The tires on Plum's small ATV tore at the dirt road.  Mud 
fountained up behind the vehicle, and only the pouring rain kept the back 
widow from being coated in grime.  Of course, that same pouring rain cut 
her visibility to almost nothing.  "We're almost there," she told Shun, 
anticipating the young man's question.
	"Good."  He massaged the back of his neck, trying to work out the 
kinks earned from hours of sitting in the passenger's seat.  "How are you 
doing back there, Tachi?"
	"Fine," she mumbled.  The Shooting Star of Furinkan High stared 
out one of the side windows, both her arms and her legs crossed.
	"That's informative," Shun commented around a mouthful of gum.
	Tachi shook herself.  "Sorry."  She uncrossed her legs and sat up 
straight.  "It's just that I've got a bad feeling about this."
	"That's encouraging.  I mean, you're the one who dragged me out 
here into the middle of nowhere."  He turned to Plum.  "Is there anything 
for us to worry about?  Any evil overlords from hidden kingdoms?  Any 
rogue monsters spawned from the Joesinkyou pools?"
	"Not that I know of.  Bump."  The passengers braced themselves as 
the ATV hit a rough patch in what was left of the road.  "Just the rain.  
And it's 'Jusenkyo.'"
	"Hear that, Tachi?  We've got nothing to worry about."
	"That," she said to herself, "is what worries me."

* * * * *

	The ATV came to a halt.  "From here on in, you walk," Plum 
announced.  "You can see the trail; it's not too far to Joketsuzoku.  The 
way is too steep and overgrown for my car, though."
	"You call that a trail?"  Shun squinted, trying to see through 
the driving rain.  "And how far is 'not too far?'"
	"A half a mile; easy walking distance."
	"Not in this rain," Shun complained.
	Plum looked amused.  "You stand near the heart of mystic China.  
What did you expect?  A sidewalk?"
	"Tachi," Shun growled, "you owe me for this."  Bracing himself, 
the long-haired boy threw open the ATV's gull-wing door.  Wind-whipped 
rain dodged around what little cover he had and slammed full-force into 
the silver glow of his umbrella field.  The field glowed brighter, 
struggling to maintain integrity against the strong Jusenkyo weather.
	Mutely, Tachi slid past the passenger seat.  Her shoes sank into 
the mud as she stepped out of the car; technology couldn't compensate for 
everything.  Reaching back inside, she grabbed Shun's bag, then her own 
luggage.
	"I will be back in a week," Plum told her.
	"We will be waiting."  Tachi forced a smile.  "Thank you for 
meeting us at the airport."
	Plum nodded.  Tachi's smile might be forced, but the gratitude behind 
her words was not, and the Jusenkyo Guide could sense such things.  "You 
are more than welcome, Honorable Guest."
	"Thanks," Shun added as he closed the car door.  Plum waved, and 
the two teens stepped back far enough so that they wouldn't be coated in 
mud when the ATV drove away.
	"Gack," Shun spat.  "Damn wind.  I keep getting hair in my mouth."
	"Then you shouldn't chew gum," Tachi suggested.  "I don't think 
there's any peanut butter in Joketsuzoku."
	"Does that really work?  Mom always used okonomiyaki sauce."
	"It does.  When we were younger, that's how Aunt Kasumi would always 
get Ran's gum out of Ranko's hair."
	Shun frowned.  "You say that as if it happened more than once."
	Tachi smiled again; this time for real.  "Now you know one of the 
reasons why Ran always had a black eye."  The short haired girl pulled 
one foot loose from the mud; it came free with a slurping sound.  "We'd 
better get going.  I don't want to take root here."
	"Whatever you say, boss."  Shun looked down at his once-new hiking 
boots.  "Did I mention you owe me for this?"
	"Move.  I don't want Plum to have to say, 'Oh, Honorable Guest, you 
fell in the "Spring of Drowned Hiker."  There is a tragic legend, a 
_very_ tragic legend, of a hiker who drowned one week ago, because HE 
WOULDN'T GET MOVING!'"

* * * * *

	Joketsuzoku was a promise of bright lights and warm fires at the 
end of a long, wet walk.  That gave Shun and Tachi the energy they needed 
to make the half-mile hike.  The weather cleared up somewhat as they 
trudged up the mountain.  Tachi's mood did not.
	Shun noticed this.  "What's bugging you?  If you've got some 
mystic-martial-arts-sixth-sense you're not telling me about, now would be 
a good time to share.  Now meaning before we get to the village of 
homicidal barbarian women."
	Tachi struggled to find the words she wanted.  "No, it's not like 
that." she finally said.
	"Then did you get bitten by a radioactive spider?  It's obvious 
_something_ has you on edge."
	"I keep thinking there's something I missed."  Tachi held up her 
left hand.  "I went to the past and met my own parents."  She folded her 
pinky finger down into her palm.  "I wasn't much help when the fate of 
the universe was being decided."  Her ring finger joined her pinky.  
"I've been moping around the house for the last week, and my mom has 
questions about the Joketsuzoku Amazons."  Two more points; two more 
fingers.  "Going to China is supposed to solve all of that."  She made a 
fist.  "But it just doesn't add up."
	"It made sense when you explained it on the plane."  Shun shrugged.
"It still makes sense to me.  What else could there be?"
	"I don't know."
	Sun sighed.  "Whatever.  If you figure it out, let me know.  
Right now, I just want to find someplace dry."
	"That can be arranged," a perky young voice called down from 
somewhere in the branches high above the hikers, "if you can give me a 
reason why two strange women should be allowed into Joketsuzoku."
 ______
{B-{=__

Question:  What is Sailor Moon's hairstyle called?