Hello! ^-^ This is a story about Anna Respighi from Battle

 Athletess, easily one of my favorite characters from anything. ^-^

 This takes place after the OAV episode where they discover that Anna

 is a boy, though it borrows several elements from the tv series, such

 as Anna’s lapses into insanity, what happened to her sister, etc. Oh,

 and as far as Anna’s roommates names go, I’m not trying to force in

 English sounding characters into a Japanese series. The characters

 from Battle Athletess are from all over the place, so their

 nationalities reflect that. I was simply trying to do the same with

 the boys. I really hope you enjoy it. ^-^ If you have the chance,

 please e-mail me any feedback you may have. Thanks! ^-^ 

 

 

 One Dance Left

 by Amazoness Duo

 amazonessduo@hotmail.com

 

 

 	Looking out the window into the dark emptiness of space, Anna

 Respighi had to wonder which was truly emptier, space or herself. She

 felt like a brittle shell, having long ago spent the last of her

 tears. Her carefully trained athletic body felt weak now, unable to

 perform the simplest of tasks like closing the window she was staring

 out of. But she didn’t have the will to close it even if she could

 muster the strength. Her life felt like it had ended. They were

 shipping her off already. They hadn’t listened to her pleas, her

 frenzied explanations. They hadn’t cared at all that they would be

 taking her away from her only two friends in the entire galaxy. The

 headmaster had been all too eager to get rid of her, seeing her as

 unfitting alongside his all female students. No matter how much she

 cried, how much she tried to dissuade them, her arguments fell on

 deaf ears. And now she found herself hurtling away from what she had

 come to see as her home, from the two girls that had been closer to

 her than mere teammates, from all the hopes and dreams that her

 mother had instilled in her from the time that she was a child.

 	Why hadn’t she listened to her mother? Why hadn’t she been more

 careful? Because Akari had told her it would be all right. Because

 she said that everyone did it. Shy, introverted Anna had been all too

 willing to go along with her friend’s words, not wanting to seem

 awkward. The look of shock on Akari’s face was still painfully

 emblazoned in her mind. She felt such bitter betrayal at that sight.

 Everyone had run away from her, crumbling what little self-esteem she

 had managed to garner in her time at the University Satellite. She

 had run to Akari for help, but even Akari had reacted terribly to

 seeing her. It was a bathing area. She was supposed to go in naked.

 Akari had told her so. So why had everyone ran away as if they were

 frightened of her? It had hurt Anna so much to see that. Like she was

 some sort of monster. Even Akari...

 	The problem for the lonely yet gorgeous blue haired girl was that

 she wasn’t a girl at all. At least not physically. But she hadn’t

 known that. Her entire life had been led as a girl. She had always

 been raised as one by her mother along with her twin sister. Her

 childhood had been one of lace and ribbons, dolls and cooking, all

 interspersed with intense training by her mother. Her mother’s dream

 was that one of her little girls would one day become the Cosmo

 Beauty. That had been a source of rivalry between the twin sisters.

 Both wanted nothing more than to please their mother, to win for her,

 to fulfill her dreams. Whenever one would achieve in sports and

 athletics, they would be praised endlessly, given all the warm

 attention their mother could muster. So they had both fought

 tirelessly to win their mother’s attention. Until one day back on the

 earth training school, their usually friendly rivalry had turned

 tragic. Anna had heard her mother telling her more outgoing sister

 that the last event to decide which of them, equally matched thus

 far, would be going to the University Satellite. Anna's twin, Ellene,

 was better at tennis than Anna was and her mother had told her to

 win when Ellene began to consider whether or not she should

 use her advantage. Anna had been devastated. Ellene would win,

 she would receive all of her mother’s praise and attention and her

 mother already knew it. She was nothing. She would forever be in her

 sister’s shadow, never able to get her mother to truly see her.

 Something inside Anna had snapped that day. She wouldn’t let anyone

 stand in her way. No one would stop her. Not even her own twin. When

 the sisters faced each other that fateful day, that darkness inside

 Anna lashed out, and in the end, her sister lay in a coma, making

 Anna the winner by default. Yet even then, tasting the madness that

 had overcome her, Anna still didn’t have her mother’s attention. Her

 mother had left to the hospital with her comatose twin. She hadn’t

 been there when Anna had left for space, though Anna had waited till

 the last possible second before boarding so that her mother might see

 her off.

 	All of this Anna knew to some extent, though she still didn’t

 understand the full implications. Her mind had glossed over how badly

 her sister had been hurt, had tried to make up for the fact that her

 mother wasn’t there to see her victories and her losses. But what she

 hadn’t known was something that had been with her for the entirety of

 her life. They had told her there, in the headmaster’s room, not

 caring at all for the pain it caused her. She was a boy. That was why

 the girl’s in the bathroom had been lacking something of their

 anatomy. Or rather, why she had something different. They had

 explained to her that her mother had so wanted her daughter to be the

 Cosmo Beauty that she had raised Anna as a girl as well, hoping that

 one of her twin children would make it that far. This had torn apart

 Anna’s small world. A boy? How could she be a boy? She had always

 been a girl, had in fact been more feminine than her twin sister. Yet

 they didn’t listen to her as she tried to explain this simple fact to

 them. They wouldn’t listen to her as she tried unsuccessfully to tell

 them that she was, in fact, a female, and that she belonged at the

 University Satellite. That damned perverted headmaster had sent her

 away, telling her that her athletic record would make her an

 excellent student at the boy’s satellite. She had been aghast, unable

 to utter a word to the headmaster as he sent her off to pack her

 bags. But her mind screamed clearly into the abyss. She didn’t belong

 at the boys’ school because she wasn’t a boy. 

 	The blue haired girl had been in a state of shock as she had been

 escorted to a shuttle to be shipped off to a boys’ school that she

 knew nothing about nor cared to be at. She had grown up wanting to be

 the Cosmo Beauty, not whatever the best boy athlete was supposed to

 be. How could she get her mother to look at her if she couldn’t even

 compete for the prestigious Cosmo Beauty title? Her sister had beaten

 her again. She couldn’t even attempt her mother’s dreams now. Her

 heart clenched up as the familiar feelings of worthlessness and

 despair overtook her once more. But she had no more tears to cry. She

 had been crying ever since she had gotten on the shuttle. No more

 Kris and her odd yet always comforting ways. No more Akari and her

 energetic spirit. Her only two friends, ripped from her without even

 so much as a goodbye. But did Akari even care? The girl with the

 rabbit eared hair had been just as disturbed by Anna being a boy as

 everyone else there. No, Akari probably didn’t care. And Kris

 wouldn’t mind as long as she was with Akari. So she was truly all

 alone. In a place that she didn’t want to be. Surrounded by boys that

 she didn’t understand. It had always been just the three of them, her

 mother, her sister, and herself. 

 	Anna burst into tears again, finding that she hadn’t cried all of

 her tears after all.

 

 	Taking her few bags with her off of the shuttle, Anna slowly walked

 down the steps. She had changed out of her girls’ uniform when they

 had told her she wasn’t allowed to take it with. She had protested

 strenuously, but they wouldn’t let her take it with. The last symbol

 of her mother’s dream had been ripped from her clenched fingers. The

 woman who had pried it from her fingers had stared at her oddly for

 the longest time as she finally walked away, muttering something

 about how crazy ‘he’ was. The blue haired girl had barely had the

 strength to change into a short, pleated skirt and a button up blouse

 with a small tied ribbon before they had taken her off to the shuttle

 bay. 

 	Brushing back some blue green hair from her eyes, Anna looked

 around the expansive shuttle port. She got several odd looks from

 some of the staff servicing the shuttles and the rest of the

 equipment, but she tried to ignore it. She just wanted to find out

 where her room was so she could hide. ‘Roommates,’ an inner voice

 added quickly, ruining even the small solace that idea had held. She

 lowered her head miserably as a man approached. 

 	“Anna Respighi?” he asked quizzically, as he looked at the notepad

 he held. He looked up at the girl in front of him and down at the

 notepad once more. This was certainly awkward. He had thought the boy

 merely had a strange name when he’d first received the report that a

 new student was being flown in from the girls’ university, presumably

 having been sent there by mistake. But upon seeing the new student,

 he sure thought the boy looked like a girl as well. 

 	Anna nodded shyly, not looking up as she held her bags tightly. She

 could feel the rough material cutting into her palms. Her vision

 blurred momentarily, causing her to blink furiously in an attempt to

 banish the tears. “Hai...” she said quietly. 

 	The man looked at the new student one last time before turning.

 ‘Well, this has to be the strangest student I’ve met yet,’ he thought

 to himself. Aloud, he said, “Please come this way. I’ll show you to

 your room. We’ll send by some uniforms in a bit after you have a

 chance to get settled.” He started walking out the door and down the

 hallway, listening for the footsteps to signify that he was being

 followed. He nodded in satisfaction as soft footsteps rang out behind

 his own. “I took a look at your statistics. It sounds like you’ll be

 giving quite a few boys around here a run for their money,” he said

 with a smile.

 	Rubbing her eyes with her palm, Anna took in a shuddering breath

 and held it for a moment. “I don’t want to be here...” she whispered

 hopelessly. “I... Thank you..” she replied, louder this time. Her

 mother had always taught her to be polite. Even if she was shy, she

 could still retain that at least.

 	The two stopped in front of a room very similar to the rooms back

 at the female University. A placard was placed near the door,

 signifying the occupants. Stahl Ivon, Emmerich Dave, Respighi Anna,

 it read in sharp letters. Just looking at it made Anna feel homesick,

 remembering a similar placard when she had first found her room at

 the girls’ University. And finding it had been no easy task. She

 shuddered in remembrance of Mylandah Walder. But Kris had come and

 saved both her and Akari. And shortly thereafter she had found out

 that they were all roommates. She choked back a sob, her two friends

 smiling faces returning unbidden to her mind. Whoever occupied this

 room, she didn’t know. And she didn’t want to know. She wanted to be

 back with her friends, to be striving for her mother’s dream once

 more. 

 	“Good luck, kiddo,” the man said casually as he walked down the

 hallway, waving at Anna with his notepad before disappearing into the

 maze of corridors. 

 	Anna slumped against the door, sliding down to her knees. The cold

 metal seeped into her bare legs as she collapsed onto them. Her bags

 fell next to her, standing sentinel in front of the door. A weak sob

 escaped her trembling lips as she sat there in a rising storm of

 grief. It battered continually at her heart, it’s winds tearing apart

 her sail, the waves crashing down around the bow. She was drowning in

 agony. Some of the boys walking down the hallway stared at her oddly,

 but said nothing, whispering amongst themselves as they gawked at the

 new boy. The pretty new boy. Their stares burned her flesh, like the

 eyes of hunting jackals or sinister demons. This got her to her feet,

 grabbing her bags with shaking hands. Part of her just wanted to

 leave the bags, to just get inside and get away from these frightful

 beasts. But she knew that all of her pictures and important keepsakes

 were inside. She had to take them with. 

 	The door took an eternity to open. Even with 50th century

 technology, it was far too slow for Anna. She scraped her arm against

 the metal as she pulled herself inside before it was fully open. The

 door closed quickly behind her. In the darkness of her new room, her

 knees threatened to give out. She so wanted to collapse where she

 stood, to wrap the darkness around her like a blanket and try to cry

 herself to sleep. ‘Roommates,’ that persistent and sometimes

 frightening inner voice repeated. Anna simply nodded, dragging her

 bags further into the small dorm. 

 	“Oh, so you’re the new guy? Nice to meet you?” A boy startled the

 girl with the sea green hair as he popped up from the couch. He had

 messy blond hair and glasses and his right hand was still clutching a

 book he had been reading. How he had gotten up to this prestigious

 sports university was anyone’s guess. “My name’s Dave. Dave

 Emmerich.” He paused as he noticed her skirt and the red ribbon in

 her hair. He pulled his glasses up and rubbed at his eyes for a

 moment before pulling them back down. There must have been a mistake,

 because the boy they were supposed to send in to room with him

 couldn’t be this shy looking girl. Of course, there weren’t any girls

 around the boys’ University, so seeing one was always a very, very

 welcome surprise. Many of the boys’ had started up relationships with

 other boys while they were segregated up here in space, as he had

 heard happened oftentimes at the girl’s University as well. But that

 didn’t mean he wasn’t pleased to see a female member of the species

 in his room. In his room. Wow... He quickly ran his fingers through

 his blond hair, hoping that he had it in some semblance of order. “I

 really hope you haven’t gotten the wrong room, ma’am. I’d be happy to

 help you with whatever you could possibly need. Books, directions...

 ummm... anything at all.” He nodded quickly, laughing nervously. How

 long had it been since he had seen a girl? Two, three months? And

 that had just been his sister when he had been about to get shipped

 off to the University.

 	“She’s a boy, you moron,” another voice interrupted, causing Anna

 to drop her bags in fright. A silver haired boy with sharp, angular

 features stepped out of the shadows. He was soaked with sweat,

 obviously having chosen to train in his limited free time. “Either

 that or she’s flat as hell.”

 	“She looks curvy enough to me,” Dave replied conversationally,

 adjusting his glasses. His face burned in embarrassment seconds later

 as he realized the subject of their discussion was still present. “I

 mean... err... Not that I’d be looking or anything..” he supplied

 lamely. “Anyway, this is Ivon Stahl. But you can call him Shard. No

 one else does, but hey, maybe we can start a nickname for him.”

 	Ivon sighed, brushing sweat from his brow as he walked past Anna.

 “You don’t really think they’d send a girl here, do you, Dave? You’ve

 been out in space too long. Those genius brain cells of yours are

 starting to misfire.” Grabbing something to drink from the small

 kitchen area they had, he turned to take a look at the cute new

 arrival. “So you’re a crossdresser?” he asked mildly.

 	“I’m not a crossdresser!!!” Anna screamed angrily. Her fists

 clenched as she turned towards the silver haired boy. The voice

 inside of her was trying desperately to break through what few

 barricades Anna had against it. Rage, humiliation, and agonizing pain

 accompanied the boy’s words as they echoed again and again in her

 mind. That was so degrading, that she was just dressing up in these

 clothes, that she was anything like the two boys in the room. It was

 like she was just some performer, wearing this for thrills, not

 because they were what she felt comfortable in, what she had always

 worn. Tears threatened to spill down her lovely cheeks once more, but

 this time they were tinged with red hot hatred. Hatred for the

 headmaster, for all those that had sent her away from her mother’s

 dream and her only friends. Hatred for this boy who would so

 callously disregard her as obviously not a woman. Hatred for herself

 for not being able to achieve her mother’s attention. She barely

 noticed the blood dripping down to the floor from her cut palms. Her

 fingernails dug deeply into her flesh. 

 	“Calm down, man. Geez. I’m just wondering what’s up with the

 feminine clothes. Hey, if it’s a fashion statement from the

 Biginners, then that’s good for you.” Ivon put his hand on Anna’s

 shoulder, trying to calm the obviously agitated boy down. He

 immediately wished that he hadn’t. Pain shot through his wrist as

 Anna moved with blinding speed, twisting his wrist as she yanked his

 hand away from her. 

 	“I AM NOT A CROSSDRESSER!” Anna shouted, holding the silver haired

 boy’s hand in a death grip as her body shook. The pain, the anger all

 ate at her, pushing forward in a frenzied path towards freedom. Anna

 was usually a very calm, shy, introverted girl. She was very sweet

 and kind, though she always had trouble with people because of her

 shyness. But she could also be very volatile. Sometimes all of that

 pain and anger she held inside was just too much for her and she

 lashed out in a psychotic, maniacal rage. That had brought about her

 sister’s extended hospital visit and the coma she was in after the

 stress of competing with her sister and the knowledge that she

 wouldn’t be able to get her mother’s approval had become too much.

 Now Anna was very close to breaking. She had lost her only two

 friends, had been yanked away from her only chance at finally getting

 her mother’s attention, had been told that she wasn’t even a girl,

 and now she was in some strange place all alone with someone telling

 her that she was only a boy in drag. And inside, that angry voice,

 that pained, psychotic voice cried out, drowning out Anna’s usually

 soft spoken and quiet words. She finally let go of the boy’s hand

 just short of breaking it. Grabbing her bags, she stormed back to her

 room, dragging her bags with her.

 	Ivon collapsed in pain, clutching his wrist as he fell to the

 floor. His wrist was smeared with the blood from Anna’s palms.

 “Fuck... What the hell...” He tried to catch his breath as he watched

 Anna disappear into the free room, the door swishing shut behind her.

 	

 	Several hours later, Anna’s hand shook as she punched in the

 numbers to call her house back on earth. She needed to speak to her

 mother. She needed to know that things would be all right. She

 couldn’t handle it here. She didn’t want to be here at all. This was

 a boys’ school and she certainly didn’t belong here. The poor,

 frightened girl needed her mother. It had taken her forever to work

 up the courage to hurry out of her room to find a communications

 system that would let her call Earth. Her two roommates had avoided

 her for some reason, though she couldn’t quite recall why. But it

 hardly seemed to matter. She wasn’t good with people. Of course they

 wouldn’t like her. And she was too shy to try and get to know them.

 Which is why she had been so thrilled to find that she, Kris, and

 Akari really had been a team, that they had grown to be friends. Her

 only friends. Fresh pain washed over her heart, but she pushed it

 down deep inside of her, unknowingly feeding the pain and anguish

 within her, as the communications request was sent. 

 	“Mama!” Anna said happily, smiling into the communications screen.

 “I’m so sorry! I.. I wanted to talk to you, but they wouldn’t let

 me...” The blue green haired girl sniffled as she wiped at her eyes.

 “Mama, they sent me away.. They sent me to the boys’ University...

 I’m not a boy, mama... I’m not..” Tears trickled wetly down her

 cheeks as she began to cry weakly, leaning against the communications

 system. 

 	“Of course you aren’t, honey,” her mother’s voice stated softly.

 “You’re my little girl. You’ve always been my little girl. I love

 you, Anna.” The older woman smiled her motherly smile, placing her

 hand on the screen directly where Anna’s was placed miles and miles

 away.

 	“I know... I love you, too, mama... I just... I don’t know what to

 do... I can’t win the Cosmo Beauty here.. I don’t want to be here...

 I hate this place...” She looked around hatefully at the walls that

 surrounded her. She wiped tears away from her blue eyes with her

 fingertips. “I want to come home..” she whispered painfully. It was a

 relief to finally see her mother, to hear her voice, but the anguish

 of the last few hours still weighed heavily on her, dragging her

 deeper and deeper into the abyss. 

 	“I’m sorry, honey. You can’t come home yet. Not yet. There’s still

 more that you have to do. You still have to become the Cosmo Beauty,”

 her mother’s voice replied, as if she were speaking directly to

 Anna’s heart instead of through the communications system.

 	“But.. Mama, I can’t... I can’t become the Cosmo Beauty from

 here... They won’t let me back to the girls’ University because they

 all think I’m a boy...” Anna shook her head, tears sparkling through

 the air as she tried to focus past the despair. When she opened her

 blue eyes, she could see several crystalline teardrops on the screen

 in front of her. She took a deep, shuddering breath as she watched

 her mother. 

 	“I know. But you’ll get your chance, my dear. You just have to keep

 training. You’ll eventually get your chance at Cosmo Beauty. And I

 know you’ll win, Anna. Because you’re my daughter. And I know how

 strong you are inside. You just have to wait for your chance,” her

 mother explained calmly. Her mother’s voice sounded so much like the

 voice inside of her, that angry and pained one. Like she was talking

 to Anna from inside, where the voice was. 

 	Nodding, Anna tried to smile weakly. “Un... You’re right, mama..

 I’ll try to get better... I’ll wait for my chance,” she said softly.

 Her mother was right. Her mother was always right. She wasn’t a boy.

 And she would get her chance to be Cosmo Beauty, to win the honor

 that her mother so longed for one of her daughters to achieve. ‘My

 sister,’ Anna thought to herself. Was she doing all right? Was she

 feeling better? From what? What had happened again? A soft, velvety

 blanket wrapped itself around Anna’s thoughts as she tried

 desperately to make sense of them. ‘My.. sister?’ Anna thought to

 herself. But by now, even the emotions behind that thought were gone,

 wrapped away and swept back into her subconsciousness. Whatever she

 had been thinking of was gone, and she couldn’t even recall that hand

 that had gently pulled the thoughts away. 

 	“You’ll be fine, Anna. I know you will. I’ll be cheering for you in

 ever event, honey. Do your best for me,” her mother finished, smiling

 brightly.

 	Anna nodded, determination gleaming in her still bloodshot eyes. “I

 will, I promise, mama! I’ll win for you. Please watch me. I’ll win

 everything for you,” Anna promised, desperate for her mother’s divine

 attention, that which she had striven her entire live for. With that,

 the monitor blinked out and her mother was gone. But what Anna failed

 to notice was that her mother had never been there at all. Her mother

 was still at the hospital with her sister, keeping an eye on the

 comatose girl in the hopes that she would recover. What Anna had just

 spoken with was her own inner voice, the person she was talking to

 merely a product of her own mind. But the sea green haired girl

 walked off feeling happier nonetheless, still believing that her

 mother would be watching her as she continued to train.

 

 	“I thought you would know Kris-san’s heart by now, Akari-san,” Anna

 said, giggling softly at her friend’s embarrassment. It was the

 tournament between the boys’ University and the girls’ University and

 she had just been in a very close match with Akari. The match had

 taught her quite a bit. No matter how much one trained, there was a

 certain amount of will, or heart, that went into it. It was something

 she would have to understand more clearly if she could ever stand a

 chance at the title of Cosmo Beauty. Of course, she would have to get

 out of the boys’ University first. “You had Kris-san’s heart with

 you, so there was no way you could lose,” Anna continued. She was

 wearing the boys’ uniform and her hair wasn’t in its usual single

 pigtail style. Akari, on the other hand, was in a very skimpy outfit

 that was supposed to wreak havoc on the male players playing against

 the girls’ team. The boys’ headmaster had foreseen this, though, and

 had prepared by sending in a boy team that consisted of two

 homosexual boys and Anna herself, three people who wouldn’t be

 bothered by the skimpy outfits in front of them.

 	“Anna-chan...” Akari said in obvious embarrassment. But she looked

 secretly pleased at the thought of having Kris’s heart near her own.

 She and Kris had grown even closer as of late and although the idea

 of falling in love with the other girl was definitely disconcerting

 for her, it was a very pleasant topsy turvy feeling that accompanied

 it. Almost like getting off a carousel on a bright and sunny day. But

 she quickly pushed away her discomfort at Anna’s words, happy to see

 her friend again, even if she was dressed up in boys’ clothes this

 time around. “How are you? It’s not the same without you here. We

 were a team, so it doesn’t seem right continuing on towards the Cosmo

 Beauty without you.”

 	Anna felt a painful stab in her heart at Akari’s words. Oh, how she

 longed to be there with Akari and Kris once more, eagerly straining

 for the greatest title a girl could ever hope to be granted. Anna

 smiled a little sadly. “I really miss you two. You were the best

 friends I ever had. I wish I could come back for good, but we have to

 leave again when the Universities separate.” She sighed, brushing

 back blue green hair from her misty eyes. “But I’m fine. My roommates

 are nice, I guess. And I’ve been trying my hardest in all of the

 events.” She didn’t continue past that, only hoping that that would

 be enough for Akari. Truth be told, her only friend at the boys’

 school was the headmaster’s pet dog. And she couldn’t tell which

 headmaster she hated the most, the slave driver at the boys’

 University or the perverted one at the girls’ school who wouldn’t let

 her stay just because of what happened to be between her legs. She

 blinked in surprise. Well, maybe she knew which one she hated more

 after all. She hated the pervert infinitely worse. Rage bubbled

 simply at the sight of the smirking bastard. Her fists clenched in

 anger as she watched him smugly feeling up female students with his

 eyes. She didn’t know if she felt like bursting into tears or tearing

 out his throat. ‘Kill him,’ that inner voice whispered seductively

 into her ear. ‘Tear him apart.’ “Mama...” she whispered, holding her

 head as she tried to think straight. She had already injured a boy in

 one of the final rounds of the boys’ University’s program. She was a

 much better athlete when her dark side was unleashed, but it

 frightened her. There was almost a limitless amount of strength at

 her call when she snapped, but she always found herself lost, barely

 noticing what happened while she was in that state. She didn’t even

 remember hurting the boy, only knowing what Dave had told her. 

 	“Anna-chan?” Akari asked worriedly. The bluish haired girl looked

 so out of it, like she was grappling with some inner demon. She

 hadn’t seen or heard from Anna since she had been transferred and she

 was concerned about how the shy girl was coping.

 	“Are you all right, Anna-chan?” Kris reached the group quickly, her

 face marked with concern as she watched the fragile girl in front of

 her. She reached out, gently pushing away some of Anna’s hair from

 her face.

 	Slowly looking up, Anna looked from Akari to Kris, the concerned

 faces of her friends watching her intently. Just seeing them both

 made her feel more at ease. She smiled softly and stood up straight.

 She bowed to Kris, nodding. “Hai, I’m fine, Kris-san. I just didn’t

 get much sleep last night. I was very eager to see the two of you

 again.” Her smile brightened visibly as she looked from one to the

 other. 

 	Kris laughed, grinning. “We missed you, too, Anna-chan. It’s good

 to see you back.” She hugged the smaller girl tightly, surprising

 Anna. “It doesn’t matter how far I get in the competition. I’ll

 always remember this for the experiences it has given me. Meeting you

 was one of them, Anna-chan. I’ll always treasure our friendship.

 Thank you so much for giving me that token. That’s much more valuable

 than any trophy or title.”

 	Anna shyly hugged back, feeling genuinely happy for the first time

 since she had been transferred away from her friends. It felt so nice

 to know that someone cared about her, to feel her friends near.

 Seconds later, she felt Akari’s arms wrap around her as well. A

 peaceful sigh escaped her lips. There was no anger, no pain to bother

 her now. It was locked away, deep inside. Hot tears trickled slowly

 down her cheeks as felt the group hug. So they hadn’t forgotten her

 after all. They still cared about her. They were still her friends.

 Her very best friends. When it finally ended, she quickly wiped at

 her eyes, smiling brilliantly. “Thank you both so much. I’ll always

 remember you both, no matter where we wind up.” 

 	Returning the smile, Akari laughed. “It’s a small universe. We’ll

 see each other again. We have to. Because we’ll always be friends.”

 	Nodding, Kris wiped away one of Anna’s tears. She held it on the

 tip of her finger for a long moment, contemplating it. Anna

 sweatdropped as the taller girl licked the teardrop away. “So that

 we’ll always share in each others’ pain and joy, wherever we may go.”

 	Anna lunged forwards, hugging the taller woman and then Akari

 again. She clasped her hands in front of herself, looking from one to

 the other. There was so much she wanted to say to them, to tell them

 how important their friendship was to her, but her shyness was a

 difficult hurdle to cross. “Akari-chan, thank you for being my

 friend. You helped me understand how important your heart and soul

 are even in sports. And Kris-san, I had a lot of fun reading manga

 with you and watching you try my cooking. You taught me a lot about

 the Biginners and about friendship. Thank you both.” She bowed

 quickly to the two of them as the final call came for the boys to

 return. She took a few hurried steps away. “I’ll never forget you!!”

 Without looking back, Anna ran off, blinking through a haze of tears.

 

 	The new school year had started at the University Satellite and

 Akari Kanzaki was the reigning Cosmo Beauty. She had returned for the

 new year, thrilled at the prospect of once again returning to this

 place of fond memories and the heart and soul she had thrown into

 everything while she had been there. Friends and enemies, joy and

 heartache, it had all happened here. She had even received her first

 kiss at the Satellite. Blushing deeply, she recalled Kris’s tender

 lisp against her own. They had stayed together all that night, not

 wanting to leave each other’s side. It had been so painful to know

 that they would soon be parting. Akari had grown to need Kris, to

 need her presence. The taller woman made her heart beat quicker, made

 her soul soar. She made her reach further and fly higher than she

 possibly could on her own. 

 	There had been so much tension back them. Akari had been so

 embarrassed about her twisted feelings for the other girl and how

 Kris acted around her. But she couldn’t deny her feelings on that

 last night, as they kissed amidst starlight. She hadn’t quite

 understood what her feelings were at the time, but in the time they

 had been apart, she came to realize that she loved Kris. As Anna had

 said long ago, their hearts were entwined. Even apart, Akari could

 feel Kris’s heart singing their song. Which is why she had hurried

 back, taking the first shuttle she could upon learning that Kris had

 returned to the University Satellite. She had nearly flown to the

 moon to see the tall woman, her need to explain her feelings, to be

 in Kris’s arms almost unbearable. The only thing that had kept her

 from going insane was the help of her best friend, Ichino. Without

 her, Akari would never have been able to survive their time apart.

 And now Ichino had managed to get to the Satellite as well. So many

 returning faces. Jessie, Mylandah, Lahrri, Tanya, Kris, Ichino. There

 was only one person that remained absent, leaving a small hole in

 Akari’s heart. 

 	A sudden glimpse of blue in the crowd of students caught her

 eye. Pausing after a moment’s hesitation, the brunette turned around

 and scanned the crowd. She was probably just imagining things. There

 was no way Anna could be here. She would be at the boys’ University,

 wouldn’t she? But there it was again, that same flash of sea green in

 the crowd. Akari hurried past the new students, struggling past to

 reach the girl she finally spotted. “Anna-chan!! Anna-chan!” she

 called out, waving in excitement. The girl looked around curiously,

 her eyes settling on Akari as the brunette rushed up and hugged her.

 “Anna-chan!! I’m so happy to see you!”

 The girl blinked in confusion, looking at Akari as if she had gone

 mad. “Anna-chan?” She paused for a moment before smiling. “You must

 be Kanzaki Akari-san! You’re the whole reason I’m here. Well, your

 mother, at any rate. Anna-chan met you last year, didn’t she? I’m her

 sister, Ellene. I finally made it up to the Satellite this year. I’m 

 really eager to prove myself. I can’t wait to play against you. I’ve 

 been training a lot with my sister during the break just for this.”

 “Oh..” Akari nodded slowly, a little disappointed. This was Anna’s

 twin sister? So Anna didn’t get to come back to the girls’ University

 after all. She smiled all the same, glad to see that familiar face.

 “I’ll be happy to train with you sometime if you’d like. I’d love to

 know what Anna-chan’s been up to.” 

 	Ellene agreed happily. “Sure! I would be thrilled to train

 with you, Kanzaki-san. And I’d be happy to tell you anything you want

 to know about my sister.”

 Akari quickly said goodbye to the girl that looked startlingly like

 Anna and hurried towards her own room. It was a little disconcerting

 that Anna had been replaced with her sister, but she was happy about

 it even if it was bittersweet. If she was anything like Anna, then it

 would be a pleasure to get to know her. 

 All of Akari’s thoughts came to an abrupt halt as she saw the woman

 standing ahead of her, ice blue hair framing her beautiful face.

 “Kris..” she whispered breathlessly. “Kris!!” She ran to the taller

 woman with all of the strength she could muster, reaching her arms

 almost immediately. Kris reeled back but held on fast. “Oh, Kris, I

 missed you so much! You don’t know what it was like..”

 A smile broke across Kris’s features as she looked down at the

 brunette, her hands on her cheeks. “I know, Akari-chan. I felt it

 along with you. I was always there, even if we weren’t side by side.”

 In a moment spawned of months of heartache and the loneliness of

 constantly imagining the one she loved, Akari pushed up on her

 tiptoes and returned the kiss that Kris had granted her such a long

 time before. That spinning carousel feeling was gone, replaced by a

 crystal clarity that soothed her soul. Her heart was enraptured by

 the taller girl’s presence, her mind just incredibly relieved to once

 again be in her arms. “Kris..” she whispered, resting her head on the

 blue haired woman’s chest as their lips finally parted.

 “Akari-chan..” Kris said softly, gently stroking Akari’s brunette

 hair. Her eyes closed as she took a deep breath, savoring Akari’s

 scent, her feel, the sound of her breathing. It was all better than

 she could possibly have dreamed. “This is why I came back. Akari-

 chan, I want to be by you side. I want us to go through all of this

 together, playing with our hearts side by side.”

 Blushing slightly, Akari nodded eagerly. “That’s what I want, too,

 Kris.” Resting her head on Kris’s shoulder, the two women made their

 way back to the dorm that they’d be sharing with a third party

 member. They were both too absorbed in the moment to bother reading

 the placard. The door whooshed open and they entered, but what met

 Akari’s eyes caught her completely by surprise. 

 Ichino was sitting at the table, a large plate in front of her. She

 was quickly devouring the appetizing platter, obviously enjoying

 herself. But what surprised Akari more than seeing her best friend in

 her room was the sight behind the dark haired girl. Anna stood in the

 small kitchen wearing a cute pink and white apron with frills around

 the edges, busy cooking for the ‘fastest girl in Japan’. She was

 humming something to herself, completely in her element and seeming

 to enjoy herself just as much as Ichino was.

 “Hey, Akari-chan!” Ichino said after choking down some food. “I was

 wondering where you were. This place is huge! I almost got lost. I’m

 glad Anna-chan knew where to go.” Ichino looked back at the blue

 haired beauty who was slowly turning around to face her former

 teammates. “Oh, sorry, Akari-chan. I should introduce her. This is

 Respighi Anna-chan.” Ichino placed a hand behind her head, laughing

 nervously. “She’s my girlfriend.”

 “G..gir..girlfriend..?” Akari asked, suddenly taken even further off

 guard by Ichino’s words. 

 Anna blushed a deep scarlet, clasping her hands together as she

 looked down. “Ichino-chan..” she said, embarrassed. Her foot moved

 back and forth on the floor as she stared at it. Finally regaining

 some of her composure, she looked up to see Akari and Kris standing

 in the doorway. A bright smile flashed across her face as she saw her

 roommates again. “Kris-san! Akari-san! I’m so glad to see the both of

 you!”

 Grinning happily, Kris nodded. “I knew we’d meet again, Anna-chan.

 It must have been Fate. We really are a team.”

 Akari simply nodded quickly, still taken aback by the recent events.

 She shook her head, confusion spinning her around until she felt

 dizzy. “Wait, I thought Anna-chan had to go to the other University

 because she’s a bo..”

 “Akari-chan, could we not talk about that right now,” Ichino cut her

 off, fighting a dark blush that lined her cheeks. She had found out

 for herself about Anna’s male anatomy, but she could certainly vouch

 for the blue haired girl’s femininity nonetheless. “We met at the

 Training School in Australia. She was so shy around everybody that I

 kinda felt like I had to look out for her. She paid me back by

 cooking for me. We got to talk a lot during that. And what can I say,

 I absolutely love her cooking. And watching her cook.” She grinned.

 Anna blushed at Ichino’s words and turned to address Akari’s

 question. She rested her hands on Ichino’s shoulders, standing behind

 the dark haired girl’s chair. “My mother found out that I was kicked

 out of the school and brought it up with the school board. It seems

 that it violates the Equal Races act from several decades ago. She

 argued that I was still female no matter what they said and that I

 didn’t belong at the boy’s school. The school board reviewed my case

 and finally agreed. So I got to come back. We get to be a team

 again.” Anna smiled happily. Her pain was gone. Her anger and

 frustration that had eaten at her soul had finally faded away some

 time ago. That pained voice had left her. Her sister was fine and

 they were both at the University now. She got to be with her friends

 once more. Her mother had been more than happy just to see her again

 when she had returned to Earth. And she had a beautiful girlfriend

 that made her feel all bubbly inside. She felt wonderful. For once in

 her life, she felt complete and fulfilled inside. No matter where the

 winds took her sailboat this time, she was prepared. She would ride

 the wind with her friends, and with her love.