| 346 “I know. But you’ll get your chance, my dear. You just have to keep | |
| 347 training. You’ll eventually get your chance at Cosmo Beauty. And I | |
| 348 know you’ll win, Anna. Because you’re my daughter. And I know how | |
| 349 strong you are inside. You just have to wait for your chance,” her | |
| 350 mother explained calmly. Her mother’s voice sounded so much like the | |
| 351 voice inside of her, that angry and pained one. Like she was talking | |
| 352 to Anna from inside, where the voice was. | |
| 353 Nodding, Anna tried to smile weakly. “Un... You’re right, mama.. | |
| 354 I’ll try to get better... I’ll wait for my chance,” she said softly. | |
| 355 Her mother was right. Her mother was always right. She wasn’t a boy. | |
| 356 And she would get her chance to be Cosmo Beauty, to win the honor | |
| 357 that her mother so longed for one of her daughters to achieve. ‘My | |
| 358 sister,’ Anna thought to herself. Was she doing all right? Was she | |
| 359 feeling better? From what? What had happened again? A soft, velvety | |
| 360 blanket wrapped itself around Anna’s thoughts as she tried | |
| 361 desperately to make sense of them. ‘My.. sister?’ Anna thought to | |
| 362 herself. But by now, even the emotions behind that thought were gone, | |
| 363 wrapped away and swept back into her subconsciousness. Whatever she | |
| 364 had been thinking of was gone, and she couldn’t even recall that hand | |
| 365 that had gently pulled the thoughts away. | |
| 366 “You’ll be fine, Anna. I know you will. I’ll be cheering for you in | |
| 367 ever event, honey. Do your best for me,” her mother finished, smiling | |
| 368 brightly. | |
| 369 Anna nodded, determination gleaming in her still bloodshot eyes. “I | |
| 370 will, I promise, mama! I’ll win for you. Please watch me. I’ll win | |
| 371 everything for you,” Anna promised, desperate for her mother’s divine | |
| 372 attention, that which she had striven her entire live for. With that, | |
| 373 the monitor blinked out and her mother was gone. But what Anna failed | |
| 374 to notice was that her mother had never been there at all. Her mother | |
| 375 was still at the hospital with her sister, keeping an eye on the | |
| 376 comatose girl in the hopes that she would recover. What Anna had just | |
| 377 spoken with was her own inner voice, the person she was talking to | |
| 378 merely a product of her own mind. But the sea green haired girl | |
| 379 walked off feeling happier nonetheless, still believing that her | |
| 380 mother would be watching her as she continued to train. | |
| 381 | |
| 382 “I thought you would know Kris-san’s heart by now, Akari-san,” Anna | |
| 383 said, giggling softly at her friend’s embarrassment. It was the | |
| 384 tournament between the boys’ University and the girls’ University and | |
| 385 she had just been in a very close match with Akari. The match had | |
| 386 taught her quite a bit. No matter how much one trained, there was a | |
| 387 certain amount of will, or heart, that went into it. It was something | |
| 388 she would have to understand more clearly if she could ever stand a | |
| 389 chance at the title of Cosmo Beauty. Of course, she would have to get | |
| 390 out of the boys’ University first. “You had Kris-san’s heart with | |
| 391 you, so there was no way you could lose,” Anna continued. She was | |
| 392 wearing the boys’ uniform and her hair wasn’t in its usual single | |
| 393 pigtail style. Akari, on the other hand, was in a very skimpy outfit | |
| 394 that was supposed to wreak havoc on the male players playing against | |
| 395 the girls’ team. The boys’ headmaster had foreseen this, though, and | |
| 396 had prepared by sending in a boy team that consisted of two | |
| 397 homosexual boys and Anna herself, three people who wouldn’t be | |
| 398 bothered by the skimpy outfits in front of them. | |
| 399 “Anna-chan...” Akari said in obvious embarrassment. But she looked | |
| 400 secretly pleased at the thought of having Kris’s heart near her own. | |
| 401 She and Kris had grown even closer as of late and although the idea | |
| 402 of falling in love with the other girl was definitely disconcerting | |
| 403 for her, it was a very pleasant topsy turvy feeling that accompanied | |
| 404 it. Almost like getting off a carousel on a bright and sunny day. But | |
| 405 she quickly pushed away her discomfort at Anna’s words, happy to see | |
| 406 her friend again, even if she was dressed up in boys’ clothes this | |
| 407 time around. “How are you? It’s not the same without you here. We | |
| 408 were a team, so it doesn’t seem right continuing on towards the Cosmo | |
| 409 Beauty without you.” | |
| 410 Anna felt a painful stab in her heart at Akari’s words. Oh, how she | |
| 411 longed to be there with Akari and Kris once more, eagerly straining | |
| 412 for the greatest title a girl could ever hope to be granted. Anna | |
| 413 smiled a little sadly. “I really miss you two. You were the best | |
| 414 friends I ever had. I wish I could come back for good, but we have to | |
| 415 leave again when the Universities separate.” She sighed, brushing | |
| 416 back blue green hair from her misty eyes. “But I’m fine. My roommates | |
| 417 are nice, I guess. And I’ve been trying my hardest in all of the | |
| 418 events.” She didn’t continue past that, only hoping that that would | |
| 419 be enough for Akari. Truth be told, her only friend at the boys’ | |
| 420 school was the headmaster’s pet dog. And she couldn’t tell which | |
| 421 headmaster she hated the most, the slave driver at the boys’ | |
| 422 University or the perverted one at the girls’ school who wouldn’t let | |
| 423 her stay just because of what happened to be between her legs. She | |
| 424 blinked in surprise. Well, maybe she knew which one she hated more | |
| 425 after all. She hated the pervert infinitely worse. Rage bubbled | |
| 426 simply at the sight of the smirking bastard. Her fists clenched in | |
| 427 anger as she watched him smugly feeling up female students with his | |
| 428 eyes. She didn’t know if she felt like bursting into tears or tearing | |
| 429 out his throat. ‘Kill him,’ that inner voice whispered seductively | |
| 430 into her ear. ‘Tear him apart.’ “Mama...” she whispered, holding her | |
| 431 head as she tried to think straight. She had already injured a boy in | |
| 432 one of the final rounds of the boys’ University’s program. She was a | |
| 433 much better athlete when her dark side was unleashed, but it | |
| 434 frightened her. There was almost a limitless amount of strength at | |
| 435 her call when she snapped, but she always found herself lost, barely | |
| 436 noticing what happened while she was in that state. She didn’t even | |
| 437 remember hurting the boy, only knowing what Dave had told her. | |
| 438 “Anna-chan?” Akari asked worriedly. The bluish haired girl looked | |
| 439 so out of it, like she was grappling with some inner demon. She | |
| 440 hadn’t seen or heard from Anna since she had been transferred and she | |
| 441 was concerned about how the shy girl was coping. | |
| 442 “Are you all right, Anna-chan?” Kris reached the group quickly, her | |
| 443 face marked with concern as she watched the fragile girl in front of | |
| 444 her. She reached out, gently pushing away some of Anna’s hair from | |
| 445 her face. | |
| 446 Slowly looking up, Anna looked from Akari to Kris, the concerned | |
| 447 faces of her friends watching her intently. Just seeing them both | |
| 448 made her feel more at ease. She smiled softly and stood up straight. | |
| 449 She bowed to Kris, nodding. “Hai, I’m fine, Kris-san. I just didn’t | |
| 450 get much sleep last night. I was very eager to see the two of you | |
| 451 again.” Her smile brightened visibly as she looked from one to the | |
| 452 other. | |
| 453 Kris laughed, grinning. “We missed you, too, Anna-chan. It’s good | |
| 454 to see you back.” She hugged the smaller girl tightly, surprising | |
| 455 Anna. “It doesn’t matter how far I get in the competition. I’ll | |
| 456 always remember this for the experiences it has given me. Meeting you | |
| 457 was one of them, Anna-chan. I’ll always treasure our friendship. | |
| 458 Thank you so much for giving me that token. That’s much more valuable | |
| 459 than any trophy or title.” | |
| 460 Anna shyly hugged back, feeling genuinely happy for the first time | |
| 461 since she had been transferred away from her friends. It felt so nice | |
| 462 to know that someone cared about her, to feel her friends near. | |
| 463 Seconds later, she felt Akari’s arms wrap around her as well. A | |
| 464 peaceful sigh escaped her lips. There was no anger, no pain to bother | |
| 465 her now. It was locked away, deep inside. Hot tears trickled slowly | |
| 466 down her cheeks as felt the group hug. So they hadn’t forgotten her | |
| 467 after all. They still cared about her. They were still her friends. | |
| 468 Her very best friends. When it finally ended, she quickly wiped at | |
| 469 her eyes, smiling brilliantly. “Thank you both so much. I’ll always | |
| 470 remember you both, no matter where we wind up.” | |
| 471 Returning the smile, Akari laughed. “It’s a small universe. We’ll | |
| 472 see each other again. We have to. Because we’ll always be friends.” | |
| 473 Nodding, Kris wiped away one of Anna’s tears. She held it on the | |
| 474 tip of her finger for a long moment, contemplating it. Anna | |
| 475 sweatdropped as the taller girl licked the teardrop away. “So that | |
| 476 we’ll always share in each others’ pain and joy, wherever we may go.” | |
| 477 Anna lunged forwards, hugging the taller woman and then Akari | |
| 478 again. She clasped her hands in front of herself, looking from one to | |
| 479 the other. There was so much she wanted to say to them, to tell them | |
| 480 how important their friendship was to her, but her shyness was a | |
| 481 difficult hurdle to cross. “Akari-chan, thank you for being my | |
| 482 friend. You helped me understand how important your heart and soul | |
| 483 are even in sports. And Kris-san, I had a lot of fun reading manga | |
| 484 with you and watching you try my cooking. You taught me a lot about | |
| 485 the Biginners and about friendship. Thank you both.” She bowed | |
| 486 quickly to the two of them as the final call came for the boys to | |
| 487 return. She took a few hurried steps away. “I’ll never forget you!!” | |
| 488 Without looking back, Anna ran off, blinking through a haze of tears. | |
| 489 | |
| 490 The new school year had started at the University Satellite and | |
| 491 Akari Kanzaki was the reigning Cosmo Beauty. She had returned for the | |
| 492 new year, thrilled at the prospect of once again returning to this | |
| 493 place of fond memories and the heart and soul she had thrown into | |
| 494 everything while she had been there. Friends and enemies, joy and | |
| 495 heartache, it had all happened here. She had even received her first | |
| 496 kiss at the Satellite. Blushing deeply, she recalled Kris’s tender | |
| 497 lisp against her own. They had stayed together all that night, not | |
| 498 wanting to leave each other’s side. It had been so painful to know | |
| 499 that they would soon be parting. Akari had grown to need Kris, to | |
| 500 need her presence. The taller woman made her heart beat quicker, made | |
| 501 her soul soar. She made her reach further and fly higher than she | |
| 502 possibly could on her own. | |
| 503 There had been so much tension back them. Akari had been so | |
| 504 embarrassed about her twisted feelings for the other girl and how | |
| 505 Kris acted around her. But she couldn’t deny her feelings on that | |
| 506 last night, as they kissed amidst starlight. She hadn’t quite | |
| 507 understood what her feelings were at the time, but in the time they | |
| 508 had been apart, she came to realize that she loved Kris. As Anna had | |
| 509 said long ago, their hearts were entwined. Even apart, Akari could | |
| 510 feel Kris’s heart singing their song. Which is why she had hurried | |
| 511 back, taking the first shuttle she could upon learning that Kris had | |
| 512 returned to the University Satellite. She had nearly flown to the | |
| 513 moon to see the tall woman, her need to explain her feelings, to be | |
| 514 in Kris’s arms almost unbearable. The only thing that had kept her | |
| 515 from going insane was the help of her best friend, Ichino. Without | |
| 516 her, Akari would never have been able to survive their time apart. | |
| 517 And now Ichino had managed to get to the Satellite as well. So many | |
| 518 returning faces. Jessie, Mylandah, Lahrri, Tanya, Kris, Ichino. There | |
| 519 was only one person that remained absent, leaving a small hole in | |
| 520 Akari’s heart. | |
| 521 A sudden glimpse of blue in the crowd of students caught her | |
| 522 eye. Pausing after a moment’s hesitation, the brunette turned around | |
| 523 and scanned the crowd. She was probably just imagining things. There | |
| 524 was no way Anna could be here. She would be at the boys’ University, | |
| 525 wouldn’t she? But there it was again, that same flash of sea green in | |
| 526 the crowd. Akari hurried past the new students, struggling past to | |
| 527 reach the girl she finally spotted. “Anna-chan!! Anna-chan!” she | |
| 528 called out, waving in excitement. The girl looked around curiously, | |
| 529 her eyes settling on Akari as the brunette rushed up and hugged her. | |
| 530 “Anna-chan!! I’m so happy to see you!” | |
| 531 The girl blinked in confusion, looking at Akari as if she had gone | |
| 532 mad. “Anna-chan?” She paused for a moment before smiling. “You must | |
| 533 be Kanzaki Akari-san! You’re the whole reason I’m here. Well, your | |
| 534 mother, at any rate. Anna-chan met you last year, didn’t she? I’m her | |
| 535 sister, Ellene. I finally made it up to the Satellite this year. I’m | |
| 536 really eager to prove myself. I can’t wait to play against you. I’ve | |
| 537 been training a lot with my sister during the break just for this.” | |
| 538 “Oh..” Akari nodded slowly, a little disappointed. This was Anna’s | |
| 539 twin sister? So Anna didn’t get to come back to the girls’ University | |
| 540 after all. She smiled all the same, glad to see that familiar face. | |
| 541 “I’ll be happy to train with you sometime if you’d like. I’d love to | |
| 542 know what Anna-chan’s been up to.” | |
| 543 Ellene agreed happily. “Sure! I would be thrilled to train | |
| 544 with you, Kanzaki-san. And I’d be happy to tell you anything you want | |
| 545 to know about my sister.” | |
| 546 Akari quickly said goodbye to the girl that looked startlingly like | |
| 547 Anna and hurried towards her own room. It was a little disconcerting | |
| 548 that Anna had been replaced with her sister, but she was happy about | |
| 549 it even if it was bittersweet. If she was anything like Anna, then it | |
| 550 would be a pleasure to get to know her. | |
| 551 All of Akari’s thoughts came to an abrupt halt as she saw the woman | |
| 552 standing ahead of her, ice blue hair framing her beautiful face. | |
| 553 “Kris..” she whispered breathlessly. “Kris!!” She ran to the taller | |
| 554 woman with all of the strength she could muster, reaching her arms | |
| 555 almost immediately. Kris reeled back but held on fast. “Oh, Kris, I | |
| 556 missed you so much! You don’t know what it was like..” | |
| 557 A smile broke across Kris’s features as she looked down at the | |
| 558 brunette, her hands on her cheeks. “I know, Akari-chan. I felt it | |
| 559 along with you. I was always there, even if we weren’t side by side.” | |
| 560 In a moment spawned of months of heartache and the loneliness of | |
| 561 constantly imagining the one she loved, Akari pushed up on her | |
| 562 tiptoes and returned the kiss that Kris had granted her such a long | |
| 563 time before. That spinning carousel feeling was gone, replaced by a | |
| 564 crystal clarity that soothed her soul. Her heart was enraptured by | |
| 565 the taller girl’s presence, her mind just incredibly relieved to once | |
| 566 again be in her arms. “Kris..” she whispered, resting her head on the | |
| 567 blue haired woman’s chest as their lips finally parted. | |
| 568 “Akari-chan..” Kris said softly, gently stroking Akari’s brunette | |
| 569 hair. Her eyes closed as she took a deep breath, savoring Akari’s | |
| 570 scent, her feel, the sound of her breathing. It was all better than | |
| 571 she could possibly have dreamed. “This is why I came back. Akari- | |
| 572 chan, I want to be by you side. I want us to go through all of this | |
| 573 together, playing with our hearts side by side.” | |
| 574 Blushing slightly, Akari nodded eagerly. “That’s what I want, too, | |
| 575 Kris.” Resting her head on Kris’s shoulder, the two women made their | |
| 576 way back to the dorm that they’d be sharing with a third party | |
| 577 member. They were both too absorbed in the moment to bother reading | |
| 578 the placard. The door whooshed open and they entered, but what met | |
| 579 Akari’s eyes caught her completely by surprise. | |
| 580 Ichino was sitting at the table, a large plate in front of her. She | |
| 581 was quickly devouring the appetizing platter, obviously enjoying | |
| 582 herself. But what surprised Akari more than seeing her best friend in | |
| 583 her room was the sight behind the dark haired girl. Anna stood in the | |
| 584 small kitchen wearing a cute pink and white apron with frills around | |
| 585 the edges, busy cooking for the ‘fastest girl in Japan’. She was | |
| 586 humming something to herself, completely in her element and seeming | |
| 587 to enjoy herself just as much as Ichino was. | |
| 588 “Hey, Akari-chan!” Ichino said after choking down some food. “I was | |
| 589 wondering where you were. This place is huge! I almost got lost. I’m | |
| 590 glad Anna-chan knew where to go.” Ichino looked back at the blue | |
| 591 haired beauty who was slowly turning around to face her former | |
| 592 teammates. “Oh, sorry, Akari-chan. I should introduce her. This is | |
| 593 Respighi Anna-chan.” Ichino placed a hand behind her head, laughing | |
| 594 nervously. “She’s my girlfriend.” | |
| 595 “G..gir..girlfriend..?” Akari asked, suddenly taken even further off | |
| 596 guard by Ichino’s words. | |
| 597 Anna blushed a deep scarlet, clasping her hands together as she | |
| 598 looked down. “Ichino-chan..” she said, embarrassed. Her foot moved | |
| 599 back and forth on the floor as she stared at it. Finally regaining | |
| 600 some of her composure, she looked up to see Akari and Kris standing | |
| 601 in the doorway. A bright smile flashed across her face as she saw her | |
| 602 roommates again. “Kris-san! Akari-san! I’m so glad to see the both of | |
| 603 you!” | |
| 604 Grinning happily, Kris nodded. “I knew we’d meet again, Anna-chan. | |
| 605 It must have been Fate. We really are a team.” | |
| 606 Akari simply nodded quickly, still taken aback by the recent events. | |
| 607 She shook her head, confusion spinning her around until she felt | |
| 608 dizzy. “Wait, I thought Anna-chan had to go to the other University | |
| 609 because she’s a bo..” | |
| 610 “Akari-chan, could we not talk about that right now,” Ichino cut her | |
| 611 off, fighting a dark blush that lined her cheeks. She had found out | |
| 612 for herself about Anna’s male anatomy, but she could certainly vouch | |
| 613 for the blue haired girl’s femininity nonetheless. “We met at the | |
| 614 Training School in Australia. She was so shy around everybody that I | |
| 615 kinda felt like I had to look out for her. She paid me back by | |
| 616 cooking for me. We got to talk a lot during that. And what can I say, | |
| 617 I absolutely love her cooking. And watching her cook.” She grinned. | |
| 618 Anna blushed at Ichino’s words and turned to address Akari’s | |
| 619 question. She rested her hands on Ichino’s shoulders, standing behind | |
| 620 the dark haired girl’s chair. “My mother found out that I was kicked | |
| 621 out of the school and brought it up with the school board. It seems | |
| 622 that it violates the Equal Races act from several decades ago. She | |
| 623 argued that I was still female no matter what they said and that I | |
| 624 didn’t belong at the boy’s school. The school board reviewed my case | |
| 625 and finally agreed. So I got to come back. We get to be a team | |
| 626 again.” Anna smiled happily. Her pain was gone. Her anger and | |
| 627 frustration that had eaten at her soul had finally faded away some | |
| 628 time ago. That pained voice had left her. Her sister was fine and | |
| 629 they were both at the University now. She got to be with her friends | |
| 630 once more. Her mother had been more than happy just to see her again | |
| 631 when she had returned to Earth. And she had a beautiful girlfriend | |
| 632 that made her feel all bubbly inside. She felt wonderful. For once in | |
| 633 her life, she felt complete and fulfilled inside. No matter where the | |
| 634 winds took her sailboat this time, she was prepared. She would ride | |
| 635 the wind with her friends, and with her love. | |
| 636 | |
| 637 |