A/N

This was written in a flurry last night. Takes place after episode eleven and before episode twelve. This story was published before episode twelve will have aired, so I expect everything in here will be Jossed. Based the story partially on a fight I had in highschool where I went berserk and had to get an account of the fight from friends and enemies (who became friends :D), and partly off some of my own speculation. Enjoy.

Ryuuko Matoi woke up to an unfamiliar roof, the smell of antiseptic, and a bed that was entirely too soft to be the Mankanshoku futon she'd grown accustomed to. Though her mind was still clouded with drugs, she quickly deduced that she was in hospital.

I lost. She thought.

She couldn't remember her fight with Harime Nui, aka 'Grand Coturier', aka, her father's murderer. All she could recall was the hate, the desperation, the struggle that fight had entailed… and that she'd lost. Ryuuko was no stranger to fighting nor to losing. Still, to lose to her of all people…

A coughing sound distracted her from her impending funk. Looking towards the cough's direction, she saw Senketsu, her faithful Kamui, hanging on a rack, desperately signaling her to look in the opposite direction.

She looked and practically did a double take as she saw Nonon Jakuzure of all people writing music by her bedside.

"Ah, you're finally awake," she said in that odd, almost childish tone of hers.

"The fuck are you doing here?" said Ryuuko the moment she found her tongue.

"It's like Satsuki-chan says. Keep your friends close," she glared pointed daggers are Ryuuko, "And your enemies closer,"

"I'm honoured," said Ryuuko sarcastically.

"Look," said Nonon irritably, "Just tell me what that song was."

"What song?" asked Ryuuko.

"You know. The where you… where I was… when…" Nonon stumbled over her words, unwilling to say them in front of Ryuuko.

"When I…?" asked Ryuuko, fully desiring to draw out Nonon's discomfort.

"When you-"

"When I totally kicked your ass?" teased Ryuuko.

"Fine! Yes! When you kicked my ass! Fuck!" groused Nonon.

"It's Sirius by Eir Aoi," said Ryuuko.

"Eh? That name isn't on the list of Baroque composers,"

"Of course not!" snapped Ryuuko, "It's pop!"

"Pop? Pop what?" asked Nonon.

"You've never heard of pop music?" asked Ryuuko incredulously.

"19th Century? 18th?" queried Nonon hopelessly.

"21st Century, this year," emphasised Ryuuko.

"No way… you're saying that I missed out on an entire genre of music?" said Nonon, horrified.

"Next you'll tell me you've never heard of Rock music…" Ryuuko trailed off at the look of incomprehension on Nonon's face, "You have got to be fucking kidding me!"

In Ryuuko's mind, nobody could have been that sheltered as far as music went, but the more she gauged Nonon's ignorance of all modern music, the more pity she started to feel for her one-time foe.

"I was thinking about bringing some of that new music to my next encore!" blurted out Nonon, her face reddening in embarrassment, "I… I uh… was wondering if you could… suggest a few songs?"

"You're no longer in charge of the music club, remember? I defeated you? Stripped you of your Regalia? No goku uniform, no club president?" said Ryuuko.

"Oh…" said Nonon, realising only now that she'd been stripped utterly of her position, "I didn't think about that…"

"Besides," said Ryuuko before she could start feeling sorry for Nonon, "You need to know a few songs before you can start playing them."

"That's right!" said Nonon, slipping off her chair, "And when you get out of this hospital I'll kick your ass for sure, bitch!"

Although the look on her face was deadly serious, the smirk at the corner of her mouth spoke otherwise.

"Bring it, bitch, anytime, anywhere" said Ryuuko, grateful that they didn't have to become friends over this. Frenemies was just fine in her book.

"Knock knock, anyone home?" asked Inumuta, standing at the door of Ryuuko's hospital room.

"Inumuta?" asked Ryuuko.

"You don't recognise me? Did the fight give you amnesia?"

He strode in and took a quick look at her chart.

"Hmm, yes, interesting…" he muttered.

"Can you even read that chart?"

"No. It seems the doctors here have a very different way of representing data. I'll have to file that piece of information away," he said, taking a seat and pulling out his laptop.

"Is there a reason you're here to see me?" asked Ryuuko tersely.

"You've given me a lot of data to analyse. Visiting is a way of communicating my gratitude… and Lady Satsuki ordered me to."

"Ah," said Ryuuko, the penny finally dropping, "Does that bitch have something planned? Like making me feel guilty for beating the shit out of the lot of you?"

"Lady Satsuki always has a plan, though I doubt it's something as mundane as what you propose. Here, take this," said Inumuta, passing her a vanilla folder stuffed with paper.

"Uh, what is-"

"It's the data from our fight," said Inumuta, "I've analysed it thoroughly and I've found several potential weak points that may have contributed to your loss against Harime Nui,"

"Thanks," said Ryuuko.

Not sure what else to say, she flipped the folder and began reading in earnest.

"Uh, Inumuta?"

"Yes?"

"I can't read binary," she said.

"What?" asked Inumuta, incredulous.

"I. Can't. Read. Binary. You. MORON!"

"Who doesn't read binary?" asked Inumuta, "Next you'll tell me you don't have an email address or a phone or something,"

"I don't, actually," admitted Ryuuko.

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Inumuta, "HOW?!"

"Delinquent? Life on the run? Fighting constantly? No time for phones or internet?"

A hard look came into Inumuta's eyes. Before him was no mere enemy. In his mind, Ryuuko was just another person that needed, desperately needed, his help.

"One moment please," he said politely and began furiously tapping at his keyboard.

Forty two seconds later, a breathless delivery boy stood at the doorway to Ryuuko's hospital room.

"Delivery for Matoi, Ryuuko?" panted the delivery boy.

"Here," said Inumuta, "I'll sign for it,"

He did so and quickly tore the object of his desire from its packaging.

"What is that?" asked Ryuuko.

"A phone," said Inumuta, casually tossing the device onto Ryuuko's bed.

"It doesn't have a cord…" she said, fascinated.

"What kind of backwards universe have you been living in? No phones have cords now! Anyway, that's just a cheap one. I made sure to scout for durability, something indestructible given your habit of breaking things. It should last fairly well. Here's a list of contacts you may want to add and instructions for setting up an email address,"

"Why are you doing this?" she asked.

Inumuta pushed up his glasses thoughtfully.

"You're a source of fascinating data," he said, "Analysing your data has proven to be most exciting. From your fight with Harime Nui, I judge that you've only tapped into the barest fraction of your potential power. I look forward to collecting further data from such conflict in the future,"

"Uh, thanks, I think," said Ryuuko, unsure if Inumuta was just being nice or if she was just a bug under a microscope for the data obsessed nerd.

"Ryuuko-chan!" shouted Mako as she flying-tackle-glomped Ryuuko.

Ryuuko was glad the hospital bed was soft; otherwise Mako would have sent the both of them through the wall with the power she'd launched herself at her best friend with.

"I was so worried Ryuuko-chan! But you're alright! Now I can relax!" Mako gushed as she hugged Ryuuko with bone crushing force.

"Cant… breathe…" struggled Ryuuko.

"Ah! Sorry, sorry!" apologised Mako, "How are you feeling?"

"Still a bit woozy," admitted Ryuuko, "they want to keep me here for a few more days."

"How's the food here? They have been feeding you right? Right?" asked Mako with her usual boundless energy.

"Yeah, the food's actually pretty good, though I really miss you mum's croquettes," said Ryuuko.

"Aha!" shouted Mako and produced a bento complete with 'Ta-Da!' sound.

Ryuuko's pupils dilated the moment the smell of croquettes wafted upwards. In a flash her hands had torn off the covering and she was wolfing down the croquettes like a deyhdrated man slaking his thirst in an oasis in the middle of the Sahara desert.

"Mothers croquettes… much taste… so good… wow…" muttered Ryuuko between each inhalation of delicious croquettes.

"Ah, you really must have missed them!" said Mako.

"I didn't know how much I really did miss them until I smelled them," said Ryuuko.

"Well, now you'll recover twice as fast! Do your best Ryuuko!" encouraged Mako.

"Mako, about the fight…" said Ryuuko.

"Oh? What about it?" asked Mako.

"I uh… I don't really remember what happened after Harime Nui showed up. Could you fill me in?"

Mako's jaw dropped.

"YOU DON'T REMEMBER?!" she shouted incredulously.

Ryuuko shook her head dumbly.

"You were so cool!" shouted Mako, "You were all like 'BIIIIIIITCH!' and she was all like 'Tee hee!' and clang clang bang whooooom!"

Mako made several gestures to emphasise her points, acting out a mock battle that Ryuuko could barely understand.

"Then the school building fell apart and you drew your scissorblade back and yelled 'FOR MY FAMILY!' and cut her umbrella up into a million pieces and she was all like 'Oh, now that's not nice!' and then there was a BWAAAAAAARP and rubble went EVERYWHERE and the next thing I knew they were carrying you off in an ambulance, the school was destroyed, Satsuki was laughing her ass off and Gamagoori was beating up a bunch of students who tried to defile you or something but the BEST THING EVER is that we all get time off while they rebuild Honnouji Academy! It's a real holiday thanks to you Ryuuko!"

The only part of Mako's enthusiastic gushing rant about the fight was the bit where Satsuki was laughing. It was the only bit that really caught her, mostly for how ridiculous a laughing Satsuki appeared in her mind. That girl was all high handed holier than though bullshit in Ryuuko's mind. That she would laugh went against everything she knew about her.

"Mako?" asked Ryuuko.

"Yes?" replied Mako.

"Never change," said Ryuuko.

Mako smiled and leaned in for a gentler hug. Ryuuko returned it, happy and satisfied that she'd finally found someone who was all heart.

"MANKANSHOKU!" boomed Gamagoori, interrupting Mako and Ryuuko's hug, "I see you're here to see Ryuuko as well,"

"Whaaaa! Gamagoori!" exclaimed Mako as he filled the room with his enormous presence.

"Let me guess," said Ryuuko, "'Lady Satsuki has deemed it necessary for me to see you, Ryuuko Matoi!'"

"An excellent imitation of my voice," complimented Gamagoori, "However, you lack the sheer baritone required to truly intimidate,"

"Whaaaaa!" wailed Mako, taking Gamagoori's demonstration as the real deal.

"Keep scaring her," said Ryuuko, "Injured or not, I can and will kick your ass, Gamagoori,"

"Such is not my intention, Ryuuko Matoi!" boomed Gamagoori, "I am in fact here to offer you my sincere gratitude and deepest respect,"

"…what?" harmonised Ryuuko and Mako.

"During your fight with Harime Nui, you took several blows that you did not need to. Those strikes, unblocked, would have resulted in grave injuries for the no-star and one-star students of Honnouji Academy," explained Gamagoori, "You defended those who could not defend themselves, who, only days before, would have gleefully taken your head to advance their own position at the expense of your own revenge. For your sacrifice and for your bravery, sincerely, Gamagoori Ira thanks you!"

Both Ryuuko and Mako were floored. They'd known that Gamagoori was deeper than his thickheaded disciplinarian persona suggested, but this…

"Uh… I don't really remember the fight… I don't deserve your thanks…" stuttered Ryuuko, embarrassed at being so thoroughly complimented by a former foe.

"Is that so?" queried Gamagoori.

"It is!" confirmed Mako, "Ryuuko has Amnesia!"

Mako did a faux fainting motion onto Ryuuko's bed, which both Ryuuko and Gamagoori ignored.

"Regardless," dismissed Gamagoori, "Even if you cannot remember your actions, the heart and soul that gave rise to them is there nonetheless. On behalf of the students you saved, thank you."

"Waaaah! Gamagoori's gone soft! He acts all tough but inside he's nothing but gooey soft softiness!" bubbled Mako, poking Gamagoori at locations she suspected were less than iron hard.

"WILL YOU STOP THAT MANKANSHOKU!" roared Gamagoori, "BEING A PROUD AND ADMITTED SLACKER DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO DISRESPECT YOUR SENIORS THAT WAY! LEAST OF ALL ME!"

"Ah, so there are things you'll chew girls out for eh?" teased Mako, "Besides, aren't you a no-star like me now? You can't really say you're senior, can you?"

"MAN-KAN-SHO-KUUU!" roared Gamagoori, stressing every syllable of her name.

Whatever bravado had fueled Mako's earlier teasing of Gamagoori dried up. She ran immediately for the relative safety of hiding behind the visitors chair beside Ryuuko's bed.

Just as Gamagoori was about to release another tirade at the flimsy cover Mako had taken, a giggle escaped from Ryuuko. Both Gamagoori and Mako stopped momentarily, turning to stare down Ryuuko. This only brought on more stifled giggles before evolving finally into uproarious raucous laughter.

Mako and Gamagoori turned back to each other, suppressing their smiles as Ryuuko's laughter infected them both. Each one giggled in turn, the infection turning epidemic and finally evolving into a pandemic as they all laughed heartily together.

Gamagoori and Mako had left several hours before. The hospital had settled for the evening, lending an easy, relaxed atmosphere that suited Ryuuko just fine. It was nice for her to just lie back and be, no burning revenge, no pressing problems, no students out for her head, just four walls, the soft bed, Senketsu nearby and the steady rhythm of her heart.

"Ryuuko Matoi!" shouted Sanegayama as he barged into her room.

"Oh what the fuck do you want?" groused Ryuuko, irritable at having her brief moment of peace ruined by this particular person.

Sanegayama drew his bamboo blade and pointed it right at Ryuuko.

"You are my one and only rival in this world!" he shouted and threw a letter at her with her with his free hand.

Ryuuko glanced at the letter, keeping one eye on Sanegayama at all times. Written on the letter was a single world: Challenge. She looked up to ask but Sanegayama spoke first.

"I hereby challenge you to a duel, your scissorblade and Senketsu versus my Blade Regalia and bamboo sword. Any time. Any where."

"Why not beat the shit out of me right here?" asked Ryuuko.

"What would be the point of that?" asked Sanegayama, "Attacking you when you're not at full strength is a waste. I came to Honnouji Academy for one reason. To use it as my own personal battleground, a place where I could challenge the strongest people in the world, to win and to become stronger, or to lose and become stronger again! Ryuuko Matoi! There is no one in this world stronger than you! You are the woman that took my eyes and gave me the world! By losing to you I have become stronger than I could ever imagine. Another defeat can only make me stronger again. And if I should ever defeat you…"

He trailed off, glaring daggers at his rival.

"If I can defeat you then you have no chance against Harime Nui. Heal fast. Heal well, Ryuuko Matoi," He turned to leave but paused for a moment, "Oh, and if you feel like training up your sword techniques with that scissorblade of yours, feel free to stop by the dojo when it's reconstructed. The entire Kendo club wants to train with you,"

As Sanegayama left as suddenly as he'd appeared, Ryuuko set the letter of challenge on her tray table and sighed.

Night had fallen on the city that supported Honnouji Academy. The hospital too, had turned very quiet, the only parts remaining noisy and busy being the ER and intensive care units, both far from the recovery wing in which Ryuuko Matoi lay, dozing her way softly towards a dreamless sleep.

Suddenly, a blinding light flared into existence, silhouetting a long haired figure holding a sword by the hilt tip to the floor.

"Ryuuko Matoi!" shouted a voice that made Ryuuko's blood boil.

"Satsuki Kiryuuin!" shouted back Ryuuko.

"You see now the forces you dare trifle with. Harime Nui is the weakest of the foes you must face if you dare entertain the notion of vengeance!" declared Satsuki imperiously.

"What the hell are you talking about? Harime Nui is the fucker that killed my father! Harime Nui is the one I'll fucking butcher-"

"Ignorant wench!" roared Satsuki angrily as the light that silhouetted her doubled in brightness, "Harime Nui simply plunged her scissorblade into your fathers body! Are you so small minded and simple as to think that your pathetic quest for vengeance would end the moment she died?"

"Start making sense or I'll start making you make sense!"

"Harime Nui kills only who she is ordered to kill. Your vengeance ends with the one who ordered his execution, head of the Revocs Corporation… Ragyo Kiryuuin!" explained Satsuki.

"You mean," said Ryuuko, her sleep addled brain only now beginning to connect the dots.

"My mother," said Satsuki.

"Why..." trailed Ryuuko.

"Ask her before you kill her," said Satsuki, "I don't particularly care. The only reason you are not dead is because Mother did not order Harime Nui to kill you, only to look into the situation here. The only reason you're in this hospital is because I want you to live. You were true to your word, Ryuuko Matoi. You have crushed my ambitions magnificently. The army I was building at Honnouji Academy was intended to fight and defeat my mother. Thanks to you that plan is completely off the rails. However, thanks to you, that plan evidently would never have worked, because a weak little upstart like you managed to upend the entire thing!"

She strode right up to Ryuuko, invading her personal space.

"You saved me from a humiliating defeat at the hands of my mother," she whispered, as though embarrassed to shout out loud her confession, "My ambitions are now yours; Defeat Ragyo Kiryuuin and you will have your revenge. You may not like me, and you may not want it, but when the time comes, Ryuuko Matoi, I, Satsuki Kiryuuin, will have your back."

Ryuuko was floored. Her mouth hung open, unable to articulate a single intelligible word at the raw honesty in Satsuki's voice.

"Do not disappoint me," she said, glaring down imperiously at Ryuuko, "You are my one and only hope now."

With that, the blinding light that frequently accompanied Satsuki winked off, and the leader of Honnouji Academy simply walked away.

"Senketsu, are you awake?" asked Ryuuko after she was sure Satsuki was well and truly gone.

"Yes, I've been watching over you the whole time," said Senketsu.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"Of what?" asked Senketsu.

"Can we win?" she asked, "Can we beat Harime Nui, Ragyo Kiryuuin, and any other fucker that gets in our way?"

"I'm sure we can," said Senketsu.

"That's not what I want to hear," snapped Ryuuko, "What do you think, what do you really think, Senketsu!"

The animated clothing paused. Was he nervous? Was he composing his thoughts? How did an admittedly powerful if lewd piece of clothing like him think? What were life fibers? Where had Senketsu come from?

"As you are now, Ryuuko, there's no way," admitted Senketsu, "However, within you lies the potential to do so. You have the strength, I have the power, together we can win, and with the friends you've made, we will win!"

"Friends?" asked Ryuuko.

"Mako, The Elite Four, even Satsuki," said Senketsu, "You fought them as enemies and won them as friends. The threads of fate are complex and interwoven, that enemies can become friends and allies should not be surprising."

"Huh," murmured Ryuuko, thinking.

Why do they all have to be decent people? She asked herself, Would it hurt for them to just be a pack of arseholes who were between me and the answers I need and from the vengeance I crave? Defeating them is something I have to do, but doing so sends them all back to the slums to suffer. How many have I defeated? How much prosperity and happiness have I trampled on just get some fucking answers? Is my revenge worth it?

Her thoughts came to a stop at that question. Wordlessly, her mind processed that thought, digested the feeling it produced, and spat out the only answer she could draw.

It better be fucking worth it.