Woah. Three pieces in three weeks.
Wow!

It's getting better and better Gryph!

Of course, now the question is, what happened in the (does a little math) 5-weeks-and-change between SotS 4 and Wakaba's arrival.

Man, WPI is beginning to take on apsects of your average anime high school:

In the middle of the stone, a huddled human form lay crumpled,
one hand still gripping the hilt of a gleaming katana. The students
crossing the Quad paid little attention; they were becoming inured to
this kind of thing this year. A girl in a funny uniform with a sword?
Probably somebody here to try out for the Duelists' Society, or
someone from another school who heard of them and came to see if she
could take one of them on. As for the way she had appeared, well,
sure, that was a little weird, but at least she hadn't come in a ship
and thruster-scorched the grass again.

I suppose that is the effect your trying to get. :)
You know, it's rather easy to envision this entire series as anime OVAs.

Hmm, will Wakaba be chanting Honou No Ya soon enough?
I envision her leaning (heavily) towards fire.

As a side note, SotS stands quite well on its own. It's VERY character based, and all the characters are either introduced and developed within, or decribed (quite well) from a character's viewpoint. These work together to make the reader not feel lost when one of the core-UF characters arrives onstage. It's quite refresing to see Gryphon, Marty, Zoner, and the gang from Utena's viewpoint--heck it's the next best thing to meeting them myself.

That being said, it fits into UF superbly as well. It's hard to quantify, but the style is well alive and kickin'.

Thanks for bringing this story for us to experience, Gryphon!

--Chris Stevenson

A: "What is the difference between a fighter and a warrior?"
Q: "The warrior is defeated, especially at higher levels."