Day 47: Greenhouse (2nd Shift)

[himetsuru]

Why couldn't she get it out of her mind? It was a stupid white dress. So what if it was visual evidence that she was a princess? It should not be bothering her this much. It was a just a dress

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[roseoverture]

After the difficult breakfast with von Karma, Utena was more than ready for some fresh air and the scent of roses. She followed the other women to the greenhouse, stretching her arms behind her head as she walked. It was hard to believe that it had only been a week since she had first met and talked to Harley here. Her arrival in the Institute had only been a little before that. It couldn't have been such a short while, could it have? With the way days and nights passed here, it felt closer to a year than a week

[iwhipthefool]

"This is a waste of time." Or so she tried to tell her nurse. The infernal woman seemed hellbent on getting her to dirty her hands in 'honest labor' or something like that. And as much as she wanted to just hit Janet until she bowed to Franziska's superior will and allow her to go back to the Sun Room, the man with the needle standing right behind Janet? That probably wasn't going to go so well with him

[roseoverture]

Utena's ears caught the name "Yomi" nearby, and she grimaced. The nurses had really stepped up in using her "real" name around her since the day she had been brainwashed. They probably thought that if they kept it up for long enough, Utena would suddenly snap back to that state one day. So far, all it had gotten them were more determined attempts to ignore their words

[iwhipthefool]

Tenjou Utena. The name was filed away, and if it wasn't for the girl's obviously young age, Franziska would have asked her occupation. At her age, Franziska had been prosecuting cases already, but not everyone was like her - as unfortunate as that was. More people could spare to have the drive and motivation she did. The attainment of perfection and the pursuit of justice no matter what. Still, she supposed she should ask eventually. It was likely just going to be something mundane like 'student,' but knowing every detail about a witness - or companion, really - was important.

Rather than take a seat like the nurse had wanted her to, Franziska remained standing and glanced around the greenhouse. A pitiful few number of people were in here, testifying to the uselessness of this activity. She'd have to lodge a complaint with the activity directors to implement a more useful schedule

[roseoverture]

Utena raised an eyebrow, not all that pleased that the older girl would say something so critical within thirty seconds of meeting her. Sure, getting lost in one's head too often wasn't good, but everyone did it sometimes, right? She was about to wonder if the girl saying that meant she thought she'd never lost focus on her own tasks. She didn't have to when the girl, Fransizka apparently, went on to describe herself as a prosecutor. That got Utena's attention. If she was already a prosecutor at her age, then maybe she really hadn't lost any focus in her life. Her interest perked up a bit, as did her attitude

[iwhipthefool]

"I prosecuted and won my first case at 13," she said, with more than a little pride. Until she had gone to America, she'd never lost a case either. She'd always seen to it that the guilty party was convicted and sent to their rightful punishment. She'd been an unstoppable force until...him. But Franziska still refused to acknowledge his victories as real. Each and every case had turned into such a sham until her final actual victory over him was just hollow. He'd been happy at having lost to her and had robbed her of her real triumph. Even if she respected him for his absurd talent, that didn't mean she necessarily liked him.

But as suspected, Utena was a student studying to be a--

...

A what"A prince." The repetition was flat, no contempt or disbelief, just a simple repeat to be sure she'd heard correctly. It wasn't the strangest thing she'd ever heard, but to have it come from a girl no older than she was when she began beating judges into submission was a bit of a shock. Franziska had to admit though; she liked the

[roseoverture]

[OOC: Is it wrong that I heard her "A what? from the "Boot to the Head" video? XD Also, want to backthread a little?]"Oh wow, that young? That really is amazing! I guess I shouldn't be surprised, though. I know a prodigy that age at my school. He's a genius-level intellectual, professional fencer and world-class pianist, and only in first-year middle school. Heck, he tutors me in math!" Utena smiled warmly at the thought of Miki. It was odd the people she was starting to miss the most in this place. Sure, she missed the obvious people like Wakaba and Akio, but strangely, she also missed the Student Council. Miki, Juri were maybe understandable; Miki was just incredibly sweet and friendly, while Juri had been with her in the institute for a little while, sharing her frustration with the place. Even the more unpleasant members, though - Saionji, Nanami, even Touga - were quickly becoming faces Utena wanted to see again. She couldn't quite put into words why that was. Maybe it was just that seeing them again would mean that she had made

[iwhipthefool]

[Pffffft that's awesome. And I don't mind backthreading! o/]

Th way Utena seemed to reminisce about some boy she knew garnered no extra emotion from Franziska. Prodigies existed all over the world. The mark of whether they would make it, however, was what they did with their talents. If the one she knew was still in school, then he was likely still lacking in something, regardless of how impressive his other skills were. Of course, Franziska was rather lacking in some things, having only focused on the study of law and the international criminal systems, but she liked to gloss over that fact. Utena, on the other hand, seemed rather normal save for her aspirations. Normal enough to lose herself to memories of something or another more than a few times over the course of their conversation

[roseoverture]

Ah, she had started to get an inkling that maybe that was how the two were related. The age difference was about right. She wondered if she ought to correct Franziska on the saving part, though. It didn't seem right to take that kind of credit, even though her attack had been a bold move. "I don't know if I 'saved' him so much as gave him an opening to run away faster," Utena pointed out, putting one hand back on her hip out of habit. "He was already looking ready to bolt when it attacked. Taura, the person he was with, seemed more in danger."

[OOC: Sorry for all that wait for such a short post. I tried to make a longer one, but it was sounding forced. ^^;; Also, my backthreads in general are moving a bit slowly right now.]

[iwhipthefool]

[No worries. :x ]

Her father? Run? Franziska gave a huff that could have been interpreted as a derisive snort of disbelief if she'd give such a thing. She continued to write her notes, describing Utena's appearance, her assumed age, aspirations, current occupation and Franziska's own observations about the girl's personality. Even as she wrote, she continued to hold the conversation, but did not look in Utena's direction. "A strategic retreat is not 'running away.' One implies intelligence and the other implies foolishness. My father is no fool."

She crossed a t decisively and sat up a little straighter as she turned an eye toward Utena. This Taura - she'd seen her name written before, usually in connection to her father. If she was one of her father's allies, then it would be wise to find out just who she was and what sort of association they had. "If he was not in danger, then I was premature in thanking you. The woman, Taura. Describe her."