Phoenix Academy Revolutionary Diary: The Prince Stays in the School Uniform - Hello, I'm the Bride. ~A Purple-Haired Roommate Came to the Boys' Dormitory~

Morning light stretched long and thin down the corridor of the Shirayuri boys' dormitory. Tenjou Utena woke to the sense that something was off. Beside her pillow lay the red rose she'd found the night before. Its petals had begun to open, just slightly. (Who left this here?) Thinking about it got her nowhere. But whenever she looked at that rose, the face of the girl from her dream floated up—a white profile, pierced through by countless swords. "...Well. Whatever." She straightened the collar of her school uniform and briskly brushed off the hem of her red spats. In front of the mirror she combed her long pink hair into place with her fingers, nodded—good—and turned to the door. Today, too, she would live as a prince, chest held high. The instant she opened the door, Utena froze. A girl with purple hair stood in front of her. Round glasses. Brown skin. A white uniform. In her arms, one flat cardboard box. And perched atop the box, a small white creature. "Hello, hello. Lady Utena." Anthy bowed politely. "...Huh?" "Starting today, I'll be living here." "What?" "That is to say—starting today, I'll be living here, together with you, Lady Utena." Utena stood frozen for about three seconds. "Why are you here?! And this is the boys' dorm, you know!?" "Yes. I'm aware." "No—if you're aware, that makes it even weirder!" Utena's voice rang down the corridor. A nearby door cracked open and a male student poked his head out. "Hey, what's all the racket this early—wait, huh!? A girl!?" "Sorry to disturb you." Anthy bowed to him too. The boy turned bright red and slammed his door shut. Utena clutched her head. "Just—get inside. We'll talk after." "Yes. Pardon the intrusion." Anthy hitched up her cardboard box and trotted into the room. The white creature hopped down to the floor. "What's that?" "Chu-Chu. He's my very important friend." The creature called Chu-Chu waved a tiny hand. "...Fine. So why are you living here starting today?" Utena sat down on the bed and crossed her arms. Anthy stood primly in the middle of the room. "The rules of the rose." "The rules of the rose?" "Yes. The one who wins the duel is to live together with the bride." Anthy's face was perfectly serious. "I'm a girl, you know!?" "You won, Lady Utena. That's all that matters." "It absolutely matters! And what do you mean, bride? I don't want a bride." "I am the bride." "I know that!" Utena's retort went nowhere. "Look—I like living alone. Sorry, but go home." She'd meant to say it as gently as she could. Anthy stared at her, unblinking. "...Is there nothing I can do to be of use to you?" "That's not the issue. Did you even come here by your own choice?" Anthy's eyes wavered, just slightly. "I am the rose bride. To live at the winner's side is my role." "Your role..." "If you have need of me, Lady Utena—I will do anything." Something about the way she said it stuck in Utena's chest. (Is this how she's lived her whole life?) Treating obedience to someone else as the most natural thing in the world. "...All right." Utena let out a long breath. "You can stay. But you don't have to do what I say. You just be you." Anthy's eyes went wide with surprise. "...Lady Utena." "One more thing—just promise me this." "What is it?" "I'll take the floor. You use the bed." "No, I couldn't. I'll sleep on the floor." "I'm sleeping on the floor." "The floor is mine." "No, it's mine—" "Mine." The two of them glared at each other for a while. Chu-Chu let out a tiny sigh, as if exasperated. In the end, Utena slept on the floor. From day one, the reins of control had tilted in a very strange direction. ――― The next morning. Utena woke to the smell of something burning. "What the...?" She sat up. By the portable stove in the corner of the room stood Anthy. Black smoke was billowing up from a frying pan. "Good morning, Lady Utena. Breakfast is ready." Anthy turned and smiled brightly. In the pan she held aloft sat a rolled omelet, charred pitch black. "This is... tamagoyaki. Right?" "Yes. My proudest creation." Her proudest creation. Utena looked at the breakfast laid out on the table. A blackened omelet. Miso soup that had become a dark, murky liquid. And for some reason, blue rice. "...The rice is blue." "For color." "That's way beyond 'for color.'" "Please, go ahead and eat." Anthy gazed at Utena with eyes full of expectation. Utena picked up her chopsticks. She brought the black omelet to her mouth, gingerly. Crunch. "...It's good!" Utena said it with a smile. Her mouth was filled with char and salt and something she couldn't quite identify. Honestly, it was awful. But looking into Anthy's eyes, she had no choice but to say so, even if it was a lie. "Really!? Oh, I'm so glad. Then I'll make it every morning." "Huh?" "I'll work even harder to suit your tastes, Lady Utena." Anthy smiled happily. Utena shuddered at the thought of future meals. (Every morning... this...?) Chu-Chu picked up a single grain of blue rice and quietly set it on the floor. ――― That night. Utena lay on the futon spread across the floor, staring up at the ceiling. On the bed, Anthy was breathing softly in her sleep. (Can't exactly make a girl sleep on the floor.) She told herself that. "...Lady Utena." Suddenly, Anthy murmured, as if talking in her sleep. "I don't have to be fragile." Utena sat up. "Anthy. Are you awake?" "...Yes. A little." Anthy stirred on the bed. "What you said to me during the day. That I don't have to be weak just because I'm a girl." "Yeah. I hate being pigeonholed because I'm a girl. It's not that I want to be a man. But I don't want to be someone who only gets protected." Utena spoke as if confirming her own words. "I... want to be like you, Lady Utena." "Huh?" "It's the first time I've ever thought that. That I want to do something by my own will." Anthy's voice trembled, just a little. "Anthy..." "Good night, Lady Utena." Anthy pulled the covers up over her head. Utena watched her back for a while. (What is this girl carrying?) A small ache pricked deep in her chest. ――― Lunch break. Utena was heading for the top floor of the high school building. She'd been summoned. To the student council room. She opened the heavy door, and her eyes fell on a red carpet and antique furnishings. The fire in the hearth flickered softly. "I've been waiting, Tenjou Utena." From the desk at the far end, a man rose to his feet. Long red hair with vermilion streaks. Blue-violet eyes. Tall, with features too handsome to be real. The student council president of Phoenix Academy—Kiryu Touga. "...What do you want?" Utena stepped forward warily. "Registration as a duelist, and a cohabitation form for the bride. Sign here." Touga set the documents on the desk. Utena picked them up. "By the rules of the rose, the bride shall reside with the victor... so it really is true." "It is. You are an official duelist now. The duelist of the white rose." Touga stepped closer. "Ever since I first saw you, I've felt as though I'd been searching for you all along." "What?" Touga took Utena's hand. And pressed his lips to the back of it. "...!?" For an instant, Utena couldn't process what had happened. "Wh—what are you doing!?" "A greeting. A special one, for you." Touga smiled. "I'm going to be a prince—I don't have time for romance!" Utena shouted, bright red. "A prince, hm. So you want to be a prince?" "That's right! So cut that out!" "I see. But I won't give up." Touga laughed, looking thoroughly entertained. Utena snatched up the documents and bolted from the student council room like a startled rabbit. She ran full speed down the corridor. (What is with that guy! Why me...!) Her face, her ears, her neck—all burning hot. Back in the student council room, Touga was gazing out the window. "...Fast on her feet, too." The playboy's smile vanished in an instant. "I truly want to make you mine. This isn't love by the manual." Touga murmured it to no one. ――― After that, the pursuit began. At lunch, he appeared in the cafeteria. "Hello, Utena. Mind if I sit beside you?" "No!" Utena grabbed her tray and made a mad dash. After school, he appeared on the athletic field. "Utena, shall we walk home together?" "I'm not going home!" Utena fled behind the school building. Each time, squeals from the girls erupted. "Kyaa! Lord Touga is chasing that girl again!" "What is that, some new playboy move?" "She's running away, but doesn't she kind of look like she's enjoying it? Or is that just me?" It was just them. Absolutely just them. Utena denied it fiercely in her heart. ――― Night. Utena was on the rooftop. She couldn't get Touga's words from the daytime out of her head. "I've felt as though I'd been searching for you all along." (What even is that. We just met.) She leaned against the railing and looked up at the starry sky. The red rose by her pillow was on her mind, too. (Who left that rose? Don't tell me it was Touga.) As she stood lost in thought, a voice came from behind her. "Good evening, Tenjou-san." Utena turned. Tall and slender. Long black hair. A handsome face, visible even in the dim rooftop light. And most striking of all—that smile. "...Who are you?" "Akio Ohtori. I'm the chairman of this academy." Utena went rigid. Akio Ohtori. The chairman of Phoenix Academy. "Himemiya Anthy is my sister. I'll be in your care, Tenjou-san." "Anthy's... brother?" "Yes. My sister is in your debt." Akio slowly drew closer to Utena. "What did you see in the dueling garden?" "What?" "You must have seen something special. A white light. Swords. Or perhaps..." Akio's voice dropped low. "...I didn't see anything." Utena lied. Something told her she mustn't let him know about the dream. "I see. Then it's fine." Akio left, a knowing smile lingering behind him. "If you wish to protect her, you'll come to know it all in time." The words dissolved into the night wind. ――― "Lady Utena!" The rooftop door burst open and Anthy came running through. "Anthy. What's wrong, at this hour?" "You weren't there. I was looking for you." Anthy was out of breath. "...Did my brother come here?" "Yeah. I met the chairman. He said he was your brother." Anthy's face went pale in an instant. "Lady Utena. If I stay by your side, you'll be hurt too. So—" Anthy's voice was shaking. "So what?" "...No. It's nothing." Anthy hung her head. (What was she about to say?) Utena took Anthy's hand. "Anthy. I'll protect you." Anthy lifted her face. "Lady Utena..." "I don't know yet what you're carrying. But I'm going to be a prince. I can't just leave a girl in trouble, can I?" Utena smiled. Tears spilled from Anthy's eyes. "Hello, hello." Anthy bowed again and again. "...Is it worth crying over?" "You really are just like a prince, Lady Utena." "Not 'like.' I'm going to be one." The two of them stood on the rooftop for a while, gazing up at the stars. ――― The next morning. A sealed letter had arrived in the mailbox of Utena's room. On the envelope, the seal of the Phoenix Academy student council. Inside were a single sheet of stationery and a red rose emblem. On the paper, elegant handwriting. 'If you intend to protect Anthy, then defeat me first. However—I have never lost a duel.' It was a written challenge, in Kiryu Touga's own hand. "The red rose emblem..." Utena stared at the ring inside the envelope. The red rose she'd wondered about on the rooftop last night. So it had been Touga's. "Lady Utena. You're allowed to refuse, you know." Anthy spoke from behind her. "There's no reason to refuse." Utena answered without turning around. "But..." "Touga's never lost a duel, apparently. Then I'll be his first defeat." Utena flipped the stationery over. There, in small characters, was written: 'If you wish to protect her, first learn of the shell of the world.' In Akio Ohto

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Episode 2

Name: Phoenix Academy Revolutionary Diary: The Prince Stays in the School Uniform
Author: Novelia

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